Hong Kong: Choi Yuk-lin concludes Australia trip Secretary for Education Choi Yuk-lin concluded her visit to Australia today by meeting representatives of the business community in Melbourne to promote the advantages of Hong Kong as an international hub for post-secondary education. She said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government attaches great importance to education. Highlighting that Hong Kong, helped by sustained government investment, is the sole city with five universities among the worlds top 100, she said this underlined the Hong Kong SAR Governments commitment to academic excellence and global success. Last years Policy Address outlined a comprehensive blueprint to develop Hong Kong into an international education hub for post-secondary education. Ms Choi stressed that that various initiatives demonstrate the Hong Kong SAR Governments commitment to attracting talent, and to promoting diversity and internationalisation in the higher education sector. She said she looked forward to more overseas students pursuing their studies in Hong Kong, and taking advantage of the citys wealth of opportunities for them to excel in their academic pursuits. Yesterday, she met the University of Melbournes Melbourne Graduate School of Education Laureate Professor Prof John Hattie, and the Dean of the graduate school Prof Field Rickards, to discuss teacher education. Before moving on to Melbourne, Ms Choi was in Perth, on March 7, where she met Western Australias Minister for Training & Workforce Development; Water; Industrial Relations Simone McGurk to learn about Australias experience in developing vocational and professional education and training. They also discussed ways of promoting collaboration between institutions and industry to address the manpower needs of the market. She also met Western Australias Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education; Aboriginal Affairs; Citizenship & Multicultural Interests Yaz Mubarakai, with whom she exchanged views on measures for attracting and supporting overseas students to study locally. Additionally, Ms Choi visited the University of Western Australia to learn more about its international student admission policies and higher education exchanges and collaboration between Hong Kong and Australia. Ms Choi also attended a lunch reception hosted by the Hong Kong Examinations & Assessment Authority and spoke about the advantages of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination to representatives of universities from different countries. Speaking at the event, Dr Choi said that the HKDSE Examination has moved with the times, helping to establish Hong Kongs brand as a provider of quality education and gaining wide recognition abroad. She pointed out that candidates can directly apply for admission to universities abroad with their HKDSE Examination results. She stressed that the examination therefore attracts not only students enrolled in the local curriculum in Hong Kong, but also those pursuing non-local curricula in Hong Kong, as well as students from Mainland China and other regions. This story has been published on: 2024-03-09. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. New energy vehicles account for 77.6 pct of China's public transport system: minister Xinhua) 11:30, March 09, 2024 Chinese Minister of Transport Li Xiaopeng gives an interview after the second plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang) BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The use of new energy vehicles accounts for 77.6 percent of China's public transport system, Minister of Transport Li Xiaopeng said Friday on the sidelines of the ongoing "two sessions." Talking about the achievements made in the development of transportation, Li said China has seen rapid development in green and smart transportation. The country has been accelerating the construction of smart roads, smart railways and smart ports. New energy and clean energy equipment have been more widely used, he said. Li also said the country has built the world's largest high-speed rail network, expressway network and postal express delivery system, as well as a world-class port cluster. China's transportation service support capacity has seen continuous improvement, and China has been strengthening transportation cooperation with other countries, he added. The "two sessions" refer to the annual meetings of the National People's Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. (Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Liang Jun) (Photo : Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) President Joe Biden said that he would sign legislation that could lead to a ban on TikTok in the United States is Congress passes it. President Biden said Friday that he would sign legislation giving China's ByteDance about six months to divest from the widely popular TikTok video-sharing app or be banned in the United States. "If they pass it, I'll sign it," Biden told reporters on Friday, Reuters reported. The legislation is being fast-tracked after it unanimously passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday and could come before a full House vote as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday. Former President Donald Trump, the likely Republican presidential nominee, appeared to be against the legislation after previously supporting such a ban during his administration. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, the former president said he feared any action against TikTok would only strengthen Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. "If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business," Trump said. "I don't want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better. They are a true Enemy of the People!" Trump was banned by Facebook and Instagram in January 2021 over his role in the Capitol riots, in which mobs of his supporters attempted to disrupt the congressional vote to certify Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election. The accounts were restored in February 2023. Federal agencies have warned that China's ByteDance could harvest users' personal information from TikTok, which has about 170 million users in the U.S., and share it with China's government. The legislation would give ByteDance 165 days to divest TikTok. If ByteDance doesn't comply, the legislation would bar TikTok and other ByteDance apps from the Apple and Google stores. In 2022, Biden banned the use of TikTok on the devices of the federal government's nearly 4 million employees. TikTok, which has said it would not share the data with the Chinese government, said the legislation has one intention. "This legislation has a predetermined outcome: a total ban of TikTok in the United States," the company said. "The government is attempting to strip 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression. This will damage millions of businesses, deny artists an audience, and destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country." 9 March 2024 11:45 (UTC+04:00) Weapons and ammunition have been found in Khankandi, Azernews reports, citing Azerbaijan's Ministry of Internal Affairs. On March 8, the police officers found 1 assault rifle, 1 grenade, 1 grenade fuse, 1 magazine, 241 cartridges of various calibers, and other ammunition in the territory of Khankandi city. Recall that weapons and ammunition have been discovered in secret places, as well as in the basements of schools, kindergartens, and various buildings in the liberated areas of Azerbaijan's Garabagh as well as in Khankendi. Those weapons belonging to the Armenian separatists are once again confirmed to have been hidden by the Armenians, who were illegally trying to commit terrorist operations and provocations in the territories of Azerbaijan. It should be recalled that on September 19, 2023, as a result of the short anti-terrorist measures conducted by the Azerbaijani Army, the Armenian separatists operating illegally in Garabagh were disarmed, and the leaders of the separatist groups were brought to Baku and arrested in accordance with the law. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 9 March 2024 15:51 (UTC+04:00) Fatime Letifova Read more The commissions on the delimitation of the state border established in Azerbaijan and Armenia have held seven meetings so far, Azernews reports, citing the service of Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Shahin Mustafayev. At the current stage, the commissions are dealing with the creation of legal framework necessary for delimitation to be carried out. Armenian media have been circulating inaccurate reports lately, allegedly coming from government sources, that the lands of 31 Armenian villages are allegedly under Azerbaijans occupation. At the same time, it is noted that the Republic of Azerbaijan does not recognize this and demands the liberation of its own four occupied villages. The Azerbaijani side considers it necessary to note in this regard that it is absolutely groundless to claim that the lands of 31 Armenian villages are occupied before the delimitation of the state border. As for the four non-exclave Azerbaijani villages (Baghanis Ayrim, Ashagi Askipara, Kheyrimli and Gizilhajili) occupied by Armenia, their affiliation to Azerbaijan is beyond any doubt and they are subject to immediate liberation. The issue of liberation of four of Azerbaijans exclave villages (Yukhari Askipara, Sofulu, Barkhudarli and Karki) occupied by Armenia will also be resolved within the delimitation process. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 9 March 2024 09:25 (UTC+04:00) Azerbaijan's Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mukhtar Babayev has met with Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the country Guo Min, Azernews reports. During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on preparations for the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is set to be hosted by Azerbaijan this year, as well as discussed opportunities for cooperation. Note that COP29 will be held in Azerbaijan in 2024. The decision was made at the plenary session of COP28 on December 11. Azerbaijan successfully participated in the COP28 held in Abu Dhabi last year. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 9 March 2024 18:00 (UTC+04:00) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with former US President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida, Bertalan Havasi, Head of the Press Office of the Prime Minister, Azernews reports. According to him, the negotiations between the parties lasted for an hour: "The closest employees were with them. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peter Szijjarto, went to Florida. After the meeting, the program will continue with a joint dinner and concert program. Although the spokesman did not reveal what topics Orban and Trump discussed, before the visit to the United States, Hungarian officials said that they will review the situation in Ukraine and the relations between the two countries. The Hungarian government has made no secret of its desire for Trump to win the November elections and return to the White House. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 9 March 2024 11:20 (UTC+04:00) The second day of the international scientific conference on "Protection of diversity: fight against Islamophobia in 2024" has started in Baku, Azernews reports. The conference is jointly organized by the Baku International Center for Multiculturalism, the Center for the Analysis of International Relations, the G20 Interreligious Dialogue Forum and the Baku Initiative Group. It should be noted that more than 130 international guests including scientists from 30 countries of the world, experts of international organizations, religious figures and representatives of non-governmental organizations are participating in the event. On March 10, the conference participants are scheduled to visit Shusha, which has been declared the cultural capital of the Islamic world in 2024. Recall that March 15 was first announced as the International Day of Combating Islamophobia on November 27-28, 2020 at the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Niamey, Niger. In 2022, the UN General Assembly adopted March 15 as the International Day of Combating Islamophobia. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 9 March 2024 13:15 (UTC+04:00) The reason for the rise of Islamophobia in some European countries is that this thinking spreads from the top down. This means that Islamophobic thinking is indoctrinated into society through the government, says Deputy Chairman of the State Committee on Religious Associations of the Republic of Azerbaijan Gunduz Ismayilov during a panel discussion at the international scientific conference on Embracing Diversity: Fight against Islamophobia in 2024, Azernews reports. "For example, in 2019, in France, the number of discrimination cases against Muslims in state-owned service establishments was 369, while this figure was 197 in the private sector. What does this mean? In general, there are specific statistics on Islamophobia in European countries such as France, Germany, England, and Switzerland. For example, there are 2500 mosques in France. The absolute majority of these mosques consist of one room. Local Muslims do not have enough budget to build bigger mosques. And the state prevents receiving help from outside. They perceive this as converting France to Islam. Or the issue of Muslim clothing is a serious problem in France. In France, 80% of Islamophobic thinking is directed at women. The Muslims are also prevented from receiving religious education. This is the case both in France and in a number of European countries," he added. The conference is jointly organized by the Baku International Center for Multiculturalism, the Center for the Analysis of International Relations, the G20 Interreligious Dialogue Forum and the Baku Initiative Group. It should be noted that more than 130 international guests including scientists from 30 countries of the world, experts of international organizations, religious figures and representatives of non-governmental organizations are participating in the event. On March 10, the conference participants are scheduled to visit Shusha, which has been declared the cultural capital of the Islamic world in 2024. Recall that March 15 was first announced as the International Day of Combating Islamophobia on November 27-28, 2020 at the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Niamey, Niger. In 2022, the UN General Assembly adopted March 15 as the International Day of Combating Islamophobia. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 9 March 2024 19:10 (UTC+04:00) The re-elected Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif has expressed his gratitude to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and the Prime Minister of the Azerbaijan Republic for warm messages on his re-election as prime minister. According to Azernews, PM Shehbaz Sharif has shared a post about this on his official X account. I thank H.E. Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan for his warm message of felicitations on my election as Prime Minister of Pakistan. I also thank H.E. Ali Asadov, Prime Minister of Azerbaijan for his letter of felicitations. Our two nations enjoy a unique bond of friendship Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) March 9, 2024 I thank His Excellency Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan for his warm message of felicitations on my election as Prime Minister of Pakistan. I also thank His Excellency Ali Asadov, Prime Minister of Azerbaijan for his letter of felicitations. Our two nations enjoy a unique bond of friendship that will grow from strength to strength. Recall that on March 3 2024, Shehbaz Sharif was re-elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan for a second term, garnering 201 votes against 92 votes for PTI-backed Omar Ayub Khan. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 9 March 2024 09:50 (UTC+04:00) Ankara is considering options for supplying Turkmen gas to Turkiye through Azerbaijan, Iran and the Caspian Sea, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said, Azernews reports. "Turkmen gas is an issue that has been on our agenda for many years. There are three options for gas delivery. One of them is that Turkmen gas is transferred to Turkiye through Iran via swap. Another option is that it arrives in Turkiye by exchange through Iran and Azerbaijan. Alternatively, Turkmen gas could be supplied to Turkiye via a gas pipeline passing through the Caspian Sea, which is essentially longer lasting, more stable and has a larger capacity ability. All these options are being considered and, to begin with, up to 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas can be transferred from Turkmenistan, the minister said. Bayraktar also touched upon the issue of creating a gas trading center in Turkiye. Turkiye is working on a gas trading platform for the Istanbul financial center, primarily with Gazprom. We think that we will be able to put this platform into operation in a short time, Bayraktar noted. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 9 March 2024 09:00 (UTC+04:00) South Korea's industry ministry said Friday it has discussed ways to expand bilateral ties in the clean energy sector, including hydrogen, with its Danish counterpart, Azernews reports, citing Yonhap News Agency. The two countries held the annual Korea-Denmark Green Growth Alliance meeting in Seoul, with this year's agenda focusing on offshore wind and hydrogen, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The two countries launched the dialogue in 2011 to seek cooperation in sectors including the green industry, shipping and finance. During the meeting, Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun, expressed hope to collaborate with Denmark "to raise awareness about the importance of expanding the deployment of carbon-free energy." Ahn also introduced South Korea's Carbon-Free Energy initiative, proposed by President Yoon Suk Yeol during his keynote speech at the United Nations General Assembly in September. The initiative calls for promoting an active use of nuclear power and green hydrogen as alternative energy sources to better achieve global carbon neutrality goals. "Both ministers also agreed to expand cooperation in offshore wind power by combining Denmark's extensive expertise in power generation and Korea's strong manufacturing capabilities," the ministry said in a joint statement. "In addition, they committed to sharing their relevant experiences, including policy responses to the issue of public acceptance, in an effort to promote offshore wind as a viable pathway toward achieving carbon neutrality," it added. 9 March 2024 15:18 (UTC+04:00) The process of supplying F-16s to Turkiye has started, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who is visiting the United States, told Turkish journalists in Washington, Azernews reports. He said that the US authorities have expressed their will regarding this issue: "Congress has been informed about this issue. "After solving the technical issues, the defense ministers and relevant bodies will continue discussing future issues." Fidan also said that the process related to F-35 fighters is also ongoing. The Turkish minister also drew attention to the positive dynamics in relations with the United States: " Turkiye-US relations allow solving problems." He also noted that there is a prospect of increasing the bilateral trade turnover from $30 billion to $100 billion: "We must evaluate the opportunities. This requires diplomatic efforts." --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz (Photo : JOHN THYS / AFP) Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said on March 8, 2024 that it was 'not unthinkable' that NATO troops could enter Ukraine amid Russia's invasion. Poland's foreign minister said Friday that it's "not unthinkable" that NATO troops could enter Ukraine amid the country's ongoing defense against Russia's invasion. Radek Sikorski raised the possibility during a commemoration of the 25th anniversary of Poland's NATO membership, according to the Associated Press, and the ministry later posted his comments in English to social media. "The presence of #NATO forces in Ukraine is not unthinkable," Sikorski said, according to a post on X, saying that the potential move is "about [Russian President Vladimir] Putin being afraid, not us being afraid of Putin." Sikorski's statement came a little over a week after French President Emmanuel Macron said that he could not rule out the deployment of Western troops to Ukraine. Other Western nations - including Poland - distanced themselves from Macron's remarks, and France's defense and foreign ministers rushed to clarify that any troops deployed would be used in non-combat roles. In his comments Friday, Sikorski voiced appreciation for Macron's stance. Russia has warned that the presence of NATO combat troops in Ukraine would be viewed as an escalation of the war, and risk nuclear conflict. Poland shares a border with Ukraine, making it particularly invested in ensuring that Russia does not succeed in its invasion. 9 March 2024 19:21 (UTC+04:00) The United States on Friday said Zimbabwean officials last month "abruptly detained and deported" US Agency for International Development officials who had been in the country on an assessment mission, Azernews reports, citing Reuters. The US State Department said Zimbabwe's actions undermined its claims of wanting to pursue international reengagement following human rights concerns in the African country. Human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch in recent years have alleged democratic backsliding, rights abuses including torture by state security forces and government corruption in Zimbabwe. The US has also expressed concerns, with Washington imposing sanctions on the country's president earlier this week. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa won a second term in August in a disputed vote that the opposition described as a "gigantic fraud" and election observers said failed to meet regional and international standards. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 9 March 2024 20:00 (UTC+04:00) Britain will deliver more than 10,000 drones to the Ukrainian armed forces, the country's defense secretary announced during a Kyiv visit, Azernews reports, citing POLITICO. The UK will send the drones most of which are first-person view drones mainly used for reconnaissance as part of a new 325 million military aid package, Grant Shapps said. According to the UK's Military of Defense, some 1,000 of the 10,000 drones are "one-way attack drones," while some of the total is made up of maritime drones. Shapps made the announcement following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. I am ramping up our commitment to arm Ukraine with cutting-edge new drones coming directly from the UKs world-leading defence industries straight from the factory floor to the frontline. I encourage international partners to join the UK in this effort," Shapps said in a statement. Drones have taken on an outsized role in the conflict in Ukraine, both for surveillance and attack purposes, helping to make up for Kyiv's relative lack of troops. In February, Zelenskyy announced a new "Unmanned Systems Forces," a new section of Ukraine's armed forced bringing the military's use of drones under a single command. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 9 March 2024 14:41 (UTC+04:00) Germany, Sweden, Canada and South Korea have called on their citizens to leave Russia due to possible terrorist attacks in the next 48 hours, Azernews reports. Note that Latvias Foreign Ministry on Friday urged its citizens to leave Russia as soon as possible after the US Embassy in Moscow issued a warning about possible terrorist attacks in the next 48 hours. On Thursday, the US Embassy said that it was monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow. Following the warning, the UK issued a similar warning recommending that UK citizens refrain from traveling to Russia citing the risks and terrorist threats. The British Foreign Office advised against all travel to Russia. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 9 March 2024 17:25 (UTC+04:00) The international community should increase pressure on France, Azernews reports, citing the managing director of the British organization CAGE International, Muhammad Abdur Rabbani, telling at the Embracing Diversity: Tackling Islamophobia in 2024 international conference in Baku. According to him, France is afraid of international criticism: "Considering that France will host the Summer Olympic Games, we must put pressure on them, because this country is very sensitive to criticism." It is worth noting that the conference is jointly organized by the Baku International Center for Multiculturalism, the Center for the Analysis of International Relations, the G20 Interreligious Dialogue Forum and the Baku Initiative Group. It should be noted that more than 130 international guests including scientists from 30 countries of the world, experts of international organizations, religious figures and representatives of non-governmental organizations are participating in the event. On March 10, the conference participants are scheduled to visit Shusha, which has been declared the cultural capital of the Islamic world in 2024. Recall that March 15 was first announced as the International Day of Combating Islamophobia on November 27-28, 2020 at the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Niamey, Niger. In 2022, the UN General Assembly adopted March 15 as the International Day of Combating Islamophobia. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 9 March 2024 20:15 (UTC+04:00) In late 2022, the US began preparing rigorously for Russia potentially striking Ukraine with a nuclear weapon, in what would have been the first nuclear attack in war since the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki nearly eighty years before, Azernews reports, citing the two senior administration officials telling at their interviews CNN. The Biden administration was specifically concerned Russia might use a tactical or battlefield nuclear weapon, the officials said. In addition, the US sought to enlist the help of non-allies, in particular China and India, to discourage Russia from such an attack. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands Armed Forces Americas Armed Forces Pacific Armed Forces Europe Northern Mariana Islands Marshall Islands American Samoa Federated States of Micronesia Guam Palau Alberta, Canada British Columbia, Canada Manitoba, Canada New Brunswick, Canada Newfoundland, Canada Nova Scotia, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada Nunavut, Canada Ontario, Canada Prince Edward Island, Canada Quebec, Canada Saskatchewan, Canada Yukon Territory, Canada Zip Code Every year, more than 90% of all federal and state criminal cases are resolved through a plea deal, also called a plea bargain. In North Carolina, 90%-95% of cases are resolved through plea deals. A plea deal is a negotiated agreement between a defendant and prosecutor, whereby the defendant pleads guilty in return for a lesser sentence. During fiscal year 2022, 98% of cases in the state were resolved as a result of a guilty plea. As a result, defendants waive their right to trial. Plea deals are believed to save time and money because trials are both expensive and time consuming. There are various strategies to persuade defendants to accept plea deals. One of the more common strategies, and controversial ones, is called charge stacking. By charging or threatening to charge defendants with more crimes, prosecutors gain an advantage, or more leverage, in the plea bargaining process. The threat of more charges increases the risk of a longer sentence if the defendant is convicted at trial. Some proponents of charge stacking and plea deals see these agreements as an efficient pathway to a just outcome for defendants, victims and the criminal justice system because with a plea deal, comes certainty: Prosecutors win a conviction. Defendants typically dont have to risk a lengthier sentence if convicted at trial. Victims dont have to testify in open court. But critics argue that plea deals are often coercive in nature, forcing defendants to waive their constitutional right to trial to avoid a longer sentence. They also believe racial bias may be involved in plea deals and charge stacking, a practice for which the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, NAACP, has called for a ban. Black defendants in drug cases, for instance, are less likely to receive favorable plea offers that avoid mandatory minimum sentences and, as a result, receive higher sentences for the same charges as white defendants, the American Bar Associations Plea Bargain Task Force wrote in a report published this year. The same is true for gun cases, in which Black defendants are more often subjected to charge stacking a technique that allows prosecutors to pile on many charges, increasing the likely sentence after trial and the governments leverage during plea negotiations than white defendants. To better understand charge stacking and its role in plea bargaining and racial disparities in sentencing in North Carolina, CPP launched the Stacked Against series. In part one of the Stacked Against series, we detailed the case of Terence Smith, a Black man in Winston-Salem who turned down a plea deal and was sentenced to more than 50 years in prison. This guide will set out and define terms and concepts that are central to charge stacking and plea bargaining. The goal is to provide more context for these practices, which have become central to the criminal justice system. The guide is also intended to offer a resource for readers to better understand this practice and follow the stories CPP has reported on the subject. If you have any questions or comments related to charge stacking and plea bargaining, please reach out to Jacob Biba at jbiba@carolinapublicpress.org. Table of contents What is charge stacking? What is a plea deal? How does the plea bargaining process work? How common are plea deals? What are the pros and cons of plea deals? What is the trial penalty? Consecutive vs. concurrent vs. consolidated sentences Consecutive sentences Concurrent and consolidated sentences What is discretion? What is charge stacking? Charge stacking, which is sometimes referred to as charge bargaining, is when prosecutors charge, or threaten to charge, defendants with more crimes to increase leverage, or gain an advantage, in the plea bargaining process. What is a plea deal? A plea deal, or plea bargain, is an agreement between a defendant and prosecutor in which the defendants agree to waive their right to trial and plead guilty to one or more charges. In return, defendants often receive a lesser sentence than if they went to trial and were convicted. Typically, prosecutors will drop some of the charges or reduce the severity of charges against a defendant in exchange for the defendants guilty plea. Sometimes prosecutors will also ask the defendant to testify, or give evidence, against a co-defendant as an additional term of the plea bargain. They may also agree to not stack additional charges upon the defendants if they agree to the deal. In the case of Terence Smith, he was told he would face five more charges if he turned the plea bargain prosecutors offered him down. Despite the threat of more charges, Smith declined the deal, believing 10 years was too harsh a sentence given what he said was his limited role in the crime. Deborah Smith holds a picture of her son, Terence in her home in Winston Salem, North Carolina on Thursday, April 27, 2023. Terence Smith has been incarcerated for over two decades of a 51-66 year sentence for his involvement in a non-fatal shooting when he was 17 years old. Photo: Mike Belleme / Carolina Public Press How does the plea bargaining process work? In North Carolina, law enforcement typically charges a defendant with one or more crimes and then creates a charging packet or document, which details the charges. This packet is submitted to prosecutors, according to Satana Deberry, Durham County district attorney. Felony cases that involve crimes that are especially serious or violent may arrive at the district attorneys office in what Deberry described as a pre-charge, or investigation phase. Typically, additional investigation in these cases is required before formal charges can be pursued. Once the district attorneys receive and determine the charges, heres what usually happens next: The case will be delivered to the grand jury, a group of citizens that convenes to determine whether enough evidence is present to bring forth a bill of indictment, or formal accusation, against the defendant. After the indictment, prosecutors will typically look at the evidence and prior record level of the defendant charged, Deberry said. Prosecutors may also reach out to the defendants attorney for a mitigation package, which is information that gives prosecutors a better understanding of the defendants motivations. Age and history of substance abuse are some of the most common mitigating factors, or extenuating circumstances, considered in Durham County. Aggravating factors, which are any circumstances that make the crime more severe, such as the defendants criminal history, are also taken into account. Prosecutors will then make a plea offer to the defendant, one that typically meets both the evidence and the facts in the case, as well as takes in accountability and whether or not we think the case should be diverted from our regular criminal justice process, Deberry said. In Durham County, those diversions include restorative justice initiatives like treatment programs and reconciliation with the victim. A defendants attorney typically receives the plea offer. In Buncombe County, the plea deal may arrive via a formal email with an expiration date, or it could arrive in a quick text message or conversation from an assistant district attorney detailing the offers terms, according to Courtney Booth, an assistant public defender in Buncombe County. It just depends on who youre working with, Booth told Carolina Public Press. If the plea deal is accepted, the defendant will go to court. The judge will ask the defendant a series of questions to determine whether or not the defendant is entering into the plea bargain voluntarily. Judges may also reject the plea agreement if they believe the sentence is too extreme or not harsh enough. In that case, the prosecution and defendant must renegotiate the deal. The judge is also under no obligation to accept the prosecutions sentence recommendation. If the judge enters a different sentence, the defendant may withdraw their guilty plea. Defendants may also make an open plea in court, where they agree to plead guilty to the charges without negotiating a sentence recommendation with the prosecution prior to the plea hearing. If a defendant turns a plea deal down, then a trial will typically be held. In North Carolina, a plea deal can be negotiated and accepted during trial, but it varies depending on the prosecutorial district. In Buncombe County, Booth said pleas are not typically accepted after a trial begins. Once you decide to go to trial and test out the waters, you better go to trial, she said. How common are plea deals? Plea deals are common. Defendants in 90% of federal criminal cases pleaded guilty in 2018, according to the Pew Research Center, a think tank based in Washington, D.C. In North Carolina, 96% of 375,000 cases analyzed by researchers were resolved through plea deals between 1998 and 2010. What are the pros and cons of plea deals? Some of the often cited benefits of plea deals include: Plea deals may offer certainty of outcome for the prosecution and defendant. The penalty for going to trial is the uncertainty if you are found guilty of sentencing, Deberry said. Because then your sentencing will be left up to the trial judge. That is not always predictable. Whereas, in a negotiated plea and all things being equal, which certainly all things are not always equal you, at the very least, know what youre facing. Plea deals can save time and money. Trials are time consuming and expensive. With plea deals, victims dont have to testify. In cases involving sexual assault or other violent crimes, victims wont have to relive the trauma of the incident in open court. But these benefits dont come without a price, according to critics. The major consequences of plea deals include: Plea bargains can weaken a defendants constitutional right to a trial by jury. Racial bias may play a role in the plea bargaining process. In drug cases, Black defendants receive harsher sentences than white defendants facing the same charges, according to a report from the American Bar Associations Plea Bargain Task Force published this year. When charge stacking is involved in the plea bargaining process, innocent people may plead guilty to avoid the trial penalty, or trial tax, and a longer sentence. I think that the coercive power of the plea deal can be problematic, Ben Finholt, director of the Just Sentencing Project at Duke Law Schools Wilson Center for Science and Justice, told CPP. I think that most prosecutors and district attorneys would say that its not problematic, because otherwise we cannot have an efficient administration of the courts. And it is hard to argue with them on that point. If we didnt have plea deals, our courts, as currently staffed, would pretty much grind to a halt. What is the trial penalty? The trial penalty is the difference in sentence prosecutors offer a defendant in a plea deal versus what the defendant receives if convicted at trial. On average, theres a difference of 11 years between sentences resulting from plea deals than trials for murder cases, according to one 2017 study. When it comes to crimes like fraud, the trial tax, another term for trial penalty, is three times more severe, studies have found. In cases of embezzlement, burglary and breaking and entering, the trial penalty is eight times higher. In North Carolina, a defendants sentence may run consecutively, concurrently or may be consolidated under a single term. The graphic shows the difference for each time of sentence. Credit: Lindsey Wilson Consecutive vs. concurrent vs. consolidated sentences Consecutive sentences Consecutive sentences are sentences that run back to back, meaning the next sentence will not begin until the preceding sentence is served in its entirety. Consecutive sentences are sometimes referred to as boxcar sentences or stacked sentences. In the case of Terence Smith, six of the seven sentences hes serving are running consecutively. Concurrent and consolidated sentences In North Carolina, sentences run concurrently, or at the same time, by default, unless a judge decides otherwise. A consolidated sentence, which is similar to a concurrent sentence, occurs when multiple charges are joined together, or consolidated, for judgment, resulting in one sentence. In a 2015 University of North Carolina School of Government blog post about consolidated sentences, Jamie Markham, a faculty member at the time wrote, the law allows virtually unfettered discretion to disregard all but the most serious offense for a defendant convicted of multiple crimes. In short, judges have significant power when it comes to sentencing. What is discretion? In sentencing, judges are able to use their discretion to hand down sentences they believe defendants deserve within the limits of the law and state sentencing guidelines. Discretion is an ability prosecutors and judges have to make legal decisions based on their personal beliefs, as long as its within the bounds of state and federal law. And its a concept at the center of charge stacking, plea bargaining and sentencing. For example: Prosecutors have the discretion to stack charges upon a defendant to gain more leverage in a plea deal. Judges have the discretion to stack a defendants sentences run them consecutively to increase their prison term. Whats next in our charge stacking series? In part three of our series, we look at the effect charge stacking and plea bargains have had on the families of people who have been subjected to these practices. We speak to members of Terence Smiths family, as well as Sherrod Nichols, another Winston-Salem man who faced stacked charges, and his family about the personal effects of the long prison terms they are facing. Source: Stacked Against, Part Two: Charge stacking and plea bargains in North Carolina what you need to know Resources Stacked: Where Criminal Charge Stacking Happens And Where it Doesnt | Harvard Law Review 2023 Plea Bargain Task Force Report | American Bar Association Punishment Without Trial: Why Plea Bargaining Is a Bad Deal by Carissa Byrne Hessick Have a question about this story? Do you see something we missed? Send an email to news@carolinapublicpress.org. _____ Stacked Against is made possible in part with support from the Fund for Investigative Journalism, a national foundation that supports the investigative reporting efforts of independent journalists and news organizations, and through the support of readers like you. You can support nonpartisan in-depth and investigative journalism in North Carolina from our nonprofit newsroom by becoming a member today. (Photo : Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) DUBLIN, IRELAND - MARCH 9: Votes are counted following the Referendum at the RDS Dublin Count centre on March 9, 2024 in Dublin, Ireland. Early referendum tallies indicate a rejection of efforts to modernize Ireland's constitution with respect to the roles of family and women in society, reports said Saturday. Preliminary results showed a strong support for 'no' votes on the double referendum, which sent Irish voters to the polls on Friday, multiple outlets including the Guardian reported, citing Agence France-Presse. The first question on the dual referendum asked voters whether to expand the definition of family from a unit based on marriage to include other "durable relationships." The second asked whether to remove a constitutional reference to a mother's "duties in the home," replacing it with a clause referring to the care family members provide each other. By Saturday, early returns reportedly suggested that the changes would not be approved, to the disappointment of supporters. "No we didn't," said Irish Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan when asked whether the government got the result it had hoped for, according to the Guardian. "But you have to respect the voice of the people. We have to wait until the final count is done but if it is a No-No vote, we have to respect that." "We didn't convince the public of the argument for a Yes-Yes vote," Ryan continued. "I think the next government will have to come back to this and consider the campaign and what were the arguments that merited a no vote in both cases." All of Ireland's major political parties, as well as Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, had voiced support for both measures. But opponents argued that the proposed new language was ill-defined and threatened to "cancel" the role of mothers. Final results are expected by late Saturday. By Peyton Majors Christian Action League March 8, 2024 North Carolinas two U.S. senators are raising concerns about a marijuana superstore on land governed by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and set to open on April 20th of this year. The joint letter to law enforcement and multiple government officials says that the operation threatens to violate state and federal law. The controversial dispensary would be controlled by the Cherokee tribe and Qualla Enterprise LLC, which would produce, cultivate and sell marijuana on land in the western part of the state. U.S. Sens. Ted Budd and Thom Tillis sent the letter to eight individuals, including the heads of the Department of Justice, the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Treasury and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The letter also was sent to a local district attorney and the Swain County sheriff. The letter says Budd and Tillis have heard directly from North Carolinians who have communicated their concerns about the superstore. As our nation is facing an unprecedented drug crisis that is harming our communities, it is vital to learn what measures your departments and agencies are taking to uphold current federal and state laws, they wrote. Budd and Tillis raised several concerns. Among them: The marijuana would be transported from the farm to the reservation by crossing a state road in Swain County. The owners of the business lack a testing lab to conduct potency and safety assessments of their products. The Controlled Substance Act (CSA) prohibits the manufacture, distribution, dispensation, and possession of marijuana. Federal anti-money laundering laws criminalize the handling of proceeds derived from various unlawful activities, including marijuana sales in violation of the CSA. Federal law requires financial institutions to have policies, record keeping, and processes in place both to ensure that their clients are not engaging in unlawful behavior, such as selling products under CSA. State law bans the sale of marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia. The letter asks the officials to answer a series of questions about what they are doing to enforce the laws on the books. At what point is the transportation of marijuana considered trafficking? the letter asks. Are federally recognized tribes immune from state and federal enforcement? Further, the letter says, governments have the responsibility to ensure our youth are shielded from marijuana. This raises multiple questions on how North Carolina communities will be kept safe, the letter says. Tribal members last year voted to approve the sale of marijuana on Cherokee land. The dispensary will be located near the Harrahs Cherokee Casino Resort. Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League, thanked Budd and Tillis for addressing the issue. Their joint letter to key law enforcement officials underscores the gravity of this situation, emphasizing the need for clarity and action amidst concerns raised by scores of North Carolinians, Creech said. With marijuana remaining illegal at the federal and state levels, it is imperative that stringent measures are in place to uphold existing laws. As both Tillis and Budd rightly point out, amidst Americas unprecedented drug crisis, it is essential to ensure that our youth are shielded from the potential risks associated with untested marijuana products. Furthermore, their questions regarding the potential implications of the operation, such as the attraction of transnational criminal organizations and the enforcement of transportation laws, underscore the multifaceted nature of the issue. In light of the forthcoming dispensary opening, it is crucial all relevant stakeholders work together to address these concerns and uphold the rule of law. We will be eagerly waiting for responses from the addressed officials and trust their actions will reflect the best interests of our state and its citizens. The North Carolina legislature, Creech said, should also weigh in on the issue. As representatives of the people of North Carolina, their input and actions are essential for ensuring every aspect of this matter is thoroughly addressed, Creech said. The collaboration between our state lawmakers and the General Assembly would reinforce the unified stance of our state government in safeguarding the well-being of our communities and upholding the rule of law. We urge the members of the General Assembly to join Senators Budd and Tillis in advocating for transparency, accountability, and the protection of our citizens interests. Little Rock, Ark.-based Baptist Health has named Brandi Stewart, BSN, RN, chief nursing officer of two hospitals. Ms. Stewart will serve as CNO of Baptist Health-Fort Smith (Ark.) and Baptist Health-Van Buren (Ark.), according to a March 7 news release. She has spent 25 years in nursing and joins the system from Integris Health Canadian Valley Hospital in Yukon, Okla., where she served as vice president and CNO. Baptist Health is the largest nonprofit healthcare system in Arkansas and operates 11 hospitals. The American Nurses Association announced plans March 8 for its American Nurses Enterprise Research Council to begin a review and modernization process of its Magnet designation criteria for hospitals. Two independent experts were identified and selected by external evaluators to undertake the process of creating "Magnet 3.0" as the ANA calls it. They are: Patricia Patrician, PhD, RN, professor of nursing at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Sean Clarke, PhD, RN, professor of nursing leadership and executive vice dean at the New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing. "The investment in the Magnet Model review is a significant step toward contemporizing its framework with the latest evidence, building a robust, relevant, and culturally sensitive model," notes Rebecca Graystone, PhD, RN, senior vice president of accreditation and organization credentialing for the American Nurses Credentialing Center. The original research used to establish the current iteration of the Magnet Model came from a 1981 comprehensive review of things essential to shaping the nursing workforce. Fourteen "magnetizing" elements that attract nurses to the profession were identified, which later became factored into the model in 2008, according to the ANA. Criteria on the list to review for the update include assessing factors like nurse wellness, retention and recruitment, hospital leadership, diversity, influences on nurse work environments and more. The revisions to the criteria "will impact the future of Magnet in the next generation, Dr. Graystone said. In recent years, "DEI" has become a political buzzword and health systems' efforts aren't immune to the consequences, leaders in the field say. Diversity, equity and inclusion efforts were rolled out en masse in 2020. Healthcare was among the many industries to adopt such programs, aiming to broaden the workforce, improve employee satisfaction and address disparities in patient populations. C-suite leaders were appointed to lead sweeping culture changes and revamp hiring practices; offices were installed to research and educate. But these programs have come under mounting scrutiny, especially after the Supreme Court overturned affirmative action in June. Chief DEI officers have been leaving their roles as some organizations funnel their responsibilities under human resources departments and replace "DEI" with less-charged terms. The DEI sector is unique in health systems, as it often guides data-backed, financially justifiable health equity efforts. However, some leaders in the space still struggle to continue as online backlash spreads like wildfire. The chief diversity officer of Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Medicine resigned March 6 after a newsletter defining the term "privilege" went viral on social media, leading a politician to call for her firing. Progress, in some cases, has been one step forward and two steps back. "After George Floyd's death, we saw this acceleration where everyone was embracing equity. I thought that was really our tipping point, where we could really move past and gain some substantial impact in this country," Yolanda Lawson, MD, president of the National Medical Association, told U.S. News & World Report. "But unfortunately, now we have seen this backlash." This week, U.S. News interviewed three health equity experts to gauge momentum in the field. Their general consensus: The pushback is apparent, but not new, and not enough to halt DEI efforts. Joneigh Khaldun, MD former chief medical officer for the state of Michigan and current chief health equity officer at CVS Health told the publication that interest in health equity and disparity has naturally ebbed and flowed throughout history, even before the term "DEI" caught on. The challenges aren't new, per se they've just taken on a new name. "While I do think the 'flashiness' of health equity and diversity, equity and inclusion has perhaps gone down a bit in the past couple of years since the pandemic has kind of waned, I still know that there are organizations that are really committed to it," Dr. Khaldun said. "And I'm also proud of the work we're doing at CVS." The organization, like other healthcare companies, is looking to understand DEI as "just a way of doing their work," Dr. Khaldun said. It's looking to incorporate those efforts into a wide range of initiatives, from data analysis to hiring practices to health advancement in different communities. Hugh Mighty, MD senior vice president for health affairs at Howard University in Washington D.C., one of the few historically Black universities in the U.S. with a medical school echoed the sentiment that DEI isn't new. "People have been doing DEI forever, but we've been doing it quietly," he said. "But then we gave it a name and we elevated its presence, and then it became a threat." Dr. Mighty continued: "So yes, there has been pushback on DEI and there continues to be pushback. Companies have pulled back and there has been movement certainly within the last two years to roll back the concept of DEI. But that doesn't happen if the largest companies in this country sit down at a table, form a consortium and say they are now all about DEI. Who's going to be able to stop that?" The debate isn't necessarily earth-shattering, and companies don't need to stop talking about DEI to make progress, Dr. Mighty said: Efforts to build out a diverse work pipeline are going to continue. But according to Dr. Lawson, the public's lack of acknowledgement of health inequities and disparities is dangerous and threatens real impact. "For me, because of the lack of acknowledgement, I feel that it's going to stall progress," Dr. Lawson said. "Not only does it stall progress, but we're starting to see a reversal of progress," she continued, nodding to the Alabama Supreme Court's recent ruling that embryos used in in vitro fertilization are children. Empathetic leaders are needed to bridge the gap, Dr. Lawson said: those who can understand a broader range of perspectives, or at least are willing to listen. California is one of just two states with a rising unemployment rate and the situation is expected to get worse in the coming months, Newsweek reported March 7. According to recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 47,360 Californians filed for jobless benefits last week. That's a 6,150-person increase from the week prior and brings the state's unemployment rate to 5.1% (second only to Nevada, which sits at 5.3%). The problem is fueled by a surge of layoffs in the state. Warn Tracker, which monitors WARN notices, reported that California has already seen 22,280 layoff notifications this year. Many are set to take effect between March and May as large tech, retail and healthcare companies cut jobs en masse. Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, gave Newsweek various reasons for the uptick, ranging from "a dip in economic activity to strategic shifts within companies adapting to a new economic landscape marked by technological advancements and altered consumer behavior." Mr. Shepherdson does not believe the layoffs spell "recession," but said they represent a "downshift in job growth." Nearly a quarter of the health systems that have reported job cuts since January are located in California, according to Becker's most recent coverage. Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Foundation Hospitals was the latest to announce layoffs, eliminating more than 70 employees, primarily in IT roles. Kaiser told the San Francisco Chronicle that the cuts were "difficult but necessary." Read the latest on layoffs in the healthcare industry here. Fans sit under a TikTok ad at a baseball game at Yankee Stadium, April 14, 2023, in New York (Frank Franklin II/AP) President Joe Biden endorsed legislation that could lead to the popular video-sharing app TikTok being banned in the United States, a move that comes amid growing concern in Washington about keeping Americans data out of Chinas hands. The legislation that passed through the US House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously on Thursday calls on Chinas ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok or effectively face a US ban. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson also supports the bill and has indicated it would soon come up for a full vote in the House. If they pass it, Ill sign it, Mr Biden said when asked by reporters about the legislation. The White House had provided technical support in the drafting of the bill, though White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier this week the TikTok legislation still needs some work to get to a place where Mr Biden would endorse it. Former president Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee, came out in a Truth Social post on Thursday saying he opposed a ban because it would help rival social media platform Facebook. President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump have both weighed in on the debate (Andrew Harnik/AP) Mr Trumps opposition to the legislation comes after he issued, and then rescinded, an executive action late in his presidency intended to ban TikTok and another popular app, WeChat. Mr Trumps pushback puts him on the opposite side of the debate of powerful Republicans, including Johnson and Republican House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who has called the legislation a critical national security bill. Both the FBI and the Federal Communications Commission have warned that TikTok owner ByteDance could share user data, such as browsing history, location and biometric identifiers, with Chinas authoritarian government. TikTok said it has never done that and would not do so if asked. The US government also has not provided evidence of that happening. In a separate move, Mr Biden recently signed an executive order allowing the Department of Justice and other federal agencies to take steps to prevent the large-scale transfer of Americans personal data to what the White House calls countries of concern, including China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Cuba and Venezuela. Mr Biden, in 2022, banned the use of TikTok by the federal governments nearly four million employees on devices owned by its agencies, with limited exceptions for law enforcement, national security and security research purposes. While his administration has raised national security concerns about TikTok, Mr Bidens re-election campaign last month joined the platform. If enacted, the bill would effectively ban TikTok and other ByteDance apps from being available in Apple or Google app stores or on web hosting services in the US. The bill takes a two-pronged approach. Apps including TikTok on a mobile phone (Yui Mok/PA) First, it requires ByteDance Ltd, which is based in Beijing, to divest TikTok and other applications it controls within 180 days of enactment of the bill or those applications will be prohibited in the United States. Second, it creates a narrow process to let the executive branch prohibit access to an app owned by a foreign adversary if it poses a threat to national security. The company also has promised to wall off US user data from its parent company through a separate entity run independently from ByteDance and monitored by outside observers. A poll published last month by The Associated Press and NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research found Americans are deeply divided on the issue of banning the app. Thirty-one percent of US adults said they would favour a nationwide ban on TikTok use, while 35% said they would oppose that type of action. An additional 31% of adults said they neither favour nor oppose a ban on the social media platform. The AP-NORC poll shows TikTok users, about 170 million in the US, most of whom skew younger, are less likely to be worried about the app sharing American users data, reflecting a previously felt generational divide. About a quarter of daily users say they are extremely or very concerned about the idea of the Chinese government obtaining the personal information of users, compared to about half of US adults overall. Aine McCauley and Eimear Browne welcomed their daughters, Orla and Sofia, only hours apart on March 1 at Altnagelvin Area hospital Two sisters from Limavady who gave birth to baby girls on the same day, just hours apart, are preparing to celebrate a very special Mothers Day. Aine McCauley (33) and her sister Eimear Browne (35) not only welcomed their daughters on March 1, but were also put next to each other on the maternity ward of Altnagelvin Area Hospital. It was handy because Id forgotten some things in my bag, so I was able to borrow my sisters stuff, said Aine, whose daughter Orla, weighing six pounds and seven ounces, was born only one day after her due date. We thought she was going to be a leap year baby, but she held off a day to be born on the same day as her cousin. Its definitely been a surreal experience and something I definitely never thought Id share with my sister. We share a lot of things, but there are some details we have shared this past week... More details than we have shared in our entire lives. Eimears due date wasnt for another few weeks, so she shared in her sisters surprise when they ended up in the same hospital together at the same time. When we told each other we were pregnant, it was early on, and we knew our due dates were so far apart that there was no chance both babies would be born on the same day, she said. Aines other kids were four and six weeks early, and my due date wasnt for another few weeks after hers so the way it worked out is amazing. Aine McCauley and Eimear Browne with their daughters Orla and Sofia in Altnagelvin Area hospital Eimear was brought into the hospital to be induced on February 29, as her baby was measuring small. My little girl Sofia was born just after 11am the next morning, weighing five pounds, she said. But in the middle of the night, it was quite a surprise [to learn] Aine was in labour and was coming in too. I was excited to see her and by the thought that we might have our kids [around the same time]. Obviously your partner cant stay [overnight], so it was nice that she was there with me. The sisters live near to each other in Limavady and Eimear says they have a very close-knit family unit. We practically live in each others pockets, she said. Eimear has another daughter (Aoife, who is two), while Aine has a girl (Cara) and a boy (Cillian). Poor Cillian is now in a family of girls, said Aine. We all have girls; our older sister Antoinette has two girls as well. The siblings were both pregnant at their sister Antoinette's (centre) 40th birthday party Aine added that, even though neither she nor Eimear knew they were having daughters, they both had the same name picked out. I was raging when I thought Eimear was going to beat me to it, because we both liked the name Orla, she said. As it transpired, she got there first. But the next day she told me I could have the name and that she was going to name her daughter Sofia, so I locked it down quickly before she changed her mind. The sisters, who, incidentally, are also both dentists, albeit in different practices, are now looking forward to spending their maternity leave together. Eimear said: It was nice being pregnant together, and now itll be nice to be on maternity leave together and go on walks and to baby classes together. Its handy when youve got someone to go with. Aine had her second child during lockdown and said she missed out on attending the baby classes during that time. I felt very isolated in the house on my own, and people were obviously scared to visit because of Covid, so itll be very different this time around. Itll be nice now with the summer months and longer days ahead. Looking forward to Mothers Day, Eimear said that the occasion is usually a family affair but will be extra special this time. We all would normally spend the day together go see Mum or have a Sunday roast at one of our houses, Eimear said, adding that she and Aine are also looking forward to joint birthday parties for their daughters in the future. We joked that had they been born a day earlier, wed only have to have a party every four years, on a leap year, said Eimear. Aine added: We are used to the chaos by now, so joint birthday parties will definitely be happening. My other kids, however, might be disappointed at the opportunity of only having cake once. A spokesperson for the Western Health and Social Care Trust, meanwhile, wished Aine and Eimear well: The Trust has passed on congratulations to both families. This is the man arrested at a plush Belfast city centre tower block accused of online child sex offences. Liam Lewis appeared at the citys Magistrates Court on Saturday. Standing handcuffed in the dock and still wearing the same clothes he was arrested in, the 29-year-old confirmed he understood the three charges against him, allegedly committed between February 14 and March 8. Lewis, from Belgium but with an address at the Obel Tower on Donegall Quay, is accused of attempting to sexually communicate with a child, attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming and attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity. The engineer was arrested by specialist officers in a police operation that saw officers from the armed response unit storm the building with chainsaws to apprehend him while plain-clothed officers watched on around Belfasts tallest building. Specialist officers arrest Liam Lewis at an apartment block in Belfast City Centre. Photo: Kevin Scott for Sunday Life In court today, a detective constable said she believed she could connect Lewis to each of the charges, adding that police were objecting to bail on the grounds of the risk of further offences and the defendant posing a flight risk. She outlined how the PSNI had received an evidential package consisting of a statement and a chat log between the defendant and a profile pertaining to be a 13-year-old girl. The communication, held over Kik and Snapchat during the three weeks of alleged offending, was sexual in nature and there was an arrangement to meet on March 6, said the detective, adding that based on the information police had received, we arrested the defendant. During police interviews Lewis made full admissions to the offences and also revealed himself that he has previous convictions for similar offending in his native Belgium. He was very upfront with us during the interviews, the detective told the court. He said it was the same offences of communicating, arranging to meet and indecent images. As a result, the PSNI raised an enquiry with Interpol but the court heard that has not yet been responded to by the international organisation. Lewis also admitted during interview that he planned to return to Belgium at the end of the month and also that he would travel regularly with work to various different places so police had concerns about the risk of him not turning up. Lewis defence counsel revealed that he has been working in Northern Ireland as an engineer, specialising in windmill blade parts, and his accommodation in the Obel Tower was connected to his work which is scheduled to continue until next year. Specialist officers arrest Liam Lewis at an apartment block in Belfast City Centre. Photo: Kevin Scott for Sunday Life She submitted that as the police had no objections to Lewis going back to the Obel Tower apartment, other conditions could be put in place to mitigate police concerns including the defendant surrendering all of his travel documents. The lawyer also suggested that restrictions could be put on Lewis online access and while he had told her he needs a phone to log time sheets for his work, I have advised that he will have to come to an alternative arrangement with his employers should bail be granted. Granting bail in the sum of 750, District Judge Amanda Henderson attached numerous conditions to the bail order, including a residence condition, an order that Lewis has to surrender all travel documents to the police forthwith and a prohibition on having any access, association or communication with anyone under 16. Adjourning the case to April 5, the judge also banned Lewis from using any social media platform or chat room and ordered that while he can have a mobile phone, he must register the details with the PSNI and allow them access to it. It is disgusting that teachers have to use their own money to buy resources for their classrooms due to a funding crisis, a union leader has said. Ronan Sharkey of the NASUWT also challenged Education Minister Paul Givan after the DUP MLA appeared to suggest industrial action was behind the ongoing instability in the system. Mr Sharkey was addressing the unions conference in La Mon Hotel. It comes as a four-year wait for a pay settlement continues, leaving NI staff behind their GB counterparts and feeling undervalued, disrespected, and neglected. In a recent quote from our Education Minister, he said he is committed to stabilising the education system and this cannot be achieved with the ongoing industrial action, including action short of strike, Mr Sharkey told those gathered. While stability is essential for effective education delivery, framing industrial action as a disruptor fails to acknowledge the benefit it has in giving teachers and school leaders a work-life balance. We are not to blame for political instability, underfunding, the lack of resources in schools, that our universities cannot fill their places for teacher education, and we certainly wont be to blame for putting ourselves and our students first. If you want to blame us on something, blame us for receiving the following headlines since we launched our industrial action: NI pupils top UK GCSE results; NI students significantly outperform GB; NI students secure best A-level grades across UK. Blame us for making Northern Ireland the top across these isles, for championing our children, for standing up and making sure politicians went back to work. Northern Ireland Education Minister Paul Givan takes part in a ceili dance (PA) There was a clear message at the conference that teachers will no longer accept a disturbing trend of budget cuts and austerity measures that have decimated funding of educational services. Healthy Happy Minds, Engage Funding, Period Poverty, Holiday Hunger Payments all gone, Mr Sharkey added. While the funding for these services were cut, the workload wasnt, and without any additional resources or support. Teachers are going to shops and buying resources out of their own money to help resource classrooms this is disgusting. Mr Sharkey also highlighted another crisis devastating our communities and threatening the future of our most vulnerable. Countless children and individuals with special needs are facing insurmountable challenges due to the lack of resourcing, support, training, funding, he said. The erosion of special educational needs and services is threatening the fabric of our schools which are meant to keep these vulnerable children and our members safe. There was also a warning for the Education Authority (EA): We are four years away from the end of the EA 10-year strategic plan. While there is a noble aim of meeting the expectations of parents, principals and partners, there is a glaring gap in meeting the expectations of principals and teachers. Its time to reassess priorities and truly listen to the needs and concerns of those who work in the engine room of education. The Department of Education has been contacted for response. (Photo : (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)) Jim Breyer and Angela Chao attends the AFI Awards Luncheon in Los Angeles in January. Chao, the sister-in-law of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, died in February when her Testa ended up in a pond on her Texas ranch. Angela Chao, the billionaire sister-in-law of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, spent her final moments making frantic calls for help to friends as her Tesla slowly sank in a pond on her sprawling Texas ranch, according to a report. Chao, 50, the CEO of global shipping empire Foremost Group and the sister of former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, had just left friends celebrating the Chinese New Year at a guesthouse on the 900-acre property outside Austin when she accidentally backed the Tesla Model X SUV into the water around 11:30 p.m. Feb. 9, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday. Moments after leaving her guests at the 10-bedroom house known as The Inn to return to the main house to be with her son, Chao attempted to make a three-point turn, but tragedy struck. Chao, panicked, called a friend to say that she had put the car in reverse instead of drive, a mistake she had made before with the electric vehicle's gearshift. The Tesla suddenly shot backward, went over an embankment and landed in the pond. It was sinking fast. The call set off a frenzied attempt to rescue her, as the ranch manager and his wife, paramedics, firefighters and sheriff's deputies scrambled to break the windows in the submerged car. They were racing against the clock. The report said a driver has approximately one minute to get out of a sinking car. In cars like the Tesla Model X, a driver might have only precious seconds to press the button to lower the window before the water level rises too high. At that point, the only way to get out would be to break the window, auto safety experts told the news outlet. After the call, Chao's friends rushed to the scene, and one of them jumped into the water. The ranch manager arrived with his wife. Someone called 911. The first emergency unit from Blanco County arrived in 24 minutes, at about 12:28 a.m. Because of the location, some first responders got out of their vehicles and hiked to the pond. A deputy said the car was submerged and deputies were standing on its roof trying to break into the vehicle. Rescue workers said they needed a dive team, but one wasn't available. A tow truck arrived, but its cable wasn't long enough to stretch to the car. Another tow truck driver was afraid of being electrocuted. When the Tesla was finally pulled from the pond, hundreds of gallons of water poured out. Chao was unresponsive. Attempts to revive her were unsuccessful, according to Ben Oakley, the emergency services chief of Blanco County. The Sheriff's Office, citing the continuing investigation, said it could not provide more information, but said a preliminary investigation indicated it was "an unfortunate accident." The family doesn't blame Tesla, according to the report. Chao and her husband, venture capitalist Jim Breyer, have three Teslas. Tesla did not respond to requests for comment from the Wall Street Journal. PACEMAKER PRESS BELFAST 09-03-24 Dan Kitchener Returns for new Artwork A renowned street artist returns to Belfast for a new piece of work. He was commissioned to work on a new mural on 135 Ormeau Road, depicting the Ormeau Bridge lit up at night and reflected the Lagan River. Photo - Andrew McCarroll, Pacemaker Press A renowned street artist has returned to Northern Ireland after being commissioned to create a new mural in south Belfast. Dank real name Dan Kitchener produces his artwork through freehand spray paint. The Londoners talents have seen him become one of the leading figures in street art, painting huge murals around the world in the States, Hong Kong, Japan and Russia. but his most recent major project has taken place at 135 Ormeau Road. It comes after the Lower Ormeau Road Traders' Association received funding to make the road a more viable business destination. Dans new work depicts the Ormeau Bridge lit up at night and reflected the Lagan River. The mural has been placed at the corner of University Street, with the aim of deterring anti-social behaviour in the area and covering up previous vandalism there. Speaking on the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme earlier in the week, the famed street artist said he "always wants to get the vibe and the feeling" for the site and from people in the area then "try and mix my creative style into that". "It's a window into another world - you want it to not blend in too much that you don't notice it but you obviously don't want it to jar with the environment so much that it terrifies people, so it's a balance - always, he added. Dan has also worked with superstars in the music business including Sir Paul McCartney, Kylie Minogue, Fat Boy Slim and Miley Cyrus. And this isnt his first time producing work in Northern Ireland. Last year, Dan transformed a dilapidated gable wall in Carrickfergus with a mural of the towns castle. 'Belfast - Blurry Eyed' which was commissioned as part of Belfast Culture Night, places a traditional Belfast black taxi in a Japanese street scene, and can be found on Talbot Street. Another colourful work, 'Night Taxi', can be seen on Enfield Street in the city. Dans latest commission here has been funded as part of the Vibrant Business Grant, provided by the Department for Infrastructure and Belfast City Council. It will be officially revealed and celebrated on March 16, as part of the Lower Ormeau Road Traders' Association Spring Festival. PSNI officers have remembered their murdered colleague Stephen Carroll on the 15th anniversary of his death. Mr Carroll (48) was shot dead after terrorists lured police to a call-out in Craigavon on the night of March 9 2009. He was the first police officer to be killed since the formation of the PSNI. Two days earlier, two soldiers on duty at Massereene barracks in Antrim, Mark Quinsey and Patrick Azimkar, were killed by the Real IRA. Today, officers in Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon paid tribute, saying Mr Carroll will be always remembered. Its been 15 years since our colleague Stephen Carroll was murdered, officers said in a social media post. Today we remember a colleague who went to work one day 15 years ago, responded to a call to protect the community and because of the cowardly actions of others, never made it home to his family. Today we are thinking of Stephen, a colleague and friend, and keep his wife Kate and the wider Carroll family in our thoughts. A colleague who was on duty with Mr Carroll on the night of his murder also shared their memories. They recalled: At 9.45pm on March 9 2009, two police cars attended to a call at Lismore Manor in Craigavon. A young woman, her children tucked into bed, was sitting in her home when a brick was thrown through the living room window. This, it transpired, was a deliberate act to lure police into the area. As anyone would, the householder phoned 999. The officers attending knew of an increased threat of an attack in this specific area. More so given the cowardly murder of two young off duty, unarmed soldiers less than 48 hours earlier. They attended this call for help regardless. The first car went to the house. As the second car made to turn in the small cul-de-sac, a burst of automatic gunfire struck the vehicle, fatally wounding my driver, Stephen Carroll. The vermin who carried out this act quickly skulked off into the darkness, their evil deed done. A family robbed of a husband, a son, a brother, a father, a grandfather. A unit robbed of a friend and colleague. Our community robbed of an honest, decent and diligent peeler. Fifteen years gone, always remembered. After Mr Carrolls murder, the then Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde said the PSNI would not be stopped by dissident republicans. The First and deputy First Ministers, Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness, also joined in condemnation. Mr McGuinness branded those responsible traitors to the island of Ireland. Brendan McConville and John Paul Wootton are serving life sentences after being convicted of Mr Carrolls murder. Sex abuse monster Davy Tweed sent sick beyond-the-grave message to victims This was Tweeds way of getting back at the girls. He really was a sick and warped individual Davy Tweed Hugh Jordan Sat 9 Mar 2024 at 15:15 Sex-abuse monster Davy Tweed sent a sick beyond-the-grave message to his victims, the Sunday World can reveal. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland 9th March 2024 An International Womens Day Rally attracted hundreds of people who walked from Writers Square to Belfast City Hall. Those gathered heard from an array of speakers, including the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Ryan Murphy. Picture by Graham Baalham-Curry/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland 9th March 2024 An International Womens Day Rally attracted hundreds of people who walked from Writers Square to Belfast City Hall. Those gathered heard from an array of speakers, including the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Ryan Murphy. Picture by Graham Baalham-Curry/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland 9th March 2024 An International Womens Day Rally attracted hundreds of people who walked from Writers Square to Belfast City Hall. Those gathered heard from an array of speakers, including the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Ryan Murphy. Picture by Graham Baalham-Curry/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland 9th March 2024 An International Womens Day Rally attracted hundreds of people who walked from Writers Square to Belfast City Hall. Those gathered heard from an array of speakers, including the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Ryan Murphy. Picture by Graham Baalham-Curry/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland 9th March 2024 An International Womens Day Rally attracted hundreds of people who walked from Writers Square to Belfast City Hall. Those gathered heard from an array of speakers, including the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Ryan Murphy. Picture by Graham Baalham-Curry/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland 9th March 2024 Compere Emma Campbell. An International Womens Day Rally attracted hundreds of people who walked from Writers Square to Belfast City Hall. Those gathered heard from an array of speakers, including the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Ryan Murphy. Picture by Graham Baalham-Curry/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland 9th March 2024 Mairead Corrigan speaking outside Belfast City Hall. An International Womens Day Rally attracted hundreds of people who walked from Writers Square to Belfast City Hall. Those gathered heard from an array of speakers, including the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Ryan Murphy. Picture by Graham Baalham-Curry/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland 9th March 2024 Alina Gawhary speaking outside Belfast City Hall. An International Womens Day Rally attracted hundreds of people who walked from Writers Square to Belfast City Hall. Those gathered heard from an array of speakers, including the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Ryan Murphy. Picture by Graham Baalham-Curry/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland 9th March 2024 An International Womens Day Rally attracted hundreds of people who walked from Writers Square to Belfast City Hall. Those gathered heard from an array of speakers, including the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Ryan Murphy. Picture by Graham Baalham-Curry/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland 9th March 2024 An International Womens Day Rally attracted hundreds of people who walked from Writers Square to Belfast City Hall. Those gathered heard from an array of speakers, including the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Ryan Murphy. Picture by Graham Baalham-Curry/PressEye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland 9th March 2024 Sarah Griffiths speaking outside Belfast City Hall. An International Womens Day Rally attracted hundreds of people who walked from Writers Square to Belfast City Hall. Those gathered heard from an array of speakers, including the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Ryan Murphy. Picture by Graham Baalham-Curry/PressEye Two people that were due to speak at an event marking International Womens Day in Belfast on Saturday had to withdraw to protect their own peace. The annual rally began at Writers Square on Donegall Street at 11am. Attendees then marched down Royal Avenue to Belfast City Hall with speeches taking place at around 12.30pm. Reclaim The Agenda a coalition of feminist, youth, LGBTQ+ community organisations organised the event, but campaigners told The Belfast Telegraph that two speakers felt forced to pull out of the day. Natalie McNally's family attended the march with a banner stating: Stop Killing Women. Picture by Graham Baalham-Curry/PressEye "One of our speakers felt the need to withdraw because of the increasingly hostile environment experienced by refugees and asylum seekers, said a group spokesperson, confirming on Sunday that the woman in question is a Palestinian refugee. "This woman had powerful messages from her own lived experience and as well as lifting up the voices of the women she organises with from areas such as Palestine, Sudan, Syria and many more. A second speaker, a young LGBTQ+ woman, withdrew after witnessing the vitriolic online abuse directed at another speaker. We will continue to work with this young woman and hope to be able to platform her in the future. Reclaim The Agenda added: We condemn the actions of often faceless people online posting hate speech who are appropriating feminism and aligning themselves with right wing and patriarchal movements. "We are unequivocal that our intersectional feminism not only includes but needs trans women. "We will not allow our movement to be divided. We will not allow women to be silenced. We will also resist any attempts to restrict our right to protest. This years theme for the event in Northern Ireland is Peace and Courage. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland 9th March 2024 Alina Gawhary speaking outside Belfast City Hall. An International Womens Day Rally attracted hundreds of people who walked from Writers Square to Belfast City Hall. Those gathered heard from an array of speakers, including the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Ryan Murphy. Picture by Graham Baalham-Curry/PressEye Hundreds of supporters gathered in the city centre to stand in solidarity with the thousands of women affected by ongoing violence and war in their homelands. Nobel Peace Laureate, Mairead Maguire who has just turned 80 took the platform to call for a peaceful resolution to conflict throughout the world. She became part of the peace movement after three children two of her nephews and one of her nieces were struck and killed by the getaway car of an IRA gunman who was shot by British soldiers in August 1976. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, jointly with Betty Williams, for campaigning against the conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. Afghan artist Alina Gawhary also took the stage to speak. The 20-year-old got her safe passage from Afghanistan to Bangladesh in March 2023 with the help of composer and political activist Sadie Harrison a process that took a year and a half as Alina negotiated her way through Taliban checkpoints to get her passport. The pair are finally going to meet in Belfast - nearly two and a half years after Alina first sent a Facebook message with a photograph of her artwork in flames, burned by the Taliban. The visit was facilitated by Belfast-based organisation Beyond Skin, which has helps Alina sell her paintings throughout the world. Also featured was Northern Ireland womens rights activist Avila Kilmurray and Sarah Griffins known as Wheelie Momma an activist and blogger who writes about being a parent who uses a wheelchair. There was also a tribute to Nora Greer, from Chidambaram Samba band, who had been an active participant of International Womens Day in Northern Ireland for many years and did so much to help women and children. Family members of Natalie McNally the young pregnant Lurgan woman that was murdered in her home in December 2022 were amongst those marching, holding banners calling for an end to violence against women and girls. Helen Crickard of Reclaim The Agenda, said: We chose the theme of Peace and Courage because of the global situation in Gaza, Yemen, Syrian, Ethiopia and so many other places. The women of Northern Ireland have felt the impact of war and the devastation of so many lives lost. We know that it takes courage to call for peace but its only when there is a ceasefire that we can start rebuilding. Women across the world face terrible human rights abuses, poverty and torment through wars that are not of their making. We are calling for a world where conflict is resolved through dialogue and women are safe to reach their potential, have equal access to power and play an active role in society. For all this to happen we must have peace and justice. Adverts for meeting which Paul Girvan was at promised an analysis of the surrender deal Gavin Robinson and Sir Jeffrey Donaldson were criticised from the platform. A DUP MP who attended an anti-protocol rally alongside Jamie Bryson and Jim Allister has now criticised vindictive DUP-bashing at the event. Paul Girvan was among audience members at last nights gathering in Ballyclare, which heard strong criticism of his party. The South Antrim MP was loudly applauded after being welcomed from the platform by Mr Bryson. In a hard-hitting speech, the loyalist activist slammed DUP policy and made personal attacks on the leadership. He branded DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and his deputy, Gavin Robinson, the Laurel and Hardy of local politics. Mr Allister also mocked the party as 'DUP Nua' a reference to some senior figures warm comments on the Irish language during the week. He also warned of a rising against what he branded the sell out brigade at the next election. Gavin Robinson and Sir Jeffrey Donaldson were criticised from the platform. However, in a statement later on Friday evening, Mr Girvan sought to distance himself from the event. He condemned the petty and vindictive attacks made against the DUP, saying it was clear the meeting was designed to divide unionism. His comments appeared on the Paul Girvan MP Facebook page, and a screenshot was shared by the DUPs main Twitter page. It was also shared by the DUPs Facebook page, as well as the official Facebook pages of several MLAs, including Junior Minister Pam Cameron and East Londonderry MLA Maurice Bradley. Mr Girvan wrote: Tonight I attended, for a short time, what was advertised as a public meeting in my constituency. Rather than the meeting being about unionism working together to resolve outstanding issues relating to the protocol, it instead concentrated on bashing the DUP and other unionists. I was totally disappointed to hear the platform being used for petty and vindictive attacks on my DUP colleagues and other fellow unionists. It is clear the meeting was designed to divide unionism and will only serve to boost those who want to see us fail to make Northern Ireland work. The event had been promoted on social media in advance. Posters advertising the anti-protocol meetings One advert headlined it Standing strong on the Union and promising it would be an analysis of the surrender deal. It named Mr Allister and Mr Bryson - two vocal opponents of Januarys agreement to restore Stormont - as the guest speakers. Another described it as an anti-protocol public meeting, adding: Hear the facts with Jim Allister and Jamie Bryson. A third headlined the gathering as Standing strong for the Union, adding: Hear the facts about the deal & the sea border. The DUP and Mr Girvan have been contacted for further comment. During the event at McCalmont Orange Hall, Mr Allister branded the party as 'DUP Nua' the Irish for New DUP. Whatever it takes, obeisance to Irish culture, Irish language, Irish education, DUP Nua will dance to any Sinn Fein tune, the TUV leader said. "As for unionists who dare to care about our detachment from the UK and object to NIs increasing alignment with the Republic, they are dismissed as dead end unionists. "Well, the rising of dead end unionists on polling day will give the sell out brigade a reality check. Mr Bryson warned DUP MPs they will face electoral challenges from hardline unionist candidates at the general election unless they admit the Irish Sea Border still exists and pledge not to implement it. He also said the Chuckle Sisters routine of Michelle ONeill and Emma Little-Pengelly was not playing well with unionist grassroots. Mr Bryson was strongly critical of the deal which saw devolution restored last month. The DUP had blocked a functioning executive and assembly since February 2022 in protest at post-Brexit trade arrangements. Mr Bryson said it was futile to "pretend the Irish Sea border has gone, despite the Governments Command Paper which Sir Jeffrey has said removes checks on goods moving within the UK and remaining in Northern Ireland. Jamie Bryson criticised the DUP at Friday night's rally. The only people in Northern Ireland who thought there was no Irish Sea border were Sir Jeffrey and Mr Robinson, he claimed. Mr Bryson did praise Ms Little-Pengelly for refusing to say the border had gone and giving a more honest assessment at least measured against the leaderships tall tales. Mr Bryson had stood on anti-protocol platforms with Sir Jeffrey in the two years while Stormont was not functioning. He has now challenged the DUP leader to debate with himself and Mr Allister. Jeffrey wont come and debate these issues with us. Why not? Mr Bryson told last nights rally. He was good enough to don his sash and stand on platforms. Now he makes Doug Beattie look like a hardliner. The problem for the DUP leadership is that they have put trouble in the post for themselves. Caribbean leaders have called for an emergency meeting in Jamaica with the United States, Canada and France on Monday to seek a way out of spiralling gang violence in Haiti. Members of the Caricom regional trade bloc have been trying for months to get political actors in Haiti to agree to form an umbrella transitional unity government. So far they have been unsuccessful, and the 15-nation bloc said on Friday that the situation on the ground remains dire. Cars were destroyed outside a police station by armed gangs in Port-au-Prince (AP) On Saturday, police and palace guards worked to retake some streets in Haitis capital Port-au-Prince after gangs launched massive attacks on at least three police stations. Guards from the National Palace accompanied by an armoured truck tried to set up a security perimeter around one of the three central stations after police fought off an attack by gangs late on Friday. Sporadic gunfire continued pm Saturday, and one woman writhed in pain on the pavement in Port-au-Prince with a gunshot wound after a stray bullet hit her in the leg. The unrelenting gang attacks have paralysed the country for more than a week and left it with dwindling supplies of basic goods. Haitian officials extended a state of emergency and nightly curfew on Thursday as gangs continued to attack key state institutions. The Caricom statement said that while regional leaders remain deeply engaged in trying to bring opposition parties and civil society groups together to form a unity government, the stakeholders are not yet where they need to be. Pedestrians run for cover after hearing gunshots in the capital (AP) The statement added: We are acutely aware of the urgent need for consensus to be reached. We have impressed on the respective parties that time is not on their side in agreeing to the way forward. From our reports, the situation on the ground remains dire and is of serious concern to us. It is vital that this engagement be at as high a level as possible to send a clear message of unity between Caricom and the international community as we work together to provide the critical support to the Haitian people at this time of crisis for them, said the statement. In February, embattled Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry agreed to hold general elections by mid-2025, and the international community has tried to find some foreign armed force willing to fight gang violence there. A woman lies on the pavement as she mourns a family member shot dead by unknown assailants (AP) Caricom has also pushed Mr Henry to announce a powersharing, consensus government in the meantime, but he is yet to do so even as Haitian opposition parties and civil society groups are demanding his resignation. Mr Henry, a neurosurgeon, was appointed Prime Minister after the early July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise. It is unclear whether Mr Henry will be in Jamaica. He had travelled to Kenya to push for the UN-backed deployment of a police force from the East African country to fight gangs in Haiti. A Kenyan court, however, ruled in January that such a deployment would be unconstitutional. Mr Henry, who is facing calls to resign or form a transitional council, remains unable to return home. He arrived in Puerto Rico on Tuesday after he was unable to land in the Dominican Republic, which borders Haiti. The Dominican government said he lacked a required flight plan as they closed their countrys airspace with Haiti. Jamie Bryson is back talking big. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson may think hes ahead in the battle for hearts and minds of unionist voters, but the loyalist insists the fight is far from concluded. This isnt over, and believe you me the pressure is going to continue to boil. I for one will be gleefully turning up the thermostat, Bryson told a meeting in Ballyclares Orange hall on Friday night. Hes warning DUP MPs who refuse to admit the Irish Sea border exists and pledge not to implement it that theyll face an electoral challenge in this years Westminster election. Children in Northern Ireland with nut allergies are missing out compared to their counterparts in the rest of the UK, an MLA has claimed. The Alliance Partys Peter McReynolds said he was shocked to learn one in 50 kids here had some kind of nut allergy. He warned that Palforzia, a drug used reduce the severity of reactions, was not fairly distributed and called on Health Minister Robin Swann to act. A mother from east Belfast whose son has a severe nut allergy brought the matter to Mr McReynolds attention. She was concerned about the impact that lack of access to the drug could have on the future of her five-year-old son, he said. She and her husband face fear and worry daily. Her son has experienced swollen eyes and lips, has had his face covered with blotches and has been hospitalised due to anaphylactic shock. According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, Palforzia improves tolerance to peanut protein and boosts quality of life. Mr McReynolds said: Children in Northern Ireland are missing out compared with children in the rest of the UK and, indeed, many other children across the globe. (The drug is distributed) on a case-by-case basis by consultants, despite parents concerns, the evidence confirming the drugs efficacy and its support from the medical sector and even permanent secretaries during the recent Stormont collapse. Everyone knows Palforzia works and the benefits it brings. Its full introduction is needed in Northern Ireland. I call on the minister of health to do what he can to make Palforzia more widely available for the families and children who so desperately need it. The Department of Health said it was committed to introducing a local service for distribution of the drug. It added: Work is ongoing to agree the most appropriate delivery model. In the interim, the regime is available on a case-by-case basis for eligible patients. Video Irish premier tells Biden: It is possible to be for Israel and for Palestine Environmental activists Jhed Tamano (left) and Jonila Castro arrive at the Court of Appeals in Manila, Feb. 22, 2024. In September, environmentalists Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano planned to take a nighttime bus ride to Orion village along Manila Bay in the Philippines to protest construction threatening to displace residents. As Castro and Tamano prepared to board, a military SUV raced up from behind and a half dozen masked men jumped out to seize the pair. The women, who are around 5 feet tall and in their early 20s, cried for help and tried to fight back. But they said they were quickly overpowered, tied up, blindfolded, gagged and shoved inside the vehicle to be whisked away to an unknown location. I was actually thinking while we were in the car, Oh, its my end, Castro, 23, told Radio Free Asia, a news service affiliated with BenarNews. Its a fear environmental activists across Southeast Asia can relate to. Instances of harassment and abuse similar to Castros and Tamanos ordeal occur with regularity in the region, even as countries seek massive foreign investments to help them deal with the growing threat of climate change. The two young activists are, in fact, among the lucky ones. They were eventually released and have continued their work, though they face defamation charges for saying the military is responsible for their abduction. The London-based NGO Global Witness said 281 activists in the Philippines have been killed since 2012. In 2022, at least 16 environmentalists were killed in Asia, including 11 in the Philippines and three in Indonesia. In addition, environmentalists are under threat in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Defending the environment is a very dangerous activity in Southeast Asia, said Lia Mai Torres, the head of the secretariat at the Manila-based Asia Pacific Network of Environment Defenders. We have enforced disappearances. We have bombings in our communities and militarization. We have killings of farmers and indigenous people just for working on their land. Work proceeds on a land reclamation project in Pasay on Manila Bay, Feb. 14, 2024. [Subel Rai Bhandari/RFA] Red-tagging Castro and Tamano worked with AKAP KA Manila Bay, advocating for coastal communities in Bataan province facing displacement from land reclamation. The area surrounding the bays more than 770 square miles (2,000 square km) features the countrys largest cargo shipping hub, expanding commercial activity, including a rising number of tourism-focused businesses, and new construction of upscale residences. The two women say the development is having a devastating effect on the people of Bulacan province, where they grew up. Dredging has slashed fish catches, destroyed mangroves and forced more than 700 families to move. It has also increased flooding, including in inland areas. Philippine military officials have denied any involvement in the pairs abduction, asserting instead that they were taken by the leftist New Peoples Army. They kept on linking our organization to the communist organization, Castro said. Whatever we said, it did not matter. The activists said they were freed 17 days after their capture when they agreed to voluntarily surrender to military authorities as communists. In the Philippines, this widely used tactic is known as red-tagging and is used to undermine or silence dissent. Both Tamano and Castro said they would continue their environmental activism, despite the threat. Houayheuang Muay Xayabouly, shown in these undated photos, was sentenced to five years in prison after helping flood victims in Laos and making allegations of corruption. [Citizen journalist] Quiet support In Laos, Joseph Akaravong was forced to flee the country when police issued a warrant for his arrest after he posted videos of villagers complaining about lost land to a hydropower dam. Houayheuang Muay Xayabouly remains jailed after helping flood victims and alleging corruption. In Laos, you will not find publicly open environmental rights defenders anymore, said Emilie Palamy Pradichit, founder and executive director of Manushya Foundation, a Bangkok-based feminist human rights organization. Everybody is very paranoid and were very, very scared of repercussions by the government. In neighboring Cambodia, authorities in Preah Vihear province allegedly forced activist Hiem Kimhong to sign a statement on Feb. 27 agreeing not to criticize them in interviews with RFAs Khmer Service. He has helped villagers fight to keep their land from developers and criticized local officials for their apparent inaction. If authorities cant resolve the issue and people still complain, I will echo them, he said. I am not afraid. Phuon Keo Keoraksmey is another Cambodian environmentalist who has been targeted by the government. In 2020, she joined Mother Nature Cambodia, a youth-led environmental movement. Several of its activists have been arrested and its founder, Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, was forced to flee the country. Keoraksmey herself was detained four months after joining the group while marching to the prime ministers residence to protest against development around the Boeung Tamok Lak in Phnom Penh. She ended up serving 14 months for incitement. Upon her release in 2021, Keoraksmey resumed her activism despite facing a second trial on plotting charges. If found guilty, she could be sentenced to 10 years. Keoraksmey said she takes strength in the quiet support from members of her community. She said more people would speak out but for fear of being punished by their government. Phuon Keo Keoraksmey protests at an environmental rally in Phnom Penh in an undated photo. [Provided by Phuon Keoraksmey] Occasionally, local river vendors give me clams for free, Keoraksmey said. When I ask why, they say they admire my work and want to support our cause in their own way. Lao and Cambodian officials did not immediately respond to RFA requests for comment. Mixed messages The arrests and harassment come as the region is facing a grave threat in climate change. Roughly 77% of the people in Southeast Asia live along its 234,000-km coastline. Many are susceptible to rapidly rising sea levels and more frequent extreme weather events. The areas resource-dependent economies also make them vulnerable to climate shifts. The Asian Development Bank said Southeast Asia faces larger potential losses from climate change than most regions, noting the regions GDP could fall by 11% by the end of this century. The Philippines, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam are among the top 20 globally for climate-related loss events between 2000 and 2019, according to a study published in 2021. And yet in Vietnam authorities have arrested at least 12 people with a history of environmental activism, mainly on what critics said are bogus tax evasion charges, according to rights group The 88 Project. Many of the activists had actually helped Hanoi develop its climate policy, which is widely regarded as ambitious and has attracted tens of billions of dollars in international support. Pradichit at the Manushya Foundation said repressive governments such as Vietnams exploit environmentalists to secure grants from developed countries and international financial institutions. But once they secured the funding, Pradichit said, the government puts them in jail. A fisherman organizes his net in Malate on Manila Bay, Feb. 13, 2024. [Subel Rai Bhandari/RFA] She said the activists are not necessarily pro-democracy or anti-state, but authorities fear them for the type of open policy making they endorse. They emphasize public participation, access to information and consideration of environmental concerns in addition to profit. A spokesperson for Vietnams Public Security Ministry said there is absolutely no truth to the claim the country is targeting environmental activists. A worrying rise In December, Vietnam signed a deal for U.S. $15.5 billion in funds to transition away from fossil fuels under the Just Energy Transition Partnerships where wealthy countries help poorer ones prepare for climate change. Ironically, the push for clean energy in some cases contributes to pollution problems activists are fighting against. A mining boom of minerals needed for batteries including lithium, nickel and cobalt has incentivized extractivist development models that put frontline communities at risk, according to Hanna Hindstrom, a senior investigator at Global Witness. She said she has seen a worrying rise in the criminalization of environmental campaigners in the region. Donor countries for the Just Energy Transition Partnerships and similar projects should require governments to adhere to certain basic human rights and include local and indigenous communities in their project development efforts, Hindstrom said. We cannot have just transitions without protecting environmental defenders, she said. Activists have appealed to donor countries to pressure governments to stop abusing environmental advocates, but to little avail, said Torres of the Asia Pacific Network of Environment Defenders in Manila. When you speak in front of an audience, in meetings with diplomats, they always say that they sympathize with environmental defenders, that they want to improve the situation, Torres told RFA. But I think whats lacking here is the political will to actually do something. She said countries are reluctant to press the issue for fear of damaging their diplomatic relationships. Environmental activists Jhed Tamano (middle left) and Jonila Castro (middle right) speak to reporters outside the Court of Appeals in Manila, Feb. 22, 2024. [Gerard Carreon/BenarNews] A hard job made harder Filipinas Castro and Tamano spent eight days in captivity without their friends and family knowing what had happened to them. Eventually, Tamano said, they were forced to act as if they had voluntarily surrendered at a military camp in Bulacan. In February, the countrys Supreme Court issued a protection order and said their captivity was a clear violation of their rights. But the Philippines Department of Justice recommended the two face defamation charges for taking advantage of the benevolence of the [Philippine military] to embarrass and put them in a bad light. Instead of listening and working with environmentalists, the government is threatening and attacking its own people, Castro said. Obviously, facing climate change and environmental problems is hard, but it became harder because of the repression of the government. (Photo : by AFP via Getty Images)) Members of the Yemeni Coast Guard affiliated with the Houthis patrol near the Red Sea port city of Hodeida in January. The Iranian-backed rebel have been attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea region in support of Hamas in their fight with Israel in Gaza. American and allied military forces shot down more than a dozen Houthi drones in the Gulf of Aden overnight Friday into Saturday after the Iranian-backed militant group targeted a U.S. destroyer and a Singapore-flagged ship, according to reports. U.S. Navy ships and aircraft downed 15 bomb-carrying drones in the waterway, U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Saturday. The Houthis, who have said they are menacing shipping in the Red Sea area in solidarity with Hamas' fight against Israeli forces in Gaza, targeted the Propel Fortune freighter on Friday, the Associated Press reported. The ship continued on its way. "The missiles did not impact the vessel," the U.S. military said. "There were no injuries or damages reported." The Houthis, who have been attacking ships since November, confirmed they were behind the assault on the Propel Fortune. Houthi spokesman Yahya Sarea said the group targeted the cargo ship and "a number of U.S. war destroyers at the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with 37 drones." U.S., British and French forces downed dozens of drones in response, according to Reuters. Fighter jets and a warship belonging to France shot down four of the drones that were heading toward ships in the region, Reuters reported, citing the French army. "This defensive action directly contributed to the protection of the cargo ship True Confidence, under the Barbados flag, which was struck on March 6 and is being towed, as well as other commercial vessels transiting in the area," the statement said. A Houthi missile struck the commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, killing three crew members. BENNINGTON At the request of Rep. Mary Morrissey, R-Bennington, a public information session on planned changes at the nursing facility formerly known as the Bennington Health and Rehabilitation Center has been scheduled for April 1. Morrissey said the meeting, expected to begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Bennington Firehouse meeting room, will give members of the public a chance to hear from the new owners and ask questions. The nursing home on Blackberry Lane off Dewey Street is in the process of being purchased by the iCare Health Network, a skilled nursing and long-term care provider based in Connecticut. Morrissey and Town Manager Stuart Hurd said officials with the Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging, & Independent Living are currently expected to attend the meeting, along with staff from iCare Health Network. Because patients living in the new facility will have very challenging care needs, Morrissey said she has pushed for a public information session to allow area residents to ask questions and express concerns. She said she has received a number of calls from constituents with concerns and seeking answers. Hopefully, fears, if there are fears out there, can be resolved, she said, adding, I also wanted an opportunity for [the state and the care provider] to be heard. Morrissey has been critical of state officials for providing too little information about the pending changes since iCare Health Network was selected to operate the facility through a request for proposal process last fall. State request The company was selected to provide focused care for Vermonters with complex, specialized needs. The state had determined there were more than 100 individuals placed elsewhere including Vermonters currently placed in other states who would benefit from more specialized care. The new facility will be called MissionCare at Bennington and be part of the iCare Health Network, operating as a specialized long-term care center. The network currently operates similar facilities in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The 93-bed capacity nursing home on Blackberry Lane has in recent years been operated as the Bennington Health and Rehabilitation Center by the Genesis healthcare network. Sale pending Asked Friday if the property has been purchased or a closing date confirmed, iCare Health Network Vice President of Business Development and Communications David Skoczulek said a closing date has not been confirmed on the sale agreement. We do not yet have a closing date or a date for assumption of operations, which the two will coincide, he said. We are awaiting some final steps from the state. Skoczulek added, The plan is for an April 1 informational session in Bennington at the [firehouse], and I believe that Commissioner [Megan] Tierney-Ward plans on being there as well. I cant confirm that but it was indicated to me. The Mission Care at Bennington website has information about the company and how to schedule an in-person tour of the facility. That can be done by calling 802-442-8525 or emailing info@icarehn.com. Skoczulek said people also can contact him with questions or concerns, at 860-250-3075, or via email at info@icarehn.com. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close The United States and Europe are focusing on opening a sea route to bring humanitarian aid into Gaza as alarm grows over the spread of hunger among the besieged territorys 2.3 million people Lenox native James Brooke has traveled to about 100 countries reporting for The New York Times, Bloomberg and Voice of America. He reported from Russia for eight years and from Ukraine for six years. Jesus R. Garcia is an award-winning automotive journalist from South Texas. Hes a lifelong automotive enthusiast and classic car collector who grew up on a family ranch in Laredo, Texas. After graduating from the University of Texas at San Antonio, he decided to combine his passion for cars and talent for writing into a viable career in automotive journalism. Growing up in a rural setting gave him a unique perspective on the automotive landscape, which influenced his work. His cowboy writing style and creativity have landed him bylines in automotive websites like The Drive and Motorious and earned him several Excellence in Craft awards for video and online publication hosted by the Texas Auto Writers Association, of which he was the youngest member in the organizations history when he joined at the age of 23. As of 2024, he is the youngest serving board member to become President of the Texas Motor Press Association. While Jesus is a fan of anything related to transportation, including steam trains, motorcycles, and aviation, his favorite subculture of vehicles are classic American cars from the late 1960s and early 1970s, of which he owns several, including a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, 1970 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS454 and a 1971 Cadillac Eldorado. A woman shops at Lucky Ranch Style during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at NRG Park, Friday, March 8, 2024, in Houston. The small businesses won grand champion for retail division-small from the rodeo committee of commercial exhibits. Jason Fochtman/Staff photographer The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo hosts more than 300 vendors from across Texas and the country including 18 newcomers this year from a pool of 400 to 500 applicants. Here are a few of the first-time vendors. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Lucky Ranch Style Apparel at Lucky Ranch Style is seen during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at NRG Park, Friday, March 8, 2024, in Houston. The small businesses won grand champion for retail division-small from the rodeo committee of commercial exhibits. Jason Fochtman/Staff photographer Shoes for sale are seen at Lucky Ranch Style during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at NRG Park, Friday, March 8, 2024, in Houston. The small businesses won grand champion for retail division-small from the rodeo committee of commercial exhibits. Jason Fochtman/Staff photographer Cindy Craighead, owner of Lucky Ranch Style, thanks a customer for her business during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at NRG Park, Friday, March 8, 2024, in Houston. Craigheads businesses won grand champion for retail division-small from the rodeo committee of commercial exhibits. Jason Fochtman/Staff photographer A woman shops at Lucky Ranch Style during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at NRG Park, Friday, March 8, 2024, in Houston. The small businesses won grand champion for retail division-small from the rodeo committee of commercial exhibits. Jason Fochtman/Staff photographer For Lucky Ranch Style, coming to Rodeo Houston this year was a lucky break after applying for at least four years. Owner Cindy Craighead found out two weeks before the rodeo that she could fill a last-minute opening. Its debut also brought a surprise: Lucky Ranch Style was awarded Grand Champion for best booth presentation among small retail booths by a rodeo committee. Started in 2014 in Weatherford, west of Fort Worth, the traveling boutique visits mostly horse shows. Its products include handmade merchandise, such as shoes painted by Craighead's niece, Brailey Shaye Murray. The family has long been on the horse show circuit: Craighead's husband is a former horse trainer and current competition judge. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "We had a nice, good show, and we were hooked to go on. And then we've been going to shows ever since," Craighead said of her first show in Fort Worth. Will Lowe rides Hangover during the Super Series I, round 3 of Rodeo Houston at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at NRG Park on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Houston. Karen Warren/Staff photographer The Barrel Road The Barrel Road sells products such as signs, charcuterie boards and cigar holders made of repurposed whisky and wine barrels. Co-owners Rhonda and her husband, David Mokerski, in Richmond have sold goods on the rodeo circuit since 2018. At a Dallas trade show, Rhonda found the works of carpenter Bryan Endsley and his father, Gary Endsley, based in Dallas-Fort Worth. The Mokerskis started The Barrel Road with those works in 2022. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "When I work with this carpenter, I work with him and I'm kind of helping him. We kind of create together what we're going to make. And that's what we take to the different shows. And it's really turning out well for us," Mokerski said. People visit the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on Sunday, March 3, 2024, at NRG Center in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer Vntg Sply Vntg Sply is a vintage clothes market that sells by the pound, and its sister business, Centrl Sply, curates products from recognizable brands, like popular sneakers. For vintage clothing, the business sorts through clothes from so-called rag houses local warehouses with old clothes, said Cristian Crespo, manager at Centrl Sply. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Vntg Sply has a store on Richmond Avenue, while Centrl Sply is in the Post Oak Shopping Center. Crespo, a University of Houston student, said he has long been interested in sneaker culture. "First time stepping in, it felt like I was in paradise," Crespo said. "I've always loved connecting with individuals. And, in this case, for me, sneakers is the easiest way I can do that, or even clothing." Yellow Rose Tack and Supplies Yellow Rose Tack and Supplies founder Amy Edwards has horse riding in her blood, being the third generation of her family involved in the equestrian industry. Edwards, of Temple, worked in a tack shop for 15 years in Pennsylvania, moved to Texas in 2014 and started her mobile tack shop in 2018. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In April, Edwards will open a 4,000-square-foot store in Cameron, southeast of Temple. "Meeting new customers I love that the best," Edwards said. "I get to find so many people from all over the U.S. and different horses that they may have, and different breeds they may have, what they're doing with their horses, and just different training techniques." Double Trouble Boutique Identical twins Alexandra and Allison Garcia, 28, founders of clothing retailer Double Trouble Boutique, learned in February they had been chosen for this year's rodeo. In only their second year of applying, they said they felt lucky to be accepted after hearing from vendors who had been applying for years. The sisters, from Hebbronville in South Texas, hurried from the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo in February to set up their booth in Houston a day before the rodeo opened. Inspired by Future Farmers of America convention vendors, they started selling graphic tees as high schoolers. They founded Double Trouble Boutique in 2016 while at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Today, they have locations in Hebbronville and Floresville, southeast of San Antonio. "We always knew, again, going back to FFA and seeing all those vendors, that we wanted to do shows also," Allison said. "And we did. We made it. We're finally here." The Tanaiste chatted with voters about the referendums on Friday as well as the Oscar chances of 'local boy Cillian Murphy who is nominated in the Best Actor category at the Oscars this weekend for his role in Oppenheimer. He paused to examine a questionnaire Cillian Murphy had filled out for past pupils in the national school which he attended in the 1980s. Advertisement Cillian told the youngsters that he attended the school from 1982 to 1988 having moved from Dublin. His biggest challenge was trying to understand the Cork accent." He said he wasnt very good at maths and that although both his parents were teachers and his grandfather a headmaster, he had never wanted to follow in their footsteps. I knew from an early age what a hard profession it is, and how much dedication you need. I dont think I ever had the vocation. Advertisement Mr Martin, who is a former teacher, admitted that he was awaiting the outcome of the Oscars with bated breath. Advertisement I heard him (Cillian Murphy) this morning on Morning Ireland and I just said to the principal that it would be a great win for St Anthonys. The first Oscar for St Anthonys. "When I was Minister for Education I worked with Cillians father who was a school inspector. At that time school inspectors would create class speeches for Ministers of Education when you went to schools around the country. I had a very close friendship with the inspectorate in Cork. "I met him (his father) recently. It is fabulous for the family. They are a very modest family and I think all of Cork are waiting with bated breath and we are wishing him the best. "(Oppenheimer) is one of those films that will stand the test of time. I think it merits the Oscar award. Advertisement "When you look back to his career it is testimony to the importance of supporting the Arts at the early stages. Mr Martin said that he found himself in agreement with the actor on a number of issues including supporting the arts and on the subject of his favourite Cork man. I am in 100 percent agreement with Cillian in terms of his favourite Cork man in terms of Roy Keane. I might add (hurling manager and former hurler) Jimmy Barry Murphy. Ireland has voted to reject Government proposals to change the Constitution that would have removed the so-called woman in the home clause and widened the definition of family. The public rejected the proposed changes on family, with 67 per cent of people voting against the amendment. Advertisement The proposed changes to care were also overwhelmingly defeated, with 73 per cent voting against it. Advertisement The referendum returning officer Barry Ryan made the official declarations at Dublin Castle on Saturday evening. Turnout for the referenda was 44.36 per cent, a significant drop from the abortion referendum in 2018 which saw a turnout of 64 per cent. Senator Michael McDowell celebrates with No campaigners (Damien Storan/PA) Advertisement Earlier, the Taoiseach said it was clear that the referenda to change the Constitution in Ireland had been defeated comprehensively. Leo Varadkar said the electorate had given the Government two wallops as he conceded from early on Saturday that the proposals for change had been rejected. Advertisement The boxes were opened at 9am after the public went to the polls on Friday to vote on whether to change the wording of the Constitution relating to the areas of family and care. Advertisement Taoiseach Leo Varadkar speaking to the media at Dublin Castle (Damien Storan/PA) The high number of no votes signalled an embarrassing defeat for the Government. Speaking at Dublin Castle, Mr Varadkar said: I think its clear at this stage that the family amendment and the care amendment referendums have been defeated, defeated comprehensively on a respectable turnout. The Government accepts the results and will respect it fully. Advertisement As head of Government, on behalf of the Government, we accept responsibility for the results. It was our responsibility to convince a majority of people to vote yes and we clearly failed to do so. I think we struggle to convince people of the necessity or need for the referendum at all, let alone detail on the wording. Roderic OGorman accepted the Government had not persuaded people to vote yes-yes (Damien Storan/PA) Thats obviously something were going to have to reflect on into the weeks ahead. What I do want to say to people, though, is that when it comes to the work of Government, in relation to gender equality, in relation to improving conditions for carers, in relation to giving rights for people with disabilities, that work will continue. Advertisement Mr Varadkar also admitted the Irish Government clearly got it wrong. I think Enda Kenny (former taoiseach) famously said once that the electorate often gives the Government a wallop this is two wallops, he added. Well, look, clearly we got it wrong. Childrens Minister Roderic OGorman said the Government was not successful in convincing the public of its arguments to change the Constitution. The Government has to make the case, and its clear that throughout this campaign issues were raised, issues that I think were incorrect interpretations that I and Government believe were incorrect, Mr OGorman said. Mr Varadkar said the Government had been given two wallops by the electorate (Damien Storan/PA) But we werent successful in convincing people that our arguments were strong. I think it has to be acknowledged that the departure from the wording of the Citizens Assembly meant that some of those NGOs and civil society organisations, who would have been supportive originally, didnt feel they could support and (didnt) feel they could campaign to the same degree. I think that was certainly an element. Finally, I think the people didnt see the urgency of the change here in terms of the repeal campaign, where there was a clear outcome the day after the yes vote and in the case of marriage equality, where there was a clear outcome the day of the vote. Advertisement People didnt get that sense of the need for change here. I think that was another factor. The result of the referendums on family and care is clear. The majority were not persuaded by the arguments for changing the Constitution in this way. It is a core strength of our Constitution that the people have the final say. We fully respect their decision. (1/3) Micheal Martin (@MichealMartinTD) March 9, 2024 Tanaiste Micheal Martin said the majority of the public were not persuaded by the arguments for changing the Constitution. The result of the referendums on family and care is clear, Mr Martin said in a statement. The majority were not persuaded by the arguments for changing the Constitution in this way. It is a core strength of our Constitution that the people have the final say. We fully respect their decision. There is no single reason why these proposals were rejected and, like all who supported them, we will reflect on this over time. Members of the public arrive at the polling station in scoil Treasa Naofa on Donore Avenue, Dublin, on Friday (Gareth Chaney/PA) Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said her party is very much in touch with the Irish public despite the result. Her party advocated for a yes-yes vote in Irelands ballot on family and care. Advertisement No, were very, very much in touch with people, and youll recall that I said from the get-go, that we were very much in favour of removing sexist language from the Constitution, very much in favour of an inclusive definition of families, Ms McDonald said on Saturday. But we knew that the Government did come up short in terms of the caring wording. They disregarded the Citizens Assembly, they didnt consult with opposition or with other stakeholders. They didnt collaborate, and they failed to convince. I know, talking to lots of people, that people were left with an unbalanced decision to make and I think its a great pity that the Government went on this kind of solo run, and theyve had their answer. I dont think there has been a lack of clarity for people, I think people when they came out and voted were very clear how they were voting and why they were voting in a particular way. Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald speaking to the media at Dublin Castle (Damien Storan/PA) If there is one big takeaway message from this, it is that support for people with disabilities as full and equal citizens and support for carers is something that has to be taken seriously by Government. Advertisement I think itll fall to the next government to vindicate those rights. Ms McDonald said Sinn Fein will return to consideration of the sexist language in Irelands Constitution if the party is in the next government. Senator Michael McDowell, a former tanaiste and ex-justice minister, who campaigned for a no-no vote, said the move had represented unwise social experimentation with the Constitution. Mr McDowell, who was part of the Lawyers For No group, said: I trust individual voters. They looked at what was being put before them and they said no. Many of them will have a slightly different perspective as to why they were voting no, but in the end we live in a republic and the sovereign power is the people, and every individual vote is as good as anybody elses vote, and this is an emphatic repudiation of what I think was unwise social experimentation with the Constitution. Labour leader Ivana Bacik defended her partys decision to back a yes-yes vote. I do think and it is clear that it is the Governments responsibility, because the Government needs to explain to the people first why it chose and proceeded with wording that was so distinctly different from the wording that our Oireachtas committee on gender equality has proposed, wording that cross-parties had supported, she added. Ireland Government's referendum campaign labelled 'mistime... Read More Why did they not go out more assertively and sell it to the people? Because what we saw from Government, particularly in the last few weeks as the no side was gaining ground, we saw a lacklustre campaign from Government. The family amendment proposed extending the meaning of family beyond one defined by marriage and to include those based on durable relationships. The care amendment proposed deleting references to a womans roles and duties in the home, and replacing it with a new article that acknowledges family carers. Ireland has voted to reject the Governments proposal to change the Constitution on family, with 67 per cent of people voting against the amendment. The referendum returning officer Barry Ryan made the official declaration at Dublin Castle just before 7pm. Advertisement Turnout for the referenda was 44.36 per cent, a significant drop from the abortion referendum in 2018 which saw a turnout of 64 per cent. The declaration on the care referendum is expected on Saturday evening. Advertisement Earlier, the Taoiseach said it was clear that the referenda to change the Constitution in Ireland has been defeated comprehensively. Leo Varadkar said the electorate has given the Government two wallops as the final counts of the two Constitution referenda continued with defeat looking likely in each. Tallies show there was a significant no vote in both questions, with some constituencies polling particularly high against the Governments referenda. Advertisement The boxes were opened at 9am after the public went to the polls on Friday to vote on whether to change the wording of the Constitution relating to the areas of family and care. Advertisement Taoiseach Leo Varadkar speaking to the media at Dublin Castle (Damien Storan/PA) Early tallies showed a strong support for no votes, signalling an embarrassing defeat for the Government. Speaking at Dublin Castle, Mr Varadkar said: I think its clear at this stage that the family amendment and the care amendment referendums have been defeated, defeated comprehensively on a respectable turnout. Advertisement The Government accepts the results and will respect it fully. As head of Government, on behalf of the Government, we accept responsibility for the results. It was our responsibility to convince a majority of people to vote yes and we clearly failed to do so. I think we struggle to convince people of the necessity or need for the referendum at all, let alone detail on the wording. Advertisement Roderic OGorman accepted the Government had not persuaded people to vote yes-yes (Damien Storan/PA) Thats obviously something were going to have to reflect on into the weeks ahead. What I do want to say to people, though, is that when it comes to the work of Government, in relation to gender equality, in relation to improving conditions for carers, in relation to giving rights for people with disabilities, that work will continue. Advertisement Mr Varadkar also admitted the Irish Government clearly got it wrong. I think Enda Kenny (former taoiseach) famously said once that the electorate often gives the Government a wallop this is two wallops, he added. Well, look, clearly we got it wrong. Childrens Minister Roderic OGorman said the Government was not successful in convincing the public of its arguments to change the Constitution. The Government has to make the case, and its clear that throughout this campaign issues were raised, issues that I think were incorrect interpretations that I and Government believe were incorrect, Mr OGorman said. The results of both votes are expected later on Saturday (Damien Storan/PA) But we werent successful in convincing people that our arguments were strong. I think it has to be acknowledged that the departure from the wording of the Citizens Assembly meant that some of those NGOs and civil society organisations, who would have been supportive originally, didnt feel they could support and (didnt) feel they could campaign to the same degree. I think that was certainly an element. Finally, I think the people didnt see the urgency of the change here in terms of the repeal campaign, where there was a clear outcome the day after the yes vote and in the case of marriage equality, where there was a clear outcome the day of the vote. Advertisement People didnt get that sense of the need for change here. I think that was a another factor. The result of the referendums on family and care is clear. The majority were not persuaded by the arguments for changing the Constitution in this way. It is a core strength of our Constitution that the people have the final say. We fully respect their decision. (1/3) Micheal Martin (@MichealMartinTD) March 9, 2024 Tanaiste Micheal Martin said the majority of the public were not persuaded by the arguments for changing the Constitution. The result of the referendums on family and care is clear, Mr Martin said in a statement. The majority were not persuaded by the arguments for changing the Constitution in this way. It is a core strength of our Constitution that the people have the final say. We fully respect their decision. There is no single reason why these proposals were rejected and, like all who supported them, we will reflect on this over time. Transport Minister Eamon Ryan conceded early in the count that the Government lost. Its clear we lost, Mr Ryan said. When it was put to the Green Minister that the Government did not get the result it wanted, he said: No, we didnt. Advertisement Members of the public arrive at the polling station in scoil Treasa Naofa on Donore Avenue, Dublin, on Friday (Gareth Chaney/PA) There was a low turnout reported throughout the day, with less than 30 per cent in some areas. There was a slight uplift at polling stations as people made their home on Friday evening. However, it is thought that numbers remained lower compared to previous referenda. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said her party is very much in touch with the Irish public, despite tallies showing the two referenda will be defeated. Her party advocated for a yes-yes vote in Irelands ballot on family and care. No, were very, very much in touch with people, and youll recall that I said from the get-go, that we were very much in favour of removing sexist language from the Constitution, very much in favour of an inclusive definition of families, Ms McDonald said on Saturday. But we knew that the Government did come up short in terms of the caring wording. They disregarded the Citizens Assembly, they didnt consult with opposition or with other stakeholders. They didnt collaborate, and they failed to convince. I know, talking to lots of people, that people were left with an unbalanced decision to make and I think its a great pity that the Government went on this kind of solo run, and theyve had their answer. Advertisement I dont think there has been a lack of clarity for people, I think people when they came out and voted were very clear how they were voting and why they were voting in a particular way. Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald speaking to the media at Dublin Castle (Damien Storan/PA) If there is one big takeaway message from this, it is that support for people with disabilities as full and equals citizens and support for carers is something that has to be taken seriously by Government. I think itll fall to the next government to vindicate those rights. Ms McDonald said Sinn Fein will return to consideration the sexist language in Irelands Constitution if the party is in the next government. Senator Michael McDowell, a former tanaiste and ex-justice minister, who campaigned for a no-no vote, said the move had represented unwise social experimentation with the Constitution. Mr McDowell, who was part of the Lawyers For No group, said: I trust individual voters. They looked at what was being put before them and they said no. Many of them will have a slightly different perspective as to why they were voting no, but in the end we live in a republic and the sovereign power is the people and every individual vote is as good as anybody elses vote, and this is an emphatic repudiation of what I think was unwise social experimentation with the Constitution. Labour leader Ivana Bacik said: The result at this early stage certainly looks disappointing for those who campaigned for a yes-yes vote. I do think and it is clear that it is the Governments responsibility, because the Government needs to explain to the people first why it chose and proceeded with wording that was so distinctly different from the wording that our Oireachtas committee on gender equality has proposed, wording that cross-parties had supported. Ireland As it happened: Overwhelming no vote in family and... Read More Why did they not go out more assertively and sell it to the people? Because what we saw from Government, particularly in the last few weeks as the no side was gaining ground, we saw a lacklustre campaign from Government. The family amendment proposed extending the meaning of family beyond one defined by marriage and to include those based on durable relationships. The care amendment proposes deleting references to a womans roles and duties in the home, and replacing it with a new article that acknowledges family carers. Voting has finished in referendums on proposed changes to the Constitution in Ireland. Polling stations across the country closed at 10pm in the votes on whether to change the wording of the Constitution relating to the areas of family and care. Advertisement President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina voted at their polling station at St Marys Hospital in Phoenix Park on Friday. It is the first time Mr Higgins has been seen in public since he was discharged from hospital on Thursday. President of Ireland Michael D Higgins and his wife, Sabina, voting at Phoenix Park, Dublin (Cate McCurry/PA) Advertisement Mr Higgins, 82, was admitted to St James Hospital in Dublin last Thursday evening after experiencing a mild transient weakness. After a seven-night stay, he returned to his official residence, Aras an Uachtarain, on Thursday. Polls opened on Friday morning on the twin referendums. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Tanaiste Micheal Martin and Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald also voted in the referendums. Advertisement Advertisement This is referendum day. I've just voted YES, YES at St Anthony's Boys National School to the two proposals that are before us. To have a more inclusive family definition in our Constitution. To remove the archaic language in terms of women on our Constitution. pic.twitter.com/MFTIjKbtde Micheal Martin (@MichealMartinTD) March 8, 2024 Advertisement The family amendment proposes extending the meaning of family beyond one defined by marriage and to include those based on durable relationships. The care amendment proposes deleting references to a womans roles and duties in the home, and replacing it with a new article that acknowledges family carers. The Constitution is the fundamental legal document for the country and can only be changed with the approval of citizens through a national vote. Advertisement The campaigns have led to national debates over the role of women in the home, what responsibility the State has for care and the meaning of family. Yes badges at an event in Dublin (Cillian Sherlock/PA) The Irish Government campaigned for a yes vote in both amendments. It says the changes will remove sexist language, recognise family care and extend protection to families not based on marriage. President and Sabina Higgins have cast their votes in todays referendums pic.twitter.com/to8yIuKjAx Advertisement President of Ireland (@PresidentIRL) March 8, 2024 The result of the referendums, which are decided by majority, are expected on Saturday. Counting of the ballots happens at a constituency basis at various centres around the country. However, the overall national result will be declared at Dublin Castle. The family amendment will be counted and declared first. The results for the care amendment will not be processed until the family count is finished. Ukrainian authorities have said two people, including a teenage boy, have been killed in Russian artillery attacks. Meanwhile, Russia reported it had shot down a Ukrainian fighter jet and destroyed a wave of drones over several regions. Advertisement The attacks came as Russia is gaining momentum on battlefield and Ukraine forces are running low on ammunition. Ukraines allies in the West are delicately raising the prospect of sending troops. Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski said deploying Nato troops to Ukraine is not unthinkable. French president Emmanuel Macron said last month that the idea should not be ruled out. Serhiy Lysak, governor of Ukraines Dnipropetrovsk region, said a 16-year-old boy was killed and a 22-year-old man injured in a morning artillery attack that hit the town of Chervonohryhorivka. Advertisement Today, I addressed the National Taras Shevchenko Award Ceremony. For a human community to become a nation and a state, the country's best characters must have hearts that cannot be satisfied with simply living for themselves. Such hearts communicate with those who are near. Take pic.twitter.com/KtWuup6vGA Advertisement Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) March 9, 2024 Advertisement The town is on the opposite bank of the river from the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europes largest, and the area is subject to almost-daily Russian attacks. In the town of Chasiv Yar, one person was killed in artillery fire, according to authorities in the Donetsk region, much of which is under Russian control and where fighting has been heavy throughout the war, now in its third year. The Russian defence ministry said its forces shot down 41 drones that were launched over the Rostov region, which borders Ukraine and is home to Russias southern military command, along with two drones over the Kursk region and three over Volgograd. There were no immediate reports of injuries. Advertisement The ministry also said the air force had shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet over Pokrovsk, a city and important railway junction in the Donetsk region that is a prime Russian target following Ukrainian forces February withdrawal from Avdiivka, a significant setback for Ukraines struggling war effort. The governor of Russias Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, reported that Ukrainian drones attacked two villages near the border Saturday, but that no one was injured. The governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, did not specify damage from the attacks. Advertisement Despite its military setbacks, Ukraine resists suggestions of peace negotiations with Russia. During a visit by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country was willing to host a peace summit between Russia and Ukraine. But Mr Zelenskiy remains firm on not engaging directly with Russia on peace talks and has said multiple times the initiative in peace negotiations must belong to the country which has been invaded. Iran is responsible for the physical violence that led to the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022 and sparked nationwide protests against the countrys mandatory headscarf, or hijab, laws and its ruling theocracy, a UN fact-finding mission said. The stark declaration came in a wide-ranging initial report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council by the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran that concluded Tehran committed crimes against humanity through its actions. Advertisement It also found that the Islamic Republic employed unnecessary and disproportionate use of lethal force to put down the demonstrations that erupted following Ms Aminis death. It also found that Iranian security forces sexually assaulted detainees. Participants take part in a demonstration in London over the death of Iranian woman Mahsa Amini (Aaron Chown/PA) Advertisement Ms Aminis death in September 2022 sparked nationwide protests against morality laws in the Arab nation, resulting in a months-long security crackdown that killed more than 500 and saw an excess of 22,000 people detained. Advertisement The report is unlikely to change the trajectory of the Iranian government, now more firmly in the hands of hard-liners after a low-turnout vote last week put them back in charge of the countrys parliament. However, it provides further international pressure on Tehran amid wider Western concerns about its advancing nuclear programme, Irans arming of Russia in Moscows war on Ukraine, and the continued harassment and imprisonment of activists, which includes Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi. The protests were unprecedented because of the leadership of women and youth, in their reach and longevity and, ultimately, the states violent response, the report said. Advertisement Ms Amini, 22, died in a hospital following her arrest by the countrys morality police over allegedly not wearing her hijab to the liking of the authorities. She was taken to Irans Vozara detention facility to undergo a re-education class, but collapsed after 26 minutes. She was moved to a hospital 30 minutes later, according to the report. Iran has denied being responsible for her death and disputes she was beaten. Advertisement At times, authorities have pointed to a medical condition Ms Amini had from childhood after a surgery. The UN report dismissed that as a cause of her death. Advertisement The panel established the existence of evidence of trauma to Ms Aminis body, inflicted while in the custody of the morality police. Based on the evidence and patterns of violence by the morality police in the enforcement of the mandatory hijab on women, the mission is satisfied that Ms Amini was subjected to physical violence that led to her death, the report said. Advertisement The report stops short, however, of blaming anyone specifically for harming Ms Amini. The protests that followed Aminis death started first with the chant: Women, Life, Freedom. However, the protesters chanting and cries soon grew into open calls of revolt against Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The UN report found Iranian security forces used shotguns, assault rifles, and submachine guns against demonstrators in situations where there was no imminent threat of death or serious injury to them and were thereby committing unlawful and extrajudicial killings. It also found a pattern of protesters being shot intentionally in the eye. The mission notes the deterrent and chilling effect of such injuries, as they permanently marked the victims, essentially branding them as protesters, the report reads. Protesters gather at Marble Arch to protest against the Islamic Republic in Iran following Ms Aminis death (Jonathan Brady/PA) Advertisement The report also states that some detainees faced sexual violence, including rape, the threat of rape, forced nudity, groping and electrocution of their genitals. The security forces played on social and cultural stigma connected to sexual and gender-based violence to spread fear and humiliate and punish women, men and children, it said. The panel also acknowledged it continued to investigate the 2023 death of teenager Armita Garavand, who died after falling on the Tehran Metro in what activists allege was an attack over her not wearing a hijab. Ms Geravands parents appeared in a state media video at the time saying a blood pressure issue, a fall, or perhaps both contributed to their daughters death. In actions reminiscent of Ms. Aminis case, the state authorities took measures to obfuscate the circumstances leading to Ms. Garavands death, the report says. It also noted a suspected spate of poisonings targeting Iranian schoolgirls without drawing conclusions on what transpired in the incidents. US deputy special envoy for Iran Abram Paley said the whole world is taking notice of the report and its conclusion that many of the serious human rights violations that have taken place in Iran may amount to crimes against humanity. Advertisement It is imperative that the Fact-Finding Mission continue its important work, he wrote online. Activists have welcomed the release of the report. Executive director of the New York-based Centre for Human Rights in Iran, Hadi Ghaemi, said of the findings: The Islamic Republics violent repression of peaceful dissent and severe discrimination against women and girls in Iran has been confirmed as constituting nothing short of crimes against humanity. Conservative billionaires Liz and Dick Uihlein will help fund Donald Trumps campaign, giving the former US president financial support as he seeks to catch a fundraising lead built by president Joe Biden, the Financial Times said on Saturday. The Uihleins, who founded the Uline shipping and packaging company from their basement in 1980, had donated to the Republican primary campaign of Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who dropped out of the race in January. Advertisement Uline did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. News of the couple's decision came after the former president won 14 out of 15 states in the Super Tuesday primaries and his last Republican rival, Nikki Haley, quit the race, the FT said. Her exit all but assured that Mr Trump will be the party's nominee and face off again against Mr Biden, a Democrat. Advertisement Mr Trump has fallen behind Biden in fundraising ahead of the November 5th general election. Mr Trump's cash holdings dropped to just over $30 million (27 million) at the end of January, down from around $33 million a month earlier, his campaign told the Federal Election Commission. Advertisement Mr Biden, facing a less competitive process for his Democratic Party's nomination, told the FEC his campaign ended January with about $56 million in cash, up from $46 million in December. Mr Trump's legal expenses have grown to hundreds of millions of dollars as he grapples with 91 criminal counts across four cases. On Friday, he posted a $91.6 million bond to cover the defamation verdict in favor of writer E. Jean Carroll. The Uihleins had each given $1.5 million to Mr DeSantis and Liz Uihlein told the FT she would give a similar amount to Mr Trump. The Wisconsin-based couple have given more than $250 million to federal candidates and political groups since the 2016 election cycle, the FT said, citing the nonprofit OpenSecrets. They backed Mr Trump in the two previous elections, before seeking an alternative candidate to support for the 2024 race. Advertisement In an interview with the newspaper, Liz Uihlein said both Mr Trump and Mr Biden were already well-known to voters and she wondered how much donations helped at this stage. "These two guys are very well-defined," she told the FT. "I dont understand why everybody has to give all this money." She also expressed qualms over Mr Trump's rhetoric. "Everybody likes Trumps policies," Liz Uihlein said. "But we have almost 10,000 people that work for us and I would never talk to them the way Trump talks to people." Kayla Berry - "Same God" | Merge PR 8 March 2024 - Nashville, TN - Emerging worship artist Kayla Berry releases her latest single today, which encompasses two of today's biggest worship songs - Elevation Worship's "Same God" and "Gratitude" by Brandon Lake. Listen to the song here. Berry's rendition, which continues to reflect on God's faithfulness, is a journey and a call to worship, inviting listeners to embrace their beliefs and find joy in gratitude. It's her testament to the power of worship to move and inspire, especially from these powerful anthems. Same God lifts my faith to new heights," Berry explains. "It's a powerful declaration that God's faithfulness is unchanging, a constant in the chaos of life. Its my reminder that Hes always come through and He always will. Every note and every word speaks to the soul, affirming that God is exactly who He says He is. In turn, the inclusion of Gratitude is her intimate call to thankfulness, adding, Gratitude shifts focus from our needs to His sufficiency, reminding us of the beauty of surrender and the power of a thankful heart. Singing it, I'm transported into God's presence, where thankfulness flows naturally. The song was produced, engineered, and mixed by David Thulin. Kayla Berry is no stranger to worship. Debuting her first album in 2010, most recently she was part of REVERE (Integrity Music, 2022), where she shared her live single "Run & Hide" with GRAMMY winning songwriter and worship leader Mitch Wong (listen here). Following up with a studio version of the song, she will be releasing more new music in the coming months. With a heart that has always leaned toward the lonely, outcast, and hurting, she shares, I, too, know the pain of feeling alone and hopeless. I havent always been a worship leader. There was a time when I was just a song leader. It took much brokenness, many mistakes, and the grace of God to bring me to a place of knowing how to worship! When youre hurt, you cling to what heals you. God has been that for me. It is Berry's calling through her music ministry to share that no matter what has gone on in your life or what youve been through, there is hope. Her hearts prayer is to break through religious boundaries and barriers to lead both the young and old into the presence of God where they can experience the mercy and joy she has experienced through Gods wonderful love. Open Heaven - Never The Same | DREAM Label Group Los Angeles, CA (March 8th, 2024) Today, Columbus, Ohio Worship team, Open Heaven releases Never The Same. The 3rd single release leading up to their album releasing this fall. Never The Same (DREAM Worship) is available everywhere in music digital and streaming formats. This live track was produced by Scott Mearig and was co-written by Alexis Keesee, Amy Freudiger, Erik Parise, Jeremiah Willams, Zach Traylor. Never the Same was written by the Open Heaven songwriting team, including Alexis Keesee, Amy Freudiger, Erik Parise, Jeremiah Willams, and Zach Traylor. The song was inspired by the incredible story of a young woman seeking answers to the mental torment and hopelessness she was experiencing in her life. Worship Pastor Amy Freudiger explains, This young mother had been tormented by destructive, fearful voices in her head, and she didnt know how to get free or who God even was. But one night this lady had a dream in which she saw the exterior of Faith Life Churchs building and she heard a voice saying, Go there. They can help you. When she woke up, she drew a picture of the building. Not too long after that, she was driving down the road and spotted the church building, recognizing it immediately from her dream! She attended that weekend for the first time. Amy explains, We will never forget her face as she walked up to the altar for prayer. She was so tormented by demonic thoughts, she couldnt even speak. She just looked like death in the eyes as she handed a note to our pastor. In the note, she had written a plea for help. As the worship team ministered in song, they watched as this woman gave her heart to Christ, received prayer from the pastors, and encountered the mercy and power of God she so desperately needed. All of the torment and anguish left, says Amy. Her countenance was radically changed, like night and day! She stood up and just looked like a different person. Thats when I spontaneously started singing what would become the bridge of our song Never the Same, saying: All things are new. Im no longer hopeless. Jesus you give me purpose. Here with you, no longer hopeless. On the cross you changed my name! Im never the same! We finished writing the rest of it that week. Im happy to say that this dear lady has found lasting freedom and has brought her entire family to the Lord! She is a living testament to the power of Jesus, says Amy. As we celebrate the resurrection this Easter, lets remember the cross changed everything. And it has the power to change us. Buy or Listen to Never The Same here. Jill Houser, currently the principal of McCullough Junior High, where she was an inaugural class student in the late 1970s when it was the first high school in town, at the bank of lockers where hers was located in her student day on the east side of the 1st floor main hallway Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024 in The Woodlands, TX. Michael Wyke/Contributor Jill Houser, currently the principal of McCullough Junior High, where she was an inaugural class student in the late 1970s when it was the first high school in town, at the flag pole near the front entrace of the school Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024 in The Woodlands, TX. Michael Wyke/Contributor Jill Houser, currently the principal of McCullough Junior High, where she was an inaugural class student in the late 1970s when it was the first high school in town, at the bank of lockers where hers was located in her student day on the east side of the 1st floor main hallway Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024 in The Woodlands, TX. Michael Wyke/Contributor Jill Houser, currently the principal of McCullough Junior High, where she was an inaugural class student in the late 1970s when it was the first high school in town, is shown in this photo shot for an architechtual magazine on the west side 2nd floor hallway during her student days. Jill Houser, currently the principal of McCullough Junior High, where she was an inaugural class student in the late 1970s when it was the first high school in town, mimics her pose from an earlier 1970s photo made when she was a student on the west side 2nd floor hallway Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024 in The Woodlands, TX. Michael Wyke/Contributor Eighth-grader Jill Houser was one of the first students at The Woodlands' new McCullough High School when it opened in 1976. Now, she's the school's principal. Fifty years before The Woodlands' first high school was constructed in a "marsh buggy," the only place of education in what would become The Woodlands was a one-room schoolhouse. As the township turns 50, it's now home to two different school districts, higher education, award-winning private schools and new feeder campuses planned as part of a record $1.9 billion bond. "I walk the halls and look from the standpoint of being a student to how things have changed, and it's very rewarding," Houser said. "Who would have known as an eighth grader, that I would one day be the principal?" Advertisement Article continues below this ad Early schools in The Woodlands Before The Woodlands, the George Cochran Lumber Company occupied portions of the land and operated the Tamina Sawmill. Mill workers' children attended a one-room schoolhouse named The Sam Ashe School starting in 1917, according to a 2011 article from former The Woodlands Corp. President Roger Galatas. The school closed in 1927, while nearby freedmen's town Tamina hosted a school with one teacher for grades first through seven through 1949. Enter George Mitchell. Already a successful oil magnate, Mitchell sought something else from southern Montgomery County when he bought hundreds of acres of land to open one of Texas' first master-planned communities. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Part of Mitchell's vision for a sustainable community included a robust school system. Three years before the township officially opened, Lamar Elementary opened its doors as the township's first school in 1971. McCullough High School opens The soon-to-open township then needed a high school. In 1974, then-Conroe ISD superintendent J.L. McCullough and members of the school board trekked deep into the woods to see the 50-acre site that would become his namesake. Committees went into every phase of the school's construction, and two different architecture firms worked on the project, McCullough said in a 1981 interview. The school was McCullough's last before he retired. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "I feel that having a school named after me is the greatest honor an educator can achieve, especially while he's still alive," McCullough said in the interview. "You can't know what it's like until it happens to you." Mitchell was in charge of constructing a bridge to allow road access to the school, and McCullough's viewpoint was reportedly less rosy when the bridge wasn't completed near the opening date. McCullough allegedly threatened bodily harm on Mitchell if it wasn't completed, but the bridge pulled through in time for students like Houser to attend in 1976. 'Tremendous growth' As of 2020, the community now has 23 public and 10 private schools, according to Howard Hughes. Similar to Conroe ISD's 2023 bond, the school district cited "tremendous growth" when it called for a $15.6 million bond in 1978. New campuses went hand-in-hand with new villages, and the township soon stretched past Kuykendahl Road and into Magnolia ISD territory. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Woodlands Corp. paid the school district $12 million for its lost tax base to extend Conroe ISD's boundaries into the new west side of The Woodlands. When Creekside Park opened in Harris County as The Woodlands' final village in 2007, its schools became part of Tomball ISD. As Mitchell attracted new industries and business executives, he felt the need to build a new private college preparatory school. He recruited Kincaid School headmaster John Cooper to help design the 40-acre school site that would become The John Cooper School, which turned 35 in 2023 and continues to expand. Former president George W. Bush helped administer the school's first graduation commencement address in 1994. Higher education Bush was also in attendance when The Woodlands' first higher education campus opened in 1995. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Despite offering what is now East Shore to the University of Houston, Mitchell was not successful in bringing a four-year university to The Woodlands. He did help bring the Lone Star College System into The Woodlands, which opened its 100-acre Montgomery campus in between Conroe and The Woodlands in 1995. "It's the residents who have supported Lone Star College Montgomery and asked us to come over into this area from the very start," LSC Montgomery President De'Reese Reid-Hart said. "We're not just educating the community, we're bringing financial growth and development, we're bringing jobs, and we're helping train people to find jobs that are available in the community." The campus now hosts 11 buildings and educates around 15,000 students each school year, offering 40 associate's degree programs and bachelor's degree programs, Reid-Hart said. Lone Star has also expanded into Creekside Park with its Creekside Center, while LSC's University Center allows students to earn their bachelor's and master's degrees close to home from six partner universities. ALSO SEE: Wheeler defeats Noack in Montgomery County Republican primary Present and future Unbeknownst to her, a picture of an eighth-grade Houser in a red-and-white sweater in the school hallway made it into a 1970s architectural magazine. That picture hung on the walls of McCullough Junior High for 20 years. Today, Houser can still walk by that hallway where she posed every day for work. Even amid tremendous change, much of The Woodlands remains the same for Houser. Her parents still live in the Shenandoah house they moved into from Kansas in 1974. Tucked-away parts of McCullough, like the bright yellow home economics room and stage, seem nearly untouched, and records of the school's early years are well documented in its library. Although they're now the "Highlanders" instead of the "Macs," they remain prominent in sports, choir and academics, Houser said. Other aspects are almost unrecognizable. After working at several of The Woodlands' new schools as a teacher and assistant principal, Houser returned to McCullough during COVID. Houser said the campus has since fully recovered, but some changes are permanent. "Conroe ISD has only gotten better," Houser said. "I can't imagine a different path (in life.)" Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size This story is part of the March 10 edition of Sunday Life. See all 13 stories . When the new wave of trends being pushed by designers and mined from 1980s leftovers leaves you at sea (do we really need padded shoulders and ra-ra skirts again?), nautical stripes offer safe harbour. Matteau shift dress, $360, and breton top, $300. Longchamp x K.Jacques sandals, $660. Credit: Hugh Stewart You can get away with a pinstripe suit in the city or a striped shirt in the country but the closer you get to the water, even if its a pool or autumn shower, the more stripes make sense. The classic combination is navy and white, borrowed from French sailor uniforms. Style-conscious seamen were only permitted to have 21 stripes on their shirts, to commemorate Napoleons victories over the British. To be specific, 21 20-millimetre-wide white stripes and 21 10-millimetre-wide blue stripes; with 15 white stripes and 14 or 15 blue stripes on the sleeve. Enough time has passed since the Battle of Waterloo to stop counting. You can even go bold in red and white without fear of the guillotine or fashion police. Sydney painter Michael Kelly feared the record of his life as an artist dozens of sketchbooks would end up in a skip bin, or destroyed by mould or silverfish. Now 68, Kelly has exhibited 14 times, and his works are held in public and private collections here and overseas. Artist Michael Kelly at his home in Woolloomooloo. Credit: Domiinic Lorrimer To support himself, hes sold paintings, driven cabs and taught drawing. But much of his life has been lived in what he calls a state of flux. Thats his term for living in insecure housing with equally irregular income interrupted by illness. Before moving to a housing commission flat in Woolloomooloo a decade ago, he had squatted in an abandoned ward at Callan Park, and after getting seriously ill, his car. But the rise in incidental findings has also thrown up some ethical dilemmas. While the early detection of life-threatening disease is beneficial, benign findings can trigger anxiety for patients. They can also lead to invasive procedures such as biopsies, radiation from follow-up imaging, and additional costs to the health system, according to a recent study published in the Medical Journal of Australia. The study estimates that incidentalomas crop up in up to 40 per cent of CT scans. A CT scan of the abdomen showing unsuspected fatty liver, which can cause chronic liver disease, cancer and cardiovascular disease. The studys co-author, Professor Ian Scott, decided to look into the phenomenon after a 72-year-old patient recently presented with kidney stone pain at his Queensland hospital. An abdominal CT scan revealed a lesion in his pancreas, which doctors worried was cancer. They did a major operation where they took out the pancreas and unfortunately, he didnt do too well after that, the director of internal medicine at Princess Alexandra Hospital recalled. Loading There were quite a few complications. Because they took his pancreas out, he developed diabetes and malabsorption syndrome and lost a lot of weight. When they inspected the lesion they discovered it wasnt cancer. He would like to see a reduction in unwarranted scans being ordered by doctors. People are over-reliant on the technology, whereas if you base your clinical judgment on good history taking, physical examination, basic blood tests and risk assessments, you often dont need to do the imaging, he said. For the one in 20 who might have something nasty, you are treating 19 patients and causing them the risk of harms. Kym Walker is forever grateful for her incidental diagnosis. After tripping over some rocks while holidaying in Apollo Bay in 2021, the Geelong mother of three had a scan that revealed she had broken a bone in her back. But it also revealed something more concerning: some lesions on her liver. Kym Walker was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021 after tripping over some rocks and breaking her back. A week later she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, which had spread to her liver and bones. I was stunned that it was stage 4 already, the now 64-year-old said. I was thankful I had broken my back and found it earlier. Walker lost her mother to breast cancer when she was 34 and has had breast screens every two years. She was not due for her next one for another month and said the incidental diagnosis gave her a six-week head start on treatment. Loading The Pilates and karate instructor is still undergoing treatment, and after exhausting all options available through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, is paying for groundbreaking new chemotherapy drugs that cost her $10,000 every three weeks. One of her friends has set up a crowdfunding campaign to help fund the drugs, which Walker describes as her last hope. If this doesnt work there is no other option for me, she said. I will be given a terminal diagnosis. Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists president Professor John Slavotinek, who is also a co-author of the study published in the Medical Journal of Australia, said a fear of litigation and older patients with more than one disease were also fuelling the rise in incidental findings. He said context and patient preferences were vital when it came to responding to these medical findings. If you have a history of cancer, a new nodule somewhere becomes far more interesting than in a 20-year-old with no such history. Dr Anita Clarke, head of urology at St Vincents Hospital, said it was becoming increasingly common for CT scans to serendipitously detect masses in the kidney when screening for other ailments. An inner-Melbourne council could become the first municipality in Australia to increase parking fees for so-called truckzilla twin-cab utes and large SUVs, due to concerns about their safety and environmental impact. Yarra City Council which includes Fitzroy, Richmond and Collingwood will on Tuesday debate a motion from Greens councillor Sophie Wade asking the council to investigate ways to discourage large and heavy vehicles on Yarras streets, including proportionate parking fees based on a vehicles size. A RAM truck stopped over a pedestrian crossing in Melbournes CBD. Credit: Joe Armao Wade said she was following Paris lead in putting up the proposal, after Paris residents voted in a mini-referendum last month to triple parking fees for large cars, part of a push to get big cars off the citys streets before the Olympics later this year. Here in Aus, were seeing RAMs and Defenders on the rise, Wade wrote on Instagram. She said no other council had tried the idea. Canada Reaches C$7 million Settlement with Michael Spavor, One of the 'Two Michaels,' Over China Detention (Photo: Librero2109/Wikimedia COmmons/CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)) Canada's federal government has reached a settlement worth approximately C$7 million (US$5.2 million) with Michael Spavor, a businessman who was detained by China for nearly three years during a diplomatic feud between the two countries. Spavor, along with Michael Kovrig, became known as the "two Michaels" after they were arrested by Beijing in December 2018, shortly after the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver on a U.S. warrant. In November, Spavor reportedly threatened to sue both Canada and Kovrig, alleging that he had "unwittingly" provided intelligence on North Korea to Kovrig, who then shared that information with Canada and its Five Eyes allies through Canada's global security reporting program (GSRP). The settlement, which includes legal fees and expenses, resolves the matter between Spavor and the Canadian government. Charlotte MacLeod, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, stated, "While the 1019 days in which they were arbitrarily detained by China will never be erased, the Government of Canada is committed to supporting them in their efforts to turn to a new chapter in their lives based on their individual circumstances and impacts, and in acknowledgement of their ordeal and the suffering caused by their arbitrary detention by China." The arrests of the "two Michaels" drew accusations of "hostage diplomacy" by Canada and its allies. Chinese officials claimed that Spavor, who frequently visited North Korea and had spent time with the country's dictator, Kim Jong-un, was supplying intelligence to Kovrig, who had taken leave from working as a diplomat at Canada's embassy in Beijing from 2012 to 2014 to work at the International Crisis Group. In August 2021, Spavor was sentenced to 11 years in prison on charges of spying, while Kovrig's verdict, after a secret trial in March, was never announced. Both men were released by China in September of that year, after Meng Wanzhou reached a deal with U.S. prosecutors and was freed, ending a standoff that lasted more than 1,000 days. The settlement follows a damning report by Canada's national security and intelligence review agency about the controversial GSRP. The watchdog found that the program put its officers at risk and breached global diplomatic conventions, with officers lacking "adequate training" and insufficient risk assessment and security protocols to ensure their protection and that of their sources. Kovrig, who previously acknowledged to the Globe and Mail that he was in talks with Canada over compensation, did not respond to a message seeking comment. Former Canadian ambassador to China, Guy Saint-Jacques, who was Kovrig's former boss, stated that the settlement does not mean Kovrig was a spy, adding, "A spy would use clandestine approaches as means to get want he wants. In this case it was totally transparent." Saint-Jacques also noted that Spavor was unique because he was a foreigner who had access to North Korea's leader. "The federal government probably recognized his way of living. It's impossible now for him to go back and live in China and organize tours in North Korea. This is a major disruption to his lifestyle and work prospects," he said. The settlement marks the end of a tumultuous chapter in Canada-China relations, which were strained by the detention of the "two Michaels" and the subsequent diplomatic standoff. As Spavor and Kovrig attempt to move forward with their lives, the Canadian government's compensation serves as an acknowledgment of the hardships they endured during their nearly three-year ordeal in China. Russia Flexes Nuclear Muscles with Bulava Missile Test Launch (photo: Yuri Dolgorukiy successfully launched a Bulava ballistic missile) (Photo: Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation/CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)) In late 2022, the United States began "preparing rigorously" for the possibility of Russia launching a nuclear strike against Ukraine, two senior administration officials told CNN. The Biden administration was particularly concerned about the potential use of a tactical or battlefield nuclear weapon, which would have been the first nuclear attack in war since the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki nearly 80 years ago. The heightened alert was triggered by a combination of developments, analysis, and highly sensitive new intelligence, rather than a single indicator. "Our fear was not just hypothetical - it was also based on some information that we picked up," a second senior administration official said, emphasizing the need for meticulous planning to ensure readiness in the event of this once-unthinkable possibility. Throughout the late summer and fall of 2022, the US National Security Council held a series of meetings to establish contingency plans for a potential Russian nuclear attack on Ukraine. The focus was on how the United States would respond, either if there were clear signs of an impending attack or if such an attack occurred, with the goal of preempting or deterring such actions. The concerns intensified during late summer 2022, as Russian forces faced devastating losses and Ukrainian troops advanced on Russian-occupied Kherson, a key city. The potential loss of entire Russian units threatened to be a "potential trigger" for nuclear weapon use, with US officials fearing that Russian President Vladimir Putin might perceive this as a direct threat to Russia. Adding to the growing unease, Russia's defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, warned Western countries in October 2022 about a potential Ukrainian dirty bomb plot, a claim dismissed by US and other officials. This false flag story raised concerns that Russia might use it as a pretext for drastic action. Moreover, Western intelligence intercepted Russian officials discussing a nuclear strike, further heightening alarm among US officials. US officials expressed uncertainty about their ability to detect the movement of tactical nuclear weapons by Russia, as these compact weapons could be discreetly relocated and launched from conventional systems already present on the Ukrainian battlefield. In response to the rising threat, the US collaborated closely with its allies to develop contingency plans and convey warnings to Russia about the repercussions of a nuclear attack. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley, and CIA Director Bill Burns engaged in direct communications with their Russian counterparts to express US concerns and gauge Russian intentions. The US also sought the assistance of non-allies, particularly China and India, to dissuade Russia from considering such a move. US officials emphasized that the diplomatic outreach and public statements made by Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi played a significant role in averting a crisis. "I think we believe showing the international community the concern about this, particularly the concern from key countries for Russia and the Global South, was also a helpful, persuasive factor and showed them what the cost of all this could be," the first senior administration official said. Following the nuclear concerns of late 2022, the threat lessened as the war entered a phase of relative stalemate in the eastern regions. However, the US and its allies remain watchful, with a senior US official telling CNN, "We continue to refine plans, and it's not beyond the realm of possibility that we could be confronting at least the rising risk of this again in the months ahead." The revelations about the US's rigorous preparations for a potential Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine underscore the gravity of the situation and the unprecedented measures taken by the Biden administration to prevent a catastrophic escalation of the conflict. As the war continues, the international community remains vigilant, working together to maintain stability and deter the use of nuclear weapons. Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at The Graduate Center of CUNY in the Manhattan borough of New York, New York, U.S., July 11, 2019. (Photo: REUTERS/Carlo Allegri) President Joe Biden harshly criticized former President Donald Trump's meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at Mar-a-Lago on Friday, accusing the European leader of promoting dictatorship over democracy. The meeting between Trump and Orban, who recently endorsed the former president's 2024 White House bid, has reignited the debate over Trump's embrace of autocratic leaders and its potential impact on the upcoming election. Speaking at a campaign event in Pennsylvania, Biden said, "You know who he's meeting with today down at Mar-a-Lago? Orban of Hungary, who stated flatly he doesn't think democracy works, he's looking for dictatorship." The president emphasized his commitment to defending democracy, adding, "I see a future where we defend democracy, not diminish it." Orban, who has become an icon to some conservative populists for advocating "illiberal democracy," including restrictions on immigration and LGBTQ+ rights, posted images on his Instagram account of him meeting with Trump and the former president's staff. He reiterated his endorsement of Trump in a tweet, stating, "We need leaders in the world who are respected and can bring peace. He is one of them! Come back and bring us peace, Mr. President!" The Hungarian leader also highlighted the divide between globalists and those who believe in national sovereignty, expressing his happiness at seeing that "sovereignists have many friends in the U.S. as well." Trump, in turn, praised Orban in a video post, calling him "fantastic" and "a noncontroversial figure because he said 'This is the way it's gonna be,' and that's the end of it. He's the boss." The Trump campaign released a statement saying the two long-time allies discussed "a wide range of issues affecting Hungary and the United States, including the paramount importance of strong and secure borders to protect the sovereignty of each nation." Biden's criticism of the Trump-Orban meeting comes as he ramps up his campaign efforts, making the fight to defend democracy a top issue in the upcoming election. The president often warns that democracy would be at stake with another four years of Trump in office. When asked if he was concerned about Trump's meeting with Orban as he left the White House for Philadelphia, Biden replied, "If I'm not, you should be." The president also claimed that nine heads of state have told him he has to win in November, emphasizing the global implications of the U.S. election. The dueling trips by Biden and Trump to Georgia on Saturday mark the intensification of general election campaigning following Super Tuesday and the president's State of the Union address. As the two candidates prepare to face off, the debate over the future of democracy and the United States' relationships with autocratic leaders is likely to remain a central issue. Trump's embrace of Orban and other leaders pushing back against democratic traditions has drawn criticism from those who view it as a threat to the nation's values and international standing. Supporters of the former president, however, argue that his approach to foreign policy prioritizes American interests and strengthens the country's position on the world stage. As the campaign progresses, voters will have to grapple with the competing visions presented by Biden and Trump, deciding whether to prioritize the defense of democracy or the pursuit of national sovereignty in an increasingly complex global landscape. The outcome of this election could have far-reaching consequences not only for the United States but for the world as a whole. MH370 Update: New Evidence Suggests 'Suicidal' Pilot Planned Perfect Ditching to Hide Plane's Wreckage (Photo: Official U.S. Navy Page /Public Domain) Ten years after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 vanished without a trace, a British pilot has put forth a startling theory about the plane's fate. Simon Hardy believes that the aircraft's "suicidal" pilot, Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, perfectly ditched the plane into the Southern Indian Ocean, entombing it and the 239 passengers aboard at the bottom of the sea in a spot that has never been searched before. The Boeing 777 aircraft disappeared from radar on March 8, 2014, while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Satellite data showed the plane deviated from its flight path, heading over the southern Indian Ocean, where it is believed to have crashed. Fears have persisted that Captain Shah was responsible for deliberately crashing MH370 in a murder-suicide of a shocking scale, possibly due to problems in his personal life, such as an alleged split with his wife and anger over a relative's imprisonment. Mr. Hardy, a Boeing 777 pilot himself, has proposed a theory of where the plane ended up after calculating the most likely positions of its remains. His work caught the attention of the official search team, and he was invited to join the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and a team of experts in 2015. Despite scrutinizing his theories using high-tech flight simulators, Mr. Hardy's proposed search area was never explored before the search ended in 2017. According to Mr. Hardy, the 'suicidal' pilot carried out his plan to kill all of the passengers before burying the plane in a deep trench at the bottom of the sea. Clues such as an extra 3,000kg of fuel added to the plane before takeoff and extra, unrequired oxygen supplied only to the cockpit led him to believe his theory. "It's an incredible coincidence that just before this aircraft disappears forever, one of the last things that was done as the engineer says nil noted [no oxygen added], then someone else gets on onboard and says it's a bit low," Mr. Hardy told The Sun. "Well, it's not really low at all. It's a strange coincidence that the last engineering task that was done before it headed off to oblivion was topping up crew oxygen which is only for the cockpit, not for the cabin crew." Mr. Hardy believes Captain Shah aimed to down the plane at the Geelvinck Fracture Zone, a trench hundreds of miles long, giving him room for maneuver. This part of the ocean frequently experiences earthquakes, so the jet plane could be buried under tons of rocks at the bottom of the Southern Indian Ocean by now. The British pilot spent months drawing constant speed lines until he found one that was unique, giving him a "eureka moment." His line showed that if MH370 had taken this exact route, its flight speed would have been 488 knots, the cruising speed of Boeing 777s flown by commercial pilots every day. Working backwards, his proposed flight path comes within half a degree of where the plane made its last turn towards the Southern Indian Ocean. Mr. Hardy believes the extra fuel and oxygen meant the captain could have flown without detection for around seven hours, leaving passengers and crew to fall unconscious and die as he downed the plane. The discovery of downward-facing flaps, used to reduce stalling speed, suggests a manual override, further supporting his theory. "If you want the flaps down, there has to be someone there putting the flaps down," he told The Sun. "If the flaps were down, there is a liquid fuel, then someone is moving a lever and it's someone who knows what they are doing. It all points to the same scenario." Despite debris confirmed or believed to be from MH370 washing up along the African coast and on islands in the Indian Ocean, officials have come no closer to working out what happened to the plane. Mr. Hardy believes that Captain Shah wanted to entomb the plane at the bottom of the ocean without damaging it, but that he did not want to save the passengers. As the tenth anniversary of the plane's disappearance passes, families of the victims continue to seek answers. Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has expressed his inclination to support reopening all investigations into MH370, while a Texas-based marine robotics firm, Ocean Infinity, has offered to conduct a new search using state-of-the-art underwater gear. Leading aerospace engineer Richard Godfrey told Fox News, "I think it is certainly the greatest mystery of modern aviation." With millions of people flying every day, finding answers to what happened to MH370 could ensure new safety systems to prevent such a tragedy from happening again and provide a sense of closure for those still grieving the loss of their loved ones. FILE - President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, on March 7, 2024, in Washington. A top European Union official is Cyprus on Friday, March 8, 2024, to inspect preparations for sending desperately needed aid to war-ravaged Gaza by sea, just hours after President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. military will set up a temporary port off Gaza's Mediterranean coast in support of such efforts. (Shawn Thew/Pool Photo via AP, File) Shawn Thew/Associated Press With an invitation from the Congressional Black Caucus, Darryl George and his mother, Darresha George, sat in the House gallery listening to President Joe Biden deliver the State of the Union address. The fight to get George, a Barbers Hill Independent School District student, back in the classroom among his peers continues despite a judge's ruling that the district's dress and grooming code prohibiting male students from having long hair did not violate the CROWN Act. "Im grateful to the Congressional Black Caucus for inviting Darryl George to join the Caucus as their guest at the State of the Union and to raise awareness of the gross injustice that has been visited on this courageous young man, said Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman in a statement to the Chronicle. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Coleman led the landmark federal bill H.R. 2116 along with 116 co-sponsors, which passed in 2022 in the U.S. House of Representatives with a vote of 235-189. In Texas, House Bill 567 introduced by Rep. Rhetta Andrews Bowers passed through both chambers with overwhelming support in 2023. Lawmakers rallied behind the legislation after the Barbers Hill Independent School District district suspended junior Kaden Bradford and senior DeAndre Arnold for their hair worn in locs similar to George. The states CROWN Act is not the problem here," said Coleman in response to critics calling for changes in the legislative text."One of the authors of this legislation, a Texas state lawmaker, testified in court that the law was meant to prohibit exactly the kind of discrimination that Darryl has been so unfairly subjected to. The problem here is the system, the judgment, the school district and the racism that still pervades American society. During an interview with MSNBC Live, Rep. Steven Horsford, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus admitted more work needed to be done when it comes to protecting issues on diversity and equity. "Theyre more concerned with whats on his head than whats in his head," said Horsford. "We spoke to him, a number of members, and his mother. It was a very emotional meeting, because it really goes to the essence of theyre trying to break this young mans spirit. Theyre trying to break him down and we talk a lot about the school-to-prison pipeline and the need to disrupt that and really whats happening right here is unconscionable." Advertisement Article continues below this ad George, who's classified as a junior at Barbers Hill High School, has been suspended from school since August for refusing to change his hairstyle and other infractions. According to its handbook, the district prohibits male students from having hair "below the eyebrows or below the ear lobes" and they cannot have hair "below the top of a T-shirt collar or be gathered or worn in a style that would allow the hair to extend below the top of a T-shirt collar, below the eyebrows or below the ear lobes when let down." "I am calling on the Department of Education to intervene on this situation to make sure this young man returns to school, he receives the education that he is entitled to under the law and were going to do everything within our power," Horsford said. "Yes, there are other issues. They want to ban bodies and now they want to ban locs. They are more concerned with controlling people than they are with giving people freedom." Last month, lawyers on behalf of George and the Barbers Hill Independent School District met in an Anahuac district court to determine if the district's policy violated the CROWN Act a law prohibiting race-based hair discrimination in workplaces, schools and in housing policies. The bill went into effect Sept. 1. Ultimately, Judge Chap B. Cain III ruled in favor of the district and insisted George appeal to Barbers Hill ISD to change its mandate or ask lawmakers to revise the CROWN Act to specifically include hair length. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "The CROWN Act could've been written to provide the individuals with braids, locs and twists (to be) exempt from any hair length restrictions, but it has no such exemption," said Cain, of the 253rd Judicial District Court in Chambers County. "The CROWN Act is clear and BHISD's dress and grooming code policy is clear regarding male students." Cain's decision prompted Texas lawmakers to consider revisiting the CROWN Act legislation when the Texas legislative session reconvenes next year. The Chronicle reached out to Barbers Hill ISD for a response, but a representative declined to comment. Back in Feburary, Superintendent Greg Poole published an advertisement in the Chronicle doubling down on the district's dress and grooming code policies. Following Cain's ruling, Poole said the Texas legal system validated the districts position, adding, The CROWN Act does not give students unlimited self-expression. MAKING CHANGES: Texas Legislative Black Caucus plans to revisit CROWN Act following Barbers Hill ISD ruling Advertisement Article continues below this ad High expectations have helped make Barbers Hill ISD a state leader in all things and high school standards benefit all ethnicities, Poole said. Falsely claiming racism is worse than racism and undermines efforts to address actions that violate constitutionally protected rights. Last year, Georges family filed a complaint with the Texas Education Agency. They also filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton alleging neither party enforced the CROWN Act based on the districts continued punishment of George. A date for the court appearance has not been set yet. Following Cain's ruling, attorney Allie Booker said she plans to file an appeal on George's behalf. Until then, George remains in an alternative school where he'll likely finish the school year. Microsoft said on Friday it's still trying to evict the elite Russian government hackers who broke into the email accounts of senior company executives in November and who it said have been trying to breach customer networks with stolen access data. The hackers from Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service used data obtained in the intrusion, which it disclosed in mid-January, to compromise some source-code repositories and internal systems, the software giant said in a blog and a regulatory filing. A company spokesman would not characterise what source code was accessed and what capability the hackers gained to further compromise customer and Microsoft systems. Microsoft said on Friday that the hackers stole secrets from email communications between the company and unspecified customers cryptographic secrets such as passwords, certificates and authentication keys and that it was reaching out to them to assist in taking mitigating measures. Cloud-computing company Hewlett Packard Enterprise disclosed on January 24 that it, too, was an SVR hacking victim and that it had been informed of the breach by whom it would not say two weeks earlier, coinciding with Microsoft's discovery it had been hacked. The threat actor's ongoing attack is characterised by a sustained, significant commitment of the threat actor's resources, coordination, and focus, Microsoft said on Friday, adding that it could be using obtained data to accumulate a picture of areas to attack and enhance its ability to do so. Cybersecurity experts said Microsoft's admission that the SVR hack had not been contained exposes the perils of the heavy reliance by government and business on the Redmond, Washington, company's software monoculture and the fact that so many of its customers are linked through its global cloud network. This has tremendous national security implications," said Tom Kellermann of the cybersecurity firm Contrast Security. "The Russians can now leverage supply chain attacks against Microsoft's customers." Amit Yoran, the CEO of Tenable, also issued a statement, expressing both alarm and dismay. He is among security professionals who find Microsoft overly secretive about its vulnerabilities and how it handles hacks. We should all be furious that this keeps happening, Yoran said. "These breaches aren't isolated from each other and Microsoft's shady security practices and misleading statements purposely obfuscate the whole truth. Microsoft said it had not yet determined whether the incident is likely to materially impact its finances. It also said the intrusion's stubbornness reflects what has become more broadly an unprecedented global threat landscape, especially in terms of sophisticated nation-state attacks. The hackers, known as Cozy Bear, are the same hacking team behind the SolarWinds breach. When it initially announced the hack, Microsoft said the SVR unit broke into its corporate email system and accessed accounts of some senior executives as well as employees on its cybersecurity and legal teams. It would not say how many accounts were compromised. At the time, Microsoft said it was able to remove the hackers' access from the compromised accounts on or about January 13. But by then, they clearly had a foothold. It said they got in by compromising credentials on a legacy test account but never elaborated. Microsoft's latest disclosure comes three months after a new US Securities and Exchange Commission rule took effect that compels publicly traded companies to disclose breaches that could negatively impact their business. The Union Cabinet has approved budgetary support of Rs 2,207.50 crore in the 15th Finance Commission cycle to run the CAPFIMS as a campus of AIIMS, New Delhi The Central Armed Police Forces Institute of Medical Sciences (CAPFIMS) on Saturday signed an MoU with the Aiims to run CAPFIMS as a campus of the Aiims here. The funds for procurement of medical equipment and furniture and the recurring cost towards operations and maintenance of the campus shall be provided to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Aiims) by the Ministry of Home Affairs, an official statement said. Further, a part of the hospital beds in the campus shall be earmarked for providing healthcare services to all Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) beneficiaries. The Union Cabinet has approved budgetary support of Rs 2,207.50 crore in the 15th Finance Commission cycle to run the CAPFIMS as a campus of Aiims, New Delhi. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, enhancing healthcare infrastructure in the country and providing world class health facilities to the people is one of the priorities of the government of India, the statement said. The MHA, under the guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has envisioned the CAPFIMS to provide world class health care services to all CAPFs employees, their dependents, pensioners, CGHS beneficiaries, AB-PMJAY beneficiaries and the general public. A Memorandum of Association (MoA) was signed in New Delhi on Friday between the CAPFIMS and the Aiims, New Delhi to run CAPFIMS as a campus of the Aiims, New Delhi, the statement said. The CAPFIMS is a state-of-the-art medical institute with a 970-bedded referral and research hospital with 500-bedded general hospital, 300-bedded super-specialty hospital and 170 ICU/ critical care beds. It has been established at a cost of around Rs 2,091 crore. It is also having a Medical College (100 seats), a College of Nursing (60 seats), and a School of Paramedics (300 seats) in Maidangarhi, South Delhi, which shall also provide Post Graduate/PG Diploma Courses (60 Seats) and Post-Doctoral Courses (DM & McH- 10 Seats). This "Aiims-CAPFIMS campus" is committed to offer super-specialty and tertiary health care facilities, including medical treatment, nursing care and paramedical training and cater to the special needs of the CAPFs beneficiaries as an integrated solution to all the tertiary health services, including Trauma Centre, Artificial Limb Centre, Mental Health Counselling Centre and Physical Rehabilitation Centre, the statement said. The collaboration will also enhance the health care infrastructure in the country and provide an opportunity for medical graduates and specialists to serve in the medical cadre of the CAPFs. Further, this will also create a huge potential for employment as 4,354 posts shall be created for operationalisation of the 'Aiims-CAPFIMS campus', it said. The NC has announced the party would contest the three seats in Kashmir valley and asked the Congress to contest two seats in the Jammu region | Photo: PTI After PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti expressed unhappiness over the National Conference's decision to contest all three Lok Sabha constituencies in Kashmir, NC president Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said both parties are part of the INDIA coalition and the NC will win the seats for the alliance. Mehbooba Mufti had on Friday said that the NC's decision was "disappointing" and a "setback to the hopes of the people of J&K". She also accused the NC of reducing their Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) to a "joke". I do not know what she (Mufti) had said National Conference stands on its own feet and has won three seats (in the 2019 general elections). We are part of the alliance and she is also part of the alliance. If the National Conference wins (these seats) again, they will win it for the INDIA alliance and so what is the problem, Abdullah told reporters here. The NC leader said he is sure that the INDIA alliance will always grow because it is needed for the future of India and democracy". He said that "everybody wants a secular India where we all can live in peace, harmony and progress". India is for all. India is not Pakistan. The Constitution of India was framed on the lines that we are all one. How does that matter what religion you hold and what language you speak and what your culture is. It is a united India, he said. Asked about Mehbooba Mufti's remarks on PAGD, he said assembly elections are coming and we will see what we will do. I am sure they (BJP-led government) will try to hold the assembly polls with parliamentary elections. The NC has announced the party would contest the three seats in Kashmir valley and asked the Congress to contest two seats in the Jammu region. The party also said there would be a consensus candidate of NC and Congress on the Ladakh seat. Jammu and Kashmir has five Lok Sabha seats, while Ladakh has one. In the last elections, while the NC won the three seats in Kashmir, the BJP won the two Jammu seats as well as the lone Ladakh seat. On PAGD, Mufti on Friday said it was "difficult to see the unity break". "I regret that what we nurtured for five years has been shattered," she said. The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said that had the NC leadership discussed the issue with her, the PDP could have let the NC contest on all three seats in the valley. However, she said the PDP was still a part of the INDIA bloc and the party would discuss the future strategy with the Congress. Asked about the formation of a new government in Pakistan and its possible approach towards India, Abdullah on Saturday said Islamabad has to decide whether it wants peaceful relations with India or not. What Pakistan does, is their problem. It is their nation and it is for them to decide whether they want to live in peace with our nation or they don't want to live in peace. "Kashmir was acceded to India by Maharaja Hari Singh and that accession is even today and that will last forever, he said, adding, We are part of India and there is no problem for us. It is for them to decide what they want to do. To a query on Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav's statement likening Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Adolf Hitler, he said, I do not know what he had said and under what conditions. He (Modi) is not a prime minister of BJP. People who voted for him are just 37 per cent but once one becomes a prime minister he represents every Indian. He also represents 1.4 billion when he goes outside the country. He represents Muslim, Hindu, Sikhs, Christians and every other single religion and those who have no religion, he said. Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary D Raja on Saturday said a leader of Rahul Gandhi's stature should contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from a seat where he can directly challenge the ruling BJP, even as he said it is a political party's prerogative to decide who would it field from a seat. The remarks came a day after the Congress announced that Gandhi will contest the parliamentary polls, likely to be held in April-May, from Wayanad in Kerala, the seat he currently represents in the Lok Sabha. CPI's Annie Raja, wife of D Raja, has been fielded as the Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate from Wayanad. Asked about the Congress's decision to field Gandhi from Wayanad, Raja said, "Within the LDF, the CPI has got four seats to contest and Wayanad is one of those, so we have announced our candidate. Secondly, it is the prerogative of any political party to choose its candidate from a constituency. In this case, it is the prerogative of the Congress." However, he pointed out that Gandhi is not a state leader, but a national leader and a former president of the Congress. "Rahul Gandhi's stature is such that he should have fought (the polls) from any other seat, directly confronting the BJP," the CPI leader said. "Rahul Gandhi organised the Bharat Jodo Yatra. It was good and all of us welcomed it. He has been pointing out that the ideology of the BJP-RSS is responsible for disharmony, disunity among people and divisions in the society. Now, he is holding the nyay yatra.... Who is denying nyay (justice) to people? It is the ideology of the BJP-RSS combine. "If that is so, while fighting (polls) from Wayanad, what message is he conveying to people?, Raja asked, adding that Gandhi and the Congress must seriously introspect about who do they consider their primary target, the BJP or the Left. Gandhi will contest the general election from Wayanad once again as the Congress announced its first list of 39 candidates on Friday. Commenting on the situation in Bihar, Raja said, "Not just (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah and (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi, everybody is scared of the development taking place in Bihar. I was in Bihar recently to attend a rally. It was a huge rally, people turned up in lakhs and they conveyed a message. The BJP (NDA) has taken Nitish Kumar into its fold, but people are very clear in their mind about protecting Bihar and protecting India. They are determined to stand up and fight," he said. "Amit Shah, Modi are trying to divide people. Why are they not agreeing on caste surveys in other parts of the country where they have governments? Amit Shah and Modi do not have any substantial issue of livelihood for people," the Left leader said. Asked about the rift between INDIA opposition bloc partners National Conference and People's Democratic Party in Jammu and Kashmir, he said, "I do not think it is a direct confrontation between the PDP and the NC. There are problems as far as seat sharing is concerned. Seat-sharing problems are there in other states too. Even in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, it is not finalised. In Uttar Pradesh, some understanding has been reached, but how it is going to be, we have to wait and see. Every party will have their own interest, it has to be talked about and sorted out. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said the country's growth cannot be imagined without the development of farmers and villages, and asserted that the Modi government was standing shoulder to shoulder with the cultivators. Addressing a mega farmers' rally at Government Science College ground in Chhattisgarh's capital Raipur, he also targeted the previous Congress dispensation in the state, accusing it of indulging in corruption and derailing its development. "...I am the son of a farmer and hail from a village. Farmers can yield gold from the soil with their efforts and hard work. My government is standing shoulder to shoulder with farmers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Centre has been taking several steps for the welfare of farmers," the minister said. Without the development of farmers and villages, the growth of the country cannot be imagined, he said. "In America, one bag of urea fertilisers is available for Rs 3,000...India is the only where urea is being provided to farmers at Rs 300 per bag. Russia-Ukraine war resulted in price rise but the Modi government did not allow prices of seeds and fertilizers to go up. We will not allow the problems of farmers to increase at any cost," he added. Hitting out at the previous Bhupesh Baghel-led government in the state, Singh said, the Congress regime destroyed the state in five years. "Now I firmly believe that the Vishnu Deo Sai-led BJP government will bring the state back on the track of development with the support of people," he said. Photo: Screenshot taken from a video posted on X by @ANI Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled infrastructure projects worth more than Rs 4,500 crore in northern West Bengal on Saturday. The PM unveiled the projects at a programme in Siliguri, the region's largest city, during his third visit to the state this month. Governor CV Ananda Bose was among those present at the programme. Addressing the function, Modi said eastern India was ignored after Independence but his government considers it as the growth engine of the country. "Over the last 10 years, the development of Bengal, especially North Bengal, has been a priority for our government," he said. The PM inaugurated multiple projects of railway line electrification that will benefit the people of northern West Bengal and nearby areas, an official statement said. These railway lines are the Eklakhi-Balurghat section, Barsoi-Radhikapur section, Raninagar Jalpaiguri-Haldibari section, Siliguri-Aluabari section via Bagdogra, and the SiliguriSivokAlipurduar JunctionSamuktala section, it said. He also inaugurated the doubling of the railway line in the Manigram-Nimtita section and automatic block signaling in the Ambari-Falakata-Aluabari section. The PM also flagged off a new passenger train service between Siliguri and Radhikapur, it said. These projects will improve rail connectivity, facilitate freight movement and contribute to employment generation and economic growth in the region, the statement said. The PM also inaugurated two national highway projects worth Rs 3,100 crore in West Bengal. These are the four-lane Ghospukur-Dhupguri section and the four-lane Islampur Bypass on NH 27. The Ghospukur-Dhupguri Section is part of the north-south transport corridor, connecting eastern India with the rest of the country. During the earlier two trips this month, the prime minister visited different districts of southern West Bengal -- Hooghly, Nadia and North 24 Parganas, considered the stronghold of the TMC. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had swept northern West Bengal, which the PM is visiting this time. On March 1, the PM unveiled projects worth Rs 7,200 crore in Arambagh in Hooghly district, and on March 2, he unveiled projects worth Rs 15,000 crore in Krishnanagar in Nadia. On March 6, he inaugurated multiple metro railway projects in Kolkata. Premier Li Qiang said this week that China will quicken the development of "a new model" for the troubled sector, focussing on building more affordable housing and meeting demand for homes | Photo: Bloomberg China will improve home sales in a "forceful" and "orderly" way, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong said on Saturday, as weak demand in the country's beleaguered residential property market persists. The property sector has lurched from one crisis to another since 2021 after a regulatory crackdown on high leverage among developers triggered a liquidity crisis among real estate firms and crushed home-buying sentiment. Chinese developers including real estate giants China Evergrande Group and Country Garden have defaulted on their debts, many housing projects across China have been left unfinished, and angry buyers who have already paid for their homes have clamoured for official action. Some developers should be allowed to go bankrupt or restructured according to legal and market-based rules, Ni said told a press conference on the sidelines of the annual meeting of parliament in Beijing. Premier Li Qiang said this week that China will quicken the development of "a new model" for the troubled sector, focussing on building more affordable housing and meeting demand for homes. But China will insist that "housing is for living in, not for speculation" when formulating a new development model for the sector, Ni said, reiterating an official line against property speculation. The U.N. Security Council urged Sudan's warring parties on Friday to immediately halt hostilities during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and allow aid to get to 25 million people in desperate need of food and other assistance. Ramadan is expected to begin on or around Monday, depending on the sighting of the crescent moon. The 15-member council voted overwhelmingly in favor of the British-drafted resolution, with 14 countries in support and only Russia abstaining. Sudan plunged into chaos in April, when long-simmering tensions between its military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo broke out into street battles in the capital, Khartoum. Fighting spread to other parts of the country, especially urban areas, but in Sudan's western Darfur region it took on a different form, with brutal attacks by the Arab-dominated Rapid Support Forces on ethnic African civilians. Thousands of people have been killed. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged both sides on Thursday to support a Ramadan cease-fire, warning that the nearly year-long conflict threatens the country's unity and could ignite regional instability of dramatic proportions. The African Union also backed a halt to fighting during Ramadan. Burhan welcomed the U.N. chief's appeal, but the Sudanese Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Friday listing a number of conditions for a cease-fire to be effective. The Rapid Support Forces have not responded. The resolution expresses grave concern over the spreading violence and the catastrophic and deteriorating humanitarian situation, including crisis levels, or worse, of acute food insecurity, particularly in Darfur. Britain's deputy U.N. ambassador James Kariuki urged the Sudanese armed forces and Rapid Support Forces to act on this united international call for peace and to silence the guns. The Security Council urged the warring parties to seek a sustainable resolution to the conflict through dialogue, and Kariuki called on the two sides to work to restore peace. Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador Anna Evstigneeva accused the Security Council of double standards calling for a cease-fire in Sudan and dragging out adoption of a resolution calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, pointing to U.S. vetoes of a cease-fire resolution and calling this hypocrisy. She claimed most elements in Friday's resolution are already being done, stressing that ending the violence shouldn't just be the aim of the Security Council but most importantly of the Sudanese people themselves. Nonetheless, Russia decided to let the resolution through because it is a question of the lives of the Sudanese people who are suffering across the country from the consequences of the conflict, she said. According to the U.N. humanitarian office, 8.3 million people have been forcibly displaced by fighting between government and paramilitary forces, half of the country's 51 million people need aid, and 70% to 80% of health facilities aren't functioning. U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said if a Ramadan cease-fire is observed by both sides, "I can assure you we'll be piling in the aid and repositioning, repairing institutions, getting children out to safety and so forth. The number of Sudanese who are hungry and food insecure has increased by 10 million since last year because of the conflict, he said, warning of moves toward famine because of disinterest in the Sudan conflict by the rest of the world. Griffiths told a group of reporters Friday that he has personally been trying to get the rival commanders together in person or virtually to agree on access for humanitarian aid and workers, so far unsuccessfully. What we need is a political process, he said, stressing that instability in Sudan has an impact beyond its borders because of its strategic location. The impact has been seen in neighboring Chad, which is hosting over 550,000 Sudanese refugees mainly from neighboring Darfur as well as the Central African Republic and westward through Africa to the Sahel, Griffiths said. In addition, Sudan borders the Red Sea where Yemen's Houthi rebels are attacking ships to try to spur a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Griffiths said the $2.7 billion U.N. humanitarian appeal for Sudan this year is just 4% funded and urged donors to respond urgently. He welcomed France's announcement last month that it will hold a ministerial meeting in mid-April to help Sudan and its neighbors deal with the humanitarian consequences of the conflict. Addressing the Security Council on Thursday, secretary-general Guterres pointed to renewed offensives and growing fears of a further expansion of hostilities in eastern Sudan, calls for arming civilians in various states, and armed groups entering the fighting in western Darfur and South Kordofan. But Sudan's Foreign Ministry on Friday set conditions for a cease-fire, saying the RSF should withdraw from all provinces they have taken control of since the conflict erupted, return all looted public and private property and stop human rights violations including atrocities their fighters have committed especially in Darfur. In blaming the RSF for the ongoing conflict, the ministry said, We are certain that the terrorist militia that launched a war against the state and the people in Ramadan last year has no moral, religious or national obligations that would make it respect the sanctity of the holy month. Two decades ago, Sudan's vast western Darfur region became synonymous with genocide and war crimes, particularly by the notorious Janjaweed Arab militias against populations that identify as Central or East African. US Navy ships and aircraft shot down 15 uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) by the Houthis in the Red Sea area, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said earlier on Saturday | Photo: Bloomberg American and French forces downed dozens of drones in the Red Sea on Saturday after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis targeted bulk carrier Propel Fortune and US destroyers in the Gulf of Aden. The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea since November in what they say is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians during the war in Gaza. The group's military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a televised speech on Saturday they targeted the cargo vessel and "a number of US war destroyers at the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with 37 drones". US Navy ships and aircraft shot down 15 uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) by the Houthis in the Red Sea area, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said earlier on Saturday. The military was responding to a large-scale attack the group launched into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden between 4 a.m. and 6:30 a.m (1300-1530 GMT), CENTCOM said in a post on social media platform X. The UAVs were determined to present "an imminent threat to merchant vessels, US Navy, and coalition ships in the region", it said. A French warship and fighter jets also shot down four combat drones that were advancing towards naval vessels belonging to the European Aspides mission in the region, a French army statement said. "This defensive action directly contributed to the protection of the cargo ship True Confidence, under the Barbados flag, which was struck on March 6 and is being towed, as well as other commercial vessels transiting in the area," it said. France has a warship in the area, but also warplanes at its bases in Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) also confirmed that there was an attempted attack on the Singapore-flagged Propel Fortune. It said the shipping company reported two explosions in close vicinity of the bulk carrier, but all crew on board were safe and the vessel was proceeding to its next port of call. "Based on sources, Propel Fortune, was likely targeted due to outdated US ownership data," UKMTO said in a statement. Sarea said the Houthis would continue their attacks "until the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted". HISD Superintendent Mike Miles announces that the Houston Independent School District will open Cullen Military Academy at Cullen Middle School in the 2024-2025 school year at Delmar Stadium on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, in Houston. Karen Warren/Staff photographer Editor's note: The Houston Chronicle initially published the names of 117 principals listed as recipients of the email. The news organization then received a tip that the district may have included someone erroneously in its distribution. In its editorial discretion, the Chronicle took down the list of names. Houston ISDs appointed Superintendent Mike Miles put about half of the districts principals on notice Thursday evening after receiving results of their midyear proficiency screenings, informing them that they must undergo a second assessment this spring and achieve at a higher level to remain a principal in HISD next year, according to documents obtained by the Houston Chronicle. The principals who received the message include both longtime veterans and principals appointed by Miles' administration just this year, representing Houstons highest- and lowest-performing schools. Miles said he would make the midyear results available to principals on Friday, and met with them in the morning to discuss next steps. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Your results demonstrate that you are working to be a proficient instructional leader and need to continue making progress toward that goal, Miles wrote to principals on Thursday evening. I want to make sure you clearly understand the next steps in the process to evaluate your performance and determine your eligibility for a principal position next year. PRINCIPAL TRACKER: A look at HISD schools with leadership turnover since Mike Miles became superintendent The Houston Chronicle obtained a copy of the email, which was addressed to 117 principals. The Chronicle initially published the names of everyone listed as a recipient on the email. The news organization then received a tip that the district may have included someone erroneously, raising questions about the accuracy of the districts distribution list. In its editorial discretion, the Chronicle took down the list of names. The midyear proficiency screenings, which about half of the districts principals passed on the first go-around, focused on quality of instruction and student achievement. The former was determined by an independent review team that conducted classroom observations of core subject teachers in February, while the latter was based on midyear NWEA and interim STAAR results. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Team HISD has a lot to be proud of. 125 principals found out today they have already demonstrated the quality of instructional leadership necessary to retain their position for the 2024-2025 school year, district officials said in a statement. Another 120 HISD principals learned that they are making good progress and that if they continue to work hard, focus on strong instructional leadership, and demonstrate their ability to support student success they will achieve the level of proficiency necessary to return in the next school year, the statement reads. We are confident most of our instructional leaders will meet our performance expectations and return to HISD in the 2024-2025 school year. REPORT CARD NEWSLETTER: Sign up for a weekly recap of everything happening in and outside of Houston ISDs classrooms. The principals who must take a second proficiency screening are those that did not receive a score of Proficient I or higher in the evaluation system developed by Miles, according to a presentation Miles delivered to principals this week. Those screenings will be conducted in April and focus solely on the quality of instruction, with up to 10 classroom observations per school. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The district will use either the average of the two review scores or just the second whichever is higher to help determine whether or not a principal can remain at HISD. The final evaluation, known as the Leader Effectiveness and Development System (LEAD), will also incorporate special education compliance and the principals school action plan. It will be graded on a curve so that a certain number of principals fall into each of six categories, and principals will be paid according to their rating at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year. Under Miles' targeted distribution, 40% of principals will receive a Proficient I ranking, and 20% will score a higher rating of Proficient II. Just 8% of principals will be receive the districts highest ratings of Exemplary I or II. Principals who score in any of those four categories may remain as school leader. The lowest-scoring principals will be rated Progressing I and Progressing II. The 10% that score in the first category will automatically be removed from their position as a principal at HISD. The 22% percent who receive a score Progressing II will be able to stay in their role at the discretion of their feeder patterns executive director or that of their division superintendent. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Michael McDonough, former principal at Bellaire High School, said that just one model or framework cannot effectively evaluate all the principals at HISD, given the size and diversity of the district and its 274 schools. He also said the evaluation system sends a message to principals that they are interchangeable, and worried that forcing principals out will have trickle-down effects on teacher retention and community confidence in a school. When a new process is rolled out to a district this size, it would seem prudent to spend a year examining the data to be sure that what youve designed works, McDonough said. Instead they are rolling it out with an unwarranted level of confidence. NES EXPANSION: HISD Superintendent Miles announces major overhaul to tackle 'inefficiencies' Miles argues that current student achievement data broadly suggests principal performance at HISD does not meet the highest standards, and that the urgency of a principals work requires a high level of responsibility and accountability for results. Our premise is that a high percentage of proficient or distinguished principals should be correlated to significant improvements in student achievement across the District, Miles wrote in the LEAD guidebook. While we hope to have more than 80 percent of the principals at the proficient level or higher someday, current student achievement data suggest that the percentage of proficient and distinguished principals is lower. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The evaluations are taking place against the backdrop of dozens of principal departures that have already occurred since Miles was appointed to his position by the Texas Education Agency on June 1. Some principals were removed by Miles' administration for their perceived inability to adhere to his strict demands; others left of their own accord, saying their schools had become a hostile workplace. McDonough said that the timing of the announcement, just two days before the district goes on spring break, could damage employees' already fragile morale. State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands Armed Forces Americas Armed Forces Pacific Armed Forces Europe Northern Mariana Islands Marshall Islands American Samoa Federated States of Micronesia Guam Palau Alberta, Canada British Columbia, Canada Manitoba, Canada New Brunswick, Canada Newfoundland, Canada Nova Scotia, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada Nunavut, Canada Ontario, Canada Prince Edward Island, Canada Quebec, Canada Saskatchewan, Canada Yukon Territory, Canada Postal Code China calls on parties to Ukraine crisis to enhance direct engagement Xinhua) 13:58, March 09, 2024 UNITED NATIONS, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Friday called on the parties to the Ukraine crisis to enhance direct engagement and dialogue to find a solution. As the Ukraine crisis drags on, aggravated attacks and civilian casualties continue to occur, and the humanitarian situation keeps worsening. China is deeply concerned and saddened by this, said Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations. Conflict and confrontation produce no winner. All conflicts have to end at the negotiating table. The earlier the talks start, the sooner peace will arrive, he told the Security Council. So long as all parties uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and properly address each other's legitimate concerns, Europe will be able to truly establish a balanced, effective, and sustainable security architecture, he said. "We call on the parties concerned to remain calm and exercise restraint, enhance direct engagement and dialogue, gradually build consensus, and jointly explore viable solutions," he said. "The international community should also increase diplomatic efforts to facilitate the de-escalation of the situation and create conditions for a political settlement." On the Ukraine issue, China has always held an objective and just position and has never given up efforts to facilitate talks for peace. China supports the holding in due course of an international peace conference that is recognized by both Russia and Ukraine, that ensures the equal participation of all parties and fair discussions on all peace plans, said Geng. China is ready to continue communication and engagement with all parties to work tirelessly to consolidate consensus for ending the conflict, to pave the way for dialogue and peace talks, and to promote a political solution, he said. (Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Liang Jun) Rebekah F. Ward is the Houston Chronicle's climate & environment reporter. She can be reached at rebekah.ward@houstonchronicle.com. Before coming to Texas, Rebekah was an investigative journalist at the Albany Times Union, where she started in 2021 as the newsrooms first Joseph T. Lyons fellow. She has worked for outlets including Reuters, France 24 and the OCCRP, reporting from the U.S., Colombia, Mexico and her native Canada. Spains Next Lab has revealed the 2024 winners of its Generation pitching and incubation program for vr, ar, xr, and animation projects. This year, 20 projects were selected to participate in a series of lectures, meetings, presentations, workshops, and networking events in Madrid. Each also pitched to a jury of industry professionals who evaluated the projects and selected their favorite three from the lot. In the video below, excerpts for several of this years projects can be seen. The three projects selected by this years Next Lab jury were: Catwalk, Lidia Luna, Omayra Gonzalez Perez and Toni Mortero Catwalk is an animated series project that tells the story of Maria, a woman who feels trapped by the routine of life. After a terrible accident during a night out with friends, her consciousness is transported to the body of a stray cat, giving her an opportunity at a completely different kind of life. Martina e Gaura, Paula de Abreu This Brazilian multiplatform project, Martina e Gaura is the story of two siblings adapting to life in a new home on a magical island where endangered species take refuge. The Cutting of the Forest, Vernante Amarilla Pallotti and Daniele Zen This Italian vr short film is an examination of the balance between humankind and nature that unspools as the user ascends to the top of a tree as the buzz of chainsaws sounds below them. The three selected projects will each receive 8,000 euros ($8,700) in development financing, three months of mentoring from professionals in fields related to the work, and the opportunity to pitch at Annecys MIFA marketplace in June. The jury also awarded a special mention to Nuno Benito and Nacho Subirats Spanish series project Welcome to Fucking Rainbowland. Next Lab was first held in 2021 as a launchpad and incubator for projects that best utilize new and emerging technologies in the creative sector. Since its founding, the event has hosted 70 projects from 30 countries. According to Next Lab director Jose Luis Farias: Breaking News Would you like to receive our breaking news news? Signup today! e-Edition Subscribers e-Edition Only - $39.00 Year This is the exact replica of our weekly printed paper. Great for searching archives! General Interest Imported List: General Interest Hana Ikramuddin is a Hearst Fellow for the Houston Chronicle. Raised in the Twin Cities, Hana majored in journalism and political science at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. She has held internships with the Star Tribune, APM Reports and Sahan Journal. In her free time, she loves to cook, make chai and take care of her houseplants. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Of the 3,517 Medals of Honor awarded since 1863, remarkably, there are two father-son recipient pairs. I previously profiled the first of the pairs, 1LT Arthur MacArthur and his son, Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Click here for that profile.The second father-son recipients were the 26th president, Theodore Teddy Roosevelt Jr., and his son, Theodore Ted Roosevelt III, sometimes errantly referred to as Jr.Teddy Roosevelt was awarded the Medal of Honor for his 1898 actions in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, while his son Ted was a recipient for his actions at Normandy in 1944 during World War II.At the onset of the Spanish-American War in 1898, Teddy Roosevelt, a New York City native, resigned from his appointment as President William McKinleys assistant secretary of the Navy, and he and COL Leonard Wood formed the Armys First U.S.Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, the Rough Riders.Determined to get in the fight in the battle of San Juan Hill, then-LTC Roosevelt later wrote: On the day of the big fight, I had to ask my men to do a deed that European military writers consider utterly impossible of performance, that is, to attack over open ground an unshaken infantry armed with the best modern repeating rifles behind a formidable system of entrenchments. The only way to get them to do it in the way it had to be done was to lead them myself.As was the case with Gen. MacArthurs Medal of Honor nomination, Roosevelts nomination was besieged with controversy. Though four general officers had recommended LTC Roosevelt, his nomination was denied without documented reason. It was only after decades of lobbying for this award after Roosevelts death that Congress repealed a statute of limitations on military decorations, and Roosevelt was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 2001 the only president to have received the honor.According to his citation: [Roosevelt], in total disregard for his personal safety, and accompanied by only four or five men, led a desperate and gallant charge up San Juan Hill, encouraging his troops to continue the assault through withering enemy fire over open countryside. Facing the enemys heavy fire, he displayed extraordinary bravery throughout the charge, and was the first to reach the enemy trenches, where he quickly killed one of the enemy with his pistol, allowing his men to continue the assault. His leadership and valor turned the tide in the battle for San Juan Hill.A good example of Roosevelts tenacious character occurred on October 14, 1912. When arriving at a presidential campaign event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he was shot from seven feet away by a deranged assassin. The bullet lodged in Roosevelts chest but was slowed after passing through his eyeglasses case and his printed speech folded in his coat pocket. An experienced hunter, he knew that, despite the considerable pain, the bullet had not entered his lung because he was not coughing up blood. Thus, he declined efforts to get him to the hospital, went to the platform, and delivered his speech with these opening words: Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I dont know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot, but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose.A medical exam following that speech determined that the bullet had lodged in his muscle tissue, and it was considered less dangerous to leave it in place than remove it. Roosevelt carried that bullet with him for his remaining days, later telling a friend, I do not mind it any more than if it were in my waistcoat pocket.Bull Moose became the symbol of his campaign.Roosevelts four sons were inspired by their fathers military service, and all four, Ted III, Kermit, Archibald, and Quentin, served in World War I, the latter killed in action in 1918.Ted received a Distinguished Service Cross for his service in WWI and post-war became one of the founders of the American Legion.He remained a reservist after WWI, was recalled to active duty as a Colonel in WWII, and soon thereafter was promoted to Brigadier General. In 1944, he twice requested to be in the first Normandy wave on Utah Beach, but his requests were denied. After a third written request, his direct participation in the landing was approved. Notably, his own son, CPT Quentin Roosevelt II, was in the first wave at Omaha Beach.On the morning of June 6, 1944, Ted was the oldest man (56), one of the first men onto the beaches, and the first of only two General Officers to storm the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. Armed with his pistol and the cane he used for severe arthritis, then-BG Roosevelt, upon learning his wave had landed about a mile off course, declared, We are going to start the war right here. He earned his Medal of Honor at Utah Beach for gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life, above and beyond the call of duty while leading successive waves of his troops into fields of fire toward their objectives.He had prepared for this day his entire life, writing after WWI of his fathers service: I often walked to the office with [my father]. On the way down he would talk history to me not the dry history of dates and charters, but the history where you yourself in your imagination could assume the role of the principal actors, as every well-constructed boy wishes to do when interested. During every battle we would stop and father would draw out the full plan in the dust in the gutter with the tip of his umbrella. Long before the European war had broken over the world father would discuss with us military training and the necessity for every man being able to take his part.According to Ted Roosevelts citation: He repeatedly led groups from the beach, over the seawall and established them inland. His valor, courage, and presence in the very front of the attack and his complete unconcern at being under heavy fire inspired the troops to heights of enthusiasm and self-sacrifice. Although the enemy had the beach under constant direct fire, Brig. Gen. Roosevelt moved from one locality to another, rallying men around him, directed and personally led them against the enemy. Under his seasoned, precise, calm, and unfaltering leadership, assault troops reduced beach strong points and rapidly moved inland with minimum casualties.As with his father, Teds Medal of Honor was also awarded posthumously, in his case in September 1944. He had died in July in France after the invasion. Ted had been selected for promotion to Major General and command of the 90th Infantry Division just prior to his death.Theodore and Ted Roosevelt: Your examples of valor humble American Patriots defending your fellow warriors and Liberty for all above and beyond the call of duty, and in disregard for the peril to your own life, is eternal. Greater love has no one than this, to lay down ones life for his friends. (John 15:13)Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et FidelisPro Deo et Libertate 1776(Please consider a tax-deductible gift to support the National Medal of Honor Sustaining Fund. Make a check payable to NMoH Sustaining Fund and mail to: Patriot Foundation Trust, PO Box 407, Chattanooga, TN 37401-0407. Visit the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center at Aquarium Plaza. (https://www.MOHHC.org) Join us in prayer for our nations Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families.)Mark Caldwell Here is the latest Hamilton County arrest report: APPLEBERRY, XAIVIER DEWAYNE 4519 ST ELMO AVE CHATTANOOGA, 37409 Age at Arrest: 36 years old Arresting Agency: East Ridge Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) BERRY, CHARLES MICHAEL 226 VEELAND ST CHATTANOOGA, 37415 Age at Arrest: 28 years old Arresting Agency: Red Bank SIMPLE DOMESTIC ASSAULT SIMPLE DOMESTIC ASSAULT BIRKHEAD, WILLIAM DOUGLAS 200 RIDGE ROAD CHATTANOOGA, 37411 Age at Arrest: 36 years old Arresting Agency: Red Bank POSSESSION OF FENTANYLFOR RESALE POSSESSION OF METHAMPHETAMINE FOR RESALE POSSESSION OF HEROINFOR RESALE POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA EVADING ARREST ASSAULT ON FIRST RESPONDER (POLICE) RESISTING STOP, FRIST, HALT, ARREST OR SEARCH BONDS, SHARONDA MONIQUE 1005 NORTH MOORE ROAD CHATTANOOGA, 37411 Age at Arrest: 35 years old Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff FAILURE TO APPEAR BROWN, KELSEY LASHAWN 3008 WILCOX BLVD CHATTANOOGA, 37411 Age at Arrest: 32 years old Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff THEFT OF FIREARM (FELONY) BRYSON, JASON RAY 290 S INDUSTRIAL BLVD TRENTON, 30752 Age at Arrest: 41 years old Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) BURRESS, BRITTANY LASHAWN 22 STARVIEW LN APT 431 CHATTANOOGA, 37419 Age at Arrest: 29 years old Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) CATCHINGS, STACY LYNN 6913 RAMSEY TOWN ROAD HARRISON, 37341 Age at Arrest: 46 years old Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff PUBLIC INTOXICATION RESISTING ARREST OR OBSTRUCTION OF LEGAL PROCESS COLLINS, HAROLD ADAM 798 SHARBS CHAPEL ROAD SHARBS CHAPEL, 37866 Age at Arrest: 39 years old Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff FUGITIVE (ARREST FOR CRIME IN ANOTHER STATE) COLVIN, QUANTEARRA LASHAE 4917 JEFFERY LN CHATTANOOGA, 37410 Age at Arrest: 26 years old Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff VIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTY - ONDUCT CONNER, EMILY 345 DEPOT STREET SODDY DAISY, 37379 Age at Arrest: 32 years old Arresting Agency: DOMESTIC ASSAULT CONNER, JOSEPH ROBERT 345 DEPOT STREET SODDY DAISY, 37379 Age at Arrest: 37 years old Arresting Agency: Soddy Daisy DOMESTIC ASSAULT EVERTON, NORMA JAN MCCOOL 316 Green Gorge Rd Signal Mountain, 373773031 Age at Arrest: 56 years old Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD HEADLIGHTS ON MOTOR VEHICLES (INCLEMENT WEATHER) DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE IMPLIED CONSENT LAW - DRIVERS OPEN CONTAINER LAW GADDIS, GARAEK DEWAYNE 155 HUSTON STREET DUNLAP, 37327 Age at Arrest: 26 years old Arresting Agency: Collegedale Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) GANN, KRISTEN NICHOLE 1311 GREEN POND RD. SODDY DAISY, 37379Age at Arrest: 34 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffTHEFT OF PROPERTYGODFREY, KRISTEN BAILEY26 HARBOUGH LANE RINGGOLD, 30736Age at Arrest: 27 years oldArresting Agency: Tenn Hwy PatrolDRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCELIGHT LAW VIOLATIONDRIVERS TO EXERCISE DUE CAREHARRIS, SHUNZEILLA SHAMUS4713 TOMAHAWK TRAIL CHATTANOOGA, 374113201Age at Arrest: 25 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffVIOLATION OF PROBATION (RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT)VIOLATION OF PROBATION (UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF A WVIOLATION OF PROBATION (SIMPLE PSS MARIHUANA FOR RVIOLATION OF PROBATION (DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCVIOLATION OF PROBATION (UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF A WVIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSSESSION OF MARIHUANA FOHART, JAMES YUAL2123 RIVERSIDE DR CHATTANOOGA, 374062343Age at Arrest: 40 years oldArresting Agency: Chattanooga PDFRAUDULENT USE OF CREDIT OR DEBIT CARDCONTRABAND IN PENAL INSTITUTIONSEVADING ARRESTDRUGS GENERAL CATEGORY FOR RESALEDRUGS GENERAL CATEGORY FOR RESALEHEATON, AMY NOEL8620 OLD LEE HIGHWAY OOLTEWAH, 37363Age at Arrest: 34 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffAGGRAVATED ASSAULTHIXSON, DARISHA LASHONTEION7217 SALMON LANE OOLTEWAH, 37363Age at Arrest: 30 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffDRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSEHOLLAND, ROBIN LEANN1830 MILLARD RD SODDY DAISY, 37379Age at Arrest: 51 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)JENKINS, SAINH DESHAWN3012 WOODSIDE ST CHATTANOOGA, 374071252Age at Arrest: 20 years oldArresting Agency: Chattanooga PDTHEFT OF PROPERTYPOSSESSING A FIREARM WITH INTENT TO GO ARMEDJONES, BRITTANY DENAE2255 E 25TH STREET CT CHATTANOOGA, 37406Age at Arrest: 31 years oldArresting Agency: CollegedaleDRUGS GENERAL CATEGORY FOR RESALEPOSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIAKELLEY, JAMES TYLER1335 SAINT THOMAS STREET HOMELESS EAST RIDGE, 37412Age at Arrest: 33 years oldArresting Agency: East RidgeTHEFT OF PROPERTYATTEMPTED AGGRAVATED BURGLARYLANGFORD, DAMIEN COLEHAYMON HOMES POWELL, 35971Age at Arrest: 29 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffTHEFT OF PROPERTY (CONDUCT INVOLV.MERCHANDISE)THEFT OF PROPERTY (CONDUCT INVOLV.MERCHANDISE)LAYNE, GARRETT DOUGLAS107 SIGNAL VIEW ST CHATTANOOGA, 37415Age at Arrest: 25 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffIGNITION INTERLOCK VIOLATIONMILKS, JOYCE MARIE1709 EAST 50TH STREET CHATTANOOGA, 37407Age at Arrest: 43 years oldArresting Agency: Chattanooga PDDOMESTIC ASSAULTMINOR, BRADLEY KENDALL1142 COLLINS CIRCLE CHATTANOOGA, 37421Age at Arrest: 23 years oldArresting Agency: Red BankBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)MOORE, PRINCESS BETH1516 RUSTIC DRIVE NW CLEVELAND, 373122988Age at Arrest: 19 years oldArresting Agency: CollegedaleBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)PHILLIPS, JAMES PAUL77 FAIRLANE DRIVE ROOSVILLE, 30741Age at Arrest: 24 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)PRICE, QUENTIN LAMAR6205 HADLEY DR CHATTANOOGA, 374163218Age at Arrest: 33 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffNONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORTNONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORTNONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORTNONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORTRAMOS, JORDY RODRIGO1301 E 36TH ST CHATTANOOGA, 374072420Age at Arrest: 22 years oldArresting Agency: Chattanooga PDDISORDERLY CONDUCTDRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE (1ST OFFENSE)ROWE, HUGH LEABERTH6460 MIDDLE DR CHATTANOOGA, 374163524Age at Arrest: 32 years oldArresting Agency: Chattanooga PDBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)SLUDER, RANDY EDWARD727 E 11TH STREET CHATTANOOGA, 37404Age at Arrest: 40 years oldArresting Agency: East RidgeVANDALISM/MALICIOUS MISCHIEFSMITH, MATTHEW RYAN208 W 5TH STREET IUKA, 38852Age at Arrest: 26 years oldArresting Agency: Federal MarshallBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)STEELE, CARRIE FRANZIKA98 CRAIG RD LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, 30750Age at Arrest: 36 years oldArresting Agency: Red BankHARASSMENTSTEPHENS, BLAKE EDWARD3905 BOWMAN LANE CHATTANOOGA, 37416Age at Arrest: 41 years oldArresting Agency: Chattanooga PDBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)TERCERO RAMOS, VICTOR3121BIMINI PLACE APT 133 CHATTANOOGA, 37412Age at Arrest: 32 years oldArresting Agency: East RidgeSPEEDINGDRIVING WITHOUT DRIVERS LICENSE / EXPIRED LICENSEWARD, SEAN WILLIAM137 BERNARD CIR APT 1 DAYTON, 37321Age at Arrest: 43 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffDRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSEFINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITYWARE, ARIAH MYASIA621 SHANNON AVENUE CHATTANOOGA, 37411Age at Arrest: 24 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffVIOLATION OF PROBATION (ASSAULT)VIOLATION OF PROBATION (RIOTAULT)WEBB, MATTHEW STEVEN310 FORESTRY TRAIL SUMMERVILLE, 30747Age at Arrest: 32 years oldArresting Agency: Red BankCRIMINAL TRESPASSINGASSAULT ON POLICERESISTING ARREST OR OBSTRUCTION OF LEGAL PROCESSWENE, CAITLYN SKY9905 HIXSON PIKE SODDY DAISY, 37379Age at Arrest: 22 years oldArresting Agency: Soddy DaisyFUGITIVE (ARREST FOR CRIME IN ANOTHER STATE)WOOD, TRISTAN BRYCEHOMELESS HARRISON, 37341Age at Arrest: 28 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffVIOLATION OF PROTECTION ORDER OR RESTRAINING ORDERSTALKING (AGG) Here are the mug shots: BERRY, CHARLES MICHAEL Age at Arrest: 28 Date of Birth: 05/31/1995 Arresting Agency: Red Bank Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): SIMPLE DOMESTIC ASSAULT SIMPLE DOMESTIC ASSAULT BIRKHEAD, WILLIAM DOUGLAS Age at Arrest: 36 Date of Birth: 02/25/1986 Arresting Agency: Red Bank Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): POSSESSION OF FENTANYLFOR RESALE POSSESSION OF METHAMPHETAMINE FOR RESALE POSSESSION OF HEROINFOR RESALE POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA EVADING ARREST ASSAULT ON FIRST RESPONDER (POLICE) RESISTING STOP, FRIST, HALT, ARREST OR SEARCH BONDS, SHARONDA MONIQUE Age at Arrest: 35 Date of Birth: 10/05/1987 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): FAILURE TO APPEAR BROWN, KELSEY LASHAWN Age at Arrest: 32 Date of Birth: 01/26/1992 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): THEFT OF FIREARM (FELONY) BRYSON, JASON RAY Age at Arrest: 41 Date of Birth: 11/09/1982 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) BURRESS, BRITTANY LASHAWN Age at Arrest: 29 Date of Birth: 07/22/1994 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) CATCHINGS, STACY LYNN Age at Arrest: 46 Date of Birth: 02/27/1977 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): PUBLIC INTOXICATION RESISTING ARREST OR OBSTRUCTION OF LEGAL PROCESS COLLINS, HAROLD ADAM Age at Arrest: 39 Date of Birth: 08/21/1984 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): FUGITIVE (ARREST FOR CRIME IN ANOTHER STATE) COLVIN, QUANTEARRA LASHAE Age at Arrest: 26 Date of Birth: 07/26/1997 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF PROBATION (THEFT OF PROPERTY - ONDUCT CONNER, EMILY Age at Arrest: 32 Date of Birth: 01/08/1992 Arresting Agency: Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT CONNER, JOSEPH ROBERT Age at Arrest: 37 Date of Birth: 12/31/1986 Arresting Agency: Soddy Daisy Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT EVERTON, NORMA JAN MCCOOL Age at Arrest: 56 Date of Birth: 12/29/1959 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): HEADLIGHTS ON MOTOR VEHICLES (INCLEMENT WEATHER) DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE IMPLIED CONSENT LAW - DRIVERS OPEN CONTAINER LAW GADDIS, GARAEK DEWAYNE Age at Arrest: 26 Date of Birth: 10/20/1997 Arresting Agency: Collegedale Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) GANN, KRISTEN NICHOLE Age at Arrest: 34 Date of Birth: 02/06/1990 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): THEFT OF PROPERTY GODFREY, KRISTEN BAILEY Age at Arrest: 27 Date of Birth: 10/04/1996 Arresting Agency: Tenn Hwy Patrol Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE LIGHT LAW VIOLATION DRIVERS TO EXERCISE DUE CARE HARRIS, SHUNZEILLA SHAMUS Age at Arrest: 25 Date of Birth: 03/30/1998 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF PROBATION (RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT) VIOLATION OF PROBATION (UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF A W VIOLATION OF PROBATION (SIMPLE PSS MARIHUANA FOR R VIOLATION OF PROBATION (DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENC VIOLATION OF PROBATION (UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF A W VIOLATION OF PROBATION (POSSESSION OF MARIHUANA FO HART, JAMES YUAL Age at Arrest: 40 Date of Birth: 12/17/1983 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): FRAUDULENT USE OF CREDIT OR DEBIT CARD CONTRABAND IN PENAL INSTITUTIONS EVADING ARREST DRUGS GENERAL CATEGORY FOR RESALE DRUGS GENERAL CATEGORY FOR RESALE HEATON, AMY NOEL Age at Arrest: 34 Date of Birth: 12/01/1989 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): AGGRAVATED ASSAULT HIXSON, DARISHA LASHONTEION Age at Arrest: 30 Date of Birth: 10/27/1993 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE HOLLAND, ROBIN LEANN Age at Arrest: 51 Date of Birth: 03/29/1972 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) JENKINS, SAINH DESHAWN Age at Arrest: 20 Date of Birth: 10/24/2003 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): THEFT OF PROPERTY POSSESSING A FIREARM WITH INTENT TO GO ARMED JONES, BRITTANY DENAE Age at Arrest: 31 Date of Birth: 11/18/1992 Arresting Agency: Collegedale Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): DRUGS GENERAL CATEGORY FOR RESALE POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA KELLEY, JAMES TYLER Age at Arrest: 33 Date of Birth: 05/04/1990 Arresting Agency: East Ridge Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): THEFT OF PROPERTY ATTEMPTED AGGRAVATED BURGLARY LANGFORD, DAMIEN COLE Age at Arrest: 29 Date of Birth: 01/24/1995 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): THEFT OF PROPERTY (CONDUCT INVOLV.MERCHANDISE) THEFT OF PROPERTY (CONDUCT INVOLV.MERCHANDISE) MILKS, JOYCE MARIE Age at Arrest: 43 Date of Birth: 03/09/1980 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT MOORE, PRINCESS BETH Age at Arrest: 19 Date of Birth: 04/02/2004 Arresting Agency: Collegedale Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) PHILLIPS, JAMES PAUL Age at Arrest: 24 Date of Birth: 01/12/2000 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) PRICE, QUENTIN LAMAR Age at Arrest: 33 Date of Birth: 02/09/1991 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): NONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORT NONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORT NONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORT NONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORT ROWE, HUGH LEABERTH Age at Arrest: 32 Date of Birth: 01/30/1992 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) SERGIO, ARCADIO CHILEL Age at Arrest: 33 Date of Birth: 04/24/1990 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE FOLLOWING TOO CLOSELY SLUDER, RANDY EDWARD Age at Arrest: 40 Date of Birth: 01/04/1984 Arresting Agency: East Ridge Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): VANDALISM/MALICIOUS MISCHIEF SMITH, MATTHEW RYAN Age at Arrest: 26 Date of Birth: 12/11/1997 Arresting Agency: Federal Marshall Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) STEELE, CARRIE FRANZIKA Age at Arrest: 36 Date of Birth: 03/05/1988 Arresting Agency: Red Bank Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): HARASSMENT STEPHENS, BLAKE EDWARD Age at Arrest: 41 Date of Birth: 10/07/1982 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) WARD, SEAN WILLIAM Age at Arrest: 43 Date of Birth: 12/10/1980 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY WARE, ARIAH MYASIA Age at Arrest: 24 Date of Birth: 01/23/2000 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF PROBATION (ASSAULT) VIOLATION OF PROBATION (RIOTAULT) WEBB, MATTHEW STEVEN Age at Arrest: 32 Date of Birth: 02/05/1992 Arresting Agency: Red Bank Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): CRIMINAL TRESPASSING ASSAULT ON POLICE RESISTING ARREST OR OBSTRUCTION OF LEGAL PROCESS WENE, CAITLYN SKY Age at Arrest: 22 Date of Birth: 03/04/2001 Arresting Agency: Soddy Daisy Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): FUGITIVE (ARREST FOR CRIME IN ANOTHER STATE) WOOD, TRISTAN BRYCE Age at Arrest: 28 Date of Birth: 01/30/1996 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 03/08/2024 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF PROTECTION ORDER OR RESTRAINING ORDER STALKING (AGG) This Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015 photo made with a long exposure shows the glow from a Noctiluca scintillans algal bloom along the seashore in Hong Kong. A similar type of glow has been seen near Galveston. Kin Cheung/Associated Press Visitors to the beaches along the Bolivar Peninsula after the sun dips below the horizon have been treated with a special gift the past few days in the form of neon blue waves. The special sight is thanks to the phenomenon of bioluminescence. What is bioluminescence? Bioluminescence is the generation of visible light by living organisms. In the situation occurring off the Bolivar Peninsula, Texas A&M University at Galveston marine biology professor Jamie Steichen said it is likely a group of algae called Noctiluca scintillans, or sea sparkle, is blooming and causing the bioluminescence. Advertisement Article continues below this ad During these blooms, there are enough cells present to where we can actually see the blue light in the crashing waves that is emitted from the cells, Steichen said in an email. Phytoplankton will bloom or rapidly increase in cell concentration when temperature, light and nutrient concentrations are sufficient for rapid cell growth. How rare is it to see bioluminescence in the wild? Bioluminescence is a chemical process that occurs within many sea creatures ranging from fish to plankton to squids and more, according to the government of South Australia. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration notes that animals above land also can be bioluminescent fireflies are the most obvious example. While there are a fair number of bioluminescent animals, seeing bioluminescent waves is a much rarer sight. Advertisement Article continues below this ad I have seen bioluminescence reported in the Gulf of Mexico at various locations, off the California coast, Chesapeake Bay, the North Sea, Australia and in Puerto Rico, Steichen said. I am sure it occurs in other locations but it is still a fairly rare event to occur. Why are bioluminescent waves rare? Noctiluca scintillans are found in coastal environments, and the blooming occurs only in certain conditions. Steichen said the temperature at this time of year is just right for sea sparkle to bloom. Not all phytoplankton produce bioluminescence and they each have specific temperature and nutrient requirements, Steichen said. Fortunately, the conditions off of Bolivar this time of year are conducive to Noctiluca scintillans blooms. Is it OK to swim in the water? Steichen said there is nothing she is aware of that would make it unsafe to swim in the water off the Peninsula during bioluminescence. Advertisement Article continues below this ad However, as it is best seen at night, general safety and warning regarding nighttime swimming are also important to consider. As far as I know, it is safe to swim in the water, Steichen said. This species of bioluminescent phytoplankton does not produce toxins so it is safe to swim in the water. Where can you see bioluminescence? The bioluminescent waves can currently be seen off the coast of Bolivar Peninsula. It is typically an annual sight, but the amount of time it occurs each year differs. Advertisement Article continues below this ad I agree completely with Sam Lewallen's comments regarding the use of tax dollars for private education, as has been proposed by the Lee administration for Tennessee. Taxpayer dollars should be used for the funding (and improvement) of public education in this state, particularly when Tennessee, according to one source I read, ranks 44th (out of 50) in funding per student. Full disclosure - my wife and I sent our children to private schools and to a private college. However, we paid the tuition and related costs ourselves, with the exception of the college scholarship funds that our daughter was awarded. We did not expect the citizens of Tennessee to bear the cost of our children's education. Educating children is a parental responsibility, not a taxpayer responsibility. No, Mr. Lewallen, you have not missed a nugget of wisdom or common sense. The state of Tennessee has missed the common sense - and deepened the increasing sense of entitlement to public funds that people have developed. Tim McDonald * * * My response is to provide some possibilities to Sam Lewallen's head scratcher. The idea with school vouchers is to "follow the student" rather than the school itself. The thought of using tax money for private anything is a long standing practice (at least since the 1960's and the Great Society programs.) Consider Head Start, food stamps, Pell grants, housing subsidies, etc., dozens of programs, all use taxpayer funds that "follow the person" being benefitted, not a government run entity. That way the person receiving the benefit has more control over their life, their destiny, what and who they support with "their" money.. Maybe Mr. Lewallen is against those concepts as well, which is certainly his right. Just offering a little common sense explanation. Brian D. Joyce For the 14th year in a row, I watched at least three of the 10 movies nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.I saw Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Past Lives. Also nominated for Best Picture were American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Poor Things, The Holdovers, and The Zone of Interest.I enjoyed all three I saw and, of course, hope to see some of the others if my schedule allows. I watched Barbie and Oppenheimer primarily due to their popular appeal.And while people have talked about the stark differences of those two, despite being released in theaters on the same weekend last summer, I actually saw a similarity or two. That maybe included concepts of respect, morality and taking the right action.Although I know the Oscars ceremony is no longer universally watched like it was a few decades ago, I plan to be tuned to my TV Sunday night when it airs on ABC Channel 9. Below are my reviews and summaries of the three I watched, ending with my favorite.* * *Barbie While I had zero expectations about this movie as a 64-year-old man even though the Barbie doll by Mattel and I share the same birth/beginning year of 1959 I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would.The fantasy movie starts out in Barbieland, where all the Barbies are living and fulfilling the great career dreams of the girls who once owned them, while the Ken dolls are nothing more than beach bums. In other words, women rule!However, after the former owner of the Barbie played by Margot Robbie picks up her daughters old doll, Ms Robbies character suddenly has fears about her mortality and realizes she is not perfect. She then travels to another place or dimension to try and figure out what is happening to her and to help herself. With her admiring Ken played by Ryan Gosling surprisingly tagging along, they witness a male-dominated society in the real world.This causes Mr. Goslings character to see the niceties of such a world, and he and the other Kens turn Barbieland into a patriarchal society upon his return.With the help of the original human owners of Ms. Robbies Barbie, the Barbies are all snapped out of their spell. They then force the Kens to have some infighting, and Barbieland returns to normal, but with better treatment for all. Ms. Robbies character also becomes human.And that is part of the summarizing and uplifting theme that jumped out at the end to me that we are all basically imperfect, or human. The real world is at its best when everything does not go either perfectly well, as it helps us enjoy the good moments when they come.Also, we should never be treated subserviently. Instead, we all need to be treated with respect. So, while having a Barbie doll taught girls to reach for the stars in their dreams, there was also the caveat that you dont have to be as perfect as Barbie appears to be. At least that is what I got out of the movie.Another interesting aspect of the movie, especially for a woman or girl who remembers having some of the dollhouses, cars and accessories, is that all the colorful sets of those pieces are also probably very neat to see on the movie screen.I also developed more appreciation for the hit tune, What Was I Made For, sung by Billie Eilish. It is played in a shorter version during the movie when I kept trying to figure out when it would be played -- and in a longer version as the credits are shown at the end.* * *Past Lives I was trying to find at least one more movie to watch besides the two famous ones, and this one was easiest to rent from a public site like YouTube without having to be a regularly paying member of one of the streaming sites. It was also under two hours long, which I like, and it got a high rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That meant it was both popularly enjoyed along with being given the critically acclaimed nod of being nominated for Best Picture.And I as a sucker for love story movies enjoyed it, despite the somewhat subtle way the story is told.The movie follows the lives of two 12-year-old children in South Korea a boy and a girl -- who are best friends and apparently develop a crush on each other at that blossoming time in their lives.Her family moves to the United States, while he stays in Korea and even joins the Army and later studies some in China. So, they go divergent ways, which is highlighted strongly and symbolically by a Y in a city block before they part.With the advent of better computer and phone technology, they track each other down 12 years later and have some computer video conversations and appear to have a reblooming relationship thousands of miles apart. However, that relationship is cut off briefly, during which time she gets married and he has a girlfriend for a period.The male Korean, played by Teo Yoo, does come to New York, where the woman, played by Greta Lee, lives. It is simply a friendly visit to which her husband agrees, and the two have a nice time reconnecting. This is also 12 years later, so I am not sure of the significance, although one summary I read points out that the apartments she walks past at the end show residences 46 and 50, not 48, meaning they are likely not to have another meeting after 12 years.Their meeting in New York is friendly but perhaps unresolved. They both seem to be fine with where they are, although they wonder about such Asian-focused themes of past and future lives together. However, she somewhat surprisingly cries at the end after he catches an Uber ride and she goes back into the hands of her husband at their door, perhaps symbolizing some late-arriving regret or grief over leaving him behind.Countless people, whether they are happily married or not, likely think of an old dating mate or romantic friend that they seemed to have a compatible relationship with and were attracted to physically. They, too, probably also wonder what would have happened if they had stayed together. This movie certainly brings out those feelings and thoughts about such past soul mates.Besides tearing on the heart strings a little, this movie also had some interesting effects that bring a little happy enjoyment. These include a beginning scene showing them at the bar near the end of the storyline and people are talking, and a viewer thinks initially the voices are from the actors themselves. But they are actually narrators away from the screen.Other interesting scenes are when Ms, Lees face is not shown on camera, but it is visible from the mirror, and when she and her husband are lying on the bed. A piece of clothing looks like something that would be on a female, but it is actually part of his clothing while he is turned in an unusual way.And then there is the symbolism when he arrives in New York at the park to meet her after rain has been forecast and it has already rained heavily, but it is not raining then.There is also the scene of them talking in a very up-close and important way during a walk through a park below a giant bridge in New York, but they are shown from faraway as very small. The scenes of New York, not all of which I recognized, are great, and the movie makes me want to take a return trip there after visiting it often in past years.* * *Oppenheimer This will likely be the first biopic-style movie about a well-known figure in American history to win Best Picture since the popular Patton in 1970, even though other biographical movies like Gandhi have also won.And like Patton, it is also three hours long. As I did with the other two, I watched them in segments on my computer within the last week or so before the Academy Awards, while wanting to get back to going to theaters.This movie has its enthralling moments, but it does require either some knowledge of the early atomic age of American history or some checking on your computer while you are watching the movie or afterward to understand some scenes.I learned that the color scenes are related to the storyline of when Mr. Oppenheimers security clearance was stopped in 1954 due to his debatable affiliation with the Communist Party. The black and white scenes, meanwhile, relate to the 1959 Senate confirmation hearing connected to Lewis Strauss unsuccessful nomination to be U.S. commerce secretary.Evidently, Mr. Strauss, who was involved with the Atomic Energy Commission, had felt discredited by Mr. Oppenheimer, even though they seemed to be friends for a while, and he had orchestrated the 1954 hearing against Mr. Oppenheimer. The Senate, in part aware of his vindictiveness against Mr. Oppenheimer, does not confirm Mr. Strauss five years later.The movie, of course, is also about the development by Mr. Oppenheimer and other scientists of the first atomic bomb, and that is the more interesting aspect to me. The middle hour of the movie when they are testing the bomb in New Mexico is quite exciting, New Mexico had been chosen as an important development area for the bomb in part due to the fact Mr. Oppenheimer had enjoyed visiting there since recovering from a disease as a child and later had a ranch there.The excitement everyone feels when the bomb test is successful is a point of pride in American history, and that is shown vividly.Of course, what all long-term damage the atomic bomb could eventually do was another theme. But the work of the scientists was almost like a nuclear-style chain reaction, as they could not stop once they started and began to realize what could be developed.And then there was the additional theme of communism and paranoia about ties to the Soviet Union during the Red Scare era of the 1950s. Wanting workers rights or aiding a country in a civil war in the 1920s or 30s, as was the work of the Community Party in America, was held against people decades later, and Mr. Oppenheimer and his wife fell into this category.Mr. Oppenheimer, played well by Cillian Murphy, certainly comes across as a sympathetic person for the most part, in part due to his inner turmoil over the bombs capabilities and even his outwardly flawed character traits. That latter included an affair that, of course, included a bedroom scene or two.This man who died in 1967 of throat cancer is someone not mentioned as much in recent decades, and the book this movie is based on actually came out in 2005. So, as someone interested in history, I am glad to see the movie bring Mr. Oppenheimers story more to the public eye.While many might have liked less government hearing scenes in the movie and more shots of the dramatic work developing the bomb with possibly more mention of nearby Oak Ridge it was certainly engaging enough to make one understand its critical praise.As a result, in contrast to the news that was a surprise to most when the atomic bomb was unleashed on Japan in 1945, its announcement as Best Picture will be expected.* * *Jcshearer2@comast.net One man was sent to the hospital with injuries Saturday morning after escaping his burning home in Lookout Valley.Chattanooga Fire Department's Green Shift companies were just beginning their 24-hour shift when the call came out at 6:48 a.m. for a structure fire in a mobile home park in the 3300 block of Winter Lane.The reporting party told 911 dispatchers that flames were coming from one of the trailers.On arrival, Squad 20 found the tenant outside in the road.He had sustained cuts, including a laceration to his arm, and minor burns from fleeing the fire, and he was transported to the hospital for further treatment.Firefighters worked quickly to extinguish the blaze, protecting other nearby mobile homes. Three cars parked outside of the residence received minor damage.The fire was out by 7:08 a.m. The cause is under investigation.Squad 20, Engine 3, Tanker 3, Engine 1, Squad 1, Ladder 1, Engine 14, Battalion 1 and Battalion 3 responded, along with HCEMS and CFD Investigations. 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 Customers waiting in line for a table at Turkey Leg Hut, a restaurant located in the Third Ward on Friday, Dec. 6, 2019, in Houston. Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer The business office for the Third Ward restaurant Turkey Leg Hut caught on fire Saturday. Turkey Leg Hut owner and founder Nakia Holmes posted a video on Instagram of the fire and the damage it caused with the caption: "Lord, what are you preparing me for??" In another video posted on social media, Holmes recorded herself walking into the office Saturday morning after the fire had been put out. She is emotional as she walks through the damage. Advertisement Article continues below this ad That video was followed by a video of her speaking to the camera. "It's hard, it's a tough pill to swallow," she said. "Glad it wasn't the restaurant." Click2Houston reported no one was injured in the fire and that firefighters had arrived to fight it at around 4:05 a.m. The restaurant has been in the news multiple times during the past few months after Holmes announced she was separating from her husband and business partner, Lynn Price. Holmes alleged Price of being guilty of cruelty in divorce documents from last May reviewed by the Houston Chronicle. Price was fired from Turkey Leg Hut in February, along with six other employees. While Price initially posted on social media that he had been fired, he denied he had been fired to Chron.com. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Holmes told CW39 the decision was due to "financial mismanagement" she was made aware of after the divorce. She added she hopes to bring the laid-off workers back in the summer. Last week, Price helped open a pop-up across the street. Were here hustling, Price said to the Chronicle last weekend. I know good food, and I know how to make money. BACKGROUND READING: 5 things to know about popular Third Ward restaurant Turkey Leg Hut The Turkey Leg Hut opened in 2015 and has counted Snoop Dogg, Megan Thee Stallion and James Harden among its customers. Recently, a blizzard struck Californias Sierra Nevada mountains, leaving trucks stranded in deep snowdrifts along Interstate 80 at Donner Pass. Many people were forced to sleep in their vehicles as they waited out the life-threatening storm. Drone video footage showed hundreds of semi-trucks and other vehicles parked next to each other, surrounded by feet of snow. Luckily, the highway reopened after conditions cleared up, and road crews were able to remove the snow. The incident has brought to mind another similar event that occurred many decades ago. Donner Pass is notorious for a 19th-century disaster that led to cannibalism after a group of travelers got stuck in the area during a snowstorm. Surely, the people who were trapped on the mountain most recently mustve been relieved when rescuers arrived. In 1846, the Donner Party, which consisted of around 80 people, left Illinois and headed west to California in covered wagons. A year later, almost half of them would be dead from starvation and disease. Worst of all, some of their group were forced to resort to cannibalism to survive. So, how did their journey become one of the worst tragedies to occur in the history of American Western migration? First of all, the Donner Party started their trip extremely late. The journey to the west required travelers to follow a tight schedule. Ideally, they wouldve made their departure sometime in mid to late April, a period that was late enough for grass to have grown for their pack animals but early enough to make it past the mountains before winter. However, the Donner Party didnt leave until May 12. A wrong turn also extended their journey. After reaching Wyoming, most pioneers headed toward California would take a tried-and-true route that went through Idaho and Nevada. But the Donner Party went in another direction. A guidebook author had been promoting a path that cut through the Wasatch Mountains and across the Salt Lake Desert. He claimed that it was quicker, but no one had ever traveled the route with covered wagons before. Still, the Donner Party decided to take the risk and break off from the usual route. The so-called shortcut ended up costing them almost a month, and they had to clear much of the path themselves. By early November 1846, they arrived in the Sierra Nevada. Before they could get through the mountains, a blizzard buried the area in several feet of snow. They had no choice but to wait for conditions to improve. The majority of their supplies had been lost during their travels, and soon enough, the first settlers began to starve to death. A month after they became stuck on the mountain, a group of 15 people tried to seek help. For several days, they wandered the frozen landscape on the verge of collapse. Some members of the party died, and the survivors roasted and consumed their remains. Seven of the members made it to a ranch a month later, where they organized rescue efforts. Sign up for Chip Chicks newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox. Home News Pakistani Christian rape victim pressured to withdraw charges against Muslim attackers Christian rape victim pressed to withdraw charges against attackers LAHORE, Pakistan Police in Pakistan are pressuring a young Christian woman to withdraw charges against two Muslims who raped, blackmailed and tried to forcibly convert her to Islam, sources said. The 26-year-old woman, a resident of Islamabad whose name is withheld as a rape victim, said Sub-Inspector Muhammad Mehboob was harassing and warning her to drop the charges against Raja Waleed and Shah Hussain, alias Badshah. Blackmailing her into silence with mobile phone video recordings of the sexual assaults, Waleed and Hussain raped her multiple times over the past four months, she said. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe In September, Hussain borrowed a large sum of money from the womans mother. The following month, he told the young woman to accompany him to the home of a friend in Rawalpindi who would give him the money so he could repay her, she said. When we reached the house, Hussain left me in a room on the pretext of making a phone call, she told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. As soon as Hussain left, his friend Waleed entered the room brandishing an AK-47 rifle, she said. He fired a bullet on the wall to scare me and then sexually assaulted me, disregarding my cries for mercy, she said. I cannot express the horror I suffered in those moments as my mind and body went completely numb. After assaulting me, Waleed made videos of me with his cell phone and threatened that he would share them on social media if I reported the incident to the police and did not surrender to his demands. The nightmare was only beginning, she said, as Waleed continued to blackmail her with videos, compelling her to meet with him repeatedly. I was completely helpless and had no choice, she said. My father has passed away, and I did not want my widowed mother to suffer the pain of my harrowing fate. Waleed also started forcing me to meet with his friends, threatening to release the videos if I did not comply with his wishes. In November, she found out that she was pregnant due to the repeated assaults, she said. When I told Waleed and Hussain about my condition, they forced me to convert to Islam on gunpoint, she said. When I resisted, Waleed attacked me with kicks and punches, resulting in a miscarriage. As the ordeal continued, she decided she had to share her plight with her mother. My mother broke down when she heard about my suffering, but she told me not to worry, she said. She then took me to the police station where I narrated my story, showed evidence of the blackmailing and filed a rape case against Waleed and Hussain. I also appealed to the police to recover the blackmail content from their phones. The charges were filed on Feb. 13, but instead of arresting the two suspects, police tipped them off, and they obtained pre-arrest bail, she said. Since that time, they have been threatening me and my mother to withdraw the case or face the consequences, she said. The victim said she registered another case against the two Muslims for threatening to kill her and her mother, but that police have taken no action. Instead of giving me justice, the police investigating officer, Mehboob, is pressuring and intimidating me to withdraw the case, she said. He has repeatedly said that since Im a Christian, I dont stand a chance against the powerful criminals. Mehboob hindered her medical examination, delaying it under various pretexts and threats, and is now blocking evaluation of her DNA samples, she said. This is sheer injustice for me and all other minority girls who have fallen victim to such predators, she said. Ive resolved not to give up my pursuit for justice no matter what happens now, and I appeal to the Christian leadership for support in this legal battle. When Christian Daily International-Morning Star News asked Mehboob for comment, he denied favoring the suspects and threatening the victim. The police registered both cases filed by the victim and are extending all possible legal help to her, he claimed. The date of hearing of the accused for confirmation of their pre-arrest bail is due this week, and we will try our best to get the bails canceled. Christian political activist Shahzad Imran Sahotra said he and some Christian attorneys met with the victims family and assured them of their support. We met the Rawalpindi police chief along with the victim and informed him about his subordinates attitude towards the complainant, Sahotra told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. The officer has now assigned a senior police official to investigate the case and conduct the victims medical examination. Sahotra, the only Christian in Pakistan who ran for a general seat in Islamabad in a Feb. 8 general election but lost, confirmed that the two suspects have considerable influence over local police. Waleed and Hussain are in the real estate business and have criminal backgrounds, he said. They know how to maneuver in such cases, but we are determined to get justice for our Christian daughter. Pained by her suffering for months, Sahotra said it was encouraging to see her take a stand against them. Her act will set a precedent for all other girls who are silently suffering in similar situations due to fear for their own lives and reputation and the lives of their loved ones, he said. Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors 2024 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian, as it was the previous year. Home News Church administrator convicted, faces 20 years in prison for embezzlement scheme A former administrator and wife of a former police chief has been convicted of stealing over $360,000 from a northern California church through a multi-year embezzlement scheme impacting the church's youth ministry and food pantry. A federal judge found 38-year-old Chanell Easton, originally from Oklahoma City, guilty of two counts of aggravated identity theft on Monday. In October, Easton pleaded guilty to 22 counts of wire fraud but maintained a not-guilty plea to the remaining two counts of identity theft. She was convicted after a one-day trial before U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez. Sentencing is scheduled for June 25. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe According to prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California, Easton used multiple credit cards affiliated with St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Yuba City to engage in a five-year embezzlement scheme from 2013 to 2018. Prosecutors noted that the former church staff member used church funds to pay off various credit cards. Purchases were made at a hair salon, retail stores, online retailers and a vacation rental service. She also bought VIP concert tickets. One of the cards Easton allegedly used belonged to the church's youth ministry pastor. She used his identity to make unauthorized personal purchases from Zappos.com. Prosecutors say that Easton's use of the youth minister's identity allowed her to shift suspicion away from herself. Easton is also accused of transferring money directly from the church's bank accounts to her own personal account, paying the balance of her personal credit card and paying her cell phone provider for her personal bills and new phones. Additionally, the former church employee stole money from the church by writing checks to others to cover their personal expenses and by writing checks to herself, forging the signatures of the church's treasurer and head volunteer of the church's food pantry. Easton is the wife of former Marysville, California, Police Department Chief Aaron Easton, who departed after he faced a sexual assault investigation stemming from a 2008 incident. The details surrounding the death of Aaron Easton's former wife, Sara Easton, remain a mystery. She died in 2015 of a gunshot wound. Easton faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine for each count of wire fraud and a mandatory two-year sentence on each count of aggravated identity theft. Adam Gasner, Easton's defense attorney, told McClatchy News on Wednesday that "Easton previously expressed remorse and admitted wrongdoing when she plead guilty to wire-fraud in relation to the theft in this case." As it relates to Easton impersonating the pastor by using his name and credit card, Gasner maintains that it was theft and credit card fraud but not aggravated identity theft because other church members were allowed to use the pastor's card. "We respect the decision of the judge, who found differently," Gasner said. Home News Liberty University officials pledge federal compliance after record $14M fine Officials at Liberty University told The Christian Post they have made efforts to ensure proper compliance with Title IX regulations following the school's unprecedented settlement with the federal government. The flagship Evangelical university in Lynchburg, Virginia, settled with the U.S. Department of Education earlier this week, agreeing to pay $14 million related to violations of the Clery Act that requires colleges and universities receiving federal funding to report data of campus crime and report threats to students. The fine is the largest levied under the Clery Act, which was enacted in 1990. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe The Education Department, which initially threatened a $37.5 million fine, said it identified multiple cases in which on-campus crimes were misclassified or underreported. Federal officials also accused the university of failing to warn the community about gas leaks, bomb threats and individuals who have been credibly accused of repeated acts of sexual violence. Liberty University President Dondi E. Costin, who was hired last year, told CP the university didn't fully comply with its record-keeping and reporting obligations as the institution experienced record growth, for which he expressed regret. He said Liberty sprung into action when officials learned of its shortcomings before the Education Department got involved. "We formed a task force to identify every deficiency and engaged outside experts to help us build the model program we now have," Costin said. "Having invested more than $10 million to deliver significant increases in staffing, training, infrastructure, technology and programming, I can say with absolute confidence that Liberty University now sets the pace for campus safety and security." Ashley Reich, Liberty's chief compliance officer, told CP that the university recruited an outside consultant to review its Title IX policies. That consultant, she said, provided 99 recommendations to bring Liberty into compliance. "A task force was created in October 2022 to review the recommendations and put a timeframe around them for implementation," Reich said. "All of the recommendations (plus, many others) were fully implemented by August 2023 with many that were completed within the first 90 days of the review." Reich said that the school intends to maintain consistent oversight regarding internal quality control and standard business practice through the recent creation of Liberty University's Office of University Compliance. The external consultant company Healy+ assisted Liberty with conducting a full-scale review of its compliance with the Clery Act, Reich explained, adding that the school voluntarily implemented a Program Improvement Plan in October 2022 that outlined many of the Clery requirements and best practices. "This allowed us to address the main violations that many schools struggle to comply with due to the nuances of the Clery Act," she said. "Our team went to work quickly to find ways to not only comply with the Clery Act but do so efficiently." Costin said students and alumni have "overwhelmingly expressed their appreciation for Liberty's transparency in acknowledging past deficiencies, our demonstrated commitment to fix what was broken, and our significant investments in transforming our operation into a benchmark program other universities can now model." "If it's Christian, it ought to be better," Costin said, quoting Liberty University founder Jerry Falwell Sr. "Because of the impressive progress that has been made, our students and alumni can see that we have achieved that standard with respect to our Clery Act compliance." Costin suggested that despite Liberty's past deficiencies, he believes Liberty has endured stricter scrutiny and steeper fines relative to the Education Department's usual practice. He implied the federal government might be targeting Evangelical institutions, especially in light of Grand Canyon University's similar hefty fine for allegedly misleading students about the cost of its doctoral program. "Some might call that quibbling, but I would simply point out that it's possible to pony up to one's mistakes and be simultaneously subject to government overreach throughout the process," Costin said. "Based on what we know of how the department adjudicated multiple dozens of past actions, we can show the math to demonstrate the extent to which our experience was radically different than the norm," he continued. "Maybe Liberty is the outlier, but I would not be surprised if this kind of treatment escalates." CP reached out to the Department of Education for comment and will update this article if a response is received. Richard Cordray, the chief operating officer for the Education Department's Office of Federal Student Aid, said in a statement Tuesday that the agency responds "aggressively to complaints about campus safety and security." Through the Clery Act schools are obligated to take action that creates safe and secure campus communities, investigate complaints, and responsibly disclose information about crimes and other safety concerns," he said. "We will continue to hold schools accountable if they fail to do so. Costin expressed optimism about Liberty's future and said the school is "well into a comprehensive strategic planning process to ensure we keep our eyes on the prize of training champions for Christ." Home Opinion Sexual violence should not be used as a rhetorical weapon Last month, in the Journal of American Medicine, the medical director of Planned Parenthood Montana claimed that 64,565 babies had likely been conceived in rape in the 14 states where abortion is restricted since the Supreme Courts Dobbs decision. The claim was put forth as the results of a formal study, though the authors admit that no reliable state-level data are available, and their numbers were estimated. Unsurprisingly, media outlets quickly reported on the study as if it were evidence of a national emergency a particular kind of national emergency. Without exception, every major news outlet framed this story as not about rampant sexual crime, but about abortion access. For example, CNN announced: Tens of thousands of pregnancies have resulted from rape in states where abortion is not a legal option, researchers estimate. Theirs is a disturbing angle to take on this story, if the numbers are accurate. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe The authors of the study estimated that 12.4% of rapes result in pregnancy. If accurate, that means around 520,000 women were raped in just 14 states over a period of just 18 months. That is almost five times the number the FBI estimated for the entire nation during 2022, a number that appeared to be trending downward from 2021. If accurate, shouldnt the headline be that the United States, or at least the 14 states with abortion restrictions, are facing an unprecedented crisis of sexual violence? In other words, abortion access is nowhere near the major problem revealed by this report. But of course, its not. More troubling, however, is how exaggerated these numbers are. Michael New, a senior associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, called the study one of the worst and most misleading pieces of advocacy research that I have ever encountered. In addition to suggesting that an astronomical number of rapes occurred in certain states, the piece used inflated estimates of rape-related pregnancies. Other medical research suggests that pregnancy occurs after only about 5% of rapes, not 12.4%. Its difficult to imagine that this level of mathematical malpractice and journalistic dereliction is unintentional. The most likely explanation is that rape is considered a compelling argument for unrestricted legal abortion. This is part of the 50-year legacy of Roe v. Wade. It has even corrupted our ability to deal with the realities of sexual crime. Its now acceptable to treat victims as pawns to justify pro-abortion political stances. Its far more likely that if there is a line from legal abortion to rape, it runs in a different direction. Fifty years of legal abortion-on-demand has been among the most significant factors that have enabled the myth that sex is a casual, physical act with no moral, spiritual, or emotional implications. Roe enabled both men and women, but especially men, to abdicate personal responsibility for any children they create. Also, the normalization of so-called casual sex made forced sex harder to define and easier to deny. Abortion-on-demand doesnt help victims of rape. Rather, it emboldens and enables perpetrators. As this research and reporting made clear, rape is perversely useful to those who wish to expand abortion access. But using rape in this way could have unintended consequences. For example, it may desensitize some into thinking of rape as a social given, a stubborn part of communal life that we just cant do anything about. In fact, how else can you explain anyone who would think that a report alleging such a shocking spike in sexual crime in 14 states is really a story about abortion and not crime? Roe, as Ryan Anderson and Alexandra DeSanctis described, really did poison everything. At the very least, it distorted the worldview of a nation in profoundly confused and destructive ways. Originally published at BreakPoint. Home News 287 students kidnapped from Nigerian school nearly a decade after Chibok abduction Militants armed with AK-47s attacked a school in Kaduna state, Nigeria, kidnapping at least 287 students, marking the second large-scale abduction in Nigeria within a week and underscoring a deepening security crisis in the region. In the early hours of Thursday, armed assailants encircled the government school in Kuriga town, seizing students as the day began, The Associated Press reported Friday. Initially, authorities reported over 100 students kidnapped, but a subsequent headcount by headteacher Sani Abdullahi revealed 287 missing. Around 187 of the abductees are secondary school students and 100 are in primary school, according to Abdullahi. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe Gov. Uba Sani visited the site and pledged concerted efforts to ensure the students' safe return. "The Kaduna State Government and Security Agencies are working round the clock to ensure the safe return of the school children abducted in Kuriga community, Chikun Local Government," he posted on X. "I have received strong assurances from the President and National Security Adviser that no stone will be left unturned to bring back the children." On March 1, Boko Haram militants abducted about 200 women and girls living in displacement camps in Borno state near the Cameroon border a frequent operation zone for the group, according to persecution watchdog Christian Solidarity Worldwide. Additionally, the assailants set ablaze shelters and destroyed homes and assets in Ajari town, causing losses in the millions of naira. The pattern of abductions, frequent since the kidnapping of 276 mostly Christian Chibok schoolgirls in April 2014, has intensified in northern Nigeria, with armed groups targeting rural communities for ransom. "I have received briefings from security chiefs on the two incidents in Borno and Kaduna, and I am confident that the victims will be rescued," Nigerian President Bola Tinubu tweeted. "Nothing else is acceptable to me and the waiting family members of these abducted citizens. Justice will be decisively administered. To this end, I have directed security and intelligence agencies to immediately rescue the victims and ensure that justice is served against the perpetrators of these abominable acts." The president said he sympathized with the families impacted and assured them "they would soon be reunited with their loved ones." A teacher who managed to escape Thursday's abduction told the media bandits surrounded the school premises, and they had nowhere to run. "Then, the bandits asked us to enter the bush, so we obeyed them because there were many, and the pupils, about 700, were following us," he said. "So, when we entered the bush, I was lucky to escape alongside many others." "I returned to the village and reported what happened to the community," he said. "So, immediately our vigilante and personnel of KADVIS followed the bandits, but the vigilante did not succeed. In fact, the bandits killed one of the vigilantes." No group has claimed responsibility for the latest attack, though suspicion often falls on herder militias involved in longstanding regional conflicts. The governor's visit to Kuriga, 55 miles from the capital, coincided with a broadened search operation. The resurgence of kidnappings, notably near the Chibok abduction's 10th anniversary, highlights the persistent threat of groups like Boko Haram, known for opposing Western education. More than 100 of the schoolgirls who are now women abducted in 2014 remain in captivity nearly a decade later. The families of these hostages "hardly ever receive updates on the governments efforts to release them," according to persecution watchdog Open Doors. The ongoing violence has prompted calls for Nigeria to be labeled by the U.S. State Department as a country of particular concern by international bodies, citing widespread religious persecution and a significant toll on Christian communities. "The continued attacks show the lack of efficacy of the current Nigerian policies as well as the international policies in place to protect human rights and basic safety," said the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern in a statement. CSW's Founder President Mervyn Thomas said that for over a decade, terrorist groups, including a militia comprising assailants primarily of Fulani ethnicity, have "conducted violent attacks and abductions for ransom across Nigeria on an almost daily basis while eliciting a wholly inadequate response from the authorities." Thomas urged the government to "become far more proactive in addressing Nigeria's critical security situation." Despite President Tinubu's election promises, critics like Oluwole Ojewale from the Institute for Security Studies, note no significant improvement in safety, according to AP. Home News Brother of Laken Riley's killer accused of having connections to violent Venezuelan gang The brother of the illegal immigrant accused of murdering 22-year-old Laken Riley is facing up to 10 years in prison for possessing a fraudulent green card, and federal prosecutors also believe the man has ties to a violent prison gang in Venezuela. Diego Ibarra, 28, was arrested last month after he presented law enforcement with a fake green card when they questioned him about his brother, Jose Ibarra, who was later arrested in connection with Rileys murder. The Augusta University nursing student was murdered while out for a jog on the University of Georgia campus, and authorities later determined she died from blunt force trauma. According to a court filing provided to The Christian Post, Ibarra appeared in federal court and faces 10 years in prison if convicted. The filing added that U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Weigle deemed Ibarra a potential flight risk and ordered that he remain detained pending trial. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe The document also states that Homeland Security Investigations is handling the case with assistance from the FBI, GBI, Athens-Clarke County Police Department, University of Georgia Police Department and Clarke County Sheriffs Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Morrison is prosecuting the case, according to the document. A memorandum provided to CP detailed evidence used to support the motion for detention. Federal prosecutors believe Ibarra has ties to Tren de Aragua, one of Venezuelas largest criminal organizations. The prosecution shared photos of Ibarra posing with illegal guns and flashing gang signs affiliated with Tren de Aragua. According to the memorandum, Ibarra has a lengthy history of encounters with immigration officials. U.S. Customs and Border Protection apprehended him on April 3, 2023, the day he illegally entered the U.S. through Eagle Pass, Texas. CBP returned him to Mexico, only for him to re-enter the country illegally 27 days later. On April 30, 2023, a physical altercation ensued with Border Patrol agents after Ibarra and a man identified as Jose Lozado-Salas illegally entered the U.S. Lozado-Salas assaulted one of the agents who attempted to handcuff him. Simultaneously, the other agent attempted to take Ibarra into custody. Ibarra resisted the agents efforts and grabbed his CBP issued radio and threw it into a nearby yard, the document stated. At one point, Ibarra attempted to bite the agent. The agents grappled with Ibarra and Lozado-Salas for approximately four minutes before members of the National Guard arrived and assisted the agents in subduing both men. Ibarra wasn't prosecuted for the incident; however, Lozado-Salas entered a guilty plea in August 2023 and was charged with assaulting a federal officer and improper entry of an illegal alien. ICE placed Ibarra in the Alternatives to Detention Program in May 2023, which required him to wear an ankle monitor. Ibarra was later removed from the ATD program after he removed his ankle monitor. The man eventually traveled to Athens, Georgia, where he had several encounters with law enforcement, including an arrest for Driving Under the Influence. As Fox5 reported on Feb. 27, Ibarra and his brother had previous encounters with police before the latter became a suspect in Rileys murder. An October 2022 field report from Athens-Clarke County police cited by the news affiliate showed that both Ibarra and his brother, Diego, were charged with shoplifting from Walmart. Ibarras brother, Jose, entered the country illegally on Sept. 8, 2022, through El Paso, Texas. He was reportedly released due to a lack of detention space. Earlier this month, Allyson Phillips, Rileys mother, expressed gratitude in a Facebook post for the support she and her family have received in the wake of the young womans death. The mother also shared an image of her daughters name inside a black-and-white heart with the hashtag: #SayHerName. As I sat down to write this message, I really just have no words. My family has faced the most devastating, unimaginable loss that anyone could ever be forced to endure, Phillips wrote. "I would like to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for being with me and my family during this heartbreaking time. I encourage everyone to have a personal relationship with Jesus. I give Him all the glory for getting us through this." It would be really easy to lose our faith in mankind because of this senseless and avoidable tragedy, the mother continued. The amount of love, support and help that we have received during this horrific nightmare is overwhelming. Home News India: Hindu fundamentalists demand ban of Christian symbols in schools Christian leaders in India are decrying a threat made by a Hindu fundamentalist group that wants to ban Christian symbols in schools, including crosses, statues and religious dress. "Christian missionaries are converting schools and educational institutes into religious institutes," said Satya Ranjan Borah, president of the Hindu nationalist group Kutumba Surakshya Parishad (Family Safety Council). "We will not allow it." The comments were made publicly on Feb. 7 at a news conference in Assam state, located in northeast India. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe One week later, Borah followed up the threat with a letter addressed to prominent Christian leaders in the area, claiming that the dress of Catholic fathers and sisters, the installation of idols of Jesus Christ and Mother Mary, the sign of the cross, and churches inside the campuses of educational institutions are exclusionary religious practices. "You are hereby requested within the next 10 days to remove all kind of exclusive religious items from the campus of the school for maintaining the secular values of the country," the letter said. "This threat does not bode well for practice of our faith here," said Rev. Chowaram Daimary, general secretary of the ecumenical Assam Christian Forum (ACF), a group comprised of Catholic, Protestant and Evangelical churches in Assam. At an emergency meeting on Feb. 14, the ACF responded to Borah's warnings. "We are disturbed by the threats to educational institutions and the demands for the removal of Christian symbols by some fringe elements. Some of them demand that Hindu worship be performed in our schools. We reject these demands and quest the state authorities to take action against these elements who are a threat to our civilized society." After the meeting, the ACF urged the BJP government of Assam "to take action against these elements who are a threat to civilized society and are against the rights given to us by the Constitution of India." "We are not going to be intimidated by such tactics," said Catholic Archbishop John Moolachira, president of the ACF. "We have decided to continue the way our people dress, as it is our fundamental right." Though there have been no physical attacks on Christian institutions in Assam due to the tensions, threatening posters have been hung on the walls of some Baptist and Catholic schools and other churches throughout Assam. "They have pasted the threat letter even on one of our most remote churches," said Rev. Bernard Marak, vice president of the ACF and leader of the Assam Baptist Convention. "There is a hidden agenda behind these threats, to threaten the Christian community to live under the dictations of Hindu fundamentalists. They want to drive fear in the Christian community and remind us that we can live only under their terms. This is a very dangerous situation, but the government is remaining silent." Contrary to the Hindu fundamentalists' repeated allegations of conversion tactics against Christians in the region, government data shows that Christians account for only 2.7% of Assam's 35 million population. Christian institutions were established in Assam state 200 years ago, and today, a majority of the nearly 500 schools and other institutions in the state are run by the Catholic Church. Home News Megachurch pastor warns Christian wives not to withhold sex from husbands as its unbiblical With the approval of her co-pastor husband, Reginald Steele of Kingdom Church in Phoenix, Arizona, Kelley Steele warned Christian women in her congregation to avoid withholding sex from their husbands because its unbiblical and they could push their husbands in the arms of some trick, some ho, some homewrecker that will give him exactly what he needs with no rules. Speaking in a Sunday morning service last month while sharing the pulpit with her husband, Kelley Steele cited several scriptures on the wisdom of women submitting their husbands. I fear the Lord first, so it makes submission easy. If you dont like what hes doing, you still have to submit. If you dont feel like submitting, you have to do it to honor Jesus, Kelley Steel told her congregation. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe What if hes not acting right. What if hes not following God? This is your husband now, what if hes not living for Jesus. Let me tell you what the Bible says. In 1 Peter 3:1 it says, wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, she explained. If youre married and your husband doesnt serve God or is not a man of God, I promise you, if you begin to live a life that is Christ driven, Christ first, you begin, to pray to God, live what you read and actually regurgitate it and apply it to your life. Change your old way, become a new creature, your husband will be affected because you are one flesh, she added. He will realize, my God, somethings different about her. Shes not the same person. I cant even make her mad anymore. She doesnt go off and chase me with knives anymore. He cant deny that God is real in your life, and you win by your conduct. You win by your behavior, and its not even you. Its Jesus Christ in you that is winning that person. She then pointed to Ephesians 5:22-23 which says: Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. If youre out there sleeping with a husband that is not yours, leave him alone. Go find your own and submit to him, she said. Preach! her husband quipped while chuckling. She further pointed to Ephesians 5:24 which says: Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. This is some old school teaching but its Bible and it works. And I want to bring the Word of God back into the church, amen, thank you, Jesus. Im tired of opinions and ideas, saying weve got to change it for the culture. No. My Bible tells me that the Word is the same yesterday, today and forever. Im old school here, I believe the word of God to be true and the Word says, submit to our husbands. Steele then took the opportunity to give practical examples to Christian women in her church about what submission looks like and she suggested that women need to take care of their husbands in the home. That means youve got to take care of your husband. You got to, I dont know, cook dinner, clean your house, clean up. Take care of yourself. Make sure that your husband has what he needs. Make sure that, listen, Im mad at you, but you could still get this. Im not holding nothing hostage, she said, pointing to the common practice of women withholding sex from their husbands. According to SavantCare, Sexual withholding refers to the deliberate decision of one partner to abstain from sexual intimacy within a marriage. This can manifest in various forms, including refusal of sex, avoiding physical affection, or creating barriers to sexual connection. Kelley Steele urged the women in her congregation not to put conditions for sex in their marriage because theres no points system. Well, if you take out the trash, if you help me clean up, you help me with the kids you might get some tonight. No, the devil is a liar. You make yourself available for him because he will find somebody out there. Some trick, some ho, some homewrecker that will give him exactly what he needs with no rules, she said. In a particular plea to young women, Steele urged them to avoid withholding sex in marriage. Im trying to help yall, especially these young women that think, well he needs to do this for me before ... no, no, no, no, she said. Listen, go ahead and get what you need and Im gonna give you what you need and were gonna make this thing work because were a couple, were in covenant, were gonna make this thing last. Were gonna stay together for longer than 8.2 years. I said for life. I said for better. I said for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. Im a ride or die. Im not going nowhere, she said. She also encouraged men who feel like they arent being treated well in their marriage to let their wives know. And man of God, if shes not doing what you want her to do as a wife, let her know, youre dirty. My house stinks. Oh Jesus, she said smiling. Can I get a hot meal thats not frozen first? Can you make a pot roast? Can you fry chicken? Can you clean collards? Come on somebody. Can you make a biscuit? These things matter. You dont think they matter but they matter, she declared. Imma tell you one thing. He might be gone early in our marriage but when he came home, I had something piping hot on the stove. And I said I had something piping hot in the bedroom, too. Amen! Praise God. I had to compete for a little bit but I aint competing no more, she said as her husband laughed with approval. Give that man some pasta, give that man some peace, and Ill let yall fill in the other P, Reginald Steele interjected. Somebody should have ran around the church, no Im just playing, he continued as the crowd appeared to bristle then relax slightly at his comments. The three Ps his wife said. And you know what that woman needs? She needs dedication, some dollars and Im gonna let yall figure out the other D the pastor said as the women shouted in approval in the church. Somebody scream, preach! he said. Were gonna set somebody free today. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis sits in the stand as Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee steps away for a break during a hearing on the Georgia election interference case, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Atlanta. Alyssa Pointer/AP Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai speaks before a private audience at Malala Yousafzai Elementary School on Sunday, March 3, 2024. Courtesy/Fort Bend ISD Thumbs down: If youre unfamiliar with the concept, Spirit Days are when students and teachers dress up, often on a silly theme like pajamas, super heroes or crazy hair. Pretty harmless unless, apparently, a male teacher dares to don a dress a pink one, no less! Rachmad Tjachyadi, a beloved chemistry teacher at Hebron High School, north of Dallas, was suspended by Lewisville ISD after a social media account called Libs of TikTok posted a video of him at school in the full-length pink dress and kiddie-sized cowboy hat. After an internal investigation found that he had not violated any district policies, Mr. T, as he is known, announced in a letter that he was resigning because he didnt want to overshadow his students learning. His graciousness doesnt diminish the absurdity of the situation. Remember when state Rep. Nate Schatzline, the author of an anti-drag bill, waved off a video of him in his younger days skipping in a dress to Javi Mulas hit song Sexy Lady as a joke for a theater project? Gov. Greg Abbott didnt go after Schatzline then but he did sacrifice Mr. T on the altar of school vouchers, posting to social media, No parent should be forced by the state to send their child to this school. Maybe Abbott shouldve asked the students and parents at Hebron High what they think. Hes never brought his sexuality or any of his political ideas into his teaching. Hes always teaching chemistry, one student told NBCDFWs education reporter. Another said it was harmless. The same cant be said for Abbotts relentless effort to undermine public education. Thumbs up: We could use an education hero right about now. Wait, whats that, did Malala Yousafzai just fly into town? The Nobel Prize winner, who at age 11 began advocating for the education of girls in Pakistan and survived a 2012 assassination attempt, visited a Fort Bend ISD elementary school on Sunday. Why did she deign to chat with a small group of students, parents and staff? It probably helps that the school is named for her. We are Malala and we can change the world, sang the Malala Yousafzai Elementary school choir as they welcomed their namesake. Yousafzai told the attendees, The amazing teachers and staff who are here running this school, who are changing things: that is what gives me hope for every child in every corner of the world. They give us hope, too. Thumbs down: Remember those sultry saxophones in the L.A. Law theme song that got you in the mood for some steamy television legal drama? These days all the legal action seems to be in Atlanta where District Attorney Fani Willis has had to take the witness stand to defend her secret Caribbean vacays with the very special prosecutor she hired to lead the election interference case against Donald Trump and his co-defendants. Its not misconduct, Willis says, because she paid her boo back in cash for all the meals and rooms. Well soon find out if the affair is enough to get her disqualified and the Trump trial derailed. Meanwhile, Houstons got a little going on, too. As Texas Lawbook reports, a new court filing last week by the U.S. Justice Department calls for the law firm Jackson Walker to return more than $11 million in legal fees because the Texas mega-firm failed to disclose a relationship between a former partner and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones. Turns out, before resigning in October, the judge had approved fees on cases that his paramour worked on. Jackson Walker contends theres no evidence the relationship influenced the judges decisions. Cue the saxophones and aerials of downtown Houstons court district. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Thumbs up: Take that, California! The title for most solar energy capacity installed in 2023 goes to Texas, according to a report released late last month by energy research firm Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association, an industry trade group. Turns out weve got an abundance of sunlight, rapid growth in demand and relative ease connecting to the ERCOT grid. Texas is projected to gain a whopping 100 gigawatts of solar capacity in the next decade, according to SEIA, outpacing the next closest state by a 2-to-1 margin. Maybe its time for all the tree-hugging Texas haters to admit that the energy transition isnt just a blue state thing. Itd help, we suppose, if our leaders didnt try so hard to do their knuckle-dragging best to denigrate our own successes. Thumbs twiddled: If you heard a giant sigh of relief Tuesday night, it wasnt just from the opinion team at the Houston Chronicle wrapping up our endorsements and election coverage. Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth, along with her staff, and all the election workers deserve a round of applause for what appears to have been another smooth election. Except, that is, for the predicament faced by District Attorney Kim Ogg who, besides being defeated by Sean Teare, couldnt even vote for herself because an election worker pulled up her voter number when Oggs partner, who lives at the same address, went to the polls first. According to Hudspeth, the error got sorted out. Were sure the county clerk made that a priority. Ogg still has the power to investigate for the rest of the year, so shes the last voter you want to mess with. Home News Pro-life group mulling legal action after university lists peaceful activists on terrorism database An anti-abortion group is considering taking legal action against a public university that listed pro-life activists and organizations on a domestic terrorism database. The University of Marylands National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism recently launched a database called Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States. Last week, Kristi Hamrick of Students for Life of America posted a blog entry explaining that her organization was listed on the PIRUS database as part of a non-alphabetized list of alleged suspects under group or movement affiliation. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe In comments to The Christian Post on Thursday, Hamrick said a student who looked through the database first brought this listing to her attention. You can tell that viewpoint discrimination is rampant in the project in that Jane's Revenge, which actually threatened gun violence against pro-life students at one of our events, is not listed, while peaceful, pro-life speech gets flagged, Hamrick said. This is an attempt to smear the reputations of peaceful students who use their free speech right to advocate for mothers and their children, born and preborn. It is a highly offensive and highly suspect organization that can't tell the difference between students with signs and actual terrorists threatening violence. When asked by CP if her organization was considering legal action against the National Consortium over the listing, Hamrick said the group's attorneys are evaluating our options. The database also garnered negative attention on the pro-life news site LifeNews.com, which reported that the Pro-Life Action League and two student activists who were arrested in August 2020 for trying to write black pre-born lives matter on a sidewalk were also listed. The charges against the two activists were later dropped. Deanne Winslett, communications manager with the National Consortium, directed CP to a PIRUS FAQ page to read the methodology for how an entity is added to the database was explained. The criteria for being included in the database included fitting at least one of the following parameters: being arrested for committing an ideologically-motivated crime, indicted for an ideologically motivated crime, killed because of ideological activities like an attempted attack on a target, being a member of an officially designated terrorist organization, or being involved in a group whose leader(s) or founder(s) has/have been indicted for an ideologically motivated violent offense. PIRUS is a deidentified cross-sectional, quantitative dataset of individuals in the United States who radicalized to the point of violent or non-violent ideologically motivated criminal activity, or ideologically motivated association with a foreign or domestic extremist organization from 1948 until 2021, stated the FAQ page. The database lists several far-right and white supremacist organizations, among them the Ku Klux Klan and Neo-Nazis, as well as tax protesters, sovereign citizens, militias, and militant gun rights advocates. The database also includes organizations and individuals that identify as far-left, such as some animal rights and environmentalist organizations, as well as extremist groups that promote violence in the name of Islam. When asked about the nonviolent pro-life activists and groups included in the list, Winslett told CP, We cannot comment on specific individuals in the database out of respect for privacy and civil rights, and regulatory compliance. Home News Pro-lifers oppose Alabama law giving immunity for destuction of IVF embryos: 'License to kill' Pro-life activists have voiced opposition to Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey's approval of a bill they believe provides doctors and others a "license to kill" embryos created during in vitro fertilization, saying it will lead to thousands of deaths. Ivey signed Senate Bill 159 on Wednesday, which declares that "no action, suit, or criminal prosecution for the damage to or death of an embryo shall be brought or maintained against any individual or entity when providing or receiving services related to in vitro fertilization." While primarily directed at doctors who perform in vitro fertilization, the measure exempts "the manufacturer of goods used to facilitate the in vitro fertilization process or the transport of stored embryos" from criminal prosecution. The bill passed the Republican-controlled Alabama Senate with a unanimous voice vote and the Republican-controlled Alabama House of Representatives with an 81-10 voice vote. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe The legislation comes in response to the Alabama Supreme Court's Feb. 16 ruling asserting that frozen embryos created through in vitro fertilization are protected under the state's Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. Democrats and prominent Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, expressed concerns about the decision's impact on the controversial practice of in vitro fertilization. While the Alabama legislation attempted to assuage such concerns, Lila Rose, president and founder of the prominent pro-life activist organization Live Action, said in a statement that Senate Bill 159 "gives IVF docs a license to kill." She contends the bill gives "blanket immunity to the unregulated and profit-driven IVF industry" and allows "abusive and destructive practices." "This law will have catastrophic consequences and withdraws existing legal protections for Alabama's most vulnerable persons simply because those persons were created through IVF," she said. "This law provides dangerous civil and criminal immunity for 'damage to or the death of an embryo' in the course of 'providing or receiving services related to in vitro fertilization.'" She said the legislation allows for the "complete legal permission to destroy, by accident or intention, embryonic children created through IVF," even if it's "against the wishes of the parents." Rose maintains the new legislation violates the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law for all persons. "This new Alabama law denies equal protection to preborn persons created through IVF, because it withdraws the protections of civil and criminal law that exist for born persons or preborn persons in the womb," she added. "In Alabama, children created through IVF are no longer protected equally under the law." Rose argues Senate Bill 159 violates the Alabama Human Life Protection Act, which states that "medical science has increasingly recognized the humanity of the unborn child." She expressed concern that "this law giving the IVF industry the unfettered immunity to destroy countless unborn children, brazenly ignores the science that conclusively recognizes their humanity." Rose further claimed the law violates the Alabama constitution, which "acknowledges, declares, and affirms that it is the public policy of this state to recognize and support the sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children, including the right to life." The Alabama constitution "further acknowledges, declares, and affirms that it is the public policy of this state to ensure the protection of the rights of the unborn child in all manners and measures lawful and appropriate." "Politicians cannot call themselves pro-life, affirm the truth that human life begins at the moment of fertilization, and then enact laws that allow the callous killing of these preborn children simply because they were created through IVF," she added. "American law must reconsider its approach to IVF. Infertility can be an incredibly painful burden and is increasingly common." Stressing that "the solution cannot be to deny legal protections to human embryos or to allow them to be frozen or killed at will in America's IVF industry," Rose declared, "This law is not pro-life." "[T]his law disrespects human life and strips human beings of their dignity," she stated, predicting "this law will result in thousands of dead human beings." Mat Staver, founder and chairman of the conservative Christian legal group Liberty Counsel, released a statement Friday claiming "the Republican-led legislature missed the mark with this knee-jerk reaction." "[I]t is too bad legislators are moved more by political winds than in science and in the fundamental issues involving human life," he said. "Every human life begins as an embryo and has incalculable worth. Yet this law presents a double standard treating IVF embryos differently by removing their legal protections. The Alabama Supreme Court held that every unborn life, no matter their stage or location, is a child. As such, children who are in the frozen IVF embryo phase deserve the exact same dignity and protection as all children." Staver called on the Alabama legislature to "revisit this issue immediately and take a more reasoned and scientific approach that proscribes how human life must be treated in the context of IVF." In vitro fertilization has become a hot-button issue after the Alabama Supreme Court ruling. Calls for legislation protecting in vitro fertilization extend beyond Alabama. During his State of the Union address Thursday, President Joe Biden maintained that "the Alabama Supreme Court shut down IVF treatments across the state." He called on the U.S. Congress to "guarantee the right to IVF" nationwide. The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network founder Jennifer Lahl pushed back on the conclusion reached by Republican and Democrat politicians alike that the Alabama Supreme Court ruling meant that IVF "will be prohibited or greatly restricted." Lahl said in a statement to The Christian Post last month that "the higher court's action was in response to the lower court's that rejected three couples' rights to file for 'wrongful death' of their frozen embryos that were inadvertently destroyed." "IVF is not illegal in Alabama with this decision," she insisted. "If anything, IVF clinics will have to be more diligent in protecting frozen embryos." Home Opinion Rob Reiner, Heidi Przybyla and the smear of Christian nationalism It seems like everyone is talking these days about Rob Reiners hitjob movie against the religious right. It makes Christian nationalists into the bogeyman. Although I travel in the circles of Christian conservatives, I have yet to meet anyone who has actually yet seen Reiners movie. But I have seen a trailer for it. The thesis of the movie is that Christian nationalists are bad and are trying to take over the nation and turn it into something we were never intended to be. Commentator Heidi Przbyla of Politico even told a panel on MSNBC that anyone who believes our rights are derived from God is a Christian nationalist. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe She said, The thing that unites them as Christian nationalists, not Christians because Christian nationalists are very different, is that they believe that our rights as Americans and as all human beings do not come from any earthly authority. They dont come from Congress, from the Supreme Court, they come from God. Furthermore, in a tweet, Przbyla wrote: While there are different wings of Christian Nationalism, they are bound by their belief that our rights come from God. And whats wrong with that? Is that not exactly what the founding fathers and the settlers of America have said, as well as American leaders? The essence of the American experiment is self-rule under God. One famous American said, God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Who was this sneaky American trying to impose Christian nationalism on an unsuspecting populace? It was Thomas Jefferson. Those words are chiseled in stone at the memorial in Washington, D.C. dedicated to his memory. Another man said that we must remember the beliefs of this nations founders: And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God. Who said that D. James Kennedy? No, actually, that was John F. Kennedy. Thats a quote from his Inaugural Address in 1961. One American had the temerity to actually assert that America and belief in God go hand-in-hand. He declared, Without God, there could be no American form of Government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first the most basic expression of Americanism. Thus the Founding Fathers saw it, and thus, with God's help, it will continue to be. Who was that? Jerry Falwell? No, that was President Dwight D. Eisenhower. One famous American said that what we need so desperately today is a spiritual revival. Here are his own words: No greater thing could come to our land today than a revival of the spirit of religion a revival that would sweep through the homes of the Nation and stir the hearts of men and women of all faiths to a reassertion of their belief in God and their dedication to His will for themselves and for their world. Was this a recent message from Franklin Graham or his late father, Billy Graham? No, this was a comment from that icon of the left, Franklin D. Roosevelt. One famous American observed that without Gods help, a nation will not be blessed. This is how he worded it: It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. The very last part of that quote is from Psalm 33. And the speakers hearers knew that because most of them were Biblically literate, as was he. In this quote, this Christian nationalist (by the new definition) is saying that a nation is blessed only when it belongs to the God of the Bible. Who was it? Those are words from President Abraham Lincoln, calling on the nation to fast and pray and ask for Gods mercy. The only way the elite class can get away with trying to impose state-sanctioned atheism on a land that was secured on the foundation of God-given rights is when we the people forget that God is indeed the source of our rights, not the government. Or when they become so fearful of a made-up label like Christian nationalism that they go mute in the face of a little name-calling. Home Opinion Speaker Johnson, Senate Republicans must block warrantless US spy tool FISA House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Republicans need to keep one set of numbers in mind 35-2 when being pushed to reauthorize the Biden administrations unconstitutional warrantless spying on American citizens under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), as some members of Congress talk about inserting the reauthorization in spending legislation Congress is debating this week. That number represents the vote tally in the House Judiciary Committee (HJC) on Chairman Jim Jordans proposed reforms to FISA, most especially stopping the ability of Bidens weaponized Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to spy on American citizens without a federal judge first signing a warrant. FISA goes back to 1978, but Congress added Section 702 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It allows intercepting emails and phone calls from foreigners overseas, but the past few years revealed shocking reports that those warrants also captured communications from Americans. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe For example, one declassified report said that in June 2022, a government analyst conducted four searches of the name of a U.S. senator, which was later determined to be unauthorized. For another example, reports are that federal agencies were buying information on Americans from companies that sell information to marketers that the Fourth Amendment would block the government from accessing directly. FISA warrants dont go through the standard process for getting a search warrant as required by the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. Although the judges on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) are real federal judges, not all of the legal protections apply in that secretive court. For one thing, only government lawyers are involved. Section 702 information is stored for years, and the FBI doesnt need a warrant to search some of those records. Many Americans are concerned about that kind of spying power, and its no surprise that members of Congress share that concern. Opposition is widespread. Not only was Jordan joined by all Republicans on HJC, but he was also joined by every Democrat on the committee except for two. Hardcore leftists like Jerry Nadler and Pramila Jayapal voted in support of the reform package. Only two especially problematic Democrats Eric Swalwell and Hank Johnson opposed it. Most Americans dont take their national security cues from a congressman who sleeps with Chinese Communist spies. Conservatives in the Senate are also demanding reform. Senator Mike Lee, in particular, has been leading the charge demanding that these unconstitutional warrantless searches must end. Supporters of the status quo know that a bill that reauthorizes FISA with no reforms would have a very hard time passing as a standalone bill. So, theyve been looking at options to insert them into federal spending bills. Republican leaders in the House and Senate need to make sure that FISA does not end up in must-pass legislation. Speaker Johnson and Senate Republicans need to stand strong on the policy that any bill that can pass 35-2 in HJC has overwhelming bipartisan support. Such legislation deserves to be debated and voted upon as a standalone measure, not tied up with federal funding. Are we seeing a resurgence of belief in God? Premier Christian Radio host Justin Brierley is optimistic about a steady resurgence of belief in God, while historian Tom Holland believes the confident atheism spearheaded by the likes of Richard Dawkins in the 2000s has "crumbled and collapsed". They were joined in Westminster Chapel by Paul Woolley and Grace Fielding of The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC) for a conversation inspired by Brierley's book, The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God, published last year. "The moment I published the book cover on social media, I was deluged with sceptics asking 'what surprising rebirth?' because all of the data suggests the opposite," said Brierley. "We are all quite familiar with the statistic that tells us that we have increased in church decline in the West." He continued: "I didn't have data to say that 'x' number of secular intellectuals are now talking positively about Christianity and I certainly didn't have any data saying there's an influx into the pews. However, I did just sense that the conversations that were naturally opening up did seem to reflect a difference in the atmosphere." Brierley, who has hosted conversations between Christians and atheists for over 15 years on his radio show 'Unbelievable', says he has seen a change in the thinking of atheists. "More of the atheists coming on the show are saying 'I'm not a Richard Dawkins kind of atheist' and distancing themselves from this New Atheist movement," he said. Holland echoed these sentiments, saying, "I completely agree with Justin that this kind of confident evangelical atheism has crumbled and collapsed. I think it has so many contradictions within it that it hasn't really been able to put down firm roots." He continued: "I think certainly in Britain, and less so in the United states, what we have now is a situation where most people simply do not know enough about Christianity or the Bible even to be against it. "Justin's book is about the rebirth of the belief in God. I think there is a slight degree of optimism in thinking that there is a revival, but I do think that this idea of Christian civilization in the West remains as vital as it has ever done," he said. Brierley shared with a listening audience that his optimism stems from the "cultural memory of Christianity" still being "strong enough". "We are still seeing it come back. When Queen Elizabeth died for instance, there was a national outpouring of grief and religious observance," he said. According to Brierley, questions pertaining to faith have changed over the years and it is crucial for Christians to acknowledge this. He stated that great efforts were made in the mid-2000s to respond to the deep-rooted "scepticism" of Dawkins and others. "Christian apologetics was all about creating five arguments for the existence of God and four arguments for the resurrection. I just wonder whether it is time to change tack in that sense because I don't think that is where most people are starting now," he said. He continued: "If we try too much to present Christianity as just a 'follow this formula and sign on the dotted line at the bottom', that might work for some people but for a lot of people you have got to start somewhere else. "For me it is about connecting with people's heartfelt desires, longings and emotions. You've got to start with the heart and go from there." The full conversation can be heard on The Whole Life podcast later this month. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Gabriella Boschma of Houston votes on Election Day at West Gray Multi-Service Center on Tuesday, March 5, 2024 in Houston, TX. Sharon Steinmann Primary elections Regarding "We applaud the primary voter, not Harris County's primary turnout (Editorial)," (March 5): I'm both sad and surprised that the Harris County turnout for the primary elections was so pathetically low. Because the candidates at the top of the ticket Donald Trump and Joe Biden had already locked in their nominations and many candidates were unopposed, some folks evidently failed to find sufficient motivation to show up and vote for all the other races in which there was competition. Some will cynically say our elections are all flawed or rigged as their excuse for not voting. More and more people feel voting really doesn't matter because, they'll say, the government operates much the same no matter who's in charge. I disagree with that line of thinking and believe it makes a big difference who's in charge. What's most troubling is that they take the right to vote for granted. I don't. I vote every time I'm given the opportunity, even if I don't find any of the races or candidates compelling. I do so because I want to preserve the right to vote for myself and for younger generations in the future. Advertisement Article continues below this ad If people stop showing up to vote, might we eventually lose that right or see our elections become merely ceremonial, like in totalitarian nations? I don't want to find out the hard way. Greg Groh, Houston Regarding "Loyalty to Trump, Abbott and Paxton prevailed over sanity in Texas GOP primary (Editorial)," (March 6): I just wanted to pass along my appreciation, and a big "bravo" to the Chronicle editorial staff for the hard-hitting and truthful editorial in the paper regarding the Texas GOP's loyalty to Trump in the primary elections. Trump was the most dishonorable, irresponsible and morally corrupt president of my lifetime. He is a master manipulator who plays his supporters for fools. Please keep up the good work of holding our leadership to account. M. Wisniewski, Houston State of the Union Regarding "Biden's State of the Union reminds voters he's running to safeguard democracy (Editorial)," (March 8): During the State of the Union address, we saw all members of Congress and all Supreme Court justices in the same place at the same time. One thing quickly became apparent. Advertisement Article continues below this ad On Jan. 6, Democrats and Republicans alike were literally running for their lives fleeing from the Trump-inspired insurrection mob. Today, three years later, the Democrats have returned to doing the business of the country, and the Republicans continue to run now for their political lives, from the Trump-inspired radicals who vote in primary elections. Hopefully the folly of this choice will become apparent when all voters show up for the general election. By extension, hopefully the same thing happens to the Texas Republicans who Gov. Greg Abbott brought through the primary election to replace the honest members of the state Legislature who voted against destroying our public schools. Raymond Floyd, Houston Crime rate comparison Advertisement Article continues below this ad Walter D. Kamphoefner, Bryan Abbott's voucher push Regarding "Gov. Greg Abbotts fight for Texas school vouchers poised for victory after GOP primary," (March 6): This article has me infuriated. I am a former Houstonian and a retired teacher, and I care a lot about our schools and students. In November, when 21 Republicans joined Democrats to block Abbott's voucher plan, he heard loud and clear that most people did not want vouchers, mostly over fears that they would take money from the state's public schools, which are already severely underfunded. There are few or no private schools available for students in rural areas. The cost of private schools far exceeds the funds available from vouchers anyway, which makes them unavailable to most. Essentially only the well-to-do would benefit at all. Private schools are much more loosely regulated than public schools. Besides, as the article pointed out, "Academic studies of school vouchers are murky on how good they are for students." Instead of listening to public opinion, Abbott used every dirty trick he could muster to bully opponents into joining his side. He doled out more than $6 million to help his proponents win Tuesday's primaries. He called several special summer sessions of Congress and said he would continue that for as long as it took to get his way. He blocked much-needed funding for schools as well as pay raises for teachers. Like a spoiled brat, he used everything he could think of to get his way, right or wrong. His main concern seems to be his legacy and his political aspirations. Advertisement Article continues below this ad If Abbott and his affluent urban cohort win, our public-school students and teachers will lose big time. I hope and pray that does not happen. University Heights police arrested for drunk driving a man, 33, who struck a parked car while backing out of a driveway, then left his vehicle running in the street. A Montrose live oak, as seen from the ground. Clifford Pugh According to the Hermann Park Conservancy, in 1910, Houston Mayor Horace Baldwin Rice appointed a Board of Park Commissioners to develop a park system for Houston. In 1914, George Hermann, a local philanthropist, donated 285 acres of land to the city of Houston for a public park. He said that his donation was in consideration of his desire to promote the general welfare of the city of Houston, and the health, comfort, and happiness of the citizens thereof. Parks Board Chairman Edwin B. Parker (reportedly a big fan of magnificent oak trees) and the developers of Rice University and nearby subdivisions made oak trees a tradition and arboreal anchor of the area. The first oaks were planted in 1916. Rice, Hermann, Parker and others were integral in transforming Houstons once bare prairie-like landscape into a shady, lush place with tree-lined streets. Without their live oaks, the park, Cravens Parkway, Rice University, North and South Boulevards, Montrose Boulevard, Heights Boulevard, Bayland Street and many other areas of Houston would not be as beautiful and shady in Houstons heat as they are today. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The tree covers in these areas allow walkers and bike-riders to take routes (Montrose, Rice, Hermann Park) that are shaded most of the time. Generally, the trees of our city add to a much cooler and pleasurable walking, running, biking and living experience. So when I read that a project in my neighborhood, Montrose, entailed cutting down nearly 60 trees many of them mature live oaks I was at first disbelieving, then disappointed, then angered. What project design could warrant that wholesale destruction of our biotope? Even more important: Who could conceive and carry out such a hideous act of mass arboricide in the name of wider sidewalks and street crossings? I was informed that this was a project of the Montrose Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ), an appointed, quasi-governmental board that oversees the planning, design, implementation and maintenance of community development projects in the Montrose area. I attended a TIRZ board meeting, and I immediately sensed that key board members had a distancing attitude toward community speakers. They seemed condescending and almost antagonistic. Instead of fostering an air of creative transcendence using the communitys concerns and insights as an opportunity to go beyond what had been originally planned the board seemed to see the community as a nuisance, if not a barrier to doing what the TIRZ already intended. Any and all suggestions for redesign seemed out of the question. An unnecessary stalemate. Advertisement Article continues below this ad This disconnect between the people and those who represent their interests only exacerbated my discomfort with the planned arboreal pogrom. My 40-plus years in public service to empower constituencies led me to see this as a grave kink in any constructive local and national democratic process. However, this issue is entirely resolvable if we simply operate within the historical spirit that has created this citys proud history of design, architecture and engineering. The creative spirit and genius of visionaries e.g., Philip Johnson, Mies van der Rohe and Laurie Olin have left an indelible mark on our place as Americas fourth largest city and our claim to be world-class. If we respect, continue and build upon that creative spirit and tradition, Houston will be an even better place to live. Historically, Houston leaders have realized the importance of trees in creating a sense of place. They began the collective mindset and process that has made Houston a greener, more beautiful, more arboreal place to live today. Let us respect and continue that history. Let us continue to make Houston a greener, more beautiful place to live through meaningful and thoughtful (re)design. Save the trees! Save the project! Save and strengthen the relationships with our public servants. Save ourselves! The key to a "good life" is the ability to learn from your mistakes, according to Barbara Corcoran. It's a trait Corcoran shares with all of her biggest "superstar" employees, the 74-year-old investor on ABC's "Shark Tank" told author and entrepreneur Tim Ferriss on the latest episode of his podcast. "Recovering from failure, in my book, is 95% of life," Corcoran said. "If you're going to have a good life, you'd better be really good at getting back up, like a jack-in-the-box, boom, boom, boom. Just get back up." Corcoran is the founder of real estate brokerage The Corcoran Group, which she sold for $66 million in 2001. Her top-performing employees all shared the ability to not be deterred by mistakes, she told Ferriss. "That really was the only difference between the superstars that I had making two, three million dollars a year and people who made an average of $45,000, which was the norm," she said. She "became a student" of those top employees, so she could figure out their recipe for success and look for the same traits in future hires. "When it comes down to it, it's how well you get back up and how long you take to feel sorry for yourself," she told Ferriss. "They drove me crazy too, but I admired my superstars so much because of that ability ... You could punch them around. They'd go, 'Ha ha,' [and] get back up." Indeed, research shows that people who can reframe failure as a learning opportunity, and who are resilient enough to rebound from mistakes without losing their motivation, are more likely to be successful in the long run. "We forget failure really is a path to success," Yale psychology professor and happiness expert Laurie Santos told CNBC Make It last year. Corcoran has previously credited much of her success to her own resilience, noting on TikTok last year that her experiences in school she struggled with dyslexia, while her classmates would "breeze through" assignments, she said helped her hone that skill. [I] learned how to rebound," she said. "Get through any obstacle. I try harder than the next guy, and I work twice as hard as the next guy. But that's OK that's exactly what built my business and got me rich." Those obstacles can teach you lessons, too. Corcoran admits she's made, and learned from, many mistakes over the course of her career. In one case, she told Make It last year, she gained an important lesson about negotiating when she lost out on a deal by not responding soon enough with a counter-offer leaving her prospective buyer feeling disrespected. "Unfortunately, the only way to really learn is ... by tripping up and making many, many mistakes," said Corcoran. Other successful entrepreneurs agree, including Corcoran's "Shark Tank" co-star Mark Cuban. The billionaire Dallas Mavericks co-owner teaches young people that "there's no such thing as failure," because you can discover more by trying new things and taking lessons from setbacks, he told "The Thrive Global Podcast" in 2017. Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank." Want to make extra money outside of your day job? Sign up for CNBC's new online course How to Earn Passive Income Online to learn about common passive income streams, tips to get started and real-life success stories. Register today and save 50% with discount code EARLYBIRD. An Alaska airlines Boeing 737 is taking off from Los Angeles International AirPort (LAX) in Los Angeles, California, on March 6, 2024. The Justice Department has started a criminal investigation into the Alaska Airlines incident where a door panel blew out mid-air two months ago, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday. The newspaper, citing documents and people familiar with the matter, said investigators have contacted passengers, pilots and flight attendants on Flight 1282 on Jan. 5 heading to Ontario, California from Portland, Oregon, where a section of the plane ripped off midair, forcing the crew to make an emergency landing. The investigation would help the DOJ its in review of whether Boeing complied with an previous settlement of a federal investigation into two fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019, the Journal said. "In an event like this, it's normal for the DOJ to be conducting an investigation," an Alaska Airlines spokesperson said. "We are fully cooperating and do not believe we are a target of the investigation." The DOJ declined to comment. Boeing didn't immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment. Boeing 737 Max 9 planes flown by Alaska have resumed regular service after being grounded for inspections. Alaska and United Airlines, the two U.S. carriers that fly the Max 9, canceled thousands of flights in January after the incident. Three passengers are suing Boeing and Alaska Airlines for $1 billion in damages, accusing Boeing and Alaska Airlines of negligence for allegedly having ignored warning signs. Alaska Airlines earlier estimated that the weekslong grounding of the Boeing 737 Max 9 will cost the carrier $150 million. Read the original WSJ story here. CNBC's Rebecca Picciotto contributed reporting. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., is seen in the U.S. Capitol during votes on Tuesday, January 9, 2024. Alabama Republican Sen. Katie Britt is under fire for using what appears to be a sex trafficking victim's experience from the early 2000s to condemn President Joe Biden and his border policy. Britt gave the GOP rebuttal to Biden's State of the Union address to Congress this week. During her rebuttal, Britt referenced a visit to the Del Rio sector of the Texas border where she depicted a seemingly personal conversation with someone who had survived sex trafficking by groups in the U.S. "That's where I spoke to a woman who shared her story with me," Britt said in the video. "She had been sex trafficked by the cartels starting at the age of 12." The victim Britt referenced was Karla Jacinto Romero, who was sex trafficked in Mexico not the United States, as the senator suggested from 2004 to 2008, twenty years before the Democrat Biden became president. The journalist Jonathan Katz first pieced together Britt's presentation of Jacinto Romero's experience in a TikTok video. Britt seemingly attempted to present the anecdote as a damning example of Biden's border management. "We wouldn't be okay with this happening in a third-world country," she added. "President Biden's border policies are a disgrace. This crisis is despicable." But Jacinto Romero did not experience sex trafficking in the U.S. as a result of Biden's border policy because he was not president from 2004 to 2008 and because she was sex trafficked in Mexico. Katz slammed Britt for the implication that Jacinto Romero divulged her experiences privately. "Britt tells it like she's sitting by the banks of the Rio Grande, like holding her hand, like getting her to tell the story that she won't tell anyone else," he said. Instead, he added, Jacinto Romero is a public advocate for sex trafficking and has repeatedly shared her story publicly to shed light on the issue. Jacinto Romero has testified to U.S. Congress, the Mexican House of Representatives and the Vatican, according to a short 2015 profile in a U.S. House of Representatives document. Britt visited the Del Rio area in January 2023 on a joint trip with Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss. During that trip, Jacinto Romero appeared at a press conference with Britt, Blackburn and Hyde-Smith where she publicly relayed her grueling sex-trafficking story. Britt has faced a flurry of online criticism since the anecdote was exposed as misplaced, compounding previous disapproval about her rebuttal's delivery. "So not only was Katie Britt a flaming embarrassment. She is also an out and out liar. Alabama's finest!" political scientist Norman Ornstein wrote in an X post. Ornstein is a part of a broader chorus of journalists and others slamming Britt for her storytelling. "This was old Alabama politics. The politics of fear and confusion," Alabama columnist Kyle Whitmire wrote on X. "Britt blamed Biden for an assault that appears to have happened 20 years ago. Her spokesman won't give a clear answer when asked." Christine Pelosi, political strategist and daughter of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, demanded in a Saturday X post that Britt apologize "for lying about the horrific case of sexual violence that you exploited for political purposes." Sean Ross, spokesperson for Sen. Britt, did not deny that Jacinto Romero is the sex-trafficking survivor in question but doubled down on Britt's story. "The story Senator Britt told was 100% correct," Ross said in a statement to CNBC. "But there are more innocent victims of that kind of disgusting, brutal trafficking by the cartels than ever before right now." Though sex trafficking has taken place in the U.S. under the Biden administration, Jacinto Romero's sex-trafficking story is not an example of it. "Today, Karla is a happy and successful mother of two beautiful girls, a wife, a student, and an international activist," reads the 2015 House document. Businesspeople have a video conference call with employees working remotely in an office meeting room. Gorodenkoff | Istock | Getty Images High-paying hybrid work is here to stay or is it? Six-figure hybrid job availability crashed nearly 70% while posts for in-person jobs nearly doubled, according to the Q4 2023 High Paying Jobs report from jobs platform Ladders. But six-figure-and-up workers are not taking this situation lying down. Video conferencing technology company Owl Labs' State of Hybrid Work 2023 report points to the notion that the higher the salary, the higher the likelihood that employees would not accept a job that required them to be in office full-time. Higher income also made workers more likely to start looking for a new position that offers hybrid flexibility, the report states. This disconnect between what employers are offering and what highly paid workers want is causing tension in the return-to-office dance. "Employers, managers and employees are all kind of walking on glass at the moment," said Frank Weishaupt, CEO of Owl Labs. Leaders at many large companies, including Boeing and UPS, have made it clear they want people back in the office. This is to make sure that they're maximizing the value of employees, particularly in challenging economic circumstances. However, employees of all stripes particularly highly paid workers, as research notes now know what it feels like to manage their personal and professional lives with hybrid flexibility, and they're not willing to give it up. 'The tragedy of the commons' In the case for hybrid, how are six-figure workers with executive or managerial roles different from individual employees? "There is a different standard where we talk about the high-income bracket," said Rick Smith, professor of practice in management and organization at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. Managers and other highly paid leaders have an expectation to give up some of that self-indulgence that can promote more remote or hybrid flexibility, Smith said. This is to avoid "the tragedy of the commons," a phenomenon in which individuals act in their own self-interest to the detriment of the common good. "If I choose to work remotely, that may benefit me, but it may not benefit the common good for the organization," he said. For individual workers, this may not be as relatable but the higher a worker climbs the ladder, Smith suggests, the more they owe to the organization. Even so, the future of work requires a give and take between employees and employers, one in which the office is a reward and blanket mandates are bendable. The office as a meaningful experience Smith suggests that organizations who do pull hybrid workers back into the office for part of the time are going to be smarter about what those office visits entail. "When they come to the office, it's a meaningful experience," he said. Rather than pushing for people to return for individual, heads-down work, that in-office time will have a higher impact in the form of events, collaboration and other unifying activities that invigorate workers and their outputs. Beyond the mandate Turkish and U.S. officials held comprehensive talks about the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and various bilateral issues during meetings in Washington, Turkey's foreign minister said late on Friday. The NATO allies started the meetings, dubbed the Strategic Mechanism, on Thursday to discuss efforts to move beyond deep policy disagreements and improve cooperation in other areas. Ties between the allies have been strained in recent years amid growing disagreements over a range of issues, although relations have since gained momentum following Ankara's approval of Sweden's bid to join NATO. Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan said officials from the countries held several rounds of discussions on topics including Syria, the Ukraine, Gaza, defense industry cooperation, energy, and counterterrorism. "At the moment, especially given the point we have reached, with a renewed psychology, a more positive agenda, we have the opportunity to continue on our path by turning a new page," he told Turkish media in Washington. "While managing the problems we face now, it is important to also realize the joint potential the two nations can create and the opportunities they can bring," he said. Fidan said he reiterated Turkey's view that an immediate and lasting ceasefire was needed in Gaza and emphasized the need for countries to do more to ease the humanitarian catastrophe and pave the way for a two-state solution. He also discussed ways to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine with U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, reiterating that Ankara believed it is time to discuss paths toward an end to the war but that Turkey did not see this willingness from Kyiv and Moscow. "We need a basis for talking, for this war to stop, and a dialogue to prevent worse crises, and we call for this," Fidan said. The allies still remain at odds over a host of issues, such as Turkey's acquisition of Russian S-400 defence systems and the U.S. sanctions triggered by that, which led to Turkey's removal from the F-35 fighter jet programme. Turkey is also deeply concerned over U.S. support for Kurdish militants in Syria, whom Ankara deems terrorists. Fidan said Turkey maintained its position on Syria and over the F-35s, saying Ankara was owed jets for the payment and work it did as a manufacturer. He said Turkey was open to discussing the matter but Washington needed to be "open minded". As Indian tourists continue to skip Maldives, the number of arrivals from the country has declined by 33% amid the diplomatic row with the Island nation and India has now dropped to the 6th spot on visitor rankings. However, former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed, who is currently in India, voiced his concerns about the ramifications of India's boycott call against his nation, particularly in the context of tourism. He issued an apology on behalf of the Maldivian people and while speaking to ANI, emphasised the people's wish for Indian tourists to continue visiting the country. Diplomatic tensions between India and the Maldives peaked after President Mohamed Muizzu , who is often perceived as pro-China, announced plans to expel all Indian military troops from the nation by March 10. The move heightened tensions between the two nations and prompted a boycott call from the Indian side, which hurt several sectors, most notably tourism, which is vital to Maldives' economy. Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed, who is currently in India, voiced his concerns about the ramifications of India's boycott call against his nation, particularly in the context of tourism. (Image: Reuters) Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed, who is currently in India, voiced his concerns about the ramifications of India's boycott call against his nation, particularly in the context of tourism. (Image: Reuters) Also read: Highlighting the impact of the boycott call on the Maldives, Nasheed said, "It has impacted the Maldives a lot, and I am actually here in India. I am very worried about this. I want to say the people of the Maldives are sorry, we are sorry that this has happened. We want Indian people to come on their holidays to the Maldives, and there will not be any change in our hospitality." He lauded the quick action taken by the current President of Maldives in removing those that trigerred the diplomatic row, which led to the boycott call from India. "I think, these matters must be ironed out, and we must revert to change course and go back to our usual relationship," Nasheed said. Nasheed spoke about the historical ties between the two nations and highlighted India's responsible approach during past challenges. "When the president of the Maldives wanted Indian military personnel to leave, you know what India did? They did not twist their arms. They did not display muscle, but just simply told the government of Maldives, 'Okay, let's have a discussion on that'." About recent discussions over the Dornier flight and helicopters, Nasheed urged Muizzu to cease such talks. "It's very unfortunate that President Muizzu had these discussions. I would call him to please stop these discussions on the Dornier flight and the helicopters. They were brought to the Maldives for medical evacuation, and there is a need for medical evacuation. Our islands are far-flung, and we don't have developed hospitals on every island. So, there is very often a need to bring a patient to Male, and to do that quickly would be by air, so we need that," Nasheed said. Talking about the recently signed defence agreement between Maldives and China, he added, "I don't think it's a defence agreement. I think that Muizzu wanted to buy some equipment, mainly rubber bullets and tear gas. It is very unfortunate that the government thought that there was a need for more tear gas and more rubber bullets. Governance is not through the barrel of the gun." Recently, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that misunderstandings could happen between nations and expressed optimism in resolving the dispute via diplomatic talks. "Humanity is humanity. Diplomacy is diplomacy, and politics is politics. The whole world doesn't always run with obligation...so if we have encountered such a situation, the solution will come through diplomacy only," he said. (Photo : Unsplash/Specna Arms) A US Army sergeant and intelligence analyst were arrested on Thursday at Fort Campbell, Tennessee, on six charges of conspiracy for trading military secrets with a co-conspirator in Hong Kong for $42,000, according to the Justice Department. Conspiracy Charges Against A US Army Analyst The FBI and US Army counterintelligence investigated and arrested Sgt. Korbein Schultz for allegedly exchanging security documents with $42,000, which is believed to have conspired from June 2022 until his arrest. Henry Leventis, the US attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, stated that Schultz conspired to acquire and disclose national defense information, exported technical data related to defense articles without proper authorization and license, and bribed a public official. According to the US attorney's office, Schultz collaborated with a co-conspirator in Hong Kong who claimed affiliation with a geopolitical consulting firm based overseas to share documents, plans, maps, and other materials related to national defense, which could potentially harm the United States or benefit a foreign nation. In return for his actions, Schultz received approximately $42,000 over 14 payments from the co-conspirator, as reported by the prosecutor's office. READ ALSO: US Sanctions Predator Spyware-Maker Targeting Journalists, Officials, Strips Technology Access to Safeguard Human Rights National Security Denouncing the Indictment Larissa Knapp from the FBI's National Security Branch criticized the purported actions, denouncing them as a grave breach of the oath to protect the nation. Rather than safeguarding sensitive defense information, Schultz is accused of conspiring with a foreign individual, which could jeopardize national security. The US attorney's office alleged that Schultz, possessing a "Top Secret security clearance," was recruited by the co-conspirator and frequently requested sensitive documents, which encompassed details on the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), hypersonic technology, studies concerning the future of US military forces, and information regarding China's military preparedness. However, the indictment does not directly accuse the Chinese government or reveal the identity of the individual who provided the payment. Schultz is alleged to have transmitted "original and exclusive documents" as directed, which included intelligence concerning Russia's conflict in Ukraine, the functionality of sensitive US military systems, and contingency strategies for Taiwan in the event of an attack. Furthermore, Schultz reportedly disclosed three documents contravening the Arms Export Control Act during the purported nearly two-year conspiracy. According to prosecutors, these documents encompassed Air Force Tactics Techniques and Procedures manuals for the HH-60W helicopter, F22-A fighter aircraft, and intercontinental ballistic missiles. Leventis mentioned that Schultz is set to appear in court for the first time in central Tennessee on Friday. It remained uncertain if an attorney had been appointed to defend Schultz. A representative from the public defender's office in the Middle District of Tennessee stated uncertainty regarding Schultz's legal representation, noting that the office typically does not disclose information about defendants. In a statement on Friday, Lt. Col. Tony Hoefler, a spokesperson for Fort Campbell, verified Schultz's current assignment with the 101st Airborne Division and affirmed their cooperation with the US Attorney's Office in the case. The indictment highlighted messages from Schultz, which included his desire to emulate "Jason Bourne" and his request for more funds from his handler. This event comes after the recent apprehension of a retired US Army colonel in Nebraska, who is accused of sharing classified information via a foreign dating website. RELATED ARTICLE: Ex-Google Engineer Busted Working with Chinese Companies, Faces Four Theft Counts for Stealing AI Trade Secrets 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Offer a personal message of sympathy... By sharing a fond memory or writing a kind tribute, you will be providing a comforting keepsake to those in mourning. If you have an existing account with this site, you may log in with that below. Otherwise, you can create an account by clicking on the Log in button below, and then register to create your account. With prompt engineers among the workers most in demand in the wake of generative AIs arrival in the enterprise, it was inevitable that someone would investigate whether their role, too, could be automated, or at least facilitated, by AI. And, indeed, a recent study focused on how to write the best prompts for a large-language model (LLM) AI to solve mathematical problems has found that another AI gets better results than a human. The study sought to determine whether human-generated positive thinking promptssuch as this will be fun! or take a deep breath and thinkproduce better responses. The results were mixed when using different LLMs. AI-optimized prompts win However, using AI-optimized prompts instead consistently equaled or surpassed the effectiveness of our manually generated positive thinking prompts in nearly all instances, wrote researchers Rick Battle and Teja Gollapudi of VMware. Their conclusion: Its easy to get an LLM to come up with new answers by feeding it different prompts. Its more difficult to produce consistently great answers through human-generated prompts. Affecting performance is trivial, they wrote. Improving performance, when tuning the prompt by hand, is laborious and computationally prohibitive when using scientific processes to evaluate every change. Battle and Gollapudi cite a 2023 study, from Chengrun Yang of Google DeepMind and other researchers, coming to a similar conclusion. AI-optimized prompts can be AI model- and task-specific, while similar human-generated prompts can produce drastically different performance, the Yang study says. Their research, along with Yangs, highlights the superior capability of Ais to optimize their own prompts. Engaging in the iterative process of refining prompts and monitoring the subsequent score progression can be an enjoyable endeavor, Battle and Gollapudi write. However, this approach proves to be highly time-inefficient, especially when systematically assessing all modifications from a scientific standpoint. It probably shouldnt be surprising that AI prompts net the best AI results, even if the concept of best may be subjective, said Daniel Freeman, a senior consultant and AI expert at Scotwork International, a global negotiation skills and training company. Were already addressing the biases inherent in AI models, so perhaps the best prompt is one that yields unintended outcomes for the user, he said. A recent article on Business Insider suggested that AI is coming for the high-paying AI prompt engineering jobs, and Freeman raised similar concerns as researchers and AI developers explore the boundaries of AI. Ethical considerations When we reach a point where were asking AI to prompt itself, the question arises: Are we inadvertently prioritizing cost-cutting over larger ethical considerations? he said. Do we really want to side-line human involvement? The recent studies suggest the possibility of removing humans from AI and training, but thats a precarious path to tread, he added. We rely on the human touch to guide the development of this emerging technology sensibly. Human guidance is needed to guide AI chatbots away from giving out inaccurate information, to cut back on plagiarism in academia, and to resolve ethnical dilemmas in AI-generated art, for example, Freeman noted. Freeman has seen AI become increasingly integrated into negotiation training processes with his job at Scotwork. Its foreseeable that AI will continue to expand its role in future business negotiations and beyond, but striking the right balance between AI and human capabilities will be paramount for successful integration and the preservation of negotiation as an art form, he said. 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. Our Voices is written by columnists outside of the newspaper and focuses on capturing the diverse identities and personal narratives within our community. Contact mere@dailycal.org or opinion@dailycal.org. Wide range of issues raised in media interviews 15:51, March 09, 2024 By Cheng Yu,Luo Wangshu,Li Lei,Ma Si and Hou Liqiang ( China Daily Five ministerial-level officials (from left) Jin Zhuanglong, Lu Zhiyuan, Huang Runqiu, Li Xiaopeng and Luo Wen answer questions after the plenary meeting of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday. KUANG LINHUA/CHINA DAILY Editor's Note: Four ministers and a top regulator met the media after the plenary meeting of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday. AI to be leveraged for new industrialization China will step up the research and development of 6G wireless technology and launch an "artificial intelligence plus" initiative to leverage AI to promote new industrialization, the country's industry minister said on Friday. Jin Zhuanglong, minister of industry and information technology, said on the sidelines of the ongoing two sessions in Beijing that more efforts will be made to promote the deep integration of informatization and industrialization. "China will moderately advance the construction of the 5G network, computing power and other information infrastructure so as to better harness cutting-edge technologies to empower various industries," Jin said. He also called for more measures to build a modern industrial system with advanced manufacturing as the backbone. Transparency the aim in screening of aid recipients Minister of Civil Affairs Lu Zhiyuan pledged on Friday to make the screening of State benefit recipients more transparent and to fight corruption in the sector. "Social aid commands huge public attention, and is a matter of social justice," he said. "We must carry out related policies openly and transparently, and step up disclosure of beneficiaries." Lu said his ministry will launch a campaign to rectify nepotism and other wrongdoings in the field of social aid, and make sure welfare programs serve as the last defense to keep financially strapped groups afloat during hard times. Lu's remarks came amid a nationwide effort to pinpoint vulnerable groups and prevent them from sliding into poverty. As part of the effort, the ministry and 10 other departments have worked to roll out a tiered system to classify potential aid recipients, and have allowed those not qualified for subsistence allowances to apply for special aid in areas such as education, housing and healthcare. Environmental protection work beats challenges Despite unfavorable meteorological conditions last year, China managed to maintain good momentum for steady improvements in its environmental quality, said Huang Runqiu, minister of ecology and environment. "The past year was a very complex year for environmental protection work, and we encountered many difficulties and challenges," he said, citing air pollution control as an example. The rapid recovery of economic activities after the COVID-19 pandemic had significantly increased emissions of pollutants in some sectors, he said. This resulted in great pressure in maintaining the quality of the atmospheric environment. The ultra-low emissions transformation in the steel industry was accelerated. It was completed for 220 million metric tons of steel production capacity last year, over three times the level in the previous three years, Huang said. Country's transportation system blazing new paths China has made notable achievements to build a strong transportation system in the past decade, with the successful construction of the world's largest high-speed railway network, an extensive expressway system, and a comprehensive postal and express delivery network, Minister of Transport Li Xiaopeng said in Beijing on Friday. "China boasts world-class port clusters," he said. "The construction of key projects such as the Sichuan-Xizang Railway and the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge has been accelerated. The rural road system has been greatly improved." He said all villages now have access to postal services. Li said China will continue to improve its transportation infrastructure, deepen reform of the comprehensive transportation system, and promote cost reduction, quality improvement and efficiency enhancement in transportation and logistics. China to crack down on monopolies China will take bigger actions to crack down on administrative monopolies so as to offer a fair market environment for companies, a top market regulator said on the sidelines of the ongoing two sessions on Friday. Luo Wen, head of the State Administration for Market Regulation, said the country will continue to increase rectification of some administrative monopolies, like local protectionism. "The SAMR has already drafted regulations to further optimize the review mechanism on fair competition and will promote municipalities to enact such regulations as soon as possible," he said. "We are currently revising related regulations on legal registration for corporate development. During this revision, we made it clear that enterprises relocating to other places can directly go through registration procedures in the new place," he said. (Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Liang Jun) Kirk Douglas and New York Governor Mario Cuomo meet in Amsterdam on June 1, 1985, the day city residents welcomed home their native son. About 28,000 people attended the parade for the s actor. Its just over a year since Prince Harry published his cruel memoir Spare. In it he portrayed his brother William as a violent bully and his sister-in-law Kate as a Stepford wife chosen because she fitted the royal mould unlike his beloved wife Meghan. It was a painful experience for the Prince and Princess of Wales, who had no right of reply to these horrible slurs. Worse was to come when Kate was named as one of the racist royals first alluded to in Meghan and Harrys 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview, after allegedly questioning the future skin colour of the Sussexes first child, Archie. Often seated alongside Harry during his attacks on his family was his calculating, self-satisfied, former TV actress wife Meghan, milking her in-laws personal drama while taking millions from Netflix and other paymasters. Meghan, pictured with Harry, plans to employ a PR guru in the UK to revive her standing here No one has caused more damage to the institution of the Royal Family than Meghan Markle, argues Amanda Platell Now we learn that with her popularity tanking in America, Meghan plans to employ a PR guru in the UK to revive her standing here. All I can say is, good luck with that. As we who love the Royal Family know, no one has caused more damage to the institution than Meghan Markle, still clinging on to her Duchess title. Can she really be trying to reinvent herself in Britain while poor Kate recuperates at home after surgery and is not expected to appear in public before Easter, at the earliest? Its nothing short of abominable. Only Kates immediate family and closest aides know what truly ails her, but the constant attacks from Harry and Meghan cannot have helped her stress and anxiety levels in recent years. So if I had the miserable job of being the Duchesss PR adviser, handed the impossible task of rehabilitating her in a country shed rejected, my message would be: Stay away. For ever. OnlyFans party-girl Carrie Royale claims shes sold a pair of Prince Harrys undies for $250,000 and now threatens to post never-before-seen nude pictures of the Duke of Hazard cavorting at his 2012 strip billiards game in Las Vegas. Dont worry, Harry, it could be worse. Just imagine if youd ever dressed up as a Nazi! RUPERT Murdoch is to marry at 92 for the fifth time, to molecular biologist Elena Zhukova, 25 years his junior. Rupes worth $19 billion. Does he ever wonder if its not his wit and charm that seduces younger women? Im betting his kids are insisting he has a cast iron pre-nup in place. WERE he still alive, Strictly Come Dancings launch presenter Bruce Forsyth might have had something to say after Claudia Winkleman claimed the secret of the shows success is that it is hosted by women (her and Tess Daly) and women have key production jobs. Jolly good, but without sex on legs professional dancers Graziano, Gorka, Giovanni, Johannes and Vito, what red-blooded woman would even tune in? MOTHERING Sunday tomorrow and even though my Mum died five years ago, I will put a card by her picture, thanking her for love and advice. The night before my wedding, she took my hand and said: Its not too late to pull out, Mandy, hes a no-gooder. Six years later, after his infidelity, we were divorced. As always, she was right. Love and miss you, Mum ELLE The Body Macpherson, nearly 60, claims that what women wear makes little difference and being a true expression of who you are is the secret to shine your unique beauty. Top advice Elle, but while youre prancing around in your skimpy bikini, the rest of us in our 60s are wearing sloppy sweatshirts, hoping the AA man might be the answer to all our dreams. OVER-promoted BBC presenter Amol Rajan sneers that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has been called a fiscal drag queen. Perhaps the bejewelled mumbler Rajan, famous for his diamond earring, ugly rings and thick gold neck chain, should look a bit closer to home. CELEBRITY Big Brothers Levi Roots famous for his Reggae Reggae Sauce says he hopes his children are inspired by their dad. Levi, given that you fathered eight children by seven women, perhaps best to leave the parenting advice to others. THE UKs counter-extremism tsar Robin Simcox says pro-Palestinian marches have turned London into a no-go zone for Jews. I live in a North London suburb with a large Jewish community and am saddened by this. What do I say to my Jewish neighbours, fearful of even wearing their kippahs and asking why our capital has no place left for them? F1 BOSS Christian Horner praises his wife, ex-Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, for her support over claims he exchanged sexy WhatsApp messages with a female Red Bull employee. An internal investigation cleared Horner who keeps his 8 million job. But the recipient of sexy texts has been suspended. So much for Girl Power. In an attempt to show his softer side, Rishi Sunak reveals he nips upstairs to make the matrimonial bed, stacks the dishwasher and cooks his kids meals. Which leaves one wondering what his wife Akshata Murty does all day. Am guessing when youre the daughter of a billionaire, youre used to having staff to do the menial stuff. SNAKE-HIPPED Peter Mandelson says porky Keir Starmer 20 points ahead in the polls needs to lose weight as hes aghast at the thought of a Prime Minister with manboobs? That didnt stop our full-bodied Boris Johnson winning a historic landslide victory. Fashion designer Stella McCartney, 52, says her new collection was inspired by the sharp-tailored suits dad Paul wore in the Beatles heyday. Crikey, in this baggy, oversized number, she looks like a homeless bloke youd offer a fiver to, making him promise not to spend it on Strongbow. Let it be, Stella: time to stop monetising your dad. ARISTOCRAT Constance Marten, charged with causing the death of her infant girl, says she did nothing but show love to my little baby while on the run with partner Mark Gordon. Legalities stop me offering an opinion, yet I will say I cant but feel pity for a woman whose four other children went into care and whose fifth died in her arms. THE LANCET medical journal says it is time to stop treating the menopause as a disease and the only ones making money out of it are the pharmaceutical giants hawking HRT and other drugs. Sense at last when most women, myself included, sailed through the Big M without noticing and are sick of hearing our sisters bleating on about their menopause journey. SCIENTISTS declare that men scoffing a full English breakfast increase their facial attractiveness. Clearly a survey conducted by portly middle aged men: what woman wants sex with a bloke whose fat stomach nestles on his thighs? SELDOM do prime ministers speak of our fighting forces without a lump in their throats. As Rishi Sunak gushed in his Christmas message to Britains troops: In a dangerous world, Ive seen how youre working around the clock for the good of us all. So much for the gratitude of politicians. While our leaders are quick to become dewy-eyed over the selfless dedication and bravery of our servicemen and women, they are depressingly reluctant to match their words with deeds. Even Tory governments who should know better have run down the Armed Forces they are so ready to send into battle or on other perilous deployments. Defence budgets have been plundered to prop up unsustainable levels of funding elsewhere, most strikingly for health. None of the Governments obligations is more crucial than the defence of the realm To govern is to choose, of course. But the choices are coming back to haunt Britain. The threats facing us are far more unpredictable and serious than even during the Cold War. Yet the Army is so short of troops, it couldnt even field a single 10,000-strong division. The Royal Navy has been reduced to little more than a coastal force. To make matters worse, the Commons spending watchdog says the Forces face a 29billion funding black hole, which means further vital equipment could be axed. With war raging in Europe and authoritarian regimes on the rise, it was simply unforgivable for Mr Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to conjure up not a bean in the Budget to urgently upgrade our threadbare defences. This is a short-sighted and dangerous mistake. That is why the Mail has launched our Dont Leave Britain Defenceless campaign. Calling for increases to Ministry of Defence funding from 2.3 to 4 per cent of GDP within a decade, it is supported by former defence secretaries, top brass and war heroes. With the Budget gone, the perfect time to announce a surge in funding would be Natos 75th anniversary summit in July. Donald Trump has said he would let Russia do whatever the hell they want to pact members who failed to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence. Yes, his comments were puerile. But it is hard not to have a grain of sympathy with his sentiments. For too long, some Europeans countries have skimped on security, opting instead to piggy-back on Americas military might. By pledging to bump up our military budget, Britain can show real leadership. The Mail's Dont Leave Britain Defenceless campaign calls MoD funding to rise from 2.3 to 4 per cent of GDP within a decade If we are to get serious about defence spending, the MoDs notorious procurement operation must be licked into shape. The department has long set the Whitehall benchmark for incompetence and serial mismanagement of its budget. Taxpayers money must not be squandered. And while we need more troops, tanks, guns and jets, modern warfare will involve cyber conflict, unmanned aircraft, drones and computer-controlled battlefleets. We must be prepared for that, too. With an election looming, Mr Sunak fears losing votes by slashing other budgets. But none of the Governments obligations is more crucial than the defence of the realm. If our security is compromised, all other areas of life are endangered. Only through military strength will we deter our enemies. Time and again, our Armed Forces have proved their incalculable worth to this country. The very least we can do in return is give them the resources and tools they need to do their job and keep us safe. Whatever you think of Prince Harry and I know he has both well-wishers and detractors there are some things upon which we can all agree. He is a wealthy man from a remarkably privileged background boasting nearly universal fame. I object to none of that and have nothing personally against him. But at the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation in Washington DC, America's most prominent conservative think-tank, our goal is to ensure the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) treat everyone prince or ordinary citizen equally when it comes to being allowed to legally enter the US. Prince Harry entered America in March 2020 with no apparent problem and has settled with his wife Meghan and their two children in Montecito, California. However, in his book Spare, published last year, he admitted extensively to elements of drug crimes both in the US and elsewhere. He admitted using cocaine, cannabis and psychedelic mushrooms. He has since spoken about using the hallucinogenic drug ayahuasca. Prince Harry has publicly admitted to extensive illegal drug use including cocaine, cannabis and psychedelic mushrooms However, in his book Spare, published last year, he admitted extensively to elements of drug crimes both in the US and elsewhere and US immigration rules take a firm stance against illegal drug use Prince Harry entered America in March 2020 with no apparent problem and has settled with his wife Meghan and their two children in Montecito, California What has this got to do with me or my organisation, you might ask. The Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, established by Baroness Thatcher in 2006, is part of the Heritage Foundation, which has about 500,000 members and has been the leading Washington think-tank calling for the robust enforcement of US immigration laws and condemning the failure of the Biden administration to secure the US borders. When I worked for Baroness Thatcher as a foreign policy aide in London from 2000 to 2002, it was her firm conviction that both the US and UK must defend and control their borders and apply the rule of law in protecting them. That is why we are engaged in a court battle with DHS, the agency in charge of US immigration, to release Prince Harry's visa application. Officials have resisted our Freedom of Information request, and the matter is now in the hands of a judge. I have no doubt my former boss would have backed our fight to determine if Harry received preferential treatment. Agree or disagree, but America takes a firm stance against illegal drug use. Anyone applying to live and work in the US has to answer the question: 'Have you ever violated, or engaged in a conspiracy to violate, any law relating to controlled substances?' Again, Harry has publicly admitted to extensive illegal drug use. What do we submit this means? That Harry seems to have received special treatment: the DHS looked the other way if the Prince answered truthfully, or it looked the other way if the Prince lied on his visa application. Either action would be wrong. Truthfully recounting the drug use outlined in Spare would have rendered him inadmissible to enter the country full stop unless he entered on a visa that does not allow permanent residence in the US and received a special waiver, which takes a long time. But Harry decided to move to the US and entered without apparent difficulty in under two weeks. Prince Harry was in the audience at the 'women in media' session at the SXSW Conference and Festival in Austin, Texas on March 8 2024 At the event, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex was one of the keynote speakers and discussed the experience with the media while pregnant with her two children Archie and Lilibet One would have expected that Harry's immigration application would have included the same detailed description of drug use as his book. Any omissions would be an extremely serious matter. Heritage's expert witness made clear in court that if a hypothetical 'normal' person were to lie on such a scale and publish a book which some claim glorifies illegal drug use they would face immediate and harsh action from DHS. They might well be deported. A source close to Harry has said he was 'truthful' on his application, and there is no evidence he provided false information. What matters is how DHS acted. Is DHS playing favourites? The case is bigger than one person it is about whether the US government is following the law. Most Americans dislike the idea of celebrities being treated differently from anyone else, and Harry's fame and profile makes this case the ideal window into DHS conduct. If DHS granted Harry special treatment, the implications are obvious: it has likely granted such treatment in the past to others sufficiently famous or sufficiently politically aligned, and will likely continue to do so. It is astonishing that US officials are fighting to prevent the release of Harry's immigration records. The judge is expected to release a written decision in our case soon. On Thursday, he ordered the DHS to hand over specific information before he decides whether to make the records public or not. He also asked the government to explain any 'particular harm' that would arise from the documents' release. For the sake of truth and transparency, I hope he agrees to let the public see Harry's immigration files for themselves. That is the fairest possible outcome. Dr Nile Gardiner is director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation in Washington DC. The fascinating story, which celebrates its 200th year, is told in the TV special Lifeboat association the RNLI famously saves lives at sea without fear or favour. In World War II that included rescuing Nazis as well as Allied troops. This fascinating and little-known historical fact about the charity, which celebrates its 200th anniversary this year, is told in hour-long special Saving Lives At Sea In World War II. It reveals how Britain has never relied more heavily on this small organisation than when fighting the Germans even though it was crewed by a dads army of those who werent conscripted into the armed forces. Dermot OLeary, a war buff who presents the documentary, says they were responsible for many selfless acts of incredible bravery. He adds, The show is important because its a unique and untold period in this countrys history with the involvement of one of its most cherished institutions. The RNLIs war story began just a few days after Germany invaded Poland and war began in September 1939. Dermot O'Leary presents Saving Lives at Sea, which explores the role of the RNLI in WW2 Dermot, Chris Sandwell and the two crew of the Chieftain out at sea While holidaymakers were enjoying the last few days of sunshine at the resort of Aldeburgh in Suffolk, out at sea German submarines were stalking merchant vessels and they managed to hit one, the SS Magdapur. The local RNLI undertook its biggest ever rescue, picking up 74 crew members sadly six were lost at sea. While many RNLI boats were used by the Navy, in May 1940 some crews took part in the mass evacuation of troops from Dunkirk. Dermot goes to Margate to learn about one such team who were taken out of the pub to play their part in Operation Dynamo. Their mission is brought to life with incredible footage and testimony from mechanic Ted Jordan, who described the French shoreline as a mass of dense smoke and the slain. As bombs rained down, these brave men worked for 24 hours without rest, saving 600-800 people. A commander of one ship wrote of the RNLI team: They will be an inspiration for as long as we shall live. I am proud to be a countryman of such men. Dermot, a war buff who presents the documentary, says they were responsible for many selfless acts of incredible bravery Months later the RNLI rescued pilots who had bailed out in the Battle of Britain; controversially they also saved eight Luftwaffe pilots. They are among the staggering total of 6,376 lives the RNLI saved during the war. Dermot says, The RNLI is so important in the fabric of this country and Im really proud weve examined what they did in the Second World War. A pediatrician said parents should getting nude in front of children by age five There can often be a very fine line between cute and creepy - and it's one that Bradley Cooper tread very closely a few weeks ago when he admitted to bathing naked with his dad throughout his childhood. The actor, 49, explained during a recent appearance on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert Podcast that his father, Charles, was 'always nude' and would 'take showers with him' when he was a kid - which has lead to him being 'totally comfortable' being in his birthday suit around his own child, six-year-old daughter Lea. He also confessed to talking to the youngster, who he shares with ex Irina Shayk, while he's using the toilet and she's in the bathtub - and his admissions have sparked a fierce debate about what age it becomes inappropriate to be naked around your kids. Now, a pediatrician has addressed the burning question during a chat with the Today show, and she said parents should stop stripping down in front of their kids by age five - one year younger than Bradley's daughter is. Is it appropriate to shower with your kids? Experts have weighed in on the controversial subject after Bradley Cooper admitted to bathing naked with his dad throughout his childhood The actor, 49, explained during an appearance on Dax Shepard's podcast that his father (seen with him in 2010) was 'always nude' and would 'take showers with him' when he was a kid He said it has lead to him being 'totally comfortable' being in his birthday suit around his own child, six-year-old daughter Lea (seen together in December) His admissions have sparked a fierce debate about what age it becomes inappropriate to be naked around your kids. He's seen with his daughter recently Dr. Wendy Lane, a child abuse pediatrician at the University of Maryland Childrens Hospital, explained that when kids are little, bathing with a parent can actually help them learn 'about personal boundaries.' She told the publication, 'It can be a way to learn accurate names for body parts, explain the physical difference between genders, explain that bodies change while growing up, and teach children about personal boundaries. 'Letting children know that their bodies are their own is important. No one should be touching their private parts, unless providing assistance with toileting or bathing, if needed, and parents should be aware.' But the expert added that the act 'should always stop' when the child 'asks for it to stop,' which she said usually happens between the ages of three and five. A California-based psychologist named Dr. Richard Beyer previously told the website Brightside.me that parents should cut out bathing with their kids by the time their six because they 'need more privacy and personal space as they grow and develop.' He added that continuing to shower with your children 'may interfere with their ability to develop' important skills and personal hygiene, and 'may cause them discomfort.' During their chat, Dax told Bradley that his family was 'naked all the time' when he was growing up, which prompted the A Star Is Born alum to reveal: 'Me too. 'I was like that. Not with my mom but with my dad. My dad was always nude, I always took showers with him.' Dax, 49, then asked the star, 'And now you're quite comfortable nude?' to which he replied, 'Totally.' Dax joked that his two daughters Lincoln, 10, and Delta, nine, who he shares with wife Kristen Bell, regularly 'file in' to the bathroom to talk during his 'poopy time.' 'My bedroom is... the bathtub and toilet and bed are all in the same room,' Bradley then revealed. 'It's 24/7, dude. There are no doors... the stairs go up and it's all one floor.' During their chat, Bradley told Dax, '[Me and my daughter] talk when I'm on the toilet and she's in the bathtub; that's the go-to.' He also confessed, 'I always took showers with [my dad]' Chrissy Teigen previously came under fire in December 2021 for admitting that she stilled bathed with her kids Luna, then five, and Miles, then three There was also speculation that President Joe Biden had showered with his daughter Ashley during her childhood, after she reportedly spoke about it in her diary Now, a psychiatrist named Dr. Wendy Lane (seen) has addressed the burning question during a chat with the Today show, and she said parents should stop stripping down in front of their kids by age five - one year younger than Bradley's daughter is When Dax asked him if his daughter 'cared' about the lack of privacy, he explained, 'No. We talk when I'm on the toilet and she's in the bathtub; that's sort of the go-to.' Chrissy Teigen previously came under fire in December 2021 for admitting that she stilled bathed with her kids Luna, then five, and Miles, then three. She posted a snap that showed her naked in the tub with her and John Legend's elder two children, and immediately, it was met with backlash. There was also speculation that President Joe Biden had showered with his daughter Ashley during her childhood, after she reportedly spoke about it in her diary. The journal was found by a woman who lived in a Florida-based home that Ashley had previously resided in, and was sold to a far-right activist group started by James O'Keefe. While the contents of the diary were never made public so it hasn't been confirmed, reports claimed that Ashley said she bathed with her father as a kid in it. An Australian influencer named Bronte Towns recently sparked fierce fury after she uploaded a video to Instagram entitled, 'Why I shower with my children.' In the caption of the post, Bronte - who has boy-girl twins, eighteen months, a son, two, and another son, seven - insisted that washing with her kids had a slew of benefits, like 'saving time and water.' She also said it acted as a 'natural way' for her to teach her kids about 'biology' while encouraging them to 'appreciate their own bodies.' 'This is a fabulous way to open up discussions on why some people might choose to keep body hair, or shave it off, have stripes on their tummy, or where body parts are located without big stigma around it,' she wrote. '[I can] normalize everyday bodies, not a stigmatized version most of our kids see all over advertising or online. 'All bodies change, grow, shrink, get stretch marks, veins, body hair, the list goes on. Instead of only seeing the polished versions they see "normality."' She also described the process as an 'opportunity' to 'educate' her kids on 'personal boundaries and consent.' 'In this situation, questions are great. Theyre healthy and theyre necessary for children to ask in order to grow and learn,' she added. An Australian influencer named Bronte Towns, who has boy-girl twins, eighteen months, a son, two, and another son, seven, recently sparked backlash after she made a similar admission She insisted that washing with her kids had a slew of benefits, like acting as a 'natural way' for her to teach her kids about 'biology' while encouraging them to 'appreciate their own bodies' She also described the process as an 'opportunity' to 'educate' her kids on 'personal boundaries and consent' 'So many questions pop up naturally when you shower together. We normalize open conversations in the shower, theres no silly questions, nothing too awkward to ask, etc. 'Its a supportive environment where innocent, curious questions can be asked and answered age-appropriately. 'These things for our children are only normal until we make them not be. Of course there are age appropriate restrictions and whenever they feel uncomfortable or get "too curious" thats a good indicator that a child has outgrown this routine.' Her post launched a major argument in the comment section, with some people praising her and others branding the act as 'disturbing' and 'inappropriate.' 'Ew no. Your son is way too old to be seeing you naked. Tf is wrong with you?' one person wrote. 'Im so glad I never saw my mom naked, that would have made for a very awkward disturbing relationship,' said someone else. 'I would never ever ever want to see either of my parents naked, nor would I want my two daughters to see me naked. Please dont normalize this, our society it turning to s**t.' 'No that's disturbing,' added another user. 'Imagine having memories of your mom's naked body.' 'Nope, totally inappropriate,' read a fourth comment. A fifth pointed out, 'You can have literally all these conversations without taking a shower with your kids.' Other commenters had Bronte's back. One supporter wrote, 'I showered with my mom growing up and was often in the same room as she changed up until I was a teen. 'I never had the thought of it being "weird" or "gross" until I saw posts like these with people being judgmental in the comments. 'Its so normal and knowing what cellulite, stretch marks, and sagging skin looked like at a young age made me feel so much more comfortable in my body when I started to see these things.' Her post launched a major argument in the comment section, with some people branding the act as 'disturbing' and 'inappropriate' Other commenters had Bronte's back, however, and defended her Someone else commented, 'Families bathing together is common and normal in Japan. It's only weird if we make it weird. 'These comments are not it. I have European parents, and it was VERY common for me to walk into their bathroom in the morning to see them showering or just freshening up,' revealed another user. 'Am I traumatized from that? Absolutely not. Bodies are totally normal. My children see me naked and it also does not phase them. 'Ive showered with them. And weve taken big luscious family baths together.' 'Its sad that everyone thinks such inappropriate things when they see this,' said a different person. 'They are your children, and you have every right to help them grow and learn about these important things earlier on. 'So many people say they are traumatized, but I bet many of them have looked at pornography which is way worse than seeing your parents naked at a young age. I think this is a great thing youre doing.' In response to the backlash, Bronte told Today, 'I believe if people havent grown up with family showers or baths, or do not have children of their own, its extremely difficult for them to comprehend how it could not be sexual but a normal part of everyday life. 'When I shower with my children, they barely even notice Ive got no clothes on because this is a normal practice in our lives, and always has been.' She recalled one time one of her kids asked her, 'Why are your nipples bigger than dad's?' to which she told them. 'Because mine are designed to feed babies.' She added, 'My kids love having family showers and they get super excited playing together in the water. 'When theyre too old or outgrow it we will have a conversation with them - father to son, mother to daughter.' I am outside the Burberry show, held inside a marquee in Victoria Park in Hackney*, for the brand's autumn/winter 2024 collection. Disillusioned already as I have just come from a screening of the new John Galliano film. Not one of the talking heads was at his trial. I was there, in the very room where Marie Antoinette was sentenced to the guillotine. Which pretty much sums up fashion. Zero loyalty. I am shivering in my thin clothes. My lace Prada skirt does nothing to stop the wind howling around my nether regions. My Louboutins hurt. No one has taken my street style photo to post on Instagram. Oh no, hang on, someone has just taken a photo of my shoes. 'Oh my god!' shrills a young woman who I find out is an American fashion student. 'Vintage Loub shoe boots!' They are not vintage. I have owned them since new. They are, like me, merely old. I arrived early, as always, and made friends or so I thought! with the burly bouncer. I was made to queue. As the night ticked on, various non-award-winning fashion editors were tipped out of Ubers to teeter in unheeded. They didn't even glance my way. Finally, two young women emerged wielding iPads. I staggered towards them, Dick Emery-fashion, the grass having become mud. (You can read Anna Wintour's mind: 'Hackney? Really?') 'Hi! I emailed in December. I'm a huge Burberry fan. I'm a bit early.' 'What publication do you work for?' I know I look a bit different with shorter hair, but still. 'The Daily Mail and YOU magazine.' The young woman pretends to scroll, then says, 'You are not on the list. Can you please stand aside?' I tell her I have made a 500-mile trip, plus hotel**, to be here. So far, I have only made it into Roksanda, where I had to stand at the back. Trying to get into Fashion Week is like attempting to book a holiday cottage in Cornwall in mid-August. 'You can stream the show if you visit our website. Please step aside.' I am officially fashion roadkill. There are hundreds of nobodies here. I think of former face of Burberry Stella Tennant, who took her own life. I start to cry, and because I'm so tired my knees buckle. I don't want to create a scene, but I'm grieving for my old life as a glossy mag editor: the cars, the ever-present PA to smooth my path as though I were a player in a curling match. The front row seat. The business Amex card. I am officially fashion roadkill...But oh my god, I want to belong My ex gay best friend*** warned that this would happen when I told him I was leaving the London Evening Standard to join the Mail the invitations would dry up. Why does this NFI situation happen? It's because the Mail's writers are beholden to no one: not advertisers, not commission from sales. We aren't sycophants. We're mindful of readers' hard-earned money. But oh my god, I want to belong! I start to realise what it must be like to be Harry and Meghan. One day, you're the biggest stars on the planet. Everyone is thrilled by your presence, deferential. The next, Michael Buble ignores you. Did you see that clip on social media? Yikes! Well, that was me 24 hours earlier, in the fashion pen for the Baftas. Not one star was brought over to me, not even Cuba Gooding Jr (he was ushered towards me one year in place of Kate Winslet, who refuses to speak to me; all I could think to ask was, 'How long did it take you to get ready?'). I am largely sympathetic to Harry in print, as I too am estranged from a sibling. We grew up together, we fought, we shared a house (in Brixton, next door to David, with whom I fell instantly in love). Harry flew to see his father in an attempt to heal wounds. On Monday night, rejected by my all-consuming super-busy career, reduced to being less than a nobody, told to step aside, I make a decision. I am going to drive to Somerset to attempt to reconcile with my sister, who I've not heard from since October 2017. She is, after all, the only one I have left *I once had sex in Vicky Park. **Not on expenses. ***I still miss him. We used to howl with laughter at the ridiculousness of the fashion world, notably at a Puff Daddy party by the Thames. Jones moans...What Liz loathes this week The frequent texts from my GP saying I qualify for a flu/shingles/Covid jab. Do they not know I've had a face-lift? Hotels. Why the dolly-sized products? And why are checking out times creeping earlier and earlier? Where I'm staying, it's 10am! Why do taxi drivers still (I'm 65) tilt their rear view mirror to see my legs? Why? Contact Liz at lizjonesgoddess.com and stalk her @lizjonesgoddess Our son has had a letter from a debt collection company saying he has an outstanding penalty notice from Transport for London for non-payment of Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) charges. He hasn't been to London, and while the car in the image looks similar to his and has the same number plate, it is a different vehicle. The picture is of a silver saloon, while he has an estate, and the car has a sunroof while his does not. Thomas sold the car in July 2023, and the supposed offence happened in June 2023. He advertised the car on AutoTrader, showing the number plate, and I think someone has found his details and copied his number plate. He moved house and has only just been made aware of the issue. It has gone to court and bailiffs were due to visit. He and his wife were both very worried about the letter they received, so they paid 708 to the debt collection company. What can he do to get his money back? K.F and T.F, Lancashire Key difference: Thomas Fryer's car is an estate model, whereas the car captured by ULEX cameras was a saloon Harvey Dorset of This is Money replies: Since the introduction of ULEZ charges in 2019, number plate cloning has been on the rise. Unsurprisingly, the tide of charges has also given rise to a minority of people who will do anything to avoid paying their way, even if it means throwing somebody else under the bus. According to the DVLA, more than 12,000 drivers received fines, penalties or letters due to other vehicles displaying their registration between January 2021 and September 2022. Criminals copy legitimate license plates, using them to drive similar models of car often stolen or being used for criminal activity in order to avoid congestion charges, car parking charges and speeding tickets. When the cars are caught on camera, fixed penalty notices are posted to the address of the innocent owner of the original car, often leaving them hundreds of pounds out of pocket or facing a visit from the bailiffs. In the case of your son, he paid the penalty notice rather than risk dealing with bailiffs sent by a debt collection company, even though he knew he had never driven his car the 200-mile trip to London, from where he lives in Lancashire. Slide me Similarity: Criminals look for similar car models in order to get away with parking charges, speeding tickets and ULEZ penalties - but there are some small differences between the car that Thomas owns and the one that was captured on camera In fact, Thomas told This is Money that not only has he never driven the car in question to London, but he also hasn't even visited the capital in the past seven years. I got in touch with Transport for London, which administrates the ULEZ charge, to show it the evidence you had sent me and ask if it could repay your money. I am pleased to hear that it has now issued you a full 708 refund after concluding that you were not the driver violating ULEZ rules. However, plate cloning remains a growing issue, and more and more people are falling victim to this crime every year. A TfL spokesman said: 'We're sorry that Mr Fryer has been a victim of vehicle cloning. 'Unfortunately, as we did not receive a representation with evidence of cloning from Mr Fryer within the required time frames, the case progressed to an enforcement agent. 'When Mr Fryer did contact us, he was advised to file an Out of Time Statutory Declaration with the Traffic Enforcement Centre.' 'Having reviewed the case, we are satisfied that it is a cloned vehicle and have cancelled both PCNs and issued a full refund to Mr Fryer.' 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. Farce: Ben Revell ran three firms, and all have collapsed B.R. writes: We are victims of Winebuyers. I met Ben Revell at a wine fair and fell for his scheme. My company sent a consignment of wine. We know Winebuyers sold some of our wine, but it has not paid us. Numerous calls and emails went unanswered, and Winebuyers even deducted charges from our credit card for months despite the cancellation of our contract. Tony Hetherington replies: Most phoenix companies rise from the ashes just once, but there seems to be almost no limit to the number of times wine dealer Ben Revell can write off a company, start again, and then leave fresh wreckage behind him. I warned last September: 'Beware of the Zombie'. At the time, Revell was running the same business for the third time under different company names and now it has collapsed too. When he first set out as an online wine trader, Revell formed Winebuyers Ltd. He charged wine producers and merchants to appear on his winebuyers.com website, and he promoted sales of their wine to the public. Shoppers would pay Revell's company, and most received their wine, but increasingly the producers and merchants complained they were left unpaid. Winebuyers Ltd went into liquidation in 2021 with debts of around 1.5 million. Just as it failed, a new company was registered, called Winebuyers Group Ltd. It bought some of the failed company's assets, including its customer records and website. To much of the outside world, nothing had gone wrong as the website was still there. On paper, the new company had a new boss, Kyle Fordham, but behind the scenes the strings were pulled by Revell who described himself as Chief Executive. Once Winebuyers Group was up and running, Fordham quit and has not been heard of since in the wine trade. Revell officially took over as director in March last year, and in June, I reported there were unpaid court judgments, that it had failed to file accounts legally due, and that consumer websites were packed with complaints. By July, the company had fallen into administration, blaming Covid, Brexit, the cost of living, a shortage of glass due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and, of course, climate change. What happened next was farcical. The Administrators of the collapsed Winebuyers Group sold some of its assets, including its customer database and website, to a new company called Elysian Ventures Ltd, which offered 100,000. Elysian was set up by Revell, who then signed it over to an odd offshore company called Ophidian Corp, based in the Seychelles, where its ownership is concealed. Again, to outsiders looking at the Winebuyers website, it was business as usual until a few weeks ago, that is. Last month, Revell quit as director and the website stopped working. Elysian Ventures has now gone into Receivership. This latest collapse is because Elysian handed over only half of the 100,000 it was supposed to pay to the Administrators of Winebuyers Group. The Administrators from the major insolvency firm Begbies Traynor have issued a scathing report, saying that when Elysian Ventures failed to pay up, they demanded the return of the Winebuyers website and everything else covered by the purchase agreement. Elysian replied that it was unable to access the IT system operating its own website. Begbies Traynor then hired outside IT experts, but say Elysian provided 'just enough information to give the appearance of cooperation without enabling us to move matters forward'. A report on the conduct of Winebuyers Group and its directors has been submitted to the Department for Business. Begbies Traynor adds cryptically it is in touch with the Department 'to provide such further information as they may require to support their own continued investigations'. The bottom line to all this is that it shows how just one person can control three successive companies, all of which collapse with big debts, while at the same time he uses just one business name: Winebuyers. However you look at it, our company oversight system just doesn't work. Ben Revell could not be contacted for comment. If he gets in touch, I shall be glad to report it. Revenue needs real people! Ms S.C. writes: I am treasurer of a small cat rescue charity. We are registered for VAT and submit returns to HM Revenue & Customs. Since our latest refund claim was submitted we have not received the near-5,000 which HMRC itself said was owed to us. Tony Hetherington replies: The biggest problem anyone faces with the taxman nowadays is getting through to someone who will actually listen to your question, let alone provide an answer. Out of pocket: The biggest problem anyone faces with the taxman nowadays is getting through to someone who will actually listen to your question, let alone provide an answer Revenue bosses behave as if the answer to every question is displayed on their website, which is clearly untrue. You tried many times to phone the Revenue. You were lucky to get through, but when you did, you were simply asked automatic questions and then sent an online link to a web page which showed your refund had not been paid which was exactly why you were calling. You emailed several times and received responses saying a reply would be sent within 15 days. Of course, it wasn't. You posted hard copy letters. They were never acknowledged. I asked officials at the Revenue head office to look into this. They found that your charity changed its bank details, and informed the Revenue, at about the same time as the refund was due. The refund went to your old account and bounced back to the taxman, and that is where it stayed. Nobody forwarded it to your new account. The Revenue has apologised. Your refund of 4,799 has now been sent to your new account, along with 36 interest because of the delay. Members of the HMRC Board please note that no website advice or recorded message could ever have resolved this problem. Please provide trained human beings who can handle real problems. If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY 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. Budget wins: Chancellor Jeremy Hunt Last week's Budget included 17 measures you may have missed from spruced-up village halls to shorter passport waiting times: 1) Travelling abroad this Easter? Holidaymakers should wait just three weeks for their passports to be renewed as improvements should make ten-week waiting times a thing of the past. 2) Pensioners are set for another income increase as the Government again pledged to protect the triple lock. In 2024-25, the full annual basic state pension will be 3,700 higher in cash terms than in 2010, at 11,502 a year. 3) All NHS Trusts will have Electronic Patient Records by March 2026, ending their reliance on paper records and ensuring patients can easily access records across all NHS systems. 4) D-Day veterans will be honoured at an event to mark the 80th anniversary of the landings, which the Government has promised to fund. 5) Although we packed away the bunting and polished off the last of the cucumber sandwiches long ago, the Queen's legacy lives on through an extra 5 million for the Platinum Jubilee Village Halls Fund, to help village halls across England remain at the heart of their communities. 6) Common conditions may soon be treated without the need for a GP appointment or prescription as the Government unveils Pharmacy First, a service to give patients treatment for seven common conditions straight from a pharmacy. 7) The Government will fund projects to develop emerging talent in the British film industry. It will support the National Film and Television School's plan for an expansion to its teaching space so it can offer up to 200 more apprenticeship places a year, new cutting-edge courses including the use of artificial intelligence, and improved facilities for disabled students. 8) 16 million will be invested in prison workshops to boost employability and rehabilitate inmates. 9) Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon and Laurence Olivier are just a few of the famous actors to have tread the boards at the National Theatre. Now those boards are set to be replaced as the Government pledged 26.4 million to renovate the theatre's stage and infrastructure. 10) Is your child or grandchild off to school this September? Additional funding for schools will represent a cash increase in average funding per pupil to 7,690 in 2024-25. 11) All NHS staff will be given digital passports and access to a new staff app to reduce the bureaucracy in moving between different parts of the NHS, and eliminate the need to redo training courses, meaning more time can be spent on patient care. 12) Get ready for RoboCop! The Government is committing 230 million to pilot schemes of policing technology, such as deploying drones as first responders, facial recognition and automating the triage of 101 calls to enable officers to spend more time on the frontline. 13) Ministers are also piloting the use of artificial intelligence to help planning authorities streamline their processes, so plans take 30 months rather than the seven-year average. 14) A cyber criminal crackdown is on the way as the Government pledged 34 million to expand the Public Sector Fraud Authority by using artificial intelligence to combat fraud across the public sector. This should make it easier to spot, stop and catch fraudsters, saving 100 million for the public purse. 15) Do you have an aspiring astronaut in the family? The Government has pledged 10 million to SaxaVord Spaceport in the Shetland Islands, to support orbital launch in 2024. 16) Known as the home of big banks, Canary Wharf could also be called home by hundreds of households, as the Government pledged to deliver up to 750 homes in the East London area. 17) An extra 24,000 nursing and midwifery training places will be available by 2031 as the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan invests in the largest ever expansion in recruitment and training of NHS staff. Unions are seeking urgent talks with British Steel after its auditors warned it may not be able to continue trading. The Chinese-owned company has not met with senior union officials since November, when it proposed slashing jobs and replacing its blast furnaces with greener electric steelmaking facilities, the Mail on Sunday understands. Around 2,000 of 4,500 jobs are at risk under the plans and the business says it will need hundreds of millions of pounds in funding from the Government to make the switch. Unions are hoping to meet senior British Steel staff in early April. The Scunthorpe-based company has three unions Community, Unite and GMB. It is not yet clear which would attend. British Steel's financial accounts for 2021, which were published a year late, are understood to have raised major concerns. Auditors Moore Kingston Smith said in January there was a material uncertainty about the company's ability to keep trading without an injection of cash from Chinese owner Jingye. Staring into the abyss: British Steel has proposed slashing jobs and replacing its blast furnaces with greener electric steelmaking facilities Moore Kingston Smith resigned as auditor and said it was unable to confirm the existence of 46 million of stock. An industry source said: 'British Steel needs to get its act together. There are thousands of jobs and millions of pounds of taxpayer cash on the line and they're playing silly buggers.' Directors said they were 'confident' British Steel would have enough funding for at least 12 months. But the auditors pointed to the absence of 'legally binding' agreements to provide more cash. British Steel has yet to publish more up-to-date figures, leaving workers in the dark about the state of its finances. A spokesman said its 2022 accounts would be published 'in due course'. Gene and Sandy Ralston of Boise, Idaho never intended to become corpse hunters. Today, no one does it better. In their 70s, the Ralstons have recovered more than 130 bodies from the murky depths of North America's deepest lakes. Now, they travel the U.S. and Canada providing their services to grieving families desperate to find lost loved ones and law enforcement agencies chasing violent killers. Gene and Sandy don't only have a very unusual hobby they're unusually good at it. Adapted excerpt from, Back from the Deep: How Gene and Sandy Ralston Serve the Living by Finding the Dead There was a handwritten note taped to the windshield of the Ralstons truck. Call Lieutenant Lunney as soon as you get back to town. Its urgent. Gene and Sandy had just spent a long day on the Beardsley Reservoir, outside of Sonora, California searching for the body of Scott Glover. Hed been missing for three and a half years after he fell off his boat while fishing. But the Ralstons found him. Divers recovered the body that afternoon. This is what the Ralstons do - corpse hunting. They came by it through happenstance. In 2000, the Ralstons invested in technology known as side-scan sonar, which was developed by the military in the 1950s and became widely available in the 1980s. Gene and Sandy thought the equipment would be handy in mapping the bottoms of lakes and rivers for their environmental consultancy work. But within weeks of getting it up and running, they imaged the body of a 23-year-old on the floor of Bear Lake, Utah. Word spread fast about a couple from Idaho with a mysterious machine that could reveal the secrets of the deep. Soon, the Ralstons were fielding phone calls from all over the United States and Canada from bereaved family members desperate for answers. It didn't take long for law enforcement to take notice of the couple's remarkable skill. And sure enough, that's why Lieutenant Lunney, with the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office, came calling. There was a handwritten note taped to the windshield of the Ralston's truck. Call Lieutenant Lunney as soon as you get back to town. It's urgent. Gene and Sandy (above) had just spent a long day on the Beardsley Reservoir, outside of Sonora, California searching for the body of Scott Glover. In 2000, the Ralstons invested in technology known as 'side-scan sonar,' which was developed by the military in the 1950s and became widely available in the 1980s. (Above) High-resolution image captured by side-scan sonar In 2000, the Ralstons invested in technology known as 'side-scan sonar,' which was developed by the military in the 1950s and became widely available in the 1980s. (Above) High-resolution image captured by side-scan sonor He had been working with the FBI on a string of kidnappings in the area between late 2001 and early 2002 and they'd just caught a decisive break. A suspect in the case had agreed to flip on his associates. Ainar Altmanis, a forty-two-year-old from Latvia told investigators that the abductions were part of a murder-for-money plot. Altmanis alleged that Soviet Union-born mobsters, Iouri Mikhel and Jurijus Kadamovas, who were living in the U.S., were holding wealthy people hostage to extort their families for cash and they'd amassed $1 million in ransoms. What was worse, the informant confessed, all five people abducted by the group had been already killed. The body of one victim had been recovered but four others were still missing - and Altmanis said they'd been tossed off Parrotts Ferry Bridge into New Melones Reservoir, not far from Sonora. But the reservoir was 12,500 acres wide and more than three hundred feet deep. Finding the victims would be nearly impossible - and without the additional bodies as evidence, it would be a difficult case to bring to trial. They needed Gene and Sandy's help. The next morning, the Ralstons were briefed by agents from the FBI - and told that they were under no obligation to assist in the investigation as doing so meant possible retaliation by a criminal group, potentially connected to the Russian mafia. Gene and Sandy weighed the risk - and decided to go forward. The FBI arranged for a dive team in New York to ship a remote-operated vehicle (ROV) to California to help them. One morning early on during the search of the reservoir, FBI agent James Davidson, walked down to the dock to find that the Ralstons were already on the water. 'Gene and Sandy . . . got up early and went out on their own,' Davidson told me. 'That's how determined they were.' It was a difficult job. In accidental drownings, almost every corpse is found in the same position: back on the bottom, knees slightly bent, arms to the sides, forearms and hands raised up in the water creating a telltale W-shaped shadow on the sonar. But in homicides, you don't see the typical image of arms and legs out. The next morning, the Ralstons were briefed by agents from the FBI - and told that they were under no obligation to assist in the investigation as doing so meant possible retaliation by a criminal group, potentially connected to the Russian mafia. (Above) Gene Ralston and Sandy are shown with their boat on Monday, Sept. 10, 2012 Victims of Iouri Mikhel and Jurijus Kadamovas: Nick Kharabadze (left) and George Safiev (right) Victims of Iouri Mikhel and Jurijus Kadamovas: Alexander Umansky (left), Rita Pekler (center), Meyer Muscatel (right) Murder victims often are 'packaged'- meaning they are tied up and weighted down. Plus, the lake floor was littered with all sorts of refuse that people had dumped off the bridge. It was tricky businesses sorting through sonar images of refrigerators and washing machines and human remains. Incredibly, the Ralstons found one of the four bodies in New Melones while trawling the lake on their own dragging their sonar behind the boat. When Gene and Sandy managed to identify something else that looked like a body, the FBI's ROV operator dismissed it as a rock after viewing it on the submersible's underwater camera. One of the FBI agents told the ROV operator to nudge it gently. 'It was like bumping into a beehive. All kinds of little bugs took off,' Gene told me later. It was likely a swarm of aquatic insects feeding on the corpse. 'There was just enough stuff on her remains, which is typical of someone that's been in the water a long time, that it kind of looked like a rock from a distance. It was a gelatinous mass,' he said. Over two weeks, the Ralstons successfully pinpointed all four bodies on the bottom of the New Melones Reservoir. The corpses revealed hard evidence that directly linked the victims to the perpetrators. The killer had used zip ties to bind the bodies to the weights. And the same brand of restraints was found at one of the suspect's homes. The FBI also found receipts for the weights. But links to the Russian mob were never established. Six people were sentenced for their participation in the plot and Mikhel and Kadamovas were given the death penalty. They're currently in a federal high-security pentientiary in Terre Haute, Indiana awaiting execution. Four others sentenced in the case recieved sentences ranging from 11 years to life behind bars. The case helped convince the FBI to expand its dive program with new underwater search teams established in Los Angeles, Washington, and Miami. The agency also acquired sonar equipment based on the same setup. Today Gene and Sandy work almost full time and on a voluntary basis. They only charge for expenses, basically gas money to get to the lake. And they are still among the best underwater search-and-recovery specialists in the world. Often police and volunteer organizations are limited in terms of resources and expertise when it comes to deep water. If the initial search fails, families are left to fund any additional efforts. They can hire a commercial outfit, which can cost over $ 4,000 a day on average. Or they can call Gene and Sandy. They serve the living by finding the dead. Back from the Deep: How Gene and Sandy Ralston Serve the Living by Finding the Dead by Doug Horner is published by Steerforth on March 12 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton at least four times in his first 100 days in office - in a sign their relationship isn't quite as frosty as it outwardly appears. The PM's diary from July to December 2022, the months immediately after he was elected to office, was released under Freedom of Information laws after a drawn-out, year-long battle with former independent senator Rex Patrick. Some 734 meetings and appointments from that period were redacted by government officials and therefore not available to the public, but Daily Mail Australia analysed the remaining contents of the diary. Mr Dutton was one of the only figures to have repeated face-to-face meetings with Mr Albanese. His chats with Mr Albanese far surpassing the likes of former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce (one meeting, 30 minutes), NRL boss Andrew Abdo (once, five minutes) political commentator Peter Van Onselen (twice - a 90-minute meeting and a 30-minute GQ interview) and bigwigs from mining corporation Rio Tinto (once, an hour). Mr Albanese regularly worked seven-day weeks, met with a broad spectrum of parliamentary colleagues and caught up with business heavyweights Pictured: a snapshot of what a day in the life of a Prime Minister looks like The schedule offers an insight into the day-to-day life of a PM. Over that period, Mr Albanese regularly worked seven-day weeks, met with a wide variety of parliamentary colleagues and caught up with business heavyweights. But any potentially juicy meetings or appointments Mr Albanese attended during that period weren't made available to the public as they were considered to be confidential information under s37 of the Freedom of Information Act. That section states that releasing such details could 'endanger the life or physical safety of any person' or 'disclose, or enable a person to ascertain, the existence or identity of a confidential source of information'. Peter Dutton's four meetings with the PM During Mr Albanese's first 100 days, the PM carved out repeated meetings with his inner circle of senior ministers - namely Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher. Both those ministers described by an anonymous Labor insider in a Nine newspapers report this week as figures who are so close to Mr Albanese they are like 'deputy PMs'. Then there is Mr Dutton. Despite their repeated - and often heated - political brawls in the chamber and in the media, both Mr Dutton and Mr Albanese have indicated they have a decent relationship behind closed doors. Just weeks after winning the election, Mr Albanese said: 'Peter Dutton, 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.' The duo first had a brief 15-minute meeting on July 26, the diary said. That was followed by 30 minutes on September 5, again on September 12, and again on October 27, joined on that occasion by Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney. That could well be related to Mr Albanese's push for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament - which failed after Mr Dutton refused to provide bipartisan support for the measure. A spokesperson said: 'The Government works constructively across the Parliament. 'The Prime Minister regularly meets or has discussions with the Opposition Leader.' Despite their repeated - and often heated - political brawls in the chamber and in the media, both Mr Dutton and Mr Albanese have indicated they have a decent relationship behind closed doors The PM had just one official meeting with Qantas CEO Alan Joyce between May and December 2022 schedule in his diary. This meeting took place just a month after Qatar Airways made the now infamous pitch to have more flight routes into Australia. The pair met from 11am to 11.30am on Wednesday, November 23, in the midst of a jam-packed day for the PM in which he had breakfast with the Governor-General, followed by five meetings in the morning with people whose names were redacted from his diary. Transport Minister Catherine King received a departmental brief the following January, but did not formally block the request until July. Toward the end of 2023, when the decision was made public, Ms King faced intense scrutiny about the decision, and both she and Mr Albanese were grilled over whether Qantas had any influence over the decision. In the midst of that scandal and several other PR crises at Qantas, Mr Joyce stepped down from his role. The PM had just one official meeting with Qantas CEO Alan Joyce between May and December of 2022 schedule in his diary PM on the world stage One of the PM's first tests on the world stage came just four months after assuming office, following the tragic death of Queen Elizabeth. Mr Albanese flew out to London on September 16 for the funeral, arriving via Stansted Airport and having one - redacted - 90 minute meeting in the afternoon. He met with then-PM Liz Truss on the Saturday, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau on the Sunday and was part of the international delegation during the Monday funeral. By 6.50am on Tuesday, Mr Albanese was back in the air on the way home to Australia. One of the PM's first tests on the world stage came just four months after assuming office, following the tragic death of Queen Elizabeth An earlier trip to Spain for the NATO summit was equally as jam-packed. For four days straight, the PM's diary was brimming with back-to-back meetings, briefings and media commitments. On the Saturday before returning home, the PM scheduled an hour at famed impressionist art gallery Musee D'Orsay in Paris. It was a rare moment of respite for Mr Albanese - and his brawls with Mr Dutton no doubt felt like a world away. A couple have taken to TikTok to document the stunning renovation project they embarked on after purchasing a 1960s home. Posting to the platform, Nicole Halliday shared footage of all the things her and her partner Blair, from Scotland, had to do upon moving into the house. The video, which has over 55,000 views, saw them first begin by completely demolishing the kitchen, as well as the property's dining room wall. They then got to work on removing wood chips and wallpaper from parts of the house by steaming so that they could redecorate, with the couple noting that this particular task felt 'endless'. Blair subsequently took on the job of removing the kitchen tiles and plywood, which was a tricky challenge as they were 'cemented to the floor'. A couple have taken to TikTok to document the stunning renovation project they embarked on after purchasing a 1960s home Posting to the platform, Nicole Halliday shared footage of all the things her and her partner Blair, from Scotland, had to do upon moving into the house The video, which has over 55,000 views, saw them first begin by completely demolishing the kitchen, as well as the property's dining room wall Further 'demolishing and wallpaper stripping' was then required, with the camera panning to show a mountain of wood and wallpaper across a floor that is barely visible due to the sheer quantity of rubble. The couple wrapped up the video by noting that they were 'expanding the pantry', as well as sharing the good news that they had found 'a hidden wine cellar under the floor hatch', with all the bottles in the cellar left unopened. After Blair and Nicole moved into the house, the couple found a note from the only previous owners of the home, which read: 'We wish you every happiness. Mum and dad bought this first house as a new build in 1962 for 3141, so you are only the second owners. 'We have many happy memories of our childhood here and we hope that you will have happy times here too.' The process of such a huge rebuild has not been easy, with the couple admitting to discovering many cracks in the walls, as well as 'leaking everywhere' which led to 'rotting floorboards'. On top of this, they claimed they were told the boiler was two years old, but later discovered it was actually from 2010. As to be expected from a 1960s house, there was also the challenge of 'layer upon layer of questionable wallpaper,' from flower patterns to bright yellow. One room had a whopping six layers that had been accumulated over the years. However, they have shared footage of the wine cellar, which appeared to have at least 50 unopened bottles of different wine varieties that cold be of enormous value. A young couple who bought a house from the 1960s have shared everything they've discovered since beginning the renovation process The process of such a huge rebuild has not been easy, with the couple admitting to discovering many cracks in the walls, as well as 'leaking everywhere' which led to 'rotting floorboards After Blair and Nicole moved into the house, the couple found a note from the only previous owners of the home, which read: 'We wish you every happiness. Mum and dad bought this first house as a new build in 1962 for 3141, so you are only the second owners There was one hidden gem that made all of the challenges worth the work - a wine cellar that was hidden underneath their cupboard hatch Indeed, comments from shocked viewers at the quantity of wine found by the couple urged them to get it valued as soon as possible. One user wrote: 'Get that wine valued! keep a bottle, drink a bottle, sell the rest'. A second added: 'You could make a fortune off that wine'. Another remarked: 'I need to know youll try the wine'. A fourth user said they were 'lucky' to have 'all that wine', In recent years many countries around the world have abolished or simply stopped handing out the death penalty. Capital punishment is now officially outlawed in more than 50 per cent of nations, and 32 more territories have de-facto terminated its use, according to Amnesty International. But the Islamic Republic of Iran is one of few countries fighting against this trend. Iran has for years been among the worst offenders for state-sanctioned killings, alongside the likes of China, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. But the Iranian regime has gained a reputation for its indiscriminate executions and is now killing more of its citizens per capita than any other country. Iran executed a 'staggering' total of at least 834 people last year, the highest number since 2015 as capital punishment surged in the Islamic Republic, two rights groups revealed this week. The number of executions was up some 43 per cent on 2022, and marked only the second time in two decades that more than 800 executions were recorded in a year, Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty said in a joint report. The same report also indicated that at least 22 women were executed, marking the highest number in the past decade. Here, MailOnline investigates the brutal methods the Islamic Republic uses to carry out these sentences, and how those condemned to death often have false confessions tortured out of them - or are convicted amid a total lack of due process. A blindfolded man convicted of armed robbery, kidnapping and slaying of two policemen waits to be hanged in public in Tehran, Iran, on April 16, 2011 An Iranian policeman ties the noose around the neck of Majid Ghasemi before being publicly hanged in east Tehran 29 September 2002 FILE: This combination image made up of screengrabs from a video smuggled out of Iran purports to show the scene of a public stoning FILE: A woman is pictured being prepared for stoning in Iran Hanging is the most common method of execution in Iran and has been the preferred approach since the late 1980s. But rather than affording the condemned person a quicker death with a drop which snaps the neck, a more agonising technique is often used. What crimes warrant the death penalty in Iran? A wide range of offences are punishable by death in Iran. These include: Murder Sexual offences such as 'fornication', 'adultery', 'sodomy', 'lesbianism', incest and rape. Drinking alcohol (repeat offenders) Theft (repeat offenders) Drug trafficking Cursing the prophet 'Waging war' on people or God and 'corruption on earth' Armed robbery Political opposition or espionage Source: International Federation for Human Rights Advertisement Harrowing images and videos show how many sentenced to death are hanged from cranes, meaning their death will be slow and painful as they are hoisted up by a noose and strangled. Crowds are encouraged to watch as the killings are carried out - with multiple executions often put on at once and the horrific scenes even televised. When hangings are carried out with a step, victims' families are given the right to kick the chair away from beneath the strung-up criminal. And according to the Iranian Penal Code, hanging can also be combined with other forms of punishment, such as flogging, amputation, or crucifixion. But hanging is by no means the only way the Islamic Republic conducts its numerous executions. Stoning, one of the most barbaric and medieval practices, has been used to kill more than 150 people since 1980. Despite several reports that Iran had effectively abolished the practice on several occasions in the 2000s and 2010s, numerous reports from opposition groups and independent media sources in Iran have claimed people are still stoned to death - and several prisoners remain on death row with a sentence of stoning. The savage practice sees the condemned buried in sand, usually up to the waist for men and up to the chest for women, before a crowd circles them and pelts them with rocks. The stones used are not typically heavy enough to kill the target with one blow, meaning the subject can be brutalised for hours before finally succumbing to their injuries. In 2010, the then chief of Iran's Human Rights Council defended stoning as a method of execution, arguing it could be seen as a 'lesser punishment'. This is because the sentence is considered completed when the condemned is pulled out of the earth, meaning that they could potentially free themselves if they can scrabble out of the sand before being killed. But there are only a few recorded cases of such a feat being successfully achieved - and reports suggest that women who have miraculously managed to free themselves were forced back into the hole and killed anyway. Stoning has long been prescribed for those convicted of adultery and some sexual offences, but disproportionately affects women. Firing squads were often deployed in Iran for the execution of military and political prisoners, but although it is still legal, this method is now rarely used. The latest report of an execution by firing squad in Iran came in 2008 when a serial rapist was shot dead - although Amnesty International reports suggest a Kurdish political prisoner may have been shot dead in 2020. An Iranian judiciary official flogs serial killer Mohammad Bijeh before his execution in March 2005 Iranian officials prepare the noose for a public execution in 2014 Iranian authorities often deploy a rotary guillotine device to chop off the fingers of those convicted or robbery, burglary and other charges Those subjected to the horrific torture are rarely afforded proper medical care and are liable to suffer infections in prison Some of the recent executions in Iran have been particularly shocking and have drawn staunch condemnation the world over. In May 2023, Iran executed Yousef Mehrdad and Seyed Sadrollah Fazeli Zare in Arak Prison for 'insulting the prophet' and 'blasphemy' related to their peaceful expression on Telegram channels. Much of the international community condemns the death penalty as ethically reprehensible for the charge of blasphemy because the crime is non-violent and victimless. The pair were kept in solitary confinement for months, refused permission to see their families in spite of regulations set out in the penal code and denied access to their lawyers. In the same month, Iran executed Habib Farajollah Chaab, an Iranian-Swedish national, on the charge of 'corruption on earth' for his alleged involvement in a 2018 attack on a military parade. Chaab, also known as Habib Asiod, was kidnapped in Turkey by Iranian agents, tortured, and coerced to confess on state television. Iranian authorities have even condemned some of their best international representatives to death when they were judged to have challenged the regime. In September 2022, national champion wrestler Navid Afkari was put to death after he confessed to murdering a security guard. But the athlete declared on several occasions he was tortured into giving the false testimony, and was instead handed a death sentence for his peaceful participation in 2018 anti-government protests. An international cohort of more than 85,000 athletes signed a petition to stay his execution with world leaders, including then US President Donald Trump, calling for his conviction to be overturned. But the regime followed through with his execution, and subsequently condemned his brothers to decades in jail. And last year, Iran also executed British citizen Alireza Akbari, whom they accused of spying for MI6. In an audio recording broadcast by BBC Persian, Akbari said he had confessed to crimes he had not committed after extensive torture. 'With more than 3,500 hours of torture, psychedelic drugs, and physiological and psychological pressure methods, they took away my will. 'They drove me to the brink of madness... and forced me to make false confessions by force of arms and death threats,' he said. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the execution of the British-Iranian dual national was a 'callous and cowardly act, carried out by a barbaric regime'. Roya Heshmati, a vocal critic of the compulsory hijab, was lashed 74 times A grainy image of Heshmati's injuries following the lashing was shared on social media. The brutal punishment triggered widespread outcry among social and political commentators In September 2022, national champion wrestler Navid Afkari was put to death after he confessed to murdering a security guard - but the athlete declared on several occasions he was tortured into giving the false testimony Even for those who do not face the death penalty, the torturous punishments meted out by prison authorities are still skin-crawling. Amputation is a favourite of the Iranian authorities, who deploy a sickening spinning guillotine machine to slice off the fingers of people convicted of robbery and burglary, among other charges. The subject is blindfolded and bound before one hand is released and thrust into the torture device by one guard as another operates a rotary wheel that spins the device into action and amputates the digits. Others have undergone savage beatings and been lashed with whips, with one woman describing how she was given 74 lashes for refusing to wear a hijab. Roya Heshmati, 33, was battered with a leather whip and also forced to pay a fine after she 'encouraged permissiveness' by walking around in public without covering her head. Writing on her now-locked social media page, Heshmati explained how she was beaten mercilessly across her back, legs and buttocks in a dank room she likened to a medieval torture chamber - but still refused to wear a hijab in the courtroom even after the ordeal. '[The lashing] was over. We left the room. I didn't let them think I had experienced pain We went up to the judge in charge of execution of the sentence. 'The female agent walked behind me and was careful not to let my headscarf drop from my head. 'I threw off my scarf at the courtroom entrance. The woman asked me to wear the headscarf. I didn't stop and she pulled it over my head again,' she wrote. Heshmati's ordeal came just months after Iran sent a popular rapper back to jail - less than two weeks after his release from prison on bail - for rapping about the hijab protests that followed Mahsa Amini's death in custody in 2022. The Mizan judiciary website in November said authorities arrested Toomaj Salehi on a new charge of 'spreading lies and violation of public opinion.' Salehi was released from prison in mid-November after spending more than a year in custody on charges that his supporters said were based on the hip-hop artist's music and participation in the 2022 protests. Salehi previously alleged he was tortured after his arrest in October 2022, when state media released a video showing him blindfolded and apologising for his words, a statement likely made under duress. Hidden in the mausoleums of one of New York's cemeteries sits a king's ransom of breathtaking stained glass - commissioned by the city's rich and powerful more than a century ago. Officials at Woodlawn Cemetery first stumbled on the glasswork late last year, in a Gilded Age temple erected for a New York merchant and son of a Spanish general. During an audit of the colorful windows, experts discovered a variety none had ever seen before - despite being seasoned officials on the subject. They are now in the midst of an unprecedented survey that will see them peruse about 1,200 windows in the cemetery's 1,300 private, free-standing mausoleums, and reenter Gilded Age-era temples meant for the very wealthy. Some have been sealed as far back as 1878, creating unique conditions experts in an interview compared to a 'microclimate. ' To gain entry, a local company adapted antique keys built by mausoleum makers in the late 19th century, Gilded Age tycoon John H Harbeck's mausoleum in Woodlawn Cemetery, NYC, is constructed from austere gray stone - but it contains a very colorful secret Visitors to the final resting place of the warehouse and railroad tycoon, who died in 1910, are greeted with a stunning stained glass window - one of hundreds at the cemetery, many of which have lain undiscovered for more than a century The window in all its glory, complete with an image of Jesus surrounded by followers This window is believed to be an unsigned work by iconic stained glass artist Louis C. Tiffany. It was installed in the mausoleum of JG Payntar in 1899 and only recently uncovered during a survey of the cemetery's glasswork A mausoleum at Woodlawn whose owner and construction date has not been shared is filled with glorious amber and blue light as the sun pours through its richly-colored glass A gorgeous cross and orb sits in the mausoleum of Jose Maria Munoz, a merchant born in Panama who made his fortune in New York. Munoz was the son of a Spanish general, with stained glass artists who recently discovered this window marveling at the 3D effect of the spherical orb, which was previously-unheard of for the time period An all-star cast of stained-glass experts is carrying out the reentries, which will include a condition assessment, photographic documentation and archival research on every stained-glass window in Woodlawn's collection. So far, it has yielded some surprising results - like the previously undiscovered window found behind a stone sarcophagus over the summer. Already half completed, it has also resulted in the identification of several unsigned works from American artist Louis Comfort Tiffany, whose glasswork revolutionized the field through his use milky, brilliant opalescent glass. Also made famous by Tiffany contemporary John La Farge, the material boasts 'an internal glow and a milky translucency that captures light and amplifies color', said Lindsy R. Parrott, on of the experts carrying out the study. Part of the impressive roster of stained-glass aficionados conducting the study, she's the executive director and curator of a major collection of stained glass by master artist Tiffany at The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass in Queens, New York. A delightful spring scene featuring daffodils and bluebells in front of a calm body of water While many windows focused on the natural world, others depicted scenes of Christianity, including this heavenly image of Jesus flanked by two angels She is joined by Brianne Van Vorst, a conservator with a New Jersey stained glass conservation consultancy service that specialized in stained glass, and is also an authority on the subject. She sat down with DailyMail.com this week to speak about the team-of-five's quest to traverse the long-sealed burial vaults to see what's inside. Van Vorst explained that so far, they've documented around 600 of the stained glass windows and that the artistic provenance of 100 of them is known. 'It feels totally like Indiana Jones,' Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, a curator of American decorative arts at the Met, told the New York Times. Recalling the countless clammy chambers she, Van Vorst, Parrott, and fellow conservator Drew Anderson have entered since last year, she added: 'Sometimes we walk in and there's that feel of damp, mold and leaves. 'And [then] you see an incredible window you've never seen before.' Anderson, meanwhile, is a stained-glass conservator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but has still left in awe by some of discoveries - including a three-dimensional design element from the flat plane of the window found over the summer. 'I've never seen anything like this before, anywhere,' he said of the jeweled blue-glass orb protruding from 1890s-era window, whose creator remains unknown. Another of the heavenly stained glass windows that has recently been documented at Woodlawn Cemetery Stained glass conservation expert Brianne Van Vorst (pictured left in red gloves) shows visitors one of the many beautiful stained glass windows on display at Woodlawn Glass experts Lindsy Parrott (left) and Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen (right) have also helped identify the undiscovered gems, with Cooney Frelinghuysen saying their work has felt as exciting as an Indiana Jones movie Van Vorst, Parrott and Cooney Frelinghuysen are pictured with fellow glass experts Drew Anderson and Sophia Kamps outside a Woodlawn Cemetery mausoleum A striking stained glass window depicting an angel is among those hidden away in Woodlawn A bucolic scene is depicted in this stained glass window, with the tycoon who commissioned it possibly seeking to create a vision of heaven Another newly-discovered Tiffany window at Woodlawn. The window's creator was identified by experts Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen and Lindsy Parrot A gorgeous 1897 stained glass version of painter Paul Thumann's The Three Fates was also uncovered in Woodlawn A blazing Tiffany sunset created for a mausoleum that was built in 1912 Another Tiffany window dating back to 1900. While the faded colors have their own beauty, conservationists can bring some damaged windows back to life by inserting a panel of glass behind the original complete with the details that have been lost. It offers a truer picture of what the stained glass looked like originally, without altering it Stained glass expert Brianne Van Vorst had a close encounter with a bee hive while documenting this beautiful window in a Woodlawn Mausoleum A former City investment banker who retired to the Algarve has described her years of hell after an 'aggressive' neighbour took over her land and drove her out of her home, forcing her to go into hiding. Orla Dargan, 65, bought her dream Portuguese villa for around 600,000 in 2016, and lived there happily for several years before her neighbour, an estate agent she describes as a 'dangerous' man, moved in next door. The mother-of-two was warned about his 'temper', she says, and went on to face years of threatening behaviour, including an alleged attempt to drive her off the road near her home. After going to visit family in Ireland in late 2021, she said she returned weeks later to find diggers had been ordered onto her land, with the fence between their properties moved and a pumphouse for a hot tub erected nearby. Years of legal wrangling ensued, with a judge eventually siding with Ms Dargan and ordering the neighbour to return her land - which has still not happened more than a year on. The most chilling part of her ordeal was the brutal 'killing' of her beloved rescue dog, who first went missing on the day of a court appearance and was later found dead, floating in a shallow well with horrific injuries. This series of disturbing events has left Ms Dargan living in fear and suffering from PTSD, and she fled the Algarve last year 'for her own safety', moving between addresses in Portugal and Spain to avoid detection. David Mapley, a fraud investigator who has been assisting the ex-pat, said her case is an extreme example of the common occurrence of 'land grabbing' in the region - which he and others refer to as the 'Algrab'. Orla Dargan in Portugal with her rescue dog Henry, who she says was 'killed' amid an ongoing boundary dispute Orla Dargan, 65, bought her dream Portuguese villa for around 600,000 in 2016 Ms Dargan's dog Henry went missing and was found dead in a shallow well The daughter of Irish businessman and ex-AerLingus CEO Michael Dargan and the sister of hedge fund millionaire Alan Dargan, Ms Dargan is originally from Dublin but spent her career in the City of London. Years after divorcing her husband, she bought her dream house in Santa Barbara De Nexe, an area popular with British and Irish ex-pats and known for its celebrity residents, in the hope of having a quiet life after a high-flying career. 'It's a very small town, home to some of the wealthiest houses in the Faro district. I just wanted a quieter place to live, but it turned into a nightmare,' she told MailOnline. When her neighbour first moved in, Ms Dargan claims his construction workers 'harrassed and intimidated' her, saying they threw rubbish into her property and urinated publicly in front of it. Things went from bad to worse, she said, when a boundary dispute erupted in March 2021, with Ms Dargan claiming her neighbour ordered the workers to infringe onto her land. She says he had moved the fence between their properties, digging up the earth and putting piles of rocks along it to increase the height of the property - making a 'mess' of her property as they gave way. A small construction and air vent for the neighbour's jacuzzi had also been put up, she said, 'on the edge' of her land, with a pipe coming through the fence releasing 'toxic waste' onto her side. After she challenged him over the apparent land grab, she says he shouted at her and she ran back into her house, fearing he would turn to 'physical violence'. She began to lock her doors and windows, fearing for her safety and that of her Portuguese partner, who she lived with at the time. In July, her neighbour was ordered to hand back her land, which he appealed and refused to do. Days later, she claims she had been driven off the road by an SUV, forcing her much smaller car into a ditch. Ms Dargan's son said his usually calm mother called him immediately afterwards in a state of 'emotional distress'. She increased security measures, installing CCTV cameras, before she and her partner moved out in January 2022 for the house to undergo a renovation. Pictured: The sea view from Ms Dargan's property, which she says she has been unable to live at for more than a year due to renovation works and the alleged threat posed by her neighbour CCTV image shows Ms Dargan's villa in Santa Barbara De Nexe undergoing renovation work While they were living in a rented house in Faro, she said, the neighbour repeatedly trespassed on her land. She went back to court a second and third time, and says she has so far forked out more than 70,000 in legal fees 'fighting to get my land back'. Eventually, in February last year, the neighbour was ordered to give back ten square metres of land and pay damages to Ms Dargan. He has refused to do so for more than a year, with the former City banker now seeking a new court order and lodging a criminal complaint over his allegedly violent and threatening behaviour. Disturbingly, on the morning of one court appearance, in December 2022, Ms Dargan's two pet dogs went missing from her home. Her son, who has asked not to be named, claims they were taken in a bid to 'destabilise her mindset' going into court. 'It was a tactical manoeuvre, to make sure she was emotionally stressed and not thinking analytically,' he said. Ms Dargan bought her dream house in Santa Barbara De Nexe in the hope of having a quiet life after a high-flying career Pics show some of the wounds inflicted upon Ms Dargan's pet dog One of the dogs returned 12 hours later and led Ms Dargan's daughter to the other one, which was found unable to walk and appeared to have been 'drugged'. Then, while she was living at a secret address over ongoing safety concerns last November, the beloved rescue dog named Henry went missing again. The 37kg animal was only found after Orla hired drone operators, who spotted his body in a shallow well. Distressing pictures of Henry's body, seen by MailOnline, appear to show his eyes missing and his stomach and paws covered in lacerations and partially skinned. Ms Dargan, who first found Henry emaciated and wandering the streets when she moved to Portugal in 2016 and had cared for him for seven years, said she was left shattered by his death. 'The tipping point was when I lost my dog last November. I was fighting [my neighbour] on every front, but when that happened it broke me. Ms Dargan said her neighbour built a small construction 'on the edge' of her land (left) with a tube (right) said to be releasing waste through the fence onto her side 'He was my emotional support dog, a very special dog. 'Had he died by drowning, I could have coped with that. He had a good seven years with me,' she said. 'It's the thoughts of his final moments, being beaten to death, which haunt me.' Now separated from her partner and continuing to fear for her safety, Ms Dargan has been moving between different addresses in Portugal and Spain for a year. Her son said his mother is usually a 'dragon woman' and has been unshakable throughout her career in the male-dominated City, facing male aggression throughout her life. 'She is a survivor is the best way to describe her, she will not go down without a fight,' he said, 'But she is terrified of this man.' He said for him and his sister, the experience of seeing their mother traumatised has been 'terrible'. 'To see her like this is distressing,' he said. 'The increased support that I need to give her, in no time in my life have I ever seen her this affected this.' Ms Dargan (pictured in Faro) is now moving between various addresses in Portugal and Spain to avoid detection Ms Dargan said the ordeal has had 'devastating' effects on her and that she is now receiving therapy for stress and PTSD. Financial investigator Mr Mapley lives in the region and has been supporting Ms Dargan for more than a year. He said that hers is an extreme case, involving physical threat, but is just one of many he has seen in the Algarve. 'We call it the Algrab,' he said, referring to the many cases he has seen of retirees facing boundary disputes and other issues with their properties after moving to the region. 'This could happen to anyone, you could have your beautiful house and then captain constructor sets up next door. 'You think you've got your dream home, you're all set and then you spend endless money and time and stress in the courts.' Mr Mapley, who has been working to spread awareness of the issue since he moved to Portugal, is now warning other Brits to be wary of local council 'corruption' and 'land-grabbing' neighbours when looking to buy in the popular holiday destination. Ms Dargan said that, after speaking to fellow retirees living in Portugal, she feels she is not alone. 'I am hearing terrible stories day after day about people who come to Portugal for their retirement years,' she said. 'They need to think long and hard about their decision, and be on the look out from the word go.' What begins as a 'dream', she added, 'can turn into a nightmare very rapidly.' Half a century ago, 450,000 people descended on a small town in upstate New York for three days of 'music, mud, and memories' at a festival that would come to define the 1960s. Now, as attendees of the iconic 1969 Woodstock festival age and their numbers dwindle, museum curators are bringing them back together to gather their oral histories of the event. Despite its name, the fabled music festival actually took place in the tiny village of Bethel, 60 miles south west of Woodstock. An estimated 450,000 teenagers and young adults descended on a swath of land owned by dairy farmer Max Yasgur to attend an 'Aquarian Exposition' promising 'three days of peace, love and music' from August 15 to 17 1969. With most of the attendees now in their 70s and 80s and many already dead, the festival museum at Bethel Woods is immersed in a five-year project to sift facts from legends and collect firsthand Woodstock memories before they fade away. A never-before-seen image of festivalgoers at Woodstock in 1969. A gang of friends, some shirtless and shoeless, make their way through the mud at the eclectic, and now iconic, event An unearthed image from Woodstock shows the jollity and carnage - with people taking a dip in a murky-colored body of water, others chilling by the bank, with tents pitched in the background Woman running through the mud at the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969. As attendees of the iconic 1969 Woodstock festival age and their numbers dwindle, museum curators are bringing them back together to gather their oral histories of the event Two young men in the boot of a car after hitching a lift home from the Woodstock Music and Arts Fair 55 years on from the iconic festival, museum curators are finding the remaining living attendees to record their memories and stories about the event Over 450,000 people attended the festival, most of them teenagers or young adults who are now well into their seventies The quest to gather memories Bethel Woods museum curators have traveled the length and breadth of the country from nursing homes to community centers searching for and meeting with Woodstock attendees. So far they have gathered over 500 people's testimonies using techniques similar to WWII historians. It's important to meet people in person, Neal Hitch, senior curator and director of the Museum At Bethel Woods, said. 'We had to go to people where they are. If you just call someone on the phone, they aren't quite sure what to say when we ask you to tell us about these personal, private memories from a festival when they may have been 18 or 19.' Their project began in 2020, with $235,000 in grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services - enough money to pay for curators and community connectors to travel the country and record the stories. The odyssey started in Santa Fe, New Mexico with the hippie collective The Hog Farm which provided volunteers such as Hugh 'Wavy Gravy' Romney and Lisa Law to help feed the Woodstock crowd. A new, unearthed image from Woodstock shows two friends sitting in a field surrounded by other festivalgoers A group of friends pose in their car after arriving at the campground in 1969 Numbers of living attendees are dwindling, so curators are trying to find as many as they can before time runs out People on their way to the Woodstock Music Festival, 1969 A group of festival-goers at Woodstock in 1969 The Hog Farm volunteers provided peaceful security for the festival and set up a free kitchen to prepare food for attendees. Museum curators then traveled to Florida, joining a 'Flower Power' cruise ship. They visited Columbus, Ohio, before making a California trip earlier this year that included a San Francisco community center located near the former homes of festival performers Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead. One of the museum 'community connectors' Rona Elliot, 77, who helped organize the original festival, said: 'You need to capture the history from the mouths of the people who had the direct experience.' She said Woodstock is 'like a jigsaw puzzle - a panoply of everything that happened in the '60s.' They are expanding their search this year, heading to Boston in March and New York City in early April, where they estimate half the Woodstock crowd still live. That will be followed by return trips to New Mexico and Southern California. The museum will then spend 2025 combing through the oral histories before turning to special projects such as reuniting friends who attended the festival together but now live in different parts of the country. 'It gave me hope:' Festivalgoers' memories from '69 Richard Schoellhorn, now 77, made the trip from his Sebastopol, California, home to San Francisco to discuss his experience at Woodstock with curators. He was initially hired to be a security guard at the ticketing booth when the festival was supposed to occur in Wallkill, New York, before a community backlash prompted a late switch to the Bethel site. Schoellhorn still reported for work in Bethel, only to discover his services weren't going to be needed because the festival became so overwhelmed that organizers stopped selling tickets. 'I was walking around at Woodstock and Hugh Romney comes up to me and says, "Are you working?"', he said. 'And I go, "No, I just got fired!" He goes, "Well, would you like to volunteer?"' Richard Schoellhorn, left, discusses his experience as a would-be security guard at the Woodstock festival in August 1969 with Rona Elliot Akinyele Sadiq discusses photos taken of the crowd near the stage of the Woodstock festival in August 1969 The site of the festival, 60 miles south west of the town of Woodstock The museum has interviewed over 500 people so far using techniques similar to WWII historians Schoellhorn ended up working in a tent set up to assist people having bad experiences on hallucinogenic drugs they had taken and ended up getting stoned himself while enjoying his first ever concert. He said: 'It felt like everyone was in the same freaking boat. 'There wasnt like one section where people were rich. Nobody was special there, right from the get-go.' Before attending Woodstock, Schoellhorn said he was a loner intent on pursuing a career in marketing. After Woodstock, he became so extroverted that he wound up living in a Colorado commune for several years. Another Woodstock attendee, Akinyele Sadiq, 72, also came to see the curators in San Francisco to excavate his memories of watching the festival from 25 feet away from the stage. People queued for hours to get into the site, with some deciding to camp on the side of the road Massive unexpected crowds resulted in terrible traffic jams with many getting out of their cars to walk Some pulled over to the side of the road and slept in - or on - their cars Attendees made makeshift grass shelters Although the festival wasn't supposed to begin until a Friday, Sadiq departed on a Bethel-bound bus on a Wednesday. When the bus broke down, he hitched a ride that delivered him to the festival site by noon Thursday, allowing him to claim a spot so near the stage that he is visible in photos taken during the performances. By the time he left Bethel a few days later, in a hearse that a fellow festival-goer had converted into a van, Sadiq had changed. 'Before Woodstock, I didn't have real direction. I basically didn't have a lot of friends, but I knew I was looking for peace and justice and wanted to be with creative people who were looking to make the world a better place. 'Before Woodstock, if you were living in a little town, you thought there might be a dozen people out there you might be able to get along with. But then you realized there was at least a half a million of us. It just gave me hope.' Story of a generation: Crowds descended on Bethel Gathering the oral histories is just the latest mission for the Museum which spends its time telling what it calls 'the Story of a Generation'. Woodstock was scheduled to last only three days, but bad weather and traffic jams caused many delays and performances were pushed late into the night and early into the morning, meaning it didn't finish until Monday, August 18. The festival came to represent the free spiritedness of the decade Woodstock is now synonymous with a 'peace and love' movement that the Museum says was 'just what a divided nation needed' The Museum said: 'No one knew it at the time, but those three days of music, mud, and memories would birth an entire cultural phenomenon.' Even the scheduled first act, Sweetwater, got stuck in traffic, meaning a last minute replacement, Richie Havens - with just two acoustic backup musicians - was rushed on stage. Over the festival 32 acts played with iconic sets from the Grateful Dead, The Who, Janis Joplin, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Jimi Hendrix was set to headline the show on Sunday night and end the festival, but the delays meant he was left with a tricky decision: either play last to a smaller crowd, or go on earlier and lose his headline spot. He decided to wait until last, giving the larger crowds to the smaller bands. Tickets to the event cost $18 ahead of time, the equivalent of $120 today, but quickly sold out and the huge demand meant it turned into a free festival due to the unexpected crowds. The festival was the brainchild of Michael Lang, John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, and Artie Kornfeld, who initially designed it as a profit-making venture The community of Bethel was not prepared for the great influx of young people from all over the country, and by August 14, much of the area had become an enormous traffic jam. While some locals were less than welcoming to the flower-adorned, bell-bottomed, mud-splattered hippies flooding the area, others embraced the visitors, supplying them with free food and water when it became apparent that Food For Love, the festival concessionaire, was not prepared to feed the massive crowd. Beside amazing musical acts, the weekend of peace was marked by widespread use of drugs, and the organizers of the event even established a freak-out tent for those suffering from bad trips, according to the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. While some concert-goers remembered the unique historic festival as an adventure that changed their lives, others found it nothing but a messy, filthy, poorly organized fiasco. The festival was the brainchild of Michael Lang, John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, and Artie Kornfeld, who initially designed it as a profit-making venture. In the end, it turned into a free concert of epic proportions when it became apparent that the event was drawing hundreds of thousands more people than anticipated. The reversals come as progressive politicians in several other blue strongholds, including Washington DC, faces attempts to oust them from office In cities including San Francisco to New York, voters and leaders are rethinking liberal policies as they face issues including rising crime and drug use Progressive leaders in cities and states across America are reversing radical policies on policing and drugs in the face of a voter backlash, soaring crime and a surge in overdose deaths. In San Francisco and Portland, leaders are reversing liberal drug policies after they led to a sharp rise in addiction and deaths by overdose. And across the country in New York, Mayor Eric Adams wants changes the Big Apple's sanctuary status following a surge in migrant arrivals. The city has also announced the drastic step of stationing National Guard troops on its subway in response to a rise in crime. These policy shifts come as moderate Democrats in some blue strongholds attempt to oust their most progressive leaders, including in Washington DC, where activists are trying to oust two prominent councilmembers following a sharp rise in violent crime. The policy shifts mark a stark tilt away from radical policies including drug decriminalization and the defunding of police forces - measures which have been blamed for causing the crises. In cities including San Francisco to New York, voters and leaders are rethinking liberal policies as they face issues including rising crime and drug use. Elsewhere, progressive politicians face the boot San Francisco The people of San Francisco - a city which was once the poster child of liberal America - voted on Tuesday in favor of laws that will enforce stricter drug policies and also give more powers to police. The ballot showed support for two measures which will give police greater powers to pursue criminal suspects and also require drug screenings for adults receiving welfare. Voters backed the measures amid a crisis in the city brought about by rising homeless and drug taking, combined with a failure to recover from the impacts of the pandemic on business. San Francisco voted in favor of measures to strengthen police powers and drug control through a ballot endorsed by Mayor London Breed San Francisco has struggled to recover from the pandemic and parts of its downtown are blighted by homelessness and drug taking Homeless people are seen in San Francisco, California, United States on February 26, 2024 Polls showed Measure E, the vote on police powers, won the backing of around 60 percent of voters. Measure F, which will enforce drug screening rules, won 63 percent support. Embattled Democrat Mayor London Breed, who is campaigning for reelection in November, placed both measures on the ballot and said they would help tackle crime and the drug crisis. Opponents said both ballot measures were out of step with San Francisco's support for privacy and civil liberties and will hurt marginalized communities. But Breed, the first black woman to lead San Francisco, said at a January campaign stop that residents from poorer, black and immigrant neighborhoods are pleading for more police. Drug recovery advocates are demanding change as a record 806 people died of overdoses last year amid an explosion in fentanyl use. Violent crimes are low in San Francisco, but the city has long struggled with rampant quality-of-life crimes including property crime. Breed has said rates of retail theft and auto smash-ins have declined recently, thanks in large part to strategic operations by city police. New York New York Mayor Eric Adams has called for an overhaul of its sanctuary city status as his administrations battles with the impact of 180,000 migrant arrivals since the beginning of last year. The city is also taking radical steps to tackle rising subway crime. On Wednesday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced National Guard soldiers and State Police will be deployed onto platforms to solve the crisis. The measures indicate the willingness of both leaders to take an increasingly tough stance on the city's most pressing issues. New York Mayor Eric Adams has called for an overhaul of its sanctuary city status as his administrations battles with the impact of 180,000 migrant arrivals since the start of 2023 New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced National Guard soldiers and State Police will be deployed onto subway platforms to tackle a rise in crime on the network Dozens of recently arrived migrants to New York City camp outside of the Roosevelt Hotel, which was made into a reception center, as they try to secure temporary housing on August 01, 2023 New York State Police, MTAPD and New York National Guard patrol and conduct container inspections at Grand Central Station on March 6, 2024 in New York City Adams took office with a pledge to maintain the city's sanctuary status - which protects people from detention or prosecution based on their immigration status. But that was before the recent influx which Adams has conceded could 'destroy New York City'. More than 560 cities, states and counties have declared themselves sanctuaries since the early 1980s and New York adopted the status under former Democrat Mayor Ed Koch. Speaking on Monday, Adams told a town hall meeting: 'We need to modify the sanctuary city law that if you commit a felony or violent act we should be able to turn you over to ICE and have you deported.' Two days later, Governor Hochul was announcing the drastic measure of drafting in almost 1,000 National Guard to try and preventing spiraling subway crime in the city. She is working with Adams to solve the issue after figures published in mid-February revealed there were 266 crimes on the subway network since the beginning of the year, a 22.6 percent increase on the same period in 2023. The crackdown will also see subway riders subjected to 'random' bag checks while the number of plainclothes cops patrolling the station will be increased. Adams stressed the subways are particularly seeing an increase in attacks on MTA workers, which he blamed on a small number of criminals being able to target people hundreds of times each. He noted that 38 people were arrested for a staggering 1,126 attacks on MTA workers in 2023, while 542 people were arrested last year for over 7,600 shoplifting crimes. Portland, Oregon Oregon lawmakers passed a bill on March 1 to recriminalize possession of drugs in response to a statewide fentanyl crisis which has brought Portland, the state's most populous city, to its knees. The bill recriminalizing the possession of small amounts of drugs reverses a key part of the state's drug decriminalization law, which was the first of its kind in the U.S. Progressive leaders who touted decriminalization promised it would end criminal convictions for the city's most vulnerable citizens and also refocus efforts on recovery from addiction. Instead, Oregon has seen a 190 percent increase in overdose deaths since the initial decriminalization bill went into effect in February 2021, according to the CDC. Areas of downtown Portland have been taken over by homeless drug addicts who openly use fentanyl in broad daylight. Oregon Goveror Tina Kotek and other state lawmakers have passed a bill on March 1 to recriminalize possession of drugs in response to a statewide fentanyl crisis A state of emergency was declared in Portland following a surge in fentanyl use and overdoses In the 12 months leading up to February 2021, there were 861 overdose deaths in Oregon; that number increased to 1,650 deaths in the same 12-month period ending in September 2023. The decision to walk back on the policy has been couple with an increase in funding for police after budgets were slashed in the wake of BLM protests and the 'defund the police' movement. Homicides hit record highs in 2022 and violent offences also surged, but crime was down markedly last year after the budget increases were implemented. The sharp rise in crime started in 2020, when Portland City Council voted to approve $15 million in reductions to the police bureau and 84 sworn staff positions were cut. Portland's homicide rate exploded from 36 in 2019 to 85 last year, which followed a record 97 homicides in 2022, according to Portland Police Bureau data. Violent crime rates also increased significantly since 2019, according to separate FBI statistics. In November 2021, little more than a year after police budgets were cut, Mayor Ted Wheeler acknowledged 'many Portlanders no longer feel safe' and the city council voted to increase police spending by $5.2 million. Washington DC Big efforts are underway in Washington DC to recall two leading councilmembers over a surge in crime. The progressive figureheads, Charles Allen and Brianne Nadeau, would become the first ever to be recalled from office if the campaigns are successful. Efforts are underway in Washington DC to recall two leading councilmembers over a surge in crime. The progressive figureheads, Charles Allen (pictured) and Brianne Nadeau, would become the first ever to be recalled from office if the campaigns are successful Allen's recall campaigners have raised more than $100,000. Many of its backers are prominent democrats who are angry at the cities spiraling crime. Homicides increased by 35 percent in 2023 to 274, while robbery rates increased by 67 percent, contributing to an overall 39 percent increase in violent crime. Last year was the city's deadliest in more than two decades. A former U.S. attorney appointed by George W. Bush, Brett Tolman, who is executive director of the conservative criminal justice reform group Right on Crime, has also blamed Washington's chief prosecutor not prosecuting most cases. Tolman said recently that the solution is simple - and not define by politics. 'We do not need to change the law. We do not need a president coming in and using the National Guard to take over the city. All you need is a person on the job, whether Republican or Democrat, telling people they will enforce the law,' he said. Relatives of the German carpenter executed for the murder of Charles Lindbergh's baby have come forward to cast doubt on his guilt. Bruno Richard Hauptmann was put to death for his part in the case in 1936, and Lindbergh - a pilot who famously was the first to traverse the Atlantic - was never even considered a suspect. He even helped lead the investigation into his son's vanishing, which eventually honed in on Hauptmann - a 36-year-old carpenter who lived in the Bronx borough of New York. He was then sentenced to die by electric chair, but doubts surrounding his guilt - and Lindbergh's own alleged involvement - have lingered since. His great-great niece and her aunt recently provided DNA samples to officials in New Jersey to stand up those concerns, and hopefully provide an answer to the long-looming question: Was the crime of the century really just a miscarriage of justice? Bruno Richard Hauptmann - seen here smiling after his convictions in 1935 - was put to death for his part in the case in 1936 He was accused of killing Charles Lindbergh Jr., who was abducted by an intruder from his crib in East Amwell, New Jersey near the town of Hopewell New Jersey in March 1932 'I personally don't think he did it,' Love told The New York Times of her great great uncle - adding that if evidence does happen to link him to the case, 'then so be it.' 'I want to uncover the truth.' Noting how Hauptmann and his widow maintained his innocence until his death, the 58-year-old added that there were fingerprints left behind at Lindbergh's New Jersey mansion, where 20-month-old Charles Lindbergh Jr was snatched in his sleep. A wooden ladder, chisel, and the first of more than a dozen ransom notes were recovered, and after 10 weeks Lindbergh Jr was accidentally found about four and half miles east of the Lindbergh family home. Partially buried and badly decomposed, his head was crushed, with a hole left in his skull Found 5 feet from the highway, the discovery put an end to massive search, but sparked a new manhunt for whomever responsible. The boy's dad- five years removed from his glory-winning flight from New York to Paris - was never considered as a suspect, and Hauptmann was arrested, found guilty, and put to death within four years. That was a mistake, if you ask one retired California judge who speculates that Lindbergh sacrificed his son for scientific experiments that may or may not have not involved the Nazis. She highlighted how Charles was fascinated by eugenics and had a non-interventionist stance about Jews just before WWII. Recently penning a book about the theory, she has since gained support from people like Love, who believe there's some credence to the conspiracy. The boy's father, a pilot who was the first to traverse the Atlantic - was never considered a suspect. Charles Lindbergh is seen here standing in front of the Spirit of St. Louis circa 1927 A 10-week nationwide search for the child was undertaken and ransom negotiations were conducted in exchange for information about the child's whereabouts which proved to be false 'My theory is that the child was operated on,' Pearlman recently claimed in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, explaining how Lindbergh may have allowed his son to have been used in medical experiments. 'We think at the very least that his carotid artery and probably his thyroid were taken out and kept viable for 30 days. We think he died on the operating table,' Pearlman said. 'And I think [Nobel Prize-winning biologist Alexis] Carrel conducted the operation with Lindbergh's permission,' she added, noting their shared advocacy for the disproven study about weeding out human deficiencies so they won't be inherited. Lindbergh, she was, was 'likely present at the operation.' Pearlman's theory, which she claims is based on more than a decade of forensic investigation, has quick gained credence with a number of advocates who have long proposed revisiting the case. It draws on medical reports, New Jersey State Police files, and writings by both Lindbergh and the award-winning biologist, and suggest Lindbergh might have even collaborated with Carrel to conduct an experimental operation on the child knowing that it would result in his death. The is because he view the tot as a sick child with an abnormally large sized head, Pearlman wrote in her 2020 book, Suspect No. 1: The Man Who Got Away, theorizing the picturesque pilot thought the boy as expendable. 'Lindbergh might well have felt like Abraham offering the Almighty his son Isaac not to the Biblical God but to the God of Science with Carrel as the chosen instrument.' 'The more I looked into Lindbergh, the more my suspicions were raised about his involvement and the fact that he wasn't treated as a suspect,' she added to the Chronicle. Pearlman's theory, which she claims is based on more than a decade of forensic investigation, proposes that Lindbergh may have allowed his son to have been used in medical experiments It was to be two years before police arrested German immigrant Bruno Richard Hauptmann in April 1936. He protested his innocence to the very end The child's remains were later found by chance by a passing truck driver six weeks after his abduction on May 12 in roadside woodlands near Mount Rose, New Jersey 'He was home when it happened. He should have been a suspect.' A researcher in New Jersey also filed a lawsuit seeking to open evidence still kept by the New Jersey State Police A state judge dismissed the suit last year seeking access to evidence, as supporters like Love and Pearlman continue in their own legal quest for the truth by providing DNA samples in the hope the states courts would one day clear Hauptmann. 'It's amazing, the research Lise has done; phenomenal,' Love said last month, of how she believes Pearlman's theory may hold water. 'Her medical theory? I totally believe that. Only God and Bruno Richard know for sure, but from everything I've heard, he sounds innocent. And Lindbergh didn't sound like a nice person.' Hauptmann, according to Pearlman, was an unwitting victim, caught by police after using traceable ransom money. 'A lot of leads weren't followed, about a dozen state witnesses likely committed perjury, and the prosecution had 90,000 pages of investigation they didn't let Hauptmann or his defense see,' Pearlman told the Chronicle. 'The wrong man was executed, and my hope is that Hauptmann will be posthumously exonerated. And I am certainly not the only one who wants that.' Despite Hauptmann's insistence that a friend gave him the money before dying in Europe, he was sentenced to death. Pearlman contends that Lindbergh viewed his sick child, who had an abnormally large sized head, as disposable and allowed him to be subjected to medical experiments that killed him Charles Lindbergh Jr. is seen on his first birthday enjoying cake and a candle Captain Lindbergh (1904-1974) pictured in 1927 with his aircraft Spirit of St Louis in which he became the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic that same year The Lindbergh case enthralled America from the moment Charles Jr was snatched when he was 20-months-old becoming known as the 'crime of the century'. His father was famous for making the first to fly solo across the Atlantic in The Spirit of St Louis five years earlier. The heady mix of celebrity, wealth and an appalling crime against an innocent child proved irresistible. Police believed he was taken by a gang, who used a ladder to access the nursery window on the second floor. They then handed him down, leaving a ransom note on the radiator for his parents to find. The case immediately garnered huge publicity. President Herbert Hoover made a radio appeal for the child's safe return. Gangster Al Capone even offered his mafia contacts to help track down the kidnappers. The ransom money was traced to Hauptmann, center, who was convicted and executed for the kidnapping and murder of aviator Charles Lindbergh's baby Lindbergh in the courtroom at the start of the trial of Hauptman, who lived in the Bronx after emigrating from Germany William Allen, right, shows where he found the body of Charles Lindbergh Jr on March 1, 1932 Two months later, Charles's tiny body was found dumped in woodland near his home. It was to be two years before police arrested German immigrant Bruno Richard Hauptmann. He had been caught trying to cash in a gold certificate that had formed part of a ransom payment by the child's desperate parents. Hauptmann was tried for murder and extortion, found guilty and executed by electric chair in April 1936. He protested his innocence to the very last moment. Despite investigators believing that a gang had taken the child, the case was closed. A retired father has revealed that Transport for London forced him to take his Porsche off the road for five months despite later finding out that it was actually compliant after reading a MailOnline story. Alex Fernandes, 74 from Wimbledon, was forced to take his 'pride and joy' 2002 Porsche Boxster off the road after the Mayor expanded the Ulez to every London borough in August last year as TfL's checker said his car was non-compliant. He has slammed their 'misleading' rules after he was told the reason his car was incorrectly branded as too polluting to drive in the capital was because TfL were unable to find emissions data for his older car. Mr Fernandes said that he was left 'miserable' for five months as he was unable to drive to see his daughter or go to the doctors, without paying an unaffordable 12.50 a day. But he was 'on cloud nine' after learning that MailOnline reporter Darren Boyle was fighting against multiple fines - which he later won - issued for driving his Ulez-compliant and virtually identical 2002 Porsche Boxster through the capital. Retiree Alex Fernandes, 74 from Wimbledon, was forced to take his 'pride and joy' 2002 Porsche Boxster off the road after the Mayor expanded the Ulez to every London borough in August last year as TfL's checker said his car was non-compliant - even though it was Even after giving TfL the information that proved his car met emissions standards, Mr Fernandes was still sent a fine for driving his car through south west London on February 15 Even after giving TfL the information that proved his car met emissions standards, Mr Fernandes was still sent a fine for driving his car through south west London on February 15. The motorist was then slapped with yet another fine for driving through London for driving through London on February 24, which he received in the post earlier this week. After receiving the second fine, Mr Fernandes told MailOnline: 'I sent them the details and filled in the form saying my car is compliant and it's a bit annoying to get another PCN which shows stance they take as far as fining people. 'They don't really care, all they care about is getting money in. It's stressful, I have seen stories where they don't cancel these things at all. I'm 74, I have heart problem and had a quadruple bypass. It's all this excess stress that I really don't need.' He was first issued a Ulez fine for driving his Porsche in 2019 after he went to visit his daughter in Wandsworth to pick up medication, but TfL agreed to cancel it. After TfL's online checker said his car was non-compliant (even though it is) when the zone expanded last August he almost sold his Porsche. 'I actually advertised it,' he said. 'But I thought to myself "no", as it was breaking my heart to sell it.' He added: 'When Ulez came round the rest of London last year, I contacted TfL and they said my car was non-Ulez compliant so I took it off the road,' he said. Mr Fernandes' car was off the road for about five months until he read how MailOnline's Darren Boyle proved that his nearly identical Porsche Boxster was Ulez compliant. Mr Fernandes' car was off the road for about five months until he read how MailOnline's Darren Boyle (pictured in his car) proved that his nearly identical Porsche Boxster was Ulez-compliant All petrol and diesels cars registered in the UK from January 1, 2006 and September 1 2015 onwards, respectively, will automatically be compliant with Ulez rules because it was illegal to build cars which were not after those dates. While cars built before these dates may be compliant, the DVLA has confirmed to MailOnline that did not routinely log the relevant information on V5C forms before 2018. Ulez computer systems will automatically charge - and then subsequently fine if not paid - drivers of any vehicles that are not on the list of compliant vehicles when they drive in the zone. TfL mostly uses data from the DVLA to check if a car is compliant and if it is known to be it is added to TfL's register. But if emissions data does not exist on the DVLA database - such as for older cars - then a model will only be added to the 'compliant' list if TfL can source the information from the Vehicle Certification Agency. TfL has failed to give a figure on how many and which models it was unable to get emissions data for from the VCA and car makers, despite multiple requests by MailOnline. All of these vehicles will be assumed to be non-compliant with Ulez rules regardless of whether or not they actually are, and drivers will have to pay 12.50 a day to drive through London or may feel forced to sell their cars. Mr Fernandes hit out at TfL for falsely claiming his car did not meet emissions standards, saying: 'It's definitely misleading, I just feel that they don't tell people the truth. As far as I'm concerned it's just a money making thing. It's just ridiculous. 'How many other people don't know and got rid of their car necessarily?' But even after telling TfL his car did meet the emissions standards, car-lover Mr Fernandes got a fine anyway. 'I got the certificate of conformity from Porsche after Darren's story. I did a photocopy and I sent it to TfL, and four days later I still got a Ulez ticket,' he said. 'I called and said I sent them a thing saying my car is compliant - and they said that the DVLA hadn't notified them. 'I had to go online and I had to fill in all the details online and fill in details I had from Porsche.' Despite Mr Fernandes' and Darren Boyle's Boxsters being virtually identical, the information which proved the reporter's car was compliant was not applied to other cars and did not prompt TfL to look for blank spots in their compliance data. Ulez expanded to all London boroughs in August last year, causing misery for many drivers Almost 129,000 ULEZ penalty charge notices worth 23m have been overturned by motorists who successfully argued their vehicles operate within emissions standards TfL says it will only look at individual cars and will not 'make a blanket assumption due to one compliant model variant'. Mr Fernandes added: 'My car was off the road for 5 months. I don't use the car that often but I do use it to go and see my daughter and to see my wife for a little drive, or to see the doctor. 'It made my life impossible without it - my wife has a car that she uses all the time for work so I'm without a car. 'I think it's very unfair. If I hadn't seen Darren's article I would have had to sell the car or pay 12.50 every time I went out. 'It made my life miserable as it is my pride and joy - for me not to use it made me really really miserable. 'But when I saw the article I was on cloud nine as I could take my car out again. I can't afford to spend 12.50 every time I take the car out.' A TfL spokesperson said: 'We are sorry for any inconvenience Mr Fernandes has experienced. We use DVLA data and a range of published data from the Vehicle Certification Agency to determine whether a vehicle meets emissions standards. All petrol cars registered in the UK from 1 January 2006 and all diesel cars registered after 1 September 2015 are automatically ULEZ compliant. 'Mr Fernandes' vehicle was deemed ULEZ non-compliant based on the fact that it was first registered in 2001 and that no emissions data was held for it. Mr Fernandes provided evidence to prove compliance as part of his representation against a penalty charge he had incurred, and we updated our records accordingly. Mr Fernandes then received notice of a further penalty charge incurred before his representation was accepted. 'If an owner of a vehicle believes that their vehicle meets the ULEZ standard and they want to avoid paying a charge, they should contact us and provide us with a copy of the vehicle's V5C or non-UK equivalent and a letter from the vehicle manufacturer stating the vehicle's Euro standard or a conformity certificate.' Exit polling found nearly eight in ten North Carolina Haley voters did not commit to voting for the GOP nominee in November Trump visited the state on Saturday and has vowed to win it again in November In Granville Country, North Carolina on Super Tuesday there was a steady stream of voters headed to the polls: Donald Trump voters, Joe Biden voters, and those who said neither of the above. It was a county Trump won in 2020 by about 2,000 votes. That same election, the Democratic governor Roy Cooper won the county by just over 300 votes proving parts of the Tar Heel State remain deeply purple. Now Biden and Trump are headed for another head-to-head matchup in North Carolina that Trump won overall in 2020 by a razor-thin margin but Democrats won statewide down ballot. And voters have mixed feelings on the rematch in the battleground state. In Oxford, a city in the county, registered Democrat Cindy, 53, voted in the gubernatorial primary for nominee Josh Stein, but she didnt vote for Biden at the top of the ticket. North Carolina voters expressed frustration over the ages of both candidates in the presidential race with Trump at 77 and Biden at 81. Both candidates have set their sights on the state to win in November She said she will vote in November for one of the two choices but declined to say who. I think both for the Democrat and the Republican nominees as they currently stand, I just think they're too old, and I hate to say that but that is a big issue with me, she said. But Democrats are not the only ones with little appetite for 2020 2.0. Over in Greensboro, registered Republican Ellen Freeze, 74, was also frustrated. A younger generation would look towards the future in solving present problems, she said. She voted for Haley, but come November she expects Trump to be the nominee, saying I will hold my nose and vote for him. In the Republican presidential primary on Tuesday, Trump clobbered opponent Nikki Haley with more than 73 percent of the vote. Some 790,000 voters came out to cast ballots for the embattled former president who swept every county. Haley received just over 23 percent of the vote, but nearly 250,000 North Carolinians came out to support her. In the Democratic presidential primary, Biden won 87 percent, more than 606,000 votes. But some 88,000 voters 12 percent who cast ballots in the Democratic primary voted no preference in the contest. Looking at the results however, Bidens team could see it as a positive sign, noted Western Carolina University professor Chris Cooper. In 2012, about one in five voters in the Democratic primary voted no preference over incumbent President Barack Obama, who had won the state in 2008, a signal the party is more unified there now than it previously has been. Donald Trump won every single county in North Carolina in the GOP primary against Haley While a number of voters chose 'no preference' in the state's Democratic primary, it was. a smaller percentage than President Obama saw in the primary in 2012 More than 1.7 million voters cast ballots in primaries, but turnout at 24 percent was down compared to the 2020 primaries when it was about 31 percent. With the lack of competition at the top of the ticket, low turnout did not come as a surprise, but there are questions over what the lack of enthusiasm will mean come November. On the ground, DailyMail.com found a series of Biden voters around Durham and Greensboro who were frustrated with having only Biden, 81, as the only option but thought the election was too important to sit out. Im conflicted because I would prefer to have a different Democratic nominee, but Im in the anyone but Trump camp, said Jenna Bialik-Speight, 36. Over in Mecklenburg County, a reliable Democratic stronghold that includes Charlotte, Biden won 90 percent of the Democratic primary vote but less than 82,000 people cast ballots, or 18 percent turnout for the Democratic primary. If Democrats dont get more voters to show up in November, they will be in a world of hurt, Cooper said. Voter turnout at 24% was down in the North Carolina primary on March 5 compared to the 2020 primary. Professor Chris Cooper said Democrats need more voters to show up at the polls in Mecklenburg County where Charlotte is located come November Unaffiliated votes are the wildcard in the state. They make up the largest group of registered voters in North Carolina, outnumbering Democrats and Republicans. When it came to the states semi-closed primary, it meant Democrats could only vote in the Democratic primary while Republicans could only vote in the GOP primary, but unaffiliated voters could take their pick. The data is not yet available to paint a full picture on how registered unaffiliated voters showed up on Election Day for the primary, but during early voting, two out of three unaffiliated voters participated in the Republican primary. It suggested those voters might want to moderate the Republican primary, but based on Trumps crushing results and more extremist candidates beating establishment ones down ballot, that did not appear to be the case. Perhaps, the unaffiliated voters who showed up on Tuesday were ones in name only, Cooper said. In Oxford, unaffiliated voter William Frazier, 32, said he voted for Haley because she was his favorite versus Biden or Trump, who he voted for in 2020, but when it comes to the general election, he will vote for Trump again, saying he was the lesser of two evils. Four years ago, Trump won the state by less than 75,000 votes. This year, the Biden campaign sees it is the top pickup opportunity. The campaign has run early ads in the state as well as other battleground states. In a memo shared Wednesday morning, the Biden campaign said a significant share of moderate and Haley voters across the country are saying that Trump cannot count on their votes in the general election. It also noted Haley overperformed her statewide support in key suburban counties. Half of Haley voters said they approve of Bidens work as president in an exit poll of North Carolina Republican primary voters. Polling also showed nearly eight in ten would not commit to voting for the GOP nominee in November no matter who it was a sign there could be some Biden-Haley voters in the state as Biden makes a play to get her supporters to back his reelection bid. But there were warning signs for both Biden and Trump. Roughly two-thirds of the voters in the GOP primary identified as Republican while a third identified as Independents. More than six in ten said theyd consider Trump fit for the presidency if hes convicted of a crime. About the same number baselessly denied Bidens 2020 election win was legitimate. But among Haley voters, only 6 percent said Trump, if convicted, would be fit to be president. The same small percentage said they did not believe Biden legitimately won the election. Vice President Harris speaking about investing in small businesses at an event in Durham. She has visited the state ten times since becoming vice president While Biden did not campaign in North Carolina ahead of the Democratic primary on March 5, Vice President Kamala Harris was back in the state just days before voters headed to the polls on Tuesday. She was there for an event to announce a $32 million federal investment, not a campaign rally, but her return to the state has been one of ten since she took office. The event was a more intimate gathering in downtown Durham with a small crowd and brief outdoor remarks on a cold afternoon. But the visit was covered across the local news as the president and vice president have to make the case for why they deserve another four years. Harris also met with more than seventy energized young Democrats who will be working to get out the vote this year. Trump at a rally in Greensboro the Saturday before Super Tuesday Crowds of Trump supporters lined up to see him speak in Greensboro on March 2 At the same time, Trump also made his way to the all-important state on Saturday where he held a rally in Greensboro before the primary. Thousands of fans waited in line hours ahead of the presidents remarks. Trump vowed to win North Carolina again come November. What could be unique to the state is how in a Biden-Trump rematch, down ballot races could energize some to get out and vote even if there is less enthusiasm for the top of the ticket. In the race for governor, Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein will face off against Trump- endorsed Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, a conservative firebrand whose offensive remarks have raising questions over whether he can build the necessary coalition to win a general election. He is the type of extremist candidate who struggled during the general election in 2022, but now it is a presidential election year. The race between Robinson and Stein is expected to be one of the most contentious governor races in the country with a major impact on policy in the state from abortion rights to education. But North Carolina is purple in a way where its voters could split tickets, and nearly anything is possible. Stein being on the ballot had the potential to help Biden. There is also the possibility of another year mirroring 2020 where Trump wins but a Democratic governor is elected. A third option: Trump helps his MAGA loyalist Robinson get across the finish line in the Tar Heel State. The North Carolina governor race between Democrat Josh Stein and Republican Mark Robinson is expected to be one of the most competitive races in the country Chatting with voters in Nash County where Biden won by less than half a point in 2020 even as Trump carried the state, DailyMail.com found members of both parties showing up for Super Tuesday. Jeff, 57, and his wife Quanla, 54, both voted for Biden. He said his biggest concern was the divisiveness in the U.S. right now. He believes Biden is the candidate to unite Americans. I'm still impressed with him, Quanla said. She appreciated his fight to address student loans and protect voting rights. Some other residents in the small community of Dortches would disagree. Republican Michael Hedrick, 72, came out for Trump saying everything was good when he was in office. His opinion of Biden: I think he sucks. Primary turnout in the county hit 27 percent. Biden had 88 percent in his primary. Trump saw 84 percent in his. But overall, less than 19,000 people voted. A serial killer so dangerous he is locked in a bulletproof glass dungeon under one of Britain's maximum security jails will never show remorse for his sick crimes, his brother has revealed. Robert Maudsley, 70, has been in solitary confinement in a specially-built glass cell since 1983 after killing three people in prison while serving a life sentence for murder. The twisted killer is kept in the underground box, measuring 18ft by 14ft, for 23 hours a day, in the basement of Wakefield Prison. Maudsley was also given the nickname 'Hannibal the Cannibal' following false reports that he ate one of his victims' brains. He is guarded by four prison officers whenever he leaves his cell and holds the world record for most consecutive days in solitary. His brother Kevin told MailOnline that the killer is 'happy' behind bars and will never apologise for his crimes because 'they were all paedophiles'. He added: 'The visits give him something to live for. He's just used to it.' Robert Maudsley (pictured), 68, is being held in a private underground cell beneath the general population of HMP Wakefield, after killing four men between 1974 and 1978 Maudsley, seen as a child, is serving four life sentences in his glass cell which measures 18ft by 14ft Maudsley has told family members he is 'happy' alone and does not want to be moved to less punishing conditions. Kevin, 71, visits his brother once a month and sits in an adjoining cell, talking through metal bars. He said: 'He's settled in - he wouldn't want to move. 'He'd rather be on his own than in the normal prison. He just likes it. 'I have visits. He's in one and we're in another, with bars. 'He seems happy enough in there. 'He seems alright, we have a good laugh. He seems happy enough in there. He seems alright, we have a good laugh. Kevin Maudsley 'We just talk about things like outside - what's it like, what's going on, things like that.' The violent prisoner has only been pictured once since his incarceration after being filmed for a documentary on him more than 40 years ago. His brother's comments are in stark contrast to the battle the inmate has waged against the prison authorities in an effort to move him into better conditions. In letters more than 20 years ago, he wrote: 'The prison authorities see me as a problem, and their solution has been to put me into solitary confinement and throw away the key, to bury me alive in a concrete coffin. 'It does not matter to them whether I am mad or bad. They do not know the answer and they do not care just so long as I am kept out of sight and out of mind. 'I am left to stagnate, vegetate and to regress; left to confront my solitary head-on with people who have eyes but don't see and who have ears but don't hear, who have mouths but don't speak. 'My life in solitary is one long period of unbroken depression.' In 2021, he lost an appeal to spend Christmas with other people and was told that he will be incarcerated in his cell until he dies. A year later, a Channel 5 documentary revealed the serial killer had told his nephew he vowed to kill again if he was released. Maudsley's (pictured) brother Paul said he was 'happy' living in his glass cell underneath HMP Wakefield At HMP Wakefield last week, paedophile murderer Roy Whiting, 65, was stabbed by another prisoner Maudsley's nephew Gavin (pictured) told a documentary that he often visits the killer at Wakefield prison Maudsley's two-room cell is constructed from Perspex and has compressed cardboard furniture. The sadistic killer spends every day in the Hannibal Lecter-style cell, sleeping on a concrete slab and using a toilet and sink which are bolted to the floor. Like his namesake, in the 1991 Hollywood blockbuster Silence of the Lambs, guards who have met Maudsley describe him as exceptionally intelligent, with a love of classical music, poetry and art. Kevin, who is the only person to visit Maudsley alongside said his brother Paul and nephew Gavin, said he whiles away the days reading books on chess, and then playing against himself. He said: 'He's more into his chess. He has books on it - he just reads books about chess. That's how he is now. 'He has his hour outside and then he goes back in. 'He plays against himself. I don't really know how he does it. 'He can go to the gym but he can't do anything because his knees are going.' Maudsley was born in Toxteth, Liverpool in 1953 and was the forth child of a local lorry driver. But he had an unhappy start to life and was taken into care at a young age with his two brothers and sister after they were found to be victims of 'parental neglect'. After several years in care, Maudsley and his siblings went back to live with his parents but there they were beaten severely and suffered 'physical abuse', his brother said. During his last murder trial in 1979, the court heard that during his violent rages Maudsley believed his victims were his parents. He said: 'When I kill, I think I have my parents in mind. If I had killed my parents in 1970, none of these people need have died. If I had killed them, then I would be walking around as a free man without a care in the world.' Maudsley committed his first murder in 1974, at 21, after running away to London to work as a male prostitute as as a 16-year-old. He brutally murdered paedophile John Farrell in Wood Green, after he showed pictures of children he had sexually abused. Following the slaying, he handed himself in to police and immediately confessed his crime. Maudsley was sent to Broadmoor Hospital, home to some of Britain's most violent criminals after he was deemed unfit to stand trial. Retired prison officer Neil Samworth has revealed why he thinks Maudsley (pictured) should no longer be kept in solitary confinement Maudsley (pictured) was last pictured more than 40 years ago for a documentary on his life in prison Maudsley was sent to HMP Wakefield (pictured) - nicknamed 'Monster Mansion' - after being convicted of manslaughter At Broadmoor he was a 'model' prisoner until 1977 when he and fellow prisoner David Cheeseman locked themselves in a cell with child molester David Francis. After a gruesome nine-hour torture ordeal, the callous pair dangled Francis's lifeless body for prison guards to see. According to one guard, the man was discovered with his head 'cracked open like a boiled egg' with a spoon hanging out of it and part of the brain missing. Maudsley was then sent to HMP Wakefield - nicknamed 'Monster Mansion' - after being convicted of manslaughter. At Wakefield in 1978 Maudsley strangled and stabbed Salney Darwood, 46, who had been jailed for killing his wife. He hid Darwood's body under bed before sneaking into the cell of paedophile Bill Roberts, 56, who had sexually abused a girl aged seven. He stabbed Roberts, hacked his skull with a makeshift dagger and smashed his head against a wall. It was only then that the brutal 'Hannibal' killer was sentenced to life imprisonment. In 2000, Maudsley launched a legal bid to the courts requesting to be allowed to die. He wrote a letter asking: 'What purpose is served by keeping me locked up 23 hours a day? 'Why even bother to feed me and to give me one hour's exercise a day? Who actually am I a risk to?' In the letter he described that his current treatment and confinement had led him to look forward to a 'psychological breakdown,' mental illness and 'probable suicide'. Maudsley is kept separated from other inmates inside Wakefield (pictured) after he killed three people while serving a sentence for murder HMP Wakefield (pictured) holds some of Britain's most dangerous killers and notorious inmates He went on to question why he couldn't have a pet budgie, promising to love it and 'not eat it'. Also questioning why he couldn't have a television to 'seen the world' and educate himself or music tapes. He ended the letter saying: 'If the Prison Service says no then I ask for a simple cyanide capsule which I shall willingly take and the problem of Robert John Maudsley can easily and swiftly be resolved.' Despite his depraved crimes, a veteran prison officer who has guarded some of Britain's most dangerous men told MailOnline that Maudsley should be moved out of solitary. Neil Samworth, who served at HMP Strangeways in Manchester for more than a decade, said: 'I think its wrong the way he has been treated. He is in total isolation and is not fair. He added: 'I think his crimes are historic now and he represents no real danger to others. It's a bit like Charlie Bronson. 'Yes, he has had lots of fights in the past but he is an old man now.' Travellers returning to pitch their caravans at a gypsy site marred by the brutal killing of PC Andrew Harper have lashed out at the cop's grieving mother. Debbie Adlam, 56, was left in disbelief this week when West Berkshire Council approved a multimillion-pound revamp of the gypsy camp linked to her son's death. Yet travellers backing the plan said the Council simply had to return the land to them and that if Debbie wanted a memorial to her son, she should have the road closed where his corpse was found. Speaking out in support of the hugely controversial plan, one traveller said the Council was 'duty bound' to offer the land back to their community. Another traveller said: 'As for PC Harper his death did not happen on the site, so maybe they should close the road where he did die in his memory'. PC Andrew Harper was killed four weeks after he got married, by Henry Long, Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers (pictured, with his wife Lissie on their wedding day) Debbie Adlam (left) accused the council of showing 'no respect' to her son's memory over the plans for the gypsy site (right PC Harper) The Four Houses Corner caravan site has been left derelict but West Berkshire Council wants to spend 3.5m revamping it In 2019, police officer Andrew Harper, 28, had only been married for a month when he tried to stop three teenage boys from stealing a quad bike in Stanford Dingley, West Berkshire. As he chased them, he unintentionally stepped into the loop of a tow-rope attached to the back of the criminals' car. As they sped off, it lassoed his feet and he was dragged by the boys along a mile of country lanes, swinging from side to side as almost all of his clothes were ripped from his body. The horrific journey lasted 91 seconds and by the time he came free, PC Harper's body was almost naked and so severely battered that one of the people who found him initially thought he was a deer carcass. His callous teenage killers Henry Long, Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole fled to the Four Houses Corner Gypsy and Traveller site near Ufton Nervet, where they hid, destroyed evidence and were later arrested. In 2020, the camp was abandoned and the travellers given council homes nearby. Last month, Debbie told MailOnline the plan to reopen the site was 'insulting' and a 'totally disgusting' thought. She also said she was worried that it would only be a 'handful' of years until her son's killers are released from jail and she could run into them in the local area. However, travellers who used to live at the site have dismissed her worries. One said: 'A community has been scattered all the way around Burghfield and Mortimer. 'This site needs to be open as soon as possible as they have been waiting for so many years now in a [temporary] accommodation and wasting the Council's money by keeping them in the houses. Henry Long (left), Jessie Cole (centre) and Albert Bowers (right), were jailed over PC Harper's death. They were found not guilty of murder in a verdict that shocked the nation PC Harper's monstrous killers Albert Bowers (left) and Jessie Cole (right), smiling as they are led away in handcuffs Long, Cole and Bowers were arrested at the site (pictured) in Ufton Nervet, Reading, in 2019 'All they want is to be back as a close community, and as for PC Harper his death did not happen on the site, so maybe they should close the road where he did die in his memory.' Another added: 'West Berkshire Council [is] duty bound to provide Travellers pitches to the Gypsy and Travelling community who are legally recognised as an ethnic minority. 'West Berkshire Council housed tenants from this site in preference to others who were also in need of housing. 'The tenants of this site would willingly be repatriated.' In a meeting to decide the outcome of the planning application on Wednesday, March 6, the Council summarised support for the plan as being that 'the Gypsy community [has] suffered enough'. The Council said: 'The council is acutely aware of past dreadful events on the site, but these are not material reasons for preventing reoccupation, that those returning are not in any way guilty of the manslaughter of PC Andrew Harper and that disallowing reoccupation would be the equivalent of preventing people reoccupying authority housing due crimes committed in an area.' West Berkshire Council's planning officers said: '[We] recognise the tragic events of a few years ago surrounding the death of PC Harper that are public knowledge and have been raised in objection to this applicant. 'We would like to express our deepest sympathies for all of those attending who were affected by that tragedy. While recognising that tragedy, the purpose of this meeting is to examine the planning merits of the application.' Bill Bagnal, the project manager and applicant for the site's refurbishment, said the plan was also a 'reasonable balance between cost and need'. He said there was a 'legal right' to return to the site that had a 40-year history of use by travellers. Mr Bagnall said the revival 'provides an opportunity for a fresh start and maximises the ability to have the site reoccupied in a tidy, safe and thoughtful manner'. Earlier this year, the council was set to approve the plan before Debbie pleaded with them to think again, and later Thames Valley Police objected. After the Mail's exclusive, objections to the revamp flooded in, with one person living in the area calling it a 'kick in the teeth to PC Harper's family and to his widow'. Out of 51 comments, 47 objected the plan, two were neutral and two supported it. During the planning application meeting last Wednesday, Conservative councillor Graham Bridgman said the site had previously been a 'hotbed of criminality'. West Berkshire Council's plan proposes building 17 gypsy pitches with space for two caravans each, car parking and a 30 sqm amenity building with a kitchen, dayroom and bathroom (pictured, a graphic design of the revamped site) Designs show amenity buildings on the revamped gypsy site near Reading that will cost 3.5m to carry out Pictured: The Travellers' camp near the scene of the killing in Berkshire before it became derelict Locals said the site became a 'no-go area for the police' when it was last in use. Despite all this, the council approved the application. It is believed that 15 of the 17 original families living there have indicated they will return to the refurbished site once it is ready. How can the traveller site reopening be prevented? Although West Berkshire Council has given the green light to the 3million revamp of the traveller site, there is still a way the application could be denied. As Secretary of State for Housing, Michael Gove has the ability to 'call in' the decision. This would mean the Government would take the decision out of West Berkshire Council's hands and reassess it on 'public decency' grounds. Mr Gove has three weeks from March 6 to prevent the application from going ahead. Advertisement West Berkshire gave permission to build 17 pitches at the camp with space for two caravans each, car parking and a 30 sqm amenity building with a kitchen, dayroom and bathroom. The site will also have a sewage treatment plant and a children's play area. Previously, the site only accommodated for 18 single pitches. It means the new site will have the ability to house close to double the number of gypsies and travellers. PC Harper's old colleagues at Thames Valley Police strongly objected and called his killers 'murderers', even though they were found guilty of manslaughter and cleared of murder. The force said: 'This is connected to the ongoing serious historic concerns with the policing of the site in the past and the use of police resources in investigating criminal offences at the site. 'This culminated in the murderers of PC Harper being associated with the site in 2019.' Locals were also left infuriated by the Council's decision. Conservative opposition leader Ross MacKinnon represents residents living opposite the traveller site, in the Bradfield ward. He told MailOnline: 'The council is not listening to the local community. 'Residents [have] concerns about crime intimidation and disorder. 'I don't believe anyone from the site ever helped the police with their investigation. 'A lot of residents feel people are being rewarded for antisocial behaviour or worse.' Debbie described her beloved son as a 'good lad' who always looked out for everyone Pictured: The pair together Pictured: PC Harper with his mum Debbie who says West Berkshire Council's plans for a revamped traveller site are 'insulting' to her family PC Harper's widow Lissie (pictured) successfully campaigned for Harper's Law, which means that criminals who kill frontline emergency workers will receive mandatory life sentences He added: 'The nature of Thames Valley Police's objection is remarkable. I have never seen it happen before. 'The police have outright said they will not be able to police this site. 'It's an outrage. 'There's nothing to stop the council listening to public opinion for once.' However, Cllr MacKinnon said the plan could yet be stopped by an intervention by Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Housing and Planning. The councillor said: 'The Secretary of State [Michael Gove] has indicated that he may call this in and I hope that he does.' Cllr MacKinnon said a 'call in' would mean the Government took the decision out of West Berkshire Council's hands and reassessed it on 'public decency' grounds. Mr Gove has three weeks from March 6 to prevent the application from going ahead. Councillor Denise Gaines, Executive Member for Housing at West Berkshire Council, said: 'This is an important site for us to deliver much-needed traveller accommodation and ensure we meet our legal obligations. 'Living in a largely rural district, it is difficult to find suitable land for travellers and in this respect Four Houses Corner is an important site for us. I'm pleased that [the Eastern Area Planning Committee] has approved proposals and that, subject to the Secreatry of State, we can move ahead to deliver these improvements. 'We are, of course, acutely aware of the history of the site and have heard the concerns raised through the planning process. So long as proposals meet best practice and policy, we effectively had no choice but to redevelop the site as suitable alternative sites do not exist. We will continue to keep the local community updated about our plans and to provide reassurance about how we will be managing the site in the future. 'We see this as an opportunity to re-set relations and despite the tragic past, deliver and manage a site as an exemplar of what a traveller site can be.' The teenage son of a burly tradie who shackled Aboriginal children together with cable ties because he caught them trespassing has defended his dad and lashed out at efforts to buy the kids a pool as 'rewarding trespassing'. Matej Radelic, 45, was charged with three counts of aggravated assault on Tuesday after a disturbing video was uploaded to Facebook showing three kids crying for their mum outside a property at Cable Beach in Broome, Western Australia. The children had jumped the fence of the vacant property to swim in the pool before Radelic, whose parents own the home, caught them and performed the bizarre citizens' arrest. In the video, which sparked national uproar, the kids' mother Rowena could be heard crying while asking Radelic to release Margaret, six, Stuart, seven, and another boy, eight, as he stood over them and refused to let them go until police arrived. Now, Radelic's tradie son Luka has hit back with a social media video showing the same property with broken windows, along with the message: This is NOT an issue of race. Its an issue of crime.' Luka - who works in air conditioning installation, like his father - also lashed out at community fundraising efforts to give the children their own pool. Pictured: Luka Radelic, the son of a tradie who bound Aboriginal kids together with cable ties Pictured: Matej Radelic with two kids, Margaret and Stuart, tied together in his parents' driveway He posted a screenshot of a community campaign's purchase of a backyard pool set up for the kids up with the caption: 'Rewarding trespassing?' Luka also shared pictures of various broken windows at the family's home and wrote: 'Six times. Thousands of dollars in damage. We didn't need this.' It appeared as though a brick had been thrown through the glass sliding door. 'Why does anyone feel the need to do this?' he asked. He then suggested local vandals would use 'bricks pulled from paving, helmets, metal bottles, anything they could find' to destroy property. 'This is NOT an issue of race. It's an issue of crime. Thanks media,' he wrote. His father said earlier this week that the situation was not racially motivated and said he regrets his actions. Luka's video appeared to have been compiled with older footage. The vacant property appeared to be intact when Daily Mail Australia visited on Friday. Pictured: A screenshot of a social media post by Luka Radelic, who suggested a community fundraiser for the kids was 'rewarding trespassing Pictured: Matej Radelic standing in front of broken glass at the same property Luka Radelic defended his dad's actions on social media, saying the incident was about crime, rather than race Members of the local indigenous community saw Radelic senior's actions as an act of racism. The tradie denied that, telling media the incident was not racially motivated and that he regretted how the situation had unfolded. An Indigenous group on Facebook was outraged by Luka's video, noting the children had not been accused of damaging property. 'Luka Radelic decided to post his stories and gave us a "special mention",' the Facebook post said. 'The man ... that kidnapped the children and type them with cable ties, [his son] believes that this is acceptable.' 'Holding children against their will and tying them up with cable ties is not OK.' Whimpering and frightened, the children were bound with the cable ties after being caught swimming in the pool Everyone in Broome who Daily Mail Australia spoke to acknowledged the high crime rate, but the children's relative Roberta Cox said Margaret and Stuart don't partake in acts of vandalism. 'They don't steal or anything, they just wanted to swim in the pool,' she said. Ms Cox was on the scene at the time of the incident and called the police. She said the kids are 'traumatised' and that Radelic could have dealt with the situation very differently. 'The cable ties were too tight and I could see that - one was bleeding and they were crying,' she said. Radelic was charged and has been granted bail to appear in Broome Magistrates Court on March 25. The Senate passed a $460 billion spending bill, teeing up President Joe Biden to sign the massive package into law to narrowly avoid a government shutdown. After a late night for lawmakers at the State of the Union, the Senate passed the funding package 75 to 22. Now, the package will head to Joe Biden's desk, where he is expected to sign it into law to keep the government's lights on. Had the bill not been passed, several federal agencies would have run out of money. The deal brought together funding for Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy-Water, Interior-Environment, Military Construction-VA and Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under one vote. The bill passed through the House 339-85 earlier this week, with 132 Republicans voting yes, 83 voting no, and all but two Democrats voting for it. Details of the package were released late Sunday, giving lawmakers under a week to ready through the 1,000+ page document. The spending plan only covers the first six agencies of government, which have a funding deadline of Friday. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was the architect behind the massive spending deal President Joe Biden is expected to sign the government funding bill into law this evening Members of the House's Freedom Caucus and like-minded senators decried the $12 billion and 605 pages of earmarks in the bill. The issue of earmarks came to a head on Friday as the Senate Republican conference was split the on the billions in additional spending. 'In 2010, the GOP rejected earmarksthe corrupting, special-interest currency long used to 'buy' votes in Congress for huge spending bills,' Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, exclusively told DailyMail.com in a statement Friday. 'The minibus is full of them: a classic Washington spending spree that does nothing to fix the Democrats border crisis.' 'Republicans should not reward Joe Biden for failure.' Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said earmarks are a vice for politicians. 'These earmarks are, you know, it's like cocaine,' he said, adding its as 'addictive as cocaine' for politicians. 'It's disappointing that Republicans are going along with Democrats on this spending bill,' Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., posted on X. 'They're going along with hundreds of earmarks.' 'This is a real step backwards, and I will oppose it with every fiber of my being.' House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good, R-Va., posted on X: 'It is not JUST the nearly 7000 earmarks for $13 billion, it is that these pork spending projects are used to buy votes for the bad bills that are plunging us trillions more into debt.' 'It is embarrassing for any Republican to defend it.' One Republican Senator gets 8 earmarks in the omnibus today. No one voted to add these and no one gets to vote to take these out. We have gone backwards 14 years, to before the 2010 Tea Party wave. The swamp is back to buying Republican votes for the omnibus with earmarks. pic.twitter.com/DTUOg2UTPv Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) March 6, 2024 More conservative Senators came out against the $12 billion for earmarks in the funding package, saying the conference should reinstate an earmark ban Many conservative members opposed the package as they did not see it as being fiscally responsible enough amid a growing $34.5 trillion national debt. Though Speaker Mike Johnson - who choreographed this funding approach - has touted that the deal makes 'deep cuts' to the EPA (10%), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) (7%) and FBI (6%). Most of the FBI cuts, however, are because last year now-retired Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., earmarked $600 million for a new FBI headquarters in Alabama. Other policy provisions in the bill would provide additional funding to the FAA to supervise the production of Boeing 737 Max aircrafts - after several alarming safety incidents in recent months - while another would prohibit U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve sales to China. Amtrak, the long beleaguered American railway operator, would also get an additional $2.4 billion in funding. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he was 'proud' of the product that will keep the 'government open without cuts or poison pill riders.' A Democrat memo summarizing the bill touted how the measure rejected GOP policies prohibiting 'the promotion or advancement of critical race theory and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) measures. The new funding details came after Congress passed a fourth short-term funding bill late last week, just one day before a government funding deadline. Another bunch of federal funding deadlines come March 22 for the six remaining government agencies, but Congress is expected to lump together those bills in one to two votes. The remaining six bills that need to be passed before March 22 are for the Departments of Defense, Financial Services, Homeland Security, Labor-HHS-Education, State-Foreign Operations and the Legislative Branch. A millionaire aristocrat once dubbed the 'First Lady of Lloyd's' has been ordered to face court after a five-year legal battle over plastic windows at two 19th-century lodges on her 395-acre estate. Lady Rona Delves Broughton, 84, fell foul of planning inspectors after builders installed eight double glazed UPVC frames at one of the Grade Two listed properties when their timber predecessors were destroyed in a fire in 2017. In 2019 Lady Delves Broughton was ordered to remove replacements from Avenue Lodge, which flanks the entrance to her family seat, 18th century Doddington Hall near Nantwich, Cheshire, and match them to its adjacent sister building, Lake Lodge. But instead the defiant widow whose late husband's father, Sir Henry 'Jock' Delves Broughton, was famously acquitted of the 1941 White Mischief murder of a wealthy earl in Kenya removed seven wooden windows at Lake Lodge and replaced them with UPVC frames matching those at Avenue Lodge. This week Lady Delves Broughton, whose address was given as a 14million townhouse in Kensington, west London, was due to face magistrates in Crewe charged with breaching a listed building enforcement notice. A millionaire aristocrat once dubbed the 'First Lady of Lloyd's' has been ordered to face court after a five-year legal battle over plastic windows at two 19th-century lodges Lady Rona Delves Broughton, 84, fell foul of planning inspectors after builders installed eight double glazed UPVC frames at one of the Grade Two listed properties Lady Delves Broughton, whose address was given as a 14million townhouse in Kensington, west London, will face magistrates in Crewe charged with breaching a listed building enforcement notice But the case was adjourned to allow her further time to replace the plastic windows with wooden ones. She faces unlimited fines and a criminal record if she fails to comply. Last night Lady Delves Broughton said she checked at the time of the installation of the plastic windows and the property 'was not listed with English Heritage and Cheshire Council'. She said the windows were for the benefit of her tenants, to make the lodges warmer and quieter. In 2021 Lady Broughton, right, appealed against the enforcement notice to the planning inspectorate saying Avenue Lodge was 'not of special architectural or historic interest'. But a planning inspector said it was 'an important building associated with the historical development of the wider estate'. As such, every effort should be made to conserve its 'historic windows' to preserve its 'aesthetic value'. Lady Delves Broughton said: 'All this took place during... lockdown but I gave up fighting and, as required, the new softwood single glazed windows are being made and waiting to be installed. 'So after considerable expense, we will end up with two almost uninhabitable properties.' The London borough of Tower Hamlets, once the preserve of the sort of salt-of-the-earth British working-class types portrayed in the BBCs 1950s drama Call The Midwife, is not a nice place to be any more. Especially if you are Jewish. Today, the streets are festooned with red, white, green and black Palestinian flags, which hang from lamp-posts alongside buildings daubed with crude graffiti attacking Israel even denying its right to exist. Yet, as the Mail discovered this week, most of the citizens of the borough, which has the highest proportion of Muslim residents in the UK, just get on with their daily lives. Women in burkas shop for vegetables on the busy boroughs main artery, Ben Jonson Road. And the local mosques, 47 of them at the last count, hosted thousands of worshippers at Friday prayers yesterday. Flags hang from lamp-posts in Ben Jonson Road in Stepney, Tower Hamlets At the town hall, the 45-strong council is dominated by male Bangladeshi Muslims. Many quit Labour for the Aspire Party formed five years ago by controversial borough mayor Lutfur Rahman, who loudly demands an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. According to one worried councillor, many officials are so politicised that they sport pro-Palestinian lanyards handed out to them by their trade unions. And Tower Hamlets is not an isolated case. What is happening in the borough dubbed Little Palestine has implications for all of Britain. It is a microcosm of the mayhem that has consumed our national politics following the murderous invasion of Israel by the Palestinian terror group Hamas on October 7 last year. Only yesterday Robin Simcox, the Governments counter-terrorism tsar claimed that pro-Palestine protesters are turning London into a no-go zone for Jews. A female Tower Hamlets councillor recently tried to play down the impact of the flags and other provocative paraphernalia by telling a British TV station that they are only in line with what people here believe about Palestine. Nevertheless, the flags give the appearance that one community has seized control and wants to make life difficult for everyone else. We feel they would like to see the back of us, one successful Jewish woman in her 40s, who lives in the area, told me this week. Anti-Semitism is being normalised here in Tower Hamlets. The majority seem to think this is perfectly all right. Jewish people in Tower Hamlets and elsewhere in London are now so frightened they are making plans to up sticks: either moving to another part of the capital, quitting London altogether or even leaving the country in search of a place of safety. The gravity of the crisis was highlighted a few days ago by Gideon Falter, chief executive of the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism. He predicted, in the Evening Standard newspaper, that half of Londons 145,000 Jews may uproot from their homes amid growing hostility towards them in the past five months. We are aware of people who have left the country, said Falter. It is the biggest untold story, the effect its having on Jewish families, this mass intimidation [after October 7]. The cumulative effect is devastating. He added: We have seen anti-Semitism skyrocket in British life. On our streets, campuses, workplaces, there is anti-Jewish vitriol. Children are being told to hide their blazer badges [on the way to school]. Synagogues are being guarded; kosher shops are being attacked. The majority of Jewish people are afraid to show their Jewishness in public. It is Britain succumbing to a racist mob. After October 7, Palestinian flags immediately sprang up all over Tower Hamlets. The vile graffiti appeared just as quickly. In November, a school walkout for Palestine orchestrated, it is thought, by the same Islamic and hard Left-wing agitators overseeing Londons weekly pro-Palestinian protests attracted the support of 300 children of all ages. They marched through the borough chanting and screaming: Israel is a terrorist state. Counter-extremism commissioner Robin Simcox on BBC1's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg Meanwhile, activists tied Palestinian flags to every entrance at Victoria Park, an oasis of greenery with a bandstand and lake. It just doesnt sit right with me, said one Jewish Tower Hamlets resident, who was interviewed at the time. It feels like one particular community is staking a claim and the whole area has changed. But things were soon to get worse. By early December, according to a response sent to one local resident, the council had received 355 complaints about the flags and related paraphernalia. It has refused to release any meaningful information about how it intends to deal with the regalia, claiming that to go public will endanger life. And many of the flags on the councils property have stayed put. A report last month by the Community Security Trust, which collects data on anti-Semitic crime, found there were 4,103 incidents of anti-Jewish hate in the UK last year an alarming two thirds coming soon after October 7 and 60 per cent in London. They happened so quickly after the Hamas attack that, according to the Trust, they were clearly a celebration of the terror groups actions rather than a reaction to the retaliatory ground offensive by Israel which began three weeks afterwards. When the Mail asked Tower Hamlet residents for their views on the flags via UK Lawyers For Israel and other Jewish groups, we received an avalanche of responses. Many were from non-Jews atheists and Christians among them who share the Jewish communitys fear of the pro-Palestinian fervour sweeping the borough. One, a 54-year-old data engineer called William, had this to say: I have been a Tower Hamlets resident for ten years and, until recently, found it pleasant and safe. However, the continued spread of these flags makes me feel I am living in a dystopian world where we all have to believe in one thing. The flags are obviously in support of Hamas . . . there were no flags put up when Russia invaded Ukraine or when the women protesters were murdered in Iran. From my own window, I can see three flags. I am having others ideological beliefs projected into my personal space. But when William, an atheist, contacted the police, he was told incredibly that the antagonistic flags were a litter issue and, as such, something for the council to deal with. They advised me against getting a fruit-picker to take them down myself. Yet there are 130 within 500 metres of my home. I am neither Jewish or Muslim, but I grew up in Belfast, and I know flags are there to intimidate and create boundaries. We received still more alarming accounts from Jewish people. One mother in her early 50s, who we will call Miriam (all the names of Tower Hamlets residents in this article have been changed at their request because they are afraid for their safety), says she is planning to move out. I am the mother of a boy who goes to primary school in the borough, she says. We have lived here for four years but we are leaving, even to go abroad, before he goes to secondary. When the Mail asked Tower Hamlet residents for their views on the flags, we received an avalanche of responses This week, 11 flags hung outside his school. There is graffiti calling for a boycott on apartheid Israel on a wall nearby. Her son is the only Jewish child in his class. Many of the others are of Muslim Bangladeshi heritage and from a community with radical tendencies. It was this area that produced the three so-called Jihadi brides, including schoolgirl Shamima Begum, who ran away with two friends to join ISIS. The other pupils ask my son if he supports Israel or Palestine. When he says Israel, the others get upset or cross with him, adds the mother, who is a writer. I was naive to move to Tower Hamlets but my grandfather grew up here in the East End during the 1920s and I thought I was returning to family roots. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are now fewer than 1,400 Jewish people in the borough, which has a population of 341,000, a third of Bangladeshi birth or background. Miriam has become worried about openly wearing her Star of David necklace and admits she watches over her shoulder when she walks back home at night from the station to her house near Ben Jonson Road. It is difficult for my son at school. I no longer feel I belong in Tower Hamlets. There is one dominant community and I, as a Jew, dont fit in. These are tragic words, not only for members of our British Jewish population, but for the country. Another distressing testimony from Tower Hamlets came from an NHS doctor, aged 44, who lives close to a Church of England primary school. For almost three weeks following the October 7 massacre, he fought the council, with the help of Jewish groups, to get vile anti-Semitic graffiti saying, Israel=Scum, scrubbed off a wall nearby where pupils could see it. Can you imagine if it had said Women are scum? asks the doctor. How long would it have lasted? In Tower Hamlets, blatant anti-Semitism is being normalised. I grew up in Finchley, North London, with a big Jewish community, many of them still my friends. Some, he pointed out, were scared, living under the radar and afraid to speak out. At his hospital, in another part of London, medics with obviously Jewish names have, since October 7, turned over their badges so their religion cannot be identified by patients: How has it come to this? He explained: The lamp-posts where the flags still fly are paid for by council taxpayers in Tower Hamlets. My view is that public property is being hijacked for political purposes. Angela, a 58-year-old Jewish woman, would agree. She runs an internet agency, while her partner owns a flooring company near the borough. They are planning to emigrate to Spain, keeping a bolt hole in London because she has two grown-up children who she wants to return to visit. The Tower Hamlets flags are just a manifestation in micro form of what the country can expect in the future. It is oppressive, unnecessary, and uncomfortable to view. Try putting up an Israeli flag, even in Golders Green or Hendon, and see what happens. I have no links to people who live in Tower Hamlets any more. And take Shelley, 47, who teaches arts and crafts at a Tower Hamlets adult education centre. She is a true East Ender, born and bred, and although an atheist has Jewish blood, and relatives caught up in the Israel crisis. Describing herself as a bit of a fighter, she tears down the pro-Palestine and anti-Semitic posters when she walks through the streets from her flat to work. One day a month ago, she was taunted by a group of teenage Asian boys who believed she was Jewish. They shouted Free Palestine at her. On another occasion in February, she came across a gathering organised by the Socialist Workers Party at St Pauls Church in the borough. It was going to be held later in the evening. I saw that the adverts for it at the church said: Lebanon, Yemen, Egypt, and Jordan can the Arab masses free Palestine? She confronted an official, who was preparing to host the event, asking: Why is this happening in a church? Why are you letting anti-Semites come in here? But she was hustled out on to the pavement. Another worried local resident is software designer James, married with two children, who says he is furious at the recent intimidation and violence towards Jewish people in London. The 40-year-old Christian lives in the heart of the borough in Poplar and says he is surrounded by flags. They have clearly been put up by people who believe they speak for the residents of Tower Hamlets, he told me. Due to the councils lack of action, I have gone out several times and removed them from lamp-posts in my area. Some were put back up. I removed them again. I have tried taking down those a bit further afield, but it is very risky because specialist equipment is needed and it is hard to not look suspicious when travelling around with it. Perhaps he should take advice from the experts. The Mail has discovered a pro-Palestinian social media site which advises users in Tower Hamlets, and other hotbeds of anti-Semitic activists, how to buy a Palestinian flag and secretly hang it from a lamp-post using a ladder. Entitled Flags for Palestine, the sites headline blurb says: Show your support for the struggle by raising the flag. It goes on to instruct volunteers to work in a team of four, use a telescopic ladder to attach the flag (which should be 150 x 90cm) to the lamp-post out of reach using two zip ties. Usefully, it advises exactly where to buy the necessary equipment. The site adds: Choose a date and time for your operation. Midnight onwards is strongly advised. Select a meeting point and choose at least five major locations in your area for the placements. It instructs that one of the team must act as lookout, adding: The flag should be put at a minimum of 12 foot (double your height). At one stage, it tells readers to video the event after Fajr (an Arabic word for dawn) and post it online to encourage others. Revealingly, it adds: Choose lamp-posts owned by the council as they are less likely to be taken down. All this is very depressing for a Britain increasingly riven by sectarianism one in which a growing number of British Jews are being hounded out by vile, anti-Semitic mobsters. When presenter Zoe Ball's mother was diagnosed with cancer, she did what any loving daughter would do worked out how she could restructure her own life to offer support. In her case, that involved telling the bosses of her Radio 2 breakfast show that there would be times where she would have to hand over the reins to someone else. She then informed her fans on Instagram that her family was facing 'tough times', praising her 'brave' mother Julia, who is going through chemo, and thanking Gaby Roslin for agreeing to step in. 'I'm trying to be at work on breakfast as often as I can but occasionally need to be at home with my Mama. Thanks to Gaby for stepping in,' she wrote. Those whose family members have been through serious illness will understand her agony. However important (or public) the career, family will always come first. Zoe and her mum seem particularly close, enjoying holidays together, and when Zoe's children Woody, 24, and Nelly, 14, were younger, she helped with childcare. When presenter Zoe Ball 's mother was diagnosed with cancer , she did what any loving daughter would do worked out how she could restructure her own life to offer support. Pictured here with her mother, Julia, in 2010 Julia only came back into Zoe life when she was entering adulthood Physically, they share similarities too. Both have tall, rangy frames, elfin features and high cheekbones. While Julia never had the profile her famous daughter now has, she does know a little about being in the public eye. In the late 60s, a life-sized cardboard cut-out of her was to be found in chemist shops, thanks to a modelling contract with Kodak. Zoe and her mum were not always close, however. And a cardboard version of her mum, should any have still been on show in the early 70s, would have been the closest the young Zoe got to see her. For 14 years they were estranged, which makes Zoe's sacrifice now all the more noteworthy. Zoe was just two when Julia, then 21, walked out on the family, leaving her dad, the children's TV presenter Johnny Ball, to bring up their daughter. From the age of five until her late teens, Zoe didn't see her mum. Even when old enough to make the decision for herself, she declined to let her mum into her life. 'I had always been a complete Daddy's girl, so there was no question who I'd stay with,' she once said in an interview, explaining that when her father remarried (when Zoe was six) his new wife Di brought Zoe up as her own. Two half-brothers followed. 'Dad was always really cool about me seeing Mum if I wanted to,' she said. 'But although she sent birthday cards and presents, I never responded. Mum was around, and I knew she was there. But she had her life, and I had mine.' Zoe has always said that she had a blissfully happy childhood. She refers to Di as 'Mumly', and has always credited her with being there for her. Zoe and her mother arriving at The Dorchester Hotel, London, Britain Aug 2, 2011 for her birthday celebrations Her true mother came back into her life when she was entering adulthood. The rapprochement came when Julia married for the third time. Her new husband, Rick, invited Zoe to Julia's 40th birthday party. 'Your mum would love to see you,' he said. Zoe agreed. But on the day of the party, she was so nervous she almost changed her mind. 'I could hardly breathe,' she recalled in an interview with the Mirror in 1997. 'I felt faint but somehow managed to hold myself together.' She wasn't even sure which house belonged to her mum, but 'I spied some balloons tied to a gate and my heart started pounding like mad. I suddenly panicked: 'What if we hate each other?'.' It was her mum who answered the door and all hesitation was gone. 'Mum hadn't changed a bit, except she didn't seem quite so tall,' Zoe recalled. The pair fell into each other's arms. 'We spent such a lovely first day together . . . lots of crying and girlie emotion.' In the coming years, they would see each other all the time. Zoe once noted that if she needed any clarification of what she was doing, career-wise, she could consult her mum's cuttings collection. Obviously proud, Julia collected all manner of articles about Zoe's growing success. She started to come to her mum for boyfriend advice too, especially when she was considering whether to exit a relationship in her early 20s. 'She told me you know if something is right or not,' Zoe said. Mind you, she also harboured hopes Zoe would become romantically involved with fellow presenter Jamie Theakston, who lived on the same road as Julia and Rick. Alas, she was disappointed there. Taking to social media, Zoe shared a photo of her mother surrounded by family members Zoe Ball and her DJ husband Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, announced in 2016 that they had 'come to the end of our rainbow' after 18 years of marriage Ms Ball, 53, said she would be taking time away from Radio 2 to focus on her family Were there long heartfelt conversations about what had happened when Zoe was just a toddler? There must have been because in 2002 Zoe told an interviewer for The Independent: 'She was young, didn't want to be a mum, so legged it. I can understand that.' He also conceded that her youthful refusal to see her mum might have been down to the fear of being disappointed. 'I had this fantasy about her being a brilliant person, which I don't think I wanted to ruin by meeting her. I remembered her in a suede jacket with fur trim, and suede boots, terribly glamorous.' In 1999, Zoe's own life then rather wild, she was characterised as a 'ladette' by newspapers seemed to be settling down. She married DJ Norman 'Fatboy Slim' Cook, and their firstborn Woody arrived the following year. A difficult question arose: How do you behave as a mum yourself when the role model has been, quite literally, absent? Zoe has admitted her own path through motherhood has not been easy. 'I didn't like being pregnant . . . how it affected my lifestyle. I didn't like being fat and then, in the first few months after childbirth, I couldn't bear the lack of sleep.' She also suffered post-natal depression, and had a period when she seemed set on bowing out of family life. When Woody was two the age Zoe was when her mum left she ran off with DJ Dan Peppe. Norman said at the time: 'If you love someone you'll forgive them.' Zoe kept in contact with Woody throughout, and within three months was back home. Her father described Zoe's affair as 'a cry for help', and she acknowledged sharing traits with her mother. 'I had a history of being the kind of person who, the minute anything went wrong in my life, would run away,' she once said. Zoe and Norman split for good in 2016, and seven years ago her new partner, Billy Yates, took his own life after a battle with depression. She has since weathered the breakdown of a five-and-a-half year relationship with former construction worker Michael Reed. Her mum Julia has, by all accounts, been a rock throughout. Zoe's insistence on being there for her, now, is evidence that bridges have long since been mended. Topped with razor wire that glints menacingly in the desert sun, a 30ft steel fence runs along part of the vast U.S.-Mexican border, providing an imposing bulwark in Americas war against illegal immigration. But at a certain point, where the fence runs up against a rocky outcrop, there is a 4ft gap, loosely blocked with more razor wire. Predictably, it fails to discourage a steady stream of migrants, who simply step around the wire and enter the promised land. Asylum seekers walk into the U.S, where experts fear the arrivals could be a threat to security The gap is so well-known to the undocumented asylum seekers crossing from Mexico into a remote corner of southern California, 60 miles east of San Diego, that it has been christened the San Judas Break after a nearby Mexican town. One local aid worker claims to have witnessed 150 migrants pass through the break in less than a minute and thousands are said to use it every week. U.S. border agents are often on hand but they watch impassively as the migrants take the last few steps of their journey to a new life before waiting patiently to be taken into custody, processed and swiftly released free to stay in America, probably for years, until their asylum case comes up. This may sound like an all-too familiar scenario. But theres one crucial difference: many of those coming in at the San Judas Break have not been Latin American but Chinese. And given that most of the thousands of Chinese pouring into America are adult males of military age, this strange phenomenon is deeply worrying politicians, officials and security experts in Washington. They fear this may not be so much a migratory trend as an exercise in infiltration by Chinese citizens acting on direct orders from Americas greatest international adversary, the Chinese Communist Party. An adversary that has recently been accused of all manner of underhand operations in the U.S.: using spy balloons to target sensitive military bases and making suspicious purchases of nearby land, running a network of covert police stations across the U.S. and even intentionally flooding America with lethal drugs and malign social media. More than 37,000 Chinese citizens were arrested for illegally crossing the southern border of the U.S. in 2023, according to US Customs and Border Protection. That number is nearly ten times the total in 2022 and 50 times more than in 2021. Some Chinese are apparently making the long journey from China to America via Asia and Africa, but many more are flying directly to Ecuador, exploiting the fact it doesnt require them to have a visa, and then making their way overland to the U.S.-Mexico border. Under the Biden administration, whose reversal of Trumps tough immigration policies has been blamed for a huge surge in illegal migration, the number of U.S. Border Patrol encounters with Chinese illegal immigrants asylum seekers continues to grow. One of the migrants being processed by officials after crossing the border into the US Since the beginning of the U.S. governments fiscal year in October, the U.S. Border Patrol has already apprehended more than 21,000 Chinese migrants. In the key border sector south of San Diego, more Chinese are crossing than Mexicans. Many of these arrivals insist they are no different from any other asylum seekers fleeing joblessness and economic decline, and seeking political and religious freedoms. U.S. politicians and officials accept that this may well be the driving force for at least some of the migrants. However, they also fear Beijing is attempting to exploit the chaos on the border by sneaking in Chinese who will do its ruthless bidding once they have been allowed to settle in the U.S. by a hopelessly flawed immigration system. Given that both Democrat and Republican politicians have already expressed severe alarm about devious behaviour by Beijing in the U.S., many are unwilling to give the newcomers the benefit of the doubt. Im not saying China is going to invade the United States but, if we were to defend Taiwan, you have to think this is part of some plan or strategy youd be foolish not to, said Mark Green, Republican chairman of the House committee on Homeland Security, in Congress. His colleagues in the Senate warned last September that the influx posed a significant threat to national security and claimed not one of the Chinese asylum seekers had been detained for any length of time, despite some of them having links with the Chinese Communist Party and Peoples Liberation Army. More Chinese migrants clamber over rocks as they make their way into the country Donald Trump has said he believes Beijing has directed men of military age to infiltrate the U.S, while tough-talking Florida governor Ron DeSantis has described rocketing Chinese migrant numbers as not normal, adding: Our country is being invaded. Even Nikki Haley, the rather more restrained former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who this week bowed out of the battle for the Republican presidential nomination, has expressed disquiet. China knows the easiest way into America is through our southern border, she has said. Close the border. Protect our homeland. Concern is undoubtedly growing and was recently fuelled by Bret Weinstein, a controversial writer and evolutionary biologist, who reported encountering deeply suspicious signs of Chinese government involvement during a visit to the Darien Gap region on the Panama-Colombia border. Plagued by poisonous snakes, raging rivers and armed robbers, this notoriously dangerous jungle has become a bottleneck for migrants heading north. The Panamanian government has set up transit camps for them, including at least one specifically for Chinese citizens, said Weinstein. While he and his companions were permitted to enter other camps and film the occupants, they were denied entry to the Chinese one. Its inmates were mainly young men and, when Weinstein approached some as they ventured out to buy provisions, he found them wary and hostile. Its not a friendly migration, concluded Weinstein. He believes the Chinese may even be preparing for war: I have to wonder if this might not be a military force waiting for orders that is being deployed covertly in the midst of a migration that makes it hard for us to recognise it. Weinstein added: I think we have to stop punishing ourselves for considering things that once seemed crazy. And politicians arent the only people taking the issue very seriously: some national security experts are, too. Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, which represents rank-and-file Border Patrol agents, confirms that the majority of the Chinese border crossers are single adult males of military age. One immigrant is given a bowl of oatmeal by a volunteer as he waits to apply for asylum That is a very scary prospect, he said. We know that China does not like us, we know that we are in the crosshairs of China. At best, theyre just coming here for a better life or for a better job. At worst, theyre coming here [as] part of the Chinese government. Rebecca Grant, a national security analyst in Washington DC, told the Mail she considers the Chinese migrant numbers truly shocking, although she said it wasnt unusual for them to be disproportionately young men particularly given the rigours of the long journey they had undertaken from their homeland. Rather than engineering the migration wave itself, she believes it is more likely that Beijing is trying to slip its agents in among ordinary Chinese asylum seekers. Its got to be very tempting for any Chinese spymaster to see this flow [of migrants] and just join in, she said. Even if 95 per cent of these Chinese migrants are no worries, youve still got a real potential for a few to be up to no good. She added: We know that [Chinese President] Xi Jinping is sparing no effort to spy on, degrade and challenge the U.S. in every way. In espionage its always about getting your assets in why wouldnt they take advantage of this? What they could be taking advantage of, say experts, is the chaos of the U.S. immigration processing system and the difficulty the FBI has in checking the identity of undocumented migrants, who routinely destroy their passports so they cant be deported. And if they are hostile foreign agents, what could they do in the U.S.? Experts cite various covert activities, including espionage, coercion, counter-intelligence, cyber hacking and surveillance. If the two countries were to get involved in a war most likely if China invades independent Taiwan this list could be extended to include sabotage. What we know already is that the Chinese are seeking vulnerabilities in our infrastructure, whether thats power grid, cyber, you name it, said a national security analyst. We know they want to do things like watch take-offs and landings at military bases, we know they are seeking ways to infiltrate in cyberspace . . . so [the migrants] can very easily flow into any ongoing operations that China is already running in the U.S. While theres endless coverage nowadays of the damage that can be done by internet hackers, much of Americas infrastructure, such as dams and power grids, remains offline. So some of this still requires boots on the ground, the analyst added. Those boots may even end up being army boots. A new bill introduced in Congress last month and obviously fuelling the unease would allow undocumented migrants to serve in the U.S. military and so get U.S. citizenship in as little as 180 days. The most memorable recent example of Chinese penetration of U.S. territory was the giant high-altitude balloon that flew across North American airspace in early 2023. China insisted it was only a weather balloon blown off course but, after the U.S. shot it down as it drifted near a highly sensitive air force base in Montana, they discovered it was packed with spying equipment. Other intrusions have been more insidious. Chinese ownership of American farmland has soared 20-fold in a decade from 63 million in 2010 to 1.4 billion in 2020. Several Chinese firms have in recent years bought, or tried to buy, large plots of land near U.S. military bases. In one of the most notorious cases, the city of Grand Forks in sparsely populated North Dakota announced in 2021 that Chinese company Fufeng Group wanted to build a giant corn mill there on a vast muddy stretch of land. It was welcomed locally as a major economic development until sceptics pointed out the 370-acre plot happened to be only 12 miles from Grand Forks Air Force Base, home to some of Americas key intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. After more than a year of heated discussions, during which Fufeng vehemently denied claims its mill would be used for spying or sabotage operations, the U.S. Air Force announced the project presents a significant threat to national security and it was ended. Washingtons bipartisan suspicion of Chinese companies which under Chinese law are required to bow to the demands of the Beijing regime also extends to the online world. Half of all U.S. states have banned Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok from government devices. The app is used by more than two-thirds of U.S. teenagers. Critics also note that TikTok provides Chinese migrants with detailed instructions on where best to breach Americas southern border, including at the San Judas Break, even listing where to find food and the location of lavatories. Brendan Carr, a senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), told the Mail that TikTok was a very significant threat to the U.S. on various fronts. First, he said it posed a serious national security threat as, contrary to TikToks assurances, all the data collected on the platform is sent back to China and allegedly analysed by Communist Party operatives. Further, Mr Carr said TikTok allowed the Beijing regimes propaganda arm to covertly criticise U.S. politicians ahead of the 2022 mid-term elections and is a crucial tool in improving Chinas artificial intelligence capabilities. Meanwhile, Beijing is determined to get its hooks not only into Chinese companies but also into Chinese citizens living abroad. In 2022, the existence of a U.S.-wide network of covert Chinese police stations was revealed by the FBI. These very unofficial outposts including one hidden above a restaurant in Manhattans Chinatown have allegedly been collecting intelligence, investigating crimes against the Chinese state and intimidating expats. Beijing, say observers, is tightening its grip on nationals who have left the country, especially those with family in China. The U.S. prides itself on being a nation of immigrants. But as more and more Chinese nationals flood through its southern border, its not hard to see why these latest arrivals are finding America in a distinctly unwelcoming mood. A former Tory minister has accused the Government of 'deleting' vital data on the impact of immigration. Neil O'Brien MP said key information about the effects of immigration on Britain's welfare system, tax take, crime levels and prison system is either no longer being gathered or is being withheld. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has even stopped gathering basic details on how many foreign nationals are living in Britain, Mr O'Brien said. The MP, who previously served as a health and levelling up minister, said: 'Whatever you think about migration policy, the one thing most people can agree on is that we should try to improve the data available to policymakers. 'But that is not what's happening. Quite the reverse. 'Even the most basic data is missing. Neil O'Brien MP said key information about the effects of immigration on Britain's welfare system, tax take, crime levels and prison system is either no longer being gathered or is being withheld 'We just can't have a sensible conversation about migration if we keep deleting the data.' In a letter to Mr O'Brien, the ONS National Statistician Professor Sir Ian Diamond wrote that the agency was reviewing its methods as part of its 'transformation journey'. 'There is currently no provisional publication date for further population estimates by country of birth using new methods,' Sir Ian wrote, but the ONS aims to give an update on progress 'later in 2024'. In other areas, His Majesty's Revenue and Customs used to publish figures on the amount of tax paid by each nationality in the UK but that has now been 'discontinued', Mr O'Brien wrote in a blog. The Department for Work and Pensions has also stopped issuing data on welfare claims by nationality. Mr O'Brien said it was 'perfectly reasonable' to want data broken down by original nationality, and current nationality for migrants who may have taken British citizenship. 'However, officials don't want you to have that option,' he went on. 'I have not succeeded in finding out which minister (if any) signed off this data deletion.' On criminal justice, the Home Office does not gather information on arrests by nationality, he said. In a letter to Mr O'Brien, the ONS National Statistician Professor Sir Ian Diamond (pictured) wrote that the agency was reviewing its methods as part of its 'transformation journey' Nor will it 'answer questions on the immigration status of prisoners, such as - were they here legally'. Meanwhile the Ministry of Justice will not reveal how many foreign prisoners are repeat offenders. Mr O'Brien concluded: 'Number 10 and the Home Office should grip this and start a cross-Whitehall push to improve migration data and start joining it up.' A government spokesman for the DWP and HMRC said: 'We are reviewing possible data sources to enable us to report more accurately on benefit claimants' nationality in the future.' On ONS spokesman said: 'The ONS is transforming the way it produces population and migration statistics using the best available data. 'Our ambition is to produce a UK estimate of the non-UK born population that is comparable and consistent with both our admin-based estimates of international migration and our overall UK population estimates. 'We'll be providing an update on this important work later this year.' A major review of a visa which allowed more than 114,000 foreign students to remain in Britain last year has still not begun three months after it was announced by James Cleverly. The Home Secretary pledged to look again at the 'graduate visa' scheme when he unveiled a package of measures to cut legal migration on December 4. But the Home Office has confirmed the review has yet to be launched. Last week figures showed the scheme allowed 114,409 foreign students to extend their stay by two years after completing a course, up 57 per cent year on year. Mr Cleverly said the Government's official advisers on immigration policy would be commissioned to review the scheme. However, he has yet to write to the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to give them the go-ahead. The reason for the delay is unknown. The pledge was one of Mr Cleverly's main announcements in a series of initiatives to reduce record levels of migration. The Home Secretary, James Cleverly, pledged to look again at the 'graduate visa' scheme when he unveiled a package of measures to cut legal migration on December 4. But the Home Office has confirmed the review has yet to be launched. Last week figures showed the scheme allowed 114,409 foreign students to extend their stay by two years after completing a course, up 57 per cent year on year (File photo) A research briefing by the House of Commons, published last month, said: 'The Home Office was supposed to commission [MAC] to begin work on the graduate visa review in January 2024, although it had not yet done so at time of writing. The committee is expected to report in late 2024.' The graduate visa was introduced in 2021 and also allows the dependants of former students to remain for up to two years. Data shows Indian nationals were the largest group granted leave to remain under the scheme last year, with 50,053 successful applications. It comes as Office for National Statistics figures show net migration the difference between immigrants arriving in Britain long-term and those emigrating hit 745,000 in 2022. A Home Office spokesman said: 'The MAC will be commissioned in due course.' The latest figures show 150 small-boat migrants reached Britain on Thursday, marking the busiest period in the Channel since September. Between Sunday and Thursday there were 1,103 arrivals, with 401 on Monday alone. A former Tory minister has also accused the Government of 'deleting' vital data on the impact of immigration. Neil O'Brien said information about the effects of immigration on Britain's welfare system, tax take, crime levels and prison system is not being gathered or is being withheld. The Office for National Statistics has even stopped gathering details on how many foreign nationals are living in Britain, Mr O'Brien claimed. The MP, who served as a health and levelling up minister, said: 'We should try to improve the data available to policymakers. But... even the most basic data is missing.' An ONS spokesman said it was 'transforming the way it produces population and migration statistics using the best available data. We'll be providing an update on this important work later this year'. The company that once employed the depraved mother accused of a litany of child sex abuse charges said it is taking the accusations 'seriously.' Walquiria Cassini, 38, her son, Matthew, 20, and her boyfriend Ryan Londono, 42, were jailed this week, after police in Boca Raton, along with FBI agents, raided their home after a four month long investigation. Cassini is accused of sexually abusing two male children, the youngest of which is under ten, and charging online perverts a fee to watch. The abuse of the youngest child began when he was just five, the other when he was nine. According to case documents, the abuse was uploaded to a web server. The server, as well as Amazon, Microsoft, PayPal and Zelle, all cooperated with the investigation. Cassini wrote on her social media profiles that she is a 'licensed medical sonographer sub specialty - Male sexuality dysfunction. Urology girl.' At the time of her arrest, she was working for Massachusetts-based medical device company, Boston Scientific, as a senior field sales associate. She'd held the role since August 2022. A company spokesperson told DailyMail.com late Thursday that 'this individual is no longer a Boston Scientific employee.' 'We have been made aware of the news reports and take this matter very seriously,' they said. 'Our employees are expected to conduct themselves with integrity inside and outside the workplace. We have no further comments to share at this time.' Walquiria Cassini is charged with sexual assault on a victim under the age of 12, sexual assault by a custodian, criminal conspiracy and cruelty towards a child The 38-year-old Cassini worked as an ultra sound technician, lead sonographer for a number of different companies. She was working at Boston Scientific as a senior field associate, but company spokesperson told DailyMail.com late Thursday that 'this individual is no longer a Boston Scientific employee' A company spokesperson told DailyMail.com late Thursday said: 'We have been made aware of the news reports and take this matter very seriously. Our employees are expected to conduct themselves with integrity inside and outside the workplace. We have no further comments to share at this time' The mother's boyfriend, Ryan Londono, an IT professional, is facing similar charges. Judge Hafele did not issue a bond for the couple. Her son is not charged with livestreaming abuse but of sexual abusing the children. 'He's charged with actual intercourse with the child,' a prosecutor said in court. He shook his head in court as the charges were read out. Florida Judge Donald Hafele with 25 years on the bench was 'shocked' when the trio made their first appearance in court on Wednesday. According to the criminal complaint, during the raid police found various cameras and tripods that were used to record the abuse, authorities said. Cassini's lawyer argued in court that no actual videos have been recovered by investigators, reports WPBF. The judge countered by saying that on the day after the investigation, 33 videos were removed from an online platform. Cassini's mother and brother were in attendance in court. The WPBF report notes that the suspect was reduced to tears. Cassini is a native of Brazil and lists Boca Raton as her current hometown on Facebook profile. 'Darling, Im a nightmare, dressed like a daydream,' the suspect writes in the bio section of her Instagram page. The criminal complaint says that Cassini's username online was related to her working in erectile dysfunction. For the past 25 years, I've seen just about everything, so to shock the court's conscience is frankly a difficult proposition at this point in the court's career. The extent of this is probably never going to be known,' Judge Donald Hafele said Cassini is a native of Brazil and lists Boca Raton as her current hometown on Facebook profile On her Instagram, Cassini calls herself a 'nightmare, dressed like a daydream' Londono is a native of Boca Raton, according to his Facebook page. He is a business administration graduate from Florida Atlantic University Matthew Cassini shook his head as the charges of sexually abusing children were read out Online records show that Cassini has been in legal battles with the father of her children since at least 2020. In 2021, she sued him in order to evict him from her home. Londono is a native of Boca Raton, according to his Facebook page. He is a business administration graduate from Florida Atlantic University. On that profile, Londono writes that he is a technician at a company called Compass MSP, an IT management company. In November 2023, police were called to a home in Ocala, Florida, after two minor boys reported being abused while they were away from their family home over Thanksgiving. One boy said that the pair were pulled out of their beds separately to perform sex acts that included 'digital and object anal penetration' that occurred in front of a laptop. On December 1, one of the victims, a 14-year-old boy, told investigators that the abuse began when he was nine and ceased in November 2023. The names of who the boy lived with are redacted from the documents. It's not clear who the parents are. The people that they lived with were 'sexually' and 'physically' abusive, the boys said. The heavily redacted complaint features graphic descriptions of the acts allegedly perpetrated by Cassini and Londono, including penetrating the children with sex toys as a group watched online. On December 1, one of the victims, a 14-year-old boy, told investigators that the abuse began when he was nine and ceased in November 2023 Cassini's mother and brother were in court watching proceedings on Wednesday Another person, whose name is redacted, is accused of hitting the children, swearing at them and spitting on them. A man took one of the children's tables at one point, smashed it, and said that he 'hated' them. Regarding Cassini's son Matthew, one of the boys said: 'He always does stuff to me, he locks the door.' The director of National Outreach and Education at the Center for Child Counseling Cherie Benjoseph told WPBF in the wake of the charges: 'I hear about this every day of my life. The reality is that sexual abuse knows no bounds, and it can happen in the comfort of our own community.' Benjoseph added that one in 13 children reports sexual abuse before they turn 18 and that six percent of the time the perpetrator is a family member. Cassini is charged with sexual assault on a victim under the age of 12, sexual assault by a custodian, criminal conspiracy and cruelty towards a child. Londono is accused of sexual assault with battery on a victim under the age of 12, criminal conspiracy and cruelty to a child. Matthew Cassini is charged with sexual assault on a victim under the age of 12. The Defence Secretary has issued a 'wake-up call for the world' over Ukraine. In a video recorded in Kyiv, Grant Shapps introduced himself and appealed to the West to ensure Ukraine emerged victorious from the two-year conflict. In the slick piece to camera, with rusting tanks in a central square as the backdrop, Mr Shapps said: 'I'm the British Defence Secretary here in Kyiv to raise the alarm. 'Because what would it say if we allow a democratic country to be taken over by a dictator like (Vladimir) Putin? 'And what would it say about our values of freedom and democracy? And it doesn't have to be this way because we easily have the resources in the West if we have the will. So the message is simple. This is a wake-up call for the world. Let's make sure Ukraine wins this war.' In a video recorded in Kyiv, Grant Shapps introduced himself and appealed to the West to ensure Ukraine emerged victorious from the two-year conflict Mayor of Kyviv Vitali Klitschko pictured standing next to a high-rise building in the Dniprovskyi district damaged by a missile explosion His video came as the Mail received widespread backing for its call for the UK to increase defence spending. Sources close to Mr Shapps insist he also supports a rise to 2.5 per cent of GDP and that he lobbied the Chancellor for more investment before the Budget. But those backing the Don't Leave Britain Defenceless campaign say it is the UK Government which needs to 'wake up'. It came as Treasury minister Gareth Davies claimed he did not recognise the findings of a critical report on the MoD budget by MPs on the public accounts committee. He told Sky News yesterday: 'We have got, I think, over 50 billion being spent this year on defence, it was uplifted by 11 billion at the last spring budget. 'So money is going into our defences. But the nature of conflict has also changed in that we need technology and a different way of tackling conflict and being ready to do so.' Mr Shapps was in Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and to announce extra UK money for drones to target Putin's forces. Destroyed Russian military machinery and Ukrainian civilian vehicles pictured in front of the St. Mykhailivsky Cathedral in downtown Kyviv on March 5 2024 His video was released on his personal account on X. In his meeting with Mr Shapps, Mr Zelensky thanked the UK for its 'leadership' in supporting Ukraine and its people. The UK has pledged a further 125 million to supply Ukraine with drones. The investment, on top of 200 million already promised, will help deliver more than 10,000 unmanned aerial vehicles, including kamikaze drones and anti-shipping capabilities. Earlier this week, Ukraine's military intelligence agency said drones had been used to sink the Russian patrol ship Sergey Kotov, adding to the losses suffered by the vaunted Black Sea fleet. Mr Zelensky said he and Mr Shapps also discussed air defence and long-range strike capabilities 'as well as meeting other urgent needs for weapons and ammunition and developing joint weapon production'. A Google engineer who interrupted a tech conference in New York City to protest the company's partnership with the Israeli government has been fired. Video showed an unidentified man wearing an orange Google shirt disrupt a keynote speech from the managing director of Google Israel, Barak Regev, during the Mind the Tech conference on Monday. The conference, which is sponsored by the Israeli newspaper Calcalist, is centered on the global and Israeli high-tech industry. 'I'm a Google Cloud software engineer and I refuse to build technology that powers genocide, apartheid or surveillance,' the man said. 'Project Nimbus puts Palestinian community members in danger. I refuse to build technology.' An unidentified man wearing an orange Google shirt disrupted a speech from the managing director of Google Israel, Barak Regev, during the Mind the Tech conference on Monday A Google spokesperson confirmed to DailyMail.com that the engineer was fired for the disruption The Israeli government launched Project Nimbus in April 2021, which is a $1.2 billion contract with Google and Amazon to provide cloud services for the nations military and government. As the engineer was being escorted out he shouted, 'Dont cloud for apartheid. Dont tech for apartheid. Free Palestine.' Speaking anonymously, the protester told Hell Gate, 'I don't see any way forward to continue my engineering work without doing this.' 'I consider this a part of my engineering work, and I hope other engineers within Cloud see me do this, and I hope that it galvanizes them.' Israel launched a response after the October 7th Hamas terrorist attack that killed nearly 1,200 Israelis and saw over 240 people taken hostage. Over 30,000 Palestinians have been killed since then and the UN has warned the Gaza strip faces famine conditions. The UN said Israel has not helped as much as it could in getting food and medicine into the area, citing concerns the supplies will be taken by the Hamas terrorists they are fighting against. A Google spokesperson confirmed to DailyMail.com that the engineer was fired for the disruption. 'Earlier this week, an employee disrupted a coworker who was giving a presentation interfering with an official company-sponsored event,' the spokesperson said. 'This behavior is not okay, regardless of the issue, and the employee was terminated for violating our policies.' When Regev continued his speech after the interruption he said, 'Part of the privilege of working in a company, which represents democratic values is giving the stage for different opinions' Google has faced criticism for its relationship with Israel from both employees and the public When Regev continued his speech after the interruption he said, 'Part of the privilege of working in a company, which represents democratic values is giving the stage for different opinions.' However, the managing director of Google Israel ended his speech when a second protester disrupted his speech shouting 'Free Palestine,' video on social media showed. Google has faced criticism for its relationship with Israel from both employees and the public. Over 600 employees signed a letter demanding the company drop its sponsorship of the Mind the Tech conference, reported WIRED. When Project Nimbus was announced, hundreds of Google and Amazon employees published a letter saying, 'We cannot support our employers decision to supply the Israeli military and government technology that is used to harm Palestinians.' Accused mushroom killer Erin Patterson has hired one of Australia's most well known criminal defence lawyers as she fights multiple murder charges. Philip Dunn KC will represent Patterson, 49, as she prepares for a lengthy legal battle to defend herself on three charges of murder and five of attempted murder, The Australian reports. Patterson is accused of making a July 29, 2023 lunch at her Leongatha home that fatally poisoned her former parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Heather Wilkinson, 66, the aunt of estranged husband Simon Patterson. She is also accused of trying to kill Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson, who was at the lunch and became ill but survived, and also her estranged husband on four occasions. Over his 40-year law career Mr Dunn has defended figures such as gangland boss Carl Williams and Norman Lee, who was involved in Melbourne's The Great Bookie Robbery. Those cases and others Mr Dunn has worked on have been dramatised into hit books and television productions. Erin Patterson is seen returning to her Leongatha home on August 8, 2023, several weeks before she was hit with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder Melbourne lawyer Bill Doogue is acting as Patterson's solicitor and junior counsel is Sophie Stafford, who has previously worked as an associate to County Court of Victoria judge Michael O'Connell SC. Patterson was arrested on November 2 and appeared in court the following day. Well known and highly regarded lawyer Philip Dunn KC (pictured) will defend Patterson She has since been held on remand at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Melbourne's West. Simon Patterson and Ian Wilkinson, 70, are living in Korumburra, a short distance from Leongatha, where they attend the local Baptist church. Mr Wilkinson, a pastor, gave his first sermon since his recovery from the deadly lunch to a congregation at the church, in Victoria's South Gippsland region, on February 11. An emotional Mr Wilkinson described the preceding week as being 'pretty big', citing six months since the deaths of his wife and friends, his own 70th birthday and what would have been his 45th wedding anniversary. 'The ways are sometimes hard, but God is good. He's with us,' Mr Wilkinson told his congregation. 'He promised to never leave ... and I can say, that is true.' Mr Wilkinson spent almost two months in hospital critically ill from the alleged poisoning. Patterson has consistently denied any wrongdoing. A brief of evidence outlining the police case against Patterson will be finalised this month and her case will return to Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell in May. Don and Gail Patterson (left) died as did Heather Wilkson (right) while her husband Ian Wilkinson (right) spent two months in hospital Soldiers are taking up to a year to go through the recruitment process, it emerged yesterday. MPs branded the situation 'utter madness' and said 'Putin will be laughing'. Military sources said the situation was exacerbating a recruitment crisis and that, across some areas of the Armed Forces, it meant as many as three personnel were leaving for every new recruit. Capita runs recruiting on the Army's behalf under a 1.4billion contract that has been repeatedly criticised by MPs. In an evidence session with the Commons defence committee in January, senior Capita staff admitted that only 5,000 soldiers had been recruited by that point in 2023/24. This was despite having a target of 9,813 for the year. Military sources said the situation was exacerbating a recruitment crisis and that, across some areas of the Armed Forces, it meant as many as three personnel were leaving for every new recruit (File Photo) MPs branded the situation 'utter madness' and said ' Putin will be laughing' Labour's John Spellar, who sits on the committee, said MPs have since been informed that it was taking up to 12 months to recruit some soldiers. He said: 'It's a complete mess. Aside from missing the targets, the process is taking far too long. 'And motivated people aren't going to sit around for months, they say 'I can go and get a job and earn money elsewhere'. 'Ministers really do need to get a grip of it because until they do, more people are always going to be leaving than joining.' Former Armed Forces minister Mark Francois said: 'Capita's running of this has been a disaster. 'Our critical weakness now is people. It's a massive problem because a lot of people just get bored. 'If you're trying to join an organisation and it takes a year to process you, they just walk away. 'Lots of people apply to join the Army but very few enlist because after six months to a year of being messed around they just walk away. 'There's only so long you can hang around without being paid. Putin will be laughing. 'Unless we do something about this, you'll get operational failure because while people are also leaving in droves, within a few years you won't be able to bomb the Houthis anymore because you won't have anyone to maintain your Typhoons.' He said that historically soldiers could be recruited within weeks. It is understood that those cases taking longer relate to applicants with more complex health histories. Labour's John Spellar, who sits on the Commons defence committee, said MPs have since been informed that it was taking up to 12 months to recruit some soldiers (File Photo) Official figures show that last year 16,144 personnel left the Armed Forces while 10,680 joined. The worst leaving-to-joining ratio was in the RAF, with 1,661 in the former camp and 3,160 in the latter. But one military source said it was much worse than this across some regiments. They said: 'There's a proper hollowing out in some areas, particularly skilled personnel. In some areas you've now got up to three personnel leaving for every new recruit.' The official figures show that the last time more personnel joined than left the Armed Forces was in the 12 months to December 2021. Army recruiting has been beset by problems throughout the Capita contract, which was first signed in 2018. A recent parliamentary report by the defence select committee, entitled 'Ready For War', said that the Armed Forces are facing a recruitment and retention crisis. The report said the Army is working at 130 per cent of its capacity, the Royal Navy has too many tasks and not enough ships, and the RAF's number of operational flights has doubled over the last 12 months. A Capita spokesman said: 'The average time for all regular soldiers complete the recruitment process has reduced by about 25% since 2015, with most regular soldiers now starting basic training within five months of applying and some in less than a month. 'Many parts of the process have become quicker, simpler and more effective through the use of artificial intelligence technology. 'We are deploying these tools to get people into training faster and help prevent candidates from dropping out.' The Ministry of Defence was contacted for comment. An 'offensive' mural depicting slain Sydney couple Luke Davies and Jesse Baird has been removed amid controversy over the graphic depiction of their alleged murder at the hands of a NSW police officer. The young couple were allegedly murdered by Beau Lamarre-Condon at Mr Baird's home, before being dumped at a remote property. An explicit mural depicting what appears to be the alleged killing by a figure in a police-style uniform was spotted on an alley wall by Sydney residents this week. The image, posted on Reddit, appears to show Mr Baird and Mr Davies laying down having allegedly been fatally shot, with a rainbow-coloured pattern seeming to be blood. Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to publish the distasteful image. Luke Davies, left, and Jesse Baird were allegedly murdered at Mr Baird's Sydney home An explicit mural depicting what appears to be the alleged killing by a figure in a police-style uniform was spotted on an alley wall by Sydney residents this week before being covered up In a statement, police said they were called to Earl Pl at Potts Point on Wednesday following reports by a member of the public regarding 'offensive graffiti'. 'The graffiti has since been painted over by the City of Sydney Council,' police said. 'Officers attached to Kings Cross Police Area Command are investigating the incident.' A spokesperson for the City of Sydney confirmed the graffiti had been removed, adding that 'the work depicted a violent act'. 'We remove such graffiti or posters as soon as possible,' the spokesperson said. The alleged double murder sparked an outpouring of grief within the city's LGBTQI community, as well as staunch pushback against the state's police force. NSW Police were initially told they were no longer invited to attend last month's Mardi Gras parade, before organisers agreed they could do so but without uniforms. Users online were quick to condemn the mural as 'very confronting' and 'in poor taste', while some pointed out the alleged killings were not gay hate crime-related The alleged double murder sparked an outpouring of grief within the city's LGBTQI community, as well as staunch pushback against the state's police force Users online were quick to condemn the mural as 'very confronting' and 'in poor taste', while some pointed out the alleged killings were not gay hate crime-related. 'I would say in poor taste given the recency of the (deaths) and with family and loved ones still very much in mourning,' one Reddit user said. 'I don't think we should dismiss the role of the accused being a policeman though, just because he was gay. 'I do think it's relevant and something that shouldn't be dismissed quickly.' Another user said they were 'glad it was removed' and pushed back against early plans to ban police from the Mardi Gras parade. Beau Lamarre-Condon is in custody on remand charged with murder 'Plenty of gay police officers and officers that would find this disgusting that should not be punished,' they said. 'Just a step too far. It's a tragedy, but far from a hate crime.' Police have previously said they would allege in court the killings were likely domestic violence-related and not connected to the couple's sexual identity. Lamarre-Condon currently remains in police custody on remand. No pleas have been entered and he will reappear before court in April. Former defence secretaries, senior military officers and war heroes are backing the Mail's campaign for an immediate cash boost for our Armed Forces. They are calling for spending to rise to 2.5 per cent or more of national income so Britain can deter further aggression by Vladimir Putin and counter growing threats around the world. The chorus of respected voices joined the Mail's plea to the Treasury following the disappointment of Wednesday's Budget. To the dismay of defence figures and MPs from across the House, the Chancellor dismissed calls for a significant rise in funding for our troops. Instead Jeremy Hunt continued to insist the economic conditions had to be right before defence spending could increase. Sir Michael Fallon, defence secretary under David Cameron and Theresa May backed the campaign to increase defence spending Lord Hammond, defence secretary from 2011 to 2014, also backed the Mail's call Last night the Mail asked the Treasury to publish its criteria for approving such an injection of revenue, but officials refused to provide further clarity. The Mail's Don't Leave Britain Defenceless campaign follows a damning report which revealed there is no credible plan to fund the Armed Forces the country wants. The House of Commons public accounts committee found a funding gap of up to 29billion over the next decade, which MPs say will lead to vital equipment plans being axed. Four former defence secretaries led the calls for a boost to defence spending last night. Sir Michael Fallon, defence secretary under David Cameron and Theresa May, said: 'We have to commit more to Nato, we have to patrol the Euro-Atlantic area in terms of the Navy, we need more presence in the Gulf, given the attacks on British shipping and we need to do more elsewhere. 'We were spending twice as much during the Cold War and now we're facing even hotter threats. We can't have a stronger Armed Forces, a bigger Navy and new aircraft on our current spend.' And writing in the Daily Telegraph, Sir Michael added: 'If we don't recapture the political will and build back the defences that enabled us to win the Cold War, our sons and daughters could face conscription for the first time in over 60 years.' He was joined by his successor Sir Gavin Williamson, who said: 'We have to have an honest assessment of the threats and challenges and, whatever the cost is, whether it is 2.5 per cent, 3 per cent or 4 per cent of GDP, we need to be rearming our Armed Forces to meet the threat level.' Malcolm Rifkind, defence secretary under John Major, said 3 per cent of GDP by 2030 should be the least the UK commits to. Malcolm Rifkind, defence secretary under John Major, said 3 per cent of GDP by 2030 should be the least the UK commits to Sir Gavin Williamson has said expenditure must match current and future threats Sir Malcolm said: 'It is not an option, it is a necessity. At a time when we are seeing dreadful Russian aggression and when Trump may weaken the US's Nato commitment, it is essential for the UK and the rest of Europe to increase spending.' Lord Hammond, defence secretary from 2011 to 2014, also backed the Mail's call. But stressed the sums must add up and any extra spending must be made in cuts elsewhere rather than from borrowing. It comes as Ben Wallace, Defence Secretary from 2019 to 2023, told the Telegraph: 'For our Armed Forces to do what they've been asked to do alone, and for No 10 to put its money where its mouth is on the global stage it needs to spend 3 per cent.' There was a groundswell of support from the Services, led by former head of the Army General Lord Dannatt who said 2.5 per cent was the minimum the UK should spend. He was joined by former Special Forces commander Major General Jonathan Shaw, former Army intelligence officer Philip Ingram and Colonels Richard Kemp and Hamish de Bretton-Gordon. The appeal for 2.5 per cent as a minimum spend was also made by SAS hero Chris Craighead. In 2019 he earned a Conspicuous Gallantry Cross after storming a shopping mall in Kenya after jihadi terrorists took scores of civilians as hostages. Sources close to Defence Secretary Grant Shapps insist he favours an immediate rise to 2.5 per cent of GDP Our call gained cross-party support fromLabour's Kevan Jones, a former defence minister and Conservatives Tobias Ellwood and Mark Francois, also former defence ministers. Mr Jones said: 'With war in Europe and the threat from Russia we need an immediate increase in defence spending.' Sources close to Defence Secretary Grant Shapps insist he favours an immediate rise to 2.5 per cent of GDP. The MoD said: 'We are spending a record amount on defence. This includes an extra 24billion between 2020 and 2025. 'The military is protecting the UK and allies, including on every single Nato mission, supporting Ukraine against Putin's aggression and tackling Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.' Trump case could be derailed if she if disqualified, or loses DA election Could be kicked off the case over relationship with lawyer she hired Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis must now also campaign for her job The lawyer prosecuting Donald Trump and 18 of his cronies for allegedly trying to steal the election in Georgia has yet another hurdle to clear. Scandal-plagued Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis could already be kicked off the case for her relationship with a lawyer she hired to help run it. Now she could lose her job entirely as two Atlanta lawyers are challenged her for DA hours before the filing deadline. Republican Courtney Kramer, who worked under Trump in the White House, and Democrat Christian Wise Smith threw their hats in the ring on Friday. Scandal-plagued Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis could already be kicked off the case for her relationship with a lawyer she hired to help run it (pictured in hearings this week) The two highest vote-getters at the primary on May 21, regardless of party, will face off in a runoff in November, so Fani will have to campaign right away. Kramer has an uphill battle in the deeply Democratic county, and Smith unsuccessfully ran against Willis when she was elected in 2020. Fani has spent the past week in court defending herself against efforts to boot her off the Trump case over her relationship with Nathan Wade. Her opponents accused her of a conflict of interest in hiring her lover, who is going through divorce proceedings, as a well-paid special prosecutor. Defense lawyers claimed Willis was being untruthful about when her relationship with Wade began. Both Willis and Wade testified it started in 2022, after Willis already brought him onto the case. Fani denied the relationship was improper, and is waiting for Judge Scott McAfee's decision in the next two weeks on whether she will be disqualified from the case. If she is booted from the case, it could delay Trump's Georgia election fraud case for months and could even lead to the charges being dropped. Willis slammed the proceeding while speaking to reporters outside the state Capitol, where she called it a 'political quest.' 'People are angry because I'm going to do the right thing and stand up for justice,' she said. 'They can continue their games and I'll continue to do the work of the people.' Democrat Christian Wise Smith on Friday filed to challenge Willis in the May 21 primary for Fulton County district attorney Republican Courtney Kramer, who worked under Trump in the White House, is also challenging but faces an uphill battle in the deeply Democratic county Defense lawyers said bombshell texts proved she lied about when she started dating Wade and accused her of playing the 'race card' when she said the allegations against her with politically motivated. Lawyers kicked off closing arguments on Friday after a series of blockbuster court sessions where Willis testified there was nothing improper about her relationship with Wade and defended paying for their lavish trips abroad in cash. Smith implied his candidacy may be more of a contingency against Fani being kicked off the Trump case. 'I'll reserve my comments [about her current situation] until after we know more,' he told CNN. 'Then we will decide if we go full steam ahead with this campaign after the decision. Today was the final day to qualify. Right now, we're just dotting our Is and crossing our Ts.' Georgia Democratic leaders are concerned Willis could be kicked off the case, and have appeared in court to support her through the hearings. Ashley Merchant, the lawyer defending Trump's co-accused Michael Roman, first came forward to expose Willis' relationship with Wade. She claimed in explosive testimony that Wills paid Wade almost double the salary of his colleagues and met Kamala Harris before she indicted Donald Trump. Merchant also testified to a Georgia state Senate hearing as a judge considered whether to disqualify Willis from the Trump case. She said Wade got more than $650,000 in billing from Willis and left little information in his invoices, and that Willis 'is the one that approves the bills.' She also testified about the 12,000 text messages Wade and Willis exchanged before they claim they started their relationship. Wade was also in the court as he watched lawyers from the Fulton County district attorney argue she shouldn't be kicked off the case over their relationship Willis (left) and her former boyfriend Wade (right) sit at the prosecutor's table during closing arguments for her disqualification hearing on March 1 Merchant on Wednesday sketched out her theory that Willis and Wade deliberately brought a complex case that allowed for Wade to bill more hours and potentially benefit himself and Wade. She then faced questions about why Willis, who earns a salary of more than $200,000 per year, would engage in the elaborate scheme in exchange for vacations and travel valued at several thousands. Trump's lawyer Stephen Sadow claimed Willis was playing the 'race and religion card' in an effort to influence the jury pool who would hear conspiracy charges against him in Georgia. He accuses Willis of 'unforgivable' conduct in a new legal filing, after homing in during explosive hearings on Willis' speech to an Atlanta church on Martin Luther King Jr weekend. He accused her of 'wantonly playing both the 'race and religion card' and accused her of unfairly attacking lawyers for Trump and his codefendants. Trump and 18 co-defendants were charged on August 15 with an alleged racketeering 'criminal enterprise' to overturn the election. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is facing a backlash over his crackdown on non-doms, amid fears it will cause a mass exodus of wealth creators. MPs and businessmen have warned the changes are unlikely to generate the billions promised for the nation's coffers and will instead drive the super-rich to Switzerland, Dubai and Singapore. Hotelier Sir Rocco Forte said: 'I know people who are already packing their bags. The exodus is taking place as we speak.' The 200-year-old system allows people with their permanent home overseas to avoid paying UK tax on foreign income for up to 15 years. But on Wednesday, Mr Hunt changed the rules, meaning from 2025, new arrivals will benefit from this tax break for just four years before they must pay the same taxes as UK residents. Hotelier Sir Rocco Forte said he already knows people who are packing their bags The measures were originally a Labour policy and come as the Tories try to win back the support of the business community ahead of the general election. The policy is expected to raise 3 billion in taxes annually, but economists believe the Treasury will receive nothing like that. Conservative MP Sir John Redwood said: 'I do not believe the OBR [Office for Budget Responsibility] figures for the extra taxation they will raise, and there will be a loss of revenue as a result.' Tory grandee Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the money raised would 'not last long', as non-doms are 'mobile people' who can move to the country offering the best deal. He added: 'What you get by taxing them is relatively small, and it won't last because they will have gone so it will be a short term injection. 'But what you lose is their embracing of the UK and investment, and that investment is more needed than ever as we try to come out of recession.' The Office for Budget Responsibility, the spending watchdog, has cautioned that 10 to 20 per cent of non-doms would leave the UK because of the tax raid, but in reality the figure could be higher. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is facing a backlash over his crackdown on non-doms, amid fears it will cause a mass exodus of wealth creators Accountant PwC and some of the country's biggest law firms said they had been inundated with calls about the policy and what it means. Edward Hayes, of law firm Burges Salmon, said: 'There is dismay from some clients who feel they came to the UK in good faith and the rules are being changed mid-game.' James Ward, of law firm Kingsley Napley, added: 'Private schools may be taxed under Labour, business flights are being taxed more. Everything that was making the UK attractive to the wealthy is being dismantled.' Sir Rocco also warned the move would deter future non-doms considering making the move to the UK. He said: 'Nobody will come here for four years. By the time they have got here and settled they'll only have two years left.' It is not the first time non-doms have been targeted. Eight years ago, the then Conservative chancellor George Osborne tightened the regime so that the status would be taken away from those who have lived in the UK for more than 15 of the last 20 years. At the same time, other European jurisdictions including France, Italy and Portugal have launched comparable non-dom or impatriation regimes to attract wealthy families, increasing competition with traditional havens such as Monaco and Switzerland. A Treasury source defended the measures and said: 'It's right that those with the broadest shoulders pay a bit more to help fund a tax cut for working Brits.' Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally Saturday, March 9, 2024, in Rome Ga. Mike Stewart/AP President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, in Atlanta, Saturday, March 9, 2024. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP A supporter holds a oster with a photo of Laken Riley before Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally Saturday, March 9, 2024, in Rome Ga. Mike Stewart/AP Allyson Phillips, center, the mother Laken Riley, listens as Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump gestures at a campaign rally Saturday, March 9, 2024, in Rome Ga. Mike Stewart/AP President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign rally Saturday, March 9, 2024, at Pullman Yards in Atlanta. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Supporters arrive before Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally Saturday, March 9, 2024, in Rome Ga. Mike Stewart/AP Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally Saturday, March 9, 2024, in Rome Ga. Mike Stewart/AP President Joe Biden puts on a button that was thrown to him from the crowd that says "Regulate Guns NOT Women" as he speaks at a campaign rally Saturday, March 9, 2024, at Pullman Yards in Atlanta. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP ATLANTA (AP) President Joe Biden said Saturday that he regretted using the term illegal during his State of the Union address to describe the suspected killer of Laken Riley, as his all-but-certain 2024 GOP rival, Donald Trump, blasted the Democrat's immigration policies and blamed them for her death at a rally attended by the Georgia nursing students family and friends. Biden expressed remorse after facing frustration from some in his party for the use of the term to describe people who arrived or are living in the U.S. illegally. I shouldnt have used illegal, its undocumented, he said in an interview with MSNBCs Jonathan Capehart taped in Atlanta, where the president was meeting with small business owners and holding a campaign rally. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Trump, campaigning in Rome, Georgia, at the same time, assailed Biden for the comments. Joe Biden went on television and apologized for calling Lakens murderer an illegal," he said to loud jeers and boos. Biden should be apologizing for apologizing to this killer." The back-and-forth underscored how Riley's murder has become a flashpoint in the 2024 campaign and a rallying cry for Republicans who have seized on frustrations over the Biden administrations handling of the U.S-Mexico border during a record surge of migrants entering the country. An immigrant from Venezuela who entered the U.S. illegally has been arrested and charged with her murder. Trump was joined at his rally by Riley's parents, her sister and friends and met with them before he took the stage. They were welcomed with a standing ovation and large signs handed out by the campaign that featured Rileys photograph and the words SAY HER NAME! REMEMBER OUR ANGELS, they read on the back. Advertisement Article continues below this ad We share your grief," Trump told them in his remarks. Trump, in a speech that lasted nearly two hours, hammered Biden on the border and for mispronouncing Rileys name during his State of the Union address this past week. What Joe Biden has done on our border is a crime against humanity and the people of this nation for which he will never be forgiven, Trump charged, alleging that Riley would be alive today if Joe Biden had not willfully and maliciously eviscerated the borders of the United States and set loose thousands and thousands of dangerous criminals into our country. Trump, who had made immigration a centerpiece of his campaign, has repeatedly vowed to mount the largest deportation in the nation's history if he wins. Advertisement Article continues below this ad He contrasted his rhetoric with Biden's I say he was an illegal alien. He was an illegal immigrant. He was an illegal migrant" and accused Biden, who has long been seen as an empathetic leader, of having no remorse. Hes got no regret, hes got no empathy, no compassion, and worst of all, he has no intention of stopping the deadly invasion that stole precious Lakens beautiful American life, Trump said. Biden earlier this year bucked activists within his party by agreeing to make changes to U.S. immigration law that would have limited some migration. The deal that emerged would have overhauled the asylum system to provide faster and tougher enforcement, as well as given presidents new powers to immediately expel migrants if authorities become overwhelmed. It also would have added $20 billion in funding, a huge influx of cash. The changes became part of a short-lived bipartisan compromise that was quickly killed by Republican lawmakers after Trump made his opposition known. After the deals collapse, Biden has been considering taking executive action to try to curtail migration, but hes expressed frustration that his lawyers have yet to devise options that they believe can pass muster with federal courts. Biden, instead, has insisted that Congress take up the measure again, trying to flip the script on Republicans and arguing they are more interested in being able to talk about the issue in an election year than taking action to fix it. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Among those who attended the rally was Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who represents Rome in Congress and yelled at Biden during Thursdays State of the Union to Say her name! The phrase was popularized by civil rights activist Kimberle Crenshaw in 2015 following the death of Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old Black woman who was found dead in a Texas jail cell a few days after she was arrested during a traffic stop. Crenshaw and others began using the phrase to draw attention to cases in which Black women are subject to police brutality. In 2020, the hashtag #SayHerName helped put more public scrutiny on the shooting death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman in Louisville, Kentucky, who was shot and killed in her home during a botched police raid. The term illegal was once common but is far less so today, particularly among Democrats who more fully embraced immigrant rights issues during Trumps presidency. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Biden used the term Thursday night during an exchange in which the president pressed Republicans in his address to pass the bipartisan border security deal. Greene, a stalwart Trump ally, then shouted at the president to say Riley s name, adding she was killed by an illegal. By an illegal, thats right, Biden responded immediately, before appearing to ask how many people are being killed by legals. He added, To her parents, I say: My heart goes out to you. Having lost children myself, I understand. Speaking to Capehart, Biden said, Look, when I spoke about the difference between Trump and me, one of the things I talked about in the border was his, the way he talks about vermin, the way he talks about these people polluting the blood. I talked about what Im not going to do. What I wont do. Im not going to treat any, any, any of these people with disrespect. Look, they built the country. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita slammed Biden for apologizing for his phrasing and not to Rileys family. He should be apologizing to the family as opposed to apologizing for the word that he used which is an accurate description, he told reporters before Trump took the stage, blasting the response as tone deaf and highlighting the candidates two very distinct differences in approach on the border invasion. Biden's expression of regret was a shift from a day earlier, when Biden had hesitated when asked by reporters if he regretted using the term, saying, well I probably, before pausing and saying I dont and appearing to start saying regret. ___ Advertisement Article continues below this ad The father of a Michigan school shooter called his son twice moments after receiving an 'active shooter' alert on his cellphone. James Crumbley, 47, is on trial for involuntary manslaughter in his 15-year-old son's killing of four students at Oxford High School. He's accused of failing to secure the gun at home and ignoring signs of his son's mental distress. On Friday, the court heard how once word of an active-shooter was out, he drove to the Meijer parking lot, which was the reunification center for parents and kids, and desperately called his son, not knowing that he was already in police custody. James Crumbley then called his wife, Jennifer, and then drove home and called 911. James Crumbley is seen in the Oakland County courtroom on Friday in Pontiac, Michigan. Crumbley is on trial for involuntary manslaughter. He's accused of contributing to the tragedy at Oxford High School by failing to properly secure a gun used by son Ethan Crumbley James Crumbley, the father of Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley made threatening statements from jail, He is pictured walking into court on Friday James, 47, is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, one for each teenager killed by his son at Oxford High School in 2021 James Crumbley talks to his defense attorney Mariell Lehman in the Oakland County courtroom on Friday. Four students were killed and more were wounded He was caught making threatening statements on a jailhouse telephone and in electronic messages, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office said during this week's trial He said he 'immediately raced home' when he learned about the shooting and 'found the gun missing.' 'I called you guys right away to let you know,' James Crumbley said of a 911 call. 'In that 911 call he told the dispatcher that he saw and heard the sirens, he said that he went to the Meijer, that his son was a student, that he heard that there was a shooting, that he discovered that his son was missing, that he didn't know if his son took the gun, and that he was freaking out,' Crumbley's attorney Mariell Lehman said. Video seen by jurors on Friday saw Crumbley telling police shortly after the fatal attack that a gun and ammunition used by his son had been hidden at the family's home James and Jennifer Crumbley were interviewed in a small room at a sheriff's office while Ethan Crumbley was kept in another room. Two investigators spoke calmly as they tried to get as much information as possible from the parents. James Crumbley, 47, is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, one for each teenager killed by his son at Oxford High School in 2021 DailyMail.com previously reported that James was seen sobbing and wiping away tears as the Thursday's trial heard details about the shooting Investigators meet with James Crumbley, top center, and his wife Jennifer Crumbley after the Oxford H.S. school shooting in an interview room ames Crumbley, left, and wife Jennifer Crumbley meet with their son Ethan Crumbley after the Oxford H.S. school shooting in an interview room 'Is it possible for me to have a water? My mouth is super dry,' James Crumbley asked before the interview began. The gun was 'hidden in our armoire in the case, and the bullets were hidden in a different spot underneath some jeans,' James Crumbley declared, not adding anything more about how Ethan might have discovered them. The gun, a Sig Sauer 9 mm, is a critical issue. Prosecutors said a cable lock given to James Crumbley when he bought the gun with Ethan four days earlier was still in the package. 'We go to the shooting range all the time. I've been trying to teach him safety,' James Crumbley told investigators. The parents said their son had mediocre grades and was failing geometry. They wondered aloud if they should have a lawyer when speaking to police, but continued sharing information. 'I really wish we would have taken him home,' Jennifer Crumbley said. She was referring to a meeting at the school a few hours before the shooting. The Crumbleys had met with staff who gave them a drawing of a gun, blood, and a wounded person on Ethan's math assignment. There were anguished phrases: 'The thoughts won't stop. Help me. My life is useless.' But the Crumbleys didn't take their son home, and the school, concerned that he might be suicidal if alone, didn't demand it. A counselor said Jennifer Crumbley seemed more concerned about returning to her job. No one checked the boy's backpack for a gun, however, and the nine-minute shooting happened later that afternoon. James and Ethan Crumbley in a Facebook photo posted in 2018 James and Jennifer Crumbley in a Facebook photo posted in 2019 Social media photos of Oxford HS shooter Ethan Crumbley - Images show Ethan with his mother Jennifer Crumbley and father James Crumbley, Elijah Crumbley (Eli), right Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty to his crimes and is currently serving life in prison without the possibility of parole, after murdering four classmates in the Oxford High School shooting in 2021 Madisyn Baldwin, 17, (left) and Hana St Juliana, 14, (right) died in the 2021 shooting rampage at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit Justin Shilling, 17, (left) and Tate Myre, 16, (right) were two of four students killed in the senseless shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan One person is seen stopping by to leave a gift and say a prayer for the people who were killed A person lays flowers at a growing memorial outside Oxford High School a day after the November 2021 shooting 'Why? Why?' Jennifer Crumbley asked Ethan when detectives allowed the parents to see him. 'I love you,' James Crumbley said repeatedly. The Crumbleys are the first U.S. parents to be charged with having criminal responsibility for a mass school shooting committed by a child. Jennifer Crumbley was found guilty of the same involuntary manslaughter charges last month. She will be sentenced on April 9. Defense attorney Mariell Lehman has told jurors that James Crumbley was not aware the son had access to the gun or could be a danger to others. Jennifer Crumbley is taken into custody after a guilty verdict was read last month The gun used in the shooting was a Sig Sauer 9mm his father had purchased with him just four days earlier, seen here Gun shop office manager Cammy Back testifies on the stand about the sale of a handgun to James Crumbley in the Oakland County courtroom on Friday, in Pontiac, Michigan She noted during cross-examination of a detective on Friday that James Crumbley was 'incredibly emotional' at the sheriff's office. 'Yes,' Detective Sergeant Joe Brian said. Earlier on Friday, jurors heard about the purchase of the gun. Shop manager Cammy Back said James Crumbley, accompanied by his son, paid roughly $520 in cash, including tax, for the firearm. 'The son was standing behind him,' Back testified. 'Mr. Crumbley asked to see the Sig Sauer, said that he'd had his eye on it for quite some time.' Ethan referred to the gun as 'my beauty' on social media. When he pleaded guilty to murder and terrorism, he said that his money was used to buy the gun. That detail hasn't emerged in his father's trial because he's not a witness. Ethan's parents, James and Jennifer, were both charged in connection with the shooting Chilling diary entries written by Ethan include drawings of a gun being held to the head of a girl Jurors at Jennifer's involuntary manslaughter trial were shown disturbing drawings by her mass shooter son Ethan, now 17, is serving a life prison sentence for murder and terrorism. James Crumbley has been in jail since his arrest more than two years ago. The sheriff's office said Friday that his use of a phone and tablet would be restricted after he used them to make 'threatening statements' while in custody. Authorities didn't elaborate on the threats. Neither did Judge Cheryl Matthews, who said he can use a phone or tablet only to communicate with his lawyer or clergy. A gag order in the case bars attorneys from speaking to reporters. The trial will resume for a third day on Monday. The boss of Optus' network operations has resigned four months after a widespread outage at the telco giant disrupted the lives of millions of Aussies. In a statement the embattled telco confirmed Lambo Kanagaratnam, the managing director of the Optus network, had left the company on Friday. His departure marks the second top-level executive to leave the company following the November 8 blackout that hit about 10 million customers and some 400,000 businesses. Former CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin departed the telco on November 20. Interim CEO Michael Venter said he had the 'highest regard' for his abilities and service to Optus, Australia's second-largest telecommunications provider. 'Personally, I have the highest regard for Lambo as someone who consistently demonstrates the characteristics that we all know him for,' he said in a message sent to Optus staff. 'He is calm under pressure, approachable, cares deeply about our people and our business and is always professional. 'Under his leadership, the Optus Network has been Australia's fastest 5G network for over three years and now has over 4000 5G sites live across Australia. In a statement the embattled telco confirmed Lambo Kanagaratnam, the managing director of the Optus network, had left the company on Friday 'He led the acquisition of 25MHz of 900MHz in late 2021 to address Optus' low band spectrum deficit, which this year will deliver a significantly improved customer experience as well as taking our 5G footprint to a larger customer base. 'He was a key member of the team that completed the sale of the ATN tower portfolio for $1.9Bn in 2021. 'And looking forward, our partnership with SpaceX to cover 100 per cent of Australia will be a game changer for Optus and our customers.' The Optus website states Mr Kanagaratnam has spent more than 24 years in telecommunications. Prior to joining Optus, Mr Kanagaratnam held several senior roles over a 15-year period with telecom company MTN in Africa and the Middle East. Optus is recovering from two severe breakdowns. In 2022, the company suffered a serious data breach in a cyber hack and on November 8, 2023, a daylong meltdown sent millions offline, crippling businesses and emergency services. Mr Kanagaratnam's departure marks the second top-level executive to leave the company following the November 8 blackout that hit about 10 million customers and some 400,000 businesses South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas threatened to pull contracts with the firm over the blackout. 'They have let their customers down throughout the state, including the government,' he said on the day. 'And Optus needs to respond swiftly, communicate effectively, with everybody about exactly what is going on here.' Mr Malinauskas said his government would contemplate switching providers after first putting out the fires of the day. 'If Optus want to seek government as a customer, they need to be a reliable service in this modern age,' he said. 'Telecommunications is critical to the function of government. 'We have a contract with Optus, as do other governments around the country. That is something we will turn our mind to.' Optus blamed the failure on changes to 'routing information' following a routine upgrade to its systems. 'At around 4.05am Wednesday morning, the Optus network received changes to routing information from an international peering network (Singtel internet Exchange) following a routine software upgrade,' Optus said in a statement last year. 'There routing information changes propagated through multiple layers in our network and exceeded preset safety levels on key routers which could not handle these.' The statement said the action resulted in routers disconnecting from the Optus IP Core network to protect themselves. The ACLU of Missouri subpoenaed a transgender clinic whistleblower and her communications with journalists as part of their lawsuit to prevent a state law that bans hormone therapy for minors. Jamie Reed, a former employee of the Washington University Transgender Center at the St. Louis Children's Hospital, claimed doctors rushed trans-identifying kids onto harmful drugs in February last year. Shortly after Reed's revelations, Missouris Republican Gov Mike Parson signed a bill into law that prohibits doctors from performing gender transition surgeries or prescribing hormone therapy or other drugs for gender transition to children under 18 years old. The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, on behalf of three families of transgender kids, filed a lawsuit against Parson, the state Attorney General and the Missouri Board of Healing Arts to block the law. In a subpoena filed on Thursday, the ACLU demanded that Reed hand over all of her communications with journalist Jessie Singal and all other members of the media. The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri subpoenaed all of whistleblower Jamie Reed's (pictured) communications with journalist Reed, a former employee of the Washington University Transgender Center at the St. Louis Children's Hospital (pictured), claimed doctors rushed trans-identifying kids onto harmful drugs The filing requested, 'All communications, including any documents exchanged, between you and Jessie Singal concerning Gender-Affirming Care provided at or through the Center.' 'All communications, including any documents exchanged, concerning Gender-Affirming Care involving media or between you and any media outlet or any member of the media.' Singal posted about the request on Twitter saying, 'Strange evening. The ACLU of Missouri subpoenaed Jamie Reed, demanding (among other stuff) all her communications w/me.' 'I emailed them saying (politely) wtf, you're the ACLU. Got a call from a lawyer there saying it was a mistake.' In there response to Singal the ACLU said, 'The ACLU of Missouri has always been and remains committed to the freedom of press.' 'While no subpoena was issued to Mr. Singal, the subpoena that was served to a former staffer at a Missouri clinic has since been revised to exempt information from Mr. Singal and other media.' DailyMail.com has reached out to the American Civil Liberties Union for comment. Reed confirmed on Twitter that Lambda Legal, one of the other organizations representing the families in the lawsuit, called her attorneys and removed the request for communications with Singal and the press. 'I dont know exactly what @jessesingal said but apparently there is a glimmer of hope that journalist rights (and protecting sources) still exists,' Reed said. Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children's Hospital announced an end to gender hormone therapy after the state law was passed. The university said that the clinic 'will no longer prescribe puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones to minors for purposes of gender transition.' Reed, who worked at the clinic between 2018 and 2022, told The Free Press the clinic administered a litany of irreparable treatments to minors, often times without parental consent. Reed claimed doctors would ask questions like 'do you want a dead daughter or an alive son?' to 'bully' children's parents into going ahead with gender transitions - under the pretense that not doing so would make them suicidal. The whistleblower said working at the center, which medically transitioned 600 children within two years, was: 'Like I was in a cult, and I had to de-program my way out of it.' Reed, who worked at the clinic between 2018 and 2022, told The Free Press the clinic administered a litany of irreparable treatments to minors, often times without parental consent Reed, said its practices were 'morally and medically appalling' and were 'permanently harming' children by failing to take into account 'red flag' mental health concerns. She also claimed politicians were kept in the dark about mastectomies on adolescent girls and the age at which they could start receiving male testosterone hormones. Speaking in a podcast from the Gender Dysphoria Alliance, Reed said lawmakers were misled about whether breast removal procedures, or 'top surgery', were carried out on kids during legislative hearings at the Capitol in Jefferson City. 'They would go to the legislature and say there's no surgery happening with minors and yet, I would be in clinic, and, know that they just looked at how somebody's top surgery scars are healing, who is 16 or 17,' she said. Reed said they were also misled about the age at which trans teenage girls could start getting testosterone, a male hormone that leads to facial hair, bigger muscles, a deeper voice, and a stronger sex drive. Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters have flooded the streets of New York as part of a rowdy demonstration on International Women's Day which saw them storm the Oculus near the World Trade Center. Footage shows the demonstrators clutching Palestinian flags shouting and cheering after they successfully squeeze into the shopping center on Friday. Once inside they formed a drumming circle and waved banners which read: '30, 878 dead and Joe is eating ice cream' in reference to the president nonchalantly slurping on an ice cream cone while being grilled about the situation between Israel and Gaza recently. Other disturbing footage shows one protester knocked out cold in the streets. The activist is seen lying face down on the ground while surrounded by cops. It is unclear how he got knocked out. In the background a woman is heard screaming, 'get him an ambulance, f*** the cops, he's passed out' as police attempt to coax a response from his limp body. Hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters have flooded the streets of New York as part of a rowdy demonstration on International Women's Day Demonstrators flooded into the Oculus shopping mall near the World Trade Center Disturbing video shows a pro-Palestine protester knocked out cold in the streets of New York as demonstrators sweep through the city Pro-Palestine protesters just got into the Oculus despite heavy NYPD repression. pic.twitter.com/p7aZkHgc9G Ash J (@AshAgony) March 8, 2024 The march was organized by Palestinian group Within in Our Lifetime The images prompted condemnation from former gubernatorial candidate and actress Cynthia Nixon, after it was suggested the protester had been knocked out by cops. 'This is utterly despicablethe NYPD is more out of control that ever and when they get sued for this NYC taxpayers will have to pay their multi-million dollar fine from money stolen from libraries and schools under the corrupt administration of NYC Mayor [Eric Adams]'. It is not yet known how many arrests were made but the NYPD confirmed there were people taken into custody. The chaotic scene was one of many witnessed as part of the march organized by Palestinian group Within in Our Lifetime to coincide with International Women's Day in recognition that the death toll from Israel's bombardment of Gaza has been predominantly women and children. More than 25,000 women and children have been killed, according to estimates by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. There were warnings of disruption to the N, Q, R, W, 4, 5, 6, and L trains by those flocking to the protest, or by the protest itself. The 'Global Strike for Gaza' began at Union Square before surging downtown, with later video showing protesters storming the Oculus shopping mall. The protest announcement came after the group caused major chaos in New York City on New Year's Day this year when they instructed participants to flood JFK's Terminal 4. Online flyers for the protest seem to indicate it is being run in conjunction with other pro-Palestinian groups Decolonize This Place and Existence is Resistance. Once inside the Oculus protesters formed a drumming circle and chanted 'Gaza' and 'Shut it down' There were warnings of disruption to the N, Q, R, W, 4, 5, 6, and L trains by those flocking to the protest, or by the protest itself The 'Global Strike for Gaza' began at Union Square before surging downtown # Pro-Palestine protesters pack into Oculus at the World Trade Center in NYC as they chant "Shut it down!" and "GAZA! GAZA!" pic.twitter.com/FvqztSTd5K Mawtini (@MawtiniLevent) March 9, 2024 On X, WOL wrote, in announcing the protest: 'To commemorate International Women's Day and answer the call from women in Palestine, we are mobilizing as part of a Global Strike for Gaza on FRIDAY, MARCH 8TH AT 4:00 PM IN UNION SQUARE! 'As the Zionist entity has used lies of sexual violence to legitimize the ongoing genocide in Gaza while there is no accountability for the real sexual violence that Palestinian women have experienced at the hands of occupation soldiers for decades,' they wrote. Members of some of these pro-Palestinian groups have continuously claimed that accounts of sexual violence against Israeli women on October 7 are 'not true.' 'We are going to flood New York to show the world that Palestinian liberation is inextricably linked with women's liberation. ALL OUT FOR GAZA,' concluded the post. The march was one of several organized in response to Israel's retaliatory strikes on Gaza, which began after the October 7 attack in which Hamas slaughtered 1,200 Israelis. The protesters ended their march at Zuccotti Park a few hours after it began. NYPD Assistant Commissioner Kaz Daughtry showed up to watch the demonstration but was quickly confronted, prompting cops to form a protective barrier around him. DailyMail.com has contacted NYPD for comment. President Joe Biden went almost-home to take a victory lap Friday after delivering a State of the Union address that Democrats applauded. The 81-year-old president flew to Philadelphia and spent the afternoon in Delaware County, adjacent to his adopted hometown of Wilmington. There he held a kitchen table talking session with a local family and headlined a campaign rally, as Pennsylvania will likely be the most pivotal state in the general election later this year. Biden told several hundred supporters gathered at Strath Haven Middle School, 'If you're tired you probably watched my address last night.' 'I got an unusually warm reception from Marjorie Taylor Greene,' he joked, after the Trump-supporting Georgia lawmaker wore a MAGA hat to his speech and shouted out how he needed to call attention to the murder of Laken Riley - at the hands of an undocumented immigrant. He also took former President Donald Trump to task for hosting Hungary's Victor Orban Friday. 'You know who he's meeting with today down at Mar-a-Lago? Orban of Hungary, who has stated that he doesn't think democracy works,' the president commented. President Joe Biden went almost-home to take a victory lap Friday after delivering a State of the Union address that Democrats applauded ' I got an unusually warm reception from Marjorie Taylor Greene ,' he joked, after the Trump-supporting Georgia lawmaker wore a MAGA hat to his speech and shouted out how he needed to call attention to the murder of Laken Riley - at the hands of an undocumented immigrant He said that Orban has worked toward a 'dictatorship,' the only NATO leader to do so. 'That's who he's meeting with,' Biden said. The president also reiterated many of the key points he laid out in his hour-plus State of the Union address. Dr. Biden also smacked around Trump as she introduced her husband wearing a bright purple ensemble. 'Donald Trump wakes up every morning thinking about one person and one person only - himself,' the first lady said, garnering boos from the crowd. 'He tears people down and pits us against one another. He mocks women's bodies and devalues our existence,' she said. 'And here's the one thing that really gets my Philly up,' she said to laugs. 'As a daughtet of a World War II veteran, a Navy veteran and the mother of an Army soldier. Donald Trump insults our veterans and disparages those those who died in war calling them losers and suckers - how dare he!' the first lady exclaimed. He also took former President Donald Trump to task for hosting Hungary's Victor Orban Friday. 'You know who he's meeting with today down at Mar-a-Lago? Orban of Hungary, who has stated that he doesn't think democracy works,' the president commented First lady Dr. Jill Biden (left) also hammered former President Donald Trump as she introduced her husband at the Delaware County middle school in Pennsylvania. ' Donald Trump wakes up every morning thinking about one person and one person only - himself,' she said 'Donald Trump is dangerous - to women and to our famililes and to our country,' Dr. Biden added. 'And we can't let him win. She warned Democrats that they can't wake up like they did in 2016 after Trump shockingly beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the White House race. 'Terrified of the future ahead of us, thinking "Oh my God what just happened? What are we going to do now?" she said. While Trump hasn't yet amassed the number of delegates to officially become the Republicans' presumptive nominee, he cleaned up on Super Tuesday, winning all but one state against rival Nikki Haley and forcing her out of the Republican race Wednesday. Both Biden and Trump are headed to Georgia Saturday for dueling political events as it's expected to again be a key swing state. Her relationship with rocker Pete Doherty, who freely admitted twin addictions to heroin and crack cocaine, is now the best part of 20 years behind her. But Kate Moss could be forgiven for feeling that those tempestuous days will loom over her for ever courtesy of a ruling just in from America. The supermodel has, I can disclose, been informed that her plans to take her 'wellness' brand, Cosmoss, to the U.S. have fallen at the first hurdle because, among other deficiencies, they violate the U.S. Controlled Substances Act and its Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The ruling delivered in a letter to Moss's lawyers, Harbottle & Lewis, whose clients have included King Charles comes from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Rejecting Moss's bid to register 'Cosmoss' in America, it explains: 'The application identifies a connection to cannabidiol (CBD). CBD is a nonpsychoactive constituent of the cannabis plant. Kate Moss (pictured) has, I can disclose, been informed that her plans to take her 'wellness' brand, Cosmoss, to the U.S. have fallen at the first hurdle The reason being, among other deficiencies, they violate the U.S. Controlled Substances Act and its Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act 'Goods containing CBD derived from cannabis that meet the definition of 'marijuana' are illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act.' Lest there is any misunderstanding, the letter adds: 'Marijuana and CBD derived from marijuana remain unlawful. No other cannabis-derived drug products have been approved.' Warning that Moss, 50, has six months in which to respond or accept that the application will be struck out for ever the letter states that further information must come in a 'written statement' and 'must clearly and accurately indicate the nature of the goods and/or services' and confirm that they comply with both the Controlled Substances Act and the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Concerns about marijuana might have seemed almost laughably inconsequential during her time with Doherty especially after the publication of photos which, a newspaper claimed, showed her snorting drugs at a studio where Doherty was performing. Branded 'Cocaine Kate', Moss lost lucrative contracts and booked herself into a rehab clinic. She has never looked back. Since selling her North London mansion for 11.5 million in 2021, she has spent much of her time in the Cotswolds, where she keeps Blue Marans super-layers, if the phrase can be used without fear of misinterpretation each capable of producing 300 eggs a year. How much more wholesome could the U.S. wish her to be? Tourists will be banned from entering certain streets in Kyoto's famous geisha district after a surge in street performers being harassed and assaulted. Residents of the Japanese city have long expressed frustration with visitors behaving badly, especially in the Gion district, where geishas perform. In December, a Gion district council, comprised of locals, urged Kyoto City to tackle the issue, saying their neighbourhood 'is not a theme park'. Peter Macintosh, an expert on geisha culture, told the South China Morning Post that the situation is 'out of control,' and claimed that sightseers have stubbed out cigarettes on the performers and even chased them down the street, begging for photos. With the problem ongoing, the council decided to step up its response, banning tourists from entering select streets from next month. Residents of the Japanese city have long expressed frustration with visitors behaving badly, especially in the Gion district, where geishas perform. Above: A maiko, known as an apprentice geisha Maikos throw throw bags containing beans during a bean-scattering ceremony in February 2023 A maiko poses for cameras at the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo Theater 'We will ask tourists to refrain from entering narrow private streets.' Isokazu Ota, an executive member of the council said. 'We don't want to do this, but we're desperate,' he said, adding that they will put up signs. Ota said groups of tourists sometimes 'act like paparazzi' when geisha emerge from narrow streets, which are just one or two metres wide. The ban will be marked with new signage but Gion's main Hanamikoji Street, which is public, will remain open to tourists. In 2019, the Gion district council put up signs saying 'no photography on private roads' warning of fines of up to 52. In one incident, a US tourist reportedly threw almost 8,000 at a geisha and a key to a hotel room. Visitors often block the performers, who are sometimes mistaken for sex workers in other cultures, and pressure them to take selfies. Geishas are entertainers skilled in traditional Japanese dance, musical instruments and games. In the late 1920s there were around 80,000 geishas but now only 1,000 remain. Tourism to Japan has been booming since pandemic-era border restrictions were lifted, and other major attractions are also taking steps against mass tourism. This summer, hikers using the most popular route to climb Mount Fuji will be charged 10 each, with numbers capped to ease congestion and improve safety. A benefits cheat is facing jail after being covertly filmed doing 5k training runs despite claiming she could barely walk. A jury took just half an hour to find Annette Bond guilty of conning taxpayers out of nearly 70,000 at the end of a week-long trial at Perth Sheriff Court. The 49-year-old spent almost a decade claiming 'enhanced' benefit payments due to a series of conditions she claimed made it difficult for her to stand up or even get out of bed. But a fraud investigation team set up secret surveillance which filmed Bond running 5,000m circuits from her home in Stanley, Perthshire, up to four times a week. Sheriff William Wood deferred sentence for reports and granted bail. Annette Bond pictured outside Perth Sheriff Court after being found guilty of conning taxpayers out of nearly 70,000 He said: 'Given the duration of the deception by omission and the amounts involved, I need to consider whether a custodial sentence might be appropriate.' The jury heard the jeweller cheated taxpayers out of 67,062.50 by claiming her mobility was severely impaired by multiple sclerosis. They found her guilty after being shown footage of Bond leaving her home in high- visibility running gear to do sub-30 minute 5k runs. Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) fraud investigator Scott Hodge, 54, said the surveillance team finished their operation early because they had gathered so much damning evidence. Mr Hodge told the court that investigators parked in view of Bond's home and filmed her running the same route three times in a ten-day period in 2017. The 49-year-old spent almost a decade claiming 'enhanced' benefit payments due to a series of conditions she claimed made it difficult for her to stand up or even get out of bed He said: 'She is walking briskly and then she turns at the junction and begins to run. I have gone ahead of the subject and then captured footage of her running along the road. It would have been hills, ascents and descents, at various different parts of the journey. The estimated distance run was 4,800 metres just short of three miles.' He said Bond completed the run in 27 minutes. Mr Hodge told the court that Bond finished the runs without support from anyone else, had not been unsteady on her feet, and did not appear to be impaired. He said the team had been granted a warrant to conduct a surveillance operation between May 30 and August 29, 2017, but ended it after less than two weeks. He said Bond's confident running was at odds with the claims made about her conditions, including vertigo and dizzy spells. On her claim form, she stated: 'I prefer someone with me at all times when I am outdoors because I have poor balance. There is a risk of falling and dizzy spells.' Her mother, Elizabeth Bond, 68, told the jury her daughter was diagnosed with MS in 2004, but exercised regularly to fight the condition. Mrs Bond said: 'I occasionally saw her when I was on the way to work. She was out running. I was very pleased to see she was fit enough to run.' In her own evidence, Bond admitted running around four times per week, but said investigators saw her during a period when she was fitter. She was found guilty of fraudulently obtaining 67,062.50 in benefits from 2009 until 2018. Bond will be sentenced next month. OpenAI is reinstating Sam Altman to its board and has 'full confidence' in his leadership, reversing all the turmoil of the past four months. Altman was brought back after the conclusion of an outside investigation into the ChatGPT dramatic saga in November. The company tapped the law firm WilmerHale to look into what led the company to abruptly fire Altman in November, only to rehire him days later. After months of investigation, it found that Altman's ouster was a 'consequence of a breakdown in the relationship and loss of trust' between him and the prior board, OpenAI said on Friday. It did not release the full report. OpenAI is reinstating Sam Altman to its board and has 'full confidence' in his leadership, reversing all the turmoil of the past four months OpenAI also added three women to its board of directors: Sue Desmond-Hellman, a former head of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Nicole Seligman, a former Sony general counsel; and Instacart chief executive Fidji Simo. The San Francisco artificial intelligence company is attempting to show investors and customers that it is trying to move past the internal conflicts that nearly destroyed it last year and made global headlines. 'I'm pleased this whole thing is over,' Altman told reporters on Friday, adding he was disheartened to see 'people with an agenda' leaking information to try to harm the company or its mission and 'pit us against each other'. Altman said he learned from the experience and apologized for a dispute with a former board member he could have handled 'with more grace and care'. 'The OpenAI team was so focused and resilient during this time,' he said. 'I learned a lot from this experience I'm eager to move forward with the new board members.' 'I am confident they will make significant contributions to the mission.' Sue Desmond-Hellman, a former head of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, joined the OpenAI board Nicole Seligman, a former Sony general counsel, was also added to the board For more than three months, OpenAI said little about what led its then-board of directors to fire Altman on November 17. An announcement that day said Altman was 'not consistently candid in his communications' in a way that hindered the board's ability to exercise its responsibilities. He also was kicked off the board, along with its chairman, Greg Brockman, who responded by quitting his job as the company's president. Much of OpenAI's conflicts have been rooted in its unusual governance structure. Founded as a nonprofit with a mission to safely build futuristic AI that helps humanity, it is now a fast-growing big business still controlled by a nonprofit board bound to its original mission. The investigation found the previous board acted within its discretion, but it also determined that Altman's 'conduct did not mandate removal,' OpenAI said. It said both Altman and Brockman remained the right leaders for the company. 'The review concluded there was a significant breakdown in trust between the prior board, and Sam and Greg,' Bret Taylor, the board's chair, said on Friday. 'And similarly concluded that the board acted in good faith, that the board believed at the time that its actions would mitigate some of the challenges that it perceived and didn't anticipate some of the instability. Instacart chief executive Fidji Simo was the third new appointment to the OpenAi board 'We have unanimously concluded that Sam and Greg are the right leaders for OpenAI. 'I am excited to welcome Sue, Nicole, and Fidji to the OpenAI board of directors... We will get stronger and more stable with a strong board and strong governance. 'Their experience and leadership will enable the Board to oversee OpenAI's growth, and to ensure that we pursue OpenAI's mission of ensuring artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.' Days after his surprise ouster, Altman and his supporters with backing from most of OpenAI's workforce and close business partner Microsoft, which has since bought invested $13 billion in the company to take 49 per cent control helped orchestrate a comeback. Altman and Brockman were brought back to their executive roles and forced out board members Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner and another co-founder, Ilya Sutskever. Sutskever kept his job as chief scientist and expressed regret for his role in ousting Altman. 'I think Ilya loves OpenAI,' Altman said on Friday, saying he hoped they would keep working together but declining to answer a question about Sutskever's current position at the company. Ilya Sutskever led the failed board coup to out Altman, who returned days later following an employee and shareholder revolt, but kept his job Altman and Brockman did not regain their board seats when they rejoined the company in November. But an 'initial' new board of three men was formed, led by Taylor, a former Salesforce and Facebook executive who also chaired Twitter's board before Elon Musk took over the platform. The others are former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and Quora chief executive Adam D'Angelo, the only member of the previous board to stay on. Both Quora and Taylor's new startup, Sierra, operate their own AI chatbots that rely in part on OpenAI technology. After it retained the law firm in December, OpenAI said WilmerHale conducted dozens of interviews with the company's previous board, current executives, advisers and other witnesses. The company also said the law firm reviewed thousands of documents and other corporate actions. Elon Musk last week filed a lawsuit against OpenAI for chasing profit by partnering with Microsoft for $13 billion and keeping the code for its newest generative AI products a secret The board said it would make 'improvements' to the company's governance structure, adopt new corporate governance guidelines, and strengthen the company's policies around conflicts of interest. OpenAI would also create a whistleblower hotline that would allow employees and contractors to submit anonymous reports and establish additional board committees. The company still has other troubles to contend with, including a lawsuit filed by Musk, who helped bankroll the early years of OpenAI and was a co-chair of its board after its 2015 founding. Musk alleges that the company betrayed its founding mission in pursuit of profits. Legal experts expressed doubt about whether Musk's arguments, centered around an alleged breach of contract, would hold up in court. But it already forced open the company's internal conflicts about its unusual governance structure, how 'open' it should be about its research and how to pursue what's known as artificial general intelligence, or AI systems that can perform just as well as or even better than humans in a wide variety of tasks. In November 2015 Elon Musk wrote that the company needed $100million to avoid 'sounding hopeless' In an email from December 2018 Musk told Altman and other executives the company needed to make 'billions per year' Federal regulators are also investigating whether OpenAI investors were misled in the course of Altman's shock ouster and quick return. The Securities and Exchange Commission sent a subpoena to the ChatGPT creator in December, and Altman's internal communications are being combed through. The SEC did not point to any specific statement or communication by Altman that it deemed misleading. SEC officials in New York asked that some senior OpenAI executives preserve internal documents as they conduct the investigation. Taylor OpenAI's 'mission-driven nonprofit' structure would't be changing as it continued to pursue its vision for artificial general intelligence that benefits 'all of humanity.' 'Our duties are to the mission, first and foremost, but the company this amazing company that we're in right now was created to serve that mission,' he said. Author JK Rowling will not face any police action after a complaint that she 'misgendered' trans broadcaster India Willoughby was thrown out. Ms Willoughby, a newsreader and Loose Women presenter, contacted the police on Monday over an online post in which the Harry Potter author referred to her as a man. A Northumbria Police spokesman said: 'While we recognise the upset this may have caused, the post was reviewed and did not meet the criminal threshold.' Ms Willoughby previously claimed Ms Rowling 'definitely committed a crime'. In an interview with Byline TV, she said: 'I'm legally a woman. She knows I am a woman, and she calls me a man.' Rowling will not face any police action after a complaint that she 'misgendered' trans broadcaster India Willoughby was thrown out Ms Willoughby, a newsreader and Loose Women presenter, contacted the police on Monday over an online post in which the Harry Potter author referred to her as a man Posting on X, the writer said no law compelled her to refer to the broadcaster as a woman. She also said lawyers had previously advised she could sue Ms Willoughby for 'defamation'. In an online conversation about all-female changing rooms, Ms Rowling said Ms Willoughby 'was just a man revelling in his misogynistic performance of what he thinks 'woman' means: narcissistic, shallow and exhibitionist'. Ms Willoughby said the comments had led to a 'disgusting' online backlash. The Board of Education building in Meriden, Friday, April 8, 2022. File photo. Dave Zajac / Hearst Connecticut Media MERIDEN In response to financial challenges in the current year's budget including a $1.6 million deficit the Board of Education Finance Committee voted this week to increase its budget request for the next fiscal year, which will be presented to the City Council in early April. The board had approved the superintendent's request for a $7.6 million increase over current year spending, but on Tuesday voted to increase that amount to $8.7 million, bringing total spending in the proposed budget to $129.7 million, with the possibility of further increases looming. The education budget request of $129.7 million is composed of $111.9 million, plus $17.8 million from the state's Alliance District allocation. Advertisement Article continues below this ad This is more than Acting City Manager Emily Holland's recent budget proposal, which recommended $103.6 million in local funding, a $462,216 increase from the Board of Education's 2023-2024 budget, before the inclusion of Alliance District funds. Holland's budget is being reviewed by the Finance Committee, which is also looking closely at the possibility of investment returns and increased state funding. Schools Superintendent Mark Benigni attributed the budget increase to unforeseen expenses in the current budget. These include a rise in bilingual student enrollment, increased overall student numbers, heightened transportation costs for homeless students, extended bus routes, and a new bus contract, among other expenditures. The unanticipated costs have amounted to $1.6 million, prompting the district to enforce a budget freeze. The freeze halted hiring and non-essential spending and has helped save approximately $800,000 since January, with hopes of breaking even by the end of the school year. Additionally, the district has cut staff overtime and isnt starting any new programming. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Benigni stated that the board is aware of the need for more bilingual educators due to a surge in new students, but says there isnt enough funding to hire additional teachers. Grove emphasized the necessity of the freeze, stating, "We dont want to have to resort to extreme measures." However, he acknowledged that if progress toward addressing the remainder of the $1.6 million deficit is not made, the board might have to consider cutting programs, positions and field trips. With the board prohibited from carrying debt into the next school year, it would need the City Council's assistance to manage the shortfall if unable to make it up. Is it enough? During the meeting Tuesday, Board of Education President Robert Kosienski expressed concerns about whether the proposed $8.7 million increase would be enough given escalating costs and that the board might again fall short in the 2024-2025 school year. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Kosienski stated that the budget request doesnt reflect the continued growth in student enrollment which increases on average by 6 to 7 students per week. It is important to examine the number closely and have the budget reflect our potential needs based upon student increases, he said. ODonnell highlighted an unusual trend, noting that for the first time in 13 years, the budget request has increased throughout the process, contrary to the typical pattern of decreasing before the board's presentation to the City Council. The committee approved increasing the budget proposal and the new budget will be presented at a finance meeting on March 19. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Per-student spending There is a reason why were the second lowest in the state, Benigni said referring to per-student spending in Meriden compared to other Connecticut school districts. And its not because the state hasnt been doing their part. Thats the reality. Meriden spent an average of $14,995 per student with only Danbury ranking lower at $14,661 for the 2022-2023 school year. Advertisement Article continues below this ad For most of the last decade, Meriden Public Schools have been flat-funded with little to no year-over-year rise in the education budget. Despite state aid for the Meriden schools increasing, local contributions have decreased. A mother and her daughter are dead after police fatally shot the younger woman when she was discovered stabbing her mother in what a senior officer described as a 'terrible dilemma'. Police responded to reports of an altercation at a property on Kett Street, Lower Plenty in Melbourne's north-east at 6:30pm on Friday. Neighbours' reports initially suggested the daughter was trying to set her mother on fire but officers were instead confronted with her repeatedly stabbing the older woman once they arrived and looked over the backyard fence. They approached the daughter, 26, who was armed with a knife and asked her to put it down before shooting her when she did not. The mother, 52, had already been stabbed in the neck and torso and was believed to be dead by the time police shot her daughter. It is believed the daughter had mental health issues. Officers had responded to neighbours' reports the daughter was trying to set her mother on fire at the Lower Plenty property but were instead confronted with her repeatedly stabbing the older woman once they arrived The mother, 52, had already been stabbed in the neck and torso and was believed to be dead by the time police shot her daughter The entire block was cordoned off as police and forensic officers investigated the area. Neighbours reported hearing gunshots and aggressive arguing from the Kent Street unit as police arrived. 'I went at the back of my unit, where all the noise was coming from, It was the loud aggressive voices voices Ive never heard before,' Sue Keough told the Herald Sun. Ms Keough said that it was a male who was shouting and that he was telling someone to 'put the something down'. Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Scott Colson said what occurred was an 'absolute tragedy'. 'Nobody goes to work wanting to or expecting to draw their firearm,' Supt Colson said. 'But from what I know from attending the scene last night they were confronted by a terrible dilemma and they acted absolutely appropriately.' Officers initially arrived at the wrong address before finding the two women in the neighbouring house and jumped over the fence to confront the daughter. 'They called on the daughter to drop the knife, however she continued to stab the mother and the members had no other choice than to shoot her,' Supt Colson said. The mother, 52, died at the Kent Street property and officers were forced to fatally shoot the daughter, 26 Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Scott Colson said that officers were met with a 'terrible dilemma' Only one bullet was fired and Mr Colson said that he believes the responding officers acted correctly. Homicide detectives will investigate the incident which will be oversighted by Professional Standards Command, which is protocol for any incident where a police firearm is discharged. Supt Colson also confirmed that the responding officers are taking time off to cope with the situation. 'The members were surrounded by and given as much support as we can yesterday,' he said. 'They were feeling it tremendously ... they don't go to work expecting to draw their firearms and be involved in these sorts of tragedies.' There were other people at the property at the time but police have confirmed that there are no other suspects at this time. It was also revealed by Supt Colson that the younger woman was on bail for an unrelated matter. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle gave the owner of a Texas BBQ joint a warm embrace as they stopped by for a visit. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were all smiles as they headed into Austin's La Barbecue restaurant on Friday. Harry and Meghan both embraced co-owner Alison Clem in a warm hug each before being escorted inside where they greeted other workers. The couple kept it casual, with Meghan sporting a denim jumpsuit and white linen blazer and Prince Harry opted in relaxed, Henley style shirt. The visit came as Meghan ahead of Meghan's appearance at the SXSW festival where she opened up about her cyber-bullying ordeal while pregnant with her children Archie and Lilibet. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle gave the owner of a Texas BBQ joint a warm embrace as they arrived for a visit Harry and Meghan both gave Austin's La Barbecue owner Alison Clem a warm hug The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were all smiles as they met restaurant employees on Friday But the Duchess seemed much more relaxed as she mingled with restaurant workers, even posing for photos along with Harry. The couple's tactile approach marks a sharp break with the tradition of the British monarchy, which has historically been much more formal. Royal protocol dictated that a person was not to touch the late Queen unless she offered her hand first, for example. However, her son King Charles and the younger members of the royal family have been moving towards a more casual approach when dealing with the public in a bid to try and keep the institution relevant. Meghan complimented her laid-back look with a pair of black and tan Chanel ballet pumps, dark sun glasses and a cream purse. She was in town for her appearance on a star-studded panel at the opening day of the SXSW festival, alongside actress Brooke Shields and author Katie Couric. The Duchess of Sussex discussed 'breaking barriers and challenging stereotypes' at the event. Meghan, 42, talked about social media use and claimed most of the online hate she experienced happened while she was pregnant with her two young children. Meghan Markle has opened up about the 'hateful' messages she received while pregnant with Archie and Lilibet during SXSW festival today The visit to La Barbecue came a day after they were spotted enjoying a dinner at Soho House Austin 'I keep my distance from it right now for my wellbeing but the bulk of the bullying and abuse I was experiencing in social media and online was when I was pregnant with Archie and with Lili, and with a newborn, with each of them,' she said. 'You just think about that and to wrap your head about why people would be so hateful. It's not catty it's cruel. Why you would do that when you're pregnant or as a mom it's such a tender and sacred time.' Prince Harry was seen clapping in the front row to support his wife along with her old friend and confidante Markus Anderson. Dubbed 'Mr. Soho House', Markus is often referred to as the 'second most important man' in Meghan's life - and was instrumental in getting Harry and Meghan together. And just a day previously the couple were spotted looking upbeat and happy at another Texas restaurant linked to their first date. The couple were seen by onlookers on Thursday night at Soho House Austin, an exclusive members-only club. 'Harry was very animated throughout the dinner. They were super low key and seemed happy to be around the upbeat vibes at the lively venue,' a fellow diner said. The Duchess of Sussex arrived in Texas today to discuss 'breaking barriers and challenging stereotypes' Prince Harry is seen in the audience as she supports his wife Meghan while she speaks in the panel Prince Harry sat in the front row to support his wife Meghan as she spoke on the panel In July 2016, the couple had their very first date at the Soho House in London and even went back a second time at the club, the next day, as seen in a black and white photo of Meghan nestling into Harry's shoulder - the pair laughing. The restaurant, which has made a reputation for itself since its inception, has boasted thousands of wealthy members worldwide including Prince Harry. He recounted in his memoir the first time they met. 'Red-cheeked, puffing, sweaty, half-an-hour late, I ran into the restaurant, into the quiet room, and found her sitting at a small area on a low velvet sofa in front of a low coffee table,' Harry recalled about their initial date in his memoir Spare. The smitten prince said that she was 'heart-attack beautiful' when he laid eyes on her that day. 'I'd seen so many photos of her from fashion shoots and TV sets, all glam and glossy, but there she was, in the flesh, no frills, no filter... and even more beautiful,' he said. A second crime scene has been set up at a home almost 100km away from where a woman's body was found dumped in a wheelie bin on an isolated stretch of road. The grisly find was made on Mt Pollock Rd at Buckley, near Geelong south-west of Melbourne around midday on Saturday. Police are treating the discovery as suspicious and established a crime scene at the area south of the Princes Highway. The area remains blocked off to traffic, with scattered residential blocks and farmland along the road where the woman's body was found. The second crime scene was established 86km away at a Point Cook home in south-west Melbourne. Police closed off Mt Pollock Rd after the discovery of a woman's body stuffed in a wheelie bin Specialist officers and forensic travelled to Buckley to examine the crime scene READ MORE: Link between Samantha Murphy and her alleged killer revealed The remains of missing mum Samantha Murphy are yet to be found Advertisement Police have confirmed the home is believed to be connected to the body of the woman found in Buckley. Eric Lewis, who owns land near the Mt Pollock Rd scene where her body was found told the Herald Sun he was 'flabbergasted' by the horrific discovery. He said he made his way to the scene after hearing something on the 'bush telegraph' but that police would not tell him anything. 'What is happening here in Buckley, I just cant believe it,' he said. Mr Lewis told Nine News: 'Missed being on my land by a couple of metres.' 'I've never seen a wheelie bin lying there and I go up and down there quite often.' Another resident said the find was 'disturbing' and would rock the close knit local community. Photos from the Mount Pollock Rd scene where the woman's body was found show a heavy police presence, including a helicopter, homicide detectives and members of Victorian Police's VIPER Taskforce. The VIPER Taskforce is a statewide capability that provides a tactical and investigative response to serious and organised crime. The woman's body was found dumped in a green waste bin among trees in a paddock Mount Pollock Rd is a gravel stretch with farmland on either side. No arrests have yet been made. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Three quarters of deer in some parts of the US are infected with an 100 percent fatal 'zombie deer virus', experts have warned. The deadly neurological illness, also known as chronic wasting disease, is currently attacking North American cervids including deer, elk and moose. The brain virus leaves animals confused, drooling, and unafraid of humans. In areas where the disease is endemic, prevalence is normally estimated to be up to 25 percent. However, experts in Colorado have warned as many as three quarters of deer are infected in certain parts of the state. National park goers are urged to remain vigilant and steer clear of any animals which appear to be infected, especially after the discovery of a sick deer at Yellowstone at the end of last year, Three quarters of deer in some parts of the US are infected with an 100 percent fatal 'zombie deer virus', experts have warned At least 32 states in America and parts of Canada have seen reports of a virus dubbed 'zombie deer disease' that could potentially spread to humans Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion-transmitted disease, similar to 'Mad Cow,' which can cause weight loss, loss of coordination and other eventually fatal neurological symptoms in deer. Above, a deer killed by CWD as identified by Mississippi wildlife officials Colorado Parks and Wildlife P.I.O. Joey Livingston told Western Slope Now that scientists have identified chronic wasting disease in 40 out of 54 of our deer herds and 17 out of 42 elk herds. Once an animal contracts this disease, there is no cure or treatment. It is 100% fatal. They become lethargic, or off on their own, and not interested in other deer. Their brain is deteriorating, and itll look like that,' he told the outlet. The disease is transmissible through shedding, feces and places where animals eat and tends to be more common in male deer who have greater interactions with other deer, especially during mating season. There have been no cases of transmission to human yet however scientists have suggested it is a possibility. The disease is caused by misfolded proteins - when proteins do not fold into the correct shape - called prions. After infection, prions travel throughout the central nervous system, leaving prion deposits in brain tissues and organs. Recent studies have shown that the prions have the ability to infect and multiply in human cells in lab conditions - which has raised the prospect of a spillover. It is thought that humans may contract the disease from eating infected venison, or via contact with contaminated soil and water. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion-transmitted disease, similar to 'Mad Cow,' which can cause weight loss, loss of coordination and other eventually fatal neurological symptoms in deer. Above, a deer killed by CWD as identified by Mississippi wildlife officials The disease is transmissible through shedding, feces and places where animals eat It may take up to two years for an infected animal to develop symptoms READ MORE: Is SOIL driving the spread of 'zombie deer disease'? Scientists discovered cases dropped in areas with higher clay concentration Researchers in Illinois believe that the amount of clay found in soil affects the spread of 'zombie deer disease.' The disease, formally called chronic wasting disease (CWD), causes holes in the brain. According to the Illinois group's study, a high amount of clay in the soil can help stop the illness. Advertisement It can take up to two years before symptoms present in cervids. As of last month, at least 32 states in the US and parts of Canada have seen reports of the virus. Dr. Cory Anderson told The Guardian: 'The BSE (mad cow) outbreak in Britain provided an example of how, overnight, things can get chaotic when a spillover event occurs, say, from livestock to people.' BSE is also a prion-transmitted disease, like chronic wasting disease. 'We're talking about the potential of something similar occurring,' said Anderson, the program co-director at the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. He added: 'No one is saying that it's definitely going to happen, but it's important for people to be prepared.' According to Anderson, whose study focused on the pathways of CWD transmission, the disease is 'invariably fatal, incurable, and highly contagious,' he said. 'Baked into the worry is that we don't have an effective easy way to eradicate it, neither from the animals it infects nor the environment it contaminates.' CWD was first identified in captive deer in a Colorado research facility in the late 1960s, and in wild deer in 1981. By the 1990s, it had been reported in surrounding areas in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming. While prevalence is generally low, it is much higher among captive herds. A rate of 79 percent (nearly 4 in 5) has been reported from at least one captive herd. A popular music festival has come under fire for going ahead, despite urging revellers to reconsider their plans due a major fire risk and an extreme heatwave. The Pitch Music and Arts festival in Moyston, 15km west of Ararat in Victoria's western district encouraged revellers on Friday to leave the site or delay their travel to the event, despite organisers refusing to cancel More than 18,000 were expected to attend Pitch on Saturday, which is one of the state's biggest music festivals. Temperatures in Moyston are expected to reach 37C on Saturday and 39 degrees on Sunday. Organisers warned attendees on Friday night to 'leave tonight or early in the morning' following safety warnings, despite many having already set up at the site for the five-day event. Organisers chose to delay the start time of the festival until 6pm Saturday following consultations with authorities. The Pitch Music and Arts festival (crowds at previous event pictured) is one of Victoria's biggest music festivals The Pitch Music and Arts festival urged attendees to reconsider because of a high fire danger in the area but still went ahead with the event READ MORE: One feared dead in huge fire Fire and police crews remain at the scene (pictured) of a massive fire which ripped through a bakery and adjoining home Advertisement 'Following the update which was provided yesterday, and after consultation this morning with CFA, Victoria Police and other members of the Emergency Management teams, Pitch Music and Arts music programming will commence at 6pm today [Saturday] and will continue as schedule for the remainder of the event,' organisers said in the latest update. 'At the time of writing there are no active fires in the region and we wish to reassure you that those who are on site have access to ample shade, cooling misting fans, food and water.' 'We are diligently following the guidance of relevant authorities to prioritise the safety of our community and have a full team of emergency services including medical, police and on site fire response who are on call throughout the event The first wave of revellers had already arrived at the site, which is at the foot of the Grampians, before the dire updates were issued Parents whose teens and young adult-aged children had travelled to the event are also concerned because of the lack of mobile reception at the rural location. Some parents have driven out to the festival site to pick up their children. Melbourne mother Nuala told the Herald Sun that her 22-year-old son still attended the event despite organisers' 'absolutely shocking' decision not to cancel. 'I just think it's the most irresponsible thing. They're putting kids at risk, I just feel like the communication is terrible from Pitch,' she said. 'Once a fire starts, imagine trying to get all of those kids out.' Revellers were advised by the CFA to leave when they arrived at the venue on Friday An update from event organisers detailed the extreme weather and fire dangers associated with this year's festival Pitch's social media pages have been flooded by refund requests from those who chose to follow the CFA's advice. Ticket prices range from $449 for two days to $499 for four days. Organisers have apologised for the delays in processing tickets refund as they work to keep up with the demand. 'Regarding refund inquires, we appreciate your patience as we work through the specifics,' organisers advised on the event website 'Rest assured, ticket holders will receive an update as more information becomes available.' As revellers were arriving by the busload on Friday night they were immediately warned by the CFA to leave. Disgruntled festival goers slammed the last-minute warning and questioned why the event was not cancelled earlier in the week. A follow-up announcement alerted those who did decide to still go that Saturday's events had been delayed - but still not cancelled Parents who sent their children to the Pitch Music and Arts Festival have called the decision not to call off the event 'deplorable' Aaron Smith, another concerned parent, wrote on X that the whole ordeal was 'frustrating' because he has no way to check if his 19-year-old daughter is safe. 'Pitch has issued a message relaying CFA advice to not come or to leave, but they're still running the event. My child arrived yesterday - and no mobile reception. No idea what they're telling those already there. Such mixed messaging: Going ahead from 6pm, don't come yet if you haven't left... Not confidence inspiring,' Mr Smith wrote. He went on to tell The Age that it hard to consider the logic of Pitch's contradictory advice. 'It's really confusing because it's inconsistent and it's impossible to square the advice of not to come with not cancelling the event,' he said. Another parent said that she had been 'non-stop' calling her son until she was somehow able to finally contact him 'Just got in contact with my son who has been there since yesterday. He says there are CFA trucks and people everywhere and they have had the evacuation procedure explained to them. Set times have been pushed back. He feels quite safe - obviously I am worried,' she wrote. Others similarly slammed the festival, calling it 'deplorable' and 'reckless'. 'This is deplorable that this festival is going ahead. It is unfair on the locals and fire services who may have to divert resources because of a large gathering in order to protect people. It's also not fair on the medical workers, security and all the staff who are providing services to have to work in such extreme conditions,' one wrote. 'This is completely reckless and negligent for the organisers of Pitch Music & Arts to allow the event to go ahead in these conditions. They need to ensure that these children can leave safely. They have a duty of care to these kids,' another said. Some parents have not been able to contact young revellers at the vent (pictured) due to the lack of mobile reception in the area A total fire-ban has been announced for Central Victoria and 60km east of where Pitch is being held a large bushfire broke out two weeks ago Two teens who decided to still attend the event told the ABC that many of the people they talked to weren't sure what was going on. 'We have absolutely no idea if we're allowed to go. 'Don't come or come the middle ground is really, really confusing. That's what's making everyone stressed,' one said. Another teen who opted to leave after already arriving added that most of the performers had pulled out so it was not worth attending anyway. 'All the big artists have been apparently cancelled so it's not really worth staying there and getting heat stroke,' she told the publication. She said the process had put her $130 out of pocket because of the return bus fare. Daily Mail Australia has contacted the organisers of Pitch for comment. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will take up a lawsuit from a mother who is suing the parents of the man who murdered her son, along with the couple's marriage counselor. Christian Moore-Rouse, 22, was shot in the back of his head by his friend Adam Rosenberg, who is serving life in prison, on December 21, 2019. Moore-Rouse's mother, T. Lee Rouse, sued Rosenberg's parents in 2021 claiming they had found the murder weapon and gave it to their marriage counselor who turned it into the police and lied about where it came from. Both the trial court and Pennsylvania Superior Court found that Rouse's claim failed because they never actually touched her son's body, reported local newspaper TribLive. Rouse appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania who approved her request on Tuesday. Christian Moore-Rouse (pictured), 22, was shot in the back of his head by his friend Adam Rosenberg, who is serving life in prison, on December 21, 2019 Moore-Rouse's mother, T. Lee Rouse (pictured), sued Rosenberg's parents in 2021 claiming they had found the murder weapon and gave it to their marriage counselor who turned it into the police and lied about where it came from Although Moore-Rouse was killed in December 2019, his body was not found until March 3, 2020 near Rosenberg's house in Fox Chapel Moore-Rouse's mother is suing the parents of her son's killer, Adam Rosenberg (pictured), claiming they found a gun and give it to their marriage counselor which delayed police finding her sons body The mother is asking the state Supreme Court to decided if Kimberly and Howard Rosenberg and their marriage counselor Martha Lux are liable for damages under a state law called the Interference with Dead Bodies tort. The tort allows a family member of the deceased to sue for damages from the emotional distress caused by someone who interferes with the proper burial of a body. Although Moore-Rouse was killed in December 2019, his body was not found until March 3, 2020 near Rosenberg's house in Fox Chapel. According to police, Rosenberg had invited Moore-Rouse over to his house, then shot his friend in the back of the head, dragged his body down the driveway and hid it off the road. By the time Moore-Rouse's body was discovered, Rosenberg had been arrested for a second murder, reported KDKA. Rosenberg shot and killed a man who he is said to have met on a dating app, Jeremy Dentel, 28, inside his home in Baldwin in February 2020. Rosenberg pleaded guilty but mentally ill in both cases and was sentenced to two concurrent life sentences. At one point, Rosenberg said he was compelled by Satan and wanted to be a serial killer. During the investigation into Moore-Rouse's case, police learned Rosenberg's parents had found the murder weapon and brought it to Laux. On January 20, 2020, Laux took the gun to the Allegheny County Police and said she found it in a park while walking her dog. Rouse's lawsuit claims that these actions delayed the police investigation and the discovery of her son's body. 'Kimberly Rosenberg and Howard Rosenberg took the 9mm Ruger SR9C handgun to their marriage counselor, defendant Laux,' Rouse's lawyer Mark Homyak said in the filing. 'Laux falsely told the police she had found a loaded magazine and the unloaded gun on a trail off of Southridge Drive in North Park while walking her dog.' According to police, Rosenberg had invited Moore-Rouse over to his house, then shot his friend in the back of the head, dragged his body down the driveway and hid it off the road. Pictured: a road leading up to the Rosenberg house Rouse's lawsuit claims that the parents and counselors actions delayed the police investigation and the discovery of her son's body Rosenberg shot and killed a man who he is said to have met on a dating app, Jeremy Dentel (pictured), 28, inside his home in Baldwin in February 2020 Homyak told WPXI, 'The duty of confidentiality ends when there's a crime proposed during the session and the counselor has a duty to tell the client not to commit the crime and certainly not to participate in it.' The trial court and Superior Court denied Rouse's claims because they said neither the Rosenbergs nor Laux touched her son's body. 'At most, Rouse's complaint alleges that the Rosenbergs somehow came into possession of the murder weapon and either knew or suspected that Adam was responsible for Christian's disappearance, and that they used their marriage counselor to turn the murder weapon into the police under a false explanation,' the Superior Court said. 'While these facts might not paint defendants in a positive light, those facts also do not show that they did anything to conceal the location of a murder victim's body or thwart the police from discovering it, let alone even know where it was located.' The teen killed by an out-of-control bus during evening peak hour in front of shocked bystanders in the Brisbane CBD has been remembered as a 'beautiful and unique' young woman by heartbroken loved ones. Tia Cameron, 18, had just finished getting her eyelashes done at a nearby beauty salon and was on her way to have cocktails with her aunt when the bus mounted a footpath and struck her near the corner of Ann and Edward streets in Brisbane on Friday night. She tragically died at the scene, despite the frantic efforts of emergency responders. Family have since revealed they launched a frantic search for Tia and filed a missing persons report after she failed to meet up with her aunt or return home on Friday night before their worst fears were realised. It comes as loved ones mourned the loss of the vivacious teenager that they said been 'stolen from us'. Tia's mother Jade Te Awhitu said the loss was shattering. 'She was only 18 and had her whole life ahead of her,' Ms Te Awhitu told the Courier Mail. Tia Cameron has been identified as the 18-year-old victim of a bus that mounted a footpath in the Brisbane CBD on Friday night Tia had just left a beauty salon after having her eyelashes done when she was pinned against the wall of a building by the bus, which had mounted the kerb and struck her from behind READ MORE: Woman charged with murder of three-month-old baby 12 years ago The 30-year-old woman was refused bail and appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Saturday Advertisement 'She was beautiful, outgoing and unique, really unique. She loved the beach, the Gold Coast, fashion and looking after her partner's little puppies and dogs. She was really close with all of her family.' Ms Cameron's devastated aunty Karma Te Awhitu said: 'We just feel like she's been stolen from us.' 'She messaged me at 4pm saying she was getting her lashes done and asking if I wanted to catch up for a quick cocktail before she headed home,' she said. 'When I hadn't heard from her and her partner hadn't heard from her, we realised she was missing and started looking for her. I was ringing the hospital and Hayden was calling the police and even went to the police station to file a missing-person report, because it was just so out of character for her.' She added that her niece's body is currently at the coroners and is expected to released back to the family on Monday. 'We will update in the coming days regarding Tia's celebration of life,' she added. Ms Cameron attended Ferny Grove State High but left school at 16 to work in the beauty industry. She got an admin job at the prestigious Brisbane Club in the city. Ms Te Awhitu said although her daughter loved that job, her interest was in pursuing beauty and cosmetics. Tia had been dating her childhood sweetheart Hayden since she was 14. 'He's not very good but he's holding in there - we're all supporting each other,' she added said. 'I think we're just all in shock.' Tia Cameron (left) had been working at the prestigious Brisbane Club but wanted to pursue a career in beauty Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner promised 'every one of the questions surrounding how the accident occurred 'will be answered'. Pictured is his floral tribute at the crash scene Floral tributes to the teenager piled up at the crash site in central Brisbane over Saturday The Brisbane Club chief executive Ted Stewart said Ms Cameron was 'young, full of life and always had a beautiful smile to greet her colleagues and members each day'. 'I, along with Tia's colleagues and all of The Brisbane Club wish to express our deepest condolences and our heartfelt love and support to Tia's family and friends at this incredibly difficult time,' he said. 'As a valued member of The Brisbane Club team, we know the loss is being felt by many and we are coming together to support staff and members at this time.' By Saturday afternoon, a growing shrine of floral tributes had been set up at the crash scene. Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner was among those to pay tribute and lay flowers at the crash scene. 'What happened in Brisbane last night was a devastating tragedy,' Cr Schrinner wrote on Facebook. 'It has left our entire community in shock. 'To the family and friends of Tia Cameron who tragically lost her life, and to everyone impacted, the thoughts, prayers and hearts of Brisbane are with you.' Cr Schrinner also promised 'every one of the questions surrounding how the accident occurred 'will be answered'. 'We know right now that the police are working on this,' he said. 'We're assisting them in every way possible. A range of camera footage has been provided including both traffic camera footage and from the bus itself. 'Everything possible is being done to find and provide those answers. I want the people of Brisbane to know and I particularly want the family and friends of this young woman to know that Brisbane is a city that's with you now.' Another Brisbane councillor Ryan Murphy added: 'Tia Cameron lost her life in an unthinkable way. 'She and her family are in our thoughts, as are the brave first responders, those on the bus, and everyone who bore witness to this profound tragedy. The incident caused chaos near the scene at the intersection of Edward and Adelaide streets, with pedestrians running from the crash site and peak hour traffic diverted 'People are seeking answers and so are we. 'Please don't forget our thousands of drivers out there today on the road, who are also hurting. It's a tough job, so let's be kind.' The bus had just turned into Edward St from Ann St during Friday afternoon peak hour when it appears the driver lost control and veered toward the footpath. Ms Cameron was reportedly facing the wall of a building at Anzac Square when she was hit from behind and pinned against the wall of the structure. Nine people travelling on the bus were also treated by paramedics, with five transported to hospital, including the driver, with minor injuries after they were thrown from their seats during the collision. The incident caused chaos near the scene at the intersection of Edward and Adelaide streets, not far from Brisbane's Central railway station, with pedestrians running from the crash site and peak hour traffic diverted. Witnesses described hearing the bus hit a light pole before crashing onto the footpath and seeing 'bricks flying', according to the Courier Mail. The bus has just turned into Edward St from Ann St during Friday afternoon peak hour when it appears the driver lost control and veered toward the footpath Minh Phan, the owner of the salon the victim visited before the tragedy, left flowers at the scene on Saturday morning. 'I'm very sad to hear what has happened,' Ms Phan told waiting media. 'And I feel very sorry for her family.' Queensland Premier Steven Miles posted to X to offer his condolences to the family of the young woman. 'I'm saddened to hear the news that a woman has died after a bus was involved in a serious crash in Brisbane CBD this evening,' he posted on X. Police investigations into the cause of the tragic accident are ongoing. A campaigner suing the Department of Homeland Security to obtain Prince Harry's immigration records has urged the prince to be 'honest and truthful' in disclosing how he got into the United States after admitting to taking drugs in his memoir. Nile Gardiner, the Washington-based head of the Heritage Foundation's Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, said presiding judge Carl Nichols' recent order for the DHS to hand over relevant records was an 'encouraging development' but urged the Duke of Sussex to be transparent. Arguing it 'ridiculous and ludicrous to argue against the release of immigration records on the grounds of protecting his privacy', he told MailOnline there was a public interest in the US public seeing the records and commended former President Trump 'supporting' the release. 'It's our view that Prince Harry should be completely honest and truthful in applying to live in the United States,' he said. 'Prince Harry is a high-profile British figure who lives in the United States and we believe that everyone should be treated equally in the eyes of law in applying to live in the United States. 'We see this issue as an important issue for everyone who believes in enforcement of US immigration law and for anyone who believes the importance of the US-UK special relationship as well.' In the wake of the publication of Spare last year, right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation sued the DHS for access to Prince Harry's files. The US routinely asks about drug use on its visa applications, though acknowledgement of past drug use does not necessarily bar people from entering or staying in the country. Last month, ex-President Donald Trump (pictured during a party event on March 5 in Florida) said that he would not protect Harry if he were elected again in November Since June, the Duke's immigration status has been scrutinized after conservative group the Heritage Foundation sent a public-information request to the Department of Homeland Security for Harry's records (pictured with Meghan Markle in British Columbia, February 14) Nile Gardiner urged the prince to be 'honest and truthful', and stressed the public interest in the case The comments come as Trump-appointed judge Carl Nichols on Thursday called for the DHS to hand over the records, asking the agency to provide declarations explaining the 'particular harm' of disclosing the application. Judge Carl Nichols told the DHS that its arguments so far were 'insufficiently detailed' for him to make a decision. The Heritage Foundation is also seeking the release of the documents as part of a Freedom of Information request it filed last year. Nile Gardiner heralded the decision, urging the Biden administration to do more to ensure the records are made available in the name of 'transparency and accountability from the United States government'. 'There's strong support among the American people for the release of Prince Harry's immigration records,' he said. 'This case has become one of the most high-profile and significant immigration-related legal cases in recent US history and so a lot of Americans are following this case and there's a great deal of public interest in the outcome.' Mr Gardiner continued: 'It's very important that the American people can have faith in the immigration system and how it is applied. 'Anyone who applies for a US visa has to be honest and truthful and we want to establish whether or not Prince Harry was honest and truthful in his application and whether US officials gave him preferential treatment. 'These are important questions that need to be answered and the Biden administration has refused to answer any questions, which is why we sued them for the release of these records.' Last week's development followed a hearing in Washington in February in which Judge Nichols heard from DHS and the Heritage Foundation. The foundation is seeking to release the material and establish whether the DHS applied leniency for the royal after he was allowed into the US after admitting to taking drugs in his memoir and in TV interviews. The DHS has said the prince may have embellished claims made in Spare to 'sell books'. If the Duke did not tell the truth on his entry forms then he could be removed from the US or barred by a border agent. In Washington, Judge Nichols stated that the Freedom of Information law authorised him to review 'declarations and/or contested records in camera'. Doing so would help him to determine whether any exemptions preventing the documents from being made public apply. Judge Nichols said: 'Having reviewed the parties' written submissions and heard oral argument on the motions, the court concludes that in camera review is necessary to determine whether the records in dispute come within the scope of the claimed exemptions'. He gave the DHS until March 21 to submit declarations that detail 'the records it is withholding and the particular harm that would arise from public disclosure of them', his order said. Britain's Prince Harry attends the featured session 'women in media' at the Austin Convention Center during the 2024 SXSW Conference and Festival on March 8, 2024, in Austin, Texas District Court Judge Carl Nichols was appointed to the bench by Donald Trump in 2018 but since then has not always gone along with the ex-president 'Clearly there's a lot of public interest in this,' Mr Gardiner argued. 'Immigration has become the number one issue in the US election, according to Gallup and so anything that's immigration-related is important to the American people.' 'I expect that this case is going to attract more and more attention from just ordinary Americans who want to see the rule of law applied. 'It remains to be seen whether this particular case, generates, you know, more political debate. 'But there is already intense public interest in the case and President Trump has already weighed in in favour of the release of Harry's immigration records.' The campaigner argued that the Biden administration was making an 'assertion' with its defence not to release the documents on grounds of protecting the prince's privacy. He argued that Prince Harry was 'one of the most public figures in the world' and 'in the United States right now', and cited 'a number of high profile interviews where he talks about his own private life'. Heritage has claimed in legal filings that Harry being so open about his private life means he has forfeited such a right. 'Harry himself has gone to great lengths to discuss his own private life, including his drug use, which he outlined in Spare,' Mr Gardiner explained. During the hearing last month, lawyers for the DHS said that Harry's claims about his drug use in 'Spare' may not have been true and may have been in there just to sell books. 'The book isn't sworn testimony or proof,' John Bardo told the court. 'Saying something in a book doesn't necessarily make it true.' In its legal filing, the DHS said that the records at issue are 'particularly sensitive' because they would 'reveal Harry's (immigration) status in the United States.' The DHS has claimed that Harry still has a right to privacy even though he is a celebrity. 'The Biden administration should have an interest in enforcing the rule of law and it doesn't make any difference whether someone is applying from the UK or any other part of the world, everyone should be subject to the same immigration laws,' Mr Gardiner contested. 'And it shouldn't matter whether one is a prince or aristocrat. And that's an important principle for the American people that everyone is treated equally. And I think that you know.' The Duke of Sussex participates in the 'women in media' session at the Austin Convention Center during the 2024 SXSW Conference and Festival on March 8, 2024, in Austin, Texas Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attend the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral on June 3, 2022 in London, England The Duke of Sussex's immigration status has been under scrutiny since conservative group the Heritage Foundation sent a public-information request to the Department of Homeland Security for Harry's records. That followed his admission in Spare that he had taken cocaine several times starting around age 17, in order 'to feel. To be different.' He also acknowledged using cannabis and psychedelic mushrooms. The issue is now back in the news following Harry's February interview with Good Morning America where the issue of him seeking US citizenship was raised. 'The American citizenship is a thought that has crossed my mind but certainly not something that's a high priority for me right now,' he said. Harry moved to Southern California with Meghan and their young family in 2020 after they left royal life and embarked on new projects. Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf has hit out at 'Islamophobic attacks' on his family after he was accused of creating a conflict of interest by directing 250,000 of taxpayer cash to the UN's Gaza aid agency while his in-laws were trapped there. Mr Yousaf stepped in to suggest giving 250,000 to UNRWA after officials recommended making a maximum 200,000 donation to children's agency Unicef; he was due to meet UNRWA officials in Edinburgh shortly after the exchange. Meanwhile, his Scottish mother-in-law and her Palestinian husband were trapped in a settlement near Gaza City. They were given safe passage to Egypt the day after the UNRWA donation was announced but Mr Yousaf denies any link. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, he said he had spent his 'political life... battl(ing) insinuations from sections of the media desperate to link me to terrorism'; the UNRWA has been accused by Israel of harbouring Hamas sympathisers. The claims, for which Israel has provided no substantial evidence, have crippled the aid agency after 16 countries withdrew financial support following the allegations in January. The EU, Canada and Sweden have since vowed to resume donations. Humza Yousaf has denied creating a conflict of interest by guiding public funds to be given to a Palestinian aid agency while his in-laws were trapped in Gaza Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla, Humza Yousaf's parents-in-law, travelled to Gaza shortly before Hamas invaded Israel on October 7 The El-Naklas were staying in Deir al-Balah, south of Gaza City, when the Israeli shelling started (pictured: an Israel bomb going off in Gaza City on November 2) The UNRWA is the UN's Palestine aid agency - and has been attempting to deliver food and water to those displaced by Israel's war with Hamas Rescue workers in Deir al-Balah, where the El-Naklas were staying, on October 15 as Israel began its ongoing campaign to strike what it says are Hamas targets across Gaza Mr Yousaf with his wife Nadia El-Nakla, an SNP councillor who was born to a Scottish mother and a Palestinian father Mr Yousaf has angrily attacked the claims on social media, describing them as a 'far-right conspiracy' motivated by Islamophobia Mr Yousaf has described the implication, first reported in the Telegraph, that he was trying to help his family with the use of public money as an 'outrageous smear' and a 'far right conspiracy' that sought to link him to terrorism. He posted on X, formerly Twitter: 'Most of my political life, I've battled insinuations from sections of the media desperate to link me to terrorism despite campaigning my whole life against it. 'To be clear, the Scottish Government gave money to Gaza, like virtually every Government in the West, because of the unarguable humanitarian catastrophe that has unfolded there. 'Whether funding was given to Unicef or UNRWA, both of course UN agencies, it was always for the people of Gaza. 'Funding to UNRWA was deemed the most flexible way of ensuring money got to where it was needed. Hence why so many governments, including the UK, gave millions to them.' READ MORE: Britain will join the US and other allies to create maritime corridor to deliver aid to Gaza, David Cameron says Advertisement Mr Yousaf's parents-in-law, Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla, travelled to Gaza in early October shortly before Hamas terrorists breached the Israel border and slaughtered 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, on October 7. Mr Yousaf has denied suggestions that the UNRWA donation was meant to help facilitate their departure from the country around a month later - pointing out that they were helped by the Foreign Office, as other British nations were. He added: 'UNRWA, of course, had nothing to do with my in-laws being able to leave Gaza. 'They were able to leave Gaza due to the hard work of the crisis team at the FCDO, like every other British national. 'The FCDO can of course confirm this. To suggest otherwise is a flat-out lie & smear. 'I can not tell you the trauma my family suffered, particularly during the weeks my in-laws were trapped there. 'To peddle far-right conspiracies in a newspaper is outrageous & will only encourage a further pile-on of vile abuse my family & I have suffered throughout this period.' Mr Yousaf's tweets did not allude to the excerpts of emails published by the Telegraph that suggest he overrode the advice of his officials and ministers to ensure the money went to UNRWA days before he was due to meet officials in Edinburgh rather than Unicef. Nor has he commented on the fact he asked for 250,000, rather than officials' suggestions of between 100,000 and 200,000 to be donated, at most. Mr Yousaf has denied any conflict of interest, but one MSPs has suggested the move could have breached the Scottish ministerial code. Hamas' actions sparked a months-long conflict that has reduced much of the region to rubble and displaced millions. It also trapped Mr and Mrs El-Nakla - whose daughter, Mr Yousaf's wife Nadia, is also an SNP councillor - in the war-torn territory. Discussions began among Scottish Government officials to provide aid to Gaza as Israel began its near-ceaseless shelling of alleged Hamas targets after the October 7 attacks. To date, 30,878 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in the conflict, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA). Six days after October 7, Mr Yousaf shared a video of his mother-in-law's tearful appeal for aid from within Deir al-Balah, south of Gaza city. And the next day on October 14 the Scottish Government announced its first UNRWA donation of 500,000. Two weeks later, Mr Yousaf clashed with his own advisors on where to send the next lump of financial aid. Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross (left) says Mr Yousaf has 'questions to answer' over the donation. His Scottish Lib Dem counterpart Alex Cole-Hamilton (right) said the intervention 'seem(ed) like an unusual step' The UNRWA is involved in delivering aid to the 1.7million Palestinians displaced by Israel's war with Hamas It has warned it is struggling to deliver aid without financial support after Israel claimed it was harbouring Hamas terrorists among its staff The UNRWA has also accused Israel of deliberately holding up aid deliveries into Gaza, and claims its soldiers have shot at aid convoys Detainees captured by Israeli forces (a group of captives in December pictured) have since claimed after being released that they were tortured into making false confessions relating to UNRWA links with Hamas UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini (pictured) told the UN on Monday that the aid agency was at 'breaking point' after losing millions in donations Official advice suggested funding Unicef water projects was the 'preferred option' but Mr Yousaf, who was set to meet with UNRWA that week, said: 'We should just announce an extra 250k to them, taking our total to 750k.' The cash is reported to have come from the Scottish Government's International Development Fund, which is meant to be ring-fenced for projects in Malawi, Rwanda, Zambia and Pakistan. The announcement was then made on November 2, a day before the El-Naklas were able to leave. READ MORE: Pressure mounts on Israel over Gaza aid struck disaster after international outcry as IDF is accused of shooting desperate crowd Advertisement A spokesman for the First Minister said their evacuation was not enabled in any way by UNRWA, which is presently engaged in delivering emergency aid to the 1.7million displaced Palestinians within Gaza and providing them with refugee camps. Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla then returned home to Dundee, and said her life had 'changed forever' after escaping the Israel-Hamas war in a subsequent interview with Sky News. Emails between Mr Yousaf and his officials were initially obtained using Freedom of Information laws by Glasgow resident Craig Houston, who shared the details of the exchanges on YouTube. Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, says Mr Yousaf has 'questions to answer' over which he reneged on official advice, while Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the FM's actions 'seem(ed) like an unusual step'. Conservative MSP Stephen Kerr, who sits on Holyrood's standards committee, said the First Minister had 'some serious explaining to do' and 'may very well have broken the (Scottish ministerial) code'. However, a spokesperson for the First Minister said any suggestion of a conflict of interest in the matter amounted to a regurgitation of 'far-right conspiracy theories to be found online.'All international development fund allocations are guided by a rigorous process, they said. 'UNRWA had no role in the situation regarding the First Minister's extended family and any suggestion of a conflict of interest in this matter would be completely untrue, and simply a regurgitation of ludicrous far-right conspiracy theories to be found online,' the spokesperson said. 'The record shows the First Minister's actions were consistent with his obligations towards openness and honesty in the Scottish Ministerial Code. 'The decision not to restrict funding to water supplies was based on advice from officials, following discussions with UNRWA, Unicef and the British Red Cross, who all stressed the importance of flexibility in providing humanitarian support according to changing needs on the ground.' Questions had been asked over the suitability of UNRWA as a recipient of public money after Israel alleged 12 agency staff were involved in the October 7 attacks conducted by Hamas. The country has not provided evidence to support its claims, but UNRWA sacked those who had been accused of involvement after launching an investigation, which is ongoing. Despite a lack of forthcoming evidence from Israel on its claims 16 countries, including the UK, halted financial support for the aid body. Since then, UNRWA employees detained by Israeli soldiers have claimed they were tortured and coerced into making false confessions about the agency's alleged links to Hamas. CNN reported a UNRWA spokesperson as saying staff later released by Israel had been 'forced to (make) confessions under torture and ill-treatment'. Israel is continuing to conduct strikes in Gaza against what it says are Hamas targets as ceasefire talks stall (pictured: damage to a building in Rafah today) Around 1.7million Palestinians are reported to have been displaced by Israel's bombardment of the Gaza strip, many retreating to Rafah in the south (pictured: tents at a Rafah refugee camp) Aid agencies and charities have warned that children are at risk of death due to extreme malnutrition due to a lack of aid getting through Foreign secretary Lord Cameron (pictured) says the UK will rule in the coming days on whether Israel is breaking international humanitarian law Lord Cameron told the BBC this week it was 'incredibly frustrating' that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured) was not opening more crossing points for aid to get into Gaza The New York Times, which had sight of a draft UNRWA report into the allegations, said detainees had described being 'beaten, stripped, robbed, blindfolded, sexually abused and denied access to lawyers and doctors' by their Israeli captors. Israel has denied the claims, which came from interviews with 100 released captives; the Israel Defense Forces told the NYT its soldiers acted 'in accordance with Israeli and international law in order to protect the rights of the detainees.' Since then, Canada and Sweden have vowed to resume making payments to the beleaguered UN aid agency, which is at 'breaking point' following the suspension of donations, its commissioner-general warned earlier this week. Philippe Lazzarini told the General Assembly on Monday that the UNRWA's future was 'seriously threatened', and added of Israel's allegations about his staff: 'No further information has been provided to me since that day. 'We are functioning hand-to-mouth. The fate of the agency, and the millions of people who depend on it, hang in the balance.' The Swedish government said it would give $20million to the UNRWA after it agreed to strengthen internal controls and to extra checks on its employees, among other measures. Canada's international development minister Ahmed Hussen said of his government's impending $18million contribution: 'We're resuming funding to UNRWA because of the dire humanitarian situation on the ground.' Last month, the European Commission said it would press ahead with giving 150million to the UNRWA after discussions with its bosses about ensuring its 'neutrality' - boosting its previous commitment by 68million. Earlier this week, foreign secretary Lord Cameron announced that Britain would take part in a US-led project to create a floating 'port' on the coast of Gaza to provide aid to Palestinians by sea. He told BBC Radio 4 this week it was 'incredibly frustrating' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not heeding calls to open more crossing points, allow more UN staff into Gaza and switch on water and electricity in the territory. The UK will rule 'in the coming days' if Israel is breaking international humanitarian law, according to the foreign secretary, who said the judgment would dictate whether Britain stops arms sales to the country. The US began parachuting aid packages into the decimated territory earlier this month as Israel was accused of deliberately disrupting efforts to deliver food, water and fuel into Gaza by the UNRWA and charities such as Oxfam. World leaders have also called for an investigation into an incident on February 29 when the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said Israeli forces opened fire on people scrambling for food from a truck convoy. Israel claims that its soldiers did not shoot at civilians, but a UN team that visited Gaza City's Al-Shifa hospital the day after reported seeing 'a large number of gunshot wounds' among dozens of Palestinian patients. In all, 120 people were killed in what has since been referred to as the 'flour massacre'. Hopes of talks to agree a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, meanwhile, remain deadlocked in Cairo, with time running out to reach a truce in time for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, expected to begin on Sunday. The mother of missing air hostess Sarm Heslop, who vanished from her American boyfriend's luxury yacht in the US Virgin Islands three years ago, said Ryan Bane 'wouldn't look her in the eye' when he told her that her daughter had disappeared. Brenda Street told The Times she received a call from an unknown number on March 9, 2021, which she ignored. She then saw a text from Bane, who had met Heslop, 41, on Tinder eight months prior, asking her to call him back. The 67-year-old from Ongar, Essex learned that her daughter had disappeared on Bane's boat after a night out on the US Virgin Island of St John the day before. Street - who has vowed to uncover the truth about her daughter's disappearance - told the outlet she should have pressed Bane more when the call came through. 'There he was, sitting on his boat, kept looking left to right, left to right wouldn't look me in the eye,' she said. 'Sarm was missing. He said he'd been searching and that other people were out searching. And then I said something that now seems really stupid. I said: 'But she loved you.' It was almost like I was thinking without realising it: 'What have you done?' 'I go over it in my mind now. I should have just said it: 'What have you done with my daughter?'' Bane, 46, has denied any involvement and told his lawyer he was 'in pieces' over the disappearance. No suspects were wanted in connection with the case, which went cold after Bane refused a coastguard team access to search his boat. Street said that the fateful call was the first and last time they had the opportunity to speak as, she claims, Bane blocked her number afterwards. Three years on from Miss Heslop's disappearance, her mother still looking for answers from the police Sarm Heslop vanished from her American boyfriend's luxury yacht in the US Virgin Islands on March 8 2021 Ryan Bane, the US boat captain boyfriend of missing British woman Sarm Heslop, is seen here in a police mugshot in 2011 after attacking his ex-wife The former air hostess went missing from the the boat of her wealthy partner Ryan Bane after matching on dating app Tinder eight months earlier. Pictured: The Siren Song in the US Virgin Islands Bane had told Street that he loved her daughter and said that he would let her know if there was any news, Street said. Her husband called Bane later that evening and was told he had been searching for Heslop. But Street claimed he had been seen on the Siren Song yacht, where he lived with Heslop, drinking tequila. READ MORE: Mother of Brit air hostess Sarm Heslop who vanished from her American boyfriend's luxury yacht in the US Virgin Islands says she believes her daughter was murdered Advertisement A yachtsman on a neighbouring vessel docked in Frank Bay, near St John, said shortly after the disappearance that Bane had failed to raise the alarm with them, despite being just 100ft away. 'If I woke up at 2am and my girlfriend's missing, I'd start yelling and wake up every boat in the area and gotten into the dinghy, bang on the boats, you know, 'Help me, help me'. But nothing,' David Woody said in March of 2021. Speaking to The Times, Street raised more questions about Bane's behaviour at the time. 'She's gone missing and he was the last one she was with,' she said. 'Why didn't he stay around and help? If that had been me, my boat, I would have flown over here to see the parents at some point too. But he blocked my number.' In the early hours of March 8, Bane called police from his 500,000 yacht to report Heslop missing. The call was not recorded. He then met with police who took a statement and told him to call the coastguard. Bane claimed he was on his catamaran 150ft off the island of St John when he went to bed and awoke to find Heslop missing. It would be another nine hours before Bane contacted the coast guard - a decision the police commissioner for the territory later said meant crucial hours were lost in their search. Coast Guard officers asked Bane if they could search the 47ft vessel when they arrived on March 8. Bane, who was heavily drunk according to agents, blocked the doorway and became uncooperative, invoking his right to silence after refusing entry. 'We would love for Mr Bane to come on out and allow us to engage in a conversation with him,' police commissioner Trevor Velinor told The Times in March 2021 after Bane engaged a lawyer. Bane was handed a citation, which does not result in a criminal record. 'We are in a ready position to speak with him and find out what specifically took place... Where is Sarm Heslop? We would love to know. We are very concerned.' But the investigation returned no results, hampered in part by a number of obstructions. Under US law Mr Bane is classified as 'a person of interest' as he was the last person to see Miss Heslop. But he is not classified as a suspect and officers need to show a 'probable cause' to be issued a search warrant for the vessel. The investigation has been further complicated by a power outage apparently knocking out CCTV in the bar where the couple was last seen late on March 7. Street said police cut video footage off while she and her husband were watching it during a visit in 2022, without explanation. 'First they told us there was no CCTV, but then a couple of weeks later there was. I watched it three times and they switched it off at the same place,' she said. At the time, Velinor only concluded: 'They left that restaurant some time before 10pm and were seen in the area of Cruz Bay dock area.' Friends of Sarm Heslop have since said they believe she was murdered and the police are covering it up, without providing evidence. Vicki Mogridge-Percy told ITV: 'I think that we've lost her through murder, and we want the classification to change for a missing person because she's not a missing person.' David Johnston QPM, who represents the family and is the former Commander of Homicide and Serious Crime at Metropolitan Police, said: 'Bane was allowed to sail off, quite literally into the sunset, without ever being challenged to tell the full story of what happened that night.' But investigators said they could not corroborate Bane's claims they had returned to the yacht after the dinner. The Virgin Islands' Criminal Investigations Bureau searching for Heslop received support from the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. The US Coast Guard also searched the area around the boat and bay on the first day, but found nothing to direct the investigation. They have since confirmed there is 'no further development' in the investigation. Heslop, a noted strong swimmer from Southampton, met Bane, a yacht captain from Michigan, in Grenada in 2020 before moving away to Malta for work. The pair met again in the US Virgin Islands on Valentine's Day 2021, where Heslop, a former Flybe air hostess and globetrotter, joined Bane on his vessel to take guests on a cruise. Street told The Times her daughter called her to say she had arrived safely, but that was the last time she heard from her. She said her daughter had told her she '[loved] him a little bit' before leaving Malta and that she had sent photos of them together, happy. The former Flybe air hostess disappeared after a night out on the US Virgin Island of St John A missing poster trying to help find Miss Heslop after she went missing on March 8 2021 Bane's ex-wife of six years, Cori Stevenson, warned the US Virgin Islands police that he had a violent temper, that he had allegedly threatened to kill her, and that he had spent time in prison for domestic abuse. 'I said, 'Hey, I'm his ex and he went to jail'. They were like, 'Well, hmmm, you can call the anonymous tip number' and I said, 'Um, no, take down my details, you need to know he's aggressive'. It really didn't feel like they cared,' she said. Bane's lawyer, David Cattie, said in a statement to the Sunday Mirror: 'Mr Bane is heartbroken over Sarm's disappearance. We certainly understand and empathise with her mother's pain and frustration. 'Mr Bane called 911 immediately upon waking and finding Sarm was not on board. He took his dinghy to shore to meet with VIPD (Virgin Islands Police Department) that night and called the USCG (US Coast Guard) the next day when no-one appeared at his boat. He also had the USCG on his vessel twice following Sarm's disappearance. 'Later Mr Bane and I personally took all of Sarm's belongings to the police, including all of her electronic devices.' Sarm is described as 5ft 8 Caucasian female of slim build. She has a bright coloured tattoo on her left shoulder featuring a seahorse, bird, butterfly and a pink flower. A reward for anyone with information that leads to a significant breakthrough in the case is offered and anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Sarm is urged to call Crime Stoppers USVI at (800) 222-TIPS. A grieving mum says that her son would be still been alive today had safety rails been installed along a treacherous stretch of road just six months earlier. Samantha Day knew instantly something had happed to her son Declan 19 when she read a breaking news report on Facebook about a car accident in the Victorian Gippsland town of Walhalla that happened 30 minutes earlier on June 19 2022. Declan had travelled 100km from his hometown of Drouin to Mount St Gwinear with several of his mates to see snow. On the way home, the car he was travelling in slid off a notoriously dangerous stretch of Walhalla Road and rolled down a cliff before coming to stop a 30m below in a creek. Declan was killed instantly. The three other occupants in the car were rushed to hospitals in Melbourne. Almost two years on, Ms Day and her four daughters are still struggling with the tragedy so much that one of Declan's sisters won't allow 'happy birthday' to be sung on family birthdays, including his upcoming 21st. Declan Day, 19, was killed instantly when the car he was in slid off the road near the Victorian town of Walhalla on June 19 2022 'I still feel like I've lost a piece of myself,' she told 7news.com.au. 'It's absolutely destroyed us but we're trying to keep on going.' Although she had a gut feeling something was wrong, it wasn't until a knock on the door several hours later confirmed her worst fears 'As soon as my mum .... opened up the door, I saw them (the police) and I said 'no' and they said 'yes'. 'I just dropped to the ground. 'I just felt like my whole world had fallen apart.' Ms Day said the driver wasn't speeding and did not have alcohol or other drugs in his system. Coroner Simon McGregor found the road was wet at the time of the accident, which happened at the first bend out of the gold mining town of Walhalla, where there were no guard rails. The same bend was the scene of a similar accident in 2017 when a car slid off the road. Fortunately all of the occupants survived. Barely a month after Declan's death, another car came off the road at the same bend but again without fatality. Coroner McGregor said in his report it was 'likely' that safety guard barriers 'would have prevented the ensuing rollover and prevented further serious injuries'. Baw Baw Shire mayor Michael Leaney first expressed his concerns about the roadway to VicRoads a decade earlier in 2012. The car plunged 30metres off a cliff, killing Declan instantly. Three other occupants were rushed to hospital It was only after Declan's death that the guard rails were finally installed. Ms Day lamented this was 'too late' to save her son but hopes that no more lives will be lost along the notorious stretch. She hopes that the safety rails will remain Declan's legacy. 'It's very frustrating because they weren't speeding or anything and then, you know, after he died, it got done,' Ms Day said. 'They said it couldn't be done, and then it was done. '(Declan's) been taken from us and the reality is it takes people dying for any change to happen.' Declan was the oldest of Mr Day's four children and she said one of his little sisters won't let the family sing Happy Birthday since they celebrated his 19th. Later this month Declan, who had studying mental health online at university. would have been turning 21. Samantha Day (left) said her family has been shattered by the death of Declan (right) and no longer sing Happy Birthday after last doing so for his 19th 'He (will) never have his 21st, he'll never get married, have kids anything like that. It's just ... it's a horrible feeling,' Ms Day said. 'He had a smile that could light up the room, he was kind and always looked after people. She plans to visit her son's grave on his birthday followed by a gathering at home attended by Declan's friends. A Jamaican-born gangster has been returned to the Caribbean island following an earlier botched deportation attempt failed because passengers on board a British Airways flight intervened. The Home Office wanted to return Lawrence Morgan to Kingston on board a commercial British Airways flight in November. Officials blamed 'ill-informed do-gooders' from preventing the aircraft from departing with Morgan onboard. Following the failed deportation bid, Morgan launched an unsuccessful legal bid to remain in the UK claiming he no longer knew anybody in Jamaica. Lawrence Morgan, pictured, was successfully deported to Jamaica following an earlier attempt was abandoned because of the intervention of British Airways passengers Morgan was convicted for his role in a shooting in Birmingham in August 2020 Morgan was spotted by police carrying this gun, pictured, outside a bookmakers in Birmingham Morgan was successfully put on board a flight on February 25 and was later handed over to Jamaican authorities. Morgan, 27, arrived in the UK in the early 2000s as a child. He was arrested and jailed following a gangland shootout on a Birmingham City street. A source close to Home Secretary James Cleverly told The Sun: 'In most cases foreign national offenders are deported with little or no disruption. 'The intervention of some ill-informed do-gooders stopped the deportation of an individual who among other crimes was involved in a gun battle on the streets of the UK. READ MORE: Jamaican gangster's bid to remain in the UK Advertisement 'This did not stop our determination to deport him.' Passengers boasted online about how they foiled the earlier deportation bid which had been arranged by campaign group detention action. Speaking hours after the failed deportation bid, former Home Secretary described the actions of protesters as 'shameful'. She said: 'Anyone who deliberately stops the removal of a foreign national offender should face the courts for the taxpayers' funds their actions are consuming, for the wasted legal and court time they are racking up and for effectively standing by dangerous criminals who are a threat to the British public.' Passengers contacted Detention Action after they saw Morgan being led in handcuffs through the passenger terminal at Gatwick. Morgan had to be physically restrained at the back of the aircraft which unnerved a number of passengers. The aircraft's captain returned to the terminal building so Morgan could be removed from the flight because of the protest. As he was being led from the jet, Morgan is alleged to have said: 'Thank you everyone' to passengers who protested against his forced deportation. A family row, which erupted when five sisters discovered that their grandfather had left them each just 50 in an envelope in his will, saw 'dozens' of people pour onto the street throwing punches before a neighbour eventually called the police. Frederick Ward Snr left the five grandchildren the unexpectedly low sum from his 500,000 estate in 2018 because he was 'disappointed' that none of the women visited him in hospital before he died aged 91 in 2020. The former soldier sparked a bitter family dispute when he left the vast majority of his estate to his two children Terry Ward and Susan Wiltshire but froze out the five daughters of his eldest son Fred Jr, who died in 2015. The five sisters took the case to the High Court this year but lost. Now it has emerged that when the details of the will were first revealed, a mass brawl ensued among furious family members which burst out onto the sleepy residential street. Frederick Ward Snr (pictured) left his five grandchildren just 50 from his 500,000 estate in 2018 because he was 'disappointed' that none of the women visited him in hospital before he died aged 91 in 2020 At a will reading, Carol Gowing (pictured outside London's High Court), Angela St Marseille, Amanda Higginbotham, Christine Ward and Janet Pett were each handed an envelope containing the paltry sum which led to chaos unfolding at the house in Ealing, west London The five sisters (including Angela St Marseille, pictured) took the case to the High Court this year but lost According to the sisters' aunt and uncle, the grandchildren (including Amanda Higginbotham, picture) had only made a small number of 'flying visits' to Fred Snr At the reading, Carol Gowing, Angela St Marseille, Amanda Higginbotham, Christine Ward and Janet Pett were each handed an envelope containing the paltry sum and the sisters' anger immediately led to chaos unfolding at the house in Ealing, west London, The Times reports. One cousin even took 'a swing at Ann', their mother, according to Mrs Gowing's husband Andrew. 'There were a lot of people simultaneously making a great deal of commotion,' according to the High Court judge Master Brightwell. The punch-up was soon taken outside as family members poured onto Willow Road. Maria Hummer noticed the fight unfolding and said that there were around 24 people shouting at each other. The 37-year-old writer told The Times: 'I was just upstairs in our house, I heard this massive ruckus, all these like voices shouting. So I went to look out the window and it was people pouring out of that flat [where the will reading was held].' According to the sisters' aunt and uncle, the grandchildren had only made a small number of 'flying visits' to Fred Snr. The five sisters had made only 'very occasional short visits' to see their grandfather when he was in hospital three times with a lung condition, while he was on close terms with his son Terry and Susan. The High Court judge ruled that the 2018 will was 'entirely rational' given the grandchildren's (including Christine Ward, pictured) lack of visits The five grandchildren (including Janet Pett, pictured) had claimed the 2018 will was 'invalid' and their Uncle Terry and Aunt Susan had 'unduly influenced' Fred Snr into altering his will to give them their share of his estate 'It is most likely that given the changed circumstances following Fred Jr's death and the limited contact with the claimants after then that Fred became disappointed with the claimants,' Master Brightwell said at the High Court. And wider family members took a similar view. One male cousin made their thoughts about one of the sisters' motives clear in an expletive-laden outburst at the reading. Master Brightwell added: 'When it was put to [another cousin] that he had at the will reading called [Mrs Gowing] a "horrible c***", he immediately (and accurately) retorted that he had added the words "money-grabbing" to the epithet.' Court documents also revealed that a friend of Fred Snr's, Dennis Taboney, had recalled him saying that 'all of his grandchildren would "be around for the money" after he had died'. The High Court judge ruled that the 2018 will was 'entirely rational' given the grandchildren's lack of visits. Master Brightwell threw out the sisters' case, adding: 'Some may take the view that, as a general proposition, when a testator's child has predeceased him, he generally ought to leave an equal share of his residue to that child's issue. 'However the decision not to do so and to split the residue and thus the bulk of the estate between his surviving children can hardly be said to be a provision which no reasonable testator could make.' The five grandchildren claimed the 2018 will was 'invalid' and their Uncle Terry and Aunt Susan had 'unduly influenced' Fred Snr into altering his will to give them their share of his estate. Fred Jr (pictured) died in 2015 and a family feud broke out which meant Mr Ward did not see much of Fred Jr's side of the family Deceased Fred Snr was said to have been on close terms with his son Terry (pictured) and Susan But the judge said 'the evidence does not come close to persuading me' that Terry had 'coerced' his father or that Susan had 'controlled' him to cast doubt on his will. Fred Snr, who was also a cable joiner and regular social club user and lived on Willow Road, had previously written a will which divided the estate between all three of his children. But Fred Jr died in 2015 and a family feud broke out which meant Mr Ward did not see much of Fred Jr's side of the family. Master Brightwell added: 'I accept Susan's evidence that her father complained that Fred Jr's family did not care about him.' He added that Fred Snr had been particularly upset about the lack of contact at the time of one of his great-granddaughters' weddings. 'He complained that he was not even sent a piece of wedding cake,' he said. 'In those circumstances and despite a promise by Fred several years earlier to divide his estate between his children's children if anything should happen to any of them, the 2018 will was in my view entirely rational. Master Brightwell added: 'I accept Susan's (pictured) evidence that her father complained that Fred Jr's family did not care about him' Fred Jr's widow Ann Ward with her husband and five children - Carol Gowing, Angela St Marseille, Amanda Higginbotham, Christine Ward and Janet Pett 'This does not mean that I cannot understand the claimants' disappointment at being essentially left out.' Clearing both Terry and Susan of influencing their dad into cutting out his granddaughters, he said: 'The evidence does not come close to persuading me that it is more likely than not that the 2018 will was procured by the undue influence of the defendants or either of them.' The judge also rejected claims that Mr Ward did not have 'capacity' to make the will in 2018 or that it was invalid for 'want of knowledge and approval' of its effect. Friends and neighbours have paid tribute to a young mother-of-one whose body was found in a wheelie bin under trees in a paddock. Police made the grim discovery inside the bin off Mount Pollock Road in Buckley, 30 minutes west of Geelong at about 12pm on Saturday. The woman's body found off a isolated dirt road is believed to be that of Chaithanya 'Swetha' Madhagani, who had a young son with husband Ashok Raj Varikuppala. A second crime scene has also been declared at a home in Point Cook in south-west Melbourne, 86km from where her body was found. Friends have since described Ms Madhagani as 'a perfect woman and a perfect mother' who lived for her young son. She would often cook and share food and invited people into her home. The body found dumped in a wheelie bin in Buckley near Geelong is believed to be Chaithanya 'Swetha' Madhagani (pictured) Chaithanya 'Swetha' Madhagani (pictured with her husband Ashok Raj Varikuppala and their young son) was full of life, according to friends Police made the grim discovery inside a green waste bin off Mount Pollock Rd in Buckley, west of Geelong on Saturday. READ MORE: Link between Samantha Murphy and her alleged killer revealed The remains of missing mum Samantha Murphy are yet to be found Advertisement 'She was one of the sweetest girls ever,' one neighbour told the Herald Sun. 'Everyone would want to have Swetha in their lives. 'She was full of life I can't believe she's gone.' Another neighbour said he was in 'disbelief' at the news and that his son had attended a birthday party for the couple's child. he had known the family for three years, 'They are a very good, nice family,' he said of the couple. 'I've never seen them argue.' Sources with knowledge of the investigation told the publication that Mr Varikuppala flew back to India in recent days with the couple's son. He reportedly rang family members in Victoria to tell them about Ms Madhagani's death. The Herald Sun also reported that Mr Varikuppala has stated he is willing to cooperate with authorities. It is not suggested that Mr Varikuppala was in any way involved in the death of his wife. Her husband Ashok Raj Varikuppala (pictured left) has reportedly flown to India in recent days but remains in contact with authorities Eric Lewis, who owns land near the Mount Pollock Road scene where her body was located, was 'flabbergasted' by the horrific discovery. He said he made his way to the scene after hearing something on the 'bush telegraph' but that police would not tell him anything. 'What is happening here in Buckley, I just can't believe it,' he said. Mr Lewis told Nine News that he'd never seen a wheelie bin lying there - and that he went past the site quite often. Another local recalled walking in the area on Friday, and noticed a pungent smell which he presumed was a dead sheep. A third long-time resident said the find was 'disturbing' and would rock the close knit local community. Photos from the Mount Pollock Rd scene where Ms Madhagani's body was found show a heavy police presence, including homicide detectives and members of Victorian Police's VIPER Taskforce. A neighbour and close friend described Ms Madhagani said she was the 'sweetest girl' and 'the perfect mother' Chaithanya "Swetha" Madhagani's body was found dumped in a green waste bin among trees The VIPER Taskforce is a statewide capability that provides a tactical and investigative response to serious and organised crime. Investigators are yet to determine the precise circumstances of Ms Madhagani's remains. The bin spent much of Saturday in the sweltering heat before homicide detectives arrived in the late afternoon. Mount Pollock Rd is a gravel stretch with farmland on either side. No arrests have yet been made at this stage. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. French President Emmanuel Macron has spoken out for the first time against claims that his wife was born a man saying the rumours were 'false and fabricated'. Mr Macron, 47, expressed his anger and frustration about continual speculation about Brigitte Macron, 70, whom he married in 2007. 'The worst thing is the false information and fabricated scenarios,' said Mr Macron. 'People eventually believe them and disturb you, even in your intimacy.' The president was speaking on International Women's Day on Friday, after inscribing the guaranteed right to abortion into France's constitution. He said the transgender claims about Ms Macron were typical of misogynisitic online attacks that women have to put up with every day. Two women who claimed the premiere dame was born a man were punished with 'symbolic fines' reduced on appeal last June. In turn, both claimed they were subjected to 'intimidation by the authorities' as 'ultra protected' members of the Paris establishment tried to cover up a 'state secret'. President Macron with his wife, Brigitte Trogneux, in Paris on February 22, 2017 Tiphaine Auziere, pictured in 2022, told Paris Match magazine: 'I have concerns about the level of society when I hear what is circulating on social networks about my mother being a man.' Details of the bizarre case were revived after her own daughter talked publicly about the accusations for the first time. Tiphaine Auziere, 40, told Paris Match magazine: 'I have concerns about the level of society when I hear what is circulating on social networks about my mother being a man.' Ms Auziere also discussed how wounded she remained after discovering as a 10-year-old child that her teacher mother was seeing the teenage Emmanuel Macron. The future politician was just 15 when he began a relationship with the then married mother-of-three Brigitte Auziere, who was 40 at the time, and teaching drama at La Providence high school in Amiens, northern France. Those spreading the transgender rumours were Amandine Roy, a 52-year-old clairvoyant, and Natacha Rey, 48, who styled herself as a freelance journalist. Both had appeared on a four-hour YouTube video in December 2021 in which they claimed that Brigitte was in fact born as a baby boy called Jean-Michel Trogneux in 1953. This is the name of Brigitte's brother, and Ms Macron was called Brigitte Trogneux before her first marriage. The defendants also claimed that Brigitte's first husband, Andre-Louis Auziere, had never actually existed before his reported death in 2020, aged 68. A judge sitting at Lisieux, in Normandy, originally fined the two women the equivalent of 1700 each, after finding them both guilty of libel. But, following appeals, Roy was fined the equivalent of just 850, and Rey had 1300 of her 1700 fine suspended, meaning she had to pay just 400. Witnesses called to court included Catherine and Jean-Louis Auziere, a childless couple living in Deauville, Normandy. Jean-Louis Auziere was once Brigitte Macron's uncle, when Brigitte was married to Andre-Louis Auziere. Natacha Ray claimed that Jean-Louis Auziere had falsified administrative documents to hide a 'state secret' namely that his wife had given birth to all of Brigitte's three children, including Tiphaine Auziere. But Jean-Louis Auziere told the court: 'I worked with Brigitte until the end of the 1980s, I can confirm to you that she is not a man.' The original complaint against Ray and Roy was for invasion of private life, violation of image rights and infringement of personality rights,' but the final case was for defamation. French President's wife (L) Brigitte Macron and France's Secretary of State for Veterans and Memory Patricia Miralles attend a visit to the Invalides' national Insitution on February 29 French President Emmanuel Macron (R), French First Lady Brigitte Macron (L) and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (C) at the Elysee Palace in Paris on February 27, 2024 Frederic Pichon, Rey's defence barrister, said her investigation about Ms Macron had been 'carried out in good faith' and in line with Article 10 of the European Court of Human Rights, which guarantees the right to freedom of expression. He expressed outrage that his client was 'placed in police custody twice during the case', saying: 'I am shocked by the disproportionate means deployed by the authorities to silence her.' All parties to the case accepted the 'symbolic fines' handed down on appeal as a final settlement to what had become a huge embarrassment to Mr and Mrs Macron. The transphobic rumours about Mrs Macron were picked up by the far-Right in 2022, while the President was campaigning for re-election. Groups including the Yellow Vests (Gilets Jaunes) and those protesting against Covid vaccines all used the claims to attack Mr Macron. The video produced by Rey and Roy has since been removed from YouTube. A University College London (UCL) professor said she has been banned from teaching a course about China in order to avoid putting Chinese students off from applying to be taught at the institution. Michelle Shipworth, associate professor at the leading university, said her bosses were 'conceding to the censorship demands of some Chinese students' and had been left 'suicidal' after she was taken off a research module she led for a decade. Ms Shipworth, 58, was the subject of a complaint by a Chinese student after she highlighted data from the Global Slavery Index which suggested China had the second highest prevalence of modern slavery in the world. This, and a claim that she was 'anti-Chinese' after she caught two students from the country cheating in an exam, led to her head of department taking action because the university needed to 'retain a good reputation among future Chinese applicants'. She maintains that she was highlighting the slavery index's problems - as China, the second most populous country in the world, would inevitably be close to the top of a modern slavery league table. The two students accused of cheating were expelled. UCL says it is investigating the full circumstances of Ms Shipworth's situation, branding her claims 'clearly concerning'. Michelle Shipworth claims she was removed from an academic module on data from the Global Slavery Index because of concerns she was 'anti-Chinese' Her employers at University College London (UCL) told her that she needed to be mindful of the need for courses to 'retain a good reputation amongst future Chinese applicants' UCL has 15,000 Chinese students, according to its website, who can pay up to 40,000 a year in uncapped tuition fees An excerpt from the slide presented to students in Ms Shipworth's module. She maintains that the materials are discussing issues with data collection rather than China itself Ms Shipforth says she was locked out of the university's material-editing software after being accused of being anti-Chinese BREAKING: FSU member and University College London (UCL) academic Michelle Shipworth has been BANNED from teaching her own course, after a Chinese student complained that discussing modern slavery in China was too "provocative". Incredibly, UCL sided with students who said pic.twitter.com/bIcJs67PLF The Free Speech Union (@SpeechUnion) March 8, 2024 However, Bartlett School of Environment, Energy & Resources head Professor Neil Strachan said she had been accused of 'being biased against students from a single country - China', reports the Telegraph. As she delivered the module called Data Detective, which described the Global Slavery Index as 'terribly inaccurate', a Chinese student stood up and accused her of making a 'horrible provocation'. Days later, she received an email from Mr Strachan suggesting she modify how she delivered the course, a request she declined; she then found herself shut out of the software course leaders use to organise materials. The following week, she claims two colleagues implored her to drop the China section from the module, which she then did; but earlier this year the issue reared its head again and she was informed she had been accused of being 'anti-Chinese' after catching two students from the country cheating in exams in 2018 and 2022. Mr Strachan then informed her another academic was taking charge of the module - which she had created and taught for a decade. He said: 'We have a collective duty to ensure all students have a good educational experience at UCL and, in order to be commercially viable, our MSc courses need to retain a good reputation amongst future Chinese applicants.' Ms Shipworth said she was left 'suicidal' after being removed from the course, adding that she had been told to avoid tweeting about China - something she says she has rarely done. She claims she has been 'cancelled' in favour of commercial interests. She added: 'I am astonished that asking students a question about China, and my raising of cases of contract cheating, is being used to justify curtailing my academic freedom and freedom of speech.' She later tweeted: 'HoD (head of department) found no evidence that I have bias against Chinese students. Of course not! 'I supervise 3 extraordinarily hard working and bright Chinese PhD students and have supervised many delightful Chinese Masters students. 'So why does HoD take my module away from me?' Universities across the UK are keen to make themselves as appealing as possible to overseas students, who are not subject to the caps imposed on the tuition fees paid by British students. Universities UK data suggests that academic institutions are depending on foreign students for an increasing share of their total income; almost a fifth of income in 2021/22 came from overseas students, according to its figures. UCL has more than 15,000 Chinese students and 400 staff from mainland China, according to its website, and fees can be as much as 40,000 a year. The annual UK cap is typically around 9,250. It operates dedicated channels on Chinese social media site Weibo and instant messaging platform WeChat; both internet services are subject to censorship in mainland China The Free Speech Union has taken up Ms Shipworth's case, and has urged the university to remove the restrictions imposed on the academic. Benjamin Jones, from the FSU, said: 'There can be no basis for them, no defence of them. Michelle has the right to academic freedom, to freedom of speech, and we will defend that right.' A UCL spokesperson said: 'We are proud to have a thriving and diverse student community, with the brightest minds from the UK and more than 150 other countries, choosing to study and research here. 'We also have a long tradition of safeguarding freedom of speech and are committed to upholding the rights of our staff and students to facilitate debate and exercise their academic freedom of enquiry. 'While it would not be appropriate to comment on individual cases, the issues raised in this article are clearly concerning and we are working to establish what has happened.' Earlier this year, universities were accused of using recruiters to entice foreign students to take up 'back door' routes into degrees even though they had the equivalent of pass marks far below those required of UK students. Undercover filming of Russell Group universities showed agents - some of whom wore branded lanyards that appeared to suggest a direct affiliation with their chosen institution - suggesting students could buy their way onto courses by taking up 'foundation' modules first. Last month, the US halted the importing of thousands of Porsche, Bentley and Audi cars amid concerns they each contain a component possibly produced with forced labour in China. Federal laws ban the import of items made by slaves in a province of western China where Uighur Muslims are forced to work in labour camps. The cars may be held until the end of this month as Volkswagen, which owns all three brands, scrambles to replace the part. It is back to the office for Boots employees in September after the CEO of the pharmacy chain said having a full house at work makes it a 'much more fun and inspiring place'. The new rule, for staff to be in five days a week with no working from home applies to administrative office staff in London, Nottingham and Surrey. Employees have already been asked to come in three days a week, but this isn't enough for CEO Seb James. He said: 'There is no doubt in my mind that the informal conversations, brief catch-ups and ability to meet in groups in person has been far more effective and better for our unique Boots culture than the enforced formality of remote meetings.' A Boots spokesperson told The Guaridan: 'We are asking team members to make the office their usual place of work from 1 September. Boots has nearly 4,000 office staff on top of its over 50,000 store and warehouse staff READ MORE: More than half of staff at Home Office HQ were WFH last week despite growing migration crisis as critics demand civil servants return to desks Advertisement 'We really value the team spirit that comes with being together in person. 'There will of course still be times when working from home is necessary for either personal or business reasons.' Boots has nearly 4,000 office staff on top of its over 50,000 store and warehouse staff. In the build up to the grand return, the company is renovating the offices, creating 'quiet spaces', improving car parking and looking at how to maker the food better. Despite saying the office is the place to be, James did say that on some occasions, such as dentist appointments, when it is more practical to work from home, employees can do so. Other organisations are seeing growing calls for home-workers to return to the office. In February, it was reported that the Home Office had less than half of its desks in use - the rest were working from home. This prompted critics to say that the workforce needs to leave the comfort of their houses and get back to work in the office, among colleagues. Boots CEO Seb James said: 'There is no doubt in my mind that the informal conversations, brief catch-ups and ability to meet in groups in person has been far more effective and better for our unique Boots culture (Stock image) READ MORE: Graduates are demanding 100% WFH and won't even come into the office for a job interview, reveals boss - as firms battle to end work-from-home culture Advertisement Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg told The Sun: 'The Home Office fails to remove illegal migrants. 'Until it succeeds, perhaps it would help if people came into work rather than idling at home.' John O'Connell, of the TaxPayers' Alliance, also told the outlet: 'Too many departments sit empty, while performance continues to slide.' The UK's post-lockdown work-from-home boom has seen employers downsize their premises, the blame pinned on Gen Z-ers who entered the world of work remotely and are allegedly resistant to changing their habits. For Debbie Porter, managing director at Destination Digital Marketing, that attitude isn't good enough. She told MailOnline applicants have requested '100 per cent working from home', going as far as to refuse to attend in-person job interviews. She said: 'Over the last couple of years, Ive had university graduates request 100 per cent working from home and they wont even attend the office visit for an interview. The Boots boss said online remote meeting often have 'enforced formality' (Stock image) 'None of them have got very far, because I have no interest in anyone who has no interest in building a relationship with my team. 'If you are brand new in a role in an industry you have no meaningful experience in, face-to-face experience, absorbing the culture of a place is a crucial element of making a good start in a job.' The 'suicidal' pilot of the MH370 Malaysia Airlines flight perfectly ditched the plane into the sea, entombing it and the 239 passengers aboard at the bottom of the ocean, a flight expert has claimed ten years after it disappeared. British pilot Simon Hardy has said he believes that the plane was sunk into the ocean at a spot that has never been searched before. The Boeing 777 aircraft vanished from radar while en route from Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. Satellite data showed the plane deviated from its flight path to head over the southern Indian Ocean, where it is believed to have crashed. There are fears that pilot Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, was responsible for deliberately crashing MH370 in a murder-suicide of a shocking scale, which he committed because of problems in his personal life. Shah had allegedly split with his wife Fizah Khan, and was said to be furious that a relative, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, had been given a five-year jail sentence for sodomy shortly before he boarded the plane for the flight to Beijing. But the pilot's wife has angrily denied any personal problems, while other family members and friends said he was a devoted family man and loved his job. On March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 and the 239 people on-board took off into the night's sky from Kuala Lumpur, never to be seen or heard from again. Pictured: A CGI rendering of MH370 from a National Geographic documentary that shows an apparent crash British pilot Simon Hardy (pictured) has said he believes that the plane was sunk into the ocean at a spot that has never been searched before The most persistent theory has centred on the pilot - Zaharie Ahmad Shah (pictured) - and suggestions that it was a deliberate act because he was facing personal problems The 'murder-suicide' theory was also the conclusion of the first independent study into the disaster by the New Zealand-based air accident investigator, Ewan Wilson. Boeing 777 pilot has Simon Hardy proposed a theory of where the plane ended up after calculating the most likely positions of its remains, The Sun reports. His work was noticed by the official search team, and so he was invited to join the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and a team of experts in 2015. He gave his expert opinions and scrutinised his theories using high tech flight simulators until the search ended in 2017. Mr Hardy's calculations have put the resting place of the plane just outside the official search area, but he was never given the opportunity to prove this theory. He said that the 'suicidal' pilot carried out his plan to kill all of the passengers in the plane before burying it in a deep trench at the bottom of the sea. The plane's flight plan shows an extra 3,000kg fuel was added to the plane before takeoff, along with extra - unrequired - oxygen supplied only to the cockpit. Clues such as these led him to believe his theory. He told The Sun: 'It's an incredible coincidence that just before this aircraft disappears forever, one of the last things that was done as the engineer says nil noted [no oxygen added], then someone else gets on onboard and says it's a bit low. 'Well it's not really low at all,' he added. 'It's a strange coincidence that the last engineering task that was done before it headed off to oblivion was topping up crew oxygen which is only for the cockpit, not for the cabin crew.' Mr Hardy believes the Captain Shah was aiming to down the plane at the Geelvinck Fracture Zone, a trench which is hundreds of miles long, so he would have had some room for manoeuvre. This part of the ocean also frequently sees earthquakes, so the jet plane could well be buried under tones of rocks at the bottom of the Southern Indian Ocean by now. He said the pilot was a 'meticulous planner' and so may have taken a level a satisfaction from landing the plane there rather than in a random spot 'miles from anywhere'. Mr Hardy told The Sun that a graph showed that 100 out of 5,000 possible routes were equally likely but he 'knew that wasn't right, and I knew I could use my mathematical-type mind to try and work out where it went'. He said he spent months drawing constant speed lines until he found one that was unique, giving him a 'eureka moment'. His line showed that if MH370 taken this exact route, its flight speed would have been 488 knots. This is the cruising speed of Boeing 777s which commercial pilots fly at every day. The British pilot said that if you work backwards, his proposed flight path comes within half a degree of where the plane made its last turn towards the Southern Indian Ocean. He thinks the extra fuel and oxygen meant the captain could have flown without detection for around seven hours, leaving passengers and crew to fall unconscious and die as he downed the plane. Debris confirmed or believed to be from the MH370 aircraft has since washed up along the African coast and on islands in the Indian Ocean. Mr Hardy told The Sun the discovery of downward-facing flaps, used to reduce stalling speed, suggest a manual override. 'If you want the flaps down, there has to be someone there putting the flaps down,' he said. 'If the flaps were down, there is a liquid fuel, then someone is moving a lever and it's someone who knows what they are doing. It all points to the same scenario.' But officials have come no closer to working out what happened to the plane. The missing aircraft - a Boeing 777-200ER plane - is seen taking off in France in 2011 Mr Hardy has said that ditching the plane would be a precise exercise with the small amount of fuel and a perfect wave. If there were too much fuel in the tank, an oil slick would have been left on the surface of the water and reveal where the plane sank. But if there was not enough fuel, the pilot would have been unable to ditch the plane perfectly, and it would have broken up causing debris to be discovered. He said that the captain would have had brought the extra fuel and not used it, as it would have created a huge oil slick even years on and that if it was at the bottom of the Geelvinck Fracture Zone a plume would be visible on the surface. Mr Hardy believes that Shah wanted to entomb the plane at the bottom of the ocean without damaging, but that he did not want to save the passengers. He compared the scenario to Miracle on the Hudson, where the passengers are all already dead and the plane sinks to the bottom of the ocean with no doors being opened. He said this is why there has been no wreckage. Mr Hardy said the lack of oxygen in the back of the plane would have knocked the cabin crew and passengers unconscious, allowing him to carry out a premeditated plan without obstruction. The extra fuel, he said, would have allowed the pilot an extra 30 minutes of flying time, allowing him to crash the plane in daylight. 'If you want to do a good ditching, you do it in daylight or at least half daylight,' he claimed. The flight took off from Kuala Lumpur at 12.41am local time on March 8, 2014, and was scheduled to travel for roughly five hours and 34 minutes before arriving in Beijing at around 6.30am local time. The crew last communicated with air traffic control just 38 minutes after takeoff, around halfway between Malaysia's Malay Peninsula and Ca Mau Cape, the southern-most point of Vietnam. Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik creates a sand sculpture of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 on Puri beach in eastern Odisha state on March 7, 2015 Officers carrying pieces of debris from an unidentified aircraft apparently washed ashore in Saint-Andre de la Reunion, eastern La Reunion island, France on July 29, 2015 Co-pilot Fariq Hamid, 27, was understood to be flying the plane. It was to be his last training flight before he was set to be examined to become a fully-certified pilot. Hamid was being trained by the pilot in command - 53-year-old Zaharie Ahmad Shah. With 18,365 flying hours, he was one of the most senior captains at Malaysia Airlines, having joined the company in 1983. On board were 10 crew and 227 registered passengers- totalling 239 on board, including the pilots. At 1.01am, Zaharie radioed to say they had reached 35,000 feet and levelled off - a slightly unusual communication, when the norm is to report leaving an altitude. Seven minutes later, the flight crossed Malaysia's coastline and flew out over the South China Sea. Within 11 minutes it began to approach a way-point - called IGARI - near the start of Vietnamese air-traffic jurisdiction. At 1.19am, the controller at Kuala Lumpur Center radioed: 'Malaysian three-seven-zero, contact Ho Chi Minh one-two-zero-decimal-nine. Good night,' The controller told the pilots to alert Vietnam of their approach. 'Good night. Malaysian three-seven-zero,' Zaharie replied. This was the last communication from MH370. The pilots never checked in with Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam nor answered any attempts to contact them again. Seconds after crossing into Vietnamese airspace, the plane dropped off the screens of Malaysian air traffic control. 37 seconds later - at 1.21am, 39 minutes after take off - the entire plane disappeared from secondary radar. It would later be revealed that the plane's transponder - a communication system that transmits the plane's location to air traffic control - had been switched off manually. This appeared to have been done at a vulnerable moment in the plane's route: as it passed between the air space of two countries. Inmarsat satellite data and the military radar later showed that the plane likely did not suffer some catastrophic event but that it had instead continued to fly. MH370 crossed an arc stretching from Central Asia in the north down towards Antarctica - somewhere - at 8.19am Kuala Lumpur time. Analysis indicated with near-certainty that the plane inexplicably turned south, not north, and continued for another six hours after it vanished from military radar at 2.22am. It is presumed the flight continued at high-altitude during those six hours, until making its final signal at around 8.19am on March 8 - seven hours after final contact was made with pilots over the South China Sea. Minutes later, experts believe it nose-dived into the ocean. Searches continued for years, but only a few pieces of debris were ever found around the east coast of Africa. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan today said that his nation 'firmly backs' the leaders of Hamas and that the country speaks openly with them. He has refused to brand Hamas as a terrorist group, despite Western allies of NATO-member Turkey, including the UK, and some Arab nations, doing so. 'No one can make us qualify Hamas as a terrorist organisation,' Erdogan said in a speech in the city of Istanbul. 'Turkey is a country that speaks openly with Hamas leaders and firmly backs them.' Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (pictured) today said that his nation 'firmly backs' the leaders of Hamas and that the country speaks openly with them He has refused to brand Hamas (Hamas fighters pictured) as a terrorist group, despite many nations across the world including the UK doing so Erdogan has been one of the most virulent critics of Israel since the start of the war in Gaza, which began after the October 7 attack Israel where Hamas killed at least 1,160 people, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures. READ MORE: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan compares Benjamin Netanyahu to Hitler in a vicious swipe at the Israeli Prime Minister over the conflict in Gaza Advertisement Israel has responded with a relentless ground and air offensive that the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said has killed at least 30,878 people in the besieged Palestinian enclave, mostly women and children. Erdogan has called Israel a 'terrorist state' and accused it of conducting a 'genocide' in Gaza. In December the Turkish president likened Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler. Mr Erdogan also compared Israel's attacks on Gaza to the treatment of Jewish people by the Nazis. He said Western countries supporting Israel were complicit in what he called war crimes, adding that Turkey would welcome academics and scientists facing persecution for their views on the conflict. 'They used to speak ill of Hitler,' he said. 'What difference do you have from Hitler? They are going to make us miss Hitler. Is what this Netanyahu is doing any less than what Hitler did? It is not.' He added: 'He is richer than Hitler, he gets the support from the West. All sorts of support comes from the United States. And what did they do with all this support? They killed more than 20,000 Gazans.' Mr Netanyahu responded at the time by saying that the Turkish president should be the last person to lecture Israel. 'Erdogan, who commits genocide against the Kurds, who holds a world record for imprisoning journalists who oppose his rule, is the last person who can preach morality to us.' A United Airlines flight had to make an emergency landing on Friday after a fault with the aircraft's hydraulic system, making it the fourth incident for the airline this week. The airline said the flight heading to Mexico City from San Francisco had to make an emergency landing in Los Angeles due to the fault. All 105 passengers and five crew members on board landed safely and deplaned at the gate, with a new flight having to be scheduled. The incident rounds off a week of problems for the airline, with a plane going off the runway on Friday, a wheel coming off a flight on Thursday and a plane engine shooting flames on Monday. The United Airlines flight that lost its wheel had also departed from San Francisco and was on its way to Osaka in Japan when the wheel of the Boeing 777-200's wheel came off. The airline said the flight, seen here, was heading to Mexico City from San Francisco had to make an emergency landing in Los Angeles due to the fault A Boeing 737 Max operated by United Airlines veered off the tarmac into the grass when exiting the runway at George Bush Airport in Houston early Friday Several vehicles in the employee car parking lot were badly damaged by the falling wheel that also mangled a fence. The plane landed safely at LAX about 1:20 pm with no further incident and no injuries reported on the ground. 'The 777-200 has six tires on each of its two main landing gear struts. The aircraft is designed to land safely with missing or damaged tires,' United said. A new plane had to be scrambled to take the passengers to Japan from Los Angeles falling the incident. On Friday, another flight veered off the runway after landing in Houston, having suffered some form of gear collapse as it exited the runway at George Bush Airport. Shocking footage showed the plane on its wings on grass by the side of the runway, with passengers being hurried from an emergency gate ladder. Despite the rocky end to the flight, a passenger claimed that the landing was smooth, but they felt some bumps as the plane began to taxi. 'Felt like when you have a flat tire in a car,' the passenger told Click2Houston. The United Airlines flight 35 left San Francisco Airport on its way to Osaka in Japan and was barely off the runway with the Boeing 777-200's wheel came off Cars written off by the falling wheel are now nothing more than twisted metal In a statement, Houston Airports said: 'Around 8am [Friday], a United Airlines flight landed at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). 'As it was exiting the runway, the aircraft left the pavement and entered the grass along Runway 9-27. 'Fortunately, no one on board was injured. The Houston Fire Department and Houston Airports Operations immediately responded and safely evacuated all passengers.' On Monday, another United flight was hit with problems when its engine caught fire after departing from Houston while bound for Fort Myers, Florida. United said on Thursday that they believe bubble wrap to have been sucked into the engine, causing the problems. Footage taken from a passenger window shows white-hot flashes streaming out of the jet's engine. 'Hey ladies and gentlemen, we realized something happened outside,' a crewmember can be heard warning passengers before the clip cuts out. One of the engines on another United Airlines 737 in Texas burst into flames mid-flight in a terrifying fireball earlier this week Moments later, they were forced to make an emergency landing and return to George H. Bush Intercontinental Houston Airport moments after takeoff. No injuries were reported in the incident. Passenger Dorian D. Cerda told Storyful the plane was 'approximately 15 minutes' into the two-hour trip when the incident occurred, with the jet landing just before 7pm. 'The flight landed safely and the passengers deplaned normally,' United Airlines said, adding that they 'arranged for a new aircraft to take our customers to their destination.' The model of plane in the Houston incident was a Boeing 737-900, a similar jet to the Max fleet which was grounded in January after an exit door blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight over Oregon. Bolts appear to be missing from the door plug that blew out of a Boeing 737 MAX during an Alaska Airlines flight on January 5 The door plug was recovered from the back yard of a home after it blew out on January 5 On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration said its six-week audit of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems found 'multiple instances where the companies allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements'. 'The FAA identified non-compliance issues in Boeings manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control. The FAA is providing these details to the public as an update to the agencys ongoing investigation,' the statement said. The administration announced it would continue to ground Boeing's 171 jets and had halted production expansion of the Boeing 737 MAX. The news was a blow to the aircraft manufacturer, which saw its market value plummet by $30 billion in the wake of the disaster. Boeing's share price also plunged by 20 percent in the month following the blowout. Aviation is the most strictly regulated form of transport in the world. But included in the long list of reasonable rules, are a bunch of bizarre rules which can leave passengers scratching their heads. One which made headlines last month was when a British Airways flight was stopped from departing after its seats were found to be 'too comfy'. The Milan to London flight was grounded because its seat cushions were too thick and wide, with Italian officials boarding the plane to inspect them. The aircraft in question was a five-year-old Airbus A320neo and the offending cushions were located in the over-wing exit rows, which are used for evacuation in an emergency. Exit row seats need to have especially thin cushions, not regular ones, according to the rules. Passengers were eventually allowed to depart one hour late after looking at their seat's serial numbers and finding the mixed-up cushions, according to a TikTok video from the scene. But what other bizarre rules could potentially ruin your next holiday? One bizarre rule which made headlines last month was when a British Airways flight was stopped from departing after its seats were found to be 'too comfy' (stock image) Lights must be dimmed when taking off and landing Take off and landing are the riskiest stages of every flight and with the increased risks comes more rules. Lights must be dimmed when taking off and landing. This is to allow the pilots to see their emergency lights more easily from inside the cockpit. But it is also so passengers' eyes get used to the natural light in case of an emergency and the cabin becomes filled with smoke. Assigned seats to spread out the weight When you get on a flight and are told by cabin crew to take your assigned seat far away from your family, it is because they have used data on the average weight of passengers to try and spread out the weight. If an airline spreads the weight evenly around the aircraft it makes takeoff and landing easier. Some airlines even do voluntary weight checks of passengers to try and gather data to help. Airlines will try and spread out the weight of passengers to help with balance (stock image) Airlines also have their own rules when it comes to cabin crew appearance (stock image) Cabin crew numbers and piercings Although the number of cabin crew is determined by the level of service an airline wants to provide, there is also a number they must reach. The minimum level is one flight attendant for every 50 seats, regardless of whether those seats are occupied. Airlines also have their own rules when it comes to cabin crew appearance. Flight attendants on Virgin planes for instance cannot have any visible facial piercings or jewellery on their lips, nose, or eyebrows. Ear piercings are allowed but they need to be simple and understated, with most airlines encouraging a simple stud or a small pearl. The number of doors needed for a rapid exit EXCLUSIVE READ MORE: I'm a former flight attendant and THIS is how the Japan Airlines passengers of flight 516 gave a masterclass on plane-crash survival Advertisement One of the key criteria which depends on how many passengers can fit on a plane is not the amount of seats, but the amount of doors. According to the rules, airlines have to show that a full aircraft can be evacuated with half the doors unusable within 90 seconds. This means the number of doors and seats are forever linked together due to the safety-conscious rule. This was seen in action last month when all 379 passengers and crew managed to get off through three doors of a Japan Airlines Airbus A350 that had caught fire. There was no time to take luggage but miraculously every single passenger managed to get off the plane - moments before it was engulfed in flames. All 379 passengers miraculously escaped from the Japan Airlines plane after they were safely evacuated in January Children onboard were heard shouting as flames engulf the aircraft on the outside Can't fly without checking every lightbulb If an important item is missing or has broken, the rules state the aircraft cannot fly and there are more rules around the strict deadline for repair or replacement. READ MORE: Airline Corendon introduces zone where children are BANNED that's shielded from the rest of the aircraft by walls and curtains Advertisement This even extends to items as minute as a battery-powered exit light above a door. They must be checked before every flight to ensure if there is a power cut passengers are able to escape. Jets must be able to use only one engine All jets have to be able to fly on one engine. Once airborne, despite an Airbus A380 superjumbo's weight of 550 tonnes - it can fly on a single engine. The safety rule is in place to ensure planes can land even if one of their engines breaks down mid-flight. Single-engine planes might have to determine a flight to nearby airports that would be suitable for its landing. Lightbulbs must be checked prior to flying so passengers can escape if there is a power cut All jets have to be able to fly on one engine. Pictured: Terminal 4 at Heathrow Airport Yellow stickers on windows with a better view The windows with the best views often have yellow stickers on them. This is not so passengers can enjoy the scenery as they fly into their holiday destination - it is so the cabin crew can know where they need to go. READ MORE: Airlines' crackdown on unusual emotional support animals including peacocks and pigs has seen BLIND passengers with guide dogs banned from boarding planes Advertisement They will use the yellow stickers as a quick guide to observe the condition of the wing or an engine in an emergency. Carry-on weight limits to prevent rupturing You may wonder why airlines do not accept your heavy carry-on bag even if it fits in the overhead lockers. But insiders say the weight requirement is there to prevent the cabin from rupturing in the event of an emergency. Put your own oxygen mask on before helping others Parents often scramble to get their children's masks on before worrying about themselves. But airlines warn against such a practice because it could have fatal results and prevent you from assisting anyone else in need. Adult passengers need to put their own oxygen masks on before helping others so they are able to breathe while they do it. Young fans of a notorious rapper turned YouTube star have turned on police during a chaotic public appearance on a suburban street. Massive crowds gathered in Waterford West in the south-east Queensland city of Logan on Saturday to greet Spanian, whose real name is Anthony Lees, a former prison inmate who has gained fame as a rapper and YouTube star. Police were in attendance to control the crowd but it wasn't long before officers called for back-up as things got out of hand. Footage posted on social media captured the wild scenes on the packed street, including multiple burnouts as billowing clouds of smoke filled the skies. Flares were also let off as drivers performed risky stunts. Hoons were also filmed surrounding and attacking a police car where they launched repeated kicks at the vehicle which was covered in dents. Another video showed bottles being pelted at police vehicles. #BREAKING: Police have been attacked in Logan, just south of Brisbane. Fans of controversial Australian rapper 'Spanian' turned on officers, who were there for crowd control. https://t.co/5zYfOfGqUb #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/TOB60LHfeU 7NEWS Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) March 9, 2024 There were wild scenes as fans of the rapper turned YouTuber Spanian allegedly attacked police cars in Logan on Saturday READ MORE: Emotional scenes at memorial for teen victim of alleged hit-and-run Jai Anderson was tragically killed in March 2023 Advertisement Three cop vehicles were allegedly damaged in the chaos. Queensland Police have labelled the gathering as 'a large-scale hooning event'. 'Officers responded to reports of a large group of people gathering for an event in Bourke Street, around 2pm,' a police statement said. 'Approximately 350 people attended the area, with some vehicles committing traffic related offences and driving in a dangerous manner. 'Multiple crews attended the location and declared an out-of-control event and blocked off the street. 'Three police cars were damaged as a result of the event.' Officers including from specialist teams, were called in from across the Logan, Gold Coast, and South Brisbane Districts to regain control. Order was eventually restored by 4pm. One person was taken into custody and no injuries were reported. Investigations into the incident continue. 'Potential for a tragedy just cannot be understated, they're putting their lives at danger,' Chief Inspector Les Bulluss said. Residents who live in Bourke Street were furious that their neighbourhood was transformed into a war zone. 'It's disgusting,' one woman told Nine News. When one attendee was quizzed about the reason behind the gathering he explained 'mate, it's a party, it's just a party, it's family'. It's the same stareet where teen Jai Anderson, 17 died a year ago after he was allegedly struck by a utility while on a dirt bike. Three police vehicles were allegedly damaged during the chaos on Saturday afternoon Hoons allegedly kicked and threw bottles at police vehicles Spanian, who hails from the inner Sydney suburb of Woolloomooloo, went into juvenile detention at age 15 and became a heroin addict the year after. He spent the next 12 years going in and out of NSW prisons for drug dealing, assault and robbery before reforming in 2017 and establishing a successful rap career. Dedicating himself to producing social media content he has half a million followers on Instagram and has attracted 83 million views on YouTube. His popular YouTube series Into the Hood sees him go into the most notorious crime-ridden areas around the world. His fans are often characterised as eshays, A public appearance by a notorious rapper turned YouTube star attracted a 350-strong crowd The RSPCA has weighed in on the Crufts breeding controversy after a French bulldog with 'no discernable nostrils' won a prize. The controversy over breeding comes as dogs of all shapes and sizes continue to flock to Birmingham as this year's Crufts enters day three. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has said it was 'so disappointed' when the dog was awarded Best in Breed yesterday. It said the short muzzle and pinched nostrils were traits which can cause suffering and has shared its petition to stop extreme breeding. The controversial bulldog Elton scooped the prize for the best canine in the Utility Group and Best of Breed but animal welfare campaigners criticised the judges' decision. The controversy over breeding comes as 19,000 dogs have flocked to Birmingham for this years Crufts which has now entered day three Campaigners were concerned that Elton (pictured) had 'no discernable nostrils' and would therefore struggle to breathe but Crufts officials said he had passed all the health checks A Siberian Husky looks out from it's pen as it appears in the Working and Pastoral class Handlers with their Samoyed on day three of the Crufts dog show at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham However The Kennel Club, which organises Crufts, said the winning dog had passed all its vet checks and was not suffering from any health issues. READ MORE: Crufts results: All the winners so far pictured as controversial breed makes history on Day One Advertisement Mandatory breathing tests for pugs, bulldogs and French bulldogs are being introduced next year in an effort to restrict the number of flat-faced dogs competing in the dog show. Meanwhile, the father and daughter duo who saw their controversial French bulldog to victory said they were so delighted they were 'lost for words'. Dean and Abbie Cund from Birmingham said: 'It's just a dream beyond a dream come true.' The controversy around extreme breeding comes as over 19,000 dogs from around the world flocked to Birmingham's NEC for the competition which is taking place over the weekend. As the competition enters day three pooches of all shapes and sizes continue to arrive to compete in several categories, with the world-class Best In Show title to be awarded on Sunday. The competition, which has been running since 1981, is currently organised by The Kennel Club and attracts over 160,000 spectators yearly. The winning dog Elton (pictured with owners Dean and Abbie Cund from Birmingham) scooped the prize for the best canine in the Utility Group and Best of Breed but animal welfare campaigners criticised the judges' decision Crufts, which has been running since 1981, is currently organised by The Kennel Club and attracts over 160,000 spectators yearly Dogs in bright patterned coats arrive on a chilly day three Dog lovers from all over the world have came for the competition. Pictured: A tattoo of a dog is displayed on the leg of an owner An owner grooms her Samoyed ahead of judging A Great Dane competes in the Working and Pastoral class on the third day of the Crufts dog show Bernese Mountain Dog is groomed before being judged A Great Dane is judged in the Working and Pastoral class A Great Dane gets a kiss after competing A Samoyed is groomed as it appears in the Working and Pastoral class competition Mastiffs appear in the Working and Pastoral class Old English Sheepdog in the show ring during day three A Hungarian Puli is pictured with a colourful ribbon in its hair A Hungarian Puli is almost completely covered in its unique coat Handlers with their Old English Sheepdogs as they enter the showring to be judged An Australian Shepherd dog is with a patterned coat is looked over by its owner An Australian Shepherd dog is prepared during the Working and Pastoral class competition Great Danes wait in their pens after competing Samoyeds are judged in the showring A Great Dane runs for the judges A Great Dane looks over his owner's shoulder A woman handles her three Rough Collie dogs at the end of the third day of the Crufts dog show A Great Dane chews it's soft toy in preparation of the Working and Pastoral class competition Spectators and dogs watch the competition from the crowd An Old English Sheepdog has its hair prepared for the competition Shetland Sheepdogs line up to be judged Dog themed clocks are seen for sale on a trade stand A woman looks at paintings of dogs for sale A general view of the judging ring as the Great Danes are judged in the Working and Pastoral class competition Shetland Sheepdogs are judged A Great Dane relaxes after a busy day of competition An Old English Sheepdog gets some last minute grooming A St Bernard relaxes after a busy day A Shetland Sheepdog does some last minute practicing However while the competition continues in Birmingham, dozens of animal rights supporters took to social media to agree with the RSPCA that extreme breeding should be banned. Some pet enthusiasts threatened to boycott Crufts over an incident as they made their voices heard, while others slammed Channel 4 for broadcasting the competition on More4. The RSPCA, which is one of the largest charities in the UK, said on its online petition: 'Short-nosed and flat-faced animals such as French bulldogs, pugs and English bulldogs are seen everywhere, and are celebrated across social media and at annual dog shows like Crufts. 'While these breeds are suffering, theyre also being rewarded for their extreme looks and are being normalised to the public. Worse still, irresponsible breeders are profiting from their pain. 'Brachycephalic dog breeds include French bulldogs, pugs and English bulldogs and have shorter snouts and flat faces - sadly, this can lead to a lifetime of suffering. 'Their extreme conformation means that many dogs have airways that are obstructed and abnormally narrow nostrils and windpipes. This means that every breath can be a struggle.' The RSPCA is campaigning to stop extreme breeding In response to the controversy around extreme breeding, Charlotte McNamara, head of health at The Kennel Club, said in a statement to MailOnline: 'The health and welfare of dogs at Crufts is our priority, and the winning French Bulldog, Elton, has passed all relevant vet health assessments both within and outside the show ring. 'He has a grade 0 score on The Kennel Club/University of Cambridge breathing assessment that was carried out prior to the show - and which from Crufts 2025 will be mandatory for all French Bulldogs, Pugs and Bulldogs before they compete - meaning he is clinically unaffected by brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS). 'Elton has also passed the show vet check, which is given to all dogs before group judging, and to some breed winners to ensure there are no visible signs of health concerns. 'We continue to work collaboratively with breed clubs, vets and welfare organisations to educate breeders, puppy buyers and show judges about how health issues can affect brachycephalic dogs and urge puppy buyers to look for responsible breeders, who are using tools such as The Kennel Club / University of Cambridge Respiratory Function Grading scheme assessment.' In this exclusive extract from his powerful memoir, Earl Spencer describes in devastating detail the sexual assaults and horrific beatings he suffered at Maidwell Hall and the lifelong damage they caused. Despite our privileged backgrounds, my classmates in the 1970s were no different from any other boys aged 11 or 12 in finding the subject of sex endlessly intriguing. Our actual knowledge of this special interest, however, tended to be rudimentary and confused. We were on constant high alert for words that alluded in any way at all to genitals, breasts or bodily functions. We had vague ideas about words that were sexual, but these were random notions rather than concrete knowledge. And even John Porch (whom we nicknamed Jack), the headmaster of our prep school, Maidwell Hall in Northamptonshire, would have struggled to be disgusted by what we considered to be pornography. Some of the older boys had copies of Health & Efficiency, a monthly naturist magazine. It featured a regular-looking naked woman on its cover, with a strategically placed man also naked, but nothing on show talking attentively to her in a humdrum setting, such as the kitchen. I added to the illicit literature of one of the most expensive private schools in England by smuggling in a copy of my mother's Cosmopolitan. The articles made only the vaguest sense to us. My understanding of sex, then, was pretty normal for a boy of 11. I was curious yet unknowing, and should have remained so a while longer. Instead, my innocence was taken down a different course, where confusion, shame and self-doubt lurched out from the shadows. Unaware that such a crime existed, I had no idea that I had become a victim of sexual abuse. Charles Spencer with sister Diana and nanny Mary Clarke on the day he leaves for Maidwell Hall in 1972 Back in the 1970s, the role of assistant matron was filled by a succession of 18 to 22-year-old women, from what were considered 'good' families. There must have been eight or ten of them during my Maidwell years, staying a term or two to plump up their resumes. Rather than address any of them by her name, we had to call her 'Please'. This Maidwellian tradition, which applied to all female members of staff, was seen as a way of instilling good manners into the boys. (Even as a new boy of eight, I remember thinking this was deeply odd.) While I can't recall most of the other assistant matrons, there was one who will remain with me till the day I die. She was 19 or 20, tall and slender, with brown hair and rosy cheeks on a handsome face. I've long since given up trying to understand what lay behind her behaviour. It's beyond my comprehension. All I can do is say what happened. In the middle of term, I was moved up into the school attics to one of a pair of dormitories called 'The Uppers'. I was 11, and by a few months the youngest of the half a dozen boys already there. I'd only been in The Uppers for a night or two when I awoke to whispers coming from the other end of the dormitory. Then I saw the beam of a small torch and made out that it was dancing around in the assistant matron's hand. I presumed Please must be doing some form of rounds maybe checking on our safety. I noted how she tiptoed to the side of each bed, pausing and chatting quietly to those still awake. When she came close to me, I pretended to be sleeping. The next night, the same thing: rustling, secrecy, torchlight and the whispers of boys and a young woman. I then heard the crunching of food being devoured: we weren't allowed to eat or drink in our dormitories, so I knew Please must have flouted the rules, bringing forbidden treats. After several nights of lying still, I walked over to where the noises were coming from. The assistant matron appeared startled, and the two or three boys she was sitting with looked at me with wary hostility. 'You mustn't tell anyone about this, Spencer!' one of them challenged. 'Of course I won't!' I said, and joined in Please's biscuits-and-grapes feast, delighting in the mischief of it all. It wasn't long before I learned that the assistant matron was dispensing more than sugary snacks. An hour after handing them out, she'd return to see if anyone remained awake. On one of these later visits, she sat on the side of my bed. She was smiley, kind and chatty. She was so different from the other members of staff, and seemed to share my dim view of the headmaster, the matron and of the grimmer masters, making her own irreverent, comical observations about each. In the hard, male environment of this traditional boys' boarding school, where I missed my mother terribly, this calculated deployment of feminine warmth couldn't fail to entrance, beguile and ensnare me. Quite soon after the hatching of what I saw as our thrilling friendship, things changed. During a lull in our conversation one night, Please reached forward, cupped my head and pulled it up from my pillow so our faces met. I was rigid in her arms as she kissed me on the lips. Then I felt her tongue push forward into my mouth. She tasted of peppermints. As Please moved her tongue around deep inside my mouth, it dawned on me that I was receiving the sort of kiss I had only seen on a screen. I started to imitate her tongue's prying with my own clumsy movements. After what seemed an age, we stopped and I drew breath. Then she started again, pulling me to her and French-kissing me for minutes at a time. In between kisses, she giggled and smiled. Charles on his very last day at Maidwell in 1977, getting changed by the swimming pool This furtive night-time routine, which included her other chosen targets, continued for months. Being mere boys, of course, we soon assumed we were 'in love' with the adult assistant matron, and this led to a sort of a bond, but also to an element of competition that she encouraged and directed. She toyed with us, keeping us tight on the end of her line. I'd beg her to wake me up, if I'd fallen asleep before her second nightly visit, and she said she would, but never did. Perhaps she wanted to punish those who were insufficiently committed to stay awake. There seemed to be an unofficial hierarchy among her prey. We learned, from our secret conversations, that she chose one boy each term to share her bed and would use him for intercourse. 'What's it like doing 'it'?' I asked one of them. 'You push in with your willy and her flesh sort of pushes you out,' he replied, trying to sound worldly, but using the vocabulary of the child that he was. What he was describing was, of course, beyond the limits of my understanding. It was utterly intriguing, though, and I'd lie awake wondering if I'd be chosen for this mystifying, push-and-pull procedure. When I asked Please, she hinted that I would be, soon. Instead, however, she promoted me to the second rank of her reverse harem: those she intimately touched. While we kissed, one night, she reached under my bedclothes, trailing her fingers in teasing, looping circles down my stomach until alighting on the little that an 11-year-old boy can muster. The first time she touched me there, she placed my hand on her breasts, and I could feel her pounding heart beneath, while I many months from joining the 'potent' boys in the school felt fit to combust at the sensual and mental overload. Soon afterwards, she pulled forcefully at my arm and pushed my hand down, under the tight elastic at the top of her underpants. I had no idea what I was meant to do. Eventually, she took me by the wrist and moved my hand for her pleasure. In the daytime, we hung out with Please in the Music Room, a small space pupils could use in their free time. She was a master of emotional manipulation: with a sudden huff or a deliberate turning of her back, she would publicly shun one of the children she was molesting. Excerpts from Charles Spencer's new memoir are published exclusively by the Mail The other boys in her thrall would spot this change in her mood and side with her displaying such open hostility that her target would feel compelled to leave the Music Room. He'd be readmitted into the circle of sexual secrecy only when Please started smiling at him once more. Her control over mesmerised boys was total, for we were starved of feminine warmth, and desperate for her attention and affection. One day, Please told us she thought she'd have to move on early to her next job, in the women's branch of the Royal Navy. I was so fraught at the prospect of losing her that I started cutting at the inside of my arm with a penknife. I now feel sure that the suggestion she might leave early was just a ruse intended to set panic among her emotional dependants, perhaps to make her feel desirable and needed, perhaps to keep us more tightly hooked. Weeks later, when she said she would, for certain, be staying till the end of the school year, I ran through the school's hallway with the boy sharing her bed that term, punching the air and shouting: 'She's staying! She's staying!' We jumped up and down, waving our arms in childish euphoria, unaware that we were, in fact, the victims of a voracious paedophile. I still have a memento of this sexual trauma. A society portrait painter, Robert Tollast, came to the school in 1976, to capture in pastels some of Maidwell's boys. I sat for him, and he produced what looks like a simple, formal portrait of a privileged boy, in jacket and tie. But he has captured much more than that, as sensitive artists tend to. Here I am in my full Maidwell melancholy, staring into the distance, my bright red hair and soft, pink cheeks set off by large, sorrowful blue eyes. It's a study in sadness of a boy, lost. When I arrived at Maidwell for my first day, I felt exhausted and sick. I knew that, however inconceivable the prospect seemed, my father was on the point of abandoning me. My older sister Diana had countered her first-day despair on reaching boarding school with the heroic challenge: 'If you loved me, you wouldn't leave me here.' But she had been a girl of ten and I was a boy of eight, and I lacked the words or the maturity to express my shocked sense of betrayal. I felt I'd been sent away from home because I'd somehow fallen short as a son. The last thing I wanted was to make the situation worse by being difficult, or questioning, since that might bring about even harsher rejection. These fears reached a climax in 1973, on my ninth birthday, my first away from my parents. Waking up that day, I felt utterly alone and started quietly crying great fat tears of devastation. Soon after this, I started to make myself vomit. After lights out, I waited till the rest of the dormitory fell asleep, then lifted my chipped white chamber-pot out from under my bed and hunched over it, sticking the first two fingers of my right hand down my throat. My induced vomiting was rarely productive normally a thin swill of gastric juices. Boarding school Maidwell Hall, where Early Spencer reveals he was abused in the 1970s In the morning I'd show my feeble offering to the senior matron, who'd look at me contemptuously and tell me to wash the chamber pot. This interaction recurred dozens of times over the following years. She never showed an iota of concern. It's obvious to me now that making myself sick was a desperate attempt to get somebody adult to show me warmth and sympathy. It was an emotional cry for help and an effort to exert an element of control over a life that was so out of my control. Until I left Maidwell at 13, I was slave to a dread despair I've rarely known since. This gloom got so bad that, in the final days of the holidays, I'd regularly consider shooting myself in the foot with one of my father's shotguns: physical agony seemed preferable to the psychological torture of being sent to that place again. When I was at one of the lowest points in my life, in my early 40s, Maidwell came sharply back into focus. My second marriage had followed the first into failure, leaving two more of my offspring as children of divorce. Feeling beaten, I decided to tackle whatever was attracting partners unsuited to me, and me to them, so the pattern could end. I sought professional help, taking myself to a clinic near London where I set about laying out my past in the way I did when starting with a new therapist. It was all there, I thought my mother leaving home when I was two, my parents' bitter divorce, my father's subsequent depression, his marrying a hard-to-like stepmother, repeated family loss, before finishing up with my marriages. After a flurry of no-nonsense questions, the therapist told me: 'Well, I do have a diagnosis for you: you've had what we professionals like to call "a f***ed-up childhood..." ' What needed addressing, he said, was 'the toxic residue' of my 'distant past.' A few days later, I was enrolled on a residential course. Along the way, I talked about my five years at Maidwell, for the first time giving an intimate account of its grimmer secrets. In a whisper, I confessed I'd been sexually abused by an adult at the school. I also tried to explain the sense of being powerless in a scary setting one that was patrolled and controlled by a headmaster set on inflicting pain [see previous page]. Finally, during intensive therapy, I began to address Maidwell's lifelong impact on me. Only in middle age did I finally recognise the extent of the damage done. At Maidwell, I ensured no vulnerabilities could be left on show, lest they become soft targets. And so I became utterly self-reliant but not always in a good or healthy way. When looking at the wreckage of my first and second marriages, I learnt early in therapy that being sent away to boarding school at eight years of age meant that I had next to no understanding of intimacy. It is an almost inevitable consequence of the trauma. It's of course easy to look for reasons why things have not worked out. But I am certain that some things died for me between my eighth and 13th birthdays, when in the care of headmaster Jack Porch. Innocence, trust, joy all were trampled on and diminished in that outdated, snobbish, vicious little world that English high society constructed and endorsed, handed over to the care of people who could be very dangerous indeed. It amazes me still that I always a stubborn child meekly succumbed to the misery of the bleak path chosen for me. It just didn't occur to me to rebel. My disappointment in myself for this unconditional surrender has only grown as I've aged. Recently, I rediscovered my 1976 diary, and was rocked by an inscription on its first page. The predatory assistant matron had written 'Me', then her home address and phone number, in looping handwriting. She'd done this, I assume, in the expectation that we'd stay in touch. There is something about that word, 'Me', that strikes me now as not only wildly inappropriate, but intensely intimate and, of course, slyly anonymous. Online research has established that she married at least twice, the first time a year or so after leaving Maidwell, but I can't find where she might be now. If alive, she would be in her late 60s. Did she, I wonder, go on to molest other children in subsequent years? While still extremely young, I'd met a boy from the boarding school where Please had worked before coming to Maidwell. From this boy I learned that she'd subjected him to the same inappropriate and baffling experiences. In early 2015, I contacted a lawyer in London with a view to taking legal action against the woman who'd corroded my childhood, only to realise that pushing ahead with litigation was beyond me then. 'Even contacting you about this stuff has brought a lot of horrible memories to the surface,' I explained. As I stood down, I promised the lawyer that if anyone contacted her who'd attended Maidwell in the mid-1970s, with tales of sexual molestation or abuse, I would be happy to give my evidence in corroboration. Charles Spencer, 2024 This video is no longer available This video is no longer available Lions that have spent eight months trapped in the middle of a warzone in Sudan have been rescued by an animal charity and taken to safety. The lions lived in a shelter in Sudan but when conflict broke out last year between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces, they were abandoned. In the midst of the fighting, staff at the shelter had no choice but to evacuate - leaving the lions to fend for themselves inside an enclosed complex. Before long, the unusually helpless animals were at the mercy of the military men who's focus was on fighting - not on veterinary care. They began to starve to death one by one. The lions weren't only dying from starvation and illness but were also being killed When the were found by the rescuers they were in a very bad state and were starving to death The rescuers covered the lion's eyes with a cloth before moving it and it hardly flinched The lions lived in a shelter in Sudan but when conflict broke out last year between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces, they were abandoned and left to perish Sky reported that not only were they dying from starvation and illness but were also being killed by he Rapid Support Forces. The Sudan Animal Rescue team spent months trying to raise money for a rescue mission - and it finally came in November. The evacuation was carried out by charity Four Paws who found 23 lions in desperate need of medical attention. Veterinarian and head of mission Dr Amir Khalil said in November: 'It is a very bad situation. The animals are really in very, very bad condition. (It is a) very critical situation. 'We were just informed yesterday that another lion passed away.' However, despite the urgency, due to the progressing conflict, the charity was unable to find anywhere safe in Sudan to take the lions. By the time safe places in other countries were found and the evacuation got underway, only 15 lions were left. The journey was long and arduous. By the time the evacuation got underway, only 15 of the 23 lions found at the shelter were left They had been trapped in the warzone for eight months and now faced a mammoth journey The rescuers were working desperately for two months to find a safe place to take them They carried the 15 of them away in cages, 11 headed to South Africa, four headed to Jordan It wasn't a day too late for the lions who were dying - one died a day before rescuers arrived The animal charity Four Paws were the ones who came to the rescue and took the lions away One lion named Karim (not pictured) couldn't make the long journey to Jordan and died They weren't only skeletal, they were cut and bruised from the best part of a year in a warzone All of the 11 lions (one pictured here) survived the journey to South Africa's Free State Since arriving, sanctuary staff have been working hard to get them back to good health Despite improving every day, there is still a way to go before being back as king of the jungle Some are said to be experiencing signs of PTSD, now they are safe, but remembering the hell The unusually helpless animals were at the mercy of the military men who's focus was on fighting - not on veterinary care The war broke out in April last year and forced civilians to evacuate, including the lion-carers 11 of the lions ended up in a sanctuary in South Africa's Free State, three ended up in a sanctuary in Jordan and one, named Karim, died on the way. Dr Khalil said Karim was a 'brave lion who fought, especially in the last two months'. Sky visited the three lions a their new home in Jordan and reported they are in better health but still have a long way to go. They also reported that the lions were showing signs of PTSD from the conflict they had been trapped in the centre of. Angela Rayner was living a mile from the house she maintains was her primary residence when she sold it, her neighbours have insisted as the deputy Labour leader faces scrutiny over capital gains tax allegedly owed from the sale. Ms Rayner, 43, has been quizzed by Tory MPs in recent weeks over tax they claim she may have owed on profit she made when selling her home on Vicarage Road in Stockport in March 2015. She says that the house was her main residence when she sold it for 127,500, which would exempt her from paying around 1,500 in tax on the 48,500 she made after buying the building for 79,000 in January 2007. A police investigation into the case also found 'no evidence regarding any offences'. But neighbours of Ms Rayner have insisted that she was living primarily about a mile away at a property on Lowndes Lane after marrying her then-husband Mark Rayner in 2010. Former next-door neighbour Sylvia Hampson, 83, said Ms Rayner lived in the terraced home in Lowndes Lane in Stockport for a good 'six or seven years', despite Ms Rayner's insistence that her main home was on Vicarage Road. The mother-of-two, who has lived in her home for 50 years, said: 'She was definitely living here full-time from about 2009 or 2010. I saw her all the time, coming and going and her mum would come and visit a lot.' Angela Rayner maintains she was not obliged to pay capital gains tax on the sale of her property as it was 'my home and the only one I owned' A general view of the home in Lowndes Lane, Stockport, Greater Manchester Ms Rayner's house on Vicarage Road when it was for sale. Ms Rayner sold the house for 127,500 in March 2015, according to property website Zoopla Angela Rayner with Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer. The confusion over Ms Rayner's home address is significant because under electoral rules, voters are expected to register at their permanent home address. The Tories have written to Greater Manchester Police to demand an investigation as she appeared to have given two different addresses in official documents Ms Rayner has denied any wrongdoing and has insisted that her home on Vicarage Road was her main residence from 2007. She paid bills, council tax and was registered to vote at the address. Ms Rayner was registered at the house on Vicarage Road on the electoral role until her husband sold his property in 2016, as reported by The Guardian. She also re-registered the births of their two sons at her husband's address after marrying Mark Rayner in 2010, according to Lord Ashcroft's unofficial biography. Married couples who both own properties can only have one primary residence between them under tax law. The Labour MP for Ashton-under-Lyne later sold the property in March 2015, ahead of her election to parliament that May. Neighbour Mrs Hampson, who says she voted Labour in the past but not for a few years, said that the house on Lowndes Lane 'used to be her husband Mark's mum and dad's house. But Angela lived her as a family with Mark and the three kids'. 'Her son was partially blind so she used to have a blue badge in their car,' she said. 'I remember as she got a grant to do up the house because of her son. Angela told [me]: "I'm having the house done up". 'They had the kerb lowed so they could drive their car straight onto their driveway. And they had the loft made into a bedroom and they got the kitchen renovated too. 'There's no doubt she was living here all the time,' she alleged. 'In fact my son Andrew, who was in his late teens at the time, knocked on their asking for help as he couldn't work his computer. 'She came round and said: "You need to press this and do that." I think she got it working but apart from that, she never came round.' Mrs Hampson continued: 'I know she did move from her to a new place in Ashton-under-Lyne and not from the house in Vicarage Road. I remember the removal van being here.' The claims about Ms Rayner's place of residence first emerged in Lord Ashcroft's forthcoming biography of Labour's deputy leader, which will be serialised in the Mail this month. Ms Rayner posted on X, formerly Twitter, in February: 'As with the majority of ordinary people who sell their own homes, I was not liable for capital gains tax because it was my home and the only one I owned. 'My husband already owned his own home independently and I had an older child from a previous relationship. Our son was born just 23 weeks into my pregnancy and spent eight months in intensive care. He is legally blind. 'We mutually decided to maintain our existing residences to reflect our circumstances. Every family is different but it worked for us and we brought up our boys in a caring environment, surrounded by love. 'A wide network of friends and family were also there to support us, including my brother. Hed served in Iraq and was a dab hand at DIY. 'For all the unhealthy interest taken in my family by Lord Ashcroft and his friends, there is no suggestion any rules have been broken. Just a constant stream of smears from the usual suspects.' Upon investigation, police found no evidence of any wrongdoing. A Labour spokesperson also said: 'Angela Rayner has set out her familys circumstances and has taken expert tax and legal advice which confirms that no capital gains tax was payable on the sale of her home.' The purchase of Ms Rayner's council house is revealed in a new book by Lord Ashcroft, which will be serialised exclusively in the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday in March The Mail on Sunday revealed how Ms Rayner bought her council house in 2007 after being granted a 25 per cent discount under right-to-buy legislation James Daly asked Greater Manchester Police to look into whether Ms Rayner breached electoral law over her living arrangements following her 2010 marriage Nonetheless, Tory MPs have continued to insist that the issue 'is not being given the attention it surely warrants'. James Daly, MP for Bury North, asked Greater Manchester Police to look into whether Ms Rayner breached electoral law over her living arrangements following her 2010 marriage. Mr Daly told the Mail: 'I'm very concerned that in a year in which we will have both a general election and local elections this matter is not being given the attention it surely warrants. 'She is steadfastly refusing to answer the extremely basic questions. It's a far cry from the standards she demands of others.' A Labour source told MailOnline: 'Gossip and hearsay does not change the fact that Angela maintained her own home while sharing childcare responsibilities with her husband.' A Labour source also said: 'Tory MPs shouldnt be wasting police time, they should be concentrating on governing.' In Mafia parlance they are the 'made men' mobsters who become fully initiated members of the crime families only after carrying out their first 'hit'. The term popularised by Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas, the Mafia blockbuster starring Robert De Niro is starting to be applied to the underbosses of the Tory party as they watch Rishi Sunak sink to near-record lows in the polls. As this newspaper revealed last year, the anti-Rishi intrigue initially centred on a group of so-called 'pasta plotters' associated with former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who drew up a rebel 'grid of s**t' over dishes of ravioli in London's Theatreland. Now, in the wake of a Budget which lived down to Tory MPs' expectations, the heavy mob are threatening to move in. One Tory MP, allied to the 'made men', says: 'So far the plotting has been pretty amateurish. But that's because the serious players haven't got involved yet. As in Goodfellas, the first moment Rishi realises they're coming for him will be the moment he's already dead.' As in Goodfellas, the first moment Rishi Sunak realises they're coming for him will be the moment he's already dead (Pictured from left, film stars Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Paul Sorvino, Joe Pesci) The tensions came to a head when Tory chairman Richard Holden spotted one of these 'gangsters' outside the Commons voting lobby earlier this month. Afterwards Mr Holden accused the rebel of working to undermine the Prime Minister. He shot back in front of more than 20 MPs: 'We brought down Theresa May and we brought down Boris. If we were working against Sunak he'd be gone by now and you would be out of a job.' He was backed up by a former Tory Cabinet minister, who told Mr Holden: 'When we move against someone we do it properly. Just ask Theresa.' That move could be coming soon. At the centre of the machinations is the Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO), formed by disaffected Tories after the removal of Boris Johnson as leader. Founded by Tory donor Peter Cruddas and backed by the likes of Priti Patel, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries, its members led criticism of the Budget which cut 2p from National Insurance but, according to the CDO, 'offered nothing for working people'. Playing a central role in the drama is Lady McAlpine who helped to organise a pre-Budget council of war to discuss removing Mr Sunak. More than 50 MPs and peers, who had been contacted on their private email addresses, were talked through the results of polling commissioned by Lady McAlpine which concluded that only Mr Johnson could save the party. Lady McAlpine, a party donor, is also influential in the Henley area, where members of the local association have discussed parachuting Mr Johnson back into his former seat before the election to allow him to stand as party leader. Speculation over Mr Johnson's plans have swirled since the Henley association selected Caroline Newton, a Johnson ally, as its candidate with the implication that she might stand aside for him at the last minute. The problem for all the plotters, however is that they cannot agree on a replacement for Mr Sunak Allies of Mr Johnson insisted last night that he had no immediate plans to stand, on the grounds that 'the polling is so bad even he can't save the party'. But Lady McAlpine told the MoS: 'The Tory party is rotten at the core. We need new Conservative values, and Boris is the person to deliver that. 'He is the only person with the charisma to lead the party to success. We need Boris back'. The problem for all the plotters, however and it is quite a substantial one is that they cannot agree on a replacement for Mr Sunak if Mr Johnson is not available. The former frontrunner, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, has fallen from favour with a speed which does not surprise her detractors. Although undoubtedly talented and in touch with the anti-woke values of Conservative Britain, Ms Badenoch is also regarded as impulsive and erratic, with questionable people skills: colleagues winced when she started a ferocious row with Henry Staunton in the wake of his dismissal from his role as Post Office chairman. One former minister said: 'How she behaved with Staunton is how she behaves with everyone. She crosses the road to start a fight.' And a Tory MP said: 'It's 'Anyone But Rishi'. But I've made clear that its also ABK: 'Anyone other than Rishi But Kemi'. 'She is always on the anti-woke attack about issues such as transgender bathrooms, but what has she actually delivered?' Her supporters, who include the mysterious Tory fixer Dougie Smith, are undeterred. One source claimed that Ms Badenoch's allies had started to draw up a detailed policy agenda, modelled on Sir Keith Joseph's work to prepare for Margaret Thatcher's administration in 1979, although Ms Badenoch does not confirm this. A former Cabinet minister said Mr Johnson offered the party's only chance to avoid annihilation Lady McAlpine herself is understood to support Mrs Braverman, who is closely linked to the pasta plotters and has maintained a high profile since she was sacked by Mr Sunak last year. But most of the momentum is building around Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt, on the left of the party, and Ms Patel, the former Home Secretary, who could be the flag-bearer for the Right. But with one poll published on Friday putting the Tory vote share at 18 per cent just five per cent ahead of Nigel Farage's Reform the smell of panic hangs heavily in the air. While most Tory MPs expect Mr Sunak to wait until the autumn to call the General Election, rather than dovetail the poll with the local elections on May 2, an increasing number of them wonder whether the decision will rest in his hands. One said: 'The only reason I don't want a May election is, selfishly, I'm not ready for it all to end. But I just can't see this continuing much longer.' And one of those involved in the McAlpine meeting said: 'I previously thought it would be too reckless to remove yet another Prime Minister, but now I don't think we have any choice.' A former Cabinet minister told the MoS that Mr Johnson offered the party's only chance to avoid annihilation. They said: 'If Boris came back for the General Election it could save as many as 80 MPs. It would give Conservatives hope, a reason to vote. If we go into an election and Boris is out in the cold, voters will simply stay at home and sit on their hands. 'The party needs to wake up fast these weeks before the local elections could be crucial.' A spokesman for Mr Johnson distanced him from the plotting, saying: 'Boris fully supports the Government' A San Diego father has erected a billboard on his pickup truck to shame his daughter's school after he claims the six-year-old was assaulted by another Kindergarten girl. Jacob Poynor claims that on February 8, a female student covered his daughter's lap with a coat and began inappropriately touching her between the legs while teachers and other students were present. After a months-long investigation at Cajon Park Elementary School, Poynor took matters into his own hands and attached a sign reading 'Own your actions. Are you OK with sexual battery? Send your kids to this school' to the side of his truck parked outside the school. 'I don't know if this was the right thing to do, but at the same time, I don't know what other options we have,' Poynor told NBC News. 'It's well beyond frustrating. I'm furious. Shockingly, I've kept my cool.' Jacob Poynor, claims that on February 8 a female kindergartner inappropriately touched his six-year-old daughter while teachers were present 'Own your actions. Are you OK with sexual battery? Send your kids to this school,' the sign on the side of Poynor's truck reads Following the alleged incident, the children's 'teacher and co-teacher took my daughter in another room and questioned her without my wife or my approval, and we hadn't even been notified at the time,' Poynor said. The school cannot share any further information about the incident they're investigating because it was reported to be between two students, a spokesperson said. 'Everyone has a right to free speech,' Santee School District spokesperson Cori Harris said of Poynor's protest sign. 'We've seen a lot of support from parents of Cajon Park. Families at that school trust the administration and the process.' 'The administration followed proper protocols,' she explained. Adding: 'The district investigation is complete. Both families have been notified of the resolution, but the district is not finished handling the situation.' Poynor said he filed a complaint with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department and Child Protective Services. A sheriff's department spokesperson told NBC that they are aware of the complaint but will not comment further due to the sensitive nature of the incident. Cajon Park Elementary School Poynor investigated the incident and has since concluded their probe The school cannot share any further information about the incident they're investigating because it was reported to be between two students, a spokesperson said Poynor said he filed a complaint with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department and Child Protective Services State legislation that went into effect in 2019 may reduce the chances of legal or criminal recourse. The law effectively stopped the prosecution of children under the age of 12 with the few exceptions that include the most serious crimes. Instead, families and school districts are responsible for administering any age-appropriate consequences that are necessary. Poynor says his daughter used to be a happy-go-lucky, kid but the incident has had a profound effect on his little girl. 'It's different now. She's much more reserved and quiet, not completely, but certainly not my loving daughter,' Poynor said. The child was removed from the school on Thursday and Poynor said he is not planning to let her go back until he is satisfied that she is safe. Mitch McConnell's sister-in-law Angela Chao drowned in her Tesla after the vehicle's strengthened glass was unable to be broken after she reversed into a pond. Chao, who was the CEO of shipping company Foremost Group, died last month after her car entered a body of water on a private ranch in Texas. Disturbing details have since emerged detailing the frenzied rescue mission to save the 50-year-old. In a report by the Wall Street Journal, the outlet detail how Chao had drove her Tesla home from an evening with friends when she accidentally put the car in reverse. Due to the type of strengthened glass used in the Model X's windows and sunroof, attempts to smash into the vehicle proved redundant. According to testing done by the American Automobile Association, the type of glass used on the vehicle is nearly impossible to break underwater. Chao had been spending the weekend with her closest girlfriends celebrating the Chinese New Year while her husband, venture capitalist Jim Breyer, was away at a conference Chao, who was the CEO of shipping company Foremost Group, died last month after her car entered a body of water on a private ranch in Texas, an aerial shot of the property is seen here Chao had been making a three-point turn before the deadly accident and put the car in reverse instead of drive, sending it down an embankment and into a pond. As the car dipped below the water line, Chao called a friend in a panic to explain her situation and over the next several hours rescuers tried in vain to rescue her. Shortly after making her call, one friend jumped into the pond to attempt to rescue her before responders arrived on the scene. As the car dipped below the water line, Chao called a friend in a panic to explain her situation and over the next several hours rescuers tried in vain to rescue her. In an incident report obtained by the WSJ, one fire department crew arrived on the scene 24 minutes after getting a call. One responder described the vehicle as being completely submerged, with some deputies from a sheriff's department even able to stand on it as they attempted to rescue Chao. Lighting had to be set up, and dive teams had to be brought in to aid the rescue mission as well as a tow truck. Despite arriving on the scene, the truck didn't have a cable long enough to reach the car and the driver was also said to have been afraid of being electrocuted. After the vehicle was eventually pulled from the water, hundreds of gallons rushed out as the doors were opened, with Chao being found unresponsive. Angela Chao, who is the head of the dry bulk shipping firm, died earlier last month Chao is said to have made a mistake with the gearshift on her metallic blue Tesla, the model is seen here, putting the car into reverse and sending into a pond From L to R, the Chao sisters: Grace, Christine, Elaine, May and Angela Chao, pictured in 2016 Efforts to resuscitate Chao began immediately with paramedics attempting to revive her for 43 minutes. Typically, the driver and passengers of a sinking car would only have only around 60 seconds to get out before the vehicle would become extremely difficult to escape from. Previously, drivers would have been able to wind down the window to get out, but nowadays a driver would need to roll the electric windows within seconds of an accident occurring - something that might seem counterintuitive. Opening a car door would also prove next to impossible given the water pressure against the side of the door. The tragic death is also now being probed as part of a criminal investigation, according to Blanco County Sheriff's Office. In a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Blanco County Sheriff's Office said: 'This incident was not a typical accident. 'Although the preliminary investigation indicated this was an unfortunate accident, the Sheriffs Office is still investigating this accident as a criminal matter until they have sufficient evidence to rule out criminal activity.' No further details on what kind of criminality may have befallen Chao were shared. On Friday night, in response to The Journal's reporting, Chao's husband simply wrote: 'We are heartbroken.' Her father, James S.C. Chao, remembered his youngest daughter as 'thoughtful, kind and devoted' as well as being a much-loved 'charismatic and visionary leader' The Chao family: Standing far left is Angela - who died in the car crash. In the back row is her sisters Christine, May, and Grace. Sitting next to her father James S.C. Chao is Elaine Chao. James S. C. Chao is seated next to portrait of his late wife Angela Chao is pictured with her husband Jim Breyer in 2023. Her first husband died during their first year of marriage Chao's father, James S.C. Chao, remembered his youngest daughter as 'thoughtful, kind and devoted' as well as being a much-loved 'charismatic and visionary leader.' He said in a statement: 'It is with a heavy heart and deep sadness that I announce the passing of my beloved youngest daughter, Angela Chao. 'Angela is a brilliant woman, a charismatic and visionary leader and much-loved by all her sisters, our entire family and friends. ''As a daughter, sister, mother, aunt, wife and friend, she was unfailingly filial, thoughtful, kind and devoted.' The family added: 'As a trail blazer for women in the executive suite, she inspired others to pursue their dreams. She also loved music and tried the French horn as her instrument when young, insisting on carrying it herself to every lesson. 'These early experiences created a lifelong, passionate commitment to the fine arts. 'Angela's name in Chinese sounds like the characters for peace and prosperity. She certainly gave more than her share of both to this world.' Chao was the sister of McConnell's wife, Elaine Chao, who has served as secretary of both the Labor and Transportation departments. Chao was the sister of McConnell's wife, Elaine Chao, who has served as secretary of both the Labor and Transportation departments. McConnell and Chao are seen here in 1993 During his tearful speech on Wednesday, McConnell brought up the passing of Angela saying it was tragic Angela Chao is pictured with her first husband Bruce Wasserstein, who died in 2009 just months after they wed McConnell announced last month that he would be stepping down as the Republican leader in the Senate later this year. Speaking on the Senate floor, he said: 'This has been a particularly difficult time for my family. We tragically lost Elaine's younger sister Angela, just a few weeks ago. 'When you lose a loved one, particularly at a young age, there's a certain introspection that accompanies the grieving process.' Angela Chao was married to Jim Breyer, who has an estimated net worth of $2.9 billion. Breyer is part owner of the Boston Celtics, and previously served on the boards of Facebook, Walmart, Marvel, News Corp and Dell. A woman who was raped when she was 15 by Emma Caldwell's killer Iain Packer is planning to sue police and prosecutors amid serious failings in the case and claims of a cover-up. Magdalene Robertson said she heard 'nothing for years' from the force or the Crown after she bravely came forward to share details of the attacks Packer subjected her to. She gave a statement to officers in 2006 16 months after Ms Caldwell's body was found. However, despite her testimony detailing Packer's violent sexual nature and other evidence that linked him to Ms Caldwell's murder, he evaded justice for almost 20 years. Ms Robertson, 48, said she had no update until February 2018 when an officer called to tell her BBC Scotland was about to broadcast a programme about Ms Caldwell. Magdalene Robertson says she was failed by police after reporting Iain Packer for rape and sexual assault just months after he murdered Emma Caldwell Emma Caldwell who was murdered by Iain Packer in 2005 Now, following the decision to hold a public inquiry into the case, Ms Robertson has hit out at the mistakes that let Packer evade justice for so long. She said: 'I was shocked to find out from the BBC that, despite what I had been told, Packer had not been in for questioning about crimes including rape that I had reported in 2006. I was appalled. 'My report of rape was too late to save Emma, but he committed so many more crimes and ruined other lives after I'd reported him. 'He could have been stopped and Emma's family could have had justice many years earlier.' Ms Caldwell, 27, was killed by serial rapist Packer in 2005 but the botched initial probe meant that he was only convicted last month of her murder, as well as 32 other counts of violent abuse, including rape, against 22 women. He was jailed for a minimum of 36 years the second longest sentence in Scottish legal history. Last week it emerged the Crown Office asked Strathclyde Police in 2008 to re-examine the case using new officers in the belief there was enough evidence to convict Packer. However, it wasn't until 2015 that he was reinvestigated. Ms Robertson, who has waived her right to anonymity, was assaulted by family friend Packer several times in 1990 and 1991. She told family members but got no support, so she did not report the matter to police at that time. In 2006, after Ms Caldwell's murder, she found the courage to make a statement about Packer's sexual abuse that started when she was 14 and included her rape at 15. However, nothing more came of it at the time. Ms Robertson said: 'I did not get a crime reference number and heard nothing for years. The police state I had withdrawn co-operation regarding the assaults, but this is not true. 'I first heard of this at a meeting with the Crown Office in April 2019. I have asked to see evidence of my withdrawing co-operation and been shown none.' She also believes she was misled by prosecutors, though she accepts it might have been a case of them passing on information in good faith received from the police. 'I was told Packer was interviewed about my complaint in 2010,' she said. 'I've been shown nothing to support it.' The murder of Ms Caldwell was one of Scotland's most high-profile cold cases. In 2007 four Turkish men were charged but the case against them collapsed the following year. Eight years later, the Sunday Mail newspaper named Packer as a 'forgotten suspect' in the case. The former sign fitter then contacted BBC journalist Sam Poling in 2018 in a bid to clear his name. But her resulting documentary ended up proving to be crucial in securing his conviction. On Thursday, Justice Secretary Angela Constance announced the independent probe, saying it could be led by a judge from outside Scotland one of the key demands of Ms Caldwell's relatives. Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain, KC, has said she could instruct an external police force to investigate Scots officers amid concerns their failings may have involved an aspect of 'criminality'. Ms Robertson is also angry that efforts to get further information on an email sent to her by a prosecutor saying the Crown Office was looking at 'possibly criminality' by police had been ignored to date. Dated December 18, 2019, the email states: 'A report is with senior lawyers, to determine whether any offences have been committed and whether there can be any criminal prosecution in relation to the conduct of officers. 'The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service cannot regulate Police Scotland (or then Strathclyde Police) therefore the purpose of any report is in relation to potential criminality. The lengthy report received raises systemic issues present within the then Strathclyde Police.' Ms Robertson said: 'It is clear that at this time there was a belief criminality among police officers had occurred, so why won't they tell me now about the outcome of that investigation?' Her files have been passed to one of Scotland's leading personal injury law firms to assess potential grounds for legal action. She said: 'It's fashionable to say 'it's not about money', but it's the only form of redress that works, that helps you purchase a bit of freedom and that can force organisations to address poor practice and culture.' Scottish Tory justice spokesman Russell Findlay said: 'Magdalene is one of many victims of Emma's killer who rightly refuse to back down after being repeatedly failed by the criminal justice agencies. 'Having spoken with her this week, it's clear both Police Scotland and the Crown Office have questions to answer about alleged inconsistencies and lies. Serial rapist Packer had numerous victims 'The authorities must come clean and cannot be allowed to hide behind the pending public inquiry, as this could take years to conclude. Magdalene's ordeal also raises concerns about the broken police complaints system, created by SNP Ministers.' A Police Scotland spokesman said: 'The Chief Constable met Emma Caldwell's family earlier this week and apologised for the failings of policing. We will fully support the public inquiry and any further police investigation.' The Lord Advocate said: 'With respect to criminal actions of police, I am taking advice on instructing a force from outside Scotland to look further at allegations against officers.' The Crown Office said its prosecutors 'remain willing to meet Magdalene Robertson, or any of the other victims, to answer any questions they may have'. Toyama, Mar 10 (News On Japan) - Toyama Prefecture has announced the postponement of the general opening of the new tourist route "Kurobe Unazuki Canyon Route," initially scheduled for June 30th, to October. The Kurobe Gorge Railway revealed that the Kanetsuri Bridge, which the trolley train of the Kurobe Unazuki Canyon Route traverses, suffered damage to its bridge structure due to the Noto Peninsula earthquake. The restoration is expected to be completed by mid-September. Toyama Prefecture has decided to postpone the full opening of the Canyon Route from the originally planned date of June 30th to around October 1st. The Kurobe Unazuki Canyon Route has been a highly anticipated new tourist route, leading from the Kurobe Gorge, known as Japan's deepest V-shaped valley, to the upstream Kurobe Dam, especially in light of the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Tsuruga. Travel packages for the Canyon Route are slated to go on sale by early July. Source: ANN It would be the first shipment along a maritime corridor from Cyprus A ship laden with food for Palestinians in war-ravaged Gaza was preparing to depart from Cyprus today amid fears that children are starving to death. The UN says a quarter of the Strip's population is on the verge of famine. The sea route aims to counter aid access restrictions, which humanitarians and foreign governments have blamed on Israel, more than five months into the war which has left Gaza's 2.4 million people struggling to survive. Spanish charity Open Arms said its boat, which docked three weeks ago in Cyprus's Larnaca port, 'will be ready' to embark later on Saturday but awaits final authorisation. 'Depending on all the authorisations and permits, and when we get them', the vessel - also called Open Arms - could embark 'today or tomorrow', spokeswoman Laura Lanuza said. It would be the first shipment along a maritime corridor from Cyprus - the closest European Union country to Gaza - that the EU Commission hopes will open on Sunday. The Open Arms vessel, carrying two-hundred tonnes of food aid to Gaza, is seen docked in the Cypriot port of Larnaca, on March 9 Palestinian people with empty pots receive food distributed by a charity. Gaza faces a hunger crisis as the situation worsens, amid a blockade due to the ongoing Israeli offensive Displaced Palestinian children eat rice out of a bowl near a food distribution point in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 8 Lanuza said that Israeli authorities, which have welcomed the Cypriot sea corridor initiative, were inspecting the cargo of '200 tonnes of basic foodstuffs, rice and flour, cans of tuna'. US charity World Central Kitchen, which has partnered with Open Arms, has teams in the besieged Gaza Strip who were 'constructing a dock' to unload the shipment, Lanuza said. The United Nations has repeatedly warned of looming famine, particularly in the Palestinian territory's north where no overland border crossings are open. With ground access limited, countries have also turned to airdropping aid, although a parachute malfunction turned one delivery on Friday deadly. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said three more children had died from malnutrition and dehydration, with the total number of such deaths now at 23. Another 82 people were killed in strikes over the previous day, the ministry said, bringing the number of fatalities in Israel's bombardment and ground offensive of Gaza to 30,960, mostly women and children. Israel's campaign to destroy Hamas began after the movement's October 7 attack on Israel resulted in about 1,160 deaths, most of them civilians, according to Israeli official figures. The United Nations World Food Programme has warned that the volume of aid that can be delivered by sea will do little if anything to stave off famine in Gaza. The United States Air Force drops humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza City on March 9 Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen inspect Larnaca port, in Cyprus, on March 8 This handout picture released by the Spanish humanitarian NGO Proactiva Open Arms on March 9, shows the vessel, also called Open Arms, docked in the Cypriot port of Larnaca Humanitarian aid for Gaza is loaded onto a platform next to a Spanish NGO Open Arms rescue vessel, at the port of Larnaca, Cyprus, on March 9 A barge loaded with around 200 tonnes of rice and flour that will be towed directly to Gaza by the Open Arms aid group ship is seen tied at a dock at port in Larnaca, Cyprus, on March 8 The ship belonging to the Open Arms aid group is seen docked as it prepares to ferry some 200 tonnes of rice and flour directly to Gaza, at Larnaca harbor, Cyprus, on March 8 In Larnaca on Friday, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said a 'pilot operation' would be launched in partnership with World Central Kitchen, supported by aid from the United Arab Emirates. A US effort for a 'temporary pier' to receive aid off Gaza, which the Pentagon said would take up to 60 days to establish, builds upon the maritime corridor proposed by Cyprus, senior US officials said. Humanitarian workers and UN officials say that easing the entry of trucks to Gaza would be more effective than aid airdrops or sea shipments. It was unclear which country conducted Friday's deadly airdrop, but Jordanian, US, Belgian and Dutch officials denied that their aircraft were involved. A medic at Gaza City's Al-Shifa hospital said it had killed five Palestinians. Witness Mohammed al-Ghoul said he and his brother followed the delivery in the hope of getting 'a bag of flour', but when the parachute failed to open it 'fell down like a rocket'. Canada has since become the latest country to say it would join aerial aid delivery missions. But a steady, substantial flow of relief supplies into Gaza was 'only part of the solution', said Mirjana Spoljaric, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The warring sides must do more to 'safeguard civilian life and human dignity', Spoljaric said in a statement, decrying the 'unacceptable' civilian death toll and calling for a ceasefire and hostage release. Smoke billows after an Israeli bombardment on Khan Yunis as seen from Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 9 Makeshift tents set up near the border of Egypt as Israeli attacks continue, on March 8 Palestinian people with empty pots receive food distributed by a charity Palestinian children wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen amid shortages of food supplies, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 5 In their October attack, Gaza terrorists took about 250 Israeli and foreign hostages, some of whom were released during a week-long truce in November. Israel believes 99 hostages remain alive in Gaza and that 31 have died. After a week of talks with mediators in Cairo failed to produce a breakthrough, Hamas's armed wing said it would not agree to a hostage-prisoner exchange without the withdrawal of Israeli forces. US President Joe Biden - whose country provides billions of dollars in military aid to Israel - acknowledged it would be 'tough' to secure a new truce deal before Ramadan, the Muslim holy fasting month that could begin on Sunday depending on the lunar calendar. The war's effects have been felt across the region, including off Yemen where Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who say they are acting in solidarity with Gazans, have repeatedly fired at ships in the Red Sea area that is vital for world trade. US and allied forces shot down 15 one-way attack drones fired towards the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden on Saturday, the US military said, after one of the largest such rebel strikes. On the ground in southern Gaza, fighting persisted in the area of Khan Yunis city, where troops killed more than 20 terrorists over the past day, Israel's army said. Hamas authorities reported more than 30 air strikes overnight, including one on a building sheltering around 200 displaced people in Rafah, further south. Roughly 1.5 million Palestinians have sought refuge in Rafah, where Belal Abu Sabla said the war must 'end immediately'. 'We are dying of hunger,' said the man displaced from Khan Yunis, accusing Israel but also 'the government in Gaza'. 'We want a solution to stop the war,' said Atallah al-Satel, also displaced from Khan Yunis to Rafah. 'We are just exhausted citizens... What do we have to do with everything that is going on?' In a pre-Ramadan statement on Saturday, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh called for the speedy distribution of relief aid to Gazans and for the full opening of crossings into the territory 'to end the siege of our people'. This is the moment a Royal Navy warship, HMS Richmond, shot down two Houthi attack drones in the Red Sea today. Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the incident overnight saw the warship use its Sea Ceptor missiles to repel the attack. A video, released by the Ministry of Defence, shows flashes of light as the missiles are launched into the air at the Houthi attack drones. A separate clip shows the vessel locking onto the drones before gunning them down. The US Central Command said a total of 15 drones were shot down by coalition vessels and aircraft during attacks in Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in the early hours of Saturday morning. Pictures show Royal Navy personnel dressed in anti-flash gear responding to the attack drones Sea Ceptor missiles are fired from HMS Richmond in response to Houthi attack drones The UK sent HMS Richmond to the Red Sea at the start of January Royal Navy personnel are dressed in anti-flash gear, worn when in high-pressure situations to provide protection to the head, neck, face and hands Pictures show Royal Navy personnel dressed in anti-flash gear responding to the attack drones. Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said: 'The UK and our allies will continue to take the action necessary to save lives and protect freedom of navigation.' The Ministry of Defence said the Type 23 frigate and international allies 'fully repelled' a Houthi drone attack with no injuries or damage sustained. The MoD said Richmond's crew acted in an 'exemplary manner' and the UK was 'unwavering in our position that we will take the action necessary to protect innocent lives and the global economy'. The Houthis, based in Yemen, have claimed their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea are in response to events in Gaza, although the merchant vessels targeted have often had little or no link to Israel. The attacks on vessels using the Red Sea have resulted in ships diverting around southern Africa rather than using the Suez Canal between Europe and Asia, adding to costs and creating a potential global economic risk. The US Central Command said American and coalition forces acted after determining the 'large scale uncrewed aerial vehicle' attack 'presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels'. The UK sent HMS Richmond to the Red Sea at the start of January. HMS Diamond and HMS Lancaster were already in the region to the region to protect container ships from assaults by the Houthis. Flashes of light can be seen from HMS Richmond as they launch missiles at Houthi attack drones Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the incident overnight saw the warship use its Sea Ceptor missiles to repel the attack Houthis march during a rally of support for Palestinians outside Sanaa, Yemen, on 22 January HMS Richmond locked onto the Houthi attack drones and then shot them down The warship is part of a US-led coalition named Operation Prosperity Guardian, which has been protecting trade ships as they journey through the region and towards the Suez Canal and Europe. READ MORE: Houthis vow to continue targeting British ships in the Red Sea Advertisement At the time, Shapps told MPs that HMS Richmond, a type 23 frigate, would be posted to protect merchant vessels - but stressed the warship is only being deployed to the Gulf to replace a British vessel already on patrol there. This comes as a missile attack by the rebels on a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden killed three crew members and forced survivors to abandon the vessel, US officials said on Thursday. The US military's Central Command said an anti-ship ballistic missile launched from a Houthi-controlled area in Yemen struck the True Confidence, causing significant damage. In addition to the three deaths, at least four crew members were injured, with three in critical condition. A US warship and the Indian navy travelled to the scene in an attempt to assist in rescue efforts. Brigadier General Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, claimed the attack in a pre-recorded message, saying its missile fire set the vessel ablaze. He said the rebels' attacks would only stop when the 'siege on the Palestinian people in Gaza is lifted'. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt came under fire earlier this week when he announced that there would be no increase in defence spending at a time of global instability. Tables published in the Financial Statement and Budget Report indicated routine spending on the already cash-strapped Armed Forces will shrink by 2.2 billion next year. Meanwhile, spending on major procurement projects is forecast to fall by 0.3 billion next year. The combined totals for both categories will fall from 54.2 billion in 2023/24 to 51.7billion in 2024/25 at a time of war in Ukraine and the Middle East. A health board has been forced to apologise to a grieving family after it emerged that a hospital had given them the wrong body. The Aneurin Bevan University Health Board discovered the mix-up at The Grange hospital in Cwmbran, South Wales, several months later and had to break the news to the family who had already cremated the body and held a funeral. The health boards chief executive Nicola Prygodzicz met with the family who had to hold a second funeral two weeks later for the correct body of their deceased relative, paid for by the board. Health chiefs said they were 'devastated' by the error that happened in late 2023 just days before a similar mistake at the hospital, which saw another wrong body cremated. They blamed the mistakes on 'human error' and said that the circumstances surrounding the latest incident are being investigated. The Aneurin Bevan University Health Board has apologised to the family for the mix-up at the morgue in the Grange Hospital in Cwmbran, South Wales The health boards chief executive Nicola Prygodzicz met with the family who had to hold a second funeral two weeks later for the correct body of their deceased relative, paid for by the board They say it is believed that there is no known family of the other patient and this is the reason there has been a delay in this case being identified. READ MORE: Family cremates wrong body after bungling hospital staff gives them the incorrect remains - then have to hold a second funeral for the right one Advertisement A spokesperson for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said: 'We are truly devastated for the family involved in this incident and we are deeply sorry that this has happened in our mortuary. 'It is with deep regret that this incident occurred within days prior to a similar incident already reported and was due to the same human error. 'Our initial investigation has just been completed and we are now further investigating the circumstances surrounding this second incident that occurred around the same time in similar circumstances. 'We have taken appropriate action since November within the mortuary setting and have put in place even more safeguards due to this second case. 'We have also conducted a retrospective audit to ensure that there are no further cases that mirror this incident and we have also asked the Human Tissue Authority to undertake a follow-up audit on our systems and processes for further reassurance. 'We have met with the family to fully inform them about this situation and to offer them as much support as they need. 'We have been informed that there is no known family of the other patient and this is the reason there has been a delay in this case being identified.' Donald Campbell's record-breaking hydroplane Bluebird K7 has returned home to the Lake District for an 'emotional reunion' with the pilot's daughter 57 years after he was killed. The ace pilot was killed after his hydroplane flipped into the air and disintegrated on January 4 1967 as he attempted a new water speed record on Coniston Water. The wreckage, along with Campbell's body with his race suit intact, was recovered in 2001 by engineer Bill Smith. He restored the hydroplane with a team of volunteers at the Bluebird Project in North Shields. After years of negotiations and legal disputes, it was agreed the boat would return to Coniston, which Campbell's daughter Gina described as his 'spiritual home'. Donald Campbell's record-breaking hydroplane Bluebird K7 has returned home to the Lake District for an 'emotional reunion' with the pilot's daughter The restored hydroplane was loaded onto a lorry in North Shields, ready to return to Coniston Water in the Lake District Crowds lined the street tow welcome Campbell's record-breaking jet engine back to its 'spiritual home' It will be put on permanent display in the Bluebird wing of the Ruskin Museum, a short distance from where Campbell is buried in Coniston Churchyard. The vice chairman of the Ruskin Museum Trustees, Jeff Carroll, said the return of the vessel would be 'an emotional moment for all concerned'. Mr Carroll said: 'Today is the culmination of a number of years of hard work. 'Finally, we can fulfil the deed of gift from the Campbell family from 2006, and the Bluebird wing will have its centrepiece.' A team from the museum travelled to Mr Smith's workshop on Saturday morning. The boat was inspected and then transferred to a flatbed lorry for its journey to the Lake District. Crowds of people, including a piper, were expected to turn out to welcome the boat when it arrives in the Cumbrian village later on Saturday. The vessel is expected to reach its destination between 3:30pm and 4pm and will be welcomed to its new home by Ms Campbell. In August 2018, the reconstructed craft, fitted with a new jet engine, took to the water again where it hit speeds of around 150mph The Bluebird K7 arrived at the Ruskin Museum on the back of a lorry and will be the centrepiece in the Bluebird wing as per the family's wishes The ace pilot was killed after his hydroplane flipped into the air and disintegrated on January 4 1967 as he attempted a new water speed record on Coniston Water The restored wreckage will be put on permanent display in the Ruskin Museum, a short distance from where Campbell is buried in Coniston Churchyard 'I can't wait to see my father's boat, this has been a long time coming', she said. 'I am delighted that it will be back in Coniston for what will be a very emotional reunion.' Campbell broke seven world speed records on water and on land between 1955 and 1967. In his final fatal record attempt, the son of Sir Malcolm Campbell, who himself held land and water speed records, had set himself a target of reaching 300mph on Coniston Water. Sadly, after souping up the Bluebird K7 and reaching dizzying speeds, he lost control of the hydroplane which flipped into the air before catrwheeling across the water and landing nose first. Mr Campbell's widow, Tonia Bern-Campbell (pictured) inspecting the wreckage of her late husband's hydroplane after it was recovered in 2001 The wreckage, along with Campbell's body with his race suit intact, was recovered in 2001 by engineer Bill Smith (pictured), who restored the hydroplane Locals gathered in the street to catch a glimpse of the world-famous hydroplane leaving Mr Smith's workshop and making it way back to the Lake District Campbell was killed instantly and immediately after the crash his teddy bear mascot, Mr Whoppit and his helmet were washed up but his body wasn't recovered for another 34 years. In August 2018, the reconstructed craft, fitted with a new jet engine, took to the water again where it hit speeds of around 150mph. The Ruskin Museum will hold a press conference on Sunday to inform the public and media about future plans for the Bluebird K7 and to speak about its restoration. Top microchip makers are postponing their expansion into the U.S. and setting up shop in Israel due to equity caveats that are required for them to receive grants from the U.S. government. The Biden administration promised earlier this year that they would be handing out $39 billion in grants to encourage semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. Shortly after the announcement however, Intel announced they would be holding off on their Columbus factory, while Samsung also delayed their facility in Texas. Despite the billions in subsidies, two experts believe the tech companies' decision to back out of building manufacturing facilities in the U.S. stems from the diversity, equity and inclusion policy. In an opinion piece for The Hill, CEO of Strive Asset Management Matt Cole and head of research at the company, Chris Nicholson, say the subsidies are so 'loaded with DEI that it can't move.' The Biden administration promised earlier this year that they would be handing out $39 billion in grants to encourage semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. Two experts believe the tech companies' decision to back out of building manufacturing facilities in the US stems from the diversity, equity and inclusion policy. Pictured: Technicians inspect a piece of equipment during a tour of the Micron Technology automotive chip manufacturing plant The pair say that Intel has now built manufacturing plants in Poland and Israel, meaning they would rather deal with threat of Hamas rockets and Russian aggression than the government's DEI regime. While Samsung is pivoting toward making South Korea the home of its semiconductor manufacturing plant. The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has also pushed back production of a second facility in Arizona. The subsidies are paid for by the CHIPS and Science Act, a $280 billion bill to fund domestic semiconductor chip manufacturing and boost competitiveness with China. The package includes $52 billion in funding for U.S. companies to produce computer chips as well as a 25 percent tax credit for companies who invest in the market. It includes $39 billion for chip manufacturing companies to expand and modernize their technologies. The act also authorized $11 billion to be given to the Commerce Department for research and development and another $81 billion for the National Science Foundation. In their piece, Cole and Nicholson said that part of the CHIPS money calls for the creation of Chief Diversity Officers and helping minority groups. CEO of Strive Asset Management Matt Cole, right, and head of research at the company, Chris Nicholson, left, say the subsidies are so 'loaded with DEI that it can't move' Intel has built a manufacturing plant in Israel, meaning they would rather deal with threat of Hamas (pictured) rockets than the government's DEI regime The CHIPS and Science Act's subsidies call for the creation of Chief Diversity Officers and helping minority groups. Pictured: A graphics processing unit chip made by Advanced Micro Devices Inc It also calls on chipmakers to 'increase the participation of economically disadvantaged individuals in the semiconductor workforce.' The two added: 'In short, the worlds best chipmakers are tired of being pawns in the CHIPS Acts political games. 'Theyve quietly given up on America. Intel must know the coming grants are election-year stunts mere statements of intent that will not be followed up. 'Even after due diligence and final agreements, the funds will only be released in dribs and drabs as recipients prove theyre jumping through the appropriate hoops.' They also added that chipmakers have to make sure they are hiring female construction workers at the firms. In a 2023 report from the Bureau of Labor, they said that 10.8 percent of construction workers in the US are women. Despite the small numbers, companies must ensure they have childcare for the workers and engineers who, according to the two, 'don't exist yet.' They add: 'This is the stuff declining empires are made of. As America pursues national security by building a diverse workforce, China does it by building warships. 'Instead of solving the problem, the people in charge are trying to cover the problem up just long enough to win reelection. 'Dont be fooled by the Biden administrations upcoming weekend-at-Bernies act the CHIPS Act is dead.' A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to microchip makers expanding into Russia. This has since been amended to correctly refer to their expansion of production into Poland. The Health Secretary is set to probe a Harley Street gynaecologist who called for a London borough to be 'Jew free' after a tribunal found he was not racist but 'comfortable with discriminatory language'. Dr Dimitrios Psaroudakis, a consultant gynecologist, was suspended by the General Medical Council for three months after making a number of racially offensive, sexist and derogatory remarks about his colleagues and patients. The Harley Street gynaecologist, who worked at The Evewell fertility clinic, referred to Jewish colleagues as 'leprechaun', 'alky', s**t for brains' and 'big nose' in messages sent to a colleague (Ms A) via email and Microsoft Teams between 2020 and 2022. But as his ban is due to end in a matter of weeks, former Conservative attorney general Sir Michael Ellis called for a review of the tribunal's 'grossly unreasonable decision' before he is allowed back to work. And Health Secretary Victoria Atkins has pledged to look into the dilemma 'with great urgency and great care'. Dr Dimitrios Psaroudakis, (pictured) a consultant gynecologist, was suspended by the General Medical Council for three months after making a number of racially offensive, sexist and derogatory remarks about his colleagues and patients Health Secretary Victoria Atkins has pledged to look into the dilemma 'with great urgency and great care' Expressing his fears in the Commons, the Northampton North MP said: 'I am concerned that this doctor may be a danger to Jewish patients. 'I am also concerned that the tribunal is defective and its decision is grossly unreasonable.' Dr Psaroudakis told the tribunal he used the term 'Yew' or 'Yewish' in the messages replacing the 'J' of Jewish with a 'Y', because of his accent. Dr Psaroudakis resigned from his role in September 2022 and his suspension came into force in mid-January 2024, around 14 months later. The three-month suspension means Dr Psaroudakis will be able to practice again from April this year. Responding to Sir Michael, Atkins said: 'I sincerely thank my right hon. and learned Friend for raising this issue. As the Prime Minister set out on the steps of Downing Street last week, there are people whose ideology and dogma are in direct conflict with our countrys shared values. 'Just as we will not stand for that across the country, nor will I stand for it in our NHS. 'I have already written to NHS England and regulators, setting out their responsibilities and our expectations of them, and I can assure my Right Hon. and learned Friend that I will be looking into this issue with great urgency and great care.' Former Conservative attorney general Sir Michael Ellis (pictured) called for a review of the tribunal's 'grossly unreasonable decision' before he is allowed back to work The tribunal heard that Dr Psaroudakis joked about the death of a patient's husband, who took his own life, saying that 'he smelled her shoes?', referring to the patient. Dr Psaroudakis made reference to a telephone call between himself and Ms A in which he took her to say the patient's husband had 'passed out', when she in fact had said 'passed away'. However, the tribunal had no evidence of any such phone call and did not accept the consultant's explanation. It said such comments from a medical professional about a patient's husband killing themselves were 'appalling, disrespectful and morally reprehensible.' The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service concluded: 'The evidence suggested that it was Dr Psaroudakis' common practice to pick out and use what could be considered offensive or derogatory characteristics about people whom he did not like or get along with, and liberally use those terms to describe them. 'Rather than use someone's name or work title, Dr Psaroudakis preferred to make unpleasant and unacceptable references to protected characteristics of colleagues. 'The Tribunal makes no finding that Dr Psaroudakis is a racist but is satisfied that he is someone who is quite comfortable with using discriminatory language.' Some of the sexually explicit messages referred to 'lube' and 'gregging' a sexual act involving a hat, while one sexist email read: if we hire another woman Im going to kill myself. A Harley Street sign is pictured on January 15, in London, England The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service said a three-month suspension reflected the 'level of seriousness of the misconduct' and 'would send out a message to the doctor, the profession and to the public that such conduct is unacceptable'. It said: 'Dr Psaroudakis admitted his wrongdoing, made full admissions to the allegation, and has taken steps to remediate his actions. 'He has made genuine expressions of regret, remorse and apology, and not sought to blame others. 'Dr Psaroudakis self-referred to the GMC and has fully engaged with his regulator and with this process and he cooperated with the GMC by disclosing the emails and messages of his comments when requested. His comments were intended to be private and never meant to be made public.' Dr Psaroudakis has been contacted by MailOnline for comment. Home Secretary James Cleverly was spotted going for an early morning dip in the sea with a fellow politician. The 54-year-old and Johnny Mercer, took the plunge into cold waters at Plymouth Hoe today. Mr Cleverly, dressed in blue swimming trunks and goggles, even dived into the water. He was joined by the MP for Plymouth Moor View who was seen practising his breast stroke in the English Channel. The pair were then spotted going for a takeaway coffee in the city afterwards. Home Secretary James Cleverly was spotted going for an early morning dip in the sea with a fellow politician Mr Cleverly, dressed in blue swimming trunks and goggles, even dived into the water The Home Secretary's plunge into the English Channel comes just days after he accused peers of being 'on the side of people smugglers' helping migrants into the UK. The Rwanda Bill suffered a slew of defeats in the House of Lords with chamber voting in favour of changes to the legislation. But Mr Cleverly said that blocking the bill only helped people smugglers who risked peoples lives while making huge sums of money cramming migrants into rickety boats to cross from France. 'There is nothing noble or honourable or righteous about watching this happen and not doing anything,' he told the Telegraph. 'The Government and the Prime Minister, we are taking action to break these gangs and people can help or they can get out the way but I'm not going to be deterred. The 54-year-old and Johnny Mercer, took the plunge in icy waters in Plymouth Hoe today The Home Secretary's plunge into the English Channel comes just days after he accused peers of being 'on the side of people smugglers' helping migrants into the UK The pair were then spotted going for a takeaway coffee in the city afterwards 'If people, whether they be in the Lords, or the opposition parties in the House of Commons, if they are trying to take away one of the tools for dissuading people making these life-threatening journeys, and if they're trying to take away one of the tools to break the business model of people-smugglers and they are not suggesting what they would replace it, my assessment is they are not helping solve a problem.' More than 400 migrants arrived in the UK on Monday on the busiest day of the year so far for Channel crossings. Home Office figures show 401 people made the journey in seven boats. This is the highest number recorded in a single day for 2024 to date and suggests an average of around 41 people per boat. Aid packages have been parachuted into Gaza today, just hours after five civilians were killed by airdropped parcels. Another 10 were wounded by the humanitarian airdrop near the coastal Al-Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City on Friday. The US was among the six nations that began sending aid parcels to the war-torn region last Friday, along with Jordan, Egypt, France, the Netherlands and Belgium. The new aid package parachute deliveries across various regions in northern Gaza come as a ship laden with food for Palestinians in the war-ravaged enclave prepares to depart from Cyprus. The UN says a quarter of the Strip's population is on the verge of famine and children are dying from starvation. The sea route aims to counter aid access restrictions, which humanitarians and foreign governments have blamed on Israel, more than five months into the war which has left Gaza's 2.4 million people struggling to survive. Spanish charity Open Arms said its boat, which docked three weeks ago in Cyprus's Larnaca port, 'will be ready' to embark later today but awaits final authorisation. The United States Air Force drops humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza City, on March 9 The United States Air Force drops humanitarian aid in Gaza City. The US was among the six nations that began sending aid parcels to the war-torn region last Friday, along with Jordan, Egypt, France, the Netherlands and Belgium The Open Arms vessel, carrying two-hundred tonnes of food aid to Gaza, is seen docked in the Cypriot port of Larnaca, on March 9 Palestinian people with empty pots receive food distributed by a charity. Gaza faces a hunger crisis as the situation worsens, amid a blockade due to the ongoing Israeli offensive 'Depending on all the authorisations and permits, and when we get them', the vessel - also called Open Arms - could embark 'today or tomorrow', spokeswoman Laura Lanuza said. It would be the first shipment along a maritime corridor from Cyprus - the closest European Union country to Gaza - that the EU Commission hopes will open on Sunday. Lanuza said that Israeli authorities, which have welcomed the Cypriot sea corridor initiative, were inspecting the cargo of '200 tonnes of basic foodstuffs, rice and flour, cans of tuna'. US charity World Central Kitchen, which has partnered with Open Arms, has teams in the besieged Gaza Strip who were 'constructing a dock' to unload the shipment, Lanuza said. The United Nations has repeatedly warned of looming famine, particularly in the Palestinian territory's north where no overland border crossings are open. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said three more children had died from malnutrition and dehydration, with the total number of such deaths now at 23. Another 82 people were killed in strikes over the previous day, the ministry said, bringing the number of fatalities in Israel's bombardment and ground offensive of Gaza to 30,960, mostly women and children. Israel's campaign to destroy Hamas began after the movement's October 7 attack on Israel resulted in about 1,160 deaths, most of them civilians, according to Israeli official figures. The United Nations World Food Programme has warned that the volume of aid that can be delivered by sea will do little if anything to stave off famine in Gaza. A plane drops humanitarian aid around to Al-Shati refugee camp and Jamal Abdel Nasser Street of Gaza City, on March 9 Packages fall towards northern Gaza, after being dropped from a military aircraft, as seen from Israel's border with Gaza, in southern Israel, on March 9 Parachutes filled with aid boxes float down as planes drop humanitarian aid around various regions in northern Gaza, on March 9 Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen inspect Larnaca port, in Cyprus, on March 8 This handout picture released by the Spanish humanitarian NGO Proactiva Open Arms on March 9, 2024 shows the vessel, also called Open Arms, docked in the Cypriot port of Larnaca Humanitarian aid for Gaza is loaded onto a platform next to a Spanish NGO Open Arms rescue vessel, at the port of Larnaca, Cyprus, on March 9 A barge loaded with around 200 tonnes of rice and flour that will be towed directly to Gaza by the Open Arms aid group ship is seen tied at a dock at port in Larnaca, Cyprus, on March 8 The ship belonging to the Open Arms aid group is seen docked as it prepares to ferry some 200 tonnes of rice and flour directly to Gaza, at Larnaca harbor, Cyprus, on March 8 In Larnaca on Friday, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said a 'pilot operation' would be launched in partnership with World Central Kitchen, supported by aid from the United Arab Emirates. A US effort for a 'temporary pier' to receive aid off Gaza, which the Pentagon said would take up to 60 days to establish, builds upon the maritime corridor proposed by Cyprus, senior US officials said. READ MORE: US says it's not to blame for air drop that killed 5 Gaza civilians including two young boys Advertisement Humanitarian workers and UN officials say that easing the entry of trucks to Gaza would be more effective than aid airdrops or sea shipments. It was unclear which country conducted Friday's deadly airdrop, but Jordanian, US, Belgian and Dutch officials denied that their aircraft were involved. Witness Mohammed al-Ghoul said he and his brother followed the delivery in the hope of getting 'a bag of flour', but when the parachute failed to open it 'fell down like a rocket'. Canada has since become the latest country to say it would join aerial aid delivery missions. But a steady, substantial flow of relief supplies into Gaza was 'only part of the solution', said Mirjana Spoljaric, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The warring sides must do more to 'safeguard civilian life and human dignity', Spoljaric said in a statement, decrying the 'unacceptable' civilian death toll and calling for a ceasefire and hostage release. In their October attack, Gaza terrorists took about 250 Israeli and foreign hostages, some of whom were released during a week-long truce in November. Israel believes 99 hostages remain alive in Gaza and that 31 have died. Smoke billows after Israeli bombardment on Khan Yunis as seen from Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 9 Makeshift tents set up near the border of Egypt, in Rafah, Gaza, on March 8 Palestinian people with empty pots receive food distributed by a charity Palestinian children wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen amid shortages of food supplies, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 5 After a week of talks with mediators in Cairo failed to produce a breakthrough, Hamas's armed wing said it would not agree to a hostage-prisoner exchange without the withdrawal of Israeli forces. US President Joe Biden - whose country provides billions of dollars in military aid to Israel - acknowledged it would be 'tough' to secure a new truce deal before Ramadan, the Muslim holy fasting month that could begin on Sunday depending on the lunar calendar. The war's effects have been felt across the region, including off Yemen where Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who say they are acting in solidarity with Gazans, have repeatedly fired at ships in the Red Sea area that is vital for world trade. US and allied forces shot down 15 one-way attack drones fired towards the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden on Saturday, the US military said, after one of the largest such rebel strikes. On the ground in southern Gaza, fighting persisted in the area of Khan Yunis city, where troops killed more than 20 terrorists over the past day, Israel's army said. Hamas authorities reported more than 30 air strikes overnight, including one on a building sheltering around 200 displaced people in Rafah, further south. Roughly 1.5 million Palestinians have sought refuge in Rafah, where Belal Abu Sabla said the war must 'end immediately'. 'We are dying of hunger,' said the man displaced from Khan Yunis, accusing Israel but also 'the government in Gaza'. 'We want a solution to stop the war,' said Atallah al-Satel, also displaced from Khan Yunis to Rafah. 'We are just exhausted citizens... What do we have to do with everything that is going on?' In a pre-Ramadan statement on Saturday, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh called for the speedy distribution of relief aid to Gazans and for the full opening of crossings into the territory 'to end the siege of our people'. A woman lost both her feet after her boyfriend allegedly pushed her onto the subway tracks in New York City. The woman and her partner were allegedly arguing on the platform of Fulton Street in the Financial District area of the city on Saturday morning when things escalated. Sources told the New York Post that she was then allegedly shoved onto the tracks as a 3 train approached, hitting her. Emergency crews arrive and quickly rushed the 29-year-old to Bellevue Hospital where she is in a critical condition, having lost both of her feet due to the incident. The man fled the station following the alleged altercation, with police now searching for him. The woman and her partner were allegedly arguing on the platform of Fulton Street in the Financial District area of the city on Saturday morning Sources told the New York Post that she was then shoved onto the tracks as a 3 train approached, hitting her A description issued for the suspect describes him as a Latino male wearing a blue shirt and jeans as well as a dark colored jacket A police source told the outlet: 'They were arguing and he pushed her.' Due to the incident, MTA had to cut power to the rail line in order to gain access to the woman. Train service was also significantly impacted for hours while police investigated the incident. The post also reported that an hour after the incident in the Financial District, a man jumped onto the tracks in Midtown and was killed by a train. This latest incident comes just days after New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he would be bringing back bag checks for subway riders after a spike in crime. Recent criminal activity on the trains included a cellist who was bludgeoned over the head by a stranger and a shooting that killed one and injured five others. 'We know people feel unsafe,' Adams, himself a former transit police officer, admitted during a press briefing. Train service was also significantly impacted for hours while police investigated the incident The mayor said that he will be bringing back methods like bag checks that have been previously used in times of great suspicion The mayor said he will be bringing back methods that have been previously used in times of great suspicion. 'We are reinstituting bag checks. There are several things we are reinstituting in the system,' Adams added, with the NYPD reportedly searching bags for weapons such as knives, box cutters, clubs and guns. There will be 94 bag screening teams sent to 136 stations each week, though the exact locations will be determined. The city is also reviewing technology to detect metal objects entering the transit system. Screening teams will be able to check bags of any passenger for weapons under the policy that has long been dormant. Those subway back-check protocols were originally brought to the MTA after the London bombings in 2005. However, it may bring back memories of the city's 'stop-and-frisk' policy, which was ended in 2014 after being deemed 'unconstitutional.' On Wednesday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced National Guard soldiers and State Police will be deployed to perform 'random' bag checks while the number of plainclothes cops patrolling stations will be increased. The man lined up by the Government to tackle Islamophobia has quit the role before he even began after receiving a torrent of abuse, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Fiyaz Mughal was expected to be unveiled tomorrow as the first anti-Muslim hatred tsar, working closely with Ministers. But in an embarrassing blow for Communities Secretary Michael Gove, who is spearheading a crackdown on extremism, Mr Mughal turned down the job after 'vile' attacks from both the far-Right and Islamists, who called him 'a sell-out'. Mr Mughal is the founder of counter-extremism group Faith Matters and Tell Mama (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks), which supports Islamophobia victims. He has also campaigned for closer links between Muslim and Jewish communities. Campaigner Fiyaz Mughal has turned down a role as the first anti-Muslim hatred tsar due to 'vile' attacks from both the far-Right and Islamists Sources said Mr Mughal was left 'drained' by the nature and extent of the abuse, since his name was floated in connection with the new job. Friends insisted last night that his appointment was approved by Downing Street on Thursday, although Government sources maintain he was only on the shortlist. He is said to have received physical threats and abuse by email. 'Sinister attempts were also made to find addresses of family members,' said a friend. 'He was getting very concerned about security and the job didn't come with any protection.' Another source said: 'The far-Right abuse included hundreds of comments on social media abusing him as a Muslim. Then there was Islamist abuse all day long on Thursday. 'He had too much abuse from both sides, and part of him had just had enough. He turned down the role, shortly after No 10 approved it.' Had he accepted the job, Mr Mughal would have worked in tandem with Lord Mann, who is Mr Gove's adviser on anti-Semitism. Communities Secretary Michael Gove is due to unveil a broader of definition of extremism to enable the Government and other bodies to ban funding for Islamist and Right-wing groups Next week, Mr Gove is due to unveil a new broader definition of extremism to enable the Government, universities, councils and other bodies to ban funding for Islamist and Right-wing groups, and to stop engaging with them. The Government will also establish a new counter-extremism centre to research hatred and help draw up policies to prevent it. There has been a seven-fold increase in anti-Semitic incidents since Hamas launched its terror attacks on Israel on October 7, while incidents of anti-Muslim hatred have reportedly risen six-fold. Mr Mughal was unavailable for comment last night. Wakayama, Mar 10 (News On Japan) - The historic launch of a private rocket in southern Japan was postponed Saturday due to a ship remaining in the designated safety zone before take-off. SpaceOne's Executive Officer, Kozo Abe, explained the situation: "With just 10 minutes to go before the launch, a ship was still lingering in the safety zone, forcing us to call off the launch." At a private launch site in Kushimoto Town, Wakayama Prefecture, the rocket "Kairos" was scheduled to take off shortly after 11 a.m. on March 9th. However, the launch had to be postponed at the last minute. The operating company revealed at a press conference that the launch was delayed because there was no clear plan to move the lingering ships out of the safety zone. Fortunately, there were no issues with the rocket itself. A disappointed mother shared her thoughts: "It's quite disappointing. We were expecting it to fly." A boy reflected on the experience: "I learned for the first time how difficult it is to launch a rocket." A girl expressed her anticipation: "I'm looking forward to the next launch." The operating company has announced that they are planning the next launch for sometime after March 13th. Related story: Kushimoto Prepares for Historic Rocket Launch Source: ANN Mishal Husain, one of the presenters of Radio 4's Today programme, is the frontrunner to replace Huw Edwards as the face of the BBC's Royal events, The Mail on Sunday has been told. Sources said that the 51-year-old who was chosen to conduct Harry and Meghan's engagement interview has been rehearsing for major national occasions, such as the next Coronation. Edwards, 62, who was the BBC's highest-earning newsreader, was suspended in July last year over a claim that he had paid 35,000 to a young person, who was 17 when the alleged relationship began, in exchange for sexually explicit images. The youngster's mother contacted a tabloid newspaper with her claims once her attempts to speak to the BBC failed. The Corporation recently apologised to the young person's family after a review found it had mishandled their complaint. Mishal Husain, one of the presenters of Radio 4's Today programme, is the frontrunner to replace Huw Edwards as the face of the BBC 's Royal events, The Mail on Sunday has been told In a statement, the mother said that the family had 'suffered immense pain'. READ MORE: Woman's Hour presenter Emma Barnett is lined up to replace Martha Kearney as BBC Today host when the veteran political journalist leaves after the election Woman's Hour presenter Emma Barnett, 39, is reportedly being lined up as a host of Radio 4's BBC Today programme Advertisement 'If the BBC had handled the complaint properly, we would have not had to go through this hell,' she said. 'We have been ripped apart as a family.' Edwards, who also fronted the BBC's Election night show, has not appeared on TV since his suspension and is not expected to return to the Corporation. Last night a BBC source said that 'no decision' had been taken over who will present its coverage of Royal events, adding: 'As you'd expect, we regularly rehearse various news scenarios, and Mishal's been one of the many presenters who's participated in rehearsals. There's no more to it than that.' It was reported a fortnight ago that former BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg would succeed Edwards as the main anchor on the Election night programme. She is expected to co-host with News at Ten regular Clive Myrie. If Ms Husain is confirmed as the main replacement, it would mark the growing ascendency of female talent at the BBC. When Edwards took over the Election coverage from David Dimbleby in 2019, it heralded the end of Mr Dimbleby's long reign as the BBC's face of the nation's most significant events. Edwards presented the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012, the Platinum Jubilee in 2022, the wedding of Prince William and Kate in 2011, the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan in 2018, and the funeral of Prince Philip in 2021. The presenter also commented on Trooping the Colour and the Festival of Remembrance. His coverage of the Queen's funeral was his last major engagement for the Corporation, with Kirsty Young stepping in to lead the coverage of King Charles's Coronation last May. Ms Husain's interview in 2017 with Harry and Meghan was later dismissed by the Duchess of Sussex as 'rehearsed' and 'an orchestrated reality show'. The broadcaster restricted her response to the words used by the late Queen to critical remarks about the Royal Family by the couple: 'Recollections may vary.' Shortly after the October 7 attacks on Israel, Ms Husain the first non-white woman to join the male-dominated Today programme was embroiled in an angry exchange with Grant Shapps over the Corporation's refusal to brand Hamas 'terrorists'. Edwards, who also fronted the BBC's Election night show, has not appeared on TV since his suspension and is not expected to return to the Corporation It was reported a fortnight ago that former BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg would succeed Edwards as the main anchor on the Election night programme The Defence Secretary suggested the broadcaster did not seem 'interested' in condemning the bloody attacks. And earlier this year, she was at the centre of controversy over an interview with Home Secretary James Cleverly, in which she questioned him over his alleged and denied use of the word 's***hole' to describe Stockton-on-Tees. It led to the headline: 'BBC Today presenter turns the airwaves blue.' The Royal Navy's flagship 3billion warship HMS Queen Elizabeth has caught fire. The ship suffered minor damage while docked at Glenmallan, on the shores of Loch Long in Scotland. It comes just weeks after HMS Queen Elizabeth was due to set sail from Portsmouth to help lead the western military alliance's biggest exercise since the Cold War. But the 3.5billion, 65,000-ton ship was pulled out at the 11th hour when rust was discovered on the affected part leaving it at risk of it breaking down at sea. The blaze was reported at 23.50 last night and has now come to an end. There were no fatalities or ordnances involved in the incident. The Scottish Fire Service was called out and attended the scene, and they are now working alongside the Navy to establish the cause of the fire. 'No fatalities, minor fire damage to the ship but all over with,' a source on the ship told the UK Defence Journal. HMS Queen Elizabeth suffered minor damage while docked at Glenmallan, in Scotland. Pictured: Docked at Glenmallan It is understood that the blaze is now at an end and there were no fatalities or ordnances involved in the incident HMS Queen Elizabeth (left) was due to set sail from Portsmouth to help lead the western military alliance's biggest exercise since the Cold War Your browser does not support iframes. A Royal Navy Spokesperson told MailOnline: 'A minor, isolated fire on HMS Queen Elizabeth was quickly brought under control and extinguished.' A spokesperson for the Scottish Fire Service added: 'We received a call at 23.50 yesterday evening to a report of a fire on board a vessel.' The emergency service attended the scene. HMS Queen Elizabeth - nicknamed Big Lizzie - arrived at the Scottish dock yesterday as it destored ammunition and supplies enroute to Rosyth, where it will be repaired. The ship was due to be replaced by is sister carrier, 3billion warship HMS Prince of Wales, on a NATO, but its departure was also cancelled at the last minute. The 65,000-tonne Royal Navy aircraft carrier had down off the Isle of White 18 months ago after a coupling on its 33-tonne starboard propeller malfunctioned. And in early February four tiny P2000s, which normally patrol coastlines with crews of five, were instead seen making final preparations before heading to Norway. The embarrassing limitations of Britain's once mighty Royal Navy have been exposed in a string of alarming revelations this year. In January, sources revealed HMS Queen Elizabeth would be unable to back up the Prime Minister's promises to resist Houthi aggression in the Red Sea as its support ship was reportedly understaffed and stuck in a Liverpool shipyard. And when the warship was pulled out of the NATO exercise MPs described the development as 'excruciatingly embarrassing'. But the 3.5billion, 65,000-ton ship was pulled out at the 11th hour after rust was discovered on the affected part leaving it at risk of it breaking down at sea The Queen Elizabeth's sister carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, broke down near the Isle of Wight after setting sail for America just 18 months ago also due to a faulty propeller shaft The F35s (pictured) are regarded as the most lethal fighter jets in the world and 36 can be carried on the HMS Queen Elizabeth - with a 'surge capacity' of 72 if needed A damning 'Ready For War' report has since urged leaders and ministers to be more transparent about shortcomings across the military so they can be addressed urgently. Despite spending about 50bn a year on defence, the report has warned Britain will need 'sustained ongoing investment' to fight a 'high intensity war'. It said that chronic shortages of troops and equipment were being covered up by a 'veil of secrecy', and highlighted war-readiness issues with the two aircraft carriers. Big Lizzie was officially commissioned into the Royal Navy December 7, 2017, ten years after it was ordered by then-Defence Secretary Des Browne, and entered service in 2020. A total of 10,000 people worked on construction of the ship, made up in sections at yards around the UK and transported to Rosyth, Fife, where it was assembled. At 280 metres long, with a lifespan of half a century and a flight deck of four acres, the ship acts as a powerful deterrent to those who would do the UK harm. She can carry up to 72 aircraft, with a maximum capacity of 36 F-35B fighter jets. Weighing 65,000 tonnes and carrying a top speed in excess of 25 knots, HMS Queen Elizabeth boats a state-of-the-art weaponry and communications systems, as well as five gyms, a chapel and a medical centre. HMS Queen Elizabeth departs from the Naval base in September 2020 Pictured: The Queen Elizabeth class features HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales A graphic shows how the Queen Elizabeth class of carriers - which includes two vessels; the HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales - can produce 500 tonnes of fresh water from sea water daily There are 364,000 metres of pipes inside the ship, and from keel to masthead she measures 56 metres, four metres more than Niagara Falls. READ MORE: Royal Navy branded a laughing stock after flagship 3bn aircraft carrier pulled out of top NATO drill because RUST was found on its propeller shaft Advertisement The ship's two propellers weigh 33 tonnes each, with a powerplant behind them which generates enough power to run 1,000 family cars. Led by Captain William King OBE, Big Lizzie operates with a crew of around 700 on board, which will be increased to 1,600 when the full complement of F-35B jets and Crowsnest helicopters embarked. The entire ship's company of 700 can be served a meal within 90 minutes, 45 minutes when at action stations, in the five galleys which store 45 days' worth of food. The flight deck is big enough to hold four football pitches and will be used to launch the F35 Joint Strike Fighter fast jet. Each of the two aircraft lifts on HMS Queen Elizabeth can move two fighter jets from the hangar to the flight deck in 60 seconds. The F35s are regarded as the most lethal fighter jets in the world - armed with two Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, two bombs and an optional 25mm gun pod. The jet combines advanced sensors and mission systems with low observable technology, or 'stealth', which enables it to operate undetected in hostile airspace. The HMS Queen Elizabeth, the Royal Navy's most powerful ship to ever set to sea, is pictured leaving Portsmouth in May 2021 The pilot is able to share information gathered by the jet with other platforms using secure data links, and/or use the information to employ weapons or electronic means. At least seven Crowsnest helicopters - designed for surveillance and submarine hunting operations - will also be on board. Installed onto the Royal Navy's Merlin MK2 helicopters, Crowsnest uses a powerful radar to provide long-range air, maritime and land tracking capabilities and ensure the early detection of potential threats to the fleet. The Crowsnest is identifiable as a large radar dome, or bag, which sticks out from the fuselage of the Merlin and points downward when the helicopter is airborne. HMS Queen Elizabeth is also well-equipped to deal with seaborne and airborne threats, carrying three Phalanx CIWS (close-in weapon system) turrets. Comprising of a radar-guided 20mm Vulcan cannon mounted on a swivelling base, the Phalanx has a dual fire rate of 3,000 or 4,500 shots per minute and is capable of hitting targets up to a mile away. A serial-dater mother moved her abusive airman boyfriend in after just two months, then joined in as he almost tortured her seven-year-old son to death - and defended him to investigators, prosecutors have alleged. Jared Reeves, 32, and Marie Collins, 29, have been arrested on suspicion of child assault, criminal mistreatment and unlawful imprisonment charges, Airway Heights police said. Collins told police she and Reeves have been dating since April and that she and her son - who a doctor claimed had also been traumatized throughout her previous relationships - moved in with Reeves in June, according to court documents. Child Protective Services became involved after the child's Sunset Elementary School counselor alerted the authorities when the child returned from the winter break with unexplained injuries to his face and a significant amount of weight loss. The counselor reported the child was eating food and drinking milk from the garbage in the school, police said. Marie Collins, 29, (pictured) moved her allegedly abusive airman boyfriend in after just two months, then joined in as he almost tortured her seven-year-old son to death Police said Jared Reeves, 32, (pictured) told them he beat the little boy with a 'sex paddle' and belt Reeves and Collins appeared in Spokane County Superior Court on Thursday and are scheduled for arraignments on March 19 The boy told a CPS caseworker that Reeves had attempted to kill him and that he would choke him to the point he couldn't breathe, according to court documents. A child abuse investigation was launched against the couple in January after the CPS case worker brought the boy to Providence Sacred Heart Children's Hospital because of bruising all over his body and extreme weight loss. The boy has been 'severely physically abused' and could be the victim 'possible torture,' a doctor wrote after examining the child. 'He is in imminent danger if he returns to his current living situation, he cannot sustain further injury without significant harm,' the doctor wrote. 'He needs normal caloric intake for a sustained period of time to ensure he develops as normally as possible.' The seven-year-old had experienced childhood trauma and repeated violent trauma throughout the course of his life, the physician said. Child Protective Services became involved after the child's Sunset Elementary School (pictured) counselor alerted the authorities when the child returned from the winter break with unexplained injuries to his face and a significant amount of weight loss The pair are charged with suspicion of child assault, criminal mistreatment and unlawful imprisonment charges The boy's 'mental stability and cognitive ability' are significant concerns, the doctor wrote. Both Reeves and Collins admitted to beating the child, police said. Collins told police she spanked her son, hit him with a metal spoon and forgot to feed her son for a two-week period. Collins also told investigators she and Reeves forced the boy to strip naked and sleep in the bathtub without blankets or pillows over three weekends from December to January as punishment for wetting the bed. The mother admitted to police to filming incidents of physical abuse perpetrated by herself and Reeves on her phone. Authorities also said Reeves also them that he had beaten the little boy with a 'sex paddle' and belt which had caused bruising to the boy's genital area and buttocks. He also confessed to choking the boy and picking him up by his neck to the point his feet came off the ground, according to documents. Collins or Reeves would allegedly force the child to hold his hands above his head or out in front of himself for one to four hours at a time. If he dropped his arms, he would have to start over or he would be hit with a belt, metal spoon, hands or hairbrush. The boy could be heard crying and screaming, 'My back hurts,' on an audio file on Reeves' phone, court documents say. Reeves and Collins appeared in Spokane County Superior Court on Thursday and are scheduled for arraignments on March 19. The investigation is still ongoing. There are broadly four fashion ages, starting in your teens with 'Love It, Don't Care What It Looks Like On Me'. The second age is 'I Love It But Should I?' During this phase you discover whether you are more in the 'Must Look On Trend' or the 'Just Want To Look Gorgeous' camp. It's the longest fashion phase and you bend more one way than the other until, eventually, you find the spot where you're most comfortable. The third age is 'Does My Bum Look Big In This?' It's not that you've never considered whether your bum looks big before, but now it's your first consideration along with does anything else look big and do my legs look shorter. You still care a lot about fashion but more about how you look. And finally there's the fourth stage - the one we're in now - when the overriding priority is Not Looking Our Age. In this phase you're still fashion conscious, body conscious, gorgeous-rating conscious, susceptible to the odd mad purchase, but everything starts with trying not to look the age we are or older. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene gave minimal credit to President Joe Biden for slamming the illegal immigrant charged with killing Laken Riley and tore into him for 'butchering' the murdered nursing student's name. The Georgia congresswoman recollected her interaction with Biden at Thursday's State of the Union as she spoke to a crowd of supporters at a Donald Trump rally in Rome Georgia on Saturday. She said that Biden 'was forced to tell the truth' about Riley's death after she screamed at the president in a joint session of Congress to 'say her name.' Green was in a loud outfit during the State of the Union, donning a MAGA hat and shirt and button with Riley's name. She handed one of her buttons to the President as he entered the chamber for his annual address. 'One thing that happened during the State of the Union this week is when I saw Joe Biden walking down the aisle I held up this pin,' the conservative lawmaker said pointing to her button that reads: 'Laken Riley. Say her name.' Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said during a Trump rally in her home district in Georgia on Saturday that Biden was 'forced to tell the truth' when she demanded he say Laken Riley's name after an illegal immigrant was charged with the 22-year-old nursing student's murder Greene still slammed Biden after he 'butchered' her name and said Lincoln instead of Laken. Pictured: MTG walks around the Forum River Center in Rome, Georgia ahead of Trump's remarks on Saturday, March 9 2024 'Because one of our girls, one of our sweet Americans, a beautiful 22-year-old girl studying to be a nurse because all she wanted to do was help people. She just wanted to help people her entire life. And her life was taken by an illegal alien, a monster that should have never been in our country,' Greene added. But President Biden flubbed the name of Laken Riley after the young woman's murder became a symbol of the border crisis and Greene says it isn't enough just to call a spade a spade. Speaking to millions of Americans in his annual State of the Union address the president twice called the slain student 'Lincoln' as he held up MTG's pin bearing her name. 'When I saw Joe Biden, I showed him this pin and said 'Say her name. Say her name Say her name. Laken Riley. Say her name.' And then during his speech, after nearly 50 minutes in, he hadn't talked about the open border. He had not even mentioned it. So I yelled for my seat: 'Say her name!' the congresswoman recounted. 'And then, he butchered her name, he mispronounced it didn't even say it right, he said 'Lincoln.' Her name is Laken, Laken Riley,' she added. 'But you want to know what he did say? He said she was an American murdered by an illegal. That's right. Even Joe Biden was forced to tell the truth. That is the truth.' She concluded: 'And that, ladies and gentlemen, that is the state of our union.' An illegal immigrant from Venezuela who was released into the country in 2022 is charged with murdering Laken Riley, 22, when she was on a jog near the University of Georgia campus Greene spoke to Biden as he walked into the House chamber to give his State of the Union Address and handed him a button with Laken Riley's name on it Attendees at Trump's first rally after Super Tuesday and the State of the Union held signs with Riley's image and the message Greene repeatedly shared: 'Say her name.' 'Save our angels,' the back of the sign reads. Biden got into several back-and-forths with Republican lawmakers during his remarks Thursday as he repeatedly attacked his GOP presidential rival Donald Trump without saying his name. But when he talked about a bill to increase border security, which was killed by Republicans after Trump came out against it, GOP lawmakers booed him. Greene then shouted at Biden 'say her name.' 'Lincoln, Lincoln Riley,' Biden said, holding up the pin. 'An innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. 'But how many of thousands of people being killed by legals? To her parents I say my heart goes out to you, having lost children myself, I understand,' he said. President Joe Biden holds up a Laken Riley button during State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on Thursday, March 7, 2024 Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) calls out to Biden to 'say her name,' referring to murdered nursing student Laken Riley, in the middle of his State of the Union speech The 22-year-old Georgia nursing student was killed while out jogging on February 22. An Illegal Venezuelan immigrant, Jose Antonio Ibarra, has been charged with her murder. Hours before Biden's speech the House passed the Laken Riley Act, which would mandate that migrants who enter the country without authorization and are accused of theft be taken into federal custody. After Biden spoke about Riley in his speech he then turned to an attack on Trump, offering to work with him to pass a border security bill. 'If my predecessor's watching instead of paying politics and pressuring members of Congress to block the bill, join me in telling the Congress to pass it. We can do it together,' he said. He then added: 'I will not demonize immigrants saying they are poisoning the blood of our country. I will not separate families. I will not.' Republicans previously tanked a border bill - which would provide more funding for technology and agents - after Trump came out against it. Hammering Biden on the border has been a successful political tactic for Trump. Two weeks ago, the men made dueling trips to the Southern border to examine the situation there. Biden went to Brownsville, Texas, where illegal crossings are down. Trump went to Eagle Pass, where it's a huge problem. 'We can fight about fixing the border, or we can fix it. I'm ready to fix it,' Biden said. 'Send me the border bill. Now.' Representative Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-Georgia) wears a shirt and button showing slain Georgia college student Laken Riley ahead of the State of the Union address Thursday was not the first time Biden and Greene have been at odds. Last year, at the State of the Union, Greene yelled at Biden he was a 'liar.' The White House points out how well Biden handled himself at last year's speech, when he quickly clapped back at Republicans' booing him for his claim they wanted to cut Social Security and Medicare. As GOP lawmakers started heckling him, Biden quickly pivoted to say: 'As we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the books now.' House Republican Speaker Mike Johnson had asked his lawmakers to keep it reined in this year during the president's remarks. Johnson, at a closed-door GOP conference meeting Wednesday, called for decorum but Greene said her district didn't mind her calling out to the president last year. This year, ahead of Biden's remarks, Greene handed out pins paying tribute to Laken Riley. Ibarra has been charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call, concealing the death of another and failure to appear for a finger printable charge. His illegal status prompted Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to publicly fault the Biden administration for its immigration policies. Ibarra was arrested in 2022 after entering the US illegally and was 'paroled and released for further processing,' according to a statement from ICE. Greene also wore a t-shirt paying tribute to Riley. Biden engaged in a vigorous back-and-forth with his GOP hecklers throughout the night. He brought up the bipartisan border bill that Speaker Johnson has not brought to the House floor, calling it the 'toughest set of border security reforms we've ever seen. Republicans booed him. 'Oh, you don't think so? Oh, you don't like that bill, that conservatives got together and said it was a good bill. I'll be darned. That's amazing,' Biden told them. A protester yelled out at President Biden and was removed from the House Chamber Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) (left) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts) (right) hold up signs supporting a ceasefire in the Middle East Democratic members of Congress cheer President Joe Biden during the State of the Union address - many Democratic women lawmakers wore white to show their support for reproductive rights Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and other Democrats wore scarves to show their support for Gaza Biden's speech took place under the shadow of the 2024 presidential election and he immediately went into politics. He did not mention Donald Trump by name but he talked about his 'predecessor' when he pushed for Congress to pass an aid package for Ukraine. Speaker Mike Johnson, sitting behind Biden, appeared to grimace during Biden's attacks especially after the president spent much of the first 15 minutes of his speech attacking Trump. Democrats in the chamber were a rowdy bunch, clapping and cheering frequently, a contrast to what some were saying before Biden's speech, when they fretted if he would make a mistake that could be politically fatal. Biden walked into the House chamber to shouts of 'Joe' from Democrats and loud applause. Biden, a more than 30-year veteran of Capitol Hill, stopped to talk to several lawmakers as he walked down the aisle. The president received good luck wishes and even shook hands with Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, one of his frequent critics. 'Four more years,' Democrats shouted as he made his way to the dais. It took him eight minutes to make his way down the aisle to the podium. In his remarks, Biden sought to show the stark differences between himself and his Republican rival. The speech will kick off his rematch with Trump and mark the start of the 2024 general election. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators block a street during a protest ahead of President Joe Biden's State of the Union address Overall, the goal of the White House is to present Biden, 81, as energetic enough to do the job and turn questions about his age into an argument for his experience. The president headed into the speech with a 56% disapproval rating, per the Five Thirty-Eight polling average. Biden had spent the past five days preparing for his State of the Union address, trying to cover all the possibilities: tea to keep his throat smooth, a print out of his remarks - with giant type in case the teleprompter went out, and hours of practice sessions. Biden offered a positive view of the nation in his address, focusing on a unity agenda that contained overall popular items like dealing with the mental health epidemic, curbing opioid abuse, aiding veterans and improving cancer care. In his remarks, the president portrayed the upcoming election as a choice on personal freedoms such as reproductive rights. He vowed to restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land if Americans give him a Democratically-controlled Congress. Pro-Palestine protesters are in the street to block President Joe Biden's motorcade between the White House and Capitol for his State of the Union address Several hundred Pro-Palestinian protesters sat in the street to block Biden's motorcade between the White House and Capitol before he headed to the Capitol to deliver his remarks. A massive Palestinian flag was unfurled on the street with demonstrators sitting and standing around it and others held a banner with the message: 'Biden's legacy is genocide.' The protesters held bullhorns, held 'ceasefire' signs, wore black shirts with messages demanding Biden get tough on Israel and were surrounded by law enforcement officials from all sides. But Biden's motorcade did not go by the group in route to the Capitol, according to the pool of reporters traveling with him. All convicted stalkers who made their victims' lives a misery face being electronically tagged under a new pilot scheme later this year. They will be forced to wear a GPS device which can alert the authorities if the offenders enter an 'exclusion zone' they are forbidden to visit. The move is being piloted as part of an existing and wider tagging programme across London to prevent people from re-offending, funded by Labour mayor Sadiq Khan. Stalkers guilty of domestic abuse are already covered by the tagging scheme. But the mayor's office confirmed yesterday that as part of an extra 2.2 million funding, a new 'GPS stalking programme' will be introduced from June 2024 to cover other stalking offenders. All convicted stalkers who made their victims' lives a misery face being electronically tagged under a new pilot scheme later this year (Stock image) The move is being piloted as part of an existing and wider tagging programme across London to prevent people from re-offending, funded by Labour mayor Sadiq Khan This will be in partnership with London Probation Service to provide tags not just for those being released from prison but also people on community sentences. Since the wider scheme's launch in 2019, more than 2,100 domestic abuse and knife crime offenders have been tagged in the capital. And the mayor's Office for Policing and Crime released figures showing that that the scheme was working to reduce re-offending. Mr Khan, who is up for re-election in May, said that the 'state-of-the-art' tagging programme was 'putting the emphasis on perpetrators of violence to change Oakland's district attorney has vowed to fight against the 'hatred and racism' as she faces a possible recall vote after just 14 months in charge. Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price is under pressure over the soaring levels of crime in the dying Bay Area city. But she claims the campaign against her is being 'financed by billionaires who have no interest in public safety', according to the San Francisco Chronicle. 'I plan to push back against the hatred and racism that they have brought to Alameda County,' Price said on Friday following a panel with other county prosecutors at the University of California, Berkeley. It comes after she was accused of regularly dubbing 'the media and the Asians' as her enemies in a bombshell $1.5 million legal filing. Oakland's district attorney Pamela Price has vowed to fight against the 'hatred and racism' as she faces a possible recall vote after just 14 months in charge The Alameda County District Attorney is under pressure over the soaring levels of crime in the dying Bay Area city Crime has continued to spiral on Price's watch, up by almost 20 percent in 2023 compared to 2019. A woman is pictured being dragged by her bag during a mugging in Oakland Price, who was previously a civil rights lawyer, became the county's first black district attorney when she was elected in 2022. She promised to reduce sentences for defendants under the ages of 25, crack down on police misconduct and end mass incarceration. But a campaign has been launched to recall her and its sponsors submitted 123,000 signatures to county election officials on Monday. The county's Registrar of Voters has 10 days to decide whether the petition includes at least 73,000 valid signatures to put the question to a vote. More than $2million has been raised to remove Price from office and the largest donation was $390,000 from Oakland resident and financier Phillip Dreyfuss. The panel at the event was hosted by former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin who was recalled by voters in the city back in 2022. He was also accused of being soft of crime. Boudin claimed he looked to 'decrease reliance on incarceration as the primary response to social problems'. But he sought harsher enforcement against larger companies and gun manufacturers and added: 'In the process, I made some powerful enemies.' While Price said: 'From Chesas experience and my experience, weve become a punching bag. Long sentences do not reduce crime.' She pointed to how crime in the county had been rising under District Attorney Nancy OMalley but 'after my election, suddenly Im responsible for things many moons before'. Price, who was previously a civil rights lawyer, became the county's first black district attorney when she was elected in 2022 An Apple store in Oakland was raided by a customer who yanked multiple iPhones off their stands earlier this week. The Bay Area city has become synonymous with soaring crime and prosecutors seemingly unable to tackle it Oakland's only In-N-Out Burger announced it is closing amid a spate of crimes against its patrons, including break-ins such as this Price claimed her policies on sentencing have not contributed to more crime and that her office has set up a mental health commission and civil rights bureau as well as settled with businesses for improper disposal of hazardous waste. Her comments come after Patti Lee, who worked as Price's spokesperson for around six months last year until she fired her, said the DA 'constantly and openly' made derogatory comments about Asian Americans. Her legal claim - a precursor to a lawsuit - says that she was fired because of anti-Asian discrimination, and after she complained about breaches of duty in the office. She is seeking a $1.5 million settlement for emotional distress stemming from retaliation, discrimination, wrongful termination and failure to pay wages. Oakland saw crime soar by 21 percent between 2022 and 2023. Robberies rose by 38 percent, while vehicle theft rocketed by 45 percent. The dystopian city saw 15,000 cars stolen last year - meaning roughly one in every 30 of its residents had their car stolen. In-N-Out Burger closed its only restaurant in the city over a spate of break-ins in its parking lot - the only closure in the chain's 70 year history. A nearby Denny's also closed, with California Governor Gavin Newsom sending in his own prosecutors in a bid to try and clear up the mess. Oakland's similarly progressive Mayor Sheng Thao is facing her own recall over the chaos after the city's reputation crumbled on her watch. Superpower China is running out of steam. As delegates from across the vast country assembled last week for the National People's Congress [NPC], the Communist Party's rubber-stamp parliament, Beijing's economic resurgence is in trouble. The global recession triggered by the pandemic has hit China harder than almost anywhere else. World demand for its products, from high-end electronics to cheap plasticware, has slumped. Investors have pulled out as supply chains are 'de-risked' to reduce dependence on Chinese imports. And many factories have been caught out by over-production and left with massive stocks that can't be sold. Population decline means Beijing's astonishingly ambitious national building schemes, with entire cities of skyscrapers springing up where villages once stood, will not now be needed. With millions of new-build homes standing empty, property prices have crashed. Meanwhile, thanks to the fluctuations of a market economy, China's once-booming middle classes are experiencing a mass recession and trying to cope with a cost-of-living crisis something this country has not suffered in living memory. Despite cries tot he contrary, Beijing 's economic resurgence seems to be in trouble One major source of economic strength continues to thrive, however: China's military machine Opening the NPC on Tuesday, Li said defence spending will increase by 7.2 per cent this year Married couples have responded by deciding not to have children, a trend that only exacerbates China's OAP problem. In ten years, China will have more pensioners than there are people in the US and since the state pension is negligible, they will be largely reliant on personal savings. But because the Chinese love to gamble, broad swathes of the middle classes invest their nest eggs in the stock market... and this too has taken a battering recently. Any one of these factors alone might not have been catastrophic. China's economy for which its leaders are targeting an optimistic 5 per cent growth this year was predicted until recently to overtake the US to become the world's wealthiest country, and the dominant force of the 21st Century. Its economy might have withstood a global downturn, a lockdown, a demographic shift or a property slump. But all these things together could prove overwhelming. Already the signs from the NPC point to uncertainty and rising panic. The event, a bogus parliamentary session to confirm what the ruling Communist Party has already decided, brings together the various ethnic groups, from Han Chinese to Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongolians, Manchurians and others. Official photographs depicted smiling representatives in ethnic costumes. But, in an unexpected move, Chinese and foreign reporters were told there would be no press conference by the Premier at the close of proceedings for the first time in three decades. Since 1993, this question-and-answer session has been broadcast live, treated as an important shop window to attract overseas trade. It was traditionally headed by the Premier, China's deputy leader under the President, who wields dictatorial power. Last year, current Premier Li Qiang took the questions for the first time, but his decision not to do so again is being portrayed as 'an act of loyalty' to President Xi Jinping. While the West has been scaling back its military spending in favour of welfare and healthcare, President Xi Jinping (pictured) has been building artificial islands as naval bases and airfields More than 100 nuclear missiles with multiple warheads have already been built and armed, with production expected to exceed 500 by the end of this decade, if not sooner For the rest of the world, even an economically stalled China could be that most dangerous of creatures: a wounded dragon in a mood to lash out The reality is that it signals an even greater transfer of power to the autocratic head of state and a shift to a more insular economy. China has decided, it appears, to pay less lip service to the rest of the world. One major source of economic strength continues to thrive, however: China's military machine. Opening the NPC on Tuesday, Li said defence spending will increase by 7.2 per cent this year. Beijing excels at taking the long-term view and Xi will see two advantages in pouring state wealth into defence. First, all of that money will be spent in China, creating jobs and improving living standards. Second, China's international clout will be increased by its burgeoning army, navy and missile arsenals at a time when most of the West, not least Britain, is scrimping on its defence spending. The US cannot match the pace of building in the shipyards of Shanghai, which have already turned out two new aircraft carriers with a third expected to begin sea trials soon. The latest vessel, the Fujian, features catapults to launch heavy, fixed-wing aircraft with immense bomb payloads. These shipyards are also building a new type of amphibious assault vessel, and many roll-on, roll-off ferries, which could have a dual purpose transporting cars in peacetime, and armoured assault vehicles in the event of an attack on a neighbour, such as Taiwan. While the West has been scaling back its military spending in favour of welfare and healthcare, China has been building artificial islands as naval bases and airfields. Less obvious but more ominous, it has also been digging a vast network of tunnels and bunkers that make the Hamas warrens in Gaza look like holes scooped by children in a sandpit. The Chinese tunnels stretch for hundreds of miles and their plans are so closely guarded that Western intelligence agencies have little idea what is down there. Domestic spies in the pay of the West, who have attempted to smuggle out information, have been caught and executed. President Xi Jinping is busy investing in China's military while its economy flounders Military body-building also gives China greater influence over Russia's gangster government and Putin (pictured) Beijing could confront US President Joe Biden with a harsh choice in the run-up to November's election: stand up to China or back off from confrontation Most alarming of all is the build-up of nuclear missiles. Throughout the Cold War, though China has been a nuclear power from the mid-1960s, its atomic arsenal was limited. By the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the People's Liberation Army had only 30 or 40 long-range nuclear missiles because that, it believed, was more than enough. As President Deng Xiaoping chillingly taunted American journalists: 'How many Los Angeles can you afford to lose?' That policy has changed. More than 100 nuclear missiles with multiple warheads have already been built and armed, with production expected to exceed 500 by the end of this decade, if not sooner. The obvious implication is that President Xi is willing to use them as a threat, most probably against America, to increase China's influence and ward off US intervention. But that also implies Beijing is prepared, if necessary, to provoke armageddon. Could it be that, thanks to the mysterious underworld of tunnels and bunkers, Xi thinks that some remnant of Chinese civilisation could survive all-out nuclear war? Taiwan could be his immediate target. China has always refused to recognise this island state's independence. Invasion and overthrow would be a massive military undertaking, one made much easier if America could be cowed into inaction. Beijing could confront US President Joe Biden with a harsh choice in the run-up to November's election: stand up to China and face grim military and economic consequences, or back off from confrontation and see America's world role weaken dramatically. Military body-building also gives China greater influence over Russia's gangster government and its other huge neighbour, India. Both Russia and Iran need to sell their sanctioned oil and gas to China, which uses their raw materials to stay independent of the US and its energy allies. Such a dramatic change of direction, turning away from the outside world and stoking the industrial military complex, is possible because Chinese society is essentially obedient to its leaders. Their middle class does not share the tradition of liberty, democracy and freedom of choice that is second nature in the West. China's cities are so highly technological that every individual is watched and tracked, as a matter of course. Break even a minor rule in remote Xinjiang or central Nanjing, such as crossing the road without waiting for a green light, and your face can be flashed up on to an electronic billboard for all to see along with your name and ID number. That's a powerful incentive to obey the authorities so is the traumatic memory of genocidal and chaotic slaughter under the Communist Party's first dictator, Chairman Mao. Ultimately, whether the economy is booming or flailing, the 1.4 billion people of China will probably fall in behind their leader for fear of worse. For the rest of the world, even an economically stalled China could be that most dangerous of creatures: a wounded dragon in a mood to lash out. Mark Almond is director of the Crisis Research Institute, Oxford Hundreds of primary schools could be forced to close by the end of the decade because of a dramatic fall in the number of births. The population of young children is expected to plummet by more than half a million by 2030 the equivalent of 17,000 classes or 1,800 schools the latest data analysis has suggested. A baby boom in the early 2000s, partially fuelled by migration, fizzled out and births began to decline from 2010. It has meant primary schools that were once scrambling to acquire extra classrooms are now unable to fill places, which has already led to dozens facing closure in Yorkshire, Norfolk, Cumbria, Brighton, Wigan, Bristol and London. New data has suggested the problem is also transferring to secondaries, with 4,000 fewer children applying to London secondary schools this year a fall expected to be mirrored nationally. Secondary pupil numbers across the country are forecast by the Department for Education to fall from 2025 onwards, reaching 98,000 fewer by 2030 a three per cent drop which is equivalent to 3,266 classes or 92 schools. Schools receive on average about 7,000 for each child on their register, so if numbers drop too far it becomes financially unviable. Hundreds of primary schools could be forced to close by the end of the decade because of a dramatic fall in the number of births (File image) Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, urged the Government to keep open schools even as pupil numbers fall. He said: 'As well as lower birth rates, issues like the housing crisis and families moving out of cities after the pandemic may be having an impact. Schools are a crucial part of the fabric of local communities, including in rural areas with few other services and where pupils may have to travel long distances if their local school closes. 'A knee-jerk reaction of rushing to close these schools could backfire in the long-term if pupil numbers recover, leading to a shortage of places. The population of young children is expected to plummet by more than half a million by 2030 the equivalent of 17,000 classes or 1,800 schools (File image) 'Councils and the Government should support schools in this situation and maintain funding.' Official figures from the Office for National Statistics showed fertility rates fell to 1.49 children per woman in 2022. That is well below the rate of 2.1 needed to maintain a steady population without significant immigration. The falling birth rates since 2010 have already prompted schools closures in many areas in recent years. A DfE spokesman said: 'It is for local authorities and academy trusts to balance the supply and demand of school places, in line with changing demographics, as they have done for many years.' Tell us what you think email letters@mailonsunday.co.uk XL Bullies will continue to be bred through loopholes, according to Crufts bosses who believe that the government ban on dangerous dogs is 'doomed to fail'. The organisers of one of the biggest dog shows in the world claim that the law does not stop the breeding of dogs or prevent dangerous attacks. From February 1, it became a criminal offence to own the XL bully breed in England and Wales without an exemption certificate and it was added to the list of banned dangerous dogs. It is also now against the law to breed, sell, rehome, advertise or abandon XL Bully pups in England and Wales, with Northern Ireland reportedly looking into clamping down on the breed. But Dr Ed Hayes, head of public affairs at The Kennel Club, the organiser of Crufts, said that the legislation is 'doomed to fail' because of gaps in the law. The organisers of one of the biggest dog shows in the world claim that the law does not stop the breeding of dogs or prevent dangerous attacks Dr Ed Hayes, head of public affairs at The Kennel Club, the organiser of Crufts , said that the law is 'doomed to fail' because of loopholes He told the Telegraph: 'We are going to continue to have a supply of dogs that grow into XL bullies as years go by. 'There will be a huge number of XL bullies going through the court process forever more because they'll continue to be produced by mating two legal dogs together.' Dr Hayes said that breeders will pair two dogs together that are half an inch under the legal limit, therefore making it legal. But these two hounds can create a litter of dogs that end up growing taller and therefore classed as XL Bullies. The Crufts official also said that the Dangerous Dog Act is another strain on police resources, adding that after being assessed in court, the canines are 'typically' handed back to their owners. In January it was reported that police have spent at least 2.2 million housing XL bullies. Bill Lambert, a spokesman for Crufts, told the outlet that the Act was not working, claiming that there had been an 'increase' in dog bites. 'We're really disappointed that the Government hasn't taken this opportunity to look at the whole Act,' he said. Mr Lambert said the government should consider a staged approach to help support owners, for example, dogs could be muzzled in public or kept on a lead before a risk has emerged. Currently, owners who do not have a certificate for their dogs can face fines, prosecution and having their pet confiscated, meaning many dogs were abandoned after details of the ban emerged. This comes a vets have faced 'abuse and threats' from XL Bully owners over the dog breed's ban, according to the president of the British Veterinary Association. Anna Judson said the situation had created a 'very emotionally charged atmosphere' and some 'really challenging situations' between owners and vets. She reminded lovers of the breed to be 'mindful' and 'kind' to vets dealing with the rapid change. Bill Lambert, a spokesman for Crufts, told the outlet that the Act was not working, claiming that there had been an 'increase' in dog bites Mr Lambert said the government should consider a staged approach to help support owners, for example, dogs could be muzzled in public or kept on a lead before a risk has emerged The Crufts official also said that the Dangerous Dog Act is another strain on police resources, adding that after being assessed in court, the canines are 'typically' handed back to their owners Ms Judson added that the BVA was 'very concerned' the ban was a 'short-term fix to a much larger problem' and there was a risk of 'transferring the problems to another breed in future'. The chief told Clare Balding on Channel 4's coverage of Crufts that the association was not consulted over the ban and that 'it came as quite a surprise'. Ms Judson said: 'One of our concerns at the British Veterinary Association is the speed at which the ban was introduced. 'It's created some really challenging situations, it's put the vets, the rescue charities and the XL bully owners into some very stressful situations. 'And with that came a very emotionally charged atmosphere and, unfortunately, that has spilt over to some abuse and threats of veterinary teams and vets. 'So, one of the things we would respectfully ask is that people are just mindful, even if they're feeling stressed, of how their actions and words come across. 'And to be kind and courteous to the vet teams, particularly as we come up to these neutering deadlines.' READ MORE: XL Bully crackdown fuels 235 PER CENT spike in searches for German Shepherds - as it emerges banned breed is third most stolen dog in Britain Advertisement The BVA is calling for an overhaul of dangerous dogs legislation with a 'much stronger focus on responsible dog breeding and responsible dog ownership', Ms Judson said. To qualify for an exemption certificate, most owners must prove their XL bully has been neutered by June 30. Owners of dogs under a year old have a longer deadline until December 31 to prove their pet has been neutered. In Scotland, the first part of restrictions on XL bully-type dogs came into force on February 23. Ms Judson said: 'We would really strongly urge that XL bully owners get in touch with their vets. 'And work with them in partnership to make sure that we can stagger the numbers going through the neutering process so we don't end up with a bottleneck and some capacity issues which will just heighten everybody's emotional state again.' Around 25 people have been killed by dangerous dogs since the beginning of lockdown in 2020. At the start of last month, a grandmother was mauled to death by two 'unregistered' XL Bully dogs while visiting her grandson. Esther Martin, aged 68, who was in the area visiting her eleven-year-old grandson. Esther Martin, 68 (pictured) from Woodford Green, London, died from being attacked by two 'unregistered' XL bully dogs XL Bully owner passionately protests in London against banning the breed in September last year. It is not alleged that any of them have been involved in the wrongdoing referred to XL Bully owners held a demonstration in central London in September last year. It is not alleged that any of them have been involved in the wrongdoing referred to The boy came out 'shouting for help' when the attack happened, the family said. Her daughter told MailOnline that her mother - from Woodford Green, London - had previously told the dogs' owner that they were dangerous. This comes as XL Bullys face a clampdown in Northern Ireland under proposed restrictions, including wearing muzzles and a ban on breeding. READ MORE: Now XL Bullys face clampdown in Northern Ireland under proposed restrictions including muzzles and ban on breeding - after bans were imposed across Britain Advertisement Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister Andrew Muir said he was bringing forward legislation requiring people to register their ownership of the breed and obtain an exemption certification, and also to keep them on a lead and muzzled while in public. There would also be a ban on breeding, selling, abandoning or giving away XL bully dogs in the region. XL bullies would also have to be neutered under the planned law changes, Mr Muir said. Additionally, owners would be required to obtain a form of public liability insurance and ensure the animals were kept in secure conditions. The rules will require additional legislation which may take until the autumn. A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: 'We took quick and decisive action to ban XL Bullies in order to protect the public from tragic dog attacks, and we expect all XL Bully owners to comply with the strict conditions that are now set out in law. 'More widely, we will continue to work with the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to encourage responsible dog ownership of all breeds, to ensure dog control issues are addressed before they escalate.' West Haven High School. West Haven's Board of Education has approved a plan intended to recruit a teaching staff as diverse as its student population. Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media WEST HAVEN As the diversity of the city's teaching staff falls further out of balance with the diversifying student population, school officials hope a targeted recruitment and retention plan can help create a racially diverse education workforce. According to the most recent available state statistics, 40.8 percent of West Haven students are Hispanic or Latinx, but only 4 percent of West Haven educators are. The overall Connecticut educator workforce has a slightly higher 4.9 percent makeup of Hispanic or Latinx educators, although the statewide Hispanic and Latinx student population is lower than that of West Haven, at 31.1 percent. The trend is the same with Black students and educators: The statewide Black student population of 12.4 percent is lower than the 23.9 percent of West Haven students who are Black, but statewide 4.6 percent of educators are Black and 3.2 percent of West Haven's teachers are Black. "We have made some progress in recent years, but we must do better," said West Haven Superintendent of Schools Neil Cavallaro in an emailed comment. Advertisement Article continues below this ad West Haven Board of Education Chairwoman Cebi Waterfield said it's important to the school board for students to feel represented. "There is always room to improve," she said. "We want people looking for employment to know that we are an actively inclusive environment in which to work," According to state data, between the 2017-2018 school year and the 2022-2023 school year, the overall number of Black educators in West Haven increased by two and the number of Latinx educators increased by nine. The district employed 43 more white educators in the last school year than it did in the 2017-2018 year, but the overall percentage of white educators decreased from 94 percent to 92.9 percent. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Last summer, the state Department of Education began mandating that school districts submit plans on diversifying their educator workforce. This week, West Haven's Board of Education approved its plan. That plan does not include specific benchmarks or targets for hiring within the next year. Cavallaro said this week that the district's overall goal is to have a teaching staff as diverse as its student population. Among the strategies the school board approved are stating the district's commitment to diversity and inclusion in job postings, creating pathways to hiring with universities and colleges and highlighting teaching as a career path for current students. The most consistent challenge officials identified in the plan is teacher salaries. However, last month the Municipal Accountability Review Board approved a West Haven Federation of Teachers contract following months of delays that offers teachers more pay. Cavallaro said that the national teacher shortage environment is a challenge to the district, but he expects that the contract will aid in recruiting and retaining more teachers. Waterfield said the school board is happy with the union contract and hopes it has the intended impact of attracting great educators to the district. Biden said he should have called him 'undocumented' to not disrespect migrants Joe Biden said he was wrong to describe nursing student Laken Riley's suspected killer as an 'illegal'. The president was heckled into acknowledging the murder during Thursday's State of the Union address by Georgia GOP Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. But when asked by MSNBC about his use of the word 'illegal' in an interview on Saturday night, Biden said he regretted it. 'During your response to her heckling of you, you used the word illegal when talking about the man who allegedly killed...' host Jonathan Capehart said. The defense of Israel is still critical, President Joe Biden tells Jonathan Capehart. But there's red lines that if he crossescannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead. pic.twitter.com/0SAPJySAYS MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 9, 2024 Joe Biden has told MSNBC he regrets calling murdered nursing student Laken Riley's suspected killer an 'illegal' at his State of the Union address Biden interrupted to say 'undocumented', just as Capehart was pivoting to Laken Riley. 'An undocumented person. I shouldn't have used illegal, its undocumented,' the president continued. 'And look, when I spoke about the difference between Trump and me, one of the things I talked about in the border was his, the way he talks about vermin, the way he talks about these people polluting the blood. 'I talked about what I'm not going to do. What I won't do. I'm not going to treat any, any, any of these people with disrespect. 'Look, they built the country. The reason our economy is growing. We have to control the border and more orderly flow, but I don't share his view at all.' Capehart asked if he regretted using the word, and Biden answered: 'Yes.' This was a reversal of Biden's position when he was asked about his use of the word on Friday as he prepared to board Air Force One for a campaign trip to Philadelphia. Asked if he regretted the comment after subordinates were walking it back Biden stuttered and searched for the right response on the fraught topic. 'Well, I probably I don't regr technically not supposed to be here,' Biden said. Riley, 22, was murdered while jogging at the University of Georgia's Athens campus on February 22. Venezuelan immigrant Jose Antonio Ibarra - who is in the US without a visa - was charged with the Augusta University student's murder. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) calls out to Biden to 'say her name,' referring to murdered nursing student Laken Riley The incident piled even more pressure on Biden to get ahead of the worsening migration crisis, as record numbers are intercepted crossing the southern border. Immigration is seen as a key issue in November's presidential election, with Biden's likely Republican rival Donald Trump vowing to take a more hardline stance. Greene responded to Biden's 'regret' with an inaccurate claim that he 'apologized' to the accused killer. 'Disgusting. Joe Biden just apologized to the illegal alien animal who brutally murdered Laken Riley,' she wrote on Twitter. Ibarra has not been convicted and under the American legal system is considered innocent until proven guilty. When Biden talked in the State of the Union about a bill to increase border security that was killed by Republicans after Trump came out against it, GOP lawmakers booed him. Greene, who was wearing a shirt with Riley's name, then shouted at Biden 'say her name.' 'Lincoln, Lincoln Riley,' Biden said, holding up the pin. 'An innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. 'But how many of thousands of people being killed by legals? To her parents I say my heart goes out to you, having lost children myself, I understand,' he said. Hours before Biden's speech the House passed the Laken Riley Act, which would mandate that migrants who enter the country without authorization and are accused of theft be taken into federal custody. Greene gave the pin to Biden when he walked into the House chamber to give his remarks. 'Lincoln, Lincoln Riley,' Biden said, holding up the pin. 'An innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal' Venezuelan immigrant, Jose Antonio Ibarra, has been charged with Riley's murder. Biden took heat for calling him an 'illegal' Progressive Democrats pounced on Biden calling the alleged killer of Laken Riley an 'illegal' while ad-libbing a remark in his speech. 'No human being is illegal,' wrote Congresswoman Delia Ramirez (D-IL), one of several lawmakers to blast Biden's word choice on Twitter afterward. 'Let me be clear: No human being is illegal,' wrote 'squad' member Congressman Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who immigrated from Somalia. 'I'm extremely disappointed to hear President Biden use the word illegal,' wrote Congressman Chuy Garcia (D-IL) calling himself a 'proud immigrant'. 'The rhetoric President Biden used tonight was dangerously close to language from Donald Trump that puts a target on the backs of Latinos everywhere. Democrats shouldnt be taking our cues from MAGA extremism,' he said. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was prepared to give Biden a pass on the language when she got asked about it on CNN not long after the speech. 'We usually say "undocumented". He said "illegal". I dont think its a big deal,' she said. 'I dont think its a big deal because I think his focus was on the sympathy for the family. Its a terrible tragedy.' After Biden spoke about Riley in his speech he then turned to an attack on Trump, offering to work with him to pass a border security bill. 'If my predecessor's watching instead of paying politics and pressuring members of Congress to block the bill, join me in telling the Congress to pass it. We can do it together,' he said. He then added: 'I will not demonize immigrants saying they are poisoning the blood of our country. I will not separate families. I will not.' Republicans previously tanked a border bill - which would provide more funding for technology and agents - after Trump came out against it so he could use the issue to attack Biden in the election campaign. Biden was also asked about his attack on the Supreme Court for overturning Roe v Wade, which from 1973 until 2022 upheld a constitutional right to abortion. Laken Riley, a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student was killed while out jogging on February 22 President Joe Biden tells @CapehartJ that he found the Supreme Courts actions toward women to be somewhat insulting. I think they made a wrong decision I think they made a mistake, Biden says about the overturning of Roe v. Wade. pic.twitter.com/oIc6e734KB MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 9, 2024 Capehart asked if he felt the court, which Trump packed with right-wing judges, was a 'political body' made of politicians, not legal professionals. 'No. look, I think they made a wrong decision. I think they read the Constitution wrong. I think they made a mistake,' Biden replied. 'And I was being blunt and a part of it that they said, remember, what they said was, it's up to the states to decide. That's really what the - what was said. It's no longer constitutionally guaranteed principle. 'And they use the phrase that women can vote, making changes they want to. I found that somewhat insulting the idea that they don't think they can. 'Women are speaking now. They spoke out in 2022. They spoke out in 2024, 2020. This is what's going to happen.' Biden reiterated, as he did in his speech, that if voters in November gave the Democrats a majority in both houses of Congress, he would legislate it nationally. 'And I was just making clear, women speak up, this is going to change. And if you give me some - if you give me a Congress, that's Democrat, we're going to change it back to Roe v Wade,' he said. The president was also asked about the situation in Gaza, where more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli bombing and troops in five months. Biden was caught on a hot mic telling Democratic colleagues he planned to have a 'come to Jesus' meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He was speaking with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Senator Michael Bennet on the House floor. Bennett congratulated Biden on his address to the nation and urged him to keep pressing Netanyahu on humanitarian crisis. Biden answered using Netanyahu's nickname, saying: 'I told him, Bibi, and don't repeat this, but you and I are going to have a 'come to Jesus' meeting.' Biden's bodyman Jacob Spreyer then leans in and whispers to the president, apparently warning Biden he is on a hot mic. 'I'm on a hot mic here,' Biden says after Spreyer spoke to him. 'Good. That's good.' President Joe Biden (second right) speaks with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (left), Secretary of State Antony Blinken (second left), and Senator Michael Bennet (right with back to camera) as he made his remarks about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Biden explained on MSNBC that Israel had a right to defend itself after the October 7 attack by Hamas, but needed to be much more careful about civilian casualties. He confirmed his plans for a 'serious meeting', saying, 'I've known Bibi for 50 years and he knew what I meant by it'. '[Netanyahu] has a right to defend Israel, a right to continue to pursue Hamas,' he continued. 'But he must, he must, he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken. 'He's hurting, in my view, he's hurting Israel more than helping Israel by making the rest of the world - it's contrary to what Israel stands for. And I think it's a big mistake.' Biden said he wanted a six-week ceasefire to allow the release of hostages by Hamas and humanitarian aid for Gazan civilians. 'I've spoken with the majority of the Arab leaders from Saudi Arabia to Egypt to Jordan, they're all prepared to fully recognize Israel and begin to rebuild the region,' he added. Biden was asked if there was a 'red line' for his support of Israel, such as the invasion of the city of Rafah - the last place Gazan civilians have to shelter. 'It is a red line, but I'm never going to leave Israel,' he said, refusing to cut off military sales to Israel. 'But there's red lines that if it crosses and into -- it cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead. There's a consequence of going after -- there's other ways to deal, to get to, to deal with the -- with the trauma that caused by Hamas,' he said. President Joe Biden has been showing his frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - above the two men meet in Tel Aviv in October Biden said he warned Netanyahu not to make Gaza like the US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, though he first misspoke and said Ukraine. 'It wasn't necessary. It wasn't necessary. This caused more problems than it erased, than it cured,' he said of the Iraq and Afghanistan invasions. Biden dismissed ideas of a permanent ceasefire, as some called for. 'I think Hamas would like a total ceasefire across the board because they -- then they would see they have a better chance to survive and maybe rebuild,' he said. Biden responded to some voters who said they preferred Trump because he wasn't 'overseeing and actively arming a genocide' in Gaza. He denied what was happening in Gaza was a genocide, but said he understood why people were emotional about the issue. 'It's not widely shared. You guys make judgments you -- you're not capable of making. That's not what all those people said,' he claimed. 'What they said was they're very upset, and I don't blame them for being upset. There's families there. There are people who are dying. They want something done about it. And they're saying, Joe, do something, do something. 'But the idea that they all think it's genocide is just not - that's a different situation.' This is the touching moment Meghan Markle called Prince Harry 'my love' before singing Happy Birthday during a surprise visit to the family of a teacher killed in a Texas school shooting. Heroic Irma Garcia sacrificed her own life during the killing at Texas' Robb Elementary School in May 2022 in a bid to allow her young students to get to safety. In a tragic twist two days later, Irma's husband, Joe, died from a broken heart. Footage shows the Duchess of Sussex sharing a heartfelt moment with Harry as they stood in the kitchen of the family's home to celebrate a birthday. Meghan is seen holding a cake with candles for the mother of Irma's nephew, John, before she turns around to Harry to check he is still there and calls him 'my love'. Harry and Meghan were visiting Uvalde in Texas for a local event to support families who were affected by the mass shooting. The event was planned by KABOOM! - an organisation which made a commitment to the community following the 2022 shooting. John, 22, shared photos of the royals' visit to their house, adding that he could not believe how the Sussexes were so 'loving and supportive'. He said that having Harry and Meghan come into their home 'felt like having family and friends over' and that they fit 'right in'. Footage shows Meghan calling Prince Harry 'my love' before singing Happy Birthday Prince Harry and Meghan timed their visit to coincide with John's mother's birthday, with the couple even bringing them a birthday cake Harry and Meghan made a surprise trip to Uvalde, Texas to visit the family of Irma Garcia, a teacher who was killed in the May 2022 shooting at the Robb Elementary School. They are pictured with her 22-year-old nephew, John John, 22, posted photos of royal's visit to social media. They see the Duchess of Sussex speaking with him his driveway The pair shared a selfie together in the warm Texas sunshine John posted gushing tweets following the visit by the Duke and Duchess Meghan has kept in touch with the family since the tragic shooting in May 2022 John said the couple surprised his mother with a cake - as videos showed a glowing Meghan smiling warmly as she held the white dessert. She and Harry - who were stood in the kitchen among their family - led the singing as they joined the heartwarming scene. Meghan lit the candles on the cake and began the countdown for singing happy birthday before saying 'with everyone singing too,' to which a family member responded 'It's you first and then we'll go after!' The Duchess, 42, donned black skinny jeans and and a long-sleeve blouse, which she paired with gold jewellery. The actress looked in high spirits as she held the decorated gateau, with her husband Prince Harry smiling in the background. And as they shared 'intimate memories', John said they shared 'tears of joy' with the Montecito pair. 'Meghan Markle singing my mom happy birthday was the cutest most adorable thing ever, she even bought her a cake,' Ms Garcia's grateful nephew wrote. Speaking to HELLO!, John added: 'It truly meant the world that Harry and Meghan showed up to visit the family, there were lots of tears of joy and heartfelt moments. 'They were the kindest, most humble people ever, it was like having family and friends over, having an amazing time together. 'They fit right in, we laughed a lot and shared intimate memories together.' John explained that the pair had 'kept in touch' with the Garcia family regularly since the senseless shooting. 'They keep in touch every other month, sometimes a little longer, but with their busy lives, them visiting truly felt more special,' he said. Irma Garcia, a teacher at the Robb Elementary School was killed in the May 2022 shooting Two days after Irma's death, her husband, Joe, died from a broken heart On the May 24, 2022, 19 children and two teachers were killed after a gunman walked into Robb Elementary school in Texas and began firing. One of the children, aged 10, aspired to be a lawyer and another wanted to be a marine biologist. READ MORE: Meghan Markle says she was cyber-bullied while pregnant with Archie and Lilibet Advertisement A third pupil had been saving up money to go to Disney World. But they never got the chance to go on the trip. Meghan visited Uvalde just two days after the shooting where paid her condolences and laid a bouquet of white roses tied with a purple ribbon at the cross for 10-year-old Uziyah Garcia. A spokesperson for the Sussexes told the outlet that Meghan went there unannounced to privately pay her condolences at the time. After the visit, it is believed the Duchess went to the Herby Ham Activity Center, delivering crates of food and drinks to blood donors. On Friday, Harry and Meghan visited were all smiles as they headed into Austin's La Barbecue restaurant. Harry and Meghan both embraced co-owner Alison Clem in a warm hug each before being escorted inside where they greeted other workers. The Duchess seemed relaxed as she mingled with restaurant workers, even posing for photos along with her husband. The visit came after Meghan opened up about the 'hateful' cyber-bullying she received while pregnant with Archie and Lilibet during SXSW festival. She arrived in Texas on Friday to discuss 'breaking barriers and challenging stereotypes' at an event at the festival alongside Brooke Shields and Katie Couric. John, 22, posed with the royal couple in the living room of his home in Uvalde Meghan, 42, talked about social media use and claimed most of the online hate she experienced happened while she was pregnant with her two young children. 'I keep my distance from it right now for my wellbeing but the bulk of the bullying and abuse I was experiencing in social media and online was when I was pregnant with Archie and with Lili, and with a newborn, with each of them,' she said. 'You just think about that and to wrap your head about why people would be so hateful. It's not catty it's cruel. Why you would do that when you're pregnant or as a mom it's such a tender and sacred time.' She added: 'You could succumb to it, or nearly succumb to how painful that is. Or maybe because I was pregnant that mammalian instinct just kicks in to do everything you can to protect your child and as a result protect yourself too.' Meanwhile, Prince Harry was seen clapping in the front row to support his wife Meghan - next to her old friend and confidante Markus Anderson. This comes as the Duchess is said to have hired a 'new PR guru' in time for her UK relaunch. Meghan visited Uvalde just two days after the shooting where paid her condolences and laid a bouquet of white roses tied with a purple ribbon at the cross for 10-year-old Uziyah Garcia Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, visits a memorial site in Uvalde, Texas in May 2022 to honor the victims killed in the elementary school shooting Meghan wants a stellar publicist to help her promote a new mystery business venture in 2024 that has reportedly been months in the making. An unnamed executive has been recruited to help her handle the Duchess's UK and European media operation and promote Archewell, the foundation she runs with her husband Prince Harry. The Duchess of Sussex's new project is said to have been in the pipeline since last year and described as 'highly personal to her' and 'genuine to who she is' by The Daily Telegraph. It will only feed deafening rumours that she wants to relaunch her lifestyle blog The Tig, especially after her friend Gwyneth Paltrow 's GOOP brand burst through the $250million value over Christmas. MailOnline revealed her search new UK PR executive- but those at the heart of the industry claimed it won't be an easy job because the Sussexes' don't have a reputation for being good listeners. One described the role as 'a s**t sandwich that many senior PR people will not be willing to eat'. Had the Duke of Windsor wished to portray himself as a king-in-exile, he could not have done so more ostentatiously than at La Croe, the chateau in the south of France which he and his wife had moved to following his abdication. With a staff of 28 and guests of the calibre of Noel Coward and Winston Churchill, they indulged in self-aggrandising theatricality, as if in compensation for all that he who ruled so briefly as King Edward VIII had given up to marry Wallis Simpson, the American divorcee who was now the Duchess. 'A tiny little white table for us four was set on the huge lawn,' recalled one visitor. 'There were rows of footmen the night was furiously hot but the Duke was in full Scottish regalia. I thought he was staging a production of some sort.' Another observer was similarly dismissive about the relationship between the Duke and Duchess. Describing their presence at a Monte Carlo gala, he wrote: 'She had on every jewel. He wore a kilt. It was like watching a couple in pantomime the studied gestures, the automatic smiles.' The Duke was no more subtle when he returned to England in February 1952 for the funeral of his younger brother, King George VI, who had so reluctantly come to the throne following his abdication. King Edward VIII had given up the throne to marry Wallis Simpson One observer remarked on Edward's 'swaggering' manner, and described how he was 'talking and looking around, gesticulating and almost waving to the huge and completely silent crowd'. As the late King himself had written to their mother Queen Mary, the Duke 'seems to think that when he gave up his work for which he was trained, he could "live" it down and return here as a private individual and all would be well. He has to consider others beside himself, and I doubt whether even now he realises the irrevocable step he took and the ghastly shock he gave this country.' Among the biggest upsets caused by the Duke was one all too familiar to today's Royal Family following the publication of Prince Harry's autobiography Spare in January 2023. This came seven decades after the release of the Duke of Windsor's memoirs, his revenge on those he believed had wronged him in the years since his decision to give up the throne had left him jobless, stateless and rootless. Much given to self-pity, he never admitted to being the author of his own misfortunes, instead blaming his brother for just about everything, including his inability to find a job that suited him. His tenure as governor to the Bahamas between 1940 and 1945 had been dogged by endless controversy, including his friendship with the Nazi-sympathising mogul Axel Wenner-Gren, who had an estate there and no doubt agreed with the Duke's privately expressed view that 'Hitler was not such a bad chap'. After leaving the Bahamas in May 1945, the Duke and Duchess based themselves at the Waldorf Towers in New York where their suite was decorated in suitably regal if garish style. One visitor noted that it contained everything from full-length portraits of George III and George IV the latter being the ruler the Duke had often explicitly compared himself to to two liveried footmen, and even napkins embossed with the Royal arms. Shortly afterwards the Duke suggested to the King that he should become an ambassador-at-large to the United States, leaving the official ambassador, Lord Halifax, to attend to the drudgery and official business while he travelled the world first class, naturally and the bill was picked up by someone else. Then Princess Elizabeth in 1946. Once Queen, never would she be regarded by her loyal and adoring subjects as anything other than an inspiration Halifax, a former Foreign Secretary who had dealt with the Duke during his governorship of the Bahamas, remembered his arrogance, lack of consideration to his fellow man and general inability to do his work to the required standards. When asked to comment on the Duke's proposal, he wrote: 'I cannot but think that anything of this sort would lead to inevitable trouble.' In March 1946 the King wrote to his brother to tell him that the appointment would not be possible, and the Duke's anger was exacerbated by his brother's continued refusal to give his wife the recognition he believed was her due. Although the terms of the abdication entitled him to use the title of His Royal Highness, this was denied to the Duchess and he considered this insulting and wrong. Within two months he had written to his lawyer, Sir Walter Monckton, outlining his plans to write 'my side of the abdication story'. He claimed he wanted to explode the 'considerable doubt and conjecture' that existed in people's minds. But as he confided in former courtier Godfrey Thomas, he had noted the lucrative deal secured for Winston Churchill's six-volume history of the Second World War and didn't see why he shouldn't be similarly rewarded. Edward may have airily compared himself to Churchill, but there was a key difference between the two men. The former Prime Minister was a talented writer with an ear for a killer phrase, while the former monarch was an adequate, if verbose, correspondent given to unjustified self-regard. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on the Buckingham Palace balcony in 1953 A ghostwriter was needed, and his American publisher appointed journalist Charles Murphy, a former China correspondent for Fortune magazine and an expert on global intelligence matters. When they began work at La Croe in the summer of 1947, Murphy discovered that the then 54-year-old Duke was spending most of his nocturnal hours in various nightclubs, often remaining out until dawn. He later wrote: 'His span of attention was two and a half minutes maximum, and when the story of the preceding night was plainly written in his trembling hands and bloodshot eyes, I knew that another workday would have to be scrubbed.' The book still wasn't finished by the end of 1949, by which time the King had learned that rumours of its intended publication were not mere gossip. According to the Conservative politician Harold Nicolson, he was 'very distressed at the news'. Although fully aware that the King was recovering from an operation to address vascular problems caused by his heavy smoking, Edward came to London that December to raise with him once again the increasingly vexed situation of the Duchess's HRH title. Their meeting did not go well. In a letter to Princess Elizabeth, the Queen described how Edward 'came & had one of his violent yelling conversations, stamping up and down the room, & very unfairly saying that because Papa wouldn't (& couldn't) do a certain thing, that Papa must hate him'. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor at the Gallery of Modern Art in New York City The book was eventually published in September 1951 just five months before the King's death from a coronary thrombosis. Although there are no letters detailing the King or Queen's reaction, it is a safe assumption that their opinion did not stray far from that of his private secretary Sir Alan 'Tommy' Lascelles. Writing to a colleague, he expressed disgust at 'a former King of England selling for money his recollections of his family life, in a form that is indecent and for a motive that is squalid'. The reviews were mixed. The Times Literary Supplement talked of how 'it is the Duke's own book his own personality, his likes and strong dislikes, spring to life as well as his keen sense of humour'. Had they known of the extent of Charles Murphy's involvement, the praise may have been more lukewarm, like that of The Observer which sighed: 'The wisdom of publication is arguable the hero emerges as rather a pathetic figure.' Such criticism did not harm sales. Charles Murphy estimated that the Duke earned close to 357,000 the equivalent of about 10million today from A King's Story. But the couple's expensive tastes meant that sums of money that would have kept most people happy for a lifetime were spent in a matter of months. The book also estranged the Duke from his family for ever, as became clear following the King's death on February 6, 1952. During a press conference given aboard the Queen Mary as he sailed from New York, the Duke hinted that his visit to London for the funeral was not a purely selfless one, pointing out to American newspaper reporters: 'Queen Elizabeth is only 25 how young to assume the responsibilities of a great throne in these precarious times?' Backing away from the clear implication that he might step in as regent for 'the girl' as he and his wife referred to her in private he concluded: 'She has the good wishes and support of us all.' But it was clear that he and Wallis had discussed the likelihood that they stood to gain preferment if they played their cards right. While the Duke was in London for the funeral, Wallis wrote to remind him to ingratiate himself with the new Queen and her husband, adding: 'I know how you hate being there but this is a golden opportunity and it may only knock but once.' Whatever their plans, they had underestimated their implacable opponent in the Queen Mother who, for all her public and private proclamations that she would be taking on a supporting role now that her daughter was on the throne, remained a powerful figure who was not yet ready to shuffle off into her dotage. The first indication that she was prepared to flash steel concerned not the Duke but Prince Philip. Having spent a considerable amount of time and money refurbishing Clarence House as a home for Princess Elizabeth and their young children Charles and Anne, Philip objected to moving to Buckingham Palace, insisting there was no need for the expense and bother of uprooting the new Royal Family. His mother-in-law did not agree. 'I have been feeling very unhappy all today, and I suppose that talking about leaving Buckingham Palace just finished me off,' she wrote in a letter to Elizabeth. But although she was clearly still coming to terms with her altered status, she knew that every monarch since Queen Victoria had lived at the palace, and nobody believed more strongly in upholding protocol than she. Elizabeth with Prince Charles and Princess Anne at Balmoral in 1952 'Naturally you must move back to B.P. in the spring,' she insisted and eventually Philip had to accept the monarchy was a greater institution than four people. He gave in. The Queen Mother was more unyielding still when it came to dealing with her brother-in-law, reserving continued contempt for the man whose actions she believed had affected her husband's health irreparably in the years leading up to his death. Shortly before the funeral, the Duke learned that the 10,000 he had been receiving as an annual allowance since his abdication was to be stopped, as it had been purely in his brother's gift. Lingering in Britain after the ceremony, he wrote a letter to 'Cookie' the insulting sobriquet he and the Duchess used for the Queen Mother to request a private appointment. 'I can well understand your not wanting to be bothered by people at this terribly sad moment in your life,' he said. 'But I would very much like to have a talk with you alone.' His request was granted, but if he had hoped to bring his brother's widow to his side over the vexed question of money he was to be disappointed, as he was over his plan to attend his niece's Coronation. Following a conversation with the young woman about to take up the mantle of majesty, Geoffrey Fisher, the Archbishop of Canterbury, recorded in his notes that 'the Queen would be less willing than anyone to have him there'. In this she may have been influenced by her mother, but the new Queen was also discovering confidence in adversity, commenting to one friend: 'I no longer feel anxious or worried. I don't know what it is, but I have lost all my timidity somehow becoming the sovereign.' Her uncle had been an appalling, selfish king; her father a dutiful and serviceable one. But Elizabeth II was someone quite different. Her reign would not be without controversy, incident or upset, but never would she be regarded by her loyal and adoring subjects as anything other than an inspiration. She was the longest-serving monarch in British history, and in many regards the greatest. Alexander Larman, 2024 Texas migrant program has bused most border crossers to New York City, sending 38,900 since 2022 Texas has bussed more than 105,300 migrants to sanctuary cities around the US since it launched its program to move them out of the state. The first busload of migrants from the Lone Star State arrived in Washington, DC in April 2022 a few blocks from the US Capitol and just directly in from of the Fox News office where cameras were rolling. Gov. Greg Abbott has now sent over 12,500 border crossers to the nation's capital. New York City has received the most of all the destination cities, with over 39,100 sent to Gotham since August 2022. A whooping 32,200 migrants have been transported Chicago since August 2022. The surprise arrival of migrants in those three cities caused chaos and shock, with local officials blasting Abbott for not giving them any advanced warning. Texas has bused more than 105,000 migrants to so-called sanctuary cities since 2022, the governor's office announced Friday A bus, carrying the migrants from Texas, arrives in Port Authority bus station of New York, United States on May 03, 2023 Alejandra Perez , her former partner Jader Castro and her children Sharlott Barrios, 9, and Juan Sebastian Castro, 5, who are all Colombian asylum seekers, are welcomed by a volunteer after arriving by bus in Chicago from Texas, in downtown Chicago, Illinois, U.S., October 25, 2023 Dozens of migrants families are seen arriving from Texas at the Port Authority Bus Terminal early Sept. 6, 2023 Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began the migrant bus program in April 2022 New York officials accused the Republican governor of playing politics by sending migrants to Democratic-run cities and called his use of migrant to score points 'cruel.' 'Our city has been, and will always be, a city of immigrants that welcomes newcomers with open arms,' Mayor Eric Adams said at the time. But what a difference a few hundreds migrants makes. Just two months later, Adams had declared an emergency, asking for help to handle the 61,000 migrants that were in the city's shelters in October 2022. Given that Texas has only bussed some 39,000 two years later, not all of the people in Big Apple shelters were sent there by Abbott. Some 21,000 Chinese migrants have made their way to New York since October 2022, according to the New York Times. Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, on Wednesday held a joint press conference with the mayors of Chicago and Denver, who are also struggling to deal with the surge in migrant arrivals Migrants are seen arriving in Chicago, on a bus from Texas At least 4.35 million migrants have entered Texas since 2021, according to US Customs and Border Protection, the parent agency of the US Border Patrol. These number reflect only those who have been stopped by federal agents, not so-called 'gotaways' or illegal immigrants who were not taken into custody Chinese nationals are largely entering the country through Arizona and California, not the Lone Star State. As recent DailyMail.com reporting revealed, many of these Asian migrants have the money to travel from the border to their final destinations. Unlike the hordes of South American migrants arriving in Texas, who often cross the border without a penny to their name. Texas migrants buses Over 12,500 migrants to Washington, D.C. since April 2022 Over 39,100 migrants to New York City since August 2022 Over 32,200 migrants to Chicago since August 2022 Over 3,400 migrants to Philadelphia since November 2022 Over 16,600 migrants to Denver since May 18 Over 1,500 migrants to Los Angeles since June 14 Source: Office of Gov. Greg Abbott Advertisement Since Texas border cities like El Paso and Eagle Pass are not their final destination, local governments and non-profits have begrudgingly signed on to Gov. Abbott's bus program, which offers free rides who any migrant who volunteers. Migrants have to sign a waiver before boarding a charter out of Texas in cities like McAllen, Laredo, Brownsville, Del Rio, Eagle Pass and El Paso. From their, the migrants are dropped off to the city of their choice, which is most often New York, Chicago and Denver. The transportation has cost the state a staggering $86.1 million or about $1,650 per migrant from April 2022 to October 2023. The Mile High City, which only started getting migrants in May --- has received 16,600 migrants from Abbott so far. Abbott has sent 3,400 people to Philadelphia and another 1,500 to Los Angeles. North cities like New York and Chicago have whined that they could not handle the financial burden of caring for migrants, meanwhile a city like Eagle Pass, Texas, saw 23,000 migrants in just one week in December. New York City has an annual budget of $100,000 billion compared to Eagle Pass, whose 28,000 residents operate on a budget of $18 million. Texas communities like Eagle Pass and El Paso should not have to shoulder the unprecedented surge of illegal immigration caused by President Bidens reckless open border policies,' Abbott stated in September. Since Biden took office in 2021, more than 4.3 million migrants have been encountered by US Border Patrol crossing into Texas, federal statistics show. The amount of migrants Abbott has bused out of the state is just 4% of all those who have crossed into the Lone Star State. And yet, Abbott has caused chaos and and dominated the national narrative with just 105,000 migrants. 'I think what he's trying to bring attention to is that fact that there is a crisis, and that it does need to be addressed,' Eric R. Welsh, a partner at Reeves Immigration Law Group in LA told DailyMail.com. Despite lawsuits against the charter companies to try to stop the buses from arriving in New York and Chicago, Abbott has just changed his tactics, and started flying migrants into those cities. In a statement Friday, the governor promised to continue to 'fill the dangerous gaps created by the Biden Administrations refusal to secure the border.' Sometimes even being in a big city can be enough to make you feel small. But looking up into the empty vastness of space, the sheer size of the universe is almost impossible to comprehend. This incredible interactive graphic lets you explore the sheer scale of our universe, and get some appreciation for our small place within it. As we zoom out from our human perspective we see that the city that once seemed so overwhelming is only a tiny smudge on an insignificant rock amidst billions of others like it. And, at the scale of the Universe, we can see that the number of stars like our own is greater than all the grains of sand on Earth. This amazing interactive map lets you explore the true scale of the universe by zooming in and out from the scale of a human right out to the edges of the observable universe Even at the scale of Earth objects, humans look minute. Compared to the Great Pyramid of Giza, which are 150 metres tall, humans are barely visible Our Universe in numbers 10 million superclusters There are more superclusters in the universe than there are people living in London and Birmingham combined 2 trillion galaxies At its maximum flow 100,000 cubic feet of water flows over Niagra Falls every second. If every galaxy were shrunk down to one foot they would take 115 days to all flow over the falls. 40 quintillion black holes If every black hole in the Universe were shrunk down to the size of a single human hair and stacked up, the resulting would still be 0.25 light-years long. 70 septillion stars There are more stars than there are grains of sand on all the beaches of the world. 10 to the 25th power planets orbiting stars This number is so absurdly big that if every planet in the Universe were a carbon atom, stretched out in a single line this would stretch from the Sun to Neptune and back more than 50 times. Advertisement The interactive map is titled 'Scale of the Universe' and was created by computer scientist Cary Huang. To see just how small we are compared to the world around us, simply scroll out and watch as familiar landmarks vanish into insignificance. Or, to explore the world at the microscopic scale, zoom in to see everything from bacteria right down to the fundamental particles that make up the universe. To move faster, use the slider at the bottom (or side on mobile) to zoom in and out to smaller or larger objects. To learn more about any object you see, tap or click on any of the images which will bring up a fact box with extra information. You can also keep selecting smaller or larger objects to zoom in and out. As we move outwards from the size of a human, it is surprising just how fast we appear to be vanishingly small. Even compared to objects on Earth like the Great Pyramid of Giza, humans start to appear tiny. But as we reach the scale of planets and moons, thinking in terms of human sizes starts to become tricky. Professor Rob Crittenden, a cosmologist from the University of Plymouth, is an expert in the formation of the Universe and studies some of the biggest structures possible. He told MailOnline that even he struggles to wrap his head around the vastness of the Universe. He said: 'Comprehending such massive scales is difficult, and probably depends on the individual. 'I can work out from a human scale and try to picture larger and larger things; that provides some intuition, but my understanding in the end is mostly mathematical.' Zooming out further we can see how countries like the USA (bottom right) and continents like Asia (right) fit within the scale of the entire planet Our Sun might seem vast, but it is not even one of the largest stars. Aldebaran, for example, is 44 times larger than our star How many stars are out there? Our Solar System revolves around one star, the Sun. But, the Sun is only one of between 100 and 400 billion stars in the Milky Way. This is only one of more than 100 galaxies in the Virgo Supercluster which, itself only one part of even larger structures. It is estimated that there could be between 100-200 billion and two trillion galaxies in the Universe. Overall, scientists estimate that there could be around 70 septilion stars in the Universe. That's 70 followed by 23 zeros. Advertisement But even turning to numbers starts to become baffling quickly, and to see why we only need to think about our solar system. The Earth is a ball of rock and water 7,917 miles (2,742 km) in diameter. While that might sound pretty big, as we zoom out into the solar system it is quickly clear just how small that really is. Diagrams of the solar system generally show the planets neatly aligned and fairly close to one another. But the planets are only shown this way because showing their true distances is impossible in most formats. Even the moon, which seems so close, is actually 238,855 miles (384,400 km) from Earth - more than 140 times further than the Earth's diameter. The distance of the Earth from the Sun meanwhile is a massive 93 million miles (150 million km). Neptune, the last planet in the solar system, is an average of 2.8 billion miles (4.5 billion km) from the Sun, a distance so vast that light takes four hours to travel it. But, keep zooming out and even our solar system starts to feel quite small as we see that our sun is just a tiny part of the Milky Way Galaxy. Zooming out further we need to start looking at things in terms of distance travelled by light. For example, Voyager has travelled a little less than one light day from Earth This diagram attempts to show the true distance between the objects in our solar system. When we zoom out to the Oort Cloud at the edge of the Solar System the inner planets almost vanish If our sun were the size of a penny the the Milky Way would be 7.5 million miles across, more than 30 times the distance from Earth to the Moon Where could aliens be hiding? Based on what we know from Earth, for a planet to support life it needs to be the right distance from its star to keep some water liquid. In the Milky Way, NASA estimates that there are 300 million potentially habitable planets by the most conservative estimate. In the universe at large, it is estimated that there could be as many as ten thousand billion billion. Even if there is a very low chance of intelligent life emerging on any of these planets, the staggeringly high numbers make it very likely that at least some intelligent life is out there. However, the odds of any life emerging at the same time as our civilisation and being close enough to reach us is extremely low. This difference is often called the Fermi Paradox. Advertisement Professor Crittenden said: 'Within the Milky Way galaxy, our solar system is some distance from the centre, in an outer arm.' To measure the Milky Way itself we can no longer use miles and kilometres but must start thinking in terms of light-years. This is the distance light travels in one Earth year, which is 5.88 trillion miles (9.46 trillion kilometers). The Milky Way itself is 100,000 light-years across, while the Sun is about 25,000 light-years from its centre. If it helps your imagination, look at a penny and pretend that our sun is the size of that little coin. On this scale, the nearest star to the Sun, Alpha Centauri, would be 350 miles away. The Milky Way, meanwhile, would be more than 7.5 million miles across; that's more than 30 times the distance from the Earth to the moon. But the Sun is only one between 100 and 400 billion stars within the Milky Way. To try and get a handle on that number, if you stacked up 100 billion dollar bills on Earth the resulting tower would stretch into space 28 times higher than the orbit of the International Space Station. Zoom out even further still and you will soon find that even our Galaxy starts to look pretty small at the cosmic scale. Our solar system is only of between 100 and 400 billion in the Milky Way galaxy (middle left). The Milky Way itself is 100,000 light-years in diameter Professor Crittenden said: 'Galaxies either live on their own, in smaller structures known as groups, or in larger associations called galaxy clusters.' Due to the pull of gravity, structures like galaxies tend to be drawn together into tighter blobs of matter. The Milky Way is one of about 30 galaxies in the Local Group, a cluster of galaxies spread over about 10 million light-years. The Local Group includes our largest galactic neighbour, the Andromeda Galaxy which is 2.537 million light-years away. That is so far that the light that is now reaching us from Andromeda started its journey to our eyes more than two million years ago. This means when we look at Andromeda, we are actually looking back into the distant past. The Milky Way is one part of the Local Group (right), a cluster of galaxies spread over 10 million light-years. But this is only one part of the Virgo Supercluster which is more than 110 million light-years across This visualisation of the Laniakea filament or supercluster shows the arrangement of more than 100,000 galaxies over hundreds of thousands of light-years. Our own Galaxy is within this superstructure What galaxies are in our Local Group? Our local group is a cluster of about 30 galaxies.The four largest are: The Milky Way The Andromeda Galaxy The Triangulum Galaxy The Large Magellanic Cloud The group also contains a number of other dwarf galaxies and star clusters but these are mainly satellites of the main galaxies. Advertisement Finally, as we pull out even further, we begin to see the largest structures in the universe revealing themselves. At this scale, we can see that our local group is just a small neighbourhood on the outskirts of a massive structure called the Virgo Supercluster which is more than 110 million light-years across. However, Virgo is just one of about 10 million superclusters in the universe. At the cosmic scale, these superclusters clump together alongside individual galaxies to form sheets and walls of matter called filaments. These are impossibly vast structures, each of which contains hundreds of thousands of galaxies, themselves made up of hundreds of billions of stars; around one of which is orbiting the small rock upon which you are living. Our own filament, named Laniakea, is more than 500 million light-years across. But the Universe is even vaster still. Professor Crittenden explains that while the Universe is infinitely large there is a finite limit to what we can observe or what astronomers call a 'horizon'. Zooming out all the way on the interactive map brings you to the edge of the observable universe. We can only see as far as light has had time to travel, making the limits of the known universe 46.508 billion light-years across How big is the Universe? We don't actually know how big the Universe is or could be. Because the speed of light is limited we can only see as far as light has had time to travel. This means that the observable Universe has a Horizon. This Horizon is 46.508 billion light-years across. All we know is that the Universe is bigger than this, but there are no signs that it is even finite. Advertisement He said: 'The region of the Universe that we can observe is limited to our neighbourhood where light signals could have reached us in the finite age of the Universe. 'The full Universe must be larger than this horizon, and we haven't seen any indications that the Universe is finite; all we really know is that it is bigger than the part of it that we can see.' The most distant thing that we can see is something called the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR). 'When the Universe was young, it was incredibly hot, and there were all kinds of particles bouncing off each other, moving very quickly,' Professor Crittenden explains. As these particles cooled they eventually settled to 2.7 degrees Kelvin and the tiny amounts of radiation it produces gives us the final limit to what we can see. This means that the observable universe is estimated to be 46.508 billion light-years across. At this point, we are now dealing with numbers that are so absurdly large that they cease to lose any real meaning. This diagram is the biggest map we have showing the distribution of galaxies within the Universe. It gets its unusual shape because the centre of the Milky Way blocks a section of the Universe from Earth This artist's impression shows the universe on a logarithmic scale, which means that distances are shown on an exponentially smaller scale as it moves outwards. With this representation, you are able to see the whole universe from our Sun right out to the honeycomb structure of superclusters The size of the Universe in numbers Diameter of Earth - 7,917 miles (2,742 km) Distance from Earth to the Sun - 93 million miles (150 million km) Diameter of the Solar System (to the Oort Cloud) - 18.6 trillion miles (30 trillion km) Diameter of the Milky Way - 100,000 light-years Size of the Local Group of Galaxies - 10 million light-years Size of the Virgo Supercluster - 110 million light-years Size of the Observable Universe - 46.508 billion light-years Advertisement Having started with the size of a single human being, the universe is on a scale that makes even our own Galaxy fade into nothingness. But, it is also important to remember that by looking down rather than up, our own planet can seem impossibly vast as well. Imagine you are sitting on a beach at night; if you look up into the sky, even on a clear night you may only a few thousand stars; that's about as many as there are grains of sand in a handful taken from the beach. In fact, each cubic meter of sand contains 9 billion grains of sand meaning that there are, very roughly, 7.5 quintillion grains of sand on all the beaches of the world; that's 75 followed by 17 zeros. If you remember, there were only between 100 and 400 billion stars in the Milky Way. However, the Universe itself is believed to contain an estimated 70 septillion stars, that's 7 followed by 23 zeros - or 70 thousand million, million, million stars in the observable universe. But before you start to get lost in the vastness of space, imagine dipping your hand in the sea and letting ten drops fall. In those ten drops of water alone there were more molecules of water than there are stars in the observable universe. Now, if you can handle any more enormity, just know that Earth's oceans hold 1,233 quintillion litres of water. TikTok might be entering its flop era as users revealed the reasons why they are quitting the ultra-addictive app that witnessed an explosion in popularity over the past few years. Former TikTok user Keilah Bruce, who found herself constantly neglecting household chores like laundry and dishes, said the app's eerie algorithm seemed to start 'reading her mind.' She stopped using the app last year when content matching her private thoughts began surfacing on her feed, the 27-year-old accountant based in New York shared with the Wall Street Journal. For Samantha Rodriguez, 29, the habit of bedtime scrolling on TikTok took a toll on her marriage, as her husband repeatedly took her phone out of her hand at night. Gautam Mengi, a 27-year-old film school student and PR intern, admitted that his procrastination on schoolwork had affected his grades after spending too much time on TikTok. Keilah Bruce, 27, who found herself constantly neglecting household chores like laundry and dishes, said TikTok's eerie algorithm seemed to start 'reading her mind' For Samantha Rodriguez, 29, the habit of bedtime scrolling on TikTok took a toll on her marriage, as her husband repeatedly took her phone out of her hand at night TikTok might be entering its flop era as users revealed the reasons why they are quitting the ultra-addictive app that witnessed an explosion in popularity over the past few years 'It's one thing to know about you and another to know you,' Bruce explained the reason why she left the addictive app behind. She deleted TikTok for a few times but kept redownloading until October 2023, when videos that matched her thoughts began popping up on her phone. On multiple occasions, she would bring up a funny TikTok video during dinner with friends and spend the next few minutes trying to find it while her friends sat in silence. Bruce, who always played TikTok's sounds in the background while doing other work, was struck by silence when she deleted the app. She began texting and calling her family and friends more frequently, and making plans to go out in spare time, she shared. 'I'm at a good place now with my friends, my family, my dishes and my laundry. I don't want to sacrifice those things anymore,' she said. Mengi couldn't stop scrolling through TikTok videos while cooking, watching movies and even taking out the trash. His roommates 'felt disrespected' when he had to watch TikTok on their movie nights, he said. Gautam Mengi, a 27-year-old film school student, admitted that his procrastination on schoolwork had affected his grades after spending too much time on TikTok Several factors contribute to this trend, including misinformation, propaganda and concerns about data security affecting the platform Mengi also procrastinated on his schoolwork, leading to a decline in his grades due to the excessive time he spent on the app. After acknowledging the impact on his productivity, he deleted TikTok for the fourth time in December 2023. The decision proved successful. He has been able to carry two trash bags, chop ingredients without being interrupted and watch a film from start to finish without scrolling on his phone. His GPA saw improvement as well. Rodriguez, a 29-year-old who works at an estate-planning firm said: 'I would scroll TikTok while taking my dogs on a walk, and there were times I'd walk into a mailbox or a tree.' Late-night scrolling had affected her work performance the following day, she remembered. Moreover, her relationship with her husband became strained as she found it difficult to divert her gaze from the screen while in bed. 'Cutting the cord was difficult but worth it,' Rodriguez said. Since she deleted the app in October, she wakes up feeling refreshed every day. Like Bruce, Mengi, and Rodriguez, many young adults have opted to abandon the app, contributing to the sharp slowdown in user growth on TikTok over the past year. Analytics firm Data.ai shows the U.S. average monthly users aged between 18 and 24 declined by nearly 9 percent from 2022 to 2023 Lawmakers are advancing a new bill that would force Chinese state-affiliated ByteDance to divest TikTok or else be banned in the U.S. Analytics firm Data.ai shows the U.S. average monthly users aged between 18 and 24 declined by nearly 9 percent from 2022 to 2023. Several factors contribute to this trend, including misinformation, propaganda, and concerns about data security affecting the platform. Lawmakers are advancing a new bill that would force Chinese state-affiliated ByteDance to divest TikTok or else be banned in the U.S. Meanwhile, some users are simply deleting the app in their quest for more in-person experiences as Elizabeth Tate, 25, said: 'I realized I have a very finite amount of time on this planet.' 'There is so much I want to experience and accomplish and do. I was wasting so much time distracting myself,' she added. A TikTok spokeswoman said: 'TikTok offers several tools, from custom screen-time limits to sleep reminders, that are used by millions of people to help them make intentional decisions about how they spend their time.' Toby Carvery bills itself as the 'home of the roast' - where Sunday roasts are done 'properly'. But just how 'properly' is that? And how does the chain's low-cost offering compare to a fine-dining version of the classic Brit favourite? I endeavoured to find out, heading to a Toby Carvery in Worthing, West Sussex, for a three-meat roast costing the princely sum of 13.99, then trying the Sunday roast at London's only Michelin-starred pub, Fulham's renowned Harwood Arms, where a set three courses sets you back 70 plus tip. What happens when the humble Sunday roast gets the Michelin-star treatment? Can it possibly be worth paying high-end prices for when you can get essentially the same dish with change back from 20? Read on to find out... TOBY CARVERY - THE 'HOME OF THE ROAST' - WORTHING Katrina Conaglen tried out the Sunday Roast at Worthing's Toby Carvery, which charges 13.99 for a three-meat carvery. Wondering how elevated a roast could possible get, she then spent five times as much to try the feted Sunday roast at Fulham's Harwood Arms, the only Michelin-starred pub in London Inside Toby Carvery. Katrina noted the ambience was lacking - 'it's dining without flair' The carvery 'deck', where guests are invited to choose three meats, as well as all the trimmings - although the roast potatoes 'had the damp kiss of the microwave,' Katrina lamented Katrina says: 'I associate canteen-style buffets with the slop they served in the Mess Tent on M*A*S*H, so I fretted a little' It was a filthy February day when I headed to the Home of the Roast in Worthing. The very bones of me were cold - ideal circumstances for a bolstering feast. It was my first-ever Toby Carvery visit, but many friends I respect were, if not evangelical, certainly warmly affectionate about Toby's Sunday roasts. It was time to put this British institution through its paces. In the interest of journalistic rigour, I had intended to order a 'starter' of pigs in blankets. But as soon as I mentioned I planned on the carvery, my waiter informed me that the 'carvery deck' was around the corner and to queue there for my serving. As a carvery naif, I did as I was told. My dining companion ordered mac 'n' cheese, which was delivered and demolished by the time I returned with my laden plate. (They had schlepped out in a tempest to the restaurant with me, so I didn't admonish them. Also, they were 10 years old.) When I made it through the winding queue to the 'deck' I was told to choose three meats. Wanting to make it to pudding, I limited myself to slow-cooked beef and pork loin. I associate canteen-style buffets with the slop they served in the mess tent on M*A*S*H, so I fretted a little. Katrina opted for slow-cooked beef and pork loin for her choice of meats. She was impressed with the beef, wondering 'how they'd managed to keep a soft, yielding texture for meat now sunbathing under a heat lamp' According to Katrina, the Yorkies 'were the size of a sombrero' and an admirable effort I needn't have: The beef was tender. I slathered it in English mustard and wondered how they'd managed to keep a soft, yielding texture for meat sunbathing under a heat lamp. A form of wizardry. The pork loin, alas, erred towards what the Scots evocatively call 'chugh' - leathery meat. I had forgotten the apple sauce in the tumult of the 'carvery deck' - a fatal error. An undignified end for the poor pig. The roasties had the damp kiss of the microwave, but their interior had the critical 'smoosh' factor one needs from a Sabbath spud. Yorkies were the size of a sombrero. Though greasier than ideal, I was impressed - crispy exterior, pancake-y interior, substantive but not stodgy. Admirable. For her pudding, Katrina opted for apple and blackberry crumble, served with soft serve ice cream. She wanted 'to warm [her] insides as ballast against the squall outdoors' The state of the glassware left much to be desired, Katrina found: 'I'm not Lady Muck, but I do prefer a clean tumbler' Katrina, with dessert - warm stewed fruit crowned with hot golden rubble Dessert was apple and blackberry crumble. I wanted warm stewed fruit crowned with hot golden rubble, to warm my insides as ballast against the squall outside. And so it proved - a school dinner favourite, done perfectly well. Now, a moan. There's a Monty Python sketch in which a waiter, distraught his customer has been given a dirty fork, goes into increasing paroxysms of horror at letting the diner down. Reader, that waiter would spontaneously combust if he saw the glassware at Toby Carvery. I'm not Lady Muck, but I do prefer a clean tumbler. Verdict: Crucially, Toby's Carvery is not attempting a swizz - 13.99 for a mountain of well-prepared meat, endless veg, and as many roasties as you can pile on your plate. The ambience may be lacking - it's dining without flair - but if you're after a good feed, you're quids in. PROS: Flavoursome meat, comforting food, mountainous puddings, value for money. CONS: All the atmosphere of an airport lounge, queueing for food, dirty glassware. Rating out of five: *** Cost: 13.99 for three-meat carvery, with all the trimmings, 6.49 for a kid's meal / 9.98 for two desserts / 5 gratuity. Total cost for food: 35.46. Visit: www.tobycarvery.co.uk. THE HARWOOD ARMS, FULHAM The Harwood Arms in Fulham is the only Michelin-starred pub in London. Its famed Sunday Roasts come in at 70 a head for three courses - and you have to share the roast between two Of the pub's relaxed feel, Katrina says 'if you've swerved Michelin-star establishments in your time for fear of tedious poncery, The Harwood Arms will not frighten you' Katrina describes The Harwood Arms as a gastropub with 'thoughtful touches [that] suggest a studied casualness'. She says: 'There is a hint of a hunting lodge theme that stops short of going full, fusty Balmoral' Red deer tongue with beetroot and quince. Katrina said: 'Smokey, whisper-soft meat was cut through with the sweetness of the quince and beetroot' If you've swerved Michelin-star establishments in your time for fear of tedious poncery, The Harwood Arms will not frighten you. Definitely 'gastropub' in feel, thoughtful touches suggest a studied casualness - scuffed, leather-bound chairs, antique pine tables. There is a hint of a hunting lodge theme that stops short of going full, fusty Balmoral. That's reflected in the menu, which is heavily game-orientated, and offers gently remixed versions of time-honoured British standbys. We're not talking arty 'deconstructions' or weird-for-the-sake-of-weird innovation, just slightly more creative takes on dishes that - well, you can order at Toby Carvery. Ok, not my first course, in fairness. A starter of grilled red deer tongue, strafed with drops of quince paste and beetroot doesn't scream 'British comfort food.' But oh, let me tell you what a time I had eating it. Meat perfectly seared on the outside, with a superlatively yielding texture inside. Smokey, whisper-soft meat was cut through with the sweetness of the quince and beetroot. At the risk of sounding salacious, of all the tongue I've had in my time, I didn't expect a deer's to enter the top ten. Then, to the main event - Iberian Pork with Jowl, with apple sauce, Yorkie, roasties, broccoli and carrot. Toby Carvery doesn't tell you what farm its meat comes from, but The Harwood Arms does - and I have every reason to suspect my pig had a gorgeous life back at Whitley Manor, judging by how succulent yet lean it tasted. Ribbons of whisper-pink pork dissolved in my mouth. The Harwood Arms main: Iberian Pork with Jowl, with apple sauce, Yorkie, roasties, broccoli and carrot. The pork is sourced from Whitley Manor farm. Katrina said: 'I have every reason to suspect my pig had a gorgeous life back on Whitley Manor, judging by how succulent yet lean it tasted' As to the Yorkie? It was pretty good. Nothing rapturous. Yorkies are never the most flavoursome part of the roast, but it was just what you needed from a side dish that is essentially a carrier for other flavours, designed to complement one another. This is where the dish triumphed. Every component existed in symphonic accord with the other - the apple sauce made the pork sing, and the roasties acted as a carbohydrate conductor that brought the whole mouthful together. This was the platonic ideal of roasts. Can a roast dinner be elevated? You betcha. I did not particularly need nor want dessert, but, one-woman Woodward and Bernstein that I am, I ate it to bring you the culinary scoop. Apple parfait with hazelnut and shortbread. Cherub-fat orbs of fresh apple cream, cut through with delicate hazelnut ice cream and biscuit that snapped so crisply it could moonlight as a twig. 'This is what angels eat for breakfast,' I moaned. I had found a pudding so delectable it would be worth suffering the fate the kids in Willy Wonka endure for stealing sweets. Dessert was apple parfait with hazelnut and shortbread, which Katrina declared was 'what angels eat for breakfast' 'Pudding so delectable it would be worth suffering the fate the kids in Willy Wonka endure for stealing sweets,' Katrina enthused Reader - the meal was plentiful. I am truthful when I say I had to let my belt out two notches. Which is my only major complaint about Harwood. You have to have three courses on a Sunday, and you have to share the roast between two. Both caveats seem unreasonable - a roast is a hefty meal, and I loathe being overfull. Also, why should you have to have a companion with you to enjoy a handsome meal just because it's the Lord's Day? It's a silly prejudice, in my eyes. I'm sure there's a justification related to covers and overheads, but it sits poorly with me. Verdict: When you pay over the odds for a meal, the hope is, as much as anything, you're paying for an experience. Toby Carvery is food as background noise - an old sitcom episode you put on for comfort but also to talk over. At The Harwood Arms, food is the main event. The pub satiates hunger, yes, but more than that, they create gorgeous memories. I couldn't afford to eat like this with any regularity, but if your pound stretches to it, it's worth the splurge. PROS: Spectacularly delicious food, laidback atmosphere, pudding of celestial quality CONS: Seems churlish to insist on three courses, and having to dine with a guest, at these prices Rating out of five: **** Cost: 140 for three-course set menu for two / 20 gratuity. Total cost for food: 160. Visit: harwoodarms.com. Last year, Norwegian airline Corendon hit the headlines by announcing a flight with a cordoned-off 'Adults Only' section, where children are banned. As with so many stories regarding children in public places, it sparked fierce debate. But I think children - and babies especially - are unfair targets. As a travel writer and journalist, I've spent 14 years earning my bread, in part, from taking planes to foreign locales (I'm so sorry, environment). Over hundreds of flights, I've never found a baby as disruptive as a drunken lout. Or hen and stag groups, who have the power to make a plane cabin feel like 3am in a seedy nightclub, without the enticement of being tipsy and possibly scoring a snog. And then there are many, many men I've sat beside with a casual relationship to personal hygiene and a belief their flatulence deserves to be shared. Babies do not compare. They're animated butter balls of instinct and curiosity. When they squall and wail on a plane - unlike the aforementioned parties - it's not for lack of respect for your jolly holibobs. Like so many of us, theyre just strung out at being stuck in a glorified steel tube, screaming through air. More than this, though - I love babies on planes. Norwegian airline Carendon has cordoned off a section on certain flights to allow for 'Adults Only' passengers. Folly, says Katrina Conaglen, whose time travelling the skies has been vastly improved by the presence of babies Stay with me. I can't convince you to be charmed by a tot in your cabin but I can encourage you to observe them with anthropological fascination. Instead of rolling your eyes at the sight of an amorphous sleep thief in your row, try and enjoy their sweet face - gormless one minute, dignified and inquisitive the next, bobbling atop a cherub-chubby body. Or their baffling enthusiasm for everyday items, such as seatbelts and tray tables. How their contorted faces, when grumpy, look like miniature Winston Churchills, righteously affronted by the world before them. And if they smile at you it can pour right through you, like swigging fresh water in the desert. Watching these cute sentient potatoes thrill to the immeasurable surprise of their new environment can be a cheering spark of life on what can otherwise be quite a tedious, uneventful journey. I do understand, as well, and am deeply sympathetic to not liking babies. I get it. I know what they're doing wrong. They're smelly, sticky. Terrible conversationalists. Contribute little to society beyond bodily waste. Absolutely never pick up the tab. Babies on planes are a welcome sight, Katrina argues 'because it signifies humanity's ability to accept the awkward for the sake of the greater good' And I dont think babies should be allowed entry everywhere. Dont take them to a Quentin Tarantino film. Fox hunting. A strip club is Right Out. Im not, in short, a paid-up member of the Cult of Unquestioning Baby Adoration. Some are little bleep words. But I love seeing them on planes because it signifies humanitys ability to accept the awkward for the sake of the greater good. Our value as people lies in how we treat the smallest, most vulnerable members of society - and babies are the smallest of the small, the most helpless of us. Wittgenstein said 'the limits of our language is the limit of our world'. When babies cry - preverbal, half animal, all instinct - they're trying to make their world bigger, trying to integrate themselves into ours. I do understand and am deeply sympathetic to not liking babies. I get it - I know what they're doing wrong. They're smelly. Terrible conversationalists. Absolutely never pick up the tab. No, it is not enjoyable sitting next to a piping loud, distraught baby. I have huge empathy for non-parents wishing for a peaceful passage, robbed of their calm. And equal disdain for lax parents who allow their 'precious bundles' to watch rowdy Peppa Pig episodes on an iPad or kick the seat in front of them without asking them to can it. But I think we need to take the rough with the smooth. Child-free planes Reddit is a very funny internet rabbit hole in which people vent their spleen - anonymously - about how to deal with kids on planes. Suggestions range from sound-proofing the final few rows and making that the kid zone, to 'just chuck them in the overhead compartments' to 'banish them altogether'. The jokes, I love. But that final suggestion gets my hackles up. People who say 'dont take babies on planes' full-stop are suggesting parents should live in a hermetically sealed environment for a finite period of time while they upskill their sprogs. Punishing them for seeing that the world must be peopled. To which I say - raising a child ain't easy. It is, to paraphrase Jerry Maguire, an up-at-dawn, pride-swallowing siege. If anybody deserves a week in Tenerife, it's new parents. 'No, it is not enjoyable sitting next to a piping loud, distraught baby,' argues Katrina, 'but we need to take the rough with the smooth' I also wonder at people who moan about babies on a plane (yes, Im well aware that sounds like a family-friendly sequel to Sam L Jacksons 'Snakes on a Plane') - whether they're aware that they once, too - almost certainly - were a baby themselves. An infant Damien that inevitably drove their parents, and likely other adults, to swampy, heretofore unknown pits of frustration. We all were. I dont want to break into Elton John lyrics, but having patience when new babies are having their time being, well, jerks - thats the circle of life, innit? So, to Carendon, I say: The idea children and their parents belong in what is, essentially, a plane ghetto for daring to travel suggests that anything that causes temporary noise, inconvenience, and distraction must be outlawed to soothe the ire of certain individuals. It signifies that plane tickets belonging to the child-free are more valid than those belonging to parents with babes in arms, that collective, public spaces are actually their spaces. If you believe that, how on earth do we ever integrate children into society, and arm them with the skills, morals, and grace to become thoughtful adults? What, I guess I wonder, makes you so special, and them - barely baked - worth ostracising? A mum told how she found a new set of wings travelling the world for work after being inspired by her British Airways cabin-crew daughter to join the ranks. Christine Barnes, 66, said 'the world opened up to me' as soon as she stepped into the role back in 2011. Now, she heads a team of 22 crew members as an inflight manager onboard the Airbus A380 and has 'lost count' of how many countries she has visited - with Saudi Arabia next on her bucket list. Her lightbulb moment to change career came when she accompanied her daughter Sophie, 36, on a work trip and saw how much she was enjoying the role. 'I loved the professionalism and the camaraderie of the crew,' she said. 'I felt that I needed to be part of this lifestyle and I was looking for a new challenge.' Christine Barnes (right) decided to retrain as a British Airways flight attendant after seeing how much her daughter Sophie (left) enjoyed the role The mother and daughter worked on their first flight together, to Philadelphia. Here, they are pictured at a hotel in the U.S city Sophie, now a BA customer service trainer who sometimes flies as an inflight manager, encouraged her mum to apply for the job - convinced that Christine could bring skills from her previous career as a salon owner and hairdresser. Although the training was 'a challenge', Christine said the job has been amazing so far and she has no plans to stop any time soon. 'Some of our family were very surprised when I decided on a career change at a time when most people my age were winding down and thinking about retiring,' she said. 'I couldnt believe the places I was going to on a weekly basis - and the experiences I have shared with other crew, most of whom who are still friends.' Seven years into the role, Sophie moved from Gatwick Airport to Heathrow, where her mum is also based. The pair then worked on their first - and only - flight together, to Philadelphia, U.S. LEFT: Christine holding Sophie at her Christening in 1991. RIGHT: The pair are known by crew as 'Sophie's Mum' and 'Christine's Daughter' Christine said it was great showing her daughter the ropes onboard the aircraft and visiting Philadelphia's Rocky Steps together during the layover. In the style of the BBC show 'The Traitors', where contestants often have to conceal their true identity, they decided not to tell their fellow crew that they were related until they had touched down in the U.S. 'It was very strange to pretend that we didn't know each other,' Sophie said. 'Once the crew found out, they were surprised but could see the similarities.' The pair are now known by crew as 'Sophie's Mum' and 'Christine's Daughter' and said they would love for all of their family to experience the 'amazing lifestyle'. LEFT: Sophie, as a child, in Orlando, U.S. RIGHT: Sophie and Christine pictured in front of Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth Other funny moments include the time Sophie jumped on a flight to Vienna and surprised her mum at the boarding door. 'She had no idea I was joining her on the flight,' she said. 'It was so funny to see her so confused as to why I was there. I wish I could have captured it.' Christine said she hasn't experienced as many challenges as she thought she would, having changed career aged 55. 'I am healthy for my age, and I think to be crew you must be resilient,' she said. Christine heads a team of 22 crew members as an inflight manager onboard the Airbus A380 Sophie encouraged her mum to apply for the job - convinced that Christine could bring skills from her previous career as a salon owner and hairdresser. Here, the pair are pictured on a trip to New York in 2014 In fact, she has found that becoming crew later in life has helped her with adapting to the role and being a good manager. 'I find that I dont get homesick while I'm away but I do look forward to getting home after a trip,' she said. 'I often feel like a mother at work and find that I can draw upon the experiences of bringing up three children in my role as a manager. It is important as a manager and to listen and care for my team.' Sophie shared her mum's sentiments, setting the sky as the limit. 'Its never too late to start a new career or try and do something different,' she said. Anya Taylor-Joy stunned in an asymmetrical gold dress as she left the CAA pre-Oscars party in West Hollywood on Friday night. The Dune: Part Two actress, 27, put on a racy display in the sexy neligee dress, which she teamed with racy brown leather boots. At one point, an over-excited Anya had to be physically pulled back by a female friend as she exited the swanky party. The star was noticeably distracted by her pal's phone as they left the party at the Sunset Tower Hotel. Cillian Murphy was also in attendance at the star-studded party as fans eagerly wait to see whether he'll scoop the Best Actor prize at Sunday's Oscars. Anya Taylor-Joy, 27, stunned in an asymmetrical gold dress as she left the CAA pre-Oscars party in West Hollywood on Friday night The Dune: Part Two actress put on a racy display in the sexy neligee dress, which she teamed with racy brown leather boots The star was noticeably distracted by her pal's phone as they left the party at the Sunset Tower Hotel The Irish actor, 47, wore a double-breasted black suit and a black polka dot pocket square as he talked with guests. The Oppenheimer star himself was among the attendees of the BAFTAs, taking home the Leading Actor gong. Cillian's son was announced earlier in the week to be following in his father's footsteps by signing to a celebrity firm. In February, Anya was accused of Muslim cultural appropriation for her Dune: Part Two premiere outfit. Then, the star was accused of 'promoting starvation' after posing topless in a waist-cinching corset. Anya shot to fame in 2020 when she starred in Netflix smash hit The Queen's Gambit, but she also enjoyed prior success in Peaky Blinders. In 2023, Anya married American musician and actor Malcolm McRae in a lavish Italian ceremony after two years of dating. Later in 2024, Anya will lead post-apocalyptic action adventure film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, the fifth film in the Mad Max series. She was later very interested by something she saw on the same pal's phone at the exclusive party Cillian Murphy was also in attendance at the star-studded party held at the fancy Sunset Tower Hotel The Oppenheimer star himself was among the attendees of the BAFTAs last month, taking home the Leading Actor gong Cillian's son was announced earlier in the week to be following in his father's footsteps by signing to a celebrity firm Maceo "Troy" Streater, left, is congratulated by supporter Audrey Tyson, vice chairwoman of the New Haven Democratic Town Committee, after winning New Haven's Ward 21 special election to choose a replacement for former Dixwell-Newhallville-Prospect Hill alder Steven Winters on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023. Mark Zaretsky / Hearst Connecticut Media Maceo "Troy" Streater, left, is congratulated by former Dixwell-Newhallville-Prospect Hill alder Steven Winters after winning New Haven's Ward 21 special election to choose a replacement for Winter on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023. Mark Zaretsky / Hearst Connecticut Media New Haven Alder Troy Street, D-21, speaks at a press conference to announce the first round of grants under New Haven's Career Pathways Initiative on Monday, March 6, 2023. Mark Zaretsky / Hearst Connecticut Media Maceo "Troy" Streater, left, is congratulated by former Dixwell-Newhallville-Prospect Hill alder Steven Winters after winning New Haven's Ward 21 special election to choose a replacement for Winter on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023. Mark Zaretsky / Hearst Connecticut Media Maceo "Troy" Streater, center, is congratulated by a supporter after winning New Haven's Ward 21 special election to choose a replacement for former Dixwell-Newhallville-Prospect Hill alder Steven Winters on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023. Mark Zaretsky / Hearst Connecticut Media Maceo "Troy" Streater Maceo 'Troy' Streater / Contributed NEW HAVEN A city alder has sued the city for $100 million after serving 24 years in prison for a murder for which he was pardoned in April 2022. Newhallville Alder Maceo "Troy" Streater, D-21, claims in the suit that police coerced and intimidated witnesses, which led to the wrongful convictions of "innocent men." Former Police Chief Nicholas Pastore and four former officers Joseph Greene, Vincent Raucci, Robert Lawlor Sr. and Vaughn Maher are included as defendants with the city. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "Mr. Streater now brings this case to seek redress in damages for the grievous harms inflicted by his wrongful conviction and incarceration, to hold the City of New Haven Police Department accountable for the misconduct that ruined his life, and to prevent this miscarriage of justice from occurring to anyone else in the future," the lawsuit reads. The lawsuit claims homicide detectives Anthony DiLullo, now deceased, and Joseph Greene "intimidated, coerced, and bribed witnesses to give false statements to convict innocent men of serious crimes, including murders, resulting in hundreds of years of wrongful imprisonment." It also accuses the city of not punishing the men. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "Although the City of New Haven was aware of their outrageous misconduct, paid at least one victim, and became aware of many other cases over the years, neither Greene nor DiLullo were ever disciplined by Internal Affairs or otherwise held accountable," the lawsuit states. Contact information for Greene, Raucci, Maher was not available and they could not immediately be reached for comment. Their attorney did not respond to requests for comment and as of Friday had not filed a response to the lawsuit. The complaint does not name specific actions made by Raucci, Lawlor Sr., and Maher, though it does allege that the three of them acted in concert with DiLullo and Greene. As for former-Chief Pastore, the complaint alleges that he was aware of Greene and DiLullos pattern and practice of official misconduct, but Pastore failed to supervise and discipline the detectives. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Police spokeswoman Sgt. Cherelle Carr said the officers involved all were retired and therefore were not subject to discipline after Streater raised issues about their performance. Streater filed the suit Jan. 2, the day after he was sworn in to his first full term after winning reelection Nov. 7. It's also almost a year after he was elected to the Board of Alders in a special election to fill out the term of former Alder Steven Winter. The suit says the election is "a testament not only to his strength, character, and resilience, but also the potential destroyed by Greene, DiLullo, and the City of New Havens violation of his constitutional rights." The suit seeks $50 million in punitive damages and an additional $50 million in compensatory damages. Advertisement Article continues below this ad City Corporation Council Patricia King declined to comment on the lawsuit. In a written statement, King said that, similar to other lawsuits,"the city will review the case, participate in the litigation process in good faith, defend itself accordingly, and work towards an appropriate conclusion of the litigation, whether it be by trial or settlement." "Given Mr. Streater would be suing the city while he is an elected member of its legislative body, the Office of Corporation Counsel will also be reviewing what, if any, potential conflicts of interest and ethical implications may arise with the filing of this lawsuit," King wrote. Pastore declined to comment, saying, "It wouldn't be wise of me to say anything with the litigation pending." Advertisement Article continues below this ad He added, "What am I supposed to remember after all these years? There's nothing for me to say because I don't know much about the case." The suit stems from the May 8, 1990, fatal shooting of 19-year-old Terrance Gamble near Shelton Avenue and Argyle Street. The lawsuit contends Streater, a then 23-year-old father of two employed by Southern New England Telephone Company, was at church at the time of the shooting and was not involved. "Maceo Troy Streater had nothing to do with it," it reads. The suit continues that the fingerprints found on the shell casings recovered at the scene did not match Streater and there was no DNA evidence to connect him to the crime. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "But due to Greene and DiLullos intimidation and coercion of witnesses to give false statements, and the City of New Haven and its policymakers deliberate indifference toward their misconduct, Mr. Streater was falsely arrested and wrongfully imprisoned for almost 25 years for the Gamblemurder without any physical or forensic evidence tying him to the crime," the suit states. Greene, Lawlor, Raucci and Maher "were personally involved in the investigation of the Gamble murder and in Mr. Streaters arrest, prosecution, and conviction," according to the lawsuit. "Each of these individuals had knowledge of the means and methods of the investigation, the lack of probable cause implicating Mr. Streater, the existence of coerced and fabricated witness testimony, the lack of forensic or physical evidence," the lawsuit states, "and despite having an opportunity and a duty to do so, none took any action to prevent the unconstitutional activities described herein." Streater's lawyer, Alex Taubes said Streater "poignantly, lost almost 25 years of his life" because of the wrongful conviction. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "Mr. Streater never committed the crime," Taubes said. "The tragic murder of Mr. Terrance Gamble had nothing to do with Troy Streater." The Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles pardoned and expunged Streater's murder charges on April 6, 2022, the lawsuit states, acquitting him from the conviction. "The board doesnt provide an explanation for its decisions, but Streaters application was submitted at a time of increased awareness of the investigative methods" and related credibility issues of two of the police officers involved, according to an entry on Streater on the National Registry of Exonerations website. The National Registry of Exonerations is a project of the University of California - Irvine's Newkirk Center for Science & Society, the University of Michigan Law School and the Michigan State University College of Law. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "Throughout this entire ordeal, Mr. Streater has steadfastly maintained his innocence and his faith that justice will prevail," the lawsuit states. Taubes pointed to the city's recent, record $45 million settlement of a civil rights lawsuit filed after Richard "Randy" Cox was paralyzed while in police custody as a sign something will be done here too. "I believe that this administration is ready to look at the wrongs of the past," he said. "I believe that this administration really is willing to turn the page and see that justice will prevail." He's the ultimate action-fighting hunk who has had his fair share of hair-raising combat scenes. But as Jason Statham releases another action-packed extravaganza, The Beekeeper - his stunt team and fellow fight actor, Taylor James (Lazarus), gave MailOnline an insight into what it takes to be a supreme action hero. For us mere mortals, mastering the art of minimal contact combat is challenging enough, never mind perfecting Jason's smouldering charisma alongside it. Pulling of a convincing fight scene is considered a skill in itself as it takes a lot more than just a bit of acting and an abandoned warehouse. Not only must Jason and his team achieve peak physical condition to convince TV bosses that he is actually strong enough to break someone's jaw with his palm, but they must also be in tune to the exact second to block, duck and jab. Could YOU keep up with Jason Statham: Here's what happened when we tried to copy the action man's gruelling stunts from The Beekeeper with a member of his stunt team (left) To uncover the magic behind the scenes, MailOnline went to London's famous Studio 64 to see how Jason's stunt choreographer and fellow actors perfect those crucial nail-biting fight sequences that keep film fans coming back for more So how do they do it? To uncover the magic behind the scenes, MailOnline went to London's famous Studio 64 to see how Jason's stunt choreographer and fellow actors perfect those crucial nail-biting fight sequences that keep film fans coming back for more. As someone who barely exercises and considers lifting a glass of wine on the weekend as cardio, I was nervous, to say the least. Shaking hands with the 6ft3in pack of muscles that is Taylor, I almost instantly thought I had made a big mistake by agreeing to the stunt class. Sitting in a group with nine other nervous hopefuls, Taylor and award-winning stunt performer Marvin Campbell - known for Inception, Kingsman and Casino Royale- start battling it out in the middle of the studio. Kicking it off with a quick jab to the throat, a blistering strike to the knee and a death stare into my soul, I knew I was in for a challenging morning. In awe of watching the most realistic-looking fake fight of my life, I was eager to know what move I would be taught. It turns out I was learning the whole thing. In disbelief, I turned to the mirror and started padding up with as much protective gear as possible. As someone who barely exercises and considers lifting a glass of wine on the weekend as cardio, I was nervous, to say the least Shaking hands with the 6ft3in pack of muscles that is Taylor, I almost instantly thought I had made a big mistake by agreeing to the stunt class Sitting in a group with nine other nervous hopefuls, Taylor and award-winning stunt performer Marvin Campbell (second from left) - known for Inception, Kingsman and Casino Royale- start battling it out in the middle of the studio Kicking it off with a quick jab to the throat, a blistering strike to the knee and a death stare into my soul, I knew I was in for a challenging morning When I was told I was going to get a punch to the face, and my defence was grabbing his arm, swinging him around my body before throwing him to the floor and kicking his knee to the ground, I genuinely started to laugh I even opted for three T-shirts - I was taking no chances. Marvin split the room into three groups, each with a woman playing Jason and two men acting as the bad guys. Just like Jason, I was given 30 minutes to practice one-on-one with Marvin and my team before I had to perform in front of a room full of actors, fitness enthusiasts, and stuntmen. The pressure was on. Up against a knife-wielding attacker and his accomplice, I start my big fight scene with a classic jab to the throat after some seemingly straightforward watch and repeat exercises. Shaped like a thick 'L', I launched my palm at the innocent amateur actor who, after knowing me for five minutes, needed to sync and move to the exact length of my arm to avoid getting throttled in the throat. Initially riddled with nerves, I quickly became comfortable with throwing punches at my fellow guests as I was squeezing a hypothetical knife out of one hand and backhanding him in the face in a matter of minutes. So when Marvin told me that I was going to get a punch to the face, and my defence was grabbing his arm, swinging him around my body before throwing him to the floor and kicking his knee to the ground, I genuinely started to laugh. I am not a petite person by any means, but swinging a fully grown man to the floor using just his body weight against him wasn't something I was confident in doing after my five-minute tutorial. It took seven rounds of grabbing this poor man, who also had no idea what he was signing himself up for, by the arm and throwing him around the studio. And hats off to my fighting partner. He nailed his landing every time, and his explosive reactions got bigger and better with every run-through. Feeling like the ultimate Bond girl but resembling something more of WWE's Big Show, I was starting to think I was getting the hang of minimal-contact violence. But in typical showbiz fashion, there is no good scene without a good album of bloopers. Tasked with kicking my opponent when he was down before going into a Karate Kid-style kick to the stomach of my other enemy, my minimal-contact sporting hour was quickly put to a stop. Channelling my inner Transporter in the heat of the moment, I accidentally kicked my fellow amateur in the hands as he tried to block my kick to the stomach What takes Marvin, Jason and their team 30 minutes to perfect, took me 45 minutes, endless practice rounds and I still couldn't pull out an Oscar-worthy performance Tasked with kicking my opponent when he was down before going into a Karate Kid-style kick to the stomach of my other enemy, my minimal-contact sporting hour was quickly put to a stop. Channelling my inner Transporter in the heat of the moment, I accidentally kicked my fellow amateur in the hands as he tried to block my kick to the stomach. They were the longest three seconds of my fighting career. Wide-eyed and not bushy-tailed at 7am, I glared at my partner and quickly mouthed 'sorry' as I stopped the run-through. Like a true champion, he played it off like he didn't just get kicked in a move that is supposed to be non-contact. I couldn't tell if I was impressed more by Taylor's enthusiasm to a bunch of uncoordinated members of the public or at the fact that this guy has just been kicked for real and pretended nothing happened. Trying to look past the almost awkward ordeal, I was onto the final sequence of my acting debut. With a quick duck, an upper hook to the chin, and a finishing backhand, I was apparently set with all the tools I needed to pull off the best fight performance of my life. My time was upon me to perform my big break and after forgetting to duck in my final scene and almost kicking my poor partner, once again, I was hit the reality that I would not be making it as the next Kate Nauta. As a child, I was convinced I could have been an actress, but I have been officially humbled. What takes Marvin, Jason and their team 30 minutes to perfect, took me 45 minutes, endless practice rounds and I still couldn't pull out an Oscar-worthy performance. Jason, I will sadly not be your next partner in crime because I am confident Marvin would not let me an inch near a fistfight in a warehouse; never mind let me drive a car of a bridge. Sky Cinema's The Beekeeper was released in cinemas March 8. It sees Adam Clay, played by Jason, as a beekeeper, and someone very important to him is scammed and driven to harm. But what the power-hungry scammers don't know is that Adam is an agent in a classified program called Beekeepers, and they underestimate how much of a threat he is. Adam sets out on a quest for vengeance, where he hunts and kills those responsible for the incident. Netflix fans have hailed a shocking new true crime series 'a definite must watch' as they shared their concerns for US intelligence agencies. The series unravels the gruesome true story of an investigative journalist, who was found dead in a bathtub at a motel in Martinsburg, West Virginia, in August 1991 after pursuing a conspiracy group. Danny Casolaro died from a loss of blood after suffering multiple slash wounds to his wrists inflicted by 'a very sharp bladed object' - and local authorities quickly ruled it a suicide. However, his family and friends have long insisted that he had been murdered for investigating a conspiracy he had called The Octopus, in which government officials had been involved in covert missions. In the four-part docuseries journalist Christian Hansen works to unpack the mystery surrounding Danny's death and the conspiracy theory he was investigating. Netflix fans have hailed a shocking new true crime series 'a definite must watch' as they shared their concerns for US intelligence agencies The series unravels the gruesome true story of an investigative journalist, who was found dead in a bathtub at a motel in West Virginia, in August 1991 after pursuing a conspiracy group Sharing their thoughts on X, one viewer wrote: 'I'm watching American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders. The last 15 mins were nuts. I was so surprised at what happened that I rolled it back to rewatch that couple of seconds. Guess what, I was surprised again. Another added: 'American Conspiracy, The Octopus Murders on Netflix was really good. Not sure I completely understand it, its 4hrs and probably could have been twice that. It definitely makes our intelligence agencies look very dirty.' 'The Octopus Murders on Netflix is a definite must watch. I feel like we are all in trouble now,' a third person shared. Someone else posted: 'American Conspiracy: The Octopus is an absolutely wild documentary on Netflix.' 'Stop everything youre doing and watch American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders on Netflix. Not being dramatic this is insane,' one fan said. The chilling case began when Danny started investigating a dispute between the Department of Justice and a technology company called INSLAW. The clash appeared to be over intellectual property rights but it soon seemed that it had a much more sinister underbelly. His family and friends have long insisted that he had been murdered for investigating a conspiracy he had called The Octopus In the four-part docuseries journalist Christian Hansen (pictured) works to unpack the mystery surrounding Danny's death and the conspiracy theory he was investigating One fan shared: 'The Octopus Murders on Netflix is a definite must watch. I feel like we are all in trouble now' Following months of research, Danny is said to have stumbled into a web of 'stolen government spy software, a string of unsolved murders, and some of the biggest political scandals of the 20th century,' according to Netflix. The writer believed he had uncovered a hidden organization, which he branded as The Octopus, made up of eight ex-government officials. Excerpts purporting to be from Danny's research, shared in the new trailer for the docuseries, asserted: 'These eight men, they're no longer government officials but their tentacles can reach into any part of government in almost any country.' Danny Casolaro pictured The journalist thought that the conspiracy had all started with Promis - a computer program which sources in the series claimed 'allegedly allowed the CIA to spy on the intelligence agencies that bought it.' And it seems the program was engulfed in shocking speculation including that 'everyone who worked on it are dead.' There were a string of suspicious deaths seemingly linked including three men who were fatally shot and another who had a 'wire running from around his neck to his ankles.' Danny became 'obsessed' with bringing the entirety of the story to light - but never got the chance to finish his investigation. In the summer of 1991, he headed out to the motel expecting to interview a key source for the story but would never make it back. His death was ruled a suicide but many believed that his wounds were far from self inflicted - a sentiment echoed by those who feature in Netflix's upcoming series. 'It just didn't sit right. In my mind, I'm thinking "they killed him,"' one commentator urged. The chilling case began when Danny started investigating a dispute between the Department of Justice (headquarters in D.C., pictured) and a technology company called INSLAW The writer believed he had uncovered a hidden organization, which he branded as The Octopus, made up of eight ex-government officials 'In the book that Danny was writing, he starts looking into these powerful people and realizes there's something much bigger going on.' 'Most of us were convinced he had been hurt for him covering this story,' a woman added. Another man explained: 'I told him not to talk to certain people. Not to raise certain issues.' The trailer dramatically concludes with a warning apparently issued to the documentary makers themselves, which states: 'If you think for a minute that you're gonna go expose somebody, you're gonna get yourself killed.' Viewers saw the exact moment Married At First Sight groom Tim Calwell had his heart ripped out of his chest when he found out his bride Sara Mesa cheated on him. But just days after, the Gold Coast-based online business owner, 31, appeared to be in a much better mood as he enjoyed an outing with co-stars Jonathan McCullough and Jayden Eynaud. The trio were also joined by Jayden's 'bride' Eden Harper, who accused Sara of secretly meeting up with an ex-boyfriend behind her TV husband Tim Calwell's back in scenes which aired on Wednesday evening. The group was seen walking along Coogee Beach, engaged in animated conversation and laughter. At one point, Jayden and Jono were seen trying to console Tim, who appeared somewhat downcast. Married At First Sight groom Tim Calwell, 31, (centre) appeared to be in a much better mood as he enjoyed an outing with co-stars Jayden Eynaud, 26, and Jonathan McCullough, 39, following bride Sara Mesa's shock cheating scandal Viewers saw the exact moment the Gold Coast based groom's had his heart ripped right out of his chest when he found out Sara cheated on him behind his back during Wednesday's episode Tim kept it cool in a crisp white hoodie, black shorts and flip-flops. Jayden donned a casual black hoodie paired with shorts, striking a relaxed pose. The professional fighter, who isn't camera shy, showed off his incredible eight-pack abs, opting to go shirtless for outing. Jono meanwhile opted for a laidback look in a grey hoodie, and Eden showed off her fit figure in stylish activewear. The trio were also joined by Jayden's 'bride' Eden Harper, who accused Sara of secretly meeting up with an ex-boyfriend behind her TV husband Tim's back The group was seen walking along Coogee Beach, engaged in animated conversation and laughter At one point, Jayden and Jono were seen trying to console Tim, who appeared somewhat downcast Following Wednesday night's episode, Eden spoke to Daily Mail Australia and revealed that Tim and Jono would often crash her weekend dates with Jayden. 'I didn't mind the boys crashing mine and Jayden's date nights. And I said that Tim could do that again the weekend following of that dinner party,' she explained. 'He did come and hang out with us and we spent the day with him. He was feeling very defeated. And I think it was really nice for him to have the support of Jono and Jayden and myself as well.' Tim kept it cool in a crisp white hoodie, black shorts and flip-flops Jayden donned a casual black hoodie paired with shorts The professional fighter showed off his incredible eight-pack abs, opting to go shirtless for outing The reality star quartet were seen chatting on the edge of a cliff for several minutes At one stage Eden and Jayden were seen posing for photos alongside the picturesque ocean views Eden held onto Jayden as she made her way around the rock Jayden was then seen posing for a solo photo Daily Mail Australia had exclusively revealed Eden was going to expose Sara's 'secret meetings' with her ex-boyfriend, leading to intense speculation. After isolating from the group activities at the retreat, her husband Jayden Eynaud expressed his concern, leading to her claiming that Sara had secretly met her ex-boyfriend behind her 'husband' Tim's back. She claimed via text that Sara had asked her to borrow some clothes for dinner, before shockingly revealing that she was meeting up with her ex-boyfriend. Dropping the bombshell, she said: 'Just before the retreat, someone in the experiment sent me a message asking me for clothes, she's like "I want to wear a cool top to dinner tonight". Eden claimed that via text Sara had asked her to borrow some clothes for dinner, before shockingly revealing that she was meeting up with her ex-boyfriend 'And I was like sweet, and I'd written to her, "where are you going to dinner?" and when I've opened it, she's said "I'm seeing my ex-boyfriend". It's Sara.' A shocked Jayden insisted Sara's alleged actions equated to 'cheating' and the couple - who have both been cheated on by exes - agreed that Tim needed to know. Jayden was left enraged upon learning of his wife's claims, and insisted that it was 'cheating' as he told Eden that they needed to tell Tim, and she was quick to agree. A teaser clip for Wednesday's episode showed Eden telling Sara that if she didn't come clean about her antics the weekend before, then she would tell Tim in a cliffhanger ending. Sister Wives star Janelle Brown shared the last family photo she took with her six children - including son Garrison Brown, who died by suicide at age 25 on Tuesday, March 5. The mourning mother shared the bittersweet image of her with her children and grandchildren from three months prior - during Christmas 2023. Janelle captioned the photo: 'I had all my children together last Christmas. It was amazing as it's hard with everyone's busy lives to coordinate time like this.' Adding: 'I am extremely grateful now that we had pictures taken.' Sister Wives star Janelle Brown shared the last family photo she took with her six children - including son Garrison Brown, who died by suicide at age 25 on Tuesday, March 5; Pictured from left: Logan Brown, his wife Michelle Petty, Gabriel Brown, Madison Brown and her husband Caleb with their three children Axel, Evie and Josephine, Janelle Brown, Savannah Brown, Garrison, Hunter Brown's girlfriend Audrey Hubert and Hunter. Janelle's six children - all with Kody Brown - were pictured in the image: Logan, 29, Madison, 28, Hunter, 27, Garrison, Gabriel, 22, and Savannah, 19. Madison was pictured with husband Caleb and their three children: Axel, Evie and Josephine; Logan with his wife Michelle Petty and Hunter with his girlfriend Audrey Hubert. Garrison, born Robert Garrison Brown, died by suicide by a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Tuesday, March 5, at his home in Flagstaff, Arizona at age 25. He struggled with depression and addiction, and is claimed to have had problems with a ex-girlfriend. His three roommates Tyler, Cheyenne, and Addison - gave their accounts to law enforcement. Garrison (pictured second from left) with his sister Savannah Brown (left) and his brother Hunter (right - with his girlfriend Audrey Hubert, second from right) The Sun revealed details from the police report in a report on Thursday as an officer wrote: 'Addison stated that he has had conversations with [Garrison] about him being depressed lately. 'He stated that [Garrison] is an alcoholic and drinks every night.' Addison claims to have spoken to the reality star the night before his suicide and that he had appeared 'intoxicated' and though they had spent plenty of time together the roommate said that nothing Garrison ever said was a 'red flag.' There allegedly was more going on than just substance abuse according to the police report. It read that Addison 'stated that he knew that [Garrison] was having problems with his ex-girlfriend and that he was not a very happy person.' Garrison's other roommate Cheyenne corroborated Addison's story regarding the struggles as she did not know him very well but had been talking more recently. The police report read: 'She stated that she talked a little more in-depth with him about how he was struggling with drinking and his depression surrounding that.' Sister Wives star Garrison Brown struggled with depression and addiction and is claimed to have had problems with an ex-girlfriend ahead of his tragic death by suicide at age 25 according his roommates a police report obtained by The Sun revealed on Thursday This comes after it was revealed that Garrison reportedly sent 'troubling' messages ahead of his tragic death by suicide at age 25 According to the police report, obtained by TMZ, law enforcement spoke with his mother, Janelle Brown, who revealed he sent 'ominous' final texts to 'some people the day prior' to his passing The outlet reported that Janelle told police that 'Garrison had texted a group of people that the Brown family works with [presumably from their show]' This comes amid a previous report that Brown had reportedly sent 'troubling' text messages. According to the police report, obtained by TMZ, law enforcement spoke with his mother, Janelle, who revealed he sent 'ominous' final texts to 'some people the day prior' to his passing. The outlet reported that Janelle told police that 'Garrison had texted a group of people that the Brown family works with [presumably from their show].' One message that he allegedly wrote read: 'I want to hate you for sharing the good times. But I can't. I miss these days.' While Janelle did not seemingly receive any of these texts, when word got back to her about them, she 'texted Garrison' directly. They proceeded to have a 'brief conversation for a few minutes before he stopped responding.' She, then, reached out to her other children to 'see who could go check on Garrison.' Garrison's younger brother Gabriel, 22, volunteered and was, unfortunately, the one to find Garrison dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Flagstaff, Arizona, on Tuesday. TMZ also revealed that 'some' of Garrison's three roommates 'heard a pop on Monday night... but didn't think it was a gunshot' and 'none of them' checked on 'Garrison to see what happened.' When Gabriel discovered his brother's body and called 911, 'that's when the roommates say they realized' Garrison was dead. While Janelle did not seemingly receive any of these texts, when word got back to her about them, she 'texted Garrison' directly In her own Instagram tribute, Janelle said of her late son: 'He was a bright spot in the lives of all who knew him' The outlet noted that the 'roommates say Garrison was known in the household to struggle with alcohol.' Gabriel, however, was completely unaware that his sibling was struggling as Garrison seemed to be 'doing okay on his own' after getting a new job at a medical facility. Janelle also informed the police that Garrison was estranged from his father, Kody. Back in February 2022, Kody said during an episode of Sister Wives that he and Garrison and his other son Gabe were 'not good' and 'not talking' as they clashed with him over what they felt to be onerous protocols he implemented amid the coronavirus pandemic. 'It's changed everything for everybody, and they want it all to be the same - they need to realize that they should go and date that girlfriend, that's fine, but you need to move out of the house so I can be home,' he said. In an episode of the TLC series chronicling the tension in the family, according to People, Janelle said in a confessional interview that she felt Garrison 'just seems angry or sadder, like, he's not as happy-go-lucky as he used to be' amid the family strife over pandemic precautions. 'I have worried about my boys' mental health. Gabriel feels everything very, very deeply. But he's also the kid who doesn't say anything,' she said. Amid the clash in philosophies over the pandemic, Garrison moved out from his parents home and eventually settled in Arizona in 2021. Kody talked about the issues with his sons in a May 2023 episode of the series, saying he was upset with the situation. 'I haven't been in touch with Gabriel and Garrison for quite a while,' Kody said. 'I'm pretty sad that I'm not close [to them] anymore.' He added that 'there was just so many things in our lives that we did that were rich together, you know, just special experiences'. Kody said that he thought and hoped that they could 'get over this' in time. Kody Brown had bene feuding with his son Garrison in recent years, but it's unsure if they had made amends before his death Kody pictured in 2015 with his four wives: Janelle, Christine, Meri, and Robyn Brown 'Right now, there's not really an open door with Gabe and Garrison,' he said. 'They're not willing to engage me.' Kody has five daughters and one son from his other ex-wife Christine, and one child with Meri named Leon. Kody first married Meri in 1990, then added a spiritual union with Janelle, then Christine and the Robyn. Kody legally divorced Meri in 2014 so he could legally marry his fourth wife, Robyn. Meri and Kody split for good in January 2023. In December 2022, Meri revealed that it was Kody who 'made the decision' to end their 32-year 'spiritual marriage.' Janelle and Kody were spiritually wed in January 1993 and split in December 2022. Christine and Kody were spiritually wed from 1994 until 2021. He spiritually wed Robyn in 2010 and became legally wed in 2014. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. Anna Marie Tendler, the ex-wife of actor John Mulaney, is slated to release a memoir titled Men Have Called Her Crazy this August. The book promised to provide details into her love life. But it is reported that his name is not mentioned in the book at all because the book is about the last two years, and she split from John over three years ago; he went on to have a child with Olivia Munn. 'It is a story about mental health; about being a woman; about family,' Tendler wrote via social media. 'And finally, about the endless source of my heartbreak and rage - men.' The Connecticut native says the book is a collection of experiences about how men have treated her. Despite fan speculation, TMZ reported on Friday that 'sources with direct knowledge - who've already read Anna's memoir - said that John is never mentioned in her forthcoming offering ... either directly or indirectly.' Anna Marie Tendler, 38, the ex-wife of actor John Mulaney, 41, is slated to release a memoir titled Men Have Called Her Crazy this August, providing details into her split with the actor-comedian The former couple was pictured on the red carpet in NYC in July of 2019 Although she does touch on men in her life, the author mostly focuses on her journey with mental health. Tendler noted that the book 'is now available for pre-order,' and asked her 329,000-plus followers to share a link 'with anyone for whom you think this book might resonate.' Mulaney and Tendler wed on July 5, 2014 at the Onteora Mountain House in the Catskill Mountains in Boiceville, New York with notable names such as Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler in attendance, US reported at the time. Mulaney in July of 2021 filed for divorce to end the marriage to Tendler, who told People via her rep that she was 'heartbroken that John has decided to end our marriage.' In the months leading to the divorce, Mulaney had checked into a rehab facility in December of 2020 for a 60-day stint. Days after the divorce was announced, reports emerged that Mulaney was romantically-linked to actress Olivia Munn, 43, and the pair emerged publicly four months after. In November of 2021, Mulaney and Munn welcomed son Malcolm Hiep Mulaney. 'He has his whole life ahead of him,' Mulaney said alongside of a picture of his son he shared to Instagram on Christmas Eve 2021. 'He hasnt even tried seltzer yet. Im very in love with him and his whole deal.' Tendler later took to the social media site to thank people who pre-ordered her book The Connecticut native visual artist-writer said that the memoir is the product of her life experiences John now has a child with actress Olivia Munn Tendler opened up on the emotional impact left in the aftermath of her divorce in a Harper's Bazaar interview in January of 2022. 'Everything that has transpired has been totally shocking and I think surreal,' Tendler said. 'In a way, I feel like, well, it can only go up from here, because I reached the depth of where I could go.' Tendler in June of 2023 said in a piece for Elle that she'd been 'hospitalized for depression, self-harm, and severe suicidal ideation in the first two weeks of 2021,' months before her split from Mulaney. She said that her late pet canine Petunia helped buoy her spirits amid the turbulent time. 'The doctors asked me to make a list of my reasons for living,' Tendler said. 'Petunia was the one and only thing on that list.' Kurt Russell considers himself lucky to have found love with someone like Goldie Hawn even after 40 years together. The Hateful Eight actor, 72, gushed over the 78-year-old Oscar winner, sharing the secret to their lasting romance when asked during a recent interview with Esquire. 'If you're lucky enough to get with Goldie Hawn, it's just how long she can put up with you,' he said with a huge smile. 'Talk about the whole package,' he continued. 'Goldie's what you think she is: women adore her, men love her.' 'And if you don't, there's something wrong with you.' Kurt Russell still considers himself lucky to have found love with someone like Goldie Hawn even after 40 years together The Hateful Eight actor, 72, gushed over the 78-year-old Oscar winner, sharing the secret to their lasting romance when asked during a recent interview with Esquire; pictured in 2014 The couple whose only child, son Wyatt, just welcomed his second child has truly defied Hollywood odds with their years-long relationship. The lovebirds initially crossed paths on the set of the 1968 film The One And Only, Genuine, Original Family Band when she was 21 and he was just 16. However, it wasn't until they reunited for the filming of Swing Shift in 1983 that they decided to embark on a romance, a move that could have easily gone awry. 'I was severely hungover,' Kurt told Conan O'Brien about the first time he asked Goldie on a date. 'I just didn't have in my mind what I was going to see. She had a great body, and so the first that came out was 'Man, you've got a great figure.' It kind of came out quickly, and it could've been wrong, and she said, 'Why, thank you.'' Goldie gushed about their initial romance as well, telling Ellen DeGeneres in 2020, 'I remember about Kurt, not only being really sexy and handsome and all that stuff, and fun a good co-star. 'I loved the way he looked at my children. It was really something special and that washe's good with kids. And I kind of went, 'Oh my god. This is amazing.'' During a July 2023 interview with CNN's Chris Wallace, Goldie provided an explanation for why she has never married Kurt. 'If you're lucky enough to get with Goldie Hawn, it's just how long she can put up with you,' he said with a huge smile; pictured in 1991 'Talk about the whole package,' he continued. 'Goldie's what you think she is: women adore her, men love her'; pictured 1983 The couple whose only child, son Wyatt, just welcomed his second child has truly defied Hollywood odds with their years-long relationship; pictured 1984 'When it doesn't work out, it ends up to be big business,' she began. 'It's always ugly. Somebody actually has to take a look and say, 'How many divorces actually are fun? How many divorces actually don't cost money? How many divorces actually make you hate the person more than you did before? How many divorces have hurt children?' Back in 2020, the couple talked to People during a joint interview and opened up about not feeling the need to get married. 'For people like us, the marriage certificate wasn't going to create anything that otherwise we wouldn't have,' Kurt explained to the outlet. Hawn later added, 'It's not about the marriage. It's about the people and the relationship, and the will to stay together.' 'And that's a big one because if you want it, you can have it.' 'You've got to give things up, but the joy and the excitement of being together and touching the toes of somebody at night is really a nice feeling,' she continued. 'It's about compatibility and communication. And you both need to want it to work,' she told Porter magazine in 2015. 'If one person does not want it to work, it isn't going to work. Intention is the key. It's also about not losing yourself in each other.' Over the years, both Goldie and Kurt have appeared on screen together, such as Swing Shift (1984), Overboard (1987) and The Christmas Chronicles (2018). The lovebirds initially crossed paths on the set of the 1968 film The One And Only, Genuine, Original Family Band when she was 21 and he was just 16; pictured 1997 However, it wasn't until they reunited for the filming of 'Swing Shift' in 1983 that they decided to embark on a romance; pictured in 2004 'For people like us, the marriage certificate wasn't going to create anything that otherwise we wouldn't have,' Kurt once said of the decision not to marry; pictured 2008 Over the years, both Goldie and Kurt have appeared on screen together, such as Swing Shift (1984), Overboard (1987) and The Christmas Chronicles (2018); pictured 2020 Goldie has Oliver and Kate Hudson from her 4-year marriage to Bill Hudson that ended in 1980; pictured 2004 The couple expanded their family further by welcoming son Wyatt in 1986; pictured in 2015 Goldie has Oliver and Kate Hudson from her 4-year marriage to Bill Hudson that ended in 1980. The Oscar winner was also married to Gus Trinkonis from 1960 to 1976. Kurt has a son named Boston from his previous marriage to Season Hubley. The couple expanded their family further by welcoming son Wyatt in 1986. Hilary Duff showed off her growing baby bump while donning a one-piece bathing suit in a new selfie uploaded to her Instagram stories on Friday. The Lizzie McGuire alum, 36 - who recently helped throw a lavish Montessori tea party for 98 children - could be seen striking a pose inside what appeared to be a spacious bathroom. She explained in text added towards the top of the image: 'Kids are home sick today so it looks like I will be stretching out my bathing suit.' The actress proudly flaunted her burgeoning stomach wearing a nude-colored, swimsuit which was layered with a dark green robe that had floral details embroidered on the material. Duff accessorized the look by adding a gold-chained necklace as well as black shades that offered a fashionable flare. Hilary Duff, 36, showed off her growing baby bump while donning a one-piece bathing suit in a new selfie uploaded to her Instagram stories on Friday Her blonde locks were parted in the middle, and effortlessly flowed down naturally past her shoulders. The star could be seen easily holding up her smartphone in her hand while taking the quick snap in the reflection of a mirror. While previously talking to Vogue back in 2021, Hilary opened up about her sense of style when it comes to being pregnant. 'Maternity clothes are so hard,' she admitted to the outlet. 'Towards the end [of pregnancy], you're, like, funny big. You tend to dress in oversized things that make you look bigger than you are.' Duff also recalled being on set of the hit series, Younger, and said, 'I got to wear these amazing clothes.' 'I was like, "I look great in this" - but we had a seamstress on set and someone styling me. I could never accomplish that in my real, everyday life!' The How I Met Your Father star shares daughters Banks, five, and Mae, two, with husband Matthew Koma - whom she tied the knot with in 2019. She is also mother to son, Luca, 11, whom she welcomed with first husband, Mike Comrie. The former couple were married from 2010 until their divorce was finalized in 2016. She explained in text added towards the top of the image, 'Kids are home sick today so it looks like I will be stretching out my bathing suit While previously talking to Vogue back in 2021, Hilary opened up about her sense of style when it comes to being pregnant The How I Met Your Father star shares daughters Banks, five, and Mae, two, with husband Matthew Koma - whom she tied the knot with in 2019. She is also mother to son, Luca, 11, whom she welcomed with first husband, Mike Comrie Both her son, Luca, and daughter, Mae, will celebrate their birthdays later this month on March 20th and March 24th respectively. Late last year in December, Hilary jumped to social media to reveal that she was pregnant with baby number four - and her third child with Koma. She included a snap of a Christmas card that showed the actress resting her hand on her stomach while surrounded by her family who sported comfy pajamas. Duff held a shocked expression on her face while text on the card read, 'So much for silent nights, Love the Duff, Bair, Comrie crew.' The back of the card included adorable pictures of her three children, while 'Happy Holidays. Buckle up Buttercups, we're adding one more to this crazy bunch!' was also written. At the time, social media users and celebrities had jumped to the comment section to also share their excitement, such as Mandy Moore who typed, 'Love this. What a cute card!! .' Not long after the announcement of the baby news, Hilary and Matthew celebrated another milestone and rung in their fourth wedding anniversary on December 21. Back in June 2023, Hilary talked to Shape and got candid about raising three children and parenthood. 'I've had to get really good at being disappointed in myself,' she expressed. Late last year in December, Hilary jumped to social media to reveal that she was pregnant with baby number four - and her third child with Koma Not long after the announcement of the baby news, Hilary and Matthew celebrated another milestone and rung in their fourth wedding anniversary on December 21 'I think that when you have a baby, you're just wired to think that you are loaded with all the answers and all of the capability, and we're still just human beings.' However, she expressed that motherhood is 'endlessly rewarding' and stated, 'I just love watching my kids form into their own individual unique selves...' 'I love [parenting] with my husband. I love feeling like hugs and cuddles can make everything better. I love the pressure of being like, "How the f**k are we going to make it through this day?"' 'And making it through the day and being like, "I don't know how everyone is tucked in and fed and happy after all the things we've had to do today."' While preparing to welcome baby number four, Duff has been keeping busy and recently helped throw a lavish tea party for 98 children - including her two daughters. While preparing to welcome baby number four, Duff has been keeping busy and recently helped throw a lavish tea party for 98 children - including her two daughters In one image, Hilary flashed a cheerful smile while posing with Banks and Mae who were dressed to the nines in adorable outfits and pearl necklaces She also gave her fans a glimpse at the table decorations as well as the tasty treats and warm tea that the little ones were able to indulge in She took to her main Instagram page to show a series of snaps that had captured special moments from the festivities. The actress penned to her 26.9 million followers, 'Mission: annual Montessori tea partyto me and all the moms who made this lit for 98 little nuggets - we destroyed and how tired are you still ??' In one image, Hilary flashed a cheerful smile while posing with Banks and Mae who were dressed to the nines in adorable outfits and pearl necklaces. She also gave her fans a glimpse at the table decorations as well as the tasty treats and warm tea that the little ones were able to indulge in. Jeremy Clarkson has been offered a 'lifeline' by ITV, following the fall out from the ex- Top gear presenter's comments on Meghan Markle. The presenter, 63, sparked a backlash with an incendiary column about the Duchess of Sussex in which he said he 'hated' the royal. Jeremy apologised for the article, calling his language 'disgraceful'. The Sun newspaper also apologised for publishing the column and removed it online. Now, The Mirror has reported that ITV are allowing Jeremy to keep his job as host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? A senior source at Stellify, who makes WWTBAM, told the publication: 'Clarkson made a big mistake with his column, but unusually for him, he did apologise wholeheartedly afterwards. This helped him compared to someone like Piers Morgan who refused to make a U-turn on his comments about Meghan on GMB. Jeremy Clarkson has been offered a 'lifeline' by ITV, following the fall out from the ex- Top gear presenter's comments on Meghan Markle 'ITV have been playing a waiting game to see how things look and how people have been reacting to new episodes going out this year of Millionaire with Clarkson. 'There has been no huge reaction and so a decision has been made to continue with him in the chair. It is a second chance for Clarkson but if he were to overstep the mark again it's unlikely there will be a third chance.' MailOnline has contacted ITV and Jeremy's representatives for comment. Jeremy has been hosting the quiz since 2018 and took over from previous host Chris Tarrant for a revamped version of the hit series. He sparked a backlash with an incendiary column about the Duchess of Sussex in which he said he 'hated' the royal. Ipso, the press watchdog, upheld a complaint that the column was sexist towards the duchess, describing some of Clarkson's comments about her as 'pejorative and prejudicial'. Clarkson said he emailed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on Christmas Day to apologise over his column in The Sun newspaper in which he said he 'hated' Meghan. In a lengthy statement on his verified Instagram account, The Grand Tour presenter earlier said he emailed the couple on Christmas Day to say his language in the column had been 'disgraceful' and he was 'profoundly sorry'. The presenter, 63, sparked a backlash with an incendiary column about the Duchess of Sussex in which he said he 'hated' the royal He said: 'One of the strange things I've noticed in recent times is that whenever an MP or a well-known person is asked to apologise for something, no matter how heartfelt or profound that apology may be, it's never enough for the people who called for it in the first place. 'So I'm going to try and buck the trend this morning with an apology for the things I said in a Sun column recently about Meghan Markle. I really am sorry. All the way from the balls of my feet to the follicles on my head. This is me putting my hands up. It's a mea culpa with bells on. 'Usually, I read what I've written to someone else before filing, but I was home alone on that fateful day, and in a hurry. So when I'd finished, I just pressed send. And then, when the column appeared the next day, the landmine exploded.' Clarkson described the moment he picked up a copy of The Sun to 'see what all the fuss was about.' He continued: 'We've all been there, I guess. In that precise moment when we suddenly realise we've completely messed up. You are sweaty and cold at the same time. And your head pounds. And you feel sick. I couldn't believe what I was reading. Had I really said that? It was horrible. 'I knew what had happened straight away. I'd been thinking of a scene in Games of Thrones, but I'd forgotten to mention this. So it looked like I was actually calling for revolting violence to rain down on Meghan's head. 'I was very angry with myself because in all those controversial days on Top Gear, when I was accused of all sorts of things, it was very rarely sexism. I was mortified and so was everyone else. My phone went mad. Very close friends were furious. Even my own daughter took to Instagram to denounce me.' In a lengthy statement on his verified Instagram account, The Grand Tour presenter said he emailed the couple on Christmas Day to say his language in the column had been 'disgraceful' and he was 'profoundly sorry' Ipso rejected complaints that the piece was inaccurate, harassed the duchess and included discriminatory references to her on the grounds of race Clarkson's statement went on to say ITV and Amazon, which airs Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and The Grand Tour respectively, were 'incandescent'. He said: 'The Sun quickly apologised and I tried to explain myself. But still, there were calls for me to be sacked and charged with a hate crime. 'More than 60 MPs demanded action to be taken. ITV, who make Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, and Amazon, who make the farm show and the Grand Tour, were incandescent. 'I therefore wrote to everyone who works with me saying how sorry I was and then on Christmas morning, I emailed Harry and Meghan in California to apologise to them too. 'I said I was baffled by what they had been saying on TV but that the language I'd used in my column was disgraceful and that I was profoundly sorry.' Clarkson said he will 'try' to be 'interesting and vigilant' at the same time in future columns. Ashley Benson was spotted out with her husband, Brandon Davis, in Los Angeles over a week after welcoming their first child together. After enjoying a meal at Cipriani in Beverly Hills on Friday, the actress, 34, was spotted giving her husband, 45, a cheeky squeeze on the bum as they shared a hug and waited for the valet. For their outing, she put on a casual display in an oversize, vintage Bon Jovi T-shirt with dark jeans and a pair of chunky black boots. The Pretty Little Liars alum tied up her brunette bob into a messy bun and sported a pair of black wayfarer sunnies. She was seen carrying a black quilted shoulder bag with a braided gold chain strap, which matched her jewelry. Ashley Benson was spotted out with her husband, Brandon Davis, in Los Angeles over a week after welcoming their first child together The Spring Breakers star accessorized with layers of dainty, gold chain necklaces as well as a stunning watch and her dazzling wedding ring. At her side, Davis with whom she tied the knot late last year in November sported an all-black, casual ensemble. He donned a cozy black sweater with a pocket in the front as well as a pair of skinny jeans and stylish sneakers. The couple announced they welcomed their first child together over a week ago on Thursday. Benson shared the exciting news to her Instagram Stories with a photo of her newborn daughter's hand wrapped around one of her fingers. Over the adorable snap, she added just a pink heart emoji. A few days later, the new parents brought their bouncing bundle of joy out on a walk in Brentwood. Benson was seen snuggling her precious newborn daughter in a pink blanket as the couple strolled through the outdoor shopping center. After enjoying a meal at Cipriani in Beverly Hills on Friday, the actress, 34, was spotted giving her husband, 45, a cheeky squeeze on the bum as they shared a hug and waited for the valet For their outing, she put on a casual display in an oversize, vintage Bon Jovi T-shirt with dark jeans and a pair of chunky black boots. The Pretty Little Liars alum tied up her brunette bob into a messy bun and sported a pair of black wayfarer sunnies The couple announced they welcomed their first child together over a week ago on Thursday. Benson shared the exciting news to her Instagram Stories with a photo of her newborn daughter's hand wrapped around one of her fingers. Over the adorable snap, she added just a pink heart emoji Previously, Benson and her oil heir husband were first romantically linked when they were seen sitting courtside at a Los Angeles Lakers game in January 2023. Later that same year, the lovebirds revealed they were engaged. In July of last year, Benson took to social media and showed off her massive diamond ring on her Instagram Stories. However, they kept their nuptials under the radar and wed at an undisclosed later date. In November 2023, they revealed they were expecting their first child after they were spotted shopping at the Babylist Beverly Hills Showroom. Demi Lovato reflected on her teenage years, and what advice would tell give herself. The Disney Channel alum, 31 who uses she/they pronouns told People: 'What I would tell my teenage self is I would say don't hold yourself to anybody else's standards but your own.' Adding: 'And if your own becomes too critical, then look within yourself and try to find that self-love. I think that's really important to find self-love no matter what age you are.' Demi began her career at age 10 with a role in Barney & Friends, and went on to become a Disney Channel fixture with her show Sonny With a Chance and the Camp Rock franchise. The star has been open about her mental health and addiction, as well as her eating disorder. Demi also survived a near-fatal overdose in July 2018. Demi Lovato reflected on her teenage years, and what advice would tell give herself. The Disney Channel alum, 31 who uses she/they pronouns told People : 'What I would tell my teenage self is I would say don't hold yourself to anybody else's standards but your own;' pictured March 6, 2024 in LA Demi began her career at age 10 with a role in Barney & Friends, and went on to become a Disney Channel fixture with her show Sonny With a Chance and the Camp Rock franchise; pictured in Camp Rock in 2008 Demi's near fatal overdose led to long-term complications, including partial vision loss and partial hearing loss. She took OxyContin that she believes was laced with fentanyl, leading to her overdose. Demi had three strokes and a heart attack while in the hospital. 'I was left with brain damage, and I still deal with the effects of that today. I don't drive a car, because I have blind spots on my vision,' she said in 2021 at a panel for her Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil documentary, via People. 'And I also for a long time had a really hard time reading. It was a big deal when I was able to read out of a book, which was like two months later because my vision was so blurry,' she added. The former child star has previously spoken out about her eating disorder and distorted body image perception as well as treatment she underwent. Demi (left) and Selena Gomez (right) on Barney & Friends The former child star has previously spoken out about her eating disorder and distorted body image perception as well as treatment she underwent; pictured in 2008 'The very first time I went to treatment was when I was 18. I went for my eating disorder, and I went for self-harm and emotional issues. And when I came out with that experience, I was faced with the decision of either 'keep your mouth shut and not say anything' or share your experience strength in hopes that it will affect them in a positive way,' Demi said on NBC News NOW's Savannah Sellers. Adding: 'I wish that I had somebody when I was 13 years old and having an eating disorder and starving myself. I wanted somebody in the public eye to say that "Hey, this is what I've gone through, and you don't have to choose that route.' Demi noted that when she was a teen, young Hollywood was 'very, very, very thin' which negatively impacted her eating and her mental health. Demi revealed to People that negativity on social media doesn't affect her the way it used to. 'My relationship with social media has evolved over the years from looking to the internet for validation to not looking at internet comments at all,' the actress said.. 'If I happen to see something negative, it doesn't affect me the way that it used to. And I don't know if that's just with age or how many years I've been in the public eye, I just don't let it sit with me the way that it used to. It doesn't hold power over me the way that it used to.' Demi recently became user and spokesperson for Xeomin, an anti-wrinkle injection. The Heart Attack songstress told People, 'The campaign really resonates with me because I've always believed in making choices that are empowering and being true to yourself and owning the choices that help you look and feel your best self.' Lovato defended the injection by adding, 'Don't listen to naysayers or whatever that may try to tell you how to do your own beauty routine. Just listen to what makes you feel comfortable in your own skin.' For the pop vocalist, makeup and beauty techniques have always been around her as the industry's top artists were also on set. She said, 'The best beauty tip that I've gotten from someone on set is to never sleep in your makeup. I never did that anyways, but to hear it over again was just really important and kind of stuck with me. 'I never sleep in my makeup. It doesn't matter how late the night goes, it doesn't matter if I'm up until the morning, I take my makeup off and I do my skincare routine and I'm very diligent about it. I'm just past that.' 'My relationship with social media has evolved over the years from looking to the internet for validation to not looking at internet comments at all' Demi is currently engaged to 32 year-old songwriter Jordan Lutes who she started dating in August of 2022 Demi is engaged to 32-year-old songwriter Jordan Lutes, whom she started dating in August of 2022. The pair met back in January of 2022 after co-writing her song Substance in January of that same year. She was previously engaged to actor Max Ehrich back in 2020 before calling it quits shortly after. Dorrie Carolan, executive director and founder of The Parent Connection in Newtown, which is celebrating its 21th anniversary this year. It is a nonprofit organization that serves as a safe space for families whose relatives are battling addiction. Thursday, March 7, 2024, Newtown, Conn. H John Voorhees III/Hearst Connecticut Media The House of Harrison at The Parent Connection in Newtown is a boutique meant to provide people struggling with addiction with new clothes. Thursday, March 7, 2024, Newtown, Conn. H John Voorhees III/Hearst Connecticut Media Dorrie Carolan, executive director and founder of The Parent Connection in Newtown, which is celebrating its 21th anniversary this year. It is a nonprofit organization that serves as a safe space for families whose relatives are battling addiction. Thursday, March 7, 2024, Newtown, Conn. H John Voorhees III/Hearst Connecticut Media The House of Harrison at The Parent Connection in Newtown is a boutique meant to provide people struggling with addiction with new clothes. Thursday, March 7, 2024, Newtown, Conn. H John Voorhees III/Hearst Connecticut Media The Parent Connection in Newtown is celebrating its 21th anniversary this year. It is a nonprofit organization that serves as a safe space for families whose relatives are battling addiction. Thursday, March 7, 2024, Newtown, Conn. H John Voorhees III/Hearst Connecticut Media Dorrie Carolan, executive director and founder of The Parent Connection in Newtown, which is celebrating its 21th anniversary this year. It is a nonprofit organization that serves as a safe space for families whose relatives are battling addiction. Thursday, March 7, 2024, Newtown, Conn. H John Voorhees III/Hearst Connecticut Media The House of Harrison at The Parent Connection in Newtown is a boutique meant to provide people struggling with addiction with new clothes. Thursday, March 7, 2024, Newtown, Conn. H John Voorhees III/Hearst Connecticut Media NEWTOWN Dorrie Carolan is all-too-familiar with the struggle parents face in keeping themselves and their children safe from substance abuse after losing her eldest son to an overdose. As a parent, we think we can fix everything, Carolan said. From the time our children were born, we were able to make everything good for them, and when they get in the insidious disease of addiction, our parenting skills have to change. We can still love our children, embrace our children, but we have to take back the things we do when parenting a healthy child, she said. We can no longer accept their behavior because if we accept it, theres no reason for them to make any kind of changes They need to know their behavior is no longer acceptable to the family and they need to make changes. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Carolans son Brian Carolan, 28, died in 1999 from a prescription drug overdose following a decade of treatment and struggle with addiction. Through her sons death and her connection with other parents who lost their children to substance abuse-related deaths, Carolan founded the 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization Parent Connection in 2003 to embrace families in crisis and educate them in substance abuse prevention. Parent Connection, which celebrated its 21st anniversary this past January, organizes support group meetings and educational programs for thousands of families and residents throughout the state, Carolan said. Along with its support groups in Newtown, Milford, Middlebury and Waterbury, the nonprofit organization also works in conjunction with town agencies, schools, religious communities, and police departments to empower and educate the communities. Parent Connection recently partnered with the new beginnings boutique House of Harrison, which offers clothing and resume guidance to individuals seeking employment while transitioning from treatment, sober living and group homes. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Lynne Farah, who created the boutique, is among the parents Carolan has helped in a time of crisis. Farahs son Harrison, 22, died last August You are a parent who is desperate to get your child help and theres not a lot of help out there, but Dorrie Carolan answers the phone, said Farah, a Newtown resident. One time she literally spent eight days on the phone with me trying to find a place for my son. Of all her accomplishments as Parent Connections founder, Carolan said shes proud of the people who reach out to the nonprofit after theyve become clean and sober though she knows the path to sobriety is no easy journey. Sometimes we get frustrated because it kind of runs in spurts, she admitted. We could have five deaths in a matter of five weeks and Ill say Why am I doing this? At some point you have to give it up. But then there are times where there is someone in our group who had a baby and said it wouldnt have happened if not for this group. We may work with the parents, but its their kids who did the hard work. Advertisement Article continues below this ad 'Time to talk again' Reflecting on her sons struggles with addiction, Carolan said moving from New York to Newtown was probably the biggest mistake we made. When we lived in New York, we never had any problems, she said. When we moved here, we didnt know the kids he was hanging out with. Carolan said her son started hanging out with students who were drinking and smoking marijuana, and he was in treatment for substance use within a year. Years of medication, treatment and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings followed until Brian Carolan, a Greenwich resident, succumbed to his battle with addiction. Advertisement Article continues below this ad He used to call me every single day, Carolan said. You know you have that gut feeling that somethings wrong, so I called the Greenwich police. Brian had a friend with the department and we did a wellness check. Brians car was there [at his house] so I assumed everything was OK. The next day, I called his dad and we went down to his house and thats when we found him. In 2003, Carolan connected with Donna DeLuca, another mother whose life was affected by substance abuse, at a local fitness club where Carolan worked as the general manager. DeLucas son Christian had been struggling with a decade-long battle with heroin at the time. Carolan said she and DeLuca decided to spread the word about substance abuse through their local newspaper, The Newtown Bee. Their mission led to the creation of Parent Connection, which has been empowering thousands of area residents in preventing substance abuse for the last 21 years. Christian DeLuca, meanwhile, has been sober for more than a decade and is co-founder and president of the Steps to Recovery treatment program in Levittown, Pa. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Among its services, Parent Connection organizes educational programs and forums on vaping, alcohol and warning signs of drug abuse. The organization also hosts weekly and monthly support group meetings where families can share their experiences in a safe, confidential environment. Carolan said all groups are facilitated by a licensed therapist and offer anonymity. BBC children's television star Colin Bennett has died, his family confirmed on Friday. Colin's EastEnders actor son Tom Bennett shared an emotional tribute to his father on social media platform X, confirming he died last month. Tom posted a photo of his late father and told fans that Colin, best known for playing Mr Bennett in the BBC children's programme Take Hart, was his 'hero'. He wrote: 'My Dad (Mr Bennett) sadly passed away 2 weeks ago today. I still don't quite have the words. He was my hero.' 'I will miss him more than he will ever know. I love you, Dad.' BBC children's television star Colin Bennett has died, his family confirmed on Friday Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) actors Johanna Kirby and Colin in 1973 He wrote: 'My Dad (Mr Bennett) sadly passed away 2 weeks ago today. I still don't quite have the words. He was my hero.' Tom continued: 'He wouldn't have believed the amount of love he's getting right now! The number of amazing replies is testament to who he was as a man & make me so very proud he was my dad! 'He'd be so honoured, humbled and pleased he played even a tiny part in many of your childhoods! Thankyou' Fans became emotional after learning Colin had passed away and they paid tribute to the star on X. One wrote: 'Oh Tom, I'm so sorry. Your dad was a lovely memory from my childhood. He seemed like a very special man. Lots of love to you' Another said: 'So sorry for your loss Tom. I'm of the generation who grew up watching your dad. Be comforted by the fact your father entertained so many. 'Really sad news. Colin was a massive part of why Take Hart was so good' Following the outpouring from fans, Tom posted a response: 'I had no idea the outpouring of love would be so huge! I'm truly overwhelmed in the most joyously emotional way possible by all you kind, heartfelt words. 'He was a special man & I'm so proud & it's bringing me so much joy he meant so much to so many of you.' Colin ran a production company, An Acquired Taste TV Corp, and broadcasted for television for about 17 years. He retired from acting in 2002, reportedly suffering from ill health, but later resumed acting. Colin's son Tom has appeared in many British television shows, including The Hunt for Tony Blair, Red Cap, The Worst Week of My Life, Life Begins, The Booze Cruise II, Midsomer Murders and EastEnders, playing Steve Clarke Fans became emotional after learning Colin had passed away and they paid tribute to the star on X. Following the outpouring from fans, Tom posted a response: 'I had no idea the outpouring of love would be so huge! I'm truly overwhelmed in the most joyously emotional way possible by all you kind, heartfelt words.' Colin retired from acting in 2002, reportedly suffering from ill health, but later resumed acting Colin (left) is remembered for his role on shows like Take Hart and Hartbeat alongside the late Tony Hart (right) His television roles have included 'Mr Bennett', the accident prone caretaker for Tony Hart in the BBC children's programmes Take Hart (19771983) and Hartbeat (19841989). Among other television duties, he presented Night Shift and You Should Be So Lucky, as well as appearing in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as Zarquon. Colin's son Tom has appeared in many British television shows, including The Hunt for Tony Blair, Red Cap, The Worst Week of My Life, Life Begins, The Booze Cruise II, Midsomer Murders and EastEnders, playing Steve Clarke. In February 2019, he starred as Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses The Musical at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, which ran until March 2020 before taking a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ryan Thomas has said that he hopes the final of Dancing On Ice will mean his body can finally recover from undergoing intensive training while on the series. The former Coronation Street actor, 39, who played Jason Grimshaw for 16 years will battle it out on Sunday night to lift the winning trophy. He will skate alongside fellow finalists Adele Roberts, Greg Rutherford and Miles Nazaire. The actor, whose professional skate partner is Amani Fancy, told The Mirror that being nearly 40 meant his body didn't 'bounce back as easy'. He said: 'They work you hard and it's now final week and there's a lot to take on. And the body's not far off coming to a standstill. I mean, it takes its toll on your body more than anything else.' Ryan Thomas has said that he hopes the final of Dancing On Ice will mean his body can finally recover from undergoing intensive training while on the series The former Coronation Street actor admitted that being nearly 40 his body doesn't 'bounce back' and that it is 'not far off coming to a standstill' Ryan - whose brothers are Strictly Come Dancing star Adam Thomas and former Love Island contestant Scott Thomas - added that his focus was on returning to his family. He continued: 'I think that's the only reason I can get through this because I know at the end, I've got my beautiful family to go back to. 'I live for that, doing the normal every day, taking the kids to school, going to the park, the things I used to take for granted, I will be embracing very much.' Ryan, shares a daughter Scarlett, 15, with his ex and former Coronation Street star Tina OBrien, and two children with fiancee Lucy Mecklenburgh, who found fame in TOWIE. With the end in sight, Ryan stated that the skating has been getting 'harder and harder'. This was most certainly true of last Sundays show which saw the celebrities skating skills pushed to the limits as they performed twice, with one dance seeing them forced to master working on wires. Ryan's hard work paid off as he and his dance partner bagged their highest score of the series with an impressive 38 points. The judges were full of compliments as they praised the soap star over his 'story telling' and performance skills. Motsi Mabuse branded the skate 'joyous' and said it helped viewers forget the hard things going on in their lives. Ryan said that skating has got harder which was certainly made true on last Sunday's show when celebrities performed twice, with one dance seeing them forced to master working on wires (Hosts Stephen Mulhern and Holly Willoughby pictured) Ryan who admitted he's looking forward to being home with his family once the show is over looked dapper in a shirt and dickie bow for his big band themed routine with partner Amani Fancy Their hard work paid off as the couple bagged their highest score of the series with an impressive 38 points Unable to wipe the smile off his face Ryan joked about the bonuses of being lifted over the ice saying: 'At least I can't fall over!' The judges were full of compliments as they praised the soap star over his 'story telling' and performance skills This Sunday's performance will see Ryan skate to a Game Of Thrones-themed routine which he describes as a 'real showstopper'. This year, marks the 40th anniversary of when judges Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won the Olympic gold. The celebrities will perform a routine, inspired by the skating duos performance to Ravels Bolero in Sarajevo at the 1984 Winter Games, at the weekend. The final of Dancing On Ice is on Sunday at 6.25pm. Jean Allison passed away at the age of 94 on February 28th - which was confirmed by her family in an obituary, per People. Although the cause of death was not disclosed by her loved ones, the late actress passed away in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. The star is known for appearing in various television projects throughout the course of her career which spanned around three decades - such as Charlie's Angels (1977) and also Bonanza (1960). Allison was born on October 24, 1929 in New York City and graduated from Marymount High School. She later attended and also graduated from Adelphi College located in the state of New York. Jean Allison passed away at the age of 94 on February 28th - which was confirmed by her family in an obituary, per People; seen in 1973 Although the cause of death was not disclosed by her loved ones, the late actress passed away in Rancho Palos Verdes, California; seen in 1971 in the show Owen Marshall, Counselor At Law Jean was scouted by an agent after her performance in a play titled, Teach Me How To Cry, which was written by Patricia Joudry. Her first credited role was in the anthology series General Electric Theater (1957), where she played the role of Ethel Keeley. From there, she took on nearly 100 credited roles, per the late actress's official IMDB page. Aside from television, Allison also appeared on the big screen and starred in the 1958 film, Edgy Of Fury. The drama additionally cast Michael Higgins, Lois Holmes, Doris Fesette as well as Malcolm Lee Beggs. In 1960, she starred in one episode of Bonanza as the character of Sally Byrnes and appeared in the hit, legal drama series, Perry Mason, in 1961 also for one episode. Jean later also starred in the show, 77 Sunset Strip, as well as two episodes of Gunsmoke in 1970 and later again in 1974. Other shows she portrayed characters in include Adam-12 and also four episodes of Emergency! In the late 1970s, Allison starred in one episode of The Waltons and two episodes of Charlie's Angels (1977) alongside Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith. Jean was scouted by an agent after her performance in a play titled, Teach Me How To Cry, which was written by Patricia Joudry; seen in the 1974 film The Elevator In 1960, she starred in one episode of Bonanza as the character of Sally Byrnes and appeared in the hit, legal drama series, Perry Mason, in 1961 also for one episode; the show Perry Mason seen above Other films she starred in during her long-lasting career included Devil's Partner (1960), The Elevator (1974), A Cry For Help (1975) and Hardcore (1979). Jean's last credited acting role was in 1984 when she appeared in one episode of Highway To Heaven. In 1951, Allison tied the knot with fellow actor, Lee Philips - who also attended the same college as Jean. However, the pair later divorced. Four years later, the actress said 'I do' to F.X. Toole (Jerry Boyd) - who is known for writing Million Dollar Baby (2004). In the late 1970s, Allison starred in one episode of The Waltons and two episodes of Charlie's Angels (1977) alongside Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith; Fawcett (upper left) with Kate Jackson, David Doyle, Cheryl Ladd and Jaclyn Smith in Charlie's Angels (1978) The two welcomed a daughter, Erin, during the course of their marriage - which came to an end when they divorced in 1958, per IMDB. In 1960, she soon met Phil Toorvald, and the couple welcomed two children, Sven and Tina, while also adopting a third child. Jean and Phil were married until his death in 1994. Her later years were spent with cameraman, Jack Couffer. The two had first met decades earlier on the set of Edge Of Fury and formed a close bond until his death in 2021. Tensions flared within the Shannon extended family during the newest episode of Mama June Family Crisis, which aired on Friday. In the new installment of the reality series, June 'Mama June' Shannon dealt with the prospect of her daughter Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson leaving the South and moving to Colorado for college. The 44-year-old reality television personality - who recently spoke about her late daughter's dying wish - was also faced with her standing issues regarding her older sister, Joanne 'Doe Doe' Shannon. The episode starts with Alana confirming that she was planning on going to college regardless of her boyfriend Dralin Carswell's legal situation. Her older sister Lauryn 'Pumpkin' Shannon then commended her younger sister for 'maturing and growing up and not depending on a man' before adding: 'And who do you have to thank for that? Mama P!' Tensions flared within the Shannon extended family during the newest episode of Mama June Family Crisis, which aired on Friday In the new installment of the reality series, June 'Mama June' Shannon dealt with the prospect of her daughter Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson leaving the South and moving to Colorado for college The 44-year-old reality television personality - who recently spoke about her late daughter's dying wish - was also faced with her standing issues regarding her older sister, Joanne 'Doe Doe' Shannon Alana then spoke about uprooting herself and moving to college, stating: 'It is a little scary because, like, I don't want to lose Dralin, but I also got to push myself and fight for my dreams, because who else is gonna do it?' Pumpkin and her husband, Josh Efird, then took Alana to Alabama to help Mama June and her spouse, Justin Stroud, move to Georgia in order to be closer to their loved ones. Pumpkin then told her younger sister that their mother did not want her to go to Colorado for college, and expressed that Mama June 'feels a lot of guilt from not being around. So now she's trying to correct her wrongs.' Mama June also privately spoke to Justin about her reservations about Alana moving across the country to attend college, and she remarked: 'I don't want her to spread her wings and d*** crash.' Although Justin urged his wife to remain open-minded about her daughter's academic prospects, she quipped that she was 'tired of, like, shutting my mouth.' Pumpkin, Josh and Alana arrived at the house soon afterward, and Mama June was stunned to learn that her youngest daughter had officially decided that she wanted to move to Colorado to attend college. Pumpkin then stated that her sister would benefit from a change in scenery, and remarked: 'There's nothing but bad memories, drama, and bulls*** That surrounds Mama 24/7. It would be nice for everybody to get a fresh slate.' Although Alana left the house after June and Pumpkin began arguing about her college plans, Josh stepped outside and told her that he was 'proud that you went ahead and been like, hey, b****, this is what I'm gonna do.' The episode starts with Alana confirming that she was planning on going to college regardless of her boyfriend Dralin Carswell's legal situation Her older sister Lauryn 'Pumpkin' Shannon then commends her younger sister for 'maturing and growing up and not depending on a man' before adding: 'And who do you have to thank for that? Mama P!' Pumpkin and her husband, Josh Efird, then took Alana to Alabama to help Mama June and her spouse, Justin Stroud, move to Georgia in order to be closer to their loved ones Pumpkin then told her younger sister that their mother did not want her to go to Colorado for college, and expressed that Mama June 'feels a lot of guilt from not being around. So now she's trying to correct her wrongs' Mama June also privately spoke to Justin about her reservations about Alana moving across the country to attend college, and she remarked: 'I don't want her to spread her wings and d*** crash' Although Justin urged his wife to remain open-minded about her daughter's academic prospects, she quipped that she was 'tired of, like, shutting my mouth' Pumpkin, Josh and Alana arrived at the house soon afterward, and Mama June was stunned to learn that her youngest daughter had officially decided that she wanted to move to Colorado to attend college Although Alana left the house after June and Pumpkin began arguing about her college plans, Josh stepped outside and told her that he was 'proud that you went ahead and been like, hey, b****, this is what I'm gonna do' The group eventually packed up and made it back to Georgia, and after Pumpkin and Mama June restarted their argument, the former asked: ' Instead of b****ing about [Alana] going to Colorado, why won't you just guide her in the right direction?' Justin then became frustrated about having to mainly unload their moving van by himself and angrily told his wife: 'You just couldn't shut up, could you, about the d*** Alana situation?' Later in the episode, June revealed that she had recently lost a tooth while eating taffy, and despite facing dental fees of $32,000, she spoke about making a commitment to her health after dealing with substance abuse issues. Although she attempted to cheer herself up by visiting a hair salon, she was surprised by Doe Doe, who confronted her younger sister for dodging her recent attempts to reach out. When June criticized her sibling for not attending Alana's high school graduation, Doe Doe claimed that she was not included in a group text with the information regarding the ceremony. Doe Doe then exclaimed: 'I'm the only one through this entire [bleep] nightmare years that has stood up for you. I cover your a** so much, it ain't even funny.' Mama June's older sister then claimed that she was 'trying to push me out of the girls' life, but I'm not going down without a fight. Because every time you weren't there, June, I was.' While attempting to organize her finances prior to the start of her college career, Alana learned that she would have to pay $11,000 per semester even with a scholarship, and brought up the idea of tapping into her Coogan account. The group eventually packed up and made it back to Georgia, and after Pumpkin and Mama June restarted their argument, the former asked: ' Instead of b****ing about [Alana] going to Colorado, why won't you just guide her in the right direction?' Justin then became frustrated about having to mainly unload their moving van by himself and angrily told his wife: 'You just couldn't shut up, could you, about the d*** Alana situation?' Later in the episode, June revealed that she had recently lost a tooth while eating taffy, and despite facing dental fees of $32,000, she spoke about making a commitment to her health after dealing with substance abuse issues Although she attempted to cheer herself up by visiting a hair salon, she was surprised by Doe Doe, who confronted her younger sister for dodging her recent attempts to reach out When June criticized her sibling for not attending Alana's high school graduation, Doe Doe claimed that she was not included in a group text with the information regarding the ceremony Doe Doe then exclaimed: 'I'm the only one through this entire [bleep] nightmare years that has stood up for you. I cover your a** so much, it ain't even funny' While attempting to organize her finances prior to the start of her college career, Alana learned that she would have to pay $11,000 per semester even with a scholarship, and brought up the idea of tapping into her Coogan account Mama June's eldest daughters Jessica Shannon and Anna Toney, who passed away in December of last year, later stepped out for ice cream, and the former revealed that their mother wanted to meet to discuss finances later in the day After Anna stated that she was not interested in the meeting, Mama June's three youngest daughters visited their mother and began speaking about Alana's future The episode ended after Alana revealed that she was still on the hook for $11,000 per semester, and she then asked her mother: 'Can you help me with college?' Mama June's eldest daughters Jessica Shannon and Anna Toney, who passed away in December of last year, later stepped out for ice cream, and the former revealed that their mother wanted to meet to discuss finances later in the day. After Anna stated that she was not interested in the meeting, Mama June's three youngest daughters visited their mother and began speaking about Alana's future. The episode ended after Alana revealed that she was still on the hook for $11,000 per semester, and she then asked her mother: 'Can you help me with college?' The next episode of Mama June: Family Crisis is set to air at 9 P.M. ET on March 15. Halle Berry paid tribute to her boyfriend Van Hunt on his 54th birthday on Friday, March 8. The Academy Award-winning actress took to Instagram to share a series of photos of the musician as well as her favorite photos of them as a couple. 'Don't count your candles baby, just enjoy the beautiful glow!' she captioned the carousel, before adding, 'Happy Birthday with ya fine a** @vanhunt.' The birthday boy wasted little time in hitting his lady back with a flirty response: 'HA! iu,' he wrote in the comments section. The cover photo showed the couple holding hands on a sun-lit balcony inside a high-rise building while all bundled up in winter clothing. Halle Berry, 57, paid tribute to her boyfriend Van Hunt on his 54th birthday on Friday, March 8 The Monster's Ball star also shared a look at the pair on vacation, and another of them walking a red carpet event together dressed in black ensembles. Rounding out the post, the Catwoman star dropped in two solo shots of Hunt posing while wearing a stylish red hat, which included one where he wore a long-line jacket without a shirt. The former Bond girl met the Our Love Lingers songwriter in September 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, and some how they were able to grow their relationship virtually. After dropping a few hints that she had someone special in her life, Berry confirmed the identity of her mystery man in a social media post. 'Now ya know ,' Berry captioned a photo of herself wearing a shirt with Hunt's name on it. while holding a drink in her hand. Several months later, the couple ultimately made their red carpet debut at the 93rd Academy Awards at Union Station in Los Angeles in April 2021. Some eight months later the actress would seemingly take the romance to another level by proclaiming Hunt to be 'the love of her life.' 'You've watched me fail and fail and fail and fail,' she said at the 4th Annual Celebration of Black Cinema & Television event. 'Besides directing my first movie, I also found the love of my life and I know it's true and this is how I know it's true.' The Academy Award-winning actress took to Instagram to share a series of photos of the musician as well as her favorite photos of them as a couple 'Don't count your candles baby, just enjoy the beautiful glow!' she captioned the carousel, before adding, 'Happy Birthday with ya fine a** @vanhunt' The mother of two first met Hunt virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and they have been an item ever since The couple ultimately made their red carpet debut at the 93rd Academy Awards at Union Station in Los Angeles in April 2021 She then elaborated: 'Because you fail so many times, you know what wrong looks like. And because I failed so many times, I now know what [love] really looks like.' Berry came into the relationship as a single mother of two children, including 15-year-old daughter Nahla, whom she shares with French-Canadian model Gabriel Aubry. The former couple had dated for more than five years by the time they decided to call it quits in 2010, which was two years after the birth of Nahla. The Cleveland, Ohio native is also mom to 10-year-old Maceo-Robert Martinez. He was born in October 2013, three months after she married French actor Olivier Martinez, which ultimately ended in divorce in 2016. Hunt has a son of his own from a past relationship before hooking up with Berry. Laura Henshaw looked unrecognisable as she shared a throwback snap to her Instagram on Friday. The wellness influencer, 31, took to her Stories to share a photograph of herself from 13 years ago at the age of 18, alongside a recent smiling selfie in her workout gear. In the throwback snap, she looked strikingly different with long platinum blonde locks, in comparison to her now recognisable brunette look. Laura humorously reflected back on her teenage years growing up in Melbourne in an accompanying caption. 'Hehehe just got this FB memory from 13 years ago - DEAD. Me now vs me at 18,' she penned. Laura Henshaw looked unrecognisable as she shared a throwback snap from when she was 18 years old (right) to her Instagram on Friday while reflecting on her teenage years 'Also for anyone who grew up in Melbourne - Room 680 on Thursdays was the GOAT,' before later clarifying that she actually meant Tuesday nights. Laura is now a successful fitness influencer and runs the Keep it Cleaner brand with Steph Claire Smith. She recently gave her 326,000 Instagram followers an insight into what a day in the life of a CEO looks like by sharing a list which detailed her busy schedule. Revealing her daily routine, Laura explained how she wakes up at 6.45am each day to meditate, before starting work at 8.30am. She heads to healthy fast food chain Fishbowl for lunch, and spends a total of 10 hours of the day in meetings, before catching the train home at 7pm to have dinner with her husband Dalton. Laura recently gave her 326,000 Instagram followers an insight into what a day in the life of a CEO looks like by sharing a list which detailed her busy schedule Revealing her daily routine, Laura explained how she wakes up at 6.45am each day to meditate, before starting work at 8.30am for 10 hours and then heading home for dinner Laura and Steph recently took an exciting step in their fitness and wellness business as they celebrated a new brand deal in January. The pair posed in pink activewear for a photoshoot in Bondi to confirm their brand deal with popular activewear label STAX. It is not the first mega brand deal the longtime friends have landed, with Laura having teamed up with brands such as Jaggad and Bumble in the past. Laura and Steph have made a multimillion-dollar empire out of their KIC brand and podcast, on which they regularly talk about body positivity and health. The pair recently discussed how difficult it is to maintain exercise and weight loss goals as New Year's Resolutions. Laura is a successful fitness influencer and runs the Keep it Cleaner brand with Steph Claire Smith (both pictured) Steph said less than 10 per cent of people succeed in sticking to them, and encouraged listeners develop small and manageable steps toward their goals. 'A lot of these challenges are built on a mindset of achieving more. It's about setting habits that you can sustain,' she explained. She added that people needed to be kinder to themselves by allowing some leeway when it comes to challenges such as losing weight in the new year. Michael Turnbull and his fiance Charlotte Cushing have posed for a stunning 37-week pre-baby photo shoot on the Gold Coast. The former Bachelorette star, who appeared in multiple incarnations of the franchise, and his partner stripped down for the gorgeous images this week. The 42-year-old cradled his gorgeous blonde girlfriend's blossoming baby bump as they cuddled up close. Charlotte stripped down to showcase her belly from multiple angles as she delicately laid her hands on her stomach. The beauty was absolutely glowing as she stripped down to a pair of underwear to flaunt her pregnant form. Michael Turnbull and his fiance Charlotte Cushing have posed for a stunning 37-week pre-baby photo shoot on the Gold Coast. Both pictured The couple also embraced on a bed, Charlotte again posing in lace under garments as Michael gave her a sweet kiss. In October, the former reality star made the announcement that they are expecting with an adorable polaroid image. 'Baby Turnbull, Due April 2024,' the image read. The polaroid faded to show himself and Charlotte holding a sonogram of their baby, looking overjoyed at the news. The former Bachelorette star, who appeared in multiple incarnations of the franchise, and his partner stripped down for the gorgeous images this week The 42-year-old cradled his gorgeous blonde girlfriend's blossoming baby bump as they cuddled up close Charlotte stripped down to showcase her belly from multiple angles as she delicately laid her hands on her stomach The beauty was absolutely glowing as she stripped down to a pair of underwear to flaunt her pregnant form Charlotte was previously Ms Galaxy Australia/Australasia 2020-22 and a Miss Hawaiian Tropic in 2017. She also held a Miss Supercars title in 2016. The couple's friends and family gushed over the exciting family news. 'Best news EVER,' one friend wrote. 'Wow congratulations guys,' another added. 'Congratulations,' yet another wrote. Michael was runner-up on Sam Frost's season of The Bachelorette in 2015 before returning for a stint on Bachelor In Paradise in 2018. Charlotte was previously Ms Galaxy Australia/Australasia 2020-22 and a Miss Hawaiian Tropic in 2017 She also held a Miss Supercars title in 2016 She also worked her angles in a black bodysuit The mama to be opted for a glamorous makeup look Her blonde hair flowed around her face in waves The star made waves in January of this year when he called out the behaviour of The Bachelors when it aired on Ten. 'The behaviour of the men is so disrespectful to women... it's not cool,' he shared with his 106,000 Instagram followers. He then took another swipe at the new season, writing on his Instagram Story: 'R.I.P. Romance 10th Jan 2023.' The commentary was in regards to Felix, a professional athlete from Melbourne, packing on the PDA with a number of different girls in a matter of minutes. In October, the former reality star made the announcement that they are expecting with an adorable polaroid image. 'Baby Turnbull, Due April 2024,' the image read Michael was runner-up on Sam Frost's season of The Bachelorette in 2015, but has largely left the spotlight since his brush with fame Michael previously dated Bachelor star Tash Candyce for two years. Tash and Michael went public with their relationship in September 2018, before getting engaged two months later. They ended their engagement in February 2019, but had reconciled by August. In July 2021, she made headlines when she announced her engagement to Agostino 'Aggi' Guardiani, who appeared on Becky and Elly Miles' season of The Bachelorette. Ant McPartlin looked ready to step out on a runway on Saturday, wearing a 1,600 outfit to walk his dogs in a London park. The TV presenter, 48, appeared in high spirits as he enjoyed a fashionable stroll with his pet pooches. Channelling his inner fashionista for the outing, the Geordie star looked incredible in a Moncler Rance Down Vest worth 1,125. In keeping with the luxurious ensemble, he paired his pricy jacket with an Amiri 3 Star Trucker Hat, which cost an eye-watering 330. To finish off his highly priced walking outfit, Ant stepped out in a pair of Nike Lunar Force 1 Duckboots, priced at 165. Ant McPartlin, 48, looked ready to step out on a runway on Saturday, wearing a 1,600 outfit to walk his dogs in a London park (pictured with his chocolate Labrador, Hurley) Channelling his inner fashionista for the outing, the Geordie star looked incredible in a Moncler Rance Down Vest worth 1,125, and a 330 Amiri 3 Star Trucker Hat Ant walked his two Maltipoos (Maltese and poodle crossbreeds), called Milo and Bumble and his chocolate Labrador, Hurley, who he shares with his ex-wife Lisa Armstrong. His pregnant wife, Anne-Marie, was nowhere to be seen for the outing, but the TV host star was spotted catching up with a friend during his walk. Last month, Ant broke his silence on becoming a father for the first time in a candid interview as he spoke about taking a break from hosting Saturday Night Takeaway. Ant opened up about the real reasons for the show's pause in an interview with Fault Magazine as he publicly addressed his wife's pregnancy for the first time. He said: 'We [he and Declan Donnelly] have both got children that we need to spend time with for a little bit. 'We need time to think and, and time to step back and look at the bigger picture and just see where we are now.' Ant is set to become a father for the first time in June. It will be Ant's first while Anne-Marie has two children from her previous marriage. Meanwhile Dec shares two children - Isla, age five, and Jack, one, with his wife Ali Astall. To finish off his highly priced walking outfit, Ant stepped out in a pair of Nike Lunar Force 1 Duckboots, priced at 165 It was previously rumoured in December that Anne-Marie could be expecting their first child , after she appeared to be several months pregnant while returning from a trip to Dubai (seen at their wedding) The pair got together after meeting while Anne-Marie worked for Ant and his former wife, Lisa Armstrong (pictured in 2021) It was previously rumoured in December that Anne-Marie could be expecting their first child, after she appeared to be several months pregnant while returning from a trip to Dubai. According to The Sun Ant had already confided the wonderful news to Dec following weeks of speculation, with a source telling the publication: 'This is the news everyone wanted. Ant and Anne- Marie are beyond delighted.' 'It's no secret that Ant has always wanted children, but that it may never happen for him was something he had, sadly, come to terms with.' They went on to describe Ant as a 'wonderful doting father' to Anne-Marie's children and said the couple did everything they could to keep the news a secret for as long as possible. Adding: 'To be having a child two years short of his 50th birthday, with the love of his life, is the stuff of dreams for Ant.' Ant has always been open about his desire to be a father. In 2013 he revealed his and ex-wife Lisa Armstrong's struggles, saying: 'There's a rumour that I'm holding off having kids till Dec finds himself Mrs Right. 'I love that idea, but I'm afraid it's not true. Lisa and I would love to have kids. We're trying. It's tougher than you think when you get a bit older.' The TV star credits his wife, who he married in a lavish 500k wedding in 2021, for getting him through his alcohol and prescription drug addictions. Matthew Perry's ex-girlfriend has urged the 2024 Academy Awards to pay tribute to the late Hollywood actor as part of the In Memorium section. Kayti Edwards, who dated him in 2006 and worked as his assistant in 2011, said it was 'his dream to be recognised' after the BAFTAs failed to mention him last month. Matthew was found face-down in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home on October 28 last year at the age of 54, with the autopsy confirming that he died from the 'acute effects of ketamine' and drowning. In February, fans were outraged when he was left off the memoriam list at the 77th EE British Academy Film Awards when they paid tribute to a host of other actors. Speaking to The Mirror, Kayti said: 'I know that it would mean a lot for him to be honoured at the Oscars in some way.' Matthew Perry 's ex-girlfriend has urged the 2024 Academy Awards to pay tribute to the late Hollywood actor as part of the In Memorium section Kayti Edwards, who dated him in 2006 and worked as his assistant in 2011, said it was 'his dream to be recognised' after the BAFTAs failed to mention him last month She continued: 'I remember having a conversation with him about how it was always his dream to be recognised and not just for Friends. 'He was always aware of the sad reality that Friends got tons of awardsbut personally, I dont think he got one.' Despite his illustrious career in Hollywood after finding fame as Chandler Bing on the NBC sitcom, he was not included in the tribute at the BAFTAs annual awards ceremony. Following his rise to fame on the 1990s sitcom alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc, he starred in a host of films including The Kid with Bruce Willis and Fools Rush In with Salma Hayek as well as The Whole Nine Yards and Birds of America. In 2009, he starred alongside Zac Efron in 17 Again in what became his final cinematic appearance. Viewers were left furious at the lack of mention, as one fumed: 'I love the BAFTAs so much right. I watch it religiously every year. A spokesperson later confirmed that Matthew would be remembered during the television awards in May because of his signature role. A spokesman said: 'I can confirm he will be remembered in our forthcoming Television Awards'. Matthew was found in the hot tub at his home on October 28 last year and in February, fans were outraged when he was left off the memoriam list at the British Academy Film Awards Speaking to The Mirror, Kayti said: 'I know that it would mean a lot for him to be honoured at the Oscars in some way' He was best known for starring as Chandler Bing on Friends but also had an illustrious career in Hollywood (pictured with Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow) In his last post to his Instagram, posted the week he died, the star shared images of him in his hot tub, which is next to his infinity pool In December, the medical examiner's report revealed that he died from the 'acute effects of ketamine' and drowning - having similar quantities of ketamine in his system as a hospital patient under general anaesthetic. Kayti has since demanded police re-open the investigation into his death amid fears he had 'rogue' medical staff giving him drugs as she did not believe he bought ketamine from the street. The medical examiner reported that Perry had been sober for 19 months, and there was no trace of heroin, cocaine, meth or fentanyl in his system. Perry had been undergoing ketamine infusion therapy for depression. But his final session was a week and a half before he died, meaning it did not directly cause his death. Edwards said she felt that the ketamine treatment would have pushed him back to doing drugs beyond the doctor's office. Dame Joan Collins showcased her age-defying visage as she attended the British Consulate General pre-Oscars event on Friday. The 90-year-old actress, looked incredible in a fabulous black dress as she celebrated British excellence in film during the 96th Academy Awards in LA. She cut a trendy figure as she stepped out wearing a huge silver statement necklace featuring a cross. Joan wore a knee-length black flowy dress that she paired with a black bedazzled blazer which featured padded shoulders. Adding inches to her petite frame, the Dynasty star opted for a pair of black, pointed-toe kitten-heeled stilettoes. Dame Joan Collins showcased her age defying looks as she stepped out to the British Consulate General pre-Oscars event on Friday The 90-year-old actress, looked incredible in a fabulous black dress as she celebrated British excellence in film during the 96th Academy Awards in LA Rocking a pouty red lip, the brunette beauty opted for a full glam makeup look as she pouted cherry red lip. Joan was spotted catching up with guest Emily Cloke as she also looked fabulous in black as she opted for a floor-length dress for the event. TV presenter Ross King was also spotted at the Californian event. The 62-year-old looked dapper as usual in a two-piece black suit, which he paired with an electric blue pocket wipe. The talent looked in high spirits as he joined Joan for a chat during the ceremony. Jameela Jamil was a vision for the occasion as she stepped out in an electric blue figure-hugging dress. The Love At First Sight narrator looked sensational as she showcased her slender figure and long luscious locks. She finished off her stunning outfit with a pair of black stilettoes. Joan wore a knee-length black flowy dress that she paired with a black bedazzled blazer which featured padded shoulders (pictured with Emily Cloke) TV presenter Ross King was also spotted at the Californian event. The 62-year-old looked dapper as usual in a two-piece black suit, which he paired with an electric blue pocket wipe Jameela Jamil was a vision for the occasion as she stepped out in an electric blue figure-hugging dress The Love At First Sight narrator looked sensational as she showcased her slender figure and long luscious locks With just a few days to go until the 96th Academy Awards on Sunday, the show's producers are feeling good about what theyve put together. The nominees are some of the best the Oscars have seen, including some true blockbusters like Oppenheimer and Barbie. Ryan Gosling is singing 'I'm Just Ken' during the show, as well as presenting along with stars like Charlize Theron and Melissa McCarthy. There will be a live orchestra in the theater. And the ever-reliable Jimmy Kimmel is back to host the proceedings for the fourth time. 'We're really excited about this year,' said Kimmel's wife Molly McNearney, who is executive producing the show for the fourth time. 'It's a phenomenal year of movies. And we have great movies that the home audience is familiar with, which makes our jobs easier.' The producers were hired earlier than usual, meaning theyve had more time to plan and study past Oscars broadcasts to try to home in on what works and what doesn't. One thing theyve learned is that if the room is laughing, the audience at home is usually laughing too. McNearney said that they're focusing on jokes over big, highly produced comedy bits. Kimmel will do his 10-minute monologue to kick off the show and will be sprinkled throughout. 'I think an evening that just makes people feel good is a win,' McNearney said. 'Our job as producers is to keep that feeling good moving quickly because it is a long show and we want to make sure people are staying throughout.' Another thing that works: When the speeches are good and people feel invested in the winners. Mike Eck casts his vote at the District 6 polling center at Old Greenwich School in Old Greenwich, Conn. Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media GREENWICH Greenwich schools will be in session on April 2, the day of Connecticut's presidential primary. The Board of Education voted to keep schools open on primary day at a special Thursday night meeting, even though many school buildings are used as polling locations. Originally, the board was scheduled to make a decision about whether or not to keep schools open during the primary election at its Feb. 22 meeting, but the members chose to delay the vote to get more information, including what the projected voter turnout is going to be. Advertisement Article continues below this ad BOE Chair Karen Kowalski said that she talked with Greenwich registrar of voters Fred DeCaro about providing the schools security on April 2 and voter turnout, which is expected to be low. "Obviously, security is the upmost and foremost important thing with respect to our students and teachers, other staff, our parents," Kowalski said. Because of expected low voter turnout and plans in place to provide the schools security, the board voted to keep the schools open for this particular election. "With respect to the fact that it is late in the year for kids who are preparing for various tests, particularly (Advanced Placement) exams, losing a day of school would have a lot of impact or could have an impact on that," Kowalski said. "I do think it's important to recognize the exception that we are making because obviously we would normally close schools as we have in the past." Advertisement Article continues below this ad Superintendent Toni Jones told the board members at the Feb. 22 meeting that the last time schools were open on an election day, district officials "did have a request from (Greenwich Education Association) that we not do that again." But since there is not a competitive race on either side of the presidential ballot, Board member Laura Kostin said at the Thursday meeting she doesn't "see why this would be a very high turnout kind of day." "Given there's early voting opportunities and each party only has one candidate now so I don't know why we're having a primary but I guess it's on the calendar and we have to have one," Kostin said. Kowalski on Thursday reminded the public that voting takes place all day. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "The hours of school are actually very few if you think about it, and there's plenty of time before and after to vote. And those who are planning on voting, I would encourage you to use those times of the day, which would also have less impact on you as an individual on parking and otherwise," Kowalski said. Early voting is available March 26 to March 28 and March 30, while absentee ballots start on March 12. Andrew Scotts mum Nora has died following a 'sudden illness' - just days before Mother's Day. The family announced the sad news on Saturday, adding that Nora passed away on Thursday March 7 surrounded by her family in St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin. An obituary reads: 'It is with our deepest sorrow that we inform you of the passing of Nora Scott (nee Boyle), beloved wife of Jim, mother of Sarah, Andrew and Hannah. 'Scott, Sandymount, Dublin, formerly Omagh Co. Tyrone, March 7th 2024 peacefully surrounded by her loving family and best friend Anne, in St Vincent's Hospital following a sudden illness. 'Nora will be deeply missed by her beloved husband Jim, her loving children Sarah, Andrew and Hannah.' Andrew Scotts mum Nora has died following a 'sudden illness' just days before Mother's Day (Andrew pictured last month) The family announced the sad news on Saturday, adding that Nora passed away on Thursday March 7 surrounded by her family in St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin Andrew, 47, has yet to comment. MailOnline has contacted his representatives. In 2018, Nora revealed Anthony Hopkins sent her 'more than three dozen red roses,' after finding out she was ill when speaking to Andrew on the set of King Lear. Anthony, 86, starred in the BBC's Shakespeare adaptation as an English Stalin with Andrew playing Edgar - who becomes Lears secret protector. She told RTEs Ryan Tubridy at the time: 'There was probably more than three dozen red roses and attached to them was a little card from Anthony saying "Be well, sending hugs", and all sorts of things.' 'I was thrilled to get such a gift and for the kind thought that promoted it. 'Now I have recovered, I can enjoy these exquisite roses that grace our hall. It was such a beautiful gift.' She defended the actor amid reports Anthony had not spoken to his daughter Abigail his only child for two decades. It was said he didnt care about the family split, admitting that he was cold about his daughter, who uses the name Abigail Harrison. In 2018, Nora revealed Anthony Hopkins sent her 'more than three dozen red roses,' after finding out she was ill when speaking to Andrew on the set of King Lear Nora added: 'My son Andrew said Anthony had a positive attitude to life and was absolutely lovely to work with.' In January, Andrew and his co-star Paul Mescal admitted they weren't too keen on their family members watching their new film All Of Us Strangers. The movie stars Andrew as a screenwriter drawn back to his childhood home who enters into a relationship with a mysterious neighbour, played by Paul, 27. The film features several intimate scenes between the actors which the pair discussed during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show. Asked if their families had seen the flick yet, Paul said: 'With the Irish premiere, trying to allocate tickets to all the aunties and uncles is a tricky business. They have seen my bum before but there is a little more going on in this movie I would say!' Andrew added: 'I don't want to be there when my parents watch it!' She delighted fans by reprising her role as Bianca Jackson earlier this week. But Patsy Palmer's impending exit from EastEnders is coming sooner than fans may have hoped, with the actress filming her final scenes for the soap on Friday. The soap star, 51, was spotted heading back to her London hotel after wrapping work on her return as Bianca. Patsy put on a colourful display in purple joggers, teamed with black, red, and white Nike high-top Air Force trainers. Desperately trying to carry all her scripts, phone and bag in one hand, the fiery redhead wrapped up warm in a knee-length black puffer coat. Patsy Palmer cut a casual figure as she arrived at her London hotel after filming her last scenes on EastEnders. The soap star, 51, put on a colourful display as she stepped out in purple joggers after filming the final scenes of her brief return as Bianca Jackson for the BBC show Patsy's character first hit screens in 1993 before Patsy quit in 1999 to spend more time with her family. She returned to screens in 2002 for a special and made further returns in 2009 and 2019, before her upcoming comeback. In January, Patsy was seen filming alongside her on-screen daughter Shona McGarty, James Farrar and Natalie Cassidy alongside a police car in a move that will no doubt delight long-time fans of the show. During the evening scene, heavily pregnant Whitney (played by Shona), can be seen walking into trouble as she tries to look out for a young mysterious girl. Bianca, Zack, and Sonia were also spotted trying to lend Whitney a helping hand. However, things quickly spiral out of control when the four of them come across the young girl's mother, who is also a drug addict, and a violent fight breaks out. Tragedy then quickly struck after heavily pregnant Whitney suddenly gets hit by a car, sparking speculation that the star could be about to have a heartbreaking end to her time on the show. During the devastating scene, Zack and Sonia can be seen looking on in utter shock as they witness Whitney being run over and the scene ends on a dramatic cliffhanger. Desperately trying to carry all her scripts, phone and bag in one hand, the fiery redhead wrapped up warm in a knee-length black puffer coat Patsy's character first hit screens in 1993 before Patsy quit in 1999 to spend more time with her family However, fans will have to wait and see whether this tragic accident will be linked to her exit. Patsy announced her return to the soap earlier in the month, writing: 'I'm so excited to be reprising the role of Bianca. EastEnders holds such a special place in my heart, so it's always a pleasure to be back.' It comes after Shona McGarty, 31, revealed last year that she would be quitting the soap after portraying Whitney for 15 years, after joining at the age of 16 in 2008. Speaking to The Sun on Sunday about her decision to leave Albert Square, Shona said: 'I have decided to spread my wings and will be leaving EastEnders. I have loved my years in the show.' A source told the publication that it 'wasn't an easy decision' but that Shona feels now is the right time to 'try something new.' They added: 'She is hoping the door will be left open for her character to return one day, but nothing is guaranteed and it is all in the hands of the scriptwriters.' As the adopted daughter of the infamous Bianca (played by Patsy), Whitney was part of several hard-hitting storylines. In January, Patsy was seen filming alongside her on-screen daughter Shona McGarty, James Farrar and Natalie Cassidy alongside a police car in a move that will no doubt delight long-time fans of the show. During the evening scene, heavily pregnant Whitney (played by Shona), can be seen walking into trouble as she tries to look out for a young mysterious girl In 2008 Whitney was groomed and abused by her onscreen mum's partner and in 2020 she killed deranged Leo King for the soap's 35th anniversary. It is thought Shona will pursue a singing career, something she hasn't shied away from. The source told The Sun: 'As well as acting, Shona loves singing and has a real musical talent, so that is one of the options available.' The star narrowly missed out on winning the Best Leading Performer at last year's British Soap Awards, but EastEnders bagged the big prize Best British Soap. Megan Fox earned an embarrassing two Golden Raspberry Awards this year, nearly a decade after she was first granted the dubious honor. Held every year just before the Oscars, the parody awards show gives out prizes for the worst work in a variety of categories. This year's 'winners' were announced on Saturday morning, with embarrassing consequences for Megan. Not only was she given worst actress for the action movie Johnny & Clyde, she also got worst supporting actress for the latest Expendables movie. Entitled Exp4ndables, the newest installment in the action franchise also netted a worst supporting actor Razzie for Megan's leading man Sylvester Stallone. Megan Fox earned an embarrassing two Golden Raspberry Awards this year, nearly a decade after she was first granted the dubious honor; pictured in February She given worst actress for the action movie Johnny & Clyde, which stars her as a casino owner resorting to desperate measures to protect her business from a heist Johnny & Clyde stars Avan Jogia and Ajani Russell as the title characters, a pair of roving serial killers who are also romantically involved with each other. Their plans to hold up an Atlantic City casino go awry when they fall afoul of its hardboiled owner, played by none other than Megan. In order to fend off the crime couple, Megan's character turns to the occult and enlists the services of a demon called Bakwas to defend her casino. The movie received such a catastrophically poor response from the critics that it currently holds a 0% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Meanwhile, Exp4ndables comes at the tail end of a previously wildly successful franchise that brought together action stars old and new. Sylvester Stallone, who won worst supporting actor this year, has the all-time record for most Razzies, having earned 12 over the course of his career. One of those prizes, however, was the Redeemer award, a rare positive Razzie offered to him for his acclaimed performance in Creed. His history with the awards show stretches back to its early days in the 1980s, when he won worst actor for his 1984 musical Rhinestone co-starring Dolly Parton. She also got worst supporting actress for the latest Expendables movie Exp4ndables, in which she is pictured with Andy Garcia and Jacob Scipio Entitled Exp4ndables, the newest installment in the action franchise also netted a worst supporting actor Razzie for Megan's leading man Sylvester Stallone Megan meanwhile won her first Razzie Award back in 2015, scooping up worst supporting actress for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Sly has remained consistently on the Razzies' radar ever since, to the point of netting the worst actor of the decade award in 1990. Megan meanwhile won her first Razzie Award back in 2015, scooping up worst supporting actress for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This year's Golden Raspberry Awards were dominated by the British slasher movie Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey, a horror spin on AA Milne's classic character. The movie came out early last year and was instantly received with scorn by the critics, to the tune of a current 3% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Its scathing reception was reflected at the Razzies, where Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey won a whopping five awards including worst picture. Kanye West's wife Bianca Censori was true to flesh-flashing form when the pair were seen out in Los Angeles on Friday night. The couple were attending a listening party for Vultures 2, the second part of Kanye's collaboration with his friend and fellow rap star Ty Dolla $ign. Vultures 2 was scheduled to premiere at midnight that night, and although it failed to arrive on time, Kanye and Ty have released its cover art. In spite of the album being late, the listening party proceeded anyway, and Bianca was a reliably show-stopping presence in an very risque outfit. The busty Australian, who bears a striking resemblance to Kanye's ex-wife Kim Kardashian, showed off her derriere in a peekaboo bodysuit. Kanye West's wife Bianca Censori was true to flesh-flashing form when the pair were seen out in Los Angeles on Friday night The couple were attending a listening party for Vultures 2, the second part of Kanye's collaboration with his friend and fellow rap star Ty Dolla $ign Vultures 2 was scheduled to premiere at midnight that night, and although it failed to arrive on time, Kanye and Ty have released its cover art In spite of the album being late, the listening party proceeded anyway, and Bianca was a reliably showstopping presence in an arresting outfit Bianca oozed confidence as she put her pert backside on full display as she strutted down the sidewalk. The bodysuit was perfectly fitted, allowing Bianca to flaunt her statuesque physique, and it went slightly sheer over her bust to reveal she was bra-less. Sharpening her unmistakably Kim-like features with makeup, she slicked back her jet-black hair in a look her fans have come to recognize. Kanye, meanwhile, was decked out in a white hoodie with the phrase: 'BLACK DOGS,' scrawled across the front in Russian. Wrapping a trendily oversized black leather jacket over the sweater, he rounded off the look with black trousers and matching shoes. Footage has surfaced on X, formerly known as Twitter, of Kanye and Bianca glowing with cheer as they danced at the Vultures party. Despite the excitement, Vultures 2 did not drop on midnight as scheduled, and Kanye had to assure the fan account YEFANATICS that 'we in the lab.' Shortly thereafter, he and Ty jointly posted the eye-catching album cover for Vultures 2 to their respective Instagram pages. Sharpening her unmistakably Kim-like features with makeup, she slicked back her jet-black hair in a look her fans have come to recognize The busty Australian, who bears a striking resemblance to Kanye's ex-wife Kim Kardashian , showed off her derriere in a peekaboo bodysuit A thong strap enabled Bianca to remain within the law as she strutted her stuff ahead of Kanye with her pert backside on display Kanye, meanwhile, was decked out in a white hoodie with the phrase: 'BLACK DOGS,' scrawled across the front in Russian Footage has surfaced on X , formerly known as Twitter , of Kanye and Bianca glowing with cheer as they danced at the Vultures party The cover was a picture of Kanye with his face entirely covered by a black mask, holding up a picture of Ty's brother Gabriel Griffin, aka BIG TC. BIG TC is currently in prison for murder, but has strenuously maintained his innocence, as has Ty, who released an album a few years ago called Free TC. Meanwhile Bianca's raunchy new look comes shortly after it was reported she may face legal ramifications for her nearly-nude looks in Paris during Fashion Week. Censori was spotted in Paris in a number of skimpy looks featuring crotch-baring stockings and camisoles, which were just as sheer. And on Tuesday, she did not attempt to cover up as she stepped out in her sheer stockings and went topless underneath a cropped fur coat while out with West. Her outfit, or almost lack thereof, was among her most explicit and scandalous looks yet. It was revealed on Wednesday that she could face prison or a fine of 15,000, which is over $16,000, after testing the laws of exhibitionism in Paris. Her underwear-free outings came just shortly after she was on stepmom duty to West's eldest daughter North West, 10, in Paris. During their Monday night dinner outing, she was uncharacteristically clothed. Wrapping a trendily oversized black leather jacket over the sweater, he rounded off the look with black trousers and matching shoes Meanwhile Bianca's raunchy new look comes shortly after it was reported she may face legal ramifications for her nearly-nude looks in Paris during Fashion Week Footage has surfaced on X , formerly known as Twitter , of Kanye and Bianca glowing with cheer as they danced at the Vultures party Despite the excitement, Vultures 2 did not drop on midnight as scheduled, and Kanye had to assure the fan account YEFANATICS that 'we in the lab' Shortly thereafter, he and Ty jointly posted the eye-catching album cover for Vultures 2 to their respective Instagram pages Bianca was spotted exiting a tanning salon in a dark, latex coat on Saturday The beauty was full covered in the ground-grazing jacket as she headed to a luxe black SUV North is one of four children West shares with his ex-wife Kim Kardashian. The former couple, who split in 2021, also co-parent Saint, eight, Chicago, six, and Psalm, four. West and Censori do not share any children together, but she allegedly wants to get pregnant sometime in the future. Sources close to the Censori family told DailyMail.com that she wants to have babies with the 'controlling' rapper but her father is not only concerned but also devastated. And insiders recently claimed to DailyMail.com that Kardashian warned West to tell his wife to 'cover up' around their children Michelle Keegan turned out to support her husband Mark Wright's new pop-up stall at The Trafford Centre in Manchester on Saturday. The couple, who have been married for almost nine years, launched their luxury fitness clothing brand 'AYTEE7' in the city on Friday. The former Towie star, 37, was spotted with his wife Michelle, 36, as they both got to work selling items from their latest venture. Michelle looked casual chic as she donned a grey hoody from the clothing brand and a pair of black leggings. The beauty also opted for further layering up with a black trench coat and donned a pair of white trainers to match Mark. Michelle Keegan turned out to support her husband Mark Wright's new pop-up stall at The Trafford Centre in Manchester on Saturday The couple, who have been married for almost nine years, launched their luxury fitness clothing brand 'AYTEE7' in the city on Friday To finish off the look, the actress styled her luscious brunette locks into loose waves and adorned a bronzed makeup look for the event. Mark sported a khaki green co-ord set that consisted of a long-sleeved zip-up top and a pair of skinny bottoms. He opted to complete the sporty look with a pair of white trainers and accessorised further with an Apple Watch. The couple appeared in high spirits as they struck up a pose for various snaps alongside the brand's name before greeting customers. In another snap, Mark appeared all-smiles as he served a customer before handing over a branded shopping bag filled with items from their pop-up stall. The launch comes after he trademarked the AYTEE7 brand - a nod to the year of his birth - in 2021 and Mark - who is worth around 9m - aims to sell fitness clobber that appeals to everyone and not just super-slim gym bunnies. A source told MailOnline: 'This is the opportunity to take his wealth to the next level. The gym clothes market is huge and Mark knows that. 'A rich man is about to become a very rich man!' Mark sported a khaki green co-ord set that consisted of a long-sleeved zip-up top and a pair of skinny bottoms Michelle looked casual chic as she donned a grey hoody from the clothing brand and a pair of black leggings Mark looked in good spirits as he chatted with customers throughout the day His site tells would-be customers: 'No bias, just fitness. AYTEE7 is an all-encompassing approach to fitness that leaves no one behind. 'No matter how you approach fitness AYTEE7 treats its fitness community without judgement. 'This has formed the foundation of a brand that has an open invitation to those who want to revel in an active lifestyle together.' Mark applied to trademark the name AYTEE7 under the classification including clothing, sportswear, headwear, footwear, underwear, shirts, T-shirts, sweaters, trousers and waterproof clothing with the government's Intellectual Property Office and the documents are now law. It comes after Michelle and her husband Mark celebrated her grandfather's 90th birthday at a Scottish estate and country club last month. The launch comes after he trademarked the AYTEE7 brand - a nod to the year of his birth - in 2021 and Mark aims to sell fitness clobber that appeals to everyone and not just gym bunnies In another snap, Mark appeared all-smiles as he posed towards the cameras giving them the 'thumbs up' before the launch In another snap, he can be seen briefing people on his team before any customers arrived And once the pop-up stall began, Mark could be seen serving a customer before handing over a branded shopping bag filled with items from their pop-up stall The Coronation Street actress enjoyed a three-day long celebration at Ingliston Estate and Country Club in Bishopton, near Glasgow Airport. She was joined by her family, including her brother Andrew and her dad Mike, who was born in Scotland. Mark had been booked to DJ at the venue's Galentine's lunch party in their grand marquee and initially asked Michelle to join him as an extension of their own Valentine's Day celebrations. However, according to insiders, when Mark showed her the swish venue, the couple thought it would be perfect for her grandfather's party and ended up booking Ingliston's boutique hotel, function room and some lodges exclusively for their use. They are believed to have hosted fifty of their guests at the venue, which also saw Mark party with over five hundred revellers. The three-day-long celebration began when Michelle and Mark were spotted by fellow diners enjoying a meal at the resort's Palominos restaurant. It comes after Michelle (third right) spent the weekend partying last month at a Scottish estate and country club with her husband Mark (far right) and family to celebrate her grandfather Michael's (second right) 90th birthday The actress enjoyed a three day long celebration at Ingliston Estate and Country Club in Bishopton, near Glasgow Airport (Michelle and Michael pictured) She was joined by her family, including her brother Andrew and her dad Mike (left), who was born in Scotland As she and Mark tucked into their food, they were joined by other Scots-born family members who soon took over a large section of the restaurant. The following day Michelle was spotted enjoying time with the horses on-site at the 100-acre country club twenty minutes from Glasgow centre. She also posted a picture of herself beside her grandfather as they tucked into a pint of Guinness following her breakfast of some square sausage, writing: 'Let the weekend celebrations begin. Happy 90th birthday grandad.' Michelle also made a brief appearance onstage with Mark, her dad, grandad and other family members as revellers chanted her name at the venue during his set, but the star became overwhelmed as she was swamped for pictures from adoring fans. Later the couple, alongside their relatives and friends, headed to the art deco Salerno Suite, which boasts furniture from the Savoy hotel, to carry on with their celebrations. They are believed to have carried on until the early hours and left the venue on Sunday. An Ingliston spokesperson said: 'We were delighted to host Mark Wright, Michelle Keegan and their family for what turned out to be a momentous occasion. 'It's not every day you get to celebrate your grandfather's 90th birthday and we are delighted such a high profile and much loved couple decided to spend his birthday with us. It made our Galentine's event even more special.' Jade Goody's widower Jack Tweed has revealed he is getting remarried to girlfriend Ellie Sargeant, 15 years after his first wife's death. Jack, 36, tied the knot in a very emotional wedding ceremony with Jade - who was 27 at the time - a month before she died from cervical cancer in March 2009. But the TV star is ready to embrace a new chapter as he confirmed his intentions to tie the knot with his partner Ellie, 29. Speaking to The Mirror, Jack said: 'This is love again. I never thought I would find it. But 15 years on from Jade passing away, I feel like I've found love once more. I've taken my time I couldn't rush.' He added: 'I will always love Jade. That will never change. She was my first love. We shared so many happy memories and heartbreaking ones as well especially towards the last few months. Jade Goody 's widower Jack Tweed revealed he is happily getting remarried with his girlfriend Ellie Sargeant, 15 years after his tragic marriage to the late reality star Jack, 36, tied the knot in a very emotional wedding ceremony with Jade - who was 27 at the time - a month before she died from cervical cancer in March 2009 'But I know she'd want me to be happy, she told me that. I finally feel able to move on. It was about finding the right time.' Jack - who is now an electrician - didn't shy away from admitting marriage is 'absolutely' something he is thinking about, as well as having children. He confessed he had not 'felt right' about marriage since Jade died as it was such a 'heartbreak' for both him and the public - admitting time has 'healed a lot'. The former TV star met Ellie in 2022 through mutual friends in Essex, and the couple went public with their relationship in September of the same year. Jack rose to fame in 2007 when he took part in Celebrity Big Brother alongside Jade but after her death two years later, he suffered a heavy depression and turned to alcohol. But things have certainly took a turn for Jack, who admitted Ellie knew it was going to be hard being in a relationship with someone who used to be in the spotlight. Now leading a more modest life, he is looking forward to fatherhood, saying having children 'would be amazing'. A source previously told MailOnline: 'Jack has really fallen for Ellie. They already share a close bond and are totally smitten with each other. Talking to The Mirror , Jack said: 'This is love again. I never thought I would find it. But 15 years on from Jade passing away, I feel like I've found love once more. I've taken my time I couldn't rush' (pictured together last year) The former TV star met Ellie in 2022 through mutual friends in Essex, and the couple went public for the first time in September of the same year Now leading a way more modest life, he looks forward to fatherhood and admitted children 'would be amazing' (pictured on Good Morning Britain in 2019) 'It's still early days but pals believe they have a great chance of a future together.' Jack split from ex-girlfriend Alee Jeffreys in 2021 - whom he met on social media. The former Celebrity Big Brother star said the relationship was his 'most serious' since Jade's death in 2009. He previously admitted he found relationships hard because he was 'always comparing' girlfriends with Jade. He also had some kind words for his stepsons Bobby, 20, and Freddie, 19, as he gushed over their success in the limelight and said they remind him very much of Jade. Jack rose to fame in 2007 when he joined Celebrity Big Brother alongside Jade (pictured together in 2006) After Jade's death two years later, he suffered a heavy depression and turned to alcohol (pictured visiting Jade's grave in 2011) Jade Goody and Jack Tweeds outside her home in Waltham Abbey on February 2009 He also had some kind words for his stepsons Bobby, 20, and Freddie, 19, as he gushed over their success in the limelight and said they remind him very much of Jade (pictured with Bobby and Freddie in 2009) Earlier last month, Jack has urged Bobby and Freddie not to go on Celebrity Big Brother after revealing how life fell apart after their own appearance back in 2007. ITV producers are hoping to capitalize on the success of last year's series by reviving its celebrity spin-off - six years after it aired on Channel 5. He said: 'My advice would be to stay well clear. It is not worth it. Me and Jade did not have a great experience. It ended in disaster. 'I did not feel comfortable in that experience at all. You feel very exposed. It's constant. It feels enclosed. We met a few nice people but I would not recommend it. 'It caused a lot of problems. If they asked me what I think having been on it myself I would say avoid it. 'It was constant boredom. I'd wake up and have a shower and then wonder what to do next. It was soul-destroying at times. It was tough.' Jack said both of Jade's sons are 'flying' and appearing on the show would not be worth the 'risk'. Earlier last month, Jack has urged Bobby and Freddie not to go on Celebrity Big Brother after revealing how life fell apart after their own appearance back in 2007 (Bobby pictured last month during LFW) He said: 'My advice would be to stay well clear. It is not worth it. Me and Jade did not have a great experience. It ended in disaster' (pictured together in 2006) He added: 'Jade would be so proud of both of them. I know I am. That show caused major problems. It was a total nightmare. 'They are both doing brilliantly, it just would not be worth the risk. I am sure that is also the official advice they will be getting. 'These reality shows sound great for young and upcoming people but they have negative sides as well. It's not all they are meant to be.' Cat Deeley decided to return to the UK after her husband and son were caught up in a gun scare. The TV star, 47, moved to the US more than a decade ago and has carved out a successful presenting career over there, fronting hit shows like So You Think You Can Dance? But she has returned home to front ITV's This Morning alongside Ben Shephard after the magazine show underwent a presenter shakeup following the departures of Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby. And now, the The Sun on Sunday has discovered that the gun incident her husband Patrick Kielty, 53, and Milo, eight, were caught up in was done at the hands of ex-Amazon employee Nicholas Oates who pointed a gun at staff at a mall in Century City, LA. Cat's husband and son were having a burger at Shake Shack when the incident unfolded and she raced to the scene. Cat Deeley decided to return to the UK after her husband and son were caught up in a gun scare (pictured with husband Patrick Kielty) Cat and Ben Shephard were unveiled as the new hosts of This Morning, with ITV revealing the news three weeks ago, with a teaser clip showing their images in the ITV corridors Ex-Amazon employee Nicholas Oates pointed a gun at staff at a mall in Century City, LA when Cat's husband and then-three-year-old son were at a burger bar The former Stars in Their Eyes host previously recounted that everyone was told to 'lie down' on the floor at the scene as she recalled seeing police and helicopters when she arrived. In a 2020 interview, she said: 'Everyone was told to lie behind the counter or pushed into the loos. People were screaming and crying. 'Then, as they were all hiding, the FBI turned up with guns. Paddy kept Milo calm he didn't really know what was going on. 'As I was driving, I began to see helicopters, news vans, firemen and armed police response squads.' On February 16, 2024, Cat and Ben were finally confirmed as the upcoming regulars to take over from Holly and Phil, nine months after the iconic duo were broken apart by Schofield's departure. It had been claimed that Cat was finally won round with a more lucrative deal, but insiders at ITV denied the claims - insisting it was the ability to spend more time with family which sealed the deal. Ben said: 'This really feels like a very special moment for Cat and I to be part of the next chapter of This Morning. It's an honour to be trusted with the reigns, join Alison and Dermot and all the team that work on and off screen and do such a great job. Catwill make her official debut as main presenter of This Morning with Ben (pictured) on Monday after 14 years of living in the US On February 16, 2024, Cat and Ben were finally confirmed as the upcoming regulars to take over from Holly and Phil on the show's X account The pair had been locked in talks for some months following the exit of Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield and are now set to make their debut on Monday 'For the last ten years I've been waking up with our ITV daytime audience on GMB and I now look forward to spending time with Cat... 'Welcoming the viewers home after the school run or from their early morning routines, with a cup of tea and a mix of everything that makes This Morning so loved.' Cat added: 'This Morning is a national institution. Whenever it's on, it's like having your friends over - funny, smart, silly, heartfelt, informative and joyful - like all the greatest friendships!... 'This Morning is and always will be the viewer's show. 'Ben and I both know how much people love it, and with the help of an amazing team of people, we're going to do our best to take care of it.' Jennifer Lawrence took some time out on Friday, International Women's Day, to get her highlights touched up. The Hunger Games star, 33, was spotted at a salon in Los Angeles sipping on an iced coffee and scrolling through her phone. Foils lined the top of her head as her stylist worked to highlight the mom-of-one's long, blonde hair. The No Hard Feelings star who recently gushed about what a great parent her husband Cooke Maroney is made a series of funny faces as she stared out the window of the salon. The New York resident is on the West Coast for the Academy Awards on Sunday. Jennifer Lawrence took some time out on Friday, International Women's Day, to get her highlights touched up The Hunger Games star, 33, was spotted at a salon in Los Angeles sipping on an iced coffee and scrolling through her phone Jennifer, who an Oscar in 2013 and has been nominated three other times, is a presenter at Sunday's 96th annual awards show. Earlier this week, the Don't Look Up actress dined out in Los Angeles with friends at Mozza on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. She's been busy lately, as she was also at Paris Fashion week and attended the Christian Dior Womenswear Fall/Winter 2024-2025 show during PFW on February 27. She has been the face of Christian Dior since 2012. While in Paris, the Winter's Bone star also attended the LVMH Prize Cocktail Party in a stunning gray gown featuring sheer elements. Jennifer is mom to son Cy with husband Cooke Maroney, 39; they welcomed their first child in February 2022. 'My husband is the greatest father in the entire world, ' the No Hard Feelings star told People last summer. 'So when Im working, I dont have any more guilt than the usual every day, all-day parent guilt,' she explained. The No Hard Feelings star made a series of funny faces as she stared out the window of the salon Foils lined the top of her head as her stylist worked to highlight the mom of one's long, blonde hair The New York resident is on the West Coast for the Academy Awards on Sunday where she is a presenter of one of the awards Jennifer is mom to son Cy with husband Cooke Maroney, 39; they welcomed their first child in February 2022 'My husband is the greatest father in the entire world, ' the No Hard Feelings star told People last summer 'So when Im working, I dont have any more guilt than the usual every day, all-day parent guilt,' she explained The busy actress also attended several events during Paris Fashion Week last week While pregnant, Jennifer said in an interview with Vanity Fair that she kept her pregnancy under wraps on purpose to protect her child's privacy. 'Every instinct in my body wants to protect their privacy for the rest of their lives, as much as I can. I don't want anyone to feel welcome into their existence.' 'And I feel like that just starts with not including them in this part of my work,' she said to the outlet in November 2021. The Oscars air Sunday at 7pm ET/4pm PT. A big budget Channel 5 drama with Neil Morrissey had to be re-shot after his co-star Alexis Georgoulis was accused of rape. Love Rat, which starts tomorrow night, was left in chaos after a legal order that had protected Georgoulis, 49, from being identified as a suspect in the 2020 attack in Belgium was lifted. After being replaced by former Casualty star Gerald Kyd, more than five weeks of filming featuring lead actor Georgoulis were shot again, with the cast flown back to the Cyprus location. This mainly affected lead actress Sally Lindsay, 50, who plays a divorcee tourist who falls for Georgoulis, a hotel worker who tries to con her out of her life savings. She enlists her ex-husband, played by Men Behaving Badly star Morrissey, 61, to get her money back. The claim against Georgoulis, who is also a Greek MEP, came to light only when the European Parliament voted to lift his prosecution immunity last June. Belgian authorities had asked for the immunity to end. A bug budget Channel 5 drama with Neil Morrissey (pictured) had to be re-shot after his co-star Alexis Georgoulis was accused of rape Love Rat, which starts tomorrow night, was left in chaos after a legal order that had protected Georgoulis, 49, (pictured) from being identified was lifted The show stars Sally Lindsay who was flown into Cyprus for five weeks of re-shoots after her co-star's identity was revealed The alleged victim of rape, in early 2020, is a former European Parliament employee. Georgoulis vehemently denies the allegation. Georgoulis, who played Keeley Hawes love interest in ITVs The Durrells, was dismissed from the Leftist Greek Syriza party as soon as the immunity was raised. Channel 5 chiefs also quickly axed him from Love Rat. A source on the show said: When Georgoulis was cast in the role, the allegation of rape against him had already been made. But due to his status as an MEP he was protected by immunity, so Channel 5 had no idea about any of it. Filming finished in December of 2022 and the drama was in the edit stage when the rape allegation was finally made public. Channel 5 had spent a huge amount on the four hour-long episodes but they were left with no choice but to cut him from the drama. A decision was made in summer 2023 to recast the role. Mr Kyd, 51, was brought in to replace Georgouliss character Niko, meaning former Coronation Street actress Ms Lindsay had to return to Cyprus to refilm all of her characters scenes with him. The show source said: Sally had to refilm everything shed previously done with Georgoulis. Fortunately, Neil Morrissey didnt have that many scenes with this character it was mainly Sally who had to do it all again, this time with Gerald. Hugh Bonneville has been on a series of dates with Canadian actress Claire Rankin just months after his split from wife Lulu Williams. The Downton Abbey star, 60, has reportedly been spending time with Claire, 53, at his London flat as well as an evening at the luxurious Broadwick Soho Hotel. According to The Sun, Hugh also took the actress to an event at Buckingham Palace where she met Queen Camilla as well as dinner with his Downton co-stars. Claire was previously married to the actor Josh Randall who appeared alongside Hugh in US sitcom Courting Alex nearly 20 years ago. Claire has shared snaps of her recent trip to London on her Instagram account, however Hugh has not been featured in them. Hugh Bonneville has been on a series of dates with Canadian actress Claire Rankin just months after his split from wife Lulu Williams (pictured with Lulu in 2019) The Downton Abbey star, 60, has reportedly been spending time with Claire, 53, (pictured) at his London flat as well as an evening at the luxurious Broadwick Soho Hotel An onlooker who saw the pair strolling in central London said: 'Hugh and Claire looked so happy together, they couldnt stop smiling. 'They looked liked any other couple and seemed to be really enjoying each others company.' Hugh recently delivered a reading to the young winners of a BBC writing competition with Claire in the audience. On Wednesday, they were said to have enjoyed dinner with Hugh's Downton co-star Michelle Dockery. On Friday, Claire shared a photo taken at the airport as she prepared to return to Canada. The actress, from Prince Edward Island, began acting in Shakespeare plays in the 90s and appeared on shows including Ally McBeal, Without A Trace and House. MailOnline has contacted representatives of Hugh Bonneville for comment. A spokesperson for Hugh confirmed in September that he and his ex Lulu, who lived together for 25 years at their home in West Sussex, ended their marriage. Claire has shared snaps of her recent trip to London on her Instagram account, however Hugh has not been featured in them Hugh also took the actress to an event at Buckingham Palace where she met Queen Camilla Claire was previously married to the actor Josh Randall (pictured together in 2001) Josh and Hugh appeared together in US sitcom Courting Alex nearly 20 years ago Hugh recently delivered a reading to the young winners of a BBC writing competition with Claire in the audience However, it seems the split has not been smooth sailing, with a source revealing: 'It is clear that Lulu feels as if 20-odd years of marriage counts for nothing.' Lulu often accompanied her husband to premieres and film sets and her recent absence sparked rumours the pair were having troubles. The actor, famous for his role as Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, had never shied away from expressing his love for Lulu, having previously called her his 'bedrock' and 'anchor' and crediting his wife for being the backbone of their household. A source told The Sun: 'Hugh has been away from home filming a lot this year. He has lost a bit of weight this summer, he was looking trim, tanned and relaxed.' The heartbreak came just five years after the couple renewed their vows at Graceland chapel in Las Vegas. A spokesperson for Hugh confirmed in September that he and his ex Lulu, who lived together for 25 years at their home in West Sussex, ended their marriage (pictured together in 2017) The pair met as teens but reconnected later in life and got together in their 30s, thanks in no small part to Hugh's mother Patricia. Hugh has said: 'Lulu was running a marquee company... my mother rang her to hire some chairs or something and said, ''Do you remember Hugh?'' 'It did infuriate me that I had to give full credit to my mum for reintroducing us.' The former couple later tied the knot in November 1998. In previous interviews Bonneville claimed he was 'completely indebted' to his wife for the way she supported him throughout his career while looking after their son Felix, 20, who himself has enjoyed success on the screen. 'Lulu's priority has been to be a bedrock for Felix and me and I'm completely indebted to her,' he said. File photo: The former Stone House Restaurant which was converted to office space for Oceanco LLC is on the market. File photo File photo: The former Stone House Restaurant which was office space for Oceanco LLC is on the market. File photo Chamard Vineyard file photo. File photo SHORELINE Nearly nine years after the landmark Stone House restaurant was sold, the property is on the market again for some 65 percent higher than its purchase price in 2015, at $4.25 million. The land and building at 506 Whitfield St., was purchased for $2.75 million from Stone House Group Realty LLC, Aug. 4, 2015. It was converted into office space for Oceanco LLC, owned by Michael Rothberg, trustee of Jonathan M. Rothberg. Pas Place restaurant, located on adjoining property at 514 Old Whitfield St. and owned by the same entity, is not on the market. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Along with two other pieces of Guilford property, the Rothberg family is selling the 40-acre Chamard Vineyard in Clinton, listed at $8.5 million. The property at 115 Cow Hill Road in Clinton was purchased in 2005. There will always be a restaurant in the winery there, said Coldwell Banker Realty listing agent Joe Piscitelli. We dont want to sell it to developers, he said. Weve had inquiries, hes not interested. He wants to keep it what it is. Rothberg's other properties for sale in Guilford include the the historic Harriet Beecher Stowe House at 485 Whitfield St., listed at $1.5 million and the former site of the Rothberg Institute for Childhood Diseases at 530 Old Whitfield, listed at $9.75 million. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Beecher Stowe, an important American author, had lived in the home at one point, which was originally located on Broad Street before being moved to its current location near the Stone House. She is best known for her book Uncle Toms Cabin, which she wrote in 1852. The sale of the former Stone House Restaurant raised an outcry in town when it was being considered for office space to facilitate marine research a few years ago, leading some residents to push for a moratorium on development in the marina area there. In two public hearings, residents raised concerns over traffic, access to the marina, lighting and the definition of marine research. The current listing reads, Waterfront. The Old Stone House. Currently used as offices, but easily be refitted to accommodate a high-end restaurant, according to the listing on coldwellbankerhomes.com. Advertisement Article continues below this ad All the Rothberg businesses are now located at 351 New Whitfield St., according Piscitelli. Rothberg is an entrepreneur known for pioneering a rapid DNA sequencing method that won him the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Barack Obama. He is an adjunct professor of research genetics with Yale University and is also working with the University of Miami College of Engineering. After spending most of his life in New England, working with researchers and students at Yale University and other leading institutions, Rothberg and his family recently moved to Miami, according to news.miami.edu His Guilford home on Uncas Point Road is not currently on the market. Advertisement Article continues below this ad On the website jonathanrothberg.com. this property includes his own version of Stonehenge, which he calls the Circle of Life, build near his home in Guilford, CT, using 700 tons of granite imported from Norway. In the first two months of the year American banks closed some 222 branches. Leading the charge was Bank of America, US Bank and Citizens, which collectively accounted for nearly half of all the closures - 92 over eight weeks. If banks continue at the current rate some 1,300 will close this year. The closures, reported to federal regulator the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in January and February, are reflective of a broader trend. Banks are growing increasingly confident in the capabilities of online banking, according to Steven Reider, the founder and president of Bancography, an Alabama-based consulting firm that advises banks on branch planning and strategies. That confidence can lead to significant savings since the average freestanding bank branch costs around $2.6 million a year. In just two months, Bank of America's 41 closures might have saved it almost $100 million. In the first two months of the year, American banks closed some 222 branches. Leading the charge was Bank of America, US Bank and Citizens Your browser does not support iframes. 'Banks are willing to close a branch that isn't really overlapping any other branch on the gamble that customers are willing to drive a little bit further,' said Reider. 'I think Bank of America has leaned into that more than the other large banks have,' he added. It closed 157 branches last year but opened only 34. Reider also noted that Bank of America's merger history has meant it ended up with branches in rural locations while the industry is undergoing 'an urban to rural conversion'. 'Every census since 1910 has shown a greater proportion of Americans living in in urban areas than the preceding census, so as we become an increasingly urbanized country the demand in these legacy rural markets just fades away,' he said. Ultimately, banks are looking to consolidate the markets they are already in, and that involves placing more focus on dominating in a handful of cities. For example, Chase is moving into Kansas City with force, Fifth Third is making similar moves into Charlotte and PNC is targeting Austin. Just this week, Huntington said it would be expanding into Texas through Dallas. 'These are the high-growth metros that also tend to have favorable ratios of households per branch,' said Reider. 'The decision of location is going to be primarily predicated on where they can raise deposits and where they can attract those low cost, non interest bearing consumers.' Bank of America's merger history has also meant it ended up with more branches in rural locations but the industry is trending towards consolidating around cities Though the number of bank branch closures started to ramp up through the 2010s, it was exacerbated by the pandemic, which kept people at home. Although they have continued, they do appear to be leveling off. 'We're still shedding branches as an industry, but the pace has slowed significantly,' said Reider. A spokesperson for Bank of America told DailyMail.com last year that it was indeed closing certain branches in response to diminishing customer traffic, but that the rate of closures was likely to plateau in the future. And now, credit unions are playing a more significant role than ever before - offering very similar services to traditional banks and eating up a share of the market. Unlike banks, their footprint is expanding and they now account for around 18,000 branches across the US. 'Credit unions have been in a growth phase for the past 10 years and of course, banks have been in a reduction phase,' said Reider. 'They are branching aggressively and moving into markets community or national banks vacated,' he said. 'I think in terms of just general consumer share they're going to continue to be a significant and meaningful competitive force.' Do you hold money in a credit union? Write to money@dailymail.com Neither Putin nor Zelenskyy could gauge that this war would last so long. Many, like the US General Mark Milley, prophesied that Ukraine might fall within three days, but for the past two years, the country has survived and fought bravely against the advancing Russian Army. Now the question arises: Can NATO and the US help Ukraine win the war against Russia? So far, NATO has scrambled to pull out all its resources to give a tough fight to Russia, but there are differences among its own members Russias invasion of Ukraine completed two years last week even as the world is witnessing it silently. This conflict is affecting not only Europe and Eurasia but the entire world. However, there is no sign of hope for now. If recent history is the correct guide, one must remember that Russias assault on Ukraine began a decade ago when Russia occupied Crimea, the southern peninsula of Ukraine, in 2014. Initially, when the conflict began, the Russian operation was a reconnaissance in force, preceded by the rapid destruction of Ukrainian forces and their armed installations. However, neither Putin nor Zelenskyy could gauge that this war would last so long. Many, like US General Mark Milley, prophesied that Ukraine might fall within three days, but for the past two years, the country has survived and fought bravely against the advancing Russian Army. Now the question arises: can NATO and the US help Ukraine win the war against Russia? So far, NATO has scrambled to pull out all its resources to give a tough fight to Russia, though there are differences among its own members. All member states have already offered their weapons, expert support, money, and other supplies to Kiev to fight Moscow. On the other hand, Putin stands alone, though many countries are supporting Russia in stealth. So far, Russia has been punished with the most severe economic sanctions ever imposed on a major world power after the Second World War. By now, Russia has been completely excluded from major global financial transactions. Moreover, about 222 billion pounds of its central bank assets have already been frozen. At the same time, Russia has also imposed sanctions and restrictions on many Western agencies and high-profile personalities. According to estimates from the International Monetary Fund, Russias GDP has plummeted by 7 per cent compared to the pre-war days. Some experts on Russian politics suggest that after 35 years since the fall of the historic Berlin Wall, one of the remnants of the Cold War in Europe, Russia is facing an economic crisis that may push the erstwhile superpower into an unprecedented situation worse than its neighbours, like Estonia, Latvia, Poland, and Hungary. Only Putin and his inner circle know how they are managing the current crisis. Despite presenting a united front against Moscow, NATO and the US remain divided or rather, they are wavering together on the issue of Ukraines entry into the security bloc. This has complicated their complete financial and military support for this battered country to date. Currently, the European Union has voted for a $54 billion multi-year assistance package to Ukraine, and individual support from powerful members like the UK, France, and Germany is assured to Zelenskyy. However, opinion in the US Congress is divided on the countrys overseas engagement, especially in wars, conflicts, and other sensitive missions. Thus, a $60 billion package for Ukraine has been stalled in Congress. It is well-understood that US security agencies and experts are now largely focusing their attention on the Israel-Hamas war, Taiwan, and its continued border row with Mexico, through which millions of migrants cross over to the country from poor and disadvantaged countries in Central and South America. Another problem diverting the attention of major Ukraine backers, especially the US, from the current onslaught is the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that started on October 7, 2023. The US is seriously engaged in this conflict in West Asia. The manner in which Israel is advancing and destroying Palestinian territories and civilians in the name of rooting out Hamas militants is shocking. Even Washington is appalled by the civilian casualties that have occurred so far. However, the Israeli government, under the leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu, shows no signs of relenting, as it is determined to vanquish Hamas and its firepower. This situation is disturbing and is causing more unrest and civilian casualties in all Palestinian territories. Consequently, this crisis is making it increasingly difficult for Biden to focus more on Putin and his advances in Ukraine. The recent Munich Security Conference (MSC), a yearly gathering of politicians, diplomats, military brass, and intelligence chiefs in Germany, was alerted by the faltering advances of Kiev and the tactical gains made by Moscow. With the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the eastern city of Avdiivka, NATO and its allies are quickly considering all alternatives to prevent aggressive Russian military action on the battlefield. Meanwhile, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned that Europe cant deter Russia without US help. He said, I welcome all efforts by Canada and European allies, but the most important single decision is a decision of the US to agree to a package of support, because of the magnitude and the military capabilities of the US. We are dependent on the USit is vital. This is a trying time as the US and some major global powers like India are all approaching their national elections. Most importantly, the chances of Donald Trump returning to the White House for a second term are causing mounting disquiet among NATO members. Because Trump, with all his rhetoric, Make America Great Again, and a possible review of overseas funding to many top global agencies including NATO, might be an unimaginable disaster for Ukraine and its allies in Europe. The battle between the two neighbours is still raging, with no end in sight. Neither Zelenskyy nor Putin is blinking, even though they may be sending signals for negotiation; the demands and conditions set by both sides are not acceptable to either. The bottom line is clear-both Ukraine and Russia want to continue the chaos at the cost of their own people and resources! Moscows wall of aggression may only fall when the US and its NATO allies join the war. This is a near-impossible task for now because everyone wants to avoid a large-scale military confrontation with Russia. The result of such aggression would be disastrous and would impact both sides. By the end of March last year, after completing one year of the Ukraine offensive, Putin met with his high Security Council. He told the Council that Russia has a unique historical mission, and his elite and powerful policymakers were well aware of this mission. The Kremlin then adopted a new foreign policy doctrine that identified the US as the main source of threat to Russian security. This war has given Putin enough opportunity to gather a wide spectrum of Russian people against the West, particularly targeting America. This week, the Kremlin warned that a Russia-NATO conflict would be inevitable if European members of the organisation start sending their troops to the Ukrainian battlefield. At the beginning of this week, French President Emmanuel Macron opened the door for European nations to send their forces to Ukraine, though there was no consensus on the issue so far. At the moment, the European allies of Ukraine are only in favour of delivering more munitions to the war-ravaged nation, but the UK Ministry of Defence has clearly stated that it has no plans to send its troops to Ukraine, a similar stance expressed by Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, and finally by Stoltenberg as well. This indeed is a great relief for the entire region, as such steps would immediately trigger a big war on the continent. Russias tactics, strategy, and action since the beginning of the war have undergone several changes. During these two years of war, Moscow has replaced its generals, Defence Ministers, and ground commanders both to spring more surprise actions, stay in the course for the long haul, and finally for bringing home the image of war heroes who have been on the frontline. Putin is sharp, action-oriented, and aggressive. His goal is to reclaim the glory of the Russian Empire. But this war, by now, is largely marked by attrition. Both sides are looking for an immediate solution to end the war, but the way they are advancing is making any peace deal near impossible. Today, the real concern in Europe is that the continent is once again militarised like never before. The Trans-Atlantic security framework, NATO, is not facing any potential threat for now. Rather, it is emboldened by the joining of two new members to the network, Finland and Sweden, which has extended NATOs border with Russia. What is worrying is that the EU and NATO are solely dependent on the security guarantee of the US. Otherwise, they are vulnerable to Russian aggression. This is an advantage for Putin, but this time around, Ukraine and Europe have once again come together against Russia. It is a bad time. Trouble is just beginning. The Kremlin needs to understand that there is a limit to war and violence in Ukraine. Putin cannot take over the whole of Ukraine even if he wants to. Crimes and atrocities committed by the armed forces from both sides must come to an end. It is time to talk and practice peace! (The writer is currently President of the Global Research Foundation) In an unprecedented move a couple of days before the announcement of the General Elections schedule, Election Commissioner Arun Goel on Saturday late evening resigned from the post. The three-member Election Commission of India already had a vacancy and will now be left only with Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. Goels tenure was scheduled to end in December 2027, and on the day when he announced his departure, sources said he worked until 5 pm at Nirvachan Sadan, finalising the minutest details of the schedule. Goel was in line to replace Rajiv Kumar as the CEC after the latters retirement next year. As per the plan, the Election Commission was to announce the poll dates on Wednesday afternoon following which the Model Code of Conduct would have come into effect. In pursuance of clause (1) of Section 11 of The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, the President is pleased to accept the resignation tendered by Arun Goel, Election Commissioner, with effect from March 9, 2024, a gazette notification by the Union Law and Justice Ministry said on Saturday, a copy of which is with The Pioneer. Goels resignation comes at a time when the three-member Commission was down to two after the retirement of Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey in February. With Goels resignation being accepted, the poll panel now has only Chief Election Commissioner Kumar. As per clause (1) of Section 11 of the law, the Chief Election Commissioner or an Election Commissioner may, at any time, resign from office by giving it in writing to the President. Goel, a former IAS officer, took office as the Election Commissioner on November 21, 2022. His appointment as EC too had led to a row as he took a voluntary retirement as Secretary in a Ministry of Government of India in November 2022 and that just next day he was appointed as Election Commissioner. Sources in the Nirvachan Sadan said Goel has cited personal reasons while resigning. The Government made frantic efforts to persuade Goel not to quit, but he insisted. Government sources said since the election watchdog is left with only one commissioner it would not announce the Lok Sabha schedule and before that the process of appointing other election commissioners to meet the quorum has to be done. According to the new law on appointment of CEC and ECs passed by Parliament in the last Session, a search committee headed by the Law Minister and comprising two Union Secretaries will shortlist five names. Earlier Goels appointment had been challenged in the Supreme Court. Minister of Law picks up four names from the list of names shortlisted... The file was put up on November 18; moves the same day. Even the PM recommends the name on the same day. We dont want any confrontation, but was this done in any haste? Whats the tearing hurry, the court had asked. The petition was later dismissed by a two-judge bench last year, which noted that a Constitution Bench had examined the issue but had refused to cancel Goels appointment. During his tenure as Union Heavy Industries Secretary, Goel catalysed the e-vehicle movement in India. He implemented Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Schemes, securing investments worth Rs 67,690 crore against a target of Rs 42,500 crore. Opposition parties called the resignation of EC alarming and concerning when the nation is about to go for polls. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asked whether it is an Election Commission or Election Omission. India now has only One Election Commissioner, even as Lok Sabha elections are to be announced in a few days. Why? As I have said earlier, if we do not stop the systematic decimation of our independent institutions, our democracy shall be usurped by dictatorship, Kharge took to social media to react to the development. He regretted that the ECI will now be among the last Constitutional institutions to fall. He regretted that ECI will now be among the last Constitutional institutions to fall. While TMC Rajya Sabha member Saket Gokhale has termed Goels resignation very very concerning and pointed out that the panel to pick Election Commissioners now consists of the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, RJD chief spokesman and a member of Rajya Sabha Manoj Jha indicated something fishy in the episode. Shiv Sena (Udhhav) Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi sought to know the way the EC resigned and the speed it was accepted. Anyone remember this rhyme? Ten Little Soldiers ? Reminded after reading the news on Arun Goel stepping down as EC and the speed with which it has been accepted. It was to be 3 then it was 2 down to 1 . Heading towards none? Three Little Soldier Boys walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were two. Two Little Soldier Boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was One. One Little Soldier Boy left all alone; He went and hanged himself and then there were none, Chaturvedi quipped and also expressed dismay over the state of affairs in the independent bodies like EC. Political tension is once again brewing in Himachal Pradesh as 11 MLAs, including six Himachal Pradesh Congress rebels, have been camping at a resort in neighbouring BJP-ruled Uttarakhand. The six rebel Congress legislators were suspended from the party for cross-voting for BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha polls. Amid the ongoing crisis within the Congress in the State, a bus carrying the legislators arrived at Rishikeshs Taj Hotel, where the 11 MLAs, including six rebel Congress MLAs and three independent MLAs, were seen entering the hotel under heavy security. The legislators reached Dehradun by a chartered plane from Chandigarh on Saturday afternoon. The development comes two days after Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu visited Delhi after being summoned by the Congress top brass over the growing tensions within the party and the instability of the lone Congress-led Government in North India. sources said Sukhu presented a report on the political situation in the State and also held discussions on the Lok Sabha elections with the top brass. I have just come to know through social media that they (the rebel) have been flown by a chartered plane. This is not democracy. You are just hijacking the very principles of good elected governance, Sukhu said when his comments were sought on the latest development. The problem started last month when six Congress MLAs and three independents cross-voted for the BJP candidate Mahajan for the lone seat in the Rajya Sabha, which led to the defeat of partys official nominee Abhishek Manu Singhvi. The six MLAs - Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma and Devinder Kumar Bhutto - were later disqualified. Later, acting on a complaint by the Congress, Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania disqualified the six MLAs from the House for defying a party whip to vote on the state Budget. Himachal Minister Vikramaditya Singh tried to resolve the situation by becoming a mediator between the Congress High Command and the rebels. A day earlier Sukhu said he can have a dialogue with the six party rebels after he softened his stand towards them. In return, Sukhu blamed the BJP-led Union Government for using official machinery to destabilise his Government in the State. In the wake of escalating diplomatic tensions between India and the Maldives, the neighbouring island is feeling the ripple effects as Indians continue to refrain from visiting the region which was once a favourite tourist hotspot. Expressing concerns over the repercussions of Indias recent boycott call on his home countrys economy, particularly in the realm of tourism, Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed has issued an apology on behalf of the Maldivian people. It has impacted the Maldives a lot, and I am actually here in India. Im very worried about this. I want to say the people of the Maldives are sorry, we are sorry that this has happened. We want Indian people to come on their holidays to the Maldives, and there will not be any change in our hospitality, Nasheed said as quoted by a news agency. However, the island countrys tourism earnings through Indian tourists have already started painting a stark picture of shifting travel patterns, underscoring the reluctance of Indian travelers to visit the country which is inching towards China. Citing data available from the Maldives Tourism Ministry, Maldivian website Adhadhu has revealed that there has been a significant downturn in Indian tourist arrivals by 33 per cent compared to the previous year. According to Maldives Tourism Ministry statistics for 2023, the number of Indian tourists visiting the Maldives by March 4 last year was 41,054. However, as of March 2 this year, the number has decreased to 27,224, which is 13,830 less than the previous year, as reported by Adhadhu. Last year, India was the second largest source market for tourists to the Maldives, accounting for 10 per cent of market share during the same period. However, India has now dropped to the sixth position on the list, with a market share of 6 per cent. Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) president Riyaz Munshi too noted that there has been a substantial drop in business for the neighbouring country. This has gone in the favour of Thailand and Sri Lanka as Indians are preferring to opt for these alternatives. In fact, more than political, pro-country sentiments are dissuading potential travelers as the neighbouring countrys preference to China has not gone down well with many Indians here, he added. Usually, such shifts in preference also cast a shadow on the earnings of the hotels, resorts, restaurants, and tour operators who feel the pinch as they grapple with reduced bookings and revenue losses. In 2021 to 2023, India was the top tourist market for the Maldives, with over 200,000 tourists per year. However, the diplomatic row which began hours after President Mohamed Muizzu, a pro-China leader, took oath in November last and vowed to ensure Maldives sovereignty and one of the first steps was to demand India to withdraw all its troops. He also broke from tradition and decided to go to Beijing on his maiden foreign trip instead of New Delhi. The controversy worsened when three Maldivian Deputy Ministers made derogatory comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding his visit to Indian island Lakshadweep and his call for the development of the region as a beach tourism destination. This was followed by New Delhi summoning the Maldivian envoy and registering a strong protest against the viral posts. Despite the suspension of the Deputy Ministers involved, the fallout continued to reverberate, with concerns mounting in the Maldives tourism industry as a boycott campaign gained momentum in India, fueled by support from influential Indian figures, including film stars. The Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) too had conducted a survey to gauge the impact of booking cancellations by Indian guests, underscoring the significant repercussions of the diplomatic tensions on the tourism sector. However, the specific findings of this survey were not disclosed publicly. In a relief to the government medical colleges of the State suffering from the acute shortage of faculty, the State government has given its approval to appoint 20 assistant professors from the waiting list prepared by the Uttarakhand Medical Services Selection Board (UMSSB). The order for appointment of these assistant professors was given by the Health minister Dhan Singh Rawat on Friday. The government has decided to appoint seven of these assistant professors in the Government Doon Medical College (GDMC), five in the Government Medical College Almora, four in medical college Haldwani, three in Government Medical College Srinagar and one in Government Medical College Rudrapur. The Medical Education department had sent a recruitment requisition for 339 assistant professors in the medical colleges of the State to the UMSSB last year. The board conducted a process of the selection following which 171 candidates were selected and appointed in the vacant posts of assistant professors in the government medical colleges. The government has now decided to appoint 20 more assistant professors who were in the waiting list of the UMSSB. In a statement minister Rawat said that the government is making an effort to make appointments to all the vacant posts of the faculty in the medical colleges. The appointment of new assistant professors will help in smooth functioning of the medical colleges. It will also ensure better treatment to the patients visiting the medical college hospitals, he said. A large number of artists are expected to gather at the historic Purana Quila here on Sunday as a part of a day-long camp to create a range of artworks driven by the vision of Viksit Bharat, officials said. The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) and Lalit Kala Akademi (LKA) have joined hands for the Viksit Bharat Ambassador Artist Workshop, which will see the participation of both professional artists and fine arts students, they said on Thursday. The day-long workshop will be hosted at the Purana Quila and each artist is free to explore the medium, from sketching to acrylic painting and photography to other forms of art, said Sanjeev Kishor Goutam, director general of the NGMA. While an artist cannot be restricted to a time frame in imaging an art, the overarching theme will be Viksit Bharat by 2047, Goutam said. The event will represent a collective journey towards progress and development, encapsulating the essence of the vision for a thriving and culturally rich India, Culture Ministry officials said. The timing will be 9 am to 5 pm, Goutam said. These artists will be the Viksit Bharat ambassadors as they will dream up the developed India as they wish to see it. So, someone can depict through art a pollution-free environment in India or an India they wish to see by 2047 or even beyond if they wish too, secretary in-charge of LKA Rajiv Kumar said. The officials said around 2,000 to 3,000 professional artists are expected to attend the camp, while a call has been given to around 5,000 to 6,000 students of fine arts to take part as well. Besides, school students will be urged to participate virtually by presenting a painting or other artwork online, Kumar said. When asked if there was a plan to collect the artworks, Kumar said, We will decide after the camp, no decision as such now. Devotees throng temples on Mahashivratri across Punjab Haryana Chandigarh: On Mahashivratri, devotees in large numbers thronged temples across Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh to offer prayers on Friday. Devotees witnessed standing in long queues waiting to offer milk and fruits to Lord Shiva. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann extended his warm greetings to the people and visited a Shiv temple in Mohali along with his wife Gurpreet Kaur to pay obeisance. Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Union Territory Administrator Banwarilal Purohit also wished people and said Mahashivaratri is the most auspicious and significant spiritual festival for millions of devotees of Lord Shiva and the day is observed with fervour and devotion. Hry ACB arrests private hospital doctor for taking bribe of Rs 2 lakh in Panipat Chandigarh: The Haryana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) team on Friday arrested Dr Vishal Malik, working in a private hospital in Panipat, for taking a bribe of Rs 2 lakh. In this case, a bribe was being demanded by two other accused, namely Dr. Pawan Kumar and Clerk Naveen Kumar, working in the Civil Hospital, Panipat, through Dr Vishal Malik. The ACB team has registered a case against the accused at the police station of ACB, Karnal, and has taken action. An official spokesperson said that these accused had inspected the Imaging and Diagnostic Center being run by the complainant. During the inspection, the accused had demanded a bribe of Rs 200,000 from the complainant in exchange for not registering an FIR and filing the issued notice. Solar system being installed in Govt Schools: Hry Minister Chandigarh: Haryana Development and Panchayats Minister Devender Singh Babli on Friday said that solar systems are being installed in the government schools in the state to ensure adequate power supply and prevent disruptions to students' studies. Babli inaugurated solar panels costing Rs 31.50 lakh in the government schools of Tohana villages namely Rupawali, Karandi, Musa Khera, Shakarpura, Sadhanwas, Kudni, Meond Khurd, Nathuwal and Kana Khera. Basic infrastructure is being developed in these schools to enhance facilities and provide students with a conducive learning environment. Scientist Dr Krishna M Ella pays courtesy visit to Hry Governor Chandigarh: The Executive Chairman of Bharat Biotech and scientist Dr Krishna M Ella, along with his wife Suchitra K Ella, Managing Director of Bharat Biotech, paid a courtesy visit to the Governor of Haryana Bandaru Dattatraya, at Raj Bhavan Haryana on Friday. Dattatreya welcomed and honored Dr. Krishna M Ella and Suchitra K Ella by presenting them with shawls and an idol of Lord Shri Krishna. Statue of first teacher Savitri Bai Phule unveiled in Kharkhoda Chandigarh: Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala on Friday said that Savitri Bai Phule was not only the country's first female teacher but also a notable female freedom fighter. Mata Savitri Bai faced challenges in accessing education during a time when women were prohibited from attending school and leaving their homes to study. However, she did not allow these obstacles to hinder her pursuit of education and continued her struggle. She ultimately became the nation's first female teacher in 1948. The Deputy Chief Minister was speaking after unveiling the 21 feet tall Savitri Bai Phule statue in Kharkhoda. Ministry of Labour and Employment starts implementing E-Shram portal in Hry Chandigarh: The Ministry of Labour and Employment on Friday started implementing the E-Shram portal in Haryana to strengthen the welfare of unorganized sector workers. Under this, the labour department has resumed registration of unorganized sector workers. A government spokesperson stated that the Labour Department is committed to the welfare of the state's workers. Workers in the unorganized sector include those in agriculture, labourers, street vendors, domestic workers, and construction workers, among others. This digital platform is designed to connect unorganized workers with welfare schemes, he added. Chandigarh BJP president flags off van for collecting suggestions for party's manifesto Chandigarh: An LED van was on Friday started by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for awareness and to collect suggestions from the people to include in BJP's manifesto 'Vikas Bharat Sankalp Patra' being prepared for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. The LED van was flagged off by city party President Jitender Pal Malhotra from BJP office. This LED van will be parked in different areas of the city near markets, religious places, parks etc. It will also be stationed at all BJP's districts and divisions of the city. Womens Day 2024: Chandigarh MC launches Swacchta Ki Mohar campaign Chandigarh: Aiming towards encouraging women to assume leadership role in improving sanitation, the SHGs of the city presented them with the "Swacchata ki Mohar" badge as a symbol of their dedication to cleanliness and waste management. This initiative seeks to empower women and encourage them to play an active role in maintaining personal menstrual hygiene and a clean environment in their communities. On International Women's Day, the Municipal Corporation, in collaboration with DAY-NULM, spearheaded an awareness drive on Menstrual Sanitary Waste Management and Sanitation in the community. Women Self-Help Group (SHG) teams conducted a door-to-door awareness drive in Indira Colony, Manimajra, and Sanjay Colony in Industrial Area Phase 1. Municipal Commissioner Anindita Mitra said on the occasion that the Municipal is committed to promoting sustainable waste management practices and creating a clean and healthy environment for all residents. India became the 4th largest producer of chrome among the top five countries, including South Africa, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and Finland in the world in 2020. South Africa is the worlds leading producer of chrome and China is the single largest producer and consumer of stainless steel, followed by Korea, Taiwan and India. A US geological survey estimated an annual production of 41 million tonnes of chrome in 2021 while the global reserve was about 12 billion tonnes. As per the national mineral index data based on the United Nations framework for classification of resources, India has a reserve of 344 million tonnes of chrome and a production of 3.929 thousand tonnes in the year 2020. In India, Sukinda Vally in Jaipur continues to be the sole producer of chrome with about 98 percent reserve of the country. The rest of the reserves are found in Manipur, Nagaland, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, AP and Telangana. As per Odisha Mining Corporation data, the weighted average price per metric tonne of chrome ore for the period from 20.02.2024 to 20.03.2024 is Rs 35,611 for a higher grade and Rs12,885 for sub -grade. The total value of chrome ore in the year 2020 was about Rs 3,500 crore. Chrome mining employs about 8,000 labourers daily. Already, more than 40 villages in Sukinda block are directly affected by mining activities. Mining in Sukinda Valley dates back to 1949 and later got a boost in 1970 with the growth of ferrochrome and charge chrome plants in a big way. The chrome production in 1961 was only 4,000 tonnes, which has now reached to nearly 4 lakh tonnes during the last 60 years. About 22 private mining companies having captive mining and mineral-based industries have been hugely benefited by the export of chrome ore and ferrochrome/charge chrome and refractories. The TISCO, IMFA, FACOR, Mishrilal, Balasore Alloys, BC Mohanty and Sons, Sidhartha Mohanty, Jindal, SCM Tiscom, Ts Alloys, Sonali Enterprises and public sector such as OMC, IDCOL Ferro chrome and IDC of Odisha Limited have contributed to the mineral sector in terms of economic growth, but the local people have not benefited much from the whole activities in the area. Sukinda and its adjacent areas are mostly dominated by tribal, Dalit and OBC communities who are mostly farmers and forest dwellers. The opencast mining activities in the area spread over about 20 km have put stress on its local agricultural economy, water, soil, and forest resources. As per the 2011 Census, the total population of Sukinda was 80,344 with 16,682 families, out of which 11,000 were Scheduled Caste and 22,000 were Scheduled Tribe. Cultivators and farmers constitute more than 8,000 of the population. There has been no substantial change in their lives and livelihood. Sukinda is home to PVTGs like Juanga and Mankidia. The vulnerable condition of the people many a time was highlighted in the media, bringing to the fore their abysmal poverty and backwardness. The SCs and STs comprise a sizable number of landless families having no homestead or agriculture land. The cultivable land in their possession is not being recorded in their name, though there is provision under the OLR Act and FRA. The minimum wage rate is today different from that in non-mining areas. A number of families in affected villages are entitled to get compensation for the loss of their crops due to soil and water pollution, but there is no regular survey or assessment of the loss of farmers. As a result, farming has become the last option for people. There is huge deforestation, land damage, water pollution and loss of perennial water sources, with hydrological damage in the area having a direct bearing on the agriculture and livelihood of the locals. The negligence in refilling abandoned mines and treatment of both opencast and underground mining overburden and dumping is affecting the soil and ground water level of the area. The water crisis has been overlooked. It is a criminal negligence of the Government towards the people of the mining-hit areas. It was expected that the villages in the mining periphery area must have basic amenities, quality education, health services and viable livelihood sources through skill development supposed to be built up out of welfare funds of mining companies and special funds from Government such as CSR and DMF, OMBADF and periphery development work, but the reality depicts a sordid tale. Jajpur DMF had about Rs 2,000 crore and the adjacent Keonjhar district had about Rs 9,000 crore of mineral funds. Ironically, in spite of so much dedicated fund for the development of the area, proper planning and utilisation of the funds is missing. The DMF-Jajpur has no long-term special plan for the mining affected area considering the long- term impact on its human health, agriculture, ecology and environment. The Mahagiri hill, Brahmani river, Damasala Nala and Ganda Nala etc were directly affected due to soil, water and air pollution. A number of studies by the IBM in association with Utkal University on human health and environmental have proved the danger of hexavalent chromium which is a major cause of concern for the residents of the area, but the authorities are yet to take up any mitigation plan in the area to control the contamination of water bodies and soil health. It is reported that inhalation of chromium compounds is a potential source of development of cancer, especially lung cancer, among people living close to mining activities. Lack of political will, administrative plans and monitoring and, above all, local public awareness of issues is further worsening the situation. A handful of families who are direct beneficiaries of mining, such as the lease holders, raising contractors, transporters, traders and business families, are in nexus with the ruling parties and are instrumental in non-implementation of protective legislation to control pollution and execution of rights and entitlements of the people of the area. (manasbbsr15@gmail.com) Washington, DC, US (PANA) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday discussed with Egyptain and Saudi foreign ministers efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza for a period of at least six weeks as part of a deal that would release hostages held by Hamas and surge humanitarian assistance Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed gratitude on behalf of the people of Uttar Pradesh to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for announcing Rs 100 reduction in the price of LPG cylinders on the occasion of International Womens Day. The chief minister posted on X, Today, on the occasion of Womens Day, the decision to give a discount of Rs 100 on the prices of LPG cylinders will bring financial relief to millions of families and ensure a healthier, happier life for matri shakti by freeing them from smoke and pollution. On behalf of the people of the state, I sincerely thank you, prime minister, for this public welfare initiative that honours the matri shakti and safeguards the environment. Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday, approved the release of additional installment of dearness allowance (DA) to Central government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners. Under this, the salary/pension has been increased by 4 per cent from the existing rate of 46 per cent. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this decision through his official account on X. He called it a decision that will benefit more than 49 lakh Central government employees and over 67 lakh pensioners before Holi. Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami flagged off the weekly Tanakpur-Dehradun express from the Tanakpur railway station in Champawat district on Saturday. Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, he said that the start of the first express train from the Tanakpur railway station, built before independence, to Dehradun is the fulfillment of a dream. He said that various important cities have been connected between Tanakpur and Dehradun with the operation of the Tanakpur Express. This train will provide an easy option to people to travel from Banbasa, Khatima, Pilibhit, Bhojipura, Bareilly City, Bareilly Junction, Chandosi, Moradabad, Najibabad, Laksar and Haridwar railway stations. This train will also become a better option for people wanting to travel to the temple of goddess Purnagiri. Indian Railway is moving towards its golden era under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Indian Railway has been prepared for the past 10 years to fulfill the aspirations of a new India and meet the expectations of a self-reliant India. Removing unmanned railway crossings from broad gauge lines has made Indian Railways safer while the speed of trains has also increased considerably. Trains like the Vande Bharat express which signify self-reliance and modernity are becoming part of the rail network while work on linking untouched parts of the nation by rail is also underway, the CM said. Divisional rail manager Rekha Yadav said that the operation of this train service will especially benefit the people of Champawat and Pithoragarh districts. In a groundbreaking revelation, the Child Marriage Free India campaign comprising 160 non-governmental organisations, released a research paper on International Womens Day, underscoring the critical role of education in combating child marriage in India. Titled Educate to end child marriage: exploring linkages and role of education in elevating age at marriage for girls in India, the report advocates for free and compulsory education for all children under the age of 18, emphasising its potential to significantly reduce the prevalence of child marriage. Purujit Praharaj, the lead researcher for the report, highlighted the transformative impact of this proposed modification to the Right to Education Act, stating, This one modification could accelerate the pace to end child marriage, complementing the efforts of both Central and state governments. The campaign, operational across 300 districts grappling with high rates of child marriage, has already made substantial strides in curbing the practice. Over the past six months, their interventions have halted 50,000 child marriages nationwide, with legal action initiated in approximately 10,000 cases. Such efforts align with the global commitment to eradicate early, child and forced marriages by 2030, as outlined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Aparajita Samajik Samiti, a coalition partner, emphasised the need for concerted action and urged political parties to prioritise education and combat child marriage in their election manifestos. Kiran Bais, representing the organisation, stressed, While commendable progress has been made, there is an urgent need for a total ban on child marriage and prioritising education across the country. The research paper underscores the correlation between female literacy rates and the prevalence of child marriage, with Kerala and Mizoram exemplifying lower rates of child marriage attributed to higher female literacy. Conversely, states like Bihar exhibit a stark contrast, with lower literacy rates paralleling higher rates of child marriage. However, the paper also acknowledges exceptions such as West Bengal and Tripura, where despite relatively high female literacy rates, child marriage remains prevalent. These anomalies underscore the influence of socio-economic factors and cultural practices on the perpetuation of child marriage. Recent data from the National Family Health Survey V (NHFS 2019-21) and Census 2011 reaffirm the urgency of addressing this issue, revealing alarming statistics of child marriage prevalence in the country. As India navigates its journey towards eradicating child marriage, the nexus between education and age at marriage emerges as a potent catalyst for social change, holding the promise of a brighter, more equitable future for its girls. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has said that Indian culture is vibrant and research based. Due to this characteristic of our culture, research has been continuously encouraged in our country for thousands of years. It is our resolve to ensure that engineering colleges of the state will be developed on the lines of IITs. Campuses similar to IIT will be prepared. Students of engineering colleges will also be able to learn from the dissemination of knowledge taking place from IIT. The vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given impetus to the efforts to make India a leading country in the technology sector. Establishment of satellite campus will give a new direction to technical education in Madhya Pradesh. Chief Minister Yadav was today addressing the gathering at the inauguration of the Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship Experiential Learning Center (Deep-Tech Research and Discovery Centre) organized at the Government Engineering College, Ujjain. In his virtual address, Union Minister, Ministry of Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, Dharmendra Pradhan, said that Madhya Pradesh will be made the center of new knowledge tradition. Chief Minister Yadav inaugurated three state-of-the-art labs Astronomy and Space Engineering Heritage and Innovation Centre, Laser Engineering Lab and Maker Space Lab in the Engineering College campus of Ujjain. MLA Anil Jain Kaluheda, Mayor Mukesh Tatwal, Additional Chief Secretary Manu Srivastava and senior officials of IIT Indore were present. Chief Minister Yadav said that the scientific tradition is known as Rishi tradition in our country, in which knowledge has been well established on the basis of scientific outlook. Many attempts were made to destroy our rich culture and Rishi tradition. Today, under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the flag of our culture is flying all over the world. The world will come to our country to get educated and learn. Chief Minister Yadav said that the inauguration of DeepTech and Research Center in Ujjain is part of Vikramotsav. Vikramotsav-2024 began with the countrys Prime Minister Modi inaugurating the Vedic clock on 29 February. He said that IIT Kanpur, adopting the Indian approach, presented a wonderful model based on the calculations of planets, constellations and stars. Today the Vedic clock has become the pride of Ujjain in the country and the world. Chief Minister Yadav said that the dignity of the country has been restored. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the flag of Indian knowledge tradition is flying not only in Madhya Pradesh but throughout India. Chief Minister Yadav said that today an important work has been started from Ujjain itself to make research in the field of astronomy more effective. He said that many secrets of our rich knowledge tradition are continuously being revealed, which the world as started to accept. Our culture has been continuously encouraging and nurturing innovations. Chief Minister said that Ujjain has special importance in astronomy. The stream of science flows from the city of Lord Mahakal. He said that Ujjain will be established in the world as the city of science. Indore-Ujjain corridor should lead the knowledge tradition in Madhya Pradesh Union Education Minister Pradhan said that Indore and Ujjain corridor should take the lead in making Madhya Pradesh the center of new knowledge tradition. He said that IIT Indore should prepare a detailed road map and get it implemented. The Union Minister said that it is a matter of great pleasure that today the foundation of the Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship Experiential Learning Center has been inaugurated in Ujjain. The DeepTech Research Center of IIT Indore is an example of the implementation of the new education policy, which will be helpful in promoting innovations. People of Madhya Pradesh rich in research and innovative capabilities Union Minister Shri Pradhan said that the world is acknowledging the talent of the people of Madhya Pradesh in the field of science. The people of the state have done wonders in the field of science in foreign countries also. People of Madhya Pradesh Research are known for their exploration and innovations. These innovations should be provided appropriate platforms and implemented for future use. He asked the directors and teachers of the Indian Institute of Technology and other institutions to understand the rich Indian scientific tradition in Indian original languages. He told to deeply study about discoveries like our rainfall calculations made 300 to 400 years ago, our accurate time calculations thousands of years ago etc. Former Congress leader and son of former chief minister Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri, Manish Khanduri joined the Bharatiya Janata Party a day after resigning from the Congress. He joined the BJP in the presence of the partys State president Mahendra Bhatt, State in-charge Dushyant Kumar Gautam and chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday. Speaking on the occasion, Bhatt said that BC Khanduri had a major role in developing party workers in the State and that Manish Khanduri is part of the BJP family. He said that the trend of leaders joining the BJP impressed by the works being done under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will pick up pace. Manish Khanduri was one of the few good people remaining in the Congress so his joining the BJP to take the State and nation forward is a correct step. He had worked hard in the field during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and was appreciated by the people. We hope that the party will benefit from his capability and experience in achieving its target. Following the example set by Khanduri, many other good leaders and office bearers of the Congress will join the BJP in the coming days, the BJP State president said. Addressing the media on the occasion, Khanduri said that he had not joined the BJP for any position or election ticket. The BJP has done a lot for us- it made my father the chief minister twice and my sister the Vidhan Sabha speaker. I will contribute my bit as a party worker to take the State forward. I had joined politics based on my ideology and I made some good friends in the Congress. However, the fact is that the BJP is the only platform which enables the development of the State and nation and Prime Minister Modi is the only leader who can make this possible, he said. It will be recalled that Khanduri was fielded by the Congress as its candidate in the Garhwal constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections which he lost to the BJP candidate Tirath Singh Rawat. Stepping up preparations of the Bharatiya Janata Party for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections, the partys State election in-charge Dushyant Kumar Gautam will arrive in Dehradun on a two-day State tour today. He is scheduled to hold meetings with the election management committees of Tehri and Haridwar Lok Sabha constituencies in addition to interacting with various sections regarding the partys election manifesto campaign. Earlier, on Friday Gautam along with the BJP national media in-charge launched the Uttarakhandi version of the song based on Modis guarantee in Delhi. The BJP State media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan informed that while launching the Uttarakhandi version of Modi Ki Guarantee song in Delhi, Gautam said that the people in Uttarakhand are experiencing the guarantees of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in their daily lives in Uttarakhand as citizens across the nation are. Gautam will arrive in Dehradun on Saturday and here he will flag off a publicity video van from the Tehri constituency office near Parade Ground in the morning. He will then hold a meeting regarding the Tehri constituency with the members of the Lok Sabha core committee, election management committee, Vidhan Sabha in-charge and other office bearers. In the evening, Gautam will attend an interaction on the partys manifesto campaign. On Sunday the State in-charge will attend various programmes regarding the election manifesto in Haridwar. He will interact with representatives of labour organisations in the morning, followed by interactions with doctors and then with roadside vendors. In the afternoon, he will participate in interaction on the manifesto with prominent citizens. The Delhi government has sent the file of Cabinet decision to continue electricity subsidy scheme in 2024-25 for approval of Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, government officials on Saturday said. The Delhi Cabinet on Thursday last approved the scheme for providing free electricity supply to consumers with monthly 200 units and 50 percent subsidy to those having 201-400 units consumption per month. However, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal speaking in the Assembly on Saturday on his governments budget for 2024-25 alleged that the BJP wanted to send him to jail and stop good works of his government like free electricity scheme and shut down Mohalla Clinics and hospitals. Finance Minister Atishi presented the Kejriwal governments budget with total outlays of Rs 76,000 crore in the Delhi Assembly on Monday. In Delhi, nearly 22 lakh families who consume up to 200 units of electricity will continue to get zero amount bills. Earlier, the chief minister after the Cabinets decision to extend the power subsidy for 2024-25, congratulated the people saying it has been extended till March 31, 2025. Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Friday that the State government will not rest until every culprit involved in Haldwanis Vanbhulpura violence is put behind bars. Authorities will take strict action against those who are found guilty of causing violence and disturbing harmony, law and order in the area. The government will recover the money from those rioters who caused damage to government property during the Vanbhulpura riot. He stated this while addressing the public after laying the foundation stone of Kathgodam Roadways Bus Terminal in Haldwani on Friday. Dhami claimed that a dangerous conspiracy of land jihad had been hatched on government land for a long time in the holy land of Uttarakhand. These lands were being occupied by some people in the name of turning them into so-called religious places. He informed that the government has so far freed about 3,500 acres of land from encroachment by consistently undertaking the anti- encroachment campaign. This campaign will continue in the future too, he added. He also said that some people initially had doubts regarding the action taken by the government on land Jihad, anti-copying law, uniform civil code and the laws regarding religious conversion. However, their perception changed after observing the results of these initiatives at the ground level. The CM also handed over a cheque of Rs 10 lakh for journalists whose two-wheeler vehicles were damaged in the Vanbhulpura violence. The Vanbhulpura violence occurred on February 8 when authorities demolished a madarsa and a namaz site built illegally on government land. At least seven people were killed in the violence and over 100 persons were injured. It also led to property damage worth over Rs two crore. n The Delhi Assembly on Saturday passed a resolution that directed the chief secretary to address issues related to overflowing sewers and problems of contaminated water in the national capital within a week. The resolution said the complaints of people regarding overflowing sewers and contaminated water should be addressed on a war footing and added that the chief secretary will be responsible for disposal of these complaints. The resolution gave one week to the chief secretary for resolving the complaints. He has also been asked to submit a daily report to the Delhi government's water minister. It has also called a House session on March 15 for a detailed discussion on the issue and asked the chief secretary to be personally present and present a progress report on the complaints. The House proceedings of the ongoing Budget session have been adjourned till 11 am on March 15. Speaking in the House, Water Minister Atishi said she has been receiving 50-100 complaints regarding overflowing sewers, contamination due to intermixing of sewer and drinking water and leakage of water pipelines. "Responsibility needs to be fixed and action ensured. Enquiry and action against those officials responsible for the existing problems should be ensured by the chief secretary," Atishi, who is also the Delhi Jal Board chairperson, said. The resolution, tabled by AAP Chief Whip Dilip Pandey, said people from different constituencies have been complaining about sewer overflows and contamination of water supply. He said the Delhi Jal Board has failed to resolve the issue despite regular complaints. Atishi charged that despite orders, the Delhi Jal Board CEO neither visited the affected areas nor submitted any ground report. "On Friday (March 8) alone, I received 80 complaints within 24 hours, both on my official email and personal email, related to Delhi Jal Board matters. The problem related to the Delhi Jal Board has become quite widespread in Delhi," she said. The board's grievance redress portal has over 10,000 pending complaints, she claimed. "I have sent these complaints to the CEO and members of the board several times. As the number of complaints continued to rise, I instructed all the Delhi Jal Board officials to conduct morning rounds in their respective areas to investigate the complaints," Atishi said in the House. "Not only that, I also instructed the Delhi Jal Board CEO to conduct at least two area visits per week and members to conduct at least three area visits per week to understand the ground reality, with reports to be submitted weekly," she added. Nothing is impossible in the world. If we behave honestly, we can achieve everything, said Ranjita Hembram, the first woman president of Jharkhand Administrative Services Association, addressing the Women's Day function organized at Ranchi Press today as the chief guest. Addressing the women, she said that this blue sky is for us, we can fly as we wish. She said that men are not our rivals but our complements. Together with them we can create a better society. On this occasion, she advised women journalists to emphasize on human values of journalism. IPS officer Sarojini Lakra, who was present as a special guest in the programme, introduced the women to the untouched aspects of her life and advised them to fight their battle strongly on every front. She told how while holding senior positions in the police, he fulfilled his family, social and professional responsibilities very well. Senior High Court advocate Richa Sanchita, who participated in the program as a special guest, said that women have to be empowered. She said that when she started practicing in the High Court, at that time there were 15-20 women advocates, whereas today there are more than 500. She said that we have to prepare our own position. Special guest in the program, Dr. Mrinalini said that the enemy of women is women themselves. She said that when she came out of the labour room, she came to know that mother and mother-in-law were standing outside. The mother asks how the daughter is and the mother-in-law asks about the grandson. She said that times have changed very rapidly, but still a lot needs to be done for the respect of women. On this occasion, women journalists working in the capital including senior women journalists Anupama Singh, Sheela Kumari and Rajneesh were honoured by the Press Club by giving them saplings and mementos. The three-day Basant Mela, organized for the first time at the Press Club on Women's Day, was inaugurated by the guests. There are a total of 32 stalls in the fair, which include different stalls of electronic goods, clothes, spectacles, jewellery, paintings, toys and food. On this occasion, the Press Club organized a blood donation camp in collaboration with Health Point Hospital. Senior journalist Vijaykant Pathak donated his 50th unit of blood in the camp. Mainly present in the program were Press Club President Surendra Soren, Secretary Amarkant, Vice President Dharmendra Giri, Co-Secretary Ratan Lal, Executive Members Sanjay Suman, Arvind Pratap, Vijay Mishra, Chandan Bhattacharya, Monu Kumar, Saurav Shukla and women journalists Sharmistha Majumdar, Rekha Pathak. Karbi Dutta, Priyanka Mishra, Pratima Singh, Sushma, Neelu, Sumedha Chaudhury, Neha Warshi, Jaya Singh, Lata Rani, Pooja Bose, Aarti, Nutan, Madula. News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism. International Women's Day was celebrated with traditional enthusiasm today at BHEL, Bhopal. On this occasion, SM Ramanathan, Executive Director; Sangeeta Ramanathan, President, BHEL Ladies Club; B.K. Singh, General Manager (HR), Alpana Tiwari, General Manager (Medical) and Unit Coordinator WIPS, allgeneral managers and a large number of women employees were present. On this occasion, Sarala Menon, former Head of Medical Services, Kasturba Hospital and Manisha Anand were invited as guest speakers. Congratulating all the women employees for their role in the growth and development of the company, Ramanathan said that the contribution of women employees is highly commendable. He said that both men and women are equally important in the organisation and there is no inequality at any level here. He said that to move ahead in life, we must first avoid the feeling that "I cannot do this". The word no is the biggest obstacle to progress in life. Every one of us has the same potential and capability and we have to consider every task as a challenge and try to make every day better than the other day. He also said that a healthy mind resides in a healthy body. Therefore, while working, we should always take care of our health. Praising the multidimensional personality of women employees, he said that all individuals should always try to do something new by working in a planned manner. Along with this, we should always thank our institution, family, friends, society and God that they have made us capable of this and our success has been ensured because of them. While wishing all the women employees on International Women's Day, Sangeeta praised them for their dual role in the company and the family. He said that progress of the society is possible only through harmony, coordination and complementing each other between men and women. BK Singh appreciated the contribution of women employees in BHEL, Bhopal and highlighted their responsible work in various important departments and their contribution in the development of the company. He further said that BHEL management is fully conscious of the needs and requirements of women employees. In his speech, Menon praised the working environment and mutual harmony available in BHEL and threw light on various aspects of health in detail. He told how we can perform our work keeping our stress aside. Manisha told the women employees to take out time for themselves and try to learn something new every day. Emphasizing the need for self-reliant women, she said that true development of the society is possible only when there is equal participation of men and women. A short film on women employees working in BHEL, Bhopal was also shown in the programme. The role of Sanjay Rajbanshi, Deputy Manager (Publicity and Public Relations), Smriti Sharma, Senior Manager (HRM), Divya Joshi, Deputy General Manager (PMG) in the production of this short film produced by the Publicity and Public Relations Department is commendable. At the end of the program, Clara Toppo, Coordinator, WIPS expressed vote of thanks. A delegation of the Jharkhand Administrative Services Association met Chief Minister Champai Soren at Jharkhand Ministry on Thursday. On this occasion, the union officials expressed happiness before the Chief Minister over the decision of admissible child care leave to women government employees working in various offices of the State Government in the Council of Ministers meeting held on March 6, 2024 and expressed gratitude and gratitude to the Chief Minister. On the occasion, the union officials said before the Chief Minister that this is a historic decision taken by the state government. This decision taken just before World Women's Day (8 March) is a great gift for the women employees working in various offices of the state government. On the occasion, Chief Minister Champai Soren said that his government is determined to respect women. The state government has taken the decision in the cabinet meeting to make child care leave admissible for women employees, this decision will provide a lot of convenience to the women employees working in various offices of the state government. The Chief Minister said that his government is running many important schemes in the honour of women. Women empowerment is the priority of the state government. On the occasion, the Chief Minister extended warm wishes and congratulations to all the people of the state on International Women's Day. It is known that the officials of Jharkhand Administrative Services Association had been demanding child care leave for the last several years for the convenience of women employees. Jharkhand Administrative Service Association expressed happiness in the light of the decision and expressed gratitude towards the Chief Minister. On this occasion, Jharkhand Administrative Service Association President Ranjita Hembram, General Secretary Rahul Kumar, Joint Secretary Dilip Tirkey and Meena along with Seema Singh, Manisha Tirkey, Sanjay Kumar, Mary Madki and Annie Rinku Kujur were present. AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann launched the partys Lok Sabha poll campaign here on Friday with the slogan Sansad mein bhi Kejriwal, to Dilli hogi aur khush haal. General elections are due in April-May. The campaign was launched in the presence of other party leaders and workers from the Aam Aadmi Party headquarters on DDU Marg. I have made all efforts to serve the people of Delhi who are my family, Kejriwal said. Our slogan is Sansad mein bhi Kejriwal, to Dilli hogi aur khush haal (Delhi will be more prosperous with Kejriwal in Parliament), he said. Delhi and Punjab are ruled by AAP and these are the only two states that have free electricity supply, he said. Kejriwal said the BJP-led central government through the Delhi Lt Governor stalls every project launched by the AAP government and urged the people to strengthen him by sending all seven opposition candidates to Parliament. They hate you because you elected and brought an ordinary man to power in Delhi. They demolished Mohalla Clinics with bulldozers, they stopped door-to-door ration delivery scheme, tests and medicines in hospitals, he alleged. AAP workers will distribute pamphlets describing work done by the partys governments during campaigning for the elections, he said. Punjab chief minister Mann said his state is going to have a 13-0 result in the Lok Sabha polls in favour of AAP. He also accused the Centre of obstructing the work of the Kejriwal government in Delhi and withholding Punjabs funds. No one will dare to stop Punjabs funds and work in Delhi if the AAP has a good number of MPs in Lok Sabha, he said. The AAP will fight the general election in collaboration with INDIA bloc partner Congress under a seat-sharing arrangement it has struck with it in Delhi, Gujarat, and Haryana. In Punjab, however, both parties have decided to contest the Lok Sabha polls independently. The AAP will contest four of the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi and Congress will field its candidates on the remaining three. The party has also received two constituencies Bharuch, Jamnagar in Gujarat and Kurukshetra in Haryana under the seat-sharing deal with Congress. Separately, AAP has also declared its candidates from Guwahati, Dibrugarh and Sonitpur Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and MP Vishnudutt Sharma observed Mahashivratri with prayers at the Matangeshwar Mahadev Temple in Khajuraho, Chhatarpur district. Accompanied by Mahendra Sharma, MLAs, and district representatives, they sought blessings for the state's prosperity and its people. Emphasizing temples as centers of cultural enrichment, the Chief Minister expressed joy that Matangeshwar Mahadev stands out as one of the pioneering Sanskar Kendras, retaining its unique identity. The Chief Minister highlighted Khajuraho's significance as a destination drawing visitors from across the nation and the globe, primarily due to its renowned temple complex. Together with MP VD Sharma, it was decided to initiate construction projects aimed at renovating and enhancing not just the Matangeshwar Mahadev Temple but the entire region. Mohan Yadav noted the absence of a Nandi Griha in front of the colossal Shivalinga at Matangeshwar Mahadev Temple. To address this, plans are underway, in collaboration with the Archaeology Department, to construct and install a Nandi-like structure. Furthermore, the Madhya Pradesh government is committed to executing comprehensive development plans for the Devlok, akin to the Mahalok of Mahakaal. The Chief Minister said that just as the situation in Ayodhya changed and Pran-Prathishta of Lord Shri Ram's idols took place. Mahakal Mahalok in Ujjain was constructed, a corridor was built in Banaras, and similarly Khajuraho will also be developed under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Chief Minister said that when there was hail, frost and untimely rain in this area in the past, instructions were immediately given to the Collector for assessment. The government will fully compensate for crop loss due to hailstorm. He said that today we all should celebrate Mahashivratri with reverence. The Chief Minister also extended greetings to people of the state on Mahashivratri. Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena has given nod for the constitution of an Empowered Committee and an Oversight Committee for the implementation of a year-old Centres scheme of offering financial assistance to poor prisoners, Raj Niwas officials said on Friday. The scheme, which will be implemented according to the guidelines and standing operating procedure (SOP) issued by the ministry of home affairs, is likely to benefit at present 162 prisoners in various jails of Delhi who are unable to be released due to financial constraints and support, they added. The approximate amount required to provide assistance to these prisoners (161 under trial prisoners and one convict) have been calculated to Rs 23.79 lakh by the prison department. The scheme will not only benefit the poor jail inmates but also resolve the over-crowding problem in the jails, officials said. The LG took note that implementation of the scheme has been delayed despite the Union home minister writing to the Delhi chief minister in May last year to take advantage of the scheme for which the entire fund will be provided by the Centre. Later in June, Union home secretary had also written letter to the Delhi government for taking necessary action for the implementation of the scheme, the official said. Saxena also noticed that the scheme was part of the Union Budget 2023-24 and there is a need for its expeditious implementation according to the SOP circulated by the ministry of home affairs, he added. The home department of the Delhi government proposed that Empowered Committee according to the guidelines and SOP will have district collector or District Magistrate, secretary, district legal services authority, deputy commissioner of police, superintendent or deputy superintendent of the concerned prison, judge in-charge of the concerned prison and a nominee of the district judge. The Oversight Committee will have principal secretary (home or jail), secretary (law), secretary (state legal services authority), DIG or IG (prison), registrar general of the high court and special commissioner of police. The objectives of the scheme include providing financial assistance to those poor inmates who are primarily deprived of social ties or are less educated and belong to low income groups, the officials said. This step will enable them to become a part of the mainstream society as a valuable citizen, after getting released from jail, they added. The Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Karan Mahara has condemned the incident in which the BJP MLA from Salt Mahesh Jeena misbehaved with the Dehradun municipal commissioner Gaurav Kumar at Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD). He said that both the public representatives and the bureaucrats are accountable towards the people and they should show responsible and dignified behaviour. Mahara said that the manner in which the BJP MLA misbehaved with the officer is unfortunate and is not a good sign for healthy democracy. The PCC president however added that the officers should also understand their responsibility towards the public. Taking a dig at the BJP, Mahara said that the representatives of the BJP are exposing the real face of the party which claims to be different and give respect to everyone. He demanded that the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami should get the incident investigated in an impartial manner. State BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdev hit back at the press conference of Congress state president Rajesh Thakur and said that the country has faith in PM Modi. There is faith in Modi's guarantees. The country has no faith in Rahul Gandhi's false promises. Pratul said that Rahul Gandhi is talking about 30 lakh jobs. But in Jharkhand, about 3 lakh government posts are vacant without appointment. The state president remained silent on this issue. Pratul said that the state Congress president is talking about paper leak in the country but in Jharkhand itself, the real mastermind of the paper leak of graduate level examination has not been caught yet. This government is turning its back by just holding the pawns. Rajesh Thakur is talking about Rahul Gandhi's Yuva Roshni scheme for the youth. Under the leadership of Modi ji, the youth of the country are becoming job creators through Mudra Loan, Stand Up India and various startups and are setting an example in the world. Under Vishwakarma Yojana, people having 18 types of skills will be provided loans without mortgage and they will also provide employment in large numbers. Pratul said that Rajesh Thakur has insulted the patriotism of the youth of the country. He has insulted the Agniveers. It is highly objectionable to say that who will risk his life for a job of five to seven years? Rajesh Thakur said that Agni Veer, who has been trained in military skills, can be a threat to the country after retirement. This is extremely objectionable and questions the patriotism of these youth. Pratul said that when Rahul Gandhi took out Nyay Yatra from South to North, Congress lost the elections in three states. Now it seems as if he is moving from East to West. One by one his alliance partners are also leaving him. Overall, BJP's slogan is to cross 400 seats in 2024, so if Congress gets 24 seats out of 24, it would be a big achievement. BJP State president Manmohan Samal on Friday denied speculations about an alliance between the BJP and the BJD for contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the State. Returning from New Delhi after attending the BJPs Central Election Committee meeting, Samal said that there was no discussion about any alliance between the BJP with the States ruling party. Samal said that the Delhi meeting decided that the BJP would fight both elections alone and it would try to form the next government in the State. Bharatiya Janata Party State in-charge Dushyant Kumar Gautam said that the party has set itself a big target for this Lok Sabha election. However, the party will achieve this target with the hard work of the party workers. At a time when no section of society has been left untouched by PM Narendra Modis guarantee, the Congress is guarantying false promises. The Congress should first implement these guarantees in the States where its government is in office, he said while interacting with the media after arriving here on a two-day State visit on Saturday. He said that the BJP is committed to working with the people to make Uttarakhand an ideal State. The opinion of the people on how it wants development to take place is also being compiled. The partys election manifesto will be based on public expectations and it will be executed by the new government, he said. Our target is big so our party workers will also have to work harder. When we talk about winning the election by a margin of five lakh votes, each party worker feels his or her responsibility for achieving this target. The influence of works done by PM Modi is such that no voter or person is left untouched by it today. During his visit to Jammu and Kashmir the world saw how the people there thronged to welcome him, he said. On being asked about the guarantees announced by the Congress, he said that PM Modis guarantee is also a surety of the guarantee being fulfilled while the Congress guarantees lies. If the Congress is at all serious, it should first implement its guarantees in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Telangana, where its governments are in office, Gautam said. The BJP State president Mahendra Bhatt said that the party will leave no effort to achieve its aim of winning by a margin of more than five lakh votes. Taking a dig at the Congress, he said that the party which lacks the guarantee of surviving and where the workers have no guarantee of their leaders remaining in the party, should first guarantee that it will survive instead of making false promises to the public. The BJP MLAs, who returned to the Delhi Assembly after annulment of their suspension, walked out of the House on Saturday alleging that they were not allowed to speak on the budget of Arvind Kejriwal government. Speaker Ram Niwas Goel in a statement charged that the BJP MLAs conduct was disruptive, leading to chaos and interruption of the legislative proceedings and they disrupted the chief ministers address to the House on the budget 2024-25. Seven of the 8 BJP legislators, barring Leader of Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, were suspended by the Speaker earlier over their alleged disruption of the Lt Governors address to the House on the first day of the budget session on February 15. Bidhuri alleged that the speaker was running the legislative assembly arbitrarily and unconstitutionally, and the opposition was again denied the opportunity to speak on the budget. The BJP MLAs after the Delhi High Court order, returned to the House after 17 days, but they were treated in a biased manner which is condemnable, said Bidhuri, who has been fielded by the BJP as party candidate for the South Delhi Lok Sabha seat. The Delhi Assembly Speaker said that he was informed about Mohan Singh Bishts appointment as the new Leader of the Opposition. However, despite being called upon to address the assembly, he did not speak. Bidhuri was not present in the House when the discussion on the budget started. When Kejriwal started his speech, the BJP MLAs objected and said at least one opposition member should be allowed to address the House before the chief minister. Bisht tried to suggest that Rohini MLA Vijender Gupta should be allowed to speak but the Speaker turned down his request. Finally, the BJP MLAs walked out of the House. The statement of the Speaker said that in the democratic spirit, he has always given the opposition legislators more time to speak than the time they would rightfully get based on their actual numbers. But unfortunately they have always engaged themselves in disrupting the due proceedings of the House. Any perceived bias in treatment is unfounded and without merit. The Speaker ensures impartiality in the conduct of the assembly sessions and strives to uphold the dignity of the institution, he said. Bidhuri alleged that Kejriwal governments budget was directionless and the opposition MLAs were prevented from speaking on it as they would have exposed the government. UN Women News, March 7, 2024 Since August 2021, Afghan women and girls have been grappling with increasingly restrictive decrees limiting their participation in all aspects of social, economic, and political life. These have confined millions of women to their home, restricting their important contributions to society. Their already dire situation has been compounded in recent months by humanitarian crises. First, devastating earthquakes rocked western Afghanistan in October 2023. Then, since November 2023, hundreds of thousands of Afghans have been forced to return after a Pakistani decree on undocumented migrants went into effect. According to International Organization for Migration (IOM) data, an estimated 80 per cent of those affected are women and children. Photo essay: A glimpse into the lives of Afghan women To showcase the myriad struggles and resilience of Afghan women, UN Women and the IOM are organizing two joint photo exhibitions, at the United Nations Office in Geneva from 8 to 22 March and at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 11 to 22 March 2024, during the first week of the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, an annual global meeting of Member States, gender equality champions, and experts. This photo essay includes a selection of the anonymized photographs* and stories from this exhibition. The names and other details of women and girls featured have been changed for their protection. Many Afghans who left shortly after the Taliban takeover in August 2021 fled to neighbouring countries, such as Pakistan. In recent months, legal and economic conditions have made continuing to live abroad nearly impossible, forcing many to return to an unknown fate back home in Afghanistan. Female-headed Afghan families face additional challenges.Habiba is one of them. I lived in Pakistan for two years, says Habiba. We faced lots of problems there. They would tell us, We will drag Afghan immigrants out of Pakistan, and that they wouldnt let us stay. Because we didnt have any documents or visas, my children couldnt go to school in Pakistan. We packed all our stuff, we prayed, and it was late at night when we left the house. Due to the rush of cars and people, we spent all night at the border. We spent a cold night, because we didnt have enough warm clothing. Then, in the early morning, we started the drive back to Afghanistan. We pray that my children wouldnt starve and face any difficulties. We wish to have a better life here. I ask the international community to stand with us and help Afghan people, especially returnees. Returnees must stay in temporary shelters before heading to the IOM Transit Centre, or their hometowns.Salma, a mother of six, recently returned from Pakistan. One day, it all came crashing down around us, says Salma. The Government announced that they would be deporting all immigrants without proper documentation. We went there seeking a better life, and now we were being punished for it. I was filled with worry and anxiety as we packed up the few belongings we had and prepared to leave the only home our children had ever known. Where would we go? What would happen to us? Would we ever find a place to call home again? But even amid all this uncertainty, I knew that I had to stay strong for my children. They looked up to me, and I couldnt let them see how scared and helpless I really felt. So, I put on a brave face, and told them that everything would be okay. We left Pakistan with nothing more than the clothes on our backs and a suitcase full of dreams. For many women who have not lived in Afghanistan for years, returning to a place where they have few rights and freedoms and cannot go out in public without a mahram (male escort) has been jarring. As a counter-narrative to the Talibans campaign to render Afghan women invisible, UN Women created After August, a digital space to document and share the experiences of Afghan women. Several of their stories and randomly paired photographs are featured in the exhibition. Among them is Belqis, who was forced to sell one of her daughters. After the Taliban takeover of the country last year, I had to sell my 6-year-old daughter for 100,000 afghani to pay off the expenses of the rest of the family, says Belqis, a mother of three girls and six boys from Ghor. I have to provide for the family. We dont have tea at home. No soap. It is a bad situation. Before the Taliban takeover, Fatana was a student and vice-president of a youth union in Nuristan. She says she became a protester after watching the achievements of a lifetime disappear: I want to raise the voices of these innocent women to the international community, so that it no will longer just monitor and react, but act insteadact for the benefit of the brave women of my country, because we do not get anything from reaction! My message to the world is to raise your voice with us, women, and dont be silent. Despite all the restrictions and torture, we women have not given up and we will not! We have been projecting our voices more into the world, and we will continue on this path with our other sisters until the last moment of our lives. As a defence lawyer, Joweria used to take on womens and childrens rights, child marriage and domestic violence cases. Now, she can no longer practice law. Today, I am imprisoned in my own home simply for being a woman. Worse yet, I faced severe security threats that have forced me to leave my home. The place I lived for years, where I was respected by everyone, no longer had a place for me. In the blink of an eye, I went from the throne to the ground, and the day came when I couldnt even afford 10 afghanis for transportation. In secret, Ive been providing educational opportunities from my home for several girls who are deprived of the right to go to school. Ive raised my voice many times to change the current situation. But it seems that here, ears are deaf, and eyes are blind. No one sees us, and no one hears our voices. Still, I know that, in the end, success will be ours. Sohaila, a former parliamentary reporter from Takhar, is unemployed. Despite the restrictions, shes started collecting and sharing stories about women online: Sleepless nights haunted me, and hearing the news of the dissolution of Parliament and closure of related offices shattered me. The Taliban stripped me and all Afghan girls of the spirit of change through knowledge and awareness. Most media outlets in Afghanistan do not hire female employees and journalists. Despite that, I was not discouraged and started collecting stories of women and presenting them through online platforms to ensure that the voices of Afghan women are heard and not stifled. This is the least I can do as a woman for other Afghan women. While most girls her age are in school in other countries, 15-year-old Negina is stuck at home in Bamyan:I am making the most of my current captivity. For the past six months, Ive been teaching 12 neighbourhood children who, due to poverty or other reasons, couldnt go to school. We hold daily one-hour classes in one of the rooms in our house. Ive been teaching them subjects like math and Dari, and, fortunately, they can now read and write. Although theyve deprived me of my education, I have taught 12 other individuals, and this kind of fight against ignorance and illiteracy will be victorious, with time. Mahnaz, from Farah, is a former university student forced into marriage:I cried out loud when I got engaged. I felt helpless and found myself in a situation where I had no say in my decisions. I was in my second year of university, studying law and political science, and I aspired to work in the judicial system to protect womens rights in our country. Unfortunately, my dreams were shattered after the return of the Taliban. Many of my friends have faced similar fates, giving up their hopes and marrying against their will. For all girls who have been unable to complete their education, marriage is not a choice but a forced reality. Womens rights activist, author and poet Shabnam says her dreams may have been shattered, but not her will. I didnt accept defeat. I, alongside other courageous women, raised our voices to protest the injustices of the Taliban. We went to the streets to protest, despite all the challenges and lack of support, both domestically and internationally. The Taliban hadnt expected such courage from women. It wasnt until they realized that we posed a significant threat to their regime, that they attempted to suppress us. [A] Taliban intelligence group raided my house in the middle of the night, and on that night, my [husband was beaten in front of my] two young children, and my other family members faced the worst possible treatment by the Taliban, leaving eternal trauma etched on their souls and minds. After that night, I had no way to return home, and I was in hiding in my own land, seeking my rights. Despite all these difficulties, I wont stop. These stories and images capture the hardships that so many Afghan women are experiencing, but they also bring hope in their remarkable strength and resilience, as they find their own unique ways to resist. Note: None of the photographs featured here correspond to the stories or names mentioned, to protect the identities of the women and girls. Punjab Cabinet is set to convene for a crucial meeting on Saturday in Chandigarh, presided over by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. The timing of the meeting assumes significance as it coincides with the ongoing budget session. Sources indicated that the agenda includes discussions on the formulation of a new liquor policy for the fiscal year 2024-25, and potential revisions to the Dearness Allowance (DA) for employees. Additionally, proposals related to providing Rs 1000 financial assistance to women may also be on the agenda. Notably, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, in a post-budget session media interaction, had hinted at expediting the fulfillment of electoral promises, indicating the government's commitment to meeting its guarantees. Also, the Opposition parties have intensified their pressure on the government regarding these issues. Given the possibility of imminent Lok Sabha elections, there is speculation that proposals for a new recruitment process to address youth unemployment may also be tabled. With the government in election mode, there is anticipation regarding the direction and focus of the meeting, although the specific agenda has not been officially disclosed. Among other important issues, the Cabinet is also expected to give nod to several bills which it may table in the state assembly the next week. Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will unveil development projects worth Rs 869 crores in Sangrur district on Saturday. Mann who will hold Vikas Kranti rally in Sangrur district will dedicate/ inaugurate and launch the foundation stone of these projects to give fillip to the development of the district, a statement said. The Chief Minister will also address the gathering during a rally at Cheema village and apprise the people about various development projects. The key projects to be inaugurated by Mann include 80 bedded mother child hospital at Dhuri, 30 bedded Community Health centre at Kauhrian and 30 bedded Rural hospital at Cheema. These projects will act as a catalyst to impart quality healthcare services to the people of Sangrur district, the statement added. Meanwhile, reiterating the firm commitment of the state government to ensure the welfare of every section of society, the Chief Minister said in a statement that no stone is being left unturned for this noble cause. He said that every single penny from the state exchequer is being spent judiciously for the progress of the state and prosperity of its people. He said that the state is witnessing a new era of unprecedented development and progress in every arena adding that in the last two years the dawn of a new era has taken place in the state. Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee President Rajesh Thakur, said that unemployment has become a matter of concern during the tenure of Modi government. In view of this, if Congress comes to power at the Centre, then our leader Rahul Gandhi made the following announcements mainly in the first phase in the rally organized in Banswara Rajasthan under Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra to generate employment in the country and guarantee employment. Under this, 30 lakh posts will be created in the central government with a transparent job calendar. Presently 10 lakh posts are vacant in the Central Government and other posts are also vacant in various sectors like Education Health Army, apart from this we will also create new jobs which we will highlight in the election manifesto. Every graduate and diploma holder up to 25 years of age will be given a remuneration allowance of Rs 1 lakh every year in private and public companies under the right to apprenticeship. According to a survey, 41 paper leaks have taken place in 15 states of the country during the last 5 years, which has ruined the future of 1.5 crore (1.5 crore) applicants. Along with making strict laws to get rid of paper leaks - Along with this, the recruitment process will be made completely transparent. For this we have made a law in Jharkhand also. Under the gig economy, a new law will be made to provide a better working system and social security to the gig workers. According to NCEAR data, gig workers earn less than other workers between 2019 and 2022. Congress will implement the law passed for gig workers in Rajasthan in 2023. Congress has passed a proposal for life insurance of Rs 2 lakh and accident insurance of Rs 2 lakh in Karnataka. Congress has promised accident insurance up to Rs 5 lakh and health insurance up to Rs 10 lakh under the Rajiv Aarogyasri Scheme in Telangana, which it will fulfill. Under this, a corpus fund of Rs 5000 crore will be created so that youth up to 40 years of age can be provided assistance to start new enterprises in all the districts of the country at the district level in 5 years. Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, on Saturday, said that some rival parties were spreading rumours about the BSP forming an alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. The BSP chief reiterated her partys stand to contest the Lok Sabha on its own. The BSP supremo wrote on X that her party was preparing to contest the Lok Sabha elections with full preparation and strength. Rumours about BSP forming electoral alliances or a third front are false and misleading. The media should maintain its credibility by not giving such mischievous news. People should also remain cautious, she wrote on X. Especially in Uttar Pradesh, due to the BSPs considerable strength in fighting elections alone, the rival parties appear quite anxious. Therefore, they continue to try to mislead people by spreading various rumours on a daily basis. However, the decision of the BSP to contest the elections alone, in the interest of the Bahujan society, remains firm, Mayawati said in her statement in Hindi. In February also Mayawati had dismissed reports of her party forging a coalition as rumours, as efforts were being made by Congress leaders to include the BSP in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). Congress Uttar Pradesh in-charge Avinash Pande had last month said that the doors of INDIA bloc were open for the BSP for a united fight against the Bharatiya Janata Party in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Congress and Samajwadi Party are the two constituents of the INDIA bloc. Both the parties have reached an agreement on sharing seats in UP for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Congress will contest 17 Lok Sabha seats in UP while Akhilesh Yadavs party and other INDIA bloc partners will field candidates on the remaining 63 seats. Mayawatis statement has come four days after the Bharat Rashtra Samithi and BSP on Tuesday decided to have an alliance in Telangana for the coming Lok Sabha polls. This was announced by BRS president and former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and state BSP president RS Praveen Kumar. Rao had said he would speak to BSP supremo Mayawati soon and that Kumar had already spoken to her regarding the matter. The BSP decision is likely to be biggest hurdle for INDIA bloc, which hopes to make a clean sweep on the Muslim dominated seats in UP in the Lok Sabha election. However, Mayawati is in no mood to allow the SP-Congress alliance a cakewalk so far Muslim votes are concerned and this became evident when she decided to field Dr Mujahid Hussain from Amroha Lok Sabha constituency. Hussains candidature assumes importance for the INDIA bloc as the Amroha seat has been given to the Congress by the SP, and it has decided to field sitting BSP MP Danish Ali. Former BSP MP had also attended Rahul Gandhis ongoing Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra earlier. The Muslims constitute around 35 per cent of the total electorate in Amroha Lok Sabha constituency. Danish Ali, who had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha poll from Amroha as the joint candidate of SP and BSP, had defeated Bharatiya Janata Partys Kanwar Singh Tanwar by a margin of over 64,000 votes. Any division in the Muslim votes may dent his chances this time. The Samajwadi Party has staked its claim on the Haridwar Lok Sabha seat in Uttarakhand. The SP has already reached an agreement with the Congress on sharing seats in the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh. Both the parties are the constituents of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in 2000 and the SP had won from Haridwar constituency in the 2004 Lok Sabha election. The SP candidate had also won from the Haridwar assembly seat in past state assembly elections. According to sources in the SP, the party considers the Haridwar Lok Sabha seat beneficial for itself based on its vote bank. Since the victory of party candidate Ambrish Kumar in the 1996 assembly election and Rajendra Kumar in the 2004 Lok Sabha poll, the SP has been employing its winning strategy on this seat in every election. This time as well, the focus of the SP state leaders is on this seat, and preparations are underway. The sources said the decision on Haridwar parliamentary seat was likely to be finalised by March 10. The SP has not selected the candidate for the Haridwar Lok Sabha seat. The SP has only staked its claim to it and the candidate will be decided as soon as the seat sharing is finalised for Uttarakhand, a SP leader said. This Womens Day, the Indore city is all set to showcase the diversified talent of women as the Treasure Island Mall is hosting a captivating art exhibition titled Stree. This alluring exhibition scheduled for March 09 from 11 AM to 9 PM at the mall atrium, aims to recognize the contributions made by women artists to the art world in addition to showcasing their extraordinary talent. Led by renowned artist Pooja Singh, the exhibition is going to feature the works of over 40 talented female artists, unveiling their expressive creations. Treasure Island Mall cordially invites the public to participate in this celebration of women in the arts and to show support. Take advantage of this Women's Day opportunity to witness the ingenuity and innovation of "Stree." About Nexus Malls:Nexus Malls is the Indian retail portfolio arm of the worlds leading investment firm: The Blackstone Group. In 2016, we decided to venture into Indias booming retail market. Today, Nexus Malls boasts a portfolio of close to 10 million square feet of Grade A retail space in the country. We take pride in changing the landscape of Indian retail by acquiring 17 malls spread across 13 cities across the country. A team of Special Task Force (STF), Bhubaneswar conducted the biggest seizure of opium in Rourkela and arrested two inter-State drug traffickers in this connection. On the basis of intelligence input, the STF team, with the help of the Rourkela police, carried out a raid at a location near Panposh here on Thursday and apprehended the duo. The accused were identified as Bitu Singh Munda (46) and Rohit Munda (49) of Khunti district in Jharkhand. The two are brothers in relation. During search, opium weighing 10.508 kg and other incriminating materials were recovered and seized from their possession. They could not produce any document for possession of such contraband, for which they were apprehended and forwarded to court. During investigation/ interrogation, it was revealed that the two accused and their associates, who are yet to be arrested, used to deliver opium to the drug peddlers of Sundargarh, Rourkela and Jharkhand after procuring the same from Rajasthan. To give a boost to the semiconductor industry in the state, the Yogi Adityanath government has implemented a Semiconductor Policy in Uttar Pradesh. Under this policy, the semiconductor industry in Uttar Pradesh will be classified as an essential service provider under the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA). The ESMA was enacted to ensure uninterrupted delivery of crucial services, the disruption of which would adversely impact the daily lives of people. Under the policy, entrepreneurs establishing semiconductor units in UP will not only benefit from financial incentives but also receive non-financial support from the state government. This move marks a substantial step by the Yogi government for the success of the semiconductor sector. Furthermore, industrial authorities will ensure continuous access to adequate water and establish sewage treatment plant (STP) disposal facilities. Along with this, the unit will be allowed to obtain electricity through open access. Not only this, the unit will also be provided power banking for renewable green energy. This will be governed by the directives of the UP Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC). The government will ensure sufficient redundancy in the power grid so that reliable electricity supply can be provided for uninterrupted operation of FAB projects. Non-disturbance provisions will also be applied for the encouragement of units. Under this, semiconductor units will be provided protection to give them a conducive environment for their hassle-free operations. Some immunity has also been given to the units to provide assured business continuity. For this, approval from the board of directors of the authority will be a prerequisite for cancelling any lease agreement by a semiconductor unit in case of violation of any norms or by-laws after completing the investment by the developer and obtaining completion from the authority concerned as well as payment of full lease rent. Semiconductor units will be permitted to operate 24x7 and employ women in three shifts, with specific conditions in place. According to these conditions, units ensuring the safety of female employees will be granted permission for such operations. Additionally, semiconductor units are exempted from inspection under several Acts and the rules framed under it, except for inspections arising out of specific complaints. These units are permitted to file self-certification certificates in prescribed formats. These include the Factories Act, Maternity Benefit Act, Shops and Establishments Act, Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, Payment of Wages Act, Minimum Wage Act and Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act. KK Srivastava delves into Jungian psychology's influence on Modi's leadership, unveiling its role in societal renewal and global impact for a prosperous future Democracy is a psychological institution as much as it is a political, social, economic, or cultural one. It necessitates the assimilation of human psychology, and one way to comply with this requirement is to delve into the past, particularly the past of the country in question. There are two classes of people for whom meeting this requirement is mandatory: first, political leaders. For any leader, the past serves as a valuable teacher; understanding it provides clarity regarding their vision and mission, enabling them to handle collective human psychology efficiently and effectively for the greater welfare of all. Second, writers. Let me begin with a writer who speaks of India: India is old and India continues. This sentiment is expressed in the book India: A Wounded Civilization, a title that reflects the anguish of a young writer VS Naipaul's mind. One might recall the TV serial Ek Din Ek Jeevan, hosted by the eminent media personality Tavleen Singh, in which she used to converse with well-known personalities. In one of these programmes, VS Naipaul, when confronted with a parting question from her, What is it about India that draws you? said, Well, I suppose my religion is... is... being Indian. But that's my background, and I just have to explore it in various ways... Furthermore, in 2004, when he was a Nobel laureate, Naipaul visited the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters in Delhi, and people saw in this visit a symbol of ideological moorings. Much more amplification about his enquiry into India, i.e., the residue of old history as he calls it in his novel Magic Seeds, is available in some of his indispensable books. In Literary Occasions: A collection of Naipauls essays, he reiterates, We were an immigrant Asian community in a small plantation island in the New World. To me, India seemed very far away, mythical, but we were still full of the instincts of people of the Gangetic plain... The Ramayana was the essential Hindu story... and even with the divine machinery, the matter was very human... the epic was like a moral education for all of us. Naipauls ancestors left India in the late eighteenth century, and he was born almost five decades later, in Trinidad in 1932. He visited India for the first time in 1962, roughly eighty years after his forefathers left the country. He did not have a personal, direct memory of his religion and culture as they existed in India. Naipaul continues in Literary Occasions, The two Indias were separate. The political India, of the freedom movement, had its great names... The other, more personal India was quite hidden; it vanished when memories faded. It wasnt an India we could read about... It was to this personal India... that I went when the time came. But Naipaul was aware of the limitations that lay beneath the unconscious place of human memories. So, he admits in another novel, A Way in the World, I can give you that historical birds-eye view. But I cannot really explain the mystery of inheritance... We can go back and back, forever; we go back all of us to the very beginning; in our blood and bone and brain, we carry the memories of thousands of beings... We cannot understand all the traits we have inherited. Sometimes we can be strangers to ourselves. What could be the explicable reasons for Naipauls pursuit of India, his culture, and religion? To answer this question, let me turn to Carl Gustav Jung, one of the most significant psychiatrists of the last century, and some of his concepts: the collective unconscious, inner self-experience, wholeness, and shadow. Out of the two layers of the mind conscious and unconscious Jung splits the unconscious into the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious. The personal unconscious implies contents that were previously conscious but have become dormant, forgotten, or repressed. On the contrary, the collective unconscious is home to all accumulated historical, collective memories, and experiences of humanity. It refers to the pattern of deep unconscious instincts held collectively by human beings, which are retained in what Jung calls archetypes. Archetypes connote ancestral, inherited experiences that are collectively registered in the human brain, manifesting as the collective unconscious. Jung believed that in addition to one's personal unconscious, each individual also has a collective unconsciousness. Naipaul's repeated return to his country had deep roots in his personal and collective unconscious. When he talks about the instincts of people of the Gangetic plain or We cannot understand all the traits we have inherited, instincts here refer to the Jungian collective unconscious. Jung believes that the collective unconscious plays an enormous role in both personal and cultural growth. He says a persons destiny is the result of the collaboration between the conscious and the unconscious. Individually, access to the collective unconscious leads to personal growth and the integration of various aspects of the self. As a group, the collective unconscious influences the development of culture, symbols, and rituals. By understanding and exploring the collective unconscious, individuals and societies gain insights into their own past, identities, and the broader human experience. The collective unconscious influences every aspect of our lives, especially the emotional ones. While Jung talks about inner self-experience, he stipulates that everything within the unconscious seeks outward manifestation, necessitating the integration of the collective unconscious, which implies taking cognisance of the world and adapting to it. Individuals achieve wholeness when things repressed within the collective unconscious become available to the conscious self. Full development of the self is not attained by individuals who live out their lives in the safe confines of luxury. Only those who achieve selfhood attain wholeness and fulfillment. Let us, in the light of Jungian literature, dwell upon the relationship between democracy, leadership, and peoples hidden strengths. Carl Jung, underscoring the value psychological factors have in a genuinely functioning democracy, writes in his book, Essays on Contemporary Events, True democracy is a highly psychological institution which takes account of human nature as it is and makes allowances for the necessity of conflict within its own national boundaries. Jung also speaks of the shadow side of the self. In the shadow, there are many undeveloped strengths. Jung says, Most of the shadow is solid gold. And he adds, It is surely better to know your worst enemy is right there in your own heart. This concept has been utilised by theorists dealing with models of leadership, leading to the concept of integral leadership, which can cope with issues amid complexity. An integral leader has a larger vision of the welfare of all, including global issues. Servant Leadership is a vital requirement for such leadership, where the leader becomes a servant of the whole. This leads me to the arena of leadership, particularly in the context of India. Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi considers himself a Pradhan Sevak, whose visionary qualities have enabled the creation of platforms for synergistic and systematic solutions to emerge in various areas: be it economic, social, cultural, motivational, or international. This includes the abolition of Article 370, handling issues in the northeast region, tackling the menace of black money, focusing on investment strategies, reaching out to marginalised strata of society, digitisation, managing the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath, and equally importantly, awakening old cultural ethos and values. Prime Minister Modi has realised that the enemy is not only external but also within us. The best leaders are endowed with the capability to confront the unacknowledged or semi-acknowledged aspects of the collective unconscious and address them effectively. Such leaders are best suited to lead the transformation of historically inherited, complex problems like the ones mentioned in the preceding paragraph. Undoubtedly, Prime Minister Modi is such a leader. When Jung asserts, Most of the shadow is solid gold, he suggests that the rejected material bequeathed to the shadow is a strength we possess, but we neither know we have it nor do we accept it. When a leader like Narendra Modi, through his creative leadership, enables people to harvest the shadow, he helps them reclaim those disowned, forgotten strengths. He enables people to achieve Jungian 'wholeness.' This is enormously empowering, as people free and develop additional gifts and strengths sequestered within the collective unconscious. Not only has Prime Minister Modi gained insight into the collective unconscious of people, but he has also managed the collective outpouring with charismatic competencies. When Jung asks, Where are the superior minds capable of reflection today?, he essentially searches for great leaders capable of successfully establishing a collaboration between the conscious and the unconscious. This also activates catharsis, which serves as an antidote. I think of the following example. In the very first episode of the programme Mann Ki Baat, after saying, We have forgotten ourselves. We have become hopeless, Prime Minister Narendra Modi began a voyage into the collective unconscious by recounting what Swami Vivekananda used to say. Once, a lioness with her two cubs spotted a flock of sheep. She chased the flock with one cub accompanying her and the other left behind. The cub left behind was reared by a mother sheep. Growing up among the sheep, he started speaking the language of sheep and adapted to their ways of life. When the fully grown cub reunited with his brother, who had been left behind, he was shocked to hear him speak like a sheep. 'What are you doing, brother? You are a lion, he said. "But the brother left behind refused to believe, 'No, I am a sheep; I speak like a sheep. I was brought up by them.' The lion took his brother to a well, and both of them saw their reflection in the water. As soon as the lion saw the similarity of their faces, his self-esteem awakened, and he realised his true nature. Having narrated this, the Prime Minister said, My fellow countrymen, we, the 125 crore Indians, have tremendous strength and capabilities. We need to understand ourselves, carry our self-respect, and move forward in life to be successful, which will make our country a winning and successful nation. This is how Prime Minister Modi's superior mind, capable of reflection, began the exploration into the collective unconscious, thereby stirring, through such motivating speeches, a mass movement. In the first episode itself, glimpses of addressing the collective unconscious and catharsis are noticed, both intended to bring about positive change in individuals' and collective lives. Such leadership has the effect of integrating compensatory moves of the unconscious into consciousness in an individual. This integration of unconscious contents by individuals leads to a greater understanding and knowledge of self and society. This is a very important psychological contribution of Prime Minister Modi to the strengthening of Indian democracy and making Indias contribution to world affairs unique. Now, Indias voice at the international level is not only heard but also respected. Last but not least, let me briefly address the restoration of cultural issues. Let me turn to yet another highly celebrated book of Jung: The Undiscovered Self, where he explains his vision about the relationship between religion and the unconscious thus, ...the unconscious is the only accessible source of religious experience. This is certainly not to say that what we call unconscious is identical with god or is set up in his place. It is a medium from which the religious experience seems to flow. The Jungian view has relevance in the context of what ensued after independence in 1947. Somnath temple was renovated, and Hindus were overwhelmed with a sense of pride. History was badly in need of correction, and the renovation of Somnath temple introduced this correction. Similar discussions to rebuild the Ram temple at Ayodhya could have taken place, and historical wrongs corrected. But then politics assumed a different colour. The policy of appeasement became fashionable. Instances like the removal of the idol of Lord Ram or the halting of the rath train in Bihar or further ordering of police firing on car sevaks, in which many were killed, deeply wounded the collective unconscious of Hindus. The idea of India: A Wounded Civilization had sunk deep into the collective unconscious. Hindus deserve full praise and honour for their magnanimous and accommodating attitude in the face of adversaries and the ignominy caused to them due to appeasement policies. Addressing collective agony began when Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, and his unceasing meditation on historical ironies (for example, Article 370), in any field, has singularly contributed to not only dismantling what went wrong earlier but also timely correction of many such wrongs. Restoring cultural heritage to the country has been one of the most important contributions of Prime Minister Modi. The construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya after five centuries of struggle and suffering, along with the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of the Ram Temple, is a moment of catharsis not only for Hindus but also for all right-thinking individuals. Catharsis has served as a cure, relieving people of the psychological burden of accumulated agony and anguish. India is now a psychologically much more mature country, as people have unwavering confidence in their leader Narendra Modi; they feel they are in safe hands, and thus they are psychologically much more secure and evolved. The best way to conclude this article is to reproduce some lines from Narendra Modis poem Dawn of Wonder from his book of poems A Journey: Now there is no story of sorrow or grief, No mourning, no more to torment. The storm has gone far away, And amid the skys huge spread, Thorny crises forever banished, As dazzling hopes are born and set free. A brave dawn, time for glee. We keep the faith of Ram in our hearts, There is no occasion for melancholy. A brave dawn, a time to be free. These lyrical musings constitute a sure guarantee from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for more prosperous and brighter times ahead, not only for India but also for the world. It is not just India; even the globe requires Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister after the 2024 national elections. (The writer is former Additional Deputy Comptroller & Auditor General. He is a poet, writer and columnist. He writes for The Pioneer, The Daily Guardian and Brazilian Literary Magazine SIBILA. Views expressed here are his personal views) n Ten years on, the families of Chinese passengers who disappeared on board a lost Malaysia Airlines flight still are searching for answers. On Friday, a few dozen relatives of the passengers met officials at Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing as part of their long journey for answers. They also visited the Malaysian Embassy to present their demands. Even after such a long time, the wound remains raw for many of the families. Friday is the 10th anniversary of the disappearance of flight MH370. The Boeing 777 left Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing with 239 people on board on March 8, 2014, but took a sharp turn south and fell off the radar. It never made it to Beijing. The planes disappearance drew attention from around the world and has generated countless conspiracy theories. Only debris from the aircraft has been found. The majority of the planes passengers, 154, were Chinese. Among the families were elderly parents who lost adult children. Where did the plane go? Where is the person? said Li Shuce, who lost his son on the flight. If hes alive I want to see him; if hes dead, I want to see his body. Li was surrounded by police, who were managing the crowd in front of the building where the families met government officials. They corralled journalists behind a barrier made of ropes and a whiteboard. Later, the families went to the Malaysian embassy in Beijing where they chanted in front of the building, Malaysia, return my loved one! Without seeing them, we wont give up. Another woman who gave only her last name, Gao, because she was concerned about police harassment, said she believed her husbands death last year was precipitated by not knowing the circumstances of their sons death: He was returning from a vacation with his wife and 3-year-old daughter in Malaysia when the flight vanished. Gao and her husband belonged to a generation that could only have one child because of Chinas one-child policy, which has since been relaxed. My only request, I just want to know what happened to him. We need this, said Gao, a Beijing resident. I dont have any other requests. She said she didnt care about possible compensation from the airline, which a Chinese court is holding hearings on. The families are still holding out hope for answers. Last week, Malaysian officials said they would consider restarting the effort to find the aircraft, after a US company that conducted a previous search proposed another attempt. Gao said she has forced herself to carry on living for her family. How could I give up? If I dont stand up, how can I face them? When you meet these type of situations, you have to act for yourself, you have to be strong. ap n beijing Ten years on, the families of Chinese passengers who disappeared on board a lost Malaysia Airlines flight still are searching for answers. On Friday, a few dozen relatives of the passengers met officials at Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing as part of their long journey for answers. They also visited the Malaysian Embassy to present their demands. Even after such a long time, the wound remains raw for many of the families. Friday is the 10th anniversary of the disappearance of flight MH370. The Boeing 777 left Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing with 239 people on board on March 8, 2014, but took a sharp turn south and fell off the radar. It never made it to Beijing. The planes disappearance drew attention from around the world and has generated countless conspiracy theories. Only debris from the aircraft has been found. The majority of the planes passengers, 154, were Chinese. Among the families were elderly parents who lost adult children. Where did the plane go? Where is the person? said Li Shuce, who lost his son on the flight. If hes alive I want to see him; if hes dead, I want to see his body. Li was surrounded by police, who were managing the crowd in front of the building where the families met government officials. They corralled journalists behind a barrier made of ropes and a whiteboard. Later, the families went to the Malaysian embassy in Beijing where they chanted in front of the building, Malaysia, return my loved one! Without seeing them, we wont give up. Another woman who gave only her last name, Gao, because she was concerned about police harassment, said she believed her husbands death last year was precipitated by not knowing the circumstances of their sons death: He was returning from a vacation with his wife and 3-year-old daughter in Malaysia when the flight vanished. Gao and her husband belonged to a generation that could only have one child because of Chinas one-child policy, which has since been relaxed. My only request, I just want to know what happened to him. We need this, said Gao, a Beijing resident. I dont have any other requests. She said she didnt care about possible compensation from the airline, which a Chinese court is holding hearings on. The families are still holding out hope for answers. Last week, Malaysian officials said they would consider restarting the effort to find the aircraft, after a US company that conducted a previous search proposed another attempt. Gao said she has forced herself to carry on living for her family. How could I give up? If I dont stand up, how can I face them? When you meet these type of situations, you have to act for yourself, you have to be strong. Al Jazeera, March 8, 2024 Small groups of Afghan women have gathered in private spaces to demand that harsh restrictions on their freedoms be lifted, despite recent Taliban crackdowns on protests that have seen activists detained. The demonstrations were staged in different locations, including the provinces of Takhar and Balkh, as the world celebrated International Womens Day on Friday, according to the activists from the Purple Saturdays group an organisation formed to raise awareness and oppose restrictions on womens freedoms. In northern Takhar province, seven women held papers obscuring their faces, reading Rights, Justice, Freedom. Our silence and fear is the biggest weapon of the Taliban, a demonstrator whose face was covered said in a video. In Balkh province, several women also held up signs saying Dont give the Taliban a chance in front of a banner reading Save Afghanistan Women. About 20 women gathered at an event organised by the Afghanistan Association of the Blind in northern Mazar-i-Sharif city on Thursday. It is very painful that a woman has no value in our society today. She cannot use any of her rights, said one attendee. On Friday, Richard Bennett, the United Nations special rapporteur for human rights in Afghanistan, called on the Taliban government to immediately and unconditionally release all those who have been arbitrarily detained for defending human rights, especially the rights of women and girls. Women have protested sporadically against rules handed down by the Taliban authorities, but often in small groups and indoors out of fear of reprisals, after several activists were detained for months. Poverty and isolation Since surging back to power in August 2021, Taliban authorities have imposed numerous restrictions on women and girls, ordering women to cover up when leaving home, stopping girls and women from attending high school or university, and banning them from public spaces with laws the UN has labelled gender apartheid. They also barred them from working for the UN or NGOs, and most female government employees were dismissed from their jobs or paid to stay at home. Taliban authorities have repeatedly dismissed international criticism as propaganda. On Friday, spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the Taliban government was committed to womens rights within the framework of Islam, according to an interview with Tolo News. Marking International Womens Day, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), urged the Taliban government to lift restrictions on women and girls, saying not doing so risked further pushing the country into deeper poverty and isolation. According to UNAMA, more than 12 million Afghan women are in need of humanitarian assistance. The mission raised fears over recent crackdown on non-compliance with the Islamic dress code, which was pushing women into even greater isolation due to fear of arbitrary arrest. Alison Davidian, special representative for UN Women in Afghanistan, said the plight of Afghan women and girls was a global fight and a battle for womens rights everywhere. US President Joe Biden delivered a feisty speech on Thursday to defend his policies before skeptical voters in an election year as he launched a vitriolic attack on his Republican rival Donald Trump who he said was a threat to democracy within the country and globally. Without taking the name of Trump, Biden, a Democrat, in his final State of the Union Address to the joint session of the US Congress, less than eight months ahead of the presidential elections, identified him as my predecessor, which he mentioned as many as 13 times in his speech that lasted for over an hour. Following Super Tuesday primary contests, it has become clear that it will be a rematch of 2022 in the November 5, 2024 presidential elections. Biden, 81, who is the oldest American president, slammed Trump, 77, on several issues ranging from his recent comment on Russian President Vladimir Putin, immigration, January 6 insurrection, abortion, and gun control. A president, my predecessor, who failed the most basic duty. Any President owes the American people the duty to care. That is unforgivable, Biden, said amidst multiple standing ovations from Democratic Party lawmakers. Now, my predecessor, a former Republican President, tells Putin, Do whatever the hell you want. A former American President actually said that, bowing down to a Russian leader. Its outrageous. Its dangerous. Its unacceptable, Biden said. Trump recently said he would encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want to any NATO member country that doesnt meet spending guidelines on defence in a stunning admission he would not abide by the collective defence clause at the heart of the alliance if reelected. Biden said he came to the office determined to get America through one of the toughest periods in the nations history. Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault here at home as they are today. What makes our moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack, both at home and overseas, at the very same time. Overseas, Putin of Russia is on the march, invading Ukraine and sowing chaos throughout Europe and beyond, he said. He also sought the support of the US Congress for providing weapons to Ukraine to stop Russia. If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you, he will not. But Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine and provide the weapons it needs to defend itself. That is all Ukraine is asking, Biden said. They are not asking for American soldiers. In fact, there are no American soldiers at war in Ukraine, he said. And I am determined to keep it that way, he said. But now assistance for Ukraine is being blocked by those who want us to walk away from our leadership in the world, he said. A former American President actually said that, bowing down to a Russian leader. Its outrageous. Its dangerous. Its unacceptable, Biden said. His third State of the Union address came amidst questions over Bidens age and fitness for office. But Biden came out fired up and gave an energetic speech that was a far cry from some of his more subdued efforts that have concerned supporters. He delivered much of the speech at high volume, CNN commented. Biden said history is watching, just like history watched three years ago on January 6, referring to the mob attack on the United States Capitol Building in Washington, DC, by supporters of then-US president Trump, two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. We all saw with our own eyes these insurrectionists were not patriots. They had come to stop the peaceful transfer of power and to overturn the will of the people. January 6th and the lies about the 2020 election, and the plots to steal the election, posed the gravest threat to our democracy since the Civil War. But they failed. America stood strong and democracy prevailed, Biden said. But we must be honest, the threat remains and democracy must be defended. My predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth of January 6th. I will not do that. This is a moment to speak the truth and bury the lies. I will do that, Biden said. Between those who want to pull America back to the past and those who want to move America into the future. My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy, Biden said.A future based on the core values that have defined America.Now some other people my age see a different story. An American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution, he said. The bulk of his discussion of foreign policy came towards the end when he turned his attention to the Middle East. The Gaza war has divided Democrats, with a vocal portion of the presidents liberal flank calling for the US to use every means at its disposal to push for a ceasefire. Biden said his administration was working towards a ceasefire that would last at least 6 weeks, and he detailed a new plan - announced earlier in the day - for the US to construct a temporary seaport in Gaza to allow humanitarian aid to enter by ship.He also had some harsh words for Israel, calling the civilian casualties in Gaza heartbreaking and saying it had a fundamental responsibility to protect innocent lives. Biden also slammed Trump on his border policies and said that his predecessor has opposed his move on immigration and border security.He forcefully called on Republican lawmakers in Congress to pass a bipartisan immigration compromise that stalled last month, accusing them of derailing the proposal for political reasons. He feels it would be a political win for me and a political loser for him. Its not about him or me. Itd be a winner for America! he said. My Republican friends you owe it to the American people to get this bill done. We need to act. And if my predecessor is watching instead of playing politics and pressuring members of Congress to block this bill, join me in telling Congress to pass it! We can do it together. A ship will head to Gaza on Friday carrying humanitarian aid, the European Commission president said, as international donors launch a sea corridor to supply the territory, which faces widespread hunger and shortages of other essential supplies after nearly five months of war. A ship belonging to Spains Open Arms will make a pilot voyage to test the sea corridor, Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Cyprus, where shes inspecting preparations for the sea corridor. Its been waiting at Cypruss port of Larnaca waiting for permission to deliver food aid from World Central Kitchen, a US charity founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres. She said the EU, together with the US, the United Arab Emirates and other involved partner countries are launching the sea corridor to deliver large quantities of aid to Gaza to respond to a humanitarian catastrophe, speaking at a news conference with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides. Efforts to dramatically ramp up aid deliveries signaled growing frustration with Israels conduct in the war in the United States and Europe. The previous day, US President Joe Biden announced a plan to open an offshore port to help deliver aid, underscoring how the United States is having to go around Israel, its main Mideast ally and the top recipient of US military aid, to get aid into Gaza, including through airdrops that started last week. Israel accuses Hamas of commandeering some aid deliveries. Efforts to set up a sea route for aid deliveries come amid mounting alarm over the spread of hunger among Gazas 2.3 million people. Hunger is most acute in northern Gaza, which has been isolated by Israeli forces for months and suffered long cutoffs of food supply deliveries. After months of warnings over the risk of famine in Gaza under Israels bombardment, offensives and siege, hospital doctors have reported 20 malnutrition-related deaths at two northern Gaza hospitals. While reiterating his support for Israel, Biden used his State of the Union speech to reiterate demands that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow in more aid to Gaza. To the leadership of Israel, I say this: Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip, Biden declared before Congress. He also repeated calls for Israel to do more to protect civilians in the fighting, and to work toward Palestinian statehood as the only long-term solution to Israeli-Palestinian violence. US officials said it will likely be weeks before the Gaza pier is operational. Aid groups have said their efforts to deliver desperately needed supplies to Gaza have been hampered because of the difficulty of coordinating with the Israeli military, the ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of public order. It is even more difficult to get aid to the isolated north. Sigrid Kaag, the UN senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, told reporters late Thursday that air and sea deliveries cannot make up for a shortage of supply routes on land. EU Commission spokesman Balazs Ujvari said on Wednesday the bloc would consider air drops, but this would be a last resort and cannot replace ground access to the enclave. Ujvari said the EU has so far carried out around 40 flights to deliver aid to Gaza, primarily through Egypt. Meanwhile, efforts to reach a cease-fire before Ramadan appeared stalled. Hamas said Thursday that its delegation had left Cairo, where talks were being held, until next week. International mediators had hoped to alleviate some of the immediate crisis with a six-week cease-fire, which would have seen Hamas release some of the Israeli hostages it is holding, Israel release some Palestinian prisoners and aid groups be given access to get a major influx of assistance into Gaza. Palestinian militants are believed to be holding around 100 hostages and the remains of 30 others captured during Hamas October 7 attack, in which militants killed about 1,200 people in Israel and took some 250 hostages. Several dozen hostages were freed in a weeklong November truce, and about 30 are believed to be dead. Egyptian officials said Hamas has agreed to the main terms of such an agreement as a first stage but wants commitments that it will lead to an eventual more permanent cease-fire, while Israel wants to confine the negotiations to the more limited agreement. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the negotiations with media. Both officials said mediators are still pressing the two parties to soften their positions. Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday urged the leaders of the opposition parties to attend a review meeting of the IMF programme next week to help the cash-strapped nation to overcome the financial crisis it has been facing since 2022, an official statement said. On Thursday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) began their two-week-long second review of the March 2023 bailout of USD 2.9 billion spanning over 4 years. Wickremesinghe, who is also the finance minister, is the steer of the programme which had resulted in a series of unpopular reforms being set in to put Sri Lankas bankrupt economy back on course. Sajith Premadasa and Sivagnanam Sritharan have been invited to attend the meeting with the IMF on Monday 11 March, said the statement issued by Wickremesinghes office. The opposition parties have been critical of the IMF-dictated reforms claiming that they had placed an immense burden on the population already reeling in the unprecedented economic crisis where Sri Lanka in mid-April of 2022 declared its first-ever sovereign default. Wickremesinghe in the face of stiff criticism of his unpopular reforms by the opposition who claimed that they would opt to renegotiate the bailouts conditions has been insistent that Sri Lanka was faced only with the option of remaining with the IMF programme to stabilise its economy. Meanwhile, the state minister Shehan Semasinghe commenting on the day one of the review told reporters that the IMF had expressed satisfaction over the governments implementation of its program and was looking forward to more legislative enactments to see the economy perform better to meet its programme targets. Semasinghe hoped that the review would result in a staff-level agreement to enable the release of the third tranche of the IMF facility. Two tranches of USD 330 million each have been released in March and December of last year. Suspension of popular microblogging platform X in Pakistan entered the fourth week on Friday after it was enforced apparently to forestall the propaganda of jailed former prime minister Imran Khans party that accused the PML-N of a massive rigging in the February 8 polls. Neither the previous caretaker government nor the new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharifs administration is ready to offer any reason as to why the country is seeing the suspension of X for such a long period. Despite the Sindh High Court directing the restoration of citizens access to popular social media service X, it has remained inaccessible in Pakistan for more than three weeks. Although such decisions are usually officially justified by the authorities based on some pretext or the other, this time around the state does not seem too bothered about providing any explanation as to why users are being denied access to X. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) regulates internet access in the country. The PTA, however, flatly denies that X is blocked. If the countrys top regulator is claiming that it is not doing the blocking, who is then preventing access to X?, asked the PTI, adding that X is a valuable source of information for millions and access to it cannot be denied arbitrarily. Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has said that since the mandate thieves and their backers are afraid of peoples voices they want to place a ban on social media for an indefinite period to prolong their fascist rule. The Pakistani authorities plugged off X in mid-February following the explosive press conference of top government officer, Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaqut Chatha, alleging that Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa and Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja are involved in massive rigging in the February 8 polls. X was then taken by storm in Pakistan calling for an audit of the election and return the stolen mandate to Imran Khans PTI. The PTI claims to have won over 180 National Assembly seats out of a total 266 in the country as per Form 45 (manual result sheet) but the powers that be manipulated the results and gifted most of its over 90 NA seats to its favourite PML-N of the Sharifs. As the commissioner alleged that he was forced to change the result of 13 National Assembly seats in the Rawalpindi division making the PTI-backed independent candidates a loser to benefit the PML-N, the social media was abuzz with calls for the election audit. The Pakistani authorities found no other way to control that criticism and chose to disrupt X in the country, the PTI said. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said that shutting down the internet or any social media platforms bleeds online businesses and commerce and adds to the misery of an already fragile and struggling economy. It also infringes on peoples right to democratic decision-making, information and expression. This practice must stop immediately, it said. Commenting on the ban, Digital rights activist Nighad Dad said: You cannot set down an entire platform and impose a blanket ban. This is a clear violation of fundamental rights. It is pertinent to mention that the Pakistan authorities had shut down internet and mobile services in the country on election day. iA Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO Free Report) by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 66,376 shares of the companys stock after selling 4,868 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Altria Group by 8.5% during the second quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 96,401,945 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,367,008,000 after buying an additional 7,546,851 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 1.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,564,529 shares of the companys stock worth $3,262,710,000 after buying an additional 1,240,150 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 1.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,456,064 shares of the companys stock worth $1,857,271,000 after buying an additional 840,559 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 3.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,025,033 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,672,836,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168,982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 5.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,517,169 shares of the companys stock valued at $990,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192,266 shares in the last quarter. 58.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get Altria Group alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several brokerages have recently commented on MO. UBS Group reissued a sell rating and issued a $36.10 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $47.22. Altria Group Stock Up 0.2 % Shares of MO stock opened at $41.55 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $48.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.73 and a 200-day moving average of $41.57. Altria Group (NYSE:MO Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The company had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. The firms revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current year. Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the companys management believes its shares are undervalued. Altria Group Announces Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.43%. Altria Groups dividend payout ratio is presently 85.78%. Altria Group Company Profile (Free Report) Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Altria Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Altria Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Edinburgh Investment (LON:EDIN Get Free Report) insider Elisabeth Stheeman purchased 551 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 668 ($8.48) per share, with a total value of 3,680.68 ($4,671.51). Edinburgh Investment Trading Down 0.4 % LON EDIN opened at GBX 672 ($8.53) on Friday. Edinburgh Investment has a one year low of GBX 612.70 ($7.78) and a one year high of GBX 689 ($8.74). The company has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 669.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 662.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.70, a quick ratio of 3.88 and a current ratio of 7.79. The firm has a market capitalization of 1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 516.92 and a beta of 0.82. Get Edinburgh Investment alerts: Edinburgh Investment Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, February 1st were given a GBX 6.70 ($0.09) dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a yield of 1%. Edinburgh Investments dividend payout ratio is presently 2,076.92%. Edinburgh Investment Company Profile The Edinburgh Investment Trust plc is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Majedie Asset Management Limited. The fund invests in the public equity markets of the United Kingdom. It seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. The fund primarily invests in dividend paying growth stocks of companies. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Edinburgh Investment Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Edinburgh Investment and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA Free Report) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,362,267 shares of the aircraft producers stock after purchasing an additional 91,801 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley owned approximately 1.38% of Boeing worth $1,602,880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Boeing by 109,667.8% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,055,730 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $3,058,456,000 after acquiring an additional 16,041,103 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Boeing by 599.0% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,522,410 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $321,475,000 after buying an additional 1,827,485 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Boeing by 8,961.2% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,161,461 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $222,628,000 after buying an additional 1,148,643 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Boeing in the 2nd quarter worth $221,773,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Boeing by 2.4% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 36,819,108 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $7,774,723,000 after acquiring an additional 868,582 shares during the period. 61.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get Boeing alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes A number of analysts have recently commented on BA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Boeing from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $204.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Monday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Boeing in a report on Friday, December 1st. They set a buy rating and a $265.00 price target for the company. Bank of America cut shares of Boeing from a buy rating to a neutral rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Boeing from $275.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Boeing from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $252.63. Boeing Trading Down 0.8 % BA traded down $1.56 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $201.47. 1,234,363 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,311,252. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $213.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -55.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 19.72 and a beta of 1.52. The Boeing Company has a 1-year low of $176.25 and a 1-year high of $267.54. Boeing (NYSE:BA Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The aircraft producer reported ($0.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $22.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.75) earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Boeing Company will post 2.55 EPS for the current year. About Boeing (Free Report) The Boeing Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, sells, services, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight and launch systems, and services worldwide. The company operates through Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; and Global Services segments. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Boeing Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Boeing and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of BBB Foods (NYSE:TBBB Free Report) in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. BBB Foods Stock Down 0.1 % Shares of BBB Foods stock opened at $20.97 on Tuesday. BBB Foods has a one year low of $18.71 and a one year high of $22.54. Get BBB Foods alerts: BBB Foods Company Profile (Get Free Report) Featured Articles BBB Foods Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates grocery retail stores in Mexico. It offers food products, drinks, hygiene and beauty products, home clean products, coffee, tea and substitutes, jellies and desserts, and baby and pet products. The company also provides branded, private label, and spot products. Receive News & Ratings for BBB Foods Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BBB Foods and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP decreased its position in iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:HYG Free Report) by 86.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,669 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 24,406 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LPs holdings in iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF were worth $270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stonehill Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF during the second quarter worth $5,255,000. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF during the third quarter worth $85,000. Manning & Napier Group LLC lifted its holdings in iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 1.4% during the third quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 69,633 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $5,133,000 after buying an additional 954 shares during the period. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH lifted its holdings in iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 23.8% during the third quarter. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH now owns 2,234 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF during the second quarter worth $17,828,000. Get iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF alerts: iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF Trading Up 0.0 % Shares of HYG stock opened at $77.41 on Friday. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $77.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.49. The company has a market cap of $15.53 billion, a PE ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 0.43. iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF has a 12-month low of $71.68 and a 12-month high of $78.08. iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF Profile iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index (the Index), which is a rules-based index consisting of liquid the United States dollar-denominated, high yield corporate bonds for sale in the United States, as determined by the index provider. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR Free Report) had its target price boosted by Bank of America from $24.00 to $28.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock. A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on PLTR. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Palantir Technologies from an underperform rating to a hold rating and raised their price target for the stock from $13.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup upgraded Palantir Technologies from a sell rating to a neutral rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Palantir Technologies from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. HSBC downgraded Palantir Technologies from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an underperform rating and set a $5.00 target price on shares of Palantir Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Palantir Technologies currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $18.21. Get Palantir Technologies alerts: Check Out Our Latest Report on Palantir Technologies Palantir Technologies Stock Down 1.6 % Shares of PLTR opened at $26.04 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $57.61 billion, a PE ratio of 289.28, a P/E/G ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 2.82. The business has a fifty day moving average of $20.35 and a 200 day moving average of $18.16. Palantir Technologies has a 52-week low of $7.19 and a 52-week high of $27.50. Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $608.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $603.48 million. Palantir Technologies had a return on equity of 6.17% and a net margin of 9.43%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palantir Technologies will post 0.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Insider Buying and Selling at Palantir Technologies In other Palantir Technologies news, insider Heather A. Planishek sold 32,828 shares of Palantir Technologies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.95, for a total value of $851,886.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 662,006 shares in the company, valued at $17,179,055.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Palantir Technologies news, insider Heather A. Planishek sold 32,828 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.95, for a total value of $851,886.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 662,006 shares of the companys stock, valued at $17,179,055.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Alexandra W. Schiff sold 4,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.11, for a total value of $64,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 200,783 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,234,614.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 404,517 shares of company stock worth $9,512,360 over the last quarter. Insiders own 13.96% of the companys stock. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palantir Technologies Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLTR. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palantir Technologies in the first quarter worth about $206,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Palantir Technologies by 18.6% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 14,579 shares of the companys stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 2,286 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palantir Technologies during the first quarter worth about $1,475,000. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Palantir Technologies by 38.3% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 226,834 shares of the companys stock worth $3,114,000 after purchasing an additional 62,814 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Palantir Technologies by 71.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,153,018 shares of the companys stock worth $15,832,000 after purchasing an additional 482,171 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 34.21% of the companys stock. About Palantir Technologies (Get Free Report) Palantir Technologies Inc builds and deploys software platforms for the intelligence community in the United States to assist in counterterrorism investigations and operations. The company provides Palantir Gotham, a software platform which enables users to identify patterns hidden deep within datasets, ranging from signals intelligence sources to reports from confidential informants, as well as facilitates the handoff between analysts and operational users, helping operators plan and execute real-world responses to threats that have been identified within the platform. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Palantir Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Palantir Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. UN NEWS, March 8, 2024 Police enforcement has increased harassment in public spaces and further limited womens ability to leave their homes, according to testimony from 745 Afghan women participating in the latest survey by UN Women, International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UNs Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The insights follow recent reports of the arbitrary and severe enforcement of the hijab decree, particularly in Kabul, the agencies said which began publishing quarterly consultations with diverse Afghan women a year after the Taliban took power in August 2021. Since then, the de facto authorities have introduced more than 50 decrees that directly curtail the rights and dignity of women, Fridays report states. Consultations took place between 27 January and 8 February, with UN Women, IOM and UNAMA gathering views online and in-person where it was safe to do so and via group sessions and individual telesurveys. The agencies were able to reach women across all of Afghanistans 34 provinces. Participants were asked to give views on the period from October to December 2023. Fears mount The results show that women fear arrest and the long-lasting stigma and shame associated with being taken into police custody, the report stated. In addition, over half of women 57 per cent felt unsafe leaving the house without a mahram, a male guardian. Risks to their security and their anxiety levels increased whenever a new decree was announced specifically targeting them. Only one per cent of women indicated that they had good or full influence on decision making at the community level, a major decrease from 17 per cent in January 2023. Lack of agency A lack of any safe public space for women to gather and share views and experiences, build communities and engage on issues they considered important left them without a pathway to participate in or influence decision making, the report said. Womens self-reported good or full influence over household decisions has drastically decreased from 90 per cent in January 2023 to just 32 per cent this January. They continued to link their lack of rights, educational prospects and jobs, to declining influence at home, the report found. Gender roles and subordination The women also outlined the intergenerational and gendered impact of the de facto authorities restrictions and the accompanying conservative shifts in social attitudes towards children. Some respondents said boys appeared to be internalizing the social and political subordination of their mothers and sisters, reinforcing a belief that they should remain in the home in a position of servitude. Meanwhile, girls perceptions of their prospects were changing their values and understanding of their future and potential, the findings showed. Afghan women told a UN survey that risks to their security increased whenever the de facto authorities adopted new decrees targeting them. Afghan women told a UN survey that risks to their security increased whenever the de facto authorities adopted new decrees targeting them. International action Thirty-two per cent of respondents stated that international recognition of the de facto authorities should happen only after reversing all restrictions, while 25 per cent of them said it should follow the reversal of some specific bans and 28 per cent said that recognition should not happen at all, under any circumstances. In July 2023, a similar question found that 96 per cent of women maintained that recognition should only occur after improvements in womens rights or that it should not occur at all. Best way forward Some respondents expressed deep disappointment with some UN Member States who in their efforts to engage the Taliban, were overlooking the severity of what is an unprecedented womens rights crisis and the associated violations of international law, based on treaties ratified by previous Afghan governments. Some respondents argued that one way for the international community to improve their situation would be to link international aid to better conditions for women and to provide opportunities for women to talk directly with the Taliban. Originally published on UN News: February 16, 2024 Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 3.090-3.150 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 3.070. The company issued revenue guidance of $9.3 billion-$9.5 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $9.4 billion. Campbell Soup also updated its FY24 guidance to $3.09-$3.15 EPS. Campbell Soup Price Performance CPB stock opened at $42.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.24. The companys 50-day moving average is $43.23 and its 200-day moving average is $42.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.39. Campbell Soup has a 1 year low of $37.94 and a 1 year high of $56.04. Get Campbell Soup alerts: Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 6th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.44 billion. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 23.18%. The businesss revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Campbell Soup will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year. Campbell Soup Announces Dividend Analysts Set New Price Targets The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Campbell Soups dividend payout ratio is presently 57.81%. A number of research firms recently weighed in on CPB. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. TheStreet upgraded shares of Campbell Soup from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Campbell Soup in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a buy rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Campbell Soup in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a sell rating and a $41.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $46.88. Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on CPB Insider Activity In related news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 3,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.31, for a total value of $132,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,238 shares in the company, valued at $630,885.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 20.64% of the companys stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Campbell Soup Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 6.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,259,524 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,036,678,000 after buying an additional 1,387,605 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Campbell Soup by 2.1% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 17,657,529 shares of the companys stock valued at $970,811,000 after acquiring an additional 357,500 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Campbell Soup by 16.8% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,182,043 shares of the companys stock valued at $542,954,000 after acquiring an additional 1,749,650 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,375,839 shares of the companys stock worth $240,059,000 after buying an additional 49,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,060,326 shares of the companys stock worth $166,798,000 after buying an additional 233,241 shares in the last quarter. 50.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. About Campbell Soup (Get Free Report) Campbell Soup Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets food and beverage products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Meals & Beverages and Snacks segments. The Meals & Beverages segment engages in the retail and foodservice businesses in the United States and Canada. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Campbell Soup Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Campbell Soup and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,693 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $368,000. Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of J. Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions in the third quarter valued at about $202,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 64.9% during the second quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 666 shares of the companys stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 1.1% during the second quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 15,233 shares of the companys stock worth $1,811,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 9.9% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 691,955 shares of the companys stock worth $94,452,000 after buying an additional 62,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Jacobs Solutions by 11.7% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 31,410 shares of the companys stock worth $3,734,000 after buying an additional 3,286 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.77% of the companys stock. Get Jacobs Solutions alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research firms recently issued reports on J. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a sector weight rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $151.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Jacobs Solutions from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, November 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a buy rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, November 21st. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a buy rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, November 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $152.11. Jacobs Solutions Price Performance J stock opened at $146.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a one year low of $109.00 and a one year high of $149.50. The stock has a market cap of $18.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.54. Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.02 billion. Jacobs Solutions had a net margin of 4.20% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 8.06 EPS for the current fiscal year. Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a positive change from Jacobs Solutionss previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 22nd. Jacobs Solutionss dividend payout ratio is currently 20.71%. Insider Activity at Jacobs Solutions In related news, insider Steven J. Demetriou sold 6,666 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.75, for a total transaction of $851,581.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 581,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,240,379.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Jacobs Solutions news, EVP Shelette M. Gustafson sold 1,852 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $274,096.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,261,068. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven J. Demetriou sold 6,666 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.75, for a total transaction of $851,581.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 581,138 shares of the companys stock, valued at $74,240,379.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Jacobs Solutions Company Profile (Free Report) Jacobs Solutions Inc provides consulting, technical, engineering, scientific, and project delivery services for the government and private sectors in the United States, Europe, Canada, India, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through Critical Mission Solutions, People & Places Solutions, Divergent Solutions, and PA Consulting segments. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding J? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Jacobs Solutions Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Jacobs Solutions and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in DXC Technology (NYSE:DXC Free Report) by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 28,735 shares of the companys stock after selling 3,498 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.s holdings in DXC Technology were worth $599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of DXC Technology during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of DXC Technology by 656.6% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the companys stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 998 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of DXC Technology by 163.0% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the companys stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 815 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of DXC Technology during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of DXC Technology during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors own 88.09% of the companys stock. Get DXC Technology alerts: Insider Buying and Selling at DXC Technology In other news, EVP William L. Deckelman, Jr. sold 18,102 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.73, for a total value of $393,356.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 124,806 shares in the company, valued at $2,712,034.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DXC. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of DXC Technology in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Citigroup cut DXC Technology from a neutral rating to a sell rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut DXC Technology from a neutral rating to an underweight rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $23.33. Get Our Latest Stock Report on DXC DXC Technology Price Performance Shares of NYSE:DXC opened at $20.86 on Friday. DXC Technology has a 52-week low of $18.61 and a 52-week high of $28.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $22.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.89. DXC Technology (NYSE:DXC Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.36 billion. DXC Technology had a positive return on equity of 19.00% and a negative net margin of 3.35%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that DXC Technology will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year. About DXC Technology (Free Report) DXC Technology Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides information technology services and solutions primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Australia, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Global Business Services (GBS) and Global Infrastructure Services (GIS). See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DXC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for DXC Technology (NYSE:DXC Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for DXC Technology Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for DXC Technology and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG Free Report) by 26.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,528 shares of the insurance providers stock after selling 1,658 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.s holdings in The Hanover Insurance Group were worth $503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,590 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 6,837 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 933 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 129.8% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 216 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.89% of the companys stock. Get The Hanover Insurance Group alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth THG has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised The Hanover Insurance Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. TheStreet raised The Hanover Insurance Group from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on The Hanover Insurance Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $124.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $140.00. Insider Activity In other news, SVP Warren E. Barnes sold 500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total transaction of $65,570.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,612 shares of the companys stock, valued at $473,677.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the companys stock. The Hanover Insurance Group Stock Performance The Hanover Insurance Group stock opened at $130.11 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $129.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $103.82 and a fifty-two week high of $138.00. The company has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a PE ratio of 138.42 and a beta of 0.67. The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a net margin of 0.59% and a return on equity of 2.44%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current year. The Hanover Insurance Group Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. The Hanover Insurance Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 361.71%. The Hanover Insurance Group Company Profile (Free Report) The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides various property and casualty insurance products and services in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Core Commercial, Specialty, Personal Lines, and Other. The Commercial Lines segment offers commercial multiple peril, commercial automobile, workers' compensation, and other commercial lines coverage. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding THG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for The Hanover Insurance Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for The Hanover Insurance Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL Get Free Report) insider Jennifer D. Saavedra sold 18,260 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.10, for a total transaction of $2,193,026.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 206,961 shares in the company, valued at $24,856,016.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Dell Technologies Stock Performance Shares of DELL opened at $116.25 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $87.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.60. Dell Technologies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.96 and a fifty-two week high of $131.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.60, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.91. Get Dell Technologies alerts: Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The technology company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.47. Dell Technologies had a net margin of 3.63% and a negative return on equity of 165.52%. The firm had revenue of $22.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. The companys revenue was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Dell Technologies Inc. will post 6.27 EPS for the current year. Dell Technologies Increases Dividend Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dell Technologies The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This is a boost from Dell Technologiess previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Dell Technologiess dividend payout ratio is presently 33.87%. A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DELL. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Dell Technologies by 17.7% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 14,076 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $706,000 after acquiring an additional 2,117 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new position in Dell Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $304,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Dell Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $568,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Dell Technologies by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 254,266 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $12,762,000 after purchasing an additional 4,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Dell Technologies by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 6,090 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.10% of the companys stock. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several equities analysts recently commented on DELL shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Dell Technologies from $53.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Dell Technologies from $87.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Dell Technologies from $68.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, December 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Dell Technologies from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Dell Technologies from $75.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $102.88. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on DELL Dell Technologies Company Profile (Get Free Report) Dell Technologies Inc designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells, and supports various comprehensive and integrated solutions, products, and services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) and Client Solutions Group (CSG). Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Dell Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Dell Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Free Report) by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,056 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 940 shares during the quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLCs holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $3,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cassia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.8% in the third quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 951 shares of the companys stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.8% during the third quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 621 shares of the companys stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.8% during the third quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 623 shares of the companys stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.3% during the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the companys stock valued at $688,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lathrop Investment Management Corp raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.2% during the third quarter. Lathrop Investment Management Corp now owns 1,476 shares of the companys stock valued at $793,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Eli Lilly and Company alerts: Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance NYSE LLY opened at $762.14 on Friday. The stocks fifty day moving average is $694.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $617.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $724.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 131.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.94. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $312.31 and a fifty-two week high of $800.78. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Eli Lilly and Company ( NYSE:LLY Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $9.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.95 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 51.22% and a net margin of 15.36%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 28.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.44 earnings per share for the current year. Several research analysts recently weighed in on LLY shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating and set a $815.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $700.00 to $825.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. DZ Bank lowered Eli Lilly and Company from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $820.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, TheStreet lowered Eli Lilly and Company from a b rating to a c+ rating in a report on Monday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $677.62. Check Out Our Latest Report on Eli Lilly and Company Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company In other Eli Lilly and Company news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 78,573 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $648.07, for a total value of $50,920,804.11. Following the sale, the insider now owns 99,333,810 shares in the company, valued at $64,375,262,246.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 195,055 shares of company stock worth $125,254,657 over the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Eli Lilly and Company Profile (Free Report) Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. It offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; and Jardiance, Trajenta, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Eli Lilly and Company Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Eli Lilly and Company and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 200,000 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock, valued at approximately $908,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.12% of Brandywine Realty Trust as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BDN. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brandywine Realty Trust by 17.1% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 294,304 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $4,161,000 after buying an additional 42,928 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Brandywine Realty Trust by 23.0% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 42,369 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 7,935 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Brandywine Realty Trust by 15.1% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 60,243 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $866,000 after buying an additional 7,924 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Brandywine Realty Trust by 55.1% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 90,395 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 32,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Brandywine Realty Trust by 0.6% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 510,543 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $7,219,000 after purchasing an additional 3,250 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the companys stock. Get Brandywine Realty Trust alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BDN shares. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Brandywine Realty Trust from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Brandywine Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a hold rating and a $5.50 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Brandywine Realty Trust from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brandywine Realty Trust presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $5.63. Brandywine Realty Trust Stock Performance BDN traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $4.49. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,521,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,988,115. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Brandywine Realty Trust has a one year low of $3.42 and a one year high of $5.67. The firm has a market cap of $773.36 million, a PE ratio of -3.90 and a beta of 1.26. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $4.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.58. Brandywine Realty Trust Announces Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.36%. Brandywine Realty Trusts payout ratio is presently -52.17%. Brandywine Realty Trust Profile (Free Report) Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE: BDN) is one of the largest, publicly traded, full-service, integrated real estate companies in the United States with a core focus in the Philadelphia and Austin markets. Organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT), we own, develop, lease and manage an urban, town center and transit-oriented portfolio comprising 160 properties and 22.6 million square feet as of September 30, 2023 which excludes assets held for sale. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BDN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Brandywine Realty Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Brandywine Realty Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB Free Report) by 3.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 16,717 shares of the pipeline companys stock after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.s holdings in Williams Companies were worth $563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co grew its holdings in shares of Williams Companies by 300.0% during the second quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 800 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Williams Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in Williams Companies by 52.5% during the 2nd quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 915 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.76% of the companys stock. Get Williams Companies alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several brokerages have issued reports on WMB. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, December 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Williams Companies from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $37.27. Williams Companies Stock Up 0.4 % Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $36.05 on Friday. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $27.80 and a one year high of $37.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $34.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.86 billion, a PE ratio of 13.76, a P/E/G ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 1.04. Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a net margin of 29.22% and a return on equity of 16.20%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.78 EPS for the current year. Williams Companies Dividend Announcement The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.27%. Williams Companiess dividend payout ratio is presently 72.52%. About Williams Companies (Free Report) The Williams Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in the United States. It operates through Transmission & Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&P, West, and Gas & NGL Marketing Services segments. The Transmission & Gulf of Mexico segment comprises Transco and Northwest natural gas pipelines; and natural gas gathering and processing, and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region, as well as various petrochemical and feedstock pipelines. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WMB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Williams Companies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Williams Companies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. FineMark National Bank & Trust trimmed its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW Free Report) by 11.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,227 shares of the medical research companys stock after selling 978 shares during the quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trusts holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $501,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EW. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 260.0% during the 2nd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 270 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 108.6% during the 3rd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 582 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. 79.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Edwards Lifesciences alerts: Insider Activity at Edwards Lifesciences In related news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 14,510 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.55, for a total transaction of $1,110,740.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,473,434.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Edwards Lifesciences news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 14,510 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.55, for a total value of $1,110,740.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,473,434.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 7,255 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.29, for a total value of $567,993.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 19,248 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,506,925.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 220,967 shares of company stock worth $17,740,350. 1.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance NYSE:EW opened at $92.15 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $81.09 and a 200-day moving average of $74.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.07, a P/E/G ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 3.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a twelve month low of $60.57 and a twelve month high of $94.87. Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.64. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 23.35% and a return on equity of 23.56%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from an outperform rating to an in-line rating and cut their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a peer perform rating to an underperform rating and set a $57.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, November 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $87.38. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on EW About Edwards Lifesciences (Free Report) Edwards Lifesciences Corporation provides products and technologies for structural heart disease and critical care monitoring in the United States, Europe, Japan, and internationally. It offers transcatheter heart valve replacement products for the minimally invasive replacement of aortic heart valves under the Edwards SAPIEN family of valves system; and transcatheter heart valve repair and replacement products to treat mitral and tricuspid valve diseases under the PASCAL PRECISION and Cardioband names. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Edwards Lifesciences Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Edwards Lifesciences and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Funding Circle Holdings plc (LON:FCH Get Free Report) rose 54.6% on Thursday . The company traded as high as GBX 47 ($0.60) and last traded at GBX 43.30 ($0.55). Approximately 7,885,015 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 597% from the average daily volume of 1,131,079 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 28 ($0.36). Funding Circle Price Performance The stock has a 50 day moving average of GBX 32.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 36.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.10, a quick ratio of 3.33 and a current ratio of 3.45. The firm has a market capitalization of 158.97 million, a P/E ratio of -488.89 and a beta of 0.86. About Funding Circle (Get Free Report) Funding Circle Holdings plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides online lending platforms in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. The company offers small business loans, recovery loan schemes, and business finance solutions to small and medium enterprises. It also provides flexipay and flexipay card solutions. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Funding Circle Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Funding Circle and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing to examine the cost of prescription drugs, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Jacquelyn Martin/AP WASHINGTON (AP) Veterans whom the government declares incapable of managing their own affairs would have easier access to firearms under spending legislation expected to be signed by President Joe Biden in the coming days a reversal of current law that Republicans, and even some Democrats, have been pushing for years. Those lawmakers say the law requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs to report veterans declared mentally incompetent to the national background check system punishes those who rely on benefits from the agency and may need help managing their money. But gun control advocates say the law is an important tool in protecting against suicides by those who have served in the military. Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat, said the change could result in thousands of mentally ill people having increased access to guns a death sentence for many, he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The spending bill provision comes as gun control advocates have scored modest wins in recent years. Congress passed a sweeping law in 2022 that would expand some background checks for people under 21 and provide new mental health services for children and schools, among other measures. While several Republicans supported that legislation, though, some Democrats have supported the change in VA policy, including Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester, D-Mont. Tester, who also sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Tester has been pushing to reverse the law for several years, arguing that many veterans wont collect their benefits at all because they are afraid that their guns will be taken away. Its flat wrong that a DC bureaucrat could take away a veterans legal right to firearms simply because they need assistance managing their finances, said Tester, who is up for reelection this year. The spending bill would prohibit funding for the law but still allow the agency to report people to the background check system if there was a finding by a court that the person is a danger to themselves or others. Future spending bills would have to keep renewing the provision for the policy to remain permanently blocked. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Senate endorsed the language in an amendment vote last fall, 53-45, with a handful of Democrats voting in support. Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, who offered the amendment, said that veterans who sacrificed to defend our Constitution shouldnt see their own rights rest on the judgment of unelected bureaucrats. The Department of Veterans Affairs maintains that it takes a vigorous review before reporting to the background check system and the department bases its decisions to appoint a fiduciary for veterans who cant manage their own finances after looking at medical evidence or a court decree. There is also a due process for the beneficiary, the agency says, including opportunities to present evidence that they are capable of managing their VA benefits. If the veteran is determined to be mentally incapacitated or incapable after the review, the VA is then required to notify the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, as required by the Brady gun law signed in the early 1990s. The standard that is applied related to the fiduciary responsibilities is a standard that we take great care with, that has been developed over much time and is meant to address a very delicate situation, VA Secretary Denis McDonough said last year. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In a statement on the spending bill passed by the House this week and currently pending in the Senate the White House said it opposes the reversal of VA policy but that Biden will sign the overall legislation, which funds several agencies. The language was included after negotiations between the two parties as lawmakers have worked for months to avoid a government shutdown. The administration remains committed to exploring every possible pathway to keep guns out of the hands of those who shouldnt have them and ensure the safety of these individuals and their communities, the White House statement said. Gun control advocates said they would continue to try to prevent future legislation from expanding access to firearms. Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Democrat and the youngest member of Congress at 27, said this week that he voted against the spending bill because hes concerned the reversal of the VA policy will result in more gun violence. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Gun violence prevention is not just a priority issue, its what got me involved in politics at 15 yrs old, Frost said. Sen. Murphy, the leading Democrat on gun issues in the Senate and a member of the appropriations panel, said he tried to convince his colleagues to remove the provision but was unsuccessful. But he said he thinks the gun safety movement wins more than it loses now. HC Wainwright reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Inhibikase Therapeutics (NYSE:IKT Free Report) in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Inhibikase Therapeutics Price Performance Shares of IKT opened at $2.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.59. Inhibikase Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $0.79 and a 1-year high of $5.61. The stock has a market cap of $15.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.63 and a beta of 1.19. Get Inhibikase Therapeutics alerts: Institutional Inflows and Outflows A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IKT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Inhibikase Therapeutics by 10.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 530,098 shares of the companys stock worth $785,000 after acquiring an additional 51,394 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Inhibikase Therapeutics by 17.7% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 221,900 shares of the companys stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 33,431 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in Inhibikase Therapeutics by 20.5% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 276,000 shares of the companys stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 47,000 shares during the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Inhibikase Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $1,947,000. Finally, Barclays PLC acquired a new stake in Inhibikase Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. 13.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Inhibikase Therapeutics Company Profile Inhibikase Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, develops therapeutics for Parkinson's disease and related disorders. Its lead product candidate is IkT-148009, a small molecule Abelson tyrosine kinase inhibitor, which is in Phase 2a clinical trials to the treatment of Parkinson's disease and gastrointestinal tract. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Inhibikase Therapeutics Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Inhibikase Therapeutics and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF (TSE:XIU Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as C$33.13 and last traded at C$33.13, with a volume of 905782 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$32.86. iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF Trading Down 0.2 % The firm has a 50-day moving average price of C$32.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$31.03. Get iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF alerts: iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF Increases Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.254 dividend. This is a boost from iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETFs previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. About iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index Fund seeks to provide long-term capital growth by replicating, to the extent possible, the performance of the S&P/TSX 60 Index through investments in the constituent issuers of such index, net of expenses. The Index is comprised of 60 of the largest (by market capitalization) and liquid securities listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), selected by Standard & Poors (S&P) using its industrial classifications and guidelines for evaluating issuer capitalization, liquidity and fundamentals. Read More Receive News & Ratings for iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its stake in Credicorp Ltd. (NYSE:BAP Free Report) by 7.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,361,418 shares of the banks stock after selling 182,322 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 2.97% of Credicorp worth $302,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Credicorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $334,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in Credicorp by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 26,123 shares of the banks stock worth $3,343,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Credicorp by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 898,843 shares of the banks stock worth $115,025,000 after acquiring an additional 154,364 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in Credicorp by 1,519.9% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 85,547 shares of the banks stock worth $10,947,000 after acquiring an additional 80,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in Credicorp by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 5,018 shares of the banks stock worth $642,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. 70.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Credicorp alerts: Credicorp Price Performance Shares of BAP opened at $175.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $157.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.97. Credicorp Ltd. has a 1-year low of $116.42 and a 1-year high of $176.14. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Credicorp ( NYSE:BAP Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The bank reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.82 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.32 billion. Credicorp had a net margin of 20.17% and a return on equity of 14.68%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Credicorp Ltd. will post 18.21 EPS for the current year. BAP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Credicorp from $190.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Credicorp from $192.00 to $190.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $181.73. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Credicorp Credicorp Profile (Free Report) Credicorp Ltd. provides various financial, insurance, and health services and products primarily in Peru and internationally. Its Universal Banking segment includes granting various credits and financial instruments to individuals and legal entities; and various deposits and checking accounts. The Insurance and Pensions segment includes the issuance of insurance policies to cover losses in commercial property, transport, marine vessels, automobiles, life, health, and pensions; management services for private pension funds. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BAP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Credicorp Ltd. (NYSE:BAP Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Credicorp Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Credicorp and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Linde plc (NYSE:LIN Free Report) by 4.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,002 shares of the basic materials companys stock after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADVs holdings in Linde were worth $7,448,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LIN. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 0.9% during the second quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,692,463 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $644,986,000 after buying an additional 14,969 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new stake in Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $23,044,000. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Linde by 47.1% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 85,283 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $31,755,000 after purchasing an additional 27,324 shares in the last quarter. West Tower Group LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Linde by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 722,939 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $275,498,000 after purchasing an additional 39,823 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.98% of the companys stock. Get Linde alerts: Insider Transactions at Linde In related news, CEO Sanjiv Lamba sold 8,306 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.04, for a total value of $3,837,704.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,398 shares in the company, valued at $26,058,131.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Sanjiv Lamba sold 8,306 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.04, for a total value of $3,837,704.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,398 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $26,058,131.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Oliver Pfann sold 300 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.61, for a total value of $124,383.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,971 shares of company stock worth $33,345,571 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.70% of the companys stock. Linde Trading Down 0.6 % Shares of Linde stock opened at $462.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $324.11 and a 1 year high of $467.77. The company has a market capitalization of $222.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $422.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $401.78. Linde (NYSE:LIN Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $8.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 17.06% and a net margin of 18.87%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.58 EPS for the current fiscal year. Linde Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is an increase from Lindes previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Lindes dividend payout ratio is currently 40.48%. Analyst Ratings Changes A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LIN shares. HSBC lifted their price objective on Linde from $440.00 to $447.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, November 24th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Linde from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Linde from $434.00 to $503.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Linde from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Linde in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a peer perform rating on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $443.79. Get Our Latest Stock Report on LIN Linde Company Profile (Free Report) Linde plc operates as an industrial gas company in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South Pacific. It offers atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases; and process gases, such as carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, electronic gases, specialty gases, and acetylene. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LIN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Linde plc (NYSE:LIN Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Linde Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Linde and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW Free Report) by 4.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,926 shares of the medical research companys stock after buying an additional 601 shares during the quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLCs holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $1,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of EW. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,556 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $5,127,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 1.0% in the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,487 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Geller Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 6.5% in the first quarter. Geller Advisors LLC now owns 1,965 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,392 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $635,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ellevest Inc. increased its holdings in Edwards Lifesciences by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 6,179 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.25% of the companys stock. Get Edwards Lifesciences alerts: Insider Activity at Edwards Lifesciences In related news, insider Larry L. Wood sold 8,658 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.86, for a total transaction of $622,163.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 213,794 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $15,363,236.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Edwards Lifesciences news, VP Donald E. Bobo, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.86, for a total transaction of $574,880.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 39,503 shares in the company, valued at $2,838,685.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Larry L. Wood sold 8,658 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.86, for a total value of $622,163.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 213,794 shares in the company, valued at $15,363,236.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 220,967 shares of company stock worth $17,740,350. 1.29% of the stock is owned by insiders. Analyst Ratings Changes EW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lowered shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. StockNews.com raised Edwards Lifesciences from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Evercore ISI cut Edwards Lifesciences from an outperform rating to an in-line rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a peer perform rating to an underperform rating and set a $57.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, November 28th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $87.38. Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on EW Edwards Lifesciences Stock Performance NYSE:EW opened at $92.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 3.38 and a quick ratio of 2.40. The firm has a market cap of $55.40 billion, a PE ratio of 40.07, a P/E/G ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.47. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 1-year low of $60.57 and a 1-year high of $94.87. Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.64. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 23.56% and a net margin of 23.35%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year. Edwards Lifesciences Profile (Free Report) Edwards Lifesciences Corporation provides products and technologies for structural heart disease and critical care monitoring in the United States, Europe, Japan, and internationally. It offers transcatheter heart valve replacement products for the minimally invasive replacement of aortic heart valves under the Edwards SAPIEN family of valves system; and transcatheter heart valve repair and replacement products to treat mitral and tricuspid valve diseases under the PASCAL PRECISION and Cardioband names. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Edwards Lifesciences Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Edwards Lifesciences and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH Free Report) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $14.00 to $15.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the stock. A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on NCLH. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Norwegian Cruise Line from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup lowered their price target on Norwegian Cruise Line from $23.00 to $19.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an equal weight rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Norwegian Cruise Line in a research report on Friday, January 5th. StockNews.com cut Norwegian Cruise Line from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 15th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Norwegian Cruise Line from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $21.08. Get Norwegian Cruise Line alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Report on NCLH Norwegian Cruise Line Stock Performance Shares of NCLH stock opened at $19.99 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.94, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $17.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.73. The stock has a market cap of $8.51 billion, a PE ratio of 71.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 2.59. Norwegian Cruise Line has a 1 year low of $12.15 and a 1 year high of $22.75. Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.99 billion. Norwegian Cruise Line had a return on equity of 108.69% and a net margin of 1.94%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.10) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Norwegian Cruise Line will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NCLH. Segantii Capital Management Ltd bought a new stake in Norwegian Cruise Line in the third quarter valued at about $1,582,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Norwegian Cruise Line by 44.3% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 879,293 shares of the companys stock valued at $14,491,000 after buying an additional 269,849 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Norwegian Cruise Line by 1.8% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 24,144,786 shares of the companys stock valued at $525,632,000 after buying an additional 428,579 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Norwegian Cruise Line by 4.9% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,691,795 shares of the companys stock valued at $44,361,000 after buying an additional 126,147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Norwegian Cruise Line by 100.0% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 165,600 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,729,000 after buying an additional 82,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.49% of the companys stock. About Norwegian Cruise Line (Get Free Report) Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a cruise company in North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company operates the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. It offers itineraries ranging from three days to a 180-days calling on various locations, including destinations in Scandinavia, Russia, the Mediterranean, the Greek Isles, Alaska, Canada and New England, Hawaii, Asia, Tahiti and the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, Africa, India, South America, the Panama Canal, and the Caribbean. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Norwegian Cruise Line Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Norwegian Cruise Line and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 872 shares of the utilities providers stock, valued at approximately $59,000. Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. grew its stake in Sempra by 53.5% in the third quarter. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. now owns 1,148 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 104.8% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,101 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares during the last quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,054 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 2,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Foundation Advisors grew its stake in Sempra by 81.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 6,680 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $454,000 after buying an additional 2,993 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.83% of the companys stock. Get Sempra alerts: Sempra Price Performance Shares of SRE stock traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $71.07. 2,744,001 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,781,702. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $63.75 and a fifty-two week high of $79.51. The firm has a market cap of $44.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $72.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.66. Sempra Increases Dividend Sempra ( NYSE:SRE Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.83 EPS for the current year. The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. This is a boost from Sempras previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sempras dividend payout ratio is presently 49.69%. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In SRE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Sempra from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of Sempra from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Sempra from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and increased their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $86.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a buy rating and a $81.50 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $81.83. Get Our Latest Analysis on SRE Insider Activity In other Sempra news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Sempra news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,145 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,292,105.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 156,622 shares of company stock worth $11,089,713 over the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Sempra Profile (Free Report) Sempra operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: San Diego Gas & Electric Company, Southern California Gas Company, Sempra Texas Utilities, and Sempra Infrastructure. The San Diego Gas & Electric Company segment provides to San Diego and southern Orange counties; and natural gas service to San Diego County. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SRE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Sempra (NYSE:SRE Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Sempra Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sempra and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Pine Cliff Energy Ltd. (TSE:PNE Get Free Report) Director Philip Blake Hodge acquired 25,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of C$1.02 per share, for a total transaction of C$25,402.50. Philip Blake Hodge also recently made the following trade(s): Get Pine Cliff Energy alerts: On Friday, January 26th, Philip Blake Hodge acquired 8,500 shares of Pine Cliff Energy stock. The stock was bought at an average price of C$1.38 per share, for a total transaction of C$11,730.00. On Tuesday, December 12th, Philip Blake Hodge acquired 10,000 shares of Pine Cliff Energy stock. The stock was bought at an average price of C$1.35 per share, for a total transaction of C$13,500.00. Pine Cliff Energy Trading Down 4.9 % PNE opened at C$0.97 on Friday. Pine Cliff Energy Ltd. has a twelve month low of C$0.94 and a twelve month high of C$1.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$1.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The stock has a market capitalization of C$345.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 0.51. Pine Cliff Energy Cuts Dividend Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.005 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.19%. Pine Cliff Energys dividend payout ratio is 144.44%. A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PNE shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Pine Cliff Energy from C$1.55 to C$1.40 in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Pine Cliff Energy from C$1.50 to C$1.40 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. View Our Latest Report on Pine Cliff Energy Pine Cliff Energy Company Profile (Get Free Report) Pine Cliff Energy Ltd. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. The company primarily holds interest in oil and gas properties in the Southern Alberta, Southern Saskatchewan, and Edson areas, as well as in the Viking and Ghost Pine area of Central Alberta. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Pine Cliff Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Pine Cliff Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT Free Report) had its price target increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $74.00 to $80.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock. A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Planet Fitness from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com raised Planet Fitness from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Planet Fitness from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Planet Fitness from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on Planet Fitness from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, November 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $71.00. Get Planet Fitness alerts: Read Our Latest Stock Report on PLNT Planet Fitness Stock Down 2.9 % Shares of Planet Fitness stock opened at $64.99 on Tuesday. Planet Fitness has a 12-month low of $44.13 and a 12-month high of $84.48. The stock has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.40. The businesss 50 day moving average is $68.95 and its 200-day moving average is $62.90. Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.02. Planet Fitness had a negative return on equity of 120.89% and a net margin of 12.91%. The company had revenue of $285.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $282.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. The businesss revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Planet Fitness will post 2.49 EPS for the current year. Insider Activity In related news, CEO Craig R. Benson bought 10,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.15 per share, for a total transaction of $681,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,385,250. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.94% of the companys stock. Institutional Trading of Planet Fitness Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Planet Fitness by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 999 shares of the companys stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Planet Fitness by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,332 shares of the companys stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Planet Fitness by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 57,570 shares of the companys stock worth $4,203,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Planet Fitness by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 6,764 shares of the companys stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Planet Fitness by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 37,433 shares of the companys stock worth $1,841,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. 95.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. About Planet Fitness (Get Free Report) Planet Fitness, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates fitness centers under the Planet Fitness brand. The company operates through three segments: Franchise, Corporate-Owned Stores, and Equipment. The Franchise segment is involved in franchising business in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico, and Australia. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Planet Fitness Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Planet Fitness and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Vanguard Health Care ETF (NYSEARCA:VHT Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 510 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $120,000. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VHT. Aspire Private Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vanguard Health Care ETF during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. First Manhattan Co. increased its stake in shares of Vanguard Health Care ETF by 97.3% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 148 shares of the companys stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vanguard Health Care ETF in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC acquired a new stake in Vanguard Health Care ETF in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in Vanguard Health Care ETF during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Get Vanguard Health Care ETF alerts: Vanguard Health Care ETF Price Performance VHT stock opened at $268.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $261.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $246.38. Vanguard Health Care ETF has a one year low of $222.27 and a one year high of $271.01. Vanguard Health Care ETF Profile Vanguard Health Care ETF seeks to track the investment performance of the MSCI US Investable Market Health Care 25/50 Index, a benchmark of large-, mid-, and small-cap United States stocks in the health care sector, as classified under the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS). This GICS sector is made up of two main industry groups. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VHT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Vanguard Health Care ETF (NYSEARCA:VHT Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Vanguard Health Care ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Vanguard Health Care ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Staff members and awardees gathered for a group picture following the awards ceremony. From left are: Maria Salomone, Susan B. Anthony Project Board Vice President, Nancy Boland, Susan B. Anthony Project Vice President, Michael Motuzick, spouse of Tracey Motuzick, a Crusader Awardee, Mark Famiglietti, Susan B. Anthony Project Board President, Cheryl Wallace, Director of Finance Susan B. Anthony Project, Gina Devaux, Director of Development Susan B. Anthony Project, Jeanne Fusco, Executive Director, Susan B. Anthony Project. Leslie Hutchison / Hearst Connecticut Media / Tracey (Thurman) Motuzick of Torrington must use a wheeled walker after she was partially paralyzed by her estranged husband in a domestic violence attack in 1983. Leslie Hutchison / Hearst Connecticut Media / State Rep. Robyn Porter, D-94, a domestic violence survivor, shares her story with Tracey (Thurman) Motuzick of Torrington, who helped shape today's victim-centered support from police departments. Leslie Hutchison / Hearst Connecticut Media / Karen M. Jarmoc, Chief Executive Officer of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Tracey (Thurman) Motuzick of Torrington at the coalitions annual awards ceremony on Friday, where Motuzick was honored for her decades-long support of survivors. Leslie Hutchison / Hearst Connecticut Media / About a thousand supporters of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence attended the First 100 Plus awards ceremony Friday at the Hartford Marriott Downtown. Leslie Hutchison / Hearst Connecticut Media / Tracey (Thurman) Motuzick, who won a 1985 U.S District Court case against the Torrington Police Department for violating her civil rights, helped shape todays enhanced laws that protect vitims of domestic violence. Leslie Hutchison / Hearst Connecticut Media / HARTFORD Described as a survivor and crusader, Tracey Motuzick of Torrington was honored Friday in Hartford by a statewide coalition for her decades of support for victims of domestic violence. The awards ceremony, sponsored by the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, presented Motuzick with the Coalition Crusader Award. The program booklet notes that she was honored for her experience and action (which) forever changed the landscape of domestic violence laws in Connecticut and the nation. Motuzicks last name was Thurman when she came to national prominence in 1983 for her successful civil rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the domestic violence meted out by her estranged husband, Charles Buck Thurman Sr. Advertisement Article continues below this ad His final brutal attack left Motuzick partially paralyzed and hospitalized for eight months, she said on Friday. Once she was released, Motuzick said she had to use a wheelchair for a year. She now relies on a wheeled walker. I would not be here without your support, Motuzick said in her remarks to the audience. I will speak about this so others can be helped. I wish when I went through this in 1983, there was a group like Susan B. Anthony (Project) , Motuzick said in her presentation speech. The Torrington-based nonprofit organization, which supports survivors of domestic abuse, was a nascent group, with just one part-time organizer, when the domestic violence against Motuzick began. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Susan B. Anthony Project now provides services to residents in 20 communities in Litchfield County. We pay homage to the survivors for all the years youve endured, Jeanne Fusco, the organizations executive director, told the assembled group. This event is for the thousands whove come before, Fusco said. Many police departments changed their policies and regulations based on the countless organizations who emulated Traceys advocacy. Those changes stemmed from a civil rights lawsuit Motuzicks attorneys filed in 1984 against the Torrington Police Department for the nonperformance or malperformance of official duties by the defendant police officers, according to court records. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Court documents state that between early October 1982 and June 10, 1983, the plaintiff, Tracey Thurman, a woman living in the City of Torrington, and others on her behalf, notified the defendant City through the defendant police officers of the City of repeated threats upon her life and the life of her child, the plaintiff Charles J. Thurman, Jr., made by her estranged husband, Charles Thurman. The record continues, Attempts to file complaints by plaintiff Tracey Thurman against her estranged husband in response to his threats of death and maiming were ignored or rejected by the named defendants and the defendant City. Motuzick said on Friday that her ex-husband was only jailed for eight years, despite the repeated attempts on her life and that of their son. The lack of response by the citys police department in 1983 would not and could not occur now. In 1986, the state enacted a comprehensive family violence act, which sets standards for police officers and the courts on how to respond to domestic violence cases. Advertisement Article continues below this ad There is an evolution of training in police academies, Fusco said after the awards event. Experts in domestic violence are invited into the academys classes to discuss the crime, she said. A spokesman for the Torrington Police Department could not be reached for comment late Friday afternoon. However, police Lt. Michael Emanuel, who is now retired, previously discussed the evolution an interview with the Register Citizen . We follow the law (the family violence act) by the letter, he said. The change in survivor support is rewarding, Motuzick said. Advocates work day in and day out. She said her role is a personal one Ill talk to survivors anytime they ask me. Ill talk to someone in the grocery store if they ask me. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Motuzick remarried 33 years ago to Michael Motuzick. He said they met because his brother married her best friend. McIlrath & Eck LLC decreased its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM Free Report) by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 188 shares of the CRM providers stock after selling 63 shares during the quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLCs holdings in Salesforce were worth $38,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 463.1% during the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,283 shares of the CRM providers stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Pointe Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 370.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pointe Capital Management LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the CRM providers stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,221 shares during the last quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the CRM providers stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Hawaii boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 89.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 5,282 shares of the CRM providers stock valued at $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd boosted its position in shares of Salesforce by 288.6% during the 2nd quarter. Trivest Advisors Ltd now owns 952,000 shares of the CRM providers stock valued at $201,120,000 after acquiring an additional 707,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.52% of the companys stock. Get Salesforce alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Piper Sandler restated a neutral rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a buy rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a report on Thursday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $304.32. Salesforce Stock Up 0.9 % CRM traded up $2.86 on Friday, reaching $305.28. The companys stock had a trading volume of 4,851,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,738,125. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $283.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $243.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $296.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.28. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $170.00 and a fifty-two week high of $318.71. Salesforce (NYSE:CRM Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 11.87%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year. Salesforce Dividend Announcement The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 13th. Insider Transactions at Salesforce In other news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,869 shares in the company, valued at $799,618.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total transaction of $60,201.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,618.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.82, for a total value of $2,518,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,930 shares of the companys stock, valued at $14,839,752.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,169,112 shares of company stock worth $321,749,192 over the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. About Salesforce (Free Report) Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CRM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Salesforce Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Salesforce and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Susquehanna reissued their neutral rating on shares of Samsung Electronics (OTCMKTS:SSNLF Free Report) in a report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Samsung Electronics Stock Performance Shares of OTCMKTS:SSNLF opened at $40.60 on Tuesday. Samsung Electronics has a fifty-two week low of $40.60 and a fifty-two week high of $40.60. The companys 50-day moving average is $40.60 and its 200 day moving average is $40.60. The company has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15 and a beta of 0.88. Get Samsung Electronics alerts: Samsung Electronics Company Profile (Get Free Report) Recommended Stories Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd. engages in the consumer electronics, information technology and mobile communications, and device solutions businesses worldwide. The company offers smartphones, tablets, watches, and accessories; TVs, projectors, and sound devices; home appliances, including refrigerators, washing machines and dryers, vacuum cleaners, cooking appliances, dishwashers, air conditioners, and air purifiers; monitors and memory storage products; displays, and smart and LED signages; and other accessories. Receive News & Ratings for Samsung Electronics Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Samsung Electronics and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Scotia Capital Inc. cut its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM Free Report) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 26,961 shares of the construction companys stock after selling 1,472 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc.s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $1,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 24.9% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 26,341 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $1,951,000 after purchasing an additional 5,257 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 25.2% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,517 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 14.9% in the third quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 158,404 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $11,730,000 after purchasing an additional 20,564 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 6.4% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,623 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 108.8% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 33,146 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $2,455,000 after purchasing an additional 17,270 shares in the last quarter. 89.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get PulteGroup alerts: PulteGroup Trading Down 1.0 % Shares of PHM stock opened at $112.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $23.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.70. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.24 and a 1 year high of $115.20. PulteGroup ( NYSE:PHM Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.47 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.97% and a net margin of 16.20%. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. PulteGroup announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the companys leadership believes its stock is undervalued. PulteGroup Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. PulteGroups payout ratio is presently 6.81%. Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, VP Brien P. Omeara sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.09, for a total value of $206,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 15,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,586,452.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the companys stock. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wedbush restated a neutral rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on PulteGroup in a research report on Monday, November 27th. They issued a buy rating and a $107.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group downgraded PulteGroup from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lifted their target price for the company from $93.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on PulteGroup from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on PulteGroup from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $102.31. View Our Latest Stock Report on PHM About PulteGroup (Free Report) PulteGroup, Inc, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the homebuilding business in the United States. It acquires and develops land primarily for residential purposes; and constructs housing on such land. The company also offers various home designs, including single-family detached, townhomes, condominiums, and duplexes under the Centex, Pulte Homes, Del Webb, DiVosta Homes, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, and American West brand names. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PHM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for PulteGroup Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for PulteGroup and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE:AER Free Report) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 536,048 shares of the financial services providers stock after purchasing an additional 1,609 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.23% of AerCap worth $33,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of AerCap by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 383,136 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $24,011,000 after purchasing an additional 75,547 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia raised its holdings in shares of AerCap by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 4,128,103 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $258,708,000 after acquiring an additional 215,460 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of AerCap by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 794,502 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $49,791,000 after acquiring an additional 18,489 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AerCap by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 5,061 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EJF Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of AerCap by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 17,500 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.00% of the companys stock. Get AerCap alerts: AerCap Price Performance AerCap stock opened at $81.48 on Friday. AerCap Holdings has a 52 week low of $49.58 and a 52 week high of $83.04. The companys 50 day moving average price is $76.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. The stock has a market cap of $16.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.84. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades AerCap ( NYSE:AER Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The financial services provider reported $3.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.67. AerCap had a net margin of 41.37% and a return on equity of 14.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that AerCap Holdings will post 10.04 earnings per share for the current year. A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AER shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of AerCap from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of AerCap from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. TD Cowen restated a buy rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of AerCap in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of AerCap from $103.00 to $101.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, AerCap currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $87.71. Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on AER AerCap Company Profile (Free Report) AerCap Holdings N.V. engages in the lease, financing, sale, and management of commercial flight equipment in China, Hong Kong, Macau, the United States, Ireland, and internationally. The company offers aircraft asset management services, such as remarketing aircraft and engines; collecting rental and maintenance rent payments, monitoring aircraft maintenance, monitoring and enforcing contract compliance, and accepting delivery and redelivery of aircraft and engines; and conducting ongoing lessee financial performance reviews. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for AerCap Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AerCap and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG Free Report) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 207,391 shares of the energy companys stock after acquiring an additional 1,706 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $34,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNG. Kingfisher Capital LLC boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC now owns 15,661 shares of the energy companys stock worth $2,599,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Laurion Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 107.2% during the 3rd quarter. Laurion Capital Management LP now owns 20,012 shares of the energy companys stock worth $3,321,000 after acquiring an additional 296,687 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 60.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 349,951 shares of the energy companys stock worth $57,748,000 after acquiring an additional 131,904 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 40.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 908,987 shares of the energy companys stock worth $150,828,000 after acquiring an additional 263,457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 35.6% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,399,852 shares of the energy companys stock worth $232,319,000 after acquiring an additional 367,275 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.86% of the companys stock. Get Cheniere Energy alerts: Cheniere Energy Stock Performance Shares of LNG opened at $154.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.63. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.30 and a twelve month high of $183.46. The company has a market capitalization of $36.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $163.91. Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend Cheniere Energy ( NYSE:LNG Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The energy company reported $5.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.70 by $3.06. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 48.45% and a return on equity of 69.52%. The company had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $15.78 earnings per share. The firms revenue was down 46.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th were issued a $0.435 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 5th. This represents a $1.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Cheniere Energys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.30%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $185.00 to $178.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $197.10. Get Our Latest Stock Report on Cheniere Energy Cheniere Energy Profile (Free Report) Cheniere Energy, Inc, an energy infrastructure company, primarily engages in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) related businesses in the United States. It owns and operates the Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana; and the Corpus Christi LNG terminal near Corpus Christi, Texas. The company also owns Creole Trail pipeline, a 94-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal with several interstate and intrastate pipelines; and operates Corpus Christi pipeline, a 21.5-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Corpus Christi LNG terminal with various interstate and intrastate natural gas pipelines. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LNG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Cheniere Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Cheniere Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Seven Eight Capital LP lessened its holdings in Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX Free Report) by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,409 shares of the textile makers stock after selling 34,628 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LPs holdings in Skechers U.S.A. were worth $558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Skechers U.S.A. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Skechers U.S.A. during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new position in Skechers U.S.A. in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Skechers U.S.A. by 861.7% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 577 shares of the textile makers stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in Skechers U.S.A. during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. 80.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get Skechers U.S.A. alerts: Insider Buying and Selling In other Skechers U.S.A. news, EVP Mark A. Nason sold 6,432 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.83, for a total value of $378,394.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,023 shares in the company, valued at $2,001,573.09. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Mark A. Nason sold 6,432 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.83, for a total transaction of $378,394.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,023 shares in the company, valued at $2,001,573.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO David Weinberg sold 67,390 shares of Skechers U.S.A. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.87, for a total value of $3,899,859.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 141,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,183,107.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 185,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,799,585. 24.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Skechers U.S.A. Trading Down 1.8 % NYSE:SKX opened at $60.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21 and a beta of 1.32. Skechers U.S.A., Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.56 and a 1-year high of $65.17. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $61.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Skechers U.S.A. (NYSE:SKX Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The textile maker reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.03 billion. Skechers U.S.A. had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Skechers U.S.A., Inc. will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SKX shares. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Skechers U.S.A. from $75.00 to $68.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on Skechers U.S.A. from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Skechers U.S.A. in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They issued an outperform rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Skechers U.S.A. in a research note on Friday. They set a neutral rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Skechers U.S.A. from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $66.18. Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Skechers U.S.A. Skechers U.S.A. Company Profile (Free Report) Skechers U.SA, Inc designs, develops, markets, and distributes footwear for men, women, and children worldwide. The company operates through Wholesale and Direct-to-Consumer segments. It offers footwear under Skechers Hands Free Slip-ins, Skechers Arch Fit, and Skechers Air-Cooled Memory Foam brands. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SKX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Skechers U.S.A. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Skechers U.S.A. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL Free Report) by 1.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,519 shares of the insurance providers stock after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLCs holdings in Markel Group were worth $5,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jag Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Markel Group by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 12,250 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $18,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in Markel Group by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 5,374 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $7,913,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Toroso Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Markel Group by 187.3% during the 3rd quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 497 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Markel Group during the 3rd quarter worth $125,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Markel Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,592 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $21,487,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.96% of the companys stock. Get Markel Group alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets MKL has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and set a $1,475.00 price target on shares of Markel Group in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Markel Group from a buy rating to a hold rating and cut their price target for the stock from $1,680.00 to $1,500.00 in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Markel Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 22nd. They set a sell rating and a $1,275.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $1,412.50. Insider Activity In other Markel Group news, Director A. Lynne Puckett purchased 72 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $1,409.28 per share, for a total transaction of $101,468.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,352,908.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner bought 100 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $1,414.74 per share, for a total transaction of $141,474.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,039 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $63,718,474.86. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director A. Lynne Puckett purchased 72 shares of Markel Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1,409.28 per share, for a total transaction of $101,468.16. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 960 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,352,908.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.75% of the companys stock. Markel Group Stock Down 0.2 % MKL stock opened at $1,496.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.18 and a beta of 0.70. Markel Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $1,186.56 and a twelve month high of $1,560.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,451.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,445.37. Markel Group (NYSE:MKL Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $56.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $23.58 by $32.90. The business had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.75 billion. Markel Group had a return on equity of 11.22% and a net margin of 12.63%. On average, equities analysts predict that Markel Group Inc. will post 82.95 EPS for the current fiscal year. About Markel Group (Free Report) Markel Group Inc, a diverse holding company, engages in marketing and underwriting specialty insurance products in the United States, Bermuda, the United Kingdom, and Germany. The company offers general and professional liability, personal lines, marine and energy, specialty programs, and workers' compensation insurance products; and property coverages that include fire, allied lines, and other specialized property coverages, including catastrophe-exposed property risks, such as earthquake and wind. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MKL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Markel Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Markel Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK Free Report) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,643 shares of the utilities providers stock after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLCs holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,023 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. Adviser Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $304,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 191,379 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $17,174,000 after purchasing an additional 22,100 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,918,910 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $698,923,000 after purchasing an additional 144,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. 63.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Duke Energy alerts: Duke Energy Price Performance NYSE:DUK opened at $94.94 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $94.84 and a 200-day moving average of $92.36. The company has a market capitalization of $73.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $100.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74. Duke Energy Announces Dividend Duke Energy ( NYSE:DUK Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The firm had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.025 per share. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 15th. Duke Energys dividend payout ratio is currently 115.49%. Analyst Ratings Changes DUK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America downgraded Duke Energy from a buy rating to a neutral rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $100.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $100.00. Check Out Our Latest Research Report on DUK Insider Activity at Duke Energy In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,213 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Duke Energy Profile (Free Report) Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments, Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I) and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest; and uses coal, hydroelectric, natural gas, oil, solar and wind sources, renewables, and nuclear fuel to generate electricity. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Duke Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Duke Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of iShares Core Moderate Allocation ETF (NYSEARCA:AOM Free Report) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 5,422 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $211,000. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in iShares Core Moderate Allocation ETF by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,502,770 shares of the companys stock valued at $101,137,000 after buying an additional 19,635 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of iShares Core Moderate Allocation ETF by 19.6% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 900,938 shares of the companys stock valued at $35,074,000 after acquiring an additional 147,776 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of iShares Core Moderate Allocation ETF by 8.2% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 454,864 shares of the companys stock valued at $17,708,000 after acquiring an additional 34,455 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in iShares Core Moderate Allocation ETF by 17.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 371,364 shares of the companys stock worth $14,803,000 after buying an additional 55,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in iShares Core Moderate Allocation ETF by 45.0% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 245,749 shares of the companys stock worth $9,567,000 after buying an additional 76,212 shares in the last quarter. Get iShares Core Moderate Allocation ETF alerts: iShares Core Moderate Allocation ETF Stock Performance Shares of NYSEARCA:AOM opened at $42.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.45. iShares Core Moderate Allocation ETF has a 52 week low of $37.72 and a 52 week high of $42.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.32. iShares Core Moderate Allocation ETF Company Profile iShares Moderate Allocation ETF, formerly iShares S&P Moderate Allocation Fund (the Fund), is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P Target Risk Moderate Index (the Moderate Allocation Index). The Moderate Allocation Index seeks to measure the performance of an asset allocation strategy targeted to a moderate risk profile. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AOM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Core Moderate Allocation ETF (NYSEARCA:AOM Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares Core Moderate Allocation ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Core Moderate Allocation ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wells Fargo Advantage Funds Allspring Income Opportunities Fund (NYSEAMERICAN:EAD Get Free Report) announced a monthly dividend on Thursday, February 22nd, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of 0.0517 per share by the closed-end fund on Monday, April 1st. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo Advantage Funds Allspring Income Opportunities Funds previous monthly dividend of $0.05. Wells Fargo Advantage Funds Allspring Income Opportunities Fund has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 5.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. Get Wells Fargo Advantage Funds - Allspring Income Opportunities Fund alerts: Wells Fargo Advantage Funds Allspring Income Opportunities Fund Trading Up 0.2 % EAD opened at $6.63 on Friday. Wells Fargo Advantage Funds Allspring Income Opportunities Fund has a twelve month low of $5.69 and a twelve month high of $6.81. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wells Fargo Advantage Funds Allspring Income Opportunities Fund Wells Fargo Advantage Funds Allspring Income Opportunities Fund Company Profile Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Wells Fargo Advantage Funds Allspring Income Opportunities Fund in the first quarter valued at $63,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo Advantage Funds Allspring Income Opportunities Fund in the first quarter valued at $80,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Wells Fargo Advantage Funds Allspring Income Opportunities Fund by 17.5% in the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,201 shares of the closed-end funds stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 2,118 shares in the last quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC grew its position in Wells Fargo Advantage Funds Allspring Income Opportunities Fund by 20.0% in the first quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 12,000 shares of the closed-end funds stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo Advantage Funds Allspring Income Opportunities Fund in the second quarter valued at $102,000. (Get Free Report) Wells Fargo Advantage Funds Allspring Income Opportunities Fund is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. It is co-managed by Wells Capital Management Incorporated. The fund invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. It primarily invests in below investment grade debt securities, high-yield debt securities, loans and preferred stocks rated Ba or lower by Moody's Investors Service, Inc or BB or lower by Standard & Poor's Ratings Group. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Wells Fargo Advantage Funds - Allspring Income Opportunities Fund Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Wells Fargo Advantage Funds - Allspring Income Opportunities Fund and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Blog Archive: Mar 2024 (90) Feb 2024 (145) Jan 2024 (156) Dec 2023 (155) Nov 2023 (150) Oct 2023 (155) Sep 2023 (150) Aug 2023 (155) Jul 2023 (155) Jun 2023 (150) May 2023 (155) Apr 2023 (150) Mar 2023 (155) Feb 2023 (140) Jan 2023 (155) Dec 2022 (156) Nov 2022 (150) Oct 2022 (155) Sep 2022 (150) Aug 2022 (155) Jul 2022 (154) Jun 2022 (150) May 2022 (155) Apr 2022 (150) Mar 2022 (155) Feb 2022 (140) Jan 2022 (156) Dec 2021 (156) Nov 2021 (150) Oct 2021 (155) Sep 2021 (150) Aug 2021 (155) Jul 2021 (155) Jun 2021 (150) May 2021 (155) Apr 2021 (150) Mar 2021 (155) Feb 2021 (140) Jan 2021 (155) Dec 2020 (155) Nov 2020 (150) Oct 2020 (158) Sep 2020 (150) Aug 2020 (130) Jul 2020 (124) Jun 2020 (120) May 2020 (124) Apr 2020 (120) Mar 2020 (124) Feb 2020 (116) Jan 2020 (125) Dec 2019 (126) Nov 2019 (120) Oct 2019 (124) Sep 2019 (120) Aug 2019 (125) Jul 2019 (124) Jun 2019 (120) May 2019 (123) Apr 2019 (121) Mar 2019 (124) Feb 2019 (112) Jan 2019 (125) Dec 2018 (126) Nov 2018 (120) Oct 2018 (124) Sep 2018 (121) Aug 2018 (124) Jul 2018 (125) Jun 2018 (120) May 2018 (124) Apr 2018 (121) Mar 2018 (124) Feb 2018 (112) Jan 2018 (123) Dec 2017 (124) Nov 2017 (124) Oct 2017 (141) Sep 2017 (135) Aug 2017 (138) Jul 2017 (137) Jun 2017 (134) May 2017 (138) Apr 2017 (135) Mar 2017 (139) Feb 2017 (129) Jan 2017 (143) Dec 2016 (135) Nov 2016 (138) Oct 2016 (142) Sep 2016 (128) Aug 2016 (133) Jul 2016 (136) Jun 2016 (138) May 2016 (164) Apr 2016 (311) Mar 2016 (348) Feb 2016 (320) Jan 2016 (348) Dec 2015 (314) Nov 2015 (338) Oct 2015 (363) Sep 2015 (358) Aug 2015 (399) Jul 2015 (374) Jun 2015 (331) May 2015 (337) Apr 2015 (319) Mar 2015 (320) Feb 2015 (271) Jan 2015 (286) Dec 2014 (254) Nov 2014 (238) Oct 2014 (287) Sep 2014 (267) Aug 2014 (259) Jul 2014 (260) Jun 2014 (238) May 2014 (241) Apr 2014 (228) Mar 2014 (240) Feb 2014 (217) Jan 2014 (263) Dec 2013 (226) Nov 2013 (254) Oct 2013 (256) Sep 2013 (252) Aug 2013 (263) Jul 2013 (261) Jun 2013 (251) May 2013 (250) Apr 2013 (221) Mar 2013 (193) Feb 2013 (164) Jan 2013 (157) Dec 2012 (155) Nov 2012 (240) Oct 2012 (526) Sep 2012 (411) Aug 2012 (394) Jul 2012 (284) Jun 2012 (229) May 2012 (213) Apr 2012 (213) Mar 2012 (253) Feb 2012 (269) Jan 2012 (298) Dec 2011 (273) Nov 2011 (219) Oct 2011 (204) Sep 2011 (201) Aug 2011 (236) Jul 2011 (217) Jun 2011 (211) May 2011 (206) Apr 2011 (215) Mar 2011 (215) Feb 2011 (186) Jan 2011 (215) Dec 2010 (107) Nov 2010 (98) Oct 2010 (55) Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO Free Report) by 83.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,428 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc.s holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $130,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD bought a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,408,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 182.2% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,494,214 shares of the companys stock valued at $135,883,000 after buying an additional 964,640 shares during the last quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 94.0% during the third quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 44,292 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,028,000 after buying an additional 21,457 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 111.6% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 6,004 shares of the companys stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 3,166 shares during the period. Finally, Green Square Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 103.7% in the third quarter. Green Square Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,612 shares of the companys stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 6.41% of the companys stock. Get Novo Nordisk A/S alerts: Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 2.1 % Shares of NVO stock traded down $2.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $133.07. 12,765,042 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,439,499. The stocks 50 day moving average is $115.21 and its 200-day moving average is $96.41. The company has a market cap of $597.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Novo Nordisk A/S has a fifty-two week low of $67.66 and a fifty-two week high of $138.28. Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend Novo Nordisk A/S ( NYSE:NVO Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.05. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 90.36% and a net margin of 36.03%. The business had revenue of $9.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.14 billion. Analysts predict that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a $0.664 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/Ss previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Novo Nordisk A/Ss dividend payout ratio is presently 22.92%. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of analysts recently issued reports on NVO shares. UBS Group started coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a neutral rating for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Novo Nordisk A/S from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an overweight rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $121.25. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on NVO Novo Nordisk A/S Company Profile (Free Report) Novo Nordisk A/S, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research and development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity Care, and Rare Disease. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NVO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Novo Nordisk A/S Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Novo Nordisk A/S and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. William Blair restated their outperform rating on shares of MeridianLink (NYSE:MLNK Free Report) in a research note published on Wednesday, RTT News reports. William Blair also issued estimates for MeridianLinks Q4 2024 earnings at $0.01 EPS. MLNK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of MeridianLink from $23.50 to $22.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research raised shares of MeridianLink from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on MeridianLink from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $18.67. Get MeridianLink alerts: Read Our Latest Analysis on MLNK MeridianLink Stock Up 0.2 % Shares of NYSE:MLNK opened at $18.35 on Wednesday. MeridianLink has a 12-month low of $13.62 and a 12-month high of $25.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of -33.98 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.56. MeridianLink (NYSE:MLNK Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $74.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.61 million. MeridianLink had a negative return on equity of 6.59% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.05) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MeridianLink will post -0.02 EPS for the current fiscal year. Insider Activity at MeridianLink In other MeridianLink news, CFO Sean W. Blitchok sold 4,388 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.74, for a total value of $99,783.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 408,094 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,280,057.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other MeridianLink news, CFO Sean W. Blitchok sold 4,388 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.74, for a total transaction of $99,783.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 408,094 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,280,057.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Nguyen sold 1,657,246 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.29, for a total value of $30,311,029.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,014,526 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $18,555,680.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 20.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Institutional Trading of MeridianLink Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in MeridianLink by 51.6% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,170,595 shares of the companys stock worth $21,187,000 after purchasing an additional 398,326 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of MeridianLink by 33.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,477,975 shares of the companys stock worth $26,752,000 after buying an additional 373,637 shares in the last quarter. Keenan Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MeridianLink by 11.5% in the third quarter. Keenan Capital LLC now owns 2,896,577 shares of the companys stock valued at $49,416,000 after buying an additional 298,686 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in MeridianLink by 16.4% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,145,987 shares of the companys stock valued at $19,413,000 after buying an additional 161,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in MeridianLink by 127.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 287,719 shares of the companys stock worth $5,208,000 after acquiring an additional 160,991 shares during the period. 71.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. MeridianLink Company Profile (Get Free Report) MeridianLink, Inc, a software and services company, provides software solutions for banks, credit unions, mortgage lenders, specialty lending providers, and consumer reporting agencies in the United States. The company offers MeridianLink One, a multi-product platform that can be tailored to meet the needs of customers as they digitally transform their organizations and adapt to changing business and consumer demands; MeridianLink Portal, a Point of Sale system that allows financial institutions to expand existing lending and deposit account; MeridianLink Opening, a cloud-based online account opening and deposit software solution; MeridianLink Consumer, a full loan solution suite to banks and credit unions; and MeridianLink DecisionLender, a loan origination software (LOS) for finance companies. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for MeridianLink Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for MeridianLink and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. California State Teachers Retirement System lessened its holdings in SM Energy (NYSE:SM Free Report) by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 133,085 shares of the energy companys stock after selling 12,929 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.11% of SM Energy worth $5,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Get SM Energy alerts: Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SM. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in SM Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in SM Energy by 561.7% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 880 shares of the energy companys stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in SM Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in SM Energy by 59.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 990 shares of the energy companys stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in SM Energy by 294.1% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,064 shares of the energy companys stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 794 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.26% of the companys stock. Analyst Ratings Changes SM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of SM Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of SM Energy from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of SM Energy from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of SM Energy in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $45.86. SM Energy Price Performance NYSE SM opened at $45.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 4.20. SM Energy has a 12-month low of $24.66 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The firms 50 day moving average is $38.82 and its 200-day moving average is $39.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. SM Energy (NYSE:SM Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $608.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.35 million. SM Energy had a net margin of 34.45% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. SM Energy Increases Dividend The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 5th. Investors of record on Friday, January 19th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from SM Energys previous semi-annual dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 18th. SM Energys payout ratio is presently 10.48%. About SM Energy (Free Report) SM Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, gas, and natural gas liquids in the state of Texas. It also has working interests in oil and gas producing wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for SM Energy (NYSE:SM Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for SM Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for SM Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Gotham Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HPP Free Report) by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,099 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after selling 23,796 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Hudson Pacific Properties worth $878,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Get Hudson Pacific Properties alerts: Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. abrdn plc lifted its stake in shares of Hudson Pacific Properties by 3,569.3% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,006,648 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $6,694,000 after acquiring an additional 979,214 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hudson Pacific Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at $820,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Hudson Pacific Properties by 6,191.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,393,766 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $35,869,000 after buying an additional 5,308,032 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of Hudson Pacific Properties by 238.9% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 130,942 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $880,000 after buying an additional 92,304 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Hudson Pacific Properties during the third quarter worth $7,315,000. Institutional investors own 97.58% of the companys stock. Analysts Set New Price Targets HPP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush cut shares of Hudson Pacific Properties from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and cut their price target for the company from $11.00 to $7.50 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Hudson Pacific Properties from $8.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Bank of America lowered Hudson Pacific Properties from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and dropped their price target for the company from $5.50 to $4.00 in a research note on Monday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Hudson Pacific Properties from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $6.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Hudson Pacific Properties from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $8.83. Hudson Pacific Properties Stock Up 2.5 % HPP opened at $6.85 on Friday. Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4.05 and a fifty-two week high of $9.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The companys 50-day moving average is $7.89 and its 200 day moving average is $6.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $966.60 million, a P/E ratio of -5.00, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.31. Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE:HPP Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.15. The firm had revenue of $223.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $223.93 million. Hudson Pacific Properties had a negative net margin of 19.20% and a negative return on equity of 5.74%. The companys quarterly revenue was down 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. Research analysts expect that Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, Director Barry A. Sholem bought 40,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $6.69 per share, for a total transaction of $267,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 70,176 shares in the company, valued at $469,477.44. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Hudson Pacific Properties news, CIO Drew Gordon sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.11, for a total transaction of $71,100.00. Following the sale, the executive now owns 116,694 shares in the company, valued at $829,694.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Barry A. Sholem purchased 40,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $6.69 per share, with a total value of $267,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 70,176 shares of the companys stock, valued at $469,477.44. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.95% of the companys stock. Hudson Pacific Properties Company Profile (Free Report) Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE: HPP) is a real estate investment trust serving dynamic tech and media tenants in global epicenters for these synergistic, converging and secular growth industries. Hudson Pacific's unique and high-barrier tech and media focus leverages a full-service, end-to-end value creation platform forged through deep strategic relationships and niche expertise across identifying, acquiring, transforming and developing properties into world-class amenitized, collaborative and sustainable office and studio space. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Hudson Pacific Properties Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hudson Pacific Properties and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Gotham Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National Storage Affiliates Trust (NYSE:NSA Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 25,574 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock, valued at approximately $812,000. Get National Storage Affiliates Trust alerts: A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NSA. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in National Storage Affiliates Trust by 83.6% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 828 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its position in National Storage Affiliates Trust by 1,071.9% in the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 668 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in National Storage Affiliates Trust by 149.8% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 999 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in National Storage Affiliates Trust by 342.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in National Storage Affiliates Trust in the first quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.63% of the companys stock. National Storage Affiliates Trust Price Performance NSA opened at $38.15 on Friday. National Storage Affiliates Trust has a one year low of $27.86 and a one year high of $43.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $37.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.91 and a beta of 0.84. National Storage Affiliates Trust Dividend Announcement Wall Street Analyst Weigh In The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.87%. National Storage Affiliates Trusts dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 149.33%. Several research firms recently issued reports on NSA. Evercore ISI reissued an underperform rating and issued a $35.00 price target (up previously from $32.00) on shares of National Storage Affiliates Trust in a research report on Monday, December 11th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of National Storage Affiliates Trust from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday, December 28th. KeyCorp raised shares of National Storage Affiliates Trust from a sector weight rating to an overweight rating and set a $45.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of National Storage Affiliates Trust from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, December 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of National Storage Affiliates Trust from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $36.33. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on NSA About National Storage Affiliates Trust (Free Report) National Storage Affiliates Trust is a real estate investment trust headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado, focused on the ownership, operation and acquisition of self storage properties predominantly located within the top 100 metropolitan statistical areas throughout the United States. As of September 30, 2023, the Company held ownership interests in and operated 1,119 self storage properties located in 42 states and Puerto Rico with approximately 73.0 million rentable square feet. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for National Storage Affiliates Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for National Storage Affiliates Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Magnolia Oil & Gas Co. (NYSE:MGY Free Report) by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,572 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 7,306 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLCs holdings in Magnolia Oil & Gas were worth $769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Get Magnolia Oil & Gas alerts: Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MGY. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas by 38.8% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,552 shares of the companys stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas by 42.4% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,608 shares of the companys stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas by 41.4% in the 2nd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,168 shares of the companys stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 1,220 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas by 48.7% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 3,794 shares of the companys stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas by 22.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,653 shares of the companys stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 846 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.73% of the companys stock. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In MGY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Magnolia Oil & Gas from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Magnolia Oil & Gas from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 19th. Citigroup downgraded Magnolia Oil & Gas from a neutral rating to a sell rating and cut their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $18.00 in a report on Monday, December 11th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Magnolia Oil & Gas in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. They set a buy rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Magnolia Oil & Gas from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $25.00. Magnolia Oil & Gas Trading Down 0.7 % MGY opened at $23.61 on Friday. Magnolia Oil & Gas Co. has a one year low of $18.72 and a one year high of $24.02. The company has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 2.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 1.88. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $21.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.83. Magnolia Oil & Gas (NYSE:MGY Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $322.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $324.95 million. Magnolia Oil & Gas had a net margin of 31.65% and a return on equity of 21.21%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Magnolia Oil & Gas Co. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year. Magnolia Oil & Gas Increases Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This is a boost from Magnolia Oil & Gass previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Magnolia Oil & Gass dividend payout ratio is 25.37%. Magnolia Oil & Gas Company Profile (Free Report) Magnolia Oil & Gas Corporation, an independent oil and natural gas company, engages in the acquisition, development, exploration, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids reserves in the United States. Its properties are located primarily in Karnes County and the Giddings area in South Texas principally comprising the Eagle Ford Shale and the Austin Chalk formation. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MGY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Magnolia Oil & Gas Co. (NYSE:MGY Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Magnolia Oil & Gas Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Magnolia Oil & Gas and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. A cheque presentation took place recently at the Renal Unit at Altnagelvin Hospital with Legenderry Motor Show organisers Richard and Joanne Gillespie presenting a cheque for a total of 8,802 to Jo-Anne Dobson who is Northern Ireland Ambassador for Kidney Care UK. Commenting Legenderry organisers Richard and Joanne Gillespie said: We were delighted that once again Legenderry, now in its successful twelfth year, can raise such an amazing sum which will go to help local families across Northern Ireland, including those attending the renal unit at Altnagelvin Hospital, who are affected by kidney disease. Each year we are thrilled to see the Show grow and expand and we are passionate about adding new and exciting attractions. Practically everything with an engine is welcome at the Show, whether its cars, bikes, vans, tractors, trucks, gliders and the list goes on. We want to extend a special thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make our eleventh annual Show such a success from the vehicle exhibitors who travel from all over each year to join us, to our sponsors and local businesses who support us, but most of all to the thousands of people who thronged St Columbs Park for a family fun day out and all in aid of supporting a local charity and helping people affected by kidney disease. The popular Show is dedicated to the memory of Richard's beloved uncle, local man, Given Gillespie who was the driving force behind Legenderry Motor Show. Jo-Anne Dobson is a living kidney donor and Kidney Care UK Northern Ireland Ambassador, Jo-Anne said: What a day, what a motor show and what a team Richard and Joanne Gillespie make they really put their hearts and souls into making this show such an annual success story for the city. At Kidney Care UK we are extremely proud to be the chosen charity of the Show and to receive this magnificent total which will help us to ensure that no one faces kidney disease alone. We are truly blown away by the love, support and generosity from everyone who came along to enjoy the special day. Legenderry really is the show for enthusiasts of motors of all shapes and sizes and from the smallest bikes, to the 2CV Tin Snails to the Trucks everyone takes pride in their vehicles enjoys a super family fun day out. I thank Richard, Joanne and their team from the bottom of my heart for all they do and also my friend and kidney recipient Heather Vance, her family and friends for their continued amazing support. The money raised from Legenderry, now totalling over 18,000, will help to support the needs of local kidney patients and their families and I want to extend a very special thank you to each and every person who attended Septembers Show and made this most recent terrific total possible. At Kidney Care UK we fund the children from across Northern Ireland to attend the Transplant Games and provide dedicated financial and emotional support services including funding Shared Care nurses at the Renal Units at Altnagelvin and Omagh Hospitals and a Renal Counsellor in the Northern Trust. None of this would be possible without the terrific support we receive from the heart of the local community for which we are truly thankful. Richard and Joanne Gillespie concluded: We are so proud to once again raise such a fantastic amount of money for a very worthy cause which touches to the lives of so many local families. So much preparation goes into organising this event and it was great to join everyone at the Renal Unit at Altnagelvin Hospital to hand over this cheque and hear more about the amazing and life-transforming work they do. You can find out more information about the show on Facebook at @LegenderryMotorShow and about Kidney Care UK at www.kidneycareuk.org Ardnashee School and College in Derry is the first school in Northern Ireland to be awarded the prestigious ADHD Friendly School award by the ADHD Foundation for their work with children and young people with ADHD in the last academic year. Ardnashee School and College is proudly committed to supporting all children within their school, whatever their particular needs, to improve their life chances through education. Working with children and young people with a range of learning needs, Ardnashee School and College has considered all of the main barriers to learning for children with ADHD and has sought to address them in their everyday practice through significant curriculum development in recent years. Most notable here is the level of personalisation, innovative and creative timetabling and the Good Morning and Afternoon programmes, in which all children with ADHD can take part in intense physical activity, hydrotherapy, Sensory Circuits and the creation of the Ardnashee Dance Company. A much-needed resource for children for whom school can be an overwhelming and stressful place at times. Helping children with ADHD to self-regulate was a key feature of the submission for the award with great use of tactile resources across the school. Each classroom has their own budget to provide the tactile resources that the class needs. The understanding that children with ADHD must move to learn is embedded across the whole school from tactile corridors to the availability of the Sensory space. Such resources are used effectively in this school to assist children and young people in focussing and regulating their attentional and executive functioning skills. The dynamic and inspirational leadership team have done a wonderful job of celebrating neurodiversity and de-stigmatising neurodiverse conditions. This has been achieved through Arts and project work with the children which have helped them to understand ADHD more. Ardnashee School and College also provides a range of supports for their parent/ carer community, exploring a range of topics from Sleep to Communication, establishing strong links between home and school in order to further support their neurodiverse students and reduce the isolation that some parents can experience. On achieving the award, Mr Mc Feeters, Principal of Ardnashee School and College said: We are absolutely delighted to be the first school in NI to receive this prestigious award. In Ardnashee we are always researching new and creative ways of providing learning experiences for our children and young people and this was an excellent opportunity to learn from the National Director of the ADHD foundation. Our staff fully embraced all the new learning and this award further recognises their dedication to providing the best education for all our learners. Colin Foley, the training director of the ADHD Foundation said: It has been a privilege to work with the Ardnashee Schol and College. The very skilled and supportive staff team have gone above and beyond to make their lessons and their school environment enjoyable, supportive and safe spaces for their children and young people with ADHD and Im glad that they are getting the recognition for this that they deserve. They thoroughly deserve this award and Im so pleased that they will be the fist school in Northern Ireland to receive it. The ADHD Foundation, based in Liverpool, works in partnership with individuals, families, doctors, teachers and other agencies to improving emotional well-being, educational attainment, behaviour and life chances through better understanding and self-management of ADHD, ASD and related learning difficulties. It is clear that the referenda to change the Constitution in Ireland has been defeated comprehensively, the Irish premier has said. Leo Varadkar said the electorate has given the Government two wallops as the final counts of the two Constitution referenda continued with defeat looking likely in each. Tallies show there is a significant no vote in both questions, with some constituencies polling particularly high against the Governments referenda. The boxes were opened at 9am after the public went to the polls on Friday to vote on whether to change the wording of the Constitution relating to the areas of family and care. Results for both will be announced separately on Saturday. Early tallies show a strong support for no votes, signalling an embarrassing defeat for the Government. Speaking at Dublin Castle, Mr Varadkar said: I think its clear at this stage that the family amendment and the care amendment referendums have been defeated, defeated comprehensively on a respectable turnout. The Government accepts the results and will respect it fully. As head of Government, on behalf of the Government, we accept responsibility for the results. It was our responsibility to convince a majority of people to vote yes and we clearly failed to do so. I think we struggle to convince people of the necessity or need for the referendum at all, let alone detail on the wording. Thats obviously something were going to have to reflect on into the weeks ahead. What I do want to say to people, though, is that when it comes to the work of Government, in relation to gender equality, in relation to improving conditions for carers, in relation to giving rights for people with disabilities, that work will continue. Mr Varadkar also admitted the Irish Government clearly got it wrong. I think Enda Kenny (former taoiseach) famously said once that the electorate often gives the Government a wallop this is two wallops, he added. Well, look, clearly we got it wrong. Childrens Minister Roderic OGorman said the Government was not successful in convincing the public of its arguments to change the Constitution. The Government has to make the case, and its clear that throughout this campaign issues were raised, issues that I think were incorrect interpretations that I and Government believe were incorrect, Mr OGorman said. But we werent successful in convincing people that our arguments were strong. I think it has to be acknowledged that the departure from the wording of the Citizens Assembly meant that some of those NGOs and civil society organisations, who would have been supportive originally, didnt feel they could support and (didnt) feel they could campaign to the same degree. I think that was certainly an element. Finally, I think the people didnt see the urgency of the change here in terms of the repeal campaign, where there was a clear outcome the day after the yes vote and in the case of marriage equality, where there was a clear outcome the day of the vote. People didnt get that sense of the need for change here. I think that was a another factor. The result of the referendums on family and care is clear. The majority were not persuaded by the arguments for changing the Constitution in this way. It is a core strength of our Constitution that the people have the final say. We fully respect their decision. (1/3) Micheal Martin (@MichealMartinTD) March 9, 2024 Irish deputy premier Micheal Martin said the majority of the public were not persuaded by the arguments for changing the Constitution. The result of the referendums on family and care is clear, Mr Martin said in a statement. The majority were not persuaded by the arguments for changing the Constitution in this way. It is a core strength of our Constitution that the people have the final say. We fully respect their decision. There is no single reason why these proposals were rejected and, like all who supported them, we will reflect on this over time. Irish Transport Minister Eamon Ryan conceded early in the count that the Government lost. Its clear we lost, Mr Ryan said. When it was put to the Green Minister that the Government did not get the result it wanted, he said: No, we didnt. There was a low turnout reported throughout the day, with less than 30% in some areas. There was a slight uplift at polling stations as people made their home on Friday evening. However it is thought that numbers remained lower compared to previous referenda. The two questions will be counted separately, with both results expected to be declared at Dublin Castle by Saturday evening. The family amendment will be counted and declared first. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said her party is very much in touch with the Irish public, despite tallies showing the two referenda will be defeated. Her party advocated for a yes-yes vote in Irelands ballot on family and care. No, were very, very much in touch with people, and youll recall that I said from the get-go, that we were very much in favour of removing sexist language from the Constitution, very much in favour of an inclusive definition of families, Ms McDonald said on Saturday. But we knew that the Government did come up short in terms of the caring wording. They disregarded the Citizens Assembly, they didnt consult with opposition or with other stakeholders. They didnt collaborate, and they failed to convince. I know, talking to lots of people, that people were left with an unbalanced decision to make and I think its a great pity that the Government went on this kind of solo run, and theyve had their answer. I dont think there has been a lack of clarity for people, I think people when they came out and voted were very clear how they were voting and why they were voting in a particular way. If there is one big takeaway message from this, it is that support for people with disabilities as full and equals citizens and support for carers is something that has to be taken seriously by Government. I think itll fall to the next government to vindicate those rights. Ms McDonald said Sinn Fein will return to consideration the sexist language in Irelands Constitution if the party is in the next government. Senator Michael McDowell, a former tanaiste and ex-justice minister, who campaigned for a no-no vote, said the move had represented unwise social experimentation with the Constitution. Mr McDowell, who was part of the Lawyers For No group, said: I trust individual voters. They looked at what was being put before them and they said no. Many of them will have a slightly different perspective as to why they were voting no, but in the end we live in a republic and the sovereign power is the people and every individual vote is as good as anybody elses vote, and this is an emphatic repudiation of what I think was unwise social experimentation with the Constitution. Labour leader Ivana Bacik said: The result at this early stage certainly looks disappointing for those who campaigned for a yes-yes vote. I do think and it is clear that it is the Governments responsibility, because the Government needs to explain to the people first why it chose and proceeded with wording that was so distinctly different from the wording that our Oireachtas committee on gender equality has proposed, wording that cross-parties had supported. Why did they not go out more assertively and sell it to the people? Because what we saw from Government, particularly in the last few weeks as the no side was gaining ground, we saw a lacklustre campaign from Government. The family amendment proposes extending the meaning of family beyond one defined by marriage and to include those based on durable relationships. The care amendment proposes deleting references to a womans roles and duties in the home, and replacing it with a new article that acknowledges family carers. Two Louth groups have been allocated a total of 7300 for biodiversity projects through a joint venture between the government and philanthropic organisations. Dromiskin Tidy Towns has been given 4000 to implement the local Community Biodiversity Action Plan focusing on pollinator pit stops, as well as to build a viewing mound, and owl and bat boxes. Meanwhile, Omeath District Development has been given 3300 to map invasive species in Omeath. The local initiatives are among 78 new community plans being supported nationally through a partnership between philanthropy and Government. Each local project will be receiving access to experts to either develop a new Community Biodiversity Action Plan (CBAP) or support to implement measures from an existing plan. The grants are the latest in a joint Biodiversity Fund, an initiative of the Community Foundation Ireland and the National Parks and Wildlife Service which has seen 213 such action plans developed across the country through a joint investment of 1.76 Million since 2019. Announcing the grants, Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD, said: These grants are uniquely impactful because they connect community groups with scientific expertise, helping them to better understand their local biodiversity. Successful grantees work with ecologists to create a Community Biodiversity Action Plan and can then seek funding to implement it. All of the data they collect is shared with the National Biodiversity Data Centre, making a valuable contribution to citizen science in Ireland. This partnership between the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Community Foundation Ireland began as a Seed for Nature at the 2019 National Biodiversity Conference, so its particularly special to see it flourish and deliver so much impact all across the country, with 213 CBAPs in place and more to come. Its vital that we empower communities to restore nature at grassroots level, especially as the National Biodiversity Action Plan takes root. Over the coming years, Local Authorities will also be developing Local Biodiversity Action Plans. Active, informed and engaged communities will help us ensure that policy-making for biodiversity is a two way street: top down and bottom up. Niall O Donnchu, Director General of the National Parks and Wildlife Service added: NPWS is delighted to partner with Community Foundation Ireland on the Biodiversity Fund and to support the work of community groups in restoring and protecting nature in their local area. Science and expertise can guide us but must be translated into action by and with local communities. CBI includes attempt to murder charges against Sheikh Shahjahan in two FIRs The CBI, which is probing the attack on ED and CAPF personnel in West Bengal, has now included attempt to murder charges under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code to two FIRs against Sheikh Shahjahan. The suspended Trinamool Congress leader is the accused mastermind in the January 5 attack at Sandeshkhali. The CBI has filed a total of three FIRs in the two cases of attacks on ED and CAPF officials on January 5 and submitted the FIRs at the Basirhat Sub-Divisional Court in North 24 Parganas District. Out of the three FIRs, two are against Sheikh Shahjahan in connection with the attack in front of his residence at Sandeshkhali. Sources said the charges of attempt to murder have been included to those two FIRs. The third FIR is against another Trinamool Congress leader from Bongaon also in North 24 Parganas District, Shankar Adhya, who is already in judicial custody in connection with the multi-crore PDS case. On the night of January 5, when the ED sleuths were taking Adhya away after arresting him, his followers attacked the EDs men and also made an attempt to stop them from taking him away. Sources said that initially charges under Section 307 of the IPC were not included in the two FIRs against Sheikh Shahjahan. However, earlier this week the EDs Deputy Director, G Varil, had detailed discussions with the CBI sleuths in the matter and after due consideration, attempt to murder charges against Sheikh Shahjahan were added to the FIRs. G Varil was the one to file the initial complaint at a local police station on the attack on ED sleuths on January 5. Meanwhile, Sheikh Shahjahan will be presented at Basirhat Sub-divisional Court on Saturday and the CBI will be seeking extension of his custody. A man in Gujarat, who passed away during the course of treatment, has been identified with a unique blood group, which is said to be the first in the country and 10th in the world, as per reports. The 65-year-old man from Rajkot needed a heart surgery last year after he suffered a heart attack. However, after the doctors conducted a test to determine the blood group of the patient, they couldn't find any match in Rajkot. The patient was then referred to Ahmedabad, but here too the doctors couldn't find a match. The lab testing the blood sample found something strange, and subsequently sent it to a lab in New York for testing. It took a year for the researchers to come to the conclusion that the blood group was AB+ blood group with EMM 'negative' frequency. In the meanwhile, the patient died a natural death a month ago. Zalak Patel, transfusion medicine specialist in the Red Cross society, Ahmedabad, told IANS that O, A, B and AB are the common blood groups found in human bodies. There are more than 40 blood systems like Rh and Duffy and more than 350 antigens connected with red cells. EMM is kind of a high-frequency antigen, which is very much common to find. But this patient did not have EMM in his blood, Patel said. EMM antigens are antibodies that develop naturally in the human body. There are nine globally registered persons in the world with EMM negative blood type. Now a 10th person from Gujarat has been added to that list. Ripal Shah, Medical Director at Prathama Laboratory in Ahmedabad, said that the patient has AB+ blood group, which was cross-checked with 40 to 50 samples which the lab had. "We tried various techniques available in India to match his blood. I realised there was something strange with his blood. We also matched his blood with his son and daughter's samples. But that did not work either. So we sent the sample to New York. "It took more than a year for them to come to a conclusion. The process also got delayed due to the Covid pandemic. In between, the doctors gave him medicines to increase the haemoglobin level. While the haemoglobin level increased, the patient was not in a condition to undergo the surgery, so the doctors postponed it. He also got infected by Covid. He died a natural death a month ago," Shah said. RETIRED Cork teacher Gerry Kelly is searingly honest about the trials and tribulations of his prostate cancer diagnosis. He has chronicled his journey in his pocketbook, Prostate Piddling Passion, and is keen to get the message out there about the disease. Gerry, a Galway native who in his sixties, and who has been living in Cork since 1975, having worked as a woodwork teacher and school principal before his retirement, explains how the diagnosis came about, I had a fair bit of nagging from my wife Maire after Covid restrictions lifted, he recalls. She urged me to go to my GP for the once over. I had gone for them previously and always got a clean bill of health, but there had been a year or so during Covid when I couldnt get in for one. Gerry stalled. I told Maire Id go in this week, or maybe next week, he admits. And, eventually I made the appointment, got my bloods done and happily retired back to Granda duty. A week later, Gerry got a call from his doctor. In the space of a year my PSA (Prostate-Specific-Antigen) had gone up, he says. I had a digital examination examining the prostrate for distortions, lumps or bumps. Gerry didnt dwell on having the examination. He thought of something else. I was giggling inside as I recalled the wonderful comedian Paddy Comerford describing such an event, says Gerry. He said the patient was unhappy with the doctors diagnosis during a DRE (digital rectal examination) and demanded a second opinion, whereupon the doctor inserted two fingers! Gerry had a second blood test and was referred to a urologist, who booked him in for a cystoscopy and flow test. For the flow test, I was in the waiting room sipping a 500ml water bottle and my task was to call the nurse when I was ready to piddle, says Gerry. Nothing happened. I consumed seven 500mlw of water in total, which is three and a half litres. Then my flow happened! What happened next? I had a small camera up my water-spout until it reached my bladder, followed by an MRI which culminated in having biopsies done, says Gerry, Priorities are cancer, continence and potence. Then, biopsy results day was looming, and this would be definitive in deciding analysis of my diagnosis. The area of concern shown by the MRI was cancer tissue. There was enough concern to merit action. There were three options. What option did Gerry choose? I was discussing a robotic prostatectomy with the doctors. My wife, who is a great support to me and who is a midwife and a nurse, agreed. Gerry prepared himself for the procedure. A couple of Guinness mid-afternoon, an early dinner and hopefully a good nights sleep would be good preparation for the mornings procedure. Isnt it always the way that when you set the alarm that you wake well before it? As I walked the short distance to the Mater Private, I had enough time to ponder, how bad can I be? It wasnt that bad. When I was appropriately dressed and on a theatre bed, a nice man called an anaesthetist started asking me the kind of questions a stranger might ask on a train journey. I was doing great with my answers when Im sure he noticed that I stopped mid-sentence and I had submitted my body to the surgeon and medical team for the next five hours. The procedure went well. The cancer was contained, and he hasnt required further cancer treatment. Soon, I was shuffling along like a fast turtle! says Gerry, laughing. Even though I had a water bottle strapped to my leg! Post-op, Gerry coped well. I was coping with my piddling apparatus fairly well, he says. The nappy was important too, to catch any leakage. Gerry finds the humour in talking about rebuilding his pelvic floor, dealing with the impact on continence, and the use of Viagra to deal with erectile dysfunction. After I got the surgery, I experienced a bit of pathetic fallacy, I suppose, says Gerry. I couldnt play golf or cycle for three months and I decided to buy a motorbike. His humour is infectious. There was no horn on the bike and the tank was piddling leaking. And I just thought, this bike is like me! Gerry was lucky to have his wife and family around him. I remember the journeys up to Dublin to hospital. There were just the two of us and we stayed overnight, and we bonded. I bonded with my daughters. They were always there for me. Gerry pays tribute to his wife, his fellow traveller and his wing-woman. From my diagnosis onwards, she was my satnav lady for the entire journey, says Gerry. She was my nurse, my travelling companion, consoler and cuddler. She has never made me feel less of a man since my surgery. We will have a huge celebration when my puberty strikes twice! As the song says, its be hard to be a woman, but men have their own health struggles going through life too. There is a cohort of men at great risk because they may be macho about it, or might not have anyone to encourage them to get checked, says Gerry. They will say things like, If I go to the doctor, theyll only find something wrong with me. But, sure, great if they do - at least you can deal with it then. Gerry was cheered by the fact that he was an early detection case and things would turn out well. I could hear The Dubliners lyrics rattle around in my head, says Gerry, recalling the song Maids When Youre Young, Never Wed An Old Man. Hes got no faloorum, hes lost his ding doorum...! Gerry, far from an old man, embraces life. The prostate cancer journey gave me time to reflect, he says. It gave me a new and different outlook on life. I now had a close encounter, and I was aware of how lucky I was to have a successful outcome. I felt that in the greater scheme of things, I wasnt dealt the worst hand. Many of my contemporaries had fared a lot worse, some even losing their battle for life. Gerry got a second bite of the cherry. After being given a second chance, I recalibrated my pace of life, he says. I was now a lot more comfortable in my role as grandfather. This status underlined how lucky I had been to have had a healthy prostate for so many years. I was enjoying the company of four inquisitive, demanding and entertaining grandchildren. This gift was deprived to so many of my friends who had passed with other cancers without seeing their childrens children. Gerry sees the world from both sides now. Once a man, twice a child, he says. I suppose having a prostatectomy around the Covid era wasnt the worst timing as many social events hadnt yet returned in their full glory. By the time all such social events fully opened up, I was ready to rock and roll too. Gerry is always ready to rock and roll now. The prostate is removed, the piddling problem is greatly under control, and the erectile function issue is in hand, but not while driving! Prostate Piddling Passion is available to purchase on gerrykellycork.com THREE Cork students enjoyed a tour of the Dail and Seanad as well as visits to the Northern Ireland Parliament in Stormont and the EU Parliament in Strasbourg after they were named among 24 youth leaders from across the country by Rotary Ireland. Nagle College fifth-year student Lucy OSullivan, Sean McSweeney, a TY pupil in Christian Brothers School, and Colaiste Choilm fifth-year David OConnell were among the group of 24 teenagers from across the island of Ireland to be presented with Rotary Youth Leadership certificates at an event in the EU Parliaments offices in Dublin recently. The presentation took place during a week-long all expenses paid trip to Belfast, Dublin, and Strasbourg. In Belfast they received a private tour of the Hall and visited Stormont where they were greeted by Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly of the DUP. The project, which is run by Rotary Ireland in conjunction with the European Parliament Liaison Office in Dublin, met several politicians including Tanaiste Micheal Martin and Education Minister Norma Foley. They then spent three days in the EU Parliament in Strasbourg where they were invited to become MEPs for one day and debate topical issues with other young Europeans at Euroscola. Their visit to the French city also involved a trip to the European Court of Human Rights. David OConnell said the experience had really informed him of the value of being up to date in current affairs as he had to undergo three interviews as part of the selection process. The highlight for me was making friends with everyone on the trip and meeting young Europeans in the European Parliament who shared the same interest as ourselves, he said, recommending that other students should not miss the opportunity of entering the competition. Lucy OSullivan said she had learned valuable interview skills and gained a lot of confidence from the experience. The week itself was amazing and Strasbourg is beautiful, she said. CBC student Sean McSweeney said that the key lesson he learnt from the competition was the ability for individuals and groups to make individual changes within their own community and others. People are being advised that there will be increased Irish Coast Guard activity in parts of Cork today. Crosshaven Coast Guard said to expect increased activity around the Crosshaven, Carrigaline and Currabinny areas as it hosts a search skills course for new members from its flanking stations. In a post on Facebook, it urged people to remember however that the Coast Guard is still on call. "If you see someone in difficulty or think they maybe in difficulty immediately dial 112/999 and ask for the Irish Coast Guard. It could save a life," Crosshaven Coast Guard said. Meanwhile, Crosshaven Coast Guard is inviting members of the public to come behind the scenes, visit the team, see its station and meet members of some other state emergency services as well as RNLI Crosshaven Lifeboat Station crew at Crosshaven Coast Guard station tomorrow. It is hosting a public open day and active volunteer recruitment drive from 1pm to 5pm. "If you are interested in joining the team and volunteering your services you can make and expression of interest on the day," Crosshaven Coast Guard said. Code Pink SF Bay Area demonstrators march across the Golden Gate Bridge on Saturday to call attention to Palestinians in Gaza. Manuel Orbegozo/Special to the Chronicle Elementary schoolteachers Asya Hristova and Christina Phan wave Palestinian flags at cars crossing the Golden Gate Bridge during the march. Manuel Orbegozo/Special to the Chronicle Carol Bloom of a Jewish Voices for Peace rallies in support of Palestinians in Gaza. Manuel Orbegozo/Special to the Chronicle Demonstrators begin to march toward the Golden Gate Bridge during the march organized by Code Pink. Manuel Orbegozo/Special to the Chronicle Code Pink activists rally Saturday outside the Golden Gate Bridges Welcome Center to commemorate International Womens Day and demand an end to the war and reproductive crisis in Gaza. Manuel Orbegozo/Special to the Chronicle Caroline Dutton, center, holds a sign in solidarity with Palestinians and against genocide Saturday outside the Golden Gate Bridges Welcome Center to commemorate International Womens Day and demand an end to the war and reproductive crisis in Gaza. Manuel Orbegozo/Special to the Chronicle More than 100 marchers, including many parents and children, rallied Saturday on the Golden Gate Bridge in support of Palestinians under siege in Gaza as a humanitarian crisis there continues to unfold. Organized by the grassroots feminist group Code Pink SF Bay Area, protesters carried props representing sacks of flour to highlight the grave lack of food, water and other resources for Palestinians. There are 2 million people starving right now in Gaza, said Toby Blome, an organizer with Code Pink, addressing about two dozen people outside the bridges Welcome Center before the march. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Dire conditions in Gaza have continued to spur protests across the United States since Israel launched a war in response to Hamas militants deadly Oct. 7 assault. The war has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians, including 10,000 children, in addition to 1,400 Israelis. Code Pink demonstrators rally Saturday on the Golden Gate Bridge in support of Palestinians in Gaza. Manuel Orbegozo Special to the Chronicle Marchers took to the bridge sidewalk just after noon, chanting slogans such as Cease-fire now and Stop bombing children! Many passing motorists honked their horns in solidarity. Riding by the protesters on a bicycle, Laurie Bendell pumped a fist and cheered them on. Visiting from West Palm Beach, Fla., Bendell said she came to the city for a friends memorial service and was heartened to see protesters bring the cause to such a public place. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Bendell said she was in Tel Aviv in October when Hamas invaded Israel, killing at least 1,200 people and taking another 240 hostage. She remained in Israel as the government launched its brutal retaliation. I heard bombs dropping all day, she said. From left, Zara Qureshi, Maya Qureshi and Ruby Kazi participate in the Code Pink march to protest the war in Gaza and celebrate International Women's Day, which was Friday. Manuel Orbegozo/Special to the Chronicle I have Jewish family and Palestinian friends, she said. To me, theres no justification for 30,000 dead. Ruby Enriquez, who had driven from Fairfield and was pushing her 10-month-old daughter in a stroller, bundled in blankets, said: You cant call yourself a feminist and not support the women of Gaza. Im pushing myself to be uncomfortable because theyre uncomfortable. Ruby Kazi of Sunnyvale came with her daughters, ages 10 and 14, carrying signs referencing the shorthand acronym doctors in Palestine use for injured and orphaned children: WCNSF or wounded child, no surviving family. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Golden Gate Bridge is such an iconic place to rally, Kazi said. As a parent, the devastation in Gaza is the saddest thing Ive ever seen. An officer prevents demonstrator Martha Hubert from writing on the sidewalk of Golden Gate Bridge during the Code Pink march. Manuel Orbegozo/Special to the Chronicle Golden Gate Bridge District officers intervened when one of the protesters began writing Free Gaza in purple chalk on the sidewalk. You cant do that. Its district ordinance, an officer said. Carrying a sign reading No tax $$ 4 genocide, City College of San Francisco instructor Kathe Burick said the timing of the protest a day after International Womens Day was meant to underscore the critical plight of families in the war. So many women and children are being killed in this massacre, she said. SOME Cork secondary school students yesterday got to set aside the curriculum and escape briefly into a world of creativity. Author Billy O'Callaghhan speaking to a class during the recent Creating Writing Day in Ursuline College Blackrock. Picture: Howard Crowdy Students at Ursuline College Blackrock were given the opportunity to meet some well-known writers who shared with them insights into their careers. The writers gave the students the chance to work directly with them, supporting the younger scribes in generating ideas and helping them to develop their writing skills. Guests included Madeleine DArcy Lane, a fiction writer originally from Macroom. Students Lily O'Donoghue and Grace Garcia attending a Class Workshop. Picture: Howard Crowdy Her short story collection, Liberty Terrace, won a Florida Authors and Publishers Association (FAPA) prize in the United States and was Corks One City, One Book in 2023. Another guest was Oonagh Kearney, an alumna of Ursuline College Blackrock, and a Cork-based writer and director who has worked across short film, episodic television drama and documentary. Author Bernadette Gallagher speaking to students Ashleigh O'Sullivan and Serena Ikotun during a Class Workshop during the recent Creative Writing Day in Ursuline College Blackrock. Picture: Howard Crowdy Ms Kearneys recent short film, Never Kill A Femboy on the First Date, was funded by Virgin Media, and will premiere at the Dublin International Film Festival later this year. Another guest, author Billy OCallaghan, has had his work translated into 18 languages. Leanne Clarke, who is an English teacher at Ursuline College, said creative writing could take any form and can focus on any subject matter. Students Kadiatou Barry and Tamara Sohlo going through some notes during a Creative Writing Workshop .Picture: Howard Crowdy It is a method of self-expression which can enable us to unlock our creativity and explore the boundaries of our imaginations, Ms Clarke said. It is often a process of self-discovery. It can help us to better understand ourselves, but also the world around us and the many different kinds of people who inhabit it. Patrick McBeth, who is principal of Ursuline College Blackrock, said the college places great emphasis on developing creativity and self-expression among its students. Our inaugural Creative Writing Day is a unique whole of school event. [These] sessions will enable the girls to find their voices and will enable the girls to find their voices and express themselves with expert and inspirational guidance to hand, Mr McBeth said. LAST month marked eight years since the turning of the sod on the events centre project, which is to be built on the site of the former Beamish & Crawford brewery. With a decision on further State funding expected soon, this weeks Nostalgia takes a look back at the sites fascinating past. The brewery was founded in 1791 when two successful merchants, William Beamish from Cork, and William Crawford, who came from Bangor in County Down, entered into a partnership with two Cork brewers, Richard Barrett and Digby OBrien. They set up the Cork Porter Brewery on South Main St and the first porter was brewed there on January 17, 1792. Beamish & Crawford brewery, 1953. Brothers Donal and Diarmuid O Drisceoil, in their comprehensive history of the brewery, Beamish & Crawford: The History of an Irish Brewery, noted that it quickly established itself as Irelands leading brewery. Its early success reflected Corks heyday as a leading port of the British Empire, and its subsequent fortunes also mirrored the history of the city and country, the book states. In the seven years from 1793 to 1800, the brewerys output increased from 12,003 barrels a year to 63,230. The firms success was partially built on the changed system of taxing beer that, from 1791, favoured Irish producers over their English rivals, but also on the skill of the brewers at the Cork Porter Brewery Digby OBrien, Richard Barrett, and head brewer John Topp who produced a porter that could rival and surpass the best that could be imported from London, the O Drisceoil brothers note. The brewery would remain the largest in the country until the 1830s when it was overtaken by Guinness. Company goes public The Beamish & Crawford company went public in 1901 and was purchased by the Canadian brewing firm Carling-OKeefe in 1962. However, members of the original family owners remained involved in the business for many years afterwards, with Richard Beamish still involved when the company celebrated its second centenary in 1992. Prior to that milestone, the company underwent a major expansion and modernisation plan, as one article in February 1986 from the Evening Echo, detailed. The Cork brewery, Beamish & Crawford, in keeping with a major 5m expansion and modernisation plan, have installed six 30,000-gallon fermenting tanks. The gigantic stainless steel vessels, 50 ft high and 13 ft in diameter, cost in excess of 750,000 and are geared to cater for an increasing demand of the brewerys products on the lager market, said director and secretary, Mr Dick Walsh this morning, it stated. Blackpool National School boys visit Beamish & Crawford brewery in 1935. The extensive South Main Street plant is largely a lager brewery with 75% of its production in Carling and Carlsberg. Mr Walsh revealed that the brewery now caters for a consumption level of one million pints per week. The new tanks will allow production of an extra 1.2 million pints per month, the article continued. The year prior, the brewery had expanded its stout market, exporting both draught and bottled Beamish stout to London for the first time. Closure The brewery changed hands a number of times between the 1960s and its eventual closure in 2009 with the loss of 120 jobs when production was moved to the nearby Heineken operated facility. Today is in many ways a defining one, in that it is the end of an era, particularly for the many generations of Cork families that were part of Beamish & Crawford, Declan Farmer of Heineken said at the time. I would like to recognise and compliment the significant part played by each and every employee in the life of Beamish & Crawford down through the years. SEACHTAIN na Gaeilge is upon us, a festival that celebrates the Irish language at all levels. Even if you are a complete beginner, or are a little rusty, I encourage you to use a cupla focal this week. For example, say go raibh maith agat instead of Thank You, Le do thoil instead of Please, Slan instead of Goodbye. Bainfimid trial as. You never know you might find yourself using it more. I have several important events and initiatives I want to discuss in this weeks column. Launch of new housing scheme Starting with our housing department, the council is delighted to announce the launch of the Affordable Housing Scheme in Fermoy. Cork County Council has announced a new Affordable Housing Purchase Scheme in Fermoy. Pictured is the Mayor of the County of Cork Cllr. Frank O'Flynn, with Declan Magner, Project Manager Vella Homes and Maurice Manning, Director of Services Housing, Cork County Council. Photo by Sean Jefferies Photography. The development at Rathealy Close offers high-quality, affordable homes that more than meet the needs of the modern family. The new homes are priced well below market value and are in a town that has so much to offer. Applications for the new three-bed houses at Rathealy Close, Fermoy will open at noon on Tuesday, March 19. Kanturk has been announced as one of 26 towns nationally to benefit from a Town Centre First Plan. Funding of 30,000 has been granted to Cork County Council for the development of the plan as part of the Governments national Town Centre First Policy initiative. I am delighted that Kanturk is set to benefit from this fund. Town Centre First Plans give the community an opportunity to shape their towns future. It can contain proposals for a diverse range of projects such as redeveloping derelict sites, creating community parks and walkways, boosting business and tourism potential, and protecting historical landmarks. This has the potential to be truly transformative, paving the way for newly revitalised town centres, thriving communities and economic growth for generations to come. International Women's Day The council was also delighted to have hosted a series of events to mark International Womens Day yesterday. This years theme was Inspire Inclusion and is particularly reflective of the councils work to ensure our services are inclusive and welcoming to all, such as our libraries being awarded Age Friendly status. Do not forget to get involved this year and to check out your local library branch for details of events and booking details or email corkcountylibrary@corkcoco.ie. Greenway milestone In other news I am pleased to announce that a significant milestone has been reached in the development of the West Cork Greenway, with the appointment of RPS Consulting Engineers as technical advisors to progress a further 40km section of the greenway, including Crossbarry to Bandon, Bandon to Clonakilty and another section to Timoleague. Funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the 2.8million contract offers an opportunity to develop a plan for safe, scenic, off-road routes that will connect communities with a convenient and enjoyable means of travel. Our Library and Arts Service has announced that Passage West and Cobh libraries will host special guest world-renowned UK-based storyteller Taffy Thomas on Wednesday, March 13. Thomas will first visit Passage West Library at 11am, followed by an event in Cobh Library at 2pm. Both events are free to the public and no booking is required. Stories are for everyone, they help us to connect and share memories and experiences. We are honoured to have world-renowned storyteller Taffy Thomas visit two of our libraries, where he will share stories that will open another world to the audience. Enterprising youths Lastly, our Local Enterprise Office Cork North and West has announced that teenage entrepreneurs from Patrician Academy will represent North Cork at this years Student Enterprise Programme National Final. We have a successful student enterprise programme here in North Cork with over 700 students from 14 local schools taking part this year. Our national finalists are excellent ambassadors for the programme, and we wish them the best of luck. What our students are learning from the programme is that with the right support and encouragement, they can take an idea from the classroom and develop it into a real-life business. ADVOCATE for older people in Cork, Paddy OBrien, has commended all those who took part in a recent concert event at Farranlea Nursing Home in Wilton. Mr OBrien was involved in organising the event which brought together residents and staff of the nursing home and former winners and performers of the Over-60s Talent Competition. The Over-60s Talent Competition was founded by Mr OBrien in 1977 as a means to help combat loneliness among the aged. Paddy OBrien, organiser of the over 60s nursing home concerts with 92-year-old Mary Conway performing at the Farranlea Nursing Home recently. Mary represented Blarney in the Over 60s Talent Competition in 2009 and won. The competition heats ceased when covid-19 hit in 2020, but Mr OBrien continues to spread joy through song by visiting various nursing homes across the city with past performers of the competition. Speaking to The Echo, Mr OBrien said: The residents of Farranlea Nursing Home at Victoria Cross were recently treated to a lovely afternoon of song and dance. Residents were entertained by past winners and finalists of the very popular Over-60s Talent Competition. I started the competition in 1977. Since then, over the last few years, the same group have visited many nursing homes throughout the city and county, and the recent afternoon concert at Farranlea was very successful, with some of the residents performing as well, including 95-year-old Nelly Downey, Sean McCarthy, and Marian Meligan. The over-60s present were Mary Conway, Charlie McAllister, Marian Collins, and Billy Horgan, and also present were some past finalists who performed for the residents including Carole Lennox, Kevin Cummins, Tony Blackshields, and Fred Lotty. Also present was Ger Bruton, who has been involved in the Over-60s for many years, on the keyboard. Mr OBrien also paid tribute to both activities co-ordinators at the nursing home, Eileen Fogarty and Caroline Byrnes. The group will have another concert at Mount Cara on Redemption Road and Mount Desert on Lee Road in the coming weeks. FOUR Cork charities, which have, between them, received grants totalling almost 3m from a new Government scheme, say the money will be used to help hundreds of people with disabilities over the coming five years. The charities are the recipients of a focused employment programme for people with disabilities, which was launched by Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys last year. WorkAbility: Inclusive Pathways to Employment was announced last August by Ms Humphreys, and will run until 2028. The programme is aimed at supporting people with disabilities aged 16+ and helping them into the workforce, and has an overall budget of up to 36.29m. The Cork charities which received grants are the Cope Foundation, Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, and IRD Duhallow, which is partnered with Ballyhoura Development. Funding for Cope Foundation The Cope Foundation will receive 990,415 over the five years. It said the allocation will fund its Ability@Work programme, benefitting 250 more people. Cope Foundation acting communications manager Elaine Murphy said the funding would allow the Ability@Work initiative to provide a supported employment service to an additional 250 people with intellectual disabilities and or autism who want to work. Ability@Work will develop a signposting service for 130 employers and will actively engage with community and businesses to create opportunities to ensure more people are included in the workplace. Guide Dogs to receive 993,084 Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, which has its headquarters in Carrigrohane, will receive 993,084 in the next five years, allowing it to employ four part-time staff, benefiting 100 people who are blind and vision-impaired. Mary Cawley, who manages Irish Guide Dogs for the Blinds VisionAbility project, said the projects aims were to ensure that people who are blind and vision-impaired are fully supported to find and maintain employment, and to assist organisations that employ programme participants. Funding for IRD Duhallow and Ballyhoura Development A third allocation was made to a partnership of two well-established local development companies, IRD Duhallow and Ballyhoura Development, which was granted two cent shy of 1m, over the next five years. The charities said this would allow them to help between 500 and 1,000 people. IRD Duhallow CEO Maura Walsh said the funds would allow the groups to help individuals who are marginalised, socially excluded, and furthest from the labour market. Ballyhoura IRD CEO Paddy Casey described the IRD Duhallow and Ballyhoura WorkAbility programme as an initiative addressing the many challenges faced by individuals of varying abilities in securing employment. Gardai investigating an assault incident in Cork city say that a man arrested in connection with their investigation is due in court today. The incident happened on Oliver Plunkett Street on Thursday morning. Gardai from Anglesea Street responded to a report of an assault at around 9.40 am. A garda spokesperson said that a woman, aged in her 30s, sustained injuries during the incident and was taken to Cork University Hospital for treatment. Her injuries are described as non-life threatening. Today, gardai said that as part of the ongoing investigation, a male in his 20s was apprehended yesterday afternoon, in Cork City. "He was taken into custody at a Garda Station in the Cork City area under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984. "Following questioning, he was subsequently charged and is due to appear before a sitting of Cork District Court this afternoon at 3pm, Saturday, March 9th, 2024," the garda spokesperson said. The investigation remains active and ongoing. A 43-year-old man caught stealing alcohol from two premises in Cork city has been jailed for three months. Jonathan OLeary of Cork Simon Community appeared before Judge Mary Dorgan at Cork District Court where he pleaded guilty to the two thefts. Garda Rose Jennings received a report from Centra, Grand Parade, that the accused was one of two men who stole cans of Four Loko, valued 24. More recently, on February 15 at Fine Wines on Washington Street, the same man stole two four-packs of Captain Morgan alcohol cans, valued at 18. Eddie Burke solicitor said the defendant apologised for the thefts. Originally from Tralee, the defendant was in a very bad accident as a young person and was on heavy medication. Mr Burke said that when the accused is not in custody he struggles to regulate his medical regime. But for times spent in Cork prison, he might not be with us at all, Mr Burke said. The solicitor said the defendants 66 previous convictions for being drunk and a danger told its own story. The defendant is getting help from staff at the Simon Community who are helping him to detox, Mr Burke said. Judge Dorgan imposed a total jail term of three months on Jonathan OLeary. A 49-year-old man who was previously caught with drugs 22 times and convicted of dealing drugs eight times was jailed for five months for two more drug-related offences. Dominic Smyth of 6 Greenfields, Leesdale, Model Farm Road, Cork, pleaded guilty at Cork District Court to two more charges of having drugs for his own use. Sergeant Gearoid Davis said that on February 19 2021 gardai executed a warrant to search the defendants home. Cannabis and Diamorphine were found in his bedroom. The small quantities of each drug resulted in him being prosecuted for having them for his own use. Judge Mary Dorgan sentenced him to five months in prison. Defence solicitor, Joseph Cuddigan, said the offences went back to February 2021. He was cooperative and admitted the illicit items were in his possession. There were others present in the house at the time but he did not try to obfuscate the matter, Mr Cuddigan said. Judge Dorgan imposed three months for the Diamorphine offence and a consecutive two months for the cannabis, at Cork District Court. Previously unseen footage showing Cillian Murphy rehearsing for his first professional role has been released. The footage shows the Cork man rehearsing in the Granary Theatre at University College Cork (UCC) for his role in Enda Walshs Disco Pigs. It shows Cillian Murphy and Eileen Walsh rehearse their roles as a Pig and Runt respectively and was filmed by Eddie Noonan, Frameworks Films, in the late 1990s. In 1996, Murphy made his professional debut as a Cork teenager in Corcadorcas production of Enda Walshs Disco Pigs. At the time, Cillian was a law student at University College Cork, a member of UCC Dramat and in a band called The Sons of Mr Green Genes. Originally set for a short run, Disco Pigs toured the world to great acclaim and was turned into a film, also starring Murphy. The Cork man previously said of the production: Everybody knows Disco Pigs changed everything for me. It was the first thing I ever did, and it formed me totally. Just out of curiosity, I auditioned for it. It had a success in the theatre world and we toured. I realised there was there was another option.Theatre was a new hope for me, he had told The Irish Times. Cillian is currently in Los Angeles ahead of this year's Academy Awards. He is nominated for the best actor prize for his role as J Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist described as the father of the atomic bomb, in Christopher Nolans epic biopic. The Cork-born star is among the favourites to take the prize, having already picked up the best actor gong during the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and Bafta awards. Richard Canny A former Garda immigration officer has been jailed for sexual assault and harassment involving two non-EU nationals who sought his assistance with visa applications and passports at a Roscommon Garda station. At a sitting of Roscommon Circuit Court on Friday, Judge Kenneth Connolly convicted John Egan (61), with an address at Drum, Knock, Co Mayo, of sexually assaulting one of the women at Castlerea Garda station on February 14th, 2015, while working there as an immigration officer. He was also convicted of harassing the same victim on various locations across the county on dates between February 15th and December 31st, 2015. Egan was also convicted of harassing a second woman on dates between June 1st, 2014, and March 4th, 2017. He previously pleaded guilty to all the offences at a sitting of Roscommon Circuit Court last year. That sitting heard that watching, following and contacting were carried out as part of the harassments. Fridays sitting of the Circuit Court heard that part of Egans duties was to meet non-EU nationals in assisting with their visa applications. The Garda had interacted with the two victims on several occasions at the Garda station when they sought assistance with their passports and visa applications. On one occasion, one of the women went to see him about her visa application, and she made him aware that she no longer had a partner after he asked. He told her to come to his office in the Garda station. When she got there, he closed and locked the door, and he sexually assaulted her. The court also heard he would sometimes park outside her home and remain there for some time. The garda also told her not to tell anyone about what was going on. The man asked the other victim on numerous occasions that he wanted to have some fun, which she took to mean that he wanted to have sex. 'Sad, ashamed and violated' Egan was eventually arrested and charged with the offences in December 2021. As part of the investigation, his phone records were examined in his interaction with the victims. In victim impact statements read out to the court, both women spoke of how Egans behaviour had affected them emotionally, physically and mentally. One of the victims said she felt sad, ashamed and violated, and the man had preyed on my vulnerability and abused his power. I remember his smirk more than his face, she said, adding that she had no trust in the police after that. She said she was happy that he got caught to stop it happening again. In her victim impact statement, the other woman said she felt very uncomfortable when he sent her sexual messages and felt horrible when she went to his office. He would always lock the door every time I had to go there, she said, adding: He made me feel dirty. She said she did not think that people would believe her, adding: To me, he was a person of power who everyone seemed to be liked. The woman said she felt trapped and vulnerable, and he played on my vulnerability. The court heard she suffered from anxiety as a result and was prescribed medication. Both women said they were glad the case had come before the court as it would stop it happening to other people. Neither woman was present in court on Friday as they did not want to see Egan again. 'Horrendous behaviour' Egan took the witness stand and sincerely apologised for the pain and trauma he had caused the two women. He said his actions were unforgivable, and apologised to An Garda Siochana and his own family. He described his actions as horrendous behaviour, and when asked by counsel for an explanation for his behaviour, he said: I cant. It was despicable stuff. Defence counsel said the former Garda, who had no previous criminal record, had an unblemished service of 35 years with the Gardai, save for this egregious conduct over a significant period of time. The court heard Egan had joined the force in December 1982, aged 19, and in 1990, was stationed at Castlerea Garda station. In 2002, he was appointed as an immigration officer at the station, a role he carried out until he retired in April 2017. Counsel said Egan had lost his way and abused his trust and State property, adding this was a humiliating fall from grace and he is not entitled to anonymity. Before sentencing, Judge Connolly said the most aggravating factor was Egans abuse of power and dominance to perpetuate sexual events and harassment on one woman, and harassment on the other woman. Judge Connolly sentenced him to two years and six months for sexually assaulting one of the women and a further two years in prison for harassing her. These sentences are to run concurrently. Egan was also given a one-year and nine-month consecutive jail sentence for harassing the other woman. The final nine months of this the sentence was suspended on condition that he keep the peace for two years post release, and that for a period of eighteen months, he follow the directions of the probation and welfare services to avail of appropriate treatment. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help. San Francisco Animal Care & Control says it has reached capacity with dog intakes and will reassess the situation Monday. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle 2021 San Francisco Animal Care & Control, after reaching capacity, has asked the public to postpone surrendering dogs. Overcrowding is a national problem, not just something were experiencing in the Bay Area, the agency said in a Facebook post Friday, adding that it would reassess the problem Monday. Theres no quick and easy fix. The majority of dogs are in the shelter because of legal matters and cant be adopted out, Animal Care & Control said. Reasons include cruelty investigations, hoarding and the hospitalization, death or incarceration of the animals owners. Advertisement Article continues below this ad We have no choice but to keep them here, safe and cared for, with enrichment and exercise provided by a team of volunteers, the shelter said. We know that people would not want us to return animals to abusive or neglectful people to make space. Volunteer Carol Arri plays with Chunks at San Francisco Animal Care & Control in 2021. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle 2021 Animal Care & Control also said it has amazing and wonderful dogs available for adoption if you have space in your home and your heart. The agency asks the public to check its website for strays if anyone is missing an animal. Preliminary results from Tuesday's election show strong support for propositions E and F in neighborhoods with historically moderate voting patterns and the most opposition from areas with more progressive voter bases. Benjamin Fanjoy/The Chronicle Preliminary results from Tuesdays election highlight a familiar divide among San Franciscos historically progressive and moderate neighborhoods, especially when it comes to the two most politically-divisive measures on the ballot. As of Friday evening, with more than 80% of expected ballots tallied, 55% of city voters supported Proposition E, a measure aimed at strengthening police powers, and 59% backed Proposition F, which mandates drug screening for welfare recipients. These two ballot measures, placed by Mayor London Breed on the ballot, have generally been promoted by the citys moderates. The share of yes votes for the measures are notably higher in Seacliff, Chinatown and the Marina, where about 70% or more of voters supported each proposition. This aligns with the results of past local propositions, which show these areas having among the least progressive voting records compared to the city overall. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In contrast, neighborhoods with more progressive voter bases, such as Bernal Heights, the Mission and Haight-Ashbury had majorities opposing both measures, with 55% to 60% of voters casting no votes on each. In most areas, residents positions on one measure strongly correlated with their stance on the other. Neighborhoods with strong support for Prop. E, for instance, also tended to heavily favor measure F. Some of this is a result of the messaging around the propositions. Both were placed on the ballot by Mayor London Breed as a way to address public safety concerns, and Breed, along with other moderate politicians and advocacy groups, campaigned in favor of both measures. On the opposing side were the San Francisco Democratic Party and the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California advocating a no vote on both measures. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Theres other evidence that campaign messages got through to voters. While measure E passed, another ostensibly pro-police measure, Prop. B, failed after the citys moderate leaders opposed the measure, calling it a cop tax and urging voters to reject it. Neighborhood-level results of propositions B and E show a weak correlation, suggesting voters followed the moderate factions recommendations to vote no on B and yes on E. However, not every message seems to have resonated uniformly with moderate voters. Proposition C, another Breed-sponsored measure aimed at reducing the cost of office-to-housing conversions, does not show as clear a correlation with moderateness as the other two measures. While Seacliff and the Marina remain the neighborhoods with the highest yes shares, areas with relatively high no percentages are not all historically progressive neighborhoods. Bernal Heights and the Mission have among the lowest support for the measure, but so do McLaren Park, the Excelsior and Oceanview, neighborhoods with typically moderate-leaning voters. Advertisement Article continues below this ad According to San Francisco State University professor Jason McDaniel, Prop. C activated views on home ownership rather than the moderate and progressive identities. The outer neighborhoods with the highest no shares on Prop. C tend to be more NIMBY (not in my back yard), with more homeowners than renters who tend to view new housing as potentially imposing costs on neighborhoods and lowering home values. Though the messaging around Prop. C was largely focused on downtown offices, the measure may have tapped into these anti-housing attitudes among homeowners, according to McDaniel. The latest results show Prop. C leading at 53% but too close to call. The elections department still needs to tally at least 37,500 ballots, which is 16% of all ballots that the city has received so far. Reach Nami Sumida: nami.sumida@sfchronicle.com Jordan Parker is a breaking news reporter for The San Francisco Chronicle. He graduated from Sacramento State University in May 2022 with a degree in journalism. During his time there, he spent three years as a reporter and editor for the university's award-winning student newspaper, The State Hornet. He spent his senior year of college serving as The Hornet's first Black editor in chief, leading the organization to two Pacemaker awards and several other national honors from the Associated Collegiate Press. When he's not chasing down a story, he likes watching movies, traveling and trying new restaurants. He can be reached at Jordan.Parker@sfchronicle.com. Continuing with the spate of relentless monstrosities in Gaza, the Israeli army, on 29 February 2024, fired at the starving people who had gathered at the Nablus roundabout of the Harun al-Rashid Street of Gaza City to collect bags of flour being delivered by aid trucks. At least 112 people have been killed and hundreds injured in what is being termed the flour massacre. The world witnessed the gut-wrenching sight of bags of flour drenched in blood and dead and injured individuals being carried on donkey cartsfor no ambulance could be availablewho had desperately hoped to get a bag of flour for their families, starving due to the blockade and destruction wrought by Israel. Eyewitness accounts suggest that the Israeli army fired right at the moment when the people gathered around the aid trucks and subsequently the army tanks trampled on the dead and injured bodies. Initially, Israel claimed that the deaths and injuries were due to a stampede but subsequently changed its version of events to a feeble justification of the firing as necessitated by its forces being posed with a threat from the crowd. Is the very existence of Gazan peoplestanding up and fighting for life, dignity and freedom, despite the cruelties and suffering imposed on themperceived as a threat? It should be noted that the 29 February massacre follows a pattern of Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians seeking aid, with over 14 recorded incidents of shooting, shelling and targeting groups gathered to receive urgently needed supplies from trucks or airdrops between mid-January and the end of February 2024. Within three days of the flour massacre, the Israeli armed forces targeted Gazans waiting for flour trucks at the Kuwaiti roundabout in Gaza City leading to dozens of people being killed and injured. The pattern of initial denial of the criminal acts and their subsequent brazen repetition is reminiscent of Israeli denial of bombing al-Ahli hospital in October 2023, followed by the bombing of all hospitals in Gaza and systematic destruction of medical infrastructure. Such brazenness is a measure of impunity afforded to Israel by its Western backers which leads to normalisation of the horrific atrocities. Even a resolution in the United Nations Security Council, condemning the 29 February massacre, was vetoed by the United States (US) as they dont have all facts on the ground. Contrast this with the suspension of the funding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), based on unsubstantiated allegations by Israel, which resulted in compounding the miseries faced by the beleaguered Gazans. The morning following the State of the Union address, Matt McCann addressed financial advisors and general insurance agents in the Birmingham, AL, area. Matt McCann is one of the nation's leading Long-Term Care Insurance specialists, helping clients nationwide plan for the costs and burdens of aging. Here is a transcript of Matt McCann's comments: "Thank you for joining me this morning. In light of last night's State of the Union address, where caregiving and eldercare were highlighted by President Biden, it's timely to discuss the vision for the future of elder care. The President said, "Imagine a future with home care and elder care so seniors and people living with disabilities can stay in their homes." But this is a future we don't have to just imagineif we plan for it. Long-Term Care Insurance already provides for in-home care, not only covering nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Some policies even offer cash benefits, allowing family members to receive payment for their caregiving. This isn't a distant dream; it's a present reality. The truth is, most people prefer not to have their family members shoulder the burden of care; they'd rather see them simply as family. However, a lack of conversation around Long-Term Care Insurance and a general absence of urgency in securing coverage means that many families are caught unprepared, leading to a crisis where personal savings are drained until Medicaid becomes the only optionby which time, assets and income are nearly depleted. We have the power today to prevent such crises, to protect our income and assets without burdening our loved ones or the taxpayers. I understand the concern that Long-Term Care Insurance might seem too expensive for some. The reality is, for most people, LTC Insurance is very affordable. Acting in your 40s or 50s makes the premiums more affordable and easier to obtain coverage, even get preferred rates. For those without millions in savings, the Long-Term Care Insurance Partnership program offers an ideal solution to protect assets with a modest policy. This program isn't widely known, even among financial advisors, yet it offers dollar-for-dollar asset protection, allowing you to qualify for Medicaid without losing everything should your LTC policy benefits be exhausted. Why is it crucial to think about long-term care now? In her response to the State of the Union, your U.S. Senator Katie Britt pointed out, "Hardworking families are struggling... they're also struggling to plan for tomorrow." We want as many guarantees as we can. Long-term care Insurance offers guaranteed tax-free benefits, and in a world of economic uncertainty, that kind of guarantee offers peace of mind. The reality is, with the high likelihood of needing long-term care, planning to safeguard our income and savings, ensuring access to quality care, and relieving our families from the burden of care is an essential part of a comprehensive retirement plan. There are so many ways to design an affordable LTC Insurance policy. Even a small policy can provide significant protection. So, we certainly can't afford to wait. Let's take action now, ensuring a secure future for ourselves and easing the path for our families. Planning for long-term care isn't just about protecting our assetsit's about preserving our dignity and independence in our later years. Thank you." Need to Talk About Long-Term Care McCann encouraged financial advisors and insurance agents to discuss long-term care with their clients. Most importantly, McCann noted, Americans need to be proactive and find a Long-Term Care Insurance specialist to help them add an LTC policy to their retirement plan. In response to a question, McCann said aging is a reality we all must address. "At some point, due to a chronic health event, a mobility problem, dementia, or frailty, we will need help with our activities of daily living or supervision due to dementia. The question is, are you prepared?" McCann added that delaying only makes the solution more expensive, or it will be too late, leaving the full responsibility for families and finances. "We must avoid the crisis," McCann said. McCann suggested that financial advisors and general insurance agents can take steps to help their clients. "Many financial advisors and insurance agents will contact me and team up with me as a Long-Term Care Insurance specialist so we, together, can help." McCann says he works through Platinum LTC Solutions, a company that can be your long-term care partner for financial advisors and insurance agents wanting help with Long-Term Care Insurance. They can provide as much or as little assistance as you need to identify your client's long-term care needs and provide solution options. When asked about finding quality caregivers and facilities, McCann suggested the LTC NEWS Caregiver Directory. The directory is accessible at www.ltcnews.com/care. The website has also made arrangements to help anyone process a Long-Term Care Insurance claim without cost or obligation - Filing a Long-Term Care Insurance Claim. Help is Available McCann emphasized the importance of seeking advice from a seasoned Long-Term Care Insurance specialist who can assist anyone through the various available policies. McCann, who holds licenses in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, represents the top-rate insurance companies that offer long-term care solutions. His innovative approach enables clients to consult with him via phone while viewing his computer screen, making the education, exploration, and selection of options convenient and transparent. You can get free and accurate quotes from all the top companies, along with professional recommendations - Free and Accurate Quotes. Media Availability McCann is available for radio, TV, and podcast interviews. He also speaks to groups and organizations worldwide on the issues of aging, caregiving, health, and long-term care. Contact McCann through his website for information. Sign for the Cascade County Election Office photographed on March 31, 2023. (Photo by Nicole Girten/Daily Montanan) Montanas Secretary of State told Cascade County Commissioners not to choose former election administrator Rina Moore or her former staff as their new administrator in a February email. Please do not hire Ms. Moore or a member of her administration as Cascade Countys Election Administrator, Secretary Christi Jacobsen wrote in a letter to commissioners. Doing so would directly undermine the voters of Cascade County, among other reasons. A Secretary of States Office spokesperson told the Daily Montanan on Wednesday the Montana Democratic Party was separately trying to influence the commissioners decision through a party lawyer. The party chose not to comment, but a lawyer who has separately represented the party and a local election watchdog group said the party was not involved. Jacobsen sent the email on Feb. 14, as first reported in The Electric, the day before commissioners would convene to make their final decision on who to select for the position following ongoing problems with elections management in 2023. One commissioner said he was shocked when he received the email and her input did not sway his decision-making process. Moore said she was frustrated with what she sees as never-ending influence from an election denial group in the county. Missoula County is also seeing attempts to influence the local election office this week after the countys Republican Central Committee used a quote affiliated with USSR dictator Joseph Stalin on its website in part to attract election judges to work the upcoming elections, as reported by ABC Montana. Those who vote decide nothing. Those who count the vote, do, the quote read. The last year-and-change has featured seismic shifts in the Elections Office in Cascade County after Moore lost re-election for Clerk and Recorder by less than 40 votes to businesswoman Sandra Merchant. After nearly a year of elections gone askew in the county, and one open lawsuit on her handling of two May elections, county commissioners voted to pass a resolution to remove election duties from Merchant, and make election administration a non-partisan county job instead of an elected position. Moore and Lynn DeRoche, who both worked in the Elections Office in the county for 16 years, applied for the job but ultimately commissioners selected former Realtors Association CEO Terry Thompson for the position. Commission Chairperson James Larson told the Daily Montanan on Wednesday he was shocked when he first saw Jacobsens email come through. Somebodys giving us information or their opinion on the state letterhead, Larson said. I was dumbfounded really at first. Larson said he consulted the County Attorneys office to check whether what the secretary did was legal. County Attorney Josh Racki confirmed to the Daily Montanan Jacobsen had the right under the first amendment to share her opinion. Both Larson and Racki said they had never seen an instance where a state official shared an opinion during a county hiring process. Larson said the email didnt influence his decision at all. I never gave it a thought while we were in negotiations, he said. Commissioners Joe Briggs and Rae Grulkowski did not respond to voicemails left Wednesday. But Briggs told the Electric he took Jacobsens email as a personal political statement that was done inappropriately. Member of the State Administration and Veterans Affairs Interim Committee Sen. Wendy McKamey, R-Great Falls, told the Daily Montanan she was also surprised to see Jacobsens intervention. The committee oversees the Secretary of States Office, among other departments. That she would do this on official stationery it makes it extremely official, she said. McKamey said shes sent resources, training courses and certifications to the commission and Thompson for them to review and consider. Secretary of State spokesperson Richie Melby said in an emailed response to questions Wednesday the Democratic party was trying to influence the commissioners decision, saying the partys own lawyer and PR machine is working to force Cascade Countys hand in advocating for the previous election administrator, whom the electors of Cascade County voted out. Melby did not immediately respond to a follow-up question asking which lawyer he was speaking of and what they did exactly to intervene. But attorney Mike Meloy, who has represented the Democratic party previously, also penned a letter on behalf of the local elections watchdog group the Election Protection Committee to county commissioners. Meloy said the party was not involved in the letter and he wrote the letter independently, noting hes also a Cascade County resident. The letter requested Grulkowski abstain from elections management, citing language in the resolution taking over elections duties requiring commissioners on the ballot recuse themselves. Grulkowski has publicly stated her intention to run for re-election, though hasnt officially filed, but voted with the other commissioners for the new administrator. Moore said she worked her ass off for 16 years and is sad about how dogged her opposition is against her, though she said she wanted Thompson to succeed in her new role. The commission scored Moore second-highest in the interview process, with Thompson beating her by eight points. DeRoche said she was disappointed to see someone at a statewide level like Jacobsen put out an opinion dismissing their work. In response to the concern by the secretary that her selection would undermine the voters in the county, Moore said the election was close she lost by 36 votes and shes constantly being asked to come back into the office. Of course now its, And how could you not have gotten the job? she said. The post Secretary of State attempted to influence elections administrator selection in Cascade County appeared first on Daily Montanan. Caprice hates cancel culture. Caprice has revealed that she hates cancel culture The 52-year-old model - who was born in California, but lives in London - believes cancel culture can be "toxic" and has insisted that she wants "no part" of it. During an appearance at a Health and Wealth Summit in Tiverton, south-west England, Caprice told MailOnline: "We are so fortune to live in this country and have freedom of speech. Don't let anyone take that away. "We have to appreciate these rights and fight for them." Caprice acknowledges that mistakes are part and parcel of life. However, Caprice believes cancel culture can be really dangerous. She said: "I want no part of cancel culture. We all make mistakes but with cancel culture whether you survive or not is down to who you are. "That is not right - who are we to judge? I think we have to be very careful." Caprice ultimately hopes that the "toxic trend" will disappear one day. She shared: "People are trying to cancel free speech. Some people just try to cancel someone because they have an opinion that is not acceptable to them. "I really hope the toxic trend goes away." Meanwhile, Caprice recently revealed that she felt "no connection" with Fred Durst - despite being flown to New York for their first date. The Limp Bizkit star flew the blonde beauty from London to the Big Apple after they met at the MTV Awards in 2001 - but Caprice didn't feel any spark with the musician. During an appearance on the 'My Dirty Laundry' podcast, she said: "Oh, it was a bit vacuous, you know, the conversation. "He's a really nice guy. A super nice guy, but there was just no connection." The driver who killed Treat Williams has pled guilty to negligent driving. Driver who fatally injured Treat Williams pleads guilty to negligent driving Following his guilty plea, Ryan Koss, 35, received a one-year deferred sentence and will be placed on probation. His licence will be revoked for one year, and he will be required to attend a community restorative justice programme, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Koss, who knew Williams, 71, said in court: "Im here to apologise and take responsibility for this tragic accident. And I hope this moment can bring some resolution to anyone impacted by this tragedy, especially to Pam, Gill and Ellie, Im so sorry." According to County States Attorney Erica Marthage, Koss called Willaims' wife after the accident to tell her what had happened and he took responsibility for the accident. Williams' son Gill attended the hearing and addressed Koss directly. He said: "I do forgive you, and I hope that you forgive yourself. I really wish you hadnt killed my father. I really had to say that. He added that the Williams family did not want Koss to go to prison or to press charges against him. A statement from Treat's wife Pam Van Sant was read out in court and she said: "Our lives will never be the same, our family has been torn apart and there is a huge hole that cant possibly be filled." His daughter Ellie Williams said in a statement: "I will never get to feel my fathers hug again; be able to get his advice again, introduce him to my future husband, have him walk me down the aisle, introduce him to my babies, and have him cry when I name my first son after him." She revealed that she was not ready to forgive Koss but hoped to be able to do so in the future. During the July 12 incident, Treat was unable to avoid a collision when his $3,500 1986 Honda VT700c bike crashed into a 2008 Honda Element driven by Koss as it cut across the northbound lane of Route 30 in the Morse Hill Road area of Dorset, south-west Vermont. Authorities determined Williams' cause of death, stating that the actor died due to "severe trauma and blood loss" from the crash. The actor was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident and was treated at the scene by paramedics before being rushed to hospital via helicopter, where he was pronounced dead. Docent Laura Lee Miller, left, speaks with Garrett Lee, Marchelle King and Alana Lee of Berkeley at Duxbury Reef in Bolinas in January. On the southern edge of Point Reyes Peninsula west of Bolinas, the reef has an extensive system of tide pools on its large exposed shale reef. Visitors dont always realize theyre trampling on wildlife when walking over it, and conservationists are trying to get the word out on better tide pool etiquette. Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle Leslie Adler-Ivanbrook took careful steps across Duxbury Reef near Bolinas, tiptoeing between patches of algae and anemone in soft running shoes. The conservationist was demonstrating how to visit Californias largest exposed shale reef without injuring any of the over 200 different species that thrive in its tide pools. That includes black turban snails that can live to 35 years and neon-hued chitons that burrow into the soft shale mudstone. Try to only step on bare rock, wherever you can, is the motto suggested by Adler-Ivanbrook, program director of Environmental Action Committee of West Marin. Advertisement Article continues below this ad After visitation to Duxbury Reef increased before and during the pandemic, the organization launched a docent program in late 2022 in partnership with Marin County Parks to get the word out about tide pool etiquette. At low tide, the marine protected area is made up of almost 500 acres of Monterey shale and tide pools. The softness of the rock attracts a wide array of creatures and makes the area more delicate than the granite that covers most California tide pools. While biodiversity draws people to Duxbury Reef, they should make sure they are visiting responsibly. Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle Duxbury Reef is a really vulnerable environment because its so exposed at low tide, and theres so much potential direct impact from visitors, Adler-Ivanbrook said. Many of the practices the group suggests can be applied to protect any tide pool, such as never stepping inside the pools themselves, though the reefs status as a State Marine Conservation Area means it has more rules than most. But many of the regulations arent widely known or followed. Docents observed violations, such as removing animals from tide pools and letting dogs off leash, increase from 2022 to 2023. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Other than hook-and-line fishing from shore, the harvesting of any other living thing including edible snails, clams, urchins, mussels or seaweed is considered poaching at Duxbury Reef, even though clamming is allowed at other nearby areas. Red abalone collection used to be allowed, but its season is closed until at least 2026. Also not allowed: taking home rocks and even picking up animals from tide pools briefly, which is true of other marine protected areas. That includes the age-old childrens practice of moving hermit crabs from one tide pool to another. The pools might have different predators or changes in temperature and salinity, which could injure or stress the animals, Adler-Ivanbrook said. Its like just picking up and moving us out of our own homes into somebody elses home, she said. Instead, she suggests squatting down next to a tide pool and focusing on it until you start noticing things move around. The top three animals people ask to see are octopus, sea stars and the small, outrageously colorful sea slugs called nudibranchs, said docent Laura Lee Miller, who volunteered on the day of Adler-Ivanbrooks visit. The first two are rare, and nudibranchs are most abundant in fall and summer (and easier to spot on cloudy, windless days). But peoples questions about those popular animals give her a chance to introduce them to lesser-known ones. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Its an opportunity for me to talk about the diversity of mollusk body forms, she said. For example, she might say, Did you know that an octopus is related to a snail? Miller and Adler-Ivanbrook compared notes on which invertebrates they had seen that day. They enthused about how the chitons can live to 25 years, and giant green anemones to 70 not to mention that some anemones can clone themselves. So theres the consideration of that, like, Are you immortal? Miller said. Duxbury Reef has Monterey shale formed by sediments and phytoplankton that hardened on top of granite, pushed northward up the coast by the same plate tectonics that created the Point Reyes peninsula. Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle Part of the reason Duxbury Reef has such biodiversity is because its soft rock allows animals to make homes in its cracks, Adler-Ivanbrook said. The Monterey shale here was formed by sediments and phytoplankton that hardened on top of granite, pushed northward up the coast by the same plate tectonics that formed the Point Reyes peninsula. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Smaller anemone that live in cracks in the rock are usually covered in broken white shells and pebbles that become attached during high tide, when water currents carry them over the animals and they become stuck with a special anemone glue, Adler-Ivanbrook said. The animals somehow know to hang on to white shells, which reflect sunlight, and let go of black shells, which absorb it, according to research. They selectively cast them off, Adler-Ivanbrook said. They can feel that temperature difference, I guess. Boring clams can scrape habitats out of the rock, and chitons carve a home scar that they nestle in at low tide for protection from predators as well as from overheating and drying out. During high tides, when water covers the reef, the chitons venture a few feet away to forage for food and always return to the same spot. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Invertebrates have adaptations that are well beyond ours, Miller said. Nonetheless, the animals already vulnerable habitat is becoming more vulnerable because of the added stress of climate change. The challenge is to get the word out about how to visit Duxbury Reef carefully, without encouraging even more people to come, Adler-Ivanbrook said. We should consider it an amazing privilege that we can visit on special occasion and not overuse it, she said. Part of protecting it is to have a light footprint. Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied are determined to be the "best co-parents they can be". Natalie Portman wants to be the best co-parent possible The Oscar-winning actress and Benjamin, 46, recently finalised their divorce, and the former couple are now focused on co-parenting their children - son Aleph, 12, and daughter Amalia, seven. A source told PEOPLE: "Her biggest priority has been ensuring a smooth transition for her children. "She and Ben really love their kids and are equally focused on being the best co-parents they can be. Nothing is more important." Natalie, 42, filed for divorce from Benjamin in July, and although she initially struggled to come to terms with their split, Natalie's friends have rallied around the actress over recent months. The insider explained: "It was initially really tough for her, but her friends rallied around her and helped get her through the worst of it." The Hollywood star - who married Benjamin in 2012 - is now "finding joy in her family, friends and work". The source said: "Natalie is coming out of a really tough and painful year but she's come out the other side of it stronger and is finding joy in her family, friends and work." The former couples divorce was finalised last month in France, where they lived with their children. Following that, an insider told PEOPLE that Natalie is "incredibly private" and that her biggest focus is "protecting the kids". Natalie's relationship status has been a source of speculation for years, and the actress previously admitted that she struggled to deal with the extra attention. In an interview with Vanity Fair magazine - which was published in February - Natalie said: "Its terrible, and I have no desire to contribute to it." To read the full story, become a PRIME member today. PRIME Unlimited Access to Insightful Industry Information All Corporate Members and TexPro Subscribers are eligible to access F2F PRIME CONTENT using the same login credentials. Bangladesh is set to initiate international bidding for oil and gas exploration across 24 blocks in the Bay of Bengal on March 10, aiming to bolster domestic energy production amidst pressing shortages. Zanendra Nath Sarker, chairman of the state-owned national gas company Petrobangla, revealed this plan speaking to media even as he stressed the urgency amid depleting gas reserves and surging fuel prices post-Ukraine conflict. To bolster domestic energy production Bangladesh will open bidding for oil and gas exploration on March 10. Additionally, Petrobangla plans to increase LNG imports, aiming for 48 cargoes from the spot market this year, doubling last year's volume. To address long-term concerns, Bangladesh plans to drill 100 new gas wells between 2025 and 2028. Sarker outlined the bidding process, indicating a submission deadline in the first week of September, with hopes of finalising the deals by year-end following evaluations. The move aims to alleviate supply shortages to sustain gas-fired power plants and industries, crucial for the economic stability. Moreover, Petrobangla also plans to increase LNG imports, aiming for 48 cargoes from the spot market this year, doubling last years volume, alongside long-term contracts. Initiatives include importing five spot market cargoes in April, with seven already acquired in recent months, enhancing the energy security. To address long-term concerns, Bangladesh plans to drill 100 new gas wells between 2025 and 2028 to bolster local production, recognising the imminent depletion of gas reserves by 2033 without significant discoveries. Despite economic challenges exacerbated by the Ukraine crisis, Sarker remained optimistic, emphasising the governments prioritisation of energy and power sectors amid global dollar crises. Notably, Bangladeshs offshore potential remains largely untapped, despite recent boundary settlements with neighbouring Myanmar and India. Efforts are underway, with two shallow water blocks already under exploration contracts, signalling proactive steps to harness untapped resources. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DR) Jeddah-based International Islamic Trade Finance Corp (ITFC) signed agreements worth $715 million with Uzbekistan at the Arab Coordination Group meeting in Tashkent recently. The financing will support production of cotton and wheat and the trade finance needs of the private sector, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs); ensure food security; and help stabilise prices of essential commodities. The first agreement worth $600 million aims at strengthening areas of cooperation between ITFC and Uzbekistan, focusing on trade finance, agricultural and food security financing for the public sector, support for state-owned enterprises, and financing for SMEs in sectors like pharmaceuticals, food and agriculture, textile and manufacturing. Jeddah-based International Islamic Trade Finance Corp signed agreements worth $715 million with Uzbekistan at the Arab Coordination Group meeting in Tashkent recently. The financing will support several projects, including cotton production and the private sector's trade finance needs, especially small and medium firms, including those in the textile sector. The second agreement is a $100-million Murabaha financing deal that will contribute to food security and agriculture in Uzbekistan. ITFC has also pledged to extend support to local banks with technical assistance through new Integrated Trade Solutions in the coming years, according to a newspaper report in Saudi Arabia. ITFC, a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group, has been supporting government and local banks in Uzbekistan since 2018. The collaboration also covers the Trade Connect Central Asia+ programme, a flagship initiative by ITFC that targets expansion and economic integration of trade and investment cooperation among six countries: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. ITFC also signed a $15-million line-of-trade financing agreement with Uzbekistans AgroBank and its subsidiary SmartBank to support SMEs and the private sector in the latter, an IFTC release said. This financing will focus on sectors like agriculture, manufacturing and textile, and will aim to promote financing of green projects. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS) Zee Cine Awards 2024 Best Actor Winner: Keeping calm became difficult for fans as their beloved celebrities from the Hindi film industry are set to gather under one roof to celebrate each other's success and accomplishments. The much-awaited Zee Cine Awards 2024 main event is all set to take place in Mumbai tomorrow (March 10), with many notable personalities like Alia Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana, Ananya Panday, Bobby Deol, and, Mouni Roy, among others, adding allure to the red carpet. ZEE CINE AWARDS 2024 PERFORMANCE & ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW The award function promises an exhilarating lineup of performances by some of the most beloved personalities of the film industry, including Alia Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Ananya Panday, Bobby Deol, Ayushmann Khurrana, Mouni Roy, Utkarsh Sharma, Simrat Kaur, and many others. Zee Rishtey Awards 2024 Winners: Who Will Take Home Favorite Jodi & Best Nayi Jodi Trophies? Check DEETS The evening will be hosted by siblings Ayushmann Khurrana and Aparshakti Khurana, with the witty Sunil Grover taking over for a few entertaining segments. Making the night more special, the King of Bollywood himself, Shah Rukh Khan, is all set to grace the stage at the Zee Cine Awards after a hiatus of 9 years. The Zee Cine Awards are renowned for honoring exceptional talent in Bollywood, offering tribute to artists, directors, producers, and technicians. With numerous acclaimed celebrities nominated across various categories for their outstanding performances in hit films, there's significant anticipation surrounding which stars will take home the prestigious trophies at the event. ZEE CINE AWARDS 2024 WINNERS LIST: WHO WILL WIN BEST ACTOR TROPHY? Elvish Yadav-Maxtern Fight | Abhishek Malhan Aka Fukra Insaan's Bro Nischay Supports Sagar: Hate Dene... Shah Rukh Khan (for Pathaan and Jawan), Sunny Deol (for Gadar 2), Ranbir Kapoor (for Animal), Vikrant Massey (for 12th Fail), and Ranveer Singh (for Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani) are nominated in the category of Viewer's Choice - Best Actor. Among them, Ranbir, SRK and Vikrant Massey have the highest chances to win the trophy. However, it's just our prediction and it'll be interesting to see who will finally bag the trophy. Are you excited about to witness the Zee Cine Awards 2024? Tell us in the comment section below. Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 6: Anticipation builds as Bigg Boss Malayalam prepares for its highly anticipated return to television screens. Amidst the excitement, rumours swirl regarding the potential contestants for the upcoming season. The highly anticipated launch episode of Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 6 is scheduled for Sunday, March 10, at 7 p.m., a moment eagerly awaited by fans. Only a few hours are left for the launch of Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 6. Following the premiere, the show will air at 9:30 p.m. from Monday to Friday and at 9 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Additional contestants will be exclusively revealed during the launch episode, adhering to the customary format. A few days ago, in an unprecedented move in the history of Bigg Boss Malayalam, host Mohanlal revealed the first contestants of the upcoming season prior to its official launch. Breaking tradition, the contestants were announced ahead of the opening episode. The introduced contestants are commoners: Resmin Bai, a physical education teacher and avid bike rider, and Nishana N, known for her passion for travel. Meanwhile, there are divided opinions among Bigg Boss fans regarding the selection of commoners. Some argue that the chosen individuals cannot be classified as commoners since they have a considerable following on social media and have previously garnered public attention. However, another section of fans contends that many audience members are unfamiliar with Resmin Bai and Nishana, thus qualifying them as commoners. Regardless, the selection of these two individuals has sparked widespread discussion. Is Pooja Krishna Joining Mohanlal's Show? As social media buzzes with rumours, speculation escalates regarding potential contestants for the upcoming season of Bigg Boss Malayalam 6. One frequently mentioned name across various platforms is that of Pooja Krishna. Pooja Krishna is a notable anchor and social media influencer. Currently, she holds the position of anchor on Behindwoods' YouTube channel. Prior to this, Pooja served as the host on Jango Space's YouTube channel. In addition to her role as an anchor, Pooja Krishna has showcased her acting talents in several short films and music videos. With widespread speculation, Pooja Krishna's rumoured participation in Bigg Boss Malayalam 6 continues to garner attention. While the official announcement of the final contestants is eagerly awaited, reminiscing about the past season's triumphs fuels the excitement. Akhil Marar clinched victory in the last season, with Reneesha Rahiman and Junaiz VP following suit as the first and second runners-up, respectively. Sobha Viswanath and Shiju Abdul Rasheed secured their spots among the top five. With 21 contestants braving the Bigg Boss house in the fifth season, the forthcoming season is anticipated to have a fresh and vibrant lineup, igniting fervent speculation and fervour among fans. The countdown begins for the grand reveal! Photo Credit: Ajith Discharged From Hospital After Surgery: Kollywood's superstar Thala Ajith is back home after an unexpected minor surgery to treat nerve inflammation. The actor's PR team confirmed that he is doing well and was discharged from the Apollo Hospital in Chennai. On March 7, the news about Ajith's sudden hospital visit caused concern among his fans. Immediately, as the news started to spread, sources close to the actor Ajith's family clarified that he was in good health and had gone to the hospital for a routine check-up. They also added that the actor has a habit of undergoing routine health check-ups from time to time, especially before he leaves for abroad, as a precaution. However, this time it proved a boon for him, his family, and concerned fans as the doctors found a problem with the nerve connecting to the brain that had inflammation and was swollen. The official release from the 'Thunivu' actor's team, "On Thursday, Ajith sir got admitted to the hospital for a general examination. There was undue swelling in the nerve connecting his ear to the brain. Doctors got rid of it now with a simple medical procedure. Ajith is fine and he walked from the ward to the ICU." The source also added that Ajith began taking his health conditions seriously after the passing of his friend, Art Director Milan, who collapsed and died at the location in Azerbaijan. The actor was about to meet Milan in another half an hour before the mishap, which shattered the actor. Ajith's Work Front The actor is shooting for Vida Muyaarchi produced by Subaskaran Allirajah under the Lyca Productions banner. Trisha is acting as the female lead, collaborating once again with Ajith. On the other hand, Ajith also signed a project with Vishal-SJ Surayh's period comedy-actioner titled 'Mark Antony' fame writer-director Adhik Ravichandran. This movie is referred to as AK 63. More details of this project will be revealed in the coming days. After receiving a heartwarming welcome in Saudi Arabia yesterday with her husband, Vignesh Shivan, and their children, Uyir and Ulag, Lady Superstar Nayanthara is now making the most of her time at the ongoing Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024. Amidst the action-filled atmosphere, setting major couple goals, on day 1, the actor was seen attending the Formula 1 race with Vignesh Shivan, looking all things adorable. Making for a stunning duo, Nayanthara was seen donning a black blazer with black trousers and white shoes, while Vignesh Shivan was seen in a red tee with cargo pants and shoes. Sharing a glimpse of the same on her social media handle, Nayanthara posted a video of her with husband Vignesh Shivan saying, "F1" Check it out: Soon after the video was shared, fans of the actor are excited for the upcoming lineup featuring the power couple duo at the F1 Grand Prix. Road Town, British Virgin Islands--(Newsfile Corp. - March 9, 2024) - In a significant move for cryptocurrency and mobile technology enthusiasts, LBank Exchange, a premier global digital asset trading platform, has announced the listing of Scarcity (SCARCITY) on March 8, 2024. Users of LBank Exchange can brace themselves for the SCARCITY/USDT trading pair, which went live at 7:00 UTC on the slated date. SCARCITY Listing Banner To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8831/201160_5ee24516d444db9f_001full.jpg Scarcity (SCARCITY) is a decentralized social media platform (DESOC) aimed at addressing the limitations of traditional centralized social networks by empowering users with control over data, revenue, and problem-solving mechanisms, thus democratizing the social media landscape. Introducing Scarcity: A user-empowered, decentralized social media revolution LBank Exchange is thrilled to announce the listing of Scarcity (SCARCITY), a pioneering decentralized social media service (DESOC) developed with the aim of addressing and overcoming the limitations inherent in traditional, centralized social media platforms. By leveraging blockchain technology, Scarcity seeks to empower users with full control over their data and privacy, ensuring data security and fostering a trust-based environment. Unlike centralized counterparts where ad revenue and platform control are concentrated in the hands of a few, Scarcity decentralizes these aspects, offering a fair and transparent model where users benefit directly from their contributions and engagement on the platform. At the core of Scarcity's philosophy is the belief in a more equitable distribution of value and authority within social media ecosystems. By implementing a revenue-sharing model, Scarcity ensures that creators and participants are compensated for their content and interactions, challenging the status quo where only platform owners and major advertisers reap the economic benefits. This approach not only incentivizes high-quality content creation but also supports a diverse and vibrant digital community where all voices have the opportunity to be heard and rewarded. Technologically, Scarcity introduces several innovations tailored to the needs of a decentralized social platform. It plans to develop its own Mainnet, addressing scalability issues faced by existing blockchain networks when adapting to the high-volume, dynamic nature of social media. With features like Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus, decentralized storage solutions, and multi-wallet access, Scarcity is designed to offer a seamless and efficient user experience. These features ensure that the platform can handle the demands of modern social media while prioritizing user security, privacy, and autonomy. Scarcity's approach represents a significant shift towards a more democratic and user-centric model of social media. It challenges the current centralized paradigms by offering solutions that prioritize user control, equitable value distribution, and community governance. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, Scarcity positions itself at the forefront of this transformation, promising a future where social media platforms are not just spaces for sharing content but vibrant communities where every participant has a stake in the platform's success and governance. About SCARCITY Token The SCARCITY token is at the heart of the SCARCITY decentralized social media platform, serving both as a utility and governance token that facilitates and incentivizes participation within the ecosystem. This token is central to the platform's innovative business model, which includes ad revenue sharing, NFT transactions, and protocol transaction fees, ensuring a fair distribution of value among users. As a governance token, it empowers holders with decision-making authority, allowing them to influence the platform's development and direction. Based on BEP20, SCARCITY has a total supply of 10 billion (i.e. 10,000,000,000). The SCARCITY token distribution is allocated as follows: Rewards 35%, Ecosystem 10%, Foundation 15%, Marketing 8%, Private Sale 10%, Team & Partners 7%, DAO 10%, and Reserve 5%. SCARCITY token is poised for its debut on LBank Exchange at 7:00 UTC on March 8, 2024. Investors who are interested in SCARCITY can easily buy and sell on LBank Exchange now. Learn More about SCARCITY Token: Official Website: https://www.scarcity.company/ Telegram: https://t.me/SCARCITY_WEB3 Twitter: https://twitter.com/scarcityweb3 Contract: https://bscscan.com/token/0x0d67D1BEC77E562A73A65eEf5ED92aC46744671C About LBank LBank is one of the top crypto exchanges, established in 2015. It offers specialized financial derivatives, expert asset management services, and safe crypto trading to its users. The platform holds over 9 million users from more than 210 regions across the world. LBank is a cutting-edge growing platform that ensures the integrity of users' funds and aims to contribute to the global adoption of cryptocurrencies. Start Trading Now: lbank.com Community & Social Media: l Telegram l Twitter l Facebook l LinkedIn l Instagram l YouTube Press contact: press@lbank.com Business Contact: LBK Blockchain Co. Limited LBank Exchange marketing@lbank.com business@lbank.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/201160 SOURCE: LBank In an exclusive BTS video from his upcoming film Yodha, fans got a peek behind the curtain as Sidharth Malhotra and his team revealed the secrets behind some of the films most intense action scenes With films like Ek Villain, Brothers, Mission Majnu and Shershaah under his belt, actor Sidharth Malhotra has established himself as the go-to actor for action in Bollywood. His transformation from a Kukad Kamal Da to a Yodha is noteworthy, and a testament to his ability and dedication as an actor. Sidharths latest film Yodha, will see him take to the skies, taking the action a notch higher as he looks to take down terrorists who have hijacked a flight. Advertisement In an exclusive BTS video from his upcoming film Yodha , fans got a peek behind the curtain as Sidharth Malhotra and his Yodha team revealed the secrets behind some of the films most intense action scenes. In the video, Sidharth can be seen practising close-quarter combat skills and performing the high-octane stunts himself, highlighting how he has become Bollywoods top action star. Advertisement In the video, renowned South African action choreographer Craig Macrae, revealed that Sidharth Malhotra was a quick study, who picked up hand-to-hand combat and knife techniques very quickly, even though they were new to him. Such adaptability is a testament to Sidharths experience with action films over the years. The award-winning action director mentioned that Sidharth was particularly easy to teach, learning complex techniques in just one showing, and handling the action scenes like a boss, - praise of the highest order for Sidharth Malhotra from one of the best professionals in the industry today. Advertisement Yodha had previously taken the internet by storm with an action-packed trailer that showed Sidharth Malhotra at his best, leaving fans eager to see more of the high-flying action. The release of this BTS action video has taken the anticipation a step further, promising even more action than anticipated, and we cant wait to see Sidharth Malhotra rock the screens when Yodha hits the big screens on March 15th. Rachel Swan is a breaking news and enterprise reporter. She joined the Chronicle in 2015 after stints at several alt weekly newspapers. Born in Berkeley, she graduated from Cal with a degree in rhetoric and is now raising two daughters in El Cerrito. She can be reached at rswan@sfchronicle.com. The coins that visitors splash into Romes majestic Trevi Fountain, carrying wishes for love, good health, or a return to the Eternal City, dont remain there. They are fished out and collected to provide practical help to people the tourists will never meet It is a common practice to toss coins into rivers to make a wish. When in Rome, visitors flock to the majestic Trevi Fountain to participate in this long-standing tradition: tossing coins into its shimmering waters. However, these coins are more than just wishes; they have practical significance for people whom the tourists may never meet. Advertisement Here is what happens with those coins. Used for charitable cause As visitors coins splash down into Romes majestic Trevi Fountain carrying wishes for love, good health or a return to the Eternal City, few give their coins a second thought. However, those coins provide practical help to people the tourists will never meet. Today, coins pile up for several days before they are fished out and taken to the Rome division of the worldwide Catholic charity Caritas, which counts the bucketfuls of change and uses them to fund a food bank, soup kitchen and welfare projects. In 2022 Caritas collected 1.4 million euros ($1.52 million or Rs 12.56 crore) from the fountain and it expects to have gathered even more in 2023. Rome is one of the worlds most visited cities with 21 million tourists. Advertisement Extracting the coins is a spectacle and involves workers from regional utility ACEA balancing on the edge of the vast Baroque fountain, using long brooms and suction hoses. The coins are then given to Caritas, where they are dried with hairdryers and cutlery dryers and sorted and counted. Catholic charity Caritas employee Fabrizio Marchioni, 52, dries coins collected at the Trevi Fountain, at the Caritas office in Rome, Italy. Reuters Signs around the fountain explain that the change will go to charity a thought that pleases many of the tourists posing by the landmark. Advertisement I wanted to make a wish which is dear to my heart, said Yula Cole from Brazil after throwing in a coin. But I also know that this coin is not just staying there but will help needy people. I made a wish but hopefully this money will help other peoples wishes too. Advertisement If you toss a coin, you come back to Rome Day and night, throngs of people crowd around the fountain posing for photos. Legend says that if you throw a coin by the right hand over the left shoulder into the fountain, you will return to Rome. People eagerly add their own personal wishes. Advertisement I am tossing a coin as they say if you toss a coin, you come back to Rome and also because I want to make the wish to find love, said Carola from Chile. The Trevi Fountain, completed in 1762, covers one side of Palazzo Poli in central Rome with its statues of Tritons guiding the shell chariot of the god Oceanus, illustrating the theme of the taming of the waters. It is where Italian film director Federico Fellini set one of the most famous scenes in cinema in La Dolce Vita, with Anita Ekberg wading into the fountain after midnight and beckoning Marcello Mastroianni to join her. Wading into its waters today is forbidden and tourists face fines if they do. The sorting of coins Twice a week, up to four workers collect the coins, said Francesco Prisco, a manager at ACEA. The fountain is drained for cleaning twice a month. The collection and cleaning operations are carried out as quickly as possible to try to reduce the downtime of the fountain, he said. ACEA utility worker Alexio Cola uses a broom to gather coins to be collected in the emptied Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy. Reuters After the coins have been swept into a long line by a long-reach broom, they are sucked up by hoses and taken to Caritas office, where employee Fabrizio Marchioni spreads them across a huge table for drying. Not just coins are fished from the fountain. Workers have removed jewellery, dentures, religious medals, even umbilical cords. Signs by the fountain warn not to steal the coins. Over the decades the coins have been targeted, sometimes with magnets attached to a pole. Close to Romes main station is Caritas supermarket, known as the Emporium, which allocates food to needy residents who can purchase it with tokens on a card. I was a blacksmith but then I lost my position and my arthritis does not help in finding a new job. Luckily there are places like this Emporium, said a man who gave his name only as Domenico. Another man, Luigi, explained: I was a builder and also the owner of a video surveillance system company before I lost my job. Places like this Emporium give concrete help. Back at the fountain, the coins stack up. I got told that if I toss in two coins my wishes will come true. So thats why I did it, said Chinese tourist Yuting. With inputs from Reuters Faisal Khan, the man behind the YouTube channel Baba Vlogs, runs a manpower consulting firm that promises people jobs in countries like Russia, Singapore, and Serbia, among others. He allegedly lured several Indian men with the promise of lucrative opportunities in the Russian army Faisal Khan posted his last video on 8 January in which he is seen talking about a visit visa to New Zealand. Image Courtesy: YouTube Two Indians have died after being tricked into the Russia-Ukraine war. As the investigation continues into the matter, the role of an Indian YouTuber, who lured people with the promise of lucrative jobs in the Russian military, has come to light. The Ministry of External Affairs is strongly addressing the matter and has sought the early discharge of Indian citizens duped into working for the Russian army. Advertisement Lets take a closer look. Who is Faisal Khan? Faisal Khan, in his mid-30s, runs a manpower consulting firm that provides workers in several countries, according to The Indian Express. A class six dropout from Mumbais Dadar, he went to Dubai in 2008 to work as a salesman. He started his consultancy in 2016. He later started his YouTube channel named Baba Vlogs, which has about three lakh followers. While he primarily focused on sending individuals to Dubai, he expanded to other countries from October 2022, including Armenia, Croatia, and Singapore, reported Times Now. He posted his last video on 8 January in which he is seen talking about a visit visa to New Zealand. In 2018, he was questioned by Indian authorities after a man he sent to Dubai claimed he had been converted to Islam. Advertisement According to the Indian Express, he began promoting jobs in Russia in July 2023. What happened? In his videos, Khan claimed those working for the Russian Army will get salaries ranging from Rs 40,000 to Rs 1 lakh after undergoing three months of training. He claimed in the videos that the army needed manpower to clear demolished buildings and take care of arms and ammunition. Advertisement He also demanded an initial fee of Rs 3 lakh for his company. He also claimed there wouldnt be any risk involved and that he had personally verified the safety of the jobs on offer. In one such video in September 2023, Faisal Khan promised his viewers that apart from a hefty salary, those joining the Russian army would also get a government card, which would help them get permanent residency. Advertisement However, many of them were later pressed into the war. He allegedly sent a large number of Indians to Russia, one of whom was Mohammed Afsan , who died in the war in Ukraine. Faisal Khan told the Indian Express that he sent 35 people to Russia. He was told by handlers in Russia that they would not be deployed on the front lines. He said he himself is a victim. Advertisement Khan claimed he tried to get them back. He also said what happened after these men reached Russia was beyond his control. Khan said all those who went to Russia were aware of the risks. In his remarks to Indian Express, Khan defended his actions, stating that if he was guilty, he would not be leaving traces by uploading videos on YouTube. He stated that he had no intention to deceive. While speaking to News18, Faisal Khan earlier said that nothing he had done was illegal," adding that he had been working in this field for the last seven years, sending over 1,000 persons to work abroad. He said that he had built a trust in the market. Who are the victims? Mohammed Asfan, 30, of Hyderabad, was declared dead by the MEA on 6 March. A commerce graduate, Afsan previously worked at a mens clothing store. Afsan was sent to Russia in December after being promised work in the role of a helper. A 23-year-old Indian man from Gujarat who was serving as a helper for the Russian Army during its continuing conflict with Ukraine was the other person killed in the Russia-Ukraine war. He passed away in Russia. The man, named Hamil Mangukiya, had travelled from Chennai to Moscow after applying online for a job in Russia, according to Livemint. The Russian Army then recruited him as an aide. On 21 February, Mangukiya died in an attack by Ukraine in the Donetsk region of the border between Russia and Ukraine. What did the Indian government say? On Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs stated that it had strongly addressed the issue of Indians who were reportedly tricked into joining the Russian army during its conflict with Ukraine. The MEA stated that they are requesting the early discharge of these citizens of India. Several Indian nationals have been duped to work with the Russian Army. We have strongly taken up the matter with the Russian government for early discharge of such Indian nationals," the MEA statement read. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, Around 20 people have contacted us and we are doing our best to locate them. We are in touch with the Russian authorities The statement further stated that, following searches in multiple locations and the gathering of evidence implicating the CBI, the agency had taken down a human trafficking network. We once again appeal to Indian nationals to not be swayed by offers made by agents for support jobs with the Russian Army. This is fraught with danger and risk to life. We remain committed to the early release of our nationals serving as support staff with the Russian Army and their eventual return home. the statement read. With inputs from agencies About 287 grade school students were kidnapped in northwestern region of Nigeria this week. There has been no claim of responsibility in the latest attack, but it happened in an area where bandits are active and have attacked communities in the past In this screen grab taken from video, Nigerian Army vehicles are parked at the village were children were kidnapped in Kuriga, Kaduna State. AP For several years now, Nigeria has been grappling with the issue of kidnapping. This week, more than 280 grade school students were kidnapped in Kuriga, Nigerias northwest region. These raids are only the most recent in a long line of similar ones that have taken place since the Islamic militant group Boko Haram abducted the Chibok schoolgirls ten years ago. Advertisement Lets take a closer look at the crisis in Africas most populous nation. The kidnappings in northern Nigeria About 287 pupils were in the assembly ground around 8.30 local time when dozens of gunmen on motorcyles rode through the school, BBC quoted a witness as saying. The students, who are aged between eight and 15, were taken away, along with their teacher. The mass abduction was confirmed by the governor of Kaduna state, Uba Sani. He said 187 students had gone missing from a secondary school and 125 from the local primary school but that 25 had since returned. Notably, the impoverished and educationally backward north Nigerian region has been worst hit by a wave of crime and insecurity. Large numbers of armed gangs, called bandits, have taken control of swaths of territory, invading schools and communities to conduct mass killings and abductions, according to The Associated Press. Around 1,500 students have been kidnapped in raids since 2014. Advertisement The Nigeria-based SBM Intelligence group claims that between July 2022 and June 2023, over 3,600 people were kidnapped. However, as many people are afraid of facing consequences, the real number may be far higher. While some of the Chibok school victims were believed to have been forced into marriage with militants, most of the kidnappings since then have been for ransom. Advertisement Some of the raids have targeted colleges, such as a 2021 attack on Greenfield University in Kaduna State in which at least five students were killed when parents failed to meet ransom demands. But most victims have been schools for younger students. The government claims progress against Boko Haram and its splinter Islamic State in West African Province, but the groups remain active and have established bases, including in Niger State near Abuja, outside of their original north-eastern birthplace. Advertisement The bandits who are conducting mass kidnappings There has been no claim of responsibility in the latest attack, but it happened in an area where bandits are active and have attacked communities in the past. The majority of the bandits are members of the Fulani nomadic community, who first turned to violence to gain access to land and water resources in Zamfara State from the ethnic Hausa populations. However, they have since evolved into well-organised, armed groups that specialise in kidnapping people for ransom and occupying farms and gold mines against will. Advertisement There are believed to be hundreds of gangs, each with scores of armed fighters. Bandits also attack communities to force adults into labour on seized farmlands and mining sites. The Nigerian military hasnt done anything to disband the gangs since they are worn out after fighting never-ending internal wars for almost a decade. Because the gangs control areas of Nigeria where a large portion of the nations food is produced domestically, they pose a threat to the food security of the nation. The reason The abductions generally are aimed at obtaining ransom and have become a lucrative business, according to Shehu Sani, a former federal lawmaker from Kaduna, where the attack occurred on Thursday. Schoolchildren are targeted because the bandits know that it will evoke public sympathy for the pupils, and pressure will be mounted on the government to bow to their demands, Sani said in a post on X. The government does not admit it, but sources close to the negotiations say ransom payments are made by both families and state governments, Sani said. The proceeds from stolen farms and mines, along with other criminal incomes like ransom payments, have enabled the gangs to accumulate an arsenal of weapons capable of taking down military planes. People gather around an area were gunmen kidnapped school children in Chikun, Nigeria. AP Nnamdi Obasi, an advisor at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, said the willingness of desperate families, embattled communities and even the state governments to pay ransoms has turned mass kidnapping into arguably the most lucrative criminal enterprise in the northwest zone. The proceeds from stolen farms and mines, along with other criminal incomes like ransom payments, have enabled the gangs to accumulate an arsenal of weapons capable of taking down military planes. The governments response While some state governments, like those in Zamfara and Katsina, have tried milder tactics, such negotiations and amnesty accords with the bandits, the federal government has officially taken the position of armed retaliation. President Bola Tinubu said he was confident that the victims will be rescued. Obasi said the failure of state and federal governments to apprehend kidnappers has added to a climate of impunity that only enables more heinous atrocities. Over the years, there have been a few gang leader killings, one of which occurred recently in Kaduna, but the issue has not really been addressed. Its been challenging to entice gang members to give up the lucrative abduction trade. Any threats to education? The states in northern Nigeria already have the countrys lowest rates of literacy and high rates of children staying out of school. The spate of abductions in recent years could affect the efforts of the government and development partners to encourage parents to send their children to school. Many parents in rural areas are now afraid of allowing their children to go to school, Sani said. This is a serious problem for basic education in Northern Nigeria. With inputs from The Associated Press Although the official seat sharing will be announced in the coming days, sources say the BJP has demanded to contest 10 out of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh Setting its sights on an expanded footprint in southern India, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday entered into an alliance with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Jana Sena Party (JSP). BJP has announced that it will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections together with TDP and JSP in Andhra Pradesh. Advertisement Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji has been working tirelessly for the development and progress of the nation for the last 10 years and coming together with TDP and JSP will help in reaching the aspirations of the people of Andhra Pradesh, BJPs Jagat Prakash Nadda, TDPs President N. Chandrababu Naidu and JSPs Shri Pawan Kalyan said in a joint statement. BJP, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Jana Sena Party (JSP) have decided to contest the ensuing Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections together in Andhra Pradesh. The modalities of seat sharing will be deliberated within a day or two: BJP pic.twitter.com/B1M4YrQkRw ANI (@ANI) March 9, 2024 Advertisement The statement added, The BJP and TDP have a very old relationship together. TDP joined NDA in 1996 and has worked together successfully in Atal Jis and Narendra Modi Jis government. In 2014, the TDP and the BJP fought the Lok Sabha election and assembly election together. Advertisement Notably, TDP and BJP have come together after the former broke away from the saffron party in 2018. Welcoming the announcement, BJP National President JP Nadda said, I wholeheartedly welcome the decision of Shri Chandrababu Naidu and Shri Pawan Kalyan to join the NDA family. Under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Hon. PM Shri Narendra Modi ji. BJP, TDP, and JSP are committed to the progress of the country and the upliftment of the state and people of Andhra Pradesh." Advertisement Will sweep assembly elections After his party forged an alliance with BJP, TDPs Chandrababu Naidu expressed confidence that the coalition of the three parties would sweep the Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh has been destroyed badly. The BJP and the TDP coming together is a win-win situation for the country and the state, the former chief minister said. Advertisement On Friday, Naidu and Kalyan held meetings with Union Minister Amit Shah following which a deal was worked out between the three parties. Although the official seat sharing will be announced in the coming days, sources say the BJP has demanded to contest 10 out of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh. Old rivals become new friends In 2018, Naidu walked away from the NDA alliance, accusing the BJP of breaking promises. The BJP, on the other hand, described the breakup as a case of political opportunism and pulled out its ministers from the Andhra Pradesh government. Naidus decision to split from BJP came after former finance minister Arun Jaitley responded to TDPs demand for granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh. Politics and sentiment dont decide the quantum of funds that a state gets from the Centre which is done in accordance with the constitutional award decided by the Finance Commission, Jaitley had said at the time. In 2018, the then-Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chandra Babu Naidu-garu, broke off his alliance with the BJP because of the Prime Ministers failure to give Andhra Pradesh its due through special category status for the state. The then-BJP President Amit Shah declared that the doors of the NDA were forever closed to the TDP, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said after BJP and TDP got back together on Saturday. With both the election commissioners posts empty, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is now just a one-member body headed by the Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. There was already a vacancy for an Election Commissioner as Anup Pandey had resigned in February Election Commissioner Arun Goel on Saturday resigned from his post ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. President Droupadi Murmu has accepted his resignation. Goels term as the election commissioner was due to end in 2027. In pursuance of clause (1) of Section 11 of The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, the President is pleased to accept the resignation tendered by Shri Arun Goel, Election Commissioner with effect from the 09th March 2024, a gazette notification announcing his resignation read. Advertisement With both the election commissioners posts empty, the Election Commission of India is now just a one-member body headed by the Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. For the unversed, there was already a vacancy for an Election Commissioner as Anup Pandey had resigned in February. The reason for Goels resignation is, however, not known yet. The development comes as the ECI is expected to announce the dates of the Lok Sabha polls next week. New law on appointing CEC, ECs Last year in December, President Murmu gave assent to the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill 2023, which sought to establish a mechanism to appoint top election officials in the country. Advertisement The first meeting of the committee that is responsible for appointing the CEC and ECs, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was held in February. The panel was expected to fill the vacancy created by Anup Pandeys resignation. The committee consists of the prime minister, a Union minister and the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha. Advertisement Who is Arun Goel? Goel, a retired bureaucrat, was a 1985-batch IAS officer of the Punjab cadre. He had joined the Election Commission in November 2022. Born in 1962 in Patiala, Goel was awarded the Chancellors Medal of Excellence for being First Class First and Record Breaker at the Punjabi University, where he pursued M. Sc. (Mathematics). Advertisement He has also studied Development Economics at the University of Cambridge and has been trained at the John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. The Union Minister also described how the Red Sea crisis impacts global oil supply while affirming that India will be able to navigate the situation while maintaining availability, affordability and sustainability. The Centre managed to prevent oil prices from surging despite the global turbulence witnessed after the Russia-Ukraine conflict erupted and the incidents of drone attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea, said Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday. The Union Minister elaborated on how the Russia-Ukraine war impacted the crude oil supply, but India was able to manage its supply by diversifying its source and increasing the purchase from Russia despite fear of sanctions. Advertisement We know how the Russia-Ukraine war erupted. Russia produces 11-13 million barrels per day. One way was to stop buying crude oil from Russia, but it would have brought down the availability and we couldnt have disrupted oil supply to the public. In that case, the prices would have shot up to USD 138there were talks of sanctions, Puri said. At that stage, we were buying only 0.2 per cent crude oil from Russia. But, we had to confront and navigate the situation. We have been diversifying our supply and increasing our purchases from Russia. Our policy is that from wherever we will get the crude oil as per our requirements, we will buy it, and it is a totally transparent system. When other countries saw this, they also gave us discounts. Our policy is nation first and the consumer is paramount. Advertisement The Union Minister also described how the Red Sea crisis impacts global oil supply while affirming that India will be able to navigate the situation while maintaining availability, affordability and sustainability. Due to the situation in the Red Sea, we have to track all the updates. Even though we are not directly concerned with shipping costs, our suppliers are. In spite of all that, I am very confident that the situation as it is and as it is likely to evolve has a lot of space to navigate in the interest of our consumers to ensure availability, which has not been affected at all in the last few years, affordability, which you have seen the evidence of and transition to green fuels, and sustainability, Puri added. Advertisement The Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas said 85 per cent of Indias crude requirements are met by imports, with the price of crude in the international market being the benchmark. If you accept that (global issues), you have to deal with the price of crude in the international market and the price at which it is made available. What happened in the last few years? he said Advertisement Puri said that even though OPEC+ a bloc of 23 oil-exporting countries including OPEC reduced its crude oil production, oil prices didnt rise in India. Even the producing countries are taking steps to curtail production. OPEC+ reduced its production by 5 million barrels. Despite things standing as thus, the prices (in India) didnt go up, which means the market absorbed it, he said. Advertisement With inputs from agencies. The demand for engaging India through its agriculture-related experience, capacity building, investment, and partnership is high among smaller organisations and enterprises in Africa Women chat as others walk using walking sticks, on their return from farming communal land at Tshakhuma village outside Thohoyandou, in Limpopo province, South Africa. Photo: REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Exciting things were happening in Nairobi at the end of February. Indian models for Global South cooperation were in focus over a few days. This was particularly evident at the 11th Sankalp Africa summit session on scaling agricultural innovation through South-South collaboration. As many as 1500 people with ideas for impacting the development of their communities gathered at this annual event from across Africa. Investors and impact financiers looked at them and interacted to find solutions. Many sessions focused on possible solutions using the success of models in different countries, particularly India. Advertisement The agriculture and South-South cooperation session aimed at creating a deeper understanding of the challenges that agriculture value chains face in Africa. The role of agricultural innovations and how targeted interventions and sustainable development approaches could positively impact them and consequently benefit small farmers were emphasised. These have particular relevance for an enhanced understanding of the enabling aspects, barriers to technology transfers, and their adaptability. One of the areas that was focused on was South-South collaboration through innovative agricultural enterprises, which could perhaps foster cross-border partnerships. This is relevant as the East African Community expands to include more countries and the Africa Continental Free Trade Area takes more steps towards implementation. A focused discussion brought together major stakeholders like development partners, policymakers, representatives of farmers, innovative agricultural enterprises, and investors. The Indian model of a bustling innovative agricultural ecosystem, which has been impacted by innovative enterprises serving 15 million farmers, was in focus. Advertisement The context was set by discussing how India-Africa cooperation has traditionally focused on the private sector and heavily on agriculture. Even bilateral cooperation at the government-to-government level and through the India-Africa summits has had agriculture at its core. Agriculture features in PM Modis 10-point action plan for Africa, enunciated in Uganda in 2018. Advertisement Yet, do government-to-government initiatives always work? As per a recent book, The Harambee Factor, many of these initiatives, like seed demonstration centres, rural technology centres, farm science centres, and the like, were offered by India to African countries, but these were not easily absorbed by African governments. Wherever the private sector or civil society is involved, the absorption is better and more conducive to backward integration. This approach was then discussed with several partners at the session. Advertisement There were two entrepreneurs: Giraffe Bioenergy and Everest Enterprises. They were complimented by investing companies, the Delta 40 and the Katapult VC. The World Bank and the Gates Foundation also participated, as did the CEO of the Cereal Growers Association of Kenya, which brings together half a million cereal growers for better marketing. Advertisement Giraffe Bioenergy is developing a focus on three aspects of sustainable development: food security, renewable energy, and creating jobs for women. They focus on this by creating a cassava value chain, which is used for creating edible oils. They help smallholder farmers achieve commercial success and generate efforts for biofuels to be created from the expanding cassava crop. They have scaled up to 500 acres and are looking at commercial success with a 100 per cent female workforce. Their challenges were better seed and production support. If the smallholder farmers could get some financial support, the poverty they could alleviate would be immense. The Delta 40 Investment Company has worked across the chain in Africa in climate-related business accelerators and incubators. They too look at Indian success stories, much as the cassava food chain looked at parallel food chains in India. The Cereal Growers Association, with half a million member farmers having different sizes of landholdings, said that Kenya lacks Indias variety of cereals. The Indian model helps small farmers if they adopt technology, take production support, and gain better access to inputs. How to do this remains a challenge because remunerative prices are inadequate to deal with these requirements. This is where impact projects, which will help small farmers through investments and support programmes, which are the focus of the Sankalp Africa summit, become relevant. Similarly, Everest enterprises have an agri-business base of 6,000 smallholder farmers. They provide credit and technical processing for good practices, with a greater emphasis on women. They pointed out that only 1 per cent of Kenyan women have their own title deed to land, which restricts access to credit facilities. This is again where the impact assessment model of funds that is succeeding in India comes up, and if you add technology to it, then women can actually go into agri-tech businesses rather than only become cultivators. The importance of these discussions basically led to what the Gates Foundation representative called the generation of impatient optimists looking for transformative levers across agricultural supply chains. A focus on women, on tech transfers for farmers, and ensuring that technology is not only a facilitator for investors becomes important. Technology applications need to be simple, rather than sophisticated, if they are to be accepted by smallholder farmers. They can also benefit from new soil assessments and better marketing facilities. This led to the question of why Indias example of commodity exchanges had not been fully followed up in Africa. There is a commodity exchange in Ethiopia modelled on the MCX experience, but in the more market-oriented economies of Africa, commodity exchanges have not caught on. This reduces marketing opportunities. South-South cooperation received a further boost under Indias G20 presidency in 2023. It is the leitmotif of the India-Africa Forum Summit processes. The Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme and lines-of-credit succeeded. Now is the time to support the private sector more fully so they can integrate the South-South development cooperation aspect into investment and business formats that will be better sustained and long-lasting. The demand for engaging India through its agriculture-related experience, capacity building, investment, and partnership is high among smaller organisations and enterprises in Africa. New vehicles for engaging them through impact investing funds trilaterally with G7 country partners are perhaps the way ahead. The writer is a former ambassador to Germany, Indonesia, Ethiopia, ASEAN and the African Union. He tweets @AmbGurjitSingh. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. The government can sign long-term purchase agreements with the Indian industry. This will create a consistent and assured demand for space-based services in the Indian market The Government of India amended the FDI policy for the space sector on 5 March 2024. This has liberalised thresholds for various space-related activities. This change comes on the heels of a slew of space reforms by the government that began in 2020. The reforms created a fertile ground for the cropping up of many space start-ups in the country but did not address their funding needs. While the FDI reforms have the potential to address this deficiency, they are insufficient in a vacuum. Indias share of the global space economy is $8 billion, and the government aims for a five-fold increase by 2040. To achieve this, the government will have to place larger bets. Advertisement Indias space industry Until the early years of the 21st century, government agencies dominated the space sector. Technological advances and changing policies have since created scope for private players in the business of outer space. In the last five years, the Indian government has taken several steps to increase private industry participation in space. As of the beginning of this year, India had 204 space start-ups. Funding the space activities The start-ups are spread across upstream and downstream activities. The upstream activities include building and operating various space assets. These include launch vehicles, satellites and spaceports. These activities take time and have a risk of failure. They require large and patient capital investments. The downstream activities of space use the information obtained from the upstream activities in various applications. The applications are many. They range from Earth Observation for agriculture and urban planning to Positioning and Navigation applications for drone guidance. The downstream applications are less risky. Also, they dont take too much time or investment. However, downstream operations depend on the growth and development of the upstream sector. As a result, investments to develop space assets are critical. Advertisement As the space start-up ecosystem in India continues to develop, a key challenge emerging companies will face is getting the funding they need, particularly for the upstream activities. Local venture capitalist firms will likely only invest in downstream activities because of the quicker returns, larger market size and lower regulation. This is precisely what the FDI reform seeks to address. By opening up the space sector to foreign investors, the Indian industry will potentially have better access to funding. Advertisement The new FDI policy presents an opportunity to draw investments to develop space assets and infrastructure. It can also decentralise investment decisions and positively impact start-ups and large corporations alike directly in the upstream and indirectly in the downstream areas. Furthermore, it sends a positive signal to the world that India is a favourable destination for space undertakings. Advertisement Role of the government While the FDI reforms help create a better policy environment, the Indian industry must still compete globally to attract investments. To achieve this, the government must help build capabilities through technology transfers. It must also create demand to which the private space sector can respond. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States of America has been doing this for a few years now. For example, NASA engages with private American companies to land equipment on the Moon as part of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) programme. In 2020, Intuitive Machines was awarded a $118 million contract under CLPS to land payloads on the Moon. The IM-01 Odysseus, built by Intuitive Machines, became the first private company craft to land on the Moon in 2024. This was the first American craft to do so since 1972. Its worth noting that the last three non-governmental Moon landings have failed, which further highlights the risk involved and the need for government support. Advertisement The Indian government can sign long-term purchase agreements with the Indian industry. This will create a consistent and assured demand for space-based services in the Indian market. This demand will spur competition within the private industry. It will enable private research and development and add to Indian capabilities in space. The writer, a Research Analyst at the Takshashila Institution, undertakes research on space economy. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_s views._ Indias policies at countering China have been deliberate, with the country starting to respond to Chinese aggression swiftly, especially given the upcoming general election Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Chinas Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that on maritime disputes , China has been exercising a high degree of restraint. [.] In face of deliberate infringements, China will take justified actions to defend its rights in accordance with the law. In face of unwarranted provocation, China will respond with prompt and legitimate countermeasures. China also urges certain countries outside this region not to make provocations, pick sides, or stir up troubles and problems in the South China Sea. Advertisement Wang Yis statements on the South China Sea come at a key point where India is mounting pressure on the India-China land border. It has redeployed 10,000 soldiers from its western border to the Indo-Tibetan border in the Indian states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. These troops will join 9,000 troops already guarding the 532 km stretch of the Indo-China border in these states, Bloomberg reported. The area consists of some of Hinduisms holiest sites, known as the Char Dham (four holy abodes, as defined by Adi Shankaracharya). China is committed to working with India to safeguard the peace and stability of the border areas, Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, said. We believe that Indias practice is not conducive to safeguarding peace and is not conducive to easing tensions. Mao added that Indias increase in military deployments in border areas does not help to calm the situation in the border areas or to safeguard peace and safety in these areas, according to a report by Reuters. Advertisement The armed forces are well equipped, capable and ready to give a befitting reply if anyone casts an evil eye on India, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said recently against the backdrop of the nearly four-year border row with China in eastern Ladakh and concerns over Chinese military forays into the Indian Ocean. Advertisement Maldives new Islamist, anti-India President Mohamed Muizzu signed a military assistance pact with China earlier this week, surprising analysts from his own country. The small island nation, a long-standing Indian vassal, has now moved into Sinosphere, providing China with a long-desired foothold in the Indian Ocean. This is unprecedented. Its the first time the Maldives has signed a defence agreement with Beijing to provide military assistance, Azim Zahir, a Maldivian political analyst, told the BBC. Advertisement We knew that Mr Muizzu would forge closer ties with China in terms of investment and capital, but no one expected him to go to this extent, he said. In anticipation of Chinas move, India commissioned the INS Jatayu, an upgraded naval base in the Lakshadweep Islands, marking a significant development in Indias maritime security strategy, particularly in the context of growing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Advertisement Additionally, the Indian Navy commissioned its first MH-60R multi-role helicopter squadron Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 334 at Kochi, a major capability boost for its rotary fleet and its anti-submarine warfare capabilities. Situated in Minicoy, the southernmost atoll of the Lakshadweep archipelago, INS Jatayu strategically overlooks vital Sea Lines of Communications (SLOCs). Minicoy Island, where INS Jatayu is located, sits at the intersection of crucial SLOCs like the Eight Degree Channel and the Nine Degree Channel. Eight Degree Channel separates Indian Minicoy Island from Maldives. The Nine Degree Channel separates the island of Minicoy from the Lakshadweep archipelago. The growing tension in the Indian Ocean between the two Asian giants seems to be one of the reasons for the reorganisation of the Indian Army on the Indo-Tibetan border, one of the most treacherous and strategic battlefronts for both countries. The Indian move increases pressure on China which attaches great political, spiritual and strategic importance to Tibet. Tibets Dalai Lama and its government in exile has sheltered in India, adding to tensions between the neighbours. The rumoured creation of a new Indian fighting command on the land border creates pressure for China at a time when it seeks to achieve dominance in the seas, both the South China Sea as well as the Indian Ocean. At the same time, Taiwans Foreign Minister Joseph Wu Jaushieh was interviewed by a national Indian channel, infuriating the Chinese Communist Party. A public protest was quickly issued by the Chinese embassy in New Delhi condemning the interviews content as totally unacceptable. Taiwan and India have moved closer in several spheres as Chinas threat to Taiwan has increased with increased investments and manufacturing by Taiwanese companies in India to protect their value chain in case of an invasion by the mainland. Indias policies at countering China have been deliberate, with the country starting to respond to Chinese aggression swiftly, especially given the upcoming general election. During his bilateral visit to Japan, Indias Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said that China has not respected its agreements with India. We can disagree on many things, but when a country actually sort of does not observe written agreements with a neighbour, I think, you have caused because then raises a question mark about the stability of the relationship and frankly, about intentions, he said. During his bilateral visit to Tokyo, Jaishankar called on the widow of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. Abes historic speech to the Indian Parliament in 2007, The confluence of the two seas was his appeal for an India-Japan alliance to contain China in between the Indian and Pacific Oceans and resulted in the creation of the Quad. The centrality of India today to the Indo-Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific, is a result of former prime minister Abes strategic genius and Prime Minister Narendra Modis eventual vision and persistence. The author is an Indo-Italian entrepreneur and has over 24 years of leadership and entrepreneurial experience across a wide range of disciplines including pharmaceuticals, technology, renewable energy, strategic consulting, not-for-profit and development in over 30 countries. He is also the founder of the Dialogue on Democracy. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. As the world prepares for an emerging three-power strategic situation, India needs to tread carefully to secure its well-deserved place on the global high table without any knee-jerk actions Post-World War II saw the emergence of two power blocks: the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), formed in 1949, and the Soviet Union-led Warsaw Pact, formed in 1955. NATO was meant to defend against the spread of Soviet-led communism. The Warsaw Pact was to counter NATO. The resultant Cold War saw huge military buildups and competition in the space and nuclear fields. At its peak between 1975 and 1985, the US and Soviet Union had a nuclear weapons stockpile of nearly 60,000 warheads. Advertisement The collapse and breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 brought an end to the Cold War. The period saw arms control treaties and a significant reduction of nuclear weapons, and stockpiles between the two are now around 6,000 each. The period also saw the folding up of the Warsaw Pact, but a significant increase in NATO, which, as of date, has 32 members. The world became unipolar, with the US dominating the security scene. This was also the period when the world concentrated on the War against Terror. West Asia became the area of focus. By 2007, Russia had begun to consolidate its power under President Putin. China had started rising as an economic and military power. China unilaterally usurped nearly three million sq. km of the South China Sea (SCS), and became aggressive for Taiwan unification. The Quad was formed with the US, Japan, Australia and India to thwart Chinas expansionist designs in the Indo-Pacific. Meanwhile in Europe, Ukraine was showing interest in joining NATO. This would have brought the alliance on the Russian doorstep. This was unacceptable to Russia. Initially to secure its Black Sea fleet, Russia arranged to annex Crimea in 2014. With Ukraine still not relenting on NATO, Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Effectively that brought an end to the post-Cold War era. Advertisement Post-Cold War Era Begins Despite massive NATO support to Ukraine, Russia continues to hold nearly 20 percent Ukrainian territory. The American and European public opinion shows war fatigue, and are not keen to pump more money or weapons. Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen and several militias in Syria and Iraq are part of Iran funded and backed Axis of Resistance. Now, they have a new backer: Russia. Developments in West Asia (Gaza war and Houthis) have also complicated the US desire to focus more on the Indo-Pacific. Advertisement Russia has secured lifelines for its economy and defence enterprises, while navigating to retain its military influence outside of Europe. In spite of economic sanctions, Russia has once again emerged as a power to contend with. Russia supports legacy multilateral institutions, along with China. It is strengthening BRICS, and is pushing for the de-dollarisation of international finance. Russia and China want to prevent the US and its allies from writing international rules. Advertisement Russia has recalibrated its entire foreign policy to fit the needs of a long struggle. Russia has already expanded its trade and political relations with non-Western countries. The pillars of Russias global foreign policy are self-preservation and global de-compartmentalisation. China has not only emerged as an economic power that is peddling influence around the world through Belt and Road and other economic initiatives, but has also become a significant military and Space power that wants to initially exert influence in Western Pacific and Indian Oceans, and later across the globe. China has also been modernising and expanding its nuclear arsenal. It is not willing to sit with the US and Russia to discuss arms control or evolve new treaties. The antagonism between Russia and the US has already put arms-control treaties on slow-burner. Advertisement China wants a uni-polar Asia with clear dominance, and bi-polar World where they are equal to the USA. The US has become conscious of this great power competition and is working on a strategic rethink. By the 2030s the US will, for the first time in its history, face two major nuclear powers as strategic competitors and potential adversaries. This will create new stresses on stability and new challenges for deterrence, assurance, arms control, and risk reduction. The US has created an environment of pushing Russia and China together. This dual-containment strategy may have been a bad idea. Counter-terrorist operations which had taken centre-stage following the 9/11 terrorist attacks have become less prominent than the approach to counter China and/or Russia. The US grand strategy, geopolitics, military build-up, and posture has to factor this now. Authoritarian vs Democratic Approach and World Order The US fears that both China and Russia governed by authoritarian regimes want to change world order that actively undermine the democratic approach. They are also concerned about the political processes of these countries, leveraging technology and supply chains for coercion and repression, and exporting an illiberal autocratic model of international order. While it sees Russia as a source of disruption and instability globally, it lacks the across the spectrum capabilities of China. China is the only competitor with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to advance that objective. Beijings ambitions to create an enhanced sphere of influence in the Indo-Pacific and to become the worlds leading power is a core competition. China and Russias increasing alignment with each other also poses challenges. Partnerships and Build Up in Indo-Pacific Region The Quad was formed in the Indo-Pacific to essentially check China, albeit overtly, to keep freedom of Seas. With tacit approval of the US, Japan has begun increasing defence spending and will hit at least 2 per cent of GDP soon. Australia is now part of AUKUS and will soon have nuclear submarines and also increase military spending and strength. The US has signed all enabling logistics and communication agreements with India to improve interoperability. Quad and other like-minded partners are regularly meeting at head-of-state and ministerial levels. They are also carrying out joint military exercises much more regularly. Since 2008, the US has allowed transfer of many military platforms and equipment to India, which for long was considered a Soviet/Russian friend. Many European partners like the UK, France and Germany are showing greater interest and participation in the region. The US is also working more closely to strengthen Taiwan and South Korea. Interestingly, most of the US partners in the region are successful and growing large economies, whereas Chinas friends like North Korea, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Pakistan, all have economic and political complexities. But China has the advantage of proximity and the US has to act with support of partners, in particular for countering improving Chinese anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region. Chinas information operations, and so called salami-slicing tactics in the seas of South and East China, and Line of Actual Control (LAC) have to be countered. European Security and Strengthening of NATO NATO has seen 15 new members since Soviet collapse. Sweden could join in March 2024. France had left NATO in 1966 but nevertheless continues to adhere to the NATO requirements and maintains a liaison relationship with NATOs integrated military staff, continues to sit in the council, and to maintain and deploy ground forces in West Germany. In the aftermath of the Ukraine conflict, the US could urge the European partners to take greater responsibility for European security. Most NATO members have begun spending more on defence, inching towards the 2 per cent of GDP target. Also direct contributions to joint NATO funding have been increased. The US Military Capability Approach As the risk of confrontation and conflict increases, the US and its partners are looking at retaining lead in military technologies and capabilities for conventional warfare. They are trying to increase the speed of innovation and development and deployment of new platforms and weapons. They are working on improving mobilization capabilities for an extended-length large-scale conflict. Supply chain security involving components, materials, software and energy is being re-worked. Improving capabilities for countering so-called hybrid warfare and grey-zone tactics. Continued enhanced funding of the US military and the military-industry would remain a priority. The US has reviewed and revised the National Military Strategy, and October 2022 National Security Strategy (NSS) that look at the Greater Power Competition (GPC) and the strategic challenges. The US military will have to act urgently to sustain and strengthen deterrence. The US sees Russia present serious threats like nuclear, long-range conventional missiles, cyber and information operations, counter-space, chemical and biological weapons, undersea warfare, and extensive grey zone campaigns. Like China, Russia seeks to exploit advantages in geography. There would be a need to contain and dissuade growing and strengthening Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) from coercion and considering aggression. China has expanded and modernised nearly every aspect of the PLA, with a focus on offsetting the US military advantages. Conflict with China is neither inevitable nor desirable. Strategic competition has to be managed from a position of strength. Clearly China and Russia are creating new stresses on strategic stability. The US is also concerned about possible emergence of regional hegemons. Washington seeks to bolster its conventional war-fighting capabilities. The new operational concepts include Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) Agile Combat Employment (ACE), Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO) and Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO). Technology Impact The emerging technologies are having force-multiplier impact on warfare. Maintaining superiority in conventional weapon technologies is important. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and increased autonomy of uninhabited platforms and weapons is changing conflict dynamics. Cyber, integrated network system-of-systems, microelectronics, Space, and human-machine interfaces are areas of future action. Hypersonic weapons will greatly reduce defence response time. This will also impact deterrence stability. Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) will significantly impact warfare. Rare earth processing capability and advanced materials will be critical for defence needs. Military applications of quantum technology impact all domains of warfare by significantly enhancing measurement capability, sensing, precision and computation power and efficiency. Mobilisation capabilities for extended-length conflict including industrial scaling up have to be planned. Innovation and speed in weapon system development and deployment is critical. Repositories of leading technologies will influence and control the world. For long, this was an area dominated by the US, but China is fast catching up or even overtaking. Indias Threat Perception and Challenges India is still a developing country, albeit the fastest growing large economy. Indias first priority is to grow its economy and achieve inclusive development for its masses. With the largest population, India will take significantly more time to increase per capita incomes. India also has serious territorial disputes with two very large and significantly powerful neighbours, both of which have nuclear weapons and large militaries, and India has had a history of conflicts with them. Meanwhile, the global competition between the US and China has brought the risk of confrontation/conflict closer home to the Indo-Pacific region. Indias recent closeness to the US and membership of Quad and other supposedly China-Containment groupings has angered China. China sees India as a competitor in regional influence. Indias dominance of the Indian Ocean could be seen as a risk to Chinese shipping, bulk of which passes through the Indian Ocean. China also sees India as a road-block in its Belt and Road Initiative. One can thus see Chinas increasing muscle-flexing approach. Even though the Chinese economy is growing slower than India, it will take nearly 50 more years for India to catch up if the current growth rates are sustained. India continues to see growing imports from China. Despite attempts to promote home manufacturing, decoupling from China has not been possible or even desirable. In its quest to compete with the US, Chinas military and space capabilities are also growing considerably. Chinas investments in defence R&D are also making it relatively independent of the Western technologies. India has to factor Chinas rising military power. Options for India As the world prepares for an emerging three-power strategic situation, India needs to tread carefully and intelligently to secure its well-deserved place on the global high table without any knee-jerk actions. India has historically been the Vishwa Guru who has seen and espoused the world to be One Earth, One Family, (with) One Future. India was the founder of the movement and has always believed in Non Alignment with power blocks. It is not in Indias interest to join military alliances. India must continue to carry out interoperability related military exercises with all friendly countries. Its current strategic autonomy approach is well thought out. India has traditionally been supportive of the neighbouring countries and the lesser endowed ones. Indias vaccine diplomacy was lauded globally. India has repeatedly demonstrated capability and intent to support all members of the international community during humanitarian disasters, and even economic crises. From a near all-time low at the time of independence, India has risen to become the fifth largest economy in a very short time. India has played its diplomatic cards very maturely, especially in the last decade. The world not only sees India has a large market but also a genuine caring friend. The West, Russians, Asian nations, and Africa look at India with both awe and hope. In the emerging global great power competition, India has to play the role of a balancing force and a global statesperson. India needs to continue to maintain good relations with the West and Russia, and simultaneously work to reduce tensions with China without making any compromises. India must expand its manufacturing base not only to decouple from China but also to reduce external dependence. In the interim it is important to secure supply chains by building partnerships. India must work to reduce defence imports. Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) is very important especially in defence and security equipment manufacture. The ecosystem and most building blocks are in place. India needs constructive partnership to bridge the gaps. India must invest more in R&D, especially related to emerging technologies which can have game-changing multiplier effects. There is a need for more investments in space assets. New Delhi must hasten development of infrastructure in the Himalayas and in its Island territories for both economic and security reasons. India is on the right path, of becoming a responsible great power, and a balancer of great power competition. The writer is Director General, Centre for Air Power Studies. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_s views._ More than a dozen women have accused Marilyn Manson, who is planning on embarking on a tour, of sexual assault and abuse, including Westworld actor Evan Rachel Wood and Game of Thrones actor Esme Bianco. Richard Shotwell/Associated Press Marilyn Manson is set to embark on his first series of tour dates since facing accusations of sexual abuse by multiple women in recent years. The 55-year-old musician, whose legal name is Brian Warner, is slated to join the metal band Five Finger Death Punch for performances in amphitheaters and arenas across North America later this year, including Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View on Sept. 3. Once a prominent figure in the 1990s with albums like Antichrist Superstar and Mechanical Animals, Mansons career has been sidelined by legal challenges. In a February 2021 Instagram post, his ex-fiancee Evan Rachel Wood (Westworld, Kajillionaire) accused him of sexual and psychological abuse, leading to similar allegations from more than a dozen other women, including a lawsuit by Game of Thrones actor Esme Bianco. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Game of Thrones actor Esme Bianco has sued Marilyn Manson, alleging sexual, physical and emotional abuse. Associated Press Biancos suit detailed instances where Manson allegedly beat her with a whip that Mr. Warner said was utilized by the Nazis, according to Rolling Stone. Mansons former assistant, Ashley Walters, also claimed in legal documents that he subjected her to various forms of abuse, including forcing her hand into his underwear, whipping her and making her stand on a chair for 12 hours in an attempt to force her to stay awake for 48 hours. The 2022 HBO documentary Phoenix Rising delves into Mansons relationship with Wood. In the film, the actor says he essentially raped her on camera during the filming of his Heart-Shaped Glasses video. Additionally, she alleged that he sexually assaulted her while she was asleep, exhibited physical violence and engaged in surveillance against her. That same year, a California judge dismissed key sections of a counter lawsuit against Wood filed by Manson, who accused her of fabricating the allegations. He was ordered to cover Woods legal fees, a decision he is currently appealing. Actor Evan Rachel Wood, left, and Marilyn Manson in 2007 in Toronto. Wood alleged in the 2022 HBO documentary Phoenix Rising that Manson sexually assaulted her while she was asleep, exhibited physical violence and engaged in surveillance against her. Eric Charbonneau/Wireimage At the time the accusations were filed, Manson was dropped by his longtime manager, Tony Ciulla; record label, Loma Vista; and booking agency, Creative Artists Agency. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Manson continues to deny the charges. His lawsuit is pending. Separately, Manson was ordered to community service last year for an incident where he blew his nose on a videographer at a 2019 concert in New Hampshire. He fulfilled this service at an organization in Glendale (Los Angeles County), providing meeting space for Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon, court records show. Marilyn Manson performs at Louder Than Life at Highland Festival Grounds at the Kentucky Exposition Center in September 2019, in Louisville, Ky. He is set to embark on his first series of tour dates since facing accusations of sexual abuse by multiple women in recent years. Amy Harris/Associated Press Mansons last full concert took place in November 2019 at the Astroworld Festival in Houston, and he has not performed in public since a benefit show in Los Angeles in January 2020. The Live Nation presale for the tour with Five Finger Death Punch begins at 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 13, with the general on-sale starting at 10 a.m. Friday, March 15, via Ticketmaster. Erdogan, modern Turkeys most successful politician, has led the country for more than two decades. A winner of more than a dozen elections since 2002, Erdogan was re-elected for a five-year term during hotly contested elections in May 2023. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talks during a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following their meeting at Dolmabahce palace in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, March 8, 2024. - AP Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the countrys March local elections would be his last, suggesting an end to his more than two decades in power. Erdogan, modern Turkeys most successful politician, has led the country for more than two decades. A winner of more than a dozen elections since 2002, Erdogan was re-elected for a five-year term during hotly contested elections in May 2023. Advertisement I am working non-stop. Were running around breathlessly because, for me, its a final, said the president at a meeting of the TUGVA Young Turks foundation. This is a final for me, under the mandate given by the law this is my last election, Erdogan said. The result that will come out will be the transferring of a legacy to my siblings who will come after me, he was cited as saying by Anadolu. The 70-year-old leader expressed confidence that his conservative Justice and Development (AKP) party would nonetheless remain in power even after he has left office. A constitutional change in 2017 then turned Turkey from a parliamentary system into an executive presidency, abolishing the position of prime minister and ensuring that Erdogans grip on power remained unchanged. Advertisement Further election successes in 2018 and last year have meant that Erdogans often controversial rule has extended into a third decade. Turkey maintains close ties with Hamas, the terror group that killed some 1,200 Israelis in an unprecedented assault from Gaza on October 7, plunging the region into war. With inputs from agencies. Zardai has spent more than 11 years in jail, a long time even by the standards of Pakistani politicians, with a wheeler-dealers talent for bouncing back after scandals. Asif Ali Zardari is set to become the 14th president of the country in the election to be held today. The new president would replace the incumbent Dr Arif Alvi, whose five-year term ended last year. However, he has continued since the new electoral college was not yet formed. Zardari, the widower of Pakistans slain-first female premier Benazir Bhutto, was stained by a bevy of corruption and other allegations, including absurd kidnapping plots and taking kickbacks lavished on hoards of jewellery. Advertisement The 68-year-old co-chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is supported by the coalition government led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) which has the necessary numbers. This is part of a quid pro quo deal after the February 8 polls delivered a fractured mandate: PPP supported PML-Ns candidate for prime ministers post and also got to form the government in the Punjab provincial assembly while Zardari got the support of PML-N and his party got to rule the Sindh province. Despite a reputation as Mr. Ten Percent the alleged cut he took for rubber-stamping contracts a sympathy vote propelled him to office when his wife was assassinated in a 2007 bomb and gun attack. Between 2008 and 2013, he ushered in constitutional reforms rolling back presidential powers, and the 68-year-olds second term will see him steer a largely ceremonial office. Advertisement He has spent more than 11 years in jail, a long time even by the standards of Pakistani politicians, with a wheeler-dealers talent for bouncing back after scandals. Back in 2009, the New York Times said he had a knack for artful dodging manoeuvring himself out of the tight spots he gets himself into. Advertisement Newly sworn-in lawmakers were set to vote him in under the terms of a coalition deal brokered after February 8 elections marred by rigging claims. Under that deal, Zardaris Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) will take the presidency, while its historic rivals the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party secured the prime ministers position for Shehbaz Sharif, who was officially sworn in on Monday. Advertisement Polo playboy Zardari was born in 1955 into a land-owning family from the southern province of Sindh. As a child, I was spoilt by my parents as an only son, he said in a 2000 interview with the Guardian newspaper. They indulged my every whim. He expressed only limited political ambitions as a young man losing a 1983 local government election. Advertisement It was his 1987 arranged marriage with PPP leader Benazir Bhutto that earned him a spot in the political limelight. Their union brokered by Bhuttos mother was considered an unlikely pairing for a leader-in-waiting from one of Pakistans major political dynasties. Bhutto was an Oxford and Harvard graduate driven by the desire to oust then-president Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq, who forced her father from the prime ministers office and had him executed. Zardari was a university dropout with a reputation for brawling, partying and romancing women at a private disco in his family home. On the eve of their wedding, Bhuttos team issued a formal statement denying he was a playboy who plays polo by day and frequents discos at night. Their nuptial celebrations were dubbed the peoples wedding doubling as a political rally in the megacity of Karachi, where a crowd of 100,000 fervently chanted PPP slogans. Initially, Zardari pledged to keep out of politics. On the make Bhutto served as prime minister from 1988 to 1990 the first woman to head a democratic government in a Muslim country and again from 1993 to 1996. PPP insiders regarded Zardari as a liability, considering him likely to embarrass her leadership. Their fears were perhaps well-founded. In 1990, he was embroiled in accusations of an absurd plot to extort a businessman by tying a bomb to his leg. He was jailed for three years on extortion and kidnapping charges but was elected to the national assembly from behind bars. In Bhuttos second term, he served as investment minister. A bombshell New York Times investigation detailed how he tried to engineer vast kickbacks on military contracts over this period while lavishing huge sums on jewellery. After Bhuttos government fell in 1996, Zardari was back behind bars within half an hour. Accidental president In December 2007, Bhutto was assassinated while on the campaign trail for a third term in office. Her killing shook the nation to its core, a wave of sympathy carrying the PPP to victory in 2008. The party nominated Zardari as president. In 2010, he was widely criticised for continuing a European holiday when the nation was devastated by floods that killed almost 1,800 and affected 21 million. He was also head of state when US commandos trespassed onto Pakistani soil for the 2011 assassination of Osama Bin Laden, an episode that humiliated many compatriots. He did, however, usher in constitutional reforms rolling back the sweeping powers of the presidency and bolstering parliamentary democracy that had been undermined by three decades of military rule since 1947. In 2013, Zardari became the first Pakistani president to complete his full term. He was jailed once again over money laundering charges in 2019 but was released months later. Zardari and Benazir had three children, including Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the current chairman of the PPP. With inputs from agencies. As he was warned that his microphone remained on, Biden said, using Netanyahus nickname, I told him, Bibi, and dont repeat this but you and I are going to have a Come to Jesus meeting President Joe Biden is growing more irate with Israels leader and making it clear that the US will take independent action, but few anticipate a radical shift as the humanitarian situation in Gaza worsens and his left flank becomes more and more outraged. In his State of the Union speech Thursday, Biden declared that the US would construct a makeshift port to transport aid into Gaza. This announcement came just a few days after the US military began delivering food by air and after top US officials met a significant opponent of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Advertisement When Biden was overheard talking to a senator following the speech, it became evident how frustrated he was with Netanyahu. As he was warned that his microphone remained on, Biden said, using Netanyahus nickname, I told him, Bibi, and dont repeat this but you and I are going to have a Come to Jesus meeting. The American expression perhaps jarring when speaking of a Jewish leader in the land where Jesus lived refers to a dramatic realization that one must correct course. But the administration has given short shrift to activist calls to use one of the most significant forms of US leverage cutting military aid and the 81-year-old president told Congress that he remained a lifelong supporter of Israel second to none. Advertisement Biden nonetheless directly addressed the Israeli leadership in his speech, warning not to use aid as a bargaining chip in Gaza, where the vast majority of the two million people have been displaced and the United Nations has warned of famine risks. Biden repeated Friday that Netanyahu must do more to bring relief into the Hamas-led territory, which has been pounded by Israel since militants on October 7 infiltrated Israel and killed 1,160 people, mostly civilians, in the countrys deadliest ever attack, according to Israeli figures. Advertisement Vowing to eradicate Hamas, Israel launched an offensive that has killed more than 30,000 people, also mostly civilians, according to Gazas health ministry. - Pressure - The United States has coordinated with Israel on the aid deliveries, including by ensuring the temporary port is supplied from Cyprus and not an Arab country. But such aid delivery is more commonly associated with remote or hostile territories, not an area under control of a US partner and a top recipient of aid. Advertisement Anti-war protesters lined the streets of Washington for Bidens speech and critics of Israel, including Arab-Americans, have threatened to shun Biden in the November election in Michigan, crucial for his chances to beat Donald Trump. In a letter this week, 37 Democratic lawmakers led by Representative Joaquin Castro urged the administration to use every tool at your disposal to ensure US weapons are not used in a potential Israeli ground invasion of Rafah, the southern city where some 1.5 million Palestinians have sought refuge. Advertisement Merissa Khurma, director of the Middle East program at the Wilson Center, called the US militarys relief efforts last-resort attempts to help Palestinians. For anyone who has been watching photos and coverage of the harrowing situation on the ground, I think this was, again, an indication that the United States will have to step in if the Israelis are not listening, said Khurma, a former Jordanian official. - Lose-lose politics - Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier in the week met Benny Gantz, a centrist who has joined Netanyahus war cabinet but has risen to the top of some polls on choice of prime minister. US officials insist they were not courting Gantz but acknowledge privately that the former military chief was seeking to look like a future prime minister. Steven Cook, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Biden had miscalculated with his early unstinting support for Israel. Biden underestimated how Israel would frame the conflict in terms of an existential struggle, which means he has actually limited influence over them, Cook said. Cook said that while Biden has come under fire from the left, he is beginning to face criticism from Israel supporters who believe he is tilting too far to the Palestinians. Its really a lose-lose situation for the president. Itll have to be entirely up to him and his political people to decide which constituency he wants to upset more, he said. Canadian law enforcement has been surveilling two suspects linked to the killing and may make arrests soon. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) reportedly seeks to ensure a strong case before proceeding with arrests The airing of the CCTV footage Friday provided the first public glimpse into the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The video, captured on June 18 last year at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib parking lot, shows Nijjars Dodge Ram pickup truck being blocked by a white sedan, followed by two individuals, suspected to be Nijjars assailants, rushing towards his vehicle before fleeing in a waiting Toyota Camry. Advertisement The footage was broadcasted by CBC News, a government-funded outlet. The Globe and Mail, which previously reported on the video, quoted a senior federal source expressing frustration over the lack of arrests in the case. Canadas Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) is leading the investigation. IHIT revealed in August that a third person, the driver of the getaway vehicle, was involved in Nijjars murder. In a recent release, IHIT confirmed the use of a 2008 silver Toyota Camry in the crime and shared a grainy image of the cars driver captured by CCTV. According to reports, Canadian law enforcement has been surveilling two suspects linked to the killing and may make arrests soon. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) reportedly seeks to ensure a strong case before proceeding with arrests. Advertisement Allegations of a potential link between Indian agents and Nijjars murder, made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in September, have strained relations between India and Canada. Erdogans suggestion comes as pressure on Ukraine to withdraw from the front lines is growing. Due to delays in receiving aid from its Western allies, Ukraine has been losing ground to Moscow in recent months Following discussions with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Istanbul, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Friday declared that Turkey is prepared to host a peace summit between Russia and Ukraine. Since Russias invasion more than two years ago, NATO member Turkey has positioned itself as a possible go-between for Moscow and Kyiv. Erdogans suggestion comes as pressure on Ukraine to withdraw from the front lines is growing. Due to delays in receiving aid from its Western allies, Ukraine has been losing ground to Moscow in recent months. Advertisement Erdogan and the head of the Ukrainian government stated at a press conference that we are ready to host a peace summit where Russia is also present. While we continue our solidarity with Ukraine, we will continue our work to end the war with a just peace on the basis of negotiations, Erdogan said. Zelensky dismissed the idea of negotiating directly with Russia, arguing that Ukraine and Western leaders must set out peace on their own terms. He noted there would be an upcoming peace summit in Switzerland, where Kyiv would promote its own peace formula, but ruled out Russias participation. We dont see how we can invite people who block, destroy and kill everything. We want to get results, Zelensky said. Advertisement He called the talks with Erdogan productive and thanked Turkey for its mediation efforts on Ukraines Black Sea grain exports and prisoner exchanges. Ankara has sought to maintain good relations with both Moscow and Kyiv, helping the two sign a now shuttered agreement to ensure the safe passage of grain via the Black Sea in July 2022. Advertisement - We are not hopeless - Erdogan said he and Zelensky had discussed issues of port security, navigation safety in the Black Sea, prisoner exchanges and food security, and that they shared the same opinions. We are not hopeless, he said. We believe that there are some opportunities that Turkey can provide with its stance. Advertisement Turkey hosted failed ceasefire talks between Kyiv and Moscow in the first weeks of the war and wants to revive them. Its strategic location on the Black Sea and its control of the Bosphorus Strait gives it a unique military, political and economic role in the conflict. In July 2022, Ankara with the United Nations brokered the Black Sea grain deal, the most significant diplomatic agreement so far reached between Kyiv and Moscow. Advertisement Moscow ditched the initiative which allowed the safe passage of Ukrainian agricultural exports across the mine-laden Black Sea a year later, complaining that the terms were unfair. Since the collapse of the deal, Kyiv has used an alternative shipping route hugging the coastline to avoid contested international waters. Turkey has been lobbying hard for an agreement to ensure cargo can once again navigate those waters in safety. - Russia-Turkey relations - Turkeys Western allies have expressed concern over its relations with Moscow. Ankara is reliant on Russian energy and has faced scrutiny as Russia seeks to avoid Western trading restrictions. The United States has sanctioned several Turkish companies for helping Russia purchase goods that could be used by its armed forces. The Erdogan-Zelensky meeting comes a week after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan at a diplomatic forum in Antalya. President Vladimir Putin was to visit Turkey last month, but postponed the trip, according to Turkish and Russian media citing diplomatic sources. The Kremlin has said it is rescheduling the visit, but has given no date. Russia and Ukraine both accused each other of killing civilians in drone strikes deep behind enemy lines on Friday. A Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian border region of Belgorod killed two people, the regions governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. In Ukraines northeastern Kharkiv region, a Russian drone attack on the town of Vovchansk killed a man and a woman in a car, regional head Oleg Sinegubov said. In 2004, Philippe was one of the main leaders in the successful overthrow of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. He had a failed run for president in 2006, before winning a senate seat in 2016, though he was arrested and extradited to the United States before he could be sworn in. Guy Philippe, a figure who played a key role in orchestrating a coup in Haiti in 2004 and recently returned to the Caribbean Island after serving a prison sentence in the US, called for the resignation of the countrys Prime Minister Ariel Henry on Friday and said he wanted to become president. Advertisement Haiti has been grappling with months of violence, pushing the government to the brink of collapse. Powerful gangs have been exerting growing influence, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Henry, who is currently outside the country and appears to be either unable or unwilling to return, exacerbating the political turmoil. He should resign, Philippe, a 56-year-old former police chief, said in an interview with Reuters over Zoom from Haiti. I think he should stay where he is now and let Haitians decide their fate. Henrys spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Henry left Haiti last week to secure Kenyas leadership for a long-delayed U.N.-backed security mission he first requested in 2022 to help fight the gangs. He is believed to still be in Puerto Rico, where he arrived on Tuesday. The government extended on Thursday a state of emergency around the capital Port-au-Prince as the violence forced thousands to flee their homes and the main airport to close. Advertisement Authorities first announced the state of emergency on Sunday after armed gangs broke thousands of inmates out of prison. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Henry on Thursday to support a political transition for the country, where the healthcare system is near collapse, children are unable to attend school, and thousands have been killed, kidnapped or driven from their homes. There have been widespread reports of rape and torture by the gangs. Advertisement In 2004, Philippe was one of the main leaders in the successful overthrow of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. He had a failed run for president in 2006, before winning a senate seat in 2016, though he was arrested and extradited to the United States before he could be sworn in. Philippe was deported from the U.S. to Haiti in November after serving six years of a prison sentence for money laundering derived from drug trafficking. Advertisement He said his conviction would not get in the way of his political future, citing the experiences of former South African leader Nelson Mandela, former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Asked if he wanted to be president, Philippe said: Yes! Im going into politics. I was a senator, Ive been elected by my people, I will go again in elections. Advertisement Mandela was in prison, Hugo Chavez was in prison, Lula was in prison and so if my people believe and trust me, I will be their leader, he said. Since his return to Haiti, Philippe has travelled the country rallying support and calling for the government to step down. In a February report, the Geneva-based Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime named Philippe as an important figure among Haitis strongmen who straddle the line between vigilante leaders and political bosses, accumulating considerable power. Philippe said his recent return to the country meant he did not have deep connections to the gangs and he was not behind the gang violence. But he said some gang members supported him because they liked what he had to say. They like my speech, and some want to follow me, he said. He did not denounce the gangs and said he would seek to implement an amnesty for their leaders were he to take power. Who is worse? The ones in the streets with the weapons or the ones in the office that call themselves prime ministers, president, ministers that are stealing everything this country has?, he said. In recent months, Philippe has been seen at public events defended by members of BSAP - an environmental police unit that security analysts say has effectively become a paramilitary group. Philippe said the protection came from individual agents who believed in his message and wanted to protect him. He stressed that he would seek to put his countrys relationship with powers like the U.S., France and Canada on a more equal footing and criticized the international backing that he said had kept Henry in power. If Haiti is where it is now, its partly because of them, he said. We are not enemies, we dont hate the United States, we dont hate France or Canada We know we need their help, we know Haiti is a poor country, but at least we would like to receive this help with dignity. Asked if he thought there would be a civil war in Haiti, as one gang leader warned this week, Philippe said: No I know the Americans who are deciding everything here will be wise enough to understand that Haitians want some kind of change. Various countries, including the US, Jordan, Egypt, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium, have been conducting aid drops in Gaza amidst concerns of famine. Jordanian state TV denied involvement of a Jordanian aircraft in the incident Reports indicate that five people died when a parachute malfunctioned during an aid drop in Gaza on Friday. According to eyewitnesses and Gazas health ministry, the tragedy occurred when at least one parachute failed to deploy, causing a package to fall on the victims. The Gaza doctor, as quoted by AFP news agency, confirmed the death toll. However, the claim has not been independently verified. The specific air drop involved in the incident remains unclear. Advertisement Various countries, including the US, Jordan, Egypt, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium, have been conducting aid drops in Gaza amidst concerns of famine. Jordanian state TV denied involvement of a Jordanian aircraft in the incident. CBS News reported the incident occurring around 11:30 local time, while US Central Command confirmed a joint aid drop with the Royal Jordanian Air Force around 13:30 local time. US General Patrick Ryder stated that their aid bundles landed safely and were not involved in the incident. The United Nations warns that a significant portion of Gazas population is on the brink of famine, with children facing starvation. Aid organizations have criticized the air drops as insufficient to meet the escalating need. Efforts are underway to establish alternative routes for aid delivery, including plans for a sea route and construction of a temporary harbor by the US. Western countries are urging Israel to expand aid delivery by road, particularly to the north of Gaza, which has been largely cut off from assistance. Advertisement Israel denies hindering aid entry into Gaza and accuses aid organizations of inefficiency in distribution. Despite aid convoys entering the south of Gaza, the north, previously targeted in Israeli military operations, continues to suffer from food and water shortages. The recent tragic incident underscores the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where thousands are in urgent need of assistance amid ongoing conflict and blockade. The UH-72 Lakota helicopter was part of the federal governments border security mission when it went down Friday close to Rio Grande City. An investigation is underway to determine the cause Three National Guard members and a Border Patrol agent were killed when a helicopter carrying them crashed on Friday near the Texas-Mexico border, according to a county official. The top local official in Starr County, Judge Eloy Vera, stated that a fourth passenger was critically ill. The collision occurred close to La Grulla, in Starr County. Advertisement The UH-72 Lakota helicopter, according to the joint taskforce north, was part of the federal governments border security mission when it went down on Friday close to Rio Grande City. An investigation was underway to determine the cause. The taskforce statement states that the crash occurred in the middle of the afternoon while the helicopter was performing aviation operations. The deceaseds names were not made public right away. Messages seeking comment were not immediately answered by a US Border Patrol spokesperson. On Friday, the Starr County Sheriffs Office announced on Facebook that it was providing assistance in relation to a downed helicopter incident that occurred on the countys eastern edge. Vera said that the sheriffs office had secured the area and that federal agents were en route. Advertisement Both state and federal law enforcement agencies actively patrol the border region, often utilizing aerial surveillance. With inputs from agencies European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has expressed optimism that the maritime corridor could become operational as early as Sunday, though crucial details of the planned operation remained unclear Humanitarian aid for Gaza is loaded onto a platform next to a Spanish NGO Open Arms rescue vessel, as the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues, at the port of Larnaca, Cyprus. Reuters As the lives of thousands of Gazans hang by a thread with dwindling resources, countries are exploring alternative routes to dispatch humanitarian aid to the war-torn region. The European Union has announced that it will accelerate efforts to set up a maritime corridor to transport aid from Cyprus to Gaza. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has expressed optimism that the maritime corridor could become operational as early as Sunday, though crucial details of the planned operation remained unclear. Advertisement She said an initial pilot operation was launched on Friday, and the United Arab Emirates had helped activate the corridor by securing the first of many shipments of goods to the people of Gaza. Meanwhile, the US, earlier this week, began airdropping humanitarian aid over Gaza. The operation, although successful at first, ended up killing five people on Saturday after the parachutes carrying supplies did not deploy properly. The emergency maritime corridor highlights frustration among Israels allies over the countrys failure to avoid a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The United Nations (UN) has repeatedly warned of looming famine in the long-blockaded Gaza Strip, which has been under Israeli siege since the Hamas attack of October 7 triggered the war. Advertisement How would a maritime corridor work? In November 2023, Cyprus first presented the idea of creating a sea corridor to supply aid to Gaza at the International Aid Conference in Paris. The plan called the Amalthea Initiative, caught the attention of other countries including Jordan, Egypt and the UAE who are now involved in making the project a reality. Advertisement The 25-page-long document detailing the plan has five stages through which food, medical and shelter supplies would be shipped to Gazas beaches. The aid would be collected and compiled at a base in southern Cyprus Larnaca, which is 210 nautical miles away from Gaza and is equipped with an airport and a seaport. Advertisement The supplies will be run through a security check by Israeli authorities following which they will be loaded into ships that will sail to Gaza and will be accompanied by warships to avoid any untoward incident. US to build emergency pier Meanwhile, US, working in collaboration with Cyprus, EU, UAE and the UN, has announced plans to build an emergency pier off the coast of Gaza. However, building a floating pier could take 60 days, the Pentagon said on Friday. Advertisement We will continue to work with Israel to expand deliveries by land, insisting that it facilitate more routes and open additional crossings to get more aid to more people, the US, UK, Cyprus, UAE and European Commission said in a joint statement. The statement added, We affirm that protecting civilian lives is a key element of international humanitarian law that must be respected. The meeting between the two intelligence chiefs comes after ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Egypt failed to produce any positive outcome Israel on Saturday revealed that Mossads chief met with his US counterpart on Friday to discuss the safe release of hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza. The news of the meeting was broken by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office after it released a statement on behalf of the Mossad. The head of the Mossad, David Barnea, met yesterday (Friday) with the head of the CIA, Bill Burns, as part of the ceaseless efforts to advance another hostage release deal, the statement read. Advertisement The meeting between the two intelligence chiefs comes after ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Egypt failed to produce any positive outcome. Israel did not send a delegation to the latest round of truce talks in Cairo, and Hamas left on Thursday after expressing frustration with Israels positions, heading to Qatar for consultation with the movements leadership. The PMO statement, however, did not mention where the meeting between Barnea and Burns took place. At this stage, Hamas is entrenching its positions like someone who is not interested in a deal and is striving to inflame the region during Ramadan at the expense of Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip, it said. Advertisement US President Joe Biden warned this week that, without a truce before Ramadan, Israel and Jerusalem could be very, very dangerous. Hamas took about 250 people captive in the October 7 attack that triggered the war in Gaza, some of whom were released during a week-long truce in November. Israel believes 99 hostages remain alive in Gaza and that 31 have died. Advertisement It should be noted that contacts and cooperation with the mediators are continuing all the time in an attempt to bring a reduction of the differences and advance agreements, Saturdays Israeli statement said. With inputs from AFP Bar Agricole at 1540 Mission St., seen in 2022. Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle Bar Agricole has closed again but the James Beard Award-winning cocktail bar will reopen in May. The new home will be 2875 18th St., the Mission District space formerly occupied by Liliana (and briefly rechristened as the Bar at Osito). This will be the third location for Bar Agricole, which originally opened in 2010 in SoMa and then moved to 1540 Mission St. in 2022. Owner Thad Vogler expects this to be Bar Agricoles final home. Advertisement Article continues below this ad At 5,000 square feet, 1540 Mission St. was feeling too much like a restaurant, Vogler said. The new space is smaller, requiring only a light remodel. Its just a bar, he said. Thad Vogler at Obispo, his now-closed bar in the Mission District, in 2018. Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle Separately, however, Vogler does plan to open a restaurant in partnership with Bar Agricole chef Will Napoli. Since the new Bar Agricole will be less food-focused, Vogler said he wanted a place where Napoli could continue cooking. Called Bispo, the restaurant will be a reboot of Obispo, Voglers shuttered rum bar, but will draw on Napolis Brazilian roots: a new version of beans and rice and rum, in Voglers words. Its taking over a storefront that used to be part of Lucca Ravioli Co. on Valencia Street, he said, and should open within a year. In December, Bar Agricole closed temporarily, and announced on Instagram it was holding a holiday sale with deep discounts on bottles, glassware, even some equipment weve decided we dont need. Tablehopper was the first to report that the closure at 1540 Mission St. is permanent. At first, Vogler said, the closure truly was temporary, designed to provide employees with a winter break. But the break made him reconsider how things were working. We were breaking even, Vogler said, but he still felt that Bar Agricole was not exactly what we wanted it to be. Advertisement Article continues below this ad What has always set Vogler apart from other bartenders is his advocacy for spirits that have a sense of place, that come from small-scale producers and that are made sustainably. Its an approach that he calls regionalism, writing about the concept in depth in his 2017 book By the Smoke and the Smell. At the latest iteration of Bar Agricole, Vogler was finally able to realize his long-held dream: to bottle and showcase single-origin spirits that were available nowhere else. He continues to sell these exclusive bottlings through the Bar Agricole website; upcoming releases include a whiskey made with Alamedas St. George Spirits and, for Bispo, a cachaca the sugarcane distillate thats popular in Brazil. An item from the Bar Agricole cocktail menu, seen in 2022: Two Bourbons from Separate Casks Prepared as Old Fashioned, Side by Side. Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle Vogler also has ambitions to reimagine the business structure. After former employees had accused him of wage theft in 2021, he implemented changes at Bar Agricole 2.0. All workers, including Vogler, earn the same salary, he said, and they all share profits equally. Everyone has equity, he said. Around the time Vogler closed Bar Agricoles first location, in 2020, he also shut down his three other San Francisco bars Nommo, Trou Normand and Obispo. He spoke with the Chronicle about his regrets with those businesses. Hed made classic restaurant mistakes, he said at the time. Growing too quickly so you dont have enough cash, then your places become mediocre because you dont have the bandwidth to maintain quality. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Back then, he said hed wanted to be in the bar business, not the restaurant business, but had ended up with restaurants due to liquor license constraints. Hes hoping that with the new Bar Agricole, hell finally get his bar. Human rights organisations have long criticised Italys ten migrant repatriation centers. They call them as black holes of human rights violations where undocumented migrants are held in conditions worse than prisons for months without facing charges The Ponte Galeria detention centre for migrants is seen near Rome, Italy May 6, 2017. Picture taken May 6, 2017. REUTERS/Steve Scherer/File Photo There is increasing pressure on Italian authorities to shut down a notorious detention center for migrants in Rome, where a 19-year-old Guinean man is said to have hanged himself last month. Opposition senators on a visit have criticised the inhumane circumstances facing those who have been told to leave Italy but are still awaiting return. Advertisement Human rights organisations have long criticised Italys ten migrant repatriation centers. They characterise them as human rights violations black holes where undocumented migrants are effectively held in conditions worse than prisons for months without facing charges. The centers are intended to serve as short-term holding facilities for foreign nationals ordered to be expelled for criminal or other reasons, or for migrants whose asylum applications were denied, while the necessary paperwork is finished and they can be returned home. But because of bureaucratic delays and a lack of repatriation agreements with countries of origin, only around half of the detainees are actually sent back and the centers end up acting as de facto prisons but without a prisons rehabilitation, educational or proper medical facilities, rights groups say. The right-wing government of Premier Giorgia Meloni has defended the use of the centres and even called to expand them as a necessary component of a broader strategy to manage Italys migration flows. Her government has extended the amount of time migrants can be held to 18 months as part of a deterrent strategy to persuade would-be refugees and their traffickers to stay home. Advertisement The Radicali Roma, an association affiliated with the Italian Radical Party, started an online petition Friday calling on centre-left Mayor Roberto Gualtieri to close Romes repatriation centre in Ponte Galeria, citing repeated episodes of violence, suicide and protests by desperate detainees. Last month, the body of Ousmane Sylla was found in the centre after he apparently hung himself. He had been ordered expelled from the country, but Italy has no repatriation agreement with his native Guinea. After his body was discovered, detainees set mattresses on fire and threw objects at law enforcement personnel, resulting in 14 arrests. The centre has a maximum capacity of 125 people. Advertisement In recent days, another six migrants attempted to kill themselves at the same facility, said Marco Stufano, the head of the office of Romes prefect. One remained hospitalised, two were returned to the centre and three were transferred to other facilities because their conditions were deemed incompatible with detention at Ponte Galeria, he said. Advertisement Last month, Romes city assembly called on Gualtieri to open urgent negotiations with government authorities to close the Ponte Galeria, given the serious violations of human rights suffered by people detained there. Even Italys national guarantor for the rights of prisoners, Mauro Palma, weighed in after visiting the centre in December. In letters to Romes prefect and police chief, Palma decried the lack of monitoring at the centre, saying any facility that deprives people of their freedom must have a functioning system of registering critical events and medical interventions for violence that results in injury, riots and attempted escapes to ensure the basic rights of detainees are being respected. Advertisement This week, three opposition senators visited the centre and emerged stunned by what they saw. This place is worse than a penitentiary, said Sen. Ivan Scalfarotto, of the Italy Alive party. The rooms where they live are absolutely unwatchable, toilets are below any human standard. Inside this place people do nothing all day, there is no labour, training, no education, something that is normally provided in all our penitentiaries. People are kept here without any hope. Sen. Walter Verini, with the opposition Democratic Party, said while criticism of the centres had been continuous for years, the governments new provisions allowing for detention of up to 18 months required immediate action. We have to fight because this is something unworthy of a civilised and democratic country, he said. Interior Minister Matteo Piatedosi has described the expansion of the network of repatriation centres as a fundamental element in the governments overall migration strategy, and said the difficult conditions found in them are the result of riots and vandalism by the detainees. At a recent press briefing, he said 50 per cent of the detainees are repatriated, that there had been an increase of 20 per cent - 30 per cent in repatriations so far this year compared to the previous year, and that he expected the numbers to grow. But the actual number of repatriations is among the lowest in Europe, with an average of 3,000 people sent back every year out of more than 150,000 arrivals in 2023 and more than 105,000 in 2022. There is no prospective to deny any human rights, but in these centres are people who after a long process of checks of irregularity in their residency permits present conditions of danger that are confirmed by judicial authorities, he said. With inputs from The Associated Press The plan is to export Unicorn, a communications antenna jointly developed by NEC, Yokohama Rubber and other Japanese firms, the report said. Japan is preparing to export communication antennas to India for use on warships, the Nikkei business daily reported on Saturday.The plan is to export Unicorn, a communications antenna jointly developed by NEC, Yokohama Rubber and other Japanese firms, the report said. Last month French President Emmanuel Macron said the possibility of Western troops being sent to Ukraine could not be ruled out, a comment that broke a taboo among allies and prompted an outcry from other leaders Polands foreign minister says the presence of NATO forces in Ukraine is not unthinkable and that he appreciates the French president for not ruling out the idea. Radek Sikorski observed a discussion marking the 25th anniversary of Polands accession to NATO in the Polish parliament Friday, and the Foreign Ministry tweeted the comments later in English. Advertisement They reflect a larger European debate over how to help Ukraine as Russia has gained some momentum on the battlefield and Kyiv is running low on ammunition. The US Congress is withholding aid that Ukraine says it critically needs to hold off the Russians, putting more pressure on Europe to respond to the war that has shattered peace on the continent. Last month French President Emmanuel Macron said the possibility of Western troops being sent to Ukraine could not be ruled out, a comment that broke a taboo among allies and prompted an outcry from other leaders. French officials later sought to clarify Macrons remarks and tamp down the backlash, while insisting on the need to send a clear signal to Russia that it cannot win its war in Ukraine. Advertisement The Kremlin has warned that if NATO sends combat troops, a direct conflict between the alliance and Russia would be inevitable. Russian President Vladimir Putin said such a move would risk a global nuclear conflict. Polands Prime Minister Donald Tusk was among those European leaders who initially ruled out sending troops to Ukraine after Macrons remarks, saying: Poland does not plan to send its troops to the territory of Ukraine." Advertisement But less than two weeks later Sikorski struck a different tone. The presence of NATO forces in Ukraine is not unthinkable," he said, according to the Foreign Ministrys tweet. He said he appreciated Macrons initiative because it is about Putin being afraid, not us being afraid of Putin. Sikorskis remark is part of a broader shift to align with Macrons position, wrote Phillips OBrien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. Advertisement The issue of sending European forces to help Ukraine was never one to be dismissed it was always a possibility, OBrien wrote in an email analysis sent to subscribers Saturday. In fact it has become more of one as the USA has stepped back and withdrawn aid. Europe is now faced with a terrible dilemma watching Ukraine potentially run out of ammunition, or stepping in and helping Ukraine more directly. Advertisement Polish President Andrzej Duda and Tusk will travel to Washington for a meeting at the White House on Tuesday, a visit the Poles hope they can use to spur the United States to do more to help Ukraine. Poland is a member of NATO along the alliances eastern flank, with Ukraine across its eastern border. The country has been under Russian control in the past, and fears run high that if Russia wins in Ukraine, it could next target other countries in a region that Moscow views as its sphere of interest. The countrys army is conducting a desperate search to track the whereabouts of the school students abducted from the northern town of Kuriga A boy holds a sign to protest against, what a teacher, local councilor and parents said, the kidnapping of hundreds school pupils by gunmen after the Friday prayer, in Kaduna, Nigeria March 8, 2024. Reuters With what can open a little sliver of hope among parents, 28 out of 300 Nigerian schoolchildren kidnapped by gunmen have escaped safely. The news was broken by Nigerias Kaduna state governor to BBC. The countrys army is conducting a desperate search to track the whereabouts of the school students abducted from the northern town of Kuriga. Advertisement The kidnappings take place in the countrys troubled northern region, where relentless violence by insurgent Islamic militant organizations and by bandit groups with no particular ideology have crumbled communities and killed thousands of people. Notably, this is the biggest case of mass abduction since 2021. Some of the raids have targeted colleges, such as a 2021 attack on Greenfield University in Kaduna State in which at least five students were killed when parents failed to meet ransom demands. But most victims have been schools for younger students. The problem is so grave that almost every family in Kuriga has a child missing and is believed to have been kidnapped. School authorities and parents say that gangs of armed men took away as many as 300 primary and secondary school students between the ages of eight and 15. Uba Sani, the Kaduna state governor, said that the lack of boots on the ground is the main reason behind the mass abductions. Advertisement To bring their children back home safely, parents and relatives of the students have formed vigilante groups and are seeking help from neighbouring areas to look for them. Nothing else is acceptable to me and the waiting family members of these abducted citizens. Justice will be decisively administered, President Bola Tinubu said. Advertisement Kidnappings at schools in Nigeria were first carried out by the terrorist group Boko Haram, who seized more than 200 students from a girls school in Chibok in Borno state a decade ago. But the tactic has since been adopted by criminal gangs without any ideological affiliation seeking ransom payments, according to authorities. Advertisement With inputs from agencies The Kaduna state attack marked the second mass kidnapping in as many weeks. Robber gangs with heavy weaponry on motorcycles prey on victims in villages, schools, and along highways, all in the hopes of extorting ransom payments Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the president of Nigeria, dispatched troops on Friday to free over 250 students who had been abducted in one of the biggest mass kidnappings in the past three years from a school in the northwest of the nation by gunmen. In Africas most populous nation, the Kaduna state attack marked the second mass kidnapping in as many weeks. Robber gangs with heavy weaponry on motorcycles prey on victims in villages, schools, and along highways, all in the hopes of extorting ransom payments. Advertisement Local government representatives in Kaduna state verified the kidnapping attack on Thursday, but they withheld numbers because they claimed to be still determining the number of children taken hostage. Locals reported that during the attack, at least one person was shot and killed. Sani Abdullahi, a teacher at the GSS Kuriga school in Chikun district, said staff managed to escape with many students when the gunmen, referred to by locals as bandits, attacked early Thursday firing in the air. He told local officials that 187 pupils had been snatched from the main junior school along with another 100 from primary classes. Three residents also said between 200 and 280 children and teachers had been snatched. Early in the morning we heard gunshots from bandits. Before we knew it, they had gathered up the children, resident Musa Mohammed told AFP. Advertisement We are pleading to the government, all of us are pleading, they should please help us with security. The Kaduna abduction and the mass kidnapping a week ago from camps for people displaced by jihadists in northeast Borno state illustrate the challenge facing Tinubu, who promised to make Nigeria safer and bring in more foreign investment. Advertisement I have received briefing from security chiefs on the two incidents, and I am confident that the victims will be rescued, Tinubu said in a statement ordering armed forces to track down the kidnappers. Nothing else is acceptable to me and the waiting family members of these abducted citizens. Justice will be decisively administered. Advertisement The two mass kidnappings came almost 10 years after Boko Haram militants triggered a huge international outcry in April 2014 by kidnapping more than 250 schoolgirls from Chibok in Borno state. Some of those girls are still missing. More than 100 people were reported missing after last weeks mass kidnapping in Borno, but conflicting accounts have emerged about the time and number of victims. Advertisement - No stone unturned - Police did not provide figures for the Kuriga school kidnapping. But the numbers of those reported abducted in Nigeria are often lowered after people who went missing while fleeing attacks return home. The Kaduna State Government and Security Agencies are working round the clock to ensure the safe return of the school children, state governor Uba Sani said on social media platform X. I have received strong assurances from the President and National Security Adviser that no stone will be left unturned to bring back the children. In the last three years, hundreds of schoolchildren and college students have been kidnapped in mass abductions in the northwest and central region, including in Kaduna. Almost all were released for ransom payments after weeks or months spent in captivity at bandit camps hidden in the forests that stretch across northwestern states. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday condemned the kidnappings in Kaduna as reprehensible in a post on X, adding that those responsible for these horrifying attacks must be held accountable. UN child welfare agency UNICEF also condemned Thursdays attack and called on the government to do more to protect students. Schools are supposed to be sanctuaries of learning and growth, not sites of fear and violence, UNICEF Nigeria director Cristian Munduate said in a statement. Nigerias armed forces are fighting on several fronts, including against armed criminals in the northwest and a long-running jihadist insurgency in the northeast that has killed 40,000 and displaced more than two million since 2009. Fighting in Borno has eased as militants have been pushed back from the territory they once controlled, but they still carry out attacks, kidnappings and raids in remote areas. Last September, gunmen abducted more than 30 people, including 24 female students, in a raid around a university in northwest Zamfara State. In February 2021, bandits raided a girls boarding school in the town of Jangebe in Zamfara, kidnapping around 300 students. Months earlier, gunmen snatched more than 300 students from a boys school in Kankara in Katsina state before releasing them days later. Between July 2022 and June 2023, 3,620 people were abducted in 582 kidnap-related incidents in Nigeria, according to local risk analysts SBM Intelligence. It has recorded 4,777 people abducted since Tinubu took office in May last year. The project could take up to 60 days to complete. In the Gaza Strip, widespread starvation is almost inevitable if immediate action is not taken. Next week, it may be officially declared that famine has struck the 2.3 million-person coastal enclave U.S. Air Force members work on the preparation of a humanitarian aid drop for Gaza residents, in this picture released on March 5, 2024. US Central Command via X/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo More than 1,000 American troops may be involved in U.S. President Joe Bidens proposal to establish a floating military port in order to expedite aid to Gaza, the Pentagon announced on Friday. The project could take up to 60 days to complete. A day after Biden announced the initiative in his State of the Union speech, the Pentagon made the timeline available in an effort to allay Democratic Party ire over his steadfast support of Israels offensive in Gaza since October 7. Advertisement In the Gaza Strip, widespread starvation is almost inevitable if immediate action is not taken, according to the UN. Next week, it may be officially declared that famine has struck the 2.3 million-person coastal enclave. The U.N. has said that once famine is declared, it is too late to help many people. Children in Gaza cannot wait to eat. They are already dying from malnutrition and saving their lives is a matter of hours or days - not weeks, said Jason Lee at Save the Children. Some U.S. lawmakers and aid organizations said the floating pier system masked the bigger issue: the failure to get Israels government to allow more aid to enter Gaza by land, which is the fastest, most efficient option. Advertisement This is not a logistics problem; it is a political problem, said Avril Benoit, executive director for Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) in the United States. Rather than look to the US military to build a work-around, the US should insist on immediate humanitarian access using the roads and entry points that already exist. Advertisement Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder, the Pentagons chief spokesperson, described the planning for the port system as still in its early stages, with deployment orders just starting to go out to those troops who will head to the Middle East. The Pentagon said it had also not yet determined exactly how the landing site for the floating port system would be secured against any threats and said it was in discussions with partners including Israel. Advertisement Asked whether the Pentagon anticipated the port system would be targeted by Palestinian militant group Hamas, which the U.S. calls a terrorist organization, Ryder said: Thats certainly a risk. But if Hamas truly does care about the Palestinian people, then, again, one would hope that this international mission to deliver aid to people who need it would be able to happen unhindered, Ryder said. Advertisement Still, in a sign that security was a concern, Ryder said no U.S. troops would enter Gaza, even temporarily, to complete port construction. The U.S. port system being envisioned for Gaza involves two separate components, the first being construction of a floating, offshore barge that would be able to accept aid deliveries. The U.S. military would then move aid from there to a floating, 1,800 foot-long (550 meter) causeway anchored to the shore. Once operational, the port system would allow delivery about 2 million meals to Gazans daily, Ryder said. By comparison, the U.S. military has delivered a total of about 124,000 meals during four airdrops in the past week. The latest airdrop on Friday delivered about 11,500 meals, the U.S. military said. Asked about social media reports on Thursday that some airdropped U.S. aid had killed people as it landed, Ryder said the U.S. was confident no U.S. airdropped aid resulted in casualties. He noted that reports of fatalities on Thursday emerged five minutes before Thursdays airdrop occurred. While many of Bidens Democratic allies applaud the aid push, some Republican lawmakers criticized it. Building a port in Gaza is building a port for Hamas, Republican Senator Marco Rubio wrote on X. U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths on Friday described the United Nations role in the U.S. plan as limited at present. He said he was contacted by the U.S. mission to the U.N. on Thursday to say Washington would work with the U.N. and that U.N. officials in the region had on Friday been speaking with the United States, including the U.S. militarys Central Command. Its the beginning of a conversation its going to be hard to get this to work quickly, Griffiths told reporters on Friday. But we need help from wherever we can get it. What we need for Gaza is of course an immediate ceasefire, but we also need land routes. Land access is our primary one, thats where you get scale, Griffiths said. With inputs from Reuters Under a mutually agreed deal, both parties have decided that the outgoing governments head will remain in office until the new general elections and the prime ministers cabinet will be dissolved after completing its term, while the premier will continue to serve After months of turmoil under the central leadership, the newly formed Pakistan government run by an alliance between PML-N and PPP has reached an agreement to abolish the caretaker system and reform the politically volatile countrys electoral system. According to The Express Tribune, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party have eliminated the need for a caretaker government. Advertisement Under a mutually agreed deal, both parties have decided that the outgoing governments head will remain in office until the new general elections and the prime ministers cabinet will be dissolved after completing its term, while the premier will continue to serve. Pakistan recently concluded its election process by getting new heads of state. Shehbaz Sharif is the new prime minister while Asif Ali Zardari will be the new president. The coalition government has also endorsed drafting a new legislation to make the electoral process simple and easy. The PML-N-led alliance is also aiming for major constitutional amendments, which will include abolishing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). A PML-N leader said that abolishing the NAB and changing the wording of Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution back to the original were included in the partys manifesto as well. Advertisement As socio-economic problems await the newly formed Pakistani government, PM Sharif has urged unity among the ruling coalition. He said that the country is facing major challenges, which could only be overcome through the collective efforts of all political forces and stakeholders. With inputs from PTI The recent violent protests have also raised concerns for a country that used to be seen as a beacon of democratic stability in West Africa, a region plagued by coups and insecurity. Senegals presidential candidates officially launched their election campaigns on Saturday, marking the beginning of a critical period following weeks of turbulent protests across the African nation prompted by the postponement of the vote. With 19 approved candidates competing for the top position, the shorter campaign period intensifies the race leading up to the March 24 election. This election is expected to be the most fiercely contested in Senegals history since gaining independence over six decades ago. Advertisement The recent outbreaks of violence during the protests have also sparked concerns regarding Senegals status as a longstanding symbol of democratic stability within West Africa. This region has historically grappled with coups and instability, making Senegals political landscape a focal point for regional stability and democratic progress. President Macky Sall, who is prevented from running because of term limits, postponed the election last month, just weeks before it was to take place on Feb. 25. His announcement that the vote would instead be held 10 months from now plunged Senegal into chaos as opposition protests filled the streets. Senegals highest election authority, the Constitutional Council, rejected Salls postponement and ordered the government to set a new date as soon as possible. Government spokesman Abdou Karim Fofana earlier this week announced the new date. Aliou Tine, the founder of the Senegalese think tank Afrikajom Center, said that because of the delay, the candidates with the most financial resources will likely benefit from this shorter window. Advertisement Its going to be a hard-fought battle, said Tine, adding that there is no clear favourite. Most of the campaign ahead and the vote itself will take place during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when the pious fast from dawn till dusk. Ramadan is expected to begin at sundown on Sunday, depending on the sighting of the moon. Senegal has majority Muslim population. Advertisement The front-runners will likely be former Prime Minister Amadou Ba as the ruling partys choice, and imprisoned Bassirou Diomaye Faye, a lesser known candidate who gained popularity as the chief of the dissolved PASTEF party. Diomaye Faye has been behind bars for nearly a year but is due to be released in time for elections after the president passed a decree to exonerate political prisoners. Advertisement He has stepped in for opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, also in prison and who has been barred from running. In June, Sonko was charged with corrupting youth and sentenced to two years in prison. Among the other candidates is a former mayor of Dakar, Khalifa Sall, who is running for the fourth time and another former prime minister, Idrissa Seck. Advertisement The only woman candidate is Anta Babacar Ngom, the head of Sedima, one of the countrys biggest food companies. With inputs from AP. Since January the United States and Britain have also launched repeated strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the ship attacks, but the rebels have continued to attack merchant vessels and have also targeted American and British ships. United States Navy vessels and aircraft successfully intercepted and destroyed 15 drones launched by Yemens Iran-aligned Houthis in the Red Sea region. This was one of the largest assaults orchestrated by the Houthis since they initiated a campaign of drone and missile strikes against ships in the Red Sea area back in November. Advertisement The US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said the large-scale Houthi attack occurred before dawn in the Red Sea and adjacent Gulf of Aden. CENTCOM and coalition forces determined that the drones presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels, US Navy and coalition ships in the region. It added, in a post on social media platform X, that US Navy vessels and aircraft along with multiple coalition navy ships and aircraft shot down 15 of the drones. These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure. US and Coalition Defeat Houthi Attack in Red Sea Area Between 4 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists conducted a large-scale uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) attack into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. CENTCOM and coalition forces identified the one-way pic.twitter.com/PJag5PYUfZ U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 9, 2024 Advertisement On January 9, US and British forces shot down 18 drones and three missiles fired by the rebels toward ships in the Red Sea, the US military said at the time. Britain said it was the largest attack to that point by the Houthis. The United States in December announced a maritime security initiative to protect Red Sea shipping from Houthi attacks, which have forced commercial vessels to divert from the route that normally carries 12 per cent of global trade. Advertisement Since January the United States and Britain have also launched repeated strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the ship attacks, but the rebels have continued to attack merchant vessels and have also targeted American and British ships. With inputs from agencies. Trump faced a March 11 deadline to obtain the bond or set aside cash for the judgment after the trial judge, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, refused his bid for a reprieve. Kaplan on Friday gave Carroll and her lawyers until March 11 to register any objections to the bond. Donald Trump posted a $91.6 million bond to cover the defamation verdict awarded in favour of writer E. Jean Carroll. The case stemmed from Trumps branding of Carroll as a liar after she accused him of raping her decades ago. The bond, provided by Federal Insurance Co, a subsidiary of the insurer Chubb, is intended to cover Carrolls $83.3 million judgment if Trump loses his appeal of the January 26 verdict and chooses not to pay. By posting the bond, Trump ensures that Carroll, who is 80 years old, will not collect on the judgment during the appeals process, which could extend over several years. Advertisement Trump faced a March 11 deadline to obtain the bond or set aside cash for the judgment after the trial judge, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, refused his bid for a reprieve. Kaplan on Friday gave Carroll and her lawyers until March 11 to register any objections to the bond. The appeal stemmed from a Manhattan jurys conclusion that Trump had defamed Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, in June 2019 by denying that he raped her in the mid-1990s in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in Manhattan. Trump previously argued he shouldnt have to post any security because Carroll was sufficiently protected, but Carroll said this boiled down to Trump saying trust me. Lawyers for Trump and Carroll did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trump is the Republican candidate for this Novembers presidential election and faces an expected rematch against Democratic incumbent Joe Biden, who beat him in 2020. Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trumps presidential campaign, said Trump posted the bond even though the judgment was baseless and part of a Democratic-backed witch hunt. Advertisement LIQUID ASSETS It wasnt clear what assets Trump was forced to pledge to secure the bond. Neil Pedersen, who owns Pedersen & Sons Surety Bond Agency in New York and is not involved in the case, said Trump almost certainly put up liquid assets as collateral. The uncertainty of whether Trump will be elected in 2024 is reason enough to require liquid collateral to secure the bond because no surety has had to enforce an indemnification agreement against a president, he said. Advertisement Trumps bond reflects the trial courts usual practice that bonds equal 110% of judgments. It resolves for now one issue arising from his legal travails, though he still faces a financial squeeze. Trump still has to post sufficient security for his expected appeal of last months $454.2 million verdict in a civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. His lawyers have offered to post a $100 million bond and called it impossible to post a bond for the full amount, which James is seeking. Advertisement Trump also faces four criminal indictments. These include charges he falsified business records to conceal hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election that gave him the presidency. A trial is scheduled for March 25. WANTED TO DEFEND MYSELF In Carrolls case, jurors awarded her $18.3 million of compensatory damages, including $7.3 million for emotional harm and $11 million for harm to her reputation. They also awarded her $65 million of punitive damages. Advertisement Trump has said he shouldnt owe anything, and alternatively that both sums should be reduced substantially. In seeking a new trial, lawyers for Trump said the verdict was tainted by Kaplans decision to strike Trumps testimony about his state of mind when he disparaged Carroll. According to the lawyers, Trumps statement that I just wanted to defend myself, my family, and, frankly, the presidency was relevant to whether he had acted maliciously, and that excluding it all but assured a big punitive damages award. The lawyers also said Kaplan erred in instructing jurors about the burden of proof needed to show malice. Last May, a different jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $5 million over a similar October 2022 denial, finding he had defamed and sexually abused her. Trump is appealing that decision and set aside $5.55 million with the Manhattan court for that process. With inputs from agencies. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency charges at least $320 for temporary permits that hold a spot for moving vans to park legally. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle 2018 My first run-in with San Franciscos infamous bureaucracy happened before I even arrived here. About a week before my move from Sacramento to San Francisco, I realized that I might need a temporary permit to park and unload my moving van in front of my new building. I assumed, naively, that this would be a relatively easy and inexpensive process. I was wrong. Advertisement Article continues below this ad After Googling around for a bit, I ended up on the Temporary Signage page of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agencys website. This appeared to be the right location it outlined the process for reserving parking spaces for commercial and residential moves, corporate events, funerals and other similar needs. But the page itself was a confusing tangle of charts, caveats and costs, and I had a difficult time deciphering which permit I was supposed to apply for, let alone how much time was needed to process the application. I had the choice of applying for permits for events filed 14 days before an event approved by ISCOTT, permits for events filed 13 days or fewer before an event approved by ISCOTT or temporary 311 signs (up to 3 days). (When I called 311 to ask what ISCOTT was, the operator responded that he had no idea. I later learned that it stands for the Interdepartmental Staff Committee on Traffic and Transportation and approves street closures for large events.) The website also noted that I should allow a minimum processing time of five business days between the date of application and the date of enforcement. If my application were approved, signs alerting the public would need to be posted at least 72 hours in advance for unmetered spots and at least 24 hours in advance for metered spots. I wasnt sure which permit timeline applied to me, but one thing was clear: It was too late for me to meet any of the application deadlines. Advertisement Article continues below this ad It was also wildly expensive. The cheapest permit listed was for a temporary 311 sign, which was $320. But, the site cheerfully noted, if you were reserving a metered parking space, you would also have to pay an additional $16 per meter per day. I stared at the webpage in disbelief. How was it possible that a temporary parking permit could cost nearly four times more than it did to rent a moving van? And why would San Francisco, which is desperately trying to lure back residents amid a post-pandemic exodus, charge newcomers such an exorbitant sum just to park their moving truck? The policy stands in stark contrast to recent efforts to lower costs for renters, including a law authored by Assembly Member Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, to cap the size of apartment security deposits. I didnt have five business days to spare for the city to process my parking permit application, but even if I did, the $350-plus in fees was out of the question. So, I did what I now see any number of other movers do: double-park. Advertisement Article continues below this ad This was, of course, far from an ideal solution. Not only does it create less safe street conditions, but it also clogs traffic, irritates drivers and forces you to constantly be on the lookout for a parking enforcement officer who might ticket or tow your car. But the city had effectively left me with no choice. I had wanted to do the right thing and get a parking permit, but the lengthy application process, confusing guidelines and prohibitively steep cost made that next to impossible. This lack of credibility can also make it difficult to take San Franciscos rules seriously. How could the transportation agency, with a straight face, charge me $350 to park my moving van for a few hours when it spent years ticketing stolen cars and leaving victims with the bill? A San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency official told me the temporary parking permit price merely allows the agency to recoup program costs, including labor, materials and enforcement. Advertisement Article continues below this ad But even a few small improvements could help bring costs down and improve efficiency. The official noted that workers have to wade through piles of invalid or incomplete permit applications and go back and forth with confused customers. This is a waste of time and resources that could easily be addressed by clarifying key details and instructions on the website. That would also help cut down on the lengthy processing time. Although the state sets certain time restrictions the 72-hour notice to reserve an unmetered parking spot, for example, is in the California Vehicle Code San Francisco could streamline things within its control. There are a couple of things that could be updated, the official acknowledged. Whether the transit agency will actually slash fees, however, is another matter. Its facing a projected $12.7 million budget deficit over the next two years while the city stares down a nearly $800 million shortfall. But by charging such high rates, the agency may ironically be collecting less money than it would at a lower price point. Given the choice between paying $320 and double-parking, many people are going to double-park. But that calculation would likely shift dramatically if permits were priced far lower. Advertisement Article continues below this ad At a meeting of the 168 RNC members in Houston, Michael Whatley, the head of the Republican Party in North Carolina, and Trumps daughter-in-law Lara Trump were elected, respectively, by voice vote, as RNC chair and co-chair Former US President Donald Trump with his choice to lead the Republican National Committee, Michael Whatley. AFP Donald Trumps allies, including his daughter-in-law, were elected to top leadership positions by the Republican National Committee Friday, strengthening the former presidents hold on the party before the November election. 77-year-old Trump, presumed Republican presidential nominee, announced a group of carefully chosen candidates last month to lead the Republican National Committee (RNC), which distributes electoral funds and raises money for Republican candidates. Advertisement At a meeting of the 168 RNC members in Houston, Michael Whatley, the head of the Republican Party in North Carolina, and Trumps daughter-in-law Lara Trump were elected, respectively, by voice vote, as RNC chair and co-chair. There was no opposition for either. The RNC is going to be the vanguard of a movement that will work tirelessly every single day to elect our nominee Donald J. Trump as the 47th president of the United States, Whatley said in his acceptance speech. We will work relentlessly in every state to ensure that it is easy to vote and hard to cheat. Lara Trump, who is married to the former presidents middle son Eric, said the party has one goal on election day. The goal on November 5 is to win, as my father-in-law says, bigly, she said. This isnt just about right versus left, Republican versus Democrat. Its about good versus evil. Advertisement The former president endorsed another ally, campaign strategist Chris LaCivita, to be the chief operating officer of the RNC. This group of three is highly talented, battle-tested, and smart, Trump said in a statement. He described his daughter-in-law as an extremely talented communicator who is dedicated to all that MAGA stands for, a reference to his Make America Great Again slogan. Advertisement - Focus on defeating Biden - In addition to ensuring that party funds are allocated to her father-in-laws presidential campaign, Lara Trump has also argued that paying his legal bills is of big interest to Republican voters. Trump has been faced with mounting legal bills from the various criminal and civil cases filed against him and has been drawing on funds to pay them from donations to his Save America political action committee. Advertisement In selecting Whatley, Trump said he is committed to election integrity, which we must have to keep fraud out of our election so it cant be stolen. Whatley, who has been serving as RNC general counsel, has publicly backed Trumps false claims that there was massive fraud in the 2020 presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden, Trumps likely opponent in November. Advertisement Amy Carnevale, chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party, told AFP the election of the new RNC leadership marks the shift from the primary campaign to the general election. Starting today, the focus of the Republican National Committee and the Republican Party more generally will really be on defeating Joe Biden, Carnevale said. Whatley replaces Ronna McDaniel as RNC chief. McDaniel, a niece of Utah Senator Mitt Romney, was chosen by Trump to head the body in 2016, but their relationship soured following a string of Republican election losses and poor fundraising numbers. Lara Trump, a 41-year-old former television producer, married Eric Trump in 2014 and was an active participant in her father-in-laws 2016 and 2020 White House campaigns. She has also displayed political aspirations of her own. She briefly considered running for a US Senate seat in her home state of North Carolina in 2021 before deciding against it. Trump surrounded himself with family members at his Trump Organization real estate business and also named relatives to prominent positions in the White House. His daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner served as senior advisors during his presidency. With inputs from AFP Turkey and Israel had normalized ties in 2022 by reappointing ambassadors following years of tensions. But those ties quickly deteriorated after the Israel-Hamas war, with Ankara becoming one of the strongest critics of Israels military actions in Gaza. In the latest in a wave of such arrests, Turkeys intelligence agency (MIT) said that authorities have arrested six people and charged them with spying for Israels Mossad intelligence service. On Tuesday this week, Turkish police detained seven more people suspected of selling information to the Israeli spy agency Mossad. Last month, seven other people, including private detectives, were arrested on similar suspicions. And in early January, 34 people were also detained by Turkish police on suspicion of spying for Israel. Advertisement Turkish and Israeli leaders have traded public barbs since Israels war with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas began last October. Turkey has warned Israel of serious consequences if it tries to hunt down Hamas members living outside the Palestinian territories, including in Turkey. The suspects arrested in January have been accused of planning to carry out activities that included reconnaissance and pursuing, assaulting and kidnapping foreign nationals living in Turkey. At the time, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said most of the suspects were charged with committing political or military espionage on behalf of Israeli intelligence. Turkey and Israel had normalized ties in 2022 by reappointing ambassadors following years of tensions. But those ties quickly deteriorated after the Israel-Hamas war, with Ankara becoming one of the strongest critics of Israels military actions in Gaza. Advertisement In December, the head of Israels Shin Bet security agency said that his organization was prepared to target the militant Hamas group anywhere, including in Lebanon, Turkey and Qatar. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Israel of serious consequences if Israel pressed ahead with its threat to attack Hamas officials on Turkish soil. Advertisement With inputs from agencies. Turkey has always condemned the civilian deaths caused by Hamass Oct. 7 rampage in Israel but has also urged Israeli forces to act with restraint in their response. Ankara has strongly criticised Israels bombardment of Gaza Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reiterated his support for Hamas, refusing to call the group a terrorist organisation. No one can make us qualify Hamas as a terrorist organisation, he said in a speech in Istanbul on Saturday. Turkey is a country that speaks openly with Hamas leaders and firmly backs them. Advertisement Erdogan has advocated the Palestinian cause ever since Hamas launched its offensive against Israel, forcing the country to retaliate in the form of a deadly counteroffensive. Netanyahu and his administration, with their crimes against humanity in Gaza, are writing their names next to Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin, like todays Nazis, he added. In October 2023, days after the war between Israel and Hamas began, Erdogan said that Hamas was not a terrorist organisation but a liberation group fighting to protect Palestinian lands. NATO member Turkey condemned the civilian deaths caused by Hamass Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel but also urged Israeli forces to act with restraint in their response. Ankara has strongly criticised Israels bombardment of Gaza. Advertisement Netanyahu and his administration, with their crimes against humanity in Gaza, are writing their names next to Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin, like todays Nazis, Erdogan says in a speech in Istanbul. Erdogan has been one of the most virulent critics of Israel since the start of the war in Gaza, which began after an October 7 assault by Hamas on Israel that killed some 1,200 people and saw another 253 taken hostage. Advertisement Erdogan has previously called Israel a terrorist state and accused it of conducting a genocide in Gaza. Unlike many of its NATO allies and the European Union, Turkey does not consider Hamas a terrorist organisation and hosts members of the group on its territory. Ankara backs a two-state solution to the decades-old Israel-Palestinian conflict. Advertisement With inputs from agecies Criminal groups, which already control much of the capital as well as roads leading to the rest of the country, have attacked key infrastructure in recent days, including two prisons, allowing the majority of their 3,800 inmates to escape The UN issued a warning Friday, stating that as humanitarian conditions in the countrys capital, Port-au-Prince, continued to worsen, up to 3,000 pregnant women in Haiti risk losing access to vital medical care. Last week, gang violence gripped the long-struggling Caribbean country, prompting alerts from relief organizations about a scarcity of medical resources and personnel. Advertisement If greater Port-au-Prince remains at a standstill in the coming weeks, almost 3,000 pregnant women could be denied access to essential health care, and almost 450 could face life-threatening obstetric complications if they do not receive medical assistance, the United Nations office in Haiti said in a statement on Friday. The Haiti crisis has drawn concern from the US which has told the countrys absent Prime Minister Ariel Henry to enact urgent political reform to prevent further escalation. Criminal groups, which already control much of the capital as well as roads leading to the rest of the country, have attacked key infrastructure in recent days, including two prisons, allowing the majority of their 3,800 inmates to escape. The gangs, along with some ordinary Haitians, are seeking the resignation of Henry, who was due to leave office in February but instead agreed to a power-sharing deal with the opposition until new elections are held. Advertisement Henry was in Kenya when the violence broke out and has since been unable to return to Haiti, reportedly stranded instead in Puerto Rico. On Thursday, Haitis government issued a month-long state of emergency for the western region, which includes the capital, and decreed a nighttime curfew until Monday. Haitis airport remained closed Friday, while the main port a key source for food imports cited instances of looting since it suspended services on Thursday, despite efforts to set up a security perimeter. Advertisement If we cannot access those containers (full of food), Haiti will go hungry soon, the NGO Mercy Corps warned in a statement. In a press release Friday, the UN also warned that more than 500 sexual violence survivors could be without medical care by the end of March if conditions do not improve. Advertisement Today, too many women and girls in Haiti are victims of indiscriminate violence committed by armed gangs. The United Nations stands by them and is committed to continuing to provide the assistance they need, said the UNs Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Ulrika Richardson. Fighting to stop violence against women in Haiti and investing in them is indispensable for ensuring a just, prosperous and peaceful society. Advertisement With inputs from AFP The renewed aid, according to the Israeli statement, showed that Canada and Sweden had chosen to ignore the involvement of UNRWA employees in terrorist activity' Reiterating its claim that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is involved in terrorist activity, Israel on Saturday slammed Canada and Sweden for resuming aid to the agency. The Israeli foreign minister in a statement said that supporting UNRWA is a serious mistake. Notably, it is one of the only agencies that has been working to provide humanitarian assistance in the war-torn Gaza Strip. Advertisement The Canadian and Swedish governments announced over the weekend they were resuming funding for the cash-strapped UN agency, weeks after suspending it over Israeli accusations that several UNRWA employees were involved in the Hamas attack that triggered the ongoing war. The foreign ministry called on both governments to cut funding and not support an organisation whose ranks include hundreds of members of the Hamas terrorist organisation. The renewed aid, according to the Israeli statement, showed that Canada and Sweden had chosen to ignore the involvement of UNRWA employees in terrorist activity. On Saturday Sweden announced an initial disbursement of $20 million, after receiving assurances of extra checks on UNRWAs spending and personnel. Similarly, Canada said on Friday it would resume funding to UNRWA because of the dire humanitarian situation on the ground. Advertisement In January, about 15 countries, including the US, UK, Germany and Japan suspended funding to UNRWA following Israels accusations. UNRWA employs around 30,000 people in the occupied Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, with about 13,000 staff in Gaza. While Israel has accused about a dozen UNRWA employees of taking part in the Hamas attack, the agency has said some of its Gaza staff detained by Israeli authorities during the war recounted abuse in custody. Advertisement The European Commission earlier this month said it would release 50 million euros ($55 million) in UNRWA funding. With inputs from AFP The US Senate passed legislation providing $7.1 billion in funding for the Compacts of Free Association (Cofa) over 20 years. Cofa allows the US exclusive military access to Palau, the Marshall Islands and the Federated Republic of Micronesia in exchange for economic support to these regions The US Congress has passed landmark legislation to fund agreements with Pacific Island nations, sighing relief to the Indo-Pacific after delays increased Chinas efforts to dominate the region. On Friday, the US Senate passed legislation providing $7.1 billion in funding for the Compacts of Free Association (Cofa) over 20 years. Cofa allows the US exclusive military access to Palau, the Marshall Islands and the Federated Republic of Micronesia in exchange for economic support to these regions. Advertisement The funding is part of a $460 billion spending package passed by the Senate to avoid a government shutdown. How will the funding help US? The three island nations, with a combined span of 4,000 km across the Pacific, will help the US gain critical access to operate in the Indo-Pacific region and help solve the tyranny of distance, as the Pentagon calls it. The island nations provide a vital base to station missiles and early warning radars as well as can act as a site to test intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM). Our network of partners and allies including these three island nations in the Pacific are among our countys greatest comparative strengths relative to the dictatorships in Beijing, Moscow, and Tehran, Senator Dan Sullivan told Financial Times. Advertisement The investment serves our mutual interests in pushing back on the Chinese Communist partys aggressive regional designs, he added. Before the funding was processed, leaders from the three island nations had warned that a delay in passing legislation would create undesirable opportunities for economic exploitation by competitive political actors in the Pacific. US warns Pacific Island nations against ties with China Advertisement Last month, US cautioned Pacific Islands nations against assistance from Chinese security forces after Reuters reported that Chinese police are working in the remote atoll nation of Kiribati, a neighbor of Hawaii. Kiribatis acting police commissioner Eeri Aritiera told Reuters last week uniformed Chinese officers were working with police in community policing and a crime database program. Advertisement Kiribati is a nation of 115,000 people whose closest island is 2,160 km (1,340 miles) south of Honolulu, and the news comes as Beijing renews a push to expand security ties in the Pacific Islands in an intensifying rivalry with the United States. We are concerned about the potential implications security agreements and security-related cyber cooperation with the PRC may have for any Pacific Island nations autonomy, a US State Department spokesperson said. With inputs from Reuters The measure, which contains six annual spending bills, has already passed the House and would go to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. Meanwhile, lawmakers are negotiating a second package of six bills In order to avoid the closure of numerous important federal agencies, the Senate is working hard to approve a package of spending bills totaling USD 460 billion by midnight. If successful, this vote would bring lawmakers roughly halfway through their work on appropriations for the 2024 budget year. Although the measure is anticipated to be approved by the Senate, the bills passage toward a final vote was sluggish. Sen. John Cornyn expressed concerns about the bills excessive spending, but it is unclear if senators will be able to prevent a brief government shutdown into the weekend. The package passed a crucial test vote on Friday afternoon to limit debate. Advertisement I would urge my colleagues to stop playing with fire here, said Sen. Susan Collins, the top-ranking Republican member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. It would be irresponsible for us not to clear these bills and do the fundamental job that we have of funding government. What is more important? The measure, which contains six annual spending bills, has already passed the House and would go to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. Meanwhile, lawmakers are negotiating a second package of six bills, including defence, in an effort to have all federal agencies fully funded before a March 22 deadline. In the end, total discretionary spending set by Congress is expected to come in at about USD 1.66 trillion for the full budget year ending September 30. The votes this week come more than five months into the current fiscal year after congressional leaders relied on a series of stopgap bills to keep federal agencies funded for a few more weeks or months at a time while they struggled to reach agreement on full-year spending. Advertisement Republicans were able to keep non-defence spending relatively flat compared to the previous year. Supporters say thats progress in an era when annual federal deficits exceeding USD 1 trillion have become the norm. But many Republican lawmakers were seeking much steeper cuts and more policy victories. The House Freedom Caucus, which contains dozens of the GOPs most conservative members, urged Republicans to vote against the first spending package and the second one still being negotiated. Advertisement Democrats staved off most of the policy riders that Republicans sought to include in the package. For example, they beat back an effort to block new rules that expand access to the abortion pill mifepristone. They were also able to fully fund a nutrition program for low-income women, infants and children, providing about USD 7 billion for what is known as the WIC program. Thats a USD 1 billion increase from the previous year. Advertisement Republicans were able to achieve some policy wins, however. One provision, for example, will prevent the sale of oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China. Another policy mandate prohibits the Justice Department from investigating parents who exercise free speech at local school board meetings. Another provision strengthens gun rights for certain veterans, though opponents of the move said it could make it easier for those with very serious mental health conditions like dementia to obtain a firearm. Advertisement This isnt the package I would have written on my own," said Sen. Patty Murray, the Democratic chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. But I am proud that we have protected absolutely vital funding that the American people rely on in their daily lives. Even though lawmakers find themselves taking up spending bills five months into the fiscal year, Republicans are framing the process as improved nonetheless because they broke the cycle of passing all the spending bills in one massive package that lawmakers have little time to study before being asked to vote on it or risk a government shutdown. Still, others said that breaking up funding into two chunks of legislation war hardly a breakthrough. The first package now making its way to Bidens desk covers the departments of Justice, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Interior and Transportation, among others. With inputs from The Associated Press An armed California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officer escorts a condemned inmate at San Quentin State Prisons Death Row in 2016. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images 2016 After declaring Californias first-ever moratorium on executions in 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom is due to leave office in January 2027. But his shutdown of the states death chamber is likely to continue after his departure. All four of the declared Democratic candidates for governor Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, state school Superintendent Tony Thurmond, former state Controller Betty Yee and state Sen. Toni Atkins say they oppose the death penalty and will not approve any executions if elected. Thats also the position of Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is expected to enter the race. No Republicans have announced their candidacy for governor in 2026, but any entrant would be a long shot in the heavily Democratic state. State Sen. Brian Dahle, R-Bieber (Lassen County), a death penalty supporter who ran against Newsom in 2022 and received 40.8% of the vote, said the candidates current positions are typical of Newsom and other Democrat governor candidates who think they know better than the voters. Advertisement Article continues below this ad He was referring, in part, to ballot measures to repeal the death penalty, rejected by 52% of Californias voters in 2012 and by 53% in 2016. While 23 states and the District of Columbia have abolished capital punishment, nearly all of the actions have been by state lawmakers or courts rather than the voters. Voters in two states Arizona in 1916 and Oregon in 1964 repealed their death penalty laws, but reinstated them in later elections. However, in Michigan, where the death penalty had been abolished in 1846, legislation to reinstate it was rejected by the states voters in 1931. A state convention in 1963 added the ban to Michigans Constitution. And some of the Democratic hopefuls in California are prepared to try again. As governor, I would continue Gov. Newsoms moratorium on executions and support a ballot measure to abolish the death penalty in California, said Yee, who was elected twice as controller, the states chief financial officer, and finished her second term in 2023. Advertisement Article continues below this ad I also would seek to grant clemency for condemned prisoners and to commute their sentences to life in prison, she said. That is a step Newsom has not taken for any of the 650 Death Row inmates, who would face possible execution if they lost their judicial appeals and a future governor lifted the moratorium. For any inmate who has been convicted of felonies in two separate cases, clemency would require approval from a majority of the state Supreme Court. Bontas office noted that, as a state Assembly member from Alameda, he had supported a proposed ballot measure to repeal the death penalty. It failed to win legislative passage. The Attorney General personally believes that the death penalty is deeply flawed and immoral and that its wrong for California, Bontas office said. The Attorney General applauds the Governor for his moratorium on executions but there is more work to be done. Thurmond, serving his second term as state superintendent of public instruction, said in a statement that Newsom was absolutely right to put a moratorium on the death penalty, and Ill continue that policy as governor. He also said he would invest in proven methods of preventing crime and securing justice for victims. Atkins, D-San Diego, stood alongside Newsom when he announced his moratorium in 2019, and said she would oppose the death penalty even for the person who had killed her older brother a decade earlier. Advertisement Article continues below this ad This is an important first step in what will certainly be a long process, but it is the right thing to do, Atkins said. I stand ready to work with the governor to put an end to the death penalty in California, once and for all. Kounalakis, who also took office in 2019, told the Chronicle she would continue Newsoms policy if elected governor. The death penalty is immoral, costly for taxpayers, and evidence shows that the death penalty does not deter crime, she said. My hope is that within the next decade, California follows other states in abolishing the death penalty once and for all. The candidates positions are unfortunate but not surprising, said Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the Criminal Justice Legal Center and a supporter of the death penalty. But California criminal justice is such a train wreck right now that the death penalty is relatively less of a priority than it was years ago. Scheidegger was the author of Proposition 66, a ballot measure approved by the voters in 2016 that sought to place a five-year time limit on state courts review of death penalty appeals. The state Supreme Court rejected that timetable in 2017. But Ronald George, the courts chief justice from 1996 to 2011, said he believes the governor lacks legal authority to refuse to carry out death sentences that were imposed under state law. He said it raises the same issue that the court faced in 2004 after Newsom, then mayor of San Francisco, allowed same-sex couples in the city to marry, despite a state law defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The court overruled Newsom and nullified the 3,955 marriages conducted under his order in an opinion by George, who said the mayor had defied the rule of law. Nearly four years later, George wrote the courts 4-3 ruling that declared Californias ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, a decision that was overturned by the voters in November 2008 but effectively reinstated by federal courts in 2013. In the current circumstances, George told the Chronicle, following the rule of law would involve enforcing the death penalty, regardless of whether a governors opposition to the law is based on policy or, instead, on his or her view that the death penalty is unconstitutional. Gov. Gavin Newsom announces plans last March to end San Quentin State Prisons Death Row and convert the prison into a rehabilitation and education center. Juliana Yamada/The Chronicle 2023 Courts have not ruled on the issue. District attorneys in three California counties sought to intervene and argue for a resumption of executions after Newsom leaves office but were turned down by a federal appeals court in 2021. Scheidegger, despite his support of capital punishment, said the California Constitution has no checks on the reprieve power of the governor and probably would not prevent him from halting executions. Advertisement Article continues below this ad That was the authority Newsom cited in his 2019 order, which granted a reprieve for all persons sentenced to death in California. And a death penalty opponent, Natasha Minsker, said courts in Oregon and Pennsylvania have upheld their governors power to block executions under state constitutions similar to Californias. The power of the executive to grant a reprieve is unique, said Minsker, a policy adviser for the advocacy group Smart Justice California. A different question arises in the political arena: Why would candidates, in what is likely to be a close race for the states highest office, take public positions that differ from those expressed by a majority of Californias voters in 2012 and 2016? Perhaps because they will be competing for support from the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. Or possibly because they sense the climate is changing. That may have been signaled by the unsuccessful attempt to recall Newsom in 2021, in which his opponents sought to use the moratorium on executions as a reason for his removal. I expect the moratorium to continue and that ultimately an abolition vote will win, said Robert Weisberg, a criminal law professor at Stanford and co-director of the law schools Criminal Justice Center. The temper of the times in Blue State California manifests no great public desire for continuing the death penalty. Death Penalty Focus, a San Francisco-based advocacy group that opposes capital punishment, is making no such predictions. The organization is certainly not taking the likelihood that the moratorium on executions will continue after 2026 for granted, the groups president, Mike Farrell, former star of the MASH television show, said in a statement. If 2016 taught us anything, its that we cant count on likely candidates winning, he said, referring to Donald Trumps presidential victory. Thats why we, in concert with other abolition organizations in California, feel its imperative for Gov. Newsom to begin the process of granting clemency to eligible people on death row now. Motorola is set to launch its next flagship smartphone, the motorola edge 50 Pro, which may adopt the name Edge+ (2024) upon its release in the US. Now, new renders of the upcoming flagship, showcasing it from various angles, have been shared by Android Headlines. The design of the edge 50 Pro appears to be a refined version of its predecessor, with slight updates such as the back curving around the edges of the camera module. It will be available in black, purple, and silver colors, with the silver variant featuring faux leather texture on the back. The phone will sport a triple camera setup, including a 50MP main sensor (f/1.4 aperture), an ultrawide-angle camera, and a telephoto camera with 6x zoom. Reports suggest that the camera system will incorporate laser autofocus and optical image stabilization. Other expected specifications include a 6.7-inch display with a refresh rate of 165Hz, powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and 12GB of RAM. The device will be equipped with a 4,500 mAh battery, supporting 125W wired charging and 50W wireless charging. Initially, the motorola edge 50 Pro may launch in China under the name motorola X50 Ultra, with hints of AI-powered features. Although an official launch date is yet to be confirmed, leaks suggest a possible introduction in the first week of April. Further details may emerge as the launch date approaches, leading up to Motorolas official announcement. Source Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price listens to a speaker during a town hall meeting at Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church in August in Oakland. Price has faced criticism from her opponents since her surprise election on a reformist platform in November and currently faces an attempt to recall her from office, similar to the effort that recalled former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin in 2022. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, facing a possible recall election after 14 months in office, said Friday the campaign against her was being financed by billionaires who have no interest in public safety. I plan to push back against the hatred and racism that they have brought to Alameda County, Price said in an interview after taking part in a panel with other county prosecutors at UC Berkeley. The former civil rights lawyer, the countys first Black district attorney, was elected in 2022 after a campaign in which she promised to end mass incarceration, reduce sentences for defendants under the ages of 25 and crack down on police misconduct. A recall campaign began almost immediately, and last Monday its sponsors said they had submitted 123,000 signatures to county election officials, 50,000 more than the minimum needed to qualify for the ballot. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Recall supporters have raised more than $2 million, with the largest donation, $390,000, provided by Oakland resident and financier Phillip Dreyfuss of Farallon Capital. Fridays panel was moderated by former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who was recalled by the citys voters in 2022 after a campaign that similarly accused him of being soft on crime. He is now executive director of the universitys Law & Criminal Justice Center. While introducing the panel, Boudin said that as district attorney he had sought to decrease reliance on incarceration as the primary response to social problems, while seeking greater enforcement against large businesses and gun manufacturers. In the process, I made some powerful enemies, he said. One was the conservative Heritage Foundation, which co-sponsored the panel along with the UC Berkeley School of Law. Participants in the session included Charles Stimson, a Heritage Foundation lawyer and co-author of a book called Rogue Prosecutors, attacking district attorneys such as Larry Krasner of Philadelphia and Boudin. One chapter decries the disastrous consequences of Boudins policies. It looks like an excellent work of fiction, Boudin said while introducing Stimson as a speaker. Advertisement Article continues below this ad From Chesas experience and my experience, weve become a punching bag, Price told the audience of law students. Long sentences do not reduce crime, she asserted. Crime in the county had been rising during the tenure of District Attorney Nancy OMalley, said Price who ran unsuccessfully against OMalley in 2018 but after my election, suddenly Im responsible for things many moons before. She said her sentencing policies have not led to increases in crime, and that meanwhile her office has established a mental health commission and civil rights bureau and reached settlements with businesses for improper disposal of hazardous waste. Another participant, Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton, said she had also acted to decrease our reliance on punishment since her election in 2018. She had previously been a judge for 22 years and is the countys first female and first non-white district attorney. Different views were expressed by two Southern California district attorneys, Summer Stephan of San Diego County and Michael Hestrin of Riverside County. Advertisement Article continues below this ad How did we come to a time when the only thing we talk about is the rights of the accused? What about rights of the victims? Stephan asked. You cant stop holding people accountable because there have been injustices in the past. Hestrin said legislation transferring large numbers of inmates from state prison to county jail, following a U.S. Supreme Court mandate to reduce prison overcrowding in California, had filled Riverside Countys jails and forced the sheriff to release convicted car thieves after they had served just a week of their one-year sentence. In the last 10 years, car thefts have gone through the roof in my county, said Hestin, who has been district attorney for 10 years. I want the tools to keep my county safe. Kamillah Ealom, Greenaction Bayview Hunters Point community organizer and program coordinator, looks out over the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in October as she stands at Hillpoint Park in San Francisco. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle A report released by the Navy confirmed concerns that for years have been hanging over the radiological cleanup of San Franciscos Hunters Point Shipyard: that rising seawater levels, and other environmental factors resulting from climate change, could cause toxic materials that have long been buried at the site to surface. The study, called Climate Resilience Assessment, was included in an ongoing review process that the Navy must undertake every five years to evaluate its remediation plan for the former shipyard, which has long been a designated Superfund site. The shipyard is also slated for redevelopment into a new neighborhood, with cleaning efforts by the Navy and its contractors underway for more than a decade to prepare it for reuse. The report is the first time that the Navy has studied the impacts of climate change in relation to the shipyard, which spans hundreds of acres and contains radioactive waste and other contaminants. The agency acknowledged that sea level rise is the major variable that could affect the remedies that the Navy has been using to clean the site, including capping, or covering, contaminated areas with materials such as asphalt. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Among the climate studys findings is that, by 2035, two land parcels at the shipyard are vulnerable to contaminated groundwater surfacing caused as well as storm surges, including one referred to as as D-1, where low-level radiological objects were identified in soil and may be present at depths greater than 2 feet below the ground surface. The parcel is located on the southeastern tip of the shipyard property, and juts into the sea. The climate assessment also found that five more parcels could be similarly impacted by sea level rise by 2065. The findings could result in federal regulators requiring the Navy to adjust its current remediation methods. Thats an area with potential to be concerned about, Mike Montgomery, director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys Superfund and emergency management division, said Friday about Parcel D-1, adding that the latest findings might be something that would be a subject of conversation regarding updating the Navys remediation methods. The former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, partially shown on this map, could be at risk of resurfaced toxic groundwater due to sea level rise, according to a new report. The pins on the map represent different cancer types found in residents near the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, as documented by the Hunters Point Biomonitoring Program. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle Montgomery said that sea level rise is a significant issue for the EPA, but added that the report is not alarming because the agency has been anticipating that sea level rise could be a concern, not only for hazardous waste situations, but also for the landfills that are in the bay and the transportation systems. Advertisement Article continues below this ad However, he said, We are glad to see that its being taken seriously by the Navy. For environmental and Bayview Hunters Point community advocates who have pressed the Navy to consider the impacts of climate change on the sweeping remediation effort and future redevelopment project, the reports findings come as less of a surprise. We told you, said Bradley Angel of Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice. Weve been saying this for years. Now what we really need is for the state Department of Toxic Substance Control and other regulatory agencies to follow new guidances on considering sea level and groundwater rise. Last fall, Greenaction announced its intent to sue the Navy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in federal court over the $1.2 billion cleanup. The group alleges, among other things, that the Navy has missed deadlines for the five-year review of its remediation plan; and that the discovery of strontium-90 exceeding the cleanup standard in soil samples taken from a shipyard parcel should trigger the retesting of remediation work that was already completed as part of the larger cleanup. The radioactive isotope, which was found at the shipyard in 2021, is linked to increased risks of bone cancer and leukemia. During the Cold War, parts of the former shipyard were contaminated by fallout from irradiated ships that were brought to Hunters Point after atomic-bomb tests, and radiological research also was carried out there. The Navy, which operated at the shipyard from 1945 to 1974, and other agencies have spent decades trying to remove that contamination. In 2004, regulators declared the hilltop portion of the shipyard to be clean, and hundreds of people now live there in recently developed housing. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A report suggests the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco could be at risk of toxic groundwater surfacing due to climate change. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle In response to the recent climate assessment, Angel said that, in the groups view, science being considered for the first time ever in regard to the shipyards existing cleanup plans is a victory. Weve got the U.S. EPA, the regional water boards, all saying the same thing, Angel said. Now we need to see if they will force the Navy to actually change and improve the process and conduct a much more thorough cleanup otherwise were looking at an environmental and health disaster for the bay and for communities around the shipyard. In 2018, the Navy agreed to retest one-third of the areas where remediation work was carried out by Tetra Tech EC over the span of a decade, after the former shipyard contractor was accused of fraud in the cleanup. Greenactions threat of litigation last fall came after the ongoing retesting effort turned up a radioactive object at the shipyard in an area that was previously swept of contamination by Tetra Tech EC the second such discovery in the span of five years. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Navy has previously said that objects found in remediated areas did not pose a high risk to the public, and that the discoveries validated the effectiveness of the Navys retesting process. In a statement to the Chronicle on Friday regarding the recent climate study, Michael Pound, environmental coordinator for the Navys base closure program at the shipyard, said that the agencys work at the site is in part guided by a plan the Navy released in 2022 to proactively address the impacts of climate change while strengthening the nations collective security in the face of this challenge. As part of this action plan, NAVFAC Headquarters (HQ) and the BRAC Program Management Office (PMO) have been proactively looking at ways to use the best available science to understand the nature and timing of projected climate hazards at its various installations, Pound said. He said that the Navy expects to complete its five-year review in July; and that it will be discussing the climate study with community stakeholders on March 25. KQED first reported on the climate study. Montgomery, of the EPA, said the climate studys results could impact planned land transfers between the Navy and city if there is a need to revisit cleanup decisions. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The shipyard and adjacent Candlestick Point have been approved for redevelopment into more than 10,000 new homes and millions of square feet of commercial real estate, though the development project is currently paused pending the ongoing retesting effort. Ron Wenzel of Hebron, foreground, explains the workings of his evaporator in the making of maple syrup to a full house in his sugarhouse, during the Hebron Maple Festival in 2018. Hearst Connecticut Media file photo HEBRON What could have turned into a sticky situation for two eastern Connecticut maple festivals has turned into a sweet treat for those who love the syrupy, late-winter concoction. For Hebron, early March means the annual Hebron Maple Festival, which, since 2016, had been sponsored by the Windham Region Chamber of Commerce. But this year, Hebron's Town Center Project has taken over the role of organizing the event, which will be held March 16 and 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. along Main Street and surrounding areas of town. The chamber, in turn, has branched out on its own, hosting the Eastern Connecticut Maple Festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Saturday and Sunday, just a few towns over at E.O. Smith High School in the Storrs section of Mansfield. Advertisement Article continues below this ad President Diane Nadeau said the change will give the chamber's festival one central location and will include vendors from all over the state. "Vendors from all over came and took up the entire downtown green area," she said of last year's festival in Hebron. "There were concerns because people couldn't get in and out of their apartments. We moved to Mansfield and now we have more space." Nadeau said that Mansfield festival will include 14 different food trucks, and in keeping with the spirit of the festival, there will be maple-flavored goodies, including cannoli, kettle corn, and cotton candy. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "Everybody loves maple," Nadeau said. "Everyone's been couped up for the whole winter. This is a great way to be outside for the day, walk around, get some of that fair food that you haven't had since October, maybe, or September." There will be live music both days, as well as games and activities for children, educational information, and a nurse who will speak about the health benefits of maple syrup. As for next week's original Hebron Maple Festival, it go back to its roots with a more localized agenda, beginning with it's theme, "Bringing It Home." Town Center Project President Holly Habicht said the festival, which started in 1989, has always been a vehicle for town's nonprofits to raise money, adding that it originally began as a fundraiser for one of the town's libraries. Habicht said that although the festival is no longer run by the chamber, she thanks its members for keeping the festival going for the past several years. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "They definitely grew it, and we thank them for keeping it alive," Habicht said, adding that having two events is beneficial to the area. "We also know it's two very different festivals. The world can't have enough maple in it." Habicht said Hebron's festival will include local restaurants with maple-theme menus, as well as food trucks featuring maple-flavored foods and Girl Scout cookie booths. There will also be ax throwing, woodcarving, a scavenger hunt, and a chance to meet donkeys and sled dogs. This year's event will be dedicated to festival co-founder Russell Schaller, who died in October. His son, David Schaller, said his father and others humbly began opening their sugar houses to the public for tours, which evolved into what the festival is today. "It wasn't started to turn into something this big, but it's what it became," Schaller said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Schaller now runs the sugar house his father built, Woodyacres Sugar House on Cone Road, which makes maple syrup and maple walnuts. He said his father did all of the machining and tooling. "It was a hobby for him in the winter," Schaller said of his father's sugar house. "Something for him to do to pass the time." Schaller said he was happy to know that the festival would be dedicated to his father because it allows him and others to reminisce on how the festival came to be. "It's something to go back on and look at where it is because of him and the other sugar houses involved," Schaller said. Dennis received bachelor's degrees in communication and political science with a TAG degree in Spanish from The University of Akron in Ohio. He grew up in Ohio with 2 sisters and two brothers, one being his fraternal twin. He and his wife have 3 dogs: Duke, Bacio, and Cal. Dennis currently covers natural resource and environmental issues for The Daily Sentinel Lime in the Coconut at SoCo Social House. (Photo by Alex Canela) Manic Mango at SoCo Social House (Photo by Alex Canela) The ship belonging to the Open Arms aid group is seen docked as it prepares to ferry some 200 tonnes of rice and flour directly to Gaza, at Larnaca harbor, Cyprus, on Friday, March 8, 2024. A ship bearing humanitarian aid was making preparations to leave Cyprus and head for Gaza, the European Commission president said Friday as international donors launched a sea corridor to supply the besieged territory that is facing widespread hunger after five months of war. Larry Robinson/The Daily Sentinel Wine glasses sit on the counter of Kathleen Ondrus home in Palisade on Jan. 26, 2024. Ondrus is an amateur winemaker and has seen her winemaking improve since she started entering competitions, like the 2024 Colorado Association of Viticulture and Enologys annual Amateur Winemakers Competition. Shes now working toward opening her own commercial winery in Palisade after years making wine as an amateur. FILE - Fans sit under a TikTok ad at a baseball game at Yankee Stadium, April 14, 2023, in New York. A bill that could lead to the popular video-sharing app TikTok being unavailable in the United States is quickly gaining traction in the House. Lawmakers advanced legislation against TikTok Thursday as they voiced concerns about the potential for the platform to surveil and manipulate Americans. Frank Franklin II/AP President Joe Biden talks to reporters before leaving Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Friday, March 8, 2024, to travel to Philadelphia for a campaign event. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden on Friday endorsed legislation that could lead to the popular video-sharing app TikTok being banned in the United States, a move that comes amid growing concern in Washington about keeping Americans' data out of China's hands. The legislation that passed through the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously on Thursday calls on Chinas ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok or effectively face a U.S. ban. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson also supports the bill and has indicated it would soon come up for a full vote in the House. If they pass it, I'll sign it, Biden said when asked by reporters about the legislation. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The White House had provided technical support in the drafting of the bill, though White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier this week the TikTok legislation still needs some work to get to a place where Biden would endorse it. Former President Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee, came out in a Truth Social post on Thursday saying he opposed a ban because it would help rival social media platform Facebook. Trump's opposition to the legislation comes after he issued and then rescinded an executive action late in his presidency intended to ban TikTok and another popular app, WeChat. Trump's pushback puts him on the opposite side of the debate of powerful Republicans, including Johnson and Republican House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who has called the legislation a critical national security bill. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Both the FBI and the Federal Communications Commission have warned that TikTok owner ByteDance could share user data such as browsing history, location and biometric identifiers with Chinas authoritarian government. TikTok said it has never done that and wouldnt do so if asked. The U.S. government also hasnt provided evidence of that happening. In a separate move, Biden recently signed an executive order allowing the Department of Justice and other federal agencies to take steps to prevent the large-scale transfer of Americans personal data to what the White House calls countries of concern," including China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Cuba and Venezuela. Biden, in 2022, banned the use of TikTok by the federal governments nearly 4 million employees on devices owned by its agencies, with limited exceptions for law enforcement, national security and security research purposes. While his administration has raised national security concerns about TikTok, Bidens reelection campaign last month joined the platform. Advertisement Article continues below this ad If enacted, the bill would effectively ban TikTok and other ByteDance apps from being available in Apple or Google app stores or on web hosting services in the U.S. The bill takes a two-pronged approach. First, it requires ByteDance Ltd., which is based in Beijing, to divest TikTok and other applications it controls within 180 days of enactment of the bill or those applications will be prohibited in the United States. Second, it creates a narrow process to let the executive branch prohibit access to an app owned by a foreign adversary if it poses a threat to national security. The company also has promised to wall off U.S. user data from its parent company through a separate entity run independently from ByteDance and monitored by outside observers. A poll published last month by The Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found Americans are deeply divided on the issue of banning the app. Thirty-one percent of U.S. adults said they would favor a nationwide ban on TikTok use, while 35% said they would oppose that type of action. An additional 31% of adults said they neither favor nor oppose a ban on the social media platform, Advertisement Article continues below this ad The AP-NORC poll shows TikTok users about 170 million in the U.S., most of whom skew younger are less likely to be worried about the app sharing American users data, reflecting a previously felt generational divide. About a quarter of daily users say they are extremely or very concerned about the idea of the Chinese government obtaining the personal information of users, compared to about half of U.S. adults overall. From left, Colorado River negotiator for California JB Hamby, Arizonas Tom Buschatzke and Colorados Becky Mitchell. A proposal from the lower basin states about reservoir operations says the upper basin should also take cuts to its water use if reservoir levels fall below 38% full. US Army analyst arrested for selling military secrets Korbein Schultz, 24, allegedly received $42,000 for documents that included plans for Taiwan's defense. By Alex Willemyns for RFA 2024.03.08 -- A U.S. Army intelligence analyst with "top secret" clearance was arrested on Thursday for allegedly sending troves of sensitive military planning documents related to China - including plans to defend Taiwan in case of an invasion - to a person in Hong Kong. Korbein Schultz, 24, was arrested at Fort Campbell, a U.S. military installation on the border between Tennessee and Kentucky, and charged with bribery offenses and conspiracy to disclose national defense information, according to an unsealed indictment. The indictment says that Schultz, a native of Willis Point, Texas, joined the Army in November 2018. In June 2022, it says, he began talking over an encrypted messaging app with a person who claimed to be a geopolitical risk analyst living and working in Hong Kong. From that time on, according to a Justice Department statement, he provided the contact with "documents, writings, plans, maps, notes, and photographs relating to national defense" in exchange for bribes that totalled approximately US$42,000 across at least 14 payments. The documents and photographs included information "Schultz had reason to believe could be used to injure the United States or used to the advantage of a foreign nation," the statement alleges. While the unsealed indictment does not specifically identify China as the "foreign nation" seeking the documents, the Justice Department statement notes that Schultz's contact sought information including "studies on major countries such as the People's Republic of China." The person also "tasked Schultz with gathering information related to a variety of U.S. military weapons systems, including classified information, and information related to the United States' potential plans in the event that Taiwan came under military attack," it says. Latest arrest At a press conference in Nashville, Tennessee, following Thursday's arrest, Henry Leventis, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, said that Schultz had put national security at risk. "The unauthorized sale of such information violates our national security laws, compromises our safety, and cannot be tolerated," Levantis said. "Today's indictment should serve as a reminder of the Justice Department's vigilance in protecting the United States against any threat to national security, foreign or domestic." Matthew Olsen, assistant U.S. attorney general for national security affairs, said in a statement that Schultz had "plac[ed] personal profit above the security of the American people" by selling the secrets. "Today's arrest shows that such a betrayal does not pay," Olsen said, adding that his team was committed to "holding accountable those who would break their oath to protect our nation's secrets." Schultz is only the latest active duty or former member of the military to be arrested for allegedly selling classified information to China. In August, a 22-year-old U.S. Navy sailor stationed on the USS Essex in San Diego, California, was arrested for allegedly providing a Chinese spy with technical manuals regarding the ship for $5,000. A 29-year-old former soldier also with "top secret" clearance was arrested in San Francisco in October for actively seeking out Chinese intelligence services to attempt to provide them with information. In January, a 26-year-old Navy sailor was likewise jailed after pleading guilty to providing a Chinese spy with documents including "plans for a large-scale maritime training exercise in the Pacific theatre" in exchange for payments that totalled approximately $15,000. Edited by Malcolm Foster. Copyright 1998-2024, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content March not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Minister of Defence issues directive to end the sales of products in the ministry's area of government that continue to be available in Russia Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Defence 7. March 2024 Goods from manufacturers who continue to operate in Russia and thereby contribute to the financing of the Russian war machine will be removed from sale outlets on the territory of the Estonian Defence Forces and other locations under the governance of the Ministry of Defence. "Many Western businesses have shut down their operations in Russia, but there are still those who support the Russian economy and, by extension, its war machine," said Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur. "I realise that the directive to discontinue the sale of products from PepsiCo, Mars, Nestle and other large corporations within the area of government of the Ministry of Defence may cause some discomfort, but there are alternatives to many of these products, even from Estonian manufacturers, and the higher purpose outweighs the minor inconvenience. I trust that everyone understands why this matters - let's help Ukraine win." The decision concerns manufacturers that the Ukrainian National Agency on Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) has included in its list of International War Sponsors. Ukraine uses the list published on https://sanctions.nazk.gov.ua/en to push foreign companies operating in Russia to end their business activities there, so that they would stop financing Russia's war in Ukraine. Vending machines, cafes and other sales outlets within the area of governance of the Ministry of Defence will no longer carry products from the likes of PepsiCo, Mars, Nestle, Unilever and Mondelez International. This includes chocolates, biscuits, crisps, ice creams, gums and soft drinks. The distribution of products from tobacco companies Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco International (JTI) will also cease. "We invite our partners to replace these products with equivalents where possible," said Kristo Raud, Strategic Category Manager for infrastructure and services at the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments. Contracting partners of the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments are requested to remove the listed products from their product range within 60 days of receiving the notification. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Sweden, welcome to NATO! Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Bulgaria 08.03.2024 The Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Bulgaria extends its congratulations to the Kingdom of Sweden on the occasion of the country's joining the world's most powerful defensive alliance. Sweden has become the 32nd full member of the Alliance and will contribute to improving security in the Baltic Region, the Eastern Flank of NATO, and the entire Euro-Atlantic area. As a political act, the accession of the Kingdom of Sweden to NATO sends a clear message of the importance of the Alliance in ensuring the security of Europe. In addition to that, it also opens up further opportunities for enhanced bilateral defence cooperation. Bulgaria has consistently supported NATO's open door policy. The new members of the Alliance, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden, submitted their applications to join NATO on 18 May 2022. The protocols for the accession of the two countries to the Alliance were signed on 5 July 2022 in Brussels. On 13 July 2022, the Bulgarian National Assembly ratified the protocols for the accession of the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden to the North Atlantic Treaty. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Canada announces continued assistance for people in Gaza Global Affairs Canada News release March 8, 2024 - Mississauga, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada Canada is deeply concerned by the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza that is worsening by the hour. Help must reach civilians as quickly as possible. Canada is working to overcome challenges related to humanitarian access and the delivery of life-saving relief so that more assistance can reach those in need. Canada was the first G7 country to provide support to Gaza after October 7, 2023, and is one of the world's largest donors of assistance to address the current crisis. Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of International Development, announced that Canada will be lifting its temporary pause on funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). UNRWA plays a vital role in Gaza, providing over 2 million people with humanitarian relief, in addition to its crucial operations supporting 4 million people elsewhere in the region. Other organizations also rely on UNRWA's experience and infrastructure to deliver humanitarian assistance in Gaza. Following allegations that some UNRWA staff were involved in Hamas's heinous terrorist attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023, the UN has put in place several significant processes to address the allegations and reinforce its zero tolerance for terror within the UN, including UNRWA. Canada has reviewed the interim report of the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) on this matter and looks forward to the final report. Canada commends the independent review of UNRWA currently underway, led by Catherine Colonna, and anticipates reviewing the report assessing UNRWA's neutrality mechanisms. While these investigative processes continue, UNRWA has taken immediate measures to strengthen oversight, accountability and transparency. Canada is committed to ensuring full accountability, decisive action and the implementation of necessary reforms within UNRWA. Canada will work with fellow donors, the UN and UNRWA to ensure that the recommendations stemming from both the OIOS investigation and the independent review are fully implemented. Canada expects UNRWA to meet its obligations and uphold the UN's value of neutrality: this is an essential component of UNRWA's mandate. Women and children are bearing the heaviest toll as a result of the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. Over 1.7 million Gazans are displaced, with the majority living in crowded and unsanitary conditions in Rafah. Most of the population is severely food insecure and there is a growing risk of widespread famine. Access to life-saving medical services is heavily limited. Every amount of assistance is critical, which is why Canada is pursuing all avenues to deliver assistance into Gaza. One way Canada is doing this is by supporting Jordan and the World Food Programme (WFP) to conduct airdrops in Gaza delivering essential items that Palestinian civilians desperately need. Jordan has been playing a key role in delivering desperately needed supplies by both land and air to Gaza. To bolster these efforts, Canada is providing $100,000 in funding to the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation for the purchase of supplies such as food, blankets and winter clothing, which will be delivered to Gazans in need, including through Jordanian airdrops. Additionally, Canada has allocated substantial funding to the WFP, part of which will be used for airdrops. The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) will be providing approximately 300 cargo parachutes from the Canadian Army Advanced Warfare Centre in Trenton to the Royal Jordanian Air Force to assist them in conducting the airdrops of critical supplies into Gaza. Airdrops are absolutely not a substitute for deliveries via land and sea routes. Canada continues to call for more entry points, expanded access, protection of humanitarian workers, and a humanitarian ceasefire. Canada continues to call on all parties to respect their international humanitarian law obligations. This includes immediately releasing all hostages, ceasing to employ human shields, respecting and protecting medical and humanitarian personnel, and taking all feasible precautions to protect civilians in the conduct of hostilities. Furthermore, the parties must allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need. Canada is committed to a two-state solution, with Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace and security, with dignity and without fear. Quotes "Since the horrific terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7, Canada has centred its decisions on the protection of civilians. Both Israelis and Palestinians have the fundamental human right to live in peace, dignity and security, without fear. As a government, we have a responsibility to ensure that Canadians have confidence in the organizations we support, which is why we have taken prudent measures to allow for a necessary investigation to take place. In recognition of the robust investigative processes underway, UNRWA's efforts to address serious allegations made against some of its staff, including the implementation of internal measures to improve oversight and accountability, as well as the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, Canada is resuming its funding to UNRWA so more can be done to respond to the urgent needs of Palestinian civilians. Canada will continue to take the allegations against some of UNRWA's staff extremely seriously and we will remain closely engaged with UNRWA and the UN to pursue accountability and reforms." - Ahmed Hussen, Minister of International Development "This donation of parachutes from the Canadian Armed Forces will help to replenish the Royal Jordanian Air Force's supplies for humanitarian airdrops, supporting the delivery of life-saving assistance to the Palestinian people. Through this donation and our significant financial contributions to trusted partners, Canada will continue to provide the Palestinian people with access to critical humanitarian relief." - Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence "Canada is resuming its funding to UNRWA, so more can be done to respond to the urgent needs of Palestinian civilians. We shall continue to be closely engaged with UNRWA on investigations, reviews and audits currently underway. All of these will require the full cooperation of the Government of Israel, as well as the determination of UNRWA itself to improve its own security systems. The United Nations Secretary-General has given member states and donors his personal assurance that these issues have his full attention." - Bob Rae, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations in New York Quick facts No regularly scheduled payment that was intended to go to UNRWA was missed during the temporary pause. By providing certainty that Canada's planned contribution will proceed, this will help prevent the imminent collapse of this essential organization. The CAF is making available approximately 300 cargo parachutes for the purpose of dropping cargo. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address March 8 USCENTCOM, Royal Jordanian Air Force combined humanitarian aid drop U.S. Central Command Press Release | March 8, 2024 USCENTCOM March 8, 2024 Release Number 20240308 - 02 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TAMPA, Fla. -- U.S. Central Command and the Royal Jordanian Air Force conducted a combined humanitarian assistance airdrop into Northern Gaza on March 8, 2024, at approximately 1:30 p.m. (Gaza time) to provide essential relief to civilians in Gaza affected by the ongoing conflict. The combined, joint operation included Jordanian provided meals and a U.S. Air Force C-130 aircraft. A U.S. C-130 dropped over 11,500 meal equivalents, providing life-saving humanitarian assistance in Northern Gaza, to enable civilian access to critical aid. The DoD humanitarian airdrops contribute to ongoing U.S. and partner-nation government efforts to alleviate human suffering. These airdrops are part of a sustained effort, and we continue to plan follow on aerial deliveries. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address March 17, 2024 Transcript Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder Holds a Press Briefing MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: All right, well, good afternoon, everyone. I know it's surprising, but got quite a bit to cover today, so I'm going to jump right in, and I'll get to your questions. Earlier today, the department's Office of Strategic Capital announced the release of its first investment strategy. Secretary Austin launched the Office of Strategic Capital in December 2022, to attract and scale private capital in support of national security. The investment strategy identifies priority component technology industries and describes how the OSC will catalyze private investment in these industries. It presents a guiding framework for OSC programs to complement existing Department of Defense and U.S. government programs. And to read more, I'd ask you to visit the department's website. Additionally, the department publicly released today the first volume of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office's Historical Record Report, which reviews the record of U.S. government pertaining to unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP. In completing this report, AARO reviewed classified and unclassified archives dating back to 1945, conducted dozens of interviews and partnered with officials across the DoD and the interagency. To date, AARO has found no verifiable evidence for claims that the U.S. government or private companies have access to, or have been reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology. AARO has found no evidence that any U.S. government investigation, academic-sponsored research or official review panel has confirmed that any siting of a UAP represented extraterrestrial technology. You can read the unclassified version of the Historical Record Report, Volume 1 on defense.gov or on the AARO website at aaro.mil. In other announcements, as many of you are aware, throughout his tenure, Secretary Austin has prioritized the development and rapid fielding of capabilities to counter the urgent and growing threat posed by uncrewed weapon systems. This week, the secretary directed the establishment of a Warfighter Senior Integration Group to focus department-wide efforts to address this urgent operational challenge. This warfighter SIG will bring together the department's senior-most leaders to drive solutions that support U.S. warfighters throughout our combatant commands. The group will help identify needed capabilities and associated solutions for rapidly delivering across all domains with near-term focus on countering uncrewed aerial systems. As evidenced by the successes of other warfighter SIGs such as those for Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, as well as the SIG Ukraine stood up in 2022, the establishment of this new warfighter SIG will bring the cross-department attention and speed the threat now demands. We look forward to the action in this formal drive and where possible, will provide details on its work in the coming months. Separately, I have an update on the V-22's return to flight. Naval Air Systems Command issued a flight clearance today for the V-22 Osprey, lifting the aircraft's grounding. The decision followed a meticulous and data-driven approach, prioritizing the safety of our aircrews. It was accomplished in close coordination with the U.S. Air Force-led investigation, which identified the material failure that led to the mishap. The grounding provided time for the services to conduct a thorough review and formulate risk mitigation controls to safely return the V-22 to flight operations. I would refer you to NavAir and the respective services for additional information. We do want to express again our condolences to the family members and loved ones of the eight airmen we lost in the November CV-22 tragedy in Japan. We'll not forget those servicemembers as we apply lessons learned from that day, and our nation's servicemembers and their families make extraordinary sacrifices to safeguard our freedom and our security, and in return, we owe them an unwavering commitment to their safety and well-being. Shifting gears to the Middle East, U.S. Central Command forces conducted their fourth airdrop of critically needed meals into Gaza this morning. A U.S. Air Force C-130 delivered 11,500 meals today, bringing the total meals airdropped by the U.S. to over 124,000 to date. These humanitarian airdrops contribute to ongoing U.S. government efforts to provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, and are part of a sustained effort to get more aid into Gaza. Of note, press reports that U.S. airdrops resulted in civilian casualties on the ground are false, as we've confirmed that all of our eight bundles landed safely on the ground. In addition to U.S. military humanitarian airdrops and the U.S. government's efforts to continue sustaining and expanding assistance going in by land, as President Biden announce last evening, the Department of Defense will undertake an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in Gaza, working alongside like-minded countries and partners. And I'll provide an overview of the concept, and then will be happy to take your questions. Can I ask our control room to post the diagram we have on this? Now, to carry out this mission, the department is moving quickly to deploy its joint logistics over-the-shore capability to provide an expeditionary pier to enable the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza. JLOTS is a unique capability maintained by the Department of Defense whereby U.S. Army and U.S. Navy forces are organized, trained and equipped to conduct joint ship-to-shore operations where fixed port facilities are inadequate or unavailable. Simply put, they'll establish a temporary offshore maritime pier that allows for shipping vessels to transfer cargo to smaller vessels to transport and offload cargo to a temporary causeway for the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Now, we're in the process of identifying, sourcing and in some cases, preparing forces to deploy, but I can confirm that elements of the Seventh Transportation Brigade Expeditionary out of Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia have been tasked to support. Importantly, there will be no U.S. forces on the ground in Gaza. The DoD maintains the ability to provide unique capabilities from offshore without a U.S. military presence within Gaza. We're coordinating with other nations to assist with operating the causeway and distributing aid into Gaza. The concept that is being planned involves the presence of U.S. military personnel on military vessels offshore, but does not require U.S. military personnel to go ashore. In terms of security on the ground, we're continuing to plan and coordinate with partners in the region. And as for aid distribution, we'll have more details in the future, but we are coordinating with ally and partner nations, the U.N. and humanitarian NGOs on the way ahead for distribution of assistance into Gaza. Finally, in terms of timing, we're working to set this up as quickly as possible, but we expect that it will take several weeks to plan and execute. Once operational, the actual amount of aid delivered will depend on many variables, and will likely scale over time. However, we expect that deliveries via JLOTS could provide more than two million meals to the citizens of Gaza per day. And with that, be happy to take your questions. Let's start with A.P., Lita Baldor. Or, I'm sorry, Tara Copp. Q: Thank you. All right, a bunch of questions on JLOTS. We see pictures of there both being a pier, but looks like it's going onto a beach or a dock. Are you saying that there'll be a dock offshore and there'll be a separate pier? Are these two different structures, or is it just one structure? GEN. RYDER: Yeah, thanks, Tara. So going to achieve a lifelong dream here and use a laser pointer from the podium. So let me just kind of walk you through the broad concept, with the caveat that we're still conducting planning on this. But in essence, what you'll have here is a floating pier that is off shore, that will be able to receive commercial vessels that have aid. That aid will be offloaded onto the floating pier and then transloaded onto joint or Navy support vessels, what we what we call logistics support vessels, LSVs. Those vessels will then take it to the floating causeway. For example, you can see here and then offloaded onto the causeway in this case, which essentially is approximately 1,800 feet, or 500 meters, long, and it's two-lane, and then transported onto land and then distributed into Gaza. The ability to do this without putting forces on the ground is due to the fact that the causeway is essentially it's modular, built at sea, and then essentially driven into the ground from off shore. Again, as I mentioned, we'll be working with partners in the region to of course, you know, be on the receiving end of that and to work through the security details, but at no time will we require U.S. forces to actually go on the ground. And so then, you know, among other places, Cyprus has been highlighted as a place where aid can be loaded onto ships and then taken to the floating pier, transloaded onto these logistics support vessels, transported over to the causeway, and then, again, transported into Gaza. The other option that we have available to us as well is from the floating pier, not only via the logistics support vessels but also via a barge capability that can take it take additional aid to the floating causeway. Q: OK. And then just two follow-ups. Has Israel insisted on any restrictions on this pier, such as no one can leave through the pier or no one can come on shore? Will Israel be providing security on the pier? GEN. RYDER: Again, we're working through the details right now with partners in the region, to include Israel, in terms of the security aspect. And then as I mentioned in the topper, working with ally and partner nations, working with the UN, working with NGOs to discuss the actual aid distribution piece. You know, to be clear, it will not be U.S. military personnel that are transporting the aid off of the causeway into Gaza. Our role will be essentially to provide the service of getting it to the causeway, at which point it will be then distributed. Q: (Inaudible) but what I meant on the restrictions is is Israel putting any restrictions on what can come through this pier? GEN. RYDER: I'm not I'm not tracking any. Yep, let me go to Phil and then I'll go to (Luis). Q: So I can you help help me understand how is it that the military is going to build this causeway going ashore but never get off onto the beach to drive it into the ground, for starters? GEN. RYDER: Yeah. So again, if you look at the causeway here, again, that's built out at sea, and then essentially just imagine, you know, pushing it, propelling it into the shore. And once it's ashore, it's anchored on the shore. And again, we'll be working with regional partners to conduct that aspect, but no U.S. forces will get off of it ... (CROSSTALK) Q: ... but U.S. forces are the ones who would anchor it... GEN. RYDER: Correct, but again ... Q: ... you are going to accept the restriction where you won't do this ... (CROSSTALK) GEN. RYDER: That's correct. Q: Oh, and then is Israel would be asked to provide immediate security, but you had suggested there might be other partners. GEN. RYDER: Again, we're working through the coordination and planning of this right now, working with partners in the region, to include Israel, in terms of who will provide - the specific security. Again, we'll have more details to provide in the future, but that is the concept. Q: Is it Israel's decision about who provides security, or is it ... GEN. RYDER: Well, look, we're working with partners in the region. I'll just keep it that broad at this point. Luis? Q: Can you tell us how large of a deployment this will be for, you know, the all the components of JLOTS? How long will it take them to begin operating? How long will it take them to transit this location? And in addition to the ground security element, will there be a maritime security element for all of the forces that will be located offshore? GEN. RYDER: Yeah, so on on your first question, we anticipate that it'll take over 1,000 U.S. forces to participate in building this capability. As far as timeframe, as I mentioned, several weeks, likely up to 60 days in order to deploy the forces and construct the causeway and the pier. But again, we're starting immediately, in terms of putting things into motion on that front. And then as far as security goes, for OPSEC reasons, I'm not going to get into specifics, other than to say security is taken into account for these capabilities. And so that's something that we of course will provide for our forces (inaudible). Q: (Inaudible) partner nations on the ground, but you're talking about operational security, you can't discuss what will be (inaudible). GEN. RYDER: Right. I mean, we will these forces will have the capability to provide some organic security. I'm just not going to get into the specifics of that. Jennifer? Q: Pat, how much will this cost? And if Israel is going to be engaged in the security on land, why not just open the existing there are forts just north of Gaza Ashdod, Ashkelon and there are entrances into Gaza. Why not just use those existing ports and have Israel look at what's going through and bring it in? It seems like this is a lot of work for 60 days out when there are people starving, frankly. GEN. RYDER: Yeah, I well, as I highlighted at the top, I mean, this is part of a full-court press by the United States to not only focus on working on opening up and expanding routes via land, which of course are the optimal way to get aid into Gaza, but also by conducting airdrops. And now, as the President has said, not enough aid is getting in. And so this is a capability that we have, it's a capability that we are going to execute and enable us to get like as I said, upwards of two million meals in a day. Q: And why was the latest airdrop so small, 11,000 meals? GEN. RYDER: Look, these are going to vary over time, just depending on the mission and the aircraft that are available. So you're you will see those continue to fluctuate. Q: ... on the UFO report, this is an internal investigation required by the Congress. Why will Americans believe that the Pentagon has investigated itself and found that there's no evidence of alien life? GEN. RYDER: Well, look, the AARO Office used a very rigorous, analytical, scientific approach to investigate all past U.S. government efforts, all claims by interviewees. They were granted access at the highest levels to all information. No none of the agencies that they spoke with prevented them from getting any of the information that they needed to do. We understand that this is something that is you know, a great interest to a significant number of people and organizations. And so they took this very seriously. They followed the evidence wherever it led them. And you know, I think the results speak for itself. Jeff? Q: Thank you. You had said that reports that an airdrop over Gaza had killed people are false. How did DoD determine that its food drops all landed safely. And is DoD using C-17s at all or is it just using C-130s? GEN. RYDER: We have only used C-130s for our airdrops. And in terms of this particular airdrop, I would just note that the data miner alert that went out on this was five minutes before the airdrop actually occurred. So pretty confident that it wasn't us. And we also maintain the capability to observe our bundles actually hitting the ground. Q: Do you know, was anyone actually killed? The Gaza Health Ministry saying five people are killed? Is this something DoD can confirm? GEN. RYDER: I cannot. Thanks. Lara? Q: Thank you. So on the on the pier, it seems like you're taking no boots on the ground awfully literally. Since they will be the troops will be pretty close. They'll be in the water surrounding Gaza, right. So how far exactly how far will they actually be from the shore? GEN. RYDER: I don't have a foot count for you but again they're not going to go on the shore is the bottom line. Q: Oh and also is it is it actually servicemembers that are going to be constructing the pier or is it contractors? GEN. RYDER: This is a U.S. military capability. So again, you know, we'll have much more detail to provide, but as I mentioned at the top here the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary) maintains this capability. And so there will be an active military component to it. Q: And then really quickly just on the situation in Haiti, DoD can you provide any information on what kind of support DoD is lending to the situation there? GEN. RYDER: So what I can tell you Laura is, we're exploring contingency options to ensure the security of our personnel at the embassy. No decisions have been made at this time about potential deployments. I know there's been some press reports about a Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team. What I can tell you is that DoD will not send troops to Haiti to support Haitian national Police security operations. We have no intention of intervening. And we are not providing assistance to help the prime minister return to Haiti at this time. Konstantin? Q: What was the - on JLOTS - when was the last time this system was used in an operational setting? GEN. RYDER: The last employment was last year as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre so relatively recently. Q: And I mean can you speak at all as to what the DoD is assessing our risks to this plan or points of concern? GEN. RYDER: Well, I don't want to get into you know, potential vulnerabilities. Obviously a complex operation here, all the things that we're going to work through. I think the key aspect here is that again we're working alongside partners and allies in the region, as well as NGOs to help implement this. But certainly one of the key things that we're going to be focused on is the security of our personnel, and also working with partners in the region to ensure that aid that is delivered can be distributed in a safe and secure way. Thank you. John? Q: Thank you, General. You've been supporting Israel from the beginning unconditionally. What is the exact disagreement that makes you to drop aid and send it by sea instead of sending them through the land since it's the same operation and it has the same security concerns. I mean if they trust you with the help that you are sending to them through the sea and air, why don't they let them just go through the border? OK. GEN. RYDER: Yes. I'm not going to speak for Israel. As I've highlighted. And the president has said, not enough aid is getting into Gaza. We continue to speak with our Israeli partners and others in the region about increasing the number of options for aid to get into Gaza via land but we're also not going to wait around. And so this is why you see us doing air drops. And this is why you see us now implementing this capability. Thank you. Let me go over to Nancy. And then I'll go to the phone. Q: How much will the mission cost and who will command it? GEN. RYDER: Nancy, I don't have a cost estimate right now. Again that's something we can come back to you on. This will be operated under the command and control of Central Command. Again we'll have more details in terms of the specific (inaudible). Q: Will be sort of on who will be the Commander on the ground rather than the Combatant Commander? GEN. RYDER: I don't have that for you right now. But again we'll keep you updated. Q: You said 60 days. And I'm trying to understand is that 60 days from when all these issues are sorted out or is it (inaudible)... GEN. RYDER: No. From now. Q: ... from now. And conservatively Gaza needs 6.6 million meals a day. U.S. provided 11,500. It's a gap. And I want to know if there's any sort of effort between now and when this pier is built to increase the amount of aid going into Israel through these kinds of military operations given that the need is imminent and that many will not cannot survive 60 days at this clip so. GEN. RYDER: Sure. Yes. I mean to your point, I mean it is dire urgent need which is why you see the department contributing in this way as part of a broader overall U.S. government effort and part of an international effort. As we highlighted in our readout last night and Secretary Austin's call with Minister Galant, part of the discussion was looking at increasing the aid routes into Gaza. And so those conversations continue not only at the Department of Defense but also the Department of State. And USAID of course is leading the charge on that front. We want to see the amount of aid going via land increase significantly. And we understand that that is the most viable way to get aid in. But in the meantime as I highlighted we're not going to wait around. We have the capability to conduct this via airdrops. And we're doing that. And I'm certain that every single bit of aid helps. And it's saving someone's life on the ground. This will be another capability that will allow us to work with the international community to get additional aid in. Q: But if I'm hearing you correctly there won't be a major change in the number of airdrops between now and when the pier would be configured? GEN. RYDER: So, I'm not going to get into the specifics on timing other to say that you know we're going to continue to do those for as long as we're able to, again recognizing that there are other avenues that will enable us to get more aid in more quickly. Let me go to the phone. And I'll come back to the room here. Helene Cooper, Q: from New York Times? Q: Hi? Phil already asked my question. Thank you. GEN. RYDER: Thanks Helene. Tom? Q: (inaudible). Just to clarify a little bit more on this floating peir. So does this mean that there will be no food deliveries by sea at all for at least 60 days? Also to include the efforts led by you know, the European Union and so this whole multinational approach, the first time of any aid going to the shore, will be in a maximum 60 days? GEN. RYDER: So Tom, I can only speak for the U.S. Department of Defense and this particular capability. As you highlight, I am aware that there's a European effort. I'd refer you to them in terms of their timelines and their mechanisms by which they're looking to deliver aid. What I'm talking to is the specifics as it relates to the temporary pier that DoD has been tasked to support. Q: Is the U.S. a part is the U.S. apart of those international efforts. GEN. RYDER: Yeah. So, I on that front, again, I'd refer you to USAID, State Department. I'm only going to talk to the DoD aspects of it right now because I just don't have those details. Q: Can you talk at all about the food coming in, like who's going to be providing that and putting that onto the ships which will then go to the floating pier? GEN. RYDER: Again, much more to follow, but as I understand it, you know, this is part of an international effort. You saw a statement come out earlier today from multiple nations, in terms of how this could work. And so we will be a part of that effort. Our role in this is going to be helping to facilitate the delivery of that aid into Gaza. Yes, sir? Q: Just to clarify (inaudible) are you saying that five people were killed, just not by U.S. airdrops, by someone else's airdrop? GEN. RYDER: Look, I can't confirm those deaths. I've seen those press reports. What I'm telling you is that the reports that the U.S. that our airdrops were responsible for any deaths are false. We were not. Q: (Inaudible) we're seeing pictures of (inaudible) packages to the ground. The those were those yours? GEN. RYDER: They were not. Q: On distribution, who will distribute the aid once it is it has has has gone off the (inaudible) causeway or the pier or ... GEN. RYDER: Again, as I highlighted at the top, we are talking with allies and partners, the United Nations and other NGOs involved in humanitarian assistance, in terms of how that process will work and how that aid will be distributed. Q: Have you received assurances from the Israelis that they will not fire upon Palestinians as they seek to retrieve the aid? GEN. RYDER: Look, we're you know, our focus is on delivering the aid. I'm not going to speak for the Israelis. Obviously, the focus is to make sure that we're going to get the aid ... (CROSSTALK) Thank you. Ryo? Q: Thank you, General. I want to ask you about Osprey aircraft. So is the Pentagon confident that the you can gain the support from the Japanese public on the safety of those (inaudible)? GEN. RYDER: Yeah, thanks, Ryo. So the United States and Japan have been in close coordination throughout this entire process at multiple levels, to include the specific timeline on the return of flight of Osprey operations in Japan. As I highlighted at the top, the safety of our service members, our allies, and the communities that they're operating in is of paramount importance to us. It and so we have, again, been very grateful for the support of Japan through this process, as well as very transparent with Japan in terms of the steps that we're taking. Q: Does the Secretary intend to speak with the Japanese Defense Minister to convey this commitment to safety before returning the aircraft to flight? GEN. RYDER: Yeah, thanks, Ryo. I don't have any calls to read out at this time. I can tell you that U.S. Forces Japan, again, has been in frequent contact to communicate the department's and the Secretary's commitment to safety. Thank you very much. Courtney? Q: Pat, two. What's the name of this mission? Did you say already? GEN. RYDER: Courtney, there's no name at this time. If that changes, we'll be sure to let you know. Q: OK. And then just following on on Ryo's question, I wonder if does is the Secretary confident in the Osprey aircraft, that it's safe? GEN. RYDER: I think the Secretary is confident in the steps that have been taken to return it to flight. And so again, as I highlighted, you know, safety is the most important thing. He recently had the opportunity to receive an update from the service secretaries and chiefs on the steps that are being taken, and again, is confident in their decision. Q: And so so Secretary Austin believes the Osprey is a safe aircraft for military members to fly? GEN. RYDER: Correct. Thank you. Ma'am? Q: Hi, I'm Mallory Shelbourne with USNI News. What kind of lift do you need to get these forces over there to execute this mission? And where do the CBs fit into this? GEN. RYDER: So, it will require a variety of sealift. Again, we'll have much more information for you in the future. Part of this is working with Military Sealift Command to get these capabilities, but as I'm sure you can appreciate, multiple vessels from across the world that will come together. In terms of the CBs, I don't have an answer for you on that, other you know so again, if we have any updates, we will be sure to provide it. Q: Just a follow-up so will is it possible it'll have to reactivate some sealift vessels to get forces over there? Is that ... (CROSSTALK) GEN. RYDER: I'm not tracking that that's the case. I think we have what we need within the inventory, obviously as a capability that we maintain and have demonstrated. And so, they should be good to go. Q: (Inaudible)? GEN. RYDER: Well, the unit is based out of Joint Base Eustis Langley-Eustis. So ... Q: ... it's not the East Coast of ... GEN. RYDER: Correct. Q: And the (inaudible) pre-position them? GEN. RYDER: There are aspects that are already in the region. So again, it will be a coalescing of capabilities to accomplish this specific capability. Q: (Inaudible) of its kind? Do we have just one of these pier systems or do we have multiple? GEN. RYDER: Yeah, so I'm not for OPSEC reasons, Tara, I'm not going to go into the specifics, other than to say it's a unique capability. And let me go to Jared here. Q: Pat, I just wanted to clarify to make sure I understood this correctly have you received any commitments from any other nations on the security or the military aspect of this, in terms of supporting this effort, or is the military component of this strictly unilateral by the U.S.? GEN. RYDER: Well, as I mentioned, we're working with partners in the region. I'm not going to speak for them at this point in time. I'll let them speak for themselves, but again, we'll be sure to keep you updated. We fully recognize that there's a lot of interest in terms of, you know, the concept and how it will be executed, and specifically with security on the ground and aid distribution, but we are confident that we will be able to execute this mission, again, in a way that prevents us from putting boots on the ground in Gaza, while at the same time ensuring that we can deliver and distribute aid securely and safely. Ryo? Q: Thanks. I had one follow-up on Ospreys. Could you please confirm if any DoD officials or military officials traveled to Japan prior to this announcement to explain the U.S. plan to resume the flights of Ospreys? GEN. RYDER: Yeah, so I'd refer you to NAVAIR on the specifics, in terms of the extensive effort that went into ensuring that when the decision was made to return to fly, that it was done safely. I can tell you broadly that yes, you know, there has been a number of officials, as I understand it, that have, again, communicated and traveled to Japan as part of this process, to include the investigation that I referenced. Q: (Inaudible) any specific timeline to resume the flights of Ospreys deployed in Japan? GEN. RYDER: Yeah, so that that's really a question for the services. That's a decision that they will make. So I'd refer you to them. Q: One clarification on your answer to Jared. I just want to be sure, when you guys talk about there's no boots on the ground in Gaza, I mean, is this a semantics thing and they're going to be civilian Americans moving this stuff up ashore? GEN. RYDER: Look, as I understand it, Courtney, I mean it literally. No U.S. forces on the ground. Q: ... civilians too? I I just I just cause I'm ... (CROSSTALK) GEN. RYDER: ... I'm not tracking any U.S. military or DoD personnel going on the ground in Gaza. Again, you know, you drive the causeway into the beach. There'll be others on the receiving end to secure it, to provide the security, to ensure that aid is distributed. Our forces will stay, you know, either on the causeway or operating those vessels out at sea, to include the floating pier. OK? Anne? Q: (Inaudible) why Israel is holding up the ground convoys filled with aid is that they say that they don't want the aid to go to Hamas. Does that risk remain with this maritime solution, or is this somehow more acceptable to the Israelis? And will they be inspecting any of the aid from Cyprus? GEN. RYDER: So, Anne, again, much more to provide in the days ahead. But as part of this, concept, you know, a consideration is the screening aspect of aid being loaded onto any vessel, you know, which would be standard procedure. And so, we'll be working through all of that. In terms of Hamas receiving aid, you know, again, we're going to work with NGOs, the UN and others, when it comes to the aid distribution piece, and do everything we can of course. You know, without being on the ground to ensure that aid doesn't go to Hamas. But I think the key point here is that if Hamas truly believes that the people, the Palestinian people are suffering, then why would they want to take this aid and use it for themselves to support their terrorist organization? Or do they truly care about the Palestinian people and want this aid to get to them? So, one would hope that this aid will get to the people that are most deserving and in need. Q: Just to confirm that that risk remains the same whether these aid convoys come through via ship or ground? GEN. RYDER: Well, it's a combat zone, right? And you've got active combat operations going on with Hamas near. I mean, to your point, we've seen reports in the past about Hamas taking aid as well as criminal elements that are attempting to hoard. But this mission is about getting aid to Gaza, and then working with others for the delivery and distribution. Q: Does the DoD anticipate that Hamas will try to fire on them, on the operation (inaudible)? GEN. RYDER: Look, I mean, that's certainly a risk, again, but if Hamas truly does care about the Palestinian people, then again, one would hope that this international mission to deliver aid to people who need it would be able to happen unhindered. Tony? Q: (inaudible) I didn't hear it asked yet. Aid to Israel on precision guided munitions. This came up last week at the hearing. Ro Khanna, the congressman from California, threw out a figure of the 21,000 PGMs the U.S. has provided Israel. I asked his office where he got that, and he came back with a news story. But can you get a tally of some kind of rough tile of how many PGMs we've provided Israel since October 7? This comes up periodically. Lawmakers express outrage, but there's no hard data. I mean, I'm asking you five months into this if you can give broad figure. GEN. RYDER: Yeah, thanks, Tony. I'm not able to provide a figure to you right now. Thanks. I'll take the question. Q: I say this, though, it's probably going to sound dumb, but when Kabul fell, the U.S. and the Taliban reached an agreement to provide security for HKIA, although imperfect. Is it possible that one of the partners in this operation provides security could be Hamas? GEN. RYDER: No. Yeah, I mean, Hamas is a recognized terrorist group and, you know, the United States is not going to work with Hamas to provide security. Konstantin? Q: Thanks again, Pat. So, in terms of the ships involved in this operation, you mentioned working with military sealift command. Will the U.S. Navy and U.S. Navy destroyers, cruisers play a role in this operation at all? GEN. RYDER: So, for this specific capability, Konstantin, the answer is no. Right? This is not a combat capability. This is, essentially, a bridging capability, so to speak, that enables the delivery of humanitarian assistance in this case. So, I just leave it there. Take a few more. Let me go to Jared. Q: In terms of potential security partners on the ground, is the United States looking to work with elements on the ground that the Israelis have sought to work with in the past, contracting local businessmen? What (inaudible)? GEN. RYDER: Yeah. So, I'm going to kind of keep it open ended right now, Jared, because I don't want to give you bad information. Again, we're going to work with multiple, look to work with partners in the region, to include Israel. But again, we'll have more details on that for you in the future. Sir? Q: Building such a port takes some time. I mean, 60 days is a long period. Does that mean you don't expect a new solution to the Gaza conflict, or an agreement is far away? GEN. RYDER: Well look, I think we can all agree that there's a significant need within Gaza for humanitarian assistance. As you've heard the White House say, they hope that a temporary ceasefire can be reached soon. Of course that would help enable the conditions for aid delivery. But regardless, there are people who need aid in Gaza, and that's probably not going to change anytime soon. And so, this capability will contribute to that effort. Let me go to Mike. Q: Pat, the Navy has extensive amphibious capabilities. You know, it has LTACs that could drive right on the beach immediately. The reason the administration is going with this pretty rather complicated plan rather than something like that, like the amphibious movement, just because it doesn't want to have the picture of an American standing 10 feet off the waterline in Gaza? GEN. RYDER: Yeah. I mean, the big difference, you're talking about like an LCAT, right? An LCAT drives onto the beach and then it has to back up. It'd be like taking an individual pickup truck to the beach every day with some humanitarian assistance. So, from a logistics standpoint, A, that's just not feasible. And what this essentially does is create a logistics distribution system that enables you to distribute, as I mentioned in my topper, upwards of 2 million meals. And do it in a way that you can wash, rinse, repeat, and the fact that you can get commercial vessels to come up to the floating pier and transload. So, it's creating a system, it's a temporary system, but it's a mechanism by which we can start to rapidly get additional aid in a way that individual ships to the point that was made earlier, the airdrops are important and they're providing key aid to people right now. But we need to get more aid in. And so, this will be part of a broader effort to make that happen. Q: (inaudible) for how long this is going back the (inaudible)? GEN. RYDER: I can't imagine. I mean, again, this is going to be temporary. I'm not going to bound it right now. Our focus right now is on executing this mission and enabling aid to get in, but it's not intended to be a permanent facility, so to speak. And again, we're going to continue to look at options, as we highlighted and as the President highlighted, to ensure that aid can get in, via maritime route. And I understand other countries are looking at that as well. Q: How long it will take to get from the east coast to this position? How long does it take to sail there? GEN. RYDER: I don't have an answer for that, Jennifer. Again, what we anticipate is that from today, 60 days from now, this will be up and operating. Q: Who will screen the drivers and the trucks coming onto the pier? GEN. RYDER: Again, I don't have those details right now, but we'll keep you updated on that front. Let me go back to David, and then Luis. Q: All of those ships there and the causeway are now in Virginia? GEN. RYDER: I do not know the answer to that, David. I can tell you that, again, they're going to aggregate and come together to implement this capability. Q: Can you expect them to start the planning from Virginia? GEN. RYDER: I mean, we're moving out now to finalize the planning and execute this mission. As I highlighted, this is going to involve a number of units, many of whom are being notified about a prepared deploy. You do these things in phases. And so, I'm not going to have the specifics to provide today in terms of individual ship movements and timelines, nor would we put that out. We never talk about, you know, our ship timelines and when they're moving and where they're moving, other than to say, you know, within 60 days, this capability will be up and running. Luis? Q: You mentioned it's 1 million meals a day. What is how many trucks is that equivalent to? And is that foreseen it being 24-hour operations or is it just, you know, during daylight hour for safety reasons? GEN. RYDER: Yeah. I mean, this capability obviously can be up and running 24 hours. Again, we'll work with our partners in terms of the aid distribution aspect in the timeline. So again, we'll have more to follow on that. Q: I've had a lot of questions, and then you're taking a lot of them related to this. Can we kind of agree on a format in terms of how these will be answered? Can we get like a daily summary? Is there going to be something in another briefing given how important this mission is and one that the president announced? I would at least GEN. RYDER: Yeah. So part of part of the effort is, today, you know, giving you additional insight into how this system will work certainly in the days ahead as we get more information, we'll provide that. You know, we understand, again, the great interest on this. And so we will as we get new information and as we have answers to your question, we'll provide this. Q: (Inaudible) that it'd be done much as during the Secretary's hospitalization that we were getting regular updates, given the importance of the mission? GEN. RYDER: Again, you know, we will give you as much information as we can, recognizing the fact that, you know, there's going to be a lot of details in terms of the planning and the execution. And yeah, again, I understand the great interest and we will keep you updated on that front. Few more. Yes, sir? Q: (Inaudible) Yesterday, General Kurilla during his hearing in the Senate, he said recently when he visits Rafah border, he found out there is 2,500 trucks loaded with aid are waiting to go inside Gaza. So first of all, how much you feel that has make difference if these trucks getting inside Gaza? And did Secretary Austin raise this issue, the Rafah border, with his Israeli counterpart during his calls yesterday? GEN. RYDER: Yeah. I mean, it would obviously make a huge difference if those trucks could get into Gaza. And this is why you see State Department and others working with officials in the region to try to facilitate that process. And as I highlighted earlier, Secretary Austin did talk with his counterpart about the importance of opening up these routes and expanding the number of routes to ensure that aid could get into Gaza. I'll leave it at that. A couple more? Yes, ma'am. Let me go to you first and I'll come back to you. Q: OK. So on the UAP report, the Pentagon concluded that there is no evidence of UAPs being off-world technology, but it also said the government setup programs to reverse engineer such technology. Why did the government plan to study off-world technology if it says it doesn't have any (inaudible)? GEN. RYDER: Yeah. So, as you highlight, no verifiable evidence that any UAP setting represented extraterrestrial activity that the U. S. government or private industry has ever had access to extraterrestrial technology, or that any information was illegally or inappropriately withheld from Congress, and alleged hidden UAP reverse engineering programs either do not exist or were misidentified authentic National Security Programs unrelated to extraterrestrial activity or technology exploitation. So what we found is that claims of hidden programs are largely the result of circular reporting by a small group, repeating what they heard from others, and that many people have sincerely misinterpreted real events or mistaken sensitive U. S. programs as UAP or being extraterrestrial exploitation. Q: And this report is volume one. Should we be expecting more? GEN. RYDER: Correct. Let's see here. There is another volume. Let me just look at my notes here real quick. Bear with me. Let me take that question for you. I'll come back to you. Yes, sir? Q: Regarding (inaudible), how long Israel could continue its assault on Gaza if there were no more U.S. military aid shipments delivered to the country? GEN. RYDER: Say that again? Q: How long could Israel continue its assault on Gaza without more shipments of military aid from the U.S.? GEN. RYDER: Yeah, I'm not going to get into Israel's readiness. I mean, I think that's a question for them to talk about. Look, our focus, as we've said from the very beginning, is supporting Israel's inherent right to defend itself. You know, again, to belabor the point, they were attacked by Hamas on October 7th. They are still under threat of terrorist attack by Hamas, an organization that has said their stated express purpose is to eliminate Israel as a country. And so we're going to continue to support Israel on that front. But I'm again, I'm not going to get into their readiness. Q: So you were trying to convince a wavering congressman about sending more money and aid to Israel? To continue the assault on Gaza, would you have a would you say, look, you have to do this now. Otherwise, Israel won't be able to defend itself anymore. I mean, would there be a timeframe? Would you have one to give up? GEN. RYDER: Again, I'm not going to get into hypotheticals. All right. Thanks very much, everybody. Appreciate it. https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3702062/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address March 8, 2024 Release Readout of Under Secretary of Defense Dr. William LaPlante's Visit to New York City Department of Defense Spokesperson Jeff Jurgensen provided the following readout: Under Secretary of Defense of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Dr. William LaPlante traveled to New York City on March 5, 2024 to meet with a range of private capital firms and senior financial sector officials to discuss participation in the defense market and opportunities for collaboration. At a roundtable discussion with venture capital stakeholders, Dr. LaPlante highlighted DoD's emphasis on open systems architectures and entry points they enable for the integration of new technologies and new entrants. The conversation further explored the importance of doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, and facilities (DOTMLPF) in developing potential capabilities for DoD use, as well as ways the Department could increase visibility into validated requirements to better inform commercial investments. Dr. LaPlante conducted a similar session with private equity investors later in the day. Discussion focused largely on industrial base resilience and the urgent need to increase production capacity for critical capabilities. Participants ideated on new approaches that might enable more rapid scaling of, and modularity in, production and areas that additional capital could have the greatest impact. While in New York, Dr. LaPlante also met with former New York City Mayor and founder of Bloomberg L.P., Michael Bloomberg, to discuss acquisition and sustainment priorities and topics including cybersecurity, the defense industrial base, and commercial aviation. "It will take everyone across the defense industrial ecosystem VC, private equity, small business, new entrants, mid-tiers, and traditional primes alike playing a role if we're going to be successful in implementing the National Defense Industrial Strategy," LaPlante said. "We face some incredibly complex challenges as we work to deliver high-end capabilities to our warfighters at speed and scale, but I'm leaving New York energized by the solution-focused mindset of our private capital partners. I look forward to continuing the dialogue on a regular cadence and bringing some of the ideas we discussed to fruition." https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3701768/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address March 8, 2024 Release Readout of U.S.-Serbia Bilateral Defense Consultations Department of Defense Spokesman LtCol Garron Garn provided the following readout: On March 7, 2024, Ms. Lisa Sawyer, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for European and NATO Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, co-chaired the U.S.-Serbia Bilateral Defense Consultations (BDC) with Mr. Nemanja Starovic, State Secretary in the Serbian Ministry of Defense. The meeting took place in the Pentagon in Washington, DC. Participants included Major General John C. Harris Jr., the Adjutant General of the Ohio National Guard; Colonel Andrew Mack, Division Chief, Global Partnerships and Security Cooperation, J5/U.S. European Command (USEUCOM); Colonel Corey Shea, U.S. Senior Defense Official and Defense Attache; and representatives from the Joint Staff, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the Department of State, the Serbian Ministry of Defense, and the Serbian General Staff. Participants discussed bilateral security cooperation priorities, including exercises, training, military-to-military engagements, technical cooperation, contributions to global security, and Serbia's longstanding State Partnership Program with the Ohio National Guard. Serbian defense officials provided an update on the deployment of Soldiers to the Multinational Force and Observers mission in the Sinai Peninsula and presented ideas on regional cooperation in the Western Balkans. The United States reaffirmed the importance of EU-facilitated dialogue as the best way to achieve a stable and secure Western Balkans. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3701281/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address March 8, 2024 Speech Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks Remarks for International Women's Day Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks Today, as we observe International Women's Day, we celebrate the tremendous contributions of women and girls in making the world a safer, more secure place. Last year, the Department of Defense celebrated the 75th anniversary of the integration of women in the armed services. Although women have played a role in our nation's defense since its founding, the full inclusion of women in our military has often been met with resistance. But because of this historic step, and the progress we've continued to make as a nation, our military is stronger and more effective than ever. Women make up about 25 percent of our total force, serving all across the Department and bringing the full breadth and depth of their skills and expertise to bear. They're commanding, innovating, building, teaching, advising... They're protecting our values and defending our nationand they're doing it at all levels of leadership and rank. And that's as it should be. Because women belong everywhere that decisions are madefrom the backroom to the boardroom to the battlefield. And we, as a nation, are fortunate to be able to tap into this incredible pool of talent. That talent doesn't only exist in the United States. Each and every day, women worldwide are exhibiting extraordinary courage in the face of extreme odds and crisis to secure peace, freedom, and dignity for not only themselves but also for others. When women are given a seat at the table and have opportunities to lead, they hold the power to achieve lasting change. And that's no exaggeration. Studies show that when women participate in peace negotiations, parties are more likely to come to a just settlement and have it result in lasting stability. And that is hands-down a net benefit for all. During the pandemic, women peacebuilders and peacekeepers around the world showed incredible leadership to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 and amplify women's voices in the response and recovery. In Ukraine, conflict has exacerbated gender-based violence and inequality. Women are working tirelessly to defend their country and ensure that women have meaningful opportunities to participate in humanitarian and reconstruction efforts. And in the Middle East, women have long played key roles in negotiating and sustaining peace and addressing the root causes and conditions that bring about conflict. Since Day One, one of the Secretary's top Departmental priorities has been taking care of our people. That's why we remain focused on expanding equal opportunity and reinforcing the support that allows women in the workforce to thrivesuch as competitive pay, childcare, healthcare, and workplace safety. There is more work to do to ensure that women and girls are given the tools and access they need to realize their full potential. We recognize that it matters for our global safety and security. It matters if we want long-lasting stability and prosperity. And it matters for the wellbeing of women and girls everywhere who deserve the chance to achieve success and live their lives on their own terms. Thank you. https://www.defense.gov/News/Speeches/Speech/Article/3701198/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address President Joe Biden shakes hands after delivering the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Washington. (Shawn Thew/Pool via AP) Shawn Thew/AP Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a gathering of Jewish leaders at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024. Ohad Zwigenberg/AP Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., talks with Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough after President Joe Biden delivered the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Thursday March 7, 2024, in Washington. Andrew Harnik/AP WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden 's growing frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to mount, with the Democrat captured on a hot mic saying that he and the Israeli leader will need to have a come to Jesus meeting. The comments by Biden came as he spoke with Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., on the floor of the House chamber following Thursday night's State of the Union address. In the exchange, Bennet congratulates Biden on his speech and urges the president to keep pressing Netanyahu on growing humanitarian concerns in Gaza. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg were also part of the brief conversation. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Biden then responds using Netanyahu's nickname, saying, I told him, Bibi, and dont repeat this, but you and I are going to have a come to Jesus meeting. An aide to the president standing nearby then speaks quietly into the presidents ear, appearing to alert Biden that microphones remained on as he worked the room. Im on a hot mic here, Biden says after being alerted. Good. Thats good. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The president on Friday acknowledged the comments, lightheartedly poking at reporters that they were eavesdropping on his conversation. Asked if he thought Netanyahu should be doing more to alleviate the humanitarian suffering, Biden responded, Yes, he does. A widening humanitarian crisis across Gaza and tight Israeli control of aid trucks have left virtually the entire population desperately short of food, according to the United Nations. Officials have been warning for months that Israels siege and offensive were pushing the Palestinian territory into famine. Biden has become increasingly public about his frustration with the Netanyahu governments unwillingness to open more land crossings for critically needed aid to make its way into Gaza. In his address on Thursday, he called on the Israelis to do more to alleviate the suffering even as they try to eliminate Hamas. Advertisement Article continues below this ad To Israel, I say this humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip, Biden said. The president announced in his speech Thursday that the U.S. military would help establish a temporary pier aimed at boosting the amount of aid getting into the territory. Last week, the U.S. military began air dropping aid into Gaza. Biden said the temporary pier, will enable a massive increase in humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza. Later on Friday, Biden at a campaign stop in suburban Philadelphia told reporters that the prospects of forging an extended cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is looking tough. Ramadan is expected to begin on Sunday. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Biden also said that he was worried about violence spreading to east Jerusalem. Clashes have erupted during Ramadan in recent years between Palestinians and Israeli security forces around Jerusalems Old City, home to major religious sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims and the emotional epicenter of the Middle East conflict. March 8, 2024 By Matthew Olay , DOD News DOD to Construct Pier to Deliver Humanitarian Aid to Gaza The Department of Defense will undertake an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier on the coast of Gaza to deliver up to 2,000,000 humanitarian aid meals per-day, the Pentagon announced today. The announcement comes less than a day after the State of the Union address, when President Joe Biden called on the military to lead such an operation. The mission, which will be under the command of U.S. Transportation Command and conducted by the 7thTransportation Brigade from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, and other forces, will deploy DOD's Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore capability, or JLOTS, with a goal of beginning delivery operations in approximately 60 days. The components of the JLOTS include a floating pier, an approximately 1,800-foot-long causeway that will be attached to the shore, and a group of logistic support vessels and barges that will transport the aid from the pier to the causeway. Once the aid has reached the two-lane causeway, it can be transported to the land and distributed to Gaza, according to Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, who explained the planned JLOTS mission to the media during today's briefing. "This is part of a full-court press by the United States to not only focus on working on opening up and expanding routes via land, which are the optimal way to get aid into Gaza, but also by conducting air drops," said Ryder, in reference to the more than 100,000 meals that have been dropped into Gaza by the U.S. and Jordan during the past week. "As the president has said, not enough aid is getting in [to Gaza]," Ryder continued, "so [JLOTS] is a capability... that we are going to execute and enable us to get... up to 2,000,000 meals in a day." Ryder stressed that, just as now, there will be no U.S. boots on the ground when the JLOTS mission begins. "The ability to do this without putting forces on ground is due to the fact that the causeway is essentially modular, built at sea, and then driven into the ground from offshore," Ryder stated. "We'll be working with partners in the region to be on the receiving end of [the JLOTS installation], but at no time will we require U.S. forces to actually go on the ground. Our role will be essentially to provide the service of getting [the aid] to the causeway, at which point it will then be distributed." Ryder added that mission planners have suggested Cypress as one possible location where aid could be loaded onto commercial vessels for transport to the floating pier off Gaza. In terms of security for JLOTS and who will provide it, Ryder said DOD is currently working with partners in the region, including Israel, to make that determination. "Certainly, one of the key things that we're going to be focused on is the security of our personnel and working with partners in the region to ensure that the aid that is delivered can be distributed in a safe and secure way," Ryder said. The 60-day timeline for JLOTS to become operational off Gaza includes the time it will take to transport some of the JLOTS components from Virginia to the Middle East, Ryder said. JLOTS capabilities have been deployed by DOD in many countries and regions in need of humanitarian aid and disaster relief over the years, with the most recent deployment being in support of Exercise Talisman Sabre, a large-scale joint defense exercise between Australia and the United States. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address March 8, 2024 By C. Todd Lopez , DOD News DOD Report Discounts Sightings of Extraterrestrial Technology The Defense Department's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office today released a report detailing its review of nearly 80 years of reports on government offices and special access programs related to unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPa new term for what was once referred to as unidentified flying objects. "AARO has found no verifiable evidence that any UAP sighting has represented extraterrestrial activity," said AARO acting Director Tim Phillips during a Wednesday briefing at the Pentagon. "AARO has found no verifiable evidence that the U.S. government or private industry has ever had access to extraterrestrial technology. AARO has found no indications that any information was illegally or inappropriately withheld from Congress." The 63-page "Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena" provides conclusions drawn following an examination of historical documents and conclusions drawn by U.S. government programs that did work related to UAP dating back to 1945. AARO's work also involved investigating claims that there were secret or hidden U.S. government programs related to UAP that might not have been reported to Congress. The AARO team looked into those claims to verify if such programs actually existed. "AARO assesses that alleged, hidden UAP programs either do not exist or were misidentified, authentic national security programs unrelated to extraterrestrial technology exploitation," Phillips said. "We assess that claims of such programs are largely the result of circular reporting in which a small group of individuals have repeated inaccurate claims they have heard from others over a period of several decades. Also, part of the report were assessments of claims made by about 30 individuals AARO interviewed, including former and current U.S. government employees who were allegedly involved in such programs or heard stories about those programs and subsequently misinterpreted what they saw or heard. "I wish to emphasize that we believe most of the individuals repeating these claims did so without malice or any effort to mislead the public," Phillips said. "Many have sincerely misinterpreted real events or mistaken sensitive U.S. programs, for which they were not cleared, as having been related to UAP or extraterrestrial exploitation." Phillips told reporters that while researching the AARO report, his team was given an unusual level of access to programs and information, which allowed them to more easily complete the work Congress had asked them to do. "AARO, as designed by Congress, had unprecedented access to classified programs," Phillips said. "Nobody blocked where we could go or the questions we asked. Nobody in the government influenced the findings in the report. As a career intelligence officer, I am just amazed at the access we had to some of our nation's most sensitive programs. Nobody said, 'No.'" Lawmakers directed AARO to produce the report as part of the fiscal year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. Today's report is the first volume of AARO's findings and covers a period from 1945 through October 2023. A second volume, which will be released later this year, will cover findings from interviews and research completed between November 2023 and April 2024. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address March 8, 2024 By Jim Garamone , DOD News Biden Issues Wake-Up Call for Americans on Threats to Democracy President Joe Biden used the State of the Union speech last night to wake up Americans to the challenges against democracy abroad and at home. Biden delivered a fiery speech at the U.S. Capitol, calling on Congress to pass legislation that will funnel weapons and ammunition to Ukraine as it battles against Russia's illegal invasion of the country. Biden said the times are perilous, with democracy facing attacks from Russian President Vladimir Putin and from Americans who espouse violence instead of votes. He said that not since the American Civil War has the U.S. faced such a moment. "My purpose tonight is to both wake up this Congress and alert the American people that this is no ordinary moment either," the president said. "Overseas, Putin of Russia is on the march, invading Ukraine and sowing chaos throughout Europe and beyond," he said. "If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you he will not." Biden reiterated that Ukraine is not asking for U.S. troops to defend the nation, but tools so Ukrainian service members can repel the invaders. "There are no American soldiers at war in Ukraine," the president said. "And I am determined to keep it that way. But now assistance for Ukraine is being blocked by those who want us to walk away from our leadership in the world." The president also highlighted the role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in maintaining peace between great powers since the end of World War II. This year marks 75 years since the signing of the Washington Treaty establishing NATO, and the defensive alliance continues to grow. During the State of the Union speech, Biden noted that Finland joined the alliance last year, and "Just this morning, Sweden officially joined NATO, and their prime minister is here tonight. Both nations joined NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine. "I say this to Congress: We must stand up to Putin," Biden said. "Send me the Bipartisan National Security Bill. History is watching. If the United States walks away now, it will put Ukraine at risk. Europe at risk. The free world at risk, emboldening others who wish to do us harm. My message to President Putin is simple: We will not walk away. We will not bow down. I will not bow down." Biden also addressed the situation in Gaza more than five months after Hamas launched raids into Israel that killed more than 1,400 people and resulted in Hamas holding hostages in Gaza. "We've been working nonstop to establish an immediate cease-fire that would last for at least six weeks," he said. Biden said more than 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza, and he is working to ensure that aid gets to the civilian population. "I'm directing the U.S. military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the Gaza coast that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters," he said. "No U.S. boots will be on the ground. This temporary pier would enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day." The pier would complement ongoing efforts to get food and medical supplies into the embattled region via road and via airdrop missions. The president called on Israeli leaders to do their parts in this situation. "Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip; protecting and saving innocent lives has to be a priority," he said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel/Palestine: Statement by the High Representative on further settlement expansion European External Action Service (EEAS) 08.03.2024 EEAS Press Team The European Union condemns Wednesday's approval by the Israeli High Planning Committee of plans for advancing over 3.426 housing units, further expanding illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank particularly in this charged environment The EU urges Israel to reverse these decisions. The EU reiterates that settlements are illegal under international law and constitute an obstacle to peace, as they threaten the two-state solution. Furthermore, the expansion of settlements is completely inconsistent with efforts to reduce tensions. The EU's position remains unchanged: it will not recognise any changes to the pre-1967 borders, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties. Ahead of the upcoming festivities of Ramadan, Pessah, Purim and Easter, it is vital that the status quo of the Holy Sites is upheld, in line with previous understandings and with respect to the special role played by Jordan. The EU reiterates its call for an immediate humanitarian pause that would lead to a sustainable ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and the provision of unhindered humanitarian assistance. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Estonia welcomes Sweden's accession to NATO Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs 08.03.2024 Sweden has become the 32nd member of NATO after depositing its NATO ratification instrument to the U.S. Department of State today. Estonia welcomes Sweden's accession to NATO. According to Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, this is a historic event. "As of today, the entire Nordic and Baltic region belongs to NATO," said Kallas. "This is a historic turning point that will strengthen the security of our entire region as well as the Alliance." The Prime Minister recalled that at in late 2021, Russia demanded the closure of NATO's doors with ultimatums. "Today, NATO is more united than ever and stronger with two powerful allies - Sweden and Finland," the Prime Minister said. The Prime Minister added that the NATO accession of Sweden and Finland will provide us with new opportunities for closer bilateral defence cooperation with both countries. "Sweden's NATO membership will significantly enhance the security of both the Baltic Sea and the Alliance as a whole," said Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur. "It's worth noting that both the armed forces and the defence industry will significantly strengthen NATO's defence shield, and the s strategic location of Sweden will allow NATO greater freedom of action on the Baltic Sea. In short, Estonia and the Baltic region can feel considerably more secure." "We and the Swedish people share the understanding that Russia is a direct threat to peace and security in the region," added Pevkur. "We are naturally interested in intensifying practical cooperation with Sweden, both bilaterally and within NATO, in order to further develop the collective defence of the Alliance in the best possible way." According to Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna, Sweden's accession will allow us to respond even more effectively to any challenges and threats in our region. "The fact that Estonia and Sweden are no longer just neighbours and partners, but NATO allies, will enable closer cooperation in the field of defence and security, significantly enhance the security of the Baltic Sea region and improve the security of supply of NATO's Eastern flank," said Tsahkna. According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sweden's accession sends an important message about NATO's open door policy. "Article 10 of the Washington Treaty, signed 75 years ago, states that each European country must be able to decide on its own security arrangements," said Tsahkna. "Sweden's membership proves that the door of the alliance is open to democratic European countries and that all processes related to accession are decided only by the allies. Neither Russia nor anyone else has a power of veto over this issue." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Nordic Response 24 showcases unmatched interoperability on land, sea, air Nordic and Allied forces will demonstrate a unique level of cooperation and interoperability as they cross national borders on land, sea and air during Exercise Nordic Response 24 this weekend, March 9-10, 2024. By Forsvaret (Norwegian Armed Forces), U.S. European Command Stuttgart, Germany Mar 08, 2024 Nordic and Allied forces will demonstrate a unique level of cooperation and interoperability as they cross national borders on land, sea and air during Exercise Nordic Response 24 this weekend, March 9-10, 2024. Carefully planned and executed above the Arctic Circle, Nordic Response is designed to strengthen collaboration among Nordic countries and their Allies, showcasing to the world the high degree of partnership that exists between and among participating forces from 13 nations. Through seamless integration across land, sea and air, this large-scale exercise demonstrates the collective ability to address challenging situations toward ensuring the security of the region. "Our greatest strategic advantage in the Arctic region is a network of Allies and partners committed to Arctic security, and more importantly, peace and prosperity," said U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Robert Sofge, commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa. "Nordic Response stresses that now is the time to get our systems connected, our doctrine aligned, and to share our tactics to ensure we can sense and make sense in a complex battlefield, in the harshest of conditions, against a capable opponent." U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa is U.S. European Command's lead component in planning and executing Nordic Response, a NATO Steadfast Defender 2024 and USEUCOM-coordinated Large Scale Global Exercise-tethered Arctic exercise. Beyond the kinetic military operations, this High North exercise fosters civil-military collaboration that has been established among the Nordic countries. Services such as customs, food safety authorities and other relevant civilian agencies will actively participate to facilitate all exercise participants. This comprehensive approach contributes to strengthening the Nordic region's preparedness system, enhancing the ability to effectively handle complex situations and crisis should the need ever arise. Also this weekend, Finnish, French, Italian, Spanish and Swedish forces onboard American and Italian naval vessels - notably, the USS Gunston Hall along with Italian Ships San Giorgio and Giuseppe Garibaldi - will conduct simultaneous amphibious beach assaults and landings on the shores of Norway. Against the backdrop of the Norwegian fjords, these forces will demonstrate the effectiveness of conducting another in a long list of complex military maneuvers that Nordic Response is designed to hone; this instance being high-end, amphibious operations in an Arctic environment. # # # NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iraqi resistance launches drone attack on Israel's military base IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 8, 2024 Tehran, IRNA -- The Islamic Resistance of Iraq announced on Thursday night that it targeted a military base of the Zionist regime in the "Rash Pina" airport located in the Al-Jalil region. The Iraqi Islamic Resistance emphasized that this attack was carried out in support of the people of Gaza and that this group will continue its attacks. This resistance group also announced on Tuesday night that the power plant of Haifa city airport in occupied Palestine was targeted by a drone attack. 2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Resistance missile attack on the positions of the Zionist regime in the north of the Gaza Strip IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 8, 2024 Tehran, IRNA -- Palestinian resistance forces targeted the Zionist settlements located in the north of Gaza Strip with a missile attack. According to Al Jazeera" network, the Quds forces claimed responsibility for this missile attack and announced that they targeted the towns near and around Gaza with a wave of missiles. This resistance group, without mentioning the possible casualties of these attacks, announced that this operation was carried out in response to the crime of the Zionist regime. On the other hand, Lebanon's Hezbollah announced on Thursday night that it crushed the location of the Zionist regime's military in the north of the occupied territories. 2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NATO praises model balancing of Lithuania's defence spending that ticks every box in NATO recommendations Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of National Defence 2024-03-08 International cooperation | Security and defense policy Multilateral consultations with NATO Allies were held in Brussels this week to assess how Lithuania succeeds to meet its NATO commitments. NATO planners overviewed the progress Lithuania had made in living up to its commitments and especially highlighted the national ambitions set to complement the overall NATO capabilities in the future. NATO experts underscored the exemplary budget balancing that fell in line with NATO recommendations and distributed the funds properly across the areas of personnel needs, major weaponry procurement and sophisticated system sustainment throughout their lifecycle. According to consultations participants, Lithuania's latest defence spending and capability and infrastructure development plans were not just welcome but also set a role model for other NATO Allies. Lithuania's current defence budget markedly exceeds the minimum goals agreed to at the NATO Summit in Vilnius, i.e. 2 percent of GDP. Lithuania's defence spending this year amounts to 2.77 percent of GDP and targets are set on 3 percent. Another aspect looked into was the challenge of potential recruit and servicemember career reluctance in some of the Allies and Lithuania's best practices in tackling the issue. Lithuania has approved a comprehensive package including such servicemember-oriented measures as increased compensations for commuting to service sites and lodging charge, qualification, specific duty or service allowance increase, as well as allowances for international deployments and salary rise by tens of percent. NATO representatives were particularly appreciative of Lithuania's proficiency in offering an appealing package of motivating measures for servicemembers and mixed recruitment model that focuses not only on career military but also volunteer and recruit servicemembers. The Allies thanked Lithuania for the continued assistance to Ukraine and underscored the importance of the demining coalition led by Lithuania and Iceland. 22 states have already joined the initiative. NATO representatives also have noted the weighty contribution Lithuania makes to other multilateral and bilateral formats: the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force, cooperation in NORDEFCO, trilateral Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian Brigade LITPOLUKRBRIG and the 3B, three Baltic states, format. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 25th Anniversary of Poland's Accession to the North Atlantic Alliance Poland - Ministry of National Defence 08.03.2024 "On March 12th, 1999, in the city of Independence in the United States of America Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has formally received the document ratifying our access to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. The time and place for this event are symbolic today, but back then it was an unequivocal and clear declaration, in which free and democratic Poland has definitively set out the vision of its security and set out the way in which it wishes to develop it further. The decision to join NATO was one of the most important moments in modern Polish history - we have become a member of the largest and strongest defensive alliance in the history of the modern world - let us remember that this year we celebrate its 75th anniversary" - said the deputy prime minister, minister of national defence Wadysaw Kosiniak -Kamysz 25 years ago, on March 12th 1999, we have opened a new chapter in the history of Polish security. The status of a member state in the North Atlantic Alliance remains one of the main pillars of Polish security policy, as well as that of Europe. Article 5 of the Washington Treaty is a guarantee of our safety and the foundation of the Alliance's deterrence capability. Poland not only benefits from common security, but also makes an important contribution to its strengthening. Entrusting Poland with the organisation of a meeting between NATO heads of state and government in 2016 was proof of our country's position in the North Atlantic Alliance. The Summit which took place in Warsaw was an important event in the history of the Alliance, beginning a new chapter in the military adaptation of NATO to the changing security environment. 25 years of membership of Poland in NATO meant for the soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces a time of intense service, dynamic development and building a strong position in NATO. From the moment of joining NATO, Poland has diligently been fulfilling all obligations that membership in the Alliance places on the participating states. Polish soldiers have taken and still take part in Alliance-led missions andoperations. Over the course of our 25 years of membership, 75 000 of our soldiers and civilian employees have served in them. Poland is an important member of the Alliance not just because of its geopolitical position, but primarily because of its experience and potential. We are a leader among the North Atlantic Alliance states in terms of the defense expenditures made by our country. It is shown by the large percentage of our GDP assigned to defense - twice more than the 2% required by NATO, at the level of 4,2% GDP in 2024., which is a planned 158 bln PLN, over 50% of which we will devote to the modernization of the Armed Forces, which also places us in the leadining position in the Alliance. Ever since Poland joined NATO, many military deployments of the Alliance or connected to it have been placed in our country; many investments were completed as part of the NATO Security Investment Programme (NSIP), the total value of which is 7,8 bln PLN. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive at Philadelphia International Airport, Friday, March 8, 2024. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Washington. Standing at left is Vice President Kamala Harris and seated at right is House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. (Shawn Thew/Pool via AP) Shawn Thew/AP President Joe Biden, right, arrives to deliver the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Washington. Looking on at second left is Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. (Shawn Thew/Pool via AP) Shawn Thew/AP MIAMI (AP) President Joe Biden faced disappointment and anger from some allies Friday for calling the suspect in the killing of a Georgia nursing student an illegal during his State of the Union speech. Other Democrats backed him as better on immigration issues than former President Donald Trump, his likely rival in November's election. The moment occurred during an exchange in which Biden pressed Republicans to pass a bipartisan border security deal that fell apart after Trump opposed it. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a stalwart Trump ally, then shouted at the president to say the name of Laken Riley, the Georgia woman killed last month, adding she was killed by an illegal. By an illegal, thats right, Biden responded immediately, before appearing to ask how many people are being killed by legals. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Referring to people who arrived or are living in the U.S. illegally as illegals was once common but is far less so today, particularly among Democrats who more fully embraced immigrant rights issues during Trumps presidency. Biden campaigned four years ago against many of Trumps immigration policies and changing official guidelines to stop using the term illegal aliens, but he is now pushing for new border restrictions in the wake of record numbers of people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, straining federal authorities and Democratic-run cities forced to open emergency shelters. Biden has adopted some of Trumps own language, saying hed shut down the border if given the power, which he also brought up again in Thursday's address. His campaign on Friday argued the incident would not affect his efforts to reach Latino voters and other communities of color that are part of the Democratic base. Several allies on Capitol Hill defended him even as they criticized his use of the term. Advertisement Article continues below this ad It was an unfortunate choice of words, but I think he could easily correct it, said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus. I think that the inclusive vision that he painted of immigration was exactly what I was looking for. Cesar Cuauhtemoc Garcia Hernandez, chair of civil rights and civil liberties at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, said Bidens use of the term was an off-the-cuff moment but also reflective of both the long time he has been in public office and also his recent shift on immigration. I think it is very revealing of the president, who really honed his chops on politics in an era in which that kind of language was routine, and its reflective of the fact that his administrations immigration policies have increasingly moved to the right, trying to outmaneuver Republicans and to use the language that Republicans continue to try to wield," Garcia Hernandez said. Some progressive Democratic lawmakers said they were disappointed to hear the term from Biden. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Just like we should not be implementing Republican policy, we should not be repeating Republican rhetoric, said Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass, who added that she had never heard the president use that word before. The rhetoric President Biden used tonight was dangerously close to language from Donald Trump that puts a target on the backs of Latinos everywhere, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. Castro acknowledged there was a lot of good in Bidens speech, but called his rhetoric about immigrants incendiary and wrong. Others were ready to give Biden a pass on using the term. Advertisement Article continues below this ad This is what happens when you engage with the boneheads, said Rep. Nanette Barragan of California, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Republicans celebrated the moment with Greene saying Democrats were melting down. As he departed for a campaign trip to Philadelphia, Biden was asked by a journalist if he regretted using the term illegal. He first hesitated saying well I probably, before pausing and saying I dont" and appearing to start saying the word regret. Then he stopped again and said, Technically not supposed to be here. Advertisement Article continues below this ad On a call with reporters on Friday, Biden campaign officials were asked whether his use of the word could impact his efforts to reach Latino voters. Our community knows Joe. They know who is fighting for our community. They know who is fighting for us, said Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Bidens reelection campaign manager. His values of faith, of family, of hard work. All of those are so consistent with what our community stands for." A Pew Research Center study conducted in January found three-quarters of U.S. Hispanics describe the large number of migrants seeking to enter the U.S. through the border with Mexico as a major problem or a crisis. A similar number said U.S. government is doing a bad job handling the influx. Non-Hispanics were more likely than Hispanics to describe the situation as a crisis, or to say the migrant situation is leading to more crime in the U.S. Campaign spokesman Michael Tyler argued that Trump and top Republicans are using immigrants as their primary political punching bag. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Tyler said Bidens campaign wants to treat people here with the dignity and respect that they deserve, and we are going to contrast that against Donald Trump and his hate-fueled rhetoric and his hateful extremism when it comes to the substance of the issue. The term was common in the past before some started to advocate against its use. In 1972, the same year Biden was first elected to the U.S. Senate, Latino labor activist Cesar Chavez Julie Chavez Rodriguez's grandfather used the terms wetbacks and illegals in a TV interview to describe migrant workers from Mexico who were brought in to break a strike. After Bidens address, some quoted Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel in saying no human being is illegal, a phrase that was used by immigrant rights advocates to push people to move away from using illegal and illegal immigrant first used by the British toward Jewish refugees entering then-Mandatory Palestine without authorization. In 2013, The Associated Press made the change to no longer use illegal immigrant to describe a person, just an action of living in or immigrating to the country illegally. Advertisement Article continues below this ad ___ Iraqi resistance targets Israel military barracks, oil refineries Iran Press TV Friday, 08 March 2024 10:36 PM The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has launched new attacks against Israeli targets in the occupied territories in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza. The Iraqi umbrella group of anti-terror groups said in a statement published on its Telegram channel on Friday that it carried out a drone attack on a military barracks at Rosh Pina Airport in the northern part of the occupied territories. It added the operation was carried out in response to Israel's massacre of Palestinian civilians, including women and children, in Gaza. The resistance also targeted the Information Base in the northern occupied Golan using drones, affirming its continuation in striking the enemy's strongholds. The fighters of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq on Friday also targeted the oil refineries in Haifa in the occupied land with drones. The Iraqi resistance underscored that it would continue to target the occupying regime until the complete "destruction of enemy strongholds." The Islamic resistance in Iraq has carried out several attacks on Israeli targets in recent months. Earlier this week, the resistance targeted Israeli port of Haifa twice, hitting a chemical facility and a power station at its airport with drones. Last week, the group launched a drone attack on a chemical facility in the Israeli port of Haifa. "In continuation of our approach to resisting the occupation and supporting our people in Gaza, our (fighters), using drones, attacked the port of Haifa in the occupied territories in Palestine," the Islamic Resistance in Iraq said in a statement on the first of February. The Islamic resistance in Iraq says it will continue its attacks on Israeli targets until the regime stops its genocide in Gaza. It has also struck major American military bases in Syria and Iraq amid anger over the US support for Israel's onslaught on Gaza. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq also claimed responsibility for the attack in late January on Jordan's border with Syria that left three US soldiers dead. The Israeli regime waged the war on Gaza on October 7 after Hamas carried out the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime's atrocities against the Palestinians. Since the start of the aggression, Israel has killed at least 30,878 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the latest count by the Gaza Health Ministry. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Aid airdrop kills five Palestinians in Gaza Iran Press TV Friday, 08 March 2024 5:01 PM Five Palestinians have been killed by aid packages airdropped on the besieged Gaza Strip by the US and its allies with the Gaza authorities slamming the airdrop as a "flashy propaganda" rather than a humanitarian service. The spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, Mahmoud Basal, said boxes fell on the desperate people who were gathering northwest of Gaza City on Friday to collect the aid "as a result of civilian aircraft incorrectly dropping aid." According to the report, the technical failure also left an unspecified number of injured people. Videos that circulated on social media showed an aircraft dropping aid packages on people in al-Shati Camp in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Locals said some parachutes used to airdrop the aid didn't open, causing the boxes to fall on the aid-seekers. According to a medical source in the al-Shifa Medical Complex, some of the injured are in serious condition. That took place as some countries, including the United States, Jordan, Egypt, and France, have conducted airdrop operations into Gaza, which is under a complete Israeli siege. Critics say airdropping is an unsafe and insufficient means of aid delivery. Commenting on the deadly airdrop, the government media office in Gaza said such operations were "futile" and "not the best way for aid to enter." "Dropping aid in this way is flashy propaganda rather than a humanitarian service," said Gaza's media office. "We previously warned it poses a threat to the lives of citizens in the Gaza Strip, and this is what happened today when the parcels fell on the citizens' heads." "Before it is too late, bring in aid through land crossings," it said. The United Nations has also stressed that airdrops are not a replacement for land deliveries. Jordan has denied that its aircraft was behind the Friday tragedy. The other countries have yet to comment on the incident. Israel waged its genocidal war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people. The Tel Aviv regime has also imposed a "complete siege" on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there. Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed over 30,000 Palestinians and injured more than 72,000 others. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Gunmen abduct over 250 children from school in Nigeria Iran Press TV Friday, 08 March 2024 2:46 PM Gunmen have kidnapped more than 250 school children, including at least 100 children aged 12 or under, after raiding a school in a town in northwest Nigeria. According to teachers and parents of missing children, 187 secondary school students and 40 primary school students were missing. The school was "surrounded from all angles" by the motorcycle-riding gunmen who arrived at the school just after 8 a.m., said Joshua Madami, a youth leader in the area. Locals said security forces did not arrive at the scene until several hours later. The abduction, the largest since 2021, happened at the Local Government Education Authority School in Kaduna state, near the West African nation's capital, on Thursday. School authorities said one man was shot dead as he tried to save the students. "We don't know what to do, we are all waiting to see what God can do. They are my only children I have on Earth," said Fatima Usman, whose two children were among those abducted. "Please stay and help us, please don't leave us," one woman cried as the governor's convoy sped off. Parents and residents blame the kidnapping on lack of security in the area. UN child welfare agency UNICEF also condemned the attack and called on the government to do more to protect students. "Schools are supposed to be sanctuaries of learning and growth, not sites of fear and violence," UNICEF Nigeria director Christian Munduate said in a statement. Kidnappings for ransom have become endemic in northern Nigeria. Hundreds of schoolchildren and college students have been kidnapped in mass abductions in the northwest and central region, in the last three years. Almost all were released for ransom payments after weeks or months spent in captivity at camps hidden in forests. The last major reported abduction involving school children in Kaduna was in July 2021 when gunmen kidnapped more than 150 students. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Rafah offensive to push Gaza 'deeper into the abyss', UN warns Iran Press TV Friday, 08 March 2024 2:32 PM The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned against an Israeli offensive in Gaza's border city of Rafah, saying the "catastrophic" situation in the besieged strip may "slide deeper into the abyss." "We fear that this already catastrophic situation may slide deeper into the abyss as many Palestinians mark the holy month of Ramadan... should Israel launch its threatened military offensive into Rafah, where 1.5 million people have been displaced in deplorable sub-human conditions," Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on Friday. "Any ground assault on Rafah would incur massive loss of life and would heighten the risk of further atrocity crimes," he said, stressing, "This must not be allowed to happen." As Israel's war on Gaza has entered its sixth month, the spokesperson said the UN Human Rights chief repeats his calls for an immediate ceasefire. "The killing and destruction must stop." The UN human rights office also urged Israel, as the occupying power, to "fully comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law", saying the regime must provide civilians in Gaza with the necessary food and medical supplies, or "ensure that the population has access to critical life-saving humanitarian assistance." The spokesperson stressed that those who violate international law that protects human rights and governs the conduct of hostilities "must be held to account." In an apparent reference to Israel's allies, especially the US, Laurence said all parties to the four Geneva Conventions, "must not, through their own policies or actions, facilitate the commission of violations of humanitarian law." Israel waged its genocidal war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people. The Tel Aviv regime has also imposed a "complete siege" on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there. Washington has since supplied the regime with more than 10,000 tons of military equipment. The US has also repeatedly vetoed UN resolutions that call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights office expressed its concern over further Israeli restrictions on access by Palestinians to East al-Quds and al-Aqsa Mosque during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, which will begin next week, saying the measures "could further inflame tensions." The current fighting in the besieged Gaza Strip was in part caused by Israel's support for settlers frequenting the mosque provocatively. Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed 30,878 Palestinians and injured 72,402 others. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under the rubble in Gaza. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hamas fighters attack Israeli command center, kill 7 Israeli forces: Statement Iran Press TV Friday, 08 March 2024 2:11 PM Fighters with the Gaza Strip-based resistance movement of Hamas announce attacking an Israeli command center in the northern part of the coastal sliver, and killing as many as seven Israeli forces elsewhere across the Palestinian territory. Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, as Hamas' armed wing is known, announced the information in a statement on Friday, Qatar's Al Jazeera television network reported. The attack on the command center saw the fighters using a drone to release two anti-personnel rockets against the target in a location lying to the east of the city of Beit Hanoun. The Brigades also reported killing an Israeli officer elsewhere near the city. According to a separate statement, the fighters in southern Gaza attacked and killed six Israeli soldiers who were inside a house north of Khan Younis. The developments took place amid an October 7-present Israeli war against Gaza that was launched following al-Aqsa Storm, a surprise offensive by the coastal sliver's resistance movements against the occupied territories. Around 600 Israeli troops have been killed during resistance operations staged to defend Gaza in the face of the war that has so far claimed the lives of more than 30,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children. Last Friday, Ynetnews, the website for Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot, reported that the regime's military was facing a critical manpower problem as it was running short of thousands of forces. "The army is experiencing intensifying personnel shortages," the report said, adding that it "urgently requires an additional 7,000 soldiers, with half of these intended for combat roles." These "unprecedented" figures underscored the "shock" that was being experienced by the Israeli military in the wake of more than five months of war, the website said. Late last month, the Israeli minister for military affairs highlighted the heavy toll the war was inflicting on the regime's military. "We are paying a very high price in our ranks...The costs we incur in terms of the numbers of deaths and injuries are very high," Yoav Gallant said at the time. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN rights chief slams Israel for drastically accelerating illegal settlements Iran Press TV Friday, 08 March 2024 11:16 AM The United Nation's human rights top brass, Volker Turk, says the Israeli regime is expanding its illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories by unprecedented amounts, posing a significant threat to the viability of a future Palestinian state. In a report to the Human Rights Council, the high commissioner noted on Friday that the expansion of Israeli settlements involved the transfer of settlers into occupied territories, which amounts to a war crime under international law. "Reports this week that Israel plans to build a further 3,476 settler homes in Maale Adumim, Efrat and Kedar fly in the face of international law," Turk said in a statement that accompanied the 16-page report. "The West Bank is already in crisis. Yet, settler violence and settlement-related violations have reached shocking new levels, and risk eliminating any practical possibility of establishing a viable Palestinian State," he said. Covering the period from November 1, 2022, to October 31, 2023, the report says that the size of existing Israeli settlements has expanded markedly, after about 24,300 housing units within existing Israeli settlements in the West Bank were advanced, marking the highest on record since monitoring began in 2017. This included approximately 9,670 units in East al-Quds. The findings of the report indicate that the current Israeli cabinet's policies are remarkably in line with the objectives of the Israeli settler movement. These policies aim to extend long-term authority over the West Bank, including East al-Quds, and gradually annex this occupied region. "They also run counter to the views of a broad range of States laid out during hearings just two weeks ago at the International Court of Justice," the High Commissioner said, referring to the hearings examining the legal consequences of Israeli policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory. Since October 7, 592 people, including 282 children, have been displaced in the West Bank, including East al-Quds, after their homes were demolished due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible to obtain. According to the latest UN figures, there have been 603 settler attacks against Palestinians since October 7, and a total of 1,222 Palestinians from 19 herding communities have been displaced as a direct result of settler violence. Furthermore, the UN human rights office has documented nine Palestinians killed by settlers using firearms, a further 396 have been killed by Israeli security forces, and two killed by either Israeli security forces or settlers, according to the report. "Israel's actions against the Palestinian population must cease immediately," Turk exclaimed. "The only way forward is to find a viable political solution that finally ends the occupation, establishes an independent Palestinian state and guarantees the realization of the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people," he further added. The report has also recorded numerous incidents where settlers have been observed donning complete or partial Israeli military uniforms, wielding rifles, and engaging in acts of harassment and aggression towards Palestinians, since October 7, which has blurred the line between settler violence and military violence. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Bougainville says PNG police appointment in breach of peace agreement Autonomous Bougainville voted decisively for independence from Papua New Guinea in 2019. By Harlyne Joku and Stephen Wright for BenarNews 2024.03.08 -- The Bougainville region of Papua New Guinea, which voted unambiguously for independence in 2019, has refused to recognize the central government's appointment of a senior police officer in the latest sign of tensions over the autonomous territory's future. Bougainville's government wants to achieve its independence aspirations by 2027 but faces opposition from Papua New Guinea's leaders who fear it could encourage secessionist movements in other regions of the volatile Pacific island country. An estimated 10,000-15,000 people died in a decade-long war between Bougainville and Papua New Guinea, according to an Australian government report on the conflict. Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama said the appointment earlier this week of a deputy head of police for Bougainville by Papua New Guinea's police commissioner "usurped" his government and was a breach of the 2001 peace agreement that officially ended the civil war. The national government "ignored my government in this decision and we were never consulted nor privy to the process," Toroama, a former commander in the Bougainville Revolutionary Army, said in a statement Thursday. "This appointment will not be recognized by the Autonomous Bougainville Government as it is unconstitutional and breaches the Bougainville Peace Agreement," he said. The anger at the police appointment comes as frustrations simmer over lack of progress in getting Papua New Guinea's Parliament to ratify the results of the independence referendum. Papua New Guinea, the most populous Pacific island country with an estimated 12 million people, is a focus of intensifying U.S.-China rivalry for influence in the Pacific. Some analysts have said Bougainville, home to about 300,000 people, would add a new dimension to the great power competition in the region if it were an independent nation. Taiwan's government reportedly wrote to Toroama in 2020 following his election, offering support. A report from the Washington-based Heritage Foundation in January said China was already preparing for possible Bougainville independence and has previously offered $1.0 billion for economic development through its contacts with Sam Kauona, a former general in the Bougainville Revolutionary Army and a former presidential candidate. A statement Thursday from Bougainville's Attorney-General Ezekiel Masatt said the central government is treating Bougainville's people and the law with "careless disregard and disdain." Papua New Guinea's government has "devious and devilish intentions and strategies," he said. National Police Commissioner David Manning, at a general press conference on Friday, said that the police force only consults the Bougainville government on the appointment of the head of police in the region, a police spokesperson told BenarNews. Bougainville, which makes up the easternmost islands of Papua New Guinea and borders the Solomon Islands, is the site of the long-inactive Panguna copper and gold mine - the historical source of conflict with the central government that spiraled into civil war as Bougainville suffered the environmental costs but got little of its substantial earnings. The Bougainville government in February renewed the exploration license of Bougainville Copper, a company in which Bougainville and Papua New Guinea each have 36% shareholdings. The renewal paves the way for redevelopment of the mine in the coming years, the company said citing Toroama, and offers a potential windfall for impoverished Bougainville as the mine has among the world's largest copper deposits. Masatt's statement also criticized the failure of Papua New Guinea's Parliament to consider ratification of the results of the independence referendum, which got more than 97% support from Bougainville's voting public. Despite an agreement between Toroama and Prime Minister James Marape, Parliament did not address the issue in 2023 and failed to address it at its first sitting for 2024 in February, he said, instead adjourning the legislature until May. Papua New Guinea police did not immediately comment on the Bougainville government's statements, but said Police Commissioner David Manning would hold a press conference on Friday. The opposition's Bougainville shadow minister, Puka Temu, said the police appointment is an example of the government failing to maintain respectful relations with the Bougainville administration. "The government continues to shift the goal posts with their handling of the ratification of the referendum results," he said. "It is becoming clear," Temu said, that the government "is not making enough effort to consult with the ABG [Autonomous Bougainville Government], and this is unnecessarily frustrating a straightforward process." BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization. Copyright 1998-2024, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content March not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Azadi Briefing: Taliban Appears Split Over Women's Education Ban By Abubakar Siddique March 08, 2024 The Key Issue Abdul Salam Zaeef, a former senior Taliban official, has criticized the extremist group's severe restrictions on female education. "Those who oppose modern education or invent arguments to undermine its importance, they are either completely ignorant or oppose Muslims under the garb of Islam," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on March 5. The Kabul-based Zaeef is one of the founders of the Taliban and a former deputy minister and ambassador during the group's first stint in power from 1996 to 2001. Since seizing power in 2021, the Taliban has banned girls above the sixth grade from going to school and women from attending university, in moves that provoked international condemnation. Zaeef, a dissenting voice for years, is the second prominent Taliban figure who has recently criticized the group's restrictions on female education. The Taliban's deputy foreign minister, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, called on the government to rescind the ban on women's education. "Learning should be open to all because education is obligatory for both men and women," he said. "No country can progress without education." Why It's Important: Zaeef and Stanikzai's comments highlight the rifts within the Taliban over the issue of female education. The Taliban's spiritual leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, has come under growing fire from figures inside the group over his extremist policies, including the severe restrictions on women's rights. In his attempt to create what he sees as a "pure" Islamic system, Akhundzada has alienated many Afghans and isolated the Taliban's unrecognized government internationally. What's Next: It is unclear if Akhundzada, who has the ultimate say on all important matters under the Taliban's theocratic system, will moderate the group's policies. Without reversing its repressive policies and creating an inclusive government, the Taliban appears unlikely to gain international recognition. What To Keep An Eye On Afghan laborers and traders say they face increasing visa restrictions in the Gulf states. During the past four decades, the oil-rich states in the Persian Gulf have provided jobs to hundreds of thousands of poor, uneducated Afghans. "I want to go there, but the Gulf Arab nations are now reluctant to grant us visas," Naqibullah, a resident of southeastern Khost Province, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. "There is no business here, but it is tough to obtain a visa for the United Arab Emirates," said Asmatullah Zadran, a trader in Khost. According to a January report by the Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent research organization, none of the Gulf countries, except Oman, currently grant work visas to Afghans. Why It's Important: The increasing visa restrictions on Afghans are likely to affect tens of thousands of families who have relied on remittances from family members working in the Gulf. Afghanistan is already reeling from an economic crisis and mass unemployment since the Taliban takeover. The drop in remittances from the Gulf are likely to further aggravate the economic situation in Afghanistan, where millions of people are on the verge of starvation. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/azadi-briefing-taliban- womens-education-ban-split-siddique/32854007.html Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Afghan Women, Lives Upended, Demand Taliban End Bans And Restrictions By RFE/RL's Radio Azadi March 08, 2024 Afghan women on International Women's Day demanded the country's hard-line Islamist Taliban rulers end bans and restrictions that have turned their lives upside down since the militants seized power in August 2021 as international troops withdrew. Despite a Taliban-mandated ban on protests, Afghan women held small demonstrations on March 8 to demand their rights and for authorities to release imprisoned Afghan women activists. They also called on the government to reopen schools and universities to females after cutting off their education after grade seven. "The international community should defend the rights of Afghan women and help them gain the right to work, education, and equality," an exiled women's rights activist who requested anonymity told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. The Taliban seized power promising more moderate policies than when it ruled the country some two decades earlier. But its leaders have since doubled down on the recreation of a totalitarian clerical regime, especially with regard to women, who have effectively been denied any public role in society. Afghan women have been banned from working in many sectors of the economy. Women-owned businesses face myriad restrictions. Women are also banned from recreation and leisure activities such as visiting public parks and public baths. Women also are dealing with severe restrictions on mobility and how they can appear in public. In most instances, they are required to be accompanied by a male chaperone. A Taliban decree requires women to wear the niqab, the head-to-toe veil in which only their eyes are visible. "The Taliban's restrictions have upended our lives," a university student in Kabul who requested anonymity told Radio Azadi. "My hopes of serving my community and our country have been dashed." In the capital, Kabul, right campaigner Kavia Siddiqi said the Taliban-led government has systematically deprived Afghan women of rights and freedoms. "Afghan women live in a prison because they are deprived of all their rights," she said. The Taliban has treated the anger surrounding its decisions with the same type of oppression. Its government has detained and tortured hundreds of women activists, some of whom remain in custody. "The fight for women's rights in Afghanistan is a global fight and a battle for women's rights everywhere," said Alison Davidian, special representative for UN Women in Afghanistan. Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, told Radio Azadi that Taliban discrimination against Afghan women could amount to "gender apartheid" if codified in international law. He said that under the concept of "gender persecution," the treatment of women in Afghanistan could be prosecuted as crimes against humanity under the 1998 Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court. "It is already possible to criminally prosecute for the crime of gender persecution," he said. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-taliban- restrictions-oppression-womens-day/32854217.html Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary Blinken's Call with Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry US Department of State Readout Office of the Spokesperson March 8, 2024 The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Shoukry discussed efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza for a period of at least six weeks as part of a deal that would release hostages held by Hamas and surge humanitarian assistance. Secretary Blinken underscored close coordination with regional partners to promote calm during the holy month of Ramadan and prepare for the post-conflict phase. The Secretary affirmed continued cooperation among international partners to protect freedom of navigation in the Red Sea. The Secretary and the Foreign Minister also discussed efforts to end the conflict in Sudan and prevent further widespread civilian harm. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Jonathan XV, UConn's mascot, appeared in a video testimony on Friday before the legislature's Government Administration & Elections Committee, along with UConn student Laura Centanni Ken Dixon/Hearst Connecticut Media Retired UConn mascot Jonathan XIV, right, looked at his successor, Jonathan XV, after a 2024 ceremony in Storrs. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill) Jessica Hill/Associated Press Elementary school children and a live dog's testimony started off the General Assembly's normally combative Government Administration & Elections Committee on Friday, adding a cheeful note to end of the week. Both Democrats and Republicans for a few minutes anyway enjoyed themselves as they heard testimony in favor of novelty legislation that included the possible designation of a new state candy, state dog, and state insect. Jonathan XV, the Siberian Husky who is the current mascot of the University of Connecticut, testified virtually from the Storrs campus in favor of his species being named the "state dog." Advertisement Article continues below this ad The 10-month-old puppy who only recently took over his official duties from a retiring Jonathin XIV, pressed his wet nose into the camera as his UConn student respresentative, Laura Centanni, read his testimony. They noted that Jonathan I, who arrived on the campus in 1935, was named after Connecticuts first Governor, Jonathan Trumbull. "Obviously being one myself, one could certainly accuse me of bias when championing the traits of a Siberian Husky," Centanni read in the remote testimony with the dog sitting nearby in a chair, mugging for the video camera. And while committee members praised the school kids who in their testimony called the current state insect the European mantis a violent foreigner that eats pollinators, they were non-committal over the two previous attempts to unseat the mantis from the perch it's held since 1977, when then-Gov. Ella Grasso arrived at a Vernon School in a helicopter to give the good news to that generation of children. But sweets started the public hearing in the Legislative Office Building with Jacqueline Glick, a sixth grader at Roger Ludlowe Middle School in Fairfield, promoting the lollipop, invented in New Haven in 1908, for a new designation as the "state candy." Fairfield students have been pushing the legislation for four years in a row, in testament to how long some bills take to come to fruition. This year it has been combined with the state dog appellation. "Lollipops are one of the most-popular candies in the world and we should claim it," Glick told the panel. "They are part of Connecticut's candy history and a symbol of our pride. Currently, there is no state with a state candy." Cheering on Glick was Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey, D-Fairfield, who noted that Gov. Ned Lamont is a big fan of the Orange-based Pez candies and dispensers. Glick noted, however, that a commercial company cannot win the state designation. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "When are you going to run for state rep?" asked first-term Rep. Seth Bronko, R-Naugatuck. State Rep. Matt Blumenthal, D-Stamford, co-chairman of the committee that typically focuses on election-related legislation that often sharply divides Democrats and Republicans, seemed glad to have a lighter subject for a change. He complimented Glick for researching the origin of the name lollipop, which was the nickname of a horse owned by the inventor of the flavored-sugar-on-a-stick treat. Blumenthal also noted Glick's four-year campaign for the sticky sweet. "Unfortunately, one of the things you've learned is that things often take a while," he said. Connecticut designations include dozens of items, from the Sperm Whale as the state mammal, to the American Robin as the state bird and Nathan Hale as the state hero. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Katherine Boye-Williams, an 11th grader at the private, 275-student Watkinson School, said she spent hundreds of hours researching and promoting the insect issue, finally winnowing down a list of 19 state insects to find the perfect one to represent Connecticut. "By having the non-native European Praying Mantis as the state insect, we are overlooking the thousands of native insects that are present in Connecticut eco-systems," she told the committee. State Sen. Mae Flexer, D-Killingly, co-chairwoman of the committee, was also realistic about the dueling proposals to topple the praying mantis and give the state insect crown to the native Spring Azure Butterfly, as promoted by the Watkinson students or the Autumn Meadowhawk Dragonfly, the candidate from the same Vernon school that promoted the praying mantis in 1977. "If we can't come to consensus on this, could we potentially charge you and your fellow students to sit down with your fellow students from Vernon and look at the dragonfly and the butterfly and maybe do some additional research?" Flexer asked. "I'm a little concerned that we may not be able to make the determination this year." "We would be willing to do that," Boye-Williams responded. Advertisement Article continues below this ad First-term state Rep. Kevin Brown, D-Vernon, speaking for fifth grade students at Vernon's Center Road School, looked back to reports of the 1977 visit by Grasso when the praying mantis won the title. "However, that current state insect is not a native species and is known to eat some of our pollinating insects, such as bumble bees," he said, adding that the Vernon students first proposed the change in 2022, when they were in third grade. After the student testimony, Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas asked the committee to approve a resolution for an amendment to the state Constitution, which would have to be approved by voters, to allow 16-year-olds to pre-register to vote, taking effect when they are 18. "I can think of no better reason for proposing this bill than all the young people we just saw here today," Thomas said. "That is what we are trying to do: Get more young people engaged politically before they turn 18." Secretary Blinken's Call with Haitian Prime Minister Henry US Department of State Readout Office of the Spokesperson March 8, 2024 The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Haitian Prime Minister Dr. Ariel Henry on March 7 to discuss the ongoing political, security, and humanitarian crisis in Haiti. For more than a year, the United States has encouraged Prime Minister Henry and other key stakeholders in Haiti to reach a compromise that will end the ongoing political stalemate. In the past week, the political crisis in Haiti, combined with escalating violence and civil unrest, has created an untenable situation which threatens the country's citizens and security. In his conversation with Prime Minister Henry, Secretary Blinken expressed support for a proposal developed in partnership with CARICOM and Haitian stakeholders to expedite a political transition through the creation of a broad-based, independent presidential college to steer the country toward the deployment of a Multinational Security Support mission and free and fair elections. The Secretary urged Henry to support this proposal in the interest of restoring peace and stability to Haiti so the Haitian people can resume their daily lives free from violence and despair. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The UK, European Commission, Cyprus, United Arab Emirates and United States gave a joint statement on activating a maritime corridor to deliver aid to Gaza. 8 March 2024 Joint statement from the European Commission, the Republic of Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States endorsing the activation of a maritime corridor to deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza: The humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire, with innocent Palestinian families and children desperate for basic necessities. That is why today, the European Commission, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, the Republic of Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States announce our intent to open a maritime corridor to deliver much-needed additional amounts of humanitarian assistance by sea. Cyprus' leadership in establishing the Amalthea Initiative - which outlines a mechanism for securely shipping aid from Cyprus to Gaza via sea - was integral to enabling this joint effort to launch a maritime corridor. Together, our nations intend to build on this model to deliver significant additional aid by sea, working in coordination with UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag - who is charged with facilitating, coordinating, monitoring, and verifying the flow of aid into Gaza under UN Security Council Resolution 2720. The dedicated efforts of the UAE to mobilize support for the Initiative will result in the initial shipment of food by sea to the people of Gaza. Cyprus will soon convene senior officials to discuss how we can accelerate this maritime channel supporting those in need, supplementing land and air routes, including from Egypt and Jordan. The United States announced an emergency mission led by the US military to establish a temporary pier in Gaza, in coordination with humanitarian partners and other countries, to enable the delivery of significant quantities of assistance by sea. These efforts will be closely coordinated with the Government of Israel. The delivery of humanitarian assistance directly to Gaza by sea will be complex, and our nations will continue to assess and adjust our efforts to ensure we deliver aid as effectively as possible. This maritime corridor can - and must - be part of a sustained effort to increase the flow of humanitarian aid and commercial commodities into Gaza through all possible routes. We will continue to work with Israel to expand deliveries by land, insisting that it facilitate more routes and open additional crossings to get more aid to more people. We affirm that protecting civilian lives is a key element of international humanitarian law that must be respected. And together, we must all do more to ensure aid gets to people who desperately need it. The UK calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities during the month of Ramadan in Sudan: UK statement at the UN Security Council Explanation of Vote by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security Council meeting on Sudan. 8 March 2024 Thank you, President, with the adoption of this resolution the Council has sent a strong and clear message to the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces to agree an immediate cessation of hostilities during the month of Ramadan. This follows the call of the Secretary-General and of the African Union. We urge the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces to act on this united international call for peace and to silence the guns. We further urge the warring parties to build trust and seek a sustainable resolution to the conflict through dialogue. President, the situation in Sudan is of grave concern and the humanitarian needs of Sudan's population are acute. We support the work of UN agencies and civil society organisations in their efforts to support those in need and underline the need for full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access. We welcome all mediation efforts to help achieve an end to this brutal conflict and further encourage the Secretary-General's Personal Envoy Ramtane Lamamra to complement and help coordinate regional efforts. President, this Council needs to continue to support efforts for peace in Sudan. We look forward to continuing to work across the UN, the region and Council members towards this goal. And in that regard, I thank my colleagues across the Council for their engagement on this resolution. Let me express my thanks also to our team and all of the colleagues and experts who agreed this text, thank you. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Gaza: Rafah ground assault would increase risk of atrocity crimes 8 March 2024 - Any assault by Israeli forces on the densely populated city of Rafah where 1.5 million have sought shelter following mass displacement, will hugely increase the risk of atrocity crimes, the UN High Commissioner for Human rights warned on Friday. Spokesperson for Volker Turk in Geneva, Jeremy Laurence, told journalists that an already catastrophic situation could "slide deeper into the abyss" in the coming days if Israeli forces make their move on the southern border city, carrying through with their threat to invade, unless Hamas militants hand over remaining hostages by the start of Ramadan. The holy month for Muslims worldwide begins this weekend, a "period that is meant to honour peace and tolerance", said Mr. Laurence. Gazans who have nowhere else to run to, are living in "deplorable sub-human conditions" in Rafah, he added: "Any ground assault on Rafah would incur massive loss of life and would heighten the risk of further atrocity crimes. "This must not be allowed to happen. We also fear that further Israeli restrictions on access by Palestinians to East Jerusalem and Al Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan could further inflame tensions." The UN human rights chief repeated that "there must be an immediate end to this conflict and that the killing and destruction must stop." Release hostages unconditionally The hostages seized by Hamas and other militants during the 7 October terror attacks have endured 150 days of suffering and torment, Mr. Turk added, calling for their unconditional release and return. In continuing its offensive, Israel, as the occupying power, "must - we repeat - fully comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law to provide the increasingly desperate civilian population of Gaza with the necessary food and medical supplies, or, if it is unable to do so, ensure that the population has access to critical life-saving humanitarian assistance commensurate with their needs", Mr. Laurence stressed. Furthermore, border crossings and corridors must be fully opened and steps must be taken to ensure the free and secure movement of aid convoys to civilians wherever they are located. Settlement expansion violates international law Mr. Turk on Friday also deplored Israel's latest decision to greenlight the construction of a further 3,476 homes in the occupied West Bank, saying "the drastic acceleration in settlement building is exacerbating long-standing patterns of oppression, violence and discrimination against Palestinians" "Reports this week that Israel plans to build a further 3,476 settler homes in Maale Adumim, Efrat and Kedar fly in the face of international law," he added. In a report to the Human Rights Council, Turk said that the establishment and continuing expansion of settlements amounts to Israeli transferring its own civilian population into the territories that it occupies - a war crime under international law. The report covering the period from 1 November 2022 to 31 October last year details that around 24,300 housing units within existing Israeli settlements in the West Bank were advanced, the highest on record since monitoring began in 2017. This included approximately 9,670 units in East Jerusalem. The report finds that the policies of Benjamin Netanyahu's Government appear aligned, to an unprecedented extent, with the goals of the Israeli settler movement to expand long-term control over the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and to steadily integrate this occupied territory into the State of Israel. "They also run counter to the views of a broad range of States laid out during hearings just two weeks ago at the International Court of Justice (ICJ)," the High Commissioner said, referring to the hearings tabled by South Africa examining the legal consequences of Israeli policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Over 600 settler attacks "The West Bank is already in crisis", Mr. Turk said. Yet, settler violence and settlement-related violations have reached shocking new levels, and risk eliminating any practical possibility of establishing a viable Palestinian State". Latest UN figures show that, since 7 October, there have been 603 settler attacks against Palestinians. A total of 1,222 Palestinians from 19 herding communities have been displaced as a direct result of settler violence. Since 7 October, UN rights office OHCHR has documented nine Palestinians killed by settlers using firearms. A further 396 have been killed by Israeli security forces, and two killed by either Israeli security forces or settlers. Since 7 October, 592 people, including 282 children, have been displaced in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, after their homes were demolished due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible to obtain, OHCHR said. Gaza casualties mount According to the latest situation update from the UN humanitarian affairs office (OCHA) between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, 78 Palestinians were killed, and 104 Palestinians were injured - based on figures from the Gaza health ministry. This brings the total fatalities in Gaza to at least 30,878, with 72,402 Palestinians injured. The World Health Organization (WHO) said that an estimated 8,000 patients need to be medically evacuated from Gaza, including around 6,000 trauma-related cases. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UNRWA Situation Report #87 on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem - All information from 5-6 March 2024, is valid as of 6 March 2024 at 22:30 UNRWA 8 Mar 2024 The Gaza Strip Intense Israeli bombardment from air, land and sea continued to be reported across much of the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement and destruction of civilian infrastructure. Israeli airstrikes continue in heavily populated Rafah in southern Gaza. According to UN Women[1], that an estimated 9,000 women have been reported killed by Israeli forces in Gaza to date, not including those believed to be buried under the rubble. UN Women estimates that 37 mothers are killed every day and at the current rate, 63 women will continue to be killed on average every day. The WASH cluster, including UNRWA and partners, conducted a rapid WASH assessment in February 2024. Preliminary observations show a deterioration of water and sanitation conditions, with 61 per cent of assessed sites having no showers, 93 per cent of sites with visible waste, and 20 per cent of sites with water points at risk of contamination. According to UNICEF[2], up to 81 per cent of households lack access to safe and clean water. Limited food, lack of access to humanitarian services and lack of safe drinking water continue to lead to increased numbers of malnourished children. According to Ministry of Health in Gaza, child malnutrition levels in northern Gaza are particularly extreme, with now at least 18 children reported to have died from malnutrition and dehydration in northern Gaza. UNFPA has cautioned that "malnutrition rates amount pregnant and breastfeeding women have spiked, posing significant health risks". The first six days of March saw an increase in the number of trucks entering Gaza with an average of 155 trucks per day crossing. This remains well below the operational capacity of both border crossings and the target of 500 per day, with challenges at both Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) and Rafah. UNRWA trucks have struggled to enter the Gaza Strip due to the war and the inconsistent opening of both crossings. Security to manage the crossing has been severely impacted due to the killing of several Palestinian policemen in Israeli airstrikes near the crossings in early February. As of 6 March, the total number of UNRWA colleagues killed since the beginning of hostilities is now 162. As of 6 March, up to 1.7 million* people (over 75 per cent of the population) ** have been displaced across the Gaza Strip, some multiple times.*** Families are forced to move repeatedly in search of safety. Following intense Israeli bombardments and fighting in Khan Younis and the Middle Area in recent weeks, a significant number of displaced people have moved further south. *This includes one million individuals residing in or near emergency shelters or informal shelters. As of 12 October, approximately 160,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) were recorded in UNRWA shelters in North Gaza and Gaza governorates. UNRWA currently estimates that the population of North Gaza and Gaza governorates to be up to 300,000 people. The ability of UNRWA to provide humanitarian support and updated data in these areas has been severely restricted. The ongoing hostilities, evacuation orders issued by Israeli Security Forces (ISF), and the constant need for safer locations have resulted in people being displaced multiple times. **UNRWA reported in Situation Report 64 that up to 1.9 million IDPs were either residing in 154 UNRWA shelters or near these shelters. Due to the continued escalation of fighting and evacuation orders, some households have moved away from the shelters where they were initially registered. *** There are instances where the same IDPs are registered in multiple shelters due to the fluid movement of populations; hereafter, estimates are used for these shelters. UNRWA plans to conduct a more accurate count of IDPs in shelters, including informal shelters, as soon as the security situation allows. [1] Press release: 9,000 women have been killed in Gaza since early October | UN Women - Headquarters [2] Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #133 [EN/AR/HE] - occupied Palestinian territory | ReliefWeb The West Bank, including East Jerusalem Between 5 and 6 March, at least 67 Israeli Security Forces (ISF) search and arrest operations were reported across the West Bank. More than 55 Palestinians were detained during this period. There were three Palestinians killed in these two days, including one child. On the morning of 5 March, ISF opened fire during a search operation in Balata Camp, northern West Bank, with one Palestinian injured with live ammunition and two detained. A search operation in Dheisheh camp, southern West Bank, on the evening of 6 March resulted in armed clashes between ISF and camp residents, with seven Palestinians reportedly injured with live ammunition. On 6 March, a Palestinian teenager reportedly stabbed and injured a settler near Neve Ya'akov settlement, in East Jerusalem. The child was detained by ISF, with the checkpoints of both Shu'fat and Qalandiya camps closed following the incident. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Press Release Marine Corps Returns MV-22 to Flight Status 8 Mar 2024 HEADQUARTERS, U.S. MARINE CORPS -- The Marine Corps returned its MV-22s to flight on March 8, following Naval Air Systems Command's (NAVAIR) announcement that deemed the aircraft safe to fly. In a release announcing the flight clearance, Naval Air Systems Command said, "This decision follows a meticulous and data-driven approach prioritizing the safety of our aircrew." The Nov. 29, 2023, crash of an Air Force CV-22 off the coast of Japan remains under investigation. The tragic mishap is what precipitated the temporary grounding of all services' V-22s. The grounding provided time for a thorough review of the mishap and formulation of risk mitigation controls to assist with safely returning the V-22 to flight operations. The Marine Corps, after a thorough review of all available engineering data and with revisions to the flight manual in place, is now enacting a deliberate plan to return all 17 MV-22 squadrons to full capability. Close coordination among key senior leaders across all three services, the Marine Corps, Air Force, Navy and the Safety Investigation Board (SIB) has been paramount in formulating the comprehensive review and return to flight plan, and this collaboration will continue. The Marine Corps' three-phased approach begins with a focus on regaining basic flight currency, rebuilding units instructor cadres, and achieving proficiency in Core and Basic skill training for pilots and aircrew. After that, squadrons will follow well-established training and readiness manuals to gain proficiency in basic and advanced mission sets, demonstrating their ability to conduct the core missions of an MV-22 Squadron. Finally, squadrons will conduct specific pre-deployment training for their next assigned mission, executing the advanced, all-weather tactics that distinguish our MV-22 squadrons among other aviation capabilities and units. The second and third phases of this plan will vary in length, and some units will extend into the late Spring or early Summer of 2024 before they return to operational capability. "The Marine Corps has confidence in the Osprey and we are laser focused on the safety and mission readiness of our pilots and aircrew," said Lt. Gen. Bradford J. Gering, Deputy Commandant for Marine Corps Aviation. "Our people have been and will always be our top priority. The Air Force CV-22 mishap is a tragedy, and we honor the legacy of those eight fallen service members by diligently and deliberately applying what we have learned from that day as we return to flight operations. We have worked extensively on plans and timelines that support a deliberate, methodical, and safe return to flight. We are flying the Osprey again because our airworthiness authority cleared it for flight, because we trust our well-established operational risk management procedures, and most of all because we trust our professional pilots, aircrew and maintainers to safely get this combat-proven aircraft back into the fight." Since mid-January, Marines in Africa have been flying the MV-22 safely, under a very specific operationally necessary banner. Those missions, in support of U.S. Africa Command priorities, have been conducted safely and demonstrate the range, speed, and maneuverability the MV-22 provides the combatant commander. -30- NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Bamboo Eagle, first-ever US, UK, AUS C2-Driven, live-Fly, Simultaneous LVC Exercise US Navy 08 March 2024 From Deb Henley, 505th Command and Control Wing Public Affairs HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- Airmen from the 505th Command and Control Wing at Hurlburt Field, Nellis Air Force Base, and Kirtland AFB executed the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center's first-ever C2-driven, live-fly and simultaneous live, virtual, and constructive exercise Bamboo Eagle for more than 3,000 U.S. service members and nearly 300 allied partners from the Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force. Airmen from the 505th Command and Control Wing at Hurlburt Field, Nellis Air Force Base, and Kirtland AFB executed the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center's first-ever C2-driven, live-fly and simultaneous live, virtual, and constructive exercise Bamboo Eagle for more than 3,000 U.S. service members and nearly 300 allied partners from the Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force. The first iteration of Bamboo Eagle 24-1, an 8-day event set in the Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility, commenced with live-fly operations and 24-hour LVC rolling scenarios in the week following Red Flag. Bamboo Eagle 24-1 provided advanced expeditionary airbase training in a combat-representative environment utilizing distributed squadrons, or spokes, along the West Coast of the United States. Red Flag units were dispersed into spokes while maintaining sortie generation utilizing a centralized C2 force element, or FE. Agile Combat Employment concepts were incorporated into the exercise to provide full spectrum movement and maneuver and multi-hub operations under a singular operational C2 structure. "Bamboo Eagle took some of the Red Flag players and put units into an advanced 400-level training exercise, showing them what real conflict looks like, then walked backwards to address the toughest operational and tactical problems we expect to see in an actual fight in the Indo-Pacific," said U.S. Air Force Col. Ryan Hayde, 505th CCW commander, Hurlburt Field, Florida. The exercise delivered robust training, providing reps and sets for the entire C2 battle management enterprise, including aircrew flying strike aircraft and C2 platforms within a realistic setting at the highest fidelity possible. "Exercise Bamboo Eagle is moving toward an infused LVC exercise where live and virtual assets play together, and what is happening in the virtual world has effects on the live, and the live is affecting what is happening in the virtual space," said U.S. Air Force Maj. Andrew Metz, 705th Combat Training Squadron Bamboo Eagle 24-1 exercise director. "While the live-fly portion is an important part of the exercise, you are never going to be able to get the sheer mass of distance and terrain just inside that one section of live airspace." Players The 3rd Air Expeditionary Wing's C2 FE acted as the wing-level mission command center for four geographically separated fighter units and one airlift unit. At the same time, the exercise's second AEW, the 4th Fighter Wing, participated as the 4th AEW, launching F-15Es from their forward operating sites during the live-fly missions while concurrently participating in the ACE-focused exercise, Agile Flag 24-1. The 505th Combat Training Squadron drove the constructive scenario for both Agile Flag and Bamboo Eagle from Hurlburt Field, while the 505th Training Squadron and 705th Training Squadron's senior mentors supported the 3rd and 4th AEWs at Nellis and McClellan AFB, and 605th Test and Evaluation Squadron members accomplished C2 operational test and experimentation from multiple exercise locations throughout the event. "The 4th AEW Agile Flag scenario aligned with the Bamboo Eagle scenario as one of the two AEWs the 505th CCW and 505th CTS's ACRC [air component replication cell] supported," said U.S. Air Force Maj. Carl Plonk, 505th CCW director of operations/A3, Hurlburt Field, Florida. "The wing supported the constructive scenario for both exercises seamlessly, driving events that led the AEWs to decision points in logistics and maneuver actions." The 726th Air Control Squadron trained at the tactical-C2 level against a 'robust, integrated air and maritime competitor in a contested and degraded environment;' the 3rd and 4th AEWs and 726th ACS used the 505th CCW's connected LVC environments which provided a replicated realistic AOR. "The Bamboo Eagle LVC backbone was an entire 505th Combat Training Group effort; the ShOC-N's [Shadow Operations Center-Nellis] access to live data, data sharing agreements, and tactical datalink infrastructure allowed the 705th CTS's Distributed Mission Operations Center virtual and constructive environments and the 505th CTS's constructive environments to integrate into a single COP [common operational picture]," said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Shawn Finney, 805th Combat Training Squadron/ShOC-N director of operations, Nellis AFB, Nevada. "The ACRC was supported by the 505th Communications Squadron, whose experts leveraged an air operations center weapons system for accurate replication." Finney continued, "The ShOC-N was the digital backbone for the LVC event, ensuring a single COP was displayed for all exercise participants. It was essential for the owner of the COP to ensure accurate data at all times, thus allowing a commander, regardless of echelon, the best possible opportunity to control his or her forces." 24-hour Operations For the first time the 705th CTS, also known as the DMOC, executed 24-hour, LVC scenarios for the joint and combined force during Bamboo Eagle. "This is the first ever 24-hour event for the DMOC, period. That's a huge step toward designing a more combat representative scenario; we're not going to fight for eight hours, hold a lengthy debrief, and get a 12-hour reprieve. The fight keeps going! We're preparing for 'round-the-clock 24-hour operations in a truly cumulative way," said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Barry Tucker, 705th CTS/DMOC director of operations, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. Training through virtual and constructive components capture the tyranny of distance, time, and logistics strain to be played out over longer vulnerability periods or pulses. "There are thousands and thousands of miles within the INDOPACOM theater, that cannot be covered during live-fly training events. Warfighters can train in a real theater replication where DMOC scenario designers have layered those thousands of miles within the virtual and constructive arenas. Within the scenario, the training audience can practice resource management to virtually solve their logistics challenges," said Metz. During the DMOC's 24-hour rolling scenario, where each day affected the next day and the day after that, the desired learning objectives challenged the battle management training audience to problem solve with limited resources for missions. "Red Flag DLOs [desired learning objectives] are more at the tactical level, Bamboo Eagle is scoping beyond the tactical and adds in true operational and strategic end game goals that need to be executed at the tactical level to achieve operational and strategic objectives," said U.S. Air Force Capt. David Blessman, 705th CTS Bamboo Eagle LVC planner, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. "The DMOC's whole goal was to create a larger environment that was a realistic representation of INDOPACOM theater for the 3rd and 4th AEWs and future training audiences." U.S. and U.K. members executed multi-domain operations at the DMOC during Bamboo Eagle, incorporating air, sea, cyberspace, and space domains to drive tactical and operational situations for all participants. Integrating Allies To further enhance understanding amongst the U.S., Australia, and the United Kingdom, representatives from operational and tactical levels came together to provide national expertise, independent/contingency communications, and to further development of tactics, techniques and procedures. Personnel from the U.K. and the Australian Joint Forces Air Component Commands supported U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy assets and personnel as they operated across dispersed locations on the West Coast of the U.S. They also provided key integration and continency C2 to their participating national aircraft, which included the RAF Typhoon FGR4, RAF Voyager and RAAF F-35A Lightning II. "The deployed U.K. JFAC contingent at Hurlburt Field who participated in Exercise Bamboo Eagle from the AOC replication cell, highly benefitted from understanding how the U.S. intends to function strategically and operationally in the INDOPACOM theatre," said U.K. Squadron Leader Michael Browne, U.K. Joint AOC combat operations officer. A detachment of operational and intelligence subject matter experts from the Australian Air Warfare School and 83 Squadron provided input and observed processes during Bamboo Eagle 24-1 execution at Hurlburt Field. The RAAF Detachment Commander Squadron Leader Simone Batchler and her team were able to integrate fully with U.S. and U.K. allies to understand the intent of the exercise and take those lessons back to Australia. "A keen focus point for the [RAAF] team was the way the U.S. Air Force conducted Agile Combat Employment, a highly exercised mode of operation, tested through the LVC framework," said RAAF Squadron Leader Sean Bedford, Australian exchange officer to the 505th CCW. "The exercise was able to bring together all members of the AUKUS [Australian-U.K.-U.S. enhanced security partnership] community, strengthening the bonds between the three countries." Beyond the core AOC replication functions, the RAF also deployed 90 Signals Unit personnel to set up and maintain classified national communications with the deployed assets and personnel operating from March Air Reserve Base, California. "This exercise was the first step in U.K. participation in the Bamboo Eagle series. We learnt a great deal from what went right and equally from what we collectively need to do better in the future to ensure that these opportunities are maximized amongst allied nations. Exercising together is pivotal to future success," said U.K. Wing Commander Richard Kinniburgh, U.K. exchange officer to 505th CCW and Bamboo Eagle U.K. detachment commander. "Participation with live assets is important, but it is in the virtual and constructive elements of the exercise that the U.K. C2 elements and tactical units can feature more going forward." Combat Representative Environment 505th CTS Airmen provided both a combat representative operational environment and an ACRC using constructive models, computer-generated forces, manipulated by operators to add complexity to the combined force's decision environment. As more than 150 aircraft from over 20 units in multiple locations converged for live missions at ranges in the Eastern Pacific, the 505th CTS delivered an additional 465 constructive joint airpower missions each day to replicate the scope and scale of conflict in the INDOPACOM AOR. "Short of real conflict, it is very difficult to replicate the density of traffic and threats across domains in a strictly live environment," said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Jason Guest, 505th CTS director of operations, Hurlburt Field, Florida. "Adding a constructive layer to the exercise adds to the fog and friction that we anticipate will be a feature in any engagement with the pacing challenge." In addition to supplementing the Bamboo Eagle 24-1 blue forces with constructive aircraft, the 505th CTS also generated constructive red forces throughout the exercise to deliver a combat representative threat representation for warfighters. During the 8-day event, exercise controllers produced over 4,500 adversary sorties, providing a realistic COP for C2 participants. "The aim of Bamboo Eagle is to provide advanced training in a disaggregated, multi-domain scenario to enable the joint force to prevail in conflict against an aggressive adversary," said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Power, 505th CTS commander, Hurlburt Field, Florida. Bamboo Eagle 24-1 was the operational implementation of the tactical buildup of Red Flag 24-1. As such, exercise execution required the support of operational-level C2. 505th CTS Airmen also provided the air component replication necessary for guidance documents and orders that tactical warfighters require to execute individual missions. Throughout Bamboo Eagle, the squadron replicated all outputs of an AOC and Air Force Forces staff, immersing exercise participants into the broader architecture of the air component. Replicating a complex and contested environment against a challenging pacing threat, the scenarios provided unique training opportunities for integrated force, simulating all planning phases and C2, allowing rehearsal of complex, large-scale military operations. Importance of Networks The 505th Communications Squadron was critical in coordinating the connection of systems and data flows to create a consolidated air picture for all Bamboo Eagle participants. Despite the limited preparation time for Bamboo Eagle, the communications planners from 505th CS, in close coordination with the 505th CCW Communication and Information staff, or A6, proved vital in ensuring network connections across distributed locations were properly configured and operationally tested prior to execution. "Tying a scenario of this magnitude together across so many different locations was a huge feat and was successfully accomplished by the 505th CS," said Plonk. "Airman across the 505th CCW worked together with the 505th CS to create a robust communications architecture that seamlessly overlayed the constructive and virtual environments with the live environment, creating one wholistic COP and replicating the feel of a real AOR for the training audience." The 505th CCW acquired tactical communications kits for each spoke location, leveraging emerging communications technology from Air Force Research Lab for experimentation and evaluated the equipment in a combat representative scenario. "Cyber systems and data networks have become indispensable to modern-day warfighting, influencing strategic, operational and tactical aspects of military operations," said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Alex Botardo, 505th CS commander, Hurlburt Field, Florida. Future of Bamboo Eagle "Bamboo Eagle is setting a new standard for future joint and combined exercises; there's a lot more to warfare than the tactical fight. Bamboo Eagle is layering the tactical fight with the operational fight, tyranny of distance, logistical and sustainment challenges, communications degradation, and distributed C2," said Plonk. Plonk continued, "We've nested the exercise in a continuous synthetic training environment to create a combat representative AOR. The fight must look and feel real 24-hours a day, for multiple days, for both the live and virtual training audience. This is how we train at the scope, scale, and complexity required to ensure the combined force is integrated and prepared to fight." The 57th Wing and 99th Air Base Wing at Nellis, the 53d Wing and the 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing at Eglin, and 505th CCW personnel at Hurlburt Field, Kirtland and Nellis, continue collaborating with cyber and tactics teams, C2 planners, modeling and simulation teams, and scenario developers for future iterations of Bamboo Eagle to address the Secretary of the Air Force's C2 Operational Imperative to 'improve how we collect, analyze, and share information and make operational decisions more effectively than our potential adversaries.' "Managing an uncommonly large number of disaggregated joint and allied blue forces against a peer threat requires deliberate and focused C2 at all echelons," said Hayde. "I didn't expect Bamboo Eagle 24-1 execution to go perfectly. The scenario was complex and at times felt chaotic, but it turns out that a war against a pacing threat will be complex and chaotic." Hayde continued, "The professionals of the 505th CCW led the charge, capturing the good, bad, and ugly of C2 from Bamboo Eagle 24-1, and we will use it to sharpen the skills of the joint and allied force; we must be bold in our planning, execution and follow through to remain the world's most deadly and dominant airpower." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Under Secretary Raven Visits United Kingdom and Norway to Discuss Regional Security, Highlights Importance of Interoperability US Navy - Press Release 08 March 2024 OSLO, Norway -- The Under Secretary of the Navy Erik Raven visited the United Kingdom and Norway, March 3-8, to meet with partner navies, government and military leaders, Sailors and Marines, and to observe a NATO arctic exercise. The international trip began in London, and was followed by visits to Oslo, Trondheim, Evenes, and Alta in Norway. In London, Raven met with First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff of the United Kingdom Adm. Sir Ben Key, Minister of the Armed Forces James Heappey, and Chief Defence Nuclear Maddie McTernan where they discussed Ukraine, U.S.-UK Carrier Cooperation, and AUKUS progress. The Under Secretary visited Barrow-In-Furness to speak with Royal Navy leaders, Sailors, and industry partners about undersea warfare, to include progress made on implementing AUKUS Pillar I. He toured shipyard facilities, a dry-dock, and the Submarines Academy for Skills and Knowledge. "I want to thank Admiral Key and the Royal Navy for their global contributions to maritime security and stability," said Raven. "We fly, sail, and operate on a daily basis with the United Kingdom, and together our strong partnership helps us to ensure security, stability, and prosperity." In Norway, Raven met with Norwegian Minister of Defense State Secretary Anne-Marie Aanerud, Chief of Defense Staff Lt. Gen. Ingrid Gjerde, Chief of Staff, Chief of Defense General Erik Kristofferson, and Norwegian Intelligence Service Vice Adm. Andreas Stensnes. Discussions focused on military capabilities, maritime surveillance, security challenges in the Nordic region, and ways to further increase cooperation and interoperability. "The Arctic is a region of strategic importance," said the Under Secretary. "Working together, the Navy and Marine Corps are supporting maritime statecraft while maintaining freedom of navigation and adhering to the rules-based international order." "Working with our Allies and partners, we will preserve the Arctic as a space free of conflict, where nations act responsibly, and where economic and energy resources are developed in a sustainable, transparent manner." Raven toured the Marine Corp Prepositioning Program-Norway in the Frigaard Cave in Trondheim, Norway. At Evenes, he observed a combat craft demonstration in the Norwegian fjords and met with U.S. Navy Seabees providing maritime support. The trip concluded with the observation of the NATO-led arctic exercise Northern Response 24, in Alta. Nordic Response 24 is hosted by Norway and supported by Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe and U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe, along with contributions from all U.S. military services. This is one of a long list of impactful engagements underscoring the longstanding alliance between Norway and the United States. With diplomatic relations forged nearly 120 years ago in 1905, the two nations and their militaries remain strategically and operationally synchronized. "The rules-based international order depends on free and open oceans, and the militaries and service members of the European nations participating in this exercise have an instrumental role in upholding that standard," said Raven. "Realistic exercises like Northern Response 24 allow us to work with like-minded nations to strengthen our partnerships and ensure we are trained, ready, and interoperable for crises or conflict." More than 20,000 service members from 14 nations are participating in Nordic Response 24. Participating nations include: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. The trip marked Raven's second to the United Kingdom and his first to Norway. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Blinken Says Cease-Fire in Gaza Depends on Hamas By VOA News March 08, 2024 U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that it is up to Hamas whether a cease-fire takes place in Gaza in the near future. Speaking ahead of talks in Washington with a delegation from Turkey, Blinken said the U.S. is continuing to work toward a cease-fire in Gaza, despite reports Thursday that Hamas negotiators had left talks in Cairo. "In this moment, in this hour, we're also intensely focused on seeing if we can get a cease-fire," Blinken told reporters, "And there, the issue is Hamas. The issue is whether Hamas will decide or not to have a cease fire that would benefit everyone. The ball is in their court. We're working intensely on it." Blinken also referenced a plan to transport aid to Gaza by sea announced by U.S. President Joe Biden during his State of the Union speech late Thursday. The plan a joint project that includes the European Union, Cyprus, Britain, and the United Arab Emirates, among others would use a temporary pier on Gaza's Mediterranean coast, through which aid would be brought into the enclave. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking Friday in Cyprus, said she expects the corridor will be operational Sunday if not sooner, with an initial pilot operation launched Friday. Senior United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag told reporters Friday the U.N. welcomes the plan. But she noted that sea corridors and air drops of aid are not a substitute for the delivery of life-saving aid via trucks over land. She said the maritime plan, nevertheless, will provide very important help. Meanwhile, medical personnel and eyewitnesses reported Friday a humanitarian aid drop killed five people at the Al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza after the parachute malfunctioned and the parcel hit a residential area. The head of emergency care at Gaza City's Al Shifa Medical Complex, Muhammad Al-Sheikh, confirmed the deaths. The United States, Jordan, Egypt and several other nations conducted humanitarian airdrops over Gaza on Friday, and it was unclear who was responsible for the malfunctioning parcel. A U.S. defense official told CBS News an initial review indicated the U.S. airdrop was not responsible for the fatalities on the ground but said that further investigation was required. Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel Welcomes Biden Plan to Increase Gaza Aid By Linda Gradstein March 08, 2024 President Joe Biden announced the U.S. military will establish a temporary pier on the Gaza coast to deliver aid. Biden also pushed Israel to do more to help the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. President Joe Biden says the U.S. has plans to help solve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The president said he is directing the U.S. military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the Gaza coast that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters. No U.S. boots will be on the ground. This temporary pier would enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day. Israeli officials said they welcomed the initiative, and Israel will do whatever is necessary to help the U.S. Israeli officials also were pleased by the president's remarks that the current crisis began with the massacre of 1,200 people - in what was the deadliest day since the Holocaust. But Israelis were less happy about the president's insistence that Israel must change its policy on Gaza. The president said Israel must also do its part. Israel must allow more aid into Gaza and ensure that humanitarian workers aren't caught in the crossfire. Biden underscored that humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip protecting and saving innocent lives must be a priority. He said the only real solution is a two-state solution. Israel has rejected the two-state solution, saying it would compromise Israel's security, and Israel says it must be responsible for security in Gaza. Nimord Novik of the Israel Policy Institute says Palestinians are worried that Israel intends a long occupation of Gaza. "They are very much concerned about it," said Novik. "They believe that an open-ended Israeli occupation of Gaza is a prescription for perpetual violence. They believe that will affect stability on the West Bank and may go even beyond that. So, the next disaster is predicted unless Israel changes course in a substantial way." Just a few hours before President Biden's speech, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his intention to continue the war even into Rafah, the city on the border with Egypt where more than a million Palestinians have fled fighting. "We will continue until total victory," Netanyahu told new army officers. "And that includes Rafah." Israel asserts that Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, are hiding in tunnels below Rafah, perhaps surrounded by some of the hostages still in Gaza. The U.S. has been trying to mediate a cease-fire and had hoped to do so before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins next week, but that now seems unlikely. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Protesters gather outside Staples High School in Westport Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, after a local mom said her daughters were subjected to racist comments and acts by other students. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Staples High School, in Westport, Conn. Oct. 21, 2022. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media WESTPORT A month after a couple shared stories about their daughters facing racism in Westport schools, other parents and residents spoke out at this week's Board of Education meeting, saying more changes need to come. Over 30 Westport residents signed a letter to the Board of Education and Superintendent Thomas Scarice, recommending policy changes the district should adopt. The recommendations come as the school system prepares to launch a climate survey and update the student code of conduct, potentially to strengthen language against hate-based conduct. "I care about goals and outcomes," parent Adrian Curtis told the board after a discussion about conduct policy changes. Advertisement Article continues below this ad He suggested the district set measurable goals, for example with bullying behavior, so it can measure changes at the end of the year. "I much rather prefer that than endless back and forth chat here," he said. "It shouldn't take parents coming here and crying and telling their stories to make us see that. The suggestions from residents ranged from documenting the instances in a permanent record to reviewing the district's middle and high school social studies curriculum. Other suggestions included requiring students to perform community service and write an essay after infractions. Also, the draft of the revised code includes new definitions of harassment and hate-based conduct plus sections on gambling, online libel and defamation, lewd exposure, being in an unauthorized area of school and initiating a false fire alarm and/or lockdown. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The draft lists more than 40 infractions that could be grounds for suspension or expulsion. An expulsion is a longer suspension of more than 10 schools days to a school year. Scarice said certain infractions that would automatically end in an expulsion, like bringing a firearm to school, which would result in a year-long expulsion. The demands for changes to the code of conduct came a few weeks after the school board's Feb. 15 meeting, when parents Carol Felder and Richard Anderson spoke out describing the bullying and racism they said their daughters have endured in the town's middle and high schools. Since the couple spoke out they have continued to bring attention to the issue, including submitting written testimony about their experience to a legislative committee on a proposed bill to study the effect of hate speech on children's health and achievement. On Feb. 27, the couple and an estimated 100 protesters held a silent rally outside Staples High School demanding stricter consequences for racist behavior in the schools. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Nigeria's Constitution Review Makes Women's Inclusion a Priority By Timothy Obiezu March 08, 2024 Nigeria's constitution is getting a revamp, and this time a committee tasked with the responsibility says women's inclusion in political offices is a priority. Women hold a tiny fraction of the seats in Nigeria's National Assembly. Three of the 109 senators and 15 of the 360 members in the House of Representatives are female. The chair of the House constitution review committee, Benjamin Kalu, spoke this week during a dialogue with women-centered and pro-democracy groups ahead of International Women's Day on Friday. Kalu said the ongoing review of the constitution will address gender imbalance in Nigeria's politics. He also said the 10th National Assembly will revisit gender bills that failed to progress during the previous administration. In 2022, Nigerian women advocated for five bills to promote inclusion and women's representation in parliament including one bill that would reserve 35% of political seats for women. None of bills received enough support to win passage in the male-dominated parliament, leading to protests. Cynthia Mbamalu, a program director at YIAGA Africa, one of the groups advocating for gender bills, said structural challenges, patriarchal norms and biased systems put limits on women who want to run for office. "The numbers are still poor," she said. "We still have 11 or so state assemblies where there are no women, and some of those states have not had a female legislator since 1999, when we [transitioned] to democracy. As long as we don't have [a] constitutional mandate that opens up the space to increase women representation, we'll constantly struggle with a male dominated National Assembly." Despite Africa recording an increase in female political participation in recent years, women's representation in Nigerian politics is among the lowest in the world, at about 4%. In last year's general elections, fewer women won seats in office despite an increased number of candidates from various political parties. Mbamalu said lawmakers need to take the new constitutional review seriously for equity and democracy to succeed. "One of the indicators to assess our development and the presence of democracy is about how inclusive your government is," she said. "I want to believe that the 10th Assembly will act differently will put its name in history." The recommendations of the constitution review committee will be subject to votes in parliament. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Remarks by President Biden Before Air Force One Departure | Joint Base Andrews, MD March 08, 2024 Joint Base Andrews Prince George's County, Maryland 2:47 P.M. EST Q Mr. President, will you commit to a debate with former President Trump? THE PRESIDENT: It depends on his behavior. Q Mr. President Q Do you regret using the word "illegal" to describe immigrants last night, sir? THE PRESIDENT: Well, I probably I don't re- technically not supposed to be here. Q Well, why did why did Mr. Netanyahu need a "come to Jesus" meeting? What are you hoping to achieve? THE PRESIDENT: I didn't say that in the speech. Q After the speech. Q But what about after the speech? THE PRESIDENT: You guys are eavesdropping on things. Q But are does that show your level of frustration with him on humanitarian aid? Does he need to be doing more? THE PRESIDENT: Yes, he does. Q Have you seen Senator Britt's rebuttal, sir? THE PRESIDENT: I just saw a little bit on television. Q What did you think? THE PRESIDENT: I thought she was a very talented woman. I I didn't quite understand the connections she was making. Q Mr. President, do you still support banning TikTok? Would you sign that bill? THE PRESIDENT: If they pass it, I'll sign it. Q Mr. President, who is going to provide security for the port you're planning to build to offer aid to Gaza? THE PRESIDENT: The Israelis. Q Is it going to be the I IDF? Okay. THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Q Are you concerned that Trump is meeting with Viktor Orban? THE PRESIDENT: I've got to go. MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Thanks, everybody. Q Are you concerned that Trump is meeting with Viktor Orban and continues to do so? THE PRESIDENT: If I'm not, you should be. 2:49 P.M. EST NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UNRWA says Israel tortured UN staff to tell lies IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 9, 2024 Tehran, IRNA -- The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees says the Israeli regime has tortured some staffers into falsely stating that the agency has relations with the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas. According to Reuters, the UNRWA said in a February 2024 report that some employees released into Gaza from Israeli detention said they were forced to falsely state that staff took part in Hamas's Operation Al-Aqsa Storm on October 7. According to the report, the UN staffers suffered severe physical beatings. "Agency staff members have been subject to threats and coercion by the Israeli authorities while in detention, and pressured to make false statements against the Agency, including that the Agency has affiliations with Hamas and that UNRWA staff members took part in the 7 October 2023 atrocities." UNRWA has called for further inquiry into all human rights abuses in the Gaza war. According to the latest report two days ago, over 30,000 Palestinians, mostly children and women, have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. 1483**4354 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Islamic Resistance in Iraq hits Israeli positions with drones IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 9, 2024 Tehran, IRNA -- The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has announced that its fighters carried out separate drone attacks on the Israeli regime's positions in the occupied territories. According to Lebanon's Al Mayadeen Satellite television channel, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq declared in a statement on Friday night that its fighters had targeted the Haifa Oil Refinery in occupied territories of Palestine using drones. No further details have been provided so far. In another attack, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq also pounded a military base in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights of Syria on Thursday night. The report said that fighters of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq targeted the First Golani Brigade, an Israeli military infantry brigade, with drones. The resistance group has been attacking US and Israeli positions with drones and missiles in response to the Israeli regime's crimes in Gaza and the United States' all-out support for the regime. The Israeli war on Gaza, which began on October 7, has so far killed more than 30,800 Palestinians and left over 72,400 others injured in the besieged coastal territory. 4208**4354 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russo-Ukraine War - 08 March 2024 - Day 743 Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos. On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace. "To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal] The UK Ministry of Defence reported that the Mohajer-6 is an Iranian-produced uncrewed aerial vehicle, provided to Russia and observed flying over the Black Sea and Crimea. The Mohajer-6 is an Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance system but can also conduct air-to-surface attacks with free-fall guided munitions. Its practical range is limited by line of sight to maintain real-time operator control: approximately 200 km at 10,000 ft. This can be extended by handover to another ground control station. The continued presence of the system in western Crimea is likely evidence of Russia trying to identify threats to Russian ports and vessels following recent Ukrainian successes. There is a realistic possibility its mission also includes supporting Russian targeting processes for the south-west Ukrainian coastline. Ukraine has shot down at least one Mohajer-6 on 23 September 2022 over the Black Sea and Russia likely accidentally shot down a system over Crimea on 6 June 2023. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that during the day of March 8, there were 74x combat engagements. Russian forces launched a total of 7x missile and 67x air strikes, carried out 79x MLRS attacks at the positions of Ukrainian troops and various settlements. Unfortunately, Russian attacks resulted in wounded civilians. Residential private and apartment buildings, as well as other infrastructure were destroyed and damaged. Volyn and Polissya axes: no significant changes. No signs of formation of an offensive group. Certain units of the armed forces of Belarus continue their missions in the areas bordering Ukraine. Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna axes: Russia maintains its military presence in the areas of Russia bordering Ukraine. Russia continues its sabotage and reconnaissance activities, shelling Ukrainian settlements from the territory of russia and increases the density of minefields along the state border of Ukraine. The adversary launched air strikes in the vicinities of Sopych, Sydorivka, Volfyne (Sumy oblast) and Vovchans'k (Kharkiv oblast). Around 40x settlements came under Russian artillery and mortar fire, including Sen'kivka, Yeline, Bleshnya, Lub'yane (Chernihiv oblast), Baranivka, Basivka, Zapsillya, Hrabovs'ke (Sumy oblast), Kozacha Lopan', Vovchans'k, Krasne, Neskuchne (Kharkiv oblast). Kup'yans'k axis: Russian forces conducted 3x attacks on the positions of Ukrainian defenders in the vicinities of Syn'kivka and Kyslivka (Kharkiv oblast). Russian forces launched air strikes in the vicinities of Syn'kivka, Tabaivka, Berestove (Kharkiv oblast). Russian forces fired artillery and mortars at more than 10x settlements, including Holubivka, Syn'kivka, Kotlyarivka (Kharkiv oblast). Lyman axis: the Ukrainian defenders repelled 4x assaults near Terny and Spirne (Donetsk oblast), where Russian forces made attempts to breach Ukrainian defense. Russian forces launched air strikes in the vicinities of Bilohorivka, Makiivka (Luhansk oblast) and in the area of Serebryans'ke forestry. Russian forces fired artillery and mortars at around 15x settlements, including Makiivka, Bilohorivka (Luhansk oblast), Terny, Serebryanka (Donetsk oblast). Bakhmut axis: the Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled 9x attacks in the vicinities of Klishchiivka, Andriivka (Donetsk oblast), where the Russian occupiers made attempts to improve their tactical situation. Russian forces launched air strikes in the vicinities of Hol'mivs'kyi and Druzhba (Donetsk oblast). Around 10x settlements came under artillery and mortar fire, including Bohdanivka, Chasiv Yar, New York and Hryhorivka (Donetsk oblast). Avdiivka axis: the Ukrainian defenders repelled 14x attacks in the vicinities of Berdychi, Orlivka, Tonen'ke, Pervomais'ke, Nevel's'ke (Donetsk oblast). Russian forces launched air strikes in the vicinities of Novooleksandrivka, Prohres, Novobakhmutivka, Berdychi (Donetsk oblast). Russian forces fired artillery and mortars at around 15x settlements, including Novobakhmutivka, Berdychi, Pervomais'ke, Nevel's'ke (Donetsk oblast). Novopavlivka axis: the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to hold back Russian forces in the vicinities of Pobjeda, Krasnohorivka, Novomykhailivka (Donetsk oblast). In that area, Russian forces, with air support, made 18x attempts to breach Ukrainian defense. Russian forces launched air strikes near Volodymyrivka (Donetsk oblast). Russian forces fired artillery and mortars at more than 20x settlements, including Krasnohorivka, Heorhiivka, Paraskoviivka, Vuhledar (Donetsk oblast). Orikhiv axis: Russian forces conducted 6x attacks on positions of Ukrainian defenders in the vicinity of Robotyne and west of Verbove (Zaporizhzhia oblast). Around 20x settlements, including Poltavka, Malynivka, Charivne, Bilohir'ya, Novodanylivka, P'yatykhatky (Zaporizhzhia oblast), were under Russian artillery and mortar fire. Odesa operational-strategic group, Kherson axis: Russian forces fired artillery and mortars at more than 20x settlements in Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts, including the city of Kherson, Tyahynka, Ivanivka, Krynky, Novotyahynka. During the day of March 8, the Ukrainian Air Force launched air strikes on 10x concentrations of Russian troops, weapons and military equipment. The Ukrainian missile troops hit 3x electronic warfare stations, including 2x R-330Zh Zhitel stations, and 1x ammunition depot of Russian invaders. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have launched 34 group strikes with precision weapons, multiple-launch system, and unmanned aerial vehicles, hitting facilities where uncrewed boats were being assembled and prepared for combat use, arsenals, fuel bases for military hardware, and deployment points of AFU units, nationalist formations, and foreign mercenaries. In Kupyansk direction, as a result of active actions by units of the Zapad Group of Forces, the position along the front line has been improved, enemy manpower and hardware have been eliminated near Kupyansk, Peschanoye, and Berestovoye (Kharkov region). Russian troops have repelled 24 counterattacks by assault groups of 32nd, 41st mechanised, and 57th motorised infantry brigades of the AFU close to Sinkovka (Kharkov region) and Terny (Donetsk People's Republic). The enemy losses were over 540 servicemen, two tanks, four armoured fighting vehicles, 20 motor vehicles, 18 field artillery systems, and one Grad MLRS. In Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Group of Forces have occupied more advantageous lines and defeated formations of 5th, 92nd assault, 28th, 33rd mechanised, 46th, 81st airmobile brigades of the AFU and the 241st Territorial Defence Brigade near Kleshcheyevka, Kurdyumovka, Andreevka, and Krasnoye (Donetsk People's Republic). In addition, Russian troops have repelled eight enemy counterattacks near Krasnogorovka, Novomikhailovka, and Pobeda (Donetsk People's Republic). The enemy losses were over 1,970 servicemen, 11 tanks, 17 armoured fighting vehicles, 47 motor vehicles, 25 field artillery guns, two Grad MLRS, and one Strela-10 surface-to-air missile system. Ten AFU field ammunition depots have been also destroyed. In Avdeyevka direction, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces continued to occupy more advantageous lines and positions. In cooperation with aviation and artillery, the troops and hardware of 23rd, 31st, 47th, 78th, 110th mechanised, 59th motor infantry, 71st jaeger brigades, as well as 103rd and 107th territorial defence brigades have been defeated close to Tonenkoye, Toretsk, Ocheretino, Novosyolka Pervaya, Mayorsk, and Rozovka (Donetsk People's Republic). Russian troops have repelled 65 counterattacks by AFU assault groups near Berdychi, Tonenkoye, Leninskoye, Petrovskoye, Novgorodskoye, Pervomayskoye, and Orlovka (Donetsk People's Republic). During the week, the enemy losses were over 2,860 servicemen, seven tanks, including two U.S.-manufactured Abrams tanks, 34 armoured fighting vehicles, 47 motor vehicles, 20 field artillery guns, one U.S.-manufactured HIMARS MLRS, and one Strela-10 SAM system. In South Donetsk direction, units of the Vostok Group of Forces have improved their position along the front line and defeated units of 65th, 72nd, 118th mechanised, 58th motorised infantry brigades of the AFU, 102nd, 105th, and 128th territorial defence brigades close to Novodonetskoye, Ugledar, Dobropolye, Shevchenko, Staromayorskoye (Donetsk People's Republic), and Malinovka (Zaporozhye region). In addition, three counterattacks by units of the AFU 72nd Mechanised Brigade have been repelled near Vodyanoye (Donetsk People's Republic). The enemy losses were up to 1,620 troops, six tanks, 13 armoured fighting vehicles, 28 motor vehicles, seven field artillery systems, one Grad MLRS, two Strela-10 SAM systems, and one UK-manufactured Stormer SAM system. In Kherson direction, Russian troops have taken more favourable positions and inflicted a comprehensive fire defeat on manpower and hardware of 65th, 117th, 118th mechanised, 128th mountain assault brigades, 35th, 36th, and 38th marine brigades, 14th and 23rd national guard brigades and the 126th Territorial Defence Brigade close to Malaya Tokmachka, Pyatikhatki, and Nesteryanka (Zaporozhye region), Ivanovka, Sadovoye, Mikhailovka, Antonovka, and Tokarevka (Kherson region). Russian troops have repelled two attacks by assault groups of the AFU 118th Mechanised Brigade close to Rabotino (Zaporozhye region). The enemy losses were over 295 soldiers, two tanks, 22 motor vehicles, nine field artillery guns, as well as two U.S.-manufactured HIMARS MLRS. Aviation and air defence facilities have shot down one MiG-29 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force, five UK-manufactured Storm Shadow cruise missiles, one U.S.-manufactured Patriot anti-aircraft guided missile, seven French-manufactured Hammer guided aerial bombs, 33 U.S.-manufactured HIMARS multiple-launch rocket system projectiles, as well as 796 unmanned aerial vehicles. During the week, 24 Ukrainian servicemen have surrendered. In total, 576 airplanes, 267 helicopters, 14,658 unmanned aerial vehicles, 482 air defence missile systems, 15,400 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,234 fighting vehicles equipped with MLRS, 8,322 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 19,498 special military motor vehicles have been destroyed during the special military operation. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Juan Orlando HernAndez, Former President of Honduras, Convicted in Manhattan Federal Court of Conspiring to Import Cocaine into the United States and Related Firearms Offenses Friday, March 8, 2024 For Immediate Release Office of Public Affairs HernAndez Conspired with Some of the Largest Drug Traffickers in the World to Transport Tons of Cocaine through Honduras to the United States A federal jury convicted Juan Orlando HernAndez, also known as JOH, 55, of Honduras, on all three counts in the indictment, which included cocaine-importation and weapons offenses. HernAndez is scheduled to be sentenced on June 26. "Juan Orlando HernAndez abused his position as President of Honduras to operate the country as a narco-state where violent drug traffickers were allowed to operate with virtual impunity, and the people of Honduras and the United States were forced to suffer the consequences," said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. "As today's conviction demonstrates, the Justice Department is disrupting the entire ecosystem of drug trafficking networks that harm the American people, no matter how far or how high we must go." "When the leader of Honduras and the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel work hand-in-hand to send deadly drugs into American communities, both deserve to be held accountable in the United States," said Administrator Anne Milgram of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). "This case should send a clear message that no one is above the law or beyond our reach." "Juan Orlando HernAndez had every opportunity to be a force for good in his native Honduras. Instead, he chose to abuse his office and country for his own personal gain and partnered with some of the largest and most violent drug trafficking organizations in the world to transport tons of cocaine to the United States," said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. "It is my sincere hope that this conviction sends a message to all corrupt politicians who would consider a similar path: choose differently. My office will stop at nothing to investigate and prosecute those responsible for sending poison to this community, no matter their status or political power." According to court documents, from at least in or about 2004, up to and including in or about 2022, HernAndez, the former two-term president of Honduras and former president of the Honduran National Congress, was at the center of one of the largest and most violent drug-trafficking conspiracies in the world. HernAndez abused his position and authority in Honduras to facilitate the importation of tons of cocaine into the United States. In exchange, HernAndez received millions of dollars in drug money from some of the largest and most violent drug-trafficking organizations in Honduras, Mexico, and elsewhere, and used those bribes to fuel his rise in Honduran politics. Throughout his time in office, HernAndez publicly promoted legislation and the efforts he purported to undertake in support of anti-narcotics measures in Honduras. At the same time, he protected and enriched the drug traffickers in his inner circle and those who provided him with cocaine-fueled bribes that allowed him to obtain and stay in power in Honduras. For example, HernAndez selectively upheld extraditions by using his executive power to support extraditions to the United States of certain drug traffickers who threatened his grip on power, and promising drug traffickers who paid him and followed his instructions that they would remain in Honduras. In addition, HernAndez and his co-conspirators abused Honduran institutions, including the Honduran National Police and Honduran Army, to protect and grow their conspiracy. Among other things, members of the conspiracy used heavily armed Honduran National Police officers to protect their cocaine loads as they transited through Honduras. Members of the conspiracy also turned to violence and murder to protect and grow their drug trafficking enterprise, attacking and murdering rival traffickers and those who threatened their grip on the Honduran cocaine trade. Several of HernAndez's co-conspirators have already been convicted and sentenced in connection with this investigation. Among others, HernAndez's brother, Juan Antonio HernAndez Alvarado, also known as Tony HernAndez, was convicted after trial in October 2019 and sentenced to life in prison, and Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez, a violent cocaine trafficker who met with HernAndez on multiple occasions to discuss their drug trafficking partnership, was convicted after trial in March 2021, and sentenced to life in prison. More recently, Juan Carlos Bonilla Valladares, also known as El Tigre, the former chief of the Honduran National Police, pleaded guilty to his participation in the cocaine importation conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 25, and Mauricio HernAndez Pineda, a former member of the Honduran National Police and HernAndez's cousin, pleaded guilty to his participation in the cocaine importation conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2. In total, HernAndez and his co-conspirators trafficked over more than 400 tons of U.S.-bound cocaine through Honduras during HernAndez's tenure in the Honduran government. HernAndez was convicted of three counts: (i) conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison; (ii) using and carrying machineguns and destructive devices during, and possessing machineguns in furtherance of, the cocaine-importation conspiracy, which carries a mandatory consecutive prison term of 30 years; and (iii) conspiring to use and carry machineguns and destructive devices during, and possessing machineguns in furtherance of, the cocaine-importation conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. The DEA's Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) New York Strike Force, and Tegucigalpa Country Office are investigating the case. The Justice Department thanked the Government of Honduras for extraditing HernAndez to the United States. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob H. Gutwillig, David J. Robles, Elinor L. Tarlow, and Kyle A. Wirshba for the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Kayla A. Collins and Trial Attorneys Andrea Broach and Jessica Fender of the National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section. Topics: Drug Trafficking National Security Components: Office of the Attorney General Criminal - Office of International Affairs Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) USAO - New York, Southern Press Release Number: 24-269 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Minister Blair announces $850 million investment in Canadian Forces Base Trenton and welcomes new aircraft to the Royal Canadian Air Force fleet National Defence News release March 8, 2024 - Trenton, Ontario - Department of National Defence Today, the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, visited Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Trenton, the home of Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) air mobility operations in Canada. Minister Blair announced an investment of $850 million to upgrade CFB Trenton, so that it can host Canada's new fleet of CC-330 Husky Strategic Tanker Transport Aircraft. This $850 million investment will fund major airfield and infrastructure work at Trenton, including the development and design of a two-bay hangar, an upgraded apron and runway, taxiways, and other supporting infrastructure. These upgrades will enable CFB Trenton to serve as the Eastern Main Operating Base for the new CC-330 Husky fleet Minister Blair noted that through the Strategic Tanker Transport Capability (STTC) Project, Canada is rapidly acquiring nine CC-330 Husky aircraft - almost doubling the size of the previous fleet. Two Husky aircraft have been delivered to Canada so far - the first one in 2023, and the second Husky (numbered 003) joined the CC-330 fleet on February 16, 2024. Although currently configured for transport, the aircraft will eventually be converted to become a multi-role tanker transport aircraft. The CC-330 will provide the RCAF with increased flexibility to fulfill a variety of air mobility missions, including air-to-air refuelling, passenger transport, aeromedical evacuation, and strategic transport. Minister Blair also welcomed a new aircraft to the Canadian Armed Forces fleet. The Minister toured the first of three new CE-145C Vigilance aircraft, which arrived in Trenton on February 23, 2024. The CE-145C Vigilance is a modified Beechcraft King Air 350ER turbo prop aircraft produced by L3 Harris in Texas, under the MAISR project. It will provide a new manned airborne intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (MAISR) capability for the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM). Equipped with state-of-the-art sensors and secure communications equipment, these aircraft will provide a vital new capability for the CAF, enabling enhanced situational awareness and decision-making during operations on the ground. The aircraft will primarily be used to support CAF operations. Minister Blair noted that as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the RCAF, it is undergoing its largest transformation in a generation. Since 2022, the Government of Canada has finalized the procurement or upgrade of approximately 140 new or refurbished aircraft for the RCAF - including 88 new F-35 fighter jets, 9 CC-330 Husky Strategic Tanker Transport aircraft, up to 16 new P-8A Poseidon multi-mission aircraft, 16 new or upgraded Cormorant helicopters; and 11 SkyGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems. This represents a monumental recapitalization of the RCAF which will strengthen Canada's contributions to NATO and NORAD, and improve the RCAF's ability to protect Canada. These projects are also creating significant economic benefits for Canada. The STTC project has the potential to create or maintain 1,050 jobs annually in Canada and contribute $145 million annually to GDP over the life of the contract. The acquisition and maintenance contracts for the MAISR project have the potential to create or maintain approximately 65 jobs annually, and contribute $7.5 million annually to Canada's GDP over the life of the contract. Minister Blair was accompanied by General Wayne Eyre, Chief of the Defence Staff; Lieutenant-General Eric Kenny, Commander of the RCAF and Brigadier-General Richard Schmidt, Deputy Commander of the CANSOFCOM. Later today, Minister Blair is set to participate in a roundtable with women members of the Canadian Armed Forces to mark International Women's Day and Women of Aviation Week. Quotes "As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force, I am more confident than ever in its future. With new fleets of fighter jets, maritime patrol aircraft, tanker and transport aircraft, and more arriving throughout the next few years, we are building the Royal Canadian Air Force of tomorrow. These significant investments in our military will enable the RCAF to better defend Canada and strengthen Canada's ability to contribute to our NORAD and NATO Alliances." The Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence "Today, we welcome the arrival of a Manned Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance aircraft. This important delivery reinforces our government's commitment to protecting Canada's sovereignty and security. The acceptance of this aircraft is an exciting milestone for the Canadian Armed Forces, and marks an impressive 100 years of service for the Royal Canadian Air Force. We congratulate the Royal Canadian Air Force on their centennial, and we will continue our work to support members of the Canadian Armed Forces with the equipment they need to carry out domestic and international operations, while maximizing economic benefits to Canadian industry." The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Public Services and Procurement "Our government is providing the Canadian Armed Forces with the equipment it needs, while creating long-term economic benefits for Canadians through the agreements made with the industry. These procurements will advance Canadian innovation in our world-class aerospace and defence industries, create high-value jobs, and contribute to economic growth in Canada." The Honourable FranAois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry "The threat to Canada's sovereignty and interests abroad, created by competition for global power and advancing technologies, remains as significant now as any time in our history. The Royal Canadian Air Force must be ready answer when our nation calls with a mission-ready, well-equipped, and combat-capable force. These investments will help build a world-class RCAF that will continue to meet Canada's air and space defence requirements for years to come as an agile, integrated and inclusive air and space force." Quote from Lieutenant-General Eric Kenny, Commander, Royal Canadian Air Force "The delivery of the Vigilance aircraft provides the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command with enhanced surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities that radically improves the Canadian Armed Forces' ability to understand the environments in which we operate and will be a critical enabler to mission success. We look forward to continuing to work closely our colleagues in the Royal Canadian Air Force as Vigilance is integrated into full service over the next year." Brigadier-General Richard Schmidt, Deputy Commander, Canadian Special Operations Forces Command Quick facts In total, nine CC-330 Husky aircraft will replace the RCAF's current CC-150 Polaris fleet of five aircraft under the STTC project. STTC is funded by Canada's 2017 defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged, and Canada's NORAD Modernization Plan, announced in June 2022, which is the largest investment in Canada's NORAD capabilities in a generation. The additional air-to-air refuelling aircraft funded by Canada's $38.6 billion NORAD Modernization Plan will significantly increase the RCAF's capacity, and enable the RCAF to enhance Canadian sovereignty operations, including the Arctic. As Minister Blair announced today, the STTC's Main Operating Base in Eastern Canada will be at CFB Trenton. We will also be designating a Main Operating Base in Western Canada in due course. Thanks to Canada's NORAD Modernization Plan, the CC-330 Husky fleet will also be able to operate from select forward operating locations in Canada's north. Like Husky 002 that entered service in November 2023, Husky 003 will temporarily retain its commercial configuration, and will be used to perform troop and passenger airlift operations until it undergoes conversion into its future Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) configuration. The STTC project awarded a contract to Airbus Defence and Space SAU in June 2023 valued at $3.6 billion (excluding taxes) for a fleet of nine aircraft. It includes the acquisition of four new Airbus A330 MRTT aircraft along with the conversion of five used A330-200 aircraft. A total of five used and four new aircraft will be procured with deliveries of the full MRTT capability beginning in 2027 following conversion by Airbus Defence and Space in Spain. Initial operational capability for the CC-330 Husky fleet is planned for 2028-2029, and Full Operational Capability will follow by 2032-2033. The MAISR project is valued at $246.9 million (excluding taxes), and includes the acquisition of the aircraft and prime mission equipment, modifications to infrastructure, training and initial in-service support. A long-term in-service support contract for the CE-145C Vigilance aircraft was awarded on April 21, 2021, to Team CERTAS, consisting of General Dynamics Mission Systems-Canada from Ottawa, Ontario, and Voyageur Aviation Corporation from North Bay, Ontario. This contract has an initial value of $72 million (including taxes) for a period of eight years, with 15 one-year optional extension periods. Delivery of the remaining two CE-145C Vigilance aircraft is expected in spring 2024, with Full Operational Capability expected approximately one year afterwards. Through the Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) Policy, prime contractors on both the STTC and MAISR projects have committed to providing business activities in Canada equal to the value of the contracts. These economic commitments ensure opportunities for the broader Canadian supply chain, including small and medium-sized businesses, and promote innovation through investments in research and development. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China starts drafting law to boost confidence of private sector, vitality for high-quality growth Global Times By Ma Jingjing and Li Xuanmin Published: Mar 08, 2024 11:33 PM Updated: Mar 08, 2024 11:55 PM The work report of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, on Friday pledged to accelerate the formation of a law aimed at promoting the development of the private sector, sending a strong, fresh signal on policymakers' commitment to making continuous improvements in the business environment and boosting the high-quality development of the private sector for Chinese modernization. Deputies and entrepreneurs said the legislative work will better build a fair, law-based and orderly business environment, resolve the challenges faced by private enterprises, and spark their endogenous motivating power and vitality for the accelerated development of new quality productive forces. While the law is an implementation of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee's commitment to unswervingly encouraging, supporting and guiding the development of the non-public sector of the economy, the Party's clear and vigorous support for the private sector is also a strong rebuttal to some Western media outlets' claims that China is squeezing the private economy. "Work must be done to support the growth of the private sector and private enterprises and spur the intrinsic impetus and innovative vigor of various business entities," Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday when he participated in a deliberation with fellow lawmakers from East China's Jiangsu Province during the second session of the 14th NPC, the Xinhua News Agency reported. It is necessary to accelerate the improvement of underlying institutions in areas such as property rights protection, market access, fair competition and social credit to build a high-standard socialist market economy system, he said. Meanwhile, this year's Government Work Report again stressed that state-owned enterprises, private businesses, and foreign-funded companies all play an important role in China's modernization drive. "We will strive to create a sound environment in which enterprises under all forms of ownership can compete and grow on a level playing field," it noted. Enhanced confidence The encouraging words from this year's two sessions for the country's private businesses have reverberated through the vast private sector, with many companies and entrepreneurs vowing to strive to achieve tech innovations and sound development to serve the country's goal of high-quality development. "The law is important for the development of the private sector, as it will inject confidence into and boost the regulation and protection of private enterprises," Wang Yu, chairman and president of Spring Airlines and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), told the Global Times on Friday. The law should ensure equal treatment of private and state-owned enterprises and fair competition in terms of market entry, distribution of resources and fund-raising so as to stimulate the vitality of various market entities for their healthy development, he said. "The Government Work Report has attached great importance to private tech firms, and mentioned it will reinforce the principal role of enterprises in scientific and technological innovation. This made me deeply feel the nation's support for private enterprises' development," Zhou Hongyi, founder and chairman of 360 Security Technology and a member of the National Committee of the CPPCC, told the Global Times. We private tech companies will live up to the mission by leading tech innovation such as artificial intelligence, in order to become a major force in developing new quality productive forces and inject more impetus into our country's high-quality economic development, Zhou said. Liu Yonghao, a member of the National Committee of the CPPCC and chairman of New Hope Group, said he has noticed related government agencies' efforts to help private businesses, noting that the upcoming law will play an active role in boosting private enterprises' high-quality development. Chinese private businesses have continually made progress in recent years, while also making many contributions to the country's development. For example, a batch of international leaders have emerged in China in sectors such as new-energy vehicles, helping the made-in-China brands go global, Liu told the Global Times. Economic experts and the media frequently use a combination of the numbers 50, 60, 70 and 80 to describe the private sector's contributions to the Chinese economy. The private sector contributes more than 50 percent of the country's tax revenue, over 60 percent of its GDP, more than 70 percent of its technological innovation, and provides over 80 percent of its urban employment, official data showed. Amid factors including a sluggish global economy and an increasingly complex external environment, Chinese private enterprises now face some challenges. The revival of private companies and the improvement of private entrepreneurs' sentiment are crucial for China's high-quality development, as the private sector has been a key pillar sustaining China's economic expansion and is expected to be a pioneer of innovative development, analysts said. Unswerving support China has long attached great importance to the private sector, encouraging it to play a bigger role in stabilizing growth and promoting structural adjustments and innovation. Over the past year, the authorities introduced an array of targeted policies to shore up the growth of the private sector. In July 2023, the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council jointly issued guidelines on boosting the growth of the private sector, promising to improve its business environment, enhance policy support, and strengthen legal guarantees for its development. In September, the authorities set up a bureau under the National Development and Reform Commission to ensure policy coordination and implementation to create a better environment and ramp up support for the growth of the private sector. China should lift some institutional obstacles to further optimize the investment environment for the country's private sector in order to stimulate the market vitality for investment, while ensuring domestic firms feel safe investing funds, Yin Yanlin, deputy director of the General Office of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission and a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, told the Global Times. Yin suggested expanding investment space for private enterprises by effectively breaking down the invisible barriers that hinder investment entry. As examples, he cited leaving public welfare projects with certain revenue to the private business market, and expanding the range of trial for real estate investment trusts (REITs) to private-owned companies, hotel and tourism projects. "2024 is an important year to transform. It provides an important opportunity for Chinese companies to push the transformation," Denis Depoux, Global Managing Director at Roland Berger, told the Global Times, urging companies to take action. There are three key drivers of China's future development, namely industrial modernization, energy transition and decarbonization, and transformation of domestic consumption. All three levers are highly transformational and will require a combination of investment, technology, knowledge and know how, Depoux said. Many companies will start to review, decide and formulate new strategies, as the 15th Five-Year Plan will steer the overall direction for coming years. Companies need to bravely step out of the "wait-and-see" approach, face the changes and start to take concrete actions to implement the transformation to prepare themselves to better fit into the future and support the economy, he said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China's top legislature vows rule of law to defend national sovereignty, security Global Times Country will continue improving legislative process in related areas: experts By GT staff reporters Published: Mar 08, 2024 06:36 PM Updated: Mar 08, 2024 11:30 PM China's top legislature vowed on Friday to use rule of law to solve disputes involving foreign-related affairs, and will resolutely defend national sovereignty, security, and development interests. Experts believe that defending national safety and sovereignty has increasingly become an important part in pushing for rule of law in China, and the country will continue improving legislature process in relative areas. China's national lawmakers on Friday started deliberating a work report of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee. Zhao Leji, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, delivered the report at the second plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th NPC. This year, the tasks will include expanding and deepening the proactiveness, pertinence, and effectiveness of the NPC in external exchanges, better serving China's major country diplomacy with its own characteristics, and engaging in multi-level, multi-channel, multi-field, and multi-form exchanges and cooperation with foreign parliaments, said Zhao. He vowed to actively and effectively promote China's path, system, ideas, propositions, and achievements to the outside world, use rule of law to conduct combats involving foreign affairs, and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests. Procurator-general Ying Yong also delivered a report at the second plenary meeting, in which he said to resolutely safeguard national security, social stability, and people's well-being, and strictly punish crimes that endanger national security, serious violent crimes, major drug crimes, and serious economic crimes in accordance with the law. Ying vowed to strengthen foreign-related prosecutorial work and resolutely defend the country's sovereignty, security, and development interests. Through these reports, we can see that legislation on safeguarding national security and sovereignty has become a very important component of comprehensively advancing rule of law in the country, Li Wei, an expert on national security at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times. Last month, Chinese lawmakers voted to adopt a revised Law on Guarding State Secrets at a session of the NPC Standing Committee, to take effect on May 1. In April 2023, Chinese lawmakers voted to adopt a revised Counter-Espionage Law, which refines the definition of espionage, specifying acts such as carrying out cyberattacks against state organs, confidential organs or crucial information infrastructure as acts of espionage Experts believe those legislature changes were promoted by new round of technological revolution, and challenges posed by adversaries For instance, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) recently said in an article that it has committed substantially more resources toward China-related intelligence collection, operations and analysis around the world, more than doubling the percentage of its overall budget focused on China over the last two years. In the future, laws related to social security in the field of national security, as proposed by the overall national security concept will continue to be constantly improved, said Li. Zhao said in his report that in 2024, efforts will focus on advancing the modernization of the national security system and capabilities, with the formulation of laws for managing emergency events and energy, as well as amendments to the National Defense Education Law and Cybersecurity Law. Laws protecting national security in the future can also involve safeguarding the security of Chinese institutions and citizens overseas, said Li, noting that while regulations such as consular protection already exist in this regard, it may be worth considering elevating this to the level of law. Especially in the context of advancing the Belt and Road Initiative, where there are various risks and challenges, it is important to legislate for better cooperation in this area. Western media also started new rounds of hype on China's recent legislature moves on safeguarding national security, said it raised risks for foreign business. In response, Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for the second session of the 14th NPC, said on Sunday that the anti-espionage law does not target normal activities such as business transactions, scientific research cooperation and academic exchanges. We oppose the distortion of the anti-espionage law to smear and undermine the domestic business environment in China, said Lou. In fact, many countries have either their own anti-espionage laws or laws on guarding state secrets. Western media is distorting the concept by including normal commercial trade activities in espionage and intelligence activities, according to Li. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Xi stresses deepening reform to comprehensively enhance strategic capabilities in emerging areas People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 08:02, March 08, 2024 BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called on the armed forces to forge a stronger sense of mission, deepen reform and promote innovation, so as to comprehensively enhance strategic capabilities in emerging areas. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks while attending a plenary meeting of the delegation of the People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police Force at the second session of the 14th National People's Congress, or China's national legislature. Xi said strategic capabilities in emerging areas are an important part of national strategies and strategic capabilities, and are of great significance to building a great country and advancing national rejuvenation on all fronts through Chinese modernization. Six lawmakers from the military spoke at the meeting on topics ranging from defense capabilities in cyberspace and the application of artificial intelligence to the development and utilization of unmanned combat capabilities. Xi said China's drive to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces has provided rare opportunities for the development of strategic capabilities in emerging areas. He called for enabling new quality productive forces and new quality combat capabilities to effectively integrate with and boost each other. Xi urged efforts to coordinate maritime military preparedness, maritime rights and interests protection and marine economy development. He called for optimizing aerospace layout to promote China's aerospace system development, and building cyberspace defense system to enhance the ability to safeguard national cybersecurity. Xi noted that it is necessary to step up independent and original innovation, to foster drivers of growth for new quality productive forces and new quality combat capabilities. He stressed the need to highlight reform in emerging areas as a priority for further comprehensively deepening reform, calling for an innovation ecosystem characterized by self-reliance, openness, integration and vitality. It is necessary to deepen the structural reform of defense-related science and technology industries by accelerating the supply of new quality combat capabilities, Xi said. He also urged efforts to build innovation chains, industrial chains and value chains tailored to the development of emerging areas, and to innovate in and explore the development and utilization of new types of combat forces. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning's Regular Press Conference on March 8, 2024 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China 2024-03-08 20:33 China News Service: Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced at the press conference on the margins of the two sessions visa exemption on a pilot basis to six countries including Switzerland, which attracted great attention. Could you share with us what China has achieved in visa policies so far? What efforts have the Ministry made in making the outbound trips of Chinese citizens easier? Mao Ning: Over the past year, we have unveiled new measures to facilitate visits to and from China to advance high-quality development and high-standard opening up. China makes Chinese passports more valuable. As of now, China has signed mutual visa exemption agreements with 157 countries, covering different types of passports, reached agreements or arrangements to simplify visa procedures with 44 countries, and enjoyed comprehensive mutual visa exemption with 23 countries. In addition, over 60 countries and regions offer visa-free or visa-on-arrival policy to Chinese citizens. This makes it more convenient for Chinese citizens to travel abroad. During the recent Spring Festival of the Year of the Dragon, there was a salient increase in the number of Chinese outbound trips and foreigners' inbound trips for tourism and family-visiting purposes thanks to the resumption of flights and mutual visa-free policies. Take Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand who have ushered in a "visa-free era" with China as an example, the number of Chinese tourists to these three countries have generally resumed to the level reached during the Spring Festival in 2019. The number of tourists from these three countries to China has risen by 15 percent compared with that during the Spring Festival in 2019. This is a great boost to friendship, exchanges and people-to-people bond between China and other countries. As Foreign Minister Wang Yi said when he met the press on the margins of the two sessions, China hopes to work with more countries to build fast-track networks for cross-border travels, make it more convenient for Chinese citizens to travel abroad, and make foreign friends feel at home in China. AFP: It was reported that a US army intelligence analyst was arrested on Thursday for suspicion of providing US national defense information to China. Previously on Wednesday, a Chinese national living in the US was arrested for suspicion of stealing Google's AI technology. What is the Foreign Ministry's response to these two cases? Mao Ning: I do not have information on either of the two cases you mentioned. I'd like to stress, as a principle, on the so-called arrest of a Chinese national for suspicion of stealing Google's technology, that China attaches great importance to and has made active efforts in protecting intellectual property rights. We protect the lawful rights and interests of all domestic and overseas IP owners in a fair and just manner. At the same time, we oppose the US abusing state power to go after Chinese businesses and nationals. We will do what is necessary to safeguard the lawful and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese businesses and nationals. CCTV: Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda recently said that small island nations face serious consequences from climate change and he hopes to see content related to climate response during China's two sessions. What's your response?a Mao Ning: I noted that during this year's NPC and CPPCC sessions, deputies and members pay great attention to climate change. CPPCC member made a proposal on enhancing cooperation with small island developing states to together actively respond to climate change. Climate change is a global challenge and calls for a global response. China is committed to actively responding to climate change and has all along undertaken due international responsibilities commensurate with its national conditions. Under the framework of South-South cooperation on climate change, China provided support and assistance to African countries, small island nations and fellow developing countries to the best of our capabilities. China is an advocate and doer in global environment and climate governance. Premier Li Qiang in the Report on the Work of the Government stressed that it is important to enhance ecological conservation and take comprehensive steps to improve the environment. China will boost the green and low-carbon economy and actively and prudently work toward peaking carbon dioxide emissions and achieving carbon neutrality so as to build a beautiful China featuring harmony between humanity and nature. China will continue to take an active part in and advance global climate governance, expand cooperation space for green development, work with all countries in responding to climate challenges and together protect this blue planet that we all call home. Reuters: According to a statement released yesterday, some US lawmakers are planning to ask the State Department to raise the risk level of travel advisory on Xinjiang. They also made accusations against forced labor targeting Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities. What is China's comment on the statement of the US lawmakers? Mao Ning: China has stated its position multiple times on the so-called "forced labor" in Xinjiang, which is an out-and-out lie. Certain US lawmakers need to view China in an objective and just manner, and recognize that Xinjiang now enjoys social stability, economic prosperity and harmony among all ethnic groups, rather than stick to ideological bias and mislead the US people. AFP: Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said yesterday that "China sees adverse reactions to its riseamilitarily and economicallyarepresent nothing less than an attempt to deny its legitimate place in history." He also said that Southeast Asian countries should "uphold the sanctity of international law." His remarks are quite different from recent remarks made by the Philippines, the US and other countries on China. What's your response? Mao Ning: China's development strengthens the global force for peace and enhances stability in the international community. China's development relies on independence and our own efforts. China is always committed to working with countries in the region and around the world to uphold peaceful development and win-win cooperation, and advocate an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. China remains a staunch force for peace, stability and progress in this region and the world.aa Bloomberg: It's been reported that India has stationed 10,000 new troops along the border with China. Can you respond to that? Mao Ning: India's move of strengthening military deployment along the border with China is counterproductive to the two countries' effort to ease the situation at the border and not conducive to safeguarding peace and tranquility of the border areas. TV Tokyo: The famous Japanese manga artist Akira Toriyama passed away due to illness. His masterpiece "Dragon Ball" draws on the story of China's "Journey to the West" as its background. Do you have any comment about his death? Mao Ning: We express deep condolences over the passing of Mr. Akira Toriyama and sincere sympathies to his families. Mr. Toriyama is a renowned manga artist, whose works are popular in China. I noted that many Chinese have expressed condolences over his passing online. We hope and believe that more people with vision in Japan will make active contribution to the cultural exchange and friendship between China and Japan. Global Times: We've learned that another Chinese student when entering the US border at the San Francisco International Airport was taken to a dark room for interrogation and detained for over 20 hours by US border control staff. Several law enforcement personnel interrogated the student in turn for 12 hours. The student's visa was revoked and the student was banned from entering the US and repatriated back to China. What's your comment? Mao Ning: For some time, the US out of political purpose has been frequently harassing, interrogating, and deporting Chinese students without just cause. Recent incidents time and again show that the acts by the US far exceed the scope of normal law enforcement with strong ideological bias. The US moves seriously infringe on legitimate and lawful rights and interests of persons concerned, disturb normal cross-border travel between China and the US and go against the common understandings reached by the two presidents on enhancing and facilitating China-US cultural and people-to-people exchanges. China strongly deplores and firmly opposes this and has made solemn dAmarches to the US. The US always portrays itself as open and a place for freedom and claims to be emphasizing US-China cultural and people-to-people exchanges and welcoming Chinese students to study in the US. In fact, the US keeps overstretching the concept of national security and takes selective, discriminatory and politically motivated law enforcement actions against Chinese students. It is essentially driven by the Cold War mentality held by certain people in the US. China urges the US to stop harassing Chinese students traveling to the US under the pretext of national security, stop poisoning the environment of public support for China-US relations, and stop obstructing friendly interactions between the two peoples. China will take resolute measures to safeguard legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese citizens. Kyodo News: Since 2014, 17 Japanese nationals suspected of espionage have been arrested. The Chinese government has not yet released what illegal activities they have committed. Japan believes that its nationals should abide by Chinese laws and regulations. However, the lack of judicial transparency triggers concerns among Japanese investors. Economic experts in Japan said that Japan needs a safe investment environment in China. What's your view on this? Mao Ning: I want to stress that China is a law-based country. All law enforcement and judicial activities in China are carried out based on facts and law. Those who abide by laws and regulations and companies that conduct lawful operation have nothing to worry about. China will stay committed to high-standard opening up, including providing a world-class, market-oriented business environment governed by a sound legal framework for companies from all countries, including Japanese companies. Bloomberg: I would like to follow up on my question before. Can you tell me whether or not the fact that India is stationing 10,000 more troops is dangerous? And is the Chinese military considering retaliatory measures? Mao Ning: China is always committed to upholding peace and tranquility in the border areas. India's moves are not conducive to peace and tranquility at the border and do not conform with common understandings reached by China and India on deescalating tensions in the border areas. CCTV: The 161st ordinary session of the Council of the League of Arab States at the ministerial level adopted the Arab-China resolution. The resolution stressed that the Arab states attached importance to their relations with China, reaffirmed their support to the one-China principle and stood ready to advance their cooperation with China across the board under the guidance of the Belt and Road cooperation. They welcomed China to hold the 10th ministerial conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum and appreciated China's diplomatic efforts to support the cause of the Arab states, achieve a peaceful resolution of the regional crisis and advance international and regional peace and security. What's your comment? Mao Ning: The Council of the League of Arab States at the ministerial level specially adopted the China-friendly resolution for the 44th time straight. We highly appreciate it. The resolution demonstrates the profound and longstanding China-Arab friendship and the resolute determination of the Arab states to grow their relations with China. The first China-Arab Summit was held successfully in December 2022, at which the two sides agreed to strive for a China-Arab community with a shared future in the new era and steer the China-Arab relations toward the new era of further development. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum. By taking the 10th ministerial conference as an opportunity, China stands ready to work with the Arab states to have a systemic view of the Forum's good experience, deliver on the results of the first China-Arab Summit, deepen practical cooperation across the board, and jointly speak up on major regional and international issues for the building of China-Arab community with a shared future. TVaAsahi: During past years' two sessions, Japanese media outlets always had the opportunity to raise questions at the Foreign Minister's press conference. However, why didn't we get the opportunity to ask questions at yesterday's press conference? Mao Ning: I believe that you noted over 900 Chinese and foreign journalists participated in the Foreign Minister's press conference. Foreign Minister Wang Yi answered dozens of questions but could not take every question due to the time limit. We appreciate your understanding.a Beijing Daily: Venezuela's National Electoral Council set the presidential election for July 28, the birthday of the country's former President Hugo ChAvez. What's your comment?aa Mao Ning: China wishes Venezuela smooth and successful elections. Shenzhen TV: Recently Bloomberg published a report, alleging that "Hong Kong says Telegram and Signal should be prohibited in Article 23 proposal" and that "Hong Kong security law public consultation lists Facebook, YouTube ban." The Hong Kong SAR government issued a statement, expressing strong disapproval and condemnation over Bloomberg's false report, which generated misunderstanding and panic. Bloomberg withdrew the false report afterwards, updated it and made a clarification. What is your comment on this? Mao Ning: Completing the legislation on Article 23 of the Basic Law is the constitutional responsibility of the government of the Hong Kong SAR and what must be done for the lasting stability and security in Hong Kong and the sound implementation of One Country, Two systems in the long run. It has got extensive support from the Hong Kong society. The draft bill gazetted today fully shows that this legislation strikes a balance between safeguarding national security and protecting rights, freedoms and economic growth. It will provide safeguards for the high-quality development and high-standard opening up in Hong Kong, as well as the sound and steady implementation of One Country, Two systems. Boomberg's false report triggered misunderstanding and panic in the public and affected the relevant legislation. It is a severe mistake. The Hong Kong SAR government made solemn statements and the Commissioner's Office of China's Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong SAR made serious dAmarches to Bloomberg. Bloomberg retracted the previous report and made corrections. In the new report, it acknowledged that the previous one misreported the story, expressed sincere apologies and said that it will be more careful and thorough in the future coverage to prevent similar issues from happening again. We hope all media outlets will draw lessons from this incident and cover Hong Kong and China in an objective and fair way to maintain their own credibility. Reuters: We learned this week that US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Podesta, John Kerry and China's appointed Special Envoy for Climate Change Liu Zhenmin had the first negotiation. What topics did they touch upon? Could you share more information with us?a Mao Ning: I'd refer you to China's competent authorities on the specifics. Broadly speaking, China and the US reached important common understandings on the joint response to climate crisis at the summit meeting between the two Presidents in San Francisco. China stands ready to work with the US and other countries to continue responding to the global climate change with concrete actions. Reuters: The chief of Lithuania's counter-intelligence said yesterday that Chinese interference in Lithuania's elections cannot be ruled out due to Lithuanian support for Taiwan. What's your comment? Mao Ning: China always stays committed to the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs. We've not interested to and will not interfere in Lithuania's internal affairs and elections. We hope that relevant people in Lithuania will stop making irresponsible comments on China and creating trouble and difficulties for the bilateral relations. Otherwise, Lithuania will end up hurting its own interests. Reuters: The Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui held talks with the Ukrainian officials in Ukraine yesterday. Could you share more information about these talks?a Mao Ning: We've released the readout on Special Representative Li Hui's visit to Ukraine. I have no additional information to offer.a Foreign Minister Wang Yi elaborated on China's position on the Ukraine crisis when he met the press yesterday on the margins of the two sessions. You may refer to it.a AFP: President Joe Biden delivered the State of the Union Address today and said that for all his tough talk on China, it never occurred to his predecessor to do that. Who do you think has the toughest talk on China, President Biden or President Trump? Mao Ning: No matter who becomes the US president, China's position on China-US relations is consistent. China always handles China-US relations in accordance with the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation proposed by President Xi Jinping. We are happy to see a confident and open US enjoying prosperity and believe that the US should also welcome a prosperous China enjoying peace and stability. China and the US can help each other succeed and achieve development together.a China has always believed that China-US relations should not be a zero-sum game where one side out-competes or thrives at the expense of the other. We are opposed to defining the entire China-US relations by competition, and attacking or smearing China. We object to the US using competition as a pretext to restrain our legitimate right to development. The US needs to work with China in the same direction, find a right way for major countries to get along well with each other, and advance the steady, sound and sustainable growth of the bilateral relations. Today is the International Women's Day. I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all the female friends a happy International Women's Day. *********************************************** The following question was raised after the press conference: Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States launched their regular Freedom Shield joint military drills in the ROK from March 4 to 14. This time, the number of field training exercises doubles compared with last year, and the US military may deploy a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and a strategic bomber to the Korean Peninsula. What's your comment? Mao Ning: China noted the latest developments of the Korean Peninsula. China believes that under the current circumstances, the provocative military drills jointly held by the US and the ROK and targeted at the certain party cannot help resolve the conflict or enhance mutual trust. The drills will only intensify tensions and deepen the rift. China hopes that relevant parties will face squarely the crux of the Korean Peninsula issues, advance a political settlement of the issues with concrete actions and keep the Korean Peninsula peaceful and stable. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US lawmakers call for release of Uyghur prisoners The group said they welcomed the Biden administration's pressure campaign so far, but that more is needed. By Alex Willemyns for RFA 2024.03.08 -- A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers has called on the Biden administration to press China harder over the jailing of Uyghur activists and to focus on securing the release of four high-profile prisoners. In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the 43 lawmakers said they were "grateful" to see the United States press China over its treatment of Uyghurs at the recent U.N. human rights review, but wanted more pressure. China on Jan. 23 appeared before the U.N. Human Rights Council for a five-yearly review of its human rights record. Beijing was criticized by the United States and its Western allies for its treatment of Uyghurs and Tibetans, even if every country only got 45 seconds to speak. The United States has accused China of carrying out a genocide against Uyghurs - most of whom live in the far-western Xinjiang region - by imprisoning, torturing and sterilizing those who do not fall into line. Beijing has denied the claims and said that alleged high-security concentration camps are in fact vocational training centers. Led by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, the 43 U.S. lawmakers called for the pressure campaign against China to continue until it at least releases many imprisoned Uyghurs. "As the process moves forward," they wrote, "we strongly urge [the State] Department, in its role representing the United States at the UNHRC, to continue to vigorously advocate for those arbitrarily detained in China and ensure their swift and safe release." The letter also requests that the United States "specifically" focus on four Uyghur prisoners who are relatives of American citizens: retired doctor Gulshan Abbas, university student Kamile Wayit, journalist Qurban Mamut and doctor and translator Ahmetjan Juma. Juma was sentenced to 14 years in prison, it says, "in retaliation for his brother's work as a journalist for Radio Free Asia." Juma is the brother of Mamatjan Juma, the deputy director of RFA's Uyghur service. Bipartisan effort The letter includes signatures from 43 lawmakers from across the political aisle, including Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat from Illinois who serves as his party's top member on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Others include Rep. Young Kim, a Republican from California and chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific, and Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Democrat from Virginia whose Fairfax district is home to the country's largest community of Uyghur-Americans. Ziba Murat, the daughter of Gulshan Abbas, expressed her "heartfelt gratitude" to the Rep. Michael Waltz, a Republican from Florida, and Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, for organizing the letter and called on the White House to renew its focus on Uyghurs. "It is amazing to see such bipartisan support from the Congress, I'm truly overwhelmed," Murat said, adding she wanted the cases raised in every meeting with China. "In spite of the agony and exhaustion, I will never stop speaking out and fighting for my mother's return to us." RFA's Mamatjan Juma said his brother - like the relatives of many of his colleagues - was "innocent and unjustly suffering in jail" due to his journalism about Uyghurs and should be immediately released. "It's heartening to see the suffering of our loved ones in Chinese prison camps recognized," he said. "At Radio Free Asia Uyghur service, eight of our staff members, most of whom are U.S. citizens, have confirmed that their loved ones are jailed in China due to their journalism." "We urge the U.S. government to escalate efforts to secure the release of our loved ones from Chinese prisons and to hold China accountable for its crimes against humanity and ongoing genocide," he added. Edited by Malcolm Foster Copyright 1998-2024, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content March not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hong Kong reveals new security law with harsher penalties The law steps up an ongoing crackdown on political opposition and public dissent, targets 'foreign forces.' By Lee Heung Yeung for RFA Cantonese 2024.03.08 -- Hong Kong's government on Friday tabled a draft national security bill that proposes life sentences for anyone who "endangers national security," with sentences of up to 10 years' imprisonment for "illegally disclosing state secrets." The Safeguarding National Security bill, commonly known as Article 23, is highly likely to pass in the city's Legislative Council within a few weeks due to the lack of opposition lawmakers. It comes amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent in the wake of the 2019 pro-democracy protests that has used both a 2020 National Security Law and colonial-era sedition laws to prosecute and jail people for protest and political opposition in unprecedented numbers. The government says the legislation will plug "loopholes" left by the 2020 National Security Law and claims it is needed to deal with clandestine activity by "foreign forces" in the city, which the ruling Chinese Communist Party blames for the 2019 mass protest movement that was sparked by plans to allow extradition to mainland China. The law proposes sentences of up to life imprisonment for "treason," "insurrection," "sabotage" and "mutiny," 20 years for espionage and 10 years for crimes linked to "state secrets" and "sedition." It also allows the authorities to revoke the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passports of anyone who flees overseas, and to target overseas activists with financial sanctions. The concept of "collusion with foreign forces " runs throughout the draft bill, and sentences are harsher where "foreign forces" are deemed to be involved. Currently, pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai is on trial for a similar offense under the 2020 National Security Law -- the case against him relies heavily on opinion articles published in Lai's now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper. The draft law allows police to extend the detention of arrested persons from 48 to 14 days in national security cases, and also creates a new offense: "unlawfully using a computer or electronic system to endanger national security," which is punishable by 20 years in prison. Security chief Chris Tang said there was a "genuine and urgent need" for the new law, citing waves of mass popular resistance and campaigns for full democracy in recent years, and particularly the protests of 2019. "Hong Kong has undergone serious threats to national security, especially the color revolution and black-clad violence in 2019, which was an unbearably painful experience," said Tang, who has previously warned that art "can be a pretext for subversion." Elastic definition of 'national security' Hong Kong officials and national security judges, who operate without a jury, have so far employed a highly elastic definition of what constitutes a threat to "national security." For example, dozens of former opposition politicians and activists are currently standing trial for "subversion" for organizing a democratic primary election. But rights experts and activists including the U.N. Special Rapporteur for Rights Defenders have warned during the consultation process that the law will criminalize actions like peaceful protest or political opposition that should be protected under international law. Some lawmakers expressed concerns on Thursday that the law could be used to curb public speech or the media. Justice Secretary Paul Lam appeared to confirm that it could, saying that the law would be used to target those who "incite hatred," citing the example of "insulting words" used about visitors from mainland China in recent years. Amnesty International in January described the Article 23 legislation as "a dangerous moment" for human rights in Hong Kong, warning that Hong Kong authorities would likely "push through" this legislation with minimal meaningful consultation, and without ensuring its compliance with international law. "The government has made clear it intends to double down on repression of civic freedoms under Article 23 by introducing steeper penalties and expanding cases in which the legitimate exercise of rights would be criminalized in the name of national security," the group's China director Sarah Brooks said in a statement on Jan. 30. Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Copyright 1998-2024, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content March not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Chinese women largely excluded from highest echelons of power As the National People's Congress convenes, women are conspicuously absent from the ranks of senior leaders. By Stacy Hsu for RFA Mandarin 2024.03.08 -- Addressing an annual parliamentary session in Beijing, ruling Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping extended "festive" greetings in honor of International Women's Day, which falls Friday, to women delegates to the world's biggest legislature earlier this week. "I hope that all women will be spirited and energetic, and play their role in advancing China's modernization by holding up half the sky," Xi said, quoting late supreme leader Mao Zedong's epithet about women. The last time Xi mentioned women specifically in a high-profile speech, he was using similar language to call on them to play an "irreplaceable role" in nurturing "traditional Chinese virtues and fostering stronger family values," according to state media reports of his speech to the All-China Women's Federation in October 2023. Yet women were only mentioned twice in the annual work report by premier Li Qiang to the assembled National People's Congress, in broad-brushed wording about "protecting their rights and interests." Xi Jinping got 18 mentions in the document, the English version of which ran to nearly 14,000 words. Women occupy just over 26% of the nearly 3,000 seats in the National People's Congress and slightly more than 22% of seats in its advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. That puts China 89th out of 190 in the Parline ranking of female representation in global parliaments. For comparison, the United States ranks 72nd and the United Kingdom 48th. Further up the echelons of power, a different picture emerges, however. Just 11 out of 205 members of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee are women, while no women have sat on the 24-member Politburo since the retirement of vice premier Sun Chunlan in March 2023. No woman has ever sat on the all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee. 'A male alliance' While things appear to have worsened under Xi's rule, the "core leadership circle" of the Chinese Communist Party has always excluded women, feminist commentators and rights activists told RFA Mandarin in recent interviews. "It's a male alliance, and its patriarchal and authoritarian aspects are reflections of each other," U.S.-based feminist activist and writer Lu Pin said. The few women who do make it to the higher levels of political power aren't representative of Chinese women generally, and don't work to advance their cause, says Lu. "[They] have no connection with the vast majority of women," Lu said. "Everything they do is just an extension of what their male comrades do." Women only occupy 8% of jobs in senior leadership positions in China, according to a December 2023 report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. "All of the national policies affecting China's direction in the 100 years since the Communist Party was founded have been decided by that ... small group of men sitting on the Politburo Standing Committee, which has never had a female member," Zhang Jing, New York-based founder of Women's Rights in China, said in an interview, commenting on that report. "In particular, the decades of persecution under the one-child policy." "Marxism does talk about equality between men and women -- at least the concept is there, but Mao Zedong just used that as a slogan without actually putting it into practice," she told Radio Free Asia. Wang Ruiqin, who once represented the All-China Women's Federation at the Qinghai provincial Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, agreed. "The oppression of women ... basically hasn't changed since the founding of the Communist Party 100 years ago -- it's part of traditional culture," she said, commenting on the same report. "After the Chinese Communist Party took power in 1949 ... they brought in three women as ministers because they had just gotten into power and they needed to put on a show," she said. "They had slogans about equality between men and women ... but there hasn't been a substantive boost for women's liberation in the more than 70 years since then ... and things have gotten worse under the Xi Jinping administration," Wang said. The lowest rungs of politics Sociologist Xu Fang, who lectures at the University of California, Berkeley, said Chinese women have typically shown a better level of participation at lower levels of the political system. "But as power becomes more and more concentrated, there will be very few women at the tip of the pyramid," she said. Even on the lowest rungs of politics, participation hasn't even reached the target of one third set during the 1995 World Conference on Women in Beijing, according to veteran feminist activist Feng Yuan, who was present at that event. "One third is a very important threshold, a kind of critical mass," she said. "The government also made this commitment." So what kind of progress do Chinese feminists most hope to see over the next few years? For Lu Pin, civil and political rights are more important than anything else, including economic, social and cultural rights, especially now that the government has suppressed civic groups and non-government organizations that used to promote women's rights. "Chinese women aren't allowed to fight for their own rights at the moment," she said. "Women should be allowed to decide what rights are important to them, and what methods they want to use to fight for them -- that is the key." "The reason women's rights have been suppressed is that women haven't been allowed to define what their rights are, then pursue them," she said. Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Roseanne Gerin. Copyright 1998-2024, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content March not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Q&A: Former MI6 Official Talks of Turmoil at the Top in China and 'Partyfication' of Foreign Ministry By Natalie Liu March 08, 2024 Nigel Inkster is the senior adviser for China at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and boasts a three-decade career at the British Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6. VOA's Natalie Liu recently spoke with him about the turmoil among China's political elite over the past year, most notably the removal of both Defense Minister Li Shangfu and Foreign Minister Qin Gang. As speculation continues to swirl about the fate of both former officials, Inkster shares his views on the Chinese foreign minister who some reports have suggested was involved in espionage, the potential of coup attempts from within to remove powerful leader Xi Jinping, and the Communist Party's control of China's foreign ministry. The interview is edited for brevity and clarity. VOA: What makes you think [Foreign Minister] Qin Gang wasn't involved in espionage? Inkster: I find it hard to imagine how an intelligence agency would be able to maintain covert contact with somebody not only in such a high-profile position, but also a position where effectively his activities are always subject to oversight by others. If you're ambassador in the United States, you don't really have any real latitude to do anything on your own. It's very difficult, but not impossible. Internal plot? VOA: Could the unexplained removal of Defense Minister Li Shangfu, Foreign Minister Qin Gang, among others, have anything to do with plots to remove Xi Jinping? Inkster: I can't remember whether it's [Russian Vladimir] Lenin or [Russian Leon] Trotsky who said: "When an autocrat is in power, his overthrow seems inconceivable, once he's overthrown, his overthrow seems inevitable." There's something to that, of course. It's obvious there is, particularly within elements of China's political elite, unhappiness and pushback with some of Xi Jinping's policies. There have been intimations that there were plots against the top leadership orchestrated from within elements of the Ministry of Public Security; these things have come up periodically. But my sense is, at the moment a I could be completely wrong about this a but dissatisfaction and opposition to Xi's policies is fragmented. General Office of CCP Central Committee Inkster: And we have to bear in mind that the CCP Central Committee General Office runs a pervasive surveillance operation on China's top leaders; this office is responsible for organizing the affairs of the top leadership, it also doubles as in effect an intelligence organization that monitors the activities of the top leadership. This is the entity Xi relies upon to be sure he knows what fellow top leaders are doing and thinking. It monitors all their communications, all their movements, so the scope for engaging in this kind of plotting, as I see it, is quite limited. VOA: If we go back to the Hua Guofeng [who took power after Mao Zedong died in 1976] time, the head of the General Office, Wang Dongxing, led the charge to overthrow the Gang of Four [led by Mao's widow Jiang Qing], no? Inkster: Yes, he did. And of course, it's not impossible [that something like that could happen again], but bear in mind that when that happened, technology was at a far more primitive state than it is now. I'm not saying it can't happen. There's precious little that can't happen. What I'm saying is it is a great deal more difficult than it previously would have been. The most powerful man inside China's Foreign Ministry VOA: The top official listed on the Chinese Foreign Ministry's website is the chairman of the ministry's Communist Party committee, a gentleman by the name of Qi Yu who also heads the Party School within the Foreign Ministry. Some Chinese commentators have Qi Yu linked with Xi Jinping, including as a potential relative [on his mother's side]. Inkster: Under Xi Jinping, we have seen what I would term the partyfication of the Foreign Ministry; you just read his address to China's ambassadors at the end of last year; he made it abundantly clear that their first loyalty was to be to the party. This is simply a feature of the way things are in China now. The party is in control of everything, why would it not be in control of the Foreign Ministry? I don't know if that is the case or not [that Xi has dispatched one of his relatives to watch over the Foreign Ministry], but the simple fact is, obviously, it is in [Xi's] interest to do everything possible to ensure that the Foreign Ministry does get with the program and enact policy in the way that he wants it to. I don't find anything at all surprising about that, if it's indeed what has happened. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Biden Targets China During State of Union Speech By William Gallo March 08, 2024 U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday criticized China's "unfair economic practices" and insisted he has done a better job standing up to Beijing than did former President Donald Trump, his rival in this year's presidential election. In his State of the Union address, Biden also touted other aspects of his China policy, including "standing up for peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits" and revitalizing "our partnerships and alliances in the Pacific." "I've made sure that the most advanced American technologies can't be used in China ... frankly for all his tough talk on China, it never occurred to my predecessor to do any of that," Biden added. Biden's China comments, which made up only a brief part of his nationally televised speech, come a day after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi escalated his country's verbal attacks on the United States. On the sidelines of an annual meeting of China's National People's Congress, Wang accused the United States of trying to contain China through sanctions, and insisted that Washington has "wrong perceptions" about Beijing. "The means to suppress China are constantly updated, the list of unilateral sanctions is constantly extended, and the desire to inflict punishment on China has reached an unimaginable level," said Wang during what appeared to be a tightly scripted interaction with local and foreign media. Wang's comments were a contrast from September, when Biden met Chinese President Xi Jinping in California. At that meeting, both sides agreed to restart dialogue and cooperate on several initiatives, including to counter the flow of fentanyl, a highly addictive synthetic opioid, into the United States. While Wang acknowledged that "some progress" was made at what he called the "historic meeting," he accused the United States of breaking some of its promises. "If the United States always says one thing and does another, where will its credibility be as a major country? If the United States is nervous and anxious whenever it hears the word 'China,' where is the self-confidence of a major country?" Wang said. Even as high-level talks resumed, the United States has expanded sanctions against China on a range of issues, from human rights abuses to its relations with Russia. U.S.-China ties are also strained over a wide range of other issues, including China's behavior in disputed areas of the South China Sea, its military intimidation of Taiwan, and a growing U.S.-China technological competition. Political cudgel In his speech Thursday, Biden reiterated that he wants "competition with China, but not conflict," while noting that the United States is "in a stronger position to win the competition for the 21st century against China or anyone else for that matter." "For years, I've heard many of my Republican and Democratic friends say that China is on the rise and America is falling behind. They've got it backwards ... America is rising," Biden said. "We have the best economy in the world. And since I've come to office, our GDP is up. Our trade deficit with China is down to the lowest point in over a decade," he added. China is expected to get more public attention as the U.S. presidential election campaign intensifies. On Thursday, both Biden, a Democrat, and U.S. Senator Katie Britt, who delivered the Republican response, used China to attack their political opponents. "The Chinese Communist Party is undercutting America's workers. China is buying up our farmland, spying on our military installations, and spreading propaganda through the likes of TikTok," Britt said, referring to the popular video-sharing social media app owned by a Chinese company. "The CCP knows that if it conquers the minds of our next generation, it conquers America," Britt said. "And what does President Biden do? He bans TikTok for government employees, but creates an account for his own campaign." U.S. lawmakers are making a renewed push to pass legislation that would effectively force Beijing-based ByteDance to sell TikTok within six months or face a U.S. ban. Some U.S. lawmakers warn ByteDance could pass private information about U.S. users to China's Communist Party - an allegation rejected by the company's CEO. Previous attempts to ban TikTok have been unsuccessful. But despite recent developments, U.S.-China relations remain more stable than in past years, said Wang Huiyao, the founder and president of the Beijing-based Center for China and Globalization. "We don't want to see a downward spiral like we used to have. Because if that happens, that could be very dangerous for not only the U.S. and China, but for the world," Wang told VOA during an interview at his office. "I'm still cautiously optimistic," Wang said. "Because people realize that [after] the last six, seven years, if the U.S. and China really get into a very ugly situation, then the whole world is finished." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Canada imposes new sanctions against two individuals for their participation in violent repression of Iranian women and girls Global Affairs Canada News release March 8, 2024 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada The Honourable MAlanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that Canada is imposing new sanctions under the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations. This is the 17th package of sanctions imposed by Canada against Iran since the death of Mahsa Amini in October 2022. Today's sanctions are being imposed in response to the Iranian regime's ongoing gross and systematic human rights violations, particularly against women and girls, and continued actions to destabilize regional peace and security. These new measures apply to two individuals for their participation in the violent repression of Iranian citizens, targeting in particular women and girls. The Chief Executive of the Tehran metro system, Masoud Dorosti, is listed for his enforcement of the mandatory hijab law on public transit. A senior parliamentarian in the Majlis, Zohreh Elahian, is also listed for her support of the death penalty for protestors involved in the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement. These two individuals have used their positions of influence to call for or carry out increasingly repressive measures against women and girls in Iran. These measures impose a prohibition on dealings related to the listed individuals and render them inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. On this International Women's Day, Canada remains steadfast in its commitment to standing with women and girls, including in this case in Iran. Canada will continue to support the Iranian people as they courageously fight for a better future and for the right to make their own choices. Quotes "Canada will always defend the rights of women and girls. The Iranian regime and its supporters' continued use of cruel and violent tactics against any demonstration of liberty of choices and free speech has led to an increasingly repressive environment in which women and girls face injury or death simply for expressing themselves or demanding their basic human rights. Our message is clear: this must end. We will continue to shine a spotlight on these blatant violations of human rights and call for the perpetrators to be held to account." - MAlanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs Quick facts Between October 3, 2022, and today, March 8, 2024, Canada has announced 17 updates to the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations, listing a total of 153 individuals and 87 entities for their participation in Iran's gross and systematic human rights violations, state-led disinformation activities or nuclear program, or in relation to its ongoing breach of international peace and security. In November 2022, Canada designated Iran as a regime that has engaged in terrorism and gross and systematic human rights violations under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. This designation rendered tens of thousands of senior members of the Iranian regime, including many members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, inadmissible to Canada. In 2012, Canada designated Iran as a supporter of terrorism under the State Immunity Act. In concert with the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, this designation authorizes victims to bring civil actions against Iran for losses or damages from acts of terrorism with links to Iran committed anywhere in the world. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Raisi opens exploitation of two oil fields in Ahvaz IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 8, 2024 Ahvaz, IRNA -- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has inaugurated two oil fields, namely Sepehr and Jofeir, in Khuzestan province and the western Karun region. During his provincial visit to Khuzestan on Friday, President Raisi issued an official order to commence operations at the Sepehr and Jofeir oil fields via video conference, with Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji in attendance. The inauguration ceremony, a significant part of Raisi's visit, highlighted the importance of the Sepehr and Jofeir oil fields, which currently contribute over 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) to Iran's oil production. The goal is to extract 74,000 bpd of oil from these fields over a 20-year period, with an investment exceeding $2.8 billion. Additionally, President Raisi inaugurated the Zamzam 3 sponge iron factory in Ahvaz, which is the largest producer of sponge iron in the Middle East and the second-largest globally after India. 3266**9417 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran reserves right to respond Israeli threat: Envoy IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 8, 2024 New York, IRNA -- Iran's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Amir Saeed Iravani has said that the Islamic Republic of Iran reserves its legitimate and inherent right to take all necessary measures to respond to any threat or attack originating from the Israeli regime against its national security and interest and its people. Iravani in a letter to President of the Security Council of the United Nations Yamazaki Kazuyuki and Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres on Thursday has categorically rejected the accusations against Iran raised by the representative of the Israeli regime to the United Nations, noting that in the letter, the Foreign Minister of the Israeli regime resorted to lies, spread misinformation, and leveled unfounded allegations against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The full text of the letter by the Iranian envoy to the UN Security Council president is as follows: Excellency, I am writing to you regarding the letter dated 22 February 2024 from the representative of the Israeli regime to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council transmitting a letter from the Israeli Foreign Minister addressed to the President of the Security Council. In the letter, the Foreign Minister of the Israeli regime resorted to lies, spread misinformation, and leveled unfounded allegations against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The accusations in the letter are entirely baseless and are categorically rejected. This letter represents yet another cynical attempt by the Israeli regime to deflect the attention of the international community from the ongoing egregious atrocities and acts of genocide committed by this apartheid regime against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. It is also a misleading effort aimed at covering up and legitimizing Israel's aggression against Lebanon and its continual breaches of international law, the United Nations Charter, and UNSC Resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1701 (2006) by leveling unfounded allegations against Iran. While strongly warning about any military adventurism or malicious activities by the Israeli regime in the region, the Islamic Republic of Iran reserves its legitimate and inherent right, in accordance with international law and the United Nations Charter, to take all necessary measures to respond to any threat or attack originating from the Israeli regime against its national security and interest and its people. Iran also reaffirms the inherent right of the Syrian Arab Republic and Lebanon under international law to take all necessary measures in response to any threat or attacks and acts of aggression by the Israeli regime against its sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity. I should be grateful if you would circulate the present letter as a document of the Security Council. Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration. 3266**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran reserves legitimate right to respond to Israeli threats: UN ambassador Iran Press TV Friday, 08 March 2024 6:27 AM Iran's permanent ambassador to the United Nations has warned against Israel's "military adventurism" in the region, noting that Tehran reserves the "inherent" right to respond to threats and attacks originating from the regime. In a letter to the United Nations Antonio Guterres and the rotating president of the UN Security Council (UNSC) Yamazaki Kazuyuki on Thursday, Iran's UN envoy Amir Saeid Iravani rejected the Israeli allegations and threats. "While strongly warning about any military adventurism or malicious activities by the Israeli regime in the region, the Islamic Republic of Iran reserves its legitimate and inherent right, in accordance with international law and the United Nations Charter, to take all necessary measures to respond to any threat or attack originating from the Israeli regime against its national security and interest and its people," he wrote. His letter came in response to an earlier letter by Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz to the world body, claiming that Iran has escalated weapons deliveries to the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement. "The accusations in the letter are entirely baseless and are categorically rejected. This letter represents yet another cynical attempt by the Israeli regime to deflect the attention of the international community from the ongoing egregious atrocities and acts of genocide committed by this apartheid regime against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. "It is also a misleading effort aimed at covering up and legitimizing Israel's aggression against Lebanon and its continual breaches of international law, the United Nations Charter, and UNSC Resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1701 (2006) by leveling unfounded allegations against Iran," the Iranian ambassador said. "Iran also reaffirms the inherent right of the Syrian Arab Republic and Lebanon under international law to take all necessary measures in response to any threat or attacks and acts of aggression by the Israeli regime against their sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity," the Iranian diplomat pointed out. The upsurge in Israel's acts of aggression against Syria and Lebanon comes following the Tel Aviv regime's onslaught against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip. Israel waged the devastating war on Gaza on October 7 after Hamas launched Operation al-Aqsa Storm in the occupied territories in retaliation for the Tel Aviv regime's incessant crimes against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Since the start of the aggression, the Tel Aviv regime has killed at least 30,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 72,298 others. Israel also frequently targets military positions inside Syria, especially those of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah which has played a key role in helping the Syrian army in its fight against foreign-backed terrorists. The Israeli military has also been carrying out attacks against the Lebanese territory since then, prompting retaliatory strikes from Lebanon's resistance movement Hezbollah in support of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. The movement has vowed to keep up its retaliatory operations as long as the Tel Aviv regime continues its onslaught on Gaza. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address MBABANE Sexual harassment is now happening during class time. In a disturbing incident that shocked a community in the northern Hhohho, a female pupil was allegedly subjected to sexual harassment during class time at a high school near Piggs Peak. The incident, which occurred approximately a week ago, has left the community angry and demanding justice. They are complaining that the alleged perpetrators of the incident are roaming freely. According to reports obtained by Eswatini News, the female pupil, *Dela, was allegedly fondled by her male colleagues, *Juba and *Joko. It is said the alleged sexual harassment happened in full view of other pupils. The class teacher is said to have been away at the time of the incident, but was informed later. It was said to have all started when Juba grabbed Dela and forced her to sit onto Jokos lap. Despite her residences, Juba is said to have forced Dela, who is said to be a teenager to sit on the lap of Joko.After Dela had allegedly been thrown onto Jokos lap, Joko is said to have held her tightly, ensuring that she could not escape. Fondled While Joko held her, it is alleged that both male pupils then proceeded to fondle her. It is alleged that Dela had her breasts, buttocks and even private parts fondled. After the embarrassing incident, Dela is said to have reported what had transpired to one of the teachers, hoping that this would result in the punishment of the two boys but this did not happen. Instead, the teacher is alleged to have said the schools authorities needed to be informed about it. Upon being informed about the incident, the schools authorities reportedly advised that the alleged assault was a criminal matter relating to the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act. The school is then said to have advised that the matter should be reported to the police because it was now beyond their authority to act on it. An enquiry into the matter is said to have been lodged at the Piggs Peak Police Station by officers under the anti-domestic violence unit. News of the incident quickly spread beyond the confines of the school, reaching concerned parents around the community where the school is situated. It is alleged that some of the parents expressed dismay and sought answers, demanding to know if any action had been taken against the two male pupils, who allegedly fondled the teenager. In response to growing public outrage, police officers visited the school last Wednesday to follow up on the incident and gather further information. The presence of the police, according to some of the parents is said to have calmed down some of the angry parents. Despite the fact that the affected pupils are reportedly at least 18 years of age, it was gathered that the police had indicated that they would also engage the parents because the incident happened within the school setting. This was after some of the parents questioned why they were not being arrested, because even though they were pupils, they were adults, as they had passed the age of 18 years. The deputy Chief Police Information and Communications Officer, Assistant Superintendent Nosipho Mnguni confirmed that the matter was reported. She said it was currently being investigated. The schools administration could not be reached for comment and attempts were made to call the Ministry of Education and Training Principal Secretary (PS) Bheki Gama but his cellphone rang unanswered. *Not real name to protect complainant from victimisation. Activists Demand International Boycott Of Iran To 'Delegitimize The Regime' By RFE/RL's Radio Farda March 08, 2024 Dozens of Iranian activists at home and abroad have called on the international community to boycott the Islamic republic for committing "gender apartheid." In a statement marking International Women's Day on March 8, more than 40 activists and groups hailed the growing defiance against the mandatory head covering in Iran as an "achievement" of the Women, Life, Freedom movement, which was born out of the deadly 2022 unrest that rocked the country. More than 500 protesters were killed in the protests that broke out following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman who died in police custody after being detained for allegedly flouting the country's hijab law. Iran's brutal crackdown on the protests has been widely condemned by rights groups. "This woman-killing regime has no legitimacy in Iran, and we ask the international community to also delegitimize the regime," the statement from the activists says. In a separate statement, jailed Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi urged international rights groups to help the women of Iran and Afghanistan by pushing for "the criminalization of gender apartheid" committed by the Islamic republic and the Taliban-led government in Kabul through "systemic and targeted" discrimination against women. Mohammadi, who won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, has been convicted five times since 2021 on various security-related charges and has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison. On March 4, London-based activist Fariba Baluch, who has been advocating for the rights of women and the Baluch ethnic minority in Iran, was awarded the U.S. State Department's International Women of Courage Award. "This award is not mine, but for all the nameless, courageous girls and women in Iran who are fighting for their basic demands," she told RFE/RL's Radio Farda. The United Nations' Independent International Fact-Finding Mission asserted in a report on March 8 that Iran's repression of the 2022 protests and "pervasive institutional discrimination against women" had led to serious human rights violations, "many amounting to crimes against humanity." The fact-finding mission concluded that unless the Iranian establishment implements fundamental changes, member states of the UN Human Rights Council "should explore avenues for accountability at international level and in their domestic systems." The Islamic republic has long been dismissive of concerns by Western states and rights groups about women's rights in Iran. "The issue of women is a point of strength in Islam," Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in an address to a group of women in December 2023. "It should not be thought that we are supposed to be held accountable on the issue of women." Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-activists-boycott-regime- women/32853913.html Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pakistan: No ground for US objection to gas pipeline project with Iran Iran Press TV Friday, 08 March 2024 3:17 AM Pakistan has dismissed the United States' objection to its decision to start work on a joint pipeline project between the country and Iran. Late last month, Muhammad Ali, Pakistan's caretaker energy minister, said work on 80 kilometers (49 miles) of the pipeline that lies in the Pakistani territory would be carried out. Washington has opposed the project, saying it could violate the illegal sanctions that it has imposed on Tehran. On Thursday, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson, was asked during a press briefing if Islamabad had contacted Washington on the decision to begin constructing the pipeline. "The cabinet of Pakistan decided, a few days ago, to start work on 80 kilometers of Pakistan-Iran pipeline, and this is the beginning of construction of the pipeline and it is in conformity with our commitment to the Iran-Pakistan pipeline," Baloch said in response. "And since this pipeline is being constructed inside Pakistani territory, we do not believe there is room for any objections by any third party at this stage," she added. The project, launched in 2013, required Pakistan to finish the construction of the pipeline on its territory by the end of 2014. But the work stalled, upsetting Tehran, which has said it has already invested $2 billion in the pipeline on its side of the border. Pakistan is likely to face an $18-billion fine if it terminates the gas pipeline agreement. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media condemns further crackdown on media freedom in Russia OSCE | Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe VIENNA 8 March 2024 VIENNA, 8 March 2024 -- The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, has condemned the imprisonment of Roman Ivanov, a journalist with RusNews, an online media outlet, and expressed concern regarding other setbacks related to freedom of expression and media freedom in the Russian Federation. Reports indicate that on March 6, a court in the Moscow region sentenced Roman Ivanov to seven years in prison for allegedly disseminating "false" information about the Russian military. Ivanov's prosecution appears to be linked to his online posts sharing information of public interest related to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. "The ongoing abuses targeting the safety of media workers, media freedom, and overall freedom of expression within the Russian Federation are deeply troubling," stated Ribeiro. "I call for the immediate release of all detained journalists and stress the imperative to cease the suppression of their legitimate work." Ribeiro also expressed concern over recent legislative measures banning advertising on the platforms of individuals and organizations labelled as "foreign agents," and permitting property confiscation for the dissemination of "false" information about the Russian military or any action deemed to "discredit" it. Additionally, she noted ongoing efforts to brand media outlets and freedom of the press organizations as "undesirable," resulting in the subsequent suppression of their operations. "I once again urge the Russian authorities to uphold all OSCE commitments aimed at respecting, promoting, and safeguarding the freedom to seek, receive, and disseminate information regardless of borders and to cease the pervasive practice of eliminating critical voices," Ribeiro emphasized. "It is crucial that the authorities ensure that their laws, policies, and practices pertaining to media freedom fully comply with international obligations and commitments." Earlier, amidst a range of adverse developments, Ribeiro condemned the prosecution of another RusNews journalist, Maria Ponomarenko, who received a six-year prison sentence. She also denounced the designation of the ARTICLE 19 international freedom of expression organization as "undesirable" and reiterated the necessity of repealing legislation targeting "foreign agents." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Treasury Sanctions Companies and Individuals Advancing Russian Malign Activities in Africa U.S. Department of the Treasury March 8, 2024 WASHINGTON -- Today, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned two companies - one in Russia and one in the Central African Republic (CAR) - for their efforts in advancing Russia's malign activities in CAR. Today's targets have played an important role enabling the Private Military Company 'Wagner' (Wagner Group) and, by extension, the activities of the Russian Federation. Those designated sought monetary gain from illicit natural resource extraction and provided material and financial support to the Wagner Group and other organizations associated with the enterprise of Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the former Wagner Group owner who died in August 2023 in a plane explosion in Russia. "Russia has sought to leverage these Wagner-affiliated companies in its efforts both to secure additional revenue from abroad and to advance its interests in Africa, often at the expense of the host countries, their institutions, and their citizens," said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. "The United States remains focused on disrupting the networks that enable Russia's illicit and destabilizing activities in Africa." OFAC's designation of Bois Rouge and Broker Expert would not have been possible without the cooperation and support of Homeland Security Investigations. PRIGOZHIN ENTERPRISE COMPANIES Bois Rouge SARLU (Bois Rouge), a.k.a. Wood International Group SARLU, is a Bangui, CAR-based timber company. Established in 2019, Bois Rouge is just one of many Prigozhin-associated companies operating in CAR, which constitutes a vast malign network spanning the spectrum of CAR's political, economic, and information sectors. Like other Prigozhin-associated companies in CAR, Bois Rouge received a natural resources concession in exchange for the services the Wagner Group provided in CAR. Bois Rouge acquired a timber permit in early 2021 around the same time Wagner Group mercenaries, in conjunction with CAR military forces, seized control of the corresponding area from rebels opposed to the CAR government. This land is in CAR's Lobaye prefecture, which is part of the Congo Basin and contains some of the largest undeveloped tracks of rainforest in the world. Bois Rouge has since exported tropical timber species, such as azobe, iroko, mukulungu, sapeli, and tali, to buyers in China, the Middle East, Europe, and Central Asia. In 2022, Bois Rouge's name changed to Wood International Group SARLU. Limited Liability Company Broker Expert (Broker Expert) is a St. Petersburg, Russia-based company with a lengthy track record of supporting Prigozhin's exploits throughout Africa. Broker Expert has exported goods to several Prigozhin-associated companies, including dozens of shipments to Bois Rouge in CAR, multipurpose vehicles to U.S.-designated Meroe Gold Co. LTD. in Sudan, and helmets to Wagner Group forces in Ukraine. Moreover, Prigozhin's enterprise had used Broker Expert, among other companies, to regularly move cash to fund malign activities. For example, in Madagascar, a Prigozhin-associated company involved in a joint mining venture with a Malagasy state-owned enterprise received funds from Broker Expert. OFAC designated Bois Rouge pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14024 for being owned or controlled by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Wagner Group. OFAC designated Broker Expert pursuant to E.O. 14024 for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of Bois Rouge. THE WAGNER GROUP The United States has sanctioned numerous entities and individuals globally that support the Wagner Group and other Russian private military companies. The Wagner Group has committed widespread human rights abuses and has appropriated natural resources across multiple countries in Africa. A proxy military force of the Kremlin, the Wagner Group has carried out combat operations around the world, including in Russia's brutal war in Ukraine. Wagner has also participated in a scheme to procure weapons for its operations in Ukraine, using false end-use certificates in Mali. On June 20, 2017, OFAC designated the Wagner Group pursuant to E.O. 13660 for being responsible for or complicit in, or having engaged in, directly or indirectly, actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine, and on November 15, 2022, the Department of State redesignated the Wagner Group pursuant to E.O.14024 for operating or having operated in the defense and related materiel sector of the Russian Federation economy. The Wagner Group has also been sanctioned by Australia, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. On January 26, 2023, OFAC redesignated the Wagner Group pursuant to E.O. 13581, as amended by E.O. 13863, for being a foreign person that constitutes a significant transnational criminal organization. Wagner Group personnel have engaged in an ongoing pattern of serious criminal activity, including mass executions, rape, child abductions, and other brutalities against innocents in the CAR and Mali. On the same day, OFAC designated the Wagner Group pursuant to E.O. 13667 for being responsible for or complicit in, or having engaged in, the targeting of women, children, or any civilians through the commission of acts of violence, or abduction, forced displacement, or attacks on schools, hospitals, religious sites, or locations where civilians are seeking refuge, or through conduct that would constitute a serious abuse or violation of human rights or a violation of international humanitarian law in relation to the CAR. SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS As a result of today's action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC's regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons. In addition, financial institutions and other persons that engage in certain transactions or activities with the sanctioned entities and individuals may expose themselves to sanctions or be subject to an enforcement action. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated person, or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person. The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFAC's ability to designate and add persons to the SDN List, but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior. For information concerning the process for seeking removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN List, please refer to OFAC's Frequently Asked Question 897 here. For detailed information on the process to submit a request for removal from an OFAC sanctions list, please click here. Click here for more information on the individuals and entities designated today. ### NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary Blinken's Call with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud US Department of State Readout Office of the Spokesperson March 8, 2024 The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. Secretary Blinken and the Foreign Minister discussed efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza for a period of at least six weeks as part of a deal that would release hostages held by Hamas and surge humanitarian assistance. Secretary Blinken pledged to continue close coordination with regional and international partners to promote calm during the holy month of Ramadan and prepare for the post-conflict phase. The Secretary affirmed continued cooperation among international partners to protect freedom of navigation in the Red Sea. The Secretary and Foreign Minister also discussed the importance of ending the conflict in Sudan and preventing further widespread civilian harm. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Biden says U.S. supporting peace, stability across Taiwan Strait ROC Central News Agency 03/08/2024 03:49 PM Washington, March 7 (CNA) United States President Joe Biden touched on security in the Taiwan Strait during his State of the Union address Thursday and also took aim at what he called "China's unfair economic practices." The U.S. is "standing up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," Biden said at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. It was the first time that security in the Taiwan Strait had been mentioned in a Biden State of the Union address, his third since taking office in 2021. "For years, all I've heard from my Republican friends and so many others is China's on the rise and America is falling behind." They've got it backward, Biden said, declaring that "America is rising" and has the "best economy in the world" while also "standing up against China's unfair economic practices" during his presidency. Biden reiterated that he has revitalized the country's partnerships and alliances in the Pacific and made sure that "the most advanced American technologies can't be used in China's weapons." In his annual speech, he also took aim at Republican rival Donald Trump. "Frankly for all his tough talk on China, it never occurred to my predecessor to do that," Biden said, indicating that he wants "competition with China, not conflict." "We're in a stronger position to win the competition for the 21st century against China or anyone else for that matter," he said. (By Chiang Ching-yeh and Ko Lin) Enditem/ls NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Defense ministry reiterates Taiwan's right to self-defense ROC Central News Agency 03/08/2024 11:21 PM Taipei, March 8 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) reiterated the right to self-defense in its statement released Friday, in response to media reports that the MND has adjusted its modus operandi for a self-defensive counterstrike. The ministry cited international law as stating that when countries are attacked by foreign armed forces, they have the right to respond with armed force in self-defense. The MND further said that if the enemy's warplanes or ships invade "our territorial airspace or waters," and attempts to expel them by identification, interception and broadcasting warnings fail, the frontline commander is authorized to take appropriate countermeasures to defend national security. The statement came after a Chinese-language media report that "the military has adjusted its m.o. for a self-defensive counterstrike," following remarks by Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng (ea) during a legislative hearing on Thursday about the military's updated rules of engagement. Answering a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Puma Shen (a), Chiu said that the military's definition of a "first shot" by China had been updated to denote a "first move" involving Chinese military aircraft or vessels "crossing the boundary," meaning entering Taiwan's territorial waters and airspace. A "first move" of that nature would be "countered" by the armed forces, Chiu said. In the past, the military's rules of engagement held that only when the enemy had fired a first shot -- be it artillery, cannons or missiles -- would the armed forces respond, the minister said. The concept of a "first move" was adopted shortly after he assumed his current role in Feb. 2021, Chiu said, adding that the definition was further fleshed out after then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022, which prompted China to stage large-scale military exercises around Taiwan. Given that Chiu's remarks on Thursday failed to make clear the timing of the so-called "first move," they sparked concerns over possible skirmishes with China. On the sidelines of a legislative hearing on Friday, reporters asked Chiu, who said a day earlier that the situation in the Taiwan Strait was tense, whether Taiwan and China were on the brink of war. Chiu said that as a soldier, it was his duty to ensure politics plays no role in his assessments as to the prospects for war, which is based on real time indications on the ground. An enemy move could give seven to eight indications, and it is his job to ensure these are analyzed, the minister said, adding that the MND's ethos is to never be optimistic in its assessments. (By Sean Lin, Matt Yu, Wu Su-wei) Enditem/AW NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan Mar. 9, 2024 ROC Ministry of National Defense 2024/03/09 PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan Date 6 to 6 a.m. (UTC+8) Friday to Saturday, Mar. 8-9 PLA activities 9 PLA aircraft and 5 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 4 of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan's southwestern and northtern ADIZ. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and employed CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and coastal missile systems in response to the detected activities. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Prime Minister Denkov to President Zelenskyy: Our support for Ukraine is our self-defense Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria 26.02.2024 "I thank you for your invitation that allowed me to see with my eyes and feel with my heart your undeserved suffering but also your heroism and determination to attain the future you long for," said Bulgaria's Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Head of State of Ukraine welcomed Acad. Denkov at the Mariinskyi Palace on 26 February when his country marked another grim anniversary. Ten years ago, the illegal annexation of Crimea and Savastopol started Russia's continuous aggression against Ukraine and broke open the way for a full-scale military invasion on 24 February 2022. Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov pointed out that Bulgaria feels the nightmare of the devastation, suffering and loss. He recalled that the Bulgarians saw this horror in the eyes of the thousands of refugees to whom they opened their homes and hearts two years ago, heard about that in what our compatriots in Tavria and Bessarabia told them. He said that he had felt the pain physically at the sight of the destroyed residential buildings in the Solomianskyi District of Kyiv. "It is now clear that Putin's targets go beyond Ukraine. The ambitions of the Russian aggression constitute a threat, inter alia, to Bulgaria's national security," Acad. Denkov said. He explained that our support for Ukraine is our self-defense. He quoted a Bessarabian Bulgarian Georgi, a deminer at the front: "We are brothers, we are one nation." For his part, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Acad. Nikolai Denkov for Bulgaria's support for Kyiv throughout the whole period of the Russian full-scale aggression. We highly appreciate the fact that Bulgaria sides with us and with the entire united Europe, Zelenskyy said. Ukraine's President emphasized the productive talks today with the Bulgarian Prime Minister. Zelenskyy informed Denkov about the situation at the front and about the priority needs. Ukraine's President specially underscored the joint efforts in the Black Sea and in the Danube region to expand trade flows and restore normal navigation. Denkov and Zelenskyy discussed also cooperation in the energy sector. We appreciate Bulgaria's support for our pursuit to join the European and the Euro-Atlantic community - this strengthens our common security, Ukraine's President said further. The Bulgarian Prime Minister's gift to the Ukrainian President was a replica of Khan Koubrat's sword. Zelenskyy received the symbolic gift together with the message that Bulgaria sides unconditionally with Ukraine in this unjust and brutal military aggression and takes the side of human life and dignity, freedom, democracy and international legal order. He underlined that the Bulgarian government and the majority in Parliament work unswervingly to ensure the maximum we can for political, military, diplomatic, humanitarian and logistic support for Ukraine. "Russia cannot win this war!" Acad. Denkov said firmly. He assured that one day there would be a tribunal for all war crimes. The Prime Minister called on the international democratic community to stay united in its support for Ukraine, so that this day would come sooner. Bulgaria remains committed to the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula to achieve just, full and lasting peace based on the principles of the UN Charter and international law. Bulgaria supports the arrangement of a summit within the Peace Formula. The Bulgarian institutions are ready to cooperate in the context of the established International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children who have been unlawfully deported and forcibly displaced to Russia, as Bulgaria is one of the founders of the Coalition. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Minister of Climate and the Environment MykkAnen in KYIV: Finland will support Ukraine in mapping environmental damages and in reconstruction Finnish Government Ministry of the Environment 8.3.2024 Press release On Friday 8 March, Minister of Climate and the Environment Kai MykkAnen visited Kyiv at the invitation of Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Ruslan Strilets. During the visit, he also met Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine and Deputy Minister of Energy Svitlana Grynchuk. In Kyiv, Minister MykkAnen stressed that Finland will support Ukraine in reforming its society. "We are here to offer concrete support for the work on the Ukrainian energy system and clean transition and for repairing environmental damages. Finland will be active in helping Ukraine both during the war and in the post-war reconstruction. Together with Germany and Bulgaria, we have the lead in the point concerning environmental law in President Zelenskyy's Peace Formula, which means that we will help Ukraine in mapping environmental damages in order to hold Russia to account for its actions," Minister MykkAnen says. While in Kyiv, Minister MykkAnen also visited a daycare centre renovated with funding from the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation NEFCO and a residential area damaged by a missile attack. Finland's contribution to the international cooperation concerning environmental damages is part of the Peace Formula presented by President Zelenskyy in 2022. The Finnish Environment Institute and Finnish Meteorological Institute will strengthen the capabilities of the administration of Ukraine in assessing and verifying environmental damages caused by the war and in disseminating information on them together with the Ukrainian partner organisations. The Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs is also finalising a decision on assistance for operations in Ukraine under the UN Environmental Programme UNEP. With this assistance, contacts will be created to other UN projects implemented in Ukraine so that the results of the work done by the Finnish agencies can be introduced into wider use. The assessment of environmental damages caused by the war and reducing environmental risks are included in the recommendations of the report of the High-Level Working Group on the Environmental Consequences of the War published in Kyiv in February. At the same time, representatives of Finnish companies took part in a visit to Kyiv organised by the East Office of Finnish Industries and in some of the same meetings as Minister MykkAnen. The companies had the opportunity to present their expertise and solutions that would benefit Ukraine in reconstruction and the green transition. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address MANZINI - Minister of Education and Training Owen Nxumalo has warned teachers that time for suspending educators who have relationships with pupils is over. He said government has taken a decision that if found guilty, they should be fired. When addressing William Pitcher College graduates (170) who were the class of 2022, the minister said stern action would be taken against immoral teachers. This was his first tertiary institution graduation ceremony which he attended in his capacity as the minister of education and training. The ceremony was held at Divine Healing Ministries International Auditorium in Manzini yesterday. Introduced The minister, who was introduced by the Under Secretary/Schools Manager in the ministry, Lungelo Nhlengetfwa, thanked the latter for talking about issues of discipline among teachers.This was before he introduced the minister. Nhlengetfwa had told the graduates that his office dealt with conduct of teachers and head teachers. Therefore, he warned them to be of good behaviour in their respective school, even if they would be posted to institutions located in the rural areas. As a ministry, he said they had noted immoral behaviour among teachers. He told them that as teachers, they should know that pupils were not their girlfriends/boyfriends. You are not there (in schools) to find love, but to teach. So, once my office receives such a case, and investigations prove that the teacher is guilty, he/she will be sent home (fired), said Nhlengetfwa. Again, he told them filling a prep-book was a requirement for a teacher in school. He said teachers were also expected to report what they had taught. Concern He said another concern they had with teachers, was absenteeism. He said some teachers absented themselves and by so doing they dodge parents, who have paid school fees for the children to learn. Moreover, he warned them to respect head teachers and their deputies in schools. He said this was because they were their leaders. Thereafter, the minister said he was happy that Nhlengetfwa had addressed the issue of discipline among teachers. He said back then, a teacher who impregnated a pupil or found to be having a relationship with her was suspended and later on posted to another school. However, Cabinet has discussed this and time for suspending such teachers is over. Instead, they will be fired if found guilty, the minister said. On another note, the minister congratulated the graduating class on their academic achievement. He said the amount of time, which is three years, that they spent preparing to become teachers was an important investment into their future. He then urged all of them to therefore take this investment seriously. Go out there and make a positive impact on the lives of the young emaSwati using the knowledge, attitude and skills acquired during your training. As politicians, we will make sure that resources are there for you to grow, the minister added. Thanked He thanked government, parents, guardians and staff of William Pitcher College for the pivotal role they played in the training of the class that was graduating. He said this was because this cohort of teachers was trained during the most challenging time of COVID-19, which was resource intensive in order to keep the college environment safe and effective. China easing tensions for Ukraine vs US pursuing bloc politics Global Times By GT staff reporters Published: Mar 08, 2024 09:44 PM Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui concluded his visit to Ukraine on Thursday as part of the second round of shuttle diplomacy on the Ukraine crisis contributing to China's mediation efforts to cool down regional tensions. On the same day, the US provoked tensions by welcoming Sweden's official entry into NATO. Analysts stated that while China, as a major power, attempts to listen to both sides and contributes efforts to alleviating regional tensions, the US continues to pursue its bloc politics, resulting in heightened complexity and tensions in the security situation in Europe, forming two different approaches in dealing with global security. According to a brief introduction posted by China's Foreign Ministry on Friday, Li held "frank and friendly talks" with Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian President's Office, Serhiy Kryvonos, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, and Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs, on China-Ukraine relations and the Ukrainian crisis. Among the attendees were the Chinese Ambassador to Ukraine, Ukrainian Ambassador to China, and Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Energy. Hours later on Thursday afternoon, Li left Kiev by train, according to the ministry. "We appreciate the partnership with China and hope that today's talks will be another step toward deepening and strengthening our relations," Yermak said, according to a statement on the Ukraine Presidential Office's website. During the meetings, the Ukraine Presidential Office said that the Ukraine side briefed the Chinese delegation on the situation on the battlefield, discussed the prospects for establishing peace for Ukraine and restoring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. "China serves as an impartial mediator between the two sides, bridging the gap and facilitating dialogue when direct talks are not possible," Sun Zhuangzhi, the head at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday. At the current stage, with the two sides embroiled in deep hostility due to disagreements over a few very basic things, China's role as a mediator is essential to delivering the messages from the two sides to each other and paving the way for a peaceful resolution, Sun noted. On the issue of Ukraine, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed China's position at a press conference Thursday on the sidelines of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress. He said that China has always adhered to an objective and impartial position, insisting on promoting peace and dialogue. However, as China works to stabilize the situation in Europe, US President Joe Biden expressed his support for the expansion of NATO on Thursday, stating that the "shield against aggression and fear of aggression" and transatlantic security is stronger than ever with the formal addition of Sweden to the military alliance. He also referred to the bloc's expansion as a response to Russia's provocation. Media reports also said that NATO is in the middle of an unprecedented training exercise that will test the alliance's ability to quickly deploy forces and its new defense plans. The US has been the dominant power in the European security field, with its zero-sum approach to bloc politics seen as a contributing factor to the Ukraine crisis. Despite ongoing risks of escalation, the US persists in pursuing its bloc politics, leading to increased complexity and tensions in the security situation in Europe, according to Zhang Hong, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Analysts believe that the US role as an international affairs provoker forms a sharp contract with China's role as a constructive mediator. China has a different approach to global security compared to the US. As a major power, China aims to reduce tensions, prevent violence, and prevent the crisis from escalating further. In its role as a mediator, China respects Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity while also taking into consideration Russia's security concerns, Zhang told the Global Times. Sun pointed out that the paradox for the continent lies in the fact that NATO members in the region may not actually benefit from the bloc's expansion, but may instead find themselves in direct conflict with Russia as the country feels increasingly insecure. This situation plays into the hands of the US, which thrives on such conflicts to exert its influence in the region. Europe, on the other hand, is facing a dilemma of mutual distrust and heightened security concerns. The upcoming NATO military exercise is likely to exacerbate tensions and deepen mistrust between the two sides, potentially leading to further frictions, Sun said, calling on European nations to truly establish a balanced, effective, and sustainable security framework that benefits the continent. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Update 215 - IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine International Atomic Energy Agency 22/2024 Vienna, Austria 8 Mar 2024 The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, met Russian President Vladimir Putin this week as part of the IAEA's persistent efforts to help prevent a nuclear or radiological accident during the ongoing conflict. Director General Grossi described Wednesday's meeting with President Putin as "professional and frank", with the discussions focused on the paramount importance of reducing the still significant nuclear safety and security risks at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in southern Ukraine, controlled by Russia for the past two years. It was their second meeting, following one in Saint Petersburg in October 2022, and it took place a month after Director General Grossi on 7 February crossed the frontline to travel to the ZNPP for the fourth time during the war. On the way to the plant, he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. "As I have repeatedly stated, I must talk to both sides to help reduce the danger of a potentially severe nuclear accident that would recognize no borders. No one stands to gain from a nuclear disaster, and we must do everything possible to prevent it. This was also my message to President Putin and other senior Russian officials this week," the Director General said after his meetings in the Russian town of Sochi. During his discussions in Sochi, Director General Grossi emphasized once again that the nuclear safety and security situation at Europe's largest nuclear power plant (NPP) remains precarious, with six out of the seven pillars of nuclear safety and security that he outlined early during the conflict being compromised fully or partially. He also reiterated his call for maximum military restraint and strict observance of the five concrete principles established at the United Nations Security Council on 30 May 2023. At the ZNPP this week, the IAEA experts stationed at the site have continued to hear explosions and other indications of military activity not far away from the facility. Three times this week, they reported hearing several successive explosions within a few minutes, as well as one explosion yesterday evening and multiple explosions this morning, possibly indicating the use of heavy weapons from an area close to the plant. On 1 March, the IAEA experts heard an explosion some distance away from the ZNPP. The following morning, the team was informed by the plant that there had been shelling in parkland a few hundred metres away from the city hall administrative building of the town of Enerhodar, where many plant staff live. On arrival at the location, later the same day, the IAEA experts were informed that debris from the alleged munitions used had already been removed. While the team observed some damaged trees and marks on the ground, it was not possible to conclude whether or not shelling had actually occurred. Further underlining the fragile nuclear safety and security situation at the ZNPP, the plant remains without back-up external power after the only remaining 330 kilovolt (kV) line was disconnected more than two weeks ago, on 20 February. As a result, the ZNPP remains dependent on its only functioning 750 kV power line, out of four such lines available before the conflict. The IAEA team was informed that the 330 kV line is not expected to be reconnected for at least another week. The ZNPP informed the IAEA team that it has commenced maintenance activities on reactor unit 1, except for those planned to be performed on safety systems and electrical equipment, which have been postponed until the 330 kV line is reconnected. The IAEA experts also continue to collect information on the authorizations of operating staff in the ZNPP's main control rooms. The regional head of ZNPP Nuclear and Radiation Safety Inspections of Rostekhnazdor, the Russian regulatory body, late last month informed the IAEA team during a visit that a total of 143 applications for authorizations of operating personnel had been received, of which 91 authorizations had so far been issued. The ZNPP says it has sufficient staff for the current shutdown status of the plant's six reactors. "The staffing situation at the plant remains a vital issue for nuclear safety and security that we will continue to monitor closely," Director General Grossi said. During their walkdowns at the site this week, the IAEA team visited the temporary emergency response centre and were informed that the emergency preparedness and response arrangements at the ZNPP continue under a temporary emergency plan, while a new plan is expected to be completed this year. The team was also informed that a major exercise is being planned for late 2024. In addition, the IAEA experts visited the ZNPP's electrical and mechanical warehouses to assess the availability of spare parts essential for maintenance, observing some spare parts in each warehouse. The plant informed the team that the site has spare parts for upcoming maintenance and for the reactors in their current shutdown states, adding that the spare parts are provided from the Russian Federation. During other walkdowns this week, the team observed the current management of solid radioactive waste at the ZNPP and also went to the turbine halls of reactor units 3 and 5. Once again, access was restricted. The IAEA experts were not able to access the western part of the halls nor the plant equipment on the ground floor of the turbine building of unit 5. The IAEA expert team expects to gain access to these areas soon. The IAEA teams present at the Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs as well as at the Chornobyl site have reported that nuclear safety and security is being maintained despite the challenging war-time circumstances, including the frequent sound of air raid alarms at some of the facilities. The IAEA experts at Chornobyl rotated earlier this week. This week, the IAEA made its 38th delivery of equipment to Ukraine aimed at assisting in maintaining nuclear safety and security. Contamination survey meters and physical protection equipment were delivered to VostokGOK and to the Chornobyl NPP site, with support from the contributions made by the United Kingdom and the European Union. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Krisjanis Karins: The West, by joining forces, must help Ukraine win the war against Russia Republic of Latvia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs 08.03.2024 On 8 March 2024, in Vilnius, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Krisjanis Karins, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, Stephane Sejourne, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, Margus Tsahkna, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, for a discussion on further assistance to Ukraine. After the event, Kirsjanis Karins underscored that the West, by joining forces, must help Ukraine win against Russia in the war. "Today's meeting is yet another proof that Europe and NATO are united. It is within our common powers to give Ukraine all the support it needs to win the war against Russia," Krisjanis Karins underlined. He pointed out that today's meeting had featured discussions on how to expand and accelerate the necessary support for Ukraine by providing training to its soldiers and border guards and supplying ammunition and weapons. The meeting was a follow-up to the conference of European leaders hosted by the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, at which a number of initiatives were presented on ways to reinforce the Allied support for the armed forces of Ukraine as well as to ensure sustainability of the assistance provided. Krisjanis Karins underlined at the talks that the priority of the present moment was to provide immediate military support to the Ukrainian armed forces based on their identified needs - anti-aircraft protection, artillery shells, long-range weapons and drones. In order to strengthen the positions of the Ukrainian forces in the battlefield, Latvia has joined the Czech-led initiative on the procurement of artillery ammunition for Ukraine. The initiative aims to finance a rapid purchase of hundreds of thousands of shells from third countries. Latvia also supports the EU initiative on sending a million shells to Ukraine, stressing that the purchase of ammunition from third countries should be provided for immediately. Krisjanis Karins informed the partners about the development of the Latvian-led drone coalition, which aims to supply Ukraine with a million drones by 24 February 2025. Besides Latvia, the letter of intent on participation in the drone coalition was signed by Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Estonia, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. In the course of this year, Latvia will contribute at least EUR 10 million to the development of the coalition, including to advance the local military industry. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia has 'no more red lines' for France, Medvedev warns Iran Press TV Friday, 08 March 2024 9:11 AM Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has warned France that Moscow has "no more red lines" for the country after French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed unlimited support for Ukraine against Russia. According to Le Monde, Fabien Roussel, the national secretary of the French Communist Party, quoted Macron as saying that how "France's position has changed" regarding the Ukraine war, and that "there are no more red lines, there are no more limits." Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, referred to the report in a message posted on the social media platform, X, later on Thursday. "Macron has said, 'there are no more red lines, there are no more limits' in terms of supporting Ukraine (Le Monde). Then that means, Russia has no more red lines left for France," Medvedev said. He also wrote "In hostem omina licita," in his message, which is a Latin phrase that roughly translates as "everything is legal if it is done to an enemy." Macron's remarks also left the party chiefs concerned, amid accusations that he uses the war in Ukraine to boost his coalition's standing ahead of this summer's European Parliament election. Green party leader Marine Tondelier said it was "extremely worrying" to see Macron tell the meeting "we must show we have no limits," too. Jordan Bardella, president of the far-right National Rally (RN) party, said he had pleaded with Macron "not to go to war with Russia." Far-left heavyweight Manuel Bompard also said, "I arrived worried and I left even more worried." Commenting on Macron's hawkish remarks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that Macron "continues to raise the level of France's direct involvement" in the war in Ukraine. The French president last week refused to rule out the deployment of NATO troops to Ukraine to fight against Russia, drawing a warning from the Kremlin that declared such a move could lead to a direct conflict between NATO and Russia. France to manufacture military equipment on Ukrainian Soil Amid Paris' unwavering support for Kiev, France's Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced on Friday that his country is planning to have some of its arms manufacturers produce much-needed military equipment directly on Ukrainian soil. "Three French companies will be setting up partnerships with Ukrainian companies, in particular in the drone and land equipment sectors, to produce spare parts on Ukrainian soil, and perhaps ammunition in the future," Lecornu said. "The idea is to have the first production units running this summer", he added. He hinted tank maker KNDS, the holding structure formed by France's Nexter and Germany's Krauss-Maffei-Wegmann, would be among the companies involved. Russia launched the military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Western countries have responded to the Russian military operation by backing Ukraine with cash and heavy weaponry while imposing unprecedented sanctions on Russian officials and entities. Moscow has repeatedly warned that such a flow of weapons to Kiev will only prolong the conflict. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Erdogan Says Turkey Ready To Host Peace Talks As Zelenskiy Insists On Road Map First By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service March 08, 2024 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan - standing next to visiting Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy - said his country is ready to host peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv and that it will "strongly contribute" to efforts to rebuild Ukraine after the war, which began in earnest with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. "The war between Ukraine and Russia must be ended through talks. We are ready to host a peace summit where Russia is also present," Erdogan told a televised news conference in Istanbul on March 8. "While we continue our solidarity with Ukraine, we will continue our work to end the war with a just peace on the basis of negotiations," Erdogan said. Zelenskiy, however, said Moscow would not be invited to the high-level peace summit that Switzerland has offered to hold in the spring, although he added that a Russian representative could be invited to a subsequent meeting after a road map for peace is agreed upon with Kyiv's allies. "We don't see how we can invite people who block, destroy, and kill everything. We want to get results," Zelenskiy said. Despite the deaths and damages suffered during the war, a peace conference with both sides participating in the near term remains unlikely. Ukraine's peace formula calls for the withdrawal of all Russian troops from Ukraine, restoring the country's 1991 post-Soviet borders, and holding Russia accountable for its actions. The Kremlin has rejected such conditions. Erdogan said he had also discussed Black Sea navigational security issues and the grain deal that has now been suspended without any indication from Russia it is willing to revive it. NATO member Turkey has maintained good relations with both its Black Sea neighbors and together with the United Nations brokered the deal that allowed Kyiv to safely export grain from its ports. But last July Russia left the agreement, known as the Black Sea Initiative, arguing that its own food and fertilizer exports were not enjoying the same conditions. Turkey has sought to convince Moscow to return to the deal, but so far Russia has refused. Zelenskiy said his talks with Erdogan were "productive" and he thanked Ankara for its mediation efforts on the grain deal, as well as on past prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine. Zelenskiy last visited Turkey in July, when he held lengthy talks with Erdogan. As Erdogan and Zelenskiy met, battlefield violence continued in Ukraine, with Russian shelling and missile strikes continuing to blast civilian and infrastructure sites. Regional officials reported on March 8 that a Russian missile strike the previous day on the Sumy region killed two people and wounded 26 more. In the Chernihiv region, one person was killed by Russian shelling over the last 24 hours, the Ukrainian military said. Air defenses shot down 33 out of the 37 drones launched by Russia at five of its regions, the military said in a statement on March 8. With reporting by Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-zelenskiy-turkey-talks- erdogan/32853846.html Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Two People Killed, One Injured in Attack by Ukraine in Russia's Belgorod Region - Governor Sputnik News 20240308 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Two people were killed and another one was injured as a result of an attack by Ukrainian drone on the village of Rozhdestvenka in Russia's Belgorod Region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, the regional governor, said on Friday. "The outskirts of the village of Rozhdestvenka ... was attacked by the Ukrainian armed forces with the help of three kamikaze drones. As a result of the explosions, two people were killed and a third man was seriously injured. An ambulance team has left for the scene, and as soon as the operational situation allows, the victim will be taken to a medical facility," Gladkov wrote on Telegram. Ukrainian militants regularly shell Russian territories, including the Belgorod region and new regions that joined Russia in the fall of 2022. The Ukrainian Army uses kamikaze drones to attack civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings and hospitals, as well as send sabotage groups. Russian authorities are crystal clear on this issues - Ukraine resorted to "deliberate terrorist attacks" while Western backers of the Kiev regime are turning a blind eye on Ukrainian tactics. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Sending NATO Troops to Ukraine Not Under Discussion - French Defense Minister Sputnik News 20240308 PARIS (Sputnik) - The issue of sending NATO troops to Ukraine is not under discussion now, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Friday, adding that other options of assisting Kiev are being considered. "We wanted to tell our allies about other options that we have, we discussed different hypotheses, but not sending military personnel to participate in hostilities, as some people interpreted it. The president [of France, Emmanuel Macron] said that we would not become complicit [in the Ukraine conflict]. Nevertheless, have we tried everything in this field between sending weapons, as we are doing now, and complicity, that means direct war with Russia? Are there any ways that have not been tried yet?" Lecornu told the RMC broadcaster. The French defense minister pointed to the option of Western presence in Ukraine for mine clearance activities and training of Ukrainian troops. After a Paris-hosted conference on Ukraine in late February, Macron said Western leaders had discussed the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine and reached no consensus, but nothing could be ruled out, and they would do everything to prevent Russia from winning. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal later echoed his remark, adding that France would not be able to "accept the prospect that at some point Russia could win." Western countries have been providing military and financial aid to Kiev since the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The Kremlin has consistently warned against continued arms deliveries to Kiev, saying it would lead to further escalation of the conflict. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address "We are ready to host a peace summit in which Russia will also participate" Presidency Of The Republic Of Turkey 08.03.2024 Holding a joint press conference with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, President ErdoAYan said: "Since the beginning, we have made, and continue to make every contribution in our power for the termination of the war on the basis of negotiations. We are ready to host a peace summit in which Russia will also participate." President Recep Tayyip ErdoAYan and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine held a joint press conference following their meeting in Istanbul. Expressing his pleasure to be welcoming President Zelenskyy and his delegation to Istanbul, President ErdoAYan extended his 'get well soon' wishes to Ukraine and Greece over the missile attack that took place close to a site President Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece were visiting on Wednesday, and stated: "I offer my condolences for the Ukrainian citizens who lost their lives in the war, which has finished its second year. During today's talks with my treasured friend, we have discussed in detail the developments regarding the war. I expressed to him our findings with all sincerity as a friend." "WE CONTINUE TO MAKE EVERY CONTRIBUTION IN OUR POWER FOR THE TERMINATION OF THE WAR" Re-emphasizing TArkiye's support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, Ankara's strategic partner, President ErdoAYan said: "Unfortunately, the negative repercussions of the war have been increasing on a regional and global scale, particularly in Ukraine. No diplomatic step has been taken of a quality that could come close to the negotiating table we formed for the establishment of peace in Istanbul in March 2022. Since the beginning, we have made, and continue to make every contribution in our power for the termination of the war on the basis of negotiations. We are ready to host a peace summit in which Russia will also participate. During our consultations, we have also exchanged views on issues related to the stability of the Black Sea, such as export corridors and navigational safety. As you remember, the Black Sea Initiative had prevented a global food crisis by enabling nearly 33 million tons of grains to be transported to those in need. That agreement was also inked in this hall. If an intention is expressed for a new agreement between the parties, we stand ready to lend all the support in our power again as we have done previously." "WE ARE PLEASED BY THE STABLE COURSE OF OUR BILATERAL TRADE" Drawing attention to the importance TArkiye attaches to Ukraine standing on its own feet economically and achieving lasting security, President ErdoAYan stated: "In this context, our support for Ukraine's goal of integration with Euro-Atlantic organizations is permanent. During today's talks, we have also thoroughly reviewed the issues concerning our bilateral relations. We are pleased by the stable course our bilateral trade follows despite the war. We have agreed to increase our efforts to reach the $10bn target. The Free Trade Agreement's immediate entry into force will undoubtedly add new momentum to our relations. Many of our companies continue their operations, confronting the risks brought about by the war. We will also strongly support Ukraine's reconstruction efforts. In this context, we held the Forum on the Reconstruction of Ukraine last January in Istanbul. I have no doubts whatsoever that our companies will be preferred by the Ukrainian government in order for them to take on more responsibilities in the period ahead." Touching upon the critical role the Crimean Tatars play in the relations between TArkiye and Ukraine, President ErdoAYan said: "Crimean Tatars' existence in Ukraine is one of the important elements that strengthen the friendship between the two countries. Crimean Tatars, an indispensable part of Ukraine, have been endeavoring tirelessly for the restoration of the country's territorial integrity. I would like to thank Mr. Zelenskyy once again for his efforts aimed at safeguarding the rights of our kinsmen and strengthening their autonomous status. We, for our part, have always supported and will continue to support our Crimean Tatar kinsmen. While maintaining our solidarity with Ukraine in the period ahead, we will also continue our works for the termination of the war with a fair peace through negotiations. I wish that our consultations today may lead to favorable developments for the entire humanity, particularly for our respective countries." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The UK repeats its call to Russia to withdraw its troops, cease the bloodshed and end this senseless war: UK statement at the UN Security Council Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine. 8 March 2024 Thank you President and I thank ASG Khiari and Ms Doughten for their briefing today. "You see who we are dealing with. They don't care where to hit". Words spoken by the President of Ukraine on Wednesday, which could have been spoken on countless occasions during this war. We are compelled to gather again to respond to another appalling series of missile attacks on Ukraine. On 2 March, 12 civilians, including 5 children, died when debris hit an apartment block in Odesa.One of the victims was a baby, only four months old. On 6 March, as President Zelenskyy and Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis paid their respects to the dead, a further Russian strike hit the city. While they narrowly escaped the impact, five others were not so lucky. President, we have met too often in this chamber to address the human suffering Russia has inflicted upon Ukraine. This week it was attacks on residential buildings. In other weeks it has been hospitals, schools, train stations, hotels, restaurants. Each time it is innocent Ukrainian civilians who pay the price with their lives. The day before this latest strike, the International Criminal Court announced two new indictments of senior Russian military figures for an alleged campaign of strikes against Ukraine's electricity infrastructure. These are not the actions of a country that is interested in peace. Putin claims that he launched this war to "protect" Ukrainian civilians. In fact he is terrorising them. Russia's actions show an utter disregard for international law and the UN Charter. It is attempting to intimidate Ukraine, its people, and those who support Ukraine. It will not succeed. Russia's previous attacks on Odesa have utterly failed. Ukraine has now driven back much of the Black Sea Fleet from Crimea, and is exporting the highest volumes from its ports since the war began. As my Defence Secretary said in Kyiv yesterday, the UK's support remains unwavering, and we will provide an additional A325 million to help Ukraine defend itself. Ukrainians have shown that they will not be bullied into submission. And Russia should know that the UK stands proudly by their side. And so, we repeat our call again to Russia: withdraw your troops, cease the bloodshed and end this senseless war. Ukraine deserves a just and lasting peace that respects its territorial integrity. And with our support, that is what Ukraine will achieve. Thank you. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UK National statement to IAEA Board of Governors, March 2024 Agenda Item 8: Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguards in Ukraine. 8 March 2024 Chair, The United Kingdom thanks the Director General for his comprehensive report on Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguards in Ukraine and for his regular updates. This Monday marked two years since Russia illegally seized control of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and we would like to make clear from the outset, regardless of what we have heard from the Russian federation during the course of this Board, that ZNPP is and will remain a Ukrainian nuclear power plant. We thank the IAEA for ensuring that every report to the Board opens with a reminder of the General Assembly resolution adopted on 12 October 2022 declaring that the "attempted illegal annexation" of four regions of Ukraine on 4 October 2022 has no validity under international law. The deeply worrying state of nuclear safety at ZNPP has, over the last two years been the focus of three Board of Governors resolutions and a General Conference resolution calling for the plant to be returned to Ukrainian control. These calls have not been heeded, and safety at the plant continues to deteriorate. Indeed, as the DG has set out in his latest report, conditions at the plant remain "very precarious" with six out of seven of the DG's 'seven indispensable pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security in armed conflict' now compromised. Chair, Once again, the report before this Board highlights multiple nuclear safety concerns at ZNPP, pointing to an overall picture of degradation that must be addressed. The IAEA assesses that there is still no comprehensive preventive maintenance plan for the plant, and there are no plans to implement one this year. The situation, should it continue, will have "implications for nuclear safety over time" due to degradation of safety systems and components. There is a lack of spare parts available on site, and the supply chain is "fragile". Empty shelves in the warehouses were observed, most items that were on the shelves pre-dated the armed conflict. As the report states, this has serious "implications for maintenance activities" and may "impact the overall nuclear safety and security of the plant". Once again, the IAEA reports that staffing numbers are significantly reduced from the start of the armed conflict. As employees of Ukraine's national operator (the legitimate operator) Energoatom are no longer permitted onsite, this further reduces the number of experienced personnel at the plant. Russia claims that staffing levels are sufficient, but the IAEA has not been provided with the timely and precise information needed to reach an independent, reliable conclusion. ZNPP suffered its eighth total loss of onsite power during this reporting period. Worryingly, the IAEA's update of 1 March confirmed that the plant had been without back up power for 10 days, leaving it dependent on the only remaining 750 kilovolt line for external electricity. This is power supply essential for reactor cooling and other essential nuclear safety and security functions. Chair, As we enter the third year of Russia's illegal, full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we note that the IAEA has sent 98 missions to Ukraine comprising of 131 staff totalling 208.6 person-months in order to help decrease the risk of a nuclear accident. A risk that would not even exist if were not for the Russian invasion. We express our full support and admiration for the ISAMZ staff and all IAEA staff - the international community's only reliable source of information on the situation at ZNPP. IAEA reports of the presence of troops at the site, that armed troops have restricted ISAMZ access to parts of the turbine halls, coupled with reporting of a loud explosion on 16 February that appeared to be coming from the site or its close vicinity, create a deeply concerning picture of militarisation of ZNPP. This puts the plant at risk and endangers the local population and wider region. It is for all these reasons that the United Kingdom supports the Resolution Ukraine has tabled today. The Board has a responsibility to act in the face of such serious nuclear safety and security concerns. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address HLANE - The second round of the annual Buganu Festival did not disappoint. This was after the Hlane Royal Residence became abuzz with throngs of Lutsango and plenty of activities. Two weeks ago, the buganu festival was at Buhleni Royal Residence. The two events were graced by His Majesty King Mswati III, who returned yesterday from Turkiye and Her Majesty the Indlovukazi. Members of Lutsango such as Simangele Langwenya and Winile Stewart from Malindza Royal Kraal began to arrive in modes of transportation from around lunch hours. Containers For the better part of evening, buses and trucks kept on delivering the women from all corners of the country with their containers of marula brew as well as gifts. Temperatures were as high as 35 degrees celsius with one or two clouds in the sky. This did not deter Lutsango from their various centres, who showed that even within the different groups, they were in unity with the purpose of the event - to show their love and celebration of being the people of the monarchy. Corporates such FNB Eswatini, representatives of industries, public office departments and ministries were among the various groups of the Lutsango regiment, who responded to the Phezu kumkhono call and the Nkwe declaration. There were also those from EswatiniBank. Volodymyr Zelenskyy inspected corvettes being built for Ukrainian Navy, met with Ukrainian military personnel in Istanbul President of Ukraine 8 March 2024 - 17:53 During his working visit to the Republic of TArkiye, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited shipyards where corvettes for the Ukrainian Naval Forces are being built in accordance with the Strategy for the Development of the Naval Forces of Ukraine's Armed Forces until 2036. The Head of State inspected the readiness level and equipment of the Ivan Mazepa corvette, its technical characteristics, and capabilities. This anti-submarine corvette of the Ada class is intended to become the future flagship of the Ukrainian Navy. On board the ship, the President met and spoke to the Ukrainian Navy personnel undergoing training how to operate and maintain the vessel's systems. Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked them for their service. "Thank you for your service, for the fact that Ukraine is highly respected here. You know that we are expecting you in Ukraine. So that our Security and Defense Forces become even stronger," said the Head of State. The President awarded two military personnel with the medals "To the Defender of the Motherland," recognizing their selfless actions in defending Ukraine's state sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as exemplary performance of military duty. Volodymyr Zelenskyy also studied the progress of the construction of the Ada class corvette, which today was named after Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi by the President's decree, and which is also intended to strengthen our naval fleet. The head of the Ukrainian state expressed gratitude to all involved in building such warships. "I am extremely grateful for the partnership to President ErdoAYan of TArkiye and to all defense companies of TArkiye and Ukraine, for working together to bring peace for Ukraine closer," he said. Ada class corvettes are modern coastal zone ships capable of anti-submarine operations and open sea patrolling, with a wide use of stealth technology principles in their design. The design and combat application concept of Ada class corvettes is similar to the concept of littoral combat ships of the Freedom class developed by Lockheed Martin for the U.S. Navy. Ada class corvettes have more powerful armament, radar, and sonar systems. Construction of the Ivan Mazepa corvette began in April 2021. In September 2023, a solemn keel-laying ceremony took place. It was planned that the corvette would be transferred to Ukraine in 2022, and by 2024, it would have entered service with the Ukrainian Navy. However, due to the war initiated by Russia against Ukraine, the transfer of the corvette was postponed. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ms. Lisa Doughten, OCHA Director of Financing and Partnerships, on behalf of Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. Martin Griffiths, 8 March 2024 UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Briefing to the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine 8 March 2024 As delivered Thank you, Mr. President. Two years and 13 days have now passed since the full-scale escalation of this war. The latest wave of escalatory attacks in Odesa, Kharkiv, Sumy and Donetsk regions over the past few days shows how the conflict continues to inflict immeasurable human suffering, death and devastation on the people of Ukraine. We are particularly appalled by the strike on a high-rise residential building in Odesa city this past weekend, that according to local authorities killed 12 civilians, including five children. The recent attacks have left many other civilians without electricity, heat and water. Multi-story apartment buildings have been damaged or destroyed by the impact of the strikes in cities and towns in Donetsk, Kherson and Dnipro regions, rendering thousands homeless and in need of humanitarian assistance. Amid still cold winter temperatures, this damage is threatening the lives of the most vulnerable in particular - among them the elderly and those with disabilities. Many of these people have had to remain in frontline communities and are already suffering because of disruption to essential services caused by the war. The UN Human Rights Office reports that more than 31,000 civilians have now been killed or injured since 24 February 2022. This prompts me to repeat that attacks directed against civilians and civilian objects are prohibited under international humanitarian law. Indiscriminate attacks are also strictly prohibited. Parties to the conflict must take constant care to spare all civilians and civilian objects, including infrastructure essential for civilians' survival. On this International Women's Day, while we celebrate Ukrainian women as instrumental agents of change, and honour the incredible work of Ukrainian women's organisations, we should also note the particularly harsh impact of this conflict on women and girls in Ukraine. The UN Population Fund reports a third of households led by women in Ukraine are struggling to feed themselves, and 60 per cent of older women are unable to provide for their own basic needs. An increase in gender-based violence against women and girls has been a shocking hallmark of this war. Tragically, a lack of sufficient resources to sustain and expand a network of medical and social care services means many of the 2.5 million people at risk if being subjected to gender-based violence in the coming year - notably acute for displaced women and girls near the frontlines - will not have access to the services they need and deserve. Mr. President, The UN and its partners continue to do everything we can to provide humanitarian assistance to millions of people across Ukraine. This is in spite of the ongoing and deteriorating security situation. So far, in 2024, two humanitarian workers have lost their lives and 10 have been injured, highlighting the dangers of delivering aid close to the frontline. We are grateful to the donors who have so far provided 11 per cent of the $3.1 billion needed for the 2024 Ukraine humanitarian needs and response plan. This has enabled us to address the ongoing impacts of the conflict and provide life-saving assistance. But more financial support is urgently needed to sustain operations. In recent months, humanitarians have provided more than 1.7 million people with some form of direct winter assistance, including winter heating, repair and maintenance of energy and heating systems and much-needed home repair materials. The commitment and endurance shown by some 600 partner organisations delivering a humanitarian response across Ukraine is remarkable. They are working in the middle of tremendous insecurity and danger to provide civilians with the services and supplies they need to see them through the harsh winter and beyond. So far in 2024, the UN and its partners have had to adapt their operations to stay and deliver to the people affected by the intensification of fighting along the frontline, delivering critical supplies to nearly 13,000 war-affected residents in the front-line communities through 11 inter-agency convoys. These convoys are a lifeline. Just last week, two much-needed inter-agency convoys reached communities in Kherson and Donetsk that have been heavily impacted by months of fighting. They delivered portable power stations, hygiene items and other essential supplies. This inter-agency support is complemented by numerous deliveries from local organisations and volunteers. But, Mr. President, we continue to face significant obstacles to reaching everyone in need. One of the most significant challenges remains the lack of humanitarian access to the parts of Donetska, Khersonska, Luhanska and Zaporizka oblasts occupied by the Russian Federation. As hostilities continue to escalate, we are deeply concerned about the fate of civilians in these territories whom we are unable to reach at scale. The consequences for an estimated 1.5 million people in need of life-saving assistance there are unthinkable. And they are avoidable. As has been stated repeatedly, under international humanitarian law, all parties must allow and facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need and must ensure that humanitarian personnel have the freedom of movement required for their work. This applies wherever civilians in need are located in Ukraine. Mr. President, The United Nations and its humanitarian partners remain committed to safeguarding the life and dignity of the people affected by this war for as long as it takes. But it has gone on far too long. It is time to bring the humanitarian catastrophe in Ukraine and the suffering of the Ukrainian people to an end. Thank you, Mr. President. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Zelenskyy, Erdogan Discuss Peace Prospects Between Ukraine, Russia By VOA News March 08, 2024 Turkey is ready to host a peace summit on the war in Ukraine that both Ukraine and Russia would attend, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Friday after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Istanbul. "We are giving our utmost contribution for the war to end on the basis of negotiations," Erdogan said, adding he reiterated Ankara's support for Ukraine's sovereignty. Throughout the two-year war between Russia and Ukraine, Turkey, a NATO member, has sought to maintain good diplomatic relations with both countries and is expected to urge peace negotiations between the two foes. Ankara "will once again emphasize that our strong support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, including Crimea, continues," a Turkish diplomatic source told Agence France-Presse. Last week, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan urged Ukraine and Russia to begin cease-fire talks after meeting with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and added that such talks must not mean the recognition of Russia's occupation. As part of its balancing act between Ukraine and Russia, Ankara has offered to host peace talks while keeping up its defense industry ties with Ukraine and deepening its energy cooperation with Russia. Additionally, it has inked an accord to take part in the postwar reconstruction of Ukraine. Swiss summit After talks with Erdogan in Istanbul, Zelenskyy said a Russian representative could be invited to future negotiations after a road map toward peace is agreed upon with Ukrainian allies at a meeting in Switzerland. He said Russia would not be invited to the summit in Switzerland, due to be held in the coming months. "We don't see how you can invite people who block, destroy and kill everything," he said. Zelenskyy and Erdogan discussed developments in the Russia-Ukraine war, shipping security in the Black Sea, the defense industry cooperation between Ukraine and Turkey, and the expired Black Sea grain deal. Ankara a which shares a maritime border with Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea a has sought to persuade Russia to return to the grain deal that allowed Ukraine to safely export grain from its Black Sea ports. Russia has said it is not interested in reviving it. Last July, Russia exited the Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by the U.N. and Turkey, saying its demands for better terms for its own food and fertilizer exports were being ignored. Zelenskyy called the talks with his Turkish counterpart "sincere and fruitful." "Today we have reached agreements on joint defense projects both at the government level and between companies," he wrote on the social media platform X. He also expressed his gratitude for Erdogan's diplomatic mediation to release Ukrainian citizens from Russian captivity, "including Crimean Tatars, who have been repressed by Russia in Ukraine's occupied territories and are being held in Russian prisons and camps under extremely harsh and inhumane conditions." Zelenskyy's visit to Turkey came as Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced Friday at a government meeting that Kyiv expected to receive about $4.5 billion in March and another $1.5 billion in April from the European Union. Kyiv continues to press allies for more munitions and weaponry to stem the advance of Russian troops into the Ukraine-held western part of the Donetsk region and also to keep Russia from penetrating the Kharkiv region north of it. Zelenskyy's trip to Turkey came before a planned visit there by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which the Kremlin has said will take place after Russian elections on March 15-17. Charges of torture Russian armed forces and associated groups systematically use torture in occupied areas of Ukraine, a U.N. expert said Friday, according to Agence France-Presse. Alice Jill Edwards, the U.N. special rapporteur on torture, said she had come to that conclusion after a visit to Ukraine in September. She said her findings pointed to "a deliberate policy" on the part of the Russians. "The volume of credible allegations of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or humiliating treatment or punishment [indicate that] torture is an element of Russia's war policy," she told the U.N. Human Rights Council. "These grievous crimes appear to be neither random nor incidental." Speaking to reporters, Edwards said Ukrainian prosecutors had told her there were about 103,000 open cases related to war crimes and crimes against humanity, 90% of which were registered as torture cases. Addressing conditions faced by Russian prisoners of war in Ukrainian custody, she said "sincere efforts were being made by the Ukrainian authorities to treat POWs respectfully." Her report raised concerns about conditions in one penal facility in Lviv, however, where Ukrainian nationals charged with collaborating with the Russians were being held, saying she had received "several allegations of abusive treatment by Ukrainian officials," mainly in connection with the capture, arrest and transit of prisoners. "I call on the Ukrainian authorities to investigate such allegations promptly, to reinforce training and disciplinary and other preventive measures, and to guarantee the protection of all legal rights of all complainants and detainees," she said. Some information for this report came from Reuters, The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PHILADELPHIA, PA , March 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Legal provisions to protect debtors exist, but it's an unfortunate truth that creditors don't always operate in a manner that respects these rules. Harassment and aggressive collection practices are all too prevalent, creating further distress for individuals already under financial strain. This is where Creditor Law Group enters the picture, dedicating itself to safeguarding debtors' rights and challenging inappropriate behavior from creditors. The firm has become a trusted partner for those grappling with debt woes, as it consistently stands up to those who exploit these vulnerable situations. Creditor Law Group has established an impressive reputation throughout the years as a stalwart defender against creditor overreach. The group implements a strategy that merges the fight for debtor rights, holding creditors liable for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and provides strategic legal advice to assist individuals through intricate financial predicaments. With an in-depth understanding of debt collection laws and regulations, Creditor Law Group equips consumers with the tools and confidence to resist aggressive debt collectors. Offering an extensive FAQ segment on their website, the firm enlightens consumers about their rights and options when confronted with unjust debt collection methodologies. The attorneys at Creditor Law Group are deeply committed to defending debtors against unethical methods commonly employed by creditors. They have addressed head-on instances of harassment and abuse, including incessant and intimidating phone calls, false representations of the amounts owed, and deceptive communication tactics. By doing so, the team at Creditor Law Group contributes to creating a fair financial environment for all. Unfortunately, examples of debt collectors acting unethically remain widespread. Some resort to false or misleading representations in an attempt to coerce payment. Creditor Law Group has successfully challenged such practices, ensuring that consumers are not manipulated into paying money they do not owe. The firm has also defended individuals who have been the victims of false debt status reports to credit bureaus, unauthorized disclosures to third parties, and attempts to collect unauthorized fees or charges. Creditor Law Group emphasizes the importance of awareness and education when it comes to debt collection. The company empowers individuals to take control of their financial situation by providing them with the knowledge they need to identify and challenge unfair practices. Through its commitment to transparency and ethical legal practices, it sets a high standard in an industry where trust and integrity are of critical importance. Creditor Law Group combines legal expertise with a passion for protecting debtor rights to create a formidable consumer advocate and a potent force against unethical creditor practices. Creditor Law Group is an award-winning legal services provider headquartered in Philadelphia, PA. The company specializes in garnishment reversal and relief, legal representation of individuals in lawsuits filed by creditors, and defense against debt collector harassment. Its team of experienced attorneys provides assistance to individuals in or out of court, with a firm commitment to ensuring the protection of consumer rights and the best possible outcome for clients. Creditor Law Group: https://clglaw.com Best-in-Class Creditor Law Group Invalidates over $1 Billion of Debt: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/best-class-creditor-law-group-032700327.html Toronto, March 8, 2024 - Resouro Strategic Metals Inc. (TSXV:RSM) (FSE:BU9) ("Resouro" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has completed the previously announced (see news releases of February 15, 2023, August 2, 2023, October 19, 2023, December 21, 2023 and December 22, 2023) fundamental acquisition (the "Tiros Acquisition") of an interest in the Tiros Rare Earths and Titanium Project in Brazil (the "Tiros Project"). On March 7, 2024, the Company received the approval from the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") of the documentation filed concerning the Tiros Acquisition. As previously announced, a proposed grant of 4,000,000 non-transferable options, pursuant to the Amended and Restated Option Plan of the Company, to purchase 4,000,000 common shares of the Company ("Common Shares") at an exercise price of $0.20 per Common Share during a period of five years expiring on August 2, 2028, to Mr. Christopher Eager, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, has been approved by the Exchange and all necessary shareholder approvals including disinterested shareholders' approval have been received. Resouro entered into a share purchase agreement dated July 24, 2023 among the Company and Resmin PTE Ltd. to purchase all of the issued and outstanding shares of Tiros Stratemet Pte. Ltd. (formerly, Brazil Copper Pte Ltd. (Singapore)) and an option and farm-in agreement among the Company, RBM Consultoria Mineral Ltda ("RBM"), Rodrigo De Brito Mello ("Rodrigo"), Brazil Copper PTE Ltd. (Singapore) ("BCS" or "TSPS") and Brazil Copper Mineracao Ltda. (to be renamed Tiros Minerais Estrategicos Mineracao Ltda ("TMEL")) (the "Tiros Agreement") pursuant to which RBM and Rodrigo will fully assign and transfer all legal rights and title to certain mineral rights in respect of the lands encompassing the Tiros Project to TMEL, a subsidiary of BCS, in exchange for the issuance of 160,000 BCS common shares to RBM, representing 66.7% of the issued and outstanding BCS Shares, resulting in Resouro maintaining a 33.3% equity stake in BCS. Resouro further entered into a first addendum dated October 5, 2023 (the "First Addendum") with RBM to accelerate the earn-in arrangements detailed in the Tiros Agreement for the acquisition of all interest in the Tiros Project. Pursuant to the agreements and First Addendum, Resouro has acquired a 100% interest in TSPS subject to a 10% minority interest to be issued in a subsidiary of TSPS. The Company signed an amendment to the Tiros Agreement and accelerated the purchase of the remaining 66.7% of the issued and outstanding shares on BCS. The Company holds, via its Brazilian subsidiary, a 90% interest in the Tiros Project and the remaining 10% interest in the Tiros Project is held by RBM Consultoria Mineral Ltda (RBM), an unrelated third-party vendor. Pursuant to the Tiros Agreement and the First Addendum, the Company will issue 1,642,000 Common Shares and 750,000 performance warrants that will vest and be convertible for no additional consideration, into Common Shares on completion of a Detailed Feasibility Study on the Tiros Project. The Technical Report, entitled "RSM_TSXV_Tiros Technical Report 10012024" and dated effective January 12, 2024 has been prepared for the Company by Ednie Rafael, Exploration Geologist, of Grupo GE21, who is a "Qualified Person" as such term is defined in NI 43-101. The Technical Report is available on www.sedarplus.ca under Resouro's profile. The Common Shares were halted at the request of the Exchange, on December 11, 2023, pending successful completion of the Tiros Acquisition. The Common Shares resumed trading effective at market open on December 22, 2023. About Resouro Strategic Metals Inc. Resouro is a Canadian-based mineral exploration and development company focused on the discovery and advancement of economic mineral projects in Brazil, including the Tiros Project in Minas Gerais and the Novo Mundo and Santa Angela gold projects in Mato Grosso State. The Tiros Municipality is located approximately 317 km West-North-West of Belo Horizonte, sixth largest city in Brazil and the capital of Minas Gerais state. The Tiros Project is targeting commodities of interest being Titanium and Rare Earth Elements (REE's). The Tiros Project comprises 25 mineral titles in total, being 16 granted exploration licenses, which have a total area of approximately 27,325 hectares. The Project also includes 8 applications for exploration license and one tenement able for mining permit request. Learn more about the Company on its website: https://resouro.com On behalf of the Board of Directors, Chris Eager, President & CEO Resouro Strategic Metals Inc. For further information, please contact the Company at: Chris Eager, CEO chris.eager@resouro.com Phone: +44-738-805-7980 For Investor inquiries sandra.evans@resouro.com Forward-Looking Information This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions in Canada and globally; industry conditions, including governmental regulation and environmental regulation; failure to obtain industry partner and other third party consents and approvals, if and when required; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility; liabilities inherent in the mining industry; competition for, among other things, skilled personnel and supplies; incorrect assessments of the value of acquisitions; geological, technical, processing and transportation problems; changes in tax laws and incentive programs; failure to realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions and dispositions; and the other factors. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. We undertake no duty to update any of the forward-looking information to conform such information to actual results or to changes in our expectations except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Copyright (c) 2024 TheNewswire - All rights reserved. Vancouver, March 8, 2024 - Silverstock Metals Inc. (CSE: STK) ("Silverstock" or the "Company") announces that Mr. Colin Little has resigned as a director of the Company. Mr. Jonathan Fruchter, President and CEO of Silverstock stated: "We wish to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to Colin for his contribution to the Company since his appointment in 2021. We wish him success in his future endeavours." The Board of Directors is actively seeking a new independent director. About Silverstock Metals Inc. Silverstock is engaged in the business of mineral exploration and the acquisition of mineral property assets in Canada. Its objective is to locate and develop economic precious and base metal properties of merit and to conduct the exploration of its Gold Cutter Property. The Gold Cutter Property is comprised of two contiguous mineral claims totaling approximately 1,821.1 hectares and is located in the Kamloops Mining Division, British Columbia. On behalf of the Board of Directors, Silverstock Metals Inc. Jonathan Fruchter Chief Executive Officer, President and Director For further information, please contact: Jonathan Fruchter Chief Executive Officer, President and Director +1 (203) 905-9939 jonathan@silverstockmetals.com Reader Advisory This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information," including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs, and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities of the Company. The words "may," "would," "could," "will," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "must," "next," "propose," and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking information. Investors are cautioned that statements including forward-looking information are not guarantees of future business activities and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking information as a result of various factors, including but not limited to fluctuations in market prices, successes of the operations of the Company, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market, and business conditions. There can be no assurances that such forward-looking information will prove accurate, and therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of the risks and uncertainties. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking information except as required under the applicable securities laws. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/200888 VANCOUVER, March 08, 2024 - Mirasol Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: MRZ) (OTCPK: MRZLF) (the "Company" or "Mirasol") today announced it is arranging a non-brokered private placement financing (the "Offering") of up to 5,000,000 Units (the "Units") at a price of $0.60 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of $3.0 million. Each Unit will be comprised of one (1) common share and one-half of one (1/2) non-transferable common share purchase warrant (the "Warrant"), with each whole Warrant entitling the holder to purchase one additional common share at a price of $0.80 for a period of twelve (12) months from closing of the Offering. The net proceeds of the Offering will be used to expand Mirasol's successful exploration programs and for general corporate purposes. Finders' fees may be payable on a portion of the Offering. The shares issued under the Offering will be subject to a four month hold period. The Offering is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval from the TSX.V, and is expected to close on or about March 31, 2024. This press release is not an offer of common shares for sale in the United States. The Shares have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act, or any state securities laws. About Mirasol Resources Ltd Mirasol is a well-funded exploration company with 20 years of operating, permitting and community relations experience in the mineral rich regions of Chile and Argentina. Mirasol is currently self-funding exploration at the flagship Sobek Copper-Gold project located in the Vicuna Copper-Gold-Silver District of northeast Chile and controls 100% of the high-grade Virginia Silver Deposit in Argentina. Mirasol also continues to advance a strong pipeline of highly prospective early and mid-stage projects. For further information, contact: Tim Heenan, President & CEO or Troy Shultz, Vice President Investor Relations Tel: +1 (604) 602-9989 Email: contact@mirasolresources.com Website: www.mirasolresources.com Forward Looking Statements: The information in this news release contains forward looking statements that are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include: changes in world commodity markets, equity markets, costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry, change in government and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry and to policies linked to pandemics, social and environmental related matters. Forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding future exploration programs, operation plans, geological interpretations, mineral tenure issues and mineral recovery processes. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, results may vary, and we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Mirasol disclaims any obligations to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. LOBAMBA At 1am in the morning, a boy aged 13 years is supposed to be tucked under his blankets, asleep. But, this was not the case for a boy around Mahlanya. Instead, the teenager was found performing kuchela, a ritual which is sometimes associated with witchcraft practices, especially when it is performed by a person in a home that is not his or hers. As a result, the matter is being investigated by the police, as per confirmation by Deputy Chief Police Information and Communications Officer, Assistant Superintendent Nosipho Mnguni. The ritual involves sprinkling a concoction, with the belief that it could help one achieve a certain purpose. Though it is associated with witchcraft, culturally, it is also sometimes used by some emaSwati as a way of warding off bad luck at their homesteads. Mahlanya is an area near Malkerns and is also one of the places mentioned during the trial of David Simelane, one of worlds worst serial killers. It is near this area that Simelane is alleged to have picked up his victims, whose bodies were found scattered around nearby forests. The teenager was allegedly found performing the ritual at some homesteads near Mahlanya while carrying a bucket and what seemed like a cup. He is said to have been using a cup to sprinkle the substance at the homesteads that he had gone to, before he was nabbed. Inspection It is alleged that while he was performing the ritual, some male community members who were returning from imbibing alcoholic beverages nearby, found him and wondered what he was doing. Upon inspection, the men were shocked to discover that the boy was naked, and at the same time performing rituals. This publication gathered that the boy is doing Grade V at one of the schools in the area. The men, who are said to have sobered up after discovering the teenager, are said to have been furious when they discovered that he was sprinkling some substance at the homestead situated near a spaza shop. They then allegedly apprehended the boy and questioned him about what he was doing, to which he responded that he had been sent to perform kuchela by his grandfather. The boy alleged that performing such a practice was not new to him as he had done so before. He alleged that whenever he refused to perform the acts, he was often whipped or tortured. He is said to have shown some scars to prove that he was assaulted. Tortured It was gathered that in one of the previous incidents, the boy was tortured and had his hands burnt. The boy is said to have told the men that his grandfather woke him up and asked him to perform the ritual and sprinkle the substances at the nearby homesteads. He is said to have sprinkled the substance at about three homesteads before he was nabbed. When asked why he had done it, the boy alleged that his grandfather told him to do it because he was struggling. He said since his grandfather was building a house, he noticed that the construction had remained stagnant and became worried that other neighbours were building their houses faster than him. Progressing Asiphumelele ngani tsine? the grandfather is alleged to have asked the boy, which means, Why are we not progressing like the others?. The teenager said it was after his grandfather posed the question that he then sent him to sprinkle the substance, but he ended up being caught by some residents. It was gathered that when the men took the boy to his grandfather, they demanded to know why he had been sent to perform the acts. However, the grandfather is alleged to have disputed the boys allegations, stating that he had not sent him. The response by the boys grandfather is said to have angered the community members who allegedly threatened to take action. It is alleged that after the incident, the boys grandfather then advised some of the people at his homestead, on which he is constructing a house not to feed him. Forced It is alleged that after this incident, the boy was also forced to flee from the homestead and sought refuge at a nearby homestead. The matter is said to have been reported to the local umphakatsi around Mahlanya. An attempt was made to call the areas indvuna but he had not answered the cellphone when called on Thursday and also yesterday. The community members also wondered why the umphakatsi was not taking any action on the matter. They also questioned why the boys grandfather was not behind bars. However, it was gathered that the said grandfather has moved to another area, as the community is furious about the alleged incident. It was gathered that the matter was expected to be deliberated on by the umphakatsi. Deputy Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Assistant Superintendent Nosipho Mnguni confirmed the alleged incident but said the police were still investigating. VANCOUVER, March 8, 2024 - Rokmaster Resources Corp. (TSXV: RKR) (OTCQB: RKMSF) (FSE: 1RR1) ("Rokmaster" or the "Company") announces that the Company has received a notice of default (the "Notice of Default") from Huakan International Mining Inc. ("Huakan") for the failure to make an option payment of C$19,400,000 to Huakan (the "Current Option Payment") due on February 25, 2024 pursuant to the terms of an option agreement dated December 23, 2019 between the Company, Huakan and Huakan's shareholders, as amended on January 30, 2023 (the "Option Agreement"). Pursuant to the Option Agreement, Huakan granted to the Company an option (the "Option") to acquire a 100% interest in Huakan's J&L Property (which the Company has renamed to the "Revel Ridge Project") located approximately 45 km from Revelstoke, British Columbia. The Notice of Default states that the Company has until 4:30pm (Vancouver time) on April 8, 2024 to pay Huakan the Current Option Payment in full, failing which Huakan advises that it intends to immediately terminate the Option Agreement. On Behalf of the Board of Directors of Rokmaster Resources Corp. John Mirko President & Chief Executive Officer Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term in defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. SOURCE Rokmaster Resources Corp. Ferrari intensifies contact with Red Bull's Pierre Wache Rival teams have a keen eye on the internal strife that is dogging the otherwise totally-dominant Red Bull Racing. Christian Horner, Pierre Wache, Saudi Arabian GP 2024 Red Bull Mercedes, for one, has targeted Max Verstappen to replace the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton - and the key to that move might be finding a place in the silver garage for Dr Helmut Marko. We miss our mascot, Toto Wolff smiled to Sky Italia, referring to the late Niki Lauda, "and Helmut has always been our favourite enemy. It fits in terms of age, but he doesn't have a red cap yet. Days ago, it emerged that a 'Marko clause' might allow Verstappen to escape his 2028 Red Bull contract - and now 80-year-old Marko could be ousted or leave voluntarily as part of the Christian Horner scandal. Losing Max would be an incredible loss, Marko told the Austrian broadcaster ORF on Friday, "because many mechanics and engineers are trying to work for Max. Max is definitely the strongest asset because there is no faster drier at the moment. Indeed, if Verstappen jumps, other key Red Bull team members might also be next. A domino effect would then become very likely, said Felix Gorner, a pundit for German broadcaster RTL. Paolo Filisetti, a correspondent for the authoritative Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, claims that amid the Red Bull unrest, rumours are getting increasingly insistent and consistent . The rumours? That Ferrari has intensified contact with Red Bull's technical director Pierre Wache - the right-hand man of the renowned Adrian Newey. (GMM) Shortly after Apple terminated Epic Games' developer account, the EU Commission launched a probe against the Cupertino-based company to see if there's any violation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). And a swift decision followed. In an X post, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said that Apple will be reinstating the European developer account after the EU Commission enforced the DMA. The X post even suggests that the EU's decision paves the way for an Epic Games Store on iOS in Europe. The DMA went through its first major challenge with Apple banning Epic Games Sweden from competing with the App Store, and the DMA just had its first major victory. Following a swift inquiry by the European Commission, Apple notified the Commission and Epic that it would relent Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) March 8, 2024 This has been a long-standing dispute between Apple and Epic Games, as the former does not allow third-party app stores on its platform, which directly violates EU's Digital Markets Act. After further talks, Apple says Epic Sweden AB has agreed to play by the rules and its account will be reinstated after agreeing to the Apple Developer Program policies. Still, it sounds like Epic Games won't be backtracking on its commitment to bring Epic Games app store as well as Fortnite to iOS in Europe. Source Marianas for Palestine and Prutehi Litekyan members hold signs and flags in support of Palestine during a peaceful protest held outside the Guam Congress Building in Hagatna on Nov. 3, 2023. 4 terrorists killed in operation in NW Pakistan Islamabad, Mar 8 (UNI) Four terrorists were killed in an operation by security forces in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday, the Pakistani military said in a statement. The intelligence-based operation was launched in North Waziristan district of the province on reported presence of terrorists, triggering off an intense exchange of firing resulting in the killing of the terrorists, the military's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in the statement. Weapons, ammunition and explosives were recovered from the killed terrorists. Job-seekers came out in droves for Don Don Donkis second job fair held Saturday at the GCIC building in Hagatna, hoping to fill one of the dozens of job openings before the variety megastore opens its doors. When that opening actually happens remains a mystery to the public at large. Soon, is used as the generic answer to all questions surrounding, When? Several weeks ago, the construction walls that once cloaked the major construction project on the cliffside corner of Marine Corps Drive and Airport Road, disappeared overnight. It offered motorists a clear though distant view of the activity that has substantially increased over the last two weeks. The new view is probably a big reason why more people are asking questions on social media about the opening, said Tiara Cruz, midnight section manager for Don Don Donki. When the store does open, not only will it be one of the largest stores in Guam, it will also be among the largest of the 700-plus Donki stores operating in Singapore, Hawaii, Macau and Japan. The store is marketed as an amusement store, a shopping experience at a get-lost-in-the-labyrinth sales floor. Its founder has referred to his stores as a giant toybox turned upside down. Interest in the job fair once again was high, and perhaps it was because the store welcomed applicants to fill midnight shift positions in various store divisions. Most managerial spots were filled, though entry-level and part-time jobs remained open. Store representatives have said the store would employ around 300 people, a number that will fluctuate based on how busy the store will be. Many of the stores midnight shift workers will use Don Don Donki as their second job or part-time job, said Cruz, who said many of Saturdays applicants were already employed. What I do want to express is that its not just money for our full-time associates, we do offer benefits too, said Cruz. I realize that theres a pool of people out there who are hesitant to apply; they want to see what it is first before they apply but let me also say nows the time to get in. We have so many openings that might not be open later. We might be so good that nobody wants to quit, she finished, laughing. Besides competitive wages, Cruz said that the benefit package given to full-time employees is more than respectable: Health care and dental insurance, a matched 401(k) program, and opportunities to grow within the store or even at another Don Don Donki. The Village of Donki, which oversees mall operations with the Don Don Donki store as its biggest tenant, boasts a staggering 430,000 square feet. That includes the main sales floor on the ground level, a mezzanine level, a basement level that will also be used as a shop floor and an expansive parking lot that fits 1,100 vehicles. A Facebook page that the Guam Department of Revenue and Taxation says is a scam and warns residents not to give any personal information to them. A former Guam resident living in Texas has pled guilty to defrauding the Army out of $108 million meant for youth development programs. Janet Yamanaka Mello, maiden name Yamanaka and formerly Janet Taitano, appeared in a west Texas court Friday Guam Time, according to court records and reporting by the San Antonio-Express News. The federal government is moving to seize $18 million in various bank accounts and a total of 84 vehicles, including classic cars and high-end motorcycles, that were obtained in connection to Mellos fraud scheme. Also being sought are 31 parcels of property in Texas, Washington, Maryland, Colorado, and New Mexico, and pieces of luxury jewelry and cash held at various residences Mello owned, court records show. The former Guam resident pled guilty to five counts each of mail and tax fraud. She will be sentenced on May 29, and faces up to 115 years in prison. Over the course of nearly seven years, Mello used her civilian job managing funds for a grant program at Army Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio to funnel $108 million into a shell company she created, according to an information document filed alongside her plea deal. Money from the 4-H Military Grant Program that Mello worked for was meant to help youth connected to military service members to learn and connect to their community. Around December 2016, Mello formed a business called Child Health and Youth Lifelong Development, or CHYLD. CHYLD was not an actual business, according to court documents. It was formed by Mello solely for the purpose of obtaining grant funds, which were used to buy clothing, vehicles, real estate, and high-end jewelry. Mello would draft fraudulent memos indicating CHYLD was approved to get grant funds from 4-H and submit the paperwork to her supervisor for approval. A check would be cut for CHYLD, and mailed to a UPS Store mailbox around San Antonio that Mello rented. She would pick up the check and deposit it into a bank account she controlled, court documents state. This happened over 41 times between December 2016 and at least August of 2023. Mellos supervisors failed to catch on to the scheme for years, according to court records. Despite the massive amount of money that went to CHYLD, defendants supervisors trusted defendant and did no independent verification that CHYLD actually provided services consistent with the purpose of the program, did no review of defendants relationship to CHYLD, and took no additional steps to confirm the funds defendant authorized and requested were lawfully used, documents state. Five checks that were mailed to CHYLD, and worth between $4 million and $7 million, are identified in information documents. Over the course of the scheme, Mello filed a number of tax returns that concealed the amount of money she was receiving. An individual tax return filed in 2018 put her total income at $98,515. Four subsequent tax returns filed for Mello and her husband report their household bringing in over $130,000 every year. Mello previously faced charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, but did not plead guilty to either, based on federal court records. Guam connection Mello was formerly married to Manuel Taitano, of Chalan Pago, based on an obituary published in the PDN. Taitano was married to Mello at the time of his death and living in Springfield, Virginia. In 2012, two years after her late husbands death, Mello filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the PDN reported. Mello attended a financial management course and made numerous payments to various debtors as part of her bankruptcy filing, before, in December of 2016, forming CHYLD. Her bankruptcy case was discharged about nine months later, in August of 2017. A month later, on Sept. 5, 2017, she and her current husband picked up a marriage certificate on Guam, PDN files show. He is not named in court documents. Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero signed a bill that will expedite the Guam Power Authoritys procurement of temporary, emergency power meant to stave off load-shedding this summer. Bill 206-37, now Public Law 37-81, was signed by the governor on Friday a day after senators passed the measure. Leon Guerrero, in a letter to Speaker Therese Terlaje announcing she signed the bill, said although GPA has achieved some stability after Typhoon Mawar it doesnt currently have the capacity to ensure uninterrupted service during the upcoming summer months when demand generally increases. Sen. William Parkinsons Bill 206-37 waives a number of procurement regulations, with the goal of speeding along a deal for emergency power. The new law allows GPA to go after a $25 million, two-year deal with power supplier Aggreko on an emergency basis. The law also requires the attorney general to finish a review of the contract within five days, and if the AGs office cannot or will not complete the review, GPA will be able to continue with the procurement of emergency power, anyway. Should another company protest the award to Aggrekowhich GPA has said is the only vendor able to provide temporary power within 100 daysthe contract would not be frozen through the usual automatic stay on procurement. Aggreko will provide 20 megawatts of temporary power, and also help with generator repairs meant to add 34 MW to the grid. GPA has around 270 MW capacity, which is not enough to keep up with expected power demands of up to 260 MW this summer, in the event a generator has to go offline for repairs. Now that the bill is law the next step is the AGs review, and the governor will have to sign off on the Aggreko deal. After that, the Public Utilities Commission will have to give the final authorization before GPA can proceed. PUC last week stated it needed the 90-day limit on emergency procurements to be waived before it could approve GPAs temporary power deal. Other waivers to procurement regulations in Bill 206-37 came at the request of GPA leadership, who have expressed concern that a procurement protest could stall out the temporary power installation. Though the AG could lift any stay, GPA General Manager John Benavente has said the AGs office has not assisted GPA in the past. AG Douglas Moylan on Thursday said his office could still review the deal with Aggreko, despite last weeks withdrawal from representing GPA and 20 other government agencies that his office is investigating. The AG said he would sign off on the Aggreko contract after a review, but stamp it with a disclosure that hes not representing the government officials involved. Final approval from the AG is needed to move forward GovGuam contracts over $500,000. Unclear The governor said the status of the AGs review of this contract is unclear at present time in light of recent communications that he would not execute GPA contracts unless GPA acknowledges, agrees and consents to waive certain rights. He also said he would review GPAs temporary power contact as to legality and form without indicating further conditions, she said. Given the attorney generals inconsistent statement on this issue, it remains to be seen where he will, in fact, review and approve the contract as he now claims he will, Leon Guerrero said. The governor said if the AG does withhold his review she expects the Legislature to act immediately to ensure the contract may proceed without him. By adopting these critical measures, GPA will be able to respond to anticipated, rising power demands and prevent future load shedding, the governor said. A brother and sister and their friend were charged in local court after police executing a search warrant found drugs at their Ordot-Chalan Pago home. Jeffrey Fejeran Villacorta, Mark James Sablan Quintanilla and Angie Sablan Quintanilla were charged on Friday in the Superior Court of Guam. Villacorta, 56, was charged with possession of a schedule II controlled substance with intent to deliver as a first-degree felony and possession of a schedule II controlled substance as a third-degree felony with notice of commission of a felony while on felony release. Mark Quintanilla was charged the same charges as Villacorta. His sister Angie Quintanilla was charged with complicity of possession of a scheduled II controlled substance with intent to deliver as a first-degree felony. According to court documents, Guam Police Department officers and Federal Task Force officers executed a search warrant on March 7 and found several resealable baggies containing crystalline substance, a scale, about $1,127 in cash and "packaging material." Villacorta was found in the bedroom of the residence and a search on his person found cash and an empty resealable plastic bag in his left pocket and several white oval pills in his right pocket, the complaint states. He said the bag was nothing and the pills were for his diabetes and that he gets the pills from his friends. He said he owned the blue Honda CRV at the residence, but he didn't live there and visits the two Quintanillas to fix vehicles and support them after their mother passed away. He was brought to the Special Investigation Office and told police he was on probation, has used methamphetamine since 1987 and to selling drugs, but only enough to buy more since he was an addict and user, the complaint states. He first denied selling drugs, but later admitted he sells "50 plates" or .5 grams of methamphetamine to buy food and drinks and that he accepts items "likely stolen," documents state. He also accepts cash and methamphetamine from others to fix cars and that the siblings were like family to him and that he visits the residence to "hangout, smokes methamphetamine, and fixes cars there," the complaint states. He said a lot of people come by the residence to smoke methamphetamine, play darts and hang out, but denied knowing about any selling at the residence, documents state. He was arrested and a witness said he lives at the residence. Mark Quintanilla was found in the Honda outside the residence and was observed to have a probation ankle on his right ankle. He was transported to the Special Investigation Section office and interviewed. He said the residence belongs to his late mother and he and his sister stay there. He told an officer "I'm not dealing" when asked about the methamphetamine found in the residence and denied having any knowledge of drug trafficking activity there, the complaint states. He said he "just helps friends fix vehicles." He was observed to doze off and have bloodshot red eyes and involuntary movements/twitching of his mouth, documents state. He said he was "alright" when asked if he needed medical attention. A witness told police they got methamphetamine to smoke from Mark Quintanilla, the complaint states. Both Villacorta and Mark Quintanilla were on release in felony cases. Angie Quintanilla was located in the bedroom with Villacorta and she was transported to Tiyan Headquarters for an interview. She fell asleep while sitting upright. She appeared to be under the influence of drugs due to her smacking her mouth while sleeping, downing (falling asleep constantly), appeared to have not slept for days, the complaint states. She was provided water and indicated she "just wanted to sleep" and she was arrested after the attempted interview, documents state. By SARA CLINE Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) Amid a crawfish shortage in Louisiana, the nations top producer of the crustaceans that are a staple in Gulf Coast seafood boils, Gov. Jeff Landry issued a disaster declaration for the impacted industry Wednesday. Last years drought, extreme heat, saltwater intrusion on the Mississippi River and a hard winter freeze in the Bayou State have devastated this years crawfish harvest and led to significant price hikes for those purchasing mudbugs. Landry says the shortage is not only affecting Louisianas economy but also our way of life. All 365,000 crawfish acres in Louisiana have been affected by these conditions, Landry said in a written statement Wednesday. That is why I am issuing a disaster declaration. The crawfish industry needs all the support it can get right now. Landrys disaster declaration, which is the legal underpinning that assists in securing federal resources, comes shortly after a request from Louisianas congressional delegation seeking to unlock federal aid to help farmers back in their home state. During a typical year, Louisiana generates anywhere from 175 million to 200 million pounds of crawfish contributing $500 million to the states economy annually, according to the governors office. However, amid severe drought in 2023 and extreme heat, typically one of the wettest states in the country saw some of its driest conditions. As a result, the weather dried out the soil where crawfish burrow to lay eggs. The Louisiana State Universitys Agriculture Center estimates the potential losses to the states crawfish industry to be nearly $140 million. Louisianas crawfish industry is more than an economic driver for our state it is a deep part of our cultural heritage, said Mike Strain, commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry. Crawfish, which have been harvested commercially in the state since at least the 1800s, are usually plentiful in Louisiana during the late winter and through the spring. The tail meat, fresh or frozen, of the tiny lobster-like crustaceans are used in a variety of dishes, including crawfish etouffee, gumbos and po-boys. But the most popular way to serve them is boiled with corn and potatoes and a variety of seasonings. Crawfish boils, which see pounds of the freshly cooked crustaceans poured onto communal tables, are popular during Carnival season and during Lent, when many in heavily Catholic south Louisiana seek alternatives to meat. However, this year Strain said some Mardi Gras celebrations continued without chowing down on crawfish, which were scarce and unaffordable for many. Around this time last year, the cost for a pound of boiled crawfish was between $3 to $5. Now, restaurants across the state are selling them for $10 to $12 per pound, as reported by The Advocate. In a letter last week to United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Strain said: For the first time in many years, due to sustained drought in 2023 and freezing temperatures in early 2024, crawfish are simply unavailable. Haiti - FLASH : Hundreds of thousands of students and teachers risk losing their files Hundreds of thousands of students and teachers risk losing their files due to the violent situation in the metropolitan region of Port-au-Prince, where schools and offices of the Ministry of National Education have been vandalized or are still under threat of violence. The Ministry of National Education believes that these actions will cause irreparable damage, such as the disappearance of school archives. Thus, many students will have difficulty obtaining their transcripts and diplomas; many teachers will have difficulties in their careers if they cannot prove the papers obtained. The absence of these documents can block the academic progress of pupils and students, just as it can block the professional progress of teachers. The digitization of archives, in its current phase, will allow the ministry to protect only part of the data it produces or manages. The Ministry continues to work to protect the integrity of the transcript and diploma system. Through the Education Information and Management System (EMIS), the Ministry ensures that efforts will continue to collect and make available system data. It is in this sense that the Ministry thanks while encouraging all the actors, all the partners involved in the digitization and sharing of all online data concerning schools, students and teachers. Schools are a public good that deserves to be protected at all times and everywhere across the Republic. It is up to all citizens to get involved in the defense of this public good. HL/ HaitiLibre Panama City, Mar 9 (UNI) Heavy shootings were heard on Friday in the surroundings of Haiti's national palace in the capital of Port-au-Prince, reported Spain's EFE news agency. Haitian armed groups have launched a wave of attacks in the capital since Feb. 29, calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Haiti has been grappling with extensive gang violence for more than two years, which was exacerbated notably after the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise in July 2021. Following the government's failure to hold elections by Feb. 7, the Caribbean island country has been afflicted with widespread social unrest. UNI/XINHUA ARN Haiti - USA : Call from Secretary Blinken to PM a.i. Ariel Henry State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller declared "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Haitian Prime Minister Dr. Ariel Henry on March 7 to discuss the ongoing political, security, and humanitarian crisis in Haiti. For more than a year, the United States has encouraged Prime Minister Henry and other key stakeholders in Haiti to reach a compromise that will end the ongoing political stalemate. In the past week, the political crisis in Haiti, combined with escalating violence and civil unrest, has created an untenable situation which threatens the countrys citizens and security. In his conversation with Prime Minister Henry, Secretary Blinken expressed support for a proposal developed in partnership with CARICOM and Haitian stakeholders to expedite a political transition through the creation of a broad-based, independent presidential college to steer the country toward the deployment of a Multinational Security Support mission and free and fair elections. The Secretary urged Henry to support this proposal in the interest of restoring peace and stability to Haiti so the Haitian people can resume their daily lives free from violence and despair." Let's also remember that the creation of the independent and broad-based presidential college mentioned requires a consensus and CARICOM confirmed after the latest interviews with stakeholders that nothing had changed; political actors continued to stick to their position... Also at the end of the 46th ordinary meeting of Caricom, the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Phillip Davis at a press conference, recalled that Prime Minister Ariel Henry during his closing speech at the summit, committed to elections before August 31, 2025 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-41788-haiti-flash-pm-henry-is-committed-to-holding-elections-in-haiti-before-august-31-2025.html . Should be notef that if the deadline for a new government elected before August 2025 has provoked strong reactions (in the opposition), the plan proposed by "Barbecue" and Moise Jean Charles evokes a transition of 18 months before the establishment of a new Government a similar delay but which does not seem to bother when it comes from the opposition... HL/ S/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Humanitarian : The IDB has 160 million dollars in donations to help Haiti At the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Boards of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and IDB Invest (in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, March 6-10, 2024) Ilan Goldfajn, President of the IDB said that his institution had approximately 160 million dollars to allocate in donations to Haiti. He explained that the grant aimed to minimize the economic and social crisis that Haiti is going through, which has increased with armed bands, which sow fear, death and tension in the population. He indicated that these funds could be used in food distribution, health and education, expressing his solidarity with the Haitian people in these difficult times. He said the IDB, along with other organizations, was evaluating how this sum would be managed. This afternoon, as part of the IDB annual meetings taking place in the country "We must think together about how to respond". As part of the Annual Meeting of Governors of the BD Ilan Goldfajn mentioned the holding of a private session during which it will be discussed what the IDB does and can do for Haiti. S/ HaitiLibre Haiti - News : Zapping... USA Conditional stay : Good news Friday March 8, Me Drew Tipton, the federal judge of Texas in charge of the complaint of the 20 American states (Republicans) who wanted the cancellation of the conditional residence program allowing nationals of four countries, including Haiti, to settle in the United States legally for a period of two years has been rejected. Conditions and steps to follow for the Conditional Stay Program : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-38566-haiti-flash-new-us-entry-program-for-haitian-migrants-conditions-and-steps-to-follow.html WFP purchases 95 tonnes of local millet "I am delighted to announce that the World Food Program (WFP - Haiti) has just made its first purchase of local millet. This is a batch of 95 tonnes, intended for school canteens in the Great North. WFP Haiti favors local purchases, as required by national policy," said Jean-Martin Bauer WFP Representative in Haiti. Hunger invades the artibonite Nearly half (46%) of the population of the Artibonite department (Central Department) is currently facing hunger and 15% is in a pre-famine phase. On average, adults prefer to eat six days a week to feed their children. Mgr. Pierre Andre Dumas is doing better The state of health of Mgr. Pierre Andre Dumas has improved a lot in recent days. The prelate is no longer in intensive care. He was transferred to a private room still in the hospital where he is in Florida. Transition : no consensus in sight Discussions led by the international community, notably CARICOM, with Haitian political protagonists continue. Several meetings took place on Thursday March 7, 2024 via zoom, but nothing has changed, the clan spirit dominates and everyone remains in their positions refusing compromise and consensus... Clarification on escapes Following the escapes that occurred on March 2nd, 3rd and 4th at the National Penitentiary, the Croix-des-Bouquets prison and the Delmas 33 police station, the Citizen Protection Office (OPC) provides some details "[...] According to available data, out of a total of 3,798 prisoners in the national penitentiary, 3,700 escaped. At Croix-des-Bouquets, 1,033 escaped, i.e. all of the prisoners, while 20 people including 6 police officers in isolation at the Delmas 33 police station fled." HL/ HaitiLibre New Delhi, Mar 9 (UNI) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Jana Sena Party (JSP) on Saturday agreed to jointly contest the 2024 Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh. On social media handle X, Union Home Minister Amit Shah while welcoming the N Chandrababu Naidu's TDP and Pawan Kalyan's JSP into the NDA fold said that their association will expedite the fulfillment of the aspirations of the people of Andhra Pradesh: "Under the visionary leadership of PM @narendramodi Ji the NDA is growing continuously as a robust platform for all-inclusive politics. Today, affirming their trust in the leadership of Modi Ji the Telugu Desam Party and the Jana Sena Party have joined the NDA. I welcome Shri @ncbn and Shri @PawanKalyan to the NDA. Their association will expedite the fulfillment of the aspirations of the people of Andhra Pradesh," Amit Shah said. TDP chief and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister said that alliance between BJP, TDP and JSP isn't just an alliance but rather a partnership between three stakeholders committed to serving Andhra Pradesh and the country. "I'm confident that the people of AP will bless this alliance with a historic mandate to serve them. Together, we shall herald a golden era of growth and prosperity for our State," Naidu posted on X. He further said, "The Telugu Desam Party is committed to the development of Andhra Pradesh and the welfare of the Telugu people". "I'm pleased to rejoin NDA today. Together with @PawanKalyan Garu, I look forward to working with Hon'ble PM @narendramodi Ji, Honble HM @AmitShah Ji, and BJP President @JPNadda Ji to form a peoples government in Andhra Pradesh and ushering in a new era of development,' Naidu said. Meanwhile, BJP national president JP Nadda also welcomed the decision of Chandra Babu Naidu and Pawan Kalyan to join the NDA family. Through his post on X, Nadda said, "I wholeheartedly welcome the decision of Shri @ncbn and Shri @PawanKalyan to join the NDA family. Under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Hon. PM Shri @narendramodi ji, BJP, TDP, and JSP are committed to the progress of the country and the upliftment of the state and people of Andhra Pradesh". UNI RBE GNK City police department is first in state to earn Trust Building certification Officer Garcia, Sgt. Gyurina, Officer Tinoco, Lt. Smith and Police Support Specialist Swain pose with the IACP Trust Building Campaign Pledge Certificate. The Hendersonville Police Department made history by becoming the first police department in North Carolina to successfully fulfill the requirements for the International Association of Chiefs of Police Trust Building Campaign, the city announced. The trust-building campaign shows commitment to enhancing trust and collaboration between law enforcement and the communities they serve, and is an initiative spearheaded by the IACP, the worlds largest and most influential professional association for police leaders. To join the Trust Building Campaign, law enforcement agencies must pledge to implement 25 key policies and leading practices within a 36-month period. Police Chief Blair Myhand presented the IACP Trust Building Campaign Certificate at the March 7 Hendersonville City Council meeting. Having a solid framework in place to build on will benefit the Hendersonville Police Department for years to come, he said. Completing this pledge sets a powerful precedent. My vision is that our officers embrace and uphold the highest policing standards that ensure lasting positive change and trust within our community. Chief Myhand said he decided to pledge the Trust Building Campaign because a culture that promotes transparency, accountability, and community involvement is critical for 21st century policing. The department started the application process back in March of 2023. By completing the Trust Building Campaign Pledge, the Hendersonville Police Department established policies and trainings, conducted assessments, and developed strategies within six key focus areas (bias-free policing; use of force; leadership and culture; recruitment, hiring, and retention; victim services; and community relations). These efforts are designed to encourage positive community-police partnerships that promote safe and effective interactions, prevent and reduce crime, and improve the well-being and quality of life for all. The IACP is encouraged by the efforts of agencies as they incorporate the pledges concepts into their everyday operations. When trust building is prioritized, community members and the police benefit from relationships focused on unified visions, goals, and values. Building and strengthening trust in the community is critical and must remain a primary objective. For more information about the Trust Building Campaign, visit the IACPs website at http://www.theiacp.org/iacp-trust-building-campaign Ed McNally in Sidecar: Its coming ever more sharply into focus, declared Anthony Blinken on a recent trip to Doha, speaking of a practical, timebound, irreversible path to a Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace with Israel. Americas Arab clients have also been invoking the two-state paradigm, with both the Saudis and Qataris stressing the need for such a comprehensive settlement. In the UK, David Cameron has declared his firm support for Palestinian statehood, while in Brussels Josep Borrell has insisted that this is the only way to establish peace. These statements can be seen as a frantic attempt at imperial containment. If the Palestinians cannot be ignored entirely, as in the Abraham Accords framework, better to push for a demilitarized, segmented Palestinian quasi-state so that Israeli normalization can proceed apace. Biden, personally and politically minutes to midnight, is desperate to put Jared Kushners agenda for the Middle East back on track after its derailing on 7 October. How should we respond to the inglorious return and cadaverous persistence of two-statism? The most common reflex is to dismiss it as dangerous imperial fantasy, premised on the diplomatic formalization of the apartheid regime, and to advocate for one state as the only realistic alternative. This latter position was first formally put forward by the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine in the aftermath of the Naksa. It was then adopted by Arafat and Abu Iyad as the official line of the Palestine Liberation Organization. In Oslos wake, Palestinian intellectuals Edward Said, Ghada Karmi, Lama Abu-Odeh, Joseph Massad, Ali Abunimah, George Bisharat and Yousef Munayyer, among others returned to this framework. More here. When I see a woman read, I see guilty pleasure. When I see a woman read, I see guts and the ability to defy the subtle subtext, put the world aside, and just read. When I see a woman read, it takes me back to afternoons in Jamshedpur. To my mother, a voracious reader, bringing out her bag of books, reading one Mills and Boon after another. Afternoons were her time- we three kids knew to our peril, that this was a space we must not encroach on. It seemed to last forever- our mother was unavailable to us. Looking back, I wonder about times relativity. The afternoons started at 2 and ended promptly at 4 pm, which was tea time. In a few hours, my father would be home and preparations for his return began long before. The first item on the agenda was the disappearance of the bag of books. Back to the closet, the books went, where they were consigned to camouflage, at the bottom of the hanging cupboard. There the book bag lay, below my fathers winter coats, until the next afternoon. Today, in libraries around the world, I look around. Too often, I see more men than women. In the reading room at Delhi Gymkhana Club, for instance, there are always more men, poring over a paper, or absorbed in a book. Halfway across the world, in the reading room at Bryant Park in New York, it is the same story. The Reading Room at Bryant Park, New York City(Author) But then I step into a cafe. And when I see a woman read here, I see companionship. And protection. A lone woman at a table in a cafe, at a restaurant, brandishes her book as a buffer, her shield against gate-crashers, starers and such like. Such a woman enjoys her book because its also her protection. And yes, she might still be subject to a comment or two, but chances are it will be about her book reading The Covenant of Water, she might hear Thats such a wonderful saga or "Thats a really long book". The thing is though, mostly, I dont see that many women read. At least in public spaces. "I do my reading via audiobooks," a friend says. As a new mom, she heard an entire series of Louise Penny mysteries as she breastfed her baby. Another friend listens to Ruth Ozeki's The Book of Form and Emptiness on audio and then The Eighth Life as she does her laundry and vacuums her house. A third reads on planes, picking up the latest bestseller from an airport bookstore and finishing it by the end of the journey. Sometimes she wishes she could curate her reading more efficiently. Moms Dont Have Time to Read Books is an award-winning podcast which taps into this cultural compression. Hosted by Zibby Owens, mom of four kids, and also daughter of Blackstone Capital founder Stephen A Schwarzman, this podcast features 1,600+ author interviews with more than 15 million downloads, patronised by moms who desperately want to read. Zibby Owens, host of Moms Dont Have Time to Read Podcast(Zibby Owens) As a young mom, I managed to read a lot all childrens books. I read aloud to our three daughters. When my husband and I travelled anywhere, we would make for the closest bookstore; he would head to the sections on evolution, history and business, while I, like a good mommy, went straight to the childrens section. I discovered some amazing gems here, picture books and Newberry and Caldecott award winners, time travel and sci-fi, and there was a delight in that, so I am not grumbling. But thats how it was. So, when I see a woman read, I see resourcefulness. I see gumption, driving force and even desperation, reading in bits and bytes between the demands of the day, balancing the burdens of work and life, reading to keep up with a profession, reading to make sense of relationships, reading for parenting and reading for that rarest indulgence for relaxation. What about you dear Reader? What do you see, when you see a woman read? Sonya Dutta Choudhury is a Mumbai-based journalist and the founder of Sonyas Book Box, a bespoke book service. Each week, she brings you specially curated books to give you an immersive understanding of people and places. If you have any reading recommendations or suggestions, write to her at sonyasbookbox@gmail.com FOR MORE ON WOMEN AND READING The Double Lives of Working Women with books for women in the workplace (and men too) And a conversation with Kavitha Murali, writer of the Girl at Work newsletter. The Goddess, the Writer of Science, and Women Who Fight and a conversation with Mahima Vashisht, writer of the feminist newsletter Womaning in India. Fighting the Patriarchs with a Bookstore Crawl in NYC and meeting the amazing Angela Saini, author of The Patriarchs. Moms Dont Have Time To Read: A Conversation with Zibby Owens The Quiet Subversion of Women at Leisure The Indian Banks' Association and bank employee unions reached a consensus on Friday, finalising an annual wage hike of 17 per cent. Additionally, an agreement was reached to recognise all Saturdays as holidays, subject to government notification. PSU bank employees to receive 17% salary hike from Nov 1, 2022.(Pradeep Gaur/Mint File Photo) "Today marks a significant milestone for the #bankingindustry as IBA and #UFBU #AIBOA #AIBASM and #BKSM have signed the 9th Joint Note and 12th #Bipartite Settlement regarding #Wage Revision for Bank Officers and Employees, which will take effect on Nov. 1, 2022. @PIB_India #dfs," IBA chief executive officer Sunil Mehta said in a tweet. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. ALSO READ- CBI nabs UCO bank app developers for 820-crore fraud This decision will lead to an estimated additional annual expenditure of around 8,284 crore for public sector banks. The wage increase, effective from November 2022, is expected to benefit approximately 8 lakh bank employees. The revised working hours will be effective after notification by the government, the All India Bank Officers Confederation said. Top 5 benefits for PSU bank employees 1. PSU bank employees to get a 17 per cent salary hike. The increment will be effective from November 1, 2022, and officers completing CAIIB (CAIIB Part-II) will receive two additional increments. 2. The new pay scales for PSU bank employees, post IBA and bank employees union pact, include the merger of Dearness Allowance corresponding to 8088 points. "With the applicable load of 3.22 per cent the effective load on the basic pay post-merger of dearness allowance @30.38 per cent is 4.20 per cent," the joint declaration says. ALSO READ- Income Tax tribunal dismisses Congress's plea to stop action against bank accounts 3. Under the revised wage settlement, female employees are entitled to one sick leave day per month without a medical certificate. 4. Accumulated privilege leave can be encashed up to 255 days upon retirement or in the event of an employee's death while in service. 5. Retired employees will receive a monthly ex-gratia amount, in addition to the pension or family pension provided by Public Sector Banks, including SBI. This applies to pensioners and family pensioners eligible to draw pension on or before October 31, 2022, including those who retired on that date. With a bumper IPO and listing week coming up on Dalal Street, all eyes remain on KP Green Engineering, which is set to launch its initial public offering on March 15. In fact, the KP Green Engineering IPO is set to be the biggest SME public issue the Indian stock market has ever seen. KP Green Engineering IPO will launch on March 15 KP Green Engineering is a fabricated and hot-dip galvanised steel products manufacturer which is set to launch its IPO on Friday, March 15. The issue will be open from Friday to Tuesday, i.e. March 15 to March 19. The IPO is being launched for 1,31,60,000 equity shares of the company. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. A total of five SME (small and medium enterprise) segment IPOs are expected to make a splash on Dalal Street next week, and KP Green Engineering is by far the biggest. While the rest of the four SME companies are collectively aiming to raise 107 crore through their public issue, KP Green Engineering is looking to raise 189.5 crore through its IPO, at the upper price band. The IPO consists of only a fresh issue and no offer for sale component. Before this, the largest SME IPO ever to hit the Indian stock market was Spectrum Talent Management, which ended up raising 105 crore. Before this, it was Aashka Hospitals, which ended up raising 101.6 crore. KP Green Engineering IPO: More details The initial public offer of KP Green Engineering is set to be open at March 15, and the subscription will close on March 19. The fresh issue IPO is aiming to raise 189.5 crore by selling 1,31,60,000 equity shares of the company. KP Green Engineering has set the price band of the issue at 137-144 per equity share. Around 6.58 lakh equity shares have been reserved for the market maker, while half of the issue size has been reserved for qualified institutional buyers. The firm has said in its recent filings that it will spend 156.1 crore out of the total money raised for setting up a new manufacturing unit, while the rest of the funds will be used for general corporate purposes. Bengaluru, Mar 9 (PTI) Eight days after it was shattered by a blast that left 10 persons injured, The Rameshwaram Cafe in the city started serving its loyal customers once again on Saturday, throwing open the eatery to the public with heightened security measures HT Image A low intensity blast occurred at the Brookfield outlet of the eatery on March 1, leaving customers and hotel staff injured. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. The cafe was reopened on Friday with much fanfare on the occasion of Mahashivratri and enhanced security measures to ensure that no untoward incident occurs in the future. However, it started allowing public from today. According to the administration, metal detectors have been installed at the entrance of the eatery to screen customers. Staff will screen every customer with handheld detectors before allowing entry. There would be strict vigilance on all customers and staff will look out for any suspicious activity. On Saturday morning, the co-founder and CEO of The Rameshwaram Cafe, Raghavendra Rao along with his staff sang the National Anthem before welcoming the customers who had to pass through the metal detectors installed at the entrance of the eatery. Customers were seen lining up inside the cafe placing their orders. By 8 am, the eatery was back to its normal business serving breakfast to its customers as usual. Rao told reporters, "we have strengthened our security team and are also trying to set up a separate panel involving ex-servicemen who could train our security guards at all our branches." On Friday, when the Brookfield outlet was reopened, Pujas were held at the eatery, which was adorned with flowers and festive decorations to mark the reopening. Police oversaw security arrangements throughout the day. Following the Macrh 1 incident, the cafe was cordoned off as part of investigation by the city police. A cloth merchant from Kaul Bazaar in Ballari and a PFI cadre have been detained by the National Investigation Agency and the Central Crime Branch as part of their joint probe into the blast. As Bengaluru is combating severe water scarcity ahead of summer, many housing communities in the IT capital are already clueless about handling the situation in peak summer. The borewells have dried up and the prices of water tankers have skyrocketed already, making things worse for the residents, especially in the east Bengaluru area. A few high-rise communities have reportedly hired guards to ensure nobody wastes water, and a fine will also be slapped on those who are found using water irresponsibly. How this Bengaluru's housing community is gearing up to battle water woes Also Read - Bengaluru water crisis: Karnataka bans use of drinking water to wash cars, maintain gardens; sets 5,000 fine Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Amid the uncertainty of the situation in a drought-hit state, the one community is already gearing up to face the worst in future by adapting to a sustainable rain harvesting method. The residents of Chaitanya Samarpan, a gated society in Bengalurus Whitefield area, have decided to come together to avoid water woes in the future. A special fund of 10 lakh has already been allotted to enhance the rain harvesting method. It is never too late to adapt to sustainability. According to an alert sent by the management to its residents, the infiltration wells will be deepened and more borewell recharge units will be added. This is expected to help the residents to not go dry, when the groundwater level goes down further in an area that is bustled with skyscrapers around. However, this is not the first time for Whitefield area to face such situation. Borewell yield has significantly come down over the past few years, and 2020 was impactful. However, it is never too late to adapt to sustainability, read the notice. Balance is the key, say residents While many communities are imposing fines and keeping a watch on house owners if they are overusing the water, the residents at Chaitanya say that it is essential to be aware of water harvesting methods. Ramesh B, a senior engineer and resident of the community, said, Communities hiring guards to enforce water-saving methods is not alone the solution. It must be two ways. Both residents and management of communities must together solve the problem. It is pointless to harvest rainwater if the residents are ending up wasting the water. It is also pointless to hire guards and force people not to waste water if communities do not adapt to futuristic methods. Also Read:Traffic jams, floods and now a water crisis - Heres what you need to know about Bengalurus creaking infrastructure He also said that it doesn't make any sense to blame the rapid urbanisation, which anyways tends to happen. We often chest beat and say Bengaluru is a global city. The government must make sure that the infrastructure should be global as well. An arid country like Dubai has solved many problems regarding the drinking water for its people and it is high time for our governments and civic bodies to pull up their socks, he added. Also Read: Bengaluru apartment's 'no water alert to residents amid ongoing crisis Earlier, an official from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had told Hindustan Times that the tech hub gets around 1,680 MLD of water from 14,781 borewells in and around the city and that as many as 6,997 of them are running dry. The government has already taken control of water tankers and even fixed a price cap to restrict the exorbitant prices. Karnataka minister and Congress leader KN Rajanna has said that if anyone shouted pro-Pakistan slogans in Assembly, they should be shot dead. Recently, during celebrations for Congress leader Naseer Hussain's win in the Rajya Sabha polls, 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans were allegedly raised by the party's workers outside the Assembly. BJP cited a private forensic lab report and claimed that pro-Pakistan slogans were raised. Karnataka minister KN Rajanna(File photo) "What has happened? The Congress's image is fine. In fact, it has improved. If anyone has shouted slogans or supported Pakistan, let the person be shot dead. There is no fault in that," Rajanna said as per reports. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. ALSO READ| Connection between Pak Zindabad slogan and Bengaluru explosion: Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar What's the pro-Pakistan slogan controversy in Karnataka? Congress workers allegedly raised 'Pakistan zindabad' slogans in the Karnataka Vidhana Soudha corridors on February 27. The incident reportedly happened while celebrating Congress leader Naseer Hussain's win in the Rajya Sabha polls. The alleged incident caused a massive uproar in the state, with BJP demanding action. BJP said that the incident was an insult to Kannadigas and every Indian. Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah then ordered an investigation into the matter by the government-run Forensic Science Laboratory. Three people were arrested for allegedly raising the 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans. ALSO READ| 'Pakistan zindabad' row: Chaos in Karnataka Assembly; BJP MLAs chant 'Jai Sri Ram' An FIR was lodged in connection with thecase. Meanwhile, BJP demanded that Congress leader Syed Naseer Hussain be named in the FIR. BJP also demanded the "anti-national" Congress workers should be charged with treason and investigated under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Criticising the ruling Congress government, the BJP showed pictures in which senior leaders of the party, including Rahul Gandhi, were purportedly seen with a person arrested for allegedly raising pro-Pakistan slogans. Jonathan Kirshner in Boston Review: Renoir himself claimed that a film director should have the arrogance to believe that he can change the world but the modesty to believe that if he succeeds in deeply moving four people, its a victory, the great French director Bertrand Tavernier once observed. That wisdom may apply to Taverniers own 1992 documentary, La Guerre sans Nom (The War with No Name). Made in collaboration with historian Patrick Rotman, this four-hour film about the Algerian warthe most notable of the handful of documentaries Tavernier shotdid not make much of a splash in France, and it barely managed a few arthouse screenings in the United States before essentially disappearing from circulation. Its viewership stands to expand considerably, however, with its timely release to streaming as part of a larger Tavernier retrospective now available on the Criterion Channel. Tavernier is best remembered in North America for two dozen disparate, often dazzling, feature films, among them his astonishing debut, The Clockmaker of Saint Paul (1974), the profoundly moving Round Midnight (1986), the subtle contemplation A Sunday in the Country (1984), and Dirk Bogardes final film (opposite Jane Birkin), Daddy Nostalgia (1990). Tavernier was also an irresistible interview subject, rapturous raconteur, and voracious cinephile, as reflected in his late-career landmark My Journey through French Cinema (2016) and the ten-part television series Journeys through French Cinema (201718). With The War with No Name (also known as The Undeclared War), he sought to breathe life into a largely nonexistent national conversation about the blood-soaked military conflict that the French government refused to call a war, in a land that it refused to recognize as a colony. The fighting brought down the fourth French Republic, elicited two attempted military coups, implicated one-time heroes of the resistance in the systematic practice of tortureand in the ruins of its aftermath, in the eyes of most, it was an unpleasant upheaval best forgotten. Though thirty years old, La Guerre remains a remarkable filmand not only for its evocation of current conflicts, from Gaza to Ukraine. More here. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is investigating Bengalurus Rameshwaram cafe blast case, has released new pictures of the suspect linked to the crime and sought public cooperation in identifying him. The investigation agency even said the informer's details would be kept secret. NIA seeks public support in tracking suspect linked to Rameshwaram Cafe blast Also Read - Rameshwaram Cafe reopens its doors a week after blast that left 9 people injured Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. In an X post, NIA wrote, NIA seeks citizen cooperation in identifying the suspect linked to the #RameswaramCafeBlastCase. Call 08029510900, 8904241100 or email info.blr.nia@gov.in with any information. Your identity will remain confidential. The suspect in the images looks tall, wearing a T-shirt, and his face is covered with a mask. He was also seen carrying a backpack in the images released by the NIA. The NIA has already announced a bounty of 10 lakh on the suspect who supposedly planted a bomb in Bengalurus Rameshwaram cafe on March 1. At least 10 people were injured in the blast, and they are getting treated at private hospitals in Bengaluru. The NIA released a sketch of the accused in the 'wanted' poster and said the identity of the informer will be kept secret. Piecing together CCTV footage, the NIA sleuths found out that a man who came an hour before to the cafe and stayed inside the cafe only for a few minutes left behind the bag that had the IED with a timer. the bomber used multiple public buses to reach the cafe on the morning of the incident. Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara said that the prime suspect changed his clothes after the incident and travelled by bus. He said the suspect travelled towards the district headquarters town of Tumakuru by a bus after the explosion and sleuths are verifying his movement till Ballari. The Rameshwaram Cafe reopened its doors to the public on Friday, a week after a low Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast took place at this popular eatery in Whitefield. Enhanced security measures, including screenings with metal detectors, have been implemented to ensure safety of the visitors. A fire erupted at Vallabh Bhavan state secretariat building in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on Saturday. Multiple fire tenders rushed to the scene. Fire at state secretariat building in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.(ANI) Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav said, "It has come to my knowledge that a fire broke out on the third floor of the old building of Vallabh Bhavan. On the basis of the information received from the Collector, I told the CS to monitor it - that detailed information on the incident be gathered and I have also been told that the fire has been brought under control. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. "We have issued directions to ensure that no such incident occurs again...I hope that no such incident occurs again," CM Yadav said. No injuries reported No injuries were reported in the incident, according to officials. Sanitation workers observed smoke at Vallabh Bhawan, the official name for the secretariat building, around 9:30 am. The fire brigade was then alerted. "The blaze has been brought under control by the firefighters and further work is on. Now, only smoke is emanating from the third floor where the documents have been kept," Bhopal Municipal Corporation's Fire Officer Rameshwar Neel told PTI. Approximately 15 to 20 fire tenders have been deployed to manage the situation, he said. Sanitation workers, stationed near gates numbers 5 and 6 of the secretariat complex, detected the smoke, and alerted the authorities, the sources said. (Input from ANI, PTI) Facing strong objections from the BJP, AAP mayor Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor has put the special House meeting, convened to announce freebies for city residents, on hold. BJPs objections stall Chandigarh mayors freebies plan The BJP councillors have been targeting the mayor for first holding the budget meeting and then scheduling the special House meeting without constitution of the finance and contract committee (F&CC) whose recommendations are required for all budgetary allocations. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. As a result, with the F&CC election coming up on March 11, the mayor has deferred the special House meeting until then, while accusing the BJP of creating hurdles in the corporations functioning. Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the mayor is planning to announce 20,000 litres of free water to each household every month and free parking at city markets, both part of AAPs manifesto ahead of the 2021 MC elections. To table these agendas, a special House meeting was called on March 7, a day after the budget session on March 6. We have decided to drop the plans to convene special meeting till the F&CC elections. The BJP is creating unnecessarily obstacles in the corporations working. Even when we held the budget session legally, they are raising objections. The BJP does not want the INDIA bloc to initiate development works in the city ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. They are making every possible effort to obstruct us till the code of conduct is enforced, said the mayor. AAP had also tabled the agenda for free water in November 2022, but it was not passed and has remained in limbo ever since. Officials hindering MCs work: Mayor The mayor also accused MC officials of hindering the citys development works at BJPs behest. Releasing a statement, he claimed, Recently, three letters were issued by the mayors office to MC officials regarding the budget session, special House meeting and F&CC elections, out of which, officials took action on two letters only and the special House meeting was stalled. He said all officials and elected representatives should support each other for the welfare and development of Chandigarh. This type of obstruction should not be created. Chandigarh has already become infamous for irregularities in the mayoral elections. We should work together to make Chandigarh the best city in the country. The Central government has upgraded the security of Apna Dal (S) party leader and minister of state (MoS) for commerce and industries Anupriya Patel to Z category in Uttar Pradesh. Apna Dal (S) leader Anupriya Patel with Amit Shah. (HT file) President of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ally Apna Dal (Sonelal), Patel, is currently being provided Y+ category security cover by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) across India. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Apart from Uttar Pradesh, Patels current security cover will be applied in other parts of the country. She will be provided Z category security only in Uttar Pradesh during her stay and movement in the state. Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) decided to upgrade Patels security cover in Uttar Pradesh considering the fresh threat analysis report of the Intelligence Bureau ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The MHA ordered the CISF to provide Y+ category security cover on an India basis to Patel in June last year. Patel, who took charge as MoS commerce and industries in July 2021, was elected to the Lok Sabha from Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh in 2014, and again in 2019. The 43-year-old Lok Sabha MP from Uttar Pradeshs Mirzapur would be now getting security cover by over a dozen armed commandoes that included armed static guard at residence with two PSOs at a time in three shifts. Born in 1981, Patel was the minister of state in the union health ministry from 2016 to 2019. Nearly 155 protectees are being provided security cover by the CISF so far, including Patel. Of them, nearly 20 are being provided Y+ security cover by the CISF, a Central Armed Police Force under the ministry of home affairs. In an unusual turn of events, a 23-year-old man managed to get the phone that was robbed of him back after a series of negotiations with the suspects and a brief chase by three alert policemen at Mayur Vihar Phase 3 in east Delhi on Friday, senior police officers aware of the matter said on Saturday. A case of armed robbery was registered at the Ghazipur police station and the two men were arrested. While Dhirender Singh has no previous criminal records, Krishan Bhandari was found involved in at least nine cases of theft, burglary, and attack on government officials, police said. (HT Photo) Read here: Interstate gang behind commercial vehicle thefts busted, recover 47 stolen vehicles Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. It all started when Shanu Khan, an ice cream vendor, was robbed of his phone at knifepoint by two men at Mayur Vihar Phase 3 around 9am. Neither were the suspects identified as Dhirender Singh and Krishan Bhandari, both 26 wearing helmets nor were they masked. What was more surprising was the fact that when Khan called his phone after it was taken away, after borrowing a passerbys phone, it was answered by one of the suspects. The negotiations then began instead of informing the police, Khan began by requesting the suspects to return his phone as he had important numbers. The suspects told Khan they would return the phone if he paid 10,000. Khan told them about his poor financial background and said he did not have the money. They disconnected the call after asking him to arrange the money if he wanted the phone back, said a senior police officer, aware of the case. The suspects kept the stolen phone switched on, unlike cases where it is switched off immediately after being stolen to avoid being traced. Khan called his phone multiple times from different numbers and it was answered every time. The negotiations went on for four hours. Khan agreed to pay them 10,000 and the suspects promised to return it too. They decided to meet near Hanuman Temple near the market, said deputy commissioner of police (east) Apoorva Gupta. Around 1 pm, the suspects arrived at the meeting point. However, at the time of the transaction, Khan raised the alarm, which alerted three policemen on duty, including a sub-inspector. They began chasing the suspects after Khan narrated the incident. With the help of a passerby named Azhar, the two were nabbed and Khans phone was recovered, added DCP Gupta. Read here: Police hands over stolen gold worth 10k to ex-Odisha deputy speaker after 19 years A case of armed robbery was registered at the Ghazipur police station and the two men were arrested. While Singh has no previous criminal records, Bhandari was found involved in at least nine cases of theft, burglary, and attack on government officials, police said. Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) MLA Rohit Pawar on Saturday alleged that the Enforcement Directorate (ED)s action to attach the assets of the Kannad Sugar Unit owned by his company Baramati Agro Ltd. was politically motivated and illegal and said that there were many factual errors in the statement issued by ED. He also assured farmers and all stakeholders of the factory not to worry and that he would prove the truth in the court of law. Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) MLA Rohit Pawar. (File) The statement issued by ED states that the case is based on an FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing, Mumbai Police (EOW), wherein it is alleged that the SSKs were fraudulently sold by the then officials and directors of the Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank (MSCB) at throwaway prices to their relatives/private persons without following the due procedure. However, the Economic Offences Wing had not named Baramati Agro Ltd. in its submission. More importantly, in 2012 when Baramati Agro Ltd. acquired the Kannad SSK, the MSCB Bank was being run by a board of administrators appointed on the recommendation of the Reserve Bank of India, and not by the then officials and directors of MSCB. So, there is no question of there being any relation of officials/directors with any stakeholder of M/s Baramati Agro Ltd. as alleged by ED, said Pawar in his statement. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. He also said that his company was not part of the first auction process of the Kannad sugar factory, which failed, but participated in the second auction process. He pointed out the excerpts from the closure report of the EOW. During investigation it is found that the process of sanctioning loans by MSC Bank and sale of sugar mills are carried out in tune with legal provisions and MSC Bank has not caused financial loss from the same or directors of the bank, officials of bank etc. have not benefited from the same. It is also found that the events of violations of guidelines of NABARD, RBI or other regularities do not amount to criminal acts, states the report. Therefore, the press note of the ED in its attempt to substantiate the illegal provisional attachment order relies upon factually incorrect allegations. This seems to be politically motivated action and we reserve our lawful rights to take legal action against this mala fide step by the ED, said Pawar. Rohit is the grandson of Appasaheb, brother of NCP founder Sharad Pawar. Elected MLA from Karjat-Jamkhed constituency in Ahmednagar district, Rohit stood by senior Pawar when Ajit Pawar split the party to join the Shiv Sena-BJP government in the state. He is now a key leader of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP. Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MLA Rohit Pawar on Saturday alleged that the Enforcement Directorate (ED)s action to attach the assets of the Kannad Sugar Unit owned by his company Baramati Agro Ltd. was politically motivated and illegal and said that there were many factual errors in the statement issued by ED. He also assured farmers and all stakeholders of the factory not to worry and that he would prove the truth in a court of law. Pune, India - January 14, 2023: MLA Rohit Pawar in his office, at Hadapsar, in Pune, India, on Saturday, January 14, 2023. (Photo by Rahul Raut/HT PHOTO) (Rahul Raut/HT Photo) Read here: ED attaches Sharad Pawar's grandnephew Rohit Pawar's properties worth 50 cr Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. The statement issued by ED states that the case is based on an FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing, Mumbai Police, (EOW) wherein it is alleged that the SSKs were fraudulently sold by the then officials and directors of Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank (MSCB) at throwaway prices to their relatives/private persons without following the due procedure. However, the Economic Offences Wing had not named Baramati Agro Ltd. in its submission. More importantly, in 2012 when Baramati Agro Ltd. acquired the Kannad SSK the MSCB Bank was being run by a board of administrators appointed on the recommendation of the Reserve Bank of India, and not by the then officers and directors of MSCB. So no question of there being any relation of officials/directors with any stakeholder of M/s Baramati Agro Ltd as alleged by ED. said Pawar in his statement. He also said that his company was not part of the first auction process of the Kannad sugar factory which failed. But participated in the second auction process. He pointed out the excerpts from the closure report of the EOW. During the investigation, it is found that the process of sanctioning loans by MSC Bank and sale of sugar mills are carried out in tune with legal provisions and MSC Bank has not caused financial loss from the same or directors of the bank, officials of bank etc. have not benefited from the same. It is also found that the events of violations of guidelines of NABARD, RBI or other regularities do not amount to criminal acts. states the report. Therefore, the press note of the ED in its attempt to substantiate the illegal provisionally attachment order, relies upon factually incorrect allegations. This seems to be politically motivated action and We reserve our lawful rights to take legal action against this mala fide step by the ED, said Pawar. Rohit is the grandson of Appasaheb and, the elder brother of NCP founder Sharad Pawar. Elected MLA from Karjat-Jamkhed constituency in Ahmednagar district, Rohit stood by senior Pawar when Ajit Pawar split the party to join the Shiv Sena-BJP government in the state. He is now a key leader of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) party. Read here: MSC bank scam: ED attaches properties worth 50 crore of Rohit Pawars company Thackeray faction MP Sanjay Raut alleged that ED has taken action against Rohit Pawar as he refused to surrender and leave Sharad Pawar. Rohit Pawar can not do anything wrong. As we saw in the past, EDs action was always politically motivated. If Rohit Pawar joined uncle Ajit Pawar or BJP then ED will close the matter as the agency did in the cases of Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel. But Rohit Pawar will not surrender before Delhi and will continue to fight. said Raut. NCP MP Supriya Sule criticised the action against Rohit Pawar and pointed out that the action was taken despite EOW has not mentioned the name of Rohit Pawar or his firm in its submission. There was no word about Rohit Pawar or his firm in EOWs submission in the matter. Still, ED took actions that showed that it was politically motivated, said Sule. Gurugram: Four bouncers of a club near Signature Tower in Sector-30 were booked for assaulting a woman and forcibly throwing her out of the premises after an argument over smoking, police said on Friday. A case was registered against the bouncers based on the womans complaint. (Representational Image) Investigators said the incident took place at about 12.30am on Thursday. The 29-year-old victim, Aditi Chhetri, a native of Dehradun, had reached the club with a friend Priyaranjan on Wednesday night. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. They said Priyaranjan had started smoking which led to an altercation with the bouncers. ALSO READ- Police arrest Uttarakhands mushroom lady, her brother for financial fraud According to the police, Chhetri, a resident of DLF Phase-III, alleged that at least four bouncers, of whom two were women, later assaulted and tried to choke her. The suspects forcibly removed the duo from the club afterwards. Inspector Manoj Verma, Sector-40 station house officer, said that bouncers had objected to smoking inside the club. ALSO READ- Homemakers work no less than salary-earning spouses: Supreme Court Chhetri, being intoxicated, entered into an argument after which the bouncers assaulted her, Verma said, adding they had collected CCTV footage of the club and would arrest the suspects soon. ALSO READ- Gurugram woman attacked with acid-like substance, cops suspect husband On Chhetris complaint, an FIR was registered against the bouncers under sections 34 (common intention), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code at Sector-40 police station on Thursday. Motihari: Two automated teller machines (ATMs) of the State Bank of India (SBI) with cash over 13 lakh were looted in Bihars East Champaran district on Friday late night, police said. (Representative Photo) In one incident, the criminals struck an SBI kiosk at Semara under Turkauliya police station in East Champaran and walked away with 10.2 lakh cash, police said. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. They appear to be two in number and decamped with cash after cutting the machine using a gas cutter. We are looking into the matter, said Turkauliyas station house officer Suresh Yadav, adding the incident took place around 1.45am. In another similar incident, the alleged criminals struck the SBI kiosk in Bankatwa in Motihari under the Muffasil police station area and looted over 3 lakh, said police, adding that the incident took place around 2.30am. The exact amount looted from the ATM has not been known. Bank authorities are still working on it, said Muffasil police station house office Manish Kumar. He said that two criminals were caught on the nearby CCTV camera, adding they are probing the matter. However, authorities attached with SBI put the amount looted from the two ATMs at 13,84100. While, 10,20700 was found missing from Semara kiosk, 358,400 from taken from Bankatwa kiosk, said SBIs East Champaran channel manager Anant Kumar. A 42-year-old Police Inspector (PI) attached with CID Economic Offence Wing (EOW) Pune was found dead on a railway track near Parali railway station in Beed district on Friday. Police suspect he died by suicide due to domestic issues. According to the Police, the Railway Station Master at Parali noticed a dead body on a railway track near Parali railway station on Friday. (REPRESENTATIVE PIC) The deceased has been identified as Subhash Bhimrao Dhumal (42), originally hailing from Jat in Sangli district. He was attached as PI with the EOW wing of the CID Pune. As per police information, the deceased was recently transferred from Beed to Pune. Police recovered a note from his body, wherein it was mentioned that he was upset due to his domestic issues. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. According to the Police, the Railway Station Master at Parali noticed a dead body on a railway track near Parali railway station on Friday. Immediately he alerted local police, and a team of police rushed to the spot and identified the dead body. As of now, police are yet to confirm any specific reason behind the death of the police inspector. However, police told prima facie it seems that Dhumal died by suicide, but police are investigating all possible angles in this case. Help is a call away Pune-based NGO - Connecting - works towards providing support to those in emotional distress using the philosophy of mindfulness-based active listening, thereby preventing suicide. Helpline numbers: 1800-209-4353 (toll-free) and 9922001122 all days, 12 pm to 8 pm. Walk-in facility: 12 pm to 5 pm, Monday Saturday. Email: connectingngo@gmail.com Mar 9, 2024 2:57 PM IST Satya Dev Pachauri, Coordinator Mathematics, VidyaGyan School review on CBSE Class 12 Mathematics paper: The Class 12 CBSE Mathematics exam showcased a well-constructed paper that effectively gauged students' competency levels. The overall difficulty ranged from easy to moderate, aligning with the prescribed syllabus. However, certain sections posed challenges for students, primarily in the form of case study questions, assertion-reasoning questions, and some questions related to integration and three-dimensional geometry. The majority of questions in the paper were within the grasp of the students, reflecting a balanced approach in difficulty. Students encountered difficulties in questions framed within case studies. These questions required a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts in real-world scenarios, testing the application of theoretical knowledge. The Assertion-Reasoning format posed a unique challenge. Students found it demanding to link assertions with appropriate reasoning, indicating a need for more focused preparation on such question types. Certain questions related to integrations proved to be more intricate, demanding a higher level of mathematical dexterity. Brighter students were confident to score very good marks. Overall, the paper was aptly designed as it effectively tested the depth of understanding and application of mathematical concepts. CBSE Class 12 Maths Exam 2024 concluded and students have expressed mixed reactions regarding the question paper. GD Goenka Public School Lucknow said that the Applied Mathematics Question paper was as per the blueprint. (Handout) GD Goenka School students' from Lucknow said that the Applied Mathematics Question paper was as per the blueprint. Most of the paper was based on the NCERT Document's concepts and content. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. As per Mr Daud, the Mathematics teacher of GD Goenka Public School Lucknow, the paper has competency-based problems as proposed by CBSE in the beginning of the session. Class 12 Mathematics paper received positive feedback from both students and teachers, aligning well with CBSE sample papers. The timely completion by students and the ease of the case study-based questions suggest a well-balanced and accessible paper. The provision of appropriate choices in the paper further contributed to student satisfaction, reflecting a successful examination, said Vikas Kumar Gupta, HOD, Mathematics at Silverline Prestige School, Ghaziabad. Some students found the case-study questions, assertion-reasoning, and some questions related to integration and three-dimensional geometry challenging. The majority of questions in the paper were within the grasp of the students, reflecting a balanced approach in difficulty. Students encountered difficulties with questions framed within case studies. These questions required a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts in real-world scenarios, testing the application of theoretical knowledge. The Assertion-Reasoning format posed a unique challenge. Students found it demanding to link assertions with appropriate reasoning, indicating a need for more focused preparation on such question types. Certain questions related to integrations proved to be more intricate, demanding a higher level of mathematical dexterity, said Satya Dev Pachauri, Coordinator Mathematics, VidyaGyan School. Students felt that the Integration questions tested the students depth. The CBSE Class 12 Maths question paper was tougher than the CBSE Class 12 sample question paper. The question paper was also lengthy and time-consuming. Most students felt Section D was difficult and time-consuming, said Ajit Pratap Singh, PGT Maths, KIIT World School, Gurugram. The question paper was average and but a bit lengthy. MCQs were not direct and required time to solve them. But overall, the paper was moderate and scoring. Case Study was more or less as per the expectation and were not too complex, says Anupriya Tiwari, Class 12 student of Lucknow Public School. Also Read: CBSE Board Exam 2024 LIVE: Class 12 Mathematics, Applied Maths papers ends, analysis here The manga community is currently mourning the death of Akira Toriyama, the creator of the famed Japanese franchise Dragon Ball. Toriyama died of an acute subdural hematoma on Friday, March 1. He was 68 years old at the time. Shortly after the news of his death was made public, tributes started pouring in from Dragon Ball fans and fellow manga writers, including One Piece and Naruto authors. Naruto and One Piece creators pay tribute to late Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama Manga writers share heartfelt tributes for Dragon Balls Akira Toriyama An influx of tributes from Toriyamas fellow manga writers were shared on the Shonen Jump website. One Pieces Eiichiro Oda wrote, The sadness overwhelms me when I realize Ill never meet you again. From my childhood, Ive admired you. I remember the day I was first called by name. On the way home after the day you used the word friends for us, I remember the joyous moment with Kishimoto-san. I remember our last conversation, per translation by Anime Corner. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Taking the baton from an era where reading manga was considered foolish, you helped create an era where both adults and children enjoy manga. You showed us that manga can do this, that it can take us to other worlds. It felt like watching a hero charging forward, Oda added in his emotional letter. In addition to Oda, Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of another famed long-running manga, Naruto, also penned a sweet note for Toriyama. I honestly dont know what to write in such a sudden situation. But I want to convey what Ive always wanted to ask Toriyama-sensei, my thoughts. From early elementary school with Dr. Slump to later years with Dragon Ball, Senseis manga has always been with me, becoming a part of my life, Masashi wrote. Ive just received news of Senseis passing. Im overwhelmed with a sense of loss even greater than when Dragon Ball ended I still dont know how to deal with this hole in my heart. I cant even read Dragon Ball, my beloved manga, now, Naruto creator continued, adding, Thank you, Akira Toriyama-sensei, for your many enjoyable works over 45 years. And thank you very much for your hard work. Pakistani actor Mahira Khan has opened up about the "weirdest rumour" she heard about herself lately. Mashion shared a video on its YouTube channel, in which she also spoke about what she loves, hates, and tolerates about her "significant other" husband, Salim Karim. (Also Read | Pakistani actor Mahira Khan issues statement after reports of her pregnancy) Mahira Khan tied the knot with Salim Karim in a pastel white lehenga. (Instagram) Mahira on her pregnancy rumours When asked about the "weirdest rumour" she heard, the actor said, "Oh, that I'm pregnant. It's not weird it's just a rumour. I don't know where they came up with it. I think it's because I've put on weight, but then they also said that I've also left a Netflix series and a major film and whatnot. But it's not true." Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Mahira talks about Salim Mahira was asked what she loves, hates, and tolerates about Salim. Smiling, she replied, "Do I really have to answer this question? I hate that he's not expressive. I tolerate that he's not expressive. No, sometimes I like the music to be turned off, but he likes the music to be on all the time. It's like the minute he wakes up, he wants the music on. I like listening to the sound of birds...I love that he tolerates the fact that I like having breakfast alone." Mahira had spoken about pregnancy rumours recently Recently, speaking with The Express Tribune, Mahira had clarified when her pregnancy rumours had started. Mahira had said, "Its not true that Im pregnant. And I havent left the Netflix series." Mahira, Salim got married last year Mahira tied the knot with her long-time beau Salim Karim in October last year. The wedding took place in Pakistan's Bhurban in the presence of family members and close friends. The actor met Salim, the CEO of Pakistani telecom company Simpaisa, in 2017 and they got engaged in 2019 in Turkey. This is Mahira's second marriage. She earlier married Ali Askari in 2007 and separated in 2015. They are parents to a 13-year-old son Azlaan. About Mahira's projects Mahira was recently seen in Pakistani blockbuster The Legend of Maula Jatt alongside Fawad Khan. The two actors will also be seen in the upcoming Netflix series Jo Bachay Hain Sang Samait Lo. It also stars Sanam Saeed. Entertainment! Entertainment! Entertainment! Click to follow our Whatsapp Channel Your daily dose of gossip, films, shows, celebrities updates all in one place This year is a bit of a switcheroo between the Actor and Supporting Actor categories. Leaving aside Bradley Cooper, the list of nominees looks like a whos who of supporting actors from Paul Giamatti to Jeffrey Wright. Meanwhile, the Supporting Actor field has Robert De Niro, Robert Downey Jr., and Ryan Gosling, each of whom would usually be thought of as a leading man. The lead actor race looked like it might be a two-horse race with Cillian and Paul, but its now a lock for the Irishman. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. BRADLEY COOPER - Maestro Bradley Cooper will be seen as composer Leonard Bernstein in Maestro. Bradley Cooper completely transforms himself to play the conductor-composer, Leonard Bernstein. Its not just the nose (though it works), Bradley convincingly embodies Bernstein from his 20s all the way to his 70s. He nails the physicality and the voice, transforming ever so slightly through the years. The scene where he conducts Mahler at Ely Cathedral scene is an undeniable highlight of his performance, but Bradley is just as magnetic in the quiet moments with Carey Mulligans Felicia Montealegre. COLMAN DOMINGO - Rustin Colman Domingo in a still from Rustin. A run-of-the-mill biopic about civil rights leader Bayard Rustin is lifted by Colman Domingos terrific and energetic titular performance. Colman has been turning in great supporting work in the last few years in a number of movies, including If Beale Street Could Talk and Ma Raineys Black Bottom. Its a great showcase for Domingo, who should hopefully parlay this attention into a few big roles in mainstream movies. PAUL GIAMATTI - The Holdovers A still from Alexander Payne's dramedy The Holdovers. Paul Giamatti teams up with old pal Sideways director Alexander Payne for another knockout performance. Paul plays a curmudgeonly instructor at a New England Prep School who unexpectedly bonds with one of the students, newcomer Dominic Sessa, with the help of DaVine Joy Randolphs recently bereaved cafeteria manager. To be honest, this is the kind of role that Paul could do in his sleep, but hes just so good at it. He hasnt won an Oscar yet, but hes always great to watch, regardless of the size of the role. CILLIAN MURPHY - Oppenheimer Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt in a still from Oppenheimer.(AP) Irish actor Cillian Murphy finally gets a chance to shine in a Christopher Nolan movie after playing second fiddle for him for so many years. Cillians performance is a technical triumph, and he is fully aware of how big his face looks in IMAX and how to precisely calibrate every micro-expression. Sure, the supporting actor nomination went to Downey Jr., but its Murphys back-and-forth with Matt Damon that is the most enjoyable part of a serious and overlong movie. JEFFREY WRIGHT - American Fiction Jeffrey Wright in a still from American Fiction. Cord Jeffersons American Fiction sits at the intersection of race satire and family drama, and Jeffrey Wrights understated performance helps bridge those two disparate genres. Jeffrey plays Thelonious Monk Ellison with a wry effect, just barely hinting at the superiority complex underneath. Jeffreys lived-in comfort with the actors playing his family goes a long way in suggesting years of backstory and repressed trauma. Hes been a dependable supporting actor for over two decades now, and its great to see him at the centre of a story that allows him to flex his talents. Honourable Mentions: No list of the years best performances is complete without a nod to Andrew Scotts haunting portrayal of a young man trying to reconcile with his parents memories in All of Us Strangers. And even though perennial nominee Leonardo DiCaprio was snubbed, that shouldnt be seen as a knock against his performance. As Ernest Burkhart, he manages to be charming, slimy, loving, astoundingly stupid, and downright evil, sometimes all within the same scene. Read more from our coverage of the Awards Season 2024 here. Entertainment! Entertainment! Entertainment! Click to follow our Whatsapp Channel Your daily dose of gossip, films, shows, celebrities updates all in one place Going into Oscar night, we watch to see if our favourite films will win. But when the ceremony ends, what were left with is how they made us feel, and that comes down to the winning speeches. Did they make us laugh or cry or cheer? Or all of the above? Giving the perfect speech is difficult, and not everyone has that skill. (Also read: Oscars 2024: From Cillian Murphy to Paul Giamatti and Bradley Cooper, a guide to Best Actor) The 96th Academy Awards will take place on March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre. Heres a list of memorable speeches that tomorrows winners should try and emulate. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Spielbergs moving speech for Schindlers List When Schindlers List won Best Picture in 1994, Steven Spielberg was already backstage having just received his Best Director Oscar from Clint Eastwood. In his short speech, Spielberg made an impassioned plea to educators to teach children about the horrors of the Holocaust so that it would never be forgotten. But the most moving part came later, when one of his producing partners, Branko Lustig started his speech by introducing himself and reading out the number tattooed on his arm when he was a child at Auschwitz. He proceeded to speak about his experience at the concentration camp and his speech was almost as powerful as the film itself. Denzel Washington honors Sidney Poitier in his Best Actor speech 2002 inadvertently became the greatest year for African-American actors when both Halle Berry and Denzel Washington won for Best Actress and Best Actor, respectively. In addition, the Academy chose to give the legendary Sidney Poitier an honorary Oscar at the same ceremony. When Denzel won, he acknowledged Sidney in his speech saying he would always follow in Poitiers footsteps. And in a touching moment, the two actors raised their Oscars to each other. Marketa Irglova gets a second chance after being played off for Best Song Irish musicians Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova came out of nowhere to win Best Song for Falling Slowly from the lovely musical Once, in which they also starred. Hansard gave a lovely speech but used up all their time and the orchestra played them off before Marketa could speak. When the show returned from a commercial break, host Jon Stewart made a beautiful gesture apologizing to Irglova and calling her back onstage to give her speech. Irglova took the opportunity to talk about the power of dreaming big, a truly inspirational speech. Olivia Colman charms everyone The Queen (in more ways than one) Olivia Colman was stunned speechless when she won for The Favourite. Sandwiched between her beaming husband and her crying co-star Emma Stone, she took a few moments to recover before making her way onstage. She eventually found her words and in typical British fashion, gave the most charming speech ever. Highlights include apologizing to her idol Glenn Close for winning over her, blowing a raspberry at the teleprompter asking her to wrap up, and blowing a kiss at Lady Gaga before walking off to a standing ovation. Cuba Gooding Jr. loves everybody! Best Supporting Actor is the first award of the night and a great speech for this category can set the tone for the evening. In 1997, when Cuba Gooding Jr won for Jerry Maguire, he started by saying he was so happy to win that he wouldnt be mad if his speech was cut off. But when the music started playing, it was like he was possessed by the spirit of Rod Tidwell, his character in the movie. He excitedly proclaimed his love for his co-stars Tom Cruise and Regina King, before yelling I love you to everyone involved with the movie. As the music built up to a crescendo, Cuba went all out screaming I love everybody! I love you all, receiving a standing ovation from the audience who could not help but be moved by his infectious joy. The best part of his speech is not even visible in the video, he ended by keeping his Oscar on the floor and doing an honest-to-god backflip on the stage in his tailored tux. Now thats how you give a winning speech! Entertainment! Entertainment! Entertainment! Click to follow our Whatsapp Channel Your daily dose of gossip, films, shows, celebrities updates all in one place Killers of the Flower Moon actor Robert De Niro was very clear about his stance against ex-president Donald Trump when he made a special appearance on the HBO talk show Real Time with Bill Maher. Wholeheartedly dumping on Trump, he urged people to vote for Biden if you wanna live in a world we enjoy living in. Associating normalcy with Biden's administration, he struck down hard on Trump's presidential post as one that unleashed a nightmare. Vote for Trump, you'll get the nightmare, began De Niro. Robert De Niro puts down the mask and gets real about his feeling towards the ex-US president Donald Trump on Real Time with Bill Maher. (YouTube) Host Bill Maher continued pushing buttons as he sought to investigate why Trump was winning at all, especially among women, despite his apparent controversial take on abortion rights. Previously, First Lady Jill Biden also declared him dangerous to women at her Arizona stop for 'Women for Biden. When asked why Trump was earning significant triumphs during the campaign run for the 2024 presidential elections, De Niro claimed it was all lost on him. He was just as baffled to see the ex-president take the lead. He recalled how he and many others were shaken up when Trump won the general elections in 2016. Berating him as a total monster, he put his down about never wanting to play him as an actor if the opportunity arose. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Also read | Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer pay stuns industry, estimated earning is Robert De Niro's Real Time with Bill Maher Confessions about Donald Trump: Pointing out that he can't see any good in him nothing redeemable in him, Robert De Niro tried sending a message to the people voting for him. The Hollywood veteran addressed how even intelligent people were going out of their way to support him. He reminds them that none of them would be able to speak about these matters so openly if he came to power again. If he wins the election, you won't be on the show anymore. He'll come looking for me, said De Niro as he contemplated all the unimaginable things that could happen to them. He goes as far as to call out Trump's administration a dictatorship" outrightly. The Taxi Driver actor had no intentions of sugarcoating his feelings towards Trump, and as his conversation with Maher went on, he pulled with heavier adjectives to describe the Republican front-runner. De Niro dubbed him a sociopathic, psychopathic, malignant, narcissist who is a dangerous person." But he wasn't quite done yet. The Hollywood actor-producer unequivocally labelled him an idiot,clown" and a classic bully who's got to be stopped. BTS fans can't catch a moment despite the septet being away from their music desks due to their military service obligations. Even with a group hiatus in place till 2025, the K-pop group's admirers haven't felt their absence in a long time due to the relentless incoming flood of content featuring the members. From V, aka Kim Tae Hyung, starring in multiple advertisements to fans anticipating his surprise music drop this March, BTS ARMYs have a lot on their plate. The massive influx could now possibly be topped off with an unprecedented Jungkook collaboration. On March 9, BTS' Jungkook logged into his TikTok and followed English artist Jacob Collier, leaving the fans in a daze and confronting the possibility of a new music collab. (YouTube / HYBE Labels) Though March 9 is BTS Suga's birthday, the special day seems to be unloading heaps of gifts onto the fans instead. Snooping fans carefully studied Jungkook's TikTok account and spotted a fascinating anomaly when they noted his following count had minimally grown. Ostensibly, he checked into his profile, followed the Grammy-winning English artist Jacob Collier and dipped. Thereafter, his public profile reflected the development as the 236 accounts he was following previously met another addition. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Also read | Kim Tae Hyung's new single FRI(END)S confirmed to drop in March Whom did BTS' Jungkook follow on TikTok? His recent activity reflects a new addition to his following streak. The newest person on the list is the English songwriter-producer Jacob Collier. He previously shot to fame with popular split-screen music covers on YouTube. Three years later, in 2016, he debuted his album In My Room. According to the Grammy Awards website, he's secured twelve nods throughout his musical career and won six. At the 66th Grammys (2024), he won the Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals award for his 2023 track In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning. He's even guest appeared for back vocals on prominent musicians' tracks like SZA's Good Days, which he also co-wrote, and Kehlani's Altar, again co-written by him. Coincidentally, he even lent backing vocals to the BTS and Coldplay collab song My Universe. Also read | Kim Soo Hyun and It's Okay to Not Be Okay co-star reunite in Queen of Tears Is Jungkook's new music coming? While one may view the fans as making a mountain out of a molehill, it's a commonly resurfaced tactic for music artists to incite their fanbase's excitement by dropping these tiny easter eggs now and then. It would be too early to settle down with a firm answer to the question, but it would also be ignorant to snub the possibility entirely. Jungkook and international collaborations make for a pretty unbeatable pair. He's previously joined forces with Charlie Puth, The Kid LAROI, Central Cee, Usher, Justin Timberlake, Latto, Jack Harlow, Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes, DJ Snake and others. He made his last music outing with his debut solo album, Golden, in 2023. Tapping into his fashion icon chops, he's also constantly pushed Calvin Klein campaigns as the American fashion house's brand ambassador. Get ready to keep up with the Kardashians once again as the highly anticipated Season 5 of their reality show has finally locked in a release date on Disney Plus. The upcoming season has also shared a sneak peek into the lives of your favorite reality TV family with a brand-new trailer. For those unaware, The Kardashians is a revamp of their former reality series, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which came to an end in 2021. Here is everything to know about the show. Kourtney, Kylie, Kendall, and Kim in the teaser for the upcoming show The Kardashians. The Kardashians season 5 release date Starring the Kardashians and Jenner sisters, season 5 of the hit franchise will be released on May 23, 2024. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Also read: Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer pay stuns industry ahead of Oscars, estimated earning is Where to watch The Kardashians Season 5? The Kardashians Season 5 will debut on Hulu on May 23, according to Disney+, with new episodes dropping every Thursday. The Kardashians Season 5 trailer New horizons await, the thrilling new teaser for the program, which features all five sisters and their mother Kris, was released on March 8. With the backdrop of a desert, the entire group appears more gorgeous than before. Check out! What to expect from season 5 of The Kardashians As per the plot synopsis which came along with the teaser, Just when you think life cant get any faster in the Kardashian-Jenner family, they punch it into overdrive. From the big screen to baby bliss, the family continues to defy expectations in all their endeavors. Cameras roll as Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, Kendall, and Kylie navigate contentious sister dynamics, all under the watchful eye of everyone's favorite matriarch, Kris. Also read: Love is Blind S6 reunion: Who is still secretly dating - Jimmy, Chelsea, Jeremey, AD, Clay and more The Kardashians recap In the last season's finale, fans were touched by Kourtney and Travis Barker's heartfelt reveal of their baby's gender. Meanwhile, Kim prepared for an American Horror Story, leaving viewers intrigued. With Kylie Jenner often in the spotlight, fans eagerly await insights into her romantic life. Kendall and Bad Bunny's breakup reports might also draw in some viewers this season. Get ready for another season of fashion, family feuds, and fabulous moments all dropping on Disney Plus soon! The Queen of Tears premiere on tvN and Netflix is already gearing up to be quite the buzzworthy affair. The South Korean drama series set to open its doors for the audience today, i.e. March 9 at 9:10 pm KST, has gained even more attention for setting up this K-drama reunion. Ahead of its release, the Korean network tvN dished a set of new sneak peeks at the upcoming premiere starring Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Ji Won in the lead. Despite its already star-studded quality, the series has also confirmed the big-shot cameo of renowned actor Oh Jung Se, who played Soo Hyun's brother in the hit series It's Okay to Not Be Okay. It's Okay to Not Be Okay (2020) brothers, Oh Jung Se and Kim Soo Hyun, reunite on the sets of Queen of Tears, set to premiere on March 9.(Instagram / tvn_drama) Already arousing fans' interest, the mini It's Okay to Not Be Okay cast reunion on the sets of Queen of Tears also serves as a heartwarming nod to the much-loved older series that sensitively approached the spectrum of mental health issues. While the 2020 drama saw Kim Soo Hyun's character stepping in as a caregiver of sorts for his elder autistic brother, played by Oh Jung Se, the 2024 series flips the board on their dynamics. This time, Jung Se will be seen offering medical support to Soo Hyun on being introduced as a psychiatrist. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. The recently released Queen of Tears stills map out the scene for the duo's onscreen reunion as Kim Soo Hyun's character, Baek Hyun Woo, pays a visit to the psychiatrist played by Oh Jung Se. As the legal director of the conglomerate Queens Group, he feels apprehensive about being publicly spotted at a psychiatrist's clinic owing to his social status as a chaebol family's son-in-law. Struck by his fears, he covers up under the common dark disguise of a hood and a pair of shades. Also read | BLACKPINK's Rose steals the show in sheer Saint Laurent dress at pre-Oscar party Eventually, when inside, he feels at ease and can be seen opening his heart about the pressures of putting on the guise of perfection for the world. While conversations between the duo will presumably be revealed during the Queen of Tears Episode 1 tonight, one can hope that Oh Jung Se's cameo will be a comforting introduction to Baek Hyun Woo's life, even for a moment. About Kim Soo Hyun's Queen of Tears Kdrama: The romantic comedy series marks the ambitious collaboration of Crash Landing on You writer Park Ji Eun and Sweet Home Season 1 director Jang Young Woo and Vincenzo director Kim Hee Won. Celebrating a dysfunctional marriage between two forces to reckon with in their own rights, the show brings together Kim Soo Hyun, the supermarket king, and Kim Ji Won, the queen of department stores. Despite all odds, the married couple stick together and make it through the chaos. Their story once began with affectionate pangs of love due to their starkly different upbringings. But three years into their marriage, things start falling apart. As they're questioning their relationship, another devastating blow hits them. But, this disorderly situation surprisingly also has the potential to re-ignite romance in the midst of chaos. Alongside the two, the series also stars Park Sung Hoon of The Glory fame, Kwak Dong Yeon, who's yet another It's Okay Not to Be Okay alum, and Lee Ju Bin from Mr Sunshine. The 16-part series will start streaming on Netflix on Saturday, March 9, with new episodes coming out ever Saturday-Sunday. Sahil Salathia is beaming with pride after representing India at the pre-Oscars party, held in Los Angeles recently. And the model-turned-actor looks at it as a huge opportunity to push forward his career globally. Sahil Salathia It was very exciting to attend the pre-Oscar party for South Asian excellence and get to represent my incredible country India on such a major platform. Its my first red carpet appearance in Hollywood and I cant be more grateful, Salathia tells us. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. The actor was invited by the South Asian Team to attend the party and represent South Asian talent. At the party, he met artists such as Lilly Singh, Kal Penn and Tan France. I felt so proud to be in the same room as them because they have been in Hollywood for years. For me to get such a massive opportunity as my first appearance in Hollywood is nothing short of magical. I feel very glad to have met all these artists, he says, adding, Its a big opportunity for me and even for India to be represented in a very wonderful light because everytime an actor represents their country on a platform like this, it comes with a lot of pressure and pride as well. And I am taking pressure and pride both and its all in good light. It will have a great impact on my career as well to be representing your country at the pre-Oscars in Hollywood. Its a huge medal on my chest and I feel very happy about it. The 35-year-old feels South Asian talent is getting represented well at the Oscars, and hopes it continues in the times to come. In Hollywood, South Asian talent is being represented. Now, there are so many more names, especially a trailblazer like Priyanka Chopra. I call her a trailblazer because she is the first one to make an impact at such a huge level. There is no one around the globe who doesnt know who Priyanka Chopra is, she is really an icon and we need more icons like her. She is representing India so well, I am so proud of her and the country should be so proud of her. I think theres enough representation of South Asian talent at the Oscars but it can definitely get better. The fact that I was invited to attend it while I am a Mumbai based actor working in Bollywood, it in itself says theres a lot of representation of South Asian talent and its getting better, he ends. Six Himachal Pradesh Congress legislators, who have been disqualified for defying the party whip on the state budget, along with three Independent MLAs have shifted to a resort in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Uttarakhand, accusing chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu of harassing them, people aware of the matter said on Saturday. Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu with Congress MLAs in Shimla on February 29. (ANI) Read here: Himachal crisis: Rebel Congress MLAs camp in resort in Uttarakhand Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Two BJP MLAs Rakesh Jamwal, who is also the partys Himachal Pradesh general secretary, and Jaswan legislator Bikram Singh have accompanied the nine legislators who arrived in Dehradun from Chandigarh by a chartered flight on Friday afternoon and checked into a resort in Singtali, around 35 km from Rishikesh, amid tight security. A security vehicle with Haryana registration number was stationed outside the resort on Saturday, the people added. Eleven MLAs from Himachal Pradesh who flew from Chandigarh to Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun in a chartered plane are staying at a resort near Rishikesh. The legislators included six Congress MLAs, three independents and two BJP MLAs, a BJP functionary said, requesting anonymity. Congress legislators Sudhir Sharma, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Devinder Kumar Bhuttu, Ravindra Thakur and Chaitanya Sharma had voted against party nominee Abhishek Manu Singhvi in the February 27 Rajya Sabha election, resulting in the victory of BJPs Harsh Mahajan. They were disqualified from the assembly on February 29 for defying the party whip on the state budget. Three independent MLAs Hoshyar Singh, KL Thakur and Ashish Sharma accompanying the Congress rebels had also voted in favour of the BJP in the biennial polls. The rebel Congress legislators have approached the Supreme Court challenging their disqualification from the assembly. They will stay in Rishikesh until the Supreme Court hear the Speakers decision of disqualification, the BJP functionary added. Since their disqualification, the rebel MLAs were staying in a Chandigarh hotel amid tight security cover provided by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The chief minister knows he does not have the majority. The Congress government and party leaders in Delhi have been forced to think. This government is the most unpopular and inexperienced till date and this situation has been created because of novices, the rebel Congress MLAs and the three independent legislators said in a joint statement on Saturday. If the chief minister has any integrity, he should step down and face the public. Central agencies should investigate and act against those talking about horse-trading, the statement added. Dharamshala MLA Sudhir Sharma was removed from the AICC secretary post on March 6, while Sujanpur legislator Rajinder Rana has resigned as state Congress working president. Though Sukhu has maintained that the doors of the party were open for the six MLAs, the rebels have accused the CM of harassment and pressuring them to return to the Congress. A lot of pressure is being put on us. Sometimes the chief minister sends his emissaries, even government officials, and at times our families are being pressurised. So, we thought of moving out of Chandigarh. We will chalk out the course of action after the hearing of our case is fixed in the Supreme Court, Sharma said. The rebel MLAs denied that they had been kidnapped. There has been no kidnapping and everyone is together voluntarily in the interest of the state and the nation, the statement said, demanding Sukhus resignation as CM. Read here: Himachal CM promises adequate relief package for families being displaced by Gaggal airport expansion The Congress has been trying to reach out to the rebels to set its house in order in Himachal Pradesh. States minister Vikramaditya Singh met the dissidents in Chandigarh twice. I have conveyed their grouse to the high command. The ball is in its court now, Vikramaditya, who had quit the Sukhu cabinet on February 29 only to backtrack hours later, said. Speaking to reporters in Palampur on Friday, Sukhu said: Through social media, I have come to know that the MLAs were removed from the hotel in Panchkula. A charter plane from Chandigarh flew as family members of the MLAs were putting pressure on them to return... Stating that none of the rebel MLAs were in touch with him, the chief minister added: What kind of democracy is this in which they have been kept under CRPF security? Is this how democracy will remain strong? Horse-trading weakens democracy. We have been serving people. None of the MLAs are in touch with me. Farmers are gearing up to participate in the proposed rail roko protest called for Sunday, March 10 in order to assert their demands to the Centre. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have called for a 'rail roko' protest on Sunday in support of their various demands. This protest will be observed for four hours, from 12 pm to 4 pm tomorrow. Farmers will stage a 'rail roko' protest on Sunday, March 10 (HT Photo) The rail roko agitation will see hundreds of farmers protest in 60 locations across Haryana and Punjab and is expected to cause some disruptions to the trains. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Read more: Police stop farmers in Hisar from marching towards Delhi In order to avoid major disturbances, authorities have imposed Section 144 in Haryana's Ambala district, and cops have been positioned in tense areas to prevent the matters from escalating. This comes after the Samyukta Kisan Morcha rejected the proposal put forth by the Centre to undertake guaranteed procurement of pulses (tur, urad and masoor), maize and cotton at a Minimum Support Price (MSP). Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, a day before the protest, urged the central government not to run from their responsibility of giving legal guarantee for MSP on all crops. Dallewal asserted that farmers must be given MSP on all crops for their survival under the "C2 plus 50 per cent" formula recommended by the Swaminathan Commission. The farmer leader also rejected the claims that MSP on all crops would require a huge outlay. Dallewal said the government is importing palm oil worth 1.38 lakh crore but it cannot spend on farmers by giving them MSP on all crops. Farmers' plan for rail roko protests Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that during the rail roko protests, hundreds of farmers will sit on railway tracks at several places in Punjab, including Ferozepur, Amritsar, Rupnagar, Gurdaspur districts. Farmer organisations that are a part of SKM - Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), Bharti Kisan Union (Dakaunda-Dhaner) and the Krantikari Kisan Union - will also be participating in the protest tomorrow. It is expected that inter-city and state train schedules will be disrupted because of the rail roko protest tomorrow. Last month, the train scheduling took a similar hit with multiple trains running on the Delhi-Amritsar route being delayed because of farmers holding at a sit-in at the tracks. (With inputs from PTI) The general elections in India are set to take place in April-May of this year, and the Election Commission of India is making preparations for the smooth conduct of the polling process. To ensure that artificial intelligence doesn't hamper the polling process, ECI officials recently conducting a meeting with the executives from OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT, The Hindu reported first. OpenAI executives meet with ECI officials (Pic for representation) ChatGPT-maker OpenAI prepared a presentation for the Election Commission of India for the meeting that took place last month. Executives of the company advised the ECI on how to steer clear of any misuse of AI during the polling process. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. During the meeting, OpenAI executives informed the polling body about steps to be taken by big tech companies and central bodies to make sure that the advancements in artificial intelligence are not misused during the high-stakes Lok Sabha elections. This comes as many global tech companies are putting up their defences to combat the misuse of artificial intelligence with as many as 25 countries holding their general elections this year, including India, US and UK. Companies like OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft and Google signed a pledge last month to fight AI content that can be deemed misleading during the polls. Notably, these are also the companies that have made the heftiest investments in artificial intelligence over the last few years, aiming for its quick advancement. Tech giants like OpenAI promised to make sure to counter harmful content during the polling season, such as watermarks on important documents that are undetected by the human eye but can be read by machines. The AI security deal was signed on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany last month, which was attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Some other companies that signed this deal were X, TikTok, Snap, Linkedin, Amazon and IBM. The Lok Sabha elections in India are set to be conducted in April-May of 2024, while the dates have not been announced yet. It is expected that the polling body will release the schedule for the elections later this month. Integrated tri-service exercise 'Bharat Shakti' is slated be held at Pokhran in Rajasthan on March 12 and it will showcase the "shock and awe" that the armed forces seek to achieve in an operational situation by employing manoeuvre and fighting capabilities effectively, a top army official said on Saturday. The K9 Vajra-T gun (File photo) Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the exercise. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. 'Bharat Shakti' will also demonstrate the prowess of indigenously manufactured defence equipment of the three services, Additional Director General, Army Design Bureau, Major General C S Mann told reporters here. ALSO READ| Defence minister Rajnath Singh's befitting reply warning if anyone attacks India The integrated tri-service firepower and manoeuvre exercise at Pokhran will be held for about 50 minutes, he said. "The exercise will showcase live integrated multi-domain operations of the three services in offensive operations using indigenous equipment," Major General Mann said. LCA Tejas, ALH Mk-IV, mobile anti-drone system, T90 tanks, Dhanush, K9 Vajra and Pinaka are among the platforms that will be demonstrated during Exercise Bharat Shakti, he said. "It will showcase the 'shock and awe' that the three services seek to achieve in an operational situation by employing manoeuvre and fighting capabilities effectively," Major General Mann said. ALSO READ| Mumbai slum dweller fights odds to become an army officer The live demonstration will be followed by a static equipment display. "Synergised joint operations will be decisive in the Indian context. Through live firepower and manoeuvre demonstration, it is endeavoured to showcase the tri-services operational capabilities to counter any threat leveraging indigenous capability and the ability to undertake conflicts in the face of global upheavals," he said. In a major jolt to the INDIA bloc in Madhya Pradesh, five Congress leaders, including former union minister Suresh Pachouri and ex-MP Gajendra Singh Rajukhedi, quit the party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday. Former MLAs Sanjay Shukla, Arjun Paliya, and Vishal Patel were among the leaders of the grand old party who also joined the ruling outfit. Big jolt to INDIA bloc, ex-union minister among 4 quit Congress, join BJP The five former Congress leaders joined the BJP in the presence of Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav, state BJP president V D Sharma, and former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the party's state headquarters. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. According to Pachouri, who was once close to the Gandhi family, the Congress has alienated itself from its principles and policies. "It has alienated itself from the public and is unable to establish a relationship," he said while addressing the media. Notably, Pachouri also served as a four-time Rajya Sabha member of the grand old party. Earlier, he also held several key positions in the Congress, including the post of the party's Madhya Pradesh unit president, and the state unit president of the Youth Congress. Welcoming the former union minister to the ruling party, state BJP chief VD Sharma said: Someone who does clean politics, who is considered a 'saint' in the politics of Madhya Pradesh has joined the BJP today. He has expressed confidence in them (party leaders). He has said that he wants to work for the country, without any conditions...He said that those who questioned the Army, who declined the invitation to the (Pran Pratishtha of) Ram Temple need to be given a reply to...I welcome him to the party. BJP hits out at Congress BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan blamed Congress' lack of leadership for the latest big-name exits ahead of the Lok Sabha election. It seems Rahul Gandhi will breathe easy only after finishing off the Congress. It will be in line with what Mahatma Gandhi suggested the Congress should do. All good leaders in Congress are fed up with the party's rudderless and directionless state. The Congress appears to be on the verge of extinction, he told the media. (With inputs from agencies) New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal addressed the assembly on Saturday amid the ongoing budget session and thanked finance minister Atishi for catering to all sectors and all sections of people. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal addressed the ongoing budget session in the assembly on Saturday (Twitter Photo) Delhi finance minister Atishi on March 4 presented a 76,000 crore budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 themed on the concept of Ram Rajya. In the budget, the Delhi government has announced Rs.1000 per month to all women above 18 in a bid to woo Delhis 6.7 million women voters. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Pitching the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a direct challenger to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Kejriwal said that the BJP and AAP came to power around the same time, but both governments showed different models of governance. The AAP model is that of Vikas (development) and their (BJPs) model is of Vinash (destruction), he said. The BJPs model of governance is of destruction themed on crushing the opposing political parties by using central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the AAP chief said. Kejriwal claimed that while the AAP and other parties work for the betterment of the people, the BJP always try and stop the opposition governments. They are stamping out of opposition parties and involved in toppling of governments, he alleged. Also Read: No one will stop Punjabs funds if AAP has 30-40 MPs: Mann He alleged that they are buying MLAs by paying huge money. Rs.25 crore to each MLA in Goa, MP, Arunachal Pradesh and now they are going to topple Himachal Pradesh government. Their strategy is to put the entire opposition in jail. Accusing the BJP-led central government of misusing federal investigation agencies, Kejriwal said that if Lord Shri Ram had been around, the BJP would have sent the CBI and ED to him as well. On the BJPs claim that they are targeting 370 seats in Lok Sabha, Kejriwal said that the BJP does not need the support of the countrys 1.4 billion people. They are going to win 370 because there will be no one in opposition. Hitler had done the same thing. He did it in three months, they took 10 years. They are destroying democracy. It is the betrayal of the country and amounts to sedition, Kejriwal said. Earlier in February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed confidence that the National Democratic Alliance will get more than 400 seats, with the BJP winning at least 370 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. Kejriwal on Monday skipped the eighth summons to appear before the ED for questioning in connection with alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped 2021-22 Delhi excise policy case even as wrote to the federal agency expressing his willingness to appear before it via video conferencing after March 12. Former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and AAP leader Sanjay Singh are already lodged in jail in connection with the excise case. Also Read: Arvind Kejriwal at core of AAP campaign for upcoming Lok Sabha polls They have sent me eight summons and are going to send the ninth as if Arvind Kejriwal is the biggest terrorist in the country. The more summons you send, the more schools I will construct. In response to eight summons I will construct eight new schools, Kejriwal said. AAP MLAs and ministers who participated in the discussions hailed the budget. Kejriwal further appealed to the people to vote for the AAP model in the upcoming polls. Meanwhile, the budget session of the Delhi assembly was adjourned till March 15. AAP chief whip in the assembly Dilip Pandey said the session has been extended to discuss the issues and complaints related to the Delhi Jal Board. Leader of the opposition in Delhi assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri hit out at Kejriwal over ED summons. Arvind Kejriwal has been making all efforts to avoid the summons of the ED because he is involved in the excise scam. If he has not done any scam, then why is he afraid of appearing before the ED and why is he trying to avoid the questioning? Bidhuri said. From the day the AAP government implemented the excise policy in October 2021, I have been saying that rules were violated and irregularities were committed by them. Kejriwal should stop misleading the people on the excise issue, and appear before the ED, said Bidhuri. Budhuri, who has been fielded as the BJP candidate from the South Delhi Lok Sabha seat for the upcoming parliamentary elections, said the AAP budget is a bundle of lies and mere jugglery of numbers. He also alleged that BJP MLAs were not allowed to speak on any matter in the House. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday announced forging of an electoral alliance with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) led by former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, paving the way for the TDPs entry into the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) after a gap of six years. TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu with Union home minister Amit Shah. (File Photo) The announcement was made after hectic deliberations between the BJP national leaders including Union home minister Amit Shah and party president J P Nadda with Naidu for the last two days. Another regional outfit, Jana Sena Party headed by popular actor Pawan Kalyan, which is already a part of the NDA and has entered into an alliance with the TDP recently, will also be a part of the team. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. A statement issued by the BJP, in association with the TDP and the Jana Sena Party on Saturday evening said the three parties had decided to contest the ensuing Lok Sabha and Assembly elections together in Andhra Pradesh. Under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the three parties are committed for the progress of the country and the upliftment of the state and people of Andhra Pradesh, the joint statement said. Stating that the Prime Minister has been working tirelessly for the development and progress of the nation for the last 10 years, the statement said the coming together of the BJP, TDP and Jana Sena Party would help in reaching the aspirations of the people of Andhra Pradesh. It said the BJP and the TDP had a very old relationship together. The TDP joined the NDA in 1996 and worked together successfully in Atal Jis and Narendra Modi Ji government. In 2014, the TDP and the BJP fought the Lok Sabha election and assembly election together. The Jana Sena Party had supported the 2014 general and assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, the statement said. It added that the modalities of seat sharing would be deliberated within a day or two. We hope that the alliance will come up to the expectations of people of Andhra Pradesh with their wholehearted support of people at large, the statement said. Soon after coming out of the talks with Shah at his residence in the afternoon, Naidu held a teleconference with senior TDP leaders and explained to them the gist of the talks. We are joining the NDA and have signed an agreement with the BJP on seat sharing in the state, a senior party leader who took part in the teleconference, quoted Naidu as saying. The TDP chief invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address a joint election rally proposed to be held by the TDP and the Jana Sena Party at Chilakaluripet in Guntur district on March 17, where Naidu will be formally announcing his partys return to the NDA fold. This is going to be the first joint rally of the NDA partners in Andhra Pradesh for the ensuing elections. Naidu told us that if Modi doesnt find time to attend the Chilakaluripet rally, it can be postponed to a later date to suit the Prime Ministers time, the party leader quoted above said. According to this leader, the BJP had asked for eight Lok Sabha seats and about 14 assembly seats from the TDP as part of the negotiations, but Naidu had done a hard bargain. Finally, the BJP accepted the offer made by Naidu to part with five Lok Sabha seats and six assembly seats. Maybe, the TDP might have to concede a couple of more assembly seats, if there is intense pressure from the local BJP leaders, he said. There are, however, still some hiccups in the identification of the seats to be contested by the BJP and they would be resolved in a day or two, the party leader said. There are in all 175 assembly seats and 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh. The TDP has already allocated 24 assembly and three Lok Sabha seats to Jana Sena Party. Naidu told the party leaders that the announcement of candidates for the remaining seats, after leaving the seats allotted to the BJP and Jana Sena Party, would be done by Monday. He asked the party top leaders to talk to disgruntled ticket aspirants and convince them about the compulsions the party has in forging an alliance with the Jana Sena and the BJP. Reacting to the formation of NDA alliance in Andhra Pradesh, Naidus son and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh said the historic alliance would bring Andhra Pradesh back on the growth track. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Nara Lokesh said the alliance marked a significant moment for Andhra Pradesh, which has endured its darkest phase in history over the last five years. History will regard this alliance as a turning point, a necessity that positively transformed the state and the lives of the people of Andhra Pradesh, he said. YSRCP leader and party candidate for Vijayawada Lok Sabha seat Kesineni Nani lashed out at the TDP chief for surrendering the self-respect of the Telugus in New Delhi by joining hands with the BJP. Not long ago, Naidu made personal attacks on Modi, saying the latter had no respect for family values. He said he was proud of being the husband of Bhuvaneshwari, father of Lokesh and grandfather of Devansh. He asked what Modi was proud of. Forgetting all his comments, he has now surrendered to the BJP, he said. The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday sealed its alliance with the Telugu Desam Party and Jana Sena Party in Andhra Pradesh after days of speculations. TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu confirmed the same during a media interaction, asserting that the alliance will have a clean sweep in Andhra Pradesh during the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda in Delhi on Thursday.(ANI) BJP, TDP, Jana Sena have come to understanding for alliance in polls, N Chandrababu Naidu said, reported PTI. Hours after finalising the alliance, the parties also put out a joint statement. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. The BJP-TDP-Jana Sena alliance has been finalised for both the Andhra Pradesh elections and the Lok Sabha polls, which are expected to take place simultaneously. The former Andhra chief minister told PTI, Andhra Pradesh has been destroyed badly. The BJP and the TDP coming together is a win-win situation for the country and the state. While announcing the alliance, he also lauded the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and expressed confidence for the upcoming polls. The alliance will sweep the polls in Andhra Pradesh, he asserted, lashing out at the YSR Congress, which is in power in the southern state. The three parties sealed their alliance following a second round of talks involving their senior leaders on Saturday, sources said. Sources cited by PTI said that the BJP and Jana Sena will together contest around 8 and 30 Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh. Meanwhile, Naidu's TDP will contest the remaining 17 Lok Sabha and 145 Assembly seats. The deal between Chandrababu Naidu's party and BJP was sealed during the second round of talks between the two parties which included the TDP chief, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J P Nadda and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan. A deal was hammered out between all the parties after intense negotiations of seat sharing for both Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. BJP wanted to contest 10 seats in the Lok Sabha polls, but TDP asserted that it is the primary opposition party in the state. (With inputs from PTI) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal attacked the NDA-led central government on Saturday, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to topple the governments of its opposition in by using Vinash (destruction) Ka Model, as opposed to AAP government's vikas model. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal(ANI) While speaking in the Delhi assembly over the 2024-25 Delhi budget presented in the House, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal asserted confidence that the AAP-Congress alliance will win all the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi in the upcoming general elections. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Attacking the saffron party over his ED summons, Kejriwal said, "If Lord Ram existed in this era, they (BJP) would send the ED and the CBI to his home too and ask him at gunpoint whether he wanted to go to the BJP or jail." After being summoned by the Enforcement Directorate eight times over the Delhi liquor policy case, the Delhi CM said that the plan to arrest him and topple his government was hatched by the BJP to send him to jail. Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, in a statement, condemned the chief minister's remarks about Lord Ram. He urged Kejriwal to refrain from making such "trivializing comments" that reflected poorly on his own devotion and faith towards Lord Ram. Arvind Kejriwal on ED summons Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the eight ED summons sent to him were in accordance with a plan hatched by the BJP to topple his government. He said that it was BJP's plan to stop the free electricity scheme and then degrade the good schools, shut down Mohalla Clinics and hospitals in Delhi. Lashing out at the BJP, Kejriwal said that the party came to power at the Centre with a massive mandate in May 2014 but pursued a model of 'vinash' by targeting the opposition parties using the ED and the CBI against them. He added, We improved education and health services, provided free round-the-clock electricity supply, free water supply, sent elderly on free pilgrimages, helped children from poor families to dream of becoming doctors and engineers. This is the Aam Aadmi Party's model of 'vikas'. Lauding the Delhi Budget 2024-25 presented by Finance Minister Atishi this week, the Delhi CM said, After tabling of this budget, public is now saying that we will have all the seven seats in Delhi. (With inputs from PTI) Suspense continued over an alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly polls, amid speculation that seat-sharing talks may have hit some last-minute hurdles. As the BJP state unit maintained its posture of going solo in the polls, a short clip of BJD chief Naveen Patnaik terming rumours and lies as the worst thing in politics added to the confusion. File photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik. (ANI) On Friday evening, state BJP president Manmohan Samal following his return from Delhi said there was no discussion with partys central leadership about the alliance. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Read here: BJP, BJD Odisha alliance talks stalemate shows no sign of ending, parties set to go separate ways for LS elections We had gone to Delhi to hold discussions with the central leaders on our preparations for the elections to Lok Sabha and the assembly in the state. There were no talks on alliance or seat-sharing with any party during the meeting, Samal said. We are confident of winning the assembly as well as Lok Sabha elections. The BJP will contest on its own strength in the state. On Saturday, partys election in-charge Vijaypal Singh Tomar made a similar remark. We will win more than 80 MLA and 16 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha. There was no discussion in the BJP about an alliance with BJD. People should ask the people who floated the idea of an alliance. We are preparing to fight on all 147 seats in Odisha, Tomar said. Partys Bhubaneswar lawmaker Aparajita Sarangi also posted the news reports of Samals denial of an alliance with the BJD on her Facebook page, mirroring the pushback from leaders like herself as well as party cadres against the pact. On Saturday evening, the BJD released a short video of a conversation between chief minister Naveen Patnaik and his trusted aide VK Pandian. In the video shared on X handles of few BJD leaders, Pandian is seen asking Patnaik about the worst thing in politics, to which the latter responds as saying: Spreading rumour and lies. All these added to speculation that the pre-poll alliance talks may have hit a rocky patch, even as people aware of the matter in both parties indicated top leadership of both parties were largely in agreement of a pact, albeit some last-minute hurdles over the number of seats and the choice of constituencies each party would contest, especially prestigious Bhubaneswar and Puri Lok Sabha seats. CM Patnaik had rushed Pandian and party organisational secretary Pranab Prakash Das to New Delhi on a private jet on March 7 to meet Union home minister Amit Shah and railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in order to resolve the stalemate. The two returned to Bhubaneswar on Friday. People aware of the matter said the BJDs insistence on getting Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat, which is currently represented by the BJP, has thrown spanner in the talks. In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won the Lok Sabha seat in the state capital for the first time with bureaucrat-turned-politician Aparajita Sarangi acing BJDs Arup Patnaik, the former Mumbai police commissioner. Though the BJD won 12 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state, the loss in Bhubaneswar was blow for CM Naveen Patnaik, who saw it as a personal loss. With Sarangi touring the constituency over the last five years through various campaigns, the BJP is confident of retaining the seat in the general elections this summer as well. What is the point of leaving the most prestigious seat to BJD knowing well that we have upper hand there, a senior BJP functionary in the state said, declining to be named. Similarly, both the parties have locked their horns over Puri the religious capital of Odisha and home to famous Jagannath temple. In 2019, BJPs Sambit Patra lost to Pinaki Misra of the BJD by less than 12,000 votes. Despite the loss, Patra has been frequently visiting the constituency over the last five years. Read here: AAP jumps in to Odisha opposition fray amid BJP-BJD seat-sharing deals For the BJD and specially Naveen Patnaik, Puri remains key to their larger plan and the state government recently executed the 943-crore Srimandir Parikrama Prakalpa, the beautification project of the perimeter of the iconic Jagannath temple with a myriad of facilities to make it a divine experience for the visiting devotees. As Lord Jagannath is the greatest identity of Odia community and the states history, culture, tradition and belief system are all centred around the deity, Patnaik has expended lot of his effort on the project to carry him through the election in a state steeped in religion. A BJD functionary requesting anonymity, however, said the party may cede the Puri seat to the BJP it is unlikely to compromise on Bhubaneswar. The Centre declined the request of Kerala government to borrow an additional 19,370 crore in the current fiscal year in the discussions held with Union finance ministry officials in New Delhi on Friday, the states chief secretary V Venu said. The court had asked the union government to have a meaningful dialogue with the state government as it is an integral part of the Union. (HT PHOTO) Officials from Kerala led by the chief secretary had met Union finance ministry officials in Delhi following the directions of the Supreme Court which advised both sides on March 6 to meet again and find a solution to the issue of the states financial dues. Kerala had petitioned the top court against the cap imposed by the Centre on the borrowing limit of the state. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. We had communicated both to the Centre and the Supreme Court about the unused fiscal space eligible to the state within its borrowing limit. In the talks we had today, we tried to seek a possible temporary arrangement. The Centre has taken the stand that it (such an arrangement) is not possible. They said they cannot agree to our request of an additional 19,370 crore over and above the 13,608 crore (eligible to us), Venu told reporters. The chief secretary said Kerala will go back to the top court and apprise it of the status of the talks with the Centre. We will try to get a judgment from the court, he said. The Centre has told the top court that it will allow the state to borrow 13,608 crore for the time being which the state has agreed. The court had asked the union government to have a meaningful dialogue with the state government as it is an integral part of the union. It also told the Centre not to put the withdrawal of the suit filed by Kerala as a precondition for allowing additional borrowing. The Madhya Pradesh unit of the Congress on Saturday raised questions over the fire that broke out in the state secretariat building in Bhopal. Security personnel approach to Madhya Pradesh Secretariat where a fire broke out in Bhopal on March 9, 2024.(PTI) Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitendra Patwari told ANI that fire has been reported four times in Vallabh Bhawan (secretariat building), Satpura Bhawan and other ministries. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Earlier, four times fire broke out, in Vallabh Bhawan, Satpura Bhawan and other ministries, what was the reason? Who is guilty? What is the scale of destruction? the MP Congress chief told the news agency. He added: Nothing came out, no data...In India, why often do fires break out in Madhya Pradesh's ministries only? Another Congress leader Umang Singhar alleged that there exists a feud between Mohan Yadav and former CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan. Shivraj Singh Chauhan is burning the files of his scams in Vallabh Bhawan so that Mohan Yadav is not able to investigate any case! he wrote on X. The BJP government is causing loss to lakhs of people of the state in its infighting. MP secretariat building fire The fire broke out on the third floor of the Madhya Pradesh state secretariat building in Bhopal on Saturday morning. No one was injured in the incident. According to PTI, some sanitation workers noticed smoke at the secretariat building around 9.30 am, following which the fire brigade was alerted. Bhopal Municipal Corporation's Fire Officer Rameshwar Neel told the news agency that 15 to 20 fire tenders were pressed into service. Also Read | Big jolt to Congress as senior Madhya Pradesh leaders join BJP "Firefighters have brought the blaze under control, and further work is on. Now, only smoke is emanating from the third floor where documents are kept," Bhopal Municipal Corporation's Fire Officer Rameshwar Neel said. Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav said he has directed the officials to take necessary steps to prevent such incidents. "I was in Bhopal, and I came to know that a fire broke out on the third floor of the old building of Vallabh Bhavan. I sought information from the collector and asked the chief secretary to monitor the situation," Yadav said, according to PTI. "A directive has been issued to prevent such incidents and ensure that no papers and no important files are destroyed. I hope that such incidents don't recur," he added. Opposition parties on Saturday expressed concern over the surprise resignation of Arun Goel as election commissioner just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, KC Venugopal and Ajay Maken during a press conference in New Delhi on February 22.(Sanchit Khanna/ Hindustan Times) Goel's resignation was accepted by President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday, the law ministry said in a gazette notification. With Goel's resignation, the Election Commission is now headed only by the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and no election commissioners. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Congress general secretary KC Venugopal described Goel's resignation on the cusp of the Lok Sabha elections as deeply concerning. He alleged that there is absolutely no transparency in how a constitutional institution like the Election Commission has been functioning It is deeply concerning for the health of the worlds largest democracy that Election Commissioner Mr. Arun Goel has resigned on the cusp of the Lok Sabha elections, Venugopal wrote on X. There is absolutely no transparency in how a constitutional institution like the ECI has been functioning and the manner in which the government pressurises them. Venugopal said that during 2019 elections, Ashok Lavasa (former election commissioner) had dissented against a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for violating the Model Code of Conduct. Later, he (Lavasa) faced relentless inquiries. This attitude shows the regime is hellbent on destroying democratic traditions, he said. The Congress leader added: This (Goel's resignation) must be explained, and the ECI must be completely non-partisan at all times. Trinamool MP Saket Gokhale described Goel's resignation as very very concerning "Modi Govt has introduced a new law where Election Commissioners will now be appointed with a majority vote of PM Modi & 1 Minister chosen by him. Ergo, before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Modi will now appoint 2 out of the 3 Election Commissioners after todays resignation. This is VERY VERY concerning," Saket posted on X. Who is Arun Goel? A 1985 batch IAS officer, Arun Goel previously served as secretary in the ministry of heavy industry. Goel took over the charge of the election commissioner on November 21, 2022. A day prior to that, he took voluntary retirement. He also served as vice-chairman, Delhi Development Authority; Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor, Ministry of Labour and Employment; Joint Secretary, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance. Arun Goel was in line to become the next chief election commissioner after Rajiv Kumars tenure ends in February 2025. According to the law, the election commissioner or CEC post can be held for up to six years or till attaining the age of 65. Election Commissioner Arun Goel resigned just ahead of the Lok Sabha election 2024 and President Droupadi Murmu accepted his resignation on Saturday. The Election Commission is now headed only by the Chief Election Commissioner (Rajiv Kumar) and no election commissioners. "In pursuance of clause (1) of Section 11 of The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, the President is pleased to accept the resignation tendered by Shri Arun Goel, Election Commissioner with effect from the 09th March, 2024," the gazette notification issued on Saturday read. Election Commissioner Arun Goel's resignation comes amid the Commission's peak preparation for the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Arun Goel took over the charge of the election commissioner on November 21, 2022. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. A 1985 batch IAS officer, Arun Goel previously served as the secretary, ministry of heavy industry, Govt of India. The reason for Arun Goel's resignation is not yet known. Arun Goel's resignation came amid the peak of Lok Sabha election preparation by the Election Commission. The dates of the elections are not yet announced though teams have been visiting states to check the preparedness for the election likely to be held in April-May. On Friday, the Election Commission held a security meeting with the Union home ministry and the railways officials for the deployment and movement of security personnel across the country. Apart from the high-stakes Lok Sabha election, the Commission will also have to conduct the state elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim, Maharashtra and Arunachal Pradesh. In 2019, Lok Sabha polls were announced on March 10 and were held in seven phases beginning April 11. Votes were counted on May 23. This must be explained: Congress Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said there is no transparency in how the Election Commission has been functioning. It is deeply concerning for the health of the worlds largest democracy that Election Commissioner Mr. Arun Goel has resigned on the cusp of the Lok Sabha elections...During the 2019 elections, Mr. Ashok Lavasa had dissented against a clean chit to the PM for violating the Model Code of Conduct. Later, he faced relentless inquiries. This attitude shows the regime is hellbent on destroying democratic traditions. This must be explained, and the ECI must be completely non-partisan at all times," Venugopal said. Very very concerning: Trinamool MP reacts Trinamool MP Saket Gokhale said this is very very concerning because the post of the other election commissioner is already vacant and the Election Commission now only has the Chief Election Commissioner. "Modi Govt has introduced a new law where Election Commissioners will now be appointed with a majority vote of PM Modi & 1 Minister chosen by him. Ergo, before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Modi will now appoint 2 out of the 3 Election Commissioners after todays resignation. This is VERY VERY concerning," Saket posted on X. A warm send-off was given to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at Palam airport when they left Delhi for Teheran on March 2, 1961 after a three-week tour of India. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and his daughter, Indira Gandhi, receive Queen Elizabeth II at the Palam Airport on March 2, 1961. (HT Archive) The Queen arrived at Palam accompanied by President Rajendra Prasad and Prince Philip with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The Vice-President, Cabinet ministers, Commonwealth high commissioners and some senior officials waited for them under one shamiana, while under two other shamianas sat members of the diplomatic corps, MPs and others. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Before bidding goodbye to her hosts Queen Elizabeth inspected a guard of honour. A contingent of the 39th Gorkha Regiment provided a band. A 21-gun salute went off as the Queen stepped on to the gangway. Earlier, the Queen and Prince Philip went round shaking hands with those assembled. The Queen received bouquets from schoolchildren gathered at the airport. In a farewell broadcast at the end of her three-week tour of the country Queen Elizabeth said that her visit and the great welcome accorded to her had set the seal on the new relationship between India and Britain and on the abiding friendship between the two peoples. The Queen declared that her tour had shown her that the new Commonwealth established in 1947 is firmly based in the hearts and minds of the people as a means of co-operation for the peace and progress of mankind. Stressing the role of younger people, she expressed the hope that she would see an even wider and deeper friendship developing between the youth of the Commonwealth countries so that their great and varied talents might be shared to their mutual advantage as well as that of the world. All over the world there is so much to be done for the less fortunate, and it is upon the young generation in every country that a tremendous responsibility will fall in days to come, she said. Message To President The royal couple waved a final goodbye before entering the blue and white Britannia. Even after the plane door was finally shut and the engines were started, the Queen in a dress of bright yellow silk, could be seen waving from one of the windows. Soon after the royal aircraft took off, the following message was received from the Queen for the President: On our departure, my husband and I wish to thank you and the people of India once again for the truly wonderful welcome which you have given us. We take back with us the most vivid memories of your friendship, kindness and hospitality. We wish you every success in years ahead. Earlier, before bidding the President good-bye, the Queen referred to her Indian tour as an unforgettable experience. Last evening, the Queen and Prince Philip along with Nehru, spent quite 20 minutes looking at an album of 200 photographs of their tour. An hour-long coloured documentary film of the Queens tour made by the Films Division of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is being flown to London to be presented to the Queen at Buckingham Palace on March 8. The Queens leave-taking in Delhi was not confined to dignitaries. On the eve of their departure, the royal couple found time to individually thank a number of officials, including press liaison staff connected with their tour. Besides signed photographs, they gave souvenirs bearing the Queens crest The presents to officials included leather wallets, wrist watches, silver ash trays and cuff links. The Queen and the Duke asked officials what they felt about the tour. Was it tiring? inquired the Prince. No, exciting, answered an official. During the three weeks of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philips stay in India nearly 850,000 words were transmitted by the P and T Department on behalf of press correspondents covering the royal tour. For, the first time mobile teleprinter vans were introduced in Bombay and Calcutta. After the special plane took off from Palam this morning, carrying the royal guests. Prime Minister Nehru was asked by newsmen what he thought of the Queens visit. Nehru said he was in a hurry as he would have to answer questions in Parliament, but added: We enjoyed the visit and we hope she also enjoyed it. Judging by the spontaneous welcome Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh received from hundreds of thousands of people in each of the cities and towns they visited, Nehrus view is undoubtedly shared by many. Rishikesh: Eleven MLAs, including six Himachal Pradesh Congress rebels, arrived in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand on Saturday, signaling that the infighting in the party is far from over. Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu meets State Public Works Department Minister Vikramaditya Singh, in Shimla on Thursday. (ANI Photo) A bus with Haryana's number plate arrived in Rishikesh's Taj Hotel on Saturday morning, reported ANI. 11 MLAs, including six rebels and three independent MLAs, disembarked from the heavily guarded bus. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. The development comes two days after chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu visited Delhi after being summoned by the Congress top brass. According to reports, he went to the national capital to present a report on the political situation and hold discussions on the Lok Sabha elections. Asked if he would take the six rebels back, Sukhu said on Thursday: If one realises one's fault then that person deserves another chance. Also read: Summoned by Congress high command, Sukhu rushes to Delhi Earlier, Himachal minister Vikramaditya Singh said he had played the role of a mediator between the Congress high command and the rebels, and that the ball was in the court of the national leadership. Last month, the six rebels and three independents voted in favour of the BJP in the Rajya Sabha elections, resulting in an embarrassing loss to Congress candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi. The six MLAs Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma and Devinder Kumar Bhutto were later disqualified. The rebels have moved the Supreme Court against the Speaker's move. Also read: Himachal Pradesh crisis: CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's first reaction amid reports of his resignation Why was Sukhu summoned? The Congress top brass had sent Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel to help the party tide over the crisis. The observers were to submit a report of their findings to the Congress leadership. Party insiders told HT that a recent report submitted to the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge cast aspersions over the chief ministers political acumen, highlighting his failure to handle the crisis. On February, BJP's Harsh Mahajan won the election despite the Congress having the major. The Congress had said it would fix accountability as to why the cross-voting was allowed to take place. Border guards of both India and Bangladesh will coordinate their night patrols around villages along the international boundary and engage more with villagers to reduce smuggling, human trafficking and attacks on security personnel by transborder criminals, officials aware of the development said on Saturday. Meeting between the chiefs of the border security forces in India and Bangladesh are held twice a year, once in each country. (PTI) Read here: India proud to have been friend, partner in Liberation War of Bangladesh: President Murmu Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. A nine-member team lead by Nitin Agarwal, director general of the Border Security Force, had met with top officials of the Border Guards Bangladesh in capital Dhaka on March 5-9 to work out the modalities. Agarwal held talks with Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, the new chief of the border guards in that country who was appointed as director general on February 5. Highlighting the importance of Coordinated Border Management Plan in curbing transborder crimes, human trafficking and illegal crossing, both sides agreed to pursue and share real-time information and investigation reports of traffickers, A BSF spokesperson said in New Delhi on Saturday. Both sides also assured to remain extra vigilant to curb such crimes and put all out efforts to make the India-Bangladesh border crime-free. Both sides also agreed to aid victims of human trafficking and to facilitate their rescue and rehabilitation as soon as possible as per law of the land. Meeting between the chiefs of the border security forces in India and Bangladesh are held twice a year, once in each country. Cattle and drugs smuggling are the most common crimes at the India-Bangladesh frontier. In many cases, BSF personnel are attacked by villagers of border villagers in Bangladesh when the forces prevent them from smuggling contraband into India. Border guards have seized items worth 12,120 crore since 2020 from Indias borders with Bangladesh and Pakistan, of which nearly 70% was seized from the India- Bangladesh border, official data show. Along the 4096km border, the force seized at least 16,788 cattle in the past three years. India has borders with Bangladesh in states that include West Bengal, Mizoram, Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura. Read here: 4 children buried alive in a trench along Indo-Bangladesh border in North Bengal Apart from dealing with transborder criminals, the two forces also agreed on construction work at the border. After discussing all the developmental work within 150 yards of international border, both sides agreed to share approved design of competent authority and go ahead with six developmental work on the Indian side and six developmental work on the Bangladesh side, the spokesperson said. Apart from above mentioned work, as a goodwill gesture, BSF agreed to a BGB proposal of construction for preserving 18 graves of martyred freedom fighters at Tamabil and Sylhet (both in Bangladesh). Indias import and consumption of urea, a key crop nutrient, has declined for the first time in decades on the back of higher domestic production of nano urea, a liquid form of the chemical, as well as a move towards eco-friendly alternatives by farmers, official data show. The consumption of conventional urea has gone down in 344 districts of the country, official data show, which has helped paring costly imports. (HT Archive) Read here: Spraying of nano urea using drones helpful for farmers: Agri officials Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Total imports of urea, which are regulated by the government, stood at 6.4 million tonne in the first 10 months of the ongoing fiscal year, compared to 7.3 million tonne in the corresponding period a year ago, a fall of 12%. Imports had peaked to 9.8 million tonne during 2020-21. Domestic consumption of urea until January 31 of the year to March also dropped 0.3% to 3.17 million tonnes from 3.18 million tonne a year ago. However, the sale of all fertilizers put together has inched up by 2.9% to 53.9 million from 52.4 million tonne, mainly sales of complex and di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) group of fertilizers rose. The government has set 2025-26 as the deadline by which it hopes to achieve self-sufficiency in urea by ramping up local output of nano urea. The liquid form is said to be more efficient than conventional urea. Crop nutrients are sold by manufacturers at a discount to millions of farmers, who are then reimbursed by the Centre. As part of a broader policy push to limit fertilizer subsidies and promote natural and organic farming, the government has been running PM-Pranam, a scheme announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her 2023-24 budget speech. Food and fertiliser subsidies accounted for about one-eighth of Indias total budget worth nearly 39 lakh crore in 2022-23. India, the worlds third-largest fertilizer buyer, relies on imports to meet domestic demand. Under PM-Pranam, 50% of fertilizer subsidies saved by a state is given back to it as a grant, which states can put to any use, such as building infrastructure, an official said. In other words, if a state saves 3,000 crore, then it will get back 1,500 crore, he said, declining to be named. The consumption of conventional urea has gone down in 344 districts of the country, official data show, which has helped paring costly imports. Sales of locally produced nano urea have increased in 74 districts. Indias consumption of conventional urea is estimated to decline by 2.5 million tonne in 2023-24 due to an increase in the demand of nano urea and the governments efforts to curb use of agricultural chemicals through natural farming, fertilizer minister Mansukh Mandaviya said last week. Total urea consumption during 2022-23 year was nearly 35.7 million tonne. Read here: Nano urea to be sprayed in fields through drone, registration required on portal The countrys food security is closely linked to availability of fertilizers, whose prices hit a multi-year peak in 2022 due to the Ukraine conflict and knock-on effects of the pandemic on supply chains. The governments spending on crop nutrient subsidies for 2022-23 leapt to a record 2.25 lakh crore. For the current fiscal year, the budgeted fertilizer subsidy is 1.75 lakh crore, which has been increased to 1.89 lakh crore in revised estimates of 2023-24. Kamal Haasan on Saturday announced that his party Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) will ally with MK Stalin-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and extend full support for the Lok Sabha elections. DMK allots one seat to Kamal Hassan's MNM for Rajya Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu.(PTI) Joined the DMK-led alliance for the sake of the country, not with any consideration for the post, MNM founder Kamal Haasan said in Chennai. The DMK has allotted one seat to MNM for the 2025 Rajya Sabha elections. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. The agreement was finalised at the DMK headquarters, Anna Arivalayam, with Haasan and DMK chief minister M.K. Stalin. ALSO READ- MK Stalin's minister accepts 'small mistake' called out by PM Narendra Modi Haasan's MNM to support alliance in Lok Sabha polls MNM pledged "full support" to the alliance and will actively contribute to campaign efforts in the 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and the solitary Puducherry segment, as per the agreement between the two leaders. ALSO READ- DMK and Cong trying to divide country: PM in TN Haasan gave hints long back Kamal Haasan had defended Udhayanidhi Stalin over the 'Sanatana Dharma' controversy, saying" a young child (Udhayanidhi) was being targeted just because he spoke about Sanatana". Haasan was seen accompanying Congress MP Rahul Gandhi during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Tamil Nadu in December 2022. Despite facing losses in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and the 2021 Assembly polls, the MNM extended support to the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance candidate in the Erode by-polls. The actor-politician had founded MNM in 2018. ALSO READ- BJP slams DMK MP A Raja for India not a nation remarks As the Lok Sabha elections draw near, the DMK and its ruling ally, the Congress, are likely to finalise their seat-sharing deal by Sunday, as per DMK sources, reported PTI. Negotiations on the seat agreement are currently underway and are expected to conclude over the weekend. What happened in the 2019 general elections? In the 2019 general elections, both parties agreed on seat-sharing, resulting in a sweeping victory by securing 38 of the 39 Lok Sabha seats, with the Congress winning 8 out of the 9 contested. In a repeat of their seat-sharing formula of 2019, the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu allotted 9 seats in the state and one in neighbouring Puducherry to the Congress for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Lok Sabha polls: DMK finalises seat-sharing pact with Congress, allots 9 seats in Tamil Nadu(ANI) DMK president and chief minister MK Stalin and TNCC chief K Selvaperunthagai finalised the deal, in the presence of AICC leaders KC Venugopal and Ajoy Kumar. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Congress will contest elections on 9 seats in Tamil Nadu and one seat in Puducherry. On the remaining seats, we will support the candidates of DMK and alliance parties. We will win all 40 seats of Tamil Nadu, Venugopal told media persons. Venugopal also exuded confidence that the Congress and DMK alliance will win all 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. We are confident that INDIA Alliance will win all 40 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. They (NDA) can make the perception that they are winning but INDIA Alliance will be ruling the country after this election, the Congress leader was quoted as saying by PTI. He also said that the 'bonding' between the Congress and the DMK "is intact." The Congress is the DMKs principal ally in the Secular Progressive Alliance in Tamil Nadu. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu, the Congress contested nine out of a total of 39 parliamentary seats, besides the lone seat in Puducherry. It won eight seats in the polls in Tamil Nadu. The DMK contested 20 seats and won all of them that year. In the 2021 assembly elections, the DMK contested 188 out of 234 seats and won 133. The Congress was given 25 seats; it won 18 seats. A young boy named Umesh Keelu who grew up in Mumbai's Dharavi slum has overcome hardships to become a commissioned officer in the Indian Army. Lieutenant Keelu's passing out parade was held in Officers Training Academy in Chennai on Saturday. Umesh Keelu was born and raised in the Sion Koliwada slum in Mumbai. He used to live with his family in a 10 feet by 5 feet house PRO Defence Mumbai hailed the success of Lieutenant Keelu on X(formerly Twitter) and shared a video of him from the parade. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. "Meet Lieutenant Umesh Keelu as he becomes an officer in the #IndianArmy today. Growing up in a tough neighborhood of #Dharavi Mumbai, the officer has overcome many challenges & is all set to #ServeTheNation," posted PRO Defence Mumbai. ALSO READ| Trio booked for duping retired army jawan of 22 lakh Lieutenant Umesh Keelu's inspiring story Umesh Keelu was born and raised in the Sion Koliwada slum in Mumbai. He used to live with his family in a 10 feet by 5 feet house. Keelus father, the family's lone breadwinner, worked as a painter to support the family. In 2013, his father suffered an acute stroke, which left him paralysed and aggravated the family's bad financial condition. Over the years, Umesh made a total of 12 attempts to clear the Services Selection Board (SSB) and join the prestigious academy. As soon as he joined the academy, his ailing father passed away. He went to Mumbai to perform the last rites and returned to the academy. Once back at the academy, he got into the grind, toiled hard to fulfill his parents dreams and has now become a commissioned officer in the Indian Army, an official told news agency PTI. ALSO READ| Army JCO abducted by armed men from Thoubal in Manipur; rescued Keelu's educational background and struggle Despite financial hardships and other challenges, Keelu earned a Bachelors of Science (BSc) degree in IT and Masters degree in computer science. During his academic pursuits, he also served in the NCC Air Wing and earned a 'C' certificate. To support himself and family, he took up a part-time job at a cyber cafe and worked as a computer operator. With his efforts, Keelu landed a job with Tata Consultancy Services in the core IT services sector and began supporting his family with his regular income. As the salary was insufficient to meet the family's needs and his father's treatment, he took up a gig with British Council during the weekends. Simultaneously, Keelu started preparing for competitive exams as he wanted to fulfill his parents' dream of seeing him don the uniform. He believed that a career in the armed forces would be the best opportunity to attain holistic development from opportunities to play and excel at various sports, pursue higher studies, and travel the length and breadth of India. Mutual fraternity is necessary to maintain equality in the country, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud said on Saturday. Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice Dhanajaya Y Chandrachud addresses the 'Our Constitution Our Constitution' program organised at Maharaja Ganga Singh University, in Bikaner on Saturday. (ANI) Speaking at the Hamara Samvidhan Hamara Samman campaign at Maharaja Ganga Singh University in Rajasthans Bikaner district, the CJI asked how will the country progress if people fight with each other. We should have respect for each other in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution, he said. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Read here: Understanding peoples problems makes better judges, says CJI The year-long Hamara Samvidhan Hamara Samman campaign, across the nation, was inaugurated by Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on January 24 to mark the 75th year of India as a Republic. It aims to reaffirm the countrys collective commitment to the principles enshrined in the Constitution and celebrate the shared values that bind the nation. Addressing the state-level event in Bikaner, CJI Chandrachud said human dignity was of supreme importance in the minds of the makers of our Constitution. Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar, as chairman of the Drafting Committee, ensured that the Constitution promoted the values of justice, liberty and equality as well as the spirit of fraternity and dignity of the individual, he said. The CJI said mutual brotherhood is necessary to maintain equality in the country. How will the country progress if people fight each other? Therefore, when we say Our Constitution, Our Honour, we also have to emphasise that we should also promote fraternity and brotherhood in the country. Imbibe these feelings in your personal life, he said. The CJI said that the Constitution of India is a document that determines the values on which the country will operate. It outlines the governments duties and provides a framework for governance, he said. He added that the Constitution not only protects the rights of the people but also shows the path towards their responsibilities. Besides speaking about the Constitution, CJI Chandrachud said many efforts are being made to improve the condition of district courts. We want to sensitise the district courts because this is the first step towards justice. We are making many efforts to improve the condition of the district courts and to transform their buildings to suit the modern era, he said. Highlighting the technological advancements over the years, the CJI said the potential of technology is also being used to spread legal awareness and legal services. The Supreme Court of the country has worked to enhance its capacity through technology, he said. Technical innovations in the judicial system have enabled women practitioners to perform more effectively in this field, he added. The CJI said that hearing through video conferences began a few years ago and many lawyers attend hearings and argue through the online mode. He said the judgments are translated through technology and it is his endeavour to make the verdicts available in more regional languages. CJI Chandrachud said the Hamara Samvidhan Hamara Samman campaign will be held throughout the year with an aim to reach approximately 664,369 villages. Our mission will remain incomplete if the essence of the Constitution does not reach these villages, he said. Union minister of state for law Arjun Ram Meghwal, who attended the event, also addressed the gathering. He said that Bikaner, as an erstwhile princely state, had played a significant role in drafting the Constitution. The scholars who were assigned to prepare the draft were hosted by a family in Bikaner and were provided every possible facility to fulfill their task peacefully, he said. Read here: Vegan CJI Chandrachud recalls PM Modi's call during Covid: There is a vaidya who At the event, Both CJI Chandrachud and Meghwal also launched a Nyaya Sahayak scheme, in 500 aspirational blocks in the country, under which volunteers would hold a door-to-door campaign on legal services. The Nyaya Sahayaks would be responsible for conducting and ensuring door-to-door campaign and delivery of legal services where they will facilitate case registrations, provide pre-litigation advice and ensure legal awareness and legal literacy through a Vidhi Baithak in villages or blocks with the support of a block level officer, Meghwal said. Rajasthan high court chief justice M M Shrivastava, state law minister Jogaram Pate and Maharaja Ganga Singh University vice-chancellor Manoj Dixit also attended the event. (With PTI inputs) India on Wednesday commissioned a new naval base, INS Jatayu, at Minicoy in Lakshadweep islands to enhance its combat prowess amid China's increasing forays into the Indian Ocean region. HT Image Ways to further strengthen India's maritime prowess figured prominently at the naval commanders' conference that concluded on Friday. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. While the inaugural session of the conference was held onboard aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya on March 5, much wider deliberations on operational issues took place in the national capital on March 7 and 8. The Navy said the proceedings in Delhi included a review of major operational, material, infrastructure, logistics and personnel related initiatives. "Besides, the senior naval leadership reviewed existing and future plans, including capability enhancements in the island territories, to mitigate contemporary and future challenges in the maritime domain," it said in a statement on Saturday. "Service chiefs of the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force also engaged with the naval commanders, sharing their assessment of the operating environment, outlining readiness levels to defend national interests amidst prevailing and evolving security challenges," it said. The Navy said numerous areas and domains to enhance tri-services synergy and cooperation figured in the discussions. It is learnt that the naval commanders also deliberated on the overall situation arising out of Houthi militants targeting various cargo vessels in the Red Sea and other strategic waterways in the region in response to Israel's military offensive in Gaza. In the last few weeks, the Indian Navy extended assistance to a number of merchant vessels in the Western Indian Ocean following attacks on them. In his inaugural address at the conference, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commended the "brave and prompt" response by the Indian Navy to the recent incidents and developments in West Asia and the adjoining seas. Singh exhorted the commanders to remain poised for operations across the spectrum of conflict while underscoring the leadership role expected of the Indian Navy towards ensuring peace and prosperity in the Indian Ocean region. In addition, he emphasised the importance of tri-services jointness and integration to favourably shape and influence the future battlespace. The naval commanders' conference serves as a platform for naval commanders to discuss important security issues at the military-strategic level as well as interact with senior government functionaries under an institutionalised framework. On the sidelines of the conference, the naval commanders also interacted with various think tanks during a 'Sagar Manthan' event on Friday. The forum provided an opportunity to engage with MSMEs, innovators and academia to deliberate ways, means and novel avenues to enhance self-reliance in defence production. New Delhi: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested Jaffer Sadiq, a former Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) functionary and Tamil movie producer, in connection with the Rs.2,000 crore drug trafficking racket the agency busted last month, officials said. Narcotrtics Conol Bureau (Representative Photo) NCB deputy director general (operations) Gyaneshwar Singh confirmed Sadiqs arrest. He is the kingpin of the India-Australia-New Zealand drug trafficking network, which we were probing. We will share details in the afternoon, Singh said on Saturday. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. NCB officials said Sadiq is a prominent movie producer who has produced or co-produced at least four movies. His fifth movie is set for release later this month. We are probing if drug money was used in his production company. It looks like his production company was a front to launder money. He was on the run for the past two weeks, a second NCB officer, who asked not to be named, said. Over the past two weeks, opposition parties in Tamil Nadu have launched protests against Jaffers alleged involvement in the drugs racket. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary and leader of the opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami had demanded chief minister MK Stalin to respond on how a party leader was the kingpin of the drugs racket. Palaniswami had on Friday said that they would protest across the state on March 12 on Jaffers alleged role in running such a big cartel. The NCB on February 24 said that the cartel was busted on February 15 after a four-month-long joint probe by NCB and Delhi police. The agency said that acting on a tip-off from New Zealand and Australian police authorities about pseudoephedrine being sent to their countries from India under the guise of food products, three men were caught red-handed from their warehouse in west Delhis Basai Darapur. The cartel used air and ship cargo to send their products. We received information from New Zealand customs authorities and Australian police that large quantities of pseudoephedrine concealed in desiccated coconut powder was being sent to both countries. Further inputs from the US DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) indicated that the source of the consignments was Delhi, Gyaneshwar Singh said on February 24. The three men from Tamil Nadu were caught red-handed while packing around 50 kg of pseudoephedrine in a health supplement packet. The probe so far has revealed that in the last three years, the cartel sent 45 consignments containing approximately 3500kg of pseudoephedrine valued at over 2000cr in the international market. The officer aware of the details, who asked not to be named, said, The producer turned politician was in touch with a cartel in Australia and New Zealand who gave orders for pseudoephedrine. We are probing if he has more warehouses like the one in West Delhi. He also roped people from Tamil Nadu to work in the cartel. We have information that he has been active in this drug trade for the last few years and has successfully smuggled the drug outside India through different routes. The officer added that the cartel took advantage of the high demand for methamphetamine, especially in Australia. Also last month, the NCB had busted a clandestine laboratory in Ludhiana, where the cartel hired three Mexican nationals to prepare methamphetamine. The three men were flown to India in November 2023 for their expertise in making methamphetamine with almost 90% purity. Pseudoephedrine is used to make methamphetamine, which is the highest drug in demand worldwide. Pseudoephedrine is a precursor chemical that is used in the manufacture of Methamphetamine, a dangerous and highly addictive synthetic drug. It is classified as a controlled substance in India, bringing strict regulation on its production, possession, trade, export and use. New Delhi: The Odisha BJP on Friday evening said the party will contest the upcoming assembly and Lok Sabha elections alone. The remark came after its alliance talks with the ruling BJD reportedly reached a stalemate, with both sides unwilling to concede to each other's demands. Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik. The BJD isn't ready to accede to the BJP's demand for 14 of the state's 21 Lok Sabha seats. (ANI file photo) BJP state president Manmohan Samal returned to Odisha after his visit to Delhi on Friday. He claimed there was no talk of alliance and the BJP will contest the elections alone. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. "We had gone to Delhi to hold discussions with the central leaders on our preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the state. No talks on alliance or seat-sharing with any party were held during the meeting," he added. Samal said the Odisha BJP will contest and win the elections on its own strength. Also read: Seat-sharing talks: BJP to get larger share in Lok Sabha polls, BJD for assembly BJD leaders VK Pandian and Pranab Prakash Das, who came to Delhi in a chartered flight on Thursday evening to discuss pre-poll alliance issues with the BJP central leaders, also returned to Bhubaneswar. However, they maintained silence. Why the BJP-BJD alliance talks went south? PTI, citing sources, reported that the two parties had agreed for an alliance; however, both are now demanding greater share of seats. The BJD, according to PTI, demanded over 100 out of 147 Odisha assembly seats. "The BJD is demanding about 75 per cent of the assembly seats which is not acceptable to us," a senior BJP leader told the news agency, adding such a situation would adversely affect the prospect of the saffron party in the state. The BJD, meanwhile, isn't ready to accede to the BJP's demand for 14 of the state's 21 Lok Sabha seats. Also read: BJD, BJP hold discussions for alliance in Lok Sabha, Odisha polls "It would be suicidal for us if we contest in less than 10 LS seats," a senior BJD leader said. Naveen Patnaik-BJP history Naveen Patnaik-led BJD had won 112 seats in the Odisha assembly elections in 2019. They won 12 Lok Sabha seats; the BJP won eight. The BJP and BJD were allies between 1998 and 2009. Patnaik was also the minister of steel and mines in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. The alliance won 17 of 21 seats in the 1998 general elections with a 48.7 percent vote share. The alliance again bettered their tally to 19 seats in 1999, which slightly came down to 18 in 2004. With inputs from PTI Human casualties in Odisha due to encounters with wild elephants saw an all-time high of 149 in 2023-24 so far when a tribal woman was killed by a tusker on Saturday morning in Sundargarh district, surpassing the 148 deaths recorded in the year that ended in March 2023, officials aware of the development said. A woman of Kusumundi village in Sundargarh district was trampled to death by a tusker on Saturday. (AP) Read here: Elephant enters residential locality in Karnataka's Kodagu dist, triggers panic Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. A woman named Itwari Badra of Kusumundi village in Sundargarh district was trampled to death by a tusker that had strayed into the village in search of food, the officials said, declining to be named. She was trying to run away from the rampaging animal when it dragged her with its trunk before trampling her. She died on the spot. As many as 1,701 humans in 16 states were killed by elephants from 2020-21 to 2023-24, and Odisha had recorded 148 such deaths in 2022-23, which was the highest for the year in India, according to data presented in the Rajya Sabha by the Union environment ministry in December. Of the 149 deaths, Dhenkanal district bore the brunt, recording 31 casualties, followed by Angul (24), Sundargarh (22), Keonjhar (18) and Mayurbhanj (10). In 2019-20, human deaths by elephants rose sharply, crossing 100 to reach 115 deaths. Since then, the human fatalities have been on the rise consistently, crossing 100 deaths each year and reaching an all-time high of 148 in 2022-23, said Biswajit Mohanty, a wildlife activist. The rising death toll year after year only shows that the state government is just not interested in saving lives of innocent people, who are becoming victims due to lack of migration corridor of the elephants, Mohanty added. Odisha holds the dubious record of the maximum number of human deaths among all states despite being home to a lower number of elephants compared to Karnataka, Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Between 2019-20 and 2021-22, 1,579 people were killed in the country by elephants, according to environment ministry data. Odisha topped the list with 322 deaths, followed by Jharkhand (291), West Bengal (240), Assam (229), Chhattisgarh (183) and Tamil Nadu (152). As many as 392 elephants have died in the past five years since 2019-20, Mohanty said, of which 137 deaths were unnatural. The state forest department could not ascertain the reason behind 94 elephant deaths due to decomposed bodies. The Rengali canal network in Angul and Dhenkanal districts has disrupted age-old movement paths and corridors of local elephants, sparking attacks on villages and raids on farms, leading to unfortunate human deaths. There are few crossing bridges over these canals, as a result of which elephants are trapped in small pockets and are forced to climb the steep incline walls of the canals, Mohanty said. There has been a 10 times growth in quarries and industries in Dhenkanal as per satellite imagery of 2011 versus 2021, which has a strong correlation with the jump in human deaths, he said, adding that another reason behind elephants straying into human habitations was widespread felling of palm trees that provide fodder to the pachyderms in the monsoon months. Read here: 75-year-old woman killed in wild elephant attack, locals protest Earlier this week, the forest department launched special protection vehicles named Rakshak to rescue wild animals within an hour of a man-elephant conflict in 18 forest divisions of Odisha. Our main objective is to ensure the safety of all, be it wildlife or humans. Such a project has been implemented in Tamil Nadu, said Susanta Nanda, principal chief conservator of forests, Wildlife. The rapid response teams will reach the spot in half an hour to one hour. Guwahati: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated and laid foundation stones of several projects for six northeastern states valued at nearly Rs.55,0000 crore at an event held in Arunachal Pradeshs capital Itanagar. PM Modi inaugurated the Sela tunnel by flagging off an Arunachal Pradesh State Transport bus (Twitter/@narendramodi) The event was attended by chief minister Pema Khand, governor KT Parnaik and Union minister Kiren Rijiju, who represents the West Arunachal seat in Lok Sabha. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Among the projects inaugurated is the strategically important Sela Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh built by the Border Roads Organisation at a cost of Rs.825 crore. It is the worlds longest twin-lane tunnel built at an altitude of above 13,000 feet. The PM inaugurated the Sela tunnel by flagging off an Arunachal Pradesh State Transport bus that went through it. Sela Tunnel could have been built earlier. But Congresss thinking and priorities were something else. They used to think whats the need to spend so much on an area (Arunachal Pradesh) which has just two parliamentary seats. Modi doesnt work by counting the number of parliamentary members. I work keeping the nations necessities in mind, Modi said. The tunnel will help boost the movement of soldiers, equipment and heavy vehicles to forward areas near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tawang sector. The Sela project consists of Tunnel 1, which is 1,003 metres long, and Tunnel 2, a 1,595-metre twin tube tunnel. Addressing a public meeting at Itanagar, the PM stated that his government always keeps the nations interest first without counting the number of parliamentary seats a region has. He blamed previous Congress governments for failing to focus on the development of the northeastern regions. In the past, when they should have made modern infrastructure in our border, the Congress government were busy with corruption. By keeping our border and border villages underdeveloped, Congress was playing with the security of the country, Modi said. Keeping your own army weak and denying basic facilities to own people is the way of working by Congress, their policy and ideal, he added. Modi said that the amount of investment his government has made for the development of the northeast in the past five years is nearly four times more than what previous Congress governments used to do. The slew of projects launched and foundation stones laid are related to multiple sectors, including rail, road, health, housing, education, border infrastructure, IT, power, oil and gas, and others. The other projects dedicated by the PM include the groundbreaking ceremony of the 2880 MW Dibang multipurpose hydropower project, the highest dam structure in India, which will be built at a cost of Rs.31,876 crore. In the past 10 years, we have sealed around a dozen peace deals (with militant outfits) and solved border disputes (between states of the region). Now the next step to development is to boost industries in the northeast, said the PM while inaugurating the Rs.10,000 crore UNNATI (Uttar Poorva Transformative Industrialization) scheme, Modi said. The PM also launched UNNATI (Uttar Poorva Transformative Industrialization Scheme), a new industrial development scheme for the northeast. The scheme worth Rs.10,000 crore is expected to attract new investment, help set up new manufacturing and services units and give a boost to employment. The PM also virtually inaugurated and laid foundation stones of projects worth Rs.3,400 cr in Manipur, Rs.1,700 crore in Nagaland, Rs.290 crore in Meghalaya, Rs.450 crore in Sikkim and Rs.8,500 crore in Tripura, including the Sabroom Land Port located along the international border between India and Bangladesh. For Tripura, Modi laid the foundation stones for the construction of the Agartala Western Bypass and multiple road projects in the state, a new depot of Indian Oil Corporation at Sekerkote including an Integrated Rehabilitation Centre for drug addicts. He also launched projects of 146,000 rural household tap connections, Land Port at Sabroom in South District worth Rs.230 crores. The foundation stone of the Sabroom Land Port was laid in 2021. Located along the India-Bangladesh international border, the newly-developed Sabroom Land Port will include facilities such as a passenger terminal building, cargo administrative building, fire station building, warehouse, pump house, electrical substation etc. The virtual event was attended by Tripura chief minister Manik Saha. A historic day for Tripura! Glad to witness the virtual inauguration & foundation stone laying of development projects worth Rs.8534.02 crore by Honble PM Shri Narendra Modi Ji. The event included opening of Sabroom Land Port in South Tripura, which will facilitate movement of people and enhance the connectivity, trade & tourism between NE Region & Bangladesh. Under the visionary leadership of the Honble PM, these projects will script a new chapter of development towards the goal of #ViksitBharatViksitTripura, wrote on X. PM Modi had arrived in Assam on Friday evening and spent the night at a guest house in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR). He did a two-hour safari on an elephant and jeep inside the park famed for one-horned rhinos before departing for Arunachal Pradesh. On Saturday afternoon, the PM is set to return to Assam and take part in two events, including inaugurating the 125-foot tall statue of legendary Ahom general Lachit Borphukan at Jorhat. The PM will also address a public rally at Meleng Meteli where he will inaugurate several projects valued at nearly Rs. 18,000 crore undertaken by the central and state government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi picked up a 'trishul' and greeted the public while holding it in his hand after offering prayers at the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi on Saturday. Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath stood beside PM Modi during the moment and people cheered both leaders. Notably, Trishul is a weapon of the Hindu God Lord Shiva. Prime Minister Narendra Modi picked up a 'trishul' and greeted the public while holding it in his hand after offering prayers at the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi on Saturday.(X(formerly Twitter)) At the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, PM Modi and CM Yogi took part in elaborate religious rituals and offered prayers to Lord Shiva. During their visit, the temple was beautifully adorned with flowers and a huge crowd was present to welcome the leaders. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Watch the video here: ALSO READ| PM Modi's 'Sandeshkhali' attack on corrupt TMC: Show them the door in Lok Sabha poll PM Modi held a roadshow in Varanasi, the constituency that he will be contesting in upcoming Lok Sabha election for the third consecutive term, with people lined up across the streets to welcome him. Modi's visit to West Bengal, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh Earlier in the day, PM Modi inaugurated various projects worth thousands of crores in West Bengal, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. In West Bengal, he participated in the Viksit Bharat Viksit West Bengal program in Siliguri. During the event, he inaugurated and dedicated various developmental projects in the rail and road sectors collectively valued at over 4,500 crore. While addressing a people's gathering, PM Modi accused the state's ruling TMC government of looting the people. "Anti-poor TMC government is not implementing Ayushman Bharat Yojana. TMC government is looting you at every step. Modi sends money for MGNREGA but TMC government has created 25 lakh fake job cards for people," said PM Modi. ALSO READ| PM Modi slams Congress in Assam, says party insensitive towards Northeast | Key takeaways In Arunachal Pradesh's Itanagar, PM Modi participated in the Viksit Bharat Viksit North East program. During the event, he inaugurated world's longest twin-lane tunnel- the Sela Tunnel. The strategically significant tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity to India's Tawang region, bordering China. The tunnel has reduced travel time to Tawang by at least one hour, allowing faster deployment of weapons, soldiers, and equipment to forward areas near the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Meanwhile in Assam, PM Modi unveiled an 84-foot-tall statue honouring Lachit Borphukan, the renowned General of the Royal Army of the Ahom Kingdom of Assam, celebrated for his triumph over the Mughals. He also visited the world-famous Kaziranga National Park, known for the one-horned rhinoceros. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched multiple attacks on the Congress while addressing a gathering in the Jorhat district of Assam. PM Modi accused the Congress of always neglecting the northeastern states of the country, and being insensitive towards its reserves. PM Modi in Jorhat district of Assam (PTI)(PTI) PM Modi, during his visit to Assam today, inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for multiple development projects worth more than 17,500 crore. He further credited NDA's double engine government for working towards the development of Assam. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. While addressing a rally in Assam's Jorhat district, the prime minister said, The double-engine government is working at a great speed for the development of Assam. Assam has shown unprecedented pace in the infrastructure, health, and energy sectors. He attacked the Congress party for failing to live up to the expectations of the people of Assam, highlighting the BJP government's housing scheme in the state. PM Modi's speech in Assam: Key takeaways PM Modi said in Assam, We are trying to make the lives of the women in Assam easier and increase their savings. Yesterday, on the occasion of Women's Day, our government announced a reduction of 100 in the price of LPG. 100 in the price of LPG. Highlighting the BJP's housing scheme, the prime minister said, Today the dream of my 5.5 lakh families of Assam to have their own permanent house has been fulfilled. In one state, 5.5 lakh people are moving into permanent houses of their choice, of their own ownership. During the time of Congress governments, people used to yearn for one house each, whereas our government is providing 5.5 lakh houses in a day, he added. PM Modi also attacked the Congress government over animal conservation in Assam, saying, Due to the negligence of the previous ruling governments, the rhinos of Assam were not taken into consideration and were put in danger. In contrast, the current government has shown effort and dedication to protecting rhinos and wildlife. Urging people to visit the Kaziranga National Park once again, he said, 2024 is the golden jubilee year of Kaziranga National Park and I would like to request everyone to visit Kaziranga once. PM Modi also alleged that the Congress government's "insensitive and unplanned conservation strategy" led to poaching in the Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Around 27 rhinos were killed in 2013 but the number of such poaching incidents came down to zero in 2022 due to the NDA government's policies, he said. PM Modi is currently on a three-day visit to four states - Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh - as the NDA alliance gears up to prepare for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, scheduled for April and May 2024. (With inputs from PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on an elephant and jeep safari in Assam's Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve on Saturday morning. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Assam's Kaziranga National Park. (X/Narendra Modi) According to officials, PM Modi first took the elephant safari in the Mihimukh area of the Central Kohora Range of the park and then took the jeep safari inside the same range. He also fed sugar cane to elephants. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Feeding sugar cane to Lakhimai, Pradyumna and Phoolmai. Kaziranga is known for the rhinos but there are also large number of elephants there, along with several other species, PM Modi wrote on X, sharing pictures of the unparalleled beauty of Kaziranga landscapes. He was accompanied by park director Sonali Ghosh and other senior forest officials. The Prime Minister had arrived at Kaziranga on Friday evening on a two-day visit to the state. Follow- Narendra Modi visit LIVE updates Kaziranga National Park- abode to one-horned rhinoceros Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is renowned for the iconic Great Indian one-horned rhinoceros. The park boasts a landscape of dense forests, towering elephant grass, rugged reeds, marshes, and shallow pools. Established as a National Park in 1974, Kaziranga stands as one of the last areas in eastern India untouched by human presence. Watch PM Modi's Kaziranga visit video and pics here PM Modi today's schedule At 10:30am, PM Modi will participate in the 'Viksit Bharat Viksit North East' programme in Itanagar. During the event, he will dedicate the Sela Tunnel to the nation. The Prime Minister will launch the UNNATI scheme with an estimated value of 10,000 crore. ALSO READ- PM Modi gives vacation homework to babus, fires up ministers for 2024 elections PM Modi will inaugurate, dedicate, and lay the foundation stone for various development projects in Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh. Around 12:15pm, PM Modi will inaugurate the 125-ft high 'Statue of Valour' of legendary Ahom general Lachit Barphukan in Jorhat. The Prime Minister will participate in a public programme in Jorhat and inaugurate projects worth more than 17,500 crore in Assam. PM Modi will then travel to Siliguri, West Bengal, for a public program at 3:45pm. In West Bengal, he will inaugurate projects valued at around 4,500 crore. Around 7 PM, the prime minister will reach Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. In Varanasi, he will perform Darshan and Pooja at Kashi Vishwanath Temple. ALSO READ- PM Modi presents first-ever National Creators Awards in Delhi PM Modi to be in Varanasi on Sunday On Sunday, around noon, the Prime Minister will be part of a public programme, laying the foundation stone for various development projects exceeding 42,000 crore in Uttar Pradesh. Later, at approximately 2:15 PM, he will reach Varanasi to disburse the first instalment under the Mahatari Vandana Yojana in Chhattisgarh through video conferencing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a strong proponent of self-reliance in defence, will get a ringside view of how the Indian military plans to leverage its indigenous capabilities for dominating the battlefield and crushing any threat to the countrys security during a tri-services exercise being held at the Pokhran firing range in Rajasthan on March 12, officials aware of the matter said on Saturday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (File) The integrated tri-services live fire and manoeuvre exercise, Bharat Shakti, seeks to demonstrate the strides India has made towards achieving self-reliance in the defence manufacturing sector, with the simulated shock and awe assault on the enemy lasting barely 50 minutes, the officials said. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Read here: PM Modi to attend Pokhran wargame showcasing indigenous capabilities Bharat Shakti is being organised to demonstrate the prowess of indigenously manufactured defence equipment of the three services, said Major General CS Mann, additional director general, Army Design Bureau. The required lethality and potency in battle can be reached only when military power is applied in synergy across multiple domains and brought to bear upon the envisaged threat, he said during a briefing in South Block. The drills come weeks after the Indian Air Force showcased its offensive capabilities by day and night at the Pokhran range near Jaisalmer, with fighter jets carrying out precision strikes against simulated enemy aircraft and targets on ground, including runways, bridges, ammunition dumps, radar sites, terror camps, thermal power plants and ordnance factories, to ensure battlefield superiority during Exercise Vayu Shakti-24. Bharat Shakti will showcase live integrated multi-domain, offensive operations of the three services using indigenous equipment, Mann said. It will showcase the shock and awe that the three services seek to achieve in an operational situation by employing the manoeuvre and fighting capabilities effectively, he said. A raft of military equipment will be showcased during the exercise. It includes the light combat aircraft Tejas, light combat helicopter Prachand, armed advanced light helicopters, light utility helicopters, mobile anti-drone systems, T-90 tanks, BMP-II infantry combat vehicles, drone launched precision guided munitions, a variety of unmanned aerial vehicles, rockets, radars and artillery guns including Dhanush, Sharang and K9 Vajra. Pokhran imposes terrain restrictions on depicting naval manoeuvres. However, naval equipment will be showcased as part of static display... Synergised and joint operations will be decisive in the Indian context, Mann said. The special forces of the three services will be seen in action during the drills, he said. The exercise will highlight some aspects of tri-services integration. The most important aspect of tri-services integration is communications. Therefore, jointness in tri-services communication is being showcased by seamless integration of services-specific information and communications technology (ICT) networks, Mann said. The indigenous geographical information system for tri-services (IGIST) is another integration tool being showcased, he said. It is an enterprise military geographical information system which can provide topographical maps, hydrographic charts and air navigation charts with analysis and operational planning capabilities. India has sharpened its focus on the defence manufacturing sector during the last five to six years and taken several measures to achieve self-reliance. These include banning the import of a range of weapons, systems and parts, creating a separate budget for buying locally made military hardware, increasing foreign direct investment from 49% to 74% and improving ease of doing business. The Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign proved to be a catalyst for transformation in indigenous research and development, adoption of niche technology and the establishment of the indigenous manufacturing eco system, he said. The global situation has been turbulent, and the recent conflicts have brought into sharp focus the centrality of national Interests and need for Atmanirbharta. Supply chain disruption is the first casualty during any global conflict. Therefore, an important aspect of self-reliance is to have minimal dependency on global supply chains, especially in terms of critical and fast-moving spares. The concerns are not exaggerated. For instance, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has hit the repair and overhaul (ROH) of critical equipment in the Indian Air Forces Russian-origin aircraft, including aero-engines and avionics, and self-reliance plans are being pursued to address the situation. Read here: Vayu Shakti-24: IAF firepower, combat capabilities come to the fore at Pokhran range The Russia-Ukraine conflict has resulted in the inability to send major aggregates like aero-engines, critical avionics and specialist weapons abroad for ROH. To mitigate the situation, 44 shortlisted projects pertaining to Russian fighters, transport aircraft and helicopters are being progressed through Other Capital Procurement Procedure (OCPP), the defence ministry said in its 2023 year-end review. OCPP deals with enhancing the utility of the military s existing assets through ROH under the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020. Setting aside budget for India-made weapons and systems is one of the key measures to boost self-reliance. Around 1 lakh crore was earmarked for domestic procurement in the defence budget for 2023-24, compared to 84,598 crore, 70,221 crore and 51,000 crore in the three previous years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a call to oust Trinamool from West Bengal and said the door to remove the 'corrupt' party will be open through the Lok Sabha election and hence all Lok Sabha seats from North Bengal should go to the BJP. The INDIA bloc is insensitive to the 'Gorkha brothers', Narendra Modi said raising the pitch for the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public meeting in Siliguri, West Bengal. Calling the Trinamool Congress corrupt, Narendra Modi said its ministers are in jail for stealing from the ration system. Trinamool has created fake job cards to loot public money of MGNREGA sent by the Centre, the prime minister said the INDIA bloc is a conspiracy. "TMC people are concerned about their nephew, Congress people about their son and daughter. The Left want to be with them so that their car keeps running. They don't care about children. If there is anyone who is concerned about the future of your children, it's Modi, the BJP, the NDA. Hence, every family in the country is saying 'main hoon Modi ka parivaar'. I don't have to leave any bungalow, any bank balance for anyone," PM Modi said. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. "What the TMC leader did with Sandeshkhali's poor, tribal, Dalit women is being discussed in the entire country. TMC, Congress and the LEFT's INDIA bloc did a lot of discrimination to the North Bengal. They did not develop these areas but also created social conflict," Narendra Modi said. The Sandeshkhali issue became a major BJP versus Trinamool ahead of the Lok Sabha election. Trinamool's Sheikh Shahjahan, accused of assaulting women in Sandeshkhali and grabbing their lands -- was arrested by the West Bengal police after being absconding for over 55 days. CBI has now got the custody of Sheikh Shahjahan. PM Modi met some women from Sandeshkhali on an earlier visit to the state. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee too led a rally of women from Sandeshkhali and said West Bengal is the safest for the women, countering Modi's charge. PM Modi's 3T roadmap for North Bengal PM Modi in Siliguri said the BJP has a clear roadmap for the development of North Bengal based on three Ts -- tea, tourism and timber. Small businesses on these 3 Ts will be provided with many facilities. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a day-long visit to Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday, inaugurated the worlds longest twin-lane tunnel Sela Tunnel. The inauguration ceremony took place in Itanagar as the PM participated in the Viksit Bharat Viksit North East program. PM Modi e also launched several other developmental projects in the state including the UNNATI scheme worth 10,000 crore. Prime minister Narendra Modi (AP photo) Narendra Modi visit updates: Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi on Saturday. Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath was also present beside PM Modi during the auspicious ceremony. Before reaching the temple, PM Modi held a roadshow in the city. Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister visited West Bengal, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh to inaugurate various projects. His itinerary began with a visit to Kaziranga National Park in Assam, followed by his participation in the Viksit Bharat Viksit North East program in Arunachal Pradesh's Itanagar. During this event, he inaugurated the Sela Tunnel and unveiled the UNNATI scheme valued at about 10,000 crore....Read More Projects inaugurated and to be inaugurated today - Assam: PM Modi unveiled an impressive 84-foot-tall statue honouring Lachit Borphukan, the renowned General of the Royal Army of the Ahom Kingdom of Assam, celebrated for his triumph over the Mughals. In Jorhat, a public event will witness PM Modi inaugurating and dedicating several projects to bolster the health, oil and gas, rail, and housing sectors. Arunachal Pradesh: He introduced numerous development endeavours across Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh during an event in Itanagar. These initiatives span various sectors, including rail, road, health, housing, education, border infrastructure, IT, Power, and Oil and Gas. PM Modi also laid the foundation stone and dedicated multiple projects worth over 41,000 crores in Arunachal Pradesh. West Bengal: The prime minister participated in the Viksit Bharat Viksit West Bengal program in Siliguri. During this event, he inaugurated and dedicated various developmental projects in the rail and road sectors collectively valued at over 4,500 crore. Uttar Pradesh: Prime Minister Modi is poised to inaugurate, dedicate, and lay the foundation stone for many development initiatives exceeding 42,000 crore in Uttar Pradesh. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday sealed its alliance with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, ending days of suspense and paving the way for the N Chandrababu Naidu-led partys return to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) fold after a gap of six years. Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu with Union home minister Amit Shah. (ANI) Following hectic discussions between the national leadership of the BJP, including Union home minister Amit Shah and party president JP Nadda, and the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Naidu representing the TDP, a joint statement on Saturday evening announced the alliance between BJP, TDP and Pawan Kalyans Jana Sena Party. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Read here: BJP forges alliance with TDP in Andhra; Naidu back into NDA fold after six years Under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the three parties are committed for the progress of the country and the upliftment of the state and people of Andhra Pradesh, the joint statement said. The three parties have decided to contest the Lok Sabha elections and the state assembly elections, likely to be held simultaneously, in alliance. Addressing reporters after the final talks, Naidu said that Andhra Pradesh and its brand have been destroyed by the states ruling YSR Congress Party as he lashed out at chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for pushing the state backward while the country is progressing. Our alliance will sweep the polls, Naidu said. Andhra Pradesh has been destroyed badly. Its brand has been destroyed. The BJP and the TDP coming together is a win-win situation for the country and the state. There is, however, no clarity on the seat distribution yet. Highlighting that the seat-sharing will be finalised soon, the release said, The modalities of seat sharing will be deliberated within a day or two. Soon after the talks with Shah and Nadda ended, Naidu briefed senior TDP leaders on the details of the alliance. We are joining the NDA and have signed an agreement with the BJP on seat sharing in the state, a senior party leader, privy to the details of the teleconference, quoted Naidu as saying. According to this leader, the BJP asked for eight Lok Sabha seats and 14 assembly seats as part of the negotiations. Finally, the BJP accepted the offer made by Naidu to part with five Lok Sabha seats and six assembly seats. Maybe, the TDP might have to concede a couple of more assembly seats, if there is intense pressure from the local BJP leaders, the leader said requesting anonymity. There are still some hiccups in the identification of the seats to be contested by the BJP, but these are likely to be resolved in a day or two, this leader said. The state sends 25 MPs to the Parliament and has a 175-member assembly. The TDP has already allocated three Lok Sabha seats and 24 assembly seats to the Jana Sena Party. The party will announce its list of candidates for the seats that remain after allocation for BJP by Monday, Naidu told party leaders. The former CM also reportedly asked senior leaders to talk to disgruntled ticket aspirants. The TDP chief has also invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the joint election rally proposed to be held by the TDP and Jana Sena Party at Chilakaluripet in Guntur district on March 17, where Naidu is expected to formally announce his partys return to the BJP-led NDA. This is going to be the first joint rally of NDA partners in Andhra Pradesh for the upcoming elections. Naidu told us that if Modi doesnt find time to attend the Chilakaluripet rally, it can be postponed to a later date to suit the Prime Ministers schedule, the party leader quoted above said. The TDP exited the NDA in 2018 after its demand that the Centre should grant special category status to the southern state was not met. The BJP has maintained that its government at the Centre has been fulfilling all the commitments made to Andhra Pradesh. The joint statement on Saturday said the two parties shared an old relationship. The TDP joined the NDA in 1996 and worked together successfully in Atal Jis and Narendra Modi Ji government. In 2014, the TDP and the BJP fought the Lok Sabha election and assembly election together. The Jana Sena Party had supported the 2014 general and assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, the statement said. It said that the PM has been working tirelessly for the development and progress of the nation for the last 10 years, and the coming together of the three parties will help in reaching the aspirations of the people of Andhra Pradesh. We hope that the alliance will come up to the expectation of people of Andhra Pradesh with their wholehearted support of people at large, it said. In the 2019 general elections, the YSRCP led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy won 22 Lok Sabha seats and 151 assembly seats with a vote share of around 49.5%. The TDP won just three seats in the Lok Sabha and 23 in the assembly, with a vote share of 39.5%. The Jana Sena Party won just one assembly seat and drew a blank in the Lok Sabha with a vote share of 5.6%. The BJP, meanwhile, drew a blank in both Lok Sabha and state assembly, barely managing a vote share of 0.9%. Reacting to the announcement of the alliance, Naidus son and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh said it would bring the state back on the path of growth. History will regard this alliance as a turning point, a necessity that positively transformed the state and the lives of the people of Andhra Pradesh, he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. The states ruling YSRCP, however, accused the TDP of surrendering the respect of the Telugus by joining hands with the BJP. Not long ago, Naidu made personal attacks on Modi, saying the latter had no respect for family values. He said he was proud of being the husband of Bhuvaneshwari, father of Lokesh and grandfather of Devansh. He asked what Modi was proud of. Forgetting all his comments, he has now surrendered to the BJP, YSRCP leader Kesineni Nani said. The Congress also hit out at Naidu. Read here: Naidu has a lot to answer, says Congress after TDP joins NDA along with Pawan Kalyan's party Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh asserted his is the only national party that has consistently promised to give Andhra Pradesh special category status for five years. In 2018, the then-chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu-garu, broke off his alliance with the BJP because of the Prime Ministers failure to give Andhra Pradesh its due through special category status for the state. The then-BJP president Amit Shah declared that the doors of the NDA were forever closed to the TDP, Ramesh said. In the six years since, the Prime Minister has continued to fail the people of Andhra Pradesh. The TDP has now shamelessly gone back into the NDA. They have a lot to answer for today, Ramesh said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated nearly 2.5 kilometer long tunnel under 4,190 meter Se La, which along with 2023 inaugurated Nechiphu tunnel will allow faster deployment of troops in defence of China coveted Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. Se La reminds India of its ignominious fall during the 1962 war with China due to poor military and political leadership(ANI) While PM Modi delivered the Se La tunnel within five years of laying the foundation stone in Feb 2019, Se La reminds India of its ignominious fall during the 1962 war with China due to poor military and political leadership. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. The seventh brigade of Indian Army withdrew from Tawang after heavy losses on October 23, 1962. The virtually impregnable Se La fell to the Chinese on November 18, 1962 due to weak military leadership with its brave 62 Brigade commander Brigadier Hoshiar Singh killed in an PLA ambush on November 23, four days after Beijing had handed a humiliating ceasefire to India in Peking on November 19, 1962. ALSO READ: View: Chinese warning to India on the Central Sector is plain double-speak According to Official History of 1962 war, both Se la and Bomdi La fell due to loss of morale of troops led by Major General M S Pathania of fourth division and virtual surrender by the 65 brigade commander A S Cheema. Despite protests from Brigadier Hoshiar Singh of Se La Brigade, General Pathania panicked due to reports of Chinese outflanking Indian troops at Se La through side tracks around the pass and Bhutan and ordered withdrawal with lack of leadership from either the Army Chief Gen P N Thapar, Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen L P Sen and Corps Commander Lt Gen Brij Mohan Kaul, who was replaced by Lt Gen Harbaksh Singh on October 24, 1962 and then reappointed due to his proximity with Defence Minister V Krishna Menon and Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru on October 29, 1962 . ALSO READ: View: Unsettled LAC is Xi's pressure point on India to stay away from West The building of the tunnel under Se La is also an affirmation that India today is confident enough to take on the PLA challenge in the Tawang sector. The Chinese had built a road from Bum La to Tawang along with a bridge within two weeks after Tawang fell to the enemy in 1962. With Chinese renaming many features in Arunachal Pradesh in mandarin since 2020 and still coveting the Indian border state by calling it South Tibet, the tunnels at Se la and Nechiphu will allow flexible and faster deployment of Indian troops and armour in Tawang sector in the worst case scenario. Se La tunnel is about defence of India and not merely tourism. Election Commissioner Arun Goel has tendered his resignation just days ahead of the Lok Sabha election 2024. Election Commissioner Arun Goel.(File) Arun Goel's resignation was accepted by President Droupadi Murmu, a gazette notification issued on Saturday read. The reason for Arun Goel's resignation is not known yet. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Arun Goel's resignation comes amid the peak of Lok Sabha election preparation by the Election Commission. With Arun Goel's resignation, the Election Commission is now headed only by the Chief Election Commissioner (Rajiv Kumar) and no election commissioners. "In pursuance of clause (1) of Section 11 of The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, the President is pleased to accept the resignation tendered by Shri Arun Goel, Election Commissioner with effect from the 09th March, 2024," the gazette notification issued on Saturday read." Who is Arun Goel? After two Indians died after being tricked into the Ukraine-Russia war, the role of an Indian man, who lured several people with the promise of lucrative jobs in the Russian army, has come to light. The man is identified as Faisal Abdul Mutallib Khan, who runs a recruitment agency and a popular YouTube channel called Baba Vlogs. Faisal Khan runs a YouTube channel called Baba Vlogs. According to reports, he allegedly lured several Indian men to Russia, promising them lucrative jobs in non-combat roles in the Russian army. However, many of them were later pressed into the war. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. In one such video in September 2023, Faisal Khan promised his viewers that apart from a hefty salary, those joining the Russian army will also get a government card, which will help them get permanent residency. He allegedly sent a large number of Indians to Russia with the promise of jobs in the Russian army in support roles. One of them was Mohammed Afsan, who died in the war in Ukraine. Also read: Ukraine war: 7 Indian tourists from Punjab, Haryana tricked into joining Russian Army, seek help Who is Faisal Khan? Faisal Khan runs a manpower consultancy firm, which provides workers in several countries. He is in his mid 30s. Also read: Centre committed to early release of Indians duped into working for Russian army Faisal Khan told Indian Express that he sent 35 people to Russia. He was told by handlers in Russia that they would not be deployed on the front lines. He said he himself is a victim. Faisal Khan claimed he tried to get them back. He also said what happened after these men reached Russia was beyond his control. Khan said all those who went to Russia were aware of the risks. He said he wouldn't have left any trace had his intent been to dupe them. He said hasn't pulled down his videos on Russia because he is not guilty. He is a resident of Mumbai's Dadar. He went to Dubai in 2008, where he worked as a salesman. He started his consultancy Babavlogs in 2016. In 2018, he was questioned by Indian authorities after a man he sent to Dubai claimed he had been converted to Islam. He has three lakh followers on YouTube. He posted his last video on January 8 in which he is talking about a visit visa to New Zealand. According to the Indian Express, he began promoting jobs in Russia from July 2023. He said those working for the Russian Army will get salaries ranging from 40000 to 1 lakh after undergoing three months of training. He claimed in the videos that the army needed manpower for clearing demolished buildings and taking care of arms and ammunition. He also demanded an initial fee of 3 lakh for his company. He also claimed there wouldn't be any risk involved and that he had personally verified the safety of the jobs on offer. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday arrested Jaffer Sadiq, a former Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) functionary and Tamil movie producer, in connection with the 2,000 crore drug international drug trafficking network busted by the agency last month. Former DMK functionary Jaffer Sadiq.(X/JafferSadiq) NCB deputy director general (operations) Gyaneshwar Singh who confirmed Sadiqs arrest said that he is the kingpin of the India-Australia-New Zealand drug trafficking network. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Jaffer Sadiq spearheaded a network which sourced Pseudoephedrine in India and trafficked it to Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia in the guide of food grade cargo. It is believed that the drug syndicate operated by him has sent 45 consignments over the past 3 years to various countries, Singh said. Over the last two weeks, opposition parties in Tamil Nadu have launched protests against Jaffers alleged involvement in the drugs racket. Who is Jaffer Sadiq? Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday announced that he will recommend a CBI probe into the death of Sidharthan J S, a 20-year-old veterinary student. Thiruvananthapuram: Security personnel baton charge Youth Congress activists during their protest demanding a CBI probe into the death of Sidharthan JS.(PTI file photo) The Chief Minister's Office said the father and relatives of the students came to meet Pinarayi Vijayan and demanded that the case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He told them that all the accused had been arrested through a flawless probe. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. However, respecting his mother's sentiments, Vijayan informed them that he will recommend a CBI probe in the case. Who was Sidharthan? Sidharthan was a student who was found dead inside the bathroom of the college hostel on February 18. "The Kerala CM said that if a CBI probe is required, then it will be ordered. He has given me that assurance," the victim's father said. The victim's father said his son was murdered and it was not a case of death by suicide. He also told reporters that the mere suspension of the Dean of the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Pookode in Wayanad district of the state and the assistant warden of the hostel, where Sidharthan died, was not enough. "They should be dismissed from service and should also face legal action," he demanded. The Kerala police in their recent remand report stated that one of the accused told them the victim was viciously assaulted. According to the police, the victim's college mates thrashed him for allegedly misbehaving with a girl student of the college. "He was stripped down to his underwear and the accused assaulted him. Some of them used a belt and a cable wire," the report said. The assault lasted for several hours. He was a second-year Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry student. His parents have said that some college mates claimed he was beaten to death by SFI leaders and activists. The Left-affiliated Students Federation of India (SFI) has denied the allegations. The Kerala police have charged 18 accused in the case under sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapon), 306 (Abetment of suicide), of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Kerala Prohibition Of Ragging Act. With inputs from PTI It is a striking image a long-haired young woman looking out of the frame with half-closed eyes and it is the sole surviving photograph of Mallika, who lived in 19th-century Banaras and wrote novels at a time when most women couldnt read or write. Next to her in the picture (dated c. 1873) is Bhartendu Harishchandra (1850-1885), a towering figure in the cultural life of Banaras, and widely regarded as the father of Hindi literature. They were both about the same age (in their early 20s, at the time the image was taken), and Mallika lived under Harishchandras protection until he died. He made provisions for her in his will, but three years after his death, she disappears from all historical records. No one has yet uncovered what happened to her thereafter. And yet she was probably Hindis first woman novelist. Amid the continuing eclipse of womens contributions, and in the wake of Womens Day, I thought it would be a good moment for a look at this little-known writer. I found out about Mallika via the academic and Hindi scholar Vasudha Dalmias eye-opening book Mallika ka Rachna Sansar, published in 2022 by Rajkamal Prakashan. Nothing is known of the writers early life, except that she was from Bengal, and was probably a child widow or abandoned by her husband. Harishchandra likely met her in Bengal or Banaras. She was a poet too, but it is her three novellas Radharani, Soundaryamayi and Chandraprabha aur Purnaprakash that cement her status as Hindis first woman novelist. (Interestingly, the first woman Hindi short-story writer was also a Bengali: Rajbala Ghosh. Born in Mirzapur in 1882, she wrote under the name Bang Mahila. Unlike Mallika, though, her life is well-documented.) Radharani (1883) is a translation of a short romantic novel by Bengali writer Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. Soundaryamayi is probably a translation of a Bengali novel too, though there is no trace of the original. It was published in 1887 under Mallikas name. Chandraprabha aur Purnaprakash came out a year later and is attributed to her and Harishchandra, but it is believed that Harishchandra merely cleared up the Bengali idiom that had crept in. It is now regarded as a Mallika novel. I have read the latter two and found them engrossing, fast-paced and quite bold for their time. Soundaryamayi, named after its central character, is the tragic story of a girl who becomes a child widow at the age of 11. Hiralal, an orphaned relative, has been raised in the same house and, as they grow up, the two are drawn to each other. Meanwhile, Soundaryamayis parents receive a visitor from Bengal, who tells them about the social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and his ongoing campaign for widow-remarriage. The girls mother is sympathetic, but her father fears societal disapproval too much to go down this road. The child is forbidden from meeting Hiralal, pines away and then, in a strange twist, her stomach starts to swell, so much so that there is talk in the village that she is pregnant. Even when her stomach reverts to normal, the rumours wont stop. Soundaryamayis persecution at the hands of samaj or society is relentless. Ultimately, her father sends her to live with an elderly relative far away, where she withers to skin and bones. Close to death, she tells her parents she wants to meet Hiralal for the last time. Her father tracks him down and her parents leave them alone for their last meeting. Soundaryamayis wished-for death, her ichcha-mrityu, is her rebellion. The father rues his cowardice. What use is samaj to him now that he has lost his daughter? Fortunately for readers, Chandraprabha aur Purnaprakash has a happy ending. Chandraprabha is the daughter of a Kulin Kanyakubj Brahmin who has married four times. Her mother, Gunmanjari, was abandoned by her father and now lives with her brother in Banaras. As Chandraprabha grows up, her mother starts to worry about finding her a match. But Chandraprabha has lost her heart to a young man, Purnaprakash, who studies in Lucknow and visits Banaras to see his sister. The sister lives next door. The two fall in love. As in Soundaryamayi, the mother is a loving and sympathetic character. All Gunmanjari wants is her daughters happiness and she decides to get the two of them married, though hes not a Brahmin of the top tier. Even when her husband turns up with a much older Kulin Brahmin, whose hobby would appear to be collecting wives (he has 11 and wants her daughter as his 12th), she stands up for the young pair. As Dalmia points out, the mother is the agent of change here. The novel roots for social reform, and the father and older groom, with their multiple marriages, are severely castigated by Gunmanjari and her brother. Both novels deal with love that crosses boundaries and flies in the face of conservative norms. Both are about women, their desires and hopes. Both deal with child widows, polygamous men, women abandoned by their husbands pressing issues of the time. Both underline the urgent need for change. And by writing them, Mallika earned her place in Hindi literature. I just wish we knew how her own story unfolded. (To reach Poonam Saxena with feedback, email poonamsaxena3555@gmail.com) Miss India World 2022 winner Sini Shetty will represent the country during the 71st Miss World 2024 competition today, March 9. The event is taking place at the Jio World Centre in BKC, Mumbai. It will be live-streamed on SonyLiv at 7:30 pm (2 pm GMT). Before the competition, Sini talked at length about why she wants to win the coveted crown, her royal lineage, her role model among the past Miss World winners from India, and more in an interview with Zoom. Read the snippets from the 22-year-old's conversation inside. Miss India World Sini Shetty will represent India today at the 71st Miss World pageant. (Instagram) Sini Shetty on why she wants to win the 71st Miss World 2024 title Sini Sadanand Shetty became Miss India World in 2022. Sini, who hails from Karnataka and was born in Mumbai, told Zoom that she was 'super excited' to be a part of the competition as the host delegate. The 22-year-old has been preparing for the pageant for two years and revealed that one of the major reasons to bag the Miss World title is her parents, as she wants to "make them proud" by winning. She also said that her parents were quite supportive when she decided to be a part of the beauty pageant world. "They have been my biggest support - my backbone." Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Sini Shetty's royal lineage Sini also talked about her royal lineage from the maternal side and the lineage of freedom fighters from her father's side. "The maternal side of my family belongs to a royal family. They belong to the royal lineage of the Kananjaru Palace, and the paternal side of the family belongs to the lineage of freedom fighters. I think the values that have been instilled in me are to serve beyond self, to be there for the community. And second, to be there for India is to understand what the motherland means to us and what freedom means to us. I think all these values have accumulated to make me who I am today," she said. Meanwhile, Sini also told the publication that Priyanka Chopra is her role model. She said, "India has left such beautiful queens, and they have followed such a beautiful legacy. Selecting one would not suffice but if I must choose, I will choose Priyanka Chopra. I feel that I relate to her a lot. She is an entrepreneur. She is someone who wears many hats in life. I love how she is not afraid to speak up and I feel that I relate to her. I am someone who stands on her opinion, someone who respects her own opinion and is not afraid to share it with the world." Krystyna Pyszkova won the Miss World 2024 pageant. The 71st Miss World was held in India after a 28-year-long hiatus on March 9 in Mumbai. The grand event saw contestants from over 115 countries. 24-year-old Krystyna competed against these beauty queens and grabbed the coveted title. Miss World 2022 Karolina Bielawska of Poland crowned Krystyna as her successor at the star-studded show. Keep scrolling to know about the 71st Miss World title winner. Miss World 2024 winner Krystyna Pyszkova getting crowned by Miss World 2022 Karolina Bielawska. (Instagram) All you need to know about Miss World 2024 Krystyna Pyszkova Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Krystyna Pyszkova is from Czech Republic. Apart from winning the ultimate Miss World title, the 24-year-old's journey in the beauty pageant is full of remarkable achievements. She was named Miss Europe during the Top 4 selection along with Yasmin Azaytoun of Lebanon (Miss Asia and Oceania), Ache Abrahams of Trinidad and Tobago (Miss America), and Lesego Chombo of Botswana (Miss Africa). She also won the Best Fashion Designer Award - Europe during the competition. She wore a spectacular red and black embroidered gown that captured the essence of her heritage. Meanwhile, Krystyna Pyszkova is studying for two degrees in Law and Business Administration. She is also an international model. She also founded the Krystyna Pyszko Foundation. According to Miss World Organisation, her proudest moment was opening an English school for underprivileged children in Tanzania. She enjoys playing the Transverse flute and the violin and has a passion for Music and Art, having spent nine years in an art academy. For her Beauty With A Purpose project, Krystyna concentrated on the work she developed in Tanzania, where she inaugurated a school and contributed as a volunteer to promote quality education for children. Because education is her passion, she decided to open her foundation in the Czech Republic, focusing on providing several educational programs not only for children but also for the elderly and mentally disabled people. Lastly, Yasmina Zaytoun of Lebanon is the First Runner-Up. CISF Raising Day 2024: The Central Industrial Security Force or the CISF is instrumental in safeguarding the assets and infrastructures of the country. From security services to ensuring that the properties of the nation are safeguarded, the Central Industrial Security Force takes care of everything. CISF Raising Day is observed to commemorate the day when the CISF was established. CISF is providing security to the strategic establishment, including the Department of Space, the Department of Atomic Energy, the Airports, the Delhi Metro, the ports, the historical monuments and the basic areas of Indian economy such as petroleum and natural gas, electricity, coal, steel and mining, read an excerpt of the official website of the CISF. Every year, CISF Raising Day is observed on March 10.(PTI) As we gear up to observe CISF Raising Day for this year, here are a few facts that we must keep in mind: Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Date: Every year, CISF Raising Day is observed on March 10. This year, the special day falls on a Sunday. History: There was a growing need for specialised security forces in industries and other critical sectors. Under the CISF Act, 1968, the Central Industrial Security Force was established to address growing needs. They help in safeguarding the government infrastructure projects, industrial establishments and public sector undertakings. When The Central Industrial Security Force started, it only had three battalions and 2800 personnels. But now it has grown to 165000 personnel and is one of the largest and strongest security forces in the country. Significance: This day is observed to acknowledge and honour the efforts and sacrifices made by the CISF personnel in safeguarding the vital assets of the nation. The special day is marked with parades, cultural programs and ceremonies. Blood donation camps and health check-up camps are also organised in many parts of the country as a part of CISF Raising Day celebrations. Falgun Amavasya, also known as the new moon in the Hindu month of Phalguna, is a day of great significance for the devotees of Hinduism. It is an auspicious day for performing a variety of religious and spiritual practices, including giving charity, chanting mantras and performing hawan. As this day is dedicated to honouring ancestors and predecessors, many pilgrimages to different temples to participate in Pitru puja. This auspicious occasion holds deep spiritual significance, inviting believers to reflect on their lineage and express gratitude to their ancestors. It's a time to cultivate a sense of connection with the sacred and the past through quiet reflection and acts of kindness. From date to significance, scroll down to know more. (Also read: City-wise Ramadan 2024 timetable for India: Check Delhi, Lucknow or your city's fasting schedule, sehri and iftar time ) Falgun Amavasya holds great religious and spiritual significance among Hindus. ( Representational Image)(Pixabay) Falgun Amavasya 2024: Date and timing According to the Hindu calendar, Falgun Amavasya will be observed on Sunday, March 10, 2024. The auspicious timings are as follows: Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Amavasya Tithi Begins- 06:17 PM, March 9, 2024 Amavasya Tithi Ends - 02:29 PM, March 10, 2024 Significance of Falgun Amavasya In Hinduism, Phalguna Amavasya has a special sacred significance. Amavasya day is dedicated to the worship of forefathers and ancestors, and people seek the blessings of the ancestors on this day. Devotees visit various religious places to perform hawan and yajna, take holy dips in the Ganga, and perform pitru puja and pitru tarapan. People also observe Shraddh customs, honouring their deceased ancestors with prayers, food and drink. This month-long period is dedicated to spiritual purification. Taking a holy dip in the Ganga is considered extremely virtuous. People are encouraged to practice inner clarity, meditation and prayer. Phalguna Amavasya rituals 1. Take a holy dip in the Ganga as soon as you wake up in the morning. 2. There is a spiritual significance to doing Hawan for Pitru dosha on this particular day. It is also considered praiseworthy to do charity work and provide food and clothing to the needy. 4. One must engage in reading the Bhagavad Gita and removing Ramcharitmanas. 5. Perform Gayatri Jaap to ward off Pitru Dosha and evil energies. International Day of Awesomeness 2024: People are amazing in their own ways. Be it being kind to others or understanding another person, awesomeness comes from the beauty of acceptance and the ability of making other people comfortable. None of us are perfect, but it is the way we handle our imperfections and turn them around to make the world a better place which counts as awesomeness. Each person needs to be celebrated for their awesomeness. Spreading positivity through our actions, words and behaviours helps others feel safer around us. Finding the positive side of things and not backing down, no matter what, makes a person awesome. Every year, International Day of Awesomeness is observed to spread more positivity and celebrate the awesomeness that resides in each person. (Unsplash) Every year, International Day of Awesomeness is observed to spread more positivity and celebrate the awesomeness that resides in each person. As we gear up to celebrate the special day, here are a few things that we should know. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Why do we celebrate International Day of Awesomeness? Every year, International Day of Awesomeness is observed on March 10. This year, the special day falls on a Sunday. The day intends to spread positivity and help in making the world a better place. This also helps in identifying the traits of people who help others, are kind in nature and compassionate. The way we respect another person is what makes us awesome. In 2008, Kevin Lawver came up with the idea after his intern Freddie Maneiro suggested that the awesomeness of every lawyer is meant to be celebrated. Soon the thought caught up on Twitter (Now known as X) and people began to resonate with the idea. Since then, International Day of Awesomeness has been celebrated every year to identify the personality traits of people who make the world a beautiful place to live in. The special day is observed on March 10 the birthday of American martial artist and actor Chuck Norris, the man who is known for his awesomeness. Yoga is a powerful tool for promoting spinal health, offering a range of poses and practices that can strengthen and stretch the muscles surrounding the spine, improve flexibility and enhance overall mobility. A strong and supple spine is essential for maintaining good posture, preventing injuries and supporting optimal function throughout the body. Yoga for strong and supple spine: 4 exercises to cultivate healthier spine for good posture (Photo by wee lee on Unsplash) Importance of alignment In an interview wth HT Lifestyle, Himalayan Siddhaa Akshar, Founder of Akshar Yoga Kendraa, revealed, By incorporating yoga into your routine, you can cultivate a healthier spine and enjoy the benefits of improved well-being. One of the fundamental principles of yoga is the focus on alignment, which is particularly important when it comes to spinal health. Proper alignment helps distribute weight evenly along the spine, reducing strain on individual vertebrae and supporting the natural curves of the spine. Many Yoga poses are designed to encourage proper alignment, allowing practitioners to lengthen the spine and create space between the vertebrae. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Yoga asanas for spine health He suggested the following Yoga asanas for a strong and supple spine - One of the simplest yet most effective poses for promoting spinal health is Mountain Pose (Tadasana). In Mountain Pose, you stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, grounding down through the soles of your feet while reaching upward through the crown of your head. Engaging the muscles of the legs, core, and back helps to align the spine and promote better posture. By practicing Mountain Pose regularly, you can improve your awareness of alignment and cultivate a strong, stable foundation for other yoga poses. Plank Pose (Santolanasana) is a classic yoga pose that effectively engages the core muscles while also improving overall strength and stability. To practice Plank Pose, start in a push-up position with your hands shoulder-width apart and your body forming a straight line from head to heels. Engage your core muscles and hold the pose for several breaths, focusing on maintaining alignment and stability throughout the body. As you build strength in your core, you'll also strengthen the muscles that support your spine, helping to prevent and alleviate back pain. Seated Spinal Twist (Ardha Matsyendrasana) can be practiced sitting on the floor or in a chair. To practice Seated Spinal Twist, sit up tall with your legs extended in front of you. Bend your right knee and place your right foot on the outside of your left knee. Inhale to lengthen the spine, then exhale to twist gently to the right, placing your left hand on your right knee and your right hand on the floor behind you. Hold the twist for several breaths, then repeat on the other side. Seated Spinal Twist helps to increase flexibility in the spine, improve digestion, and relieve tension in the back muscles. One of the most well-known forward folds is Standing Forward Bend (Padahasthasana), which can be practiced with bent or straight legs depending on your level of flexibility. To practice Standing Forward Bend, stand with your feet hip-width apart and hinge forward from the hips, reaching your hands toward the floor or placing them on your shins or thighs for support. Keep a slight bend in your knees if necessary to maintain length in the spine. Allow your head and neck to relax, and breathe deeply into the stretch for several breaths. Standing Forward Bend helps to release tension in the spine, calm the mind, and promote a sense of relaxation and rejuvenation. Himalayan Siddhaa Akshar recommended, Incorporating Yoga into your routine can be a valuable tool for promoting spinal health and overall well-being. By practicing Yoga poses that strengthen and stretch the muscles surrounding the spine, improve alignment and posture and increase flexibility and mobility in the spine itself, you can cultivate a stronger, more supple spine and enjoy the benefits of improved physical and mental health. Whether you're new to Yoga or have been practicing for years, there are poses and practices to suit every level and ability, making Yoga accessible to all who seek to support their spinal health and enhance their quality of life. The Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation's Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Tourism Development Board, RS Bali, launched the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Vande Bharat Bus Service, scheduled for flag-off on Saturday. Himachal Pradesh Tourism launches Vande Bharat bus from Palampur to Amb, announces discounts for soldiers and journalists (File Photo by Unsplash) The inaugural service, starting from Palampur and terminating at Amb in the Una district via Nagrota and Kangra, aims to cater to tourists arriving via the Vande Bharat train to the Kangra district. Departing from Palampur at 8:00 am, the Vande Bharat bus will offer a comfortable journey for tourists, departing from Amb to Kangra and back to Palampur by 11:30 am. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. In addition to this, in a gesture of appreciation towards soldiers, all current and ex-servicemen from the state will be entitled to a 50 per cent discount on their stays in state tourism hotels for eight months, and a 30 per cent discount for the remaining four months, March, April, May, and June. Furthermore, soldiers will avail a 30 per cent discount on food expenses. Thirdly, registered journalists across the state will also receive a 50 per cent discount on accommodation in state tourism hotels for eight months and a 30 per cent discount for the remaining four months, March, April, May, and June. Additionally, registered journalists will benefit from a 30 per cent discount on food. Bali emphasized that these announcements are poised to benefit numerous tourists, citizens, soldiers, and registered journalists in Himachal Pradesh. He expressed gratitude towards the Chief Minister for his continuous support and guidance in the government's endeavours towards public welfare. The three major initiatives were announced during a press conference held on the occasion of Mahashivratri. Along with Bali, MD Rajiv Sharma, Block Congress President Man Singh, Vice President Pratap Riad, General Secretary Arun Katoch, and other dignitaries were present during the press conference. Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has announced 370 Lok Sabha seats as the target for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming general elections. That is 67 seats more than the tally the party got in 2019. By all accounts, this is a formidable task, especially since the party nearly swept its strongholds in the Hindi heartland. In the west too, it swept Gujarat and did remarkably well in Maharashtra with its ally Shiv Sena. The party, on the ascendance in the eastern states of Odisha and West Bengal as well as the Northeast, could make gains, of course. Southern India, barring Karnataka, refused to ride the Modi wave and preferred regional outfits the Telangana Rashtra Samithi in Telangana, YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh, the DMK-front which included the Congress in Tamil Nadu and the Congress-led United Democratic Front in Kerala. The Congress took Punjab, the only state in northern India where the party did well. It is against this backdrop that the prime minister, confident of a third successive term in office, has raised the bar for the BJP and set Mission 400 for the NDA. In a way both the targets 400 for the NDA and the 370 seats for the BJP are connected. The BJP needs to win in the South to pick more seats for which it needs strong regional allies. So, the NDA will be in focus in the southern states, where the BJP lacks the organisational might and ideological influence to dominate the electoral contest. It hopes to compensate for both with political nous, which is now visible. On Saturday, the party clinched a seat deal with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Jana Sena in Andhra Pradesh, while talks continue with the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha: Both the TDP and the BJD are former NDA members. It has allies in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, though these do not have the clout to swing elections. Add the manoeuvres in Maharashtra and Bihar, and it becomes clear that the NDA has acquired a geographical spread and gained a wider social base making it more representative of the country, in fact, than the Opposition INDIA bloc. First, the alliances in the South. Clearly, the BJP is in no mood to allow the INDIA bloc a free run in the 130 Lok Sabha constituencies in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala, where the Opposition hopes to do well. Soon after the defeat in the Karnataka assembly elections, the BJP moved swiftly to tie up with the Deva Gowda-led Janata Dal-S, which has substantial influence in southern Karnataka. The deal with the TDP-Jana Sena combine in Andhra Pradesh may help the party find a foothold in a state with 25 Lok Sabha seats. The INDIA bloc is formidable in Tamil Nadu, but the BJP has been on an overdrive, led by PM Modi himself and a young energetic party chief, to crack the state that sends 39 MPs to the Lok Sabha. Tamil Nadu, with its lineage of Dravidian sub-nationalism, is both an organisational and ideological barrier to the BJP: The party would prefer to have all the AIADMK factions on its side to take on the DMK front but it will not be averse to growing at the cost of its one-time ally. Elsewhere, it has built a Mahayuti in Maharashtra by breaking the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party, which were the pillars of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (the local INDIA variant), crippled the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar by engineering the defection of Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) yet again, and successfully managed a rainbow coalition of Hindu upper castes, non-Yadav OBCs and, with the inclusion of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in the NDA, restive peasant castes such as the Jats, while preventing consolidation of the opposition parties. In fact, Mayawatis politically inexplicable reluctance to join INDIA opens up further possibilities for the BJP to increase its seats from Uttar Pradesh the Samajwadi Party (SP)-Bahujan Samaj Party-RLD alliance and the Congress together won 15 seats (out of 80 seats) in 2019. This leaves West Bengal as the only big state where the BJP will be battling a formidable regional player, the Trinamool Congress, on its own. With over two dozen allies, the BJP has revived the NDA as a potent entity for the 2024 polls. This may well suggest a subtle turn in the partys tactics, which since 2014 had focussed on the expansion of the party and its ideology even if that meant alienating long-term allies, for instance, the Shiv Sena and Shiromani Akali Dal, and trusted the leadership and record of PM Modi more than political alliances. Historically, the BJP has been more accommodating of allies at the national level, more so perhaps because it lacked the Congresss national footprint or hegemonic presence. However, the partys majoritarian ideological instincts, which manifested in the Rath Yatra and the destruction of Babri Masjid in 1992, prevented many regional parties from allying with it until the late 1990s. In 1996, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha and formed the government at the Centre. However, the Vajpayee Cabinet was forced to resign 13 days after it took oath because no party would back the BJP government. In his resignation speech, Vajpayee criticised these parties for practising political untouchability. Later, the party had to promise prospective allies that it would put its core ideological agendas, Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, the Uniform Civil Code, and the repeal of Article 370, on the back burner in the name of coalition dharma. Now, in the renewed NDA, the allies are dependent on the BJP and expected to follow the BJPs playbook. This change in power equations between the BJP and the Congress reflects the distance Indian politics has travelled since the 1990s and the transformation of the BJP from the time it was led by Vajpayee and Advani to its present dominant position under Modi and Amit Shah. Under Modi, the BJP won a straight majority in the 2014 elections and emerged in pole position in national politics. In office, the BJP unabashedly pursued its core Hindutva promises. Under Shah as party president, the BJP set itself the goal of emerging as the biggest political party in the world. The following statistical nugget is revealing: In 2014, the BJP's membership stood at 35 million; a year later, it had risen to 100 million. If the party won 11.3 million votes in the 2012 assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, it swept the 2017 elections with 34.4 million votes. In its pursuit of a national footprint, the party brought in popular leaders from rival parties and even offered them high office. For instance, former Congress leaders now head BJP governments in Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura. That seems a small price to pay as the BJP transformed from a cadre outfit to a mass organisation. This transformation seems to have had no impact on the partys ideological orientations or goals. It is from this position of strength that the BJP is expanding the NDA. With a popular communicator as the face of the party, a big pile of governance claims including delivery of public goods and welfare, State agencies at its command, unrelenting ambition to win office, and a muscular faith-centric nationalism powering its engines, the BJP has been successful in projecting its dominance over the polity. Emaciated regional parties, under weather due to corruption charges, dwindling war chests and a public mood that favours strong leaders, prefer to join the BJP juggernaut, on the ruling partys terms, as it seeks to achieve Target 370 (for the party) and Mission 400 (for the NDA). Social media platform X chief executive Elon Musk has said that he is planning to launch a TV app next week for Amazon and Samsung users who will be able to watch long form videos. Last October, X had rolled out an early version of video and audio calling for some users. The billionaire had said he planned to turn it into a super app offering services from messaging to peer-to-peer payments, Reuters reported. ALSO READ: Elon Musk's X has over a million jobs listings: Check if there's one for you Social media platform X owner Elon Musk(Reuters file) On a user's post saying that the social platform's long-form videos could be directly watched on smart TVs, Musk said, "Coming soon." Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Reuters quoted a Fortune report that said the app could look similar to the TV app offered by Google's YouTube. The report cited an unidentified source as saying Musk was set on competing with YouTube. X has been forging partnerships with the likes of former Fox commentator Tucker Carlson and former CNN anchor Don Lemon in a bid to become a video first platform. ALSO READ: Elon Musk responds to X users post on Elon vs Zuck fight at Romes Colosseum Since its takeover by Musk in 2022, X has struggled to retain advertisers amid controversies ever since Musk bought it in 2022. In another development, Musk has said that X could soon get approval for a money transmitter licence in New York. He also said X could receive its license in California in the next month or so, while getting the New York approval could be a few months away, Reuters reported. The billionaire has sought to turn it into an "everything app" like Tencent's dominant WeChat app in China, with features beyond social media, including the ability to send money to other X users. To offer services across the U.S., experts say X will need a money transmitter license in each state, and Musk has previously said that approval in New York and California would be the most consequential. Those populous states are also known for relatively lengthy approval processes. Some other states including Pennsylvania and Utah have already granted money transmitter licenses to X. (With Reuters report) A student from Pakistan has been sentenced to death by a court in Punjab Province. As per reports, the court said that the 22-year-old was given the sentence for sharing blasphemous pictures and videos over WhatsApp. In the same case, a 17-year-old was sentenced to life imprisonment. The 22-year-old student was given a death sentence for sharing blasphemous materials. (Unsplash/@ademay) A complaint against the students was filed by the cybercrime unit of Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in 2022, reported the BBC. The case was filed in the capital of Punjab, Lahore. Later, the case was referred to the local court in Gujranwala. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. In Pakistan, blasphemy is punishable by death. There have been incidents where people have reportedly lynched others accused of this crime, even before their cases were taken to trial. What did the court ruling say? As per the BBC, the judges said that the 22-year-old student created videos and photos containing derogatory words about Prophet Muhammad and his wives. The plaintiff claimed that he had received the materials. The younger student was sentenced for sharing the materials. The father of the student given the death sentence told the BBC that he would appeal to the Lahore High Court against the ruling. The defence lawyers argued that the students were "trapped in a false case". Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari was elected as Pakistan's 14th President on Saturday, becoming the head of state for a second time. Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari.(AFP) Zardari, 68, was the joint candidate of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) while his rival Mahmood Khan Achakzai, 75, was the candidate of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC). Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. He received 255 votes while his opponent got 119 votes in the National Assembly and the Senate. The new president was elected by the electoral college of the newly elected members of the National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies, as per the provisions of the Constitution. In the Sindh Assembly, where Zardari's PPP is at the helm, he bagged the most votes while he also swept the Balochistan Assembly votes bagging all votes polled there. He also defeated Achakzai in the Punjab assembly. In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly, where SIC/PTI has the government, Achakzai got the most votes against Zardari. A businessman-turned-politician, Zardari is the husband of slain Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Zardari would replace the incumbent Dr Arif Alvi, whose five-year term ended last year. However, he has continued since the new electoral college was not yet formed. Zardari, who served as the president from 2008 to 2013, will also be the first civilian to be elected for the second time as president. He is expected to be sworn in on Sunday. Achakzai is the head of his Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and was contesting from the platform of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), which came to prominence after independent candidates backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) joined it. Footage of the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar has been made public for the first time, as it aired in a television news programme on Friday. A banner with the image of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar is seen at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple, site of his June 2023 killing, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada September 20, 2023. (REUTERS) Read here: India wont aid Canada probe on Nijjar killing till evidence shared: Report Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. The video, taken from a surveillance camera providing a view of the parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib on the evening of June 18 last year, shows a white sedan blocking the path of the Dodge Ram pickup truck driven by Nijjar. As that happen, two persons, believed to be Nijjars killers, can be seen running towards the vehicle, before they escaped in a waiting Toyota Camry. The video was aired by the Government-funded outlet CBC News. That video was also viewed by the outlet Globe and Mail which reported on it earlier in the week. A senior federal source said the Trudeau government is frustrated that no arrests have been made, the outlet reported. The case is being handled by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT). In a release in August, IHIT said investigators have said that a third person, the driver of a getaway vehicle, was involved in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a major pro-Khalistan figure in the country, on June 18 in the town of Surrey in the province of British Columbia. In a release on Wednesday, the IHIT said it had confirmed that a 2008 silver Toyota Camry was used to drive away the two heavy-set and masked suspects in the killing. It had released a grainy image of the driver of the car, which was captured by CCTV in the vicinity. In December, the Globe and Mail reported that two persons involved in the killing were under surveillance by Canadian law enforcement and that they could be arrested within weeks. On March 6, the Globe reported that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) told the Government that they want to make sure the case will not fall apart at trial before arrests are made, citing a source. Read here: No foreign interference behind the attack on residence of Nijjar associate: Canada It also said police will explain the alleged assassins involvement and that of the Indian government when charges are laid against the two men. Nijjars killing caused a rupture in relations between India and Canada after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated in the House of Commons on September 18 there were credible allegations of a potential link between Indian agents and the murder. A major international chess tournament, scheduled to be held in Toronto next month, will go ahead with the Canadian city as its venue as issues over players and other participants receiving their visas in time having been resolved. A flyer for the FIDE Candidates tournament scheduled for April in Toronto. (FIDE/X) The 2024 Candidates Tournament, held by the International Chess Federation or Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE), is scheduled from April 3 to 23. Described as the most prestigious tournament in the chess world, the FIDE Candidates will determine the challengers for the World Champion title in both the Open and Womens Categories. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. The tournament features five Indian players: teen Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa R, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi and Gukesh D in the Open category and Vaishali Rameshbabu and Koneru Humpy in the Womens. However, both FIDE and the Chess Federation of Canada had warned the tournament could be moved to Spain in the issuance of visas was not complete by Friday. The visa issues have been solved for all of the players and most of the accompanying persons. The tournament will take place in Toronto. There are no Indian players or accompanying persons who do not already have their visas, Vladimir Drkulec, president of the Chess Federation of Canada said as the deadline arrived. FIDE said it had received a positive response from Canadian Immigration Authorities. All players and key members of the organizing team have received their visa approvals and notifications to submit their passports. Describing that development as a good sign, it expressed hope that everyone involved will get their visas in time to travel to Toronto! It thanked the Canadian Government, Minister of Immigration Marc Miller, MPs, Canadian Chess Federation, media, and the global chess community for their incredible support. Drkulec told the Hindustan Times on Tuesday that all the Indian players and their accompanying persons had been notified they would receive their visas for the tournament. This will be the first time the nearly 70-year-old tournament is being held in North America and will feature 16 of the worlds finest players. Efforts to secure a deal on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza are ongoing, Israel's intelligence agency Mossad said on Saturday, despite dimming hopes for a truce during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. This handout picture released by the Israeli army shows troops on the ground in the Gaza Strip, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (AFP) Mossad chief David Barnea met on Friday with his U.S. counterpart William Burns to promote a deal that would see hostages released, Mossad said in a statement distributed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. "Contacts and cooperation with the mediators continue all the time in an effort to narrow the gaps and reach agreements," Mossad said. Israel and Hamas, the militant Islamist group that rules the Palestinian enclave, have traded blame over the apparent deadlock in talks in the run-up to Ramadan, which begins on or around March 10. A Hamas source told Reuters the group's delegation was "unlikely" to make another visit to Cairo over the weekend for talks. Egypt, the United States and Qatar have been mediating truce negotiations since January. The last deal led to a week-long pause in fighting in November during which Hamas released more than 100 hostages and Israel freed about three times as many Palestinian prisoners. Hamas blames Israel for the impasse in negotiations for a longer ceasefire and the release of 134 hostages believed still held in Gaza - saying it refuses to give guarantees to end the war or pull its forces from the enclave. Mossad said Hamas was digging its heels in and aiming for violence in the region to spiral during Ramadan. Israeli officials have said that the war will end only with the defeat of Hamas, whose demands Netanyahu has called "delusional". In a statement on Saturday marking Ramadan, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh vowed the Palestinians would continue to fight Israel "until they regain freedom and independence". Five months into Israel's air and ground assault on Gaza, health authorities there say nearly 31,000 Palestinians have been killed and thousands more bodies are feared buried under rubble. The war was triggered by an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 253 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. In Tel Aviv, thousands of Israelis attended twin weekly rallies. At an anti-government protest, some demonstrators blocked a highway and were dragged away by police. The other was led by families of hostages who called for their loved ones' release. "The pain and anger are still running through my blood," said Agam Goldstein, a teenager freed from Gaza with her mother and two brothers in November, addressing the hostage rally. "But I must put them aside and turn to you, Hamas - If you have any humanity left in you, release the hostages." RAFAH Stepping up pressure on the last area of Gaza it has not yet invaded with ground forces, Israel struck one of the largest residential towers in the southern city of Rafah. The 12-floor building was damaged in the strike, and residents said dozens of families were made homeless, though no casualties were reported. Israel's military said the block was being used by Hamas to plan attacks on Israelis. One of the 300 residents of the tower, located near the border with Egypt, told Reuters Israel gave them a 30-minute warning to flee the building at night. "People were startled, running down the stairs, some fell, it was chaos. People left their belongings and money," said Mohammad Al-Nabrees, adding that among those who tripped down the stairs during the panicked evacuation was a friend's pregnant wife. The strike raised alarm among residents of a wider Israeli assault on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million people are sheltering. Hamas on Saturday named four Israeli hostages as having died in Israeli strikes in the enclave, though it offered no evidence. The Israeli military, which declined to comment, has previously said such videos by Hamas were psychological warfare. Israel's offensive has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian catastrophe. Much of the coastal enclave is reduced to rubble and most of its population is displaced, with the U.N. warning of disease and starvation. The death toll from malnutrition and dehydration has risen to 25 in Gaza, Ashraf al-Qidra, the spokesman of Gaza's health ministry said, including three children who died of dehydration and malnutrition at the northern Al Shifa Hospital overnight. A ship laden with relief supplies for Gaza was preparing on Saturday to leave Cyprus. The European Commission has said a maritime aid corridor between Cyprus and Gaza could start operating as early as this weekend in a pilot project run by an international charity and financed by the United Arab Emirates. Five people were killed and at least 10 were injured on Friday after a humanitarian airdrop's parachute failed to open, causing a pallet to crash into a group of civilians queuing for food at the Shati refugee camp in Gaza. According to reports, the casualties were taken to the Al-Shifa hospital. A parachute falls behind a building as aid parcels are airdropped over the northern Gaza Strip on March 8, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas movement. (AFP) While Jordan's military and the US have denied that aircraft from their country caused the fatalities, it is believed that the aid was carried out in partnership with Belgium, Egypt, France, and the Netherlands, reported news agency AFP. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Following the incident, the Gaza government media office denounced the aid airdrops calling them useless and flashy propaganda rather than humanitarian service. It also called for the availability of food to pass through land borders. We previously warned it poses a threat to the lives of citizens in the Gaza Strip and this is what happened today when the parcels fell on the citizens' heads, the Gaza government said in a statement as quoted by AFP. EU, UN on aid airdrop in Gaza According to the United Nations, the airdrops of the aid in Gaza or a proposed maritime aid corridor cannot be a substitute for land deliveries. The UN has urged more trucks to be permitted to reach Gaza through more border crossings. Meanwhile, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Friday expressed hope that a maritime corridor could open on Sunday, though crucial details of the planned operation remained unclear. Israel-Hamas war The war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7 last year after Hamas' attack in which around 1,200 Israelis were killed. Since then, Israel has been continuously attacking Gaza with the country's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressing that they will continue its war till victory is achieved. According to the latest data from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, the war has claimed the lives of over 30,000 people, with scores injured and displaced. Five months into the war, negotiators from Palestine, Qatar and Egypt are trying to secure a 40-day ceasefire in time for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. The temporary ceasefire would also allow some hostages captured by Hamas to go free, while aid to Gaza would be increased. However, Israel is not a part of it. (With inputs from agencies) Within days of the Maldives inking a defence deal to obtain non-lethal weapons from China, the archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean has acquired drones from Turkey for patrolling its vast exclusive economic zone, according to a media report on Saturday. Maldives president Mohammed Muizzu(AFP) The Maldives government is likely to start operations of the drones within the next week. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. However, the exact number of drones was not clear nor was there any official confirmation from the Maldives Ministry of Defence or Foreign Ministry, the report said. Pro-China President Mohamed Muizzu, upon his return from China, indicated that the government was looking to acquire surveillance drones. Military drones have been brought to the Maldives for the first time following an agreement by the current government with a Turkish company to purchase drones to patrol the country's waters. The drones were delivered to the Maldives on March 3. The drones are currently at Noonu Maafaru International Airport, news portal Adhadhu said, quoting a senior government official involved in the matter. Turkey was the first foreign country visited by Muizzu after he was sworn in as president in November. However, the number of drones acquired from Turkey under the agreement remains unclear even as the government official said the government is working to start operations of the drones within the next week, it said. Stating that the government has not made any official comments regarding the drones, Adhadhi said it had, during a press conference on Wednesday, questioned whether the Maldives can operate such drones. But the Defence Ministry official declined to respond directly and said work is ongoing to strengthen the capabilities, the news portal said. It further quoted social media posts to claim that it was Turkey company Baykar's TB2 drones and equipment needed for the drones that were delivered to the Maldives. Earlier in January, speaking to reporters at the Velana International Airport after he returned from a state visit to China, Muizzu made a lot of claims about his countrys defence without naming India. Stating that Maldives is not located in the backyard of any country, he had said, Even though our islands are small, we are a huge country with a very large exclusive economic zone of nine lakh square kilometres. Maldives is one country that holds the largest proportion of this ocean. This ocean is not the property of a specific country. On March 4, Muizzu also announced that his country is working to establish a 24/7 monitoring system for the Maldivian waters this month to ensure control of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) despite its significantly large area. Adhadhu further reported that earlier this year, the Presidents Office has amended the Import Duty Waiver Procedure to give the President the discretion to remove import duties on items for use by the security services. This is believed to be an amendment to the rules to facilitate the purchase of military drones, it said. Although this is the first time that such drones have been acquired for the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), the government has not disclosed any information on the matter. Adhadhu earlier reported that USD 37 million (MVR 569.8 million) was allocated from the states contingency budget to purchase the drones. The Defence Ministry later said the government is procuring modern platforms and equipment for MNDF to defend and protect the Maldives by road, sea and air. During Wednesday's press briefing, the Defence Ministry refused to provide details of the agreement to purchase the drones. The Foreign Ministry has also, so far, not provided any information on the matter. The development comes ahead of the March 10 deadline set by the Maldives government for the withdrawal of Indian military troops from the island nation. Earlier this week, President Muizzu affirmed that no Indian military personnel, not even those in civilian clothing, would be present inside his country after May 10. Muizzus statement came less than a week after an Indian civilian team reached the Maldives to take charge of one of the three aviation platforms in the island nation, well ahead of the March 10 deadline agreed by the two nations for the withdrawal of Indian military personnel. Last year, less than 24 hours after taking oath as the President, Muizzu formally requested India to withdraw 88 military personnel from his country by March 15, saying the Maldivian people have given him a "strong mandate" to make this request to New Delhi. Imran Khan's party leader Omar Ayub has voiced strong opposition to Asif Ali Zardari's election as president, urging that it be declared null and void, ARY News reported on Saturday. Supporters of Imran Khans PTI in Karachi (HT_PRINT) "We reject the so-called presidential election," PTI leader said. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. "Asif Ali Zardari has been an aged and ailing person, a mentally fit person should be elected for this office," Omar Ayub said. Ayub further demanded the immediate release of PTI's founder and Bushra Bibi from jail, as per ARY News. "Our assembly seats were snatched in a daylight robbery," he added. According To ARY News, "Issuing pro-state or anti-state certificates is not in the hand of the Speaker or any other person. The authority of issuing this certificate is mandated by people," PTI leader stated while slating a statement of Ayaz Sadiq, the Speaker of the National Assembly. Ayub went on to accuse that Form 47 of the election results has been tampered with. "We challenge them to conduct elections in these constituencies again. It will separate truth from falsehood," asserted Ayub. Recently, On Saturday Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has declared the PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari winner with 411 votes in the presidential election, while his opponent PkMAP Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai got only 181 votes, Dawn reported. In a statement released by the electoral body on behalf of Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, the ECP said presidential polls were carried out in Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar and Islamabad. Furthermore, the ECP mentioned that the results compiled by the presiding officers from all five locations were received at the ECP secretariat, as per Dawn. "According To Dawn, the election commission highlighted that 1,044 votes were cast of which nine were declared invalid. "Thus, the total number of valid votes cast is 1,035." A 22-year-old student was sentenced to death in Pakistan on the charges of blasphemy over WhatsApp messages, reported BBC on Friday. According to the Pakistani court, the student had prepared blasphemous pictures and videos on the messaging application that contained derogatory words about Prophet Muhammad and his wives. The court ruled that the messages were intended to outrage the religious feelings of Muslims. A Pakistani court has awarded the death sentence to a 22-year-old student over blasphemous WhatsApp messages. Another 17-year-old has been sent to life imprisonment.(File) Another 17-year-old student has also been sentenced to life imprisonment for sharing the blasphemous material. The teenager has not been awarded the death sentence as he is a minor. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. A complaint regarding the two students' messages was filed in 2022 by the cybercrime unit of Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Lahore. In the complaint, FIA said that it had examined the students' phones and found obscene material. Both the students have denied the accusations, saying that they have been trapped in a false case, reported BBC. Meanwhile, the father of the 22-year-old student has filed an appeal in the Lahore high court against the lower court's decision, BBC said. Blasphemy is the action of writing or speaking about God that shows a lack of respect. It is a sensitive issue in Pakistan, where anyone deemed to have insulted Islam or Islamic figures can face the death penalty. Some accused have also been lynched before their cases went to trial. In August last year, several churches were set on fire by a rampaging mob in eastern Pakistan after a Christian family was accused of blasphemy. The attack was triggered by a group of religious zealots accusing a local Christian family of desecrating the Quran. Several images on social media at that time had shown smoke rising from the church buildings and people setting fire to furniture. (With inputs from agencies) On Friday, pro-Palestinian protestors took their activism to the University of Cambridge's Trinity College and vandalised a 1914 painting of British Conservative politician Lord Arthur James Balfour. Soon after the art piece was spray-painted in red and slashed, Palestine Action took to its social media handles to proudly announce that one of its activists did the deed, tagging the post #BritainIsGuilty. The activist group sought to ruin the Philip Alexius de Laszlo painting with red colour to symbolise the bloodshed of the Palestinian people since the Balfour Declaration was issued in 1917. March 8: Anti-Israel protestor vandalises Lord Balfour's Cambridge painting to symbolise the bloodshed of the Palestinian people.(X / @Pal_action) The Palestine Action website again addressed how the British politician backed the infamous Balfour Declaration of 1917, which promised a national home for Jewish people in Palestine despite the majority of indigenous people not being Jewish. Palestinians equate this move with laying the groundwork for the ongoing ethnic cleansing of the native population. This move followed as a direct act of opposition against Elbit Systems, Israel's largest arms supplier, which holds Palestinians in Gaza captive as labour to develop their weapons. The website editor's note ends with the message, Palestine Action vows to continue their direct campaign until Elbit is shut down and British complicity with the colonisation of Palestine ends. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip since the surprise Hamas attack of October 7 has resulted in the initiation of genocidal violence on an unimaginable scale. The Palestine Action website also reported that in the last 154 days, Israel has claimed over 30,000 Palestinian lives, injured 72,000 and displaced over 1.9 million people, making up 80% of the Gaza population. According to the reports of Cambridge Independent, once the filmed video made it to the internet, Cambridgeshire Police attended the scene. A Trinity College spokesperson eventually issued a statement addressing the damage caused to a portrait of Arthur James Balfour during public opening hours. Cambridgeshire Constabulary added that it received the online report on the afternoon of March 8. As of yet, no arrests have been made. Also read | Temporary port for Gaza aid to take 'several weeks': US Netizens reacting to Pro-Palestinian protestors vandalising Lord Balfour's Cambridge painting: Within moments of Palestine Action's post, the internet was flooded with divisive outlooks on the matter. A bunch of scornful comments hit X (formerly Twitter), but others lauded the protestors' actions, too. A commonly urging demand among many netizens was for these protestors to be jailed. That should be a lengthy prison term. Say goodbye to family and friends for quite a while! was one such comment under the @Pal_action post. Yet another top comment under the post noted Balfour's past associations, This person is one of the largest contributors to destabilising a whole region for generations with something he should never have had the authority to do. Another hefty comment against the organisation rose in the thread: I hope this person and anyone involved in setting up this act of criminal damage is arrested, charged and sent away to a lengthy spell in jail. If your organisation is encouraging such illegal acts then the leaders of your group should be likewise prosecuted. On the other hand, a different comment praised the outcome: Now this is art! Palestine Action's official X page describes them as The direct action network dismantling British complicity with Israeli apartheid. As a nod to their self-proclaimed identity, another Twitterati came to their support: Wow! Thats some real direct action!!! On the contrary, a different outlook flipped the picture: This kind of protest does not help people wake to the truth. It, instead, makes the uninformed turn away harder from the truth. A Moscow court has sentenced a student to 10 days in jail after he renamed his wifi network with a pro-Kyiv slogan during the military offensive in Ukraine, the Ria-Novosti news agency reported on Saturday. The court found him guilty of a "public demonstration of Nazi symbolics... or symbols of extremist organisations," Ria-Novosti said.(rep image) The student at Moscow State University replaced the name of the network from his wifi router with Slava Ukraini (("Glory to Ukraine"), the rallying cry of Ukraine forces. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. The court found him guilty of a "public demonstration of Nazi symbolics... or symbols of extremist organisations," Ria-Novosti said. It added that a police officer had reported the network name to authorities. Since the Russian offensive was launched in February 2022, officials have issued thousands of prison terms or fines against people publicly criticising the action or showing support for Ukrainian forces. Spanish Prime Minister said Saturday that he will propose that Spain's parliament recognizes a Palestinian state. Pedro Sanchez, Spain's Prime Minister (AP) I will propose granting Spains recognition to the Palestinian state, Sanchez said. "I do this out of moral conviction, for a just cause and because it is the only way that the two states, Israel and Palestine, can live together in peace. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Sanchez added his voice to a chorus of other European leaders and government officials who have said that they could support a two-state solution in the Middle East as international frustration grows with Israels actions in the Palestinian territories. French President Emmanuel Macron said last month that it's not taboo for France to recognize a Palestinian state. British Foreign Minister David Cameron said that the United Kingdom could officially recognize a Palestinian state after a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. Sanchez said that his position on the conflict in the Gaza Strip is much like his countrys support for Ukraine following Russias full-scale invasion more than two years ago. He stressed that Spain demanded respect for international law from Russia, and from Israel, for the violence to end, the recognition of two states, and for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza." His comments at a rights conference in the city of Bilbao came as aid shipments were headed for Gaza amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and a new international willingness to work around Israeli restrictions. Five months after Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage, Israels military has battered the territory, killing more than 30,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Pope Francis has said in an interview that Ukraine should have what he called the courage of the "white flag" and negotiate an end to the war with Russia that followed Moscow's full-scale invasion two years ago and that has killed tens of thousands. Pope Francis (REUTERS) Francis made his comments in an interview recorded last month with Swiss broadcaster RSI, well before Friday's latest offer by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to host a summit between Ukraine and Russia to end the war. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Erdogan made the fresh offer after a meeting in Istanbul with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Zelenskiy has said while he wants peace he will not give up any territory. The Ukrainian leader's own peace plan calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops from all of Ukraine and the restoration of its state borders. The Kremlin has ruled out engaging in peace talks on terms set by Kyiv. A spokesman for Zelenskiy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the pope's remarks. In the interview Francis was asked for his position on a debate between those who say Ukraine should give up as it has not been able to repel Russian forces, and those who say doing so would legitimise actions by the strongest party. The interviewer used the term "white flag" in the question. "It is one interpretation, that is true," Francis said, according to an advance transcript of the interview and a partial video made available to Reuters on Saturday. It is due to be broadcast on March 20 as part of a new cultural programme. "But I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates," Francis said, adding that talks should take place with the help of international powers. "The word negotiate is a courageous word. When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate," Francis said. It was believed to be the first time Francis has used terms such as "white flag" or "defeated" in discussing the Ukraine war, although he has spoken in the past about the need for negotiations. Last year the 87-year-old pope sent a peace envoy, Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, to Kyiv, Moscow and Washington to sound out leaders in those countries. "One may feel shame," Francis said about negotiating, "but how many dead will it (the war) end up with? (One should) negotiate in time, find a country that can be a mediator," Francis said, mentioning Turkey among the countries that had offered. "Do not be ashamed of negotiating, before things get worse," said Francis, who has made hundreds of appeals for what he calls "martyred Ukraine". Asked if he was willing to mediate, Francis said "I am here". In another part of the interview, speaking of the war between Israel and Hamas, Francis said: "Negotiating is never a surrender". Last month Zelenskiy said that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since the Russian invasion in February 2022 and that tens of thousands of civilians had been killed in the occupied areas of the country. Authorities in California are investigating a potential oil spill at the famed Huntington Beach in Los Angeles. Officials reported on Friday that a 2.5-mile-long oily sheen was discovered off the coast. The Coast Guard first received the report of an unknown substance near the Emmy and Eva oil platforms. This handout photo released on March 8, 2024 by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) shows an aerial view of a Unified Command with representatives from the US Coast Guard, California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Office of Spill Prevention and Response (CDFW-OSPR), and Orange County Sheriff's Department responding to an oil sheen observed off the shore of Huntington Beach, California. The US Coast Guard is investigating a two-mile wide oil spill just off the California coast near Los Angeles, officials said on March 8.(AFP) Petty Officer Richard Brahm said, We are going all out to find out what this is because we dont know what this is, adding, As far as we can tell, its not a spill, per The Guardian. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Back in 2021, a serious offshore leak occurred close to Huntington Beach. In a statement released by the US Coast Guard on Friday, March 8, Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach Command Center received a report at 6:50 p.m. Thursday of an unknown substance in the water 1.5 miles off the coast of Huntington Beach. Amid the ongoing investigation, Emmy operator California Resource Corp. confirmed that there were no leaks or spills emerging from its installation, per Bloomberg. The statement goes on to add, Watchstanders at the Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach command center notified Coast Guard Pollution Responders, who began investigative work through the night with CDFW-OSPR, Huntington Beach Lifeguards, and Orange County Sheriff's Department. At around 6:30 am, the Coast Guard Pollution Responders went via a Newport Harbor Patrol boat to investigate the matter. Additionally, a helicopter was also deployed by the authorities to conduct an overflight investigation in the affected area. The statement adds that officials are contacting all potential spill sources in the area, but no source has been identified. The Coast Guard has also hired an oil spill response organization to conduct offshore oil collection and is working to identify possible impacts to the shoreline and environmental protection strategies, the statement adds. Per the official statement, no oiled wildlife has been observed. The Coast Guard also issued a warning to the public not to approach impacted animals if observed and to call the Oiled Wildlife Care Network at 1-877-823-6926. Former US President Donald Trump has reportedly secured a $92 million bond to support his appeal in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case. Columnist E Jean Carroll (L). Ex-US President Donald Trump.(AFP) The bond acquisition follows Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Manhattan federal courts decision to reject the former Presidents plea to postpone the enforcement of the $83.3 million verdict that jurors handed to Carroll on January 26. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Trump is required to either pay the sum in cash or secure a bond by March 11 as he seeks the appeal. Trumps lawyer, Alina Habba, has requested Judge Kaplan for the bond. If granted, Trump would be temporarily exempt from paying Carroll. However, even this bond does little to mitigate Trumps broader financial challenges. ALSO READ| Donald Trump files for retrial in E Jean Carroll defamation case $92m bond, $453m debt, and a date with justice On February 16, Justice Arthur Engoron of the Manhattan Supreme Court ordered Trump to pay $355 million in a separate civil fraud lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Including interest, Trumps debt is estimated to be around $453 million, according to Jamess office. Trump's upcoming criminal trial is scheduled to commence on March 25. The coming trial involves allegations related to hush-money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal. Meanwhile, the former New York Times columnist secured $18.3 million in compensatory damages and $65 million in punitive damages in her second defamation lawsuit against Trump. This verdict arrived less than a year after a different Manhattan federal court jury awarded Carroll $5 million in both sexual abuse and defamation lawsuits. What are the Carroll's allegations? Carrolls allegations against Trump were first publicized in a June 2019 New York magazine article, which featured her memoir What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal. In that book, She accused Trump of raping her in a changing room at a Manhattan department store. ALSO READ| Judge slams Donald Trumps mistrial request as nonsensical and futile in E Jean Carroll defamation case Carroll claimed that Trumps vehement denials, and lamenting her as a dishonest political operative, severely damaged her reputation and career. So, she initiated a lawsuit against him in 2019. At that time, the states civil statute of limitations prevented her from suing Trump for the alleged sexual assault. A legislative change in 2022, known as the Adult Survivors Act, allowed a one-year window for adult accusers to file lawsuits for incidents that had previously been beyond the civil statute of limitations. Taking advantage of this new law, Carroll filed another lawsuit against Trump. After emerging as the Republican frontrunner in the Super Tuesday, Donald Trump has now secured a tight grip on the Republican National Committee. On Friday, the former US president's two staunch allies officially secured top spots in RNC. The committee unanimously elected Michael Whatley as chair and the ex-POTUS' daughter-in-law Lara Trump as co-chair. Both the candidates had been previously endorsed by Trump. Lara Trump, the newly-elected co-chair of the Republican National Committee, holds up a donation check as she gives an address during the general session of the RNC Spring Meeting Friday, March 8, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)(AP) Donald Trump-endorsed candidates secure top spots at RNC The head of the North Carolina Republican Party will replace Ronna McDaniel, who served as the RNC chairwoman since 2017. She announced her decision to step down from the position last month after Trump's peers put pressure on him to oust her. During her farewell speech, a teary-eyed McDaniel said, President Trump deserves to have the change in place he wants in place at the RNC. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. I will do everything possible to re-elect President Trump in November. And I ask all of you out there who worked so hard during this primary season or supported another candidate that you come in and join me in supporting our president as well, she added. Meanwhile, during the ceremony on Friday, Lara declared her unwavering support for her father-in-law, saying, Everything I do at this committee will have one focus: re-electing Donald Trump, flipping the Senate, and expanding the House this November, per Newsweek. Lara Trump's election as co-chair of RNC draws criticism online The committee's unanimous decision to elect Lara as RNC co-chair has sparked outrage online. After the speech from the speaker who nominated Lara went viral, netizens slammed her for lacking essential qualifications for the position. In a world where qualifications are often measured by titles and years of experience, were reminded of a truth: God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called. Lara Trump is the embodiment of this truth, the speaker said. In response to the speech, CNNs Edward-Isaac Dovere said, This is a speech explaining why the daughter in law of the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party was given a position running the Republican Party. Meanwhile, MSNBC's Jen Psaki said, Someone wrote this line and thought it was going to kill it.. God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called. Another furious X, formerly Twitter user wrote, Lara Trump is now Co-Chair of the RNC. After a lifetime of donating to every GOP nominee and multiple down ballot candidates every cycle.Im out. I donated to help win elections, not to maintain the lifestyle of a billionaire. No point donating now. Last month two NYPD officers were assaulted while attempting to disperse a disorderly group of migrants near Times Square in New York City and fled to California afterwards, and Tesla boss Elon Musk is not happy with it. FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, attends the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris, France, June 16, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo/File Photo(REUTERS) Timeline of the attack The surveillance video shows, around 8:30 p.m., a calm interaction between the group and the officers. However, the situation rapidly escalated when the officers tried to apprehend one of the individuals, leading to a violent confrontation that began with a kick to an officers head and then the men surrounded and repeatedly struck the officers on the ground. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. The officers sustained minor injuries and received treatment at the scene. Two suspects, Yorman Reveron, 24, and Darwin Andres Gomez Izquiel, 19, were apprehended in the immediate aftermath. Later that evening, Kelvin Servat Arocha, 19, and Wilson Juarez, 21, were also taken into custody. All four were released without bail shortly after their arrest. A fifth individual, 22-year-old Jhoan Boada, was arrested and charged in connection with the attack and similarly released without bail. ALSO READ| Migrant mob thrashes two NYPD cops near Times Square in shocking video, released without bail Two additional suspects, Yohenry Brito, 24, and Jandry Barros, 21. Brito was charged with robbery and felony assault. According to The New York Post, the suspects were believed to have boarded a bus to California and fled with false names. Musk condemns Biden's soft corner for illegal immigrants Musk took X to voice his concern as an immigrant himself. Because I am raising concerns about the flood of unvetted illegal immigrants overwhelming American cities, the press will often characterize me as anti-immigrant. As an immigrant myself, nothing could be further from the truth, he expressed. I am very much in favor of increased and expedited legal immigration for anyone who is talented, hard-working and honest. It is bizarrely difficult and agonizingly slow to immigrate to the USA legally, but trivial and fast to enter illegally! This obviously makes no sense, he continued. ALSO READ| Elon Musk's net worth tanks by a whopping $40 billion in 2024 amid Tesla's woes Again tonight, the SpaceX founder criticized the release and non-deportation of the attackers, posting, Illegals beat up American police officers in Times Square, got out of jail for free and, instead of being deported, were given free tickets to California Why? along with an edited picture of Biden medalling the Times Square immigrant. Many echoed with Trymp. Vote Trump if you want all of this to stop, one wrote. Another one said, Because Democrats care more about votes from illegals than safety for Americans. Because Votes > Everything Else for Biden! one posted. While some backed the immigrant in Musk's meme tweet. The person in your meme was found to have not been involved or in the area. He could potentially sue you for defamation, one user backed. ALSO READ| Elon Musk now takes aim at YouTube, plans rival app for smart TVs in big video push Another one said, this is a defamatory statement, elon. That person had nothing to do with the cops at Times Square. Enjoy another lawsuit. He was even found not guilty by the courts for not being there. Last month NYC Governor Kathy Hochul expressed dissatisfaction with the handling of the situation and suggested that the legal status of the suspects should be examined, especially if they committed crimes against law enforcement officers and were in the country illegally. During a rare public appearance on Friday, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attended the opening keynote event of the South by Southwest Festival. Stepping into the spotlight on International Womens Day, the Duchess of Sussex addressed various pressing issues. Among them, Meghan bravely shared her own harrowing experiences during her pregnancies with Archie and Lilibet, shedding light on the detrimental impact of online trolling. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's children to use royal titles after Lilibeth's christening. Meghan Markle reflects on 'cruel' cyberbullying The bulk of the bullying and the abuse that I was experiencing in social media and online was when I was pregnant with Archie and with Lili and with a newborn with each of them, The Duchess of Sussex said on stage while being a part of SXSW panel on Friday. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. Also read: Prince Harrys immigration papers closer to disclosure: Biden's DHS ordered to release visa plea Meghan took part in the conversation regarding online trolling alongside Brooke Shields, Katie Couric, and author and sociologist Nancy Wang Yuen. Dressed stylishly in a cream ensemble, the mother-of-two exuded confidence as she spoke, while Harry watched proudly from the audience. The panel addressed various issues including "how the ubiquitous nature of social media is creating an often dangerous environment which has led to serious mental health issues for teenage girls in particular". Meghan Markle shares personal experience of online bullying When asked, 'Social media really has become the place for women and girls to be scrutinized, objectified, bullied, and unfortunately, I know this is something you are all too familiar with. How have you been able to manage the seemingly endless toxicity that comes at you?' by moderator Errin Haines, the 42-year-old took a pause to gather the courage and took the mic in her hand to speak her heart out. Also read: Prince Harry wanted to meet his brother during UK trip, but Prince William's priority was Yes, social media is an environment that I think has a lot of that, The Duchess of Sussex said. She continued, You know, I think its really interesting as I can reflect on it, I keep my distance from it right now just for my own well-being, but the bulk of the bullying and abuse that I was experiencing on social media and online was when I was pregnant with Archie and Lili, and with a newborn with each of them. Meghan Markles pregnancy challenges Meghan Markle, who married Prince Harry in 2018, gave birth to Prince Archie in May 2019. At the time, the Duchess was still an active Royal Member. Two years later, Princess Lilibet arrived after the couple stepped down from their royal duties and moved to California for a fresh start. During her pregnancy with Archie, Markle reportedly faced emotional distress and mental health challenges. She made some bombshell disclosures about how she felt being "unprotected" by the monarchy in her much-discussed 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey. The Suits alum also disclosed experiencing suicidal thoughts, attributing them to negative coverage in the British press. On Friday afternoon, a military helicopter crash near the Texas southern border claimed three lives, including two soldiers and one US Border Patrol agent, according to Joint Task Force North. A view from inside a vehicle shows emergency services personnel responding to a helicopter crash near La Grulla, Texas, United States, March 8, 2024 in this screen grab obtained from social media video. A.C./via REUTERS(A.C. via REUTERS) Two soldiers and one US Border Patrol agent are killed. One soldier was injured, the agency declared. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. The UH-72 Lakota helicopter, which was on a federal mission to support the Southwest border, went down around 2:50 p.m. MST near Rio Grande City, Texas. Agency will not reveal the names till the investigation is done with A UH-72 Lakota helicopter assigned to the federal Southwest border support mission crashed at approximately 2:50 p.m. MST today while conducting aviation operations near Rio Grand City, Texas, the statements read. The statement released by the agency on Friday night also mentioned, The names of the deceased will not be released until the next of kin have been notified. ALSO READ| Israel-Hamas war: 5 killed, several injured as parachute fails to open during aid drop in Gaza The initial reports suggested that the helicopter crashed in La Grulla, a small town in Starr County situated along the Rio Grande River. Victor Escalon, the South Regional Director for the Texas Department of Public Safety, informed Nexstar that the helicopter was operating under federal orders in collaboration with the Border Patrol. Texas Department of Public Safety indicated that the incident was not related to Operation Lone Star, a state border enforcement initiative involving the National Guard and other law enforcement entities. Meanwhile, sources from the Border Patrol revealed to Fox News Bill Melugin that members of a Mexican cartel were observing the helicopter through a drone at the time of the crash. The cartel members reportedly focused their cameras on the wreckage and were heard laughing in a video shared on their social media channels. This crash is the latest in a series of recent military helicopter accidents On February 27, the National Guard announced an aviation safety standdown for all Army National Guard helicopter units. This directive from Lt. Gen. Jon A. Jensen, the director of the National Guard, was to facilitate a comprehensive review of safety policies and procedures. The decision followed closely after two fatal crashes earlier in the month. ALSO READ| Gaza ceasefire by Ramadan looking tough: US president Joe Biden On February 23, a military helicopter crash during a training mission in Mississippi claimed the lives of two National Guard soldiers. Earlier, on February 12, two National Guard pilots sustained injuries in a crash during a training exercise in Utah, involving AH-64 Apache helicopters. On February 6, five US Marines lost their lives after their helicopter crashed in the mountainous region of San Diego amid inclement weather conditions. A detailed earnings document accessed Hindustan Times has revealed a shockin pay gap between men and women game developers around the United States. Alaska leads with 60.6% pay disparity for female game developers(Shutterstock) The recent document brought to the publication by DesignRush (a web design company), shows stark disparities in pay between male and female game developers across the country. Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now. The data, which was actually pulled out from the U.S. Census Bureau, highlights a troubling trend of gender-based income inequality within the gaming industry. The report reveals that (on a national scale), women in game development earn only 84.2% of what males are actually having. This discrepancy clearly says that women effectively work without pay for 41 days out of the year. ALSO READ| France's Macron pledges to make abortion a basic right in Europe The date marking this transition into unpaid labour falls on November 20th 2024, but it occurs even sooner in states with greater wage gaps. Here are the 10 states with the biggest pay disparity for female game developers: State Women game developers earnings as proportion of mens Pay gap as unpaid working days 2024 date when women in computing start working for free Alaska 60.6% 103 September 19 Delaware 66.5% 88 October 4 North Dakota 66.3% 88 October 4 Mississippi 72.4% 72 October 20 Arkansas 73.2% 70 October 22 North Carolina 75.0% 66 October 26 Nebraska 75.9% 63 October 29 Utah 76.2% 62 October 30 Kansas 78.1% 57 November 4 California 79.5% 54 November 7 Alaska leads with 60.6% wage disparity, followed by Delaware and North Dakota As you can see at the number one position for the largest pay disparity, Alaska reports female game developers have a minimum wage of 60.6%, plus male game developers. That means, Alaskan women in such a field will work for free during the rest of the year, which is 31 1/2% of the year, starting with September 19th. Second place shared by North Dakota and Delaware with women earning 66.3% against mens income. Hence, counting the 88 days from 4 October to close the pay gap shows that women still have some work to do. ALSO READ| Sargento recalls shredded cheese products over listeria contamination risk in 15 US states Mississippi is approximately two months behind, while Arkansas is three months from their discontinuation of the unpaid period by females who are self-employed. However, the Motorman state also has the highest pay gap, where women earn 99.1% of men's salaries, which is equivalent to only one day of unpaid work on December 29th. On December 21th in Idaho and Connecticut women's wages become worth 3.8% and 94.3% of men's income, respectively, as women start working for free from this moment due to lowly earned salaries in their states compared to men. Although, the fact that there are gaps of such extent is alarming, particularly when we are discussing the lack of tech labour that remains a huge problem among over the half of global organizations. Discrimination of any kind is unethical and should not be tolerated Gianluca Ferruggia, General Manager at DesignRush, reflects on the situation: While skill gaps can occur for a variety of reasons, weve definitely seen a significant one emerge in the tech industry due to difficulty attracting and retaining qualified workers - especially in a competitive field like game development. Last year saw widespread layoffs across the tech sector, with reportedly more than three million workers being affected by this mass workforce reduction. Yet most of these organizations will need to retain their current talent and attract new skilled workers - and if they have difficulty doing so, they need to evaluate why that may be. ALSO READ| Sip into spring: Starbucks introduces two lavender oatmilk drinks as part of new spring menu Discrimination of any kind is unethical and should not be tolerated, including gender disparity. Not providing equal opportunities for female developers to advance their careers or get compensated equally reflects poorly on your ability to manage, maintain, and satisfy your current workforce and needs rectifying as a priority, she continued. The layoffs that swept through the tech sector last year, affecting over three million workers, have only exacerbated the issue. France, which signed the Declaration of the Rights of Man in 1789, has not traditionally been at the forefront of securing the rights of women. They had to wait until 1944 to win the vote, 16 years after British women. France legalised abortion only in 1975. On March 4th, however, when the French parliament voted to make abortion a constitutional right, it became the first country to do so explicitly. The place of women has changed because France has changed, declared Yael Braun-Pivet, the first female head of the National Assembly, who presided over the vote. That evening the Eiffel Tower was lit up with the words My body, my choice. The overwhelming vote by French legislators, who backed the constitutional revision by 780 votes in favour to just 72 against, was a rare moment of cross-party unity. Pushed initially by the left-wing opposition, it last week secured unexpected backing in the Senate, which is controlled by the opposition on the right. The justice minister, Eric Dupond-Moretti, spent hours there trying to win over senators. Emmanuel Macron, the centrist French president, then seized the chance to send the revision days later to a joint sitting of the lower and upper houses in Versailles, where a three-fifths majority is needed to revise the constitution. That threshold was passed by a big margin. Some French legislators, including the head of the Senate, Gerard Larcher, had argued that it was unnecessary to enshrine the right to abortion in the constitution since it was already protected by law. The constitution, argued Mr Larcher, was not a catalogue of social rights. There was no imminent threat to those rights. Moreover, the French are among the strongest supporters of the legal right to abortion, with 82% in favour, far ahead of the 63% in Poland and 55% in America (see chart). But French lawmakers on the left in particular had worried about how to protect the right to abortion from any future attempt to roll it back, particularly after Americas Supreme Court in 2022 overturned the longstanding ruling that barred the states from banning abortion there. Polands nationalist government severely restricted abortion in 2020. In France campaigners look ahead with trepidation to the next presidential election, in 2027, and the possibility of a hard-right victory. Although Marine Le Pen, the nationalist leader, does not campaign against the right to abortion and backed the constitutional revision this week, 42 of her 87 fellow deputies voted against, abstained or did not take part. Unveiling the proposal last year, Mr Macron said that he wanted to make sure that the right was irreversible. Many French legislators this week made a further point: that the vote was a message of support to women elsewhere. It was a campaign for those who resist Trump, Bolsonaro, Orban, Milei, Putin, Giorgia Meloni, declared Laurence Rossignol, a Socialist senator who had lobbied for the revision, to a cross-party standing ovation. For Mr Macron, who runs an unpopular minority government that has recently veered to the right on immigration, it is also a way to shore up support on the leftand, for once, win the momentary approval of the majority of the French. To stay on top of the biggest European stories, sign up to Cafe Europa, our weekly subscriber-only newsletter. 2023, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com The United Arab Emirates Iran has been blamed for the "physical violence" that resulted in the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022, triggering widespread protests against the nation's compulsory headscarf regulations and its governing theocracy, according to a UN fact-finding mission on Friday. The stark declaration was delivered in a comprehensive initial report uploaded to the UN Nations Human Rights Council by the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran. UN Exposes Severe Human Rights Abuses A comprehensive investigation was submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council, unveiling alarming findings about the Iranian government's handling of activist Ms Amini's death by the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran. The detailed account of the Iranian regime's actions during the protests shows severe human rights violations, such as sexual assaults on detainees. The protests erupted after the tragic death of Amini, a 22-year-old activist, on September 16, 2022. She died in a hospital following her arrest by the morality police for allegedly not adhering to the authorities' dress code. Despite Iran's denial of responsibility for her death, the report dismisses claims of a pre-existing medical condition, pointing to evidence that contradicts the official narrative. The report clarifies the distinctive characteristics of the protests, which were led by women and youth, highlighting their broad impact and longevity. However, the forceful reaction by the authorities, which led to more than 500 fatalities and 22,000 arrests, highlights the seriousness of the situation. The UN report accuses Iranian security forces of using shotguns, assault rifles, and submachine guns against demonstrators without an imminent threat, leading to "unlawful and extrajudicial killings." A disturbing pattern emerged of intentional targeting of protesters' eyes, leaving permanent marks as a form of branding, according to the report, according to Los Angeles Times. Read Also: Katie Porter Accuses Opponents of Rigging California Senate Primary Sexual Violence in Iran Furthermore, the investigation shown disturbing cases of sexual violence against detainees, such as rape, the fear of rape, compelled nudity, contact, and genital electrocution. The report provides an in-depth overview of how security forces used social and cultural stigmas to instill fear and shame in individuals, without regard for their age or gender. The investigation indicates the Iranian government's involvement in concealing the details of teenager Armita Garavand's death, which activists say was due to her not wearing a hijab. The actions taken by the authorities in this situation closely resembled those in Amini's case, highlighting a consistent pattern of disorientation. The Fact-Finding Mission acknowledged ongoing investigations into the 2023 death of Armita Garavand, as well as reported poisonings targeting Iranian schoolgirls, refraining from drawing definitive conclusions on the incidents. The release of this essential report, while not expected to change Iran's government's current path, increases the global pressure on Tehran. The results align with wider worries regarding Iran's nuclear activities, its role in the conflict in Ukraine, and its ongoing persecution of activists like Nobel Peace Prize chosen Narges Mohammadi. Despite the severity of the documented human rights abuses, Iran has not yet responded to the report's allegations, leaving the international community grappling with the urgent need to address these egregious violations, The Journal reported. Related Article: Mysterious Death: Healthy Indiana Mom of 2 Suddenly Dies on Board American Airlines Flight Home From Dominican Republic Along with the constant threats of bombings, famine has loomed over Gaza and the West Bank for months. Now, the Associated Press has reported that acute hunger in northern Gaza has caused the deaths of at least 20 people due to malnutrition at Kamal Adwan and Shifa hospitals, according to the Health Ministry. Most of the dead are children, as well as a 15-year-old boy and a man in his 70s. Children are particularly vulnerable to malnourishment for several reasons, but their still-developing brains and bodies are primary among them. These deaths took place in the north, which was the first portion of Gaza to suffer bombardment and bore the brunt of the early Israeli invasion. However, the effects are starting to be felt in the South as well. 16 premature babies have died of malnourishment at Emirati Hospital in Rafah over the past five weeks, according to senior doctors on the scene. "The child deaths we feared are here," Adele Khodr, UNICEF's Middle East chief, lamented in statement earlier this week. It is difficult to fathom the agony of slow death due to malnourishment, which strikes children and the elderly first and hardest. Additionally, underfed mothers have difficulty breastfeeding due to a lack of proteins. Also, the destroyed sanitation and water infrastructure has become a catalyst for diarrheal diseases which leave victims unable to retain the nourishment they are able to ingest, according to UNICEF. The Israeli offensive has largely slowed the delivery of food, water, medicine, and supplies to a virtual trickle. In signature fashion, Israel has blamed the looming famine and dearth of supplies on UN agencies' failure to distribute supplies. UNRWA, the largest U.N. agency in Gaza, says Israel restricts some goods and imposes cumbersome inspections that slow entry. Additionally, the UN says convoys are regularly turned back by Israeli forces and the military often refuses passage during combat. This week Israel has said it will open crossings for aid into northern Gaza and allow sea shipments.Dr. Husam Abu Safiya, the acting head of Kamal Adwan Hospital, told the AP his staff currently treats 300 to 400 children a day, and that 75% of them are suffering from malnutrition. The United States and other countries have employed airdrops into Gaza but the amounts are nothing compared to the volume of truck deliveries. UNRWA says Israel has not allowed deliveries in northern Gaza for months. Last week, the Israeli military organized a food delivery in Gaza City that resulted in the deaths of 120 people as troops guarding the convoy opened fire on what they say was a perceived threat, with some being trampled in the ensuing chaos as well. At Emirati Hospital, Dr. Ahmed al-Shair, deputy head of the nursery unit, said the recent deaths of premature babies were rooted in malnutrition among mothers. Malnourishment and extreme stress are both factors causing premature, underweight births, and doctors say anecdotally cases have risen during the war, though the U.N. does not have statistics. Last week HNGN reported that the United States military has been ordered by the Biden administration to build a temporary port for the delivery of supplies to the stricken Palestinian population. This will allow for the delivery of aid capacity that is far greater than can be done by airdrops and convoys. (Photo : Tennessee Bureau of Investigation) Sebastian Rogers, 15, vanished Feb. 26 from Hendersonville, TN Police expanded their frantic search for missing teen Sebastian Rogers more than a week after he mysteriously vanished from his northern Tennessee home. Sebastian, a 15-year-old with autism, was last seen by his mother when she put him to bed the night of Feb. 25, according to WZTV-TV. "When I told him to go to bed, he was like, 'I love you mom, I love you puppies,' and he went to bed; and I went to bed around midnight, and everything seemed fine, and when I went to wake him up for school, that's when I couldn't find him," Sebastian's mom, Katie Proudfoot, explained to the station earlier this week. "He wasn't in his room." On Thursday, the hunt for Sebastian led investigators to a Kentucky landfill, where the trash from his Hendersonville, Tennessee neighborhood was dumped, WKRN-TV reported. The search "yielded negative results," the Sumner County Sheriff's Office confirmed. "While we had hoped for a different outcome, our commitment to finding Sebastian remains unwavering," Sumner County Sheriff Sonny Weatherford said in a statement Friday. "We will continue to explore all available avenues and resources to bring closure to this case and provide answers to Sebastian's family and loved ones." On X, former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer weighed-in on investigators' brief, two day search of the landfill. "It took the FBI 4 weeks of tireless searching to find #QuintonSimon in a landfill," she wrote. "LE are done in 2 days searching for Sebastian in a landfill... This doesn't make sense," Coffindaffer criticized. Authorities described Sebastian as a white male, 5-foot-5-inches tall, 120 lbs, with brown hair, and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt, black sweatpants, and glasses. Multiple agencies, including the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, are coordinating efforts to track down the missing teen. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to contact the Sumner County Sheriff's Office at 615-451-3838 or TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND. (Photo : JACK GUEZ / AFP) A picture taken from a position in southern Israel on February 29, 2024, shows a parachute belonging to the Israeli Army dropping a box over destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Five people were killed and several more injured when the parachute of an aid package airdropped Friday over war-torn Gaza failed to deploy, leaving the parcel to plummet on top of them, according to reports. The incident unfolded around 11:30 a.m. local time as the United States, Belgium, Egypt, France, Jordan and the Netherlands conducted the humanitarian airdrop over the Al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza, CBS News reported. Video posted to social media - which could not immediately be verified by HNGN.com - shows a passing plane dropping dozens of aid packages. The parachute attached to one package, however, appears not to open properly, making its descent far more rapid than the others. Officials from Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, as well as an eyewitness, told CBS that five people were killed on the ground, including two boys. Several more were reportedly injured. CBS put that number at 11, while CNN said 10 people were injured, citing Khader Al Zaanoun, a journalist on the scene. The injured ranged in age from 30 to 50, CBS reported. A U.S. defense official told CBS that an initial review suggested that the U.S. airdrop was not to blame for the incident, but that further investigation was required. The U.S. began conducting the airdrops last week in an effort to address the spiraling humanitarian conditions in Gaza, amid Hamas' war with Israel. The war began on Oct. 7 with Hamas' surprise attack on Israel, which saw indiscriminate killing and hostages taken back to Gaza. Since, Israel has responded with an air and land campaign aimed at ousting Hamas from Gaza. Civilians represent the majority of those killed on both sides. The United States on Friday found former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez guilty of drug trafficking following a two-week trial in Manhattan. Prosecutors accused the 55-year-old of conspiring with various drug cartels during his tenure as the groups moved over 400 tons of cocaine through his country and into the U.S. They argued that in exchange, the cartels paid the ex-Honduran president millions of dollars in bribes that he then used to fuel his rise in his nation's politics. Former Honduras President Convicted Hernandez was the Honduran president from 2014 until 2022 and he was extradited to the United States in the latter year. It happened after the completion of his second term in office over charges of conspiracy to import cocaine into the U.S., conspiracy to possess firearms and destructive devices for drug trafficking, and possession of this type of weapon during the drug trafficking conspiracy. Following his conviction, the former Honduran president is facing a maximum sentence of life in prison for each of the charges. The Department of Justice (DOJ) said that when Hernandez was the leader of his country, he "protected and enriched the drug traffickers in his inner circle," according to CNN. The DOJ cited Hernandez' use of executive power to support extradictions of certain drug traffickers to the U.S. who supposedly threatened his grip on power. He is also said to have promised drug traffickers who paid him and followed his instructions that they would remain in Honduras. Prosecutors in the case added that members of the conspiracy Hernandez participated in relied on the Honduran National Police in order to protect cocaine loads as they were moved through the country. The former Honduran president denied the charges against him and testified in his own defense earlier this week. A lawyer for Hernandez on Friday said that they would appeal the conviction for the charges. Read Also: Corruption Charges Revived for Former New York Lieutenant Governor, 'Mr. Benjamin Will Be Vindicated' Drug Trafficking Case Prior to his arrest, the Honduran president was seen as a strong U.S. ally. During his presidency, his country received more than $50 million in anti-narcotics assistance from the American government. It also received millions of dollars in security and military aid, said BBC. Former United States President Donald Trump in 2019 thanked Hernandez for "working with the United States very closely." In response, the former Honduran president thanked the Republican businessman and the American people for the support that they gave in the nation's fight against drug trafficking. Prosecutors were able to find that Hernandez had been linked with drug traffickers as far back as 2004. This happened long before he won the Honduran presidency. They said in one allegation that Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman gave Tony Hernandez, the former Honduran president's younger brother, $1 million as a bribe. The verdict against Hernandez underscores the extent to which narcotics gangs have already penetrated some Latin American governments. A historian and Honduras expert at the University of California at Santa Cruz, Dana Frank, questioned how the U.S. government was unaware of what was going on. She argued that they chose to look the other way, according to the Washington Post. Related Article: 3 Escaped Prisoners Charged With Murder of U.S. Couple Presumed Dead Following Yacht Hijacking Montana GOP Rep. Matt Rosendale announced the suspension of his House re-election bid in the state's 2nd Congressional District over "defamatory rumors." The Republican said that the current attacks against him have taken a toll on him and have forced him to end his re-election efforts. This comes after he also dropped out from the Montana Senate race less than a week after entering it in February earlier this year. Matt Rosendale Drops House Re-Election Bid In a statement after announcing his campaign suspension, Rosendale said that law enforcement had visited his children because of a death threat against him. He also cited that there were false and defamatory rumors that were made against him and his family. The GOP representative noted that the situation has had negative impacts on him and his family. He added that it also caused a serious disruption to the election of the next representative for MT-02, according to Fox News. Rosendale's remarks seemed to have been referring to rumors from former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota. The latter alleged that Rosendale dropped out of the Senate race and was considering resigning from Congress because he impregnated a 20-year-old staff person. The Montana official's office vehemently denied the claim, arguing that it was completely false and defamatory. Rosendale has been threatening to take legal action against the former senator and his attorneys filed a litigation hold notice. This was essentially a notice to preserve documents. The Republican appeared to be determined to allay the rumors about him and his wife said that they were "lies" and were "100% false and are political mudslinging at its worst." However, nine days after saying that he was staying in politics, he threw in the towel. In a Friday statement, Rosendale said that public service has always been about serving and not titles or positions of power. He argued that the current attacks against him made it impossible for him to focus on his work and serve the people, said The Daily Beast. Read Also: George Santos Appears on House Floor for SOTU, Announces Another Congress Run Threats and Defamatory Rumors Prior to announcing the suspension of his Senate bid, Rosendale had been teasing it for nearly a year. However, with relatively poor fundraising, the National Republican Senatorial Campaign worked to box him out of the primary. Conservative organizations and Trumworld allies told the Montana official that they would not support his candidacy. Republican lawmakers view the Montana Senate seat as one of their best chances to flip a Democrat-held seat. However, Senate GOP leadership was concerned that Rosendale's campaign could significantly hinder their chances of winning it. The 63-year-old was initially elected to Congress in 2020 and won the Montana seat that Gov. Greg Gianforte left open when he ran for the gubernatorial position. His Senate run was cut short after Tim Sheehy, another Republican, received the endorsement of former United States President Donald Trump. Another blow to Rosendale was when House Speaker Mike Johnson reversed his plans to endorse the Montana official. The communications director for the speaker's political operation, Greg Steele, said that John had planned to send a contribution to Rosendale but has not "made any endorsements in the Senate races," according to The Hill. Related Article: Trump Gains Key Ally in Republican National Committee as Daughter-in-Law Elected Co-Chair Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered to host a peace summit with Russia after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The offer was issued during a news conference that was held in Istanbul after the meeting with the Ukrainian president where he expressed his hopes of Russia being on board with Turkey's offer. Turkey Offers to Host Peace Summit Erdogan said that since the start, they have contributed as much as they could toward putting an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine through negotiations. He added that they are ready to host a peace summit where Russia will be in attendance. The situation comes as Ukraine remains firm on not engaging directly with Russia in regard to peace talks. Additionally, President Zelensky has repeatedly said that the initiative in peace negotiations must belong to the nation that is being invaded. Zelensky noted that any peace negotiations must align with a 10-point plan that has previously been suggested. This would include food security, restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those responsible for the conflict, and security guarantees for his country, according to the Associated Press. He said that any proposals for ending the war must start with the formula that was proposed by the state defending its land and its people. Zelensky said that they want a "fair peace." He expressed his hopes that the inaugural peace summit that is set to be held in Switzerland this year will include the possibility of reopening all Ukrainian ports. The Ukrainian president said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that agreements were reached on joint defense projects with the Turkish government and corporations. In a Telegram message, Zelensky said that they also agreed to simplify trade and remove barriers to business. The Turkish president, on the other hand, said that they discussed stability in the Black Sea shipping corridor. He also reiterated his country's support for Ukraine's "territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence. Read Also: UN Expert Criticizes US Aid Policy for Gaza as 'Absurd' Amid Military Support for Israel Ending the Russia-Ukraine War Turkey has sought to balance its relations with both Russia and Ukraine amid the years-long conflict. Erdogan said that there are opportunities that Turkey can provide with its stance on the matter, said Aljazeera. The Turkish president said that they continue their solidarity with Ukraine but would also continue to work on ending the conflict with a "just peace" through dialogue and negotiations. On the other hand, Zelensky said that the discussions were "sincere and fruitful." Zelensky also expressed his gratitude to Erdogan for the latter's efforts in negotiating the release of Ukrainian prisoners who were being held in Russian prisons and camps. He claimed that the individuals were kept under extremely harsh and inhumane conditions. The Ukrainian president said that Russia will not be invited to the first peace summit in Switzerland. However, he noted that a Russian representative could be included in the next meeting after Ukrainian allies agree upon a roadmap for peace. The situation comes after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan last week said that it was time for Russia and Ukraine to start ceasefire talks. He added that this must not mean the recognition of Russia's occupation, according to Reuters. Related Article: UN Rights Chief Says Israeli Settlements in Palestinian Territories Expanded by Record Number Peru police reported the capture of an Iranian national who was supposedly part of the Iranian Quds Force and had plotted to assassinate an Israeli in the South American nation. Gen. oscar Arriola, Peru's police chief, said during a press briefing that Majid Azizi, 56, was apprehended in Lima on Thursday in the company of two Peruvian citizens. Arrests Iranian National and Two Peruvians An Iranian national and two Peruvians were taken into custody as a result of the successful disruption of a suspected terrorist conspiracy, which was confirmed by General Oscar Arriola, the highest-ranking officer in the Peruvian police force, during a news conference. Following a coordinated investigation with foreign intelligence services, uncovered important information on the activities of the Iranian man since his arrival in Peru at the beginning of March, the arrests were carried out. After allegedly organizing a terrorist cell with the objective of targeting an Israeli person who was participating in the APEC event, the police in Peru responded fast and interfered when it was revealed that the Iranian citizen, who was named as Majid Azizi and was 56 years old, was intending to return to Iran. Although General Arriola did not reveal the identity of the Israeli because of concerns over security, he did stress how important it was to carry out the operation. Azizi, who also holds Peruvian nationality through marriage, was apprehended along with the Peruvian accomplices on Thursday. The police chief highlighted the identification of the potential target but refrained from releasing further details due to security concerns. Despite assertions made by General Arriola, The Associated Press could not independently verify Azizi's affiliation with the Quds Force, an elite unit within Iran's Revolutionary Guard responsible for overseeing foreign operations. Iranian authorities have remained silent on the matter, with no acknowledgment from Iranian state media as of early Saturday, according to Reuters. Read Also: 'Remember Abbey Gate': Father of Slain Marine Arrested After Heckling Biden at SOTU Address Peru Unveils First Quds Force-Linked Arrest Iran has a history of intelligence activities in South America, particularly through its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force. The Quds Force has been linked to incidents such as the impounded Boeing 747 in Argentina, later seized by the United States, and the notorious 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Argentina, resulting in 85 fatalities. This is the first time that Peruvian officials have made an open statement on the arrest of a person who is suspected of having ties to the Quds Force. In his description of Azizi's capture, General Arriola mentioned that he was brought into prison after he had withdrawn money from an automated teller machine. Additionally, Azizi, along with the two Peruvian colleagues, is currently being held in custody for an initial term of fifteen days on allegations of terrorism. General Arriola identified that Azizi was preparing to go back to Iran on the day he was captured. Moreover, it came to attention that Azizi is married to a Peruvian woman, which adds another aspect to the ongoing investigation. The Iranian citizen's detention and the prevention of the suspected terror plot highlight the continuous global collaboration in dealing with potential threats and protecting national security, ABC News reported. Related Article: Biden Heard on Hot Mic Saying He and Netanyahu Will Need a "Come to Jesus" Meeting (Photo : Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) A UH-72 Lakota helicopter is seen in flight. Three people were killed and one injured in a helicopter crash near the border between the United States and Mexico on Friday. The Starr County Sheriffs Office confrimed that deputies were helping with a helicopter crash on the East side of La Grulla, Texas. Crash Near La Grulla Raises Concerns About Safety The National Guard Lakota UH-72 helicopter crashed, leading to the loss of three lives and leaving a fourth person in critical condition. According to Starr County Judge Eloy Vera, the victims were one woman and three men. The victims were later identified as two members on the New York National Guard and a U.S. Border Patrol agent. The survivor was a member of the National Guard. A Border Patrol spokesperson did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. The crash reportedly occurred in an area not associated with the Texas border enforcement effort known as "Operation Lone Star," confirmed by The Texas Department of Public Safety. The operation utilizes the National Guard and other law enforcement units for border security. Senator John Cornyn offered condolences for the National Guard soldier, Border Patrol agent, and others affected by the crash. In February, The National Guard ordered an aviation safety stand down for all Army National Guard helicopter units. The review of safety policies and procedures followed two prior helicopter crashes. The temporary grounding of the entire helicopter fleet aimed to ensure heightened safety measures in the wake of recent incidents, according to NBC News. Read Also: Trump Claps Back at Biden's Accusation That Ex-President Bowed Down to Kremlin, Says POTUS is 'Puppet' for Putin, Xi Jinping US Marines Perish in San Diego Helicopter Crash Two soldiers from the National Guard lost their lives in Mississippi during a training mission. Their military helicopter crashed in a wooded area on February 23. On February 12, there was another incident where two National Guard pilots were hospitalized after their helicopter crashed during a training exercise in Utah. Both incidents notably featured AH-64 Apaches. Five US Marines lost their lives in San Diego on February 6 after their military helicopter crashed in mountainous terrain among stormy weather. As the investigation into the La Grulla crash continues, it seems that Mexican cartel members were using drones to monitor the helicopter during the crash. An disturbing video shared on social media allegedly depicts people laughing while focusing on the wreckage. There are still questions regarding the safety precautions that are in place and the potential external variables that may have led to the crash that took place close to the border between the United States and the nation of Mexico, even as investigators continue to intensify their efforts to put out the details of this tragic incident, New York Post reported. Related Article: Portugal Elections Focus on Corruption, Economy as Far-Right Party Leader Runs for Office Uber and Lyft, two major rideshare companies, are on the brink of withdrawing their services from Minneapolis in response to a newly proposed ordinance aimed at raising the minimum wage for drivers. Both companies are set to leave the Twin Cities at the start of May following the Thursday decision by the Minneapolis City Council, according to a report from local outlet Fox 9. Rideshare Giants Echo Concerns Over Minneapolis Ordinance In a statement, Uber expressed its support for a comprehensive statewide legislation that guarantees drivers a minimum earning while working. The company emphasized the importance of protecting drivers' flexibility and independence in the process. However, it made it clear that if the ordinance in Minneapolis comes into effect, they would have no choice but to suspend operations. Similarly, Lyft voiced its concern over the proposed ordinance, stating that if it becomes law, the company will have to cease operations in the city by May 1. The company emphasized the need for a more sustainable and thoughtful policy solution, urging collaboration with stakeholders to find a balanced approach. "For the second time in less than a year, the bill-sponsors have willfully chosen to ignore offers to collaborate, instead choosing to rush through the most extreme figures possible," the statement reads. "We implore Mayor Frey to veto this legislation and instead join our efforts to pass a statewide minimum earnings standard that can balance the needs of all." The move by Uber and Lyft echoes similar actions taken in other cities facing regulatory challenges. In Austin, Texas, both companies temporarily pulled out following legislation requiring driver fingerprinting. However, other companies eventually filled the gap left by their absence, leading to their return to the market. While Minneapolis joins cities like New York and Seattle in proposing minimum wage mandates for rideshare drivers, the decision has faced pushback from the industry. Nonetheless, operations have continued in those cities despite the regulatory hurdles. Read Also: Wendy's To Copy Uber's Pricing Strategy! Menu Prices Will Soon Change Depending on Consumer Demand Minneapolis Ordinance Ensures Minimum Pay for Rideshare Drivers The ordinance in Minneapolis would guarantee that drivers receive a minimum of $5 for each completed ride and 80% of the fees for canceled rides. However, both Uber and Lyft have raised concerns about the potential impact on service affordability and availability. The Minneapolis City Council passed the ordinance with a 9-4 vote on Thursday. Meanwhile, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced on Friday that he vetoed the decision, yet the voting outcome indicates that the council might possess the necessary majority to override the veto. Rideshare drivers have long advocated for minimum pay standards, citing the challenges of making ends meet amidst rising expenses. The proposed ordinance aims to address these concerns by establishing minimum earnings criteria for drivers. While Uber and Lyft have issued warnings about ceasing operations, some council members remain hopeful for alternative solutions. The possibility of other companies entering the market or innovative taxi services stepping up could mitigate the impact of their departure. Related Article: Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Deliveroo Drivers to Strike on Valentine's Day Across US, UK Over Pay, Safety Concerns Vice President Kamala Harris said on Friday that she is ready to take on the role of the presidency if necessary, although Americans should not anticipate that happening On NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Harris,59, stated, "As it relates to me, I'm ready, if necessary, but it's not going to be necessary." "Joe Biden and I are running together, with him as president and me as vice president." In 2020, an important number of people cast their votes for this particular ticket. I think they will do it again. VP Kamala Harris Quashes Age Concerns When asked by NBC News reporter Peter Alexander about concerns regarding President Joe Biden's age, Vice President Kamala Harris confidently said that any uncertainties about his capability to lead were put to rest by his dynamic State of the Union speech on Thursday night. She identified Biden's dedication and enthusiasm, pointing to his energetic speech as proof of his competence for the position. During his address, Biden, 81, addressed his age with humor, stating, "I know I may not look like it, but I've been around a while." He received widespread praise for delivering one of the most fiery and energetic speeches of his presidency, including firm warnings about the potential consequences of a Donald Trump victory in the upcoming election. Harris replied that she had not addressed the prospect of a debate between Biden and Trump with the president, therefore she avoided revealing details when she was questioned about the possibility of said debate. It was said that the decision will be taken in the near future, and she pledged that further information would be supplied. The State of the Union address saw Biden engaging with Republicans in the audience, particularly challenging them on their rejection of a bipartisan immigration and border security proposal. Amidst interruptions, including one from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who mentioned a recent tragedy involving a Venezuelan migrant, Harris defended Biden's language and described the moment as chaotic. She highlighted Biden's expression of condolences to the victim's family and his willingness to collaborate on addressing immigration issues, according to Huffpost. Read Also: Vermont Man Accused of Shooting 3 Palestinian College Students to Appear in Court Republicans Shift Focus to Harris Republicans are trying to present the election as not only about Biden but also about Harris's candidates for the president. This is because there are still issues over Biden's age and stamina. She marked Biden's health for a second term and accentuated his passion and energy when she was questioned about concerns from voters who were sold on Biden but worried about Harris while she was responding to the question. Harris condemned the strategies used by those he opposes, arguing that the utmost importance should be placed on finding solutions to issues rather than using them for political benefit. In her final statements, Harris clarified her support for Biden, presenting his readiness for another term, and expressing her unwavering support. The ongoing discussion surrounding Biden's age and the possible participation of Vice President Harris shows the complex factors preceding the upcoming election, ABC News reported. Related Article: Putin Propagandist Warns of Nuclear Strikes on NATO Members: 'The Issue Is Against Whom to Use Them' (Photo : Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden are holding dueling rallies in Georgia on March 9, 2024. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, both coming off powerful performances this week, will face off in dueling rallies in Georgia on Saturday - effectively launching their 2024 campaigns and rekindling the 2020 matchup between the political foes. Biden, 81, headed to the Peach State fresh off his feisty State of the Union speech on Thursday evening in which he spoke about the need to protect democracy, sparred with heckling Republicans, and called out Trump for his role in the 2021 Capitol riot and for kowtowing to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump, 77, is coming off a dominant performance on Super Tuesday when he cemented his run for the Republican nomination by winning 14 out of the 15 states up for grabs. Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley defeated Trump in Vermont, but suspended her campaign the next day. In 2020, Biden narrowly won Georgia by about 12,000 votes, becoming the first Democrat to win the state in 30 years. The 2020 election in Georgia was so close that Trump called Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger urging him to find "11,870" votes to overturn Biden's win a request that created legal jeopardy for the former president. Trump was among more than a dozen people charged with conspiring in a wide-ranging scheme to overturn the election in Georgia. The state is poised to again play a decisive role in this year's contest. Coming off the State of the Union address, Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, first lady Jill Biden and other White House and administration officials are fanning out across the country to campaign. The barnstorming tour coincides with the Biden campaign announcing that they will spend $30 million on ads over the next six weeks. The campaign unveiled a new ad on Saturday that shows Biden taking concerns about his age head on. "Look I'm not a young guy. That's no secret," the president says in remarks that echo his Thursday night speech. "But here's the deal, I understand how to get things done for the American people." Trump will hold a rally in Rome, Ga., in the district represented by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who heckled Biden on immigration and the death of Laken Riley during the speech. An undocumented migrant from Venezuela has been charged in her death. Later, Biden will hold an event in the Atlanta area, trying to solidify the suburban vote that helped propel him to a win in the state in 2020. (Photo : Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office) Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown holds a news briefing on March 7, 2024 to discuss the investigation into the murder of Violet Alberts. A "vibrant" 96-year-old California woman was suffocated to death by a hired killer while making cookies, targeted in a plot orchestrated by a fraudster who stood to inherit her home, according to authorities and reports. Officials in Santa Barbara County outlined their investigation on Thursday, nearly two years after Violet Evelyn Alberts was found dead in her Montecito home in May 2022. "She was a vibrant, 96-year-old widow, a cherished figure in the Montecito community," Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said of Alberts. In anticipation of her upcoming birthday, Alberts was making cookies when at least one assailant broke into her home, officials said. When investigators arrived on the scene, Alberts was dead in her bed, the ingredients still on the kitchen counter, Brown said. Alberts' attorney, Alfonso Arturo Flores, told the Santa Barbara Independent in 2022 that the senior died by asphyxiation. Over the course of more than 10,000 hours of investigation to date, detectives uncovered a "tangled, evil web of financial exploitation," Brown said. At its center was Pauline Macareno, a 48-year-old Los Angeles real estate developer who in 2020 gained control of Alberts' financial holdings through fraud and forgery, Brown said. But before long, Macareno grew impatient, Brown said. "In the eyes of Pauline Macareno, Ms. Alberts was living too long," he said. "The acceleration of her death is presumably what was behind her murder." Macareno was arrested in June 2022, later found guilty of fraud related to the case, and recently sentenced to six years in prison, Brown said. She has not been charged in Alberts' murder. Since the start of 2024, investigators have arrested three additional suspects: Harry Basmadjian, 58, Ricardo MartinDelCampo, 41, and Henry Rostomyan, 33. MartinDelCampo and Rostomyan are being held without bail on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, Brown said. Basmadjian, who was already being held in federal custody on an unrelated case, was similarly charged, but has since suffered an unspecified medical emergency that has left him "totally incapacitated ... with a grim prognosis" Brown said. It was not immediately clear whether the three men had entered pleas or had attorneys who could immediately address the charges. Brown declined Thursday to specify how the three men were linked to Macareno. Brown said it "remained to be seen" whether additional charges would be filed against Macareno. The 47-year law-enforcement veteran hailed the work of investigators assigned to the case, saying that it was "the finest example I have ever seen of a 'whodunnit' murder with absolutely no information up front being solved due to the tenacious and unrelenting efforts of detectives." (Photo : Daniel SLIM / AFP) A United Airlines plane taxis at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California on January 4, 2024. A United Airlines flight bound from San Francisco to Mexico City made an emergency landing in Los Angeles on Friday after an apparent hydraulics issue, marking the fourth emergency involving a United flight in the span of a week, according to reports. The Airbus A320 landed safely at Los Angeles International Airport around 4:30 p.m., with no reported injuries to the 110 people aboard, the Associated Press reported, citing a statement from United. The craft has three hydraulics systems for redundancy purposes, the airline said. Preliminary information indicated that only one experienced an issue. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident. The emergency landing in Los Angeles came hours after another United flight rolled off a runway in Houston, the airline said. The 166 total passengers and crew aboard that flight were evacuated, with no injuries reported. On Thursday, another United flight out of San Francisco - this one bound for Japan - made an emergency landing in Los Angeles after losing a tire during takeoff. Video footage showed the tire landing in an employee parking lot at San Francisco International Airport, where it slammed into a car and through a fence before coming to a rest. No injuries were reported. And Monday, a United flight from Houston to Fort Myers, Texas turned around after one of its engines burst into flames, in a harrowing scene caught on video by several passengers. No injuries were reported. (Photo : Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) DUBLIN, IRELAND - MARCH 9: Votes are counted following the Referendum at the RDS Dublin Count centre on March 9, 2024 in Dublin, Ireland. Irish voters soundly rejected a referendum effort to modernize the country's constitution with respect to the roles of family and women, delivering what Prime Minister Leo Varadkar characterized Saturday as "two wallops" to his government. The pair of proposed constitutional amendments were put to voters on Friday, to coincide with International Women's Day. But a Saturday tally revealed that both measures faced overwhelming opposition. The first proposal, to expand the definition of family from a unit based on marriage to include other "durable relationships," was rejected by a vote of 67.7% to 32.3%, according to Reuters. The second - which would have removed a constitutional reference to a mother's "duties in the home" and replaced it with a clause referring to the care family members provide each other - was rejected by an even sharper margin, 73.9% to 26.1%. Varadkar, who had championed the vote as an opportunity to excise some "very old-fashioned, very sexist language about women," conceded Saturday that the voters had dealt his government "two wallops." "It was our responsibility to convince a majority of people to vote yes, and we clearly failed to do so," Varadkar told reporters in Dublin. While supporters of the measures argued that they would modernize the Irish constitution's stances toward women, opponents contended that the proposed new language was ill-defined and threatened to "cancel" the role of mothers. Chicago, IL (60637) Today A mix of clouds and sun early followed by cloudy skies this afternoon. A few flurries are possible. High 39F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 29F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Dalton's Fitch-Hoose House is included in the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage African American Heritage Trail brochure. Fitch-Hoose House Gets African American Heritage Trail Brochures The African American Heritage Trail has 48 sites in 29 Massachusetts and Connecticut towns that showcase the history and context of African Americans who played crucial roles in the region, United States, and world. "You will experience the impact and contributions of ordinary, humble people of achievement, and you will meet others who emerged as leaders and activists of their times," the Housatonic Heritage website says. Other Berkshire County locations featured on the trail include the W.E.B. Du Bois Boyhood Homesite, Samuel Harrison House, and more. Once the Clinton Church Restoration Project is complete the W.E.B. Du Bois Freedom Center will also be included in the trail. More information on the project here Since the Fitch-Hoose House is one of the museums on the trail, Historical Commission members want to pique visitors' interest in the other locations on the trail. It is clear that the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage African American Heritage Trail flyers aid in this effort, so commission co-Chair Deborah Kovacs requested they send the museum some. Someone who was traveling Berkshire County visited the Fitch-Hoose House from New Jersey after discovering it in one of the trail brochures, Kovacs said. Although Kovacs knew of the existence of these brochures, she didn't know she was allowed to request some until the guidance of two other visitors Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts professor Frances Jones-Sneed and Empire State University professor Mary Nell Morgan-Brown. The duo informed Kovacs that she could reach out to the trail's Executive Director Dan Bolognani to request copies. Kovacs presented them during the meeting on Wednesday. She was especially excited to see the Fitch-Hoose House prominently displayed on one of the brochure's pages. Not only did Bolognani send trail brochures, he also offered to help the commission update the Fitch-Hoose House brochure so it is more detailed and in the same style as the Heritage Trail brochure. The 177-year-old two-story house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is believed to have been active on the Underground Railroad. "I'm glad that the Fitch-Hoose House is getting the attention that it deserves it's likely that we can support the creation of a Fitch-Hoose House brochure, perhaps designed similarly to the African American Heritage Trail series of brochures, if that's a consideration or goal," Bolognani said in the email to Kovacs. Iloilo City's design and home improvement landscape received a significant boost with the recent grand opening of Hafele Philippines. The event coinciding with Hafele 100th anniversary showcased the brands unwavering commitment to providing German Quality Home Solutions to Filipino homes. As the official distributor for Bosch appliances in the Philippines, the new Hafele showroom invites you to discover a world of kitchen innovation with reliability and quality that will last for life. Step inside and immerse yourself in the possibilities explore sleek kitchen hobs, versatile freestanding cookers, efficient rangehoods, time-saving dishwashers, precision built-in ovens, and coffee machines that promise the perfect cup every time. Recognizing the value Iloilo City residents place on quality and sophisticated home design, the new Hafele showroom brings together the best of German innovation and the renowned Bosch appliance line to make exceptional kitchen experiences accessible to the region. The successful grand opening paves the way for Hafeles exciting plans for Iloilo City. The customers and guests were also enlightened with Hafeles products and their upcoming promos through the Q&A portion of the program. To know more about the latest updates from Hafele Philippines, visit its website, https://hafelehome.com.ph/. You may also follow its official Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn accounts @HafelePhilippines. Established in 1992, Hafele Philippines has been the manufacturer and distributor of German Quality Home Solutions, including home appliances, architectural hardware, furniture fittings, storage solutions, and electronic access control systems for over 30 years. Around the world, customers from the furniture industry, dealers, joiners, and cabinet makers, as well as architects, builders, and homeowners all rely on the expertise and performance of Hafele for over 100 years. PLDT Inc. and its wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) organized a psychological first aid (PFA) training for over 50 scholars and faculty of Passerelles Numeriques Philippines (PNPh). The training session was facilitated by millennial psychologist Riyan Portuguez in-person at Smarts Regional Office in Cebu. At PLDT and Smart, we are committed to using our resources and reach to drive meaningful change. By equipping the youth and educators with crucial PFA skills, we hope to de-stigmatize conversations around mental health while building more empathetic and resilient digital communities in the Philippines, said Marylou Gocotano, PLDT and Smart Stakeholder Management Visayas Relations Head. PNPh is a Cebu-based non-profit organization that provides scholarships in IT-related fields to select youth who come from underprivileged backgrounds. On behalf of PNPh and our country representative, Luchi Flores, we thank PLDT and Smart for this meaningful partnership that focuses on promoting mental health awareness among our scholars. Through this Psychological First Aid training, our scholars gained a deeper understanding of how they can extend help to their friends, family members, or fellow scholars who are dealing with mental health-related concerns, making our community a safe space for all, said Alreen Omang, PNPh Partnerships and External Relations Officer. A fundamental part of the PLDT Groups advocacy to promote and encourage digital wellness, the PFA training equipped the student-scholars and faculty members with skills to provide initial support to peers experiencing emotional distress. It upskilled participants with practical stress management, referral techniques, and various techniques to provide initial psychological support. Mark Kevin Chavez, a first-year college scholar taking up Associate in Computer Technology in Software Development at the University of San Jose Recoletos said he is grateful for the chance to participate in the PFA training. This motivated me to continue taking care of myself and my mental well-being, as well as provide proper support to others with mental health needs, so that we can all be better every day, he added. This mental health training for PNPH scholars and faculty is part of PLDT and Smarts sustained digital wellness campaign, focused on responsible online behavior and emotional resilience. These initiatives help underscore PLDT and Smarts contribution to the Philippines attainment of UN Sustainable Development Goal #3: Good Health and Well-being. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The novels of Barbara Comyns draw you in from their strange, beguiling first sentences. Take 1954s Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead, for example, which begins: The ducks swam through the windows. Or 1950s Our Spoons Came From Woolworths: I told Helen my story and she went home and cried. Her wartime dispatch Mr Fox, written in the 1940s but published in 1987, starts: The other people in the house where I lived didnt like me. I expect it was because I was living with a man I wasnt married to. And The Vets Daughter (1959), her very best novel, begins: A man with small eyes and a ginger moustache came and spoke to me when I was thinking of something else. I mean, come on. Dont you just want to read them all right now? Before that, though, you might be thinking: but I dont have the faintest idea who Barbara Comyns is. Writing at the same time as the likes of Elizabeth Jane Howard, Daphne du Maurier, Elizabeth Taylor, Iris Murdoch and Stella Gibbons, she is one of the most thrillingly unique mid-century English novelists. But somehow, she cuts a lonely figure not part of any particular literary scene, her works criminally under-recognised today, her name little known. When I look at the Comyns novels on my bookshelves, they are from a clutch of independent presses Virago, Daunt, Turnpike, New York Books with no particular home. Gothic, macabre, witty and unpredictable, novels like hers are the reason you go into a secondhand bookshop and shelf-dive; they are the dream outcome of paying 2 for an obscure book because you like the weird title. Of course, were used to hearing about neglected literary gems, salvaged from obscurity to be republished in shiny new editions. Yet Comyns has been discovered, lost, rediscovered and lost again, repeatedly. A new biography released this month, by Avril Horner, a specialist in women writers and the gothic, may help her finally stick. But even that book was in the balance Barbara Comyns: A Savage Innocence took three years to find a publisher. My sense was she was too risky, because she wasnt well known, Horner tells me. Yet as a writer she has the extraordinary capacity to bring you up short. I dont see it in any other British writer before her this ability to shift in tone from something very melancholy to a sudden joke, and vice versa. Barbara Comyns was born in 1907 in the sleepy village of Bidford-on-Avon. Before she was a novelist, she was, variously, a painter, sculptor, poodle breeder, piano restorer, artists model, and housekeeper. She grew up in a crumbling manor surrounded by a river, her father a tyrannical brewer, her mother removed, and she had the kind of semi-feral middle-class childhood that seems to have coloured her approach to living: resilient, self-sufficient, always slightly wild. All her life, she was surrounded by animals, from the peacock that stalked the lawns of her first home to the newt she carried around as a young woman. Her early life with John Pemberton, husband number one (feckless) and father to son Julian, was marked by poverty. Later, she had a messy affair with married art critic Rupert Lee with whom she had her second child, Caroline. Life with her second husband, Richard Comyns Carr (gentle, devoted), was happier, with many years spent in Spain but he was later to lose his job with MI6, probably because he was a friend of notorious British spy Kim Philby. Having started writing about her unusual upbringing in order to amuse her children, Comyns turned these unselfconscious vignettes into her first book, the autobiographical Sisters by a River, which was published to acclaim and some bewilderment. Pray form your own opinion of this unique work, wrote Elizabeth Bowen. That comment captured the general consensus towards her work throughout her life: many critics were captivated, some were confused, and some were both at the same time. An early author photo of Comyns (Supplied) The best starting point for curious readers is The Vets Daughter, which tells the story of a young woman in south London who discovers she can levitate when horrible things happen, like a bohemian Matilda Wormwood or a genteel Carrie White. With its dark atmosphere, grotesque characters and handbrake-turn twist, its a crash course in Comyns, was made into a musical in 1978, and has seen various failed attempts to turn it into a TV drama (please BBC, it would be the perfect 90-minute Christmas special). Her work falls into two camps realist domestic stories and gothic tales but among their frank prose and sharp wit, they explore dark subjects, including abortion, sexual assault, racism, motherhood, and varying degrees of mental disintegration. Perhaps she fell away periodically because these topics were too much for readers at the time, or dealt with too bluntly. In practical terms, it was likely because her writing was well received but never a major seller. Not until she was rediscovered by Carmen Callil at feminist publisher Virago in the 1980s, where her work was republished as part of its Modern Classics lists, did her work sell more than modestly. Prompted by a new appetite for her work, that decade she published the novels Mr Fox and The House of Dolls both presented as new Comyns novels, but actually plucked from the bottom of drawers, having been rejected by publishers a couple of decades earlier. Comyns knew that her readership hung in the balance as she went in and out of fashion. After another rejection letter for the unpublished-to-this-day Waiting in 1979, she told her agent that shed never write again (although she did her great final novel The Juniper Tree, published in 1985) and speculated that perhaps one day shed see a revival. Remember Barbara Pym! Comyns and daughter Caroline in 1938 (Manchester University Press) Horner first became interested in Comyns when she and a colleague were asked to contribute to an academic journal about the female gothic, and her colleague suggested that rather than focusing on Mary Shelley and the usual suspects, they look at Comyns. The more Horner read, the more intrigued she became and promised herself that when she had time, shed write more about Comyns. It wasnt until she retired that she could write the biography shed long hoped to author. Its a book that will delight Comyns devotees. It brings to life many of the incidents that clearly informed the novels, and reveals the depth of feeling lurking beneath that clear, measured prose. Comynss naive, child-like heroines have led to some categorising her work as closer to outsider art, but Horner found that, behind all those naive young women is a very knowledgeable author, drawing on her own experience in a very thoughtful, knowing way. But uncovering the facts of her life wasnt easy. When Horner went to visit Comyns granddaughter Nuria Leighton, she discovered Comyns papers in disarray. They were in no order, which Nuria freely admits, Horner tells me. She doesnt want to part with any of them, but they were in carrier bags, boxes, things stuffed in envelopes, under the bed. But nestled within them were treasures: a correspondence with Graham Greene, for example, that showed the author to have been a lifelong champion of Comyns work. I dont see it in any other British writer before her this ability to shift in tone from something very melancholy to a sudden joke Horners book is an important intervention, ensuring Barbara Comyns name is not forgotten. But its also a reminder that writers legacies need careful stewarding and are never guaranteed. Her book is published in the same month as Gabriel Garcia Marquezs lost novel Until August, the latter feted as one of the literary events of the year. Yet that unpublished Comyns novel Waiting about an old peoples home where the residents are waiting to die but things keep happening, where they feel even more intensely than when they were young really is lost. Some of her books remain out of print (her ickily titled The Skin Chairs is almost impossible to get hold of unless you pay a lot of money, Horner says.) Although Comyns has been compared to Nancy Mitford, Angela Carter and Jean Rhys, and called Beryl Bainbridge on acid, she remains impossible to categorise. Shell be writing in a rather comical way and then suddenly bang youre in a different emotional world, says Horner. She manages to harness the uncanny in a new way for women writers. Barbara Comyns: A Savage Innocence by Avril Horner ( ) Shes also, Horner admits, like marmite. And shes right Ive occasionally felt self-conscious about recommending her too fervidly to the uninitiated, given the grand guignol scenes of horror in some of her works (a lot of villagers sensationally kill themselves in Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead). I struggle with the deliberate, affected spelling mistakes in Sisters by the River, and I cant handle her gruesome descriptions of animal deaths. But part of Comyns brilliance is that she draws from a vast palette of difficult, sometimes unbearable experiences, in a way that feels before her time. When she published Our Spoons Came From Woolworths, she included the disclaimer, The only things that are true in this story are the wedding, chapters 10, 11 and 12, and the poverty. The chapters she mentions contain some of the most visceral, horrifying descriptions of childbirth that you will read. Comyns in her late seventies on the back cover of 'The Juniper Tree, 1985 (Manchester University Press) A Savage Innocence is prefaced with a quote from Mr Fox: In the back of my mind I was always sure that wonderful things were waiting for me, but Id got to get through a lot of horrors first. Its poignantly appropriate. Certainly Horners biography reveals the pain and frustration she felt at her years in the wilderness, and made me sad for all the Comyns books we might have got had she been better championed in her later career. Horners descriptions of her final years, widowed and succumbing to dementia, are hard to read. Having previously worked on an edition of the letters of Iris Murdoch, who was also struck by dementia in later life, as indeed was Marquez, the biographer believes it is always an ethical decision as to how much material from that time should be used. Reading her scribbled bits of paper she wasnt the same woman that she was. I found it very sad, Horner says. When Comyns died in 1992, the writer Ursula Holdens obituary for The Independent called her a true original her death marks a loss to English writing. Her family marked her death, Horner reveals, by each pouring a gin and tonic on her grave, something they repeat whenever they find themselves back at the churchyard where she is buried. A true original indeed strange and beguiling to the end. Barbara Comyns: A Savage Innocence is published by Manchester University Press on 19 March For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Northumbria Police has stated that India Willoughbys accusation that author JK Rowling misgendered her online did not meet the criminal threshold. Earlier this week, Willoughby, a trans woman and broadcaster, reported the Harry Potter author to the police for calling her a man. On Sunday, Rowling posted a criticism on X/Twitter of trans women being allowed into womens changing rooms and mentioned Willoughby in her thread. The author wrote: India didnt become a woman. India is cosplaying a misogynistic male fantasy of what a woman is. In an interview with Byline TV, Willoughby, 58, said of the posts: JK Rowling has definitely committed a crime. Im legally a woman. She knows Im a woman and she calls me a man. Its a protected characteristic. JK Rowling (left) and India Willoughby (Getty Images) Willoughby added that she had contacted Northumbria Police to report Rowlings comments, which she described as a hate crime. I dont know if thats going to be treated as a hate crime, malicious communications, but its a cut-and-dry offence as far as Im concerned, she added. In a statement given to the PA news agency on Friday (8 March), a Northumbria Police spokesperson said: On Monday, March 4, we received a complaint about a post on social media. While we recognise the upset this may have caused, the post was reviewed and did not meet the criminal threshold. The complainant has been updated of this. After Willoughby announced she had reported Rowling, the author said that Willoughby appeared to have forgotten the Forstater ruling, which established that gender critical views can be protected in law. Maya Forstater successfully brought a case to the Employment Appeal Tribunal to establish that gender-critical views are a protected philosophical belief under the Equality Act 2010 in 2021. JK Rowling (Getty Images) Rowling also claimed she was advised previously that she had a legal case against Willoughby for defamation and added that there is no law compelling her to refer to the TV personality as a woman. She said on X: Some time ago, lawyers advised me that not only did I have a clearly winnable case against India Willoughby for defamation, but that Indias obsessive targeting of me over the past few years may meet the legal threshold for harassment. I ignored this advice because I couldnt be bothered giving India the publicity he so clearly craves. Nevertheless, we must all do our bit to combat hate, so India will be glad to know Ive taken note of his homophobia, racism and humane stance on immigration. Nor have I forgotten Indias shocking transphobia. It appears to have slipped what passes for Indias mind that hes previously called a fellow trans woman a man on this very site. Surprisingly for such an eminent legal authority, he appears to have forgotten that the Forstater ruling established that gender-critical views can be protected in law as a philosophical belief. No law compels anyone to pretend to believe that India is a woman. Aware as I am that its an offence to lie to law enforcement, Ill simply have to explain to the police that, in my view, India is a classic example of the male narcissist who lives in a state of perpetual rage that he cant compel women to take him at his own valuation. Rowling has faced repeated criticism in recent years over her views on transgender rights, saying previously that she would rather go to jail than refer to a trans person by their preferred pronouns. Additional reporting by Press Association Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Anyone who loves the Oscars will have their favourite Oscar wins whether its a particularly memorable speech, an unexpected bit of category drama, or a long-in-the-works victory for a typically snubbed movie star. These are the opposite of the more controversial wins. Instead theyre the really great ones, the wins that make the months and months of Oscar-centric rigamarole before the ceremony itself almost worth it. Ahead of this weekends Oscars which will likely create a handful of genuinely joyous wins The Independents culture desk have selected their personal faves from Oscar history. Tommy Lee Jones for The Fugitive in 1994 as chosen by Louis Chilton Its no surprise that Tommy Lee Jones has won an Oscar. Even before we take into account his formidable acting chops, the No Country for Old Men star simply has the vibe of someone who could scowl at Academy voters until they handed him a statuette out of sheer terror. Thats (probably) not what happened in 1994, though, when Jones was awarded Best Supporting Actor for his role as dogged US marshal Sam Gerrard in Andrew Daviss Harrison-Ford-on-the-lam thriller The Fugitive. Joness turn simply isnt the type of performance that ever wins an Oscar: a hard-bitten cop in a brilliant, but not necessarily elevated, genre film. Yet the win was fully deserved; theres a reason his dogged lawman spawned a thousand parodies. Olivia Colman for The Favourite in 2019 as chosen by Helen Coffey Prior to her Oscar-winning performance in Yorgos Lanthimoss The Favourite, Olivia Colman felt a bit like part of British telly furniture like the nations favourite hilarious auntie, the one who would sweep in swathed in silver rings and colourful scarves and say rude words at the dinner table to make the kids laugh. Shed successfully made the switch from some of our best quirky, home-grown comedies Peep Show, Green Wing, Flowers, Rev, Fleabag to dramatic acting thanks to roles in Broadchurch and The Night Manager. But she felt very domestic. America wouldnt get her, we instinctively knew; she was a small-screen kinda gal. Oscars 2019: Olivia Colman wins actress in leading role Then she went and won the Best Actress Oscar for her stellar performance as Queen Anne in Lanthimoss 2018 absurdist dark comedy. Suddenly, the whole world got to see what wed always seen: how warm, funny, irreverent and outrageously charismatic Colman is. Up on that stage, within the course of two minutes, she delivered a teary but hysterical acceptance speech so perfectly unpolished (she blew a raspberry at one point) that she charmed an entire audience of A-listers, plus every single person who watched it. That speech catapulted Colman into new heights of career success, secured her national treasure status, and earned her a permanent spot in the hearts of myriads of people whod never even heard of her before that night. Im not sure the UK has ever been collectively prouder of one of our own. Oscar favourite: Colman with her Best Actress Academy Award in 2019 (Getty) Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club in 2014 as chosen by Tom Murray Its 2014 and Matthew McConaughey has just swaggered onto the Oscar stage in a white tuxedo jacket. He is about to deliver one of the most memorable Academy Awards speeches of all time. With the Best Actor win for his role as Ron Woodroof, a cowboy with Aids, in Dallas Buyers Club, McConaughey completed his McConaissance. The triumph cemented his return from romcom typecasting in Noughties films like The Wedding Planner and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, to auteur cinema. If McConaughey had never won this award, we might have never seen him in Interstellar or The Beach Bum roles now synonymous with his name. Most importantly, we would not have heard that immortal speech, which now boasts 31 million views on YouTube, delivered in a way that only the Texas-born actor can. In his own words: To that I say, Amen. To that I say, alright, alright, alright. To that I say, just keep living. Parasite wins Best Picture in 2020 as chosen by Kevin E G Perry It wasnt supposed to happen. Bong Joon-Ho was already several drinks to the good, having declared gleefully after winning Best Original Screenplay and Best International Film: I am ready to drink tonight until next morning. The director could be forgiven for thinking his night had already peaked. Going into the 2020 Oscars, the strong favourite to take home the Best Picture prize was Sam Mendess war film 1917. The odds were firmly stacked against Parasite nevermind that no film not in the English language had ever won the Academys top prize, but Bongs razor sharp class and capitalism satire just seemed too sly and subversive to triumph at a ceremony that the previous year had given its biggest prize to Green Book. Yet somehow Parasite swept the board, and Bong added both Best Director and Best Picture to his haul. It was a triumph as deserved as it was unexpected, and one that promised to usher in a new era of international cinematic appreciation. Ironically, it was a catty line Bong uttered at rival awards bash the Golden Globes that seemed to sum it up best. Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, hed said, You will be introduced to so many more amazing films. Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook in 2013 as chosen by Jacob Stolworthy Each awards season, there are a slew of expected and somewhat staid Oscar nominations that go on to win awards. But there is also a peppering of the more invigorating nominees who should go onto win, but absolutely wont. Every so often, though, an Oscars ceremony comes around in which the stars align and the most deserving recipient achieves victory at what could be perceived to be the perfect time in their career. This years example will certainly be DaVine Joy Randolph, a Supporting Actress nominee for The Holdovers but one that looms in the memory is Jennifer Lawrences Best Actress win for Silver Linings Playbook in 2013. It wasnt Lawrences first nomination she received recognition for her understatedly brilliant work in Winters Bone in 2011 but her win was the apotheosis of a busy two years that saw the actor, seemingly effortlessly, wind her way up the Hollywood ladder, cementing herself as the worlds biggest film star in the process. In fact, that year was perhaps the last ceremony where all four most-deserving actors won Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln), Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained) and while Lawrence almost upstaged her own win by falling over on her way to the stage, it felt as close to Oscars magic the ceremony has managed in over a decade. Makes sense: Emma Thompson with her Oscar in 1996 (Bei/Shutterstock) Emma Thompson for Sense and Sensibility in 1996 as chosen by Jessie Thompson There will always be a special place in my heart for Marion Cotillard and Colin Firths winning reactions hers for La Vie en Rose (2007) a kind of extremely un-chic, un-French gushing, his for The Kings Speech (2010) an utterly British grunt before a threat to break into dance moves. But my favourite Oscar win of all time has to be Emma Thompson bagging Best Adapted Screenplay for her divine version of Jane Austens Sense and Sensibility, in which she also played Elinor Dashwood. Fresh from the heartbreak of divorcing first husband Kenneth Branagh, who had cheated on her with Helena Bonham Carter, Thompson sits beside her mother Phyllida Law. Shed just been to Austens grave, she told the audience, to pay my respects, and tell her about the grosses. Thompson has since described the depression shed felt around that breakup but this film, in which she also met her husband Greg Wise, seemed to mark a turning point in her life. Its a joy to see her in the act of rising from the flames, triumphing for the ineffable charm and wit that have always made her one of our most supremely lovable stars. Cher for Moonstruck in 1988 as chosen by Adam White No one will want to imagine the day in which Cher shuffles off this mortal coil a day hopefully so far off in the future that her funeral procession will take place amid flying cars, a national day of mourning declared by president Blue Ivy Carter. But when that day does arrive, I will be satiated by the knowledge that shell die with an Oscar. Pop stars arent historically fantastic actors, let alone Academy Award winners, but Cher isnt built like most pop stars. Her work in the 1987 romantic drama Moonstruck is seminal stuff a piece of pure, soulful, emotional wizardry as she transforms from yearning widow to glamorous heroine per the sheer magic of the night sky. Chers win is occasionally invoked as a win that shouldnt have happened, as if she robbed the perennially snubbed Glenn Close of an Oscar that year for Fatal Attraction. But this is a dreadful take! Yes, Close is spectacular in Fatal Attraction. As is fellow nominee Holly Hunter in Broadcast News. But its Cher! Academy Award for Best Actress winner Cher! Inscribe it on her tomb! Hell, inscribe it on mine! Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Millie Bobby Brown has responded to fans who questioned the apparent loss of her British accent in interviews, saying: Im trying my best. Last week, some fans of the actor were left confused and bewildered by Browns accent during her appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Viewers said they were distracted by the disappearance of her formerly prominent British accent. The 20-year-old moved to Florida when she was eight, but had appeared to keep the accent of her early childhood in Bournemouth in previous interviews. Now, speaking to TikTok interviewer Max Balegde, Brown has offered her perspective. Im an actor, said the Stranger Things and Enola Holmes star. I grew up in the public eye. I grew up in America. I come to set and Im an actor and I adapt, and so I want to mimic other people! Millie Bobby Brown in Damsel (Netflix) I cant help that when Im around my fiance, or when Im with people like Jimmy Fallon who have a very American accent, I wanna replicate it! she said. And now Im in England, I wanna replicate that [accent]! I dont do it intentional, and Im sorry if it offends you, okay? But listen, Im trying my best! Im trying my best. Brown is engaged to Jake Bongiovi, 21, the son of rock star Jon Bon Jovi. While appearing on The Tonight Show Brown discussed her underwater proposal by Bongiovi, and appeared to switch between accents, causing some fans to remark she sounded Australian as she flipped between American and British. The Emmy-nominated actor told the audience how her and Bongiovi got their diving licences together, and that hed felt it was the perfect opportunity to propose while they were on holiday. So we go under, and were many metres down and he gives me like, a shell. And I turn it over and its a ring, she told Fallon. She described how she put the ring on her finger before it slid off and plummeted deep into the water, prompting her new fiance to swim after it. Brown can currently be seen in Netflixs Damsel, in which she speaks with a British accent. In a two-star review of the film for The Independent, chief film critic Clarisse Loughrey suggested that Netflix may have been better off just making Enola Holmes 3. The final season of Stranger Things is expected to land on Netflix in 2024. While the series creators, sibling duo Matt and Ross Duffer, announced in early 2022 that the show would conclude with a fifth season, production was halted for approximately seven months due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} John Lydon has lashed out at the apparent effects of immigration in the UK during a fiery interview in which he doubled down on his support for Brexit. The former Sex Pistol, who is himself the son of immigrants, decried Britains seaside towns as run down and full of prospective immigrants, which he claimed has fueled animosity in communities. Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, rose to fame with the punk band in the mid-Seventies with songs such as God Save the Queen and Anarchy in the UK. In recent years he has adopted right-wing political stances including throwing his weight behind Brexit, Donald Trump and Nigel Farage. But his remarks sparked a backlash from migrant charities who branded him an old punk rocker... shamefully choosing to demonise marginalised communities. Speaking to LBC host Andrew Marr on Thursday evening, Lydon said that much of his forthcoming tour is taking place in seaside towns, which he claimed indicate how run down Britain has become. They used to be fantastic places when I was a kid, the 68-year-old told Marr. Mum and dad would drag us off for what felt like hours in a traffic jam, but it was absolutely great, it was working-class people throwing sand at each other and the environment was economically thriving, I suppose. It was vibrant. Now, Lydon claimed, those towns are full of prospective immigrants which are really illegals [who are] not being cared for properly, but they shouldnt have been accepted in such vast numbers. Its created a real animosity in communities, he continued. The division when you import so many people with a completely different point of view, theyre not going to adapt to yours, theyre going to stay and bring the problems theyre allegedly escaping from with them. Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up The Sex Pistols (Lydon second from left) at their first gig in 1975 (PA Archive) Marr then asked Lydon what the difference was between Britain importing the Lydons from Ireland and the current situation. The first thing my mum and dad would tell me when I was very young was, Youre British now, be British, and be proud of it, Lydon responded. Most excellent advice, and Ive followed through. Lydon reaffirmed his support for Brexit in spite of its impact on the economy, remarking: Id rather a faltering economy than a dictatorship. In January, a damning report by Cambridge Econometrics found that the decision to leave the EU has already cost the UK 140bn, and is predicted to leave Britains economy 311bn worse off by 2035. Lydons remarks on LBC sparked criticism on social media, with many pointing out what they perceived as hypocrisy in his attacks on immigration, given his own family history. Steve Smith, CEO of Care4Calais, told The Independent: These are rotten comments from an old punk rocker who made his name railing against the establishment. Now he is shamefully choosing to demonise marginalised communities, rather than blame those in power for the decline of the UKs economy, public services and communities. John Lydon on LBC (Screenshot) Son-of-immigrants and husband-of-an-immigrant John Lydon ranting about immigrants has at least proved one thing: punk is a young mans game, David Williamson wrote on X/Twitter. Lydon was married to Nora Forster, a German-born music promoter who moved to the UK in the Sixties, for 44 years. Amra Watson commented: John Lydon joins the right-wing brigade and blames the lack of investment, sewage in rivers & seas, lack of local services, and we may add, low wages, cost of living crisis, NHS queues, child poverty, crumbling schools, corruption on immigration. John Lydon provides this years least punk interview, another critic said. Son of Irish migrants and Irish passport holder, Lydon migrated to the USA decades ago and has taken out US citizenship. And without a shred of self-awareness, he asserts that immigration is destroying Britain. John Lydons wife, Nora Forster, was born in Germany before moving to London in the Sixties (Getty Images) Lydon threw his support behind Brexit after the EU referendum, during an appearance on ITV breakfast show Good Morning Britain. Where do I stand on Brexit? he asked. Well, here it goes, the working class have spoken and Im one of them and Im with them. In the same interview, Lydon said that the then-newly elected US president Donald Trump was a complicated fellow who had been smeared by the left-wing media. One journalist once said to me, is he the political Sex Pistol? In a way, he added. What I dislike is the left-wing media in America are trying to smear the bloke as a racist and thats completely not true. There are many, many problems with him as a human being but hes not that and there just might be a chance something good will come out of that situation because he terrifies politicians. This is a joy to behold for me. Dare I say, [he could be] a possible friend. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Indian author and philanthropist Sudha Murty, who is also British prime minister Rishi Sunaks mother-in-law, has been nominated to Indias parliament. Ms Murty, 73, was nominated to sit in parliaments upper house the Rajya Sabha by Indias president Droupadi Murmu, prime minister Narendra Modi announced on Friday. Sudha Jis contributions to diverse fields including social work, philanthropy and education have been immense and inspiring...Wishing her a fruitful Parliamentary tenure, Mr Modi said in a post on X. Ms Murtys nomination announcement came on International Womens Day with the Indian prime minister calling her presence in the upper house a powerful testament to the empowerment of women in India. The president nominates 12 members to parliaments upper house, considering their contributions towards arts, literature, sciences, and social services. Ms Murty, who is married to Narayana Murthy, the billionaire co-founder of tech giant Infosys, is an educator and philanthropist herself, and was a recipient of Indias third-highest civilian award the Padma Bhushan for her social work last year. Will Bengaluru run dry? | Water crisis explained She started her career as an engineer. She is also the former chairperson of the Infosys Foundation. Mr Sunak is married to her daughter Akshata Murty. Ms Murty said she was pleasantly surprised by Fridays announcement and doubly thrilled to be presented the honour on Womens Day. The announcement has come out of the blue. So, I am yet to chalk up my plans for my parliamentary tenure...I will see what best I can do to utilise this platform to work for the people of India, she told The Hindu newspaper. Ms Murty has appeared several times on Indian TV programmes. Last year, appearing as a guest on The Kapil Sharma Show, she recalled an encounter with a UK immigration officer who refused to believe that her residential address in Britain was 10 Downing Street. Just days before her appearance on the show, she sparked controversy when asked whether communal politics had taken precedence amid elections in the south Indian state of Karnataka. The state witnessed communally charged politics before the elections with right-wing activists protesting against girls wearing the hijab. Ms Murtys remark that she did not worry about those things and that she was not politically savvy went viral on social media with many pointing out her privilege to not worry about issues affecting minorities in the country. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Damon Hill said a star was born after rookie teenager Ollie Bearman beat Lewis Hamilton on his shock Ferrari debut at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Bearman drove into the record books by becoming the youngest British driver to race in Formula One and he delivered by finishing seventh, ahead of both Lando Norris, eighth and Hamilton, ninth. Seven-time world champion Hamilton waited by Bearmans Ferrari before embracing the 18-year-old as he climbed out of his scarlet machine at the end of the race. A star is born now, Hill, the 1996 world champion, said on X. To jump in at such short notice, on a track as intimidating as Jeddah, in a Ferrari of all things, and hold up under immense pressure from Lando and Lewis and keep it together. Wow. Max Verstappen raced to his second win in as many weeks, but Bearman, an eleventh hour stand-in for Carlos Sainz, ruled out with appendicitis, stole the show. With just one hour of practice and Fridays qualifying session under his belt, Bearman lined up in 11th and made up four positions in a fine drive which saw him voted as driver of the day by the sports fans. Ollie Bearman finished seventh on his F1 debut for Ferrari (Getty Images) Sergio Perez completed a one-two finish for F1s crisis-hit Red Bull team, with Charles Leclerc third for Ferrari. He has done an incredible job, said Leclerc of Bearman, 18 years, 10 months and one day. He was straight on the pace. Seventh in your first race in a new Formula One car is hugely impressive. I am sure he is extremely proud and everyone has noticed how talented he is. It is only a matter of time before he is in Formula One. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Celebrity Big Brother star Courtney Stodden has revealed that they are grieving after suffering an early miscarriage. The US reality star, 29, said they wanted to speak out in order to help anyone else going through a similar situation. No matter how early a loss occurs, it's still a loss, Stodden, who came out as gender non-binary in April 2021, wrote in an Instagram post that carried a trigger warning. This is a hard one but I believe it to be important given others experience exactly this same thing in silence. They continued: I recently found out that I suffered an early miscarriage (around 10 weeks); it's been a roller coaster of emotions. I feel grief in every sense of the word. Even though, I suppose, early is better than later... yet it still is a loss and I can't shake the feeling of loneliness that comes with it. I'm sharing this to shine light on the fact that no matter how early a loss occurs, it's still a loss. Stodden said they had tried to keep the news private, to just a few close relatives and friends, but felt it was important to just accept the fact and hopefully find some peace as there is strength in numbers. If this has happened to you or ever does, it's not your fault, they said. God bless every one and count your blessings. We are all love. Stodden rose to public attention when they married Lost actor Doug Hutchison, who was in his early fifties at the time, when they were 16. The couple were married to 2011 to considerable controversy, which was exacerbated when they went on Good Morning America to defend the relationship. Courtney Stodden with their now-ex-husband, actor Doug Hutchinson, on TV in 2014 (Getty Images for VH1) Among the revelations from the interview was the fact that Hutchinson was four years older than Stoddens father, that they met on the internet, and that their exchanges had to be supervised by Stoddens mother. Hutchinsons agent and manager at the time both dropped him after the scandal, while his mother reportedly stopped speaking to him. We said, We knew this was going to happen. We knew we were going to have to weather the repercussions of our decision, our union. And this is just the beginning. And it brought us closer together, Hutchison said during the interview. They denied that the relationship was a publicity stunt to help their careers. Stodden announced that their divorce had been finalised in March 2020 and accused Hutchinson of grooming them and their family. The Independent was unable to find a contact for Hutchinson to request comment. Stodden achieved further fame when they appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2013, when it was broadcast on Channel 5, alongside fellow contestants including dancer Louie Spence and Loose Women star Carol McGiffin. In 2021, they were involved in a public spat with author and former model Chrissy Teigan, after accusing her of online bullying. The Cravings author issued an apology to Stodden on X/Twitter. Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Health Check email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Super-strength synthetic opioids pose a growing threat to Europe and could have a profound impact on public health, officials at the European Unions drugs monitoring agency have warned. The Taliban crackdown on opium production in Afghanistan has raised fears that dwindling heroin supplies could see the gaps in Europes illicit drug markets instead flooded with lethally potent synthetic opioids, known as nitazenes, which can be 500 times stronger than heroin. Experts and frontline drug services in the UK have been sounding the alarm for months over the increasing prevalence of nitazenes, which have been found in the past two years to have contaminated not just heroin, but also illicit vapes, diazepam and codeine. Despite not all coroners yet testing for the drugs, the National Crime Agency was reported to have identified 65 nitazene deaths in the second half of 2023 alone with detections in drug supplies soaring fivefold in two years. In November, police seized 150,000 nitazene tablets in London, in the UKs largest-ever synthetic opioid haul. In January, experts at the Faculty of Public Health warned that, with global drug markets rapidly evolving, a potential influx of nitazenes could fuel a second wave of the UKs current drug deaths crisis. Britain already suffers thousands of fatal overdoses every year, despite so far being spared a US-style opioid epidemic. Writing in the Lancet Public Health journal that those deaths confirmed by the NCA are likely just the tip of the iceberg, those experts urged governments to find the political capital to take the more radical steps needed to prevent many more deaths. Their warning has now been highlighted by the EUs drugs monitoring agency, which published a response in the same journal pointing to rapid increases in fatal overdoses in countries where nitazenes are already prevalent. Nitazenes pose a credible threat, wrote five experts at the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, adding: Predicted changes in heroin availability in Europe could herald an increase in the use of synthetic opioids with possibly profound implications for public health. Lethal synthetic opioids have already been detected in the UK in heroin, and illicit vapes and diazepam (Getty Images) Noting that Baltic countries have a long history of synthetic opioid problems dating back to an earlier Taliban ban on opioid production, and can serve as an early indicator of a more generalised future problem, they pointed to Estonia and Latvia as examples showing how nitazenes can fuel a rapid rise in overdoses. While nitazenes were first detected in Estonia in 2019, by 2022 they were implicated in 39 per cent of Estonias 82 drug deaths that year. The number of fatal overdoses in Estonia rose sharply to 117 the following year, with nitazenes implicated in just under half of these deaths. Across the border in Latvia, nitazenes were detected in just two of the 63 fatal overdoses the country suffered in 2022. The following year, the total number of drug deaths more than doubled to hit 130, with nitazenes identified in 38 post-mortem toxicologies. Noting that the worrying preliminary figures for 2023 could be underestimates, the researchers warned of signs that problems associated with nitazenes might be growing in the EU, with fatalities reported as far afield as the French island of Reunion, in the Indian Ocean, and non-fatal overdoses in Ireland. Backing the call in January for governments to find the political capital to facilitate the policies needed to prevent many more deaths, the EU experts warned: We cannot assume that existing approaches to responding to opioid problems will be sufficient without adapting to the challenges posed by the appearance of a range of highly potent but pharmacologically diverse substances. Warning that actions taken now will not have been taken soon enough, the experts in January called for the expansion of heroin-prescribing and drug-checking facilities, and the introduction overdose prevention centres widespread calls for which are opposed in England by both the Tories and Labour. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} New super-strength synthetic opioids 250 times stronger than heroin have already claimed lives in British prisons, The Independent can reveal, as experts warn that jails are not prepared for a feared influx of the deadly drugs. Drug treatment services have been sounding the alarm for months over fears the potent substances, known as nitazenes, could flood British drugs markets as the Talibans opium ban restricts heroin supplies, causing a further spike in drug deaths already at record levels. With inspectors and MPs warning it is inevitable the drugs will find their way into prisons if prevalent on the outside, frontline experts told this publication that, with the drugs market on prison wings currently as bad as its ever been, nitazenes could take hold very quickly. Urging the government to draw up rapid plans to protect inmates, they warned that we may already have moved too slowly as data obtained by The Independent reveals the substances have already infiltrated prisons, with fatal consequences. Of the 15 non-intentional drug deaths confirmed in prisons in England and Wales in 2022, two deaths in June at HMP Lewes in East Sussex were caused by overdoses of isotonitazene, a substance 250 times stronger than heroin, according to data obtained under freedom of information laws. While these are the first publicly confirmed nitazene-related deaths behind bars, the prisons ombudsman is still awaiting the death certificate in six of nine confirmed drug deaths in 2023 and experts warn most coroners are still failing to test for the potent new opiates. A further 19 deaths are still awaiting classification. Raising questions over the efficacy of the governments monitoring of the drugs prevalence in prisons, this publication can also reveal that the drugs were only detected once in November since a private firm was handed 4.7m in April to forensically test prison seizures for nitazenes and other drugs in April. That is despite the National Crime Agency reporting 65 nitazene-related deaths in the wider community in the last six months of 2023 alone, and HM chief prisons inspector Charlie Taylor telling The Independent it is inevitable the drugs will find their way into prisons if prevalent in communities. Lethal synthetic opioids have been detected in the UK in heroin, diazepam, cannabis and illicit vapes (Getty) Prisons are so overburdened, so close to the edge with understaffing and huge pressures on the health services provided within prisons already, that theres almost nil chance theyll be able to prepare for let alone cope with a sudden influx of nitazenes and rising deaths, said Martin Powell, of the Transform Drugs Foundation. Warning the government that something potentially very dangerous is happening, [and] the speed of reaction is our responsibility now, Mike Trace chief executive of the Forward Trust, which provides drug and alcohol services in 25 prisons said: Past experience would suggest weve moved too slow. Nitazenes are arriving when the drug market is probably at its highest in prisons, said Mr Trace, whose organisation issued a national alert to its staff about the substances last month. The culture on every wing is: Who are the dealers, what are they bringing in? The vast majority of people are involved in some way. If theres a new drug that comes along then, because you have this dominant drug-use, drug-dealing culture, it could take hold very quickly. Urging officials to do rapid preparatory work to scale up testing and early warning capabilities, he added: Usually with new drug trends in prisons, they come to senior attention too late. So when we know of something that could lead to a lot of deaths, weve got to get ahead of the normal process of learning. Its a bit like Covid preparedness were at that point, its unavoidable, warns one charity boss of the synthetic opioid challenge (G4S/PA) The prison service is part of a new cross-government taskforce on synthetic opioids which meets monthly, and the Ministry of Justice aims to roll out scanners capable of detecting even small traces of drugs in all public prisons by April. However, experts warn that the understaffing crisis means security processes are not always followed, with some corrupt staff smuggling drugs into prisons themselves. Last year, so few mandatory drug tests were carried out in prisons that the government redacted the numbers from their annual data release. Part of the danger posed by nitazenes is that they have been discovered in not just heroin but illicit vapes, diazepam and codeine pills. But in the sole instance last year when nitazenes were discovered in a prison seizure, the government claimed the sample was deemed to be too dangerous for the private laboratory to handle and it was therefore not tested for any other substances. What we dont want is [to only discover nitazenes are] a problem because theres a massive influx of deaths. Thats the only way we really know now, said Martin Blakeborough, chief executive of treatment provider Kaleidoscope. The Prison Governors Association told The Independent that while prison bosses are aware of the threat of nitazenes, synthetic opioids are one of many risks and competing priorities that they have to manage on a daily basis. All police officers already carry naloxone to administer to overdose victims in the community (PA) Describing the threat of nitazenes as yet again another example of why theres got to be sustained investment in prisons, Tory justice committee chair Sir Bob Neill warned that already patchy prison health provision is being exacerbated by overcrowding and often very poor conditions, adding: Anything like this arising will make it even worse. If the drugs do begin infiltrating prisons en masse, a vital tool will be the lifesaving overdose-reversal drug naloxone. The government has announced it would permit and train prison staff who volunteer to administer nasal naloxone sprays but without any pay reward. As a result, Inside Time, the newspaper for prisoners and detainees, reported this week that the Prison Officers Association had urged its members not to volunteer for this additional task, which carries career-threatening risks, warning that doing so could jeopardise pay negotiations. But Mr Blakeborough suggested prisoners themselves could be trained to administer nasal naloxone to protect their cellmates from overdose, in an unintended benefit of the overcrowding leaving inmates cramped together in one-person cells. Health provision is already patchy in prisons, warns Sir Bob Neill (Getty) We dont want people on their own injecting drugs but its no use having someone with them who cant do anything because the reaction time is too slow. Are you going to dob your mate in that theyve injected drugs? No, not until theyve gone blue and even then, you might be nervous about it. Prisons have to have an adult conversation, he said. We can go into every prison and provide that training to people who use drugs, you dont even need the prison officers to do it. He added: Theyve got to do something now. Lets look at naloxone now, training prisoners up now. Its a bit like Covid preparedness were at that point, its unavoidable. So lets make sure we make prisons as safe as possible. A government spokesperson said: We know the threat synthetic opioids present which is why were part of a cross-government taskforce set up to tackle their prevalence in society, including prisons. We are also rolling out drug-free units and hiring dedicated staff to help more prisoners beat addiction and into recovery, while our 100m security crackdown is helping keep more drugs out of our jails. ???? #Dircote de la @PoliciaPeru firme contra el terrorismo!#Ahora | El ministro Victor Torres brinda informacion sobre la importante captura del terrorista irani Majid Azizi y sus dos complices a traves de la operacion policial "Proteccion Peru".#PorUnPaisSeguro ???? pic.twitter.com/Nex6q6cOzJ Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A fertility clinic in London has had its licence to operate suspended due to significant concerns. The fertility regulator has prevented Homerton Fertility Centre from starting any new procedures while an investigation is carried out. The clinic, based near Hackney, which provides treatment to both NHS and private patients, found three separate incidents over the past year that have seen errors in a small number of freezing processes. These errors led to a few embryos becoming undetectable - unable to be found in the liquid they had been frozen in - or not surviving. A small number of embryos did not survive or became undetectable (AP/stock image) In a letter to patients on Friday, chief executive of the Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Louise Ashley, said: I would like to apologise to those affected and for the concern this may cause you even if you, your eggs, embryos or sperm are unaffected. I felt, however, that it was essential to keep you fully updated as soon as possible. We have and continue to be working alongside the fertility regulator and are keeping them fully appraised of the situation. They have made provisions within the suspension for all current patients who are undergoing treatment to complete their treatment and for all eggs, embryos and sperm to continue to be stored in the clinic. The clinic, based near Hackney, found three separate incidents over the past year that have seen errors in a small number of freezing processes (AP/stock image) The affected patients have already been informed and the clinics licence has been suspended until May. People who have started treatment cycles can however continue. If you have been affected by this incident, contact lydia.patrick@independent.co.uk One patient told the BBC she was devastated after she was told one of her embryos could not be found. The clinic said all its staff now work in pairs to ensure two healthcare professionals check all clinical activities, and the competencies of all staff within the unit have been checked. Security and access points in the clinic have also been increased. Peter Thompson, the chief executive of the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA), told The Independent: The HFEA has suspended Homerton Fertility Centres licence to operate with immediate effect, due to significant concerns about the clinic. The HFEA Licence Committee made this decision because of the potential risk to patients, gametes and embryos if the clinics licence is not suspended with immediate effect. We appreciate this may cause concern to patients who are undergoing treatment at the clinic, or have eggs, sperm and/or embryos stored there. We do not want to disrupt patients treatment if they have already started medication as part of a treatment cycle, so we have made provisions to allow them to complete their treatment if they wish to do so. The clinic must continue to store eggs, sperm, and embryos safely. All HFEA licensed clinics can be found here and they will be able to advise patients further on transporting their eggs, sperm or embryos if they would like to do so. The Metropolitan Police confirmed it attended Homerton Fertility Clinic on Friday but there is currently no investigation taking place. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} More prisoners are set to be released early from jail after an emergency scheme to free up space was expanded, The Independent understands. The last-ditch measures brought in by justice secretary Alex Chalk last autumn to free eligible prisoners 18 days early at prisons approaching capacity has been extended to inmates with up to 35 days left until their scheduled release date. Governors at full-to-bursting prisons have already been told to release those who can safely be let out of jail early ahead of an expected announcement to parliament next week as a union said the move should at least stop places running out until next month. The situation will be a blow to Rishi Sunak, who will be reluctant to be viewed as soft on crime as his government languishes at a 45-year low in the polls ahead of a looming general election. But Tory justice committee chair Sir Bob Neill told The Independent: Prisons are at bursting point and if people have got to the stage in their sentence where its already been decided they can be safely released into the community, it makes perfectly good sense to bring that forward by a short period to remove the pressure. So its a perfectly sensible thing in itself but its a symptom of the underlying malaise that were having to do those sort of emergency sticking plaster to cope with the massive capacity pressures in prisons. There are calculated to be close to 40,000 prisoners technically eligible for release under The End of Custody Supervised Licence scheme. But it is understood that far fewer will actually be released, not least because those convicted of serious violence, sexual and terror offences are among those automatically excluded, as well as those whose release is a matter for the Parole Board. Ultimately if they had not extended that 18 days to 35 days, the criminal justice system may well have ground to a halt, in so much as they would have struggled to have routinely got people into custody, Carl Davies, of the Prison Governors Association told The Independent. The prison population is projected to grow by thousands over the coming decade (HM Prisons Inspectorate ) It does reduce the demands on physical places so we should not run out of places before April now. But it doesnt remove the pressure its placing on other parts of the criminal justice system, such as hard-pressed probation and accommodation services. The Independent has previously been told that mistakes which led to dangerous criminals released from prison going on to kill were at risk of being repeated, as the emergency release plans threatened to heap further pressure on a probation service already in crisis. HM chief inspector Charlie Taylor warned in December that overcrowding was a ticking timebomb and said it was almost inevitable that whoever wins the next general election will be forced to confront the question of what prisons should be for, warning that merely locking people up in revolting conditions for ever-longer periods risks creating more victims of crime, not fewer. Sentence lengths have increased by a third in the space of a decade, in line with the tough on crime rhetoric espoused by successive governments, while court delays have caused the remand prison population to soar to a record high. Mr Davies added: We believe as an association that government will act responsibly and at all times the most serious offenders will always come into custody, but theres a broader discussion to be had about how we routinely use prison custody. Are we sure that we can we afford the level of imprisonment that weve got? A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: This government is categorical that dangerous offenders should stay behind bars, which is why new laws will keep rapists locked up for every day of their prison sentence and ensure life means life for the most horrific murderers. While we are carrying out the biggest prison expansion programme since the Victoria era and ramping up removals of foreign national offenders, the prison estate remains under pressure following the impact of the pandemic and barristers industrial action. We will always ensure we have the prison places we need to keep criminals locked up and the public safe. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Two former Texas deputies have been acquitted in the death of a Black motorist who was shot several times with a stun gun following a police chase that was filmed by the now-canceled real-time police TV series Live PD. A Travis County jury on Thursday found former Williamson County deputies Zach Camden and J.J. Johnson not guilty on manslaughter charges in the 2019 death of 40-year-old Javier Ambler II. Following the verdict, Ambler's father, Javier Ambler, embraced both Johnson, who is Black, and Camden, who is white, saying no hard feelings, before leaving the courtroom, according to local media reports. Defense attorney Ken Ervin called the charges a travesty and said prosecutors were forced to bring the case by Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza. He campaigned specifically on this case prior to his election, and he made them see this through despite the fact there was no crime, Ervin said. Garza, in a statement, said his office had hoped the outcome of this trial would bring justice and closure to the family. We are grateful to our community members who served on the jury for this case, respect their decision, and thank them for their service. Johnson had tried to stop Ambler because he failed to dim his headlights to oncoming traffic, then Ambler led police on a chase from Williamson County into Travis County before crashing. Deputies shot him with a stun gun after he exited the vehicle and police body-camera footage showed Ambler telling the deputies he was not resisting and that he could not breathe because of heart problems. Williamson County officials later agreed to a $5 million wrongful death lawsuit settlement with Ambler's family. Live PD was canceled by the A&E Network last year. A&E has said its video never aired because of a policy against showing a death. Both Camden and Johnson resigned shortly after then-Sheriff Robert Chody was defeated for reelection in November 2020. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} When Denisse Oleas-Arancibia immigrated from Ecuador to New York five years ago, all she wanted to do was provide a good life for her family. The day before the 38-year-old sex worker was found dead on the floor of a hotel room in a swanky SoHo neighbourhood during New York Fashion Week was a normal day, her son recalled. She made her son breakfast at their Queens home, blessed him with the sign of the cross and sent him off to school in a taxi. Edwin Cevallos, 18, told the New York Daily News that he had no idea what his mother did for a living in order to give him a good life and to support the family they had left behind in Ecuador. My mom, she worked very hard, Mr Cevallos said. She was working all day. She was always working for us to give us the best life in this country. He knew that she went to Manhattan for work every day at 2pm. And he knew that she always returned home. But on 8 February, she never came back. Denisse Oleas-Arancibia was found dead on 8 February at the SoHo 54 Hotel in Manhattan (Provided by family ) Across the East River, a maid at the SoHo 54 Hotel on Watts Street entered room 1109 on the 11th floor despite the Do not disturb sign on the door. A womans body lay on the floor under a blanket. A broken iron was next to her. New York City Police say the brutal killing happened when the woman, later identified as Oleas-Arancibia, and a man argued about how long he would be allowed to stay in the room. The argument escalated and turned violent when the man, alleged to be 26-year-old Raad Almansoori, flew into a rage and bludgeoned Oleas-Arancibia with the iron. Mr Almansooris crime spree continued in Arizona which led to his arrest in connection to two separate stabbings. He admitted to the authorities that he was on the run after killing a woman in New York. While Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg fights to have Mr Almansoori extradited back to New York, Oleas-Arancibias family has been fighting their own battle to raise enough money to get her body back to Ecuador. Finally, they did. Her son has also returned home to Ecuador to be with his father, grandparents and the rest of the family, Oleas-Arancibias sister Maria Oleas told The Independent. I already took my sister back home in Ecuador to be buried, she said. I also took my nephew back to Ecuador to be with his father and grandparents and the rest of the family. We are glad he (Mr Almansoori) is caught and cant wait to see him be indicted for my sisters case, she added. The Murder Denisse Oleas-Arancibia was found dead on 8 February at the SoHo 54 Hotel on Watts Street near Sixth Avenue in New York City. A hotel maid found the womans lifeless body with trauma to her face in a room on the 11th floor of the hotel around 10.30am. Bits of plastic were found embedded in her head and a bloody iron was next to her, according to authorities. A pair of blood-splattered men's pants were found alongside her body. Officers said her death was determined to have been caused by blunt force trauma to the head. Hotel staff made the discovery at the SoHo 54 Hotel on Watts Street near Sixth Avenue in New York (Google maps) Victoria Marinucci, who was in town from Los Angeles for New York Fashion Week, was staying in the room next door to where Oleas-Arancibias body was discovered. She recalled a chaotic scene at the hotel, which she said was packed at the time with people attending upcoming New York Fashion Week events. The manager was banging and screaming, Hello? Hello? Hello? Ms Marinucci told local news outlets. Then there were detectives everywhere. It was really scary, she added. We knew that the person didnt make it. She just wouldnt die Shortly after Mr Almansooris arrest, the suspect blabbed to the cops about the murder and attempted killings, going into graphic detail about how he took the life of Oleas-Arancibia basically unprompted, Detective Jeremy Goebel with the Surprise Police Department, said at his court hearing last month. Mr Almansoori described to Arizona police that he and the victim had met on an online website and arranged a meet-up at the hotel in the SoHo neighbourhood. He tried more than once to end Oleas-Arancibias life before finally succeeding, Det Goebel revealed. After a dispute over how long he would stay in the hotel room, Mr Almansoori began choking her with his hands and forearms. He then tried to snap her neck, turning it from side to side, and hit her in the head with an iron multiple times, he added. Mr Almansoori then tried to suffocate Oleas-Arancibia with a sock and blanket, according to Det Goebel. In his words, She just wouldnt die, said the prosecutor questioning the detective. Suspect fled hotel wearing slain womans leggings Surveillance footage released by the NYPD captured Mr Almansoori fleeing the violent scene of the murder wearing the slain moms distinctive leggings. The suspect was seen walking down on the sidewalk near the hotel wearing light-coloured leggings, a tan jacket, a dark-coloured hoodie and a beanie. Meanwhile, a pair of blood-splattered mens pants were found alongside Oleas-Arancibias body. We have video of the woman arriving at the location, wearing a distinct pair of leggings and later on we have a male leaving the hotel wearing the same leggings and we also have a pair of male pants in the hotel room, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said before Mr Almansooris arrest. There was blood all over the pants. Surveillance video caught the suspect fleeing the crime scene wearing the slain moms leggings (NYPD) Alleged crime spree continues in Arizona with two stabbings Following Oleas-Arancibias murder, Almansoori, 26, fled to Arizona, where he was arrested on 18 February for stabbing two other women in two separate cases. He told police hed come from New York because he was on the run after the murder. Not a single woman on this planet likes me so I was very upset, he told police, adding that he was addicted to sex and was broken because of it. Commissioner Lindsey Coates ruled that Mr Almansoori would remain behind bars in Maricopa County, Arizona, without bail due to the danger he poses to the public. Suspect pleads not guilty in Arizona stabbing cases Mr Almansoori has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and other felony charges in Arizona in separate stabbings of two women. He was arraigned on 5 March in Maricopa County Superior Court on charges stemming from the stabbings on 17 February in Phoenix and on 18 February in the suburb of Surprise. Raad Almansoori was arrested weeks later for the mother-of-twos murder (Surprise Police Department) Mr Almansooris only comments during the two-minute hearing were stating his name and birth date when asked by the court to do so, FOX10 reported. His trial on the Arizona charges was scheduled for 2 July. Arizona case sparks political feud In the meantime, Arizona officials have refused to extradite Mr Almansoori to New York to face the charges in the hotel murder due to the citys soft on crime policies. It has sparked a political feud between Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, who is a Republican, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is a Democrat. Mitchell said Mr Almansoori must first be tried in Arizona for the stabbings before being extradited. But Bragg said since the suspect is facing homicide charges in New York, he should be prosecuted here first. The Manhattan District Attorneys Office will continue to press for Mr Almansooris return to New York, said office spokesperson Emily Tuttle. We are proceeding as we do in each and every case involving an out-of-state arrest, she said. Following the facts and the law to ensure justice is served. Queens migrant mom worked hard to give family the best life Five years ago, Denisse Oleas-Arancibia immigrated from Ecuador to the United States for a better life. A better life, not only for herself, but for her family including her 18-year-old son, her 13-year-old son, her three siblings and her parents. All remained in South America except for her 18-year-old son Edwin Cevallos, who came to the US three years after she did. She wanted a better life because in Ecuador is a lot of bad people. It was so dangerous, he told The New York Daily News in the days following her death. She gave us the life that we always wanted. Mr Cevallos said he called police on 8 February when she didnt come home from work the night before. I was waiting for her to come the next day and at 1pm I saw that she didnt come (home) so then I called the police, he said. Later that day, police broke the heartbreaking news to her son that her body had been found. I am in shock. I cant believe this happened. This is surprising, Mr Cevallos added. Everything here in New York reminds me of her. Everything. It was a normal day Mr Cevallos said he last spoke to her a day before her death when she woke him up for school and made him breakfast. Bacon with eggs and a milkshake of banana, he said. It was a normal day. She then paid for a taxi to get him to school and blessed him with the sign of the cross. Then she said, Goodbye, I love you, Mr Cevallos said. Just after 9:20am that same day, he texted her asking for money for a haircut. She sent him a voice message in Spanish and told him shed send the barber money through her phone when he got there, which she did. Mr Cevallos added that he didnt know what his mother did for a living or why she was at the hotel that day. All I knew is that everyday at 2pm she went to Manhattan to work, he said. My mom, she worked very hard, Cevallos said. She was working all day. She was always working for us to give us the best life in this country. He added that in the week (before) she was like, sad. She was so nervous and she was worried, Cevallos told the New York Daily News in Spanish. However, he added that he did not know if that fear was connected to her death. Denisse Oleas-Arancibia immigrated from Ecuador to the United States for a better life (GoFundMe) He described his mother as happy and fun-loving, weeping as he showed off a photo of her from his 18th birthday dinner at a Brazilian restaurant. She was always happy and having fun, he said. The best part of her is she always helped us and the family and she was very organized, he added, breaking down in tears often as he talked about his mom. She always had money to cover anything in the house. She didnt owe no money to anybody. I want (people to know) that she was always helping people. She was a very good person. She never hurt anybody. She was always paying for everything. She never owed money to anybody. She was always looking to help them move forward, Mr Cevallos said. A GoFundMe to help the family with funeral expenses and support for her children was created by Maria Oleas. On behalf of the family of Denisse-Oleas Arancibia, we are asking our community to please help support us in raising the funding needed to properly say goodbye to our beloved family. Denisse was a mother full of so much life and opportunity who leaves behind two sons who now have to go on without their loving mom. Denisses life was taken away too soon and her boys are struggling with the events surrounding this loss and are in need of any and all support. Lets help my family send my sister back home to Ecuador. Please help the family in any way possible. Thank you. Florida woman recalls chilling encounter with suspect before hotel murder Following Mr Almansooris arrest last month, Florida native Leah Palian claimed she was attacked and sexually assaulted by Mr Almansoori in April 2023. Ms Palian, who said she previously worked with Mr Almansoori at a restaurant in Orlando, recounted the alleged attack to Eyewitness News. He gets right on top of me on the couch and he starts strangling me with the utmost force, he just goes directly under my chin, he knew exactly what he was doing, he cut off my airways, she said. Immediately like I was laying there in fear for my life. Police managed to catch Mr Almansoori when he fled with her car, but Florida prosecutors ended up dropping the most violent charges, the outlet reported. After reviewing all the evidence and facts related to the case, we concluded there was insufficient evidence to prove the sexual battery and aggravated assault charges beyond a reasonable doubt, Orlando State Attorney Monique H. Worrell said. Mr Almansoori was able to post bond in Florida before making his way to New York City. I told the prosecutors if they let him walk that he was capable of doing this, Ms Palian told Eyewitness News following the news of his arrest for the New York murder. Its just so disheartening that this is allowed to happen, she added. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez was convicted Friday in New York of charges that he conspired with drug traffickers and used his military and national police force to enable tons of cocaine to make it unhindered into the United States. The jury returned its verdict at a federal court after a two week trial, which has been closely followed in his home country. Hernandez, 55, served two terms as the leader of the Central American nation of roughly 10 million people. He was arrested at his home in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, three months after leaving office in 2022 and was extradited to the US in April of that year. US prosecutors accused Hernandez of working with drug traffickers as long ago as 2004, saying he took millions of dollars in bribes as he rose from rural congressman to president of the National Congress and then to the country's highest office. Hernandez acknowledged in trial testimony that drug money was paid to virtually all political parties in Honduras, but he denied accepting bribes himself. He noted that he had visited the White House and met US presidents as he cast himself as a champion in the war on drugs who worked with the US to curb the flow of drugs to the U.S. In one instance, he said, he was warned by the FBI that a drug cartel wanted to assassinate him. He said his accusers fabricated their claims about him in bids for leniency for their crimes. "They all have motivation to lie, and they are professional liars, Hernandez said. But the prosecution mocked Hernandez for seemingly claiming to be the only honest politician in Honduras. During closing arguments Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Gutwillig told the jury that a corrupt Hernandez paved a cocaine superhighway to the United States. Defense attorney Renato Stabile said his client has been wrongfully charged as he urged an acquittal. Trial witnesses included traffickers who admitted responsibility for dozens of murders and said Hernandez was an enthusiastic protector of some of the world's most powerful cocaine dealers, including notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, who is serving a life prison term in the US. Hernandez, wearing a suit throughout the trial, was mostly dispassionate as he testified through an interpreter, repeatedly saying no sir as he was asked if he ever paid bribes or promised to protect traffickers from extradition to the U.S. His brother Juan Antonio Tony Hernandez, a former Honduran congressman, was sentenced to life in 2021 in Manhattan federal court for his own conviction on drug charges. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The morning Sebastian Rogers went missing from his Tennessee home started out as a normal day, his mother recalled. But when Katie Proudfoot went to wake her 15-year-old son up for school on the morning of 26 February, his bed was empty and he was nowhere to be found. Sebastian, who has high-functioning autism, is described by his mother as being very smart and not a mischievous child by any means. State and local authorities have searched for Sebastian for more than a week using helicopters, drones, search-and-rescue dogs, and teams on foot. While the search was scaled back this week, a new search effort has since led investigators across state lines to a Kentucky landfill. An Amber Alert was issued to try to track down the teenager and bring him home safely but so far he is yet to be found. Sebastian Rogers, 15, has been missing since 26 February (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation) Heres what we know so far: Sebastians disappearance Sebastian has not been seen in person or on camera since his disappearance. His mother Katie Proudfoot and stepfather Chris Proudfoot spoke to the media for the first time on Monday, eight days after he went missing. Ms Proudfoot told WSMV the family went to sleep at their home in Hendersonville the night before he vanished, but when they woke up on the morning of 26 February, he was gone. When Ms Proudfoot found her sons bed empty, she called her husband, who was at work. Sebastian has not been seen in person or on camera since his disappearance (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation) I cant find him, she said, and when he asked, What do you mean you cant find him? She replied, Hes not in the house. Ms Proudfoot said she searched the entire house, but couldnt find him. My son doesnt run and hes not a runner. Hes never run away before, she said, addressing the possibility that he could have wandered off. I dont know why he walked out that door. The search for Sebastian A massive search has been underway for Sebastian for over a week as state and local authorities utilize helicopters, drones and search-and-rescue dogs. Authorities even blasted his favourite song, Eye of the Tiger, while searching in different areas to try to call out to him, the Sumner County Sheriffs Office said. But there still has been no sign of Sebastian. Authorities blasted Sebastians favorite song, Eye of the Tiger while searching in different areas to try to call out to him (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation) The search was scaled back on Monday as authorities transitioned to the investigative side of the case. The sheriffs office said that investigators are now working on eliminating and drumming up leads. Authorities added that Sebastians family has been cooperative with the investigation. Days later, authorities were spotted combing through the landfill where the trash from the teens neighbourhood ended up, according to the Sumner County Sheriffs Office. Officials called the search of the landfill a precautionary measure to eliminate possible options and questions. Authorities were spotted combing through the landfill where the trash from the teens neighbourhood ended up (WSMV) Kentucky State Police spokesperson Ridge Porter told WKRN that detectives had obtained a search warrant for the Hopkins County Regional Landfill in White Plains. Aerial video footage from local news outlets captured a white tarp covering part of the landfill area while officers were seen digging through the trash for clues. Parents speak out: I just want my baby to be ok Sebastians mother and stepfather spoke out about their sons disappearance for the first time eight days after he went missing. I wouldnt wish this on anyone, his mother told WSMV. Anyone. Sebastians mother and stepfather spoke out about their sons disappearance for the first time eight days after he went missing (WSMV) On one constant rollercoaster ride of helplessness and hopelessness, Chris Proudfoot added. Many other emotions all in one and its a never-ending world because it doesnt stop. The couple has received backlash for not speaking out earlier, to which they say they shouldnt be judged because no one knows what theyre going through. You dont know, and I dont wish you to ever know, they said. Just be kind to people. Its just that simple. Theres answers to questions right now that we are searching for desperately and we just dont have that, his stepfather added. Parents of missing teen Sebastian Rogers speak out as Kentucky landfill is searched Sebastians mother, who said she is just hoping to bring her son home safely, had a message for him. We love you so much, and we want you to come home and youre not in trouble, she said. I just want my baby to be ok. AMBER Alert issued The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) originally issued an Endangered Child Alert for Sebastian on the morning of 26 February. On 27 February, the alert was elevated to an AMBER Alert, based on additional investigative information developed during the search. An AMBER Alert is issued when there is reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction has occurred and the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death, according to the DOJ. An AMBER Alert was issued for Sebastian based on additional investigative information developed during the search (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation) Multiple agencies are involved in the search for Sebastian, including the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Nashville Fire Department, City of Hendersonvilles first responders, Sumner County Sheriffs Office and Shackle Island Volunteer Fire. Anyone with information on Sebastians whereabouts is encouraged to contact Sumner County Sheriffs Office Detective Carter at 615-442-1865 or bcarter@sumnersheriff.com. Tips can also be provided to Sumner County Emergency Communications at 615-451-3838 or 1-800-TBI-FIND. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A helicopter flying over the US-Mexico border in Texas crashed on Friday, killing two National Guard soldiers and a Border Patrol agent, the military said. Another soldier on board was injured. The incident occurred near La Grulla, Texas, located about 40 miles west of the border city of McAllen, on Friday, two National Guard sources confirmed to CBS News. There were casualties in the crash, US defense officials told the outlet, but the exact number of fatalities and possible injuries is yet to be confirmed. The circumstances of the crash remain unclear. Starr County judge Eloy Vera, the countys top official, said those on board included one woman and three men. He said the person who was injured was in critical condition. The names of those killed were not immediately released. The crashed chopper was a UH-72 Lakota, and was reportedly operating under federal authority. It is believed there were four people on board at the time of the crash. Starr County Sheriffs Department said the incident had occurred around 5pm local time and that its deputies were assisting with the downed helicopter incident which involved possibly four occupants. Judge Vera said the scene had been secured by the sheriffs office and that federal officials were on the way. The border region is heavily patrolled by both state and federal authorities, including routine aerial surveillance. In January, a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter patrolling the states border with Mexico lost power and crashed, officials said at the time. The co-pilot suffered a minor hand injury and the helicopter was significantly damaged. That helicopter was flying as part of Operation Lone Star, Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts nearly $10 billion border mission that has tested the federal governments authority over immigration. Close Related: Donald Trump warns of a bloodbath in US if he isnt elected as president again Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump took to the stage in Dayton, Ohio, on Saturday evening to campaign for former car salesman Bernie Moreno, who is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Democrat Sherrod Brown for the states Senate seat. Mr Moreno has been endorsed by Mr Trump as his MAGA representative in the race but faces stiff competition from state senator Matt Dolan and secretary of state Frank LaRose, widely seen as GOP establishment candidates. The Republican presidential nominee hailed Mr Moreno as a fantastic guy during his 90-minute address at the Dayton Air Show and laid into Mr Dolan, who he labelled a RINO (Republican in Name Only). Bernie is running against a weak RINO named Matt Dolan, Mr Trump said. He is trying to become the next Mitt Romney. I think Mitt Romney is his hero. He also attacked Mr Dolan over his familys ownership of the Cleveland Guardians, the baseball team that recently changed its name from the Cleveland Indians. Hes easily pushed around by woke left-wing lunatics who renamed his familys baseball team, Mr Trump sneered. My attitude is anybody who changes the name from the Cleveland Indians to the Cleveland Guardians should not be a senator. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The floating port Joe Biden plans to build in an effort to deliver much needed humanitarian aid to Gaza could take up to 60 days to complete, according to the Pentagon. The Pentagon presented the timeline on Friday in the wake of Mr Biden's State of the Union speech. The port intentional or not will likely serve as an olive branch from Mr Biden's administration to Democratic voters who feel his staunch support of Israel is implicit approval of the civilian displacement and deaths caused by the Israeli Defence Forces. The UN has issued a warning that Gaza Strip is likely to suffer widespread famine if urgent action is not taken. That famine could begin as early as next week, according to a UN analysis. It warned that once a famine has been declared, it is typically already too late to help many of the affected. The port is intended to provide a means for the US to quickly deliver aid to Palestinians, but critics have pointed out that the structure would not even be necessary if Israel would allow the US to bring aid in by land. "This is not a logistics problem; it is a political problem," Avril Benoit, executive director for Medecins Sans Frontieres [Doctors Without Borders], told Reuters. "Rather than look to the US military to build a work-around, the US should insist on immediate humanitarian access using the roads and entry points that already exist." Despite the looming threat of famine and further civilian deaths, the port is still in its planning stages, according to the Pentagon. The Open Arms vessel, carrying two-hundred tonnes of food aid to Gaza, is seen docked in the Cypriot port of Larnaca on March 9, 2024. (AFP/Getty) General Patrick Ryder said there were also questions over exactly how the port would be secured which still need answers. When asked during a press briefing if he thought the port might become a target for Hamas, he said it was "certainly a risk." "But if Hamas truly does care about the Palestinian people, then, again, one would hope that this international mission to deliver aid to people who need it would be able to happen unhindered," Mr Ryder said. While US military members will build the port, none will enter Gaza due to security concerns. The first part of the port will be construction of an off-shore barge that can accept aid items. That barge would then move the goods to a floating, 1,800 foot causeway that will be anchored to the shore. Mr Ryder said the system should allow for the delivery of approximately 2 million meals every day to the people of Gaza. At least one Republican lawmaker criticised Mr Biden's plan. Senator Marco Rubio said building the port in Gaza effectively meant building "a port for Hamas." Democrats have largely praised the move, thought it's unclear how far the structure will go to win back the support of leftwing party members who were shocked by Mr Biden's refusal to outright condemn the widespread civilian casualties caused by the IDF. The Michigan Democratic primary results made clear that frustration with Mr Biden was more than just noise online; 13 per cent of voters who cast a ballot in the state's primary race wrote that they were "uncommitted" to any candidate. Dearborn, Michigan is home to the largest concentration of Muslims in the US. Mr Biden won the primary, receiving 81 per cent of the vote, but the "uncommitted" voters still accounted for more than 100,000 votes. The president only beat Donald Trump in the state in 2020 by approximately 154,000 votes. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Its basically an aphorism at this point that American voters almost never make a decision about their choice for president based on foreign policy. The only exception comes when Americans are in harms way, as Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George W Bush and Barack Obama can all attest. At the same time, presidential candidates foreign policy reveals plenty about how what they value at home. Harry Trumans desegregation of the US military reflected Democrats larger shift away from being the party of Southern racists to becoming the party of civil rights. Reagans ardent opposition to communism abroad reflected his desire to slash government spending at home. That makes President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trumps choices of foreign heads of state to meet this week particularly interesting. They reflect much about what values they want to promote at home. During his State of the Union Address to Congress on Thursday, Biden invited Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, in order to celebrate the Scandinavian nations acceptance into NATO. Bidens decision to welcome the head of state for a country that has historically remained neutral in numerous world conflicts reflected his efforts to actively promote democracy at home and abroad. Indeed, during his address, Biden tied the efforts to defend democracy abroad with his efforts to defeat the authoritarian creep of Trumpism at home. He pointedly mentioned how Trump had killed legislation that would have provided aid to Ukraine and how his predecessor had incited a riot to overturn the 2020 election results. History is watching just like history watched three years ago on January 6 when insurrectionists stormed this very Capitol and placed a dagger to the throat of American democracy, Biden said. Biden has good reason to tie the two together, given Trumps fond words for Putin and the fact that Russia intervened in 2016 to help Trump become president. Most notably, in a 2018 press conference with Putin in Helsinki, Trump said, President Putin says it's not Russia. I don't see any reason why it would be. Conversely, Trumps decisions about which foreign leaders visit him indicate what kind of president he will be. In recent months, he has gone from spewing anti-immigrant rhetoric to spouting outright white nationalist talking points about migrants bringing disease and poisoning the blood of the United States. He has also promised to carry out the largest deportation in the history of our country. These words have not appeared to repel Republican voters. Trump reportedly met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach this week. That shouldnt be surprising. Trump has routinely praised the Hungarian far-right leader and Orban has become a darling of many in the conservative movement for his hard-right policies on everything from immigration to his opposition to LGBTQ+ rights. The Conservative Political Action Conference even recently hosted an event in Hungary. Orban has also said about Hungary that We do not want to become a mixed race. Not surprisingly, Orban also has severely curtailed democracy, rewriting the nations constitution and school textbooks. He has implemented laws that specifically benefit his Fidesz Party. According to Freedom House, a nonprofit that monitors democracies across the globe, Hungarys status as a democracy has severely diminished since Orban took power. Orban is also a critic of supporting Ukraine. Last year, he told Tucker Carlson, a hero of extreme forces within the GOP, that a Trump presidency would be the only way out of Russias war with Ukraine and the idea that Kyivs military could beat Russia was a lie. This is not unfamiliar rhetoric. Many Republicans such as Senator JD Vance of Ohio and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin have made similar comments. Carlson and others have also praised Hungarys illiberal democracy model that values conservative Christian hegemony over liberal democratic values. All of this gives an idea of the type of government Trump would provide were he allowed to return to office. Hes previously said he would only be a dictator on his first day in office and for the liars and cheaters and fraudsters and censors and imposters who have commandeered our government, it will be their judgment day. Who Biden and Trump choose to acquaint themselves with offers a glaring relief about what they value. While most voters may not understand the depth of these choices, they reveal as much about their domestic policy proposals as their foreign policy ones. Festivalgoers at a music event in Victoria have expressed their fury after being told to leave, and those on their way to delay their travels, following extreme heat and fire warnings posing a risk across the state. Heatwave conditions have been forecast for South Australia, Victoria, NSW and Tasmania from Saturday to Monday with parts of Victoria expected to reach up to 39C. Hot, dry and windy conditions are also expected, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned, sending the five-day festival plans into chaos. Organisers of the Pitch Music Festival, held at Moyston about 220km west of Melbourne, warned attendees on Friday night to "leave tonight or early in the morning" via a post on social media following safety warnings, despite many already settling in for their five-day plans. "The Country Fire Service advises the fire danger rating is extreme which recommends you reconsider travel through bushfire risk areas and that leaving bushfire risk areas early in the day is your safest option because fires will spread quickly and be extremely dangerous," organisers wrote on Instagram. "If you are arriving on Saturday we recommend delaying your arrival until further notice. The forecast tells us to expect hot weather each day of the festival. In addition, overnights will also be warm." Pitch Music Festival is being held at Moyston, about 220km west of Melbourne, where extreme heat and fire warnings have been issued. Source: Facebook/Pitch Festival Festival still going ahead despite fire warnings Despite the risks and a plea to ticket holders to reconsider their need to attend, organisers announced on Saturday that the festival will go ahead and begin from 6pm on Saturday, rather than on Friday as planned. "We are diligently following the guidance of relevant authorities to prioritise the safety of our community and have a full team of emergency services including medical, police and on site fire response who are on call throughout the event," the festival organisers on Saturday. 'Lack of communication' as Aussies demand refund About 18,000 people are expected to attend the event where a premium camping ticket sells for $135 and a three-person glamping tent is priced at more than $1500. The sudden interruption has left thousands fuming and demanding a refund. Story continues "Do we have any updates for those wanting a refund? I mean like its really not the same event that we all forked out for," one said on the organisers' post. "Very disappointing. Blatantly avoiding refunding people and putting festival attendees in danger," said another. Heatwave conditions have been forecast for South Australia, Victoria, NSW and Tasmania from Saturday to Monday. Source: BoM Others have criticised the event organisers for a lack of communication with thousands left in the dark. One hit out on Instagram claiming the festival had not communicated the situation effectively to festivalgoers. "My sister is on site and no one has come and talked to anyone. She can't reach thier Insta or website so [the f***k] are you guys doing, she wants to leave but is trapped by tents ffs," one user claimed. Others agreed the messaging around the event was "confusing" with some left wondering "if we're allowed to go". "Don't come or come the middle ground is really, really confusing. That's what's making everyone stressed," one told the ABC. Parents fear for safety of their kids Meanwhile, concerned parents have reportedly been unable to contact their children due to poor coverage at the site. Others have resorted to driving out to the festival grounds to pick up their kids, the Herald Sun reported. Some parents have said it's "irresponsible" and "shocking" that the festival has gone ahead. On social media, other parents begged for the festival to be cancelled. "Cancel it and bring these kids home NOW!!!! You are playing with their lives," one said. "Advise the kids to leave for their own safety!!! This is just a joke!! You are stringing them along," said another. Hot, dry & windy in #Vic today with Fire Weather Warnings issued for parts of the state. Extreme fire danger is forecast for Central and South West districts, including #Melbourne and #Geelong. Latest forecasts & warnings: https://t.co/jlOoTZL1iF and https://t.co/JF0V65Rm5z pic.twitter.com/vWRJsUkYH9 Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) March 8, 2024 Record-high temperatures sweeping the state The bureau warned a severe heatwave sweeping the state's south was likely to be felt across a large area including Melbourne, Ballarat, Horsham, Warrnambool and Bairnsdale. Melbourne was tipped to reach a top of 39C on Saturday, while temperatures were set to hit 41C at Warrnambool, Torquay and Avalon.A top temperature of 38C was forecast for Melbourne on Sunday and Monday. The state's central district was slated to reach 41C on Saturday with temperatures of 40C forecast for holiday towns along the Murray River. Southwest Victoria was forecast to record its sixth-highest maximum temperatures on record in some areas, including where the festival is being held. "We have only seen three consecutive days of above 38C in Melbourne three times during March in the past 100 years," Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Lincoln Trainor said. "Temperatures will still remain quite hot in northern districts of Victoria until Wednesday and Thursday, when temperatures slowly drop back to the March average." with NCA Newswire and AAP Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? Get our new newsletter showcasing the weeks best stories. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Watch as Joe Biden visits Pennsylvania on Friday, 8 March, where he is kicking off a tour of battleground states after his State of the Union speech. It comes as the US president's reelection team is due to spend $30m on ad buy as he moves further into the election campaign. Mr Biden will visit Georgia on Saturday, New Hampshire on Monday, Wisconsin on Wednesday, and Michigan on Thursday. Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Arizona on Friday and Nevada on Saturday. The US president's tour follows his fiery address on Thursday, in which he laid out the case for his re-election and addressed both domestic and international issues before a joint session of Congress. Mr Biden also used his speech to slam Donald Trump's record, tout his achievements, dismiss concerns about his age, and warn of the threat to democracy at home and abroad. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Katie Britt, the Alabama Senator who delivered the Republicans rebuttal to President Joe Bidens State of the Union address, is being accused of misrepresenting a graphic story about a human trafficking survivor in Mexico to criticise Mr Bidens border policy. During her speech on Thursday, Ms Britt elevated Republicans rhetoric and concerns about the US-Mexico border by recounting the time she travelled to Del Rio, Texas in 2023 and met with a young woman who was allegedly trafficked by Mexican cartels at the age of 12. Ms Britt briefly described the horrific crimes the young woman experienced before calling for different border policies. We wouldnt be OK with this happening in a third-world country. This is the United States of America and its past time we started acting like it. President Bidens border crisis is a disgrace. Its despicable. And its almost entirely preventable, Ms Britt said on Thursday. Though Ms Britt did not name the individual she was speaking about, an independent journalist, Jonathan Katz, said that it appeared she was speaking about Karla Jacinto. Ms Jacinto is a human trafficking survivor whom Ms Britt, along with Senators Marsha Blackburn and Cindy Hyde-Smith, met last year while visiting the border. Ms Jacinto appeared briefly in a video with the Alabama senator. Though Ms Britt has not confirmed this is the individual shes speaking about, Ms Jacinto shares an almost identical story to the one Ms Britt spoke about. In 2015, Ms Jacinto testified to Congress about being trafficked in Mexico beginning when she was 12 years old in 2004 until she was rescued at 16 years old in 2008. Her testimony was used as evidence in support of International Megans Law. Ms Jacinto never testified to being trafficked by drug cartels nor being trafficked in the US. She told CNN in 2015 that she was trafficked in Mexico City, Guadalajara and other Mexican cities Those details, which were omitted from Ms Britts speech, considerably distance Ms Jacintos experience from the current border crisis and Mr Bidens presidency. Mr Katz accused Ms Britt of being fundamentally dishonest in repeating Ms Jacintos story to make it appear as though it happened on or near the US-Mexico border during the Biden administration. The Independent has reached out to Ms Britts office for comment. Her spokesperson, Sean Ross, responded to The New York Times and said in a statement that The story Senator Britt told was 100 percent correct. If you are a child and you need help because something has happened to you, you can call the NSPCC free of charge on 0800 1111. You can also call the NSPCC if you are an adult and you are worried about a child, on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adults on 0808 801 0331 For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A woman in Queensland has been charged with murder more than a decade after the death of her baby girl. The three-month-old baby girl was found not breathing and unresponsive by paramedics at a property southeast of Brisbane on 2 September 2011, and died four days later. The baby was transported to the Redland Bay Hospital and later the Mater Childrens Hospital, where she died on September 6, 2011, Queensland Police said in a statement on Saturday. While the babys death was investigated at the time, there was no evidence of any foul play and the status of the investigation remained undetermined. Following new and credible information received by the police from a community source in January 2024, investigation into the girls death was relaunched. Officials started a special operation with the new leads, involving detectives from child protection services. Operation Whiskey Magra, involving detectives from the Bayside Child Protection Investigation Unit (CPIU) and the Crime and Intelligence Command Child Trauma Unit, was commenced, according to Queensland Police. On Friday, they arrested the baby girls mother, a 29-year-old woman, in the Logan suburb of Kingston town, and charged her with murder. She was refused police bail and is due to appear before the Brisbane Magistrates Court today, 9 March, the Queensland Police said. The woman was 17 years old at the time of the murder 12 years ago. Detectives would have to consider whether the woman would be tried as a minor. These people had to deal with the death of a child 12 years ago, which I could only imagine would be horrific, Queensland police officer Paul Dalton told local news. Then for detectives to come and tell you 12 years later that we think your child had been murdered and not only that but that someone that you know is responsible I can only imagine what theyre going through, Mr Dalton said. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A lonely man jailed for criticizing the government on his ham radio. A poet assaulted by police after he recited a poem objecting to Russias war in Ukraine. A low-profile woman committed to a psychiatric facility for condemning the invasion on social media. President Vladimir Putins 24 years in power are almost certain to be extended six more by this month's presidential election. That leadership has transformed Russia. A country that tolerated some dissent is now one that ruthlessly suppresses it. Along with opposition politicians, independent journalists and human rights activists, ordinary Russians have been increasingly swept up in a crackdown reminiscent of the Soviet era. Some human rights advocates compare the scale of the clampdown to the repression from the 1960s to the 1980s, when dissidents were prosecuted for anti-Soviet propaganda. THREE YEARS IN PRISON FOR A RADIO AMATEUR Vladimir Rumyantsev led a lonely life. The 63-year-old worked stoking the furnace at a wood-processing plant in Vologda, a city about 400 kilometers (250 miles) northeast of Moscow. He had no family apart from an estranged brother. To entertain himself, he bought a couple of radio transmitters online and started broadcasting audiobooks and radio plays that he had liked, along with YouTube videos and podcasts by journalists critical of the Kremlin and the war in Ukraine. He also shared posts on his social network page in which independent media and bloggers talked about Russia's attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. Rumyantsev did not intend to reach a radio audience. According to his lawyer, Sergei Tikhonov, he listened on headphones in his own apartment. In a letter from behind bars published by Russias prominent rights group OVD-Info, Rumyantsev said tinkering with and improving radios has been his hobby since Soviet times, and he decided to set up self-broadcasting as an alternative to Russia's state TV, which was increasingly airing patriotic hysteria. To him, it seemed a better technological solution than Bluetooth speakers because the radio could reach everywhere in his apartment, he said in the letter. But his social media activity eventually put him on the authorities radar, and they discovered his radio frequency. In July 2022, police arrested Rumyantsev, accusing him of spreading knowingly false information about the Russian army a criminal charge authorities introduced shortly after invading Ukraine. Rumyantsev rejected the charges and insisted on his constitutional right to freely collect and disseminate information, Tikhonov says. The law under which Rumyantsev was charged effectively criminalized any expression about the war that deviated from the Kremlins official narrative. In December 2022, he was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison. Tikhonov visits Rumyantsev every so often in a penal colony about 200 kilometers away (125 miles) from Vologda and described him as calm and resilient, even though incarceration has taken its toll on his health. He said Rumyantsev deliberately chose to speak out against the war and refuses to apply for parole as it is unacceptable for him to admit guilt, even as a formality. Russian media reported on the case against Rumyantsev when he was in pretrial detention, and he started getting many letters of support, Tikhonov said. Some supporters put money in his prison account, while others have sent supplies mostly food, but also books and personal hygiene items, according to the lawyer. In addition to making the mans life easier, this (gave him) an understanding that he is not alone and there are many people who share the same values, Tikhonov said. ARREST AND VIOLENCE AFTER A POETRY RECITAL Artyom Kamardin worked as an engineer, but poetry is his passion. He was a regular at monthly recitals in the center of Moscow, near the monument to Soviet poet Vladimir Mayakovsky. The recitals continued even after Russia invaded Ukraine. One was billed as an anti-mobilization recital several days after Putin announced a partial call-up into the army in September 2022. Kamardin, 33, recited a poem condemning Russia-backed insurgents in eastern Ukraine. The next day, police with a search warrant burst into the apartment he shared with his wife Alexandra Popova and another friend, and took the poet into custody. Police beat Kamardin, Popova and their flatmate, and raped the poet, both his wife and his lawyer said. All three filed a formal complaint with the authorities, and the allegations were eventually investigated. The authorities concluded that police acted within the law," the Russian news outlet Sota reported, citing the lawyer without providing further details. For the couple, the experience was so traumatic that they still cant openly talk to each other about what happened, Popova said in an interview with The Associated Press. In addition to Kamardin, police swept up two other poets who didnt know him, nor each other. They charged all three with making calls undermining national security and inciting hatred. All three were convicted and sentenced to prison terms. Kamardin got the longest seven years. No one should be in prison for words, for poetry, Popova said. She said she believes that her husbands poem insulted someone so much that they decided to scourge a defiant poet. The couple got married while Kamardin was in pretrial detention. INVOLUNTARY TREATMENT IN A PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL FOR WAR CRITICISM Unlike dozens of other Russians convicted over speaking out against the war in Ukraine and handed prison terms, St. Petersburg resident Viktoria Petrova is spending her days in a psychiatric facility. In December, she was sentenced to six months of involuntary treatment over a social media post condemning Russias invasion of Ukraine. Her lawyer has said that doctors can keep Petrova there for as long as they want and extend the term indefinitely once the six months run out. So the ruling cant be considered good news, Anastasia Pilipenko wrote in her blog on the messaging app Telegram. Petrova was arrested in May 2022 and placed in pretrial detention over a post on Russian social network VK, in which she criticized Russian officials for what the Kremlin insists on calling a special military operation" in Ukraine, the lawyer told Russian independent news site Mediazona. In her Telegram blog, Pilipenko has described Petrova, 30, as an ordinary girl who merely shared her thoughts on social media." Ordinary life, ordinary gym, a cat. Ordinary job at an unremarkable office, the lawyer wrote. The court ordered a psychiatric evaluation of Petrova after other inmates of her pretrial detention center reported that she kept up her antiwar propaganda, Pilipenko said in an interview with a local news outlet. These evaluations are common but in a rare turn, Petrova was declared mentally incompetent. The lawyer argued that it wasnt true and her clients words have been misconstrued, but to no avail Petrova was committed to a psychiatric facility. In November, Pilipenko reported abuse by facility staff, saying that they forced a strip search of the woman by male workers, pushed her around, strapped her to the hospital bed and injected her with medication that left her unable to to speak for two days. This should not happen to political (prisoners), criminals, mentally ill people, healthy people anyone, Pilipenko wrote on Telegram. The facility didn't comment on the allegations, but shortly after she spoke out about it, Pilipenko wrote, the abuse stopped. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Watch as a rescue vessel is loaded full of humanitarian aid as it prepares to leave Cyprus and head for Gaza via a new sea corridor. According to Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, international donors launched a sea corridor to supply the besieged territory with aid that is facing widespread hunger after five months of war with Israel. The vessel belonging to Spains Open Arms aid group will make a pilot voyage to test the corridor in the coming days. The ship has been waiting at Cypruss port of Larnaca for permission to deliver food aid from World Central Kitchen, a U.S. charity founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The US State Department has denied responsibility for an airdrop that reportedly killed five civilians including two young boys in Gaza. A spokesperson for the department said that every reasonable precaution was taken with airdrops to ensure the safety of the public. The incident reportedly occurred on Friday in the Al Shati camp west of Gaza City, according to a journalist on the scene, per CNN. At least five people were killed and 10 others injured when airdropped aid packages fell on them. It is believed the chutes on the packages did not open properly. Muhammad Al-Sheikh, Head of Emergency Care Department at Al Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City confirmed to CNN that five people were killed in the incident. We express our condolences to the families of those who were killed, a spokesperson for the State Department said in a statement shared with media outlets. Our understanding is that this was not a US airdrop. (AFP via Getty Images) The statement continued: As we said earlier this week, these are complex and tough missions to do because so many parameters have to be exactly right. We always learn from these incidents and try to improve. We take every reasonable precaution to avoid injuries, including limiting the weight of the pallets, identifying drop-zones in less-populated areas, and the sending of safety messages to the population prior to the air drop. Footage shared on social media showed a cluster of parcels suspended from parachutes descending. One package drops much faster than the rest towards a residential building. The incident comes less than a week after the US military began dropping aid packages into Gaza. The drops have been coordinated with the Royal Jordanian Air Force, with the first which took place on Saturday delivering 38,000 meals along the Gaza coastline. On Thursday, during his State of the Union address, Joe Biden announced that the military would help establish a temporary pier aimed at boosting the amount of aid getting into the territory. The amount of aid flowing to Gaza is not nearly enough and we will continue to pull out every stop we can to get more aid in, Mr Biden said previously in a post on X. A porch pirate in Tampa, Florida, was caught on doorbell camera footage snatching a parcel from a residents doorstep and running away. Tampa Police Department posted video of the incident on their social media channels asking for the publics assistance in identifying the suspect. For porch pirates like this one, every day feels like Christmas, officials said in a Facebook post. The theft shocked social media users, with one commenting on the departments post: People need to realise that no one is safe from this type of crime. At other times in the nations history, Theresa May could have been the right prime minister. She was a diligent, personally decent leader, who found herself in office, slightly to her surprise after other candidates fell at late hurdles, at a time when exceptional qualities were required. One small measure of her propriety was that she remained in the House of Commons for five years after being prime minister, serving her constituents in Maidenhead and pursuing causes in which she believed and she announced her intention to stand down as an MP in her local newspaper. As she joins the growing queue for the exit, further reinforcing expectations of a change of government at the coming election, now is a good time to take stock of her contribution to national life. Novo Nordisk is very comfortable it will be able to launch the pill version of its experimental weight loss drug amycretin this decade, the drugmaker's head of development told Reuters yesterday, a day after it announced strong early trial data on it. Jamie Dornan has appeared on the latest episode of the Hot Ones Jamie Dornan said he hopes Irish people dont want to punch him in the face over his 2020 film Wild Mountain Thyme because everyone hated it. The admission came as Dornan became the latest celebrity to take on the Hot Ones spicy chicken wings challenge on the popular YouTube show and admitted that with every bite, it feels like more of a mistake. The Co Down actor was interviewed by host Sean Evans as the wings got increasingly hotter. The tagline for the latest episode described Jamie as getting punched in the face by spicy chicken wings. Other celebrities who have previously taken part in the challenge include Barry Keoghan, Jennifer Lawrence, Will Ferrell and even Gordon Ramsey. During the chat the Holywood man was asked in what film role he would have a pint bought for him at an Irish pub, and what one he would be punched in the face for. I... did a film with Emily Blunt Wild Mountain Thyme and everyone hated it, so I think this one, but I hope no one would punch me in the face for it. Before beginning the challenge, Jamie admitted: Im not like a crazy chilli head or anything, and you might find that out really quickly here . First up was the buffalo hot sauce followed by the Smokey J sauce, where he took another bite. The third sauce was Funkys Hot Sauce which caught him off-guard. After taking a bite, he said: This is like someones starting the party a little bit, like doing a shot, before taking a sip of milk. Next up was Los Calientes Verde creeping up the Scoville level to 34,000. The Scoville Scale expresses the level of pungency or heat based on the levels of capsaicin in a pepper. Jamie admitted he liked it and was going in again. Feeling confident, the actor announced: I tell you what, at this stage, I feel better than I thought I would . Reading the name of the next one Morita Bourbon Maple Reaper hot sauce the actor said you say reaper and Im already scared before adding if someone told me 10 or 15 years ago, Id be doing something like this this was not in my future when I was younger. La Pimenterie The Forbidden Fruit Scoville tipped the scales in the challenge, with the level reaching 124,000. Im switching between wanting more of it then thinking Im going to die, he said. After tasting Da Bomb hot sauce after that, he simply shook his head, and looked obviously uncomfortable. Is that even street legal? he asked. Christ on a Gondola I can only talk on out breaths. After trying the final sauce which scored a whopping 2,693,000 on the Scoville level The Last Dab Jamie raised his chicken wing and said Slainte before taking his last bite. Sand stuck in the carpet of the car is one of the few downsides to a day at an Aussie beach no matter how much you rinse, somehow half the beach ends up scattered throughout the vehicle. But one creative hack to get it out was tested by a hero online, and much to the shock of hundreds of thousands, it appears to work. "Saw this on TikTok... and it actually worked," he said in surprise. The unusual hack requires an electric sander and a vacuum. The man can be seen holding one in each hand, then turning on the sander and using the vibration from it to immediately lift all the sand to the surface of the carpet, where he is then able to easily vacuum it up. Once the man turns the sander on, you can see the sand immediately lift to the top of the carpet. Source: TikTok/Getty Others rush to try 'impressive' sand hack This hack has been making the rounds online, with many people trying it themselves and sharing their success for others to see. "This is actually impressive," one person said after seeing it work. "I'm going to try that! I have sand in my Jeep eternally," a second wrote. A small few who have seen the method were less impressed, saying this could ruin the carpet and even put a hole in the vehicle. "Waiting for a hole to appear in the car," one person said. Not the first 'clever' beach trend to be celebrated While getting sand out of the car is important, having something fun for the little ones to do at the beach is just as high on the list of things Aussies prioritise which is why the beachside equivalent to street libraries have been popping up on the country's beaches and garnering praise from many on social media. Designed to make going to the beach just a little bit easier, these 'toy libraries' have been called "clever" and "exciting" by many, including South Australian MP Stephen Mullighan after two were erected on beaches in his state. Story continues "Have you spotted these community beach toy libraries popping up along the coast? Take a toy down to the shore for the little ones to play with, and then return it to the library upon leaving," he wrote online, labelling it "an excellent community initiative". Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Health and business are top picks, but transport has little appeal There were 76,899 applications to the CAO received by the February 1 closing date. Photo: Getty More than 75,000 students have applied to the CAO so far this year, a slight drop of 1.4pc on last year. Latest figures show health, arts and business courses are the most popular among applicants. However, all figures are subject to change when late applications and those submitted through the change of mind facility are taken into account. More than 64,000 applicants listed a course in the field of health on their choice list, with over 52,000 signalling their interest in business and administration courses. Interest in arts courses remains high, while there has been a decline in interest in both agriculture and environment honours courses since last year. The field with the lowest number of applications to honours courses to date is transport services. Teaching courses also remain popular, with a 10pc increase in total mentions of primary education. Courses in the field of engineering and engineering trades are so far the most popular for applicants selecting a level 6/7 course. There is also increased interest this year in dentistry, physiotherapy and pharmacy. In total, there were 76,899 applications to the CAO received by the February 1 closing date. It signifies a slight decrease of 1,126 applicants amounting to 1.4pc on the previous year. The majority of applications received so far are for level 8 courses, with 66,374 students listing honours degree courses compared to 27,871 applicants for level 6/7 (ordinary degree/higher certificate) programmes. Meanwhile, the largest number of applications have been made by students in Leinster, with 38,000. There have been 68,434 applications made in the 26 counties, a slight decrease of 2pc on last year. There has been a 10pc drop in applications made from Northern Ireland, while those from British students have increased by 8pc at this point in the CAO process. There were 6,103 applications from people over 23 years of age. It marks an increase of 3.4pc, while there has also been a slight increase in the numbers expressing interest in the Disability Access Route to Education (Dare) scheme. While an additional 343 students indicated they would like to be considered for Dare, there was a slight decrease of 347 in the number of students interested in consideration for the Higher Education Access Route (Hear). Final numbers for the schemes will not be known until after the March 15 deadline for receipt of supporting documentation. Applications to the CAO have remained steady in recent years, having reached record levels in 2021. Late applications will be accepted until May 1 at 5pm, with the majority of applicants also able use the change of mind facility when it opens on May 7. Applicants are then free to re-arrange or add course choices until the final deadline of July 1 at 5pm. Dates for the release of the Leaving Certificate results and CAO offers have yet to be confirmed. There were dozens of CCTV cameras, but no clue where she is disappearance of Jean Tighe four years ago was plagued by confusion from the start The country has voted and now all thats left to do is count the ballots The referendums on care and the family saw a low turnout on Friday with just 25pc of registered voters casting ballots by 6pm before an evening spike saw overall estimates below 50pc in many regions. But Government politicians were still hopeful that despite widespread no-shows by voters the proposed changes to the Constitution could still creep over the line after reports of a pick-up in the pace as closing time approached. Fewer than one in four voters had cast their ballots one white, one green in most areas of the country by 6pm. A record 3.1 million people were entitled to vote. President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina voted at their local polling station at St Marys Hospital in the Phoenix Park at around 11am yesterday. The President had only been discharged from hospital the day before following his admission for what doctors described as a mild condition. He didnt take questions but was in good spirits as he voted. All the main political parties supported a Yes-Yes vote. With fewer votes to count than expected, there are likely to be broadly accurate tally figures for the outcome on both counts when the votes are tumbled from the boxes from 9am today. The Childrens Rights referendum in 2012 saw a 34pc turnout and was barely passed, while the first Nice Treaty referendum saw a similar turnout and was defeated. Early yesterday evening, it seemed that a new record low turnout could be registered, unless there was a late rush to the polling stations, but that fear abated as voters turned out in greater numbers as the hours ticked on. The proposed changes are about language and aspirations with no new policy or legislative steps set to be taken if the people should approve. Many polling stations which were open from 7am to 10pm reported themselves as very quiet all day and some had to wait a long while for their first voter unlike the referendums on Marriage Equality or Repeal of the Eighth Amendment when there were small queues outside before they opened. Dublin had turnout that was just under 25pc at 6pm. Dublin Bay South had only a 20pc estimate, with Dublin Central at a reported 26pc which could please the No camp. At 6.30pm in Munster, there was an average turnout of under 25pc in rural areas, with 25pc in Cork and Limerick, and 23pc in Waterford. Kilkenny was at 23pc at tea time, Carlow was on 24pc, while Mullingar and Athlone were at 22pc. The east coast of the country seemed to have a better take-up of the vote than the west coast and midlands. Wexford was at 25pc, but Connacht/Ulster was at just above 20pc overall. There seemed to be a higher turnout in parts of Donegal, a county that has often chosen to go its own way on referendums, as was seen in the 26pc showing in Letterkenny and Killybegs. Two offshore islands closed their voting in the afternoon and had relatively healthy turnouts, with Gola at 28pc and Tory at 37pc. Galway had registered a voter turnout of 20pc by early evening, with rural areas such as Clifden and An Spideal registering 19pc at 5pm. Salthill and Renmore were just above the 20pc mark. In Limerick City, voter turnout was reported as sluggish, but with big variations across the county with Patrickswell at 15pc and Ballybrown at 35pc. Clare saw 20pc in Lisdoonvarna and 19pc in Kilrush. Counting for the family referendum starts first, followed by compilation of the care referendum results. The first declaration will be early this afternoon and the second around 6pm. Once-widespread Yellowhammer faces threat to its reduced population An otter bypass is being designed for the Royal Canal in Dublin after it emerged works on the proposed MetroLink would put the wild animals in peril. Plans to drain a section of the canal in Phibsborough during construction of the rail line would cut otters habitats in half. Ecologists have warned that could result in otters running through traffic across a heavily congested road to try to reach water on the other side. Fixes for other wildlife will not be so easily provided if the 19km rail line goes ahead, however. The yellowhammer will permanently lose habitat, chiefly in the Broadmeadow Estuary in Swords. The bird is red-listed the highest level of conservation concern. An environmental report prepared for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) says 150 acres of grassland and more than 4km of hedgerow and treeline that the endangered songbird uses would be removed. As this potential impact is unmitigable, it will result in a significant negative residual effect on yellowhammer at a local geographic scale, the report says. Oonagh Duggan of Birdwatch Ireland said there was serious concern for the yellowhammer, which was once widespread but is now confined mainly to parts of the east and south. She hopes that if permission is granted for MetroLink, conditions will be attached to safeguard the species. Projects like MetroLink are not the main reason were in a biodiversity crisis, but theyre one of many things chipping away at nature. Its death by a thousand cuts, she said. Ms Duggan said yellowhammer and other birds would benefit if tillage farming was encouraged and farmers were paid to leave crop stubble in fields over winter for foraging. We would hope there would also be a long-term project to restore hedgerow and replace what cant be restored elsewhere, she said. You can have projects of overriding public interest but that shouldnt absolve you of responsibility for the wildlife that will be affected. The effects the massive project could have on wildlife are the subject of extensive reports submitted to An Bord Pleanala. Impacts could be felt as far away as Wexford because some marine birds travel the entire east coast to and from feeding and breeding grounds. Bats, badgers, amphibians, fish and the common lizard are also likely to be affected to some degree. TII says it will replace felled trees and it will restore grasslands and, where possible, hedgerow. Ecologist Andrew Speer, a consultant on the project, told the public hearing into MetroLink on Thursday that the project would have no long-term impact on designated areas of habitat protected under EU law. Terry Doherty, of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, told the hearing the Royal Canal otters were a key concern. We asked for an otter bypass plan to be drawn up by the applicant, he said. We have been in discussions on the design of a passage or a route past the proposed works and we are satisfied with what has been drawn up at this stage. We think its as good as is feasible. Ministers will try to brush off the referendum outcomes as democracy in action but the defeat is a major embarrassment. Kevin Doyle looks at how they managed to mess up what was always presented as simple change to the constitution. A double-defeat like this is an embarrassment for the Government, no matter which way the party leaders and senior ministers try to spin it. And there are seven reasons why they blew it. 1 Hubris as big as the budget for the Childrens Hospital On days like this, the phone tends to hop for those of us who move in political circles. There are messages from those spinning the unbelievable and those relishing in the chaos. My favourite today came from a seasoned backroom player who summed up the problem facing Leo Varadkars coalition. Their hubris is as big as the budget for the National Childrens Hospital. And they are too busy protesting the Minister for Fun and Fiascos. They are completely detached from reality, the text read. The analysis is on the money. This Government has lost the narrative on all of the big topics, including RTE which was for so long a scandal not of their making. Catherine Martin brought it to their door right in the middle of the referendum campaign. 2 International Womens Day versus Irish mammies For decades the political wisdom has prevailed that the section of the constitution focused on the womans life within the home was outdated, sexist and limiting. Its hard to argue otherwise but the Government actually made this referendum about something else with a half-hearted attempt at de-gendering the clause. Much was made about the fact that voting was set for International Womans Day as obviously women who stand up for themselves and the menfolk would go along with it. The symbolism was lost because No campaigners were able to argue that this was an attempt delete the role of mother from society. And lets be honest, while some NGO make a big song and dance about International Womens Day, real people are far more aware that tomorrow is Mothers Day. And we all love our Irish mammies. 3 A conscious uncoupling of durable relationships Irish Independent writer Sinead Ryan had a great line in a column about why she planned to vote no. Ive been in a number of durable relationships, she wrote a couple of weeks ago. Only two of them ended in marriage. Did I love the other people in those relationships? Sure. For those years of commitment. Would I attest to it in a court? At the time, yes. Now, no. So who is to define durability? The debate around how a durable relationship compares with marriage raged throughout the campaign and left people confused. At one point the neutral chair of the Electoral Commission suggested a durability test could include whether you send Christmas cards as a couple or go to weddings together. That didnt wash with people. 4 Leo and Micheal completely fluffed their lines Leo Varadkar and Micheal Martin made things worse for the Yes side rather than better with their TV performances. The Taoiseach had to try clarify comments he made on Virgin Media which seemed to play down the role of the State in caring and push responsibility back onto families. The No side pounced on a clip that was widely circulated on social media. And the Tanaistes attempted prophet of doom takedown of conservative barrister Maria Steen on RTEs Prime Time flopped when he accused her of campaigning for No on divorce. Shes far too young. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Fine Gael senator Mary Seery Kearney voting in the referendums Other ministers failed too. The Attorney Generals advice on the referendums was leaked in the hours before polling and as a result the Green Partys Roderic OGorman faces accusations of attempting to mislead voters. And did you know Heather Humphreys was Fine Gaels Director of Elections for the referendums? Probably not because she was barely seen and definitely didnt display any of the feisty passion shes famed for among colleagues. 5 Mary Lou where were you? All the main political parties were in favour of Yes, not that youd really know. They will spend the next 48 hours engaged in a blustering blame game but if they actually believed in the amendments, they might have fought a bit harder for the change themselves. The countrys largest party, Sinn Fein, launched their almost invisible Yes campaign on February 20 by lashing into the Government for a missed opportunity and promising a rerun if the vote failed. Not exactly the language of politicians who actually wanted the referendums to get through. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald at Dublin Castle. Mary Lou McDonald was largely absent from the campaign trail but you can bet shell be all over the airwaves in the coming days telling us why its the Governments fault. Speaking at Dublin Castle, Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik managed to use the word government five times in a singular sentence summing up her thoughts on the defeat. . 6 The No side asked the right questions and ministers didnt have the answers I recall a conversation in the newsroom when this referendum was first mooted that ran along the lines of who will be the No side? Step forward Michael McDowell. Not a universally popular politician but he has pedigree as a former justice minister and attorney general. McDowell was omnipresent during the campaign. RTE could have charged him rent for the amount of time he spent in Montrose in recent weeks. He asked the right questions, and thats all you really have to do in these referendums. If the Yes side havent got the answers then the logic stands that if in doubt, leave things as they are. The vagueness words like strive was major problem for the Yes side and they never managed to nail down a consistent explanation for the language used in the proposals. Senator Michael McDowell at the referendum count. Senator Tom Cloonan also played a key role in the Care referendum by convincing voters that the changes were an insult to carers. We know from the same-sex marriage and abortion referendum that personal stories are much better than political soundbites. 7 Low stakes people simply didnt care that much When the stakes are this low, people disengage. Thats probably one of the reasons so many are now citing confusion. People didnt see any tangible benefit to voting at all, never mind voting Yes. They didnt spend time getting to grips with the issues. Combined with a weak campaign, this always left it possible that the pendulum would swing away from change in the final days. Remember these are the voters who decided to keep the Seanad. Politicians react as early indications suggest a No-No vote on the cards As all polling stations across the country are counting the ballots, TDs and Senators have reacted to the expected outcome of yesterdays vote. Although the results of both referendums arent known yet, early indications strongly suggest a No-No result. Michael McDowell Senator and former Justice Minister Michael McDowell has been campaigning for a No-No vote. "It definitely looks like that right across the country, Ive been predicting this all the time, that it would be a very wide margin against two referendums. Senator Michael McDowell at the referendum count. "People have spoken, it's their Constitution, they've made a wise decision, they've rejected what I consider to be foolish amendments. It's the peoples day. The Constitution is their document, and in the end, they're entitled to have it in the shape or form they want, Mr McDowell said. Mr McDowell told the Irish Independent he expects both referendums to be 60pc in favour of No. Eamon Ryan The Minister for Transport said he would have preferred to see a Yes-Yes result for both referendums. "If that doesn't turn out, the response to that isnt that people got it wrong, he told the Irish Independent. I don't accept that the campaign did go wrong. Transport minister Eamon Ryan as counting for the twin referenda to change the Constitution on family and care continues at the Royal Dublin Society in Dublin (RDS) in Dublin. PIC: PA, Saturday March 9, 2024. While admitting the Green Party might not get the result they wanted, Mr Ryan said: You have to respect that. Its the vote of the people, they decide. Meanwhile, he added there have been many reasons to vote No, as both amendments concerned complex issues. Ivana Bacik The Labour leader Ivana Bacik has blamed the failure of both referendums on a very lacklustre government campaign. It certainly looks like the nos are doing well, much better perhaps than we had hoped for, but if the nos succeed, its a result of a very lacklustre government campaign. Ms Bacik added all the parties advocating for a Yes/yes vote did their best. "We've been very clear from the start because it was not the wording we have favoured. This was not the wording the Oireachtas Gender Equality Committee have recommended, she said. Counting for the referendums at the RDS, Dublin. Photo: Damien Storan/PA Marie Sherlock The Labour Senator Marie Sherlock also blames the possible No-No result on the wording of the family and care amendments. "When faced with the choice, are we going to accept this wording, which ignored the recommendations of the Gender Equality Assembly? Every week, we deal with families who were let down so badly by this government, by the State with regards to shorter services for those with disabilities. "So when faced with that choice, then, of course, we want to say something is better than nothing. "Were we happy with them? Of course not, Ms Sherlock added. Norma Foley Minister for Education decided to wait until all boxes were open in Kerrys count centre in Killarney. However, she assumed more people have voted no than yes. Joe OBrien The Green Party Minister Joe O'Brien told the Irish Independent earlier that the indications are not good. However, he said he is not accepting defeat just yet. The Green Party thanked every citizen who voted in yesterdays referendums regardless of how they voted. Equality Minister Roderic OGorman said the Green Party will now reflect on the outcome. Im extremely disappointed with the results of todays two referendums. When the Government puts forward a proposal for constitutional change, it is up to the Government to make the case for that change. In this campaign, Government was unsuccessful in doing that. We accept the decision of the electorate on this issue," he said. There will have been multiple reasons for the decisive No votes today, and Government will have to reflect on them. While I still believe in the case for constitutional change of Article 41, any decision on this will be one for a future Government. Notwithstanding the result today, Government and my Department will continue to work to provide support that will benefit families, carers and disabled people. Green Party director of elections Pauline OReilly paid tribute to the many organisations and individuals who took part in the debate and told their stories. This was a complex campaign. Government has heard voices from all sides and will now take the next steps to strengthen support for carers and those who are cared for. It was clear that there was a very diverse set of views in relation to the current wording and the proposed wording in the Constitution and it is for all parties, government and opposition, who supported the changes to reflect on these diverse views. I want to thank all of those who came out to put the case for an update to the Constitution, and to assure all voters that we respect the outcome, as we do with every referendum," she said. Leader of the Green Party, Eamon Ryan expressed his gratitude to voters. I want to express my thanks to the people of Ireland for taking part in this referendum regardless of how they voted. Democracy does not always mean that you get the outcome you wish for. Today is one of those days. While the Constitution remains unchanged, this Government will continue to work to improve the lives of carers and those who are cared for. French president Emmanuel Macron during a ceremony to seal the right to abortion into the French constitution. Photo: Reuters President Emmanuel Macron hailed it as a historic day, and later the Eiffel Tower in Paris was lit up with the words Mon corps Mon choix and an English translation (My body My choice) amid a host of womens rights messages also displayed in several other languages. Donald Trump has energy and razzmatazz behind him in his campaign for the White House. Photo: Getty Your editorial, Trump versus Biden is shaping up to be another ugly contest (March 7) fills one with dread and Trumpidation that the choice to lead the worlds most powerful country will come down to these two men unless, as you say, fate intervenes. I sense a prayerful hope in your words. If not, it will be weep for the future if Donald Trump succeeds and perhaps an uneasy worry if Joe Biden retains another term. Alas, Mr Biden may have run his race on mental agility grounds, but the president who charmed us on his Irish tour last year certainly has been a huge disappointment where Israel is concerned. Mr Biden, with the unstinting support of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, could have put the focus in equal measure on the plight of the hostages and the people of Gaza and would have found universal favour, but he chose to support Benjamin Netanyahus war. Trump seems to have the energy and razzmatazz of star-spangled patriotism behind him, which looks sure to take him to the White House again. However, as the American national anthem says, In God is our trust, and there too ours, hopefully. Aidan Roddy Cabinteely, Dublin 18 Letter writer should learn a bit about sad history of Israelis and Palestinians I refer to Karl Martins letter, Those who condemn Israel should think harder about horror of October 7 attacks (Irish Independent, March 8). I doubt if anyone here supports the Hamas attacks, but Mr Martin might be advised to educate himself on the sad history of Israel in its treatment of Palestinians. If he reads history, he will see the Israelis facilitated the massacre of Palestinians in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila in Lebanon in 1982. It does not justify the October attack by Hamas, but it puts it in context and shows the Israelis have a history of the same violence. Bart Daly, Mount Merrion, Dublin War in Gaza would end tomorrow if Hamas were to disarm and surrender Declan Foley asks why a democratically elected Israeli government is acting as it is in Gaza (Empathy of Irish people for the plight of innocent Palestinians is justified, Irish Independent, Letters, March 8). History shows why. Hamas broke a ceasefire when it invaded Israel on October 7. Hamas has pledged to do so again and again until Israel is destroyed and all Jews killed. In January 1943, at the height of World War II, US president Franklin D Roosevelt rejected any peace deals with Germany, Italy or Japan. He said the war would continue until their military power was totally destroyed and they unconditionally surrendered. This was because Nazi Germany and its allies represented an existential threat to the US. The war in Gaza would end tomorrow if Hamas disarmed and surrendered. Karl Martin, Dublin 13 US dwarfed by Russia and China and doesnt live up to most powerful label The following in your editorial of March 7 might be correct: The outcome of the race to lead the most powerful country (US) in the world will have global consequences. However, I beg to differ with the assertion that the US is the most powerful country in the world. Population size, geographical spread and the level of socio-economic development are important attributes of a countrys power status. Chinas population and Russias land mass are far greater than those of the US. Combined, they dwarf the US. Micheal OCathail, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin Ryan Tubridy showed his empathy for children in chatting with Saoirse The entire country has been saddened by the death of 12-year-old Saoirse Ruane. She was beyond remarkable with wisdom. Her death led me to look at her Late Late Show appearances. Despite some peoples opinions of Ryan Tubridy, what stuck out was his natural ability to interview children, to speak with them on their level. Through his broadcasting, he brought Saoirse, her family and many young people like her into our lives in a gentle and caring manner. Aidan Hampson, Artane, Dublin Debacle at Donnybrook inspired amendment to WB Yeatss finest work In the matter of the upcoming work of fiction, RTE: The Myth, WB Yeats came to me in a dream last night with an amendment to his finest work. You are requested to note same: I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree/And take the loot, from the dressed-up boot, I got from RTE. Hugh McCormack, Dalkey, Co Dublin Instead of splashing cash on payoffs, RTE could have saved 252LW with 250k The big money dished out by RTE to various silly projects and golden handshakes has come into the public domain once again. But RTE said it couldnt afford 250,000 to maintain the 252LW service. Then they made certain that the service, much loved by the Irish Diaspora, would not return. It blew up the mast in an act of madness worthy of the Taliban when it destroyed Afghanistans ancient Buddha statues. The 252LW is still missed by many of those who in the hard times supported Ireland though thick and thin, but found they were not supported they were abandoned when times of prosperity came through. We tried our best. We need some drama like the UK Post Office scandal to demonstrate the heartache of those elderly people who cannot hear their beloved LW252 and were ultimately betrayed by Ireland. Pete Fawcett, Address with editor It seems Irish farmers are too considerate of others to have complaints heard The recent farmers protests across Europe should be a wake-up call to all citizens of the bloc. The French farmers are angry and protest very forcibly to make their arguments for a better deal; likewise, their Dutch counterparts, who caused huge traffic jams in 2019, resulting in mayhem on the motorways as 2,000 tractors moving slowly caused major back-ups. The European Parliament HQ in Brussels is besieged by Belgian farmers on a regular basis, in furious protest at apparent oppressive EU regulations and green policies that appear to target them in an unfair way. Likewise, there have been farmer protests in Spain, Germany, Poland and Greece in recent months. Irish farmers are much quieter by comparison, as they tend to make their feelings known by coming out to protest at night or in the early morning hours so as not to cause traffic congestion. Who will be listened to first, I wonder? Tom Towey, Cloonacool, Co Sligo Two fewer Yes votes as my daughter and I were not listed on polling register I went down to the local polling station with my daughter at 7am, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. It was the same polling station Ive always voted at, but we were not on the register (my son who is studying in Cork was). I have no idea why my daughter and myself are not now eligible to vote. We have voted in elections and referendums in the past. I would just like to highlight what a sham it is. If the Government fails to get enough Yes votes, it would have had two more if the local authorities had their act together. Julian McCormick, Bray, Co Wicklow Little hope of light at end of the tunnel considering electricity prices so high Charlie Weston writes in Fridays Irish Independent that electricity in Ireland is the dearest in Europe at 700 a year more than the EU average. He writes: Ireland has maintained its position as having the most expensive electricity in Europe. Therefore, it is getting harder to have any hope that there will be light at the end of the tunnel. Leo Gormley, Dundalk, Co Louth Clarification Due to a production error in a letter from Teresa Trainor in yesterdays paper, it was wrongly stated: Of those hostages [in Gaza], five are known to have been killed in captivity. 19 women and two children are among the captives. However, as Ms Trainor has noted: At least 30 of the hostages are thought to have been killed in captivity, and five of them are women. The owners of an Aussie restaurant were left astonished after uncovering an unbelievable 184-year-old secret concealed beneath the floorboards. Terissa Perego who owns the I Sapori restaurant located in the historic town of Windsor in Sydneys historic Hawkesbury region in the city's northwest, says she was shocked after unearthing several pairs of almost 200-year-old boots beneath the restaurant floor. The shoes are remarkably still intact, although they are just holding together. But mystery surrounds why the shoes were put there in the first place. I came across the boots as we were doing some new plumbing and electrical work and needed to get under the floor in the front room, she told Yahoo News Australia. We were so surprised and excited to find them. I love the history of the building and this was its true treasure. The incredible historic find left the new owners astonished. Source: Facebook Series of 'secret quirks' uncovered during renovations The family took over the historic building on Baker Street recently with plans to open the doors to their traditional Italian restaurant in April. But since beginning renovations they've found a few other secret quirks in the old building including a hidden window that had been concealed by a door. Despite the home-turned-restaurant once belonging to a local cobbler, Perego is perplexed as to why they were hidden beneath the floors. We havent had the boots looked at by a historian yet but assume its from when the cobbler was in the building around 1840, she said. We were given some cobblers tools from the previous owner of the building and we also have some original window weights that we found in a hidden window. The renovations also revealed an old hidden window within the walls from the original building. Source: Facebook It appears the discovery came at the right time too. Despite being hidden for decades and concealed in a damp area, the shoes are still holding together, but only just. They had started to fall apart as it was so damp under the floor from previous water leaking, she explained. Thats why we bought them up from where they were placed. I have been told by many locals that boots were put under the floor as good luck. I would have left them there but they wouldnt have lasted much longer. Story continues Locals impressed by 'amazing' find Sharing the find on a local community Facebook page, several locals were impressed with the historic discovery. What a find! I definitely want to see them up close and personal, one person commented, Wow - just wow! Another local said, with a third saying This is amazing. So glad youre preserving them. While the house did belong to an old cobbler, others suggested that there were other reasons the shoes were found hidden under the floorboards. The historic building was once home to a cobbler in the 1840s, today it's being renovated as a restaurant. Source: Facebook In old houses and buildings, the shoes were either put under the floor or on the ceiling to keep bad spirits away I have old Chilean shoes up on my roof the electrician saw them when he was rewiring and I looked it up and that's what it said my house is well over 100 years old, one local resident shared. Great find, Im in a group for people from all over the world restoring old houses. Shoes are a very common find, especially childrens shoes, another said. Boots likely to be 'ritual objects' Hawkesbury Regional Museum Curator, Rebecca Turnbull, confirmed that the shoes in the Victorian merchants cottage are likely to be "ritual objects" common in that era. "They were placed there to ward off evil spirits and witches. People in the Victorian era were highly superstitious people!" she told Yahoo. "Typical locations they were found in were inside the chimney structure, hearth or in other sealed voids within the building. In many cases, however, only a single shoe is found." Perego and her family now plan on displaying the historic boots in a glass cabinet for everyone to appreciate. The boots, cobbler tools and window weights are now displayed in the building near the front door. They are dry and safe and will be loved and admired by everyone who comes to dine with us, she said. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. A man who assaulted his partner, breaking her eye socket, has been given a year to pay her 5,000 in compensation. Before Sligo Circuit Court was Jonathon Kaniki (27) of Caltragh Crescent, Sligo who pleaded guilty to assaulting Shanaragh Burns causing her harm on October 2 2022. The defendant was also given a two-year jail sentence suspended for five years. Outlining the case Mr Leo Mulrooney, BL (prosecuting) with Ms Elisa McHugh, State Solicitor, said the injured party was 26 years old at the time and had been in a relationship with the defendant for a year. On October 2, the couple had a serious argument and the injured party said she wanted a break in the relationship and asked him to leave. The defendant agreed but got angry and walked out the door. Ms Burns thought the door was locked but the defendant burst back in and punched her in the eye, and she began to bleed and told him to get out. She wanted to get out, but he blocked her path to the front door, and she had to go out the back door to get help. The woman then brought her young son to his grannys house. The defendant came back to the house and began apologising, which is when Garda Emma Logue arrived. Mr Mulrooney told the court that in her statement Garda Logue said she could see blood at the bottom of the stairs leading to the apartment. The garda met the victim and she had significant facial injuries, swelling and bruising of the left eye and her nose was bleeding. She was brought to hospital by ambulance. The defendant was arrested later. A medical report showed that she had been punched twice in the face and had bruising to her left eye and had a fracture of that eye also. Pictures of the victims injuries were handed into court. At interview, the defendant denied assaulting his ex- partner. He told gardai that they had a small argument and he usually went to leave when they had a falling out. The defendant said they were both fighting, and he felt he hit her with his elbow. The defendant was saying it was an accident. The court heard that he had no previous convictions. In a Victim Impact Statement read to court Ms Burns said the defendant had caused her and her son great distress and anxiety. The statement said she had taken in the defendant to her home and since then he had scared her and her young boy of six. She said she was afraid to argue with him and he had caused her to fall out with most of her family The statement said the defendant had used and abused her and she had suffered so much anxiety that she was hardly able to leave her home. She had been working in two jobs but had to leave both. It concluded by asking the court to consider the trauma she had to deal with because of the defendant. Defence Counsel, Mr Eoin McGovern, instructed by McGovern and Walsh solicitors said the defendant had no previous convictions. The defendant had taken responsibility for his actions, and he had apologised fairly quickly although the defendant said it was an accident at interview. This was not a sustained attack. It was one lapse of judgement and the couple were not together any more. Judge Keenan Johnson noted that the victim had to leave her jobs as a result of the incident. The defendant read out a written apology in court saying he sincerely apologised for what he did to the injured party and could not forgive himself for what he had done. He added that he knew he was wrong, and he deeply regretted the incident and never intended to her or cause harm to her or her son. Mr McGovern said the defendant had made an early plea and was getting counselling in anger management. He had one completed and had eight more to go. Judge Johnson asked why the defendant had not gone to these sessions earlier. Mr McGovern said there were difficulties in getting a referral from a GP. The sessions were once a week for eight weeks. Mr McGovern said the defendant had moved to Ireland when he was one. His mother had died when he was twelve. The defendant had medical issues and suffered from anxiety and had a kidney transplant. He was hoping to get work and also intended going back to education to study engineering in Sligo ATU. Mr McGovern asked the court to be as lenient as possible. The incident was entirely out of character for the defendant. Judge Johnson asked if the defendant had ever worked in Ireland and Mr McGovern said he had previously worked in a call centre. The Judge said the aggravating factors included the nature of the assault which was short but very violent and it took some force to break an eye socket. Also, the fact that the defendant had come back into the house and assaulted his victim and the fact that they were in a relationship were more aggravating factors. In mitigation, there was an early plea, full responsibility was taken, and the defendant had expressed remorse and had tendered a written apology. The defendant had no previous convictions, had some tragedy in his life and had a kidney transplant. The defendant was also ordered to enter a bond of 500 to keep the peace and be of good behaviour and to be under the direction of the Probation Service for the next six months, and to have no contact with the victim or her family. Johnny Mythen TD addressing the attendance at the visit of Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald in the Ashdown Park Hotel on Thursday evening. Pic: Jim Campbell While households across Wexford eagerly await the arrival of spring and the warmer months, one of the countys TDs says vulnerable people are continuing to struggle to heat their homes. Following a hearing of the Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection, during which the governments retrofitting scheme was discussed, Deputy Johnny Mythen said the scheme fails to address the significant challenges faced by rural households in Wexford, many of whom are elderly and on low incomes, when attempting to improve their homes heating and energy efficiency rating. Todays meeting confirmed what Sinn Fein has been saying for some time now: Irelands poorest, coldest homes are being left behind in what essentially constitutes a massive wealth transfer between rich and poor households, said Deputy Mythen. This includes households here in Wexford, where rural communities feel badly let down by government. "In a period when the cost of living is sky-high and levels of energy poverty are at some of their highest rates - that is totally unacceptable. People across Wexford are already at the pin of their collar and need to see urgent action from government to ensure they get a break. It is clear that governments deeply inequitable and regressive scheme has resulted in a situation in which the very people who need it most simply cannot afford to retrofit their homes. Sinn Feins Environment and Climate Action spokesperson Darren O'Rourke has repeatedly stated that the number of fully funded retrofits is far too low, and that there needs to be targeted measures to ensure that delivery is based on needs rather and than means and that those in solid fuel homes have been left out in the cold. This is Wexford Newsletter Enter your email address below and click 'Sign Up' to receive the This is Wexford newsletter direct to your inbox. Please check your inbox to verify your details Expounding on this, Deputy Mythen said the scheme needs to take into consideration the socio-economic background of applicants. Sinn Fein proposes a fair retrofit plan that will help meet our climate targets while also delivering wider social and economic benefits for workers and families here in Co Wexford, he said. Significantly, our solutions include specific measures for vulnerable groups including those on low incomes, those living rurally and those living in older homes. This would make a real difference for people across Wexford struggling to heat their homes. Our plan is to spend more where it matters in order to deliver a tiered, area-targeted-based scheme aimed at low and middle income households. We propose a tiered plan targeting those most in need, and furthermore propose additional resources for social authority retrofits. Directing scarce labour resources to the coldest homes is the best use of public money, is socially equitable and will show the best return on public investment in achieving climate targets. Significantly, we would also establish a dedicated scheme for solid fuel homes. Rather than targeting solid fuel homes with punitive action like carbon tax hikes and turf bans, we propose to support them as part of a just transition. It's time for change." The gradual removal of powers and decision-making from local councillors was at the forefront of Bunclody councillor Barbara-Anne Murphys mind when she addressed the Seanad Committee Public Hearings on the Future of Local Democracy in Seanad Eireann this week. In her address Cllr Murphy spoke of the changes made to local government over the last 30 years, almost all of which have "centralised power back to government and reduced the power and decision making of councillors for their local area. Coral Leisure in Wicklow town have two major fundraising events lined-up, starting with a wax and shave in March, followed by an event for Focus Irelands Big Busk 2024, which will take place in Wicklow and at the Coral in Arklow in April. The shave and wax involving male members of staff takes place at the Wicklow town leisure centre on Wednesday, March 13, from 11am until late. Alana Miley, Front Of House Manager, Coral Leisure Wicklow said: Our brave coral male staff and members will endure a notoriously painful ritual of having their body hair waxed in front of our giggling members who no doubt will be eager to participate. The guys will be getting their legs out to brave the waxathon and we are inviting everyone to come along to see which guys are bravest on the day. This is Wicklow Newsletter Enter your email address below and click 'Sign Up' to receive the This is Wicklow newsletter direct to your inbox. Please check your inbox to verify your details We will have tickets on sale at reception, 5 a strip or three for 10. This is a one-time opportunity offering our guests their very own chance to pull off a strip of wax in exchange for a charity donation. A timetable will go up next week at reception to show which staff member will be on the table of torture, so you can choose who your desired victim will be. There will be lots of raffle prizes throughout the day. We will be reaching out to our local businesses to donate prizes for our charity event. All in aid of a good cause, with all funds raised going to Focus Ireland. Focus Irelands nationwide Big Busk takes place on Friday, April 12, and will see local musicians busking throughout different parts of the country to raise money in support of ending homelessness. There will be live performances at Arklow and Wicklow Coral Leisure centres. Alana added: We will tie into this by involving local groups, such as Mrs ONeills3rd class at St Patricks NS and local buskers and musicians, including the amazing Abiha, the Britains Got Talent contestant and TikTok sensation, who will be present at our centre to help us with donations. This event is sponsored by Today FM, so we hope to get great coverage and reach on the day. Anyone wishing to make a donation can also do so by visiting justgiving.com. Robert De Niro has said he would never play Donald Trump as an actor (Doug Peters/PA) Robert De Niro has said he would never play former US president Donald Trump as he cannot see any good in him. The 80-year-old Hollywood actor spoke about the upcoming US presidential election and why he would not want Mr Trump to become president again. The Apprentice star and businessman is the last remaining major candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination after former UN ambassador Nikki Haley pulled out of the race. Speaking on Real Time With Bill Maher, De Niro said: The bottom line is, its Biden versus Trump. We want to live in a world that we want to live in and enjoy living in, or live in a nightmare. Vote for Trump and youll get the nightmare, vote for Biden and well be back to normalcy. He added: I just dont want to feel the way I did, and many of us dont, after the election in 2016 where we couldnt believe that it happened. The guy is a total monster. Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese attending the premiere for Killers of the Flower Moon during the 76th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France (Doug Peters/PA) He added: Id never play him as an actor because I cant see any good in him. Nothing. Nothing at all. Nothing redeemable in him. Ms Haley, a former South Carolina governor, was Mr Trumps first significant rival when she jumped into the race in February 2023. Meanwhile, the only elected Democrat to challenge Joe Biden for the presidency, Dean Phillips of Minnesota, ended his long-shot Democratic presidential bid on Wednesday after failing to win a primary contest against him. Former president Donald Trump is the last remaining major candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination (Brian Lawless/PA) On Thursday, Mr Biden turned his State of the Union speech into an animated argument for a second term as he laced into Mr Trump for espousing resentment, revenge and retribution and jeopardising freedom at home and abroad. De Niro has frequently criticised Mr Trump and they often sparred during the former presidents time in office. In 2020, the two-time Oscar-winner said Mr Trump doesnt care how many people die from coronavirus. Mr Trump has previously called De Niro a very Low IQ individual on X. Trumps representatives have been approached for comment. Seven-year-old Safiya Kuriga complained she was feeling feverish but her mother still made her attend class on Thursday. Within two hours, gunmen entered her school and kidnapped Safiya and some 300 other students in Nigerias northern Kaduna state. I forced her to go to school that morning despite her complaining to me of a fever, a sobbing Khadiya Kuriga told Reuters by phone from Kuriga town. We have been crying since yesterday. Our children are hungry. Maritime aid corridor to Gaza could open this weekend, despite criticism air and sea routes are distraction Five Palestinians were killed and several wounded when boxes of aid dropped by planes fell on them in northwest Gaza yesterday Many displaced Palestinians, including small children, are sheltering in tent camps in Rafah, in southern Gaza. Photo: Reuters Nidal al-Mughrabi and Michele Kambas Sat 9 Mar 2024 at 03:30 The head of the European Commission said yesterday that a maritime aid corridor could start operating between Cyprus and Gaza this weekend, part of accelerating Western efforts to relieve the humanitarian crisis in the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave. North America Thats going to be the least of it: Donald Trump claims US is facing a bloodbath if he loses November election The rising cost of groceries at supermarkets has put a strain on many Aussies with more and more now relying on food banks to get by. Major supermarkets, including Coles and Woolworths, have been put under the microscope following accusations of price gouging, with basic grocery items becoming increasingly unaffordable for many, forcing many to seek out cheaper alternatives. Melisa Hake from Community Support Services in Sydney told Yahoo News Australia she's seen a drastic increase in Aussies relying on the services provided by them in particular, the $10 fresh fruit and vegetable boxes they offer daily. The organisation, which operates out of Bankstown in Sydney's southwest, was founded six years ago, but Hake said it's "sad" to see so many new people struggling and needing extra support. Community Support Services in Sydney offers struggling Aussies fresh produce hampers for $10. Source: Community Support Services $10 veggie boxes available for struggling Aussies For those who can't afford to put food on the table, the service allows people to order and collect a huge variety of fresh fruit and veggies for just $10. "We also have a community pantry shop where we sell cheaper groceries, including meat [and other essentials]," she told Yahoo News Australia. On a busy day, Hake said they sell around 10-12 hampers. "We generally have the same people that come," she added. "But the hampers are available to anyone. They just need to call up and order." Photos shared online show various crates filled to the brim with an array of produce. Celery, bananas, grapes, potatoes and carrots are just some of the options which are provided by Oz Harvest and Secondbite two leading food charities in Australia. "Majority of our clients are refugees and students but we have families and homeless people too. We're getting a more variety of clients now," Hake said. Story continues Staff say they've seen an increase in people relying on their service, particularly in need of food. Source: Community Support Services Aussies struggling with food prices Frustrated Aussies have been vocal about the rising cost of living with many sharing on social media what a typical shop at a supermarket costs them. One shopper Nat was outraged that ingredients for a single meal cost her $46 in November last year. According to Foodbank, 3.7 million Australian households (36%) have experienced moderate to severe food insecurity in the past year. This means, at the very least, they are reducing the quality, variety or desirability of their food and at worst, their eating patterns are disrupted in a bid to cut costs. Of those households, 77 per cent experienced food insecurity for the first time and at least 60 per cent of food insecure households have someone in paid work. 'Food insecurity is now affecting more Australians than ever before' Foodbank Australia CEO, Brianna Casey said the organisation is seeing a "quite significant shift" in the types of people seeking food relief. "Food insecurity is now affecting more Australians than ever before," she told Yahoo News Australia. "We are seeing food insecurity touching groups previously unaffected including young professionals and mid to high-income earners are among those being forced to make sacrifices at the dinner table. "Last week we revealed Foodbank Australia sourced a record 51 million kilograms of food and groceries in 2023, the equivalent of 92 million meals, as the cost-of-living crisis pushed demand for food relief to record highs across the country." Salvation Army mission leader Lauren Martin said staff are also seeing many people visit support services for the first time."They're embarrassed, they're like, 'Should I be here, other people have it worse than me,'" she said, according to the ABC. She said people are "running out" of money more quickly and there are more people "literally living pay cheque to pay cheque." According to the Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS), people across Australia are "being forced to ration food" to afford other essential items. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Pregnant women on their monthly ante-natal check-ups at the boat clinic health camp in the Indian state of Assam. Photo: Meenakshi J. Community health workers working on maternal health of women in India and Pakistan face increased obstacles due to changing rainfall patterns, migration, and social taboos. Meenakshi J from India and Tahira Khan from Pakistan report It is noon by the time Rabia Begum, a 41-year-old Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) draped in a blue-bordered white cotton saree, gathers pregnant women in the Indian village of Chutiagaon in Assam for a monthly health camp run by the National Rural Health Missions boat clinic . Situated in Morigaon district of northeastern Indias Assam state , Chutiagaon is one of the 2252 chaars, or flood-prone riverine islands, which dot the Brahmaputra River and are formed by its silt. With a population of around three million, and 40% of this region flood prone, accessing medical assistance poses a significant challenge for the majority of chaar inhabitants that lack transportation and healthcare facilities due to shifting sands. India : A village woman busy in her farmland in Assam. Photo by Meenakshi J. Begum is among a million female health activists in India and Pakistan who play a crucial role in reducing infant and maternal mortality. Serving as the backbone of the healthcare system for pregnant women in flood-prone areas of both countries, these women health workers exemplify a common bond that transcends the borders shared by the two nations. But their efforts meet with significant challenges: long standing ones like child marriages, social taboos and community decrees, and newer ones like the severe repercussions of climate change. Large portions of India and Pakistan are situated within the eco-sensitive Hindu Kush Himalaya region, often referred to as the "Third Pole. The increasing temperatures over the Third Pole are resulting in significant ice loss and the creation of glacial lakes. Scientists caution that this trend could elevate the risk of glacial lake outburst floods, known as GLOFs, which present a serious threat to downstream communities already vulnerable to landslides and frequent floods. India : Damaged boats lying on a dried-up river bed after floods receded. Photo by Meenakshi J And things may get worse as climate change continues unchecked. Raising public awareness about preventing and managing climate-sensitive risks is crucial, particularly in areas prone to flooding, said Meghnath Dhimal, chief research officer of the Nepal Health Research Council and an expert on climate change in the region. In spite of the mounting challenges, Begum, one of the 32,546 Accredited Social Health Activists, or ASHAs, in Assam , serves as a connecting link between her Bangla Muslim community and the public health system. India : A view of the expansive river that once flowed through this dried river bed in Assam. Photo by Meenakshi J. I hope to raise awareness among pregnant women and new mothers regarding the advantages of proper nutrition and opting for institutional deliveries, Begum said, smiling as she finished meeting a new mother. I am dedicated to ensuring the well-being of every pregnant woman and child throughout my tenure, striving to support them until the very end. Pakistan : A maternity ward in Pasni, Gawadar. Photo by Zareef Baloch MOMS, BABIES, HAVE BEEN DYING FOR YEARS Health workers like Begum are battling two huge, intersecting problems in both India and Pakistan: worsening flooding linked to climate change and long standing high rates of maternal mortality. Assam, where Chutiagaon is located, has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country 215 per 100,000 live births, nearly double the national rate, according to the latest Registrar General of Indias Special Bulletin on Maternal Mortality. Assam also has one of Indias worst infant mortality rates at 32 per 1,000 live births . Pakistan : An LHV working with an infant in Sohbatpur . Photo provided by the LHV . Skeletal health infrastructure, anaemia, malnutrition, migration, and teenage pregnancies contribute significantly to high infant and maternal mortality rates in the chars, said Shyamjit Pashi, district programme officer of the Morigaon Boat Clinic. Additionally, widespread instances of large families, multiple pregnancies, and illegal child marriages further aggravate the mortality rates. Around 32% of women in Assam marry before adulthood, the data shows. Fluctuating climate conditions impact agricultural productivity, spurring many impoverished families, particularly those with numerous daughters, to marry them off early in the hopes of improving their chances of a better life. Pakistan : An LHV working in Sohbatpur, Balochistan. Photo provided by the LHV. In Pakistan, meanwhile, the National Institute of Population Studies has issued a report showing the worsened state of maternal healthcare in Pakistan generally and Baluchistan in particular. Statistically, Pak istan is ranked 53rd across the globe for maternal mortality, with 186 deaths per 100,000 live births. However, there are stark disparities among provinces. Balochistan's rate is the highest: 298 deaths per 100,000 live births. Nilofer Bakhtiyar, chairperson of the National Commission on Status of Women in Pakistan, said Balochistan also ranks lowest for the economic empowerment of women. Sixty percent of the population lives below the poverty line and three-quarters are women. With (a) 27% women literacy rate, lowest in the world, what can we expect in the context of the maternal and neonatal rate that also has the worst ever indicators for the women of Balochistan? India : An ASHA worker convincing an expectant lady's mother-in-law for institutional delivery. Photo by Meenakshi J. Similarly, Fouzia Shaheen, chairperson of the Balochistan Commission on Status of Women, said government efforts on maternal and neonatal healthcare are stymied by a focus on hard-core politics embedded in patriarchal roots. This mindset overlooks womens problems given their marginal presence in the decision-making process, she said. Neonatal health care is also lacking. One report said there are only three NICUs, or neonatal intensive care units among the 177 assessed facilities in 25 districts of Balochistan. Another study from last year highlighted a lack of obstetric care and management of preterm complications as major reasons behind high neonatal mortality. India : The ANM feeding in the info on the app. Photo by Meenakshi J. CHALLENGED HEALTH WORKERS TRY TO SAVE LIVES As climate change brings more flooding, the jobs of health workers like Begum have become even more difficult than they already were. Begum, a so-called ASHA associated with the Assam government, corresponds with an initiative run by the Centre of Northeast Studies and Policy Research , a nonprofit organisation that has been delivering health care services through its boat clinics. She coordinates with Nirmala Nath, the auxiliary nurse and midwife of the boat clinic, and maintains a register with contact details of her largely-agricultural village, with a special focus on expectant and new mothers. If the villagers miss this camp, then pregnant women have to commute miles to the nearest river (primary health centre) for which they would have to forgo a days work on their farms, Begum said. India: A seasoned Auxiliary Nurse and Midwife (ANM) at work in a health camp Photo by Meenakshi J. ASHAs like Begum get money from the government to convince families to opt for hospital deliveries which are considered safer than home births as well as ante and postnatal check-ups and vaccinations for infants. But theyve long had trouble persuading expectant mothers to deliver in hospitals because of social stigma and limited awareness. The task has only gotten more difficult during floods, when tracking families becomes harder as many relocate to relief camps or migrate to other areas. On a recent day, Begum and Nath tried to persuade a pregnant woman to opt for hospital delivery, but the woman's mother-in-law kept insisting she deliver at home, like her other daughter-in-law. India: A health camp in progress at Chutiagaon in Assam. Photo by Meenakshi J. To improve maternal health, the Assam and federal governments have introduced a series of schemes and monetary incentives, both for the ASHAs and marginalised communities , from providing free nutritious food to pregnant women to free institutional deliveries, including caesareans. The governments also emphasise the importance of community mobilisation to prevent maternal deaths. Each month, the boat clinics programme manager Pashi coordinates with Begum by phone to ensure that the villagers utilise the medical camp at their doorstep. He then accompanies a team comprising a doctor, auxiliary nurse and midwife, healthcare workers, lab technicians and a pharmacist in their boat clinic. They bring along the necessary medicines, medical equipment, pregnancy test kits, as well as vaccines for the villagers. India : An elderly woman getting her sugar testing done at the health camp in Assam. Photo by Meenakshi J. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also introduced an Android-based app for real-time registration of eligible couples post-marriage, pregnant women, and tracking of lab tests on field visits. Integrated with other health modules, the app allows public access to monitor maternal health status in Assam through Swasthya Sewa Dapoon an online portal that eliminates the need for physical documents. Despite these efforts, challenges persist in the on-ground implementation of these schemes, including the need for health workers to become familiar with digital interventions as well as issues such as a reluctance to go to the hospital for deliveries, child marriages and teenage pregnancies. Pashi said many elderly nurse-midwives struggle with technology but younger ASHAs and nurse-midwives are proficient with it. India : An ASHA reminding a pregnant lady about the health camp over a phone call in Assam. Photo by Meenakshi J. Last year, the Assam government cracked down on child marriages in an attempt to reduce maternal mortality. But this initiative faced opposition from activists and the Muslim community, who perceived it as discriminatory despite the government's denial of such claims. ACROSS THE BORDER, CHALLENGES ARE SIMILAR In Balochistan, meanwhile, a cadre of community health workers called lady health visitors face challenges similar to what ASHAs face in India. One lady health visitor in Sohbatpur, who would not allow her name to be used for this story, said shes witnessed a constant stream of painful tragedies in flood-prone areas as she tries to serve the women she considers daughters of her nation. India : New houses have been built under Prime Minister's housing scheme PMAY for villagers in flood prone areas of Assam. Photo by Meenakshi J. Every day after work, I used to cry to see the debilitating condition of pregnant women and newborn babies with no proper medication and functional labour room. The way the pain drives us as a whole without asking and takes us into messy places is unnerving, she said. Still, we continue instilling hope with kind gestures, helping hands, and words. She recalled how one of her patients lost her baby on the way to the health camp. The infant developed an infection because vaccines and medication werent available. Dr. Nabidad Bughti, medical officer at the Baluchistan district Mach who also served in the flood-relief camps of Sohbatpur, said medical facilities are severely lacking. Theres no fully-equipped labour room or intensive care unit in Sohbatpur, Bughti said, let alone medical facilities for preterm babies. India : The river has dried up in many parts in Assam making it difficult for the boats to commute. Photo by Meenakshi J Sohbatpur a district in Balochistan that borders Jaffarabad, Naseerabad, and Dera Bugti already had a threadbare health infrastructure before the historic 2022 floods in the region. Indeed, there is not a single fully-equipped and fully functional labour room in the whole of the provincelet alone Jaffarabad or Sohbatpur that suffered severe damage due to June-August floods, said then-caretaker and minister of health Amir Muhammad Khan. If a pregnant woman travels from a less-developed district with no maternal care services such as Sohbatpur towards Quetta, what will be the ultimate consequences? Khan said. Sohbatpur is six hours away from Quetta with damaged roads. Consequently, women and babies suffer and die. India : Awareness programme at Chutiagaon in Assam by the district programme officer of the boat clinic. Photo by Meenakshi J. Dr. Uzma Sohail, head of the gynae department at Civil Hospital in Quetta, said floods impacted neonatal facilities that are already extremely limited in far-flung areas of the province. If doctors, government officials and the private sector improve the process of dealing with flooding in a region with enough health infrastructure, there shall be an efficient and sustainable healthcare system. We have seen floods damage one BHU in the Hanna Urak area, near Quetta. Similarly, the media showed images of underwater hospitals and health centres in Sohbatpur. People even spent days and nights on roads with pregnant women in the Sohbatpur and Jaffarafab districts, Sohail said. As a result, camps were set up to deal with the crisis. However, these camps are not the long-lasting solution for emerging maternal and neonatal health care issues. The government has to take stringent actions in the context of staff, medication, infrastructure, and equipment. India : Winter dries up River Brahmaputra in Assam, complicating boat travel. Photo by Meenakshi J. WORRIES GROW AS CLIMATE CHANGE WORSENS Experts say mother and infant death rates in flood-prone regions of Pakistan and India are likely to keep rising. Rahul Mahanta, an associate professor and director of the Interdisciplinary Climate Research Centre at Cotton University in Assam, predicts that floods in the upcoming years will only intensify in both frequency and severity, particularly in northeast India along the tributaries of the Brahmaputra River, bearing the brunt of climate change. He points out that seasonal flooding during the July to September monsoon period engulfs homes and livelihoods, displacing millions of inhabitants multiple times annually. This recurrent inundation leaves no room for the construction of permanent structures, such as hospitals, on these riverine islands. And its often small children and women who are left to face the brunt of a changing climate lacking special sanitation assistance during floods, sufficient nutrition, financial independence and essential documents lost during floods, which can keep them from getting survivors benefits. India : The boat clinic anchored a few kms from the Chutiagaon village in Assam. Photo by Meenakshi J. Sohail painted a similar picture of how flooding affects healthcare for moms and babies in her country. She said the 2022 floods destroyed more than 198 health centres in Balochistan alone and damaged critical infrastructure such as roads and communication systems. This pushed up pregnancy-related problems such as high blood pressure in pregnant mothers, preterm deliveries and low birth weight babies. Flood-related issues are compounded by cultural realities. Saadat Khokar, sexual and reproductive health and rights analyst with the United Nations Population Fund, said cultural conservatism in Balochistan compels people to go for home deliveries, so when floods destroyed 125,000 houses in the district last year, women were uncertain about where to deliver. They also faced shortages of food and clean water. Dr. Faryal Khan, lady medical officer at Kacchi district, lamented the lack of essential health services in flood-affected districts, saying floods cut off access to doctors in urban centres, medications and other supplies. India : Villagers involved in mustard farming in Assam. Photo by Meenakshi J. Floods put more pressure on this fragile system, she said. Thus, experts only expect floods to worsen and systems to grow more fragile here and in vulnerable areas across the Hindu Kush Himalaya region of South Asia. (This story was part of a cross-border reporting workshop organised by the U.S.-based East-West Center in Kathmandu, Nepal) Photo Courtesy: Mohamed Nasheed X page Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed has expressed concern and apologised to the Indian nationals over the recent deteriorating relationship between the two countries. He urged Indian tourists to visit the Maldives. Speaking to ANI, Nasheed said, It has impacted the Maldives a lot, and I am actually here in India. I'm very worried about this. I want to say the people of the Maldives are sorry, we are sorry that this has happened. We want Indian people to come on their holidays to the Maldives, and there will not be any change in our hospitality. He urged current President Mohamed Muizzu-led government to put an end to the anti-India narrative. It's very unfortunate that President Muizzu had these discussions. I would call him to please stop these discussions on the Dornier flight and the helicopters. They were brought to the Maldives for medical evacuation, and there is a need for medical evacuation," he told ANI. Mohamed Muizzu's recent stance Continuing his anti-India stance, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has said no Indian military personnel, not even those in civilian clothing, will remain in his nation after May 10 deadline. Addressing the residential community of Baa atoll Eydhafushi during his tour across the atoll, the President stated that due to this governments success in expelling Indian troops from the country, people who spread false rumours are attempting to twist the situation, reported The Edition. That these people [Indian military] are not departing, that they are returning after changing their uniforms into civilian clothing. We must not indulge such thoughts that instill doubts in our hearts and spread lies, he said. There will be no Indian troops in the country come May 10. Not in uniform and not in civilian clothing. Indian military will not be residing in this country in any form of clothing. I state this with confidence," the President said amid the deteriorating relationship with India in recent days. While the first troops to depart the country are the Indian military personnel operating helicopters in Addu City, the military personnel present in Haa Dhaalu atoll Hanimaadhoo and Laamu atoll Kahdhoo are also expected to leave ahead of May 10, reported The Edition. Currently, there are approximately 80 Indian military personnel stationed in the Maldives, media reports said. The President came to power last year by riding on his anti-Indian stance. Recent controversy Recently, Indians have expressed anger against Maldivian authorities on social media after its Minister Mariyam Shiunas disparaging comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a "clown" and "puppet" in posts on X, which have since been deleted. These tweets were removed following criticism and backlash on the micro-blogging site. Other Maldivian officials, including another minister named Zahid Rameez, also mocked Prime Minister Modi's visit to Lakshadweep after the photos garnered significant attention on social media as many drew comparisons between Modi's visit and the Maldives. Closeness to China Amid a strained relationship with India, the Maldivian government has signed a military agreement with China. Maldives Military of Defence posted on X: "Minister of Defence @mgmaumoon and Major General Zhang Baoqun, Deputy Director of the Office for International Military Cooperation of the People's Republic of China, signed an agreement on China's provision of military assistance gratis to the Republic of Maldives, fostering stronger bilateral ties." Details of the agreement are still not known. Photo Courtesy: PIB Indian President Droupadi Murmu will undertake a State Visit to the Republic of Mauritius from March 11 to 13 to attend the National Day celebrations of the country. She will be the Chief Guest on the invitation of the Government of Mauritius. "A contingent of the Indian Navy will participate in the celebrations along with two Ships of the Indian Navy's First Training Squadron - INS Tir and CGS Sarathi," read a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs. President Murmu will hold bilateral meetings with the President of the Republic of Mauritius, Prithvirajsing Roopun and Prime Minister of Mauritius, Pravind Kumar Jugnauth. In addition, President Murmu will meet the Speaker of the Mauritius National Assembly, the Chief Justice of the Mauritian Supreme Court and important Mauritian leaders. During the visit, President Murmu and Prime Minister Jugnauth will jointly inaugurate 14 India-assisted projects, showcasing the growing expanse and multifaceted nature of Indias vibrant development partnership with Mauritius that constitutes a key pillar of the bilateral relationship. President Murmu will also witness exchange of important bilateral agreements that seek to further strengthen the robust bilateral institutional collaboration and capacity-building cooperation between the two countries. President Murmu will pay homage to Mauritian leaders at the Pamplemousses Botanical Garden and undertake visits to historical and cultural sites, including the Aapravasi Ghat, where Indian indentured labourers first arrived in Mauritius, the Intercontinental Slavery Museum and the sacred Ganga Talao. Additionally, she will address Mauritian youth at the University of Mauritius and socio-cultural organisations, members of the Indian diaspora and the Indian community at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute. As the sixth Indian President to grace the Mauritian National Day as the Chief Guest since 2000, President Murmus State Visit underscores the longstanding and enduring ties between India and Mauritius. It reaffirms the continued commitment of both countries to further strengthening the bilateral relationship across all sectors and deepening our close people-to-people ties. Photo Courtesy: Unsplash A 22-year-old law student allegedly committed suicide under mysterious circumstances in Shikohabad area of Firozabad district in Uttar Pradesh, police sources said on Saturday. The sources here said that Hritik Yadav, a resident of Sahibabad area of Ghaziabad district, was pursuing law course in a college and was living in a rented room in Khera locality under Shikohabad police station. "On Friday when Hritik did not come out of his room till late evening, his landlord Rajiv Yadav peeped through the window and found his body hanging," they said. The sources also said that the landlord informed the police. The body was sent to the district hospital for post-mortem examination. Circle Officer (CO) Sikohabad Praveen Kumar Tiwari said it is being investigated that why Hritik committed suicide. "Further action will be taken on the basis of facts emerging from the investigation," he said. (With UNI inputs) Photo Courtesy: Jaffer Sadiq X page Delhi Police Special Cell and Narcotics Control Board (NCB) have arrested a Tamil film producer over his alleged link to a Rs 2,000-crore drug smuggling racket. The film producer was identified as Jaffer Sadiq. NCB said it is believed that Sadiq was operating a drug syndicate which sent 45 consignments over the past three years to various countries, containing approximately 3,500 kg of pseudoephedrine, reported India Today. NCB claimed that Sadiq had earned a huge amount of money from illicit drug trafficking operations and invested the same in businesses like film, construction, and hospitality, among others. Confirming Sadiq's arrest, NCB deputy director general (operations) Gyaneshwar Singh told Hindustan Times: "He is the kingpin of the India-Australia-New Zealand drug trafficking network, which we were probing. We will share details in the afternoon." Another NCB officer told the newspaper: "We are probing if drug money was used in his production company. It looks like his production company was a front to launder money. He was on the run for the past two weeks." According to reports, he produced and co-produced four movies. Jaffer Sadiq's political link Jaffer Sadiq joined politics in 2010. He was serving as the Chennai West deputy organiser of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ( DMK)'s NRI wing. The party removed him recently over his alleged involvement in drug smuggling. Since reports said drug smuggling charges, we did not wait for action, a senior DMK leader told Hindustan Times, requesting anonymity. Photo courtesy: X/@BJP4India Kolkata/Siliguri/IBNS: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hit out at the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Congress over dynastic politics addressing a mega rally in Siliguri, West Bengal. In his fourth visit to the state in nine days since March 1, Modi claimed it is only him and the BJP who think about the future generations. "TMC people are concerned about their nephew. Congress people have to promote the sons and daughters of their royal family, Those on the Left have to maintain coordination with these two, so that they remain relevant. "These people do not care about your children, if there is anyone who cares about the future of your children It is Modi, BJP, NDA alliance," the Prime Minister, whose BJP swept the North Bengal region in 2019 General Elections, said. Like in his previous rallies, Modi on Saturday alleged the TMC government is putting a brake on several of central schemes at a time the state ruling party is raising the issue of alleged non-payment of MGNREGA scheme and PM Awas Yojana against the Centre. The Prime Minister, who held a 12-kilometer roadshow before the address, said, "The alliance of TMC, Congress, and other Leftist parties is objecting to our decision to provide you with free ration. "In Bengal, the corrupt and anti-women leaders of TMC have been arrested for the ration scam. I have also guaranteed you free healthcare under the Ayushman Yojana, but the TMC is not implementing that either." Photo courtesy: X/@BJP4India Modi, the supreme leader of BJP, has also hit out at the TMC government, run by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, for not allowing distribution of free LPG cylinders to "14 lakh women" from the state. "Through the PM Ujjwala Yojana, we provide free gas connections, but the TMC government is depriving over 14 lakh women from receiving these benefits," he said. On the occasion of International Women's Day, the Prime Minister on Friday announced a reduction of Rs. 100 on LPG cylinders. Modi also touched upon the pot-boiling issue of Sandeshkhali, an island in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas where several women accused now arrested erstwhile TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan and his two aides of land grabbing and sexual assault. He said, "TMC remains indifferent to your struggles. In Sandeshkhali, women from poor, Dalit, and Adivasi communities have been tortured." TMC counters Modi's claims TMC Rajya Sabha MP-elect Sagarika Ghose said, "PM is spreading falsehoods that Bengal government is not letting central welfare schemes reach the Bengal people. 59 lakh MGNREGA workers have not received wages because Centre has deprived Bengal of funds. 11.3 lakh home people don't have homes because Centre has deprived Bengal of funds. Photo courtesy: UNI Jammu: Jammu Kashmirs Doda is now known for producing lavender and earned a bright spot on the world map after the government launched the Purple Revolution, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said. District Doda has today emerged on the world map because Bhaderwah has given the world lavender and 'Purple Revolution', which were showcased in the Republic Day parade at New Delhi and PM Narendra Modi spoke in detail about it in Mann Ki Baat," Dr Singh said addressing a rally a massive public rally after inaugurating the Agri StartUp Exhibition in Doda district. Lavender cultivation, harvesting, processing, and product development, taking lavender from lab to market, increasing the culture of Agri-start-ups in India, were the objectives aimed by Purple Revolution when it was launched in 2016 by the Ministry of Science and Technology. Earlier governments neglected the entire region of erstwhile Doda district and created social strife by playing politics of division, whereas under Prime Minister Narendra Modi we ensured equitable development and communal harmony, he said. The rally was attended by thousands of people, who had turned up from all parts of the twin districts of Kishtwar and Doda including Bhaderwah. Dr Jitendra Singh said it would be difficult for the analysts to understand why Doda remained backward even though Doda has always sent a representative to both the Union Cabinet as well as in the State Cabinet. Under Prime Minister Modi a different political culture of reaching out equally to all sections of people regardless of religion or caste has been adopted, the minister said. He emphasized that the people of the Doda belt are traditionally peace-loving and patriotic, who refused to migrate even during the peak of militancy. New National Highway 244 from Khillani to Sudhmahadev touching Goha Kalota, approval of Chattergala tunnel and Kaljugar tunnel, series of hydropower projects and airport under Udaan in Kishtwar, centrally funded Medical College in Doda, High Altitude Medicine Plant in Bhaderwah, etc all happened in last 10 years, Dr Jitendra Singh said, enumerating the development works done in the region. These projects in the Doda region launched in the last 10 years have not only brought about transformation but also changed the mindset, he said. Various welfare schemes launched here, not only initiated social and economic transformation but also stimulated several semi-conscious aspirations, particularly in youth, which had been buried due to dismay and pessimism of the past. The development projects initiated in the region have been carried out with an urge to serve the common people from the core of the heart and to provide the benefits rising above the politics of caste, creed and religion. The Union Minister expressed happiness that Modi has been able to change the work culture and perception of democracy by undertaking all-round development and ensuring delivery of schemes as and where needed. The Minister said that this constituency holds the distinction of being the lone Lok Sabha constituency where three medical colleges existin Doda, Kathua, and Udhampur. The government has reignited those hopes which had faded, and rekindled aspirations among youth who had resigned to their fate due to the prevailing work environment. On the occasion, Dr Jitendra Singh also felicitated some young farmers who emerged as role models by increasing their produce with the help of various government schemes. CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu celebrates the success of lavender cultivation bolstered by the 'Purple Revolution with farmers DDC Chairman Doda Dhanater Singh Kotwal, CSIR-IIIM Director Dr Zabeer Ahmed, Deputy Commissioner, Doda Harvinder Singh, and Vice Chairperson, DDC Doda Sangeeta Rani Bhagat attended the event. The occasion highlighted the positive impact of lavender cultivation on the local economy and agricultural landscape, symbolizing a significant step forward for farmers in Doda and nearby regions. The event underscored the commitment of CSIR-IIIM towards playing a pivotal role in promoting sustainable agriculture and contributing to rural prosperity. Dr. Zabeer Ahmed highlighted the significant research contributions of CSIR-IIIM in the fields of cancer medicines, diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis, and addressing liver ailments, along with research on various diseases. He also talked about two major initiatives, namely the CSIR Aroma Mission and CSIR Floriculture Mission, which are being mentored by Union Minister, Dr. Jitendra Singh. The event mainly highlighted the success of lavender cultivation with the farmers. (With UNI inputs) Gazans queuing for food. Photo Courtesy: UNRWA At least five people died and 10 others were injured after they were hit by airdropped aid packages in Gaza City's Al Shati camp, media reports said on Saturday. Journalist Khader Al Zaanoun told CNN he witnessed the aid packages falling from planes over the Al Shati camp on Friday (March 8, 2024) but could not confirm which nation was behind the airdrop. Muhammad Al-Sheikh, Head of Emergency Care Department at Al Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City confirmed to the American news channel that five people were killed in the incident. The airdrop reportedly went wrong after the parachute on a pallet malfunctioned. Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza, said in a statement quoted by Xinhua that the aid was dropped in an unprofessional and unprecedented manner on the heads and houses of residents in the northwest area of Gaza City. Several countries, including Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, France, the Netherlands, and the United States, have been conducting joint operations for about a week to drop food aid to the strip. New maritime aid lifeline in Gaza An international maritime aid corridor to Gaza could be in operation as early as Sunday (March 10, 2024), according to the head of the European Commission, working closely with the UNs Senior Humanitarian Coordinator and other international partners. In a joint statement released on Friday, the Commission, Cyprus, United Arab Emirates, United States and the United Kingdom announced their intent to open a new corridor in coordination with the UNs Sigrid Kaag. The UN coordinator has a mandate from the Security Council to facilitate, boost and monitor the arrival of aid to more than two million Gazans in need. A technical team from her office is now based in Cyprus, whose government has led the development of the new mechanism to ship aid from the Mediterranean island to Gaza. The joint release said that the dedicated efforts of the UAE to mobilize support for the initiative would soon see an initial trial shipment make its way to the Gaza coast. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it could happen as early as this weekend. US pier pledge The Cypriot Government said it would soon convene senior officials to discuss accelerating the new sea route, acknowledging the US announcement on Thursday (March 8, 2024) night from President Joe Biden of a new temporary pier for distributing aid on the Gaza coast. All these efforts will be closely coordinated with the Government of Israel, said the statement. Taking questions from correspondents in New York, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Kaag had been in close contact with Cyprus and she's been involved in discussions on the initiative as an additional access route to Gaza, in line with her mandate". The operational details of the specific maritime shipments or the building of the dock or of the port are being managed by the partners to the initiative, he added. Questioned about the potential effectiveness of the US plan and maritime aid routes, Dujarric said there was no alternative to a larger scale deployment of aid by land and commercial traffic, although aid entering by other means was welcome. The international coalition planning the maritime corridor said that the delivery of assistance to those who need it in Gaza by sea will be complex and must be part of a sustained effort to increase the flow of aid and commercial goods through all possible routes. Together, we must all do more to ensure aid gets to people who desperately need it, the statement concluded. Photo Courtesy: Wallpaper Cave Pakistan's Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Saturday arrested 23 terrorists during intelligence-based operations across the country's Punjab region. As per details, the CTD carried out various operations in Punjab and arrested 23 terrorists for suspicions of connections with banned outfits, ARY News reported. The CTD spokesperson told the Pakistani news channel that explosives, two IED bombs, 10 detonators, weapons and cash were recovered from the terrorists who were arrested in the operations. Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and police recently conducted a joint operation when they foiled an attempted terror attack in Pakistan's Adiala jail. Security personnel arrested three terrorists and recovered explosives and jail map from them. According to City Police Officer, (CPO) Syed Khalid Hamdani, CTD personnel and police conducted a joint operation and arrested three terrorists with sophisticated weapons including explosives, Improvised Explosive Device (IED), and a map of the prison, reported ARY News. Photo Courtesy: Pixabay Police used batons to disperse protesting members of the banned Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM) outside local press club in Pakistan's Hyderabad on Thursday. Police reportedly rounded up eight workers, among them a woman, when they were raising anti-state slogans, according to police. Around two dozen masked activists including young girls and boys gathered outside the press club and raised anti-state slogans, reported Dawn News. Police, sporting anti-riot gear, later used batons to disperse and arrest them. A couple of activists suffered injuries while a policeman also sustained minor injuries on his knee, reported Dawn News. A male activist in a police mobile van told Dawn that they belonged to Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz-Arisar. Garbage collectors made a shocking discovery inside the back of their truck, moments after starting the crusher to demolish what's inside. During their routine collection service, the bin collectors noticed movement in the pile of rubbish and quickly realised it was a man who'd been picked up with the trash and dumped into the truck. It's believed he may have been homeless and was seeking shelter in a bin. The workers swiftly called emergency services and a firefighting team arrived to help with the rescue. The rescue was captured on video which shows firefighters wading through a large stack of rubbish on the street after dragging it out of the back of the full bin lorry. A man was pulled from a pile of rubbish that had been dumped in a bin moment before being crushed. Source: Jam Press Eventually, they discovered a barely conscious man in the pile and carefully made a clearing before pulling him out. Firefighters carried the victim to the side of the street before performing first aid. Surge of people scouring bins amid cost of living crisis The rescue took place in the Colombian capital Bogota this week however it's a growing trend worldwide, including in Australia, thanks to the cost of living crisis which has seen more people climbing into bins for for various reasons, mostly for shelter or for items to keep. One local said: "Homeless people often go into dustcarts looking for useful items or to protect themselves from the cold or even enemies". "That was a very dangerous situation as many people die like that," another shared. Meanwhile, a third said: "Well done, a very valuable life has been saved". Authorities have yet to release the victims identity or provide any details as to how he ended up in such a precarious situation. Aussie man dies after 'bin surfing' In Australia last month, a man's body was found "wedged in a clothing bin" in a Westfield shopping centre car park in Tuggarah on the NSW Central Coast. According to reports, police believe the man "was bin surfing, fell and broke his neck" leaving his lifeless body hanging out of a bin. Story continues A man was spotted clambering into the Make a Wish charity bin in Bondi, Sydney to allegedly take items. Source: Facebook The alarming practice, which has grown in numbers, involves people climbing head-first into charity bins to rummage through donated items they can keep. It comes as the cost of living continues to put pressure on Aussies, many of whom are "living below the poverty line". Many Aussies have also turned to "dumpster diving" for food as the cost of groceries continues to put strain on hip pockets. Amelia Cromb from the organisation Grassroots Action Network Tasmania said large amounts of food at supermarkets had been needlessly thrown away before the expiry of 'best before dates'. with Jam Press Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons/ShareAlike 4.0 International At least six people of Sri Lankan origin, including four children, died in a stabbing incident in Canada's Ottawa city on Wednesday. Police said Febrio De-Zoysa, a 19-year-old male student from Sri Lanka, has been charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. "He is a Sri Lankan national who is believed to be in Canada as a student," Ottawa Police said in a statement. Police identified the victims as 35-year-old Darshani Banbaranayake Gama Walwwe Darshani Dilanthika Ekanyake and her four children: seven-year-old Inuka Wickramasinghe, four-year-old Ashwini Wickramasinghe, two-year-old Rinyana Wickramasinghe and two-month-old Kelly Wickramasinghe. "A sixth man, Gamini Amarakoon Amarakoon Mudiyanselage, 40, was also found deceased," police said. Police said: "Investigators continue to seek any surveillance, doorbell or dashcam footage from residents, visitors and businesses who may have been in the area at the time of the incident." The father of the family, who was identified as Dhanushka Wickramasinghe, was injured in the attack. He is currently undergoing treatment in hospital. Suneetha, a resident monk and director of the Hilda Jayewardenaramaya Buddhist Monastery on Heron Road, told CBC News that the members of the family were very helpful. "I cannot say he's doing well, but he's a little bit stronger than we thought," Suneetha told CBC News after meeting Dhanushka Wickramasinghe in the hospital. Dhanushka's family had only been in Canada for about a year, according to Suneetha. A representative of Uber confirmed to CBC News that Dhanushka was a driver for them. Suneetha said Dhanushka had also opened a cleaning business. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau expresses shock "Obviously our first reactions are all one of shock and horror at this terrible violence," he told CBC News. "We are expecting that the community reaches out to support family and friends, as Canadians always do," he said. Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe expresses sadness "Like many Ottawa residents, and as both a father and mayor, Im feeling incredible sadness and grief over the tragic loss of life in Barrhaven. We will observe a moment of silence tomorrow morning at the breakfast for International Womens Day. I encourage families, community groups, and workplaces throughout Ottawa to observe a moment of silence or pay their respects in their own ways," he posted on X. As Generation Z emerges as a significant force in the travel industry, their preferences and expectations are reshaping the landscape of vacation experiences. With a penchant for authenticity, sustainability, and unique adventures, Gen Z travellers are driving new trends that cater to their desires. From off-the-grid destinations to immersive cultural experiences, here are the top six travel trends that are defining what Gen Z wants on a vacation. Pexels 1) Sustainable Tourism Gen Z is increasingly conscious of their environmental impact and seeks travel experiences that align with their values. Sustainable tourism, which focuses on minimising negative effects on the environment and supporting local communities, is a top priority for this generation. From eco-friendly accommodations to carbon-neutral transportation options, Gen Z travelers are actively seeking ways to minimize their carbon footprint while exploring the world. 2) Digital Detox In an age dominated by technology and social media, Gen Z is craving opportunities to unplug and disconnect from the digital world. Digital detox retreats offer a respite from constant connectivity, allowing travelers to immerse themselves in nature, mindfulness practices, and offline activities. These retreats provide a much-needed break from screens and foster a deeper connection with oneself and the surrounding environment. Unsplash 3) Authentic Cultural Experiences Gen Z travelers are drawn to authentic cultural experiences that allow them to engage with local communities and traditions. Rather than visiting tourist hotspots, they seek immersive encounters that offer a glimpse into the daily lives of residents. Whether participating in cooking classes, homestays, or cultural festivals, Gen Z values authenticity and seeks to forge meaningful connections with the places they visit. I have described myself in the past as a terrible tourist. I dont usually travel with a strict, I want to see this, this and this, Arthur Tisseront, 26, a video game dialogue writer living in Finland, told USA TODAY. I usually try to find somewhere to stay that is reasonably priced but in a part of the city or town or area Im in that will let me experience whatever older culture exists there. 4) Adventure Centric Adventure travel continues to gain popularity among Gen Z, who crave adrenaline-pumping experiences and outdoor adventures. From hiking through rugged landscapes to embarking on wildlife safaris, this generation seeks thrill-seeking activities that push their boundaries and create lasting memories. Whether it's bungee jumping off a cliff or white-water rafting down rapids, Gen Z travelers are eager to embrace the great outdoors. Youtube 5) Solo Travel Solo travel has become increasingly popular among young women, with many seeking opportunities to embark on independent adventures around the world. A recent survey reveals that over half of the surveyed women express interest in solo travel, citing inspiration from female content creators who document their solo journeys. From stepping out of their comfort zones to embracing self-discovery and freedom, solo travel offers young women a unique opportunity for personal growth and exploration. Ive noticed a lot more people solo travel, and my mom and dad never did anything like that, she said. Im a bit more adventurous when I travel. I like to see the culture and have unique experiences rather than see tourist attractions and prioritize comfort. 6) Bleisure Travel Bleisure travel, a combination of business and leisure travel, is on the rise among Gen Z professionals who value work-life balance. Rather than rushing back home after a business trip, Gen Z travelers are extending their stays to explore new destinations and immerse themselves in local culture. By blending work commitments with leisure activities, they can make the most of their travel experiences and maximize their time away from the office. Pexels As Gen Z continues to influence the travel industry, their preferences and priorities are reshaping the way we experience vacations. From sustainable tourism practices to immersive cultural exchanges, Gen Z travelers are driving a shift towards more authentic, meaningful, and responsible travel experiences. By understanding and embracing these trends, destinations and travel providers can cater to the evolving desires of the next generation of travelers. For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News. After more than a decade together, actress Natalie Portman and choreographer Benjamin Millepied have decided to part ways, according to a report by People. The shocking announcement follows lingering rumours that Millepied had been unfaithful to the Oscar-winning actress. Why Did Oscar-Winning Actress Natalie Portman Got Divorced Quietly? Natalie Portman with husband Benjamin Millepied/X Despite the rumours circulating in the media, neither Portman nor Millepied addressed the infidelity speculations publicly at the time. Reports suggested that the couple had chosen to weather the storm and stay together. However, recent revelations indicate that the couple had quietly separated, and the divorce was finalised in France in February, as confirmed by a representative for Portman. Portman and Millepied's love story began on the set of "Black Swan" in 2009, where he served as her choreographer. Their engagement followed a year later, and in 2011, Portman gave birth to their son, Aleph. The couple exchanged vows in a private ceremony in Big Sur, California, in 2012. The wedding was kept under wraps, mirroring the couple's general approach to their relationship. Portman Opens Up About Privacy Struggles In a recent Vanity Fair interview, Portman expressed her disdain for the public scrutiny of her personal life. When questioned about the challenges of having her marriage dissected in the public eye, she candidly remarked, "It's terrible, and I have no desire to contribute to it." Prioritising A Smooth Transition For Children? Photo Of Natalie Portman With Her Daughter And Husband/X Portman and Millepied, parents to 12-year-old Aleph and 7-year-old Amalia, are said to be focused on ensuring a smooth transition for their children amidst the divorce. According to a source close to the actress, her "biggest priority has been ensuring a smooth transition for her children" during this challenging time. Also Read: Amid Sania Mirza-Shoaib Malik Split, Here's A Look At Expensive Divorces Of Celebs For more news and updates from the world of celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. In an evening filled with exciting competitions, Karolina Bielawska of Poland, the reigning Miss World 2022, handed over the coveted title to her successor Krystyna Pyszkova Of Czech Republic. Yasmina Zaytoun from Lebanon was awarded the title of First Runner-Up in the 71st Miss World 2024 pageant. Krystyna Pyszkova Of Czech Republic Crowned Miss World 2024 India Hosts The 71st Miss World Pageant After a 28-year pause, India proudly hosted the 71st Miss World pageant on Saturday. The representative for India in this prestigious event was 22-year-old Sini Shetty, the reigning Miss India World. Global Contestants Vie For Crown All the contestants from dirrent countries gathered at the Jio World Centre in BKC, Mumbai, competing passionately for the prestigious Miss World crown. Krystyna Pyszkova Of Czech Republic Crowned Miss World 2024: Here Is All You Need To Know/Twitter Diverse Competitions Highlight Miss World Contest The Miss World contest showcased a variety of competitions, including Beauty with a Purpose, Head-to-Head Challenge, Miss World Sports, Miss World Talent, World Top Designer Award, Miss World Top Model, and Miss World Red Carpet Special. Fun Fact: The Miss World pageant, established in the UK in 1951, holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously running international beauty competition. Star-Studded Hosts and Performances Adding to the glitz and glamour, renowned Indian filmmaker Karan Johar and Miss World 2013, Megan Young, took on the roles of hosts. The event also featured musical performances by Neha Kakkar, Tony Kakkar, and Shaan. Distinguished Judging Panel The 12-member judging panel featured prominent personalities, including Kriti Sanon, Pooja Hegde, Sajid Nadiadwala, Harbhajan Singh, Rajat Sharma, Amruta Fadnavis, Vineet Jain, Julia Morley CBE, Jamil Saidi, and three former Miss Worlds. Also Read: Miss World 2024 In India: Watch Winning Answer Of Priyanka Chopra At Miss World 2000 Stage For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. Movie buffs no longer anticipate happy endings; instead, they crave surprises. They seek a captivating narrative that unfolds into an unexpected territory. The plot twist endings leave the audience oddly satisfied. It not only shocks them but also leaves a long-lasting impact. At the same time, twists are tricky. They can either make or break a film. If you love Hollywood movies with the biggest plot twists like The Prestige, Arrival, Shutter Island, and Parasite, here are some of the best Bollywood movies with plot twists. Bollywood Movies With Biggest Plot Twist 1. Kahaani X One of the best films ever made in Bollywood, Kahaani starring Vidya Balan has so many twists and turns that you will never be unable to unravel the mystery. The story revolves around Vidya Balan's character who is looking for traces of her husband who has gone missing. Where to watch: Currently unavaible online 2. Gupt: The Hidden Truth X One of the favorite films in the meme world, this Bobby Deol-starrer is an engaging psychological thriller that will take you by surprise in the climax scene. The story of the movie revolves around a governor who has been murdered and the needle of suspicion points towards his son who must prove his innocence. Where to watch: ZEE5, Amazon Prime Video 3. Andhadhun X This film's ending will not only leave you dumbfounded but it's open-ending will leave you scratching your heads for a long time. The edge-of-the-seat mystery thriller starring Tabu and Ayushmann Khurrana revolves around a blind pianist who must report a crime that he knows nothing about. Where to watch: YouTube, Apple TV+ 4. Kaun X The Ram Gopal Varma movie is a perfect suspense thriller starring Urmila Matondkar and Manoj Bajpai. The story revolves around Urmila's character who is disturbed by an intruder on a rainy night. Turns out, the intruder is a creepy person who kills people. But this time, he isn't the killer. Then who is it? Where to watch: YouTube 5. Talaash X This movie starring Kareena Kapoor Khan and Aamir Khan will leave you scratching your head throughout. The story revolves around an inspector who is dealing with a depressing past and finds solace in a prostitute while solving a murder case. Where to watch: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, YouTube 6. Kartik Calling Kartik X Another psychological thriller starring Farhan Akhtar and Deepika Padukone revolves around a man named Kartik who gets creepy calls from his namesake person. The ending is so unsettling that you will be in shock for at least some time. Where to watch: Netlix, Amazon Prime Video 7. Johnny Gaddaar X Starring Neil Nitin Mukesh, Dharmendra, Rimi Sen and Vinay Pathak among others, Johnny Gaddar is a tale of missing money that results in lies, deceit, betrayal and death. The film is packed with good storyline some genuinely surprising twists. Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar, YouTube, Apple TV+ 8. Wazir X One of the underrated Bollywood films, Wazir has one of the biggest plot twists in the climax. Starring Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar, the film's story revolves around a man who loses his daughter to a terrorist attack, and plans to seek revenge. During his mission, he feels connected to a Pandit who is also a chess teacher and has lost his daughter. The movie might be a bit slow-paced, but the twist in the end is worth it. Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, SonyLiv, Apple TV+, YouTube 9. Bluffmaster X One of the best movies of Abhishek Bachchan plays the master con man who dupes people until one day when he decides to mend his ways. However, on his last con-mission, he gets conned himself. Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, YouTube 10. Badla X Directed by Sujoy Ghosh and starring Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu and Amrita Singh, the mystery thriller is one of those films wherein every minute counts and the guessing game keeps you hooked throughout. The storyline of the movie has so many twists and turns that itll keep you engaged until the very end. Where to watch: Netflix, Apple TV+, YouTube 11. Merry Christmas X Another Sriram Raghavan movie that you must watch, Merry Christmas is a murder mystery starring Vijay Sethupathy and Katrina Kaif. The film leaves everyone scratching their heads in the end because of the mind-bending twist and climax. Where to watch: Netflix For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. Ramadan Mubarak 2024: Ramadan, the special month of fasting for Muslims, starts either on March 11 or March 12 in Mecca. This depends on when the new moon is seen. Muslims use the lunar calendar to figure out when Ramadan begins. They look for the new crescent moon in the sky. In Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries, people watch for the moon to decide when Ramadan starts. To see the moon, it needs to be set after the sun goes down. This makes the sky dark enough to spot the small sliver of the new moon. On the night of March 10, which is the 29th day of the month before Ramadan, people look towards the west horizon after sunset. They hope to see the new crescent moon. If they see it, Ramadan begins, and fasting starts the next day, on March 11. If not, the current month continues for one more day, and Ramadan starts on March 12. In Saudi Arabia, they record people's testimonies about seeing the moon. Then, the Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia decides when Ramadan officially starts. Ramadan Mubarak 2024 wishes image | Photo: Canva According to experts, the new moon of Ramadan will appear on March 10 at 17:23 GMT (8:23pm Mecca time). But it's unlikely that people in most parts of the world will see it without special tools. Only areas near the Pacific Ocean might see it. For many countries, fasting will likely start on March 12. The length of Ramadan can be 29 or 30 days, depending on when the new moon is seen. At the end of Ramadan, Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which means "festival of breaking the fast" in Arabic. Depending on when the new moon is seen, Eid al-Fitr will likely start on April 10 or 11 and lasts for three days. As we approach Ramadan Mubarak 2024, it's time to spread love, joy, and blessings among our loved ones. Ramadan, also known as Ramzan, holds a special place in the hearts of Muslims worldwide. This sacred month is a time for reflection, spiritual growth, and strengthening bonds with family and friends. Let's explore some beautiful Ramadan Mubarak wishes, quotes, and images to share with your loved ones during this Ramadan Mubarak 2024. Ramadan Mubarak wishes, quotes, and images to share with loved ones Ramadan Mubarak to you and your family! May this holy month bring you peace, happiness, and prosperity. Wishing you a blessed Ramadan Mubarak filled with love, forgiveness, and blessings. May the spirit of Ramadan Mubarak illuminate your heart and soul with purity and devotion. Sending heartfelt Ramadan Mubarak wishes to all my dear ones. May Allah's blessings be with you always. As we observe Ramadan Mubarak, let's remember to be grateful for the blessings in our lives and strive to become better individuals. Ramadan Mubarak is not just about abstaining from food; it's about nourishing the soul and purifying the heart. Ramadan Mubarak 2024 wishes image | Photo: Canva In Ramadan Mubarak, let's seek forgiveness, practice gratitude, and spread kindness wherever we go. The beauty of Ramadan Mubarak lies in its ability to unite people from different backgrounds in prayer, fasting, and charity. As we welcome Ramadan Mubarak, let's embrace its teachings of empathy, compassion, and generosity towards others. Ramadan Mubarak reminds us to reflect on our actions, seek Allah's guidance, and strive for self-improvement. Ramadan Mubarak 2024! May this holy month bring you endless blessings, joy, and peace. Wishing you and your family a Ramadan Mubarak 2024 filled with love, harmony, and spiritual growth. Ramadan Mubarak 2024 wishes image | Photo: Canva May the divine blessings of Ramadan Mubarak 2024 be with you today, tomorrow, and always. Sending heartfelt wishes for a Ramadan Mubarak 2024 full of forgiveness, compassion, and enlightenment. As we embrace Ramadan Mubarak 2024, may our hearts be filled with gratitude, faith, and devotion. Ramadan Kareem 2024 to all my dear ones! May this month be a time of reflection, renewal, and blessings. Wishing you a Ramadan Mubarak 2024 filled with happiness, good health, and prosperity. May the spirit of Ramadan Mubarak 2024 illuminate your path with guidance, wisdom, and inner peace. Sending warm wishes for a blessed Ramadan Mubarak 2024 overflowing with love, unity, and blessings. Ramadan Mubarak 2024 wishes image | Photo: Canva As the crescent moon shines upon us, may Ramadan Mubarak 2024 bring you closer to Allah's divine grace and mercy. Wishing you a joyous Ramadan Mubarak 2024 surrounded by family, friends, and the blessings of Allah. May the blessings of Ramadan Mubarak 2024 fill your home with happiness, harmony, and prosperity. Sending prayers and blessings your way for a peaceful and spiritually fulfilling Ramadan Kareem 2024. Ramadan Kareem 2024! May this month renew your faith, strengthen your spirit, and deepen your connection with Allah. Ramadan Mubarak 2024 wishes image | Photo: Canva Wishing you an inspiring Ramadan Mubarak 2024 filled with moments of reflection, gratitude, and spiritual growth. May the divine light of Ramadan Mubarak 2024 guide you through life's journey with grace, humility, and righteousness. As we fast and pray during Ramadan Mubarak 2024, may our hearts be cleansed of negativity and filled with love and compassion. Wishing you and your loved ones a Ramadan Mubarak 2024 blessed with peace, prosperity, and abundance. Ramadan Mubarak 2024 wishes image | Photo: Canva May the blessings of Ramadan Mubarak 2024 be a source of strength, hope, and joy in your life. Sending you warm wishes and heartfelt prayers for a blissful and spiritually enriching Ramadan Mubarak 2024. Special Ramadan wishes and messages to send your loved ones Wishing you a joyful Ramadan and a blessed Eid al-Fitr ahead! May this holy month be filled with mercy and abundant blessings. Ramadan Kareem! Happy Ramadan! Happy Eid Mubarak! May your iftar be a delightful gathering of delicious food, cherished family, and dear friends. I hope that this Ramadan brings you all that you aspire for. I wish you enjoy everything that Ramadan has to offer. Enjoy a tranquil Ramadan. This Ramadan, may all of your duas be granted. Sending wishes for compassion and devotion during the day, and moments of nourishment and community during the night. Happy Ramadan! I hope your fast is simple. May your righteous actions be richly rewarded throughout this holy month. May all your sincere wishes find fulfillment on the Night of Power. I hope you like the beautiful reading of the Holy Quran. May we begin this Ramadan in safety, faith, and tranquilly. May this Ramadan draw you closer to God and strengthen your bonds with those you hold dear. Let your sacrifice and devotion stand as a testimony, witnessed by the Almighty. May your Ramadan efforts be rewarded and may you be given whatever you desire. May this Ramadan bring clarity and a deepened connection in your spiritual journey. May your days be filled with good deeds, heartfelt prayers, and the company of wonderful people. May you have a successful Ramadan. Wishing you a pleasant Ramadan and a happy Eid. Wishing you an enlightening Ramadan where goodness reflects in every aspect of your life. May this month be a source of positive transformation. Ramadan Kareem! I hope you have a nice Eid. Have a restorative Ramadan, filled with moments of reflection, gratitude, and inner peace. May your iftar be a time of love and nourishment for your soul. I hope your Ramadan and Eid are filled with love, peace, and joy. My best wishes to you and family for this Ramadan and Eid. Enjoy your upcoming Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr! Ramadan Mubarak 2024 wishes in Hindi and Urdu Ramadan Mubarak ho, Khuda se dua karte hain ki aapki ibadat qubool ho. (Ramadan Mubarak, we pray to God that your prayers are accepted.) Is Ramadan mein aapki zindagi ko barkat mile, khushiyan aayein aur aapki har dua qubool ho. (May this Ramadan bring blessings to your life, happiness and all your prayers are answered.) Ramadan ke mahine mein aapki rooh ki shanti aur mann ki shanti dono mile. (May this month of Ramadan bring peace to your soul and mind.) Is Ramadan mein aapko sabar aur taqwa ki taufiq mile aur aapki imaan mazboot ho. (May this Ramadan give you the ability to have patience and righteousness and strengthen your faith.) Ramadan ka mahina hai, ismein Allah se kareebi banna zaroori hai. (Ramadan is a month to become closer to Allah.) Is Ramadan mein aapko khud ki nafsiyat se ladna sikhaaye aur aapki zindagi ko naye raaste dikhaye. (May this Ramadan teach you to fight against your ego and show you new paths in life.) Is Ramadan mein aapki rooh ki taqat aur jazbaat ki gehraai badhein. (May this Ramadan increase the strength of your soul and depth of your emotions.) Ramadan Mubarak! Khuda kare yeh mahina aapke liye barkat se bhara ho aur aapke sabhi armaan poore hon.(Ramadan Mubarak! May this month be filled with blessings for you and may all your wishes come true.) Ramzan ke mahine mein aapke ghar ki barkat aur khushiyan chaa jayein. Ramadan Mubarak!( May your home be filled with blessings and happiness during the month of Ramadan. Ramadan Mubarak!) Is Ramadan mein aapka roza pura ho aur aap ibadat aur khidmat ke liye tayyar ho. Ramadan Mubarak! (May your fasts be complete and may you be ready for worship and service during this Ramadan. Ramadan Mubarak!) Allah aapko is Ramadan mein apni rehmat se nawaze aur aapki har dua qubool karein. Ramadan Mubarak! (May Allah bless you with His mercy during this Ramadan and may all your prayers be answered. Ramadan Mubarak!) Ramzan ki roshni mein aapka ghar, aapke dil aur aapki zindagi khushiyon se bhar jayein. Ramadan Mubarak! (May the light of Ramadan fill your home, your heart, and your life with happiness. Ramadan Mubarak!) Is Ramadan mein aapki zindagi mein khushiyan, aapke dil mein shanti aur aapke ghar mein barkat ho. Ramadan Mubarak! (May this Ramadan bring happiness to your life, peace to your heart, and blessings to your home. Ramadan Mubarak!) Ramzan ka mahina hai, isliye khushiyan bhi hai. Allah aapko apni rehmat se nawazein. Ramadan Mubarak!( It's the month of Ramadan, so there's happiness too. May Allah bless you with His mercy. Ramadan Mubarak!) Ramzan ke mahine mein aapke saare gham aur takleef door ho jayein aur aapki zindagi me khushiyan bhar jayein. Ramadan Mubarak! (May all your sorrows and troubles be lifted during the month of Ramadan and may your life be filled with happiness. Ramadan Mubarak!) Is Ramadan mein aapko sirf khushiyan aur pyaar mile, aur duniya ki har burai se aap door rahein. Ramadan Mubarak!(May you only receive happiness and love during this Ramadan, and may you stay away from all the evils of the world. Ramadan Mubarak!) Ramzan ka mahina hai, isliye duaon ka mahina bhi hai. Allah aapko apni rehmat se nawazein aur aapki har dua qubool karein. Ramadan Mubarak! (Translation: It's the month of Ramadan, so it's also a month of prayers. May Allah bless you with His mercy and answer all your prayers. Ramadan Mubarak!) (Note: Dates/timings may be subject to change; details mentioned here are as per the information available.) For more informative articles on historical and upcoming events from around the world, please visit Indiatimes Events Ramadan 2024 Start And End Date In India: As Ramadan 2024 approaches, Muslims around the world eagerly anticipate the opportunity for spiritual growth and self-improvement. Through fasting, prayer, and acts of charity, believers embark on a transformative journey of inner reflection and renewal. The word "Ramadan" finds its roots in the Arabic term 'RMD,' signifying scorching heat. Beyond its meteorological connotations, Ramadan holds profound religious significance for Muslims worldwide. It is viewed as a commemoration of Prophet Muhammad's first revelation and stands as one of the Five Pillars of Islam. During Ramadan, believers hold firm to the belief that evil spirits are chained in hell, safeguarding them from malevolent forces. This sacred time serves as a period of intense devotion, spiritual cleansing, and renewal of faith. Ramadan 2024 Start and End Date Ramadan, also referred to as Ramzan is one of the five pillars of Islam, and is determined according to the lunar Islamic calendar. This year, the sacred month is expected to commence on March 11 or 12, with its culmination on April 9 or 10, depending on the sighting of the moon in Mecca. The Islamic calendar's lunar nature means that Ramadan shifts approximately ten days earlier in the Gregorian calendar each year. The fasting from sunrise to sunset can range from 12 to 17 hours, depending on your location in the world. In various regions across the globe, the start date may vary slightly. Countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and the United States are likely to commence Ramadan on March 11, while nations like India, Bangladesh, and Egypt may observe the beginning on March 12. When is Ramadan 2024 start in Saudi Arabia, UAE? Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) want Muslims in their countries to look for the crescent moon on Sunday evening, March 10. If they see it, it means the holy month of Ramzan 1445 AH-2024 will start the next day, either on March 11 or March 12, depending on when the moon is seen. People who see the moon should tell the authorities so they can record it. The UAE also asked people to call a specific number (02-6921166) if they see the moon. Ramadan History and Significance The Muslim holy month of Ramadan will begin on Monday, March 11 or Tuesday, March 12 | Photo: Freepik Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar and it's a special time for Muslims. It's when they fast and think about their faith. The month begins and ends when they see the crescent moon. Because their calendar is different from the regular calendar, Ramadan happens at different times each year. Muslims believe that during Ramadan, on a special night called the "Night of Power," (Laylat-al-Qadr) God gave the Prophet Muhammad the Qur'an, which is their holy book. During Ramadan, Muslims spend time thinking, praying, and reading the Qur'an. They believe that by fasting and praying during Ramadan, God forgives their past mistakes. Fasting during Ramadan is an important part of being Muslim. It's called sawm, and it means refraining from eating, drinking, and other bad behaviors from sunrise to sunset. Muslims break their fast each evening with a meal called iftar, often starting with dates, following the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad. They also pray special prayers at night called tawarih. During Ramadan, Muslims adjust their daily routines. They might work less during the day and pray more at night. To help them wake up for the pre-dawn meal, some communities use drums or bells. If someone can't fast because they're sick or traveling, they can make up for it later. Instead of fasting, they can also help others or do good deeds. Some people, like children or the elderly, don't have to fast at all. The end of Ramadan is celebrated with a big holiday called Eid al-Fitr, the "Feast of Fast-Breaking." It's a time for families to come together, eat special food, and exchange gifts. It's one of the most important holidays for Muslims, along with Eid al-Adha, which celebrates the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca. During Ramadan, believers hold firm to the belief that evil spirits are chained in hell, safeguarding them from malevolent forces. This sacred time serves as a period of intense devotion, spiritual cleansing, and renewal of faith. Why Do Muslims Fast During Ramadan Ramadan is a special month for Muslims. It's a time for praying, being kind, and getting closer to Allah, their god. This month is super important because Muslims believe it's when the first parts of the Quran were revealed to Prophet Muhammad. During Ramadan, Muslims fast, which means they don't eat or drink from sunrise to sunset. This fasting helps them show their love for Allah, control themselves, and understand how people who don't have enough food feel. It also helps them feel more connected to their families and communities. When fasting, Muslims wake up before dawn to eat a meal called suhoor, which gives them energy for the day. Then, when the sun sets, they have another meal called iftar to break their fast. After iftar, they pray and do other good things. Ramadan is not just about fasting; it's also about being kind and helping others. Muslims are encouraged to give to the poor, volunteer, and be nice to everyone around them. By celebrating Ramadan, Muslims can become better people and feel closer to Allah. It's a time for reflection, self-improvement, and showing love and kindness to others. Traditions The observance of Ramadan encompasses various rituals and traditions that underscore its sanctity. Fasting from dawn till dusk, known as swam or roza, is a central tenet of Ramadan. Muslims rise early in the morning to partake in Sehri or Suhoor, a modest pre-fast meal comprising fruits, milk, and other nourishing items. At sunset, the fast is broken with a joyous feast called Iftar. Mouthwatering dishes such as kebabs, biryani, and traditional desserts like phirni and shahi tukda grace the tables of Iftar gatherings. These meals not only satiate physical hunger but also foster a sense of communal unity and gratitude. Beyond fasting and feasting, Ramadan encourages acts of charity and compassion. Muslims are urged to extend a helping hand to those in need, exemplifying the spirit of generosity and empathy that defines the holy month. May this blessed month bring peace, unity, and spiritual enlightenment to all who observe its sacred traditions. Ramadan 2024: Dos and Donts during the holy month of Ramzan Apart from not eating or drinking from sunrise to sunset, there are different things you should and shouldn't do during Ramadan. Let's take a look at what they are Ramadan 2024: Things to Do - Pray Regularly: Muslims should pray five times a day, not just during Ramadan but all year round. - Be Kind and Generous: Muslims need to be kind and generous to poor people or in need, both during Ramadan and throughout the year. - Memorize and Reflect on the Quran: Muslims are encouraged to memorize parts of the Quran and think about what they mean. - Practice Dhikr: Dhikr means remembering and thanking Allah through prayer. Muslims are expected to do this regularly. - Pray for Family Well-being: While praying, Muslims should ask Allah to take care of their families and loved ones. Ramadan 2024: Things to Avoid - No Eating or Drinking: Muslims who are fasting for Ramadan should not eat or drink anything until sunset when the Maghrib Azan is called. - Avoid Smoking and Vomiting: Smoking or making yourself throw up is not allowed during fasting because it can break the fast. - No Listening to Music: Muslims shouldn't listen to music, especially while fasting during Ramadan. - Stay Positive: It's important to stay positive during Ramadan. Feeling angry or bitter can cancel out the benefits of fasting, so it's best to focus on positive thoughts. - Avoid Illegal Activities: People fasting should stay away from doing anything illegal, both in their actions and their thoughts. - Avoid Arguments: It's advised to avoid arguments or fights during Ramadan because they can affect the rewards Muslims get from Allah. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Ramadan 2024 Q. When does Ramadan 2024 start? Ramadan 2024 is expected to begin in the evening on Monday, March 11, 2024. How long is Ramadan 2024? Ramadan 2024 is anticipated to start on Monday, March 11, 2024, and conclude on Wednesday, April 10, 2024. It is expected to span 30 days. Q. When does Ramadan 2024 end? Ramadan 2024 is set to end on Wednesday, April 10, 2024. Q. In what year will Ramadan occur twice? Ramadan is forecasted to occur twice in 2030. This is due to the difference between the Gregorian and Islamic/Hijri calendars. According to Dr. Sobeih Al Saadi, an astronomer, the Hijri year differs from the Gregorian year by approximately 11 days. Consequently, every 33 years, Ramadan repeats twice in one year. Note: Dates/timings may be subject to change; details mentioned here are as per the information available. For more informative articles on historical and upcoming events from around the world, please visit Indiatimes Events. Ramadan Mubarak 2024: During Ramadan, Muslims believe that heaven's gates are open and hell's gates are closed. It's a time for mercy, forgiveness, and spiritual growth. Muslims eagerly await the start of Ramadan, also known as Ramzan/Ramzaan/Ramazan, when they fast and remember when the Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad. In Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn till sunset, but it's not just about abstaining from food and drink. It's also about controlling one's actions and thoughts, helping those in need, and getting closer to Allah. It's a time for self-reflection, patience, and building good habits. In Saudi Arabia, the Supreme Court asks Muslims to look for the crescent moon to mark the start of Ramadan. If seen on Sunday, March 10 evening, fasting begins the next day. If not, it starts the day after. People who see the moon are asked to report it to the court. This tradition of moon sighting is important for Muslims as it signals the start of Ramadan and the time for fasting, charity, and worship. Ramadan Mubarak wishes image | Photo: Canva As the holy month of Ramadan Mubarak 2024 approaches, it's a time for devout Muslims worldwide to embrace spirituality, reflect on their faith, and strengthen bonds with loved ones. Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, holds immense significance in the hearts of millions around the globe. It's a period of fasting, prayer, self-discipline, and acts of charity, all aimed at attaining spiritual growth and closeness to Allah. Ramadan Mubarak Wishes, Messages And Images For Friends And Family Ramadan Mubarak 2024 is expected to begin on Monday, 11 March, and it's the perfect time to extend warm wishes and heartfelt messages to our cherished friends and beloved family members. As we embark on this sacred journey of fasting, prayer, and reflection, let's take a moment to express our love, gratitude, and blessings to those who hold a special place in our hearts. Here are special Ramadan Mubarak wishes and messages to share with your friends and family: Ramadan Mubarak to my dear friends and family! May this holy month bring you peace, joy, and countless blessings. Wishing you a Ramadan filled with love, laughter, and moments of spiritual growth. Ramadan Mubarak to you and your family! As we fast and pray during this blessed month, may our bond as friends and family grow stronger than ever. Ramadan Mubarak! Sending you warm wishes for a Ramadan filled with peace, prosperity, and happiness. May Allah bless you and your loved ones abundantly. Ramadan Mubarak wishes image | Photo: Canva Ramadan Mubarak to my wonderful friends and family! May this month bring you closer to Allah and fill your hearts with His divine grace. May the spirit of Ramadan illuminate your path and guide you towards righteousness. Wishing you a blessed Ramadan Mubarak! As the crescent moon shines bright, may your days be filled with blessings and your nights with peace. Ramadan Mubarak to you and your family! May the blessings of Ramadan fill your home with warmth and your heart with joy. Wishing you a blessed and prosperous Ramadan! Ramadan Mubarak! May this holy month bring you closer to your loved ones and closer to Allah's divine mercy. As we fast from dawn to dusk, let's remember the less fortunate and strive to make a positive difference in their lives. Ramadan Mubarak, dear friends and family! Wishing you a Ramadan filled with forgiveness, compassion, and spiritual enlightenment. Ramadan Mubarak to you and your loved ones! May the spirit of Ramadan inspire you to be a better person, a kinder friend, and a more loving family member. Ramadan Mubarak! In this blessed month of Ramadan, may your prayers be answered, your sins forgiven, and your heart filled with gratitude. Ramadan Mubarak, dear friends and family! Ramadan Mubarak wishes image | Photo: Canva Ramadan Mubarak to my dear friends and family! May this month be a time of reflection, renewal, and spiritual growth for all of us. As we fast and pray together, let's cherish the moments of togetherness and strengthen the bonds of friendship and family. Ramadan Mubarak! May the blessings of Ramadan fill your home with happiness, your heart with love, and your life with peace. Ramadan Mubarak to you and your family! Wishing you a Ramadan filled with blessings, forgiveness, and divine guidance. Ramadan Mubarak, dear friends and family! As the holy month of Ramadan begins, may Allah shower His mercy upon you and your loved ones. Ramadan Mubarak! May the light of Ramadan illuminate your path and lead you to success, happiness, and eternal bliss. Ramadan Mubarak to you and your family! Ramadan Mubarak to my dear friends and family! May this month be a time of spiritual reflection, growth, and renewal for all of us. As we fast and pray, let's remember the true essence of Ramadan to be grateful for our blessings and compassionate towards others. Ramadan Mubarak! Wishing you a Ramadan filled with peace, prosperity, and countless blessings. May Allah's divine guidance be with you and your family always. Ramadan Mubarak! Ramadan Mubarak to my wonderful friends and family! May this month be a time of spiritual rejuvenation and inner peace for all of us. May the spirit of Ramadan fill your heart with love, your soul with peace, and your life with happiness. Ramadan Mubarak to you and your family! Ramadan Mubarak wishes image | Photo: Canva As we fast and pray, let's strive to be better individuals, kinder friends, and more loving family members. Ramadan Mubarak, dear friends and family! Wishing you a Ramadan filled with blessings, forgiveness, and moments of profound reflection. Ramadan Mubarak to you and your loved ones! May the holy month of Ramadan bring you closer to Allah and closer to those you cherish. Ramadan Mubarak, dear friends and family! As the blessed month of Ramadan begins, may your heart be filled with love, your soul with peace, and your life with joy. Ramadan Mubarak! Wishing you a Ramadan filled with blessings, happiness, and spiritual enlightenment. May Allah's divine mercy be upon you and your family always. Ramadan Mubarak! Ramadan Mubarak to my dear friends and family! May this month be a time of reflection, gratitude, and spiritual growth for all of us. Special Ramadan wishes and messages to send your loved ones Wishing you a joyful Ramadan and a blessed Eid al-Fitr ahead! May this holy month be filled with mercy and abundant blessings. Ramadan Kareem! Happy Ramadan! Happy Eid Mubarak! May your iftar be a delightful gathering of delicious food, cherished family, and dear friends. I hope that this Ramadan brings you all that you aspire for. I wish you enjoy everything that Ramadan has to offer. Enjoy a tranquil Ramadan. This Ramadan, may all of your duas be granted. Sending wishes for compassion and devotion during the day, and moments of nourishment and community during the night. Happy Ramadan! I hope your fast is simple. May your righteous actions be richly rewarded throughout this holy month. May all your sincere wishes find fulfillment on the Night of Power. I hope you like the beautiful reading of the Holy Quran. May we begin this Ramadan in safety, faith, and tranquilly. May this Ramadan draw you closer to God and strengthen your bonds with those you hold dear. Let your sacrifice and devotion stand as a testimony, witnessed by the Almighty. May your Ramadan efforts be rewarded and may you be given whatever you desire. May this Ramadan bring clarity and a deepened connection in your spiritual journey. May your days be filled with good deeds, heartfelt prayers, and the company of wonderful people. May you have a successful Ramadan. Wishing you a pleasant Ramadan and a happy Eid. Wishing you an enlightening Ramadan where goodness reflects in every aspect of your life. May this month be a source of positive transformation. Ramadan Kareem! I hope you have a nice Eid. Have a restorative Ramadan, filled with moments of reflection, gratitude, and inner peace. May your iftar be a time of love and nourishment for your soul. I hope your Ramadan and Eid are filled with love, peace, and joy. My best wishes to you and family for this Ramadan and Eid. Enjoy your upcoming Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr! Ramadan Mubarak 2024 wishes in Hindi and Urdu Ramadan Mubarak ho, Khuda se dua karte hain ki aapki ibadat qubool ho. (Ramadan Mubarak, we pray to God that your prayers are accepted.) Is Ramadan mein aapki zindagi ko barkat mile, khushiyan aayein aur aapki har dua qubool ho. (May this Ramadan bring blessings to your life, happiness and all your prayers are answered.) Ramadan ke mahine mein aapki rooh ki shanti aur mann ki shanti dono mile. (May this month of Ramadan bring peace to your soul and mind.) Is Ramadan mein aapko sabar aur taqwa ki taufiq mile aur aapki imaan mazboot ho. (May this Ramadan give you the ability to have patience and righteousness and strengthen your faith.) Ramadan ka mahina hai, ismein Allah se kareebi banna zaroori hai. (Ramadan is a month to become closer to Allah.) Is Ramadan mein aapko khud ki nafsiyat se ladna sikhaaye aur aapki zindagi ko naye raaste dikhaye. (May this Ramadan teach you to fight against your ego and show you new paths in life.) Is Ramadan mein aapki rooh ki taqat aur jazbaat ki gehraai badhein. (May this Ramadan increase the strength of your soul and depth of your emotions.) Ramadan Mubarak! Khuda kare yeh mahina aapke liye barkat se bhara ho aur aapke sabhi armaan poore hon.(Ramadan Mubarak! May this month be filled with blessings for you and may all your wishes come true.) Ramzan ke mahine mein aapke ghar ki barkat aur khushiyan chaa jayein. Ramadan Mubarak!( May your home be filled with blessings and happiness during the month of Ramadan. Ramadan Mubarak!) Is Ramadan mein aapka roza pura ho aur aap ibadat aur khidmat ke liye tayyar ho. Ramadan Mubarak! (May your fasts be complete and may you be ready for worship and service during this Ramadan. Ramadan Mubarak!) Allah aapko is Ramadan mein apni rehmat se nawaze aur aapki har dua qubool karein. Ramadan Mubarak! (May Allah bless you with His mercy during this Ramadan and may all your prayers be answered. Ramadan Mubarak!) Ramzan ki roshni mein aapka ghar, aapke dil aur aapki zindagi khushiyon se bhar jayein. Ramadan Mubarak! (May the light of Ramadan fill your home, your heart, and your life with happiness. Ramadan Mubarak!) Is Ramadan mein aapki zindagi mein khushiyan, aapke dil mein shanti aur aapke ghar mein barkat ho. Ramadan Mubarak! (May this Ramadan bring happiness to your life, peace to your heart, and blessings to your home. Ramadan Mubarak!) Ramzan ka mahina hai, isliye khushiyan bhi hai. Allah aapko apni rehmat se nawazein. Ramadan Mubarak!( It's the month of Ramadan, so there's happiness too. May Allah bless you with His mercy. Ramadan Mubarak!) Ramzan ke mahine mein aapke saare gham aur takleef door ho jayein aur aapki zindagi me khushiyan bhar jayein. Ramadan Mubarak! (May all your sorrows and troubles be lifted during the month of Ramadan and may your life be filled with happiness. Ramadan Mubarak!) Is Ramadan mein aapko sirf khushiyan aur pyaar mile, aur duniya ki har burai se aap door rahein. Ramadan Mubarak!(May you only receive happiness and love during this Ramadan, and may you stay away from all the evils of the world. Ramadan Mubarak!) Ramzan ka mahina hai, isliye duaon ka mahina bhi hai. Allah aapko apni rehmat se nawazein aur aapki har dua qubool karein. Ramadan Mubarak! (Translation: It's the month of Ramadan, so it's also a month of prayers. May Allah bless you with His mercy and answer all your prayers. Ramadan Mubarak!) (Note: Dates/timings may be subject to change; details mentioned here are as per the information available.) For more informative articles on historical and upcoming events from around the world, please visit Indiatimes Events Vintage Indian fashion magazine covers hold a special place in the hearts of fashion enthusiasts, serving as timeless reminders of the country's rich sartorial history. Let's take a trip down memory lane and explore nine iconic magazine covers that captivated audiences and left a lasting impression. Here are some of our favourites: 1) Sharmila Tagore, 1966 Filmfare Filmfare Sharmila Tagore made history as Indias first actress to grace a magazine cover wearing a bikini. The iconic moment occurred in 1966 when Tagore caused quite a sensation by appearing on the cover of Filmfare magazine, radiating elegance in a monochrome bikini. Tagore's bold choice to flaunt a bikini on the cover challenged societal norms and sparked a significant cultural conversation. Her confident portrayal shattered stereotypes and pushed the boundaries of Indian cinema, earning her widespread acclaim and admiration. 2) Meena Kumari, 1972 Filmfare Filmfare In what can only be described as a tribute to the legendary Meena Kumari, the May 1972 issue of Filmfare magazine featured the iconic actress posthumously on its cover, marking a poignant moment in Bollywood history. Meena Kumari, often hailed as the "Tragedy Queen" of Indian cinema, graced the cover in a manner befitting her timeless elegance and grace. With the poignant headline, "A star is dead," the issue paid homage to the unparalleled contributions of the beloved actress to film industry. 3) Parveen Babi, 1976 TIME TIME Parveen Babi, one of the first-generation glam icons of Hindi cinema, made history as the first Indian movie star to grace the cover of Time magazine in 1976. The cover story, titled "Asias Frenetic Film Scene," captured Babi's timeless beauty and undeniable charisma, showcasing her as a trailblazer far ahead of her time. Babi's presence on the iconic cover not only elevated her status as a global icon but also shed light on the burgeoning Indian film industry, highlighting its significance on the international stage. Her persona captivated audiences worldwide, making her a symbol of glamour and sophistication. 4) Urmila & Juhi, 1995 Stardust stardust The late 90s Stardust cover featured two of the most stunning actresses of the era, Urmila Matondkar and Juhi Chawla, setting the cover on fire with their sensational photoshoot. The cover captured the essence of their beauty and charisma, radiating a magnetic charm that captivated audiences. 5) Mandira Bedi, 2007 Maxim MAXIM In April 2007, Maxim magazine stirred up a whirlwind of excitement with its cover featuring the stunning Mandira Bedi. Bedecked in a golden bikini adorned with a jacket and a low-waist pants, Bedi exuded a mesmerizing allure that captivated readers. However, it wasn't just her glamorous attire that caught the public's attention; it was also the striking Ek Onkar tattoo adorning her midriff that sparked both fascination and controversy. The Ek Onkar, a symbol representing the concept of the one supreme reality and the Sikh motto, "God is one," raised eyebrows and ignited debates about cultural appropriation and religious symbolism. While some lauded Bedi's boldness and individuality, others criticized what they perceived as a lack of respect for religious sentiments. 6) Rekha, 2023 Vogue VOGUE In a spellbinding showcase of grace and sophistication, veteran Bollywood diva Rekha enraptured the masses with the cover of Vogue Arabia magazine, unveiled in July, 2023. Clad in a series of royal ensembles crafted by the esteemed fashion maestro Manish Malhotra, Rekha's celestial aura exuded an aura of majestic allure. The captivating visuals from her photo shoot, unveiled by Vogue Arabia via Instagram, unveiled a tapestry of elegance, heritage, and uncompromising poise. Each resplendent ensemble worn by Rekha narrated a tale of timeless glamour affirming her as personality of sartorial magnificence and style. For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News. Bengaluru is in the grip of an acute water shortage, that has disrupted normal life beyond ways that one could imagine. The disruption of the water supply has left houses, apartments, and residential societies high and dry. People have been left with no water to drink, cook, or in some cases use the washroom and some are taking desperate measures. BCCL No regular water supply since a month "It has been more than a month since we received a regular round-the-clock supply of water in our flat in Prestige Falcon City. Now the situation is beyond the limits of what can be called inhabitable," a post on Reddit said. According to the post, there is no water during the daytime, when they do get it during the night it is muddy and unfit for bathing. Can't cook or wash "The residents association has called for the use of wet wipes and disposable cutlery for washing and eating. Most of the tenants have vacated while others have moved to temporary accommodation," the post said. AFP No water to use toilets "You get to smell the stink of unflushed human excreta in toilet bowls from far away. It's not uncommon to see a line of residents going to the nearby Forum Mall to do their business," it added. According to the post, people have been left with no choice but to order food from outside as the utensils are not cleaned. "Some people are going to gyms along with a pair of clothes and towel to bath and come back. Too much frustration and pain to bear when you are paying EMI for 1cr+ of housing loan," the post said. BCCL Don't buy flat in Bengaluru The Reddit user concluded by urging people to" Never buy a flat in Bangalore which is dependent on tanker water forever. It's better to live in a rented home with peace of mind rather than suffer like this." For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. A spectacular light formation which shone across the night sky last weekend has baffled Aussies who questioned whether it was UFOs, chemtrails, AI overlords, aliens or Back to the Futures flux capacitor on its return journey. While the impressive string of lights, seen over Canberra and Sydney, may look like an out-of-this-world phenomenon, it is in fact a trail from the satellites behind Starlink billionaire Elon Musks global broadband internet service, operated by SpaceX which is now available in most parts of Australia. Starlink operates using a satellite dish dubbed Dishy McFlatface by Musk or Dishy for short which communicates by sending data back and forth to thousands of satellites orbiting the Earths atmosphere to provide internet download speeds of 20 Mbps to 100 Mbps. Professor Steven Tingay, executive director of the Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy, told Yahoo News Australia the trail of lights we see from Earth were the suns reflection off the satellites when the sun was below the horizon. They are reflecting light from the sun, Tingay said. Thats true of all satellites in orbit. A bizarre line of white dots in the night sky was spotted over Sutherland (left) and Canberra (right) over the weekend. Source: Facebook In the right conditions, the International Space Station and the Hubble Telescope can also be viewed from Earth, he added. While satellites adjust their positions and are seen less clearly over time, newly launched ones such as Starlink are more visible to the naked eye. Youre most likely to see satellites reflecting sunlight for a couple of hours after sunset or a couple of hours before sunrise, Tingay said. Its about pretty simple geometry. If an object is 500km altitude in orbit straight up and the sun has not set for that satellite but the sun has set for you, it can be seen below the horizon as the satellite in space is still receiving sunlight. In laymans terms, if a person was standing on a city street where the sun had set and was looking up at a skyscraper, light could be seen reflecting off the top of the building as it was still receiving sunlight. Story continues Tingay told Yahoo there were currently 5,500 Starlink satellites floating in low Earth orbit that had all been launched together from a SpaceX rocket and were following each other across the sky in a train-like formation. They stay in orbit and in the neat line we see from Earth by balancing their velocity the speed it takes to travel in a straight line and the Earth's gravitational pull. Social media was flooded with photos of Starlink satellite trails over the weekend. Source: Facebook Where are the best places and times to view the lights? Tingay told Yahoo the best places to view stars and satellites including Starlink were away from city lights on clear nights when there was no moon visible, as it brightened up the sky. If you go outside on a clear night, especially away from the city after sunset, every couple of minutes you will see a satellite, he said. When I was a kid in the 1970s, to see a satellite was a really special thing but now, not so much. Although he added, the Starlink trails were still pretty spectacular to witness. SpaceX started launching the satellites in 2019 and almost 12,000 are planned to be deployed a number which could rise to 42,000 as the Starlink customer base expands with 2.5 million subscribers already signed up to the broadband network. But the service doesn't come cheap with an upfront cost of $599 plus $30 shipping for the dish and a monthly subscription of $139 for a standard plan. Should you decide to move house, there are also relocation fees if you want to take Starlink with you. Starlink trails baffle Aussies: 'Aliens are coming' As the images of the trails were shared to social media, a number of theories emerged about what was causing them. Santa getting his gifts back from the kids that turned out to be naughty, one suggested, The end of the world, said another, while a third added it was the latest round of the Covid vaccine being mass distributed. The jokes came in thick and fast, with one more asking, Hope you have a bunker? Id head for it if you do. Thats aliens and theyre coming. While high-speed broadband was a great idea, particularly for remote communities that desperately need it, Tingay said having potentially tens of thousands of satellites in orbit was an absolute nightmare for astronomers, who collect and analyse data on stars, planets, galaxies, asteroids and comets. Starlink is the first example of a megaconstellation, with thousands of individual satellites working together, he told Yahoo. Tougher regulation over satellites needed Furthermore, as Starlink satellites along with others were low Earth orbiting at 500km to 1,000km, Tingay said that environment was becoming very congested, increasing the risks of collisions and space junk falling to the Earth's surface. He said most space debris travels at 8km per second and disintegrates as it enters the Earths atmosphere or falls into the ocean, but there were occasions when it falls on land. In 2022, a piece of space junk believed to be from a SpaceX mission landed in a paddock in NSW's Snowy Mountains and was likened to an alien obelisk. The year before, debris from a Chinese rocket hurtled towards Earth, with fears it could fall over Australia, but it eventually burned up on re-entry. Its unlikely something like that would land in a populated area, Tingay told Yahoo, but added there should be tougher regulations around sending satellites into Earths orbit to prevent future problems. To view locations of the Starlink lights across Australia click here. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Vivek Wagh, an active Instagram user, achieved a heartfelt milestone by organizing a surprise journey for his dear parents to Singapore. Capturing their genuine reactions, Wagh shared the heartwarming experience on his Instagram profile on March 4, 2024. Overjoyed parents shine in viral video The video clip captures the initial scene at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai, where Wagh's parents are seen walking, unaware of the impending surprise. Wagh ingeniously informed his parents that their destination was Jaipur, concealing the actual journey to Singapore. He then presented their passports, urging them to inspect the contents within. Upon discovering the granted visas for Singapore, Wagh's father took a moment to comprehend the unfolding surprise, while his mother, grasping the situation immediately, beamed with pride, conveying her joy and appreciation towards her son through a radiant smile. Notably, this marked the inaugural international trip for Wagh's parents, rendering the surprise even more significant. Wagh subsequently shared a series of endearing photographs capturing their experiences during the Singapore trip, further immortalizing the cherished moments. Netizens praise son's thoughtful gesture The heartwarming gesture elicited an outpouring of affection from viewers, as evident from the comments section. Many expressed admiration for the thoughtful act, aspiring to emulate such gestures with their own parents in the future. Since its posting, the initial video has amassed nearly 3,30,000 likes along with a considerable number of views, underscoring its resonance with audiences across social media platforms. Vivek Wagh's heartwarming surprise trip for his parents embodies the deep bond shared between family members and the significance of creating enduring memories together. His thoughtful gesture inspires others to prioritize familial connections and cherish the moments spent with loved ones. Through acts of kindness and love, many individuals may find joy in creating unforgettable experiences with their families, strengthening the bonds that unite them. For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. In a country that was written off by many of its critics, two sisters are doing something next to impossible - defying the Taliban. The restrictive measures of the Taliban regime might have scared the men of Afghan society, but these girls, with their grit and resolve, are making the world listen to their tunes and recognising their talent. Despite the inherent risks faced by musicians in Afghanistan, the Kabul sisters initiated the Last Torch, a singing movement on social media that transcended national borders. In a recorded video, one sister told BBC that the potential life-threatening consequences of their actions before embarking on their melody. Marcela Laskoski, Unsplash Music goes viral Their debut song, released in August 2021, swiftly went viral, resonating on platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp. Operating under the pseudonyms Shaqayeq and Mashal, the sisters, donned in burkas to conceal their identities, lack a musical background but have become a phenomenon in the global music scene. The Last Torch's songs, performed beneath their burkas, tackle themes such as women's constraints, activist imprisonment, and human rights violations. Despite having released only seven songs to date, each has strongly resonated with women across the world, leading to fans posting their own performances on social media, sometimes disguising themselves with burkas. Jefferson Santos, Unsplash Dangers posed by Taliban The sisters, aware of the dangers posed by the Taliban, have experienced fear and sleepless nights, anticipating potential identification. Despite leaving Afghanistan last year for safety, they aspire to return soon. The Taliban's opposition to music, viewing it as antithetical to Islam, has been evident in the burning of musical instruments and the arrest of musicians. The Last Torch's defiance through music challenges the Taliban's restrictive measures, particularly against women. Threats on social media The sisters continue to face threats on social media, but their determination to use their music as a tool of international resistance remains unwavering. The crackdown on activism in Kabul, including the ban on women holding rallies and the arrest of those defying the ban, is a backdrop against which the Last Torch's recent songs focus on imprisoned female activists, highlighting their plight. Shaqayeq and Mashal's ongoing efforts seek to amplify the voices of women globally fighting for freedom, as they assert, "Our voice won't be silenced. We are not tired. It's just the beginning of our fight." Sisters' names have been changed in various reports for safety An elderly Chinese woman inadvertently caused a 4-hour delay to a China Southern Airlines flight after she tossed a few coins into the aircraft's engine. The incident was reported from Sanya in Hainan Province on Wednesday. The woman, said to be in her 80 was scheduled to travel on China Southern Airlines flight CZ8805 from Sanya to Beijing. AIRBUS Good luck coins turn bad luck for others But before she boarded the flight, the woman threw a few coins into the engine of the Airbus A350. It is an old custom in China, and many believe that it will bring good luck. But in this case, tossing the coins into the aircraft's engine did not bring any good luck but ended up becoming a headache for other passengers and the airline. As soon as she tossed the coins into the flight's engine, the woman was confronted by an airline staff. Flight delayed by four hours Up on inquiring, the woman told the airline staff that she had tossed 3-5 coins into the engine. China Southern Airlines Following this, the passenger who threw the coins was taken away by airport police, and the airline's staff managed to retrieve them from the engine. Uncivilised behaviour: Airline Later, in a post on Weibo, China Southern Airline issued a statement warning passengers not to take part in uncivilized behaviors. Throwing coins at the plane poses a threat to aviation safety and will result in different levels of punishment, it said. This is not the first time Chinese airlines have been hit by 'lucky coins' tossed by passengers. China Southern Airlines Not a problem limited to China Tossing coins to bring good luck is not a phenomenon limited to China either. Last month, a zoo in the US state of Nebraska had found 70 coins inside the stomach of one of their white alligators. According to the zoo, the coins that were found inside the alligator could have been thrown into the water by visitors. For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. In a heart-stopping moment at the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas, two zookeepers found themselves face-to-face with Elmo, the silverback gorilla, in the World of Primates exhibit. Gorilla's fierce move caught on viral TikTok clip The now-viral TikTok clip, garnering 14 million views, depicts Elmo appearing to charge aggressively towards one of the zookeepers. The footage shows the zookeeper sprinting and grasping for a door, urgently employing a two-way radio to summon help. Screengrab Elmo then collides with a bucket of food before pausing to scrutinize the zookeeper standing at the doorway. Ben, identified as the "responding security officer" at the time, shared the video today on his TikTok page, @ben306069. Zoo staff stays calm amid gorilla chaos The video also showcases a second zookeeper initially trapped until Elmo moved away from the enclosure's exit. The staff member vigilantly monitors the gorilla's movements, remaining motionless after placing an object on the ground. When Elmo retreats to a corner of the enclosure, the second zookeeper makes their escape. In the background, a woman and a man can be heard praying for the zookeepers' safety as they navigate out of the area. Unsplash| Representational Image "God help her. God help her. God help her," a woman's voice echoes in the TikTok footage. "Please protect her," a man adds. As the second zookeeper makes their getaway, a bystander expresses gratitude, saying, "Thank you, Lord." Zookeepers safely escape from gorilla enclosure The comments section of the video is flooded with TikTok users acknowledging the prayers heard in the background. Reportedly, the zookeepers managed to extricate themselves from the situation safely. Elmo, the silverback gorilla, marked his 34th birthday on March 5, as announced in a Facebook post by the Gorilla Species Survival Plan (SSP), a nonprofit organization headquartered in Ohio. Archive photo of Elmo after one of his children, Gus, was born. Image by Fort Worth Zoo This gripping encounter highlights the unpredictable nature of working with wild animals. Despite the tense moments, both zookeepers and Elmo emerged unharmed, emphasizing the importance of safety protocols in such environments. For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. Shyngle Wigwe, the biological father of late billionaire business mogul and former Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings, Dr Herbert Wigwe, on Saturday, slumped and rushed to a nearby hospital for immediate treatment. This was made known by a popular influencer on X(formerly Twitter), Tony Ogbuagu who denied the purported death of the late billionaires father. He wrote: Herbert Wigwes father is not dead please. He only slumped and has been taken to the hospital. Make una slow down with all these bad news. READ MORE: P.A To Late Herbert Wigwe Describes How Luggage Issues Prevented Him From Taking Ill-Fated Flight INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that at the burial service for Wigwe, his wife Doreen, and son Chizzy, including hundreds of mourners, dignitaries, and visitors arrived at the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Isiokpo in the Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State. Logos Olori, a DMW signee, warned music fans to be wary of him after claiming to be better than all of their favourite artists. In the midst of Davido and BNXNs continuing music war, the upcoming artist resorted to Twitter to voice his opinion. The musician claimed his discography is top-tier, and Nigerians will soon recognise his excellence. He wrote, My discography >>>>>>> you go Gree soon !! Im better than your fav ..na small small ,. Una go find out His outburst elicited a wide range of reactions from internet users, many of whom claimed to be unfamiliar with the performer. READ MORE: Yul Edochie Disclosed Relationship He Shares With Crossdresser, Bobrisky See some reactions to his assertion, @FrancisKevi claimed: Better than Burna and wiz combined @OlaseniFeyisayo commented: They dont even know you in your record label @__arike_adey added: Sorry can you please remind us what your name is again? @UltraTV90 said: God of thunder dey hear me so : I never jam your music anywhere for Nigeria before, even for Beer Parlor Barry Jhay & Balloranking get apprentice @OloriofOloris said: Youre bigger than them! Your discography is amazing! Number one in Nigeria. What song did you sing again though? @officialkhypo wrote: Na Davido be my fave.. so you better pass davido ??? @starboylekzy1 asked: who gassed this one ? SEE POST: The Kaduna State Government has reportedly contacted the bandits who kidnapped 287 abducted pupils and teachers of the Government Secondary School and LEA Primary School, Kuriga 1, in the Chikun Local Government Area of the State. Recall that the bandits had stormed the LEA Primary School, Kuriga, around 8.30 am on Thursday, shortly after the assembly gathering and abducted the pupils and some staff members of the schools. Meanwhile, an anonymous source at the Kaduna State Government House, who is close to the negotiations stated in a chat with Punch that the State had reached out to the bandits through a private negotiator for the release of the victims. According to the source, the private negotiator is a highly influential person who has negotiated several abductions with bandits in the past. The military has begun combing the forests in search of the children kidnapped by the bandits. Security agents have cordoned off the area and they have started searching for the abducted pupils. READ ALSO: Constitution Riddled With Contradictions, Time To Adopt Parliamentary System Onaiyekan The government is doing all it can for the speedy release of the abducted school pupils. The government has established contact and reached out to the bandits for negotiation through a popular bandit negotiator. The negotiator was the one who worked for the return of some of the students abducted some years back. He (the negotiator) had negotiated the return of so many abductees in the past. He negotiated the return of those students abducted in Katsina State years back. Governor Uba Sani, who visited the school on Thursday, gave an assurance to the parents and families of the victims that the abducted pupils would be rescued unhurt. Also, President Bola Tinubu has directed the security agencies to ensure the immediate release of the students and their teachers and also the female IDPs in Borno State. The son of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-rufai, Bello, has declared that the northern part of Nigeria has many problems. Bello identified some of the major problems as overpopulation and undereducation. He also added that the bandits responsible for criminal activities, including killings and kidnaps, are not Muslims. The lawmaker, representing Kaduna North Federal Constituency also described the Islamic cleric who recently called for the death of First Lady Remi Tinubu as an idiot. He said: Theres an idiot cleric who came out and wished Her Excellency, the First Lady, Senator Remi Tinubu dies. I certainly hope the DSS are not taking his apology. READ MORE: Ill Expose Ex Governors Who Looted Kaduna Dry El Rufai The north has a problem, were overpopulated, were undereducated. Bandits are not Muslims they love their cows, they dont pray, they love their cows, they dont have knowledge of the Quran. I have colleagues that get calls everyday that somebody has been kidnapped. If I get calls like that, I might resign. Operatives of Abia State Police Command, busted a baby factory in Aba and rescued 16 pregnant inmates. In a statement made available on Friday, the spokesperson of the Abia State Police Command, Maureen Chinaka, disclosed that the state command arrested the operators of the baby factory, identified as Onyinyechi Okoro and Ekene Okezie, during a raid on their hideout on Thursday. She added that the location of the baby factory in Aba was withheld to avoid compromising the ongoing investigation. Also parading the inmates on Friday, an operative of the Rapid Response Squad that led the operation said that the rescue followed credible information by locals at their disposal. READ MORE: Police Bust Baby Factory In Rivers, Rescue Six Pregnant Girls The RRS operative said: Yesterday night, we decided to visit the place, a four-story building with 10 flats and another adjacent building in the same compound. We were able to capture 16 of them, all pregnant. One of the facilitators, Onyinyechi, was also pregnant and another, Ekpene (male) who lives in the compound was also arrested and eight children were recovered. Meanwhile, Blessing Okon, Blessing Ede, Glory John, Josephine Asuquo, Promise Akpan, and Joy Edet are the others were rescued during the operation. The police also rescued Goodness Peter, Ifeoma Ozoemena, Victoria Robert, Blessed Monday, Victoria Liberty, and Anita Sunday. Five girls, China Marvelous, Nancy Sunday, Marvelous Sunday, Martha Ubong, and Deborah Ndifreke, are among the eight children who were rescued during the operation. Victor Aniebeti, Goodness Destiny, and Praise Answer were three of the male children who were saved. The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), led by its President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Saad Abubakar III, has issued a summons to Muslims across the country to begin the search for the Ramadan moon for 2024 (1445 AH) on Sunday. According to Prof. Salisu Shehu, Deputy Secretary General of the NSCIA in a statement on Friday, the Council advised the Muslim Ummah to observe the crescent of Ramadan 1445 on the indicated day, which is the 29th of Shaaban 1445 AH. He remarked that Sultan Abubakar congratulates the entire Muslim Ummah on the impending 1445 AH Ramadan fast. The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, under the leadership of its President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Saad Abubakar, CFR, mni, felicitates the entire Muslim Ummah on the auspicious occasion of the forthcoming 1445 AH Ramadan Fast. The Council prays that Allah spare the lives of every Muslim to participate in the ibaadah exercise and to maximize the benefits therein. Consequent upon the advice of the National Moon Sighting Committee (NMSC), the President-General enjoins the Nigerian Muslim Ummah to search for the crescent of Ramadan 1445 AH immediately after sunset on Sunday, March 10, 2024, which is equivalent to 29th Shaaban 1445 AH. If the crescent is sighted by Muslims of impeccable character on the said evening, then His Eminence would declare Monday, 11th March 2024 as the first day of Ramadan 1445 AH. If, however, the crescent is not sighted that day, then, Tuesday, 12th March 2024, automatically becomes the first of Ramadan, 1445 AH, the statement partly read. He also stated that, considering the current economic climate, the council is encouraging wealthy Muslims in the country to perform acts of charity for the less fortunate in their communities before, during, and after Ramadan. The council urged traders not to hoard food or raise consumer prices excessively during the fast. He further advised Muslims to use the holy month of Ramadan to pray to Allah for the Palestinians divine support and liberation from their oppressors. READ MORE: Portable Is More Relevant Than Wizkid Dammy Krane Spills The Council hereby enjoins the Muslims all over the country to be on the lookout for the Ramadan crescent on the night of Sunday 10th of March 2024 and await the official announcement by His Eminence, the President-General of NSCIA, on the commencement of the 1445 AH Ramadan fast. We wish all Nigerian Muslims and their counterparts all over the world happy Ramadan in advance, Shehu said. Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo has spoken for the first time since taking office with Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, a Tuvalu official says, after the Pacific Island leader called for changes to a landmark bilateral treaty. Teo, announced as prime minister after a January election, has said he wants changes to some security provisions in the security and climate migration treaty signed in November. The two leaders spoke by telephone on Friday, the Tuvalu official said, without giving details of the conversation. Albanese's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Falepili Union treaty allows 280 people a year to migrate from Tuvalu, an island nation of 11,000 people that is threatened by rising sea levels caused by climate change. Under the treaty Australia provides Tuvalu with a defence guarantee and can vet a wide range of its security arrangements with other countries, from port, energy, cyber and telecommunications to policing. "That arrangement, which requires Australia and Tuvalu to mutually agree before Tuvalu embarks on discussing other security arrangements, is perceived generally as an encroachment on Tuvalu's sovereignty," Teo told Sky News. Tuvalu is one of just 12 nations to maintain an official diplomatic relationship with Taiwan, as China has made increasing inroads into the Pacific Islands region, building ports and seeking a policing role. Taiwan's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs James Tien visited Tuvalu this week to reaffirm ties. Suspected gunmen have killed a middle-age man, identified as Danjuma Emokpaire, in his farm on Friday at Ubune-Ivbiaro Community in Owan-East Local Government Area of Edo State. It was gathered that the deceased was attacked by the armed men while leaving the farm after the days work. According to a resident, who spoke to PUNCH on anonymity, said Emokpaire told him and others that he was going to the farm on Friday to plant yam seedlings. REAF MORE: Edo Police Nab Four Kano Kidnappers After Collecting Ransom However, they became worried when the deceased was not seen at home on Saturday morning, and they launched a search and discovered him dead at his farm. The resident said: There was heavy rainfall on Friday night, so people did not know if he returned from the farm or not. But this (Saturday) morning, when he was not seen around, some persons went to his house and found it locked from the outside. So, we went in search for him at the farm and unfortunately, we found him dead. What we see around the scene of the incident indicated that he was attack and kill while on his motorcycle. There was no sign of struggle between him and his assailants. The motorbike was damaged, his cutlass and mobile phone were taken away by the murderers. The incident has been reported to the Afuze Divisional Police, and some officers were sent to the community who went with us to the farm. The Kaduna State Government, on Saturday, denied reports of negotiating with bandits and other criminals in the State. According to the State, it didnt categorically hire a private negotiator to facilitate the release of abducted schoolchildren. Recall that, on Thursday morning, bandits abducted over 287 students from a primary and secondary school in the Kuriga community in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna. Muhammad Lawal Shehu, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Uba Sani, said the States policy on dealing with terrorists remains unchanged. READ ALSO: Kaduna Govt. Allegedly Hires Bandits Negotiator To Secure Release Of Kidnapped Students We wish to state categorically that the Kaduna State Government did not hire any private negotiator, neither are we contemplating making such a move. The Kaduna state government has a clear policy on non-negotiation with terrorists, bandits and other criminal elements, Shehu noted. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had since directed security operatives to do everything possible to rescue the victims. Police commissioner Kevin Bethel speaks to the media near where eight juveniles were shot at the corner of Cottman Avenue and Rising Sun Avenue on Wednesday. Read more Philadelphia police on Friday said they were making progress in the investigations into two shootings outside of separate high schools this week in which 11 students were struck by gunfire, one fatally, shortly after school was dismissed. Were making great progress. Ill leave it at that, Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said Friday. The men and women have done a phenomenal job since the incident happened Monday, and I could not be more proud of them. We hope to have something to report soon as to where we are. While developments in the case remain unclear, its a sign police may have recovered evidence in the getaway car officers recovered a few hours after the shooting Wednesday in the Northeast, which left eight teens injured. A source close to the investigation said Thursday that detectives were hoping the car was equipped with a smart technology system that would track its earlier locations and the phones recently hooked up to it something that has been key to solving shootings in the past, including the one outside Roxborough High School in 2022. Bethel, following a two-hour, closed-door meeting with dozens of top city and law enforcement officials to discuss the rash of shootings, said that the department flooded school corridors with officers Thursday and Friday, and that officials would reevaluate things Monday. The talk of progress came on the same day that the family of Dayemen Taylor gathered to memorialize and bury the 17-year-old Imhotep student. Taylor was shot and killed on Monday, minutes after he left school, when two people with guns ambushed him and a group of kids stepping onto the bus. Two other Imhotep students were injured, and two women on the bus were also struck. A Janazah, a Muslim prayer service, was held for Taylor at Khadijah Alderman Funeral Home Friday morning, and he was buried at Chelten Hills Cemetery shortly after. Taylors family has declined to speak as they grieve the loss, but school officials described him as a bright, compassionate young man filled with school spirit, and who came from a family with a long line of Imhotep alums. Advertisement Meanwhile, those who survived the shooting continued to recover. A 16-year-old who was grazed by a bullet in the back of his left shoulder had returned home, his brother said, and has sought comfort in ordinary moments. The siblings have focused on doing laundry, playing charades, and watching the new Avatar series, said the 21-year-old brother, who asked not to be identified for privacy reasons. The family has been drawn strength from their Christian faith, grateful that doctors said the boy should be physically healed within the next two weeks. Were just trying to get back to normal, said the brother. Just doing some of the things that kind of make us happy or things we know that we can do without really thinking about too much. The 16-year-old was waiting for his bus transfer to get home when the shots erupted, and he started running. Once he was far enough way to feel safe, the teen felt a burning sensation in his back, the brother said, and a passerby said he was bleeding. The boy called his mother and sister, who picked him up and took him to Temple University Hospitals Jeanes Campus. The brother said he senses an internal struggle within his parents who have done everything right in trying to protect their children, encouraging them to come home right after school activities and stay safe. But that wasnt enough, and he worries they may become overprotective. Still, the family recognizes that many of the forces driving violence in the city are beyond their control. I know they banned ski masks not too long ago, but the weapons are still out there, said the brother. I think until gun laws get as strict as they can possibly get, then unfortunately things like this could keep happening. And nobody wants that. Staff writer Anna Orso contributed to this article. Terrez McCleary, cofounder of the group Moms Bonded by Grief, is one of the many women who have turned their darkest moments into activism and action, writes Helen Ubinas. Read more Its been three weeks since Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, stunned the world when she took to a Munich stage moments after reports of her husbands death in prison. She has vowed to keep his work and legacy alive. Ever since, Ive been thinking about all of the Ms. Navalnayas on the streets of Philadelphia, who, without the attention of the international press, every day take on the mantle that was foisted upon them by gun violence. They are women like those who were honored recently after a panel discussion hosted by the Philadelphia chapter of Moms Demand Action, Black women leading the way in gun violence prevention in our city. These women have had to make a way out of no way well before we came around, Moms Demand Action Executive Director Angela Ferrell-Zabala told me. When no one else seemed to care how to take care of their communities, when they were losing their own children and their friends and family. Ive long known and written about many of them, including Terrez McCleary, whose 21-year-old daughter, Tamara Johnson, was shot and killed on Easter in 2009, and later created Moms Bonded By Grief. And then theres Chantay Love, a founder of the Every Murder Is Real (E.M.I.R.) Healing Center, a nonprofit named after her 20-year-old brother who was shot and killed in 1997, and Tahira Fortune, who created Voices By Choices after she lost her 18-year-old son, Samir, in 2017. You know what Fortune wanted to talk about when I called to congratulate her on being honored? She kept steering the conversation back to other mothers who had more recently joined the unenviable club of eternal grief. Advertisement Theres so many, she said of women who have little choice but to turn their darkest moments into activism and action. We can sometimes see what that looks like, when the world turns its gaze to brave women like Navalnaya as she chooses courage in the face of calamity. Closer to home, these moments are less public but no less dramatic. With tears streaming down their faces, and in some instances, their loved ones blood yet to be cleaned off the sidewalk, the women leading the gun violence movement in Philadelphia reach back to the rest of us who, at any minute, could be standing in their shoes. These are women like Debbie Fortune (no relation to Tahira Fortune), who was also honored at the event. Fortune, a Germantown block captain, lost two sons to gun violence: Lonnie Workman, 32, in 2012, and Victor Workman, 37, in 2022. I was ashamed to admit that I didnt recognize her name, and when I searched for stories about her, I found only a spattering of accounts that didnt go much past the basic details of her sons deaths. What was missing in those accounts was that when her oldest son Lonnie was killed nine doors from her home, people assumed shed leave Philadelphia, but she didnt. And when her youngest son Victor was killed 10 years later in 2022, she still remained. Im not running, she told me, because there are other children in her neighborhood who deserve futures free of fear and violence. Almost as soon as I typed those words, news came that there had been a mass shooting in the Burholme section of Northeast Philadelphia at a busy bus stop at Cottman and Rising Sun Avenues. Eight Northeast High School students between the ages of 15 to 17 were shot. Over 30 shots were fired. Speaking in the pouring rain at the scene of the shooting, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said the city will not be held hostage by gun violence. I appreciated her sentiment, but the reality is that our city has long been seized by relentless violence as leader after leader has failed its most vulnerable residents. Enough is enough, Parker said. I hope, for once, that turns out to be true. Just a day earlier, she told a group of gun violence prevention advocates and residents who had lost loved ones to shootings that her administration would create a standard operating procedure for how the city responds to families affected by homicide. Its the least we can do as their numbers just keep growing in our city. These women are the backbone of the gun violence prevention movement, usually by no choice of their own. They owe us nothing but they give their all. In turn, we owe them everything. Now that the primaries have all but confirmed Donald Trump as the GOPs presidential candidate, he is already displaying the way he intends to conduct foreign policy if reelected. He plans to be a one-man show, in cahoots with authoritarian rulers whose unfettered power he admires. In the unlikely case youve forgotten Trumps long history of autocrat envy, you had only to observe Trumps hosting of far-right Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at Mar-a-Lago on Friday. A longtime favorite of Trumps, Orban is the most antidemocratic and openly racist (and antisemitic) leader in Europe. He is also the most anti-Ukraine and pro-Moscow leader in the European Union and NATO. Unlike Trumps disdain for most of Americas democratic allies in Europe, however, the GOP candidate has praised Orban as a great leader and strong man, adding that some people dont like him because hes too strong. Obviously, Trump was comparing himself with Orban in that last statement. Yet, the strong leaders he so admires ran rings around him when he was in office. Convinced that, as he insisted, Only I can fix it, he was oblivious to how they played him. Advertisement READ MORE: A bad case of Putin-envy prevents Trump from calling out death of Navalny | Trudy Rubin If reelected, Trumps resistance to facts and determination to fire any officials who challenge him will make him a perfect patsy for the new anti-Western axis of Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, and Pyongyang, who are teaming up to weaken America. A quick look at Trumps past foreign policy failures in sucking up to dictators makes clear how a continuation would lead America to more grief. Trump feted Xi Jinping with a black-tie gala at Mar-a-Lago in hopes Xi would slash the U.S. trade deficit with China and help do a nuclear deal with Pyongyang. Neither happened. Their relationship soured and turned into a trade war, even as Beijing built up its military strength unchecked. Trump wooed Kim Jong Un in the expectation that Kim would respond by ending North Koreas nuclear program. He wrote me beautiful letters and we fell in love, said the former president. That relationship collapsed, and Kim has vastly expanded his nuclear and missile arsenal since then. He is also sending missiles to Vladimir Putin for use in Ukraine. Trump abandoned President Barack Obamas nuclear deal with Iran, which had slashed Tehrans capacity to make a nuclear bomb. Trump said he could do a better deal with the ayatollahs, but that went nowhere. Released from all limits on enriching uranium, Iran now has enough to make six bombs in a month, according to respected experts. Meantime, Russia may give Iran further nuclear weapons technology in return for more drones to use against Ukraine. And then there is Trumps ongoing, bizarre bromance with Putin. The cynical Orban, who has cracked down on the free press and voting rights at home, is a stalking horse for Putin. He has endeared himself to Trump with constant, lavish praise of the ex-president, and with his white, Christian brand of nationalism that denounces mixing races. READ MORE: Vladimir Putin killed Alexei Navalny. It is a stark warning to the West. | Trudy Rubin But then Orban goes on to parrot the Putin mantra that Kyiv cant win and that Trump should break with other NATO allies and do a deal with Putin to end the war in Ukraine. Trumps admiration for Orban is just one more check on the Russian leaders scorecard as he continues to bamboozle his pal Trump. The GOP candidates constant praise for and refusal to criticize Putin became legendary during his four years in office. What is shocking if Trump can still shock is that he still doesnt seem to realize that Putins current behavior directly threatens the United States. Trump still talks of going to Moscow and settling the Ukraine war with Putin in 24 hours. In fact, his approach is guaranteed to hand a dangerous victory to Moscow, along with China, North Korea, and Iran. The former president has swallowed Putins lie that Russia is protecting Russian speakers in Ukraine by seizing parts of that country. In fact, most Ukrainians speak Russian but consider themselves Ukrainian. Putin has murdered more Russian speakers in Ukraine than anyone since Adolf Hitler. Yet, Trump has already instructed GOP members of Congress to reject desperately needed aid for Ukraine, directly leading to recent Russian territorial gains as Ukrainians run out of ammunition. He appears ready to hand that nation over to brutal imperial domination by Russia. Putin will take Trumps acquiescence on Ukraine as a clear signal that Russia is free to expand its aspirational empire further, as it has already begun doing: nibbling or biting at other European countries, blowing up internet undersea cables that serve the United States, militarizing the Arctic waters, and threatening to send nuclear weapons into space both frontiers where the U.S. has critical interests. Trump appears equally blind or indifferent to the fact that China will take a Ukraine defeat as a signal it is free to move on Taiwan. READ MORE: History wont forget GOPs bow to Putin over Ukraine | Trudy Rubin Given these threats, our NATO alliance in Europe has never been more vital since the end of World War II, especially with new members Sweden and Finland. Yet, Trump nearly quit the alliance as president and is still threatening to destroy it. He falsely claimed that NATO is not meeting its financial obligations. NATO members are giving Ukraine twice as much aid as we are, and most members now meet the NATO goal of spending 2% of GDP on defense. Putin need only sit back and smile as he watches the GOPs leader strengthen the Kremlin at the expense of the United States. What scares me the most is that, in a second term, Trumps failures at playing strong man may become so obvious that he feels pressured to strike out to prove his machismo. Recall his war of words with Kim (before declaring his love). The former president called the North Korean leader little rocket man and boasted that his nuclear button was bigger while Kim threatened all-out war. Looking back, those verbal battles look like farce. Next time, however, an ego-driven Trump, unrestrained, might take reckless actions to prove his toughness and unintentionally trigger a real war. That is the risk GOP voters will need to consider before they cast their votes. President Joe Biden delivers an address on a campaign stop with first lady Jill Biden at Strath Haven Middle School in Wallingford on Friday, March 8, 2024. Read more President Joe Biden is not as popular as he was when he won the 2020 election, but the group that has stuck by him the most is women. And at Strath Haven Middle School in Wallingford on Friday, Biden pledged to a heavily suburban female audience that he would continue to fight for their families and for their reproductive rights, and he predicted they would be difference-makers in the November election. Those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade, they have no clue about the power of women in America, Biden said, borrowing a line from the previous nights State of the Union address. The event kicked off what will be a busy month for the Biden campaign in a week that truly launched the general election matchup, with former President Donald Trump solidified as the likely Republican nominee. Advertisement Biden took the stage in the school gymnasium with his wife, Jill Biden a little prematurely, it seemed, as he then stood by her side as she introduced him. The first lady, too, stressed what is at stake for women this election. We have courts that are stripping away our most basic freedoms, Jill Biden said. We are the first generation in half a century to give our daughters a country with fewer rights than we had. That the Bidens came to the suburbs of Philadelphia following the presidents high-profile State of the Union address is unsurprising given his frequent stops in the state, his wifes connections to the Philadelphia suburbs, and the regions importance to his path to reelection. Biden has signaled in recent days that he will argue Trump is a threat both to democracies abroad and to personal rights and democratic freedoms at home. Jill Biden recently traveled to Arizona to launch a Women for Biden-Harris tour aimed at reaching women in battleground states, and the president announced Thursday that she would also spearhead a new federal initiative on womens health. At Strath Haven on Friday, the president talked about Latorya Beasley, his wifes guest at the State of the Union speech who was blocked from accessing an in vitro fertilization procedure after an Alabama court ruling restricted access to IVF. She was told her dream would have to wait. What her family has gone through should never have happened, Biden said. Folks, do you know why it happened? Ill tell you why, one reason: Donald Trump. He came to office determined to overturn Roe v. Wade. In fact, hes bragged about it. The IVF ruling applied only to Alabama. And state lawmakers there have scrambled to codify IVF protections into state law. In her rebuttal to Bidens State of the Union speech Thursday, Alabama Republican Sen. Katie Britt said unequivocally her party believes in IVF. All that has done little to deter the Democratic argument that threats to IVF are an extension of Republican efforts to restrict abortion rights. Trump has indicated he would back a national abortion ban at about 16 weeks. He has also bragged about appointing the justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, a wildly unpopular decision among women and the general electorate. Hear me loud and clear, Biden said of a national ban on Friday. This will not happen on my watch. A female voice called back at him shortly afterward: Thats why you my president, Joe! The gender gap between Biden and Trump has grown in recent months, according to polling. More women said they would support Biden over Trump in a February Quinnipiac survey, with 58% backing Biden and 36% backing Trump. Thats a rise from a January poll that broke down 53% for Biden and 41% for Trump. The numbers were relatively unchanged for men 53% of men said theyd vote for Trump and 42% chose Biden in the latest poll, compared with 51% for Trump and 41% for Biden in December. Bidens challenges remain great, though. He trails Trump in most swing-state polls, and survey after survey shows voters worry hes too old for the job and blame him for an economy they feel isnt working. While he leads with women overall, he trails Trump with women who list the economy as their most important issue. He has also seen a drop in support among young voters, Black voters, and Latino voters, other key groups in his 2020 coalition. And progressive cease-fire activists continue to protest his events. At least 100 lined the roadway outside Strath Haven Middle School on Friday, waving Palestinian flags and chanting, This November, we remember, a nod to a growing movement among some progressive Democrats to protest Biden at the ballot box. Earlier in the day, Biden was asked if he thought there would be a cease-fire by the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Its looking tough, he told reporters. The economy and immigration remain top issues, but some Democratic strategists see hope for Biden if the economy continues to improve and threats to reproductive rights keep making the news in the form of state abortion bans or pending Supreme Court rulings, including one on the abortion pill. While voters have said theyre unexcited about Biden or Trump, there was some energy for him on Friday. It was mostly supporters who lined Baltimore Pike as his motorcade drove by on Friday. In Rose Valley, he made a surprise visit before the rally to see Jack and David Cunicelli, the owners of 320 Market Cafe, and their families. The brothers overlapped in school with the Bidens children in Wilmington before relocating to Pennsylvania and opening their restaurant. Friendly neighbors gathered outside as children played and Secret Service agents stood guard. I love Joe, said Cindy Holston, a neighbor of the family who met with the Bidens. He was so cool last night. He rocked it. Erin Stancill, another resident of the Rose Valley block, confessed she feels nervous about November. But I believe in Joe Biden, she said. I think the State of the Union showed hes accomplished a lot regardless of his age, and I trust him. Staff writer Jesse Bunch contributed to this article. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visit with Jack Cunicelli, wife Monica Gagliardi and their daughter Stella, in Rose Valley before a campaign stop., in Rose Valley, Friday, March 8, 2024. Read more The motorcade climbed up a winding, wooded street and pulled into the driveway of a slate gray colonial home as neighbors clogged the single-lane drive to take photos and wave. Its not every day the president of the United States makes an unannounced stop on your tiny Rose Valley block. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden came to Delaware County Friday for a rally at Strath Haven Middle School. On the way, they stopped to meet with brothers Jack and David Cunicelli, the owners of 320 Market Cafe. READ MORE: In Delco, President Joe Biden delivers a rallying call to suburban women Advertisement The brothers and Biden share history in Wilmington, Del., where they briefly overlapped with Bidens children in school. Later, they said they often saw Biden in town when he was a senator. The Cunicellis have since moved to Pennsylvania and started a family business in Delaware County. They credit the federal governments pandemic relief support for helping them keep their two locations afloat. At the beginning of COVID, it was scary, David Cunicelli later told reporters. The money that we got through the government program was huge in helping our staff stay on. As a Secret Service agent stood guard in the backyard by the swingset Friday, the first couple exited the presidential limousine and were greeted by Jack Cunicelli, his wife Monica Gagliardi, and their four-year-old daughter Stella at the familys home. Jill Biden handed the couple an Easter basket for Stella. Biden called it a nice visit, as he left the home where a small huddle of reporters was awaiting his departure. Then, the briefest of presidential press conferences took place on the Cunicellis lawn. Mr. President will there be a cease-fire by Ramadan? one reporter asked. Its looking tough. Are you worried about violence in East Jerusalem? I sure am, Biden said. READ MORE: As it happened: In Delco campaign stop, Biden says freedoms are on the ballot this November Reporters werent allowed inside for the conversation, but the restaurant owners later said the Bidens gathered in the kitchen of the home, chatting with their families. It was a lot of story swapping, Jack Cunicelli said, describing Bidens intimate visit. Hes an incredibly warm person ... it was a huge honor. On her first day in office, Mayor Cherelle Parker signed an executive order declaring a citywide public safety emergency. On Friday, she called on dozens of city leaders to come to City Hall to discuss the recent spate of gun violence. Read more Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker summoned dozens of elected officials, law enforcement leaders, union officers, and advocates to attend a closed-door meeting about gun violence Friday following a spate of shootings this week that left 11 students shot. The gathering included the district attorney, top police brass, the superintendent, City Council members, the mayors cabinet, business leaders, and even a group of high school students. It lasted for about two hours on the second floor of City Hall Friday afternoon and was not publicized by the mayors office. Parker said after the meeting that it was important the gathering took place in private so there was nobody to perform for. She said she was inspired by the students who attended, including a 15-year-old who said he told the room the city needs to do a better job helping parents secure access to jobs and housing. We have short-, medium-, and long-term strategies that we have to employ to address all of what is happening, Parker said. I left feeling like everybody was together and nobody was finger-pointing at each other. Advertisement The meeting, while it had a feel-good conclusion, came at the end of what may have been the most challenging and violent week the city has seen since Parker took office in January, when she pledged to end what she has described as a sense of lawlessness. Over the last five days, gunfire erupted on or near a SEPTA bus four times. On Monday, five people were shot at a bus stop in the citys Ogontz section, including Dayemen Taylor, a 17-year-old student from Imhotep Institute Charter High School, who was killed. Two days later, eight Northeast High School students were shot and wounded while waiting to board a bus. Investigators are still trying to piece together the crimes and are probing whether the two high-profile shootings were connected. Philadelphia Commissioner Kevin Bethel said the investigations are progressing, but the shooters in both cases remain at large. Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. said leaders came away with specific strategies to explore, including how the police department, the school district, and charter schools can better share information about potential conflicts. We feel really inspired that were going to work together under the mayors leadership, he said. Parker this week expressed a sense of resolve, saying at the scene of the shooting in the Northeast that we will not be held hostage and vowing that she would ensure law enforcement that every resource that is needed is readily available so the work can be done to solve the crimes. READ MORE: The getaway car used in the shooting of 8 high school students had fake tags Punctuating the week with a meeting of top city officials, community leaders, and law enforcement also fulfills a key campaign promise Parker made to convene leaders who have expressed divergent views on how to stem shootings in the city. That dynamic was on display during the latter years of former Mayor Jim Kenneys administration, when he and former Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw at times publicly disagreed with District Attorney Larry Krasner, a progressive prosecutor. The clashing views angered other city officials, including former City Council President Darrell L. Clarke, who said in 2022 that city and law enforcement leaders needed to get in a room and figure out a way to like each other. But Parker campaigned on bringing an end to public displays of disaffection and, since taking office, has made her mantra: One Philly, united city. Philadelphia is yearning to be unified, Parker said after winning the Democratic primary in May, and Im proud to be the person who has an opportunity to do such. The administration has yet to detail a comprehensive crime and safety plan. On her first day in office, Parker signed an executive order declaring a citywide public safety emergency, and charged Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel and Managing Director Adam K. Thiel with developing a crime abatement plan by her 100th day in office, which falls in early April. She has said her plan will be three-pronged focused on prevention, intervention, and enforcement and will include strategies to bolster recruitment and retention in the police department, which has been drastically understaffed for several years. Parker also said earlier this week during a meeting with antiviolence advocates and people who have lost loved ones to shootings that her budget proposal, set to be unveiled next week, will include dollars for grassroots community organizations that have a track record of connecting with the populations that need it most. Following Fridays meeting, she said her goal is to find a way to leverage every government dollar to get a more effective and efficient use. Weve got to do it for the school district and weve got to do it for SEPTA, Parker said. We cant have people afraid of riding mass transit. And so we have to have a collaborative approach. A US judge in Texas has rejected a challenge by Republican-led states to a Biden administration program that allows hundreds of thousands of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to apply for emergency entry into the United States. US District Court Judge Drew Tipton in Victoria, Texas, said the 21 states led by Texas lacked standing to pursue the 2023 lawsuit because they could not show that the program, which allows up to 30,000 people per month to enter the US, caused them any injury. Some 234,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans had entered the US through the program as of November 2023, according to US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) statistics. To qualify, migrants must have a US sponsor and enter the country by air. Tipton in his ruling on Friday noted the number of people illegally entering the US from the four countries since the program was implemented had dramatically decreased by as much as 44 per cent. The judge did not address the merits of the lawsuit, which claims that DHS lacked the authority to adopt the program. The US Department of Justice and the office of Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton did not immediately respond to requests for comment. President Joe Biden, a Democrat seeking another term in the November 5 presidential election, has sought to expand legal pathways to the US to discourage would-be migrants from crossing the US-Mexico border illegally. Republicans, including Biden's likely opponent, former President Donald Trump, have said the so-called "parole" programs go beyond the scope of what is allowable by law. Record numbers of migrants have been caught crossing the US-Mexico border illegally during Biden's presidency. Republicans say Biden should have kept Trump's more restrictive policies while Biden has argued that Republicans have refused to provide adequate border funding and pass legislation that would toughen enforcement. The states argued in their lawsuit that the US government's authority to use parole is "exceptionally limited" and can only be applied on a case-by-case basis. Story continues They claimed they faced irreparable harm because arriving migrants increase the cost of public services, including policing and emergency medical care. Tipton, a Trump appointee, said in his ruling that the program was having the opposite effect. "The court has before it a case in which plaintiffs claim that they have been injured by a program that has actually lowered their out-of-pocket costs," he wrote. regulator rules, which set out the specifics for entries in the FAR register of accountable individuals transitional rules, offering guidance for authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) on reporting existing accountable persons under BEAR as they move to FAR guidance on defining ADI key functions, aimed at assisting banks in the distribution of these critical roles directions for completing reporting forms, which will aid banking entities in submitting the required details to APRA and ASIC Consultation on Financial Accountability Regime The release of the financial rules and further guidance comes on the heels of a joint consultation by APRA and ASIC on the draft versions of the regulator and transitional rules, along with the ADI key functions guidance. Imelda May on Palestine Two weeks after Kneecap wore symbols of the pro-Palestine movement on The Late Late Show, Imelda May also voiced her support for Palestine on the chat show. May shared her solidarity with the Palestinian people, telling Patrick Kielty the dress she was wearing was embroidered for her by two Palestinian sisters. I want to show me solidarity to them and for peace and love, and against war and children being harmed and maimed, and against genocide and against occupation, and also for Jewish people who use their voices to fight for peace as well, because that's tough too, she said to strong applause from the audience. So I wanted to show me solidarity and I wanted to wear this beautiful piece of tatreez embroidery and show the love, especially on International Women's Day. May also spoke about the loved ones she has lost over the last year, including her father, as well as musicians Christy Dignam, Shane MacGowan, and Sinead OConnor, who May said saved me a couple of times over the course of their friendship. She added she has thrown herself into her work amid her grief, with a documentary, Lily & Lolly: The Forgotten Yeats Sisters, being aired this week. Anna Geary on grief Cork camogie player and TV presenter Anna Geary spoke about the birth of her first child last August as well as the loss of both her father and her brother. Her life was thrown into turmoil when her brother Thomas died last November, just a few months after her son Ronan was born and almost two years after her father passed away. When two people you love in the world go so quickly together and then there's a baby in the middle of it, like, it's been the strangest two years of my life, she said. It has been so difficult, so difficult to pick myself up. But equally then as well, what grief has actually given me is perspective to lean into the good things too. She said caring for her baby gave her ways to keep moving forward every single day. Geary has shared her experience with grief and her insights in her new book, Game Plan, and the importance of finding ways to cope with grief. Remembering Saoirse Earlier this week, 12-year-old Toy Show star Saoirse Ruane passed away after a long battle with cancer. Saoirse helped to launch the first Toy Show Appeal and was a familiar face to Late Late Show viewers since 2020. Closing the show, Kielty shared a tribute from the programme and sent condolences to the Ruane family. We just want to add one thing to the many beautiful tributes paid to her over the past couple of days. And that is, thank you, he said. When Saoirse inspired the very first Toy Show Appeal back then, little did any of us know that she was going to start something amazing that in just four short years will help so many children and their families across Ireland. Kielty said Saoirse lit up our screens and added: We know that her light will continue to shine for so many for so many years to come. From everyone on the Late Late, we send our love tonight to Saoirses family." A bit of horseplay The dancefloor in Youghal will never be the same. Davy Flatley, Barry Geraghty dubbed Davy Russell when chatting about the Cork jockeys current stint on Dancing With The Stars. Russell told Kielty he has been blown away by the support he is receiving in the competition, particularly from his own home. Im getting so much support from everyone and the kids at home, they're really having a ball. Everybody's happy," said Russell. It's great for me. I get to go away for a few days during the week and I come home and everybody's really happy to see me, he added. The champion jockeys spoke about the opportunities they received as Grand National winners and how those wins compared to other competitions. The Grand National was always the race that catches the world. The Gold Cup is for the purists, Geraghty mused, but you travel the world and theyll know what the Grand National is. Russell agreed, saying winning the Grand National has opened more doors for him, including Dancing With The Stars. There's no way I would be on that show if I didnt win the Grand National. So that's the difference a Grand National makes. A big shock for one Irish Mammy Shes going to kill us! That was the sentiment expressed when three audience members were singing their mammys praises to Kielty during a Q&A. They listed everything their mam does for her eight children, including helping to mind their children and acting as a living alarm clock for her sons. Were dead, they added when a live broadcast started from outside the family home and Mammy Mag answered the door but tried to hide from the camera crew. Jessie, youre history when you do get home, she said. She was presented with flowers, gifts, and an overnight stay to mark Mothers Day. Shes certainly earned the break. A statement rug Looking for an affordable way to spruce up your interior space? A soft shaggy rug adds some cushioned comfort and warmth to a room. We love the Super Soft Aztec Berber Shaggy Rug Mallory, 54.95 from Irish business, Kukoon Rugs. Instead of forking out on flights to Morocco, let your feet do the vicarious travelling. See kukoonrugs.com. Barely there underwear Freya wrap bra in peach pink ICYMI: Scratchy synthetic underwear is out, sustainable natural underwear is in. Bon + Berg harnesses the power of pulp from responsibly harvested beech trees to create the softest sustainable fabric thats sustainable to boot. Do yourself a favour and pick up the Freya peach wrap bra, 39, and Hestia panties, 22 at bonandberg.com. Sustainable arm candy The Everything Bag Beatrix from Kalo 130 While we may have hijacked the Girl Math trend to justify some of our indulgent purchases, buying a sustainable handbag is just good sense, no? Winner of the Arnotts Pitch '23 competition, Kalo Handbags is a new Irish-owned brand with two staple bags available. Similar in shape to the Marc Jacobs Snapshot, the Everything bag Beatrix is Made from apple leather and recycled waste and is half the price at 140. Throw in two interchangeable straps? Sure, its practically free. Shop at Arnotts or wearekalo.com. Effortless occasion wear Kate Cooper dress Occasion dresses are easy to come by but what about one that ticks all our boxes? Were talking sleeves that dont cut the circulation off your arms, a sculpting middle that skims the hips and an elegant pattern that wont take your eye out. Exclusively designed in Ireland, Kate Coopers v-neck dress, 210, is a universally flattering shape that cinches in the waist with a basque. Available in boutiques around Cork like Jon Clare, Bella Donna in Clonakilty and Noirins in Millstreet. Snap decisions Loewe slap bracelet Children of the 90s, did your school place a (very unfair) ban on snap bracelets? Nows your chance to nab one but make it designer. Loewe, designed by Northern Irelands Jonathan Anderson, is selling the bougie version of the teenage classic. Its your chance to get some cuff candy from a designer brand from 120. Win-win. Shop at Net-a-Porter. Colour-pop glasses Specsavers Camila glasses Think of statement glasses and certain style icons come to mind: The geriatric starlet Iris Apfel and her oversized frames, Jenna Lyons bold cat eye frames and closer to home, Sonya Lennons playful structured specs. Lennon has teamed up with Specsavers and curated an edit of their most daring styles. Classic tortoiseshell gets a boost of serotonin with a zingy pop of yellow in the Camila style, 129 from specsavers.ie. Historic hair accessories Book of Kells scrunchie by Jennifer Rothwell With the new Book of Kells Experience garnering rave reviews, designer Jennifer Rothwell has taken inspiration from its pages for a collection of hair accessories. Including a silk scrunchie, 15, and a hairband, this is your chance to wear a little bit of history in your hair. Shop at jenniferrothwell.com. Sustainable sleepwear Black Wind Down gown from Cotone Collection Is it finally time to update your pjs and ditch the Grinch onesie? If youre looking to refresh your dreamdrobe, Irish brand Cotone Collection has you covered. Women know that one size doesnt fit all so sleepy shoppers can mix and match sizes as pyjamas are sold as separates. Binge-watching on Netflix for days in this dressing gown, 120 at cotonecollection.ie. Natural nail polish Shroom Bloom nail polish set from Pleasing If you grew up with The Yellow Pages, youll know the hand model never leaves some millennials or boomers. Love a lush manicure but not the increased prices? Invest in a good manicure set with a strong cost-per-wear argument. The Shroom Bloom collection by Harry Styles brand Pleasing, 78, at Selfridges, is a collection of four vegan, cruelty-free biodegradable nail polishes designed in four new hues. With complimentary stickers, you can get creative with daughters, sons, cousins, nieces and nephews alike. Shop at selfridges.com. New knit on the block Sinead Keary Ailbhe jumper Every Irish woman knows the ubiquitous chic cashmere jumpster is an all-weather wardrobe mainstay. The lightweight cashmere/wool Ailbhe style from Sinead Keary, 115 is our newest hero piece. Worn over some Moto leggings or loosely tucked into a silk midi skirt with biker boots to toughen up the look, this is our new hero piece. Available at sineadkeary.com. You know that feeling when youre in a lift that imperceptibly shoots skyward so that your stomach feels like its still on the ground 30 floors down as the doors glide open? For lots of us, thats what the pandemic felt like three years whooshed past, while we remained unmoving. When the doors of our lives finally reopened, we were three years older physically. Mentally and emotionally, we had barely moved. Our bodies had aged three years, our chronology birthdays during the years 2020, 2021, 2022 had marched on, while our psyches remained stuck in the lift. This feeling has been called pandemic skip, coined by New York journalist Katy Schneider, who described it as the strange sensation that our bodies might be a step out of sync with our minds. We have all experienced it to some degree. This is not, however, about those who were more directly affected by covid, which involves a whole other set of feelings; loss, grief, trauma, bereavement, and perhaps ongoing struggles with long-covid. No, this is about the rest of us, and how living for so long in suspended animation has left us all a bit discombobulated. And while the pandemic skip is a collective experience, affecting everyone from babies to oldies, some demographics felt it more keenly than others. Perhaps the ones who got off most lightly were those of us whose kids were older, and for whom the time/ fertility balancing act was no longer an issue. The ones who werent trying to home-educate small children or manage house-bound teens, while working from home yourself and trying to remain on good terms with everyone; or the younger women who wanted to travel, have adventures, live their lives, work their jobs, have their fun, before the dreaded fertility bell starts ringing. For these women, time really telescoped. I was 31 when it started, says Jenny. And Id just left a long-term relationship. All through lockdown, all I could think about was how my baby-making time was narrowing. It was horrible. Worrying about not having time to meet someone, worrying about whether I could do it on my own, it felt like my fertility was draining away and it made me feel really helpless and anxious. "Medical terms such as geriatric primigravida [women aged 35 and above who give birth for the first time] kept me awake at night. Babies born during the pandemic experienced their own kind of skip in social and linguistic development. While pandemic parents did their best, pandemic babies fell behind in learning words and expressing curiosity about their surroundings (perfectly understandable, given how they were indoors with the same people all the time there wasnt a lot to be curious about). The good news is that babies and small children are the ones who can most easily catch up. What about teens, also going through tumultuous changes in brain chemistry that elevates the importance of their peer group above all others, yet were stuck indoors with the fam during this crucial developmental period? Psychotherapist Philippa Vafadari has seen 'so many people who have experienced the feeling of being out of alignment with their lives' A nightmare, says Michelle, a 45-year-old secondary school teacher. So many of them were so damaged by their isolation. They went feral. It took ages to reintegrate. I really felt for them. A therapist friend tells me of the worry experienced by so many of her adult clients about their teens and young adult children, and how her younger clients told her of their anxiety about rejoining the world after years of stasis. Its not like straightforward hibernation, she says. It was such a period of uncertainty for everyone because nobody knew how long it would last, or if it would get worse. "When youre navigating that kind of fear and anxiety, its hard to focus on anything else, especially for those already prone to social anxiety. I remember my industrious, task-oriented daughter, who was 20 when it began, pacing the house, before falling headlong into her phone for months on end. Back at work afterward, she described how her young colleagues were so hamstrung by social isolation and anxiety that they had to return to work literally an hour at a time. Freaking out inside their heads about being out and about again, having to do normal interactions after a significant chunk of their young lives were spent indoors on screens. Her workplace a small mental health organisation dedicated to young people was sympathetic, but lots of employers, for a variety of reasons, were not. For a lot of teens, they really suffered, she says. Not just the ones in difficult home situations, but so many just forgot how to make eye contact, how to be in a room with other people. Ive seen so many people who have experienced the feeling of being out of alignment with their lives, says psychotherapist Philippa Vafadari. Theres been a lot of focus on teens, because of the developmental interruption they experienced at such a pivotal life stage, but also a lot of older people suffered. Every day particularly counts in later life. And also, I saw so many creative people who were blocked all that time to write, to make art and music, and they could barely manage to make a sandwich. Its like we were all holding our breath, because none of us knew how long it would last, and that kind of uncertainty overrides normal functioning and blocks creativity. People were in freefall. Fifty-somethings, on the other hand, got off lightly. Tania, 53, happily lives alone and doesnt have children. She turned 50 during the first lockdown her plans to celebrate a milestone birthday in style didnt happen. Thats as bad as it got, she says. A feeling of watching my 50th birthday sail past, knowing it wasnt ever coming back. Then my friends turned up in a kind of socially distanced conga outside my house, all dressed up in the middle of the day, and we went to the park and had socially distanced cake. It was a lot of fun and very meaningful, even though we were freezing. Her friend Annie turned 60 during lockdown, and had a huge party on her 62nd birthday, to commemorate the big skipped one. Two years doesnt make a huge difference, she says. The main thing was getting my family and friends together. We pretended it was 2021, rather than 2023. The pandemic feels like a long time ago now, even though its only been four years since March 2020. Mostly we have readjusted and slotted back into our lives, perhaps with a shift in perspective, perhaps more of a focus on what makes us happy. Or maybe we are back at full tilt like it never happened. Some of us took things from the pandemic that improved our lives in unexpected ways a new love of sea swimming, a renewed connection with nature and the outdoors whatever the weather, a flat refusal to wear non-stretchy clothes or uncomfortable shoes ever again. Perhaps you retired your bra, took up hillwalking, became a better cook, got a dog, left a dead relationship. Made the most of a strange, uncertain situation, and grew through it even if traditional chronological alignment didnt quite happen. For those of us still with a vague sense of pandemic skip, acceptance is the only way through. Acceptance, adjustment, and going forward, one foot in front of the other. It helps to know that we have all experienced it, in our own unique ways. Becoming a mother was a shock to my system. Not only was I now responsible for another human life but I didnt recognise myself anymore. During the course of a relatively smooth pregnancy, nobody had warned me of the immense change of self. Up until that point, I knew who I was. Id spent years travelling and growing a freelance writing career, my husband and I had our routines we ate quiet dinners together, went to the cinema, went on holidays and day trips over the weekends. I could spend an entire day reading on the beach if I wanted to. All of a sudden, in the span of 48 hours, everything had changed. We couldnt do any of those things any more. I always wanted to be a mother, says Gillian Phelan 45, whose daughter, Elliah, was born prematurely when Gillian was 40. In fact, she was someone who wanted a large family, but struggled with infertility, and Elliah was conceived through IVF after multiple failed attempts. Gillian, who lives in north Dublin, trained and worked as a birth doula, assisting pregnant women during and after labour. She was certain she was prepared and knew what to expect. She had planned all the details of a water birth at home, until she gave birth prematurely while admitted to hospital for a checkup. That was the moment I became isolated, when I knew I had to do it all on my own. Due to complications, Gillian had to undergo an emergency C-section, signing consent forms while being rushed to the operating theatre, while her husband, unaware, slept at home. Nearly five years on, and she says she is still living with the trauma of that experience. Elliah was diagnosed with Down Syndrome several weeks later, when finally released from hospital. When the pandemic hit and the country went through waves of lockdowns, they came with a bag of mixed feelings for Gillian. On the one hand, it was almost a blessing, to have a legitimate excuse for not having to leave the house, while Gillian attempted to fall into a rhythm of motherhood. Elliah wasnt a particularly sociable child, so it suited us. However, she lost out on the opportunity to build that proverbial village around them. Gillian Phelan Auclaire and Elliah Phelan Auclaire at their home in Swords, Dublin. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos Even after things began to return to normal, it has taken Gillian several years before she finally found her people, other mothers of children with special needs, who understand her and to whom she can talk to. And even at that, I probably have two friends now. I emigrated to Ireland in 2015 from India, and we had our daughter 10 months before the pandemic. Even though my experiences were different from Gillians, a lot of the extreme emotions were the same. I was separated from my family, my village, and even though my husbands family is in Ireland, they were in a different county. The lockdowns prevented me from attending parent groups and making friends, and while my husband went to work each day, I was stuck at home with a baby I was underprepared and ill-equipped to look after. The sense of isolation and loneliness a woman experiences in those early years as a new mother is amplified by a feeling of loss of self too. I am not the same person I was before Elliah was born, Gillian tells me. Chaitra Jairaj, formerly a consultant perinatal psychiatrist at National Maternity Hospital Dublin and currently at The Coombe Hospital, works with women struggling with mental health difficulties during pregnancy and postpartum. She believes there is a need to raise awareness and have more conversations about the struggles women face during these life-changing periods. The common theme she encounters with her patients is a feeling of guilt and shame, when a woman may be struggling to experience the joys of motherhood that society expects from her. Chaitra advises her patients to actively make time for themselves, to do something pleasurable that could serve as a reminder of what their lives were like before they became mothers. However, this might not always be practical. Today, families are scattered and nuclear, both parents work, mortgages and childcare expenses are high, and yet the way parents are expected to raise their children seem to follow traditional methods. Resources and help available are limited and havent seemed to have adapted to the times. Gillians parents, who live in France, are in their mid-70s. The longer women wait to have children, their parents get older too. She believes her parents would have been more involved and active as grandparents if they were younger. Like Gillian, this is a logistical roadblock many mothers face on a daily basis; where its nearly impossible to take time out for themselves when there is nobody to mind the baby. Chaitra Jairaj works with women struggling with mental health difficulties during pregnancy and postpartum Sonya Logan, 34, who lives in Co Offaly, believes Ireland has a lot of catching-up to do. She gave birth to her son, Luke, in Australia five years ago, and felt more supported there than she did upon her return to Ireland. In Australia, I was assigned mother-and-baby-groups right after birth. These groups would have helped them form early bonds and friendships. They had to move back to Ireland when Luke was five months old, and here, Sonya was forced to find help on her own. Ireland is cliquey, Sonya says. Having lived abroad for seven years, she returned to find that she had lost old friends who had moved on with their lives. People tend to stick to their own friends theyve had since primary school. Being involved in GAA is an easy in, if you dont have that, it becomes doubly difficult. I encountered this too, as an emigrant. As difficult as it is to make new friends when youre out of the education system, even more so for me since I didnt have a traditional office job, by throwing a baby into the mix, it became nearly impossible. Luke was a terrible sleeper as a baby. Sonya, who is a second-level teacher, still remembers those months of going to work on little to no sleep and breaking down with exhaustion in the staff room. She was told by her co-workers sure, all babies are difficult and itll be grand. She felt as though the reality and difficulties of motherhood were glossed over and better left unacknowledged by society ... that nobody wanted to discuss the everyday struggles mothers face. Everybody kept saying that as long as the baby is healthy everything is fine, which is absolutely true, but what about me? She compares herself to her own mothers experiences, who had nine children, and sees a massive difference in the kind of support that was available to women in older generations. My mother had to hand-wash all our nappies, yes, but she had a community of friends and relations she could drop off the children to without notice. There is no denying that in older generations, women were primed for motherhood. Now, women experience years of independence, financial freedom, and nurturing distinct personal identities, and there is a loss of some of these aspects once they become mothers. This can lead to feelings of being unprepared and helpless. Chaitra agrees with the generational changes, that there is a difference in the way women handled motherhood previously. The societal stigma against speaking openly about the struggles of motherhood can be very isolating for a woman. She believes it is important to acknowledge and normalise these feelings. Disha Bose: 'Nobody had warned me of the immense change of self' Sonya finds there is a lot of work to be done with regards to having honest conversations about mental health. Despite the recent trends in social media, a lot of the time people are disingenuous when they claim they are open to having honest conversations. She finds it difficult to bring up her struggles with her friends. They tend to clamp up and become disinterested in discussing details. Almost as though everyone is more interested in keeping up an appearance of perfection. Chaitra sees this often with her patients; women putting pressure on themselves to be perfect at all roles the best mother, the perfect partner, a reliable hardworking employee. Comparing themselves to the women they see on social media, or to the romanticised version of motherhood portrayed in films and books. She reminds her patients of the phrase the good enough mother which was coined by British paediatrician and psychoanalyst DW Winnicott. Chaitra believes this is the standard all mothers should strive for, to be a good enough mother to their children. This could set healthy boundaries for their children for cognitive development, to expect less than perfection not only from their mothers but from the imperfect world they live in. Sonya, who has eight siblings, recalls being sent to school every day with ham, cheese and a Kinder Bueno. Now, as a mother herself, she not only has to hold down a job, keep the household running, be physically and emotionally present for her children, but doesnt think its good enough to send a simple well-balanced lunchbox to school, the sandwich has to be star-shaped too. Google searches for solo travel were up 761% in 2023, and travel operators report a steep increase in solo bookings. One travel industry site, Skift, maintains that the surge is led by older women who want to explore alone without family or friends. So what do you do when youre single for the first time in decades, your only offspring has fled the nest and you have a long wishlist of places to visit? In my case, I sat down, took a look at my finances, worked out what I could afford, and started my solo travel adventures. In the past two years, I have visited Vancouver, taken a cruise to Alaska, stopped off in Seattle on the way home, had weekend breaks in Krakow, Riga and Budapest, and went to see the Northern Lights in Iceland. Later this month I am heading to Hong Kong from where I will take another cruise to Singapore stopping off in Vietnam and Thailand along the way. Many decades ago as a student, I got a taste for solo travel, but I did fly with one foot on the ground (so to speak) by heading off on adventures around Europe, island hopping in Greece, with a travel company called Funtrek which offered the protection of a group, but with independence. Its a format that I continue to use to this day. When I am taking city breaks I tend to go via Irish travel companies like Click & Go or Travel Department which offers great packages which can include as much or as little assistance as you want (or are prepared to pay for). With long-haul trips like the cruises and the trip to Iceland I often go to Trailfinders which takes great care to tailor each trip specifically to my interests and budget. Responding to high demand, 2024 will see an increase in innovative products to attract solo travellers, from tours to accommodation and destinations. Safety is paramount in my plans when it comes to transport, accommodation, and tours. Previously when travelling I would have been concerned about whoever was with me. Now, its just myself so I can plan according to my comfort levels. Before my first major solo trip which took me to Alaska my focus was all on where I would go and what I would see. What I had failed to consider was how it would feel to be alone for days on end. Turned out, I liked it. Juneau, Alaska I have always been comfortable in my own company. While I can be sociable and friends would describe me as friendly, my inner personality is quite reserved so solo travel suits me as I can engage with people if I wish or just do my own thing. That worked out well for me when I was in Krakow and I booked a solo trip to Auschwitz and Birkenau. I wanted to pay my respects to the family members of an acquaintance, so I knew that a group trip was not an option for me. It was the best decision in the circumstances as the visit was very emotional and overwhelming and I was very glad to have done it alone. To be honest, the amount of time I will spend by myself has never been a factor when organising a trip. It is always possible to engage with other people on transport, in the hotel, in bars and restaurants. The beauty of solo travel is that I can decide where I want to go, when I want to go, and what I want to see when I get there. I am a great fan of hop-on hop-off bus tours when I arrive in a new location. They are usually pretty reasonably priced and offer a great overview of a city, after that I can then go back to whichever tourist sites were of most interest. In Seattle in June 2022, rather than my usual run-through of the entire route, I hopped off three times visited the attractions and then got back on the bus or walked between stops. Coincidentally, it was the same driver each time the bus came back around the route so we were on first-name terms by the last stop at the Space Needle! Shannon Falls, North of Vancouver, Canada Preparation and planning When it comes to solo travel, planning ahead is the most important aspect. When is the best time to visit the location? Is it cheaper at certain times of year if so, why is that? Will the sites you want to see be open off season? For example, I had been to Budapest previously for work. It was in the depths of winter and I did not get to see much of this beautiful city, so for my most recent trip I went in June and it was glorious. Click & Go booked me a lovely hotel in the city centre, one block from the River Danube, it was an old building but the room was clean and simple, and in a brilliant location. Better still, the hop-on hop-off bus stop was across the street. Ive organised weekend breaks using accommodation websites such as Booking.com or Trivago to check hotel prices, but I also check the hotels websites too. Its the same for flights comparison websites such as SkyScanner are a great guide and then I book through the airlines website rather than third-party websites. Flight times departures and arrivals are important for a solo traveller. Personally, I dont like arriving in a new city late at night, even if I have a booked a transfer to my accommodation. Airlines can offer better prices for (very) early morning flights which can be great for your budget, but I prefer to pay extra to go at a time which means I arrive in daylight. Even if not travelling with a company that offers different flight times and airlines, for my own security and peace of mind I will phone the hotel (or email) and ask their advice about getting from the airport. In Iceland, Trailfinders had booked a bus transfer which dropped me off two streets away from my city centre hotel (in daylight). As I had requested, the hotel was city centre, in a great location within walking distance of shops, the harbour, the cathedral. It was also next door to the busiest and most popular nightclub in the city which was open seven nights a week and while I was a disco dancing queen in my day, my patience did wear thin at 3am. Lesson learned: check out neighbouring facilities in the future. Vivienne Clarke pictured at Shannon Falls: 'I decide where I go, when I go and what I see' The beauty of going solo The joy of travelling alone is you can spend as long as you want in any location or you can cut an excursion short if it is not to your liking. In Alaska, I indulged in a seaplane trip over the fjords and islands, and in Riga I spent a wonderful afternoon by myself at the Latvian National Art Museum. Dining out alone has never been a problem as I can decide on whatever cuisine I wish or even just go back to my hotel room with snacks and a glass of wine from the hotel bar. As a woman in my late 50s, as I pack for my forthcoming trip to the Far East, I am excited about the plans Ive made. Im going to see the locations such as the markets in Hong Kong, Hanoi and Halong Bay in Vietnam, Bangkok and Ko Samui in Thailand and I will indulge in a cocktail in the Raffles Bar in Singapore. This trip is ticking quite a few places off my wishlist which is still quite lengthy and includes a tango dancing class in Buenos Aires, a hike to Machu Picchu, to cross the Panama Canal, to swim in Lake Bled (this is already in the planning stage for later this year) and to visit the source of the River Ganges in the foothills of the Himalayas. Will I do all these trips solo? Perhaps. Plans are already in motion with a cousin to cruise the fjords of Norway next year. The beauty of solo travel is that I will visit these places, with or without a companion. If someone is interested in coming along, great. If not, I will still get there. Friends and family think I am brave to undertake trips alone, but I feel I am being practical. I want to visit these places, I want to do so now and the way to do that is solo. Yes, there will be long hours on planes, trains, ships, and automobiles when I will be alone, but I am the author of my own (travel) destiny. I decide where I go, when I go and what I see. To me it is a win-win situation. Mick Ryan was talking to his colleague Sogol Akef, a senior engineer with the World Food Programme in Afghanistan, as he rushed to make an Ethiopian Airlines flight on March 10, 2019. They were chatting and laughing as he ran through the terminal in Addis Ababa when he dropped his iPad and broke the screen. He said, just like a brother would, Look what you made me do Im going to miss my flight I wish every single day he had, Sogol recalls. He boarded a Boeing 737 Max. Six minutes after take-off, Flight ET302 crashed, killing all 157 people on board. Mick Ryan, then deputy chief engineer at the UN World Food Programme (WFP) wasnt even supposed to be on that flight. He had offered to travel to Nairobi to work with engineering and management teams there. He was good at that. He saw engineering as a way to overcome divisions, and he used his technical skill to design solutions. From 2012 to 2014, for instance, he brought donors, local authorities, and clans people together to get funding and agreement to build a bridge in one of the most remote areas of Ethiopia. Mick Ryan was posthumously named Humanitarian of the Year by the Irish Red Cross in 2020. He knew it would save time when delivering food to a very isolated population, his colleague Stephen Cahill, WFP director of logistics, says. Mick Ryan, a native of Co Clare, didnt forget where he had come from either. He always kept those colloquial expressions that made him quite unique in Ethiopia. He used the word ye whenever he spoke or presented. I always remember the expressions on the faces of Ethiopian colleagues as they desperately tried to understand who exactly ye was! says Cahill. In 2018, when 690,000 Rohingya people fled Myanmar into Bangladesh, Mick saw how engineering in this case roads, culverts, bridges, and other engineering works to prevent landslides ahead of monsoon season lay at the centre of the solution. Mick navigated his way through an array of impediments, pulling together three UN agencies [which is no mean feat], drawing up a plan to ensure the camps were safe, says Cahill. Ahead of the fifth anniversary of his death tomorrow, his wife Naoise Connolly Ryan is revisiting some of the things that his colleagues wrote about him before he was posthumously named Humanitarian of the Year by the Irish Red Cross in 2020. Its important that he is remembered as a person, not just a number, she says. My objective is to obtain justice for Mick and the other crash victims and I hope by keeping him alive in peoples minds, it will help us to keep going. Numbers are important too, though. Just five months before Mick Ryan was killed in what was later described as a preventable tragedy, 189 people died on Lion Air flight 610 in Indonesia. The plane was just three months old. After the second fatal crash, all Boeing Max planes were grounded for 20 months. But the second crash would never have happened if the first had been properly investigated, and if all the Max planes had been grounded then, families of the victims say. A US congressional investigation later found that the crashes were the horrific culmination of a series of faulty technical assumptions by Boeings engineers, a lack of transparency on the part of Boeings management, and grossly insufficient oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration. Were back to engineering again and what happens when it goes wrong. In 2020, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in the US released the findings of a 200-plus page report that made damning reading. It highlighted the serious flaws and missteps in the design, development, and certification of the [Max]. It also found a culture of concealment at Boeing and said that production pressures had put the safety of the flying public at risk. On the technical side, investigators said the crash was due to failures of a piece of software known as the MCAS (Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System), which gave repeated automated commands to put the airplanes nose down in an action that could not be overridden by the pilots. Ethiopian Airlines issued a final accident investigation report in December 2022 to say that was not the only issue and production quality defects were also a factor in the crash. In 2023 an inquest in Horsham, West Sussex, accepted the findings of this report and found that three British passengers had been unlawfully killed. The story generated headlines for a time, but it did little to secure justice for the families of the 346 victims of both crashes. They wanted and still want those at Boeing who are responsible for the flaws, missteps, and the concealment of information to be held accountable and tried for manslaughter. In February of last year, US judge Reed OConnor said Boeings failure to prevent both crashes may properly be considered the deadliest corporate crime in US history. Words dont come much stronger than that. And yet, he told a court in Texas that he did not have the legal means to challenge an agreed deal which gave the company immunity from prosecution. That deal, known as a deferred prosecution agreement, expired this January, just days after another accident brought concerns about safety back to international attention. On 5 January, passengers on Alaska Airlines flight 1282 heard a loud bang. Part of the planes fuselage (a door plug) had shot out, leaving a massive hole in the side of the aircraft. The force of the air gushing into the plane whipped mobile phones out of peoples hands and, in some cases, the clothes off their backs. The pilots, however, were able to make an emergency landing and nobody was injured. Again, a Boeing Max model was grounded, this time the Max 9. And again, the families of victims raised the issue of Boeings safety record, saying that the latest incident was the story of a disaster foretold. A few weeks later, CEO of Alaska Airlines Ben Minicucci said it had done safety tests on the model and found some loose bolts on many Max 9s. Im more than frustrated and disappointed. I am angry. This happened to Alaska Airlines. It happened to our guests and happened to our people. Boeing is better than this. A section of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 with missing panel which blew off in mid-flight. Picture: NTSB via AP Naoise Connolly Ryan wouldnt agree that Boeing is better than that. She has seen too much over the last five years to believe that the company is doing enough to guarantee the safety of its aircraft. And, she says, the US has done nothing at all to deliver justice to the 346 victims of the two fatal Boeing crashes. After the Alaska Airlines accident, Boeing made some changes at management level and replaced the head of its 737 Max passenger jet programme. But on Wednesday, it emerged that the aircraft manufacturer wasnt helping those investigating the blow-out. The National Transportation Safety Board said Boeing had not provided certain documents or the names of employees who might have information about the door plug. Its absurd that two months later, we dont have that, the safety boards chair, Jennifer Homendy, told the US Senate Commerce Committee. After the hearing, Boeing issued a statement to say that it had now provided the full list of names. However, is also implied that there was no documentation at all. Ten days before, US regulator the Federal Aviation Administration was highly critical of the global plane-maker in a report highlighting a number of shortcomings in Boeings safety culture. There were multiple soft spots when it came to safety, according to the 50-page report which was written by independent aviation experts. It found that employees were often afraid to report any issues as there might be consequences, such as a change to their salary. The most alarming finding, according to one member of the expert panel, Javier de Luis, who lost his sister Graziella in the Ethiopian crash, was the gap between the message coming from the executives and what was being heard at assembly-line and engineering level. At her home in Cork, Naoise was shocked, but not at all surprised: When Boeing was developing the Max models, it deliberately concealed the automated MCAS system, which proved so lethal, from the regulators. It is the aerospace company with the most US violations and fines in the industry. And now it is intentionally concealing evidence relating to this dangerous blow-out. The Federal Aviation Administration must halt Boeings ability to self-certify its own safety across production of aircraft. Boeing cannot be trusted. For its part, Boeing says the 737 Max is its best-selling plane. It gave the TV channel CNN these statistics: Every day, more than 80 airlines operate about 5,000 flights with the global fleet of 1,300 737 Max airplanes, carrying 700,000 passengers to their destinations safely. The 737 Max familys in-service reliability is above 99% and consistent with other commercial airplane models. Naoise Connolly-Ryan says Boeing is 'intentionally concealing evidence relating to this dangerous blow-out'. Picture: Larry Cummins Were back to numbers again. But there is no getting away from the fact that the Connolly Ryan household is missing one person. By right, Mick Ryan should be at the kitchen table now with Naoise and their two children. Instead, the actions of a giant corporation which, as Naoise says, put profit before safety has turned her vibrant, talented, funny, loving husband into a photograph in a frame. She took that framed photograph to a meeting at the US Department of Justice in Washington in November 2022. She put it in front of her when she sat down facing the departments attorney Glenn Leon. She wanted to look him directly in the eye when she asked him why Boeing executives were not facing criminal prosecutions. She and the other families of the victims, who attended virtually, got no answers. Naoise was determined to attend in person to make the point that the decisions made in big corporate offices and sprawling justice departments have real impact on peoples lives. In 2021, Boeing paid a fine of $243.6m (223.5m), compensation to airline customers of $1.77bn (1.62bn), and $500m (458) to the families of crash victims. Naoise refused to accept any compensation, labelling it blood money. Instead, she joined the many other families affected fighting to hold those responsible to account. If the US want us to believe that they are the leaders of the free world, then they need to start acting like it and deliver real justice. "There needs to be a change of leadership at Boeing and the US Department of Justice must prosecute those ultimately responsible for the manslaughter of Mick, along with seven of his UN colleagues 346 people in total, she says. Hiding information from investigators, she adds, is putting flying passengers at risk. This is reckless endangerment of human life. There has been pushback from the flying public. Since the Alaska accident, more passengers are actively choosing not to fly with Boeing. Flight booking site Kayak has a filter that allows passengers to deselect Max aircraft (models 8 and 9). It has seen a 15-fold increase in people choosing to do so since January, although some airlines are omitting the word Max, instead posting a series of numbers to describe the plane model. The companys one-time slogan, If it aint Boeing, I aint going has been turned around to read, If its Boeing, I Aint Going by a number of air travellers determined to highlight the need for tighter safety checks. Naoise Connolly Ryan wants to put a face on those responsible and bring them to justice. Picture: Larry Cummins The fact that Boeing and its safety record are back in the spotlight offers a shred of comfort to Naoise, but its only that. The real issue, she says, is one of power: A powerful, faceless organisation, Boeing, sent a defective brand-new plane to Ethiopia and it crashed. Through no fault of his own, my husband lost his life in that crash. He was one of 346 people killed in two Max crashes within five months of each other. 346 families decimated. Justice for her means putting a face on those responsible and bringing them to justice. It also means remembering that behind each of the numbers are people whose lives made a real difference. She feels grief, pain, and loss, but she is not a victim. Feeling pain is not the same as feeling helpless. I am caring for my children and I am fighting for justice for my husband. The words truth, accountability, justice are taped to Naoises lawyers computer screen. They inform his work, she says. They inform Naoise Connolly Ryans life too. And she will continue to speak out until she can tell the man in the photograph that she has achieved all of those things for him. A new maritime corridor to deliver vital humanitarian supplies to the devastated Gaza Strip is potentially letting Israel off the hook from opening land crossings for hundreds of aid trucks that are already waiting, the Tanaiste has said. The EU, US, and other countries now plan to send aid by sea to Gaza as Israel continues to block land access to the Palestinian enclave in which people are living in apocalyptic conditions. Tanaiste Micheal Martin has said a simpler and more effective solution would be for Israel to end its blockades and he urged the international community to increase pressure on the Israeli government. For Gods sake, allow the trucks in, Mr Martin said. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said that a charity ship will leave for Gaza as part of a pilot operation to test a new humanitarian sea corridor delivering aid directly from Cyprus. The EU, the US, the United Arab Emirates, and other countries are launching the sea corridor as early as Sunday. We appreciate any efforts that are being made to get aid into Gaza, but people need to realise that there isnt a strong port infrastructure at all in Gaza, Mr Martin said. Its going to take some time. You need ships, you need all of that. None of that can substitute for the simple solution: open the crossings, multiple crossings. There are hundreds and hundreds of trucks on the other side of the Rafah border. There is a danger that providing alternative routes is potentially letting Israel off the hook. Under international humanitarian law, Israel has responsibilities as an occupying power. At the moment, its policies are starving people. Thats not good enough. The international community, sooner or later, is going to have to address that issue. While the land borders remain gridlocked, Ireland will start delivering substantial aid via air drops to Gaza in coordination with Jordan within the coming days. Aid is already stockpiled in Dubai and Brindisi and Ireland must now work with Jordanian authorities to find out what supplies are most needed in the beleaguered strip. Mr Martin said history will judge the world harshly on the shocking war in Gaza, but Ireland less so. I think history will not judge the world well, but I think Ireland [] has stood up. Ireland has taken action. Ireland has led on quite a range of issues in respect of Gaza. What Hamas did in October displayed medieval barbarity. Weve been clear on that and we condemned unreservedly what Hamas did and there should be a release of all hostages. But the war that has been raged by Israel on Gaza in our view violates international humanitarian law on a whole range of fronts. Its completely disproportionate, its excessive and it cannot be justified." Mr Martin said that the world does not yet know the full scale of damage in Gaza. I think it's much worse than what we've seen. I would say to Israel unequivocally that you must allow the international community into Gaza as soon as possible and you should allow the international media unimpeded and protected into Gaza to see the scale of the destruction and the damage, because it seems to me, Gaza has been levelled. Mr Martin made the comments as Taoiseach Leo Varadkar prepares to meet US President Joe Biden next week for the annual visit to the White House to mark St Patricks Day, with the Gaza crisis and the US response to it likely to be high on the agenda. There's a glaze on their eyes, they see no future. They've lost family, they've lost large numbers of loved ones. It's apocalyptic really...hope being extinguished. These reports from Gaza are what struck Tanaiste Micheal Martin most about the terrible conflict there when he spoke to Philippe Lazzarini who had recently returned. Mr Lazzarini is Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the only major aid agency working in Gaza which provides vital services like healthcare and education. Mr Lazarini told him about the huge change in the people trapped in Gaza. Hed been to Rafah just before he met me. He said that at the start of the war there was lots of adrenaline. Gazans were helping each other, they were running around, they were trying to help people when the explosions happened and bombs happened. But when he went more recently, he said that people were desperate. Theres a glaze on their eyes, they see no future. They've been moved from the north, to the centre, to the south. They're with their children, they've lost family, they've lost large numbers of loved ones. It's apocalyptic really in terms of what he saw in the faces of the people, in terms of hope being extinguished. After Israel alleged that Hamas operatives were working for UNRWA, many countries pulled funding from the UN agency, leaving it cash starved at its time of greatest need. Mr Martin said that Ireland has strongly supported continuing funding of UNRWA and donated an additional 20m to try to help tide the agency over as it battles death, destruction and starvation within Gaza. Mr Martin said that the world does not yet know the full scale of damage there. I think it's much worse than what we've seen. I would say to Israel unequivocally that you must allow the international community into Gaza as soon as possible and you should allow the international media unimpeded and protected into Gaza to see the scale of the destruction and the damage because it seems to me Gaza has been levelled. Tainaiste Micheal Martin with Irish Examiner reporter Liz Dunphy on his visit to the Irish Examiner at Assumption Road, Blackpool, Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan He said that Ireland has worked effectively internationally to advance the Palestinian cause. "Ireland has credibility on Palestine. The danger at times is if you don't work within the EU and try to change people, people will say, 'look, Ireland's just pro-Palestine. Its over there in the corner, saying what it normally says,' and no one takes a blind bit of notice of what you're saying. "Whereas I would argue that Europe has moved a lot during the course of this war [towards the Palestinian position]. A majority now want an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. People are hearing the Irish voice in issues like UNRWA and humanitarian aid and they are responding. The Tanaiste dismissed rumours that he has blocked the publication of government plans to house refugees until after the election as outrageous. Micheal Martin said that he has blocked nothing and a Government plan to house asylum seekers will come before Cabinet in the coming weeks. That's nonsense. I've blocked nothing, he said. The elections are in June, but theyre only local elections. Theyre not ones that will determine immigration policy. So I think that's an outrageous assertion. There will be a plan, it's going to come to Cabinet in the next number of weeks." Mr Martin said that he supports more State provided asylum seeker accommodation centres but both private accommodation and State facilities will be needed into the future. The number of people seeking asylum in Ireland has increased fivefold since 2019, he said. People are concerned about it [migration]. And I understand why people feel the pressures. But we have to work out a coherent plan that's sustainable into the future. He believes history will judge Ireland well in respect of welcoming Ukrainian refugees from the first war in Europe since World War II in which 12m people have been displaced. Putin has weaponised migration and migration is causing immense stresses globally, not just in Europe but in the Middle East, South America, Central America, and in America, he said. Some EU parties are now considering using non-EU countries to process asylum applicants which echo the UKs controversial and failed plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing. But the Conservatives in the UK have not stopped the boats, he said. "Despite all the tough talk the numbers [of migrants and asylum seekers] have gone up," Mr Martin said. Not one migrant has gone to Rwanda but lots of money has gone there. So we should learn lessons from that, Mr Martin said. But migration policy now requires a European-wide approach, he said. And I think we have to, at the first level, resource more the areas in Africa, Middle East and elsewhere to make life a bit more palatable for people that they don't want to seek to leave. It's a symptom very much of a world that's gone very wrong in terms of dictatorships, authoritarianism, political suppression. The world needs to stabilise these areas. That's how you ultimately stem migration. He denied that Irelands reliance on just one navy ship to patrol Irish waters was allowing international drug traffickers easy access, as Irelands air maritime surveillance has 'never been stronger' with two C295 aircraft. "We have stronger maritime surveillance than we ever had with the two C295s. Within a day they can look at the entire sea coast of Ireland, our territory. So they would have been monitoring that [drug] ship coming a long time out. I think we've been very successful in drug interdictions. A lot of [drug] hauls have come in the last three months." Although a lack of naval ships was of some concern regarding drug trafficking, he said the real problem with this current shortage was what it meant for Irelands capacity to protect critical undersea cables. But drug use in Cork city was a problem that needed to be tackled, he said. The ease of access to cocaine and all of that is frightening. We do need more Gardai in Cork. We need more of a presence. There are people articulating a concern about the safety of the city, and we are working with the Gardai. But despite current problems of substance abuse and dereliction, he believes Cork is in the middle of a positive transformation. I see a great future for the city but it's going through a period of transition, he said. The city centre is changing. I think we're going to see more residential in the city centre. We need to see more residential because of the nature of how cities evolve. I think the Docklands [redevelopment] will revitalise the city centre. "Light rail is coming, there's huge investment in the commuter [...] trains [...] and more buses and public transport." And active travel investment is going to make a huge difference in the quality of people's lives in Cork, Mr Martin said. "The number of people that are walking that now and use the Marina [and Marina Park]. You will be able to cycle the whole way in to the city centre without seeing a car eventually. That will help the city centre revive. We've invested hugely, but now that investment has to come through." March 9, 1994 Are the tolls going to be too steep for the average person to travel on the electronic lanes of the coming information highway? That concerns members of a new county telecommunications consortium, who fear people too poor to buy computers or pay the access fees will be effectively shut out of the 21st century, when interactive media are expected to be the entry portal for businesses, shoppers, students and scholars. By the turn of the century, computers will also be the major means of access to government meetings, services and records. Being locked out might mean an average citizen would be barred from participating in government. That issue is sure to open a robust debate about how much of the information highway should be open to everyone. Where will universal access end and free enterprise begin? As local business and government leaders begin serious discussions about building an on-ramp to the information highway, NYNEX, the telephone company that serves much of Cayuga County, is in the midst of extending branches of the highway in New York and New England. As NYNEX proceeds with its plans to connect information centers, lawmakers and judges are still wrestling with policies and precedents that will serve as the rules of the road. One NYNEX spokesman said that decisions made in Washington, D.C., Albany or even in other states will have a direct impact on when or if the telephone company will begin providing Cayuga County with access to the high-tech highway. Both referenda have been resoundingly defeated by the Government, with more than 70% of voters rejecting proposals on care. The results of the care amendment, announced at Dublin Castle, saw 73.9% of voters go against the proposed change to the constitution. In the family referendum, 67.69% voted no. In total, 1,114,620 people voted to reject the Governments proposed changes to the Constitution around care, compared to 393,053 voters in favour. Overall 73.9% of people voted no, compared to 26.1% who voted in favour of the care referendum. There were a total of 1,525,221 ballots cast in the care referendum. Every single constituency across the country voted against the care referendum, while just Dun Laoghaire voted in favour of the family referendum. Earlier, the referendum on family saw more than 67% of voters rejecting the proposal. The results showed there were 487,564 votes in favour of the proposal compared to 1,021,546 against. The first constituency in the country to report back was Cork South Central, which overwhelmingly voted against it. In total, 61.3% of voters rejected the wording. Only one constituency voted in favour of the proposal Dun Laoghaire at a very slim margin of 50.3% in favour to 49.7% against. Overall, 67.69% of people voted no, compared to 32.31% voting in favour. Turnout was higher than expected, with over 40% of the electorate coming out to cast a ballot on Friday. However, it was significantly lower than the most recent standalone referendum Repeal the 8th where there was a 64% turnout. Ahead of the vote being announced, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar accepted that the Government had lost the referenda, saying they had received two wallops from the electorate. Mr Varadkar said that both had been defeated comprehensively on a respectable turnout. Refenda Returning Officer Barry Ryan. Picture: Damien Storan/PA Wire The Government accepts the result and will respect it fully. As head of Government, on behalf of Government, we accept responsibility for the results, Mr Varadkar said. It was our responsibility to convince the majority of people to vote yes and we clearly failed to do so. I think we struggled to convince people of the necessity or need for the referendum at all, let alone detail of the wording and thats obviously something were going to have to reflect on. Tanaiste Micheal Martin also accepted the results, saying that the majority were not persuaded by the arguments for changing the Constitution in this way. No campaigners celebrate at Dublin Castle as the result is announced in the first of the twin referenda to change the Constitution on family and care. Picture: Damien Storan/PA Wire It is a core strength of our Constitution that the people have the final say. We fully respect their decision. Mr Martin said that there was no single reason as to why the referendums were defeated, adding that the Government needed to reflect on this matter. A 49-year-old Ballincollig man was jailed for two years today (March 8) for heroin dealing at an apartment in Cork city. The case on which Kenneth OMahony, of 1 Innishmore Square, Ballincollig, County Cork, was sentenced dated back to March 2, 2021. On that date, Garda Peter Kelleher executed a warrant to search an apartment at Leeside Apartments, Francis Street, Cork. Twenty deals of individually wrapped deals of heroin were found on that date together with 2,500 in cash. Garda Kelleher testified that the cash was made up in mainly 50 notes and that the drugs consisted of small plastic bags of brown powder, weighing just under 7.5 grammes. Forensic Science Ireland examined the drugs and found that the drug was Diamorphine. Mr OMahony pleaded guilty to possession of the drug and the more serious count of having it for sale or supply. He also admitted when arraigned at Cork Circuit Criminal Court the offence of money-laundering in respect of 2,500 in cash the proceeds of criminal conduct. Defence barrister Paula McCarthy suggested that the accused cooperated with the investigation. Garda Kelleher replied: He was cooperative to a certain extent. Procedurally, he is very easy to deal with. The man has 158 previous convictions including ten under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Three of those convictions were for drug dealing. The value of the drugs in the present case was approximately 1,000. While the value of the stash was relatively low, an aggravating factor was the number of previous convictions which the defendant had. Judge Helen Boyle imposed a prison sentence of three years with the last year suspended on condition that he would keep the peace and be of good behaviour for a year. Mr OMahony is also required to comply with the directions of the probation service for a year following his release from custody. Roscrea is "completely against racism" and "refugees are welcome", a rally in support of asylum seekers in the Tipperary town has heard. More than 60 people from nearby towns including Cloughjordan, Nenagh, Clonmel, and Cashel turned up for an anti-racism rally which included some of the local asylum seekers. In January, Roscrea town made unwanted international headlines when some locals clashed with gardai, after the local Racket Hall hotel closed to house asylum seekers. Images of ugly scenes emerged as international protection applicants, including small children, were being bused into the grounds of the hotel, with some locals arguing that the closure would be a major blow to the tourism industry. Fianna Fail TD Jackie Cahill was one of the speakers at the lunchtime vigil on Saturday. As he addressed the crowd, one man began shouting at him while streaming live on his phone. The people attending the vigil immediately circled the man with placards and shouted, refugees welcome, refugees welcome and the man eventually left. The protestors cheered as he crossed the road where he was joined by six others who shouted over at the people holding the vigil before they moved on. Following the disruption, Mr Cahill said: I think if you want an endorsement about why we have events like this, were just after getting it. We are an open country we are completely against racism. We offer people an opportunity in this country, we will continue to do that. Jackie Cahill addresses the crowd. Picture: Brendan Gleeson Yes, there is an issue in terms of resources that needs to be addressed and is being addressed but I will make no apologies to anyone for saying this is a country that welcomes people, the vast majority of the population in this country have that view. We have a minority that are trying to force their opinions down our throats, lets never let that happen. Lets endorse the people coming in here welcome them, incorporate them into our workforce, let them build up futures like Irish people did all over the world for the last number centuries, and they will enrich our culture and country." During the protest people held up signs saying refugees welcome and Tipperary against racism. Pat McCabe from Tipperary Anti-Racist Network said: "Some people want to divide our community using fear about where these new faces are from, or their colour. Why? Because theyve got nothing else to offer. Whether born here, or seeking safety, we all want a safe and decent life. Thats why we need to stop being divided and distracted, roll up our sleeves and fight together for the resources Roscrea needs. Speaking to the Irish Examiner, he said the vigil was a great success and that it was wonderful to see so many people from all backgrounds here. Two asylum seekers who are living in the former mother and baby home, Sean Ross Abbey, outside the town which now houses 120 international protection applicants said they are now after securing employment. One of the men, who did not want to be identified, said: We want to be part of the community and we like Roscrea so we hope that some people will eventually be okay with us. Christine Murphy, house manager for Sean Ross Abbey which is also known as Corville House, read a poem about asylum seekers at the vigil, called Why Ireland?. It included the words: When my brothers and sisters were washed up ashore, Ireland wept, their hearts bruised and sore. When my brothers and sisters were suffocated in a lorry with no air, Ireland wept, the whole country filled with despair. Ms Murphy recently revealed that 85% of the residents housed in Corville house are employed in the local area and surrounding countries. She said: We wanted to show that not everyone is of the same opinion as the protestors who have been very vocal over the last couple of weeks. We are very happy with the turnout and from the towns around Roscrea. Majella O'Connor , Hasret Dayan, Ruairi McBride and Ollie Moore at the rally. Picture: Brendan Gleeson Former asylum seeker, Hasret Dayan from Turkey, said: I am a refugee, and I live in Cloughjordan for the last seven years. I have my own private place now and I am out of the main system, and I am waiting for my citizenship. I am almost there. "I am a professional chef. I came here in 2016 and there were no protests then. I feel sorry and a little bit angry, when I arrived my community was so helpful. I felt really at home, and I have really nice friends. Recently a lot of things are happening, and it has really shocked me, the protests they really upset me. This never happened when I came here, things are changing. But we are here today to say, guys we can live together all of us, this behaviour of the protests is new to me, and I hate racism. Cloughjordan native Ruari McBride said that when he saw what was happening in Racket Hall, he wanted to come here and stand in solidarity with the anti-racism groups. Irish people moved all around the world over the years and other people have the right to do that too. A minutes silence was then held among the crowd for the people who have fled wars and persecution to seek refuge in Ireland. Roscrea currently has three centres housing international protection applicants including Racket Hall hotel, Mercy Convent and Sean Ross Abbey. Locals are still protesting at Racket Hall over what they say is a lack of resources in the town, where there is a population of around 6,000. The 40th amendment of the Constitution (Care), Article 42.B is a missed opportunity. The wording of 42.B gives constitutional expression to the conservative ideological position that the primary responsibility for care resides within the family and family members. The article is not rights-based and is very carefully worded to indemnify the State and the HSE from any legal obligation to support family carers. 98% of unpaid family carers are women and girls. The use of the word strive is designed to ensure that State supports for care are not legally enforceable or justiciable. The wording carefully chosen by Government and its legal advisers omits any reference to rights to care in the community or outside the home as explicitly recommended by both the Citizens Assembly and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality. Ireland is an outlier in this regard. We are the only jurisdiction in the European Union where disabled citizens and carers have no legal right to treatment, therapies, interventions, surgeries, or supports. This is one of the reasons why disabled children and adolescents have become permanently paralysed, further disabled or dying on waiting lists in Ireland. The counting gets underway in Cork. Picture: Larry Cummins As a parent and carer for over 20 years, I have experienced first hand the lack of supports for disabled children and adults like my son. From the moment he was diagnosed with a rare neuromuscular disease, our family entered the parallel universe which exists in Ireland for disabled citizens. Quite simply put, Ireland is one of the worst countries in Europe in which to be disabled whether that be physical disability, intellectual disability, neurodiverse, or simply elderly with additional needs. Our waiting lists, for even a basic assessment of need, are so chronic and catastrophically long that no cohort of disabled citizens receives adequate or meaningful treatment or care within the therapeutic window. This results in countless Irish disabled citizens suffering life-limiting, life-altering, and sub-optimal outcomes that would not be tolerated in other EU member states. The context for the wording of article 42.B is particularly interesting. Last year in Seanad Eireann I introduced the Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023, which would give disabled citizens the legal, enforceable right to the treatments, therapies, and care supports identified in an assessment of need. Our Cabinet gave an instruction to strike the bill down by an amendment that would kill the bill. In December, Minister for Disability Roderic OGorman told me that he would not support this bill as it would impose a challenging burden on the State in terms of resources. Let there be no confusion here, our Government is hostile to the idea of conferring legal rights on disabled Irish citizens. On January 31 in the Seanad, I proposed an amendment to a Government private members bill on Care, that Ireland immediately ratify all protocols of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities including the optional protocol. This would have conferred legal rights on disabled citizens particularly under Article 19 of the UNCRPD to live independent, autonomous lives outside the family. Government senators voted against this amendment. Tom Clonan When my son turned 18 and moved from limited paediatric supports to adult services, I contacted the HSE to find out what his care plan was. The HSE disability services manager expressed surprise. He lives at home with you doesnt he? Thats the plan for him. I then asked what would happen to my son when I died. What care supports would he receive to live independently? I was passed on to the HSE social worker. She asked me if my son had a sister. When I replied yes, she stated: She will look after your son when you die. What are you worried about? This conversation occurred in 2019, not 1819. It is emblematic of the patriarchal and paternalistic view of the Irish State towards carers and disabled citizens. The wording of Article 42.B was drafted by a polity that is hostile to the rights of disabled citizens. It gives constitutional expression to an ableist view that disabled citizens must rely on family members for care and deliberately excludes the right to an independent, autonomous life in the community. Im not part of a vote no campaign. Each Irish citizen will vote according to their conscience. I cannot vote for this amendment. It subordinates the rights of an entire group of Irish citizens in a way that would not be tolerated for any other identity, by way of ethnicity, religious formation, LGBT+ status, or any other protected status. It is frankly heartbreaking. The World Health Organization notes that every citizen will become disabled at some point in their lives. Many of us do not have or desire family supports. We all hope to live autonomous, dignified lives. Anyone who votes for the wording of 42.B is subordinating the inalienable human rights of our most vulnerable citizens and wittingly or unwittingly engaging in an act of individual and collective self-harm. Its an interesting day, poised as we are between International Womens Day and Mothers Day tomorrow. One of yesterdays many triumphs was the unveiling of not one, but two statues of women at Belfast City Hall. How wonderful to see female activists Mary Ann McCracken and Winifred Carney stand tall again, thanks to artist Ralf Sander. Mary Ann McCracken of Belfast was a social reformer who up until her death campaigned for the rights of others. Mary Ann McCracken (1770-1866) was the energetic abolitionist, educator and social reformer who famously said that she would prefer to wear out than to rust out. There was no fear of that; Mary Ann was fighting for the rights of others until shortly before her death in 1866. At age 88, bonneted and bespectacled, she was still down at the docks in Belfast telling emigrants about the abomination of slavery. HISTORY HUB If you are interested in this article then no doubt you will enjoy exploring the various history collections and content in our history hub. Check it out HERE and happy reading Winifred Winnie Carney (1887-1943) campaigned for workers' and womens rights and acted as James Connollys aide-de-camp during the 1916 Easter Rising. She was secretary of the Irish Textiles Workers Union and campaigned to get better wages for female mill workers in Belfast. Ahead of Mothers Day, lets recall her mother, too, because she must have influenced Winnies activism. Sarah Carney was a separated mother of six who ran a sweetshop on the Falls Road in Belfast to support her family. Her husband Alfred Carney, a commercial traveller, had moved to London and, according to one account, little more was heard of him after that. Imagine what it was like being Mrs Carney in the Belfast of the 1880s and 1890s. Indeed, at any time; raising six children alone is a daunting task. Mary Harris is finally to have a statue in Chicago the city she called home. Another mother both a real and figurative one is going to be honoured with a statue in Chicago. Mother Jones, born Mary Harris near Shandon in Cork in 1837, is finally to have a statue in the city she called home. The redoubtable trade unionist was so effective that she was once labelled 'Americas most dangerous woman' Whenever I start to feel put upon, I reread the details of her life. She survived the Famine in Ireland, the trip to America, and then the loss of her four children and her husband to yellow fever in 1867 while living in Memphis, Tennessee. Somehow, she managed to start over in Chicago and opened a shop. It went up in flames during the great Chicago fire of October 1871. Hundreds of people in the city died and thousands more were made homeless. Mary Harris started over yet again, this time joining the labour movement and beginning a lifelong fight to end child labour and improve the lot of workers. My favourite story is her account of assembling an army of women who fought with mops, brooms and tin dishpans to secure better pay for coal workers in Arnot, Pennsylvania in 1899. Whenever the scabs came near, the women hammered their dishpans and howled until the strike was won. Speaking of winning, the committee that campaigned long and hard to have this resilient, hell-raising woman recognised posted this jubilant message when the statue got the go-ahead: We Did It! Mother Jones Sculpture/Statue to be Located at Chicagos Iconic Water Tower. It was interesting to see that the campaign to honour one of the founders of the American labour movement began with a $36,000 (32,800) grant from the Irish government. A bigger celebration You just have to wonder why she doesnt have a statue in Cork. Its not true to say that she is unheralded in her birthplace; she is honoured with a festival and enjoys widespread recognition. But isnt it time to make her a little bit more visible too? Whos up for the Irish Mother Jones Sculpture/Statue campaign? It would, as the people in Chicago have said, be pretty cool to be able to say, Lets meet at the Mother Jones statue. May McGee, the woman who took on the State and won. Another mother Id love to see honoured is May McGee, a woman who has done so much for other mothers. Or should I say would-be mothers because she fought and won access to contraception for all. When she was 27, she had four infants under the age of two; two babies born very close together, followed by twins. All three pregnancies were very difficult and she had a stroke after the second one. Her doctor warned her that another pregnancy would put her life at risk. The pill was ruled out because of her stroke, so she was advised to use a diaphragm and spermicidal jelly. She ordered the jelly from the UK and was gobsmacked when customs officials intercepted it. She and her late husband Seamus were warned they could face a fine or even jail. May was not having it; she wasnt going to allow the State to tell her and her husband how to live their lives. The couple took their case to the High Court, arguing that the prohibition on contraception was an infringement of Mays personal rights and on the rights of her family and was, therefore, unconstitutional. When May, who is hard of hearing and lip reads, took the stand, she said she was terrified. She said it was a scary place and the lawyers asked questions six different ways. Anger spurred her on, though. When she was asked why she and her husband couldnt live as brother and sister, she made a point of looking the judge directly in the eye before speaking. She said she wouldnt do that: We are husband and wife, and we cannot live as brother and sister. That must have taken immense courage. Just as it did for Seamus to take the stand and deliver this response when asked if he liked the idea of his wife taking contraceptives: Id prefer to see her use contraceptives than be placing flowers on her grave. She lost her case but went to the Supreme Court, sitting in the gallery day after day, knitting, as legal argument continued. It was worth the wait. On December 19, 1973, May McGee won her case. On the 50th anniversary of that victory last year, Supreme Court judge Gerard Hogan said the victory was the legal equivalent of the moon landing. He presented her with the Praeses Elit award, in recognition of her immense contribution to Irish law and society, and said the empty alcoves of the Four Courts should contain statues celebrating famous litigants such as May. And so they should, but Id love to see May McGee honoured in a public space. Just where that might be and how we might celebrate her is a perfect topic of conversation for a day between International Womens Day and Mothers Day. A synthetic sapphire and diamond bracelet dating from c1920 with an estimate of 7,000-8,000 is the most expensively estimated lot at The Jewellery Box sale at James Adam on Monday. and a Famille Verte Lady with Children charger (8,000-10,000) takes that honour at a sale entitled The Awakening Dragon on Tuesday. It all adds up to a busy week for the Dublin firm, which will follow up on Wednesday with an online picture sale to include a number of works to be sold without reserve. The most highly estimated art lots are Figures with Two Cottages by Markey Robinson and a bronze of Three Galloping Horses by Siobhan Bulfin, each estimated at 3,000-5,000. President Joe Bidens growing frustration with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to mount, with the Democrat captured on a hot mic saying that he and the Israeli leader will need to have a come to Jesus meeting. The comments by Mr Biden came as he spoke with Senator Michael Bennet, a Democrat, on the floor of the House chamber following Thursday nights State Of The Union address. In the exchange, Mr Bennet congratulates Mr Biden on his speech and urges the president to keep pressing Mr Netanyahu on growing humanitarian concerns in Gaza. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg were also part of the brief conversation. I told him, Bibi, and dont repeat this, but you and I are going to have a come to Jesus meeting Mr Biden then responds using Mr Netanyahus nickname, saying: I told him, Bibi, and dont repeat this, but you and I are going to have a come to Jesus meeting. An aide to the president standing nearby then speaks quietly into the presidents ear, appearing to alert Mr Biden that microphones remained on as he worked the room. Im on a hot mic here, Mr Biden says after being alerted. Good. Thats good. The president on Friday acknowledged the comments, lightheartedly poking at reporters that they were eavesdropping on his conversation. Asked if he thought Mr Netanyahu should be doing more to alleviate the humanitarian suffering, Mr Biden responded: Yes, he does. A widening humanitarian crisis across Gaza and tight Israeli control of aid lorries have left virtually the entire population desperately short of food, according to the United Nations. Officials have been warning for months that Israels siege and offensive were pushing the Palestinian territory into famine. Israels prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a gathering of Jewish leaders at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP) Mr Biden has become increasingly public about his frustration with Mr Netanyahu governments unwillingness to open more land crossings for critically needed aid to make its way into Gaza. In his address, he called on the Israelis to do more to alleviate the suffering even as they try to eliminate Hamas. To Israel, I say this humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip, Mr Biden said. The president announced in his speech that the US military would help establish a temporary pier aimed at boosting the amount of aid getting into the territory. Last week, the US military began air dropping aid into Gaza. Mr Biden said the temporary pier will enable a massive increase in humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza. Later on Friday, Mr Biden at a campaign stop in suburban Philadelphia told reporters that the prospects of forging an extended ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is looking tough. Ramadan is expected to begin on Sunday. Mr Biden also said that he was worried about violence spreading to east Jerusalem. Clashes have erupted during Ramadan in recent years between Palestinians and Israeli security forces around Jerusalems Old City, home to major religious sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims and the emotional epicentre of the Middle East conflict. Ukrainian authorities have said two people, including a teenage boy, have been killed in Russian artillery attacks. Meanwhile, Russia reported it had shot down a Ukrainian fighter jet and destroyed a wave of drones over several regions. The attacks came as Russia is gaining momentum on battlefield and Ukraine forces are running low on ammunition. Ukraines allies in the West are delicately raising the prospect of sending troops. Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski said deploying Nato troops to Ukraine is not unthinkable. French President Emmanuel Macron said last month that the idea should not be ruled out. Serhiy Lysak, governor of Ukraines Dnipropetrovsk region, said a 16-year-old boy was killed and a 22-year-old man injured in a morning artillery attack that hit the town of Chervonohryhorivka. Today, I addressed the National Taras Shevchenko Award Ceremony. For a human community to become a nation and a state, the country's best characters must have hearts that cannot be satisfied with simply living for themselves. Such hearts communicate with those who are near. Take pic.twitter.com/KtWuup6vGA Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) March 9, 2024 The town is on the opposite bank of the river from the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europes largest, and the area is subject to almost-daily Russian attacks. In the town of Chasiv Yar, one person was killed in artillery fire, according to authorities in the Donetsk region, much of which is under Russian control and where fighting has been heavy throughout the war, now in its third year. The Russian defence ministry said its forces shot down 41 drones that were launched over the Rostov region, which borders Ukraine and is home to Russias southern military command, along with two drones over the Kursk region and three over Volgograd. There were no immediate reports of injuries. The ministry also said the air force had shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet over Pokrovsk, a city and important railway junction in the Donetsk region that is a prime Russian target following Ukrainian forces February withdrawal from Avdiivka, a significant setback for Ukraines struggling war effort. The governor of Russias Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, reported that Ukrainian drones attacked two villages near the border Saturday, but that no one was injured. The governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, did not specify damage from the attacks. Despite its military setbacks, Ukraine resists suggestions of peace negotiations with Russia. During a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country was willing to host a peace summit between Russia and Ukraine. But Mr Zelensky remains firm on not engaging directly with Russia on peace talks and has said multiple times the initiative in peace negotiations must belong to the country which has been invaded. Large Nato drills in the fjords of northern Norway are being carried out to hone the fighting skills of the newly expanded 32-nation military alliance. Nato is baring its fangs in its biggest exercises since the Cold War, sending an unmistakable message to Russia that alliance members are ready to defend each other if needed. Having watched Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its third year, the Nato training aims to cover all eventualities and that can include trying to catch troops off guard. Forces from Norway, Sweden and Finland are taking part in the drills (NTB Scanpix via AP) As part of the exercises this week, crew members aboard the French frigate Normandie, one of Frances most modern warships, were roused from sleep and scrambled to hunt down and kill a submarine that sneaked into cold Norwegian waters. The submarine belongs to Germany, also a Nato member. For the purpose of the war games dubbed Nordic Response 2024, it was acting as an enemy vessel. The Normandie crew spotted its periscope poking through the waves and sprang into action. The submarine had already attacked a nearby Italian ship, the aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi, scoring an imaginary torpedo hit. The crew were determined not to let Normandie a top-of-the-line vessel, in service only since 2020 suffer the indignity of also being struck. The French frigate Normandie is part of a Nato force conducting exercises in the seas, north of Norway (AP) An urgent 7am call got Normandies commander, Capt Thomas Vuong, up from his bunk. He ordered the frigates submarine-hunting helicopter to be readied for flight, waking its pilot. We spotted its attack periscope, Capt Vuong told The Associated Press on board Normandie in an exclusive interview. Then it dived again, he said. We were asked to hunt for it. We succeeded. Once airborne, the Normandies NH90 helicopter hovered over the waves and lowered its submarine-detecting sonar into the sea. The frigate also used its sonar, and together, they zeroed in on the subs position and attacked it in turn. The war games are intended to send a clear message to Russia (NTB Scanpix via AP) Intelligence confirmed to us that there were no friendly submarines in the sector, so we were certain that it was an enemy submarine, the helicopter pilot, Lt Olivier, recounted. The French navy withheld his family name for security reasons. So the frigate was able to fire a torpedo and destroy the submarine, he added but not for real, of course. The frigate and its helicopter pinpointed the submarine with sufficient accuracy to be sure that it would not have survived had actual torpedoes been fired. The Normandie crew of 146 mariners got no advance warning of the German sub attack, to test their readiness in the inhospitable environment above the Artic Circle, Capt Vuong said. The exercise is codenamed Steadfast Defender, and is the largest conducted by the military alliance since the cold war (AP) As of this week, Nato nations now also include Sweden. It formally joined on Thursday as the 32nd member, ending decades of post-Second World War neutrality. Finland had already joined Nato in April 2023 in a historic move after decades of its military non-alignment. In both countries, Russias aggression in Ukraine triggered a dramatic shift in public opinion, leading to their May 2022 applications to join Nato. The Nordic drill in the northern regions of Finland, Norway and Sweden involves more than 20,000 soldiers from 13 nations and kicked off on Monday. It is part of wider exercises called Steadfast Defender 24. They are Natos biggest in decades, with up to 90,000 troops involved over several months. The French frigate successfully defeated its foe in the exercise (AP) They are aimed at showing the alliance can defend all of its territory up to its borders with Russia. German submariners are more familiar than Normandie with Norways deep and narrow fjords and the cold Arctic waters that can complicate submarine detection, Capt Vuong said. The drill was extremely beneficial, because we reach a very high degree of realism and so we better prepare our teams, he said. The fjords are a special environment, with a temperature profile different to what we know in the Atlantic. To be able to train our teams here, against this threat, is extremely valuable and extremely stimulating, he added. This is their playing field. So they know the hiding places. Another top donor to the UN agency aiding Palestinians has said it will resume funding, weeks after more than a dozen countries halted hundreds of millions of dollars in support in response to Israeli allegations against the organisation. Swedens reversal came as a ship bearing tonnes of humanitarian aid was making preparations to leave Cyprus for Gaza after international donors launched a sea corridor to supply the besieged territory facing widespread hunger after five months of war. Swedens decision followed similar moves by the European Union and Canada as the UN agency known as UNRWA warns that it could collapse and leave Gazas already desperate population of more than two million people with even less medical and other assistance. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is devastating and the needs are acute, development minister Johan Forssell said in Swedens announcement, adding that the UNRWA had agreed to increased transparency and stricter oversight and controls. Sweden will give the UNRWA half of the 38 million dollar (29.6 million) funding it promised for this year, with more to come. Israel had accused 12 of UNRWAs thousands of employees of participating in the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel that killed 1,200 people and took about 250 others hostage. 5 months after full-scale invasion of#Gaza, 30,000 Palestinians are dead, children have died of hunger & +1/2 million people face starvation. As Israel continues to bomb the besieged Strip & restrict entry of lifesaving aid the @UN struggles to respond.https://t.co/HHQRqWSt84 UNRWA (@UNRWA) March 9, 2024 Countries including the United States quickly suspended funding to UNRWA worth about 450 million dollars (350.5 million), almost half its budget for the year. The UN has launched investigations, and the UNRWA has been agreeing to outside audits to win back donor support. On the eve of Ramadan, hungry Gaza residents scrambled for packages of food supplies dropped by US and Jordanian military planes a method of delivery that humanitarian groups have called deeply inadequate compared to deliveries by ground. But the daily number of aid trucks entering Gaza since the war has been far below the 500 that entered before October 7 because of Israeli restrictions and security issues. People dashed through devastated areas of Gaza City as the parachuting aid descended. The US airdrops have been criticised as inadequate (AP) The US military said that its planes on Saturday airdropped more than 41,000 meal equivalents and 23,000 bottles of water into northern Gaza, the hardest part of the enclave to access. The health ministry in Gaza said that two more people, including a two-month-old infant, had died as a result of malnutrition, raising the total number of people who died from hunger to 25. Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra said the toll included only people brought to hospitals. Overall, the ministry said, at least 30,878 Palestinians have been killed since the war began. It does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tallies, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and its figures from previous wars have largely matched those of the UN and independent experts. Tonight, Im directing the U.S. military to establish a temporary pier on the Gaza coast that can receive shipments of food, water, medicine, and shelter. To Israel, I say humanitarian assistance cannot be secondary. Protecting and saving innocent lives must be a priority. President Biden (@POTUS) March 8, 2024 The opening of the sea delivery corridor, along with the airdrops, showed increasing frustration with Gazas humanitarian crisis and a new international willingness to work around Israeli restrictions. The sea corridor is backed by the EU together with the United States, the United Arab Emirates and other involved countries, and the European Commission has said that UN agencies and the Red Cross will also play a role. The ship belonging to Spains Open Arms aid group was expected to make a pilot voyage to test the corridor as early as this weekend. The ship has been waiting at Cypruss port of Larnaca for permission. Israel has said it welcomes the maritime corridor, but cautioned that it would need security checks. Open Arms founder Oscar Camps told The Associated Press that the ship pulling a barge with 200 tonnes of rice and flour would take two to three days to arrive at an undisclosed location where the group World Central Kitchen was constructing a pier to receive it. The group has 60 food kitchens throughout Gaza to distribute aid, he said. Palestinians walk by a residential building destroyed in an Israeli strike in Rafah, Gaza Strip (AP) US President Joe Biden has announced a plan to build a temporary pier in Gaza to help deliver aid, underlining how the US has to go around Israel, its main Middle East ally and the top recipient of US military aid. Israel accuses Hamas of commandeering some aid deliveries. American officials said it will likely be weeks before the Gaza pier is operational. The executive director of the US arm of medical charity Doctors Without Borders, Avril Benoit, in a statement criticised the US plan as a glaring distraction from the real problem: Israels indiscriminate and disproportionate military campaign and punishing siege. Sigrid Kaag, the UN senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, has said air and sea deliveries cannot make up for a shortage of supply routes on land. Meanwhile, efforts to reach a ceasefire before Ramadan appear to have stalled. Hamas said on Thursday that its delegation had left Cairo until next week. International mediators had hoped to alleviate some of the immediate crisis with a six-week ceasefire, which would have seen Hamas release some of the Israeli hostages it is holding, Israel release some Palestinian prisoners, and aid groups given access for a major influx of assistance into Gaza. Palestinian militants are believed to be holding around 100 hostages and the remains of 30 others captured during the October 7 attack. Several dozen hostages were freed in a weeklong November truce. The Southern Cayuga Future Farmers of America launched a Growing Hope Globally project Friday at Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES in Aurelius. The event provided information about the local FFA chapter, its partnership with the King Ferry Food Pantry to address hunger locally, and its commitment to supporting indigenous farmers in Guatemala with growing their own food. Growing Hope Globally is a faith-based organization that works to reduce hunger through growing projects, and supports agricultural development programs in more than 25 different countries. The Southern Cayuga project will feature Cayuga County's dairy industry and milk ingredients production to deliver quality nutrition around the world. Saturday, Mar 9th, 2024 (12:01 am) - Score 5,440 The UK government-owned National Highways organisation, which operates, maintains and improves motorways and major A roads in England (they also set related UK standards), appears to have begun the process of hunting for a new supplier to manage the roadside National Roads Telecommunications Services (NRTS) network. The estimated contract value is 650m. The NRTS project currently provides services to over 30,000 end devices on over 3,500km of the strategic road network. These telecommunications services, supported by fibre optic data links, provide connectivity between control rooms and roadside devices, such as variable message signs, emergency telephones and CCTV cameras. The previous 450m contract for the NRTS was awarded to telent Technology Services Ltd in December 2017. However, ISPreview notes that the government recently posted a new Prior Information Notice (PIN), which appears to be hunting a new supplier for the provision, operation and maintenance of telecommunications services between the roadside and various central locations for National Highways. Description of the procurement The current NRTS contract is due to come to an end in March 2027 and we have an exciting opportunity for new supply partner(s) who may be interested in bidding for this exciting and high value contract. The scope of the contract includes the maintenance and deployment of NRTS services and is expected to cover cable-based, wireless and public network technologies, alongside undertaking several related service areas (for example provision of a NRTS service management system that is capable of wider use to support our management of roadside devices). Any new supply partner(s) will need to be in place at least six months before the contract end date to ensure a smooth transition of contract management and requirements. The duration of the new contract is anticipated to be around seven years, with the option to extend by a further two years, with a value range of between 500,000,000 GBP and 800,000,000 GBP. Due to the broad scope of the project, it is likely that a wide range of suppliers will be needed to deliver the NRTS3 contract requirements and, taking this into account, we think this opportunity will most likely be of interest to: *Project management contractors; *Telecommunications equipment suppliers; *Telecommunications equipment maintainers; *Fixed telecommunications network operators; *Mobile telecommunications network operators (e.g. 4G, satellite, wireless broadband); *Highways infrastructure civil contractors; and *Small and medium enterprises with relevant specialist expertise. (It is anticipated that the contract will be awarded to 1 or more prime suppliers). The PIN represents the start of a market engagement phase and the formal publication of a contract notice, as currently estimated, isnt expected to follow until around the end of September 2024. 1371138342::cfb49c8e-2422-11e5-99a3-d7f5c6e8b241 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. (Photo : Unsplash/Arthur Osipyan) At a keynote speech of Google's Israel Business managing director in New York on Monday, an employee from Google's cloud division publicly protested opposition, declaring, "I refuse to build technology that powers genocide." Mounting Tension Inside Google According to CNBC, the Google Cloud engineer was fired afterward, marking another dark moment in Google's recent series of challenges with political and cultural clashes. The company has faced these challenges in addressing employee dissent. More internal conflict arose this week, connected to the Gaza crisis. Before an International Women's Day Summit in Silicon Valley on Thursday, Google's employee message board received numerous comments regarding the company's military contracts with Israel, linked to the crisis in Gaza. The online forum, intended to inform questions for executives at the event, was closed due to what a spokesperson described as "disruptive" and "divisive" content. READ ALSO: Ex-Google Engineer Busted Working with Chinese Companies, Faces Four Theft Counts for Stealing AI Trade Secrets Google's AI Involvement with the Israeli Government Google's involvement in supplying technology to domestic and international militaries has been a concern among its workforce since at least 2018. This began with employee protests against a Defense Department contract known as Project Maven. Subsequently, controversy emerged regarding Project Nimbus, a one billion two hundred million dollar agreement for artificial intelligence and computing services involving Google, Amazon Web Services, and the Israeli government and military that commenced in 2021. Employee discontent has extended to various other concerns, frequently prompting CEO Sundar Pichai to defend the company's stance when confronted during company events. Escalating Middle East Tension Causing Employees' Opposition Google has been further impacted by the escalating tensions in the Middle East war during the last five months. The Health Ministry of the Palestinian enclave reports that since Hamas commenced its murderous and multifaceted attacks against Israel in October, there have been at least 30,000 Palestinian deaths as a result of the military response, and many more are maimed or in danger of hunger. More than 600 Google employees recently signed a letter to the firm's leadership requesting that the business cease supporting the annual Mind the Tech conference promoting the Israeli tech sector. The managing director of Google Israel, Barak Regev, gave a speech at the event on Monday in New York. Google Affirming Space to Diverse Opinions But Acts Otherwise A video of the employee protesting, "No cloud for apartheid," during the speech became widely shared online, with some audience members booed as security escorted him out of the building. Regev then addressed the crowd, emphasizing the importance of giving space for diverse opinions within a company that upholds democratic values. On Thursday, a Google spokesperson emailed CNBC that the employee was terminated for disrupting an official company-sponsored event. The spokesperson stressed that such behavior is unacceptable regardless of the issue and that the employee violated company policies. However, the spokesperson did not specify which policies were breached. RELATED ARTICLE: OpenAI CEO Warns of Societal Misalignment, Calls for a Regulatory Body to Supervise AI 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. AUBURN DNA analysis results were discussed and a series of experts and law enforcement professionals spoke Friday in the Cayuga County Court murder trial of Gage Ashley. Among the seven witnesses who testified in court that day was Lola Murray, a New York State Police forensic scientist. She told the jury that Ashley, 26, was the major contributor of DNA found on a black sweatshirt prosecutors said he wore during the November 2019 shooting of Joshua Poole at 8 Delevan St. in the city. But DNA on the sweatshirt was consistent with at least three donors, she added. Ashley's attorney, Shaun Chase, asked if there was any scientific way Murray could determine when DNA was left on an item, and if there was any way to prove Ashley wore the sweatshirt at the time of the crime. Murray answered "no" to both questions. Before she spoke, Richard Brunt, also a forensic scientist with the state police, said blood was determined to have been on that same sweatshirt. Jason Cooper, forensic video unit manager with the state police, spoke about images showing Ashley's sweatshirt, the 1999 red Oldsmobile prosecutors say he drove to 8 Delevan St., and a black coat worn that night by Tyree Anglin, who was sentenced for his role in Poole's killing in 2022. Cooper, who had also been sent the sweatshirt, noted it and the one in the image both said "WTCC" on the back. Identification officer Don Laraway, Sgt. Christine Gilfus and Sgt. Matthew Hare, all Auburn Police Department members, each described evidence technician duties they served during the investigation. Other witnesses Friday included Meagan Kalet, formerly a detective with the department and its lead investigator on the homicide. Friday was the second day of testimony in Ashley's trial, as opening arguments were made and five witnesses spoke Thursday. Why Ashley is being tried now Ashley originally pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, second-degree murder, first-degree attempted robbery and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon in September 2021. He was sentenced that December to 21 years to life in prison, but his conviction was overturned in May 2023 after a state appeals court determined the grand jury that indicted him was illegally constituted because a member had a criminal conviction. He was indicted again on the same charges in June, and his trial will continue Monday morning. City Vyonne J. Elliott Jr., 33, of Auburn, was charged March 5 with endangering the welfare of a child, first-degree criminal contempt and second-degree criminal contempt. Hayden R. Powers, 26, of Aurelius, was charged March 5 with false personation and resisting arrest. Bishop T. Prenatt, 29, of Auburn, was charged March 5 with third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and resisting arrest. Joel F. Ayers, 31, of Auburn, was charged March 6 with second-degree criminal contempt. Jason P. Colon, 43, of Auburn, was charged March 6 with imitation controlled substances first violation and possession of a mislabeled dangerous drug. Jennifer R. Paige, 39, of Auburn, was charged March 6 with third-degree escape and resisting arrest. Lauren E. Podolak, 24, of Auburn, was charged March 6 with possession of a mislabeled dangerous drug. Corey D. Swan, 27, of Auburn, was, was charged March 6 with third-degree assault. Edward D. Babiarz, 33, of Cato, was charged March 7 with third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. Jeremy D. Darrin, 38, of Auburn, was charged March 7 with fifth-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. Michael J. Desino, 31, of Greece, New York, was charged March 7 with second-degree possession of a forged instrument. Joshua A. Hinton, 36, of Auburn, was charged March 7 with second-degree criminal trespass. Michael P. Moncrief, 41, of Ogdensburg, was charged March 7 with driving while intoxicated first offense and operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content level of .08 of 1% first offense. Christopher M. Peluso, 50, of Auburn, was charged March 7 with two counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. Jafar J. Tarkpour Jr., 35, was charged March 7 with third-degree unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and resisting arrest. Tammy L. Brown, 57, of Mentz, was charged March 8 with driving while intoxicated first offense and alcohol-cannabis in motor vehicle on highway. Brian A. Ellemen, 39, of Auburn, was charged March 8 with petit larceny. State Gregory D. Flynn, 36, Sterling, was charged March 5 with second-degree disseminating indecent material to minors and endangering the welfare of a child. Robert J. Bryns, 30, Fulton, was charged Feb. 27 with fourth-degree grand larceny and third-degree auto stripping. Jeb P. Hopkins, 26, Locke, was charged March 7 with false personation and operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content level of .08 of 1% first offense and driving while intoxicated with a previous conviction in the last 10 years. Asa T. Poormon, 28, Montezuma, Waterloo, was charged March 8 with fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. Pasquale I. Scutari, 31, of Skaneateles, was charged March 6 with driving while intoxicated first offense and operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content level of .08 of 1% first offense. The records page: Police blotter, restaurant inspections and more Visit the records page of auburnpub.com to see The Citizen's latest police blotter, restaurant inspections, property transfers and building permits. By Sarah Schiffling, Hanken School of Economics and Foteini Stavropoulou, Liverpool John Moores University | (The Conversation) In his State of the Union address, Joe Biden announced an idea to alleviate the desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza. The American president said he is directing the US military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the Gaza coast that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters. Hopes of a humanitarian ceasefire, which seemed within reach only recently, have dwindled once again as both Israel and Hamas have doubled down on their incompatible positions. So Bidens announcement represents the latest desperate attempt to get around the Israeli blockade that severely limits the flow of supplies into Gaza. The number of trucks going through the two opened border crossings has been particularly low lately with an average of 100 trucks a day in February to supply millions of people. More aid is desperately needed. Children are dying of malnutrition and dehydration in Gaza. Overcrowded shelters offer very little space and most people in Gaza live with limited access to water and poor sanitation facilities. The few operational hospitals are struggling with a lack of staff, electricity and medical supplies. Recent air drops by the Jordanian and US air forces and now Bidens plans for a pier for aid deliveries may look spectacular, but they can have only limited impact. Air drops are an option of last resort, delivering very few supplies at high cost. Meanwhile, sea transport can handle large volumes at reasonable costs, so opening a sea route would be beneficial. Biden announces Gaza pier to boost aid by sea | REUTERS Video But any cargo reaching Gaza on this route would encounter the same issues that are plaguing humanitarian deliveries by road. The Israeli blockade requires strict checks on goods, which in the new maritime channel will be carried out in Cyprus. In a joint statement, the European Commission, Cyprus, the UAE, the US, and the UK stressed that efforts will be closely coordinated with the Government of Israel. As humanitarian logistics researchers who have been following the Gaza response of the Logistics Cluster, the coordination mechanism of a number of humanitarian agencies, we believe a workable plan for aid logistics in Gaza should include the following points. 1. Safe access guarantee All parties need to agree to ensure the safety of humanitarian convoys. Aid, no matter how it arrives, needs to be distributed to the population. Aid organisations are warning that attacks on humanitarian workers make their work nearly impossible. Aid convoys have come under fire from Israel and are denied access to those in need. As a result, Palestinian police have become hesitant to escort aid deliveries. Receiving aid can also be deadly. In the recent so-called flour massacre, at least 112 Palestinians died as they gathered to collect basic food aid. UN peacekeepers should be allowed to provide protective escorts for aid convoys. 2. Eliminate bottlenecks More entry points into Gaza need to be opened. The planned pier is a step in the right direction, but it will take weeks to be operational. Opening more road crossings would be much faster and alleviate pressure on the two operational crossings, Rafah and Kerem Shalom. At the moment, aid deliveries encounter long waits at checkpoints. In Gaza, roads need to be open and any checks on humanitarian workers and their cargo minimised to limit delays. Trucks being held for hours at Israeli military checkpoints can mean they dont reach areas further away from the border crossings and have to turn back. This has resulted in looting by desperate Palestinians. 3. Access to northern Gaza Humanitarian aid has to be delivered to all parts of Gaza, but access to the north has been particularly challenging. Humanitarian operations to the north were halted on February 5 after a UN-coordinated food convoy was hit by Israeli naval fire and humanitarian workers reported intimidation by soldiers at an Israeli checkpoint. Opening a border crossing giving aid convoys access to the northern part of Gaza is currently being discussed between the USA and Israel. The UN is also exploring the use of an Israeli military road along the border fence to get aid to the north and checking new potential routes to make sure they are free of unexploded ordnance. 4. Restricted items Not all humanitarian supplies are allowed into Gaza. Items are restricted, especially where Israel is citing concerns about potential use by Hamas. Various items, including filtration systems and even sleeping bags, have been blocked while others have been stuck in bureaucratic limbo, waiting weeks for clearance. Even with clearance, there is no guarantee items will be allowed into Gaza. To scale up humanitarian aid, restrictions have to be lifted. Rules need to be clear and consistent. Allowing sufficient quantities of fuel to enter is critical to operate trucks, hospital equipment and water-purification plants. 5. Humanitarian visas Humanitarian work also requires humanitarian workers. While many are local staff, international personnel are also essential for such a large-scale aid effort. Recently, Israel has ceased issuing visas for international humanitarian personnel working in the Palestinian territories. Dozens of international humanitarian workers have left, while some are risking deportation by outstaying their visa limits. At least 99 humanitarian workers visas have either expired or will expire in the next six months. This is impeding endeavours to deliver essential supplies to Gaza. 6. Commercial trade In the longer term, it is both impossible and undesirable to support a population as large as Gazas entirely through humanitarian aid. It is important that the movement of goods also includes the resumption of trade to complement the humanitarian response. Currently, there is very limited commercial traffic across the border. But a functioning local market is paramount for any prospects of economic recovery in Gaza. A minimum target for trucks entering Gaza every day should be the pre-war average of 500. Given the scale of destruction and destitution, the aim for combined traffic of commercial vehicles as well as those operated by the United Nations and other non-government organisations should now be even higher. Sarah Schiffling, Deputy Director of the HUMLOG (Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management Research) Institute, Hanken School of Economics and Foteini Stavropoulou, Senior Lecturer in Operations and Supply Chain Management, Liverpool John Moores University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 8, 2024) - Aero Energy Limited (TSXV: AERO) (OTC Pink: AAUGF) (FSE: UU3) ("Aero" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, further to its news releases dated February 13, 2024 and March 6, 2024, it has closed the second and final tranche of its previously announced non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") for additional gross proceeds of $1,362,830. The Offering was oversubscribed, and the Company issued an aggregate of 34,719,349 units for aggregate gross proceeds of $5,900,000 between the two tranches. In connection with the completion of the second tranche of the Offering, the Company issued (i) 5,693,913 non-flow-through units of the Company (each, an "NFT Unit") at a price of $0.15 per NFT Unit; and (ii) 2,907,100 flow-through units of the Company (each, an "FT Unit") at a price of $0.175 per FT Unit; for aggregate gross proceeds of $1,362,830. Each NFT Unit consists of one non-flow-through common share of the Company (each, a "Share") and one-half of one share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each FT Unit consists of one Share and one-half of one Warrant, which will qualify as "flow-through shares" under the Income Tax Act (Canada). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one additional common share of the Company (each, a "Warrant Share") at a price of $0.25 per Warrant Share until March 8, 2026. The Warrant Shares will be issued on a non-flow-through basis. The securities issued pursuant to the second tranche of the Offering will be restricted from trading until July 9, 2024. A total of $94,552 cash was paid and a total of 596,430 finder's warrants (the "Finder's Warrants") were issued to eligible arm's length finders in connection with the closing of the second tranche. The Finder's Warrants were issued on the same terms as the Warrants. Eventus Capital Corp. was appointed as a Finder in connection with the Offering. The gross proceeds from the sale of the FT Units and the Charity FT Units will be used by the Company to incur eligible "Canadian exploration expenses" that qualify as "flow-through critical mineral mining expenditures" as such terms are defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Qualifying Expenditures") related to the Company's uranium projects in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, on or before December 31, 2025. All Qualifying Expenditures will be renounced in favour of the subscribers of the FT Units and Charity FT Units effective December 31, 2024. The net proceeds from the sale of the NFT Units will be used for general working capital purposes. All securities issued in connection with the Offering are subject to a statutory hold period of four months and a day. Additional details regarding the Offering can be found in the Company's news releases dated February 13, 2024 and March 6, 2024. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States of America. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (the "1933 Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons (as defined in the 1933 Act) unless registered under the 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration is available. About Aero Energy Limited Aero Energy is a mineral exploration and development company advancing a district-scale 250,000-acre land package in the historic Uranium City district within Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin. Aero Energy is focused on uncovering high-grade uranium deposits across its flagship optioned properties Sun Dog, Strike, and Murmac in addition to its fully owned properties. With the application of modern exploration techniques, the Company has identified over 50 shallow drill-ready targets and 125 kilometers of target horizon on the frontier north rim of the Athabasca Basin. Aero Energy is tapping into the Athabasca Basin's emerging potential for high-grade, unconformity-style mineralization. On Behalf of the Board of Directors "Galen McNamara" Galen McNamara, Interim Chief Executive Officer Further information on the Company can be found on the Company's website at www.aeroenergy.ca and the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca, or by contacting the Company by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance and include expectations regarding the intended use of proceeds from the Offering; the renunciation of Qualifying Expenditures; and exploration activities. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements and information are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "appear", "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "approximate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe", "would" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements and information are provided for the purpose of providing information about the current expectations and plans of management of the Company relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such statements and information may not be appropriate for other purposes, such as making investment decisions. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, timelines and information contained in this news release. Forward-looking information are based on management of the parties' reasonable assumptions, estimates, expectations, analyses and opinions, which are based on such management's experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, and other factors that management believes are relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, but which may prove to be incorrect. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information except as required by applicable law. Such forward-looking information represents management's best judgment based on information currently available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The Central Okanagan Food Bank is taking over operation of 'Food for Thought', a service that delivers meals to kids and teens at local schools, from Hope for the Nations, a non-profit that has run the service for several years. The city of Auburn has fulfilled another requirement to join a housing initiative launched by Gov. Kathy Hochul. Councilors on Thursday approved a resolution that will be submitted to New York State Homes and Community Renewal, the state agency overseeing housing programs. The legislative action is part of the process to be designated as a pro-housing community. By passing the resolution, the city is adopting the state's pro-housing communities pledge a commitment to streamline permitting for various housing projects, adopt policies that support fair housing, include regional housing needs in its plans, increase residential development capacity and enact policies that encourage different types of housing development. Hochul created the pro-housing community initiative to address a crisis affecting communities, including Auburn, across the state. After legislative attempts to address housing needs failed, the governor took executive action to address housing needs in New York. Once a local government receives the state's pro-housing community designation, it is eligible to receive a portion of the $650 million available through different programs, including the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and New York Main Street. Auburn won the $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative prize in 2018. Hochul has already announced the first round of pro-housing communities. There was one in central New York the village of Pulaski in Oswego County. It's expected that more will be announced in the coming months. Not long after that initial announcement, the city of Auburn expressed interest in joining the program. Auburn Mayor Jimmy Giannettino sent a letter of intent to Hochul, the first step toward becoming a pro-housing community. In the letter, Giannettino wrote that the city is facing a housing crisis and its homeownership rate (46%) is below the statewide average of 54%. In other news The council authorized the Auburn Fire Department to apply for a federal grant to buy new thermal imaging cameras and emergency medical training equipment. The department is seeking funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Assistance to Firefighters Grants Program. According to Auburn Fire Chief Mark Fritz, the application is for $49,579. If the grant is awarded, it would cover 90% of the costs. The city would pay a 10% match, or $4,957.50, which would come out of the department's operating budget. Fritz said the department, which applies for an Assistance to Firefighters grant every year, has received $5 million through the federal program. The funding improves service to the community while reducing costs for taxpayers, he added. A proclamation was issued declaring Sunday, March 10, as Harriet Tubman Day in the city of Auburn. A copy of the proclamation was presented to Pauline Copes Johnson, Tubman's great-great-grandniece. Copes Johnson said she accepted it "in the name of Harriet Tubman, who helped change the outcome of these United States." Saturday, March 9, 2024 - The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has earmarked Pastor Ngangas Neno Evangelism church for demolition. This is after it emerged that Nganga grabbed the land on which the church sits from the Keya Railways Corporation (KRC). This comes after goons invaded Bishop Margaret Wanjirus Jesus Is Alive Ministries and demolished a section of it, accusing her of grabbing KRC land. Likewise, EACC has taken legal action by filing a lawsuit against an Energy Company over a parcel of land purportedly belonging to the Kenya Railway Corporation. Furthermore, the Commission has brought the former land officials, who held office from 1975 to 1999 when the land was allocated to private developers, into the lawsuit. According to the suit papers, EACC alleged that a former physical planning director in the Ministry of Lands was also involved in the land commission. The case was presented before an Environment and Land Court in Nairobi which also noted that the land situated along the Uhuru Highway, was reserved to decongest Nairobi traffic. This comes after Thika town Member of Parliament (MP) raised the alarm over private developers plotting to grab land belonging to the Ministry of Public Works. According to the legislator, two alleged land grabbers filed a case at the court to sue the government, claiming ownership of the contested parcel along the Thika-Garissa Highway. Ng'ang'a has also called for a thorough investigation to uncover the Ministry of Lands officials who were implicated in leasing the land to the two developers. These developers are now seeking compensation for the land in question. The Kenyan DAILY POST Saturday, March 9, 2024 After cursing President William Ruto and his Deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, for sending goons to demolish her church, former Starehe MP Bishop Margaret Wanjiru has made a U-turn. In a statement yesterday, Wanjiru said she respects President Ruto and DP Gachagua and their families. The woman of God signaled that she would not dump the Kenya Kwanza coalition, saying they began the journey together and will finish it together. I have much respect and love for His Excellency Dr. William Ruto, our Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, and their families. "We started this journey towards building a better and more prosperous Nation together and we shall finish well, together, said Wanjiru. The unexpected statement comes a day after she expressed her disappointment with the Kenya Kwanza administration after part of her Jesus is Alive Ministries church wall was demolished. Wanjiru detailed how police officers raided the church premises and physically assaulted her and other congregants. She claimed that Ruto was using Kenya Railways Managing Director Philip Mainga to fight her and cursed their families. You have started a fight that you cannot fight, this one is in the heavens, we have lived with this community parking all these years, and we have never fought. "You are using the MD Kenya Railways. I pity his family. Because as I cried yesterday and today, even his family plus yours are not exempted, my tears will pay, Wanjiru stated. The land on which Bishop Wanjiru's Jesus is Alive Ministries church sits is being contested by Kenya Railways. The Kenyan DAILY POST Saturday, March 9, 2024 - Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has broken his silence after President William Ruto revealed plans to front women as running mates for the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidates in future elections. Addressing attendees during the International Womens Day celebrations in Embu yesterday, Gachagua affirmed that indeed discussions had taken place regarding the inclusion of women in leadership positions within the National Government, with bigger roles. However, he clarified that the implementation of this plan would occur after the current terms have concluded. Its true the president and I talked about including women in leadership roles in the National Government, with better roles, Gachagua stated. The second in command further corrected those claiming the plans were taking effect immediately, explaining the need to take time before implementing decisions of such magnitude. Some of you thought that it's now, no, you have to wait I first help the president in this term, and then at the end, he will himself guide us on how to include the women, Gachagua stated. Speaking on matters concerning gender equality, Gachagua lauded President William Rutos efforts in fighting for women's rights by agreeing to the two-thirds gender rule fronted in the NADCO report. I bear witness, the President is the biggest fighter for our Kenyan women. We have sat down many times to make plans, and he always questions the absence of women in various plans, he added. The Kenyan DAILY POST Saturday, March 9, 2024 - Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has had a change of heart towards Azimio Leader Raila Odinga and now fully supports his handshake with President Ruto despite opposing it earlier on. Speaking during the unveiling of the NADCO report at State House, Gachagua expressed his amazement at the successful deliberations made by the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO). He admitted that he was initially skeptical about the talks and wondered whether the discussions would see the light of day. According to the DP, he underestimated the will of the Kenyan people in the talks that aimed at burying the hatchet between the opposition and the government. "I have since been impressed by what has happened and I think this is the way to go, Kenya is bigger than all of us," Gachagua stated. While lauding the dialogue team, the DP stated that the success of the talks had brought peace to the country and that the government's operations had been enhanced. Further, he expressed that the success of the talks was a demonstration that all concerns raised by the Azimio coalition during the anti-government protests were addressed. "We have a plan and a mandate with the people of Kenya that we would like to execute and implement," the DP noted. "Going forward, after the two houses have done justice to the report, we believe that we will have peace forever, and never again shall we settle our political differences in the streets of Nairobi and other towns," he added. The Kenyan DAILY POST Saturday, March 9, 2024 - President William Ruto has explained why he picked retired Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) generals for 'challenging' diplomatic roles in Iran and Pakistan. Ruto nominated immediate former Vice Chief of Defence Forces Lt Gen Jonah Mwangi and Kenya Army commander Peter Njiru to be the new envoys to Tehran, Iran, and Islamabad, Pakistan respectively. Speaking at State House during the swearing-in of new military officers on Saturday, Ruto commended their extensive experience, deeming them well-suited for the demanding assignments. "I have given you difficult stations but I know you are up to that responsibility. Tehran and Islamabad are not very easy stations," Ruto said. "Pakistan, we all know what is going on there. We also know what is going on in Iran and that is why I believe that senior citizens like yourselves with wide experience are the best to man those stations," he added. The head of state also used the opportunity to congratulate them as they prepared to assume roles. They are now awaiting vetting by MPs. The Kenyan DAILY POST Saturday, March 9, 2024 - President William Ruto has finally suspended Environment Court Judge Mohamed Noor Kullow over corruption allegations. In a gazette notice dated 8th March 2024, Ruto suspended the judge following the recommendation from the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). The Chief Justice Martha Koome-led JSC had submitted to the President four petitions seeking Justice Kullows removal on grounds of incompetence, gross misconduct, violation of the Constitution, and breach of the Judicial Service (Code of Conduct and Ethics) Regulations, 2020. In the petition, the Chief Justice noted that the Judicial Service Commission was concerned especially with how he handled 116 cases in Narok. The petitions are premised on the manner in which the Honourable Judge handled 116 matters during the time he served at Narok Law Courts, in that it is alleged that he occasioned delay and failed to deliver a specified number of judgments and rulings, read a gazette notice published on March 8, 2024. After evaluating the petition, President Ruto concurred with JSC by suspending him to give room for investigations. The Hon. Mr. Justice Mohammed Noor Kullow, Judge of the Environment and Land Court be and is suspended from office with immediate effect, the gazette notice read in part. Ruto then formed a team to probe the judges conduct. The tribunal will be chaired by Justice Patrick Omwenga. Members of the tribunal include Lady Justice Margaret Njoki Mwangi, Justice Anthony Charo Mrima, Jinaro Kipkemoi Kibet, SC, Wanjiru Mwariri, Rukia Abdinasir Mohamed, and Charles Mulila. Dorcas Agik Oduor will be the lead counsel while Jasper M. Mbiuki and Collins K. Kiprono will act as joint secretaries. The Kenyan DAILY POST Saturday, March 9, 2024 - Democratic Action Party (DAP) leader Eugene Wamalwa has maintained his refusal to sign the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) report and receive his accrued sitting allowances. In a statement on Friday, Wamalwa revealed that he received a communication from the Clerk of the National Assembly requiring him to submit his bank details. The former Defence Cabinet Secretary indicated that the clerk informed him that he was eligible to receive a sitting allowance for being a member of the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO). However, Wamalwa expressed his reluctance to collect the said dues, owing to a difference in opinion with the NADCO report. Yesterday, I received an invitation from your officers to deliver my bank details to facilitate payment of my sitting allowances as a member of NADCO, Wamalwa stated. As you are aware, I had already publicly declined to sign the said report after a serious disagreement arose over the failure to address the fundamental issue of reduction of the cost of living. I also declined to accept any payments from the said process. He added: This is, therefore, to formally notify you that having already made my above position public, I neither have the intention nor the inclination to change my position and/or receive the said monies, which I request be returned to the exchequer. The Kenyan DAILY POST Credit: WFAN Tiki Barber already thinks WFANs Spike Eskin is a traitor and hes warning Saquon Barkley against following suit. The New York Giants opted against using the franchise tag on Barkley this offseason, subsequently allowing the 27-year-old running back to test free agency and making their divorce seem imminent. One team interested in Barkleys services is the Philadelphia Eagles. Skip Bayless might not care about Barkley joining the Eagles, but Barber definitely does. Tiki calling me a traitor for leaving New York was not on my life bingo card. Im honestly honored. pic.twitter.com/x0c65UtkPi Spike Eskin (@SpikeEskin) March 8, 2024 The fact that Saquon would even contemplate going to play for that team in Philadelphia is insulting to his Giant history and legacy, Barber said this week during his afternoon WFAN radio show with co-host Evan Roberts. Do not go to the Philadelphia Eagles, because if you do that appreciation and respect and reverence that we all have for you, Saquon, will be lost. Itll be gone. We want to still respect and love him. WFAN listeners may have picked up on the irony of Barber blasting Barkley for even considering going to New Yorks rival in Philadelphia after station program director Spike Eskin recently announced plans to make the same move. Is Barber really concerned about Barkley messing up a Giants legacy that includes just one playoff win and three 1,000-yard rushing seasons? Or was Barbers rant some misdirected energy, meant to needle Eskin for spurning WFAN after three years as program director? Dont let the Howard Eskins of the world or his traitor son who is going down the road, influence you to go into the cesspool of the Philadelphia Eagles, Barber ranted. Youre going to turn into one of those people that we hate. By that measure, Barbers current boss, Spike Eskin, has already turned into one of those people he hates. Earlier this year, Eskin announced he was departing WFAN to join Philadelphias 94WIP as a co-host of their afternoon show. The same show that his father Howard Eskin previously hosted for more than 25 years. Eskin, however, is still WFANs program director, waiting until they find his successor before making the official move to Philly. Although he was down at Spring Training this week to yuk it up with the Phillies and make sure WIP already turned his mic on. But Eskin should also represent a semblance of hope for Barkley if the running back was considering a similar move to Philly prior to being warned of banishment from Giants history. Before joining WFAN, Eskin was in Philly as WIPs program director. He survived tarnishing his Philly legacy by leaving for New York and has already been welcomed back down the Turnpike with open arms. This means if Barkley goes to Philly, it might anger New York for a minute, but it doesnt automatically close the door on him ever coming back. Regardless, Barkley shouldnt have too much to worry about. The worst-case scenario is that he goes to Philly and ruins a legacy in New York that really wasnt that great to begin with. Despite his popularity, one playoff win and three relatively healthy seasons in six years isnt exactly a tenure worthy of number retirement. [WFAN] 1 Shares Share My first clinical rotation as a nursing student was on the same floor where my mother died of cancer. And my very first patient was a young Hispanic man with four children. I was asked to tell him that he had pancreatic cancer and very little time left. I was 21 years old and the only Spanish speaker on the floor back in those days, interpretive services were rarely available. As I told this beautiful family that they were losing their patriarch, I remember his wife beginning to cry, silently at first. Then, she fell to her knees and wailed into her hands. I looked at his children all under the age of 7 and felt my tears falling as well. I remember repeating, lo siento, lo siento, lo siento. Lo siento. Directly translated from Spanish, it means I feel it. I feel your pain. I feel it as if it were my own. In many ways, the translation is a poignant definition of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and secondary traumatic stress something that many nurses and health care workers are wrestling with now, after a global pandemic. When our patients suffer, we feel it and it makes our job, nursing, incredibly difficult. Most Americans today associate PTSD a condition of persistent mental and emotional stress occurring as a result of injury or severe psychological shock with the aftereffects of soldiers who see active battle. But PTSD and secondary traumatic stress disorder a set of observable reactions to working with people who have been traumatized are far more pervasive, and health care professionals who have worked through the pandemic are beginning to report its aftereffects now. As nurses, were taught to desensitize to harden ourselves to the pain of others as a coping mechanism for the work we do and the suffering we see on a daily basis. The problem with hardening is that it makes it very difficult to only harden to certain situations and unharden for others. Once I began to harden in order to safeguard myself, I found that Id lost my connection to my heart, my humanity, and my empathy. I lost what I had loved most about my job: courageously caring for another as they experience lifes darkest moments. I realized that to heal myself, and others what I needed most was not to harden, but to soften. Many years ago, I watched my mother slowly deteriorate from cancer and eventually sedated by medication as she passed away. This was the most traumatic event of my life. And I couldnt bounce back my grief and loss were just too heavy. In the months that followed, I came across too many situations, like the one above, that triggered my own grief my memories of my mothers last days. It was almost impossible to continue caring for others while I figured out how to survive her death. I was experiencing PTSD and secondary traumatic stress by taking care of patients. And the only way I knew to save myself was to skip caring for patients that I knew might trigger my own trauma. Once there were very few patients left that I felt I could care for, I realized I needed help. I decided to stop nursing full-time and go back to school to get my Masters degree in dance. Dancing had been my only coping mechanism through a difficult childhood and I hoped that it would come to my rescue, yet again. So, I spent the next three years dancing and grieving. And, as life does, it threw me another curveball: my sister my happy, vivacious, full of joy sister was struck by a rare disease that left her quadriplegic. I moved into her hospital room and, as I helped feed, bathe, and move her, I also reminded myself to move. One day, I put on Miley Cyrus Party in the USA a happy anthem that, at the time, was my sisters favorite song. I danced around the hospital room and made a total fool of myself. And though my sister could not speak or move, I realized she could still laugh. Throughout these difficult years, I found community, hope, and healing. I learned to care for myself in a way that I had never done before by prioritizing myself and my healing, and by moving my body. Dance allowed me to soften feel my emotions and share the trauma I witnessed, let it move through me and, eventually, out of me. When the global pandemic thrust us all into uncharted territory, I felt again as if we all needed a place where we could process our collective grief, together. So, I brought together a group of nurse friends and started workshops that combined nursing and dance to find healing through the arts, movement and play. The focus was on creating spaces where we could collectively experience our grief and open pathways in our bodies and minds to post-traumatic growth. After one workshop, a friend said that even though talking to her husband and her therapist about work helped, it was only coming together with fellow nurses they just get it that made her feel understood. I knew that we were on to something: that these spaces are necessary for health care workers, now more than ever. We must debrief, we must dance, we must play, we must celebrate, we must have spaces to tell the truth about how we are feeling, and we must find people to do this work with. We need people to listen, to sit in discomfort with us and not fix us. Grief and trauma doesnt need to be fixed, it needs to be heard, felt, and released. My workshops are now being held for nurses around the country and whole hospital systems, from Kaiser Permanente to Denver Health to Northwell are seeing the utility of helping our nurses grieve. We start the day by washing the hands of every nurse in the workshop as an opening ritual to let them know theyre entering a space where they will be taken care of. Next, we take part in play exercises to help create a sense of trust. In one exercise, nurses use tissue paper and tape to create astronaut uniforms and then take a spacewalk as they work to fix a problem together. The day also includes an opportunity for storytelling to unload themselves of stories that have been causing them pain and grief and share them with fellow nurses who understand and empathize. The workshop concludes with a joyous dance circle in which nurses celebrate each other and themselves. And yes, sometimes we listen to Miley Cyrus. In between we have moments of silliness. Silliness. Because when your job is to care for others, sometimes you need the world to not feel quite so heavy. On days when my grief feels deep those still happen I often think back to that family I met many years ago. I wonder if theyve found their healing. Lo siento. Resiliency isnt about not feeling its about allowing ourselves to feel deeply because we know, from a place of deep, unshakeable conviction, that we can experience loss and come back from it. Our nurses need to hear this, feel this, especially after COVID. The pandemic is over. But what happens now? What happens to those of us who are still struggling to process our memories of those dark days? What happens to the nurses who walk into a patients room and clam up their bodies seized by panic? We need help now. We need healing. We need hospitals to make our well-being a priority. Tara Rynders is a nurse, dancer, and choreographer. 18 Shares Share I recognize your anguish. Long COVID is new, and I will do my best to support you through this new and confusing illness. This is all I wanted to hear in my countless doctors visits. Some came close. The rest were baffled, given how healthy I was prior to a mild COVID infection. I felt patronized by my own colleagues for trying experimental therapy. When activities of daily living are a strain, then engaging with people feels like too much. I am a critical care physician and feel lucky to have served on the pandemic frontlines in both India and the United States. I was vaccinated four times. Twice with Astra Zeneca Covishield while working with Doctors without Borders in Mumbai and twice with Pfizer in New York City. I finally contracted COVID in January 2022 during the Omicron surge. My symptom was a persistent cough while working a night ICU shift. I had low-grade fevers, overwhelming fatigue, and malaise, and I even ordered my morning coffee. Living alone on the Upper West Side was so convenient. With largely normal vital signs, I felt confident of recovery. My urgent care telehealth doctor reassured me I didnt need Paxlovid with such low-risk factors. Two weeks later, I still felt profoundly fatigued and breathless and had palpitations and brain fog. I would slide in and out of my bathtub to bathe and had to sit down to dress myself. Walking around my 1,100-square-foot foot was a struggle. I went back to work, assuming post-viral fatigue would gradually improve. But I couldnt stand for long during procedures and couldnt take the stairs. I would lie down in the call room in between patients. Socializing halted, and I became increasingly isolated due to low energy reserves. Thus began the long COVID saga. I normally walk fast like New Yorkers do and speak fast like Indians do. My life was active working at an academic hospital, and I only saw my doctor annually. I am a self-professed wellness junkie and strive to maintain meaningful relationships. Fast forward eighteen months, slow living is the norm. I compare myself to a low cellphone battery with limited functionality. Activities of daily living and gentle rehab take all day. I need help with meal prep, filling up my pillbox, and errands. Long COVID dysautonomia causes POTS or postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, making it hard to stand up. Brushing my teeth can spike my heart rate to 150 beats, so I squat or sit down to do so. Sitting inclined is most comfortable, and lying down is best. I use my hiking poles as walking sticks. I bought a walker with a seat. Practicing pacing as a way of life is everything. PEM, or post-exertional malaise, and ME/CFS, or myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, validate what I feel. Eight months later, in August 2022, I was exposed to COVID again. I tested negative, yet it felt like a re-infection. My long COVID symptoms of breathlessness, palpitations, and overwhelming fatigue returned with a vengeance. Thankfully, a long COVID research group educated me about long COVID flare-ups. The recovery is sinusoidal, like autoimmune inflammatory conditions. Symptoms are triggered by any insult, and hopefully, flares reduce with time until they fade and disappear altogether. Reluctantly, I went on disability and havent been able to work since. I had to hire daily home help privately, costing me a hundred dollars a day. My insurance simply wouldnt send me help. Social workers came and went, and I filled out so much paperwork. My loved ones took turns to help. Fourteen months into long COVID with dwindling savings, I finally moved in with family, which was the best decision ever. My days begin with drinking 2 liters of salted water, checking vitals, doing breathwork, and putting on waist-length compression stockings. I can interact with 3-4 people a day, no more. Navigating my own medical care, insurance, and disability is a full-time job. Each time I try to exert myself even a bit more than I should, it sets me back. During flare-ups, I lie in a quiet, dark room to minimize sensory input until I feel better. Minor flare-ups improve in 2 to 3 days with rest and pacing. Major flare-ups are scary and take weeks to improve. Recovery is a moving target while taking four steps forward and three backward. One doctor told me it would take me six months to recover, and another said I could possibly live like this for life. Once I reframed my expectations, I noticed improvements, even if it was at a snails pace. I am lucky to have seen COVID specialists in New York City, South Africa, and India virtually. I managed to find long COVID survivors in my demographic who have recovered. I feel like a long COVID patient expert now. When my Long-term disability was initially denied, it left me months without a paycheck. It was infuriating being told my symptoms were subjective when I had hard data to prove I had long COVID POTS and dysautonomia. It is such a reductive and strange roller coaster ride of emotions with fluctuating energy levels. Small joys, gratitude, and hopeful stories help me keep my head above water. This is no death, but it is no life either. Going through the different stages of grief and being met with pity and sympathy isnt fun. However, I am finally at a stage where acceptance has somewhat arrived. Thank goodness for my own wellness practices honed over the years and the incredible support from loved ones. Thank goodness for social media, through which I found much-needed support and validation. I am a privileged long hauler, uniquely positioned with access to the worlds best resources. This is a long road, and yet I have hope. I give myself a lot of credit for patiently meeting challenge after challenge while I try to meet my life graciously exactly where it is right now. Sonali Mantoo is a critical care physician. Frivolous fun was served up in abundance during Barnstorm Theatre Companys production of The Importance of Being Earnest at the Watergate Theatre last week. Audiences were delighted with the production which was well executed and there were strong performances by all the main characters in the play. The play is considered by many to be one of Wildes finest and the actors brought the wonder of Wildes writing to life. Sean Hackett shone in the role of the irresistible Jack Worthing who examines and explores attitudes towards marriage and the trivial and tedious restraints and constraints of so-called polite society while leading a somewhat complicated life or lives. John Prendergast is equally brilliant as the idle and indulgent Algernon Moncrieff in Wildes magnificent farce with sharp wit contributing to many moments of hilarity and there was a great rapport between the two men. The formidable Lady Bracknell was well performed by Mags Whitely, a well known face to Kilkenny theatre audiences while John Whitely (Lane) Eoin Nangle Ryan (Merriman) and Jim Carroll (Canon Chasuble) also no strangers to the stage in Kilkenny also gave strong performances resulting in a near perfect performance of this Wilde classic. The leading ladies Gwendolen Fairfax (Sarah Walsh), Cecily Cardew (Becky Jenkins) and Miss Prism (Delia Lowery) were all more than convincing in their roles and each had a strong stage presence which was both engaging and at times intriguing. The play was directed by Philip Hardy who once again succeeded in creating a fantastic piece of theatre from start to finish. The set was designed and built by Harry Harris and costume design was by Joan Brennan. The Importance of Being Earnest is a masterpiece and Barnstorm succeeded in bringing it to the stage in all its glory. The play is part of the Curriculum Play Live project which was initiated in 2016 for secondary school audiences by delivered a play from the syllabus while also giving Kilkenny audiences excellent productions of classic plays. A talented stage team of volunteers, many of whom have recently moved to Kilkenny from the Ukraine, Jordan, Pakistan and another part of Ireland ensured that the scene changes were both seamless and stylish. A special word of congratulations and welcome to Bobby Reade, Brendan Maguire, Alison Mulloney, Carlos Matues, Ikram Mohayudin, Wesam Akram Ahmad, Hanna Konstantinova, Volodymyr Fedorenko and Svitlana Karpusha. A project looking at the future of food production, town planning and urban planting for Callan has been launched. The collaborative project will draw on the expertise of product design professionals and students, as well as architects and council engineers, who will pool their knowledge and ideas to make plans for the town. Til Now, the overall title of the project, will bring the worlds of art and design together with the local community with the aim of adapting to climate change and connecting to the biodiversity crisis. This is a Climate Action Fund II project funded by Creative Ireland. Last week a group of design students from Central St Martins College, in London, made their first trip to south Kilkenny to get a sense of the area, and the people, they will be designing with and for. They were accompanied by award-winning system designer Kaye Toland, and Dr Jane Penty, an educator and sustainable design consultant. Ten of their third-year product design students are taking on the challenge of designing a product that could be grown or produced in the Callan area, from the five key areas of wool, fruit and veg, bread, hay and milk. It is hoped to find a commercially viable, local and sustainable product. As part of their introductory visit to the Callan area the students visited Highbank Orchard, an organic apple farm that has successfully diversified to produce juice and cider, cider vinegar, apply syrup, gin, vodka and rum, in their own little distillery. They also visited Riversfield Organic Farm in Callan which grows organic vegetables year-round, and the farm of Suzanna Crampton in Bennetsbridge, where she practices regenerative farming techniques. On Friday the students held an open afternoon at Fennellys in Callan, inviting members of the community to call in and talk to them about some of the opportunities they have already identified in the area. Click NEXT for more photographs and to continue reading. 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. A boat yard on Kilkenny's border with Wexford is poised for a significant boost in business following a 340,000 investment in a new boat lift and energy efficiencies which will allow it work with heavier fishing and leisure vessels for dry dock and repair. New Ross Boat Yard has taken delivery of a 60-tonne hoist which will not only handle bigger vessels, but which is also more energy efficient as it operates on reduced diesel. The well-known marine facility extends to over four acres and has 230 metres of shoreline to the west of the River Barrow, as well as access to the Rivers Nore and the Suir. One of its key facilities is a 15 metre by 70-metre-long dry dock used for servicing large commercial fishing boats and ferries, as well as smaller leisure boats. As well as the new hoist the boat yard has also invested in a 10 KW wind turbine and solar panels which are reducing energy bills and the businesses carbon footprint. The boat yard received total grant aid of 170,000 towards its 340,000 investment under the Brexit Blue Economy Enterprise Development Scheme, recommended by the Seafood Taskforce established by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue and implemented by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM). The scheme is funded by the European Union under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve. According to Boat Yard owner, Michael Kehoe, the former 25-year-old boat hoist could only lift 50 tonnes, was not energy efficient, and needed more and more maintenance to keep it in working order. We had a number of boats that we were no longer in a position to take into the yard due to the capacity of this lift," he said. "The new lift has made a huge difference. It means we can take on bigger boats, and see the weights displayed on each lifting point, something which is very important and allows us to distribute weight when lifting a vessel. At any given time, there are over 100 boats in the yard representing a mix of fishing and leisure boats in for servicing and repair, and for winter storage. Currently the boat yard is servicing two mini-cruise ships - the Barrow Princess and Cailin Deise owned by the Three Sisters Cruise Company. They provide mini cruises along the Rivers Suir and Barrow. The yard also does important maintenance work on one of the areas biggest attractions the Dunbrody Famine ship, which is based on New Ross quay front and which boasts tens of thousands of visitors each year. The Galley Cruising Restaurant is also maintained at the boat yard. As well as fishing vessels we get lots of interesting characters here with their leisure boats, said Michael. One of our regular customers is a renowned travel writer who spends several months a year sailing around the world, and he docks the boat here in winter. New Ross Boat Yard has a history dating back 50 years and at its height in the 1970s employed around 400 people and supported vessels that sailed all over the globe. Michael Kehoe and his brother Stephen bought the boat yard in 2008 and they invested in the refurbishment of the dry dock as well as building a stores facility, showroom, offices and storerooms. Today it offers boat sales, services, and storage facilities all on-site. It has one of only three dry docks in Ireland measuring 70 meters in length. Before the solar panels and wind turbine were introduced the Boat Yard had electricity bills of 2,500 a month. By being able to offset the cost of our electricity bills, and possibly selling electricity back to the grid, we are in a position to protect ourselves against future price rises, said Michael. Ireland's weather could be about to undergo two major shifts over the next few days with hopes of a long-promised dry spell now possibly "slipping away," according to one forecaster. Met Eireann has been forecasting a period of dry weather early next week but it now looks like it will be short-lived. Alan O'Reilly from Carlow Weather has said: "Chances of dry spell week look to have slipped away for South and East at least. Still some uncertainty but not heading the right way." Meanwhile, Met Eireann is predicting a mixed mixture over the week and into next but a brief reprieve from the wet weather of late is still on the cards. Their outlook for the next few days says there will be "outbreaks of rain initially before turning drier for a time early next week. Unusually high tides will continue out through Tuesday with the possibility of coastal flooding for all coasts." For Friday night, they say it will be "dry in most areas with a mix of cloud and clear spells, however some light rain and drizzle will occur in southern and southeastern areas. Lowest temperatures of 1 to 5 degrees, coldest in the north. Easterly winds mostly moderate in strength, but strong on coasts. Unusually high tides will bring the possibility of coastal flooding for all coasts." Their forecast continues for the weekend and into next week: "Mostly cloudy with scattered outbreaks of rain and drizzle, most frequent in the east and south [on Saturday]. Some mist about also. Highest temperatures of 6 to 9 degrees in moderate to fresh east to northeast winds. Unusually high tides will bring the possibility of coastal flooding for all coasts. "A good deal of cloud over the south and east of the country with further outbreaks of rain [on Saturday night]. Drier with clear spells in the north and west. Lowest temperatures generally of 1 to 5 degrees in mostly moderate northeast winds. "Plenty of cloud with further outbreaks of rain expected [on Sunday], especially in the eastern half of the country. Highest temperatures of 7 to 10 degrees in light to moderate north to northeast winds. "Outbreaks of rain will continue, mainly near the Irish Sea [Sunday night]. Further west it will be drier with some clear spells. Lowest temperatures of 2 to 5 degrees in light to moderate northerly breezes. Chances of dry spell week look to have slipped away for South and East at least still some uncertainty but not heading the right way. pic.twitter.com/DWhPPJTKo3 Carlow Weather (@CarlowWeather) March 7, 2024 "Mostly cloudy with outbreaks of rain and drizzle, mainly over the eastern half of the country [on Monday]. Later in the day, some sunny spells will break through as the rain becomes patchier. Highest temperatures of 6 to 10 degrees in moderate northerly breezes, falling light later. "Any remaining patches of rain and drizzle will clear through the morning [on Tuesday] as sunny spells and scattered light showers develop for the afternoon. Highest temperatures of 7 to 11 degrees in light variable breezes." The outlook beyond that says: "Current indications suggest that it will turn more unsettled for midweek with rain and showers." Noah Feldman writes at Time: The core of this new antisemitism lies in the idea that Jews are not a historically oppressed people seeking self-preservation but instead oppressors: imperialists, colonialists, and even white supremacists. This view preserves vestiges of the trope that Jews exercise vast power. It creatively updates that narrative to contemporary circumstances and current cultural preoccupations with the nature of power and injustice. That caution is especially important because Israel, the first Jewish state to exist in two millennia, plays a central role in the narrative of the new antisemitism. Israel is not an imaginary conspiracy but a real country with real citizens, a real history, a real military, and real political and social problems that concern relations between Jews and Palestinians. It is not inherently antisemitic to criticize Israel. Its power, like any national power, may be subject to legitimate, fair criticism. It is also essential not to tar all critics of Israel with the brush of antisemitism, especially in wartime, when Israel, like any other war-waging power, is properly subject to the strictures of international humanitarian law. To deploy the charge of antisemitism for political reasons is morally wrong, undermining the horror of antisemitism itself. It is also likely to backfire, convincing critics of Israel that they are being unfairly silenced. There are many many ways to criticise the behaviour of Israel, without being anti-semitic. You could say things such as: The policy to allow new settlements in the West Bank is wrong and inflammatory The response to the Hamas attacks has been disproportional and is resulting in too many civilian deaths The current Prime Minister of Israel is using the war to hold onto power Note that these are all criticism of a specific policy, issue or person. To emphasize the narrative of Jews as oppressors, the new antisemitism must also somehow sidestep not only two millennia of Jewish oppression, but also the Holocaust, the largest organized, institutionalized murder of any ethnic group in human history. On the right, antisemites either deny the Holocaustever happened or claim its scope has been overstated. On the left, one line is that Jews are weaponizing the Holocaust to legitimize the oppression of Palestinians. Many on the left use the language of genocide against Israel, to try and minimise the Holocaust. The means Israel has used are subject to legitimate criticism for killing too many civilians as collateral damage. But Israel's military campaign has been conducted pursuant to Israel's interpretation of the international laws of war. There is no single, definitive international-law answer to the question of how much collateral damage renders a strike disproportionate to its concrete military objective. Israel's approach resembles campaigns fought by the U.S. and its coalition partners in Iraq in Afghanistan, and by the international coalition in the battle against ISIS for control of Mosul. Even if the numbers of civilian deaths from the air seem to be higher, it is important to recognize that Israel is also confronting miles of tunnels intentionally connected to civilian facilities by Hamas. To be clear: as a matter of human worth, a child who dies at the hands of a genocidal murderer is no different from one who dies as collateral damage in a lawful attack. The child is equally innocent, and the parents' sorrow equally profound. As a matter of international law, however, the difference is decisive. During the Hamas attack, terrorists intentionally murdered children and raped women. Its charter calls for the destruction of the Jewish state. Yet the accusation of genocide is being made against Israel. If Hamas had the ability to invade Israel, it would happily kill every Jew there. We saw this on 7 October. These relevant facts matter for putting the genocide charge into the context of potential antisemitism. Neither South Africa nor other states have brought a genocide case against China for its conduct in Tibet or Xinjiang, or against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. There is something specifically noteworthy about leveling the charge at the Jewish statesomething intertwined with the new narrative of the Jews as archetypal oppressors rather than archetypal victims. Call it the genocide sleight of hand: if the Jews are depicted as genocidalif Israel becomes the very archetype of a genocidal statethen Jews are much less likely to be conceived as a historically oppressed people engaged in self-defense. The new narrative of Jews as oppressors is, in the end, far too close for comfort to the antisemitic tradition of singling out Jews as uniquely deserving of condemnation and punishment, whether in its old religious form or its Nazi iteration. Like those earlier forms of antisemitism, the new kind is not ultimately about the Jews, but about the human impulse to point the finger at someone who can be made to carry the weight of our social ills. Oppression is real. Power can be exercised without justice. Israel should not be immune from criticism when it acts wrongfully. Yet the horrific history and undefeated resilience of antisemitism mean that modes of rhetorical attack on Israel and on Jews should be subject to careful scrutiny. Well said. Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp More Pinterest Print Tumblr Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High 42F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Clear skies. Low 29F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Prosecutors presented evidence Friday showing that two men accused of homicide in a botched bounty hunt in Butte that turned fatal were under the influence that night. Forensic toxicologists also testified that a homeowner who was fatally shot 42-year-old William Harris had "very high" amounts of methamphetamine in his system when he was killed. A police detective told jurors Thursday that everyone police interviewed shortly after the shooting was drunk or high. That would include bondsman Jay Hubber, his partner that night Nicholas Jaeger and the bail-jumper they were actually after, David Sandoval. Hubber and Jaeger went on trial this week for homicide and aggravated burglary and the trial is expected to last into next week. Prosecutors say they barged into Harris' home on Dec. 19, 2021 looking for Sandoval and during a struggle with him, Jaeger took Hubber's gun and shot Harris. On Friday afternoon, it became evident that Sandoval has related at least three versions of whether Harris was armed when he was shot by Jeager. He said emotionally and repeatedly the night of the shooting that Jaeger "shot an unarmed man." He wrote in a jail letter later that Harris had a "skinny knife" in his hand when he was shot. On the stand Friday, he said he couldn't see Harris' hands when he was shot but found a knife probably a long kitchen knife next to his body moments afterward. But he acknowledged he has been a drug addict and said he was drunk, high and charged with adrenaline the night of the shooting. According to toxicologists at Montana State Crime Lab, blood samples showed that Hubber had cocaine in his system and a blood-alcohol content of 0.124% the night of the shooting. That is higher than the 0.08 level at which drivers are considered drunk. Jaeger had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system, the reports showed. A toxicologist acknowledged that fentanyl can be prescribed but said its legal uses as a painkiller are usually confined to hospitals. Reports showed that Harris had 1.4 milligrams of methamphetamine per liter in his system when he was killed, which a toxicologists called a significant amount and a very high level. Also Friday, jurors were shown autopsy photos of Harris. He had one bullet entrance wound under his left eye and one to his chest. The bullet to the face traveled into his brain and lodged there, a medical examiner said. Prosecutors contend that everything Hubber and Jeager did on the bounty hunt that night was careless and reckless and it ended with an innocent homeowner getting killed. According to prosecutors, Hubber and Jaeger barged into Harris home on South Main Street looking for Sandoval. Hubber started tasing Sandoval and as they wrestled, Jaeger either grabbed or was handed Hubbers gun and shot Harris. There were several other people in the house at the time. Hubber and Jaeger are each charged with deliberate homicide and aggravated burglary, though jurors can consider an alternative charge of homicide by accountability for Hubber. Their trial will resume Monday and could last into week. District Judge Robert Whelan is presiding. Defense attorneys say the home was a "trap house" where drugs are sold and used, but prosecutors say Hubber and Jaeger had no right to go inside and their unlawful and reckless actions got an innocent man killed. Hubbers defense attorney, Palmer Hoovestal, says his client had posted bonds for Sandoval and had a right to apprehend him that night because he had skipped court appearances and had outstanding bench warrants. Jaegers defense lawyer, David Maldonado, says Jaeger agreed to assist Hubber that night but was not a trained bondsman. He says Jaeger was afraid Sandoval would get Hubbers gun during the struggle so he took it and only fired it after Harris came at him with scissors or a knife. Sandoval told police just after the shooting that Harris was not armed but he has since changed his story more than once, prosecutors say. They played a police video Friday of Sandoval in the back of a patrol car just minutes after the shooting. He was hunched over alone at first, yelling repeatedly, "They shot Bill, they shot Bill." A minute or two later police put another person in the back seat of patrol car next to Sandoval. That man had also been in the house. They consoled each other and Sandoval said several times that an "unarmed man" was shot and said, "Jay handed him the gun and Nick shot Bill." He also said, "I am sticking to my story and I am going to tell the truth." Prosecutors say months later, Sandoval changed his story and said he found a knife next to Harris after he was shot. He said he didn't want the shooting to be blamed on Harris so he grabbed the knife, fled the house and ditched the knife. He testified to that Friday, saying he couldn't see if Harris had anything in his hands but found a knife next to him after the shooting. Prosecutors also presented letters that Sandoval had penned to Jaeger while they were both in jail. He wrote in one that he picked up the knife that night but in another said he saw "a skinny knife" in Harris' hands. "Does all that sound good think that will help you out?" he wrote in one. Prosecutors pointed to another passage and suggested Sandoval changed his story in exchange for Jaeger letting him use his jail phone card. Maldonado, Jaeger's attorney, noted the contrasting versions but asked Sandoval to tell jurors Friday if he found a knife next to Harris, grabbed it and ditched it. Sandoval said that was truthful. On cross-examination from defense attorneys earlier Friday, toxicologists acknowledged that Harris had a high level of meth in his system and the street drug can induce aggression, violence and psychosis. Also Friday, a state firearms examiner testified that the .40-caliber Sig Sauger pistol used in the shooting was functioning properly that night. On the second Saturday of each month, citizens of Hallsville gather to engage in square-dancing and experience live fiddle music. At least 5 killed after airdropped aid falls on them in Gaza Clouds pass over the Missouri State Capitol on Sept. 16, 2022, in Jefferson City. A newly proposed law in Missouri could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if theyre found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning. Billings Public Schools new Family Resource Center, to be housed in the basement of the Lincoln Center downtown, will open for service in April. Using grant money, BPS has established the center as a more centralized resource for the districts growing number of students experiencing homelessness. The Family Resource Center will act as a connection between students, their families and outside community resources, and provide basic and emergency needs for students in need. The ultimate goal is to keep students attending school regularly and ensure their needs are met, so they are able to focus and achieve in school, said BPS spokeswoman Melanie Willardson. BPS has historically provided supplies and resources for students in need utilizing a homeless student liaison and school pantries throughout the district. The recorded number of homeless students in BPS has risen from 457 in the 2019/2020 school year, to 567 in the 2022/2023 school year. With a growing number of identified homeless or poverty-stricken students, BPS has identified a growing need for a more central-overarching resource hub. Billings Public Schools has identified homeless students in all 32 buildings, but resources are not always available in all buildings, Willardson said. Community liaisons BPS has also identified the need to split the homeless liaison role into two community liaison positions, to better cover the whole of the district. BPS is the largest school district in Montana, serving approximately 16,800 students in total. The second largest school district in the state, in Great Falls, serves about half of that number. BPS community liaisons will spend time visiting with students and families to understand their needs and connect them to the Family Resource Center and outside resources when needed. School principals, counselors and teachers can also refer students and families who struggle to meet their basic needs to their schools community liaison. The FRC will be a hub for BPS community liaisons to serve as a trusted, knowledgeable resource, according to the district. BPS community liaisons spend a large portion of their days hitting the pavement, communicating with school counselors, secretaries, and students families, identifying needs, and making strides to meet those needs. I would consider it a successful day of work when weve connected with a family and helped them overcome some of their obstacles, said community liaison Emma Bartel. Whether thats figuring out a way to get their student to school the next day or connecting them with the right community organization. When weve supplied them with what they need to get through one more day. A big support we provide to these students in need is transportation, said community liaison Kim Sherman. This is a huge barrier for many families, and we work with them to create a solution that will be consistent in getting their students to school. Being able to make a difference in the lives of the students and families they connect with, the two liaisons said, makes their jobs so rewarding. When we can let a family know, Were on your side,' school doesnt seem like such a burden. Success is when a family can feel a little bit lighter as they go through such a heavy and difficult experience, Bartel said. Meeting them (families) where they are and letting them know that you are a trusted person who just wants to be there to support them when they are in such a vulnerable situation can be life changing, Sherman added. To be able to bridge that gap and have that student in the classroom is one of the highest rewards in this job. How to help The Family Resource Center will serve as a central location for community donations of food, clothing and school supplies to support students needs. Those who would like to make donations to the Family Resource Center may visit the FRC Donations page on the BPS website. BPS Homeless Education Department has direct partnerships with numerous community organizations. Donation partners include Education Foundation for Billings Public Schools, United Way of Yellowstone County, Riverstone Health, Breakfast Optimist Club, Billings Breakfast Optimist Club, King of Glory Lutheran Church, Peace Lutheran Church, and Billings Scottish Rite. Connection and Service partners include United Way of Yellowstone County, BPS Early Childhood Intervention, Riverstone Health, Downtown Billings Alliance, St. John's United Family Services, Family Promise, and Tumbleweed. There are so many more community partners that support Billings Public Schools in general. We are very appreciative, Willardson said. The FRC is the epitome of collaboration, reducing duplication and working to prevent the root causes of students not attending school or having the tools to succeed in school. Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Snow this morning will give way to lingering snow showers this afternoon. High 34F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 80%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.. Tonight Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. A few flurries are possible. Low 27F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Auburn, IN (46706) Today Snow showers this morning becoming more scattered later. High around 35F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 80%.. Tonight Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. A few flurries are possible. Low 27F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. IVE member Jang Wonyoung did THIS during the group's concert in Singapore, and it sparked concerns over her health. Keep on reading to learn more about the situation. IVE Jang Wonyoung Actions at Concert Goes Viral On March 7, 2024, a video of Jang Wonmyoung during IVE's recent concert in Singapore was uploaded to Weibo (China's biggest social media platform) with the title "Jang Wonyoung pinched her own thighs to stay awake." During the video, Jang Wonyoung is seen sitting down while on stage. Her neck is turned to face the screen behind her. Though it may not be obvious to some, concertgoers noted that Jang Wonyoung appeared to be on the verge of falling asleep. To prevent herself from passing out, Jang Wonyoung is seen pinching her thighs to stay awake. #fyp som original - learn1ngs @joyce_wyyy JANG WONYOUNG TU VeO VAO UI E GIU BAN THAN TINH TaO TRONG CONCERT. Luon nghiem khac voi chinh ban than minh, khong bao gio e ban than lo enh, co the ung tren giay cao got 8-9 tieng sau khi vua ap mot chuyen bay dai, co the ngu 1 tieng 1 ngay, co the bay en 3 nuoc khac nhau trong 3 ngay, co the chay tu tinh nay sang tinh khac trong vai gio, co the vua hoc thuoc kich ban vua chinh sua lai bang tieng Nhat, co the chay en 3 lan fansign trong 1 ngay va van nhan ra guong mat moi mot ban fan a en, co the om, co the au ngay tren san khau khi phai lien tuc bieu dien o nhieu noi moi ngay, co the tu coc vao au that au e dung khoc. Tat ca nhung viec o, van khong the lam Jang Wonyoung co bat ki mot giay phut nao khong nho ra minh la mot than tuong, minh la nguoi cua cong chung. Ca nhom ang chay mot lich trinh tour day ac en khung khiep, xen lan vao o la lich trinh ca nhan cua em. e giu minh tinh tao, em a lien tuc tu veo vao ui cho that au. #wonyoung IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: IVE YouTube Channel Gets Hacked - Here's What's On It Now On Weibo, the video quickly went viral, garnering over 3.7 million views and over 63,000 likes on the platform as of this writing. Soon, the video became a hot topic all around the world, with netizens sharing the video on other social media platforms. IVE Jang Wonyoung Actions During Concert Spark Concerns For Her Health While some praised Jang Wonyoung's professionalism and determination to finish the concert, others were more concerned for her health. It was noted that IVE is currently on a world tour, but Jang Wonyoung is constantly traveling for her solo schedules. YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN: 4 Fourth-Gen Female Idols With the Best Airport Fashion: aespa Karina, IVE Jang Wonyoung, MORE! With such a hectic schedule, many are concerned that the idol is not getting enough sleep, to the point that she is struggling to stay awake during an event as lively as a concert. Netizens hope that she gets to rest and isn't overworked to the point of exhaustion. Many are hoping she gets a good night's rest soon. CHECK THIS OUT: 8 K-Pop Idols Included in Vogue Korea's 24 Women Representing the Contemporary Generation Some comments read, "Since there are always cameras following her every move, she is always strict with herself. I think Jang Wonyoung's self-discipline is something ordinary idols do not achieve." "This shows that she could be a successful person even if she didn't become an idol." "Wow, it's to the point she is hurting herself to stay awake... Jang Wonyoung's determination is on another level." "As a DIVE, my biggest wish right now is for Jang Wonyoung to get a good night's sleep." "Please be happy and healthy, my Wonyoung." "She is a perfect idol, but Wonyoung is still a human being, and she needs to rest. Starship, please do not push her to the brink of exhaustion." What do you think of the situation? Tell us in the comments below! KpopStarz Owns This Written by Alexa Lopez A male K-pop idol celebrated International Women's Day. He has since garnered praise for his actions. Keep on reading for all the details. TEMPEST Hanbin Celebrates International Women's Day On March 8, 2024, TEMPEST member Hanbin shocked internet users by publicly celebrating International Women's Day. Previously, on March 7, Hanbin stated that March 8 was Women's Day in Vietnam. However, on the day itself, he corrected himself and stated that it was International Women's Day. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 10 4th-Gen Songs All K-Pop Fans Should Know: FIFTY FIFTY's 'Cupid,' LE SSERAFIM's 'UNFORGIVEN,' More! He then wished TEMPEST's female fans a happy International Woman's Day. He then sent a message that read, "I have a video for you to celebrate this happy day." Along with an emoji of a bouquet of flowers, Hanbin sent a video featuring beautiful pink flowers. Hanbin also changed his Bubble profile picture to show him holding flowers. Additionally, Hanbin took to TEMPEST's official Twitter to post a photo of him with flowers, as well as beautiful snapshots of the flowers. He captioned the post with, "My love, iEs, please have a happy day today. Happy International Women's Day." [#] iE~ ~ Happy International Women's Day pic.twitter.com/NSBbF0Eo3F March 8, 2024 On the same day, a post titled "TEMPEST Hanbin's update (International Women's Day)" was uploaded to a popular South Korean online community forum. YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN: 10 Iconic K-Pop Songs From 2021 - aespa 'Next Level,' ENHYPEN 'Drunk-Dazed,' MORE! The original poster (OP) gave more information on the situation, saying that International Women's Day and Vietnam Women's Day (celebrated on October 20) are considered important days. This is most likely the reason why Hanbin has been openly celebrating the day. It was noted that on these days, Hanbin has consistently been uploading pictures of flowers; even when he was a trainee! K-Netizens Praise TEMPEST Hanbin for Celebrating International Women's Day Several Korean netizens flocked to the comment section to share their thoughts on the situation. Many people expressed their happiness that a male idol would celebrate a day celebrating women. They claimed that he was likeable and praised the idol for his sweet actions. K-netz stated that his actions warmed their hearts. CHECK THIS OUT: 10 Hated K-Pop Songs That Are Actually Good - BABYMONSTER 'BATTER UP,' aespa 'Girls,' MORE! Korean women joked that because of his stage name, they thought he was a gyopo (ethnic Koreans raised in the West). However, they stated that his actions made more sense after discovering he was a foreigner. Some comments read, "He is so likeable." "He's so cool!" "I thought he was a gyopo because of his name... As expected, he is not Korean. He is so likeable." "I am thankful for his actions. He is pretty and handsome, and I am suddenly interested in him." "I read the title and thought there was no way a Korean could do this. As expected, I am right." "What the? That is so sweet." "He is prettier than a flower." "Hanbin is so likeable. I have been a fan ever since 'I-LAND.' He is so pretty." "This warmed my heart." "Hanbin is so likeable." What do you think of the situation? Tell us in the comments below! KpopStarz Owns This Written by Alexa Lopez Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. A tribal leader, military veteran and a photojournalist were guests of the Montana congressional delegation for Thursdays state of the union address. Blackfeet tribal member Marvin Weatherwax attended President Joe Bidens state of the union address as a guest of Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke. In a statement before the event, Weatherwax, a member of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council and Chairman of the Coalition of Large Tribes, said he worked with Zinke on the fentanyl scourge affecting the tribe. The Blackfeet share 70 miles of border with Canada where our border patrol is completely understaffed and underfunded, Weatherwax said. The Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Border Patrol have blocked resources for us to be able to take care of the issue, and meanwhile the DOJ is nowhere to be found. Zinke has been a fighter in Congress for the Blackfeet Nation during our struggle against the fentanyl coming through Bidens open borders. Air Force Veteran Fred Hamilton, of Columbia Falls, who this year started receiving medical benefits for exposure to toxins while serving in Vietnam. Hamiltons benefits flow from the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022, a Tester bill, which Biden during his address called a major bipartisan victory. Hamilton struggled to get the Veterans Administration to recognize his exposure to toxins as the cause for the health problems because there were no records. Testers PACT Act follow up is the Fred Hamilton Veterans Lost Records Act that assures lost military records dont mean lost benefits for veterans. Theres still more work to do, but Im grateful for Sen. Testers persistent efforts and advocacy to get the PACT Act across the finish line which finally allowed me to access VA benefits and services, Hamilton said in a press release. Im still fighting for additional benefits because my service records were lost by the federal government, and I want to thank Senator Tester for listening to Montana veterans like me and taking this issue seriously by championing a new bill that will help me and other veterans whose records were lost by the government, so this never happens again. Billings Gazette photojournalist Larry Mayer was U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendales guest. Mayer captured one of the first images of the high-altitude Chinese spy balloon as it sailed over the Billings area in early 2023. The spy balloon has become a central theme in Rosendales political messaging. In late December 2023, Rosendale demanded that President Joe Biden hold a town hall meeting with residents of Great Falls. The Eastern District Republican has said Biden violated the U.S. Constitution for not shooting the balloon down over Montana. In January, Rosendale introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III for alleged high crimes and misdemeanors related to the spy balloon. Its unlikely that Austin will be impeached for the balloon incident. Rosendales demands for a Great Falls town hall meeting have been ignored. U.S. Sen. Steve Daines didnt have a state of the union guest and didnt attend the event. A spokesperson for Daines said he planned to watch the speech on television from his office. The Montana Women's Prison warden was fired from her post earlier this month following an internal investigation that found she created a fearful culture among her employees. According to an investigative report obtained Friday by the Montana State News Bureau, one Montana Women's Prison employee reported they tried to stay clear of Warden Jennie Hansen so their "head is not on the plate." Hansen had been on administrative leave since late January. Her last day at the prison was March 4, according to the Montana Department of Corrections. "The agency holds its staff especially its leaders to high standards of professionalism," Department of Corrections spokesperson Carolynn Stocker said in a statement. Associate Warden Alex Schroeckenstein will serve as acting warden at Montana Womens Prison while a competitive hiring process takes place to identify the facilitys next leader, Stocker said. Reached by phone Friday, Hansen declined to comment for this story. Hansen said she planned to challenge her termination but would not elaborate. According to the investigative report, Hansen had gossiped to other prison staff in December about an employee being "so drunk" and "slumped over and drooling" at a work conference in Oregon. At one point Hansen reportedly acted out the bodily movements of being drunk and accused an employee of "walking around drunk among the homeless people" in Portland, a claim the employee denied. The Department of Corrections' investigation found that Hansen had made inappropriate comments regarding staff members on other occasions, as well, including: Asking an employee if a new correctional officer who is lesbian was "male or female." Then Hansen cupped her hand in her crotch as if to lift testicles. "You sure?" Hansen asked when the employee told her the new correctional officer was female. During meetings, Hansen would make inappropriate and unprofessional comments, including "The only person's balls that matter are mine." Employees told investigators they were worried about retaliation for speaking out about Hansen and said in private conversations among themselves employees were sometimes "shaking" in fear of what Hansen would do or say. According to the report, Hansen told investigators in January that no employees were drunk at the Oregon work conference and that she and her husband bought drinks for employees whose names are redacted. She also denied telling coworkers that those employees were drunk Hansen was warden at the state-run women's prison since 2017. Prior to her hiring at the prison's top post, Hansen was Eastern Region Bureau Chief for the Department of Corrections' probation and parole division, and had served on the Legislature's Commission on Sentencing in 2015. She has been an employee at the corrections department since 2009. The women's prison is a 242-bed facility in Billings. As of Sunday, the facility housed 240 inmates. New Delhi [India], March 9 (ANI): State-owned companies operating in the coal sector have made capital expenditure spending worth Rs 22,448 crore as of February of 2023-24, overshooting the target of Rs 21,030 crore. "By Feb 2024, coal PSUs have already surpassed the FY 2023-24 target by making record capex of Rs 22,448.24 Cr i.e. 106.74 per cent of the annual target," said a Ministry of Coal press release. Also Read | How To Watch 71st Miss World 2024 Live Streaming Online? Know TV Channel, Live-Stream, Date, Time in IST and More Details. Coal PSUs under the administrative control of the Ministry have been at the forefront of capital expenditure to assist and contribute to transforming the Indian economy. Over the past few years, Coal companies have been overachieving the capex target. In the financial year 2021-22, coal PSUs achieved 104.86 per cent of their target. Similar performance was repeated in 2022-23 where coal PSUs achieved around 109.24 per cent of its target. There has been consistent year-on-year growth in capital expenditure over the last three years. Also Read | TDP-Jana Sena-BJP Alliance To Contest Upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly Polls Together in Andhra Pradesh. Capex is one of the crucial components of the economic dynamics, which has a multiplier and trickle-down impact on the overall economy boosting consumption, demand and spurs industrial growth, creating employment and long-lasting infrastructure from which durable benefits accrue to the country over a long period. A capital expenditure, or capex, is used to set up long-term physical or fixed assets. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Coal aims to produce 186.63 million tonne (MT) coal exclusively from captive or commercial coal mines during 2024-25. Production will be further stepped up to 225.69 million tonne during 2025-26 and as per the present plans of the Ministry, production target from such mines will be touching 383.56 million tonne by 2029-30. Coal production and dispatch from captive and commercial coal blocks attained a remarkable growth during the April-December 2023 period. The total coal production from captive and commercial coal mines during the period stood at 98 million tonne. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) PRNewswire Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 9: Hexaware Technologies, a global leader in digital solutions, and Novelty Group, a prominent business group of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), today announced a joint venture to deliver cutting edge digital transformation services to UAE based enterprises across diverse sectors like banking, financial services, manufacturing, energy and utilities, healthcare, insurance, hi-tech products & platforms, retail & consumer, logistics and travel & hospitality. This strategic collaboration aims to leverage Hexaware's technological capabilities and Novelty Group's local presence and market understanding. Also Read | Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka Free Live Streaming Online, 3rd T20I 2024: How To Watch BAN vs SL Cricket Match Live Telecast on TV?. Under this joint venture, Hexaware Technologies brings its extensive expertise in digital managed services, generative AI, cloud, digital & software, enterprise automation, data & AI, and business process services. Hexaware aims to drive impactful change in the UAE market by leveraging its strategic global partnerships with industry-leading technology giants like AWS, Microsoft, Google, Guidewire, Snowflake, Backbase, and Oracle, among others. Hexaware has a strong track record of delivering cutting-edge digital transformation solutions across the globe and aims to leverage this experience and help UAE based companies to transition to the digital world faster in a very secure and cost-effective way. Novelty Group, with its deep-rooted understanding of the UAE business landscape and industry-specific insights will serve as an invaluable partner in this joint venture. Their strong presence across the UAE will deliver key insights and support in navigating the needs of this market and ensure the success of this venture across its target client base. The aspiration to keep expanding and strengthening UAE's diverse industry sectors by successfully leveraging local talent pool, and the Emiratization of IT services across the UAE market will drive this collaboration with Hexaware Technologies. Also Read | US Records over 100 Pediatric Deaths from Flu This Season. "We are thrilled to embark on this transformative journey with Novelty Group. This joint venture represents a strategic alignment of our technological prowess with Novelty Group's expertise, aimed at delivering unparalleled value to UAE based enterprises. Together, we are committed to driving innovation and fostering sustainable, technology-empowered futures for businesses. We aim to make use of the UAE's increasing and diverse talent pool and make cutting edge digital solutions available locally and are committed to bring investments to the UAE," said R Srikrishna, Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director of Hexaware Technologies. Abdul Raouf Al Mubarak, Chairman of Novelty Group, echoed similar sentiments, stating, "Our partnership with Hexaware Technologies marks a significant milestone in our commitment to driving digital innovation. Combining Hexaware's global technological capabilities with Novelty Group's insights, we aim to revolutionize enterprise solutions across diverse sectors. Together, we look forward to creating transformative digital experiences for businesses across the UAE." This joint venture represents a convergence of global technological expertise and business insights, poised to redefine the digital landscape in the UAE market. Miller Hill Advisors, an international investment banking firm, and Ignite Excellence Advisory, a UAE-based management advisory firm, have facilitated this joint venture. Miller Hill Advisors will act as the financial advisor for this joint venture. About Novelty Group Novelty Group caters to the professional expectations & demands of international companies, in turn successfully facilitating their local interests through ground-handling, synergies & a market-focused approach. A dynamic United Arab Emirates (UAE) based entity that promotes and supports the interest of multinational partner companies throughout the UAE, GCC and Middle East region. About Hexaware: Hexaware is a global technology and business process services company. Our 28,300 Hexawarians wake up every day with a singular purpose; to create smiles through great people and technology. With 45+ offices in 16 countries, we empower enterprises worldwide to realize digital transformation at scale and speed by partnering with them to build, transform, run, and optimize their technology and business processes. Learn more about Hexaware at https://www.hexaware.com Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2358155/Hexaware_and_Novelty_Group_Joint_Venture.jpgLogo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2237417/4584204/Hexaware_NEW_Logo.jpg (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) NewsVoir New Delhi [India], March 9: The Cureus Journal of Medical Science, well known for its pioneering open-access publishing platform and part of the Springer Nature Group, successfully concluded its Cureus India Medical Science & Publishing Symposium: Innovating for Tomorrow. The symposium, held in New Delhi on March 7th, 2024, was aimed at addressing the expanding landscape of healthcare research in India. Also Read | Womens Rights Movements: Explore Different Movements and Activists That Have Shaped Womens Rights Globally. Professor John R. Adler, Founder and Co-Editor-in-Chief of Cureus Journal of Medical Science, commented, "India is a powerhouse of knowledge and innovation. It crucial to ensure proper generation, curation and dissemination of medical knowledge and break the barriers to publication. At Cureus, our mission is make credible medical knowledge accessible to all. We have established a robust model to connect and foster medical communities globally, and publish peer-reviewed and sound science faster. This symposium has acted as a pivotal platform for sparking in-depth discussions aimed at nurturing innovation and ensuring transparency within the field." The summit provided an exceptional platform for speakers and attendees to engage and exchange ideas for shaping the future of medical science and publishing. Prominent figures from the healthcare industry, such as Prof. B.N. Gangadhar, Chairman of the National Medical Commission, India; Dr Sandeep Aggarwal, Professor at the Department of Surgical Disciplines, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi; Dr Pooja Sharma, Founder CEO of APAR health and advisor to Medanta Institute of Education and Research; Dr Rahul Bhargava, Principal, Director and Chief Hematology, Fortis Hospitals; and others were present at the event and shared their insights on the challenges and opportunities in the Indian healthcare research ecosystem. Furthermore, they explored forward-thinking strategies to accelerate the dissemination of medical knowledge and improve accessibility in publishing. Also Read | PM Narendra Modi Unveils Projects Worth Rs 55,600 Crore in Northeast, Including Strategic Sela Tunnel in Itanagar (Watch Video). Venkatesh Sarvasiddhi, Managing Director of Springer Nature India, commented, "As champions of the dissemination of medical knowledge, we are committed to empowering researchers and healthcare practitioners by ensuring access to cutting-edge information. We look forward to working closely with industry leaders and innovators in medical science who share our vision of effecting a positive transformation in the medical field." The Cureus Journal of Medical Science stands at the forefront of promoting medical knowledge dissemination, committed steadfastly to transparency. The symposium concluded with a dynamic networking session, fostering meaningful connections and collaborations to further the advancement of medical science and publishing in India. Cureus has established itself as a leader within the Open Access publishing movement with a philosophy emphasizing scientific credibility over perceived impact. The Cureus Journal of Medical Science is a peerreviewed, Open Access medical journal leveraging the power of an online community platform to share and promote published medical knowledge around the world. The result being faster and more affordable publishing, better research, and access for everyone. For over 180 years Springer Nature has been advancing discovery by providing the best possible service to the whole research community. We help researchers uncover new ideas, make sure all the research we publish is significant, robust and stands up to objective scrutiny, that it reaches all relevant audiences in the best possible format, and can be discovered, accessed, used, re-used and shared. We support librarians and institutions with innovations in technology and data; and provide quality publishing support to societies. As a research publisher, Springer Nature is home to trusted brands including Springer, Nature Portfolio, BMC, Palgrave Macmillan and Scientific American. For more information, please visit springernature.com and @SpringerNature (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) NewsVoir New Delhi [India], March 9: Power2SME, in collaboration with TiE Delhi-NCR, hosted Season 10 of their flagship Spirit of Manufacturing (SOM) awards in New Delhi. Also Read | Who Is Sini Shetty Participating at Miss World 2024? A Closer Look at Indias Contestant and Her Stunning Fashion Choices Throughout the 71st Miss World Pageant. Initiated in 2014, The Spirit of Manufacturing Awards resonate with the Indian government's "Make In India" initiative, aiming to celebrate advancements in the manufacturing sector and inspire young innovators to refine their skills under effective leadership and with adequate resources. This endeavor seeks to propel these innovators onto a path of rapid growth by providing them with essential resources and mentorship to accelerate their progress. As a process, all the applications undergo pre-screening before assessment, leading to a final selection of 20 contestants. Winners are determined based on presentations to a Jury of business experts and industry veterans, evaluating criteria such as execution strategy, competitive advantage, management depth, sales and marketing strategy, and financial viability. Also Read | West Bengal: Jhargram BJP MP Kunar Hembram Resigns Ahead of Lok Sabha Elections 2024, Cites 'Personal Reasons'. R Narayan, Founder, and CEO of Power2SME, said, "India's ascent as a global hub for entrepreneurship owes much to its pioneering innovations, empowering start-ups and SMEs. Key government initiatives like 'Make in India' and 'Skill India' have significantly bolstered manufacturers and small businesses. The Spirit of Manufacturing Awards, now in its tenth season, remains steadfast in its mission to laud exceptional ideas, products, and entrepreneurs in the Indian manufacturing sector. This initiative underscores the vast potential inherent in India's manufacturing landscape. Year after year, we pledge to spotlight and honor the ingenuity driving progress in this vital industry." Geetika Dayal, Executive Director, TiE Delhi NCR, opined, "We are immensely proud of our association with Power2SME spanning a decade. The prestigious Spirit of Manufacturing Awards have been dedicated to celebrating and honoring the remarkable achievements of startups in the manufacturing domain. The Awards have encouraged and empowered innovative business ideas by providing a platform to showcase their exceptional propositions. TiE Delhi-NCR will continue reaching out to such startups nationally & providing them centrestage to build for The New Bharat." The winners were awarded across 4 categories based on the innovative skills and the tangible impact showcased. The categories included Social Impact, Young Entrepreneur, IT Adoption & Innovation, Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, and Special Jury Award. Headquartered in Gurugram, Power2SME is an Embedded Finance Company, focused on SMEs. It has over 5 branches spread across Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, and Pune. Having started its operations in 2012, Power2SME with its mission 'Empower SMEs to enable the India growth story' has a proven track record of enabling small businesses and enterprises to enhance their overall productivity and achieve measurable business value through its offerings. Power2SME plays a crucial role in financing the SMEs along with sourcing input raw materials at the most economical price points in varied categories like Chemicals, Inks, Paints, Metals, Polymers, and more. This helps SMEs focus on their core business of accelerating growth, both in terms of revenue and development. Know more: www.power2sme.com | Linkedin: in.linkedin.com/company/power2sme. TiE Delhi-NCR is among the most active and vibrant chapters across the vast TiE network. In the last two decades, it has continuously taken the lead in creating an increasingly positive ecosystem for entrepreneurs and investors. With a strong mentor support base, marquee events and focused workshops throughout the year it has Delhi TiE Delhi-NCR conducts a wide range of programs to help entrepreneurs. These include TiEcon, India Internet Day, Sustainability Summit, HR Summit, TiE Institute, TiE Young Entrepreneurs along with Special Interest Groups (SIGs) across sectors. For more details and registration www.tiecon-delhi.org. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) (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], March 9 (ANI): As many as 15 people were injured on Saturday after the railing of a floating bridge collapsed in Varkala, Thiruvananthapuram, said police. The police officials reached the spot immediately after receiving word about the incident. Also Read | PM Narendra Modi Virtually Inaugurates, Lays Foundation of Projects Worth Rs 8,500 Crore in Tripura. The injured included women and children. All the injured were immediately admitted to the hospital. The condition of the two is serious, said police. The handrail of the floating bridge collapsed due to strong waves and consequently people fell into the sea. Also Read | TDP-Jana Sena-BJP Alliance To Contest Upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly Polls Together in Andhra Pradesh. Further investigation into the matter is underway. More details are awaited. (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, March 9: Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a late-night meeting on Friday with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to discuss seat-sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The meeting took place at Shah's residence here in the national capital. At around 12:45 am, Maharashtra CM Shinde and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar were seen leaving from Shah's residence after the meeting. The meeting on seat-sharing within the Mahayuti Alliance in Maharashtra began at around 7:00 pm. The Mahayuti Alliance includes the Bharatiya Janata Party, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Nationalist Congress Party-Ajit Pawar faction. BJP National President JP Nadda along with the party's state president Praful Patel were also present in the meeting. Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Congress to Sound Poll Bugle on Conclusion of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Mumbai on March 17, Says Nana Patole Deliberation on seat-sharing formula within the alliance in Maharashtra was made, sources said. Earlier, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday asserted that everything is going well between the Mahayuti Alliance in the state, and discussions are still underway on two or three seats that will be resolved soon. Addressing a press conference, Fadnavis said, "Whenever it comes to ticket distribution for the Lok Sabha, it is based on the ground reality only." Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Rahul Gandhi Fielded Again From Keralas Wayanad As Congress Releases First List of Candidates for General Polls; Check Full List "Everything is going well between the three parties of our alliance. Discussion is still going on two or three seats on which there was a deadlock but that too will be resolved soon. There is no dispute of any kind between us. There should not be any speculation about the seats before the announcement because it seems incorrect. Whatever decision will be taken will come before you in a day or two," he said. "Whenever it comes to ticket distribution for Lok Sabha, any party or any leader can make any demand, but when the decision on ticket distribution is taken, it will be based on the ground reality only," he added. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) By Amit Kumar Patna (Bihar) [India], March 9 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to address a public meeting with people belonging to Other Backward Caste (OBC) and Economically Backward Class (EBC) at Paliganj near Patna in Patliputra Lok Sabha Constituency on Saturday ahead of the Lok Sabha 2024 election. Also Read | Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Congress to Sound Poll Bugle on Conclusion of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Mumbai on March 17, Says Nana Patole. Amit Shah's Bihar visit today is his first after the formation of the new government in January 2024 with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Shah's public meeting in Paliganj near Patna will motivate BJP in five Lok Sabha seats including Patliputra, Arrah, Patna Sahib, Jahanabad and Hajipur. Also Read | Rameshwaram Cafe Reopens: Cafe in Karnataka's Bengaluru Reopens for Customers Eight Days after Blast, Tight Security Ensured (Watch Video). The public meeting of the Home Minister is organised by Bihar BJP OBC Morcha and all preparations have been completed by the party workers for the grand success of the meeting. Bihar BJP OBC Morcha General Secretary Sanjeev Kumar Chaurasia told ANI, "We are fully prepared to greet the Hon'ble Home Minister Amit Shah Ji. Thousands of people will be present in Paliganj to listen to the Home Minister. Amit Shah ji is a source of inspiration for all of us. Under his guidance, the party is continuously moving ahead." "It is a matter of pride for all of us that the Home Minister will guide us today before the Lok Sabha election and we are very much sure that NDA will win all 40 seats in Bihar to strengthen Prime Minister Narendra for a third term", he added Mukesh Kumar Patel also General secretary of Bihar BJP OBC Morcha said, "The OBCs of Bihar realise that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done much welfare work for the backward society. This has never been done by any previous government in the history of independent India hence we would like to congratulate Home Minister Amit Shah. We will seek guidance from him to ensure a big victory for the party in the Lok Sabha elections." During one day Bihar visit, Amit Shar will unveil the statue of veteran BJP Leader Kailashpati Mishra at ICAR Building premises, Jagdev Path, Patna. Earlier on Friday Amit Shah held a late-night meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to discuss seat-sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The meeting took place at Shah's residence here in the national capital. At around 12:45 am, Maharashtra CM Shinde and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar were seen leaving Shah's residence after the meeting. The meeting on seat-sharing within the Mahayuti Alliance in Maharashtra began at around 7:00 pm. The Mahayuti Alliance includes the Bharatiya Janata Party, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Nationalist Congress Party-Ajit Pawar faction. BJP National President JP Nadda along with the party's state president Praful Patel were also present in the meeting. Deliberation on the seat-sharing formula within the alliance in Maharashtra was made, sources said. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) As more than one critic has observed, Lily Gladstones performances are of such piercing honesty you almost cant look at her. Yet you cant stop. Thats certainly true of Gladstones Oscar-nominated performance in Killers of the Flower Moon. In her face you see love, loss, bewilderment, anger sometimes simultaneously as her character, Osage oil headrights-holder Mollie Burkhart, experiences the murder-for-profit bloodbath wreaked by a network of greedy bigots, including her own husbands attempt to poison her. Never has an actress expressed so much while saying so little. But if Gladstones on-screen impact is often wordless, her interviews reveal a woman who has studied words, listened to them intently, thought about them deeply, and now uses them with an uncommon wisdom and warmth. Even at birth, her father says, Lily didnt cry; she observed. And in her first 11 years on the Blackfeet Reservation, there was a lot to take in. Loud and goofy, she got razzed as that chubby mixed girl [with] too much creative energy and not enough outlets. Missoula Childrens Theater gave her that outlet. Traveling to East Glacier to bring the creative arts to her school, as MCT does throughout the state, MCT gave Lily a script and a stage. She fell in love. For the first time, she said, I felt cool. When her family moved to Seattle, she left the interwoven relationships of the reservation for the isolation of urban life and became a stranger in that strange land called middle school. But she already had her home: performance art. She warmed herself by that fire until she came back to Montana as the first Native American student at the University of Montanas Davidson Honors College. Greg Johnson, who directed her there, watched her work ethic mold this wide-eyed freshman into a transcendent actress. After years of touring as a performer for Living Voices, even after a role in Certain Women that wowed critics, Gladstone felt stuck. She was exploring other work when she got a call from Martin Scorsese. THE Martin Scorsese. Hed just watched Certain Women and found his Mollie Burkhart. Gladstone had to be the beating heart of Killers of the Flower Moon. If and when Lily Gladstone becomes the first Native American to win a Best Actress Oscar, it will be a big win for that once-goofy rez kid. But as Gladstone often says, I is we. Its also a big win for Montana. Montanans make the Missoula Childrens Theater possible. Two Montanans created the Davidson Honors College and the rest of us sustain the University of Montana. A Montanan wrote the short story that became Certain Women. Montana itself provided that films unforgettable setting. Above all, Montanas Blackfeet Nation nurtured Lily Gladstone. Yes, she concedes, theres poverty, violence, substance abuse, and unemployment everywhere. But there is so much love a love of family, a love of land. On Sunday we Montanans have the opportunity to watch one of our own break another glass ceiling. As I do, Ill be thinking of all the little girls who learned depth of feeling sitting for hours in the tall grass of the high plains, being part of the quiet or getting hollowed out by the whistle of the wind. Ill think of all the kids Montanas performing arts gave a much-loved home. And in those teasing eyes in an otherwise deadpan face, Ill see many other Blackfeet women whove changed Montana and this country for the better. Slay em, Lily. Were behind you. Were beside you. Were part of you. And were so over-the-top proud of you. Alluri, March 9: Four people were killed after four motrocycles they were riding on collided with each other in in Arakuloya mandal in the Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) district of Andhra Pradesh, a police official said. The incident took place on the Friday night on the occasion of Mahashivratri. According to ASR District Police, 11 people were travelling on four bikes during the time of the mishap. While three persons died on the spot, a fourth person succumbed to his injuries in hospital. Six others who were injured in the incident have been admitted to hospital and their condition are critical, police said adding that one person sustained only minor injuires. Andhra Pradesh Road Accident: Newlywed Couple among Five Killed after Car Rams into Parked Truck in Nandyal The collision took place in between the villages of Dumma Gudri and Ganjai Guda villages of the Vari Madala Panchayat. The bike riders were on their way to the Ganjai Guda Jathara, police said. "Six individuals are in critical condition, while one has minor injuries. Full details of the accident are still pending," said the police. Earlier this week, five people were killed at Nallagatla village on the national highway in Allagadda mandal of Nandyala district in Andhra Pradesh. The victims were identified as family members of Telangana Minister Ravinder Reddy, who were returning from Tirupati to Hyderabad. Tragically, their car collided with a lorry from Karnataka, leading to the immediate demise of all five occupants. Andhra Pradesh Road Accident: Five People including Newly-Wed Couple Killed in Nandyal after Car Hits Parked Truck (Watch Video) Late in February, four people lost their lives after a bus rammed into a stationary truck with a punctured tyre on the national highway near Padalemma temple in Prattipadu mandal in Andhra's Kakinada district. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Jind (Haryana) [India], March 9 (ANI): Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala hit out at former Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Birender Singh on Saturday, saying that the latter has been giving ultimatums since the last year. "Ask Birender Singh first that it has been one year since he threatened to quit the party if they break the coalition. He has not left since last year. I don't think there is a politician like him in Haryana or the entire country. Just like Sunny Deol's movie where "Tarik pe Tarikh" (date after date) used to be given, he is giving ultimatums and ultimatums," Chautala said speaking to reporters on Saturday. Also Read | Delhi: 12-Year-Old Boy Crushed to Death After Concrete Girder Beam at Expressway Construction Site Falls on Him in Geeta Colony Area. Stressing the fact that he would like a strong coalition with the BJP, Chautala said, "If he has to decide something, he can do it in his own party and leave thinking about the Jannayak Janta Party. If we are in the alliance, it will be a strong one. I don't think we have left any stone unturned in Haryana's development. When the alliance breaks, I don't think anyone needs to say anything." Claiming that Birender Singh is frustrated, the Deputy CM said, "He is frustrated because during his time Uchana was so backward and now it has become so developed. He is taking out his frustration on our alliance." Also Read | Kota Student Death: Father of JEE Aspirant Who Killed Self Suspects Foul Play, Demands Fair Probe. On the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress contesting the Haryana elections together as part of the INDIA bloc, Chautala said that the AAP which has now risen to the stature of a national party should have demanded all 10 seats in the state. "Since Aam Aadmi Party became a national party, it should have raised the bargain from three seats to five and then to 10 seats. What was the compulsion that they (AAP) stopped at only one?...," Chautala said. Slamming the Congress, the Deputy CM said, "The way Congress is resorting to crutches, its ship will surely sink and it will also drown those seats that Kejriwal has given to him in Delhi." Dushyant Chautala had gone to the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) office on Saturday to chair a meeting of his party workers in Uchana on the JJP's rally to be held in Hisar on March 13. (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 [India], March 9 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday announced Pradip Varma from Jharkhand as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha Biennial elections. After being nominated from Jharkhand, Pradip Varma, the state general secretary, expressed gratitude towards the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Also Read | Gujarat Shocker: Man Allegedly Addicted to Watching Porn Rapes 11-Year-Old Schoolgirl in Auto-rickshaw in Surat, Held. The nominations for the biennial elections to two Rajya Sabha seats from the state will be held on March 11, and the elections are set to be held on March 21. The counting of votes will be done on the same day. The Election Commission earlier asserted that fresh elections were necessitated as the tenure of two Rajya Sabha members from the state, Samir Oraon and Dhiraj Prasad Sahu, will end in May. Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Shocker: Man Shot Dead Over Love Marriage by Brother-in-Law in Bijnor; Accused Arrested. In the recent elections, four BJP MPs from Gujarat were elected to the Rajya Sabha. These include party president JP Nadda, Jaswant Singh Parmar, Mayank Nayak, and Govindbhai Dholakia. Setting the pace ahead of its rivals, the BJP released its first list of 195 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The list included 47 youth candidates, 28 women candidates, 27 Scheduled Caste (SC) faces, 18 Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidates, and 57 OBC/Backward Class nominees. (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], March 9 (ANI): Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday came down heavily on the BJP-led union government for allegedly betraying PDA (Pichhde, Dalit and Alpasankhyak) families. "BJP will be nervous because they have snatched away the rights of PDA (Pichhde, Dalit and Alpsankhyak). Vice Chancellors were appointed but how many PDAs are there among them?'' Yadav said. Also Read | PM Narendra Modi Unveils Development Projects of Over Rs 4500 Crore in West Bengal. "There are many districts where no person from PDA is posted on a high post. The government has not provided the list of appointments and they have betrayed the PDA families," the SP chief further said while speaking to ANI. Earlier, Yadav lashed out at the BJP government over unemployment and said that the youth of India are forced to stay away from their families and take jobs in war-torn nations. He stressed that Indian citizens becoming victims of missile attacks in Israel is a matter of "great concern." Also Read | Gujarat Shocker: Man Allegedly Addicted to Watching Porn Rapes 11-Year-Old Schoolgirl in Auto-rickshaw in Surat, Held. "The BJP government should immediately take this matter seriously. Who will guarantee the safety of the lives of Indian citizens and the livelihood of their families? Only the unemployed will make the BJP unemployed in the Lok Sabha elections," he added. His statement comes after the Israel Embassy in India BS Yediyurappa Accused of Sexually Assaulting Minor Booked Under POCSO Act New Delhi, Mar 9 (PTI) Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress on Saturday released its "Nyay Geet", which talks about the party's "five pillars of justice" and its "guarantees" to youngsters. Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and many other leaders shared the video of the song on social media. Also Read | RRB Recruitment 2024: Vacancies Notified For 9,144 Technician Posts, Know How to Apply Online At rrbapply.gov.in. Gandhi shared the "Nyay Geet" on X and said in a post in Hindi, "The dreams of those who have been left behind will also be fulfilled! This song of justice is the music of the coming of the dawn in the lives of the deprived." The two-minute and 34-second-long video talks about the five "pillars of justice" and "guarantees" for the youngsters. Also Read | Land Mafia Will Be Hung Upside Down in Bihar, Says Home Minister Amit Shah. The five pillars of justice declared by the Congress are justice for youth, women, farmers, workers, and participatory justice. The Congress has promised the right to employment as well as apprenticeships for youngsters in a series of assurances. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Patna, Mar 9 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday raided multiple locations in Patna as part of an alleged illegal sand mining linked money laundering case, official sources said. The premises of a person identified as Subash Yadav are being searched as part of a case registered under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said. Also Read | 'Elvish Yadav Threatened to Kill Me': YouTuber Booked for Assaulting Delhi-Based Content Creator in Gurugram's Shopping Mall (Watch Video). About seven premises are being searched by the central agency in and around Patna, they said. Yadav is said to be involved in sand mining in Bihar and has contested election on an RJD ticket earlier, they said. Also Read | Hardeep Singh Nijjar Killing: Video Footage of India Designated Terrorist's Killing in Canada Surfaces (Watch Video). The money laundering case stems from some FIRs filed by the Bihar Police earlier. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Jammu, Mar 9 (PTI) Election Commission of India officials will visit Jammu and Kashmir next week to review preparedness for the Lok Sabha elections, likely to be held in April-May. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, along with election commissioners, are scheduled to visit Jammu and Kashmir on March 12 and 13, officials said on Saturday. Also Read | Arun Goel Steps Down: Election Commissioner Resigns Weeks Before 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. They said the Election Commission of India (ECI) officials are likely to meet various stakeholders, including representatives of political parties and the civil and the police administration in both divisions during the visit. Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo held a meeting with the civil and the police administration on Saturday to sensitise them about the measures to be taken for smooth conduct of the Lok Sabha polls in the Union Territory. Also Read | Lok Sabha Elections 2024: BJP To Hold Late Night Meeting To Finalise Remaining Seats in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. The chief secretary asserted that the administration's objective is to ensure free and fair elections with large-scale public participation, a spokesperson said. Dulloo impressed upon the divisional and the district administration to take all necessary measures to ensure that people do not face any hardships in exercising their democratic rights. The spokesperson said the chief secretary took up department-wise issues and enquired from the officials concerned about the measures they had taken in compliance with the ECI directions. He asked each of them to use the time before the elections efficiently to make these guidelines applicable on the ground. Chief Electoral Officer PK Pole informed the meeting about the initiatives to be taken by different departments. He said electoral literacy campaigns in educational institutions will be held in the coming days, besides designating campus ambassadors in colleges and universities, the spokesperson said. Pole said each polling station should have facilities such as toilets, ramps, power, drinking water and furniture in accordance with the ECI's guidelines. The meeting also discussed connectivity issues in polling stations and approach roads, in addition to transport and other amenities to be made available for transportation of electoral machinery and staff during the elections across the Union Territory, the spokesperson said. (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], March 9 (ANI): Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched various initiatives in School and Teacher Education at Kaushal Bhavan in the national capital on Saturday. Addressing the event, Pradhan said, "The definition of mentoring is too big. Today, an initiative has been taken to frame the National Mission for Mentoring. The steps are being taken to strengthen DeiT and SCERT." Also Read | RRB Recruitment 2024: Vacancies Notified For 9,144 Technician Posts, Know How to Apply Online At rrbapply.gov.in. Earlier on Monday, he inaugurated a Skill India Centre (SIC) in Angul to equip the youth with employability and new-age skills and open their avenues for employment in domestic and global markets. "Our overarching vision is to extend our reach to remote communities, and the revitalization of public education institutions will particularly benefit underprivileged sections of society, empowering them to improve their livelihoods and access better employment opportunities," Pradhan said." Also Read | Land Mafia Will Be Hung Upside Down in Bihar, Says Home Minister Amit Shah. Around 1000 children will annually benefit from skill enhancement programs offered at the centre, thereby contributing to personal growth as well as the nation's economic development," he added. It will enable the youth to leverage modern technologies, provide hands-on experiences on new-age technologies and facilitate career advancement that aligns with the demands of the future of work and skill development. The centre perfectly corresponds with the goals outlined in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which is about creating a flexible and dynamic education system that prepares students for the challenges of the real world. Furthermore, these centres are poised to play an instrumental role in shaping education by actively engaging with industry experts to design curricula that evolve in tandem with changing industry needs. It promotes standardization, preserves the rich cultural heritage of traditional crafts and generates employment opportunities that meet the demand for skilled talent across diverse industries. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Shopian (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], March 9 (ANI): The Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) of Jammu and Kashmir Police, a specialized unit to check the rising menace of drugs, recovered a huge quantity of heroin worth crores of rupees in Shopian. On specific information regarding two drug peddlers, Talib Hussain Seer and Mohammad Azim Seer, residents of Shopian, transporting contraband (heroin) on a motorcycle in order to sell it among other drug peddlers at Vehil Shopian, the police swung into action. Also Read | Delhi: 12-Year-Old Boy Crushed to Death After Concrete Girder Beam at Expressway Construction Site Falls on Him in Geeta Colony Area. The police later reached Vehil Shopian, apprehended the drug peddlers; and recovered 500 grams of heroin worth crores, which were concealed underneath the seat of the motorcycle. Accordingly, the police have registered a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Also Read | Kota Student Death: Father of JEE Aspirant Who Killed Self Suspects Foul Play, Demands Fair Probe. Further probes are underway. (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], March 9 (ANI): The Kerala government on Saturday referred the investigation into the death of J S Sidharthan, a second-year veterinary student, to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). A notification for this came after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan ordered the transfer of the investigation to the CBI when Sidharthan's family met him at his office. Also Read | Delhi: 12-Year-Old Boy Crushed to Death After Concrete Girder Beam at Expressway Construction Site Falls on Him in Geeta Colony Area. "In exercise of the powers conferred by section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act,1946(Central Act 25 of 1946), the Government of Kerala hereby accord consent to the members of the Delhi Special Police Establishment. to exercise powers and jurisdiction in the whole of the State of Kerala, for the investigation of offenses involved in Crime No.77/2024 of Vythiri Police Station, Wayanad District, registered in connection with the death of Sidharthan.J.S, S/o Sri.Jayaprakash, Pavithram Kunnumpurath veedu, Kurakkode, Vinod Nagar, Nedumangad P.O., Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala and matters related thereto," said the notification. Opposition parties and the father of the student had blamed the Student Federation of India (SFI) for the death of the student. Also Read | Kota Student Death: Father of JEE Aspirant Who Killed Self Suspects Foul Play, Demands Fair Probe. "The Chief Minister has ordered CBI enquiry into the death of Sidharthan, the second-year veterinary student in Pookkode after his family met CM at his office," an official release said on Saturday. Sidharthan was a student of Government Veterinary College, Pookkode in the state. According to police, he was found hanging in his hostel room on February 18. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan suspended Vice Chancellor of the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University MR Saseendranath in connection with the death of the veterinary student. On March 1, T Jayaprakash, the father of the veterinary student, alleged that the death of his son seemed to be a "murder sponsored by the leaders and workers of the SFI." Talking to ANI, Jayaprakash said that one of the friends of Sidharthan informed him that the death of his son was "a well-planned murder" and that "brutal ragging" is regular in the college. Sidharthan's relatives told reporters that he was brutally attacked by a group of students inside the campus and it "is a case of murder and not suicide". Kerala Police had arrested six people in connection with the death of the student. Following the government's decision for a CBI probe, opposition parties ended their protest. Mahila Congress president Jebi Mather, Youth Congress president Rahul Mamkootathil and KSU state President Aloshious Xavier were among those who were protesting over their demand for a CBI probe. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Hunter and bowhunter education in-person classes and field days will be offered in several locations in south-central Montana this spring. These classes are taught by skilled volunteer instructors and offer hands-on learning experiences, mentoring opportunities and the ability for students to ask questions of experienced hunters. During in-person classes, students learn how to handle firearms and archery equipment safely, basic survival skills, hunting ethics, wildlife management, game identification, landowner-hunter relations and Montana hunting laws and regulations. Montana law requires anyone born after Jan. 1, 1985, to complete a Hunter Education class or qualify as an apprentice hunter before purchasing a Montana hunting license. All first-time bowhunters must complete a Bowhunter Education course or show proof of a prior years archery license from another state or province. There are multiple options to complete these required classes depending on the student's age. In-person In-person courses are led by volunteer instructors who teach firearm and archery equipment safety, ethics and other outdoor skills. Students must be at least 10 years old to participate in Hunter Education and at least 11 years old for Bowhunter Education. In-person classes are free. Registration is currently open for these in-person courses: Worden, starts March 13; Hardin, starts March 27; Roundup, starts April 1. There will be an in-person Hunter Education class in Billings beginning April 17. Registration for this class will open soon. Bowhunter Education in Big Timber starts April 12. Combo course Students age 12 to 17 and students who will turn 12 by Jan. 16 of the current license year (March - Feb.) can take Hunter and Bowhunter Education online, but must also pass an in-person field day to be certified. FWP strongly encourages students to register for a field day as soon as possible as opportunities will be limited after Oct. 1. The online Hunter Education course costs $25 and the online Bowhunter Education course costs $30. Field days are free. Registration is currently open for these field days for online students: Hunter Education - Roundup, April 13; Bowhunter Education - Billings, April 6. Online-only The self-paced online Hunter and Bowhunter courses are available for students 18 and older. Once certified, graduates may purchase or apply for licenses. No in-person field day is required but FWP strongly encourages participation at an in-person field day. The online Hunter Education course costs $25 and the online Bowhunter Education course costs $30. To register for these or other courses, visit: fwp.mt.gov/hunt/education. This webpage will be updated as more classes are scheduled around the state. Pauri (Uttarakhand) [India], March 9 (ANI): Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt on Saturday inaugurated a statue of India's first Chief of Defence Staff Late General Bipin Rawat and an 80 feet high tricolour at Talla Banas village of Uttarakhand's Pauri district. The tricolour was established by the 128 Battalion Territorial Army (Rajputana Rifles) and General Bipin Rawat Memorial Foundation. Also Read | Tamil Nadu Fire: Massive Blaze Erupts at Madakkulam Sri Kabaleeswari Amman Temple Hill in Madurai (Watch Video). General Rawat's daughter Tarini Rawat was also present on the occasion. Earlier in February, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh unveiled a statue of Gen Bipin Rawat at a school in Dehradun, describing him as a person who brought significant reform in the history of the Indian Army. Also Read | Uttar Pradesh: PM Narendra Modi Holds Roadshow in Varanasi, Offers Prayers at Kashi Vishwanath Temple (Watch Videos). Singh was addressing students at The Tons Bridge School in Dehradun where he said the appointment of Gen Rawat as CDS was a significant reform in the history of the Indian Army. The creation of this post itself shows the determination of the government towards the empowerment of the forces and their respect. On December 8, 2021, General Rawat along with his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others lost their lives in a helicopter crash in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu. PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, ADC General Rawat was also the former General Officer Commanding of 19 Infantry Division and commanded the Division in 2012. (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, Mar 9 (PTI) Odisha Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Saturday said "rumour" and "lies" are the worst part of politics. Patnaik made the remark during a conversation with his close aide and 5T (Transformation) and Nabin Odisha chairman VK Pandian. Also Read | Tamil Nadu Fire: Massive Blaze Erupts at Madakkulam Sri Kabaleeswari Amman Temple Hill in Madurai (Watch Video). "Sir, rajanitire sabutu kharap jinisa kan (what is the worst thing in politics)?" Pandian asked the CM. In his reply, Patnaik said, "Gujjab (rumour) and michha katha (lies)." The video of Pandian speaking to Patnaik went viral on Saturday even as suspense continued over possible alliance between the ruling BJD and opposition BJP. Also Read | Uttar Pradesh: PM Narendra Modi Holds Roadshow in Varanasi, Offers Prayers at Kashi Vishwanath Temple (Watch Videos). The political situation remained fluid all along the day after BJP Odisha president Manmohan Samal and party's Odisha election in-charge Vijay Pal Singh Tomar claimed that there was no alliance talks with BJD in Delhi. Pandian accompanied by BJD's organisational secretary Pranab Prakash Das had visited the national capital on Thursday night for tie-up talks with the BJP brass. While Samal and Tomar said there were no talks of alliance, BJP senior leader and MP Jual Oram on Thursday had admitted that they discussed on the alliance. Patnaik's remark that rumour and lies were worst part of politics was seen in two different ways. According to sources, Patnaik's response possibly indicated that talks of a tie-up was gossip' and lies' or the versions of Samal and Tomar that there was no discussion on alliance are gossip' and lies'. It was not clear in the video what actually Patnaik meant and the purpose of releasing it on Instagram. Sources in both the camps, however, claimed that there was a discussion on alliance between the two parties. BJD leader Nrushingha Sahu and BJP leader Jual Oram have admitted about the discussion on the alliance matter. However, BJP state president Samal has denied it. Lok Sabha and assembly elections are held simultaneously in Odisha since 2004. Tomar, who reached here from the national capital, said no leader of the ruling BJD had met him in New Delhi where BJP top brass was holding meetings for the polls. "If alliance discussions have taken place, such talks with BJD are neither in my knowledge nor we have been informed in this regard," Tomar said. However, senior BJP leader and Sundergarh MP Jual Oram on March 6 had told reporters in Delhi that there was a discussion on alliance. Tomar asserted that BJP has been making all preparations to fight the elections alone in the state. "We (BJP) will win more than 80 assembly seats and over 16 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha all alone," he told reporters. Insisted to speak on the possible alliance between the two former allies (BJD and BJP were in coalition government in Odisha from 2000 to 2009), Tomar said, "Ask the people who have floated the idea of an alliance in Odisha". The suspense further deepened as two senior BJD leaders V K Pandian and Pranab Prakash Das also remained silent after their visit to New Delhi on Thursday evening. Tomar claimed none of the BJD leaders met him in Delhi. However, senior BJD MLA Nrusingha Charan Sahu on Saturday said alliance or no alliance, BJD is set to win at least 110 of the 147 Assembly seats in Odisha. "I have heard speculations about an alliance. CM Naveen Patnaik will take the final call on that," he said. Asked whether there was a talk on alliance, Sahu said, "BJD has agreed to an alliance only in the interest of Odisha. The people of Odisha will be benefitted from the alliance". During his visit to Bhadrak on Saturday, Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal, who returned after talks with central leaders from Delhi on Friday, dismissed any discussions on alliance."I do not know who is propagating about the alliance in the state. You have to catch its roots. Only the one who started the discussion can answer it. There will be a wave of lotus in Odisha in the upcoming elections, Samal said. PTI AAM Tomar, who reached here from the national capital, said no leader of the ruling BJD had met him in New Delhi where the BJP top brass was holding meetings for the polls. "If alliance discussions have taken place, such talks with BJD are neither in my knowledge nor we are told in this regard," Tomar told reporters. However, senior BJP leader and Sundergarh MP Jual Oram on March 6 had told reporters in Delhi that there was a discussion on alliance. Oram said this after attending a meeting of BJP brass, also attended by Tomar. Tomar asserted that BJP has been making all preparations to fight the elections alone. "We (BJP) will win more than 80 assembly seats and over 16 Lok Sabha seats," Tomar told reporters. Insisted to speak on the possible alliance between the two former allies (BJD and BJP were in coalition government in Odisha from 2000 to 2009), Tomar said, "Ask the people who have floated the idea of an alliance in Odisha". The suspense further deepened as two senior BJD leaders V K Pandian and Pranab Prakash Das also remained silent after their visit to New Delhi on Thursday evening. Tomar claimed none of the BJD leaders met him in Delhi. However, senior BJD MLA Nrusingha Charan Sahu on Saturday said alliance or no alliance, BJD is set to win at least 110 of the 147 Assembly seats in Odisha. "I have heard speculations about an alliance. CM Patnaik will take the final call," he said. Asked whether there was talks on alliance, Sahu said, "BJD has agreed to an alliance only in the interest of Odisha. People of Odisha will benefit from it". During his visit to Bhadrak on Saturday, Odisha BJP chief Manmohan Samal dismissed talks of alliance. "I don't know who's propagating alliance talks. You have to get to its roots. Only the one who started the discussion can answer it," Samal said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], March 9 (ANI): Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy praised, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi during the foundation stone laying ceremony of Old City Metro Rail Project, in Hyderabad district on Friday stating that the Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP speaks up in Parliament for all Indians. "Our government is working on a master plan to develop every corner of Hyderabad. This master plan, called Vibrant Telangana 2050, aims to create a complete plan for the next 25 years. For this purpose only, I visited London to see the Thames River. I brought Akbaruddin Owaisi with me as he has been consistently winning from here. Despite my efforts to defeat him, I couldn't succeed. I chose to go to London with him because he has more knowledge than me. Just like that Asaduddin Owaisi, in the Lok Sabha raises his voice not just for the minority but for all 140 crore Indians, emphasizing that he represents everyone in parliament, not just a specific community," Revanth Reddy said. Also Read | 'Elvish Yadav Threatened to Kill Me': YouTuber Booked for Assaulting Delhi-Based Content Creator in Gurugram's Shopping Mall (Watch Video). He further said that the Telangana government will jointly work with AIMIM for the development of Hyderabad. "Our responsibility is to undertake all the necessary developments in Hyderabad, especially the 55km Musi River development. We are committed to showcasing the most beautiful Musi River development globally. Collaborating with AIMI, we will work towards the holistic development of Hyderabad," Revanth Reddy said. Also Read | Hardeep Singh Nijjar Killing: Video Footage of India Designated Terrorist's Killing in Canada Surfaces (Watch Video). Speaking on the occasion Asaduddin Owaisi confirmed his support to the Telangana government for Hyderbad's development. "The Chief Minister's dream project of Musi River development is commendable, and our party stands firmly with you. We are eager to contribute wherever needed to ensure the successful completion of the Musi River development during your tenure. This comprehensive initiative promises substantial benefits for the local population. Additionally, as the Metro Rail project reaches its completion, it will further enhance the welfare of the people in this region," Asaduddin Owaisi said. "Our party will cooperate with the state government for the development of the city," he added. Further, the Old City Metro Rail Project aims to expand the next phase of the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HM) to various parts of the twin cities, including the Old City. The objective is to connect it to the Hyderabad airport for the benefit of the underprivileged and common citizens. Addressing the gathering Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy contested the notion of it being the old city, asserting it as the original Hyderabad, renowned globally. "I don't want to give long speeches, but expressing our heartfelt sentiments will bring me solace. This city speaks a lot; they call it the old city, but I don't believe it's not the old city; it's the original Hyderabad city. It's renowned worldwide. We are making efforts to take this original Hyderabad city to greater heights. Think about it, from 2004 to 2014, the Congress party brought water from Nagarjuna Sagar Dam to this city and also brought Godavari water to Hyderabad. Under the leadership of Shabbir Ali, who was in charge of Hyderabad, the Congress party built the Metro Rail in Hyderabad. Everything in Hyderabad, be it the Outer Ring Road, International Airport, IT companies, pharma companies--all brought by the Congress between 2004 and 2014. "Therefore, to develop this original Hyderabad city in our government, I will keep asking you all, how Hyderabad is progressing because my village is right here, and I'll always have connections here. We know the ins and outs of every alley in Hyderabad," 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) Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], March 9 (ANI): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday flagged off publicity and rescue mobile vans for the safety of women and adolescents in the state. Addressing the program, CM Dhami said that his government is always committed to the all-round development of women, adolescents and children and this initiative of the Women Empowerment and Child Development Department is commendable. Also Read | RRB Recruitment 2024: Vacancies Notified For 9,144 Technician Posts, Know How to Apply Online At rrbapply.gov.in. These mobile vans will go from village to village in the districts of the state and ensure the promotion of all the schemes run by the Central and State Governments related to women and adolescents. This initiative will ensure that benefits will reach out to the beneficiaries while also providing medical, legal and shelter facilities to any victimized woman and adolescent, according to an official press release. Meanwhile, CM Dhami extended his greetings to the people of the state on Maha Shivratri and Women's Day and unveiled projects worth over Rs 700 crore in Haldwani. Also Read | Land Mafia Will Be Hung Upside Down in Bihar, Says Home Minister Amit Shah. Greeting the people of the state on Mahashivratri and Women's Day, Chief Minister Dhami said that the original form of Devbhoomi will not be allowed to deteriorate at any cost. As per an official release from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), "Chief Minister Dhami laid the foundation stone and inaugurated schemes worth Rs 778.14 crore in Haldwani, which include Kathgodam Roadways Bus Terminal, RTO office and other schemes on Friday." The Chief Minister said that this construction work including roadways, bus terminal, RTO office, and driving centre in Haldwani should have been completed years ago, but were not carried out by the previous governments due to their lack of will. Citing the violence in Haldwani earlier, CM Dhami said, "Our government will not rest until every rioter who carried out the Banbhulpura incident is put behind bars. Whoever is guilty of stopping the work of the law will be investigated. Recovery will also be sought from the same rioters who have damaged government property in the state". The Chief Minister also presented cheques to 10 beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana on the occasion. Also, under the National Rural Livelihood Mission, cheques worth Rs 4 crore 6 lakh 50 thousand were presented to 10 NGOs under Lakhpati Didi Yojana. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Champawat (Uttarakhand ) [India], March 9 (ANI): Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami flagged off the Tanakpur-Dehradun Weekly Express Train from Tanakpur Railway Station on Saturday. The Chief Minister thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav for running the first express train from Tanakpur to Dehradun and also called it the fulfilment of a dream as this is the first express train to Dehradun from Tanakpur Railway Station built before independence. Also Read | RRB Recruitment 2024: Vacancies Notified For 9,144 Technician Posts, Know How to Apply Online At rrbapply.gov.in. The Chief Minister said that in the operation of Tanakpur Express, many important cities have been directly connected from Tanakpur to Dehradun, which will provide convenience to the people. Through this express, people connected to Banbasa, Khatima, Pilibhit, Bhojipura, Bareilly City, Bareilly Junction, Chandosi, Moradabad, Najibabad, Laksar, Haridwar railway stations will get an easy option to travel and their time will also be saved. Also Read | Land Mafia Will Be Hung Upside Down in Bihar, Says Home Minister Amit Shah. Along with this, this train service will also become a better option of transport for the devotees coming from these cities to visit Maa Purnagiri. The Chief Minister travelled by train from Tanakpur to Khatima and met the passengers on the train, took their feedback and wished everyone well. He said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indian Railways is moving towards a golden age. In the last 10 years, Indian Railways has been prepared to meet the aspirations of New India and the expectations of a self-reliant India. Since 2014, Indian Railways has been in front of us in a new form. Today, on the one hand, Indian Railways has been made safer than ever by eliminating unmanned railway crossings from broad gauge rail lines. On the other hand, today the speed of Indian Railways has also increased more than ever. As a symbol of self-reliance and modernity, Made in India trains like Vande Bharat are becoming a part of the rail network. The Chief Minister said that today under the leadership of the Prime Minister, the dream of bringing trains to the mountains in Uttarakhand is going to come true. Running a train from Rishikesh to Karnaprayag through the inaccessible mountains is like a dream come true. Work is going on at a fast pace on the Rishikesh-Karnprayag rail line. Survey work has also been completed on the Tanakpur-Bageshwar rail line and work will start on it soon. In this series, six stations of Uttarakhand are being redeveloped under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme by the Prime Minister. The operation of the Vande Bharat train between Dehradun and Anand Vihar this year is a big achievement for us. Now soon we are going to get the gift of operation of Vande Bharat train between Dehradun and Ayodhya and Varanasi. Today our double-engine government is working to bring all the schemes on the ground to connect the person standing at the last end with the mainstream of development. The Chief Minister said that his government is committed to the development of Champawat district. "We have approved an amount of Rs 45 crore for the construction of Purnagiri Temple Ropeway with the aim of increasing religious tourism activities in Maa Purnagiri Dham. Along with this, a plan is being prepared to develop the infrastructure facilities from Kakaraligate to Purnagiri Dham and to make a master plan along the lines of Kedarnath for the convenience of the devotees. Under the Sharda Corridor, a ghat will be constructed on the lines of Haridwar and Rishikesh where morning and evening aarti will be grandly performed every day," he said. He said that the construction work of the motor bridge is being done at Hanumangarhi-Gandakhali-Khetkheda at a cost of 13 crore 77 lakhs so that the devotees coming to visit Maa Purnagiri during the rainy season will not have to face problems. To promote trade activities and development of economic activities in the India and Nepal border, a 3.82 km Indo Nepal Dry Port is being constructed with an amount of 177 crores. A DPR of 130 crores has been formed for the work of drainage in the Tanakpur and Banbasa area. Construction of a bus terminal has been started in Tanakpur at a cost of Rs 56 crore. The major temples of Kumaon are being developed as the Manas Khand Corridor, which includes almost all the major temples of Champawat district. The Chief Minister said that all these schemes should be completed with the concept of an ideal and developed Champawat. We will also be successful in realizing the mantra of our "Vikalp Rahit Sankalp" to make Uttarakhand the best and leading state. He also expected cooperation and support from everyone for building a better Uttarakhand. On this occasion, Divisional Railway Manager Rekha Yadav said that the people of Champawat and Pithoragarh districts of the border will get the benefit of this rail service and will get cheap, accessible and comfortable rail service. (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, March 9: A 12-year-old boy was crushed to death when a heavy concrete girder beam fell on him at a construction site of the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway in Geeta Colony area in east Delhi, police said on Saturday. The incident took place on Friday afternoon after which the boy's family members and neighbours held a protest at the site demanding action against the contractors and the construction company, they said. Police said a case under IPC sections 287 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery) and 304A (causing death by negligence) has been registered against the contractors. "Preliminary inquiry revealed that the heavy slabs were kept in haphazard manner and the space was also not guarded by company," a police officer said. Delhi Metro Collapse: Gokulpuri Metro Station Boundary Wall Caves In; Several Injured (Watch Video). According to the officer, the boy lived with his family, who are originally from Bangladesh, at Multani Mohalla near the construction site in Geeta Colony. It appeared that the boy might be playing at the site when one of the girder beams slipped and fell on him, the officer said. Around 1.30 pm, police received a call regarding a boy lying under the beam near Shani temple in the area, another officer said. A team was dispatched to the spot where the boy was found lying under the beam. Immediately, a hydraulic crane was called to lift the beam and remove the boy, the officer said. Delhi: Student Falls to Death From Foot Over Bridge on Wazirabad Road; PWD Minister Atishi Orders Probe. Police said the boy was rushed to a hospital where he was declared brought dead. The body was taken to Sabzi Mandi mortuary where his body was handed over to his family after the autopsy, police said. The boy's family and neighbours held a protest at the site demanding action against the contractors and the company involved in the construction. The protestors also tried to vandalised the site, but were pacified after police reached the spot and promised proper action, an officer said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Nuh, Mar 9 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar Saturday announced development projects worth approximately Rs 700 crore for Nuh district on Saturday. The chief minister also said that all gurukuls and madrasas "opting for modern education" would receive financial assistance upon registration with the Haryana School Education Board. Also Read | RRB Recruitment 2024: Vacancies Notified For 9,144 Technician Posts, Know How to Apply Online At rrbapply.gov.in. Khattar made the announcement during his address at a state-level function organised in honour of Shaheed Raja Hasan Khan Mewati in Nuh here. During the function, the chief minister virtually handed out job offers to 1,504 local youth for teaching positions under the Haryana Kaushal Rojgar Nigam (HKRN). Also Read | Geoglyphs Found in Ratnagiri: 10,000-Year-Old Rock Art Carvings Discovered in Maharashtra Villages. Gurukuls and madrasas opting for modern education through the Haryana School Education Board will receive Rs 2 lakh per year for 50-80 children, Rs 3 lakh for 81-100 children, Rs 5 lakh for 101-200 children, and Rs 7 lakh per year for above 200 enrolments, he said. Khattar accused previous governments of exploiting the people of Mewat solely as a vote bank, neglecting their welfare and failing to foster prosperity in the region. Since assuming power in 2014, the current government has adhered to the fundamental principle of "Haryana Ek-Haryanvi Ek" ensuring equitable development across the entire state, the chief minister said. "Despite no political advantage in Mewat", Khattar said he has pursued the same level of development initiatives in the region as he has in his own assembly constituency of Karnal. Khattar said he has already visited the region 11 times in just nine years, demonstrating his commitment to addressing the needs of the area, and added that all previous chief ministers would not have visited the region more than six times in their tenure. In the past nine years, developmental works worth approximately Rs 5,000 crore have already been carried out in the region, he said. Khattar also announced the formation of a five-member committee named after Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati, chaired by former MLA and state Waqf Board Chairman Zakir Hussain, to oversee development projects. Khattar's announcements included the establishment of 18 tube wells worth Rs 2 crore, Rs 10 crore for setting up veterinary polyclinic, Rs 18 crore for micro projects under irrigation and solar energy works, Rs 64 crore for beautification and restoration of 33 ponds, establishment of 20 e-libraries, establishment of additional section of Nuh Secretariat, PWD Guest House, Ferozepur Jhirka, Tauru Sub Division Office at a cost of Rs 150 crore. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Gurugram, Mar 9 (PTI) A student at a private university here was allegedly looted at gunpoint by a group of students after being thrashed by them outside the university premises, police said on Saturday. The accused allegedly took some cash and a gold chain from the victim, they said. Also Read | RRB Recruitment 2024: Vacancies Notified For 9,144 Technician Posts, Know How to Apply Online At rrbapply.gov.in. The student said the incident happened around 3 pm on Thursday outside the university in Pachgaon area. He also claimed that they damaged his SUV, police said. According to the student's complaint, when he came out of the college after finishing class on Thursday afternoon, one Jayant showed a pistol and asked him to stop his car. Also Read | Geoglyphs Found in Ratnagiri: 10,000-Year-Old Rock Art Carvings Discovered in Maharashtra Villages. Soon after, he said, five others, including Jatin Chahar and Harsh Sharma -- both Jayant's friends -- attacked him and vandalised his car. "They also took away my gold chain and around Rs 8,000 from my car," the student said in his complaint. The victim said he was receiving treatment for his injuries in a hospital in Jhajjar. Following the complaint, an FIR was registered against the accused students under sections 323 (causing hurt), 341 (wrongful confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation), 427 (causing damage), 34 (common intention) of the IPC at Manesar Police Station on Friday, police said. A senior police officer said that they are verifying the allegations and action will be taken according to the law. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Jerusalem, Mar 9 (AP) Another top donor to the UN agency aiding Palestinians said on Saturday that it would resume funding, weeks after more than a dozen countries halted hundreds of millions of dollars in support in response to Israeli allegations against the organisation. Sweden's reversal came as a ship bearing tons of humanitarian aid was making preparations to leave Cyprus for Gaza after international donors launched a sea corridor to supply the besieged territory facing widespread hunger after five months of war. Also Read | Miss Czech Republic Krystyna Pyszkova Crowned Miss World 2024, View Pics of 71st Miss World Winner. Sweden's decision followed similar ones by the European Union and Canada as the UN agency known as UNRWA warns that it could collapse and leave Gaza's already desperate population of more than 2 million people with even less medical and other assistance. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is devastating and the needs are acute, development minister Johan Forssell said in Sweden's announcement, adding that UNRWA had agreed to increased transparency and stricter oversight and controls. Sweden will give UNRWA half of the USD 38 million funding it promised for this year, with more to come. Also Read | China: Flight Gets Delayed for Over Four Hours After Passenger Threw Coins Into Aircraft's Engine for 'Good Luck'. Israel had accused 12 of UNRWA's thousands of employees of participating in the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel that killed 1,200 people and took about 250 others hostage. Countries including the United States quickly suspended funding to UNRWA worth about USD 450 million, almost half its budget for the year. The UN has launched investigations, and UNRWA has been agreeing to outside audits to win back donor support. On the eve of Ramadan, hungry Gaza residents scrambled for packages of food supplies dropped by US and Jordanian military planes a method of delivery that humanitarian groups have called deeply inadequate compared to deliveries by ground. But the daily number of aid trucks entering Gaza since the war has been far below the 500 that entered before October 7 because of Israeli restrictions and security issues. People dashed through devastated neighbourhoods of Gaza City as the parachuting aid descended. I have orphans, I want to feed them! one woman cried. The issue of aid is brutal and no one accepts it, said another resident, Momen Mahra, claiming that most of the airdropped aid falls into the sea. We want better methods. The US military said that its planes on Saturday airdropped more than 41,000 meal equivalents" and 23,000 bottles of water into northern Gaza, the hardest part of the enclave to access. The Health Ministry in Gaza said that two more people, including a 2-month-old infant, had died as a result of malnutrition, raising the total number of people who died from hunger to 25. Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra said the toll included only people brought to hospitals. Overall, the ministry said, at least 30,878 Palestinians have been killed since the war began. It doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tallies, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and its figures from previous wars have largely matched those of the UN and independent experts. The opening of the sea delivery corridor, along with the airdrops, showed increasing frustration with Gaza's humanitarian crisis and a new international willingness to work around Israeli restrictions. The sea corridor is backed by the EU together with the United States, the United Arab Emirates and other involved countries, and the European Commission has said that UN agencies and the Red Cross will also play a role. The ship belonging to Spain's Open Arms aid group was expected to make a pilot voyage to test the corridor as early as this weekend. The ship has been waiting at Cyprus's port of Larnaca for permission. Israel has said it welcomed the maritime corridor, but cautioned that it would need security checks. Open Arms founder Oscar Camps told The Associated Press that the ship pulling a barge with 200 tons of rice and flour would take two to three days to arrive at an undisclosed location where the group World Central Kitchen was constructing a pier to receive it. The group has 60 food kitchens throughout Gaza to distribute aid, he said. US President Joe Biden has announced a plan to build a temporary pier in Gaza to help deliver aid, underscoring how the US has to go around Israel, its main Middle East ally and the top recipient of US military aid. Israel accuses Hamas of commandeering some aid deliveries. United States officials said it will likely be weeks before the Gaza pier is operational. The executive director of the US arm of medical charity Doctors Without Borders, Avril Benoit, in a statement criticized the US plan as a glaring distraction from the real problem: Israel's indiscriminate and disproportionate military campaign and punishing siege." Sigrid Kaag, the UN senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, has said air and sea deliveries can't make up for a shortage of supply routes on land. Meanwhile, efforts to reach a cease-fire before Ramadan appeared stalled. Hamas said Thursday that its delegation had left Cairo until next week. International mediators had hoped to alleviate some of the immediate crisis with a six-week cease-fire, which would have seen Hamas release some of the Israeli hostages it's holding, Israel release some Palestinian prisoners and aid groups be given access for a major influx of assistance into Gaza. Palestinian militants are believed to be holding around 100 hostages and the remains of 30 others captured during the October 7 attack. Several dozen hostages were freed in a weeklong November truce. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Tel Aviv [Israel], March 9 (ANI/TPS): The former head of Israel's National Security Agency (Shin Bet) disclosed on Thursday that Israel had several opportunities to eliminate Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly rejected the proposals. "Sinwar lives, unfortunately, because Israel does not want to engage in military adventurism," said Nadav Argaman, who was speaking in Tel Aviv at the conference of the Institute for National Security Studies. "If we had launched a surprise attack on Hamas, we would be in a completely different situation." Also Read | Miss World 2024 Live Streaming: Know Telecast Date, Time, Format, Venue, Host, TV Channel and App That Will Live Stream 71st Miss World Beauty Pageant Online. According to Argaman, "Israel decided that it would buy calm even if it came with a very high price later on," adding that Israel "has become addicted to calm." The Shin Bet is responsible for protecting Israel's internal security. Argaman was its director from 2016-2021. Also Read | Womens Rights Movements: Explore Different Movements and Activists That Have Shaped Womens Rights Globally. Argaman said the idea of eliminating Sinwar was supported by both his predecessor, Yoram Cohen, and his successor, Ronen Bar, the current director. Sinwar, 61, has been Gaza's strongman since 2017. In his youth, Sinwar founded Hamas's Majed squads, which hunted and killed Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel. Sinwar is known to have personally killed 12. While serving four life sentences for killing collaborators, Israeli doctors diagnosed and removed a cancerous tumor in his head. In 2011, Sinwar was among the 1,027 security prisoners freed in the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap. Acquaintances describe Sinwar as obsessed with Israel. An Egyptian official told the Tazpit Press Service that Sinwar's elimination would pave the way for the end of the war. Israel has offered residents of Gaza a $400,000 bounty for info on Sinwar. At least 1,200 people were killed and 240 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas's attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the remaining 134 hostages, Israel recently declared 31 of them dead. (ANI/TPS) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) To reduce the possibility of invasive mussels reaching Yellowstone Lake, the National Park Service is considering a requirement that a boat be inspected and sealed to its trailer for 30 days ahead of its intended launch date. The requirement, if adopted, would apply to all inboard/outboard and inboard jet motorboats and sailboats. The Park Service referred to such craft as complex motorized boats. An exception would apply to boats powered only by an outboard motor. Large, complex, trailered watercraft pose the highest risk of transporting and introducing invasive mussels, and other AIS, because they are difficult to inspect and less likely to completely drain/dry or be fully decontaminated, the Park Service wrote. Manual decontamination with the use of hot water is not always 100% effective in removing all mussels. Given this, a 30-day dry time is needed to mitigate the risk associated with these watercraft. In addition, the Park Service is proposing to deny launch to any watercraft (motorized or non-motorized) that has previously been fouled by mussels, regardless of dry time. In seeking public comment through April 5 on the proposal, the Park Service cited the increased risk of invasion by zebra and quagga mussels, collectively referred to as dreissenid mussels, following recent detections of these highly invasive species in waterways close to the park. The mussels have caused irreversible ecological damage and extensive impacts to infrastructure and recreation in waterways throughout the Midwestern and Eastern United States, as well as in the lower Colorado River Basin, the Park Service noted. New infestations were detected in South Dakotas Pactola Reservoir in 2022 and the Snake River near Twin Falls, Idaho, in 2023. The Idaho detection was the first time the mussels had made it into the Columbia River Basin. In addition, during inspections last year and in 2022, Yellowstone officials intercepted and denied launch to mussel-fouled watercraft, highlighting the urgency and severity of the threat. Given Yellowstone National Park is located at the headwaters of the Yellowstone, Snake, and Missouri river drainages, pro-active measures are required to ensure the long-term ecological integrity not just of Park waters, but also of downstream mussel-free waters in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, the Park Service wrote. Failure to prevent invasion by dreissenid mussels could result in widespread negative impacts to natural resources and recreational values, and could undo over two decades of work to restore populations of native Yellowstone cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus virginalis bouvieri) within the Park. Because there are no effective eradication methods, and control/containment is both costly and environmentally consequential, prevention of an introduction is critical. Seals from Yellowstone National Park, Idaho State Department of Agriculture; Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks; and Wyoming Game & Fish Department will be honored pending verification of the 30-day dry time during an already-mandatory Yellowstone AIS inspection prior to launch. Boaters will also be asked to present the inspection receipt from the date the seal was applied. The preferred method for submitting comments is online at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/yellboats. Comments may also be mailed to: Yellowstone Center for Resources Attn: AIS Proposed Changes, PO Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190. The deadline to submit comments is Friday, April 5. At the conclusion of the 30-day public comment period, the NPS will analyze and consider all comments received. A final decision is expected this spring. Abuja, Mar 9 (AP) Armed men invaded a boarding school in northwestern Nigeria early Saturday and abducted 15 children, police told The Associated Press, about 48 hours after nearly 300 students were taken hostage in the conflict-hit region. School abductions are common in Nigeria's northern region, especially since the 2014 kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls by Islamic extremists in Borno state's Chibok village shocked the world. Also Read | Miss Czech Republic Krystyna Pyszkova Crowned Miss World 2024, View Pics of 71st Miss World Winner. Armed gangs have since targeted schools for kidnap ransoms, resulting in at least 1,400 abducted since then. The gunmen in the latest attack invaded the Gidan Bakuso village of the Gada Local Government Area in Sokoto state at about 1 am local time and headed to the Islamic school where they seized the children from their hostel before security forces could arrive, Sokoto police spokesman Ahmad Rufa'i told the AP. Also Read | China: Flight Gets Delayed for Over Four Hours After Passenger Threw Coins Into Aircraft's Engine for 'Good Luck'. A police tactical squad was deployed in search of the students but the inaccessible roads in the area challenged the rescue operation, Rufa'i added. It is a remote village (and) vehicles cannot go there; they (the police squad) had to use motorcycles to the village, he added. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Male [Maldives], March 9 (ANI): The number of Indian tourists visiting the Maldives has dropped by 33 per cent as compared to last year, Maldivian website Adhadhu reported, citing data from the Maldives Tourism Ministry. This comes as the diplomatic row between New Delhi and Male continues to deteriorate. Also Read | Womens Rights Movements: Explore Different Movements and Activists That Have Shaped Womens Rights Globally. According to Tourism Ministry statistics for 2023, 41,054 Indian tourists visited the Maldives by March 4 last year. The number of Indian tourists recorded as of March 2 this year was 27,224. This was 13,830 lesser than last year, Maldives-based Adhadhu reported. In the same period last year, India was the second largest source market for tourists to the Maldives with a 10 per cent market share. However, India is now in sixth place on the list with a six percent market share. Also Read | US Records over 100 Pediatric Deaths from Flu This Season. The row erupted after three Maldivian deputy ministers made derogatory comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, over his pictures from the visit to Lakshadweep. PM Modi had called for the Indian island cluster to be developed as a destination for beach tourism and promotion of domestic tourism. The matter snowballed into a major diplomatic row, with New Delhi summoning the Maldivian envoy and registering a strong protest against the viral posts. The three deputy ministers were suspended and they remain under suspension with pay. Earlier this year, Maldives tourism industry stakeholders expressed concern as the boycott campaign in India grew momentum and gained the support of popular Indian film stars. The Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) conducted a survey to determine the impact of booking cancellations by Indian guests. But the findings were not made public, as reported by Adhadhu. India remained the top tourist market for the Maldives through 2021-23 with more than 2,00,000 tourists each year. However, China is the top market now with more than 54,000 tourist arrivals so far this 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) New York, Mar 9 (PTI) A 25-year-old Indian woman has gone missing in New York City and the police are seeking information from the public to help locate her. Ferin Khoja was last seen leaving her residence in Queens on March 1 at around 11 pm. Also Read | Miss Czech Republic Krystyna Pyszkova Crowned Miss World 2024, View Pics of 71st Miss World Winner. She was last seen wearing an olive green jacket, green sweater and blue jeans, according to information released by the New York City Police Department. The information said that Khoja suffers from bipolar disorder. Also Read | China: Flight Gets Delayed for Over Four Hours After Passenger Threw Coins Into Aircraft's Engine for 'Good Luck'. The 112 Precinct Detective Squad is endeavouring to locate Khoja, said the police department, while also releasing her photograph. The Consulate General of India in New York has been informed about the case and is working to help get information about Khoja and her whereabouts. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Islamabad [Pakistan], March 9 (ANI): Pakistan People's Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari continued his campaign efforts for his father on the eve of the presidential election, hosting lawmakers from the National Assembly and the Senate at Sindh House in Islamabad, Dawn reported. The gathering included prominent figures from various parties in the ruling alliance, such as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Muttahida Qaumi Movement - Pakistan's Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party President Aleem Khan, Balochistan People's Party President Khalid Magsi, and Professor Sajid Mir. Notably, Pakistan Muslim League (Z) President Ijazul Haq was not invited to the event. Also Read | Australia: Indian Girl Falls Into Waterfall While Trekking at Yanbacoochie Falls With Friends, Dies. During the reception, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed the support of his party for PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari, the joint candidate for the upcoming presidential elections. Zardari expressed gratitude for the coalition's backing and emphasized the importance of working collaboratively to address the economic and political challenges facing the country, according to Dawn. Zardari acknowledged the daunting crises ahead but expressed confidence in the collective ability to overcome them. He said, "We know there are gigantic crises ahead, but we can jointly overcome them." The event aimed to solidify support among parliamentarians who would be casting their votes in the upcoming election. Also Read | Miss World 2024 Live Streaming: Know Telecast Date, Time, Format, Venue, Host, TV Channel and App That Will Live Stream 71st Miss World Beauty Pageant Online. PM Shehbaz assured Zardari of the full support of his party's lawmakers in both the central government and Punjab. Meanwhile, at a reception hosted by Zardari's opponent, PkMAP's Mahmood Khan Achakzai, the political landscape saw active campaigning on the eve of the election. Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also engaged with Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif and provincial assembly members earlier in the day. In a separate gathering, leaders from PML-N, PPP, PML-Q, IPP, and PML-Zia were present, and Bilawal and Maryam addressed the attendees. Bilawal emphasized the need for national reconciliation, calling for a departure from the divisive politics that had led to a significant rift in the nation. "The PTI divided the nation, but we will find a solution to bridge this divide," said Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, advocating for his father as a unifying figure capable of leading the country towards reconciliation. He expressed concern about the current state of political polarization, stating, "We will have to bury the politics of divide and hatred, and [political] parties would have to move forward together." Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif echoed the sentiments, criticizing PTI founder Imran Khan and outgoing President Arif Alvi for their perceived partisanship. She asserted that the presidency required someone like Asif Ali Zardari and criticized Alvi for allegedly protecting PTI's interests and "abrogating the Constitution," as reported by Dawn. Maryam Nawaz Sharif went on to dismiss the outgoing president, stating, "He will not be remembered in good words," and even referred to PTI as the "cartoon network," supporting Bilawal's characterization of PTI leaders as "cartoons." Highlighting the shared agenda of the coalition parties, including PML-N, PPP, PML-Q, IPP, and PML-Zia, Maryam Sharif stated that their collective goal was to address the country's crises. She confirmed that all PML-N MPAs and allies would vote for Asif Ali Zardari in the presidential election, emphasizing that the MPAs had been briefed on how to cast their votes. In a separate effort to garner support, a PPP delegation, led by former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gillani, approached JUI-F emir Maulana Fazlur Rehman. However, Fazlur Rehman categorically announced that his party would refrain from participating in the election and would not cast their votes for any candidate, Dawn reported. (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 [Pakistan], March 9 (ANI): Several parties, like Maulana Fazlur Rehman's Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and Jamaat-e-Islami, are not participating in the election of Pakistan's 14th president, with polling underway in the national and provincial assemblies as well as the Senate, ARY News reported. Two prominent candidates, Asif Ali Zardari, the joint nominee of PPP and PML-N, and Mahmood Khan Achakzai from the Sunni Ittehad Council, are the contenders for the presidential office. The current ruling coalition, comprising PML-N, PPP, and MQM-P, has thrown its support behind Asif Ali Zardari. Also Read | Brazil Shocker: 27-Year-Old Woman Arrested for Treating Patients With Fake Medical Certificate She Purchased Online for USD 8 in Coroados. The president is chosen by an electoral college consisting of members from the Senate, the National Assembly, and the four provincial assemblies. A joint session of the parliament is being conducted at the parliament house in Islamabad, where members from both the National Assembly and the Senate will cast their votes, according to ARY News. Simultaneously, provincial assemblies are convening their sessions for the presidential election. The Election Commission of Pakistan has designated all four assemblies as polling stations for the smooth conduct of the electoral process. Also Read | Australia: Indian Girl Falls Into Waterfall While Trekking at Yanbacoochie Falls With Friends, Dies. The breakdown of voting members includes at least 162 from the provincial assembly in Sindh, 353 in Punjab, 65 in Balochistan, and 115 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, all contributing to the election of the new president. With a majority in all assemblies and the Senate, Asif Ali Zardari, the co-chairman of PPP, is poised to secure the presidency for the second time. Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Saturday, swiftly rejected the plea from Mehmood Khan Achakzai, the presidential candidate backed by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), to delay the upcoming presidential elections, ARY News reported. The commission, in a comprehensive 10-page written verdict, highlighted that Achakzai had not raised any objections during the scrutiny of nomination papers. Additionally, the electoral college required for the presidential election was deemed complete by the ECP. Achakzai had submitted a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner, asserting that the electoral college for the presidential election remained "incomplete." He emphasised that certain reserved seats had not been filled through nominations and elections, and proceeding with the presidential election under these circumstances would be a denial of votes, violating fundamental rights, laws, and the constitution, as reported by ARY News. The letter stated, "Under the above circumstances, it is submitted that the proposed election to the office of the President of Pakistan is impossible, therefore the same may kindly be postponed or delayed till completion of the electoral college accordingly in the best interest of justice, fair play, and equity." However, the ECP swiftly rejected this request, maintaining that all necessary procedures had been followed, and the electoral college was deemed complete for the scheduled presidential election. Notably, polling was already underway across Pakistan's national and provincial assemblies, as well as the Senate, to elect the country's 14th president, according to ARY News. The current dynamics see former president Asif Ali Zardari backed by the PML-N-led eight-party coalition, in line with an agreement reached post the February 8 elections. In contrast, nationalist leader Mahmood Achakzai stands as the candidate supported by the PTI-Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) alliance. The president is elected by an electoral college comprising members from the Senate, the National Assembly, and the four provincial assemblies. With a majority in all assemblies and the Senate, PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari is poised to secure a second term as the President of Pakistan, ARY News reported. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Dubai [UAE], March 9 (ANI/WAM): The UAE anti-narcotics agents successfully apprehended an individual with 2,750,000 of narcotic drugs in the Emirate of Ajman. This operation followed the recent arrest by the Ministry of Interior in Kuwait of two individuals at the Kuwait International Airport, who were found in possession of approximately 1,000,000 capsules of the narcotic substance Lyrica. Through information exchange between the Interior Ministries of both countries, the operations of this trafficking gang, endangering community health and safety, were dismantled. Also Read | Man Dies After Eating Butter Chicken: One Bite of Chicken Curry Kills 27-Year-Old Man in UK. This operation exemplifies the high-level coordination among counterpart agencies in the GCC countries, continuing the efforts of Interior Ministries to combat drug trafficking, apprehend dealers and smugglers, and safeguard society from this menace. Brigadier Saeed Abdullah Al Suwaidi, Director General of Federal Drug Control at the UAE's Ministry of Interior, affirmed the vigilance of control units in monitoring drug trafficking gangs. He emphasised the ability of control agencies to locate, disrupt, and cut off the funding sources of such criminal networks. Also Read | Messi Saves the Day! Argentina Grandma Survives Hamas Attack by Talking About Lionel Messi (See Pic and Video). Al Suwaidi conveyed his gratitude to the Ministry of Interior in Kuwait for their ongoing cooperation and coordination, contributing to the collective efforts of Gulf nations in ensuring the security, stability, and prosperity of their societies. (ANI/WAM) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) United Nations, Mar 9 (AP) The U.N. Security Council urged Sudan's warring parties on Friday to immediately halt hostilities during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and allow aid to get to 25 million people in desperate need of food and other assistance. Ramadan is expected to begin on or around Monday, depending on the sighting of the crescent moon. Also Read | Man Dies After Eating Butter Chicken: One Bite of Chicken Curry Kills 27-Year-Old Man in UK. The 15-member council voted overwhelmingly in favor of the British-drafted resolution, with 14 countries in support and only Russia abstaining. Sudan plunged into chaos in April, when long-simmering tensions between its military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo broke out into street battles in the capital, Khartoum. Also Read | Messi Saves the Day! Argentina Grandma Survives Hamas Attack by Talking About Lionel Messi (See Pic and Video). Fighting spread to other parts of the country, especially urban areas, but in Sudan's western Darfur region it took on a different form, with brutal attacks by the Arab-dominated Rapid Support Forces on ethnic African civilians. Thousands of people have been killed. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged both sides on Thursday to support a Ramadan cease-fire, warning that the nearly year-long conflict threatens the country's unity and could ignite regional instability of dramatic proportions. The African Union also backed a halt to fighting during Ramadan. Burhan welcomed the U.N. chief's appeal, but the Sudanese Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Friday listing a number of conditions for a cease-fire to be effective. The Rapid Support Forces have not responded. The resolution expresses grave concern over the spreading violence and the catastrophic and deteriorating humanitarian situation, including crisis levels, or worse, of acute food insecurity, particularly in Darfur. Britain's deputy U.N. ambassador James Kariuki urged the Sudanese armed forces and Rapid Support Forces to act on this united international call for peace and to silence the guns. The Security Council urged the warring parties to seek a sustainable resolution to the conflict through dialogue, and Kariuki called on the two sides to work to restore peace. Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador Anna Evstigneeva accused the Security Council of double standards calling for a cease-fire in Sudan and dragging out adoption of a resolution calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, pointing to U.S. vetoes of a cease-fire resolution and calling this hypocrisy. She claimed most elements in Friday's resolution are already being done, stressing that ending the violence shouldn't just be the aim of the Security Council but most importantly of the Sudanese people themselves. Nonetheless, Russia decided to let the resolution through because it is a question of the lives of the Sudanese people who are suffering across the country from the consequences of the conflict, she said. According to the U.N. humanitarian office, 8.3 million people have been forcibly displaced by fighting between government and paramilitary forces, half of the country's 51 million people need aid, and 70% to 80% of health facilities aren't functioning. U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said if a Ramadan cease-fire is observed by both sides, "I can assure you we'll be piling in the aid and repositioning, repairing institutions, getting children out to safety and so forth. The number of Sudanese who are hungry and food insecure has increased by 10 million since last year because of the conflict, he said, warning of moves toward famine because of disinterest in the Sudan conflict by the rest of the world. Griffiths told a group of reporters Friday that he has personally been trying to get the rival commanders together in person or virtually to agree on access for humanitarian aid and workers, so far unsuccessfully. What we need is a political process, he said, stressing that instability in Sudan has an impact beyond its borders because of its strategic location. The impact has been seen in neighboring Chad, which is hosting over 550,000 Sudanese refugees mainly from neighboring Darfur as well as the Central African Republic and westward through Africa to the Sahel, Griffiths said. In addition, Sudan borders the Red Sea where Yemen's Houthi rebels are attacking ships to try to spur a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Griffiths said the $2.7 billion U.N. humanitarian appeal for Sudan this year is just 4% funded and urged donors to respond urgently. He welcomed France's announcement last month that it will hold a ministerial meeting in mid-April to help Sudan and its neighbors deal with the humanitarian consequences of the conflict. Addressing the Security Council on Thursday, secretary-general Guterres pointed to renewed offensives and growing fears of a further expansion of hostilities in eastern Sudan, calls for arming civilians in various states, and armed groups entering the fighting in western Darfur and South Kordofan. But Sudan's Foreign Ministry on Friday set conditions for a cease-fire, saying the RSF should withdraw from all provinces they have taken control of since the conflict erupted, return all looted public and private property and stop human rights violations including atrocities their fighters have committed especially in Darfur. In blaming the RSF for the ongoing conflict, the ministry said, We are certain that the terrorist militia that launched a war against the state and the people in Ramadan last year has no moral, religious or national obligations that would make it respect the sanctity of the holy month. Two decades ago, Sudan's vast western Darfur region became synonymous with genocide and war crimes, particularly by the notorious Janjaweed Arab militias against populations that identify as Central or East African. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kolkata, March 9: The CBI, which is probing the attack on ED and CAPF personnel in West Bengal, has now included attempt to murder charges under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code to two FIRs against Sheikh Shahjahan. The suspended Trinamool Congress leader is the accused mastermind in the January 5 attack at Sandeshkhali. The CBI has filed a total of three FIRs in the two cases of attacks on ED and CAPF officials on January 5 and submitted the FIRs at the Basirhat Sub-Divisional Court in North 24 Parganas District. Out of the three FIRs, two are against Sheikh Shahjahan in connection with the attack in front of his residence at Sandeshkhali. Sources said the charges of attempt to murder have been included to those two FIRs. West Bengal: Police Stop BJP Mahila Morcha Workers Team Led by Agnimitra Paul, Locket Chatterjee and Bharati Ghosh From Visiting Sandeshkhali (Watch Video) The third FIR is against another Trinamool Congress leader from Bongaon also in North 24 Parganas District, Shankar Adhya, who is already in judicial custody in connection with the multi-crore PDS case. On the night of January 5, when the ED sleuths were taking Adhya away after arresting him, his followers attacked the EDs men and also made an attempt to stop them from taking him away. Sources said that initially charges under Section 307 of the IPC were not included in the two FIRs against Sheikh Shahjahan. However, earlier this week the EDs Deputy Director, G Varil, had detailed discussions with the CBI sleuths in the matter and after due consideration, attempt to murder charges against Sheikh Shahjahan were added to the FIRs. BJP Attacks TMC over Sandeshkhali Case, Says Mamata 'shielding' Shahjahan Sheikh G Varil was the one to file the initial complaint at a local police station on the attack on ED sleuths on January 5. Meanwhile, Sheikh Shahjahan will be presented at Basirhat Sub-divisional Court on Saturday and the CBI will be seeking extension of his custody. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 09, 2024 01:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Thane, March 9: The police have arrested a 36-year-old man for allegedly operating a sex racket and rescued two women in Maharashtra's Thane district, an official said on Saturday. Based on a tip-off, the police's anti-human trafficking cell (AHTC) set up a decoy and approached the accused outside a mall in Bhayander on Thursday, senior inspector Sameer Ahirrao said. Sex Racket Busted in Thane: Flesh Trade Racket Busted at Spa in Dombivli Area; Three Women Rescued The accused, Ajitsingh Manjitsingh Dhaliwal, allegedly operated a sex racket and pushed women into the flesh trade, he said. The AHTC also rescued two women who had accompanied Dhaliwal, he said. A case under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (PITA) has been registered against Dhaliwal, the official said. In the 2014 Assembly elections, he again won as a People's Party of Arunachal (PPA) candidate and retained the seat in 2019 as a BJP candidate. Chief Minister Pema Khandu expressed sorrow over the death of the lawmaker. Bismarck's Wachter Middle School will host an event at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday to educate adults in the community about how to spot signs of substance abuse among youth. The "Hidden in Plain Sight" initiative event will consist of a mock bedroom for parents to walk through, a professional panel covering prevention information, and resources to protect children from substance misuse. Parents can learn how to spot warning signs, how to prevent easy access to alcohol and other drugs, and get tips for communicating with youth. New Delhi, March 9: Smartphone addiction among children under the age of 10, is known to be detrimental for the eyes. However, doctors on Saturday warned that spending excessive time on the device may worsen physical health and cause a host of behavioural issues. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, children under five must spend less time watching screens. While the UN health body does not recommend screen time for infants and 1-year-old, those aged 2 years should not be exposed for more than an hour. However, even toddlers as young as one and a half years old are being handed smartphones by their parents, Dr Rajiv Uttam, Director, Paediatric Pulmonology, Critical Care Paediatrics (PICU), Paediatric Care, Medanta The Medicity, Gurugram, told IANS. The doctor noted that illnesses such as diarrhoea, fever, and other health issues are observed in children who spend excessive time on their devices. Mobile Phones Prohibited in School: Delhi Government School Students Not Allowed To Use Mobiles in Classrooms, Says Directorate of Education Several studies have shown the negative impact of smartphone use on the eye. Prolonged use of smartphones in children has been linked with vision impairment, and dry eyes among others. Dr Vikas Taneja, Consultant Paediatrics, Manipal Hospital, Dwarka explained that this is majorly due to radiation, as the children use their mobile phones at a very close distance. Children can present with excessive eye strain, which can lead to redness of the eyes and excessive itching. This can lead to frequent rubbing and watering. The strain in the eyes can lead to headaches, and their sleep might get disturbed. Excessive mobile phone use can also affect the muscles of the eye, he told IANS. This sleep loss can, further, lead to a lot of anxiety and depression. Usually, such children tend to be alone, have low self-esteem, become excessively irritable, have a lot of aggression and behavioural changes, and may throw tantrums. Rajiv said that overuse often leads to a detachment from the real world, and the children are likely to display symptoms akin to virtual autism. Habitual smartphone use during meals also contributes to poor eating habits, obesity, and related health issues such as high blood pressure and sugar levels ultimately leading small kids to pre-diabetic stage. Mobile Screen Time Limit for Kids: China Plans Two-Hour Daily Limit of Smartphone Screen Time for Children Importantly, the visual impairments and attention deficits further compound these concerns, often remaining unnoticed until academic performance suffers, the doctor said. To mitigate these risks, the health experts advised parents to prioritise quality time with their children, encourage healthy eating habits, and limit screen time per day. Furthermore, balancing technology with outdoor activities and nutritious meals is crucial in fostering holistic child development. Cuba President Miguel Diaz-Canel has revealed that Ex-Economy Minister Alejandro Gil Fernandez is under investigation by the police and the Attorney General's Office for "serious mistakes." Gil, once a close collaborator of Diaz-Canel, was unexpectedly removed from his post in early February, with no clear explanation provided at the time, according to AP News. While the president's announcement did not specify the nature of the alleged crimes, it emphasized a zero-tolerance stance on corruption within the government. Gil Fernandez's dismissal marks the highest-ranking official to face such consequences since 2009 when Vice President Carlos Lage and Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque were dismissed due to leaks of sensitive information. The investigation into Gil was disclosed during the nightly Noticiero Estelar on state television of Cuba, where it was noted that Gil had acknowledged the serious accusations and resigned from both the Communist Party's Central Committee and his parliamentary seat. READ NEXT: Accused Cuba Spy Manuel Rocha Pleads 'Not Guilty' to Espionage Charges Allegations and Resignation A television news broadcast and a subsequent article in the state-run digital outlet Cuba Debate accused Gil of "serious errors" in the performance of his duties but provided no specific details. The state-run media stressed the government's commitment to preventing corruption, simulation, and insensitivity. The Ex-economy Minister, Alejandro Gil Fernandez, however, did not immediately respond to these allegations. State-run media reported that he acknowledged the accusations and voluntarily stepped down from his party and parliamentary positions, Reuters reports. Gil, known for advocating an unpopular plan to raise prices for various government-subsidized services amidst economic challenges, served as Minister of Economy and Planning since 2018, taking on the role of deputy prime minister in 2019. Political Climate and Accusations of Corruption Cuba has a history of using accusations of corruption against officials perceived to favor reforms or as scapegoats for government policy failures. The dismissal of the ex-economy minister, Alejandro Gil Fernandez, may be linked to his public announcements of policies that strained the country's economy and his support for private enterprises, a measure resisted by hardliners. His sister, Maria Victoria Gil, residing in Spain, suggested on Facebook that he is being blamed for the government's political failures, emphasizing the government's tendency to discard officials when they cease to act as puppets, the Miami Herald noted. The investigation also extends to businessman Fernando Javier Alban, owner of AgroIndustrial Media Luna, producing fruit juices and other products. Sources indicate authorities are examining whether Gil personally benefited from his connection with Alban. The broader context includes Prime Minister Manuel Marrero's announcement of austerity measures in December and retired general Raul Castro's call for government officials not up to the task to step aside in January. Contrary to the sudden nature of Gil's dismissal, recent events, including his public service at an organic farm and a birthday acknowledgment from President Diaz-Canel, indicated a stable position. However, Diaz-Canel's Thursday statement painted a different picture, revealing harsh criticism of Gil's actions. In conclusion, the investigation into the ex-economy minister Alejandro Gil Fernandez raises questions about the political climate in Cuba and the government's approach to officials involved in controversial policies. The lack of specific details surrounding the allegations adds an air of mystery to this unfolding story, leaving the public to speculate on the true reasons behind Gil's downfall. READ MORE: Haiti Extends State of Emergency This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Bert Hoover WATCH: Statement of Cuban Government - From TeleSUR English The biggest trial for Honduras has now been decided in the United States as a New York jury found former President Juan Orlando Hernandez guilty of drug trafficking after prosecutors accused him of turning the country into a "Narco State" while in office. As Latin Post previously reported, the trial of the former president is hotly followed back in Honduras despite it not being televised, with local news, YouTubers, and everyday citizens intently watching every happening and argument in the case with scrutiny. The US jury found that Hernandez conspired with drug cartels during his time as the most powerful man in Honduras, helping drug cartels that paid him off move over 400 tons of cocaine through Honduras and to the United States. The former president was also accused of receiving millions of dollars worth of bribes from the cartels and using that money to rise in power, including bribing election officials during the 2013 and 2017 elections. Among those who bribed them is the Sinaloa Cartel founder, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. With the jury finding him guilty, the former president now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for each of the charges he was found guilty of. However, that sentence may not be executed immediately as his lawyer has vowed to appeal the jury's decision. US Justice Secretary Merrick Garland commented on the verdict, saying that Hernandez "abused his position as President of Honduras to operate the country as a narco-state where violent drug traffickers were allowed to operate with virtual impunity, and the people of Honduras and the United States were forced to suffer the consequences." "As today's conviction demonstrates, the Justice Department is disrupting the entire ecosystem of drug trafficking networks that harm the American people, no matter how far or how high we must go," the Attorney General added. READ MORE: Migrant Caravan From Honduras Dissolves in Guatemala Before It Can Reach US-Mexico Border Honduran Protesters Celebrate Juan Orlando Hernandez Trial Decision Outside Courthouse The trial is one of the most widely followed trials in Honduras, and it was not even happening on Honduran soil. Nonetheless, there were many of his critics who gathered outside the New York courthouse where the trial happened and awaited the decision during the two weeks that it was happening. According to the Associated Press, there were 100 Hernandez critics who were gathered on the street outside the courthouse. As soon as news of the verdict reached them, they began applauding and jumping in celebration that Hernandez was going to prison. Juan Orlando Hernandez First Latin American Leader Convicted in US Since Panama's Daniel Noriega The conviction of Hernandez is not the first time that a former leader of a Central American country was convicted of a drug-related crime in the US. The most infamous one was former Panamanian dictator Daniel Noriega. Noriega was convicted on drug trafficking charges in a Miami court in 1992, per the BBC. Hernandez's conviction is the first time this has happened since then. Meanwhile, former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo was convicted on money laundering charges in a New York court in 2014. READ NEXT: America Ferrera Net Worth 2024: How Much is the 'Barbie' and 'Ugly Betty' Star Worth? This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: Former Honduran president convicted - ABC News The Gold Star father of a Marine killed during the tumultuous 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan found himself in handcuffs on Thursday night after shouting at President Joe Biden during the SOTU address, according to KTLA5. Steven Nikoui, invited by Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), yelled "Abbey Gate," referencing the Kabul bombing, in response to Biden's assertion that "America is safer today than when I took office." Capitol Police swiftly removed Nikoui, charging him with a local misdemeanor for "crowding, obstructing or incommoding." Kareem Nikoui, Steven's son and a Marine Lance Corporal, was among the 13 US service members tragically killed by a suicide bomber during the evacuation mission in Afghanistan. The incident occurred as the US withdrew its forces, leaving a lasting impact on the Nikoui family. READ NEXT: Joe Biden Refuses Troop Deployment To Haiti Rep. Dean Phillips Defends Steven Nikoui's Actions Former Democratic presidential primary candidate Rep. Dean Phillips (Minn.) expressed understanding and defended Gold Star father Steven Nikoui's emotional outburst, citing his own experience as a Gold Star Son, The Hill reports. Phillips acknowledged the pain Nikoui likely feels after losing his son in Afghanistan. Despite condemning interruptions during the SOTU address, Phillips questioned the lack of consequences for others, citing Marjorie Taylor Greene's outbursts. Capitol Police confirmed Nikoui's arrest for disrupting the president's address, noting their prior warnings. The incident occurred at approximately 10:15 PM EST, with Nikoui invited to the event by Rep. Brian Mast, who expressed honor in having him as a guest. Criticism of Joe Biden's Handling of Afghanistan Rep. Brian Mast continued the critique of President Joe Biden's handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, alleging a lack of acknowledgment for those killed at Abbey Gate. The reference points to the 2021 suicide bombing during the evacuation, a tragic event that claimed the life of Nikoui's son, Marine Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoui. The Gold Star father, Steven Nikoui, and his wife, Shana Chappell, vocal critics of Biden's decisions, particularly the withdrawal, expressed their dissatisfaction. Mast, in a released statement, accused Joe Biden of attempting to downplay the consequences of the withdrawal, emphasizing his commitment to holding the President accountable for the damage inflicted on national security and American families. Marine Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoui's service in the Marine Corps, stationed at Camp Pendleton, ended tragically during Operation Allies Refuge in Afghanistan. The suicide bombing near Hamid Karzai International Airport resulted in over 170 fatalities and left 13 US troops dead, including Nikoui. The blast, containing military-grade explosives, also wounded 45 U.S. troops, some suffering traumatic brain injuries. In a development from 2023, an unnamed US official confirmed to USA TODAY that the Taliban had killed the mastermind behind the 2021 attack, a piece of information shedding light on the aftermath of the tragic event. READ MORE: Judge Rejects Donald Trump's Request to Delay Paying $85.3M For Defamation Case This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Bert Hoover WATCH: Gold Star father arrested for State of the Union heckling | NewsNation Now - From NewsNation For almost thirty years, Yvonne "Missy" Woods stood as Colorado's premier forensic scientist, a trusted figure relied upon by law enforcement to analyze DNA evidence in the state's most complex Colorado criminal cases. Her work, celebrated as the gold standard, played a crucial role in convicting notorious criminals, including the "Colorado Hammer Killer," according to the New York Post. However, in a stunning turn of events last November, Woods resigned abruptly, leading to a revelation that is now unraveling the foundations of Colorado's criminal justice system. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) announced on the same day as Woods' resignation that an internal review had uncovered anomalies in her work, prompting a criminal probe. The ramifications of the Colorado DNA scandal are potentially immense, with experts suggesting it could be one of the largest in the history of forensic DNA testing. Approximately 3,000 DNA samples handled by Woods now require review and retesting, a process that has thrown the criminal justice system into chaos. READ NEXT: Colorado Man Arrested After Breaching Supreme Court Investigations and Legal Ramifications The CBI disclosed on Friday that 652 cases were affected by Woods' recent work, emphasizing the need for the retesting of around 3,000 samples. While no charges have been filed against Woods, who has retired from the CBI, officials are delving into her work dating back to 1994, BBC News reports. To address the unfolding crisis, the state allocated nearly $7.5 million for potential retrials, case reviews, and the comprehensive retesting of DNA samples. The CBI's statement revealed that Woods' tampering appeared to be intentional conduct, raising questions about the reliability of her work. The Colorado DNA scandal allegations include the deletion, alteration, and omission of data in official criminal justice records. The review identified problems in 652 Colorado criminal cases between 2008 and 2023, with further scrutiny of her work from 1994 to 2008 still underway. While her lawyer contends that Woods cooperates with the investigation, the CBI emphasizes the need for thorough and transparent rectification of this breach of trust. The CBI is now conducting an audit of all its DNA analysts, leading to the discovery of another scientist, Chiara Wuensch, alleged to have manipulated data. Fired from the Weld County Sheriff's Office after anomalies were found in her work, Wuensch is also under a separate investigation. Colorado DNA Scandal's Legal Repercussions and Criminological Insights The aftermath of Woods' actions is expected to lead to legal challenges from incarcerated individuals, potentially sending numerous Colorado criminal cases back to trial. Criminologist Dr. Debbie Goodman highlights the profound implications, noting how modern criminal cases heavily rely on DNA evidence, NewsNation noted. With DNA as a linchpin in high-profile cases, from murder to rape, the potential impact of compromised forensic work is staggering. Woods' connection to notable cases, including the sexual assault trial of Kobe Bryant and convictions of Robert Harlan and Aaron Thompson, adds complexity to the situation. Having worked in CBI's Forensic Services division for 29 years, Woods, who left her position in November, is now subject to both an internal affairs investigation and a criminal investigation. In conclusion, the forensic scandal involving Yvonne Woods has sent shockwaves through Colorado's criminal justice system, prompting widespread review and retesting of DNA evidence. The potential legal fallout and implications for past convictions cast a shadow over the reliability of forensic DNA testing, raising concerns about the broader impact on the pursuit of justice in the state. READ MORE: Ex-Congressional Candidate Wanted for Murder This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Bert Hoover WATCH: Over 2K criminal cases could be affected by Colorado scientist's DNA work | NewsNation Now - From NewsNation The federal trial for former North Dakota state Sen. Ray Holmberg has been postponed to Sept. 9, U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland ordered this week. Holmberg, a longtime state senator who was indicted on charges of child sex tourism and child pornography, was set to go to trial April 29, but a defense attorney requested more time to review discovery and prepare for trial, Hovlands order states. Defense attorney Mark Friese told the North Dakota Monitor the delay is not related to the recent discovery of cellphone data belonging to the late Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem. Friese said an expert who is reviewing discovery in the Holmberg case has a four- to six-week backlog. The judges order indicates that prosecutors did not object to the delay. Holmberg, a Republican from Grand Forks, resigned from the North Dakota Legislature in 2022. He served more than 45 years and held the powerful position of chairing the Senate Appropriations Committee. Federal court documents allege Holmberg repeatedly traveled from North Dakota to Prague, Czech Republic, to have sex with children. The indictment says the allegations occurred between June 2011 through November 2016. The indictment also accuses Holmberg of receiving and attempting to receive child pornography between November 2012 and March 2013. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The trial is scheduled for five days in Fargo. It was originally scheduled for Dec. 5, 2023. Attorney General Drew Wrigley said Monday that investigators in February had obtained a backup of Stenehjems cellphone through a federal search warrant in connection with the Holmberg investigation. Stenehjem and Holmberg were close associates, Wrigley said. The state email account of Stenehjem, who died in January 2022, was previously thought to have been deleted forever. Investigators discovered his personal cellphone had been backed up when the Bureau of Criminal Investigation attempted to unlock the phone for Stenehjems family. The phone data contains at least 2,000 emails and thousands of text messages, Wrigley said. Jeff Beach contributed to this report. This weekend is the start of Daylight Saving Time 2024. Clocks will spring forward, as the saying goes, one hour at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 10. The sun will set at around 6:02 p.m. in eastern Pennsylvania on Saturday, March 9. On Sunday, after the time shift and the end of standard time, sunset is at 7:03 p.m. The sun will, however, rise nearly an hour later at about 7:20 a.m. on Sunday, March 10, after coming up at 6:22 a.m. on Saturday, March 9, according to timeanddate.com. Spring will officially arrive at 11:06 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19. Daylight Saving Time, sometimes incorrectly referred to by the plural Daylight Savings Time, begins the second Sunday in March and ends the first Sunday in November. This year it concludes on Nov. 3, 2024 at 2 a.m. Until 2007, Daylight Saving Time began at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in April and ended at 2 a.m. on the last Sunday in October. While most states change clocks for Daylight Saving Time, there are some holdouts. Most of Arizona and all of Hawaii does not observe Daylight Saving Time. In addition, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands do not participate in Daylight Saving Time. Indiana didnt start observing Daylight Saving Time until 2006. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 allows states to exempt themselves from observing Daylight Saving Time. In Pennsylvania, Lehigh Valley legislators have proposed varying ideas. Among the bills reintroduced in the 2023-24 are Rep. Ryan Mackenzies (R-Lehigh) call for permanent daylight savings, and Sen. Lisa Boscolas (D-Lehigh/Northampton) idea to put Pennsylvania in Atlantic Standard Time, which would accomplishing the same practical effect by permanently setting the state one hour ahead of Eastern time. In New Jersey, four bills were introduced in the state Legislature in 2022 that would have establish Daylight Saving Time as the official time year-round, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Two are pending, but any bill would need authorization of the U.S. Congress to be implemented as federal law does not allow year-round Daylight Saving Time. While the U.S. Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act in March 2022, the House of Representatives didnt act on it so it never reached the desk of President Joe Biden. In 2023, 12 U.S. senators re-introduced the bill to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. Nineteen states have either passed resolutions or passed legislation calling for permanent Daylight Saving Time, the NCSL said. A CBS News poll in 2022 showed 46% of Americans prefer year-round Daylight Saving Time, with 33% wanting year-round Standard Time and the remaining 21% happy to continue to switch back and forth. Daylight Saving Time begins again on March 10 when clocks turn ahead one hour at 2 a.m. What role did Benjamin Franklin play in Daylight Saving Time? Benjamin Franklin is credited with coming up with the notion of making better use of the days light. While visiting Paris in 1784, Franklin came to believe that sunlight was being wasted during the day. In a joking letter to the editors of a Paris newspaper, Franklin proposed a tax on all Parisians whose windows were closed after sunrise. He believed that this would encourage the economy of using sunshine instead of candles, according to Michael Downing, author of Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time. During World War I, the German Empire implemented an idea that most resembles the Daylight Saving Time that we observe today. Believing that it would conserve fuel during the war, the German Empire in 1916 became the first to switch its clocks to save daylight. In 1918, the U.S. enacted the first Daylight Saving Time law as a way to conserve fuel. It was reintroduced during World War II. The U.S. put nationwide, year-round daylight saving into effect during World War II starting on Feb. 9, 1942, thinking it would help conserve energy, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. Nicknamed War Time, it remained in effect until September 1945 when Japan surrendered. In 1973, President Nixon signed into law the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act, which made DST permanent in the U.S. This helped reduce confusion throughout the country with some regions of the U.S. participating in the practice and some regions opting out. The law was redacted less than a year later, though. A common misconception is that Daylight Saving Time was implemented as a way to improve farming practices. However, this is a myth. During the early adoption of the practice in the U.S., farmers were among the biggest opponents of Daylight Saving Time, believing that it would disrupt their farming practices. Not really, even though that was cited in the 2005 Energy Policy Act that extended Daylight Saving Time by a month. A study three years later by the U.S. Department of Energy determined that the extended daylight throughout the year of 2005 saved a mere .5% in electricity use per day and only about .3% over the entire year. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Kurt Bresswein contributed to this report. Reach him at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. If you believe that the cost of living is kicking our butts, billionaires shouldn't exist, student loan debt sucks or wages are absurdly stagnant then a weekly newsletter about student loan debt and economic justice might just be for you. Enter your email to subscribe. When news of a Mississippi bill that could have shuttered three historically Black institutions arose, HBCU students, alumni and supporters across the country flocked to social media in disbelief, ready to take action. At Mississippi Votes, an advocacy group invested in the progression of Mississippi, their team full of HBCU alumni sprung into action inspired to save their institutions and helped kill Senate Bill 2726. The way that the entirety of the country rallied behind little old Mississippi should let folks know how important and pivotal HBCUs are to the legacy and history of Black folks in this country, Hannah Williams, Mississippi Votes policy director said. If passed, Senate Bill 2726 would have required the Institutions of Higher Learning, the statewide governing board for Mississippi colleges and universities, to close three out of the states eight public universities. Among that list were Delta State University, Mississippi State University, Mississippi University for University, The University of Mississippi and The University of Southern Mississippi. It also included three public HBCUs, Alcorn State University, Jackson State University and Mississippi Valley State University. With the bills sponsor, Republican state Sen. John Polk, citing declining enrollment, tuition rates and degree attainment as factors for the proposed closures, HBCUs have faced many of these issues due to underfunding. Once the bill made it to the Senate Universities and Colleges Committee, it was struck down. We have enrollment issues nationwide, so thats not unique to Mississippi. I think that once we give them [HBCUs] the tools they need and the programs they need to track students, they will be successful, Democratic state Sen. Hillman Frazier, who serves on the committee, told Reckon. While the bill was considered dead on March 5, according to Mississippi Votes, elements of its policies have resurfaced in another piece of legislation, Senate Bill 2725, which establishes a task force to study the efficiency at Mississippi colleges and universities. Mississippi Votes is working to combat the shuttering of Mississippi HBCUs with campaigns and hashtags like #DontCloseOurSchools meant to kill this new bill just like they squashed the old one. Two bad bills, one big fight With enrollment and degree attainment as a continued concern for the Mississippi Senate Universities and Colleges Committee, the task-force bill was voted out of committee and heads to the full Senate for a vote. The committees chair, Republican state Sen. Nicole Boyd, sponsored the new bill that would create the Mississippi University System Efficiency Task Force. This bill is about us taking a look, which we havent done in a while at what is going on with our universities and colleges, Boyd said. The bill would focus on increased enrollment and graduation rates of Mississippians, as well as how to retain them in the state while addressing anticipated nationwide challenges such as demographic shifts and declining enrollment. According to the Institutions of Higher Learning, Mississippis public university enrollment increased by 1.8% from fall 2022 to 2023, with HBCUs like Mississippi Valley State University seeing one of the largest enrollment spikes in the state with a 16.9% increase. Just last year Mississippi Valley State University increased enrollment and at one time they were on the chopping block, but I think that we need to get them the tools to be successful and to just keep supporting them going forward, Frazier said. Just like the old bill, the new task-force bill based on the task force-recommendations would determine what colleges and universities in Mississippi would remain open, close or merge. This bill is kind of camouflaged as, What can we do better to help these schools? It feels like a two-headed snake, Williams told Reckon. Mississippi Votes is spreading the word to HBCUs and Black communities throughout the state about Senate Bill 2725 and how signing a petition, calling their senator, writing a letter or simply resharing a social media post can help kill this new bill too. HBCUs are historically underfunded, including Mississippis In September 2023, the U.S. Departments of Education and Agriculture sent letters to 16 governors in states with land-grant HBCUs calculating a $12 billion disparity in funding from 1987 to 2020. Miss. Gov. Tate Reeves was on the list. Unacceptable funding inequities have forced many of our nations distinguished Historically Black Colleges and Universities to operate with inadequate resources and delay critical investments in everything from campus infrastructure to research and development to student support services, said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. Cardona and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, outlined in each letter that under the Second Morrill Act of 1890, states opening land-grant universities serving Black students are required to provide an equitable distribution of state funds to institutions founded between 1862 and 1890. However, of 18 states with HBCUs only two Delaware and Ohio are upholding the law. With 19 land-grant HBCUs across the country, a lack of funding has impacted everything from building repairs to enrollment numbers at institutions like Alcorn State University, one of the three HBCUs on the list to possibly shutter. While Alcorns enrollment dropped by 1.3% from fall 2022 to 2023, the state of Mississippi currently owes the university $257 million that could go toward improvements that could increase enrollment. Many students, alumni and community members have distrust in the state of Mississippis intentions for HBCUs. Theyre [HBCU alumni] looking at the history of the state in terms of the underfunding of some of the institutions thinking, The state will take action to harm the institutions, and especially with how Mississippi Valley, Jackson State and Alcorn State were underfunded for many years, Frazier told Reckon. As an alumnus of Jackson State University, Sen. Frazier said, and I understand that because underfunding affects their ability to grow. While the Departments of Education and Agriculture expressed in the letters that governors should not decrease the funding at other institutions across their state to rectify funding gaps at the land grant HBCUs, decisions about when the additional funds get distributed could mean that institutions like Alcorn State remain open, close or merge. The closure of HBCUs has been happening literally since they started opening. And I believe that other states will most definitely try to copy and paste this legislation and hide it under the guise of, Were just trying to do whats best with the states money. So I think that all public institutions that are HBCUs need to be on their toes, Williams said. The Lehigh Valley region is under a flood watch from 1 p.m. Saturday through Sunday evening, the National Weather Service said. Flooding caused by excessive rainfall is possible, according to the advisory for a region encompassing Lehigh, Northampton, Bucks and Monroe counties in eastern Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in western New Jersey. Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. A low pressure system is bringing rain, heavy at times, to the region Saturday afternoon and through the night, according to the weather service forecast. Another 1 to 2 inches of rain is forecast within the flood watch area, on top of multiple rounds of rainfall over the past week. Creeks and streams are running high and may rise out of their banks and could flood with more heavy rain, according to the watch. Flooding may also occur in poor drainage and urban areas. A threat of urban flooding is forecast around the Philadelphia and Allentown metro areas as the heaviest rain moves through late Satuday into Saturday night, the watch states. At the weather services Lehigh Valley International Airport outside Allentown, 1.48 inches of precipitation were recorded through Friday in March, which is 0.57 of an inch more than the normal 0.91 of an inch for the timeframe. Precipitation for the year at Allentown has totaled 10.13 inches 3.15 inches above the normal 6.98 inches. Rain is forecast mainly after 11 a.m. Saturday at the airport, continuing Saturday night with a thunderstorm possible before 1 a.m. Sunday followed by a chance of rain and maybe thunderstorms. Breezy, mostly cloudy conditions are forecast Sunday at the airport, with a chance of rain and snow showers possible after 4 p.m. but little to no snow accumulation expected. Clouds blanket the northeastern United States at 9:11 a.m. EST Saturday, March 9, 2024, in this GOES-East GeoColor satellite view provided by the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere and National Oceanic and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.CIRA/NOAA Daytime high temperatures are forecast at a seasonable 47 Saturday and Sunday, dipping to near 40 overnight Saturday into Sunday and around 30 Sunday night into Monday. The normal high/low temperatures this time of year are around 48/29. Stay up-to-date with National Weather Service advisories for our region at lehighvalleylive.com/weather-alerts or weather.gov/phi, and visit lehighvalleylive.com/weather for your local forecast from AccuWeather. Check airnow.gov for current air quality conditions in your area. Current weather radar Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. The final episode of the RTE true crime podcast series Runaway Joe has uncovered news about the FBI murder suspect who spent a decade living in a Laois mansion. The documentary makers have discovered that Joseph Maloney is dead and reveals that he fathered at least six children at the time he was accused of poisoning his wife. The suspect went by a pseudonym when he lived in Capard House in the Slieve Bloom Mountains from the mid 1970s to the mid '80s, with a local person recently telling the Leinster Express / Laois Live what he was like to work for. Runaway Joe has been telling the story of Irish-American man Joseph Maloney, charged with the first-degree murder of his wife June Fisk in upstate New York in the 1960s. Six decades later, and in the final days of recording, Runaway Joe has learned that Joseph Maloneys third wife Sheila Chandler informed her family in Dublin around 2005 that Joseph Maloney had in fact died before Sheila then returned home to Ireland, where she died in 2010. And with the help of DNA, the series has also discovered that Joseph Maloney fathered six children; two daughters to his first wife Joan Howland, a son and daughter to his second wife June Fisk and two more boys with two women he had affairs with while married to June. Almost none of these children knew about each other and are only now beginning to reunite. From their investigations, and since the podcast began, the RTE Documentary on One team behind Runaway Joe has come further than any of the authorities in discovering what really happened to Joe Maloney since he went on the run. Through extensive interviews and research, the team revealed that when Joseph Maloney and his wife Sheila fled Ireland in 1986, they first settled in Berlin, East Germany - before then moving to Northern Cyprus after the fall of the Berlin wall. Both destinations did not have extradition treaties with the US, which is why Maloney fled there. Despite the news that 70-year-old Joseph Maloney died around 2005, his wife Sheila never made the location of his burial site known. The series also tells how Joseph Maloney was reportedly unwell before his death and had Alzheimers. The former Assistant District Attorney Wendy Lehman who worked this case from the 1980s through to her retirement is viewing the news of Maloneys death as a pretty definitive closure. Series producer of RTE Documentary on One Liam O'Brien agrees. Whilst we may have thought at one stage there was a chance we could find Joe alive, and help bring him to justice, what weve found over the last 18 months has amounted to overwhelming indications, from numerous sources, that Joe Maloney is dead weve not found a single indicator that hes alive so for us, the case is now closed. The full series of Runaway Joe is available wherever you get your podcasts. More than 360,000 worth of Cannabis herb bound for Laois and other counties was declared as kids toys, kids puzzles and tracksuits. That's according to the Revenue which says that, as a result of risk profiling, its officers examined parcels at a premises in Dublin. During the search they seized over 18.3 kgs of herbal cannabis which Revnue says has an estimated value of over 365,500. "The illicit drugs were discovered in parcels originating in the USA, Canada, Thailand and Spain and were destined for addresses in Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow, Laois and Northern Ireland. "The contraband was variously declared as kids toys, kids puzzles and tracksuits," said a statement to the Leinster Express / Laois Live. MORE BELOW PICTURE. Some of the drugs pictured were due to be delivered to an address in Laois. Separately, and also as a result of risk profiling, Revenue says officers with the assistance of detector dog Enzo, examed parcels at a premises in Athlone. This led to the seizure over 1.1 kg of herbal cannabis and 100 grammes of butane honey oil with an estimated value of approximately 24,000. Revenue says the parcels originated in France and were destined for addresses in Westmeath and Kildare. Investigations into all of these drug crime-related seizures are ongoing. Revenue says the seizures are part of ongoing work targeting smuggling and shadow economy activity. If businesses, or members of the public have any information, Revenue ask that you contact them in confidence on 1800 295 295. Revenue says its officers have the primary responsibility for the prevention, detection, interception and seizure of controlled drugs being smuggled into or out of Ireland. They are based at strategic points of entry to the State. Laois councillors demanded to know what plans are in place in the event of a catastrophic failure polluting the water supply to 25,000 Laois users. The question was posed in a motion at the latest meeting of Laois County Council. Councillors Ben Brennan, Padraig Fleming, Aisling Moran and Sinn Feins Aidan Mullins jointly asked: "That Laois County Council ask ESB Networks/Eirgrid to show what provisions will be in place for an alternative water supply for over 25,000 people in Laois including homes, businesses, farms, schools, nursing homes etc in the event of a catastrophic failure on site at the Coolnabacky substation as mentioned in the independent risk assessment dated January 2024." Fianna Fail Cllr Padraig Fleming said the issue of the Coolnabacky substation has been ongoing for 14 years. He said the community came together to highlight their concerns about the location of the station above an aquifer which supplies water to between 20,000 and 25,000 people. He claimed the community had been threatened in the High Court and he maintained the risk assessment for the project hadnt gone far enough as it relied on information from the ESB and EirGrid. They didnt even visit the site, he said of the people who compiled the risk assessment. He said if anything happened at the substation large volumes of oil could pollute the water supply. He asked who would be responsible in the event of a catastrophic failure. Irish Water will say the council are responsible for the water under the ground, he said. Cllr Fleming said the a catastrophic failure was mentioned in the risk assessment. They put it in. They used those words and that frightened a lot of people, he explained. Cllr Moran, Independent, said the risk assessment was compiled with information from the ESB and EirGrid, two groups we dont trust, she said as she branded the report a desktop survey. Cllr Brennan, Independent, said the 400KV transformers would contain an unknown amount of oil. There is 25,000 plus people could be at the loss of water, he said. He asked who would be responsible if anything happened. Laois County Council, they seem to be washing their hands of this, said Cllr Brennan. Cllr Moran asked what would happen if the transformers were struck by lightning. Council Chief Executive, John Mulholland, said the developer of the project was not Laois County Council and he would expect that the developer would be responsible. The North Dakota Department of Transportation will host two public input meetings next week on proposed improvements to four structures along Interstate 94. The structures being discussed are the Glen Ullin Interchange, Bluegrass Interchange, Almont Interchange and Long Lake Interchange. The project includes bridge deck overlays, replacement of approach slabs, and minor bridge repair work. It is anticipated that the bridges will be closed and traffic detoured during construction. The meetings will be Monday at the Steele Community Center, 103 W. Broadway in Steele; and Tuesday at the Glen Ullin City Auditorium - Blue Room, 201 Main St. S. in Glen Ullin. Both meetings will have an open house format from 5-7 p.m. and a formal presentation at 5:30 p.m. The content presented will be the same at each meeting. Representatives from DOT and Ulteig Engineers will be on hand to answer questions and discuss concerns. A prerecorded presentation and other materials are available at www.dot.nd.gov/public-input. Written comments must be postmarked or emailed by March 27, with Public Input Meeting - PCN 23768 in the letter heading or email subject line. Send to Mary Boechler at 3350 38th Ave. S., Fargo, ND 58104 or mary.boechler@ulteig.com. People who wish to request accommodations for the meeting should contact Heather Christianson in DOT's Civil Rights Division, at 701-328-2978 or civilrights@nd.gov. TTY users may use Relay North Dakota at 711 or 1-800-366-6888. Patrick Kielty ended last night's Late Late Show with a heartfelt tribute to Saoirse Ruane, who died aged 12. Saoirse, from Galway, was the inspiration for the annual Late Late Toy Show appeal. She died following a long illness. Before the last night's show ended, Patrick Kielty paid tribute to the girl who helped "so many children and their families across Ireland." "Before we go tonight, I'd just like to take a moment to remember Saoirse Rouen, who we all fell in love with on the Toy Show in 2020, and who passed away this week. We can only imagine what Saoirse's family is going through tonight, and we just want to add one thing to the many beautiful tributes paid to her over the past couple of days, and that is thank you," Kielty said. "When Saoirse inspired the very first Toy Show appeal back then, little did any of us know that she was going to start something amazing. That in just four short years will help so many children and their families across Ireland. Saoirse lit a touch paper in the same way that she lit up our screens. And lit up the lives of her family and her friends. "And we know that her light will continue to shine for so many, for so many years to come. From everyone on the Late Late Show, we send our love tonight to Saoirse's family," he continued. Ireland has voted to reject the Governments proposal to change the constitution on family, with 67% of people voting against the amendment. The referendum returning officer Barry Ryan made the official declaration at Dublin Castle just before 7pm. Turnout for the referenda was 44.36%, a significant drop from the abortion referendum in 2018 which saw a turnout of 64%. The declaration on the care referendum is expected on Saturday evening. Earlier, the Irish premier said it was clear that the referenda to change the Constitution in Ireland has been defeated comprehensively. Leo Varadkar said the electorate has given the Government two wallops as the final counts of the two Constitution referenda continued with defeat looking likely in each. Tallies show there was a significant no vote in both questions, with some constituencies polling particularly high against the Governments referenda. The boxes were opened at 9am after the public went to the polls on Friday to vote on whether to change the wording of the Constitution relating to the areas of family and care. Early tallies showed a strong support for no votes, signalling an embarrassing defeat for the Government. Speaking at Dublin Castle, Mr Varadkar said: I think its clear at this stage that the family amendment and the care amendment referendums have been defeated, defeated comprehensively on a respectable turnout. The Government accepts the results and will respect it fully. As head of Government, on behalf of the Government, we accept responsibility for the results. It was our responsibility to convince a majority of people to vote yes and we clearly failed to do so. I think we struggle to convince people of the necessity or need for the referendum at all, let alone detail on the wording. Thats obviously something were going to have to reflect on into the weeks ahead. What I do want to say to people, though, is that when it comes to the work of Government, in relation to gender equality, in relation to improving conditions for carers, in relation to giving rights for people with disabilities, that work will continue. Mr Varadkar also admitted the Irish Government clearly got it wrong. I think Enda Kenny (former taoiseach) famously said once that the electorate often gives the Government a wallop this is two wallops, he added. Well, look, clearly we got it wrong. Childrens Minister Roderic OGorman said the Government was not successful in convincing the public of its arguments to change the Constitution. The Government has to make the case, and its clear that throughout this campaign issues were raised, issues that I think were incorrect interpretations that I and Government believe were incorrect, Mr OGorman said. But we werent successful in convincing people that our arguments were strong. I think it has to be acknowledged that the departure from the wording of the Citizens Assembly meant that some of those NGOs and civil society organisations, who would have been supportive originally, didnt feel they could support and (didnt) feel they could campaign to the same degree. I think that was certainly an element. Finally, I think the people didnt see the urgency of the change here in terms of the repeal campaign, where there was a clear outcome the day after the yes vote and in the case of marriage equality, where there was a clear outcome the day of the vote. People didnt get that sense of the need for change here. I think that was a another factor. The result of the referendums on family and care is clear. The majority were not persuaded by the arguments for changing the Constitution in this way. It is a core strength of our Constitution that the people have the final say. We fully respect their decision. (1/3) Micheal Martin (@MichealMartinTD) March 9, 2024 Irish deputy premier Micheal Martin said the majority of the public were not persuaded by the arguments for changing the Constitution. The result of the referendums on family and care is clear, Mr Martin said in a statement. The majority were not persuaded by the arguments for changing the Constitution in this way. It is a core strength of our Constitution that the people have the final say. We fully respect their decision. There is no single reason why these proposals were rejected and, like all who supported them, we will reflect on this over time. Irish Transport Minister Eamon Ryan conceded early in the count that the Government lost. Its clear we lost, Mr Ryan said. When it was put to the Green Minister that the Government did not get the result it wanted, he said: No, we didnt. There was a low turnout reported throughout the day, with less than 30% in some areas. There was a slight uplift at polling stations as people made their home on Friday evening. However it is thought that numbers remained lower compared to previous referenda. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said her party is very much in touch with the Irish public, despite tallies showing the two referenda will be defeated. Her party advocated for a yes-yes vote in Irelands ballot on family and care. No, were very, very much in touch with people, and youll recall that I said from the get-go, that we were very much in favour of removing sexist language from the Constitution, very much in favour of an inclusive definition of families, Ms McDonald said on Saturday. But we knew that the Government did come up short in terms of the caring wording. They disregarded the Citizens Assembly, they didnt consult with opposition or with other stakeholders. They didnt collaborate, and they failed to convince. I know, talking to lots of people, that people were left with an unbalanced decision to make and I think its a great pity that the Government went on this kind of solo run, and theyve had their answer. I dont think there has been a lack of clarity for people, I think people when they came out and voted were very clear how they were voting and why they were voting in a particular way. If there is one big takeaway message from this, it is that support for people with disabilities as full and equals citizens and support for carers is something that has to be taken seriously by Government. I think itll fall to the next government to vindicate those rights. Ms McDonald said Sinn Fein will return to consideration the sexist language in Irelands Constitution if the party is in the next government. Senator Michael McDowell, a former tanaiste and ex-justice minister, who campaigned for a no-no vote, said the move had represented unwise social experimentation with the Constitution. Mr McDowell, who was part of the Lawyers For No group, said: I trust individual voters. They looked at what was being put before them and they said no. Many of them will have a slightly different perspective as to why they were voting no, but in the end we live in a republic and the sovereign power is the people and every individual vote is as good as anybody elses vote, and this is an emphatic repudiation of what I think was unwise social experimentation with the Constitution. Labour leader Ivana Bacik said: The result at this early stage certainly looks disappointing for those who campaigned for a yes-yes vote. I do think and it is clear that it is the Governments responsibility, because the Government needs to explain to the people first why it chose and proceeded with wording that was so distinctly different from the wording that our Oireachtas committee on gender equality has proposed, wording that cross-parties had supported. Why did they not go out more assertively and sell it to the people? Because what we saw from Government, particularly in the last few weeks as the no side was gaining ground, we saw a lacklustre campaign from Government. The family amendment proposed extending the meaning of family beyond one defined by marriage and to include those based on durable relationships. The care amendment proposes deleting references to a womans roles and duties in the home, and replacing it with a new article that acknowledges family carers. Portlaoise College has announced that six of its students have been awarded full Gaeltacht scholarships for this summer. The recipients include fifth-year students James Buggy-McDonald, Abi Dixon and Thomas Fitzpatrick, as well as second-year student Emilija Siugzdinyte, and third-year students Hanna Piotrowska and Marija Goncarenko. School Principal Noel Daly expressed his delight at the scholarships. "The scholarships provide students with the opportunity to immerse themselves in the Irish language and culture in the Mayo Gaeltacht, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation for the language among the students. We are thrilled to recognize our students' dedication to the Irish language. These highly competitive scholarships offer a unique opportunity for our students to enhance their language skills and broaden their cultural horizons, he said. Head of the Irish department, Ms Elma Phelan, commended the recipients for their commitment to Irish language learning. 'It's wonderful to see our students' hard work and passion for the language being rewarded. These scholarships will undoubtedly enrich their language learning experience and will also be of great benefit to the students as they continue their study of the language in the future, she said. Portlaoise College see the study of Irish as of utmost importance, not only for its cultural significance but also for its role in preserving Ireland's identity and heritage. Through the study of Irish, students gain a deeper appreciation for their country's rich linguistic and cultural heritage. It fosters a sense of pride and connection to Ireland's past while also equipping students with valuable language skills. Portlaoise College extended congratulations to James, Abi, Thomas, Emilija, Hanna, and Marija on their achievement and wished them a rewarding experience in the Gaeltacht this summer. The school community are looking forward to hearing all about their wonderful experiences when they return to school in September. The Ballyfin Vintage and Veteran Club has helped local groups with proceeds of the Rally in 2023 on Sunday, May 28. Last year's event was extra special for the Club as the members were given the honour of hosting the All Ireland National Vintage Rally. Arising from its success, presentations were made recently to the Ballyfin NS Parents Council, Barnashrone NS, Clonenagh NS and Laois Offaly Families for Autism. To see more pictures tap NEXT or ARROW. read more below picture. Last year's event included steam threshing, steam-propelled saw bench, a display of vintage tractors, stationary engines, butter making, craft exhibition, a die-cast display, an auto jumble and a variety of stalls. The Club is already doing the groundwork for this year's rally which takes place on Sunday, May 26 featuring vintage steam threshing and a working day as well as a dog show, children's games and carvinal. For more information and to book contact 086 3101822. Early booking is advised. Auto Jumble & Commercial sale stalls can contact 0851184563 to book. Fun for all the family is promised in May. Meanwhile, the Ballyfin Vintage autojumble sale takes place on Sunday, April 14. More details on their facebook page. A defendant in a Naas District Court case told the presiding judge that there had been 'a misunderstanding' in his case. The man appeared before Judge Desmond Zaidan on Thursday, March 7 last, during an in-camera (in private) court session. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) indicated that the case be dealt with via summary disposal. As a result, the judge was told that on a date last year in County Kildare, the man was allegedly aggressive towards his partner and was shouting at her. He proceeded to strike her on one of her arms twice, which left some bruising. A photograph of the bruises allegedly sustained by the woman were shown to Judge Zaidan. Defending solicitor Brian Larkin said that his client 'strenueously denies' ever assaulting his partner, and the man himself said that there was 'a misunderstanding' on the day in question. Although gardai had no objections to bail being granted for the accused, it was heard that the man was having difficulty securing an address to reside in as part of his bail conditions. The judge also mentioned that an interim barring order application hearing was due to take place previously, but the man's partner did not attend. Brian Larkin was the defending solicitor in the case. She replied that she did not know that the hearing was going to take place on this date. Mr Larkin added: "To be fair, I thought it (the hearing) was due to take place on a different date too." In response to the woman, Judge Zaidan said that he believed her. The judge refused jurisdiction over the case and adjourned the matter later in the month, in order to allow time for the DPP to approve his decision to refuse jurisdiction. A book of evidence is also due to be presented on this date. The judge remanded the accused in custody, with the possibility of bail, on this date. The defendant also faces an unrelated charge which was not disclosed to the court, which also adjourned to the same date. IFA President Francie Gorman said the brunt of retail campaigns to cut prices on beef, chicken, lamb and pork cannot land on farmers. These campaigns, regardless of what the retailers say, will have negative consequences for farm gate prices. We cannot allow this to happen, he said. Consumers are entitled to the best quality produced meat, dairy, fruit & vegetable and fish, which are sustainably produced to the highest standards as set and audited by Bord Bia. This high-quality food has a cost. Retailers and processors in the food supply chain, including our dairy co-ops, meat factories and fruit & vegetable consolidators must be cognisant of the primary producer and their need for a sustainable economic return, he said. IFA has engaged with all main retailers, and particularly the two discounters, Lidl and Aldi, about the need for farmers to be properly compensated from the food chain and warned these retailers that they cannot exploit their dominant position. This time of year has the highest cost for most food production. IFA pointed out in these meetings that price campaigns designed to attract footfall into their stores are very damaging and ultimately undermines the value of what farmers produce. The retail grocery market in Ireland is dominated by five major retailers, controlling 92% of the market. This dominance of the market by such a small number of retailers has led to a major imbalance in buying power and this must be addressed. The Agri-Food Regulator (An Rialalai Agraibhia) has an important and very urgent role to play in exposing where the margin goes in the food chain and potential profiteering by big retailers at the expense of farmers. Mirasol Resources Announces Private Placement Financing VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mirasol Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: MRZ) (OTCPK: MRZLF) (the "Company" or "Mirasol") today announced it is arranging a non-brokered private placement financing (the "Offering") of up to 5,000,000 Units (the "Units") at a price of $0.60 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of $3.0 million. Each Unit will be comprised of one (1) common share and one-half of one (1/2) non-transferable common share purchase warrant (the "Warrant"), with each whole Warrant entitling the holder to purchase one additional common share at a price of $0.80 for a period of twelve (12) months from closing of the Offering. The net proceeds of the Offering will be used to expand Mirasol's successful exploration programs and for general corporate purposes. Finders' fees may be payable on a portion of the Offering. The shares issued under the Offering will be subject to a four month hold period. The Offering is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval from the TSX.V, and is expected to close on or about March 31, 2024. This press release is not an offer of common shares for sale in the United States. The Shares have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act, or any state securities laws. About Mirasol Resources Ltd Mirasol is a well-funded exploration company with 20 years of operating, permitting and community relations experience in the mineral rich regions of Chile and Argentina. Mirasol is currently self-funding exploration at the flagship Sobek Copper-Gold project located in the Vicuna Copper-Gold-Silver District of northeast Chile and controls 100% of the high-grade Virginia Silver Deposit in Argentina. Mirasol also continues to advance a strong pipeline of highly prospective early and mid-stage projects. For further information, contact: Tim Heenan, President & CEO or Troy Shultz, Vice President Investor Relations Tel: +1 (604) 602-9989 Email: [email protected] Website: www.mirasolresources.com Forward Looking Statements: The information in this news release contains forward looking statements that are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include: changes in world commodity markets, equity markets, costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry, change in government and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry and to policies linked to pandemics, social and environmental related matters. Forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding future exploration programs, operation plans, geological interpretations, mineral tenure issues and mineral recovery processes. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, results may vary, and we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Mirasol disclaims any obligations to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. 8 march 2024 at 18:00 News published onand distributed by: British Foreign Secretary David Cameron in Berlin, Thursday, March 7, 2024. MARKUS SCHREIBER / AP British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said he opposes sending Western troops to Ukraine, even for training missions, in an interview with German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung published on Saturday, March 9. Cameron said training missions are best carried out abroad, noting that Britain has trained 60,000 Ukrainian soldiers that way. Placing foreign soldiers in Ukraine would provide targets for Russia, he said. French President Emmanuel Macron set off a stir among his allies on February 26 when he did not exclude sending Western troops to Ukraine to help it fend off Russia's invasion. Britain later confirmed that it had sent small units to Ukraine to help with medical training, but a spokesperson for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the country does not foresee large-scale deployments. Read more Subscribers only Ukraine's Western allies already have a military presence in the country On Friday, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said there were no plans for the moment to send combat troops, but that Ukraine's allies could consider specific training or de-mining missions. In his interview with Suddeutsche Zeitung, Cameron said Ukraine needed more long-range weapons and that he was willing to work with Berlin to lift its reticence to supplying German-made Taurus cruise missiles. Cameron wouldn't directly address suggestions that Berlin provide Britain with Taurus missiles to free up the UK to send more British-French Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine. Berlin has refused to deliver Taurus missiles to Ukraine, fearful that its 500-kilometre (310-mile) range would be used to hit targets deep into Russian territory. Since last May, France and Britain have supplied Ukraine with Storm Shadows called Scalp in French and with a 250-kilometer range while the United States has sent ATACMS, which have a range of 165 kilometers. 'Not unthinkable,' says Polish FM Poland's foreign minister said Friday the presence of NATO forces "is not unthinkable" and that he appreciates the French president for not ruling out that idea. Radek Sikorski made the observation during a discussion marking the 25th anniversary of Poland's accession to NATO in the Polish parliament Friday, and the Foreign Ministry tweeted the comments later in English. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk was among those European leaders who initially ruled out sending troops to Ukraine after Macron's remarks, saying: "Poland does not plan to send its troops to the territory of Ukraine." Read more Subscribers only Ukraine's allies divided over potential ground intervention raised by Macron But less than two weeks later Sikorski struck a different tone. "The presence of #NATO forces in Ukraine is not unthinkable," he said, according to the Foreign Ministry's tweet. He said he appreciated Macron's initiative "because it is about Putin being afraid, not us being afraid of Putin." Supporters of President Macky Sall and presidential candidate Amadou Ba hold flyers, on March 3, 2024, in Dakar. ABDOU KARIM NDOYE / AFP After a final few hours of confusion over the election date, the political horizon suddenly cleared in Senegal on Thursday, March 7. The Constitutional Council, which had proposed the date of March 31 the previous evening, eventually agreed with the decree of President Macky Sall, calling the first round of the presidential election for Sunday, March 24. "Setting the election date and convening the electorate fall within the legal prerogatives of the president of the Republic," said Mamadou Badio Camara, the president of the court which, for the past month since the postponement, on February 3, of the election, initially scheduled for February 25, has consistently rejected the solutions proposed by Sall. As the decisions of the constitutional judges are not subject to appeal, "we can no longer change this date," stated law professor Babacar Gueye, also a member of the civil society platform Aar Sunu Election (Protect our election). "We're ready. All the electoral material is available, the training courses have almost been completed and the Constitutional Council has clearly stated that we can use the ballot papers printed for February 25," said a source at the general directorate of elections, while Senegal is awaiting a new government and the official campaign opens on Saturday. Incumbent Prime Minister Amadou Ba has already been replaced by Interior Minister Sidiki Kaba to focus on his strategy. 18 others are running for the first round of the election. They will have just 13 days to try and convince the electorate. The electoral code states that there should be 21 days of campaigning, but "the situation is exceptional, so the Council can adapt and modify the legislation to ensure that the vote can be held. The focus is on saving the presidential election," stressed Professor Gueye. As far as the candidates are concerned, even though this decision still leaves some dissatisfied, the time has come to prepare their campaigns and arguments. After having tried to appeal to have the election on March 31, so that candidates would have the time they needed to campaign, one of the candidates, Habib Sy, admitted that he has changed his mind "because everyone is anxious to get it done." Dethie Fall, candidate for the Parti Republicain pour le Progres, explained that after insisting on "a date for the first round before April 2," he has chosen to comply with the decision approved by the constitutional council "in the interests of consistency." "Even if we have to adapt our strategy to suit the Ramadan period," said Anta Babacar Ngom, also running for election. "We have to be republican and sacrifice ourselves to overcome this situation and end the crisis." General amnesty passed amid controversy But among all the parties in the race, one is in a unique situation. The Parti Africain Senegalais pour le Travail, l'Ethique et la Fraternite (PASTEF), the government's main opponent, still has its two leading figures in detention, charged with "calling for insurrection" and "undermining state security." Ousmane Sonko, its leader disqualified for the presidential race after being convicted of defamation, has been in prison since late July 2023. His replacement candidate, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, has been in prison since April without trial. Read more Will Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko be the first released under partial amnesty? According to their lawyers, both should benefit from the general amnesty law controversially passed on the evening of March 6. This applies to all offenses or crimes committed between February 1, 2021, and February 25, 2024, whether tried or not, "relating to demonstrations or having political motivations." "It's up to the courts to release Bassirou Diomaye Faye once the law has been promulgated," explained his lawyer, Moussa Sarr, even though the law can only legally come into force six days after it has been passed, leaving time for any appeals. "The prosecutor may also decide to release him before the start of the campaign," hoped a person close to Diomaye Faye. The past month has been full of twists and turns. A pillar of the European project since its birth in the 1950s, the French-German relationship has been more or less fruitful and more or less cordial, depending on the leaders in charge and the crises that the two countries have faced, together or separately. The duo has been described as a "tandem," an "engine," a "couple" each name corresponding to the degree of dynamism or amicability at a given time in this relationship unique in contemporary history. Read more Subscribers only Geopo [BAT 08/03] Faced with war in Ukraine, Macron and Scholz as rival allies Today, the engine has broken down at a crucial moment, and the relationship shows all the symptoms of a partnership in crisis. The problem goes far beyond the relationship difficulties between Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Emmanuel Macron. The two men may have very different temperaments, but it is not the first time this has happened in the French-German relationship. The current stalemate stems primarily from the situation created in Europe by Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Scholz immediately understood that this event signified an "epochal change," which he described in a historic speech to the Bundestag three days later. He announced a number of radical measures. But he may not have anticipated the scale of the challenges this epochal change would impose on his country. Read more Subscribers only Germany's rearmament will take time The three-party coalition government (Social Democratic Party, Greens, Liberal Party) headed by Scholz was formed just a few months before the war, and the coalition agreement on which it was based was drawn up in an entirely different context. The economic impact of the Ukrainian crisis, in particular, has undermined the coalition. The political landscape has fragmented considerably over the past two years, marked by the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, the emergence of small radical parties, and the weakening of the major parties. Different strategic cultures The domestic political position of Macron, who is deprived of a majority in Parliament and also faces a rising far right, is hardly more comfortable, even if the nature of the French political system gives the president more leeway than the German chancellor. This makes it difficult to provide joint leadership for Europe. Facing the challenge of a devastating war waged by Russia on the doorstep of the European Union and NATO complicates the task even more so. Read more Subscribers only Macron's call for 'unwavering' support for Kyiv risks isolating him on French political scene There is no doubt that Scholz and Macron are united on the objective of helping Ukraine repel Russian aggression. It's the means of achieving this goal that they disagree on, more and more openly. Their European partners are watching with growing dismay the bitter exchanges between the two leaders, in public or at meetings, on the comparison of the amounts of arms deliveries to Ukraine, on the debate about sending troops, and on the "cowardice" of one or the other. Read more Subscribers only 'The debate over sending troops to Ukraine reveals profound differences in allies' approach to warfare' France and Germany have different approaches to war and different strategic philosophies. Scholz sees no salvation for Europe outside its anchoring with the United States, while Macron calls for a European sovereignty. The weight of history is inevitable. But Europe will not be able to face up to the challenges of a world in upheaval if the German chancellor and the French president refuse to make the effort to act in unison on a subject as existential as war on their continent. An oil and gas trade group has ended a recruitment program that brought Ukrainians from their war-torn country to North Dakota's oil field to fill jobs. The North Dakota Petroleum Council shelved the Bakken Global Recruitment of Oilfield Workers program after placing about 60 Ukrainians with 16 employers from July to November 2023, the group's president, Ron Ness, said. The goal had been to recruit 100 workers by the end of last year and 400 within the first 12 months of the program, not all of them from Ukraine. We just werent seeing the great demand from our members on us to help them with workforce, Ness said. Job placement also isnt a core function of the trade group, he said. Workers who have already been placed can apply to stay in the U.S. for two more years under a recently announced re-parole process, Ness said. Applications will be considered on a discretionary, case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit, according to a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services email announcement. The North Dakota Petroleum Council presented the program as a workforce and humanitarian solution amid a labor shortage in North Dakota and the war in Ukraine. Bakken GROW worked with the Uniting for Ukraine humanitarian program. Ness called it a success but also a tremendous investment on our part in terms of time and staff and all those things. The model is out there and, I think, works very well, he said. I think we were very happy with the matching that we did between Ukrainians who needed our help and we needed their help. The most recent worker arrived about two weeks ago, and two more have travel credentials, Ness said. They will still be able to live and work in North Dakota, he said. Some of the Ukrainian workers have brought family members to North Dakota. In the Dickinson area, workers and their families total about 50 Ukrainians, including roughly 10 young children, said Carter Fong, executive director of Dickinson Area Chamber of Commerce. The chamber has a part-time community connector" who is Ukrainian and who helps the other Ukrainians with accessing housing, health care and other resources, Fong said. Dickinson has a rich Ukrainian heritage, and an initial group of workers in July was welcomed with a lunch at the city's Ukrainian Cultural Institute. Dickinson employer Glenn Baranko hired 12 to 15 Ukrainians, with more to come. Some of those workers were in Alaska and Europe and came to work for him after hearing about the program through media and word of mouth, he said. His companies do a variety of work, including highway construction and oil field environmental services. The Ukrainians Baranko hired have worked in mechanical roles and as heavy equipment operators and cleaned oil field equipment and pipe. Four are working on attaining their commercial driver's licenses. Just one has decided to move on, a worker who gave notice to pursue an opportunity in California. President Emmanuel Macron and MEP Valerie Hayer, who will lead his party Renaissance in the June 2024 European elections, in Chateau-Gontier-sur-Mayenne, October 10, 2022. LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP She is being thrown into the deep end, without a life jacket. Valerie Hayer, the lead candidate for France's ruling coalition in the upcoming European elections, is making her public debut in that role at a rally on Saturday, March 9, at the Grand Palais in Lille. As the daughter and granddaughter of farmers from eastern France, she said she's more "used to putting up posters than seeing her face on them." But she has rehearsed her performance many times ahead of the big day that will kick off a campaign running until June 9. In front of some 4,000 to 5,000 party activists, officials, ministers and supporters, the member of the European Parliament, unknown to the general public, needs to show that there is hope for Macron and his allies, who have no majority in France's Parliament. Read more Subscribers only European elections: Macron chooses little-known Valerie Hayer to head his party's campaign In the polls, more than 10 points separate the presidential camp from the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) list led by Jordan Bardella. But Hayer, who according to advisers to the prime minister turned down a ministerial role in the summer of 2023 to stay focused on European issues, is not pessimistic. Is she doomed to lose? "That's not knowing me very well. That's not knowing the president very well," she said in an interview with broadcaster TF1. The president's coalition would like to see a replay of 2019, when the minister in charge of European affairs, Nathalie Loiseau, made up much of her lost ground during a lightning campaign, in which Macron had played a major part. Once again, the president promises to take on a leading role. "You have to fight," he demanded of his ministers on Wednesday, March 6, as first reported by Le Parisien and confirmed by sources at the Elysee Palace. "Things, in this election, are simple: those who believe in Europe and those who don't. We believe in it so that we can continue to change it," he continued, quoting Louis Aragon's poem "La Rose et le Reseda" ("The Rose and the Reseda"). "The one who believed in heaven / The one who didn't / Both loved the beauty," wrote the communist poet, in a metaphor calling for the unity of the Resistance, during the Second World War, across the political divide. Today, Macron wants to set up a face-off between the pro-European camp, which he wants to unite behind him, and the eurosceptic far-right camp. 'Le Pen is Moscow's Europe' Hayer will be espousing this line on Saturday, pointing to Bardella and the RN as her only real enemies. She will talk about the war in Ukraine, the main angle of attack against Le Pen's party, which is accused of complacency toward Russia. The more seats the RN wins in the European Parliament, the more threatened European values will be, argue Macron's advisers. You have 53.66% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal holds the hand of Valerie Hayer, the lead candidate for the ruling coalition, launch the campaign of the French presidential majority for the European elections in Lille, France, March 9, 2024. STEPHANIE LECOCQ / REUTERS Allies of French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday, March 9, sought to cast the country's far-right forces as bedfellows of the Kremlin as the centrist alliance launched its campaign for European Parliament elections. Speaking in the northern city of Lille, 34-year-old Prime Minister Gabriel Attal lambasted the far-right Rassemblement National (RN), which leads Macron's alliance by a wide margin ahead of the June elections, and accused them of betraying the interests of France and Europe. "They have always said 'no' to Europe," France's youngest prime minister said. "The only difference now is that they are hiding it a little and the 'no' has turned into a 'nyet'," Attal said, accusing Marine Le Pen's party of flirting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Read more Subscribers only French PM suggests 'Putin's troops are already in our country,' pointing at Le Pen Edouard Philippe, Macron's former prime minister and leader of the Horizons party, warned about the risks of appeasement, citing British statesman Winston Churchill to castigate those who are feeding "a crocodile" hoping it will eat them "last." Macron, who plans to join the campaign at a later stage, has asked his ministers to fight the RN "every step of the way" as he tries to curb the rapid rise of the far right. Ukraine a key issue In France's polarized political landscape, Russia's war against Ukraine has emerged as a major hot-button topic. Macron has been seeking to hammer home the importance of greater support for Ukraine and last week caused an uproar by refusing to rule out the dispatch of Western ground troops to the ex-Soviet country. In an apparent response to Macron, Putin has warned of a "real" risk of nuclear war. Read more Subscribers only Macron's call for 'unwavering' support for Kyiv risks isolating him on French political scene The European elections are seen as a key milestone ahead of France's next presidential election in 2027, when Le Pen is expected to mount a fourth bid for the top job and Macron cannot stand again due to term limits. Macron has picked Valerie Hayer, the 37-year-old head of the Renew group in the European Parliament, to lead his camp in the polls. A daughter of French farmers, Hayer is relatively unknown to the public. Speaking in Lille, she also attacked the RN and said her camp's responsibility was to thwart "this worst-case scenario." "In this campaign we will be the only ones to defend Europe," she said. "In three months, we will face a choice: act or suffer, strengthen our Europe or give up in the face of those who want to tear it down," Hayer added. Read more Subscribers only European elections: Macron's coalition looks to frame race as duel with far right The head of the RN's list for the European elections is 28-year-old Jordan Bardella, a rising star of far-right French politics. Last weekend Bardella hammered on the far right's central theme of immigration when the party launched its election campaign in the southern port of Marseille. Members of the opposition have accused the president of using the conflict to boost his coalition's standing ahead of the European elections. Earlier this week, Bardella described Macron's stance on Ukraine as "no limits and no red lines." He said he had pleaded with the French leader "not to go to war with Russia." Read more Subscribers only The French far right's nebulous plan to unravel the EU GARDAI have issued a warning to the public after a parcel was stolen in Limerick. On Thursday, February 29 at 10:20am, a woman in her 60s was in the post office preparing to post a small parcel. She accidentally left the package on the counter and left. A few minutes later, she realised that she had not actually posted the parcel into the post box and returned to the post office. The parcel was gone but as there is excellent CCTV in the area gardai are certain to identify a suspect. Sergeant Ber Leetch, crime prevention officer at Henry Street garda station said: "My concern is how easy it is to make a mistake if we are rushing around. "Take a moment to make sure that you have taken care of your business and have all of your property well secured before you rush off. Criminals are always on the lookout for a chance to steal from you." Nvidia, the semiconductor titan behind AI tools like ChatGPT , is rapidly approaching Apple's spot as the world's second-most valuable company.. In a remarkable rally driven by AI advancements, Nvidia's market valuation has surged from $1 trillion to over $2 trillion in just nine months, surpassing Amazon.com , Google-parent Alphabet , and Saudi Aramco along the way, according to a report by CNBC-TV18. Currently valued at around USD 2.38 trillion, Nvidia trails Apple by approximately USD 230 billion and Microsoft by roughly USD 645 billion. The company's relentless ascent, controlling 80 per cent of the high-end AI chip market, has propelled Wall Street to record highs this year, with Nvidia commanding over a 5 per cent weightage on the benchmark S&P 500 index. Nvidia's staggering 95 per cent surge this year, along with Meta Platforms' 46.6 per cent increase, outpaces other members of the "Magnificent 7," underscoring investors' voracious appetite for AI-related assets. Richard Meckler, a partner at Cherry Lane Investments, notes, "Nvidia's rally reflects the incredibly strong fundamentals underlying its current business model," citing widespread speculative interest from long option buyers amid the stock's upward trajectory throughout 2024, as quoted by CNBC Amidst challenges in iPhone sales, Apple yielded its position as the most valuable U.S. company to Microsoft in January, while Nvidia supplanted Tesla as Wall Street's most traded stock by value in recent weeks. Despite its robust performance, Nvidia's stock may be approaching a peak. Analysts' median target price over the next 12 months suggests a valuation of $850 per share, below the last closing price of $926. David Wagner, portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors, emphasizes Nvidia's comparatively lower forward price-to-earnings ratio, suggesting it's the cheapest of the 'AI narrative' stocks," the CNBC report added. During a recent economic forum at Stanford University, Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang stirred conversation by proposing that artificial general intelligence (AGI) might arise within five years, contingent on how the goal is defined. Huang's comments coincide with Silicon Valley's ongoing quest to develop computers with human-like cognitive abilities, as reported by Mint earlier. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Ranjit Shahani, the former Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Novartis India and Chairman of JB Pharmaceuticals, passed away, according to CNBC-TV18. Ranjit Shahani's influence in India's pharmaceutical and healthcare domains was profound, marked by his leadership across diverse organizations. Armed with a Mechanical Engineering degree from the esteemed Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and an MBA from Mumbai's Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Shahani embarked on a distinguished path. His career traversed various companies, commencing with Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) in India, where he contributed to fibres and speciality chemicals. Shahani then advanced to the role of General Manager at ICI, Zeneca in the UK, overseeing operations across Asia Pacific and Latin America in petrochemicals and plastics, according to Harvard's official website. Yet, it was in the pharmaceutical sphere that Shahani left an enduring legacy. Serving as CEO of Roche Products Limited and subsequently joining Novartis India Limited in 1997, he notably held the positions of Managing Director and Vice Chairman from 2001 to 2018, steering the company to remarkable growth and success. Also Read | Former Vice Chairman of Novartis India Ranjit Shahani passes away Shahani's expertise transcended pharmaceuticals, showcasing his diverse interests and contributions. In addition to his corporate positions, he held the esteemed titles of President Emeritus of the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) and President of the Swiss Indian Chamber of Commerce India. Also Read | Sun, Dr Reddy's, Aurobindo, Lupin, Zydus lead US performance in Q3. Sun Pharma, JB Pharma are BNP Paribas 2 top picks Moreover, he chaired advisory boards at JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, served on the boards of Hikal Ltd and Ambuja Cements Ltd, and chaired the Advisory Board at Voll Sante Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals Pvt Ltd. Also read | Aurobindo Pharma has growth levers, but stock factors brighter picture Additionally, Shahani served as the Managing Director and Vice Chairman at Novartis India Ltd. from 2001 to 2018. His extensive career trajectory underscored his strategic acumen, expertise, and unwavering pursuit of excellence, as per Harvard's website. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Like it or not, political parties are now openly using basic income transfers to woo female voters. Some may refer to the handout as a freebie, or revdi . These schemes are meant to empower women socially and economically. But how is it going to help the beneficiary and what are the economic implications of the scheme and its sustainability in the long run? Mint explains Madhya Pradeshs experiment with Ladli Behna Yojna, some say, delivered the goods for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Assembly elections held in November 2023. Former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the scheme in January 2023 under which eligible women were entitled to 1,000 a month. The amount was increased to 1,250 from October. Earlier this month, Delhi finance minister Atishi presenting the state budget for 2024-25 announced that the Aam Aadmi Party government would launch Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana to give a monthly allowance of 1,000 to all eligible adult female beneficiaries. In an interview with Mint, Atishi said she hopes to transfer the first instalment to bank accounts by October. On the same day, the Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced a similar scheme where women would be given 1,500 a month under the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi Yojna from 1 April. Last August, the newly elected Congress government in Karnataka launched a scheme to transfer 2,000 to women heads of family under the Gruha Lakshmi scheme. The AAP government in Punjab had made a similar promise but it remains on paper perhaps due to the precarious condition of the states finances. The Congress has promised to roll out similar schemes in the rest of the country if it comes to power. Actually, the party had made this commitment in its 2019 Lok Sabha elections manifesto, where it said that it would launch Nyuntam Aay Yojana (abbreviated to Nyay) or a minimum income scheme if voted to power. It had proposed to transfer 6,000 each to the poorest 20% of households. What is the political message? The common messaging was that these income transfer schemes were meant to empower women socially and economically and provide them with a safety net. Ahead of the transfer of the first instalment, Chouhan told a gathering of women that the scheme was meant to change their lives as the amount would not just supplement their household income but also give them the liberty to spend it as they desired. He said that the state government intended to gradually increase the monthly transfer to 3,000. Chouhan described himself as a benevolent elder brother when he rolled out the scheme in Madhya Pradesh. In Delhi, finance minister Atishi said chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was fulfilling the duty of being an elder brother and a son by bringing the scheme. The Congress governments in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh attributed the scheme to the guarantees that the grand old party had given to empower women and improve the lives of the poor. How is the scheme benefitting the women? Such transfers are unconditional and that allows the beneficiary to make her own decisions on how she would like to spend it. Since the money is transferred into a female beneficiarys bank account, it reduces the risk of it being spent by her husband on alcohol. States have not carried out any pilots to study how beneficiaries use unconditional cash transfers but a small project by Self Employed Womens Association of India (SEWA) and Unicef in some very poor villages of Madhya Pradesh a decade ago sheds some light. This small pilot involved the transfer of 200-300 to every adult and 100-150 to every child in the selected villages for 12-17 months. Importantly, the study found that the cash transfer did not make the beneficiaries lazy but rather more productive. Alcohol consumption did not rise either. The money was put to various purposes as a result of which nutritional intake improved, household indebtedness reduced, enrolment and school attendance rose, access to healthcare improved and investment in productive assets rose. For instance, some households invested in goats which led to a sustained increase in their income during the period of the pilot and after. It also led to greater empowerment of women. It strengthened their control over finance and improved their participation in decisions on spending the cash received. What has been the global experience with income transfer schemes? Many studies have been conducted over the years with conditional and unconditional cash transfers in several developing countries. These pilots such as the multi-year one that started in 2017 in Kenya threw up similar results as the SEWA-Unicef pilot. Neither idleness nor drinking increased when cash transfers were made. There were occupational changes with many shifting to self-employment. Commitments such as 12 years of cash transfer led to an increase in savings and investments of the recipient households. This universal basic income pilot, still underway, also found that long-term cash transfer commitment had a more transformative effect than the short-term ones (of two years) and that lumpsum payments led to more entrepreneurial activities among the recipients. The cash transfer pilot in Kenya is a collaboration between non-profits and financial backers. Can governments afford basic income transfers? Running a multi-year basic income programme for the poorest households cannot be possible unless governments at the Centre and states find enough resources for the purpose. It might require governments to reprioritize their spending plans or fold some of the existing welfare schemes into a basic income programme. Former chief economic adviser in the finance ministry, Arvind Subramanian, making a case for universal basic income in the Economic Survey of 2016-17 argues for replacing some of the ongoing welfare schemes with a cash transfer scheme, rather than running them parallelly. The Survey noted that the inefficiencies in the plethora of welfare schemes of the Centre and state governments had failed to lift people out of poverty. However, withdrawing welfare schemes might not be easy. How much do these governments spend on these schemes? While Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh have launched income transfer schemes for women, it remains to be seen how long these schemes will be run. Karnataka will be spending more than 28,600 crore on this scheme, or about 63% of the total estimated expenditure on social welfare and nutrition. The spending is about 8% of the total expenditure of the state for 2024-25. Delhi has made an outlay of 2,000 crore for the scheme, and thats about 2.6% of its total expenditure of 76,000 crore for 2024-25. Madhya Pradesh had estimated that the Ladli Behna Yojna would entail an annual outlay of 15,000 crore when the scheme was rolled out last year. In a recent statement, Tesla CEO Elon Musk expressed his concerns about the challenges and delays associated with legal immigration to the United States. Musk, who is an immigrant himself, highlighted the need for a more efficient and streamlined process for individuals who are talented, hard-working, and honest. Addressing the issue on X, Musk emphasized that his concerns about the flood of unvetted illegal immigrants overwhelming American cities do not make him "anti-immigrant." Instead, he clarified that he strongly supports increased and expedited legal immigration for those who meet certain criteria. Musk voiced his frustration with the current legal immigration system, describing it as "bizarrely difficult and agonizingly slow." According to him, the lengthy and cumbersome legal immigration process stands in stark contrast to the ease with which individuals can enter the country illegally. In his post on X, the tech mogul said, Because I am raising concerns about the flood of unvetted illegal immigrants overwhelming American cities, the press will often characterize me as anti-immigrant. As an immigrant myself, nothing could be further from the truth." He added, "I am very much in favor of increased and expedited legal immigration for anyone who is talented, hard-working and honest. It is bizarrely difficult and agonizingly slow to immigrate to the USA legally, but trivial and fast to enter illegally! This obviously makes no sense." Previously, the CEO of Tesla criticized the range of benefits and services provided to undocumented immigrants in the United States. Musk, who has been vocal about his concerns regarding the Biden administration's approach to the border crisis, recently expressed his worries about the economic consequences of illegal immigration through a series of posts on social media. "A few other things you probably dont know: illegals in America can get bank loans, mortgages, insurance, drivers licenses, free healthcare (California & New York) and in-state college tuition," Musk wrote. "Whats the point of being a citizen if an illegal gets all the benefits, but doesnt pay taxes or do jury duty?" said the tech giant last month. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! SEATTLE (AP) Boeing has acknowledged in a letter to Congress that it cannot find records for work done on a door panel that blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight over Oregon two months ago. We have looked extensively and have not found any such documentation," Ziad Ojakli, Boeing executive vice president and chief government lobbyist, wrote to Sen. Maria Cantwell on Friday. The company said its working hypothesis" was that the records about the panel's removal and reinstallation on the 737 MAX final assembly line in Renton, Washington, were never created, even though Boeing's systems required it. The letter, reported earlier by The Seattle Times, followed a contentious Senate committee hearing Wednesday in which Boeing and the National Transportation Safety Board argued over whether the company had cooperated with investigators. The safety boards chair, Jennifer Homendy, testified that for two months Boeing repeatedly refused to identify employees who work on door panels on Boeing 737s and failed to provide documentation about a repair job that included removing and reinstalling the door panel. Its absurd that two months later we dont have that," Homendy said. Without that information, that raises concerns about quality assurance, quality management, safety management systems" at Boeing. Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington, demanded a response from Boeing within 48 hours. Shortly after the Senate hearing, Boeing said it had given the NTSB the names of all employees who work on 737 doors and had previously shared some of them with investigators. In the letter, Boeing said it had already made clear to the safety board that it couldn't find the documentation. Until the hearing, it said, Boeing was not aware of any complaints or concerns about a lack of collaboration." Boeing has been under increasing scrutiny since the Jan. 5 incident in which a panel that plugged a space left for an extra emergency door blew off an Alaska Airlines Max 9. Pilots were able to land safely, and there were no injuries. In a preliminary report last month, the NTSB said four bolts that help keep the door plug in place were missing after the panel was removed so workers could repair nearby damaged rivets last September. The rivet repairs were done by contractors working for Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems, but the NTSB still does not know who removed and replaced the door panel, Homendy said Wednesday. The Federal Aviation Administration recently gave Boeing 90 days to say how it will respond to quality-control issues raised by the agency and a panel of industry and government experts. The panel found problems in Boeings safety culture despite improvements made after two Max 8 jets crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! The National Investigation Agency released a fresh image of the prime suspect in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast that took place in Bengaluru on March 1. While sharing the visuals of the suspect for the third time, the NIA sought public help to track the suspected bomber. While sharing the images on social media, X, NIA urged the citizens to cooperate for faster identification of the blast case suspect. People who can identify the person shown in the images have been requested to call 08029510900, 8904241100 or email info.blr.nia@gov.in with any information. The agency, in its post, also assured to maintain the confidentiality of the suspect. Earlier, the investigation agency had announced a 10 lakh bounty for anyone who would give information about the suspect. In the previous visuals of the suspected bomber, he can be seen boarding a bus and changing his seat. In another set of visuals shared by the NIA, he can be even spotted without a mask or hat. In another video of the suspect released by the anti-terror agency, the person (yet to be identified) can be seen strolling at a bus stop in Bengaluru. "NIA announces a cash reward of 10 lakh rupees for information about the bomber in Rameshwaram Cafe blast case of Bengaluru. Informants' identity will be kept confidential," the agency posted from its X handle. The IED blast case at Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe was taken over by the NIA on March 3. The cafe in Bengaluru's Whitefield area was hit by a low-intensity blast on March 1, after which it was closed to the public. The blast left several people injured at the cafe. Bengaluru Rameshwaram Cafe reopens after a week since blast Nearly a week, since the blast shook the popular eatery in Bengaluru, Rameshwaram Cafe opened again for the public on Saturday. The cafe was reopened with heightened security measures. The cafe was reopened with huge pomp and show on the occasion of Mahashivratri on Friday. People were allowed to visit the cafe from Saturday. To avoid any similar incidents in future, metal detectors have been installed at the entrance of the eatery for screening. Apart from this, every customer would be screened by the staff with handheld detectors before entering the cafe. Strict vigilance on all the customers will eliminate the opportunity of any similar attack. Moreover, the staff will look out for any suspicious activity. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! EC on Lok Sabha polls 2024 schedule: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has debunked rumors circulating on WhatsApp regarding the schedule for the Lok Sabha elections. On Friday, the ECI clarified that no official dates have been announced yet for the elections. The commission emphasised that any information regarding election dates will be communicated through a press conference. This clarification serves to address concerns about misinformation spreading through social media platforms like WhatsApp. "A fake message is being shared on WhatsApp regarding the schedule for #LokSabhaElections2024 #FactCheck: The message is #Fake. No dates have been announced so far by #ECI. The Election Schedule is announced by the Commission through a press conference. #VerifyBeforeYouAmplify," ECI said in a post on X. The names have been announced for Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshwadeep, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Telangana and Tripura. Of the total 39 candidates announced, 16 are from Kerala, seven from Karnataka and six from Chhattisgarh, four from Telangana. Two from Meghalaya and one each from Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim and Lakshwadeep. The list was released after the party held its Central Election Committee meeting on Thursday. A total of 16 candidates have been announced from Kerala, including Shashi Tharoor from Thiruvananthapuram and Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad, seat he won in 2019. Congress party's second Election Committee meeting will be held on March 11 in Delhi to discuss the candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will contest from Varanasi for a third time as the BJP released its first list of 195 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, naming 34 Union ministers, including heavyweights like Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh from their current Gandhinagar and Lucknow seats respectively. The list of candidates for the 195 constituencies included nearly 155 seats the party had won in the 2019 polls. In this list, The party has dropped over 20 per cent of its MPs. -With agency inputs Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Every year Sunshine Week shines a light on the importance of, among a variety of issues, open records and open meetings. The week spotlights key ways Americans get their news and the tools journalists have available to access sources. Every year there are new challenges for journalists trying to do their jobs. This years Sunshine Week is March 10-16. Sunshine Week is a collaboration among groups in the journalism, civic, education, government and private sectors that shines a light on the importance of public records and open government. North Dakotans should appreciate that the state has good open records and open meetings laws. North Dakotans should also realize these laws that safeguard the public are under constant attack. Some of the attacks are full frontal, others more devious that seek to chip away at the legal protections. Every legislative session there are efforts to undermine these laws. Fortunately, we have the North Dakota Newspaper Association along with people and other groups that are on alert to protect open meetings and records. It gets more difficult every year. The growth of social media and artificial intelligence poses new challenges every year. This campaign year it will be hard to discern which campaign ads are genuine and which are fakes. The public cant be expected to figure out whats real and whats a fake. They should question what they see and hear, checking fact-checkers for the truth. Theres also an internal threat to what makes Sunshine Week so important. As newsrooms get smaller across the nation it becomes more difficult for journalists to pursue open records. The desire is there, but they are usually juggling a number of stories with limited time. Any obstacles thrown in their way just adds to delays. Fortunately, we still have a lot of dedicated journalists seeking the facts. The city of Fargo is an example of how government entities are trying to spin the news. Fargo has a 12-member, centralized communications team with total salaries approaching $1 million this year. That would be a fine salary budget for a newsroom of that size. Now when covering events in Fargo you have to go through the communications team. Even in crime stories, reporters are sent to a communications team member, not a member of law enforcement. When a police officer was killed and two officers wounded last summer in Fargo, a communications team member interviewed the survivors and released a video of the interview. Journalists are looking for direct contact with those involved in breaking news. Someone working for the city of Fargo cant be expected to ask hard questions that might put the city in a bad light. When government entities try to spin the news its a direct attack on open meetings and records. Government entities shouldnt make it more difficult to cover the news. Nor should they mimic the news. They are government employees, not reporters. These are just a few of the threats facing the coverage of news in 2024. It wont get any easier in 2025. As long as journalists refuse to take no for an answer and as long as the public refuses to accept filtered news, theres hope. Arun Goel resigned from the post of the Election Commissioner (EC) of India on Saturday. His decision to resign came ahead of the Lok Sabha Election 2024. Who is Arun Goel? Arun Goel assumed charge as Election Commissioner on November 21, 2022. He is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1985 batch, Punjab cadre. Arun Goel served as a secretary at the Ministry of Heavy Industry, Government of India, after more than 37 years of service. In this role, he "catalyzed the E-vehicle movement in India to a Tipping Point", the Elections Commission's website says. ALSO READ: Ex-bureaucrat Arun Goel assumes charge as new election commissioner He also implemented the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Auto Industry in a record time and PLI for Advanced Chemistry Cell Battery Storage. He also worked as Vice-Chairman, Delhi Development Authority; Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor, Ministry of Labour and Employment; Joint Secretary, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, news agency PTI reported. ALSO READ: Election Commissioner Arun Goel's file got clearances in 'haste', 'tearing hurry': SC Goyal was District Election Officer of Ludhiana district (1995-2000) and Bathinda district (1993-94). He was Born on December 7, 1962, in Patiala, Punjab. He earned a M.Sc.(Mathematics) degree and was awarded the Chancellors Medal of Excellence for being First Class First. ALSO READ: Any hanky panky?: Supreme Court to Centre on Arun Goels appointment as Election Commissioner As per her profile on the Election Commission's website, Goel was a "record breaker throughout in all the examinations of Punjabi University". He holds a Post-Graduate degree in Development Economics from Churchill College, University of Cambridge, England. He has been trained at the John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA. Arun Goel resign Arun Goel's resignation as the Election Commissioner was accepted by President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday. "In pursuance of clause (1) of Section 11 of The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, the President is pleased to accept the resignation tendered by Shri Arun Goel, Election Commissioner with effect from the 9th March, 2024", an official statement from the Ministry of Law and Justice read. Who is next Election Commissioner? Following Goel's resignation, the three-member EC has now only one member: Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. So the the Election Commission is now headed only by the Chief Election Commissioner. There is no election commissioners as of now. According to the new law on appointment of CEC and ECs, a search committee headed by the law minister and comprising two union secretaries will shortlist five names. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Top news of the week: Here are some of the top news stories from India during the week of March 3rd to March 8th: Lok Sabha polls: Congress's first list of candidates out The Congress party released its first list of 39 candidates for the Lok Sabha 2024 polls on March 8. Among the prominent names in the list include, Rahul Gandhi, from Wayanad in Kerala, Shashi Tharoor from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel from Rajnandgaon, former minister Tamardwaj Sahu from Mahasamund and Jyotsna Mahant from Korba seats in Chhattisgarh. DK Suresh will contest from Bangalore Rural in Karnataka, and K Sudhakaran from Kannur. Congress general secretary KC Venugopal will contest from Alapuzza. The names were approved by the party's Central Election Committee (CEC) which had its first meeting in the national capital on Thursday, March 7. Sudha Murty nominated to Rajya Sabha, informs PM Modi Author and philanthropist Sudha Murty has been nominated to the Rajya Sabha by President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on March 8 via social media platform X. "I am delighted that the President of India has nominated Sudha Murty Ji to the Rajya Sabha. Sudha Ji's contributions to diverse fields including social work, philanthropy, and education have been immense and inspiring. Her presence in the Rajya Sabha is a powerful testament to our 'Nari Shakti,' exemplifying the strength and potential of women in shaping our nation's destiny. Wishing her a fruitful Parliamentary tenure," stated the Prime Minister in his post. The President of India nominates 12 members to the Upper House of Parliament for their outstanding contributions to arts, literature, sciences, and social services. PM Modi's maiden visit to Kashmir after abrogation of Article 370 Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Jammu and Kashmir's capital Srinagar on Thursday and participated in the 'Viksit Bharat Viksit Jammu Kashmir' programme today at Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar. PM unveiled 5,000 crore worth of projects and programmes. PM Modi launched multiple projects related to the tourism sector worth more than 1400 crore under Swadesh Darshan and PRASHAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive) scheme. Prime Minister launched the 'Chalo India Global Diaspora Campaign' to inspire the Indian diaspora to become Incredible India ambassadors and promote tourism to India. Shehbaz Sharif took oath as Pakistan PM for second time Shehbaz Sharif was sworn in as Pakistan's Prime Minister for the second time on Monday, following nearly four weeks of uncertainty stemming from a national election. The swearing-in ceremony took place at the presidential office in Islamabad, where Sharif, aged 72, assumed office. His appointment came a day after parliament elected him Prime Minister, despite objections from lawmakers aligned with the incarcerated former Prime Minister, Imran Khan. Lok Sabha polls 2024: NDA seat-sharing finalised in Maharashtra, announcement soon Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena is speculated to get 13 seats, while Ajit Pawar faction of NCP will get six seats in the seat-sharing formula that is being worked out among National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners in Maharashtra. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to field candidates on 29 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra, according to a report in Republic news channel. Another report, however, suggested that the BJP is expected to contest elections on more than 32 seats in the state. EAM Jaishankar takes dig at Maldives amid big bully claims, says, Big bullies don't provide $4.5 bn to neighbours During a book launch event in the national capital, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar responded pointedly to a question regarding India's role in the sub-continent and the Indian Ocean region, dismissing the notion of India being a bully. As reported by ANI, Jaishankar emphasized that big bullies" do not extend aid amounting to USD 4.5 billion when neighbouring countries face distress. EAM Jaishankar at the event on Sunday, The big change today in this part of the world is what has happened between India and its neighbours. When you say India is perceived as a big bully, you know, big bullies don't provide four and a half billion dollars when the neighbours are in trouble." 'Deeply shocked': Israel responds after Kerala man killed in Hezbollah rocket attack Israel has expressed "deep shock" after an Indian man from Kerala died in a missile attack by Hezbollah along the border with Lebanon in Northern Israel on Monday. The deceased has been identified as 31-year-old Nibin Maxwell, son of Pathrose Maxwell, from Kollam district in Kerala. Reports have confirmed that two other Indians from Kerala only have been injured severely. Israel's embassy on the X platform wrote, "We are deeply shocked and saddened by the death of one Indian national and the injury of two others due to a cowardly terror attack launched by Shia Terror organization Hezbollah, on peaceful agriculture workers who were cultivating an orchard at the northern village of Margaliot yesterday early afternoon". (With inputs from agencies) Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! The India-EFTA (European Free Trade Association) free trade agreement is scheduled to be signed on Sunday. This will mark the first formally signed FTA among India's ongoing trade talks. Negotiations with Oman and the UK are also in the final stages. The India-EFTA deal will be signed at Bharat Mandapam. Mint first reported that the FTA with the four-nation EFTA comprising Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland was to be taken up by the Cabinet for approval and the deal was to be inked on Sunday. The draft agreement was cleared by the Cabinet on Thursday. Mint also reported that the four-nation bloc has offered duty-free market access for India's animal products, fish, processed food, and vegetable oils in the trade pact. The EFTA nations have also proposed a $100 billion investment in India by their companies over 15 years, which is estimated to create about a million jobs. The two sides began negotiations for a trade treaty in 2008. Queries emailed to the commerce secretary and its spokesperson on Saturday afternoon were not immediately answered. However, trade experts don't see any major gain from the deal, considering that 98% of India's exports to Switzerland are industrial goods entering at zero tariffs. India's agricultural exports are minimal and unlikely to increase significantly due to strict quality standards and non-tariff barriers," said Ajay Srivastava, who heads trade think tank, Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI). The GTRI has also raised concerns about private firms deciding investments based on their criteria. "What mechanism would be used to get EFTA to create one million jobs or attract $100 billion in investments is to be seen. Generally, FTA texts do not have such provisions," he said. Gold will be a tricky issue for India as the precious yellow metal, accounting for 80% of India's imports from Switzerland, is a critical factor. If the FTA does not include gold, it may not meet the WTO Article XXIV condition for FTAs to have duty cuts on substantial trade. Making concessions on bound duty but above the current applied duty will not result in any effective concession," Srivastava added. India has a large trade deficit with EFTA, especially with Switzerland. In FY2023, India's imports from EFTA were significantly higher than its exports, leading to a trade deficit of $14.8 billion. Switzerland's decision to eliminate import duties on all industrial goods for all countries, effective from 1 January 2024, diminishes the benefits India could gain from the FTA. This directly affects 98% of Indias merchandise exports to Switzerland," he said. India faces difficulties in exporting agricultural produce to Switzerland due to a complex web of tariffs, quality standards, and approval requirements, but EFTA has not shown any inclination to make agriculture tariffs zero on most basic agricultural produce," Srivastava said. The potential gains for India in the services sector are limited, with the FTA likely to maintain existing levels of policy commitments, offering little advantage to India," he said. Indias exports to the EFTA countries in FY24 (April 2023-January 2024) were at $1.87 billion, including items like chemicals, pharmaceuticals, apparel, and pearls, precious and semi-precious stones. India imported goods worth $20.45 billion from the EFTA countries in 2023, including pearls, precious or semiprecious stones, precious metals and coins valued at $16.7 billion. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! A flight in China experienced a delay of over four hours on Wednesday due to a passenger throwing coins into the engine, as reported by Chinese state media. As reported by CNN, the China Southern Airlines flight CZ8805, set to depart from Sanya to Beijing at 10 a.m. local time on March 6, was eventually able to take off around 2:16 p.m. local time, according to flight-tracking websites Flightradar24 and Flight Aware. A video circulated by various state media channels depicts a flight attendant interrogating a passenger suspected of tossing coins, inquiring about the number thrown into the engine. Also Read: British billionaire Richard Branson gifts free cruise tickets to all passengers of Delta flight | Watch The individual, unidentified in the footage or by state media, responds, stating "three to five" coins. Subsequently, airport police reportedly removed the passenger involved, as per Chinese Southern Airlines cited by state media. The aircraft maintenance staff conducted a comprehensive safety inspection and determined that there were no safety issues before takeoff," the airlines customer service told state media. China Southern Airlines issued a warning against uncivilized behaviours" on their official Chinese social media Weibo account. It read, Throwing coins at the plane poses a threat to aviation safety and will result in different levels of punishment." Also Read: Flight turns stadium as 'Sachiiiiiin, Sachiiiiiin!' chants fill the air, Tendulkar joins hands: Viral video In recent years, there have been several similar incidents in China where individuals have thrown coins at planes, presumably in hopes of bringing "good luck." In October of last year, a flight operated by China Southern Airlines experienced a delay in Guangzhou due to a passenger reportedly tossing coins toward the aircraft. Similarly, in 2021, a GX Airlines flight travelling from Weifang to Haikou was cancelled after multiple coins wrapped in red paper were found on the ground, CNN reported. Also Read: Pakistan plane crash in May 2020 blamed on human error Additionally, in 2017, an elderly passenger threw coins at a China Southern Airlines plane during boarding at Shanghai's Pudong International Airport, stating it was done as a "prayer for a safe flight." Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Vivek Ramaswamy once again spoke against the TikTok ban saying that bashing the China-based social media platform is easy. Understanding the actual issue is harder. Coming in support of Donald Trump, he noted that the former president was right in opposing a legislative ban and further criticised other Republic candidates saying many people in professional politics say what they are supposed to say without thinking about the why. He further opined, The real concern about Tiktok is the addictive issue and in that case, it is not only about Tiktok but a bunch of other social media platforms He predicted, Eventually other Republican candidates will join Tiktok too. But, if that happens, let's do it in a way that wins 2024 elections The comment comes as President Joe Biden said on Friday he would sign legislation that gives China's ByteDance about six months to divest the popular TikTok as his rival Donald Trump raised concerns about a ban of the service used by 170 million Americans. The U.S. House of Representatives plans to vote on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week on the TikTok crackdown bill after a committee on Thursday unanimously approved the measure. "If they pass it, I'll sign it," Biden said Meanwhile, Trump expressed objections to banning TikTok, saying on social media: "If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook ... will double their business," and added he does not want Facebook "doing better." Tiktok discussion in third GOP presidential debate TikTok was the flashpoint at the third GOP presidential debate in November, with multiple candidates pledging to ban it if they become president. Ramaswamy, who however spoke against the ban, had said the government should go further and ban any U.S. company that actually transfers U.S. data to the Chinese." During the event, Ramaswamy took a shot at Nikki Haley, saying she has been critical of his TikTok use but that her own daughter uses TikTok and she should take care of her family first." Haley shot back: Keep my daughter out of your voice youre just scum." Meanwhile, Ron DeSantis said TikTok is polluting the minds" of Americas young people and China is the top threat the U.S. faces. In order to do that its not just military. Its economic, and its cultural." (With agency inputs) Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! It has been reported that a panel set up by the government is set to recommend a new digital competition law for regulating Big Tech companies. The law will prescribe an ex-ante framework for regulating digital markets, potential abuse of dominance or other anti-trust practices, especially by Big Tech companies that have 10% of their global base in India or having turnover of more than 2,000 crore. Competition in digital markets is regulated in India at present by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The CCI has powers under the Competition Act, 2002 (Competition Act) to investigate and impose targeted remedies on digital platforms. It has in the past 10 years initiated investigations in more than 30 cases, including against Google, Matrimony.com, UrbanClap, Meru Travel, Gmail, WhatsApp, Meta, Flipkart, Zomato and MakeMyTrip. The idea of framing of an ex-ante regulatory framework started gaining currency after the parliamentary standing committee on finance recommended it in its 53rd report, the Anti-competitive Practices by Big Tech Companies. After which the government constituted the committee on Digital Competition Law in February 2023 and asked it to assess if having just the competition law would be sufficient for the purpose of regulating digital markets. It also asked this committee to prepare a draft digital competition law. At the same time, Parliament also cleared amendments to the Competition Act, 2002 for strengthening the broader competition regulatory framework. Now, it seems that India is keen to import the EUs much-criticised ex-ante regulation framework, side-stepping the internal debates of the committee that were centred on evaluating the significant costs an ex-ante framework will impose on the rapidly evolving digital markets (such as false positives) and if those will outweigh its potential benefits. Ex-ante regulations are already in use for some parts of digital markets. Under the FDI policy, for instance, foreign funded e-commerce businesses are not permitted to directly or indirectly influence the sale price of goods and services sold on their platforms. The idea is to ensure a level playing field for all sellers. The Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules, 2020 (Consumer Protection Rules) disallow manipulation of prices, discrimination between consumers and unfair trade practices by e-commerce companies. But the same may not work for competition regulation. Ex-ante regulation is known to generate what are called false positives". A good example of this is conduct that does not lead to anti-competitive effects still getting labelled as anti-competitive because an ex-ante regime is operationalized by the setting up of a rule-based framework of restrictions. In contrast, an ex-post system operates though effects-based restrictions. An ex-ante system of regulation is especially unconducive for digital markets that are evolving in unpredictable ways. It cannot be known beforehand who new market entrants would be and what impact their entry will have on the markets. Its not clear why the existing regulatory framework has been found wanting by the committee when digital markets are growing impressively, even as the regulator, CCI, has been examining allegedly abusive conduct ex-post. In the current system, digital businesses show the efficiencies accruing from their conduct impugned by the CCI and the regulator has often concluded that intervention would not be necessary. The risk of an ex-ante system will be that digital players will not have the opportunity to show how their conduct being assessed may have consumer benefits or other positive effects that actually offset competition concerns. This loss of opportunities for providing justification for their conduct could act as a disincentives for innovation, market competition and consumer welfare as digital players may constantly act out of the fear of violating the law. This is not to say that the current system is perfect. It is beset with delays for instance, where cases drag on for years. But strengthening the existing regulatory weaknesses, such as vacancies remaining unfulfilled in the CCI for years, slow pace of capacity building, it has been argued, will do the job. The standing committees argument for recommending ex-ante regulation was that time is of the essence in digital markets that tip quickly and one or two winners emerge in a short span of time". While true, this is not an unsurmountable problem for the CCI, which already has recourse to provisions under the Competition Act for imposing interim measures to limit possibility of abuse of dominance while investigation is still being carried out. An instance where the CCI used these powers was in a case involving MakeMyTrip and OYO. It has been the governments stated objective to avoid unnecessary laws; it has been rescinding outdated, unnecessary legislations and rules and regulations. Minimum government and ease of doing business call for avoiding the typical problems of ex-ante regulatory frameworks. During the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Old City Metro Rail Project in Hyderabad district on Friday, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy praised AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi , highlighting his advocacy for all Indians in Parliament. As reported by ANI, Revanth Reddy said, Our government is working on a master plan to develop every corner of Hyderabad. This master plan, called Vibrant Telangana 2050, aims to create a complete plan for the next 25 years. For this purpose only, I visited London to see the Thames River. I brought Akbaruddin Owaisi with me as he has been consistently winning from here. Despite my efforts to defeat him, I couldn't succeed." Also Read: Congress' Revanth Reddy calls PM Modi big brother, says Telangana has to follow Gujarat model for development Telangana CM added, I chose to go to London with him because he has more knowledge than me. Just like that Asaduddin Owaisi, in the Lok Sabha raises his voice not just for the minority but for all 140 crore Indians, emphasizing that he represents everyone in parliament, not just a specific community." He further said that the Telangana government will jointly work with AIMIM for the development of Hyderabad. Also Read: Asaduddin Owaisi visits Hyderabad's Rameshwaram Cafe, condemns blast at Bengaluru branch: Attack on India's values "Our responsibility is to undertake all the necessary developments in Hyderabad, especially the 55km Musi River development. We are committed to showcasing the most beautiful Musi River development globally. Collaborating with AIMI, we will work towards the holistic development of Hyderabad," Revanth Reddy said. Speaking on the occasion Asaduddin Owaisi confirmed his support to the Telangana government for Hyderbad's development. "The Chief Minister's dream project of Musi River development is commendable, and our party stands firmly with you. We are eager to contribute wherever needed to ensure the successful completion of the Musi River development during your tenure. This comprehensive initiative promises substantial benefits for the local population. Additionally, as the Metro Rail project reaches its completion, it will further enhance the welfare of the people in this region," Asaduddin Owaisi said. "Our party will cooperate with the state government for the development of the city," he added. Also Read: Chhatrapati Shivaji was a great king of poor and oppressed, was not against Islam: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi Further, the Old City Metro Rail Project aims to expand the next phase of the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HM) to various parts of the twin cities, including the Old City. The objective is to connect it to the Hyderabad airport for the benefit of the underprivileged and common citizens. Addressing the gathering Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy contested the notion of it being the old city, asserting it as the original Hyderabad, renowned globally. I don't want to give long speeches, but expressing our heartfelt sentiments will bring me solace. This city speaks a lot; they call it the old city, but I don't believe it's not the old city; it's the original Hyderabad city. It's renowned worldwide. We are making efforts to take this original Hyderabad city to greater heights. Think about it, from 2004 to 2014, the Congress party brought water from Nagarjuna Sagar Dam to this city and also brought Godavari water to Hyderabad," Reddy noted. Also Read: There for you, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy after Indian student Syed Mazhar Ali attacked in Chicago Under the leadership of Shabbir Ali, who was in charge of Hyderabad, the Congress party built the Metro Rail in Hyderabad. Everything in Hyderabad, be it the Outer Ring Road, International Airport, IT companies, pharma companies--all brought by the Congress between 2004 and 2014," he added. "Therefore, to develop this original Hyderabad city in our government, I will keep asking you all, how Hyderabad is progressing because my village is right here, and I'll always have connections here. We know the ins and outs of every alley in Hyderabad," he added. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Eleven Himachal Pradesh MLAs, including six rebels and three independent representatives, arrived in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand, signaling ongoing infighting within the state Congress. As per reports, the group, disembarking from a heavily guarded bus with Haryana's number plate, reached Uttarakhand's Rishikesh's Taj Hotel on Saturday. This comes only two days after Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu visited Delhi to meet top Congress leaders. As per reports, the visit is regarding the recent political developments in the state and Lok Sabha elections preparations. The six rebel MLAs who were disqualified from the Assembly were Sudhir Sharma, Rajinder Rana, Davinder K Bhutto, Ravi Thakur, Chaitanya Sharma, and Inder Dutt Lakhanpal under the anti-defection law. After the 2022 Assembly elections, the Congress had 40 MLAs, while the BJP had 25 in the 68-member state assembly. The remaining three seats are held by independents. These rebel legislators have cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha polls. In the Rajya Sabha election recently, the BJP, which has only 25 MLAs, managed to secure 9 additional votes. On being asked whether he is in contact with the rebel MLAs Sukhu said, "I am working for the welfare of people. My Council of Ministers and MLAs are busy with that. None of the MLAs have got in touch with me." BJP trying to topple government: Sukhu Meanwhile, he slammed the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which was apparently trying to topple his government by keeping the rebel Congress MLAs under the stiff security cover of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Sukhu said that their family members were putting pressure on them to come back to their home state. "I have just come to know through social media that they (rebel MLAs) were taken away from the hotel in Panchkula and a charter plane flew from Chandigarh airport. I don't know where it will land. This is because their family members were putting pressure on them to return," Sukhu said. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has sealed a seat-sharing deal with the Congress and filmmaker Kamal Haassan's Makkal Needhi Maiam for Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu. Kamal Haasan made the announcement of the alliance in Chennai on March 9 "My party and I are not contesting this election. But we will give all cooperation to this alliance. We have joined hands as this is not just for a position, this is for the nation," Haasan said. Haasan also met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and state Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin at the DMK office in Chennai. MNM will not contest any seats in Lok Sabha, though. Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) is not contesting (the Lok Sabha elections), the party will support and campaign. One seat for MNM in Rajya Sabha (in 2025)," said party's general secretary Arunachalam. Also Read : Jaffer Sadiq, former DMK functionary, arrested by NCB over international drug cartel links DMK had been working on a seat-sharing with the Congress, an INDIA bloc ally. The two parties are alliance partners in the Tamil Nadu state government. Haasan had indicated his leaning towards the DMK-led Congress inclusive alliance in Tamil Nadu several months ago. Earlier in September last year, DMK leader and Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin hinted at his party allying with Hassan's MNM ahead of the parliamentary polls. Tamil Nadu sends 39 seats to Lok Sabha. The DMK-led alliance which included the Congress, CPI, CPI (M), Viduthalai Chiruthaikal (VCK) and a host of smaller parties have swept the state by bagging 38 of the 39 seats in 2019. The remaining one seat was won by AIADMK. Also Read : This Kamal Haasan movie is set to return to cinemas, gets re-release after 1987 Tamil Nadu is one the states where BJP-led NDA failed to perform well in the last general elections. In 2019, the Lok Sabha polls were held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19. The result, declared on May 23, saw a landslide victory for the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi with 303 seats in the 543-member House. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Inclusivity is at the heart of the poll campaigns and manifestoes (yet to be released) by political parties, especially the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress. Over the years, parties have focused on "inclusivity" and "people-friendly" policies. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections too, political parties have upped their ante to seek public opinions to formulate their manifestos and campaigns. Whether it's Prime Minister Narendra Modi's latest catch-phrase "Modi ka Parivar" or the Congress' Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra many tactics of these political parties reflect upon their intent to include the general public in the planning and strategy, especially to emerge as a party which can relate to the common man. Here's a look at how the BJP and Congress are emphasising inclusivity: Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) 1. 'Modi ka Parivar' The BJP is trying to make 'Modi ka Parivar' a mass campaign ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. This is seen as yet another attempt to make the public/voters connect with PM Modi and promote the idea of "one family" "Mera Bharat, Mera parivar". This is in line with the Mai bhi Chowkidar" theme in 2019 and chaiwala" theme in the 2014 general elections. After Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Yadav's "Modi has no family" jibe, several BJP leaders suffixed their names on social media profiles with "Modi Ka Parivar". Meanwhile, PM Modi's social media handles posted: Entire nation is saying in one voice Main Hoon Modi Ka Parivar!" 2. Crowdsourcing opinions for the manifesto The BJP has sought suggestions from the public to formulate its poll manifesto ahead of the Lok Sabha elections this year. "Your inputs will shape BJP's 2024 election manifesto," the BJP's poster read. In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), PM Modi said, "I invite the youth of India to contribute to the BJP Manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections." He asked the youth to share their thoughts on the NaMo App or comment section on PM Narendra Modi's website. To make it more participatory and maintain direct contact with the general public, the prime minister said he would also meet "some of the contributors" in person and discuss the inputs shared. 3. How you feel about your govt and MP/MLAs Citizens are able to directly tell PM Modi, through an app-based survey, how they believe their local MP/MLA performed over the years. PM Modi's 'NaMo' app launched a 'Jan Man Survey' to gauge the popular mood on a variety of aspects of governance and leadership. This included gauging people's views about the performance of the central government and their local MP. The BJP launched one such survey for the first time on 2018. On January 1, the prime minister urged the citizens to take the Jan Man Survey and share their views on the progress achieved by India in the last 10 years. What do you think of the progress achieved by India in various sectors in the last 10 years? Share your feedback directly with me through the Jan Man Survey on the NaMo App!," PM Modi posted on X on New Year's Day. "This is an innovative survey that aims to tap into the 'jan man' (the common man's mind) to know what is on citizens' minds through an interesting and gamified interface," BJP sources were quoted by PTI as saying last year. "...The ruling party feels that this participatory process will empower individuals to express their opinions, underscoring the importance of each citizen's perspective in the democratic process," the sources added. 4. Door-to-door campaign The BJP launched state-specific campaigns as well. Madhya Pradesh BJP chief VD Sharma announced on Thursday that party workers will go door-to-door carrying suggestion boxes to seek the opinion of the public on the BJP's manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls. In Goa, the BJP flagged off two vans in North and South Goa Lok Sabha seats on March 2 to gather inputs from people for its poll manifesto. Similar campaigns have been launched in other states. Congress 1. Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is seen as one of the ways by which the Congress aims to inform people about its ideology and interact with the public over the persisting social, economic, and political issues. A Delhi Congress leader said in February that through the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Rahul Gandhi understood the problems of the common people and took up their issues with the authorities for solutions. "It is a movement to raise the people's voice....," the Congress says. The grand old party added, "The yatra focuses on justice, emphasising the delivery of justice to all by walking through 15 states, transcending political affiliations, against the rising tide of injustice and hatred..." The party also urged people to join the "movement" and "become Nyay Yoddhas, warriors for justice". To make this more participatory, the party urges people to become "part of the change and to walk towards a brighter future". 2. Seeking suggestions for Congress Manifesto The Congress sought suggestions for its Lok Sabha manifesto from citizens. Congress leader P Chidambaram launched its email id awaazbharatki@inc.in in the hope that "thousands of citizens will send in their suggestions for inclusion in the Congress Manifesto". He said people can share their views directly on the website https://awaazbharatki.in. Chidambaram said the manifesto for the Lok Sabha election will be a "people's manifesto". He was quoted by PTI as saying, "We want to involve the people of India in making the manifesto. We hope people from every walk of life will give their suggestions..." By the end of 2024, this report by TechTargets Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) explains, the Network and Information Systems 2 (NIS2) directive of the European Union will significantly affect Union countries and nation-states in its periphery. So, what will that impact look like? Download the 10-page report penned by Senior Analyst of Business Applications and EMEA Analyst Services Director at ESG, Brian McKenna to learn about: The scope, purpose and requirements of NIS2 The pressure that NIS2 places on board-level executives How NIS2 is influencing cybersecurity spending And more The Election Commission of India is likely to announce the dates for the Lok Sabha elections 2024 next week, around March 14-15, sources told NDTV on Saturday. They said the Election Commission may declare the poll schedule after visiting Jammu and Kashmir from Monday. The Elections Commission will be in Jammu and Kashmir till Wednesday to assess when polls can be held in the Union Territory. "The dates for the Lok Sabha elections are likely to be revealed immediately after that," sources were quoted as saying. The Supreme Court of India had on December 11, 2023, asked the central government to hold assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30, 2024 and restore statehood at the earliest. "We direct that steps shall be taken by the Election Commission of India to conduct elections to the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir by 30 September 2024," Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud said reading judgment in Article 370 matter. Earlier on Friday, the Election Commission clarified that no dates have been announced yet for Lok Sabha elections. The poll body said that a fake message was being shared on WhatsApp regarding the election schedule adding that dates will be announced by the commission through a press conference. "A fake message is being shared on WhatsApp regarding the schedule for #LokSabhaElections2024 #FactCheck: The message is #Fake. No dates have been announced so far by #ECI. The Election Schedule is announced by the Commission through a press conference. #VerifyBeforeYouAmplify," ECI said in a post on X. In February, the Election Commission issued an advisory to all political parties to maintain decorum and utmost restraint in public campaigning and raise the level of election campaigning to "issue-based" debate. It also urged parties to not make appeals based on caste or communal feelings of the electors. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed it's all here, just a click away! Login Now! Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. "I don't know what kind of special x-ray machine they've got when people walk in that they can look at you and go 'nope, you're not a republican' and 'yes, you are a republican,'" said Harris. 3024-30 This video was produced in 2018. Modern Chinese History 1 by Liu Zheng https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj5N6ACCFfM&list=PL7Qjr_yyW6BTYjlWp_kbxI8B7f1ORWhaS&index=24 The collapse of the late Qing Empire, the establishment of the Republic of China, China and the First World War, and the May Fourth Movement. Modern Chinese History 2 by Liu Zheng https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPc44k9YbyQ&list=PL7Qjr_yyW6BTYjlWp_kbxI8B7f1ORWhaS&index=25 Warlord rule and the Beiyang government, the early United Front, the Nanjing government, prosperity and freedom in the early years of the Republic of China, the rise of the peasant movement and the emergence of the Chinese Communist Party. Modern Chinese History 3 by Liu Zheng https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALAuhWrNxCA&list=PL7Qjr_yyW6BTYjlWp_kbxI8B7f1ORWhaS&index=26 The early war history between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, the outbreak and resolution of the Xi'an Incident, the Kuomintang's all-out war of resistance against Japan, the Yan'an Red Base Area, the Nanjing government and Manchukuo, World War II and China, and the overall outbreak of the Chinese Civil War. Modern Chinese History 4 by Liu Zheng https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G6YSGFIzdI&list=PL7Qjr_yyW6BTYjlWp_kbxI8B7f1ORWhaS&index=27 The establishment of the People's Republic of China and the socialist transformation movement, the economy and society in the early days of New China, China's active involvement in the Korean War, land reform and the transformation of public and private enterprises. Modern Chinese History 5 by Liu Zheng https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbNupIex9rQ&list=PL7Qjr_yyW6BTYjlWp_kbxI8B7f1ORWhaS&index=28 The rashness and failure of economic policies, the collectivization of rural areas, the confrontation between China and the Soviet Union, and the beginning of the international Cold War. Modern Chinese History 6 by Liu Zheng https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd7sZdjxH3o&list=PL7Qjr_yyW6BTYjlWp_kbxI8B7f1ORWhaS&index=29 The failure of the Great Leap Forward and the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, the nationwide political struggle, the issue of leadership succession, the Lin Biao incident and the unfolding of the national movement to criticize Deng Xiaoping. Modern Chinese History 7 by Liu Zheng https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUTt9N2hBvY&list=PL7Qjr_yyW6BTYjlWp_kbxI8B7f1ORWhaS&index=30 The end of the Cultural Revolution and the arrest of Jiang Qing and other political gangs, reform and opening up and the rise of the student movement, the emergence of new economic models in rural areas, the full emergence of private companies and individual economies, patriotic education and the fight against Western political infiltration, and the bloody suppression of Tiananmen Square The Democratic Movement, Succession of CCP Leaders, and the Contradictions and Innovations in the Inheritance of Mao Zedong Thought. If you do not have a current print subscription to the Lodi News-Sentinel, but want to view unlimited articles for the month, please choose this option. Transport Minister Eamon Ryan has conceded that the government has lost the twin referenda to change the Constitution in Ireland. He made the comments as early indications show a significant no vote in both questions. Counting is under way in the twin referenda on proposed changes the Constitution. The boxes were opened at 9am after the public went to the polls on Friday to vote on whether to change the wording of the Constitution relating to the areas of family and care. Results for both will be announced separately later on Saturday. Early tallies show a strong support for no votes, signalling an embarrassing defeat for the government. When it was put to Mr Ryan that the government did not get the result it wanted, he said: No we didnt. But you have to respect the voice of the people. We have to wait until the final count is done but if it is a no no vote, have to respect that. I dont think you can respect the peoples vote by saying what went wrong, the people didnt vote the right way. People are sovereign in this. They have to decide. Its a complex issue, both were complex. I would have preferred a yes yes. I dont accept that our campaign did go wrong. He added: Its complex issues. There were a myriad of reasons to vote no. We will continue to make sure in government that we will heed that advice from the people. It was never easy. It took a long time to come up with the wording because its not easy, its quite complicated when you try to change the Constitution in any way. We didnt convince the public of the argument for a yes yes vote. I think the next government will have to come back to this and consider the campaign and what were the arguments that merited a no vote in both cases. There was a low turnout reported throughout the day, with some areas understood to be less than 30% of registered voters. There was a slight uplift at polling stations as people made their home on Friday evening, however it is thought that numbers remained lower compared to previous referenda. The two questions will be counted separately, with both results expected to be declared at Dublin Castle by Saturday evening. The family amendment will be counted and declared first. Senator Michael McDowell, a former tanaiste and ex-justice minister, who campaigned for a no no vote, said it was unwise social experimentation with the Constitution. Mr McDowell, who was part of the Lawyers For No group, said: I trust individual voters. They looked at what was being put before them and they said no. Many of them will have a slightly different perspective as to why they were voting no, but in the end we live in a republic and the sovereign power is the people and every individual vote is as good as anybody elses vote and this is an emphatic repudiation of what I think was unwise social experimentation with the Constitution. Labour leader Ivana Bacik said: The result at this early stage certainly looks disappointing for those who campaigned for a yes yes vote. I do think and it is clear that it is the governments responsibility because the government needs to explain to the people first why it chose and proceeded with wording that was so distinctly different from the wording that our Oireachtas committee on gender equality has proposed, wording that cross parties had supported. Why did they not go out more assertively and sell it to the people because what we saw from government, particularly in the last few weeks as the no side was gaining ground, we saw a lacklustre campaign from government. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Tanaiste Micheal Martin and Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald also voted in the referenda. The family amendment proposes extending the meaning of family beyond one defined by marriage and to include those based on durable relationships. The care amendment proposes deleting references to a womans roles and duties in the home, and replacing it with a new article that acknowledges family carers. The Constitution is the fundamental legal document for the country and can only be changed with the approval of Irish citizens through a national vote. The campaigns have led to national debates over the role of women in the home, what responsibility the State has for care and the meaning of family. The Irish Government campaigned for a yes vote in both amendments. It says the changes will remove sexist language, recognise family care and extend protection to families not based on marriage. The result of the referenda will be decided by majority. Counting of the ballots happens at a constituency basis at various centres around the country. Three People Arrested for Selling Alcohol to Minors Crime By Long Island Published: March 09 2024 Ten businesses were checked for compliance and violations were found at three of them. Suffolk County Police yesterday arrested three men for selling alcohol to minors during a targeted compliance check in the First Precinct. In response to community complaints, First Precinct Crime Section officers conducted an investigation into the sale of vape products and alcohol to minors in the First Precinct. Ten businesses were checked for compliance from approximately 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., and violations were found at three of them. Police charged the following employees with Unlawfully Dealing with a Child 1st Degree, a misdemeanor, after they sold alcohol to a minor: Abu Taher, 33, of Deer Park, an employee at EXPRESS Gas, located at 1901 Deer Park Ave., Deer Park. Mohit Kumar, 22, of Farmingdale, an employee at Valero, located at 355 Bay Shore Road, Bay Shore. He was also charged with False Personation. Lovejeet Singh, 19, of West Babylon, an employee at Shell, located at 1160 Straight Path, West Babylon. All three were issued Field Appearance Tickets and are scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip at a later date. A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. IDF soldiers operate in a neighborhood near Khan Younis. (IDF) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at an IDF officers course graduation ceremony on March 7 at a training base in the Negev. The IDF will continue to operate against all of Hamass battalions throughout the Strip and this includes Rafah, Hamass last stronghold. Whoever tells us not to operate in Rafah, is telling us to lose the war and that will not happen, he said. His comments come as a number of trends are coming together that may make operations in Gaza more complex. Hamas has appeared unwilling to make a hostage deal and continues to raise new issues in discussions, including demands for a ceasefire to take place first in order for Hamas to build confidence for a deal as well as Hamas refusal to provide a list of the living hostages still being held in Gaza. There are 134 hostages held by Hamas and around two dozen of them area believed to have been killed. In addition, the US is considering building a temporary port or dock in Gaza in order to deliver humanitarian aid directly from Cyprus. This follows US efforts to airdrop aid into Gaza as part of a larger program honchoed by the Jordanians. Other aid to Gaza arrives by truck from Egypt after a circuitous and long approval process. When it finally does arrive in Gaza, Hamas gunmen are often seen standing on the trucks to ostensibly escort them, but the image raises questions about who controls the aid once its in Gaza. The lack of a hostage deal and the US pressure to find a solution to the humanitarian aid for northern Gaza potentially underpin a new phase in the IDFs Gaza operations. In addition, the IDF is also beginning investigations into the October 7 Hamas attack and the failure to protect Israelis on that day, the IDF Chief of Staff said on March 7. Hamas terrorists killed over 1,000 people in the attack and in some cases were able to take over communities and massacre people for up to 12 hours before help arrived. At some IDF bases, whole units were massacred, including the 15 female IDF observers at the Nahal Oz post. The Israel security service, or Shin Bet, is also beginning an investigation of its operations leading up to October 7. The investigations are being presented as lessons learned, rather than attempts to hold high-ranking officials to account. Amid these new developments, Netanyahu told the new IDF officers that we are in the midst of a war that could not be more just. The Government set the goals of the war and you are in the field working to achieve them: Eliminating Hamass evil rule, returning home all of our hostages and preventing any future threat to the State of Israel from Gaza. Netanyahu praised the IDF for facing difficult challenges in Gaza, including the hundreds of miles of tunnels and terrorists fighting in civilian areas. The Prime Minister also said that Israel will take vigorous action in the other sectors, against whoever seeks to destroy us, including on the northern front. He compared Israels forces to lions rather than a spider web, a favored talking point of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Irans IRGC Quds Force leader Esmail Qaani warned that the resistance has prepared new surprises. It also comes as the Palestinian Authoritys foreign minister warned, according to a report at the UAEs Al-Ain media, of a regional conflict should the war continue during Ramadan. Reporting from Israel, Seth J. Frantzman is an adjunct fellow at FDD and a contributor to FDDs Long War Journal. He is the acting news editor and senior Middle East correspondent and analyst at The Jerusalem Post. A diverse crowd came together on International Womens Day taking a stand for equality A thousand people marched through the streets of Luxembourg City to mark the annual International Womens Day, calling for gender equality and better safety for women. The International Womens Day (JIF) platform organised the womens march on Friday, bringing together NGOs, political parties, activist groups, labour unions, and individuals. The marchers carried flags, banners and signs in support of womens rights. Every year, I stand here as a feminist, showing up in solidarity with women, Katie told the Luxembourg Times at the march. Being a woman brings a different set of experiences than those faced by men, she added. Marchers at womens march Photo credit: Yosi Widiyanti Every year, I stand here as a feminist, showing up in solidarity with women, Katie told the Luxembourg Times at the march. Being a woman brings a different set of experiences than those faced by men, she added. Its inspiring to see many people. I am here today, supporting my wife, standing in solidarity with women. This platform is important for them to fight for their rights, said a man standing next to his wife, joining the late-afternoon march. This year, the protest started at Place de Paris and wound its way through the city streets and concluded at Place Guillaume II. Last years route began at Hamilius square and went up to Place dArmes. Demands for equality I come here every year, because the battle is far from over, said Michelle Cloos from the labour union OGBL. There are still many issues to be tackled, she continued. Women continue to face structural discrimination. Marchers voiced their demands, including better working hours, equal wages, security, equitable maternal and parental leave, a right to housing and stronger measures against violence towards women. Marchers taking stand against violence towards women Photo credit: Yosi Widiyanti We are marching to fight against femicide, the act of killing women, which is still prevalent in Balkan countries, three women from the region told this newspaper. This isnt just womens issue, its a concern for everyone, they said. Marchers also highlighted other issues such as a lack of women in politics, tax injustice and unpaid care work. Fighting for the equality and recognition that all women deserve is important, said Ken. Especially here in Luxembourg, growing fear among women about being out alone at night is alarming. Its not normal and surely something to focus on, their safety should be a top priority, he continued. Also, we need more women representatives in the parliament and other committees, including sport committees, Ken concluded. Just one in three lawmakers in Luxembourg are women. Solidarity and support The rally also brought attention to the plight of women in conflict zones, especially women in Gaza. The march was spearheaded by people waving Palestinian flags and shouting Free Palestine. We stand in solidarity with our sisters in Gaza, who are fighting for their safety, their lives, their rights, and their freedom, said one of the marchers. Marchers carrying Palestinian flags Photo credit: Yosi Widiyanti We march today for the respect and equality of women all around the world. Our concern extends beyond Luxembourg, reaching into countries where womens rights are under threat including in Iran, Afghanistan, Israel, Gaza, and other places, said Fernando Perez Solla from Amnesty International Luxembourg. Various organisations joined the rally, including Amnesty International Luxembourg, Association de Soutien aux Travailleurs Immigres (Asti), the Centre for Feminism and Gender, Conseil National des Femmes du Luxembourg (CNFL), political parties dei greng and dei lenk, activist group Femmes en detresse, Femmes socialistes, and the OGBL labour union, among others. Participation from NGOs at womens march Photo credit: Yosi Widiyanti The struggle continues For over a century, women all around the world have observed the event on 8 March. The origins of this day go back to 1908 when thousands of women in New York City marched to demand better working conditions. In Luxembourg, the first womens march took place in 2020. 1 / 9 Fridays womens march Photo credit: Gilles KAYSER 2 / 9 Fridays womens march Photo credit: Gilles KAYSER 3 / 9 Fridays womens march Photo credit: Gilles KAYSER 4 / 9 Fridays womens march Photo credit: Gilles KAYSER 5 / 9 Fridays womens march Photo credit: Gilles KAYSER 6 / 9 Fridays womens march Photo credit: Gilles KAYSER 7 / 9 Fridays womens march Photo credit: Gilles KAYSER 8 / 9 Fridays womens march Photo credit: Gilles KAYSER 9 / 9 Fridays womens march Photo credit: Gilles KAYSER Many of these strategic entanglements are peripheral to Americas core interests and prevent it from being an effective off-shore balancer. They may even reduce U.S. forces to vulnerable spectators in a conflict zone rather than decisive actors deterring extra-regional overreach by other great powers. In a polycentric world of hard limits on force projection, the U.S. and its allies must establish regional priorities and reduce haphazard interventions. Ukraine simply does not make the list of geostrategic priorities, especially given the rise of China.7 Nevertheless, there exists a primacist faction in America that relies on realist-sounding claims and an interest-based language to champion continued U.S. involvement in Ukraine and beyond. Using geopolitical rationales such as Eurasian Simultaneity, U.S. strategists like Dov Zakheim8 and Andrew Michta,9 among others, posit that Ukraine is critical to Americas global strategic posture. We must therefore investigate the merit and origins of such claims on their own terms. In 1904, the British geographer and scholar Halford Mackinder released an article in The Geographic Journal titled The Geographic Pivot of History. This piece, which would eventually become quite influential in both British and American geopolitical circles, postulated that the age of the maritime powers unquestioned dominance over world affairs was coming to a close. Technological changes, particularly in the form of railroads and telegraphs, were going to produce massive gains for large, land-based Eurasian empires, particularly Russia. Mackinder hypothesized that Russia (or, alternatively, an ascendant Germany making territorial gains in Eastern Europe at the expense of Russia or even a Russo-German alliance) would control resources inland with enough protective distance that they would be out of reach for the British Royal Navy, thus creating an unassailable Eurasian empire. Since the majority of the worlds population lived in Eurasia, Mackinder argued, any power that could dominate the supercontinent would soon dominate the world. This was The Heartland, with the more coastal parts of the world referred to as The Rimland. It therefore served the interests of the British, according to Mackinder, to keep the Heartland divided to prevent this hypothetical global domination from occurring.10 The theory lost some traction early on as the year after the articles release saw Japan successfully check Russian ambitions in the Pacific, and Moscow and London began an anti-German entente. Meanwhile, The First World War resulted in Russia and Germany being (temporarily) knocked out as decisive powers in world affairs. In the aftermath of the Second World War, however, the Soviet Union rose as one of only two superpowers to remain standing. In such an environment, many revisited Mackinders views, revising and updating them to fit the Postwar world. The most notable from a contemporary policy perspective was Zbigniew Brzezinski, the National Security Advisor of the Carter Administration. After retiring from that office, Brzezinski reiterated Mackinders arguments but from an American perspective in his influential 1997 book, The Grand Chessboard: The domination of the Eurasian landmass by a single power was now the primary security concern of the United States, and it required active U.S. involvement in many parts of the world to prevent.11 BOSTON Neither Pat Maroon nor Andrew Peeke, who the Bruins acquired at the trade deadline on Friday will be in the lineup on Saturday vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins. Neither has a definitive start date. Fanatics Sportsbook 10X$100 BONUS BET BET MATCH BONUS CLAIM OFFER Must be 21+. GAMBLING PROBLEM? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (CO, KY ,MD, OH, PA, TN, VA, VT, WV); (888) 789-7777 or ccpg.org (CT); 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA); (800) 327-5050 or gamblinghelpline.org (MA), mdgamblinghelp.org (MD), 1800gambler.net (WV) Maroon, who was traded from Minnesota, is coming off back surgery. He said hell meet with the Bruins medical staff shortly to develop a plan after arriving in Boston on Friday night. He said he expected to travel with the team in the days and weeks to come because hes not far off. Im going to talk to medical staff and see where that goes, Maroon said. Theres no time frame right now. All I can say is Im skating a little bit. He was eager to get going and put a Bruins jersey on for the first time. It gives me chills thinking about it, said Maroon, who will wear No. 61. Im really looking forward to it. Peeke, wholl be No. 52, is healthy, but Jim Montgomery suggested the Bruins might choose to wait until the former Blue Jackets defenseman has a chance to practice before putting him into game action. The Bruins are off on Sunday and host the St. Louis Blues on Monday before practicing on Tuesday. We dont have a clear plan yet, Montgomery said. We want to get him in games quickly. Maybe he needs a practice. We have a practice coming Tuesday. If Montgomery holds to that Peekes potential first game would be Thursday at Montreal. In the days after Chasity Nunez and her daughter Zella were shot and killed on a street in Worcester, two GoFundMe pages have been set up to support their family. Chasity Nunez, 27, and her daughter Zella, 11, were shot in a parked SUV in the area of Englewood Avenue and 1 Lisbon St. around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Worcester police said previously. They were both pronounced dead after they were brought to the hospital. One suspect was arrested, charged and held without bail while another remains at large and should be considered armed and dangerous, according to police. One of the GoFundMe pages was set up on Wednesday, March 6, by an MIT Health organizer and with a $5,000 goal. Chasity Nunez served as a patient safety and clinical quality program coordinator at MIT Health since July 2023, MIT spokesperson Kimberly Allen told MassLive on Thursday. We share with great sadness that we have lost a dear member of our MIT Health community, Chasity Nunez. In this moment of grief, our hearts are with her family and others closest to her, the GoFundMe read. The other GoFundMe was set up by Quadasha OLeary, of Worcester, to send to beneficiary Ben Nunez. With a $10,000 goal, this fundraiser has so far raised $760 from 10 donations as of Friday. Chasity, a devoted mother and valued member of the Connecticut National Guard, epitomized dedication and love for her family, friends, and community, OLeary wrote in the fundraisers description. Zella, a bright sixth-grade student cherished by many, brought joy to all who knew her. With a personality and loving demeanor that matched her mothers. The loss of the mother and daughter, along with the incomprehensible nature of their passing, has left the Nunez family reeling with grief, the fundraiser said. Friends of the family humbly reach out to seek financial contributions or sharing our cause, every gesture of support, no matter how small, is profoundly valued, OLeary wrote. Your generosity will alleviate the burden of funeral expenses for the family, her description said. Any surplus funds will be directed towards supporting the financial needs of Chasitys two-year-old daughter, left behind in the wake of this tragedy. While we cannot undo the pain of their loss, together, we can help the Nunez family honor the memory of Chasity and Zella as they begin the arduous journey of rebuilding their shattered lives. After eight years and three homes, Old Man Houston, an 8-year-old lab-boxer mix, has finally found his forever home with a retired Worcester man. Houston, a Florida native, found his way to Massachusetts in 2017 at just 2 years old, in the midst of a relocation movement pushed by the ASPCA ahead of a Category 4 hurricane set to strike the Sunshine State. We partnered with the ASPCA to take over 100 animals, said Second Chance Animal Services Animal Relocation Director Wendy Hall. He was here from September of 2017 until January, 2018. Though Houston spent a few years with his initial adopters, he was surrendered to Second Chance Animal Services in East Brookfield for a second time as the familys circumstances changed in 2021. Houston and adopter, Don Karsberg share a photo outside of the East Brookfield Second Chance Animal Shelter.Dallas Gagnon He went to another family a few weeks later and it was not a good fit, said Hall. We always take our animals back if its not a good fit. She said when Second Chance Animal Services received Houstons paperwork in 2017, it was noted he did not respond well to other animals. Houston does not get along with other animals which is why it took so long to find an appropriate home, said Lindsay Doray, Second Chance Animal Services chief development officer. His issue was not about training. In 2023, Houston was briefly rehomed for a third time, but it did not last. This time, we said we would hold him until we found a perfect match, said Hall. We wanted to be sure it was his forever home and was someone who really understood his situation. It would be about a year before Houston would meet his final adopter. Hall said the staff conducted home visits to verify the adopter had a fenced in area for Houston and would not be exposed to other animals. Read more: Gray whale extinct from Atlantic Ocean seen off Nantucket coast Dan Karsberg, a retired Worcester resident, said he was on the look out for a companion when he visited Second Chance in January. My neighbor from across the street adopted from here about year ago, said Karsberg. I came in to look at another dog and a lady told me Houstons story. After he left the shelter, Karsberg said he couldnt stop thinking about him, and went back to visit Houston. @masslivenews Meet Houston, an 8-year-old lab-boxer mix who found his forever home last month after searching nearly his entire life. @SCAS Fun, cute, YouTube, CM(1070783) - Darian During his initial visit, Karsberg said Houston sat up, and then sat back down. I took it as hes not here for me, said Karsberg. During his second visit, Karsberg said he brought Houston outside to play, and Houston leaned into him. Just like they said on his paperwork he is sweet, said Karsberg. I am lucky and I think he is pretty lucky, too. Houston will celebrate one month at his forever home on March 8, and will celebrate his 9th birthday on St. Patricks Day, March 17. Houston will be nine this St. Patrick's Day - March, 17.Dallas Gagnon For 9 years old, he is quite active, said Karsberg. He loves to go on rides, walks in the woods and loves to play fetch. As for treats, Kasberg said Houston likes bacon plaque sticks and enjoys a chunk of bacon before and after breakfast. Volunteer Mike Byrnes said while Houston was living at the shelter, he was his coffee buddy. I would bring him to get coffee, apple slices and cheese sticks, said Byrnes. Second Chance Animal Services Volunteer Coordinator Chris Wojnar said she would bring pieces of bacon from home to share with Houston. We try to give them as much normalcy as they can have. Byrnes said he took Houston out on Christmas Eve this past year to spend the night at a hotel. He would jump back and forth between the two hotel beds, said Byrnes. He said during their stay, instead of sleeping on his own bed, Houston was hogging up Byrnes. Now, Houston is taking over Karsbergs king bed. I put a blanket out on his side so hed get the hint, said Karsberg, but he has not. Hall said its amazing, to see Houston find a permanent living situation. Its one of those things .... youve just seen him so many times, you forget hes looking for his forever home. It is such a great fit. While Karsberg said Houston is not a kisser or a lap dog, Houston does occasionally lay his head on Karsbergs lap and give him his paw. His paw is his way of showing affection, said Byrnes. Karsberg said Houstons routine now includes going outside to take care of business, going out for a morning coffee run, returning home for breakfast and watching squirrels with his head laid and eyes staring out his window. In a state with no shortage of pizzerias, how do you pick the best? Is it the ambience? The price? The crisp of the crust? The stringiness of the cheese? The flavor of the sauce and the toppings? Or is it some kind of alchemy of all of the above? The food website LoveFood recently went in search of the answers, naming the best pizzerias in these 50 states. The website based its findings on customer reviews on Yelp. In the Bay State, top honors went to Galleria Umberto, a fixture on Hanover Street in Bostons North End since 1974. The family-run pizzeria has an unassuming exterior and interior, but the food speaks for itself, LoveFood wrote in its review. Favorites include the meat and cheese-stuffed arancini, the greasy Sicilian squares, the pizzettes (small pieces), the panzerotti (savory turnovers), and the calzone, the website continued. Be prepared to line up and to need napkins. Its also cash-only. This isnt the first time that the North End pizzeria has been similarly honored. Last year, the lifestyle website The Infatuation, also gushed over it, writing that this is the spot to stop at if youre walking around town, have a couple of bucks in your pocket, and want some delicious pizza and incredible arancini. The Sicilian slices are just the right amount of thick with perfectly charred cheese, and the arancini could put on a TED Talk covering texture contrast with its crunch-to-gooey ratio, The Infatuations Tanya Edwards wrote. Its cash only, and you should be prepared to eat off paper plates. Also, youll really want to have your order ready when you get to the counterwere not saying youll get a dirty look, but youll probably get a dirty look. Galleria Umberto also notched top honors in a 2020 list compiled by the editors at The Daily Meal, MasssLive previously reported. WEST SPRINGFIELD After almost six years of controversy, the first recreational cannabis dispensary opened Friday in West Springfield. Mayor William C. Reichelt estimates that his community, by initially not allowing adult use recreational cannabis sales, lost out on between $6 million and $8 million in revenue. Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, will begin this year on March 10 at sunset and last until sunset on April 9. During this time, Muslims across the world will fast and focus on improving their relationship with God. For Monther Alshaibani, a practicing Muslim from Weymouth, Ramadan will be an opportunity for him to better himself by picking up good habits, he told MassLive. Alshaibani, 32, said specifically hell use this month to engage in more acts of worship, meaning more chances for him to connect with God. He said that he hopes his acts of worship will continue past Ramadan. Alshaibani said his goal is to develop a religious routine for himself and for him being in a constant state of remembrance, he said. A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered as authorities search for a man wanted in connection with the killing of Chasity Nunez and her 11-year-old daughter, Zella, in Worcester, earlier this week. Dejan Dante Belnavis, 27, is wanted in Tuesdays fatal shooting of Chasity and Zella Nunez. A warrant for his arrest has been issued on charges of armed assault with intent to murder and possession of a firearm without a license, according to the Worcester Police Department. Up to $5,000 is being offered as a reward as authorities search for Belnavis. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to call the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section at 1-800-Kapture (1-800-527-8873) or text Worcester police at 274637 with TIPWPD their information. DEJAN BELNAVIS is wanted in the homicides of Chasity Nunez and her 11-year-old daughter Zella. If you have info on his whereabouts, please contact our Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section at 1-800-Kapture (1-800-527-8873) or text Worcester Police at 274637 TIPWPD plus your info. pic.twitter.com/ixnSNyXmTO Mass State Police (@MassStatePolice) March 9, 2024 He should be considered armed and dangerous, the department said in a Facebook post about Belnavis. Another suspect, 28-year-old Karel Mangual of Worcester, was already arrested and arraigned Tuesday on two counts of armed assault with intent to murder and carrying a firearm without a license. He had a preexisting arrest warrant, the department noted. Police responded to a report of gunshots in the area of Lisbon Street and Englewood Avenue in Worcester shortly before 3:10 p.m. Tuesday. When officers arrived, they located a parked vehicle with Chasity and Zella Nunez inside, the department said. The mother and daughter had suffered serious gunshot injuries and were driven to the hospital, where they were both pronounced dead, according to the department. Today we mourn the senseless loss of two Worcester residents, a mother and daughter whose lives were taken far too soon and far too tragically, Worcester City Manager Eric D. Batista, Mayor Joseph M. Petty, interim Police Chief Paul Saucier and Superintendent Dr. Rachel Monarrez said in a statement. An act of such violence has no place in our City, the officials added in their statement. The residents of Worcester deserve better, and we will stand alongside our community in sorrow and solidarity. A prominent Sudanese activist and former fellow of Harvard University is accused of trying to buy and send millions of dollars worth of guns and other weapons to South Sudan amid the countrys brutal civil war, according to federal authorities. Peter Biar Ajak, 40, of Maryland, was one of two men charged with conspiring to illegally purchase and export fully automatic rifles, grenade launchers, Stinger missile systems, hand grenades, sniper rifles, ammunition and other items from the United States to South Sudan in violation of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA), according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed in U.S. District Court in Arizona on Monday. The Department of Justice will not tolerate the illicit export of weapons overseas, and we will hold accountable those who would violate our laws, Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the U.S. Justice Departments National Security Division said in a statement. Ajak, who is from South Sudan, was a government official, political dissident and activist. From 2018 to 2020, he was detained for advocating for free and fair elections in the country. He was also a scholar, working as postdoctoral fellow in the International Security Program at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School from 2022 to 2023. The universitys website says Ajak is on administrative leave. The complaint alleges Ajak and Abraham Chol Keech, 44, of Utah, sought to buy weapons and related export-controlled items from undercover law enforcement agents between at least February 2023 and February 2024. The two men are accused of conspiring to smuggle the contraband from the U.S. to South Sudan through a third country. Ajak and Keech allegedly knew South Sudan was subject to a United Nations arms embargo due to violence between armed groups in the country. For example, the two men are accused of openly discussing the illegality of the transaction, expressing the need to be discreet and agreeing to pay a risk fee for the weapons because of the illegal nature of the sale. In July 2018, in response to the conflict between South Sudans Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity and opposition forces, the U.N. Security Council imposed an arms embargo on the country, which has been renewed every year since 2018. Civil war in the Sudan, which has waged off and on since 2013, risks triggering the worlds largest hunger crisis, the United Nations World Food Programme said Wednesday. The conflict has killed and displaced millions of people. Under federal law, it is unlawful to export weapons and ammunition to South Sudan without authorization in the form of a license from the U.S. Department of State or U.S. Department of Commerce. It is the policy of the United States to deny licenses and approvals to export to South Sudan defense articles, such as automatic rifles, grenade launchers, and missile Stinger systems. As part of Ajak and Keechs alleged smuggling scheme, the two men are accused of disguising the weapons as humanitarian aid and paying bribes. The complaint charges that they sought to conceal from financial institutions and others the source and purpose of the funds used to purchase and smuggle the illicit arms. The Justice Department alleges Ajak and Keech agreed to an arms contract for nearly $4 million worth of weapons and related items and requested a fake contract in the same amount in consulting services and items, such as communications equipment, related to human rights, humanitarian, and civil engagement inside South Sudan refugee camps. Prosecutors said they caused funds to be transferred through an intermediary company identified in the fake contract to complete the purchase. Dozens of golden retrievers found in a home in Rhode Island were rescued Friday after a police investigation into detrimental conditions at the address, according to authorities. Local police, Hopkinton Animal Control, the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RISPCA) and an environmental scientist responded to the address on Alton Bradford Road on Friday to investigate the unlicensed breeding of puppies as well as conditions detrimental to the health of the dogs, the Hopkinton Police Department said in a post to Facebook. The resident at the home was cooperative and surrendered the 27 golden retrievers, which included seven adults and 20 puppies, according to the departments post. All 27 golden retrievers are now in the custody of the RISPCA. The animal protection organization will begin an adoption process when the dogs are medically cleared. The RISPCA notes on its website the golden retrievers are not yet available for adoption. Police shot and killed a man in Rochester, New Hampshire on Friday, according to authorities. Rochester police officers and New Hampshire State Police troopers were searching for Joseph Russell on Thursday in connection with multiple motor vehicle thefts, New Hampshire Attorney General John Formellas office said in a statement. Authorities reported they found the 36-year-old man armed with a gun Friday. They fatally shot him in a residential neighborhood in Rochester after seeing him allegedly draw the firearm, according to the statement from the attorney generals office. Nobody else was killed or injured. Police in Rochester were notified Russell was seen driving in the city. Law enforcement also learned he had a gun on him, the statement said. Officers intercepted Russell on Route 16 near Gooseberry Circle in Rochester. He then abandoned the vehicle he was driving and ran away into the residential area, according to the statement. Russell was spotted by Rochester police officers and state police troopers walking in between homes. He saw law enforcement and fled again, the attorney generals office said. Law enforcement chased after Russell, commanding him several times to stop and surrender, according to the attorney generals office. When he allegedly did not do so, a state police trooper with a K-9 partner released the dog to subdue him. When the K-9 brought Russell to the ground, law enforcement reported seeing him draw a gun. Two state police troopers then fired bullets at him, and he died at the scene, the statement said. No other private citizens and no law enforcement officers were physically injured during the incident, and there is no threat to the public, the attorney generals office stated. Read more: Lawrence man accused of driving 128 mph in New Hampshire An autopsy was expected to be conducted on Russell on Saturday, according to the statement. The identities of the two troopers who fired at Russell will not be disclosed to the public until formal interviews have been completed, the attorney generals office said. The New Hampshire Department of Justice and New Hampshire State Police Major Crimes Unit are investigating the fatal shooting. The exact circumstances remain under active investigation, according to the statement. School districts across Massachusetts are facing a fiscal cliff that could result in staff and service cuts, according to education advocacy groups that are calling on lawmakers to rethink school funding approaches. In her fiscal 2025 budget, Gov. Maura Healey calls for a 4% increase to public education aid, called Chapter 70 funding, from $6.5 billion to $6.85 billion. This proposed $263 million increase for K-12 schools would follow a $594 million, or 9.9% increase in Chapter 70 funding in the fiscal 2024 budget. In fiscal 2021, the account stood at $5.3 billion. CHESTER Three local task forces addressing domestic violence in Western and Central Massachusetts are exploring joining forces in an effort to better help rural residents facing domestic violence get support. The Southern Hilltown Domestic Violence Task Force, based in nine rural towns, is working on an initiative to create the Rural Network to End Domestic Violence, by partnering with two other existing groups: Ware River Valley Domestic Violence Task Force and Gardner Domestic Violence Task Force. Governments, donors, multilateral institutions, and partners today announced major new policy, programmatic and financial commitments, including nearly US$600 million in new funding, to eliminate cervical cancer. If these ambitions to expand vaccine coverage and strengthen screening and treatment programs are fully realized, the world could eliminate a cancer for the first time. These commitments were made at the first-ever Global Cervical Cancer Elimination Forum: Advancing the Call to Action in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, to catalyze national and global momentum to end this preventable disease. Every two minutes, a woman dies from cervical cancer, although the knowledge and the tools to prevent and even eliminate this disease already exist. Vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) the leading cause of cervical cancer can prevent the vast majority of cases and, combined with screening and treatment, provides a path to elimination. Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, and continues to disproportionately impact women and their families in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In an important shift, the World Health Organization (WHO)s 2022 global recommendation for one-dose HPV vaccine schedules significantly reduced barriers to scaling up vaccination programs. It was reinforced by a similar recommendation in the Americas Region in 2023. The WHOs Regional Office for Africa has just followed suit with its own recommendation for countries in the region to adopt the single-dose vaccination schedule. To date, 37 countries have reported switching or an intent to switch to a one-dose regimen. The commitments announced at the forum mark a watershed moment to accelerate progress on a promise made in 2020, when 194 countries adopted WHOs global strategy to eliminate cervical cancer. We have the knowledge and the tools to make cervical cancer history, but vaccination, screening and treatment programmes are still not reaching the scale required, said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. This first global forum is an important opportunity for governments and partners to invest in the global elimination strategy and addressing the inequities that deny women and girls access to the life-saving tools they need. In addition to a re-commitment by Indonesia to its National Action Plan 2023, other country commitments include: Democratic Republic of Congo commits to start introducing the HPV vaccine as early as possible using the WHO-recommended single-dose schedule. It also commits to do everything to get, as early as possible, to the cervical cancer elimination strategy immunizations coverage target for girls aged 9 to 14 years. Ethiopia commits to implement a robust vaccine delivery strategy across the country, targeting at least 95% coverage in 2024 for all 14-year old girls, regardless of their socioeconomic status, whether in school or out of school. The country also commits to screen 1 million eligible women every year for cervical cancer and to treat 90% of those screened, who present with positive precancerous lesions. Further, HPV single dose has been approved to be introduced this year and scaled up as part of the countrys Expanded Program on Immunization plans. Nigeria launched its HPV vaccine national program this year, adopting the single-dose schedule for girls 9 to 14 years old, and now commits to achieving at least 80% vaccine coverage of girls. They are committed to continuing to increase coverage of the HPV vaccine through a robust delivery strategy that will meet the girls where they are. For girls who are in school, they will concentrate on school-based delivery; for girls that are not in school, they will commit to implementing outreach activities at key moments in the year, with the target of at least 80% coverage of girls targeted by 2026. The nearly US$600 million in new funding includes US$180 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, US$10 million from UNICEF, and US$400 million from the World Bank. A full list and description of commitments can be found here and will be updated throughout the forum. There are many challenges on the path to elimination. Due to supply constraints, delivery challenges, and the COVID-19 pandemic, just one in five eligible adolescent girls were vaccinated in 2022. And while there are cost-effective and evidence-based tools for screening and treatment, fewer than 5% of women in many LMICs are ever screened for cervical cancer. Health system constraints, costs, logistical issues, and lack of political will are obstacles to implementing comprehensive programs for cervical cancer prevention and treatment. These barriers have led to deep inequity: of the estimated 348,000 cervical cancer deaths in 2022, over 90% took place in LMICs. With governments and partners recommitting urgently to the global agenda, it is possible to reverse the tide and prevent annual deaths from rising to 410,000 by 2030, as currently estimated. For the Government of Colombia, in its commitment to guaranteeing the rights of women in their diversities, it is imperative to advance in the elimination of cervical cancer; a disease that affects millions of girls and women. Therefore, we are pleased to host the first Global Forum for the Elimination of Cervical Cancer. This is an opportunity that will allow the country, and the world, to exchange experiences and knowledge that will contribute to eliminating barriers to care, increasing vaccination against HPV and facilitating capacity development so that countries and partners continue adding actions for elimination of cervical cancer. For the Spanish government, Cervical cancer is a public health problem for which there are already prevention, detection, and treatment tools, as stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union, and Cooperation, Jose Manuel Albares, who is convinced that with political will, we can address it. We are confident that, from this first forum, commitments and support will emerge from countries, international organizations, global initiatives, philanthropic entities, and civil society to boost government action and commitment to achieving the goals of the WHO strategy. In coherence with its feminist foreign and cooperation policy, Spain is ready to undertake significant commitments to achieve this. This milestone forum is co-sponsored by the Governments of Colombia and Spain in partnership with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO); World Health Organization (WHO); UNICEF; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Unitaid; the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF); Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the United States Agency for International Development (USAID); and the World Bank. THERE are few shows as fun to watch or to perform as Legally Blonde: The Musical. Castlebar Musical & Dramatic Society (CMDS) have proved that beyond all reasonable doubt (to borrow legal parlance) with what could well be their most fun yet. Legally Blonde starts at 100 miles per hour and doesnt slow up until the second act. Set in early 00s-ish America, this musical adaptation of the film follows Elle Woods (Lorna Dennehy), a privileged sorority girl who goes to Harvard Law School to win back her shallow boyfriend Warren (Enda Mulchrone). Before we say any more, lets have a word for CMDS newcomer Lorna Dennehy, who was the star of the show. With a performance that gleamed with girly sass, swagger and joie de vivre from her head to her toe, Dennehy was an absolute joy to behold. Make no mistake, Elle is a difficult role to play. She is rarely off stage, has 11 costumes (including some rapid-quick changes), needs loads of energy and must come across as likeable rather than stuck up. Quite simply, Dennehy looked like she was born to play this part and clearly loved every minute of it. Lorna Dennehy as Elle Woods and Paul O'Brien as Emmet during Castlebar Musical & Dramatic Society's production of Legally Blonde: The Musical So too did the rest of the cast, who smiled, cringed, grimaces, sang and danced their way to a pop rock soundtrack delivered by Deirdre Lees superb band. Flanking Dennehy were three CMDS veterans Emma Daly (Serena), Nicole Scott (Margot) and Ewa Cieslak (Pilar), who play friends of Elles in the show. Each of them were utterly superb and sported smiles that were as impressive as their singing and dancing. The aforementioned Enda Mulchrone was appropriately stuck-up and detached as the apprising senator, Warner, while Paul OBrien gave a lovely, believable performance as Emmett. Matthew Largent, another veteran of last years production of All Shook Up, was yet again excellent as the slimy, stern law professor Callahan. There was not one weak link either among the small army of supporting characters, including but not limited to, Paulette (Olywn Behan), Vivienne (Katie Padden), Enid (Aoife Halligan), Brooke (Sarah Granahan) and Kyle (Andrew Hannon). Castlebar Musical & Dramatic Society cast members during their production of Legally Blonde: The Musical Each one knew their part and embraced to perfection as the gags, songs and dances rolled along faster than Baxters assembly line - without ever feeling rushed. And how can we forget our two dogs, Molly and Charlie, the miniature Pomeranian and English bulldog who had all eyes on them any time they set their paws on stage. From the electrifying opener Omigod You Guys, this production did not diminish or wane in tempo or energy in the slightest. Castlebar Musical & Dramatic Society have set the bar for comedy quite high with Legally Blonde, a show that can only be summed up in three words: fun, fun, fun! Go and enjoy it while you still can. Tickets for the remaining performances of Castlebar Musical & Dramatic Societys production of Legally Blonde: The Musical are available now. THE Chairman of the Board of Management of a Westport national school says there is no justification by the decision of the Department of Education to effectively vacate them from their proposed new home on Altamount Street. The Department of Education informed the Board of Management of Holy Trinity NS on Thursday that they have identified the old Scoil Phadraig NS building and site on Altamount Street as a 'solution for urgent temporary accommodation needs' for the Sacred Heart Secondary School in Westport. The old Scoil Phadraig NS building had been earmarked as the location for the new Holy Trinity Church of Ireland school with plans progressing to design the new school building. However, the latest development puts the Holy Trinity school project into major doubt. Eoin Holmes, Chairman of the Board of Management of Holy Trinity NS that they are shocked and devastated to receive the correspondence from the Department of Education as they had no inkling the news was coming. Mr Holmes told The Mayo News that their school community feels discriminated against because they are a small Church of Ireland school. He said that the school will fight this decision and will take legal action if necessary and urged the Westport community to support them. We cannot let this injustice happen. I have had local representatives onto me aghast at this decision and we will do what has to be done to stop this. I want the department to show a bit of empathy and find a more practical solution for somebody else's problem and leave us to get on with our little project. We have done no harm to anyone and we have done nothing to deserve this. All we have done for years and years is push forward a project in the interest of our children and our little community and in the interest of our town and the common good. This is being done to us by the State whose duty it is to protect us and treat us all equally, he said. A replacement school building for Sacred Heart School in Westport is planned after the current building on Castlebar Street was deemed unsuitable and needs to be 'vacated as soon as possible'. Holy Trinity NS received a letter from Caroline Rawlinson, the Higher Executive Officer with the Major Devolved Projects section of the Department of Education outlining the plan to use the Altamount Street site as temporary accommodation for the Sacred Heart School. In order to address the critical need for alternative accommodation for Sacred Heart School, it is proposed to undertake some immediate upgrade works to the Scoil Phadraig building and for Sacred Heart School to take occupation of this accommodation, along with the retained use of modular units and some of the better condition accommodation on its current site. It is proposed that the required upgrade works will be overseen by your schools Design Team in order to ensure that these works complement the planned refurbishment of the accommodation for your school. The stage 2A, statutory approvals process and other pre-construction stages will continue to advance for your school in tandem with the temporary use of the former Scoil Phadraig building by the Sacred Heart School. I understand that this plan may raise some concerns on the part of the Holy Trinity NS community. While the continued safe operation of schools in this instance the Sacred Heart School - is of paramount importance to the Department, it is recognised that early clarity on the overall solution is critical for all affected schools. The Department would therefore like to meet with you, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim ETB and your Design Team to discuss the sequencing of your project and how best to maximise the opportunity for any enhanced design outcome for your school from the advanced works for Sacred Heart School, Ms Rawlinson wrote. The current Holy Trinity NS building which is over 200 years old is located on the Newport Road in Westport and was declared unfit for purpose following an inspection in 2010. This resulted in a decade-long campaign for a new home for Holy Trinity which led them to the Altamount Street site which was bought by the Department of Education. In February 2022, Holy Trinity NS received a letter from Aine Cusack, Principal Officer of the Schools Capital Appraisal Section of the Department of Education where she acknowledged the delays and frustration in progressing a new school building. She stated that the Department will 'work to advance the project into architectural planning as expeditiously as possible, in cognisance of the delays to date on the project'. Holy Trinity NS and its design team had recently agreed a plan with the Department of Education to save the old Scoil Phadraig building from demolition and instead undergo a deep retrofit of the old school in keeping with the schools environmental credentials. Mr Holmes said the fact the Department of Education agreed to this proposal made the latest development more outrageous and why their school community felt even more let down. Can you name one other school which has been treated like we have been treated. We are a very important part of this town and have been part of its fabric since the first stone was laid and contributes substantially to the shape and character of Westport and always has done. We are a vibrant part of what makes Westport. It has come to the point where we have had enough, he said. The spa at Ashford Castle has been named the second best spa in Ireland. Betway's list emerged with the Cong castle sweeping second place. The spa offers a luxury experience and has facilities such as a relaxation pool, as well as five exceptional treatment rooms, and many more for a full-day spa experience. The Spa showcases remarkable design features, with three seashell chandeliers and a mesmerising 'Tree of Life' mural stretching the length of the relaxation pool. The Spa was described by the business magazine, Forbes, as a modern oasis designed to pamper you like royalty, and is the only hotel spa in the country to receive their five-Star ranking. Adare Manor in Limerick nabbed the joint top spot along with Monart Spa in County Wexford. The popularity of each spa was measured by a unique index score based on the number of hashtags and views each location has racked up on Instagram, as well as Trip Advisor rankings - with the lower the overall index score the higher the ranking. See below the full spa rankings: by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, March 8, 2024 The defunct Atlanta-based ad tech company Inform, which provided video services to outside publishers, can proceed with claims that Google violated antitrust laws by discontinuing support for Adobe Flash in favor of HTML5 in YouTube and the Chrome browser, a federal judge ruled Thursday. In a 26-page decision, U.S. District Court Judge Kevin Castel in the Southern District of New York ruled that the allegations in Inform's complaint, if proven true, could support the conclusion that Google both monopolized and attempted to monopolize the online video advertising market. The complaint plausibly alleges that through its Chrome browser, Google abruptly transitioned from allowing video platforms to play through the long-established Adobe Flash to HTML5, and disabled Flash advertisements in order to 'steal' the online video market, Castel wrote. The ruling comes in a battle dating to 2019, when Inform alleged that it was put out of business by Google's decision to end support for Flash. The company said it garnered more than $100 million in revenue for online ad services between 2014 and 2016, but was effectively squeezed out of the market in 2016 -- the year Google discontinued supporting Flash. advertisement advertisement Flash was superior in many respects and Googles primary reason for wanting to marginalize Flash was Googles lack of control over Abodes proprietary product, Inform alleged in its initial complaint, which was filed in federal court in Georgia. Inform also alleged that starting in 2015, Google automatically converted Flash campaigns to HTML5 -- but only for advertisers that used or switched to Googles ad buying tools and uploaded their ads through Googles AdWords, AdWords Editor, or third-party tools that contracted through Googles ad platform. The upshot, according to Inform, was that advertisers had to either manually convert content from Flash to HTML5 or use Google, which did so automatically. Publishers also were coerced into transacting for programmatic ad inventory through Google tools because publishers direct relationships with advertisers were disrupted as advertisers worked through the transition to HTML5, Inform alleged. Google urged Castel to dismiss the complaint for several reasons, including that the transition to HTML5 was a valid design choice, and that the industry overall was moving away from Flash. Google also noted Apple CEO Steve Jobs's well-publicized criticisms of Flash -- which wasn't allowed on Apple products. Castel essentially said in his ruling that Google's argument on that point hinged on evidence that wasn't yet part of the record, and therefore couldn't be considered at this time. The ruling leaves open an opportunity for Google to defeat the claims at a later stage of the proceeding. While Castel sided against Google on Inform's major claim regarding Flash and HTML5, the judge narrowed the lawsuit by throwing out some counts relating to Google's ad auction procedures -- including a claim that Google set unreasonably high minimum bids. The allegations relating to that count provide no clarity as to the nature of Googles alleged anticompetitive conduct and its claimed effect on Inform, Castel wrote. A Google spokesperson said the company was pleased the court significantly narrowed the case. He added: We'll continue to defend ourselves against these meritless allegations. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, March 8, 2024 New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu has signed a new privacy law that gives residents the right to opt out of common forms of online behavioral ad targeting. New Hampshire is living up to our motto as the Live Free or Die State by ensuring that Granite Staters have control over their personal information, Sununu said Wednesday when he announced that he had approved the measure. The statute (Senate Bill 255) specifically requires businesses to honor residents' request to opt out of targeted advertising -- defined as ads based on people's activity over time and across non-affiliated websites. That definition excludes ads served based on first-party data. The law also requires businesses to obtain people's explicit consent before processing their residents' sensitive data -- including information about consumer's race, ethnicity, religion, health condition, sexual orientation, immigration status, and precise location. advertisement advertisement With the move, New Hampshire joins more than a dozen states that have enacted privacy laws affecting online advertising. As with recent measures in eight of those states -- California, Colorado, Connecticut, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon and Texas -- the New Hampshire law requires companies to allow people to reject targeted advertising via a universal mechanism like the Global Privacy Control. Such mechanisms allow people to opt out of all targeted advertising, as opposed to opting out company-by-company. New Hampshire's law sets out certain requirements for a universal mechanism. Among others, such a mechanism must be activated by users (and not turned on by default) and can't unfairly disadvantage other data controllers. The mechanism also must allow controllers to determine whether the opt-out request is legitimate, and whether it was made by a state resident. The bill calls for enforcement by the state attorney general. by Teresa Buyikian , March 8, 2024 Its time for our weekly roundup of new menus and locations, with a bit of luck of the Irish thrown in. Menus Cold Stone Creamery is celebrating St Patricks Day with the return of its Lucky Charms Ice Cream, served in a variety of ways. The End of the Rainbow creation includes Lucky Charms Ice Cream with whipped topping and edible gold glitter. Customers can also order the Sprinkled with Charms Shake, made with Lucky Charms Ice Cream with whipped topping, gold glitter and Lucky Charms cereal. Luck of the Irish will prevail in stores nationwide until March 31. HoneyBaked has announced its seasonal Easter menu. Topping the list is the traditional Signature Honey Baked Ham Meal, which contains a bone-in half ham topped with HoneyBaked's glaze, along with a choice of four sides such as Maple Sweet Potato Souffle or Cheesy Potatoes Au Gratin. To accompany the meal, there's Take & Bake Ham & Cheddar Biscuits, which are Honey Baked Ham and cheddar cheese on eight Southern-style buttermilk biscuits and topped with Garlic Herb Butter and Sweet Honey Glaze Sauce, and Take & Bake Sliders, which come in a 12 pack of either Ham and Swiss or Garlic Herb Turkey and Cheddar, all served on Kings Hawaiian Rolls. advertisement advertisement Johnny Rockets has added the Cookie Jar Shake to its beverage lineup. Available now through May 31, the new chocolate shake is made with ice cream, Oreo Cookie pieces and Chocolate Chip Cookies, topped with whipped cream, chocolate drizzle and cookie pieces. Naf Naf Grill has added a new Pomegranate Vinaigrette and kids options to its menu. The Build-Your-Own Kids Meals allows youngsters to customize their own dish, picking a protein and selecting their sides, sauces, and drinks. Locations Aloha Poke Co. has announced the opening of its latest location in Katy, Texas, to be followed by additional Houston locations this year, including The Highlight at Houston Center. Marcos Pizza has development plans to open four new locations in the Boise metropolitan area in Idaho. The first two locations are slated to open in Caldwell and Kuna in June. A third location, in Meridian, which is expected to open by the end of summer. Site selection is currently underway for the fourth location. Starbird, a fried chicken fast-casual restaurant, has announced the grand opening of its 14th location in California, in Marina del Rey. The first 500 customers on Mar. 22 will receive a free meal, and two lucky diners will randomly receive a Starbird Golden Ticket, valid for free Starbird meals for a year. About Christianson Syndrome is a condition that occurs due to changes in the SLC9A6 gene leading to the production of inadequate or defective NHE6 protein. This abnormal protein is thought to affect the nervous system. However the mechanism is unclear. Christianson syndrome is a genetic disease that is transmitted through the affected X chromosome. Males have only one chromosome, while females have two X chromosomes in each cell. Thus, males get affected with Christianson Syndrome if the existing one X chromosome is affected. On the other hand, both the X chromosomes need to be affected in females to exhibit this condition. Females can exist as carriers if only one X chromosome is affected. In carrier state, they can pass this condition to their offspring and/or exhibit symptoms of Christianson Syndrome of mild severity. Males are more commonly affected in comparison to females. In general, it is a very rare condition. Signs and Symptoms of Christianson Syndrome Symptoms of Christianson Syndrome usually present during infancy, but they can even present in older children. The syndrome usually affects the nervous system. Advertisement Affected kids have problems with development, walking, standing, reasoning and coordination. Some children might learn to walk, but eventually they loose the ability to walk. Seizures are common in this condition, which usually start to appear between the ages of 1 and 2 years. Usually children with this condition look happy with frequent/ spontaneous laughter. Symptoms related to nervous system: Developmental delay Difficulty walking or standing Seizures Difficulty in logical thinking, reasoning Uncontrolled drooling Difficulty in maintaining balance and coordination Inability to speak Difficulty swallowing Signs of Christianson Syndrome: Long, narrow face with prominent nose, jaw and ears Abnormal eye movements Open mouth Small size of the head(Microcephaly) Autistic spectrum disorder Advertisement Diagnosis and Treatment of Christianson Syndrome Molecular genetic testing confirms the diagnosis of Christianson syndrome. Diagnosis of Christianson syndrome is based on the following: Genetic testing: Demonstration of the defect in the gene helps in the diagnosis of Christainson syndrome. MRI: MRI of the brain shows several changes which are diagnostic of Christianson syndrome. Elevated glutamate/ glutamine levels are found in the basal ganglia of individuals affected with this condition. Treatment of Christinanson Syndrome: No specific treatment is available for Christianson syndrome. Symptomatic treatment with supportive care is the main stay of management for this condition. Prognosis is poor. What is Hirayama Disease? Hirayama disease, also known as monomelic amyotrophy, Sobue disease or Juvenile non-progressive amyotrophy is a rare and incurable disease that was first described in 1959 by Dr. Keizo Hirayama, a neurologist, attached to the Chiba University School of Medicine in Japan. It mainly affects young males aged between 15-25 years, generally after they experience their adolescent growth spurt. Technically, it is termed as a lower motor neuron disorder. Classical findings include muscle wasting (atrophy ) and weakness of the forearms and hands, either on one or both sides. There is, however, no change in sensation and the patient doesnt experience any pain. There may be involuntary muscle twitching (fasciculations), but these are rare. The disease usually progresses for 2-5 years before stabilizing or plateauing. After plateauing, improvement in the symptoms does not occur. However, it does not worsen either. Even though Hirayama disease is regarded as a self-limiting and non-progressive disease, it can be severely debilitating is certain individuals. For this reason, early intervention is vital for halting disease-progression and reducing the severity of the disability. Advertisement Salient Features of Hirayama Disease Muscle weakness in the hand and forearm Muscle wasting in the hands Usually affects the hands on one side (unilateral) Legs are not affected Occurs between the ages of 15-25 years Occurs suddenly, progresses gradually for several years, then stabilizes Pain or sensory changes do not occur Epidemiology of Hirayama Disease Hirayama disease predominantly occurs in Asian countries, especially in Japan, where it was first reported. Other Asian countries where the disease has been reported, include China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, and India. However, very few cases have been reported from Europe and USA. In the case of India, most patients are from eastern and southern India, and to a lesser extent from northern India. The major affected states include West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. Advertisement Clinical Presentation of Hirayama Disease Hirayama disease generally starts at puberty and progresses to mid-teens and early adulthood, then reaches a plateau and does not progress any further. But by that time, irreversible damage has already been done to the hands, which become totally useless. Therefore, early diagnosis and medical intervention are vital. The disease affects males more than females (male to female ratio - 3:1). In most patients, the right hand is predominantly affected at a ratio of 2.8:1, irrespective of hand dominance. However, in severe cases, both hands can be affected. This is especially evident in case of a rare condition called OSullivan-McLeod syndrome. Advertisement Hirayama disease progresses very slowly, usually up to 5 years, but sometimes, may be as long as 10 years. After this period, the symptoms stabilize, but in rare instances, they can persist till the age of 40 years. Other rare clinical features include worsening of symptoms upon exposure to cold (cold paresis), cold hands, muscle cramps, and occasionally tremors and twitching. However, there is no difficulty in passing urine. Parkinson's Disease (PD, is also known as idiopathic or primary parkinsonism, hypokinetic rigid syndrome/HRS, or paralysis agitans) is a brain disorder and a progressive disease that leads to persistent movement disorder and worsens over time. It is caused by the loss of dopamine brain cells (neurons). The patient usually experiences uncontrollable shaking and tremors, slow movement, problems in standing up, difficulty in balancing and stiffness in the limbs. It mostly affects the middle-aged and elderly. Idiopathic Parkinsons disease is the most common type and causes tremors, rigidity and slowness of movement. Although there is no permanent cure, medication and surgery are both available to manage its symptoms. Dr Richard Wade-Martins, University of Oxford is conducting a research on TRAPing Parkinsons why do some cells die? and he aims to find out why some cells die while others live. Parkinsons (PD) is a slowly progressive disease caused by the loss of dopamine brain cells (neurons). Dopamine, are brain cells produced in the substantia nigra of the brain. It is a neurotransmitter and a chemical messenger. Messages are transmitted between the substantia nigra and other parts of the body by dopamine. Dopamine brain cell death causes lesser dopamine. This causes impairment of movement in body parts. Advertisement The symptoms of Parkinsons disease begins when about 50 to 80 percent of dopamine neurons have died and it is hard for doctors to detect PD at its early stages. However, about 70 percent of people with the disease experience slight tremors in the hand and the foot over one side of the body. The symptoms are branched out to Primary Motor Symptoms and Secondary Motor Symptoms. The Primary Motor Symptoms are as described here: Resting tremor is usually experienced and happens when a persons muscles are completely relaxed. Typically, tremors on one finger are prominent. is usually experienced and happens when a persons muscles are completely relaxed. Typically, tremors on one finger are prominent. Slow movement also known as bradykinesia or movement disorder is another symptom that results in abnormal stiffness and decreases facial expression. A persons repetitive movements and routine functions are also often affected. This condition of slow movement may often lead to reduced speech. also known as bradykinesia or movement disorder is another symptom that results in abnormal stiffness and decreases facial expression. A persons repetitive movements and routine functions are also often affected. This condition of slow movement may often lead to reduced speech. Rigidity is yet another condition resulting in stiffness and the muscles do not relax like in a normal person. The person experiences rigidity in the neck, shoulder and legs. is yet another condition resulting in stiffness and the muscles do not relax like in a normal person. The person experiences rigidity in the neck, shoulder and legs. Postural instability is the most important sign of a PD patient. The person with this condition loses some reflexes essential for maintaining an upright posture. Patients with balance problem may have difficulty when turning around or pivoting or during quick movements. Advertisement Here is a list of Secondary Motor Symptoms: Freezing causes fear to put the foot forward. The person feels that their feet are stuck to the ground. However it is a temporary feeling. causes fear to put the foot forward. The person feels that their feet are stuck to the ground. However it is a temporary feeling. Micrographia is the result of a Parkinsons patient whose handwriting shrinks. Mask-like Expression happens due to decreased and unconscious facial movements. A PD patient exhibits flexed posture resulting from rigidity and bradykinesia. is the result of a Parkinsons patient whose handwriting shrinks. Mask-like Expression happens due to decreased and unconscious facial movements. A PD patient exhibits flexed posture resulting from rigidity and bradykinesia. Unwanted accelerations occur in PD patients and cause trouble in speech and movement. People who experience festination face greater risks to falls. Advertisement Stage I: This is the mildest stage of PD which least interferes with routine tasks. Tremors and other symptoms are restricted to one side of the body. Stage II: It is a moderate stage in PD where stiffness, tremors and trembling can be noted and facial expressions may change. The symptoms are sensed on both sides of the body. Stage III: This is the mid-stage in PD, which symbolizes a major change point in PD progression. In addition to loss of balance and decreased flexes, the symptoms mentioned in stage II also occur. Occupational therapy combined with medication may help in decreasing the symptoms. Stage IV: In this progressive stage, it becomes difficult for the patient to move without a walker or other assistive device. However, the person can stand without assistance. Stage V: This is the most advanced and debilitating stage of PD. Stiffness in legs may cause freezing when standing. Patients are frequently unable to stand without falling. They may experience hallucinations and occasional delusions. In order to diagnose Parkinsons disease, the physician takes a neurological history and executes an examination. Clinical information provided by the PD person and findings from neurological examination plays a key role in the diagnosis, as there are no standard diagnostic tests available. The observations carried out include: The doctor examines the PD patients expression The patients arms are observed for any tremors that may occur at rest or when extended Stiffness in limbs or neck are observed It is checked if the patient can rise from a chair easily The patients pattern of walking is observed; the patient may be walking in short steps. It is examined if the patients arms swing symmetrically Also, the patients quickness in regaining balance is checked Over the years, it has been concluded that most PD patients respond to medications. However, the duration of drug efficiency varies from one person to another. Movement disorder and also non-motor symptoms vary from person to person. These affect PD patients at all stages of the disease. For some PD patients, fatigue or depression may be more complicated to deal with than movement disorders. In order to manage the symptoms of PD, it is common for PD patients to take an assortment of medications at different times and in different doses. A proper medication schedule provides great benefits to the patient. Certain classes of medication are available to treat PD. However, the exact condition of the patient and symptoms are diagnosed before prescribing the right combinations of medication and treatments. Some of the Medications are mentioned below: Carbidopa/ Levodopa Therapy Dopamine Agonists Anticholinergics MAO-B Inhibitors COMT Inhibitors Drugs What is Wilms Tumor? Wilms tumor (WT) is the most common cancerous pediatric kidney tumor, generally seen in children of less than five years of age. It is also called as nephroblastoma and is named after Max Wilms, a German surgeon and pathologist, who was one of the first to describe this disease in 1899. Wilms tumor generally affects the kidney, but sometimes extra renal locations have been reported, such as the testis, retroperitoneum, inguinal canal, the sacrococcygeal region, uterus, and mediastinum. Age- This tumor is generally common in young children, with the average age being about 3 to 4 years. Race-The African-American children are at somewhat higher risk of getting Wilms tumor than whites and the risk is lowest among Asian-American children. Gender- Girls have a rather higher risk of Wilms tumor than boys. Family history- About 1-2% of children with Wilms tumors have one or more relatives but not the parents with the same kidney cancer and these children are somewhat more likely to have tumors in both kidneys. Birth defects /Genetic syndromes - About 1 child in 10 with Wilms tumor also has certain birth defects or syndromes. Wilms tumor is more common in children with congenital malformations and certain birth defects: Aniridia- It is characterized by complete or partial lack of the iris of the eyes. Hemihypertrophy- Children with this defect have an oversized arm and/or leg on one side of the body. Cryptorchidism- It is the failure of the testicles to descend into the scrotum in boys. Hypospadias- This is a defect in boys where the urinary opening is on the underside of the penis. Wilms tumor usually affects only one kidney (unilateral), but sometimes it affects both the kidneys (bilateral) in about 1 out of every 20 children diagnosed with Wilms tumor. Wilms tumors are classified into 2 major types based on their appearance under the microscope: Advertisement Favorable: The tumor cells in this type dont look quite normal, but they are not of high malignant type or anaplastic. Majority of Wilms tumors have favorable histology and the chances of curing children with these tumors are very high. Unfavorable (Anaplastic): The appearance of the tumor cells varies greatly, with large and irregularly shaped nuclei and is called as anaplasia. The treatment of Wilms tumor becomes inversely proportional to the level of anaplasia the tumor exhibits. The reason why some children get Wilms tumor is not known, however researchers have made progress in determining how the Wilms tumor can arise during the course of normal development of kidneys. Genetic Mutations leading to Wilms tumor - Mutations in some genes increase the chances of getting a Wilms tumor. For example, mutations in WT1 or WT2 genes, which are tumor suppressor genes found on chromosome 11 give rise to a small number of Wilms tumors. In about 30 % of Wilms tumors, there is inactivation of WTX, a tumor suppressor gene present on the X chromosome. Further, CTNNB1, the gene encoding the proto-oncogene beta-catenin, is sometimes altered in Wilms tumor cells, but it is not clear exactly what causes these genes to be altered. Also, most cases do not have mutations in any of these genes. Some gene changes can be inherited, but most Wilms tumors are not the result of known inherited syndromes. Most Wilms tumors have no definite cause, but there are some factors that affect the risk. Syndromes linked to Wilms tumor include: WAGR syndrome: WAGR is a rare genetic syndrome and predisposes the affected children to - Wilms tumor Aniridia Genitourinary tract abnormalities (defects of the kidneys, urinary tract, penis, clitoris, scrotum, ovaries or testicles) Retardation Advertisement Children suffering from this syndrome lack the part of chromosome 11 having the WT1 gene and often have tumors in both kidneys. Denys-Drash syndrome and Frasier syndrome: These syndromes are very rare and also been linked to mutations in the WT1 gene. In Denys-Drash syndrome, when the child is young, the kidneys become diseased, the Wilms tumors develop and the reproductive organs dont develop normally. As the risk of getting Wilms tumors is quite high, doctors often advise removing the kidneys soon after the diagnosis. In Frasier syndrome, the kidneys are also diseased, but they generally work till adolescence, the reproductive organs dont develop normally and these children are at increased risk for Wilms tumors and cancers in the reproductive organs. Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome: It is caused by a defect in chromosome 11 that affects the WT2 gene. The affected children are quite big for their age, have larger than normal internal organs, an enlarged tongue and suffer from hemihypertrophy and have about 5% risk of having Wilms tumor. Sometimes, Wilms tumor is linked to other syndromes such as Bloom syndrome, Perlman syndrome,Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Sotos syndrome, Simpson-Golabi-Behmel syndrome and Trisomy 18. It is difficult to find out the symptoms of Wilms tumor as these tumors grow large in the absence of any symptoms. Advertisement Swelling or a hard mass in the abdomen -The first sign of a Wilms tumor is swelling or a hard mass in the abdomen which can be noticed by the parents while bathing or dressing the child. Generally, it is not painful, but it might cause abdominal pain and discomfort in some children. Nausea, fever, shortness of breath, constipation, loss of appetite, blood in the urine are some other symptoms. Sometimes, patients experience high blood pressure which can cause problems such as headaches, bleeding inside the eye, or even a change in consciousness, however, many of these symptoms can be caused by something else other than Wilms tumor. Newborn kids with WAGR syndrome are noticed to have aniridia and should be subjected to further diagnosis (aniridia - complete or partial lack of the iris of the eyes). To diagnose Wilms tumor, the doctor may suggest: Physical examination: The doctor will look for the possible signs of Wilms tumor. Blood and urine tests: These tests can't detect Wilms tumor, but they can indicate the kidney function and anemia. Imaging tests: Simple test like an ultrasound is sufficient to diagnose the tumor. Once the tumor is suspected, ultrasound can be supplemented by CT scan to determine the exact location of the tumor in the kidney and whether it has spread to other parts of the body. Biopsy: In most instances, imaging tests are sufficient to diagnose and confirm Wilms tumor. Very rarely a biopsy maybe suggested, where a small piece of the tumor is removed and checked under a microscope. The cells in Wilms tumors have a characteristic appearance. Staging Once Wilms tumor is diagnosed, doctor tries to determine the extent (stage) of the cancer to determine the treatment options. Staging requires tests such as a chest X-ray and a bone scan to determine whether the cancer has spread beyond the kidneys. CT scan too is reviewed for such staging. In the United States, guidelines developed through the National Wilms Tumor Study (NWTS) of the Children's Oncology Group include five stages: Stage I: The cancer is localized within one kidney and can be completely removed with surgery. The cancer is localized within one kidney and can be completely removed with surgery. Stage II: The cancer has spread to the nearby fat or blood vessels, but it can still be completely removed by surgery. The cancer has spread to the nearby fat or blood vessels, but it can still be completely removed by surgery. Stage III: The cancer has spread beyond the kidney area to nearby lymph nodes or other structures within the abdomen, so, the tumor may splatter within the abdomen before or during surgery, or it may not be completely removed by surgery. The cancer has spread beyond the kidney area to nearby lymph nodes or other structures within the abdomen, so, the tumor may splatter within the abdomen before or during surgery, or it may not be completely removed by surgery. Stage IV: The cancer has spread outside the kidney to distant structures, such as the lungs, liver, bones or brain. The cancer has spread outside the kidney to distant structures, such as the lungs, liver, bones or brain. Stage V: In this stage, cancer cells are present in both the kidneys (bilateral tumors). Depending on the stage of the tumor, treatment may vary. Surgery: Treatment for Wilms tumor may begin with surgery to remove all or part of a kidney (nephrectomy). It may include: If the tumor is very small, partial nephrectomy can be performed which involves removal of the tumor and a small part of the kidney tissue surrounding it. can be performed which involves removal of the tumor and a small part of the kidney tissue surrounding it. In a radical nephrectomy, the kidney, surrounding tissues, part of the ureter, nearby lymph nodes and sometimes the adrenal gland are removed. If the cancer has affected both the kidneys, then both the kidneys might be removed and in that case, dialysis and kidney transplant at a later stage is an option. In an approach to cure the child of the cancer, different international groups have brought forward some different approaches. These are discussed below: Chemotherapy: If Societe Internationale D'oncologie Pediatrique (SIOP) method is followed, then chemotherapy is used before surgery to shrink tumors and make them easier to remove (called as neoadjuvant chemotherapy). NWTS too allows for chemotherapy to be used as an adjuvant therapy but after the surgery to kill any cancer cells that may remain in the body. Further, chemotherapy may also be an option for children whose cancers are too advanced to be removed completely with surgery. Chemotherapy protocols vary from study to study; however, the main drugs administered include vincristine, dactinomycin, and doxorubicin. As most of the medications used in chemotherapy for Wilms tumor cause side effects, the doctors will warn the parents on how to manage and reduce them. Radiation therapy: Depending on the stage of the tumor, radiation therapy may be recommended. Radiation therapy uses high-energy beams to shrink a tumor before surgery or destroy cancer cells that remain after surgery and to treat a large tumor or a tumor that has spread to other parts of the body. It is generally preferred for children with stage III or IV Wilms tumor with a favorable histology and for all children who have tumors with an anaplastic histology. Prognosis: The outcome for Wilms tumor is very good for children and about 85 to 90% of Wilms tumor patients with favorable histology can be cured, however, the outcome is not good for patients with anaplastic histology, a more aggressive form of Wilms tumor. Patients who have undergone treatment for Wilms tumor should continue regular medical follow-up as 25% of survivors develop health problems such as high blood pressure and problems associated with heart and kidney function. The survivors of Wilms tumor are at increased risk of developing another cancer such as breast cancer, bone and soft tissue sarcomas, lymphoma, leukemia, gastrointestinal tumors and skin cancer. As Wilms tumor is not caused by any known lifestyle or environmental factor, there is no way to prevent Wilms tumor in children. Wilms tumor arises in the fetal cells that failed to develop into mature kidney cells and that cannot be prevented by any means during pregnancy. However, in children suffering from Denys-Drash syndrome, it is recommended to remove the kidneys at a very young age to prevent tumors from developing. Catholic Health event focuses on achievements of women in health care Catholic Health will present a panel discussion focusing on the achievements of women in healthcare March 15 in honor of Womens Month. The livestream event, Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Healthcare is scheduled to take place from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. from Seneca One tower. WGRZ-TV anchor and reporter Claudine Ewing will serve as moderator for the event, which will feature panelists Dr. LaVonne Ansari, CEO and executive director of Community Health Center of Buffalo; Joyce Markiewicz, president and CEO of Catholic Health; and Dr. Nancy Nielsen, senior associate dean for health policy at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. According to organizers, the panel discussion will explore what needs to be done to ensure equal access to healthcare, and career development opportunities in the health professions. Discussion will also focus on the social determinants of health, creating inclusive career development initiatives and empowering women to lead. The event is open to the public and will be available to watch at Facebook.com/CatholicHealth. - Harold McNeil About High or low thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level is indicative of a dysfunctional thyroid. The thyroid is a gland situated in the front of the neck that secretes two hormones, thyroxine or T4 and thyronine or T3. The thyroid hormones influence important metabolic processes in the body. Increase in thyroid hormone production by the thyroid gland results in a condition called hyperthyroidism, whereas a decrease in thyroid hormones production results in hypothyroidism. Untreated hyperthyroidism can lead to atrial fibrillation or abnormal heart rhythm, heart failure, osteoporosis or bone thinning, and neuropsychiatric problems. Hypothyroidism, if untreated, can lead to fatigue, weight gain, mental slowing, heart failure, and increase in cholesterol levels. Secretion of thyroid hormones is controlled by a hormone secreted by the pituitary gland (a small gland at the base of the skull) called thyroid stimulating hormone or TSH. If thyroid hormone levels fall (as in hypothyroidism), it is followed by an increased secretion of TSH, which tries to maintain the level of thyroid hormone. On the other hand, if the level of thyroid hormone increases (as in hyperthyroidism), the level of TSH falls. Measurement of the thyroid hormone levels T3 and T4 as well as TSH help to estimate thyroid function. Subclinical thyroid dysfunction occurs in about 3 to 8 percent individuals of the general population. It is found more commonly in women and older individuals. People with subclinical thyroid dysfunction do not suffer from any symptoms. Their T3 and T4 levels are normal; however, their TSH may be either high or low. These patients could progress to thyroid dysfunction. Subclinical hyperthyroidism (with low TSH levels) may be associated with atrial fibrillation, dementia or forgetfulness, and osteoporosis. Subclinical hypothyroidism may be associated with poor obstetric outcomes and can affect development of brain function in children. Screening for thyroid function could help to detect thyroid dysfunction in these individuals, and enable early treatment. Advertisement Effective treatments for thyroid dysfunction are available, thus early diagnosis and timely treatment is definitely useful in preventing complications. Screening Test for Thyroid Dysfunction Routine screening for thyroid dysfunction by measuring TSH levels is currently not recommended by the US Preventative Task Force. What are the current recommendations for screening for thyroid disease? The US Preventative Task Force, which recommends various screening tests in the United States, does not recommend routine screening for thyroid function. It no doubt agrees that screening does detect cases that do not show any symptoms i.e. cases of subclinical thyroid dysfunction. However, treating these cases has not resulted in much benefit. Mild changes in TSH alone sometimes recover on their own without treatment. False positive results during screening could also result in overtreatment. Taking into consideration the side effects of thyroid and anti-thyroid medications, this could prove more harmful than beneficial. According to the recommendations from the American College of Gynecology, routine thyroid testing is not recommended in all pregnant women and should be done only in women with symptoms of thyroid disease, history of thyroid disease in the past, or the presence of any other medical conditions associated with it, such as diabetes. On the other hand, screening is recommended for all newborn infants between two to four days of birth to rule out congenital hypothyroidism or hypothyroidism present from birth. Testing may be done before two days if the baby is discharged early, though false positive results may be obtained in these cases. Congenital hypothyroidism can result in mental retardation unless the condition is diagnosed and treated within the first two weeks of life. Thus, early detection through screening enables early treatment. Advertisement What are the tests recommended for screening for thyroid disease? Screening for thyroid disease is done through a simple and accurate blood test i.e. measurement of TSH levels in the blood. Normal TSH values vary with each laboratory, though the acceptable range in a normal adult is usually between 0.5 and 4.5/5.0. Higher levels indicate hypothyroidism whereas lower levels indicate hyperthyroidism. Taking a medical history and examining the patient can also help to diagnose thyroid disease, though changes in TSH usually occur before the development of physical changes. For screening congenital hypothyroidism, two methods are used: Measurement of TSH with T4 estimation if TSH levels are high T4 measurement with TSH estimation if T4 levels are low Simultaneous measurement of T4 and TSH is an ideal method for detection of thyroid abnormalities, though it is not practical to be implemented on a large scale as a screening test. Babies with low T4 levels and TSH levels of more than 40 mU per L are diagnosed as suffering from congenital hypothyroidism. If TSH levels are high but less than 40 mU per L, repeat testing is recommended. Advertisement What are the other tests used detect thyroid dysfunction? Measurement of thyroid hormones T3 and T4 are also used to diagnose thyroid dysfunction. A high level of these hormones above the normal range indicates hyperthyroidism, whereas a low level indicates hypothyroidism. Tests to detect certain antibodies in the blood can help to diagnose the particular condition. For example, presence of thyroid-stimulating antibodies is observed in patients with Graves disease. Radiological tests like ultrasound and CT scan help to diagnose the specific condition and rule out cancer of the thyroid gland. A fine needle aspiration cytology test or FNAC also helps to rule out cancer. Frequently Asked Questions 1. Which doctor should I visit to get a thyroid test done? Thyroid tests are done in a pathology laboratory. You could ask your family doctor to recommend a laboratory to you. If the test is abnormal, you may have to visit an endocrinologist for treatment. 2. What treatment is recommended for thyroid disease? Hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism are treated with the help of drugs. In hypothyroidism, thyroid hormone is replaced through medications. In hyperthyroidism, medications are given to reduce the production of thyroid hormone. Radioactive iodine is recommended in some cases. Radioactive iodine gets concentrated in the thyroid gland and destroys the gland. Surgery is recommended in some cases, especially if the gland is large or if cancer is suspected. 3. Which individuals are at high risk for developing thyroid dysfunction? Elderly individuals, women post delivery, those exposed to high levels of radiation and patients with Down syndrome are at a high risk for developing thyroid dysfunction. Patients with conditions like diabetes, vitiligo, pernicious anemia and premature graying of hair or having family members suffering from these conditions are also at a risk. Drugs like amiodarone used for abnormal heart rhythms and lithium used for manic depressive psychosis could also result in thyroid dysfunction. About The State Government of Tamil Nadu has introduced a new Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme for the residents of the state. A sum of Rs.150 crores has been allotted for this. This was announced in the Assembly by the Finance Minister Mr. O. Panneerselvam on 4th August 2011. The new insurance scheme will replace the previous ''Kalaignar Insurance Scheme'' that covered 642 medical procedures and which expired on 5th July 2011. The Chief Ministers Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme is launched through the United Insurance Company Ltd. The United Insurance Company is a public sector Insurer which is headquartered at Chennai; its aim is to provide free medical and surgical treatment in Government and Private hospitals to family members whose yearly income is less than Rs. 72,000/- (as certified by the Village Administrative Officers). This health insurance scheme covers all expenses related to the hospitalization of the beneficiary as mentioned in the Scope of the Scheme. This scheme will cover 1,016 procedures, 113 follow-up procedures and 23 diagnostic procedures. The cost of tests necessary for treatment would also be part of the insurance cover. The Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme provides cashless hospitalization facility for specified diseases/procedures. This scheme permits a coverage up to Rs. 1,00,000/- per family per year on a floater basis for the diseases and medical procedures which are covered under the Annexure C. For few specified critical diseases and medical procedures which are covered under Annexure D in this health insurance scheme, the limit is increased from Rs.1,00,000 to Rs. 1,50,000/ In this scheme free health camps/screening camps will be organized by the network hospitals as per the instructions given by the project director of Tamil Nadu Health Systems Society. At least one camp per month per empanelled hospital will be held in the districts in every policy year. Priority for Government Hospitals The new scheme also seeks to give government hospitals priority over those in the private sector. Certain types of treatments will be permitted only in government hospitals and special wards will be set up for this in hospitals approved by the Government. Advertisement Under the scheme, certain medical procedures will be allowed to be performed only at government hospitals, which will help in their upgradation and special and exclusive areas will be earmarked in the government hospitals identified under the scheme. Interim Period The State Government would identify an insurance firm for implementing the new insurance scheme. During the interim period, till the insurance firm is selected, those requiring treatment will be allowed under the existing scheme at recognized hospitals limited to the amount fixed under the scheme. The required amount incurred on treatment would be sent directly to the hospital. Every family member whose annual family income is less than Rs.72,000/- according to Village Administrative Officer or any other person who is eligible for coverage under the "Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme" by the Government will be "Eligible Persons" under the Scheme. The family includes the eligible member and the other members of his or her family as follows: Legal spouse of the eligible person Children of the eligible individual till they get employed or married or reach 25 years of age, whichever is earlier, and others who are dependent on the eligible person. Dependent parents of the eligible person. Advertisement The prevalent 642 types of surgeries have been reformed with a number of 950 types of procedures permissible in the scheme including the treatment for infants. All the tests for patients undergoing treatment will be confined to the stipulated amount. Also the amount incurred by the patients for the test undergone through government and private hospitals will be included in the insurance even in cases where surgeries were not done. This was not available in the earlier scheme. Expenses Being Covered The expenses will be covered, if the patients are recommended to undergo these tests through government hospitals or medical camps; do not need to undergo surgery following the diagnostic procedures. The earlier scheme does not cover such treatment if the patient does not undergo surgery. Other Additional Features Other additional features in the proposed scheme include cover for expenses incurred by the patient a day before being admitted to the hospital and for 5 days following discharge from the hospital; and cover for treatment that may be needed following surgery. This was not there in the old scheme. The amount required for post operative treatment for certain diseases would be fixed and paid later. Advertisement Dedicated Facilities Government hospitals will also be upgraded with dedicated facilities created under this scheme to encourage the public to use the services of Government hospitals. The insurance cover will also be paid to government hospitals apart from certain types of treatments, which will be extended only in Government hospitals under this scheme. Separate Fund Chief Minister Ms. Jayalalithaa said the system of providing the treatment charges directly to the private hospitals would also be extended to the government hospitals. Under the scheme, certain medical procedures will be allowed to be performed only at government hospitals which will help in their upgradation. A separate fund is earmarked for the continuation of surgeries which may be needed in selected cases. There was no provision for that in the previous scheme. This will attract more patients to the government hospitals, she said. Improvement of Primary Health Care Facilities in Urban Areas By implementing the new insurance scheme, the people of Tamil Nadu are assured of quality medical facilities, Ms Jayalalithaa added. The government will focus on improvement of primary health care facilities in urban areas. The 60 centers already sanctioned under the National Rural Health Mission, will be shifted under the administrative and technical control of the Directorate of Public Health. Further, the Urban Primary Health Care centers will be set up in 75 more small urban towns. A super-specialty center, at a cost of Rs.100 crores, would be set up in Annal Gandhi Government Hospital, Tiruchi. Infrastructure and Equipment Upgradation Infrastructure and equipment upgradation has been planned for district hospitals and poison treatment centers at a cost of Rs. 55 crores, under the Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project. Also, under public-private partnership agreements, diagnostic facilities at the major hospitals will be improved, and state-of-the-art computer aided laboratories established in all districts in a phased manner. Emergency Transportation Emergency transportation provided through the 108 ambulance service will further be extended to offering inter-facility transfer for all emergencies. Additionally, special vehicles will be put into service in tribal and hilly areas, and one vehicle will be provided per district for transporting new born babies. Tamil Nadu State Population whose annual family income of less than Rs 72,000/-, and all the families including welfare board members who were enrolled early are eligible to get benefit in this interim period. New families can also get benefit with production of income certificate and ration card. They are eligible to get benefit up to Rs. 1 lakh in this interim period. The State Government plans to give a big impetus to healthcare, with accent on modernization and accessibility of services. The Government had proposed an outlay of Rs 4,761 crore for healthcare this year, during the recent Budget session. Key among its various initiatives is the revamped health insurance scheme and the proposal to convert the new Secretariat complex into a multi-specialty hospital and medical college. 1. Super Specialty Centers The multi-specialty hospital in Chennai's Anna Salai proposes to provide specialty treatment free of cost to the needy, will house modern equipment; medical experts, nurses and technical staff will also be appointed. The hospital will match the facilities at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, said the Chief Minister, Ms. J. Jayalalithaa. In the recently presented Budget, the State Government had also announced setting up of a super-specialty centre in Annal Gandhi Government Hospital, Tiruchi, at a cost of Rs 100 crore. 2. Universal Healthcare Two major schemes, the National Rural Health Mission (NHRM) and Tamil Nadu Health System Project are being implemented to achieve the goal of universal healthcare in the State. During 2011-12, the Government proposes to spend Rs 900 crore under NRHM. The State Government says it will focus on improving primary healthcare facilities in urban areas as they are inadequate at present. 3. Hospital on Wheels A Hospital on Wheels' scheme will be launched by the Government to provide healthcare services at the doorstep in remote areas. The Government also proposes to distribute sanitary napkins free of cost to rural girls. A sum of Rs 46 crore has been provided in the Revised Budget Estimates for this purpose. Bids Invited A tender inviting bids from insurance company to implement the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme in Tamil Nadu has already been announced. The coverage will be up to Rs 1 lakh per family per year with provision to pay up to Rs 1.5 lakh per year per family for certain specified procedures. The Project Director, Tamil Nadu Health Systems Society, will pay the insurance premium on behalf of the eligible persons to the successful bidder. The premium will be paid every year in 4 quarterly installments. About The term Health Insurance is used to describe a form of insurance that pays for medical expenses. It is used more broadly to include insurance that covers disability or long-term nursing or custodial care needs. In simple words, if you are covered under Health Insurance, you pay some amount of premium every year to an insurance company and if you have an accident or if you have to undergo an operation or a surgery, the insurance company will pay for the medical expenses. It takes just one visit to a hospital to make us realize how vulnerable we are. It is a tough ordeal if you are diagnosed with an illness and need to be hospitalized, no matter if you are rich or poor, male or female, young or old. The list of lifestyle diseases like heart problems, diabetes, stroke, renal failure, some cancers just seems to get longer and more common these days. Thankfully there are more specialty hospitals and specialist doctors but all that comes at a cost. The super rich can afford such costs, but what about an average middle class person? For an illness that requires hospitalization / surgery, costs can easily run into 5 figures. A Health Insurance Policy can cover such expenses to a large extent. Types of Health Insurance: There are mainly 3 types of Health Insurance covers which are as follows. Individual Mediclaim: The simplest form of health insurance is the Individual Mediclaim policy. It covers the hospitalization expenses for an individual for up to the sum assured limit. The premium is dependent on the sum assured. It is a cover which takes care of medical expenses following Hospitalization / Domiciliary Hospitalization of the insured in case of sudden illness, accident and any surgery which is required in respect of any disease which has arisen during the policy period. This cover is a hospitalization cover and reimburses the medical expenses incurred in respect of covered disease / surgery while the insured was admitted in the hospital as an inpatient. The cover also extends to pre- hospitalization and post- hospitalization for periods of 30 days and 60 days respectively. Example: If a family has 4 members you can take an individual cover of Rs. 2 lakhs each for each member. Each member is now covered for 2 lakhs. If all the 4 members are hospitalized, all 4 of them can get expenses recovered up to Rs 2 lakhs each. All the 4 policies are independent. Family Floater Policy: Family Floater Policy is an enhanced version of the mediclaim policy. The policy covers each family member and the entire familys expenses are covered up to the sum assured limit. The family floater plans premium is less than the separate insurance cover for each family member. Example: If a family of 4 takes a family floater policy of Rs. 8 lakhs, they can claim medical expenses up to Rs. 8 lakhs in that policy year. If one person is hospitalized and claims Rs. 3 lakhs, it will be paid, but they will be left with only Rs. 5 lakh worth of medical expenses that can be reimbursed in that year. The next year, the policy will start with a fresh Rs. 8 lakhs. So, in many ways the family floater plan offers flexibility in terms of utilizing the overall insurance coverage among the group. Advertisement Unit Linked Health Plans: What is a Birth Control Implant? A birth control implant is a small thin rod that is inserted under the skin on the inside of the upper arm and releases hormone gradually into the body. This hormone, Progestin or Progestogen, prevents pregnancy or contraception. The birth control or contraceptive implant gives protection from pregnancy for a period of about four years. It is a type of long-acting reversible contraceptive like an intrauterine. The doctor or nurse injects an anesthetic to make a small patch of the arm numb. Then, they use a special inserter tool to slide the implant under the skin. It is the most convenient and effective method to control pregnancy. The birth control implant is prescribed as Nexplanon, in the United States. It was earlier sold in Australia, as Implanon, which contained Etonogestrel, a progesterone-like hormone. How Does an Implant Prevent Pregnancy? The implant releases the hormone Progestin, which prevents pregnancy in two ways: Progestin thickens the mucus in the cervix which prevents the sperms from swimming to the egg. Thus, the sperm and egg do not get fertilized. Progestin prevents the eggs from leaving the ovaries and thus, there is no egg to fertilize. The implant is convenient and confidential - It is concealed under the skin The birth control implants or chips are long acting - they last for 3 to 5 years - Implants make the periods better - Nexplanon reduces period cramps and makes the period lighter Implants are insert and forget type of contraceptives - Once implanted, there is no need think about contraception every day Implants have only one hormone, Progestin - The other birth control methods have two hormones, Estrogen and Progestin. Estrogen is not tolerated by many people; hence, Nexplanon becomes the preferred choice when Estrogen has to be avoided as a medication Nexplanon is not permanent- it is reversible - The implant does not affect fertility and the woman can become pregnant as soon as the implant is removed Implants work better than birth control patches, pills or vaginal rings Implants do not interfere with sexual intercourse The disadvantages of birth control implant include: Irregular or longer than usual periods could occur in the first 6 months Insertion and removal has to be done with a minor procedure No protection against sexually transmitted diseases Slight bruising or pain when first inserted into the arm; there is a small risk of infection The doctor must be consulted if any of the following symptoms are noted: Pus, redness or bleeding in the arm where the implant was inserted Irregular or heavy bleeding from vagina Implant seems to have shifted position Yellowing of skin or eyes How Effective is a Birth Control Implant? The implant is very effective in protecting from pregnancy all day, for up to four years. It is not permanent, hence, if one wants to get pregnant, the doctor or nurse can remove the implant from the woman and she can become pregnant. The implant is about 99% effective in controlling pregnancy. Statistical reports indicate that 1 in 20 women may still get pregnant, in spite of having implants. However, the effectiveness of an implant can be reduced by certain medications: TB medicine HIV medicine Mental disorder medicine Antiseizure medicine Herbal medicine like St. Johns Wort Side effects with the arm implants are rare. Some side effects which could occur include: Breast pain or tenderness Headaches Weight gain Nausea Infection where implant was inserted Ovarian cysts Mood changes Pain or bruise around the area where implant was inserted How long does it take for the Birth Control Implant to work? If an implant is inserted during the first five days of the period, the woman is protected from pregnancy immediately. However, if the implant is inserted at any other time of the menstrual cycle, some other form of birth control, e.g. female condom, will have to be used during the first week. After that week, the implant starts working and the woman is protected from pregnancy, for a period of about 4 years. About Dental braces are dental devices used to align and straighten teeth. The third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey states that 59% children in the United States suffer from some form of malocclusion. Dental devices are placed by an orthodontist. Braces consist of brackets and wires which are attached to your teeth to align them. Most people undertake Orthodontic treatment to improve their appearance while others may undertake this treatment to improve the functional relation of their teeth.(1 Trusted Source Orthodontic Treatment Go to source) Why undertake Orthodontic Treatment? You may decide to undertake orthodontic treatment due to a variety of reasons. Some of them are: To improve your appearance: a variety of dental malocclusions may compromise your appearance. This may include crowding of your teeth to proclined (forward projecting) upper front teeth. To improve the functional relation of your upper and lower teeth: your upper and lower back teeth come together while chewing and swallowing. The front teeth when too proclined lead to disorders like mouth breathing or acquired tongue thrusting. Getting malocclusions treated at the correct age will help improve various oral functions. To improve general dental heath: crowding or teeth that are not in proper alignment are difficult to keep clean resulting in caries and periodontal problems. Orthodontic treatment can get these teeth into proper alignment thereby improving the general dental health. Advertisement Who needs Braces? Orthodontic treatment is generally performed in children and adolescents, that is, individuals in their growing age, as the results expected are better. However this treatment can also be undertaken by adults. With improvements in techniques, the results achieved are becoming more reliable. Some pointers that indicate that your child might need orthodontic treatment are: Crowding: The teeth may overlap each other instead of being in proper alignment. Spacing: There may be large gaps between the teeth; this can compromise aesthetics as well as result in food impaction between the teeth. Open bite: The upper and lower front teeth may not be aligned properly resulting in a perceptible gap between them when the patient bites. This can compromise the function and aesthetics of the individual as well as result in oral habits such as tongue thrusting and mouth breathing. Poor alignment of your front teeth: The upper front teeth may show excessive proclination or may retroclined in relation to the lower front teeth. The reverse may also be true where your lower front teeth are outwardly inclined as compared to your upper front teeth. In both these cases, aesthetics and function are compromised. Traumatic bite: When the upper and lower front teeth show excessive overlap such that they rub against each other or the palate when the teeth are brought together, the condition is referred to as deep or traumatic bite. In such cases, it is important to get the condition treated as soon as it is detected to avoid trauma to the teeth or the soft tissue. Crossbite: Normally, the upper teeth are placed outwards while the lower teeth are placed inwards; when this relation is reversed, it is known as crossbite. The condition can result in poor function of teeth as well as trauma to the cheeks and gums. Treatment of impacted teeth: Impacted teeth are those teeth which do not erupt / appear in the oral cavity at the correct age and may stay buried in the jaw bone. These teeth can cause complications ranging from poor appearance to dental cysts. Braces may be used to assist in the eruption of such teeth. Advertisement What are Braces and how do they work? Dental Braces are one of the names given to fixed orthodontic appliances. Orthodontics is the dental speciality that deals with the treatment of malocclusions, that is, deviation in the position of teeth or the upper and lower jaws. These malocclusions may be treated using fixed (dental braces) or removable appliances. Braces consist of brackets (rectangular slots that are attached to your teeth) and wires. Braces work on the principal that when force is applied on bone it undergoes remodelling, that is, some areas will show bone formation and some areas will show bone resorption. They work by applying slow but sustained force on your teeth; this force in turn is transmitted to the bone. Areas where pressure is being applied will show resorption while areas where tension is created will show bone formation. This controlled force over time will cause the movement of your teeth in the bone allowing them to come into the proper alignment.(2 Trusted Source Your Complete Guide to Adult Braces Go to source) Advertisement Best time to get orthodontic treatment: Studies suggest that the best results can be achieved when the child is in his/her growing age. Parents should visit a dentist when the child is around 7 yrs old so as to get any interceptive orthodontic measures if possible. At this age, interception of a malocclusion can reduce the degree of subsequent treatment.(3 Trusted Source Importance of Orthodontics Go to source) Fixed orthodontics can be performed for all ages. However, the best time to go for this treatment is 10-18 yrs. Treatment options: Treatment options for braces are: Traditional metal wired braces are of stainless steel and are the most common type of braces. They consist of metal bracket and the metal wire secured either using elastics or they may be self ligating, where there is no need for the elastics. The main disadvantage of these braces is the poor aesthetics due to the obvious display of metal. Ceramic braces are a cosmetic alternative to metal braces. Their color matches that of the teeth, thereby blending in more with the dentition. However, the chief disadvantage of these braces is their tendency to break. Lingual braces: Traditional braces are fixed to the front or visible part of your teeth. Lingual braces are however attached to the lingual or inner surface of your teeth making them a more aesthetic treatment alternative. The disadvantage with this treatment option is that it cannot be used for all cases. Titanium braces are similar to stainless steel braces and are indicated in patients who are allergic to nickel. Their disadvantage is their greater cost and metallic appearance. Clear aligners: These are customized appliances made of plastic that offer the advantage of being more aesthetic. They can be removed by the patient while brushing and eating food. This system however has its disadvantage of being very expensive and as all types of tooth movements are not possible, the scope is also limited. Suresmile system: This is a computer-assisted system for diagnosis, treatment planning and fabrication of the brackets. The system consists of scanners that scan the teeth and formulate a treatment plan. The dentist can send the information to specialized labs that fabricate the brackets. The disadvantage of this system is its high cost and, being a relatively new system, it may not be available with all dentists. Fitting procedure: The initial procedure involves thorough diagnosis and treatment planning. This may involve making models of your teeth for which the dentist will take impressions of your teeth. Radiographic examinations may also be performed. After the dentist has reached a conclusion as to the most appropriate treatment plan for you, he/she may start with the treatment. The dentist may decide to extract some of your teeth, most often premolars. This is generally done before the braces are fixed. The extractions are carried out in a phased manner, generally one tooth at a time. After the extraction, on a subsequent appointment, the dentist will fix the braces to your teeth. The brackets are attached to your teeth with special cements and then the wire is secured to your braces either with elastics or the braces may be self ligating. In subsequent appointments, the dentist will either re-examine your teeth for appropriate movement or may add a new wire to further move the teeth. Orthodontic treatment may last from anywhere between 2-3 yrs.(4 Trusted Source Dental Braces Go to source) Post treatment: After the dentist decides that the treatment is complete, he will remove the braces and prescribe a retainer. The function of the retainer is to ensure that the teeth do not move back into their original position as bone remodelling undergoes for 6 months to a year. In some cases the dentist may also give you a fixed retainer; these retainers are fixed to your teeth. Home care instructions: The orthodontist will give you certain instructions that must be followed to minimize the complications and ensure optimum results. These often include: Brushing after each meal. after each meal. Fluoride mouth rises. Regular use of dental floss. In case the dentist has prescribed any removable appliance such as a retainer, it must be worn regularly. The device should be kept clean and immersed in water when outside the mouth. Risks of orthodontic treatment: As with any intervention, orthodontic procedures are associated with some risks. However, it must be pointed out that proper treatment planning, follow-up and religiously following your orthodontist home care instructions can considerably reduce these problems. Some of the problems associated with orthodontic treatments are: Tooth decay: An orthodontic patient is more prone to dental decay as braces make it difficult to keep your teeth clean. It is important that meticulous oral hygiene is maintained; along with this your dentist may also prescribe fluoride mouth rises to prevent caries. Root resorption: If excessive force is applied on teeth, it may result in root resorption and even loss of teeth. It is important that the dentist applies slow and sustained force on teeth.( Trusted Source Root Resorption Associated with Orthodontic Tooth Movement: A Systematic Review Go to source Trusted Source Loss of periodontal support: The difficulty in maintaining oral hygiene also may cause break down of the periodontal ligament of your teeth. Again, it is important that proper oral hygiene be maintained. Cost: Braces may cost about $5000 or around 15000-50000 Indian rupees based on the duration and complexity of the treatment. Trusted Source Medical malpractice litigation and daylight saving time Go to source Trusted Source Research spanning three decades exposes a correlation between daylight saving time and heightened medical malpractice severity, prompting calls for policy reevaluation for public health. #malpractice #daylight #medical Thirty Years of Malpractice Claims Advertisement Advertisement Did You Know? Medical malpractice is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, accounting for thousands of fatalities each year. Medical malpractice litigation and daylight saving time - (https://jcsm.aasm.org/doi/10.5664/jcsm.11038) Comprehensive study spanning three decades reveals a correlation between daylight saving time in the U.S. and the heightened severity of medical malpractice incidents, shedding light on a concerning trend as published in thethe official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine ().Results show that both medical malpractice incident severity and payment decisions were higher during the months of daylight saving time compared with the months of standard time, after controlling for whether states observe daylight saving time.Payment decisions also were higher, but medical incidents were not more severe, during the one week following the spring transition to daylight saving time.The spring daylight saving shift has long been connected to sleepiness cardiovascular events , and driving accidents, but only recently have we begun to recognize that decision-making processes are also affected at the population level by the spring time shift, said principal investigator Michael Scullin, who has a doctorate in psychological science and is an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.The current results add to this literature by showing that an area that one would hope would be immune medical errors and malpractice litigation is susceptible, too.According to the AASM, standard time is optimal because it is closely aligned with the position of the sun in the sky, known as solar time.This synchrony is important for the body becausethat regulates the timing of alertness, sleepiness, and other biological functions.By artificially shifting clock time an hour forward, daylight saving time causes a misalignment between clock time and solar time, disrupting the circadian rhythm. This disruption can affect sleep , alertness, mood, and performance.The researchers analyzed 288,432 malpractice claims between January 1990 and September 2018 from the National Practitioner Data Bank, the most extensive database of malpractice incidents in the U.S.To investigate the acute effects of daylight saving time, they compared claims for one week before and after the springtime change.They also assessed chronic effects by comparing claims during the months of daylight saving time with those during the months of standard time. Control states were those that remained on permanent standard time: Arizona, Hawaii, and Indiana (until April 2006).According to first author Chenlu Gao, the design of the study did not allow for an assessment of causality, but the results suggest that daylight saving time has an impact on healthcare outcomes and costs.In addition to the acute shift to daylight saving time, it is possible that several months of living under daylight saving time leads to accrued circadian misalignment, which then could affect medical errors and legal evaluations, said Gao, who has a doctorate in behavioral neuroscience and is a postdoctoral research fellow in the department of anesthesia, critical care, and pain medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.Our work joins numerous other studies that document the detrimental effects of spring daylight saving time transitions, and the collective evidence should encourage stakeholders and policymakers to reevaluate daylight saving time for the well-being of the general public.Scullin and Gao were assisted by Candice Lage, who is a research assistant in the Sleep Neuroscience and Cognition Laboratory at Baylor.The researchers were supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Alzheimers Association, American Academy of Sleep Medicine Foundation, BrightFocus Foundation, and National Institute on Aging.Source-Eurekalert Trusted Source National Poll on Healthy Aging reports Go to source Trusted Source Aspirin usage in older adults is prevalent despite evolving guidelines favoring precision medicine; a recent poll highlights a need for dialogue between patients and healthcare providers regarding individualized preventive measures and informed decision-making. #aspirin #cardiovasculardisease #bleeding Aspirin Trends Among Older Adults Advertisement Advertisement Challenges and Considerations for Older Adults Did You Know? Social connections and community involvement are vital aspects of healthy aging, contributing to emotional well-being, cognitive function, and overall quality of life. National Poll on Healthy Aging reports - (https://www.healthyagingpoll.org/reports-more/report/nearly-1-3-older-michiganders-became-scam-victims-last-two-years-poll-finds) Many adults aged 50 to 80 consume aspirin regularly to prevent heart attacks and strokes , although over half do not have cardiovascular disease, posing minimal preventive benefits and heightened bleeding risks ().But many people aged 50 to 80 who said they take aspirin may not need to, the findings from thesuggest.In all, 57% of people aged 50 to 80 who say they take aspirin regularly also said they dont have a history of cardiovascular disease . Such people should have a conversation with their healthcare provider about whats best for them before stopping or starting aspirin use.National guidelines have changed in recent years for using aspirin for prevention, because of new knowledge about who gets the most benefit from its ability to reduce the risk of blood clots , and who faces a risk of bleeding.Now, guidelines mostly focus on aspirin use in those who already have cardiovascular disease including those who have survived a heart attack or stroke and those who face a high risk of it because of their personal health and family history.The poll shows that 14% of all adults aged 50 to 80 are taking aspirin even though they have no history of cardiovascular issues.Whether or not someone has a cardiovascular history, aspirin does pose a bleeding risk that increases with age.That has led to guidelines that advise against routine aspirin use after age 70, or suggest that it may be reasonable to consider stopping around age 75, in those without cardiovascular disease.The poll finds that 42% of all adults aged 75 to 80 are taking aspirin. Meanwhile, 31% of all older adults aged 50 to 80 who take aspirin dont appear to know about the bleeding risk associated with it.The poll is based at the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation and supported by AARP and Michigan Medicine, U-Ms academic medical center.The poll team asked a national sample of adults aged 50 to 80 about their health history and use of aspirin; those who take it were also asked about why.Aspirin is no longer a one-size-fits-all preventive tool for older adults, which for decades it was touted as, says Jordan Schaefer, M.D., M.Sc., a hematologist at Michigan Medicine who worked with the poll team.This poll shows we have a long way to go to make sure aspirin use is consistent with current knowledge.Adds Geoffrey Barnes, M.D., M.Sc., a Michigan Medicine cardiologist who also worked on the poll, As guidelines change, its important for everyone over 40 to talk with their health care provider about their cardiovascular risk based on their family history, past health issues, current medications, recent test results like blood pressure cholesterol and blood sugar, and lifestyle factors like smoking , physical activity, and eating habits. Preventive aspirin use should be based on age plus these factors.In all, the poll finds thatSchaefer and Barnes note that because of continuing research on aspirin, two major guidelines changed in recent years for older adults who dont have a history of cardiovascular disease. In such people, taking aspirin is called primary prevention.The American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association together say that daily low-dose aspirin use might be considered for the prevention of cardiovascular disease for select adults 40 to 70 of age who are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but not bleeding, based on a guideline updated in 2019.The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which advises the federal government updated its guideline in 2022 and recommends against initiating aspirin for the prevention of cardiovascular disease in adults 60 years or older.The AHA and ACC offer online calculators to help clinicians estimate a persons 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease if they dont already have it.Adults aged 40-70 at higher cardiovascular disease risk may be good candidates for aspirin as primary prevention but should always talk with a healthcare provider before starting to take it.Meanwhile, for people who have already had a heart attack, some types of stroke, or other cardiovascular diagnoses, the use of aspirin is still generally recommended unless the person is unable to tolerate it or has an unacceptable bleeding risk.This is called secondary prevention and should be done only under the supervision of a healthcare provider.The poll shows the importance of open communication between health care providers and their older patients about all types of medication and supplements, including those like aspirin which are available over the counter without a prescription.The poll finds thatHowever, 77% of those who take aspirin and have no cardiovascular history said the same suggesting a need for a discussion about updated guidelines.Also among those who take aspirin but have no cardiovascular disease history, 20% said they started doing it on their own and 5% said friends and family had advised them.Thanks to updated knowledge, and reductions in other major risk factors such as smoking, we can use aspirin more precisely, focusing on those who need this inexpensive and easy-to-obtain preventive medication most and avoiding unnecessary risks for others, said poll director Jeffrey Kullgren, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.These poll findings should spur more conversations between health care providers and patients about whats right for them. Kullgren is a primary care physician at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System and associate professor of internal medicine at U-M.The poll report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for IHPI and administered online and via phone in July and August 2023 among 2,657 adults aged 50 to 80, with an oversample of non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic populations.The sample was subsequently weighted to reflect the U.S. population.Source-Eurekalert Jonathan Sanger is the kind of Hollywood filmmaker that Buffalo always wanted and is getting. Hes a producer from New York City who is now based in Los Angeles, but is charmed and enticed by the idea of making movies in Western New York. Sanger, an Academy Award winner, has made two feature films here: The first one, Marshall, was shot in 2016 and brought a red-carpet cast to Buffalo, including Kate Hudson and the late Chadwick Boseman. Building a backlot from ground up, Buffalo expands filmmaking role with 'Cabrini' The size and scope of this Buffalo backlot it covers three city blocks could signal a new stage of the Buffalo movie industry. The second, Cabrini, premieres this weekend. It tells the story of Mother Francesca Cabrini, a nun who advocated relentlessly for immigrant orphans in New York City in the late 1800s. Our initial intention was not to shoot the movie here, Sanger said. We thought we would actually shoot it in New York City, because thats where it took place. But the fact is, theres very, very little of New York left that could really work for the movie. Thats because the Lower Manhattan neighborhood then known as Five Points has transformed. Today, youll find a federal courthouse and New Yorks Chinatown not exactly the setting for a movie set in the late 1800s. Cabrini film turns Delaware Park into movie set Class war broke out on a movie set in Delaware Park Thursday and Friday nights, in scenes filmed for a movie with the working title, "The Untitled Cabrini Film." That turned Sanger and his colleagues to Buffalo, where they worked with the Buffalo Niagara Film Commission to set up shooting in 2021. They transformed an old warehouse area south of the city into a temporary Five Points, and shot nearly all of the film in and near Buffalo, save for a week or so spent in Italy for things we couldnt do here like the Vatican, Sanger said. Having shot Marshall here, I knew that Buffalo had the architecture and the kind of infrastructure to do this movie right. In a conversation with The Buffalo News earlier this week during a visit to Buffalo for a cast and crew premiere, Sanger also revealed he has another film in the works that he expects to shoot in Buffalo. Here are edited excerpts: What made Buffalo work for Cabrini? Sanger: Because you have all these brick warehouses from the time period when Buffalo had all these steel mills and everything else, I knew we could probably find some very interesting exterior locations and build on the front of these buildings. We actually created Five Points in South Buffalo. The rest of the movie was shot near the Erie Canal, Knox Farm, the City of Niagara Falls in an old hotel that needed to be refurbished, and it was perfect for us. We did a lot of Italy here, too. We needed to do the Italian Senate, and thought that was going to be something we should shoot in Italy, but ended up doing it right here in City Hall. We found what we wanted here. One of the key things about Buffalo is the fact that every major American architect worked here. Youve got houses and buildings built by I.M. Pei and H.H. Richardson and Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright. Youve got really interesting architecture and can do many different time periods. When I did Marshall here, it was perfect for the 1940s. We used the old train station (Buffalo Central Terminal) and we used City Hall. In Cabrini, we really did have the opportunity to use the city, and I think most people who know it will notice the scale and size and the buildings in the film. Youve become a big supporter of making films in Buffalo. Why? Sanger: When we came here to Buffalo, we didnt know much about the town, at all. I knew about the rough times Buffalo went through in the 80s and 90s, when a lot of major industries left. What (Film Commissioner) Tim Clark showed us that the city had come back almost as a kind of art colony, with a lot of great buildings and locations that still existed and werent torn down. There was a lot of civic pride in the area, and it meant a lot to us. When we came here for Marshall, in the local unions that we use in the film business, there were only maybe about 25 people. By the time we came back for Cabrini, there were like 250 people who were in unions, so we could really hire locally a tremendous number of our crew. We also did a lot of casting here, all the small-part casting, and all of the extras. You dont have the rush hour here; moving around was easier. And I really think the Buffalo Niagara Film Commission is the best in the country. I dont know any place where its any better. I think (Director of Operations) Rich Wall and Tim Clark are as good as anybody out there. Ive worked in a lot of different places, so I dont have to come to any particular location. New York State does have a great (tax) benefit. Gov. Kathy Hochul has really embraced filmmaking in the state, and it really helps upstate, where the benefit is the best in the state, and probably the best in the country. How soon are you hoping to be back? Sanger: I would expect to be back this year. I think we have a movie that, if were lucky, it would be ready to film maybe in early fall, so we would be prepping it during the summer. But Ive also been speaking to other companies that I know will be coming up here even before that. I want to work here more. In fact, I wouldnt mind having a place here and spending a lot more time. Its certainly good in the warm months of the year. But Im a New Yorker by birth, so I like seasons, and I love it up here. Its been a great experience. Following President Joe Biden's official announcement that he is ordering the U.S. military to set up a maritime corridor, the Pentagon's top spokesman said that officials are working on a plan to create a temporary pier in the besieged territory of Gaza to deliver aid and supplies. Spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters at a briefing Friday that the Pentagon has begun rolling out a plan to use an Army Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, operation in the next 60 days to deliver more than two million meals a day to Gaza residents, many of whom are on the brink of starvation amid Israels war on Hamas. Ryder stressed that the system being planned necessitates "the presence of U.S. military personnel on military vessels offshore but does not require U.S. military personnel to go ashore." Read Next: Ospreys Cleared to Fly Again After Deadly Crash Despite Mechanical Failure with Unknown Cause According to Ryder, the plan will include setting up a floating pier somewhere offshore, where commercial vessels carrying aid -- likely loaded at Cyprus -- will be able to offload it. That aid will then be moved to Navy logistic support vessels, which will take it to another floating causeway or pier that will be approximately 1,800 feet long with two lanes and anchored to the beach of Gaza, Ryder said. At this point, the Pentagon is expecting that other regional partners will step in and not only anchor the platform but help conduct security and offload the goods. "To be clear, it will not be U.S. military personnel that are transporting the aid off of the causeway to Gaza," Ryder said. This entire effort is expected to involve more than 1,000 U.S. forces between the Army and Navy and a multitude of units and ships -- many of which have yet to be identified. Ryder did confirm that elements of the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary) from Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia have already been tasked to support the mission. The Pentagon spokesman added that parts of the mission will entail working with Military Sealift Command but said that no Navy warships will be directly involved in the aid delivery effort, noting that "this is not a combat capability." Part of the reason that the Biden administration feels the need to go with such a complex and expensive plan to deliver aid to Gaza is because moving it over land has proven to be slow and ineffective, with delays and backlogs developing at the handful of border crossings into the region. "It would obviously make a huge difference if those trucks could get into Rafah, and this is why you see the State Department and others working with officials in the region to try to facilitate that process," Ryder said. In the meantime, the administration has ordered airdrops of supplies into the area, which have been helpful but don't come close to fulfilling Gaza's overwhelming need. Ryder said that another Air Force C-130 Hercules dropped 11,500 meals Friday, bringing the total number of meals delivered since the drops began last Saturday to 124,000. However, independent estimates say that the region needs around 3.3 million meals daily -- roughly 260 C-130 drops a day. The airdrops themselves have also started to become a problem. Several outlets reported that five Palestinians were killed when a recent airdrop allegedly went wrong, but Pentagon officials said that the deaths were not the result of U.S. efforts. When asked whether the Pentagon is concerned about Hamas firing on the sealift operations once they are going, Ryder said, "That's certainly a risk." Related: Military to Conduct Airdrops of Humanitarian Aid into Gaza as Concern for Palestinian Civilians Mounts Russian performers pose with volunteers at the 2023 Shanghai Cooperation Organization International Investment and Trade Expo in Qingdao, Shandong province, in June. The expo provided a platform of cooperation and communication for SCO and countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. LI ZIHENG/XINHUA In the eyes of many foreign diplomats and policy analysts, working toward "an equal and orderly multipolar world" has become a catchphrase and a key goal emphasized by Chinese diplomats in speeches, readouts of meetings and signed articles in recent months. Siddharth Chatterjee, the United Nations resident coordinator in China, has witnessed how China has prioritized global multipolarity and shored up multilateralism. "China's leadership is crucial to resurrect the whole spirit of multilateralism," he said in a recent interview with China Daily. He stressed that the world's efforts on multipolarity "have to meet at one place, and that is why the United Nations is there". "The work that China is doing both at the headquarters in the UN and as a country is remarkable on all counts, and I am really happy that we can look at 2024 with real hope," he added. While some researchers and officials in Europe and the United States are still debating the definition of multipolarity, Beijing and its partners have been seeking to make the concept better understood over the past few decades. One of the many examples is a joint communique issued by China and Indonesia in December 1999. It says both sides agree that "multipolarization is a general trend in establishing a more just and balanced world order". Boosting global multipolarity has also been mentioned by Beijing in official meetings with France, Russia and the European Union. At the end of last year, the urge for "an equal and orderly multipolar world" together with "a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization" was made clear at the Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs. Held in Beijing from Dec 27-28 and chaired by President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the conference is a high-level meeting held every five years to chart the course of foreign policy. It was attended by many key diplomats, including ambassadors based abroad. "An equal, orderly multipolar world" means that "every country or grouping of countries find its own place" in the global multipolar system, Foreign Minister Wang Yi explained in an article published in Qiushi, a flagship magazine of the CPC Central Committee, in January. Wang underlined the need to "put an end to the traditional narrative that always relates multipolarity to only a few major countries", adding that multipolarity should become a process of countries seeking "unity, dialogue and cooperation rather than division, confrontation and conflicts". To better explain the concept to the rest of the world, Chinese ambassadors based overseas, including those who also serve as members of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, have published articles on the subject recently. Zhang Hanhui, a member of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC and China's ambassador to Russia, said that the world today is "no longer a world in which only a few major countries have the final say". "Solidarity, dialogue, cooperation and a win-win approach are all that the international community has in mind and is looking forward to," he wrote in an op-ed published in a Russian newspaper earlier this year. "As the world's largest developing country and a member of the Global South, China has always practiced its vision of global governance featuring extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefits," he said. "China does not seek hegemony, expansion or spheres of influence, it opposes the monopolization of international affairs by only a few countries, and it advances world politics toward fairness, justice, equality and sustainability," he added. Photovoltaic panels manufactured by Chinese company DMEGC are prepared for delivery in Ahrensburg near Hamburg, Germany, in October. The company saw a 50 percent increase in its exports to Europe in the first half of 2023. REN PENGFEI/XINHUA Lasting pursuit for equality China's desire for an equal, orderly multipolar world has been responded to by like-minded nations, including those in Africa. During a state visit to China by Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio that ended this month, the two governments issued a joint statement. The two sides agreed that "it is necessary to uphold the equality of all countries regardless of their size, large or small, oppose hegemony and power politics, work for an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization". When rolling out its diplomatic actions to advance the building of a multipolar world over the past decades, Beijing "has been consistent and faithful in seeking equality, mutual learning among cultures and rejecting hegemony", according to members of the CPPCC National Committee. China's efforts in seeking exchanges and mutual understanding among cultures "carry forward and develop the fine traditions of Chinese diplomacy and the landmark Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence it proposed", said Liu Xianzhong, a member of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and director of the Department of Russian History and Culture at the Institute of Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He noted that when it comes to China-Russia relations, both Beijing and Moscow uphold the idea of friendship handed down by generations and win-win cooperation. A businesswoman slices Iberian ham imported from Spain at the Yiwu International Trade Market in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, in July. Frequent China-Europe freight train services link Yiwu and Madrid two cities known for their small goods that are 13,000 kilometers apart. HUANG ZONGZHI/XINHUA "The two countries stick to the principles of non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting of third countries," he said. When approaching relations with the United States, China upholds the three principles as put forward by Xi peaceful coexistence, mutual respect and win-win cooperation. "Mutual respect means respecting each other's social systems and development paths; core interests and major concerns; and each other's right to seek development," Liu said. The Belt and Road Initiative, on which China has worked with numerous countries since 2013, "transcends differences in cultures, social systems and varying stages of development, and creates a new path for interaction among countries", he added. When explaining why China supports seeking equality in a multipolar world, Wu Jianghao, a member of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and China's ambassador to Japan, pointed to a landmark document signed by Beijing and Tokyo more than 40 years ago rejecting hegemony. In 1978, the leaders of China and Japan signed the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, which Wu said "serves the fundamental interests of the two peoples". "The treaty clearly underscores rejecting hegemony, and it solemnly states that China and Japan do not seek hegemony and they oppose attempts by any other country or grouping of countries to establish such hegemony," he said. According to Wu, seeking equality in a multipolar world means "opposing the monopoly of only a few countries in international affairs, and effectively promoting the democratization of international relations". "In response to a series of major issues and challenges in today's world, China and Japan should not forget the original aspiration of the treaty," he said. The envoy highlighted the need for Japan to maintain strategic autonomy, and he urged both nations to "jointly stand by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and adhere to the universally recognized basic norms of international relations, and practice genuine multilateralism". Rejecting confrontation While co-chairing the 25th China-France Strategic Dialogue in Paris with French President's Diplomatic Counselor Emmanuel Bonne last month, Foreign Minister Wang reiterated that Beijing "regards Europe as an important pole in the multipolarization process". "China supports Europe in strengthening its strategic autonomy and holding its future in its own hands," the Foreign Ministry quoted Wang as saying in a statement. In a video speech to a reception in January celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China-France diplomatic relations, Xi said the two sides should "jointly advocate an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization". Lu Shaye, a member of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and China's ambassador to France, said the two important proposals put forward by Xi "are of China's solution to a series of major challenges in today's world, and fit very well with the current world situation". "The two proposals also rhyme with some of France's foreign policies," he noted. As part of its efforts to promote a multipolar world, Beijing looks to strengthen cooperation with Paris in the international and multilateral arena and jointly promote the resolution of some international issues, including some hotspot ones, he said. Speaking of the lingering Ukraine crisis, Lu said, "We have always been advocating peacemaking and promoting talks, and we are also against some countries' adding fuel to this crisis. "China believes that the conflicts and wars in today's world are not conducive to the progress and prosperity of humanity," he said. "The end point of any war is the negotiation table, and it is better to talk sooner rather than later." He noted that when it comes to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, China's viewpoints and positions are not always on the same page with parties such as Europe and France, but "it doesn't matter". "We can seek common ground and put our differences aside. If everyone's common goal is peace, let's work in that direction," he said. Speaking on the EU, Lu said that China has always regarded it as a comprehensive strategic partner. However, the EU's three-sided definition of China a partner for cooperation, an economic competitor and a systemic rival "is actually ambivalent", he warned. "The Chinese culture believes that, 'Since I treat you as a friend or as a partner, I will not do anything unfavorable to you, and I will not take you as a rival and stab you in the back'," the envoy said. "Despite the differences between Chinese and Western cultures, the Chinese side is willing to continue to cooperate with the EU side," he added. Foreign Minister Wang Yi chairs a United Nations Security Council meeting on the Palestinian-Israeli crisis on Nov 29 in New York. The meeting was initiated by China, which was the rotating president of the council in November. LI RUI/XINHUA A fairer world Recently at the UN headquarters in New York, the world has seen how hard China's representatives have worked with colleagues from many member states to seek a resolution at the UN Security Council for a ceasefire in Gaza. Zhang Jun, a member of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and China's permanent representative to the UN, told China Daily that as the country advocates an equal and orderly multipolar world, it "firmly upholds and practices genuine multilateralism, and contributes solutions and takes actions to address global challenges". "China shares the same future through thick and thin with other developing countries, and it safeguards the common interests of developing countries and the Global South," he said. When asked about how China firmly safeguards international fairness and justice, he referred to the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict. Since its outbreak, Beijing has "made unremitting efforts to facilitate a cease-fire and an end to the war, and has always stood on the side of justice and human conscience", he said. Liao Liqiang, a member of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and China's ambassador to Egypt, noted that China has earnestly implemented the Global Security Initiative, actively urging peace and promoting talks, and "constructively participating in resolving global and regional hotspot issues such as the Palestine-Israel conflict". He noted in an article published in January that President Xi has on many occasions articulated China's principled position on the current Israeli-Palestinian situation, and that Beijing has released a position paper on the resolution of the conflict. "China will put forward more Chinese proposals for solving the world's hotspot and difficult issues," Liao said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has praised the country as "a pillar of the multilateral system" on multiple occasions in recent years. "China is playing an increasingly important role in leading the way forward, upholding justice and promoting cooperation in UN affairs, and the world is witnessing an increasingly different China," said Zhang, China's top envoy to the UN. He stressed that no matter how the international situation changes, China will "always fulfill its duties and assume its purpose as a major country". "China will work with other countries to promote the development and improvement of the global governance system and move forward toward the goal of building a community with a shared future for mankind," he added. "May the world come out of the mist of turbulence and uncertainty at an early date, and humanity usher in a harmonious and bright future," he said. An agricultural technician instructs a farmer on planting peppers in Sao Tome and Principe in July. China initiated a demonstration poverty reduction project with the African country in 2021. HAN XU/XINHUA There's a lot of ifs in play here over the next four weeks and it's hard to not look back at what was two losses to the Ducks and that 9-4 t Before Amed Rosario signed a one-year, $1.5MM deal with the Rays, the Yankees offered the infielder a one-year contract with a significantly higher $4MM salary, the New York Posts Joel Sherman reports. While Rosario can earn another $500K in bonus money with Tampa, agent Ulises Cabrera told Sherman that his client was more interested in steady playing time than in extra guaranteed salary, as Rosario wouldve been ticketed as a bench or backup option in the Bronx. Since Yankee targets Rosario and Enrique Hernandez have now both left the free agent market, Sherman feels the team will keep looking for veteran infield depth, and perhaps might pursue players currently on other rosters who might be cut or squeezed out of jobs late in Spring Training. Oswald Peraza, of course, is ostensibly already slated to be New Yorks backup infielder and backup shortstop in particular. However, the Yankees might prefer to continue Perazas development by giving him everyday work at Triple-A rather than more a sporadic part-time role in the Show. There is also the question of Perazas health, as a right shoulder issue has been bothering the infielder for the last two weeks. Manager Aaron Boone said the Yankees dont consider the injury to be overly serious for now, though Peraza is undergoing testing to determine the nature of the problem. More from around the AL East UPDATE: A suspect was arrested around 2 p.m. WYOMING, MI - The Wyoming Police Department has been involved in an hours long standoff with a suspect at an apartment complex. CADILLAC, MI - A man was arrested early Saturday, March 9 after police say he drove a vehicle through the wall of a house. Cadillac Police Department officers responding to the scene found the front half of the vehicle inside the residence on the 500 block of Linden Street, a news release said. MUSKEGON, MI - If youre looking for the next go-to spot for authentic Mexican eats, this Muskegon food truck might be your new favorite. Miguel Mendoza opened Tacos Los Primos at 631 W. Southern Ave. in Muskegon in July 2018 due to his passion for cooking since he was just a child watching his dad work the kitchen in Mexico. His daughter Briana Mendoza, who now works as the cashier and stocks inventory on the food truck, said her grandfathers recipes are what the food truck serves today. He learned from watching his dad cook in Mexico, and thats how he got these recipes, she said. Thats what made him want to open a food truck. She told MLive/Muskegon Chronicle that the food truck is very family-oriented, with her mother working alongside her father. I think what makes us unique is when my dad makes the food, he puts a lot of love into it, Mendoza said. I still think he has a unique taste. Mendoza said the best sellers remain the steak and ground beef tacos for $3 and the steak quesadilla for $10. People like to get Mexican style with onion and cilantro or mix it with all toppings like lettuce, cheese, tomato, and sour cream, she said. I like to make the steak and the shrimp, and I get that as a taco or a quesadilla. Customers can also look forward to the food trucks popular quesabirria tacos, which use savory meat stewed for hours in a mix of chiles and vegetables. The broth is served on the side for dipping, making it a one-of-a-kind tasty dish. Tacos Los Primos is located in the parking lot of Frontier Mart at the corner of Southern and Seaway Drive. Mendoza touts that many locals say they are the best food truck with the best flavor. Everyone has their preferences, but I think his touch, his recipe is just different than others, she said about her father, Miguel. Tacos Los Primos is open from noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday. Call (231) 260-8961 to place a pickup order. Would you like MLive to consider featuring your favorite restaurant in Michigans Best Local Eats? Send the details, including business name, address and best menu item, to Skyla Jewell-Hammie at sjewell-hammie@mlive.com. Want more Muskegon area news? Bookmark the local Muskegon news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Muskegon daily newsletter. Read more: 5 events to check out in Muskegon this weekend (Mar. 8-10) Shoreline Drive road diet report focus of upcoming city commission meeting in Muskegon LaughFest 2024, World of Winter Noodle Fest: 5 events in Grand Rapids this weekend (Mar. 8-10) New wood-fired bar and grill coming to North Muskegon this spring Young people continue to innovate to make a better world. Recently, this page highlighted an article about Grant Wang, who devised an ingenious model to detect offensive content in social media posts. Today, we bring you the story of Sunya Afrasiabi, told by The News Debadrita Sur. Sunyas dream to help immigrants in Buffalo began when she was only 14. Her father is from Iran and her mother is from China. She grew up knowing that people from different cultures could come together. Now, the 17-year-old Williamsville North High School senior has realized her vision through her creation of #MyStory. It is a program that recounts stories of immigrants and refugees. The program documents oral history, photography and features a podcast. It also pairs volunteers with refugees and immigrants to produce story kits that are presented at in-person events and available online. Sunyas program has earned her praise. She was named one of 25 Prudential Emerging Visionaries. She won $5,000 to build on her idea, and the high-schooler will receive an all-expense-paid trip for a three-day summit next month where she will network with other young leaders. That is not all. The program has been showcased in exhibits at SUNY Buffalo State University, Erie County Family Court, the Buffalo & Erie County Library and Sasse Museum of Art in California. Still speaking of young people working to make the world better, students attending the Albert Einstein College of Medicine were delighted to find out their four-year tuition would be free. Ruth Gottesman, a former professor, announced the news to shocked students some cried as she revealed her $1 billion donation to the Bronx school. The funds derived from her late husbands portfolio of Berkshire Hathaway stock. David Gottesman built the Wall Street investment house First Manhattan and was on the board of Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway. He died in 2022 at age 96. The donation is possibly the largest to any U.S. medical school, according to Montefiore Einstein, the umbrella organization for Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Montefiore Health System and it sits in an impoverished part of the city. As the Associated Press quoted one student, there are many first-generation, low-income students who will benefit from Gottesmans donation. And onto good trail news, another one could pop up in the Town of Hamburg, connecting Old East Eden and Gowanda State roads through land owned by New York State. The Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council selected the Town of Hamburg for a feasibility study as part of the councils regional bicycle master plan implementation program. If the trail becomes reality, it will include land in the Hampton Brooks Wood Wildlife Management Area. The area includes about 78 acres of forested woodland, about seven acres of wetland, and approximately four acres of brushland, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Regional transportation group to study trail in Hamburg that ties into Eighteen Mile Creek A new study aims to find out if the Hampton Brooks Wood Wildlife Management Area in Hamburg should include a trail to Eighteen Mile Creek. Doubling down on the sentiments of the Hamburg Trails Committee, the concept is attractive due to the proximity to the Village of Hamburg and creates a wooded trail within the town. This is the first step. A study is expected to begin in September. Heres hoping for happy trails. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC decreased its holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:AGG Free Report) by 21.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,925 shares of the companys stock after selling 1,592 shares during the period. Blueprint Investment Partners LLCs holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF were worth $557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 191.1% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 294 shares of the companys stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. First Manhattan Co. lifted its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 697.9% in the 4th quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 375 shares of the companys stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.21% of the companys stock. Get iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF alerts: iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Stock Up 0.1 % Shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $98.26. The companys stock had a trading volume of 4,512,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,030,337. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.21. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF has a 52 week low of $91.58 and a 52 week high of $100.98. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Company Profile IShares are index funds that are bought and sold like common stocks on national securities exchanges as well as certain foreign exchanges. iShares are attractive because of their relatively low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility. Investors can purchase and sell shares through any brokerage firm, financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AGG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:AGG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Cohen & Company Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:COHN Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 6th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 22nd will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, April 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 21st. Cohen & Company Inc. Stock Performance COHN stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $7.80. 12,950 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,159. Cohen & Company Inc. has a 1 year low of $3.29 and a 1 year high of $11.99. The company has a market capitalization of $14.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.30 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. Get Cohen & Company Inc. alerts: Cohen & Company Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:COHN Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter. Cohen & Company Inc. had a negative net margin of 6.16% and a negative return on equity of 0.04%. The company had revenue of $34.46 million for the quarter. Institutional Trading of Cohen & Company Inc. About Cohen & Company Inc. A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Cohen & Company Inc. stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Cohen & Company Inc. ( NYSEAMERICAN:COHN Free Report ) by 8.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,937 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 2,207 shares during the quarter. BlackRock Inc. owned 1.59% of Cohen & Company Inc. worth $117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. 2.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. (Get Free Report) Cohen & Company Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to individuals and institutions. It manages separate client-focused fixed income portfolios. Institutional Financial Markets, Inc also manages funds and collateralized debt obligations for its clients. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Cohen & Company Inc. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Cohen & Company Inc. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:AGG Free Report) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,267 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 3,289 shares during the quarter. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF comprises 1.9% of Westside Investment Management Inc.s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Westside Investment Management Inc.s holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF were worth $6,608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chapin Davis Inc. grew its position in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 2.4% during the second quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 4,454 shares of the companys stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Wealthsource Partners LLC grew its position in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 0.8% during the second quarter. Wealthsource Partners LLC now owns 13,844 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Brickley Wealth Management grew its position in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 4.4% during the third quarter. Brickley Wealth Management now owns 2,623 shares of the companys stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. RKL Wealth Management LLC grew its position in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 0.3% during the third quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 45,871 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,314,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Pathstone Family Office LLC grew its position in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 2.0% during the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 6,033 shares of the companys stock valued at $581,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.21% of the companys stock. Get iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF alerts: iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Price Performance AGG stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $98.27. 4,820,052 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,038,527. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF has a 52-week low of $91.58 and a 52-week high of $100.98. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $98.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.21. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Profile IShares are index funds that are bought and sold like common stocks on national securities exchanges as well as certain foreign exchanges. iShares are attractive because of their relatively low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility. Investors can purchase and sell shares through any brokerage firm, financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AGG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:AGG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA cut its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ Free Report) by 7.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,482 shares of the companys stock after selling 529 shares during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson accounts for about 0.4% of Morton Capital Management LLC CAs portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Morton Capital Management LLC CAs holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 67,618 shares of the companys stock valued at $14,975,000 after purchasing an additional 5,327 shares in the last quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 88.9% in the 1st quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 175,194 shares of the companys stock valued at $31,049,000 after acquiring an additional 82,429 shares during the period. AMI Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,305 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Equitable Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 45,673 shares of the companys stock valued at $8,095,000 after acquiring an additional 2,119 shares during the period. Finally, USS Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 860,371 shares of the companys stock valued at $152,488,000 after acquiring an additional 20,528 shares during the period. 68.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Johnson & Johnson alerts: Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.4 % Shares of JNJ stock traded up $0.65 on Friday, hitting $159.52. 5,176,295 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,130,534. The firms 50-day moving average price is $159.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $384.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $144.95 and a twelve month high of $175.97. Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement Johnson & Johnson ( NYSE:JNJ Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $21.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $21.02 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 37.27%. The companys revenue was down 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.35 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current year. The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. Johnson & Johnsons dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.47%. Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson In related news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Johnson & Johnson news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on JNJ shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an overweight rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. TheStreet cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from a b rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Friday, November 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $177.31. Get Our Latest Report on JNJ Johnson & Johnson Profile (Free Report) Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding JNJ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Johnson & Johnson Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Johnson & Johnson and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Imperial Brands PLC (LON:IMB Get Free Report)s stock price passed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of GBX 1,840.31 ($23.36) and traded as low as GBX 1,677.50 ($21.29). Imperial Brands shares last traded at GBX 1,692.50 ($21.48), with a volume of 2,376,127 shares. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of brokerages have weighed in on IMB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Imperial Brands from GBX 2,350 ($29.83) to GBX 2,250 ($28.56) and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a GBX 2,325 ($29.51) price objective on shares of Imperial Brands in a research note on Wednesday, November 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Imperial Brands in a research note on Wednesday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of GBX 2,171 ($27.55). Get Imperial Brands alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Report on IMB Imperial Brands Stock Performance Imperial Brands Increases Dividend The firms 50-day moving average price is GBX 1,838.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 1,794.40. The firm has a market capitalization of 14.75 billion, a PE ratio of 674.30, a P/E/G ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 157.30. The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th will be issued a dividend of GBX 51.82 ($0.66) per share. This is a boost from Imperial Brandss previous dividend of $21.59. This represents a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 15th. Imperial Brandss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5,856.57%. Insider Buying and Selling In related news, insider Stefan Bomhard sold 140,219 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 1,843 ($23.39), for a total transaction of 2,584,236.17 ($3,279,903.76). In other Imperial Brands news, insider Stefan Bomhard sold 140,219 shares of Imperial Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 1,843 ($23.39), for a total value of 2,584,236.17 ($3,279,903.76). Also, insider Lukas Paravicini sold 57,407 shares of Imperial Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 1,825 ($23.16), for a total transaction of 1,047,677.75 ($1,329,709.04). 6.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. About Imperial Brands (Get Free Report) Imperial Brands PLC, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, imports, markets, and sells tobacco and tobacco-related products in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australasia. It offers a range of cigarettes, tobacco accessories, vapour, heated tobacco, and oral nicotine. The company sells its products under various brands, including JPS, Davidoff, Gauloises, West, Winston, Kool, Lambert & Butler, Fortuna, Nobel, News, Backwoods, Champion, Golden Virginia, Rizla, Blu, Pulze, Skruf, and Zone X. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Imperial Brands Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Imperial Brands and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Monograph Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 26,171 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,817,000. Procter & Gamble comprises about 0.8% of Monograph Wealth Advisors LLCs holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PG. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,419 shares of the companys stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 94,424 shares of the companys stock valued at $13,772,000 after purchasing an additional 12,016 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,003,260 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,298,184,000 after purchasing an additional 131,339 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 26.9% during the 2nd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,823,380 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,642,339,000 after buying an additional 2,293,824 shares during the period. Finally, Wambolt & Associates LLC boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 19,736 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,995,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.43% of the companys stock. Get Procter & Gamble alerts: Insider Transactions at Procter & Gamble In other news, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total value of $3,549,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,845 shares in the company, valued at $5,943,835.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Procter & Gamble news, CEO R. Alexandra Keith sold 776 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.11, for a total transaction of $122,693.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,859 shares of the companys stock, valued at $768,256.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 22,000 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.32, for a total transaction of $3,549,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,943,835.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 279,063 shares of company stock worth $43,187,745 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.0 % NYSE:PG traded up $0.05 on Friday, reaching $160.67. 3,598,304 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,079,830. The company has a market capitalization of $378.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.91, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 12 month low of $136.10 and a 12 month high of $161.74. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $154.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.37. Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $21.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.48 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.60% and a return on equity of 34.04%. Procter & Gambles revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.59 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year. Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 19th were paid a $0.9407 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 18th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Procter & Gambles dividend payout ratio is presently 62.98%. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In PG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, November 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $177.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a neutral rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Procter & Gamble from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $167.53. Read Our Latest Report on Procter & Gamble Procter & Gamble Profile (Free Report) The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Procter & Gamble Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Procter & Gamble and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. TAP Consulting LLC lessened its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE Free Report) by 46.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,284 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 7,152 shares during the quarter. TAP Consulting LLCs holdings in Pfizer were worth $275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 179.3% in the 2nd quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.05% of the companys stock. Get Pfizer alerts: Insider Activity In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 3,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $79,410.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at $238,230. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Analyst Ratings Changes A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PFE shares. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They set a buy rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen cut shares of Pfizer from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $32.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $34.00 to $27.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $34.00 to $28.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $36.88. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Pfizer Pfizer Stock Up 1.6 % NYSE:PFE traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $27.22. 43,900,938 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 45,051,563. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $25.61 and a one year high of $42.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $27.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.28. The company has a market cap of $153.71 billion, a PE ratio of 74.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.61. Pfizer (NYSE:PFE Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.37 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 3.62% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The businesss revenue was down 41.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year. Pfizer Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 26th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.17%. This is a boost from Pfizers previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 25th. Pfizers payout ratio is presently 466.67%. About Pfizer (Free Report) Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, Zavzpret, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Abrysvo, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Pfizer Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Pfizer and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Taseko Mines (NYSE:TGB Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.01), reports. The firm had revenue of $112.90 million during the quarter. Taseko Mines had a return on equity of 7.49% and a net margin of 2.77%. Taseko Mines Trading Up 6.1 % Shares of Taseko Mines stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1.74. 4,008,410 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,017,709. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.89. The company has a market cap of $505.40 million, a PE ratio of 87.00 and a beta of 1.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1.45 and a 200-day moving average of $1.33. Taseko Mines has a 12 month low of $1.05 and a 12 month high of $1.79. Get Taseko Mines alerts: Hedge Funds Weigh In On Taseko Mines Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in Taseko Mines in the third quarter worth $28,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Taseko Mines by 6.8% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,225,411 shares of the companys stock worth $7,906,000 after purchasing an additional 394,376 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Taseko Mines in the second quarter worth $216,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Taseko Mines by 973.5% in the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 60,117 shares of the companys stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 54,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can bought a new position in Taseko Mines in the second quarter worth $866,000. Institutional investors own 16.75% of the companys stock. About Taseko Mines Taseko Mines Limited, a mining company, acquires, develops, and operates mineral properties. It explores for copper, molybdenum, gold, niobium, and silver deposits. The company holds 75% interest in the Gibraltar mine located in British Columbia. It also holds 100% interest in Yellowhead copper project, the Aley niobium project, and the New Prosperity gold and copper project located in British Columbia; and the Florence copper project located in Arizona. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Taseko Mines Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Taseko Mines and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Tesco PLC (OTCMKTS:TSCDY Get Free Report) passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $11.02 and traded as low as $10.77. Tesco shares last traded at $11.09, with a volume of 113,896 shares changing hands. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Tesco in a report on Thursday, November 16th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. Get Tesco alerts: Read Our Latest Report on TSCDY Tesco Price Performance About Tesco The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $11.02 and a 200 day moving average of $10.50. (Get Free Report) Tesco PLC, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a grocery retailer in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. It offers grocery products through its stores, as well as online. The company is also involved in the food and drink wholesaling activities. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Tesco Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Tesco and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD Get Free Report) and China Construction Bank (OTCMKTS:CICHF Get Free Report) are both financial services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings. Insider and Institutional Ownership 51.5% of Toronto-Dominion Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.7% of China Construction Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Toronto-Dominion Bank shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term. Get Toronto-Dominion Bank alerts: Dividends Toronto-Dominion Bank pays an annual dividend of $2.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. China Construction Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 47.6%. Toronto-Dominion Bank pays out 45.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. China Construction Bank pays out 33.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. China Construction Bank is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio. Profitability Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Toronto-Dominion Bank 11.16% 14.15% 0.75% China Construction Bank N/A N/A N/A Earnings & Valuation This table compares Toronto-Dominion Bank and China Construction Banks net margins, return on equity and return on assets. This table compares Toronto-Dominion Bank and China Construction Banks revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Toronto-Dominion Bank $75.05 billion 1.42 $7.99 billion $4.68 12.89 China Construction Bank N/A N/A N/A $0.91 0.69 Toronto-Dominion Bank has higher revenue and earnings than China Construction Bank. China Construction Bank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Toronto-Dominion Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. Analyst Ratings This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Toronto-Dominion Bank and China Construction Bank, as provided by MarketBeat.com. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Toronto-Dominion Bank 0 5 2 0 2.29 China Construction Bank 0 0 0 0 N/A Toronto-Dominion Bank currently has a consensus price target of $89.33, suggesting a potential upside of 48.10%. Given Toronto-Dominion Banks higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Toronto-Dominion Bank is more favorable than China Construction Bank. Summary Toronto-Dominion Bank beats China Construction Bank on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks. About Toronto-Dominion Bank (Get Free Report) The Toronto-Dominion Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, U.S. Retail, Wealth Management and Insurance, and Wholesale Banking. The company offers personal deposits, such as chequing, savings, and investment products; financing, investment, cash management, international trade, and day-to-day banking services to businesses; and financing options to customers at point of sale for automotive and recreational vehicle purchases. It also provides credit cards and payments; real estate secured lending, auto finance, and consumer lending services; point-of-sale payment solutions for large and small businesses; wealth and asset management products, and advice to retail and institutional clients through direct investing, advice-based, and asset management businesses; and property and casualty insurance, as well as life and health insurance products. The company also provides capital markets, and corporate and investment banking products and services, including underwriting and distribution of new debt and equity issues; advice on strategic acquisitions and divestitures; and trading, funding, and investment services to corporations, governments, and institutions. It offers its products and services under the TD Bank and America's Most Convenient Bank brand names. The Toronto-Dominion Bank was founded in 1855 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. About China Construction Bank (Get Free Report) China Construction Bank Corporation provides various banking and related financial services to individuals and corporate customers in the People's Republic of China and internationally. It operates through Corporate Finance Business, Personal Finance Business, Treasury and Asset Management Business, and Others segments. The company accepts various deposits, such as foreign currency, all in one accounts, RMB, corporate term and notification, and corporate demand deposits, as well corporate deposits by agreement. Its loan products include personal business, car, and housing loans; and SME, traditional credit, commercial draft, buyer credit, and RMB credit line loans. The company also offers credit cards; physical gold for personal investment and personal gold accounts; foreign exchange services; certificate treasury and savings bonds, securities deposit accounts, and securities services, as well as bank-securities transfer and book-entry treasury bond over the counter transaction services; and wealth management products. In addition, it provides collection, salaries payment, third-party collection and payment, insurance agency, and remittance services; international settlement and financing, and FI services; securities and fund settlement services; guarantee-based, consulting and advising, and factoring services; fund custody services; and e-banking services. Further, the company offers institutional services comprising services for government agencies, social security, banks cooperation, bank-securities cooperation, bank-insurance cooperation, and services for non-banking financial institutions. China Construction Bank Corporation was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China. Receive News & Ratings for Toronto-Dominion Bank Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Toronto-Dominion Bank and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. You are already a Moneycontrol Pro user. OK Seeking to ensure a level-playing field in the Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission on Monday ordered the removal of the home secretaries of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and it also directed the shunting out of West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar. Also, the secretary of the general administrative departments of Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh have been removed. The decision to shift the West Bengal DGP was taken as the officer was removed earlier too from active election management-related duty during the 2016 assembly election in the state and in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the sources pointed out. The EC has asked the state chief secretary to post Rajeev Kumar to a "non-election" related assignment, and, as an interim arrangement, post an officer immediately junior to him as DGP. The state has been asked to send a panel of three officers who would be posted as the DGP. The home secretaries of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand were removed as they were found to be holding dual charges in the offices of the chief minister in the respective states. This may potentially compromise or be seen to be compromising the impartiality and neutrality required during the electoral process, especially in matters relating to law and order and deployment of forces, they noted. The poll panel usually takes such action during the parliamentary and the assembly polls when an issue of conflict of interest or possibility of such officials disturbing a level-playing field for all comes up. Ahead of elections, the EC always directs states to transfer officers connected with election related work, who have completed three years or are in their home districts. If such officers are not transferred by the states, the EC orders their removal. Days after announcing the schedule for the Lok Sabha elections, the poll panel under CEC Rajiv Kumar also ordered the removal of Brihanmumbai Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, and additional commissioners and deputy commissioners. Maharashtra had not complied with the directions of transferring such officers in respect of a few municipal commissioners and some additional and deputy municipal commissioners. While conveying displeasure to the state chief secretary, the commission directed the transfer of BMC and the additional and deputy commissioners with the direction to report by 6 pm on Monday. The chief secretary was also directed to transfer all the similarly-placed municipal commissioners and additional or deputy municipal commissioners of other corporations in Maharashtra. The move comes after the commission comprising CEC Kumar and fellow ECs Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu met here on Monday. The elections for the 18th Lok Sabha will begin on April 19 followed by subsequent phases on April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1. Counting of votes will be undertaken on June 4. Separately, assembly elections are being held in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. Counting of votes for Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim assembly elections will take place on June 2. Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day Pallavi Mehra is a freelance lifestyle writer. She is on Instagram at pallywally_ A ship with aid for Gaza has set sail from Cyprus through a safe sea corridor to the occupied territory. The vessel is carrying the first equipment to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies, the US Central Command (Centcom) said in a statement early on Sunday. The US Army Vessel (USAV) General Frank S Besson (LSV-1) departed the joint base Langley-Eustis a military facility in Virginia to the Eastern Mediterranean to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea, Centcom said. It said the vessel left less than 36 hours after president Biden announced the US would provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza by sea. The announcement comes days after Mr Biden vowed to build a temporary pier to supply Gaza. Since Gaza has no port infrastructure, the US would initially use Cyprus, which is offering a process for screening cargo that will include Israeli officials. The US, UK, and other allies rallied to create the maritime corridor amid mounting concerns about the level of aid getting into besieged Gaza, which is facing widespread hunger some five months after the 7 October attack by Hamas. It comes after 100 people were killed while scrambling to find food for their families when crowds descended on a convoy of lorries on the coastal road southwest of Gaza City. Israel said tanks present at the time fired warning shots but did not strike the lorries, adding that many of those killed were run over or trampled. Hamas rejected the account, claiming there was undeniable evidence of directing firing at citizens. Doctors at a nearby hospital said 80 per cent of the victims it treated after the massacre had gunshot wounds. Lord David Cameron, the UK foreign secretary, described the deaths as horrific and called for an immediate investigation and accountability. The Open Arms docked in Larnaca on Saturday (Proactiva Open Arms/AFP) Earlier this week he confirmed that the UK would join the US in creating the sea corridor, with Washington troops also set to create a temporary port on the Gaza coast. Story continues Last week, following the deaths during the convoy incident, the US dropped food in pallets over Gaza. Three planes from Air Forces Central dropped 66 bundles containing about 38,000 meals into the territory. The European Commission said on Friday that the sea route could start operating as early as this weekend. Images on Saturday afternoon showed the vessel, named the Open Arms, remained docked at the port of Larnaca in Cyprus on Saturday. It was expected to set sail before Sunday, although officials were unable to give a precise time for its departure. Cyprus lies about 210 miles northwest of Gaza, or about 15 hours sailing time. The vessel belongs to a Spanish aid organisation of the same name and will deliver food aid from World Central Kitchen, a US charity founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres. Palestinians wait for humanitarian aid on a beachfront in Gaza (AP) In the absence of a port, Open Arms founder Oscar Camps said the ship would arrive at an undisclosed location where the group World Central Kitchen is constructing a pier to receive it. The ship will pull a barge loaded with 200 tons of rice and flour close to the Gaza shore, he added.. Pontoon boats will then be used for the complicated final leg to tow the barge up to the pier. Mr Camps said his group had been planning the delivery for two months, long before the EU declared the launch of the safe corridor. He said hes not as concerned about the security of the ship as about the security and lives of the people who are in Gaza. Gaza has been under an Israeli navy blockade since 2007, when Hamas took control of the enclave. There have been few direct sea arrivals since then. Larnaca port was used by pro-Palestinian activists, who used small sail boats to get into Gaza harbour in 2008. Negotiations on a possible ceasefire in Israels war against Hamas, meanwhile remain deadlocked. The United Nations in February warned that at least one quarter of Gazas population 576,000 people - is one step away from famine and virtually the entire population desperately needs food. Meanwhile, the head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said he was cautiously optimistic more donors would start funding it again within weeks, warning it was at risk of death after Israel alleged some of its staff took part in the 7 October attack. An independent review of UNRWA has been launched under French former foreign minister Catherine Colonna, and her final report is expected to be published next month. Canada and Sweden have said they were resuming their funding of the agency. FILE PHOTO: Lara Trump looks on as she speaks, at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) annual meeting in National Harbor, Maryland, U.S., February 22, 2024. For Italian filmmaker Matteo Garrone, his film Io Capitano (now in theatres and nominated in the 2024 Oscars) was about humanizing and bringing emotion to the statistics we see and read about the journey of migrants West Africa to Europe. "The inspiration starts from the desire to show a part of the journey that we don't see, to give visual form to a part of the journey that we usually don't see," Garrone told Yahoo. "We're used to seeing only the last part, ... when they both arriving in Italy, when they succeed to arrive, the ... count of the people alive, people who died, and the numbers." "So we try to humanize these numbers, we try to put the camera on the other side and to show to the audience, what does it mean to make this epic journey, ... the emotional experience of making the journey through the eyes of this contemporary hero." 'Io Capitano' Oscars contender strives to humanize harrowing journey for African migrants (Immina Films) In the "odyssey" that is Io Capitano, actors Seydou Sarr and Moustapha Fall, from Senegal, play teenage cousins Seydou and Moussa, who we follow from Senegal to Italy, including crossing the Libya desert, and the Mediterranean Sea. "I was looking for actors that could keep this innocence," Garrone said. "So we cast young actor in Senegal and we found Seydou [Sarr] and Moustapha [Fall], [who] immediately became very close friends." "I thought that Seydou could be perfect for the role because he was very shy, and had many elements in common with the character that we wrote." For the actors from Senegal, who had never left the country, Garrone also pulled from their own personal lives for the story, particularly their love of music and dreaming about discovering the world. But to maintain that "innocence" he wanted, Garrone never gave the actors the full script. "I decided to shoot, as I do, in chronologic way, and to [not tell] them about the story too much, so I didn't give the script to them," Garrone said. "Day by day, they were discovering a new adventure." Story continues Io Capitano from Matteo Garrone (Greta De Lazzaris/Immina Films) 'This adventure is a dark page of our contemporary history' The film includes beautiful shots of sweeting landscapes, paired with terrifying moments of this journey, including encounters with human smugglers and being in a corrupt prison in Libya. But Garrone stressed that he always wanted to make this coming-of-age story as authentic as possible. That included working with people who have experienced this journey themselves. "There was only one way to make this movie, to do it with them," Garrone said. "So I've been listening to their story, made the movie together, ... they were co-directors in a way." "For them, it was important to show to the world, what does it mean to make this adventure, and in the last 10 years, 30,000 people have died to make this journey. So it was very important to be true, to be authentic, for the respect of the people that have survived, for the people that died. ... We worked a lot ... on research and documentation. So we wanted it to be true, honest, simple, but at the same time, cinema is a form of art that gives to the audience the possibility to live emotion through the eyes of the actors, through the eyes of the character." The filmmaker highlighted that in Italy, France and Africa, Io Capitano has been shown to school-aged children, and that revealed that these young people felt an immediate connection to these characters. "They discovered that behind the numbers, they are kids like them, the same desires, same dreams," Garrone said. As Garrone described, the film isn't about violence, but rather "human solidarity." "This adventure is a dark page of our contemporary history, so at the end, we didn't make a movie to give an answer to the audience or a thesis, ... we wanted to show ... the journey and then everybody can find the consequence, find the answer, or be more sensitive about this," he said. US accuses Zimbabwe of harassing and deporting officials, as relations deteriorate further HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) The United States State Department said Friday that Zimbabwean authorities detained officials of the U.S. development agency, USAID, before deporting them, as relations between the historical foes deteriorate further. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Zimbabwean officials abruptly detained and deported USAID officials and contractors, who were conducting an assessment of the development and governance context in Zimbabwe. Last week, the U.S sanctioned Zimbabwes President Emmerson Mnangagwa, its first lady and other officials for their alleged involvement in corruption and human rights abuses. The State Department said the incident took place last month, before the latest round of sanctions was announced, although it was only revealed now. The Zimbabwean government and its ruling Zanu-PF party have frequently accused the U.S of interfering in the countrys internal political affairs to effect regime change after Mugabe led an often violent land reform program that drove out white farmers who owned most of the fertile agricultural land to make way for thousands of landless Back Zimbabweans. Miller said members of the assessment team were subject to aggressive handling, prolonged interrogation and intimidation, unsafe and forced nighttime transportation, overnight detention and confinement, and forced removal from the country. In a separate statement, USAID administrator Samantha Power accused the Zimbabwean authorities of seizure of and intrusion into personal electronic equipment of the officials and some contractors. Zimbabwean foreign affairs authorities as well as U.S embassy officials did not respond to requests for comment. Relations between the two countries have been icy since Washington imposed sanctions on the southern African country more than two decades ago over allegations of human rights abuses. Mnangagwa promised democratic reforms and made engagement with the U.S a priority when he replaced longtime ruler Robert Mugabe after a popular army-backed 2017 coup. But he is now accused of being as repressive as his predecessor and mentor. Miller said the actions of the Zimbabwean authorities undermine Mnangagwas claims of re-engagement, adding that we take the safety and security of U.S. citizens seriously and demand accountability from the Government of Zimbabwe. President Joe Biden signed an executive order last week that terminated the use of emergency powers, which had been in place since 2003, to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe over alleged human rights abuses. Simultaneously, the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on three entities and 11 people, including the Mnangagwas and Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, a powerful political figure who led Mugabes ouster as military general before being appointed to his current post. Mnangagwa described the U.S. measures as absolute nonsense and called for the sanctions to be lifted in their entirety. Despite strained political relations, USAID has remained one of Zimbabwe biggest donors in ailing sectors such as health and agriculture. But its human rights programs have constantly attracted criticism from the Zimbabwean government, which frowns at perceived close links between USAID and Zimbabwean non-governmental organizations involved in good governance campaigns. BY FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press Who are the Russian dissidents still serving time after Alexei Navalny died behind bars? Who are the Russian dissidents still serving time after Alexei Navalny died behind bars? View Photo TALLINN, Estonia (AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to secure his fifth term in power this month on the heels of opposition leader Alexei Navalnys death in prison, which devastated Kremlin critics and spurred concerns about the safety of other imprisoned dissidents. Putin has gone from tolerating dissent to suppressing anyone who dared challenge him during his 24-year rule. Over the past decade, his government has restricted freedom of speech and assembly, targeted people considered threats to the Kremlin, and restricted access to many independent news outlets. Most opposition politicians are in prison or exile, and the 71-year-old Russian leader faces only token contenders. Some of the prominent dissidents in prison today are: VLADIMIR KARA-MURZA, SERVING 25 YEARS A prominent opposition figure, Vladimir Kara-Murza was convicted of treason in April 2023 and handed the stiffest sentence for a Kremlin critic in modern Russia. The charges against Kara-Murza, who has been behind bars since his arrest in 2022, stem from a speech that year to the House of Representatives in Arizona, where he denounced Russias invasion of Ukraine. The 42-year-old political activist, who started out as a journalist, was an associate of Russian opposition leader and fierce Putin critic Boris Nemtsov, who was assassinated near the Kremlin in 2015. In 2011 and 2012, Kara-Murza and Nemtsov lobbied for passage of the Magnitsky Act in the United States. The law was in response to the death in prison of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who had exposed a tax fraud scheme. The law has enabled Washington to impose sanctions on Russians deemed to be human rights violators. Kara-Murza has twice survived poisonings he blamed on Russian authorities. He has rejected the charges against him as punishment for standing up to Putin, and likened the proceedings to the show trials under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. Since September 2023, Kara-Murza has been serving his sentence in solitary confinement in the Siberian city of Omsk. In January, he was moved to another penal colony in the city and was put in solitary again. That move has been widely seen as an attempt to pressure a man who, even behind bars, remained a vocal critic of the Kremlin and its war in Ukraine. ILYA YASHIN, SERVING 8 YEARS One of the few well-known Kremlin critics to stay in Russia after the start of the war, Ilya Yashin, 40, was arrested in June 2022 while walking in a Moscow park. He was sentenced to 8 years in prison after he was convicted for spreading false information about Russian soldiers. The charge stemmed from a YouTube livestream in which he talked about civilians slain in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha. After Russian forces withdrew from the area in March 2022, hundreds of corpses were found, some with their hands bound and shot at close range. Yashin, member of a Moscow municipal council, was a vocal Navalny ally and a close associate of Nemtsovs. He is serving time in Russias western Smolensk region. His harsh sentence didnt silence Yashins sharp criticism of the Kremlin. Yashins associates regularly update his social media pages with messages he relays from prison. His YouTube channel has over 1.5 million subscribers. So far the authorities have failed to shut me up, he said in a letter from prison to The Associated Press in September 2022. ANDREI PIVOVAROV, SERVING 4 YEARS Andrei Pivovarov, 42, headed the opposition group Open Russia, which authorities declared an undesirable organization before it was disbanded in 2021. Days later, as he attempted to leave the country, Pivovarov was pulled off an airliner due to take off from St. Petersburg for Warsaw. The authorities accused him of carrying out activities of an undesirable organization. He rejected the charges as politically motivated and driven by his plans to run for a seat in the parliament in the 2021 election. While in pretrial detention, he still managed to run a campaign, but didnt get on the ballot. In July 2022, when the war in Ukraine was in full swing, Pivovarov was sentenced to four years in prison. In a written interview conducted when he was behind bars in December 2022, Pivovarov told the AP that his sentence did not come as a surprise. By the summer of 2022, the political field was completely purged. Those who hadnt left ended up behind bars just like me, Pivovarov wrote. He has been serving time in isolation in a remote penal colony in Russias northwestern Karelia region. LILIA CHANYSHEVA, SERVING 7 YEARS Lilia Chanysheva, the 42-year-old former head of Alexei Navalnys office in the Russian Bashkortostan region, was arrested in November 2021. A court ruling several months earlier had designated Navalnys Foundation for Fighting Corruption and its regional offices as extremist organizations. Following a closed-door trial, Chanysheva was sentenced to 7 years in prison in June 2023 after being found guilty of calling for extremism, forming an extremist group and founding an organization that violates rights. She was also fined 400,000 rubles (about $4,700). Chanysheva rejects the charges as politically motivated. Russian media reported this week that the authorities are now seeking a harsher sentence of 10 years for the former activist. OLEG ORLOV, SERVING 2 YEARS Veteran human rights campaigner Oleg Orlov was convicted by a Moscow court for repeatedly discrediting the Russian military and sentenced to 2 years in prison in February. The 70-year-old co-chair for the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights group Memorial was charged over an article he wrote denouncing Russias war in Ukraine. In 1995, when Chechen rebels in the city of Budyonnovsk took thousands of people hostage in a hospital, Orlov was among the human rights activists who offered themselves as hostages in exchange for the release of civilians. Orlov was convicted and sentenced to a fine of 150,000 rubles (about $1,500 at the time) in October 2023, significantly less than the lengthy prison terms some other Russians have received for criticizing the war. Underscoring Putins low tolerance of criticism of the invasion of Ukraine, the prosecution appealed the fine and sought harsher punishment. In a statement, Memorial called Orlovs sentence an attempt to drown out the voice of the human rights movement in Russia and any criticism of the state. ALEXEI GORINOV, SERVING 7 YEARS Alexei Gorinov, a member of a Moscow municipal council, was the first person to be sentenced to prison under the law penalizing the spread of false information about the Russian military after the invasion of Ukraine. He was arrested in April 2022 after criticizing the war at a municipal council meeting. A YouTube video showed him voicing skepticism about holding a planned childrens art competition in his constituency while everyday children are dying in Ukraine. He was sentenced to seven years in prison. The long sentence for a low-profile activist shocked many. In written comments to AP from behind bars in March 2023, Gorinov, 62, said authorities needed an example they could showcase to others (of) an ordinary person, rather than a public figure. Gorinov has a chronic respiratory condition and had part of a lung removed before he was imprisoned. His health deteriorated during six weeks in solitary confinement in a penal colony in the Vladimir region east of Moscow. He is still recovering. By DASHA LITVINOVA and KATIE MARIE DAVIES Associated Press Event keynote speaker Shasta Nelson View Photos Sonora, CA More than 175 women from the Mother Lode celebrated International Womens Day today by cultivating connections. Attendees learned how to foster healthy friendships at a special workshop hosted by Adventist Health Sonora. The event was held this afternoon at the Sonora Opera Hall in downtown Sonora. Hospital officials noted, Social connections are vital to our physical, mental and spiritual health. And in a small, rural area like ours, strong relationships enable our entire community to thrive. Some local high school students were honored as the emerging next generation of leaders. There was also a panel discussion on local women in leadership. Then attendees heard from the keynote speaker, Shasta Nelson, author, TEDx speaker, and social relationships expert. She explored the science of healthy relationships, developing tools to strengthen relationships and celebrate women as leaders in the community. Admission to the event was $25 per person, with all proceeds benefiting Project HOPE, an AHS crisis fund to support patients in need in the community. Jamestown, CA The Warden at the Sierra Conservation Center (SCC) has taken a new position within the states correction department. Patrick Eaton, of Sonora, has been the warden at the Jamestown prison since February 2021, as earlier reported here. He is leaving to become the Associate Director of Reception Centers at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Besides being the warden, Eaton has held several positions at the prison since 2002, including acting warden, chief deputy warden, associate warden, correctional captain, correctional lieutenant, and correctional sergeant. Before that, he was a correctional sergeant at the Central California Womens Facility from 2000 to 2002 and a correctional officer there from 1999 to 2000. Eaton was also a correctional officer at Salinas Valley State Prison from 1996 to 1999. Eaton took over for Hunter Anglea, who became the SCC acting ward in December 2017 and was appointed warden in August 2018. Governor Gavin Newson announced his promotion this week. Eatons salary will be $197,280 and requires Senate confirmation. Eaton is a Republican. Sonora, CA A Jamestown man has been sentenced to nearly 16 years in prison related to two assault incidents, one involving a K9 officer. Eugene Colis, of Jamestown, has been sentenced to 15 years and 8 months in state prison for assaulting several peace officers. The charges stem from two incidents that occurred in Sonora about a month apart while Colis was on post-community supervision release following his last state prison incarceration. On July 12, 2023, an officer from the Sonora Police Department conducted a traffic stop on a motorcycle. Colis was riding with an improperly mounted license plate and no taillight. He attempted to start the motorcycle and flee the scene, but the officer grabbed his arm to stop him. Colis responded by punching the officer in the face and then fleeing the scene. Then, on August 16, 2023, Colis was spotted on Stockton Street, near Bradford Street. When the deputy tried to approach Colis, he responded by smashing the patrol vehicles windshield with his backpack and running into a local business, where he attacked K-9 Ridge, hitting him four times in the head with a motorcycle helmet. He also used the helmet to strike two Sonora Police officers and attempted to strike two more, as earlier detailed here. Additionally, Colis has 13 prior felony convictions for which he had previously been sentenced to state prison seven separate times. His current conviction for assault with a deadly weapon qualifies as a strike offense under Californias Three Strikes Law if he is convicted of any further felonies in the future. Under current California law, that conviction only qualifies as a serious felony, meaning he is still subject to early consideration for parole under Proposition 57. Peru arrests an Iranian man accused of planning an attack on an Israeli citizen Peru arrests an Iranian man accused of planning an attack on an Israeli citizen View Photo LIMA, Peru (AP) Police in Peru announced the arrest Friday of an Iranian citizen who was purportedly a member of Irans Quds Force and allegedly planned to kill an Israeli citizen in the South American country. Gen. Oscar Arriola, Perus police chief, said in a press conference that Majid Azizi, 56, was arrested Thursday in Lima, along with two Peruvian citizens. Arriola said authorities thwarted the attack against the Israeli. He did not identify the intended target for security reasons. Police are still looking for a third Peruvian they think was in charge of the plot to kill the Israeli man, he said. Arriola said Azizi entered Lima on March 3, and they were alerted about him by foreign intelligence offices. The Associated Press couldnt independently confirm whether Azizi is a member of the Quds Force. Iranian authorities did not comment, and Iranian state media did not acknowledge the arrest early Saturday. Iran has run intelligence operations in South America in the past, particularly through the expeditionary Quds, or Jerusalem, Force of its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. Iran maintains close ties to Venezuela. The Quds Force was linked to an impounded Boeing 747 in Argentina and later seized by the United States. And most notoriously, Argentina believes Iran was behind the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center that killed 85 people. This is the first time Peruvian authorities have announced the arrest of an alleged member of that group. Arriola said Azizi was captured after withdrawing money from an ATM and, along with the two Peruvians arrested, will remain in prison for an initial 15 days under terrorism charges. The general said the man intended to return to Iran the same day he was captured. Azizi is married to a Peruvian woman, he added. Aprils total solar eclipse is a month away. Heres why its worth the watch and how to stay safe Aprils total solar eclipse is a month away. Heres why its worth the watch and how to stay safe View Photo The sun is about to pull another disappearing act across North America, turning day into night during a total solar eclipse. The peak spectacle on April 8 will last up to 4 minutes, 28 seconds in the path of total darkness twice as long as the total solar eclipse that dimmed U.S. skies in 2017. This eclipse will take a different and more populated route, entering over Mexicos Pacific coast, dashing up through Texas and Oklahoma, and crisscrossing the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and New England, before exiting over eastern Canada into the Atlantic. An estimated 44 million people live inside the 115-mile-wide (185-kilometer-wide) path of totality stretching from Mazatlan, Mexico to Newfoundland; about 32 million of them are in the U.S., guaranteeing jammed roads for the must-see celestial sensation. The eclipse will allow many to share in the wonder of the universe without going very far, said NASAs eclipse program manager Kelly Korreck. Heres what to know about Aprils extravaganza and how to prepare: What happens during the total solar eclipse? The moon will line up perfectly between the Earth and the sun, blotting out the sunlight. It will slice a diagonal line from the southwest to the northeast across North America, briefly plunging communities along the track into darkness. Fifteen U.S. states will get a piece of the action, albeit two of them Tennessee and Michigan just barely. Among the cities smack dab in the action: Dallas; Little Rock, Arkansas; Indianapolis, Cleveland; Buffalo, New York; and Montreal making for the continents biggest eclipse crowd. Dont fret if you dont have front-row seats. Practically everyone on the continent can catch at least a partial eclipse. The farther from the path of totality, the smaller the moons bite will be out of the sun. In Seattle and Portland, Oregon, about as far away as you can get in the continental U.S., one-third of the sun will be swallowed. Why is totality longer? By a cosmic stroke of luck, the moon will make the months closest approach to Earth the day before the total solar eclipse. That puts the moon just 223,000 miles (360,000 kilometers) away on eclipse day. The moon will appear slightly bigger in the sky thanks to that proximity, resulting in an especially long period of sun-blocked darkness. Whats more, the Earth and moon will be 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) from the sun that day, the average distance. When a closer moon pairs up with a more distant sun, totality can last as long as an astounding 7 1/2 minutes. The last time the world saw more than seven minutes of totality was in 1973 over Africa. That wont happen again until 2150 over the Pacific. How do I safely watch the eclipse? Sunglasses wont cut it. Special eclipse glasses are crucial for safely observing the sun as the moon marches across the late morning and afternoon sky, covering more and more and then less and less of our star. During totality when the sun is completely shrouded, its fine to remove your glasses and look with your naked eyes. But before and after, certified eclipse glasses are essential to avoid eye damage. Just make sure theyre not scratched or torn. Cameras, binoculars and telescopes must be outfitted with special solar filters for safe viewing. Bottom line: Never look at an exposed sun without proper protection any day of the year. Where are some eclipse watch parties near me? Towns up and down the path of totality are throwing star parties. Festivals, races, yoga retreats, drum circles and more will unfold at museums, fairgrounds, parks, stadiums, wineries, breweries and even one of Ohios oldest drive-in movie theaters and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Besides looking up, you can attend a space prom in Texas Hill Country, get married at eclipse-themed ceremonies in Tiffin, Ohio, and Russellville, Arkansas, or brush up on moonwalking history at the Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Ohio Neil Armstrongs hometown. As the eclipse unfolds, NASA will launch small rockets with science instruments into the upper atmosphere from Virginia and chase totalitys shadow from high-altitude planes. Satellites and the International Space Station crew will attempt to capture the show from space. There will be numerous livestreams for those stuck with clouds or outside the path. When is the next total solar eclipse? Full solar eclipses occur every year or two or three, often in the middle of nowhere like the South Pacific or Antarctic. The next total solar eclipse, in 2026, will grace the northern fringes of Greenland, Iceland and Spain. North America wont experience totality again until 2033, with Alaska getting sole dibs. Then thats it until 2044, when totality will be confined to Western Canada, Montana and North Dakota. There wont be another U.S. eclipse, spanning coast to coast, until 2045. That one will stretch from Northern California all the way to Cape Canaveral, Florida. Aside from Carbondale, Illinois, in the crosshairs of both the 2017 and 2024 eclipses, it usually takes 400 years to 1,000 years before totality returns to the same spot, according to NASAs Korreck. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content. By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer Romania wins legal battle against a Canadian miner over failed plans to open a gold mine View Photo BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) The Romanian government has won a yearslong legal dispute with a Canadian mining company seeking damages over failed plans to open a gold and silver mine in the Eastern European country. Gabriel Resources was seeking $4.4 billion (4 billion euros) in damages from the Romanian state, which owned a 20% stake in the mining project in Rosia Montana, a mountainous western region that contains some of Europes largest gold deposits. The Romanian government withdrew its support for the project in 2014. The government said that the ruling late Friday by the Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes ordered Gabriel Resources to reimburse its legal costs for the arbitration case the Canadian miner launched in 2015. Romanias Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said it would have been unfair for Romanian citizens to be burdened with high costs a loss would have incurred. I thank the team of lawyers who represented Romania with professionalism, he said after the ruling. The decision came 25 years after Gabriel Resources gained concession rights for the mining project that planned to extract gold and silver over a 16-year period. It would have involved razing four mountain tops, displacing hundreds of families and leaving behind a waste lake containing cyanide, a toxic chemical used in the process of gold extraction. The project drew strong opposition from environmental and civic activists who helped organize protests that drew tens of thousands of people to Romanias streets in 2013. Gabriel Resources said the project would have provided jobs in an area where employment opportunities are scarce. Rosia Montana is also home to ancient Roman mining galleries, which were added to UNESCOs World Heritage list in 2021. Press Release Working People Against Apartheid and Genocide NEW DELHI, MARCH 7: A group of concerned citizens Indians for Palestine highlighted the voices of Indian workers who have been directly impacted by Israels attacks on Gaza. This was the second public meeting-press conference they have organized in New Delhi. There have been many developments on this front, including the refusal of Indian dockworkers to load weaponized cargo from Indian ports. Meanwhile, the Indian government has issued an advisory for Indian nationals in Israel to relocate to safe locations within Israel, following the death of a worker from Kerala in a missile strike in that country. Among the speakers at the public meeting were Anil Pawar (AITUC), Anjali Attri (AISA), Arka Rajpandit (CITU), Harjit Bhatti (PMSF), Maya John (DU), Shiv Kumar (Manesar General Workers Union), Sujata Madhok (DUJ). Arundhati Roy, who was unable to participate in the conference in-person, sent across a message of support. The meeting began with an introduction from the moderators, Gautam Mody, general secretary, New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI) and Kavita Srivastava, national president of the Peoples Union of Civil Liberties. This was followed by Shiv Kumar, who spoke about the lack of guarantees from the Indian government for the protection of its own workers being sent to Israel and who number in their thousands. Working conditions for Indian workers are deteriorating and when they protest they are subjected to lathi charge and have false cases filed against them, he remarked. He also highlighted the lack of minimum wages and pointed out that Indian workers are forced to go to Israel, not out of choice but out of desperation to escape unemployment and impoverished conditions. The next speaker, Arka Rajpandit, expressed global solidarity of workers with the people of Gaza and laid out the stark economic conditions prevailing there. He also pointed out that between 2006 and 2022, Gazas GDP had plummeted by 27% and, in recent times, according to the ILO, prices of essential commodities have shot up from 300% to over 2000%. Jamal Juma, coordinator of the Stop the Wall campaign; secretariat member of the BDS National Committee, and an executive committee member of the New Unions, also addressed the gathering through video. The life-threatening conditions of over 400,000 Palestinian workers who are now unemployed and who are being subjected to various forms of torture at the hands of the Israeli forces came through in his account. Today, basic infrastructure, from water supply, food storage, hospitals and educational institutions in Gaza has been razed to the ground by Israel. Maya John, speaking next, laid out the shared history of India and Palestine in terms of their experience as colonized people. This shared history makes it incumbent on the working people of India to defend Palestinian rights. There is a need today for an international solidarity movement that is free from governmental control, she said. Student leader Anjali Attri highlighted the settler colonial nature of Israels occupation of Palestinian land and spoke of the grave dangers facing Indian workers in Israel. Movements for freedom from oppression across the world, including in India, need to be supported. Irwin Jim, general secretary, National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, extended solidarity through video with those assembled as well as with trade unions and workers standing in support of Palestinians. He said he was speaking on behalf of the unions and federations who are presently gathered at the International Transport Workers Federation Conference in Abidjan. He lamented the fact that the International Court of Justice failed to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Arrogant imperialism like that of Netanyahu and Biden has no place in the future of society that we are building in the world today, he stated, ending his message with Amandla!, a Xhosa- Zulu word meaning power!, which was a popular rallying call in the days of resistance against apartheid in his country. The targeting of journalists was a huge concern for those gathered at the meeting. Journalist leader Sujata Madhok cited statistics from the latest report of the Committee to Protect Journalists: as of 6th March, 90 Palestinian journalists and media workers were killed, 16 injured, 4 missing and 25 arrested by Israeli forces. The homes and families of journalists have also been directly targeted. She also repeated the solemn appeal from Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) to the international community, calling for an end to the slaughter and creating conditions for international journalists to enter Gaza and report on the realities there. In a moving statement, Arundhati Roy highlighted how the Gaza strip has been turned into a concentration camp, with those who arent already dead now being starved to death. The public meeting ended with the observation that the war in Gaza is not just about Palestine, but about the survival of democracy and morality across the world. A reminder was stressed on thus democracy can come from people mobilized, who understand that their existence will be threatened outside of a collective, a union. All working people survive by defending their rights to democratic platforms. Indians For Palestine (a group of concerned citizens) ?For more information, contact Gautam Mody (7838383758) or Kavita Srivastava (9351562965) Voters in the Republic of Ireland have overwhelmingly voted against amending the Irish Constitution. Proposals to alter wording in the constitution to include families which are not based on marriage were defeated with 67.7% voting 'no'. A second proposed change on the wording around the role of women in the home was defeated by a higher margin with 73.9% of voters rejecting it. It was the highest ever no vote percentage in an Irish referendum. The first result announced on Saturday evening was in the family referendum. The highest 'no' votes came from Donegal where 80% voted no on family and 84% voted no on care. Only Dun Laoghaire, south-east of Dublin voted narrowly in favour of changing the definition of a family. After a long wait, Waterford was the final constituency to declare its result for the care referendum. In the care referendum, on the role of women in the home, 1,114,620 people voted no, compared with 393,053 yes voters, or 26.07% of the total. There was a turnout of 44.4% in the referendums, which were held on Friday. This compares to a turnout of 64.1% for a referendum on abortion laws in 2018. 'Defeated comprehensively' Earlier, Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar said "it was clear" that two referendums have been defeated. Mr Varadkar said it was clear both amendments had been "defeated comprehensively on a respectable turnout". He said the Irish government accepted the result and will "respect it fully." "As head of government and on behalf of the government, we accept responsibility for the result," he said. "It was our responsibility to convince the majority of people to vote 'Yes' and we clearly failed to do so." Meanwhile, tanaiste (Irish deputy prime minister) Micheal Martin said he fully accepted the decision of the Irish people. "On this occasion, the majority clearly were not persuaded as to the merits of the two proposals put forward," he said. Story continues A clear result from the start- Darran Marshall, BBC News NI - in Dublin The courtyard at Dublin Castle has witnessed many historic moments. Over recent years it was where crowds gathered to celebrate momentous changes to the country's constitution - including referenda on same sex marriage and abortion reform. There were no such scenes today. No big crowds. No celebrations. With the exception of a handful of Aontu supporters the courtyard was desolate. Within minutes of the ballot boxes opening this morning it was clear the electorate had rejected both proposals to change the constitution. The only question would be, what would be the margin of defeat for the government and the main opposition parties? The Taoiseach was here for a short time and spoke to the media in a room inside Dublin Castle. The Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald also spoke to waiting media but her comments were interrupted by a few hecklers. Earlier on Saturday Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan who campaigned for 'yes' said the result would be respected. Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan says the result will have to be respected Mr Ryan said: "It's the voice of the people and in our constitution, it's the people who are sovereign. "It's they who decide what goes into our constitution." Mr Ryan, who was at the RDS count centre in Dublin said: "If it is a no vote in both, we will have to respect that." Mary Lou McDonald says that her party is still "very much" in touch with the public Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald was jeered by a small crowd and called "a traitor to the Irish people" as she arrived at Dublin Castle. Her party advocated for a "yes-yes" vote but she said the government had "come up short in terms of the caring wording" and there had been a "lack of clarity". Ms McDonald said the people of Ireland had spoken "very, very definitively" but insisted her party were still "very much" in touch with the public. "They disregarded the citizens assembly, they didn't consult with opposition or with other stakeholders. They didn't collaborate, and they failed to convince," she said. Ballots are continuing to be counted in twin Irish referendums Government misjudged mood of electorate - McDowell Senator Michael McDowell, who opposed changes to the Irish constitution, said the results suggested a "no-no substantial margin right across the country". Mr McDowell a previous tanaiste (deputy prime minister) and justice minister said: "It seems like the government misjudged the mood of the electorate and put before them proposals which they didn't explain, proposals which could have serious consequences." Read more: Confusion and debate ahead of Irish referendums 'Virtue signalling' - Toibin Aontu Leader Peadar Toibin who also backed the 'no' campaign, described the amendments as government "virtue signalling" with vague language. Peadar Toibin describes the amendments proposed as "virtue signalling" He added: "The Sinn Fein leadership look marooned from their former support base, from their voters and that's a very dangerous place for Mary Lou and the Sinn Fein leadership to be." Watershed moment for disabled citizens - Clonan Senator Tom Clonan described the wording in the care referendum as "toxic" to the fundamental human rights of disabled citizens. Mr Clonan, who has a 22-year-old disabled son, said he hoped there would now be a conversation about "ableism". He said a 'yes' vote would have brought Ireland into international disrepute. "The state has been abject in its treatment of disabled citizens. We now have an opportunity to debate that going forward, and find ways to really bring ourselves in line with the rest of Europe and how we vindicate the rights of disabled citizens. "I'm hoping that this is a watershed moment for disabled citizens." What were voters asked about family? Those taking part in Friday's referendum were presented with two ballots - one white and one green - and were asked to vote yes (Ta) or no (Nil). The white ballot asked if voters accepted or rejected the Thirty-Ninth Amendment of the Constitution Bill - otherwise known as the Family amendment. The Irish constitution currently offers legal protections to the family unit, but ties the concept of family to the institution of marriage. The amendment sought to expand the constitutional definition of family to include other "durable relationships" The amendment sought to expand the constitutional definition of family to include other "durable relationships" such as unmarried couples and single parent families. What is the Care amendment? The green ballot asked voters to accept or reject the Fortieth Amendment of the Constitution Bill - or the Care amendment. Currently the Irish constitution - or Bunreacht na hEireann - says mothers should not have to go out into the workplace to the neglect of their "duties in the home". It also states that women's "life within the home" is a source of support to the state which is necessary for the "common good". The amendment asked for both of these articles to be deleted and a new text to be added saying the state "shall strive to support" the provision of family-based care. Yemens rebels target Singapore-flagged ship in Gulf of Aden as US and allies down Houthi drones Yemens rebels target Singapore-flagged ship in Gulf of Aden as US and allies down Houthi drones View Photo DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) An attack by Yemens Houthi rebels set off explosions ahead of a Singapore-flagged vessel in the Gulf of Aden, authorities said, the latest in a campaign of assaults by the Iranian-backed group over Israels war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The attack on Friday targeted the bulk carrier Propel Fortune, which continued on its way, according to the United States militarys Central Command. The missiles did not impact the vessel, the U.S. military said. There were no injuries or damages reported. The Houthis said Saturday they were behind the attack. Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed that along with targeting the Propel Fortune Attack, the Houthi forces also launched 37 drones targeting American warships. American officials said early Saturday that the U.S. Navy, allied warships and aircraft have shot down 15 bomb-carrying Houthi drones in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Fridays attack on Propel Fortune came after a Houthi missile struck a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, killing three of its crew members and forcing survivors to abandon the vessel. That was the first fatal strike in the Houthis campaign over the war in Gaza. The Houthis describe the attacks as trying to pressure Israel into stopping the war, but their targets increasingly have little or nothing to do with the conflict. Other recent Houthi actions include an attack in February on a fertilizer-carrying cargo ship, the Rubymar, which sank on Saturday after drifting for several days, and the downing of an American drone worth tens of millions of dollars. The U.S. also conducted airstrikes Friday that it said destroyed two Houthi truck-mounted anti-ship missiles in Yemen. The rebels did not directly acknowledge any destruction from those strikes. The Houthis have held northern Yemen and the countrys capital of Sanaa since 2014. Theyve battled a Saudi-led coalition since 2015 in a long-stalemated civil war in the Arab worlds most impoverished country. Since the U.S. began its airstrike campaign in January, the Houthis have acknowledged the killing of at least 22 of its fighters. One civilian has also been reported killed. By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press Spains prime minister says he will propose that parliament recognizes a Palestinian state View Photo BILBAO, Spain (AP) Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Saturday that he will propose that Spains parliament recognizes a Palestinian state. I will propose granting Spains recognition to the Palestinian state, Sanchez said. I do this out of moral conviction, for a just cause and because it is the only way that the two states, Israel and Palestine, can live together in peace. Sanchez added his voice to a chorus of other European leaders and government officials who have said that they could support a two-state solution in the Middle East as international frustration grows with Israels actions in the Palestinian territories. French President Emmanuel Macron said last month that its not taboo for France to recognize a Palestinian state. British Foreign Minister David Cameron said that the United Kingdom could officially recognize a Palestinian state after a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. Sanchez said that his position on the conflict in the Gaza Strip is much like his countrys support for Ukraine following Russias full-scale invasion more than two years ago. He stressed that Spain demanded respect for international law from Russia, and from Israel, for the violence to end, the recognition of two states, and for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza. His comments at a rights conference in the city of Bilbao came as aid shipments were headed for Gaza amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and a new international willingness to work around Israeli restrictions. Five months after Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage, Israels military has battered the territory, killing more than 30,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The Chegutu Magistrates Court sentenced a 76-year-old man to 14 months in prison for unlawfully growing dagga. In a statement on x the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ) said, On 2 March 2024 the Police received a tipoff to the effect that Cephas Hove was cultivating dagga at his homestead. Police recovered 15 plants of dagga leading to his arrest. He was sentenced to 14 months imprisonment of which 8 months were suspended. He will serve 6 months effectively, said the NPAZ. Breaking News via Email In a dramatic turn of events, two men who were initially accused of smuggling 30 firearms worth US$14,000 into the country faced a surprising twist in court yesterday. It was revealed that the alleged guns were, in fact, harmless toys with a value of only R2,000. Previously, the police had announced that the accused individuals would be charged with illegal possession of firearms. However, this narrative quickly changed when it was discovered that the items in question were merely toy guns. According to reports, the toy guns were intended for training purposes at a security company owned by one of the defendants. Douglas Emmanuel Jekanyika, 44, residing in Belvedere, Harare, and Godknows Gunda, 31, from Msasa, found themselves back in court today for bail considerations. During the court proceedings, it was revealed that on March 5, detectives from CID Southerton received a tip-off regarding the alleged smuggling of firearms by the two individuals. The firearms were said to have been brought into Zimbabwe through the Beitbridge Border Post on Tems Logistics Bus Services, with the intended destination being Highglen Road Port in Harare. Acting swiftly on the tip-off, a team of detectives apprehended Jekanyika as he was collecting two suspicious boxes. Upon opening the boxes, they discovered that one contained ten F92 toy guns, while the other held 20,000 rounds of blank pistol ammunition. During his interview with the authorities, Jekanyika claimed that Gunda was the rightful owner of the consignment. Subsequently, the case was referred to CID Homicide, where it was conclusively determined that the items were indeed toys. Breaking News via Email Gunmen in Nigeria kidnapped more than 200 school pupils in the northern town of Kuriga on Thursday, a teacher, local councillor and parents of the missing children said, in the biggest mass abduction from a school since 2021. Police in Kaduna state did not respond to requests for comment on the abductions, which happened shortly after morning assembly at the Local Government Education Authority School in the town of Kuriga. The number of the kidnapped from the secondary section based on the statistics we took together with the parents is 187 while that of the primary section is 40 for now, said Sani Abdullahi, a home economics teacher. Local councillor for Kuriga Idris Maiallura said he had been to the school and said the gunmen initially took 100 primary schools pupils but later freed them while others escaped. Parents and residents blamed the kidnapping on lack of security in the area. Kaduna state Governor Uba Sani visited Kuriga and promised to get the students released, his office said, but did not say how many pupils were missing. Amnesty International called on Nigerian authorities to safely rescue the students and hold perpetrators to account. We dont know what to do, we are all waiting to see what God can do. They are my only children I have on Earth, Fatima Usman, whose two children were among those abducted, told Reuters by telephone. Another parent, Hassan Abdullahi, said local vigilantes had tried to repel the gunmen but had been overpowered. Seventeen of the students abducted are my children. I feel very sad that the government has neglected us completely in this area, Abdullahi said. Kidnappings for ransom by armed men have become endemic in northern Nigeria, disrupting daily lives and keeping thousands of children from attending school. The last major reported abduction involving school children in Kaduna was in July 2021 when gunmen took more than 150 students in a raid. The students were re-united months later with their families after they paid ransoms. Reuters. Breaking News via Email Coywolves Are Taking Over Eastern North America Smithsonian Magazine (Dr. Kevin) Woolly mammoth de-extinction inches closer after elephant stem cell breakthrough Live Science (furzy) Super Predator: One Animal in Africa Instills Even More Fear Than Lions ScienceAlert (furzy) Superconductivity scandal: the inside story of deception in a rising stars physics lab Nature (Dr. Kevin) Pentagon Report Unveils 50s-60s UFO Sightings as US Spy Planes, Not Aliens BNN (furzy) ISS battery packs set to make a return to Earth later today The Register (Chuck L) Study finds that we could lose science if publishers go bankrupt ars technica (Dr. Kevin) The Lost Art of Leisure Living Philosophy (Micael T) #COVID-19 6 months after COVID children had "increased risk of cognitive deficit, insomnia, intracranial haemorrhage, ischaemic stroke, nerve, nerve root, & plexus disorders, psychotic disorders, & epilepsy or seizures (HRs ranging from 1.20 to 2.16)" https://t.co/CwUGWeWg05 Minimizers : if covid were harming immune systems, wed be seeing more TB Climate/Environment Xcel Energy says its facilities appeared to have role in igniting Texas wildfire MPR News (Chuck L) China? Old Blighty European Disunion The EUs new competition rules are going live heres how tech giants are responding The Verge. See also our post on Apples app store in the EU. Micael T: I read nothing about Big Tech bankruptcy or shatter into millions little pieces spread in the market winds so just another piece of poor EU-legislation. Spanish and French farmers block the border between Spain and France, in protest against the globalist war of farmers being waged by complicit governments around the word, as part of their commitments to Net Zero and Agenda 2030, which nobody voted for or consented to. One of pic.twitter.com/FDcW1ivlea Wide Awake Media (@wideawake_media) March 9, 2024 Meanwhile in Czech Republic Czech Farmers are taking inspiration from the French & have taken to the streets in protest of EU & Government Climate Communism. Here they are showing their politicians exactly what they think by fertilising Gov building with manure. pic.twitter.com/yu3COeUphA Concerned Citizen (@BGatesIsaPyscho) March 7, 2024 Solidarity on our side of the pond: Yves here. Due in large measure to lack of power and Israel barring unfriendly journalist access to Gaza (including by systematically murdering them), the reporting on conditions in that enclave has died down a bit (sick pun not intended). The coverage of abuses in the West Bank has been in the shadow, even with the dimmed-down attention to Gaza. The UN warning, and this related post, attempts to rectify that. By Brett Wilkins. Originally published at Common Dreams The West Bank is already in crisis. Yet, settler violence and settlement-related violations have reached shocking new levels, and risk eliminating any practical possibility of establishing a viable Palestinian state. The United Nations human rights chief on Friday condemned the record expansion of illegal Israeli apartheid settlements in the occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem and the dramatic increase in violence against Palestinians by Israeli occupation forces and settlers, developments that are occurring while the worlds attention is focused on the Gaza genocide. Reports this week that Israel plans to build a further 3,476 settler homes in Maale Adumim, Efrat, and Kedar fly in the face of international law, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement responding to the far-right Israeli governments latest settlement expansion scheme. Turk submitted a report to the U.N. Human Rights Council affirming that Israel is violating the Fourth Geneva Convention by effectively transferring the civilian population of Israel to the occupied territory while displacing the Palestinian population from their land. Such transfers amount to a war crime that may engage the individual criminal responsibility of those involved, the report states. The drastic acceleration in Israeli settlements is worsening long-standing patterns of oppression, violence & discrimination against Palestinians, says @UNHumanRights report published today UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) March 8, 2024 Both the occupation and settlements are illegal under international law. Israel conquered the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights in Syria in 1967 and has occupied the territories ever since. Although Israeli troops withdrew from Gaza and dismantled Jewish settlements there in 2005, Israel maintains a crippling physical and economic stranglehold that has become a total siege since October 7, when the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a genocidal war in response to Hamas-led attacks. The U.N. report notes that approximately 24,300 new homes in existing Israeli settlements in the West Bank were advanced between November 2022 to the end of October 2023, the highest on record since monitoring began in 2017. According to the publication: The policies of the current government of Israel appear aligned, to an unprecedented extent, with the goals of the Israeli settler movement to expand long-term control over the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and to steadily integrate this occupied territory into the state of Israel During the reporting period, there was a dramatic increase in the intensity, severity, and regularity of Israeli settler violence against Palestinians, which is accelerating the displacement of Palestinians from their land, in circumstances that may amount to forcible transfer. This violence further spiked following the attacks on October 7, 2023. The West Bank is already in crisis. Yet, settler violence and settlement-related violations have reached shocking new levels, and risk eliminating any practical possibility of establishing a viable Palestinian state, said Turk. According to the report, Israeli occupation forces and settlers have killed at least 413 Palestiniansincluding 107 childrenwhile wounding more than 4,600 others in the West Bank since October 7. Palestinians killed 15 Israelis including four soldiers in the occupied territories during the same period. In one of the most recent incidents, Israeli troops fatally shot 10-year-old Amr Mohammad Ghaleb Najar in the head while he sat in the front seat of his fathers car with his younger brother as they drove through the village of Burin on Monday. Soldiers then opened fire on Palestinians trying to rescue the child, wounding two other people. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also heads the Civil Administrationthe governing body in the occupied territoriessaid this week that 18,515 new housing units have been approved in the settlements over the past year. The enemies try to harm and weaken us, but we will continue to build and be built up in this land, the far-right minister said on social media. The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, which has sanctioned a handful of extremist settlers, last month reversed a Trump-era policy shift under which the United States no longer officially viewed Israeli settlements as illegal. The U.S. State Department first declared the settlements unlawful in 1978. Our administration maintains a firm opposition to settlement expansion, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken saidlast month. And in our judgment, this only weakensit doesnt strengthenIsraels security. Top 6 MOST PREDICTABLE ways the Democrats could STEAL the 2024 election The Communist-led Democratic Party in Washington DC is no longer trying to hide their agenda for the upcoming election, for the nation's demise, and for their plan to run everything with absolute power, forever. Of course, it is currently "illegal" to protest any election that a Democrat wins, but if a Republican wins, that can be contested daily for 4 years straight on every major network, website and in the streets with violent protests (think BLM and Antifa here). Will Resident Biden serve Obama's 4th term in the "White" House? If so, it certainly will NOT be because 80 million U.S. citizens voted for it From 2020 through 2024, every Democrat in America, thanks to the Mass Media Complex, regurgitated the term "Trump-Russia Collusion" over and over and over again, while waiting for evidence that never ever came. Talk about conspiracy theories gone wild. Ironically, after the Biden-CCP collusion for the POTUS steal of 2024, no American was allowed to so much as utter the words collusion or fixed election, or share any hint of election denial, or face life imprisoned in a DC gulag, where you are abused, beaten, starved, chained, masked, force-vaccinated and get your eyes gouged out. Get ready for another scamdemic, where every American is told to "shelter in place" for a "couple of weeks" (half-a-year) and "flatten the curve" by wearing a bacteria-breeding masks and getting vascular-clotting "vaccines" that cause sudden death syndrome. All this while 40 million Biden-pre-marked ballots are created in communist China and delivered in unmarked vans to the polling centers in every swing state at 2am the morning after the POTUS election. Thanks to your generous support, we are building the infrastructure of human freedom and actively donating our technology to independent publishers, authors and home schooling organizations. Learn about our game-changing non-commercial AI project here. Support our ongoing efforts to preserve and enhance human knowledge by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com. Prepare your home and your loved ones for some horrific event that will shut down the internet, the polling centers and the entire upcoming POTUS election, as the Democrats prepare to postpone (indefinitely) their loss in November, by simply never having another election in this country again (or at least until they know 100% they've got it rigged for themselves). Have plenty of quality storable food, water, weapons and ammunition for an EMP explosion, nuclear war or staged 9/11 style event that helps the Biden Regime declare a "national emergency" to put off their sure election loss in November. The Democrats are not trying to hide the fact they that will do anything and everything to prevent Trump from winning in November, including imprisoning him (for crimes he did not commit, like insurrection incitement), bankrupting him, murdering him or simply tarnishing his reputation using the Democrat-controlled Fake News Complex. Now the Democrats are simply declaring that they will not certify the election should Trump win. Isn't that treason, to announce they will basically deny democracy and overthrow the government, and to declare it ahead of time? So then, without further adieu, here are the top 6 most predictable ways the Democrats will try to steal the POTUS election this coming November. #1. Resurrect and regurgitate the Trump-Russia collusion delusion from 2020 #2. Start another plandemic and have 40 million falsified mail-in ballots prepared, plus use the Dominion vote flipping machines again to top it off in all swing states #3. Stage some horrible event, like a nuclear explosion or EMF bomb that shuts down the internet for months, indefinitely "postponing" the election (meaning there will never be another one) #4. Simply arrest Trump and then "suicide" him in prison, just like Epstein #5. Don't put it past the Left and globalists to actually try to put Trump 6 feet under before November #6. Refuse to Certify the Election if Trump Wins Tune your apocalypse dial to Preparedness.news for updates on real news about surviving and thriving beyond what comes this way. Sources include: Censored.news NaturalNews.com TheGatewayPundit.com A court in Pakistan awarded the death penalty to a 22-year-old student and a life term to a teenager accused of blasphemy, according to reports. An additional district and sessions judge on Friday announced the sentences in the case of the student and a 17-year-old boy in Gujranwala over videos and photos sent over the phone, the Dawn newspaper reported. The two suspects had been booked by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on the charges of sharing blasphemous material through WhatsApp, and a case was lodged in Lahore, it said. However, the case was referred by the Lahore High Court to a local court in Gujranwala for trial. The plaintiff alleged he had received the videos and photos from three different mobile phone numbers. The FIA said that it had examined the plaintiffs phone and established that obscene material had been sent, Dawn said. Defence lawyers argued that the two students had been trapped in a false case, according to the paper. The blasphemy law seeks the death penalty for anyone who insults Islam and its prophet Mohammad. It says that any derogatory remarks, etc., in respect of the Holy Prophet either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo or insinuation, directly or indirectly shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine. The law is rooted in 19th century colonial legislation to protect places of worship and was strengthened as part of a drive to Islamise the state during the military dictatorship of General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq in the 1980s. Although no one has ever been executed, blasphemy convictions are common in Pakistan. Most convictions are thrown out on appeal by higher courts, but mobs have lynched dozens of people in vigilante attacks even before a case is put on trial. Biden administration confirms facilitating SECRET MIGRANT FLIGHTS that allowed over 320,000 illegals to enter the U.S. through airports The administration of President Joe Biden has acknowledged that it has facilitated secret flights that allowed hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants to enter the United States after being turned away at the southern border, raising concerns about national security and government transparency. According to information obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit first reported by Todd Bensman, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) has found that the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) approved discreet flights transporting hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants from foreign countries to at least 43 American airports between January and December 2023. This covert operation was part of the expansion of the CBP One app, initiated at the beginning of the previous year, which allowed migrants to apply for asylum from their home countries using a smartphone app. However, the less publicized aspect of this expansion involved directly transporting migrants into the U.S., raising questions about the Biden administration's immigration policies. Under the CBP One app, individuals who cannot legally enter the U.S. use the platform to apply for travel authorization and temporary humanitarian release from foreign airports. This parole release allows migrants to stay in America for two years without obtaining legal status, with the added benefit of being eligible for work authorizations. (Related: Illegal migrants camp at U.S. airports; MA Governor Healey pleads for Washington and Congress to act on the crisis.) Thanks to your generous support, we are building the infrastructure of human freedom and actively donating our technology to independent publishers, authors and home schooling organizations. Learn about our game-changing non-commercial AI project here. Support our ongoing efforts to preserve and enhance human knowledge by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com. The Biden administration initially refused to disclose the specific airports where these undocumented aliens were transported, citing a "law enforcement exception." But details from the CIS lawsuit revealed that the true reasoning for keeping the specific airports secret is driven by concerns that revealing the locations could lead to potential harm to migrants caused by so-called "bad actors." CBP lawyers further argued that disclosing airport locations might provide insights into the number of arrivals and resources expended at particular airports, thereby creating operational vulnerabilities exploited by those seeking to undermine CBP's law enforcement efforts. Use of the CBP One app has allowed for the near-undetected arrival by air of over 320,000 illegal immigrants with no legal rights to enter the United States. The CIS challenged the secrecy surrounding these flights as "legally dubious," and suggested that the program's continuation may be unlawful given the CBP's reluctance to be transparent about where these flights are landing. All that is known is that eligible applicants for the CBP One parole program can come from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela as well as from Ukraine. People from Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras are also eligible for the family reunification parole program provided that they have relatives already in the United States. Republicans slam Biden administration for weakening border security Critics of the secretive migrant flight program contend that this contributes to the porous nature of the southern border and have called for increased security protocols to close the loopholes that allow migrants to enter illegally. "Not only is Joe Biden ignoring his border crisis, he's faciitating it with taxpayer dollars," said Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY). This is an assault on our national security and American safety." Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) argued that the program is "not legal," as CBP claims, and that lawmakers did not know about it before now. "Calculate the cost of a plane ticket, even with a frequent flyer discount, of what that just cost the U.S. You can't even make up this stuff," said Braun. Watch this Fox Business clip featuring Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) reacting to the Supreme Court's decision to temporarily block a state law in Texas that allows state authorities to arrest and deport illegal immigrants. This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: TREASON: Biden administration's secret transportation of 320,000 illegal immigrants into the U.S. revealed. Abbott insists on Texas' right to defend itself amid federal injunction on state law that allows state authorities to deport illegals. Biden's INVASION agenda wins: TREASONOUS judge suspends Texas law that allows cops to arrest illegal immigrants. Tens of thousands of illegal Chinese migrants detained at U.S. border in major national security threat. TREASON: Leftist groups setting up guerrilla camps near southern border to help illegal migrants INVADE AMERICA more easily. Sources include: DailyMail.co.uk VerifyThis.com USCIS.org News.MEAWW.com Braun.Senate.gov Brighteon.com Report: Democrats ready to hit the PANIC BUTTON as Trump gains steam and Biden falters The Democrats appear to be ready to hit the panic button as the November 2024 election approaches. According to The Hill, Joe Biden is trailing Donald Trump in polls of several battleground states, underscoring concerns that the incumbent president's message isn't gaining traction with swing voters." This dismal performance in surveys, the outlet added, "suggests Biden is weaker than he was four years ago." "Many Democrats thought Trump's legal problems would submarine him, but the Supreme Court in a unanimous decision ruled in his favor on a Fourteenth Amendment case. Other high-profile trials have been delayed, raising doubts about whether they will reach verdicts before Election Day." (Related: SCOTUS: States CANNOT REMOVE Trump from their election ballots based on 14th Amendments insurrection clause.) David Axelrod, erstwhile senior political advisor to former President Barack Obama, commented on the development during an appearance on CNN. According to him, Trump's court battles have allowed him to sell his strength as a candidate. "All these indictments, all of these lawsuits and so on have given him a chance to look indomitable, strong [and] resilient," Axelrod said. "That's actually in some ways helped." The Hill further noted that "Trump and his allies in Congress celebrated the decision as a major victory and tried to use it as ammunition against his opponents. While Democrats generally expected the Supreme Court to rule to keep Trump on the ballot, the unanimous decision underscored how weak the legal arguments were against the former president." We are building the infrastructure of human freedom and empowering people to be informed, healthy and aware. Learn about our free, downloadable AI tools on nutrition, health and preparedness at this article link. Every purchase at HealthRangerStore.com helps fund our efforts to build and share more tools for empowering humanity with knowledge and abundance. Biden in free-fall mode In contrast, the 81-year-old incumbent appears to be in free-fall mode based on the results of two opinion polls. The first poll conducted by Bloomberg News and Morning Consult showed Biden trailing Trump in several critical states including Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada and Wisconsin. In those seven states, 48 percent of voters said they would back Trump and only 43 percent of voters said they would back Biden. The second poll conducted by the New York Times and Siena College showed Trump with 48 percent of support among registered voters nationwide. Biden trailed by five points at 43 percent. Moreover, a majority of respondents in this second poll said they think the U.S. economy is in poor shape and 47 percent of voters expressed strong disapproval of how Biden does his job as president. Ross K. Baker, a professor emeritus of political science at Rutgers University in New Jersey, remarked that the political picture is looking bleak for the Democrats. "The president has not presented particularly well. He's showing his age. The Senate map is very unfavorable to the Democrats," he said. Democratic strategist Steve Jarding agreed with Baker, noting that Democratic lawmakers "should" be worried about the emerging political picture. "If you're Trump and his team, you go, 'Wow, I'll take this any day of the week,'" he said. Jarding also compared the former president's relatively strong political position as evidenced by his wins during Super Tuesday and earlier primaries with Biden's faltering effort to get his message out to voters. Head over to DNC.news for more stories about the Democratic Party ahead of the November 2024 elections. Watch Judge Jeanine Pirro of Fox News point out that Biden is getting crushed by an avalanche of dismal poll results below. This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Biden performing POORLY in multiple opinion polls. Poll: Most voters see Biden as a POOR LEADER who cannot be trusted. Poll: 55% of independents find Trump's indictment politically motivated because IT IS. Former Obama advisor: Biden has "50% chance or less" of winning 2024 presidential election. Poll: Trump LEADS Biden in five key swing states Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and North Carolina. Sources include: TheHill.com Brighteon.com Far-left extremists claim responsibility for alleged arson attack targeting Teslas Berlin car factory Far-left extremists claim responsibility for alleged arson attack targeting Tesla's Berlin car factory (Article by Jessica Barshis republished from HumanEvents.com) A far-left extremist group in Berlin, Germany has claimed responsibility for a suspected arson attack targeting Tesla's Berlin car factory on Tuesday. BBC reports that a gang of extremists who call themselves the Volcano Group published a letter online saying they purposely tried to sabotage the factory's production over environmental and labor reasons. Around 100 far-left militants have been camping out in a forest around the factory to try and prevent a plan for expansion that would involve cutting down trees in the area. These groups have not explicitly expressed involvement in the fire. Far-left extremists have claimed responsibility for an arson attack targeting Tesla's Berlin car factory. Like with the "Stop Cop City" extremists, dozens of militants are also camping nearby in a forest to stop the factory's expansion. When @elonmusk took over Twitter, Antifa pic.twitter.com/PLpDqtWJRH Andy Ngo ???? (@MrAndyNgo) March 5, 2024 While the factory itself did not catch fire, an electricity pylon nearby did, which led to power outages in the factory and towns nearby. Factory employees were sent home but Tesla said that its building was in a "safe state." However plant manager Andre Thierig stated production will likely be halted until next week and added that the outage would cost "in the high nine-digit Euro range" after two power lines into the plant were damaged. Elon Musk called the supposed stunt "extrem dumm," or extremely stupid, on X. These are either the dumbest eco-terrorists on Earth or theyre puppets of those who dont have good environmental goals. Stopping production of electric vehicles, rather than fossil fuel vehicles, ist extrem dumm. Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 5, 2024 "These are either the dumbest eco-terrorists on Earth or they're puppets of those who don't have good environmental goals," he said. The letter from Volcano Group also included accusations that the factory is using up a lot of water. State police said they are investigating the letter and its validity. "The rule of law will react to such an act of sabotage with the utmost severity," said Interior Minister for Brandenburg state Michael Stuebgen after the attack took place. Read more at: HumanEvents.com Rapper Meek Mill says Americans should strap up to protect themselves from illegals Award-winning rapper Meek Mill is advising Americans to be vigilant and protective in a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), citing increasing violence in American cities. The 36-year-old Philadelphia native, Robert Rihmeek Williams known professionally as Meek Mill attributed the spike in urban violence to illegal immigration, a surge of drugs , and a deepening mental health crisis. Mill, who has had a run-in with the law over gun and drug charges and has been imprisoned for probation violations, wrote, Make sure you strap up in America, its extremely dangerous on the streets! (Article by William Upton republished from TheNationalPulse.com) A Gallup poll from late February indicates a noticeable increase in concern over immigration among Americans. The poll suggests that 28 percent of respondents now view immigration as the nations most pressing issue. This is an increase from the 20 percent who said it was their top concern in January. Mills comments drew on these sentiments, referring to the presence of illegal immigrants everywhere, the proliferation of automatic guns in inner cities, and the predominance of fentanyl-laced drugs. Meek Mill made headlines last year for his instrumental role in securing the release of fellow rapper 21 Savage from ICE detention. The British-born rapper, real name Sheyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, was arrested in 2019 over an expired visa and had a linked felony drug charge against him. Narrowly avoiding further prison time, she credited Meek Mill and Jay-Z for their interventions, which led to her release. Make sure you strap up in America its extremely dangerous on the streets! They have no control illegal immigrants everywhere automatic guns flooded the inner citys fettynal poison in most drugs opioids melting the brains of humans .. and algorithms mind control MeekMill (@MeekMill) March 4, 2024 Read more at: TheNationalPulse.com Missouri AG sues Planned Parenthood for trafficking minors to get abortions in other states Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is suing Planned Parenthood for trafficking minors out of the state so they can undergo abortions without obtaining parental consent. The legal action has been in the works for several years, and its goal is to drive Planned Parenthood out of Missouri on account of its outright refusal to comply with the states laws. In addition to trafficking minors, Bailey cited numerous healthcare violations and their failure to report medical complications experienced by patients to authorities. One of the violations cited was an admission by staff that they had been using moldy abortion equipment on women for months. Abortion was banned in Missouri in June 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, except for medical emergencies. State law also prohibits assisting minors in getting abortions out of state without the consent of their parents. In a message announcing the suit on X, Bailey wrote: This is the beginning of the end for Planned Parenthood in the State of Missouri. He is pursuing an injunction that orders Planned Parenthood to stop helping minors get abortions. Violating the deeply rooted right of parents and the laws of Missouri, Planned Parenthood is inducing minors into making life-changing and life-ending decisions without parental consent, the suit notes. The suit claims Planned Parenthood takes students out of school with help from altered notes from doctors, brings them across state lines so they can kill their unborn babies, and then returns them in order to skirt state laws. Many times, they are brought to nearby Kansas, where abortion is still legal until around 22 weeks of gestation. Human knowledge is under attack! Governments and powerful corporations are using censorship to wipe out humanity's knowledge base about nutrition, herbs, self-reliance, natural immunity, food production, preparedness and much more. We are preserving human knowledge using AI technology while building the infrastructure of human freedom. Learn about our free, non-commercial AI / LLM project here. Support our efforts to build the infrastructure of human freedom by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com, featuring lab-tested, certified organic, non-GMO foods and nutritional solutions. Undercover video shows Planned Parenthood director admitting they take minors to other states for abortions every day An undercover video by Project Veritas recently revealed that the Planned Parenthood in Kansas City, Missouri, has regularly been helping young girls cross state lines to get abortions. For the investigation, a journalist posed as an older uncle seeking an abortion for a 13-year-old girl. He explained that they needed to do it quickly and secretly, without getting consent from the girls parents. The managing director of the Planned Parenthood location, Lashauna, admitted to the undercover journalist that they plan abortions for minors, transport them, pay for the abortion and arrange hotels for them. When asked how often they do this, she laughed and said they set up abortions and hotels for minors every day. The lawsuit says that it wants to ensure the fundamental right of parents not to have their kids trafficked, without their knowledge or consent, across state lines for the purpose of inducing abortion. The Attorney General has also expressed concerns that Planned Parenthood has been abandoning its legal duty to report child sexual abuse. Referring to the Project Veritas report, the suit noted: Planned Parenthood by state statute is a mandatory reporter for any sexual offenses against children. And yet in the video, an agent of Planned Parenthood is committed to concealing the fact that a 13-year-old who cannot legally consent to sexual conduct has experienced sexual abuse. Missouri House moves to block Medicaid funding for PP Bailey has called on state lawmakers to permanently defund Planned Parenthood. Last week, the Republican-controlled Missouri House gave initial approval to a bill that would stop state Medicaid funding from flowing to the abortion provider, even for non-abortion services. The bill must undergo another round of voting before it can potentially move to the Senate. The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Cody Smith, said: When you do business with an entity like a Planned Parenthood, youre ultimately subsidizing those abortion services, even if they are in other states. Sources for this article include: LifeSiteNews.com APNews.com DEADLY PRESCRIPTION: Anti-anxiety medication called pregabalin linked to over 3,400 overdose deaths in the U.K. over the last 5 years A commonly prescribed anti-anxiety medication in the United Kingdom was linked to over 3,400 overdose deaths in the past five years The drug in question is pregabalin, known by its brand names Alzain, Axalid and Lyrica and was introduced to the U.K. market in 2004 by Pfizer. The drug serves as an anticonvulsant for epilepsy, a pain reliever and a medication for anxiety and depression. But the drug became a double-edged sword, as it made addiction and mortality rates for those taking it surged. (Related: Treatment with epilepsy drugs shown to increase risk in suicidal behavior in patients aged 15 to 24.) In 2022, pregabalin was prescribed to over 8.5 million people in the U.K. as a supposedly safer alternative to opioids. These patients reported noticeable improvements in their symptoms, but the lack of awareness regarding its addictive potential contributed to widespread dependence. Pregabalin, when combined with alcohol and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, as well as opioids and benzodiazepines, could lead to severe respiratory and cardiac complications and sometimes result in fatalities. For instance, prescription rates for pregabalin and other similar antidepressants are on the rise in poorer communities due to limited access to therapeutic solutions. Deprived areas, where anxiety and chronic pain are prevalent, overly depend on potentially addictive medications. Moreover, pregabalin was classified as a Class C drug in 2019, making it illegal to possess or supply without a valid prescription. However, the legal restriction against pregabalin has given rise to a black market catering to those addicted to the drug. Human knowledge is under attack! Governments and powerful corporations are using censorship to wipe out humanity's knowledge base about nutrition, herbs, self-reliance, natural immunity, food production, preparedness and much more. We are preserving human knowledge using AI technology while building the infrastructure of human freedom. Learn about our free, non-commercial AI / LLM project here. Support our efforts to build the infrastructure of human freedom by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com, featuring lab-tested, certified organic, non-GMO foods and nutritional solutions. According to the latest statistics, pregabalin-related deaths have the fastest-rising death toll of any drug in the U.K., closely trailing opiates, cocaine and benzodiazepines. Pregabalin has been linked to nearly 3,400 deaths in the last five years, marking a frightening increase from just nine fatalities in 2012. Meanwhile, 2022 alone witnessed 779 pregabalin-related deaths. The drug is now included in a third of all drug-related fatalities. These figures paint a grim picture of the widespread impact of pregabalin misuse and underscore the necessity for proactive measures to mitigate its adverse effects. Dangerous recreational pregabalin use rising in the U.K. Pregabalin, available in various forms, such as capsules, oral solutions and long-acting tablets, has gained popularity for its euphoric and calming effects. However, Dr. Joe McEvoy, a general practitioner in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, warned the public about the dangers of taking pregabalin for recreational purposes and buying it online or in the streets. "They may be getting some pregabalin in there or they may be getting a dose many times higher than anticipated. It is a very dangerous drug when used in the wrong doses, by the wrong person, or when it is mixed with other medication in a way that we cannot really predict what the outcome will be," McEvoy said. The calming effects of pregabalin may lead users to underestimate its addictive nature over time, particularly for those with a history of substance abuse. In other words, even the legitimate use of pregabalin requires careful medical supervision and is only available through prescription due to its dangerous side effects when taken outside of prescribed guidelines. Side effects include dizziness, shaking, forgetfulness, speech difficulties, blurred vision, shortness of breath and chest pain. For instance, in the case of Alex Cottam, a 27-year-old software engineer battling anxiety and depression, the prescription of pregabalin initially helped him to feel normal and thrive at work. However, Michelle, Alex's mom, shared how her son became dependent on the drug and obsessed with trying to recreate its effects with other prescription drugs. Alex felt better at first, but two years after taking his first pregabalin, he died of an unintentional overdose. Visit Overdose.news for more stories about drug overdose deaths in the United States. Watch this video of a fentanyl overdose survivor sharing her story. This video is from the Daily Videos channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: NEVER FORGET: Pfizer RIGGED scientific studies, promoted off-label use of its epilepsy drug Neurontin to hit sales targets. ANOTHER side effect of opioids: New research finds they tank your metabolism, increasing risk of obesity by a shocking 95%. DRUG EPIDEMIC: Data reveals drug overdose KILLED close to 110,000 Americans in 2022. DRUG CITY: San Francisco hits grim record of 3 OVERDOSE DEATHS each day due to FENTANYL. San Francisco drug overdose deaths hit all-time high in 2023 with FENTANYL largely to blame. Sources include: Metro.co.uk MedIndia.net BBC.com TheTimes.co.uk Pfizers experimental RSV vaccine under investigation for causing rare nervous system disorder Last year, an advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended Americans aged 60 and older get a single dose of a vaccine for the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Two RSV vaccine options were made available, one by Pfizer and the other by GSK. Now, Pfizer's vaccine is under investigation for causing the rare nervous system disorder Guillain-Barre. CDC officials said they were investigating more than 20 cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), a rare illness in which a person's immune system damages its own nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and paralysis, allegedly caused by the RSV vaccines. "Serious neurologic conditions, including [GBS], have been reported after RSV vaccination in clinical trials of older adults. It is unclear whether the vaccine caused these events," the CDC writes. An estimated 3,000 to 6,000 people develop GBS in the United States each year, and it's more commonly seen in older people, according to the CDC. (Related: RSV introduced into population by polio vaccines; now Pfizer's RSV vaccines risk harming, killing people.) Most people fully recover from the syndrome, but some have permanent nerve damage. Guillain-Barre can occur in people after they are infected with a virus, but in some instances, cases have been linked to vaccinations. RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, is a common cause of cold-like symptoms but it can be dangerous for infants and the elderly. The CDC claims RSV is responsible for an estimated 177,000 hospitalizations and 14,000 deaths per year among adults 65 and older. Thanks to your generous support, we are building the infrastructure of human freedom and actively donating our technology to independent publishers, authors and home schooling organizations. Learn about our game-changing non-commercial AI project here. Support our ongoing efforts to preserve and enhance human knowledge by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com. Two Guillain-Barre cases caused by Pfizer's RSV vaccine confirmed Two people who received Pfizer's RSV vaccine during a clinical trial were later diagnosed with GBS, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has asked Pfizer to conduct a safety study. The pharma giant claims its RSV vaccine, Abrysvo, protects older adults from RSV. Just one dose is supposedly 77.8 percent effective against lower respiratory tract disease associated with RSV. The two confirmed GBS cases were adults in their 60s who participated in Pfizer's Phase 3 clinical trial for Abrysvo. One person's illness had completely resolved after three months, and another was improving after six months. "Given the temporal association and biological plausibility, FDA agrees with the assessments of the investigators that these events were possibly related to study vaccine Therefore, [GBS] is being considered an important potential risk," wrote the FDA in the documents, which were released ahead of a meeting with its vaccine advisers, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, to discuss granting approval to Abrysvo. In the document, Pfizer defended itself by claiming that the cases have other possible explanations and that its vaccine is a "well-tolerated and safe vaccine, with a benefit-to-risk ratio that is favorable." VaccineDamage.news has more information on dangerous and experimental new vaccinations. Watch this clip from "Faithful Freedom with Teryn Gregson" on Red Voice Media discussing how the RSV vaccines are the new Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines. This video is from the Red Voice Media channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: FDA panel unanimously supports new RSV antibody drug for infants. Largest-ever COVID jab study ties popular injections to serious health risks. Watch out for the ELECTION VARIANT and Covid Booster Syndrome. Largest global COVID-19 vaccine safety study links vaccines to neurological, blood and heart-related conditions. Cases of white lung syndrome reported in the U.S. and China. Sources include: 100PercentFedUp.com Edition.CNN.com Brighteon.com Students at Texas university denounce PRO-ABORTION statue as symbol of EVIL Students at a university in Texas have openly denounced the presence of a pro-abortion statue that promotes satanic and evil imagery. The statue was erected at the University of Houston (UH) in the Lone Star State. Titled "Witness," the work by Pakistani-American artist Shahzia Sikander reportedly served as a response to the paring back of "reproductive rights" in the U.S. as exemplified by the overturn of the 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion ruling in 2022. "Witness" features a female figure who levitates above the ground, its arms and legs dissolving into root-like forms. It floats within the armature of a hoop skirt that contains mosaics depicting plants. The figure also wears a lacy collar, referencing those worn by the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg a staunch defender of infanticide. Most noticeable is the statue's braided hair, which curls to form ram-like horns which echo the horns found on depictions of Baphomet, a recognizable satanic icon. Its hoop skirt reportedly echoes the domed shape of the Empire State's courthouse, while a mosaic on the hoop skirt spells out the inscription "havah" that translates to Eve the first woman. This was not the first instance Sikander, 53, created a statue in this manner. Back in January 2023, the Catholic News Agency (CNA) reported that this work had been previously displayed at Madison Square Park in New York City (NYC). Its partner statue titled "Now" was displayed atop the NYC Courthouse. The "Now" statue had the same feature as the "Witness" statue, sans the hoop skirt. Sikander described her work as a "fierce woman" and a "form of resistance." However, Republican NYC Councilwoman Vickie Paladino called the statue a "satanic golden medusa." Thanks to your generous support, we are building the infrastructure of human freedom and actively donating our technology to independent publishers, authors and home schooling organizations. Learn about our game-changing non-commercial AI project here. Support our ongoing efforts to preserve and enhance human knowledge by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com. "The two statues will remain in New York until June, when they will be placed on exhibit in Houston," CNA said at the time. This eventually came to pass, with "Witness" being prominently displayed on the UH campus. (Related: 'Satanic' pro-abortion statue honoring late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg being erected to pro-life Texas.) UH student says statue reminds her of the evil of infanticide One anonymous UH student decried the "Witness" statue as a symbol of "evil" during a Feb. 28 gathering against it. The student, who had undergone abortion, said it served as a reminder of the "intense trauma" that has "overpowered" her daily life. "I am so disappointed that the institution that is helping me recover is allowing the same evil that caused this to plague our school atmosphere," she said. "When I see this statue, I don't see empowerment and freedom. This statue is a physical representation of evil lies and negative energies that doesn't belong on this once-amazing campus." "Just as my abortion only allowed dark and evil challenges into my life, this statue will bring the same horrendous ideologies and ideas to our campus and its amazing students. Evil is contagious and seeps through the tiniest cracks we create. Our campus and students deserve something better than a statue that opens a door and approves of ungodly actions." The Feb. 28 protest was organized in part by Tradition Family Property (TFP) Student Action, according to LifeSiteNews. Twenty-year-old Catholic protester Sean Cutler openly denounced the statue as an "insult" to his faith. "It's horrifying to look at," he said. We want it out of sight. We don't want to be around it." Texas Right To Life, one of the groups that joined the Feb. 28 protest against the statue, remarked that "a statue honoring child sacrifice has no place in Texas." It continued: "Disobedience to God certainly should not be esteemed by society, much less lauded with a statue." Visit Abortions.news for more stories like this. Watch this video that explains why abortion is unquestionably a form of murder. This video is from the BiblicalShepherd channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Abortions in Illinois surge 54% as neighboring states enact pro-life legislation. Abortions in the U.S. HAVE INCREASED since the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Ohio voters pass amendment to enshrine in state constitution legal abortions up until BIRTH. Cosmopolitan magazine encourages women to have SATANIC abortions at a Satanic clinic in New Mexico. Planned Parenthood accused of trafficking minors to carry out more abortions. Sources include: LifeSiteNews.com CatholicNewsAgency.com Brighteon.com Rod Thomson: SCOTUS exposed Democrats as the true threat to democracy with Trump ballot ruling The U.S. Supreme Court has exposed the Democrats as the true threat to democracy with its decision that keeps former President Donald Trump on election ballots, according to public relations (PR) specialist Rod Thomson. Thomson, a former award-winning daily newspaper reporter and editor, expounded on this in a March 6 op-ed published in Human Events. He pointed out that the federal high court's March 4 ruling "is a win for the democratic process and for order." According to CNBC, all nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled to overturn an earlier decision by the Colorado Supreme Court (CSC) that disqualifies Trump from appearing in the Centennial State's ballots. The state high court cited the insurrection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as basis for its decision. "We conclude that states may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office. But states have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section Three with respect to federal offices, especially the presidency," the high court ruled. "For the reasons given, responsibility for enforcing Section Three against federal officeholders and candidates rests with Congress and not the [individual] states. The judgment of the CSC therefore cannot stand." CNBC added that the March 4 ruling not only overturns the CSC's earlier decision, but also sets a precedent for similar ballot bans such as those implemented by Maine and Illinois. "Letting it stand would have led to election anarchy where presidential candidates, probably from both parties, would be on some ballots and not on others," Thomson continued. "It would have collapsed the American system, and one must wonder if Democrats are simply comfortable with that if it means maintaining power." Thanks to your generous support, we are building the infrastructure of human freedom and actively donating our technology to independent publishers, authors and home schooling organizations. Learn about our game-changing non-commercial AI project here. Support our ongoing efforts to preserve and enhance human knowledge by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com. He ultimately pointed out that the ruling "gifts Republicans a rare messaging bonanza they can ride all the way to November," and that the decision "blows up the Democrats' strategy" of running on the platform of "saving democracy." SCOTUS justices from left to right see the dangers of ballot bans The PR specialist and founder of the Sarasota, Florida-based political consultancy The Thomson Group also pointed to the unanimous 9-0 ruling. He added that even justices from the most conservative to the most progressive wings of the bench were aware of "how wrong and dangerous" Colorado and other blue states are for banning Trump currently the leading candidate for president based on various opinion polls. Thomson noted that the Democrats, not the Republicans, are the ones "removing their primary political opponent from the ballot" and "denying voters even the opportunity to cast a vote." "Democrats are trying to imprison their political rival to keep him from running, trying to bankrupt their political rival and his campaign [and] trying to remove their political rival's ability to even make money by taking his company from him and his family. Every one of these steps by Democrats is prima facie anti-democracy. Everyone paints the picture of a rogue, deeply anti-democratic [and] anti-American party," Thomson said. The PR specialist added that while Trump himself is being targeted for alleged "election interference" by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, the Democrats are actually practicing it by pushing to remove him from the ballot and put him behind bars. The former president wanting recounts "pales in comparison" to the Democrats' actions, he remarked. "This is an easy message to carry. And it can go a step further. This is straight-up election interference. That is a phrase that resonates with the public as Democrats and their media lapdogs have harped on it incessantly, and largely fictionally, for three years. But this unanimous ruling shows that Democrats are the ones actually practicing election interference." Watch this video about leftist Democrats promising to commit insurrection and vote fraud in the upcoming 2024 elections. This video is from the glock 1911 channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Democrats are lying: Vote fraud IS real and it's been occurring in THEIR cities for years, says an operative who ran ballot fraud operations for Dems. Thanks to Democrat vote fraud and election tampering, trust in our entire system is collapsing which is what they want. Supreme Court expected to reverse Colorado's Trump ballot ban, side with Justice Samour's dissent. New York Times columnist urges Democrats to commit voter fraud in Georgia. Protect the Vote aims to save election from Democrat fraud. Sources include: HumanEvents.com CNBC.com Brighteon.com U.K. so broke its military is considering selling 3.5 billion aircraft carrier to India Persistent funding problems could result in the British military having to sell off its second aircraft carrier to shore up more operational cash. Reports indicate that HMS Prince of Wales, which cost a whopping 3.5 billion (about $4.44 billion) to build, might end up getting sold to India or some other "friendly" nation since the United Kingdom's latest budget does not include any substantial increase in defense spending. Rather than sell off the empire's flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth, the British military's Royal Navy is contemplating this other major offload as soon as 2028 if defense finances in Great Britain do not improve. Members of the Maritime Enterprise Planning Group, which develops future considerations and strategies for the British military, have reportedly been in discussions about the matter as of late. "There's an awareness in the group that the Navy is struggling to maintain operational commitments and has to expand the fleet as rapidly as possible," a Royal Navy source is quoted as saying about the matter. "The second carrier is an asset that is held in reserve and is a very expensive piece of rarely-used equipment. So, if we want to address balance sheet issues, disposing of her or sharing her with say an AUKUS [Australia, U.K. and U.S.] ally, is an option." (Related: Despite being broke, the British military is secretly helping Ukraine fight Russia to avoid the appearance of direct confrontation.) Is the U.K. broke? While the Royal Navy says it remains committed to keeping both carriers, "changes in government and budgets" could force its hand. In order to convince the U.K. Treasury to increase the empire's military budget, military top brass must "spend better," top U.K. ministers said. Human knowledge is under attack! Governments and powerful corporations are using censorship to wipe out humanity's knowledge base about nutrition, herbs, self-reliance, natural immunity, food production, preparedness and much more. We are preserving human knowledge using AI technology while building the infrastructure of human freedom. Learn about our free, non-commercial AI / LLM project here. Support our efforts to build the infrastructure of human freedom by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com, featuring lab-tested, certified organic, non-GMO foods and nutritional solutions. In an attempt to address the matter more urgently before the new budget is unveiled, MP (Member of Parliament) for Portsmouth North Penny Mordaunt held an emergency meeting with Jeremy Hunt. Mordaunt wrote online about the meeting: "Met the Chancellor to reiterate what Portsmouth's families and businesses need to hear in the Budget. Our first duty is to protect our nation and its interests." In related news, former defense secretary Ben Wallace claims the U.K. has been "lying" to NATO for the past 20 years about its alleged military capabilities. This was demonstrated most recently by the U.K.'s failure to engage in the Red Sea crisis. "If I was a carrier skeptic, and there are plenty, I would be gunning for one of them right now," said Ret. Royal Navy Commander Tom Sharpe. "It does not help their cause that when a near-perfect opportunity to use a carrier presented itself in the Red Sea, we didn't take it for political reasons." "We must recognize the threat to the second carrier, that is the unpleasant reality: the nuclear deterrent is the U.K.'s only ring-fenced capability." It is widely recognized in the U.K. today that without both carriers in operation together, the British empire will not be able to defend itself, nor will it be able to operate one carrier independently of the other meaning it might as well sell off both carriers and give up its military presence in the world entirely. To make matters worse, the British military only has one solid stores ship, the RFA Fort Victoria, in its arsenal and she is due to be retired in 2028. Almost 700 crew are needed to operate just one of Britain's carriers, which is a challenge in and of itself at a time when recruitment and retention are at all-time lows. "For the last 20 years, the U.K.'s Armed Forces have not been able to deliver to NATO what they have claimed," Wallace said. "Either we fund the Armed Forces properly or future prime ministers need to admit to the public that they want Britain to be a follower, not a leader, on the world stage." More related news about the impending fall of the U.K. can be found at Collapse.news. Sources for this article include: DailyMail.co.uk NaturalNews.com An UNWRA worker Sweden and Canada have said they will resume aid payments to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. They were among 16 countries that paused funds after Israel accused at least 12 UNRWA staff of involvement in the 7 October attack by Hamas. The UN is investigating, and France's foreign minister is leading a review. Sweden said on Saturday it would send 200 million kronor (15m; $19m) initially, after UNRWA agreed to more checks on its spending and staff. "The government has allocated 400 million kronor to UNRWA for the year 2024. Today's decision concerns a first payment of 200 million kronor," it said in a statement. It comes after Canada said on Friday that it would re-start funding for UNRWA while investigations into the agency's staff continue. On 7 October, Hamas gunmen stormed across Gaza's border into Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage. In response, Israel launched a campaign of air strikes and a ground invasion of the territory. More than 30,900 people have since been killed in Gaza, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry says, and the amount of aid reaching civilians has plummeted. The UN has warned that a quarter of the Strip's population is on the brink of famine and children are starving to death. UNRWA is the biggest UN agency operating in Gaza. It provides healthcare, education and other humanitarian aid, and employs about 13,000 people there. Its chief Philippe Lazzarini said he was "cautiously optimistic" donors would start funding it again within weeks. He said the agency was "at risk of death" after major donor countries suspended funding following allegations in late January that a number of staff members were involved in the 7 October attack. Within days, Mr Lazzarini said an investigation was being carried out, and "to protect the agency's ability to deliver humanitarian assistance" these staff members had been sacked. Story continues "What is at stake is the fate of the Palestinians today in Gaza in the short term who are going through an absolutely unprecedented humanitarian crisis," Mr Lazzarini said. The European Commission said earlier this month that it would release 50m in UNRWA funding. Sweden is the fourth largest contributor to the agency's budget, and Canada the 11th largest, 2022 data shows. UNRWA donors Canada's decision was announced in a statement on Friday by the country's Minister of International Development, Ahmed Hussen. He said it was made so that "more can be done to respond to the urgent needs of Palestinian civilians", and "in recognition of the robust investigative process under way". The Canadian Armed Forces will also donate about 300 cargo parachutes to Jordan, so they can be used to airdrop supplies into Gaza. On Friday the EU, UK, US and others said they planned to open a sea route to Gaza to deliver aid that could begin operating this weekend. Meanwhile an internal draft document compiled by UNRWA and seen by the BBC has detailed widespread abuse of Palestinians, including UNRWA employees who were released into Gaza from Israeli detention. In the document, former detainees describe an extensive range of ill-treatment. It says: "Agency staff members have been subject to threats and coercion by the Israeli authorities while in detention, and pressured to make false statements against the Agency, including that the Agency has affiliations with Hamas and that UNRWA staff members took part in the 7 October 2023 atrocities." In a statement provided to the BBC, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) rejected specific allegations and said: "The mistreatment of detainees during their time in detention or whilst under interrogation violates IDF values and contravenes IDF and is therefore absolutely prohibited." Ukraine uses French-made bomb equipped with laser guiding technology against Russia Ukrainian forces have utilized a laser-guided bomb developed by France in their war against Russia. Remix News reported that members of the Ukrainian Air Force (PS-ZSU) used the Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range (HAMMER) bomb to attack Russian troops. Sources from both sides of the battle lines confirmed the deployment of the laser-guided HAMMER bomb on March 5. Drone footage released by the Ukrainian military showed the precision-guided munition hitting Russian positions in the town of Kozachi Laheri in southern Ukraine on March 4. It featured the bomb with the phrases "for the children of Odesa" and "with hatred and no respect" written in the Ukrainian language. Voennii Osvedomitel, a pro-Russian military information channel on the Telegram messaging app, also confirmed the attack. It added that a MiG-29 aircraft from the PS-ZSU dropped the bomb. The HAMMER guidance kit was attached to a 250-kilogram bomb. The guidance kit is manufactured by Safran Electronics and Defense, which is based in France's Boulogne-Billancourt township. It attaches mobile wings, a rocket motor, advanced navigation and targeting electronics to a "dumb" unguided aerial bomb turning it into a precision-guided aerial explosive. The HAMMER kit, which is similar to the U.S.-made Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), is even more accurate when laser guidance is used. According to Remix News, "the weapon is rated to reliably hit a square meter target at distances of over 70 kilometers (43.5 miles)." French defense magazine confirms strike Meanwhile, French defense magazine A&C confirmed that the strike had taken place. It added that French and Ukrainian engineers had collaborated to adapt the HAMMER bomb for use from a Soviet-era attack aircraft. While A&C did not specify the type of aircraft used in the March 4 Kozachi Laheri attack, the Russian Telegram channel identified it as the MiG-29. Human knowledge is under attack! Governments and powerful corporations are using censorship to wipe out humanity's knowledge base about nutrition, herbs, self-reliance, natural immunity, food production, preparedness and much more. We are preserving human knowledge using AI technology while building the infrastructure of human freedom. Learn about our free, non-commercial AI / LLM project here. Support our efforts to build the infrastructure of human freedom by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com, featuring lab-tested, certified organic, non-GMO foods and nutritional solutions. In January 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Paris would deliver 50 HAMMER systems to Kyiv monthly. The next month, French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu said the PS-ZSU's MiG-29 jets and frontline Su-24 bombers would be adapted to carry the munitions. (Related: France promises to supply Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles, putting a target on itself for Russias nuclear weapons.) The PS-ZSU's March 4 attack on Russian positions followed an earlier drone attack launched by Russia. Moscow reportedly launched Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, facing the black sea. According to Al Jazeera, a total of 17 drones were launched. One of the Shahed drones struck an apartment block and exploded, causing the deaths of 12 people including five children. Two of the five juvenile casualties were babies. "Rescuers in Odesa have just uncovered the bodies of a mother with a three-month-old baby," Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said in a March 2 post on Telegram. The Shahed drones manufactured by Iran "do not return to base after an attack," Al Jazeera explained. "These 'kamikaze' drones carry explosives, dive toward a target and explode on impact. Russia has launched several thousands of these long-range winged drones throughout the war at targets deep inside Ukraine." In the aftermath of the Odesa drone attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his calls for the West to provide Kyiv with more air defense systems against these drones. "We need more air defenses from our partners," he said. "We need to strengthen the Ukrainian air shield to add more protection for our people from Russian terror. More air defense systems and more missiles for air defense systems save lives." Head over to MilitaryTechnology.news for similar stories. Watch this footage of Russian precision-guided munitions destroying two Ukrainian combat vehicles published by the Russian Ministry of Defense. This video is from the Russia Truth channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Iran finally admits it is supplying Russia with combat drones. U.S. supplies Ukraine with new, cheaper long-range bomb that can hit civilian targets in Russian territory. Russian electronic warfare systems are successfully disabling "sophisticated" US-supplied Ukrainian weapons. Ukrainian KAMIKAZE DRONE sets off explosion, crashing into Russian airbase and damaging supersonic bomber. Sources include: RMX.news AlJazeera.com Brighteon.com Western governments have declared open season on their White citizens Normal heterosexual white people are losing the protection of law in the Western world.It is happening in some countries faster than in others.Although women in Sweden and Norway do not have the same recourse to law when they are raped by immigrant-invaders as they have if raped by white Scandinavian men, it is in Great Britain and the US where the protection by law has collapsed most rapidly. (Article republished from PaulCraigRoberts.org) A recent example in Great Britain is the case of Sam Melia. Sam, a white British citizen, made available stickers that read: Reject White Guilt Its ok to be White We will be a minority in our homeland by 2066 White Lives Matter Stop Anti-White Rape Gangs Love your Nation The BBC presstitutes branded Melia a far-right activist. A piece of shit judge ruled that the stickers messages are corrosive to our society. In other words the judge said that our society is not white except for the corrosive elements in it who are opposed to Britain being overrun by immigrant-invaders. The piece of shit judge, with weaponized law in his hand, declared his opinion that Sam was an antisemite with Nazi sympathies and sentenced Sam to two years in prison. Sam was charged with a hate crime for saying it is ok to be white. He wasnt charged with being an anti-semite or a Nazi sympathizer. These were charges that the judge added. The result is that a white British family with a two year old daughter and another child on the way will be devoid of a father, earner, and protector for two years. We are building the infrastructure of human freedom and empowering people to be informed, healthy and aware. Learn about our free, downloadable AI tools on nutrition, health and preparedness at this article link. Every purchase at HealthRangerStore.com helps fund our efforts to build and share more tools for empowering humanity with knowledge and abundance. THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A WHITE BRITISH CITIZEN TODAY. Meanwhile British justice gave a child pornographer no jail time. The same British justice gave no jail time to a person who brain damaged a baby. When criminals and immigrant-invaders get in trouble the ruling is that conviction would damage their careers. So there is no one to convict but white British citizens. Consider what British justice has done to Julian Assange. British justice has kept him imprisoned in one form or the other for 12 years without any charges filed against him. This is a massive violation of habeas corpus. Today British justice is the same as the justice of the feudal lord who at his whim confined a person to a dungeon for life without recourse. It is amazing what white people do to white people, but they wont dare touch an immigrant-invader whatever he does. That would be racist. In the United States the situation is so bad that the federal government absolutely refuses to enforce the immigration laws on the books. The pro-overrun America regime in Washington actually ruled that Texas cannot even protect its own border. The US border is wide open. According to official figures immigrant-invaders from 160 countries have been pouring into the United States during the Biden regime equal in number each year equivalent to the populations of 12 cities the size of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. All the while the dumbshit liberals say replacement is misinformation. Well, so far the Biden regime, according to their very own understated figures, have given us White American Citizens immigrant-invaders in numbers equivalent to 36 cities the size of Pittsburgh. After four years of fiercely anti-white Democrat rule, we will have 48 cities, according to official understated figures, of immigrant-invaders the size of Pittsburgh. Four more years of Democrats and we will have, according to official understated numbers, immigrant-invaders present in the amount of 96 cities the size of Pillsburgh. In other words, four more years of Democrat rule and America is no longer a white country. It will be a tower of babel in which law is used to oppress white people. White people dont seen to care enough to stop the immigrant invasion. For more than a half century white Americans have accepted second class citizenship in university admissions, employment and promotion. Only whites have to endure hate speech. Only whites are racists if they complain of black crime. Only whites can be sent to prison for saying that their lives matter. Everywhere in the Western world, every citizen who attempts to defend the ethnic basis of his society is declared a racist. In other words, everywhere in the Western world governments are committed to eliminating the white ethnicity of the countries that the ethnicities constituted: Great Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands. Britons, French, Germans, Italians, Dutch, will cease to exist. This is the trajectory on which the Western world is traveling. If you point it out, you are declared an enemy of democracy. Read more at: PaulCraigRoberts.org The population of harbor porpoises is threatened due to fishing nets, according to a recent report. Researchers raised concerns over the potential decline of said species. Understanding the threats will be crucial in conservation and protection efforts, particularly for species in the following areas: western portions of the Baltic Belt Sea populations Harbor porpoises can weigh up to 170 pounds. They are also found in the following areas in the US: Southeast West Coast Mid-Atlantic Alaska Mid-Atlantic The marine animal likes to travel in groups, thriving in harbors, bays, estuaries, and fjords. They consume different species, such as schooling fish herring mackerel However, the species population is threatened by the following: Pollution Gillnets Fishing traps Human disturbance Harbor Porpoises Threatened By Fishing Nets Fishing gear entanlement is one of the pressing threats to harbor porpoises, according to reports. The animal can likely become stuck in herring weirs and trawls. Due to threats, experts from Sweden, Germany, and Denmark teamed up to emphasize the concerning state of harbor porpoises. The research findings were published in a Marine Science journal. "The population shrinks by 2.7 percent annually, which is concerning for the harbor porpoises. Multiple factors contribute to this decline. By-catch due to net fishing, where porpoises become entangled and drown, is a significant issue. Additionally, deoxygenation, pollution, and a lack of fish play a role," researcher Signe Sveegaard said, as quoted in a report. The study observed harbor porpoises in the western part of the Baltic and Danish waters. The researchers raised concerns about the decline in numbers: In 2012 and 2016, about 40,000 were reported. In 2022, about 14,000 were reported The worrying numbers caused alarm among researchers. Without protection and conservation efforts, the harbor porpoises could suffer more. "If the harbor porpoises of the Belt Sea disappear, they might never come back. Therefore, we need to do something now to protect and stabilize the population," Sveegaard added, who is also from the Department of Ecoscience at Aarhus University. Also Read: Plastic Debris in Marine Animals Can Likely Harm Humans, Study Warns Limiting Fishing Nets Finding solutions to limit fishing nets in the area will contribute to protecting the species' population. Commercial fishing can disrupt the harbor porpoises in the region, becoming victims of fishing gear entanglement. Young porpoises have suffered from nets. "We mention the fishing industry and by-catch specifically because it's the only way to make a change here and now. If the politicians decide to limit net fishing, it will quickly reduce the by-catch of harbor porpoises and give the population time to heal," Sveegaard said in the same report. The study also noted that bottom trawl can significantly harm ecosystems and harbor porpoises food. As a result, there is an urgent need to look into the limitations of fishing nets. Related Article: Deep Water Sharks, Rays Under Threats: One in Seven Species Can Suffer From Extinction For more similar, don't forget to follow Nature World News. CB2 Black in Design Collaborative. Last Summer, CB2 launched its Black in Design Collective a collective that celebrates Black designers, artists, and creatives. Now in its second iteration, CB2s Black in Design Collective is a myriad of projects created in partnership with Black designers around the world, with each designer focusing on a few specific decor or furniture pieces that they believe represent their culture. Inspiration varied from all over. From the streets of Paris, France, and Lagos, Nigeria, to the Caribbean islands, each piece exhibits a different culture and is unique to the designer who created it. It goes beyond interior design trends and focuses on the designers story instead. One such designer, Evan Jerry of Studio Anansi , spoke to me about the importance of having such a collective and why it was so important to him to take part in this second launch. It was very important as a designer because entering the zeitgeist and industry 10 years ago, it was very challenging for me to see my culture represented in design. Sometimes, Black-identified interior spaces are represented through craft, like a sculpture or something art-inspired, but it doesnt have the refined element that design brings,' he says. 'I knew I wasnt the only designer going through that collective experience, and CB2 gave us the opportunity to express ourselves through design and bring it to the mainstream. Upon looking at the collection myself, I was amazed to see that it really did cover so many diverse perspectives and traditions in the Black design industry and worked to explain the significance behind each design choice used whether that was a spiritual belief translated to materials selected or more modern representations of traditional decorating ideas . Black in Design The Black in Design Collective is a vision of black connectivity, adds Evan. Black creatives are coming together to envision what Black identity looks like through product, and definitely coming at it from a very global and diverse perspective. It's bringing that perspective to celebrate the connectivity of Black culture, but also the uniqueness of Black identities and culture itself. Story continues Shop CB2's Black in Design Collective spring 2024 launch Each piece tells such a gorgeous story that it was hard to narrow down my favorites, but hopefully, my selections will be able to inform your own perspective on Black design and how you can bring it to your home. Arc Bronze Brown Velvet Bench Arc Bronze Brown Velvet Bench $1,699 at CB2 This gorgeous velvet bench from Evan has a U-shape at the center, in order to symbolize unity in the Black community as a whole: a global group of Black people, cultures, and identities merging as a unit. The thick, solid metal base brings about that sense of stability as well. Utila White and Copper Embroidered Outdoor Throw Pillow 23 Inches Utila White and Copper Embroidered Outdoor Throw Pillow 23 Inches $89.95 at CB2 With spring coming soon, were all thinking about outdoor decor, and this option created by Mariam Issoufou of Atelier Masomi plays up the drama of contrasting colors and a striking diagonal pattern thats only on one half of the cushion to bring more attention to it. Ori Globe Table Lamp With Black Wood Base Ori Globe Table Lamp With Black Wood Base $249 at CB2 This striking table lamp was created by Sandra Githinji Studio . The beautiful textures of the wooden base represent traditional African hairstyles, which is seen as a gateway for divine communication. The soft, dimmable bulb is to symbolize the divine realm. Meji Brass Round Wall Mirror 32 Inches Meji Brass Round Wall Mirror 32 Inches Was $599 , now $194.97 at CB2 Entirely created in brass (a true feat!) by Studio Lani , the silhouette of this frame draws inspiration from Nigerian cultural symbols, including the Nsibidi unity symbol developed in the southern regions of the country. Dome Round Ebonized Oak Wood Coffee Table Dome Round Ebonized Oak Wood Coffee Table $1,999 at CB2 Both the base and the top of this solid oak wood coffee table tell a story: The top has a traditional pinwheel pattern, while the legs feature asymmetric horizontal lines, whose geometry echoes the traditional four-legged Kikuyu stools made specifically for women out of singular tree trunks. Mandla Unlaquered Brass Mask Wall Decor Mandla Unlaquered Brass Mask Wall Decor $229 at CB2 This mask puts a modern spin on the Ngil mask of the Fang people of Gabon. It features an elongated face, rounded forehead, arched eyebrows, and slim nose, but is reinterpreted in brass in order to play with light and shadow even more, lending a dramatic effect. Cornrows Handloomed Ivory and Black Viscose Area Rug Cornrows Handloomed Ivory and Black Viscose Area Rug Was $599 , now $479.20 at CB2 Created by Tavia Forbes and Monet Masters of Forbes Masters , this rug is a testament to Black women and how they take care of their hair: Beautiful and intricate curves of black and gray against an ivory background pay an impactful nod to the style of cornrows, and the fringed edge echoes the texture of hair, too. Jalousie Round Silver Cast Aluminum Side Table Jalousie Round Silver Cast Aluminum Side Table $399 at CB2 Designer Jerome Byron created this aluminum side table to look like a stacked checkerboard, adding a luxe, playful element to any home. Dont let its lightweight appearance fool you, either: It really is quite sturdy, and the natural variations in the material allow light to reflect beautifully off it. Kos Charcoal Grey Porcelain Vase Kos Charcoal Grey Porcelain Vase $69.95 at CB2 French design duo Dach & Zephir created this minimalist porcelain vase to mimic the distinctive shape of palm seed pods found in Guadeloupe. The simple flared design up top brings extra pizazz to your blooms. Byju's likely to miss March 10 salary deadline for 20,000 employees as funds remain stuck New Delhi, March 9 Embattled edtech company Byju's is likely to miss the March 10 deadline to pay salaries for the month of February to its more than 20,000 employees as funds raised via its rights issue remain stuck. According to sources, the company appears not in a position to pay the salaries due to the status quo, as banks also remain closed over the weekend. The company did not immediately comment on the development. Earlier this month, the companys founder and CEO Byju Raveendran told employees that We are striving to ensure that your salaries are paid by March 10. We shall make these payments the moment we are permitted to do so as per law. In a letter to the staff, Raveendran said that the rights issue has been successfully closed. "However, I regret to inform you that we will still be unable to process your salaries. Last month, we faced challenges due to a lack of capital, and now we are experiencing a delay despite having funds," he told more than 20,000 employees. Raveendran further said that a select few investors have "stooped to a heartless level, ensuring that we are unable to utilise the funds raised to pay your hard-earned salaries". Meanwhile, the edtech company said that no funds have been siphoned off and around $533 million are currently in a 100 per cent non-US subsidiary of the company. (IANS - Posted on 09 March 2024) Byju's likely to miss March 10 salary deadline for 20,000 employees as funds remain stuck Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! BAPS Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi celebrates its first Maha Shivratri festival New Delhi, March 9 The first Hindu temple in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) celebrated its first festival -- Maha Shivratri -- on Friday, almost a month after its inauguration. The temple constructed and run by the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) was inaugurated on February 14 in the presence of thousands of Hindu saints, Mahant Swami ji Maharaj and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On Friday, the temple was adorned with vibrant colours for the occasion of Shivratri with thousands of devotees gathering there to celebrate the revered day. The festivities at the temple began with prayers for Lord Shiva and concluded with a 'havan'. Throughout the day, the temple saw a rush of devotees lined up at the gates to get a 'darshan' of the deity. After offering prayers at the temple, many of the devotees said they were left overwhelmed by the grandeur and magnificence of the recently-built BAPS Hindu mandir. Maha Shivratri, an annual Hindu festival, is considered the most sacred day to worship Lord Shiva. On this day, devotees collect water from River Ganga and offer it to the deity. (IANS - Posted on 09 March 2024) BAPS Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi celebrates its first Maha Shivratri festival Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! 71st Miss World: Show host Karan Johar arrives, exudes swag Mumbai, March 9 Bollywood multi-hyphenate Karan Johar, who most recently directed the Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt-starrer 'Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani', arrived at the Red Carpet of the Miss World 2024 in swag. The producer-director is hosting the event along with the winner of Miss World 2013 Megan Young. For the event, KJo looked dapper in a black tuxedo with shimmery shoulders and black pants. Meanwhile, Miss World 2024 will be held at the Jio Convention Centre in the BKC area of Mumbai on Saturday from 8:00 pm. This time around the beauty pageant is returning to India after 28 years. Mumbai-born Sini Shetty, who has her roots in Karnataka, is representing India at the beauty pageant. The competition will witness participants from across 140 countries. It's a culmination of the 'Beauty with a Purpose' segment, where Miss World 2023 Karolina Bielawska of Poland will crown her successor. (IANS - Posted on 09 March 2024) 71st Miss World: Show host Karan Johar arrives, exudes swag Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! 71st Miss World: 'I feel like the King of the World', declares KJo Mumbai, March 9 Bollywood producer-director Karan Johar, who is hosting the finale of Miss World 2024 in the BKC area of Mumbai, has said that hosting the event makes him feel like the "king of the world". Addressing 112 participants and the guests at the event, KJo took a leaf from the dialogue of the Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet-starrer 'Titanic' in which the actor says, "I feel like the king of the world", KJo said being in the company of beauty pageant contenders at the world stage, he truly feels like the 'King of the World", and that he is only "a mere mortal" among the ladies at the event. For the event, KJo donned a black tuxedo with shimmery shoulders and black pants. This time around the beauty pageant is returning to India after 28 years. Mumbai-born Sini Shetty, who has her roots in Karnataka, is representing India at the beauty pageant. The event is being held at the Jio World Convention Centre in the BKC area of Mumbai. The competition will have 112 participants. Miss World 2023 Karolina Bielawska of Poland will crown her successor at the finale in Mumbai on Saturday. aa/dan (IANS - Posted on 09 March 2024) 71st Miss World: 'I feel like the King of the World', declares KJo Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Bhakshak is my tribute to unsung journalists, says Bhumi Pednekar Mumbai, March 9 Bhumi Pednekar has received applause for her performance in her latest release, 'Bhakshak', cementing her strong presence in Bollywood. She dedicated the success of the film to the media fraternity, calling them "unsung heroes who sacrifice everything to bring out the truth." "I'm deeply grateful to the media and all the journalists who have given so much love to Bhakshak that is now a global hit. No matter whichever state of my country I have travelled to since its release, whenever I have engaged with the media recently, they have all told me how passionately I have represented them in Bhakshak," Bhumi said. She added, "They have told me how they feel proud to see Bhakshak because it shows how a reporter can swim against the tide to uncover the truth as if her life depends on it. Media is the fourth pillar of our democracy. Journalists are the force of nature that stands in the way of injustice, always striving to better society." Bhumi said that the film is her "tribute to these unsung heroes living across the country, sacrificing everything to bring out the truth." "Bhakshak is my tribute to these unsung heroes living across the country, sacrificing everything to bring out the truth. It is not easy being in the media. The threat to their lives, the bullying, the red tape, the attacks on social media or in real life - we know of too many cases. But what is astonishing is how the media doesn't back down from bringing culprits to justice.I have always been fascinated by their willpower. Lives and tales of crime journalists are also inspiring. What journalists have done for our society, for our country, is simply incredible and they do it without chasing glory. They do it just to do good. I salute this fraternity for protecting people, for protecting democracy and for protecting those in need," she shared. 'Bhakshak' also stars Sanjay Mishra. It is streaming on Netflix. (ANI - Posted on 09 March 2024) Bhakshak is my tribute to unsung journalists, says Bhumi Pednekar Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Download Now The News-Gazette mobile app brings you the latest local breaking news, updates, and more. Read the News-Gazette on your mobile device just as it appears in print. A decorated bike on Olympian Drive ... high school sportsmanship agreement an apartment complex with multiple code violations and more info on how the value of Carle Healths charity care is calculated. Oh, and did you know that Mattis Avenue used to have a different name? An update on the coming rehab of Prospect Avenue, a look back at Carriage Center, Champaign County Nursing Home debt, some unsightly trash bags in Mahomet, a traffic trouble spot on Duncan Road and much more. "The most consequential issue today is how we will deal with the question of the future. We obviously must deal with today's issues, such as getting the border under control and passing a farm bill. But we cannot merely be putting out fires." "With my longstanding community connection with addressing Champaign Countys long list of increasing causes of death and the unaddressed trauma that it brings, I think I am the best candidate to help save lives." This story contains original reporting by News-Gazette staff. If you are not a subscriber, please consider becoming one, because local journalism is only possible with your support. A subscription to The News-Gazette plays a vital role in making this reporting possible. Thank you for your support and helping us continue to connect our community. The handgun authorities say was used in Champaign's first homicide of 2024 was among 94 reported stolen to five area law enforcement agencies in 2023. Like many of the others, the Taurus 9mm pistol had been stored in the center console of a vehicle parked outside a Savoy condominium for four days while the owner traveled for the Thanksgiving holidays. The 28-year-old man told Champaign County Sheriff's deputies he's not sure if his Ford Escape was locked. For their Illinois State Fair show, the tour's request for an SUV to transport the talent to and from the venue was lined out and replaced by passenger van. That said, if requested, the state will be happy to provide names and contact info for local limo companies, so long as the artist picks up the tab. Speakers were still waiting their turn in line when the two hours were up. At the front: former Urbana school superintendent Don Owen, who promised: We will be back, then turned to supporters in the crowded council chambers and led a chant of Cease-fire now cease-fire now Central Community College was a top 10 finalist for the prestigious Bellwether Award, which was presented at the 2024 Community College Futures Assembly on Feb. 27 in San Antonio, Texas. The Bellwether Award focuses on innovative programs, efficiencies or practices worthy of replication at other community colleges across the country. Annually, only 10 community colleges are selected as finalists in the workforce development category from applicants in the United States and its territories. CCC competed with its project, Hands-On Independent Mechatronics Education Curriculum, which focuses on training future workforce in areas such as bioscience, automation and instrumentation. The project consisted of CCC offering four courses from its mechatronics associate of applied science degree program in secondary schools. CCC designed the program to be supported online with local hands-on labs, which allows flexible scheduling for the students, schools and adjunct mechatronics instructors from industry. For the 2023-24 academic year, 13 area high schools are participating with CCC providing professional development or trainers to secondary and postsecondary teachers from 11 U.S. states. We are very proud of our staff, instructors and industry partners in helping us be recognized for this program that is offering students in rural Nebraska an opportunity to prepare for high paying mechatronics-related careers with over 800 average job postings each month, CCC President Dr. Matt Gotschall said. The four mechatronics courses CCC and its industry and community partners include portable trainers that were built for a fraction of the cost of those typically purchased from vendors. Additionally, two local businesses sponsored their local high schools to ensure that each student had their own trainer and some help with the cost of instructional fees. A certified teacher, acting as a facilitator, guided the students through the semester. This allows students to earn both high school and college credit. Each facilitator attends 15 days of professional development during the summer. Introducing high school students to mechatronics courses at an early age will have a profound and lasting impact on our ability to cultivate a skilled workforce, Mick Yrkoski, director of machine and facility engineering for Behlen Manufacturing, said. The program began in fall 2021 and since then, 275 students have enrolled and some 30% went on to attend CCC, with nearly 60% continuing in the mechatronics degree program. Several students received full scholarships from business and industry. Three years ago, I was in high school taking dual credit mechatronics courses, Ivan Varela, mechatronics student, said. I am currently on a full-ride scholarship with Cargill and enrolled at CCC while working part-time as a mechatronics technician. A U.S.-Canadian research collaboration led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center has identified common, age-associated changes in the blood as a risk factor for acute kidney injury (AKI), which occurs in more than 1 in 5 hospitalized adults worldwide. This discovery, reported in the journal Nature Medicine, could open the door to new, more effective treatments for AKI and a way to prevent its progression to end-stage renal disease requiring kidney dialysis. The focus of this investigation was clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), somatic (noninherited) mutations in blood stem cells that can trigger explosive, clonal expansions of abnormal cells. CHIP, which affects 10-20% of people ages 65 and older, is associated with an estimated 40% greater risk of death from cardiovascular, lung and liver disease, and other inflammatory conditions. This age group is also especially vulnerable to AKI. "In addition to known causes for AKI, identification of an association with CHIP provides new insight into the increased risk and underlying mechanisms for the development of AKI among the older population," said Raymond Harris, MD, co-corresponding author of the paper with Alexander Bick, MD, PhD. "We commonly think about how a chronic inflammation caused by CHIP can cause chronic diseases, but I was quite surprised at the effect CHIP had on an acute inflammation," Bick added. Bick, an assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Genetic Medicine, has pioneered methods for determining the presence of CHIP and the mechanisms by which it leads to disease. Harris, the Ann and Roscoe R. Robinson Professor of Medicine, and director of research in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, is internationally known for his investigations of acute and chronic renal injury. Researchers from Canada and across the United States contributed to the study, which was supervised by Bick, Harris and Cassianne Robinson-Cohen, PhD, associate professor of Medicine at VUMC. The study was led by first author Caitlyn Vlasschaert, MD, a resident physician in Medicine at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, who was previously a visiting research scholar at VUMC. The researchers first showed that CHIP was associated with AKI in a meta-analysis of three population-based cohorts totaling more than 440,000 individuals from the UK (United Kingdom) Biobank, and two long-running studies in the United States. The CHIP-AKI association was more pronounced in patients who required dialysis and in individuals with mutations other than in the DNMT3A gene, including the Tet2 and Jak2 genes. Pursuing this finding, the researchers created mouse models of CHIP in which both Tet2 and Jak2 were mutated. They observed more severe AKI, greater infiltration of pro-inflammatory macrophages, a type of immune cell, in the kidneys, impaired recovery from AKI, and greater post-AKI fibrosis, or scarring. These results suggest that CHIP inhibits recovery from AKI by inducing a pro-inflammatory response by mutant, infiltrating macrophages. It therefore may be possible to reduce this risk by targeting elements of the innate immune system that initiate and fan the flames of inflammation in the kidney, the researchers concluded. It was a privilege to closely collaborate with Dr. Harris's research group on this effort. It was remarkable to see how well our biobank scale observations were recapitulated by Dr. Harris's mechanistic experiments." Alexander Bick, MD, PhD Other VUMC co-authors of the paper were Jianchun Chen, MD, Elvis Akwo, MD, MS, Alyssa Parker, Hannah Poisner, Shirong Cao, MD, PhD, Ming Jiang, MD, PhD, Yinqiu Wang, PhD, Aolei Niu, Edward Siew, MD, MSCI, Joseph Van Amburg, Ming-Zhi Zhang, MD, MSc. This work was funded in part by a National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases grant, R01DK132155, and by the PSI Foundation, the Canadian Institute of Health Research, and the German Research Foundation. Additional funding was provided by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health. Rapid advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have opened the way for the creation of a huge range of new healthcare tools, but to ensure that these tools do not exacerbate preexisting health inequities, researchers urge the use of more representative data in their development. Researchers from Oxford University's Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS), University College London and the Centre for Ethnic Health Research, supported by Health Data Research UK, have for the first time studied the full detail of ethnicity data in the NHS. They outline the importance of using representative data in healthcare provision and have compiled this information into a research-ready database. The new study, published in Nature Scientific Data, is the first part of a three-phase project that aims to reduce bias in AI health prediction models which are trained on real-world patient data. The project, which addresses ethnicity disparities that were highlighted during the pandemic, is part of the UK Government's COVID-19 Data and Connectivity National Core Study led by Health Data Research UK. The researchers used de-identified data on ethnicity and other characteristics from general practice and hospital health records, accessed safely within NHS England's Secure Data Environment (SDE) service, via the British Heart Foundation Data Science Centre's CVD-COVID-UK/COVID-IMPACT Consortium. This is the first time that patient ethnicity data has been studied at this depth and breadth for the whole population of England. The researchers were able to combine records to analyse patient self-identified ethnicity recorded through over 489 potential codes. Researchers analysed how more than 61 million people in England identified their ethnicity in over 250 different groups. They also looked at the characteristics of those with no record of their ethnicity, and how conflicts in patient ethnicity data can arise. The data, now available for other researchers to use, shows that 1/10 patients lack ethnicity records, and around 12% of patients had conflicting ethnicity codes in their patient records. Health inequity was highlighted during the COVID19 pandemic, where individuals from ethnically diverse backgrounds were disproportionately affected, but the issue is long-standing and multi-faceted. Because AI-based healthcare technology depends on the data that is fed into it, a lack of representative data can lead to biased models that ultimately produce incorrect health assessments. Better data from real-world settings, such as the data we have collected, can lead to better technology and ultimately better health for all." Sara Khalid, Associate Professor of Health Informatics and Biomedical Data Science at NDORMS Professor Cathie Sudlow, Chief Scientist at Health Data Research UK and Director of its BHF Data Science Centre said: 'We are delighted to be supporting hundreds of researchers to harness the power of the UK's rich health data. This study on ethnicity recording highlights how different sources of health data from the whole English population can be accessed and analysed in a safe and secure way, providing insights that are relevant to everyone. The findings will empower health professionals, patients, carers and policy makers to make better decisions that will benefit people of all ages, ethnic groups, and social backgrounds across the country.' The study assessed the available detail of ethnicity data in NHS England, including across different types of ethnicity codes. For example, NHS hospitals record patient data via 19 ethnicity codes, while GPs use the globally recognised SNOMED-CT Codes, of which there are 489. However, health researchers lose the finer detail from these recording systems as they typically collapse these groups into just 5 or 6, potentially leading to less accurate research. The researchers plan to demonstrate the value of these findings in the subsequent phases of the project, which will first focus on using these detailed results on ethnicity data to better describe how different ethnicities were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and then feed into more equitable artificial intelligence and machine learning tools suitable for use by diverse patient groups. One in four older adults take aspirin at least three times a week, mostly in hopes of preventing heart attacks and strokes, a new poll shows. But many people aged 50 to 80 who said they take aspirin may not need to, the findings from the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging suggest. In all, 57% of people aged 50 to 80 who say they take aspirin regularly also said they don't have a history of cardiovascular disease. Such people should have a conversation with their health care provider about what's best for them before stopping or starting aspirin use. National guidelines have changed in recent years for using aspirin for prevention, because of new knowledge about who actually gets the most benefit from its ability to reduce the risk of blood clots, and who faces a risk of bleeding. Now, guidelines mostly focus on aspirin use in those who already have cardiovascular disease including those who have survived a heart attack or stroke and those who face a high risk of it because of their personal health and family history. The poll shows 14% of all adults age 50 to 80 are taking aspirin even though they have no history of cardiovascular issues. Whether or not someone has a cardiovascular history, aspirin does pose a bleeding risk that increases with age. That has led to guidelines that advise against routine aspirin use after age 70, or suggest that it may be reasonable to consider stopping around age 75, in those without cardiovascular disease. The poll finds 42% of all adults age 75 to 80 are taking aspirin. Meanwhile, 31% of all older adults age 50 to 80 who take aspirin don't appear to know about the bleeding risk associated with it. The poll is based at the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation and supported by AARP and Michigan Medicine, U-M's academic medical center. The poll team asked a national sample of adults aged 50 to 80 about their health history and use of aspirin; those who take it were also asked about why. "Aspirin is no longer a one-size-fits-all preventive tool for older adults, which for decades it was touted as," says Jordan Schaefer, M.D., M.Sc., a hematologist at Michigan Medicine who worked with the poll team. "This poll shows we have a long way to go to make sure aspirin use is consistent with current knowledge." Adds Geoffrey Barnes, M.D., M.Sc., a Michigan Medicine cardiologist who also worked on the poll, "As guidelines change, it's important for everyone over 40 to talk with their health care provider about their individual cardiovascular risk based on their family history, past health issues, current medications, recent test results like blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar, and lifestyle factors like smoking, physical activity and eating habits. Preventive aspirin use should be based on age plus these factors." Updated knowledge and guidance In all, the poll finds 71% of older adults who take aspirin started four or more years ago, which could mean that they and their health care provider may be basing their use on old advice. Schaefer and Barnes note that because of continuing research on aspirin, two major guidelines changed in recent years for older adults who don't have a history of cardiovascular disease. In such people, taking aspirin is called primary prevention. The American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association together say that daily low dose aspirin use might be considered for the prevention of cardiovascular disease for select adults 40 to 70 of age who are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but not bleeding, based on a guideline updated in 2019. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which advises the federal government updated its guideline in 2022, and recommends against initiating aspirin for the prevention of cardiovascular disease in adults 60 years or older. The AHA and ACC offer online calculators to help clinicians estimate a person's 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease if they don't already have it. Adults age 40-70 at higher cardiovascular disease risk may be good candidates for aspirin as primary prevention but should always talk with a health care provider before starting to take it. Meanwhile, for people who have already had a heart attack, some types of stroke or other cardiovascular diagnoses, the use of aspirin is still generally recommended unless the person is unable to tolerate it or has an unacceptable bleeding risk. This is called secondary prevention and should be done only under the supervision of a health care provider. More dialogue needed The poll shows the importance of open communication between health care providers and their older patients about all types of medication and supplements, including those like aspirin that are available 'over the counter' without a prescription. The poll finds that 96% of those who take aspirin and have a cardiovascular history said their health care provider had recommended it. But 77% of those who take aspirin and have no cardiovascular history said the same suggesting a need for a discussion about updated guidelines. Also among those who take aspirin but have no cardiovascular disease history, 20% said they started doing it on their own and 5% said friends and family had advised them. Thanks to updated knowledge, and reductions in other major risk factors such as smoking, we can use aspirin more precisely, focusing on those who need this inexpensive and easy-to-obtain preventive medication most and avoiding unnecessary risks for others. These poll findings should spur more conversations between health care providers and patients about what's right for them." Kullgren is a primary care physician at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System and associate professor of internal medicine at U-M. Jeffrey Kullgren, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., poll director The poll report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for IHPI and administered online and via phone in July and August 2023 among 2,657 adults aged 50 to 80, with an oversample of non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic populations. The sample was subsequently weighted to reflect the U.S. population. New research from Oregon Health & Science University describes the science behind a promising technique to treat infertility by turning a skin cell into an egg that is capable of producing viable embryos. Researchers at OHSU documented in vitro gametogenesis, or IVG, in a mouse model through the preliminary steps of a technique that relies upon transferring the nucleus of a skin cell into a donated egg whose nucleus has been removed. Experimenting in mice, researchers coaxed the skin cell's nucleus into reducing its chromosomes by half, so that it could then be fertilized by a sperm cell to create a viable embryo. The study published today in the journal Science Advances. "The goal is to produce eggs for patients who don't have their own eggs," said senior author Shoukhrat Mitalipov, Ph.D., director of the OHSU Center for Embryonic Cell and Gene Therapy. The technique could be used by women of advanced maternal age or for those who are unable to produce viable eggs due to previous treatment for cancer or other causes. It also raises the possibility of men in same-sex relationships having children who are genetically related to both parents. Rather than attempting to differentiate induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs, into sperm or egg cells, OHSU researchers are focused on a technique based on somatic cell nuclear transfer, in which a skin cell nucleus is transplanted into a donor egg stripped of its nucleus. In 1996, researchers famously used this technique to clone a sheep in Scotland named Dolly. In that case, researchers created a clone of one parent. In contrast, the OHSU study described the result of a technique that resulted in embryos with chromosomes contributed from both parents. The process involves three steps: Researchers transplant the nucleus of a mouse skin cell into a mouse egg that is stripped of its own nucleus. Prompted by cytoplasm -; liquid that fills cells -; within the donor egg, the implanted skin cell nucleus discards half of its chromosomes. The process is similar to meiosis, when cells divide to produce mature sperm or egg cells. This is the key step, resulting in a haploid egg with a single set of chromosomes. Researchers then fertilize the new egg with sperm, a process called in vitro fertilization. This creates a diploid embryo with two sets of chromosomes -; which would ultimately result in healthy offspring with equal genetic contributions from both parents. OHSU researchers previously demonstrated the proof of concept in a study published in January 2022, but the new study goes further by meticulously sequencing the chromosomes. The researchers found that the skin cell's nucleus segregated its chromosomes each time it was implanted in the donor egg. In rare cases, this happened perfectly, with one from each pair of matching egg and sperm chromosomes. "This publication basically shows how we achieved haploidy," Mitalipov said. "In the next phase of this research, we will determine how we enhance that pairing so each chromosome-pair separates correctly." Laboratories around the world are involved in a different technique of IVG that involves a time-intensive process of reprogramming skin cells to become iPSCs, and then differentiating them to become egg or sperm cells. We're skipping that whole step of cell reprogramming. The advantage of our technique is that it avoids the long culture time it takes to reprogram the cell. Over several months, a lot of deleterious genetic and epigenetic changes can happen." Paula Amato, Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University Although researchers are also studying the technique in human eggs and early embryos, Amato said it will be years before the technique would be ready for clinical use. "This gives us a lot of insight," she said. "But there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to understand how these chromosomes pair and how they faithfully divide to actually reproduce what happens in nature." Becoming an IAS officer is a challenging journey that requires immense dedication and perseverance, particularly for women. It is important to acknowledge the achievements of empowered women, including those who have excelled in the prestigious role of an IAS officer. Here are the most famous female IAS officers in India. 1) Anna Rajam Malhotra Anna Rajam Malhotra made the bold decision to pursue a career as an IAS officer during a time when the field was predominantly male-dominated, facing numerous challenges along the way. Hailing from Kerala, she belonged to the 1951 batch of officers and holds the distinction of being the first female IAS officer in India. Married to RN Malhotra, who served as the 17th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Anna Rajam Malhotras illustrious career was marked by dedicated service and outstanding achievements. Recognising her contributions, she was honoured with the prestigious Padma Bhushan Award. 2) Rajni Sekhri Sibal IAS Rajni Sekhri Sibal, a member of the 1986 batch, has served in various capacities, including as Additional Secretary of the Disaster Management Department in the Home Ministry of the Government of India. Known for her adept handling of crises, she played a crucial role in mitigating losses during natural disasters such as floods and cyclones in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu. 3) Smita Sabharwal Smita Sabharwal, an IAS officer from the 2001 batch belonging to the Telangana cadre, is widely recognised as one of the most accomplished and dynamic female officers in the country. Known for her proactive approach to understanding and resolving public issues, she is celebrated as a dedicated public servant. Notably, she holds the distinction of being the first woman IAS officer appointed to the Chief Ministers Office. 4) Durga Shakti Nagpal IAS Durga Shakti Nagpal, belonging to the 2009 batch, achieved the remarkable feat of securing the 20th rank in the UPSC examination. Currently serving as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Indian Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, she has made significant contributions in various capacities. During her tenure as a trainee IAS officer in the Punjab cadre, she played a pivotal role in uncovering a land fraud case in Mohali. 5) Tina Dabi IAS Tina Dabi, who belongs to the 2015 batch, secured the top rank in the UPSC examination, marking a significant milestone in her career. Notably, her ex-husband, Dr Pradeep Gawande, is also an IAS officer, and her sister, Riya Dabi, shares the same profession. Coming from a family with a background in civil service, Tina Dabi has carved a niche for herself and garnered considerable popularity, especially on social media platforms. 6) Srushti Jayant Deshmukh IAS Srushti Jayant Deshmukh, hailing from Madhya Pradesh and belonging to the 2018 batch, achieved remarkable success by securing the 5th rank in the UPSC examination. Her husband, Nagarjun Gowda, is also an IAS officer, and together, they form a popular pair on social media. Srushti Jayant Deshmukh is dedicated to improving the living standards of rural communities, and she has been instrumental in initiating the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana. Her efforts are aimed at bringing positive change to the lives of rural citizens. 7) Pari Bishnoi IAS Pari Bishnoi cleared the UPSC examination on her third attempt in 2019. She holds a bachelors degree from Delhi University and has also qualified for NET JRF. Additionally, Pari Bishnoi holds a masters degree in Political Science from MDS University, Ajmer. Earlier, her wedding with MLA Bhavya Bishnoi garnered significant attention, with photos from the grand ceremony going viral. In another blow to the Congress party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, former Union minister and senior party leader Suresh Pachouri, ex-MP Gajendra Singh Rajukhedi, Sanjay Shukla and several other MLAs joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday. Pachouri and the other former Congress leaders officially joined the BJP at its state office in Bhopal, in the presence of MP chief minister Mohan Yadav, BJP state president VD Sharma and former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan. #WATCH | Several Congress leaders, including former Union Minister Suresh Pachouri, join the BJP in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.CM Mohan Yadav, former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, state BJP chief VD Sharma and minister Kailash Vijayvargiya present. pic.twitter.com/yNdfHnBK4V ANI (@ANI) March 9, 2024 Former MLAs Arjun Paliya and Vishal Patel were among the leaders of the grand old party who also joined the saffron party. Pachouri, who is said to have been a close associate of the Congress Gandhi family, served as a Union Minister of state for Defence (defence production and supplies) and also a four-time Rajya Sabha member of the Congress. Having been a significant party leader, Pachouri had also served as Congress Madhya Pradesh unit president. He was also the state unit president of the Youth Congress. Meanwhile, Rajukhedi, a prominent tribal leader, was elected as a Lok Sabha MP from Dhar (Scheduled Tribes) constituency on the grand old partys ticket for three terms 1998, 1999, and 2009. Before being a part of Congress, the former MP was elected as a MLA by the BJP in 1990. SURESH PACHOURIS TAKE ON RESIGNATION Submitting his resignation to the Congress party, Suresh Pachouri said that he was deeply hurt by the decisions that the party took in matters of public and religious significance. When I entered politics, I decided to serve the society and the countryCongress wanted to establish a classless society, but this has been sidelined today, Pachouri said after joining the BJP. He further said, The Congress party has deviated from the very principles it has held and stood for. It has alienated itself from the public and is unable to establish a relationship BJP LEADERS REACTION BJP state president VD Sharma, ahead of the former Congress leaders joining, had said that the Congress has no space for leaders like Pachouri. Welcoming Pachouri into the party, former Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, the former Congress told them that he wants to join BJP without any conditions. Pachouri had told the party leadership that he wants to serve the nation under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Congress has become irrelevant. They neither have policy, leadership nor intentions. I welcome him wholeheartedly, Chouhan added. The BJP leader had earlier also slammed Rahul Gandhi and said, Rahul Gandhi will breathe only after finishing the Congress completely as suggested by Mahatma Gandhi. All good leaders of the Congress are tired of the partys leadership which is directionlessCongress is on the verge of extinction. Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi and said, Aage aage Rahul jaa raha hai, peeche peeche Congress saaf ho rahi hai. (Rahul is walking in the front, while behind him the Congress party is getting cleaned up). Yadav expressed disappointment that Congress leadership is ignoring such good people who work in service of the nation. Union Minister Giriraj Singh also reacted to Pachouris entrance into the BJP and slammed the Congress party for not having trust in their leader. He said that the grand old party is a sinking ship, which is why everyone is running away from it. (With PTI inputs) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday claimed that the Congress would have taken 20 years to do the kind of development work which was executed by his government in the last five years in the Northeast. The PM was addressing Viksit Bharat Viksit North East programme in Arunachal Pradeshs Itanagar after unveiling development projects worth Rs 55,600 crore in the region. The Northeast is going to become a strong link in Indias trade, tourism and other relations with South Asia and East Asia. Today, projects worth over Rs 55,000 crore have been unveiled here, he said. The Congress would have taken 20 years to do what we have done in the last five years in the Northeast, PM Modi said. The prime minister said that one can clearly see what Modis guarantee is if he visits Arunachal Pradesh. The entire Northeast is watching how Modis guarantee is working, he said. The PM also said when he was working for the development of the country, leaders of the opposition bloc INDIA were attacking him. Modi on Saturday inaugurated the Sela tunnel that will provide all-weather connectivity to Tawang. The inauguration of the Sela tunnel after the foundation laying ceremony in 2019 was a testimony to Modis guarantee, he said. Some people thought that I laid the foundation of the strategic tunnel as an election agenda but they were proved wrong today, Modi said. The Sela tunnel, situated at an elevation of 13,000 feet, is strategically important due to its proximity to the Line of Actual Control (LAC), an official said. Speaking on the opposition leaders questioning about the prime ministers family, Modi said the entire northeast and the country is his family. My priorities will be to ensure that every family in the country gets clean drinking water, houses, gas connections, electricity and internet facilities to fulfil the dream of Vikshit Bharat, the PM said. The people of the Northeast have been witnessing the development activities launched by the NDA government in the region. In my third term, my thrust will be on the tourism sector, home-stay and start-ups for unemployed youths and I guarantee full support to those who want to begin such ventures, Modi said. Our aim is to make three crore women in the country lakhpati didi, he added. In a major development in the seat-sharing talks between the Mahagathbandhan in Maharashtra, Union Home Minister Amit Shah advised chief minister Eknath Shinde to change some Shiv Sena candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. In the 2 hour-long meeting, which was held at Shahs residence late on Friday, the advise to change the picks came after senior BJP leaders alleged skepticism over some candidates. Meanwhile, it was suggested that some changes within the National Congress Party (NCP) candidates are also possible. NCP leader Ajit Pawar batted for an increased number of seats for hi party at the meeting. It is likely that the NCP will get three to four seats, while Shindes Sena might contest on 10 to 12 seats. VBA Wont Join MVAs Baramati Rally & Rahuls Mumbai Rally Vanchit Bahujan Aghadis (VBA) president Prakash Ambedkar on Saturday said that his party will not be joining the MVAs Baramati Rally today and neither will it join Congress leader Rahul Gandhis Mumbai rally on March 17. Ambedkar said that this is because until we establish coordination with them or join the MVA, attending any such MVA rally serves no purpose Meanwhile, Thackeray camp leader Sanjay Raut said that they are trying to solve all the issues that the VBA has. I claim that we have offered those seats to Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi that their leaders told us in a list. We will try to solve all the issues they have. All the seats that Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi will get as an alliance of MVA, we will win all those seats. Mahayuti Talks Though no seat-sharing formula has been finalised yet, the BJP has offered five seats to Ajit Pawars NCP and 10 to 12 seats to the Shinde faction. However, both the camps are pressing for more seats. Ajit Pawar has sought nine seats, as per the promise made to him when he joined hands with the BJP. Another round of seat-sharing talks is likely to happen within two days for the Mahayuti to finalise the formula. Seat-Sharing Brainstorm Among MVA With the announcement of Lok Sabha elections just days away, political parties in Maharashtra are brainstorming over seat-sharing. Sources told News18 that the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadis Prakash Ambedkar has given a list of 27 seats to states opposition group, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), adding that he is not ready to tell how much he can compromise. He reportedly demanded seats where either MVA candidate had won for finished second in the previous general elections. MVAs top brass, the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar-led NCP, asked Ambedkar to inform about the seats on which he is confident of winning. Supriya Sule Hugs Sister-in-law Amid LS Polls Battle Speculation A video of NCP (Sharad Pawar) leader Supriya Sule and her sister-in-law Sunetra Pawar hugging each other at a temple is going viral on social media. #WATCH | Maharashtra: NCP (SCP) MP Supriya Sule shared a hug with Ajit Pawars wife Sunetra Pawar while going for darshan at Kamleshwar Temple in Jalochi village in Baramati tehsil. (8.03) pic.twitter.com/1kWbevDZPF ANI (@ANI) March 9, 2024 This comes amid the speculations that Sule might be standing against Sunetra Pawar in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Sunetra is the wife of Supriya Sules cousin and Maharashtra deputy CM Ajit Pawar. The video of the two smiling and hugging each other is from Baramatis Jalochi villages Kamleshwar temple. After offering prayers at the temple, I happened to meet Supriya `tai (elder sister in Marathi). We both exchanged greetings on the occasion of Maha Shivratri and Womens Day, Sunetra Pawar told news agency PTI. BJPs Seat Formula Likely To Be Out Soon As the Mahagathbandhan held seat-sharing talks at Union Home Minister Amit Shahs residence late on Friday, sources told News18 that Maharashtras NDA seat-sharing formula is likely to be declared by either March 10 or 11. Of the six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai, BJP might contest five and the remaining one seat by Chief Minister Eknath Shindes Shiv Sena. Fadnavis Says Gadkaris Name Will Be 1st In BJPs Maha List Maharashtra Deputy Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said that Union Minister Nitin Gadkaris name would be the first in the BJPs list of candidates for the state, once seat-sharing deal is sealed for the general elections. Fadnavis brushed aside Uddhav Thackerays offer of a Lok Sabha ticket to Gadkari from the oppositions MVA. Gadkari is our prominent leader. He contests from Nagpur. When the first list of candidates (of BJP) was released, there had been no discussions among Mahayuti partners (BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP).When the discussions take place, Gadkaris name would come up first (in the candidates list), he said. Thackeray had earlier said that the Gadkari should show Maharashtras mettle and resign instead of obeying Delhi. We will ensure his election as an MVA candidate, the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief added. (With PTI, ANI inputs) Addi Duranski of Columbus was recently initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society. Duranski was initiated at Nebraska Wesleyan University. Duranski is among approximately 25,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. Membership is by invitation only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10% of seniors and 7.5% of juniors are eligible for membership. Graduate students in the top 10% of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction. 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. Today, the Society has chapters on more than 325 campuses in the United States, its territories and the Philippines. Its mission is "To recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others." Elections 2024: As the second and likely the last round of alliance talks between Chandrababu Naidus Telugu Desam Party, Pawan Kalyans JanaSena and the Bharatiya Janata Party took place on Saturday at Home Minister Amit Shahs residence, the saffron partys president JP Nadda is expected to announce the deal shortly. Lok Sabha Election 2024 Date And Schedule Announcement LIVE Updates Meanwhile, Congress leader Suresh Pachouri who was close to the party top brass joined the BJP in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday. Present at the party office in Bhopal were CM Mohan Yadav, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and BJP MP president VD Sharma. With Lok Sabha elections preparations taking place across the nation, the Mahayuti seat-sharing talks were also held on Friday at Amit Shahs residence. Sources suggested that the Home Minister advised Eknath Shinde to change some Shiv Sena candidates, while offering 10-12 seats to the party. The BJP offered 4-5 seats to Ajit Pawars NCP, however he and the Shinde are pressing for more seats. Earlier on Friday, the Congress party released its first list of 39 candidates including Rahul Gandhi and Bhupesh Baghel for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. While Rahul is set to contest from Wayanad, the grand old party fielded the former Chhattisgarh chief minister from Rajnandgaon and MP Shashi Tharoor from his usual seat, Thiruvananthapuram. In an apparent counter-offensive at the oppositions Modi Ka Parivar jibe, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in Arunachal Pradesh for the Viksit Bharat Viksit North East event, said that every family in the hill state is his family. Parivarvadi leaders of the INDIA bloc escalated their attacks on Modi. They are asking, Modi ka parivar kaun hai? Those who are abusing me, listen carefully. Every family living in the hills of Arunachal Pradesh is saying, Ye Modi ka parivar hai, PM Modi said while addressing a gathering after inaugurating the Sela tunnel in Arunachal. The prime minister also accused the Congress of playing with the security of the country by neglecting the border villages in Arunachal Pradesh as there are only two Lok Sabha seats in the state. On the inauguration of the Sela tunnel that will provide all-weather connectivity to Tawang, PM Modi claimed that the Congress government could have built it earlier but it did not. Highlighting the BJP governments development work in the region in the last five years, the prime minister said that Congress would have taken at least 20 years to do the same work in the northeast. In 2019, I had the opportunity to lay the foundation stone of Sela Tunnel, and see, it has been launched today! In 2019, I laid the foundation stone of Donyi Polo Airport, and today, this airport provides excellent services. Arent these guarantees? These are the pakki guarantees, ANI quoted PM Modi as saying. INDIA Blocs Modi Ka Parivar Remark Stirs Row During RJDs Jan Vishwas Yatra in Bihars Patna, party chief Lalu Prasad Yadav launched a personal attack on PM Modi and said his dislike for the parivarwaad stems from the fact that he doesnt have any family. The rhetoric led to a movement by the BJP where all senior leaders and party workers added Modi ka Parivar in their social media bio. The prime minister in a strong response, tore into Lalu Prasad calling him the biggest offenders (sabse bade gunahgar) of Bihar. He accused them of bringing jungle raj during their decade-and-a-half-long rule in the state. How Personal Barbs at PM Modi Backfired at Opposition Over the decade, the opposition hurled several personal barbs at Prime Minister Modi, which usually worked in the BJPs favour and blew up in the oppositions face. When India entered the general election year in 2019, the alleged Rafale scandal snowballed into a massive political controversy. Taking off from PM Modis statement where he called himself the nations chowkidar or guardian, Rahul Gandhi called the Prime Minister a chor. The phrase Chowkidar Hi Chor Hai went on to become the Congresss campaign slogan for general elections. PM turned the narrative on its head, adding Chowkidar to his social media handles. Soon, all BJP leaders did the same and led to the Main Bhi Chowkidar movement. Similarly, during the 2014 general elections, when BJPs PM candidate Narendra Modi conducted his Chai Pe Charcha events as part of the campaign when the Congress in an attempt to ridicule PM Modi said he was welcome to sell tea at a Congress conclave which was underway. The BJP made it one of the talking points at its rallies, with its leaders selling tea and visiting tea stalls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday intensified his criticism of the Trinamool Congress, targetting issues of corruption and dynasty politics. He accused opposition parties, including the TMC and Congress within the INDIA alliance, of prioritising family interests over the nations development. Emphasising the urgency of ousting the Mamata Banerjee-led party from power in West Bengal, Modi said at a rally in Siliguri, The door to oust the corrupt TMC government from West Bengal will open from the Lok Sabha polls. PM Modi asserted, The corrupt TMC government is anti-Dalit, anti-tribal, anti-OBC, and anti-women. The TMC government has committed a scam in the ration scheme itself. Their leaders and ministers are in jail in the ration scam case. The party is looting the people of Bengal. Reaching out to the people of North Bengal, where the BJP won seven out of eight Lok Sabha seats in 2019, Modi highlighted the saffron partys plans for developing North Bengal, which focusing on infrastructure and the promotion of the Tea-Timber-Tourism industry. He also criticised past administrations, accusing them of neglecting the regions needs, especially under Leftist and TMC governments. The struggles and aspirations of the people of the area were ignored first by the Leftists and then by the TMC. They were busy seizing land of the poor, Modi remarked. He pointed out that initiatives like the PM Ujjwala Yojana, providing free gas connections, are not allowed in Bengal by the TMC, depriving over 14 lakh women. On dynasty politics Criticising the dynasty politics of opposition parties, Modi remarked, TMC is only bothered about its nephew whereas the Congress is bothered only about the royal family. He made an apparent reference to TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and the Gandhi family in Congress. As I work for the development of the poor, the leaders of the INDI alliance such as TMC and Congress dont like me. The TMC is worried about their nephew. The Congress wants to promote the sons and daughters of their royal family. The Left wants to maintain coordination with these two so that they are in the fray, Modi stated. These people do not care about your children. If there is anyone who cares about the future of your children, it is the Modi, BJP, NDA alliance. That is why today every person of the country is saying Main Hoon Modi Ka Parivar (I am Modis family), he emphasised. On Gorkhaland issue Addressing the Gorkha community of North Bengal, Modi conveyed BJPs understanding of their aspirations and challenges. The BJP is determined to realise every aspiration. After decades of waiting, Ayodhya finally got its Ram Mandir, and Jammu and Kashmir got rid of Article 370. BJP has fulfilled all such dreams. We have also addressed the issues of the Adivasi communities. We have worked tirelessly to resolve all your issues, Modi stated. We have made continuous efforts to address your concerns. We are close to finding a solution. BJP will continue its efforts to fulfil your solution, he added. The Gorkha community in Darjeeling has long been advocating for a separate state comprising Darjeeling and parts of North Bengal. Hitting out at dynasty politics of opposition parties, Modi said the TMC is only bothered about its nephew whereas the Congress is bothered only about the royal family, in an apparent reference to TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and the Gandhi family in Congress. As I work for the development of the poor, the leaders of the INDI alliance such as TMC and Congress dont like me. The TMC is worried about their nephew. The Congress wants to promote the sons and daughters of their royal family. The Left wants to maintain coordination with these two so that they are in the fray. These people do not care about your children. If there is anyone who cares about the future of your children, it is the Modi, BJP, NDA alliance. That is why today every person of the country is saying Main Hoon Modi Ka Parivar (I am Modis family), he said. On Sandeshkhali issue Referring to recent incidents in Sandeshkhali, where allegations of sexual abuse against TMC leaders surfaced, Modi criticised the state government for its alleged apathy towards the victims. Today, what the TMC leaders have done to the poor, Dalit and tribal sisters in Sandeshkhali is being discussed in the entire country. The atrocities on women and looting the earnings of the poor have been the hallmark of the goons and extortionists of the TMC, he said. Modi also accused the TMC of embezzling funds meant for welfare schemes like MGNREGA, citing instances of fake job cards being created to siphon off central funds. I have seen mothers of our country struggling for basic amenities. That is why I stress on sanitisation, free electricity, bank accounts and tap water to make the lives of our mothers and sisters easier. But here, first, the Left Front and then the TMC government have ignored the basic needs of the people of the state, he said. (With inputs from PTI) Just days before the much-anticipated announcement of 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Election Commissioner Arun Goel resigned from his post on Saturday. His term was supposed to extend until 2027. Goels resignation comes at a time when the Election Commission, initially a three-member panel, was reduced to two after the retirement of Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey in February. In pursuance of clause (1) of Section 11 of The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, the President is pleased to accept the resignation tendered by Shri Arun Goel, Election Commissioner with effect from the 09th March, 2024, a gazette notification by the Union Law and Justice Ministry said on Saturday. With Goels resignation being accepted, only Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar remains in the panel. Who is Arun Goel? A former IAS officer, Goel assumed office as the Election Commissioner on November 2022. His appointment sparked controversy due to his voluntary retirement from the Indian Administrative Services on November 18, 2022, when he was the Union Heavy Industries Secretary. He was appointed to the Election Commission a day later. Born on December 7, 1962, in Patiala, Goel is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1985 batch, Punjab cadre. He superannuated as Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industry, Government of India, after more than 37 years of service. Goel is a post-graduate in Development Economics from Churchill College, University of Cambridge, England. He has also been trained at the John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA. During his tenure as Union Heavy Industries Secretary, Goel catalysed the E-vehicle movement in India. He implemented Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Schemes, securing investments worth Rs. 67,690 crores against a target of Rs. 42,500 crores. Goels district-level experience includes serving as District Election Officer of Ludhiana and Bathinda districts, overseeing smooth Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections. In Punjab, as Principal Secretary, he steered Master Plans for New Chandigarh and other major towns. Contributions to Election Commission Appointed as Election Commissioner on November 21, 2022, Goels contributions and approach during his brief tenure remain under scrutiny. His unexpected resignation adds a layer of complexity to the Election Commissions dynamics, especially in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. China called Indias move to add more troops along its disputed border not conducive to easing tensions between New Delhi and Beijing, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry told the media on Friday. According to a Bloomberg report, a troop of 10,000 soldiers, previously sent to the western border, has been deployed to strengthen its disputed border with China, senior Indian Army officials said on the condition of anonymity. Nine thousand soldiers originally assigned to the disputed Chinese border will now be under the newly formed fighting command. The combined force will guard a 532 km (330.57 mi) border separating the northern Indian states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh from the China-occupied Tibet region China is committed to working with India to safeguard the peace and stability of the border areas. We believe that Indias practice is not conducive to safeguarding peace and is not conducive to easing tensions, Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said, according to a TOI report. Mao also added that Indias increase in military deployments in border areas does not help to calm the situation in the border areas or to safeguard peace and safety in these areas. The latest development comes days after Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh highlighted Indias preparedness for war amid multiple challenges along the countrys border. We have never occupied anyones land but, if anyone attacks us, we are in a position to give a befitting reply, Singh said while speaking at NDTVs maiden Defence Summit on March 7. We have to be ready for war at all times even in peacetime. We have to be ready. Whether from land, air, or sea if anyone attacks India our forces will respond strongly. We have never occupied anyones land but, if anyone attacks us, we are in a position to give a befitting reply, the Defence Minister added. KERALA LOTTERY KARUNYA KR-644 RESULT ON SATURDAY, MARCH 9, LIVE UPDATES: The Kerala State Lottery Department has announced the results of the Karunya KR-644 lucky draw for Saturday, March 9. Check the full list of winning numbers below. ALSO READ: Kerala Lottery Result Today LIVE: Karunya Plus KN-513 WINNERS for March 14, 2024; First Prize Rs 80 Lakh! FULL LIST OF WINNING NUMBERS FOR KARUNYA KR-644 LOTTERY WINNING NUMBER FOR 1ST PRIZE WORTH RS 80 LAKH IS KL 594080 (THIRUVANANTHAPURAM) Agent Name: MITHRAN Agency No: T 3796 WINNING NUMBER FOR 2ND PRIZE WORTH RS 5 LAKH IS KK 267330 (IRINJALAKUDA) Agent Name: BABU P V Agency No: R 7108 WINNING NUMBERS FOR 3RD PRIZE WORTH RS 1 LAKH ARE KA 360938 (ERNAKULAM) KB 777492 (KANNUR) KC 495404 (KATTAPPANA) KD 231012 (KOLLAM) KE 295445 (PUNALUR) KF 292636 (ATTINGAL) KG 456970 (KOLLAM) KH 267003 (IRINJALAKUDA) KJ 916922 (KOZHIKKODE) KK 565010 (ALAPPUZHA) KL 279343 (VAIKKOM) KM 839092 (KOTTAYAM) WINNING NUMBERS FOR CONSOLATION PRIZE WORTH RS 8,000 ARE KA 594080 KB 594080 KC 594080 KD 594080 KE 594080 KF 594080 KG 594080 KH 594080 KJ 594080 KK 594080 KM 594080 WINNING NUMBERS FOR 4TH PRIZE WORTH RS 5,000 ARE 1717 2085 2126 3221 3606 4087 4133 4195 4243 4829 5022 5812 6149 6693 7013 7202 8318 9111 WINNING NUMBERS FOR 5TH PRIZE WORTH RS 2,000 ARE 0121 0852 0917 1938 3835 4464 8247 8408 8731 9850 WINNING NUMBERS FOR 6TH PRIZE WORTH RS 1,000 ARE 4294 4317 6223 6678 7874 7938 8104 8176 8471 8493 8587 9098 9539 9679 WINNING NUMBERS FOR 7TH PRIZE WORTH RS 500 ARE 0110 0138 0269 0458 0945 1166 1349 1761 1772 1887 2039 2118 2176 2199 2315 2319 2503 2768 2875 2962 2980 3166 3268 3514 3556 3847 3895 3948 3957 4146 4271 4496 4552 4744 4835 4921 5064 5132 5333 5480 5512 5826 6128 6333 6383 6470 6509 6579 6650 6854 6955 7006 7156 7227 7265 7386 7528 7536 7689 7690 7769 7831 7889 8071 8217 8449 8519 8979 8990 9023 9035 9070 9174 9286 9317 9513 9727 9739 9828 9865 WINNING NUMBERS FOR 8TH PRIZE WORTH RS 100 ARE 0067 0112 0189 0222 0239 0308 0474 0498 0520 0534 0580 0670 0916 1124 1134 1153 1224 1246 1342 1351 1424 1446 1471 1658 1777 1811 1890 1930 1932 2011 2029 2136 2137 2142 2255 2287 2321 2326 2499 2507 2579 2604 2653 2662 2806 2909 2983 3002 3220 3294 3692 3696 3846 3858 3935 3956 4125 4245 4324 4347 4386 4420 4428 4521 4539 4550 4589 4653 4918 5008 5021 5236 5659 5796 5836 5841 5846 5855 5910 5918 5957 6057 6199 6397 6654 6832 6847 6899 6973 6985 7009 7125 7167 7190 7423 7446 7466 7602 7685 7900 8064 8275 8294 8373 8666 8706 8817 8848 8865 8934 9104 9122 9203 9218 9315 9395 9440 9635 9757 9760 9778 9802 9899 9919 KERALA LOTTERY RESULT TODAY: KARUNYA KR-644 PRIZE STRUCTURE 1st Prize: Rs 80 lakh 2nd Prize: Rs 5 lakh 3rd Prize: Rs 1 lakh 4th Prize: Rs 5,000 5th Prize: Rs 2,000 6th Prize: Rs 1,000 7th Prize: Rs 500 8th Prize: Rs 100 Consolation Prize: Rs 8,000 HOW TO VERIFY KERALA KARUNYA KR-644 LOTTERY RESULTS? To view the Kerala Karunya KR-644 Lottery results, visit the Kerala Lottery Departments official website at www.keralalottery.info. Additionally, winning numbers can be verified at the Kerala Government Gazette office. Keep up with official sources for accurate and reliable lottery results. HOW TO CLAIM PRIZE MONEY? In order to check if you won a prize in the Kerala Karunya KR-644 Lottery, compare the numbers on your ticket to those published in the Kerala Government Gazette. To be eligible for a prize, your ticket number must match those on the official winning list. If you win, collect your prize from the Kerala Lottery Headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram. Make sure to visit the office within 30 days of the draw date. To take home the rewards, make sure to bring your winning ticket and a valid form of identification. Hello readers, News18 evening digest brings you the latest updates: BJP-TDP Seal Deal and development around the Lok Sabha Elections and other top stories. Lok Sabha Polls: BJP, TDP Reach Political Understanding After Second Round of Naidu-Shah Talks The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Pawan Kalyans Jana Sena Party, and the BJP have reached a political understanding for an alliance ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. This big announcement comes shortly after the second round of talks between the stakeholders was held on Saturday at Home Minister Amit Shahs residence. READ MORE. Bengaluru Cafe Blast: NIA Releases Fresh Photos of Suspect, Seeks Help to Identify Man In Pink T-Shirt The National Investigative Agency (NIA) on Saturday released fresh pictures of the Bengaluru blast suspect and called upon citizens to aid in identifying the individual possibly linked with the explosion at Rameswaram cafe. READ MORE. Meet Baba Vlogs Faisal Khan, A Class 6 Drop-Out From Mumbai Who Duped Indians To Work For Russian Army Accused number 12 in the Central Bureau Of Investigations (CBI) charge sheet filed in the pan-Indian human trafficking network bust, Faisal Abdul Muttalib Khan, lured or duped over 30 persons into working for Russian army and companies in the Gulf region. READ MORE. Right Moment to Add New Content and Agenda to India-Japan Partnership: Jaishankar As India and Japan celebrate the 10th anniversary of upgrading their ties to a Special Strategic and Global Partnership, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has advocated for enhancing defence and security cooperation between the two nations. READ MORE. IND vs ENG: R Ashwin Stars as India Outclass England in 5th Test, Clinch Series 4-1 There were high-fives, congratulatory hugs all around as Kuldeep Yadav picked Joe Root, the final England wicket to fall. The Indian camp was waiting near the edge of the boundary ropes as Jasprit Bumrah, leading the side because Rohit Sharma didnt take the field due to a stiff back, led the boys out. Just a few spots behind Bumrah in the queue was R Ashwin and he got a big hug from captain Rohit as he continued with the customary handshakes. READ MORE. Why Real-Life Phunsukh Wangdu, Who Inspired Aamir Khans Role in 3 Idiots, is on 21-Day Fast in Ladakh On March 5, Sonam Wangchuk, an innovator, engineer, and education reformist whose life inspired Aamir Khans character Phunsukh Wangdu in 3 Idiots, went on a fast-unto-death. The innovator has been at the forefront of highlighting climate change issues in the Indian Himalayas, particularly the cold desert of Ladakh. READ MORE. Accused number 12 in the Central Bureau Of Investigations (CBI) charge sheet filed in the pan-Indian human trafficking network bust, Faisal Abdul Muttalib Khan, lured or duped over 30 persons into working for Russian army and companies in the Gulf region. Khan, who became famous for his YouTube channel Baba Vlogs, posted several videos promising jobs to people in countries like Russia, Dubai, Serbia, Singapore among others. In a video uploaded on his channel in September 2023, Faisal Khan can be heard talking about the benefits of joining the Russian army, of which the main selling point was a special government card which will ensure that you get priority everywhere. Not only this, the card can also be used as a basis to apply for Schengen visas and permanent residency. The government there feels that all those helping in these times need to be given benefit. It will give you permanent residency, Khan was quoted as saying by the Indian Express. BABA VLOGS PROMISES JOBS It was Khans Baba Vlogs Overseas Recruitment Solutions Pvt Ltd., that allegedly lured 30-year-old Mohammad Afsan from Hyderabad to Moscow. As per Afsans family, he was promised job as a help, where he could Rs 1-2 lakh. The traffickers allegedly charged Rs 3 lakh from Afsan. In a call made to his family in January, the 30-year-old had said that he was in Russias Rostov-on-Don and deployed to fight at the Russian-Ukraine frontline. Four days ago, Afsan was killed in the warzone, as per a social media post by the Russian authorities. He had come in contact with Khan after watching a video on Baba Vlogs YouTube channel. The news of Afsans death came two weeks after 23-year-old Hamil Mangukiya from Surat was killed. However, Mangukiya had reportedly applied for a job in Russia through an online advertisement and reached Moscow from Chennai. He was roped in as an assistant in the Russian Army. BEYOND MY CONTROL, SAYS FAISAL KHAN Faisal Khan spoke to News18 from Dubai earlier and said that nothing he had done was illegal. Khan said that he had been working in this field for the last seven years, sending over 1,000 persons to work abroad, adding that he had built a trust in the market. I have sent a total of 35 persons, I am also a victim here, Khan told Indian Express. He said that the agents and handlers in Russia assured him that these men would not be deployed on the war frontline. Whatever happened after these men reached Russia was beyond my control, Khan was quoted as saying. According to Baba, after he found about the frontline deployment, he tried his best to get the men back. He told News18 that he had gotten six of the men who were stuck out of there. PEOPLE AWARE OF RISKS INVOLVED Faisal Khan had reportedly said that the persons applying for these jobs were aware of the risks that came with it. They knowingly, in order to earn more, decided to take up the jobs. The contract explicitly explained the risks involved with the job. While they were not to be deployed on the frontline, being associated with the military work in a war zone does have risks involved, he was quoted as saying by IE. He said that he had done nothing to dupe or lure these people, he was just trying to help people get jobs and earn better abroad. WHO IS FAISAL KHAN? A class 6 dropout from Mumbais Vasai, Faisal Khan used to run odd-jobs in the area. He was working as a raw fish seller in Dadar, from where avenues opened for him, leading Khan to abroad. From there, he started this business of helping people go abroad for menial jobs and fairly decent salary. In 2018 in fact, he was questioned by the ATS after a 23-year-old Mumbai man who was sent to Dubai by Khan informed his family that he converted to Islam. Luckily for Khan, no case was registered against him. Following this, Khan started putting out videos on his YouTube channel Baba Vlogs about jobs in abroad and how to get there. This garnered him popularity with a following number of three lakh subscribers at present. It was in 2023 July, that he started promotion job opportunities in July. He had said in his promotional video that the men, in Russian army recruitment, wont have to fight in the war. Rather, they would have to take care of the home front, clear demolished buildings, among other things. In one of his videos, he had assured candidates that no risk was involved and that he himself had gone and verified the safety of everything. HOW IS THE RECRUITMENT DONE? News18 learnt that the main kingpin of this recruitment (alleged human trafficking) network is said to be one Ramesh, who works in the Russian Army. Ramesh informs Khushpreet, a restaurant owner in St Petersburg, about the vacancies in the military. This restaurant owner then passes this information onto another agent Moin, which is further passed down to Faisal Khan. These men, named by the CBI in its charge sheet, have defended themselves saying that they were the ones who also asked the families to file FIR and ask help from the Indian government to get their loved ones back. Moin also spoke to News18 and said that they are being falsely accused and they, in fact, are the victims here. Moin said that he was the one who helped everyone in reality. He or Baba had never gone to the recruitment centre, Moin said. Arjun Bijlani has been entertaining audiences with his performance in the daily soap Pyaar Ka Pehla Adhyaya: Shiv Shakti. Fans are enjoyihis portrayal of Dr.Shiv Kashyap, and the plot has kept them interested. However, the actor was recently forced to take a break from work following a health emergency. He was rushed to the hospital after experiencing considerable pain in the lower right side of his stomach due to appendicitis. Arjun shared a few updates with his fans and is expected to undergo surgery. According to a report by Pinkvilla, Arjun Bijlani has been admitted to Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai. Sources informed the publication that Arjun did not go to the sets earlier due to significant pain. Furthermore, Arjun shared his health update in a conversation with Zoom. He said, I am admitted to the hospital due to severe stomach pain. I am right now going for an X-ray. The doctors are going to perform an emergency surgery tomorrow (March 9) morning. Moreover, Arjun Bijlani shared an image of his hospital bed on his Instagram Stories. Giving a glimpse of his injected hand, he wrote, Jo hota hai ache ke liye hota hai. Arjun has been busy shooting for his show Pyaar Ka Pehla Adhyaya: Shiv Shakti, where he stars opposite Nikki Sharma. The show premiered on July 3 and is a spin-off of the channels popular show, Pyar Ka Pehla Naam: Radha Mohan. Produced by Prateek Sharma under Studio LSD Private Limited, the daily soap features Arjun Bijlani as Shiv and Nikki Sharma as Shakti Sharma. The plot revolves around how the two met and became each others support system. Recently, there were speculations about the show going off-air, but Nikki Sharma, in conversation with Pinkvilla, refuted all rumours. Prior to his current role, Arjun Bijlani served as the host of the hit reality show, Indias Got Talent, a platform showcasing diverse talents across the nation. With a notable presence in the TV industry, he has appeared in several popular programs, including Left Right Left, Miley Jab Hum Tum, Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi, Naagin, Kavach, Pardes Mein Hai Mera Dil, Ishq Mein Marjawan, and others. Additionally, he collaborated with his wife Neha Swami on the show Smart Jodi and also co-hosted Splitsvilla X4 with Sunny Leone. After the success of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, Kartik Aaryan fans have been eagerly waiting for the third film in the franchise. And now, it has been revealed that the actor has finally started shooting for Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. On Saturday, Kartik Aaryan took to his social media handle and shared that he is beginning to shoot for Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 today. He called it the biggest film of his career and shared a photo in which he was seen seeking gods blessings. Starting The Biggest Film Of My Career Today #Shubharambh #BhoolBhulaiyaa3 (sic), he wrote. Check it out here: Headlined by Kartik Aaryan, Kiara Advani and Tabu, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 was the perfect Bollywood horror comedy. It was released in 2022 and grossed over 180 crore in India. The film also starred Rajpal Yadav. Meanwhile, the third film in the Bhool Bhulaiyaa franchise will see the return of OG Manjulika aka Vidya Balan. Earlier this month, Kartik Aaryan shared a montage of scenes from Ami Je Tomar dance that was performed by him in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 as well as the OG Vdiya Balans performance from Bhool Bhulaiyaa. Posting the clip on his Instagram handle, Kartik wrote, And its happening Og Manjulika is coming back to the world of BhoolBhulaiyaa Super thrilled to welcome @balanvidya This Diwali is going to be crackling #BhoolBhulaiyaa3 @aneesbazmee @tseries.official #BhushanKumar. It was recently reported that Madhuri Dixit will also be joining Vidya Balan and Kartik Aaryan in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. However, there is no official confirmation regarding this as of now. Previously, director Anees Bazmee also shared his excitement for the project and said, I am thrilled to take forward the world of Bhool Bhulaiyaa. In the previous installment, Rooh Baba became the most loved character, and its going to be a fun and exciting challenge to make it even better for the audiences to enjoy. This film is my next immediate directorial and the focus is on crafting a gripping narrative that will resonate with audiences while staying true to the essence of the series. Former Scottsbluff Police Captain Brian Wasson has pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the theft of drugs and money from police evidence. The Nebraska Attorney Generals Office said in a news release that it filed charges Tuesday in Scotts Bluff County District Court, bypassing the filing of charges in county court and other proceedings. Wasson, who previously served as a police captain for the Scottsbluff Police Department, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of theft by unlawful taking in excess of $5,000. The first count alleges that between March 2021 and April 15, 2023, Wasson stole controlled substances in excess of $5,000. The second count alleges that between those same dates he also stole currency in excess of $5,000. Wasson surrendered himself, according to the Nebraska Attorney Generals Office. He was booked in the Scotts Bluff County Detention Center, but had reportedly already posted bond. Wassons sentencing is scheduled for April 23 in Scottsbluff. Wasson resigned from his position at the Scottsbluff Police Department, where he had served for 25 years, on Sept. 6, according to a change of status form filed with the Nebraska Crime Commission, and he voluntarily surrendered his law enforcement certification in October. Top Journal Star photos for March 2024 Trouble between Mahabharat star Nitish Bharadwaj and his estranged wife Smita Bharadwa is not a secret. In the last few months, the two have levelled several allegations against each other. In a recent interview, Nitish made a shocking allegation and claimed that he was abused in marriage. In this marriage, I have faced extreme amounts of abuse of all sorts, and even now with parental alienation, my two children are being taken away from me. If I tell you only the two lines my 11-year-old daughters told me, Papa, we are disgusted to call you our father, this is what one child told me, Nitish told Telly Talk. Nitish further argued that he does not know how to cope with the turmoil that has been going on. He also reacted to his wifes allegation that he was asking for money and said, Its a lie that I am asking for money. Im asking for my money that I was cheated of. I feel Im cheated. So today, it is my childrens battle Im fighting. So I dont know whether Ill be able to do justice to any other woman. The institution of marriage is special to me. I believe in it. I have seen many, many, successful marriages including my parents marriage. For the unversed, last month, Nitish Bharadwaj filed a police complaint against his wife, Smita Gate, who works as the Additional Chief Secretary at MP Human Rights Commission, alleging harassment and unruly behaviour. Reportedly, Nitish accused Smita in his complaint of preventing him from meeting their twin daughters, Devyani and Shivranjani. He also alleged that his wife has been changing their daughters schools to hinder his access to them, which he claimed has negatively impacted his mental well-being. Nitish is best known for playing Lord Krishna in the hit TV series Mahabharat. He has also starred in other popular shows and films like Vishnu Puran, Mohenjo Daro, Kedarnath and Samantar Seasons 1-2. Bharadwajs portrayal of Lord Krishna was highly admired and adored by the audience and became a demigod with the character. The manga fans around the world were left shocked after the sudden death of Japanese manga artist Akira Toriyama. Akira Toriyama died at the age of 68. Toriyamas production company Bird Studio said in a statement that he died after developing a blood clot in his brain. He was best known for creating iconic manga series like Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball. He is also credited with developing characters for games such as The Blue Dragon, Dragon Quest, and Chrono Trigger. Tributes poured out for Toriyama from around the world. Recently, Masashi Kishimoto, best known for creating Naruto, shared a long statement on the death of Toriyama. In a heartfelt post, Kishimoto started by expressing his love for Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball and said that Toriyamas manga comics helped him go through hard times in his childhood. He wrote, I grew up with his manga, Dr. Slump in the lower grades of elementary school and Dragon Ball in the upper grades, and it was natural for me to have his manga as a part of my life. Even when I was having a bad day, the weekly Dragon Ball made me forget about it. As a country boy with nothing, that was a relief to me. Kishimoto said that he was distraught when the Dragon Ball series wrapped up in 1995. However, Kishimoto dedicated to start his career in manga after being inspired by Toriyama. Talking about Toriyamas indirect mentorship, the Naruto creator wrote, By following him, I was able to find new enjoyment. Sensei was always my guide. I may be annoying to him, but I am grateful to him. For me, he was truly the God of salvation and the God of manga. He recalled his first meeting with Toriyama and wrote, When I first met him, I was too nervous to say a single word. But after meeting him many times at the Tezuka Award judging, I became able to talk. I will never forget the slightly embarrassed smile on his face when I and Mr. Oda (manga artist Eiichiro Oda) talked excitedly about how Dragon Ball was fun, as if we were children again. He wrote after getting the news of Toriyamas passing and feeling a tremendous sense of loss, more than when Dragon Ball ended. Toriyama still had unfinished work at the time of his death. His studio said in a statement, Its our deep regret that he still had several works in the middle of creation with great enthusiasm. He would have had many more things to achieve. News18 Showsha Reel Awards 2024: Shraddha Kapoor has won the Best Actress (Popular Choice) for her performance in the film, Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar. The awards were held on March 9 in Mumbai to celebrate the growing bond between the world of over-the-top (OTT) platforms and the Hindi film industry. Besides Shraddha, other actresses who were competing in the category were Deepika Padukone (Pathaan), Alia Bhatt (Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani), Kiara Advani (Satyaprem Ki Katha), Janhvi Kapoor (Bawaal), Rashmika Mandanna (Animal) and Katrina Kaif (Tiger 3). Released in March 2023, Luv Ranjans Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar starred Shraddha Kapoor in the lead with Ranbir Kapoor. Their chemistry in the film was widely loved by the audience. Shraddha left everyone swooning with her performance in Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar. Playing the role of Nisha, she brought the screen to life with her peppy avatar. While Shraddha Kapoor won the Best Actress in the Popular Choice category, Ranbir Kapoor grabbed the Best Actor award in the same category. He was honoured for his performance in the Sandeep Reddy Vanga directorial, Animal. After a successful edition in 2023 that celebrated the finest achievements in Indian cinema and recognised outstanding talents within the OTT sector, the News18 Showsha Reel Awards soared to greater heights this year. The awards honoured and applauded the best of content across cinema and OTT. In a world where narratives unfold across various screens, it was a moment to recognise the brilliance that captivates, entertains, and leaves a lasting impact. Several big celebrities including Karan Johar, Sandeep Reddy Vanga, Kartik Aaryan, Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor, Manoj Bajpayee and Shankar Mahadevan among others also attended the News18 Showsha Reel Awards 2024. The creator of the anime Dragon Ball series, Akira Toriyama passed away at the age of 68. According to a statement issued by his production studio on Friday, it was confirmed that Toriyama passed away on March 1 after suffering from an acute subdural hematoma. As soon as the news came out, it sent a wave of shock among anime fans and Dragon Ball Z enthusiasts. As many artists and fans worldwide paid tribute to the Dragon Ball creator, Ryo Horikawa, the Japanese voice actor for Vegeta, was also observed expressing condolences. Ryo Horikawa who has always been very vocal about the authors legacy and his impact around the world took to his X handle and penned a heartfelt note, stating that the news felt like a bolt out of the blue. It was like a bolt out of the blue, and I still cant believe it. A new development of the work has just begun. From now on, more and more thrilling stories were to be told. Its too sudden. Im so sorry. Thank you very much for creating such a wonderful work. Please take a good rest, the voice artist posted. Information ; Dear Friends and Partnershttps://t.co/85dXseckzJ pic.twitter.com/aHlx8CGA2M DRAGON BALL OFFICIAL (@DB_official_en) March 8, 2024 Apart from him, Masako Nozawa, the voice actor behind another iconic Dragon Ball character Goku also paid his last respects to the Manga legend. Through an official statement, Nozawa expressed shock over the sudden and tragic demise. I dont want to believe it. My head is empty because I dont want to think about it. Even so, every time I see Goku, I remember what Toriyama Sensei said to me, You will take care of Goku, wont you? I cherish that moment. It makes me think: I will stay by Gokus side until my strength runs out completely. Sensei, please watch over us from the heavens. We hope you depart in peace, the statement read. Masako Nozawa-san has released her comment on Toriyamas passing:I don't want to believe it. My head is empty because I don't want to think about it. Even so, every time I see Goku, I remember what Toriyama Sensei said to me, 'You will take care of Goku, won't you?' I pic.twitter.com/Y5zEB58bVC Hype (@DbsHype) March 8, 2024 It is pertinent to note both Vegeta and Goku are two of the most popular characters that the late author created, turning them into legendary manga and anime icons. Artists and fans mourn Akira Toriyamas demise While fans in large numbers have taken to social media and paid their tributes to the Dragon Ball Z creator, Eiichiro Oda and Masashi Kishimoto, the creators of other popular franchises like One Place and Naruto also wrote tributary messages following Toriyamas demise. Apart from them, Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii and Manga creator Masakazu Katsura also chimed in to honour Toriyama. In a stunning display of priorities, Pakistan, the nation that seems to have mastered the art of financial acrobatics, recently welcomed its newly elected (or should we say selected) Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. One might assume that in the face of a dire economic crisis, exacerbated by a seemingly insatiable appetite for IMF loans, Sharif would dedicate his inaugural speech to addressing the fiscal catastrophe gripping the country. But no, that would be too straightforward for the land of paradoxes. Instead, in a move that surprised absolutely no one, the freshly minted leader chose to divert attention from the nations financial woes and, true to Pakistans well-established playbook, promptly shifted focus to the terror exporting states favourite topic: Kashmir. In a stunning display of strategic amnesia, Sharif proclaimed, and I quote, Freedom for Kashmiris. Because when youre drowning in debt and your economy is on life support, naturally, the most pressing issue is to resurrect the done-and-dusted chapter of Kashmir. One cant help but marvel at Pakistans remarkable consistency in maintaining its image as the perennial beggar on the global stage. After all, as Sharif himself eloquently put it, Today, when we go to any friendly country or make a phone call, they think we have come to beg for money. We have been wandering for the past 75 years carrying a begging bowl. Bravo, Pakistan, for staying true to your diplomatic charm offensive playbook one that seems to be stuck on the same, well-worn page for decades. The so-called freedom that Pakistan champions in Kashmir is, in reality, fueled by an Islamist terror insurgency that has plagued the region since 1989. This campaign is spearheaded by notorious guerrilla groups that operate with impunity under Pakistans patronage. The main players in this disturbing drama include Hizbul Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammad, and Lashkar-e-Taiba. These groups have been responsible for a wave of violence, aiming to destabilise the region and undermine the peace and security of Kashmir, India. Its crucial to see through the rhetoric and recognise the true nature of these entities, which sow terror. In the intricate landscape of Kashmir, Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) takes the forefront, led by Mohammad Yusuf Shah, also known as Syed Salahuddin. Their explicit goal is to sever ties with India and merge Kashmir into Pakistan. Concurrently, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) establishes connections with terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. JeMs mission is to unite Kashmir with Pakistan, consistently stoking tension between the two neighbouring countries. Notably, LeT, infamous for the 2008 Mumbai attacks, aims to liberate Jammu and Kashmir from Indian control, adopting a disciplined Salafi-jihadist stance. In this high-stakes game, these groups collectively shape the turbulent fate of Kashmir. Adding an ironic twist to the narrative, a Pew Research report unveils a perplexing sentiment among average Pakistanis regarding India and the terror conundrum. Despite claiming victimhood to terrorism, a significant portion seems to endorse a rather contradictory stance. The report highlights that in the Punjab province, two-thirds of residents view India as the greatest threat, surpassing figures from Sindh (49 per cent) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (44 per cent). Its a head-scratcher a country grappling with the consequences of terrorism also harbours a substantial portion viewing its neighbour as the primary menace. The irony runs deep in the land where narratives seem as tangled as the geopolitics they embody. In the shadow of Pakistans contradictory stance on terrorism, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharifs rhetoric finds a striking counterpoint in the leadership of Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While Sharif perpetuates a narrative that endorses terrorism, Modi champions a vision of progress and peace in Kashmir that defies conventional expectations. Under Modis strategic leadership, Kashmir has witnessed a remarkable 75 per cent decline in terrorism-related incidents, the eradication of stone-pelting, and a record low in local terrorist recruitment. Contrastingly, Pakistans propaganda machinery persists in its efforts to radicalise Kashmiri youth through social media, local influencers, and narcotics. As Modi proudly highlights milestones like the worlds highest rail bridge and Asias longest tunnel, Pakistans agenda seems rooted in a regressive desire to spread terrorism. The dichotomy between the two leaders is further accentuated by the aftermath of the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A in August 2019. While India embraces an era of peace and prosperity, Pakistan struggles to maintain the impact of its diminishing propaganda. In this narrative, Modis commitment shines through not a single child of lesser Allah in Kashmir has perished in stone-pelting over the past five years. In the aftermath of the transformative decision to revoke Article 370 in 2019, Kashmir has witnessed a remarkable shift. Gone are the days of uncertainty and fear that once gripped the valley. Now, as the national flag proudly adorns the skyline, it serves as a beacon of newfound peace and freedom. People move about with a sense of security, even venturing out at night without trepidation. The transformation is palpable, echoing the sentiments of hope and progress that have taken root in the hearts of Kashmiri residents. As residents of Kashmir express their optimism about Prime Minister Modis visit, citing improved conditions and a resurgence in tourism, its evident that Kashmir is on a path towards a brighter future. As we revel in the positive transformations since August 5, 2019, it serves as a potent reminder of the stark contrast between Indias pursuit of peace and progress and Pakistans dark history that once sacrificed the innocent children of Kashmir for its nefarious terror cause. In celebrating life, we must remain vigilant to prevent any regression to the dark days of violence. Backing my plea for caution with Pakistan are the stark facts. Lets check their position on Kashmir. Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), led by Nawaz Sharif, firmly insists on normalising ties with India only if New Delhi reverses unilateral measures from August 5, 2019, regarding Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) accuses India of sidestepping peaceful negotiations, highlighting actions on August 5, 2019, as contrary to legal protections for Kashmiris. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) vows an unwavering commitment to championing the rights of Kashmiris and Palestinians, emphasising their right to self-determination. No compromise on these fundamental values; diplomacy becomes a vehicle for justice and fairness. Amidst this diplomatic dance, one thing remains clear: Pakistans rhetoric is as consistent as ever. Ever wondered how the average Pakistani views Kashmir and India? According to Gallup & Gilani Pakistan, a whopping 54 per cent of Pakistanis believe they can solve the Kashmir issue during their lifetime. Quite an unrealistic delusion! Hold on, it gets wilder 58 per cent of them are convinced that Pakistan has the divine right to Kashmir. Its like theyve got their own Bollywood drama playing out in real life! But wait, theres more. According to Pew Report, Pakistans younger generation seems to be taking a front-row seat in this drama, showing a higher likelihood of sympathising with all kinds of extremist groups. Imagine, students from a well-established university honing their social media skills to cheer on banned terrorist groups like LeT and JuD. Its like theyre getting an MBA in Extremism 101. And if thats not sufficient, our very own External Affairs Minister, Jaishankar, articulated a profound perspective: What Pakistan was attempting, not just recently but over several decades, was essentially to utilise cross-border terrorism to compel India to negotiate. That, in essence, was its core policy. We have rendered that strategy irrelevant by abstaining from participating in that game now. Kudos to India for steering clear of Pakistans terror-driven tactics. Its an intricate web of statistics and narratives out there, resembling the complexity of a Pakistani soap opera, with plot twists that are anything but subtle. In the midst of the statistical spectacle, lets not forget the sobering reality: Pakistan, despite its bankruptcy and political instability, still wields the terrifying power to conduct terror activities in Kashmir. India must remain vigilant and not let down its guard. While the numbers paint a vivid picture of Pakistans rhetoric, the potential for destabilising actions looms large. So, as we enjoy the statistical rollercoaster ride, lets remember to keep our eyes peeled and our defences strong against any nefarious designs emanating from across the border. Not to forget, former PTI government minister Fawad Chaudhury callously celebrated the Pulwama terror attack in the Pakistani National Assembly, stating, Hindustan ko ghus ke maara (We hit India in their home). Our success in Pulwama is a success of the people under the leadership of Imran Khan. You and we are all part of that success. The chilling statement highlights a disturbing lack of empathy for the lives lost and exposes the depths some are willing to go to for political gains. Do not forget! As Modi extends his congratulations to Shehbaz Sharif on becoming the Prime Minister of Pakistan, his message echoes a shared desire for peace and stability in the region, free from the shackles of terror. The citizens of India, cognizant of the historic peace revolution led by Modi in Kashmir, stand united. We are committed to ensuring that Pakistan does not, even remotely, drag Kashmir back into the dark and tragic terror years that plagued the region from 1989 to 2019. The pursuit of lasting peace remains a collective endeavour, and we are steadfast in safeguarding the hard-earned progress in the region. In Islamabad, the quest for the liberation of Kashmir is seen as a sacred mission, much like the vision of Pakistans founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Besides its historical significance, Kashmir serves domestic interests by diverting frustrations, rallying support from Islamist parties and the military, and providing access to Central Asian markets. Thus, lets not forget the crucial lesson from the tumultuous tale of India and Pakistan. Despite the incredible gains post the historic decision on August 5, 2019, where not one child of lesser Allah has perished in stone-pelting and the Indian state under Modi has dismantled intellectual ideologues and the separatist industry, the threat lingers. Pakistan, with its nefarious motives, seeks to reverse these hard-fought victories. So, ordinary Indians and the Indian state, keep your guard even higher, for the battle for peace and progress continues. Stay vigilant, as the echoes of history remind us that safeguarding the gains of the present is our collective responsibility. The author is a practising advocate. She writes articles on womens rights, politics and law. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views. In the turbulent landscape of Indian politics, the Congress party finds itself at a critical juncture, grappling with internal turmoil and external challenges. While the party may be quick to point fingers at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the root of its predicament lies within its own entrenched leadership dynamics, particularly the hegemony of the Gandhi family. Today, as Sonia, Rahul, and Priyanka Gandhi wield significant influence within the party, the reluctance to shoulder accountability for its electoral fortunes looms large. This pivotal moment places Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of the Congress party, at the forefront of decision-making and crisis management. Kharges mandate extends beyond mere electoral success; it encompasses the daunting task of preserving party unity and preventing further defections ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Despite forging alliances with parties like the AAP and the Samajwadi Party, the burden of maintaining these coalitions falls squarely on Kharges shoulders. Amidst the aftermath of setbacks in certain Rajya Sabha seats and signals of instability in the Himachal Pradesh government, Kharge must navigate treacherous waters and steer the Congress ship toward calmer shores. While the Opposition gears up for political campaigns, Kharges primary focus remains crisis mitigation and alliance management. In this high-stakes environment, Kharges leadership will be put to the test as he strives to navigate the Congress party through turbulent waters and emerge stronger, more united, and better equipped to face the formidable challenges that lie ahead. Kharges Challenge in Keeping Congress United As the Congress braces itself for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, it finds itself grappling with a wave of defections that threaten to undermine its unity and electoral prospects. From the resignation of former Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan to swirling rumours of former Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Naths departure and even Himachal Pradeshs minister Vikramaditya Singh tendering his resignation, the party is facing a tumultuous period of instability. At the helm of this storm stands Mallikarjun Kharge, tasked with the herculean challenge of holding the Congress party together in the face of mounting dissent and disarray. With defections eroding the partys strength and credibility, Kharge must navigate treacherous waters and instil confidence among party members. The defections not only weaken the Congress electoral prospects but also threaten to fracture its organisational cohesion and strategic direction. Kharges leadership will be put to the test as he seeks to address the grievances of disgruntled members, shore up support within the party ranks, and forge a united front ahead of the crucial elections. Amidst the tumult, Kharges ability to rally the party faithful, inspire confidence, and chart a course forward will be pivotal in determining the Congress fortunes in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. As the political landscape continues to evolve, Kharges leadership will be scrutinised, and his success in keeping the Congress united will be a testament to his skill and resilience in the face of adversity. Kharges Burden: Revitalising Congress Beyond Rahuls Image Makeover Despite Rahul Gandhis Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, aimed at rejuvenating the partys fortunes, its impact remains lacklustre on the ground, overshadowed by the pressing need for substantive groundwork. Rather than channelling energies into grassroots campaigning and policy articulation, the partys focus has shifted towards revamping Rahul Gandhis imagea move fraught with challenges and uncertainties. In this precarious landscape, Mallikarjun Kharge emerges as a central figure tasked with shouldering the burden of orchestrating the partys resurgence. His responsibilities extend far beyond mere micro-management; he is entrusted with the herculean task of negotiating with state leadership, fostering unity, and revitalising the Congress electoral machinery nationwide. Amidst the clamour for change and rejuvenation, Kharges leadership acumen and strategic vision will be put to the test. As the political terrain evolves and electoral battle lines are drawn, the onus is on Kharge to chart a course that transcends mere image makeover, propelling the Congress towards a position of strength and resonance with the electorate. Kharges Challenge Amidst Congress Alliance Dynamics While alliances with the AAP and Samajwadi Party present strategic opportunities, the onus falls squarely on Congress President Kharge to ensure their cohesion and longevity. Despite mounting pressure and evolving alliances, the Gandhi familys disinterest in actively nurturing these partnerships casts a shadow of uncertainty. The departure of JDU and RLD from the INDIA bloc, coupled with the TMCs decision to fight alone, underscores the fragility of Opposition unity and the challenges facing the Congress in maintaining its alliance structure. In this volatile environment, Kharge assumes a pivotal role as the linchpin of alliance management, tasked with bridging divides, fostering collaboration, and safeguarding the collective interests of the Opposition front. Amidst the ebb and flow of alliances and shifting political allegiances, Kharges ability to uphold unity and coherence within the Congress-led coalition will be critical in shaping the outcome of the electoral contest. As the party braces itself for the challenges ahead, Kharges stewardship offers a beacon of hope for a cohesive and formidable Opposition front. Kharges Test Amidst Himachal Pradesh Political Crisis The political turbulence gripping Himachal Pradesh poses a formidable challenge for Kharge, as the stability of the state government under Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu hangs in the balance. The recent setback in the Rajya Sabha elections, with Congress candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi losing due to cross-voting by party MLAs, exacerbates the crisis, particularly considering Singhvis pivotal role within the party due to his legal expertise. With Himachal Pradesh currently one of only three Congress-ruled states in India, the prospect of government instability ahead of the 2024 general elections looms large, casting a shadow over the partys electoral prospects. In this precarious scenario, the burden of crisis management falls squarely on Kharges shoulders, as the Gandhi family remains aloof from taking direct responsibility. As Kharge grapples with the exigencies of the Himachal crisis, the efficacy of Congress electoral campaign and strategic manoeuvres hangs in the balance. The need to address the crisis without compromising on electoral preparations poses a delicate balancing act for Kharge, highlighting the complexities of leadership in times of adversity. Amidst the storm, his leadership will be put to the test as he navigates the dual challenges of crisis management and electoral strategy. Crafting A Message As the BJP solidifies its narrative for the 2024 general elections, centred around the foundation of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and the promise of a Ram Rajya, the Congress President faces a daunting challenge. While the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi establishes a strong ideological message, the Congress grapples with the need to articulate a compelling narrative that resonates with the electorate. Kharges responsibility is twofold: to craft a message that not only counters the BJPs narrative but also embodies the ethos and aspirations of the Indian populace. Merely opposing Modis leadership is insufficient; the Congress must offer a clear and coherent vision for the nations future. This message must strike a delicate balance, aligning with the core values of the Gandhi familys ideology while remaining inclusive and appealing to a diverse range of voters. Moreover, it must garner support from other Opposition parties within the alliance, necessitating careful negotiation and consensus-building. As the clock ticks closer to the elections, Kharge must lead the Congress in defining its messagea message that embodies hope, progress, and inclusivity, resonating with the aspirations of every Indian citizen. The author, a columnist and research scholar, teaches journalism at St. Xaviers College (autonomous), Kolkata. He tweets at @sayantan_gh. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views. The Congress party has made some sacrifices in its quest to oust the Modi-led government in the coming Lok Sabha elections. These sacrifices, the party has repeatedly claimed, have been done with the lofty purposes of saving democracy, protecting the interests of youths and farmers and, ensuring communal harmony, among others. It agreed to contest just 17 of the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, leaving the rest to its ally, the Samajwadi Party. Its a state that had been the Congress political backyard for decades since independence and one that holds the potential to make or mar the prospects of parties that aspire to form national governments. In Delhi, which the Congress had ruled for many years, it accepted three of the seven seats on offer, conceding four to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), an outfit that had called for the recall of Bharat Ratna given to Rajiv Gandhi, and demanded the arrest of Sonia Gandhi. And in Gujarat, in order to seal the pact in Delhi, the Congress party agreed to let the AAP contest two constituencies, including Bharuch, which is a legacy seat of Ahmed Patel, one of its stalwarts and former political secretary to the party supremo, Sonia Gandhi. In doing so, it ignored the sentiments of Ahmed Patels family members; the late leaders son, Faisal Patel, has expressed his anguish and anger. It may be recalled that, months ago, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had expressed the imperative for his party to be ready for sacrifices in order to make the mission of the Opposition bloc, grandly named INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance), a success. Among its constituents, the Congress has the largest number of Lok Sabha seats. One of the definitions given for sacrifice in the Oxford Dictionary of English, is the following: An act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy. Let us consider what is so valued that the Congress party has given up. In Uttar Pradesh, at least in electoral termsand thats what is relevant in the present contextthe party is a non-entity and has nothing of value to cast aside. It has just two members in the 403-member strong Assembly and only one Member of Parliament. In other words, the party has virtually nothing to sacrifice there. In an earlier Assembly election, it had teamed up with the Samajwadi Party and still the combination lost, with the Congress bringing nothing to the table. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, its supreme leader Rahul Gandhi lost from the family bastion of Amethi. The situation is not very different in Delhi; indeed, its worse. The Congress has zero MLAs and zero MPs from here and hopes to ride piggyback on AAP to open its account in the Lok Sabha. Its down on its knees, and yet it talks of making sacrifices! As for Gujarat, it is one state where the Congress has traditionally been in a direct contest with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and has for the last quarter of a century, failed to defeat it. Giving the Bharuch seat to AAP was, therefore, no sacrifice. That said, it is true that the Congress has made sacrifices in the past. It would be interesting to revisit two of them and evaluate the outcome. Both these examples, incidentally, relate to Jammu and Kashmir. In 1975, only three months before the Emergency was imposed, an agreement was inked between the Government of India headed by Indira Gandhi and the local satrap, Sheikh Abdullah. Known as the Indira Gandhi-Sheikh Abdullah Accord, it was signed by diplomat, G. Parthasarathy (on behalf of the Union government) and by Mirza Afzal Beg (on Sheikhs behalf). Among other things, it paved the way for the return of Sheikh Abdullah to power. Indira Gandhi sacrificed the Congress government, then led by Syed Mir Qasim, to clear the path for Sheikh Abdullahs ascension. Indira Gandhis reported explanation for the largesse was that it would send a positive signal to the world, especially the Islamic nations and that it would herald an era of political stability in Jammu and Kashmir. What actually happened was an erosion of the base of the Congress party. Not only that, after Mir Qasim, who had been made the scapegoat, was adjusted in the Union ministry, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed became the party units chief and internal rumblings erupted, resulting in a vertical split in the Congress party. Taken together, Indira Gandhis decision to sacrifice the partys interests and humour Sheikh Abdullah worked against the Congress. The second sacrifice came less than three decades later. In the 2002 elections to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, the Congress party won the second largest number of seats, 20 (the single largest party was the National Conference, which showed no inclination to form a government). Ghulam Nabi Azad, who had helmed the Congress partys campaign and was the chief ministerial face, secured the support of independent MLAs and a few from other, smaller parties. The numbers added up to a simple majority. All that Azad had to do was to meet the governor and stake his claim. But he first met Sayeed, who had quit the Congress and formed his own outfit, and in a sudden burst of generosity, invited him to be part of the government. Perhaps Azad believed that with Sayeeds party included, the government would be seen as more inclusive and more stable. Sayeed agreed, but when he met Sonia Gandhi in Delhi for talks, he insisted on being made the chief minister, claiming that he had been given the impression that he would lead the government! He gave indications that if his demand was not met, he could create problems for the incoming government. The Congress could have called his bluff, but it decided to sacrifice its interests and conceded to his demand. It was agreed that he would be chief minister for the first half of the term, and Azad for the latter half. After half the term ended, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed very reluctantly made way. Thereafter, he proceeded to repeatedly place obstacles after Azad took charge. Eventually, he withdrew support and the Azad government had to resign before completing its full term in 2008. The Congress party was left with an egg on its face. If the party over time recovered from these setbacks, it was due to the strong leadership of Indira Gandhi, in the first case; and, in the second example, because the party was going through a golden phase (having come to power at the Centre only four years before). Such a happy condition for the Congress does not exist today. Parties have risen from the dumps, but rarely have they done so by outsourcing their revival to their rivals. Its the strong that can sacrifice, the weak only surrender. The writer is an author and a public affairs analyst. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views. Modi then flew to Panbari in Kaziranga in a helicopter. The last leg of his journey of about 15 km will be travelled by road from the helipad to the Police Guest House near Central Kohora Range in Kaziranga National Park. (News18) Trouble seems to be brewing for a section of senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders, as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated a series of fresh attachments and raids in connection with the cattle scam in West Bengal over new details. The ED had earlier this week seized documents and attached the related bank accounts of a trust in Birbhum. The trust is allegedly associated with senior TMC leader Anubrata Mondal, who was arrested in connection with the scam. The ED is now in the process of issuing fresh summons to some senior leaders, while some who already appeared would be called again, News18 has learnt. ALSO READ | Toll Talk Ends: Birbhum without TMCs Anubrata Mondal | News18 Ground Report According to sources in the agency, the investigators have found money trails of senior Trinamool leaders and their alleged connections with some hawala operators. During the course of investigation, we stumbled upon some new details, which led us to new money trails. We have already attached the bank accounts of a trust, based out of Birbhum, and is associated with Mondal," said a senior officer in the directorate. We have also identified the person in whose name the trust was set up. We have identified some more benami properties," he added. BENAMI TRUST AND POLITICAL FUNDING The raided trust siphoned off crores of rupees, violated rules and failed in compliances, said sources. Mondal, his aides and some senior politicians raised public money in the name of the trust, siphoned the money and used it as political funding," said another officer. Search operations are likely to take place across districts in connection with the case. The officers further added that the ED may also issue fresh summons to some senior politicians and some government officers. West Bengals Sandeshkhali and the uprising by women following the allegations of sexual assault and coerced slavery by local politicians are likely to be at the forefront of discussions in RSSs Pratinidhi Sabha scheduled to be held between March 15 and 18 in Nagpur. Pratinidhi Sabha is the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sanghs highest decision-making body that holds an annual meeting to set the course of action and programmes for the rest of the year. Sandeshkhali has now become a womens movement. It is one of the crucial movements that the country has seen. We will discuss the issues related to Sandeshkhali. The Sangh volunteers who work in the region, and the Prant Pracharak (RSS functionary in charge of the area), will attend the meeting and brief us about what exactly happened. We will discuss the movement, what RSS can do on the ground to help the survivors, and how we can support them to fight this battle, said a senior RSS functionary. The four-day-meeting will see representation of all its affiliates, including its political front BJP. Senior political functionaries like national president of the BJP JP Nadda and its national general secretary BL Santhosh are likely to attend the meeting, among others. According to sources in the RSS, the meeting will see the participation of 1,570 senior members, including 10 senior members of the Rashtra Sevika Samiti womens wing of the RSS. The consideration by the RSS is crucial because the organisations decision to take up an issue means it will pull in all its resources, affiliates and inspired organisations to spearhead a movement in and around the area. This also shows that BJP will make it an election issue and do everything to intensify the agitation. West Bengal is a state where BJP faces a tough challenge from Mamata Banerjee. However, the party feels the issues of land grab, coerced slavery and alleged sexual exploitation of women will bring in momentum against the ruling Trinamool Congress. Politically, this is an important development as Bengal has historically witnessed change in political power through movements that were primarily land agitations. In Sandeshkhali, which is one of the many islands of Sundarbans and located in North 24 Paragana district, the allegations of land grab, conversion of agricultural land into fish ponds and sexual assaults on women have already made the region a political flashpoint between Trinamool Congress and the BJP. Sandeshkhali, farmers protest, caste discrimination Apart from Sandeshkhali, RSS seniors are also likely to discuss the farmers protest and its probable remedies. The senior functionaries will listen to the feedback from the members and volunteers on these matters and decide the future course of action. Caste and the caste discrimination have always been a crucial issue for debate and deliberations in the organisation. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, in several addresses, appealed to the Sangh volunteers to take efforts to ensure that all villagers get access to the temple, crematorium, and water source. He repeatedly mentioned that there should not be any caste bias or discrimination in rural areas regarding these three common social points. Our organisational heads have been directed to conduct surveys across states and districts to understand where and why the caste discrimination is still prevalent. Once we get the reports, we will work on it and work towards ending caste discrimination, said another senior functionary. This is the year of elections for the RSS too. A new general secretary will be chosen in this meeting. The current general secretary is Dattatreya Hosabale. According to senior functionaries, the Sangh may decide to grant him another term. There are several instances in which the RSS has given multiple terms to its senior office-bearers. An Omaha man accused of shooting his father will have the criminal charges against him thrown out after the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled his right to a speedy trial was violated. On Friday, the states highest court reversed decisions from the Nebraska Court of Appeals and the Douglas County District Court, both of which denied motions from a criminal defendant to dismiss the case against him after his trial was continued over his objection. The defendant, 27-year-old Justin Rashad, faced charges of first-degree assault and use of a firearm to commit a felony after he allegedly shot his father in the head in 2021. Under Nebraska law, defendants have a statutory right to have their case presented to a jury within six months of the date the charging document was filed. Rashads trial was scheduled for 10 months after he was initially charged. The primary burden to ensure a trial takes place within speedy trial guidelines is on the state. If a case is not prosecuted in a timely manner, the defendant is entitled to have the case dismissed, unless good cause for a delay is shown. There is no statutory definition of good cause, and it is decided on a case-by-case basis, though the Supreme Court noted the findings must be supported by the evidence in the record, and the State bears the burden of establishing facts showing that good cause existed. Rashad was charged with the two felonies in April 2021. By June, Douglas County District Court Judge Marlon Polk set the case for trial in October. But shortly before the trial was set to begin, according to court documents, the parties were informed the trial would be continued because the judge had another trial scheduled on the same week. At a hearing on Oct. 26, 2021, Rashad said he was very concerned about his speedy trial rights and objected to the continuance, requesting that he be tried in November to comply with speedy trial requirements. Rashads request was denied, and Polk set the trial for February 2022. Days before the February trial was set to began, defense attorney Korey Taylor filed a motion to dismiss the case for speedy trial violations. State preference or convenience does not usurp the speedy trial rights of defendants, Taylor wrote. By the time trial is now scheduled to commence in this case, over 10 months would have passed. Polk denied the motion, finding there was good cause to grant the continuance. Rashad appealed to the Nebraska Court of Appeals, which affirmed Polks ruling in April 2023 in a split decision. He then appealed the case to the Nebraska Supreme Court. In its Friday opinion, the court said it didnt find evidence of good cause to continue the trial, meaning the request for absolute discharge should have been granted. In previous cases, docket congestion or the courts busy schedule has been recognized as good cause for a continuance. But the court said there wasnt sufficient evidence to prove docket congestion was to blame in this case. The situation here could have been avoided if the trial court had issued a written order on the motion for a continuance, the opinion reads. Additionally... the State could have introduced other evidence to substantiate docket congestion, such as scheduling issues or case priorities. The State took no such steps in this case. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Assams Kaziranga National Park, the Congress on Saturday attacked the Centre over the increasingly disturbed situation in different parts of the Northeast, and asked why the PM had not found time to visit the violence-hit Manipur yet. Prime Minister Modi took the elephant and jeep safari inside Assams Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve on Saturday morning In a swipe at Modi, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, Were glad that the Prime Minister has found time amidst his various travels to spend today morning in Kaziranga, an iconic national park which owes much to the great interest shown both by Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. However, beyond Kaziranga, there are four questions for him on the increasingly disturbed situation in different parts of the Northeast of India, he said. On June 19th, 2020, at the all-party meet on China, the Prime Minister declared that not a single Chinese soldier had crossed over into Indian territory. public clean chit to China, the Prime Minister has tied his own hands, and failed to take action to restore the status quo after Chinese aggression, Ramesh alleged. Chinese troops continue to deny Indian citizens access to grazing lands and Indian patrols access to strategic spots along the LAC where they previously had unimpeded access, he said. Ramesh claimed that there have been multiple instances of PLA troops kidnapping Indian citizens on Indian soil. In 2022, a BJP MP from Arunachal Pradesh himself alleged that the PLA had abducted and tortured 19-year-old Miram Taron for ten days, he said. During the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Itanagar, Rahul Gandhi also met the family of Tapor Pullom, who has been missing since he was allegedly abducted by the PLA in 2015. Modiji, bhul gaye kya? Were you lying to the people back then? the Congress leader said. He also said that Manipur has been in a state of virtual civil war for nearly a year now. Hundreds of people have died in widespread violence, lakhs have been displaced, communities are at war with each other, and the administration has collapsed, he said. Ramesh claimed that the violence still continues with two youths in Moreh beaten up on March 7, and Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) Konsam Kheda Singh of the Indian Army kidnapped from his own house in Thoubal district by militants on March 8. Why has the Prime Minister, ordinarily misusing taxpayers money to campaign around the country, not found the time to visit Manipur yet, or even take a call with the Chief Minister and the political parties of the state? Ramesh said. Is he waiting for the people of India to buy him a ticket to Imphal, the Congress leader asked. Ramesh said the Eastern Nagaland Peoples Organization (ENPO) has declared a public emergency in Eastern Nagaland threatening to disallow any political party from campaigning or contesting elections in the region to protest the delay in the creation of a Frontier Nagaland Territory. The Konyak Union (KU) and Tikhir Tribal Council (TTC) have echoed the ENPOs declaration of a public emergency. On the 8th of March, there was a large-scale bandh in most of Eastern Nagaland, he said. Even as the situation becomes increasingly more tense and threatens to disrupt the rule of law and democracy in Nagaland, the Union government appears to be missing in action, Ramesh alleged. This is not a new development: we have seen the Modi Sarkar previously obscure the political situation of Nagaland with the 2015 Naga Accord, which has not even been released to the public, much less implemented. What steps is the Modi Sarkar taking to defuse the situation brewing in eastern Nagaland today? he said. Ramesh also raised the issue of three labourers, who worked in a stone quarry in Cachar, Assam and were abducted by the Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) in December 2023. In mid-February 2024, 10 labourers working at Finboro Coalmine in Changlang district on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border were abducted by the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) and the United Liberation Front of Assam Independent (ULFA-I), he said. There has been a disturbing re-emergence of separatist groups emboldened to disrupt the lives of common people and enact their reign of terror. When faced with this renewed violence, why is the Modi Sarkar sitting on its hands? Ramesh said. A strange incident unfolded aboard Chinas Southern Airlines flight CZ8805, resulting in a frustrating delay of over four hours. The flight, initially set to depart at 10 am local time from the southern city of Sanya to Beijing on March 6, was held back after a Chinese passenger reportedly threw coins into the aircrafts engine. As reported by CNN, in the video, the flight attendant of flight CZ8805 is seen questioning the passenger who allegedly threw coins into the engine about how many coins had been tossed. The passenger was heard on camera admitting that he threw three to five coins into the engine, which resulted in the delay of the flights departure. Following the confession, the flyer was taken away by airport police, as reported by Chinese Southern Airlines, according to state media. The coins were found during security checks, according to China Southern Airlines. The aircraft maintenance staff conducted a comprehensive safety inspection and determined that there were no safety issues before take-off, said the airlines customer service representative while addressing the state media. Later, China Southern Airlines issued a warning against uncivilised behaviours on their official social media account, Weibo, on March 6, saying, Throwing coins at the plane poses a threat to aviation safety and will result in different levels of punishment. The flight eventually left for Beijing at 2:16 PM, according to the flight-tracking websites Flightradar24 and Flight Aware. Notably, this is not the first time that a flyer has been apprehended for throwing coins on or near a plane for good luck. Similar incidents have occurred in recent years in China, causing delays and frustration among crew members and other flyers. Another China Southern Airlines flight was delayed in Guangzhou in October 2023 after a passenger was seen throwing coins towards the plane. In 2021, there was another incident where a flight carrying 148 passengers from Weifang to Haikou got cancelled because a flyer was caught throwing coins into the planes engine. The person, named Wang, believed throwing coins wrapped in red paper into the engine would bring good luck. However, airport workers luckily noticed some coins on the runway before the plane took off and informed the crew, saving people from potential danger. Likewise, an elderly passenger was seen throwing coins at a China Southern Airlines plane during boarding at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, claiming it was a prayer for a safe flight in 2017. Gen Z is spending so much time and money on solo expeditions nowadays that it has emerged to be one of the top trends in the travel industry right now. Solo travel offers flexibility, affordability and a sense of independence. There are a few who are sceptical of solo travelling due to their fear of safety. So, if you are planning a solo trip to any country, you must consider Japan. It is one of the most preferred countries by tourists. Want to know why? Let us explain. Japan is super easy to travel and is quite welcoming for those who are travelling alone. From immersing yourself in an altogether different culture and tasting a wide variety of foods to travelling in high-speed bullet trains and marvelling at their unique architecture, it has a lot to offer. Solo travelling is easy in Japan as the crime rate in the country is quite low in comparison to various other Asian countries. It is believed that Japanese culture is based on mutual respect and kindness, hence the country reports a low crime rate. Also, if you are a solo woman traveller, you may get special concessions while travelling in trains. Here are a few places that a solo traveller can visit- Tokyo Tokyo is the capital and one of the largest cities in Japan. It is renowned for its skyscrapers and nightlife. You can also board a train to enjoy the breathtaking sight of Mount Fuji on a trip to Kyoto. Apart from this, another reason why you must visit Tokyo is to experience its surreal cherry blossoms that look right out of a fairytale book. It is interesting to note that solo travellers can purchase food from vending machines and 100 Yen stores. Japan also promotes dining alone and a few restaurants offer eat-alone spaces. You can also go to Shibuya Crossing, which is the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world. Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari was elected as Pakistans 14th President on Saturday, becoming the head of state for a second time. Zardari, 68, was the joint candidate of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) while his rival Mahmood Khan Achakzai, 75, was the candidate of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC). The new president was elected by the electoral college of the newly elected members of the National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies, as per the provisions of the Constitution. A businessman-turned-politician, Zardari is the husband of slain Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto. He received 255 votes while his opponent got 119, Pakistani media reported. Zardari would replace the incumbent Dr Arif Alvi, whose five-year term ended last year. However, he has continued since the new electoral college was not yet formed. Zardari, who served as the president from 2008 to 2013, will also be the first civilian to be elected for the second time as president. Achakzai is the head of his Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and was contesting from the platform of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), which came to prominence after independent candidates backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf: joined it. Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed, who is currently in India, expressed concern regarding the outcome of Indias recent boycott call against his nation and issued an apology on behalf of the Maldivian people. Highlighting the potential impact of Indias boycott call on tourism, which is a crucial component of the Maldivian economy, Nasheed said he was deeply worried and wanted Indians to visit the Island on their holidays. It has impacted the Maldives a lot and Im apprehensive about this. I want to say the people of the Maldives are sorry, we are sorry that this has happened. We want Indian people to come on their holidays to the Maldives, and our hospitality will not change, ANI quoted Nasheed as saying. President Mohamed Muizzus decision to expel all Indian military personnel from the country by March 10 has strained diplomatic relations between India and the Maldives, especially considering his perceived pro-China stance. This led to a boycott call from India, impacting various realms of the Maldivian economy, especially tourism. Nasheed also acknowledged Indias historically responsible approach to dealing with such matters and stated that instead of exerting force, the country proposed a diplomatic discussion, a testament to Indias commitment to resolving issues through dialogue. When the president of the Maldives wanted Indian military personnel to leave, you know what India did? They did not twist their arms. They did not display muscle, but just simply told the government of Maldives, Okay, lets discuss that, Nasheed added. Notably, the recent defence agreement between Maldives and China, as described by the former president, is seen more as an acquisition of equipment rather than a defence pact. Nasheed also questioned the current Maldivian regime and expressed his disappointment that the government felt the need for more tear gas and rubber bullets on protestors. On the other hand, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has expressed optimism in resolving the dispute diplomatically, acknowledging that misunderstandings can arise between nations. We have to make people understand, sometimes people dont even have complete knowledge of things, sometimes people get misguided on what others say, the Indian minister earlier said. Two young women were arrested in Tehran after the publication of a video in which they danced to celebrate the coming of the Persian New Year, Iranian media said Saturday. The clip of the two women hip-shaking near Tajrish Square, a popular gathering spot for young people in the north of the Iranian capital, went viral on social media. The Tehran prosecutor ordered the arrest of two women who broke social norms by dancing in Tajrish, the Tasnim news agency reported. The two women were dressed up as Hadji Farouz, a red-clad folklore character whose dancing and songs announce the coming of Nowruz, the Persian New Year that will begin on March 20. Islamic law as practised in Iran prohibits mixed dancing or women being alone in public. Numerous videos of women dancing in public places, especially the metro, have gone viral in recent months in Iran after a mass protest movement shook the country in late 2022 following the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini in September of that year. A 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, Amini had been arrested by the morality police in Tehran for not respecting the strict dress code in force in the Islamic republic. US and allied forces shot down 15 drones fired by Yemeni rebels into the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden on Saturday, the US military said. The Iran-backed rebels had fired missiles at an American commercial ship and launched drones at US warships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. It was one of the Houthis largest attacks since they began in November a campaign of drone and missile strikes against vessels in the Red Sea area, in professed solidarity with Palestinians during Israels war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said the large-scale Houthi attack occurred before dawn into the Red Sea and adjacent Gulf of Aden. US and Coalition Defeat Houthi Attack in Red Sea AreaBetween 4 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists conducted a large-scale uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) attack into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. CENTCOM and coalition forces identified the one-way pic.twitter.com/PJag5PYUfZ U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 9, 2024 CENTCOM and coalition forces determined that the drones presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels, US Navy and coalition ships in the region. It added, in a post on social media platform X, that US Navy vessels and aircraft along with multiple coalition navy ships and aircraft shot down 15 of the drones. These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree, also on X, said the rebels had carried out two separate operations. The first targeted the commercial vessel Propel Fortune in the Gulf of Aden, he said, calling it an American ship. Vessel tracking websites describe the bulk carrier as Singapore-flagged but did not report its current position. A second operation fired 37 drones at a number of American warships, Saree said. The United States in December announced a maritime security initiative to protect Red Sea shipping from Houthi attacks, which have forced commercial vessels to divert from the route that normally carries 12 percent of global trade. The rebel strikes this week caused their first reported fatalities. The Philippine government said two Filipino crew members were among those killed in a missile strike on the bulk carrier True Confidence. On March 2, the first known vessel sinking from the strikes occurred when the Belize-flagged, Lebanese-operated Rubymar went down in the Red Sea days after a rebel missile strike. Since January the United States and Britain have also launched repeated strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the ship attacks, but the rebels have continued to attack merchant vessels and have also targeted American and British ships. Yemens rebels control the capital Sanaa and much of the Red Sea coast, despite an earlier bombing campaign that a Saudi-led coalition began in 2015 and which continued for years. (With agency inputs) State lawmakers gave first-round approval to a measure requiring the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to reimburse language translation and interpretation services for Medicaid patients who need them. Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, who introduced the bill (LB62) in the 2023 session and prioritized it this year, said it was "a needed step to ensure everyone has the health care they need even if English is not their first language." Early last year, health care providers including psychologists who work with Lincoln's Yazidi population learned interpreter services would no longer be covered after reimbursements went unpaid. A 2017 bulletin from HHS to providers participating in the Nebraska Medicaid program indicated that interpretation services could be reimbursed, but it was not required. "(N)either the Heritage Health plans nor Medicaid is responsible for providing or reimbursing this service for provider interaction," the bulletin read. Providers who spoke with the Journal Star in 2023 said the change came as a surprise and left them in the tough position of paying for those services out of their own pockets or referring patients needing care elsewhere. Cavanaugh said Thursday that her bill would provide support to providers persisting through a workforce shortage, and it directs the state government to maximize federal funding to carry out its provisions. And an amendment that was adopted on the floor by senators indicates the Medicaid Managed Care Excess Profit Fund would be the source of funding for the reimbursements. "This bill will require coverage and ensure stability and consistency across managed care organization practices, which is really important for patients and providers," she said. Sen. John Arch of La Vista, a longtime health care administrator, said the requirement to provide services without a mechanism to fund them was "a behind-the-scenes issue that has plagued the health care industry." "I believe it is unfair to continue to burden the provider with additional cost not being recognized," Arch said, adding he supported the bill. Omaha Sen. Kathleen Kauth asked Cavanaugh if the state should enforce the contracts it has in place to reimburse for interpreter services rather than shift the costs to a cash fund controlled by the Legislature. "It absolutely would and I would love for DHHS to do that," Cavanaugh responded, noting the department had not taken a position for or against the bill when it was heard in committee. "However, I introduced this bill a year ago, and that was after a year of this happening and DHHS has not done anything to rectify the situation," she added. Arch asked Cavanaugh if she would be willing to meet with representatives from HHS to discuss the issue, to which she agreed. "Let's do good government," she told Arch on the floor. "Yes, let's do good government," he replied. "If DHHS is obligated to do this, perhaps this bill isn't necessary, but that conversation sounds like it may be necessary." The Legislature advanced the bill on a 28-2 vote, with 11 senators who were present not voting. Thursday marked Day 39 of the 60-day legislative session. Senators will reconvene on Tuesday after a long weekend recess. Top Journal Star photos for March 2024 FOUR United States nationals contracted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) reportedly sneaked into the country last month without notifying the authorities as per protocol and proceeded to hold unsanctioned and covert meetings, which were to inform Washingtons adversarial foreign policy towards Zimbabwe. The quartet Brenda Lee Pearson, Norma Kriger, Sarah Logan and Loretta Bass work for a US government affiliate, Navanti Group, and their mission was ostensibly to carry out a democracy and governance assessment to help USAID design its local programmes. However, the team was busted and deported on February 17 after it was established their real agenda was more focused on seeking a more effective method to effect regime change in the country, informed sources told The Sunday Mail yesterday. Curiously, the quartet entered the country without prior communication with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and went on to conduct assessment activities in the country, thereby violating the Geneva Convention. After discovering that their team was being shadowed, the US Embassy, on behalf of Navanti Group, reportedly notified the Government on February 5, requesting meetings between Pearson and Kriger and Government ministers, institutions and the Chapter 12 commissions. The commissions include the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC); the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC); the Zimbabwe Gender Commission (ZGC); the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC); and the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC). But the arrival of Logan and Bass on February 5 for the same mission was kept under wraps. Since arriving separately in early February, the team nicodemously held meetings with leaders of anti-government civic society organisations, journalists, some senior opposition figures and Western diplomats. Sources indicated that on February 8, for example, Logan and Bass met Danish AID official David Takawira and later on engaged with Swedish Embassy Secretary Peeter Kamaan, who is suspected to be an intelligence officer. On the same day, they also met Dr Frances Lovemore, the director of the Counselling Services Unit, over dinner. The following day, they had a meeting with Mike Davis, an official from the Combined Harare Residents Association, before contacting ZIMCODD director John Maketo on February 12. Their meeting also saw them having engagements with British Embassy official Peter Thomas (February 13); British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office official Nikolai Hutchinson (February 13); Labour, Economics and Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe director Godfrey Kanyenze (February 13) ; and Mass Public Opinion Institute director Eldred Masunungure (February 13). On Valentines Day, they linked up with Pearson at the US Embassy and met with Larry Socha, the State Department public diplomacy officer. On the same day, Logan and Bass had dinner with Valery Sviuya, director of the Legal Resources Foundation. On February 15, the team met Heart and Soul TV journalist Blessed Mhlanga, before they were joined by Kriger in their meeting with US political chief Nicole Johnson. Overall, the team had more than 12 engagements. The Government has since confirmed the quartet was on a covert political mission. Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet (Presidential Communications) Mr George Charamba said: They were what we call consular infractions. Basically, that term refers to entry of foreign nationals in a country without due process as defined by that country. Under the Geneva Convention, foreigners entering a country under the cover of an embassy must notify the host country prior to arrival. As it turned out, the team arrived before any notification of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Zimbabwe. Upon realising that their team was being shadowed, the American Embassy sought, retrospectively, to fulfil this consular requirement and then raised a note verbale, or a diplomatic note, only on the 5th of February, 2024, added Mr Charamba. Even then, that particular diplomatic note only disclosed two persons of foreign origin, namely Brenda Lee Pearson and Norma Kriger. The diplomatic note, he also said, claimed that the duo was set to be accompanied by a Zimbabwean national, Olivia Gumbo, who is believed to be associated with the Navanti Group. Unknown to them, the Government of Zimbabwe knew that, in fact, persons who had entered surreptitiously into the territory of Zimbabwe were in fact four, not two as declared. Incidentally, the other undeclared two had been very active on the ground, meeting interest groups, meeting leading opposition members, NGOs and travelling around the country with the express purpose of gathering information, and information of a political nature. He said the US authorities failure to abide by laid-down diplomatic protocol meant that the Navanti team would be deported in terms of Zimbabwean laws. Just the fact of one not timeously indicating the presence on the territory of a sovereign country called Zimbabwe of foreigners is enough offence to get those persons deported, let alone understating the number of persons who have unlawfully entered the State of Zimbabwe, and on that score, there is no politeness to be expected, he said. The State will invoke its rough hands in order to enforce the laws of the land, but to also get that foreign country to respect the sovereignty of that country. Let me make it very categorically clear that whilst this is a specific incident, the American government and its agencies are best advised that Zimbabwe is determined, capable and prepared to deport as many unlawful missions from any country, including mighty America, for as long as those countries are prepared to raise such unlawful missions which violate the integrity of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe, he added, shall be brutally efficient and use the full might of our law wherever the countrys sovereignty is threatened. That message must go out very, very clearly to all countries, including the Americans, he said. The size of the country, the military might of that country, the economic might of that country, the diplomatic might of that country is absolutely inconsequential when it comes to the sovereignty of this country and the need to preserve it. Mr Charamba said the teams mission to Zimbabwe was manifestly political and meant to gauge the political environment ahead of the 2028 harmonised elections. Washington was determined to modify its strategies regarding interference in Zimbabwes internal politics following the drubbing of their preferred party in last years general elections, he said. The mission of the quartet was intensely, exclusively political, he continued. It sought to interfere with the politics of this country in spite of the fact that Americans are no stakeholders in the politics of Zimbabwe. They have never been; should never be and will never be stakeholders in the politics of Zimbabwe. The same way that Zimbabwe is not a player in the politics of America. America, he said, must respect Zimbabwes sovereignty and refrain from interfering in Zimbabwes domestic politics. Again, let me make this very clear: if America thinks it has a holy mission to refashion the politics of this country after its own image of democracy, they are out for a very rude awakening. That kind of politics, that kind of meddlesome politics, simply will not be countenanced here. We are determined to frustrate them, to stop them in their tracks until they realise American political dreams are the preserve of the American people on American territory. They do not overspill to the continent of Africa, let alone to the polity of Zimbabwe. We have nothing to do with their politics, we have nothing to do with their model of dreaming. Any interference in the internal politics of Zimbabwe will be resisted, and will be resisted vehemently. The post-election politics of Zimbabwe are a question for Zimbabweans. They are not for the Americans; they are not an issue for the Americans; they are not an issue for American experts, least of all an issue for USAID. The teams meetings with members of the opposition were also described as suspicious. On February 10, Pearson and Kriger held a meeting with former Citizens Coalition for Change representative for Harare East constituency Rusty Markham at York Lodge. Sources added that the meeting focused on an intrusive exploration of the countrys macro-political economy. Sunday Mail THE Supreme Court has reserved judgment in the final appeal by former Deputy Finance Minister Terrence Mukupe against conviction, a three-year sentence and a fine of US$12 780 for smuggling 138 000 litres of diesel. He appealed against both conviction and sentence before the High Court, which confirmed both, but the Supreme Court did agree to hear a second appeal this week. A three-judge panel led by Justice Nicholas Mathonsi heard the appeal yesterday and reserved judgment. Mukupe was last year convicted along with drivers Sam Kapisoriso, Joseph Taderera and Leonard Mudzuto of unlawfully importing diesel without paying duty. The four were each sentenced to three and half years in jail with six months suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour. In addition, the court slapped each of the four with a fine of US$12 780 (or two years). The three drivers drove the tankers into Zimbabwe full of diesel with the papers saying it was en route to the Democratic Republic of Congo. But they replaced the fuel with water in Zimbabwe. After conviction, Mukupe and his accomplices lost bail and are in custody pending sentence. Mukupe and his accomplices were arrested in February 2017 and charged with fraud or alternatively contravening Section 174(1) (e) of the Customs and Excise Act with a false declaration. The court heard that on January 26, 2017, Kapisoriso, Mutsvene and Taderera entered the country through Forbes Border Post, driving tankers with diesel from Beira marked as being en-route to the DRC. While in Zimbabwe the three truck drivers allegedly connived with Mukupe to empty the tankers and replace the diesel with water. Upon arrival at Chirundu Border Post on January 31 as they proceeded to the DRC, a physical examination on samples of the contents in the tankers was carried out, which later showed that the tankers contained water and not diesel. Herald A WOMAN who deceived nine unsuspecting job seekers into believing that she could facilitate good paying jobs for them in Dubai before taking them to Oman where they were virtually enslaved, has been convicted of human trafficking. Caroline Ziyanga (42) is now awaiting sentencing after she was convicted on nine counts of trafficking persons after a full trial before Harare regional magistrate Mr Stanford Mambanje. Prosecutor Mr Oscar Madhume told the court that Ziyanga was a first offender who was working in cahoots with one Hamidah, the key player in the commission of the offence. Mr Madhume said there was need for the State to have a special circumstances inquiry to check if the court could impose the minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years . Mr Madhume proved that sometime in January 2022, Ziyanga acted in connivance with Hamidah to traffic women to Oman for the purposes of enslavement and sexual exploitation. She advertised non-existent lucrative jobs in Dubai through friends, relatives, associates and neighbours. The complainants were referred to her as she was known to be assisting people to get employment in Dubai where she claimed they would get paid a salary of US$800 per month. She also told the complainants about good working conditions which included free accommodation, time off and adequate food. Acting on that misrepresentation, the complainants accepted the offer as the deal looked lucrative. Ziyanga and her accomplice, Hamidah, processed visas and air tickets for destination Oman instead of Dubai. The complainants were then sold to the purported employers before they departed Zimbabwe. The complainants realised that they had been deceived on arrival in Oman where their passports were confiscated. They were then forced to start working as housemaids instead of nurse aides and were subjected to inhumane treatment. The court heard that the complainants would sleep way after midnight, were not given enough food and were deprived of freedom of movement. They were not given enough time to rest and some were sexually abused. Efforts to communicate with Ziyanga and Hamidah were fruitless. Eventually one of the complainants was able to get access to a phone and called her brother based in South Africa who alerted the authorities in Zimbabwe leading to Ziyangas arrest. Government intervened by sending an Anti Trafficking Ministerial Committee which facilitated their repatriation back to Zimbabwe. Herald It was, at the time, the "crime of the century"the 1932 kidnapping and murder of 20-month-old Charles Lindbergh Jr., son of the famed pilot. Bruno Richard Hauptmann was eventually executed for the 1932 crime, but as the New York Times reports, many continue to believe he was innocent. The story looks at two new fronts in the case: a push to apply modern DNA testing to evidence, and a jarring theory put forth in a book that points the finger at the child's celebrity father. DNA: The question of whether DNA tests should be conducted on ransom envelopes is working its way through the New Jersey courts. Advocates say other things should be tested as well, including the ladder left against the house. The state attorney general's office argues the tests are unnecessary and will "permanently alter and damage" historical items. But two of Hauptmann's relatives have provided DNA samples in case they're needed. "I personally don't think he did it," says great-great-niece Cezanne Love. But either way, she says she would like to know the truth. Women across Latin America bathed their city streets in purple on Friday in commemoration of International Women's Day at a time when advocates for gender rights in the region are witnessing both historic steps forward and major setbacks. Elsewhere, the right to an abortion officially became part of France's constitution, and Ireland voted on redefining gender roles. Demonstrations also were held in Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa, Afghanistan, Russia, and elsewhere. "Girls just wanna have fundamental human rights," a sign at a rally in Serbia said. International Women's Day is a national holiday in about 20 nations, including Russia, Ukraine, and Afghanistan. The events involved: The latest court order demanding that Donald Trump pay up has come from London. A judge there has determined that the former president owes $385,000 in legal fees to Orbis Business Intelligence, which he sued over the Christopher Steele dossier, CNN reports that court documents show. The UK courts last month threw out Trump's lawsuit against Steele's company over unverified, salacious allegations it contained that became public concerning the former president, who denied them. Trump's tab in the case could increase further. Another judge will decide later the total amount due from Trump, per CNBC; Orbis wants more to cover its legal costs. Trump's lawyers argued that the reimbursement should be low because the case was dismissed early, before Orbis had to file a defense. Judge Karen Steyn said Trump has to pay the $385,000 first, per ABC News, giving him 28 days to do so. A lawyer for the former president did not immediately comment on the order. (More Donald Trump stories.) Donald Trump rolled out a red carpetor employees didfor Viktor Orban at his Florida home, as well as Hungarian flags, welcoming the prime minister with effusive praise. "There's nobody that's better, smarter or a better leader than Viktor Orban," Trump told a gathering later Friday at Mar-a-Lago. "He's fantastic." The remarks were captured in videos posted to Orban's Instagram account, CNN reports. Orban, who has endorsed Trump's presidential candidacy, in turn posted on X: "We need leaders in the world who are respected and can bring peace. He is one of them! Come back and bring us peace, Mr. President!" Orban's trip was a rare instance of a world leader not meeting with the sitting president while in the US, per the Washington Post. The autocrat spoke in Washington on Thursday to the Heritage Foundation, which is closely connected to Trump politically. Unlike his two immediate predecessors, Trump welcomed Orban to the White House during his term. President Biden attacked Trump over the visit while campaigning on Friday. "You know who he's meeting with today, down in Mar-a-Lago? Orban of Hungary, who stated flatly he doesn't think democracy workshe's looking for dictatorship," the president told a rally, adding, "I see a future where we defend democracy, not diminish it." Trump, Orban, and their aides met for about an hour, per CNN. The Trump campaign said they discussed "a wide range of issues affecting Hungary and the United States, including the paramount importance of strong and secure borders to protect the sovereignty of each nation." Orban accompanied his host to a concert at Mar-a-Lago by Beatles and Rolling Stones tribute bands and the Palm Beach Symphony. Online videos show him presenting former first lady Melania Trump with a large bouquet of flowers while "Oh, Pretty Woman" was played. (More Donald Trump stories.) Tourism revenue is booming, with visitors reportedly seeking more scenery, history and culture. The food chefs prepare in cafes and restaurants forms an integral part of the tourist experience. But despite the laws of supply and demand, the situation for chefs is unlikely to improve without radical changes to work practices. Our study is the first quantitative survey to examine working conditions and mental health issues among chefs in both Australia and New Zealand. The survey was distributed through professional culinary associations, and final responses were captured as Australasia emerged from COVID restrictions. The survey also followed up previous Australian studies, which indicated exploitation was an industry norm, with chefs experiencing burnout and wage theft. 'Banter, bollockings and beatings' The kitchen environment is well documented to be particularly harsh. As one British study titled "Banter, bollockings and beatings" made clear, an often macho culture can prevail, including bizarre induction rituals. An Australian study published in 2022 showed chefs were significantly more likely than the general population to commit suicide. And even before the pandemic, the industry's "toxic" workplace culture was blamed for mental health issues and high suicide rates among employees. Most of our chef respondents were men, with an average age of 37. They had been chefs for 16 years on average. Of these, 42 percent originally came from outside Australia and New Zealand, underlining the profession's high mobility. The results reveal disturbing insights into chefs' working conditions. It was surprising to find nearly half (44 percent) of our sample were in precarious employment, given the skills shortage. Two-thirds (67 percent) of respondents worked more than 38 hours weekly, but a fifth of the chefs worked 52-61 hours. Of these, 6.33 percent worked 62 hours or more well above New Zealand's still commonplace 40-hour work week, and Australia's legally prescribed 38 hours. Despite the fast-paced environment, a quarter did not get their legally entitled breaks. Economic insecurity was very evident. Financial hardship was reported by almost one in five chefs (15-20 percent), and a quarter of respondents went without meals due to financial pressure. That those who feed others struggle to feed themselves seems a dark irony. Two-thirds also reported working when sick, an average of nine days each a year. Post-COVID, this should concern health professionals, policy makers and the broader community. Leaving the industry The 2023 Umbrella Wellbeing report, which recorded New Zealanders' perceptions of their workplaces and wellbeing, warns that long working hours and poor workplace cultures have adverse health outcomes, with New Zealand faring worse than Australia. Nearly one in ten of the chefs surveyed suffered mental distress. Results showed high levels of physical and mental fatigue ("exhausted at work", "emotionally drained", "becoming disconnected"). Respondents reported disrupted sleep and unhealthy lifestyles. Almost 15 percent of the sample consumed alcohol five or more days weekly, with 11.4 percent saying they had consumed hard drugs (LSD, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine or ecstasy) in the past year. Charlottesville has one month to finalize a proposed $251 million budget, and teachers are pleading with the city to allocate $2 million more to the school system. A budget proposal adopted by the Charlottesville School Board for the upcoming fiscal year asks for $76 million. City Manager Sam Sanders proposal, which will have to be approved by City Council, would provide the division with $74 million. It would be a $7 million increase from last year, but less than the $9 million increase sought by the school system. And that $9 million is less than the $12 million that Superintendent Royal Gurley originally wanted for his schools. The school board adopted the $9 million budget increase in early February, and now teachers and some community members are trying to convince Council to somehow find a way to meet their request. But it wont be easy. While Sanders proposed budget his first since being named city manager last year is balanced, it also asks for tax increases. If councilors are going to give the school division the additional $2 million it desires, they may have to raise taxes beyond what Sanders proposed or take money away from another item on the budget. Charlottesvilles teachers want Council to figure it out. We already cut down to fewer dollars than what our schools actually need, Dave Koenig, a teacher at Lugo-McGinness Academy, said at a Council meeting Tuesday. Koenig and other teachers who spoke during public comment said that although budget conversations can be mundane, the numbers have real consequences for Charlottesvilles schoolchildren. He asked Council to demonstrate that the city is committed to education by putting more money into schools. Those things that we prioritize, those things that we value, will be fully funded. Those things that we do not value will be given short shrift, Koenig said. Council had three top funding priorities that Sanders had to account for: collective bargaining for the new teacher union, employee compensation and investment in schools. This is what you have prioritized, Sanders told Council, based on a strategic five-year plan the body created last year. Its important for us to never lose sight of that as we do the work for the city; were doing it with this in mind. These are the guardrails that you have set for us. There were substantive investments in each of Councils priority areas, made possible by an expected 10% increase in revenue. Thats $23 million, the majority of which is projected to come from real estate assessment increases and a strong performance from sales, meals and lodging taxes as well as earnings on interest. But a portion of it, $6.2 million, would come from the proposed tax increases: the meals tax increasing from 6.5% to 7.5%, the lodging tax from 8% to 9%, and the property tax rate from $0.96 per $100 of assessed value to $0.98 cents per $100 of assessed value. Raising taxes is never easy and never taken lightly, Sanders said, noting that he redirected $2.5 million directly from departmental budgets and another $2 million from proposed vacancy savings. It was important to me to demonstrate a willingness to share in the challenges of this budget cycle. One way the upcoming budget could bring additional money for the school district is through help from the commonwealth. The General Assembly is under pressure from Virginia localities to fill a funding gap created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Charlottesville has lost $3 million in state revenue due to how Virginia calculates its funding: by looking at recent enrollment data. Current funding has been determined by looking at 2021 enrollment numbers. Thats a problem for Charlottesville and other localities, which have seen increases in enrollment since the pandemic ended. While the school system isnt back up to pre-pandemic enrollment numbers, its close and has a couple hundred more students than it did in 2021. So the commonwealth is sending enough money to account for that 2021 enrollment level, but not enough to meet the recent jump in student population. Our enrollment is rising. Our funding is decreasing, Gurley told Council. Council and the school board will be hoping the General Assembly and Gov. Glenn Youngkin can come to an agreement to bring in more money. But theres no guarantee they will, or that an agreement would come before early April, when the city is required to finalize its budget. If the money doesnt come, the financial burden will fall upon local taxpayers. My hope is we can get a firm number out of the state which should hopefully add more money to the budget and hopefully reduce need from the city. But we cant plan for that. We have to plan for the worst-case scenario, Chris Meyer, who sits on the school board, told The Daily Progress. The school divisions proposed budget aims to bring more support to both teachers and students. That includes $2 million for school-based programs, such as site-based substitutes: full-time substitute teachers that are assigned to a school for an entire year, assisting teachers throughout the school and available to fill in if one is absent. The feedback we continue to hear is to keep our teachers in the profession, they need to be able to do their job, and thus the importance of having the site-based substitutes, Gurley said. It also includes continued funding for Knight School, an alternative night school program introduced at Charlottesville High School in late 2023 that the school division has said is seeing good results. We have already started to see the return on academic investment for Knight School, Gurley said. Were providing our students an alternative way to learn and be successful. Theyre thriving, theyre showing up, and so our commitment there is an increase of $218,000. Shannon Gillikin, president of the Charlottesville teacher union, said she worries the program dedicated to helping high school students could be terminated. Were starting to see a return on investment, and its a hugely creative effort by those teachers, and itd be a shame to see that disappear after just a year of doing it, Gillikin said. One clear difference in recent years at the division is an influx in students who dont speak English. In the spring of 2021, the division had 455 students who speak English as a second language, or ESL students. Last fall, the number rose to 700. This winter, it is expected to rise to 747. A big reason we had the jump is we had change in national leadership, which means a change in policy which means more refugees, said Gillikin, who teaches kindergarten at Jackson-Via. Twelve of her 23 students last year spoke a different language at home. But not just one language. Between those 12 students, there were six different native languages. Instructing students who are still learning English requires not just general education teachers but also ESL instructors. We really appreciate all the new immigrants and refugees that have been entering the system, but they are not just served by one teacher. They need another to teach them English, said Meyer. Gurley is calling for a 2-for-1 ration, requiring two staffers for every student. If we continue on this trajectory, then when I stand her next school year, we will have a student enrollment that will have more than 800 requiring English language learning services. That means over 20% of our population will need those services in some form, he said. Meyer noted that 54% of the student body is low-income, and as the city has committed to building more affordable housing, it means more students moving to Charlottesville. We all have said countless times we value affordable housing, we understand the importance of affordable housing. I just think that somewhere in the big picture weve forgotten what the affordable housing does in terms of student enrollment, he said. When I stand here next year, the student enrollment in this specific area is going to trend up. Council will have to consider many options if it wants to close the $2 million funding gap, and can likely expect increased pressure from teachers and other advocates. If property taxes need to be raised, please raise them, Koenig said. My wife and I are both teachers. Were not wealthy, but were doing OK and Id be happy to pay a little bit more to see our schools and our children get what they need. Michael Salvatierra, a teacher at Trailblazers Elementary, formerly Venable, also pleaded with the body to find a way to bring more money into the school system. We have seen the biggest way that we can support all of our kids is to attract, mentor, retain, compensate and reward good teachers, he said. Its not about just leaning on the goodwill of teachers, its about actually listening to the teachers that are in the classroom every day with the kids. So when we say we need more staffing, we need more funding, we need more support, please listen to us. The story was updated to reflect that Charlottesville City Manager Sam Sander's current proposed tax increases do not require General Assembly approval. The tire debris landed in an employee parking lot at the airport, Yakel said. Several cars were damaged but there were no reports of injuries, he said. United flight 35, with 249 passengers and crew onboard, was diverted to Los Angeles and landed shortly after 1:20 p.m., the airline told CNN. A new aircraft was being arranged for those impacted. Do you guys know where that tire went? an American Airlines pilot can be heard asking air traffic control after being informed of the incident as other flights were redirected, according to audio captured by LiveATC.net. No, so its probably going to be a few minutes for you guys, the controller responded. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com A group of advanced F-16 Block 70 fighter jets yesterday arrived at the Isa Air Base of the Bahrain Defence Forces Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF). The fighter jets are the first batch of military aircraft included in the RBAFs Hamad Falcons project. Lieuetant-General Abdulla bin Hassan Al Nuaimi, Defence Affairs Minister, was present. The F-16 Block 70, a cutting-edge variant of the renowned F-16 Fighting Falcon, stands as a pinnacle of modern aerial warfare technology. Engineered by Lockheed Martin, this jet boasts a formidable array of capabilities, including stateof-the-art avionics, enhanced weapons systems, and superior manoeuvrability. Equipped with advanced radar systems and precision-guided weaponry, the F-16 Block 70 is adept at conducting a wide range of missions, from air superiority and close air support to reconnaissance and interdiction. AFP | Kabul, Afghanistan The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Small groups of Afghan women on Friday staged rare demonstrations to mark International Women's Day in private spaces, after a crackdown by Taliban authorities forced activists off the streets. Since surging back to power in August 2021, Taliban authorities have imposed a strict interpretation of Islam, with women bearing the brunt of curbs the United Nations has labelled "gender apartheid". Women have been squeezed from public life, barred from travelling without a male relative and banned from certain jobs, secondary school and university, as well as from parks, fairs and gyms. A handful of women in several provinces gathered to demand restrictions be lifted, according to activists from the Purple Saturdays group, which protests Taliban government curbs on women. In northern Takhar province, images circulated by activists showed seven women holding papers obscuring their faces, reading "Rights, Justice, Freedom". "Our silence and fear is the biggest weapon of the Taliban," a demonstrator whose face was covered said in a video. In Balkh province, several women also held up signs saying "Don't give the Taliban a chance" in front of a banner reading "Save Afghanistan Women". On Thursday, around 20 women gathered at an office for an event organised by the Afghanistan Association of the Blind in northern Mazar-i-Sharif city. "The gates of schools, universities and offices should be opened for all women," said one attendee, who remained anonymous for security reasons, during the meeting. "It is very painful that a woman has no value in our society today. She cannot use any of her rights." "Women make up half of human society as mothers, wives, sisters, daughters and teachers. The holy religion of Islam is not against women's work and education," another added. - 'Vicious cycle' - Also on Thursday, the Independent Coalition of Afghanistan Women's Protest Movement issued a statement demanding "immediate and serious action from the international community against the clear violation of human rights and obvious crimes the Taliban are committing against Afghan women". The UN mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, on Friday urged the Taliban government to lift restrictions on women and girls, saying not doing so risked "further pushing the country into deeper poverty and isolation". "The space for Afghan women and girls continues to shrink at an alarming pace, and with it Afghanistan's future prospects to escape a vicious cycle of war, poverty, and isolation," said Alison Davidian, Special Representative for UN Women in Afghanistan, in a statement. Taliban authorities have repeatedly dismissed such international criticism as propaganda. On Friday, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the Taliban government was committed to women's rights within the framework of Islam, according to an interview with Tolo News. Women have protested sporadically against rules handed down by the Taliban authorities, but often in small groups and indoors out of fear of reprisals, after several activists were detained for months. On Friday, the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, called on the Taliban government "to immediately and unconditionally release all those who have been arbitrarily detained for defending human rights, especially the rights of women and girls". Street protests in Afghanistan have in the past been broken up by security forces firing guns into the air, including during a demonstration last summer after beauty salons were shut down. Last March, about 20 women held a rare protest in the streets of Kabul for International Women's Day. Thank you for reading! To read this article and more, subscribe now for as little as $1.99. A former Director of Special Duties in Senator Godswill Akpabios 2023 campaign council, Zion Umoh has refuted allegations of fraudulently trying to obtain money from the United States Agency for International Development, USAID. The allegations against Umoh have consequently led to a war of words with the office of the Senate President, over the controversial letter seeking development funds from USAID. The alleged letter dated November 13, 2023, addressed to the USAID Mission Director in Abuja, was requesting the sum of N700 million from the US agency, allegedly for educational projects and programmes in Akwa Ibom Northwest, Ikot Ekpene, senatorial district, which is the Senate Presidents native district. A senior legislative aide to the Senate President, Mfon Patrick had accused Zion Umoh of posing as the director of special duties to the Senate President to write the letter, saying it is a clear case of impersonation and fraud. However, Umoh, who had worked as the Director of Special Duties for Akpabio in the past denied the allegations, insisting he did not write the letter to USAID. He claimed that the plan had been hatched to defame his character before the Senate President and members of the public He explained, Arch Ubokutom Nyah was the Campaign Director General for Senator Godswill Akpabio. He appointed me the Director of Special Duties and he can testify that my Office had or has no letterhead. I did not write any letter. There is no way I would have written a letter demanding funds without the letter passing through the Office of the DG Arch Ubokobong Nya. The signature on the letter is not my own. The fake letter is published on social media by a senior legislative aide to The Senate President. I travelled to the United Kingdom on the 15th Day of August 2023 and have not visited Nigeria till date. I dont understand how USAID Abuja received a letter from me on the 13th of November 2023. I have never in my life written a letter that has to do with contract or supply and I have no registered company in Nigeria. Umoh disclosed that he has asked his lawyers to initiate legal action against the Office of the Senate President to clear his name. He also urged security agencies to compel the Office of the Senate President and USAIDs mission director to produce the author of the fake letter. In a reaction, the senior legislative aide to the Senate President, Mfon Patrick insisted the letter emanated from Umoh. Zion Umoh worked as the Director of Special Duties in Senator Akpabios campaign council last year. He wasnt and hasnt been appointed by the Senate President into any office named Special Duties. It is an act of fraud for Umoh to have posed as the Director of Special Duties in the Office of the Senate President to write the letter to USAID requesting educational development funds for Ikot Ekpene senatorial district. We are not going to allow this matter slip because it is an attempt to tarnish the integrity of the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio. The Anambra State Police Command said it intercepted a kidnap gang on Friday and rescued four men already abducted by the dare-devil kidnappers. The state police spokesman, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a press statement on Saturday, adding that the kidnappers were taking the victims to an unknown destination before they were intercepted. Ikenga said the police operatives, while on patrol with the local vigilantes, intercepted the kidnappers along the Amagu-Awgbu Road in Orumba North Local Government Area as they were heading towards an exit route from the state. He said, The gang, which opened fire sporadically on sighting the patrol team, bowed to police-vigilante superior firepower. Two of the three vehicles the gang operated with were demobilised. While a remnant of the gang escaped in the third vehicle, other gangsters fled into the bush on foot with bullet wounds. One pump action gun was recovered during the encounter. Also recovered were two SUVs one 2017 edition of Toyota Highlander with registration number Abuja GWA 141 KZ and one Mercedes Benz GLK 350 4Matic with registration number Anambra AGU 242 NQ. Preliminary inquiry revealed that the number plates on the Mercedes Benz SUV were issued to a Toyota Sienna Spacewagon vehicle. The spokesperson added that four abducted victims were rescued unhurt from the gang. Preliminary debriefing to ascertain circumstances of their abduction are ongoing. He added that the state Commissioner of Police, CP Aderemi Adeoye, who described the rescue of the victims as heroic, has commended the effective collaboration between the police and vigilantes across the state. He emphasised that once the protection of the citizenry is the focus, the police will work seamlessly with all relevant stakeholders to eradicate every threat that may be confronting the people. The Commissioner of Police has directed that the case be transferred to the anti-kidnapping unit in Awkuzu. He has mandated the unit to deploy its expertise in tracking down gang members who escaped the onslaught at Awgbu and bring them to justice, Ikenga added. Dmitry Medvedev, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, on Friday described the United States President, Joe Biden, as a mad disgrace to the US. Medvedev said Biden had no right to compare himself to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Biden opened his State of the Union address on Thursday with a reference to a 1941 speech to Congress in which Roosevelt said the union faced an unprecedented turning point in history. Biden also accused Republican rival, Donald Trump of kowtowing to Russia, two weeks after calling Putin a crazy SOB. However, Putins ally wrote on X: Even though Roosevelt was an infirm man in a wheelchair, he raised America from the Depression; Biden, on the other hand, is a mad, mentally disabled individual who set his mind on dragging humanity to hell. Roosevelt together with allies including the U.S.S.R., was fighting for peace; yet, Biden is actively and persistently trying to start WWIII. Roosevelt was fighting against fascists, but Biden is fighting for them, Medvedev wrote in English. He is the United States disgrace. Medvedev, who cast himself as a liberal moderniser when he was President from 2008-2012, now presents himself as an anti-Western Kremlin hawk. A Hamilton police officer and another unidentified individual were both shot Friday evening while the officer was responding to a domestic violence call, authorities said. The incident happened around 10 p.m. Friday night on Orchard Avenue, according to Casey DeBlasio, a spokeswoman for the Mercer County Prosecutors Office. The officer was rushed to Capital Health Regional Medical Center for treatment and is expected to survive, according to a social media post from the department. Hamilton Police Chief Kenneth DeBoskey said Saturday the officer was expected to survive his injuries but declined to comment further, citing the attorney generals probe. A reminder about the dangers all police officers face, Hamilton Township mayor Jeff Martin wrote in a Facebook post early Saturday morning. Please pray for him, his family, and the HTPD family during this stressful time. The New Jersey Police Benevolent Association posted a status update on X (formerly known as Twitter) about the officer Saturday saying he was recovering after surgery. He is resting comfortably and has been up and talking today, the PBA said. It was not immediately clear whether the other person shot was a suspect. DeBlasio referred questions to the state Attorney Generals Office, which handles investigations of police shootings. A request for comment from that office was not immediately returned. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matthew Enuco may be reached at Menuco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Matt on X One person was killed and a Hamilton Township police officer was wounded during a shooting Friday night following a domestic violence call, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said Saturday afternoon. Hamilton police responded to the incident shortly after 10 p.m. Friday night on the 1800 block of Orchard Avenue and were met with gunfire, authorities said. A man with a rifle exchanged gunfire with responding officers and struck one officer multiple times, the Attorney Generals Office said. The armed man was fatally wounded and pronounced dead at the scene Friday night, authorities said. A firearm was recovered near the person killed. The wounded officer was transported to Capital Health Regional Medical Center and underwent surgery, authorities said. He was recovering Saturday morning, according to the New Jersey Police Benevolent Association. The PBA said the officer was resting comfortably and has been up and talking today. Our thoughts are with the officer and his partner who responded last night, and with the family of the decedent who suffered a tragic loss, Platkin said in a statement Saturday afternoon. We will also keep the entire Hamilton Township Police Department and the loved ones of all those affected in our prayers. The incident is currently under investigation by my Office and that investigation will follow the established protocol, Platkin added. Hamilton Police Chief Kenneth DeBoskey also said Saturday the wounded officer is expected to survive his injuries. DeBoskey declined further comment, citing the attorney generals probe. A reminder about the dangers all police officers face, Hamilton Township mayor Jeff Martin wrote in a Facebook post early Saturday morning. Please pray for him, his family, and the HTPD family during this stressful time. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matthew Enuco may be reached at Menuco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Matt on X Commuters and advocates made their final arguments against a proposed 15% fare increase, as speakers packed NJ Transits boardroom in Newark Friday night and told officials to vote it down. Friday was the end of a public comment period on the potential hike. NJ Transits board of directors is scheduled to vote on the fare increase on April 10. Pending approval it would take effect on July 1. After that, the proposal calls for an automatic 3% annual fare increase starting on July 1, 2025, and occurring annually without an end date. It also would end the discounted FlexPass ticket and put a 30-day limit on the life of tickets, which now dont expire. While advocates said that vote should be put off until the state budget was approved, many of the 34 people who testified during the two-hour session said the quality of service doesnt warrant a 15% fare increase and will have a sharp economic effect on riders. Kweli Campbell of Orange commutes to a job in Brooklyn and invited NJ Transit board members to ride her Morris & Essex train to see if the service is worth a 15% increase. I can get there in an hour if everything is on time. That is not often the case, she said. It doesnt justify the increase. Her concern was more about the impact of a fare hike on her co-passengers, working class people of color who use the train to get work at all different hours of the day. We have Black and Brown people who rely on the train to go to work, Campbell said. A fare increase to these communities of color is egregious. I can think of nothing I can say that will change what you guys think. Take the train and see what it is. Several criticized NJ Transits decision to approve a 25-year lease on new offices at 2 Gateway Center for $500 million, including George Kalfer. He suggested Gov. Phil Murphy should press the MTA to get revenue from its proposed $15 congestion pricing fee to enter lower Manhattan. Get your spending under control before you ask for more revenue, Kalfer said. It looks like you will get more passengers due to congestion pricing but we heard nothing about getting our share of the money. John Reichman, an Empower NJ steering committee member, questioned why Murphy was more concerned about opposing New Yorks congestion pricing plan, which he said impacts fewer people than raising NJ Transit fares. If this fare increase is approved, the vast majority of those commuting into New York will be paying more for their commutes, not because of congestion pricing, but because of the governors proposal and this boards rubber stamp, Reichman said. Where is the governors concern and empathy for essential workers who have no choice but to use mass transit? Others took issue with the 3% annual hike. I urge the board to vote no, said Alana Little of Jersey City This is a 30% increase in the next 6 years, its a huge burden on working New Jerseyans and people who cant afford a car. Meanwhile theres no guaranteed improvement. While commuter Alexander Arevalo said a fare increase could be justified since there have been increased costs since the last fare increase in 2015, the other aspects of the proposal eliminating FlexPass, and a 30-day expiration limit on tickets concerned him. Eliminating FlexPass affects riders like me who commute three times a week, a one way ticket is $7.75, a FlexPass brings it to $6.24, Arevalo said. When you eliminate FlexPass and take the total fare hike as proposed, my fare will go up $8.90, a 43% increase. On a monthly basis, were talking hundreds of dollars. He suggested NJ Transit follow New Yorks MTA which has a 60-day expiration date for tickets, calling it, more reasonable. While transit and environmental advocates made the case that Gov. Murphys proposed business transit fee will provide enough revenue to avert a forecasted fiscal gap caused by the ending of federal COVID-19 aid to avert a fare increase, individual commuters said fares shouldnt be hiked. I hope you take what you heard back to the governor and vote no, rider Eric Benson said to two board of directors members at the hearing. Ive heard story after story about riders struggling with no other option. The agency is letting them down. Several senior citizens talked about their concern that people on a fixed income will have to choose between transportation and essentials such as food and medicine. Of concern is that low-income local bus riders would be hardest hit by this fare increase because it charges the poorest riders the full percentage of the increase. Past fare increases spared local bus riders from the full percentage of fare hikes in 2010 and 2015. This isnt a little percentage, it jumps to 15% and then 3%, said Vincent Fedor of Bayonne, who said he is a disabled person who rides the bus and light rail. People are deciding whether to (buy) food or shelter...its appalling they want to raise it this high. The 15% fare increase proposal was introduced on Jan. 24. In addition to $44 million in non-service cost-cutting and $52 million in revenue enhancements, a predicted $119 million budget gap is brought to $106 million, an amount that the fare increase would cover. The message from everyone is clear, youd shouldnt balance NJ Transits budget on the backs of riders, said Doug OMalley, Environment NJs executive director. Instead, the governor and the legislative leadership need to provide dedicated funding and enough funding to end this fare hike. The proposed increase would raise the cost of a one zone bus fare from $1.60 to $1.80, a trip from Jersey City to the Port Authority bus terminal in New York would increase from $3.50 to $4, bus fare from Toms River to New York City would rise from $21.25 to $24.40, according to agency documents. Rail fare would increase from $16 to $18.40 for a one-way trip from Princeton Junction to New York. Light rail fare will increase from $2.25 to $2.55 on Hudson-Bergen, and from $1.60 to $1.80 on Newark and Riverline light rail. Proposed fare tables are on NJ Transits website. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @CommutingLarry. The Mountain Creek ski resort in Sussex County is planning a big change as another unseasonably warm winter nears a conclusion. Officials are planning to add an automated snowmaking system to Vernon Peak in time for the 2024-25 season starting in November, according to an announcement from the resort. The $5 million Vernon Automation Project will cover several popular trails, including the Upper and Lower Horizon, Cab Ride, Sugar Slope and the Learning Area. Adding an automated snowmaking system will enable Mountain Creek to activate and deactivate its snowmaking guns and better control the flow of snow, the resort said. This project will be our next step towards the future of snowmaking at Mountain Creek. Not only will it allow us to get the resort open faster, but it will also allow us to open up with higher quality snow and expedite our ability to get more terrain open faster, said Evan Kovach, general manager of Mountain Creek. Mountain Creek officials said their goal is to fully automate all snowmaking operations. That would give the resort a significant advantage in the future especially in the early season, and times of marginal snowmaking weather conditions, allowing us to not only produce more snow in shorter weather windows, but also reduce our overall energy consumption associated with snowmaking operations, Mountain Creek said in its Feb. 20 announcement. Mountain Creek currently relies on manually operated snow guns, including fan guns and air guns, officials told NJ Advance Media last year. More than 1,000 snowmaking machines are used to blanket 170 acres of trails. For the first phase of the project, the resort said it is partnering with TechnoAlpin, a snowmaking technology company based in Italy with a U.S. office in Colorado. Machine-made snow remains controversial among some climatologists. Though snow-making equipment has become more environmentally friendly in recent years, critics say the process still relies on energy from power plants and fossil fuels and creates air pollution. However, many ski resorts could not remain open if they only relied on natural snow to cover their trails. Earlier this week, as rain soaked the mountain and temperatures were in the low 50s, Mountain Creek announced that in order to preserve the snow pack it did not open South and Bear Peak. It also closed other trails early. As part of the new snowmaking project, Mountain Creek said it will add 40 energy-efficient fan guns, enabling workers to move current snowmaking machines to other locations. The snowmaking system update will also include replacing snowmaking pipes, hydrants and pump stations, while adding automation controls and durable ductile iron pipes. Seven lakes atop the mountain supply water for the snowmaking system, Mountain Creek officials said previously. Approximately 180 million gallons are used every season, according to the resort. Thats enough to fill 272 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism you rely on and trust. Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Thousands gathered in Atlantic City for a St. Patricks Day parade that brought revelers to the citys iconic boardwalk. Actor Kelsey Grammer, celebrated for his TV roles on Cheers and Frasier and, more recently, for turning up at bars throughout New Jersey while promoting his brewery, was the grand marshal. This is the busiest of four parade weekends in March honoring St. Patrick, the primary patron saint of Ireland. At least 14 parades were scheduled to be held in New Jersey on Saturday and Sunday. Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey, currently a candidate for mayor of Jersey City, will be the grand marshal of the Jersey City St. Patricks Day parade on Sunday. Five parades were held last weekend, including one of the largest in New Jersey, the 51st Belmar-Lake Como St. Patricks Day parade. By March 23, more than 30 parades will have been held in New Jersey, a state in which Irish has been the second most common ancestry after Italian. Approximately 1.1 million residents, or 11.9%, reported a familial connection to Ireland in 2020 U.S. Census data, down from 14% in 2016. The actual St. Patricks Day holiday is Sunday, March 17. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism you rely on and trust. Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. An Ocean County man was sentenced to four years in prison Friday for a motor vehicle crash from 2020 in Berkeley Township that left a woman severely injured, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said Saturday. William Andujar, 52, of Whiting pleaded guilty in December 2023 to aggravated assault in the accident after it was discovered he was under the influence of alcohol and methadone at the time of the incident, authorities said. On Nov. 2, 2020, Berkeley Township police responded to a crash on West Pinewald Keswick Road at approximately 7 p.m. An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutors Offices major crimes and vehicular homicide unit found that Andujar was traveling westbound and rear-ended another car driven by a 44-year-old South Toms River woman, authorities said. The impact forced both vehicles off the road and into a wooded area, officials said. The woman sustained serious injuries and was airlifted to Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune for treatment and later released from the hospital, but is still recovering from her injuries, officials said. Andujar was also injured in the crash and taken to Jersey Shore Medical Center where a warrant was obtained to draw blood for a sobriety test, authorities said. Lab results indicated that Andujars blood alcohol level at the time blood was drawn was .18, well over the states legal limit of .08, according to authorities Saturday. Officials said that a significant amount of methadone was found in Andujars system as well. Andujar was subsequently arrested on Nov. 24, 2020 and charged with assault by automobile, authorities said. He was later charged with aggravated assault on Dec. 8, 2020 as a result of further developments in the investigation, the Ocean County Prosecutors Office said. Andujar has been lodged in the Ocean County Jail since his arrest in November 2020 and must serve 85% of his sentence under the No Early Release Act. He was given an additional one-year sentence Friday to be served consecutively for probation violations, officials said. An attorney for Andujar was not immediately reachable Saturday. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Matthew Enuco may be reached at Menuco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Matt on X Six-day (Tuesday through Sunday) print subscribers of the Watertown Daily Times are eligible for full access to NNY360, the NNY360 mobile app, and the Watertown Daily Times e-edition, all at no additional cost. If you have an existing six-day print subscription to the Watertown Daily Times, please make sure your email address on file matches your NNY360 account email. You can sign up or manage your print subscription using the options below. Watertown, NY (13601) Today Variably cloudy with snow showers. High 38F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 90%. Snowfall around one inch.. Tonight Cloudy with snow showers mainly during the evening. Low 26F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 50%. Despite the best efforts of everyone involved except Mayor LaToya Cantrell, Laffaire du Pontalba continues to roil. In the latest, perhaps saddest chapter of Cantrells use of a city-owned apartment on Jackson Square, the New Orleans City Council on March 7 voted five to two to begin eviction proceedings against her. This saga began 18 months ago as an embarrassing but hardly career-ending scandal over the mayor living rent free in the citys apartment and allegedly missing multiple official meetings while spending time there. It has since blown up into a major news story. At a minimum, the mayor appears to have violated at least one city ordinance, continued to reap an economic benefit at taxpayers expense, and forced the City Council into the role of a nagging parent pestering a child to sit up and act right. It also has larger implications stemming from Cantrells relationship with her chief bodyguard, not the least of which is possible payroll fraud. According to reports, the feds are looking into this and other matters. This scandal has, at times, seemed tragically comedic, but there are serious issues at stake as well. The mayor has publicly thumbed her nose at the council and taxpayers and not for the first time. She has taken to issuing bitter, late-night missives, which only reinforce her critics claim that shes not up to the job. Truth is this scandal continues to follow her around because Cantrell herself keeps it alive. If she had vacated the apartment when the council passed its first ordinance last spring or when council members passed a second ordinance in August nobody would be talking about it. Instead, this dustup shines a metaphorical light on her larger problems. WWL-TVs David Hammer dropped a bombshell on March 5 with his investigative story on Cantrells 2019 firing of former Safety and Permits Deputy Director Jennifer Cecil. Relying on emails, documents and a secret recording, Hammer exposed the mayor appearing to conspire to fire Cecil for investigating allegations of self-dealing by a local businessman and at least one inspector in Cecils department. According to Hammer, the feds are looking into this as well. In fact, the mayor has been hounded by talk of federal investigations into several of her dealings, from her alleged use of campaign funds to buy clothes to allegations of official corruption and misappropriation of city funds. At one point, in response to persistent queries about whether she had received a target letter from the feds, the mayor uttered a convoluted, Orwellian non-denial. The feds remain tight-lipped, as required and as appropriate. Even a no comment by federal investigators can damage an innocent persons reputation and undermine prosecutorial efforts. Nevertheless, reporting by The Times-Picayune and others has made clear the feds are looking closely at Cantrell. Some reports even say the investigation is nearly complete. Time will tell. Regardless of whether Cantrell faces any legal consequences, this much is certain: LaToya Cantrell remains her own worst enemy. Hey Blake, Hurwitz Mintz furniture store recently advertised its 100th anniversary sale. Who are (or were) the Hurwitz and Mintz in the stores name? Dear reader, Joseph Hurwitz and Morris Mintz were brothers-in-law and Russian Jewish immigrants who came to New Orleans in 1920 and opened their furniture store together soon after. An Oct. 11, 1925 New Orleans Item article advertised their new store at 217-219 Royal St., across from the Hotel Monteleone. The location had been a furniture store in the past, operated by W.G. Tebault. Three fundamental principles underlie our business, frame our policy and constitute the essentials of our pledge (to the public), the owners said in the Item article. They are quality of merchandise, sound values and real service. In later years, Hurwitz Mintz expanded to include the building at 211 Royal St. The business name is still visible in tiles on the sidewalk out front, although the location closed after Hurricane Katrina. Mintz died in 1945, while Hurwitz died in 1965. The business remained in the hands of family members, including Mintzs son Ellis, who joined in the 1930s by working summers in the furniture warehouse. During his more than 60 years at the helm, the company became one of the leading furniture stores in the region. In the 1970s and 1980s, TV actors Barbara Feldon (best known for Get Smart) and Batman star Adam West even appeared in commercials for the store. In 1971, Hurwitz Mintz opened another French Quarter furniture store, called Units, at 227 Chartres St. It sold more contemporary furniture before closing in 2004. In 1974, as the company marked its 50th anniversary, it also opened a new warehouse in the 6000 block of Press Street. All of this is being done because in the coming years we feel that even greater emphasis will be placed upon the home, dictated not only by more leisure hours, but also by a more sophisticated public, said Ellis Mintz in 1974. Today, his son Mitchell is president and CEO of the business, which since 2000 has been headquartered at its showroom and warehouse on Airline Drive in Metairie. Another business with roots in the French Quarter is also celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. In 1924, Sicilian immigrant Bartholomew Perrone opened Progress Grocery in the 900 block of Decatur Street near the French Market. His food import business predated the grocery, with some sources dating his business, known as B. Perrone & Sons, to 1922. Among their stocks are many rare foods that are really hard to get, explained a 1950 Times-Picayune article. They feature complete lines of Italian, Greek, Arabic and Syrian foods, as well as many other products from Portugal, Spain, France and Switzerland. Progress is best known for its Italian offerings, however, including its version of the muffuletta, the New Orleans-born, Sicilian-style sandwich of meats and cheeses which, like Progress longtime neighbor, Central Grocery, it claimed to have originated. The store on Decatur closed in 2000, but the family business now known as Perrone & Sons, LLC is a gourmet food wholesaler run by members of the third and fourth generations of the family. The company supplies restaurants and grocery stores in the metro area with food products, including its famous muffulettas. Blights Motors in Clovelly Road, Bideford, are this year celebrating 91 years in business. As part of marking this major milestone the Blight family has recently installed a community defibrillator on the Spar Shop Wall by the Esso Fuel Forecourt. This has been funded and installed by Blights Motors and supported/part funded by the London Hearts Charity in conjunction with the Department of Health & Social Care. This potentially life-saving machine is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week and is registered with the South West Ambulance Trust and other emergency services. Tim and Nick said: Blights Motors are really pleased to give something back to our local community. We have many hundreds of customers who visit us every day both for the Shop, Fuel and MG car dealership as well as all the houses located around us. We hope there will not be a need to use it, but it might just save a life one day. The chance of survival decreases by 10 percent every minute after a cardiac arrest, which means every second counts. The agricultural industry is one of the most important sectors of the Northern Devon economy. Whilst it is not the biggest generator of economic activity, it is a fact that a successful farming industry is critical to almost every aspect of our daily lives. We learnt during foot and mouth how extensive the impact of agriculture is. During that period of lockdown, we established that every farm had a relationship with around (mostly local) 25 other businesses. Agriculture is therefore a key driver of many of our staple industries. The farming industry has been through a rollercoaster over the last few years. Brexit was a difficult moment. In part, the farming industry was keen to get rid of red tape and the burden of bureaucracy. In practice, however, many of the most valuable grant schemes, that have helped the agricultural industry, came through the European support programmes. These funding streams have now disappeared. Brexit has also meant that many of the well established trading markets with near Europe are having to be reinvented. All this is both disruptive and time consuming for the sector. It also remains the case that farming is hugely vulnerable to the forces of nature. Northern Devon is no stranger to wind and rain. The last few years however have proved to be even more testing than normal, with major increases in rainfall. Most recently, up to a 300 per cent increase from last year. Our meteorologists tell us that we should get used to these weather extremes. The implications for normal farming practices are however highly significant, with access to the land being severely constrained and the need for stock rearing to be conducted indoors, with major implications for feed costs and management. The government has also been conducting a major change in the way in which the farming industry is supported. The traditional method, through Basic Farm Payments, is being phased out and replaced by Payment for Environmental Services. The main plank of this policy is delivery through the Sustainable Farming Incentive. It is however a simple fact that more than 60 per cent of our farmers relied upon Basic Farm Payments just to break even or make a small profit, without this the viability of farming becomes extremely marginal. Many farmers are taking early retirement. Far too many farms have no succession plan. The average age of our farmers is creeping close to 60-years-old. It is the case that more farms are now being sold to non-farmers, than to farmers. The inevitable consequence of this, is that our ability to be self-supporting in food production as a nation is rapidly declining towards 50 per cent. We are more dependent now than ever on foreign imports particularly for vegetable and salad crops. Currently in the UK we grow only around 16 per cent of the tomatoes we consume, the same of pears and plums and 14 per cent of lettuces, raspberries and apples. Whilst there are some great examples of innovation around, things like vertical farming, which is all conducted within an enclosed environment, are slowly progressing but are terrifyingly expensive to set up and maintain. The government has yet again been reviewing their position and has undoubtedly been spooked by the strength of feeling across the UK and in Europe that the wrong balance has been struck between basic agriculture and environmental protection. Somewhat unexpectedly, the Prime Minister pitched up to the recent annual NFU conference with a package of goodies. Government will now find an additional 427million of grants for the sector this year. Grants for productivity schemes will double from 91m last financial year to 220m this year. On top of this around 220m will also be allocated to help farmers adopt future-focused technologies. This good news continued when the Environment Secretary Steve Barclay announced an uplift of 10 per cent under the Sustainable Farming Incentive and Country Stewardship schemes beginning in July 2024. This all sounds great but what in practise does it mean? These initiatives are designed to allow farmers to diversify by opening shops, offices and other rural businesses without full planning permission. To encourage investment in robots to help with planting and harvesting thereby reducing the need for seasonal labour. To put food security at the top of government policy thereby reducing the reliance on import produce. To encourage innovation such as gene-editing to boost crop resilience to disease. To encourage digital automation systems, energy efficient technologies and interestingly rooftop solar rather than ground-mounted panels to safeguard land for food production. There is however a sting in the tail with these new announcements in the form of increased enforcement of environmental protection, particularly for our watercourses. The fact that agriculture is a huge contributor to four types of pollution is well evidenced. It is the biggest source of river pollution - more than the water industry (40 per cent affected by agricultural run-off compared with 36 per cent affected by sewage). Half of all nitrates in rivers derive from farming. More than 30 per cent of air pollution in cities comes from agriculture in the surrounding area. Also, farming is a big contributor to climate change being the main source in the UK of two of the most powerful greenhouse gases being nitrous oxide and methane. Northern Devon needs a thriving and viable farming industry. These Government announcements could be a new dawn or they could just be a moment in the world of politics. We cannot take this on chance. The new money and initiatives are a great opportunity for a step change but this cannot mean ignoring the pollution the industry causes. GARY Smiles were aplenty Saturday for some preschoolers and their families. Faith Child Care Center cut the ribbon on a renovation that triples the facilitys size, creating learning opportunities for preschool students. The project received a $200,000 grant from United Way Northwest Indiana and Early Learning Indiana. The grant supported the renovation of the center, including adding more classrooms and bathrooms. The expansion provides space for 40 more students to have access to early education. Among those celebrating the expansion was Sandy Schmitz, whose foster daughter is enrolled in Geminus HeadStart. This is awesome, Schmitz said. When (the girl) first came here, she could not read letters or numbers. Now she can spell and read. Shes really grown exponentially. Partnering with United Way of Northwest Indiana allowed our dreams to become a reality, said Tonika Davis-Peeples, owner of Faith Child Care Center. Early Learning Center provided $100,000 for the project, which United Way NWI matched. Early Learning Centers mission is to ensure every child is empowered with essential skills to thrive in kindergarten and beyond. Adam ODoherty, president and CEO of United Way NWI, noted, Childcare is a huge need for working families. Were blessed to be a small part of making this dream come true. With two locations, Faith Child Care Center started in a home in 2014. Love Feast Church of God in Christ, located next to the center, discontinued its childcare program. Davis-Peeples took it over and moved into the current center in 2020. Today the center serves 102 children from birth through age 12. Today I feel great. I feel truly, truly blessed, Davis-Peeples said. This is an opportunity to reach out to more families. Im very hopeful we will continue to grow and provide quality childcare. Tamera Jones, operational director of the center, said the facility provides learning, engagement, and meals. Parents may drop off children anytime between 6:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Using Creative Curriculum, Jones said, staff have assessment tools to finalize learning strategies for children. For children with developmental issues, Jones continued, appointments with therapists can be made. Geminus HeadStart serves older students. Jones, whose 5-year-old son Ethan is a preschooler in the program, noted I love the care and attention children receive here. Parents in the program receive help through Level Up, a United Way NWI program to help employed adults improve themselves and earn higher wages. The program teaches life skills and financial literacy. The facility already had a room for 2-year-olds. In addition to restrooms, the expansion provides a classroom for ages 3-5 and prekindergarten, with room for 20 students in each. Each classroom features tables, chairs, manipulatives, blocks, areas for arts, writing, science, music, and dramatics, technology and a safe place for students. Sinead Robinson, whose four-year-old son Noah Beckford has been in the program since he was two and a half, called Faith Center amazing, citing the interaction between staff and parents. Ive become more involved here with his education and this has helped me learn more, Robinson said. Brighter Futures Indiana cites five benefits to early children education, including improved social skills, links to greater success in life, more freedom to parents to study and work, screenings for health and behavioral issues, and a positive impact on society. Noting that the construction project began in February, 2023, Jones commented, This has been a journey. Chuck Hughes, president and CEO of the Gary Chamber of Commerce, thanked all the families of Faith Child Care Center, calling them an example of what community building is all about. GALLERY: The Times Photos of the Week A person is in police custody following a shooting in Valparaiso Friday afternoon. Officers responded to the 350 block of South Locust Street at approximately 3:50 p.m. after being alerted of a person being shot, according to Valparaiso police. Upon arriving to the scene, police went directly to where the victim was located, having sustained a gunshot wound. A second individual was located on the scene and indicated he was directly involved in the shooting, police say. The victim was transported from the scene for additional medical treatment. According to police, the shooting appears to be an isolated incident and there is no known threat to the community. Valparaiso police are not providing any further information as the investigation into the shooting remains ongoing. Anyone with information related to the incident are asked to contact Valparaiso police at 219-462-2135. Information can also be sent by texting "Valpo" to TIP411 (847-411). Those who text their tip are asked to include the word "Locust" in the first line of their message. Gallery: Recent arrests booked into the Porter County Jail Renee Sorensen Lisa Lomeli Rileigh Smoot Joseph Laguna Joshua Boyd Francisco Zelaya Christopher Spencer Mark Stovall Jr. Bryan Kenzie Joseph Mercer Elaine Serrano Donnell Christoff Damian Frost Kevin Jernigan Guy Augustyn Saraya Bush Jake Smith Isiah Johnson Alyse Bilka Susan Turek Evelyn Vann Rui Soares Katlyn Richardson Randy Nichols Jamy Hotchkiss Jacob Dahn Rena Hernandez Gavin Lentz Rachel Ong Raven Welch Sheba Brown Javier Huizar Amber Wagner-Grinion Alex Wilson-Sayre Alexis Pearson Randy Varboncoeur Tonya Hill Rios Thomas Maxwell Jr. Pedro Galarza III Tiana Dixon Diane Dodrill Robert Berry Joseph Searer Joshua Murray Valparaiso University has announced it will be offering a master's program in social work later this year. It will be offered as a part-time online program with a limited summer residency starting this fall. A full-time in-person option will begin in the summer of 2025. For students with a bachelor's degree in social work, an advanced standing option will start in the summer of 2026. The three primary professional pathways offered by the master's program will be a direct practice pathway catered to students who want to use their skills in a clinical setting, a macro practice pathway for those who want to engage in broader social and systemic issues, and an individualized pathway that allows students flexibility to meet their specific interests and professional goals. According to VU, the master's degree in social work will allow students to enter the workforce as "advanced generalist practitioners" and find employment in areas including schools, hospitals and nonprofit organizations. "The MSW [master's in social work] will provide new opportunities that highlight Valpo's commitment to quality and integrity. Students will be challenged and supported as we prepare passionate leaders to serve and practice at the forefront of social change," said Caroline Ban, the program director of the university's social work department. The master's program is currently in a multi-year process of seeking accreditation which would be retroactive to students beginning this fall. More information regarding the master's in social work program is available at valpo.edu/social-work/master-of-social-work/. Close Nursing students learn the basics in the skill center before moving on to the simulation center at Valparaiso University. Valparaiso University Simulation Specialist Susie Zaweski explains the use of simulators in the Sim Center to Valparaiso City Council President Robert Cotton in the Sim Center. Valparaiso University President Jose Padilla speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University Director of the Center for Experiential Learning Gail Kost speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. U.S. Congressman Frank Mrvan speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University President Jose Padilla speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University President Jose Padilla speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University Simulation Specialist Susie Zaweski explains the use of simulators in the Sim Center to Valparaiso City Council President Robert Cotton in the Sim Center. Valparaiso University Assistant Dean Lynette Rayman speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University nursing student Eleanor Schuler speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University nursing student Mariya O'Grady speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. U.S. Congressman Frank Mrvan speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. U.S. Congressman Frank Mrvan speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University Assistant Dean Lynette Rayman speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. U.S. Congressman Frank Mrvan speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. PHOTOS: $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program Nursing students learn the basics in the skill center before moving on to the simulation center at Valparaiso University. Valparaiso University Simulation Specialist Susie Zaweski explains the use of simulators in the Sim Center to Valparaiso City Council President Robert Cotton in the Sim Center. Valparaiso University President Jose Padilla speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University Director of the Center for Experiential Learning Gail Kost speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. U.S. Congressman Frank Mrvan speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University President Jose Padilla speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University President Jose Padilla speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University Simulation Specialist Susie Zaweski explains the use of simulators in the Sim Center to Valparaiso City Council President Robert Cotton in the Sim Center. Valparaiso University Assistant Dean Lynette Rayman speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University nursing student Eleanor Schuler speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University nursing student Mariya O'Grady speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. U.S. Congressman Frank Mrvan speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. U.S. Congressman Frank Mrvan speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Valparaiso University Assistant Dean Lynette Rayman speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. U.S. Congressman Frank Mrvan speaks at a press conference announcing $1 million in federal funding secured for Valparaiso University nursing program. Richard Truly, a naval aviator and astronaut who flew aboard two early space shuttle missions and, as NASAs associate administrator, guided the agencys return to space after the Challenger disaster, died on Feb. 27 at his home in Genesee, Colo. He was 86. The cause was atypical Parkinsons disease, according to his wife, Colleen (Hanner) Truly. Mr. Truly joined NASA in 1969, but he didnt venture into space for 12 years, when he was the pilot of the shuttle programs second orbital flight. The success of that flight proved that NASA could safely relaunch the Columbia shuttle, seven months after its maiden flight, and safely return it to earth. Its over 9,000 is perhaps the most popular line in the English dub of the Dragon Ball Z series. The line is beloved for its drama; its an exclamation referring to the unmatched power level of the main character, Son Goku. It was an ongoing joke in my middle school and became one of the internets most enduring memes. But Goku was always an exemplar of staying power, back from his beginnings in the Dragon Ball manga created by Akira Toriyama, whose death was confirmed on Friday. Toriyama is the creator of the manga Dr. Slump and Sand Land but is best known for Dragon Ball, which first published in 1984 and for years ran in the popular Japanese magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. It was successful from the start, but as more people around the world learned about it, Dragon Ball attained such levels of popularity that it became one of the standard-bearers of anime. Despite the prominence of greats like Hayao Miyazaki and the recent surge of live-action adaptations in the United States, its still fairly rare that a manga or anime even given the massive scope, breadth and history of the art form achieves crossover appeal to mainstream Western media. There have been a few big exceptions. Pokemon. Naruto. And Dragon Ball. Howard H. Hiatt, a physician, scientist and academic who reshaped the field of public health, steering it away from the narrow study of infectious diseases toward big-picture issues of fiscal and societal accountability in medicine, died on Saturday at his home in Cambridge, Mass. He was 98. His son Jonathan Hiatt said the cause was pulmonary hypertension. Harvard Public Health, a magazine published by the Harvard School of Public Health, where Dr. Hiatt was dean for 12 years, wrote in 2013 that Dr. Hiatt made public health the conscience of medicine. Early in his seven-decade career, Dr. Hiatt worked in Paris with future Nobel Prize winners on the discovery of messenger RNA, a key element of cellular biology. He later visited the White House to urge President Ronald Reagan to end the nuclear arms buildup of the era, which Dr. Hiatt called the final epidemic. A Harvard-trained physician who held leadership posts at some of the countrys most prestigious hospitals, Dr. Hiatt was an outspoken critic of the inequities in American health care. He accused American medicine of having a bias toward expensive, high-tech treatments while excluding millions of people from basic care. A 46-year-old man died Friday night after police officers in Queens shot at him four times and used a Taser because they said he was wielding a knife after a dispute at a social gathering, the authorities said. At around 6:50 p.m., the police responded to reports of an assault on the second floor of an apartment building in the Forest Hills section of Queens. As officers left a staircase into the second-floor hallway, the police said, they found a man, who was believed to have stabbed a woman, holding a knife. Officers yelled at the man to drop the knife, but he charged at them instead, Jeffrey Maddrey, the chief of department, said at a news conference Friday night. A sergeant discharged his Taser as two other officers fired their guns, the police said. The man later died at a nearby hospital, the police said. Body camera footage has not been released, but Chief Maddrey said that the officers had been wearing cameras that recorded the incident and that he had seen it. He added that security cameras in the building had recorded the man as he left an apartment with a knife and a woman as she left the same apartment holding her stomach, which was bleeding. She was later taken to the hospital with at least two stab wounds, the police said. We asked 10 Times columnists and contributors to watch the State of the Union address on Thursday and rate President Bidens performance. (A rating of one meant that the night was a disaster, 10 that it was a triumph.) Most were impressed. Some were a bit surprised. Where has this Joe Biden been hiding these past three years? Bret Stephens asked. Michelle Goldberg wrote, What an unexpectedly rousing speech! We also wanted to know what our readers thought, so we asked you to rate the speech and share what you thought were the best and worst moments. More than 1,000 of you wrote back. Here are a selection of your responses, edited for length and clarity: Rating Bidens speech 10: I found myself clapping alone in my living room and thinking, Give em hell, Joe. The Republicans needed a smack down. And his staring down the Supreme Court justices while quoting Samuel Alito? Women will show up and vote in record numbers. Marguerite Dee, 72, Tampa, Fla. 6: Was it feisty or angry? While I support most of President Bidens positions, the delivery came across as an old man yelling at kids to get off his lawn. I wanted more calm and confidence to reinforce he is still up to the job. Mike Wade, 67, Berlin, Md. A federal judge on Friday allowed the Biden administration to continue a program that it has used to give temporary legal status to hundreds of thousands of citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Known as humanitarian parole, the program has offered people from the troubled countries an alternative to entering the United States illegally, and has been central to the administrations strategy to curb the influx of migrants arriving at the U.S. southern border. President Biden has faced considerable criticism for his administrations handling of the border, and Texas and other Republican-led states had sued the administration to block the parole program. But Judge Drew B. Tipton of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas sided with the administration, saying the states had failed to establish they had standing on any of their claims. The Homeland Security secretary, Alejandro N. Mayorkas, said he was pleased by the decision in a statement on Friday, calling the program a key element of our efforts to address the unprecedented level of migration throughout our hemisphere. The White House is so concerned about the security risks of TikTok that federal workers are not allowed to use the app on their government phones. Top Biden administration officials have even helped craft legislation that could ban TikTok in the United States. But those concerns were pushed aside on Thursday, the night of President Bidens State of the Union address, when dozens of social media influencers many of them TikTok stars were invited to the White House for a watch party. The crowd took selfies in the State Dining Room, drank bubbly with the first lady and waved to Mr. Biden from the White House balcony as he left to deliver his speech to Congress. Dont jump, I need you! Mr. Biden shouted to the young influencers filming from above, in a scene that was captured naturally in a TikTok video, which was beamed out to hundreds of thousands of people. A Trump supporter who prosecutors say fired a pistol into the air on the grounds of the Capitol as a mob stormed the building on Jan. 6, 2021, was charged on Friday with firearm offenses, trespassing and interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder. The man, John Banuelos, fired at least two shots into the air while standing above the crowd on scaffolding on the west side of the Capitol, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in Federal District Court in Washington. It does not appear that Mr. Banuelos entered the Capitol. But before the shots were fired, prosecutors say, he posed for a photo wearing a Trump 2020 cowboy hat and showing off a pistol tucked into his waistband. One of the most persistent lies about the Capitol attack often made by Republican politicians and right-wing media figures is that none of the hundreds of rioters who stormed the building had guns. On Thursday night, former President Donald J. Trump repeated the false claim on social media while responding to remarks about Jan. 6 that President Biden had made during his State of the Union address. The so-called Insurrectionists that he talks about had no guns, Mr. Trump wrote. They only had a Rigged Election. The Biden administrations floating pier and causeway for humanitarian aid could, when completed, help deliver as many as two million meals a day for residents of Gaza, but the project will take at least a month and maybe two to complete, the Pentagon said on Friday. The details for the pier and causeway plan, President Bidens latest idea to get around Israels blocking of aid deliveries via all but two land crossings, were outlined by the Pentagon press secretary, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, in a news conference on Friday. Aid organizations have welcomed the plan, which was announced on Thursday, days after the U.S. military began airdropping supplies into Gaza. But aid workers say that the maritime project is not ambitious enough to alleviate the humanitarian disaster unfolding as Israel continues to bombard the Gaza Strip. General Ryder said that one of the main military units involved in the construction of the floating pier for Gaza would be the Armys 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), out of Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., near Norfolk. Some 1,000 American service members, he said, will work to complete the pier and causeway. The floating pier, General Ryder said, would be built and assembled alongside an Army ship off the Gaza coast. Army ships are large, lumbering vessels, so they will need armed escorts, particularly as they get within range of Gazas coast, Defense Department officials said, and officials are working through how to ensure their protection as the pier is built. Describing the project, a U.S. Army official said that, typically, a large vessel would sit off shore of the desired location, and a Roll-on-Roll-off Discharge Facility a big floating dock would be constructed next to the ship to serve as a holding area. When any cargo or equipment is driven or placed onto the floating dock, it can then be loaded onto smaller Navy boats and moved toward a temporary causeway anchored onshore. The United Nations human rights chief on Friday condemned Israeli plans to build more than 3,000 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank, warning that settlement expansion amounts to a war crime. The Israeli government has shrugged off criticism from the United States and others to move ahead with its building plans, which come as tensions have soared in the West Bank since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack on Israel prompted all-out war in Gaza. The West Bank is already in crisis, the U.N.s rights chief, Volker Turk, said, yet, settler violence and settlement-related violations have reached shocking new levels, and risk eliminating any practical possibility of establishing a viable Palestinian state. Roughly 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the occupied West Bank, where the Israeli military rules over roughly 2.7 million Palestinians. Much of the Israeli right believes Israel should control the West Bank in perpetuity, while Palestinians see the area as integral to their aspirations for an independent state. Mr. Turks comments accompanied a report released by his office that said the expansion of settlements and a dramatic rise in associated violence and discrimination against Palestinians, particularly since Oct. 7, have taken the West Bank to the brink of catastrophe. Settler violence had already reached record levels in 2023, with 835 incidents recorded before the Oct. 7 attack. Since then, settler violence has skyrocketed, the U.N. said, with another 603 settler attacks reported. The U.N. reported nine Palestinians killed by settlers using firearms and 396 killed by Israeli security forces, with two other Palestinian deaths that could not be attributed. More than 1,200 Palestinian herders had been forced from their homes as a direct result of settler violence and close to 600 Palestinians, the U.N. reported. Israels latest plan to build 3,476 new settler homes follows construction of 23,000 new homes in the 12 months that ended in October, the U.N. human rights office reported, representing the fastest rate of expansion since monitoring started in 2017. The expansion represents a transfer of Israels population to occupied territory, which is prohibited under international law and amounts to a war crime, the U.N. said. The policies of Israels current government appear aligned to an unprecedented extent with the goals of its settler movement to expand long-term control over the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and to steadily integrate this occupied territory into Israel, the U.N. said. It cited the appointment of Bezalel Smotrich, the Israeli finance minister and a settler, as an additional minister in the defense ministry with widespread powers over the West Bank, including over the designation of land, planning and property demolitions. Israel had recorded 468,000 Jewish Israelis in the West Bank at the end of 2022, the report noted and, in May 2023, Mr. Smotrich presented a two-year plan to attract another half-million Israelis to move there. As BMW car bodies glided down an assembly line in Munich recently, showered by sparks from robotic welders, it was hard to tell which vehicles would be powered by batteries, fuel-burning engines or both. In the view of many analysts, that is not a good thing. The German automakers electric vehicles are made on the same assembly line as gasoline cars and look similar from the outside. That approach, using the same basic body for electric, hybrid, gasoline and diesel cars, has been viewed as an awkward and inefficient compromise some established carmakers have deployed as they struggle to compete with Tesla and emerging Chinese automakers that produce cars designed solely for battery power. But confounding the pundits, BMWs strategy has paid off. The company sold 376,000 electric vehicles last year, including some under its Mini brand, a 75 percent increase from the previous year. In the luxury segment, BMW was second only to Tesla, which remained dominant with 1.8 million cars. Electric vehicles accounted for 15 percent of BMW sales in 2023, up from 9 percent the previous year. The companys growth comes as sales of electric vehicles have risen at a slower pace overall around the world. What is even more surprising is that BMW, unlike General Motors or Ford Motor, made a profit on the electric vehicles it sold. The Justice Department has begun a criminal investigation into Boeing after a panel on one of the companys planes blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight in early January, a person familiar with the matter said. The airline said it was cooperating with the inquiry. In an event like this, its normal for the D.O.J. to be conducting an investigation, Alaska Airlines said in a statement. We are fully cooperating and do not believe we are a target of the investigation. Boeing had no comment. On Jan. 5, a panel on a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet operated by Alaska Airlines blew out in midair, exposing passengers to the outside air thousands of feet above ground. There were no serious injuries resulting from that incident, but it could have been catastrophic had the panel blown out minutes later, at a higher altitude. The panel is known as a door plug and is used to cover a gap left by an unneeded exit door. A preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board suggested that the plane may have left Boeings factory without the plug bolted down. In December 2018, a team of federal law enforcement agents flew to Amsterdam to interview a witness in a yearslong criminal investigation into Caterpillar, which had avoided billions of dollars of income taxes by shifting profits to a Swiss subsidiary. A few hours before the interview was set to begin, the agents were startled to hear that the Justice Department was telling them to cancel the long-planned meeting. The interview was never rescheduled, and the investigation would limp along for another few years before culminating, in late 2022, with a victory for Caterpillar. The Internal Revenue Service told the giant industrial company to pay less than a quarter of the back taxes the government once claimed that Caterpillar owed and did not impose any penalties. The criminal investigation was closed without charges being filed and even without agents having the chance to review records seized from the company. Caterpillar appears to have defused the investigation at least in part by deploying a type of raw legal power that rarely becomes publicly visible. This account is based on interviews with people familiar with the investigation, regulatory filings and internal Justice Department emails provided to Senate investigators and reviewed by The New York Times. For the past two decades, Liz Birenbaums 88-year-old mother, Marge, has received her Social Security check on the second Wednesday of each month. Its her sole source of income, which pays for her room at a long-term care center, where she landed last October after having a stroke. When the deposit didnt arrive in January, they logged into Marges Social Security account, where they found some startling clues: the last four digits of a bank account number that didnt match her own, at a bank they didnt recognize. Someone had gotten in, said Ms. Birenbaum, of Chappaqua, N.Y. Then I hit a panic button. It quickly became evident that a fraudster had redirected the $2,452 benefit to an unknown Citibank account. Marge, who lives in Minnesota, had never banked there. (Ms. Birenbaum requested to refer to her mother by her first name only to protect her from future fraud.) Ms. Birenbaum immediately started making calls to set things right. When she finally connected with a Social Security representative from a local office in a Bloomington, Minn., the rep casually mentioned that this happens all the time. In todays high-tech, high-stakes auto industry, fortunes can change quickly, and theres no better example of that right now than Toyota Motor. Not long ago, it looked as if Toyota had fallen dangerously behind in electric vehicles. Tesla, the electric car pioneer, has grown rapidly and become the worlds most valuable automaker. Seeing Teslas success, other companies, such as General Motors and Ford Motor, concluded that large numbers of consumers were poised to switch to battery-powered cars and trucks and began investing tens of billions of dollars to catch up. Toyota, however, was more deliberate or lethargic, its critics would say. It has introduced just two fully electric models in the United States so far, betting that its gas-electric hybrids and plug-in hybrid vehicles, which it has become known for, would remain popular and were sufficient to address climate change for now. Amid all the enthusiasm for electric vehicles in the last few years, it seemed Toyota just didnt get it. If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you, he will not, President Biden said during his State of the Union address on Thursday night. Europe is at risk, he added, as he welcomed Ulf Kristersson, the prime minister of Sweden, the newest member of NATO. But Mr. Biden also said he remains determined that American soldiers will not be necessary to defend Europe. As a White House spokesman put it last week, it is crystal clear that the use of ground troops is off the table. Mr. Kristerssons head must have been spinning. The prospect of further Russian incursions was the strongest argument that the United States relied on to draw NATO into the war, and to draw new members, like Sweden, into NATO. But if such incursions were a genuine concern, then ground troops would be an option for the United States and its allies almost by definition. The rationale for NATO participation in the Russo-Ukrainian war is getting fuzzier at the very moment when one would expect it to be getting clearer. When President Biden weighs American policy toward Gaza, may he think of a gentle scholar named Mohammed Alshannat. Alshannat is a Palestinian in Gaza who at the start of the war was working remotely on his Ph.D. dissertation in linguistics for Rhodes University in South Africa. He is the opposite of Hamas, for in his writing he has criticized suicide bombings and rocket firings. He admires European democracy and argues that Arabs and Jews can live in harmony. I have been texting him during the war, but his main outside contact has been Lindsay Houghton, a fellow doctoral student at Rhodes. With Alshannats permission, I am quoting from his texts to Houghton. I cannot independently verify what he writes, but it meshes with what aid workers describe. I have trimmed for length, but he wrote in English and these are his words: Oct. 11: The situation in Gaza is very grave. Forgive me as I couldnt reply any sooner. I was running for my life. Pray for us please! Oct. 25: My children are very, very sick. They are sick, hungry, thirsty and scared. My kidney stone medicine has run out and I have been drinking salty water. Please pray for my children. Joe Biden is one of the most unpopular presidents in modern American history. In Gallup polling, his approval ratings are lower than those of any other president embarking on a re-election campaign, from Dwight Eisenhower to Donald Trump. Yet an air of mystery hangs around his lousy polling numbers. As The Washington Free Beacons Joe Simonson noted recently, just surfing around most American media and pop culture, you probably wouldnt realize that Bidens job approval ratings are quite so historically terrible, worse by far than Trumps at the same point in his term. Apart from anxiety about his age, there isnt a chattering-class consensus or common shorthand for why his presidency is such a political flop. Which is why, perhaps, there was a rush to declare his State of the Union address a rip-roaring success, as though all Biden needs to do to right things is to talk loudly through more than an hour of prepared remarks. When things went south for other recent chief executives, there was usually a clearer theory of what was happening. Trumps unpopularity was understood to reflect his chaos and craziness and authoritarian forays. The story of George W. Bushs descending polls was all about Iraq and Hurricane Katrina. When Barack Obama was at his polling nadir, most observers blamed the unemployment rate and the Obamacare backlash, and when Bill Clinton struggled through his first two years, there was a clear media narrative about his lack of discipline and White House scandals. Reality is what you make it at least according to those who believe in manifesting, the art and quasi-spiritual science of willing things into existence through the power of desire, attention and focus. Want to improve your health or make more money or get more Instagram followers? Believe hard enough, a host of TikTok manifesting influencers insist, and the vibes of the universe will bring what you desire into existence. In some ways, this is a new trend. The idea of manifesting as it is understood today rose to popularity as part of a boom in online spiritualism and self-help philosophy that emerged during the pandemic. According to Google data, online searches for manifesting rose more than 600 percent during the first few months of the pandemic. But while the idea of manifesting may seem modern, the instinct to conflate spiritual forces, political and economic outcomes and our own personal desires is part of a longstanding American tradition that dates back much, much farther than the pandemic. My most stressful moviegoing experience last year was not the mushroom cloud in Oppenheimer or the murder trial scenes in Anatomy of a Fall, but watching the story of a love triangle among a Korean American woman, a Korean guy and a white guy in the Oscar-nominated Past Lives. In the film, Nora, our 30-something heroine, and Arthur, her white husband, are living happily in New York when Nora is contacted by Hae Sung, her childhood sweetheart in South Korea, with whom she had reconnected online as a young adult. He tells her hes planning to visit the city. When he arrives, its clear he still has feelings for her. Given this situation, I knew at least one person would be very upset by the end of the movie. For most of the film, I felt that person was going to be me. On the one hand, as a Korean woman, I really wanted Nora to pick the Korean guy. As Arthur says to Nora, If this was a story someone was telling, Id be the evil white American husband keeping you two apart! Every Asian American woman is aware of a longstanding Hollywood trope: The white male savior who sweeps in to save an exotic Asian woman, a scenario that goes back at least as far as Anna May Wongs roles in the 1920s. The maddening corollary to the white savior trope is that the Asian guy never gets the girl. I still recall the incredulity my friends and I felt coming out of a theater in 1998 having just watched The Replacement Killers, a movie in which the dreamy Chow Yun-fat saves the gorgeous Mira Sorvino, yet it doesnt even occur to them to hook up. Now and then during an election cycle, a Republican pundit becomes something of a hero to Democrats. Peggy Noonan, a conservative Wall Street Journal columnist and former speechwriter for Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, filled that role in the months leading up the 2008 election, after she had pilloried the second Bush administration over its invasion of Iraq and criticized Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee. Nicolle Wallace and Steve Schmidt, veterans of John McCains failed 2008 presidential campaign, reached pundit primacy on MSNBC excoriating the tea party activists then in ascendance. A rising star of the current season is Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former communications director for President Trump who is now a co-host of ABCs The View and a regular commentator on CNN. Dr. Ronald V. LaRoche has not been able to cross into dangerous territory to inspect the hospital he runs in Haitis Delmas 18 neighborhood since it was ransacked by gangs last week, but a TikTok video he saw offered clues to its current condition: It was on fire. He learned from neighbors and others who dared venture into gang territory that Jude-Anne Hospital had been looted and cleared of anything of value. It was the second hospital he has had to close. They took everything the operating rooms, the X-rays, everything from the labs and the pharmacies, Dr. LaRoche said. Imagine! They are taking windows from hospitals! Doors! Haiti is in the throes of an uprising not seen in decades. As politicians around the region scramble to hash out a diplomatic solution to a political crisis that has the prime minister, Ariel Henry, stranded in Puerto Rico and gangs attacking police stations, a humanitarian disaster is quickly escalating. The food supply is threatened, and access to water and health care has been severely curtailed. More than two decades ago, Wayne Jones traveled to Daytona Beach, then Floridas spring break mecca, not to party but to study. His bosses at the Miami Beach Police Department, where he was a young officer, wanted to know how Daytona managed its famously rowdy crowds. Maybe Miami Beach, which had its own unruly scene every year over Memorial Day weekend, could learn a thing or two. Officer Jones is now Chief Jones of the Miami Beach Police. And Memorial Day is no longer the citys main concern: His most urgent task is bringing order to the weeks in March when Miami Beach gets inundated with spring breakers, a monthlong slog that has become a thorn in the citys side. Last year, the police made more than 500 arrests and confiscated more than 100 guns over the spring break period. But Chief Jones has high expectations. This is going to be the best spring break ever, he said in a recent interview at his South Beach office. I can feel it in my bones. In a new advertisement for his re-election campaign, President Biden tries to take one of his greatest perceived liabilities as a candidate, his age, and turn it into an advantage. Look, Im not a young guy. Thats no secret, says a smiling Mr. Biden, talking directly to the camera. But heres the deal: I understand how to get things done for the American people. The president, 81, goes on to list the accomplishments of his first term, including his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, capping insulin prices for older consumers and passing infrastructure legislation while contrasting his record with that of former President Donald J. Trump, the likely Republican nominee, whom he accuses of taking away the freedom of women to choose in reproductive matters. With a fiery State of the Union address under his belt, Mr. Biden is entering full campaign mode. The new ad is the first in a $30 million blitz that will target key battleground states over the next six weeks. Mr. Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their spouses are crisscrossing the country to host political events. And on Saturday, three Democratic groups representing people of color the AAPI Victory Fund, the Collective PAC and the Latino Victory Fund are endorsing Mr. Biden and pledging to spend another $30 million to turn their voters out. Early in his remarks in Rome, Ga., at what was effectively his first campaign rally of the general election, former President Donald J. Trump on Saturday blasted President Bidens State of the Union address as an angry, dark, hate-filled rant that was more divisive than unifying. He then mocked Mr. Bidens lifelong stutter, a jab that set the tone for the lengthy speech that followed. Over nearly two hours, Mr. Trump lobbed sharp personal attacks at Mr. Bidens mental and physical health and revived a litany of grievances against political opponents, prosecutors and television executives. He used inflammatory language to stoke fears about immigration, called the press criminals and repeated his false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him. Mr. Trump told thousands of his supporters gathered at the rally that everything Joe Biden touches turns to filth, though he used an expletive to describe the result. Everything. I tried finding a different word, but there are some words that cannot be duplicated. (He used the word, or a variant, at least four times in his speech.) The speech that Mr. Trump gave on Saturday was his first since Mr. Biden repeatedly attacked him and his policies in his State of the Union address. Joe Biden should not be shouting angrily at America, Mr. Trump said. America should be shouting angrily at Joe Biden. But his critiques moved toward personal insults. At one point, Mr. Trump slurred his words and pretended to stutter in a mocking imitation of the president, who has dealt with a stutter since childhood. A Biden campaign spokesman, T.J. Ducklo, responded to Mr. Trumps insults in a statement Sunday, contrasting the former presidents speech with Mr. Bidens State of the Union address. Thursday night President Biden spoke about the kind of America he wants for our future one based on the core values of honesty, decency, dignity, and respect for everyone values that are unrecognizable to Donald Trump. Trump thinks mocking people and taking away their rights makes him look strong. But it just reveals how weak and insecure he is. The former presidents speech in Georgia, a key battleground state that he narrowly lost in 2020, underscored that Mr. Trump is not likely to temper the ominous and at times apocalyptic vision that has animated his campaign, even as his last remaining Republican rival has dropped out and the general election has come into focus. As he has in the past, Mr. Trump insisted that the biggest danger facing the United States was his political opponents, whom he labeled the threat from within, a turn inward that has alarmed experts for its similarity to language used by totalitarian leaders. But in a speech replete with digressive rants, Mr. Trump reserved some of his most incendiary rhetoric to vilify migrants crossing the border illegally. Much of his speech was focused on immigration, an issue that he and his advisers have signaled will be central to his efforts to defeat Mr. Biden and return to the White House. While vowing to expand his crackdown on immigration, Mr. Trump described the continuing surge of migrants across the southern border as the agony of our people, the plunder of our cities, the sacking of our towns, the violation of our citizens and the conquest of our country. Mr. Trump also took aim at Mr. Bidens policies on immigration, in part by using the Georgia setting to blame his rival for the death of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was killed in the state last month by, according to the authorities, a Venezuelan migrant who had entered the country illegally and had been released on parole. Mr. Trump met with Ms. Rileys parents before taking the stage, and the Trump campaign distributed signs at the rally with Ms. Rileys photograph. During his speech, Mr. Trump accused Mr. Biden of neglecting the surge of migrants at the border, which he called a deadly invasion that stole precious Lakens beautiful American life. Mr. Trump often broadly casts those crossing the border illegally as violent criminals. The migrants are hurting people, Mr. Trump said. They talk about the beautiful dream of migrants. It sounds so nice, you know, like in a fairy-tale book. But some of these people are monsters. Border authorities, including some who worked for Mr. Trump, have said that most of the migrants who cross the border are members of families fleeing violence and poverty. But Ms. Rileys death has become a flashpoint in the nations heated debate over immigration policy, in part because it seems to adhere to Mr. Trumps long-stated belief that violent men from South America are flooding across the border to harm Americans. He was an illegal migrant, and he shouldnt have been in our country, and he never would have been under the Trump policy, Mr. Trump said of the man accused of killing Ms. Riley. Mr. Trump also attacked Mr. Biden for expressing regret that he used the word illegal to describe the man accused in Ms. Rileys death during an exchange at the State of the Union address on Thursday. Mr. Trump also lobbed several ad hominem attacks during the event. Of the former television anchor Megyn Kelly, with whom Mr. Trump sparred during his first presidential run, he said may she rest in peace. While talking about the success that his time on The Apprentice had brought NBC, he called Jeff Zucker, the networks former chief executive, an idiot. Mr. Trump also denigrated a number of prosecutors and judges involved in the criminal cases and multiple civil lawsuits in which he is entangled. He spent a considerable amount of time attacking Fani T. Willis, the district attorney prosecuting him over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. Mr. Trump called Ms. Willis corrupt, referring to allegations that she benefited financially after becoming romantically involved with a lawyer whom she hired on the case. (Ms. Willis has pushed back against those claims, calling them full of wild and reckless speculation.) He also repeated his false contention that he won in Georgia in 2020, maintaining that he had done nothing wrong when he called state elections officials, insisted that he had won Georgia and asked Georgias secretary of state to find the votes he needed to win. Perfect phone call, Mr. Trump said, other than we challenged the honesty of this election. This election was rigged. Maggie Haberman contributed reporting from New York. The opposition partys response to the State of the Union address is a golden opportunity for up-and-coming and lesser-known politicians to introduce themselves to the nation and boost their political profile. Such was the case for Katie Britt, a first-term Republican senator from Alabama who, despite being a newcomer to the national stage, has been mentioned as a possible choice to be Donald J. Trumps running mate. But her big debut on Thursday night has been marred by intense scrutiny of an anecdote at the center of her speech, which was delivered from her kitchen in Montgomery, Ala. The story, about a Mexican who was a victim of sex trafficking at the age of 12, came in the context of an attack on President Bidens border policies. In impassioned tones, Ms. Britt described a girl being raped multiple times a day in dire conditions at the hands of cartels before she was able to escape. This is the United States of America, and it is past time, in my opinion, that we start acting like it, Ms. Britt said. President Bidens border policies are a disgrace. A storm system that battered parts of the South with heavy rain on Saturday was expected to reach the Northeast, bringing with it the potential for coastal flooding and powerful winds, forecasters said. The city of Charleston, S.C., closed more than 20 roads in the downtown area as a result of heavy rain and high tides. Some reports indicated that up to 3.5 inches of rain fell in the downtown area, said Marc Chenard, a forecaster with the Weather Prediction Center. An area near the waterfront reported getting nearly two inches of rainfall in an hour, he said. In the Isle of Palms, a South Carolina city of 4,300 people that is about 15 miles east of Charleston, the police posted on social media urging residents to not be driving right now if you do not absolutely need to be as water levels continued to rise. Im afraid Im going to have to find a new grocery store, and Im not happy about it. Since Publix arrived in our fair city, Ive been a regular patron of the Northside Mall location. Its the closest to me, and over time I have learned where things are, if not exactly then at least the general proximity. However, its not my only grocery store. Theres another nearby, much smaller and more like the grocery stores of my youth. I couldnt tell you the name of it if you held a banana to my head. I call it the Cherokee IGA, because Im one of those people who tends to see things as they were as opposed to as they are. If I need almond milk, I head to Cherokee IGA. For my favorite grits, Conecuh sausage, or a particular type of biscuit, my destination is the Piggly Wiggly. For things like tahini paste, the store-made bread we like, or any of the rotating BOGOs, a Publix run is in order. Weve been known to drive a fur peace to shop at Aldi and Trader Joes, as each has particular things we cannot find elsewhere. I long for the grocery stores of days past. I was impressed by Albertsons, with its indirect lighting and seemingly unending aisles of goods. Then it became Brunos, and I still favored it, because it was close. My favorite remains the old Stephenson grocery store at Woodland and Fortner, long before they built a newer store, Stephenson-Smith IGA, and tore down the old building to create a parking lot. Now the newer store is gone, too. I miss the A&P stores; I could ride my bike a couple of blocks to the A&P and its neighboring Eckerds Drugs and buy myself some cheap candy and gum if I had some change in my pocket or drink bottles clanking around in my basket to return for the nickel deposit. I briefly counted myself among the Walmart superstore shoppers because I figured I could save a buck there. But as Walmart began to spread across the nation like toadstools after a spring rain, I noticed that the arrival of the big-box discount chain was like the infestation of a parasite, slowly killing off small local merchants like independent grocers and home-owned pharmacies. Years later, dollar stores would come along with a similar game plan. I once remarked to a colleague that Id noticed her small town had a new expanded Dollar General. Yeah! she replied. Its like going to the mall! A few blocks south, I also noticed several buildings that once housed some of the little towns longtime local businesses were dark and had for sale signs in the storefront windows. So I dont shop at Walmart anymore if I can help it. Im sure Im missed. And I may well not be shopping at Northside Mall Publix anymore, but its not the stores fault. I blame the cursed endless road construction, and the boneheaded idea to close the only entrance with a traffic signal. Now the only way in is to take your chances darting across the southbound lanes of the circle to get in or meandering through the maze around Chipotle and the oil change place to find the poorly marked exit next to where the Pizza Hut used to be. So Ill head out West Main Street to the Publix out that way; that journey has its challenges, too, but I have a hunch that Im less likely to be crashed into. And Ill surely be forced to learn my way around a new store layout. Then theyll move things around in the dead of night, as theyre wont to do. My father, who sold packaged soap and knew a lot about the grocery business, called this diabolical process a store reset. The idea was and I suppose still is that a customer who cant go straight to the self-rising flour they came for will likely find other things to buy while on their quest for the elusive Martha White. That, as they say, is how they gitcha. And despite knowing this, they git me every time. Im the guy who goes in to buy a couple of items needed to make a pizza at home, and leaves with $60 worth of stuff thatll go into the pizza. They git me every time. Voters in Ireland rejected two proposed changes to the countrys Constitution that would have removed language about womens duties being in the home and broadened the definition of family beyond marriage, dealing a blow to the government that analysts said suggested the weakness of their campaign to pass the proposals. After a series of referendums in recent years had reshaped Irelands Constitution in ways that reflect the countrys more secular and liberal modern identity, the result came as a surprise to some, including the government. But analysts said that rather than signaling a step back from those values, the results reflected a confusing, disjointed campaign that had left many voters reluctant to vote yes. Each proposal was defeated by a wide margin, according to the results, which were announced on Saturday, an unexpected defeat for equality campaigners and for the coalition government of Leo Varadkar, the taoiseach, or prime minister. Despite the fact that all of the countrys major political parties supported both proposals, some critics said the proposed clauses did not go far enough, while others faulted phrasing that they said was too broad. Pope Francis has reiterated in a new interview that Ukraine should negotiate to end the war with Russia, but this time he used language adopting his interviewers expression, white flag that has drawn attention and raised questions about whether the pope was suggesting that Ukraine surrender. On Saturday night, the Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, immediately clarified that the pope meant cease-fire and negotiation, not surrender, when he said white flag, a universal symbol for giving up. But the popes words and others he used during the interview have underscored how the Vatican has often bewildered Ukraines officials and supporters struggling to understand its position. Early in the war, many Ukrainians expressed frustration with Francis for his refusal to specifically call out Russia and its president, Vladimir V. Putin, as the aggressor in the conflict. When the eastern city of Avdiivka, a Ukrainian stronghold, fell to Russian forces three weeks ago, Kyiv and its allies feared that Moscows troops could build on their momentum and quickly press ahead toward strategic military hubs and population centers. But after making rapid gains in the subsequent days, Russian assaults have stalled around three contested nearby villages. Military experts cite several factors, including terrain that does not favor offensive operations, Russian troops exhausted by months of fighting and a Ukrainian army that has committed significant forces to defending the area. Russia seems to be maintaining its initiative on the battlefield, and military analysts say its forces could still break through Ukrainian lines in the near future, especially since Kyivs defensive efforts are increasingly curtailed by the absence of further American military aid. Yet for now, they say the fighting appears to have reverted to the kind of inconclusive back-and-forth battles that have characterized much of the wars front line combat this past year. As the United States military rushes to assemble a temporary port on the Gaza coast, daunting practical challenges to the seaborne humanitarian effort to stave off famine in the territory are becoming increasingly apparent. The obstacles include logistics, cost and security issues, diplomats and aid officials say. But the desperate conditions in Gaza, depicted in images of starving children, make the American-led international plan a necessity, they say, especially given the tight security imposed by Israel that is slowing land shipments of food, water and medicine. Even if it can overcome the hurdles, the international initiative is likely to take several weeks, if not months, to reach its goal of delivering two million meals a day to the people of Gaza. It is all too easy to trace the skull beneath the Gazan boys face, the pallid skin stretching tight over every curve of bone and sagging with every hollow. His chin juts with a disturbing sharpness. His flesh has shrunk and shriveled, life reduced to little more than a thin mask over an imminent death. In one of a series of news photographs of the boy, Yazan Kafarneh, taken with his familys permission as he struggled for his life, his long-lashed eyes stare out, unfocused. In that widely shared picture online, his right hand, bandaged over an intravenous line, contracts in on itself at an awkward angle, a visible marker of his cerebral palsy. He was 10, but in photographs from his last days at a clinic in southern Gaza, he looks both small for his age and at the same time ancient. By Monday, Yazan was dead. The pictures of Yazan circulating on social media have quickly made him the face of starvation in Gaza. Aid groups have warned that deaths from malnutrition-related causes have only just begun for Gazas more than two million people. Five months into Israels campaign against Hamas and its siege of Gaza, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are close to starvation, United Nations officials say. Almost no aid has reached northern Gaza for weeks, after major U.N. agencies mostly suspended their operations, citing mass looting of their cargoes by desperate Gazans, Israeli restrictions on convoys and the poor condition of roads damaged during the war. At least 20 Palestinian children have died from malnutrition and dehydration, according to Gazan health officials. Like Yazan, who required medicines that were in acutely short supply in Gaza, many of those who died also suffered from health conditions that further placed their lives at risk, health officials said. Even after last weeks nuclear threat, few believe that Mr. Putin will wake up one day and decide to lob megaton warheads at Washington or European capitals in retaliation for supporting Ukraine. What Western allies see as more likely is that Russia will use a so-called tactical nuclear weapon, which is less destructive and designed to strike targets over short distances to devastate military units on the battlefield. The strategic thinking behind those weapons is that they are far less damaging than city-destroying hydrogen bombs and therefore more usable in warfare. The United States estimates Russia has a stockpile of up to 2,000 tactical nuclear warheads, some small enough they fit in an artillery shell. But the detonation of any tactical nuclear weapon would be an unprecedented test of the dogma of deterrence, a theory that has underwritten Americas military policy for the past 70 years. The idea stipulates that adversaries are deterred from launching a nuclear attack against the United States or more than 30 of its treaty-covered allies because by doing so they risk an overwhelming counterattack. Possessing nuclear weapons isnt about winning a nuclear war, the theory goes; its about preventing one. It hinges upon a carefully calibrated balance of terror among nuclear states. Source: Federation of American Scientists Figures and dates are based on estimates of the number of warheads for military use and may not mark when a nation's first nuclear test took place. If Mr. Putin dropped a nuclear weapon on Ukraine a nonnuclear nation thats not covered by anyones nuclear umbrella what then? If deterrence fails, how is it possible to reduce the risk of one attack escalating into a global catastrophe? We might find an answer in the autumn of 2022, when fears of Russias nuclear use in Ukraine were most palpable. A lightning Ukrainian military counteroffensive had reclaimed territory from the Russians in the northeastern region of Kharkiv. The Ukrainians were on the cusp of breaching Russian defense lines at Kherson in the south, possibly causing a second Russian retreat that could signal an imminent broader military collapse. U.S. intelligence estimated that if Ukraines fighters managed to break through Russian defenses and were on the march to the occupied Crimean Peninsula, where the Russian Black Sea Fleet is based it came down to a coin flip whether or not Russia would launch a tactical nuclear weapon to stop them, senior administration officials said. Moscow has made implicit and explicit nuclear threats throughout the war to scare off Western intervention. Around this time, however, a series of frightening episodes took place. On Oct. 23, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of Russia made a flurry of phone calls to the defense chiefs of four NATO nations, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, to say Russia had indications that Ukrainian fighters could detonate a dirty bomb a conventional explosive wrapped in radioactive material on their own territory to frame Moscow. Russia Sergei Shoigu, Defense Minister United States Lloyd Austin, Defense Secretary Britain Ben Wallace, Secretary of State for Defense Turkey Hulusi Akar, Minister of National Defense France Sebastien Lecornu, Defense Minister American intelligence also intercepted chatter around then among Russian military leaders about using a tactical nuclear weapon, according to current and former Biden administration officials. General Austin and the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Gen. Mark Milley, held three phone calls in four days with Russian counterparts during this tense period. Believing the Russians were building an unfounded pretext for their own nuclear attack, the Biden administration quickly began a multilateral effort with allies, adversaries and nations in between to de-escalate the situation and try to talk Moscow out of it. For nearly a week, Biden aides pulled all-nighters at the White House, coordinating high-level conversations and planning for the worst: the detonation of a small nuclear device in Ukrainian territory that had the power of a few kilotons or less. Many in the administration believed the Kremlins dirty bomb ploy posed the greatest risk of nuclear war since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. State Department officials traveled to Poland to ensure that medical supplies and radiation equipment were rushed over the border. The Energy Department sent equipment to collect potential debris so that it could be later analyzed by American scientists for weapon design characteristics and the origin of the nuclear material. U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees nuclear operations, directed a team of experts (cheekily named The Writers Club, because their findings were written up daily for the Pentagon leadership) to assess the risk and determine which conditions would trigger Russia to go nuclear. While cautions about the potential withering economic, diplomatic and military consequences were delivered in private to Moscow, administration officials also publicly sounded alarm bells. Tap to Unmute Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, October 2022 The administrations diplomatic push was coupled with efforts by leaders of several nations, including China, India and Turkey, to explain to Mr. Putins government the potential costs if he were to go through with a nuclear attack. That November, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, William J. Burns, met with his Russian counterpart in Turkey, where he conveyed a similar warning. On Nov. 16, the Group of 20 released a joint statement: If the Russian leader was indeed inching toward the brink, he stepped back. After the Supreme Court effectively ended affirmative action in 2023, many selective colleges said they still prized racial diversity and planned to pursue it. But how might they do that? After the Supreme Court effectively ended affirmative action in 2023, many selective colleges said they still prized racial diversity and planned to pursue it. But how might they do that? To grasp the challenge, lets look at one oversimplified illustration. These 10,000 dots represent the standardized test scores of a class of high school seniors nationwide, arranged by their parents income. To grasp the challenge, lets look at one oversimplified illustration. These 10,000 dots represent the standardized test scores of a class of high school seniors nationwide, arranged by their parents income. On average, students from families with more resources tend to do better on measures like the SAT. On average, students from families with more resources tend to do better on measures like the SAT. Black and Hispanic students, who tend to be poorer and have less access to opportunity, often do worse. Black and Hispanic students, who tend to be poorer and have less access to opportunity, often do worse. If selective colleges admitted students by score alone using, say, a 1300 cutoff the pool would not be very diverse, by race or class. If selective colleges admitted students by score alone using, say, a 1300 cutoff the pool would not be very diverse, by race or class. Six percent of this hypothetical admitted class are low-income students, and 10 percent are Black or Hispanic. Six percent of this hypothetical admitted class are low-income students, and 10 percent are Black or Hispanic. Affirmative action policies helped colleges admit more Black and Hispanic students. Affirmative action policies helped colleges admit more Black and Hispanic students. But admissions preferences based on race are no longer legal. To create a more diverse class, colleges could But admissions preferences based on race are no longer legal. To create a more diverse class, colleges could move that cutoff line move that cutoff line or change the slope of it or change the slope of it or rethink it entirely. or rethink it entirely. Low-income refers to students in the bottom quarter of parent income distributions. Can You Create a Diverse College Class Without Affirmative Action? Selective colleges and universities can no longer use race-based preferences in admissions to create a more diverse student body. But what if they gave a break instead to lower-income students? Or those from high-poverty schools? Or those who do relatively well academically despite challenges all around them? To explore those questions and how much racial diversity is possible without race-conscious admissions the Upshot worked with Sean Reardon, a professor at Stanford, and Demetra Kalogrides, a senior researcher there, to model four alternatives to affirmative action. The scenarios shown here are based on the real-life academic and demographic characteristics of the high school class of 2013 in America, the most recent tracked over time by a large nationally representative survey. We used this data set, further adjusted to reflect the rising diversity of students in the decade since, to simulate a representative class of 10,000 high school seniors. We then modeled their admissions prospects to the group of colleges (Barron's Tier 1 schools) that rank as the most selective in the country and that have also been most affected by the Supreme Courts ruling. Throughout, we use SAT scores as a simplified measure of academic merit (after test scores fell out of favor with many colleges during the pandemic, several of the most selective schools have recently returned to requiring them). Our models simplify the complex and often opaque ways that selective colleges craft admissions (we also reserve no seats for athletes on scholarship or legacy students). But even a stripped-down exercise shows why some approaches to admissions would probably yield more diversity than others, by both race and class. Lets start with the simplest model and build from there: Scenario 1 of 4 : A preference for poorer students Admit students using SATs only + Low-income preference This admitted class is: Black or Hisp. NaN% Low-income NaN% Avg. SAT NaN Here again is our simulated class of 10,000 high school seniors, further identified by race. Here again is our simulated class of 10,000 high school seniors, further identified by race. Only some apply to the most selective colleges, a relatively small tier of about 80 schools like Stanford, Penn and N.Y.U. Only some apply to the most selective colleges, a relatively small tier of about 80 schools like Stanford, Penn and N.Y.U. Heres where the admissions policies kick in. First, we admit 500 students, roughly in line with admissions rates at selective colleges. Heres where the admissions policies kick in. First, we admit 500 students, roughly in line with admissions rates at selective colleges. Now lets give a 150-point SAT boost to the lowest-income students. Now lets give a 150-point SAT boost to the lowest-income students. Use the buttons to explore what happens in this scenario as well as the ones below. Use the buttons to explore what happens in this scenario as well as the ones below. In this scenario, we give a moderate boost to applicants on a sliding scale according to their parents income: from an extra 150 points for students from the poorest families, to 0 points for students from the richest ones. This creates the slope of the cutoff line you see above. Because each of our scenarios admits a fixed class of 500 students, the results are zero-sum: As some students are newly admitted, others who might have been admitted under different policies no longer are. The magnitude of that effect and whom it touches differs depending on the criteria. In this case, as more low-income students are admitted, some high-income students with SAT scores just above 1300 no longer get in. That trade-off creates significantly more economic diversity, as this table shows: Change in admitted class in Scenario 1 Percentage point shifts in admitted student demographics, compared with test-only admissions Show shares Parent income rank Race Bottom 25% 25th 50th 50th 75th Top 25% White Asian Black Hispanic Other Figures are rounded. Other includes American Indian, Alaska Native and multi-racial students. The share of admitted students from the top income quartile falls by about 12 percentage points. But the shifts toward racial diversity are modest. The Black student share rises by just one percentage point. Why? Black families are over-represented among poorer households in America, but in terms of total numbers, there are still many more poorer white households. For this reason, income is a relatively weak proxy for race in admissions. A preference for lower incomes produces just that: students with lower incomes, not necessarily a much larger share of Black or Hispanic students. In this scenario, a total of 13 percent of students in the admitted class are Black or Hispanic. For context, Americans of high-school-graduation age today are about 38 percent Black or Hispanic. Its also worth emphasizing that we are modeling who gets admitted, not who enrolls. And Black and Hispanic students are less likely to take that additional step enrolling in a selective college that might be expensive or far from home, even if they get in. Scenario 2 of 4 : Adding school poverty In addition to a preference for low-income students, what if we added a preference for those who attend higher poverty schools? Admit students using SATs only + Income and school poverty This admitted class is: Black or Hisp. NaN% Low-income NaN% Avg. SAT NaN This scenario takes the 150-point income preference in Scenario 1 and adds a second 150-point preference for students in higher-poverty schools, as measured by the share of students in that school receiving free or reduced-price lunch. A low-income student in a high-poverty school could get as much as a 300-point boost. This produces even more economic diversity than the preference for parental income alone. And it further nudges up the share of admitted Black and Hispanic students. Change in admitted class in Scenario 2 Percentage point shifts in admitted student demographics, compared with test-only admissions Show shares Parent income rank Race Bottom 25% 25th 50th 50th 75th Top 25% White Asian Black Hispanic Other Figures are rounded. Other includes American Indian, Alaska Native and multi-racial students. We know that students with equally low family incomes differ from each other in many ways. For example, low-income Black and Hispanic students are more likely than low-income white and Asian students to live in high-poverty neighborhoods and attend high-poverty schools. And so if one goal of an admissions policy is to account for the compound disadvantages minority students often face, it may help to pull in more information: not just about their parents incomes, but also about their households, schools and neighborhoods. Colleges could further hone a preference like this by pulling in more factors, including neighborhood poverty rates, parental education levels and parental wealth. Do something like that, and now you have a group of students who have overcome a lot more in life than the ones who have just been handed everything, said Richard Kahlenberg, a researcher at the Progressive Policy Institute who has argued for this kind of robust class preference. He also served as an expert witness critiquing race-based admissions in the litigation that led to the Supreme Court decision. Scenario 3 of 4 : Finding the outliers Its possible to take the underlying idea in Scenario 2 and dial it up further, by identifying students who outperform their peers with similar disadvantages (or similar advantages). Admit students using SATs only + Selecting academic outliers This admitted class is: Black or Hisp. NaN% Low-income NaN% Avg. SAT NaN Here, were not just giving a boost to students who come from disadvantage. Were rewarding students who perform better academically than other students with similar backgrounds. This strategy identifies, for example, a student who has an 1100 SAT score but whose score is 250 points above the typical student who also goes to a high-poverty high school and who has low-income parents who didnt attend college. This strategy also discounts some of the wealthiest students whose 1400 scores look less impressive when compared with their equally well-off peers. Students who outperform their peers are academic outliers, and that may indicate something special about them: Were admitting students on the basis of striving: students whose academic achievement exceeded expectations based on the access to opportunity that they had, said Zack Mabel, a Georgetown researcher who has modeled admissions scenarios similar in concept to this one. Of the scenarios tested so far, this one does the most to produce both economic and racial diversity, compared with admitting students on test scores alone. It also produces significant shifts among high-income white students; their share of the admitted class is 27 percentage points lower than it would be in a test-only environment. The resulting average SAT score of the admitted class is also the lowest of the scenarios so far, at 1340. Change in admitted class in Scenario 3 Percentage point shifts in admitted student demographics, compared with test-only admissions Show shares Parent income rank Race Bottom 25% 25th 50th 50th 75th Top 25% White Asian Black Hispanic Other Figures are rounded. Other includes American Indian, Alaska Native and multi-racial students. To gauge how wed expect students to perform in this scenario, we take into account their parental income, school poverty level and a socioeconomic index that includes parents education levels and occupations. We use that data to predict each students SAT score. Then we admit the students who outperformed those predictions by the largest margins (until weve admitted 500 of them). A college that cares more about keeping a higher average SAT score could use a limited version of a preference like this one. A school that believes students who beat the odds in high school are likely to succeed in college could embrace a fuller version. Remember that in this scenario and each of the preceding ones, weve considered only students who apply to highly selective colleges (the national study we use as a reference shows which students actually did). We have effectively ignored all of the students shown below who dont apply, including some with pretty good grades and test scores: Students who didnt apply to top colleges Next, lets think about that group, too. Scenario 4 of 4 : Casting a wider net What happens when colleges try to expand the applicant pool? Admit students using SATs only + Finding outliers, recruiting This admitted class is: Black or Hisp. NaN% Low-income NaN% Avg. SAT NaN To create this scenario, we expanded the pool of applicants to selective colleges by modeling a recruiting strategy targeted at predominantly minority high schools. First, we pull into the applicant pool all students of any race with SAT scores above 1000 at high schools where at least three-quarters of students are nonwhite. Then we rerun the preference for beating the odds from Scenario 3 with this larger applicant pool. This strategy most notably captures more Hispanic students, and it produces by far the biggest shift toward lower-income students. It broadly redistributes seats held in an SAT-only scenario by high-income white students and, to a lesser degree, high-income Asian ones. Change in admitted class in Scenario 4 Percentage point shifts in admitted student demographics, compared with test-only admissions Show shares Parent income rank Race Bottom 25% 25th 50th 50th 75th Top 25% White Asian Black Hispanic Other Figures are rounded. Other includes American Indian, Alaska Native and multi-racial students. Although colleges can no longer employ racial preferences in admissions, several legal scholars said they believe schools can still consider race in recruiting strategies. The Supreme Court, in turning away another recent legal challenge, has also signaled at least for now that its permissible for colleges to pursue diversity as an end goal so long as racial preferences arent the means to achieve it. Of the scenarios weve shown, an expanded recruiting strategy requires the most work from colleges. But its also the big overlooked gold mine here, said Richard Sander, a law professor at U.C.L.A. who has worked on admissions strategies at the law school level. Such a recruiting strategy would mean not just tweaking statistical preferences, but also building relationships with high school counselors, traveling to college fairs, and perhaps developing dual-enrollment courses that introduce high school students to college work. This kind of outreach to me, its everything, said Jill Orcutt, the global lead for consulting with the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. She was previously the associate vice chancellor for enrollment at U.C. Merced, the most diverse school in the University of California system. Comparing our scenarios In evaluating the impact of the scenarios shown here, weve compared each one with the SAT-only baseline in which colleges consider a form of academic merit and nothing else. But its also helpful to think about these scenarios in another way in comparison to the world as it might look if affirmative action were still legal. To make that comparison, we also created a model approximating the effects of affirmative action. We took the same 150-point boost weve used in earlier scenarios, and we applied it to Black and Hispanic students. Real-world affirmative action policies were more complicated than this. But studies have found that such policies gave Black and Hispanic students higher odds of admission equivalent to an SAT score boost of a few hundred points. Across all our models, Scenario 4 rewarding students who are academic outliers given their life circumstances, while targeting a wider pool of recruits comes the closest to creating the Black and Hispanic student shares you might get by giving a boost directly to those students: Black and Hispanic students in each scenario Alternatives to affirmative action Other comparisons Low-income students in each scenario Alternatives to affirmative action Other comparisons Low-income refers to students in the bottom quarter of parent income distributions. Figures are rounded and show the share of students who are admitted in each of our models, under simplified assumptions. Notably, our simple affirmative action model produces far less economic diversity than all of these alternatives. That was also a frequent criticism of such policies: Yes, colleges used them to admit more Black and Hispanic students, but those were overwhelmingly middle- and upper-income students. In our affirmative action model, just 6 percent of admitted students come from the bottom quartile of the income distribution. Thats almost identical to the share of such students who were enrolled in the real world across these selective colleges, according to a 2017 report. To be clear, our simplified affirmative action model also suggests selective colleges would admit a far higher share of Black and Hispanic students nearly 34 percent than were actually in the incoming class of 2022 (23 percent across this top tier of selective schools). Thats because our model captures the upper bound of whats possible with such a strategy. Some schools that were already heavily investing in expanded recruiting, like Johns Hopkins, were actually close to or even above this number. Other selective colleges that devoted more seats to legacy students and fewer resources to minority recruiting or financial aid had much lower shares. Our model, in its simplicity, effectively treats all of these varied schools as if they act in unison. The scenarios illustrated here can't predict what will happen next this is a model after all, if one based on real demographics. But this exercise reveals some broad lessons that probably translate to the real world: Income by itself is a weak stand-in for race. Neighborhood and school-level data can help identify minority students. And the potential of any admissions strategy is limited without casting a wider recruiting net. The questions affecting each admissions parameter are also murky. Does more economic diversity replace some of what colleges lose with less racial diversity? Should students be evaluated in the context of all their disadvantages? How much should colleges yield on lower measures of academic merit to gain the advantages of a diverse campus? Individual colleges will answer these questions in different ways. And they will do so considering factors, including financial aid and legacy admissions, that are more complex than the ones we modeled. But theyll also have access to a lot more data than we do about each prospective student in trying to fine-tune what comes next. We will soon see what they do with it. Port of Dublin Floats PR/Marketing RFP Fri., Mar. 15, 2024 The Port of Dublin, which handles 50 percent of Irelands total trade and 80 percent of its containerized traffic, wants a PR/marketing services firm to position it as an essential state asset. The richest 10 per cent of Irish households own almost as much wealth as all other households in the country combined, new data just released shows. Distributional Wealth Accounts (DWA) published for the first time by the Central Bank examine the growth of household wealth in Ireland on a quarterly basis between 2013 and 2023. The amount of Irish millionaires has more than doubled in the last 10 years. The total net wealth of Irish households has more than doubled over the last ten years, and now stands at just under 1.079 trillion in the second quarter of 2023. Net wealth is defined as assets minus liabilities such as mortgage debt etc. This growth significantly outpaces the rise of household wealth across the euro area, which increased by 54 per cent over the same period to a total of 21 billion. The share of Irish households with net wealth of 1 million or more, suggests that the share of households that are millionaires has more than doubled from 5% to 12% between Q2 2013 and Q1 2022, increasing from approximately 87,000 to 223,000 households over this period. There has been a sustained rise in property prices in the last decade, with prices up by 4.4pc in the last year alone. Emaar Properties, a global property developer of pioneering architectural landmarks, on Thursday announced the launch of two new major projects in Dubai -- The Heights Country Club and Grand Club Resort next to The Oasis, with a total development value of AED96 billion ($26.14 billion). Building on the company's impressive track record of shaping lifestyles and creating world-class integrated destinations, the new ventures not only demonstrate Emaar's vision to create the highest standards of high-end living experiences, but also strategically positions the company to launch a substantial number of villas and townhouses, which are expected to boost sales and profitability, the company said. The Heights Country Club, sprawling across 81 million sq ft and valued at AED55 billion, is poised to set a new standard in premium high-end living. Designed to offer an exclusive retreat, it merges state-of-the-art amenities with serene landscapes, creating a haven of comfort and elegance, it said. Spanning over 60 million sq ft and boasting a development value of AED41 billion, the Grand Club Resort features the best of wellness and opulence. The resort is meticulously designed to house world-class wellness facilities, offering an unparalleled experience in luxury hospitality. Emaar Properties Chairman Mohamed Alabbar said: "Dubai stands not only as a city, but as a global titan in luxury, real estate, and as a vibrant tourist hub. With the launch of The Heights Country Club, and Grand Club Resort, we are taking this story to new levels. Emaar is not just contributing to Dubai's progress, we are leading the way, creating exclusive lifestyle destinations with unprecedented amenities that set new global standards. Our ambition is bold and clear: to keep Dubai at the top of the global city rankings, leveraging cutting-edge technology to not only understand, but also predict and shape future trends. These developments are more than just projects; they are a powerful statement of our vision and commitment to excellence, representing the grandeur and transformative future of high-end living, he added. True to Emaar's ethos, both developments will feature environmentally conscious designs that are consistent with the company's goals of sustainable development and future-ready living spaces. These exclusive lifestyle destinations will be a harmonious blend of exclusivity, sustainability, and innovative design, setting new standards for high-end real estate in the UAE, the company said. - TradeArabia News Service A Chinese man in central Phu Yen Province has been arrested for stealing jewelry right after he finished a 9-month jail sentence for a similar crime. Huang LinZhong, 48, was arrested by Phu Yen police on Friday to be investigated for theft. The arrest was made at the Vinh Quang prison in Vinh Phuc, right after Huang finished his 9-month jail sentence for theft. On May 17 last year, Huang entered Vietnam via the border in Lang Son, before traveling to Ho Chi Minh City to purchase a motorbike. Two weeks later, Huang traveled to Phu Yen and decided to steal things because he did not have any money. He went to a jewelry shop in Tuy Hoa City and asked to see five gold necklaces. He then stole one necklace worth VND44 million ($1,784), and returned the rest to the shopkeeper. The theft was exposed after the shop checked the camera footage and reported it to authorities. As he was traveling north, Huang visited Hue to sell the stolen necklace for VND16 million. He then stole jewellery from another shop. For this crime, he was arrested and sentenced to 9 months in jail. THE Heritage Council has come out strongly against the plan for a 13-storey building in Tullamore town centre. In a submission to Offaly County Council on the planning application from local developer Seamus Kane, the council says it cannot support the proposal. The council says it supports efforts to achieve more sustainable patterns of development in villages and county towns and states the redevelopment of inner urban core sites, particularly those dominated by surface car parking, can bring benefits to the living and historic environment of towns such as Tullamore. But it adds: However, there is a need to ensure that there is not a misguided conflation between high density and high buildings in terms of achieving compact growth. It is clear that this conflation is being made in relation to the approach to the design of this proposed scheme. High density compact growth does not necessarily mean high buildings. The latter inevitably has significant impacts on the heritage of historic townscapes. Relatively high density can be achieved by high site coverage, rather than by building height. In particular, the council hits out at the designers' declaration that the development represents an exciting redefinition of the city centre through a series of new buildings... The council says: Tullamore is a typical county market town with a strong rural hinterland; therefore, it is not a large urban city centre and a redefinition of one of the midlands traditional streetscapes is not warranted or welcomed. It acknowledges that it calls the forthrightness of the designers when they say the project will represent a new paradigm but says the design approach is fundamentally flawed. How this new development presents itself to the existing townscape, particularly in relation to the height, scale, and massing of the new build elements, cannot be supported on heritage grounds. The Heritage Council also has concerns that if permitted, the Tullamore project could lead to similar developments in other parts of the country: The visual change to Tullamore will be significantly negative, irrespective of the intention and shows little regard for the existing townscape character and its evolution; therefore setting an undesirable precedent, that if replicated, would significantly alter, and damage the historic integrity of our county towns and rural market towns. READ https://www.ireland-live.ie/news/offaly-live/1422656/eighteen-storey-building-was-one-option-considered-for-massive-tullamore-development.html The assessment is not entirely negative. The Heritage Council welcomes in principle the refurbishment of the DE Williams House and the stone outbuilding behind it (known locally as the Cornloft) and which the council says was formerly a bottling structure. There is no objection to the new glazed section which will connect the main house to the former bottling structure, which if executed successfully could benefit the setting of both the house and this outbuilding. On the other hand, the council objects to the height of the proposed glazed structure between the main house and the outbuilding and says it should be lower than the eaves. In its conclusion the Heritage Council states: we consider the approach to this development flawed. There is disregard to existing townscape character resulting in a design that by virtue of its mass, height, bulk, and scale, is completely inappropriate to the county town context. The dynamic between high density and high buildings is conflated, resulting in a proposal that would set a very undesirable precedent for inner town core redevelopment in historic towns throughout Ireland. As such the Heritage Council does not support the scheme as currently proposed. The Heritage Council is a public body which provides policy advice for government on heritage issues such as sustainability, landscape management, high nature value farming, forestry and climate change. It is a prescribed body under the planning acts so applications such as the Tullamore one must be referred on to it. Seamus Kane heads up Cayenne Holdings, the company behind the ambitious plan to redevelop the site between Patrick Street, Offaly Street and Kilbride Plaza where a Tesco/Quinnsworth store and a car park were located. Mr Kane has said the aim of the Distillery Yard residential and commercial project is to ensure that Tullamore will bustle with life once more. He said the project is set to be an exemplar of urban regeneration and it has already received the backing of local Fianna Fail TD, Barry Cowen, who described it is an exciting application. Mr Kane said: Like many town centres in Ireland, the former market town has been subject to falling footfalls and general decline in recent years. People are not living in the town centre. In a move that will strengthen Tullamores existing offerings, this mixed-use development will combine new high quality public realm with streets and squares. There will be over 200 apartments, public squares, shops and restaurants in six blocks from two to 13 storeys. A two to three-storey block will be partly contained within the former De Bruns public house, with a change of use to two cafes or licensed restaurants. DE Williams House, which is a protected structure, will have five cafes/restaurants to its rear. Access for traffic will be both from O'Connell Street (which is off Kilbride Street), as well as Offaly Street and William Street. A nearby building which was formerly the location of the multi-storey Texas department store has been demolished to make way for a new Aldi supermarket. The country will add 98 automatic stations by 2030 and another 15 stations after that. There would eventually be 216 stations in total, including the 103 existing stations. Among the 98 automatic stations in the first phase, 62 will be installed at places with heavy human interactions for the purpose of issuing health warnings and other related purposes. Six other stations will be placed in areas with little human impacts, for the sake of evaluating air quality over large regions. The six will represent six socio-economic zones. In mountainous areas of northern Vietnam, the stations will be placed in Lai Chau Provinces Muong Te District; in the Red River Delta, at Hai Phong Citys Viet Hai Commune; and in south-central Vietnam, on Quang Nams Cu Lao Cham Island. In the Central Highlands, the station would be placed at Dak Nongs Gia Nghia Commune. In southeastern Vietnam, it will be at Dong Nais Cat Tien National Park, and in the Mekong Delta it will be at Dong Thaps Tram Chim National Park. 18 transborder monitoring stations will be located in Cao Bang, Dien Bien, Lang Son, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Ha Giang, Nghe An, Dak Nong, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, Long An, An Giang and Kien Giang. The automatic monitoring stations will measure PM2.5, PM10, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and ozone levels. By 2025, Vietnam will be conducting 8-12 times the amount of annual air quality monitoring a year it currently does. This will provide data on sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and TSP levels. The governmental scheme also requires noise level measurements at the 216 air quality monitoring stations, as well as the establishment of automatic mercury monitoring networks. The scheme also entails investment for water quality monitoring station construction. The scheme aims to establish a synchronized national environmental monitoring system that keeps track of vital areas and increases connectivity between provincial environmental monitoring systems. The goal is to make environmental data transparent while enhancing weather warning and forecast capabilities. Hoang Duong Tung, president of the Vietnam Clean Air Partnership, said the stations are necessary as environmental pollution gets more complex, and Vietnam's databases for research and warning are still limited. Dang Duy Kien dies after following a missile strike on the True Confidence at the Gulf of Aden, launched by Houthi forces in Yemen. Photo provided by Kien's family A day before the True Confidence crossed the Red Sea, Dang Duy Kien, chief officer of the cargo ship, texted his wife back home in Hai Phong that he was going through a warzone. "I hope everything would be fine." That was his last message home. Kien did not answer his wife's text the next morning, and she was left anxious until late that night, only to learn from his company that he had killed in a missile strike by Houthi forces, at the Gulf of Aden. On Friday, two days after bulk carrier True Confidence was hit by a missile strike from Houthi forces in Yemen, causing the death of Kien, 41, and two other crew members, his family in the northern Vietnamese port city received visitors non-stop, who came to give their condolences. Le Mien, Kien's wife, said Kien had spent 13 years seafaring and was qualified as a captain. Due to his laborious job that required him to be away from home for long periods of time, four years ago he quit and began a career in real estate with Miens brother. Late last year, when business did not go well, Kien came to work for the Hai Phong Marine Services and Trading Investment company, which recruits crew members for foreign vessels. Early this year, Kien took the job to go on the True Confidence to transport steel from China to Saudi Arabia. When he went to China to receive the goods, Kien was told that the ship would travel across the Red Sea, where Houthi forces often perform missile strikes on international commercial ships going through the region. Mien said the captain of the ship, an Indian, did not alter the course despite having been warned about the potential danger. On Feb. 13, when the vessel departed for the trip, Kien told Mien to get updated on the news daily so she could inform him about the warzone situation at the Red Sea. Over the journey, Kien texted his wife and their two children, aged 6 and 10, every day. The last text message sent to Mien was at 11:50 p.m. on March 5. "Im about to cross a warzone. I hope everything would be fine," he texted. "No matter what happens, you have to return home safely to us," Mien replied. The next morning, Kien did not answer her text. Mien felt something was wrong, so she told her mother-in-law to prepare offerings and pray for Kiens safety. At 10 p.m. on March 6, Mien received a phone call from HP Marine. "They called and asked to come to my house for a talk. My intuition told me something had gone wrong, but I still hoped that the worst case scenario did not happen," Mien recalled. At midnight, a representative from the company came and told the family what happened. Kien and two other crew members on the True Confidence had been killed in a missile strike by Houthi forces, at the Gulf of Aden at around 5:20 p.m. on March 6. The vessel, which was Barbados-flagged and Liberian-owned, was over 90 km from the Aden port when the missile hit. There were 20 crew members on the ship: four Vietnamese, 15 Filipino and an Indian. There were also three armed guards on the vessel: two Sri Lankans and a Nepali. "Kien was severely burned. He held on for an hour before dying. If there were enough medical supplies on the ship, or if an aircraft could have brought him to shore on time, he may have lived," a witness told Miens family. It was the first fatal incident ever since Houthi began escalating attacks on international shipping on the Red Sea to force Israel to stop its campaigns on Hamas amid conflicts in the Middle East. Houthi forces confirmed the attack. An Indian navy vessel later rescued the crew members of the True Confidence. The other Vietnamese crew members were safe and brought to the LeLaurier Hotel in Djibouti. Kiens body was brought to the port city. A close friend of Kien and Mien said Kien returned to see faring as he wanted to earn more money for his childrens education. "Before he left, he promised his youngest child that no matter how far he went, he would always return home to take him to the first-grade school opening ceremony (this fall)," the friend said. March 8, 2024 | 04:46 pm PT The unwritten Vietnamese rule has become that pedestrians need to raise their hand to seek permission to cross the crowded streets, and then motorists can decide if they'll allow it. VnExpress readers shared their experiences with the danger of crossing the street in Vietnam. "I was almost hit by a vehicle once, and many other times was stared at angrily by motorbike and car drivers as I crossed the street at a zebra crossing, even though I had raised my hand to notify them in advance. Cars and motorbikes blasting their horns at people crossing the street is also common. To them, the zebra-crossing lines mean nothing. Its a sad reality about the traffic in Vietnam. Authorities need to adopt measures to raise awareness and enforce penalties to improve this." Le Thanh "When I visited Laos many years ago, I felt embarrassed about the traffic awareness of my Vietnamese fellows. I saw how people in Laos are much more polite in giving the right of way to pedestrians. With Laos as an example, we cannot blame our poor awareness on our country being a poor or developing one. I have stopped at red lights in Vietnam where many people just wanted to jump it. I am grateful for all the people who just wait at red lights, for a more civil Vietnam." Huyto "Traffic violations in Vietnam happen because people dont know the rules, or they disregard the rules because of lax enforcement. I have never seen traffic police fine a driver for failing to stop before the pedestrian zebra-crossing. The police only need to fine enough people to make an example for other drivers to raise their awareness." Tien Thinh "One time I drove my motorbike past a school. I saw around five students crossing the street on the zebra line, so I stopped. But many people behind me immediately honked and stared at me like they were about to beat me up, before driving ahead through the walking students. They just wanted to reach their destination as soon as possible, regardless of the rules. Vietnamese roads have been upgraded much better than in the past, but the traffic experience is still bad because people's awareness has not improved. Maybe it's even gotten worse." MyloveisWinter A New York Times columnist on Saturday expressed bewilderment as to Biden's unpopularity, finally concluding that it must be because borrowing money for homes or cars is expensive. I'm not saying that's entirely wrong, but here are some additional possibilities. There's the ever-worsening inequality, but also the ever-worsening healthcare system, and the ever-worsening climate collapse. In the absence of radical change, many crises will go on getting worse, and each new occupant of the White House will gain ever more unpopularity as a result, regardless of whether he or she did more or less than the previous guy in the way of token mitigation. Then there's the war on Gaza and the endless wars and militarism and military spending and militarization of the border. Most people want Biden to stop providing the arms and the vetoes and the propaganda support for genocide. Most people have grown up being told that's the very worst thing in the world. Now they watch Biden every day leading the charge for the very worst thing in the world. The fact that the corporate media pretends that Biden is trying to aid the very people he's killing cannot be expected to completely fool everyone -- especially people not paid the salary of a columnist to perform the function of failing to understand. Then there's this: Biden and Trump set records for unpopularity as candidates last time. They're bound to break them this time. Biden got over that hump last time by pretending to be Bernie Sanders. Here are 25 ways he could, if he wanted, follow through on his pretenses of four years ago: Breaking promises is usually unpopular. Breaking promises that you had to fake in order to pass for popular in the first place is pretty damaging. The fact that the corporate media does not mention any of this, and that many people may be only vaguely aware of this, doesn't change the fact that all these lies were sold to people four years ago and are much harder to sell now -- and for the most part the sales pitch isn't even being attempted. Are these mere possibilities, as I called them above? Are these not quite obviously actual reasons for the unpopularity of Joe Biden? Should we be more or less worried that the corporate media cannot see that, that it seems to have deluded itself rather than its consumers? A tourist applies make-up in front of the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia. Photo by Reuters Many Southeast Asian tourists have expressed excitement about Australia extending its 10-year frequent traveler visa scheme to their countries, and they await further instructions. Karen Loo from Malaysia told VnExpress International she felt surprised and happy as she knew that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had announced the extension of his 10-year frequent traveler visa scheme to "eligible ASEAN countries and Timor-Leste." The PM's announcement was made on Tuesday at the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne where he hosted the leaders of Laos, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Timor-Leste, according to a statement from the official website of the Australian PM. Despite expressing her satisfaction with the new policy, Karen is concerned Australia will impose some strict conditions for those wanting to apply for the visa scheme, which allows visitors to stay for up to three months each time. She said she has visited Australia on a one-year visitor visa and was impressed by the weather and natural beauty of the country. Yang Shan from Singapore, who visited Perth, called the new visa policy "amazing." "For me the policy changes were fine," he said. Prior to the pandemic, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia were among the biggest tourism feeders in Australia. On a Facebook page about Australian visa policies, many citizens from Southeast Asia expressed their surprise about the 10-year visa scheme and questioned how it would be applied. "Never heard that. Good to know," a Malaysian citizen wrote. "How to apply this visa? This is my first time to hear it," another Malaysian Facebook user commented. Ivana Palacios from the Philippines said the 10-year visa policy would be beneficial for Australia when it comes to its economy and tourism as many Southeast Asians tend to travel not individually but by group. In 2019, Southeast Asian visitor arrivals in the country peaked at 1.5 million visitors, and added an estimated A$4.2 billion (US$2.7 billion) to the Australian economy, according to Australias Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. However, Ivana also worried that it could cause a burden to the Australian government because some tourists might take advantage of the 10-year tourist visa to work illegally. On the Australian government immigration website, updates on conditions necessary to apply for the 10-year visa for tourists from Southeast Asia have yet to be posted. Before the extension, the policy was only applied to Chinese passport holders as part of Australias efforts to boost arrivals from the world's second largest population. However, industry insiders said Australia is losing out as Chinese tourists have been flocking to Southeast Asian countries like Thailand and Malaysia, where visa-free policies have been adopted. The recent policy extension by the Australian PM is expected to fuel Australias tourism sector by attracting a larger number of visitors from Southeast Asia and Timor-Leste, enhancing economic contributions and strengthening regional relationships, insiders said. movie poster Poor Things (Image by Film 4) Details DMCA First published in Counterpunch on March 08, 2024. Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves by John Kendall Hawkins Three of the leading Oscar nominees for best picture for 2024 -- Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Poor Things -- include women in controlling situations that make one wonder if post-postmodern feminism isn't upon us, and, if so, how did men get so chickenchoked. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm not trying to say anything politically incorrect -- I mean, if I got canceled today, at my age, that would be the end of my sorry ass. But something's not right. It's time to sort through the signs and haruspicate. For instance, in Oppenheimer two strong women -- wife Kitty and mistress Jean Tatlock -- fight over access to Oppie's schlong. Tatlock, a former student of Oppie's, and a psychiatrist and communist activist, in one notable scene pulls herself off Oppie's meat rocket to go over to the bookshelf and pull out the Bhagavad Gita, containing the now-famous Hindu script: Now, I have become as God. She hops back on and essentially forces the hero to read the script in translation while she rides him until he has a massive mushroom explosion, constellating her firmament with swimmy stars, and making one wonder if we couldn't all get together and re-tell our Origin story that way. Please? Tatlock ends up killing herself and, of course, the SALT II Treaty isn't working. And when I remember Carl Sagan saying we are all 'star stuff' I now get queasy. Barbie, from what I could see and understand, had no conventional sex in it -- by the heroine at least -- making the film a kind of version (virgin?) of the anatomically incorrect doll girl she so sensually embodies. There's like a formula at work here. In her previous film, Barbie star Margot Robbie played a totally anatomically over-the-top slut in the aptly named Babylon. Now, in this film, she's like in rehab, on the sexual wagon, got herself into a nunnery, maybe part of a 12-step program that involves heavy doses of sunshine smiles and lampooned male-gazing reversed or something. What range. I don't know, am I wrong, or was Barbie cynically targeting the LGBTQ+ complexity and the whole bolshy I'll Remake Me Who I Am scene? What a time to be a man! I dunno. I'm willing to entertain the notion being kicked around, like a can, in near-academia that Barbie is an ur-feminist movie. That it's actually angry. Like some Miles Davis tribute album: I'm a sex doll; they'll never let me forget it. I'm a sex doll alright; I'll never let them forget it. So much of feminist academia seemed to me back then angry and an interrogation of privileged white male gazing and its fixities of purpose. In this film, Ken (Ryan Gosling) seems suitable for a future cuckolding, and the arrival of GI Joe, which you expect at any moment, to rock the arc, never arrives. We begin with a lame send-up of 2001: A Space Odyssey (is that a kazoo playing the Strauss theme?), a little girl touches a monolithic (and svelte) Barbie leg and becomes a wrecking ball, smashing one doll's head in with another doll in a revolution of tool-making -- the tool here, presumably, withholding love (and what says withholding better than anatomical incorrectness?). Then the party with all the flavors of Barbie (from frolicsome fat to NASA lift-off) showing up and dancing queenlike to gay choreography, only to see the party come to a sudden halt when someone mentions the word DEATH. Silence. For anatomically incorrect also means DEATH. The Barbie scene, with the vast array of doll roles and accessories, ain't the ideal fem world after all. There's some bite here. Now you get why they embedded the grim-sounding Billie Ellish number, "What Was I Made For?", which has frankly nihilistic tendencies -- though not as nada, nada, nada as that song that has the lyric "I wanna end me" from Night Country. Jesus, you're thinking, Barbie just might be subversive, along the lines of an Angela Carter re-fabling, out to castrate the grinning wolf in grandma's bed. Gaze on that, motherfukka! says the little visiting hood. Then there's the film I'm here to concentrate on, Poor Things. What a hoot! I hope it wins the whole shebang. The production design is elite. The writing's over-the-top clever. The acting by the principals is top-notch. But is it a feminist feel good movie, as some people I don't necessarily trust are saying, just because she CHOSE to be a whore? In this day of rescinding rights for women (see Roe v. Wade) maybe being a whore in a (classy) Paris brothel is a way of saying with Miles, again, I'm a play doll alright -- I'll never let you forget it. There's more to it, though. Shall we unpack and stay a while? Poor Things (2023) is directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, 2015), and stars Emma Stone as Bella Baxter, Willem Dafoe as Godwin Baxter, Vicki Pepperdine as Mrs. Prim, Ramy Youseff as Max McCandles, and Mark Ruffalo as Duncan Wedderburn. This main ensemble is terrific. Secondary players, such as Hanna Schygulla (remember her -- ooh, was that a pun); Jerrod Carmichael, as Harry Astley, the handsome Black intellectual is excellent as the confidante who urges Bella to 'see the world' while, at the same time, declares that 'the world sucks' and she shouldn't expect much. (He is like an anti-Pangloss advising a female Candide as she embarks on her 'education of the senses.' It's the worst of all possible worlds.) And speaking of candida, it's a miracle Bella doesn't catch something of that ilk at the Paris brothel run by pimpette, Swiney (played by Kathryn Hunter of Harry Potter fame). Without spoiling anything, I wondered if Emma was faking it, and if they went ahead and used those cucumbers and carrots in the salad afterward. We wonder, what's with Godwin's fucked up face, and how does he remain so handsome and approachable, when so many others would have succumbed to Victorian melancholy? And I had a jack-in-the-box when the quim-questing Bella snatches at the housekeeper Mrs. Prim, and she shouts: "She grabbed me hairy business!" Ramy Youseff is a Muslim and we wonder how he could play in this movie, even as a foil or as a nice but uninteresting man; he shows signs of a boring lover's devotion. And Mark Ruffalo who, last seen in a film, was leading Leo toward a lobotomy on a Boston Harbor island asylum in Shutter Island is, here, arch as, and a real comical girdle-wearing douchebag, who falls for Bella hard in a reversal of fortunes wolves howl at the moon over. He himself ends up in a rubber room, bouncing off the walls. Goddamn love. Well, okay, who is this dona Bella (as opposed to belladonna)? Alive and kicking. Finger-licking. Blissful oodles of gliss. Tanatalizing feminism that fucks with your mind. We all want to be Duncan Wedderburn, even at the risk of a rubber room with a view, in the end. But Bella, Bella does not suffer fools for very long. If it all comes down to 'being with' you or else achieving an orgasm, then Bella's choosing the O, and preferably a climax by self-immolation. Duncan, you can go f*ck yourself. Poor Things is based upon the 1992 novel by Alisdair Gray, a Scottish writer and artist, with lovely and raunchy wit and quirks that hearken back to the titillating secret chamber days of Victorian England. It's essentially a naughty Victorian novel, the kind that saw spanks administered back in the day, for no good reason. A Portnoy's Complaint for the lacy boudoir set. Victoria's Secret catalog. In fact, Suzy Bemba, who plays Toinette, a socialist prostitute and confidante, and who gives Bella orgasmic head in one scene, could have sprung straight out of today's VS catalog. Gray sets out to write a Victorian tale based on a mystery of a book-find, such as Conan Doyle might have devised for Sherlock Holmes. Alisdair Gray, pretending to be a character in the novel, explains in the Introduction that the tale comes as the result of a local historian in Glasgow, Michael Donnelly, discovering a book in a trash heap, and thinking it a lost gem decides to publish it. Gray tells us: Michael saw the name of the first woman doctor to graduate from Glasgow University, a name only known to historians of the suffragette movement nowadays, though she had once written a Fabian pamphlet on public health. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Polls conducted in the United States have shown a gradual ebbing of public support for the US financial involvement in the Ukrainian war, especially among Republicans. Some 55% of Americans said in a CNN poll in August that Congress should not authorize additional funding to support Ukraine. The survey found 71% of Republicans opposed new spending. The more so, sending more taxpayer funds to a war on the edge of Europe is incompatible with the "America First" creed of a party dominated by ex-President Donald Trump. According to the U.S. experts, years of costly foreign wars have lead to economic crises. Pro-Trump Republicans have locked into a concise yet powerful argument among their supporters that could spell doom for Ukraine's hopes of more help from Washington. They say that the US should not be spending billions of dollars abroad to fight Ukraine's war when America is facing a crisis at its border with Mexico. There's a growing conversation in the foreign policy community about whether an alternative approach - that is more politically sustainable - is possible. Is it, for instance, more feasible for the US and Europe to focus on preventing Ukraine from losing any more territory - in preparation for future ceasefire talks - than it is to think about winning the war? The Ukraine war funding showdown highlights how America's domestic politics are already reverberating around the globe. The American public is broadly dissatisfied with how things are going at the border, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Eight-in-ten U.S. adults say the government is doing a very or somewhat bad job dealing with the large number of migrants seeking to enter the U.S. at the border with Mexico. And nearly as many say the situation is either a "crisis" (45%) or a "major problem" (32%) for the U.S. Republicans and Republican leaners overwhelmingly say the large number of migrants trying to enter the country is leading to more crime in the country: 85% say this, including 90% of conservative Republicans and 77% of moderate and liberal Republicans. Former U.S. President Donald Trump, the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, has promised to crack down on illegal immigration and restrict legal immigration if elected to a second four-year term in office. Trump has said he would restore his 2019 "remain in Mexico" program, which forced non-Mexican asylum-seekers attempting to enter the United States at the Mexican border to wait in Mexico for the resolution of their cases. The program was terminated by President Joe Biden, a Democrat who is seeking reelection in 2024. Biden defeated Trump in 2020, pledging more humane and orderly immigration policies, but has struggled with record levels of migrants caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. Trump has said he will seek to detain all migrants caught crossing the border illegally or violating other immigration laws, ending what he calls "catch and release". Trump focused on building a wall on the Mexico border during his first term and has pledged to close gaps in the border wall if reelected. His administration built 450 miles (725 km) of barriers across the 1,954-mile (3,145-km) border, but much of that replaced existing structures. To Trump's mind, and he has public support on this issue, America needs money to counter illegal migrants and to build a wall on the Mexico border instead of sending millions of dollars to Ukraine. For the past few years, guns have been identified as the leading cause of death for children in the United States. There were 2,571 children age 1 to 17 who died in shootings in the U.S. in 2021, 68% more than the 1,531 that occurred in 2000. To help reduce the number of firearm-related deaths and injuries among children, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona in January 2024 called upon school and district administrators to talk with parents and guardians about safe firearm storage practices. As experts on the safe storage of firearms and as leaders of the University of Connecticuts ARMS Center for Gun Injury Prevention we often get questions about the best ways to keep guns out of the hands of children. We offer the following tips: 1: Safely store all of your firearms Nearly half of the households in the U.S. have at least one firearm, but only about 40% of firearm owners store all of their guns when not in use, according to data in a survey we recently fielded. Unsecured firearms have been linked to suicides, domestic homicides and accidental shootings. They also heighten the risk of unauthorized use, which includes theft. 2. Dont assume you can hide your guns Kids generally know the hiding spots for the things their parents or caretakers do not want them to find, such as holiday gifts or Halloween candy. The same is true with firearms. In 40% of gun-owning households with children, adults said their children did not know where firearms were stored, a 2017 study found. However, many of the children reported knowing and being able to access the firearms. Researchers estimate that 75% of children who live in homes with guns know where they are stored. Adults may think they can instruct children to leave firearms alone, but the 2017 study also found that 22% of parents wrongly believed that their children had never handled their gun. 3. Store ammunition separately Research shows that locking ammunition separately from firearms further reduces the risk of firearm injuries in homes with children and teenagers. While storing an unreadied weapon locked away may feel counterintuitive to those who own guns for personal protection, research shows that keeping firearms locked or unloaded, or both, can also reduce risk of injury. 4. Learn to talk about firearm safety While some families may not have firearms in their home, eventually children go to other homes and, as they get older, go unsupervised. Keeping children safe from gun violence requires normalizing conversations on firearm storage, even for people in households where no gun is present. Approximately 45% of all unintentional shooting deaths of children under 17 occurred outside of their own homes. When children visit friends, we believe its important for their parents to know if guns are present in the home they are visiting and, if present, whether those firearms are being safely stored. For more information about how to discuss firearm safety, parents can visit websites such as BeSMART, End Family Fire and Secure Storage of Lethal Means. 5. Know the law Twenty-seven states, including Oregon, have some version of secure storage laws. Based on our calculations using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, states with child access prevention laws known as CAP laws have a gun death rate that is 65% lower than states that do not have CAP laws (12.33 vs. 20.38 per 100,000). Of course, states with and without CAP laws have many differences; therefore, the lower rates cannot be attributed to CAP laws alone. However, the presence of CAP laws is protective and reduces gun death. In the absence of a federal secure storage law, the legal requirements around firearm storage and preventing unauthorized children from accessing weapons vary by state or municipality. For example, Connecticut requires firearms be in a locked device when not in use. Iowa prohibits the storing or leaving a loaded firearm around children 14 and younger if it is not secured by a trigger lock or a securely locked container or some other secure location. Further, while Michigan only recently added a safe storage law, Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of a boy who committed a mass school shooting with his parents unsecured firearm, was recently convicted of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the case. Her husbands trial in the matter began on March 5, 2024. 6. Invest in a quality safe and/or locking device There are various levels of locked gun storage, including trigger locks, metal cable locks, locked gun cases and gun safes. While storing a firearm and the ammunition in a locked combination or biometric device is safest, all of these methods can reduce the risk of gun injury and death. These locking devices can be purchased online, through some gun sellers or at sporting goods stores. A biometric safe for a handgun is about $65, a gun lock runs $55 to $75 dollars, and combination safes for long guns range widely from a couple of hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. Family-school-community partnerships allow Americas children to grow and thrive. By asking schools to share resources for secure firearm storage and communicate evidence-based safety practices, the Department of Education is helping schools address the leading cause of death among American children. But families have to do their part, too. It begins by normalizing firearm safety conversations and storing firearms properly to keep children safe. --Kerri Raissian, Associate Professor of Public Policy, University of Connecticut --Jennifer Necci Dineen, Associate Director of the ARMS Center for Gun Injury Prevention, University of Connecticut The Oregon Department of Transportation received a surge of funding Friday that will go toward rebuilding Lower Albina, the historically Black community destroyed decades ago for a series of urban development projects. The U.S. Department of Transportation approved $450 million in federal funds toward building caps for the Interstate 5 freeway near the Rose Quarter. The freeway covers are part of a broader plan by local nonprofit Albina Vision Trust to revitalize the neighborhood, once a thriving hub for Portlands Black community. Albina Vision Trust Executive Director Winta Yohannes said the funding marked a momentous leap forward in the effort to rebuild Lower Albina. The construction of Interstate 5 intentionally bisected Portlands Black community, paving the way for decades of government-led urban renewal policies that decimated the wealth, well-being and place-based stability of our citys most marginalized, Yohannes said in a statement. This catalytic federal investment represents the beginning of a new chapter, one where government plays an active role in not only healing the harms of history, but investing in community-driven visions of a better tomorrow. U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Portland, who has been vocal in his support of the reconnection project, called the community the historic heart of Portlands Black community. This funding is transformative not just for Portland but as a national model to heal communities torn apart by destructive federal projects, Blumenauer said in a statement. We are showing how to do it right with this investment. Oregons transportation department has long planned to widen I-5 through the Rose Quarter, the worst traffic bottleneck in the state. It halted plans for the freeway expansion last year, though, because it lacked the funding to move forward with the project. The new funding wont close the budget shortfall for the freeway project, which is estimated to cost close to $2 billion. It does account for a sizable portion of the freeway caps to reconnect Lower Albina. Yohannes said she expects that the grant will provide ODOT leverage during the 2025 Legislative session to seek more funding for the overall freeway project. The U.S. Department of Transportation also granted $38.4 million to the Portland Bureau of Transportation, to redesign two main roads in the Lower Albina neighborhood, North and Northeast Broadway and Weidler. Jayati Ramakrishnan reports on Oregonians access to housing, transportation and mental health care. Reach her at jramakrishnan@oregonian.com. Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today. This story originally appeared on underscore.news During the first week in March, snowflakes the size of dollar coins melted into the ocean waves and sandy shores at Lincoln City. Nearby, elders and community members from across the state and beyond convened at the inaugural Gathering of Native Weavers of Oregon. In a room at the Chinook Winds Casino Resort overlooking the beach, the sounds of the waves hitting the shore and the rain pelting the windows blended together with the chimes of laughter. Nearly 150 people gathered to learn various weaving techniques from 12 Native American master weavers from across the Pacific Northwest. The event was organized and hosted by the Portland All Nations Canoe Family. The feel here is like family. It just feels like it was supposed to be here, said Katy Holland, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. For the Portland Canoe Family to bring this to pass, its really special. The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians contributed by providing a conference room at the Chinook Winds Casino Resort and offering discounted rooms to attendees. Other tribes in Oregon also contributed, mostly by sponsoring travel for their elders and master weavers to attend. Stephanie Ironheart, an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, hopes this Gathering of Native Weavers of Oregon is just the beginning. We hope this is the first of many, said Ironheart, cultural programming coordinator for the Portland All Nations Canoe Family. It was very exciting that this came to be. From near and far Akane Ironheart, 18 months, citizen of the Sauk-Suiattle tribal nation, and two other young girls wear wool shawls woven by her mother, Stephanie Ironheart, an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma.Jarrette Werk Underscore News / Report for America At one station, participants learned how to weave wool baskets, using multi-colored strands of yarn, creating patterns.Jarrette Werk Underscore News / Report for America While some attendees came from an hour away or less, others commuted from as far away as Pendelton, Oregon, and near the border with Canada in Lummi Nation, Washington. Many shared stories about braving weather extremes along the way. In a large white van packed with elders from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Carrie Campbell-Turk, Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center senior center coordinator, drove for over six hours, much of it in the pouring rain. Campbell-Turk, descendant of the Walla Walla Tribe of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, brought with her a group of six elders, many of whom already take part in weekly basket weaving classes at Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center. Its really important to get them out connecting, Campbell-Turk said. When you know where these people come from, its amazing to see them smile. Genuinely smile. The first night was filled with smiles as the elders sat in their rooms at Sea Gypsy Rentals, windows open listening to the healing sound of the waves, some seeing the ocean for the first time in decades. Traveling from Lummi Nation, over 350 miles north, Floyd Warbus brought armloads of cedar bark he had harvested the year prior. The vibrant greens and blues of his Seattle Seahawks Native sweater vest stood out among the natural wood colors of the cedar bark he prepared to be made into cedar headbands. He split the bark into smaller sections, and then placed the strips into a red bucket to soak. For Warbus, this event marked his first time leaving Lummi Nation since his wife passed away last March. He learned how to pull cedar at a young age, but did not start weaving until later in life, learning from his mother and wife. Around the room, Warbus pointed to a few different women in cedar fedoras, made through the instruction of his wife. My mom taught me how to do this, my wife taught me how to do this, Warbus said, working the long strips of cedar between his hands. But Im doing this all by myself now. Sharing knowledge Floyd Warbus, Lummi, traveled over 350 miles from his home in northern Washington to teach at the inaugural Gathering of Native Weavers of Oregon held at the Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City, held from March 2-3, 2024.Jarrette Werk Underscore News / Report for America Carlotta Lane, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, started weaving back in the 1980s, but this was her first time working a loom. By the end of the conference, she had woven a purple and cream-colored wool headband. I do basket weaving for my tribe, but this is something new for me. Its a challenge and something I needed, she said.Jarrette Werk Underscore News / Report for America Inside a gray tub at Siletz weaver Laurae Hughes table, thin strips of cedar sat soaking in water. She instructed participants in her weaving class to choose four strips to form the base of a small basket and three thinner strips to weave into a pattern. The earthy smell of wet wood permeated the air as Hughes diligently went around the table to help each participant create their very own cedar container. Dozens of tattoos adorn Hughes arms, telling the story of where she comes from. On her left arm is a portrait of Lakota chief Hollow Horn Bear, based on a poster her father drew. Basket patterns snake across her forearms and biceps and bees hint at her life as a beekeeper. Hughes pointed to a raven tattoo on her arm, a creature she identifies with. Like the raven, Hughes has been called both a wise one and a trickster. Through the wisdom she has gained learning to harvest, process and weave materials such as cedar, Hughes gives back to her Siletz community by teaching others to carry on that knowledge, especially during each summers Siletz Culture Camp. She originally taught herself to weave while living on the east coast, traveling back and forth to harvest the materials from her traditional homelands. I feel like its my obligation or my duty and my honor to be able to teach, Hughes said. I had to learn from 3,000 miles away. So guess what? Now you got to know. I have to teach you. Healing through the generations An elder tightens the raffia used to weave together thin strips of cedar bark. With each stitch, she is closer to completing her cedar basket.Jarrette Werk Underscore News / Report for America Master weaver Lydia Johns, Skokomish, taught participants to weave woolen headbands using a loom. As a participant finished their piece, she screamed out their name and held up the headband, met with applause of celebration from around the room.Jarrette Werk Underscore News / Report for America Master weaver Celeste Whitewolf, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, taught participants how to weave cattail baskets. She credits her Karuk grandmother for her knowledge of weaving the cattails into baskets.Jarrette Werk Underscore News / Report for America Two young Siletz women in ribbon skirts, Jeidah DeZurney, 25, and Savanna Rilatos, 26, sat at their table working on small cedar baskets that would eventually be strung on braids of cedar, turned into necklaces. The baskets grew taller in their hands with each row of cedar carefully woven into place. Meanwhile, the two women reflected on the importance of the conference. There is just incredible intergenerational learning going on, said Rilatos. So much storytelling goes on and its so important because theres so much history being passed on during the process. She said she is excited to go gathering with her two-year-old son. Eventually, she will teach him how to weave as he grows in hopes that he too will one day do his part to keep the tradition of weaving alive. As participants completed their carefully crafted weaving projects, instructors raised the finished piece into the air. Each one met with an eruption of applause from around the room. Projects included: cattail baskets, yarn baskets, wool bags, wool headbands, pine needle baskets, beargrass bracelets, cedar baskets, cedar jewelry and a soap root brush. Sitting together weaving, people shared stories and knowledge. An auntie told her niece about a great aunt who she remembers weaving baskets. An elder shared her story about reconnecting to her Siletz heritage after growing up in a boarding school. A grandma talked about how excited she was to teach her grandson how to weave. When you do these things, its healing for generations and it sends good medicine clear down to three, four generations down the road, Carrie Campbell-Turk said. Nika Bartoo-Smith, Underscore News + ICT Jarrette Werk, Underscore News + Report for America Over a busy, 60-day legislative session, Washington state lawmakers made strides to address the opioid crisis and ban a controversial policing practice with bipartisan support, but fell short in getting some of the most progressive bills across the finish line. The short session, which marked Jay Inslees final one as governor, ended Thursday with over 300 bills heading to the Democratic governors desk, 80% of which received bipartisan support, according to Democratic House Speaker Laurie Jinkins. Democrats control the state House by a margin of 58-40 and the Senate by 29-20. Just days before an Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Portland due to strong fumes in the cabin, another one of the airlines planes was found with its cargo door ajar upon landing at PDX. Airline workers found the cargo door unsealed on Alaska Flight 1437 after it made its scheduled landing last Friday, the airline said in a statement. The flight was arriving from Los Cabos, Mexico. KOIN 6 first reported the door issue. The airline said the flight crew received no warnings that the door opened during the flight. All indications point to the door partially opening only after landing, the airline said in a statement. The aircraft was inspected and a spring was replaced in the door handle, the airline said. It was cleared to fly shortly after. On Wednesday, a Phoenix-bound Alaska flight returned to Portland International Airport shortly after takeoff after people in the plane reported strong fumes. The cause of the disturbance is under investigation. The airline has been beleaguered with flight issues on its Boeing planes in recent months. In January, a piece of an airplanes fuselage tore off mid-flight, terrifying passengers and prompting safety inspections for hundreds of Boeing aircraft. No one was seriously hurt in the incident. Attorneys representing 62 passengers filed suit against the airline and Boeing on Feb. 20 in Multnomah County Circuit Court. It is the third lawsuit related to the plane malfunction and seeks $1 billion in personal and punitive damages. Austin De Dios covers public safety and diversity, equity and inclusion. Reach him at 503-319-9744, adedios@oregonian.com or @AustinDeDios. Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com. SPRING CREEK Nevada Outdoor School will host its first Outdoor Skills Challenge at Spring Creek Trap and Skeet Range on April 27. Priced at $100 per team of four, the competition, which runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., will focus on archery, trap shooting and pole casting. Each archery participant will get to shoot eight arrows at four targets ranging 10, 15, 20 and 25 yards out, Nevada Outdoor School programs coordinator Meghan Rich said. Team members will keep the highest scores out of their two shots at each target. As for trap shooting, each participant is thrown 10 clays, five at a time and will try to hit as many as possible, she said. At the casting station, competitors will use fishing poles with Velcro-covered lures to aim at various scorable sections of a target. An option will be available at each station for contestants who would like to start their tries over, Rich said. They can do $20 per station per station for Mulligans to be used by any team member. Those must be bought before starting the stage. Teams with a competitor under 16 years old will receive additional points. All the proceeds will be awarded to the top three teams, so they get the first-, second- and third-place gifts of money rewards. We will also be giving out trophies and awards for the members as well, Rich said. Were pretty excited to hopefully get lots of team members signed up, she said. Its not a rough challenge. Its really family-friendly, beginner-friendly, just to get people outside and maybe explore new hobbies, she said. If someones never shot trap and skeet before, they might find that they really like it. Hopefully it encourages them to keep trying. ELKO Elko County Clerk Rebecca Becky Plunkett will provide more information to Elko County commissioners on March 20 about potential ways to answer voter concerns about elections using the current voting machines. I will give them how many hours and costs to do a hand count, Plunkett said in a Friday email. Commissioners agreed to ask Plunkett to come back on March 20 after they heard on Wednesday from roughly 10 speakers promoting paper balloting and hand counting for election trust, as well as hearing from the chief deputy secretary of state, Gabriel Di Chirara, and Plunkett. Were asking that Elko County use only paper ballots starting with the June 11, 2024, primary, said Debbie Pawelek, who gave a slide presentation and said we have the blueprint from Nye County, which decided in 2022 to go with paper ballots and hand counting. Di Chirara said, however, Nye County never completed a full count, and the Nye County clerk, Mark Kampf, has resigned effective the end of this month. He said Nye County used voting machines and hand counted paper receipts from the machines. Nye County voted to go to hand counting and paper ballots in 2022. So quit saying Nye County is doing it, Commissioner Jon Karr later told the crowd. Mary Ellen Burckhard said the plan supporters of paper ballots proposed for Elko County would be to use both paper ballots and stand-alone tabulators. The proposal mentions using HART tabulators. Commissioner Rex Steninger was interested in whether the clerks office could do audits every election like the one done last year when a panel that included three commissioners audited four voting machines picked at random. They compared figures with the paper receipt from a voting machine. He said he was disappointed no one from the public showed up to observe. Plunkett said the results from that audit matched the vote tallies sent to the state. That audit came on the heels of a 2023 election security request. Former Elko County Clerk Kris Jakeman and Elko County Manager Amanda Osborne proposed the audit for the Friday election to ease voter concerns. Roughly 300 people signed a petition over election concerns and Dominion voting machines last fall. Steninger also asked for a show of hands on Wednesday from the large audience from those who support a hand count of ballots, and nearly everyone raised their hands. Vernon Hatch, who requested the election issue be put on the agenda, said the election doubt is more about what happens to vote counts between the county and secretary of state office than the county count. Hatch read a long statement about election problems, and he said Nevada is the 50th state in election integrity. He also brought up complaints about Dominion voting machines, which are the brand Elko County uses. Di Chiara said before any machine can be used, it has to be certified, and he said the HART tabulating machines advocated in the meeting havent been certified. No machines that are not approved can be utilized. He also told the crowd it is hard to count big numbers, and machines are better at it than people. Additionally, he said voting machines are never connected to the internet. Thats why we use flash drives. Nevada has strict chain of custody laws, Di Chiara said, also commenting that voters in Nevada have a paper receipt in the voting machines so they can check that their votes are accurate. He said that hand-counting takes a long time and it is difficult to identify any errors in that and would require a significant number of people, and he questioned how the county clerk could find enough volunteers for hand counting when she had a hard time finding and paying people for the presidential preference primary. Plunkett said in her presentation hand counting would require a large facility for at least 30 days. Obviously, this is a very hot topic here. Its great that people stand up for what they believe, Commissioner Delmo Andreozzi said. Di Chiara also talked about the recent election snafu involving different counties using different codes for the online report voters can access to see what elections they cast ballots. Some people who received paper ballots but didnt vote in the presidential preference primary were listed as voting. He said the glitch reduced faith in fair elections, so the Secretary of States Office took steps to explain what happened, and the bottom line is that the states website had wrong data but how people voted wasnt online. The Secretary of States Office currently uses bottom-up system that means 17 county-level bodies feed into one system, but the office converts to a top-down system on April 1, which will mean no more stitching county voting results together, Di Chiara said. Photo: (Photo : SIMON MAINA /Getty Images) A recent UNICEF report has laid bare disconcerting trends in the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), sounding an urgent call for comprehensive global action on International Women's Day. The report, a comprehensive analysis of the current state of FGM worldwide, paints a complex picture, emphasizing both incremental progress and lingering challenges that demand immediate attention. Insufficient Progress Amid Declining Numbers The report, delving into the complexities of FGM trends, reveals a nuanced story. While there has been a gradual decrease in the percentage of women and girls undergoing FGM, the pace of this decline is not keeping up with the urgency required. The global community, as outlined in the report, is falling behind in achieving the ambitious U.N. goal of eradicating FGM by 2030. The report underscores the need for accelerated efforts to match the burgeoning global population and effectively address this deeply entrenched issue. Africa takes center stage as the focal point of FGM, hosting a staggering 144 million reported cases, with Somalia standing out with a disquieting 99% prevalence among females aged 15 to 49. The report, moving beyond the statistical landscape, dissects the complex socio-cultural factors perpetuating FGM. While positive strides are noted in Burkina Faso, a nation successfully reducing the proportion of circumcised women from 80% to 30% over three decades, the report also underscores the disruption caused by political instability in conflict-ridden regions like Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Sudan, exacerbating the challenges faced by those working to eradicate the practice. The success story of Burkina Faso takes a prominent place in the report, serving as a model for progress in the global fight against FGM. The nation's significant reduction in the prevalence of FGM becomes a testament to the potential impact of sustained efforts over time. The report emphasizes the importance of studying and replicating successful models like Burkina Faso, showcasing that change is indeed possible with dedication and concerted action. Beyond shedding light on the current state of FGM, the report underscores the pressing need for coordinated global action to eliminate this harmful practice. It emphasizes that in certain countries, progress must outpace historical rates by a factor of ten to meet the 2030 target. Read Also: Heartbreaking Nashville Plane Crash: 3 Children Among 5 Victims in Tragic Accident Urgency of Coordinated Global Action FGM, deeply rooted in gender inequality and societal norms, poses considerable health risks and psychological trauma, necessitating a multifaceted approach to its eradication. The UNICEF report on female genital mutilation is a rallying cry, revealing the persistent threats faced by millions of women and girls worldwide. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) presents no health advantages and can result in severe, enduring complications and even fatality. Immediate health dangers encompass bleeding, shock, infections, HIV transmission, urinary issues, and intense pain. Psychological ramifications may vary, from a loss of trust in caregivers to enduring feelings of anxiety and depression. In adulthood, women who underwent FGM are more susceptible to infertility or complications during childbirth, such as postpartum bleeding, stillbirth, and early infant death. While some cultures view it as a traditional rite of passage, others employ it to suppress female sexuality or enforce chastity. Despite lacking endorsement from Islam or Christianity, religious texts are often cited to justify FGM. In regions where FGM is prevalent, communities may perceive it as essential for marriage or inheritance, creating challenges for families to discontinue the practice. Those who abstain may face social exclusion, jeopardizing their daughters' marital prospects. Urgent global action is imperative, not only to expedite progress but also to raise awareness and safeguard the fundamental human rights of those at risk. As International Women's Day takes center stage globally, the call for concerted efforts to eradicate FGM resonates with renewed urgency, emphasizing the collective responsibility to forge a safer and healthier future for women everywhere. Related Article: March Brings Unexpected $7,430 Stimulus Checks for Eligible Americans-Find Out If You Qualify Photo: (Photo : PASCAL GUYOT/AFP via Getty Images ) Investigators are actively investigating surveillance footage and other evidence of the disastrous shooting of a Worcester mom and her child earlier this week, as elaborated in a police report. Mom and Daughter Shot Near Columbus Park Chasity Nunez and her 11-year-old daughter, Zella, fell victim to the shooting in the Columbus Park neighborhood on Tuesday. The shooting occurred around 3 p.m. on Tuesday near 1 Lisbon St., close to Englewood Avenue. The Worcester Police Department has discovered 27-year-old Dejan Belnavis as a the main suspect, wanted on charges of armed assault with determination to murder and possession of a firearm without a license. Cellphone records express Belnavis was in the vicinity during the shooting, and investigators acquired surveillance footage capturing the scene. The video shows two individuals approaching the vehicle, opening fire, and fleeing towards a sedan, as reported by witnesses. The footage also matches a witness's narrative of the post-shooting vehicle. Through the car's built-in cellphone system, investigators followed it to Hartford, Connecticut, near a relative's home of Belnavis. Described as 5 feet, 11 inches tall, weighing around 160 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, Belnavis is considered armed and dangerous. Authorities urge the public not to approach him but to contact WPD Detective Breau at 508-799-8651 or provide anonymous tips via text at 274637 with "TIPWPD" followed by the message. Another suspect, Karel Mangual, a 28-year-old from Worcester, faces charges of armed assault to murder and carrying a firearm without a license in connection with the incident. Chasity and Zella Nunez were found in a vehicle on Englewood Avenue with severe wounds, and later pronounced dead at a local hospital. Chasity, a former member of the Connecticut Army National Guard, received honors for her service. City officials and community leaders express shock and grief, emphasizing support for the Nunez family. Worcester City Councilor Khrystian King described the incident as a "deeply dark day" for the city. Relatives and friends remember Chasity as a dedicated mother, while Zella, born prematurely and legally blind, overcame challenges and remained cheerful. The neighborhood, known for its quiet and family-oriented nature, was rattled by the violent act. The crime scene, marked by over three dozen evidence markers, drew attention to a gray Nissan SUV with bullet holes on the driver's side windshield, door, and window. Residents express unbelief at the uncommon violence in their community. Read Also: Philadelphia Under Siege: High School Students Ambushed in Shocking SEPTA Bus Stop Shooting Spree Suspects in Killing Mom and Daughter The suspects allegedly fired upon the victims in a white sedan after driving around the neighborhood. Video evidence and a witness's account led investigators to identify the suspects. Dejan D. Belnavis, 27, is being sought on charges of armed assault with intent to murder and illegal firearm possession. With a history of domestic violence charges, Belnavis is considered armed and dangerous.On Thursday, a man accused of badly shooting a mother and her 11-year-old daughter in a residential neighborhood on Tuesday was ordered held without bail. A second suspect, Karel Mangual, 28, with a criminal history, pleaded not liable to charges of armed assault with intent to murder and carrying a gun without a license. His comprehensive record covers a former shooting in 2015. Mangual will remain in custody pending a March 12 hearing to assess his threat to the community. Mangual, who was on bail for drug charges, has a history of criminal convictions, including a 2015 shooting. Prosecutors did not give a motive for the attack, and Mangual's lawyer questioned the proof associated with his client to the killings. The victims, Chasity M. Nunez, 27, and her daughter, Zella Aria Nunez, were shot in a barrage of gunfire around 3 p.m. on Tuesday. Zella, a high-achieving student in Worcester Public Schools, was well-regarded by teachers and friends. Chasity, an MIT Health system employee and a member of the Connecticut National Guard, had received military honors. Governor Maura Healey called the incident a "frightening and senseless loss," expressing solidarity with the grieving community. The terrible scene has left the community in shock, with city officials, school authorities, and neighbors expressing condolences and support for the Nunez family. The investigation continues to unfold, shedding light on the violent past of the accused individuals. Related Article: Teenager Dies, 4 Injured at SEPTA Bus Stop Shooting in Philadelphia Photo: (Photo : Carl Court /Getty Images) Kayla Montgomery, the estranged spouse of Adam Montgomery, convicted in connection with the tragic murder of their 5-year-old daughter Harmony, has been granted parole. This decision follows over a year of Kayla's incarceration for providing misleading information about her whereabouts during the investigation, injecting an additional layer of complexity into an already intricate case surrounding the unexplained disappearance of the young girl. Parole Granted: Decision Sparks Community Scrutiny The contentious parole granted to Kayla Montgomery amid an unfolding child murder case has reignited public interest in the tragedy of Harmony Montgomery. The parole board's recent decision to grant Kayla Montgomery, 33, early release in May, just before her husband's scheduled sentencing for Harmony's murder, has ignited controversy within the community. She was mandated to participate in compulsory rehabilitation programs for substance abuse and required to present an approved residential plan. Furthermore, she will be subjected to rigorous supervision for a minimum of several months. During her hearing at the state correctional facility for women, Kayla Montgomery expressed regret for her actions, acknowledging that her failure to disclose pertinent information hindered the investigation into her daughter's disappearance. She admitted to providing false information about her whereabouts during that time, lamenting her inability to cooperate with detectives. Montgomery emphasized that had she been forthcoming from the outset, authorities could have expedited their investigative efforts. Questions regarding the timing and perceived leniency have surfaced, amplifying the debate surrounding the severe charges faced by the Montgomerys. Critics argue that Kayla's parole, coupled with the yet-to-be-resolved mystery of Harmony's whereabouts, intensifies the intrigue surrounding the case. Child Murder Case Unveils Systemic Flaws and Lingering Ambiguity Harmony Montgomery's tragic life story lays bare significant flaws in child protection systems, prompting a reevaluation of custody procedures. Harmony, who experienced multiple relocations between foster homes and her mother's care, faced uncertainties until her father, Adam Montgomery, gained custody in 2019 and moved to New Hampshire. The delayed reporting of Harmony's disappearance nearly two years after her presumed murder underscores the necessity for a thorough examination of protocols, emphasizing the need to prioritize children's welfare over parental rights. While authorities believe Harmony met her untimely demise on December 7, 2019, the mystery deepens as her disappearance was only reported much later. Despite extensive investigations, Harmony's body remains undiscovered, intensifying the enigma surrounding her fate. Kayla Montgomery, a pivotal witness against her husband during the trial, pleaded guilty to perjury charges for providing false information about her whereabouts on the day Harmony was last seen. Read Also: Uvalde School Shooting Report Sparks Outrage: Families Demand Accountability for Police Response Blunders Unraveling the Enigma: Kayla Montgomery's Role and the Ongoing Investigation During her parole hearing, Kayla Montgomery, a central figure in the case, tearfully admitted that her initial dishonesty impeded the investigative process. Expressing remorse for not cooperating with detectives from the outset, she acknowledged that her candor could have hastened the search for Harmony and shed light on the circumstances leading to her tragic demise. The ongoing investigation into Harmony Montgomery's case leaves many questions unanswered, further complicating an already intricate narrative. Kayla's parole, combined with her assertions of fear and domestic violence at the hands of her husband, introduces layers of complexity to the evolving mystery. As the community grapples with the aftermath of this heart-wrenching case, there persists a collective demand for transparency, justice, and reform within child protection systems. The contentious parole granted to Kayla Montgomery amid an unfolding child murder case has reignited public interest in the tragedy of Harmony Montgomery. As the community anticipates further developments, the persistent unraveling of the mystery surrounding Harmony's disappearance underscores the collective call for clarity, justice, and reform within child protection systems. Related Article: Texas A&M Student Caleb Harris Vanishes: Authorities Launch Intensive Search for Missing College Student Photo: (Photo : Clive Mason/Getty Images) Navigating her sailboat alone through three oceans and complex factors, Cole Brauer achieved a historic feat upon her arrival in A Coruna, Spain. First American Woman to Accomplish Continuous Solo Race Around the World At 29, Cole Brauer became the first American female to complete a nonstop solo race around the world, covering a distance of generally 30,000 miles. Standing at 5-foot-2 and weighing 100 pounds, Brauer was the youngest and only female among more than a dozen sailors in the Global Solo Challenge, which started in October from A Coruna. Facing the uncertain circumstances of the journey, Brauer sailed along the west coast of Africa, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, risked eastward to Australia, confronted the tricky Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America, and sailed northeast across the Atlantic Ocean to Spain. She completed the race in 130 days. Despite challenges like encountering 30-foot waves, sustaining injuries, and even administering her own IV for dehydration, Brauer maintained communication with her team and fans through satellite technology and social media. Celebrating her achievement in A Coruna, she expressed the overwhelming nature of her accomplishment. While Brauer is the first American female to complete a solo circumnavigation by sea, she is not the first woman globally to do so. Polish sailor Krystina Chojnowska-Liskiewicz obtained this in 1978, and Kay Cottee of Australia became the first female to achieve a nonstop solo voyage in 1987. Brauer's journey displayed the mental stamina necessary for solo sailing, and crucial preconceptions about gender and physical size in the sport. Despite setbacks and doubts, Brauer's perseverance and flexibility were instrumental in her groundbreaking attainment, uplifting others to defy confidence in the process. Read Also: Put an End to Sleep Struggles: Test Out YETAIM Sleep Patches Today! Cole Brauer Braved the Challenges of the 30,000-Mile Expedition Cole Brauer, a 29-year-old from New York, has just obtained a groundbreaking milestone as the first American female to complete a solo, nonstop race around the world on board her 40-foot racing boat, First Light. After a demanding 30,000-mile journey spanning 130 days, she arrived in A Coruna, Spain, where she conveyed her stunning feelings and celebrated with Champagne. Securing the second position among 16 participants in the Global Solo Challenge, Brauer is the sole female and the youngest competitor in the event. Commencing in A Coruna, the circumnavigation race featured staggered starts based on performance characteristics. Starting on October 29, Brauer sailed down the west coast of Africa, across to Australia, around the tip of South America, and back to Spain. Despite more than half of the competitors dropping out due to various challenges, Brauer persevered, facing dangers such as navigating the three "Great Capes" of Africa, Australia, and South America. Rounding South America's Cape Horn, often likened to climbing Mount Everest, presented a perilous combination of hazards, including a rise in the ocean floor, whipping winds, massive waves, frigid waters, and stray icebergs. Sailing solo demanded not only being a skipper but also a project manager, involving steering the boat, fixing equipment, understanding weather conditions, and maintaining physical health. The difficulty of the race was emphasized by Marco Nannini, the organizer of the Global Solo Challenge, who highlighted the relatively small number of people who have sailed solo around the world. Brauer faced numerous challenges, from battling 30-foot waves that tossed her across the boat to sustaining a rib injury and administering her own IV for dehydration. Despite the physical and mental hurdles, she stayed connected with her team and entertained herself with Netflix and video calls through Starlink satellites. While technically alone on First Light, Brauer shared her journey with 450,000 Instagram followers, providing candid insights into life on the unforgiving sea. Having learned to sail in college in Hawaii and defying stereotypes as a 100-pound young woman in a male-dominated field, Brauer's message to skeptics is a resounding "Watch me." Emphasizing the importance of mental strength, she has become an inspiration for those who doubted her capabilities. Looking ahead, Brauer aims to continue her professional sailing career, already eyeing another around-the-world competition. However, her immediate post-race desire is to indulge in a croissant and cappuccino. Related Article: Family Vacation: Fostering Positive Impacts Through the Creation of Lasting Memories and Experiences Cody Quirk has kindly called to my notice an article about an interesting discovery in Central America: Archaeologists in Panama find ancient tomb filled with gold treasure and sacrificial victims. Although the site and the golden artifacts that were found by the archaeologists date to a period that is somewhat after the end of the narrative of the Book of Mormon, and although they were located in an area that, according to the Mesoamerican model that I find most persuasive, is somewhat outside the sphere of the Book of Mormon lands, they still strike me as worthy of attention. The gold treasure, of course, would find itself completely at home in the world described by the text that was written on the golden plates. But so, too, would the brutality of the human sacrifices that apparently occurred at the site: Heres a good article on the general background, written by Mark Alan Wright and Brant A. Gardner for the very first issue of Interpreter: The Cultural Context of Nephite Apostasy Abstract: Nephite apostates turned away from true worship in consistent and predictable ways throughout the Book of Mormon. Their beliefs and practices may have been the result of influence from the larger socioreligious context in which the Nephites lived. A Mesoamerican setting provides a plausible cultural background that explains why Nephite apostasy took the particular form it did and may help us gain a deeper understanding of some specific references that Nephite prophets used when combating that apostasy. We propose that apostate Nephite religion resulted from the syncretization of certain beliefs and practices from normative Nephite religion with those attested in ancient Mesoamerica. We suggest that orthodox Nephite expectations of the heavenly king were supplanted by the more present and tangible divine king. But lets bring you up to date with the most recent articles to appear in Interpreter and on the Interpreter Foundations website: Recovering the Lost Concept of Truth in the Restoration Scriptures: Another Key to Understanding Gods Word, written by Blaine L. Hart Abstract: The word truth has for practical purposes lost one of its original English-language meanings, and this has significant implications for understanding scriptures. The obvious, well-understood meaning is that which is real or factual. However, the earliest meaning in English is that which is true in an entirely different way, in the sense of fidelity, loyalty, and faithfulness. The King James translators frequently used truth in this latter sense. The sense of truth as faithfulness remained well known in the nineteenth century. Some passages in the Book of Mormon and other Restoration scriptures reveal deeper insights when read with this understanding. Pondering both meanings of truth in the scriptures can serve as a source of inspiration and learning. Interpreting Interpreter: Oh Say, What is Truth? written by Kyler Rasmussen This post is a summary of the article Recovering the Lost Concept of Truth in the Restoration Scriptures: Another Key to Understanding Gods Word by Blaine L. Hart in Volume 60 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. All of the Interpreting Interpreter articles may be seen at https://interpreterfoundation.org/category/summaries/. An introduction to the Interpreting Interpreter series is available at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreting-interpreter-on-abstracting-thought/. The Takeaway: Hart explores scriptural use of the word truth in its more archaic meaning of fidelity or reliability, outlining examples from various corners of the standard works and the words of modern prophets and encouraging us to consider that meaning in places where we would otherwise interpret the word as factual or honest. I recounted an episode in yesterdays blog entry that was described to me by Karl Ricks Anderson during a 2016 filming project in Kirtland, Ohio. It was about a reprimand given by the Spirit in the Kirtland Temple, according to the man himself, to an official of the then Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Of course, although I told it precisely as I recall it being told to me by some who was directly involved in the incident, the Usual Suspects branded it mere gossip and even accused me of having altogether made the story up or at least of having falsified it in order to express (by innuendo) my famously deep disdain for faiths other than my own and, in particular, my contempt for members of the Community of Christ. (As a denizen of the Peterson Obsession Board who goes by the name of Dumb-Dud, or something of that sort, put it, Someone told me in confidence [a very reliable source] that DCP regularly makes this stuff up. I cant name his name but if you knew who it was you would totally believe me. I just cant possibly name him.) However, although I was unaware of the fact, it turns out that the episode has been recounted publicly elsewhere. Its mentioned in this interesting short article that was posted on Wednesday, with further details of which I was either uncertain or wholly unaware. And here are three other interesting articles that were sparked by this weeks stunning announcement: After buying Kirtland Temple, church hopes to keep it old: There will be no rush to renovate a historic site Latter-day Saints want to preserve as sacred ground where heaven and earth came together How preserving the Kirtland Temple points people to God: Latter-day Saints and others react to the Churchs acquisition of the temple and explain how their testimonies are strengthened by experiences there Where the Sealing Powers Returned: A Photo Essay of the Kirtland Temple There are materials in this article that plainly come from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial How Religion Poisons Everything File: The Relief Society is answering extraordinary occasions and pressing calls across the globe, President Johnson says: Ahead of the 182nd anniversary of the Relief Society, President Camille Johnson reflected on how the mission of relief has held steady I agree with this article, which was written by a Roman Catholic: Does Jesus Have a Sense of Humor? Jesus is fully God and fully man. He is like us in every way except sin. This includes having a sense of humor. It reminds me of the review of a book from another Catholic thinker that I came across a couple of years ago: Making God Laugh: A new book makes the case that humor is heavenly. Alas, though, I still havent read the book. (Life is short.) And, in its turn, the review reminded me of a comment from Brigham Young: There is no music in hell, he once said, for all good music belongs to heaven. And its true that a recurring theme in a substantial minority of reports of near-death experiences is that of incredibly beautiful music. I wonder, though, whether Brighams confident statement is entirely true: After all, wouldnt hell be a wonderful place for bad music? Personally, I believe that Ive had repeated direct and personal experiences with hellish music. To cite just one instance, the interminably long Its a Small World ride at Disneyland, in Anaheim, California, offers a harrowing foretaste of an eternity of excruciating torment for all those with ears to hear. (For those who lack ears to ear, though, its probably pretty much harmless, and the line moves really fast.) Moreover, the review reminded me of yet something else: I was the founder and, for years, the editor-in-chief of Brigham Young Universitys former Middle Eastern Texts Initiative, which, a few years after my enforced departure from the project, was unfortunately transferred by the Maxwell Institute to the massively expensive E. J. Brill Publishing in the Netherlands. The Middle Eastern Texts Initiative (METI) produced bilingual editions of books (mostly Islamic, but also sometimes Eastern Christian and Jewish) from the classical Islamic world. The books were printed at Brigham Young University Press and distributed by the University of Chicago Press. Anyway, one of the volumes features what I still consider the best single line that we ever published. But, first, just a tiny bit of prefatory material: Al-Ghazali (d. AD 1111), who was one of the most significant figures in the history of Islamic thought, a legendarily brilliant philosophical theologian and legal thinker who spent most of his life in Iran and Iraq but also sojourned for a significant period in Jerusalem, is talking about extremely poor students, and, in that context, attributes the following remark to Jesus: Even though I managed to raise the dead, I have never been able to cure an idiot! (See al-Ghazali, O Son!, trans. David C. Reisman, in Classical Foundations of Islamic Educational Thought, ed. Bradley J. Cook [Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 2010], 103.) Now, Ill admit that my first inclination when I came across the passage was to say that this alleged statement cant possibly be authentic. And thats still probably correct. But al-Ghazali is entirely serious, and he plainly regards the statement as genuine. Furthermore, his citation of it takes us back fully a thousand years or more, halfway to the time of Jesus. So . . . I have to confess that I rather like the idea that the Savior might have said such a thing. It humanizes him a bit. Surely, with all those long walks from Nazareth to Capernaum, and from Capernaum to Jericho, and from Jericho to Jerusalem, and from Jerusalem back up to Capernaum or Nazareth, it cant all have been immortal sermons and solemn earnestness. (Can it? Maybe Im just not fit for heaven.) There must have been some small talk. And the image of Jesus trudging along with the disciples down those dusty paths and confiding, at the end of a tough day, You know, Peter? I can raise the dead, but I just cant cure idiots is oddly appealing to me. Still, alas, its probably bogus. Here are a couple of other cases, though, where I think that an impish divine sense of humor may actually play a role. Both are instances where, if my hypotheses are on target, the prank was set in place long before it was noticed: 1) The appearance of Elijah in the Kirtland Temple: Elijah did come at Passover time as pious Jews had long hoped he would although he did not avail himself of the hospitably opened door of a faithful Jewish family but came to the House of the Lord in Kirtland. See Stephen D. Ricks, The Appearance of Elijah and Moses in the Kirtland Temple and the Jewish Passover, BYU Studies 23/4 (1983): 483-486. Neither the early Latter-day Saints nor anybody else noticed for several decades. When they do notice, though, it becomes one of those things about Joseph Smith that are rather difficult to explain. 2) The appearance of Early Modern English (EModE) in the original English dictation of the Book of Mormon, as shown by Royal Skousen and Stanford Carmack. Once again, though, neither the early Latter-day Saints nor anybody else noticed for several decades. And, also once again, it becomes difficult to explain away. Its very strange for believers, but, for those who seek a naturalistic explanation for the appearance of the Book of Mormon in the late 1820s, its virtually impossible. Incidentally, BYU Studies and the Interpreter Foundation will be co-sponsoring an event on the evening of Saturday, 10 August 2024, to mark the culmination of Royal Skousens thirty-six years of work on his landmark Book of Mormon Critical Text Project. Details are still being worked out, but it will take place in Utah Valley and you may want to mark your calendar. Both Royal Skousen and Dr. Carmack are slated to speak at the event. I would like to call your attention to the online video of a recent Latter-day Saint/Evangelical Protestant Dialogue that features Robert Boylan, Spencer Marsh, and Blake Ostler on the Latter-day Saint side. (I cant tell you who is on the Evangelical Protestant side; I havent had time to watch the video yet.) Incl. Papal & Patristic Exegesis of Matthew 16 and John 21; Relationship of the Bible & the Church Pastor Mike Winger is the featured teacher of BibleThinker online ministry. He graduated from the School of Ministry at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and was ordained in 2006. He has since served in various ministries with a primary focus on being a youth pastor. Mike has since transitioned into laboring full time with BibleThinker to provide free teaching content worldwide. He also has a thriving YouTube channel called Learn to Think Biblically (688K subscribers). Mike is strongly committed to a careful and thoughtful study of the Bible with a view toward answering skeptics challenges with reason and Scripture. I use RSV for Bible verses. Mikes words will be in blue. ***** Im responding to Mikes video entitled, Why Catholicism is WRONG (8-24-15). It has received 316,481 views, as of 3-8-24. 1:06 if their claims accurate, then I cant interpret the Bible only they can In fact, the Catholic Church has required one particular view of a Bible passages for only nine passages in the entire Bible. This is an annoying myth that we hear all the time. Indeed, the orthodox, faithful Catholic interpret doctrines that he derives from Scripture with the help and guidance of the Church and sacred tradition, but so what? Every Protestant does the same thing within their own denominational tradition. No five-point Calvinist, for example, can find a verse in the Bible which proves apostasy or falling away, or one that teaches Gods desire for universal, rather than limited atonement (and there are many such passages). He cant deny total depravity in any text, or irresistible grace. We all have orthodox and dogmatic boundaries that we abide by. No Christian of any stripe could say that John 1:1 does not teach the deity and Godhood of Jesus. 1:13 the Bible is extra it is not essential This is sheer nonsense. The Catholic Church reveres the Bible as much as any Protestant denomination or individual. I remember reading The Battle for the Bible (1977) by Protestant scholar Harold Lindsell, back in the day (the early 80s) when I was a fervent evangelical, and his making the point that the Catholic Church had a doctrine of the inspiration and infallibility of Scripture including after Vatican II, which changed no doctrines that was as high as any Protestant view (it really struck me at the time, and I was delighted to learn of it). Catholics also think that sacred, apostolic tradition and the Church are infallible authorities, and we do because the Bible itself teaches this: notably in Acts 15 (the Jerusalem Council) and in 1 Timothy 3:15: both of which closely examined teach the infallible authority of the Church (which is directly contrary to sola Scriptura). This is not sola ecclesia, as it has been caricatured (by Mike and many others). Its a three-legged-stool rule of faith: Bible-Church-Tradition: all of which are in complete harmony with each other. 1:19 Church statements are whats essential They are, but not exclusively so, as he makes out, and in a manner that is hardly different from each Protestant denomination, that has creeds and confessions that they adhere to, just as we have our doctrines that we believe. Lutherans have the Book of Concord. Presbyterians have the Westminster Confession. Anglicans have the 39 Articles, etc. No one can claim that they arent essential too in their own domains. 1:19 when the Catholic theologian uses the Bible to try to prove Catholic doctrine its just an exercise. Its not that they think they have to [do]. They dont believe they have to use the Bible; theyre just doing that to try to convince you to try to convince others This is pure mythology. How would he even go about proving such a ludicrous claim? You notice that he doesnt cite anything to corroborate his charge. It simply comes from his own cynical anti-Catholic bias. No Catholic decree or argument from a Catholic theologian or apologist has ever stated that the Bible is unimportant or merely optional in doing theology. To the contrary, official Catholic documents like Vatican II, the Catholic Catechism, or papal encyclicals are literally filled with Scripture (at least as much if not more than the typical Protestant sermon). Its clear from the sheer volume that Scripture is central in the whole enterprise. 2:37 the Roman Catholic Church bases their case . . . for their authority [on] that single pillar that holds up all the doctrine of the church: we declare it, therefore its true. First of all, we dont say something is true simply because the Church declares it (which would be circular reasoning). What we actually say is that the Church declares it because it is based on the Bible and the history of doctrine and reason. Secondly, if there is any single pillar its the Bible; particularly this verse: . . . the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth (1 Tim 3:15). If the Catholic Church is indeed that, again, its not because it merely makes the claim, but because the Bible said so, and we have many other biblical and historical reasons for identifying the Catholic Church as the one true Church of the Bible, that Jesus set up, with Peter as the first earthly leader. 2:59 Matthew 16 . . . whatever it does teach it certainly does not teach that Peter was the first pope Matthew 16:16-19 Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. [17] And Jesus answered him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. [18] And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. [19] I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. At the very least he was clearly intended to be the leader of the new Church, of which he was even said to be the foundation (Rock). R. T. France, widely considered to be one of the best New Testament exegetes, stated: Not only is Peter to have a leading role, but this role involves a daunting degree of authority . . . The image of keys (plural) perhaps suggests . . . the steward, who regulates its [the houses] administration . . . an authority derived from a delegation of Gods sovereignty (Vol. 1: Matthew, in Leon Morris, General Editor., Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press/Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1985, 256). That sounds pretty papal, doesnt it? Yet its a commentary from a Protestant on the New Testament text (words of Jesus). Here are what other Protestants say, along similar lines: Craig S. Keener wrote: The image of keys (plural) perhaps suggests not so much the porter, who controls admission to the house, as the steward, who regulates its administration / probably refers primarily to a legislative authority in the church (The IVP Bible Background Commentary New Testament [Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press, 1993], 256, 90). The great scholar F. F. Bruce stated that in the new community which Jesus was about to build, Peter would be, so to speak, chief steward (The Hard Sayings of Jesus [Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity, 1983], 143-144). T. W. Manson, in his book, The sayings of Jesus: as recorded in the Gospels according to St. Matthew and St. Luke (London: SCM Press, 1954 ed., p. 205 ) stated that Peter was as shown by by Jesus words Gods vicegerent who would declare what is right and wrong for the Christian community and whose decisions would be confirmed by God. 3:31 in fact 80% of the time the Church Fathers disagree with the Catholic interpretation of Matthew 16 First of all, the fathers arent the ultimate authorities in exegesis, and if some of them got this wrong (from our Catholic perspective) it is no problem for our system at all. Biblical exegesis is an independent field of study and can be done today, regardless of what was believed about specific passages in the past. The above arguments from Protestant exegetes stand on their own. I have made the case from the Bible because both sides accept it as inspired, infallible revelation. Precisely because it is inspired, neither side can dismiss it. It has to be grappled with. The above is what some of the very best Protestant exegetes have stated about Matthew 16 and what it means (in a nutshell, Peter was given extraordinary authority by Jesus). Mike just whips up a negative bald sentence; I provided significant and solid Protestant scholarship. Its a huge difference in methodology. There were, in fact, many Church fathers (far more than 20%) who thought Peter was the rock, the foundation of the Church and its leader, based on Matthew 16. Here are 18 of them: Tertullian, writing around 200-220, stated that Peter . . . is called the Rock whereon the Church was to be built (Prescription against Heretics, 22). St. Hippolytus wrote around 225: By this Spirit Peter spoke that blessed word, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. By this Spirit the rock of the Church was established (The Discourse on the Holy Theophany, 9). Origen writing around 230-250, called Peter that great foundation of the Church, and most solid rock, upon which Christ founded the Church (In Exod. Hom. v. n. 4, tom. ii) and Upon him (Peter) . . . the Church was founded (In Epist. ad Rom. lib. v. c. 10, tom. iv) and Peter upon whom is built Christs Church (T. iv. In Joan. Tom. v.). St. Cyprian, c. 246, wrote about Peter, upon whom by the same Lord the Church had been built (Epistle 54 to Cornelius, 7). Firmilian, c. 254, wrote about one Church, which was once first established by Christ on a Rock (Inter Ep. S. Cyp. Ep. lxxv). Aphraates (c. 336) stated that the Lord . . . set him up as the foundation, called him the rock and structure of the Church (Homily 7:15, De Paenitentibus). St. Ephraem (c. 350-370) called Peter the foundation of the holy Church (Homilies 4:1). St. Hilary of Poitiers in 360 held that Peter was the foundation-stone of the Church (On the Trinity, Bk. VI, 20). St. Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 363), commenting on Matthew 16, calls peter the foremost of the apostles and chief herald of the Church (Catechetical Lecture 11, 3). St. Optatus (c. 370), commenting on the same passage, wrote that Peter was to be preferred before all the Apostles and was The Head of the Apostles (De Schism. Don. l. vii. n. 3). St. Gregory of Nazianzen (370) stated that Peter is entrusted with the Foundations of the Church (T. i. or. xxxii. n. 18). St. Gregory of Nyssa (371) wrote that Peter was the Head of the Apostles . . . (upon him) is the Church of God firmly established. . . . that unbroken and most firm Rock upon which the Lord built His Church (Alt. Or. De S. Steph.). St. Basil the Great (371) stated that Peter received on himself the building of the Church (Adversus Eunomius 2:4). St. Epiphanius (c. 385): upon which (Rock) the Church is in every way built . . . Foundation of the house of God (Adv. Haeres.). St. Ambrose (c. 385-389): whom when He styles a Rock, He pointed out the Foundation of the Church (T. ii. l. iv. De Fide, c. v. n. 56). St. John Chrysostom (c. 387): Head or Crown of the Apostles, the First in the Church . . . that unbroken Rock, that firm Foundation, the Great Apostle, the First of the disciples (T. ii. Hom. iii. de Paenit. n. 4). St. Jerome (385): Peter, upon whom the Lord has founded the Church (Letters 41, 2). St. Cyril of Alexandria (424): the church . . . over this he sets Peter as shepherd (Comm. on Matt., ad. loc.). Mike then brings up John 21, where Jesus tells Peter to feed my sheep, etc., and then he claims: 5:31 whatever Jesus is doing here, this says nothing about a papacy . . . if you didnt know about the papacy, youd never read the Bible and come up with that doctrine; it just would never happen. It would never occur to you. Its completely artificially foisted upon the Scriptures; pushed onto the Bible. We need clear teachings, not vague implications. It is clear teaching; I completely disagree. In the context of many Bible passages already indicating a profound leadership of Peter among the disciples and in the early Church (I found fifty such), its significant that Jesus uses an agricultural shepherd and sheep parallel, which is a metaphor for being a pastor. The word shepherd is used 15 times in the NT in this fashion. So what does Jesus do here? He was with seven of the disciples (Jn 21:2) in a post-Resurrection appearance. But He singled out Peter and charged him to feed my lambs (21:15) and tend my sheep (21:16) and feed my sheep (21:17), which could quite plausibly be taken to mean His entire Church, since He uses the words the sheep or sheep 14 times in John 10: meaning, believers in the Church. There He was talking about Himself as the Ultimate Shepherd. But there are also earthly shepherds (pastors or priests or bishops). Jesus didnt say this to all seven disciples present. He said it to Peter only. That must have some significance. It fits into the scenario of him being the leader of the Church. After all, Jesus had already said (Mt 16) that He would build His Church upon Peter, as the Rock. This exhortation perfectly fits in with that. Its the same sort of thing in Luke 22:32, where Jesus says, I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail and strengthen your brethren to Peter alone. I believe its the only time Jesus is said to have prayed for one person, who is named. And guess who it is? Just a coincidence: its once again Peter. Many Protestant commentators say that Peter was singled out and asked three times because he denied Jesus three times. That may very well be true, but if so, it doesnt follow that my interpretation is null and void. He still encouraged him to be a pastor of what is arguably the entire Church; and it goes along with Luke 22:32 and Matthew 16:18-19. Moreover, the parallel to the denials would be when Jesus asked him three times, do you love Me? But the other parts are not parallels to the denials. Thus, this attempted dismissal of the larger papal meaning of the passage fails in its evasive purpose. Mike makes a bald analysis and a skeptical claim with no reasoning whatever. I reason through it, do exegesis, including cross-referencing, and make an actual argument. Which is the more impressive method of the two? 6:02 Jesus here is putting Peter in a shepherding position, yes absolutely, but does . . . feeding the sheep and tending the lambs make him like the ultimate apostle whos in charge of all the other apostles? * The Bible massively indicates that he was the leader of the disciples and of the early Church . Protestants dont even deny that. Its too obvious. Here he is shown to be that again by being singled out. All of them would be shepherds but Jesus talks to Peter alone. It makes perfect sense. If He built His Church upon Peter, then Peter would certainly be charged with feeding the sheep en masse. * 6:15 in fact Acts 20:28 it talks about all of the elders in Ephesus and all of them are told that theyre to shepherd the Church of God * Mike answers himself here. This was strictly a local context: elders in Ephesus (Acts 20:17) caring for that flock. The phrase, church of God can refer to only a local church (see, e.g., 1 Cor 1:2; 2 Cor 1:1). Peter didnt have a specific flock when Jesus told Him to feed His sheep. So it seems to be a universal shepherding, which also is what we see in the nature of his first epistle, which is to a large group (To the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia: 1:1), not one local church, as with Pauls letters. I wrote in August 2022 about this: Pontus was in the north of Turkey and largely surrounding the Black Sea north of it. Galatia was in the center of Asia Minor (Turkey), Cappadocia in its southeast, and Bithynia in its northwest. Asia in the NT refers to Asia Minor. So Peter was writing to Christians in a vast area. The size of Turkey is about a thousand miles from west to east, and 300-400 miles from north to south. This is the area, and also east and north of the Black Sea, that was the recipient of Peters first epistle. The letter is filled with decidedly papal commands: and Peter assumes sublime authority throughout his epistle: gird up your minds (1:13 [RSV]); be holy yourselves in all your conduct (1:15); love one another earnestly from the heart (1:22); So put away all malice and all guile and insincerity and envy and all slander (2:1); long for the pure spiritual milk (2:2); abstain from the passions of the flesh (2:11); Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles (2:12); Be subject for the Lords sake to every human institution (2:13); Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. (2:17); wives, be submissive to your husbands (3:1); Likewise you husbands, live considerately with your wives, bestowing honor on the woman (3:7); have unity of spirit, sympathy, love of the brethren, a tender heart and a humble mind. (3:8); Do not return evil for evil or reviling for reviling (3:9); in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense (3:15: apologetics!); keep your conscience clear (3:16); keep sane and sober for your prayers (4:7); hold unfailing your love for one another (4:8); Practice hospitality ungrudgingly to one another (4:9); As each has received a gift, employ it for one another (4:10); Tend the flock of God that is your charge (5:2: addressed specifically to other bishops); you that are younger be subject to the elders (5:5); Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God (5:6); Be sober, be watchful (5:8); and Resist him, firm in your faith (5:9). This is altogether the scope and nature of a bishops teaching, with authority, and to Christians over an area a thousand miles wide and 400 miles from bottom to top. Thats not local church stuff! 8:57 the earliest interpretation where someone says that this is papal in John 21 is from 680 AD, over 600 years later. Then someone finally has the idea that this is papal and who is it? Pope Agatho; a very self-serving claim for his own power to increase by tying it to this scripture. Nice try. Here his claim is much more broad: no Church father at all thought the passage was papal; that is, indicative of Peter being the leader of the early Church, and we have to get all the way to 680 AD to find anyone who thinks this way. One wonders if Mike did any research on the matter. Its likely that he simply read this in an old anti-Catholic book (filled with the usual history-challenged myths) and passed it along. All I have to do is find one Church father to refute this sweeping claim, but I have found nine: Origen (c. 216): the Chief Authority as regards the feeding of the sheep was delivered to Peter (T. iv. l. 5, in Ep. ad Rom. n. 1). St. Cyprian (c. 246): to the same [Peter] He says, after His resurrection, Feed my sheep. And although to all the apostles, after His resurrection, He gives an equal power, . . . yet, that He might set forth unity, He arranged by His authority the origin of that unity, as beginning from one. (Treatise 1: On the Unity of the Church, 4). St. Ephraem (c. 350-370): The Lord . . . delivered his flock to Simon . . . Three pledges he took from him as shepherd, that with love he should shepherd his lambs, and should visit his sheep with mercy, and should guard his ewes with fear. (HVirg. 36, 6; CSCO 223, Syr. 94). Ambrosiaster (c. 380-384): After the Saviour all were included in Peter; for He constituted him to be their head, that he might be the shepherd of the Lords flock (Quaest. 75, ex N. Test. in App. St. August. tom. iii. 2894). St. Ambrose (385): Therefore did Christ also commit to Peter to feed His flock (Ib. in. Ps. cxviii. [Mem] n. 3). St. Epiphanius (c. 385): He heard from the same God, Peter, feed My lambs; to him was intrusted the flock; he leads the way admirably in the power of his own Master. (Tom. ii. In Anchorat. n. 9). St. John Chrysostom (c. 387): He puts into his hands the presidency over the brethren . . . [and] says, If Thou lovest Me, preside over the brethren . . . He sets the presidency over his own sheep . . . He appointed this man (Peter) teacher . . . of the world. (In Joan. Hom. lxxxviii. n. 1, tom. viii.). What advantage, pray, could be greater than to be seen doing those things which Christ with his own lips declared to be proofs of love to Himself? For addressing the leader of the apostles He said, Peter, do you love me? and when he confessed that he did, the Lord added, if you love me tend my sheep. The Master asked the disciple if He was loved by him, not in order to get information (how should He who penetrates the hearts of all men?), but in order to teach us how great an interest He takes in the superintendence of these sheep. This being plain, it will likewise be manifest that a great and unspeakable reward will be reserved for him whose labors are concerned with these sheep, upon which Christ places such a high value. . . . For what purpose did He shed His blood? It was that He might win these sheep which He entrusted to Peter and his successors. . . . Will you, then, still contend that you were not rightly deceived, when you are about to superintend the things which belong to God, and are doing that which when Peter did the Lord said he should be able to surpass the rest of the apostles, for His words were, Peter, do you love me more than these? . . . one is required to preside over the Church, and to be entrusted with the care of so many souls . . . (On the Priesthood, Book II, 1-2) St. Augustine (c. 400): . . . the Lord commended his sheep to Peter himself to feed . . . when Christ speaks to one, unity is commended and to Peter for the first time, because Peter is first among the apostles. (Sermo. 295). [T]here are many other things which most justly keep me in her bosom. The consent of peoples and nations keeps me in the Church; so does her authority, inaugurated by miracles, nourished by hope, enlarged by love, established by age. The succession of priests keeps me, beginning from the very seat of the Apostle Peter, to whom the Lord, after His resurrection, gave it in charge to feed His sheep, down to the present episcopate. And so, lastly, does the name itself of Catholic, which, not without reason, amid so many heresies, the Church has thus retained; so that, though all heretics wish to be called Catholics, yet when a stranger asks where the Catholic Church meets, no heretic will venture to point to his own chapel or house. (Against the Fundamental Epistle of Manichaeus, ch. 4, 5). The Lord, indeed, had told His disciples to carry a sword; but He did not tell them to use it. But that after this sin Peter should become a pastor of the Church was no more improper than that Moses, after smiting the Egyptian, should become the leader of the congregation. (Contra Faustum, Book XXII, 70). And again the Lord asked this question, and a third time He asked it. And when he asserted in reply his love, He commended to him the flock. For each several time the Lord Jesus said to Peter, as he said, I love you; Feed My lambs, feed My little sheep. In this one Peter was figured the unity of all pastors . . . (Sermon 97 on the New Testament, 2). Peter generally stands for a figure of the Church. (Sermon 25 on the New Testament, 10; cf. Sermon 96; Sermon 88, 4). For He says to Peter, in whom singly He forms the Church; Peter, do you love Me? He answered, Lord, I do love You. Feed My sheep. (Sermon 87 on the New Testament, 3). St. Peter Chrysologus (432): He commends His sheep to be fed by Peter, in His stead (Serm. vi. In Ps. xcix). Mike continues his comments on this passage from John 21: 9:45 Peter did not claim to be the Pope. Hes not treated as the Pope. He didnt wield the power of the papacy. If Peter wasnt the Pope, how can his successor be the Pope? If Peters not the Pope, nobody is; there is no Pope! Well, we need only look at the above patristic passages regarding Jesus telling Peter to feed His sheep. How is Peter described?: Chief Authority; head; shepherd of the Lords flock; presidency over the brethren; teacher . . . of the world; leader of the apostles; superintendence of these sheep; sheep which He entrusted to Peter and his successors; surpass the rest of the apostles; one is required to preside over the Church; entrusted with the care of so many souls; first among the apostles; charge to feed His sheep down to the present episcopate; pastor of the Church; the leader [like Moses] of the congregation; In this one Peter was figured the unity of all pastors; Peter generally stands for a figure of the Church; Peter, in whom singly He forms the Church; His sheep to be fed by Peter, in His stead. If all of these descriptions arent papal what in the world is? How much evidence does one need, pray tell? How many more ways are necessary to describe what is clearly leadership of the entire Church? Nothing else is required. This is what many eminent Church fathers believed about John 21. Yet Mike claimed that no one thought this way until 680 AD. All these men were a bunch of ignorant, spiritually vacant dopes, I guess: to see all of this in a passage that Mike thinks is wholly insignificant in terms of Church government and the papacy. Make your choice, folks: Mike, or the Bibles clear teaching and Church fathers like Cyprian, Ambrose, John Chrysostom, and Augustine. And then we can add the descriptions of Peter in the fathers, in interpreting Matthew 16: the Rock whereon the Church was to be built; the rock of the Church; that great foundation of the Church; solid rock, upon which Christ founded the Church; Peter upon whom is built Christs Church; upon whom by the same Lord the Church had been built; Church . . . established by Christ on a Rock; the foundation; the rock and structure of the Church; the foundation of the holy Church; the foundation-stone of the Church; the foremost of the apostles; chief herald of the Church; preferred before all the Apostles; Head of the Apostles; entrusted with the Foundations of the Church; Rock upon which the Lord built His Church; received on himself the building of the Church; upon which (Rock) the Church is in every way built; Foundation of the house of God; the Foundation of the Church; Head or Crown of the Apostles; the First in the Church; that firm Foundation; the Great Apostle;, the First of the disciples; Peter, upon whom the Lord has founded the Church; the church . . . over this he sets Peter as shepherd. Thats an awful lot of material to ignore, in order to pretend that St. Peter wasnt the leader of the earliest Church; the first pope, if you will. Zelenskyy to Erdogan: We do not see Russian representatives at inaugural Peace Summit Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine and its partners are not considering the possibility of Russian representatives attending the inaugural Peace Summit to be held in Switzerland. Today we talked a lot about our Peace Formula. I am grateful for Mr. Presidents support. I informed Mr. President about the preparations for the Global Peace Summit at the leader level, organized in Switzerland - the inaugural Peace Summit, he said during a press conference with the Turkish President in Istanbul. According to Zelenskyy, it is obvious that Turkeys special role deserves the leadership of your state to be shown at the Peace Summit and in the joint work of the world majority for the full implementation of the Peace Formula. As for the very format of the inaugural summit: we do not see representatives of Russia at this summit. We do not see how they can invite people who block, destroy and kill everything. We want to get a result. The result of a just world and just a fair one for Ukraine, said the president of Ukraine. Therefore, Zelenskyy noted, the initially civilized countries of the world will develop a detailed plan and will have results (following the results of the first Global Summit). And only then will they attract representatives of Russia - precisely those who will be ready for a just world, he concluded. Earlier, during a press conference with Zelenskyy Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey is ready to host the Peace Summit, but with the participation of Russia. Professor of Economics and the Dean for the University of Cape Coast School of Business, Professor John Gartchie Gatsi, has revealed that issues of LGBTQ+ in Ghana was not part of the required conditions during the International Monetary Fund negotiations. According to Prof. John Gatsi, the comments issued by the IMF following the passage of the Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill popularly called the Anti-Gay bill, is a statement of interest. According to a Bloomberg report, the Bretton Wood Institution, in a statement, noted, amongst other things, that, "its internal policies frown on discrimination based on personal characteristics, including gender, gender expression, or sexual orientation. Diversity and inclusion are values that the IMF embraces, the Fund emphasised. In contrast to the IMF assertions, Professor Gatsi believes that Ghanas finance ministry was being used to blackmail us to support the President not to sign the bill, passed by Ghanas parliament. He, therefore, pointed that there seems to be a heavy dose of lobbying going on in these last minutes of the anti-LGBTQ bill becoming law. He said, When we went to the IMF, there was no condition regarding LGBTQ issues. In fact, when the World Bank was giving us [Ghana] money, the only thing that they were waiting for was the signing of the IMF deal that opened the door for them to provide those credits that theyre providing to us. Prof. Gatsi continued by stating that, of course, those monies are not free money, we are going to pay back those monies, and the only condition, according to him, was for the parliament of Ghana to consider those loans and approve them, which has been done long ago." Meanwhile, the finance ministry has petitioned President Akufo-Addo not to assent the bill considering the grave financial implications Ghana is likely to face in the eyes of the international communities. Source: Kobina Darlington/peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Minister designate for Health, Dr. Bernard Okoe-Boye has emphasized the importance of women empowerment in building an industrious nation for future generations He drew a direct relationship between women empowerment and socio-economic development and posited that women are better Managers of available resources. "I am very pleased to say here that the NHIA links with any positive move towards women empowerment. I am proud to say that two of the NHIA's Deputy Chief Executives are women. One in charge of Human Resources/Administration and the other Operations. " The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Ag. Director of Administration and Human Resources, Mr. Raymond Avinu, read the outgoing NHIA Chief Executive's speech at the second edition of Corporate Health and Legal Crusade, masterminded by a Non Governmental Organization known as B-Heck Africa COHLDA, held at Coconut Grove Hotel in Accra. As a gender activist, Dr. Okoe Boye commended the event organizers for the theme, "Empowering corporate Africa on legal and health rights to serve as a public health safety advocate." "This aptly recognizes the impact of multi and intersectoral collaboration in forging corporate partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals as captured under SDG 17." "The NHIA associates with the B-HeCK Africa dedication to fostering impactful collaborations in presenting this second edition of special women empowerment event in commemoration of the International Women's Day. Dr. Okoe Boye said the event was in tandem with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) yearlong 20th Anniversary celebration. "As the outgoing NHIA Chief Executive and the Health Minister designate, I am much more excited to be part of this one-of-a-kind B-HeCK Africa partnership event. As the incoming Health Minister, I have a duty and responsibility to ensuring the health and well-being of the citizenry, of which corporate workforce is prime." He stressed, " This is an event that I am personally sensitive about because it is to ensure the wellbeing of workers of whom I am inclusive, especially when emphasizing on the biopsychosocial model of health which I best relate to as a Medical Practitioner." "The corporate health and legal date, being a movement makes me highly hopeful and expectant of a stage in our corporate dispensation when the average worker will be accorded the kind of respect, honor, and support which have long eluded the average worker in our part of the world. ~deprived of in the past and it is not by coincidence that it is happening under my administration."~ Dr. Okoe Boye showed appreciation for the role played by Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), in making the NHIS the best model in Sub-Saharan Africa. "Over the years, through the support of Civil Society Organizations and development partners, we have grown Ghanas indigenous NHIS into an enviable ~remarkable~ social protection model in Africa and beyond, but a lot more needs to be done. We need to work harder to ~to get closer to~ achieve the national agenda of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by the year 2030. Our goal is to fully drive the national agenda of attaining Universal Health Coverage (UHC)." "We need to encourage more people to enroll onto the NHIS as we remain committed to provide access to improved healthcare delivery on a sustainable basis. Together, we can make this a reality." He highlighted the NHIA achievement of reducing the NHIS Claims payments backlog to just two months as of February 2024. "Presently, the Authority makes monthly payments to service providers whose Claims have been vetted and approved and the latest payments to the tune of over 130 million cedis was paid in February this year, which narrowed the arrears gap to just two months. The Authority is committed to attaining 100 percent electronic Claims management and the essence is to eliminate wastage and ensure prudent use of available resources to provide access to quality ~the best~ healthcare services to NHIS members and surely renew the governments confidence in the NHIAs fiscal discipline." "As a result of the rapid Claims payments, we launched a platform known as the 'Sunshine policy' to deepen accountability, transparency, and social auditing. Since its launch in March 2023, suppliers of drugs to healthcare facilities and the public can log onto the NHIS official website with privileged access to view payments made to deserving facilities. This highest level of transparency has won the admiration of healthcare managers as a critical innovation." The Minister of Health designate encouraged people to use the new ~est~ online registration platform known as MyNHIS App and sign up for the NHIS to benefit from the expanded Benefits Package. "The National Health Insurance Authority continues to introduce ~new~ innovations to expand its ~the NHIS~ operations. Notable among these innovations is the recent introduction of MyNHIS App, which is helping a lot of people to do multiple registrations and self-renewal ~ble~ of expired NHIS membership ~using android phones~ . "What is key for us today is leveraging the use of the Ghana Card for Health Care Access and I urge all holders of the NHIS and Ghana cards to link the two and use one card for healthcare access. We at the National Health Insurance Authority are determined to ~harness~ leverage technolgy and consensus building to drive change in the healthcare ecosystem and I ask for your support in making this change. This is a chance we cannot afford to ~squander~ miss. We must make real changes to healthcare delivery to have a sustainable healthcare system for our people ~in the future."~ Awards Some distinguished Ghanaian women including the NHIA Deputy Chief Executive for Administration and Human Resources, Dr. Yaa Pokuaa-Baiden (Mrs.) and the Deputy Chief Executive responsible for Operations, Louisa Atta-Agyemang (Mrs.) were honored. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Atik Mohammed has condemned the pressure from the international community on President Nana Akufo-Addo not to assent to the anti-LGBTQ+ bill. Ghana's Parliament has passed the anti-LGBTQ+ bill to outlaw the activities of homosexuals, however it awaits presidential assent before it becomes law. Following the passage of the bill, countries like the United States have threatened to stop lending Ghana their support if the President doesn't cancel it. The US ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Evelyn Palmer says the bill is an infringement on the rights and freedom of the LGBTQ+ society. I am saddened because some of the smartest, most creative, most decent people I know are LGBT. The bill Parliament passed takes away not only their basic human rights but those of all Ghanaians because it undermines their constitutional rights to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press. It will be bad for public order and public health. If enacted, it will also hurt Ghanas international reputation and Ghanas economy, she wrote on the embassys X (formerly twitter) page. President Akufo-Addo also seems to be dilly-dallying with the bill as he issued a statement saying "a challenge has been mounted at the Supreme Court by a concerned citizen to the constitutionality of the proposed legislation. In the circumstances, it would be, as well, for all of us to hold our hands, and await the decision of the Court before any action is taken. The operation of the institutions of the Ghanaian state will determine the future trajectory of the rule of law and human rights compliance in our country." Addressing the issue, Atik Mohammed blasted the western world for trying to force Ghana to denounce its cultural values. He described this as "cultural imperialism", stating "it is the next face of imperialism and it's something that every sovereign State endeavors to resist". He questioned the United States and other countries pressuring Ghana to disregard the bill why they are not exerting the same energy on Russia and the Arab countries where LGBTQ+ has been completely outlawed and offenders face death penalties. "Why don't they go to Russia to preach these things? It has been outlawed in Russia. When you to a lot of the Arab countries, this abomination has been outlawed. Why are they not taking their advocacy there? Why are they not taking their threats there?", he fumed. To Atik, President Akufo-Addo should sign the bill and "damn" the consequences thereof. "Already, we are in hardship. You are not bequeathing to us a strong economy. You cannot bequeathed to us a legacy of LGBTQ", he told Presenter Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" morning show, adding "Ghana is blessed with all kinds of things, what remains is leadership...As a matter of fact, we should be working ourselves away from aid". Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Atik Mohammed has warned President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo against not signing the anti-LGBTQ+ bill. The President, in a statement dated March 4, indicated that the bill is not yet on his desk. He also cited a Supreme Court case by some persons in the country challenging the constitutionality of the bill and due to this, has asked the nation to hold our hands, and await the decision of the Court before he takes any action. I think it will serve little purpose to go, at this stage, into the details of the origin of this proposed law, which is yet to reach my desk. But, suffice it to say, that I have learnt that, today, a challenge has been mounted at the Supreme Court by a concerned citizen to the constitutionality of the proposed legislation. In the circumstances, it would be, as well, for all of us to hold our hands, and await the decision of the Court before any action is taken. The operation of the institutions of the Ghanaian state will determine the future trajectory of the rule of law and human rights compliance in our country, portions of the statement further read. The President's response has been interpreted by some people to mean he doesn't want to assent to the bill. Contributing to "Kokrokoo" panel discussion show on Peace FM, Atik Mohammed cautioned the President saying he will leave a bad legacy for his party and the nation if he refuses to sign the bill. "He's going to hurt the NPP and his candidate forever. It's going to be a tag on the NPP as a party that endorses homosexuality and that's going to be a terrible tag that will haunt the NPP for a very long time to come," the former PNC General Secretary warned. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video LA GRULLA, Texas (AP) A helicopter flying over the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas crashed Friday, killing two National Guard soldiers and a Border Patrol agent, the military said. Another soldier on board was injured. The UH-72 Lakota helicopter was assigned to the federal governments border security mission when it went down near Rio Grande City, according to a statement released by Joint Task Force North. The cause was under investigation. The crash happened mid-afternoon Friday while the helicopter was conducting aviation operations, according to the statement. No other details were provided. Starr County Judge Eloy Vera, the countys top official, said those on board included one woman and three men. He said the person who was injured was in critical condition. The names of those killed were not immediately released. A U.S. Customs and Border Protections agent drives away from the site were a U.S. Border Patrol and CBP and Marine Operations helicopter crashed in a field just north of the Rio Grande on Friday, March 8, 2024, south of La Grulla, Texas. (Joel Martinez/The Monitor via AP)AP The site of the crash is in Texas Rio Grande Valley. The Starr County Sheriffs Office posted on Facebook on Friday that it was assisting with a downed helicopter incident on the east side of the county. Vera said the scene had been secured by the sheriffs office and that federal officials were on the way. The border region is heavily patrolled by both state and federal authorities, including routine aerial surveillance. A drag queen story hour scheduled for later this month at a central Pennsylvania public library is drawing scrutiny and possible objections from at least one member of the community. A Lancaster County commissioner has objected to the planned Drag Queen Story Hour scheduled for March 23 at the Lancaster Public Library. The event is being sponsored by Lancaster Pride. The Shapiro Administration this week reinforced its commitment to address the racial disparities in maternal health outcomes. On Friday, Acting Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen and Second Lady of Pennsylvania Blayre Holmes Davis joined state health officials in a visit to a Pittsburgh-area midwife center to underscore the crisis in maternal health and push for improved care for pregnant women and children, especially among people of color. It comes at a moment in which the Commonwealth is seeing the rate of pregnant Black and poor women who suffer severe conditions during pregnancy and delivery in Pennsylvania hospitals increase at alarming rates. Findings from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council show a spike in severe disease among expectant mothers hospitalized in Pennsylvania between 2016 and 2022. Among the most common cases involved acute renal failure and abnormal blood clotting and bleeding. The tragic reality is that maternal mortality is far too common in the U.S. and Pennsylvania, and disproportionately impacts Black women and their families, said Bogen during the visit to The Midwife Center for Birth & Womens Health. Every death of a new mother impacts their entire community, thats why the Shapiro-Davis Administration is fully committed to tackling maternal health issues that are affecting women across the state. Nationwide, the statistics bear the same alarming trend: The rate of pregnancy-associated deaths has been on the rise in recent years. In Pennsylvania, there are 82 pregnancy-associated deaths per 100,000 live births. Black women are two times more likely to die during or in the first year after a pregnancy than white women. Studies show that Black women nationwide are three to four times as likely to die of pregnancy-related complications as white women. The statistics are nearly as dire for Native American women, who are more than twice as likely to die from those complications. In his proposed budget, Gov. Josh Shapiro calls for increases in funding for maternal health. The 2024-25 proposed budget doubles down on efforts to address the health crisis, with an additional proposed $2.7 million to address and prevent maternal mortality, especially among Black mothers. The Department of Health is using current funding to support organizations and local coalitions to implement recommendations of the Maternal Mortality Review Committee, focusing on better coordination of physical and behavioral health care and social services, Bogen said. We aim to support programs that specifically address black maternal health so that investments are made respectfully and appropriately to eliminate the unacceptable disparities in maternal health outcomes. Holmes Davis noted that in Philadelphia Black mothers represent 43 percent of the births, but 73 percent of the deaths. These are not simply statistics, she said. These are women who left behind families and communities that needed them and are still grieving from an outcome that is very often preventable. Among the priorities this year for the Shapiro-Davis Administration is the establishment of a Division of Maternal Health within the Department of Healths Bureau of Family Health. It will support the Maternal Mortality Review Committee. The administration has allocated approximately $1.7 million for recommendations out of the committee, which address prevention of maternal deaths. WILLIAMSPORT A Lycoming County father has admitted he endangered the welfare of a child by not seeking medical help for one young son shot and wounded by his brother. Mark Anthony Dunlap Sr. 35, of Cogan Station, pleaded guilty Friday in county court and was placed on two years probation by Judge Nancy L. Butts. She made him eligible for release from probation after a year if he has no violations. He is required to do 25 hours of community service. The charge stems from an incident where Dunlaps then 7-year-old-son wounded his 11-year-old brother on Oct. 14 while he was away getting groceries. Dunlap treated the gunshot wound at home and the boys mother, who lives in Bradford County, did not learn of it until Nov. 5, the same day police were notified. I should have taken him to the hospital, he told the judge. He pledged in the future to seek advice on medical issues for his three children. The younger boy shot his brother with Dunlaps 45-caliber handgun, police said. The victim told police he asked his father to take him to the hospital but he refused, claiming the boy would be taken away if he did. The following is taken from the arrest affidavit: The boy said he missed several days of school and when he returned, blood from the wound seeped through a bandage and his shorts prompting him to see the school nurse. The school contacted Dunlap who claimed his son had fallen on rocks. He did not immediately return the boys to their mother, telling her they were ill. When he did return them, she took the 11-year-old to Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre where investigators said a doctor confirmed he had been shot with the bullet entering the right upper thigh/lower buttocks and exiting through the left buttock. Butts expressed surprise the endangering charge did not involve the weapon. There was no mention in court or in arrest documents of how the boy got the gun. The words of State Sens. Scott Martin, Kim Ward, and Rep. Seth Grove continually repeating the large increases in the proposed budget is going to impact the taxpayers. For years, the Republican controlled legislature has shortchanged the schools and local governments. So, they forced both to raise taxes. My school taxes have increased by 38 percent since 2011, and my local taxes have increased 44 percent since 2016. Tell me that I have not been impacted. The Rainy Day fund that has so much discussion is not because of anything they have done, it exists because of the federal funds. Sen. Ryan Aument has worried about the cost and the plan. The fact is that the Republican-controlled legislature never had a plan except to have the local communities and counties raise the taxes. The legislators could not be held responsible for raising taxes to support schools, mental health services, and social services. It is time to own up to their responsibility to properly fund schools, mental health programs, and social services, just to name a few. By JOSH BOAK, SEUNG MIN KIM and WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press ROSE VALLEY, Pennsylvania (AP) Fresh off his defiant State of the Union address, President Joe Biden on Friday laced into former President Donald Trump by name this time as he and his senior aides began barnstorming the country to aggressively sell his vision for a second term to voters. The president is trying to ride the post-speech momentum to Pennsylvania and Georgia for campaign events in two critical battleground states that he flipped in 2020 and is hoping to keeping in his column this November. He arrived at a private home in the pivotal Philadelphia suburbs along with his wife, Jill Biden, to hold what his campaign billed as a kitchen table conversation with brothers Jack and David Cunicelli, the owners of 320 Market Cafe, and their families ahead of remarks to supporters at the local middle school. Hell move on to New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Michigan next week. Bidens reelection campaign was almost giddy after the speech, vowing to stay on the offensive against Trump. Introducing her husband at Strath Haven Middle School, Jill Biden said, Last night, Joe showed the world what I see every day. While Biden had referred only to his predecessor during Thursdays speech before Congress, on Friday it was a different story on the campaign trail, as Biden and his wife laid into Trump for raising the deficit, rolling back abortion access and fomenting the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol. He also blamed Trump for the coarsening of the countrys political discourse. When you ride down the street and theres a Trump banner with an F-U on it and a little 6-year-old kid putting up his middle finger, Biden said. Did you ever think youd hear people talk the way they do? It demeans who we are. Thats not America. Biden highlighted threats to in vitro fertilization in Alabama after a recent state Supreme Court ruling. You know why it happened? Ill tell you why. One reason: Donald Trump, Biden said. And Biden criticized Trump for sowing doubts about Americas commitments to its NATO allies and for hosting Hungarys Victor Orban at his Florida estate on Friday. You know who hes meeting with today down in Mar-a-Lago? Orban of Hungary, whos stated flatly that he doesnt thinks democracy works, hes looking for dictatorship. Only member of NATO. Thats who hes meeting with, Biden said. I see a future where we defend democracy, not diminish it. Jill Biden called Trump dangerous, said he mocks womens bodies and devalues our existence and added, And we cant let him win. Biden joked that he got his usual warm reception from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Republican from Georgia, who heckled Biden to address the death of Laken Riley, a nursing student from Georgia. An immigrant from Venezuela who entered the U.S. illegally has been arrested and charged with Rileys murder. The presidents campaign announced Friday that he and Vice President Kamala Harris will visit every major swing state in coming days, while launching a $30 million, six-week advertising campaign on TV and digital platforms designed to highlight key themes from the State of the Union to Black, Asian and Hispanic communities. By the end of this month, the campaign expects to expand from 100 staff members in seven battleground states to more than 350, while also opening more than 100 field offices. Trumps campaign is targeting essentially the same areas, looking to flip Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona after 2020 defeats there, while fending off Bidens efforts to make inroads in North Carolina and Florida. Bidens campaign is seeking to hit Trump hard at a critical moment, when the former president is working to consolidate his party after the primary and as more potentially persuadable voters begin coming to terms with the fact that November really will be a 2020 rematch. The press service of the former deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Tymoshenko confirmed his appointment to the post of advisor to Defense Minister of Ukraine Rustem Umerov from March 1, 2024. The main area of activity of Kyrylo Tymoshenko is media and communications, coordination of information policy in the Ministry of Defense and structures subordinate to the Ministry of Defense, as well as building a unified information agenda in the Defense Forces of Ukraine for the duration of martial law, Tymoshenkos press service said in a comment to Interfax-Ukraine. Earlier, information appeared in the media that Tymoshenko has been holding the position of full-time adviser to the minister of defense since March 1, 2024, on the basis of the relevant order on his appointment. French Foreign Ministry: Ukraine didn't ask us to send troops, but asks us to send ammunition now French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne stressed that we cannot risk a Russian victory in Ukraine, since the price will be huge for all of us. "Ukraine did not ask us to send troops, Ukraine is asking us to send ammunition now," he said at a press conference with Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian and French counterparts in Lithuania on Friday. As you can see, the question is not about an operation in Ukraine, because Ukraine is not asking for this at the moment, but of course we are not ruling out anything in the coming months, the foreign minister said. Sejourne reiterated the possibility of mine clearance operations, saying this "could mean having some personnel, but not for combat." "And I heard you mention "red lines." That's certainly something that needs to be taken into account in this conflict. And we're realizing more and more that if we set "red lines," then the enemy is tempted to go further. And we, of course, should not retreat, he emphasized. The minister recalled that since February 24, 2022, France has provided military support to Ukraine in the amount of about EUR3.8 billion, and signed a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine on February 16 of this year. I highly appreciate the outstanding support that our Baltic countries provide to Ukraine. And I very much look forward to our close cooperation, Sejourne said. He emphasized that the Baltic countries know how aggressive Russia is and how strong our coordination must be. "There will be further meetings, further contacts on all topics so that we can continue to move forward. We recognize together that we cannot risk a Russian victory in Ukraine. The cost will be enormous for all of us. We all know that Russia will not stop there. Obviously, you understand very well what Putins narrative means, the foreign minister emphasized. Sejourne reiterated the need to make Europe the master of its destiny, and France will support this project. President Biden said that he didnt understand the connections that Katie Britt was trying to make in her SOTU rebuttal. Transcript of President Bidens remarks before heading to Philadelphia via The White House: Have you seen Senator Britts rebuttal, sir? To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily. THE PRESIDENT: I just saw a little bit on television. Q What did you think? THE PRESIDENT: I thought she was a very talented woman. I I didnt quite understand the connections she was making. President Biden has been a national figure in American politics for over 50 years, and he didnt understand what Katie Britt was getting at. However, the President was much kinder to Sen. Britt than many of her fellow Republicans have been. Katie Britt was just flat-out creepy. She was a Stepford wife who watches too much Newsmax and needs to stop reading Trumps posts on Truth Social. Britts rebuttal was so terrible that people are still talking about it on Friday evening. Republicans have a long history of crashing and burning at the SOTU response. Marco Rubio and Bobby Jindal may have been outdone on the scale of fail by Katie Britt. Britt did sell the Republican message to potential voters. She confused and creeped them out. Since the Republican Party is now under the firm control of a man with no message who has even less interest in governing, the American people should get used to seeing more Republicans like Katie Britt. A Special Message From PoliticusUSA If you are in a position to donate purely to help us keep the doors open on PoliticusUSA during what is a critical election year, please do so here. We have been honored to be able to put your interests first for 14 years as we only answer to our readers and we will not compromise on that fundamental, core PoliticusUSA value. Leaked audio from the No Labels delegate meeting shows a group of people who cannot find a nominee and may never find one. Greg Sargent wrote about the leaked call in The New Republic: To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily. At the end of the call, No Labels national convention chair Mike Rawlings said its essential for the group to see a pathway to the White House. He acknowledged: We dont have a candidate. And its possible in the end we wont find a suitable candidate. All of the prominent candidates approached by No Labels have refused, Bennett of Third Way told me. Thats because its clear that their ticket is a road to nowhere. No serious person wants to end up in the single digits nationally while helping Trump win. Joe Manchin, Nikki Haley, Larry Hogan, and Kyrsten Sinema have turned down No Labels. No one with a national name wants to run on this ticket when it is clear that the only thing they would accomplish is getting Trump back in the White House. No potential candidate wants to go down in history as the person who led to the end of American democracy. No Labels has not been transparent with its process. It had to be leaked because the organization will not allow the media to observe its decision-making, which is another way of shielding them from public accountability and the Democratic process. The third-party run may never happen. It is already March, and No Labels cant find any credible national figure willing to run for president on its ticket. The media is hyping No Labels because they are only concerned with drama and a horserace, but the rest of the country should be very concerned and be sure not to fall for something that increasingly resembles a gift that may be falling apart. A Special Message From PoliticusUSA If you are in a position to donate purely to help us keep the doors open on PoliticusUSA during what is a critical election year, please do so here. We have been honored to be able to put your interests first for 14 years as we only answer to our readers and we will not compromise on that fundamental, core PoliticusUSA value. Aiken Standard reporter Bianca Moorman is a public safety and courts reporter for the Aiken Standard, with the occasional coverage of other community news and features. She can be reached at @biancarmooman or bmoorman@aikenstandard.com. To support local journalism, sign up for a subscription. See our current offers "There is general clean up and finishing that is needed at the intersections and along the shoulders of the road," Young said. Clean up work appeared to be underway Tuesday afternoon with one lane of the road closed to allow for the work. Contractors are also working to remove two utility lines near the intersection of Oriole Street and Woodhill Place, Young said. He said the South Carolina Department of Transportation's plans for the project did not include the intersection, but once the project was expanded contractors found an Aiken water line and an AT&T line that needed to be moved. Reeves Construction, the SCDOT contractor on the project, will remove the Aiken water line, Young said. "The SCDOT contractor can move the line quicker than the City of Aiken can have it moved is what I am told and the moving of that line will take place this coming week," Young said. "After the water line is moved, the road work in that area will be finished." Young said he had to call AT&T South Carolina's president to get that line moved. He said Reeves waited weeks for the line to be moved and AT&T refused to engage with the contractor. The storm drain issue at Huntsman Drive and Hitchcock Parkway was addressed in late February, Young continued. Young said he and S.C. Rep. Bart Blackwell, R-Aiken, had spoken with the department about the width of the shoulder and grass buffer between the walking path and the roadway. He said the department is aware of the issue and is working to address it with Reeves. The department and the city of Aiken are working together to replace trees that were removed along Whitemarsh Drive, Young said. He added the department is supposed to provide the city a list of trees and other plantings that can be placed in the department's right of way. A Warrenville man is facing several charges in connection to a Feb. 25 sexual assault in Aiken County. Jonathan Noe, 43, was arrested and charged March 8 with kidnapping, criminal sexual conduct and commission of a violent crime while on bond or pretrial release for a violent crime, according to jail records. Police responded to the 200 block of Laurens Street in reference to sexual assault, according to an incident report from the Aiken County Sheriffs Office. Police spoke with a victim who told police she had been sexually assaulted by the suspect twice, the report said. The suspect made threats to kill the victim, the report said. The victim was able to complete a statement form, the report said. Noe is listed as an inmate at the Aiken County detention center and has no bond. Scottie Scheffler has become the first player in the 50 years of The Players Championship to win back-to-back. This was the hardest. Not only was he dealing with neck pain all week, he started the final round five shots behind. Scheffler closed with a 64. That matches the lowest final round by a winner. He also tied a Players Championship record with a five-shot comeback. U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, British Open champion Brian Harman and Xander Schauffele all finished one shot behind. All of them had their chances over the final three holes to force a playoff. Read moreScheffler goes back-to-back in Players Championship in Sunday thriller at Sawgrass Glazed and blueberry cake donuts, red velvet; bear claws and apple fritters; Texas kolaches and Japanese mochinut. North Augustas first specialty donut shop opened at 5:30 a.m. on March 8. EN Donuts, located at 1692 Knox Ave., has been a labor of love for Tina Kea and Nat Lim, the husband and wife whose scratch-made donuts get started in the ovens at 2 a.m. The shop, named for their two kids the E and the N being their first initials is rooted in family. Kea, originally from Cambodia, said she wanted the shop for her parents, who also help with the baking her dad was a baker in Texas before moving to North Augusta, and Kea herself perfected the baking tradition while working under a friend in Tennessee. Now, everyone is in North Augusta and with the donut love still strong. Same family and in the same place, Lim said, smiling wide the day before opening. He and Kea are first-time business owners. Seeing the process through from transforming the interior of what had been a furniture store, to securing the business license, to now, opening day has been an exciting adventure, Lim said. For Kea, who had started baking cakes for friends and family, having the shop, is now a point of pride but the baking remains a bit of mental therapy for her, too, she said. Lim and Kea both say to try the mochi donut, a pastry that fuses Japanese rice cake and the American donut. Apart from the donuts, EN Donuts also serves coffee and Boba teas and some breakfast items. EN Donuts is open at 1692 Knox Ave. in North Augusta from 5:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Saturday; and from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Berkeley County Library System (BCLS) is hosting a Spotlight on Local Women of Note from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Friday, March 22, at Moncks Corner Library, 1003 Highway 52 in Moncks Corner. Read moreBCLS hosting Spotlight on Local Women of Note The UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure has approved 460 housing aids for its Emirati citizens worth AED350 million ($95.2 million) under its Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme, on the eve of Ramadan, said a report. The assistance includes grants, loans and government housing. The ministry has approved the names of 188 eligible citizens for housing grants totalling AED128.5 million, in line with the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in June 2022, to complete all housing grant applications for previous years through his initiatives at a cost of AED2.3 billion, reported Wam. In addition, 250 citizens will benefit from housing loans in cooperation with banks and financial institutions at a cost of AED197.5 million. This is part of the housing policy action plan for 2024, which targets 3,000 decisions during the current year. The ministry has also approved 22 housing assistance decisions that include a combination of loans and government housing grants. Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, affirmed that the new housing aid bundle reflects the ministry's commitment to enhancing the stability and quality of life for citizens. This commitment is part of ongoing efforts to promote social welfare and support citizens, in line with the leadership's vision of providing a dignified and stable life for all citizens. "We aim to enhance housing leadership through integrated national strategies aimed at developing the housing sector across the country, serving citizens and maintaining the sustainability of stability and prosperity. We have clear plans for the next 50 years, focused on facilitating human life and enhancing quality of life," he added. Polish border guards conveyed information to the Ukrainian side that Polish farmers plan to temporarily stop blocking traffic at the Krakovets checkpoint until March 13, said Andriy Demchenko, spokesperson of the State Border Service of Ukraine. But whether this will be observed, whether the direction of the Krakovets checkpoint will actually be unblocked by March 13, we will see, Demchenko said. He indicated that as of the morning of March 9, some 2,300 trucks were in queues at the border in all directions. The most difficult situation, according to Demchenko, is opposite the Yahodyn and Shehyni checkpoints. In fact, farmers there do not allow trucks heading towards Poland to pass at all, Demchenko noted. Breeze Airways newest flight out of Charleston will land in Manchester, N.H., two months from now, but those unfamiliar might be wondering: Why fly to the Granite State? The land of Live Free or Die is known for its abundance of outdoor recreational parks, ski hills and historic mill towns that are remnants of the massive industries that its communities were once built around. The city of Manchester is about a 20-minute drive from the capitol of Concord. Its also 40 minutes from the coastal city of Portsmouth, an hour from Boston, two hours from the White Mountains of New Hampshire, two hours from neighboring Vermont and four hours to the Canadian border. Manchester is the states largest city by population, with 115,037 residents, according to U.S. Census data. Manchester, like other cities and towns in New England, has a storied industrial past. Many buildings along the Merrimack River are old mills that have been converted into mixed-use commercial and residential spaces. The area is home to attractions like the 115-store Mall of New Hampshire, the Currier Museum of Art, the Zimmerman House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Manchester Millyard Museum, and others. Its not just about what the destination can offer, though. Tom Doxey, the Utah-based carriers president, said during a recent visit to Charleston that the Holy City is key to opening up other underserved markets as connection points. Many of the new areas serviced are also where some Lowcountry newcomers previously resided, he said. Elliott Summey, executive director and CEO of Charleston International, said these destinations not only bring in new visitors but give locals a new escape and offer the regions newest residents with ties to these areas a route back to their former hometowns to visit family and friends. A onetime Mount Pleasant-based business owner who was among the first to be charged in the government's "Operation Brace Yourself" probe is to be sentenced this week. Read moreMajor SC Medicare fraud case shifts to the penalty phase after 5 years When several dozen students headed into Cross Middle/High Schools extracurricular math night last week, they had no idea they would leave with a major surprise. Each of the 49 families in attendance will receive a personal laptop as part of a collaboration between the school, Palmetto Goodwill and the Lowcountry Digital Equity Coalition to provide students with not only internet but technological resources to access it. As part of a pilot program for North Charleston-based Palmetto Goodwill, employees of its Power Up Computer Donation program refurbished 60 devices donated from the Social Security Administration to distribute to any families who showed up. The math night a demonstration for parents to learn how they can support their childs education outside of school was the cover to draw in students, including a handful of college-bound seniors who previously had no idea how they would gain access to a computer for the school. Ten more families of the high-poverty school have been identified to receive the remaining laptops. The students were shocked and kept asking if they get to keep them, said Tiffany Brown, the principal. I think so often because this is a rural school, its overlooked. And our kids deserve the same things that everyone else has. Our kids are capable of doing things that other kids are doing in other places. While Cross students have access to laptops in the classroom and can take them home during the school year, many families dont have their own resources, particularly for the summer months or for needs unrelated to school, which can set them back academically, Brown said. Cross students were also given internet hot spots courtesy of T-Mobile thanks to the work of Stacey Lindbergh, co-manager of the Lowcountry Digital Equity Coalition. The alliance of more than 30 government, business and internet groups works year-round to ensure all students have access to the internet, with the Cross math night being the first of many laptop distribution events. Nathaniel Abraham Jr., publisher of Carolina Panorama in Columbia, has been elected president of the S.C. Press Association after a vote of the Press Associations membership. Read moreSC Press Assoc. announces new leader There was a lively debate at the Statehouse Wednesday about House leaders plan to strip all the limits from South Carolinas pilot voucher program before the first education scholarship check is even cut. By debate I dont mean those alternating soliloquies politicians deliver to appeal to the people who already agree with them, which would never convince anyone to change their minds, even if anyone who disagrees were actually listening. I mean an actual give-and-take, as lawmakers went back and forth over whether and how to address concerns raised by constituents and kept going back and forth for more than 90 minutes of the 115-minute meeting until they came up with something most of them could live with. Unfortunately, the debate wasnt over whether the House was moving too fast to unshackle what was supposed to be a three-year phase in of a limited program. Or how it could possibly make sense to more than double the overhead the S.C. Education Department gets to skim off the top despite being stripped of some of its oversight responsibilities. And certainly not about whether it makes sense to eliminate oversight provisions. Instead, the debate was over whether to keep a provision in H.5164 that opens the education scholarships to parents who homeschool their kids. And the people arguing against this werent public education advocates. They were homeschoolers and their supporters on the Education Committee. Keep reading; it gets stranger. Under current law, children who are homeschooled arent required to take standardized tests unless their parents choose to educate them through a program overseen by their local school district. The bill reasonably says that if parents accept vouchers, their kids have to take standardized tests. It was that provision that consumed Wednesdays debate. It was that provision that drove homeschoolers to a public hearing on Tuesday to demand that the bill be changed. But the homeschoolers werent protesting the idea that their kids would have to take standardized tests in return for tax dollars; they wanted no part in this filthy government lucre. COLUMBIA South Carolina loggers are sounding the alarm over a burgeoning crisis facing the states timber industry, saying recent market disruptions are leading the more than $23 billion industry to the brink of what some contend is a catastrophic collapse. In a March 6 hearing before the state Senates Fish, Game and Forestry Committee, several leaders in the states timber industry warned the closures of several mills in North and South Carolina have left them with no place to process their raw materials at a time they are growing more trees than ever, leaving them with cratering prices for their goods and threatening them with closure. Last year, a paper mill in Canton, North Carolina, owned by Pactiv Evergreen closed its doors, taking with it dozens of jobs and a critical processing facility for South Carolinas logging industry, which provided just under half of the facilitys raw material. Months later, WestRock, another milling company, announced it would be closing down its mill in North Charleston, taking with it an additional 550,000 tons of processing capacity. The closures have since created a bottleneck for South Carolinas foresters who plant 1.38 trees for every tree they remove from the ground, according to industry statistics. With few options to turn to if they want to turn their trees into usable paper products, the entire industry is now unable to access the market at a time the global demand for new sources of wood product has been spiking. We have a grossly out of balance, supply and demand problem, Thurston Chavis, president and CEO of Columbia-based forestry firm Milliken Advisors, told members of the Senate Fish, Game and Forestry Committee in early March. And the state has a lot to lose: Per the state Forestry Commission, logging and its related industries ranked number one in the total number of jobs across the state, number two in overall labor income, and number three in direct economic output. For comparison, the money brought into South Carolina by forest products each year is surpassed only by sectors like tourism, which generated some $29 billion in economic activity last year. GAFFNEY After getting approved for a contract extension and a raise, Superintendent Dana Fall thanked his board for its unanimous support. "Thank you to all of you for trusting in me to continue the vision of making Cherokee County School District a flagship for the state and thank you for your continued support," he said at a Dec. 11 board meeting. Now the same trustees have him on paid leave and could decide as soon as March 11 exactly three months after voting 8-0 to extend his contract to June 30, 2027 whether he has a future with the district. During the board's next meeting, it intends to receive legal advice on Fall's contract and discuss personnel matters, according to an agenda released March 8. It's all part of fallout from comments he made to a local journalist and an announcement that he was leaving the district. Decision to leave Cherokee County schools Fall came to Gaffney from Sumter County schools, where was chief operations officer. He made enough of an impact in his decade serving in that district that his 2019 departure prompted lawmakers to record their thanks and well wishes in a South Carolina House resolution. And when Superintendent Penelope Martin-Knox announced she would retire from Sumter County School District at the end of the 2021-22 school year, some trustees turned their attention to Fall. One board member even accused others of trying to poach him from Cherokee without going through a public process. However, Fall denied he was ever approached and said he was committed to staying in Gaffney. "I told everyone from the beginning I want to be here at least until my daughter graduates and she is in middle school," Fall told The Gaffney Ledger in January 2022. The next meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group will be held at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on March 19, Radio Liberty reports, citing the press service of the U.S. Air Force in Europe. "U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin plans to host a face-to-face meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on March 19, 2024. Austin has again invited the world's defense ministers and senior military officials to discuss the crisis in Ukraine and the various security challenges the U.S. allies and partners are facing," the statement said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, gave him a list of Crimean Tatars who have been subjected to Russian repression and are being held in Russian prisons to facilitate their release. "Thanks to Turkiye's mediation, we have achieved significant humanitarian results. We are now counting on further efforts," Zelenskyy said during a press conference with the president of Turkiye in Istanbul. "I submitted a list of our Ukrainian citizens, including Crimean Tatars, who have been repressed by Russia in Ukraine's occupied territories and are being held in Russian prisons and camps under extremely harsh and inhumane conditions," he added. "We must release them all, both warriors and civilians, those who were captured while defending their people, and those who suffer Russian repression simply because of who they are Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars, everyone... Such as Nariman Dzhelyal, Lenie Umerova, Server Mustafayev, and all other unlawfully detained persons," said the president. PR-Inside.com: 2024-03-09 18:00:34 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 385 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 9, 2024 / Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Catalent, Inc. ("Catalent" or the "Company") (NYSE:CTLT). Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at newaction@ pomlaw.com or 646-581-9980, ext. 7980.The investigation concerns whether Catalent and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.[Click here for information about joining the class action]On February 5, 2024, Catalent announced that it had agreed to be sold to Novo Holdings for $63.50 per share in cash. Novo Holdings is the controlling shareholder of the Novo Group companies (including Novo Nordisk), and Catalent is one of Novo Nordisk's main manufacturing partners for the popular weight-loss drug Wegovy. As part of the transaction, Novo Nordisk will acquire three Catalent manufacturing facilities, including a plant located in Bloomington, Indiana. Then, on February 6, 2024, Bloomberg published an article reporting that the Indiana factory to be acquired by Novo Nordisk was not in compliance with U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") safety and quality standards. Citing an FDA report obtained via a Freedom of Information request, Bloomberg reported that FDA inspectors visited the Indiana factory in October and November and documented multiple instances of workers failing to ensure the quality and purity of drugs produced there. According to Bloomberg, the FDA also noted that a "pest" had been found somewhere on a manufacturing line handling syringes in June.On this news, Catalent's stock price fell $3.32 per share, or 5.55%, over the following two trading sessions, to close at $56.50 per share on February 7, 2024.Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered billions of dollars in damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP PR-Inside.com: 2024-03-09 02:30:10 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 977 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / March 8, 2024 / Gabriel Resources Ltd. (TSXV:GBU) announces that the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) today issued a decision dismissing, by a two to one majority, the Company's arbitration claims filed against the Romanian Government relating to its investments in the Rosia Montana gold and silver mining project.In addition, the Tribunal awarded Romania approximately US$10m in legal fees and expenses incurred in connection with its defence of the arbitration. The award is binding on the parties.Gabriel initiated the arbitration before ICSID in July 2015 under the Canada-Romania and UK-Romania bilateral investment treaties following the Romanian Government's refusal to act on the permitting of the Rosia Montana project.The Company strongly disagrees with the majority's decision, which is entirely inconsistent with any objective assessment of the evidence presented in this case, as demonstrated by the compelling dissenting opinion of one of the arbitrators.The Company is analyzing the Tribunal's decision with its legal advisers to evaluate its options, including to challenge the decision through the annulment process prescribed by the ICSID Convention.Anna El-Erian, Chair of Gabriel Resources said: "We consider the decision of the majority to be deeply flawed. As recognized by the dissenting arbitrator, the Romanian Government's sustained political interference with Gabriel's contractual rights prevented the development of a flagship mining project owned in partnership with the State. We will take time to evaluate our options, but hasten to record our sincere appreciation to our shareholders for their unwavering support and patience throughout this prolonged process. We would also like to express our gratitude to our earnest and hard-working management and team of employees, in Romania and abroad, who have devoted a significant part of their careers to the development of the project in the sincere belief that it was in the country's best interests." Dragos Tanase, CEO of Gabriel Resources said "Gabriel's shareholders invested hundreds of millions of dollars to deliver a transformational mining project that would have brought very significant social and financial benefits to the Romanian people, not only in Rosia Montana but across Romania. We regret that Romania, its economy and its citizens, have missed the opportunity to benefit from this mining project. We will be studying the Tribunal's decision in detail before evaluating our next steps." For enquiries relating to this press release, please contact:Romania:Andreea StanciuPhone: +40 741 447 732Email: andreea.stanciu@rmgc.roOutside Romania:Montfort CommunicationsGeorge Morris SeersPhone: +44 7789 501 370Email: morrisseers@ montfort.londonNeither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.Further InformationAbout GabrielGabriel is a Canadian resource company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company's principal business had been the exploration and development of the Rosia Montana gold and silver project in Romania ("Rosia Montana Project"). The Rosia Montana Project, one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in Europe, is situated in the South Apuseni Mountains of Transylvania, Romania, an historic and prolific mining district that since pre-Roman times has been mined intermittently for over 2,000 years.The exploitation license for the Rosia Montana Project is held by Rosia Montana Gold Corporation S.A., a Romanian company in which Gabriel owns an 80.69% equity interest, with the 19.31% balance held by Minvest Rosia Montana S.A., a Romanian state-owned mining company.Following issuance of the exploitation license in June 1999, the Group focused substantially all of its management and financial resources on the exploration, feasibility and subsequent development of the Rosia Montana Project. Gabriel invested over US$760 million to develop the Rosia Montana Project and to define two promising gold, silver and porphyry copper-gold mineral deposits in the Bucium concession area located in the vicinity of Rosia Montana ("Bucium Projects" and together with the Rosia Montana Project, the "Projects").The Rosia Montana Project had the potential to be a flagship development project in Romania presenting opportunities to:boost the Romanian economy through direct and indirect contributions to GDP; create several thousand of much-needed direct and indirect jobs in an area that has record unemployment, thus ensuring Rosia Montana's sustainable economic development; make Romania the leading producer of gold and silver in the European Union; remediate, through significant investment in infrastructure and environmental rehabilitation, the severe environmental degradation that besieges Rosia Montana's landscape today as a consequence of unregulated historical State mining operations; and add further significant investments to the preservation and restoration of Rosia Montana's important cultural heritage (beyond the significant investments already made by Gabriel). About the ICSID ArbitrationThe Company, together with its wholly-owned subsidiary, Gabriel Resources (Jersey) Ltd., initiated arbitration proceedings in July 2015 before the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes ("ICSID") against the Romanian State seeking compensation for the violation by Romania of the terms of the bilateral investment protection treaties which it has entered into with each of the Government of Canada and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments ("Treaties") (ICSID Case No. ARB/15/31)) ("Arbitration").The original arbitral tribunal ("Tribunal") was constituted on June 21, 2016. The current members of the Tribunal are Prof. Pierre Tercier (Switzerland), Mr. Horacio Grigera Naon (Argentina) and Prof. Zachary Douglas (Australia and Switzerland).Following over 8 years of procedural steps and legal argument, including the submission of extensive written submissions and evidence, hearings of witnesses and experts, observations from non-disputing parties' and questions from the Tribunal, the Tribunal rendered its final award today ("Award").In its Award, the Tribunal by majority rejected Gabriel's claims that Romania breached its obligations under the Treaties. Mr. Grigera Na President Bola Tinubu, on Friday, commissioned GB Foods Tomato Processing Company in Gafara village of Ngaski Local Government Area of Kebbi State. Mr Tinubu, while inaugurating the company, reiterated the commitment of his administration to providing a conducive environment for private investors to operate in the country. The president, who was represented by Abubakar Kyari, the minister of Agriculture and Food Security, commended the company for its huge investment in the country. Let me reiterate the commitment of my administration to providing conducive environment to private investors to invest in agricultural sector in line with my eight-point agenda, he said. This, according to the president, is demonstrated by the planned expansion of the processing facility by the factorys management. Earlier, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammad Idris, said the president had invested enormous resources in agricultural development. He added that the president had created an enabling environment for investors to invest in agriculture towards the attainment of national food security. He said: The action of GB Foods remained a source of discouragement to those who think that all bad things come out from Nigeria. The commissioning of this facility is a very good story because it has shown that the company is investing more and more in the country, employing many people and more than 70 per cent are women of all ages. Mr Idris said that the establishment of the company and its sustainability was an indication of political collaboration between the federal government and the Kebbi government directed towards improved agricultural production, food security and wealth creation. The minister thanked the company for its belief in Nigeria, assuring that the president was ready to provide necessary support and encouragement to the factory. I am happy that GB Foods is the largest tomato processing plant in Africa as it processes 2,400 metric tonnes of tomato per day. I urge you to remain dogged and I call on other investors to endeavour to invest across the country, he advised. The minister commended Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi for providing the necessary support and encouragement to the company which was initiated by former governor, Atiku Bagudu, the current minister of Budget and National Planning. Also speaking, Mr Bagudu commended the president for placing a premium on agricultural production and food security as manifested by GB Foods. From national planning perspective, Nigeria is a huge investment destination that can absorb thousands of private investment, he said. On his part, Governor Idris thanked Spain for finding the state worthy of what he described as a huge investment in the agricultural sector. He assured that the state government would remain hospitable to all investors, assuring that the necessary enabling environment for businesses had been provided. Mr Idris requested the company to process its end products in the state without referral to Lagos State for processing. In his remarks, the Spanish ambassador to Nigeria reiterated the commitment of Spain to partner with Nigeria in various sectors of the economy despite the challenges in the country. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Nigerias crude oil daily output has increased by 200,000 barrels over the last six months due to security measures introduced in the Niger Delta, a presidential aide has said. Stability in the oil producing areas has also increased the availability of NLNG Trains 1-6 from 57 per cent in 2023 to 70 per cent in the first quarter of 2024, the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, said. She stated this on Friday in Abuja at a media briefing on policy directives of the President Bola Tinubu administrations oil and gas sector reforms. Mrs Verheijen noted that Nigerias ambitions to accelerate economic growth and diversify its economy was being hampered by a revenue crisis. To address the challenge, she said, President Tinubu has been seeking ways to grow revenue and forex to stabilise our economy and currency. The oil and gas sector is critical to our ability to do so. However, our current oil and gas production and investment levels fall significantly short of our potential. According to the special adviser, since 2016, Nigeria has accounted for only four per cent of Africas total oil and gas investments, despite possessing 38 per cent of the continents hydrocarbon reserves. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is determined to reverse this trend and take decisive steps to ensure a conducive business climate and reposition Nigeria as a preferred investment destination for the oil and gas sector. To achieve these objectives, she said the president issued a presidential directive to streamline and clarify the scope of the two regulators in the petroleum sector to provide certainty and create a conducive business environment. She said the president also directed the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, and herself (Mrs Verheijen) to coordinate enhanced security measures in the Niger Delta. Owing to this directive, the TNP pipeline which had been repeatedly vandalised is now enjoying improved uptime; availability has practically doubled since these directives were implemented. This has translated to increased liquids of over 200,000 barrels/day being transported over the last 6 months. It has increased the availability of NLNG Trains 1-6 from 57 per cent in 2023 to 70 per cent in Q1 2024. Mrs Verheijen said fiscal incentives were also introduced to deepen Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) penetration. READ ALSO: These incentives were designed to: ease the impact of fuel subsidies on transportation cost and enable the displacement of PMS/Diesel and; contribute to stabilizing the price of cooking gas in the market and support the transition to clean cooking. She also outlined other steps being taken by the administration to address foundational issues identified in the sector, after engagements with the major stakeholders. Mr President has initiated amendment of primary legislation to introduce fiscal incentives, reduce project execution timelines and promote cost efficiency. However, recognising the urgency to accelerate investments to stabilise the economy, His Excellency executed these Policy Directives to clearly signal the policy direction of this administration to both the market and regulators. The Policy Directives are: Fiscal Incentives for Non-Associated Gas (NAG), Midstream and Deepwater Oil & Gas Developments: This Directive aims to facilitate the monetisation of Nigerias extensive oil and gas resources. For Gas, 76 per cent of our gas reserves, remain undeveloped. This explains why, despite possessing one of the largest gas reserves globally, we lack sufficient gas to meet our domestic needs for industry, for power and for cooking. The fiscal incentives introduced will attract the much-needed investments to enhance energy security, catalyze economic activity, attract essential foreign exchange, and promote job creation. Streamlining of Contracting Processes, Procedures and Timelines: The President has issued directives to reduce contracting timelines and project delivery. Benchmarking and analysis revealed that the contracting cycle takes up to 36 months. This Directive should have the effect of compressing this cycle to less than six months in line with global averages. This will expedite the delivery of oil and gas products to the market and enhance overall value for the country. Local Content Practice Reform: This Directive seeks to ensure that local content requirements are implemented in a manner that does not impede investments or the cost competitiveness of oil and gas projects. This Directive aims to reduce the cost premium of operating in Nigeria, presently averaging at 40 per cent. We anticipate significant benefits from this reform, including the development of local companies capacity, thereby generating additional business opportunities, job creation and boosting economic growth. Implementing Partners A diverse array of stakeholders was consulted and provided input into. Some of these stakeholders will be responsible for implementation. Fiscal Incentives: The Minister of Finance/Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy will develop and propose amendments to introduce fiscal incentives for deep-water developments into legislation. The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) will issue guidelines on the implementation of the fiscal incentives. Streamlining of Contracting Processes, Procedures and Timelines: The MOFI, MOPI, Nigerian Content Monitoring and Development Board, NNPCL will be responsible for implementation and enforcement. Local Content Practice Reform: The NCDMB is responsible for implementing the Directive and issuing supporting guidelines. Details on the role of each stakeholder are contained in the Policy Directives, which have been Gazetted and will be distributed shortly. Co-ordination The Special Adviser to the President on Energy to play a coordinating role in ensuring implementation within the timelines stipulated in the Directives. I will follow up on implementing these directives and in return we expect the Operators to commit to their promises to make these investments. Conclusion Our need to fuel economic growth at rates that significantly exceed our population growth rate has never been more urgent. The President strongly believes that private sector-led growth enabled by clear and inclusive government policies is the most enduring path to prosperity for all Nigerians. We will sustain engagement and collaboration with key investors to ensure we attract capital and capabilities to this sector to catalyse job creation, productivity, income growth across multiple sectors. This administration is laser focused on enabling transformational economic opportunities to lift millions of hardworking Nigerians out of poverty. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print For a decade now, Nigeria has lived with the terror of the mass abduction of students from their schools in the northern part of the country. Between 2014 and now, there were at least 12 major cases of mass kidnapping of pupils and students from their schools. However, the recent abduction of over 400 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Borno underscores the threat that the Boko Haram insurgency continues to pose in states in the northeastern region of the country. The latest incident in the state came nearly a decade after the terrorist group first abducted schoolgirls en masse in Chibok in April 2014. Since then, kidnappings for ransom have become almost a daily occurrence across Nigeria. Many victims did not survive the experience they were brutally tortured and killed by their heartless captors. The unrelenting attacks have heightened feelings of insecurity in the country, including the Federal Capital Territory. A review of some of the major mass abductions recorded in Nigeria over the past decade shows that the targets are mostly schools, worship centres and rehabilitation facilities for IDPs among others. Their victims are mostly women and schoolgirls. While the heightened fears have discouraged many from attending schools, several schools and healthcare facilities have been closed as a result of these incidents. Over the past decade, more than 1,680 schoolchildren have been kidnapped in Nigeria. The frequency and wantonness of the attacks and killings by terrorists have been described as a shocking indictment on the Nigerian authorities by international humanitarian groups. In this report, PREMIUM TIMES highlights cases of abduction by insurgents in Borno State over the past decade. The state is the epicentre of the Boko Haram insurgency. Timeline of insurgency attacks in Borno Since 2009 when the Islamic sect, dubbed Boko Haram by locals because of the sects abhorrence of Western ways of life, including education, emerged in the once peaceful and prosperous state of Borno, the deadly sect has continued to undermine Nigerian public authorities through heinous attacks on communities and public facilities. The sect has claimed responsibility for killings of politicians, security agents, traditional rulers and prominent citizens and abductions in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states, among others. Boko Haram terrorists have also attacked and looted banks and other financial institutions, stealing hundreds of millions of Naira in the process to promote the Jihad of God, as it claimed. Between 2010 and 2012, the group resorted to extorting hapless civilians, especially public office holders and business people. Many victims were killed for either failing to meet ransom demands or for seeking protection from security operatives. Within this period, several communities/local government areas fell under the control of the terrorist group. In April 2013, over 100 people were killed in Bagaa local government area at the shoreline of Lake Chad, more than 400 kilometres away from Maiduguri, the state capital during an encounter between the military Joint Task Force and the insurgents. At the time, the MJTF accused the locals of shielding insurgents who hid behind women and children to attack government forces. On 14 April 2014, Boko Haram terrorists abducted 276 schoolgirls from their dormitories in Chibok, a town in Borno State. At the time, the students were writing their final year examinations. About 57 of the girls managed to escape while on transit with their abductors, while several others were eventually released following negotiations between the government and the armed groups. The frequency of attacks prompted former president Muhammadu Buhari to direct the military high command to relocate to Maiduguri and concentrate on the fight against insurgents, shortly after Mr Buhari assumed office in 2015. However, this did not deter the insurgents from striking again and again. In 2018, about three years after the military moved its command to Maiduguri, 110 schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram fighters from the Government Girls Science and Technical College in Dapchi town in neighbouring Yobe state. Although significant progress was recorded in the fight against the insurgents in the northeast under Mr Buharis eight-year reign, banditry and kidnappings became widespread in the north-central and north-western regions of the country. This week, PREMIUM TIMES reported that armed groups carried out mass abduction of residents across communities in Borno and Kaduna states, heightening the feelings of insecurity and compounding the economic hardship in Nigeria under the watch of President Bola Tinubu. The first reports on the Borno abductions emerged on Tuesday a United Nations official said they occurred on 29 February. On Friday, the president confirmed the development but did not provide the number of victims kidnapped. He, however, said he had directed the security and intelligence agencies to immediately rescue the victims and ensure that the perpetrators of the crime were found and punished. However, on Friday afternoon, Amnesty International (AI), which has a presence in the affected states and partners with some non-governmental organisations, said over 400 persons including women and children were abducted in the development. According to AI, the abducted individuals are largely IDPs from Babban Sansani, Zulum and Arabic IDP camps in Gamboru Ngala, Borno State. Amnesty also confirmed that 287 pupils and teachers were abducted in the Kaduna incident, possibly by a different terror group. The recent attack suggests that Boko Haram terrorists still operate in many parts of Borno despite the efforts of security agencies. Borno is the state most affected by the insurgency. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Kaduna State Government has denied reports by some newspapers on Saturday that it has engaged the services of an independent negotiator to facilitate the release of 287 school children abducted in the state on Thursday On Saturday, The PUNCH reported that a highly placed source in the Kaduna State Government House, who it said is close to the negotiations, confided in the newspaper that the state government had reached out to the bandits through a private negotiator. It described the said private negotiator as a highly influential negotiator who had been involved in negotiating several abductions with bandits in the past. But, in a statement by Governor Uba Sanis spokesperson, Mohammed Shehu, on Saturday, the government denied the report, as mischievous and false. Our attention has been drawn to an outrightly mischievous and false report in the Punch Newspaper of 9th March 2024 stating that the Kaduna State Government has hired a private negotiator to facilitate the safe return of school children abducted in Kuriga community, Chikun Local Government of Kaduna State. We wish to state categorically that the Kaduna State Government did not hire any private negotiator, neither are we contemplating making such a move. The hiring of a private negotiator only exists in the fertile imagination of the Punch Newspaper reporter. The Kaduna State Government has a clear policy on non-negotiation with terrorists, bandits and other criminal elements. We urge members of the Press to be cautious in the way they craft and publicise their stories on security in order not to jeopardize the efforts of Government and security agencies in degrading criminal elements laying siege to our communities. If the Punch Newspaper had made efforts to contact the Kaduna State Government, they would have gotten the correct information. The Press are our partners in progress. Our doors are always open. Background Bandits raided LEA Primary School, Kuriga, Thursday morning shortly after the assembly gathering and abducted the pupils and some staff members of the schools. About 287 schoolchildren were kidnapped in the incident. Governor Sani, who visited the school shortly after on Thursday, gave an assurance that the abducted pupils would be rescued unhurt. Mr Sani, while addressing a crowd in the town, said In my capacity as your elected governor, I am assuring you that by the grace of God, all the children will return unhurt. Every child will return safely. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Northern senators under the aegis of Northern Senators Forum (NSF) have confronted the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, over alleged padding of the 2024 budget with about N4 trillion worth of projects. Representatives of the 58-member Forum led by its chairman, Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi), confronted Mr Akpabio at a meeting on Thursday in the latters Guest House located in the Maitama District of Abuja. Members of the Senate leadership present at the tension-soaked meeting, apart from Mr Akpabio, were his deputy, Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano), and Chief Whip, Ali Ndume (APC, Borno). It was not clear if the Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Adeola Olamilekan (APC, Ogun), was in attendance. PREMIUM TIMES gathered that during the meeting, convened at the instance of the Forum, the northern senators accused the senate president of inserting projects worth N4 trillion in the 2024 budget. They alleged the projects, which had no locations, were discreetly inserted into the budget. They also claimed that the budget was lopsided against the North and some parts of the South. The northern senators also accused Mr Akpabio of railroading the senators to hurriedly pass the most fraudulent budget in the history of Nigeria. They claimed at the meeting that after clinically scrutinising the budget, they came to the conclusion that it was self-serving in favour of Mr Akpabio and his cronies. Our source said Mr Akpabio could not defend the allegation but said that the projects complained about were probably inserted into the budget by unknown persons while he (the senate president) was hospitalised during the budgetary process. He couldnt defend the allegation. Instead, he said he didnt know how it happened. He said it may have happened when he was hospitalised, one senator who attended the meeting, told PREMIUM TIMES. It was also learnt that the senate president, who claimed ignorance of the insertions, asked Mr Ndume if he knew how it happened but the latter said he was not aware. Before the meeting ended, Mr Akpabio assured the senators that he would look into their grievances. The lawmakers did not leave the senate president without asking him to make amends, another source said. However, some senators who attended the meeting said they were surprised that hours after meeting the senate president, some lawmakers loyal to him began to mobilise southern senators to counter the move of their northern colleagues. The northern senators had days before confronting Mr Akpabio met at an undisclosed location in Abuja, where they resolved to challenge the senate president, who subsequently agreed to meet them last Thursday 7 March. Northern Senators Forum chair speaks It was learnt that Mr Akpabios move to mobilise southern senators may have informed Mr Ningis interview with the BBC Hausa Service where he claimed that there were two federal budgets in operation. He said, For the last three months, we have employed private financial auditors to extensively examine the 2024 budget. We have uncovered significant unauthorized changes and additions in the budget that would have a widespread negative impact on the nation as a whole. We are supposed to meet with the senate president and show him the irregularities we saw in the budget and let him know our concerns. we will not agree and support spending money on what we are not aware of. Because apart from the budget National Assembly passed, some people went behind our back and prepared another budget we are not aware of. There were inclusions we dont know about, but our experts are still working on it. Example, we had a budget of N28 trillion but after our thorough checks we found out that it was a budget of N25 trillion. How and where did we get the additional N3 trillion from, what are we spending it for? And there are many other issues we have discovered. We are going to meet with the president and show him, we will ask him if he is aware of all these things that are happening. We will show him and ask him if he is aware of it, and what he intends to do to those who partake in the whole manipulations and inclusions. When PREMIUM TIMES contacted, Mr Akpabios spokesperson, Eseme Eyiboh, he said he was attending a seminar and requested a text message. He has yet to respond to the message as of the time of filing this report. The Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, could not be reached as his telephone line did not connect. 2024 Budget President Tinubu presented a budget of N27.5 trillion for the 2024 fiscal year to a joint session of the National Assembly in November. It was his first full budget proposal since he assumed office on 29 May 2023. However, while passing the budget on 30 December, the lawmakers increased it by N1.2 trillion, bringing the total to N28.7 trillion. This was after they increased the allocations to some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government, which they said received inadequate funding. Some key elements of the budget as approved by the lawmakers are Aggregate Expenditure -N28,777,404,073,861, Statutory Transfers -N1,742,786,788,150, Recurrent Expenditure N8,768,513,380,852, Capital Expenditure N9,995,143,298,028, and GDP 3.88 %. President Tinubu signed the budget into law on 1 January. Budget padding, increment in Nigeria Budget padding and increment has become a frequent occurrence in Nigeria since the restoration of democracy in Nigeria on 29 May 1999. It, however, became more pronounced during the Buhari Presidency. In 2016, allegations of budget padding by the National Assembly came up as a major scandal that eventually saw the removal of the then chairperson of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumini Jibrin, from office on 20 July that year. Mr Jibrin had alleged that the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, and three other officials fraudulently short-changed the House and abused their offices by taking away N40 billion out of the N100 billion allocated for constituency projects and distributing same to themselves. That year also, some projects worth N480 billion were discovered to have been fraudulently inserted in the budget during the defence sessions. For instance, the then Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, disowned the budget attributed to his ministry, saying this is not what we submitted, we will submit another one. We dont want anything foreign to creep into that budget. What we submitted is not there. His Information counterpart, Lai Mohammed, also disowned his ministrys budget, saying No, that is not possible. That was not what we proposed, this cannot be. While signing the 2019 Appropriation Bill of N8.92 trillion into law, former President Muhammadu Buhari accused the National Assembly of raising the budget by N90 billion from N8.83 trillion. The former resident said the increment would make it difficult to achieve the objectives of his governments Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP). The following year, 2020, Mr Buhari raised concerns about projects inserted into that years budget by the National Assembly. The legislature had increased the budget by about N264 billion. The president said projects were added to the budgets of MDAs with no consideration that their action would trigger incremental recurrent expenditure. In 2021, the National Assembly reportedly padded the federal budget by over N500 billion. Mr Buhari, had proposed to the lawmakers N13.08 trillion. But during the budget vetting process,, the lawmakers arbitrarily increased it to N13.6 trillion, an increment of over N500 billion. In 2022, Mr Buhari lamented some changes, major additions and reductions made by the lawmakers without justification, while assenting to the 2022 budget. Among them were an increase in projected federal government independent revenue by N400 billion, reduction of the provisions for the non-regular allowances of the Nigerian Police Force and the Nigerian Navy by N15 billion and N5 billion, respectively. He also frowned at the new provisions totalling N36.59 billion for National Assembly projects in the Service Wide Vote. Mr Buhari said most of the projects inserted relate to matters that are the responsibilities of state and local governments. While signing the 2023 Appropriation Bill into law on 2 January, Mr Buhari observed that new projects worth about N770.72 billion were inserted by the federal llawmakers while estimates made by MDAs were increased by about N58.55 billion. Will Tinubu act? It is not clear how Mr Tinubu will react to the alleged budget padding by the presiding officers he handpicked. Some years ago, he had accused the then President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, of hijacking and padding national budgets for the four years they were in power. Mr Tinubu, as national leader of the APC at the time, claimed that the two presiding officers padded the budgets with pet projects that profited them while they cut funds appropriated to projects that would have benefitted Nigerians. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The remains of the late CEO of Access Holdings, Herbert Wigwe, his wife, and his son, on Friday, arrived in Nigeria from the United States. This is ahead of the funeral service in Isiokpo, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State. Mr Wigwe, his wife Chizoba and son Chizi were part of the 6 people who died on 10 February following a chopper crash in California. The helicopter crashed near the California-Nevada border. While giving details of the incident at a press briefing in Barstow, California, the National Transportation Safety Board member, Michael Graham, along with investigator Aaron Sours, confirmed that all six individuals on board the helicopter were fatally injured in the crash. Mr Graham also mentioned that there was a report of a fire outbreak during the incident. As far as we know, from what was reported from witnesses that there was fire when the aircraft did contact the terrain, the official said. Tributes have since been pouring in since the demise of Mr Wigwe and others. In his post, President Bola Tinubu described Mr Wigwe as a distinguished banker, humanitarian, and entrepreneur. Their passing is an overwhelming tragedy that is shocking beyond comprehension, he said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print At least 15 pupils have been abducted from a Tsangaya school by terrorists who raided Gidan Bakuso in Gada Local Government Area of Sokoto State on Saturday. A Tsangaya or almajiri school is a facility for the teaching of the Quoran and Islamic knowledge. The latest abduction is coming a few days after terrorists abducted 287 pupils of primary and secondary schools in Kuriga in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State. Gidan Bakuso is located in the eastern part of Sokoto State and shares border with Niger Republic. The terrorists were said to have attacked a house and abducted a woman but made a stop-over at the Tsangaya school. The terrorists abducted a woman inside the community and were going out when they passed through our school. The pupils were sleeping outside so when they heard the roar of motorcycles and the outcry of the woman they (pupils) woke up in number and started running into their various rooms, Liman Abubakar, the head of the Tsangaya school, told VOA Hausa as monitored by PREMIUM TIMES. We have so far counted 15 of our pupils who are missing and we are still searching for more, Mr Abubakar said. PREMIUM TIMES gathered from a local politician who asked not to be named for security reasons that the communities around Gada, Goronyo, Isa and Sabon Birni are under terrorists onslaught. We are from the opposition party so when we speak, they would say were politicising the security situation. But to be honest with you, yesterday abduction (at Tsangaya) should have been averted. These terrorists came on several motorcycles, fired several shots in the air and abducted several children without any efforts by security agents to thwart the attack, he said. Speaking to Daily Trust over the abduction, a lawmaker from Gada, Kabiru Dauda, said security in the area is deteriorating. I reached out to the local government authorities and security agencies and I am sure they are doing something about it, he said The police spokesperson in the state, Ahmad Rufai, later confirmed that 15 pupils and a woman were abducted in the incident. Earlier, Mr Rufai had said officers had been despatched to the area to ascertain the situation and provide security. Abduction of pupils has become one of the most common and daring escapades for terrorists. From 2020 when the terrorists struck and abducted about 300 pupils from Government Science Secondary school Kankara in Katsina State, attacks on schools and abduction of students became a norm as it happened repeatedly in Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger and Kebbi states. The female pupils abducted in Kebbi spent about two years in captivity with most of them married off to the terrorists. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has condemned Thursdays mass abduction of school pupils in the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The group, in a statement by its spokesperson, Muhammad Baba, on Saturday, said the incident is a sad reminder of the continued presence of terrorists in the area despite huge resources spent by the government to address the problem. Mr Baba said after the school abduction in the Chikun, terrorists killed two persons during Friday prayers at Anguwar Makera, Kwasakwasa in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State. Together, the incidents looked planned, a most discomfiting reality, given the enormous public resources being allocated to the security sector, the ACF said in the statement. As ACF had observed in July 2023, when students of the Federal University Gusau were abducted (and sadly still in captivity), these disturbing incidents point to the very parlous state of security in the country, and specifically that around school children, a defensively vulnerable population. ACF unequivocally decries and condemns the incidents in strong terms and hereby calls for the immediate and unconditional return of the abducted students and pupils, unharmed, to their parents/guardians. Commiserates with the parents/guardians of the pupils and students. ACF calls on all not to be discouraged and not to give the terrorists/bandits any chance to discourage and frighten us with their evil and cowardly tools of terror.. ACF also extends sympathies to the Kwasakwasa community over the heinous attack on its people; commends the fast response of the Kaduna State Government, through a confidence and reassurance-building visit to the community by its officials, led by the States Executive Governor, Senator Uba Sani, the statement said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 9.The Center of Analysis of International Relations and the Baku International Multiculturalism Centre in partnership with the G20 Interfaith Dialogue Forum, and Baku Initiative Group held the conference titled Embracing Diversity: Tackling Islamophobia in 2024 on 8-9 March 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan, Trend reports. Starting in 2023, this is a second conference which was organized in Azerbaijan with the aim to contribute to combating Islamophobia in all its forms and manifestations. The conferences included the address by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Assistant Secretary-General of Political Affairs of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Yousef M. Al-Dobeay and President of the G20 Interfaith Dialogue Forum Prof. Cole Durham. The conference participants, recalling the resolution 12408 (2022) adopted by the UN General Assembly proclaiming 15 March as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, emphasized that Islamophobia had emerged and developed as a new form of racism that includes, among others, discrimination, stigmatization and exclusion in all areas of life. Among the participants of the two days debate were many officials, spiritual leaders, experts and academicians Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Head of the Department of Foreign Policy Affairs of the Presidential Administration, Sheikh Ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Board, Khalid Fathalrahman Omer Mohamed, Director of the Center for Civilizational Dialogue at ICESCO, Dodik Ariyanto, Head of the OIC Islamophobia Observatory, and many other dignitaries, scholars and media representatives total 130 delegates from 31 countries. The participants of the conference discussed matters of intersectional approach in the fight against Islamophobia and coordinated efforts to promote tolerance, peace and respect for human rights and religious diversity, problems emanating from the theory on the clash of civilizations, narratives on conspiracies, digital Islamophobia and discrimination in higher education. The participants acknowledged that Islamophobia and Orientalism, in all of its complexity, have deep root in the history of European colonialism and emphasized that discrimination policies still continued in Western Europe, particularly, in France. The discussants condemned the desecration and destruction of Islamic heritage in the context of Islamophobia. The participants condemned the attacks on cultural and religious monuments, including against the statue of Khurshidbanu Natavan, Azerbaijani poetess, which was installed in the city of Evian-les-Bains in France and removed after the act of vandalism while the French authorities took no action against the perpetrators. The participants also underlined the gender related problems within the context of Islamophobia, entrenched prejudices against Muslim women, including in the higher education institutions and called for womens inclusion in peace and security agenda and promoting womens agency and relevant social programs. The participants called on stopping to disseminate the prejudices and biases on Islam and Muslims through mainstream and social media, which are leading to undermining the foundations of inclusive societies. This phenomenon became especially worrisome in Europe and North America in the context of geopolitical tensions and conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The conference reiterated the primary responsibility of international organizations and national governments to expand the existing legal instruments and policy measures which are not enough to counter stereotypes on Islam and Muslims. The participants agreed to further enhance cooperation and collaboration in the area of combating Islamophobia in two main directions at the political level and through public advocacy; and at media and academic level through launching programs and projects to tackle discriminatory narratives. The participants have also visited the city of Shusha, the cultural capital of Azerbaijan and witnessed the cultural destruction during the years of the Armenian occupation. A new book titled, Beating all odds: diaries and essays on how Bola Tinubu became president, will be presented to the public on Tuesday in Abuja. The book was written by popular essayist and Chairman of the editorial board of The NATION newspapers, Sam Omatseye. According to a statement in Abuja by the author, the book is on one of the Nigerias most tempestuous election seasons. The statement said: The book, which is the first major work to give an account of and context to one of Nigerias most tempestuous election seasons, will be launched on Tuesday, March 12, at the Shehu Musa Yar Adua Centre in Abuja. The time is 10 a.m. The occasion, which is expected to attract high-profile political actors, media personalities and members of the civil societies, will be chaired by Chief Olusegun Osoba, CON, CFR, former governor of Ogun State. The president and commander-in-chief, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, who is the subject of the book, is expected to attend as well as the vice president, Kashim Shettima, GCON. The chief host is Nyesom Wike, CON, minister of the Federal Capital Territory and former governor of Rivers State. Sir Kessington Adebutu, CFR, will be the chief presenter. The book will be reviewed by Louis Odion, former senior technical adviser to the president. The compere will be Eric Osagie, publisher of ThisNigeria and former editor-in-chief of the Sun Newspapers. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The police in Anambra State, South-east Nigeria, said they have rescued four kidnap victims in the state. Tochukwu Ikenga, the police spokesperson in the state, said in a statement, on Saturday, that police operatives intercepted a suspected kidnap gang on Friday while they were taking the victims through an exit route from the state. Mr Ikenga, a superintendent of police, said the operatives were on patrol with local vigilantes when they intercepted the hoodlums along the Amagu-Awgbu Road in Orumba North Local Government Area of the South-eastern state. The gang, which opened fire sporadically on sighting the patrol team, bowed to police-vigilante superior firepower. Two of the three vehicles the gang operated with were demobilised, he said. The police spokesperson said some members of the gang escaped through the third vehicle while others fled into a nearby bush on foot with bullet wounds. One pump action gun and two SUVs a Toyota Highlander and a Mercedes Benz GLK 350 4Matic were recovered from the suspects during the operation, according to the police. Rescue of the victims Mr Ikenga said the police operatives alongside the vigilantes rescued the victims after the suspected kidnappers fled the scene. Four abducted victims were rescued unhurt from the gang. Preliminary debriefing to ascertain circumstances of their abduction are ongoing, he said. The Commissioner of Police in the state, Aderemi Adeoye, according to the statement, described the rescue of the victims as heroic. Mr Adeoye commended the effective collaboration between the police and vigilante in the operation. The police commissioner directed that the case be transferred to the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the police in the state. He asked the unit to deploy its expertise in tracking down fleeing kidnappers. He assured that the police in Anambra State will work hard with other security agencies and community leaders to fight criminality in the state, stressing that the safety of residents would remain their priority. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Combined security agencies have killed many suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed militant wing, Eastern Security Network (ESN), across communities in Nigerias South-east, an official has said. The Force Commander, Joint Task Force South-east Operation Udo Ka, Hassan Taiwo-Dada, disclosed this on Friday during a press briefing at Eke-Ututu community in Orsu Local Government Area of Imo State, South-east Nigeria. A text of the press briefing was also published on the official Facebook page of the Nigerian Army on Friday. How they were killed Mr Taiwo-Dada, a major-general, said the IPOB members were killed during a series of operations in some suspected IPOB hideouts from 11 February to 7 March. He said the operations were conducted by the Joint Task Force of Operation Udoka, comprising personnel of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force and the Nigeria Police Force. The army chief, who is also the General Officer Commanding 82 Division of the Nigerian army, said personnel of the State Security Service and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps also took part in the operations. Mr Taiwo-Dada said the suspected IPOB/ESN hideouts which were destroyed by the joint task force are in Orsu, Eke-Ututu, and Ihiteukwa, Ihittenansa all communities in Orsu Local Government Area of the state. He said, within the same period, some of the hideouts were also destroyed by the joint task force in Orsumoghu and Lilu all communities in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra, another state in the South-east. Ihiala and Lilu, though in Anambra State, share boundaries with communities in Orsu Local Government Area of Imo State. When they were killed Mr Taiwo-Dada said, in one of the operations on 7 March, the joint task force destroyed some IPOB hideouts allegedly used by the separatists as their supreme headquarters. During the raid operations, the gallant troops encountered, detonated and recovered many command improvised explosive devices and various types of obstacles which were cleared by the determined troops. The troops also came in contact with the terrorists but were subdued with superior fire power with many neutralised while others with varying degrees of gunshot wounds fled into the bush, he said, urging residents of the states to report any strange face in their communities to the task force. He said the supreme headquarters, which served as the IPOB members last stronghold, was located in a valley. Mr Taiwo-Dada said the valley spanned the Orsu and Ihiala local government areas of the south-eastern states and is about 5,000 feet below sea level. The army chief added that the well concealed and forested location afforded the IPOB members good cover from air surveillance and also served as their command and control centre and military council headquarters. The joint troops also destroyed about 50 tents in the valley housing the supreme headquarters, IPOB/ESN command and control center, including their hideout and residence, offices, their logistics base, temples and shrines used for occult practices among many other items, he stated. Several arms and ammunition were among the items recovered during the operations, according to the army. Others were laptops, several mobile phones, Baofeng radios, batteries, one inverter, a SIM card registration machine, four PoS machines, trumpets, Biafra flags and uniforms as well as an undisclosed number of vehicles suspected to have been stolen. Mr Taiwo-Dada appreciated the cooperation of all the security agencies in the success achieved so far and urged leaders of the communities, who fled during the operations in their places, to return to their ancestral homes. The army chief asked the community leaders to emplace efforts to ensure that all the criminals who were chased out from the communities are not allowed to return. He assured that the joint task force will continue to provide security in all the communities and people of South-east to support the security agencies with timely and actionable information to aid the fight against terrorism and other criminal activities in the region. IPOB, a group seeking to carve out a sovereign state of Biafra from South-east and some parts of neighbouring states, has been linked to some of the deadly attacks in the two regions. But the separatist group has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks. The Nigerian army and other security agencies have been carrying out operations against the separatist group. Both personnel of the Nigerian army and members of the separatist group have been killed in some of the operations. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Early this week, reports of mass abduction of residents across communities in Borno and Kaduna states by armed groups, compounded an existing insecurity and economic hardship in Nigeria under the watch of President Bola Tinubu. The communities in Borno and Kaduna where the kidnappings occurred are some of the most insecure communities in the troubled states and have witnessed repeated terror attacks in the past. The insecurity in the areas also means limited access to non-residents including journalists, making real-time information difficult to get. On Friday, President Bola Tinubu confirmed the abductions but did not provide the number of victims kidnapped. I have received briefings from security chiefs on the two incidents in Borno and Kaduna, and I am confident that the victims will be rescued. Nothing else is acceptable to me and the waiting family members of these abducted citizens. Justice will be decisively administered, Mr Tinubu said in a statement. The president said he has directed security and intelligence agencies to immediately rescue the victims and ensure that justice is served against the perpetrators of the crime. I sympathise with the families of the victims, and assure them that they would soon be reunited with their loved ones, he added. The Borno abduction The first reports on the Borno abductions emerged on Tuesday but the abductions are believed to have occurred last week. A United Nations official said the abductions occurred on 29 February. On 29 February, members of a non-state armed group (NSAG) allegedly abducted the IDPs who had reportedly ventured beyond the safety of the trenches surrounding Ngala from the ISS, Zulum, Kaigama, and Arabic IDP camps in search of firewood, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Fall, wrote in a statement on Tuesday. The UN and many of its agencies including the FAO and the WHO are present in many local governments in Borno where they assist displaced persons and other residents. The exact number of people abducted remains unknown but is estimated at over 200 people, Mr Fall wrote. The top UN official in Nigeria suggested that a few of the victims have been released. While an unspecified number of older women and children under 10 have reportedly been released, scores of IDPs remain unaccounted for, according to protection partners. Many of the IDPs are believed to have been abducted on their way to fetch firewood in the forest. The attack is believed to have been carried out by Boko Haram terrorists who still operate in many parts of Borno despite the efforts of security agencies. Borno, in north-east Nigeria, is the state most affected by the Boko Haram insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of people, mainly in the north-east. On Thursday, a week after the abductions occurred, Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum, while addressing diplomats, development partners, and humanitarian leaders, said the government is yet to ascertain the actual number of abducted persons. However, he cautioned about the figures being circulated, a report by HumAngle noted. While Nigerians waited for more details of the kidnappings in Borno, the mass abduction of over 280 pupils occurred in a Kaduna school on Thursday. Then on Friday, President Bola Tinubu released his statement but did not provide details including the number of victims in both incidents However, on Friday afternoon, Amnesty International (AI), which has a presence in the affected states and partners with some non-governmental organisations, said over 400 persons including women and children were abducted in Borno State. According to AI, the abducted individuals are largely IDPs from Babban Sansani, Zulum and Arabic IDP camps in Gamboru Ngala, Borno state. Amnesty also confirmed that 287 pupils and teachers were abducted in the Kaduna incident, possibly by a different terror group. AI blamed the Nigerian government and security agencies for the mass abductions. In the decade since Boko Haram kidnapped 276 school girls from Chibok, there have been several more mass abductions which the Nigerian authorities have failed to effectively investigate. As a result, suspected perpetrators have not been brought to justice. In addition, authorities have failed to put in place security plans for schools in vulnerable areas despite the abduction of hundreds of schoolchildren. These failures have triggered a decline in school enrollment in a major setback for girls education. Nigerian authorities must ensure a safe learning environment for children and address the risks of new abductions in the country, the international rights organisation said. In his Tuesday statement, Mr Fall, the UN coordinator, called for the immediate release of the captives and urged all parties to protect civilians, in line with international humanitarian laws. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The police in Abia State, South-east Nigeria, say they have busted a suspected baby factory in Aba, the commercial hub of the state. The police spokesperson in Abia State, Maureen Chinaka, disclosed this during a press briefing on Friday in Umuahia, the state capital. The text of the press briefing was forwarded to PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday. Ms Chinaka, an assistant superintendent of police, said 16 pregnant girls, aged between 17 and 27 years, were rescued during the operation. She said 13 of the rescued pregnant girls hail from Akwa Ibom State, South-south Nigeria, while two others come from Cross River, another state in the South-south. One of the girls hails from Ebonyi State, Nigerias South-east. The spokesperson said the operation was conducted on Thursday night by police operatives from the Rapid Response Squad in the state. She said the operatives also rescued eight children, comprising five males and three females, from the baby factory. The eight children were aged between two and 11 years. Arrest of suspects Ms Chinaka said two suspects a woman and a man allegedly harbouring the girls at the baby factory have been arrested by the police. The police spokesperson identified the suspects as 29-year-old woman, Onyinyechi Okoro, and 32-year-old man, Ekene Okezie. She said while Mrs Okoro hails from Ihechiowa Community in Arochukwu Local Government Area of Abia State, Mr Okezie is from Aro-Ndizuogu, a community in Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo State. Discrete investigation is ongoing, she said. Baby factories in Nigeria Baby factory, sometimes disguised as an orphanage, is a name given to a facility where traffickers hold women, mostly teenagers, against their will, rape and force them to get pregnant. The newborns at the facility are then sold illegally to adoptive parents. Girls in such a facility are sometimes forced into child labour and prostitution. A recent investigation uncovered how a supposed Christian orphanage in Anambra State, another state in the South-east, was illegally selling babies between N1.5 million and N2 million, depending on a babys gender. The investigation also revealed how the sales were executed with the collusion of some officials of the Nigerian police and the judiciary. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Even if Macron is suicidal, I am sure NATO is not. It is aware that even in a conventional warfare, the prize of its troops taking on Russia, will be quite high. Other Europeans are not as daft as Ukraine that is using its youths as cannon fodder. Also, NATO as an alliance, is smart enough to realise that it is not the only game in the world. In other words, in the event of war, Russia will have allies. His Excellency Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, is a pendulum. He dangles across political and ideological lines. Sometimes, he seems to forget what he said in the morning. It is therefore not surprising that in the Russo-Ukrainian War, he has swung from being a peacemaker in 2022, to an advocate of damaging Russia without destroying it, on to demanding in 2024, an outright invasion and destruction of Russia. I am sure he is not so daft not to realise that his advocacy to militarily overrun Moscow is an invitation to a Third World War. I dont know if he cares; his objectives are to grab the headlines and position himself as the leader of the so-called free world. The contemporary Ukrainian political crises began in November 2004, following the disputed presidential election re-run between the pro-Russian candidate from Eastern Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, and Viktor Yushchenko, which was won by the former. What followed were street protests in some parts of the country, and the election results were annulled. In the second re-run, Yushchenko was declared winner and was sworn-in as president. This was called the Orange Revolution. In the 2010 elections, Yanukovych, the pro-Russian candidate, again, won. This time his election was not annulled. However, when, three years later, his government decided to sign a trade pact with Russia, rather than the European Union, pro-West forces staged street protests and on 21 February, 2014, and President Yanukovych fled the capital, Kyiv. The next day, the parliament, claiming that the president had withdrawn from his constitutional duties by fleeing the capital, removed him from office. Eastern Ukraine protested that it was the second time it was being deprived of the presidency it had won through the ballot box. It therefore refused to recognise the new government, insisting that only a democratically elected president can preside over the country. This led to a civil war in which the Ukrainian armed forces, backed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), took on the Russianbacked rebels. Two peace accords were signed in Minsk, capital of Belarus, to end the conflict. The Minsk peace agreements provided for a ceasefire, constitutional reforms, including decentralisation, a federal system and special status for the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk. This was where Macron came in. He, like the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, pressed that the peace accords signed by all sides, should be implemented. But the then Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko, refused to implement them. He insisted on conquering the rebels. 7 However, Volodymyr Zelensky, as a candidate, campaigned that he would implement the peace accords. He told the Eastern Ukrainians that he would continue in the direction of the Minsk Talks and head towards concluding a ceasefire. But after his 2019 election, he reneged and, rather, sent troops to overrun that part of the country. Justifying his sabotage of the peace agreements, Zelensky, in an interview with the German newspaper, Der Spiegel, published on 9 February, 2023, said: Procrastination is perfectly fine in diplomacy. He added that he merely jumped on the (peace) train to deceive Russia and prepare for war. Former French President, Francois Hollande, confirmed that Ukraine was not interested in a peaceful resolution of the civil war. He said: Since 2014, Ukraine has strengthened its military posture. Indeed, the Ukrainian army was completely different from that of 2014. It was better trained and equipped. It is the merit of the Minsk Agreements to have given the Ukrainian army this opportunity. Merkel also confirmed that rather than seek a peaceful resolution of the differences in the country, Ukraine decided to stockpile Western weapons, strengthen its armed forces and prepare for war with Russia. Former Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennet, said he thought the Russo-Ukrainian War was avoidable. So, he decided to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, but the United States and Europe blocked the process, insisting that there is the need by the West to keep striking Putin and ensuring that the civil war in Ukraine escalated. He reiterated: They blocked it, and I thought theyre wrong. Macron also did not agree that Europe should encourage war in Ukraine, rather than peace. On 7 February, 2022, he met President Vladmir Putin in the Kremlin. On 22 February, 2022, Russia decided to support the Ukrainian rebels militarily by attacking Ukraine. Despite this, Macron kept an open communication line with Russia. Following the war, he changed his attitude towards Russia. Putin said of this: At some point, the French President stopped the relationship with us. We didnt do it, I didnt. He did. If theres interest, were ready. If not, well cope. At the end of February, 2024, Macron had completely changed his position. He said: We are convinced that the defeat of Russia is indispensable for stability and security in EuropeWe are determined to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to help Ukraine defeat Russia. Then he dropped the bombshell: There is no consensus today to send (NATO) ground forces in an official, acknowledged and approved manner. But in a dynamic situation, nothing should be ruled out. Then on Saturday, 18 February, 2023, Macron moved to advocate for the defeat of Russia, but not its humiliation. He told the Le Journal du Dimanche paper: I do not think, as some people do, that we must aim for a total defeat of Russia, attacking Russia on its own soil. Those observers want to, above all else, crush Russia. That has never been the position of France and it will never be our position. At the end of February, 2024, Macron had completely changed his position. He said: We are convinced that the defeat of Russia is indispensable for stability and security in EuropeWe are determined to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to help Ukraine defeat Russia. Then he dropped the bombshell: There is no consensus today to send (NATO) ground forces in an official, acknowledged and approved manner. But in a dynamic situation, nothing should be ruled out. Well do everything necessary so that Russia cannot win this war. So, does Macron think that Russia, a nuclear power, would watch NATO forces stroll into Moscow? It is like expecting the United States to watch foreign troops march across New York and seize Washington. Even if Macron is suicidal, I am sure NATO is not. It is aware that even in a conventional warfare, the prize of its troops taking on Russia, will be quite high. Other Europeans are not as daft as Ukraine that is using its youths as cannon fodder. Also, NATO as an alliance, is smart enough to realise that it is not the only game in the world. In other words, in the event of war, Russia will have allies. Thirdly, NATO is smart enough to know that while the first and second all-European wars of the 20th century, christened the First and Second World Wars, were fought with conventional weapons, the third one will not be fought only with such weapons. Since humanity is not ready for the Third World War, it is logical to ask when Macron will leave the French Presidency; 2027 may be too far. Owei Lakemfa, a former secretary general of African workers, is a human rights activist, journalist and author. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Over centuries, African and Arab nations have woven a shared historical and socio-economic fabric, marked by common struggles against colonialism, economic marginalisation, and racial discrimination. Notably, Arab support for African liberation movements and African solidarity with Arab countries in the United Nations (UN) has underscored this deep connection. In recent years, Arab countries have renewed their focus on Africa, particularly in investments, diplomacy, and conflict mediation, notably in the Horn of Africa and North Africa. As global powers, like China and Russia, intensify their interests and influence in Africa, it is imperative to reassess Arab-African relations, emphasising collaborative efforts to address shared challenges and opportunities for mutual prosperity and solidarity. Furthermore, the increasing animosity between the Sahelian countries and France, and the gradual decline in the influence of the West in this region, has opened a vacuum that needs to be filled. While the UN, African Union (AU), and regional economic commissions (RECs) in Africa have failed to provide the required socio-economic and security support, foreign countries such as China, Turkey and Russia are not relenting in their efforts to become the saviour of Africa. Are their interests different from those of the West? The necessity to rekindle Afro-Arab relations and develop the required strategies to foster deeper cooperation motivated the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies (KFCRIS) to host a Workshop entitled The Future of Arab-African Relations, on 28 February in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was facilitated by the Head of the African Studies Program Assistant at KFCRIS, Dr. Mohamed Al-Sbitli. I was part of the six-member High-Level Panel, which included the HRH Princess Maha bint Mohammed AlFaisal, the Secretary-General of the KFCRIS. The discussion historicises Arab-African partnerships and calls for more commitments by leaders of both regions to match diplomacy with concrete initiatives that would benefit the two regions. Several initiatives have been established to foster closer ties between Arab and African regions. The inaugural Saudi Arabia-Africa summit hosted in Riyadh last year brought together 50 leaders, including AU Chair Faki Mahamat, signalling a growing commitment to collaboration. The Arab-Africa Trade Bridges (AATB) aims to boost trade with transactions reaching $150 million. Some private Arab companies are operating across Africa, such as the Dubai-based logistics company, DP World, which promised to invest more than $1 billion in three African countries: Senegal, Egypt, and Somaliland. In addition, Afrexim bank and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation launched a $500 million facility to enhance trade, although current Arab-Africa trade at around $80 billion is considered insufficient in comparison to China-Africa trade, which is estimated at US$282 billion. Africa seeks support for infrastructural development, while Arab countries seek collaboration in the agricultural sector. For instance, a significant portion of Africa, about 50.6 per cent, lacks access to electricity, presenting an opportunity for partnership in renewable energy, mining, and climate change mitigation. Additionally, Africa boasts the worlds youngest population, with 70 per cent under 30 years old, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) stands as the largest free trade area by population, exceeding 1.3 billion, with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $3.4 trillion. Collaboration between African and Arab states should extend beyond economic ventures. Both regions should cooperate in peacekeeping operations and conflict prevention, while building on mediation efforts, exemplifying their joint commitment to regional stability. Furthermore, cultural exchanges, educational partnerships, and bilateral trade agreements will contribute to strengthening ties between Arab and African countries. Partnership in Political and diplomatic collaboration should be enhanced through bilateral partnerships rather than relying solely on regional alliances between the AU and the Arab League. South Africa and Saudi Arabia have taken the initiative to strengthen their partnership. Thoko Didiza, the South African Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development, held a meeting with Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen A. AlFadley, the Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture of Saudi Arabia last month and underscored the paramount significance of Saudi Arabia as a pivotal collaborator in enriching trade relations across diverse value chains. Indeed, Saudi Arabia stands as a cornerstone market for South Africas agricultural sector, boasting an annual importation of approximately R380 billion (US$20 billion) worth of agricultural commodities, thereby exemplifying the profound interdependence between the two countries. While noting the diplomatic friction between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman during the Saudi-Africa summit last year, as part of his governments efforts to attract investors, in a bid to reverse Nigerias economic misfortune. Saudi officials agreed to fix Nigerias four broken oil refineries, which have not worked in years, forcing Africas second-largest oil producer to import all of its fuel. The removal of fuel subsidy by the Nigerian government has thrown the country into an economic comatose, unprecedented in its history. Challenges such as political instability, historical tensions, and geopolitical dynamics pose obstacles to Afro-Arab collaboration. However, these challenges also present opportunities for dialogue, diplomacy, and negotiation to overcome shared concerns. By leveraging their complementary strengths and resources, both regions can capitalise on opportunities for mutual growth and diversification. The future of Africa-Arab relations holds immense promise, extending beyond economic exchange to encompass diplomacy, security, and cultural enrichment. By fostering effective dialogue, collaboration, and exchange, Africa and the Arab world can forge deeper bonds of friendship and solidarity. Ultimately, by leveraging their shared heritage and aspirations, both regions can chart a course towards a future defined by mutual prosperity, peace, and progress. It is instructive to be mindful of the current diplomatic sensitivity in Africa as the colonial heritage and the endless neo-colonialism by the West have continued to impoverish millions of Africans and condemned the continent to a periphery or dependent position in the international economic order. Africa is in search of authentic allies and equitable partnerships, eschewing relationships characterised by diplomatic authoritarianism or exploitative intentions towards its abundant mineral and human resources. Adeoye O. Akinola is Head of Research and Teaching at the Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation and Institute for Global African Affairs, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print An old schoolmate of mine simply moved out of Lagos to the East when his mother came armed to his house everyday to torment and taunt his wife. The poor womans sin was not even barrenness. They had kids. It was just that my friend made a few bad business decisions in his bid to leave paid employment and his fortunes took a nose dive. Trust Yoruba people. In such situations, the wife bears the brunt. She is the one with two left legs. Show me a woman who does not believe in love and I will show you a liar. Every woman wants to be loved. We all long for that indescribable feeling that keeps our heads in the cloud. That feeling that makes you feel that you and your man are the only ones on the surface of the earth and when he touches you, you feel this tingling sensation running down your spine. His voice does things to your system, etcetera, etcetera. It is a feeling that makes a woman see life through rose-tinted glasses. It is a delicious feeling. It leads you into temptation. It makes you do things that you may later in life wonder how you ever contemplated at all. Sometimes it puts a smile on your face in a crowd of serious people doing serious business, when your mind wanders to those loving moments. They all look at you like you are losing it but you are glorying in something you hold or once held so dear. Sometimes a love experience does not end in marriage and till death do you part but it does not take away from the solid fact that for the rest of your life, you will never forget it. Remember that song: Everybody, think back To your very first time Oh, not when you lost your virginity this time. That could be memorable too but we will talk about that sometime soon. Love. It makes you defy reason, logic, sound advice. Anything that wants to come between you and your Romeo would simply have to step aside or go to blazes, whichever they prefer. Did you ever defy your parents for the lover boy? Did you steal your mothers jewellery to sell, so your Romeo could buy a ticket to Britain? The things we have all done for love the things women are still doing for love, in the name of loveAh. They scare me but what is life without love? It is a feeling every man, every woman must experience. And because cupids arrow does not strike often, for some people it is a once in a lifetime thing, it must be savoured. But is love enough to make a marriage work? Is it all the ingredient that makes a relationship work and worth it? Which is more valuable in marriage, or any serious relationship: love or respect? The tendency is that everyone will scream love. Or am I mistaken? Im not prescribing anything here. Let us just all look at the two emotions as dispassionately as possible. A man loves his wife. His wife loves him. In fact, they married for love. They have two kids, both girls, both delivered through caesarian section. The last almost cost the woman her life. The doctor advised that because of the peculiar complications that surfaced in the theatre (doctors always have a name for everything even when we think an ailment is the handiwork of witches and wizards), Madam should stop at two. For a few years, the man lived with this harsh fact that hed never have a son from his wife. Then he started dropping hints about alternative medicine and the wonders of local herbs. And how God is a miracle worker. All the sweet talks to get Madam to get pregnant again. She also wanted a boy and fell for it because she was also afraid of the alternatives open to her husband, a second wife, for instance. By the time she was 10 weeks gone, it became obvious that she was on a suicide mission. She could no longer move about without sudden dizzying spells. The doctor recommended abortion. The man said he would fly her out of the country for better care. She wept, scared she would die trying to find a son. Who would be the mother to her pretty daughters? The doctors did their best but everything came loose at 11 weeks. She was distraught and relieved at the same time. Hubby was angry and accused her of conniving with the doctor to abort the baby. Crazy, isnt it? Was that love? Would respect have made the situation easier to handle? He went on to get a second wife and he luckily got a son. If a woman respects a man, do you think she would let her own brothers disrespect him? If she treats him like a king, her siblings would do the same but if she rains abuses on him in their presence, the chances that they would look down on the fool their sister married would be high. How many men can stand disrespect from their in-laws? How long does it take for love to take flight when a man feels like hes less than a man in his own house? In the same vein, there are men who allow their sisters, brothers and mothers to ride roughshod over their wives. Have we not heard of women who have been beaten up by their sisters-in-law? A younger friend of mine who got married in 2006 was looking like a bad replica of herself when I saw her two weeks ago. She used to be very attractive with a beautiful spring in her steps. Today her skin looks dry, lips chapped and she generally looks 10 years older. I locked my office door and asked her to spill it, all of it. She started crying. I have been through a lot, auntie. If I had known this is what marriage is like I would not have bothered. My in-laws are mean. Because I could not conceive, within one year they started persecuting me. They have called me everything from a male dog to a man. Because my business is doing fine, my mother-in-law told my husband, in my presence, that I have done money rituals with my womb and that is why I can buy a new car when Im supposed to be looking for a child. I have done all the tests the doctors prescribed but Im still not pregnant. My sisters-in-law are even worse than their mother. What did her dear husband have to say about this domestic violence against his wife? He tells me to ignore them. I dont think he is the problem If you ask me, Joy, thats her name, is living in denial. Her problem is largely her man. I think the guy is actually less than a man if you take away what is in between his legs. How can you tell a woman being harassed by your mother and sisters to ignore her assailants? Do you treat headache by ignoring it? When a mosquito perches on your skin, does ignoring it reduce its bite or stop it from passing malaria parasites into your bloodstream? A man who respects his wife will protect her. That is why he is the crown, the head of his home. But a man who watches his mother torment his wife is a fake crown. His home is headless. How long will it take love to fly away from such a relationship? An old schoolmate of mine simply moved out of Lagos to the East when his mother came armed to his house everyday to torment and taunt his wife. The poor womans sin was not even barrenness. They had kids. It was just that my friend made a few bad business decisions in his bid to leave paid employment and his fortunes took a nose dive. Trust Yoruba people. In such situations, the wife bears the brunt. She is the one with two left legs. She is the harbinger of failure. The poor girl was miserable and being an old school introvert, she refused to report her mother-in-law who always chose the time her son was not around to unleash her special brand of terror. She would cry and cry. She was losing weight because it was getting too much for her. Until one day, mama was found out in her iniquity by her son. He simply asked for a transfer to the East. They were there for five years before they made contact with the old woman. The rest is history. So what do you think, which is a bigger ingredient, love or respect? Is your man a protector or a liability? Is a shield in times of attack? Is he a real crown or just a bling-bling accessory? Funke Egbemode was managing director/editor-in-chief of New Telegraph Newspaper, president of the Nigerian Guild of Editors and commissioner for information in Osun State. Email: egbemode3@gmail.com Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Gunmen have killed four people in Abacheke, a community in Ohaji-Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State, south-east Nigeria. Residents of the community told PREMIUM TIMES that the gunmen attacked the community on Friday evening. One of the sources, who asked not to be named for safety reasons, said the armed men entered the community on three motorcycles. They were many. But I cant say the exact number. They were wearing army uniforms and facemasks, he said. The police spokesperson in Imo State, Henry Okoye, confirmed the attack and killing in a statement on Saturday. Mr Okoye, an assistant superintendent of police, said the hoodlums attacked the community at about 6:30 p.m. on Friday during which five youths were seriously hit by bullets. In a swift response, the area commander in charge of Ohaji-Egbema and other tactical teams mobilised to the scene, the victims were immediately rushed to the hospital where four were confirmed dead on arrival while one is currently receiving medical treatment at the hospital, he said. The spokesperson said the police in the state had begun an operation to track down the killers. The Commissioner of Police Imo State Command, Aboki Danjuma, has condemned in totality the gruesome murder of four young men at Abacheke Community in Ohaji-Egbema by gunmen who were dressed in military camouflage, he said. The police spokesperson appealed to residents of Imo State to assist the police in the state with information that will aid the arrest of the gunmen. Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, the growing insecurity in the state and South-east has been linked to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). However, IPOB, a group seeking the secession of the south-east and some parts of the south-south from Nigeria, has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Police in Lagos State have arrested a mother for attempting to kill her sick child, using a poisonous insecticide, Sniper. The Police Spokesperson in the state, Benjamin Hundeyin, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday that the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, reported the attempt to the police on Friday. He said the chief security officer at the hospital reported to the police that the mother brought her one-year-and-seven-month-old daughter to the hospital for treatment. He added that the mother confessed to a doctor at the hospital that she gave the child Sniper to drink on Sunday when her convulsion was not abating. ALSO READ: Senate seeks ban of Sniper insecticide The mother said she gave the liquid to her child so she could rest from her excessive convulsions. Detectives were immediately dispatched to the hospital where they met the baby receiving treatment. The mother has been taken in for investigation after the child had received treatment, Mr Hundeyin said. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 9. In many Western societies, Muslim women are subjected to various forms of religious discrimination, Head of the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan, member of the Independent Standing Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (IPHRC OIC) Aydin Safikhanli said, Trend reports. First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the conference participants for the interesting, effective and productive discussions they have had over the past two days to combat Islamophobia. As we know that, discrimination, in all its possible forms and manifestations, is one of the most common forms of human rights violations and abuses. It affects millions of people every day and is one of the most difficult to recognize. Freedom of religion and religious tolerance are fundamental values in the world, but acts of discrimination based on religion have not yet disappeared. Religious intolerance is often linked to racism and xenophobia, especially Islamophobia. Today, Islamophobia manifests itself in various aspects and results in gross violations of human rights and freedoms. The effects of Islamophobia on women were more serious and urgent action was needed to address such situations. I would like to draw attention to the restrictions imposed on the freedom of thought, conscience and religion of Muslim women. This includes restrictions on the dress of Muslim women and multiple forms of discrimination. In defending the freedom of choice of Muslim women, international organizations must find solutions that would help protect their fundamental rights. The denial of the rights of Muslim women occurred in the context of the growing Islamophobia in Europe, particularly in France, a problem that disproportionately affected women, who were easily identified as Muslims. Many European countries had laws prohibiting the wearing of religious dress, and Muslim women also faced indirect pressure from political discourse, social expectations and the media. This is a gross violation of the right to liberty. Restrictions on religious clothing are often justified within the framework of the neutrality that applies to people of all faiths, but in reality, they are directed only against Muslim women and are part of a broader debate about that Islam is incompatible with Western values. Stigmatization and stereotyping of Muslim women denied them a voice, ignored their diversity and incited hatred that led to harassment and violence. This is evidenced by the increasing number of violent attacks on Muslim women wearing headscarves, as well as their experience of discrimination at work and in other areas of life. Such cases of discrimination violated the fundamental rights and freedoms of Muslim women, including the right to education. For example, in 2004, France banned the wearing of religious symbols, including the hijab, in schools, and in 2010 it extended the ban on wearing headscarves in public places. In a television interview, French Minister of Education Gabriel Attal announced his decision to ban the wearing of Abayas' dresses in schools. He said that "it is impossible to determine the religious affiliation of students at the entrance of the class only by their clothes". The representative of the French Government, Olivier Veran, also supported this view, calling the Abaya "not only a religious dress but also a political statement". All this shows that Islamophobia is a French State policy. Muslim women face violations of their fundamental rights and discrimination on the basis of both religion and gender. Numerous examples show that Muslim women bear the brunt of this intersectional nature of discrimination in their daily lives, also living in societies where gender discrimination remains a major problem. However, for Muslim women, gender discrimination is often masked as an attempt to promote gender equality, arguing, for example, that women in burqas cannot be free. These arguments deny Muslim women the right to self-determination and rarely allow them to speak for themselves. In modern Europe, we are now faced with a situation where prejudices based on religion or gender are considered illegal, but an exception is made for Muslim women. Politicians who do not consider it permissible to interfere in the choice of womens clothing often make judgements about the dress of a Muslim woman. We are deeply concerned that the gender equality proclaimed in the EU is threatened by increasingly blatant discrimination based on religious beliefs. Some European countries must take a firm stand against any form of religious intolerance and gender inequality. The stigmatization and exclusion of Muslim women will continue to reinforce social divisions, deepen exclusion and create additional tensions in Europe, which desperately needs greater social participation and the involvement of all sectors of society. A continent that prides itself on the rule of law cannot, above all, continue to witness an open violation of the fundamental rights of part of its population. The ban on hijab spreads to other fields of life. Athletes representing France would be barred from wearing headscarves during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris because of the French way of approaching secularism and religious symbols according to French Minister of Sport, Amelie Oudea-Castera, who highlighted the representatives of our delegations, in our French teams, will not wear the headscarf. Implementation of such policies through institutions legitimizes Islamophobia across various public and private spheres and promotes negative attitudes and discrimination toward Muslims. Despite the UN declaring the face veil ban as a violation of human rights in 2018 calling for France to review its ban on full-face coverings, and criticizing the latest decision on the 2024 Olympics as discrimination against women, the government continues to justify these restrictions in the name of secularism. These facts also show the extent to which France has complied with its international obligations. These measures have fueled a continuing debate about Islamophobia in France, as they appear to disproportionately target Muslims. Islamophobia reports highlight that, to distract society from national issues, Muslims in France often become subjects of political arguments as a threat to secularism. Demonizing Muslims prevents voicing the serious problems Muslim French citizens face in the country. This situation raises critical questions about the balance between protecting secularism as a way to separate church and state and respecting religious freedom, particularly in relation to the Muslim population. Among many, the prohibition of the hijab in France deserves special attention from various points of view, as it denies Muslim women access to basic institutions such as education and work. Since the hijab is a visible Muslim dress only for women, discrimination against the hijab is considered a form of gender-based Islamophobia, meaning that women experience Islamophobia differently than men. The approach to this issue from the perspective of womens rights and gender equality is therefore particularly important for understanding the place of Muslim women wearing the hijab in France relative to other women in the country. In many Western societies, Muslim women are subjected to various forms of religious discrimination. Research shows that religion plays a more important role than race and ethnicity in employment. For example, an experiment in Germany that was conducted with three identical fictional resumes for job applications showed that a Muslim-named resume and a picture of a hijab were the least suitable compared to those that with a Muslim name and a photo without a hijab, and compared to the CV character with a German name and image. While the French Muslim women also reported similar experiences in the labor market, compared to other countries, France is a unique case as it does not allow hijab-wearing women to work at any rank in public institutions at all, and the private sector is reluctant to hire these women by taking shelter behind the secularist discourse of the French government. Such policy-driven discrimination leads to systematic disenfranchisement against Muslim women in the French labor market. I would like to note with regret that such illegal acts, which lead to gross violations of human rights and freedoms, are being supported and reinforced at the State level in France. I believe that international organizations should not remain indifferent to these facts and should prevent such situations. Dear Conference Participants, Another issue to which I would like to draw your attention is the special protection of women in international humanitarian law. However, I would like to note with regret that Islamophobia is once again leading to discrimination and gross violations of the human rights of Muslim women under the IHL. As we know that, in international armed conflicts, women are among those protected by the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. In these circumstances, they shall benefit from all provisions which enshrine the basic principle of humane treatment, including respect for life and physical and moral integrity, in particular the prohibition of coercion, corporal punishment, torture, collective punishment, repression, robbery and hostage taking. I would like to note with regret that, for some reason, these commitments have not been taken into account with regard to Muslim women, and that Muslim women suffer most from war crimes. I would like to inform you that thousands of Azerbaijani Muslim women have been killed and subjected to violence during the war crimes committed as a result of ethnic cleansing and the genocidal policy pursued by Armenia against Azerbaijan in recent decades. The Azerbaijani women was killed and subjected to violence for the reason that they were Muslims and they were Turks. All these crimes are clear manifestations of Islamophobia and Turkophobia. As can be seen, the existence of Islamophobia is the cause of gross violations of human rights and freedoms, and each of us must join our efforts to prevent such cases. NEW ORLEANS, March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE: AAP). On May 31, 2023, the Company disclosed disappointing results for 1Q 2023, including a decrease in operating margin to 2.6% (compared to 6% in the prior-year period), due to "higher than planned investments to narrow competitive price gaps in the professional sales channel as well as unfavorable product mix," as well as cuts to its full year 2023 guidance, including expected full-year EPS of only $6.00 to $6.50 (compared to previous guidance of $10.20 to $11.20) and a decrease in its quarterly dividend of 83%, from $1.50 quarterly to $0.25. Thereafter, the Company and certain of its executives have been sued in a securities class action lawsuit charging them with failing to disclose material information in violation of federal securities laws, which remains pending. KSF's investigation is focusing on whether Advance Auto's officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to its shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws. If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of Advance Auto shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-833-938-0905 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn ([email protected]), or visit us at https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-aap/ to learn more. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, Delaware, California, Louisiana and New Jersey. To learn more about KSF, you may visit ksfcounsel.com. Contact: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Lewis Kahn, Managing Partner [email protected] 1-877-515-1850 1100 Poydras St., Suite 960 New Orleans, LA 70163 SOURCE Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC NEW ORLEANS, March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until March 25, 2024 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Archer-Daniels-Midland Company ("ADM" or the "Company") (NYSE: ADM), if they purchased the Company's securities between April 30, 2020 and January 22, 2024, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Get Help ADM investors should visit us at https://claimsfiler.com/cases/nyse-adm/ or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options. About the Lawsuit ADM and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws. On January 21, 2024, the Company disclosed that its Chief Financial Officer had been placed on leave "pending an ongoing investigation being conducted by outside counsel for ADM and the Board's Audit Committee regarding certain accounting practices and procedures with respect to ADM's Nutrition segment, including as related to certain intersegment transactions." Further, its investigation was initiated in response to a voluntary document request by the SEC and as a result, the Company delayed its Q4 and FY 2023 earnings release and withdrew its outlook for its Nutrition segment. On this news, the price of ADM's shares fell $16.23 per share, or approximately 24%, from $68.19 per share to close at $51.69 on January 22, 2024, wiping out approximately $8.8 billion of ADM's market value. The case is Chow v. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, et al., No. 24-cv-00634. About ClaimsFiler ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations. To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com. SOURCE ClaimsFiler NEW ORLEANS, March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until March 25, 2024 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against British American Tobacco p.l.c ("BA Tobacco" or the "Company") (NYSE: BTI), if they purchased or otherwise acquired the Company's securities between February 9, 2023 and December 6, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Get Help BA Tobacco investors should visit us at https://claimsfiler.com/cases/amex-bti/ or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options. About the Lawsuit BA Tobacco and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws. On December 6, 2023, the Company disclosed that it was taking a 25 billion Pound (around $31.5 billion USD) impairment on the cigarette brands it had acquired from Reynolds American Inc. in early 2017 due to "macro-economic headwinds impacting the U.S. combustibles industry," which The Wall Street Journal referred to as "one of the biggest corporate write-offs in recent history," noting the Company's statement that its performance in the U.S. had been hindered by smokers switching to cheaper, nonpremium brands. On this news, the price of BA Tobacco's American Depositary Receipts fell $2.68 per share, or 8.88%, to close at $28.86 per ADR on December 6, 2023. The case is David v. British American Tobacco p.l.c., et al., No. 24-cv-00517. About ClaimsFiler ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations. To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com. SOURCE ClaimsFiler DUBLIN, March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Europe Bitumen Additives Market Forecast to 2030 - Regional Analysis - by Type, and Application" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Europe bitumen additives market is expected to grow from US$ 1.36 billion in 2022 to US$ 2.16 billion by 2030. It is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.9% from 2022 to 2030. Governments of various European countries have imposed a few regulations on using chemicals to manufacture products in many processing industries, including chemicals & materials and paints & coatings, to ensure better protection of human health and the environment. These regulations are set to reduce greenhouse emissions and have compelled polymer manufacturing companies to increase investments in developing naturally derived raw materials. Rising awareness regarding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can upsurge the demand for bio-based and sustainable polymer products. Governments of various countries are adopting several initiatives to increase the awareness and development of bio-materials and recycled materials. Europe is a prominent region, encompassing economies such as Germany, Italy, Denmark, and Poland, contributing to the growth of the Europe bitumen additives market. Europe is one of the largest producers of construction materials, operated by small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) that supply construction materials to local and regional markets. According to the European Commission, the construction industry is one of the major industries in Europe, contributing ~9% to the region's GDP. The Europe invested ~US$ 6 billion for the construction of sustainable, safe, and efficient transport infrastructure, including 107 transport infrastructure projects in June 2023. A few bitumen additives are manufactured from recycled materials, which support the government's efforts for a circular economy and resource efficiency. Therefore, the increasing utilization of bitumen additives for infrastructure development in Europe is projected to fuel the growth of the Europe bitumen additives market . The Europe bitumen additives market is segmented into type, adhesion promoters, emulsifiers, application, and country. Based on type , the Europe bitumen additives market is segmented into polymeric modifiers, anti-strip agents, adhesion promoters, emulsifiers. In 2022, the polymeric modifiers segment registered the largest share in the Europe bitumen additives market. The adhesion promoters segment is further segmented into silanes, maleic anhydride, and others. The anti-strip agents segment is further segmented into ethyleneamines, polyamines, amidoamines, and others. The emulsifiers segment is further segmented into anionic and cationic. , the bitumen additives market is segmented into polymeric modifiers, anti-strip agents, adhesion promoters, emulsifiers. In 2022, the polymeric modifiers segment registered the largest share in the bitumen additives market. The adhesion promoters segment is further segmented into silanes, maleic anhydride, and others. The anti-strip agents segment is further segmented into ethyleneamines, polyamines, amidoamines, and others. The emulsifiers segment is further segmented into anionic and cationic. Based on Application , the Europe bitumen additives market is segmented into road construction, roofing, paints & coatings, and others. In 2022, the road construction segment registered the largest share in the Europe bitumen additives market. , the bitumen additives market is segmented into road construction, roofing, paints & coatings, and others. In 2022, the road construction segment registered the largest share in the bitumen additives market. Based on country, the Europe bitumen additives market is segmented into Germany , France , Italy , the UK, Russia , and the Rest of Europe . In 2022, the Rest of Europe segment registered the largest share in the Europe bitumen additives market. Nouryon Chemicals Holding BV, Ingevity Corp, Kraton Corp, Arkema SA, Dow Inc, Honeywell International Inc, Huntsman International LLC, Sasol Ltd, BASF SE, and Kao Corp are some of the leading companies operating in the Europe bitumen additives market. Key Topics Covered: 1. Introduction 2. Executive Summary 2.1 Key Market Insights 2.2 Market Attractiveness 3. Research Methodology 4. Europe Bitumen Additives Market Landscape 4.1 Overview 4.2 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 4.3 Ecosystem Analysis 4.3.1 Raw Material Suppliers 4.3.2 Bitumen Additives Manufacturers 4.3.3 Distributors/Suppliers 4.3.4 End Users 5. Europe Bitumen Additives Market - Key Industry Dynamics 5.1 Market Drivers 5.1.1 Sustainability Offered by Bitumen Additives: 5.1.2 Rising Government Initiatives for Infrastructure Development 5.2 Market Restraints 5.2.1 Fluctuations in Raw Material Prices 5.3 Market Opportunities 5.3.1 Strategic Product Innovations and Research by Key Market Players 5.4 Future Trends 5.4.1 Development of Sustainable Bitumen Additives 5.5 Impact of Drivers and Restraints: 6. Bitumen Additives Market - Europe Market Analysis 6.1 Europe Bitumen Additives Market Volume (Kilo Tons), 2020 - 2030 6.2 Europe Bitumen Additives Market Revenue (US$ Million), 2020 - 2030 6.3 Europe Bitumen Additives Market Forecast and Analysis 7. Europe Bitumen Additives Market Analysis - Type 7.1 Polymeric Modifiers 7.2 Anti-Strip Agents 7.2.3 Anti-Strip Agents Market Volume and Forecast to 2030 (Kilo Tons) 7.2.3.1 Ethyleneamines 7.2.3.2 Polyamines 7.2.3.3 Amidoamines 7.2.3.4 Others 7.3 Adhesion Promoters 7.3.3.1 Silanes 7.3.3.2 Maleic Anhydride 7.4 Emulsifiers 7.4.1 Overview 7.4.2 Emulsifiers Market Revenue and Forecast to 2030 (US$ Million) 7.4.3 Emulsifiers Market Volume and Forecast to 2030 (Kilo Tons) 7.4.3.1 Anionic 7.4.3.2 Cationic 7.5 Surfactants 8. Europe Bitumen Additives Market Analysis - Application 8.1 Road Construction 8.2 Roofing 8.3 Paints and Coatings 9. Europe Bitumen Additives Market - Country Analysis 10. Competitive Landscape 10.1 Heat Map Analysis- By Key Players 10.2 Company Positioning & Concentration 11. Bitumen Market Industry Landscape 11.1 Overview 11.2 Merger and Acquisitions 11.3 Product Launch 12. Company Profiles Arkema BASF Dow Honeywell International Huntsman International Ingevity Corp Kao Corp Kraton Nouryon Chemicals Holding Sasol For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/u6b08c 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. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 9. Shehbaz Sharif expressed his gratitude to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev for congratulating him on his election as Prime Minister of Pakistan, Trend reports. I thank His Excellency Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan, for his warm message of felicitations on my election as Prime Minister of Pakistan. Our two nations enjoy a unique bond of friendship that will grow from strength to strength, Shehbaz Sharif posted on X. DUBLIN, March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Automotive Smart Surface Research Report, 2023" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Market status: vehicle models with smart surfaces boom in 2023. From 2018 to 2023, there were an increasing number of models equipped with smart surfaces, up to 52,000 units in 2022 and 256,000 units from January to September 2023, and main models were Haval H6, Deepal SL03, and Neta S. Among them, Deepal SL03 uses smart surfaces in ambient lighting with translucent leather; Neta S packs multifunctional steering wheel where 'scroll wheel + virtual buttons' is used to complete relevant operations. Smart surfaces can be installed on center console, ambient lighting, steering wheel, doors, seats and other parts of a vehicle. From January to September 2023, body parts equipped with smart surfaces were mainly center console, steering wheel and ambient lighting. Suppliers: Chinese suppliers start late, but have market and cost advantages On the whole, there is a large technical gap between Chinese smart surface suppliers and their foreign peers. Yet the Chinese market has a low-cost ecological industry chain, helping domestic suppliers to adopt more flexible market schemes. Foreign suppliers (leading Tier1s, e.g., Continental and Antolin) can directly meet the requirements of OEMs (e.g., BMW), and use their R&D strength to help OEMs with requirement verification. Chinese smart surface suppliers develop slowly. From 2022 to 2023, more listed companies joined the smart surface industry chain. As smart surface technology advances in China, Chinese suppliers need to combine software and systems to overall deploy smart surfaces, and rid themselves of a business service model of simply processing or providing hardware. In July 2023, Marelli introduced the new Miragic, a display for cars that disappears when not in use. Featuring Marelli's innovative Shy-Tech solution, this disappearing display seamlessly integrates in OEMs' cockpit style, blending discreetly with various materials and surfaces. It provides equal or better visibility than conventional displays, enhancing safety by limiting distractions for the driver. Moreover, Marelli Miragic simplifies parts integration and assembly operations, greatly reducing weight of related body components. Ningbo Huaxiang Electronic develops new smart surface materials and technologies using multimodal interaction technology, fusing perception data in 'vision', 'voice' and other modes, and combining them with automotive electronics and optoelectronics technologies. Huaxiang Electronic plans iteration of next-generation smart surface technology based on multimodal interaction, with the ultimate goal of evolving it into an intelligent vehicle assistant. As of June 2023, Ningbo Huaxiang Electronic's smart surface products are still under development and have yet to be designated. In the first phase of R&D, its smart surface integrates such functions as smart touch, vibration feedback, and pressure sensing for preventing touch by mistake. Ningbo Huaxiang Electronic can design and customize surface materials as required, and enables personalized HMI hardware and software functions by integrating logo and ambient lights among others, and combining hidden touch buttons and translucent surfaces on trim strips, door panels and instrument panel. OEM: conventional OEMs are more willing to use smart surfaces. From 2020 to 2023, conventional OEMs showed higher willingness to develop and accept smart surfaces and launched more vehicle models. Geely ZEEKR X's steering wheel adopts a 'touch buttons + physical buttons' joint operation mode where a touch panel installed under the steering wheel is used to control trunk, front glass heating and other functions. Launched in April 2023 and scheduled to go on sale in November, Hongqi E001 is equipped with smart surface functions: Each touch function icon can be illuminated by touch to adjust functions of music, fragrance and air conditioning; Smart surface operation buttons work on the capacitance principle. Inductive touch switch can penetrate insulating material shells to detect effective touch of fingers, with high sensitivity; The pressure sensing and vibration feedback functions allow users to sense without observing, which improves driving safety. Key Topics Covered: 1 Overview of Automotive Smart Surface Industry 1.1 Definition of Automotive Smart Surface 1.2 Development History of Automotive Smart Surface 1.3 Brief Introduction to Automotive Smart Surface Technology 1.4 Automotive Smart Surface Industry Chain 1.5 Automotive Smart Surface - IME Market Size 2020-2025E 1.6 Development Trend of Automotive Smart Surface 2 Tier 1 Automobile Smart Surface Companies 2.1 FORVIA 2.2 Yanfeng 2.3 Antolin 2.4 Continental 2.5 Minth Group 2.6 Marelli 2.7 CAIP 3 Core Enterprises of Automotive Smart Surface Supply Chain 3.1 DuPont 3.2 Tactotek 3.3 CondAlign 3.4 Covestro 3.5 Marquardt 3.6 CGT 3.7 UltraSense 3.8 TouchNetix 3.9 Sekisui 3.10 e2ip 3.11 Canatu 3.12 Kurz 3.13 MacDermid 3.14 Joyson Electronic 3.15 Daming Electronics 3.16 Ways Electron 3.17 Ningbo Huaxiang Electronic 3.18 Zhenghai Technology 3.19 Tinychip 3.20 Awinic Technology 3.21 Sunlord Electronics 3.22 Nextinput 4 Solutions of Core Automotive Smart Surface OEMs 4.1 Mercedes-Benz 4.2 BMW 4.3 Tesla 4.4 Ferrari 4.5 SAIC IM Motors 4.6 Hongqi 4.7 BAIC 4.8 Geely 4.9 Peugeot Inception 4.10 Pininfarina 4.11 Others 4.11.1 ARCFOX Kaola 4.11.2 Roewe Whale 4.11.3 Buick Century 4.11.4 Neta For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/wz74op 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. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-171 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets DUBLIN, March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Cardiology Medical Imaging Informatics Market Growth Opportunities" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Cardiology is the second-largest generator of patient image data and reports, which need to be stored/archived, analyzed, and managed. This, coupled with hospitals' need to provide timely, high-quality care to patients, given the urgency of cardiology cases, necessitates a holistic view of cardiac patient data and a well-connected, enterprise-wide hospital informatics infrastructure, propelling the growth of efficient enterprise imaging informatics solutions in the cardiology specialty. Hospitals face various challenges, such as radiologist/cardiologist burnout, rising costs, huge data silos, decentralized work environments, and the substantial time cardiologists spend on manual reporting. These factors create demand for robust cardiology image and data management, such as cardiology workflow solutions and structured reporting covering the unique needs of cardiology imaging. Increased disease detection and diagnosis requirements also advance technology innovations across all modalities of cardiology imaging procedures, such as hybrid imaging and fusion imaging. These procedures create highly advanced images in large volumes and require appropriate cardiology diagnosis/interpretation solutions to decode/read and interpret images quickly. As cardiology datasets increase, on-premises storage solutions will no longer be enough to manage the growing volume of cardiology data. This will drive the adoption of cloud-based cardiology image storage solutions, which are scalable and easily accessible from anywhere. Cardiology picture archive communication systems (PACS) are shifting toward cardiovascular information systems (CVIS) to meet the demand for a comprehensive, 360-degree view of patient health data from multiple disparate systems. CVIS enables a holistic view of a patient's health parameters and reduces the turnaround time for physicians to examine each patient. Through this report, the analyst seeks to provide stakeholders with insights into the market and enable them to capture the opportunities available over the forecast period. The report provides an overview of the global cardiology medical imaging informatics market, with a 5-year revenue forecast from 2024-2028. Cardiology informatics is an interdisciplinary field that uses data, information, and knowledge from cardiology health systems with information and communication systems for patient care with operational and financial efficiency for the enterprise. The geographical scope of this study covers 4 main regions: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the rest of the world (Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East). The study forecast is categorized into 4 segments: Cardiology PACS includes cardiology image storage, archive, sharing, and viewing Image Analysis and Visualization includes image analysis, processing, visualization, diagnosis, and interpretation solutions Cardiology Workflows include cardiology image workflow orchestration, speech recognition and diagnosis reporting, cardiology clinical decision support solutions, business analytics solutions, patient data management, and care coordination solutions Cardiology Enterprise Imaging Solutions Other vital information: Growth environment and market trends Drivers and restraints Revenue forecast and analysis by modules and regions Competitive environment, including prominent participants' profiles, products, and revenues Key Growth Opportunities Multimodality Cardiac Imaging for Diagnostic Accuracy Enterprise Imaging Platform Harmonizes with Cardiology PACS Automation and Generative AI in Cardiology Workflow Optimization AI-based Cardiology Image Reconstruction and Interpretation Cloud-powered Telecardiology to Improve Access to Healthcare Key Topics Covered: Growth Opportunity Analysis Scope of Analysis Cardiology Medical Imaging Informatics Market Segmentation Segmentation by Geography Demands in Cardiology Imaging Informatics Factors Addressing Demand Shift in Cardiology Procedures from Hospital Inpatient to Outpatient; CCTA is the Largest Rise of Low-cost Cardiology Health Settings Reimbursement and Regulatory Trends in Cardiology Imaging Cloud Deployment in Cardiology Imaging Informatics On-Premises vs Cloud PACS for Deployment in Cardiology Practices Growth Drivers Growth Restraints Forecast Methodology and Assumptions Cardiology Imaging Informatics Growth Metrics Revenue Forecast Revenue Forecast by Module Revenue Forecast Analysis Revenue Forecast by Region Revenue Forecast Analysis Cardiovascular PACS Growth Metrics Revenue Forecast Cardiology PACS Integrating into Robust and Multifaceted CVIS Revenue Forecast Analysis Cardiology Image Analysis and Visualization Growth Metrics Revenue Forecast Shift Toward Fully-automated Processing and High-level Digital Interpretation of Cardiac Images Revenue Forecast Analysis Cardiology Workflow Solutions Growth Metrics Revenue Forecast Growing Demand for Structured Reporting Revenue Forecast Analysis Cardiology Enterprise Imaging Growth Metrics Revenue Forecast Factors Driving Enterprise Imaging Adoption in Cardiology Revenue Forecast Analysis Competitive Landscape Market Positioning of Key Vendors Profiles of Cardiology Imaging OEMs Profiles of Pureplay Cardiology Imaging Informatics Vendors Profiles of AI-based Companies Focused on Cardiology Imaging Partnerships Advancing AI in Cardiac Imaging M&As in Cardiology Imaging For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/hfjx2s 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. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets DUBLIN, March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Organic Chips Market 2024-2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The organic chips market is forecasted to grow by USD 3.37 bn during 2023-2028, accelerating at a CAGR of 5.87% during the forecast period. The market is driven by rising demand for healthy food globally, increasing demand for low-calorie chips, and increasing prominence of private-label brands. This study identifies the growing prominence of online shopping as one of the prime reasons driving the organic chips market growth during the next few years. Also, the increasing use of clean and transparent packaging and the rising number of vegan consumers will lead to a sizable demand in the market. The report on the organic chips market provides a holistic analysis, market size and forecast, trends, growth drivers, and challenges, as well as vendor analysis covering around 25 vendors. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, the latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. The organic chips market is segmented as below: By Product Type Vegetable Cereal Fruits Grain By Distribution Channel Offline Online By Geographical Landscape North America Europe APAC South America Middle East and Africa The report on the organic chips market covers the following areas: Organic chips market sizing Organic chips market forecast Organic chips market industry analysis The report provides a detailed analysis of several leading organic chips market vendors that include Blife Srl, Campbell Soup Co., Dieffenbach's Potato Chips, FZ Organic Food, Gruma SAB de CV, Intersnack Group GmbH and Co. KG, Jacksons Food Company LLC, Karanth Foods, Kind LLC, Luke's Organic, PepsiCo Inc., PopChips, R.W. Garcia, Rhythm Superfoods LLC, Simply 7 Snacks LLC, The Hain Celestial Group Inc., The Planting Hope Company Inc., Utz Brands Inc., Wayanad Organic Research Pvt. Ltd, and Yellow Chips B.V.. Also, the organic chips market analysis report includes information on upcoming trends and challenges that will influence market growth. This is to help companies strategize and leverage all forthcoming growth opportunities. Key Topics Covered: 1 Executive Summary 1.1 Market overview 2 Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem 3 Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition 3.2 Market segment analysis 3.3 Market size 2023 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2023-2028 4 Historic Market Size 4.1 Global organic chips market 2018 - 2022 4.2 Product Type Segment Analysis 2018 - 2022 4.3 Distribution Channel Segment Analysis 2018 - 2022 4.4 Geography Segment Analysis 2018 - 2022 4.5 Country Segment Analysis 2018 - 2022 5 Five Forces Analysis 6 Market Segmentation by Product Type 6.1 Market segments 6.2 Comparison by Product Type 6.3 Vegetable - Market size and forecast 2023-2028 6.4 Cereal - Market size and forecast 2023-2028 6.5 Fruits - Market size and forecast 2023-2028 6.6 Grain - Market size and forecast 2023-2028 6.7 Market opportunity by Product Type 7 Market Segmentation by Distribution Channel 7.1 Market segments 7.2 Comparison by Distribution Channel 7.3 Offline - Market size and forecast 2023-2028 7.4 Online - Market size and forecast 2023-2028 7.5 Market opportunity by Distribution Channel 8 Customer Landscape 8.1 Customer landscape overview 9 Geographic Landscape 10 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 11 Vendor Landscape 11.1 Overview 11.2 Vendor landscape 11.3 Landscape disruption 11.4 Industry risks 12 Vendor Analysis Blife Srl Campbell Soup Co. Dieffenbach's Potato Chips FZ Organic Food Gruma SAB de CV Intersnack Group GmbH and Co. KG Jacksons Food Company LLC Karanth Foods Kind LLC Luke's Organic PepsiCo Inc. PopChips R.W. Garcia Rhythm Superfoods LLC Simply 7 Snacks LLC The Hain Celestial Group Inc. The Planting Hope Company Inc. Utz Brands Inc. Wayanad Organic Research Pvt. Ltd Yellow Chips B.V. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/vrne4j 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. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets LOS ANGELES, March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In an important vindication of California's lemon law rights, the state Supreme Court ruled 9-0 this week in favor of consumers in Niedermeier v. FCA. In its Opinion, the Court struck down an Appeals Court ruling that allowed the automaker to take an improper damages deduction that threatened to undermine the Song Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (the formal name for California's Lemon Law). Lisa Niedermeier's Jeep Wrangler needed repairs just a month after she bought it. Not long after, its engine, transmission, and exhaust system each needed to be repaired. Even after numerous repair attempts, it still did not run properly. Ms. Niedermeier's experience shows the lengths automakers will go to in order to avoid their obligations under the lemon law. FCA, recently convicted of a felony, refused to buy back Ms. Niedermeier's Jeep even as it became clear that her vehicle was hopelessly defective. Over the course of four years, as Ms. Niedermeier continued to shuttle to and from the dealership for repairs, she asked FCA (the parent company of Jeep) on three different occasions to buy back her vehicle, but each time she was told no. Eventually, these delays forced Niedermeier to throw up her hands and trade in her faulty vehicle for a GMC Yukon. Represented by Knight Law Group, Niedermeier sued FCA, and at the conclusion of the initial trial, a jury ordered the automaker to pay her $98,961, more than twice what she originally paid for the vehicle. The large sum awarded was a result of FCA being required to pay incidental expenses and a civil penalty due to it "willfully" not following the lemon law. The fact that she was offered nothing by FCA until she hired a lawyer shows the importance of having an attorney at your side for lemon law cases. Hiring a law firm is often the difference between recovering nothing and recovering enough to pay for a future, more reliable vehicle. After a subsequent appeal and the present ruling by the Supreme Court, Ms. Niedermeier now will finally be paid what the automaker owes her. During oral arguments before the Supreme Court, FCA invoked the specter of "gamesmanship" on the part of consumers distorting future lemon law cases, by incentivizing trade-ins rather than prompt buybacks. FCA's argument was that Niedermeier's restitution should be reduced by $19,000 (the amount the Jeep fetched at trade-in), even though FCA's willful violation of the law was the cause of the delay that ultimately forced Ms. Niedermeier to trade in the vehicle. Cindy Tobisman, arguing on behalf of Ms. Niedermeier, pointed out the FCA is the party with the extensive track record of gamesmanship in lemon law cases, and that it could have bought back the vehicle at any time during the years-long process, had it any interest in doing so. In its Opinion, the Court noted that allowing manufacturers the deduction proposed by FCA would undermine the public policy aims of the lemon law by incentivizing delays in offering buybacks and by allowing an auto manufacturer "to profit from its intransigence." "This case highlights the ongoing efforts of car companies to avoid complying with California's laws dealing with defective cars. It also shows that we will fight the hardest, all the way to the Supreme Court, to ensure consumers in this state get everything they are entitled to under the lemon law. We're very pleased the court decided in our client's favor," said Roger Kirnos, Managing Partner of Knight Law Group. Knight Law Group only handles Lemon Law claims and is the leading firm in California. We will never stop fighting for consumers, even if that means appealing all the way to California's Supreme Court. Seven other Knight Law Group cases currently await hearing before the state Supreme Court. At the time they are heard, we look forward to holding other auto manufacturers accountable to consumers in the same way that FCA was finally held accountable to Ms. Niedermeier. SOURCE Knight Law Group, LLP NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- An internationally renowned Immigration Law Firm, is making headlines once again. Attorney Marjan Kasra, a key member of the LAWMAKS team, has been honored as one of the Top 25 winners at the prestigious 2024 EB-5 & Global Immigration Expo. This recognition highlights the exceptional expertise and dedication that LAWMAKS brings to the field of U.S. Immigration Law. The 2024 EB-5 & Global Immigration Expo, a highly anticipated event that brings together industry leaders and professionals in investment immigration and wealth management, recognized Attorney Marjan Kasra as one of the top achievers in the field. This accolade is a testament to her outstanding contributions and achievements in the EB-5 industry. With over 20 years of experience in U.S. Immigration Law, Attorney Marjan Kasra has become a trusted name in the industry. She is a member of the prestigious American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the American Bar Association, further solidifying her reputation as a highly skilled and knowledgeable attorney. LAWMAKS, under the guidance of Attorney Marjan Kasra, has established itself as a leading authority in the field of U.S. Immigration Law. The firm's commitment to excellence and client satisfaction has earned them a remarkable reputation, both domestically and internationally. Their dedication to providing personalized and comprehensive solutions to their clients' immigration needs sets them apart from their competitors. As a testament to their expertise, the attorneys at LAWMAKS are frequently invited to speak at Immigration Law events worldwide. Their insights and knowledge have been recognized and valued by industry professionals and peers. Additionally, the firm's attorneys have published numerous articles as U.S. Immigration experts, further solidifying their position as thought leaders in the field. LAWMAKS prides itself on its team of highly skilled and experienced professionals who offer a wide range of immigration services. Their areas of expertise include Investment Visas such as the EB-5 Investor, L-1 Intracompany, and E-2 Treaty Investors. They also specialize in Work/Employment Visas, Family Green Cards, Non-Immigrant Visas, and more. To learn more about LAWMAKS and their team of immigration experts, visit their official website at www.lawmaks.com . The website provides detailed information about the firm's services, the qualifications and expertise of their attorneys, and testimonials from satisfied clients. For inquiries, please contact: LAWMAKS (Law Offices of Marjan Kasra) Phone number: + 1 212 500 0905 US WhatsApp Office: +1 (203) 400-7060 Email address: [email protected] SOURCE Lawmaks NEW YORK, March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Master Data Management (mdm) Solutions market size is estimated to grow by USD 20.29 bn from 2024 to 2028, according to Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 16.72% during the forecast period. North America held the largest share of the global market in 2022, and the market in the region is estimated to witness an incremental growth of 33%. For more insights on the historic (2017 to 2021) and forecast market size (2023 to 2027) Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Master Data Management (MDM) Solutions Market 2024-2028 Request a sample report Report Coverage Details Page number 169 Base year 2023 Historic period 2018-2022 Forecast period 2024-2028 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 16.72% Market Growth 2024-2028 USD 20.29 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2023-2024(%) 15.12 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution North America at 33% Key countries US, Canada, China, UK, and Germany Segment Overview Technavio has segmented the market based on Type, Deployment (Cloud and On-premises), End-user (BFSI, Healthcare, Retail, and Others), and Geography (North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa). The BFSI segment's growth is fueled by revenue enhancement, regulatory compliance, customer-centricity, and cost reduction needs. With complete digitalization and rising data volumes, adoption is on the rise, enabling better risk management, decision-making, and compliance. Unified, accurate master data enhances visibility into counterparty risk exposures, driving segment growth in risk management, decision-making, and regulatory compliance during the forecast period. Geography Overview By geography, the global master data management (mdm) solutions market is segmented into North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa. The report provides actionable insights and estimates the contribution of all regions to the growth of the global master data management (mdm) solutions market. North America is projected to contribute 33% to global market growth in the forecast period. The region has been an early adopter of solutions, particularly cloud-based delivery, with enterprises increasing IT budgets for such solutions. The US leads in market contribution, followed by Canada and Mexico . However, year-over-year growth in North America is expected to decline due to sectoral maturity in the US and Canada . Despite this, increased digitization and adoption of advanced AI are expected to drive substantial market growth. The maturity of the industrial sector, high data generation rates, and adoption of advanced technologies for enterprise productivity are key drivers of market growth in North America . Insights on the market contribution of various segments including country and region wise, historic (2017 to 2021) and forecast market size (2023 to 2027) Download a Sample Report Increased dependency on the Internet for critical operations is notably driving market growth. Personal information shared online and critical data stored in the cloud drive the growth of the global e-commerce market. E-commerce companies are responding by increasing advertising efforts on search engines and other platforms to attract customers. This expansion brings a heightened need for advertising, data management, customer-centricity, and decision-making. Utilizing analytics, these vendors can efficiently develop, edit, and publish digital media advertisements, leading to an expected rise in digital advertising and driving growth in the solutions market. Leading trends influencing the market Increase in mobility solutions shapes market growth. Growing adoption of mobile devices boosts video management software usage. The rise in mobility solutions fuels market growth, spurred by the growing adoption of mobile devices. This trend has led to increased usage of video management software, with providers offering apps for iOS and Android platforms. Organizations are embracing mobility solutions to access enterprise documents through smart devices, facilitated by cloud-based platforms. This seamless access to business-related documents enhances efficiency by enabling remote document exchange and synchronization with business processes. Major challenges hindering the market growth Shortage of skilled analytics professionals and high attrition rates hinder market growth. Demand for data analytics surpasses availability of skilled professionals. Despite the immense benefits data analytics offers, there is a scarcity of professionals with expertise in logical and analytical thinking, including mathematicians, statisticians, data scientists, and analysts. This scarcity hampers the ability of analytics vendors to meet client needs, as demand for data analytics exceeds the available talent pool. Additionally, difficulty in acquiring and retaining key employees in outsourcing destinations like India and China, due to better pay scales in countries like the US and Canada, exacerbates the shortage of skilled professionals. Consequently, this trend negatively impacts the growth of the global market in developing countries during the forecast period. Insights on Market Drivers, trends, & Challenges, historic period (2017 to 2021) and forecast period (2023 to 2027) Request a sample report! Related Reports: The Data center infrastructure management (DCIM) solutions market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 19.38% between 2022 and 2027. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 7,556.47 million. The Government Open Data Management (ODM) Platform Market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 9.73% between 2023 and 2028. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 96.48 million. Analyst Review In today's data-driven landscape, effective data governance plays a pivotal role in ensuring organizational success and regulatory compliance. Data governance encompasses a comprehensive framework of policies, strategies, and controls aimed at managing data assets across their lifecycle, from acquisition to disposal. Key components of data governance include data integration, data quality, data modeling, and data stewardship. Data integration involves the seamless combination of data from disparate sources to create a unified and coherent view of organizational data. This process ensures that data is accessible, accurate, and consistent across different systems and platforms. Data governance policies and standards govern the integration process, defining rules for data mapping, transformation, and validation. Data quality is paramount in data governance, as it ensures that data is accurate, complete, and reliable for decision-making purposes. Data governance frameworks incorporate mechanisms for data cleansing, validation, and enrichment to maintain high-quality data standards. Data governance tools and platforms facilitate ongoing monitoring and assessment of data quality metrics, enabling organizations to proactively address data issues and anomalies. Data modeling plays a crucial role in data governance by providing a structured framework for organizing and representing data entities, relationships, and attributes. Data governance principles dictate the design and implementation of data models, ensuring alignment with business objectives and regulatory requirements. Data architecture, including data warehouse design and implementation, forms the foundation for effective data management and analytics. Data stewardship is essential for enforcing data governance policies and standards, assigning ownership and accountability for data assets within the organization. Data stewards oversee data lifecycle management, data access controls, and data usage policies, ensuring compliance with data governance guidelines and regulations. They collaborate with data owners, data custodians, and other stakeholders to promote data governance best practices and foster a culture of data-driven decision-making. In conclusion, robust data governance is essential for organizations seeking to harness the full potential of their data assets while mitigating risks associated with data misuse, privacy breaches, and regulatory non-compliance. By implementing a comprehensive data governance framework supported by effective data governance tools and processes, organizations can achieve greater data transparency, integrity, and trustworthiness, driving business success in today's data-centric environment. Market Overview: In the realm of data management, organizations prioritize data integration, governance, quality, modeling, stewardship, architecture, synchronization, consolidation, cleansing, and warehousing. Data integration ensures seamless connectivity and accessibility across disparate systems, while governance establishes policies and standards for data usage. Quality management ensures accurate, reliable, and consistent data, supported by robust modeling techniques. Stewardship involves overseeing data assets and ensuring their ethical use. Architectural frameworks facilitate data organization and access, while synchronization and consolidation streamline data processes. Cleansing enhances data accuracy and completeness, ultimately stored in data warehouses for efficient retrieval and analysis. About US Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio DUBLIN, March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Growth Opportunities in Polyurethane" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the global polyurethanes (PU) market, with a detailed focus on regional segmentation, revenue, and volume metrics from 2019 to 2029. By examining historical data and projecting future trends, the study offers a seven-year forecast from 2023 to 2029, using 2022 as the base year. In the Americas, the study covers the United States, Canada, and Latin America, including Mexico. This region demonstrates diverse market dynamics, with the United States leading in consumption and innovation. Canada's market is characterized by its focus on sustainable and eco-friendly PU products. Latin America shows significant growth potential, driven by its expanding manufacturing and construction sectors. The European segment encompasses the European Economic Area, European Free Trade Association states, the United Kingdom, and the Commonwealth of Independent States, including Ukraine and Israel. Europe's PU market is distinguished by its stringent environmental regulations and advanced technological landscape. The region's focus on sustainability and the development of eco-friendly PU variants are key factors influencing market growth. For the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia, the study includes Africa, Middle Eastern countries (including Turkey), and South Asian countries (comprising India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal). This diverse region is witnessing rapid industrial growth, particularly in the Middle East and South Asia. The demand for PU in construction, automotive, and other industrial applications is propelling the market forward in these areas. Analysis of Asia-Pacific focuses on China, Japan, South Korea, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Free Trade Area, Australia, New Zealand, and other Southeast Asian countries. This region is a significant player in the global PU market, with China leading in volume and innovation. Japan and South Korea are recognized for their technological advancements and high-quality PU products. The ASEAN countries are emerging as key markets due to their growing industrial and construction sectors. The study's methodology involves an in-depth analysis of the volume and revenue for each system and region, providing insights into the factors driving growth as well as potential challenges. The forecast is based on the expected compound annual growth rates, offering a strategic view of the market's evolution. The global PU market is poised for robust growth, with each region contributing uniquely to the industry's expansion. This study offers valuable insights for stakeholders, investors, and industry participants, helping them make informed decisions in a dynamic and evolving market. Key Growth Opportunities: PUs for EV Applications Reshoring to MEASA Partnerships in 5G Infrastructure Healthcare Applications Circular Economy Initiatives 3D Printing Key Topics Covered: Growth Opportunity Analysis Scope of Analysis Market Definitions by System Geographic Scope Key Competitors for PU Raw Materials Chemistry of PUs Value Chain Analysis Value Chain Analysis Discussion Systems Houses Universe PU Raw Material (Alternate Sources, Recycled Feed Stock, and Bio Feedstock) Growth Metrics Revenue and Volume Forecast Average Price Forecast Revenue Forecast by System Volume Forecast by System Revenue, Volume, and Average Price Forecast Analysis Revenue Forecast by Region Volume Forecast by Region Forecast Analysis by Region Competitive Environment Competitive Environment - MDI Revenue Share - MDI Competitive Environment - TDI Revenue Share - TDI Competitive Environment - Polyether Polyols Revenue Share - Polyether Polyols Growth Opportunity Analysis - Rigid Foam Segment Characteristics and Overview Types of Rigid Foams Available MDI Glycol Ratio Stoichiometric Ratios of Rigid Foams Key Growth Metrics for Rigid Foam Growth Drivers for Rigid Foam Growth Restraints for Rigid Foam Summary of Growth Drivers and Restraints Revenue and Volume Forecast Average Price Forecast Forecast Analysis Revenue Forecast by Region Volume Forecast by Region Forecast Analysis by Region Growth Opportunity Analysis - Flexible Foam Segment Characteristics and Overview Growth Metrics Growth Drivers Growth Restraints Summary of Growth Drivers and Restraints Types of PU Flexible Foams PU Flexible Foams - Stoichiometric Ratios Revenue and Volume Forecast Average Price Forecast Forecast Analysis Revenue Forecast by Region Volume Forecast by Region Forecast Analysis by Region Growth Opportunity Analysis - Adhesives, Sealants, and Binders Segment Characteristics and Overview Growth Metrics Growth Drivers Growth Restraints Summary of Growth Drivers and Restraints Revenue and Volume Forecast Average Price Forecast Forecast Analysis Revenue Forecast by Region Volume Forecast by Region Forecast Analysis by Region Growth Opportunity Analysis - Coatings Segment Characteristics and Overview Growth Metrics Growth Drivers Growth Restraints Summary of Growth Drivers and Restraints Revenue and Volume Forecast Average Price Forecast Forecast Analysis Revenue Forecast by Region Volume Forecast by Region Forecast Analysis by Region Growth Opportunity Analysis - Elastomers and TPU Segment Characteristics and Overview Growth Metrics Growth Drivers Growth Restraints Summary of Growth Drivers and Restraints Revenue and Volume Forecast Average Price Forecast Forecast Analysis Revenue Forecast by Region Volume Forecast by Region Forecast Analysis by Region For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/e8v5ae 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. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets Investment Migration Experts Predict 2024's Hotspots for Citizenship and Residency DUBAI, UAE, March 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- As global mobility and contingency planning become more crucial for investors, the demand for investment migration programs has surged in popularity. According to reports from leading residency and citizenship by investment firm, Savory & Partners, application volumes have been growing exponentially for the past decade. "Every year, we witness shifts in investment migration trends driven by factors such as price changes, regulatory updates, geopolitical events, and economic conditions," says Jeremy Savory, CEO and founder, Savory & Partners. "In 2024, we anticipate significant developments in the landscape of investment migration programs." "Turkey's Citizenship by Investment program has captured attention since its inception in 2017, attracting over 19,000 individuals in less than five years. Despite a recent increase in the real estate investment threshold, Turkey remains a lucrative option for investors seeking global mobility solutions, especially amidst geopolitical uncertainties affecting other regions." Last year, though, the government decided to raise the real estate minimum investment amount from $250,000 to $400,000. This increase in the investment threshold affected the number of applications but the firm opines that while the price increase may make a minor dent in the number of applications, the overall number is expected to continue growing for two main reasons. The first is that the minimum investment amount no longer aligns with Istanbul's housing market (the most popular real estate investment destination in Turkey). If $250,000 got a good property five years ago, that isn't the case today. The second issue is the acceptance of Russian and Belarusian applicants, who are now suspended from applying to Caribbean citizenship by investment programs and most of the EU's Golden Visas. As Russians and Belarusians need global mobility solutions now more than ever, it seems that Turkey is primed to attract the majority of their interest, offering the program a massive boost and potentially giving it a semi-monopoly on the Russian outbound market. Malta's citizenship by investment program, the Maltese Exceptional Investor Naturalization program (MEIN), is unique. It has no direct competitor. While Portugal's Golden Visa can lead to naturalization through minimal investment, it is, in essence, a residency by investment program. The MEIN, on the other hand, is all about citizenship. "The benefits of becoming an EU citizen are also significant, meaning that demand for the MEIN will continue to grow, and since the program has no direct competition in the EU, expect it to perform admirably," Jeremy added. The Caribbean Five - Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts & Nevis, and St Lucia - run some of the world's most popular citizenship by investment programs. The programs are quite similar in terms of structure, passport strength, and investment thresholds. There are differences, of course, especially in terms of qualifying dependents, processing times, and unique investment assets. Antigua & Barbuda's program continues to do all it can to protect and enhance its offerings while simultaneously continuously working on expanding its political alliance network. In the EU, Greece's Golden Visa has been one of the most popular citizenship by investment programs in the world since its introduction in 2013. Savory & Partners predicts that to remain the case as it enters its 11th year of operations, adding that there are two factors that will lead to a top-tier performance. The recent update about the government announcing a price hike in certain areas to 800,000 from 500,000 Last year, the Hellenic government decided to increase the property investment amount from 250,000 to 500,000 in Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, Varo, and the majority of Athens. The country is also expected to raise the amount in the remainder of the country's areas to match the 500,000 valuation. The second reason is foreign. Portugal's government decided to remove any real estate and property-adjacent investment assets from its Golden Visa. This new change may shift some investors who are adamant about investing in real estate to Greece's option, growing the application volume further. Every year, investment migration gets a surprise package, and if there is a dark horse to keep an eye on this year, according to Savory & Partners, it may be Egypt's citizenship by investment program. Starting at a donation of $250,000 or a real estate investment of $300,000, Egypt's program is averagely priced in comparison with the rest of the world's citizenship by investment programs. "There are two reasons that make Egypt's program a dark horse with great potential. The first is the Russian market. Much like Turkey, Egypt's program is open to Russian applicants, and since Egypt has a lower price point and has been a popular tourist destination for Russians throughout the years, Russian investors may opt for Egypt as their destination of choice," Jeremy explains. "Secondly, Egypt falls outside of the Western-skewing citizenship by investment program conglomeration. It offers an option leaning a bit more Eastern, which many may find attractive for various reasons, especially those who want to set up a robust contingency plan by obtaining citizenship or residency from countries on different ends of the global geopolitical spectrum," he added. Savory & Partners is an accredited agent for multiple governments where citizenship by investment is offered. The company has coverage in over 20 jurisdictions, including Europe and was the first firm to obtain all five authorised agent licenses for the governments of the Caribbean Islands. It has processed second passports for over 4,000 citizens with a 100 per cent success rate. With a presence in 3 continents and 7 countries and more than 60 experts worldwide, the company's multinational staff comprises advisors who guide clients in English, Arabic, Farsi, French, Spanish and Hindi. To know more about Savory & Partners, visit www.savoryandpartners.com or email [email protected] . You can also call +971 04 430 1717 or send a WhatsApp message to +971 54 440 2955. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1738007/Savory_and_Partners_Logo.jpg SOURCE Savory & Partners ARLINGTON, Va., March 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a statement from Ramsey Alwin, President and CEO of the National Council on Aging (NCOA), on yesterday's passage of the federal appropriations package in the Senate: "We applaud Congress for funding critical assistance for low-income older Americans in today's federal appropriations package. The $62.5 million bipartisan allocation for continued outreach to and enrollment of low-income Medicare beneficiaries into assistance programs means millions more eligible older adults will get much-needed help affording their health care and medicine. These funds will enable critical outreach and enrollment activities for the rest of 2024. We look forward to working with Congress to ensure funding continues in the next fiscal years. "As it has for the past 15 years, this funding will support the essential work of State Health Insurance Assistance Programs, area agencies on aging, Aging and Disability Resource Centers, and 90 community-based organizations that inform older Americans about benefits. In 2022 and 2023, this funding connected 9.3 million low-income older adults to benefits they rely on for their health and financial security. "Yet, about 20.5 million Medicare beneficiaries in America are living at or below 150% of the federal poverty level and need help affording health care. Many of them don't know about these assistance programs and remain unable to access needed care. Enrollment is not automatic, and older adults need trusted local partners to help them navigate these programs and apply. "Today's funding package is another step closer to ensuring that every American can age with dignity." About NCOA The National Council on Aging (NCOA) is the national voice for every person's right to age well. We believe that how we age should not be determined by gender, color, sexuality, income, or ZIP code. Working with thousands of national and local partners, we provide resources, tools, best practices, and advocacy to ensure every person can age with health and financial security. Founded in 1950, we are the oldest national organization focused on older adults. Learn more at www.ncoa.org and @NCOAging. SOURCE National Council on Aging DUBLIN, March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "US Commercial Doors Market - Focused Insights 2024-2029" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The US commercial door market was valued at USD 9.73 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach a value of $11.53 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 2.86% from 2023 to 2029 Market players in the US commercial doors sector are adapting to changing market dynamics by implementing various strategies. These include prioritizing research and development to stay abreast of technological innovations ensuring that their product portfolios align with the demand for automatic, sustainable, and technologically enhanced doors. Moreover, strategic partnerships and collaborations are common strategies to integrate new technologies seamlessly and expand market reach. Sustainability in manufacturing processes is another key focus area, with market players aiming to meet consumer demand for eco-friendly products while demonstrating corporate responsibility. Advancements in door manufacturing technologies, such as precision engineering and digital integration, drive product improvements, enhance overall performance and durability, and ensure market competitiveness. The rise of coworking spaces and high-tech infrastructure has led to increased demand for flexible and technologically advanced commercial doors, prompting market players to innovate and cater to the evolving needs of modern workplaces. The US commercial doors market is witnessing intensified competition among global and domestic players, offering diverse product ranges. Major players such as Andersen Corporation, Cornerstone Building Brands, JELD-WEN, and Pella Corporation dominate the market. Strategic agreements, acquisitions, and collaborations are common strategies employed by market players to gain access to commercially launched products and enter new market segments. Material Insights: Wooden Doors: Wooden doors maintain their popularity due to their timeless aesthetic appeal and natural insulation properties. Hotels, upscale boutiques, and heritage buildings favor them. Metal Doors: Metal doors, constructed from steel or aluminum, are synonymous with robustness and enhanced security, making them prevalent in banks, government buildings, and high-security commercial establishments. Plastic Doors: Plastic doors, often made from PVC or composite materials, offer a cost-effective solution for businesses, particularly those on a budget. Their resistance to moisture makes them suitable for various applications, such as restaurants and healthcare facilities. Glass Doors: Glass doors contribute to modern architectural styles, providing a sleek and contemporary look favored by many US commercial spaces. Advanced glass technologies, such as low-emissivity coatings, enhance energy efficiency, making them an attractive option for environmentally conscious businesses. Fiberglass Doors: Fiberglass doors are renowned for their exceptional resistance to adverse weather conditions, making them a dependable choice for exterior entrances. Their lightweight nature and excellent strength-to-weight ratio simplify installation and ensure durability, particularly in regions with challenging weather. Type: Hinged Doors: Hinged doors, also known as swing doors, offer a classic design but require adequate floor space for the swing radius. They are commonly found in boutique shops, restaurants, and offices. Sliding Doors: Sliding doors are ideal for locations with limited floor space, as they do not require a swing radius. They provide seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor spaces and are frequently used in shopping malls, airports, and healthcare facilities. Revolving Doors: Revolving doors efficiently manage foot traffic and enhance energy conservation by minimizing the exchange of interior and exterior air. They are commonly found in hotels, airports, and large office buildings. Installation: New Construction: In new construction projects, architects and designers can select commercial doors that align with the overall design and functionality of the building. Customization options allow businesses to achieve design cohesion and make a strong visual impression on visitors. Replacement: Replacement commercial doors are often chosen to upgrade existing structures and stay competitive. Careful planning is required to minimize disruption to daily operations during the replacement process. Operations: Manual Doors: Manual doors remain a versatile and cost-effective choice for many businesses, offering straightforward operation and minimal maintenance requirements. They are commonly found in small retail shops, industrial warehouses, and office buildings. Automatic Doors: Automatic doors provide convenience and accessibility, particularly in high-traffic areas such as shopping centers, airports, and healthcare facilities. They contribute to energy efficiency and security, making them an attractive option for businesses that enhance customer experiences. End User: Corporate Offices: Corporate offices prioritize security and sustainability, often incorporating advanced access control systems and energy-efficient materials into their commercial doors. Hospitality Businesses: Hospitality businesses create welcoming entrances to make a positive first impression on guests. Energy-efficient doors with thermal insulation are essential for maintaining comfortable interior environments. Retail Stores: Retail stores prioritize attractive storefronts and efficient traffic management to enhance customer satisfaction. Automatic doors with motion sensors help optimize energy use and ensure smooth customer flow. Educational Institutions: Educational institutions prioritize safety and accessibility. KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED What factors are driving the growth of the US commercial doors market? What materials are commonly used in commercial doors in the US? What types of commercial doors are available in the market? Who are the major players dominating the US commercial doors market? LIST OF VENDORS Key Vendors Andersen Corporation Cornerstone Building Brands JELD-WEN Pella Corporation Masonite Other Prominent Vendors PGT Innovations ASSA ABLOY Marvin Overly Door Company VT Industries Graham Architectural Products Eliason Corporation AMBICO Special-Lite Horner Millwork Stanley Access Technologies Overhead Door Corporation Horton Automatics C.R. Laurence ManhattanDoor Best View Garage Doors Mesker Door Rytec Corporation Chase Doors R&S Erection of Tri-County Clopay Corporation Boon Edam South Jersey Glass & Door Allegion Dortek SEGMENTATION & FORECAST MATERIAL (Revenue) Wood Metal Plastic Glass Fiberglass TYPE (Revenue) Hinged Sliding Revolving INSTALLATION (Revenue) New Construction Replacement OPERATION (Revenue) Manual Automatic END-USER (Revenue) Corporate Offices Hospitality Retail Spaces Educational Institutes Industrial Healthcare Others MARKET STRUCTURE Market Dynamics Competitive Landscape of the US Commercial Doors Market Key Vendors Other Prominent Vendors APPENDIX Research Methodology Abbreviations For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/k8g1j5 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. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-171 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 9. US and Turkiye committed to work together to promote a balanced and lasting peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, a statement on the occasion of the seventh meeting of the Turkiye-US Strategic Mechanism reads, Trend reports. As noted, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan presided over the seventh meeting of the U.S.-Turkiye Strategic Mechanism on March 7-8, 2024, in Washington. "The Strategic Mechanism featured open, collaborative, strategic discussions led by senior-level officials from the U.S. Department of State and Turkiyes Ministry of Foreign Affairs on March 7, followed by a meeting between Secretary Blinken and Minister Fidan on March 8. On the South Caucasus, Secretary Blinken and Minister Fidan committed to work together to promote a balanced and lasting peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and concurred that this would promote regional stability, cooperation, and welfare," the statement says. "For many enslaved African Americans, the Underground Railroad was their only hope to escape the brutality of slavery," said Ronald A. Stroman, a member of the USPS Board of Governors. "The Underground Railroad demonstrated the power of collective action and solidarity in achieving social change, even when the odds seemed insurmountable. The United States Postal Service is privileged to celebrate the ingenuity and resilience of the enslaved people and those who bravely assisted them in the face of adversity with the dedication of these new stamps." Joining Stroman for the ceremony were master of ceremonies Angela Crenshaw, director of the Maryland Park Service; Joshua Kurtz, Maryland secretary of natural resources; Deanna Mitchell, superintendent of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park; Millicent Sparks, actor, writer and performer; Kate Clifford Larson, historian, author and consultant; Daniel Hunter, author and activist; and Antonio Alcala, art director for USPS who designed the stamps. Also at the ceremony were descendants of some of the people honored on the stamps: Ernestine "Tina" Wyatt and Douglas Mitchell, descendants of Harriet Tubman; Bob Seeley, descendants of Thomas Garrett; author and historian, Valerie Still, descendant of William Still; and Tarence Bailey Sr, descendant of Frederick Douglass and the founder and president of the Bailey-Groce Family Foundation and Operation Frederick Douglass on the Hill. "I am honored to participate in this dedication that celebrates Harriet Tubman and other operatives of the Underground Railroad," said Sparks. Their secret network aiding in the escapes of enslaved people aggravated the institution of slavery so badly that a war was fought over it. And ironically, it was the United States Colored Troops and Harriet Tubman who helped the Union Army win that war, abolishing slavery! All of these individuals are the reason we wake up free every morning." Also, participating in the stamp dedication ceremony were the Washington Division Postal Police Honor Guard; and musicians Daniel Dean and Jennell Morrison; and the Washington Rebels Jubilee Voices. The pane of 20 stamps depicts 10 key figures of the Underground Railroad freedom seekers and those who aided others' escapes. The top third of each stamp features a sepia-toned portrait. Below it are several lines of text with the words: BLACK/WHITE, COOPERATION, TRUST/DANGER, FLIGHT/FAITH, COURAGE/RISK, DEFIANCE/HOPE, and UNDERGROUND RAILROAD/USA. Alcala designed the stamps using existing photographs. On the pane's verso is a map showing the general routes freedom seekers followed, along with text from the National Park Service that describes the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. The Underground Railroad Forever stamps come in panes of 20. Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price. News about the stamps is being shared with the hashtags #UndergroundRailroadStamps. A video will be posted two hours after the ceremony providing more information and insights in telling the story of this stamp on the Postal Service's Facebook and Twitter pages at facebook.com/USPS and twitter.com/usps. BACKGROUND From the time slavery was introduced to the Colonies until it was abolished in 1865, enslaved people made ceaseless efforts to escape its reach. The flight to freedom whether by foot, horseback, carriage, wagon or boat was difficult and exceedingly dangerous. In name only, the Underground Railroad started as a loosely organized secret network of courageous and imaginative freedom seekers, and the brave operatives who assisted them. It was powered not by coal but by human courage. As railroads grew in the 1830s and 1840s, the secret network adopted their terminology. "Stationmasters" and "conductors" assisted "passengers" traveling from one "station" to another on the Underground Railroad. Over time, the network coalesced into a well-organized system as it responded to the increasing numbers of freedom seekers and a corresponding rise in attempts to thwart escapes. Most remained anonymous, but some left their mark on history, including the 10 men and women honored on these Forever stamps: Harriet Tubman, Thomas Garrett, William Still, Harriet Jacobs, Jermain Loguen, Catherine Coffin, Lewis Hayden, Frederick Douglass, William Lambert, and Laura Haviland. In 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, liberating all enslaved people. In 1865, following the end of the Civil War, the 13th Amendment was ratified, abolishing slavery throughout the country. Postal Products Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through the Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps, by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic or at Post Office locations nationwide. For officially licensed stamp products, shop the USPS Officially Licensed Collection on Amazon. Please Note: The United States Postal Service is an independent federal establishment, mandated to be self-financing and to serve every American community through the affordable, reliable and secure delivery of mail and packages to 167 million addresses six and often seven days a week. Overseen by a bipartisan Board of Governors, the Postal Service is implementing a 10-year transformation plan, Delivering for America, to modernize the postal network, restore long-term financial sustainability, dramatically improve service across all mail and shipping categories, and maintain the organization as one of America's most valued and trusted brands. The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. For USPS media resources, including broadcast-quality video and audio and photo stills, visit the USPS Newsroom. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the USPS YouTube Channel and like us on Facebook. For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and facts.usps.com. National contact: Felicia M. Lott [email protected] usps.com/news Local contact: Mark A. Wahl [email protected] usps.com/news SOURCE U.S. Postal Service WASHINGTON, March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Last night, during the State of the Union address, President Biden announced that the administration was moving forward with a previously rejected pilot program that would waive the requirement for lender's title insurance on certain refinances. This misguided effort should only be seen as a purely political gesture that offers a false promise of savings for homeowners when in fact all it will do is expose consumers, lenders, and taxpayers to greater financial risk. In his speech, the president touted this program as a cost-saving measure for would-be homeowners. In reality, the pilot only covers refinancings which would exclusively benefit existing high-income homeowners and would not affect first-time homebuyers at all. The purposeful mischaracterization of the pilot is frustrating not only because it is a hollow promise, but it also diminishes the value and crucial role of an entire industry that contributes to the American economy. In an independent analysis conducted by EY Quest and released earlier this week, researchers found that the title industry employs 155,000 jobs across the country and directly contributes $30 billion annually to the GDP. Ninety percent of title companies are small businesses, many of them women-owned, and these businesses operate in every county in the country. The Biden administration fails to understand just how many working American families are going to be directly affected by this ill-conceived pilot program; nor do they understand the broader long-term impact on the national economy and the safety and soundness of the housing finance system. The title industry also believes that the independent regulatory process is a crucial part of the system of economic checks and balances. With this approval, the Biden administration has effectively overridden and politicized this process. They have ignored the decision that was made by FHFA Director, Sandra Thompson, just as recently as last summer, as well as the members of Congress who have expressed serious concerns about a repeat of the 2008 crisis and GSEs moving beyond their mission and charter into the primary market. In addition, the Administration is unnecessarily targeting closing costs. Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) posted a blog that says closing costs "all too often are full of junk fees." Apparently, the current leadership at the Bureau isn't aware of its TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures (TRID) rule, which the industry implemented in 2015. Under this federal rule that the CFPB overseas, closing costs must be provided and disclosed to a consumer on the Loan Estimate within three days of receiving a completed loan application. The same fees must also be provided on the Closing Disclosure, which homebuyers receive three days prior to closing. Most fees can't change. The Bureau created the disclosures with the purpose of helping consumers shop around and understand the closings costs. CFPB's own research shows these disclosures are working to educate consumers. The CFPB report praised its own rule for improving "consumers ability to locate key information, compare terms and costs between initial disclosures and final disclosures, and compare terms and costs across mortgage offers." Reform of mortgage closing costs is unnecessary. The contradictory use of the term "junk fee" conflicts with the White House's own definition, which cites the lack of disclosure of the fee being charged. The American Land Title Association (ALTA) is committed to working with policymakers to thoughtfully address housing affordability and opportunity while also protecting consumers and their most important investments. To read ALTA's previous statement on the White House announcement of the waiver pilot program click here: ALTA Says White House Attack on Title Insurance Offers False Promise of Savings SOURCE American Land Title Association NEW ORLEANS, March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until April 9, 2024 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Xponential Fitness, Inc. (NYSE: XPOF), if they purchased the Company's publicly traded Class A shares between July 26, 2021 and December 7, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Get Help Xponential investors should visit us at https://claimsfiler.com/cases/nyse-xpof/ or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options. About the Lawsuit Xponential Fitness and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws. On December 7, 2023, a report by Bloomberg Businessweek highlighted many problems with the Company based on interviews with dozens of its former business partners, employees, and franchisees who revealed that the Company misled many franchisees into a "financial nightmare" and that the Company's CEO "has a track record of combative management, deploying growth-at-all-costs tactics and unleashing aggressive reprisals against anyone who gets in his way," and further that as a result of these unscrupulous tactics "many of the company's franchiseeshave either declared bankruptcy or lost their retirement savings." On this news, the price of Xponential's shares fell more than 26% over two trading days on heavy trading volume to close at less than $9 per share on December 11, 2023. The case is City of Taylor General Employees Retirement System v. Xponential Fitness, Inc., No. 24-cv-00285. About ClaimsFiler ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations. To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com. SOURCE ClaimsFiler MELBOURNE, Fla., March 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Young's Communications, LLC ("Y-COM" or the "Company"), a premier Florida-based construction services provider to telecommunications, utility, and power infrastructure companies, backed by Grain Management, LLC ("Grain"), today announced that Rob Hughart, Y-COM's Chief Operating Officer, has been appointed as the company's Interim Chief Executive Officer as part of its transformational growth plan for 2024. Mr. Hughart will take over from outgoing CEO Chad Rasmussen as he steps down to pursue other personal and professional endeavors. Rob Hughart, Y-COM Hughart brings 31 years of leadership experience as a seasoned executive responsible for building, leading, and scaling large organizations that design, build, and maintain NextGen broadband infrastructure networks for telecommunications and utilities clients across the country. Hughart has comprehensive experience specializing in customer relationships, business operations, strategic planning, execution, and service delivery, with a focus on driving growth in a highly competitive environment. Prior to joining Y-COM, Hughart held leadership roles at Tilson Technology, KGPCo, Frontier Communications, Verizon, and Bell Atlantic. "Since partnering with the Y-COM team, it has been a pleasure working alongside its talented executives as we shaped the leadership and strategic vision for the company together," said Grain Managing Director Ricardo Rodriguez. "We wish Chad the best as he has paved the way for growth during his four-year tenure and now moves into other opportunities. We are confident that Rob, as an accomplished operator, will advance Y-COM's already strong leadership team in pursuit of continued growth." Hughart said, "I am honored to serve in this expanded role for Y-COM and the Y-COM family of companies (AEG/AUC/FOS). This is truly a pivotal time in the company's history as we rally our extraordinary employees to integrate our legacy companies and embark upon the next phase of value creation." About Y-COM Young's Communications, LLC was founded in 1972 as a contractor for wiring CATV / TV coaxial cable lines, and today operates as a super-regional provider of infrastructure services to the telecommunications, utility, and power sectors. The Company offers a full suite of capabilities, including underground, aerial, and emergency services to its customers. For more information, visit Y-COM's website at www.ycominc.com. About Grain Management We believe broadband and digital infrastructure are foundational to the tech-enabled transformation occurring across all industries and facets of society. And our global team of seasoned and diverse professionals share a collective passion for the power of connectivity to strengthen communities and unlock human potential for all. Founded in 2007, Grain Management is a leading, global investment firm. We specialize in digital infrastructure and are a trusted solutions provider to the broadband and communications industry. Our unique combination of sector knowledge, experience as operators, and disciplined analytical approach guide our differentiated investment strategy across fiber networks, data centers, wireless spectrum, cell towers, as well as managed and infrastructure services. For more information visit www.graingp.com. Contact: Grain Management Public Relations [email protected] SOURCE Grain Management, LLC 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 Helsinki, March 9 : Finland will deploy soldiers to participate in two operations in the Red Sea, the government said. Finland will take part in the EUNAVFOR ASPIDES operation led by the EU with a maximum of five soldiers, and in Operation Prosperity Guardian led by the US with a maximum of two soldiers. The soldiers will carry out staff duties, the government said on Friday in a press statement as quoted by Xinhua news agency report. Several European countries have been involved in both operations. EU and the US said these operations aim to protect the passage of ships in the Red Sea region. Nicosia, March 9 : European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced the immediate launch of a project to establish a maritime aid corridor from Cyprus to Gaza. "We are now very close to opening this corridor, hopefully this Saturday-Sunday, and I'm very glad to see an initial pilot will be launched today," she told journalists on Friday after visiting Cyprus's Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in the port city of Larnaca, Xinhua news agency reported. "We are launching this Cyprus maritime corridor together: the EU, the UAE and the US," she added. In a joint statement endorsed by the European Commission, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Cyprus, the UAE, the UK, and the US, the European Commission said: "Together, our nations intend to build on this model to deliver significant additional aid by sea, working in coordination with UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag -- who is charged with facilitating, coordinating, monitoring and verifying the flow of aid into Gaza under UN Security Council Resolution 2720." The Amalthea Initiative was proposed by Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides due to Cyprus' proximity to Gaza. It was coordinated by the UAE, aiming for shipment before the start of the Muslim month of Ramadan. The US has pledged to construct a floating platform off the coast of Gaza for the unloading of aid, while Israeli officials have vetted the aid to address concerns about potential military equipment. The death toll of Palestinians from the ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,878, the Gaza-based Health Ministry said on Friday. Five months ago, Israel began a large-scale military campaign against Gaza in response to a surprise Hamas attack on Israeli towns adjacent to the enclave, in which Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people and took more than 200 others as hostages. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 9. Islamophobia is a bitter tragedy of our days, said Ambassador-at-large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elshad Iskandarov during the international scientific conference Embracing Diversity: Tackling Islamophobia in 2024 in Baku, Trend reports. "Muslims are stereotyped as violent and opposed to liberal values. Liberalism as a concept is becoming more radical. The vandalism of the Khurshidbanu Natavan monument in France is an instance of this trend," he said. To note, the Baku International Multiculturalism Center (BIMC), the Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center), the G20 Interfaith Forum, and the Baku Initiative Group are organizing an international scientific conference titled "Embracing Diversity: Tackling Islamophobia in 2024" to commemorate the second anniversary of the International Day Against Islamophobia. Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Gaza, March 9 : Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, has said that the situation in the Gaza Strip defies description and has not been seen "in any previous crisis". "We are facing a tragedy that is not related to food," Lazzarini said on Friday in a press statement, noting that people in Gaza suffer from deliberate starvation operations that could have been avoided, Xinhua news agency reported. He warned that the Gaza Strip, inhabited by about 2.35 million people, is on the verge of entering into a famine, and "children there are dying due to hunger and thirst," stressing the need to open land crossings for aid trucks to enter Gaza. "Airdrops cannot replace land aid," he added. According to the Gaza-based Health Ministry, at least 20 people, mostly children, have died as a result of malnutrition and drought caused by the war. Meanwhile, Lazzarini said that the agency "has not yet received any evidence confirming Israel's allegations that UNRWA employees participated in the October 7 attack," noting that it would be wrong to dismantle the UNRWA before reaching a permanent political solution. In January, the organisation was rocked by Israel's accusations that 12 UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7 attacks in southern Israel, carried out by Hamas. It led to several countries halting contributions of nearly $440 million, representing nearly half of UNRWA's yearly funding. Lazzarini said late last month that the agency is facing repeated calls by Israel to dismantle UNRWA and freeze its funding by donors. Jerusalem, March 9 : Israel has said that it "welcomed" the inauguration of the maritime corridor from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip aimed at boosting the humanitarian aid to the embattled Palestinian enclave. "The Cypriot initiative will allow the increase of humanitarian aid to Gaza," Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lior Haiat said on Friday in a statement, without specifying the time frame for the arrival of the first shipment, Xinhua news agency reported. Haiat noted that Israel will control the entry of aid into Gaza by "conducting security checks in accordance with Israeli standards". During a visit to the Cypriot port of Larnaca, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday that it is hopeful that the maritime corridor for providing humanitarian aid to Gaza would open this Sunday, according to a press release by the Cypriot Interior Ministry. The EU Chief noted that an initial pilot operation will be launched on Friday for the maritime corridor initiated by Cyprus, the EU, the UAE, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Britain, and the US. The delivery of aid to Gaza is of critical urgency as the humanitarian crisis in the enclave has been worsening since Israel launched a large-scale offensive in Gaza to retaliate against a deadly Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 last year. The Israeli offensive has so far killed more than 30,800 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. Gaza, March 9 : The Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said in a statement that a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza are essential conditions for any prisoner exchange agreement. The Brigades' spokesperson, Abu Ubaydah, emphasised in the statement on Friday that there would be no compromise on these demands, Xinhua news agency reported. Ubaydah accused the Israeli government of "deceit" in the negotiation process, which he described as marked by "confusion and bewilderment". Ubaydah also highlighted the plight of Gaza's residents, particularly children suffering from malnutrition, adding that the hostages taken by Hamas are also affected by the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. "Some of them are suffering from illness due to lack of food and medicine," he said. On Thursday, Hamas announced that its delegation had left Cairo to consult with the movement's leadership on ceasefire negotiations, reaffirming its commitment to negotiations aimed at ending hostilities, assisting displaced individuals, and providing humanitarian aid to Gaza's residents. Talks have been ongoing in Egypt, with representatives from Qatar, the US, and Hamas aiming to establish a ceasefire in Gaza before Ramadan, which begins around March 10 this year. New Delhi, March 9 : NASA's Crew 7 astronauts onboard the International Space Station (ISS) are preparing to return to Earth, after a six-month stay in the orbiting lab, the US space agency has said. In a statement, NASA said that the four crew members will return to Earth on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, which is expected to undock from the space station at 11.05 a.m. on March 11. Depending on the weather conditions, the vehicle will splashdown off the Florida coast, as early as 5.35 a.m. on March 12. The Crew 7 mission with NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, launched to the ISS on August 26, last year. With the recent arrival of four members of the Crew 8 mission, the ISS is currently housing 11 astronauts from the US, Europe, Russia and Japan. The Crew 7 is "preparing to wrap up their nearly six-month science mission, and bring home time-sensitive research to Earth," NASA said. During their six months on the ISS, the Crew-7 conducted science experiments and technology demonstrations to benefit people on Earth and prepare humans for future space missions. Their scientific milestones include a study on the impact of spaceflight on immune function; to eliminate contaminants from wastewater; growing food on station. Outside the station, the team deployed two CubeSats that are low-cost alternative to traditional satellites New Delhi, March 9 : The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Electronics Sector Skills Council of India (ESSCI) to provide job opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs). The MoU signed on March 8, will provide PwDs with the necessary skills that will help them secure a job within the electronics sector, the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment said in a statement on Saturday. Together, DEPwD and ESSCI will provide vocational training to the PwDs that is aligned with industry demands and provide placements. "The initiative aims to create pathways for sustainable livelihoods and foster a globally competitive workforce," the ministry said. In addition to vocational training, "the ESSCI will also facilitate engagement with potential employers and industrial networks to ensure seamless placement opportunities for trainees. Importantly, placements will guarantee a monthly salary compliant with the Minimum Wages Act and industry benchmarks." Further, the ESSCI will also provide post-placement services with counselling and tracking for a minimum of three months. "This collaboration marks a significant stride towards inclusivity and economic empowerment, reaffirming the commitment of DEPwD and ESSCI to create an enabling environment for PwDs to thrive in the electronics sector," the ministry said. Bengaluru, March 9 : Just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, infighting in the Congress has come to the fore in Karnataka following a demand being raised for a Dalit Chief Minister. Party sources said that the demand was made to checkmate all attempts by Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress President, DK Shivakumar, to stake claim to the CM's post for a 2.5-year term. Dy CM Shivakumar's camp is in a jubilant mood following the quashing of the ED case against him by the Supreme Court. The crowd is already raising "DK Shivakumar future CM" slogans much to the chagrin of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his camp. Sources said that it is almost certain that Dy CM Shivakumar will stake claim for the CM's post and in an attempt to avoid any such development, the close associates of CM Siddaramaiah, who are Cabinet ministers, have raised the demand for a Dalit CM if there is a change of guard in the state. Minister for Cooperation, KN Rajanna and Minister for Social Welfare, Dr HC Mahadevappa have voiced their support for a Dalit CM for Karnataka. Senior Congress leaders explained that undoubtedly, Dy CM Shivakumar has gained an upper hand following the quashing of the ED case against him. The CM Siddaramaiah camp, that always maintained that Dy CM Shivakumar could be put behind bars at any time and that would cause irreparable damage to the party, has now lost its main defence. Significantly, CM Siddaramaiah had not given a Cabinet berth to the leader during his first tenure in 2013 for two years by citing graft charges. However, Dy CM Shivakumar has always maintained that there were no corruption charges against him and he was charged with money laundering. Following the quashing of the ED case, CM Siddaramaiah can't play the corruption card now, sources said. Another close associate of Dy CM Shivakumar said that the leader's commitment to the party even after he was jailed and his stand to remain in the Congress party will bear fruit for him now. Former CM, BS Yediyurappa had made an open offer on the floor of the House to him by stating that he would never become the CM if he remained in the Congress party. Dy CM Shivakumar had stated then that he was given two choices, one to join the BJP and another to go to prison and he chose the latter. Dy CM Shivakumar's camp also explained that south Karnataka districts, considered as the bastion of the Vokkaliga community shifted towards the Congress party as Dy CM Shivakumar was projected as one of the CM candidates. Dy CM Shivakumar has taken the Lok Sabha elections seriously and it is going to be another litmus test for him. If he gets the desired results, he is going to stake claim for the CM's post authoritatively, sources said. Political analyst Rudrappa Channabasappa told IANS that following the quashing of the ED's case, Dy CM Shivakumar has got a shot in the arm to claim the CM's post. Two weeks ago Congress MP, DK Suresh, maintained that his brother Dy CM Shivakumar was going to become the CM. However, CM Siddaramaiah, known for his political strategies, is not likely to leave the chair. His camp maintains that he commands the support of a majority of Congress MLAs. CM Siddaramaiah had recently proclaimed that he would be the CM for the full term of five years. Minister Rajanna had already stated he can't be treated as a slave by the high command. It is being considered as a subtle warning to the top leadership not to disturb CM Siddaramaiah, sources said. The high command, which is in no mood to lose one of the most prosperous and important states, is concerned about the developments. Nayanthara lands in Saudi Arabia for vacation, dismisses rumours of separation with husband. Image Source: IANS News Mumbai, March 9 : South superstar Nayanthara, who shared the screen with Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan in 'Jawan', reached Saudi Arabia with her family. She arrived in Saudi Arabia with her husband Vignesh Shivan and their children, Uyir and Ulag for the Formula 1 racing event. Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan spent some quality time together before the event. Earlier, Nayanthara took to the Stories section of her Instagram and shared a picture of herself expressing gratitude towards her hubby. Tagging Vignesh in the picture, she wrote: "Thank you for making me the woman I'm today." She dismissed rumours of their separation with the Instagram Story, telling her fans that everything is fine between the couple. Earlier, the actress had shared a cryptic message on her social media which left her fans worrying. She had taken to the Stories section of her Instagram at the time and shared a text which read: "She's gonna forever say 'I got this' even with tears in her eyes." The cryptic message on her Instagram came after it was alleged that she has unfollowed her husband Vignesh Shivan. A Reddit user had shared the screenshot of Vignesh allegedly being absent from the list of people whom Nayanthara follows on Instagram. However, currently the two follow each other on Instagram. New Delhi, March 9 : The Delhi High Court recently denied interim bail to liquor businessman Sameer Mahendru, accused in the money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, but allowed him to undergo a surgery while being in the custody of the Jail Superintendent. Sameer Mahendru had prayed that he be granted interim bail since his and his wife's medical condition was severely compromised. The businessman has claimed that he has to undergo knee surgery and his wife, who has developed post-surgery complications, has to be taken care of. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, who presided over the case, noted that Sameer Mahendru's medical condition cannot be categorised as a "life-threatening situation". "... the knee surgery which is to be undergone by the applicant is not of such a nature which necessitates the applicant's release on interim bail only," the judge said. However, she allowed him to be taken to the hospital concerned, for the surgery while in custody, as per the scheduled date. Special counsel for the ED had also told the judge that he had no objection to Sameer Mahendru's prayer seeking to get his surgery performed. Perusing the documents filed, the court also noted that the date of surgery, which was initially fixed for February 26, has not been re-scheduled. "Thus, the applicant will be at liberty to get the date of the surgery rescheduled and thereafter move a fresh application before this court for seeking appropriate directions," the court said. On February 16, a Delhi court had denied any further extension of interim bail to the businessman. Special Judge, MK Nagpal of the Rouse Avenue Court had stressed the seriousness of the case and stated that Sameer Mahendru's status as an accused cannot be overlooked. Judge Nagpal had noted that he had already been out on interim bail for around five months during his 16-month custody, primarily on the grounds of his wife's surgery. "Simply because some post-surgery complications have arisen, which can certainly be managed through medication, the interim bail of the applicant cannot be extended again and again and for the purpose of taking care of his wife only," the judge had noted. "...this court also gets a feeling that the above treatment and tests of his wife have unnecessarily been delayed and stretched so as to seek further extension of interim bail by the applicant and hence, this court is of considered view that no further extension of interim bail to him is warranted in light of the above facts and record," the judge had further said. According to the prosecution, Sameer Mahendru was a significant beneficiary of excise policy violations, operating an alcoholic beverage manufacturing unit and holding wholesale and retail licences in his and his family's names. Seoul, March 9 : The South Korean government is expected to send notice to suspend the medical licences of about 13,000 trainee doctors next week, the media reported on Saturday. The notice of suspension will be the first disciplinary action against striking doctors, Yonhap news agency reported, quoting sources. Approximately 90 per cent of the country's 13,000 medical interns and residents have remained off their jobs through mass resignations for nearly three weeks in protest of the government's decision to increase medical school enrolment. Prior to the first notice of suspension, the government, since Tuesday, has been sending out documents to trainee doctors, who have yet to return to their jobs, giving prior notice on the suspension of their medical licence. The document includes details on the government's back-to-work order and warns that those who do not submit feedback by March 25 could have their licence suspended with relevant procedures, the report said. Trainee doctors can file administrative complaints against the government in the event their licences are suspended. The collective action by trainee doctors, who play a vital role in assisting with surgeries and emergency services at major general hospitals, has resulted in widespread cancellations and delays in surgeries and emergency medical treatment at general hospitals nationwide. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 9. Baku is hosting the second day of the international scientific conference Embracing Diversity: Tackling Islamophobia in 2024, Trend reports. On the second day of the conference, the International Center for Multiculturalism, the Center for Analysis of International Relations, the G20 Interfaith Dialogue Forum, and the Baku Initiative Group collaborated to conduct separate panel discussions. The conference is attended by approximately 130 scientists from 30 nations, as well as professionals from international organizations, church members, and non-governmental groups. The discussions are attended by local specialists on the subject, state representatives, religious leaders, government officials, and diplomats. To note, the International Day to Combat Islamophobia is celebrated on March 15. For the first time, the decision on its establishment was made at the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which was held in the city of Niamey, Republic of Niger, on November 27-28, 2020. The United Nations General Assembly declared March 15 as the International Day Against Islamophobia in 2022. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel New Delhi, March 9 : Embattled edtech company Byju's is likely to miss the March 10 deadline to pay salaries for the month of February to its more than 20,000 employees as funds raised via its rights issue remain stuck. The Bengaluru bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had directed Byju's that the proceeds from the rights issue (which is about $250-$300 million) is to be kept in a separate account till the disposal of the case with investors. According to sources, the company appears not in a position to pay the salaries due to the status quo, as banks also remain closed over the weekend. The company did not immediately comment on the development. Earlier this month, the company's founder and CEO Byju Raveendran told employees that "We are striving to ensure that your salaries are paid by March 10. We shall make these payments the moment we are permitted to do so as per law." In a letter to the staff, Raveendran said that the rights issue has been successfully closed. "However, I regret to inform you that we will still be unable to process your salaries. Last month, we faced challenges due to a lack of capital, and now we are experiencing a delay despite having funds," he told more than 20,000 employees. Raveendran further said that a select few investors have "stooped to a heartless level, ensuring that we are unable to utilise the funds raised to pay your hard-earned salaries". Meanwhile, the edtech company said that no funds have been siphoned off and around $533 million are currently in a 100 per cent non-US subsidiary of the company. Kolkata, March 9 : The Officer-in-Charge of Sandeshkhali Police Station, Biswajit Sapui has been transferred by the West Bengal administration. The move came amid large-scale criticism over the West Bengal Policeas inaction and inability to address complaints of oppression and sexual harassment of Sandeshkhalias women by a section of the local Trinamool Congress leaders. Officially, the state administration is describing it as a routine transfer, however, no one in the state is subscribing to the official explanation since Biswajit Sapui has been transferred just three months after he took charge of the Sandeshkhali Police Station. Biswajit Sapui has been transferred to Basirhat Police Station and has been replaced by Gopal Sarkar. This is the second important transfer in the Sandeshkhali Police since the protests began by local women against sexual harassment and violence against them. Sources said that during the recent visit of the full-Bench of the Election Commission of India (ECI), the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, made it clear that the state administration was under the scanner of the commission, in view of the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. State government sources said that since there was a high possibility of the commission directing the transfer of Biswajit Sapui, the state administration thought of transferring him before the poll panel called for it. Mumbai, March 9 : The Mumbai Coastal Road project's phase one is partly ready for inauguration, but getting delayed ostensibly as VIPs are reportedly 'unavailable' owing to multiple reasons, officials said here on Saturday. Mumbai, March 9 (IANS) The Mumbai Coastal Road projectas phase one is partly ready for inauguration, but getting delayed ostensibly as VIPs are reportedly aunavailablea owing to multiple reasons, officials said here on Saturday. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was scheduled to cut the ribbon today (March 9) throwing open the north-south arm, but it has been postponed to March 11 as the other MahaYuti alliance leaders are said to be busy in the Lok Sabha seat-sharing talks. In January, when Shinde went on a tour of the swank new road including the tunnel, he had announced that one lane from Worli to Chowpatty would be operational by that month-end, but it didnat happen. Later, there was speculation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would inaugurate it, either in person or remotely, but he is tied up in the poll campaign, and another date was set for March 9, with the official invitations also printed and distributed. Even this has been pushed back by two days till Monday (March 11), though the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) remains non-committal on whether the inaugural will actually take place that day. In case the government misses the date again, then uncertainty stares at the starting of the MCR in view of the Model Code of Conduct that may be implemented anytime next week. However, civic officials have confidently announced that phase one will be fully completed by May, comprising the two lanes from Marine Drive to Worli and other facilities coming up in the vicinity, which will slash travel time from the current one hour to barely 10 minutes. Meanwhile, the delays in making mega-projects available for public use has evoked sharp criticism from the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi top functionaries like Shiv Sena (UBT)as Sanjay Raut, Aditya Thackeray, Kishore Tiwari, Congressa Nana Patole and M. Arif Naseem Khan, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leaders. Kolkata: Former Calcutta High Court judge Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay joins the BJP in the presence of state party chief Sukanta Majumdar, LoP Suvendu Adhikari and others. Image Source: IANS News Kolkata, March 9 : The former judge of Calcutta High Court, Abhijit Gangopadhyay said on Saturday that he was thrilled that he would be meeting Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, at a rally at Siliguri in Darjeeling District of North Bengal, later in the day. Abhijit Gangopadhyay left for Siliguri by flight on Saturday and at the Bagdogra Airport he was greeted by the local BJP legislator from Siliguri constituency, Sankar Ghosh. Speaking to media persons there, Abhijit Gangopadhyay said that even if it was for a brief period, he would try to interact with the Prime Minister. "I am thrilled. This will be the first time that I will be meeting the Prime Minister. I will surely try to interact with him. I am thrilled by the manner in which the BJP has embraced me. A malicious attempt is going on in West Bengal to spread a belief that the BJP indulges in communal politics. I will make an attempt to theoretically counter that," he said. Abhijit Gangopadhyay said that the situation was perfect for imposing Article 356 in West Bengal. "The democratic set-up in the state has collapsed. What has happened at Sandeshkhali is simply unimaginable. Neither the Chief Minister nor the local ruling party Lok Sabha member visited Sandeshkhali once. I am confident that BJP will get miraculous results in West Bengal this time. There are chances that Trinamool Congress might be wiped out from the state," he said. Abhijit Gangopadhyay resigned from judicial service on March 5 and on March 7 he officially joined the BJP. Immediately after joining the BJP he said that his prime aim was to fight against the corrupt West Bengal government. "My only aim is to oust a thoroughly corrupt political force from the position of power in West Bengal. I want to ensure that the same force cannot return to power in West Bengal in 2026. I have joined the BJP to fight tooth and nail against the thoroughly corrupt current state government. I will make all possible attempts to sincerely accomplish the assignments given to me by the party," Abhijit Gangopadhyay said on March 7. Your dreams are my resolutions: NE region has strong tourism links with South & Southeast Asia, says PM Modi. Image Source: IANS News Itanagar, March 9 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the Northeastern Region (NE) has a strong links of tourism, business and cultural relations with South and Southeast Asia. The Prime Minister, virtually from Itanagar, inaugurated 123 key developmental projects including the ambitious Sela Tunnel project in Arunachal Pradesh and laid the foundation stone of 95 new projects worth Rs 55,600 crore in six northeastern states -- Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh. These developmental projects encompass sectors like rail, road, health, housing, education, border infrastructure, IT, Power, Oil and Gas, among others. He also launched the UNNATI scheme worth about Rs 10,000 crores. Addressing the "Viksit Bharat, Viksit North East Program in Itanagar, PM Modi said that developmental works in the region were done four times more in the last five years but during Congress regime, these were not done in 20 years. "Development of the northeast is the BJP-led government's primary task. Modi guarantee is accomplished swiftly and these are being executed all the time not during or before the election time," the Prime Minister told the gathering. Expressing his confidence that the BJP-led NDA would obtain over 400 seats in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections, the Prime Minister said that the 'Mission Palm Oil' will make India 'Aatmanirbhar' in the edible oil sector and boost the income of farmers. Expressing his gratitude towards the farmers for taking up palm cultivation, the Prime Minister highlighted the 'Mission Palm Oil', a special campaign carried out by the Central government keeping in mind the northeast and informed that the first oil mill under this mission was inaugurated on Saturday. "INDIA block leaders are attacking me when I am working round the clock for the development of the country. They never thought about the future of Northeast people but Modi was always thinking for the interest of each family of the Northeast." "I would not take rest until basic necessities like pucca house, free ration, clean drinking water, electricity, toilets, gas connection, free treatment and internet connection among others are met." "When modern technology should be introduced along the border, the then Congress was busy with corruption. The Congress government deprived the border villages but the NDA government undertook the 'Vibrant Village Programme' aiming to develop the most backward village situated along the border," PM Modi said. He said that the NDA government has completed the works in 10 years which are not done in seven decades and added that the allocation of funds in the last five years is four-fold more than the earlier times. The Prime Minister said that the entire northeast can witness the meaning of 'Modi ki guarantee' with the development works being done here. Noting the laying of the foundation stone for Sela Tunnel and Doni Polo Airport in 2019, PM Modi said that whatever the time, month or year may be, he only works for the welfare of the nation and its people. Referring to the recent Cabinet approval for the UNNATI scheme for industrial development of the Northeast in a new form and expanded scope, the Prime Minister underlined the working style of the government as the scheme was notified in one day and guidelines were issued. He pointed out the push for modern infrastructure in the last 10 years, the implementation of about a dozen peace accords and the resolution of border disputes. The next step, the Prime Minister said, is the expansion of industry in the region. "Rs 10,000 crore UNNATI scheme will bring new possibilities of investment and jobs," the PM said and spelt out his focus on startups, new technologies, home-stays and tourism-related opportunities for the youth of the region. Throwing light on the government's priority to making the lives of women in the northeast easier, the Prime Minister mentioned the Rs 100 reduction in gas cylinder prices on the occasion of International Women's Day on Friday. He also congratulated the entire team of the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh for the remarkable work done to make tap water connections available to the citizens. The Prime Minister expressed delight that Arunachal and Northeast are leading the way in several development parameters and said, "Development works reach Arunachal and the Northeast like the first rays of the sun." He noted the inauguration of a drinking water supply project for 45,000 households in the state. He also mentioned multiple sarovars constructed under the Amrit Sarovar campaign, creating Lakhpati Didis in villages with the help of self-help groups. "We aim to create 3 crore Lakhpati Didis in the country and the women from Northeast will also benefit from this," he added. The Prime Minister criticised the earlier neglect of the development of the border villages. He also said that unlike the earlier approach, he has always considered the border villages as the 'first villages' and the Vibrant Village Programme is an acknowledgement of this thinking. Road projects for about 125 villages commenced and foundation stones were laid for tourism-related projects in 150 villages. Problems of the most vulnerable and the most backward tribes are being addressed under the PM-JANMAN scheme. Prime Minister Modi underlined that development works related to connectivity and electricity make for Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business. Drawing comparisons between the work done to boost connectivity since independence till 2014 with that post-2014, the Prime Minister informed building 6,000 kms of highways in the last 10 years compared to 10,000 kms in seven decades and laying 2000 kms of rail lines. In the power sector, the Prime Minister mentioned work commencing in Dibang Multipurpose Hydropower Project in Arunachal Pradesh and Solar Power project in Tripura on Saturday. "Dibang dam will be India's highest dam," he said, noting the dedication of the highest bridge and the highest dam to Northeast. Saying that every Indian is his family, the Prime Minister said: "Your dreams are my resolutions." Upon the Prime Minister's request, the crowd turned on the flashlights of their mobile phones to celebrate the festival of development. "This spectacle will give strength to the nation," he commented. Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, (Retd) Lieutenant General Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik and Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Khandu, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju were present on the occasion among others. Smartphones' effect on kids under 10 go beyond eyes, say doctors. Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, March 9 : Smartphone addiction among children under the age of 10, is known to be detrimental for the eyes. However, doctors on Saturday warned that spending excessive time on the device may worsen physical health and cause a host of behavioural issues. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, children under five must spend less time watching screens. While the UN health body does not recommend screen time for infants and 1-year-old, those aged 2 years should not be exposed for more than an hour. However, "even toddlers as young as one and a half years old are being handed smartphones by their parents," Dr Rajiv Uttam, Director, Paediatric Pulmonology, Critical Care Paediatrics (PICU), Paediatric Care, Medanta The Medicity, Gurugram, told IANS. The doctor noted that illnesses such as "diarrhoea, fever, and other health issues are observed in children who spend excessive time on their devices". Several studies have shown the negative impact of smartphone use on the eye. Prolonged use of smartphones in children has been linked with vision impairment, and dry eyes among others. Dr Vikas Taneja, Consultant Paediatrics, Manipal Hospital, Dwarka explained that this is majorly due to radiation, as the children use their mobile phones at a very close distance. "Children can present with excessive eye strain, which can lead to redness of the eyes and excessive itching. This can lead to frequent rubbing and watering. The strain in the eyes can lead to headaches, and their sleep might get disturbed. Excessive mobile phone use can also affect the muscles of the eye," he told IANS. This sleep loss can, further, lead to a lot of anxiety and depression. Usually, such children tend to be alone, have low self-esteem, become excessively irritable, have a lot of aggression and behavioural changes, and may throw tantrums. Rajiv said that overuse often leads to a detachment from the real world, and the children are likely to display symptoms akin to virtual autism. "Habitual smartphone use during meals also contributes to poor eating habits, obesity, and related health issues such as high blood pressure and sugar levels ultimately leading small kids to pre-diabetic stage." Importantly, the visual impairments and attention deficits further compound these concerns, often remaining unnoticed until academic performance suffers, the doctor said. To mitigate these risks, the health experts advised parents to prioritise quality time with their children, encourage healthy eating habits, and limit screen time per day. Furthermore, balancing technology with outdoor activities and nutritious meals is crucial in fostering holistic child development. Islamabad, March 9 : PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan on Saturday said the likely election of PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari as the president of the country is a "violation of the Constitution", local media reported. Talking to mediapersons here, Gohar Ali Khan said that "assuming constitutional roles in an unconstitutional manner is a violation of the Constitution", Dawn reported. In a veiled attack on PPP and the PML-N, he said that earlier two families used to have control over the country's resources and now, these two families are also taking control of the country's democratic institutions and positions." Earlier in the day, PTI member of National Assembly Amir Dogar said that Asif Ali Zardari is being "imposed on the country today" as presidential polls are underway. "Those who have stolen our mandate are corrupt. Their biggest king, Asif Ali Zardari, is being imposed on this country today," Amir Dogar posted on party's X handle. For the office of President, Asif Ali Zardari, the joint candidate of PPP and the PML-N, and Sunni Ittehad Council's candidate Mahmood Khan Achakzai are in the fray. On Friday, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who is also backed by jailed former PTI founder Imran Khan, had demanded the postponement of elections, saying that the electoral college was incomplete as some reserved seats in the National and provincial assemblies were vacant. Nixing Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) head Mahmood Khan Achakzai's plea, the Election Commission of Pakistan said that he did not raise the objection during the phase of submitting and scrutiny of nomination papers and the electoral college is now fully functional to conduct the polls. General elections in Pakistan were held on February 8, which were marred by allegations of rigging and sporadic violence. New Delhi: LDF's protest against the BJP-led Centre over alleged neglect and partiality in allocation of funds to their states. Image Source: IANS News Thiruvananthapuram, March 9 : Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday assured the family of J.S. Siddharth, a second-year BVSC student who was found hanging in his hostel room at the College of Veterinary & Animal Sciences in Pookode on February 18, of a CBI probe into the incident. Siddharth's father Jayaprakash told the media after the meeting that the Chief Minister gave them a patient hearing and agreed to their demand for a CBI probe. "The CM categorically told us that he will do the needful to direct a CBI probe into the matter. We want a CBI probe to ensure that all those involved in brutally 'killing' my son are brought to the book. Such an incident should never occur again," said Jayaprakash. Incidentally, Wayanad Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi had on Wednesday written to CM Vijayan demanding a CBI probe into Siddharth's death. "There are still two more students who brutally assaulted my son, but due to their influence, they are still not arraigned as accused. These two names are there in the report of the anti-ragging squad, but surprisingly they have been excluded in the police probe," Jayaprakash said. So far, 18 persons have been arrested in connection with the case, while the Vice Chancellor, Dean, and the Assistant Warden of the institute have been placed under suspension. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan had also written to the Kerala High Court seeking a probe by a sitting judge or a retired judge of the high court or the apex court. Incidentally, the case was raised by an ally of the ruling CPI-M led Left at its leaders' meet chaired by CM Vijayan. The leaders of the RJD, an ally of the Left, had asked the CPI-M to reign in their student organisation, SFI, whose activists have been under the scanner for the 'death' of Siddharth. New Delhi, March 9 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, addressing the Legislative Assembly on Saturday, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to obstruct the construction of Mohalla Clinics, a cornerstone of the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) healthcare initiatives. Kejriwal, also AAP National Convener, did not mince words as he lambasted the BJP over the ongoing probes by central agencies against opposition leaders. "If Shri Ram had been in this era, the BJP would have sent ED and CBI to his home and put a gun to his head and asked if he was joining the BJP or going to jail," said Kejriwal. Reflecting on the budget discussion, Kejriwal fondly recalled his colleague and former Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, referring to him as his younger brother. "Today when we are having a discussion on the budget, I am remembering my younger brother Manish Sisodia. The last nine budgets were presented by Manish Sisodia. This is the 10th budget of our government and I hope that he will present the 11th budget of our government in this Assembly next year," said Kejriwal. New Delhi, March 9 : Indian Army will conduct a Tri-Services Integrated Firepower Exercise at Pokharan, Rajasthan on March 12. It will be an exercise, based on the indigenously manufactured weapon systems. The Indian Army said that it is all set to organise a Tri-Services Integrated Firepower and Manoeuvre Exercise at Pokharan Field Firing Ranges (Rajasthan) on March 12. The prowess of indigenously manufactured weapons and equipment of Indian Armed Forces will be showcased, in battlefield conditions, under the nation's Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative. According to the Indian Army, the exercise is aimed at displaying the might of the indigenous weapons and equipment of Indian Armed Forces. Last month, Pokhran Range near Jaisalmer witnessed thunderous explosions and applause, as the Indian Air Force showcased its offensive capabilities through an enthralling and formidable display of its firepower. The exercise was witnessed by the Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan. During the display, approximately 50 tonnes of ordnance were dropped in a short span of two hours over an area of two sq. km. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 9. Islamophobia has become a dangerous global movement, with a number of Western countries funding its development, Ali Al Gharni, a participant in the international scientific conference Embracing Diversity: Tackling Islamophobia in 2024, said during panel discussions at the event, Trend reports. Al Gharni, thanking Azerbaijan for hosting such an event, noted that people live in Azerbaijan and other countries in conditions of good neighborliness and respect for representatives of all religions. "However, Western countries do not share the same sentiments. We must work together to resist the increasing Islamophobia in the West. It is particularly crucial to combat Islamophobia in France," the participant stressed. Azerbaijan offers an ideal venue for discussing the issue of Islamophobia on an international scale, he added. To note, an international scientific conference Embracing Diversity: Tackling Islamophobia in 2024, dedicated to the 2nd anniversary of the International Day Against Islamophobia, is being held in Baku under the joint organization of the International Center for Multiculturalism, the Center for the Analysis of International Relations, the G20 Interfaith Forum, and the Baku Initiative Group. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Patna March 9 : Separate teams of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday conducted raids at the locations of Subhash Yadav, a close aide of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, in Patna. Subhash Yadav, a prominent sand trader in the Patna region who also owns a biscuit factory in the Nasriganj locality of the city, is facing charges of money laundering. Yadav, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Chatra in Jharkhand, is often seen with Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Yadav and other members of the family. The ED teams reached the residence of Yadav in Patnaas Danapur locality on Saturday morning. Simultaneously, raids were also conducted at his other house in the Maa Marachiya Devi Apartment, and the biscuit factory in Nasriganj. Sources said the ED scanned documents related to sand mining and other financial transactions. Earlier, the Income Tax Department had conducted raids at Yadav's premises in connection with a tax evasion case in 2018. The ED had also raided his premises two years ago. Itanagar, March 9 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi, virtually from Itanagar, inaugurated 123 key developmental projects including the ambitious Sela Tunnel project in Arunachal Pradesh. PM Modi also laid the foundation stone of 95 new projects worth Rs 55,600 crore in six northeastern states -- Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh. These developmental projects comprise sectors like rail, road, health, housing, education, border infrastructure, IT, Power, Oil and Gas, among others. He also launched the UNNATI scheme worth about Rs 10,000 crores. Addressing the "Viksit Bharat, Viksit North East Program" in Itanagar, the Prime Minister reiterated his vision of 'Ashtalakshmi' for the development of the northeast. Noting that the northeastern region has a strong link of tourism, business and cultural relations with South and Southeast Asia, the Prime Minister said that the development of the northeastern region is the top priority of the BJP-led NDA government. Launching a new Industrial Development Scheme for the northeast, UNNATI (Uttar Poorva Transformative Industrialization Scheme), the Prime Minister said that the scheme will strengthen the industrial ecosystem in the region to attract new investment, help set up new manufacturing and services units and boost to employment in the northeastern States. This Rs 10,000 crore scheme is fully funded by the Center and covers all 8 northeastern states. The UNNATI scheme will provide incentives for capital investment, interest subvention and a manufacturing and services linked incentive to the approved units. The Prime Minister dedicated and laid the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 41,000 crore in Arunachal Pradesh. He also laid the foundation stone of Dibang Multipurpose Hydropower Project in Lower Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh. To be built at a cost of more than Rs 31,875 crore, it will be the highest dam structure in the country and it will generate power, help in flood moderation and lead to employment opportunities and socioeconomic development in the region. Other important projects whose foundation stones were laid include several road, environment and tourism projects under the 'Vibrant Village Programme', upgradation of schools into 50 Golden Jubilee schools wherein holistic education will be provided through state-of-the-art infrastructure facilities, double lane road to provide connectivity from Donyi-Polo airport to Naharlagun railway station, among others. PM Modi also dedicated to the nation various important projects in Arunachal Pradesh including several road projects, about 1100 projects of Jal Jeevan Mission, and 170 telecom towers under the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) benefiting more than 300 villages, among others. The Prime Minister also handed over more than 35,000 houses constructed at the cost of Rs 450 crores under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (both Urban and rural) to the beneficiaries. The Prime Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of several development projects worth more than Rs 3400 crores in Manipur. He inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of several development projects worth more than Rs 1700 crores in Nagaland. The Prime Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 290 crores in Meghalaya. He inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 450 crores in Sikkim. The Prime Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 8,500 crore in Tripura. The important projects whose foundation stones were laid include the construction of Agartala Western Bypass and multiple road projects across the state, the Indian Oil Corporation's new Depot at Sekerkote to be constructed, and the construction of an Integrated Rehabilitation Centre for drug Addicted Persons. The Prime Minister also inaugurated a land port at Sabroom along Bangladesh in South Tripura district constructed at a cost of about Rs 230 crore. The newly developed Sabroom Land Port is located along the international border between India and Bangladesh and it will provide facilities like the passenger terminal building, cargo administrative building, warehouse, fire station building, electrical substation, and pump house. The land port would facilitate the movement of passengers and cargo between India and Bangladesh as through the new port one can move directly to Bangladesh's Chittagong port, which is 75 Kms away as opposed to moving to Kolkata/Haldia Port in West Bengal which is about 1700 Kms away. The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of the Sabroom Land Port in March 2021. Mumbai, March 9 : The first song titled 'Sakal Ban' from upcoming streaming series 'Heeramandi' was released on Saturday. The track, sung by Raja Hasan, is adorned with the poetry of Amir Khusro, and blends traditional folk music with auteur Sanjay Leela Bhansali's signature grandeur. Mumbai, March 9 (IANS) The first song titled aSakal Bana from upcoming streaming series aHeeramandia was released on Saturday. The track, sung by Raja Hasan, is adorned with the poetry of Amir Khusro, and blends traditional folk music with auteur Sanjay Leela Bhansalias signature grandeur. The track serves as a prelude to the world of 'Heeramandia as it gives a glimpse of the allure that awaits in the series. The song is set against the backdrop of a bygone era and takes the listeners to a realm where every note reverberates with history, culture, and celebration. In the song each actress graces the screen with her presence, exuding elegance and charm as they immerse themselves in vibrant shades of mustard, yellow, and gold. From intricately choreographed dance sequences to lavish set designs, every aspect of 'Sakal Ban' reflects Bhansali's meticulous attention to detail and his unwavering commitment to cinematic excellence. The track has been released under the label of Bhansali music. 'Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaara stars Manisha Koirala, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Sheikh, and Sharmin Segal. The streaming series will debut on Netflix. New Delhi, March 9 : 'Five Films for Freedom' returns on March 13, marking a decade of celebrating diverse stories from across the globe. This year, the campaign brings five new movies from the Philippines, India, Spain, the UK, and the US to audiences worldwide. Continuing its longstanding partnership with the BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, the British Council has presented this year's lineup of short films. In celebration of its tenth anniversary, this edition of 'Five Films for Freedom' (March 13 to 24) showcases LGBTQIA+ narratives that resonate with resilience and authenticity. From the historic defiance captured in Compton's 22 in San Francisco to the poignant exploration of love and understanding in Halfway, this year's lineup includes 'Little One', 'Cursive', and 'The First Kiss', each delving into themes of family, identity, and the universal quest for acceptance. The movies offer perspectives on the LGBTQIA+ experience, inspiring conversations and fostering empathy worldwide. The five short films -- 'Cursive', 'Little One', 'The First Kiss', 'Compton's 22' and 'Halfway' -- will stream on JioTV mobile app and on connected TVs through JioTV+. In India, in partnership with The Queer Muslim Project, 12 screenings of the films will be held in 10 cities across the country with 10 partners. They will be screened in Delhi, Kolkata, Gangtok, Agartala, Shantiniketan, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Goa. The partners include the British High Commission, QueerFrames Screenwriting Lab, Habitat International Film Festival, Sandbox Collective, Harkat Studios, Eagaro Photo Festival, The We4We Project, Arthshila, Rainbow Hills Welfare Association, and The Storiculture Company. Alison Barrett MBE, Director India, British Council said: "We are delighted to be once again partnering with BFI Flare, JioTV and JioTV+ and The Queer Muslim Project for this celebration of inclusivity and cultural exchange. It is a privilege to showcase the exceptional work of immensely talented filmmakers to audiences across India. "Throughout the ten-year journey of 'Five Films For Freedom', we have been able to reach over 23 million viewers globally. We take pride in our ongoing commitment to supporting this initiative, which not only sheds light on new narratives but also fosters new connections and understanding." Rafiul Alom Rahman, Director of The Queer Muslim Project, said: "We are happy to be collaborating with the British Council and with multiple partners across India to create a space that celebrates love and freedom. The #FiveFilmsForFreedom programme has been a catalyst in spotlighting diverse LGBTQIA+ talent and stories from around the world and fostering conversations around inclusion. This year's curation of FFFF includes powerful short films, community mixers, and discussions with industry professionals." Kumar Chheda, Director of Halfway, said, "Halfway is about the things you do, the extra miles you go to make love work. This is why the #FiveFilmsForFreedom programme is the most appropriate place for the world to see the film. For an emerging filmmaker from India, there could have been no greater joy than to see my film reach audiences around the world. I am thrilled that Halfway is the selection from India as the programme celebrates its 10th year." IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in --IANS ianslfe/ tb New Delhi : Kerala CM and CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan during a demonstration over Israel-Palestine conflict at party office. Image Source: IANS News Thiruvananthapuram, March 9 : Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday ordered a CBI probe into the death of J.S. Siddharth, a second-year BVSC student who was found hanging in his hostel room at the College of Veterinary & Animal Sciences in Pookode on February 18. The probe was announced soon after Siddharth's father Jayaprakash met Vijayan here on Saturday. Jayaprakash told the media after the meeting that the Chief Minister gave them a patient hearing and agreed to their demand for a CBI probe. "The CM categorically told us that he will do the needful to direct a CBI probe into the matter. We want a CBI probe to ensure that all those involved in brutally 'killing' my son are brought to the book. Such an incident should never occur again," said Jayaprakash. Incidentally, Wayanad Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi had on Wednesday written to CM Vijayan demanding a CBI probe into Siddharth's death. "There are still two more students who brutally assaulted my son, but due to their influence, they are still not arraigned as accused. These two names are there in the report of the anti-ragging squad, but surprisingly they have been excluded from the police probe," Jayaprakash said. So far, 18 persons have been arrested in connection with the case, while the Vice Chancellor, Dean, and the Assistant Warden of the institute have been placed under suspension. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan had also written to the Kerala High Court seeking a probe by a sitting judge or a retired judge of the high court or the apex court. Incidentally, the case was raised by an ally of the ruling CPI-M led Left at its leaders' meet chaired recently by CM Vijayan. The leaders of the RJD, an ally of the Left, had asked the CPI-M to reign in their student organisation, SFI, whose activists have been under the scanner for the 'death' of Siddharth. Petrol pump put up notice, wrote, don't give 2000 note to get 50-100 oil, change it in currency bank. Image Source: IANS News Jaipur, March 9 : Petrol pumps across Rajasthan will remain closed from March 10-March 12 as their owners will be protesting against the high VAT on diesel and petrol in the state. Speaking to IANS, Rajasthan Petroleum Dealers Association president Rajendra Singh Bhati said, "The government has not been reducing VAT on fuel since long. Also, the commission of dealers has not been increased." In such a situation, petrol and diesel pump operators across the state have decided to go on strike from March 10. "We will march till secretariat and request the Chief Minister to address our grievances on video conferencing as he is under isolation after being tested COVID positive," the association's president added. "Due to high VAT in Rajasthan, petrol pump operators are continuously incurring losses. We have been demanding the government to reduce VAT since long, but in vain. Petrol is being sold much cheaper in neighboring states than in Rajasthan," he said. "On the other hand, there has been no increase in the commission of dealers for the last seven years. Due to this, most of the petrol pumps in Rajasthan are on the verge of closure," he claimed. "Further, petrol pump operators from across the state will also surround the secretariat in Jaipur on March 11 so that we can convey our legitimate demands to the government," he added. Bengaluru, March 9 : Karnataka Leader of Opposition (LoP), R Ashoka, said on Saturday that Bengaluru's water crisis had hit the city's image at the global level and blamed the Congress government for creating the shortage by releasing water to Tamil Nadu from Karnataka reservoirs. Speaking to reporters at an event, LoP Ashoka stated, "An American channel has broadcast news asking people not to visit Bengaluru city. Without placing effective arguments before the authorities, the Congress government has released water to Tamil Nadu from Karnataka reservoirs. "The BJP will stage a protest demanding supply of water to people of Bengaluru on Monday (March 11) at Freedom Park. If our demands are not met, we will take a call on the future course of action. The people are facing bomb threats as well as the non-availability of drinking water." He added that Bengaluru was known as the city of Information Technology and Biotechnology globally, and MNCs operating from it were leaving now. "The Congress government is not bothered. Deputy Chief Minister, DK Shivakumar, embraced Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, MK Stalin, and fed him biryani," Ashoka stated tauntingly. If Karnataka had not released water for Tamil Nadu, five to six TMC (Thousand Million Cubic Feet) would have been saved for the state and there would have been no water crisis, he alleged. "The Congress government released water before the verdict of the Supreme Court. They have failed to manage the drought situation," Ashoka said. "What should be done with the allowances the Congress gives to the people as part of its guarantee schemes? There is no water in the city even if money is paid," LoP Ashoka claimed. He alleged that the water problem had also affected Mandya District and people were migrating from there. "The government's duty does not end at fixing the price for water tankers. They should ensure supply of drinking water. Let them bring water from either Hemavathi or Kabini Rivers," he stated. He went on to state that the people of Karnataka had been facing a crisis for five months and the government delayed the declaration of drought by three months as they had to provide compensation. "The state government is left with no money. The people are migrating and the government is not denying the fact," LoP Ashoka said. He added that industries were facing the threat of shutting down due to the water crisis. "There is no water supply in hotels. How will GST be generated in this situation? There is no water in apartments. There was never a situation in the last 30 years where people waited for drinking water with water pots in Bengaluru," he charged. Bengaluru, March 9 : National Summit on Cervical Cancer was held in Bengaluru on Saturday which concluded with a call to action for a 'Cervical Cancer Mukt Bharat' (Free India of Cervical Cancer). "Karnataka government is working with concerted efforts to deliver healthcare services that are affordable, accessible and of high quality to all citizens with a particular focus on women's health," Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Gundu Rao said. The minister said that the government is committed to working alongside healthcare professionals, NGOs, and civil society to ensure accessible screening, timely diagnosis, and effective treatment for all women in Karnataka. The summit which was a collaborative effort by ECHO India, Karnataka Obstetrics and Gynaecology Society, ARTIST for HER, and the Healthcare Sector Skill Council (HSSC) brought together policymakers, leading healthcare experts and key opinion leaders to discuss critical issues to chart a path forward in the fight against this preventable disease. Dr. Hema Divakar, Chairperson and CEO of ARTIST for HER, emphasised the crucial role of awareness and education, saying that early detection and intervention are key to winning the battle against cervical cancer. "By empowering women with knowledge and ensuring accessible screening services, we can significantly impact the future of women's health in India," Hema Divakar said. She said that in 2020, WHO established a 90-70-90 Cervical Cancer Elimination Strategy for 2030 which involves vaccinating 90 per cent of girls by age 15 with the HPV vaccine, screening 70 per cent of women between ages 35 and 45 using a high-performance test, and treating 90 per cent of identified cervical disease cases. She said that HPV, linked to pre-cancerous lesions, can be prevented with a vaccine. The summit concluded with a renewed commitment from all stakeholders to work collaboratively towards achieving the shared vision of a 'Cervical Cancer Mukt Bharat'. Mumbai, March 9 : Despite three rounds of talks among the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, the MahaYuti alliance partners are struggling to arrive at a consensus over the seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. MahaYuti sources said that the next meeting is likely on March 11 as there is every possibility that the Election Commission of India may announce the Lok Sabha poll by March 15. NCP insiders admitted that the meeting that took place on late Friday night between Home Minister Amit Shah and Ajit Pawar, who was accompanied by Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare, remained inconclusive as the party is stuck to its demand for 9 to 10 seats. However, NCP insiders, who are privy to Fridayas talks, said the party may get only three seats -- Baramati, Shirur and Raigad (won by united NCP in 2019 general elections) while the BJP has offered Dindori and Gadchiroli seats to NCP with a rider that its nominees will have to contest on the Lotus symbol. Incidentally, Ajit Pawar is not reportedly happy with BJPas offer as he strongly feels that the party may get its due share in the seat-sharing arrangement. Besides, few party leaders argue that if BJP gives three or five seats, it will demoralise the cadres as it may find the party difficult to convince them to vote for the candidates of BJP or Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in the absence of NCP candidate. There has been no official comment from BJP and NCP on seat-sharing talks. Though few leaders from both the parties hope for a consensus as ultimately winning maximum seats in Maharashtra will be crucial to see Narendra Modi becoming Prime Minister for the third time. Meanwhile, talks for seat-sharing between BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena have remained incomplete and they are expected to meet again on March 11. Shiv Sena Minister Shamburaj Desai said that the party is insisting for 22 seats while party MP Gajanan Kirtikar claimed that the party should not succumb to the BJPas pressure and settle below 22 seats (united Shiv Sena had fought 22 seats and won 18 seats in 2019 elections). Shiv Sena sources hinted that the party may have to settle at a single digit or maximum at 12 seats. BJP has sought the cooperation from Shinde and Pawar as the party wants the partners to fight the coming Lok Sabha elections with unity in order to win 45-plus seats in Maharashtra. The party, which had won 23 seats in an alliance with united Shiv Sena in 2019 elections, is keen to field its candidates on 32 to 36 seats by riding on the Modi wave. However, the party sees difficulty in transfer of votes from Shiv Sena and NCP if it leaves more seats to them. New Delhi, March 9 : The first Hindu temple in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) celebrated its first festival -- Maha Shivratri -- on Friday, almost a month after its inauguration. While the countrymen thronged Shiva temples to pay their obeisance to the Lord on Friday, the Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi also saw a large number of devotees converging from various parts of the Gulf nation to offer prayers at the BAPS temple. The temple constructed and run by the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) was inaugurated on February 14 in the presence of thousands of Hindu saints, Mahant Swami ji Maharaj and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On Friday, the temple was adorned with vibrant colours for the occasion of Shivratri with thousands of devotees gathering there to celebrate the revered day. The festivities at the temple began with prayers for Lord Shiva and concluded with a 'havan'. Throughout the day, the temple saw a rush of devotees lined up at the gates to get a 'darshan' of the deity. After offering prayers at the temple, many of the devotees said they were left overwhelmed by the grandeur and magnificence of the recently-built BAPS Hindu mandir. Maha Shivratri, an annual Hindu festival, is considered the most sacred day to worship Lord Shiva. On this day, devotees collect water from River Ganga and offer it to the deity. The Investment Promotion Agency Qatar (Invest Qatar) has achieved remarkable engagement with startup companies during Web Summit Qatar 2024, following the recent launch of its pioneering Startup Qatar initiative. Offering a one-stop online platform catering to all business needs, the Startup Qatar platform recorded more than 3,000 visits within six days of its official launch. As part of Startup Qatars special offering during Web Summit Qatar, Qatar Financial Centre facilitated the successful registration of over 100 businesses, signaling strong interest by startups to enter Qatar's dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem. The newly registered startups will benefit from a tax waiver administered in accordance with international standards, in addition to free registration and licence renewal for five years. 150 applications Reinforcing the strong interest to join Qatars startup ecosystem, the Startup Qatar Investment Programme, provided by Qatar Development Bank (QDB), attracted over 150 applications in just the first six days. With a focus on drawing tech startups, to either establish or expand their presence in Qatar, the programme provides funding for both seed and growth-stage companies. The programme is complemented by incentives and support services aligned with the available Startup Qatar-offered privileges and subsidies. In alignment with the Startup Qatar initiative and to enhance the country's startup ecosystem, Qatar Manpower Solutions Co. (Jusour) is set to introduce the Mustaqel programme. This government-backed residency initiative aims to draw entrepreneurs and talents worldwide to Qatar, offering them a unique entrepreneur and talent residency. This scheme provides a five-year residency permit (with an option to renew) to individuals excelling in various industries. Entrepreneurs can secure the Mustaqel residency by presenting an approved business plan or proving they meet the minimum seed funding criteria. Talented professionals, on the other hand, can get this residency with an endorsement from a recognised Qatari authority. Knowledge-based economy Sheikh Ali Alwaleed Al Thani, CEO at Invest Qatar, said: This pioneering collaboration with key national stakeholders highlights the countrys unwavering commitment to advance the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems while supporting Qatars shift toward a knowledge-based economy. Sheikh Jassim bin Mansour bin Jabor Al Thani, Director of the Government Communications Office and Chairman of the Web Summit Qatar 2024 Organising Committee, said: The remarkable engagement from entrepreneurs at Web Summit Qatar 2024 highlights our commitment to nurturing talent. The event crossed many milestones, be it hosting the largest ever startup gathering at a Web Summit debut or attracting more than double the anticipated number of attendees. The biggest tech companies in the world were also present, actively taking part in discussions and forging partnerships over the summits four days, which underscores their confidence in Qatar's significant position as a tech hub on both regional and global stages. He added: With forward-thinking initiative like Startup Qatar, we are attracting visionaries worldwide to launch their dreams here. By providing vital funding, incentives and logistical support, Qatar is becoming a leading destination for tech startups. One-stop online platform Launched ahead of the worlds largest tech events inaugural edition in the region, Startup Qatar is a one-stop online platform catering to all business requirements and serving as the single comprehensive national resource for information, support and opportunities offered to startups. The Startup Qatar pavilion at Web Summit Qatar 2024 connected attendees with key stakeholders in Qatars startup and entrepreneurial ecosystem, including the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Qatar Development Bank, Qatar Financial Centre, Qatar Free Zones, Qatar Science & Technology Park, Media City Qatar, Qatar Manpower Solutions (Jusour), Visit Qatar and Sport Accelerator.--TradeArabia News Service ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 9. Chairman of the Board of KazMunayGas JSC (KMG, Kazakhstan's national company) Magzum Mirzagaliyev, got acquainted with the work of bp Sangachal and Azertrans terminals, which are involved in the transit of Kazakh oil, the KazMunayGas JSC says, Trend reports. During his visit to the Azertrans terminal, Mirzagaliyev met with the crew of the tanker Astana, owned by Kazmortransflot LLP, which had brought a batch of Tengiz oil to Baku for delivery to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. The crew members observed that in the management of technological processes, special attention is paid to labor and environmental safety issues, which aid in the continuous transportation of oil. The head of KMG inquired about the sailors' working conditions and wished them good luck and a safe journey. To note, the tanker Astana transports Tengiz oil along the Aktau-Baku route under the terms of a transit arrangement struck between KazMunaiGas and SOCAR for 1.5 million tons of Kazakh oil through Azerbaijan. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Bikaner, March 9 : The Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud, on Saturday announced the launch of an e-court facility in Bikaner, and said that the lawyers settled here will now be able to practice from the city itself. "The Supreme Court of the country is located on Tilak Marg, Delhi. But it is not the Supreme Court of Tilak Marg, it is the Supreme Court of India. Similarly, the Rajasthan High Court also doesn't belong to Jaipur or Jodhpur alone, it is for the entire Rajasthan. Now, the lawyers in Bikaner will be able to practice and plead in the high court from here itself," the CJI said at a programme organised by the Ministry of Law and Justice at the auditorium of Maharaja Ganga Singh University here. The Chief Justice said that the Government of India has approved a budget of Rs 7,000 crore for the e-court Phase 3 project. The facility of video conferencing will be made available in Bikaner using this fund, he said. The CJI also said that court rulings should be made in the local language in any court of the country. "When I am sitting in Delhi and making a decision for a lawyer or a judge, it may be in a particular language, but if I am making a decision for the common man, it must be in a simple language," he said. The CJI also said that there is a connection between democracy and the Constitution of India. "Understanding the Constitution also develops and nurtures the understanding of democracy. There is a need to convey the messages of the Constitution to every person. The spirit of the Constitution will have to reach every citizen," he said. The Chief Justice also said that Bikaner made a big contribution to the making of the Constitution of India. "One of the 284 members of the Constituent Assembly was Jaswant Singh from Bikaner. Maharaja Ganga Singh of the princely state of Bikaner was selected as the first Chancellor of the Chamber of Princes. The Constitution of India is closely linked to Bikaner," he said. Earlier, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal informed that as the Chancellor of the Chamber of Princes, Maharaja Ganga Singh used to sit at the same place where the Chief Justice sat initially. Thiruvananthapuram, March 9 : BJP state election incharge Prakash Javadekar on Saturday said that the Kerala government was passing the blame for its failures to the Centre. "The Pinarayi Vijayan government is claiming that the Centre has rejected the state's request to allow additional borrowing of Rs 19,000 crore. The facts are that Kerala was allowed to borrow Rs 28,000 crore in 2022-23 and it borrowed that amount. "Kerala was allowed to borrow Rs 32,000 crore in 2023-24. The Centre allowed Kerala 50 per cent more borrowings i.e., Rs 48,000 crore, taking into account its financial crisis, which is a result of the state government's ineptitude," said Javadekar. He further pointed out that the Centre had given Rs 34,000 crore in 2023-24 as grants and devolution. "Borrowing limits are decided as per the formula of the Finance Commission which is applicable to all states. The PM Narendra Modi government went out of the way to help Kerala. Instead of thanking the Centre, the state government is blaming it just to hide its failures," added the MP. At present, the Supreme Court is hearing the case filed by the Kerala government that the Centre has violated all the principles of federalism and has put a clamp on borrowings, leaving the state in dire straits. New Delhi, March 9 : Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested former DMK functionary Jaffer Sadiq in connection with the smuggling of drugs valued at Rs 2,000 crore. The NCB said that it apprehended the drug "baron" on Saturday. Sadiq, a former office bearer of the NRI cell of DMK, had also produced films and has been on the run for the past few days after the NCB arrested a few of his aides a week before. The racket was busted after New Zealand and Australian authorities informed Indian agencies that drugs concealed in food products were being smuggled to their countries. Sadiq was sacked from the DMK amid reports of his links with the international drug cartel. Deputy Director General, NCB, Gyaneshwar Singh said that after developing specific intelligence, they arrested Sadiq, the kingpin of the drug trafficking network busted by NCB in February 2024. Sadiq was absconding and had been on the run since February 15 when NCB had seized 50.070kg of Pseudoephedrine from the godown of a firm named Aventa Company and arrested three accomplices of Sadiq. "NCB had mounted intense efforts to track down Sadiq after he had gone absconding. We were able to track him down and he was arrested in Delhi," said Singh. According to NCB, Sadiq spearheaded a network which sourced Pseudoephedrine in India and trafficked it to Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia in the guise of food-grade cargo. "It is believed that the drug syndicate operated by him has sent 45 consignments over the past three years to various countries, containing approximately 3,500 kilograms of pseudoephedrine," said Singh. Sadiq has also revealed that he has earned a huge amount of money from his illicit drug trafficking operations and has invested the same in legitimate businesses in industries like film, construction, hospitality etc. "His financial linkages to drug trafficking are under investigation to identify his sources of funds and the beneficiaries of proceeds of drugs. The investigations are still underway, and more details will be revealed soon," said Singh. Pseudoephedrine is a precursor chemical that is used in the manufacture of Methamphetamine, a dangerous and highly addictive synthetic drug. Even though it has some legal uses, it is classified as a controlled substance in India, bringing strict regulation on its production, possession, trade, export and use. Illegal possession and trade is punishable up to 10 years of imprisonment under the NDPS Act, of 1985. Amaravati, March 9 : The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Jana Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will together contest the upcoming Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh. A few hours after holding another round of talks with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Jana Sena leader Pawan Kalyan, TDP President N. Chandrababu Naidu conveyed to party leaders during a tele-conference from New Delhi that TDP will be contesting the elections in alliance with Jana Sena and BJP. The former chief minister told the TDP leaders that during last five years the YSR Congress government made the state bankrupt and to come out of this situation, the state needs Centre's support. Naidu explained that keeping the state's interests in mind, the TDP decided to have seat-sharing with the Jana Sena and BJP. The TDP chief said the leaders who may be denied tickets should not get disappointed. He also revealed that there is clarity on seat-sharing but the seats will be decided after another round of talks. The TDP and Jana Sena had last month announced their seat-sharing agreement. The TDP has left 24 out of 175 Assembly and three out of 25 Lok Sabha seats for Jana Sena. The TDP has also announced its first list of 94 candidates while Jana Sena released the list of five candidates. At Saturday's meeting, the TDP reportedly agreed to give a total of eight Lok Sabha seats and 30 Assembly seats to Jana Sena and BJP. Meanwhile, TDP leader Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar said three parties decided to contest together. He said seats will be decided on the basis of strengths of the parties. He told reporters that TDP is joining NDA in peopleas interest. "This alliance is for stateas future and not for power. The alliance is aimed to save the state," he said. Ravindra Kumar said they want to ensure that anti-government votes do not split. He said those denied tickets will be provided other opportunities Earlier, Chandrababu and Pawan Kalyan had nearly an hour-long talks with Amit Shah. Naidu and Pawan Kalyan, who are camping in the national capital for a third day, held talks with Amit Shah at his residence. This was their second meeting since March 7. The BJP invited the TDP to join the NDA. The TDP, which had severed ties with the NDA in 2018, is likely to attend a meeting of the NDA soon. Jana Sena, which is part of BJP-led NDA, announced alliance with the TDP in September last year. Chandrababu Naidu had met Amit Shah and BJP President J. P. Nadda in Delhi on February 7 to discuss the alliance. TDP, which had snapped ties with the BJP in 2018, evinced interest in reviving the alliance after suffering crushing defeat in 2019 elections. However, the BJP had been cold to Naiduas overtures as the Jagan government in the state had maintained friendly ties with the Modi government at the Centre and extended support to it in the Parliament in passing several key bills. Thousands of Bhutanese nationals gather at Zemithang in Arunachal for Gorsam Kora Festival. Image Source: IANS News Kolkata/Itanagar, March 9 : Thousands of Bhutanese nationals, including Buddhist monks, are currently in the picturesque Zemithang in Arunachal Pradesh, to be part of the annual Gorsam Kora Festival. The festival that began on March 7 will continue till March 10. Zemithang, the last administrative division of India in Arunachal Pradesh, shares its western border with Bhutan. At the same time, it is located close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. The festival is held around the Gorsam Chorten Stupa dating back to the 12th century, and is older than the Tawang monastery. Apart from the civil administration, the Indian Army's Gajraj Corps is instrumental in organising the festival. The Army has been holding several events for both pilgrims and casual visitors -- both from India and Bhutan -- over the last three days. The Gajraj Corps, calls this 'Celebrating Shared Cultural Heritages'. The focal point is Himalayan Buddhism which is close to the hearts of the people from both sides of the border. "Though the festival has been going on for years, its importance has grown recently, owing to efforts by China to build stronger ties with Bhutan. The area is of strategic importance as it is a sort of tri-junction between India, Bhutan, and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Such events help bolster age-old ties between the people of Bhutan and India," a senior administrative official of Tawang said. Incidentally, it was at Zemithang that the 14th Dalai Lama took his first rest on his way from Tibet to India in 1959. While he was there, he planted a sapling at Khinzemane. Today, the sapling is a large tree and is considered holy by pilgrims who pray there. The 93-feet-high Gorsam Chorten Stupa is modelled after the Boudhanath Khasti Stupa of Nepal. During the festival, the devotees observe the auspicious occasion of the last day of the first month of the lunar calendar, the official said. Jaipur, March 9 : The name of Jaichand, a historical figure often referred to as a 'traitor', is now being used frequently by the senior politicians in Rajasthan, both in the backdrop of the Assembly elections held in November last year, and in the run-up to the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Jaichand (1173-1193) was a ruler of the Kannauj kingdom in northern India. He is often called a traitor in Indian history because of his alleged role in the defeat of Prithviraj Chauhan, the Rajput king of Ajmer. Soon after the Assembly polls, BJP's former leader of the opposition Rajendra Rathore blamed the 'Jaichands' within the party as the reason for his defeat from Tara Nagar, where he had lost to sitting Congress MLA Narendra Budania. Rathore had shifted his seat from Churu to Tara Nagar ahead of the Assembly polls. Now, the BJP MP from Churu, Rahul Kaswan, has again referred to Jaichand after being denied a ticket from the seat, which will be contested by Paralympian Devendra Jhajharia this time. On Friday, Kaswan reached his hometown for the first time after being denied a ticket, where he indirectly targeteted Rajendra Rathore while addressing his supporters. Kaswan said, "Those who live among Jaichands, also talk about Jaichands. Can any single person decide who should live and who should die? We will decide our future ourselves." On being denied a ticket, Kaswan said, "I have been asking the same question for the past six days - what was my fault? But the people in the party are not taking my calls, and even if they do, they remain silent." The MP added: "Give me two days. I will try to tell you whatever you want to hear," hinting at some announcement that he might make in the next few days. On the question of joining the Congress, Kaswan said: "I had already said that I will not contact anyone without talking to the people. I have spoken to the people now. My next step will be based on this conversation. I have worked with passion in my constituency since 2010." Three months back, Rajendra Rathore had blamed the 'Jaichands' for his defeat in the Assembly elections. While talking to the media in Churu, Rathore had indirectly accused Kaswan of causing internal damage to the party's prospects. Rathore had said: "While the public's verdict is acceptable, many Jaichands also played their role. Many put up a good face, but have a negative mindset within. The party workers are eager to pull the mask off such faces." Manish Godha, a political analyst, said, "Rahul Kaswan is a Vasundhara Raje loyalist, which is a well-known fact; now that he has been denied a ticket, and with Rajendra Rathore already losing the Assembly polls, eyebrows are being raised about the repeated references to Jaichand. Maybe, things will clear in the coming days." Not even given a chance to speak in Delhi assembly: BJP MLA. Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, March 9 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Rohini, Vijender Gupta, on Saturday accused the Delhi government of not giving a chance to the opposition to raise even a single question throughout the ongoing budget session. Hitting hard at AAP-led Delhi Government, Gupta said that the government is afraid of questions over the corruption, committed by Arvind Kejriwal. "Opposition members have been kept out of the assembly for almost 20 days now. Orders are brought from the court and then Article 280 is used to silence opposition leaders. Opposition is not even given a chance to speak in the assembly," Gupta claimed. He said that during the ongoing budget discussions, not a single opposition member was allowed to participate. He said it's unheard of that a budget of 80 thousand crores is being presented, and opposition members are not even allowed the right to speak. "The Delhi government is afraid that if opposition members speak, the veil of corruption surrounding the Kejriwal government will be lifted," he said. Regional Passport Office, Madurai honours woman who donated Rs 7 cr land to school; issues her passport in a day. Image Source: IANS News Chennai, March 9 : The Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, honoured Pooranam Ammal alias U Aayi Ammal, who had recently donated her land for the upgradation of a government school, by issuing her a fresh passport in one day. Pooranam Ammal had donated 1.52 acres of land worth Rs 7 crore for the upgradation of Madurai East Panchayat Union Government School and also donated land to the education department. The RPO office had organised a programme to mark International Womenas Day on March 8, and had invited Pooranam Ammal as the chief guest. Passport Officer, Vasanthan B and other officials felicitated her for donating such a large parcel of land for the construction of additional buildings for a school to convert it into a high school. Vasanthan B, in his speech also said that her act was a great motivation for others to also donate for philanthropic causes. The Regional Passport officials said they would honour her by providing a passport in a day and on Saturday a new passport was handed over to her after she had filled up her application form on Friday. The philanthropist had donated the land in memory of her daughter, Janani. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, MK Stalin, had honoured her during Republic Day celebrations for her noble act. a"IANS aal/rad 71st Miss World: From 2nd runner-up to judge, life comes full circle for Pooja. Image Source: IANS News Mumbai, March 9 : The Red Carpet of Miss World 2024, actress Pooja Hegde, who was last seen in the Salman Khan-starrer 'Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan', arrived at the Red Carpet of Miss World 2024 in the BKC area of Mumbai on Saturday. The actress was dressed in a shimmery magenta coloured gown with sheer sleeves and matching stilletos for the event. She left her tresses open and wavy. The actress will judge the finale of the competition. The actress also interacted with the paparazzi briefly at the event. She said, "I feel that life has come full circle because I was a runner-up at the pageant but today I'm judging the pageant. My best wishes to the participants and whoever wins the competition but if someone doesn't win, it's not like their story is over. It's your story and you decide what happens in your story. Continue to work hard and be dedicated and set your goals and wait for it. Believe in yourself and it'll all work out. I hope my story inspires all the girls out there". Meanwhile, on the work front, the actress has 'Deva' and 'Sanki' in the pipeline. Miss World 2024 will be held at the Jio Convention Centre in the BKC area of Mumbai on Saturday from 8:00 pm. This time around the beauty pageant is returning to India after 28 years. The event will be hosted by Bollywood multi-hyphenate Karan Johar and the Winner of Miss World 2023 Megan Young. Mumbai-born Sini Shetty, who has her roots in Karnataka, is representing India at the beauty pageant. The competition will witness participants from across 140 countries. It's a culmination of the 'Beauty with a Purpose' segment, where Miss World 2023 Karolina Bielawska of Poland will crown her successor. Bengaluru, March 9 : Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister, DK Shivakumar, on Saturday said that he was open to accepting suggestions from the Opposition if they were constructive. Speaking to reporters at his residence, DY CM Shivakumar said, "The Opposition parties don't seem to know anything other than criticism. If they give any constructive suggestions, we are certainly open to considering them. For the first time in the history of the state, we have taken on the water mafia by taking over private water tankers." "About 50 per cent of the bore wells in the city have dried up. We have decided to take over thousands of private water tankers to supply water from sources outside the city. We have left the pricing to officials as factors like distance travelled determine costs. Unused milk tankers will be used to ferry water," he said. "The media is raising an alarm. It's a crisis indeed when large numbers of bore wells have dried up. We have taken steps to address this. The public must not use water wastefully for washing cars etc. It is important that people understand the value of water. This is the reason why we are proposing the Mekedatu project," DY CM Shivakumar said. Asked why the government was not able to get water while private water tankers were managing large supplies, he said, "Private water tankers supply water from private bore wells while government supplies from drinking water units." Asked why a nodal officer had been appointed for Bengaluru Rural constituency and not for others, DY CM Shivakumar said, "Wards under Bengaluru Rural constituency depend on bore wells for water." Earlier, Karnataka Leader of Opposition (LoP), R Ashoka, said on Saturday that Bengaluru's water crisis had hit the city's image at the global level and blamed the government for creating the shortage by releasing water to Tamil Nadu from Karnataka reservoirs. Speaking to reporters at an event, LoP Ashoka stated, "An American channel has broadcast news asking people not to visit Bengaluru city. Without placing effective arguments before the authorities, the Congress government has released water to Tamil Nadu from Karnataka reservoirs. "The BJP will stage a protest demanding supply of water to people of Bengaluru on Monday (March 11) at Freedom Park. If our demands are not met, we will take a call on the future course of action." Asked about Congress declaring a list of candidates ahead of the BJP, Dy CM Shivakumar said, "It is sad to see the state of politics today. Former CM, BS Yediyurappa, former minister, CP Yogeshwar and BJP MLA, Munirathna, were the people who toppled Kumaraswamy's Congress-JD-S coalition government but now they are embracing each other. Ideology is important, how will Kumaraswamy show his face to the people?" Asked about BJP recommending Yaduveer's name along with sitting MP Prathap Simha, he said, "Let them recommend anyone. We are going to fight our elections on ideology and principles." Subscription to paid content Gain access to all that Trend has to offer, as well as to premium, licensed content via subscription or direct purchase through a credit card. Nagpur, March 9 : A 60-year-old woman was killed while at least five others were injured in a stampede during a political programme organised here on Saturday, officials said. The incident took place after a huge crowd had gathered to collect household articles that were being distributed to the construction labourers at the S.B. Auditorium in the Reshimbagh area of the city. There was a rush of people to pick up the kits when one woman, identified as Manubai Tulsiram Rajput (60), lost her balance and fell, as some others also fell beside her. She suffered serious injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead on admission. The other injured women are undergoing treatment. The police have launched an investigation into the matter. Gorkhaland crisis on the verge of getting solved, PM Modi says in Siliguri. Image Source: IANS News Kolkata, March 9 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Gorkhaland crisis in the hills of West Bengal is on the verge of being solved, adding he needs the support of the people to move towards the solution. "Just as Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir was abolished, similarly, there will be a solution to the crisis related to the Gorkhaland matter in the northern part of West Bengal. Just as Ram Temple was established in Ayodhya after years of struggle and movements, similarly, the Gorkhaland-related crisis will also be solved," PM Modi said while addressing a public rally at Siliguri in West Bengal's Darjeeling district. He also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has always been concerned about the grievances of the Gorkha community. "The BJP is always serious about addressing your concerns. The party will continue with its efforts to fulfill your dreams. We have a clear roadmap on how to achieve the development of the northern part of West Bengal. We are trying to promote tea, tourism, and timber sectors in the region," the Prime Minister said while addressing the rally. The Prime Minister also accused the ruling Trinamool Congress in the state of neglecting key issues in West Bengal's northern region over the years. "Besides Trinamool Congress, its partners in the INDIA bloc have too neglected the concerns of the people of the northern part of West Bengal," PM Modi said. The Prime Minister also said that whenever he visits the northern part of West Bengal, he visualises a 'mini-India' in the region. "I have been here before also. The diverse culture that I can see here is really quite rare," PM Modi said. Ahead of the Prime Minister's speech, former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay who joined the BJP this week after resigning from judicial services, also addressed the audience. "I don't even want to take the name of the party that is the current ruling party in West Bengal. That party is totally controlled by anti-social elements. The rampant corruption in the system came to my notice as an erstwhile judge. While eligible candidates were deprived of teaching jobs, those who scored less marks were appointed against money. The entire education system in the state is collapsing because of this rampant corruption. Thereafter, rampant corruption in the ration distribution system surfaced," Gangopadhyay said. Patna, March 9 : Union Home Minister (HM), Amit Shah, said on Saturday that the double engine government of Bihar would hang the land mafia upside down for grabbing the land of poor people in the state. While addressing a massive rally in Patna's Paliganj area, HM Shah said, "When Lalu Prasad Yadav was the CM of Bihar, he was involved in the fodder scam and as the Railway Minister he was involved in the land-for-job scam. But now no one would be allowed to grab the land of the poor and the double engine government of Bihar will hang the land mafia upside down." He said that the Bihar government would form a committee to investigate the land grabbing cases and put the mafia behind bars soon. "Lalu Prasad Yadav has only one ambition in politics and that is to provide benefits to his family. He wants to make his son the CM of Bihar while Sonia Gandhi wants to make her son PM of the country. What good would such people do for the poor and Backward Classes," Shah said. HM Shah added that the Congress party had always objected to reservation for the Backward Classes. "Late PM Indira Gandhi had not allowed the implementation of the Mandal Commission report in the country. When the proposal for the Mandal Commission came in the Parliament, Rajiv Gandhi had given a two-hour-long speech against it. Now, the Congress and RJD are saying that they are the well-wishers of the Backward Classes. It was the BJP which had supported the Mandal Commission report in the Parliament," he said. HM Shah also said that only PM Narendra Modi had given benefits to the Backward Classes, the Extremely Backward Classes and the poor people of the country through the Ayushman card, Vishwakarma Yojana and by providing free food grain. He added that only PM Modi and the BJP could make the country prosperous. "The BJP has made the commitment to remove poverty from the country and hence PM Modi should get a chance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections," he said. "The RJD and the Congress are habitual scamsters. During the RJD's tenure there was the fodder scam, uniform scam, scholarship scam, pipe scam, sand scam and land-for-job scam. "During the Congress' tenure there was the coal scam, 2G scam, the commonwealth scam and so on. "On the other hand there are no allegations of scam against PM Modi despite being in power as a CM and PM for so many years," he said. HM Shah said that PM Modi removed Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir and made it an integral part of the country while the Congress allowed it. PM Modi did the 'Pran Pratishtha' of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya and Lalu Prasad Yadav had stopped the Ram Rath Yatra and arrested LK Advani, he reminded. Kolkata, March 9 : Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will set the tone for her party's campaign roadmap for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections at a mega rally of the party to be held at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata on Sunday. Trinamool insiders said that there is also a possibility that the Chief Minister might drop hints about the probable list of party candidates for the elections. Apart from Banerjee, the party's national General Secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee will also address the rally, among others. "We expect the Chief Minister to outline a specific campaign roadmap on issues such as non-payment of Central dues to the state government under various Centrally-sponsored schemes, besides updating the people about the different welfare schemes introduced by her government. "We are also expecting her to give specific guidelines to counter the negative propaganda of the opposition on different issues," said a senior member of the state Cabinet. The Chief Minister is also expected to reply to the different accusations made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the state government and the Trinamool Congress at the three successive rallies he held in the state, the last being in Siliguri on Saturday. On Saturday afternoon, Abhishek Banerjee inspected the rally venue to oversee the arrangements. On why the rally has been christened as 'Janagarjan Sabha', the state Cabinet member said the mega event will mark the beginning of public outcry against the 'misrule' of the BJP in the country. Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition in the state Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, said, "The 'Janagarjan Sabha' will mark the beginning of the total wipeout of the Trinamool Congress from West Bengal. The Trinamool too has realised that the party is losing public confidence, and hence it is trying to keep itself afloat through such gimmicks." 71st Miss World: 'I feel like the King of the World', declares KJo. Image Source: IANS News Mumbai, March 9 : Bollywood producer-director Karan Johar, who is hosting the finale of Miss World 2024 in the BKC area of Mumbai, has said that hosting the event makes him feel like the "king of the world". The Dharma head-honcho graced the stage and opened the event along with fellow host Megan Young, the winner of 2013 Miss World. Addressing 112 participants and the guests at the event, KJo took a leaf from the dialogue of the Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet-starrer 'Titanic' in which the actor says, "I feel like the king of the world", KJo said being in the company of beauty pageant contenders at the world stage, he truly feels like the 'King of the World", and that he is only "a mere mortal" among the ladies at the event. For the event, KJo donned a black tuxedo with shimmery shoulders and black pants. This time around the beauty pageant is returning to India after 28 years. Mumbai-born Sini Shetty, who has her roots in Karnataka, is representing India at the beauty pageant. The event is being held at the Jio World Convention Centre in the BKC area of Mumbai. The competition will have 112 participants. Miss World 2023 Karolina Bielawska of Poland will crown her successor at the finale in Mumbai on Saturday. Two out of three AAP councillors rejoin party in Chandigarh. Image Source: IANS News Chandigarh, March 9 : In a major development in the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh and for the INDIA Bloc days ahead of the implementation of the mode code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections, two out of the three AAP councillors -- Neha Musawat and Poonam Kumari -- who had switched loyalties last month, did a 'Ghar Wapsi' by rejoining the AAP on Saturday. "Two AAP councillors -- Neha Musawat (Ward No. 19) and Poonam Kumari (Ward No. 16) -- have rejoined the Aam Aadmi Party under the leadership of @RajbirGhumanAAP, OSD to Punjab CM and S.S. Ahluwalia, Sah-Prabhari, AAP Chandigarh," Punjab AAP announced on X, adding, "Warm welcome to both the councillors on their 'Ghar Wapsi'." This development is significant, coming just two days ahead of the polls to the crucial five-member finance and contract committee (F&CC) of the Municipal Corporation scheduled on March 11. Both the AAP and the Congress are part of the INDIA Bloc in Chandigarh. Political observers said with the strengthening of the House, the Corporation can implement its poll promise of supplying 20,000 litres of free water to each household in Chandigarh every month, on the pattern of Delhi, and the charges will be levied after the fixed quantity. Chandigarh is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana. After the General House, the F&CC is the second-most powerful committee, holding the power to approve projects and developmental works worth Rs 50 lakh. Projects costing more than Rs 50 lakh are discussed and approved by the House. Now, the BJP has 15 councillors in the House of 35, while AAP has 12, and the Congress seven. The Shiromani Akali Dal has one councillor. Chandigarh's BJP MP Kirron Kher also has voting rights as an ex-officio member of the Corporation. The BJP's Kuljit Singh Sandhu and Rajinder Sharma had on March 4 won the posts of Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor, respectively, by defeating INDIA bloc candidates Gurpreet Singh Gabi and Nirmala Devi in the re-elections. The results were announced by the INDIA bloc's Mayor, Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor, who was the presiding authority for the polls. Bengaluru, March 9 : Union IT and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday commissioned the India Validation Centre (IVC) at semiconductor company Applied Materials India here, which will enable early pilots, talent and capability development for the upcoming India Collaborative Engineering Centre. The centre will add new capabilities to enable end-to-end design, characterisation and qualification of semiconductor equipment. US-based Applied Materials also demonstrated the capability to process 300 mm wafers at IVC, a first for the private industry in the country. "Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India's semiconductor ecosystem has achieved significant growth over the past few years," the minister said. "The India Validation Centre is a testament to the dedication and effectiveness of our approach to build India's resiliency in chip manufacturing, and Applied Materials has been a trusted partner in enabling the Indian semiconductor dream," he added. Following PM Modi's meeting with Gary E. Dickerson, President and CEO of Applied Materials, during his visit to the US last year, the company announced plans to build a collaborative engineering centre in Bengaluru with an investment of $400 million spanning over four years. According to Ashwini Vaishnaw, this centre "will further help develop manufacturing capabilities in the sector and exemplify the trust that global companies have placed in India". Prabu Raja, President of the Semiconductor Products Group at Applied Materials, said, "We will continue to develop our capabilities in India to support our customers and work with supply chain partners to strengthen the local ecosystem and help India's semiconductor industry succeed." Applied Materials, the leader in materials engineering solutions, used to produce virtually every new chip and advanced display in the world. Varanasi, March 9 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday arrived in Varanasi where he held a roadshow. The Prime Minister was received at his Parliamentary constituency -- from where he is set to contest the Lok Sabha polls for the third time in a row -- by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and state BJP chief Bhupendra Singh Choudhary. PM Modi was accorded a grand welcome by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers as his convoy passed through the Babatpur area towards Varanasi. A lot of excitement was noticed among the public over the Prime Minister's visit to Varanasi. The BJP workers raised slogans of 'Har Har Mahadev' while chants of 'Modi Modi' were also heard. People were seen holding posters displaying PM Modi's photographs. The women sang songs like 'Jo Ram Ko Laaye Hai, Hum Unko Laayenge' {We will bring the one (to power) who brought Lord Ram}, referring to the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Accompanied by CM Adityanath, the Prime Minister also offered prayers at the famed Kashi Vishwanath temple here. Amaravati, March 9 : Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu said on Saturday that he is pleased to rejoin the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The former Andhra Pradesh chief minister posted on 'X' that the tie-up between the BJP, TDP and the JSP is not just an alliance but a partnership between three stakeholders committed to serving Andhra Pradesh and the country. He stated that together with JSP leader Pawan Kalyan, he is looking forward to working with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J.P. Nadda to form a people's government in Andhra Pradesh and usher in a new era of development. "The Telugu Desam Party is committed to the development of Andhra Pradesh and the welfare of the Telugu people. The alliance between BJP, TDP and JSP isn't just an alliance, but a partnership between three stakeholders committed to serving Andhra Pradesh and the country. I'm confident that the people of Andhra Pradesh will bless this alliance with a historic mandate to serve them. Together, we shall herald a golden era of growth and prosperity for our state," Chandrababu Naidu posted on X. Naidu was reacting to Nadda's post on 'X' welcoming the decision of Naidu and Pawan Kalyan to join the NDA family. The BJP president stated that under the dynamic and visionary leadership of PM Modi, BJP, TDP and JSP are committed to the progress of the country and the upliftment of the state and people of Andhra Pradesh. The TDP, which had severed ties with NDA in 2018, decided to return to NDA after another round of talks with Amit Shah in Delhi on Saturday along with Pawan Kalyan. Jana Sena, which had campaigned for TDP-BJP combine in 2014, later distanced itself from both parties. TDP, which had contested the 2019 elections on its own, lost power to the YSR Congress. Jana Sena, which had an alliance with the BSP and the Left parties in 2019 but could win just one Assembly seat, returned to the BJP-led NDA in 2020. --IANS ms/pgh Mumbai, March 9 : Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha, who graced the Miss World 2024 grand finale in Mumbai on Saturday, remembered how her mother, Poonam Sinha, had participated in Miss India, but she did not make it to the top three positions. Sonakshi was speaking with show host Karan Johar at the event. She gave a shoutout to her mom from the stage as she narrated Poonam Sinha's story and said, "Look Maa, I am at the Miss World stage!" The actress will soon be seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's web series, 'Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar'. Meanwhile, India has secured a place in the Top 8 of the beauty pageant. Miss India Sini Shetty, a product marketing executive from Mumbai, is competing with participants from seven countries. The other countries still in contention for the coveted Miss World 2024 title are Botswana, Brazil, Czech Republic, England, Lebanon, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uganda. Producer-director Karan Johar is hosting the event along with the winner of Miss World 2013, Megan Young. The finale of the beauty pageant will see Miss World 2023 Karolina Bielawska of Poland crowning her successor. BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, March 9. Kyrgyzstan exported 8,113 tons of oil products to China in 2023, down 48.1 percent from 13,930 tons exported in 2022, Trend reports. Data from Kyrgyzstan's State Statistical Committee reveals that the value of these exports amounted to $8.554 million, a 39.6 percent decrease compared to $14.155 million in 2022. China ranked third among the countries importing oil products from Kyrgyzstan in 2023, with Turkiye occupying the top spot, importing 87,204 tons valued at $56.525 million. Uzbekistan followed Turkiye, purchasing 67,269 tons of oil products from Kyrgyzstan, valued at $18.261 million. Overall, Kyrgyzstan exported 188,160 tons of oil products in 2023, which is an 11.3 percent decrease from the 212,250 tons exported in 2022. The total value of these exports amounted to $108.516 million, declining by 24.6 percent compared to the $143.997 million recorded in 2022. Kyrgyzstan's foreign trade turnover was $15.660 billion in 2023, up 29.9 percent from $12.057 billion in 2022. Exports reached $3.308 billion, up 46.8 percent year on year ($2.254 billion in 2022). Kyrgyzstan's imports hit $12.352 billion, up 26 percent from $9.803 billion in 2022. Mumbai, March 9 : India's hopes of winning the coveted Miss World 2024 title came crashing after Miss India Sini Shetty failed to make it to the Top 4 of the beauty pageant, here on Saturday. Sini was asked about the role of social media in the empowerment of women across the globe, and it seems like the judges' panel wasn't too impressed with her answer. She said that social media has the power to change the world, adding that it has led to increasing participation of women in different fields. She also said that social media has the power to place the world on a progressive path. India eventually lost to Yasmina Zaytoun of Lebanon in the Asia and Oceania category. The top four countries still in contention for the title are Trinidad and Tobago, Botswana, the Czech Republic, and Lebanon. Producer-director Karan Johar is hosting the event along with the winner of Miss World 2013, Megan Young. The event is being held at the Jio Convention Centre in the BKC area here. The mega event is being hosted by India after a gap of 28 years. The finale of the beauty pageant will see Miss World 2023 Karolina Bielawska of Poland crowning her successor. Bikaner, March 9 : The Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud, on Saturday called for the need to maintain equality and the spirit of brotherhood in the country while respecting each other. Addressing the programme 'Hamara Sanvidhan, Hamara Samman', which was organised here under the aegis of the Ministry of Law, the CJI said the spirit of brotherhood is very important to maintain equality in the country. "According to the spirit of the Constitution, we all should respect each other. How will the country progress if people fight among themselves," CJI Chandrachud questioned. The Chief Justice also said that the framers of the Constitution accorded the highest place to human dignity. "Baba Saheb Ambedkar had ensured that the values of justice, liberty, and equality, along with the spirit of fraternity and dignity of the individual, are upheld in the Constitution," he said. In the programme organised at the auditorium of Maharaja Ganga Singh University here, the CJI also said that there is a connection between democracy and the Constitution of India. "Understanding the Constitution also develops and nurtures the understanding of democracy. There is a need to convey the messages of the Constitution to every person. The spirit of the Constitution will have to reach every citizen," he said. The CJI also said that rulings should be made in the local language in any court of the country. "When I am sitting in Delhi and making a decision for a lawyer or a judge, it may be in a particular language, but if I am making a decision for the common man, it must be made in a simple language," he said. The Chief Justice also announced the launch of an e-court facility in Bikaner, saying that the lawyers settled here will now be able to practice from the city itself. "The Supreme Court of the country is located on Tilak Marg, Delhi. But it is not the Supreme Court of Tilak Marg, it is the Supreme Court of India. Similarly, the Rajasthan High Court also doesn't belong to Jaipur or Jodhpur alone; rather, it is for the entire Rajasthan. "Now, the lawyers in Bikaner will be able to practice and plead in the high court from here itself," the CJI said. Talking further about the Indian Constitution, the CJI said, "Many social and political movements contributed to the making of the Constitution. The Constitution was drafted keeping all the classes in mind. It is not just a document for the lawyers," he said, adding that Bikaner had also made a big contribution to the making of the Constitution. "One of the 284 members of the Constituent Assembly was Jaswant Singh from Bikaner. Maharaja Ganga Singh of the princely state of Bikaner was selected as the first Chancellor of the Chamber of Princes. The Constitution of India is closely linked to Bikaner," he said. Earlier, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal informed that as the Chancellor of the Chamber of Princes, Maharaja Ganga Singh used to sit at the same place where the Chief Justice of the country sat initially. Bengaluru, March 10 : An incident of unidentified persons threatening to blow up the 101-year-old Sri Ram Mandir at Nippani town in Belagavi district came to light on Saturday, prompting the authorities to be on high alert in the backdrop of the recent blast at a Bengaluru cafe. According to the police, the temple management received two letters on February 7 and 28, which threatened to blow up the century-old temple by March 20-21. The first letter was found in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, while the second was found inside the Hanuman temple located on the premises of the Sri Ram Mandir. The letters were written in Hindi with the headline aAllahu Akbara, the police said. Following the incident, 14 CCTV cameras were installed on the temple premises. A platoon of the District Armed Reserve (DAR) has also been deployed near the temple. Reacting to the development, Minister for Muzarai, Ramalinga Reddy, said on Saturday that he would give directions to the concerned authorities to step up the security at all the temples of the state. On the bomb threat to the Sri Ram Mandir, Minister Reddy said the police will take necessary action in the matter. Chennai, March 10 : The Crime Branch-CID of Tamil Nadu has constituted a special team to trace former Tamil Nadu DGP, Rajesh Das, who is missing. Das was convicted by the Villupuram District Court in a case related to sexual harassment of a woman police officer, and was handed three years' imprisonment. The District Court had directed the police to constitite a special team and to arrest Rajesh Das, who was sentenced for three years. The former DGP was avoiding arrest for the past one month and was not traceable in the addresses which he had given earlier. On June 16, 2023, he was sentenced by Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Villupuram, for three years in a case related to harassment of a woman police officer in the rank of a Superintendent of Police. Das moved the Villupuram District Court followed by the Madras High Court stating that he won't get a fair trial. The Madras High Court dismissed the appeal on January 9 this year. The former DGP moved the Supreme Court but it also rejected the Special Leave Petition moved by Das. Congress to contest on 9 Lok Sabha seats in TN, seats to be discussed later. Image Source: IANS News Chennai, March 10 : The Congress on Saturday finalised its seat-sharing alliance with the DMK in Tamil Nadu, with the former contesting on nine seats from the state and one lone seat from the Union Terrritory of Puducherry. However, the seats which the Congress would contest are still not finalised. The possibility of the party being allocated three new seats is high. Other than the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) President Selvaperunthagai, AICC General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal and senior Congress leader Mukul Wasnik were present during the discusions held at DMK headquarters, Anna Arivalayam. DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin was also present in the meeting. Venugopal while speaking to mediapersons said, "The INDIA bloc alliance will win all the seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry." "Tamil Nadu will set the agenda and model for the country and divisive forces will fail here," he added. The DMK has already formed its coalition allocating two seats each to the CPI-M, CPI and VCK as well as one seat each to Indian Union Muslim League and the Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi (KMDK). It's that time of year again: federal budget crunch time. And the American Library Association is once again asking library supporters to get involved. In its latest continuing resolution, congress set a March 22 deadline to approve a new FY2024 budget and keep the federal government open, the fourth stopgap enacted since FY2024 began last October. Now, library leaders are rallying supporters to contact their representatives in support of funding for libraries. Federal funding for libraries is modest, but vital to libraries across the nation. For FY2024, library advocates have asked Congress to keep spending at least at FY2023 levels. In FY2023, Congress approved $211 million in LSTA funding (the Library Services and Technology Act, which makes up the bulk of federal library support) and $30 million for IAL (Innovative Approaches to Literacy, which is administered by the Department of Education). Supporters can learn more about support via the ALA's #FundLibraries campaign. Meanwhile, even though the FY2024 budget situation is still in limbo, the FY2025 budget process is already about to get started, and ALA and library advocates from across the country were in Washington D.C. yesterday to remind lawmakers of the importance of funding libraries. In addition, ALA is urging advocates and library supporters to be vocal, and to tell Congress what their library has achieved for their community. President Biden's full budget proposal for FY2025 will be released in the coming weeks. Library advocates can sign up for news and action opportunities to support library funding from ALA's advocacy team here, or follow along at LibraryPolicy. PEN America has shared some more good news from the courts in 2024: the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals this week upheld an injunction blocking key provisions of Florida governor Ron DeSantis's controversial Stop WOKE Act. "Under Floridas proposed standard, a government could ban riding on a parade float if it did not agree with the message on the banner. The government could ban pulling chairs into a circle for book clubs discussing disfavored books. And so on. The First Amendment is not so easily neutered, the 11th Circuit ruled. "No matter how controversial the ideas, allowing the government to set the terms of the debate is poison, not antidote. PEN officials said the decision comes at a critical time, as Florida lawmakers "are contemplating yet another educational censorship bill" that includes similar provisions as the Stop WOKE Act but in regards to educator preparation programs." Right on time, EveryLibrary this week released a new EveryLibrary Institute "working draft" report titled "Divisive Politics and Threats to Academic Libraries." The draft is open for comment and engagement through April 18. "The academic library sector is approaching a critical moment when the attacks on public and school libraries are reaching campuses nationwide and states are radically changing the structure of higher ed by eliminating DEI at colleges and universities," the report opens. "As we look ahead to critical policy debates like the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, it is essential that library professionals not only react to changes but also anticipate and shape them." Over at Book Riot, Kelly Jensen leads off her weekly censorship news roundup with an incisive take on censorship in higher education. "Texas outlawed DEI programs at all public universities, as did several other states," she writes. "In Florida, the dismantling of higher education has an incubator program at New College. Last year, the states governor implemented new leadership at the public liberal arts school, which included installing completely unqualified political agitators to the institutions advisory board. Students and faculty reported on the chaos happening in the school to begin the 2023-24 academic year, and even more recently, the institution saw sanctions leveraged against it by the American Association of University Professors for standards violations. Only 12 other institutions have ever been given these sanctions over the last 30 years." To take books away from these neighborhoods, where they are essentially the neighborhood library, it doesnt make sense. The Guardian has a report on what's going on in the city of Houston in the wake of a controversial plan to take over certain schools and repurpose the library space. "Brandie Dowda worked as the librarian at Burrus elementary school in Houston when she was informed last summer that she would be losing her position as the school changed to an NES school, which meant the library would be converted into a disciplinary center for students," the report notes. To take books away from these neighborhoods, where they are essentially the neighborhood library, it doesnt make sense. My heart broke for my Burrus kids. It was awful and heartbreaking, Dowda told the Guardian. Texas Public Radio reports that librarian Suzette Baker has filed a lawsuit against Llano County over her employment termination in 2022 after she was fired for refusing to remove books deemed as "pornographic" in her library. "Baker wanted to send a message that censorship will not be tolerated in Llano County. As a former diesel mechanic in the military who raised her children on a low-income budget, Baker said libraries were crucial in her childrens upbringing," the report notes. "You don't have to like the books in the library. I don't like some of the books in the library. I wouldnt take them off the shelves though because its censorship, she told reporters. Notably, Baker is represented by Iris Halpern, who recently won a similar case for Colorado librarian Brooky Parks. In Wyoming, local affiliate 9 News has a report on another library director who was fired for not banning books, longtime Campbell County Public Library director Terri Lesley, who is also suing for wrongful termination and is also being represented by Iris Halpern. "I mean, it's unlawful," Halpern told reporters. "I mean, it's against the constitutionthe problem is no one is thinking about the constitutionality of the actions that are being taken during these campaigns to suppress speech." The Louisana Illuminator reports on the drama surrounding the St. Tammany library board. "State law requires parish library board members to serve staggered terms. For more than 20 years, St. Tammany hasnt complied with the requirement. Councilman David Cougle put forward a proposal to remedy that and potentially address his long-standing complaints against the board," the report explains, adding that Cougle has been "actively involved in contentious library battles," including with a conservative organization, the St. Tammany Library Accountability Project, "in its attempt to ban more than 150 books it deemed sexually explicit." Activists who often appeared alongside Cougle at library board meetings spoke in favor of removing board members. Also in Louisiana, the Advocate reports on a bill advancing that would expose educators and librarians to charges for distributing allegedly obscene materials. And finally this week, American Libraries has mini profiles of the two excellent candidates for ALA president. Good luck to Sam Helmick, and to Raymond Pun. The Week in Libraries is a weekly opinion and news column. News, tips, submissions, questions or comments are welcome, and can be submitted via email. Previous columns can be viewed here. Property details: 7o Reserve Auction. Beautiful 1.25 acres of land lot in Mohave County, Arizona. Lot 571, Section 15, Lake Mohave Ranchos Unit 11. Please see the pictures of general area and of the lot. Parcel Number 32802569. It is located on west 17th street and N. Rancho Drive. It borders the BLM land, Dolan Spring, AZ 86441. A dirt road access. Beautiful real estate with many homes in the area. This tract near Dolan Springs is the most desirable one in the area near the mountains with most recent land sales ... Price: $ 455 Seller State of Residence: Arizona Property Address: West 17th Street and N. Rancho Drive Type: Homesite, Lot Zip/Postal Code: 86441 Zoning: A-General City: Dolan Spring State/Province: Arizona Location: 864**, Dolan Springs, Arizona You will be redirected to eBay Nearby Arizona With regard to home or personal defense, everyone knows the line: When seconds matter, help is minutes away. Such logic is the reason many of us carry daily or keep a firearm bedside. But what about those moments outside the home, perhaps in a remote location? We are indeed our first responder but it remains important to understand the term first responder applies to more than just those personnel carrying a sidearm. A critical situation when emergency medical services are necessary can happen anywhere, and it may occur when no threat is present. It could be a rural range, when you and friends are stretching the rifle out to a mile. Or in the backcountry, chasing elk. Accidental discharges whether user or equipment error are a scary reality. They happen. In these moments, that line we can recite like the Pledge of the Allegiance becomes: When seconds matter, help is hours away. OVER 50 YEARS OF TRAUMA AND LIFESAVING EXPERIENCE Dr. David Acuna, 62, has been a trauma surgeon for 30 years and serves as the Trauma Director at Wesley Medical Center, a Level I trauma center in Wichita, Kansas. A first-generation American with a father from Argentina, Acuna grew up a farmer in Ohio but at a young age became fascinated with the world of trauma and surgery. He trained in the early 90s in Dayton, Ohio, which, at the time, was the number-one dual-homicide city in the nation (meaning two people died during the incident). Dayton is at the crossroads between I -70, which crosses the country, and 75, which goes from Detroit down to Miami, he said. Right in the middle of cocaine central. So Ive taken care of so many gunshot wounds. Sometimes they got shot in the hospital parking lot. It was that crazy. Just a crazy time to train. There was almost not a day that I was not in the operating room tending to a gunshot wound. The Wesley Medical Center trauma team occasionally, via ballistic gels, tests the effects of various-caliber bullets through different clothing. Pictured here are the results of a .22LR and a 9mm shot into gel clothed in denim. I trained in the glory days of trauma, he said. The only place that you could go now to get that kind of volume is probably Chicago, Detroit, DC. Im sure LA is the same way. Youd have to go to some huge city now to get the kind of volume that we had when we trained. Growing up on a farm, Acuna became familiar with firearms at an early age, but it wasnt until 2005, following an incident with the family of a stabbing victim, that his view of guns changed completely. The family told us that if we didnt save her, they were going to kill us, Acuna said. I could not I did not save her. Escorted by local police, Dr. Acuna shared the tragic news with the family and was attacked. Police intervened immediately. The next day, his wife was carjacked by gunpoint in an unrelated event. That changed our world, Acuna said. Our house immediately became a gun house. I had to re-teach my dog how to bark, because wed tell him how to not bark. And I changed the way I was raising my boys. Dr. Acuna holds a general kit to open the chest and clamp major structures that could be bleeding (e.g., blood vessels, lungs, or heart). Once the bleeding is stopped, the patient is immediately transported to the operating room. Now its not just a need, but its become kind of almost a lifestyle, Acuna said. Im very familiar with, professionally, the consequence of firearm activity, but I also understand the need to have them. THE 7 LIFESAVING SKILLS YOU SHOULD KNOW IN ORDER OF PRIORITY 1. Apply immediate and proper pressure. It literally takes one, at most two, fingers to stop the hemorrhage, Acuna said. You dont want to get on the phone to call 911 when the patients lifeforce is going into the ground. Find where the injury is, and then if theres an active hemorrhage, put two fingers on it and stop it. Once youve done that, you can take a couple of breaths, get yourself re-oriented, calm yourself down so you can think, and determine, OK, and you should be able to feel with just your fingers, is it arterial or is it not arterial? If its an arterial hemorrhage, youre going feel it. If its venous, you likely arent. Venous has such low pressure that you can literally not feel the pulsation on your finger with the pressure gradient so low. Nevertheless, treat every bleed as if its arterial until you can verify otherwise. Use a finger or two immediately. 2. Secure a tourniquet. If the patient is experiencing arterial hemorrhage on a limb, fastening a tourniquet may be your best option. Because an artery can retract 4 to 5 inches, it is advisable to secure a tourniquet 4 to 5 inches up from the wound, between the torso and the wound. Applying a tourniquet should also hurt like hell for the patient. I tell my patients, This going to be the worst pain of your life, said Sutton, But its going to save your life. Stopping the bleed with a tourniquet leaves you able to do other things, such as call 911 or work toward transporting the patient, if necessary. However, if the wound is too close to the torso, or on the torso or on the neck or above, a tourniquet isnt an option, and you must begin packing the wound. Note: Practicing with a tourniquet is crucial, but also understand once a tourniquet is used once, itll no longer function at the necessary life-saving level. Once a practice tourniquet, always a practice tourniquet. 3. Pack a wound. Start with QuikClot combat gauze, if you have it. If not, 22 gauze may work. Compressed gauze is another option for deep wounds where direct pressure alone will not stop the bleeding. Packing a gunshot wound, generally speaking, proceeds one knuckle length of gauze at a time until the wound is stuffed. Continue to apply pressure until the bleeding stops. Should you stop applying pressure and the bleeding continues, understand that youre starting from zero once you start reapplying pressure. Keep the pressure on until youre certain youve stopped the bleeding. Once youre certain, you can wrap the wound with emergency trauma dressing and address other logistics. But also remember, when dressing a wound, just because you cant see bleeding, doesnt mean the wound isnt bleeding, so be careful with dressing too early. As a paramedic student, we ran a call just south of here, Sutton said. Fire responded and the ambulance responded. Fire responded and because it was a dialysis patient near their fistula they were bleeding horribly. Firefighters put huge bulky dressing on, and we were so close to Wesley we were like, Fine, lets go. When we get to Wesley and that bulky dressing was pulled off, it was clear we hadnt stopped anything. You should crack open your medical kit more than you do your favorite book. Its important to confirm contents are neat and in the order youll need them. Plus, doing so serves as a great refresher of what you have in there. Sometimes, especially when owning multiple med kits, its easier to forget what is where. The doctor kind of put us in our place, held up two fingers. But also a valuable lesson that day: do not assume another health care worker did the right thing. 4. Communicate with 911. Note how this doesnt read Call 911. You need to be able to communicate your location and the condition of your patient. Are they conscious? Can they talk? If they cant respond to your questions or talk, that means theyve likely lost 30 to 40 percent of their blood. Communicating with 911 could also serve the purpose of calming down you or someone in your party, as dispatchers are trained in being able to mitigate stress of callers. If the person next to you is freaking out, have them talk with 911 while you use your hands to work. Knowing your location in relation to the nearest medical facility is also crucial and should, ideally, occur ahead of travel. Example: If you anticipate spending the morning at a long-distance range, mark the closest facilities ahead of arrival. If medical services are farther than a half hour out, you may need to move the patient. Sometimes the best resuscitation fluid is diesel fuel, Acuna said. You just need to get them from point A to point B as fast as you can. Get them to where they can get the help. That could also mean meeting paramedics halfway, as paramedics will have the necessary IVs and likely O-negative blood to administer. Communication is paramount. The more concise, pertinent info that can be exchanged, the better. Its more than just a phone call. 5. Prevent body-heat loss. So were going to go back to chemistry 101, Acuna aid. Catalysts. Our body is a chemical thing, and catalysts are also driven by temperature. Within the coagulation cascade, those catalysts work at an optimal temperature range. And outside of that optimal temperature range, those catalysts wont work as effectively. So when a patient gets cold, they tend not to clot, which is why its so important to keep the patient warm. In fact, our trauma bays are hot, Acuna said. People hate working in there. Its just like 85 to 86 degrees in there. Because we dont want the patient to get hypothermic and cold. So even in the summertime, lets say its 75 degrees out and a patient is lying on the ground guess what? Theyre getting cold. That ground is a massive heat sink. And 96.8 degrees is slowly dropping, because youre sitting on a ground that may have a temperature of 75 degrees. Aaron Sutton, age 43, is the Trauma Outreach and Injury Prevention Coordinator at Wesley Medical Center and possesses over 20 years of EMS and trauma-bay experience. In addition to his work at Wesley, Sutton works a second job as MEDVAC EMS in western Kansas. He also serves as a Stop the Bleed instructor in his region. His overall advice: Practice. And practice with family or household members. If your heart stopped right now, I wouldnt feel emotion till later, he said, but itd be CPR, monitored, because we do that training so much as medics. I could run code in my sleep. So it may not seem cold to you, but a patient whos in stress is all of a sudden starting to get colder and colder and colder, especially when their life force is poured out on the ground. Now your heart rates going up, and youre going to cool off even faster. What this means: Have a thermal blanket on hand. It could be something as simple as those cheap aluminum foil blankets that you can purchased neatly and tightly packed into little squares. We also lose the majority of body heat through our heads. Though it may be summertime, it may make sense to include a quality winter hat in your med kit, because the bottom line is: A cold body will not clot. And regardless of how much pressure you apply, you will not stop the bleeding. 6. Perform CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). When the heart stops beating, effective CPR can jumpstart and help save a life during cardiac arrest. The same as stopping bleeding, once you stop performing CPR, youre starting from zero. For this reason, medical professionals today dont recommend mouth-to-mouth. Continue compressions until the patient has a heartbeat. For this skillset and for everything listed here, really its recommended that you take a course and practice. 7. Properly pack a med kit. The order in which you can access necessary items in your med kit could be the difference between life and death. It is important to pack your kit in a way that doesnt make everything fall out when you open it, Sutton said. I utilize small plastic bags to keep Band-Aids and smaller items together. I like to have my pressure dressing, tourniquet, and trauma dressings on top ready to be grabbed at a moments notice. I find it important to go through my kit at least once a month and keep it organized. The more things you have in your kit the more stuff you forget about. Not much of my trauma stuff goes bad, but I check it for out-dates once a year. Here are the must-have items in Suttons med kit and why: 1. Medical Gloves. Gloves reduce the risk of infection and cross-contamination. I keep a couple pairs in my kit in case I need to put on a new pair before rendering aid to a different person, Sutton said. 2. 22 Gauze Pads. Like a great trauma surgeon told me once, the vast amount of bleeding can be stopped with a 22 and two fingers applying direct pressure. The North American Rescue (NAR) Eagle IFAK. Perfect individual carrier for all medical items. 3. Emergency Trauma Dressing. This combination of an ACE bandage and dressing will allow you to apply constant pressure to a bleeding injury without you having to hold the pressure manually. 4. Compressed Gauze. Wound packing is required for penetrating wounds where bleeding cannot be controlled using direct pressure alone. This is for injuries to junctional areas of the body, including the groin and armpits, where tourniquets cannot be applied, and direct pressure can be difficult to maintain. You can substitute other cloth items if you dont have compressed gauze or run out. 5. Trauma Shears. Sometimes the hardest part of treating a bleeding penetrating injury is finding it. Trauma sheers will help you quickly and safely remove clothing while searching for the wound. 6. Tourniquet. Theyre extremely effective at stopping bleeding in arms and legs. The risks associated with them are outweighed by their benefits. They can be kept in place for hours at a time with minimal risk to the limb. 7. Band-Aids. While your kit may be ready for a gun fight, more times than not a simple Band-Aid will fix most injuries that youre confronted with. SUPPLEMENTARY SKILLS TO CONSIDER Identify type and number of bullet holes. A .22 gunshot may just be a flap of skin with a bit of yellow fat underneath versus the noticeable red crevice from a 9mm. Its important to be mindful of the number of holes created by a gunshot. Someone shot in the arm at a certain angle could have three holes (two in arm, on in body). You cant stop the bleed if you cant find all the holes. Prevent a collapsed lung (tension pneumothorax). While fairly rare with a gunshot wound, theres a reason chest seals are included in medical kits. The air leaves the lung, Acuna explained, the lung collapses and then, with each subsequent breath, what can happen doesnt happen all the time, most times actually doesnt is if the wound is big enough, the lung will then slowly start to collapse as more and more air goes out. The pressure outside the lung ends up becoming higher than the pressure inside, so it just pushes it over. That process, depending on the size of the hole, is typically slow. Know your blood type and display an identifier on you somewhere if that type is rare. While O negative is a universal blood type, ambulances and trauma centers stock only a limited supply. Once its gone, theyll need to start a transfusion with your blood type. If that blood type is rare like AB positive (read: hard to source), the sooner they know they will need it, the better. (Again, this goes back to being able to communicate with 911 and other emergency personnel.) Educate those in your household and with whom you keep company and practice. Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. If youre the one punched in the mouth, it may be easier for someone else to remain calm, especially if theyre trained, and act to save your life. Or if the plan is so well-rehearsed among you, your friends and family, it wont matter who gets punched in the mouth. Training will take over and muscle memory will kick in. For any additional questions or comments, reach out to the author on Instagram @WildGameJack. ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, March 9. President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed a decree, according to which the 'Turkmenistan UN' Strategic Advisory Council was established, Trend reports. According to the official source, the document also approved the composition of this strategic advisory council. The activities of the new structure are aimed at establishing a systematic partnership within the framework of projects implemented jointly with the UN and its agencies, bringing national programs in line with the requirements of the time, and promoting international initiatives in Turkmenistan. Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov made a proposal to establish the 'Turkmenistan - UN' Strategic Advisory Council earlier at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers. He noted that the activities of this council will be focused on solving such tasks as coordinating steps for the preparation, selection, and approval of projects together with specialized UN agencies and developing proposals for the Government of Turkmenistan in this regard. Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Onion and potato production is expected to be down in the 2023-24 crop year, while the tomato output could be marginally higher, the Department of Agricultures first advance estimates of horticultural output released on Thursday showed. Photograph: PTI Photo from the Rediff Archives Production of onion in 2023-24 is expected to be around 25.47 million tonnes compared to around 30.20 million tonnes last year due to a decrease of 3.43 million tonnes in Maharashtra, 0.99 million tonnes in Karnataka, 0.35 million tonnes in Andhra Pradesh and 0.31 million tonnes in Rajasthan," the official statement by the department of agriculture said. However, these numbers are subject to change as these are preliminary estimates. The decline in onion production in 2023-24 is 16 per cent compared to the previous year. Onion production stood at 31.68 million tonnes in 2021-22, according to government data. The Centre has already banned exports of onions to control prices in the domestic market. Potato production in 2023-24 is expected to be around 58.99 million tonnes compared to around 60.14 million tonnes in the previous year. This is attributed to a decrease in the output in West Bengal, one of the main growing states in the previous year. Tomato production in 2023-24 is estimated to be 20.81 million tonnes, according to the first advanced estimate, which is marginally more than 20.42 million tonnes in the previous year. The Department of Agriculture released the final estimates in 2022-23 and the first advance estimates of 2023-24 of the area and production of various horticultural crops compiled on the information received from states, UTs, and other governmental agencies. Overall, horticulture crops output in 2023-24 is seen flat at 355 million tonnes. Last year, horticulture production stood at 355.48 million tonnes. The vegetable production in 2023-24 is estimated to be around 209.39 million tonnes, which is 1.5 per cent less than the previous year, while fruit production is estimated to be around 112.08 million tonnes, 1.7 per cent more than the previous year. In vegetables, the statement showed that an increase is expected in the production of cabbage, cauliflower, pumpkin, tapioca, tomato, and other vegetables in 2023-24. In fruits, the overall increase is due to an increase in the production of bananas, mandarin, and mango. The area under horticulture crops has seen a marginal rise to 28.77 million hectares in 2023-24 from 28.44 million hectares in the previous year, according to the official statement. India is all set to make its presence felt in the $47 billion global outsourced semiconductor testing and packaging market, an arena where Malaysia and Vietnam have been way ahead so far. The Cabinet last Thursday cleared two projects, the Tatas assembly testing and packaging plant (ATMP) and the Murugappa-owned CG Power with Renesas from Japan as its tech partner. These, together with Microns assembly and testing plant which is already being constructed in Sanad in Gujarat, will collectively invest Rs 47,300 crore to set up the factories. Others waiting for clearance from the government are an outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing (OSAT) plant by HCL, which has signed a joint venture with Foxconn, where it has a 40 per cent stake, and another by the Hiranandani Group under Tarq Semiconductors, and Kaynes Technology, with an investment of Rs 2,800 crore. Under the semicon scheme, 50 per cent of this cost will be given as subsidy by the central government, while state government subsidies could contribute another 20-25 per cent. The global OSAT/ATMP market is expected to hit $70 billion by 2029. Malaysia (mostly in Penang) is a dominant player in the business in Asia, and commands 13 per cent share of the global semiconductor chip testing and packaging market. Over 7 per cent of the global semiconductor trade flows from Malaysia, according to the Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association. Even Micron will shift some capacity and machines from Malaysia to India to set up its facility here. It is also sending Indians to train in its facility in that country. Vietnam, too, is wooing the same business. For instance, Amkor, one of the largest US packaging and testing companies, is investing $1.6 billion in a plant to offer next-generation packaging facilities. In November last year Intel announced that it will be expanding its chip testing plant for which it had already put in $1.5 billion. The Taiwanese are, of course, the big players. Six of the worlds top 10 OSAT players are Taiwanese. But despite their auto vendors asking them to hedge their bets (they have factories in Taiwan and China) and set up facilities in another location, they have preferred to look at Vietnam, Philippines or Malaysia. They have raised concerns over the stability of policy and frequent changes in taxation in India, an issue which minister of state for IT and electronics, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, says has already been resolved. Of course, all the three projects in India are for ATMP which is meant to meet a companies own captive rquirement but there is flexibility to also get outsourced work from other players. For the Tatas, the facility would meet the requirement for their own fab plant which was also cleared today and will be set up with an investment of over Rs 80,000 crore in Dholera, Gujarat. But it could also serve the global auto market requirement. In the case of Micron, wafers are being imported from their fab plants to India, which will be exported afterwards. The plan is also to sell some of the finished chips to their clients in India such as Apple Inc. In the case of CG Power, sources say that Reneses, one of the largest players in microcontrollers, will package the wafers which they make in their fab plants or get from other sources. PSMC: A chip off the global foundry block With a 55.6 per cent share of the global foundry market, according to IDC in 2022, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is the leader. However, you might not have heard of Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC) because it is not among the top six players which include Samsung, United Microelectronics Corporation from Taiwan, US-based GlobalFoundries, and Chinese-headquartered Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation. Nevertheless, according to TrendForce, it ranks at number 10 globally and is the third-largest player in Taiwan. Its endeavour to establish business in India came to the public eye in 2022 when its executive vice-president, Martin Chu, visited India as part of a Taiwanese delegation led by government officials. During this visit, he met with some Indian companies to test the waters. Two years later, it has become the technology partner for the Tatas. PSMC, specialising in power chips and other integrated circuits, owns two eight-inch and three 12-inch wafer fabs with over 8,000 employees and is constructing another brand new plant for 12-inch fabs in Taiwan. However, this is also the first time it is looking overseas with its technology tie-up with the Tatas. Though its chairman, Frank Huang, mentioned in Taiwanese newspapers that eight countries had invited them to set up a manufacturing facility, they declined due to higher costs. Election Commissioner Arun Goel resigned on Saturday, days before the expected announcement of the schedule for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. IMAGE: Arun Goel had joined the Election Commission in November 2022. Photograph: ANI Photo His tenure was till December 5, 2027, and he would have become Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) after incumbent Rajiv Kumar retired in February next year. According to a law ministry notification, Goel's resignation has been accepted by President Droupadi Murmu with effect from Saturday. It was not immediately known why he stepped down. Goel, a retired bureaucrat, was a 1985-batch IAS officer of the Punjab cadre. He had joined the Election Commission in November 2022. Following the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey in February and Goel's resignation, the three-member EC has now only one member: CEC Rajiv Kumar. According to the new law on appointment of CEC and ECs, a search committee headed by the law minister and comprising two Union secretaries will shortlist five names. Then a selection committee -- headed by the prime minister and comprising a Union cabinet minister to be nominated by the PM, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha or the leader of the single-largest opposition party in the House -- picks one name. The CEC or EC then gets appointed by the President. Ashok Lavasa had resigned as election commissioner in August 2020. He had given dissent notes on various model code violations decisions taken by the EC in the last Lok Sabha polls. Originally, the commission had only a CEC. It currently consists of the CEC and two election commissioners. Two additional commissioners were first appointed on October 16, 1989, but they had a very short tenure till January 1, 1990. Later, on October 1, 1993, two additional election commissioners were appointed. The concept of a multi-member EC has been in operation since then, with decision made by a majority vote. Photograph: ANI on X Last year, the Supreme Court had dismissed a plea challenging the appointment of Goel as election commissioner, saying the Constitution bench of the apex court had already dealt with the issue. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice (now retired) KM Joseph had perused the file related to Goel's appointment but had refused to quash it even though it had made certain observation. In March last year, the bench headed by Justice Joseph had ordered the government to bring a law on appointment of CEC and ECs. The Congress expressed "deep concern" over Goel's resignation and said that if the "systematic decimation" of independent institutions is not stopped then democracy shall be usurped by dictatorship. "Election Commission or Election OMISSION? India now has only one Election Commissioner, even as Lok Sabha elections are to be announced in few days. Why?" Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said in a post on X. "As I have said earlier, if we do not stop the systematic decimation of our independent institutions, our democracy shall be usurped by dictatorship!" he said. Congress general secretary organisation K C Venugopal said in a post on X, "It is deeply concerning for the health of the world's largest democracy that Election Commissioner Mr. Arun Goel has resigned on the cusp of the Lok Sabha elections." Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale said it was concerning that two appointments are to be made to the poll panel ahead of the general elections. "In a sudden move, Election Commissioner Arun Goel has abruptly resigned. The post of the other EC is vacant. That leaves the Election Commission now with just one Chief Election Commissioner," he said in a post on X. In a significant political development in Madhya Pradesh, veteran leader and former Union minister Suresh Pachouri bid adieu to his five-decade allegiance with the Congress, and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday. IMAGE: Congress leader and former Union Minister Suresh Pachouri joins the BJP in presence of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and BJP state president V D Sharma, at BJP headquarters in Bhopal, on Saturday, March 9, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo Pachouri, accompanied by former MP Gajendra Singh Rajukhedi and a cadre of ex-MLAs, joined the BJP in a ceremony in presence of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, state BJP president V D Sharma and former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the Bharatiya Janata Party's state headquarters. Reacting to Panchouri's exit, veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh accused him of deserting the Nehru-Gandhi family 'through whom he had earned name and respect'. The development marks a notable setback for the Congress party in Madhya Pradesh, as an increasing number of its members are opting to join the ruling alliance. Pachouri, 71, a long-time associate of the Gandhi family, had a notable political career within the Congress, having served as minister of state for defence and as a four-time Rajya Sabha member. His criticism of the Congress post-defection highlighted the party's shift towards caste-based politics. At the function, Pachouri said he had entered politics to serve the society and the Congress would talk about establishing a casteless society. "...But now they are talking about caste. In the last few days, the political and religious decisions (taken by the Congress) made me uneasy," he said, apparently referring to the party's move to decline the Ayodhya Ram temple consecration ceremony invitation. "I have served in the Defence Ministry. Never were questions raised about the Army's bravery. There was never any talk of providing 'evidence' (as sought by Congress leaders regarding the 'surgical strikes')," Pachouri said while defending his decision to shift from Congress to the BJP. Among prominent figures who switched sides along with him were former MLAs Sanjay Shukla (who represented Indore-1 seat in the past), Arjun Paliya (Pipariya), and Vishal Patel (Depalpur). Pachouri's decision to join the BJP was met with praise from former CM Chouhan, who underlined the veteran leader's commitment to serve the nation under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. "Pachouri ji joined the BJP without setting any conditions. When asked about it, he said Congress has become irrelevant and does not have leadership and policy. He wanted to serve the country under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership," Chouhan said. Gajendra Singh Rajukhedi, a respected tribal leader who had secured three terms as an MP from the Dhar (Scheduled Tribes) Lok Sabha seat on the Congress ticket, also made the switch to the BJP, along with several other leaders, including Bhopal district Congress chief Kailash Mishra, former National Students' Union of India state chief Atul Sharma and senior party leader Alok Chansoriya. An excerpt from Pachouri's letter dated March 7 addressed to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge surfaced on social media, wherein he resigned from the party citing its 'departure from Congress' core values' as a reason for his decision. Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh, in a tweet on his official X account, alleged that Pachouri deserted the Nehru-Gandhi family through which he had earned name and respect in society. 'Suresh, why would anyone break a relationship of 50 years like this? You should have lent support in the days of struggle. Doesn't religion teach us to stay with our loved ones in both their happiness and sorrow? Faith in Ram Temple is justified but why did you forget the dignity of Ram?' Singh tweeted. The true faith in Lord Ram is learning to selflessly walk on the path of struggle to support the truth, and everything else is selfishness, he said. 'The Nehru-Gandhi family, through which you earned name and respect in society, has been deserted. That too for those against whom we all fought. Now BJP is saying that you belong to them and are returning home. Well, whatever you do... but don't do it in the name of Lord Ram. This is not the teaching of Ram,' Singh added. State Congress president Jitu Patwari said Pachouri got everything from the Congress. "Pachouri was Rajya Sabha member for four terms consecutively, held the post of union minister for ten years, an assembly election was contested under his leadership (as then MP Congress president) but despite all this, he left," Patwari said. The 90 leaders who joined the BJP earlier have become part of the crowd after a few days, he said, adding, "God bless him, we are relieved." The Bharatiya Janata Party sealed its alliance with the Telugu Desam Party on Saturday for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh assembly elections, with former chief minister of the southern state N Chandrababu Naidu asserting that the combine will sweep the polls. IMAGE: Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu meets Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in New Delhi on Thursday, March 8, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo The alliance was formalised after the two parties and actor Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party (JSP) held another round of talks involving Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda, besides Naidu and Kalyan. A joint statement issued by the three parties said under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'dynamic and visionary' leadership, they have decided to contest the Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh assembly polls together as they are committed to ensuring the country's progress and an uplift of the state and its people. 'We hope that the alliance will come up to the expectation of the people of Andhra Pradesh with their wholehearted support,' Nadda, Naidu and Kalyan said in the statement. The seat-sharing modalities for the 25 Lok Sabha and 175 assembly seats in the state would be deliberated in a day or two, the statement said. TDP president Naidu told a group of reporters after the finalisation of the alliance talks that Andhra Pradesh and its brand have been 'destroyed' by the state's ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party as he lashed out at Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy for 'pushing the state backward' while the country is progressing. "Our alliance will sweep the polls," Naidu asserted. The Lok Sabha and assembly polls will be held simultaneously in Andhra Pradesh. "Andhra Pradesh has been destroyed badly. Its brand has been destroyed. The BJP and the TDP coming together is a win-win situation for the country and the state," Naidu said. Lauding Modi's leadership, he said several good things are happening in the country but Andhra Pradesh is going backward. While wealth creation is a top priority for Modi, 'wealth destruction' is the top priority for the YSR Congress, Naidu alleged. Though he did not specify the number of seats each party in the alliance will contest, sources said the BJP and the JSP may together contest around eight Lok Sabha and 30 assembly seats. The TDP is likely to field candidates from the remaining 17 Lok Sabha and 145 assembly segments. The BJP, which is eying to boost its Lok Sabha tally, may contest six parliamentary and as many assembly seats in the southern state, the sources said. The two-term former chief minister played down his past differences with the BJP, asserting that having the same alliance in power at the Centre and in the state will be a big boost for Andhra Pradesh. He expressed confidence that all sections of the society, including minorities, will vote for the alliance. The TDP exited the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2018 after its demand that the Centre should grant special category status to the southern state was not met. The BJP has maintained that its government at the Centre has been fulfilling all the commitments made to Andhra Pradesh. Naidu praised Modi for promoting India globally, bringing about reforms and making the country 'number one' in terms of growth, among other measures. It will be a 'great advantage' to have the same alliance in power at the Centre and in Andhra Pradesh, he asserted. Naidu is learnt to have invited Modi to attend a proposed joint rally of the alliance in Guntur on March 17. Incidentally, the Congress has also planned a rally in Mumbai on the same day to mark the end of the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. The statement said Modi has been working tirelessly for the country's progress for the last 10 years and the coming together of the BJP, TDP and JSP will help achieve the aspirations of the people of Andhra Pradesh. It also cited their old ties. 'The BJP and the TDP have a very old relationship together. The TDP joined the NDA in 1996 and has worked together successfully in governments led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi,' it added. In 2014, the TDP and the BJP fought the Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh assembly polls together, while the JSP supported the two parties, it noted. Though the presence of the BJP, which had secured a less than one per cent vote share in the 2019 polls in Andhra Pradesh, is limited in the state, Modi's appeal and its overall electoral muscle can be a big boost for the TDP, which had long been wooing the national party for an alliance. The BJP is seen as the favourite to retain power in the Lok Sabha polls, with Modi repeatedly expressing confidence of returning to the helm for a third term. He has set a target of winning 370 seats for the BJP and more than 400 for the NDA of the total 543 Lok Sabha seats. The BJP won 303 seats in 2019 as Modi led the party to power for a second consecutive term with a bigger victory than 2014, when it secured its first-ever majority in the House. There is also a buzz that the BJP may have a get together of principal NDA leaders to highlight the growing strength of its alliance, which was recently joined by Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United president Nitish Kumar. The BJP is also in talks with Odisha's ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) for an alliance. Naidu, Kumar and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik were BJP allies in the past as well but had severed ties with the saffron party at different points of time. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday underlined his party's resolve to conduct a caste census if voted to power, asserting that based on this right step along with economic mapping, the 50 per cent cap on reservation would be 'uprooted'. IMAGE: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi attend a public meeting, in Banswara, Gujarat on March 7, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo Gandhi said the Congress' slogan is 'count' because that would be the first step towards justice. In a post in Hindi on X, the former Congress president said, 'Have we ever wondered who is poor? How many are there and in what condition? Is it not necessary to count all this?' The caste survey conducted in Bihar revealed that 88 per cent of the poor population comes from Dalit, tribal, backward and minority communities, Gandhi said. "The figures from Bihar are just a small glimpse of the real picture of the country, we do not even have an idea in what condition the poor population of the country is living in," he said. "That is why we are going to take two historic steps -- caste census, economic mapping -- on the basis of which we will uproot the reservation limit of 50 per cent," he said. This step will 'X-Ray' the country and provide correct reservations, rights and share to everyone, Gandhi said. "This will not only help in making the right policies and plans for the poor but will also help in rescuing them from the struggle of education, earning, medicines, and connect them to the mainstream of development," the Congress leader said. "Therefore, wake up, and raise your voice, caste census is your right and it will take you out of the darkness of difficulties, towards the light," he said. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said a comprehensive socio-economic caste census will help the government to understand the various aspects related to the people. This will reveal the financial condition of every family as information related to property, debt burden, land and income will be available, Ramesh said. "The existing caste structure of the country will be known. It will be known which group is prosperous and which is struggling with deprivation," he said. Data on economic deprivation from the 2011 socio-economic caste census have been used by the central and state governments for a number of purposes -- from identifying MNREGA beneficiaries to food security beneficiaries, he said. The socio-economic caste census was a revolutionary step in governance, as it allowed the government to abandon the old BPL metric in which the poor were identified with a single metric (income) without taking into account factors such as property, debt and land, he said. "The government may see similar improvements in governance by adding caste-based data to publicly available information. But it is a pity that the Modi government has refused to publish the caste data of the socio-economic caste census," Ramesh said. "Without knowing who actually the people of India are, what their experiences are and what their circumstances are, no government can take the country forward in the right direction," he said. For better governance and a more prosperous, just and harmonious India, a socio-economic caste census is extremely essential, Ramesh asserted. 'Who pays the price of rapid development and who benefits from it -- these are the questions!' the Congress general secretary said. Eight days after it was shattered by a blast that left 10 persons injured, The Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru started serving its loyal customers once again on Saturday, throwing open the eatery to the public with heightened security measures. IMAGE: The Bomb Disposal Squad inspects the site at Rameshwaram Cafe after a low-intensity explosion, in Bengaluru, on March 1, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo A low intensity blast occurred at the Brookfield outlet of the eatery on March 1, leaving customers and hotel staff injured. The cafe was reopened on Friday with much fanfare on the occasion of Mahashivratri and enhanced security measures to ensure that no untoward incident occurs in the future. However, it started allowing public from Saturday. According to the administration, metal detectors have been installed at the entrance of the eatery to screen customers. Staff will screen every customer with handheld detectors before allowing entry. There would be strict vigilance on all customers and staff will look out for any suspicious activity. On Saturday morning, the co-founder and CEO of The Rameshwaram Cafe, Raghavendra Rao along with his staff sang the National Anthem before welcoming the customers who had to pass through the metal detectors installed at the entrance of the eatery. Customers were seen lining up inside the cafe placing their orders. By 8 am, the eatery was back to its normal business serving breakfast to its customers as usual. Rao told reporters, "We have strengthened our security team and are also trying to set up a separate panel involving ex-servicemen who could train our security guards at all our branches." On Friday, when the Brookfield outlet was reopened, Pujas were held at the eatery, which was adorned with flowers and festive decorations to mark the reopening. Police oversaw security arrangements throughout the day. Following the Macrh 1 incident, the cafe was cordoned off as part of investigation by the city police. A cloth merchant from Kaul Bazaar in Ballari and a PFI cadre have been detained by the National Investigation Agency and the Central Crime Branch as part of their joint probe into the blast. Union Home Minister Amit Shah held discussions for seat sharing in Maharashtra for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with coalition partners Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde and Nationalist Congress Party president Ajit Pawar. IMAGE: Union Home Minister Amit Shah being received by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and State Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar on his arrival in Mumbai, on March 6, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo Shinde and Pawar -- chief minister and deputy chief minister of Maharashtra -- held talks with Shah in New Delhi late on Friday. Senior BJP leader and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was also present in the meeting. Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Pawar-led NCP and the BJP will contest the Lok Sabha elections in alliance in Maharashtra which sends 48 members to the lower house of Parliament. The BJP had won 23 of the 25 seats it had contested in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, while its then alliance partner -- undivided Shiv Sena -- won 18 seats of the 23 seats it had contested. The undivided NCP, as part of the opposition alliance, had contested 19 seats and managed to win four. The Shiv Sena, which had joined hands with the Congress and the NCP to form a coalition government after the assembly elections in Maharashtra in 2019, split in 2022 when Eknath Shinde walked away with a majority of the party's MPs and MLAs and joined hands with the BJP. The BJP, which was the single largest party after the last state elections, formed a coalition government with Shinde as the chief minister. Similarly, Ajit Pawar walked away with a majority of the MLAs and joined the BJP-Shiv Sena government last year. The Shinde and the Ajit Pawar factions have been recognised as the 'real' Shiv Sena and the 'real' NCP' by the Election Commission and the Maharashtra assembly Speaker. The BJP is keen to contest more than 30 seats in the upcoming elections as it eyes the 370-mark in the 543-member Lok Sabha. Differences have emerged among the coalition partners over certain Lok Sabha seats that the BJP has staked claim to such as South Mumbai and Thane (won by Shiv Sena) and Raigad (NCP). The Sena MPs from South Mumbai and Thane have aligned with the Thackeray faction, while Raigad was won by Sunil Tatkare, who is with the NCP led by Ajit Pawar. A few other seats have also emerged as contentious among the alliance partners. The meeting with Shah went on past midnight and the three leaders -- Shinde, Ajit Pawar and Fadnavis -- returned to Maharashtra soon after. Shah had held meetings with Pawar, Fadnavis and Shinde on Tuesday during his visit to Mumbai. TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, March 9. Uzbekistan intends to increase imports of natural gas from Russia in transit through the territory of Kazakhstan by almost four times, Trend reports. According to Kazakh Ministry of Energy, transit gas supplies to Uzbekistan are planned to quadruple from 2026 - up to 11 billion cubic meters per year. "With the participation of the head of state, last year the transit of Russian gas in the amount of up to 3 billion cubic meters per year was launched through the territory of our country to Uzbekistan," Kazakh Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev said at a board meeting of the Energy Ministry. On October 7, 2023, Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan gave a start to the transit of Russian natural gas through the territory of Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan via the Central Asia-Center gas pipeline. Meanwhile, Uzbekistan planned to increase imports of Russian gas from the current 9 million to 32 million cubic meters per day (11.68 billion cubic meters per year). As part of the investment program for gasification of Uzbekistan worth $500 million, Russia's Gazprombank loans will be used to modernize 511 km of gas trunk pipelines and 10 gas pumping stations. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday said it has arrested Jaffer Sadiq, a Tamil Nadu-based alleged dealer of narcotics, in connection with an international drugs trafficking investigation case. IMAGE: The NCB busted an international drug trafficking network and arrested the main accused Jaffer Sadiq, in New Delhi on Saturday, March 9, 2024. Photograph: Mohd Zakir/ANI Photo The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday arrested 36-year-old Jaffer Sadiq, an expelled Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam functionary in Tamil Nadu, in connection with an international drugs trafficking racket investigation estimated to be worth more than Rs 2,000 crore. NCB deputy director general (operations) Gyaneshwar Singh told reporters in New Delhi that Sadiq's linkages with the Tamil and Hindi film industry, some 'high-profile' people apart from some instances of 'political funding' were under the scanner of the agency. Sources told PTI that a high-profile DMK leader could soon be summoned by the NCB for questioning with regard to some monetary transactions worth a few lakhs. Sadiq was arrested in Delhi on the basis of specific intelligence inputs and he is the 'mastermind and kingpin' of a trans-national pseudoephedrine smuggling racket spread across Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia from India, Singh said. "The NCB believes in doing an unbiased and lawful investigation. A criminal has no caste, religion or political party. Whosoever violates the NDPS law is an offender and we will investigate any such entity. "We will intensely investigate the drug money trail in this case," Singh said when asked if any political persons were under the scanner of the agency. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will soon register a money laundering case to probe this racket by taking cognisance of this NCB case, ED sources said. He said Sadiq, whose full name is Jaffar Sadiq Abdul Rehman, went into 'hiding' soon after the agency conducted raids in Delhi in this case in February and he travelled from Chennai to Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Jaipur before being taken into custody following his brief questioning by the NCB. Sadiq, a producer of Tamil films, was recently expelled by the ruling DMK from the party after his name and purported links to the drugs network were mentioned by the agency. Singh said Sadiq told the NCB that he was the Chennai West deputy organiser of the DMK's NRI wing. The opposition BJP and AIADMK in the state have been targeting the DMK over the matter. Last month, the NCB said, it arrested three people, all hailing from Tamil Nadu, and seized 50 kg of narcotics-making chemical pseudoephedrine during a raid at a godown of Sadiq's company named Aventa in Delhi's Basai Darapur area. The searches by the NCB along with the special cell of the Delhi Police came on a tip-off they received towards the end of 2023 from the Australian and New Zealand authorities about 'large quantities' of pseudoephedrine concealed in desiccated coconut powder and mix food powder being smuggled into their countries from India. An additional input from the US DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) indicated that the source of these consignments was in the national capital, the NCB had said in a statement. Sadiq, according to Singh, pumped and invested his alleged drugs trade earned money into his 'front or cover businesses' of movie production, real estate and hospitality among others. Tamil film 'Mangai' was 'entirely funded' by the accused from drugs money. He also constructed a hotel in Chennai, the DDG said. According to NCB officials, Sadiq allegedly used to get Rs 1 lakh per kg 'cut' (commission) from the smuggling of the narcotics. The NCB claimed the three arrested persons and Sadiq informed them that total of 45 pseudoephedrine consignments were sent by them over the last 3 years, containing about 3,500 kg of pseudoephedrine valued at over Rs 2,000 crore in the international market, according to the NCB. The NCB since then had been looking for Sadiq to "ascertain the source" of this pseudoephedrine and had also raided his premises in Chennai recently. Sadiq's name also figured in a 2019 Customs department case linked to smuggling of another drugs Ketamine to some overseas locations and he allegedly got into this illegal activity after initially trying his hands in the trade of pirated CDs, according to agency sources. Alleging that the state has turned into a den of drugs under the DMK rule, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said on Friday that Chief Minister M K Stalin owes an explanation to the people on how Jaffer Sadiq gained access to a senior police officer. "Jaffer Sadiq became close to the DMK leadership and even obtained a gift from a DGP. This is very unfortunate and anguishing and needs to be condemned," Palaniswami told reporters in Chennai. Pseudoephedrine is a highly addictive synthetic drug, and even though it has some legal uses, it is classified as a controlled substance in India, bringing strict regulation on its production, possession, trade, export and use. It is used to prepare a synthetic drug called methamphetamine which, according to NCB sources, sells anywhere between Rs 1-1.5 crore per kg in the international market. Illegal possession and trade of pseudoephedrine is punishable up to 10 years of imprisonment under the NDPS Act. In a surprise development, a top Chinese military general has cast aspersions on the People's Liberation Army (PLA)'s much-publicised 'real combat-oriented exercises' as 'fake combat capabilities' at a time when Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered it to prepare for 'maritime military struggles' to win wars. IMAGE: People's Liberation Army soldiers. Photograph: Jason Lee/Reuters The remarks by General He Weidong, the second-ranked vice-chairman of China's powerful Central Military Commission (CMC), the overall high command of the three Armed Forces headed by Xi, during a discussion with a PLA delegation on Tuesday, according to minutes of the meeting made available to media. Though it was just one line -- Gen He called for a crackdown on 'fake combat capabilities' in the military -- military analysts say the remark by a top official in the backdrop of the recent purges carried out by Xi, questions the authenticity of the real-time combat exercises as insisted by Xi since he took over power in 2012-13 and the quality of the equipment, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post newspaper reported on Saturday. Xi recently sacked Defence Minister Gen Li Shangfu last year, which was followed by the removal of another nine senior generals, many of them from the key Rocket Force, which operates the country's missile forces. Since Xi took over, the Chinese military, at all levels, is carrying out real-time drills splitting forces into two groups to test their combat skills. Analysts say the message from Gen He, China's number three military official, was 'brief and ambiguous', but could relate to the procurement of flawed equipment, and also deception among the ranks during training. The Chinese government early this week hiked the defence budget by 7.2 per cent to $232 billion as it continues with the massive modernisation of its military amid prevailing tensions over Taiwan, the disputed South China Sea as well as border frictions with India and increasing rivalry with the US. China is the second largest spender after the US, whose military budget last year was $886 billion. Fu Qianshao, a former equipment expert with the PLA, said He appeared to be partly referring to the procurement of flawed weapons, which could affect the military's combat capabilities. "The weapons and equipment should reach the technical standards. So, counterfeiting will surely have an impact on how they function," he told the Post. 'Fake combat capabilities' could also refer to 'fake' drills that do not reach the standards required, such as 'night exercises' being conducted around sunset -- something military mouthpiece PLA Daily has reported about in recent years, the Post said. Xi, who heads the ruling Communist Party and has the Presidency, places a premium on the combat readiness of the military as its battle readiness has not been tested in recent decades. For his part, Xi has called hi-tech integration of the armed forces, which is vital to joint operations. Xi also ordered the PLA to prepare for "maritime military struggles" and protect maritime rights, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. "The preparation for the military struggle at sea, the defence of maritime rights and interests and the development of the maritime economy must be integrated," he said, adding, 'Strategic capabilities in emerging areas are an important part of national strategies and are of great significance to the country'. During the PLA discussion at the parliament in Beijing on Tuesday, there was more emphasis on loyalty to Xi than in previous years, according to the Post report. Earlier, Xi's anti-corruption drive also targeted the military with dozens of top generals either sacked or investigated in the last 10 years. Besides the sacking of nine generals, the government also removed three senior executives from the state-owned aerospace and defence sector from the top political advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in December. The PLA, meanwhile, is under pressure to boost combat readiness, with President Xi calling for the military to step up 'real combat' exercises and training to prepare for 'stormy seas' ahead at a time when geopolitical tensions are rising and rivalry with the United States is heating up. Fu, the former PLA equipment specialist, said He's comments also hinted at the problems with training, and that it 'should be conducted according to the actual combat requirements -- it must not become a show'. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today A mix of clouds and sun. High 44F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight A few clouds. A few flurries are possible. Low near 30F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Washington must avoid blurring the line between the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Vietnamese state. The death last month of William Beecher, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who, among other scoops, revealed the Nixon administrations secret bombing campaign in Cambodia during the Vietnam War, ought to make us remember two things: First: Washington has been guilty of criminality abroad, especially when it believes that noble-ish ends justify brutal means. And second, despite those who regard the U.S. government as perpetually conspiratorial, Washington is bad at keeping secrets. Obsessed with the idea that the Viet Congs persistence could be traced to allies or resources external to Vietnamnamely Cambodia and Laosand that the will of the communist North, and thus its ally, the Soviet Union, could be overcome by displays of mass destruction, the Nixon and then Ford administrations resorted to great iniquities for the sake of the purported greater good. They also courted unsavory allies. The same logic led the U.S. to continue supporting the genocidal Khmer Rouge in Cambodia after and because it was overthrown by Vietnam, and because it was backed by Beijing, the budding U.S. Cold War partner at the time. Cambodians flee Khmer Rouge insurgents during artillery shelling of Phnom Penh, Jan. 28, 1974. (AP) There are signs of this old fixation in Washington on viewing events in Southeast Asia solely through Cold War politics in U.S. engagement with Vietnam. There are still some people in Vietnam who resent the United States for abandoning the South to the communists in 1975, although most people who think this way risked their lives and fled abroad in the late 1970s. Today, a younger generation, while not nostalgic for the corrupt and dictatorial Republic of Vietnam in Saigon, is becoming resentful that Washington appears to be doing its utmost to entrench the Communist Party of Vietnams (CPV) rule. On my last visit to Vietnam, in late 2022, I met up with prison-scarred pro-democracy activists who cannot quite stomach the fact that the laudatory reconciliation since the 1990s between the former enemies has been conducted to ensure maximum exposure for the communist regime. In 2015, for instance, the Obama administration broke protocol when it invited Nguyen Phu Trong, the CPV general secretary, on a state visit, a privilege usually only offered to heads of government or state. When President Joe Biden traveled to Hanoi in September to upgrade relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, he didnt have to sign the improved partnership deal alongside Trong; he could have done so with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh or State President Vo Van Thuong. Blurring the lines But by signing it alongside the party boss Trong, Washington symbolically implied it bought into the communist propaganda that the CPV is the Vietnamese state. The degree to which the U.S. is willing to blur the lines between the Vietnamese state and the CPV represents the most substantial recognition of the CPV-led regime by Washington thus far, marking a significant achievement for both the CPV and Trong, wrote prominent Vietnamese academic Hoang Thi Ha in October. This is playing out even as quite a few senior CPV apparatchiks, including the general secretary, still think that Washington is plotting peaceful evolution, a communist euphemism for regime change that long predates the "color revolutions" modern-day autocrats fear. As one democracy campaigner told me, in fact, Washington is effectively engaged in supporting the political status quo in Vietnam and is making the lives of reformers much more difficult. They can, he said, no longer count on rhetorical support from the U.S.. In the past, when trying to convert others to their cause, they could have at least pointed at speeches made by American officials who condemned the Hanoi regimes repression. Not anymore. Vietnam's Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Barack Obama speak to reporters after their meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., July 7, 2015. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) Washington officials push back. We question whether public lecturing is the best plan of action with countries that are seeking to work closely with us, one told the Washington Post after Bidens visit to Vietnam in September. However, that overlooks the impact this has on the Vietnamese people. Without public lecturing," many Vietnamese reckon that the U.S. is no longer interested in human rights in Vietnam. Worse, some think that Washington is praising the communist regime, influencing their own opinions on whether its monopoly of power is legitimate or beneficial. Writing about Bidens meeting with Trong in the Washington Posts opinion page last year, Max Boot noted that when Biden glad-hands Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and now Nguyen Phu Tronghe is, at the very least, open to the charge of hypocrisy in a way Trump was not. But Boot added: Sometimes you have to make common cause with the lesser evil to safeguard the greater good. Thats what Biden is doing in Hanoi. Party state The case made by the human rights activists isnt that the U.S. should have no relations with Vietnam; its that Washington shouldnt be conducting this engagement so openly and cordially through the CPV. There is also no reason to think that if Washington is friendly enough to the communist regime, Vietnam is going to become the next Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally that allows it to station troops on its soil. Vietnam will never be an ally, in any meaningful sense, of the United States. And with the CPV in charge, Hanoi will not engage in containment of China. Some 90 days after Biden upgraded relations, Trong met with President Xi Jinping and signed Vietnam up to Chinas Community with a Shared Future. [Washington is] in thrall to the idea that Vietnam can be part of an anti-China group. That idea is nonsense. said analyst Bill Hayton. Those who truly seek an alliance with Vietnam to contain China should logically support regime change in Vietnam that produces a nationalist government in Hanoi that would be more receptive to the anti-Chinese voices of the masses and have no socialist pretenses to maintain an accord with Beijing. While there is no way for Vietnam to escape from the orbit of China, its largest trading partner, there are few reasons for Washington to be concerned that Hanoi is drifting into the China camp. The Vietnamese public would never allow that to happen, and the CPV knows that anti-China nationalism is the greatest threat to the survival of its regime not least since some Vietnamese regard their Communist Party as a Beijing puppet. With Vietnam not badly indebted to Beijing, there is no real chance of a China debt trap. China's President Xi Jinping swears under oath after being re-elected as president for a third term during the third plenary session of the National People's Congress in Beijing, March 10, 2023. (Noel Celis/AFP) Vietnam does not entirely share Washingtons sense of the threat from China, either. Academic Khang Vu has stressed for years that what really scares Vietnam is a land invasion by China not a naval confrontation in the South China Sea that Washington is intensely focused on. The U.S. would not be able to defend Vietnam in that event. U.S.-Vietnam reconciliation is an enduring lesson that one can lose the war but win the peace, but engagement should be conducted without so much reverence paid to the CPV. Washington must avoid the appearance that it is embracing the party line that there is no difference between the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Vietnamese state. David Hutt is a research fellow at the Central European Institute of Asian Studies (CEIAS) and the Southeast Asia Columnist at the Diplomat. As a journalist, he has covered Southeast Asian politics since 2014. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the position of RFA. Migrants walk the line through the Central American rainforest en route to the U.S. border with Mexico. Last year, Li Kai and his family were among 24,000 Chinese nationals who made a grueling trip through Central America to the Mexican-U.S. border as part of the "run" movement of ordinary people seeking political asylum in the United States. A member of the Hui Muslim minority from the northern city of Tangshan, Li took his family and fled the country after a standoff with the authorities over changes to his mosque part of the ruling Communist Partys sinicization of religion policy. In a recent interview with RFA Mandarin, Li, 44, described his family's experience of walking the line, as the risky journey is known in Chinese. RFA: Can you describe the route you took through the jungle to get to the United States? Li Kai: Our journey required us to navigate the renowned tropical rainforests of South America, which included a boat ride. We waited two days in Necocli [Colombia], by the Caribbean Sea, for our transportation. Local people smugglers, or snakeheads, visited our lodging to discuss and plan our path, after which we paid them and prepared to board the boat. RFA: How much did this part of the journey cost? Li Kai: For the boat ride and the trek through the jungle, adults were charged US$1,100 each, my eldest child $600, and the youngest $500, totaling $3,300 for my family. Migrants gather in Necocli, Colombia, a stopping point for travelers taking boats to Acandi, which leads to the Darien Gap, Oct. 13, 2022. (Fernando Vergara/AP) RFA: What was your experience crossing the Caribbean Sea? Li Kai: Ill never forget it as long as I live. It was very dangerous. The boat was small, made of fiberglass, which made it especially vulnerable to the unpredictable sea conditions and weather of the Caribbean. We had to travel at night without lights. I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt for putting my kids in such danger because I had gotten into trouble in China. I heard that one of these boats had capsized and people had drowned. The whole boat juddered from stem to stern, and we were drenched in water. My children, who had no idea of the danger, fell asleep while I held them tight, one in each arm. After two hours, we reached a landing point at the edge of the rainforest. RFA: Were there other Chinese people on the boat with you? Li Kai: Yes, about 90% of the passengers were Chinese, along with a few South Americans. The boat could carry 50 to 60 people, and most of them were from China. After we landed, we rested overnight, and at 6 a.m. the next day, we took the mountainous trail into the rainforest. RFA: What was it like trekking through the rainforest? Li Kai: It was extremely challenging. The terrain was treacherous with cliffs and steep slopes, easy to fall from. I led my kids through it -- they did fine, just followed along. We took brief rests, about 15 minutes each, and it took us around 10 hours to walk it. Migrants walk across the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama on their journey to reach the United States, on May 9, 2023. (Ivan Valencia/AP) I wasn't prepared. I was worried that it would be inconvenient to carry food on such a mountainous trail, so I only brought water. The water ran out before we were halfway through, leaving us all thirsty, including the kids. The first half of the rainforest trail is in Colombia, and the second half is in Panama. When we got to the end of the 10-hour trek, the guide took everyone to an official Panamanian refugee camp. RFA: How did you wind up at an official refugee camp in Panama after such a clandestine journey? Li Kai: Due to the large number of people walking the line into the United States it was likely a humanitarian gesture, to give us somewhere to stay. RFA: After entering Guatemala, you were picked up by a people smuggler you had contacted earlier to transport you to Mexico, correct? Li Kai: Yes, after arriving in Guatemala, the previously contacted snakehead was there to meet us. They planned to transport us to Mexico. Seventeen of us were crammed into an 8-seater Honda. Halfway along, they transferred us to a vehicle used for transporting livestock. We were standing or squatting inside, a mix of Chinese, Blacks, South Americans, every kind of person you can think of. We crossed a river by road into Mexico. RFA: In Tapachula [Mexico], you bought tickets to Mexico City, but then you were stopped by Mexican immigration en route. Li Kai: On the bus were us four, along with a few other Chinese and South Americans. During a passport check, they found out we were heading to the U.S. and wouldn't let us go any further. People with children were pulled aside and taken to an immigration facility, while the singles were taken elsewhere. We stayed there for a day until the afternoon of the next day, when we registered and signed some form of promise or agreement, and then they released all four of us. RFA: At that point, you didn't know where you were or what your next steps would be? Li Kai: We had no choice but to go back to Tapachula, where we found a snakehead from Guangdong [China]. It became clear that the Chinese snakeheads might have been middlemen, responsible only for Chinese migrants. In Tapachula, there's a restaurant run by a woman who is also a snakehead. The cost for us, two adults and two children, totaled $12,600. RFA: What was this money for? Li Kai: It was to get us from Tapachula to Mexico City. RFA: What happened when you got there? Li Kai: The snakehead responsible for getting us to the border wall was also Chinese. He charged $700 per person, regardless of age. The next morning, two vehicles picked us up to take us to the next city, Reynosa, very close to the border. Upon entering a hideout, it was filled with Chinese people who had arrived before us. After waiting a few hours, everyone got into vehicles headed for the Rio Grande. It took 4 hours to get to the riverbank, guarded by local armed gangs. We crossed the river in the latter half of the night and then walked through what seemed like dense grass or a small forest, with vegetation over a person's height. Li Kai and his wife and children after their arrival in the United States are seen in an undated photo. Faces blurred to protect childrens privacy. (Li Kai) RFA: What about your children? Li Kai: They went separately; their mother took them because it was too dangerous for women and children to go through the dense vegetation, with the risk of snakes and poisonous spiders. They took a different route. After emerging, there was another river to cross, leading to flatter ground. Our guide told us we had reached the United States, and then they left us. RFA: Then you were picked up by U.S. Border Patrol on June 1, 2023? Li Kai: Men were separated from women and children for checks bags, clothes, everything except for mobile phones and chargers had to be given up. Single individuals and families with children were transported in separate buses to a temporary immigration detention center, where men and women were segregated. The mothers stayed with their children, and the men were in another room. After two days, during which time they gave us some food, we were released. RFA: But your journey wasn't over, was it? Li Kai: We were taken to a church reception center. We wanted to go to New York, but I was unaware of the free bus service from Texas to New York until I arrived at a local church, which was filled with people from various countries all waiting for transportation. Later, I found out that Texas was sending illegal immigrants to New York by bus as a protest over illegal immigration. RFA: What happened when you got to New York? Li Kai: We were dropped off at the Roosevelt Hotel early in the morning. All in all, it was a pretty moving experience. In China, the narrative about the United States is filled with conflict, evil, chaos and racial discrimination. But the reality was the complete opposite. I'm incredibly grateful for the kindness we were shown upon arrival; it was unimaginable after such a difficult and bitter journey. RFA: What prompted you to leave China? There was a protest by local Muslims on April 24, 2023, about the mosque in your village. Can you tell us more about that? Li Kai: Yes, the government was about to demolish it. That Monday, many people went to the mosque to seek advice from the imam. The authorities were ready for us, and there was some physical contact it got quite chaotic. The crowd was dispersed within an hour, and I rushed back home in a hurry. Migrants from China emerge from thick brush after being smuggled across the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico in Fronton, Texas, April 7, 2023. (Reuters) RFA: What exactly happened to cause the conflict between the police and Muslims? Li Kai: The police accused us of causing a disturbance. They claimed the decision to demolish the mosque and move to another location had been made in consultation with the imam. The younger members of our community had been barred from entering the mosque, which had caused dissatisfaction, but hadn't led to an outburst until that point. But this time, led by a prominent Muslim from our group, we ended up in a scuffle with the police. RFA: Were there any injuries during the incident? Li Kai: I'm not sure. RFA: Why did you decide to flee immediately afterward? Li Kai: I was worried that the authorities would target me after the incident, and that there would even be repercussions for my kids, based on a similar thing that happened a few years ago. Children had been barred from entering mosques. Only over-18s were allowed in, so my kids werent allowed in either. So I took my wife and kids and left immediately, getting a friend to drive us to Shenzhen. RFA: Did you have any specific plan when you decided to flee? Li Kai: No, there was no plan. My main concern was the authorities would come after me because my children were registered as being of Muslim faith at primary school. I had long had a sense of impending crisis about our situation. The mosque incident was the last straw. I left on a Monday night, and by the time the police visited my mother's home looking for me, I was already gone. Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster. Radio Free Asia has been unable to confirm Li's account of his journey independently. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Russian President Vladimir Putin has extended his nearly quarter-century rule with a landslide victory in a tightly controlled election as he seeks to demonstrate overwhelming popular support for his full-scale invasion of Ukraine and increasingly repressive policies. With 99.68 percent of ballots counted, Putin was set to win another six-year term with 87.32 percent of the vote, a post-Soviet record, according to official results. The Central Election Committee said that more than 70 percent of eligible voters cast ballots during the three-day election. The 71-year old Putin -- who has ruled as either president or prime minister since 2000 -- is now set to surpass Soviet dictator Josef Stalins nearly 30-year reign to become the longest-serving Russian leader in more than two centuries. The vote is the first for Putin since he launched an ill-fated invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 that has killed tens of thousands of Russian citizens, upended the lives of tens of thousands more, and led to a clear break in relations with the West. In holding what has widely been viewed as faux elections, Putin wants to show that he has the nation's full support, experts said. The Kremlin's goal "is to get as many people as possible to sign off on Russia's war against Ukraine. The idea is to get millions of Russian citizens to retroactively approve the decision Putin single-handedly made two years ago," Maksim Trudolyubov, a senior fellow at the Kennan Institute, wrote in a note ahead of the vote. In remarks shortly after he was declared the winner, Putin said the election showed that the nation was "one team." Putin was opposed by three relatively unknown, Kremlin-friendly politicians whose campaign was barely noticeable. The main intrigue was whether Russians would heed opposition calls to gather at polling stations at noon on March 17 to silently protest against Putins rule. Russian media had reported in the months leading up to the election that the Kremlin was determined to engineer a victory for Putin that would surpass the 2018 results, when he won 77.5 percent of the vote with a turnout of 67.5 percent. The Kremlin banned anti-war politician Boris Nadezhdin from the ballot after tens of thousands of voters lined up in the cold to support his candidacy. Nadezhdin threatened to undermine the narrative of overwhelming support for Putin and his war, experts said. WATCH: Leading psychiatrists discuss how excessive power can impact brain functioning and what the impulse for total control reveals about the mind and personality traits of authority figures. Independent election observers were barred from working at this years presidential election for the first time in post-Soviet history, experts said. Russian elections have been notorious for ballot stuffing and other irregularities. The vote was also held in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, where hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers are located. The United States called the elections neither fair nor free. 'Noon Against Putin' With options to express resistance severely limited by the lack of competition and repressive laws, opposition leaders called on voters opposed to Putin to gather near polls at noon to show the Kremlin and the country that they were still a force. Russia's opposition movement suffered a serious blow last month when Aleksei Navalny, Putins fiercest and most popular critic, died in unclear circumstances in a maximum-security prison in the Arctic where he was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism widely seen as politically motivated. Long lines formed at polling stations across Russia's 11 time zones at the designated time for the "Noon Against Putin" protest, including in Novosibirsk, Chita, Yekaterinburg, Perm, and Moscow among other Russian cities. "We're not really expecting anything, but I'd somehow like to make a record of this election for myself, tick the box for myself, so, when talking about it later, I could say that I didn't just sit at home, but came and tried to do something," said one Russian who came to vote at noon. "The action has achieved its goals," Ivan Zhdanov, the head the Anti-Corruption Foundation formerly headed by Navalny, said in a YouTube video. "The action has shown that there is another Russia, there are people who stand against Putin." The Moscow prosecutor's office had earlier warned of criminal prosecution against those who interfered with the vote, a step it said was necessary due to social-media posts "containing calls for an unlimited number of people to simultaneously arrive to participate in uncoordinated mass public events at polling stations in Moscow [at noon on March 17] in order to violate electoral legislation." Lawyer Valeria Vetoshkina, who has left the country, told Current Time that if people do not bring posters and do not announce why they came to the polling station at that hour, it would be hard for the authorities to legitimately declare it a "violation." But she warned that there were "some basic safety rules that you can follow if you're worried. The first is not to discuss why you came, just to vote. And secondly, it is better to come without any visual means of agitation: without posters, flags, and so on." Ella Pamfilova, head of Russia's Central Election Commission (TsIK), on March 16 said there had been 20 cases of people attempting to destroy voting sheets by pouring liquids into ballot boxes and eight incidents of people trying to destroy ballots by setting them on fire or by using smoke bombs. Russians living abroad also took part in the "Noon Against Putin" campaign, with hundreds of people lining up at 12 p.m. outside the Russian embassies in Sidney, Tokyo, Phuket, Dubai, Istanbul, Berlin, Paris, and Yerevan among other capitals. "It's not an election. It's just a fake. And so we're here to show that not Russians elect the current leader of Russia, that we [are] against him very severely, and that lots of people had to flee their country to be free," said Anna, a Russian citizen living in Berlin and who gathered outside the embassy in the German capital. Putin was challenged by Liberal Democratic Party leader Leonid Slutsky, State Duma deputy speaker Vladislav Davankov of the New People party, and State Duma lawmaker Nikolai Kharitonov of the Communist Party, none of whom opposed the war. The Russian leader had the full resources of the state behind him, including the media, police, state-owned companies, and election officials. ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- When Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke of Moscow taking "preventive measures" against "pro-Western" NGOs in the Central Asian region last week, he may not have known that he was speaking on World NGO Day. It is not a date well-celebrated in Russia, where some of the most vocal and politically active nonprofits have been designated "foreign agents" and "undesirable organizations" in recent years or simply shut down. Indeed, when Shoigu referenced what he called the "complicated" situation in Central Asia, he mentioned "more than 100 large pro-Western nongovernmental organizations operating in the region" alongside potential militant incursions from Afghanistan and an expected rise in narcotics production in Central Asian countries in the coming years. In other words, he sees NGOs as an existential threat to the region -- or at least Russia's interests in it. "Against the backdrop of the special military operation, these NGOs significantly increased their anti-Russian activities in order to reduce military-technical, economic, and cultural cooperation between the Central Asian states and the Russian Federation," Shoigu complained on February 27, using the Kremlin's term for Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia's paranoia about NGOs potentially undermining Moscow's influence in neighboring countries is not new, according to analysts. "The Russian leadership believes or convinces itself that Western countries, through networks of NGOs, are trying to destroy regimes in undemocratic countries," said Temur Umarov, a fellow at the Carnegie Russia-Eurasia Center in Berlin. "The more Russia is in isolation from and in conflict with the international community, the more its rhetoric will focus on fighting Western influence everywhere from the Internet and schools to the territory of other countries," argued Umarov. Leaving aside the fact that Shoigu's comments more than hint at the kind of external interference that he accuses NGOs of perpetrating, there is the obvious fact that most of the Central Asian countries are at least in line with Russia -- and in some cases well ahead -- when it comes to cracking down on civil society groups. So, which Central Asian countries might Shoigu have had in mind? Kazakhstan Pushes Back, Kyrgyz Lawmakers Push On The only country that responded to Shoigu's statements was Kazakhstan. "I don't know about any preventive measures," Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Roman Vasilenko told journalists the day after the Russian official made his comments. "Supporting the civil sector and supporting NGOs are a top priority for President [Qasym-Zhomart] Toqaev, for the government, and for the Culture and Information Ministry, which is responsible for this area," Vasilenko added. "If I remember correctly, there are 18,000 NGOs in our country; they operate in accordance with our legislation and are a very important part of our society. That means that civil society is supported by the state of the Republic of Kazakhstan." Since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Kazakhstan, which has remained neutral in the conflict, has used diplomatic statements to put some distance between itself and its northern neighbor. But the reality is that Kazakhstan has not always been the most comfortable place for NGOs. Just ask Dina Smailova (aka Tansari), head of the women's rights group NeMolchi.KZ (Don't Be Silent). Renowned for defending victims of domestic violence and rape -- including incidents in which police were allegedly involved -- Smailova currently lives abroad and will face recently levied charges of large-scale fraud if she returns to her homeland. In connection with the case against her, hundreds of private Kazakhs who donated to NeMolchi.KZ have reportedly been called in for questioning by police -- a drive Smailova says is motivated by authorities' need to back up the accusations. Kazakhstan also keeps close tabs on civic organizations that receive foreign funding, publishing regularly updated lists of such groups while repeatedly refusing registration for others. But Kazakhstan might end up becoming the most NGO-friendly country in Central Asia by default, now that Kyrgyzstan, the longtime holder of that title, is following Russia's lead in the most literal sense. On February 22, the Kyrgyz parliament passed the second of three readings of a controversial bill that would allow authorities to apply stringent regulations to organizations deemed "foreign representatives," echoing a law on foreign agents that Russia passed in 2012. And echoing might be putting it too mildly. An analysis carried out by the nonprofit Legal Clinic Adilet showed that the wording of the draft legislation is more than 90 percent copied from the Russian original, which Moscow has since expanded to make it even more punitive. Falling In Line With The Neighbors The Russia connection to Kyrgyzstan's draft law doesn't end there. Journalists from the Politklinika outlet found in 2022 that the law's initiator, Nadira Narmatova, owned the deeds to the building that houses Russia's consulate in Kyrgyzstan's second-largest city, Osh. Did this fact not make Narmatova herself a "foreign agent," Politklinika asked in its investigation, only somewhat tongue-in-cheek. When that question was put to her again in the parliament last month by one of the few lawmakers opposed to the law, Narmatova admitted that she continued to lease the building to Russia but took umbrage at the suggestion that this prejudiced her views on NGOs. "This bill has nothing to do with my personal life. We are late [passing it]. If we had adopted the law 10 years ago there would not have been questions like yours and there would not have been sellouts working for the state," said Narmatova in comments reported by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service on February 22. But Narmatova is arguably a sideshow in all of this because without a nod from Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov the bill would not be making the progress it has. Japarov has shown since he came to power in 2020 that he doesn't need a command from Moscow to jail activists, journalists, and political opponents who try to obstruct his agenda. In this sense, said Umarov of Carnegie, Russia is only "supporting the leadership of Kyrgyzstan, which has taken the course of autocracy." More than 29,000 NGOs are currently registered in Kyrgyzstan -- a country of 7 million people -- almost twice the number that are registered in Kazakhstan, which has a population of nearly 20 million. Turkmenistan is still Central Asia's civic wasteland, while authorities in Tajikistan, the region's poorest country, may be heading in the same direction. An analysis by the Tajik independent news website Asia-Plus in August 2023 showed that NGO liquidations there outpaced registrations 711 to 217 over the period covering all of 2022 and the first half of 2023. One NGO shuttered by a court over alleged violations of its charter in 2023 was the Independent Center for Human Rights Protection, a prominent nonprofit that offered free legal services to activists and journalists under arrest. Uzbekistan, the region's most-populous country with around 35 million people, has about 9,000 NGOs, according to Yuksalish, a government-backed think tank, which sent them all its best wishes on World NGO Day. But as independent Tashkent-based civil campaigner Irina Matvienko noted in a 2021 opinion piece for Open Democracy, "the majority are actually government-organized nongovernmental organizations, or GONGOs," while the amount of funding that NGOs can legally source from abroad remains pitifully low. Uzbek rights defender Agzam Turgunov -- released from a nine-year stint in jail in 2017 -- learned last week that his application to register a would-be rights organization called Human Rights House had been scuppered for a 14th time after a Tashkent court agreed with the Justice Ministry's objections to its registration. "Preventive measures" by Russia? They are hardly necessary. For the last 20 years, the mayor's office of the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk has run a volunteer program for teenagers aged 14 to 18 called the Mayor's Labor Brigade. "Participants in the Labor Brigade will work as usual to clean up parks, city squares and embankments, residential courtyards, and other relaxation areas for city residents," one 2010 newspaper announcement for the program read. Since last year, however, the Krasnoyarsk teens have taken on a different set of tasks, a spokesman for the mayor's office told RFE/RL: sewing items and preparing care packages for Russian troops invading Ukraine. The sewing machines were donated by "engaged entrepreneurs at the request of the head of the Central District administration," according to one post published by Labor Brigade's social media pages. Russia's economy is already on war footing as the Kremlin prioritizes building weaponry and supplying equipment to fuel the invasion, now in its third year. The result is labor shortages as large sectors of the economy scramble to find employees. That in turn has driven up wages in many industries. The Krasnoyarsk program, which has just opened its 2024 recruiting campaign, is just one of many across the country that have been engaging underage children in tasks supporting the war, a phenomenon one labor expert described as "the militarization of childhood." An increasing number of these "militarized initiatives" are being carried out by commercial enterprises seeking to compensate for labor shortages in an emerging, war-centered gray economy, said the expert, who, like others quoted in this article, asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution or prosecution by authorities. "It can be risky for employers to use child labor," the expert said, "because the majority of minors are working without proper documents." A representative of the Krasnoyarsk Labor Brigade told RFE/RL that volunteers can choose their preferred type of work, adding that the option to sew items for troops in Ukraine appeared last summer and was "in high demand." The teens had sent more than 300 items in the last two months to "the warriors in the special military operation," the Kremlin's euphemism for the Ukraine invasion. "They finished almost 50 camouflage nets," the representative said. "Participants also helped pack care packages to be sent to the zone of military activity." The parents of several schoolchildren said the city administration sent representatives into the schools to recruit volunteers. "But without heavy pressure, thank God," a mother of an eighth-grader told RFE/RL. "Of course, if they start pressuring, it will be harder to refuse than it is now." 'Stockings For Stumps' During his state-of-the-nation address on February 29, President Vladimir Putin praised workers, entrepreneurs, engineers, volunteers, political parties, and others for "their responsible, tireless work to support Russia's interests," claiming that "this just struggle belongs to our citizens." Over the last few months, this has increasingly included children as young as 9 or 10. Last November, students at School No. 8 in Mozhga, a town in the central region of Udmurtia, launched a "volunteer" initiative to help wounded war veterans. They have been knitting special stockings for amputees that are intended to prevent prosthetic devices from chafing. The school itself was named in December 2022 in honor of a former student who was killed months earlier in fighting in Ukraine. According to a post on the social media platform VK, the initiative is called Stockings for Stumps. The program's coordinator, a student named Vasilisa Skovordnikova, wrote that "mothers and grandmothers" of the children help them learn how to knit and that a goal of the program is "to give moral and physical help to participants in the special military operation who have had parts of their bodies amputated." Each child has been set the goal of producing 35 stockings. Several students in the program said participants were recruited on a volunteer basis but under some pressure that refusal could have negative consequences. There were "notes of blackmail," one student told RFE/RL. "They didn't directly force us, but they hinted that participation in 'socially significant' activities was taken into consideration when you apply to college," another student said. "This didn't bother me because I volunteered. I have heard that other students signed on to get credit but then get their mothers to knit the stockings." In the Tatarstan city of Mamadysh, schoolchildren have been finishing stabilizing fins for drone-dropped bombs to be used in Ukraine. The plastic fins are produced using 3-D printers and are then worked and polished by the children, according to a report on local state TV. In the report, one child who appears to be about 10 years old is shown demonstrating a tourniquet that the children are also assembling from printed parts. They're also shown preparing plastic cases for storing doses of painkillers to be administered at the front. In Abakan, the capital of the southern region of Khakassia, the local branch of the ruling United Russia party has recruited children with hearing disabilities to produce "trench candles" -- tin cans stuffed with cardboard and filled with paraffin wax that burn for several hours. "The work is rather tedious and takes a long time," a post to the party's social media page dated October 2023 said. "But the kids are taking part in this mass program with great interest. Trench candles are really an essential item at the front. Soldiers use them to warm themselves or to heat up food and water." The program, called Warmth From Home, had already been implemented in 28 regions, the post said. "I know of one candlemaker who was invited to conduct a seminar on producing trench candles for students in the third grade," another expert on child labor told RFE/RL. "That is, kids who are 9 or 10." "We aren't talking about producing one candle," he added. "One class might make dozens at a time. And this is hazardous work." Fumes from heating and pouring several kilograms of paraffin can be harmful, he said, and there is the risk of receiving chemical burns if hot wax spills onto skin. Soldiers, he said, are trained not to burn the candles in enclosed spaces. Last August, reports emerged that a technical university in Tatarstan was using students, some as young as 15, to assemble Iranian-produced attack drones. At the time, RFE/RL's Idel.Realities interviewed dozens of parents of the students who claimed the children were being forced to work long hours without proper breaks or meals. The program, said Sergei Podsytnik, a reporter who runs a Telegram channel focusing on the Samara region, was "a textbook definition of what constitutes exploitation." Around the same time, the governor of the Far Eastern Chukotka region reported that "college students, instructors, and volunteers" were assembling drones for the military as well. In March 2023, lawmakers in the Rostov regional legislature debated whether it was necessary to receive the permission of parents before recruiting children into the "socially significant work" of providing equipment to the troops. "Don't parents trust the schools?" Communist Party lawmaker Tatyana Ivashchenko was quoted as saying during the debate. "[Children] don't lift anything heavier than a blackboard eraser through the 11th grade," she added. "And then three years later they have to pull their friend out of a battlefield. That isn't right, in my opinion." RFE/RL correspondent Robert Coalson contributed to this report. Blink movie OTT Platform Release Date update News Blink is a Kannada-language musical film Blink movie OTT Platform Release Date Update News : Blink movie which has been released on, March 8, 2024. It is a Kannada-language musical film that features actors like Dheekshith Shetty, Chaithra Achar, Gopal Deshpande and Mandara Battalahalli, while it is directed by Srinidhi Bengaluru. Blink is a musical film that delves into the complexities of family, secrets, and self-discovery. Apoorva, a young man in Bengaluru, grapples with concealing his academic failures from his mother while navigating the challenges of multiple part-time jobs. Advertisement His reliance on his love interest, Swapna, adds depth to his character as he seeks support amidst his struggles. However, Apoorva's life takes a drastic turn when he discovers he possesses a unique ability to control blinking, which unveils hidden truths about his father's survival. This revelation propels him on a journey of self-discovery and understanding, as he confronts his past and learns to embrace his identity. "Blink" OTT Platform Release Date Update News: The makers of "Blink" have not yet confirmed any OTT release date as of now. However, there might be further announcements regarding the streaming of the movie online after its theatrical release. Ex-Congress MLA Gurpreet Singh GP joins AAP Lok Sabha election 2024 MLA Gurpreet Singh GP switched to the Aam Aadmi Party Lok Sabha Election 2024, Gurpreet Singh GP joins AAP: In a major blow to the Congress party ahead of the Lok Sabha election 2024, former MLA Gurpreet Singh GP switched to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday. Gurpreet Singh previously served as MLA for the Bassi Pathana Assembly constituency in Fatehgarh Sahib district, securing victory in 2017. However, he faced defeat in the 2022 Assembly elections when he contested for the same seat. Advertisement Punjab's Cabinet Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer expressed optimism about the AAP's prospects in Fatehgarh Sahib with the inclusion of Gurpreet Singh, citing a boost for the party. Gurpreet Singh cited 'lack of discipline' within the Congress party as his reason for departure, highlighting his admiration for the work done by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. "I admire CM Bhagwant Mann's integrity. That's why we're joining the AAP. Today, at the common people level, people only talk about the AAP," stated Gurpreet Singh upon joining the party. Meanwhile, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer emphasized that decisions regarding tickets will be made by the party's political affairs committee. Advertisement (For more news apart from MLA Gurpreet Singh GP joining AAP in Chandigarh, Stay tuned to Rozana spokesman) PM Narendra Modi Takes Elephant Safari in Assam's Kaziranga PM Narendra Modi at Kaziranga National Park PM Narendra Modi at Kaziranga National Park: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a two-day visit to Assam from March 8. Meanwhile, he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of projects costing Rs 18,000 crore. Today, he went to a jungle safari in Kaziranga National Park. PM Modi stayed at Kaziranga National Park on the evening of March 8. Kaziranga National Park is spread over 430 square kilometers and more than 1000 animals of different species live in it. But the specialty of this reserve is the one-horned rhinoceros. According to government data, there are more than 2200 one-horned rhinos in this park. Advertisement PM Narendra Modi Takes Elephant Safari Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at Kaziranga National Park on Friday to a warm welcome from locals. In the meanwhile, people were seen excited to catch a glimpse of him during his journey from the airport to the Kaziranga Guest House. After spending the night there, he set off for a two-hour visit to the park, known for its population of over 180 Bengal tigers. Following his time at Kaziranga, PM Modi will now travel to Arunachal Pradesh for two events. Upon returning to Jorhat in the afternoon, he will inaugurate the 'Statue of Bravery,' a 125-foot-tall monument honoring the great Ahom commander Lachit Borphukan. Later, he will visit Meleng Meteli Pother to inaugurate and lay foundation stones for various central and state projects totaling around Rs 18,000 crore. Advertisement Meanwhile, traditional Bihu and other folk songs and dances were performed on the route and PM Modi felicitated them in a post on social media platform 'X'. While sharing pictures of the presentations, the Prime Minister wrote on 'X', "A very special welcome was received in Golaghat district of Assam. Glimpse of Assam's diverse and beautiful culture." (For more news apart from PM Narendra Modi at Kaziranga National Park, Stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Oil prices fell on Friday amid uncertainty about the outlook for demand from China as data showed a drop in the country's oil imports in the first two months of the year, compared to December 2023. Customs data showed Chinese imports of crude oil rose 5.1% in the first two months of 2024 from a year earlier. However, imports were down 5.7% compared to December 2023, the data showed. The International Energy Agency (IEA) had said on Thursday that the global oil market "is relatively well supplied with demand growth slowing, while supply is increasing from the Americas." "Depending on the pace of oil demand growth going forward, the strength of summer demand, any unexpected outages, we see that the market (is) relatively well supplied this year," said Toril Bosoni, the head of the agency. The IEA expects "relatively calm " even though OPEC' recently decided to extend supply cuts, she added. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended lower by $0.92 or about 1.2% at $78.01 a barrel. WTI crude futures shed about 2.5% in the week. Brent crude futures settled at $82.08 a barrel, losing $0.88 or about 1.1%. Traders also digested the mixed jobs data from the Labor Department. The data said non-farm payroll employment surged by 275,000 jobs in February, while economists had expected employment to jump by 200,000 jobs. However, the report also said job growth in December and January was downwardly revised to 290,000 and 229,000 jobs, respectively, reflecting a net downward revision of 167,000 jobs. The unemployment rate rose to 3.9% in February from 3.7% in January. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to come in unchanged. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Market Analysis California and San Diego County in particular has an affordable housing shortage. Coming to a consensus on adequately addressing this shortage has understandably hit speed bumps due to concerns about the environment, public safety and other quality-of-life issues. However, doing nothing is not an option, not at a time when rents and home sale prices are continuing to rise and threatening the financial stability of more Californians. We believe that people across the political spectrum at the state and local governments must work together to encourage responsible housing solutions whenever possible. In Encinitas, one of the city councils top priorities is updating its granny flat policy to help local residents manage evolving housing needs and address the citys affordable housing shortage. The city believes it has hundreds of granny flats that homeowners have on their properties without permits. We want those units to have the proper permits, but most importantly to ensure they are safe for human habitation. Advertisement We want to bring existing granny flats out of the shadows and make their creation and permitting easier. A granny flat (known as an accessory dwelling unit or ADU) is a self-contained living area for one or two people typically located on the property of a single-family home. The granny flat can be attached to the main home or detached. A granny flat is called that because it is used by some families to house elderly parents who desire privacy but want to be close to their adult children and young grandchildren. The small units are not limited to grandparents of course they can also include other relatives, in-home health care providers, and family friends. The units offer many benefits, such as providing needed income to homeowners and meeting needs of multigenerational families. To encourage new and responsible granny flat construction, Encinitas waived all city fees for the development of such units and is creating a permit-ready program where the city provides plans for already approved units. Because the granny flats are designed to provide long-term housing, not serve the tourist market, owners who wish to offer them for rent must do so for at least 30 days. This ensures that the units will not be used as vacation rentals, thus avoiding the public safety problems that some short-term rentals have raised in other communities. We believe that some owners rent their granny flats at below-market rate, which means those rentals can qualify as affordable housing. While Encinitas has done everything it could on its own to responsibly increase and regulate granny flats, it still needs help from the state Legislature to update existing law to ensure that it has the clear authority to further respond to local needs. That is why we have partnered together to craft Senate Bill 1226 (Bates) this year that will help not just Encinitas, but any other city that would like to permit granny flats. The bill would direct the California Building Standards Commission to adopt a building standard that would clarify the authority of local governments to permit an existing granny flat based on the year the granny flat was constructed. For example, if the granny flat was constructed in 1986, the building inspector could use the code in effect in 1986 to issue a permit. The bill would allow homeowners to bring unpermitted granny flats out of the shadows and up to code, ensuring basic safety and protection of community character. We are encouraged that the state Senate approved SB 1226 on a unanimous vote in May and the bill is currently pending consideration in the Assembly. We are hopeful that Governor Brown will sign the bill should it reach his desk. Granny flats may not be a housing solution for every community. But what SB 1226 will do is give local governments an additional tool to help accommodate the housing needs of their citizens. Ultimately, SB 1226 is about keeping residents safe, encouraging the construction of more affordable housing, and preserving local control. We hope the Legislature and the governor will seize this opportunity to help move our state safely forward. Bates, R-Laguna Niguel, represents the 36th District in the California State Senate. The district covers northern San Diego and southern Orange counties. Blakespear is the mayor of Encinitas. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 9. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will propose considering the issue of recognizing Palestine, the Prime Minister wrote on his X page, Trend reports. The Prime Minister said he would propose to the Spanish Parliament Spanish recognition of a Palestinian state during his current term in office. "For moral reasons, for reasons of justice and because this is the only way for two states - Israel and Palestine - to live in peace and live together," he said.. Map locates the Panama Canal and provides details about a proposal for a new dry canal in Colombia This nation that lost its isthmus to U.S.-backed separatists a century ago long has dreamed of creating an alternative to the Panama Canal, which has given its neighbor so much strategic heft and wealth in shipping tolls. So when President Juan Manuel Santos recently said Colombia and China were working on building a dry canal to connect the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea by railway, Colombians wondered: Is it for real? Or is it just another of many pipe dreams to rival Panamas crossing. In an interview with The Financial Times last month, Santos called the plan quite advanced. Advertisement What he did not explain was that the plan remains largely conceptional, senior government officials, Chinese diplomats and industry authorities told The Associated Press. In an interview Wednesday, Transport Minister German Cardona called the proposed railway a rough draft ... an idea floated by the Chinese four or five months ago. He said he was also unfamiliar with a project Santos mentioned in a New York Times interview published last weekend to build a related city for 250,000 people on the Caribbean coast. Another senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, told the AP the entire railway scheme was at this stage a Chinese story, a Spanish idiom for a tall tale. No letter of intent has been signed and there are serious doubts it would be environmentally wise or economically feasible to construct a railway through or near the Darien Gap - swamp-laced virgin jungle where leftist rebels still roam. According to Santos, Chinas railway engineers intend to connect an unspecified Pacific port to the new city to be built near Cartagena. There, the Chinese would assemble products to be sent to the United States and elsewhere. The trains would carry back Colombian coal and other China-bound raw materials. The executive director of Latinports, an association of more than 20 port authorities in the Americas, said he has only heard about the project from media reports. What we dont know is how real this is, said the official, Julian Palacio. Or how feasible to think it could compete with the Panama Canal. The general manager of the port society of Buenaventura, Colombias only major Pacific port, Domingo Chinea, said it was a joke to think a rail line could compete with the Panama Canal. Transporting by rail the cargo that a single ship can bear across the Panama Canal would require about 80 train trips, he estimated. Plus, Buenaventura can only handle ships of up to 40,000 tons - compared to the 100,000-ton vessels that can move through Panama. Whether or not Santos is sincere, Heather Berkman, a Latin America analyst with the Eurasia Group, says it smacks of political brinkmanship. Colombian frustration over the U.S. Congress failure to ratify a free trade deal is growing. And few things rattle congressional nerves like the threat of losing more trade and investment opportunities to China. Santos statement was, Berkman said, only natural as a political strategy to pressure the U.S. Congress: If youre not here, then Chinas going to come and start building things and were going to do more trade with them. The U.S. government response has been muted. Asked for reaction, the U.S. Embassy in Bogota said it was aware of the reports and We look forward to learning more about this project. The Chinese Embassys commercial counselor in Bogota, Zhou Quan, said the railway project is in its formative stage, and is among several proposed projects in Colombia being considered by Chinas state rail construction company. There is a project for a railway that connects the Atlantic coast of Colombia with the Pacific coast, but the fact is that they (Chinese agencies) are still discussing it, he said. The idea of alternatives to the Panama Canal is not new. But none have proven worthwhile to investors. Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica all have considered the idea. Nicaragua repeatedly has announced plans for a rail, road or even water link. And Mexico has been working on the idea since the mid-19th century. In the 1990s, Colombian President Ernesto Samper floated a plan for an interoceanic canal that quickly evaporated. Critics said he was trying to divert attention from having received campaign funds from drug traffickers. Colombian proposals have never solved the matter of the Darien Gap, a region so wild it is the one missing link in the Pan-American Highway. It also is home to the Los Katios National Park, a 72,000-hectare (278-square-mile) preserve that is a UNESCO world heritage site. The region is swampy and where the land is firm it is, in many places, covered by 10 meters or more of vegetation, said Jose Fernando Isaza, a former minister of public works and transport. Alberto Aleman, the Panama Canals administrator, meanwhile, questioned why anyone would invest in a costly alternative given the canals success and current expansion. He says a $5.3 billion project to widen the 55-mile-long (89-kilometer-long) waterway, expected to be ready in 2014, will double its commercial cargo capacity to 600 million tons a year. Salomon Kalmanovitz, dean of the economics faculty at Jorge Tadeo Lozano University and Colombias former chief central banker, called any dry canal plan untenable. Panama, he said, remains the lone option for good reason: No alternative to the canal is profitable. --- Associated Press writers Libardo Cardona in Bogota and Kathia Martinez in Panama contributed to this report. Culture refers to behaviors that are socially learned and persist within a population over time. Increasing evidence suggests that animal culture can, like human culture, be cumulative. However, human cumulative culture involves behaviors so complex that they lie beyond the capacity of any individual to independently discover during their lifetime. New research shows that buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) can learn from trained conspecifics to open a novel two-step puzzle box to obtain food rewards, even though they fail to do so independently. This groundbreaking research opens new avenues for understanding animal intelligence and the evolution of social learning, said study senior author Professor Lars Chittka, a researcher at Queen Mary University of London. It challenges longstanding assumptions and paves the way for further exploration of the cognitive wonders hidden within the insect world, even hinting at the exciting possibility of cumulative culture amongst seemingly simple creatures. Professor Chittka and his colleagues designed a two-step puzzle box requiring bumblebees to perform two distinct actions in sequence to access a sweet reward at the end. Training bees to do this was no easy task, and bees had to be helped along by the addition of an extra reward along the way. This temporary reward was eventually taken away, and bees subsequently had to open the whole box before getting their treat. Surprisingly, while individual bees struggled to solve the puzzle when starting from scratch, those allowed to observe a trained demonstrator bee readily learned the entire sequence even the first step while only getting a reward at the end. The study demonstrates that bumblebees possess a level of social learning previously thought to be exclusive to humans. They can share and acquire behaviors that are beyond their individual cognitive capabilities: an ability thought to underpin the expansive, complex nature of human culture, and one previously thought to be exclusive to us. This is an extremely difficult task for bees, said study first author Dr. Alice Bridges, a researcher at Queen Mary University of London and the University of Sheffield. They had to learn two steps to get the reward, with the first behavior in the sequence being unrewarded. We initially needed to train demonstrator bees with a temporary reward included there, highlighting the complexity. Yet, other bees learned the whole sequence from social observation of these trained bees, even without ever experiencing the first steps reward. But when we let other bees attempt to open the box without a trained bee to demonstrate the solution, they didnt manage to open any at all. Beyond individual learning, this research opens exciting possibilities for understanding the emergence of cumulative culture in the animal kingdom. Cumulative culture refers to the gradual accumulation of knowledge and skills over generations, allowing for increasingly complex behaviors to develop. The bees ability to learn such a complex task from a demonstrator suggests a potential pathway for cultural transmission and innovation beyond their individual learning capabilities. This challenges the traditional view that only humans can socially learn complex behavior beyond individual learning, Professor Chittka said. It raises the fascinating possibility that many of the most remarkable accomplishments of the social insects, like the nesting architectures of bees and wasps or the agricultural habits of aphid- and fungus-farming ants, may have initially spread by copying of clever innovators, before they eventually became part of the species-specific behavior repertoires. The research is described in a paper published March 6, 2024 in the journal Nature. _____ A.D. Bridges et al. Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone. Nature, published online March 6, 2024; doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07126-4 Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group (GFH) has announced that it has acted as one of the joint lead managers and bookrunners for the successful issuance of a $500 million five-year sukuk by Arabian Centers Company (trading as Cenomi Centers), a leading shopping mall owner, developer and operator in Saudi Arabia. With a total order book exceeding $1.6 billion, representing an impressive 3.2X oversubscription, the transaction was met with strong international investor demand from Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America. On the key role, Ahmed A.Rahman Jamsheer, Head of Treasury Investments at GFH, said: "Were delighted to have played a strategic role in this transaction for Cenomi Centers. The success of this issuance not only demonstrates GFHs strong capital markets capabilities but also reflects the trust and confidence that investors worldwide place in the Group." "Furthermore, through this issuance, we are pleased to support Cenomis vision to provide its customers in the kingdom with world-class lifestyle propositions," stated Jamsheer. "In alignment with Saudi Vision 2030, GFH is dedicated to helping deliver infrastructure and other strategic projects that contribute to the Kingdoms economic diversification and growth," he noted. Frederik Foussat, the Chief Financial Officer at Cenomi Centers, said: "This is a strategic transaction as we continue to execute on our corporate finance strategy to enable us to drive forward our growth journey during this very exciting time of opportunity and transformation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia." "We are grateful for the support GFH provided, and the Groups regional and global reach with a high quality and diverse investor base was instrumental in the successful conclusion of this issuance," he added.-TradeArabia News Service BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 9. Ankara is considering options for supplying Turkmen gas to Turkiye through Azerbaijan, Iran and the Caspian Sea, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said, Trend reports. "Turkmen gas is an issue that has been on our agenda for many years. There are three options for gas delivery. One of them is that Turkmen gas is transferred to Turkiye through Iran via swap. Another option is that it arrives in Turkiye by exchange through Iran and Azerbaijan. Alternatively, Turkmen gas could be supplied to Turkiye via a gas pipeline passing through the Caspian Sea, which is essentially longer lasting, more stable and has a larger capacity ability. All these options are being considered and, to begin with, up to 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas can be transferred from Turkmenistan, the minister said. Bayraktar also touched upon the issue of creating a gas trading center in Turkiye. Turkiye is working on a gas trading platform for the Istanbul financial center, primarily with Gazprom. We think that we will be able to put this platform into operation in a short time, Bayraktar noted. Dasha Astafieva, a Ukrainian model known for her Playboy covers, recalls her photo shoot that led to her subsequent appearance in the magazine. Against the background of the rich models who were shooting for Hugh Hefner's product, the girl was poor and had a poor command of a foreign language, but this did not prevent her from "accidentally" saving up part of the money to buy an apartment and moving from the town of Pokrov in the Dnipro region to the capital. ADVERTISIMENT In an interview with Emma Antoniuk in No One Will Watch This, Astafieva said that her very first photo shoot, which later appeared in a Playboy issue, was exhausting and boring. To appear stylish, the woman took a fashionable Sinslay handbag along with her second-hand clothes, but it did not save the day, as the organizers did not recognize the young girl as a model at first. "I didn't even think I'd make it to Playboy, and my first photo shoot was the most uninteresting, 'passable' photo shoot. I had a guy who I worked with as my agent, and he set a task. He said: "You're so cool, you've already taken pictures with everyone, now you need to earn a lot of money. You need a photographer not who is paid, but who pays you." I find such a photographer, arrive in Kyiv, walk from the train station and ask everyone where Pushkinska Street is. I find this studio all dressed up in second-hand clothes: a shawl, a velvet coat, and a bag I bought on purpose to make them think I was a cool model, a Sislay bag on wheels... I walk in and they say: "Girl, come out, we're having a photo shoot here". And I said: "So you're the ones waiting for me," she recalled. ADVERTISIMENT Due to the delay on the set, Astafieva missed her train and so, in order not to miss the chance, she was photographed all night. "I was published in Playboy under the name Letafieva, and I realize now that either they didn't want me to be found or they didn't want them to know who I was. And my mom calls Playboy and says: "I'm going to f*cking burn down your publishing house if you don't reprint." And they said: "We're not going to reprint it," the model said about her first appearance in the magazine. Later, she was invited to the magazine's 55th Anniversary Playmate award, which helped her save up some of the money to pay for an apartment in the capital. ADVERTISIMENT "When I arrived at Playboy, it was like a punishment, I found diamonds everywhere. I went into the locker room and found a small earring with diamonds. I dove into Playboy in the pool and found the ring. I went to the cleaning lady and told her what I found. She said, "Everything you find belongs to you. I came back with a handful of everything I found and my prize for doing the shoot, my award for winning the 55th Anniversary Playmate contest, which I couldn't even pronounce at the time. And with this handful of diamonds, I paid a deposit for an apartment, which I later bought in Kyiv," the woman recalled. Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! photo: Laura Bianchi Amina Gautier is the author of three award-winning short story collections: At-Risk, Now We Will Be Happy, and The Loss of All Lost Things. Gautier has published more than 150 short stories and has received the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story. She holds a Ph.D. in English Literature and is a native of New York City. The Best that You Can Do (Soft Skull Press) is a collection of very short fiction. Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less: A collection of very short stories that elaborate on the realities of a diasporic existence, split identities, and the beautiful potency of meaningful connections. On your nightstand now: The nightstand is pretty stacked. On it I've got A. Van Jordan's poetry collection When I Waked, I Cried to Dream Again; [Theodore] Ted Wheeler's historical novel The War Begins in Paris; Susan Muaddi Darraj's short story collection Behind You Is the Sea; Dionne Irving's short story collection, The Islands, and her novel, Quint; Katherine Vaz's novel Above the Salt; Jhumpa Lahiri's Roman Stories; and Gioia Diliberto's historical novel Coco at the Ritz. For rereading, I have Marc Fitten's novel Valeria's Last Stand; Michael Cunningham's The Hours; Colson Whitehead's Underground Railroad; Nella Larsen's novels, Quicksand and Passing; and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Favorite book when you were a child: Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. I first read it during the summer between my fifth- and sixth-grade years and then I read it again in ninth grade. I was a total tomboy, a real rough-and-tumble kid, and I was fortunate enough to be raised alongside a male cousin, who became a surrogate older brother for me. I followed him around, lived in his shadow, and always wanted to do everything he did--wrestle, karate-chop, light fireworks--and I have all the scars to prove it. When I read To Kill a Mockingbird, I loved the sibling dynamic between Scout and her older brother, Jem, and I saw similarities between the scrappy, intelligent, inquisitive Scout and myself. Your top five authors: I love the language and imagery of Stuart Dybek; the subtlety and restraint of Kazuo Ishiguro; the linguistic mastery and unapologetic bluntness of Jamaica Kincaid; the imagery, style, and structural maneuvers of Jhumpa Lahiri; and the satire, intelligence, and wit of Percival Everett. Book you've faked reading: Oh, I never ever fake it. Book you're an evangelist for: John Gardner's The Art of Fiction. Book you've bought for the cover: I never judge books by their covers. Book you hid from your parents: Why would I ever hide a book? Book that changed your life: This one is a two-fer. Reading Charles Chesnutt's The House Behind the Cedars while an undergraduate at Stanford University inspired me to pursue graduate studies, obtain a Ph.D., and become a literature professor whose research is grounded in 19th-century American literature. Reading Alice Walker's The Color Purple helped change my personal, rather than professional, life. At the time of my reading the novel, I was still figuring out my spiritual beliefs, and I found myself encountering a lot of religious hypocrites whose behavior left much to be desired. Reading Walker's novel--especially the part where Celie and Shug, two women who have had religion weaponized against them, have a debate about religion that transforms into a conversation about love, joy, and giving the best of oneself as a form of worship--cut through the noise of the hypocrisy and helped shape my thinking about such matters in new and innovative ways. Favorite line from a book: Another two-fer. My favorite line from any book comes from John Gardner's The Art of Fiction: "To write with taste, in the highest sense, is to write with the assumption that one out of a hundred people who read one's work may be dying, or have some loved one dying; to write so that no one commits suicide, no one despairs; to write, as Shakespeare wrote, so that people understand, sympathize, see the universality of pain, and feel strengthened, if not directly encouraged to live on." A close second comes from one of Celie and Shug Avery's conversations in The Color Purple when Shug says, "I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it." Five books you'll never part with: Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day, Charles Johnson's Middle Passage, A. Van Jordan's M-A-C-N-O-L-I-A, Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies, and Toni Morrison's Beloved. Book you most want to read again for the first time: Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. I was a great fan of Jo March, another tomboy who was tough, loving, and smart and who didn't conform to societal expectations, even when times were rough or financially challenging (and who wanted to be a writer!). I enjoyed her friendship with Laurie--and then I got to the part where Jo's sister Amy marries Laurie. I got so angry I threw the book across the room and never finished it. I didn't necessarily want Jo and Laurie to be together if they were just friends, but it seemed icky for Laurie to get with her sister afterwards. I was definitely too young when I read it, because I still liked those nice convenient endings where characters did what they ought to and everything worked out well with a silver bow. I hadn't learned yet to read as a writer. I've since reread or finished reading numerous books that upset me or which I didn't care for or understand upon first read, but Little Women is one I've never been able to return to. I'd like to revisit it with mature eyes. Favorite short stories when you were a child: I loved Toni Cade Bambara's "Gorilla, My Love"; Katherine Mansfield's "Bliss"; Stanley Elkin's "A Poetics for Bullies"; and Philip Roth's "The Conversion of the Jews," all of which I read between sixth and eighth grades. From fourth through sixth grade, the short stories I'd been assigned to read were of this ilk: O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi"; Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death"; Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Birth-Mark." They are stories with ethereal qualities where much depends upon coincidence. They weren't doing it for me. I found what I was looking for when I got assigned the Bambara and the Elkin stories, with their sassy and young narrator-protagonists who hide behind their bravado to conceal their own sensitivity and their difficulties navigating the perplexities of an adult world in which they find themselves prematurely thrust and whose rules are constantly changing. Then you have the Mansfield and the Roth, which don't rely as much on voice and use close third-person points of view but allow their reader deep dives into the minds of their protagonists at moments where their beliefs and expectations are upended. The Mansfield story has that poignant moment with Bertha Young and the pear tree, and the Roth story has that hilarious moment where all the boys encourage Ozzie to jump because they've misheard the word martyr as Martin--that never fails to crack me up. Those four stories have remained close to my heart for some 35 years now. Popular Ukrainian actress, educator, and prima donna of the Diesel Studio projects Maryna Poplavska would have celebrated her next birthday today, March 9. She would have turned 54 years old. ADVERTISIMENT Five years ago, in October 2018, the artist's life was cut short by a terrible accident. In an interview withOBOZ.UA, Liudmyla Poplavska, Marina's younger sister, revealed unknown pages from the life of her dearest person. "In my sister's passport, her name is Marianna, which is how my mother named her," says Liudmyla. "She once told me that this was the name of a French figure skater she really liked. She said before the birth of the child: if it's a girl, it will be Marianna. My mom and dad always called her at home very tenderly Maryana. They loved us, their two girls, very much." "Our father's parents are Polish," says Liudmyla. "When she gave interviews, Marianna often mentioned our paternal great-grandmother Fania, who lived for 96 years. She said that she taught her Ukrainian and Polish songs, prayers, and Polish. Our father and mother were married in a church. My sister and I were baptized in a Catholic church. However, at home we celebrated holidays according to both Catholic and Orthodox traditions." ADVERTISIMENT "On March 9, my sister's birthday, we had a lot of guests at our house. Even when she was already studying at the Ivan Franko Pedagogical University, my parents would organize warm gatherings for her friends. My mother was a bread-and-butter hostess. She cooked very tasty food, despite the fact that she was an amateur cook and a doctor by profession. There was always a lot of fun at her birthdays, singing songs my father loved it. He was the head of the popular Polissia Falcons band and an active member of the Union of Poles in Zhytomyr Oblast. For many years, he sang in the choir of a Catholic church, the one where Marianna was buried after her death. By the way, she also went to the choir at the university she had a very beautiful voice." ADVERTISIMENT "When my husband and I got married, Marianna, of course, hosted our wedding. She performed so well she parodied Pugacheva, Gurchenko, and other famous artists. I don't know if I should talk about it, because I don't know how people will react. The war with Russia who could have thought of that... Marianna loved to make up parodies since school. Even teachers, for which she got in trouble more than once. She was very active and energetic. When we went for a walk in the city together, it was an evening of laughter. Her humor was sparkling. In addition, she read a lot she was an encyclopedia. Sayings of famous people, quotes from books and feature films, jokes all of this is like a "good day" for her. ADVERTISIMENT "Later she became a godmother to my older daughter. And the younger one also addressed her exclusively as 'godmother,'" Liudmyla continues, "There was not just love between them, it was a relationship on the verge of adoration. They had their own secrets, and constant phone calls. Marianna used to say: your children are my children." "When she became very famous, we didn't see each other as often as we would have liked, but we were always in touch. In her phone, I was recorded as 'my Liudochka', she was 'Marianna Frantsivna'. She laughed so much at this: 'You're a prankster. Once we had an important conversation, and she said: I have you, and you have me." Once I found one of her interviews on the Internet, where I read the following words: "Even if everyone turns away from me, I will be loved by the little hearts of my two nieces and my sister. And that will be enough for me. For me, this is the whole world. And I will be happy." ADVERTISIMENT Not all of her fans knew it, but the brilliant actress Maryna Poplavska had another profession that she considered her main one: she was a teacher at a school in Zhytomyr. "She worked there until the very end," says Liudmyla Poplavska. "I personally took her workbook from the school afterward. If she hadn't been a teacher, there probably wouldn't have been an acting profession. Her entire career began at the Pedagogical Institute, where she graduated with honors. It was only over time that I was transferred to a quarter-time position, and resigned from classroom management, but she categorically refused to leave the profession." ADVERTISIMENT Interestingly, Marianna Frantsivna graduated from a Russian-language school, but she applied to the pedagogical institute to study Ukrainian philology. According to Liudmyla, their family always spoke Ukrainian. "She had a clear division: stage life and school," adds the actress's sister. "She once said in an interview that she was a picky teacher. She said that her biggest fans were primary school children. When they saw her, they ran to hug her and take pictures. The older ones were more reserved. However, they respected and loved her very much, and it was mutual. By the way, I had the honor of attending some of her classes - she gave many open ones. She also participated in the Teacher of the Year competition. Marianna often said: "First and foremost, I am a teacher. If she came to Zhytomyr or returned from a concert through the city, she always stayed with her relatives: "We were waiting for her at any time of the day. She would call: I'll come over, but I have to be in Kyiv in the morning. We had everything arranged in this regard we had an agreement with a local driver who took her to work. All her things in our house are still in their places clothes, jewelry, books. My younger daughter took a liking to two of her rings and is wearing them. I love one pair of earrings Marianna gave them to me, and I cherish them." ADVERTISIMENT Maryna Poplavska passed away five years ago. Her life was cut short on October 20, 2018, as a result of an accident on a highway in the Kyiv region. There were 14 actors of the Diesel Studio on a bus traveling from a tour in Lviv to Kyiv. At the time of the collision, Poplavska was sitting next to the driver, and she died on the spot. "On that terrible morning, my cousin called me," Liudmyla recalls, "and asked how I was. And then: "They say here that Marianna died, but I don't believe it." My arms and legs were taken away from me... Marianna wrote to me around 12 am, saying that they decided to go home after the concert, not to spend the night in a hotel. She wrote: "We are going to Kyiv". There were no more messages. I turned on the TV and saw the news about her. It was around nine o'clock, three hours had passed since the tragedy." ADVERTISIMENT The loss of her sister is very difficult for Liudmyla: "I still refuse to accept the fact that she is gone it is very painful. I often wonder what she would be like now." Our heroine's mother and father have also passed away: "My father passed away in 2011, and my mother in 2013." Liudmyla Poplavska often comes to the cemetery. "The monument that we erected on Marianna's grave was made by a man who used to work with our father," says Liudmyla. We thought about the project for a long time, and he offered several options. Marianna was a person who radiated light, so we decided that the sculpture would be made of light stone. We gathered together to build the pedestal our family and 11 other women who knew my sister. Among them were close friends, school friends, girlfriends, and even two fans from Sumy and Sievierodonetsk. The woman from Sievierodonetsk even came to Zhytomyr. She has adored Marianna since the days of KVN, when she played in the team "Girls from Zhytomyr". She is a wonderful woman, very similar to our mother, by the way. We met when she wrote to me on Facebook and told me that she had been following Marianna's career for many years. You know, it was such a revelation for me. These two incredible women are my friends. There is another wonderful girl from Kamianske who also came to Zhytomyr." ADVERTISIMENT "After the tragedy, strangers came to my workplace just to talk about her," Liudmyla continues, "We sat and they told us that she paid for chemotherapy for someone, gave money for surgery for someone. People were thanking her, crying. And I was with them. And so many people came to say goodbye to her. And it was Monday, a working day. The media wrote about hundreds, thousands of people, but in reality there were more than twenty thousand. All the flowers were bought in Zhytomyr. People came and went, standing in long lines." ADVERTISIMENT As you know, after Marina Poplavska's death, Diesel Studio also ordered a monument that they wanted to install in the center of Zhytomyr. This led to a dispute between the team and Lyudmyla Poplavska. "The Diesel team publicly accused the woman of forbidding them to honor the memory of their colleague. "How could I forbid it?" Lyudmyla is surprised. "It was the city's decision. The Zhytomyr City Council held a public discussion. The majority of respondents did not support the placement of this composition in the city. What influence do I have on the public discussion? I am not against honoring the memory of my sister. But I am against this particular sculptural composition, which turned out to be far from the original and became the embodiment of bad taste." ADVERTISIMENT Liudmyla admits that she doesn't watch Diesel Show anymore: "I can selectively watch some episodes on YouTube just to see Marianna. Even when she was alive, I mostly watched only what was related to her. I know that a lot of people adored her in KVN. That period was really cool. We joked, sang, and wrote our own lyrics, which is hard work. Nowadays, there is a lot of low-grade humor, but back then everything was at a much higher level." There are pages in Maryna Poplavska's life that she was very reluctant to open to the public: "She didn't like to talk about her personal life in interviews." When asked why it happened that such an attractive woman in every sense did not officially have a partner, Liudmyla answered as follows: "You know, when a woman actually lives out of her suitcases all the time, what kind of man would like that? Besides, the stamp in the passport is a stereotype. And she always had supporters flowers, gifts, like all women." As Liudmyla admits, in recent years her sister had a beloved man who lived abroad: "He called us several times after Marianna passed away." ADVERTISIMENT "Unfortunately, my sister lived a short life," says Liudmyla, "but a bright one: she had family who adored her, many friends, and millions of fans who were in awe of her acting skills and charisma. Many people remember her with a kind word, honor her, and continue to enjoy her work now in recordings. A person lives as long as they are remembered." Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! A trade agreement between India and the four-member European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is set to be signed, with an investment totaling $100 billion over 15 years. This investment will be associated with the goal of generating one million jobs in India, as informed by sources familiar with the situation. A mechanism and a road map will be developed to achieve that kind of investment, one of the persons cited above told. The commitment is anticipated to form a segment of the investment chapter within the proposed trade agreement, rather than existing as a distinct investment pact. A delegation of officials representing the EFTA nations Iceland, Switzerland, Norway, and Liechtenstein is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi over the weekend for the formal signing of the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA). This marks India's inaugural trade pact with any European nation or bloc, and the fourth trade agreement slated for signing within a decade. In February 2021, India inked a free-trade agreement with Mauritius, succeeded by agreements with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Australia a year later. Within the framework of the TEPA, both nations are projected to grant duty-free access to a wide array of goods spanning various sectors. The most significant advantage for India under this agreement will be the commitment to a $100 billion investment. This is primarily because import duties in the EFTA nations are not substantially high. Consequently, India may encounter limited gains in terms of market access. India and the EFTA nations had launched negotiations on a broad-based trade and investment agreement more than 15 years ago. As many as 13 rounds of negotiations were held, after which talks were suspended in 2013. Talks resumed in 2016 and four more rounds of negotiations took place, and finally again in 2023. The last or the 21st round of talks took place during January 8-13 in New Delhi. Of all the four EFTA nations, Switzerland is Indias largest trading partner. Last financial year, Indias trade with EFTA countries resulted in a substantial trade deficit In FY23, Indias trade deficit with EFTA stood at $14.8 billion. Exports amounted to $1.9 billion, while imports reached $16.7 billion, resulting in a trade deficit. This deficit is largely due to significant gold imports from Switzerland. An India-Oman Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is currently being prepared for consideration by the Cabinet, according to informed sources. The Department of Commerce is in the process of finalizing a Cabinet note seeking approval for the FTA between India and Oman. India is eager to conclude the trade pact before the implementation of the model code of conduct preceding the general elections. The announcement of the model code of conduct is anticipated early next week. The anticipated trade agreement between India and the United Kingdom (UK) might not be completed prior to the implementation of the model code of conduct (MCC). However, officials have indicated that the deal is substantially complete, though some adjustments may still be necessary. Given the imminent arrival of the MCC, it could prove challenging to make an announcement and conduct the signing of the trade deal at a ministerial level. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. UK stand-up comedian and former Staten Islander Janine Harouni is embarking on her first stateside tour, starting April 25. The quick-witted Harouni returns with her most personal show yet: Manoushe, her second consecutive Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominated show, one of only eight acts selected out of 3,000 shows. This highly acclaimed new show will be performed at Manhattans Soho Playhouse from April 25 to April 27, followed by a performance on May 3 at the Netflix is a Joke Festival at The Dynasty Typewriter. Currently, Harouni is touring Manoushe across the UK and Ireland and India. More U.S. cities will be announced shortly. Harouni is a former Tottenville resident and alumna of St. Joseph Hill Academy and CUNY/College of Staten Island, whose stand-up clips have been viewed close to 100 million times on social media and have gained her half a million followers across TikTok and Instagram. Manoushe explores pregnancy, her Arab roots and an awkward DNA test result and follows her successful Stand Up with Janine Harouni (Please Remain Seated) which dealt with her relationship with her Conservative Republican father and a car accident on the Staten Island Expressway which left her right leg paralyzed. Between hit shows, Janine has appeared in the 2022 DC Comic film The Batman and the 2023 film The People We Hate at the Wedding, opposite Allison Janney. She has also appeared opposite Richard Kind in Thin Skinned, an award-winning short film by fellow Staten Island native and Impractical Jokers writer Joe Imburgio. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. This Sunday, when residents of New York spring forward to welcome Daylight Saving Time by moving their clocks one hour ahead, safety authorities encourage us to change the batteries in smoke detectors and test them to ensure that all detectors are functioning properly. Despite warnings about the importance of smoke-alarm maintenance, about two-thirds of fire deaths in the United States take place in homes with no smoke alarms or smoke alarms with no batteries or dead batteries, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The beginning and end of Daylight Saving Time offer reminders to start a good habit, fire officials say. Working smoke alarms are the most critical component of your escape plan, said New York City Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh. These devices are your first line of defense during a fire, so please make sure your alarm is functional by testing it monthly. So, while you may be tired from losing an hour of sleep as we move into Daylight Saving Time, its helpful to use the clock change as a reminder to change or test batteries, according to the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), which also warned that working detectors save lives but they have to be working to do so. And while the well-known Change Your Clocks, Change Your Batteries initiative encourages the public to change batteries, the NFPA said that residents should consider the multiple types of smoke alarms on the market and their varying battery requirements. Because working smoke alarms are a critical element of home fire safety, NFPA supports any and all efforts to reinforce the importance of working batteries, the international not-for-profit devoted to fire safety said in a recent announcement to the media. However, todays smoke alarms are not all designed the same, making battery messaging more nuanced. Some smoke alarms have non-replaceable batteries, designed to remain effective for up to 10 years. If the alarm chirps in that type of alarm, warning that the battery is low, residents should replace the entire smoke detector right away, the NFPA stated. Smoke alarms with any other type of replaceable battery need a new battery at least once a year, the NFPA said. If that alarm chirps, warning that the battery is low, replace the battery right away, the NFPA urged. When replacing a battery, follow manufacturers list of batteries on the back of the alarm or manufacturers instructions, the NFPA said. Manufacturers instructions are specific to the batteries (brand and model) that must be used and the smoke alarm may not work properly if a different kind of battery is used. Carbon Monoxide Detectors In addition to checking smoke alarms, batteries in carbon monoxide detectors should also be replaced at this time of year and again in the fall when we return to standard time, according to the CPSC. Carbon monoxide is the invisible killer its a colorless, odorless gas and it can kill within minutes, the CPSC stated on its website. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, just 42% of households report having a working carbon monoxide alarm. Changing the batteries in your smoke and CO alarms is the easiest way to ensure protection of your loved ones and your home in the event of a fire. In New York City, tenants and landlords are responsible for having working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in homes. Landlords are required by law to provide them, and tenants are required by law to maintain them and keep them in good working order with functioning batteries, according to the city office of Housing Preservation and Development. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- About 100 residents rallied at the migrant shelter in Midland Beach Friday evening expressing their displeasure with elected officials for permitting the development of the migrant shelter in what was once a senior living home. Protestors brandishing signs and banners of red, white, and blue, took to Father Capodanno Boulevard. Joining the assembly of Staten Islanders were figures such as Republican State Sen. Andrew Lanza, John Tobacco and artist activist Scott LoBaido. Lets militarize the subways. What could go wrong? Thats what Gov. Kathy Hochul has inexplicably chosen to do by sending 750 members of the National Guard, packing automatic weapons, into the New York City subway system to provide a reassuring presence to commuters and to check their bags. This sounds like its going to be more of an arduous process than having those cute dogs sniff your backpack or suitcase at the ferry terminals. State Police troopers are also being deployed as part of the effort. First of all, lets talk practical logistics. There are around 470 subway stations in the city. Some stations have multiple entrances and exits. How is the National Guard supposed to cover them all? If someone with something to hide knows that the soldiers are at one entrance, they can just use another. Or they can go to the next station uptown or downtown to avoid a search. So putting the National Guard in the subway system is little more than public safety theater. Or a bid to get New Yorkers used to a military presence among us so that the state can bigfoot its way across the city whenever it feels like it. I dont know about you, but seeing armed soldiers in the subway, or anywhere on city streets, doesnt necessarily fill me with happy, reassuring thoughts. At least not outside of times of war or pandemic. Passengers get rattled enough whenever they see a Coast Guard boat shadowing the Staten Island Ferry. Seeing soldiers makes me think that theres an emergency. That we need to be on high alert. The military shouldnt be used for public policing. They have other jobs to do. Let the NYPD do the policing. This kind of over-militarization is the stuff that the Founding Fathers warned us about. And if New Yorkers refuse to have their bags inspected? They can go home and not use the subway, Hochul says. What other autocratic conditions can the state place on us for use of public services? Whats next, demands to show our papers? Things in the subway are bad. I know that. Subway personnel are getting attacked. Passengers are being pushed off of platforms. New Yorkers dont feel safe underground, even though Mayor Eric Adams has said that crime is down, both in the city overall and in the subway system. But sometimes perception is reality. Passengers have concerns. But were not scared to the point that we need to call out the National Guard. It doesnt mean I want soldiers rummaging through my personal effects. And lets be honest. If this effort does happen to snare a criminal or two, what are the odds that that suspect is actually going to spend any time in jail? S. Forrest was hit on the head with a bottle recently while playing cello in the subway. The woman who accused of the assault, Amira Hunter, was freed without bail. She was later arrested for shoplifting and had to post $500 bail for that offense. Heck, the suspects arrested in the Long Island body parts case were released without bail. What would a subway passenger have to have in their backpack in order to face serious repercussions? It looks like Hochul did learn a thing or two while she was serving as Gov. Andrew Cuomos number two. In a slap at then-Mayor Bill de Blasio, Cuomo in 2017 sent New York State Police troopers to patrol city roadways, even though those roadways were already being patrolled by multiple law enforcement agencies. Now Hochul looks to bigfoot Adams on crime. She should let the NYPD do its job. Cillian Murphy, the Irish actor, star of "Oppenheimer", "The Hurt Locker", and a potential Oscar winner, rarely talks about his family, especially his wife, with whom he has been together for more than 28 years. With the love of his life, he has two sons, Malachi and Aaron, the younger of whom is already trying his hand at acting. ADVERTISIMENT Cillian Murphy's relationship with the artist Yvonne McGuinness began back in 1996 on the set of Disco Pig, when they were both 20 years old. Earlier, in an interview with The Guardian, the actor spoke about the event that marked the beginning of their acquaintance: "She came with us on tour. It was so exciting we were all just kids trying to find our way but such a special time." Yvonne McGuinness is an Irish creator who works in the field of video installations using "film, performance, sculptural and textile elements, sound and text." Their romance lasted until 2004 when Murphy proposed, and the couple has been married for 28 years. They hid any information about the relationship for a long time, but in August 2024, at the Golden Globe Awards, he appeared with his wife in public for the first time in a long time. ADVERTISIMENT Murphy even thanked her and her sons during his speech: "As I fail to do this too often, I want to thank my family. Two of the three of them are sitting down there. We had to leave one of them at home to take exams. But just thank you for putting up with me, putting up with half of me, my shadow, my absence, the remains of me when I'm doing movies like this [Oppenheimer] or working in general. You are always there for me. I love that. So thank you." The two children are Malachi, 18, and Aron, 16. The youngest son chose to pursue an acting career and followed in his father's footsteps. In February of this year, he signed a contract with a movie studio, the Mirror reported. Soon, the young man will be seen in the movie "Clara and the Sun", an adaptation of Ishiguro Kazuo's novel directed by Taika Waititi. He will be accompanied by Jenna Ortega and Amy Adams. ADVERTISIMENT Previously, Aran appeared in the movie "Lola" and in the touring play "Hamnet", where he played the main character. Until 2015, the family lived in London, Great Britain, but that year everything changed, because the actor decided to return to his homeland, Ireland, to Dublin. He dreamed of his children calling themselves Irish. In an interview with The Guardians, Murphy said that the children were able to easily adapt to the accent: "I guess we wanted them to be Irish. It's amazing how quickly their accents adapted. Even within a year of returning, they disappear into this depraved West British style." Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. With prices still whipping wallets from the grocery store to the housing market across the nation, sources of income feel even more precious than before. Renters, in particular, are feeling the stingand this Chamber of Commerce report only solidifies the ache for New Yorkers. The median rent for Americans sits at $1,967 a month, per Zumpers data via the Chamber of Commerce. New Yorkers might be in awe of such a number, considering the state sat above the rest of the nation for the amount of money needed to rent a one bedroom apartment in 2023. Based on a rent-to-income ratio of 30%, the report says that average rent for a one bedroom in New York is $3,495 (about $41,940 a year). Compared to the average income of a New Yorker, which hangs at about $65,317, the amount of money a renter would need to make to afford such an apartment would be a whopping $139,800. Typically, the fissure between the money a renter has coming in versus the money a renter needs to have coming in is $74,483. That rent-to-income fissure fluctuates based on another factor: gender. For New York, the gap for men is $72,010, while the gap for women is $76,624. That $139,800 salary is $19,800 higher than the next city on the list: Miami, Fla. For Floridians looking to make a move to the coastal city, which has a typical rent of $3,000 for a one bedroom apartment, a renters income must come in at $120,000. The sunshine states average income is $41,287, so the amount of money in the rent-to-income gap is actually higher than New Yorks, says the report. The average rift for a renter in Miami is $78,713. A man would typically possess a $77,860 divide, while a woman would typically possess a $81,500 divide. EXPLORE THE TOP FIVE MOST EXPENSIVE CITIES TO RENT A ONE BEDROOM APARTMENT IN 2023: 1. NEW YORK, N.Y.: Average rent for a one bedroom apartment: $3,495 Average income: $65,317 Income needed to support rent for a one bedroom apartment: $139,800 2. MIAMI, FLA.: Average rent for a one bedroom apartment: $3,000 Average income: $41,287 Income needed to support rent for a one bedroom apartment: $120,000 3. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF.: Average rent for a one bedroom apartment: $3,000 Average income: $103,978 Income needed to support rent for a one bedroom apartment: $120,000 4. IRVINE, CALIF.: Average rent for a one bedroom apartment: $2,718 Average income: $91,246 Income needed to support rent for a one bedroom apartment: $108,720 5. BOSTON, MASS.: Average rent for a one bedroom apartment: $2,650 Average income: $72,077 Income needed to support rent for a one bedroom apartment: $106,000 EXPLORE THE TOP CITIES WITH THE MOST PROMINENT RENT-TO-INCOME GAP IN 2023: 1. MIAMI, FLA.: Rent-to-income gap for women: $81,500 Rent-to-income gap for men: $77,860 2. NEW YORK, N.Y.: Rent-to-income gap for women: $76,624 Rent-to-income gap for men: $72,010 3. HIALEAH, FLA.: Rent-to-income gap for women: $52,093 Rent-to-income gap for men: $44,014 4. OXNARD, CALIF.: Rent-to-income gap for women: $44,311 Rent-to-income gap for men: $43,894 5. SANTA ANA, CALIF.: STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Over 50 people filled Hub17NYC to its brim with the crowd spilling out the doors, all gathering to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Thats Right Open Mic on Thursday night in Stapleton. At the one year anniversary, I just wanted to highlight things that weve been doing for the last 12 months here. I shed a few tears and I felt comfortable because this is my home. These people are my family, and weve created this community together, Maya Smith Gilbert, who goes by MayaDaPoet, of Sunnyside said. This year, weve had first time performers hit the stage, veteran performers hit the stage, second generation Wu-Tang hit the stage... So many great people just lending their talents to the community. MayaDaPoet coordinates the That's Right Open Mic events. She stepped into the spotlight as the featured performer for its one-year anniversary celebration. Priya Shahi MayaDaPoet organized the event and also took center stage as the featured performer. She delivered poetry reflecting on themes such as a train romance, her affection for Staten Island, the significance of poetry in her life, and her experiences of vulnerability and loneliness, taking the audience on an emotional journey. Dozens of artists, including violinists, poets, and rappers, took the stage, displaying their diverse talents -- much like the monthly event that has been happening every first Thursday since last year. DJ Girl On The Rocks kept the celebration going all night with her spinning and mixing skills. I think its important to have spaces to share your talent. Its really important to the poetry community because its an underrepresented arts community on Staten Island, Thomas Fucaloro, who is part of the organizing team of Thats Right Open Mic, said. You saw the poetry that happened here tonight, its just important for the poetry arts community here to have that self expression. Thomas Fucaloro, a NYC poet and founder of Great Weather for Media, has authored two poetry collections with Three Rooms Press: "Inheriting Craziness is Like a Soft Halo of Light" and "It Starts from the Belly and Blooms." Priya Shahi Fucaloro added that many artists such as Dyamondsstrings, a violinist, have had the opportunity to develop as a performer on stage throughout the year, as well as connect with and network within the arts community. Dyamondsstrings started performing here a few months back and now shes getting standing ovations and shes working with kids. Its incredible to see her spread her wings. Thats why its so important to have her and other artists be able to have a space to share their talents, Fucaloro said. Dyamond Russ, known as Dyamondsstrings, provides violin lessons to children in the community and performs at events such as date nights and weddings. Im really big into love. So I like performing in places that have anything to do with love... date nights, weddings, all of that, Dyamondsstrings said. Im all about spreading healing through music. Music is everything. Music is power. What you can do with an instrument, you can really change the world. The event featured vendors including a queer-owned business and a black-owned business, both run by women in honor of Womans History Month. Were a yoga and mindfulness retreat business. I share yoga with the community. I share mindfulness, meditation, and breath work -- as well as workshops. Anything that helps you dive into yourself a little bit more and find the space to see yourself with loving kindness, Caileen Gonzalez of Prana & Peace Travel said. She shared that the upcoming retreat will be hosted in Playa Negra, Costa Rica from April 27 to May 2. Shanique Punch and Enjoli Lake, the owners of The E & S Experience -- a catering business that specializes in Americam and soul food. Priya Shahi Shanique Punch and Enjoli Lake, the owners of The E & S Experience, known for their expertise in soul food and American cuisine, catered the event. The first Thursday of every month, Thats Right Open Mic welcomes all acts and offers free entry to the public at Hub17NYC, located at 73 Wave Street, Stapleton. Were considered the forgotten borough. People who are on the North Shore are considered the minorities in the forgotten borough, so a lot of times, were the most looked over, MayaDaPoet said. So I wanted this space to be comfortable, inclusive, and let black artsist know that you can come here and find refuge and a stage that accepts you and welcomes you. Its been such an honor to create this space. Even though I created this show for the community, its been so healing for me. Westside Buddah performs at the one year anniversary celebration of Thats Right Open Mic on Thursday, March 8, 2024 at Hub17NYC in Stapleton. Priya Shahi Scenes from the one year anniversary celebration of Thats Right Open Mic on Thursday, March 8, 2024 at Hub17NYC in Stapleton. Priya Shahi - Dyamondsstrings and MayaDaPoet collaborated, blending violin melodies with spoken word poetry at That's Right Open Mic held at Hub17NYC in Stapleton Heights.Priya Shahi - Scenes from the one year anniversary celebration of Thats Right Open Mic on Thursday, March 8, 2024 at Hub17NYC in Stapleton. (Staten Island Advance/ Priya Shahi) Priya Shahi Dyamond Russ, also known as Dyamondsstrings, showcased her violin skills at the one-year anniversary event of That's Right Open Mic at Hub17NYC in Stapleton Heights. Priya Shahi Dyamond Russ, also known as Dyamondsstrings, showcased her violin skills at the one-year anniversary event of That's Right Open Mic at Hub17NYC in Stapleton Heights. Priya Shahi Justin "Soldout" Johnson, author and poet from New Jersey, takes the stage at Hub17NYC in Stapleton. Priya Shahi - Scenes from the one year anniversary celebration of Thats Right Open Mic on Thursday, March 8, 2024 at Hub17NYC in Stapleton. Priya Shahi Scenes from the one year anniversary celebration of Thats Right Open Mic on Thursday, March 8, 2024 at Hub17NYC in Stapleton. Priya Shahi Andrew Littlefield perfroms at That's Right Open Mic on Thursday, March 8, 2024 at Hub17NYC in Stapleton. Priya Shahi Scenes from the one year anniversary celebration of Thats Right Open Mic on Thursday, March 8, 2024 at Hub17NYC in Stapleton. Priya Shahi Dyamond Russ, also known as Dyamondsstrings, showcased her violin skills at the one-year anniversary event of That's Right Open Mic at Hub17NYC in Stapleton Heights. Priya Shahi STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Staten Island University Hospital recently unveiled its Gruppuso Family Women and Newborn Center, for the first time integrating maternity, labor and delivery, and the NICU into one location and accommodating the delivery of an additional 1,000 babies a year within the Ocean Breeze site. The center, which will open sometime in April, has a separate street entrance aimed at creating a warm and inviting atmosphere for arriving families, and private rooms for labor and delivery. Since 1979, the maternity and NICU services have been scattered across three different locations on two floors within the facility. The new seamless structure, which adds nearly 50,000 square feet of space, will respond to community need and make sure mother and baby have every chance to thrive, the hospital announced. What truly sets this facility apart is the spirit of compassion and empathy that permeates every interaction,' said Dr. Brahim Ardolic, executive director of SIUH, during a ceremonial ribbon-cutting ceremony in the Ocean Breeze facility on Tuesday. Ardolic emphasized the importance of compassion and empathy in patient care. We understand that each individual is more than just a patient they are someones mother, daughter, sister, or friend,' he said. The facility is named for the late Staten Islander Vincent Gruppuso, founder of the Kozy Shack pudding empire and a generous community leader in whose memory a charitable foundation continues to support philanthropic causes around the Island. Following Hurricane Sandy, a storm resiliency plan was initiated, leading to the construction of a new power plant, which laid the foundation for the Gruppuso Family Women and Newborn Center. Despite delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the center is in its final stages of completion, thanks in part to the advocacy efforts of Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, who secured $2 million in the federal budget. SIUHs women and newborn facilities have not been upgraded since 1979, forcing services to be offered in three different locations across two floors in the hospital, Malliotakis said. Im happy to have played a role in ensuring women in our community continue to have access to high-quality, patient-centered care. Efrat LaMandre, chair of the SIUH Foundation board, shared her enthusiasm on Tuesday. We have spared no effort in designing a facility that not only meets, but exceeds the needs and expectations of those we serve, LaMandre said. Families will be able to enjoy exquisite birthing and recovery rooms, each offering privacy to guarantee a comfortable and intimate labor and delivery experience. A look at the exterior signage on the new Gruppuso Family Women and Newborn Center of the Staten Island University Hospital Ocean Breeze campus on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon)Staten Island Advance In addition to the Vincent Gruppuso Foundation, the project is a result of collaboration and contributions of several benefactors, including: Mark & Laura Lauria; Richmond County Savings Foundation; Jean and Frank Patafio and family; the Shall family; the Hayes family, in memory of Juliet Francine Hayes; Phil Mancuso, in memory of Philip and Geraldine Mancuso; Frank and Laura Besignano; Mrs. and Dr. Theodore Strange and family; Dr. Gary Fruhman and family in honor of Dr. Matthew Steven Traugott; Labor of Love, in memory of nurse Marianne DiStefano; Donna Proske; Mrs. and Dr. Brahim Ardolic. Michael Caridi, son-in-law of Gruppuso and chairman of the SIUH Regional Executive Council, highlighted the significance of the facility. This consolidation will not only enhance efficiency, but also has the potential to increase our capacity, allowing us to welcome and care for an additional 1,000 babies per year,' he said. Caridi and his family have been longstanding benefactors of the hospital, contributing to the emergency department, pediatric units, breast imaging and more throughout the years. My father-in-law deeply cared for children and valued the care he received at SIUH toward the end of his life, Caridi explained. His constant drive for improvement and betterment is the foundation of our work with SIUH. This new addition will be the second location at the hospital to honor the Gruppuso family, with the Virginia Gruppuso Breast Imaging Center already in place. Over 25 years ago, my wife was in labor with our first daughter at Staten Island University Hospital,' said Caridi. She shared a room with another new mom who had a challenging delivery and was in significant pain. Seeing the need for families to have dignity and privacy during their hospital stay, we were inspired to support the concept for the new center. Alongside Caridi, the foundation is led by Gruppusos daughters, Joanne Caridi, Diana Boland and Lisa Salvo, and their spouses, who are dedicated to enhancing health care and education for the communitys youth. Boland said at the ribbon-cutting event that the center is the perfect way to honor her late father. Our fathers love for children was boundless, and its only fitting that we channel that love into the creation of this center,' she said. Boland said this endeavor isnt just about constructing a building. Its about nurturing a tradition, passing down values from one generation to the next,. Our children, nieces and nephews they are the heartbeats of our family, the keepers of our legacy,' she said. Also planned by SIUH is the opening of the Joseph Maffeo Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in 2025. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. The convergence of two storms in the Northeast Saturday night will bring one-two punch of rain and snow to much of New York. The first storm, tracking northward with encapsulated moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean, will soak various parts of the state, including New York City, AccuWeather reports. The National Weather Service (NWS) has even issued a flood advisory in anticipation of the poor weather conditions expected Saturday evening. The latter half of the dynamic storm dives southeastward from western Ontario and across the Great Lakes, bringing with it a wave of cool air, substantial snow to parts of New York state and even some snow flakes in New York City. THE FIRST HALF Joining New York in the crosshairs of this initial system is much of the New England coast. Drenching rain may be accompanied by thunderstorms that can advance northeastward from the mid-Atlantic into southern New England, raising concerns for urban and small stream flooding and leading rises along some area rivers, AccuWeather Meteorologist Joseph Bauer said. The downpour of rain can affect visibility and hinder travel, the water contributing to ponding on roadways and areas with poor drainage. Expect heavy rain, coastal flooding, and strong winds this weekend. The potential for strong winds will linger behind the storm into Monday as well. Click the link for the briefing with all the details: https://t.co/jUoZcxOKRq#nycwx #hvwx #njwx #ctwx #nywx #liwx pic.twitter.com/ftP2rDwXnZ NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) March 9, 2024 Much of this rain concentrates on the southern half of the state, with New York City expected to receive 1 to 2 inches of rain; a few spots can see more, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tom Kines notes. THE SECOND HALF The cold Canadian air and winds will come in from the north with that second half of the storm. That chill will play a major factor, contributing to the changeover from wet rain to snow in some places. As the two storms combine, the injection of colder air will trigger a change to wet snow or snow showers over the central and northern Appalachians from Saturday night to Sunday morning and then even some bands of lake-effect snow around the eastern Great Lakes on Sunday, Bauer explained. Because the air will grow colder at a faster rate several thousand feet up, as opposed to near ground level, flurries will develop into locally heavy snow showers and snow squalls Sunday for much of New York state. An AccuWeather graphic shows weather conditions for New York on Sunday, March 10, 2024. (Courtesy of AccuWeather)(Courtesy of AccuWeather) Thanks to the southeast-bound snow showers, motorists should prepare for a sudden drop in visibility and the potential for roads to transition from dry to wet to slushy on Sunday, as reported by AccuWeather. Even in New York City, although Sunday looks to remain predominantly dry, there is a chance at seeing some snowflakes mixed in with a late shower, Kines reports. Although March featured a record high for the month, the restoration of cool air, blustering winds and the chance of snow seems to revert conditions to something more resemblant of February. In fact, AccuWeather notes that temperatures could feel as though they are in the 20s and 30s Monday morning in New York City. IMPACTS ACROSS THE STATE Parts of the state could experience both rain, snow squalls, and blustering winds, all before the end of day Monday. For example, taking a look at Syracuse, Saturday is supposed to bring up to an inch of rain. Then on Sunday, that rain transitions over to snow, with accumulation amounts for the same area calling for somewhere between 4 to 6 inches, the NWS reports. Sometime Sunday night into Monday, winds pick up, with gusts peaking at 43 mph. A National Weather Service graphic shows expected snowfall amounts in New York for Saturday, March 9 through Monday, March 11, 2024. (Courtesy of the National Weather Service)(Courtesy of the National Weathe This trio of trouble also looks to impact surrounding towns in a similar fashion. Binghamton can expect up to an inch and a half of rain Saturday before giving way to less than an inch of snow on Sunday, and 41 mph winds Monday, according to the NWS. Shifting attention up north, we see that areas near Cranberry Lake can see around a foot of snow before the end of day Monday. Similarly, Old Forge should anticipate nearly 10 inches of snow. A National Weather Service graphic shows expected snowfall amounts in New York for Saturday, March 9 through Monday, March 11, 2024. (Courtesy of the National Weather Service)(Courtesy of the National Weathe Over in the west, Springville should prepare for 8 to 12 inches of snow before nightfall Monday. Some of the greatest snow accumulation looks to concentrate in the area around Highmarket, which is anticipated to receive up to 18 inches of snow, the NWS notes. But before the region receives a heap of snow late Saturday into Sunday, much of the state should prepare for at least half an inch of rain. FORECAST FOR NEW YORK CITY While the Big Apple will be spared any real snowfall, the rain will move in during the latter half of Saturday afternoon and persist through early Sunday morning. It looks like the heaviest rain is probably between 6 p.m. and midnight, Kines said. A National Weather Service graphic shows expected rainfall/liquid equivalent in New York City for Saturday, March 9 through Sunday, March 10, 2024. (Courtesy of the National Weather Service)(Courtesy of the National Weathe The five boroughs can expect the 1 to 2 inches to fall before the storm exits the area around 2 a.m. on Sunday. With this rain comes the threat of flooding in areas typically prone to taking on water, Kines reports. As Sunday comes in with the chance at a shower, winds will pick up and remain elevated through Monday. As we get deeper into the day tomorrow (Sunday), and tomorrow night, and even Monday, the big thing will be the wind that well have to endure, Kines said. I think most spots will have wind gusts of 40 to 50 miles an hour, and there will be a few spots that will probably pick up wind gusts a little higher than that. Support the Peninsulas only locally-owned newspaper. Subscribe! Subscribing annually brings you big savings. We also offer monthly and weekly subscriptions. Premium Subscription As low as $8.25 per month Premium Includes: Access to the Daily Journals e-Edition: a digital replica of our daily newspaper including crossword puzzles, games, comics, classifieds and ads. The ability to download a digital replica of the Daily Journal for offline reading. The ability to clip & download articles or images to share with others. Access to the last 90 days of e-Editions with search, downloading and clipping options. Unlimited access to our award-winning online content Commenting access on all stories as a valued member of the DJ community The First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska admitted that as a child she dreamed of flying airplanes and working as a flight attendant. She romanticized this profession, but over time, she failed to realize her goal, so the future screenwriter had to go to study at Kryvyi Rih National University to become an architect. ADVERTISIMENT In a special interview with World Inside Out during a visit to the orphanage, the first lady admitted that she had never thought she would have to be the president's wife, have responsibilities, and radically change her goals and plans for life. "At school, we were often asked to write an essay on 'Who do you want to be in the future'. I wrote an essay saying that I wanted to be a flight attendant. I thought it was such a romantic profession, they have uniforms and they walk in airplanes so beautifully. I studied at the university, and it was urban construction and economy. I was supposed to be a construction worker, and then I worked in television. I was a writer of humorous programs, and then I was also an editor. And then my husband became president and I had a completely different job. I never dreamed of being a president's wife. But it seems to me that few people dream of this," Olena Zelenska said about the path to becoming the final "profession" of the first lady. ADVERTISIMENT When Dmytro Komarov asked the very young girls of the orphanage about their dream of being the president's wife, almost all of them raised their hands in affirmation. However, children at this age romanticize this status, ignoring the possible difficulties, as he later noted. "Nobody tells you about it. There is a security service that is responsible for your life because you became the president's wife, not just because you are so precious and therefore need to be protected. The president is the guarantor of the Constitution, the president is the head of our state. Our lives depend on his decisions, and he can be influenced through his family. He can be forced to do something. That's why there is a state policy that the president's family is also under protection," Zelenska explained the thing she doesn't like about the first lady's job. ADVERTISIMENT In particular, she recalled the changes in her life that she experienced as the president's wife in 2019. "(My life - Ed.) has changed radically. Everything has changed. The president has his responsibilities, and as his wife, I have to help him. I think I support him (my husband - Ed.), but we don't see each other very often now because he lives at work. We can meet once a week. Today I went to visit you [the children], and he went to Kupiansk. We travel in different directions all the time. We very rarely cross paths in Kyiv, but that's the way we work," Zelenska said. Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! In 1948, the idea of Tax Freedom Day was created. Its the day in the year when the taxpayers in a nation have collectively earned enough to pay off their annual tax bill. Afterwards, citizens can spend their own money as they see fit. This year, Id like International Womens Day to mark such a milestone in feminism: wouldnt it be wonderful if, after IWD, we declared Feminist Freedom Day? From that day on, we could talk about how women actually want to live their lives. International Womens Day has become a cosplay of empowerment. Credit: iStock We might also choose to focus on the women still living in oppressive family and cultural circumstances, who get nary a cupcake to sweeten their deal. There are plenty of them in Australia and living in patriarchal societies around the globe. Their absence from IWD shows what a cosplay of empowerment the day has become. With all due respect to the great trailblazers of the past, feminism has too often been the project of imposing a new social expectation. The message has become that only women in paid work have worth. That can be just as stifling as the gender roles that used to constrict us. I blame a personal hero of mine, the sensational Germaine Greer. Witty, erudite, free-thinking, Greer defined the modern feminist movement for many in the West. Greer was, in part at least, as influential as she was because her writing was funny. Her signature book The Female Eunuch was an extremely effective recruitment tool for the feminist cause because even when her arguments fell a bit short, it was impossible for the reader not to want to be the brilliant author. On March 8, 1974, womens liberationists took to the streets of Glebe, climbing onto rooftops in an International Womens Day protest. The next week, some of the group broke into one of the inner-Sydney suburbs many rundown vacant terraces. They changed the locks and painted two words across the front: womens refuge. But while the idea of a womens refuge was radical in itself the Family Law Act was more than a year away the group of women leading the charge to establish one, including author Dr Anne Summers, North Sydney mayor Carole Baker and the late economist Margaret Power, had spent months seeking premises through much less radical means. Elsie Womens Refuge. Credit: National Archives of Australia There had been talks with developers, and even some offered, but nothing was remotely suitable, Summers recalled. A woman has been charged with murder over the death of a three-month-old baby in 2011. Paramedics were called to a Redland Bay address on September 2, 2011, over reports that the baby was not breathing. A woman has been arrested after new information on a babys 2011 death came to light. The girl was rushed to Redland Bay Hospital, and later to Mater Childrens Hospital, where police said she died four days later. The matter was investigated at the time, with the status of the investigation remaining undetermined, police said in a statement on Saturday morning. This investigation can reveal the historic organisation is in crisis as factions wrestle for control amid allegations of financial mismanagement, nepotism and bullying. The Age has interviewed 31 current and former freemasons, some of whom are breaking masonic rules to speak publicly for the first time, and obtained a cache of internal documents and recordings that provide a rare window inside the secret society. The edict was a dramatic escalation of a years-long battle over the future of Freemasons Victoria , an organisation that values tradition, hierarchy and loyalty. The official reason for the intervention was association with a spurious lodge after failed attempts at reconciliation. A motion for expulsion is a regrettable step, but one which is both necessary and important, the message to freemasons said. To get expelled you had to do something really bad, says one serving mason. To have 13 in one go, Ive never heard of it before. Thirteen brothers had been expelled a severe punishment ordinarily reserved for those guilty of violent crimes or infidelity and among them were senior masons, a former grand master and others who had dedicated their lives to the brotherhood. The brethren of Victorias oldest fraternity have become used to unsettling messages from Grand Lodge, but this pre-Christmas missive shocked even the most loyal freemasons. Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. The stoush between the organisations leadership and internal factions involves claims and counter-claims of bullying, but centres on historic agreements and conflicting interpretations of Freemasons Victorias constitution, a 200-page document first drafted in 1890. The strategy has triggered a bitter dispute about the ownership of Masonic properties. Reduced membership fees have caused financial strain for the organisation and fuelled a sell-off across its substantial property portfolio mostly meeting halls scattered through suburban and small-town main streets. The conflict is against a backdrop of decline. Freemasons Victorias membership has been in freefall since peaking above 110,000 in the 1980s, and stands at fewer than 7000 today. Barry Minster was a senior freemason but was expelled late last year. Credit: Eddie Jim They can do what they like with impunity, claims Barry Minster, a senior freemason who was among the expelled cohort. Thats where its very disappointing and frustrating. They need to be held to account. He called us spineless and dirty individuals that do not represent the true ethics of Freemasonry, Bucca says. Well Ive been a Freemason for 44 years and Ive done a lot of work for this organisation over those years. Bucca claims Hodder has spread misinformation online, and was suspended after he failed to produce books and records for the lodge. Freemason Victorias grand master Anthony Bucca strongly rejects Hodders claims. The association is not in control of the lodge. Im in control of the lodge as grand master, he said. Talking publicly goes against Masonic teachings, Hodder says. But its come to this. Hodder claims that Freemasons Victoria is not entitled to sell Masonic centres as the properties belong to members, not Grand Lodge, and has spent more than $60,000 on legal costs causing him to suspend the lodges charitable projects. Barry Hodder has fought to stop the sale of the Freemasons lodge in Pakenham. Credit: Simon Schluter One of those pushing back is Barry Hodder. He uses the title of worshipful master for Pakenham Masonic Lodge but is currently suspended by Freemasons Victoria (FMV). However, his lodge is owned by an independent association, which he says is entirely separate from Freemasons Victoria. The project was a commercial success netting $60 million profits for both Freemasons Victoria and Mirvac but there was scepticism in rank-and-file membership over transparency and engagement. The deal terms were confidential, according to FMV meeting minutes, and discussion among rank-and-file members was limited. Structural defects prompted redevelopment and, after considering proposals from five development consortiums, the leadership struck a deal with Mirvac in 2012 for a complex featuring luxury apartments, retail space and a small Masonic centre. Named after Victorias longest-serving governor and notable Freemason Dallas Brooks, the site had long been used for rituals, charity events and meetings. At its peak in Australia, the fraternity counted notable figures such as Donald Bradman and Robert Menzies, alongside lawyers, public officials, police officers and politicians from all levels of government. Over the centuries, the movement has grown in size and influence to become one of the largest all-male clubs in the world, with membership including the upper echelons of power and influence. At that time, stonemasons were largely illiterate so a suite of secret rituals and handshakes were developed to communicate rank and history within the organisation. Private meetings were organised by unions to teach stonemasons a moral code free from religion and class that encouraged charitable giving and fostered a sense of community. The history of Freemasonry is contested but the first written record of masonic meetings dates back to sixteenth century Europe where stonemasons sacrificed formal education to build the great architectural structures of the time. Infighting has plagued Freemasons Victoria for years, tracing back a decade to the redevelopment of its East Melbourne headquarters the Dallas Brooks Centre. While some current Freemasons said they had no idea of the early offer, Bucca says the early access deal was available to the entire membership and provided documentation detailing the public offer. Property titles show at least three other Freemason members retain ownership of apartments, including former grand master Bob Jones and senior mason Peter Shellie, who has overseen the organisations wider property developments. Many have sold the units. One sold before construction was finished, Minster says. Theres nothing legally wrong with that, but it created a perception that some people got special treatment. Minster was among those who took advantage of the deal. In 2016, he attended a cocktail party in a glass display home hosted by Mirvac on the grass outside the old Dallas Brooks Hall and paid $1.4 million for an apartment. He still lives there, but says others flipped the units for a profit. Before the property went to market, Mirvac employees and Freemason members were offered an opportunity to buy off the plan. Everyone is free to buy whatever property they want if theyve got the money. Its an investment for some, its their residence, Bucca says. The entire transaction was scrutinised by the [board], by auditors. Theres been a full debrief. Disharmony grew though as Freemasons Victoria turned more of its ageing Masonic centres into luxury apartments. Centres in Kew East and Box Hill were redeveloped by Little Group under former grand master Bob Jones, who has a longstanding friendship with founder and chairman Paul Little formed over a mutual love of fast cars. I raced his car at Bathurst, says Jones. We were friends in the 80s. Our friendship is a matter of public record. Little Group was one of several developers engaged by Freemasons Victoria and Jones says any conflicts were properly disclosed and managed. Im very aware of directors duties. Its all been totally open. This investigation, though, has obtained hundreds of documents detailing allegations by Freemasons of nepotism, bullying and financial mismanagement within the organisation. Some were reported to the Fair Work Commission others to Victoria Police, while others still were handled by Freemasons Victorias internal complaints process. Bucca dismissed all allegations as rubbish and raised by people with axes to grind. I have no doubt that ... previous grand masters, my predecessors, were men of the utmost integrity, Bucca says. Freemasons Victoria sought to deal with the turmoil by enlisting The Ethics Centre in August 2020 to conduct an independent review of culture and governance. After interviews with 22 people over two months, the centre concluded that significant change was needed. Its report found: Recently, the Grand Lodge of FMV has not been a happy place. There has been and remains disharmony, distrust, blame and allegations of poor behaviour between senior members of the organisation. The leadership seized on a key recommendation from the report to dis-establish the Board of General Purposes, the entity responsible for making key strategic decisions. Graeme Wallace was a senior member of Freemasons Victoria who was also recently expelled and has many concerns about the governance of the organisation. Credit: Wayne Taylor A former member of that board, Graeme Wallace, claims the board was given an ultimatum to dissolve itself or risk the grand master of the time vetoing all decisions it made. Wallace voted against a motion to dissolve the board, never resigned and fought against efforts to sack the board. No one has the power to sack the board. It would be like someone sacking the government of Australia and putting a dictator in. Thats what it amounts to, says Wallace, who was elected on a four year term. He wrote a letter outlining these concerns to Freemasons Victorias leadership, and claims this led to him being suspended for making an unsolicited approach and he was later forced out of the organisation entirely. Enraged, he retained Melbourne barrister Chris Young, KC, and constitutional expert Dr Nicholas Petrie to examine the board dissolution. Their report, obtained by this investigation, found dissolving the board was unconstitutional. Bucca says FMVs legal advice says otherwise. I wont say too much about Mr Wallace other than hes a suspended member, Bucca says. He chose to commission an opinion from a senior barrister. And we chose to commission opinions from a senior barrister as well. Both of them were Queens Counsel at the time. The opinions were vastly different. Absolute disaster This distrust with leadership is feeding into the current dispute over property. In December, Freemasons Victoria sent an email to members outlining plans to reduce the number of Masonic centres in particular targeting lodges with low membership attendance. Most of the changes will affect districts and lodges in Victorian regional and rural areas, the letter said. The action report will be released in March, members were told, fuelling a groundswell of concern among rank-and-file members. Don Paterson resigned over his concerns about administration at the Freemasons. Credit: Justin McManus Its an absolute disaster, says 91-year-old Don Paterson, who was a freemason for 40 years and believes there is insufficient focus on increasing numbers. Paterson, a military veteran whose four sons were also masons until recently, says Freemasons Victoria has gradually changed its business model to run the organisation centrally rather than at the individual lodge level. Im concerned that, in my opinion, they seem to be selling property to sustain the operational budget. Bucca says 190 membership applications are currently being assessed and there are plans for growth but conceded properties will be sold to sustain the financial viability of the organisation. Nothing has been decided at this stage, Bucca said. Theres probably two or three that currently will be on the market very shortly. Were certainly not going to flag whats on the market and give people a free kick. Hodder, who also chairs the Pakenham Masonic Association, says centres were historically bought by members who pooled funds and the Masonic property portfolio included a patchwork of individual trustees. In the 1980s, Freemasons Victoria sought to reduce insurance premiums for lodges by creating Temple Custodian Company Limited, and encouraging all lodges to transfer titles under the one name. Hodder says most lodges agreed to transfer titles to Temple Custodian Company Limited on the understanding that true ownership remained with members, and the title could be transferred back at any time. This is supported by a 1998 document, seen by The Age, that says: The transfer of the property into the name of the [Temple Custodian Company] does not, in any way, affect the beneficial ownership of the property, which remains with the Owner Lodge or Owner Lodges. Property titles show more than 110 masonic centres are now owned by Temple Custodian Company Limited. Hodder says he has been blacklisted for teaching lodges how to reclaim titles and reduce land tax through registering as an association. Its a win-win, he says. But they dont see it that way. They have a big strategy to sell off everything. Grand Lodge wants the title so they can stay afloat. Hodder is prepared to take the matter to court if Grand Lodge does not back down. Ive already been suspended. Might as well go out on a bang, he says. Its a boys club and it has to be exposed as one. The outcome of Hodders dispute will be pivotal to other Masonic centres, such as the Mount Waverley Masonic Centre, which has been managed by an independent association since 1964. One Freemason who attends Mount Waverley said the lodge could not afford its land tax bill and was exploring options to develop or sell when it was discovered Freemasons Victoria had placed a caveat on the property. They did that without our consent, he said. Theres been some terrible dealings. Youd think we were dealing with a foreign company. But theyre our own people. The lodge engaged lawyers to have the caveat removed. I dont want Freemasons Victoria getting involved, he said. They can just see a big dollar sign. They want a quick buck get it, sell it, move on. While Hodder will soon be expelled and has nothing to lose by speaking publicly, others remain silent due to fear of retaliation. A Freemason of more than 40 years, Kent Henderson, told members he was marked out for execution after raising concerns about financial mismanagement turned into an internal complaint against him. I was tried, and found guilty, effectively by a kangaroo court. This court was concerned only with political motives and mob rule with not a semblance of justice existing, he claims in an open letter to other members from mid-2021. Ordinary members have no say. Another Freemason, Mark Reynolds, was threatened with a defamation lawsuit after posting his concerns on social media. He launched a GoFundMe page in 2022 claiming he spent his savings on legal advice to respond to the complaint. I am now in the desperate position of having to live pay cheque to pay cheque just to provide for my needs and those of my family, Reynolds wrote on the GoFundMe page. I joined an organisation that prided itself on values like integrity, equality, truth, justice, mercy, compassion, and brotherly love; and my experience fell very much short of this expectation. Reynolds deleted the original social media post and issued an apology, but Freemasons Victoria pursued a financial settlement. Unfortunately, this sincere attempt to make amends has not satisfied these men, he wrote. I beg you, brethren please help me. Reynolds declined to comment when contacted. Bucca said Reynolds settlement was confidential, but claimed it was a small sum and given to charity. In any event, Bucca defended the organisations right to defend their reputations. If people want to break the laws of the land, or theyve got to expect consequences of all their actions, Bucca said. Consultant Stephen Duns was enlisted by Freemasons Victoria to implement a change management program across the organisation following The Ethics Centres report. Boy do they need it, Duns says. In the end, it was a bit pointless because they didnt take any of my advice. Stephen Duns was employed by the Freemasons as a consultant and found worrying issues. Credit: Darrian Traynor He believes the complaints process is unfair. It was a systematic exercise in removing all the people who were likely to call [out] bad behaviours, he alleges. Bucca says the organisation has vastly improved under his leadership and efforts to assert ownership over masonic properties are for the greater good. Were doing what needs to be done to protect the interests of the wider organisation. Theres no financial benefit to me, or anyone else. Were protecting our assets for the future for all Freemasons, Bucca says. Bucca dismisses claims that the 13 masons were expelled for raising concerns and says their departure was a democratic process, voted on by members. Loading This masthead has obtained the voting record, which confirms approvals for expulsion ranged from 79 to 85 per cent for each mason yet less than 500 members (under 10 per cent of total membership) cast votes. Freemasons Victorias rule book prevents members from electioneering or seeking to persuade members how to vote. An attendee at one longstanding members complaints committee hearing confirmed he was ousted for breaching this rule when advocating against the dissolution of the board of general purposes. The masons representative criticised what he saw as a lack of natural justice at the hearing. In February, after this investigation began, Bucca sent an email to all Freemasons warning them not to speak publicly. The Grand Master is the only person authorised to make media comment on behalf of Freemasons Victoria, Bucca wrote. If approached by the media, Brethren should explain that our members are not authorised to make any comment. A firm no comment should be given to all questions. Lutruwita man Russell Summers in Swan Hill. Credit: Paul Rovere Many of the expelled masons resigned before the expulsion notice was published. That includes Russell Summers from Swan Hill, who sought to resign in 2021, partly due to what he describes as the heavy-handed style of the current leadership. Summers is now part of the rebel masons who have joined the spurious Grand Lodge of Queensland which Bucca says is not recognised by mainstream freemasonry. We have several people joining who are disenfranchised, Summers says. Were returning back to what Freemasons was more educational, focused on mentoring. Whereas it would appear that FMV was potentially more interested in what some might refer to as revolving door Freemasonry. Get the days breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter here. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size An aerial photo on the sign at the entry point to Bolin Bolin Billabong, along the Yarra River flats at Bulleen in Melbournes north-east, shows an area that looks like a lung. But apart from a meagre pool of brown-green sludge at the farthest point from the river, the site in the photo taken in 2017 appears bone dry, resembling an eel-shaped scar in the earth outlined by a canopy of thirst-craved vegetation. Seven years later, Bolin Bolin one of around a dozen remnant billabongs along a stretch of the Yarra that was once part of a huge system of wetlands is full of water and life thanks to rehabilitation efforts. Its banks now hold much more water, which is clean and curves gloriously away under the bush canopy in either direction. A river red gum, monumental and at least 200 years old, wears a shield-shaped scar where a portion of its bark has been removed. Further into the woodland, within a flourishing stand of juvenile Melaleuca, now abundant wildlife stirs: a flurry of honeyeaters skip and scatter through the dense foliage, a kookaburra swoops onto an eucalypt, an anxious ring-tailed possum scutters high up another tree, and a black cormorant surfaces with a sharp gasp close to the opposite bank. But its not all natures idyll. Along the verge of the billabong, immediately to the east, big graders, bulldozers, trucks and cranes clatter and hum constructing a tunnel entrance for the $26 billion North East Link. Advertisement Their industrious drone combines with the grumble of the tightly packed traffic edging along the newly upgraded Bulleen Road towards the Eastern Freeway. The ongoing rehabilitation of sites like Bolin Bolin is seeing ancient water systems, long endangered by livestock grazing and urban development, being gradually restored in locations surrounding Melbournes CBD. In the lower and middle Yarra or Birrarung, as it is known by the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and other First Peoples within the Kulin confederacy a collaboration between the Wurundjeri Narrap ranger team, Melbourne Water, other state water and parks managers and researchers is leading the way. Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung man Mark Gardiner, 34, started training as a ranger in 2018, shortly after the rehabilitation of Bolin Bolin commenced. He described the project as being about healing Country. It creates opportunity for community. Having managerial input is a big thing: Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung man Mark Gardiner. Credit: Justin McManus We will never get it back to what it was because it was pristine. But its about endeavouring to get it there, he said. Advertisement The researchers found traces of myrtle beech, which is a rainforest tree. That tells us this place used to have pockets of rainforest to it. So, maybe we can try to get myrtle beech re-established in here too. Gardiner said the collaborative project provided the opportunity for the Wurundjeri to realise their aspirations for practical self-determination: It creates opportunity for community. Having managerial input is a big thing. Loading Due to large dams in the upper Yarra, the river has lost around a third of its true flow, according to Melbourne Waters Sarah Gaskill, who has worked closely on the Birrarung billabongs project as the organisations water resources and compliance lead. The flows have changed and were trying to turn that around. We want a long-term fix, Gaskill said. Around five years ago, Melbourne Water partnered with University of Melbourne ecologist Dr Joe Greet, who was tasked with monitoring the effect of environmental water flows into billabongs in the middle and lower Yarra. Greet said he has seen water flows grow from the original pumping efforts to the construction of permanent works like the system of inlet channels and culverts in Bolin Bolin that feed flood overflow from the Birrarung-Yarra into the site. Advertisement Other nearby billabongs and wetlands in the 1400 hectares of Yarra Valley Parklands which runs from Warrandyte to Ivanhoe East include those known as Montpelier, Horseshoe, Willsmere, Burke Road, Annulus, and the Banyule Flats. Gardiner and Dr Joe Greet at Bolin Bolin Billabong. Credit: Justin McManus Along with Bolin Bolin, they are all remnants of an immense eco-cultural system of wetlands and waterways resembling Kakadu in the Northern Territory, said Greet. Within the lower Yarra between Eltham and Kew there are now probably a dozen or so critically important sites, Greet said. And weve already lost too many. Rapid and steady degradation has occurred since the arrival of Europeans. The impacts of colonisation coupled with urban development and major projects like the North East Link which Greet said could have an effect on groundwater flows over the long term the landscape has become generally unrecognisable. A tunnel entrance for Victorias $26 billion North East Link is under construction near the billabong. Credit: Justin McManus Today, introduced species like foxes, carp, feral cats and deer which began to wallow in Bolin Bolin during the quiet years of the COVID restrictions in Melbourne continue to harm the complex ecosystems. Advertisement Theres no shortage of animals posing a threat, said Greet, whose research on the management of riverine wetlands was recently recognised with the 2024 Australian Academy of Science Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Scientist Award. Gardiner said there is an urgent need to re-introduce cultural burns to control noxious weeds like spear thistles on the northern perimeter of Bolin Bolin. The native flora responds better to fire than the introduced species. We can really exhaust their seed bank with the use of fire, and with flooding as well, he said. Loading Its a long process, but thats our aim. Not just to slap a Band-Aid on it, to get things back to the way they were takes time. Gardiner said the permanent works had resulted in regular and longer-duration of flooding, sometimes lasting up to eight months. The longer presence of water promotes healthy and lush native wetland plants, suppresses weeds, and improves the condition and reproductive output of the river red gums, he said. Greet said that while the extra water was beneficial, it was crucial for the system to dry out too. Advertisement For centuries, tourists have visited Kyoto to see the citys geishas in their bright kimonos, white-painted faces and elaborate hairdos. But from next month, visitors to the historic Gion district will be banned from certain streets after a surge in harassment. Dont bother the Geishas. Visitors walk along a sightseeing destination in Kyoto, Japan. Credit: AP The situation is out of control, experts say, with reports of sightseers stubbing out cigarettes on the performers, pestering them for selfies and chasing them down the street. The plan to limit access comes after a Gion district council made up of local residents urged Kyoto City in December to tackle the issue of over-tourism, highlighting that the area was not a theme park. A portrait of Lord Balfour, the former British prime minister, at the University of Cambridge has been damaged by a pro-Palestinian protester. In video posted on social media by Palestine Action, a member of the group is seen spray-painting and slashing the portrait at Trinity College. A woman can be seen defacing the work with red paint before slicing the canvas with a sharp object. British Foreign Secretary Lord Arthur Balfour poses for camera in 1930. Credit: AP Balfour was one of the chief supporters of creating a Jewish homeland in Palestine, cemented by the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which gave British backing to the movement. The Instagram video was accompanied by a caption that read: Palestine Action spray and slash a historic painting of Lord Balfour in Trinity College, University of Cambridge. The Albanese government is preparing to join with like-minded countries to resume funding the UNs main provider of humanitarian aid in the Palestinian territories, after Sweden became the latest nation to do so. The Swedish government announced it would follow the European Union and Canada and resume funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which has been investigating allegations some of its staff members were involved in the October 7 attacks on Israel. Displaced Palestinians receive cooked food rations in Deir-al-Balah in the central Gaza strip. Credit: Getty In the strongest indication yet that the Australian government is preparing to resume funding to the agency, a spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Penny Wong said: The Australian government has been working with a group of donor countries, who also paused funding, on the shared objective of rebuilding confidence and ensuring aid flows to Gazans in desperate need. Other countries that suspended but have not yet restored funding to the UNRWA include the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Germany. MARIGOT:--- The gendarmerie has confirmed that they have arrested the leader of the ECE Political Party registered on Sint Maarten. However, the Gendarmerie made clear that Wigley is a French national who is the President of the ECE Association that has been registered in France. Wigley was arrested Wednesday night. Wigley was arrested on allegations of attempted murder and also setting a fire in Happy Bay. The arrests came after Wigley made a video condemning the activities of persons responsible for the SXM Festival. On Saturday evening Wigley was released from detention. He has since been making several videos explaining the reasons for his arrests and condemning the actions of the Gendarmerie. Iran slams removal of Khamenei social media accounts Tehran, March 9 (AFP) Mar 09, 2024 Iran on Saturday denounced US tech giant Meta's decision to remove the Facebook and Instagram accounts of its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling it a "violation of freedom of expression". Instagram and Facebook are among the most popular social media platforms for Iranians, but while the government blocks their use, officials in the Islamic republic have accounts on them. Meta said last month it had removed Khamenei's accounts from Facebook and Instagram for having "repeatedly violated" its policy on "dangerous organisations and individuals". In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said the move was "not only a violation of freedom of speech, but also an insult to millions of followers of his positions and news". "The mottos of freedom of expression by some Western claimants are hollow and showy slogans and a cover for their illegitimate political goals," he told the Middle East Eye news outlet in remarks also published by Iran's foreign ministry. Khamenei, 84, has been the country's supreme leader since 1989, a position that allows him the final say in major state policies. He had about five million followers on Instagram. Meta's move on February 8 came as Khamenei increasingly voiced support for Palestinian militant group Hamas and denounced Israel amid the war between the two sides in the Gaza Strip. "Khamenei is the most prominent supporter of the oppressed people of Palestine and Gaza in the world, and the Silicon Valley Empire cannot prevent this voice from reaching the public opinion of the world," Amir-Abdollahian said. Despite the Iranian government's ban on Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms including X, internet users in the Islamic republic can still access them using virtual private networks, or VPNs. ap-pdm/srk/dv X In an interview with OBOZ.UA, popular Ukrainian actress Olha Atanasova (Two Mothers, Waiting List, Age Difference, Daddies) recalled her joint filming with the famous Russian actor and TV presenter Boris Korchevnikov, who fiercely supports Putin's aggression and constantly spreads nonsense about Ukraine. ADVERTISIMENT Olha Atanasova starred with Korchevnikov in the movie Cadets. At that time, she said, she did not observe any strangeness in his behavior, but now the actress prefers not to see what the Russian does on TV. "It so happened that I was offered Cadets a long time ago in Russia, which was one of my first projects," Olha says about how she got into the series. And there was always someone with Ukrainian roots around me. This was emphasized in every possible way, people were very proud of it. And the Russians themselves were polite to Ukraine, to Ukrainians. This is what I remember. Did any of them call me when the great war began? Not a single person. But I haven't talked to anyone from there for a long time." ADVERTISIMENT "I can't say that we were friends when we were filming together, but we communicated normally," the actress recalls of Korchevnikov, with whom she starred in Cadets, "I saw him as a man who knew a lot. He was well-read, interested in everything, and a journalist by profession. And now, like a zombie, I don't know how to explain it. It seems to me that something is completely wrong with him. I used to get some of his videos, I saw something. I used to get physically sick from those lies, I actually had a gag reflex. Now, to be honest, I try not to watch." TV presenter Boris Korchevnikov is the author and TV host of the propaganda projects "The Fate of Man," "Distant Loved Ones," and "Life and Fate" on Russia-1 TV channel. He invites only heroes who support the Kremlin's aggression against Ukraine to his programs. ADVERTISIMENT Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote about how the star of the movie "Cadets" Korchevnikov became a mouthpiece of Russian propaganda and what "payback" he suffered. Read the full interview with Olha Atanasova on OBOZ.UA on Sunday, March 10. Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! . Three killed in Iraq strikes blamed on Turkey Arbil, Iraq, March 8 (AFP) Mar 08, 2024 A drone strike in northern Iraq killed a Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) commander on Friday, Kurdish authorities said, raising the death toll from strikes blamed on Turkey to three. Turkey often carries out ground and air operations in northern Iraq against positions of the PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state. "Two people were killed and two others wounded while they were picking herbs after Turkish warplanes launched strikes" on a remote village in the mountainous Sheladiz region in Dohuk province in northern Iraq, said district official Razkar Sarki. Local media said the two people killed in the raid were civilians. Later Friday "a Turkish drone targeted a group of PKK fighters, killing an intelligence commander and wounding his guard in the district of Sinjar" in northwest Iraq, the counterterrorism services of the autonomous Kurdish region said in a statement. Turkey's armed forces rarely comment on their operations in Iraq. On February 20, two civilians were killed in a strike that was also blamed on Turkey, security and health officials said at the time. Over the past 25 years Turkey has operated several dozen military bases in northern Iraq in its war against the PKK, which Ankara and its Western allies consider a "terrorist" group. Both Baghdad and the regional government of the Iraqi Kurdistan region have been accused of tolerating Turkey's military activities to preserve their close economic ties. Ukrainian FM warns West against 'dripping aid' to Kyiv Vilnius, March 8 (AFP) Mar 08, 2024 Ukraine's foreign minister on Friday warned Western allies against the slow delivery of aid to Kyiv, saying timely transfers of military supplies would ensure the war "does not spill over". "The strategy of dripping aid to Ukraine drop by drop doesn't work anymore," Dmytro Kuleba said during a visit to Lithuania. "It's over and, if things continue as they currently happen, it's not going to end well for all of us," he added. He called for an "unrestricted and timely supply of weapons and ammunition to ensure that Ukraine beats Russia". "We have to accept as a new reality that the era of peace in Europe is over," he added in a news conference alongside his Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian and French counterparts. Lithuania's Foreign Affairs Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said Kyiv's allies "should draw red lines for Russia" rather than themselves when it came to helping Ukraine. Those allies should "not exclude any form of support", Landsbergis added, echoing a sentiment recently expressed by France President Emmanuel Macron. Last month, Macron went so far as to state that Ukraine's allies should not rule out sending troops to the country, speaking after recent battlefield gains by Russia. France's European NATO allies and the United States all rejected such a move. But French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne argued that the West could not run "the risk that Russia wins in Ukraine because the cost of such would be extraordinarily high for all of us. "We know well that Russia will not stop there," he added. Kuleba called for international training, as well as arms maintenance and production to be set up in Ukraine, arguing this would create a logistical advantage for his country. "Cost efficiency, time efficiency and, most importantly, victory efficient way of doing things is to do things not only abroad but also in Ukraine," he said. Kuleba also urged anyone doubting that the war could go beyond Ukraine's borders to "wake up, read history books. "Weak decisions, more war, strong decisions, end of war. It's simple," he added. "For how long will we continue to stumble over weak decisions in 2024? "When Ukraine has everything it needs, we shoot down Russian planes, we liberate our territories, we sink Russian ships, we prevail," he said. Up to 60 days for US to establish Gaza port, Pentagon says Washington, March 8 (AFP) Mar 08, 2024 The US plan to establish a temporary port for aid deliveries to Gaza will take up to 60 days to carry out and will likely involve more than 1,000 American personnel, the Pentagon said Friday. US President Joe Biden announced the plan the previous night during his State of the Union address, in which he pleaded with Israel to let more assistance into the blockaded territory even as he defended its military operation against Hamas. Israel's delay of deliveries of aid by ground has also led United States to join other countries in airdropping assistance, with Washington conducting its fourth drop of the month on Friday. The United States will "establish a temporary offshore maritime pier that allows for shipping vessels to transfer cargo to smaller vessels to transport and offload cargo to a temporary causeway for the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza," Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder told journalists. "We anticipate that it'll take over 1,000 US forces to participate in building this capability" and "up to 60 days in order to deploy the forces and construct the causeway and the pier," Ryder said. Once established, the new facility "could provide more than two million meals to the citizens of Gaza per day," he said, adding that "there will be no US forces on the ground in Gaza" as part of the effort, in which Washington will be "working with regional partners." - Fourth US airdrop - Earlier on Friday, the US Central Command announced that "A US C-130 dropped over 11,500 meal equivalents, providing life-saving humanitarian assistance in northern Gaza" in a joint operation with Jordan. But highlighting the danger of delivering aid by air, a medic at Gaza's largest hospital said Friday that a drop had killed five people and wounded 10. A US defense official told AFP that "the US did not cause the fatalities during our airdrop in Gaza," while a Jordanian military source said none of the kingdom's four aircraft that took part in the operation were involved in the fatalities. Gaza has faced relentless bombardment by Israel since Hamas launched a cross-border attack on October 7 that resulted in about 1,160 deaths, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Israel's retaliatory operations in Hamas-controlled Gaza have killed more than 30,800 people, mostly women and children, according to the territory's health ministry. The amount of aid brought into Gaza by truck has plummeted during five months of war, and Gazans are facing dire shortages of food, water and medicine. The United States launched its first airdrop of food into Gaza on March 2, providing more than 38,000 meals, then dropped more than 36,000 on Tuesday and more than 38,000 on Thursday. But the number of people in need of aid in Gaza is much greater than can be fed by drops alone. US-led coalition shoots down 15 Yemen rebel drones: CENTCOM Dubai, March 9 (AFP) Mar 09, 2024 US and allied forces shot down 15 one-way attack drones fired by Iran-backed Yemeni rebels into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden on Saturday, the US military said. Shortly afterwards, the rebels claimed the attack, saying they had fired missiles at an "American" commercial ship and launched drones at US warships in "the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden". It was one of the Huthis' largest attacks since they began in November a campaign of drone and missile strikes against vessels in the Red Sea area, vital for world trade, in professed solidarity with Palestinians during Israel's war against Iran-backed Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. The US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said the "large-scale" Huthi attack occurred before dawn into the Red Sea and adjacent Gulf of Aden. CENTCOM and coalition forces determined that the drones "presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels, US Navy and coalition ships in the region". It added, in a post on social media platform X, that "US Navy vessels and aircraft along with multiple coalition navy ships and aircraft shot down 15" of the drones. "These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure." Huthi military spokesman Yahya Saree, also on X, said the rebels had carried out two separate operations. The first targeted the commercial vessel Propel Fortune in the Gulf of Aden, he said, calling it an "American" ship. Vessel tracking websites describe the bulk carrier as Singapore-flagged but did not report its current position. A second operation fired "37 drones" at "a number of American" warships, Saree said. The United States in December announced a maritime security initiative to protect Red Sea shipping from Huthi attacks, which have forced commercial vessels to divert from the route that normally carries 12 percent of global trade. The rebel strikes this week caused their first reported fatalities. The Philippine government said two Filipino crew members were among those killed in a missile strike on the bulk carrier True Confidence. On March 2, the first known vessel sinking from the strikes occurred when the Belize-flagged, Lebanese-operated Rubymar went down in the Red Sea days after a rebel missile strike. Since January the United States and Britain have also launched repeated strikes on Huthi targets in Yemen in response to the ship attacks, but the rebels have continued to attack merchant vessels and have also targeted American and British ships. Yemen's rebels control the capital Sanaa and much of the Red Sea coast, despite an earlier bombing campaign that a Saudi-led coalition began in 2015 and which continued for years. On January 9, US and British forces shot down 18 drones and three missiles fired by the rebels toward ships in the Red Sea, the US military said at the time. Britain said it was the largest attack to that point by the Huthis. bur-it/dv Easter is a transitional Christian holiday, meaning that its date changes every year. Thus, in 2024, Orthodox Christians will celebrate Easter on May 5, while Western Rite Christians will celebrate it on March 31. ADVERTISIMENT This difference is because Catholics and Orthodox Christians use different Paschalia. The press service of the Kyivan Patriarchate told OBOZ.UA whether Christians of the Eastern and Western rites can switch to a single Easter celebration. Easter, in the Christian tradition, is a celebration of the Resurrection of Christ. Back in 325, the First Ecumenical Council made a binding decision for the entire Christian Church that Easter should always be celebrated on Sunday and after the Jewish Passover. This holiday is to be celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox, no earlier than April 4 (March 21, O.S.). ADVERTISIMENT Also, at one of the Local Councils in the fourth century, a rule was adopted according to which the Resurrection of Christ should not be celebrated before or together with the Jewish Passover, to avoid contradictions with the Holy Scriptures. However, Catholics do not follow this rule, and sometimes the Resurrection of Christ coincides with the Jewish Passover, as was the case in 2013. All Orthodox Christians calculate the date of Easter using the same old Julian calendar. According to it, the date of Easter can vary from April 4 (March 21, O.S.) to May 8 (April 25, O.S.). In the Catholic Church, the date of Easter is determined according to the Gregorian calendar, so Catholics usually celebrate Easter earlier than Orthodox Christians. Thus, there are the following differences in the celebration of Easter by Orthodox and Catholics: ADVERTISIMENT 1) the Orthodox use the Julian calendar, while Catholics use the Gregorian calendar; 2) Orthodox Christians never celebrate the Resurrection of Christ before and together with the Jewish Easter. However, sometimes Easter can coincide for Orthodox and Catholics on the same day, as it will in 2025 and 2028. As noted in the Kyiv Patriarchate, the question of the possibility of a complete unification of Easter celebrations between Orthodox and Catholics in the future depends on the unity of Christians and is the subject of theological discussions in the Church. Earlier, OBOZ.UA reported when Palm Sunday will be celebrated in 2024. The tradition of willow blessing is associated with the entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. In ancient times, this period was a popular pagan holiday that gradually merged with Christian traditions. ADVERTISIMENT Subscribe to OBOZ.UA channels on Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events. UK's Cameron opposes sending troops to Ukraine, even for training Berlin, March 9 (AFP) Mar 09, 2024 British foreign minister David Cameron said he opposes sending Western troops to Ukraine, even for training missions, in an interview with German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung published on Saturday. Cameron said training missions are best carried out abroad, noting that Britain has trained 60,000 Ukrainian soldiers that way. Placing foreign soldiers in Ukraine would provide targets for Russia, he said. French President Emmanuel Macron set off a stir among his allies on February 26 when he did not exclude sending Western troops to Ukraine to help it fend off Russia's invasion. Britain later confirmed that it had sent small units to Ukraine to help with medical training, but a spokesperson for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the country does not foresee large-scale deployments. On Friday, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said there were no plans for the moment to send combat troops, but that Ukraine's allies could consider specific training or de-mining missions. In his interview with Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Cameron said Ukraine needed more long-range weapons and that he was willing to work with Berlin to lift its reticence to supplying German-made Taurus cruise missiles. Cameron wouldn't directly address suggestions that Berlin provide Britain with Taurus missiles to free up the UK to send more British-French Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine. Berlin has refused to deliver Taurus missiles to Ukraine, fearful that its 500-kilometre (310-mile) range would be used to hit targets deep into Russian territory. Since last May, France and Britain have supplied Ukraine with Storm Shadows -- called Scalp in French and with a 250-kilometre range -- while the United States has sent ATACMS, which have a range of 165 kilometres. US-led coalition shoots down 15 Yemen rebel drones: CENTCOM Dubai, March 9 (AFP) Mar 09, 2024 The United States and its allies said they shot down 15 drones fired by Yemen's Huthis into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden on Saturday, in one of the Iran-backed rebels' largest attacks. Shortly afterwards, the rebels claimed an attack, saying they had fired missiles at an "American" commercial ship and launched drones at US warships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. In November, the Huthis launched a campaign of drone and missile strikes against vessels in the Red Sea, an area vital for world trade, in professed solidarity with Palestinians during Israel's war against Iran-backed Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. The US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said the "large-scale" Huthi attack occurred before dawn in the Red Sea and adjacent Gulf of Aden. CENTCOM and coalition forces determined that the drones "presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels, US Navy and coalition ships in the region". It added, in a post on social media platform X that "US Navy vessels and aircraft along with multiple coalition navy ships and aircraft shot down 15" of the drones. "These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure." Huthi military spokesman Yahya Saree, also on X, said the rebels had carried out two separate attacks. The first targeted the commercial vessel Propel Fortune in the Gulf of Aden, he said, calling it an "American" ship. Vessel tracking websites describe the bulk carrier as Singapore-flagged but did not report its current position. The second saw "37 drones" fired at "a number of American" warships, Saree said. In the Yemeni capital Sanaa, Huthi loyalists took part in a military parade on Saturday, stomping on US, Israeli and British flags. The United States in December announced a maritime security initiative to protect Red Sea shipping from Huthi attacks, which have forced commercial vessels to divert from the route that normally carries 12 percent of global trade. - 'Defensive action' - France's defence ministry said on Saturday its fighter jets and one warship had shot down four drones in the Gulf of Aden. "This defensive action contributed directly to the protection of the cargo ship True Confidence (under Barbadian flag), which was hit on March 6 and is currently being towed away," it said in a statement. A ministry spokesperson confirmed the four drones were among the 15 destroyed in total by the coalition. French forces have been operating in the Red Sea as part of the European Union's parallel Aspides, mission -- announced last month -- to protect international shipping from the Huthi attacks. The rebel strikes this week caused their first reported fatalities. The Philippine government said two Filipino crew members were among those killed in a missile strike on the bulk carrier True Confidence. On March 2, the first known vessel sinking from the strikes occurred when the Belize-flagged, Lebanese-operated Rubymar went down in the Red Sea days after a rebel missile strike. Since January, the United States and Britain have also launched repeated strikes on Huthi targets in Yemen in response to the ship attacks. The strikes have not thwarted the rebels, who have continued to attack merchant vessels, including American and British ships. Yemen's rebels control the capital Sanaa and much of the Red Sea coast, despite an earlier bombing campaign that a Saudi-led coalition began in 2015 which lasted for years. On January 9, US and British forces shot down 18 drones and three missiles fired by the rebels toward ships in the Red Sea, the US military said at the time. Britain said it was the largest attack to that point by the Huthis. bur-it-csp/ysm/dv US-led coalition shoots down 28 Yemen rebel drones: CENTCOM Dubai, March 9 (AFP) Mar 09, 2024 The United States and its allies said they shot down 28 drones fired by Yemen's Huthis at targets in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden on Saturday, in one of the Iran-backed rebels' largest attacks. Shortly afterward, the rebels said they had fired missiles at an "American" commercial ship and launched drones at US warships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. In November, the Huthis launched a campaign of drone and missile strikes against vessels in the Red Sea, an area vital for world trade, in professed solidarity with Palestinians during Israel's war against Iran-backed Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. The US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said the "large-scale" Huthi attack occurred before dawn in the Red Sea and adjacent Gulf of Aden. CENTCOM and coalition forces determined that the drones "presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels, US Navy and coalition ships in the region." It added, in a post on social media platform X, that "US Navy vessels and aircraft along with multiple coalition navy ships and aircraft shot down 15" of the drones. "These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure." CENTCOM said in an update later Saturday that the US and its allies had downed a total of 28 drones in the operation. Huthi military spokesman Yahya Saree, also on X, said the rebels had carried out two separate attacks. The first targeted the commercial vessel Propel Fortune in the Gulf of Aden, he said, calling it an "American" ship. Vessel tracking websites describe the bulk carrier as Singapore-flagged but did not report its current position. The second attack saw "37 drones" fired at "a number of American" warships, Saree said. In the Yemeni capital Sanaa, Huthi loyalists took part in a military parade on Saturday, stomping on US, Israeli and British flags. The United States in December announced a maritime security initiative to protect Red Sea shipping from Huthi attacks, which have forced commercial vessels to divert from the route that normally carries 12 percent of global trade. - 'Defensive action' - France's defence ministry said on Saturday its fighter jets and one warship had shot down four drones in the Gulf of Aden. "This defensive action contributed directly to the protection of the cargo ship True Confidence (under Barbadian flag), which was hit on March 6 and is currently being towed away," it said in a statement. A ministry spokesperson confirmed the four drones were among the 15 destroyed in total by the coalition. French forces have been operating in the Red Sea as part of the European Union's parallel Aspides mission -- announced last month -- to protect international shipping from the Huthi attacks. The rebel strikes this week caused their first reported fatalities. The Philippine government said two Filipino crew members were among those killed in a missile strike on the bulk carrier True Confidence. On March 2, the first known vessel sinking from the strikes occurred when the Belize-flagged, Lebanese-operated Rubymar went down in the Red Sea, days after a rebel missile strike. Since January, the United States and Britain have also launched repeated strikes on Huthi targets in Yemen in response to the ship attacks. The strikes have not thwarted the rebels, who have continued to attack merchant vessels, including American and British ships. Yemen's rebels control Sanaa and much of the Red Sea coast, despite a years-long bombing campaign that a Saudi-led coalition began in 2015. On January 9, US and British forces shot down 18 drones and three missiles fired by the rebels toward ships in the Red Sea, the US military said at the time. Britain said it was the largest attack to that point by the Huthis. bur-it-csp/ysm/dv/acb/bbk Church added at the time: It is a really powerful chant that every single activist that I have met, every march that I have been on, in every context that I have ever heard it sang, it always has been for the human rights and for the equal liberty of Palestinian people, as well as Israeli people, on the lands of Palestine and Israel, and that is what I have always taken it and understood it to mean and thats what I think it does mean. The Houthis, based in Yemen, have claimed their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea are in response to events in Gaza, although the merchant vessels targeted have often had little or no link to Israel. We are clearly operating in a context where we understand our Jewish and Muslim communities continue to be highly concerned about anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim hate crime and their own sense of safety in London. We recognise the very real anxiety and fear of individuals who are worried about perceived or actual threats they are subject to. Our role remains to police impartially, being robust in tackling hate crime and extremism, and ensuring protest is managed within the law. We have to police to the law as it is, not as others would wish it to be. As is the case with all protest events, we have discussed expectations of participants with the main organisers and how stewarding can assist officers in the management of how individuals and groups conduct themselves. Theyre looking at whats happening, they see childrens bodies being pulled out of the rubble, they look like that, they say it could be my child, that could be my brother, that could be my sister. I want it to stop and I want my Government to take action. Thats why theyre marching. Many of them will have a slightly different perspective as to why they were voting no, but in the end we live in a republic and the sovereign power is the people and every individual vote is as good as anybody elses vote and this is an emphatic repudiation of what I think was unwise social experimentation with the Constitution. Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin space company, which has recently been recognized as the richest man on Earth, intends to land the unmanned Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1) module on the lunar surface by mid-2025 at the latest. This will be a test mission aimed at demonstrating the reliability and efficiency of the developed technologies. ADVERTISIMENT This was stated by Blue Origin's Senior Vice President for Permanent Lunar Residence John Couluris, GeekWire reports. Subsequently, the company, in partnership with NASA, intends to land a manned vehicle on the moon. Of course, if Elon Musk's SpaceX, which has a similar contract with NASA, fails to do it before then. According to Couluris, Blue Origin expects to land its vehicle on the moon "within the next 12 to 16 months." That is, we are talking about the spring or summer of 2025. We are talking about the MK1 cargo ship, almost as tall as a three-story building, which is being formed at Blue Origin's production site in Huntsville, Alaska (USA). The mission is to demonstrate the capabilities of the MK1, including its hydrogen-fueled BE-7 engine, precision landing system and ability to deliver up to 3 tons of payload to any location on the Moon. ADVERTISIMENT MK1 is designed for a one-time launch and cargo delivery, but Blue Origin has other plans. Bezos's company also intends to build a manned version of the Blue Moon ship. It will be able to deliver NASA astronauts to the lunar surface and back. But not quite "back". "We will launch them into lunar orbit and leave them there. We will refuel them in orbit so that multiple astronauts can use the same vehicle back and forth," Couluris explained. Blue Origin's $3.4 billion contract with NASA stipulates that the manned lander will be available for the Artemis 5 lunar mission by 2029. The test flight without a crew will be part of the preparation for a future manned flight. Blue Origin's manned spacecraft, which will remain in lunar orbit, will be refueled by a circular transporter built by Lockheed Martin. It will be able to move supplies between low Earth orbit and lunar orbit. ADVERTISIMENT According to Couluris, Blue Origin and NASA are currently developing the infrastructure to ensure a permanent stay on the Moon. It is worth noting that the Blue Moon lander is funded by NASA as an alternative to SpaceX's Starship system. The Starship manned lunar spacecraft is to be involved in the Artemis 3 mission, which is currently scheduled for 2026. Currently, NASA admits that it is facing "daunting" challenges in sending astronauts to the moon. NASA Assistant Administrator Jim Free explained that this is why the space agency needs to have a backup plan. "If we have a problem with one, we'll have another that we can rely on. If we depend on a certain aspect of SpaceX or Blue Origin and it doesn't work, we have another lander that can take our crews," Free said. Blue Origin plans to send the MK1 lander to the moon on its reusable New Glenn rocket, which is currently under development. On March 5, Blue Origin announced that it had completed the first round of testing of cryogenic tanks for the rocket. ADVERTISIMENT Subscribe to OBOZ.UA channels in Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events. A US charity said it was loading aid onto a boat in Cyprus in what would be the first shipment to Gaza along a maritime corridor the European Commission hopes will open by Sunday. The UN has said some 3,000 members of staff are still working to deliver aid in the enclave, where it says 576,000 people - one quarter of the population - are a step away from famine. Although there are only about 20 supervolcanoes in the world, an eruption of just one of them would be enough to trigger a planetary catastrophe. The last such eruption occurred about 26,500 years ago, and the closest to a supervolcano in terms of power was in 1815. ADVERTISIMENT OBOZ.UA tells you what is known about supervolcanoes and what, according to scientists, will happen when such an explosion occurs on the Earth. What is a supervolcano? According to volcanologist Michael Poland, a supervolcano is a "made-up word" that is misleading and often misapplied. He notes that it sounds too Hollywood, like Superman or Superstar. The supervolcano has a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 8 (the highest recorded value of the index), and the potential to erupt with serious consequences for the global climate and ecosystem. However, as Poland points out, scientists are not aware of any volcanic eruption that has caused mass extinction. So, in fact, a supervolcano is not some huge mountain but an ordinary volcano that, however, has the ability to erupt extremely powerful. It is believed that the largest volcanic explosion in geological history occurred in Tobi (Indonesia) about 74,000 years ago, receiving a VEI8 rating. Some scientists have even speculated that one of these eruptions nearly wiped out humanity as the population soon declined. However, later archaeological evidence suggests that Homo sapiens who lived on thrived after the eruption. ADVERTISIMENT The last supereruption on Earth occurred at the New Zealand volcano Taupo about 26,500 years ago. Thus, none of today's scientists have ever seen and probably will never see such an eruption. However, they are scientists to make predictions. What happens if a supervolcano erupts The closest event to a supereruption occurred in 1815 when Tambora volcano erupted. The VEI was recorded at 7 points. It is believed that 10,000 to 11,000 people died from the direct consequences of the eruption. Another 49,000 to 90,000 people died from starvation and epidemic diseases after the eruption on the islands of Sumbawa, Lombok, and Bali. In addition, the eruption caused global temperatures to drop the following year, leading to famine in many regions. It wasn't even a supervolcano. As Katie Reeves, a lecturer at the University of Warwick, explained, supervolcanoes can cause very rare and very large silicic supereruptions. ADVERTISIMENT She warns that a supereruption will have a global impact as it will affect all systems that are interconnected. According to her forecast, the global temperature will drop by 1-3 degrees in the first six months after the eruption and will not return to normal in the next 5-10 years. This will lead to a worsening of the situation in the agricultural sector as plants will receive less sunlight and will also suffer from extreme weather events such as frosts and droughts. "Major climate events such as El Nino and monsoons could also happen, affecting hundreds of millions of people. There will also be serious consequences for water security as rainfall will decrease by 5-10%, as well as for energy and finance," Reeves predicts. A supereruption would also hit the airline industry, even worse than it did in 2010 when Eyjafjallajokull erupted in Iceland. ADVERTISIMENT Such a supereruption would also result in sulfur dioxide entering the stratosphere. There is a risk that there they will react with water vapor in the atmosphere, creating sulfurous aerosols that can scatter incoming radiation and temporarily cool the climate, causing a "volcanic winter". Subscribe to OBOZ.UA channels on Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events. 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LOUIS The Spanish soldiers had been confined to barracks, lest they be drunk for the transfer ceremony. They stood in reasonably smart formation outside the colonial government house, at First and Walnut streets. Sgt. Juan Robayna shouted, Shoulder arms, and the drummer beat a staccato roll. Charles de Hault de Lassus, lieutenant governor of Spanish Louisiana, greeted Capt. Amos Stoddard, who doubled as an agent for France a necessary step before he could claim the vast Upper Louisiana, including St. Louis, for his own United States. De Lassus was French by birth, Stoddard an American soldier. In a trading village two months upriver from New Orleans, substitutions were necessary. The Spanish flag was lowered as de Lassus spoke on March 9, 1804. I entertain the most sincere wishes for your perfect prosperity, he told the French-speaking villagers, who were skittish about their future. Tradition holds that Stoddard allowed the Tricolor to fly above the government house for one night to honor the colonys French origins. The next morning, some of the locals wept as Stoddard ordered the Stars and Stripes raised permanently above St. Louis. The American detachments two small cannon popped a salute. Stoddard sought to reassure his new fellow citizens. Admitted as you are into the embraces of a wise and magnanimous nation, patriotism will gradually warm your breasts, he said. Charles Gratiot, a St. Louis merchant, translated from English for the villagers. Among witnesses that day were Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, whose explorers were camped across the Mississippi River, waiting to venture into an American wilderness. News and people moved slowly in those days. On April 30, 1803, American envoys in Paris signed the Louisiana Purchase with Napoleon Bonaparte, who had won back Louisiana from the Spanish in a secret treaty. A transfer ceremony in New Orleans was held Dec. 20, 1803. Stoddard didnt reach St. Louis until Feb. 24, and river ice further delayed the arrival of his soldiers. Meanwhile, the village of 1,400 souls made merry in the French colonial style. Leading citizens threw elaborate parties for Stoddard, who felt obliged to return the favor with an event that cost him $622 (the equivalent of $9,400 today) an expense he lamented in a letter to his mother. The Chouteaus, St. Louis first family (including Gratiot, an in-law), threw another party on the first night of American rule. Two days later, Stoddard told visiting American Indians, You will live as happily as if the Spanish were still here. It was a nod to four decades of loose Spanish rule, with its French appointees in charge. Stoddard remained briefly as interim governor. The village of about 180 buildings lined the low river bluff for about a mile. (Government house was near the site of the south leg of the Gateway Arch.) In 1935, Mayor Bernard Dickmann participated in a three-flags day ceremony at First and Walnut. It was a promotion for the idea of remaking the dingy riverfront into a park. Dickmann dressed as Stoddard, with wig and two-cornered hat. Look Back: St. Louis becomes an American city in 1804 Map of St. Louis in 1804 Documents transferring Upper Louisiana to the United States Charles Gratiot Government house at the southeast corner of First and Walnut streets Charles de Hault de Lassus Transfer of St. Louis Commemoration of "Three Flags Day" March 9, 2024: Even before Russia first seized Ukrainian territory in 2014 by taking possession of Crimea and sought to annex two provinces in eastern Ukraine, the American CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) was quietly and unofficially working with Ukraine to monitor an increasingly aggressive Russia. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Russia lost half its population and much of its territory, and the newly liberated from Russian control countries expected Russia to try and rebuild the Russian empire. Russian neighbors did not want that empire reconstituted because the more powerful Russia was the more danger they were to the neighbors. The CIA noted all this, which was what the CIA was supposed to do, and increased its contacts and cooperation with neighbors of Russia who would be prime targets for the revived empire plus Russians who opposed the revival of the Russian Empire. The first target was Ukraine, which imperialist Russians considered a Russian province, not an independent nation. As the Russian threat to Ukraine increased, CIA activities in the region expanded and increased their activity. In the 1990s the newly independent Ukraine welcomed a CIA presence and assistance in monitoring what the Russians were up to and what their plans for Ukraine were. Cooperation between the CIA and Ukraine was a mutually beneficial situation that obtained important information on Russian plans and operations while also providing Ukraines NATO allies with accurate information about the impact a Russian war in Ukraine might have. In the 1990s the Russian equivalent of the CIA, the KGB, evolved into the FSB and the SVR. While the FSB handled operations in Russia and against Russian neighbors, the SVR took care of recruiting foreign spies, operatives and supporters and providing a steady stream of information on what Russias enemies, and some of its friends, were up to. Both the FSB and SVR regularly bump into CIA operations inside and outside Russia. CIA operations inside Ukraine and Russia increased after Russias 2022 invasion of Ukraine. This was particularly the case with joint Ukrainian-CIA operations which became more extensive and intense. The CIA had helped Ukraine prepare for this in several ways. For example, in 2016 the CIA assisted Ukraine in forming Unit 2245, an intelligence gathering team that went out and captured Russian military equipment and weapons for examination to discover how they operated and what vulnerabilities could be exploited. By the time Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022 there were a dozen CIA/Ukraine monitoring stations along the Russian border. Once the Russians invaded and regularly bombarded Ukraine, especially military bases, with missiles and guided bombs, the CIA aided Ukraine in establishing an underground bunker where Ukrainian specialists could monitor Russian military communications and track the location of a Russian photo and electronic surveillance space satellite used to monitor Ukrainian operations. The Russian satellite orbits earth every 90 minutes which means it is over Ukraine, to some extent, only a third of the time. By tracking when the Russian satellite could observe Ukraine and monitor electronic transmissions, Ukrainian forces could be aware when they should take precautions. The Russian invasion also brought in members of the United States Defense Intelligence Agency, or DIA. Unlike the CIA, the DIA is a military operation with a staff composed mostly of intelligence specialists from the army, navy, air force, marines, and coast guard. While the CIA was founded on September 18, 1947, the DIA arrived fourteen years later on October 1st, 1961. The CIA consists of civilian personnel, though most of the analysts and nearly all the field operatives are military veterans. Most DIA personnel are active duty members of the military and most of them work in the United States collecting and analyzing relevant military operations worldwide. When there is a crisis overseas, DIA has information ready to use in aiding government decision makers in America and foreign countries. The CIA looks for civilians, including military veterans, with special skills, like the ability to speak Ukrainian and knowledge of the situation in Ukraine because of family and friends living there. Unlike the DIA, the CIA seeks to hire foreign contacts to provide information. These are not spies because the spies are CIA personnel, many of them working out of Americans embassies overseas as diplomatic personnel. This gives them diplomatic immunity as long as they dont get caught recruiting locals as informants. When CIA personnel are caught recruiting, all the local government can do is expel them and cancel their diplomatic immunity. The Americans can, and often do retaliate by expelling embassy personnel working for the country that initially expelled American personnel. DIA personnel dont get embassy jobs because the DIA collects information from facilities in the United States provided to Americans forces in the United States and worldwide. That information is available to the CIA, but the CIA rarely shares information with the DIA. Thats because the CIA operatives overseas are often violating local laws by spying and recruiting locals to provide information. Ukrainian cooperation with the CIA, which already had a network of informants and operatives inside Russia, enabled the Ukrainians to eliminate pro-Russia elements from Ukrainian intelligence agencies. The CIA also helped Ukraine to train espionage agents who could operate from inside Russia and the Russian military. This gave Ukraine advance warning that the Russians were going to invade and how the Russians planned to do it. This enabled Ukraine to inflict heavy losses on the initial invasion force. The Russian invasion force took such heavy losses that they withdrew from northern Ukraine and concentrated their forces in eastern Ukraine. The Russian soon had several hundred thousand troops inside Ukraine and after two years they had half a million soldiers in Ukraine or portions of Ukraine in the east and Crimea that Russia seized a decade ago. The Russians have lost over 300,000 troops and most of their modern tanks. The Russians plan to keep fighting in Ukraine until Ukraine is conquered or the Ukrainians surrender and accept being absorbed into the new Russian Empire. The CIA continues to aid Ukraine and HUR, the Ukrainian military intelligence agency by providing them with information the CIA has obtained on Russian operations as well as real-time video of Russian military operations in Ukraine. The videos are provided by low-earth orbit photo and electronic intelligence satellites. The Ukrainians later discovered that the CIA assistance gave them Ukrainians a better view of Russian military operations than the Russian high command. Roscosmos, the Russian space program, was in economic and equipment trouble before the invasion and those problems increased as sanctions cut off the supply of electronic components Russia needed to build their own space satellites. The CIA also helped Ukraine find and expel Russian spies or turn them into double-agents. The Ukrainians helped the United States catch Russian spies operating in America. Having predicted the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which many American and European officials believed was unlikely, the CIA/Ukraine intelligence operation had to move their operations to the Polish border area. When it was clear that the Russian invasion was not going to get very far, the CIA operations moved back to the Ukrainian capital and areas near the combat zone. There were still Russian secrets to be found and Russian operations to be hobbled or foiled. The CIA/HUR cooperation continues to supply current information on Russian operations and plans. Ukraine's Trade Representative Taras Kachka said that negotiations with Poland will soon lead to measures to protect Polish farmers. This should ease tensions and stop protests on the Polish border. ADVERTISIMENT "We are very close to developing measures that will be individual, temporary and useful for restoring trust between all stakeholders," Kachka told Euractiv. Speaking after the European Parliament's trade committee (INTA) voted to extend trade benefits for Ukraine until June 2025, Kachka said Kyiv is ready to move to a more flexible EU-Ukraine trade system. He said that Ukraine is ready to "fight with the interests of its neighbors," recognizing the concerns of farmers in Poland, as well as Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. The European Commission's proposal for trade liberalization the so-called autonomous trade measures (ATMs) includes an "emergency brake" in case the influx of "sensitive" Ukrainian products (eggs, sugar, and poultry) exceeds average imports in 2022 and 2023. In the interview, Kachka welcomed the approval of the proposal by the European Parliament's trade committee and went further, opening the door to a renegotiation of EU-Ukraine trade relations. "We are ready for the necessary rules or instruments in our bilateral trade," he said. When asked about the unilateral bans on Ukrainian imports still in place in Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, Kachka said that "in an emergency situation" certain disruptions in trade policy could be tolerated, but "not forever." ADVERTISIMENT As reported by OBOZ.UA, amid farmers' protests and border blockades (primarily of the Ukrainian one), Poland has started informal talks with the head of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen. At the same time, the Poles have already set an ultimatum: if the EC does not agree to Polish demands, the country's authorities threaten to impose unilateral bans and not unblock the borders at the state level. Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! March 9, 2024: The U.S. Navy has finally started repair work on an SSN (nuclear attack submarine) that returned damaged from its last time at sea nine years ago. The Newport News Shipbuilding firm is to carry out a $1.24 billion overhaul of Los Angeles-class submarine USS Boise at a shipyard in Virginia. The work will be completed by 2029. The work includes maintenance and restoration of hull structure, tanks, propulsion systems, electric plant, auxiliary systems, armament, and furnishings in addition to many useful alterations. The delays in doing the work on the USS Boise were caused by submarine maintenance backlogs resulting from not enough shipyards. The Boise was originally supposed to have this work done in 2016, but for eight years there were not enough shipyards available to do the work. SSNs have lower maintenance priority than SSBNs (nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines) and aircraft carriers. If repairs on SSBNs and carriers take longer, the SSNs have to wait. USS Bosie was idle at the Naval Station Norfolk so long that it eventually lost its dive certification in 2017. That meant any repairs and maintenance had to be followed by extensive efforts to certify that the SSN was capable of operating effectively and capable of submerging safely. To deal with these delays the Navy considered using a new private construction yard to do some of the repair work the public yards were not available for. The USS Boise moved to a dry dock at Newport News in 2020 as part of a contract to determine the scope of work needed to repair the submarine. While shifting to private yard maintenance relieved some pressure on the workload, repairs at those yards took longer than expected and were more expensive as well. HHI or Huntington Ingalls Industries, which builds new ships and repairs ships already in service, can also do some repairs on SSNs and SSBNs. HII delivered its first repaired SSN, USS Helena in early 2022. A second SSN, USS Columbus is due to complete its repairs and maintenance by 2025. U.S. Navy efforts to deal with the maintenance backlog was complicated by the fact that so much work had to be done on older Los Angeles-class SSN that entered service at the rate of three to four per year in the late 1980s and 1990s. Only 26 of the original 62 Los Angeles class subs are still in service and some need maintenance to remain operational. The new Virginia class SSNs are still being built but only 23 of the eventual 66 Virginians are active. This means the navy currently has 49 SSNs available versus their goal of at least 66 SSNs in active service. The shortage of shipyards for maintenance of all ships, especially carriers and their escorts as well as amphibious operations ships, means the SSNs are unlikely to ever have enough access to maintenance facilities to maintain their numbers. The government does not want to pay for more shipyards because the government already pays to maintain, but does not do major work to upgrade, existing government shipyards. There are two on the east coast and two on the west coast, one of them in Hawaii. The Navy and government do not receive enough money to upgrade their shipyards as well as build new ships. The cost of new ships has gone up and the navy cannot afford to buy all they need while also keeping the government shipyards in shape to deal with the growing backlog of ship maintenance. Its a money problem and Congress cannot muster sufficient support to appropriate the needed money. This is complicated by the growth of the Chinese navy. The Chinese can build new warships faster and more cheaply than the United States. That is mainly because China is currently the largest builder of commercial shipping. A lot more commercial ships are needed and there is price competition that keeps the prices under control. These price controls extended to the more complex warships with their additional weapons and electronic systems commercial ships lack. The Chinese Navy currently has more ships than the U.S. Navy but in terms of tonnage the Americans are still ahead. The U.S. has more nuclear submarines, both SSNs and SSBNs and a lot more experience at maintaining ships at sea and conducting combat operations. Chinese admirals understand this and are trying t0 build carriers that can match eleven nuclear powered carriers the Americans currently have. China has been seeking weapons that can destroy or disable the American carriers as well as ways to deal with all those SSNs and SSBNs. So far, the Chinese have not come up with a reliable method to endanger the Americans carrier and submarine supremacy. Currently the larger number of Chinese warships provides more targets for American subs and carriers and not enough threat to those subs and carriers. The Chinese Navy has another problem because their government will not provide the money needed to maintain and further expand the Chinese fleet because the Chinese economy is having problems. For the government, the economy, and efforts to keep the number of unemployed Chinese low, is more important than a large or more effective navy. As long as China is unable or unwilling to spend what it takes to develop a real threat to the Americans SSN and SSBN force, the American threat to Chinese naval supremacy remains present and unassailable. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 8, 2024 / bettermoo(d) Food Corporation (the "Company" or "bettermoo(d)") is pleased to announce that Nima Bahrami, CEO of bettermoo(d) will host a special investors announcement (the "Conference (CSE:MOOO),(OTCQB:MOOOF),(Frankfurt:0I5A),(WKN: A3D8PP) Call"), on Wednesday, March 13, 2024 at 1:30 p.m. PST, to provide investors an exciting new announcement, following its successful Canada-wide launch of Moodrink" (see press release dated February 2, 2024) and announcement of the Company's intentions to investigate opportunities for a takeover or investment by a major Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) company in the industry (see press release dated March 1, 2024). Details regarding the Conference Call, including dial-in numbers and participant ID, are to follow. Please stay tuned for more information. The Company will issue a press release detailing the new announcement after the conclusion of the Conference Call. ABOUT BETTERMOO(D) FOOD CORPORATION bettermoo(d) Food Corporation is an innovative plant-based dairy alternative food and beverage company based in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada, launching Moodrink", a nutritious dairy-alternative beverage with a revolutionary flavour. Moodrink" includes a blend of herbs and flowers similar to what cows ate, before the time of mass livestock production. Like rich dairy products, Moodrink" contains added healthy plant fats and vitamins, so consumers don't miss out. The "Moodrink" is just the beginning of the revolution for the Vancouver based dairy-alternative company, bettermoo(d). Driven by the motto "What A Cow Eats and A Human Needs" bettermoo(d) seeks to produce dairy alternative products that are good for both people and the planet - ensuring that all products are nutritious and sustainably sourced, and that also emulate the great taste of traditional milk from the Alps regions of Switzerland, France and Austria. Working with food scientists, the Company's goal is to conduct continuous food research and development programs with the aim of rolling out a full line of dairy alternative products, including Moogurt and Buetter, as well as many other products, that are better for YOU and better for the planet. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD of DIRECTORS Nima Bahrami Chief Executive Officer and Director bettermoo(d) Food Corporation For further information please contact: Email: [email protected] Website: www.bettermoo.com Phone: 1-855-715-1865 The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "Forward-Looking Statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws, including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements with respect to the anticipated commercial production of Moodrink, are forward-looking statements. When or if used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target, "plan", "forecast", "may", "schedule" and similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. Such statements represent the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations. SOURCE: bettermoo(d) Food Corporation View the original press release on accesswire.com LAGUNA HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sonendo, Inc. (OTCQX: SONX) (Sonendo), a leading dental technology company and developer of the GentleWave System, today announced that Michael P. Watts is stepping down from the position of Chief Financial Officer, effective March 15, 2024, to pursue new opportunities. Chris Guo, Sonendos Vice President Finance and Corporate Controller, has been appointed as Interim Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Guo brings extensive experience leading corporate accounting and finance functions. Sonendos Board of Directors will conduct a search for a permanent Chief Financial Officer. It is anticipated that following his resignation, Mr. Watts may work with Sonendo from time to time on a consulting basis to ensure a smooth transition. My time at Sonendo has been remarkable. Helping bring the GentleWave technology to the broader market with an installed base of over 1,000 systems and over one million procedures performed has been very rewarding. Im proud to have been part of a great team of dedicated individuals and look forward to watching adoption of the GentleWave procedure continue to expand. I want to thank Bjarne and the Board of Directors for this great opportunity, said Mr. Watts. Since joining the Company in 2017, Mike has been a valuable member of the executive team. He is an excellent business partner and has made many contributions to our growth and success, including having built strong finance and information technology organizations, said Bjarne Bergheim, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sonendo. We appreciate Mikes contributions to the Company and wish him and his family all the best. About Sonendo Sonendo is a commercial-stage medical technology company focused on saving teeth from tooth decay, the most prevalent chronic disease globally. Sonendo develops and manufactures the GentleWave System, an innovative technology platform designed to treat tooth decay by cleaning and disinfecting the microscopic spaces within teeth without the need to remove tooth structure. The system utilizes a proprietary mechanism of action, which combines procedure fluid optimization, broad-spectrum acoustic energy, and advanced fluid dynamics, to debride and disinfect deep regions of the complex root canal system in a less invasive procedure that preserves tooth structure. The clinical benefits of the GentleWave System when compared to conventional methods of root canal therapy include improved clinical outcomes, such as superior cleaning that is independent of root canal complexity and tooth anatomy, high and rapid rates of healing and minimal to no post-operative pain. In addition, the GentleWave System can improve the workflow and economics of dental practices and offers patients an effective, less invasive, and less painful alternative to traditional root canal therapy. For more information about Sonendo and the GentleWave System, please visit www.sonendo.com. To find a GentleWave doctor in your area, please visit www.gentlewave.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes forward-looking statements (statements which are not historical facts) within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, express or implied forward-looking statements relating to the Companys anticipated business and financial performance on an on-going basis. You are cautioned that such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that our actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions; speak only as of the date they are made; and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may change at any time. Factors that could cause the Companys actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements are described in detail in our registration statements, reports and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Risk Factors set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, as supplemented by our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Such filings are available on our website or at www.sec.gov. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent developments, events, or circumstances, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and the Company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240308816347/en/ Investor Contact: Gilmartin Group Greg Chodaczek [email protected] Source: Sonendo Stemson to leverage Aderans clinical stage hair loss cell therapy program and expand its hair loss product development pipeline SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Stemson Therapeutics and Aderans Company, the parent company of Bosley and HAIRCLUB, today announced an agreement securing Stemson the exclusive global rights to research, develop and commercialize hair regeneration therapeutic products based on Aderans proprietary hair regeneration cell therapy technology. Stemson, a leader in developing a proprietary cell therapy technology for reversing hair loss based on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), gains a complementary technology through this agreement. Stemson will resume Aderans Phase 2 clinical stage cell therapy hair regeneration program, integrate the technology into its existing hair loss cell therapy development pipeline, and provide multiple products for patients experiencing hair loss. Aderans proprietary hair regeneration platform is a cell therapy system that utilizes patient-derived hair and skin cells to durably rejuvenate shrinking hair follicles in patients with Androgenetic Alopecia by repopulating functional hair follicle cells into early-to-mid stage hair loss areas. Aderans Co., a Tokyo-based global leader in hair products and services, conducted Phase 2 clinical testing in the United States on 445 human patients to treat early-to-mid stage Androgenetic Alopecia in men and women. Initial clinical data suggest a single dose of functional hair follicle cells into the target scalp area can safely produce long lasting and durable hair growth results. Stemson intends to leverage this technology as it continues development of iPSC-derived autologous cell therapy to regenerate healthy hair follicles. Stemson has successfully created human hair follicles in humanized mice using engineered follicular units which are designed to provide an unlimited source of hair follicle replacements capable of treating a range of hair loss indications. The addition of Aderans technology and their Phase 2 clinical stage development program into the Stemson portfolio enables us to expand our pursuit of multiple cell therapy product concepts to address a broad range of hair loss indications, said Geoff Hamilton, CEO of Stemson Therapeutics. Aderans early pioneering work in cell therapy for hair loss demonstrated to the field the potential for durable long lasting hair regeneration results by restoring functional hair cells and tissue. We are excited to combine their work with our cell and tissue engineering capabilities in the hair regeneration field to create truly breakthrough products for hair loss patients. The synergies between the Aderans technology and Stemsons in-house technology will help us accelerate timelines across our programs. Our pioneering work at the Aderans Research Institute to develop the first ever cell therapy solution for hair loss showed tremendous promise in clinical trials to treat early stage Androgenetic Alopecia in men and women, declared Dr. Ken Washenik, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Bosley Medical Group, The Worlds Most Experienced Hair Restoration Experts, and former Chief Executive Officer of Aderans Research Institute. We believe Stemson, with their advanced expertise in hair follicle cell and tissue engineering, is ideally positioned to successfully complete development and commercialization of this exciting hair regeneration solution. Aderans has been developing solutions for hair loss since our founding in 1968. Our agreement with Stemson positions our hair regeneration cell therapy technology to deliver advanced solutions to serve the global population, added Yoshihiro Tsumura, Group CEO, Representative Director, and President of Aderans. We look forward to working with the Stemson team to enable their development efforts and to support the commercialization through our global network of clinics serving hair loss patients. An estimated 80 million men, women, and children in the United States experience hair loss, which is often associated with emotional distress leading to reduced quality of life, anxiety, and depression. There are no existing therapeutic solutions capable of rejuvenating shrinking follicles, nor can they generate new hair follicles to replace lost hair. For updates on Stemsons progress and advancement, please visit www.stemson.com. About Stemson Therapeutics Stemson Therapeutics is a pre-clinical stage cell therapy company founded in 2018 with a mission to cure hair loss by leveraging the regenerative power of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells. Stemson uses iPSC to regenerate the critical cells required to grow hair and which are damaged or depleted in patients suffering from hair loss. The iPSC-derived cells are used to grow de novo hair follicles, offering a new supply of hair to treat people suffering from various forms of Alopecia. Today, there are no available treatments capable of growing new hair follicles. Stemsons world class team of scientists, advisors and collaborators are passionate about delivering a scientifically based, clinically tested cure for hair loss to the millions of hair loss sufferers who seek help for their hair loss condition. Stemson Therapeutics is headquartered in San Diego, CA. For more information, please visit www.stemson.com. About Aderans Company Aderans Company is a leading global provider of total hair solutions. Founded in 1968 and headquartered in Tokyo, Aderans has built a global presence across Asia, North America, and Europe to provide a wide range of hair solutions, including hair care products, advanced wig solutions, hair transplantation procedures, and non-surgical hair restoration and hair loss prevention services. Aderans owns well-known brands in North America such as Bosley and HAIRCLUB. Aderans invests in the research and development of advanced solutions for hair care and hair loss, which led them to pioneer innovations in cell therapy to treat hair loss through their Aderans Research Institute subsidiary, including development of a cell therapy product through Phase 2 clinical trials. For more information, please visit www.aderans.co.jp. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240305822370/en/ Amy Caterina ([email protected]) at Stemson Therapeutics Group CSR and Corporate Communications Office, Aderans Co., Ltd. Email: [email protected] Source: Stemson Therapeutics Paid press release content from Evertise Financial. The StreetInsider.com news staff was not involved in its creation. Washington, DC March 9, 2024 In a pivotal moment for Haitis future, the Haitian Development Network (HDN) emphasizes the critical importance of inclusive governance and broad civic engagement in shaping the nations development trajectory. As Haiti faces significant challenges, HDN highlights the essential role of widespread civic participation, particularly among Haitians living in different parts of the world, in the upcoming civic processes. Jacques Jonassaint, distinguished for his prior service as a Special Envoy of President Emile Jonassaint to the Clinton Administration, imbues HDNs mission with profound insight and unwavering commitment. His deep understanding of Haitis history and contemporary challenges drives HDNs advocacy, guiding efforts towards empowerment and self-determination for the Haitian people. HDN remains resolute in its dedication to amplifying Haitian voices and nurturing grassroots initiatives. The forthcoming civic engagements offer an opportunity for Haitians, both within the nation and abroad, to exercise their fundamental rights and actively contribute to shaping Haitis future. Ensuring stability in Haiti hinges significantly on robust civic engagement in the upcoming processes, particularly with regard to enabling all Haitians to participate, including those in the Diaspora, stated Jacques, Chairman of HDN. By guaranteeing the representation of every Haitian voice and valuing each vote, we can pave the way for a more inclusive and representative governance in Haiti. HDNs advocacy transcends self-determination, encompassing initiatives designed to empower Haitians to engage meaningfully and drive positive change in their communities. Through educational programs, outreach efforts, and advocacy campaigns, HDN endeavors to dismantle barriers to civic participation and foster a culture of engagement among all Haitians, irrespective of their geographic location. As Haiti navigates its complex and multicultural landscape, HDN calls upon stakeholders, both domestic and international, to prioritize civic inclusion and support endeavors aimed at ensuring equitable, transparent, and participatory civic processes. By embracing diversity and championing inclusive governance, Haiti can chart a course towards stability, prosperity, and sustainable development for all its citizens. To learn more about HDNs advocacy initiatives and how you can support their mission, please visit https://hdn.org/. Media Contact: Jacques Jonassaint Email: [email protected] Location: Washington, DC ### About the Haitian Development Network: The Haitian Development Network (HDN) is a non-profit organization that works towards promoting economic and social development in Haiti. Our goal is to empower the Haitian people by providing them with the necessary resources and support to build a better future. To learn more about HDN and our work, please visit our website at https://hdn.org/. Dallas, TX, March 09, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- For More Information, Contact: Andrew FortinPresident, Associa Cares972.661.4429 / Office [email protected] Associa Cares Earmarks $100,000 to Assist Victims of Texas Wildfires DALLAS, TX March 9, 2024 Associa Cares, the community management industrys leading charitable organization, announced today that it has earmarked $100,000 in funds to assist potential victims and help families who have been displaced as a result of the Texas Panhandle Wildfires. Associa Cares is the charitable affiliate of Associa, the industrys largest community management company. Fueled by high temperatures and winds, the Smokehouse Creek Fire, which has burned over 1.2 million acres, is the largest in Texas history, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. While additional fires burning across both Texas and Oklahoma have been partially contained and continue to die down, the damage has already had devastating effects that could last years. The wildfires in the Texas Panhandle rank among the largest in our countrys history, noted Andrew Fortin, President of Associa Cares. Associa Cares wants the families impacted by this fire to know that they are not alone, and that we are standing by to help them in their recovery process. Anyone impacted by the Texas Panhandle Wildfires can request financial assistance by submitting an application at https://www.associacares.org/request-assistance/. To support additional relief efforts such as this one, donations can be made to Associa Cares by visiting the organizations website and clicking on the Donate Now button. About Associa CaresAssocia Cares is both a U.S.-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization and a registered charity in Canada, created to assist families and communities in crisis as a result of natural and man-made disasters. Through donations raised from Associa employees and at fundraising events across North America, Associa Cares is able to provide aid to the families affected by these types of tragedies. Associa Cares has provided over $5 million in assistance to more than 3,800 families since 2007. Associa Cares funds are distributed to families of Associa-managed and non-Associa managed communities. To donate to Associa Cares or apply for assistance, please visit our website at www.associacares.org To view Associa Cares U.S. fundraising disclosures, visit: http://www.associacares.org/fundraising-disclosure-statement/. -MORE- Stay ConnectedLike Associa Cares on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/associacares/Like Associa on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/associa Subscribe to the Blog: https://hub.associaonline.com/Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/associaJoin us on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/associa Tiffany Mershae Associa 972-661-4429 [email protected] Source: Associa BEIJING , March 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The annual sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee are China's major political gatherings. The NPC and the CPPCC National Committee are, respectively, the highest state organ of power and top political advisory body and both have five-year terms. Their annual sessions, usually held in March, focus on the economic and social blueprint of the country for the coming year. The Second Session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee opened on March 4 and the Second Session of the 14th NPC opened on March 5 , attended by approximately 2,100 members and 2,900 elected deputies, respectively. The people's congress system is the fundamental political system in China , serving as an important institutional vehicle for realizing whole-process people's democracy in China . "A sovereign who aligns with the interests of the people will have their support; a sovereign who denies the interests of the people will provoke their opposition." On May 22, 2020 , Chinese President Xi Jinping quoted this ancient proverb in his speech at a deliberation session of the Inner Mongolia delegation to the Third Session of the 13th NPC. It has its origins in the ancient Chinese political and philosophical text Guan Zi written by renowned statesman Guan Zhong some 2,700 years ago. Citing this sentence, Xi pointed out that the Communist Party of China (CPC) always puts the people first, has no self-interest bias and shall, at all times, prioritize the people's interests. The CPC has always committed itself to this fundamental principle of wholeheartedly serving the people. As Xi has also said, "The country is its people, and the people are the country." Meeting the people's expectations for a better life is the Party's primary goal. In the run-up to every year's Spring Festival, the most important Chinese holiday and a time for family reunion, Xi takes time to travel to different places across the country, greeting locals and talking about their work and lives. Doing so, in turn, demonstrates how the CPC's concern for the people drives it to better engage with the public, gather people's ideas and work to benefit their lives. Published in 2020, a Harvard University survey on the Chinese people's rate of satisfaction with their government's performance between 2003 and 2016 found that Chinese citizens' satisfaction with their government had risen across the board, with the Central Government receiving the highest level of approval, rising from 86 percent to 93 percent. Since its founding in 1921, the CPC has united and led the people through arduous struggles. The Chinese now hold in their hands their own future as well as that of society and the country as a whole. The establishment of the people's congress system ensures that the country is governed by the people. Over the 46 years since China's reform and opening up first began in 1978, it has built the world's largest social security system--covering the largest population. Absolute poverty has been eliminated nationwide, and the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects has been achieved. These achievements have instilled in society a greater sense of fulfillment, happiness and security. In particular, China is committed to promoting environmental protection, pursuing sustainable development, and improving the quality of air, water, and soil to make itself a better place to live. When it comes to world affairs, China has stayed committed to the path of peaceful development, promoting the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, bringing more benefits to people worldwide and contributing to the peace among, and development of, humanity. Today, China is on a new journey toward meeting the second centenary goal: realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese modernization, which provides a Chinese solution to aid the exploration of a better social system for humanity. The goal is that by mid-century, common prosperity will largely materialize, and people can enjoy happier, safer and healthier lives. In this process, China is willing to share development opportunities with other countries, as well as make greater contributions to global peace, stability and prosperity. Comments to [email protected] TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@cachinachic/video/7344197534014835999?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7227134149436605995 X https://x.com/beijingreview/status/1766285030349996115?s=46&t=yfVMVdMyE2zKAFrYaLoV-g Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/v/j8KEzs1caiqcpC8U/?mibextid=QwDbR1 YouTube https://youtu.be/Dxkc94NJ7j8 Weibo https://weibo.com/1719349955/O4bb28L1R Website http://www.bjreview.com/Multimedia/Video/Ancient_Wisdom_Upgraded_Interpretation/202403/t20240309_800359545.html View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/beijing-review-putting-people-first-302084641.html SOURCE Beijing Review LOS ANGELES , March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In an important vindication of California's lemon law rights, the state Supreme Court ruled 9-0 this week in favor of consumers in Niedermeier v. FCA. In its Opinion, the Court struck down an Appeals Court ruling that allowed the automaker to take an improper damages deduction that threatened to undermine the Song Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (the formal name for California's Lemon Law ). Lisa Niedermeier's Jeep Wrangler needed repairs just a month after she bought it. Not long after, its engine, transmission, and exhaust system each needed to be repaired. Even after numerous repair attempts, it still did not run properly. Ms. Niedermeier's experience shows the lengths automakers will go to in order to avoid their obligations under the lemon law. FCA, recently convicted of a felony, refused to buy back Ms. Niedermeier's Jeep even as it became clear that her vehicle was hopelessly defective. Over the course of four years, as Ms. Niedermeier continued to shuttle to and from the dealership for repairs, she asked FCA (the parent company of Jeep) on three different occasions to buy back her vehicle, but each time she was told no. Eventually, these delays forced Niedermeier to throw up her hands and trade in her faulty vehicle for a GMC Yukon. Represented by Knight Law Group, Niedermeier sued FCA, and at the conclusion of the initial trial, a jury ordered the automaker to pay her $98,961 , more than twice what she originally paid for the vehicle. The large sum awarded was a result of FCA being required to pay incidental expenses and a civil penalty due to it "willfully" not following the lemon law. The fact that she was offered nothing by FCA until she hired a lawyer shows the importance of having an attorney at your side for lemon law cases. Hiring a law firm is often the difference between recovering nothing and recovering enough to pay for a future, more reliable vehicle. After a subsequent appeal and the present ruling by the Supreme Court, Ms. Niedermeier now will finally be paid what the automaker owes her. During oral arguments before the Supreme Court, FCA invoked the specter of "gamesmanship" on the part of consumers distorting future lemon law cases, by incentivizing trade-ins rather than prompt buybacks. FCA's argument was that Niedermeier's restitution should be reduced by $19,000 (the amount the Jeep fetched at trade-in), even though FCA's willful violation of the law was the cause of the delay that ultimately forced Ms. Niedermeier to trade in the vehicle. Cindy Tobisman , arguing on behalf of Ms. Niedermeier , pointed out the FCA is the party with the extensive track record of gamesmanship in lemon law cases, and that it could have bought back the vehicle at any time during the years-long process, had it any interest in doing so. In its Opinion, the Court noted that allowing manufacturers the deduction proposed by FCA would undermine the public policy aims of the lemon law by incentivizing delays in offering buybacks and by allowing an auto manufacturer "to profit from its intransigence." "This case highlights the ongoing efforts of car companies to avoid complying with California's laws dealing with defective cars. It also shows that we will fight the hardest, all the way to the Supreme Court, to ensure consumers in this state get everything they are entitled to under the lemon law. We're very pleased the court decided in our client's favor," said Roger Kirnos , Managing Partner of Knight Law Group. Knight Law Group only handles Lemon Law claims and is the leading firm in California . We will never stop fighting for consumers, even if that means appealing all the way to California's Supreme Court. Seven other Knight Law Group cases currently await hearing before the state Supreme Court. At the time they are heard, we look forward to holding other auto manufacturers accountable to consumers in the same way that FCA was finally held accountable to Ms. Niedermeier . View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/knight-law-group-california-supreme-court-upholds-lemon-law-rights-302084605.html SOURCE Knight Law Group, LLP WASHINGTON , March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA will provide live coverage of the agency's SpaceX Crew-7 return to Earth from the International Space Station , beginning with a change-of-command ceremony at 11:55 a.m. EDT on Sunday, March 10 . NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli , ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa , and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov are preparing to wrap up their nearly six-month science mission, and bring home time-sensitive research to Earth. Pending weather conditions off the coast of Florida , the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to undock from the space station at 11:05 a.m. Monday, March 11 , to begin the journey home, with NASA coverage beginning at 10:45 a.m. NASA and SpaceX are targeting as early as 5:35 a.m. Tuesday, March 12 , for splashdown off the Florida coast. The return and related activities will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency's website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media. NASA's coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations): Sunday, March 10 11:55 a.m. : Crew-7 farewell remarks and change of command ceremony aboard the space station Monday, March 11 9 a.m. : Hatch closure coverage begins 9:15 a.m. : Hatch closing 10:45 a.m. : Undocking coverage begins 11:05 a.m. : Undocking Following conclusion of Dragon departure from station, NASA coverage will continue with audio only, with full coverage resuming ahead of the deorbit burn and splashdown. Tuesday, March 12 4:30 a.m. : Coverage begins as the spacecraft leaves low Earth orbit, completes re-entry, and prepares for splashdown 5:35 a.m. : Splashdown 7 a.m. : Return to Earth media teleconference call with the following participants: Steve Stich , manager, NASA 's Commercial Crew Program , manager, 's Commercial Crew Program Jeff Arend , manager for systems engineering and integration, NASA 's International Space Station Office , manager for systems engineering and integration, 's International Space Station Office SpaceX representative representative Eric Van Der Wal , Houston office team leader, ESA , office team leader, Hiroshi Sasaki , vice president for human space flight and space exploration, JAXA Media may ask questions via phone. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than 6 a.m. Tuesday, March 11 , at [email protected]. See full mission coverage, NASA's commercial crew blog, and more information about the mission at: https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nasas-spacex-crew-7-return-to-earth-to-air-live-on-nasa-platforms-302084595.html SOURCE NASA DUBAI, UAE , March 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Industry-leading fintech firm, SquaredFinancial, launches its Ramadan Special Promotion, empowering investors to unlock their potential during the auspicious season. This exclusive offer gives traders the opportunity to enjoy a 30-day swap-free trading with a maximized leverage of 1:2000 and choose from an array of instruments, ranging from Forex to Metals, while using industry-leading platforms, including the world-class MT4 and MT5. Committed to catering to the financial needs of investors from different backgrounds and offering them sophisticated products and services, SquaredFinancial introduces this special promotion set to elevate their financial experience. The company's innovation, technology growth, and competitive offerings are constantly recognized by renowned bodies. As such, SquaredFinancial has been recently awarded Best Trading Mobile App 2023 for its acclaimed mobile application, further boosting its record of recognition. Participants eager to benefit from this promotion are invited to visit SquaredFinancial website to read the terms and conditions, explore further details and register their interest. About SquaredFinancial SquaredFinancial is a well-capitalized FinTech firm founded in 2005. It aims at becoming a one-stop shop that meets investors' financial needs. With around two decades of experience in financial technology and trading, it offers global solutions to traders of different generations and backgrounds, who are looking for an intuitive and sophisticated investment gateway. It is led by market experts and leadership veterans who share a passion for trading and a vision to reshape the industry landscape. As a regulated firm, it provides investors with an online platform backed by cutting-edge technology that offers the opportunity to trade a wide range of instruments from different asset classes. SquaredFinancial has recently launched its proprietary mobile trading app and its innovative fixed-time deposit account. Risk Warning: Trading leveraged products involve a significant risk and can result in the loss of your invested capital. Disclaimers: The website is not intended to offering investment services to citizens of certain jurisdictions such EU/ EEA member states, UK , USA , Canada , Australia , New Zealand , Iran , North Korea , FATF listed countries including, between others, Iran , North Korea , Cuba , Syria , Belarus , Myanmar ( Burma ), Russia , South Sudan , Venezuela , and Yemen . You must be 18 years old, or of legal age as determined in your country in order to register for an account. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1987371/Squared_Financial_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/squaredfinancial-announces-its-special-promotion-during-ramadan-302081734.html SOURCE SquaredFinancial The reason for the failure of the Ukr.net service was that the domain name registrar Network Solutions blocked this domain without any warning. The blocking took place due to the presence of three materials on the UKR.NET portal. ADVERTISIMENT Their publication was banned by a ruling of the Superior Court of California, Los Angeles County, dated January 23, 2024, at the suit of Stanislav Kondrashov and Telf AG, the registrar said. This was reported by OBOZ.UA with reference to Ukr.net. "Since two o'clock in the morning, the UKRNET team has been trying to find out the circumstances of the blocking. One of the business owners, an entrepreneur from Silicon Valley, immediately contacted us. Until 05:30 a.m. Kyiv time, he was communicating with the registrar's support service from his office in Tokyo. Later, he found and involved the company's management in resolving the issue, trying to convey the most important thing: the problem is national in scope and affects strategic Internet services for Ukraine," the statement said. Later it turned out that the blocking of the UKR.NET domain had legal grounds. ADVERTISIMENT Realizing the importance for many Ukrainians of access to their mail and the ability to read the news, the company's owner began to look for help. In particular, he contacted Ms. Oksana Markarova, the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, who responded with lightning speed and promised to provide any possible assistance and support as soon as her working day began. ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, was also informed of the incident. The National Security and Defense Council, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, the .UA domain administrator, Hostmaster, the Internet Association of Ukraine, Internet providers, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian media actively attracted the attention of people, governmental, industry, and civil society organizations in Ukraine and the United States. ADVERTISIMENT "At the beginning of a new working day in the United States, at 16:15 Kyiv time, a representative of the registrar informed that they were looking into the problem. Half an hour later, the blocking was lifted. The Ukrainian Embassy in the United States did not stop there: Oksana Markarova said that they are waiting for a second response from the company to analyze the reasons for blocking the UKR.NET domain in order to avoid a repeat of this in the future," the company said. As reported by OBOZ.UA, on March 7, the Ukr.net service malfunctioned: the site's news feed and @ukr.net email became unavailable to Internet users. It lasted from 01:35 to 17 hours Kyiv time. Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! ARLINGTON, Va. , March 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a statement from Ramsey Alwin , President and CEO of the National Council on Aging (NCOA), on yesterday's passage of the federal appropriations package in the Senate: "We applaud Congress for funding critical assistance for low-income older Americans in today's federal appropriations package. The $62.5 million bipartisan allocation for continued outreach to and enrollment of low-income Medicare beneficiaries into assistance programs means millions more eligible older adults will get much-needed help affording their health care and medicine. These funds will enable critical outreach and enrollment activities for the rest of 2024. We look forward to working with Congress to ensure funding continues in the next fiscal years. "As it has for the past 15 years, this funding will support the essential work of State Health Insurance Assistance Programs, area agencies on aging, Aging and Disability Resource Centers, and 90 community-based organizations that inform older Americans about benefits. In 2022 and 2023, this funding connected 9.3 million low-income older adults to benefits they rely on for their health and financial security. "Yet, about 20.5 million Medicare beneficiaries in America are living at or below 150% of the federal poverty level and need help affording health care. Many of them don't know about these assistance programs and remain unable to access needed care. Enrollment is not automatic, and older adults need trusted local partners to help them navigate these programs and apply. "Today's funding package is another step closer to ensuring that every American can age with dignity." About NCOA The National Council on Aging (NCOA) is the national voice for every person's right to age well. We believe that how we age should not be determined by gender, color, sexuality, income, or ZIP code. Working with thousands of national and local partners, we provide resources, tools, best practices, and advocacy to ensure every person can age with health and financial security. Founded in 1950, we are the oldest national organization focused on older adults. Learn more at www.ncoa.org and @NCOAging. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/statement-assistance-on-the-way-for-low-income-older-americans-302084699.html SOURCE National Council on Aging MOJAVE, Calif. , March 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Stratolaunch, LLC is pleased to announce it has successfully completed the first powered flight of the Talon-A test vehicle, TA-1. This first flight represents a major milestone in the development of the country's first privately funded, reusable hypersonic test capability. Primary objectives for the flight test included accomplishing safe air-launch release of the TA-1 vehicle, engine ignition, acceleration, sustained climb in altitude, and a controlled water landing. "Today was a great day for the Stratolaunch team. I am extremely proud of their perseverance to reach this point. The successful outcome of the test is a direct result of the team's technical prowess and professionalism," said Dr. Zachary Krevor, Chief Executive Officer for Stratolaunch. "While I can't share the specific altitude and speed TA-1 reached due to proprietary agreements with our customers, we are pleased to share that in addition to meeting all primary and customer objectives of the flight, we reached high supersonic speeds approaching Mach 5 and collected a great amount of data at an incredible value to our customers." "Our goal with this flight was to continue our risk reduction approach for TA-2's first reusable flight and be steadfast on our commitment of delivering maximum value to our customers. We are excited to review the data from today's test and use it as we plan our next steps toward TA-2's first flight later this year," Dr. Krevor said. Concurrent to TA-1 testing, Stratolaunch is progressing on the manufacturing of TA-3, the second fully reusable vehicle in that Talon-A product line. The company is also beginning modifications to its additional launch platform, the Spirit of Mojave , a modified Boeing 747-400. The company will hold a virtual press conference today, March 9 at 2:30 p.m. PST to review the initial results of the flight and take questions from members of the press. Interested media outlets can join the conference via Zoom by clicking here. About Stratolaunch Stratolaunch's mission is to advance high-speed technology through innovative design, manufacturing, and operation of world-class aerospace vehicles. For the latest news and information, visit www.stratolaunch.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/stratolaunch-celebrates-first-powered-flight-of-ta-1-test-vehicle-302084722.html SOURCE Stratolaunch CHURCH CREEK, Md. , March 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Postal Service today celebrated the ingenuity, bravery, and resilience of 10 courageous men and women who helped guide enslaved people to freedom via the Underground Railroad, a network of secret routes and safehouses in use before the Civil War. A dedication ceremony for the stamps was held today at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center in Church Creek . "For many enslaved African Americans, the Underground Railroad was their only hope to escape the brutality of slavery," said Ronald A. Stroman , a member of the USPS Board of Governors. "The Underground Railroad demonstrated the power of collective action and solidarity in achieving social change, even when the odds seemed insurmountable. The United States Postal Service is privileged to celebrate the ingenuity and resilience of the enslaved people and those who bravely assisted them in the face of adversity with the dedication of these new stamps." Joining Stroman for the ceremony were master of ceremonies Angela Crenshaw , director of the Maryland Park Service; Joshua Kurtz , Maryland secretary of natural resources; Deanna Mitchell , superintendent of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park ; Millicent Sparks , actor, writer and performer; Kate Clifford Larson , historian, author and consultant; Daniel Hunter , author and activist; and Antonio Alcala , art director for USPS who designed the stamps. Also at the ceremony were descendants of some of the people honored on the stamps: Ernestine "Tina" Wyatt and Douglas Mitchell , descendants of Harriet Tubman; Bob Seeley , descendants of Thomas Garrett ; author and historian, Valerie Still, descendant of William Still; and Tarence Bailey Sr , descendant of Frederick Douglass and the founder and president of the Bailey-Groce Family Foundation and Operation Frederick Douglass on the Hill. "I am honored to participate in this dedication that celebrates Harriet Tubman and other operatives of the Underground Railroad," said Sparks. Their secret network aiding in the escapes of enslaved people aggravated the institution of slavery so badly that a war was fought over it. And ironically, it was the United States Colored Troops and Harriet Tubman who helped the Union Army win that war, abolishing slavery! All of these individuals are the reason we wake up free every morning." Also, participating in the stamp dedication ceremony were the Washington Division Postal Police Honor Guard ; and musicians Daniel Dean and Jennell Morrison ; and the Washington Rebels Jubilee Voices. The pane of 20 stamps depicts 10 key figures of the Underground Railroad freedom seekers and those who aided others' escapes. The top third of each stamp features a sepia-toned portrait. Below it are several lines of text with the words: BLACK/WHITE, COOPERATION, TRUST/DANGER, FLIGHT/FAITH, COURAGE/RISK, DEFIANCE/HOPE, and UNDERGROUND RAILROAD/ USA . Alcala designed the stamps using existing photographs. On the pane's verso is a map showing the general routes freedom seekers followed, along with text from the National Park Service that describes the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. The Underground Railroad Forever stamps come in panes of 20. Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price. News about the stamps is being shared with the hashtags #UndergroundRailroadStamps. A video will be posted two hours after the ceremony providing more information and insights in telling the story of this stamp on the Postal Service's Facebook and Twitter pages at facebook.com/USPS and twitter.com/usps. BACKGROUND From the time slavery was introduced to the Colonies until it was abolished in 1865, enslaved people made ceaseless efforts to escape its reach. The flight to freedom whether by foot, horseback, carriage, wagon or boat was difficult and exceedingly dangerous. In name only, the Underground Railroad started as a loosely organized secret network of courageous and imaginative freedom seekers, and the brave operatives who assisted them. It was powered not by coal but by human courage. As railroads grew in the 1830s and 1840s, the secret network adopted their terminology. "Stationmasters" and "conductors" assisted "passengers" traveling from one "station" to another on the Underground Railroad. Over time, the network coalesced into a well-organized system as it responded to the increasing numbers of freedom seekers and a corresponding rise in attempts to thwart escapes. Most remained anonymous, but some left their mark on history, including the 10 men and women honored on these Forever stamps: Harriet Tubman, Thomas Garrett , William Still, Harriet Jacobs , Jermain Loguen, Catherine Coffin , Lewis Hayden , Frederick Douglass , William Lambert , and Laura Haviland . In 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, liberating all enslaved people. In 1865, following the end of the Civil War, the 13th Amendment was ratified, abolishing slavery throughout the country. Postal Products Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through the Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps, by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic or at Post Office locations nationwide. For officially licensed stamp products, shop the USPS Officially Licensed Collection on Amazon. Please Note: The United States Postal Service is an independent federal establishment, mandated to be self-financing and to serve every American community through the affordable, reliable and secure delivery of mail and packages to 167 million addresses six and often seven days a week. Overseen by a bipartisan Board of Governors, the Postal Service is implementing a 10-year transformation plan, Delivering for America, to modernize the postal network, restore long-term financial sustainability, dramatically improve service across all mail and shipping categories, and maintain the organization as one of America's most valued and trusted brands. The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. For USPS media resources, including broadcast-quality video and audio and photo stills, visit the USPS Newsroom. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the USPS YouTube Channel and like us on Facebook. For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and facts.usps.com. National contact: Felicia M. Lott [email protected] usps.com/news Local contact: Mark A. Wahl [email protected] usps.com/news View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-postal-service-pays-homage-to-heroes-of-the-underground-railroad-with-new-forever-stamps-302084623.html SOURCE U.S. Postal Service Ursa Major and Stratolaunch achieve a major leap toward the first flight test of a privately funded hypersonic vehicle DENVER , March 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ursa Major's Hadley engine, a purpose-built engine to satisfy America's commercial and national security space needs, flew for the first time powering Stratolaunch's Talon-A1 (TA-1) testbed during a Monday test over the Pacific Ocean . The test, which reached high supersonic speeds approaching Mach 5, marks the first step toward flight of a hypersonic vehicle developed by a private company. "For the first time since SpaceX fundamentally transformed space launch with privately developed rockets, Ursa Major and Stratolaunch have come together to advance a critical national mission," said Ursa Major founder and CEO Joe Laurienti . "Hypersonic flight has been a massive military and governmental challenge. Today, private companies were able to propel a leap forward." The flight test marks a major milestone for Ursa Major, who designed, built, and flew Hadley in less than a decade. Hadley and Ursa Major's other products enable the U.S. Defense Department to field new mission solutions more quickly and push performance metrics of speed, range, and payload. Hadley is a 5,000-pound-thrust (lbf) liquid oxygen and kerosene, oxygen-rich staged combustion cycle rocket engine for small vehicles. Customers can use Hadley to launch small payloads into orbit or hypersonic platforms. Ursa Major has sold dozens of Hadley engines to customers that will enable space launch, hypersonics, and in-space missions. Unlike historical rocket engines, Ursa Major uses 3D printing to speed up the manufacturing process, allowing the company to build engines in a matter of days. Hadley is the first product in a family of propulsion systems, including liquid rocket engines and solid rocket motors, being designed, developed, and produced by Ursa Major. About Ursa Major Ursa Major is the leading independent rocket propulsion provider and a critical player in building the defense industrial base in the United States . As the first American company to fire an oxygen-rich staged combustion enginea milestone previously only achieved by Russian engine-makersUrsa Major provides reusable, high-performing propulsion systems to commercial space enterprises, defense contractors, and the Department of Defense for launch, hypersonics, and national security missions. The company employs the country's leading propulsion experts at its one-of-a-kind headquarters in Berthoud, Colorado , which houses engineering, manufacturing, and test operations all in one campus. Media Contact Claude Chafin 202.841.6602 chafin@invariantgr.com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ursa-major-hadley-engine-flies-for-the-first-time-302084726.html SOURCE Ursa Major MELBOURNE, Fla. , March 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Young's Communications, LLC ("Y-COM" or the "Company"), a premier Florida -based construction services provider to telecommunications, utility, and power infrastructure companies, backed by Grain Management, LLC ("Grain"), today announced that Rob Hughart , Y-COM's Chief Operating Officer, has been appointed as the company's Interim Chief Executive Officer as part of its transformational growth plan for 2024. Mr. Hughart will take over from outgoing CEO Chad Rasmussen as he steps down to pursue other personal and professional endeavors. Hughart brings 31 years of leadership experience as a seasoned executive responsible for building, leading, and scaling large organizations that design, build, and maintain NextGen broadband infrastructure networks for telecommunications and utilities clients across the country. Hughart has comprehensive experience specializing in customer relationships, business operations, strategic planning, execution, and service delivery, with a focus on driving growth in a highly competitive environment. Prior to joining Y-COM, Hughart held leadership roles at Tilson Technology, KGPCo, Frontier Communications, Verizon, and Bell Atlantic. "Since partnering with the Y-COM team, it has been a pleasure working alongside its talented executives as we shaped the leadership and strategic vision for the company together," said Grain Managing Director Ricardo Rodriguez . "We wish Chad the best as he has paved the way for growth during his four-year tenure and now moves into other opportunities. We are confident that Rob, as an accomplished operator, will advance Y-COM's already strong leadership team in pursuit of continued growth." Hughart said, "I am honored to serve in this expanded role for Y-COM and the Y-COM family of companies (AEG/AUC/FOS). This is truly a pivotal time in the company's history as we rally our extraordinary employees to integrate our legacy companies and embark upon the next phase of value creation." About Y-COM Young's Communications, LLC was founded in 1972 as a contractor for wiring CATV / TV coaxial cable lines, and today operates as a super-regional provider of infrastructure services to the telecommunications, utility, and power sectors. The Company offers a full suite of capabilities, including underground, aerial, and emergency services to its customers. For more information, visit Y-COM's website at www.ycominc.com. About Grain Management We believe broadband and digital infrastructure are foundational to the tech-enabled transformation occurring across all industries and facets of society. And our global team of seasoned and diverse professionals share a collective passion for the power of connectivity to strengthen communities and unlock human potential for all. Founded in 2007, Grain Management is a leading, global investment firm. We specialize in digital infrastructure and are a trusted solutions provider to the broadband and communications industry. Our unique combination of sector knowledge, experience as operators, and disciplined analytical approach guide our differentiated investment strategy across fiber networks, data centers, wireless spectrum, cell towers, as well as managed and infrastructure services. For more information visit www.graingp.com. Contact: Grain Management Public Relations [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/y-com-announces-rob-hughart-as-chief-executive-officer-302084719.html SOURCE Grain Management, LLC Police patrol a street after authorities extended the state of emergency amid gang violence that has threatened to bring down the government, forcing thousands to flee their homes, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti March 8, 2024. REUTERS/Ralph Tedy Erol By Stephen Eisenhammer MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Guy Philippe, who helped lead a coup in Haiti in 2004 and returned to the Caribbean island last year after serving a prison sentence in the U.S., demanded on Friday that the country's prime minister resign and said he wanted to become president. Months of violence have pushed the government in Haiti to the brink of collapse, with increasingly powerful gangs demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry who remains outside the country, seemingly unable or unwilling to return. "He should resign," Philippe, a 56-year-old former police chief, said in an interview with Reuters over Zoom from Haiti. "I think he should stay where he is now ... and let Haitians decide their fate." Henry's spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Henry left Haiti last week to secure Kenya's leadership for a long-delayed U.N.-backed security mission he first requested in 2022 to help fight the gangs. He is believed to still be in Puerto Rico, where he arrived on Tuesday. The government extended on Thursday a state of emergency around the capital Port-au-Prince as the violence forced thousands to flee their homes and the main airport to close. Authorities first announced the state of emergency on Sunday after armed gangs broke thousands of inmates out of prison. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Henry on Thursday to support a political transition for the country, where the healthcare system is near collapse, children are unable to attend school, and thousands have been killed, kidnapped or driven from their homes. There have been widespread reports of rape and torture by the gangs. In 2004, Philippe was one of the main leaders in the successful overthrow of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. He had a failed run for president in 2006, before winning a senate seat in 2016, though he was arrested and extradited to the United States before he could be sworn in. Philippe was deported from the U.S. to Haiti in November after serving six years of a prison sentence for money laundering derived from drug trafficking. He said his conviction would not get in the way of his political future, citing the experiences of former South African leader Nelson Mandela, former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Asked if he wanted to be president, Philippe said: "Yes! I'm going into politics. I was a senator, I've been elected by my people, I will go again in elections. "Mandela was in prison, Hugo Chavez was in prison, Lula was in prison ... and so if my people believe and trust me, I will be their leader," he said. Since his return to Haiti, Philippe has traveled the country rallying support and calling for the government to step down. In a February report, the Geneva-based Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime named Philippe as an important figure among Haiti's "strongmen who straddle the line between vigilante leaders and political bosses, accumulating considerable power." Philippe said his recent return to the country meant he did not have deep connections to the gangs and he was not behind the gang violence. But he said there were some gang members that supported him because they liked what he had to say. "They like my speech, and some want to follow me," he said. He did not denounce the gangs and said he would seek to implement an amnesty for their leaders were he to take power. "Who is worse? The one in the streets with the weapons or the ones in the office that call themselves prime ministers, president, ministers ... that are stealing everything this country has?," he said. In recent months, Philippe has been seen at public events defended by members of BSAP - an environmental police unit that security analysts say has effectively become a paramilitary group. Philippe said the protection came from individual agents who believed in his message and wanted to protect him. He stressed that he would seek to put his country's relationship with powers like the U.S., France and Canada on a more equal footing and criticized the international backing that he said had kept Henry in power. "If Haiti is where it is now, it's partly because of them," he said. "We are not enemies, we don't hate United States, we don't hate France or Canada... We know we need their help, we know Haiti is a poor country, but at least we would like to receive this help with dignity." Asked if he thought there would be a civil war in Haiti, as one gang leader warned this week, Philippe said: "No... I know the Americans who are deciding everything here will be wise enough to understand that Haitians want some kind of change." (Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer, additional reporting by Sarah Morland, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien) Police kicks a protester during a demonstration before the voting of a planned bill which opens the way for the operation of foreign private universities, in Athens, Greece, March 8, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki ATHENS (Reuters) - Greeces parliament narrowly passed a bill early on Saturday that will allow foreign private universities to set up branches in the country, bucking weeks of protests by students who say the move will devalue degrees from public universities. The legislation was approved by 159 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said it will help reverse an exodus of tens of thousands of Greek students to universities abroad, a drag on an economy still recovering from a decade-long financial crisis. The bill will also help align Greece with the rest of the European Union and boost competition in higher education, he said in a speech to lawmakers. Students have been protesting peacefully for weeks against the bill. On Friday afternoon thousands of students rallied outside parliament holding banners reading "no to private universities". A group of protesters who peeled off from the main group threw petrol bombs at police, who responded with teargas. "We are scared that ... if we do manage to graduate we'll never be able to get a job anywhere," said Stratos Katselis, 25. "No young person today can make any kind of plan for the future. All we see are dead ends." The university bill is part of a government reform agenda that also includes a same sex marriage law that was passed last month. Greece spends 3%-4% of its annual economic output on education, below the EU average. Mitsotakis, who won a second term in June last year, said the bill stipulated increased funding for state universities. (Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas, Angeliki Koutantou and Louisa Gouliamaki; Editing by Frances Kerry) A Palestinian woman and a child look on at the site of an Israeli air strike on a building, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip March 9, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Bassam Masoud CAIRO/RAFAH, Gaza (Reuters) -Efforts to secure a deal on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza are ongoing, Israel's intelligence agency Mossad said on Saturday, despite dimming hopes for a truce during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Mossad chief David Barnea met on Friday with his U.S. counterpart, CIA Director William Burns, to promote a deal that would see hostages released, Mossad said in a statement. U.S. President Joe Biden said on Saturday that Burns remained in the region. "Contacts and cooperation with the mediators continue all the time in an effort to narrow the gaps and reach agreements," Mossad said in the statement, which was distributed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. Israel and Hamas, the militant Islamist group that rules the Palestinian enclave and has been locked in a war with Israeli forces since its deadly Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel, have traded blame over the apparent deadlock in talks in the run-up to Ramadan, which begins on or around March 10. A Hamas source told Reuters the group's delegation was "unlikely" to make another visit to Cairo over the weekend for talks. Egypt, the U.S. and Qatar have been mediating truce negotiations since January. The last deal struck was a week-long pause in fighting in November during which Hamas released more than 100 hostages and Israel freed about three times as many Palestinian prisoners. Hamas blames Israel for the impasse in negotiations for a longer ceasefire and the release of 134 hostages believed still held in Gaza - saying it refuses to give guarantees to end the war or pull its forces from the enclave. Mossad said Hamas was digging its heels in and aiming for violence in the region to spiral during Ramadan. Israeli officials have said that the war will end only with the defeat of Hamas, whose demands Netanyahu has called "delusional". Biden, who has repeatedly called for a temporary ceasefire, said in an MSNBC interview that it was "always possible" that a deal could be reached before Ramadan. But he did not elaborate. While reiterating steadfast U.S. support for Israel's right to defend itself, Biden told MSNBC his message to Netanyahu about the need to limit Palestinian civilian casualties is that he is "hurting Israel more than helping" by acting in a way "contrary to what Israel stands for." Asked whether he would be willing to return to Israel, where he visited in mid-October in a show of solidarity, to address lawmakers, Biden said "yes." But he declined to elaborate. 'RELEASE THE HOSTAGES' In a statement marking Ramadan, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh vowed the Palestinians would continue to fight Israel "until they regain freedom and independence". Five months into Israel's air and ground assault on Gaza, health authorities there say nearly 31,000 Palestinians have been killed. The war was triggered by the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, in which 1,200 people were killed and 253 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. At an anti-government protest in Tel Aviv on Saturday, some demonstrators blocked a highway and were dragged away by police. Another rally was led by families of hostages who called for their loved ones' release. "The pain and anger are still running through my blood," said Agam Goldstein, a teenager freed from Gaza with her mother and two brothers in November, addressing the hostage-related rally. "Hamas, if you have any humanity left in you, release the hostages." Charity workers loaded relief supplies bound for Gaza on to a barge in Cyprus as part of an international effort to launch a maritime corridor to a Palestinian population on the brink of famine. The U.S. also has said its military will build a temporary floating dock off Gaza's coast to bring in aid, though it does not envision deployment of U.S. troops on the ground. Israel was coordinating with the U.S. on the dock project for shipment of aid "after it undergoes full Israeli inspection", to be delivered to Gaza civilians through international organizations, said Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari. A U.S. Navy logistics support vessel was headed for the eastern Mediterranean carrying the first equipment to be used to help establish the pier, the U.S. Central Command said. Amid continuing tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border where Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants have regularly exchanged fire, Lebanese security sources said an Israeli strike killed a family of five and injured nine people in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said it was looking into the report. 'RED LINE' In a somewhat contradictory exchange, Biden told MSNBC that Israels threatened invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza would be his red line for Netanyahu but then immediately backtracked, saying there was no red line and "Im never going to leave Israel." Concerned about further heavy civilian casualties, Biden has urged Netanyahu not to launch a major offensive in Rafah unless Israel has first crafted a plan for mass evacuation from the last area of Gaza it has not yet invaded with ground forces. More than half of Gaza's 2.3 million people are sheltering in the Rafah area. During a Biden campaign speech in the presidential election battleground state of Georgia, a protester yelled "genocide Joe" but was quickly drowned out by the crowd's chants of four more years" and was removed by security. Theres a lot of Palestinians who are being unfairly victimized," Biden quickly responded. Stepping up pressure in Gaza, Israel struck a 12-floor residential tower in Rafah, leaving dozens of families homeless, though no casualties were reported. Israel's military said the block was being used by Hamas to plan attacks on Israelis. Israel's offensive has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian catastrophe. Much of the enclave is reduced to rubble and most of its population is displaced, with the U.N. warning of disease and starvation. (Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Additional reporting by Noele Illiene, Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber, Adam Makary, Henriette Chacar, Maayan Lubell and Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Writing by Maayan Lubell and Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Giles Elgood, Helen Popper, Frances Kerry, Nick Macfie, Daniel Wallis and Marguerita Choy) FILE PHOTO: Portland police officer David Baer holds up a blue oxycodone pill and a small bag of fentanyl that he just confiscated from a woman getting ready to smoke them in her car in downtown Portland, Oregon, U.S. February 7, 2024. These blue pills ar By Daniel Trotta (Reuters) - Oregon Governor Tina Kotek on Friday vowed to sign into law a bill that recriminalizes drug use, more than three years after voters approved the most liberal drug law in the country, one that decriminalized the possession of small amounts of drugs. "I intend to sign House Bill 4002 and the related prevention and treatment investments within the next 30 days," Kotek, a Democrat, said in a statement. The reversal, which can impose a misdemeanor sentence of 180 days for drug possession, was an acknowledgment that Measure 110, approved by voters in November 2020, failed in its approach to treat addiction as a public health matter, not a crime. Even as the state poured money from cannabis taxes into recovery services, cities like Portland experienced people openly consuming drugs in front of stores, trendy restaurants and hotels, many of them crouched over torch lighters held up to sheets of tinfoil or meth pipes. Meanwhile Oregon's drug overdose deaths, which increased by a third from 2019 to 2020, rose another 44% in 2021, according to state figures. Under Measure 110, instead of arresting drug users, police could issue $100 citations along with drug treatment information. But there were no ramifications for declining treatment, and state data showed only 4% of those who received citations called the hotline. In November 2020, Measure 110 won support from 58% of voters. But by August last year, a survey by Emerson College found 56% of Oregonians supported a total repeal and 64% supported changes. While HB 4002 reimposes penalties, it also enables local governments and law-enforcement agencies to choose whether they want to offer users the opportunity to pursue drug treatment before going to jail. Nearly two dozen of Oregon's 36 counties have agreed to opt into the treatment-first approach, the Oregonian reported, citing state lawmakers. (Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Additional reporting by Deborah Bloom; Editing by Sam Holmes) FILE PHOTO: Pakistan's outgoing President Asif Ali Zardari waves as he leaves after a farewell ceremony at the President House in Islamabad September 8, 2013. REUTERS/Mian Khursheed/File Photo By Asif Shahzad ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's former President Asif Ali Zardari won a second term on Saturday, supported by the ruling coalition in a vote by parliament and regional assemblies, the election presiding officer said. The role of president is largely ceremonial in Pakistan but Zardari is known as a master of reconciliation and could help the governing coalition partners reach a consensus to steer the broken economy on a stabilisation path ahead of seeking a new IMF bailout. As president, Zardari will also be the supreme commander of the country's armed forces, which play an oversized role in making or breaking governments. Presiding officer Justice Amir Farooq announced the winner in a live TV broadcast. Zardari got 411 votes, easily defeating the 181 votes cast for nationalist leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai, according to a statement from the parliament. Achakzai was backed by jailed leader Imran Khan's party. The president is elected by votes in the lower and upper house of the parliament and four provincial legislative assemblies. Zardari is the widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and gained political stature after his wife's assassination in a suicide bombing in December 2007, taking control of the PPP Party, in line with wishes expressed in her will. He became president in 2008 and served until 2013, a period in which a U.S. special forces raid inside Pakistan found and killed Osama bin Laden in 2011. Zardari's greatest achievement during his first term was seen as the building of a rare political consensus on adopting a new legal and political framework to decentralise power and curb the presidential powers wielded by former military leaders. From the early 1990s to 2004, he spent 11 years in jail on graft charges, which were never proven in any court and that he and his party called military-backed political victimisation, a charge the army denies. (Reporting by Asif Shahzad; Editing by Frances Kerry) China continues to ignore Ukrainian diplomat Pavlo Riabikin. In particular, since his arrival in the Chinese capital in the summer of 2023, the diplomat has had only a few meetings. ADVERTISIMENT At the same time, he has made dozens of requests to almost 40 different ministries and municipalities. This was reported by Bloomberg. At the same time, Russian Ambassador to China Igor Morgulov, who was appointed by dictator Vladimir Putin to work in Beijing in September 2022, described Russian-Chinese relations as "very fruitful." The diplomat boasted that his embassy had organized 27 visits by Russian officials to China at the level of federal minister and above, including the Kremlin's leader. It is worth noting that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in response to a question about the lack of meetings between the Ukrainian ambassador and the Russian ambassador, said that "communication channels between China and Ukraine are unimpeded." However, support for Ukraine among the wider diplomatic community in Beijing is mixed. ADVERTISIMENT Recently, Beijing sent Li Hui, China's special envoy for Eurasian affairs, on a European tour. He first arrived in Moscow and then came to Kyiv. The diplomat also plans to visit Poland, Germany, France, and Belgium. However, there is little hope that his trip will lead to a significant solution to the war, as Beijing's diplomatic and economic support for Russia after the invasion of Ukraine has become a stumbling block in relations with Europe. There is also skepticism about China's 12-point "peace proposal" put forward in February 2023 aimed at ending the war. To recap, China has reiterated its calls for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine to end the war. The Kremlin will likely continue to use such initiatives to advance its long-standing information operations aimed at obtaining concessions from the West. ADVERTISIMENT Earlier it was reported that on March 7, China's Special Representative for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui visited Ukraine during a diplomatic tour and met with representatives of the Ukrainian authorities. The Chinese delegation also arrived in Kyiv along with the special representative. Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! By Philip Pullella ROME (Reuters) -Pope Francis has said in an interview that Ukraine should have what he called the courage of the "white flag" and negotiate an end to the war with Russia that followed Moscow's full-scale invasion two years ago and that has killed tens of thousands. Francis made his comments in an interview recorded last month with Swiss broadcaster RSI, well before Friday's latest offer by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to host a summit between Ukraine and Russia to end the war. Erdogan made the fresh offer after a meeting in Istanbul with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Zelenskiy has said while he wants peace he will not give up any territory. The Ukrainian leader's own peace plan calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops from all of Ukraine and the restoration of its state borders. The Kremlin has ruled out engaging in peace talks on terms set by Kyiv. A spokesman for Zelenskiy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the pope's remarks. In the interview Francis was asked for his position on a debate between those who say Ukraine should give up as it has not been able to repel Russian forces, and those who say doing so would legitimise actions by the strongest party. The interviewer used the term "white flag" in the question. "It is one interpretation, that is true," Francis said, according to an advance transcript of the interview and a partial video made available to Reuters on Saturday. It is due to be broadcast on March 20 as part of a new cultural programme. "But I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates," Francis said, adding that talks should take place with the help of international powers. "The word negotiate is a courageous word. When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate," Francis said. It was believed to be the first time Francis has used terms such as "white flag" or "defeated" in discussing the Ukraine war, although he has spoken in the past about the need for negotiations. In a statement, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the pope had picked up on the term "white flag" spoken by the interviewer and used it "to indicate a stop to hostilities (and) a truce achieved with the courage of negotiations". Last year the 87-year-old pope sent a peace envoy, Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, to Kyiv, Moscow and Washington to sound out leaders in those countries. "One may feel shame," Francis said about negotiating, "but how many dead will it (the war) end up with? (One should) negotiate in time, find a country that can be a mediator," Francis said, mentioning Turkey among the countries that had offered. "Do not be ashamed of negotiating, before things get worse," said Francis, who has made hundreds of appeals for what he calls "martyred Ukraine". Asked if he was willing to mediate, Francis said "I am here". In another part of the interview, speaking of the war between Israel and Hamas, Francis said: "Negotiating is never a surrender". Last month Zelenskiy said that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since the Russian invasion in February 2022 and that tens of thousands of civilians had been killed in the occupied areas of the country. (Reporting by Philip Pullella, Editing by Frances Kerry) BAKU (Reuters) - Two more individuals linked to an independent Azerbaijani television station were arrested on Saturday and pleaded not guilty in court in connection with a probe into smuggling, one of their lawyers said. The latest detentions brought to nine the total number facing charges connected to Toplum TV. Two have been placed under house arrest. Arrested on Saturday in Baku were Alesker Mammadli, co-founder of the station, and Ruslan Izzetli, from the Platform III Republic civil society group. "Alesker Mammadli and Ruslan Izzetli stated that they were not guilty," lawyer Agil Layij said outside the court. "They said they were being prosecuted for their criticism of the authorities and intend to appeal." The case against Toplum TV founder Akif Gurbanov, one of those arrested earlier, and his staff is the latest in a series of prosecutions that have prompted Western concern about press freedom in the South Caucasus country. A lawyer for Gurbanov said on Friday that authorities found $30,000 in cash during a search this week at the offices of Platform III, of which Gurbanov is board chairman. Gurbanov said the money had nothing to do with him and denied the charges against him as politically motivated. His lawyer said he intended to appeal. Two of his associates were detained on Friday, including a co-founder of Toplum TV and a member of Platform III Republic. Two Toplum TV journalists were placed under house arrest. The U.S. State Department said it was deeply troubled by the news of the initial arrests in a raid of Toplum TV's offices on Wednesday. Azerbaijan has detained a string of independent reporters since late last year. Several are facing trial on charges unrelated to journalistic activity. The authorities say the journalists have cases to answer. In January, the foreign ministry accused the European Union's ambassador of interference in the judicial system after he said he was "appalled" by reports of the treatment of journalists. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was re-elected in February with more than 92% of the vote, an election deemed neither free nor fair by Western observers. Aliyev, who succeeded his father as president in 2003, has enjoyed a surge of popularity since September, when his army recaptured the region of Nagorno-Karabakh from ethnic Armenians who had run it as a breakaway statelet for three decades. (Reporting by Nailia Bagirova in Baku, Editing by Ron Popeski and Chizu Nomiyama) The headquarters of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is seen in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 15, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File photo By Daniel Wiessner (Reuters) -A federal judge in Texas on Friday struck down a U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rule that would treat many companies as employers of certain contract and franchise workers and require them to bargain with unions representing them. U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker in Tyler agreed with the challengers to the "joint employers" rule, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, that it is too broad and violates federal labor law. The rule, issued in October, had been set to take effect on Monday. Barker said the rule is invalid because it would treat some companies as the employers of contract or franchise workers even when they lacked any meaningful control over their working conditions. The rule "would treat virtually every entity that contracts for labor as a joint employer because virtually every contract for third-party labor has terms that impact, at least indirectly ... essential terms and conditions of employment," the judge wrote. The District Courts decision to vacate the Boards rule is a disappointing setback, but is not the last word on our efforts to return our joint-employer standard to the common law principles that have been endorsed by other courts," NLRB Chair Lauren McFerran said in a statement. McFerran added the NLRB was "actively considering next steps" in the case. The Chamber of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment. The NLRB is expected to appeal Barker's decision to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Industries such as manufacturing and construction rely heavily on staffing agencies and contractors to provide workers, and franchisers such as McDonald's, Burger King, and Dunkin' Donuts that are not typically involved in franchisees' day-to-day workplace issues. The rule would treat companies as "joint employers" of contract and franchise workers when they have control over key working conditions such as pay, scheduling, discipline and supervision, even if that control is indirect or not exercised. The NLRB and many unions have said the rule is needed to ensure that companies come to the bargaining table and can be held liable for labor law violations when they have control over the working conditions of these contract or franchise workers. But business groups and many Republicans have said it would create confusion over when businesses are considered workers' employers, disrupting franchising and routine contracting arrangements. Joint employment has been one of the most contentious labor issues for many U.S. businesses since 2015, when the NLRB during Barack Obama's presidency adopted a standard similar to the new one that trade groups said was unworkable and would upend the franchising industry. The rule issued by President Joe Biden's administration would repeal one put in place during Donald Trump's presidency. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 2018 sided with a sanitation company challenging the Obama-era standard, finding that the NLRB had not adequately explained what kind of indirect control could lead to a finding of joint employment. In 2020, the board adopted a rule favored by business groups requiring companies to have "direct and immediate" control over workers in order to be considered joint employers. (Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Will Dunham, Alexia Garamfalvi, William Mallard and Nick Macfie) CAIRO (Reuters) - U.S., French and British forces downed dozens of drones in the Red Sea area overnight and on Saturday after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis targeted bulk carrier Propel Fortune and U.S. destroyers in the region, the U.S. military said in a statement. The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November in what they say is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians during Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. The group's military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a televised speech on Saturday they had targeted the cargo vessel and "a number of U.S. war destroyers at the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with 37 drones". U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the U.S. military and coalition forces had downed at least 28 uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) over the Red Sea in the early hours of Saturday. "No U.S. or Coalition Navy vessels were damaged in the attack and there were also no reports by commercial ships of damage," CENTCOM said in a statement. Earlier on Saturday, CENTCOM said the military was responding to a large-scale attack on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden between 4 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. (0100-0330 GMT). The UAVs were intended to present "an imminent threat to merchant vessels, U.S. Navy, and coalition ships in the region", it said in a post on social media platform X. A French warship and fighter jets also shot down four combat drones that were advancing towards naval vessels belonging to the European Aspides mission in the region, a French army statement said. "This defensive action directly contributed to the protection of the cargo ship True Confidence, under the Barbados flag, which was struck on March 6 and is being towed, as well as other commercial vessels transiting in the area," it said. France has a warship in the area as well as warplanes at its bases in Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates. DRONE ATTACK Britain's Ministry of Defence said its warship HMS Richmond had joined international allies in repelling a Houthi drone attack overnight, saying no injuries or damage were sustained. "Last night, HMS Richmond used its Sea Ceptor missiles to shoot down two attack drones - successfully repelling yet another illegal attack by the Iranian-backed Houthis," defence minister Grant Shapps said on X. "The UK and our allies will continue to take the action necessary to save lives and protect freedom of navigation." On Wednesday three seafarers were killed in a missile strike by the Houthis on the Greek-operated True Confidence, the first civilian casualties since the group started its attacks on the key shipping route. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) also confirmed there had been an attempted attack on the Singapore-flagged Propel Fortune. It said the shipping company reported two explosions in close vicinity of the bulk carrier, but all crew on board were safe and the vessel was proceeding to its next port of call. "Based on sources, Propel Fortune was likely targeted due to outdated U.S. ownership data," UKMTO said in a statement. Sarea said the Houthis would continue their attacks "until the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted". (Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Adam Makary, John Irish and Alistair Smout; Editing by Frances Kerry and David Holmes) Members of the Mighty Ninety and 37th Helicopter Squadron participated in International Women's Day by crewing aircraft, a fire team and a launch control capsule with solely female personnel in the A-01 missile alert facility launch control capsule near Lindbergh, Wyoming,, March 8, 2023. (Glenn Robertson/U. S. Air Force) CHEYENNE (Tribune News Service) To celebrate International Womens Day, F.E. Warren Air Force Base staffed one of its Missile Alert Facilities (MAF) with an all-female crew Friday. They are part of the 321st Missile Squadron, which operates under the 90th Missile Wing and is tasked with monitoring and maintaining the Minuteman III Launch Facilities. First Lt. Sophie Oswalt, a missile combat crew commander, was one of the women working the alert at Kilo 01 in Western Nebraska on Friday. She comes from a family with military roots, including her father who also served in the Air Force. She came to F.E. Warren in June 2022 and rotates through five alert facilities that her squadron oversees. Working with an all-female crew makes me proud to be a part of such a strong team where females are proving themselves in every role, she said. It is not just the crew members doing important work when we are here at the MAF as we rely heavily on the work of security forces, facility managers and MAF chefs topside to support the mission, all of which are positions held by females here. Working with my female flight members that I pull alert with has led the small group of us to become lifelong friends beyond our alerts together, and I will always be proud to work alongside them. Oswalt said she has seen strides for gender equality and inclusivity in the Air Force even since she commissioned in May 2021. This includes updates to hair standards in response to feedback and new flight suits they received last year tailored for womens bodies rather than the previous mens sizing they had. They seem like little things to someone else but really do make a huge difference for female members, she said. In her time in the Air Force, she said she has learned that it is OK to be feminine and not give in to pressures to conform to how you feel you are supposed to act. Senior Enlisted Leader Tech Sgt. Samantha Collet is the only female MAF manager on base. She said she has seen the Air Force make large steps toward inclusivity since she commissioned 15 years ago. I think we will start to see more women rising to the top ranks and breaking down barriers and stereotypes that we typically saw back in the 1990s when males dominated most jobs and key positions, she said. Its important that the women in the military now are key role models to those coming in after us and are setting the standard and leaving it better than we had it. In December, Maj. Gen. Stacy Jo Huser was appointed as the first female commander of the 20th Air Force, based at F.E. Warren Base. Crew members will often spend around a week at a time at a MAF or rotating between them. The facilities have lodging to house at least 10 people who can be found on-site at any given time as well as areas to recreate by watching television, playing games or grilling. The 321st Missile Squadron is one of two others, the 319th and 320th, who maintain 50 Minuteman III MAFs each. Their primary mission is to provide full-time nuclear capabilities upon presidential orders. Second Lt. ReShaunna Shelby is from Jackson, Mississippi, and she recalled the first time she saw snow was at a MAF last Christmas. Myself and my crew commander played games during our off days upstairs, and it made the holidays feel like holidays should, she said. The 20th Air Force has the Womens Initiative Team with representatives at each 20th Air Force base (90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren, 91st Missile Wing at Minot AFB, North Dakota, 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom AFB, Montana, 377th Air Base Wing at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico and 582d Helicopter Group at F.E. Warren). Their goal is to create initiatives and lines of effort to confront issues related to women who serve. F.E. Warren also has a Diversity and Inclusion Council to support those at the base. In addition to an all-female capsule crew and female facility manager at Kilo 01 on Friday, the base also staffed Gate 5, off Central Avenue, with an all-female force. (c)2024 Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne, Wyo.) Visit Wyoming Tribune-Eagle Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, left, appears with President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the Russian Embassy in Tehran in 1943. (Library of Congress) It was movie night at the Kremlin. The date was May 23, 1943. The Red Army had defeated the Germans at the Battle of Stalingrad only three months earlier. For the first time, it looked like the Allies could win. And now, to celebrate the alliance between the Soviet Union and the United States, Joseph Stalin had decided to throw a banquet at the Kremlin. Despite wartime rationing, there was no shortage of delicious courses. Vodka flowed freely, according to historian Todd Bennett. After dinner, Stalin led the guests to his private movie theater. Joseph E. Davies, the former U.S. ambassador to the U.S.S.R. and an adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, sat next to Stalin. Then the lights went down and Mission to Moscow started. The movie was pure Stalinist propaganda. It portrayed the dictator as a benevolent leader and the Soviet Union as a fraternal society free of repression. It presented the Moscow show trials, during which Stalins rivals had been framed, as fair hearings. And it charged Leon Trotsky - the Jewish Bolshevik murdered on Stalins orders in 1940 - with having been a Nazi agent. But Mission to Moscow hadnt been made by the Kremlin-controlled studios or vetted by Stalins censors. It came from a Hollywood studio, Warner Bros. Pictures, and was approved by censors from the U.S. government. Today, conservatives accuse Hollywood of pumping out leftist propaganda. During World War II, Hollywood actually did just that. And it had the full backing of the U.S. government. Mission to Moscow was part of a wave of movies made between 1942 and 1945 that lauded the Soviet regime. They included RKOs The North Star, about Ukrainians repelling Nazi invaders; United Artists Three Russian Girls, about a Russian nurses romance with an American soldier; and Columbias Counter-Attack, about Red Army soldiers squaring off against the Wehrmacht. Mission to Moscow was directed by Michael Curtiz, hot off helming Casablanca, but it was Daviess brainchild. Based on his memoir, it dramatized his stint before the war at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. Walter Huston played Davies. In the films prologue, the real Davies assured viewers they were about to get an honest primer on the Soviet Union. Stalin approved. He was very generous in his praise of the picture, Davies wrote in a letter the next day. Soon after, Mission to Moscow opened across the U.S.S.R. It had come out stateside to great fanfare in April 1943, according to historians Ronald and Allis Radosh. The marketing budget was $500,000 - close to $9 million in todays money. There had been a glitzy premiere in Washington, attended by political insiders and reporters. The New York Times called it the most outspoken picture on a political subject that an American studio has ever made. Mission to Moscow certainly didnt hide its agenda: to make Americans appreciate the Soviet Union, and rally support for the Soviet-American alliance. This directive came straight from the White House. The filmmakers had a governmental blessing, Davies revealed later, and he consulted FDR several times during production. According to producer Robert Buckner, the president said Mission to Moscow should be made to show the American mothers and fathers that if their sons are killed in fighting alongside Russians in our common cause, then it was a good cause, and the Russians are worthy allies. Mission to Moscow and the other pro-Soviet films of the era were made under the aegis of the Office of War Information, launched by Roosevelt in 1942 to promote, in the United States and abroad, understanding of the status and progress of the war effort and of war policies, activities, and aims of the U.S. government. In other words, it oversaw American wartime propaganda. But MGMs Song of Russia, a romantic drama released in 1944, was also made in cooperation with the Soviet government. The director consulted the Soviet ambassador before shooting, and the movie featured footage from Soviet newsreels. It follows an American conductor, played by Robert Taylor, who tours the U.S.S.R. Its anything but subtle. In one scene, he dines at a bustling restaurant in Moscow and exclaims, I cant get over it! Well, everybody seems to be having such a good time. He then turns to his date, a beautiful Russian pianist, and tells her, If I didnt know that Id met you in Moscow, you might be an American girl. (The actress, Susan Peters, was born in Spokane, Wash.) Midway through Song of Russia, the Nazis invade the Soviet Union, and Stalin gives a rousing speech to the nation. Our war for the freedom of our country will merge with the struggles of the peoples of America for their independence, for democratic liberties and against enslavement by Hitlers fascist armies, he proclaims. (The real Stalin never waxed lyrical about American democratic liberties.) The pro-Soviet films triggered a culture war on the home front - none more so than Mission to Moscow. Due to Daviess close ties with FDR, it became a lightning rod in the political debate. The New York Times praised its boldness and said it should be a valuable influence to more clear-eyed and searching thought. Several branches of the American Legion, a veterans organization, publicly supported it. But there was a huge backlash. The philosopher John Dewey denounced Mission to Moscow as the first instance in our country of totalitarian propaganda for mass consumption. The novelist James Agee called it a mishmash: of Stalinism with New Dealism with Hollywoodism all mosaicked into a remarkable portrait of what the makers of the film think that the American public should think the Soviet Union is like - a great glad two-million-dollar bowl of canned borscht. Republicans were up in arms. The Republican National Committee dismissed the film as New Deal propaganda. Rep. Marion T. Bennett (R-Mo.) said Hollywood had lost its head and gone completely overboard in its attempt to make Communism look good, insisting that the Soviet-American alliance was only meant to be temporary anyway. But Roosevelt hoped the alliance would outlast the war against the Nazis. He wanted a partnership with the Soviets, not a Cold War. I think we are all in agreement as to the necessity of having the USSR as a fully accepted and equal member of any association of the great powers formed for the purpose of preventing international war, FDR wrote British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in September 1944. It should be possible to accomplish this by adjusting our differences through compromise by all the parties concerned, adding that this ought to tide things over for a few years until the child learns how to toddle. Roosevelts closest aide, Harry Hopkins, said after the Yalta Conference in February 1945, The Russians had proved that they could be reasonable and farsighted and neither the president nor any one of us had the slightest doubt that we could live with them and get on peaceably with them far into the future. In this respect, movies like Song of Russia and Mission to Moscow served FDRs foreign policy. They made the Soviet-American alliance palatable to Americans, many of whom loathed communism, and paved the way for continuing the alliance after the war. U.S. censors were explicit about it. Mission to Moscow, the OWI said in a report, would encourage faith in the feasibility of post-war cooperation. In another report, the OWI hailed the film as a magnificent contribution to the governments motion picture program. Roosevelts death in April 1945 dealt a blow to a long-term U.S.-Soviet alliance and weakened, perhaps fatally, the prospects for avoiding or at least mitigating the Cold War, Frank Costigliola wrote in Roosevelts Lost Alliances. Roosevelts successor, Harry S. Truman, didnt believe Stalin could be trusted. Confronted with Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe, he proclaimed the Truman Doctrine. The United States, he vowed, would support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. The Cold War was underway. Hollywoods pro-Soviet films were relegated to the dustbin of history. But they didnt stay there for long. In 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee investigated Hollywood, aiming to root out communist infiltration. Committee members held up Song of Russia and Mission to Moscow as proof that Hollywood was overrun with communist agents and Soviet sympathizers. The committee called up Ayn Rand - the anti-communist novelist who had fled the U.S.S.R. in the 1920s - to testify. She explained how Song of Russia whitewashed Stalins regime. I dont think it was necessary to deceive the American people about the nature of Russia, she said. The committee also asked Jack Warner, the Warner Bros. president, why he had made Mission to Moscow. The picture was made when our country was fighting for its existence, with Russia as one of our allies, Warner said. Then, with an air of defiance, the mogul continued, If making Mission to Moscow in 1942 was subversive activity, then the American Liberty ships which carried food and guns to Russian allies and the American naval vessels which convoyed them were likewise engaged in subversive activities. This is a locator map for Sudan with its capital, Khartoum. (Associated Press) CAIRO A Sudanese paramilitary group battling the countrys military in a nearly yearlong ruinous conflict endorsed Saturday a resolution by the U.N. Security Council calling for a cease-fire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The group, known as the Rapid Support Forces, said in a statement that it hopes the resolution, adopted by the U.N. Security Council on Friday, would help deliver crucially needed humanitarian assistance to millions of Sudanese trapped in the fighting across the Northeastern African country. Ramadan, during which adult Muslims are required to fast from dawn to sunset, is expected to start on or around Monday, depending on the sighting of the crescent moon. The RSF said it views the initiative as a crucial opportunity for the warring parties to embark on negotiations to find a political settlement to the conflict. We view this as a crucial opportunity to initiate earnest discussions that could catalyze a political pathway. This pathway must culminate in a durable ceasefire, foster security and stability, and result in a substantive resolution that addresses the foundational issues of the historical crisis in Sudan, it said. Sudans military has already supported a call by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a Ramadan cease-fire. In his Thursday appeal, Guterres warned Thursday that the conflict threatens Sudans unity and could ignite regional instability of dramatic proportions. Sudan plunged into chaos in April last year, when long-simmering tensions between its military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo broke into street battles in the capital, Khartoum. The fighting broke out during Ramadan last year. Fighting spread to other parts of the country, especially urban areas, but in Sudans western Darfur region it took on a different form, with brutal attacks by the Arab-dominated Rapid Support Forces on ethnic African civilians. Thousands of people have been killed. The 15-member Security Council voted overwhelmingly in favor of the British-drafted cease-fire resolution, with 14 countries in support and only Russia abstaining. The resolution expressed grave concern over the spreading violence and the catastrophic and deteriorating humanitarian situation, including crisis levels, or worse, of acute food insecurity, particularly in Darfur. The head of the World Food Program, Cindy McCain, said earlier this week that the conflict risks creating the worlds largest hunger crisis, with some 18 million people across Sudan facing acute hunger, including 5 million who face starvation. The conflict has uprooted more than 10 million people either to safer areas inside Sudan or to neighboring countries, according to U.N. agencies. South Sudan received 600,000 people who fled the fighting in Sudan. People who were displaced from their homes due to clashes between police and gang members, take refugee at a public school that serves as a shelter in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, March 8, 2024. (Odelyn Joseph/AP) PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti Police and palace guards worked Saturday to retake some streets in Haitis capital after gangs launched massive attacks on at least three police stations. Guards from the National Palace accompanied by an armored truck tried to set up a security perimeter around one of the three downtown stations after police fought off an attack by gangs late Friday. Sporadic gunfire continued Saturday, and one woman writhed in pain on the sidewalk in downtown Port-au-Prince with a gunshot wound after a stray bullet hit her in the leg. The unrelenting gang attacks have paralyzed the country for more than a week and left it with dwindling supplies of basic goods. Haitian officials extended a state of emergency and nightly curfew on Thursday as gangs continued to attack key state institutions. Caribbean leaders issued a call late Friday for an emergency meeting Monday in Jamaica on what they called Haitis dire situation. They have invited the United States, France, Canada, the U.N. and Brazil to the meeting. Members of the Caricom regional trade bloc have been trying for months to get political actors in Haiti to agree to form an umbrella transitional unity government. But average Haitians, many of whom have been forced from their homes by the bloody street fighting, cant wait. The problem for police in securing government buildings is that many Haitians have streamed into them, seeking refuge. We are the ones who pay taxes, and we need to have shelter, said one woman, who did not give her name for safety reasons. Another Port-au-Prince resident, who also did not give his name, described the massive attacks Friday. They (the gangs) came with big guns. We have no guns and we cannot defend ourselves. All of us, the children are suffering, said the man. So far, efforts to broker a solution have been unsuccessful. Caricom, the 15-nation Caribbean bloc, said in a statement late Friday that the situation on the ground remains dire. The Caricom statement said that while regional leaders remain deeply engaged in trying to bring opposition parties and civil society groups together to form a unity government, the stakeholders are not yet where they need to be. We are acutely aware of the urgent need for consensus to be reached, according to the statement. We have impressed on the respective parties that time is not on their side in agreeing to the way forward. From our reports, the situation on the ground remains dire and is of serious concern to us. It is vital that this engagement be at as high a level as possible to send a clear message of unity between Caricom and the international community as we work together to provide the critical support to the Haitian people at this time of crisis for them, said the statement. In February, embattled Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry agreed to hold general elections by mid-2025, and the international community has tried to find some foreign armed force willing to fight gang violenc e there. Caricom has also pushed Henry to announce a power-sharing, consensus government in the meantime, but the prime minister has yet to do so even as Haitian opposition parties and civil society groups are demanding his resignation. Henry, a neurosurgeon, was appointed as prime minister after the early July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise. It was unclear whether Henry would be in Jamaica. The prime minister had traveled to Kenya to push for the U.N.-backed deployment of a police force from the East African country to fight gangs in Haiti. A Kenyan court, however, ruled in January that such a deployment would be unconstitutional. Henry, who is facing calls to resign or form a transitional council, remains unable to return home. He arrived in Puerto Rico on Tuesday after he was unable to land in the Dominican Republic, which borders Haiti. The Dominican government said he lacked a required flight plan as they closed their countrys airspace with Haiti. President Joe Biden and Philippines President President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. talk during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post) MANILA - The Philippines has been striking new defense agreements with other countries at a rapid clip, seeking to build what officials here call a network of alliances that could deter Chinese aggression in disputed waters. The Philippines has signed or entered discussions over new security agreements with at least 18 countries since a Chinese coast guard vessel flashed a military-grade laser at a Philippine coast guard ship in the South China Sea last year, according to the Philippine Defense Department. While the deepening Philippine alliance with the United States - which includes granting the U.S. military expanded access to Philippine military bases - has drawn much attention, Manilas security campaign goes beyond Washington. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. made nearly a dozen overseas visits in 2023, many to seek security assistance and military equipment. This year, his schedule includes delivering a rare address before the Australian Parliament as well as the keynote speech at Asias premier defense summit, the Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore. Since 2022, the Philippines has inked new defense agreements with the European Union, India and Britain. Japan, Canada and France are looking at signing visiting-forces agreements with the Philippines, which would allow those countries to send troops to Philippine bases, according to their embassies. If adopted, these agreements would give the Philippines one of the most robust security networks in Asia, expanding the global stakes in the rising tensions over the South China Sea, Philippine officials say. Given that we are the underdog, we leverage our relationships with other countries, said Jonathan Malaya, assistant director of the countrys National Security Council. Our network of alliances is critical. China claims much of the South China Sea, part of the Pacific Ocean that is bounded by China, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei. In recent years, China has stepped up its presence in these waters, building artificial islands with military infrastructure such as radar domes and runways. Off the coast of the Philippines, Chinese ships have swarmed Philippine vessels and ignored appeals by Philippine officials to stop their aggression. Earlier this week, a Chinese coast guard ship fired water cannons at a Philippine coast guard vessel, shattering a windscreen and injuring four personnel, Philippine authorities said. Last year, Marcoss administration responded with what it called a policy of assertive transparency, broadcasting videos of aggressive Chinese actions at sea. But in recent interviews, top officials said the country needs more than a publicity campaign to defend its sovereignty. China has previously accused the Philippines and the United States of fueling tension in the South China Sea. Asked by reporters last year about joint air and maritime patrols between the Philippine and U.S. forces that launched in November, Wu Qian, a spokesperson for Chinas Defense Ministry, said Washington had instigated and emboldened the Philippine side to infringe upon Chinas sovereignty. More recently, Ji Lingpeng, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Manila, said that bringing in outside forces and forming small circles will not help resolve disputes in the South China Sea, but only complicate the regional situation [and] undermine regional peace and stability. Philippine officials disagree, saying their country is standing up for its sovereignty, not acting on behalf of Washington. And with a third of the worlds shipping passing through South China Sea, diplomats in Manila say many countries - not just the United States - have good reason to deter Chinese aggression. If other nations dont defend international law, the right of might wins, Luc Veron, the European Unions ambassador to the Philippines, said in an interview. We cannot accept that our freedom of navigation in South China Sea will be impeded by any players, he added. In July, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made the first state visit by an E.U. leader to Manila in nearly 60 years, vowing to increase maritime security cooperation with the Philippines. Security in Europe and security in the Indo-Pacific is indivisible, she said. Japan is negotiating a reciprocal access agreement with the Philippines that would allow the militaries of both countries to conduct joint training and exercises, similar to the Visiting Forces Agreement that the Philippines has with the United States. Diplomats from Canada and France said their countries are considering similar arrangements. Vietnam, which also borders the South China Sea, last month signed a series of new agreements with the Marcos administration, including the establishment of a hotline for maritime affairs and a memorandum of understanding on encounters with one another in the South China Sea. Both countries very clearly recognize that the primary threat to their national sovereignty does not lie in each other, but to the north, said Ray Powell, SeaLight director at the Stanford University Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation. The Philippines is also building up its military arsenal with foreign help. India is scheduled to deliver the first of three batteries of supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines this year, part of a $375 million contract. The Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and Sweden have offered to supply drones and submarines, while the United States, on top of supporting the Philippine militarys modernization efforts, has provided $120 million annually in grant funding to the countrys security forces, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. The ultimate goal is for credible defense, said Malaya, the security official. Marcos is the son of a former Philippine dictator once considered a pariah in international politics. But his efforts to push back against Chinese territorial intrusions have won him new popularity among leaders wary of Beijings growing ambitions, said Dindo Manhit, president of the Manila-based think tank Stratbase ADR Institute. Why will all these countries visit this small [Southeast Asian] country being led by the son of a dictator? Manhit said. Simply because he said he will assert our rights. Marcoss courtship of security partners marks a sharp shift from his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who publicly realigned himself with China during his six-year term. Duterte took offense when world leaders criticized his war on drugs for violating human rights and civil liberties, and at various points threatened to abrogate the Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States and to expel European diplomats. Although Dutertes term has ended, his daughter is Marcoss vice president. Tension between the families has risen, and in January, the two presidents publicly traded barbs, accusing one another of being addicted to drugs. If the Duterte family returns to power, the Philippines could rescind security commitments or swing back to a more pro-China foreign policy, political analysts say. In recent days, the differences between French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have become even more pronounced over their views on the war in Ukraine. Politicians cannot agree on how to confront and deter Russian aggression. ADVERTISIMENT Recently, Macron repeated his statement about the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine, noting that "Europe will have to stop being cowards." The New York Times explained how the dispute between Macron and Scholz could affect political stability in Europe. Berlin perceived the French president's remarks about cowardice as an insult to postwar history after the trauma inflicted by the Nazis. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius replied that Europe does not need discussions about having more or less courage. Analysts believe that now is not the best time to clarify relations between European countries, but Macron and Scholz are probably far from demonstrating unity of purpose and European leadership in their efforts to confront Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. The tensions between Germany and France reflect differences in personal styles as well as clashing national interests driven by domestic politics. Scholz and Macron's response to Russian aggression has become part of a complex relationship. In the summer of 2022, Macron called for "not humiliating Russia and creating a European security order that would include Moscow's opinion," but since then he has radically changed his views. ADVERTISIMENT Now, the French president is openly talking about the danger that Russia poses to Europe, especially as the possibility of a new Donald Trump presidency in the United States becomes more and more serious. According to analysts, Macron is comfortable being a provocateur, as he considers himself a destroyer of lazy thinking, which is evident in his suggestion that "we should not rule out sending Western troops to Ukraine." At the same time, he considers the German Chancellor to be overly cautious and too dependent on the United States, which no longer wants to spend large sums of money to help Ukraine. The French president is also concerned that Scholz does not fully realize the importance of Europe's commitment to a unified defense, which has been necessary for years of confrontation with Moscow. Moreover, Germany is skeptical about Europe's collective response to Russian aggression and believes that European "strategic autonomy" implies too radical a liberation from Washington. ADVERTISIMENT Macron has said that defeating Russia should be the West's goal, rejecting the German formulation that Russia simply must not win. But in Germany's view, such statements by the French president about the war and its plans for Europe often lack a roadmap. Therefore, such differences may require a new commitment to diplomacy from both politicians. As a reminder, France intends to create a coalition of countries whose leaders will be ready to send their troops to Ukraine. According to French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne, the terrorist country Russia should not tell Europe how to help Ukraine in the coming months or years. Earlier it was reported that French President Emmanuel Macron is considering a scenario of sending troops to the territory of Ukraine if the Russian occupiers manage to break through the front towards Odesa or Kyiv. The president spoke about this with the leaders of the country's main political parties at a meeting organized on March 7. ADVERTISIMENT Pope Francis gestures in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Saturday, March 9, 2024. (Alessandra Tarantino/AP) ROME Pope Francis said in an interview that Ukraine, facing a possible defeat, should have the courage to negotiate an end to the war with Russia and not be ashamed to sit at the same table to carry out peace talks. The pope made his appeal during an interview recorded last month with Swiss broadcaster RSI, which was partially released on Saturday. I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates, Francis said, adding that talks should take place with the help of international powers. Ukraine remains firm on not engaging directly with Russia on peace talks, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said multiple times the initiative in peace negotiations must belong to the country which has been invaded. Russia is gaining momentum on the battlefield in the war now in its third year and Ukraine is running low on ammunition. Meanwhile, some of Ukraines allies in the West are delicately raising the prospect of sending troops. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Saturday that Francis picked up the white flag term that had been used by the interviewer. He issued a statement of clarification after the popes white flag comments sparked criticism that he was siding with Russia in the conflict. Throughout the war, Francis has tried to maintain the Vaticans traditional diplomatic neutrality, but that has often been accompanied by apparent sympathy with the Russian rationale for invading Ukraine, such as when he noted that NATO was barking at Russias door with its eastward expansion. Francis said in the RSI interview that the word negotiate is a courageous word. When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate, he said. Negotiations are never a surrender. The pope also reminded people that some countries have offered to act as mediators in the conflict. Today, for example, in the war in Ukraine, there are many who want to mediate, he said. Turkey has offered itself for this. And others. Do not be ashamed to negotiate before things get worse. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan whose NATO-member country has sought to balance its close relations with both Ukraine and Russia has offered during a visit Friday from Zelenskyy to host a peace summit between the two countries. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy answers a question during a joint news conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following their meeting at Dolmabahce palace in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, March 8, 2024. (Francisco Seco/AP) KYIV, Ukraine Ukrainian authorities said two people including a teenage boy were killed Saturday in Russian artillery attacks and Russia reported it had shot down a Ukrainian fighter jet and destroyed a wave of drones over several regions. The attacks came as Russia is gaining momentum on battlefield and Ukraine is running low on ammunition. Ukraines allies in the West are delicately raising the prospect of sending troops. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said Friday that deploying NATO troops to Ukraine is not unthinkable. French President Emmanuel Macron said last month that the idea should not be ruled out. Serhiy Lysak, governor of Ukraines Dnipropetrovsk region, said a 16-year-old boy was killed and a 22-year-old man injured in a morning artillery attack that hit the town of Chervonohryhorivka. The town is on the opposite bank of the river from the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europes largest, and the area is subject to almost-daily Russian attacks. In the town of Chasiv Yar, one person was killed in artillery fire, according to authorities in the Donetsk region, much of which is under Russian control and where fighting has been heavy throughout the war that is now in its third year. The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 41 drones that were launched over the Rostov region, which borders Ukraine and is home to Russias southern military command, along with two drones over the Kursk region and three over Volgograd. There were no immediate reports of injuries. The ministry also said the air force had shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet over Pokrovsk, a city and important railway junction in the Donetsk region that is a prime Russian target following Ukrainian forces February withdrawal from Avdiivka, a significant setback for Ukraines struggling war effort. The governor of Russias Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, reported that Ukrainian drones attacked two villages near the border Saturday, but that no one was injured. The governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, did not specify damage from the attacks. Despite its military setbacks, Ukraine resists suggestions of peace negotiations with Russia. During a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country was willing to host a peace summit of Russia and Ukraine. But Zelenskyy remains firm on not engaging directly with Russia on peace talks and has said multiple times the initiative in peace negotiations must belong to the country which has been invaded. Palestinians inspect their homes on Saturday after the strike on al-Masry Tower. (Loay Ayyoub for The Washington Post) Sweden and Canada are resuming funding to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, weeks after the embattled agency faced explosive allegations of ties with Hamas that led to more than a dozen countries pausing payments. Sweden said Saturday it was making an initial payment of 200 million kronor ($20 million) to UNRWA, having received additional assurances, including independent auditing, strengthened internal supervision and staff checks, from the agency. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is devastating and the needs are acute, Johan Forssell, Swedens international development minster, said in a statement Saturday. We will monitor closely to ensure UNRWA follows through on what it has promised. Canada also announced it would be lifting its temporary pause on funding to UNRWA, stating Friday that it was deeply concerned by the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza that is worsening by the hour. Earlier this week, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini warned that the agency was at a breaking point after several countries, including the United States, suspended funding. The agency also reported Friday that 162 staff members have been killed since the war in Gaza began, calling it the highest number of U.N. team members ever killed in any conflict or natural disaster. U.N. officials have warned that more than a quarter of Gazas population is on the brink of famine, and several countries, including the United States, have resorted to air dropping aid into the besieged enclave. The Biden administration has also announced plans to build a temporary pier off Gazas coastline to enable scaled-up aid deliveries by sea. The U.S. military conducted another airdrop of aid into northern Gaza on Saturday, Central Command said in a statement, adding that C-130 aircraft delivered more than 41,000 ready-to-eat meals and 23,000 bottles of water. The delivery came as Gazas Health Ministry said the death toll from malnutrition and dehydration in the territory had risen to 25. At least 30,960 people have been killed and 72,524 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel on Saturday said that the head of its Mossad intelligence agency, David Barnea, met with CIA Director William J. Burns the day before to discuss a potential hostage deal that would also see at least a temporary cease-fire. In a statement, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the talks are ongoing but blamed Hamas for recent delays, saying the militant group that once controlled Gaza is not interested in a deal ahead of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Its looking tough, President Biden said Friday when asked by a reporter if there would be a cease-fire by Ramadan, which begins Sunday. Heres what else to know A strike hit Rafahs tallest building overnight, causing significant damage. Al-Masry Tower is a 14-floor residential building, considered the tallest and oldest tower in Rafah and built in the 1990s. There were no immediate reports of casualties, and a Washington Post photographer at the scene said residents had been told to evacuate before the strike. The Israel Defense Forces said it had precisely targeted a military asset in Rafah, which it claimed was used by Hamas, emphasizing that noncombatants in the area were evacuated before the strike was carried out. The Pentagon said constructing an offshore pier and causeway off Gaza could take as long as 60 days and require about 1,000 U.S. troops. The temporary pier, which Biden announced Thursday, is intended to enable the delivery of 2 million meals daily to Gaza, which has been under an Israeli maritime blockade since 2007. Aid groups have warned that the pier is no substitute for aid deliveries by land, and urged Israel to reopen its land border crossings with Gaza. Five people were killed Friday after an apparent parachute malfunction during an aid airdrop caused a loaded crate to fall on people, according to a civil defense spokesman in Gaza. Several countries have airdropped aid to Gaza in recent weeks, including the United States. U.S. Central Command said Friday that it was aware of reports of civilians killed as a result of humanitarian airdrops and that the incident was not the result of U.S. airdrops. Centcom said early Saturday that the Houthis conducted a large-scale drone attack into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. American and coalition forces in the region shot down 15 one-way attack drones, Centcom said. The Houthis have been targeting vessels in the waterway in protest of Israels military campaign in Gaza, upending global shipping routes. A view of Jerusalems Old City with the Dome of the Rock in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Friday, March 8, 2024. Restrictions put in place amid the Israel-Hamas war have left many Palestinians concerned they might not be able to pray at the mosque, which is revered by Muslims. (Mahmoud Illean/AP) JERUSALEM On the eve of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, Jerusalems Old City bears few of its usual hallmarks of festivity. Nearly half of the grotto-shaped gift shops are sealed behind metal shutters. The narrow streets that run toward Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islams third-holiest site, are eerily empty. Absent are the fairy lights and shining lanterns that would usually dangle above hurried worshippers. Ramadan preparations in Jerusalem, the spiritual heart of the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, have been subdued because of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, now in its sixth month. With more than 30,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza and hundreds of thousands going hungry, theres little room for expressions of joy. This will be the black Ramadan, Abu Mousam Haddad said in front of his coffee stand near Damascus Gate, one of the Old Citys main entrances. But over the next few days, attention is likely to shift from Gaza to Al-Aqsa, which has been a frequent flashpoint for quickly escalating Israeli-Palestinian violence in the past. Hamas, which portrayed its Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel as a battle for Muslim rights at Al-Aqsa, seeks such an eruption now in the hopes of engaging Israeli forces on new fronts and improving its leverage in Gaza cease-fire talks. The militants have urged Palestinians across Israel and the occupied West Bank to stream to the mosque during Ramadan to challenge anticipated Israeli restrictions on worship and movement. Although such restrictions often triggered past clashes, its not clear if Palestinians will risk confrontations in the current climate in which Israeli forces are clamping down hard on any perceived threats. There is great fear among people about what Ramadan will look like this year and how the Israeli police will behave regarding the entry and exit ... into the city, said Imad Mona, who owns a bookshop outside the Old City. Israel has limited access to Al-Aqsa to varying degrees over the years, including by barring young men, citing security concerns. The Israeli government has provided few details ahead of this years Ramadan, which could start as early as Sunday evening. But it has said some Palestinians from the West Bank will be allowed to pray at Al-Aqsa In the past, Israeli forces raiding the sacred compound have clashed with stone-throwing Palestinians who barricaded themselves inside, at times to protest Israeli access restrictions. Such clashes have triggered escalations, including Hamas rocket fire, which set off a brief Israel-Hamas war in 2021. The compound has long been a deeply contested religious space, as it stands on the Temple Mount, which Jews consider their most sacred site. It lies in east Jerusalem, a section of the city Israel occupied during the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed. Palestinians want to make it the capital of their own future state. The United States and other international mediators had pushed for a Gaza cease-fire to coincide with the start of Ramadan. However, there has been no breakthrough. Israel remains committed to continuing its invasion and annihilating Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people in Israel and took about 250 hostages on Oct. 7. The militant group freed dozens of hostages during a November truce, but it refuses to release more without guarantees of a complete end of hostilities. Most Old City shop owners declined to share their views about the coming Ramadan. Scores of Palestinians have been detained by Israel over social media posts about the war in Gaza since it started. Some who would speak said that more Israeli police have been deployed in the Old City since October. Young Palestinian men are regularly barred from entering the Al-Aqsa compound for noon prayers on Fridays since the war started, according to the store owners. This has fueled speculation about other possible restrictions. The Israeli police did not respond to requests for comment. According to Israeli media, the countrys firebrand national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, has been pushing to keep out all West Bank Palestinians, as well as young men who are among the more than 2 million Palestinian citizens of Israel. His spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. The Israeli military body in charge of Palestinian affairs in the West Bank, known as COGAT, said Friday that some Muslims from the West Bank would be allowed in from the territory for Ramadan prayers, but it didnt elaborate. Last year, hundreds of thousands were able to enter, most of them women, children and elderly men. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also been vague, saying only that similar numbers of people as last year would be allowed for prayers at Al-Aqsa during the first week of Ramadan. He said this will be evaluated on a weekly basis throughout the month. No further details were made public. Under an informal arrangement since 1967, the compound is administered by a Jordanian-based Muslim religious body known as the Waqf. Jews are allowed to visit the compound, but not to pray there. The agreement has broken down in recent years as large groups of Jews, including hard-line religious nationalists, have regularly visited. Some among them have attempted to pray at the site. In the days leading up to Ramadan, West Bank Palestinians have been unsure whether they would be able to attend prayers. In general, Palestinians in the territory need a permit to enter east Jerusalem, which Israel considers part of its united capital, though its annexation is not recognized by most of the international community. Since Oct. 7, Israel has forbidden Palestinians from entering Jerusalem or any part of Israel. It is the dream of every Palestinian, Muslim and Arab to pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan, said Akram al Baghdadi, a Ramallah resident who has extended family scattered across the West Bank and Gaza. The holy month also threatens to heighten divisions within Israels unruly cabinet, with ministers already split over how to conduct the Gaza war. In a post on X, Ben Gvir denounced Netanyahus decision to allow Palestinians access to Al-Aqsa for Ramadan prayers. He wrote that Hamas celebrations on the Temple Mount do not equate to a complete victory, a reference to Netanyahus wartime battle cry. Ben Gvir, who has visited the Al-Aqsa compound several times, is also a vocal opponent of any cease-fire arrangement with Hamas. He has repeatedly called for the removal of Palestinians from Gaza and the establishment of Israeli settlements ideas that most Cabinet members oppose. Months of conflict and tension have also brought economic hardship, with a lack of tourists and Palestinians shopping in the Old City. Its not just my shop that is affected, but all the traders here, too, said Jihad Abu Salih, a sweets and pastry merchant from the city. Its sad. Associated Press journalist Mahmoud Illean in Jerusalem contributed to this report. The U.S. Capitol building is seen on June 30, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes) WASHINGTON The Senate passed a long-delayed, full-year spending bill for the Department of Veterans Affairs on Friday that strengthens gun rights for certain veterans and averts a partial government shutdown. Senators voted 75-22 to support the legislation, which is part of a $460 billion spending package that funds VA programs and military construction as well as five other government agencies through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. A partial government shutdown was set to take effect at midnight if Congress failed to pass the measure. The Republican-led House approved the package on Wednesday. To folks who worry that divided government means nothing ever gets done, this bipartisan package says otherwise: it helps parents and veterans and firefighters and farmers and school cafeterias and more, said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. The VA bill was fought over for months as the House and Senate clashed over divisive conservative policies and cuts the House had inserted into its version of the legislation last year. Most of the controversial riders, such as prohibitions on abortions for veterans and gender-affirming care for transgender veterans, were stripped from the final bill. But a gun rights provision championed by Republicans, as well as some moderate Democrats in the Senate, stayed. The measure would stop the VA from reporting to a federal gun background check system when veterans are found mentally incapable of managing their financial affairs. Opponents of the decades-old policy argued it infringed on veterans rights to firearms and relied on an overly broad definition of incompetence. The VA will now have to seek a court order declaring a veteran is a danger to themselves or others before they are reported to the system and blocked from firearm purchases. This is a win for Second Amendment rights and for veterans who have made it clear that VAs current practice is pushing some folks away from accessing the mental health care they need out of fear their firearms will be seized, said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. Other Democrats strongly objected to the measure, fearing it will exacerbate veteran suicides and give veterans suffering from serious mental health conditions such as schizophrenia and dementia access to guns. Firearms are used in about 70% of veteran suicides, according to VA data. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said he would vote against the entire VA spending bill due to the terrible gun policy rider. I cant sugarcoat this: this provision, which could result in 20,000 new seriously mentally ill individuals being able to buy guns each year, will be a death sentence for many, he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. The White House also voiced its opposition and said it remains committed to exploring every possible pathway to keep guns out of the hands of those who shouldnt have them. About 65,000 veterans have assigned fiduciaries to manage their finances and VA benefits. In early 2023, the VA was responsible for 97.9% of the names submitted to the gun background check system for mental incompetency, according to the Congressional Research Service. The funding bill for the VA includes $16.2 billion for mental health programs a $2.3 billion increase from fiscal 2023. Nearly $560 million of that will go toward suicide prevention outreach efforts. About $120 billion will be spent on providing medical care for the nations 9.1 million veterans. That sum is in addition to the $20 billion allocated to the VAs Toxic Exposures Fund, which covers health care costs for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxins during service. More than $3 billion is dedicated to combating homelessness among veterans. The number of veterans who were homeless grew by 7.4% from 2022 to 2023, climbing to more than 35,500 veterans during the most recent count. The adopted legislation is also a vehicle for funding updates to critical military infrastructure. The bill provides nearly $19 billion for about 300 construction and family housing projects, which is $2 billion more than requested by the White House. The construction list includes the design and construction of more than a dozen barracks, the building of six new child development centers and upgrades to five privatized housing projects and six government-owned family housing projects. Congress has yet to pass a 2024 appropriations bill for the Defense Department, whose funding is set to expire on March 22. The Pentagon, VA and other agencies have been operating on a series of short-term funding bills since the fiscal year began Oct. 1, repeatedly bringing the government to the edge of shutdown. The White House is expected to release its fiscal 2025 budget request for defense and the rest of the federal government on Monday while lawmakers continue negotiations over the remainder of the fiscal 2024 budget. Hunter Biden arrives on Capitol Hill for a deposition with Judiciary and Oversight House committees on Feb. 28, 2024. (Craig Hudson for The Washington Post) When a Los Angeles internet entrepreneur decided that his company should lend money to Alexander Smirnov, an Israeli-American businessman fluent in four languages, he did so in part because Smirnov boasted of a highly respectable background. He was representing himself as working for the FBI, Dmitry Fomichev recalled in an interview about the 2012 loan, which Fomichev would later say in a lawsuit Smirnov never repaid. He said, Im a very powerful guy. Several years later, Smirnov again disclosed his work with law enforcement to investors who put up $100,000 in cash for a company he was touting called Grand Pacaraima Gold Corp., the investors later alleged in a suit of their own against Smirnov. It was true: Smirnov was a source for the FBI. But as a confidential informant, he wasnt supposed to be broadcasting his government work, and experts and former agents said his apparent decision to do so raises significant questions about his credibility. Smirnovs work with the FBI burst into public view last month when federal prosecutors accused him of lying to authorities about a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Biden and his family. The 37-page indictment blew a hole in the Republican-led effort to impeach Biden, which drew on the bribery allegation. At the same time, the indictment raised puzzling questions: How did Smirnov go from a low-profile businessman and emigrant from Soviet Ukraine to an FBI informant? And how did he then go from a valued government asset for more than a decade to what prosecutors now describe as a liar and conduit for Russian disinformation? While mostly based in California, Smirnov led a peripatetic life that, according to court documents, included frequent foreign travel to Ukraine, Israel and various European countries. He once listed his home address at a location that appeared actually to be a traffic median, records show. Multiple times, aggrieved business associates grew so suspicious of his activities that they hired private investigators to learn more about him, according to interviews and court filings. A review of Smirnovs business record, as well as years of legal disputes involving the 43-year-old, point to what former agents said were problems with his credibility that should have raised red flags for the government long before prosecutors charged him with lying. Especially glaring is the possibility that he was disclosing his government work, they said. Thats a cardinal sin, said Robert Mazur, a former undercover agent who helped manage informants. Smirnovs revelations should have caused the FBI to drop him as a source or at least read him the riot act and become highly suspicious of him, said Jerry Hester, a former FBI agent who worked organized-crime cases involving informants. Informants are key to the FBIs work, and agents often rely on unsavory characters who gain the trust of suspected criminals to gather evidence of unlawful activity. Still, Hester said, informants are admonished that divulging their role jeopardizes sensitive government probes. If he did that, I would have immediately closed him for cause, Hester said. If youre out telling people youre working for the Bureau, youre of no value to me. An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment. Smirnov pleaded not guilty last month to making false statements to a federal agent and falsifying records. He has been jailed in Los Angeles pending his trial. His attorneys, David Z. Chesnoff and Richard A. Schonfeld, declined to answer questions about his past, saying, inquiries into his prior business dealings only deflect from the important question of the accuracy of his prosecution. An immigrant and FBI informant As an FBI source, Smirnov passed along information used in criminal investigations, according to prosecutors. His indictment states that Smirnov was sometimes authorized to break the law to help further investigations but that he was repeatedly instructed to tell the FBI the truth. Instead, prosecutors allege, Smirnov presented information in 2020 that he knew to be false: He reported that Biden and his son Hunter each took $5 million to help the Ukrainian energy giant Burisma avoid prosecution in the former Soviet republic. The indictment was brought in federal court in Los Angeles by special counsel David C. Weiss, who has also lodged tax and gun charges against the presidents son. In asking a federal judge to keep Smirnov behind bars until trial, prosecutors argued that the onetime informant claimed extensive foreign contacts, including to Russian intelligence agencies. They portrayed him as part of an ongoing foreign plot to interfere with U.S. democracy by spreading disinformation about the Bidens. An attorney for Smirnov said in court last month that any sensitive connections he was cultivating overseas came at the direction of the government. Meanwhile, Smirnovs record in the United States reveals little that would establish whether he actually had ties to foreign intelligence agencies. A spokesman for the special counsel declined to comment. Smirnov grew up in Ukraine when it was still part of the Soviet Union and was raised speaking Russian, according to a declaration submitted to the court by his cousin, Linor Shefer, a real estate agent and reality TV star living in Florida. She declined to comment. Prosecutors say Smirnov lived in Israel between 1992 and 2006 and that his parents and sister still reside there. Between 2000 and 2006, he served as president of a private mineral and logistic operation, with assets in Russia, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission by a penny-stock company that sought to appoint him chairman of its board in 2011. The filing said Smirnov was fluent in Russian, English, Hebrew and Arabic. By 2010, he was in the Milwaukee area, where he was going through a divorce, records show. Authorities have not said how he began working as an FBI source around the same time. But records show he soon headed west and lived in various parts of California with a woman, Diana Lavrenyuk, whom his attorneys have described in court documents as his long term significant other. Two years ago, prosecutors say, he relocated to Las Vegas. Smirnov was living there, in a condo owned by Lavrenyuk, when he was arrested last month after disembarking from an international flight, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors portrayed Smirnov to the judge as a globe-trotting operator with no employment in Las Vegas but a range of murky business dealings. Family members, by contrast, characterized him as a well-meaning immigrant enfeebled by an eye disease and firmly ensconced in the United States. Alex has spent almost half his life here, more than he lived in any other country, Shefer told the court, saying her cousin had family, friends, and business partners in the United States that he would never jeopardize. Lavrenyuks adult son, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and employee of the U.S. Labor Department, attested in a letter to the judge: Alex always keeps his word. Family is everything for Alex, and he would not disappoint them by fleeing. He didnt respond to requests for comment. Smirnov, for his part, said little when he appeared last month in court to plead not guilty and answer yes or no to routine questions from a federal judge. He was unshaven with trim dark hair and glasses. Constant travels Smirnovs time in California appeared to carry with it warning signs about his reliability as an FBI source. Not long after he arrived, American Express sued him in 2013 to recover more than $100,000 in unpaid charges, according to filings in California Superior Court. His loan from Fomichevs company, D&D Marketing, totaled $500,000 and was to be repaid within a year along with 5 percent interest, court records show. Fomichev, who was indicted in 2013 on tax and immigration charges and sentenced to three months of probation, said he received not even one dollar back. In early 2015, D&D Marketing sued Smirnov for breach of contract and other allegations. The saga of the companys months-long effort to figure out where Smirnov really lived, described in that lawsuit, sheds light on the informants mysterious lifestyle. Smirnov was initially served a copy of the suit outside of a Los Angeles Rite Aid pharmacy, according to court papers. But when the plaintiffs sought to locate him again, he eluded their grasp, they explained in filings. One address Smirnov provided did not exist. Another was inside a gated community where the leasing office reported that Smirnov had moved out long ago. In 2016, Smirnov found a Los Angeles lawyer and sought to fight a proposed default judgment of about $600,000, arguing in a filing that he had not been properly served. As part of my job I am constantly traveling, he wrote. Between March 2015 and April 2016, Smirnov wrote, he had been on at least six overseas trips, including to Israel and Ukraine; to Mexico; to Israel, Ukraine, Italy and Spain; again to Ukraine; again to Italy; and to Austria and the Czech Republic. He told the court that he lived at an address in San Francisco. But Erin Brady, a lawyer for the company who later became a deputy attorney general with the California Department of Justice, quickly informed the court that the address corresponded not to a home but to a traffic median. Neither Brady nor Smirnovs attorney at the time responded to a request for comment. In September 2016, the court finally rejected Smirnovs bid to quash the judgment and ordered him to pay. The same year, Fomichev was sued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for allegedly buying and selling fraudulent loan applications, but the case was dismissed in part because Fomichev had suffered a psychotic break and had been committed to a psychiatric hospital. Fomichev declined to comment on the episode. By then, Smirnov was facing other accusations of breach of contract and fraud. In May 2016, two investors in Grand Pacaraima Gold Corporation sued him, alleging that he had pocketed their money and produced fake stock certificates. Smirnov, according to the complaint, told Plaintiffs he was cooperating with authorities regarding fraud that did not involve Plaintiffs. The plaintiffs in the case had been indicted the year before in San Francisco as part of a wide-ranging racketeering and money laundering case. Joseph Benincasa, an attorney who represented the plaintiffs, said he didnt think there was a connection between the two cases. But the fact that the people suing Smirnov were also government targets suggested to Hester, the former FBI agent, that Smirnov may have assisted the government in its case. When informants are authorized to engage in whats called otherwise illegal activity - conduct that would normally be criminal but is sanctioned to aid an investigation - theyre held to certain standards, Hester said. Theyre expected to respond to legal complaints and not take money from the schemes, he said. Once again, the plaintiffs reported difficulty locating Smirnov, court records show. An investigator retained by the plaintiffs eventually spoke with Smirnov, who said he had returned to Wisconsin from California. According to email correspondence included in court filings, a manager at the apartment complex where Smirnov said he was living told the investigator that the units tenant was actually a man named Boris Nayflish. His brother, Alexander Smirnov, stays with him, the investigator wrote. Crypto profits Records show Nayflish is not Smirnovs brother but was, in fact, formerly married to Smirnovs current significant other. The two men are bound together by business interests, documents show, including in companies that are now key to allegations from prosecutors that Smirnov has been dishonest with the government about his finances. In Wisconsin, Nayflish is a prominent local advocate for Ukraine, helping to forge a sister-city relationship between Milwaukee and Irpin and speaking out against Russias 2022 offensive against its neighbor. In an interview with the Milwaukee Independent, he said he was born in Soviet Uzbekistan to Ukrainian parents and came to the United States in 1997, landing with his family at Chicagos OHare International Airport with $800 in his pocket and making his way to Milwaukee. On LinkedIn, Nayflish identifies himself as the director of global operations for Bitoftrade, a cryptocurrency trading platform. Smirnov has a significant stake in that company, according to an attorney for a Texas-based conglomerate, Economic Transformation Technologies Corporation, which recently bought out Smirnovs stock in the crypto platform. The Texas-based conglomerate paid him $600,000 for the acquisition in 2020, according to the lawyer, James Daily. Prosecutors cited the $600,000 transfer into a bank account they say is controlled by Smirnov and his significant other as evidence of the former informants murky business dealings. They said he had access to $6 million - acquired through large wire transfers from what appear to be venture capital firms and individuals - but failed to properly disclose his assets after his arrest. Bitoftrades website advertises advanced crypto trading features. People who have been identified as Bitoftrade employees, either on its website or on LinkedIn, span the United States, Canada, Cyprus, Ukraine and Israel. Current and former employees either declined to comment or did not respond. Credibility Discussions about cryptocurrency enabled some of Smirnovs early dealings with Burisma, the Ukrainian energy giant that in 2014 put Bidens son Hunter on its board. In 2017, according to prosecutors, Smirnov presented Burisma as a potential partner for an unidentified American associate in the cryptocurrency business. Smirnov was first introduced to Burisma leaders through Alexander Ostapenko, a Ukrainian government adviser and businessman who, as of 2020, worked for the CEO of a cryptocurrency business, according to an FBI document memorializing what prosecutors now say is Smirnovs fabrication about the Bidens taking bribes from Burisma. Neither Ostapenko nor the cryptocurrency CEO, Valery Vavilov, responded to requests for comment. The FBI document was released by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) last summer as part of a Republican effort to press the FBI for details about the bribery allegations. In it, Smirnovs name was redacted, and he was described only as a confidential human source. The unsubstantiated claims in the document soon became a foundation of the House GOPs impeachment inquiry into Biden, and Smirnovs identity was only revealed publicly by prosecutors when they indicted him last month. In October 2023, several months after Grassleys release, Scott Brady, the former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, appeared before the GOP-controlled House Judiciary Committee to answer questions about the claims. Brady, who did not respond to a request for comment, had been tasked in 2020 by then-Attorney General William P. Barr to review information about Biden gathered in Ukraine by Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani. Brady characterized the bribery claims as not thoroughly vetted as of 2020. At the same time, he told the committee that it was correct that the FBI considered that person credible at the time of the allegations. Devlin Barrett, Dalton Bennett, Alice Crites, Chris Dehghanpoor, Razzan Nakhlawi and Aaron Schaffer contributed to this report. Finlands Minister of Economic Affairs Wille Rydman shakes hands with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin in Richmond as they met to discuss opportunities to deepen the Finnish-Virginian collaboration in shipbuilding and port security. (X/Embassy of Finland in the U.S.) (Tribune News Service) The Hampton Roads Alliance hosted the Embassy of Finland this week, leading the delegation on a tour of the region as NATOs 31st allied nation explored local business opportunities in shipbuilding and port security. Not a single western country can do everything alone, but we can do a lot together, Wille Rydman, Finnish minister of economic affairs, said Thursday during a reception at downtown Norfolks VIA Design. Rydman is traveling across the U.S. and Canada with representatives from 20 Finnish companies that specialize in the maritime industry, such as Cadmatic, Pemamek and Helsinki Shipyard. While some of the companies in the delegation are already established in the U.S., Rydman said they are all interested in expanding their services to Hampton Roads in support of the regions naval shipbuilding industry. Even though we are a small country, we are a country that is, in many ways, a superpower when it comes to shipbuilding and maritime industry, especially when it comes to icebreakers, Rydman said, referencing specialized ships that are designed to plow through ice and frozen waterways. Finland joined NATO in April 2023. The Nordic state, alongside new member Sweden, abandoned longtime policies of military nonalignment and Nordic neutrality in 2022 when the countries simultaneously applied to join NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine. Sweden officially joined NATO Thursday. Now all the prime Nordic countries Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland have entered the ally, which is a huge opportunity when it comes to defense planning, but also economic issues and technology issues, Rydman said. The Arctic is an increasingly contested region. NATO described it in December as a pivotal area for global interests encompassing geopolitics, climate conservation, resource accessibility, and security concerns. The productivity in the Arctic region will play a huge role in the future, and that is why its very important to tighten our strategic relationship between Finland, North America, the United States and Virginia, Rydman said. Finland has been working with the U.S. for years and has trained with U.S. forces. Finnish Konecranes was awarded a contract to supply the Port of Virginia with rail-mounted gantry cranes. And now Finlands new NATO membership, Rydman said, allows for a closer working relationship between Finland and the U.S. Doing deals and trade between allies is, of course, much more confidential than between just partners, Rydman said. Hampton Roads is an attractive location for Finnish maritime companies as the region acts as a hub for global security, said Steve Harrison, chief operating officer of Hampton Roads Alliance. The alliance markets the region to companies to grow the economic base and jobs. Its such a synergy between our community in Hampton Roads, which really is Americas maritime industrial home base, and Finland, which that is really a huge tenant of their economy, Harrison said. During Thursdays reception, representatives from each company gave a short presentation explaining the skills or technology they would bring to Hampton Roads maritime industry. Their shipbuilding specialties ranged from hydraulic generators to welding automation to propulsion manufacturing. Among others were data software and artificial intelligence engineering. If any of the Finnish companies decide to expand to the region, Harrison said they would join about 200 international companies that have established a North American or a regional headquarters in Hampton Roads. Now that Sweden has joined NATO, Harrison said the Hampton Roads Alliance hopes to bring a Swedish delegation to the region in the future. 2024 The Virginian-Pilot. Visit pilotonline.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Japan has awarded prestigious Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT) Research Scholarships for Masters/Doctorate degrees to eleven Pakistani students for academic year 2024-25. The initiative aims to provide the Pakistani students with an opportunity to pursue advanced studies and research in various disciplines at the prominent universities of Japan. The MEXT research scholarship is the flagship scholarship programme of the Japanese government, operating world over including Pakistan. The scholarship is fully funded by the Japanese government for a Masters or PhD degree. Japanese embassy organised a pre-departure orientation for the scholarship grantees. Pakistani alumnus of the Japanese universities shared their knowledge and experience of studying and living in Japan with the new scholarship grantees. They gave some useful pieces of information and advice to the young students who are on their way to various universities in Japan for higher studies. Japanese Ambassador Wada Mitsuhiro hosted a reception at his residence to honour the members of MEXT Alumni Association of Pakistan (MAAP) as well as to bid farewell to the new scholarship grantees. Ambassador Wada congratulated the scholarship grantees on their achievement and wished them good luck for their journey to study in the prestigious universities of Japan. He termed the award of scholarships a good opportunity for them not only to acquire knowledge but also to learn Japanese culture and its diverse society. He strongly recommended to the young scholars to engage in activities outside their university campuses and try to learn Japanese language. You may experience some challenges after arriving in Japan as life in Japan is quite different from that of Pakistan. But I am sure that the hospitality and friendship of the Japanese people will get you through any adjustments you need to make, he said. The Japanese envoy expressed the hope that the scholarship grantees, after completing their studies in Japan, would return with strong knowledge and rich experiences, utilise their skills for the brighter future of Pakistan, and become bridges of friendship between Pakistan and Japan together with other alumnus. He greatly appreciated the MAAP for its continued efforts and cooperation, and for playing a vital role in strengthening the friendly relations between Pakistan and Japan through the promotion of Japanese educational and cultural activities. Japanese governments MEXT Research Scholarships programme was launched in 1954. Since the first Pakistani student went to Japan on scholarship in 1963, up till now a large number of students from across Pakistan have benefited from the scholarship and have returned to Pakistan after obtaining their PhD/Masters degrees in Japan. They are actively working in the academia, public and private sectors and have made significant contributions to the development of Pakistan in various fields as well as in strengthening friendly relationship between the two countries. The Japanese government awards graduate and post-graduate fully-funded scholarships to Pakistani students every year as well as short-term scholarships and training courses round the year. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has turned down the application filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council's (SIC) presidential candidate Mahmood Achakzai seeking a delay in the election of the head of state. "In exercise of powers conferred upon it [commission] under Articles 218(3) and 41 of the Constitution read with Second Schedule and further read with Presidential Election Rules,1988, decline to delay the Election to the office of the President and reject the application of the petitioner," the electoral body's order signed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja and others read. Achakzai on Friday had written to the CEC seeking a postponement in presidential polls slated for Saturday (today) contending that the electoral college as "prescribed by law and Constitution" for a presidential election was "still incomplete" because "some reserved seats" in the National Assembly and all provincial assemblies are still vacant. The presidential candidate, who's contesting against Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari for the top office, added that the electoral college cannot be completed till the seats are filled. He added that till the seats are not filled the presidential polls would be "illegal, unlawful and against the spirit of the Constitution". He also mentioned the Peshawar High Court (PHC) stay order on the reserved seats which he believes would give a "clear verdict" in favour of the PTI-backed party. With the voting for presidential polls underway in the Parliament House and all four provincial assemblies, the ECP, in its detailed order, said that the electoral college cannot be deemed to be in-complete for any vacancy (ies) under present circumstances. "Although the provision of section 130 pertains to the election of members of the Senate there is no direct provision on the same issue in the Constitution or the Presidential Election Rules, the Honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan in a plethora of judgements has held that if no provision pertaining to an issue is available in the Constitution or statute, then reference can be made to other provisions of the Constitution or the Statute for the purpose of interpretation. "The Election to the office of the President is a Constitutional Imperative in terms of Article 41 of the Constitution and cannot be delayed beyond 30 days. The Electoral College cannot be deemed to be in complete for want of vacancy (ies) because recently 22 MNA(s)/MPA(s) have vacated the seats whereby they were elected from more than one seat," the electoral body's order noted. Highlighting Achakzai's failure to raise any objection to the alleged incomplete electoral college, the ECP stressed: "Had it been the intention of the framers of the Constitution that the Electoral College(s) shall be incomplete for want of vacancies for election to the Office of the President, it would have been provided expressly in the Constitution. "In the absence of any express bar, it can be safely presumed that the very existence of the Parliament and Provincial Assemblies is a complete Electoral College notwithstanding any vacancy," it concluded. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Lahore on Saturday summoned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shandana Gulzar on March 14 over accusations against Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. Gulzar, who was elected as a member of the National Assembly, had alleged that the CM Punjab was involved in the killing of PTI worker Zille Shah. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) worker Shoaib Mirza had filed a case against the PTI leader over her accusations against Maryam. Reacting to Gulzars allegations, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said that the former will have to prove her allegations face the court of law. The PTI leader had blamed the newly-elected CM of Punjab for Shahs death and claimed that she had an audio recording to prove her stance. Ali Bilal also known as Zille Shah was a PTI supporter who died in a road accident during a rally of the PTI in March 2023. The PTI leadership had accused the then PML-N government of killing Shah outside PTI founder Imran Khans Zaman Park residence in Lahore. At the end of 2022, the United States began to "thoroughly prepare" for the possibility that Russia might strike Ukraine with nuclear weapons. The level of planning was unprecedented, and it was not a single indicator, but a combination of events and analysis of sensitive intelligence data that the Russian government was openly discussing a nuclear strike. ADVERTISIMENT This was written by CNN journalist Jim Sciutto, citing two senior representatives of the administration of US President Joe Biden. According to the officials, the Biden administration was particularly concerned that Russia could use tactical or combat nuclear weapons. "That's what the conflict has given us, and that's what we believed, and I think it's our right to prepare carefully and do everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen," said one top White House official. This assessment was not based on a single indicator, but on "a combination of events, analysis, and, most importantly, very sensitive new intelligence," the article says. The administration's fears, according to another top Biden official, "were not just hypothetical they were also based on some of the information we had received." ADVERTISIMENT "We had to plan to be in the best position possible in case this unthinkable event did happen," he said. Since late summer and into the fall of 2022, the US National Security Council has convened a series of meetings to develop contingency plans "if there are very clear indications that they are going to do something, attack with nuclear weapons, or if they just did, how would we respond, how would we try to prevent or deter that," the source said. "I don't think many of us, when we start our jobs, expect to spend a significant amount of time preparing for a scenario that was considered a bygone era a few years ago," the U.S. official said. According to CNN, such conversations in the White House took place just as the Ukrainian Defense Forces launched a counteroffensive in the Kherson region and the occupiers were close to losing Kherson, the only regional center they were able to capture after February 24, 2022. ADVERTISIMENT The Biden administration believed that such a catastrophic loss for Russia could be a "potential trigger" for the use of nuclear weapons, the article says. Although Russia was losing ground in sovereign Ukraine, not on its territory, U.S. officials were concerned that Russian President Vladimir Putin saw the situation differently. He told the Russians that Kherson was now supposedly part of Russia itself, and therefore could perceive its loss as a direct threat to the Russian state. "Our assessment is that for some time now, one of the scenarios in which they have been considering the use of nuclear weapons has included things like existential threats to the Russian state, direct threats to Russian territory," the senior administration official said. According to this assessment, Russia could consider a tactical nuclear strike as a means of deterring further losses in Ukraine, as well as any potential attack on Russia, CNN writes. ADVERTISIMENT At the same time, the Russian propaganda machine was spreading a new fake about an alleged Ukrainian "dirty bomb," which the United States feared could be used as a cover for a Russian nuclear attack. In October 2022, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made a series of phone calls to representatives of the US, UK, France, and Turkey's defense ministries, saying that the Kremlin was allegedly "concerned about possible provocations by Kyiv related to the use of a dirty bomb." The United States rejected the Russian "warnings" but feared their motives. "The Russian public statements about the possibility of Ukraine using a dirty bomb came out of left field, which we've seen has no basis in reality," the source said, adding that he was "more concerned" that the Russians were saying such things "either as an excuse to do something crazy or as a cover for something they were going to do, so that was very disturbing." ADVERTISIMENT But there was one more thing that raised such fears to a new level. Western intelligence agencies received information that there were talks between Russian officials in which a nuclear strike was openly discussed. "There were signs that in other ways we realized that this was at least something that was being discussed at lower levels of the Russian system," the source said. U.S. access to Russia's internal communications has proven effective in the past. On the eve of the invasion of Ukraine, the United States intercepted conversations between Russian military commanders discussing preparations for the invasion. These communications became part of the U.S. intelligence assessment, which later proved accurate in that an invasion was imminent. "It's never a categorical, black-and-white assessment. But the level of risk seems to have increased and exceeded what it was at any other time," a senior Biden administration official said. ADVERTISIMENT At the same time, according to CNN, the United States has never found any intelligence indicating that Russia is taking steps to mobilize its nuclear forces to conduct such an attack. "Obviously, we prioritize tracking and have some ability to at least track such movements of its nuclear forces. And at no time have we seen any indication of the steps that we would expect them to take if they were to go down the path of using nuclear weapons," the official said. However, the United States was not sure what it would learn about Russia's deployment of tactical nuclear weapons. Unlike strategic nuclear weapons, which can destroy entire cities, tactical or combat nuclear weapons are small enough to be moved silently and can be launched from conventional systems already deployed on the battlefield in Ukraine. ADVERTISIMENT "Whether they were going to use tactical nuclear weapons, especially very low-yield tactical nuclear weapons, and especially if they were going to use only one or a very small number, it wasn't 100 percent clear that we would necessarily know," the White House official said. More... Sweden has said it is resuming aid to the cash-strapped United Nations agency for Palestinians with an initial disbursement of $20m after receiving assurances of extra checks on its spending and personnel. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the main humanitarian agency in Gaza, faced an unprecedented funding crisis after its major international donors led by the United States cut its funding over terror allegations. Like several other countries, Sweden suspended aid to the UNRWA after Israel accused about a dozen of its employees of involvement in the October 7 Hamas-led attack before the conflict in Gaza. Sweden said on Saturday that the government has allocated 400 million kronor to UNRWA for the year 2024. Todays decision concerns a first payment of 200 million kronor ($19.4). To unblock the aid, the UNRWA had agreed to allow controls, independent audits, to strengthen internal supervision and extra controls of personnel, the government said. The Swedish move came after the European Commission earlier this month said it would release 50 million euros ($54.7m) in UNRWA funding. On Friday, Canada announced it was lifting a freeze on funding for the UNRWA, after it joined the US, the United Kingdom and other countries in cutting aid in late January. The agency is at risk of death, it is risking dismantlement, the UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said in an interview aired on Saturday. What is at stake is the fate of the Palestinians today in Gaza in the short term who are going through an absolutely unprecedented humanitarian crisis. The UNRWA has been at the centre of efforts to providing humanitarian relief in Gaza, where the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported last month that at least half a million or one in four people face famine. Israel has severely restricted the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza by land, prompting the US and other countries to resort to stopgap measures such as airdropping meals into the enclave. Such steps by the US, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt have been criticised by aid agencies as a costly and ineffective way of delivering food and medical supplies. The UNRWA has said that Israeli authorities have not allowed it to deliver supplies to the north of the Strip since January 23. Moran has now been ordered to have no contact with the victim, either directly or indirectly, for five years. A RETIRED garda sergeant who harassed a woman by sending her unwanted texts and calls found it difficult to read social cues after a stroke four years ago, a court heard. Eamon Moran (49) was told by the woman not to contact her, but he continued to do so for nearly two years. Moran's mental capacity to cope with life started to deteriorate after he was slashed in the face while doing his job in 2010, his lawyer said. Moran has now been ordered to have no contact with the victim, either directly or indirectly, for five years. He has also been ordered to stay at least 1km away from her home. Judge David McHugh also imposed an eight month sentence which he suspended for two years. The defendant, with an address in south Dublin, admitted harassing the woman on dates between April 3, 2021 and January 14, 2023. Sergeant Joe Kenny told Blanchardstown District Court that Moran sent 77 text messages and made 10 attempts to call the victim. These messages and phone calls were all unsolicited and unwanted, Sgt Kenny said. The court heard that the injured party was known to Moran. The text messages included: "Did I see you in Croke Park today", as well as "your favourite film is on RTE 2" and "can we bury the hatchet. Life is too short for this crap". Sgt Kenny said the victim blocked Moran's number, and told him to stop texting her, and never contact her again. Moran responded by saying: "I will not be ignored" and "I know you still see my messages even when blocked so no point in ignoring me". Moran had not been in contact with the victim since these incidents, the court heard. The defendant had no previous convictions. Handing a number of medical reports into court, defence lawyer Fiona Pekaar BL said Moran suffered a "profound" stroke in October 2020, which impacted on his memory and cognitive function. Following the stroke, Moran found it difficult to negotiate social situations, and read social cues, she said. Ms Pekaar also said Moran had battled a severe alcohol addiction, and was attending AA meetings on a weekly basis. The lawyer said Moran, formerly of the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB), was slashed in his job in 2010, and his mental capacity to cope with life started to deteriorate following this. In that incident, Moranu was slashed in the face with a razor blade by a man being deported from the State. He was lacerated across his right ear, right side of his face and upper back before his attacker was restrained. Mr Pekaar said Moran knew his behaviour was wrong, and he recognised the difficulties he had caused for the victim. She said Moran's entire life had been impacted by the stroke. He had retired from his job, his marriage had fallen apart and his family home had to be sold. A victim impact statement was handed to the judge, but not read out in court. Judge McHugh noted the harassment had a "profound effect" on the woman, and there was "no doubt she had suffered greatly". As part of the conditions of the suspended sentence, Judge McHugh said Moran should continue with his alcohol rehabilitation, and have no contact with the victim. Stephen Keenan (48) had told gardai he was selling to friends A man caught passing a tray of sedatives to another man on a street was supplying the drug to a friend at the time, a court heard. Stephen Keenan (48) had told gardai he was selling to friends but his defence insisted in court that no money was exchanged. Judge Monika Leech referred him to the drug treatment court. Keenan, of Nelson Street, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty to possession of drugs with intent to supply. Dublin District Court heard gardai were on patrol at Dorset Street on September 7, 2022, when they saw the accused pass a tray of tablets to the other man. He was searched and found with six trays of alprazolam which he admitted buying at nearby Summerhill before selling to friends, trying to cover the cost of his own use, a garda said. He had 90 tablets worth a combined 180. The transaction gardai saw was Keenan passing one tray to a friend, his lawyer said. The rest were for himself and there was no exchange of money, the lawyer said. Asked by the judge if there was a difficulty with the facts, the lawyer said Keenan was admitting to the supply aspect of the charge. Keenan, with 14 previous convictions, was trying to address his addiction issues, the court heard. Judge Leech adjourned the case and said if he was not found to be suitable to be dealt with by the drug treatment court, she would give him a three-month suspended sentence in default. He is accused of unlawful importation and possession of the drug and having it for sale or supply A SOMALI national arrested at Dublin Airport over a seizure of almost 18,000 worth of the illegal herbal drug, "khat", has been remanded in custody. Yusuf Guled, 56, appeared at Dublin District Court on Saturday following his arrest on Friday at Terminal 2. The court heard Mr Guled, who has an address at Meerkoetlaan 63, 2623 NG Delft, in the Netherlands, flew to Ireland from Johannesburg via Dubai. Judge John Hughes deferred granting legal aid until a vouched statement of his means, bank accounts, and cards was furnished to the court. "Obviously, he had means, by some method, to pay a significant amount for an airfare," Judge Hughes stated, adding he wanted to know "how he funded his travel to Ireland". The court heard the value of the seizure was 17,800. Mr Guled, who listened to the proceedings with the aid of an interpreter, did not address the court. He is accused of unlawful importation and possession of the drug and having it for sale or supply. Judge Hughes heard evidence that he told gardai in Ballymun station, "I didn't know khat was illegal in Ireland". Gardai intended to object to bail due to flight risk concerns, and the court heard he had no ties to this jurisdiction. However, defence counsel Kevin McCrave said the accused was reserving his position on bail at this stage. Mr Guled was remanded in custody to appear again on March 15. The offences are under the Misuse of Drugs Act, and the court heard that the accused could face an additional charge contrary to section 15A of the same legislation, which, on conviction, can carry a ten-year sentence. Gardai must first get directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions. Khat, primarily used in East African and Middle Eastern countries, comes in leaf form, is chewed and gives users a similar rush as amphetamines. David Keenan (30) was quickly identified as the culprit from CCTV footage, and gardai spoke to him shortly after the theft. David Keenan of Wellmount Park, Finglas, was charged with theft. Photo: Paddy Cummins A brazen thief who loaded gas cylinders into his vehicle and drove off from a petrol station without paying later tried to get them back for gardai but they were gone, a court heard. David Keenan (30) was quickly identified as the culprit from CCTV footage, and gardai spoke to him shortly after the theft. Judge David McHugh convicted and sentenced Keenan to four months in prison. The defendant, with an address at Wellmount Park in Finglas, admitted stealing 21 Calor Gas cylinders, valued at 640, from Circle K in Dublin 15 on May 18, 2022. Garda Thomas McDaniel told Blanchardstown District Court that on the day in question he took a report in relation to the theft of gas cylinders. Gda McDaniel said Keenan drove onto the forecourt of the petrol station, loaded the cylinders into his vehicle and made off without paying for them. He said Keenan was identified from CCTV footage of the incident. The garda spoke to Keenan shortly after the theft, and the defendant co-operated with gardai and tried to get the cylinders back but he was unable to do so. The court heard that Keenan had 55 previous convictions, including a number for theft-related offences. Defence solicitor Simon Fleming said that his client was a member of the Travelling community. Mr Fleming said that Keenan had a problem with alcohol. He had been doing well, but fell off the wagon at the time of this offence. Mr Fleming also said Keenan was expecting a prison sentence, asking the judge to note that he co-operated with gardai. French Defense Minister Sebastien Le Coronneu said that French defense companies intend to open production and repair of military equipment in Ukraine. According to the head of the defense ministry, the first production may begin in the summer of 2024. ADVERTISIMENT Le Coronneu emphasized that the entry of French companies into the Ukrainian market would help Kyiv in repelling a full-scale Russian invasion. This was reported by the Financial Times. According to preliminary data, these are three French defense companies. Among them is KNDS, a joint venture between the French state-owned company Nexter and the German Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. This company produces ammunition, Caesar howitzers, and combat vehicles. Arquus, a company that specializes in military vehicles and chassis, may also start producing weapons in Ukraine. The third French company in Ukraine may be Delair, a manufacturer of drones. "The three French companies will establish partnerships with Ukrainian companies, particularly in the drone and ground vehicles sector, to produce spare parts on Ukrainian soil, and possibly ammunition in the future," Le Coronneu said. ADVERTISIMENT Notably, Nexter, which is part of KNDS, said that since September 2023 it has been negotiating to find a partner to bring maintenance and production closer to the front line. A company spokesperson said it would take several weeks to find out what could be done. At the same time, the company said that the French government asked Nexter to support Ukraine at the local level. As a reminder, France intends to create a coalition of countries whose leaderships will be ready to send their troops to Ukraine. According to French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne, the terrorist country Russia should not tell Europe how to help Ukraine in the coming months or years. Earlier it was reported that French President Emmanuel Macron is considering a scenario of sending troops to the territory of Ukraine if the Russian occupiers manage to break through the front towards Odesa or Kyiv. The president spoke about this with the leaders of the country's main political parties at a meeting organized on March 7. ADVERTISIMENT Isaac Ogoo told gardai of being approached by an unknown African man who asked the accused to provide his bank details to help him out. A Dublin man who allowed his account to be used to launder over 9,000 in an elaborate online banking fraud has been told to hand over 1,500 by way of a court donation. Twenty-three-year-old Isaac Ogoo, Sweetmount Avenue, Dundrum, Dublin 14, pleaded guilty at a sitting of Mullingar District Court on Thursday to handling 9,350 at Bank of Ireland, Oliver Plunkett Street, Mullingar, Co Westmeath on August 30, 2019. The court was told Ogoos account was used to transfer the money from a female victim who had been duped out of disclosing her bank details to a third party who had contacted the woman under the pretence of working for broadband telecommunications company, Eir. Sgt Orla Keenan said the female victim released her bank details to a woman, unknown to the accused, over the phone with the sum being transferred to Ogoos Bank of Ireland account in Mullingar. The court was told on the same day the money landed in Ogoos account, the 9,350 sum was transferred to an account registered to Harrods Ltd bank in the UK. Judge Bernadette Owens was informed that while the female victim had since been fully reimbursed, her bank remained at a financial loss. Sgt Keenan said investigating gardai had made numerous attempts to try and track down Ogoo, who the court heard, had left the jurisdiction for a lengthy period of time. Gardai later took a voluntary caution statement from Ogoo in March 2023 during which the accused made full admissions as to his culpability. During interview, Ogoo told gardai of being approached by an unknown African man who asked the accused to provide his bank details to help him out. Defence solicitor Paddy McGarry told the court his client was informed he would receive 600 as part of his role in the scam, a payment he never received a penny for. He also contended Ogoo had, in fact, contacted his own bank on the day of the incident to report how his own account had been frozen. It was also revealed Ogoo had never met the female victim caught up in the fraud and had no hand act or part in setting up the sophisticated scheme. Mr McGarry said Ogoo was only 18 at the time of the commission of the offence and was someone who suffered from a number of illnesses among which included autism, ADHD and borderline personality disorder. He said those particular health challenges had made Ogoo extremely vulnerable to falling foul of fraudsters. Mr McGarry also revealed his client was originally from Terenure and who was now working in the horse dressage industry in Hamburg in Germany. He also told of how Ogoo was undergoing personal difficulties at the time but had tendered a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity. Judge Owens said the court was cognisant of that fact and noted how Ogoo had cooperated with gardai throughout. She directed Ogoo to return to court on November 7 with 1,500 for the court poor box. The cold-blooded murder of 20-year-old Anthony Campbell 18 years ago horrified the nation. GARDAI have warned the killers of innocent plumber Anthony Campbell and mob-boss Marlo Hyland that the investigation into the double-murder is not over and they may yet be brought to justice over the horrific killings. In a statement released to the Sunday World, a week after John Mangan, a suspect in the brutal 2006 double killing, was released from prison for unrelated gun and drug offences, gardai said the investigation has not been handed over for a serious crime review as it remains a live and open investigation. The cold-blooded murder of 20-year-old Anthony Campbell 18 years ago horrified the nation. The shooting saw Anthony gunned down as he worked on radiators in a house belonging to a niece of gang boss Martin Marlo Hyland in Finglas, North Dublin. Anthony Campbell with his mum Christine Anthony was working as an apprentice plumber at the time and had no involvement in crime. He did not know that Hyland was sleeping upstairs and had been using the home as a safe house. It is believed Anthony opened the door to his killers. His inquest revealed the young man had his hands held up in a defensive posture, covering his face, at the time of the murder. He died from a single gunshot wound to the head and was shot at close range. The bullet passed through his left arm into his head, killing him almost instantly. Hyland was shot six times as he lay sleeping upstairs. Despite 14 arrests during the investigation nobody was ever convicted of the brutal double murder. Gardai believe deceased mob-boss and former Marlo Hyland gang member Eamon The Don Dunne was behind the hit and ordered the murder of his former boss. Dunne himself died in a hail of bullets when a gunman opened fire on him in a Cabra pub in April 2010. Gardai believe Anthonys murder was a tragic example of an innocent man in the wrong place at the wrong time. He and his boss had been due to carry out a quick repair job on the house owned by Hylands niece the night before the murder. However, they were too tired after a busy days work and moved the job to the following morning. In March 2012, journalist Paul Williams, in evidence given before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, alleged that the murder was carried out by imprisoned criminals Willie Hynes and John Mangan. He also alleged the late Eamon Dunne acted as the getaway driver in the hit. Mangan had been handed down a 14-year jail term in May 2008 after he was caught with a loaded handgun in the toilet of a pub, At the time of his arrest, he was already on bail for possession of cannabis resin valued at 341,787. The Sunday World revealed on our website on Thursday morning of last week that Mangan had been released after serving out the sentence. This week, in the statement issued to this newspaper, by gardai, a spokesperson said: The Garda investigation into the murder of Anthony Campbell (20) and Martin Hyland (39) which occurred on 12th December 2006 at Scribblestown Park, Finglas, Dublin 11 remains active and ongoing. This case is not subject of a Serious Crime Review at this time. An Garda Siochana continues to appeal to anyone who may have any information on this crime to contact the Garda investigation team in Finglas Garda Station on (01) 6667500 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111. The Irish Prison Service can confirm that two prisoners from the Midlands Prison have sadly passed away on 8th March 2024 and their next of kin have been notified. A SERIAL rapist - who lured a grandmother to a caravan where he raped and bit her during a sustained and vicious attack was one of two rapists jailed in the Midlands Prison to die on Friday. Sex-beast Richard OBrien, who Judge Tony Hunt said needed to be removed from society, passed away following a lengthy battle with cancer in the medical unit in the Midlands Prison on Friday evening. A second rapist, a 23 year old inmate, passed away in the Midlands hospital on Friday more than two weeks after he had seriously self-harmed in the prison. In a statement, the Irish Prison Service said this morning: The Irish Prison Service can confirm that two prisoners from the Midlands Prison have sadly passed away on 8th March 2024 and their next of kin have been notified. "The Irish Prison Service can confirm that the circumstances surrounding these deaths are unrelated. All deaths in custody are investigated by the Irish Prison Service, the Inspector of Prisons and An Garda Siochana, where circumstances warrant. "The cause of death is determined by the Coroners Office. The Irish Prison Service will make no further comment while these investigations are ongoing. Richard OBrien (65), who had suffered dramatic weight loss as a result of his illness, was in the eleventh year of a 15 year sentence handed down to him for the horror attack he carried out in 2011. He would have been due for release next year. He was a very nasty character, a source told the Sunday World. In December of 2016, the Central Criminal Court heard how OBrien lured his victim, a grandmother, to a caravan in Dublin before raping her, assaulting her and biting her during a sustained and vicious attack on March 19th, 2011. He then fled to the UK before being extradited in 2013. In July 2016, he was found guilty by a jury of rape, attempted rape, false imprisonment and assault causing harm earlier that year. OBrien, with a former address in Arlington Lodge, Church Street, Tralee, was sentenced in early 2015 after being convicted of separate offences of rape and false imprisonment carried out two months earlier. He received a six-year sentence for that, backdated to the date of his extradition from the UK. At his sentencing hearing in 2016, Mr Justice Tony Hunt had him removed from court after O'Brien repeatedly interrupted proceedings, calling his victim a "filthy prostitute". Mr Justice Hunt said the harm done by OBrien to the victim was very, very great indeed with long-term if not permanent damage. He said OBrien had identified her on the night as someone who was vulnerable. He had used deception by telling her there was a party while in reality he was bringing her to an isolated caravan. The judge said he was tempted to impose a life sentence so that OBrien would be kept away from the public until the executive determined it would be safe for him to be released. The judge said OBrien was a very serious threat indeed but that his case fell just short of one where a life sentence should be imposed. Imposing a 15-year prison term, Mr Justice Hunt said OBrien will be in jail for a large part of his remaining life. Thats his fault. He needs to be removed from society until its safe for him to return, he said. He said he was giving some allowance in his sentencing to OBriens age and his medical issues. He backdated the sentence to last August, when his previous sentence expired. He ordered that OBrien be subject to post release supervision for three years and that he must notify authorities of his address, as per the Sex Offenders Act 2001. In a victim impact statement read out in court, the woman said she has had nightmares every night for the last five years. She said the attack led to the breakdown of her 23-year relationship and she had suicidal thoughts. She said her relationship with her children and grandchildren has suffered. For the last five years of my life I have been existing, not living, she said. OBrien left school at 15 and worked in the UK as a labourer and truck driver. Defence barrister Damien Colgan SC said he suffered from arthritis and sciatica and had been diagnosed with testicular cancer. OBrien was married twice and had seven children but, his sentencing hearing was told, he was estranged from his family. The horrific details of the 32-year-old's offending promoted an outcry over tech companies not doing enough to protect children An infamous social media sex-offender who demanded explicit pics from a suicidal 11-year-old girl, was freed from prison this week. Matthew Horan who got a seven-and-a-half year sentence in 2018 for coercing young girls to send sexually explicit photos and videos walked free from Arbour Hill after serving his time. The horrific details of the 32-year-old's offending promoted an outcry over tech companies not doing enough to protect children. Horan had continued to offend even after his initial arrest and in 2020 was given additional time behind bars for similar offences. The father of one of the victims told of his shock when he learned what his daughter had been subjected to by Horan in a statement read out at the time on Liveline. "I've read many times about these things happening to children and now it's happened to our child. The anger I felt towards what I thought was a 13-year-old boy turned to guilt that I didn't do enough to protect her from a grown man even though I checked what she was doing online regularly." "Sadly there are other Matthew Horans out there and more needs to be done with social media to stop them." Horan used Skype, Snapchat, Instagram and Kik, an instant messaging app, to send and receive explicit child images from six identified children in Ireland and nine unknown users around the world. A forensic examination of Horans computer uncovered recorded Skype calls between him and two nine- year-old-girls, both individually and together. The recordings included footage of these girls engaging in graphic sexual acts. Horan also took part in sexually explicit text conversations with the girls, during which there would be an exchange of photos. Horan also used Kik to share child porn images and videos with unidentified users from around the world, most of whom claimed to be young teenagers. He threatened to share an 11-year-old girls nude images to her social media if she didnt send him more graphic photos. Even though the little girl repeatedly told Horan that she would kill herself he continued to demand she send more images. One of the victims, who was ten when Horan exploited her, told the court in a victim impact statement read out in court, she thought chatting online was safe and was like making a new friend. It wasn't. It made me feel ashamed, scared and alone. She said she felt sad and angry about what had happened to her but she wanted to prevent it happening to anybody else. I felt scared because I told his where I had lived. I was afraid he was going to come and get me. The father of one of the then nine-year-old girls made a victim impact statement on her behalf, describing how she was targeted by an online predator who she thought was a child her own age. He said she had bought her Samsung phone with her Communion money to watch cartoons, dancing and singing online. He said the idea that images of his daughter could never be erased from the internet makes us sick to the pits of our stomachs. Judge Martin Nolan said the crimes were all committed for Horan's indulgence and pleasure and Horan had exploited children in a most horrible way. He said Horan's actions would have long-term effects on the victims. He noted a medical report which stated that the child sexual material became Horan's autistic fixated interest. He knew what he was doing was wrong. He understood the damage and yet he didn't stop what he was doing. Judge Horan ordered a report from the Probation Service into what interventions and services the prison service could provide to reform Horan. If there are such interventions, he has to partake of those meaningfully. It is important for society and him that he is given certain interventions that will change him. The Irish Prison Service said this week they do not comment on individual cases. Sex-offenders are under no obligation to attend courses designed to help them from re-offending behaviour on their release, according to Sunday World sources. Horan was caught when American authorities contacted gardai about a gmail account being used to share child abuse images. Investigators eventually tracked the email account to Horan and gardai searched his address where they seized a number of devices and got him to disclose all of the passwords to his online applications. In a forensic investigation that took over a year, expert gardai discovered thousands of images and videos of children some of young babies. Ashley M Lynch (37) was arrested after cops were called when the barman at O'Shea's Irish Pub in West Palm Beach, Florida, discovered the images A woman who left her phone in an Irish pub in Florida was arrested after the bar tender found pictures on it of her performing sexual acts on a small dog. Ashley M Lynch (37) was arrested after cops were called when the barman at O'Shea's Irish Pub in West Palm Beach, Florida, discovered the images when he unlocked the phone. He had been given the passcode to unlock the device by Lynch to prove that it belonged to her after she called the pub looking for her phone. Lynch has now been charged with six counts of possessing obscene material depicting child pornography as well as three counts of video voyeurism of a child less than 16 years old. "Upon unlocking her cellphone, the bartender observed Lynch performing sexual acts on a small dog," police wrote in the affidavit, according to a report in International Business Times. Authorities obtained a search warrant and conducted a forensic review of the phone. In addition to viewing evidence of the crime of bestiality, detectives observed two videos which appeared to be video voyeurism of two prepubescent minors in the shower," investigators said. An in-depth forensic review of the phone allegedly revealed three separate videos of a 6-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl nude in the shower. In all three of the videos, Lynch appeared to focus the camera on the children's genitals, police said. Authorities linked Lynch to the filming of the children as the hands of the person making the video feature a distinct nail polish that matches the colour of Lynch's nails at the same time the videos were made. In one of the videos the camera is focused on the female child showering from behind. When the child quickly turns to face the camera, the individual holding the camera "acted startled and quickly moves the camera behind a shower curtain and then focuses on the ground, police said. Investigators also uncovered three images of child sexual abuse material involving a girl "approximately 2 to 3 years of age" being sexually abused by an adult male. Lynch's relationship to the children she allegedly recorded in the shower was redacted from the affidavit to protect the identities of the victims. Police noted that the path for the videos in Lynchs phone was Telegram-Cloud-Document, which investigators said likely referred to the social media app that is encrypted and deletes files after they are viewed. [F]or this reason, individuals who are sexually interested in children prefer to use [Telegram], according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law & Crime. Lynch is currently being held in the Palm Beach Detention Center in lieu of bond of $135,000. If she does make bond, a judge ordered that she have no contact with any animals or anyone under the age of 18. She would also be prohibited from having any access to the internet. In Cork, a Fine Gael councillor has admitted voter confusion proved fatal over the family and care ballots The blame game has begun with a No-No result expected in both referendums. Admitting that both referendums are unlikely to pass, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said the Government has to accept the will of the people and it will be for another administration to re-run the referendums. Mr Ryan said the Government owns the wording and added it is obviously the case we presented didnt win. Speaking to the Irish Independent, former justice minister Michael McDowell, who campaigned for a No vote in both referendums said "the people have spoken, it's their Constitution, they've made a wise decision, they've rejected what I consider to be foolish amendments". He said he expects both to be 60pc in favour of No. In Cork, a Fine Gael councillor has admitted voter confusion proved fatal over the family and care ballots. Jack White, speaking at the Cork count centre at Nemo Rangers GAA club for Cork South Central and North Central, said the Government had to accept responsibility for the campaign and its outcome. I think a lot of people that fully understood it voted 'No' as well but I think there was a lot of confusion," he said. "A Government, to be fair, has a responsibility to spark an interest and bring an understanding of what they are presenting to people in a referendum." "I think they didnt (achieve it) in either if we are being honest. So I think all of that has come together (in) what is going to be a resounding 'No' vote throughout the country. While no official tally is being conducted at the Nemo count centre, both ballots are expected to be defeated by margins of around 20pc. Eoin O'Broin of Sinn Fein said the "Government ran a bad campaign" and has blamed "the failure of Government" despite his party also backing a Yes-Yes vote. There is a very muted atmosphere in the Mayo Count Centre at the TF Royal in Castlebar. Currently, no party is taking a tally of the boxes already opened and just a single garda is in the observation hall. No spectators are present. Mayo Returning Officer Dr Ann Marie Courell told the Irish Independent they are still opening ballot boxes and segregating votes. Dr Courell said they won't break for lunch until the count for the 39th amendment is underway. Early tallies, carried out exclusively by Aontu, indicate it will be a resounding No result to both the family and care constitutional amendments. In one ballot box, there were just eight yes votes. There has been a 43% turnout of the Mayo electorate. With the blame game underway the Labour leader, Ivana Bacik, manages to use the word 'Government' five times in one sentence as she reacts to what looks like an inevitable No-No. She said: It was a very lacklustre Government campaign with very little evidence of canvassing from Government members, Government TDs and Senators and very few voices from Government on the airwaves supporting their call for Yes-Yes, and I think that is where Government failed Counting votes from the Aran Islands was also delayed due to rough sea conditions in one of the islands. Special arrangements were made this year to have the islands vote the same day as the rest of the country with the ballot boxes due to leave the islands last night, However, due to rough sea conditions, the boat carrying ballot boxes from Inis Oirr could not land at the pier last night. Two boxes from Inishmore and one from Inis Oirr and one from Inishmeain were held on the island overnight. A special boat was charted for this morning and the ballot boxes were delivered to the Galway Count Centre in Leisureland Salthill at 10.30am. In Mayo early tally indications from the constituency, where there has been a 43% turnout of the constituency's 97,514 eligible voters, show a resounding no to both constitutional amendments. The blame game now begins with criticism of how the Government managed the drafting of the constitutional claims and how they campaigned. Sources in the Labour Party and Fianna Fail are predicting a no vote in the both the referendums on family and care. Early indications from tallies taken of the two ballot papers being separated show areas in Dublin considered working class have overwhelming vote against the two proposed constitutional changes. The votes are tighter in more affluent parts of the city but still show a No-No vote in many ballot boxes. Some campaigners left the RDS Dublin Count Centre before 10am believing the vote had been lost. The blame game now begins with criticism of how the Government managed the drafting of the constitutional claims and how they campaigned. Green Party Minister Joe O'Brien told the Irish Independent he is not accepting defeat yet but "indications are not good". Also speaking to the Irish Independent, former justice minister Michael McDowell, who campaigned for a No vote in both referendums said "the people have spoken, it's their Constitution, they've made a wise decision, they've rejected what I consider to be foolish amendments". He said he expects both to be 60pc in favour of No. Fine Gael Senator and former minister Regina Doherty, speaking to RTE has questioned whether all the parties worked hard enough for the Yes-Yes campaign. It is up to us as government parties and indeed all of the opposition parties who campaigned for a Yes-Yes to reflect on a lot of things; first of all on the message, second of all on the campaign. Did it have as much energy as it should have, from all of the parties?" Despite both referendums seeing a low turnout, barrister Peter Leonard told Newstalk's Anton Savage Show this morning that it's still "too early to predict how it's going to go". "But it does sound like there's a bit of confusion out there," he said. "So there will be areas in the country where people will come out but I do think those opposed have the stronger motivation to come out. "I think the public at large might be generally supportive of it, but those that really feel strongly about it will get out. "So the fact that it's a low turnout, I think favours potentially a 'no' vote, but we don't know that," he added. Our crew even received welcome to Ireland messages on their mobile phones, such was the distance from home Lifeboats from Ireland and the UK rushed to save the five crew of an Irish fishing trawler that had started taking on water yesterday. The RNLI and all-weather lifeboats and volunteer crew from St Davids, Fishguard, Newquay launched after a Mayday distress call from the 24-metre vessel. It was some 21 nautical miles northwest of Strumble Head near Fishguard in south Wales when HM Coastguard tasked the charity's Welsh lifeboats just before midday. HM Coastguards search and rescue helicopter R936 from Caernarfon which was first to arrive on scene, lowered a water pump to the vessel. St Davids RNLI escorting the trawler as Kilmore Quay lifeboat arrives. Photo: RNLI/St Davids With no casualties reported, Newquay lifeboat was stood down en route. St Davids Tamar class lifeboat Norah Wortley arrived at 1.10pm with sea conditions described as rough in a Force 5-7 easterly wind. Fishguard RNLIs Trent class lifeboat Blue Peter VII arrived 25 minutes later. With no engine damage and the coastguard pump sufficiently reducing the water level, it was decided the fishing vessel would be escorted the 35 nautical miles west to Ireland. Kilmore Quay RNLIs Tamar class lifeboat Victor Freeman was tasked by the Irish Coast Guard to complete the escort and launched at 2.10pm. At this stage the Fishguard lifeboat was stood down and returned to Wales. St Davids RNLI then escorted the trawler a further 20 nautical miles west-southwest towards Tuskar Rock until the Kilmore Quay lifeboat arrived at 3.20pm and got the vessel safely into port around 6pm. Will Chant, RNLI coxswain for St Davids RNLIs all-weather lifeboat said the rescue was a good, fast response from all crews which was exactly what was required in an incident of this nature Fortunately the salvage pump from the helicopter was all that was required in order to quell the problems on board the trawler, and after that it was a straightforward but long job of escorting the vessel to safety, Chant said. Our crew even received welcome to Ireland messages on their mobile phones, such was the distance from home. Up to 22pc of Irish households now use one of the connected boxes, Authorities admit they won't go after individual illegal dodgy box users More than one in five people in Ireland now use dodgy boxes, but authorities admit they wont go after individual users. The number of illegal streaming devices in households has doubled to almost 400,000 in the last five years, new figures suggest. Up to 22pc of Irish households now use one of the connected boxes, which are sometimes activated through legitimate gadgets such as an Amazon Fire Stick. The figures are contained in a Sunday Independent Ireland Thinks poll, and suggest that a rolling series of crackdowns is struggling to affect attitudes toward the piracy devices. Under Irish law, using a dodgy box at home is an offence that can be punished with a fine and a criminal prosecution. However, while copyright organisations and the gardai have focused their attention on the sellers of dodgy boxes and illegal streams, authorities say there is no current plan to go after individual users. It appears this will even be the case when users details are obtained through seizure of equipment from illegal sellers. This contrasts with the UK, where authorities sometimes call to private homes to warn users about their dodgy box usage. An Garda Siochana does not issue cease-and-desist letters, a garda spokesperson said. An Garda Siochana, through the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation Intellectual Property Crime Unit, works with industry and service providers to investigate and prevent illicit streaming. An analysis of legal-enforcement action in recent years shows no prosecutions have been taken against household users. There hasnt been any enforcement against end-users and there probably wont be because its just too difficult to do, an industry source said. There arent the resources here to do it. By contrast, there have been a series of raids, warnings and prosecutions against sellers of dodgy boxes and commercial premises that show sporting events using the devices. Last October, the Railway Bar pub in Lixnaw, Co Kerry, was ordered by a court to pay damages of 20,000 to Sky for using a dodgy box to show Premier League matches. As recently as last month, 22 suspected sellers of dodgy boxes were issued with legal warnings by the Federation Against Copyright Theft (Fact). The warnings were issued in multiple counties, including Dublin, Meath, Limerick and Galway. The notices were sent to individuals as well as organisations selling modified Amazon Fire Sticks to householders. A number of prosecutions have been taken place over the last two years. Last December, a Dublin man was given an 18-month suspended sentence for selling 81 dodgy boxes. Two months earlier, a Meath man was given a suspended sentence for selling dodgy boxes through two of his companies. Last April, a Dublin man received 240 hours of community service for selling the devices. In a Belfast court last September, Padraig McVicker was sentenced to eight months in prison and Gary Doherty was given 175 hours community service for the illegal sale of dodgy boxes. A spokesperson for Fact said the organisation hoped targeting the illegal streams, as well as operatives selling the dodgy boxes, would quell the issue somewhat. Over the past 12 months, Fact has taken action in Ireland to combat illegal streaming, including the use of modified Fire Sticks and dodgy boxes to access these illicit services, the spokesperson said, adding that more than 60 providers were targeted. By taking these measures we are sending a clear message that piracy is a crime and it is taken seriously. Illegal IPTV service providers are breaking the law and putting consumers at real risk of malware, data loss and identity theft. Consumers who pay for pirate services should also know that they are often funding serious organised crime groups. The spokesperson said the organisation would continue to monitor channels used to advertise and sell illegal streams, modified Fire Sticks and other devices. Use of a dodgy box is against the law in Ireland. This is covered by the Copyright Act 2000. The spokesperson for Fact also claimed that separate consumer research, conducted by an associate organisation called the Irish Industry Trust, showed that the rise in dodgy box usage had peaked in Ireland. They added that usage may even be starting to fall. They cited a survey from last year that suggested lower device penetration in Ireland than the previous year. We accept that we respect that and we take responsibilities for the results The Governments strategy and campaigning has come under intense scrutiny as the Family referendum received an overwhelming no result. Figures show a 67.7pc No vote and a 32.3pc yes vote across the country. Results are now set to stream in on a county-by-county basis on the Care referendum. Leo Varadkar said he still believes a No vote in both referendums is still a setback for country. The Fine Gael leader conceded that the family and care referendums were both comprehensively beaten but said he remains of the view that the proposed constitutional amendments were necessary changes. Speaking at a press conference in Dublin Castle, Mr Varadkar said: Thats my view but I am not going to tell the people that theyre wrong because theyre not. "The people were asked questions, the debates happened, the arguments were heard. The public comprehensively took the view they did not want to make changes to the Constitution that we proposed. "We accept that we respect that and we take responsibilities for the results, he said. Before the referendum, Mr Varadkar had said a No vote would be a setback for the country. "It would say to a lot of people hundreds of thousands of people and children that theyre not in a family as far as our Constitution is concerned, and that would be a step backwards," he said. Speaking to the Irish Independent, former justice minister Michael McDowell, who campaigned for a No vote in both referendums said: The people have spoken, it's their Constitution, they've made a wise decision, they've rejected what I consider to be foolish amendments". He said he expects both to be 60pc in favour of No. At the official announcement of the No result of the Referendum on the 39th Amendment of the Constitution (The Family) Bill 2023 in Dublin Castle at 7pm, there were loud cheers from politicians and campaigners that advocated for No votes. A total of 1,525,215 votes were cast with 16,105 votes deemed invalid. The total valid poll was 1,509,110. The Yes side garnered just 487,564 votes, 32.3pc of the valid votes. The total No votes cast topped one million with 1,021,546 recorded as voting against the government proposal with 67.7pc. Just before the results were announced, Senator Gerard Craughwell jokingly asked Michael McDowell if he wanted to be hoisted shoulder high after the result was called. Absolutely not, said McDowell. Independent TDs Noel Grealish, Verona Murphy and Marian Harkin joined senators Tom Clonan, Ronan Mullen and Noel Craughwell in jovial mood around Michael McDowell as he sat and waited for the formal results to be announced. At one stage McDowell kissed a copy the constitution. After the results were announced the politicians were joined by activists with The Countess group to pose for pictures for the press. The National Womens Council (NWC) today expressed its "deep disappointment" about the "clear no vote in both the family and care referendums". While the reasons for this are complex, the result is a clear wakeup call that we cannot be complacent about equality and womens rights. Orla OConnor, Director of the National Womens Council (NWC) said: "The people have spoken and NWC will now reflect on the public vote and the referendum campaigns with our members. We would like to sincerely thank our staff, Board and the many supporters who fought hard for a different outcome today. The no vote in the family referendums means the families of over 40pc of children born outside of marriage and the over 1 million people who are part of unmarried families are still not recognised in our Constitution. "The no vote in the care referendum means that Article 41.2 remains in the constitution which continues to assign womens primary place and indeed womens life within the home. This is a reactionary message to send to young women and girls in 2024 and it fails to reflect the reality of womens lives today and also to recognise the important role that men play in relation to care. There are some factors that clearly contributed to todays outcome. The Governments poor wording, combined with a lack of leadership from political parties resulted in misinformation and confusion amongst voters and a lack of mobilisation on the ground. "We campaigned for a yes vote because we believed and continue to believe that Irish people value care and this was reflected in the earlier opinion polls. We also believe there was an element of the no vote today for which the wording did not go far enough and as the campaign evolved it was clear the public wanted more. "NWC will now continue to work with other civil society organisations to campaign energetically for public care services, for a public childcare model and better paid family leave, a universal Pension that would create pension justice for women in older age, guaranteed access to homecare supports and personal assistance for disabled people and the rights of people to live independently. Germany remains vulnerable to Russian influence. A network of Russian spies continues to operate in the country, contributing to a high threat of classified information leakage. ADVERTISIMENT This was stated by the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksii Danilov, according to The Times. As he said, this is why Russian propagandists got hold of a conversation between German officers discussing the transfer of Taurus missiles to Ukraine. The official also suggested that this was not the last leak. "We have repeatedly warned our partners about the spy network of Russians who are very active in Germany," Danilov said. He explained that the Russian agents operating in Germany today are descendants of Russian operatives from the Cold War, who had been "snooping" there since 1989 before the fall of the Berlin Wall. "The country is very vulnerable to Russian influence, and this is due to their past heritage and the cooperation between Germans and Russians before the full-scale war in Ukraine," Danilov stated. ADVERTISIMENT As a reminder, Belgium has expelled dozens of so-called Russian diplomats in recent months. The government said that these people were "obvious spies". They noted that the Kremlin is attacking Brussels in other ways, including cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns. Back in April 2023, the media reported that nowhere in Europe does Russia have as much satellite communications equipment used to transmit confidential information back to Russia as on the buildings of its embassy in Belgium. Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! The engineer was arrested by specialist officers in a police operation that saw officers from the armed response unit storm the building with chainsaws This is the man arrested at a plush Belfast city centre tower block accused of online child sex offences. Liam Lewis appeared at the citys Magistrates Court on Saturday. Standing handcuffed in the dock and still wearing the same clothes he was arrested in, the 29-year-old confirmed he understood the three charges against him, allegedly committed between February 14 and March 8. Lewis, from Belgium but with an address at the Obel Tower on Donegal Quay, is accused of attempting to sexually communicate with a child, attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming and attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity. The engineer was arrested by specialist officers in a police operation that saw officers from the armed response unit storm the building with chainsaws to apprehend him while plain-clothed officers watched on around Belfasts tallest building. Specialist officers arrest Liam Lewis at an apartment block in Belfast City Centre. Photo: Kevin Scott for Sunday Life In court today, a detective constable said she believed she could connect Lewis to each of the charges, adding that police were objecting to bail on the grounds of the risk of further offences and the defendant posing a flight risk. She outlined how the PSNI had received an evidential package consisting of a statement and a chat log between the defendant and a profile pertaining to be a 13-year-old girl. The communication, held over Kik and Snapchat during the three weeks of alleged offending, was sexual in nature and there was an arrangement to meet on March 6, said the detective, adding that based on the information police had received, we arrested the defendant. During police interviews Lewis made full admissions to the offences and also revealed himself that he has previous convictions for similar offending in his native Belgium. He was very upfront with us during the interviews, the detective told the court. He said it was the same offences of communicating, arranging to meet and indecent images. As a result, the PSNI raised an enquiry with Interpol but the court heard that has not yet been responded to by the international organisation. Lewis also admitted during interview that he planned to return to Belgium at the end of the month and also that he would travel regularly with work to various different places so police had concerns about the risk of him not turning up. Lewis defence counsel revealed that he has been working in Northern Ireland as an engineer, specialising in windmill blade parts, and his accommodation in the Obel Tower was connected to his work which is scheduled to continue until next year. Specialist officers arrest Liam Lewis at an apartment block in Belfast City Centre. Photo: Kevin Scott for Sunday Life She submitted that as the police had no objections to Lewis going back to the Obel Tower apartment, other conditions could be put in place to mitigate police concerns including the defendant surrendering all of his travel documents. The lawyer also suggested that restrictions could be put on Lewis online access and while he had told her he needs a phone to log time sheets for his work, I have advised that he will have to come to an alternative arrangement with his employers should bail be granted. Granting bail in the sum of 750, District Judge Amanda Henderson attached numerous conditions to the bail order, including a residence condition, an order that Lewis has to surrender all travel documents to the police forthwith and a prohibition on having any access, association or communication with anyone under 16. Adjourning the case to April 5, the judge also banned Lewis from using any social media platform or chat room and ordered that while he can have a mobile phone, he must register the details with the PSNI and allow them access to it. I did a film with Emily Blunt. Wild Mountain Thyme and everyone hated it Jamie Dornan has appeared on the latest episode of the Hot Ones Jamie Dornan said he hopes Irish people dont want to punch him in the face over his 2020 film Wild Mountain Thyme because everyone hated it. The admission came as Dornan became the latest celebrity to take on the Hot Ones spicy chicken wings challenge on the popular YouTube show and admitted that with every bite, it feels like more of a mistake. The Co Down actor was interviewed by host Sean Evans as the wings got increasingly hotter. The tagline for the latest episode described Jamie as getting punched in the face by spicy chicken wings. Other celebrities who have previously taken part in the challenge include Jennifer Lawrence, Will Ferrell and even Gordon Ramsey. During the chat the Holywood man was asked in what film role he would have a pint bought for him at an Irish pub, and what one he would be punched in the face for. I... did a film with Emily Blunt Wild Mountain Thyme and everyone hated it, so I think this one, but I hope no one would punch me in the face for it. Before beginning the challenge, Jamie admitted: Im not like a crazy chilli head or anything, and you might find that out really quickly here . First up was the buffalo hot sauce followed by the Smokey J sauce, where he took another bite. The third sauce was Funkys Hot Sauce which caught him off-guard. Jamie Dornan has appeared on the latest episode of the Hot Ones After taking a bite, he said: This is like someones starting the party a little bit, like doing a shot, before taking a sip of milk. Next up was Los Calientes Verde creeping up the Scoville level to 34,000. The Scoville Scale expresses the level of pungency or heat based on the levels of capsaicin in a pepper. Jamie admitted he liked it and was going in again. Feeling confident, the Belfast actor announced: I tell you what, at this stage, I feel better than I thought I would . Reading the name of the next one Morita Bourbon Maple Reaper hot sauce the actor said you say reaper and Im already scared before adding if someone told me 10 or 15 years ago, Id be doing something like this this was not in my future when I was younger. Jamie Dornan has appeared on the latest episode of the Hot Ones La Pimenterie The Forbidden Fruit Scoville tipped the scales in the challenge, with the level reaching 124,000. Im switching between wanting more of it then thinking Im going to die, he said. After tasting Da Bomb hot sauce after that, he simply shook his head, and looked obviously uncomfortable. Is that even street legal? he asked. Christ on a Gondola I can only talk on out breaths. After trying the final sauce which scored a whopping 2,693,000 on the Scoville level The Last Dab Jamie raised his chicken wing and said Slainte before taking his last bite. Lieutenant Colonel Sheree Alexander is putting her New Zealand Army training to good use in South Sudan, where she is one of three New Zealand Defence Force personnel posted to the young country. Born and raised in Hamilton, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander joined the army nearly 25 years ago at her mothers suggestion. Shes now serving as the Deputy Plans Officer within the force headquarters for the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. Her current role serves as a reminder of how robust the NZDFs training system is, which produces soldiers and operators able to adapt to whatever situation is facing them, and develop and enact a successful plan. She is one of the around 18,000 personnel serving with UNMISS to help the country, which is facing many challenges - from conflict to poverty, food insecurity and the widespread displacement of its population. A young girl tries to clean off Lieutenant Colonel Alexanders tattoo during an orphanage visit. Tattoos arent a common sight in South Sudan. UNMISS was established as a civilian-led mission to support South Sudans government, protect its civilians, monitor and investigate human rights violations, provide access to vital services and build toward peace in the country. The mission includes civilian roles working alongside members of the United Nations Police and the UNMISS force. Contributing countries provide staff officers, United Nations military observers (UNMOs) and personnel from across signals, engineering, medical, aviation, and force protection to the UNMISS force. The three Kiwis are each located in different camps throughout South Sudan, with Lieutenant Colonel Alexander based in the capital city, Juba. Their tasks are challenging as they have a wide range of responsibilities and operate in an unpredictable environment. UN peacekeepers in South Sudan. We are required to act as negotiators or mediators, drivers, vehicle commanders, patrol commanders, signallers, medics, mechanics, and in the wet season I suspect well be acting as recovery commanders as well." They must also be able to operate effectively with people from a diverse training background with a wide range of skills and varied approaches to professionalism. Patrolling is a crucial part of enabling the United Nations to better understand the environment and help provide security and stability for the people living there. Advice is provided to inform which patrols to go on and who to talk to, how to prepare for various situations, and how to respond when the situation changes. They would often engage with a variety of people out on patrol, from civilians to the local defence force leadership and even criminal groups. Lieutenant Colonel Alexander says its quite confronting to see the vulnerability of the local people, particularly children, to exploitation. The cost of living crisis that we feel at home in New Zealand is on another level here. Fuel costs US$16.50 per litre - approximately NZ$27 - and a 250g piece of cheese goes for US$12 - close to NZ$20. People have to walk considerable distances to access health care, and may face a long wait when they get there for treatment or medicine. Lieutenant Colonel Alexander says the uncertainty of living conditions makes it difficult for families, and society in general, to move forward. There are 40,000 people living in the Protection of Civilian camp in Malakal, and they are a long distance from any support networks or industry, making it difficult to see a way out of their circumstances. Most of the camps in South Sudan for internally displaced people have been around for up to 11 years, with some people living there since they opened. A privately run orphanage in Juba received 30 extra children from a camp in a month. Its a huge drain on their limited resources, but if they turned them away, those kids - one was only three months old - would have been on the streets of Juba." But she says the posting has its light-hearted moments too when working with other nations. I spend a bit of time explaining common idioms and Kiwi English - herding cats, ducks in a row - and our pronunciation of vowels can cause a few confused looks." Flying over Juba, South Sudan. During her Army career, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander has deployed twice to Afghanistan and experienced another deployment to the Middle East. She was also involved in the NZDFs support during Covid-19. I have had so many experiences that I wouldnt have had in any other career." She has an encouraging message for other women thinking of pursuing a career with the NZDF. You are going to face challenges in any role or career, but the NZDF is open to progressing and has made great strides in becoming a gender-conscious organisation. There is scope for females within the NZDF to shape the direction of the organisation and to have a positive impact on the lives of others, whether that be in New Zealand or overseas on operations." A new health clinic is set to open in Papamoa following the news that another is set to close. The directors of Papamoa Pines Medical Group announced the closure of the clinic this week. In a post on Facebook, the directors says they "would like to advise you of some changes that are occurring within our practice". The post goes on to say that the current financial climate for the government funding of General Practice in NZ is in a very perilous state. "And this, combined with the prevailing economic conditions and the lack of doctors available to work as GPs both nationally and internationally, has had a huge impact on our ability to viably run two fully staffed medical centres. "After considerable reflection and exhaustive exploration of ways to recruit more GPs to justify continuing to operating both medical centres, we have made the decision to embark on a downsizing of our business to ensure our sustainability and our viability long term. "We have decided to sell our Domain Road Medical Centre and retrench to our newer facility at 191 The Boulevard, Golden Sands, Papamoa from mid April 2024." Founder & Co-CEO of Kiwi-owned healthcare company Tend Health, Cecilia Robinson expresses her dismay at the Papamoa Pines Medical Centre's closure, stressing its significant impact on the local community. "Closing Papamoa Pines is a major blow, particularly to the 6000 patients." She notes GP shortages and funding issues as critical factors. "Our sympathies lie with the Papamoa Pines team, whose dedication to healthcare in this rapidly growing area has been unwavering." Cecilia also outlines Tend's proactive approach to this situation, confirming that the centre will reopen with a Tend medical centre. "In response to the closure, we have been working alongside the Papamoa Pines team to reach a practical solution for quite some time. I'm pleased to share that we plan to reopen the medical centre in June 2024, confirming our commitment to ensuring that Papamoa residents continue to receive the essential healthcare services they deserve, within their own community. "Our preparations are already well underway," stated Ms Robinson, as she shed light on the dedication to the local community and the ongoing integration already underway to integrate the four local Tauranga clinics, Chadwick Healthcare, with Tend. "We are already deeply invested in this community and are committed to integrating our Chadwick practises with our technology and operational process. We recognise the significance of this transition period and are acutely aware of its potential impacts on both our team and the community we support." Cecilia is asking for support from the community, emphasising the importance of keeping medical services open and accessible in Aotearoa. "In these times of change, we urge the community for support and patience. Change is challenging, but we're dedicated to a smooth transition. "We have evidence that post integration satisfaction and timely access to care will improve for our patients." Maggots on the floor. Human excrement on bathroom walls and floors. Rodents so common one resident gave them names. These are among new descriptions of living conditions at Rotoruas Spa Lodge revealed in documents obtained by Local Democracy Reporting, as a former resident speaks out. The lodge owner says she took good care of the majority: You cant please everyone. Laura Smith reports. Photos of maggots on the carpeted floor of Rotoruas Spa Lodge kicked off a series of events that led to the former backpackers being shut down, new documents reveal. The photos were part of a health complaint from the mother of a lodge resident sent to Rotorua Lakes Council on November 6. Nothing has been done about anything Ive seen young [babies] running around mums with p-pipes and [a] beer bong, the complaint stated. One of the Spa Lodge kitchens. Photo / Supplied. By the end of the month, the lodges 20 residents had been evacuated after it was issued back-to-back dangerous building notices the first for dead-bolting residents in at night, and the second following a fire left burning for hours. The complaint was in a cache of documents and emails relating to Spa Lodge obtained by Local Democracy Reporting (LDR) from the council under official information laws. Approached for comment in response to claims in this story, Lodge owner Emilyn Dubouzet defended the good care she provided to the majority. She said she knew her own actions and did not need to prove or disprove anything. Rats, mould, poo and $600 rent Notes from a council inspection of the 28-unit lodge after the mothers standard health complaint said the visit revealed more than expected. The notes included 131 pictures. Among inspectors concerns were mould in rooms, missing and boarded-up windows, rotting floors and bad odours coming from wet carpets, marijuana and cigarette smoke, food left out and full rubbish bags. A resident told them he paid $600 a week to rent a room for his family, while two other residents said they each paid $430 a week for their small rooms. One said they only had $70 left over after paying rent. A woman told an inspector rodents came into her room so often she named them. One of the bedrooms in Spa Lodge in November. Photo / Supplied. The notes recorded that, throughout the inspection, a lodge staff member constantly tried to justify problems by blaming tenants. Similar uncleanliness was noted, however, in rooms inspectors were told had been cleaned. Other council documents included reports of human excrement on toilet floors and walls, the lodges two kitchens being too dirty to use and regular rat sightings. Ex-resident recounts experiences Billy Newson told LDR he lived at the lodge for about a year, leaving about midway through in 2023. In his opinion, the operation was: All about money, money. Newson said he was charged $350 rent for a room so small that if he lay down he could touch one wall with his feet and the other with his head. In his view: They are not designed for long-term. Of the door being deadlocked at night described in a Fire and Emergency NZ assessment as an unacceptable practice Newson said: That whole part of the buildings stuck, no exit. He said he did not understand why the deadbolts were installed but speculated it was to stop people coming in and staying for free. An image from a Spa Lodge fire safety inspection of a fire extinguisher on the wall in the escape route. Photo / Supplied. Newson described the behaviour of some lodge residents as unstable and volatile, and said he worried for the children. He claimed when he tried raising issues such as broken elements in the kitchen and general hygiene with owner Dubouzet, it seemed to him that she didnt want to deal with it. It was disgusting. I thought we had cleaners. He said he would go to the toilet, close the door, and there would be faeces on the back of it. It had been there for I dont know how long. In his view, She doesnt care about people at all. Lodge owner: You cant please everyone Responding to requests for comment for this story, Dubouzet said in text messages on Friday: To have balanced reporting one source doesnt represent the true value of the majority who I took good care of. I dont need to prove or disprove anything for I know what I did what I have done n have been doing as well. If who ever wants to crucify me so be it for I know the truth n others as well who know what I have one for them in the end n still doing. At the end of the day you cant please everyone, thats the reality of life. She declined to comment further. Spa Lodge owner Emilyn Dubouzet in 2018. Photo / Ben Fraser. In a 2019 interview with the Rotorua Daily Post, Dubouzet said homelessness could affect anyone. At the time, Spa Lodge only accommodated Ministry of Social Development (MSD) clients. Dubouzet had said she tried to give out positive energy and provide guests with mental and emotional support. We care about them and are here to give them stronger wings, she said at the time. In her view, some accommodation providers were just in it for the money, but Dubouzet said it was her passion. Who lived at the lodge? A lodge staff member told a council report writer in November all 20 residents were MSD clients to provide emergency housing. MSD, however, said the last time the lodge was used for emergency housing was in October 2022. MSD ministerial and executive service general manager Magnus ONeill said it had nine clients, aged 19 to 50, at the lodge when the second building notice was issued. The median stay was 167 days about five months. LDR has sought clarification on whether families were counted as one client or by individual members. ONeill said the evacuated clients moved to a mix of hostel-type accommodation, emergency housing, and private accommodation. On support, he said each client was different but the accommodation supplement was the main kind of help. It could contribute to rent or bond and be directly paid to the landlord. ONeill said he could not say explicitly how much the lodge was paid as three other addresses used the same supplier number. As at November 17, the ministry had redirected $20,570 from benefit payments to the Spa Lodge supplier. ONeill said there was less demand for emergency housing since the pandemic and the Rotorua Housing Accord was signed in December 2022. MSD had dropped 28 of its 35 Rotorua emergency housing suppliers, including the lodge. MSD could not tell clients where to live or inspect their living arrangements, rather it provided advice about their options and financial assistance eligibility, ONeill said. Whats next for Spa Lodge? Emails between council staff and a Spa Lodge representative included discussions about reopening the lodge. The council confirmed a resource consent would be needed to re-open as non-tourism accommodation, as the lodge had only been lawfully established as tourism accommodation. Cooking facilities needed to be removed from Spa Lodge rooms. Photo / Supplied. Whether reopening for tourists or tenants, the building would first need work to meet requirements. These included rectifying issues raised in the dangerous building notices; addressing damp and uncleanliness; removing cooking appliances from bedrooms and appointing an on-site manager. The business was given two months, until February 7 to do the work, and failure could result in a cleansing order being served. Asked if the works had been done, council community and district development group manager Jean-Paul Gaston said it continued compliance involvement with the owner and the lodge remained closed for business. Almudena Nogues Malaga Saturday, 9 March 2024, 12:04 Compartir Copiar enlace WhatsApp Facebook X LinkedIn Telegram Spain's state Met Office (Aemet) has warned of a weekend of unsettled and "wintry weather". As a backdrop, rain, snow, wind or rough sea conditions will keep five Andalusian provinces under weather alerts from this Saturday morning due to the presence of a powerful storm that "will give rise to an episode of adverse weather". Since 10am the map of Andalucia has been coloured yellow and amber for various alerts, which will be deactivated depending on the area throughout the day, from 2pm onwards. At the moment there are warnings in force for strong westerly winds of between 70 and 80 kilometres per hour in Almeria, Cadiz and Malaga provinces. A yellow warning has also been activated for sea swell on the coast of Almeria, Cadiz and Granada. Aemet also forecasts a south-westerly wind of 50 to 61 km/h (force 7) on the coast of Cadiz and temporarily combined with a south-westerly swell of 4 metres offshore. In Granada and Almeria, a south-westerly wind of 50 to 65 km/h (force 7, occasionally 8) and 3-metre waves are expected until 20.00 hours. In addition, there is a yellow alert for rain in the provinces Malaga, Cadiz and amber in Granada. In the latter province Aemet forecasts accumulated rainfall in 12 hours of 80mm in the Alpujarra until 3pm. In Malaga, Aemet forecasts 60mm in 12 hours, which could reach 80mm in some places, according to Aemet. As for possible snowfall, the state agency points out that the greatest accumulations will occur in the southern foothills of Sierra Nevada, where another yellow warning has been activated until 8pm for a snow accumulation of 5cm in 24 hours. The aforementioned depth is expected at altitudes above 1,400 metres. More than 20 centimetres of snow may accumulate in La Ragua mountain pass . The area of Cazorla and Segura, in Jaen province, above 1,200 metres, also has an active snow warning until 10pm. For this Saturday, Aemet forecasts overcast skies in the Andlaucia region with widespread rainfall, which may be locally heavy and persistent on the Mediterranean slope and less likely in the Betic mountain ranges. "Snow cover dropping from 1,800-2,000 metres to 1,200-1,400 metres in the afternoon and minimum temperatures rising. Moderate to strong winds from the southwest, with very strong gusts on the coast and in high areas," the state Met Office details in its forecast. Two weather warnings for Sunday The effects of the storm will continue to be felt in Spain on Sunday, although Aemet forecasts that it will gradually weaken. Snow will continue to fall in the mountains, especially in the central and northern areas, with snow levels rising from 900 metres at the start of the day in the northern half and central area to 1,000 to 1,400 metres, as in the southern half, where temperatures will rise in the central hours of the day. On the shores of the Mediterranean, the maximum temperature will likely exceed 18 or 20C. In Andalucia, cloudy skies are expected with generalised light rainfall, which will be more intense and accompanied by occasional thunderstorms on the Atlantic coast. There will be two provinces with a yellow warning for wind and coastal phenomena: Almeria (where the warning will be in force all day Sunday) and Granada, where it will start at 6am. "In the afternoon, clearings will open up from west to east, with low clouds persisting in the sierras, while the snow level will be around 1,600 metres. Minimum temperatures with little change, maximum temperatures rising and strong winds with very strong gusts on the coast and in high areas of the eastern third," forecasts Aemet. Weather forecast for next week For the early part of next week, the trend is for "the weather to stabilise", according to Aemet, "with less cloud and also less rain". However, on Wednesday new Atlantic storms will arrive in Spain, which will leave heavier rains in the west and central areas, although again these downpours will be less likely in the Mediterranean area. During a visit to Turkey, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy handed over to Turkish president Recep Erdogan an updated list of names of Crimean Tatars held captive by the aggressor country Russia. He noted that the list is constantly growing. ADVERTISIMENT At a joint briefing with Erdogan on Friday, March 8, Zelenskyy said that he expects Erdogan to help ensure that the prisoners return home. The video of the press conference was posted on the official Facebook page of the Office of the President. The Head of State added that so far no one has been able to return the Crimean Tatars from the captivity of the occupying Russian troops. "I arrived today with an updated list. It is painful that it is updated and that there are more of them on the list. Unfortunately, they are not returning home. Here I am counting on President Erdogan. I am sure that he will be able to do this, at least he will try," Zelenskyy said. ADVERTISIMENT Before the full-scale invasion, our country managed to return only a few people. However, most remain in captivity. According to the president, this list includes Crimean Tatars who have been repressed and held in prisons by Russia. In particular, it is about Nariman Dzhelal, Server Mustafayev, Lenia Umerova. "All of them must be released: both soldiers and civilians. Both those who were captured while defending their people and those who are subjected to Russian repression only because of who he or she is: Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars, everyone," Zelenskyy emphasized. Earlier, it became known that political prisoners from the temporarily occupied Crimea are being transferred by the terrorist state of Russia to Bashkortostan, the North Caucasus, the Urals, Chelyabinsk Oblast and Krasnodar Krai. This is a significant violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law. ADVERTISIMENT As reported, on January 1, the leader of the Crimean Tatar people Mustafa Dzhemilev addressed the Russian citizens who illegally moved to the Crimea temporarily occupied by Russian troops. He called on them to leave the Ukrainian peninsula while the Kerch Bridge is still functioning. Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! 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. Syracuse, N.Y. A Utica man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for laundering money from a drug operation that sold fentanyl in Oneida County from May 2020 to October 2021. Ivan Rodriguez, 48, was sentenced Thursday to 121 months in prison on conspiring to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and money laundering charges, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of New York said in a news release. Rodriguez ran the operation along with his son, Ivan Rodriguez Jr., prosecutors said. His son will be sentenced in May, they said. Syracuse, N.Y. A Central NY man was sentenced to federal prison after admitting to possessing over 1.1 pounds of cocaine and a handgun. Edgar Tejada, 36, of Utica, was sentenced Thursday in Syracuse to six years in prison, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of New York said in a news release on Friday. He will consecutively serve 12 months for possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, then 60 months for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, prosecutors said. Tejada admitted in his guilty plea to having over 500 grams, or 1.1 pounds, of cocaine he planned to distribute from his Utica home, prosecutors said. He also admitted to having a loaded silver Ruger handgun for protection, they said. Staff writer Timia Cobb covers breaking news. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at tcobb@syracuse.com. Happy weekend, everyone! We hope everyone remembers to set their clocks ahead, and enjoys the extra hour of sunshine while chugging some coffee to compensate for the lost hour of sleep. We had a busy week at NY Cannabis Insider, lets dive in and take a look at the articles we ran. Over the past couple of years we at NY Cannabis Insider have written a lot about the struggles licensed cannabis growers have endured, as many invested hefty sums into growing their first harvest only to find there werent enough dispensaries open to buy their products. But as more shops have opened in recent weeks, cultivators are starting to see a glimmer of hope. As regulators begin to issue general cannabis business licenses, more retailers are opening and plenty more are on the horizon. And struggling growers are cautiously extremely cautiously optimistic that the headwinds theyve battled for years are beginning to abate. Sign up for the NY Cannabis Insider Newsletter Enter your email address to get exclusive reporting on NY's cannabis market delivered to your inbox: Reporter Mel Hyman contributed a story about New York cannabis regulators effort to establish rules for cannabis events in the state. The Office of Cannabis Management has told NY Cannabis Insider that rules governing cannabis special event permits are currently being drafted, and that the agency hopes to have them out for public review in the next few weeks or months. Given OCMs past tardiness in issuing rules and regulations for the production and sale of recreational cannabis, the news isnt being particularly well-received by those most affected. Scott Mazza, co-founder of Buffalo-based Vitality CBD, contributed a guest column about new research that bolsters the scientific veracity of the entourage effect, or the idea that cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids interact synergistically for medical benefits. The new study all but confirms that the different elements of cannabis work in concert to increase the plants therapeutic potential, achieving a holistic effect that none could achieve on their own, Mazza wrote. The report is yet another scientific step towards understanding the plant and evolving how its administered for different outcomes. We checked in with Jonpaul Pezzo, co-founder of Long Island City dispensary NYCBUD, to talk about how business at the shop has been in its early weeks. The company has a business plan and an idea of its target demographic, but as a store thats been in business less than a month, NYCBUD is still feeling out the market, and tracking data on what customers are buying. In another Q&A, we talked to Chris Myers, founder of The Greenery Spot, a Johnson City dispensary, which officially opened for business on July 29. Business at the Johnson City store has been good so far, Myers said, and his long-term plans for The Greenery Spot revolve around growing and expanding. Myers answered questions about what customers are buying, his business experience before cannabis and his thoughts about different challenges in New Yorks legal weed industry. Lastly, We also added a new entry to our People to know in NY cannabis series: Aaron Riley, the founder and CEO of Certified Testing & Data (CTND), a third-party testing company. Have a great weekend everyone, well be back with plenty more next week. Syracuse, N.Y. The Syracuse city school district will close its schools and allow its 17,000 students to stay home on April 8 when an eclipse happens. For the first time in almost 100 years, a total solar eclipse -- when the moon comes between the sun and Earth -- is set to occur over Central New York. Syracuse notified parents Friday that it plans to close for the eclipse. The district joins other Central New York and Upstate New York districts to close on the day. The eclipse starts about 2 p.m. and lasts until 4:30 p.m. The totality when the sun is completely blocked starts about 3:23 p.m., and that lasts for about a minute and a half in Syracuse. Upstate New York has been deemed as one of the best places to view the eclipse in its totality. New York was last in the path of a total eclipse in 1925. Staff writer Timia Cobb covers breaking news. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at tcobb@syracuse.com. More than 30 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation forest rangers made two separate rescues on March 2 in the Johns Brook Valley area of the Adirondacks in tough, icy conditions. Rangers first rescued a 61-year-old hiker from Pittsford who slipped and hurt his leg on the west side of Saddleback Mountain. The second rescue involved a 38-year-old from Maryland who injured his leg and shoulder while sliding down an icy trail off Basin Mountain. Bad weather prevented helicopters from flying, so rangers prepared for two separate nine-mile carry outs on dark, icy trails. They reached the first man, splinted his leg, and wrapped him in hypowrap to keep him warm. Due to the steep conditions, the second rescue required use of a high-angle rope system. Both injured hikers needed to be transferred from sleds to backpack systems as teams of rangers navigated the icy terrain. Rangers handed the hikers over to rescue personnel the next morning. The following reports are excerpted from DEC: Rangers on a snowmobile tow an injured 73-year-old ice climber who fell while climbing Pitchoff Mountain.NYSDEC On the afternoon of Feb. 20, a 73-year-old ice climber from Massachusetts fell while climbing Pitchoff Mountain, injuring his hip. Using a rope system, seven rangers lowered the climber and stabilized him in a rescue toboggan attached to a snowmobile, which they drove to an ambulance waiting at the trailhead. A 27-year-old hiker from Maryland got stranded on the ice near Kaaterskill Falls on the afternoon of March 1. She was wearing only sneakers without micro-spikes necessary for safely crossing the ice-covered area. Two rangers reached the hiker, gave her micro-spikes and a hiking pole, and helped her off the ice. Just after dark on March 1, a 43-year-old hiker from New Jersey slid down Wright Mountain and lacerated his leg. Two rangers applied a makeshift tourniquet so he could continue hiking down the mountain with his hiking partner to a waiting ambulance. Illegal firearms confiscated from two men who were caught illegally target shooting recently in Pittstown State Forest.NYSDEC On the afternoon of March 1, a ranger encountered two men illegally target shooting in Pittstown State Forest and charged them with possession of multiple illegal, non-compliant firearms. The ranger confiscated the guns at the scene. State police arrested the men and executed two search warrants that resulted in the discovery of 3D printers, numerous firearms, and body armor. An investigation is ongoing. A 70-year-old hiker sent an SOS signal from his satellite communicator on March 3 indicating he was lost somewhere in the Seward Range. Coordinates placed the elderly hiker approximately half a mile north of the Calkins Brook herd path. Two rangers found the man and helped him back to the trailhead. Sign up for the CNY Outdoors Newsletter Enter your email address to get weekly updates on CNY outdoors news delivered to your inbox: READ MORE ADK snowmobiler severely injured after hitting ice crack, flying 73 feet through the air - newyorkupstate.com Man thrown from snowmobile in crash in Madison County airlifted to Syracuse hospital - newyorkupstate.com Baldwinsville man rescued after falling through thin ice in Three Rivers marsh - newyorkupstate.com Rangers track down trio of missing teens in snowy Adirondack wilderness - newyorkupstate.com One dog, two people rescued after falling through ice in Upstate NY lake - newyorkupstate.com Steve Featherstone covers the outdoors for The Post Standard, syracuse.com and NYUP.com. Contact him at sfeatherstone@syracuse.com or on Twitter @featheroutdoors. You can also follow along with all of our outdoors content at newyorkupstate.com/outdoors/ or follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/upstatenyoutdoors. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said that the presence of NATO forces in Ukraine "is not unthinkable." That is why, he believes, we should not reject the idea of French President Emmanuel Macron regarding Western troops in our country. ADVERTISIMENT Sikorski said this on March 8 at a conference in the Polish Sejm dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Poland's membership in NATO. He recalled that similar cases have already occurred in history. "The presence of NATO forces in Ukraine is not unthinkable. I appreciate the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron because it says that Putin should be afraid of us, not the other way," the minister emphasized. Sikorski recalled that during the Korean War of 1950-1953, a coalition of states went to the rescue under the decision of the UN Security Council. Commenting on Macron's initiative, the politician noted that it "has a good intention". "Namely, that it is the Russian president who asks himself what our next step will be, and not that he is sure that we will not do anything creative, and therefore can plan his scenarios," the foreign minister said. ADVERTISIMENT He added that by attacking Ukraine, Russia has shown itself to be civilizationally incapable of accepting Western values. This has defined it as a country that cannot coexist peacefully with its neighbors, so NATO had to return to its primary role. The West should implement a "creatively defined and asymmetrical escalation," Sikorski believes. As reported, French President Emmanuel Macron is allegedly considering a scenario of sending troops to the territory of Ukraine if the Russian occupiers manage to break through the front towards Odesa or Kyiv. The president spoke about this with the leaders of the country's main political parties at a meeting organized on March 7. Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! motorworks Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,804 Thanked: 4,070 Times View My Garage Re: Alternative Schools in India Quote: androdev Originally Posted by On a serious note, don't chase fancy schools. The academic pressure, etc. is mostly by parents. Schools are totally chill these days. Bangalore has many good neighbourhood schools catering to all budgets. Living in a gated community, spending free time with kids will not only be great for the kid but also great for the whole family. Not sure what is the specific reason behind OPs search for an alternative school, but there is a lot down to parents and the kind of community the kids grow up in. An ex-colleague had enrolled his son in a new-age school for couple of years, not really an alternative school, but one of those schools where they supposedly had some new approach to studying etc. Two years down the line the Father realised that his son was really down on certain fundamentals, so he then moved him to a regular school and the kid again took 2 years to settle down. My own experience, i have a 11 year old kid who is in class 6, has been in the same school since grade-1. Its a typical ICSE Bangalore school, i would say its like a mid-tier kind of a school, but not super premium. Good facilities and all that, but they dont do anything very different. They focus on academics along a fair amount of extra curricular activities. I see kids from all walks of life when I visit the school, like there are Audis, BMWs, on one side and some autos on the other side, so there is a wide spectrum of people. And this i think is very important, you have to have normalcy else in some of those exclusive and premium schools, the kids may end up with an unrealistic view of the outside world. Not to say that premium or alternative schools dont work, but it depends on the parents, as to what they are seeking out for their kid. Sure its good for people looking for something different and a lot of kids thrive in such an environment as well. I happen to live in a rather large apartment society and i have seen my sons friends grow alongside him and they happen to study in different types of schools, across different spectrums. And yet, I have not seen anyone being super special purely due to the school they are in. Have come across some street smart kids from regular schools. It really boils down to the environment parents create, along with the friends the kids share a bond with, the books they read and the material they watch. You can be different in a regular school and not be very unique in an alternative school. Cause schools dont matter beyond a certain level. Apologies if my views are not in line with the original post, but was just expressing my view on the topic. Spot on!Not sure what is the specific reason behind OPs search for an alternative school, but there is a lot down to parents and the kind of community the kids grow up in.An ex-colleague had enrolled his son in a new-age school for couple of years, not really an alternative school, but one of those schools where they supposedly had some new approach to studying etc. Two years down the line the Father realised that his son was really down on certain fundamentals, so he then moved him to a regular school and the kid again took 2 years to settle down.My own experience, i have a 11 year old kid who is in class 6, has been in the same school since grade-1. Its a typical ICSE Bangalore school, i would say its like a mid-tier kind of a school, but not super premium. Good facilities and all that, but they dont do anything very different. They focus on academics along a fair amount of extra curricular activities. I see kids from all walks of life when I visit the school, like there are Audis, BMWs, on one side and some autos on the other side, so there is a wide spectrum of people. And this i think is very important, you have to have normalcy else in some of those exclusive and premium schools, the kids may end up with an unrealistic view of the outside world.Not to say that premium or alternative schools dont work, but it depends on the parents, as to what they are seeking out for their kid. Sure its good for people looking for something different and a lot of kids thrive in such an environment as well.I happen to live in a rather large apartment society and i have seen my sons friends grow alongside him and they happen to study in different types of schools, across different spectrums. And yet, I have not seen anyone being super special purely due to the school they are in. Have come across some street smart kids from regular schools. It really boils down to the environment parents create, along with the friends the kids share a bond with, the books they read and the material they watch. You can be different in a regular school and not be very unique in an alternative school. Cause schools dont matter beyond a certain level.Apologies if my views are not in line with the original post, but was just expressing my view on the topic. Last edited by motorworks : 8th March 2024 at 21:47 . A recent study has raised concerns about the security and privacy risks associated with FemTech apps designed for fertility tracking and menstruation management. Researchers have identified serious vulnerabilities in these applications that collect vast amounts of personal information such as contacts, camera feeds, and location. Security and Privacy Risks of Using FemTech The study, conducted by experts from Royal Holloway, University of London, Newcastle University, University of London, and ETH Zurich, sheds light on significant security, privacy, and safety concerns surrounding FemTech applications, which could potentially put users at risk. These concerns revolve around the intrusive nature of these apps, which often access personal data, including contacts, camera feeds, microphone recordings, location information, and even medical scans, raising serious security and privacy risks for users. FemTech, an umbrella term encompassing digital technologies aimed at women's health and well-being, includes various applications, software, and wearable devices ranging from period-tracking apps to fertility-tracking wearables and IVF services. The study urged policymakers to address the vulnerabilities of FemTech technologies in existing regulations. Despite the burgeoning market, estimated to exceed $75 billion by 2025, the regulatory landscape surrounding FemTech remains inadequate, with existing rules in the UK, EU, and Switzerland failing to adequately address data protection and user privacy concerns, according to the research team. The researchers scrutinized industry practices and found many security and privacy lapses in FemTech systems. These systems are reported to fail often to classify themselves as medical devices, lack valid consent mechanisms, and engage in unauthorized data tracking and sharing practices. Moreover, the study uncovered instances where intimate user data collected by FemTech systems was being processed and sold to third parties, highlighting the need for stricter regulations and enforcement mechanisms. Read Also: Researchers Create AI-Aided Biosensor to Improve, Speed Up Neurodegenerative Disease Diagnosis Handling of Sensitive Data by FemTech Products The study's lead author, Dr. Maryam Mehrnezhad, emphasized the need for collaborative efforts between industry stakeholders and regulatory bodies to ensure the development and use of secure, private, and safe FemTech products. She underscored the importance of addressing end-user concerns regarding handling sensitive data by FemTech products. Echoing her sentiments, Professor Mike Catt from Newcastle University stressed the urgency of updating and strengthening regulatory guidelines to safeguard user privacy and security. He flagged the intrusive permissions sought by many FemTech apps, which could potentially expose users' personal data to malicious actors. "Some specific permissions, such as access to system Settings and other Accounts on the device, also impose security and privacy risks. Access to sensors on the mobile phone can also be used to break user privacy. Users deserve better protection, especially where this relates to sensitive personal health and gender data," Catt said in a statement. The study's findings were published in Frontiers in the Internet of Things and Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security Workshop. Related Article: Women's Use of Menopause Treatment May Increase Dementia Risk, Study Claims 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has stumbled upon a cluster of faint red dots in the depths of the cosmos, offering a glimpse into the early stages of supermassive black hole formation. The findings of the study, spearheaded by Jorryt Matthee, an Assistant Professor in astrophysics at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), challenge existing notions about the birth of these cosmic behemoths. Faint Red Dots as Miniature Supermassive Black Holes Matthee, the study's lead author, expressed surprise at the telescope's unintended yet pivotal role in identifying these faint red dots as miniature supermassive black holes. This discovery poses questions about the rapid growth of certain supermassive black holes, challenging prevailing astronomical beliefs. "The present findings could bring us one step closer to answering one of the greatest dilemmas in astronomy: According to the current models, some supermassive black holes in the early Universe have simply grown 'too fast'. Then how did they form?" Matthee said in a statement. Initially regarded as theoretical constructs, black holes have gained recognition as fundamental cosmic phenomena. Their immense gravitational pull makes them gravitational traps, devouring any nearby matter, including light itself. Among them, supermassive black holes stand out, boasting masses millions to billions of times that of the Sun and often residing at galaxy centers. However, not all supermassive black holes exhibit uniform behavior. According to the researchers, while some remain relatively dormant, others, termed quasars, display extraordinary luminosity due to rapid matter absorption. Yet, certain quasars defy expectations, growing at a rate seemingly incompatible with current astronomical models, raising questions about their formation mechanisms. Read Also: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Discovers Evidence for Neutron Star at the Heart of Young Supernova A Cluster of Faint Red Dots Matthee's team identified a cluster of faint red dots in JWST images, each exhibiting telltale signs of supermassive black holes. By detecting distinct H spectral emission lines indicative of hydrogen atom excitation, researchers discerned the presence of rapidly orbiting gas clouds around these celestial entities. Despite their modest size and obscured appearance, these "baby quasars" may represent nascent supermassive black holes in the early stages of development. Matthee emphasized the need for further exploration, as current observations likely represent only a fraction of the universe's complexities. He remains optimistic about the study's implications, expressing confidence in its potential to shed light on the universe's enigmatic nature. While acknowledging the inherent mysteries surrounding black holes and supermassive black holes, he anticipates that continued research will contribute to our understanding of these cosmic phenomena. "Black holes and SMBHs are possibly the most interesting things in the universe. It's hard to explain why they are there, but they are there. We hope that this work will help us lift one of the biggest veils of mystery about the universe," he concluded. The findings of the study were published in The Astrophysical Journal. Related Article: NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Captures 'Butterfly Nebula' In Stunning Motion | Fun Facts About This Beautiful Space Butterfly 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Ottoline Leyser, the head of the UK government science body, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), has urged for a more constructive public discourse, emphasizing the need for "creative disagreement" and a higher standard of communication between scientists and politicians. Leyser stressed the importance of building spaces for engaged debate, where differing opinions are welcomed, especially considering the critical role of science in transitioning to a low-carbon economy. Last year, Ottoline Leyser faced criticism from the science secretary, Michelle Donelan, who accused two academics of "sharing extremist views." The academics, Prof. Kate Sang and Kamna Patel, were part of an expert advisory group to Research England, falling under UKRI. Sang pursued libel action against Donelan, despite Leyser's investigation finding no wrongdoing. (Photo : Thor Nielsen/NTNU/Wikimedia Commons) CEO of UK Research and Innovation In a report from The Guardian, Ottoline Leyser revealed that she remained strong amid the heartbreak from the incident, separating her personal identity from her chief executive function. She jokingly noted the desire to "ban Twitter" but stressed the significance of varied perspectives to confront divisiveness. Leyser is worried that social media amplifies animosity in public debate. Leyser advocated for more constructive problem-solving despite the inherent contradictions between scientific research and government support. "In the context of research and innovation, we ought to have the tools to engage in these very constructive quality points of discussion, of disagreement," the UKRI CEO said and emphasized that the institution helps create a solid research and innovation system that benefits everyone. The official acknowledged the communities' concerns and resentment but stressed the difficulty of implementing significant change from anger. As a prominent biologist, Leyser will leave UKRI in June 2025, and the government is actively seeking a successor. Penny Mordaunt Defends Donelan's Use of Public Funds Recently, a libel settlement was reached, with Donelan apologizing and withdrawing her remarks, revealing that taxpayers covered the 15,000 ($19,280) legal defense costs. Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt, has come to the defense of her colleague Michelle Donelan, emphasizing that Donelan had previously declined a redundancy payment, showcasing her commitment to the responsible use of public funds, per the BBC. Mordaunt expressed confidence in the justification of the settlement, and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak supported the payment, citing a long-standing convention of the government funding such disputes involving ministers. Read Also: Meet Iris: India's Groundbreaking AI Educator in Traditional Saree Takes the Classroom by Storm Opposition parties, however, are urging Donelan to cover the costs personally. Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer criticized the use of taxpayer money, deeming it "totally insulting" during a time of financial hardship for many. He pledged that if Labour came to power, such incidents would not be allowed to occur in the future. (Photo : DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images) Britain's Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan speaks during a press conference to mark the UK's association to the Horizon Europe project, at the Royal Society in London on February 12, 2024. A Call for Michelle Donelan's Resignation Following Science Secretary Michelle Donelan's public retraction of false accusations against members of Research England's Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Advisory Group, including Dibyesh Anand, a call for her resignation has emerged. Anand, the interim deputy vice chancellor at the University of Westminster, criticized Donelan's intervention as "irresponsible" and potentially malicious, undermining individuals associated with EDI. Donelan had accused the group of having "extremist views," prompting libel proceedings against her, according to SkyNews. Anand, not directly named by the minister, highlighted the deliberate misinterpretation in a press release from the think tank Policy Exchange, leading to Donelan's involvement. The subsequent investigation by UKRI exonerated all panel members. The incident has damaged trust between the government and researchers, impacting the vital relationship in scientific research. It was at last year's Conservative Party conference that Ms. Donelan embarked on her war against "creeping wokeism" in scientific research. But her actions have caused genuine harm, undermining trust between the government and researchers, according to academics. Related Article: Switzerland Confirms Ransomware Attack, 65,000 Government Files Leaked 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The ban on TikTok is imminent, as the recent comment given by the President of the United States, Joe Biden, sparked massive concerns behind the ramping efforts toward the bill. The President is only waiting on Congress to vote on the bill and pass it on their end, and once the RESTRICT Act becomes law, the highest elected politician in the country will sign it into effect. President Biden to Ban TikTok? 'If They Pass It, I'll Sign It' After speaking to the press earlier today, President Biden expressed his stand on the RESTRICT Act should it become a law, legislation that could ban TikTok, and commented about his stand on its case. Here, the POTUS said "If they pass it, I'll sign it," referring to the upcoming voting from the House of Representatives behind this bipartisan bill. It only means that President Biden is waiting for the bill to come to his office and get passed by Congress. President Biden's sign will signify the passing of the bill, and the RESTRICT Act could then be used against the Chinese social media despite their efforts to defend their cause and fix what lawmakers found wrong. Read Also: Instagram Surpasses TikTok in App Downloads, Riding High on Short-Form Video Trend What Does This Mean for TikTok's US Operations? The RESTRICT Act (Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology Act) will allow federal agencies to identify foreign threats to information and communications technology and have them take action against them. For TikTok, they feel like this is an outright ban, but it would give them the chance to decide on divesting from ByteDance and sever ties with its Chinese heritage, in 180 days, to continue operations. However, this seems to not be an option for TikTok as they took this bipartisan bill's progression against their operations and the US' freedom of expression. TikTok and the RESTRICT Act The bipartisan bill known as the RESTRICT Act has been a ramping presence against TikTok for a long time now, and this is the one that is closing up against them in their operations in the nation. Only yesterday, a massive development took place that advanced the bipartisan bill for a House floor vote, as representatives of each state voted pro, a unanimous 50-0, for it to near the steps needed. This took place after the massive campaign from TikTok which sent push notifications to teens in the US to call the representative's offices and urge them to vote 'NO.' TikTok's plan worked, as offices were 'bombarded' with calls, but backfired as this helped turn the opposition to vote yes for its advancement. The next step for Congress is to pass the bill on the House of Representatives when they convene next time, with its win amongst lawmakers pushing it forth to the White House. POTUS Biden is only waiting for this to become law and fall onto his lap, to which he will sign it, putting TikTok right at the edge and forced to make difficult decisions for its US operations. Related Article: US Lawmakers Rally Behind Bill to Block TikTok Amid National Security Fears 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Former U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at his residence in Florida. During the meeting, Trump called Orban a "boss" and a "fantastic leader" while mocking criticism of his illiberal tendencies. ADVERTISIMENT This was reported by Bloomberg. The visit came after Biden criticized Trump for his position on aid to Ukraine. "Orban is a non-controversial figure because he says, this is the way its going to be, and thats the end of it. Right? Hes the boss. No - hes a great leader, fantastic leader," Trump said. Trump organized a tour of his residence for Orban, had dinner with former First Lady Melania Trump, and organized an hour-long meeting with his top aides and a performance by a musical group. Earlier, Biden criticized the planned meeting, saying that Orban "does not believe that democracy works" and "seeks dictatorship." In the past, Orban has called on the West to cut off funding for Ukraine, arguing that this is the fastest way to force Kyiv to negotiate a ceasefire with Russia. The Biden administration has criticized Orban for his close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he met last October in China, and for legislation in Hungary that the State Department warned could "intimidate and punish" critics of the Orban government. ADVERTISIMENT Last month, Trump rejected the Biden administration's request for billions of dollars in aid for Ukraine, arguing that lawmakers should set certain conditions for the aid or treat it as a loan. The former American president described Orban as a "strong leader." The prime minister has built an image as a strong leader in Hungary and has used his veto power to thwart efforts to build consensus in the European Union. The two politicians share a narrative based on a declared fight against the established order and criticism of the Biden administration for its influence on Hungarian democracy and Orban's close relations with Beijing and Moscow. For Orban, the meeting with Trump is an opportunity to shed his white-crow image and position himself as a potential mediator between Europe and the United States if Trump wins the November election. While leaders from across Europe are reconnecting with the Trump team, few of them have the direct line and camaraderie that Orban has with the former president. ADVERTISIMENT The Orban government has been developing ties with Trump's allies for years. The Hungarian leader was the first European prime minister to express support for Trump during his first presidential campaign. He also called for Trump's return in 2024 and called the court cases against the former president a "witch hunt," reflecting how Orban accuses the EU of backsliding on democracy in Hungary. "Trump's return is a prerequisite for a lasting and rapid peace on the European continent. From the Hungarian point of view and from the point of view of peace, Trump's return is more than welcome," Orban said at a diplomatic forum in Turkey last week. Earlier, it was reported that Hungary explained why a meeting between Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not yet taken place. It is claimed that the conditions necessary for it are not yet ready. This was stated by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. ADVERTISIMENT As reported, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that he did not want his country to have a common border with Russia. He "has bad memories" about this. Obviously, Orban is referring to the last century when Hungary bordered the U.S.S.R. and when the Soviet authorities suppressed the Hungarian uprising in 1956. Only verified information is available on OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! In January, the Microsoft Security Team detected a nation-state attack on its corporate email systems by a Russian state-sponsored actor, Midnight Blizzard, also known as Nobelium. In this attack, emails and documents from staff accounts were stolen. In an update to the above breach, the Redmond giant on Friday said the hackers are still trying to access its systems and successfully stole some of the companys source code repositories and internal systems using authentication secrets stolen during the January cyberattack. In recent weeks, we have seen evidence that Midnight Blizzard [Nobelium] is using information initially exfiltrated from our corporate email systems to gain, or attempt to gain, unauthorized access, Microsoft said in a blog post update on Friday. This has included access to some of the companys source code repositories and internal systems. To date we have found no evidence that Microsoft-hosted customer-facing systems have been compromised. Microsoft said that Midnight Blizzard is attempting to use secrets of different types it has found, of which some of the secrets were shared between customers and Microsoft in email, which are likely passwords, certificates, credentials, and authentication keys. The company has already begun contacting the affected customers to assist them in taking mitigating measures, as it discovers this information in its exfiltrated email. Further, the company says that Midnight Blizzard has increased the volume of some aspects of the attack, such as password sprays, by as much as 10-fold in February, compared to the already large volume seen in January 2024. The company said password sprays are a type of brute-force attack in which a hacker uses a few commonly used passwords to try to access multiple target accounts (usernames). Midnight Blizzards ongoing attack is characterized by a sustained, significant commitment of the threat actors resources, coordination, and focus. It may be using the information it has obtained to accumulate a picture of areas to attack and enhance its ability to do so, Microsoft said. This reflects what has become more broadly an unprecedented global threat landscape, especially in terms of sophisticated nation-state attacks, it added. Microsoft says it has increased its security investments, cross-enterprise coordination and mobilization and has enhanced its ability to defend itself against advanced persistent threat actors We have and will continue to put in place additional enhanced security controls, detections, and monitoring. Our active investigations of Midnight Blizzard activities are ongoing, and findings of our investigations will continue to evolve. We remain committed to sharing what we learn, Microsoft concluded. They simply had nowhere to evolve: a Russian paleontologist on the progress of scientific ideas about dinosaurs A business manager suspected of having ordered the attack on an elected official from Saint-Denis Tigrane Seydoux, the Frenchman behind the fashionable Italians in Madrid in which you always have to visit the bathroom Energy transition: The experts say so, the Court of Auditors says so Scientists invent a pill to avoid having to go to the gym Japan warns of increasing cases of serious streptococcal infection that can cause toxic shock syndrome and death Shanghai police cracked down on a series of burglaries: the suspect "switched his face" by buying film and television silicone masks online Device to produce hydrogen and oxygen on the moon unveiled Planned to launch this winter Second trial of residents who evacuated from the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident also does not accept national responsibility Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant First detection of object that may contain nuclear fuel debris on water Founded in the Meiji era, 119 years of history, Endurance, First appearance in Koshien, Locals are in an uproar Darvish: ``I want to fight without putting personal feelings in the way'' in his first match with Otani "Watch me overcome difficulties step by step and fight back." This Chinese golden flower keeps his word. A Blaugrana nightmare and the bogeyman Joao Felix: "It was a game for him, he made a difference" NBA: Victor Wembanyama and Gregg Popovich confirm the Spurs will come to Paris next season Defeat in the FA Cup: Klopp breaks off interview I have no nerves for you Defeat in the FA Cup: Klopp breaks off interview I have no nerves for you Does the end of the thermal engine in 2035 have any problems? The world's first driverless "air taxi" goes on sale for the first time The world's first driverless "air taxi" goes on sale for the first time China Cuisine Association: Catering consumption was booming from January to February, and companies in the ready-made beverage category were active Real estate crisis: Number of building permits also fell significantly at the beginning of the year The "egg-smashing" trend is blowing into a small town in Zhejiang, how to play the cards in your hand? Analyst: the drivers of rising oil prices were signs of high demand in the United States The first batch of imported exhibits of the 135th Canton Fair entered the country smoothly Yen exchange rate: The yen depreciates to the low 149 yen level to the dollar, due to speculation regarding monetary policy. Daihatsu's name announced by the FTC: ``We were waiting, but we will set up a forum for discussions.'' A case of sabotage was opened in Transnistria after a helicopter was blown up in a military unit A woman in very serious condition after setting herself on fire in front of the Palace of Justice of Huelva Two people died and four were injured after an attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Belgorod region What are the most important economic files awaiting the new Palestinian Prime Minister? Political funding issue: Prime Minister In addition to sanctions against members of Congress, concrete measures to prevent recurrence will be accelerated Ski areas in the world are in danger.. What threatens them? Nine soldiers hospitalized for frostbite and hypothermia after maneuvers in the Aragonese Pyrenees Peskov: Russia will not listen to US assessments of the past elections Pascal Praud and you - A police station under siege: the spokesperson for a police union recounts the scene of chaos in La Courneuve Germany said it would not congratulate Putin on his election victory Blocking the way of those who are fasting...a Ramadan custom in Sudan The occupation commits 8 new massacres in Gaza and announces its intention to carry out a massive activity in Rafah Peskov: Putin spoke about the idea of exchanging Navalny, but not about the fact of negotiations Civil servants will have the salary increase after Easter and before the Budgets are approved Niger: what follow-up after the denunciation of the military agreement between Niamey and Washington? TikTok is at the heart of the US election season Putin: all traitors fighting against Russia will be identified by name and they will not be given peace Urgent | Al Jazeera obtains exclusive photos showing the Qassam tracking the movements of officer in the Shaldag unit, Yitzhar Hoffman, before he was killed by a snipers bullet. The Japanese Cabinet of Ministers refrained from commenting on the results of the elections in Russia Communities 2019 - Privacy The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them. One of Australias largest banks has urged the federal government to balance protecting peoples personal data with detecting and stamping out organised crime when it unveils sweeping reforms to privacy laws. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus this year is expected to legislate changes to the decades-old Privacy Act, after a review by his department recommended 116 changes to better protect Australians personal information. Paul Jevtovic has implored the federal government to strike the right balance on its privacy reforms. Credit: Oscar Colman National Australia Bank executive money laundering and reporting officer Paul Jevtovic, who was formerly head of financial intelligence regulator AUSTRAC, said the biggest threat to organised crime was governments working in tandem with the private sector. Were dealing with a combatant that has the access to the best technologies; faster than we can probably embrace it, Jevtovic told this masthead. They are moralless, lawless, jurisdictionless. So, theres our starting point, and here we are trying to combat them within the laws we have, with the finite resources we have, and of course, endeavouring to protect our way of life. DMcD: Technology has moved on and though there are still potential problems, Im less concerned on a technical level about safety. I dont fear another Three Mile Island-type disaster myself. In terms of disposal of nuclear waste, that is a real fear that people have, and its very difficult to work out politically as to where exactly youd put it. But technically, much of the sting has gone out of that in part because of an Australian invention called synroc, where you make synthetic rock out of the waste, which is completely stable, and you go and bury it somewhere. I believe the Yanks were a bit annoyed that weve got the IP on that invention and surprised, given we dont have an industry, but if you can find a community happy to bury it, it can be safe at a huge cost. Fitz: Great. So far, so good. It is encouraging, and I confess real surprise, that on your reckoning both the safety and waste problems have been technically solved. Peter Dutton also says that one reason to put nuclear plants on the spot of dying coal plants is to have the nuclear power going out on established grids. He was cited in The Australian last week asserting that it would cost Australia a TRILLION dollars which I think is a thousand billion dollars to build new grids for regional renewable generators. Peter Dutton has put nuclear power at the centre of the Coalitions energy policy. DMcD: That is not correct. At the moment, the entire high-voltage transmission grid is valued at about $22 billion. And on various estimates, we need to significantly expand that by building transmission lines of about 10,000 kilometres, which is probably about a quarter the size of the existing network. But the cost of that is not just a quarter of the current value of the depreciated old stuff it will cost more than a quarter of the value, and the current reckoning is it will cost about $12 billion to build the extra lines needed in the short term. But if it blows out, it will still be in this order of magnitude, tens of billions of dollars, not a trillion dollars. Fitz: OK. Now lets get to the guts of it. Given safety and disposal problems are technically solved, why not do it? DMcD: Because of the cost of building nuclear reactors, the time it takes, and the subsequent price of the electricity produced. If they started building a major nuclear plant now at, say, where the Eraring coal power station is the like-for-like power station would cost between $70 and $80 billion. And you wouldnt have the first bit of electricity produced until the 2040s. That means it cant contribute to the power system in Australia on timescales that are relevant to solving the climate crisis. Converting the Eraring coal-fired power station in NSWs Hunter region into a nuclear power plant would cost between $70 and $80 billion, Dr McDonnell says Credit: Brendon Thorne Were in the critical decade right now, and Australia cant wait that long to bring down emissions. And as we replace the coal stations being phased out as they wont last until the 2040s it is renewables that will replace them and by the 2040s, those renewable systems will substantially be in place. On current prices, the cost of nuclear energy is three to four times the cost of renewable energy, so why would anyone pay this premium? A further problem they have is that while the cost of renewable energy keeps coming down, the cost of nuclear energy keeps going up. So whats it going to be like in 2040? Fitz: Well, who puts up the money now for nuclear power stations around the world to be built? DMcD: Nowhere around the world is the private sector saying, We want to build nuclear reactors and will fund it, and certainly not here in Australia. They only get built with direct government involvement governments going guarantors on the loans, or at least guaranteeing price for the electricity produced. As an aside, Id note that is quite an interesting philosophical position for our national fiscally conservative [political] party to take, saying they want to build it, and not leave it to the free market. Loading Fitz: So it has to be the government that takes the hit? DMcD: Project developers have to get their money back. So, for example in the UK, they basically have put a levy on electricity bills to pay for their plant there. The latest projected cost of that one, at Hinkley Point, is 46 billion, which is $90 billion. And the electricity that will come from that is roughly $250 per megawatt hour, which is more than twice the cost of wholesale power in Australia at the moment, at least three times the cost of wind power, and four times the cost of solar power. Fitz: The economics look grim! But what about the point about our bounteous natural resources? Huge chunks of Western Australia are apparently made of uranium. Is it insane for us as a country not to be pushing nuclear when we can sell it to the world and all of us, or at least Gina, can get rich or richer? DMcD: But youve got to have a market for it. And that market is disappearing because of the economic forces, whether we like it or not. Even if you wanted to, who are you going to be selling the uranium to? In the US, they tried to build one the VC Summer project in South Carolina and then it had to be cancelled because it was clear the economies didnt work. So they spent nine or 10 billion dollars for a hole in the ground. Right now, there are no further plans for construction of nuclear reactors in the United States, and the UK only has Hinkley Point, which is a financial disaster. None are currently in train to be built in comparable countries, like France, Germany or the US. The French have announced intentions to build six, but none of this is contracted. At the moment, very little is planned for construction outside of China, and even there, theyre actually building substantially more pumped hydro and many times more wind and solar than nuclear. Loading Fitz: OK, what about the arguments that are still trotted out, along the lines of the sun doesnt shine at midnight and the wind doesnt always blow, so in Australia, we need nuclear or coal to assure base load if thats the correct term? DMcD: Yes, the sun doesnt shine at night and wind doesnt always blow, but the idea is to design an electricity system so big and integrated that through a combination of resources wind, solar, hydro, possibly some small amount of gas we have a reliable system. And that is what is being done now. Fitz: The case you have presented so far seems very much against big nuclear. But theres also a lot of talk of SMRs the Small Modular Reactors? Are they at least more feasible? (And what are they, by the way?) DMcD: Theres a lot of hype around these, and the idea is that theyre smaller, and the constituent modular pieces can be built in factories like the pieces necessary for wind and solar, so theyre easier to build. With the economies of scale you could have the same sort of success story that youve had with renewable energy. That was the promise, but in practice, the ones that we have seen developed are not, by any stretch of the imagination, what most people would consider small. Loading Fitz: But are they working at all, or well, anywhere in the world? DMcD: No, and thats the other point. Theyre all still theoretical. There is none operating, and the most advanced project in the world over in America, Nuscale in Idaho, fell over a couple of months ago. They had all these entities lined up to buy the power when it was built, but, over time, as the cost of building just escalated, it got to the point where they all said, we dont want this any more, it is too expensive. And it hasnt worked anywhere else. Fitz: Can you, for a moment, be your own devils advocate? I clearly havent come at you with arguments that have made any headway for nuclear, but there must be some. What are they? Before the interview you acknowledged there were some academics at least open to the option of nuclear, if not gung-ho. What do they say, for nuclear? Police said he died later on Sunday morning. AV paramedics were called to two other incidents at the festival with a male in his 20s taken to Ararat Hospital in a stable condition and a male in his 30s was taken to Ballarat Hospital in a stable condition. Organisers cancelled the remainder of the festival on Sunday and later that night issued a statement saying they were deeply saddened about the death. Our thoughts are with their family and friends, the statement read. We have our Crowd Care team on site to support patrons and staff, and are committed to providing support services to those who need them. We cannot comment further at this time given the necessity to protect the privacy of those affected. On Sunday afternoon, after the CFA declared a second total fire ban for the area to cover Monday, organisers announced they had been directed by authorities to cancel the rest of the event. Nobody is in immediate danger, the organisers said. We encourage everyone on site not to rush, calmly pack up and depart either this evening or tomorrow morning. Pitch ticket holders have slammed mixed messaging from organisers on social media. Pitch had cautioned them on Friday to follow CFA advice and stay away without cancelling the event - then on Saturday afternoon declared that programming will commence at 6pm today and continue as scheduled for the remainder of the event. Attendees were reassured there was ample, food, water, shade and misting fans as well as some free Wi-Fi and an active police, fire and medical presence on site. As some concerned parents drove out to collect their kids at the festival anyway, many attendees have already asked for refunds on their tickets worth between $450 and $500 which on Sunday organisers said would be considered soon. Our top priority right now is to get everyone on site home safely, organisers said. We have consistently followed the guidance of relevant authorities throughout the entire process. Additional buses to Ararat were running from the festival site until 6pm on Sunday and again from 6am on Monday, with staff on hand to assist. In Melbourne, the temperature did not fall below 27 degrees on Saturday night, a near-record high for the city, said senior meteorologist Lincoln Trainor at the Bureau of Meteorology. Overnight minimums reached all-time highs at Melbourne, Essendon and Hopetoun airports and Lakes Entrance as a warm stagnant trough lingers over Australias south-east, pushing up temperatures in South Australia and Tasmania as well. Sunday was forecast to reach 39 degrees in Melbourne ahead of another balmy night and 37 on Monday, before a cool change arrives on Tuesday. But itll be a slow uninspiring change, creeping through, probably reaching Melbourne around 7am to 10am, Trainor said. No storms or wild winds are expected, and the north of the state will stay hot until Wednesday. Saturday, the first day of the heatwave, did not quite hit the 38 degrees expected, which would have meant Melbourne endured its hottest run of March days since 1942. Instead, the recorded top was 37.6 in the city. But Trainor warned: This heat is still 10 to 15 degrees above the March average. Thats putting stress on the body. Thats dangerous. The entire south of the state, including Melbourne, remains under a severe heatwave warning. The heat has pushed out the sea breeze all the way to the coast, said Trainor. We havent seen a heatwave like this yet this year. Loading Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp said that cancelling Moombas centrepiece parade was a very difficult decision, particularly in Moombas 70th year. But we must prioritise peoples health in these extreme conditions, Capp said, as those in the parade are required to don hot, heavy costumes out in the sun for many hours. A total fire ban was in place across parts of Victoria on Saturday, but extreme fire conditions eased a little Sunday as gusty northerly winds settled, Trainor said. Now the [fire] danger is still high, but just below extreme. Several festivals are being held over the long weekend in Victoria, including Golden Plains in Meredith, near Ballarat. Some have questioned the wisdom of holding large events out in the bush during the hottest months of the year, as climate change drives up temperatures and bushfire risk. Harm Reduction Victoria, whose DanceWize teams were present at the Pitch and Esoteric festivals this weekend, reminded attendees of the risks of drug taking, particularly in the heat. Loading A pop-up cooling relief centre in Melbournes CBD for the citys most vulnerable had closed in February after running over the summer but reopened for the long weekend. Unprecedented conditions call for unprecedented responses, said Chris Turner of Cohealth, which runs the service. We made the call with City of Melbourne on Friday to open the doors so that people have somewhere to get some respite and to prevent more serious health emergencies. Elderly people, children, pregnant women and those sleeping rough are especially vulnerable during heatwaves, as are pets and wildlife, but anyone can be affected. People are advised to stay out of the sun, where it can be 15 degrees higher than the maximum temperature recorded. Temperatures can double within a parked car within minutes, authorities have warned. A serving police officer and one-time close friend of alleged killer Beau Lamarre-Condon has opened up about his intense, extravagant and at times bizarre personality. The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to his ongoing employment with NSW Police, said he became friends with Lamarre-Condon while they were working at the same station a few years ago. Beau Lamarre-Condon poses with Selena Gomez in 2016. Their professional friendship eventually seeped into their personal lives, but it was an unshakable feeling that something wasnt quite right with Lamarre-Condon that ended the relationship. Lamarre-Condon, a senior constable, allegedly killed former Channel Ten presenter Jesse Baird and his flight attendant partner Luke Davies using his service pistol at Bairds Paddington terrace on February 19. Whose side are you on? We must appreciate the irony. Sam Kerr a highly accomplished and internationally respected Australian woman of colour, accused of racially slurring a British police officer, an employee and presumed citizen of the UK the country that misappropriated the whole of Kerrs own home country and did its best to exterminate its original occupants and traditional owners. Are we tempted to ask which FA club the offended officer supports? Ronald Burnstein, Heidelberg Leave Sam be Sam Kerr has been involved in an incident in London. Then every commentator, on the left and right, gets to tell us what the issues are that we need to address. By that stage, the whole focus has moved away from the actual incident, and we are into the territory of media opinion writers setting out their treatises so that we can be dazzled by their arguments. The commentators become the stars. This happens time and again as commentators push their own personal brands. Its very tiresome, and it doesnt add anything to the consideration of important issues in society. David Fry, Moonee Ponds To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@theage.com.au . Please include your home address and telephone number below your letter. No attachments. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published. Nuance or not Thank you to your correspondent (Letters, Consider the context ...,8/3). Its good to know that when I am in Nigeria and have a skin full I can call a local police officer a stupid, black bastard with impunity. Fingers crossed they have the nuanced grasp of racial politics demonstrated by many in these pages. Rather than jumping to the conclusion that I am denigrating them for being different to me. Peter Rushen, Carnegie Leave Kate be Im no royalist, but why cant Princess Kate be left alone? (Vanishing Act, 8/3). At the same time as her surgery was announced, it was stated she would not resume royal duties until after Easter. Any woman should be able to imagine what that surgery might have been. Even if wrong, it takes time to get over major surgery. How many people, male or female, have had surgery and said their doctor didnt sign them off work for long enough, and have gone back to the doctor for added time, or wished they had? Give her the time, space, and privacy that most of us wish we had. Its the decent and dignified thing to do. Margaret Callinan, Hawthorn Men are not the enemy I am a man, and I take extreme umbrage with your correspondents claim (Letters, Men are the enemy, 8/3) that I am the enemy. Throughout the life of my son, who is now 28, I have educated him that women are his fellow humans and his equals, and that they deserve his respect and consideration. Ian Usman Lewis, Kentucky, NSW Not the majority of men The problem of domestic violence towards women will never be solved while some people continue to hold the view that all men are the enemy, as your correspondent does (Letters, 8/3). If women view all men as the enemy, then they are only inviting conflict. Statements like this do nothing to correct the behaviour of the small number of men who are violent towards women, but they do antagonise the 99.5 per cent of men for whom the very idea of causing harm to women is repugnant. Greg Hardy, Upper Ferntree Gully Condemning men As expected, the opinions in Saturdays Age (Letters, 8/3) condemn men in general following the alleged murder of Samantha Murphy. This is counterproductive. If the male sex is demonised, men will feel undervalued and resentful. Most men are loving family members and good citizens. While domestic violence is a problem that must be continuously addressed, this crime is a separate issue. Lesley Black, Frankston Older Australians lost about $5 million to scams on social media platforms in the months leading up to Christmas last year, an increase of more than 50 per cent from the previous three months. The findings in the latest National Anti-Scam Centre quarterly report prompted Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones to rebuke social media giant Meta for doing too little to crack down on scammers on its site, with the new data indicating older Australians were increasingly falling victim to Facebook swindlers. Jones singled out Facebooks parent company, Meta, as the biggest part of the biggest problem, saying figures showed it was failing to take meaningful action to stop the criminal activity occurring on its platforms. Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones has slammed Metas efforts to tackle scams on its platforms as not good enough. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Other avenues are having the noose tightened, while the social media platforms are not having their systems improved. Thats where the scammers are going. It is pretty clear in the data, Jones said. NSW and Victorian motorists in outer suburban and regional areas would save as much as $1800 a year in fuel costs under the governments plan to cap motor vehicle emissions for new cars, under new analysis championed by Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen. Bowen has also promised Australians more electric vehicle choices, along with cheaper fuel bills for those driving petrol cars, in a policy pitch designed to fend off a campaign by the Coalition and car industry over his plan to impose fuel efficiency standards on new cars from next year. Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen is using new analysis to argue drivers in outer suburban and regional areas will save more on fuel costs under the governments plan to cap pollution limits on new cars. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen As part of its sales pitch for the new scheme, the government has claimed the standards will save the driver of an average new and more efficient car in 2028 about $1000 on annual fuel costs. In a bid to strengthen his case with motorists who are more likely to face longer commutes in petrol cars, Bowen is using new analysis prepared by his department to argue they could save hundreds of dollars more. More than $50 million worth of state government land that could have been used to bolster Victorias social housing stock by 800 homes has been sold over the past four years, at the same times as waiting lists for properties have surged. The Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) review of recent land sales identified 14 sites, totalling 16 hectares, that could have been prime candidates for social housing had they stayed in government hands for redevelopment, or been sold to private developers with strict affordable-home targets. Hundreds of extra affordable homes could have been built on suitable government land sold in the past four years. Credit: Eddie Jim About 10,000 people have been added to the social housing waiting list this decade and more than 60,000 Victorians were on a waiting list as of June last year, according to government data. The average wait for public priority access was 18.1 months in the 12 months to June 2023, up from 12.4 months in the 2020-21 financial year. For victim-survivors of family violence, those figures are 23.6 months and 11.1 months respectively. Demand is especially high in Melbourne suburbs such as Dandenong and Werribee, and regional cities such as Geelong and Ballarat, according to Homes Victorias preferred waitlists and the University of New South Wales housing needs dashboard. London: Voters in Ireland have rejected two proposals to remove language about womens duties being in the home and broaden the definition of family beyond marriage from the countrys constitution. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said it was clear that the two referendums had been defeated comprehensively, with more than two-thirds of voters across the country casting a No vote for both questions. Irelands Prime Minister Leo Varadkar reacts as he speaks to the media inside Dublin castle following the referendum on Saturday. Credit: Getty Images Varadkar said before the final result that it was clear voters had delivered two wallops to the governments amendments in what he described as a respectable turnout. All the countrys mainstream political parties had supported the reforms, which Varadkar had put forward to enshrine gender equality in the constitution by removing very old-fashioned, very sexist language and recognise the realities of modern family life. Farmers to get power in daytime 40% agrifeeders to run on solar power by next year Staff Reporter Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister, has handed over letters of award to developers for 9,000 MW solar energy. This will bring an investment of Rs 40,000 crore and 25,000 jobs will be created. Next year, 40 per cent agricultural electricity feeders will be under solar energy. It will enable farmers get power during daytime. The tender was awarded after conducting a competitive tender process. In 2016, Devendra Fadnavis started Mukhyamantri Sour Krishi Vahini Yojana to ensure that farmers get electricity during the daytime. In the subsequent period, power upto 2,000 MW was produced. Now, 9,000 MW of solar energy will be generated, so 40 per cent of the agricultural feeders will run on solar energy. Speaking on the occasion, Devendra Fadnavis said, Numerous farmers in the State are constantly demanding electricity during the day. It will be possible to fulfill this demand now. This concept on solar energy was piloted in Ralegan Siddhi. All Government systems will continue to help the developers. Government will always be there to solve any problem. 3,600 MW of solar power capacity has been installed in the State so far. But now, the Government has created a new record by implementing the process to generate 9,000 MW solar energy in just 11 months. Government has made it possible to execute this project by providing space in minimum time, added Fadnavis. Because of several schemes related to power, Government is facing a financial burden. But, this new solar energy project will help Government in reducing the burden. Although this project is to be completed in 18 months, if everything comes together, it can be completed in just 15 months, remarked Fadnavis. Officials should not wait for the commencement of this project. They should start planned preparations to bring the remaining 50 per cent of agricultural feeders on solar power. In the next 2-3 years, Government is supposed to distribute 8 lakh solar power pumps, so start the procedure immediately for the same, instructed Fadnavis. Under the Mukhyamantri Sour Krishi Vahini Yojna , farmers are paid an annual rent of Rs 1.25 lakh per hectare. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with HUDCO was also signed. Out of this, Rs 5,000 crore will be given for the implementation of the project. An MoU was also signed with Reliance for green hydrogen power generation. This agreement will provide a boost to the field of green hydrogen energy generation. The programme was attended by Divisional Commissioners and Collectors of the State, along with Abha Shukla, Additional Chief Secretary; Lokesh Chandra, Managing Director of Mahavitaran; Kadambari Balkawade, Director General of Maharashtra Energy Development Institute; Manoj Saunik, Adviser to Chief Minister; Shrikar Pardeshi, Secretary to Deputy Chief Minister. 95.50 acres Land worth Rs 105 crore freed from Mafia, encroachers By Ankita Garg Bhopal district administration claimed to have freed around 95.50 acres land worth Rs 105 crore from Mafia and encroachers that will be used to construct houses for the poor and other purpose. Taking cognizance of the land Mafia and illegal colonisers in city, district administration has made the lands worth Rs 105 free from encroachment within two days. Action has been taken under the guidance of District Collector Kaushlendra Vikram Singh in MP Nagar and Bairagarh circle. Sources said that Collectorate is also making a list of encroachers at public place for further action. District administration said that process of making the public property free from encroachers. We have taken strict actions against many people and organisations indulge in developing illegal colonies and also duping buyers through different means, said SDM of Bairagarh Vinod Sonkia. Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Bairagarh Vinod Sonkia informed that illegal plots were being issued in Badwai, Krishna Kunj and Palasi area of Najul without previous permission of concern authority and complaint for the same was being received for many days. He said, on direction of the Collector and regional MLA, encroachment was removed from land worth Rs 80 crore within two days in Bairagarh area. He said that land around 15.50 acre was freed from encroachers in two days. He said that a builder was making plot with encroachment above a Government nullah. There was no previous consent of RERA or coloniser license. In Khajuri Kala area situated under MP Nagar circle, encroachment was removed from Government land. The five acre land was allocated to the State Women and Child Development Department. The land Mafias have made kuccha houses, harvested wheat crops etc. The land worth Rs 25 crore was encroached by six people. District administration, Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Police team jointly worked to make the public property and Government land free from encroachers. The administration has started taking action against the illegal encroachers at public property after a long gap. On March 7, FIR was lodged at Nishatpura Police Station against many people for making colony without previous permission of concern authority. Police has started processing legal action against the alleged people. According to reports, FIR has been lodged against Dilip Pandoli, Rahul, Ashok, Jaishree, Ravikumar and other people for illegally issuing plot in Gokul Nagar Palasi on complaint of Devendra Sharma. Earlier, district administration and BMC team jointly worked to make the restricted site of Bhadbhada dam free from encroachment. In this campaign around 386 families were asked to vacant the area in three days. The campaign received many hue and cry from the illegal residents and locals leaders. ED seizes Rs 26 lakh cash, other documents in raids against Solanki, his aides NEW DELHI, THE Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized cash worth Rs 26 lakh, various incriminating documents, in the form of handwritten diaries with description of illegal receipts, during raids at the premises of Samajwadi Party MLA Irfan Solanki and his brother and his associates. The agency also seized digital devices, investment in partnerships, land deals, cash expenses amounting to approximately Rs 40-50 crore, and evidence of investment in property in Mumbai indicating an investment of Rs 5 crore. The agency made the recovery during a day-long raid conducted by its sleuths in UPs Lucknow Zonal Office under the provisions of PMLA, 2002. The searches were conducted at 6 locations in UPs Kanpur and Maharashtras Mumbai on Thursday. The search was conducted at the residence of Irfan Solanki, his brother Rizwan Solanki, and his associate real estate builders, Shaukat Ali and Haji Wasi of Kanpur. ED initiated an investigation on the basis of various FIRs registered by Kanpur City Police under various sections of the India Penal Code, 1860 and the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, against Irfan Solanki and his associates related to extortion, land grabbing of both private and government land, including Nazrul property, by threat, muscle power and political influence, and the illegal construction and sale of the same. It was further alleged that Irfan Solanki was involved in aiding illegal Bangladeshi migrants to settle in India by procuring an Aadhar card on the basis of false documents, said the agency in a statement. The ED investigation has revealed that fake business entities have been created to route the illegal money and to give colour to the tainted income as legitimate business income. During the search, it was revealed that Irfan Solanki and Rizwan Solanki have constructed and reside in ultra-luxurious three-story bungalows spread over more than 1,000 square metres. Considering the proceeds of crime were used to construct the house, the valuation of the property was made during the search action, which is above Rs 10 crore, added the ED. Jaishankar meets Japans PM Kishida TOKYO, EXTERNAL Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday called on Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and apprised him of the progress made by the two countries in the just-concluded Foreign Ministers Strategic Dialogue. Jaishankar, who is on a visit to Japan from March 6-8 on Thursday co-chaired the 16th India-Japan Foreign Ministers Strategic Dialogue with his Japanese counterpart Yoko Kamikawa and participated in the first Raisina Roundtable, a key step towards enhancing track two exchanges between India and Japan. Honored to call on Japanese PM @kishida230 as I conclude my visit to Tokyo. Conveyed warm greetings of PM @narendramodi, the minister said on X. Apprised him of the progress made in Foreign Ministers Strategic Dialogue. Value his guidance on the further strengthening of our Global and Special Strategic Partnership, Jaishankar said in his post. Kishida, 66, is serving as the Prime Minister of Japan and the President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 2021. Jaishankar, during his visit, also met Yoshihide Suga, the former Prime Minister of the country who now serves as the Chairman of the Japan-India Association. Pleasure to meet former PM Yoshihide Suga, now Chairman of the Japan India Association. His leadership was impactful in advancing India-Japan ties as well as the Quad. Count on his continued support for these endeavours, the foreign minister said on X. Suga, 75, served as the Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2020 to 2021. Jaishankar also met the Secretary-General of Japans ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Toshimitsu Motegi, here on Friday and held a fruitful conversation on ways to strengthen ties in an uncertain world. KASHMIR UPLIFT THE most important message emerging from Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modis visit to Kashmir for the first time after abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution is clear -- that the region has been witnessing a positive transformation in almost every field -- from education to culture to economy and trade and industry to internal security ...! As common people from every corner of Kashmir converged on the Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar for the Prime Ministers public meeting, the message became all the more pronounced -- that the Kashmir of today is far different from the Kashmir of yesterday beset with problems. Todays Kashmir is bustling with promise of a good time ahead in every field. In other words, Kashmir is eagerly looking forward to a new and bright future -- something that could not even be imagined a few years ago. Of course, eager to find faults with whatever Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi does, the Opposition is pressing for elections in Kashmir -- despite the promise to that effect made by the Prime Minister himself. The Government is waiting for a favourable atmosphere for holding elections in Kashmir. And, to be sure, this favour is not in the realm of politics conducive to the ruling party at the Centre. The point here is that the atmosphere should be good and harmonious enough to allow free and fair elections without any political terror-backed hooliganism that often marred Kashmirs social discourse. During Mr. Narendra Modis visit to Srinagar, several positives popped up in public consideration. The thousands of common people who converged upon Srinagar to attend the Prime Ministers public meeting kept highlighting the positives like they had never done before. Those were the people from all walks of life and from all geographical theatres of the region. Each of them spoke very favourably about the good effect of the Central Governments steps in Kashmir. During those off-the-cuff conversations with the media, those common people kept telling all along that the region has changed for the better -- which had never been witnessed at any time in the past. The more important message came from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir where the common people felt sorry that they were not in India. They could see the massive development taking place in Kashmir and asked if such a regime could ever be available in earlier times. What was visible was the sense of joy on the faces of common people coming from different parts of Kashmir. A changed Kashmir is visible everywhere in the region with common people engaged in big dreams about themselves and their succeeding generations. This was the actual story that emerged from the dream and vision of the Prime Minister. Though Mr Modi appeared to follow the promise the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made in its election manifesto, he was also responding to national aspirations about ensuring that Kashmir was constitutionally also an integral part of the country. The abrogation of the Special Status to Kashmir was, obviously, the next step towards the fulfillment of that dream condition. There are enough grounds now to predict that in the next decade or so, Kashmir will become one of the best and best-managed states of the Indian Union -- emotionally, constitutionally and economically. True, much distance is yet to be traversed for the ideal condition to be reached. Yet, it can said safely that the Centre is taking measured and confident steps towards the realising the completion of what can be described as Mission Kashmir. The Prime Ministers visit to Kashmir at this stage had its own metaphoric importance. It acted as a reiteration of sovereign promise. MP to observe Hindu calendar year as Gauvansh Raksha Varsh By Bhavana Aparajita Shukla The BJP has mastered the art of milking the cow and Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav has found the perfect manure for growth. He wants to tweak the political agenda cow protection movement by up-scaling it a bit. He spelled out the other day that his Government would observe Hindu Year 2081, as Gauvansh Raksha Varsh (Cow Protection Year) from coming Gudhi Padwa an auspicious day when Hindus celebrate the beginning of the year. To strengthen cow protection laws and restrict the bovine trade, fulfilling its long-standing pledge to defend the gau mata, Yadav outlined his plans for cow protection in accordance with his partys ideological fulcrum during a workshop on cow protection organised in Bhopal the other day. His plan envisage to link cow protection with modern agrarian economics with an ambition to make almost each household rear cow exponentially. Dr Mohan Yadav further said that his Government would make all possible efforts that almost every household should rear cows. Also, those who would manage the best cow-shelter or cowshed will be awarded in that Govansh Raksha Varsh. Giving impetus to the efforts being made towards cow protection, Dr Yadav said that the protection of cows should be done through modern means and equipment. His Government would also launch a drive to vacate the encroached grazing land in the State. As stray cow numbers grow with the tightening of controls on their slaughter, the state government is supporting the establishment of gaushalas or cow shelters, which are intended to provide shelter to elderly, unwanted cattle. In Madhya Pradesh, the State Government has provided land for setting up village gaushalas, as well as Rs 500 annual subsidy for each resident bovine. Also, the government is planning to extend financial subsidies for fodder cutting equipment purchase. The Cow Promotion Board will make efforts to ensure that Panchayats get the necessary support and inspiration. The Chief Minister said that stray cows would be lifted to medical facility in case if they meet any road accidents. Facilities would be created at every 50 kilometres for treatment. However, the State Government would make all possible efforts to check the stray cows should not occupy roads and highways. As of now, the State Government provide an amount of Rs 20 per cow for shelters, it will be increased to Rs 40 per cow per shelter so that stray cows remain away from roads and highways. Also, the government would extend some support in completion of incomplete cow sheds. The countrys cow protection movement began in north India in the late 19th Century, as Hindus sought to resist western influence and spur nationalist sentiment. Ironically, if sources are believer, an animal husbandry department study found that almost 15 of 100 cows in a shelter die every year. The caretakers either leave them in open or dump in forests. Onion exports bring relief to farmers, but sting consumers Business Reporter While the recent decision of the Government to allow onion exports makes farmers happy, consumers are expressing concerns over the rising price of the agricultural produce. As soon as the Union Government approved the export of 4 lakh tonnes of onions, markets across the country are witnessing price hikes ranging from 25 to 30 per cent in wholesale markets and 40 to 50 per cent in retail markets. In the citys Kalamna Market Yard, the wholesale market for onions, prices have surged from Rs 15 per kg to Rs 19-20 per kg in less than 25 days. Retail markets also witnessed a proportional increase during this period, with onion prices reaching Rs 30 per kg from their previous level of Rs 20 per kg. The sudden surge in onion prices has pinched the pockets of consumers, who are already grappling with inflation. Many households have reportedly cut down on their onion consumption due to the price rise. Jaiprakash Vasani, a wholesale trader based at the Kalamna wholesale market, told The Hitavada on Thursday that despite the onion season starting, there isn't enough of the agricultural produce arriving in the markets, which is pushing prices up. It seems there will be a marginal shortage of onions in the current season, and prices are likely to remain high. However, we may see some price reduction as soon as farmers from Akola, Buldhana, Aurangabad, and other districts start supplying here, he said. Vasani further said that the onion growers are happy as they are selling the commodity at a high price. Another trader, on a condition of anonymity, anticipated a further increase in prices, predicting onions to hit Rs 35 per kg. The Government recently approved the export of 4 lakh tonnes of onions. This move came after a ban on onion exports implemented between December 2023 and March 2024. Tiger attack Deaf and mute man killed in PTR buffer zone Staff Reporter A deaf and mute man was killed in a tiger attack within Paoni Wildlife Range of Pench in Nagpur district on Friday afternoon. The incident occurred while the man was tending to his cattle and goats within the buffer forest zone. The tiger pounced on him, resulting in fatal injuries. In the aftermath of the incident, a tense situation ensued as villagers expressed their grief and frustration towards the Forest Department. The agitated crowd demanded adequate compensation for the victim which escalated the situation to a critical point before intervention by senior officials from both the Forest and Police Departments diffuse the tension. The deceased, identified as Surju Zitu Invate (55) from Kadbikheda village, owned a farm in the buffer zone under the Forest Rights Act, 2006. Villagers frequently ventured into the buffer zone for various activities such as tending to their farms, grazing cattle, collecting firewood, and cutting grass. A police official reported that the incident occurred near a nullah where the tiger was expected to be present. Being deaf and mute, Invate was unable to hear the roaring of the tiger. He regularly visited the farm through the same route and engaged in activities like grazing cattle and goats. At 2 pm on Friday, Invate fell victim to a surprise attack from the tiger which resulted in injuries caused by the tigers incisors (teeths). Notably, the tiger did not consume the body, according to police officials. Upon discovering the body, villagers transported it back to the village. Tensions rose when Forest Department officials arrived, with villagers resisting the handover of the body for post-mortem. They demanded compensation and increased security against future tiger attacks. Quick action by Range Forest Officer Jayesh Tayade, Assistant Police Inspector Rajesh Patil from Deolapar Police Station, and local public representatives, including Shantatai Kumare, Chandrakant Kodawte, and Ukesh Uike, played a crucial role in diffusing the situation. Assurances from these officials led to the normalisation of the situation, and the body was handed over for post-mortem. Deolapar Police registered a case of accidental death. UNSC reform model India presents on behalf of G4 UNITED NATIONS, INDIA has presented a detailed model on behalf of the G4 nations for Security Council reform that includes new permanent members elected democratically by the General Assembly and displays flexibility on the veto issue. Participating in the Intergovernmental Negotiations on Security Council reform (IGN) on Thursday, Indias Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said the UNs 80th anniversary next year serves as a milestone to achieve concrete progress on the long-pending subject. Kamboj presented the G-4 model on behalf of Brazil, Germany, Japan and India for debate, dialogue and finally negotiations. The proposals elicited strong support from wider UN members. The realities of 1945, when the Council was established, have long been superseded by the geo-political realities of the modern era and a new century; with the need for change being felt across the board, Kamboj said as she shared the exhaustive G4 model with UN Member States in the General Assembly. Catering to these new realities, the G4 model proposes that the Security Councils membership increase from the current 15 to 25-26, by adding six permanent and four or five non-permanent members. Among the six new permanent members, two each are proposed to be from African states and Asia Pacific states, one from Latin American and Caribbean states; and one from Western European and Other States. The G4 model notes that the current composition of the Security Council, with its glaring under-representation and un-representation of key regions in both categories of membership, is detrimental to its legitimacy and effectiveness. It stressed that the Councils inability to address critical conflicts and maintain international peace and security underscores the urgent need for reform. Any reform that does not address the lack of representation, particularly in the permanent category, would only exacerbate the current imbalances in the Councils composition and render it ill-equipped to address todays international challenges, she said. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,173 shares of the utilities providers stock, valued at approximately $116,000. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of DTE Energy by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 129,083 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $12,815,000 after buying an additional 1,106 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of DTE Energy by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 196,617 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $19,520,000 after buying an additional 14,040 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of DTE Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $2,004,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in DTE Energy by 7.1% in the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,289 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Korea Investment CORP raised its position in DTE Energy by 20.0% in the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 186,908 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $18,556,000 after purchasing an additional 31,167 shares during the last quarter. 74.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get DTE Energy alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets Several equities analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp increased their target price on DTE Energy from $106.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on DTE Energy from $108.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, December 4th. Wolfe Research downgraded DTE Energy from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on DTE Energy from $113.00 to $111.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Guggenheim cut DTE Energy from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $111.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $114.33. Insider Activity In other news, SVP Joann Chavez sold 6,070 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.19, for a total value of $662,783.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,667 shares in the company, valued at $1,819,869.73. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO Matthew T. Paul sold 5,850 shares of DTE Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.92, for a total transaction of $625,482.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,951 shares in the company, valued at $743,200.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Joann Chavez sold 6,070 shares of DTE Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.19, for a total value of $662,783.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,667 shares in the company, valued at $1,819,869.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,095 shares of company stock worth $2,168,183 over the last 90 days. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. DTE Energy Trading Up 0.1 % NYSE DTE opened at $112.82 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.53. DTE Energy has a one year low of $90.14 and a one year high of $116.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.42. DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.01. DTE Energy had a return on equity of 11.00% and a net margin of 10.96%. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that DTE Energy will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year. DTE Energy Dividend Announcement The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 18th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 15th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. DTE Energys dividend payout ratio is presently 60.36%. DTE Energy Profile (Free Report) DTE Energy Company engages in the utility operations. The company's Electric segment generates, purchases, distributes, and sells electricity to various residential, commercial, and industrial customers in southeastern Michigan. It generates electricity through coal-fired plants, hydroelectric pumped storage, and nuclear plants, as well as wind and solar assets. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DTE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for DTE Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for DTE Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. In Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolans Oscar nominated film based on the extensive biography about Robert Oppenheimer, written by journalists Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, the director presents a little-known fact about the father of the atomic bomb. In the opening scenes of the film, Nolan presents the character as a young, anxious student working with experimental physicist Patrick Blackett at Cambridge University. After being mocked by Blackett in one of his classes, the then-student takes one of the teachers apples and injects it with cyanide. He later regrets his decision and narrowly prevents visiting scientist Niels Bohr from eating it. The scene helps showcase Oppenheimers complicated personality, but it is possible that such an event didnt actually occur, according to the scientists biography that inspired the film. What really happened? In the biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, Bird and Sherwin present a detailed version of the scientist, using testimonies from his family and several of his peers. As The New York Times review of the book states, It succeeds in deeply fathoming his most damaging, self-contradictory behavior. This is achieved by including stories like the poison incident. According to the biographers, during his time in Cambridge, Roberts emotional state was deteriorating. He was homesick, anxious, and depressed. Among other complaints, he talked about his troubled relationship with his head tutor, Patrick Blackett, the journalists say. Robert admired Blackett and sought his approval, but the tutor wanted him to do more laboratory work, something Oppenheimer wasnt good at. This heightened his anxiety and led him to take extreme action. Consumed by feelings of inadequacy and intense jealousy, he poisoned an apple with chemicals from the laboratory and left it on Blacketts desk. Oppenheimers friend, biologist Jeffries Wyman, had doubts about what happened: Whether or not this was an imaginary apple, or a real apple, whatever it was, it was an act of jealousy. Blackett did not eat the apple (and contrary to what the movie shows, Niels Bohr wasnt involved). Francis Fergusson, one of Roberts closest friends, recalled the incident differently: He had kind of poisoned the head tutor. It seemed incredible, but that was what he said. And he had actually used cyanide or something somewhere. And fortunately, the tutor discovered it, which had serious consequences for Oppenheimer. According to the biographers, it is more likely that Robert had laced the apple with something that would have merely made Blackett sick, not kill him (which would have resulted in attempted murder). However, it was still grounds for expulsion from Cambridge. The university authorities informed Oppenheimers parents about the incident. Julius Oppenheimer, his father, lobbied the university not to press criminal charges, and after negotiations, it was agreed that the young scientist would be put on probation. Furthermore, Oppenheimer agreed to have regular sessions with a prominent psychiatrist in London. The biography states that a Freudian psychoanalyst diagnosed dementia praecox, a now archaic label for symptoms associated with schizophrenia. He concluded that Oppenheimer was a hopeless case and that further analysis would do more harm than good. Fergusson described a meeting he had with Oppenheimer after the scientist finished a session with the psychiatrist. He looked crazy at that time I saw him standing on the corner waiting for me, with his hat on one side of his head, looking absolutely weird He was sort of standing around, looking like he might run or do something drastic. According to Fergusson, Oppenheimer thought that the psychoanalysis was too stupid to follow him and that he knew more about his troubles than the doctor did, which was probably true. In a later incident, Oppenheimer locked his mother in her hotel room and left. She then insisted that he see a French psychoanalyst who said that Robert was suffering a crise morale associated with sexual frustration, and he recommended that he have sex and take a course of aphrodisiacs. Oppenheimer would later have a violent incident involving Fergusson. After his friend announced that he had proposed to his girlfriend, Robert attacked him, grabbing him by the neck. The biographers suggest that the thought of losing Fergusson as a friend (something that happened to him before) was just too much for him at that point. Robert later apologized to Fergusson. During the spring of 1926, he started seeing another analyst and learned more about psychoanalysis. In March 1926, Robert traveled with three friends, Frederick Bernheim, John Edsall, and Jeffries Wyman. Oppenheimer had to return earlier to deal with the fallout of the so-called poisoning at Cambridge, and he talked about the ordeal with his friends. I never knew, Wyman recalled, whether it was real or imaginary. Edsall said, [Robert] spoke of it with a sense of reality that Jeffries and I both felt that this must be some kind of hallucination on his part. When asked if he really believed the story, Fergusson said, Yes, I do. I do. His father then had to engineer the authorities of Cambridge about Roberts attempted murder. Oppenheimer later returned to the university, having improved his condition. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,589 shares of the industrial products companys stock, valued at approximately $347,000. A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. RB Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Emerson Electric by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 5,358 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in Emerson Electric in the first quarter valued at approximately $116,000. Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in Emerson Electric in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,215,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Emerson Electric by 17.5% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,521 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $934,000 after purchasing an additional 1,418 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Emerson Electric by 31.8% in the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,856 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares during the period. 72.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Emerson Electric alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets Several analysts have commented on EMR shares. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Emerson Electric from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Emerson Electric from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Emerson Electric from $106.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com cut Emerson Electric from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, November 10th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on Emerson Electric from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Emerson Electric has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $111.61. Insider Activity In other Emerson Electric news, Director Mark A. Blinn sold 2,413 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.18, for a total transaction of $248,973.34. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,591 shares in the company, valued at $989,599.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the companys stock. Emerson Electric Trading Up 0.4 % Shares of EMR stock opened at $110.28 on Friday. The companys 50-day moving average price is $99.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $62.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.74, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.36. Emerson Electric Co. has a twelve month low of $76.94 and a twelve month high of $111.05. Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.18. Emerson Electric had a return on equity of 11.59% and a net margin of 69.33%. The business had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Emerson Electric Co. will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current year. Emerson Electric Announces Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 15th. Emerson Electrics dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.94%. Emerson Electric Company Profile (Free Report) Emerson Electric Co, a technology and software company, provides various solutions for customers in industrial, commercial, and consumer markets in the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. It operates in six segments: Final Control, Control Systems & Software, Measurement & Analytical, AspenTech, Discrete Automation, and Safety & Productivity. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EMR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Emerson Electric Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Emerson Electric and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Orion Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP Free Report) (TSE:BIP.UN) by 28.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,865 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 2,385 shares during the quarter. Orion Capital Management LLCs holdings in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners were worth $172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 43,553,186 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,589,691,000 after purchasing an additional 618,631 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,569,701 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $163,953,000 after acquiring an additional 60,510 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 538,703 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $15,838,000 after acquiring an additional 45,880 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc. grew its stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 2,401,781 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $70,612,000 after acquiring an additional 17,569 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,337,632 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $480,326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,714,740 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.52% of the companys stock. Get Brookfield Infrastructure Partners alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research analysts have weighed in on BIP shares. TD Securities decreased their price objective on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $47.00 to $46.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. National Bankshares lowered Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating and set a $32.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $39.11. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Trading Up 0.8 % BIP traded up $0.23 on Friday, hitting $30.36. The company had a trading volume of 333,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 626,454. The firm has a market cap of $13.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 216.87 and a beta of 0.95. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. has a 1 year low of $21.03 and a 1 year high of $37.32. The companys fifty day moving average price is $30.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP Get Free Report) (TSE:BIP.UN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.99). The company had revenue of $4.97 billion during the quarter. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had a net margin of 1.34% and a return on equity of 0.79%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Increases Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This is an increase from Brookfield Infrastructure Partnerss previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.34%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 28th. Brookfield Infrastructure Partnerss payout ratio is currently 1,157.23%. About Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (Free Report) Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. owns and operates utilities, transport, midstream, and data businesses in North and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company's Utilities segment operates approximately 60,000 kilometers (km) of operational electricity transmission and distribution lines; 2,900 km of electricity transmission lines; 4,200 km of natural gas pipelines; 7.8 million electricity and natural gas connections; and 540,000 long-term contracted sub-metering services. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC Get Free Report)s stock price was down 6.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $48.16 and last traded at $49.47. Approximately 1,791,024 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 144% from the average daily volume of 732,936 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.13. Analyst Ratings Changes Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CRC shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of California Resources in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of California Resources from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of California Resources from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of California Resources from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their target price for the company from $64.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $65.33. Get California Resources alerts: Read Our Latest Analysis on California Resources California Resources Price Performance The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 1.02. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $51.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.06. California Resources (NYSE:CRC Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $726.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $553.47 million. California Resources had a return on equity of 17.57% and a net margin of 20.14%. California Resourcess quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that California Resources Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year. California Resources Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. California Resourcess dividend payout ratio is 16.06%. Hedge Funds Weigh In On California Resources A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CRC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of California Resources by 47.1% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 160,038 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $7,159,000 after purchasing an additional 51,208 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of California Resources during the first quarter worth approximately $452,000. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of California Resources by 13.2% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 64,788 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $2,898,000 after purchasing an additional 7,572 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Resources during the first quarter worth approximately $305,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of California Resources by 53.7% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 44,629 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 15,587 shares in the last quarter. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About California Resources (Get Free Report) California Resources Corporation operates as an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company in the United States. The company explores, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids for marketers, California refineries, and other purchasers that have access to transportation and storage facilities. Read More Receive News & Ratings for California Resources Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for California Resources and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. CCL Industries Inc. (TSE:CCL.B Get Free Report) Senior Officer Sean Washchuk sold 1,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$73.60, for a total transaction of C$73,600.00. CCL Industries Price Performance CCL Industries stock opened at C$72.96 on Friday. CCL Industries Inc. has a 1 year low of C$52.82 and a 1 year high of C$73.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of C$60.59 and a 200 day moving average price of C$58.61. The company has a market cap of C$12.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.07, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.37, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.89. Get CCL Industries alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of analysts recently weighed in on CCL.B shares. CIBC increased their price target on shares of CCL Industries from C$72.00 to C$82.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Raymond James raised shares of CCL Industries from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and increased their price objective for the company from C$74.00 to C$78.00 in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of CCL Industries from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the company from C$65.00 to C$79.00 in a research note on Monday, February 26th. National Bankshares raised their price target on shares of CCL Industries from C$79.00 to C$81.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of CCL Industries from C$72.00 to C$79.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CCL Industries presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of C$78.80. About CCL Industries (Get Free Report) CCL Industries Inc manufactures and sells labels, containers, consumer printable media products, technology driven label solutions, polymer bank note substrates, and specialty films. The company operates through four segments: CCL, Avery, Checkpoint, and Innovia. The CCL segment offers pressure sensitive and specialty extruded film materials for decorative, instructional, functional, and security applications in the consumer packaging, healthcare, chemicals, consumer electronic device, and automotive markets. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for CCL Industries Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for CCL Industries and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Chesapeake Wealth Management lowered its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH Free Report) by 3.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,003 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock after selling 166 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 1.1% of Chesapeake Wealth Managements holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Chesapeake Wealth Managements holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,522,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Robbins Farley bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% during the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth $35,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 38.6% during the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 79 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.69% of the companys stock. Get UnitedHealth Group alerts: Insider Activity In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.1 % UNH traded down $0.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $476.57. The company had a trading volume of 4,673,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,854,458. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $445.68 and a 12-month high of $554.70. The company has a market cap of $439.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.99, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $514.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $517.88. UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $5.98 by $0.18. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.39% and a net margin of 6.02%. The firm had revenue of $94.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.13 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.34 EPS. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.79 earnings per share for the current year. UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. UnitedHealth Groups dividend payout ratio is 31.54%. Analyst Ratings Changes A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. Barclays started coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an overweight rating and a $551.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $596.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Truist Financial reissued a buy rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, November 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an overweight rating and set a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a buy rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $579.33. Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on UnitedHealth Group About UnitedHealth Group (Free Report) UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. It operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health care coverage, and health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; and health and dental benefits, and hospital and clinical services, as well as health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UNH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for UnitedHealth Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for UnitedHealth Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Chesapeake Wealth Management lowered its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV Free Report) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,123 shares of the companys stock after selling 174 shares during the period. Chesapeake Wealth Managements holdings in AbbVie were worth $2,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 89,097.0% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,203,106 shares of the companys stock worth $4,719,514,000 after acquiring an additional 29,170,366 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AbbVie during the 4th quarter valued at $3,033,348,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in AbbVie by 29,922.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,032,374 shares of the companys stock valued at $899,186,000 after buying an additional 6,012,281 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in AbbVie by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 31,571,750 shares of the companys stock valued at $5,102,311,000 after buying an additional 4,785,277 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in AbbVie by 426.5% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,652,122 shares of the companys stock valued at $754,155,000 after buying an additional 3,768,579 shares during the period. 67.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get AbbVie alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of AbbVie from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $173.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, December 11th. HSBC lowered shares of AbbVie from a buy rating to a hold rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $167.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $175.36. Insider Buying and Selling In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total value of $9,184,047.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 243,944 shares in the company, valued at $42,375,512.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other AbbVie news, CEO Richard A. Gonzalez sold 138,616 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.27, for a total transaction of $24,572,458.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 519,099 shares of the companys stock, valued at $92,020,679.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total transaction of $9,184,047.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 243,944 shares of the companys stock, valued at $42,375,512.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 306,205 shares of company stock worth $53,974,299. Insiders own 0.26% of the companys stock. AbbVie Price Performance NYSE:ABBV traded down $1.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $178.85. 6,195,824 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,656,775. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02. AbbVie Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.96 and a 1 year high of $182.42. The company has a market cap of $315.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $169.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.04. AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 162.28%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.15 EPS for the current fiscal year. AbbVie Dividend Announcement The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. AbbVies dividend payout ratio is presently 227.11%. AbbVie Company Profile (Free Report) AbbVie Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Humira, a therapy administered as an injection for autoimmune, intestinal Behcet's diseases, and pyoderma gangrenosum; Skyrizi to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic disease, and Crohn's disease; Rinvoq to treat rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, atopic dermatitis, axial spondyloarthropathy, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease; Imbruvica for the treatment of adult patients with blood cancers; Epkinly to treat lymphoma; Elahere to treat cancer; and Venclexta/Venclyxto to treat blood cancers. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ABBV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for AbbVie Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AbbVie and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI Free Report) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 124,231 shares of the construction companys stock after purchasing an additional 4,692 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.s holdings in D.R. Horton were worth $13,359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of DHI. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of D.R. Horton by 53.7% in the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 9,992 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 3,489 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of D.R. Horton by 390.6% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 743,311 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $79,884,000 after acquiring an additional 591,787 shares during the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC bought a new position in D.R. Horton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $218,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in D.R. Horton by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,528 shares of the construction companys stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in D.R. Horton by 43.4% in the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 20,731 shares of the construction companys stock worth $2,228,000 after purchasing an additional 6,272 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.12% of the companys stock. Get D.R. Horton alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research firms have commented on DHI. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of D.R. Horton from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Wedbush reissued a neutral rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of D.R. Horton in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of D.R. Horton from $155.00 to $192.00 in a report on Monday, January 22nd. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of D.R. Horton from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of D.R. Horton from $143.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $148.65. Insider Activity In related news, Director Bradley S. Anderson sold 10,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total transaction of $1,520,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,208 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,591,616. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other D.R. Horton news, Director Bradley S. Anderson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total transaction of $1,520,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,208 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,591,616. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Barbara K. Allen sold 1,748 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.26, for a total value of $250,418.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,650 shares in the company, valued at $809,419. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,961 shares of company stock worth $1,956,007 over the last three months. 1.74% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. D.R. Horton Trading Down 1.1 % NYSE:DHI opened at $153.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 6.56, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.05, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.14. D.R. Horton, Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.50 and a 12 month high of $157.93. D.R. Horton (NYSE:DHI Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The construction company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.88 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $7.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.55 billion. D.R. Horton had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 21.06%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.76 earnings per share. Analysts expect that D.R. Horton, Inc. will post 14.19 EPS for the current fiscal year. D.R. Horton Dividend Announcement The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 5th. D.R. Hortons dividend payout ratio is currently 8.63%. D.R. Horton Company Profile (Free Report) D.R. Horton, Inc operates as a homebuilding company in East, North, Southeast, South Central, Southwest, and Northwest regions in the United States. It engages in the acquisition and development of land; and construction and sale of residential homes in 118 markets across 33 states under the names of D.R. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DHI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for D.R. Horton Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for D.R. Horton and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Employees Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO Free Report) by 72.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 190,000 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after purchasing an additional 80,000 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.09% of Sunstone Hotel Investors worth $1,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 168.4% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,065 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,923 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Sunstone Hotel Investors in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 56.5% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,257 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 1,537 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Sunstone Hotel Investors in the 1st quarter worth approximately $91,000. Finally, Point72 Middle East FZE bought a new position in Sunstone Hotel Investors in the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,000. Get Sunstone Hotel Investors alerts: Sunstone Hotel Investors Price Performance NYSE:SHO traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $11.38. The company had a trading volume of 1,511,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,289,026. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $10.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.06. Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. has a one year low of $8.60 and a one year high of $11.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 7.03, a current ratio of 7.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Sunstone Hotel Investors Cuts Dividend Sunstone Hotel Investors ( NYSE:SHO Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.44. Sunstone Hotel Investors had a return on equity of 11.32% and a net margin of 20.95%. The firm had revenue of $219.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $192.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year. The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Sunstone Hotel Investorss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.81%. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several brokerages have commented on SHO. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Sunstone Hotel Investors from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Sunstone Hotel Investors from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Sunstone Hotel Investors from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $9.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $9.40. Read Our Latest Analysis on Sunstone Hotel Investors About Sunstone Hotel Investors (Free Report) Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc is a lodging real estate investment trust ("REIT") that as of the date of this release owns 14 hotels comprised of 6,675 rooms, the majority of which are operated under nationally recognized brands. Sunstone's strategy is to create long-term stakeholder value through the acquisition, active ownership, and disposition of well-located hotel and resort real estate. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SHO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Sunstone Hotel Investors Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sunstone Hotel Investors and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,388 shares of the construction companys stock, valued at approximately $1,391,000. Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MV Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 144.4% in the 3rd quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 66 shares of the construction companys stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 84.6% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 72 shares of the construction companys stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Halpern Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 418.8% in the 3rd quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 83 shares of the construction companys stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 93.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get Martin Marietta Materials alerts: Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 2.5 % Shares of MLM traded down $15.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $596.85. The companys stock had a trading volume of 797,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 520,806. The companys 50-day moving average is $527.13 and its 200-day moving average is $473.78. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $317.94 and a 52-week high of $617.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.70, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement Martin Marietta Materials ( NYSE:MLM Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The construction company reported $4.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.67. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 17.25% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.04 EPS. The companys revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 21.05 EPS for the current fiscal year. The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th will be given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 1st. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Martin Marietta Materialss payout ratio is presently 15.72%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth MLM has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $490.00 to $530.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $560.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $510.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $559.46. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on MLM Insider Transactions at Martin Marietta Materials In other news, CEO C Howard Nye sold 15,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.26, for a total value of $9,063,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 134,640 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $81,357,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO C Howard Nye sold 15,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.26, for a total transaction of $9,063,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 134,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,357,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sue W. Cole sold 1,724 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $543.48, for a total transaction of $936,959.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,793 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $10,757,099.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the companys stock. Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile (Free Report) Martin Marietta Materials, Inc, a natural resource-based building materials company, supplies aggregates and heavy-side building materials to the construction industry in the United States and internationally. It offers crushed stone, sand, and gravel products; ready mixed concrete and asphalt; paving products and services; and Portland and specialty cement for use in the infrastructure projects, and nonresidential and residential construction markets, as well as in the railroad, agricultural, utility, and environmental industries. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MLM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Martin Marietta Materials Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Martin Marietta Materials and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Physicians Realty Trust (NYSE:DOC Free Report) by 39.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 212,000 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after acquiring an additional 60,000 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.09% of Physicians Realty Trust worth $2,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Physicians Realty Trust in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of Physicians Realty Trust by 99.7% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,237 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 2,614 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Physicians Realty Trust by 42.4% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,750 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,712 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Physicians Realty Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in Physicians Realty Trust by 52.1% in the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,426 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. 92.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Physicians Realty Trust alerts: Physicians Realty Trust Price Performance Shares of DOC traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.74. 6,320,180 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,195,290. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Physicians Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $15.24 and a 52-week high of $23.56. The company has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.69, a PEG ratio of -0.78 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.46. Physicians Realty Trust Announces Dividend Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 2nd. Physicians Realty Trusts payout ratio is 214.29%. Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp restated a sector weight rating on shares of Physicians Realty Trust in a report on Friday, January 5th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Physicians Realty Trust in a research report on Friday. They set an outperform rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Compass Point decreased their target price on Physicians Realty Trust from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Truist Financial cut their price target on Physicians Realty Trust from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Physicians Realty Trust in a research note on Thursday. They issued a hold rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $16.00. Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on DOC Physicians Realty Trust Company Profile (Free Report) Physicians Realty Trust is a self-managed health care real estate company organized to acquire, selectively develop, own, and manage health care properties that are leased to physicians, hospitals, and health care delivery systems. The Company invests in real estate that is integral to providing high quality health care. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Physicians Realty Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Physicians Realty Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. An opinion piece that you describe, praises or criticizes, on the whole or partly, to cultural or entertainment work. It must be written by an expert on the matter Damsel is a dark fairy tale, handmade for the greater glory of its protagonist Millie Bobby Brown the star of the hit Netflix series Stranger Things. More mature (and without much of her childhood charisma) the British actress is the center of the new feature film by Spanish director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who returns to the big screen after an intense TV career in Hollywood. Its been 13 years since his last film, Intruders (2011). Fresnadillo has always done well internationally. His short film Linked obtained an Oscar nomination in 1997. Since then, all his projects have demonstrated his ambition to erase the borders between the genres that interest him the most: thriller, fantasy and horror. His penchant for dark fables between the fatality of destiny and the most primal fears was demonstrated via Intact (2001), his very interesting debut feature film. He embraced this blended genre again in 28 Weeks Later (2007) a notable sequel to Danny Boyles zombie film 28 Days Later, as well as in the very disturbing Intruders (2011) Robin Wright in 'Damsel.' But the daring of his previous filmography barely appears in Damsel. Or, at least, it only does so when the adventure leaps ahead to a survival story inside a cave. Its in the more physical sequences that Fresnadillos touch can be best detected. However, the film is hampered from beginning to end by the poor acting skills of its star. Without much conviction, she unfolds into a paradoxical character: a sweet damsel who, after marrying a prince, finds herself involved in a bloody sacrifice, in which an old dragon will be her main enemy. Despite being supported by much more reliable performers than her such as Robin Wright, Angela Bassett and Nick Robinson Millie Bobby Brown (who is also an executive producer of the film) doesnt do well in an adventure film thats presented as the reverse of a tale of princesses and dragons. In its mix of genres and references from King Kong to Games of Thrones (and even Alien) the film tries too hard. Perhaps the most shocking decision and the one that demonstrates the movies lack of trust in the viewer is that the monster of the film, its vengeful dragon, speaks. Now, its not that a monster cannot speak its that, in the excessive explanations provided by an old dragon, a contemporary evil is revealed: the continuous underestimation of the spectators intelligence. Damsel Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. Starring: Millie Bobby Brown, Ray Winstone, Robin Wright, Angela Bassett, Shohreh Aghdashloo. Genre: Adventure. United States, 2024. Platform: Netflix. Duration: 108 minutes. Premiere: March 8, 2024 Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Employees Retirement System of Texas reduced its position in Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG Free Report) by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 43,000 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after selling 20,000 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas holdings in Kite Realty Group Trust were worth $921,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kite Realty Group Trust by 1.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,157,785 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $70,545,000 after acquiring an additional 39,426 shares during the period. Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Kite Realty Group Trust in the second quarter valued at $4,996,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kite Realty Group Trust by 1.9% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,163,851 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $48,340,000 after buying an additional 39,722 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kite Realty Group Trust by 2.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,253,294 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $69,686,000 after buying an additional 63,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in Kite Realty Group Trust in the third quarter worth about $4,665,000. 97.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Kite Realty Group Trust alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of analysts recently commented on KRG shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Kite Realty Group Trust from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Kite Realty Group Trust from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Kite Realty Group Trust from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $26.00. Kite Realty Group Trust Stock Performance Shares of NYSE:KRG remained flat at $21.34 during trading on Friday. The stock had a trading volume of 2,125,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,230,167. Kite Realty Group Trust has a fifty-two week low of $18.77 and a fifty-two week high of $24.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.64. Kite Realty Group Trust Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. Kite Realty Group Trusts dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 454.57%. Kite Realty Group Trust Profile (Free Report) Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE: KRG) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) headquartered in Indianapolis, IN that is one of the largest publicly traded owners and operators of open-air shopping centers and mixed-use assets. The Company's primarily grocery-anchored portfolio is located in high-growth Sun Belt and select strategic gateway markets. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KRG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Kite Realty Group Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Kite Realty Group Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF Free Report) (TSE:ERF) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,947 shares of the oil and natural gas companys stock, valued at approximately $52,000. A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Enerplus by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,296,902 shares of the oil and natural gas companys stock valued at $105,372,000 after buying an additional 169,917 shares during the last quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP bought a new position in Enerplus during the third quarter valued at approximately $88,150,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in Enerplus by 75.0% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 4,131,810 shares of the oil and natural gas companys stock valued at $59,787,000 after purchasing an additional 1,771,056 shares during the period. SIR Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in Enerplus by 28.3% during the first quarter. SIR Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,517,200 shares of the oil and natural gas companys stock valued at $50,695,000 after purchasing an additional 776,700 shares during the period. Finally, Palo Duro Investment Partners LP bought a new position in Enerplus during the first quarter valued at approximately $48,125,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.60% of the companys stock. Get Enerplus alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ERF shares. National Bankshares lowered their price objective on shares of Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Enerplus in a research report on Tuesday. They set a hold rating on the stock. CIBC lowered their price objective on shares of Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a tender rating and issued a $18.85 price target (down from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $21.69. Enerplus Stock Performance ERF traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $17.81. The companys stock had a trading volume of 2,596,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,132,763. The firm has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 8.48 and a beta of 1.98. Enerplus Co. has a one year low of $12.84 and a one year high of $19.01. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $15.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Enerplus Increases Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. This is an increase from Enerpluss previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 1st. Enerpluss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.38%. Enerplus Company Profile (Free Report) Enerplus Corporation, together with subsidiaries, acquires, develops, and explores crude oil and natural gas in the United States. Its oil and natural gas properties are located primarily in North Dakota, Colorado, and Pennsylvania. Enerplus Corporation was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ERF? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF Free Report) (TSE:ERF). Receive News & Ratings for Enerplus Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Enerplus and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Essex Financial Services Inc. reduced its stake in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG Free Report) by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,693 shares of the energy exploration companys stock after selling 620 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.s holdings in EOG Resources were worth $468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EOG. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,299,584 shares of the energy exploration companys stock worth $4,161,014,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005,328 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 33,923,655 shares of the energy exploration companys stock worth $3,882,219,000 after purchasing an additional 3,348,650 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in EOG Resources by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,937,070 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $1,639,903,000 after acquiring an additional 145,691 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in EOG Resources by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,183,166 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $1,391,507,000 after acquiring an additional 368,745 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in EOG Resources by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 11,532,527 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $1,462,966,000 after acquiring an additional 892,951 shares during the period. 89.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get EOG Resources alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities analysts recently commented on EOG shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Monday, March 4th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on EOG Resources from $172.00 to $165.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Raymond James reduced their price target on EOG Resources from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered EOG Resources from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $134.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, December 11th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on EOG Resources from $164.00 to $147.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $141.80. EOG Resources Trading Up 0.7 % EOG opened at $118.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $68.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.39. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.52 and a 52 week high of $136.79. The businesss 50 day moving average is $114.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.99. The company has a quick ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The energy exploration company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.14 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $6.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.18 billion. EOG Resources had a return on equity of 25.38% and a net margin of 31.40%. The companys quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 11.46 EPS for the current year. EOG Resources Dividend Announcement The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 16th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 15th. EOG Resourcess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.98%. About EOG Resources (Free Report) EOG Resources, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, explores for, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, and natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its principal producing areas are in New Mexico and Texas in the United States; and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The company was formerly known as Enron Oil & Gas Company. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EOG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for EOG Resources Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for EOG Resources and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Employees Retirement System of Texas lowered its holdings in Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT Free Report) by 25.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,000 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after selling 12,000 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas holdings in Federal Realty Investment Trust were worth $3,263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 139,018 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $12,599,000 after acquiring an additional 3,087 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 978,009 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $88,637,000 after acquiring an additional 71,126 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust by 409.0% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 114,982 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $10,421,000 after purchasing an additional 92,391 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 43,925 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $3,982,000 after buying an additional 545 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 262,967 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $23,833,000 after buying an additional 1,291 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.92% of the companys stock. Get Federal Realty Investment Trust alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes FRT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Federal Realty Investment Trust from $116.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from $104.00 to $101.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Federal Realty Investment Trust from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and raised their price target for the company from $110.00 to $112.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Federal Realty Investment Trust from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $104.00 to $108.00 in a report on Monday, November 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $112.60. Federal Realty Investment Trust Price Performance Federal Realty Investment Trust stock traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $102.17. The stock had a trading volume of 496,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 729,147. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.49, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.64 and a quick ratio of 2.64. Federal Realty Investment Trust has a 1-year low of $85.27 and a 1-year high of $107.61. The stocks fifty day moving average is $101.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.22. Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.88). Federal Realty Investment Trust had a net margin of 20.93% and a return on equity of 8.35%. The business had revenue of $291.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $292.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Federal Realty Investment Trust will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Federal Realty Investment Trust Announces Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.27%. Federal Realty Investment Trusts dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 155.71%. Federal Realty Investment Trust Profile (Free Report) Federal Realty is a recognized leader in the ownership, operation and redevelopment of high-quality retail-based properties located primarily in major coastal markets from Washington, DC to Boston as well as San Francisco and Los Angeles. Founded in 1962, Federal Realty's mission is to deliver long-term, sustainable growth through investing in communities where retail demand exceeds supply. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Federal Realty Investment Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Federal Realty Investment Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. First Foundation Advisors bought a new position in Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (NYSE:BAM Free Report) (TSE:BAM.A) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 26,916 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $897,000. Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 27.4% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. now owns 29,357 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $958,000 after acquiring an additional 6,318 shares in the last quarter. America First Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 107.3% in the 3rd quarter. America First Investment Advisors LLC now owns 338,692 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $11,292,000 after acquiring an additional 175,316 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Brookfield Asset Management during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $14,688,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Brookfield Asset Management by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,594,743 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $53,169,000 after buying an additional 11,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Brookfield Asset Management by 55.5% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 364,179 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $12,145,000 after buying an additional 129,907 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.92% of the companys stock. Get Brookfield Asset Management alerts: Brookfield Asset Management Trading Down 1.1 % NYSE BAM traded down $0.45 on Friday, hitting $42.06. 879,730 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 869,242. The company has a market capitalization of $16.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.69. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $40.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.14. Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. has a 52-week low of $28.35 and a 52-week high of $42.86. Brookfield Asset Management Increases Dividend Brookfield Asset Management ( NYSE:BAM Get Free Report ) (TSE:BAM.A) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter. Brookfield Asset Management had a return on equity of 53.03% and a net margin of 50.23%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current year. The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 28th. This is a boost from Brookfield Asset Managements previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. Brookfield Asset Managements dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 134.51%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BAM shares. TD Securities reduced their price objective on Brookfield Asset Management from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an action list buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Brookfield Asset Management from $50.92 to $41.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Brookfield Asset Management from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Brookfield Asset Management from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the company from $33.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Brookfield Asset Management from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Brookfield Asset Management has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $42.20. Check Out Our Latest Report on Brookfield Asset Management About Brookfield Asset Management (Free Report) Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. is a real estate investment firm specializing in alternative asset management services. Its renewable power and transition business includes the operates in the hydroelectric, wind, solar, distributed generation, and sustainable solution sector. The company's infrastructure business engages in the utilities, transport, midstream, and data infrastructure sectors. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Brookfield Asset Management Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Brookfield Asset Management and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Harbour Investments Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Free Report) by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,276 shares of the companys stock after selling 550 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc.s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $3,371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 1st quarter worth about $107,000. Roundview Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 2,056 shares of the companys stock worth $589,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 1st quarter valued at about $210,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 53,052 shares of the companys stock valued at $15,193,000 after buying an additional 4,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 1st quarter valued at about $561,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the companys stock. Get Eli Lilly and Company alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LLY shares. TheStreet lowered shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a b rating to a c+ rating in a report on Monday, December 4th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $800.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $805.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $820.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $710.00 to $865.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $677.62. Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company In related news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 34,538 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.81, for a total value of $21,821,453.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 99,719,884 shares of the companys stock, valued at $63,004,019,910.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 195,055 shares of company stock valued at $125,254,657. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Eli Lilly and Company Trading Down 2.3 % NYSE LLY traded down $18.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $762.14. The company had a trading volume of 4,054,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,134,959. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $694.00 and a 200 day moving average of $617.80. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $312.31 and a 1-year high of $800.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $724.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 131.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.34. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $9.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $8.95 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 51.22%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 28.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile (Free Report) Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. It offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; and Jardiance, Trajenta, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Eli Lilly and Company Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Eli Lilly and Company and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Huntsman (NYSE:HUN Free Report) had its price target hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $25.00 to $28.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sell rating on the basic materials companys stock. Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Huntsman from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Huntsman from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Huntsman in a report on Monday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $26.55. Get Huntsman alerts: View Our Latest Research Report on HUN Huntsman Stock Down 0.1 % HUN stock opened at $26.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Huntsman has a 52-week low of $22.14 and a 52-week high of $29.90. The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.15 and a beta of 1.11. Huntsman (NYSE:HUN Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.14) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. Huntsman had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 1.92%. The firms quarterly revenue was down 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.04 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Huntsman will post 0.55 EPS for the current year. Huntsman Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. This is a positive change from Huntsmans previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Huntsmans dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 179.25%. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HUN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Huntsman by 1,864.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,205,196 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $55,418,000 after buying an additional 2,092,948 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 69.8% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,556,712 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $170,921,000 after buying an additional 1,873,388 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Huntsman in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,761,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Huntsman by 6,496.8% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,457,882 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $36,637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435,782 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Huntsman by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,151,535 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $79,198,000 after buying an additional 1,359,437 shares in the last quarter. 83.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Huntsman Company Profile (Get Free Report) Huntsman Corporation manufactures and sells diversified organic chemical products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Polyurethanes, Performance Products, and Advanced Materials. The Polyurethanes segment offers polyurethane chemicals, including methyl diphenyl diisocyanate, polyether and polyester polyols, and thermoplastic polyurethane; and aniline, benzene, nitrobenzene and other co-products. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Huntsman Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Huntsman and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com lowered shares of KB Financial Group (NYSE:KB Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning. KB Financial Group Price Performance Shares of NYSE:KB opened at $53.08 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. KB Financial Group has a 1 year low of $35.20 and a 1 year high of $53.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.10. The firm has a market cap of $21.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.02. Get KB Financial Group alerts: Hedge Funds Weigh In On KB Financial Group Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of KB Financial Group by 2.0% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 18,979 shares of the banks stock valued at $927,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of KB Financial Group by 1.7% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,419,748 shares of the banks stock valued at $69,327,000 after purchasing an additional 23,138 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of KB Financial Group by 19.4% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 18,669 shares of the banks stock valued at $911,000 after purchasing an additional 3,032 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of KB Financial Group by 57.9% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,795 shares of the banks stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in KB Financial Group by 17.5% during the first quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 720,294 shares of the banks stock worth $35,226,000 after buying an additional 107,023 shares in the last quarter. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. About KB Financial Group KB Financial Group Inc provides a range of banking and related financial services to consumers and corporations in South Korea and internationally. The company operates through seven segments: Retail Banking, Corporate Banking, Other Banking, Credit Card, Securities, Life Insurance, and Non-Life Insurance. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for KB Financial Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for KB Financial Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Dorian LPG Ltd. (NYSE:LPG Free Report) by 1,249.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 120,738 shares of the shipping companys stock after purchasing an additional 111,794 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLCs holdings in Dorian LPG were worth $3,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Dorian LPG by 63.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 417,493 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $11,995,000 after buying an additional 162,663 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Dorian LPG by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 798,371 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $22,937,000 after purchasing an additional 75,584 shares during the last quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Dorian LPG in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $510,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Dorian LPG by 37.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 218,491 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $6,277,000 after purchasing an additional 59,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in shares of Dorian LPG in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $802,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.01% of the companys stock. Get Dorian LPG alerts: Insider Buying and Selling In other news, CEO John C. Hadjipateras acquired 5,000 shares of Dorian LPG stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $42.58 per share, with a total value of $212,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,777,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,696,169.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Christina Tan sold 5,629 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total value of $250,490.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,371 shares of the companys stock, valued at $194,509.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John C. Hadjipateras purchased 5,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $42.58 per share, with a total value of $212,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,777,740 shares of the companys stock, valued at $75,696,169.20. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 15.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Dorian LPG from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a buy rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Dorian LPG in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, DNB Markets cut Dorian LPG from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, January 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $40.25. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on LPG Dorian LPG Stock Down 0.1 % LPG opened at $37.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 3.31 and a quick ratio of 3.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 1.13. Dorian LPG Ltd. has a 12 month low of $19.19 and a 12 month high of $49.54. Dorian LPG (NYSE:LPG Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The shipping company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $163.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $154.49 million. Dorian LPG had a return on equity of 33.59% and a net margin of 55.02%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Dorian LPG Ltd. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Dorian LPG Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Investors of record on Monday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. Dorian LPGs dividend payout ratio is presently 26.56%. About Dorian LPG (Free Report) Dorian LPG Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the transportation of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) through its LPG tankers worldwide. It owns and operates twenty-five very large gas carriers (VLGCs). The company was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LPG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Dorian LPG Ltd. (NYSE:LPG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Dorian LPG Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Dorian LPG and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio decreased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY Free Report) by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 356,414 shares of the oil and gas producers stock after selling 22,189 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohios holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $23,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. First Pacific Financial purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 77.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Occidental Petroleum alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In OXY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho cut Occidental Petroleum from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $63.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and set a $68.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $70.06. Insider Buying and Selling In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 1,626,983 shares of Occidental Petroleum stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $59.85 per share, for a total transaction of $97,374,932.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 240,160,172 shares in the company, valued at $14,373,586,294.20. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 8,720,708 shares of company stock worth $505,766,000. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the companys stock. Occidental Petroleum Stock Down 0.4 % Shares of NYSE OXY opened at $60.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $53.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.63. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $55.12 and a 52 week high of $67.67. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.87. Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.74. The company had revenue of $7.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 16.24% and a return on equity of 20.63%. Occidental Petroleums revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleums previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Occidental Petroleums dividend payout ratio is presently 22.51%. About Occidental Petroleum (Free Report) Occidental Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and gas properties in the United States, the Middle East, North Africa, and Latin America. It operates through three segments: Oil and Gas, Chemical, and Midstream and Marketing. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Occidental Petroleum Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Occidental Petroleum and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Christopher Nolans Oscar nominated film Oppenheimer centers on two pivotal moments in J. Robert Oppenheimers career. The first one is Project Manhattan, the research and development that produced the first nuclear weapons, and the second one is the security hearing that resulted in him having his security clearance revoked due to fears of him being an agent for the Soviet Union. Nolan introduces a wave of characters who played important roles in these moments, with A-list actors portraying them. Heres a breakdown of the most important figures in the movie and how they influenced Oppenheimers life: Cillian Murphy portrays J. Robert Oppenheimer During the Manhattan Project, J. Robert Oppenheimer played a pivotal role as the scientific director of the Los Alamos Laboratory, leading a team of brilliant minds to develop the first atomic bomb. His expertise and leadership were instrumental in the successful construction of the bomb, which ultimately played a significant role in ending World War II. However, after the war, concerns arose about Oppenheimers past associations with Communist individuals and groups. These concerns led to a security hearing in 1954, where Oppenheimer faced allegations of being a security risk. The culmination of this highly controversial hearing resulted in Oppenheimers security clearance being revoked, leaving a stain on his once-illustrious career. Cillian Murphy stars as Robert Oppenheimer. This is the sixth time the actor works with director Christopher Nolan. Emily Blunt portrays Katherine Kitty Oppenheimer Emily Blunt at the photo call for the film 'Oppenheimer' on July 12, 2023 in London. Vianney Le Caer (Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) Kitty Oppenheimer was a German American biologist, botanist, and a member of the Communist Party of America. Before she met Robert Oppenheimer, she was the common-law wife of activist Joe Dallet. She was married to Richard Stewart Harrison, a medical doctor with degrees from Oxford University, when she met Oppenheimer while working at the California Institute of Technology, where Harrison was attending a residency. She began an affair with Oppenheimer, and later divorced Harrison after getting pregnant from Robert. During the Manhattan Project, she worked for the director of the Health Group at Los Alamos, Louis Hempelmann, conducting blood tests to assess the danger of radiation. After the war, she became an alcoholic and developed pancreatitis. After Roberts death, she lived with Robert Serber until she died of an embolism on October 27, 1972. Emily Blunt portrays Kitty Oppenheimer. This is the first time the actress works with Nolan, and the first time she got a nomination for an Oscar for her work. She has received a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Matt Damon portrays Leslie Groves Lieutenant General Leslie Richard Groves Jr. was a United States Army Corps of Engineers officer who oversaw the construction of the Pentagon and directed the Manhattan Project. Despite wanting a combat assignment for the war, Chief of Army Service Forces Brigadier General Brehon B. Somervell recommended him and later told him, If you do the job right, it will win the war. Groves met with J. Robert Oppenheimer to discuss the creation of a laboratory where the atomic bomb could be designed and tested. Groves was impressed with Oppenheimers knowledge and the fact that he understood the issues involved in setting up a laboratory in a remote area. According to later testimonies, Groves detected an overweening ambition in Oppenheimer, which convinced him that the scientist was the best and only man to run the laboratory. During the Manhattan Project, Groves was aware that Oppenheimer had met Haakon Chevalier, one of his Communist associates, and that he told him that a scientist could transmit information of a technical nature to the Soviet Union. Oppenheimer told security officers that three men at Berkeley had been solicited for nuclear secrets by a person who had Communist connections. Groves promised to keep the identity of the three men from the FBI. Groves kept Oppenheimer in the project due to his importance. On July 20, 1943, he ordered that Oppenheimer be given a security clearance without delay, irrespective of the information which you have concerning Mr. Oppenheimer. He is absolutely essential to the project. During Oppenheimers security hearing, Groves testified against Oppenheimer. Although he reaffirmed his decision to hire Oppenheimer, he said that under the security criteria in effect in 1954, he would not clear Dr. Oppenheimer today. Matt Damon, who previously worked with Nolan in the sci-fi film Interstellar portrays General Groves. Robert Downey Jr. portrays Lewis Strauss Robert Downey Jr. upon his arrival for the premiere of the movie 'Oppenheimer' at the Grand Rex cinema in Paris on July 11, 2023. JULIEN DE ROSA (AFP) Lewis Strauss was a major figure in the development of nuclear weapons. He served two terms in the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, the second as its chairman, and he was the driving force in the Oppenheimer security hearings held in April 1954. Strauss had a complicated relationship with Robert Oppenheimer. After the war, in 1947, Strauss offered Oppenheimer the position of director of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. Strauss wanted the development of thermonuclear weapons and a doctrine of deterrence. However, Oppenheimer opposed the development of the hydrogen bomb and proposed a national security strategy based on atomic weapons and continental defense. Strauss later resented the scientist for his humiliation before Congress regarding opposition to the export of radioactive isotopes to other nations, which Strauss supported. Oppenheimer was called before the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy over the issue in July 1949 and testified that: My own rating of the importance of isotopes in this broad sense is that they are far less important than electronic devices but far more important than, let us say, vitamins, somewhere in between. Oppenheimers links to the Communist Party became a concern for Strauss, who distrusted the scientist. In September 1953, Strauss asked FBI director J. Edgar Hoover to initiate surveillance to track Oppenheimers movements. He later had the AEC staff compile a list of charges against the scientist and presented them to him in December 1953. Despite the support of numerous leading scientists and other prominent figures, Oppenheimer was stripped of his clearance one day before it would have expired anyway, as Strauss had wanted. As a result, Strauss has often been regarded as a villain in American history. Nolan chose Robert Downey Jr. to play the role of Lewis Strauss, the main antagonist of the film. The role has earned the actor several awards, including a nomination for an Oscar. Florence Pugh portrays Jean Tatlock Jean Tatlock was a member of the Communist Party and a reporter and writer for the partys publication Western Worker. She is also known for her romantic relationship with Oppenheimer. Tatlock met Oppenheimer in 1936 when she was a graduate student and Oppenheimer was a professor of physics at Berkeley. Reportedly, they had a passionate relationship, and although Robert proposed to her twice, she refused. Tatlock struggled with her sexuality and dealt with depression. The couple continued to see each other after Oppenheimer became involved with Kitty Harrison, whom he married on November 1, 1940. He spent New Year with Tatlock in 1941. According to some historians, Oppenheimer had an extramarital affair with Tatlock while he was working on the Manhattan Project. However, others point out that they only met once after he was picked as the head of the Los Alamos Laboratory in June 1943. There are conflicting accounts of what happened during their last meeting. She died by suicide on January 5, 1944. Oppenheimer later named the first test of a nuclear weapon Trinity in reference to one of John Donnes poems. Some say that Tatlock introduced Oppenheimer to the author, and it is widely believed he named the test as a tribute to her. During Oppenheimers security hearing, his association with Tatlocks friends was used as evidence against him. Florence Pugh portrays Tatlock in Nolans film. This marks the first time the actress works for the director. Josh Hartnett portrays Ernest Lawrence Ernest Lawrence was an American nuclear physicist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1939 for his invention of the cyclotron. He worked on uranium-isotope separation for the Manhattan Project. He met Oppenheimer at Berkeley, becoming one of his best friends (he later named his son Robert after the physicist). He did not oppose the investigation of Oppenheimer. He tended to distance himself from those under investigation rather than supporting them. He said he was unable to testify at the hearing because of illness. However, an interview transcript in which Lawrence stated that Oppenheimer should never again have anything to do with the forming of policy was presented at the hearing, and several other members of Lawrences Radiation Laboratory did testify against Oppenheimer in person. This stained their reputation within the scientific community. Benny Safdie portrays Edward Teller Edward Teller was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist who is known as the father of the hydrogen bomb. He was also a member of the Manhattan Project. He also testified against Oppenheimer at his security clearance hearing. Teller had a difficult relationship with Oppenheimer as they clashed many times over issues relating to fission and fusion research. He was the only member of the scientific community to state that Oppenheimer should not be granted security clearance. He testified: I would like to express a feeling that I would feel personally more secure if public matters would rest in other hands. His testimony has been described as the most damning, and he was singled out and blamed for the hearings ruling. Robert Christy, a theoretical physicist, refused to shake his hand, and Teller was ostracized by the physics community. David Dastmalchian portrays William L. Borden William L. Borden was an American lawyer who worked as the executive director of the United States Congress Joint Committee on Atomic Energy. He advocated for nuclear weapons development in the United States government. Borden is better known for having written a letter accusing Robert Oppenheimer of being an agent of the Soviet Union, which led to the Oppenheimer security hearing of 1954. He testified against Oppenheimer, but he couldnt challenge him with charges of treason. Tom Conti portrays Albert Einstein Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist considered one of the most influential scientists of all time. He is best known for developing the theory of relativity and made important contributions to quantum mechanics. Einstein was one of the scientists who wrote a letter to President Theodore Roosevelt, recommending that the U.S. pay attention and engage in nuclear weapons research. In 1954, a year before his death, Einstein said to his old friend, Linus Pauling, I made one great mistake in my life when I signed the letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atom bombs be made; but there was some justification: the danger that the Germans would make them... He later developed a relationship with Robert Oppenheimer, who said about Einstein: He was almost wholly without sophistication and wholly without worldliness... There was always with him a wonderful purity at once childlike and profoundly stubborn. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Fidelis Insurance (NYSE:FIHL Get Free Report) is one of 94 publicly-traded companies in the Fire, marine, & casualty insurance industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare Fidelis Insurance to related businesses based on the strength of its valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations. Profitability This table compares Fidelis Insurance and its competitors net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Get Fidelis Insurance alerts: Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Fidelis Insurance 59.30% 20.23% 4.22% Fidelis Insurance Competitors 4.00% -11.80% 0.78% Analyst Recommendations This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Fidelis Insurance and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Fidelis Insurance 0 4 4 0 2.50 Fidelis Insurance Competitors 661 3269 2982 205 2.38 Valuation & Earnings Fidelis Insurance currently has a consensus target price of $18.00, indicating a potential upside of 0.95%. As a group, Fire, marine, & casualty insurance companies have a potential upside of 2.01%. Given Fidelis Insurances competitors higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Fidelis Insurance has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors. This table compares Fidelis Insurance and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation. Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Fidelis Insurance $3.60 billion $2.13 billion 0.93 Fidelis Insurance Competitors $16.17 billion $2.99 billion 74.67 Fidelis Insurances competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Fidelis Insurance. Fidelis Insurance is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry. Insider and Institutional Ownership 39.6% of Fidelis Insurance shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 53.8% of shares of all Fire, marine, & casualty insurance companies are owned by institutional investors. 14.9% of shares of all Fire, marine, & casualty insurance companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term. Summary Fidelis Insurance competitors beat Fidelis Insurance on 7 of the 12 factors compared. Fidelis Insurance Company Profile (Get Free Report) Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance products in Bermuda, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. It operates in three segments: Specialty, Reinsurance, and Bespoke segments. The Specialty segment offers aviation and aerospace, energy, marine, property direct and facultative, and other specialty risk solutions. The Reinsurance segment provides property, retrocession, and whole account reinsurance solutions. The Bespoke segment offers customized risk solutions for clients that include credit and political risk, and other risk transfer opportunities. The company is also involved in specialty treaty reinsurance, and surety bonds and guarantees activities; and upstream energy, energy liability, and marine businesses; and provision of product recall and contamination, and marketing services. Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda. Receive News & Ratings for Fidelis Insurance Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Fidelis Insurance and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Riley Exploration Permian (NYSE:REPX Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.91), reports. The business had revenue of $99.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.77 million. Riley Exploration Permian had a return on equity of 25.08% and a net margin of 29.75%. Riley Exploration Permian Price Performance NYSE:REPX traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $27.70. The stock had a trading volume of 89,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 80,275. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Riley Exploration Permian has a one year low of $21.27 and a one year high of $47.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $565.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 1.22. Get Riley Exploration Permian alerts: Riley Exploration Permian Dividend Announcement The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 25th were issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.20%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 24th. Riley Exploration Permians payout ratio is 25.81%. Insider Buying and Selling at Riley Exploration Permian Hedge Funds Weigh In On Riley Exploration Permian In other news, CEO Bobby Riley sold 7,500 shares of Riley Exploration Permian stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.41, for a total transaction of $205,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 379,198 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $10,393,817.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink . In other news, CEO Bobby Riley sold 7,500 shares of Riley Exploration Permian stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.41, for a total transaction of $205,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 379,198 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $10,393,817.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink . Also, major shareholder Riley Exploration Group, Llc sold 13,870 shares of Riley Exploration Permian stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.92, for a total transaction of $304,030.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,165,219 shares of the companys stock, valued at $47,461,600.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders sold a total of 90,748 shares of company stock valued at $2,122,838 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.30% of the companys stock. Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Riley Exploration Permian by 872.4% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 33,752 shares of the companys stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 30,281 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Riley Exploration Permian by 13.7% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 204,226 shares of the companys stock valued at $5,122,000 after acquiring an additional 24,588 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Riley Exploration Permian during the first quarter valued at about $180,000. Rhumbline Advisers bought a new position in shares of Riley Exploration Permian during the first quarter valued at about $277,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Riley Exploration Permian by 248.5% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 531,585 shares of the companys stock valued at $13,332,000 after acquiring an additional 379,047 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.10% of the companys stock. About Riley Exploration Permian (Get Free Report) Riley Exploration Permian, Inc, an independent oil and natural gas company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in Texas and New Mexico. The company's activities are primarily focused on the San Andres Formation, a shelf margin deposit on the Central Basin Platform and Northwest Shelf. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Riley Exploration Permian Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Riley Exploration Permian and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM Free Report) by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,952,712 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 373,457 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canadas holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $147,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ADM. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 71.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,699 shares of the companys stock worth $1,688,000 after acquiring an additional 7,821 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the first quarter valued at $277,000. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the first quarter valued at $226,000. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. grew its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 22.0% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 31,004 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,798,000 after buying an additional 5,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 2.1% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 459,907 shares of the companys stock valued at $41,512,000 after buying an additional 9,327 shares in the last quarter. 77.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Archer-Daniels-Midland alerts: Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Up 1.0 % Shares of NYSE ADM opened at $54.81 on Friday. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 52 week low of $50.72 and a 52 week high of $87.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.69. The stocks fifty day moving average is $58.62 and its 200 day moving average is $69.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.63 and a beta of 0.75. Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend Analyst Ratings Changes The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midlands previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Archer-Daniels-Midlands payout ratio is currently 27.86%. Several research firms recently weighed in on ADM. UBS Group reissued a neutral rating and issued a $51.00 target price (down from $104.00) on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a research note on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Archer-Daniels-Midland from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. TheStreet downgraded Archer-Daniels-Midland from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $80.00 to $66.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded Archer-Daniels-Midland from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and cut their price target for the company from $96.00 to $61.00 in a report on Monday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Archer-Daniels-Midland currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $67.08. Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on ADM About Archer-Daniels-Midland (Free Report) Archer-Daniels-Midland Company procures, transports, stores, processes, and merchandises agricultural commodities, products, and ingredients in the United States, Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Ag Services and Oilseeds, Carbohydrate Solutions, and Nutrition. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ADM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Archer-Daniels-Midland Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Archer-Daniels-Midland and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 10,335 shares of the shipping companys stock, valued at approximately $559,000. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Scorpio Tankers by 263.9% in the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 13,495 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 9,787 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Scorpio Tankers by 7.0% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 99,744 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $2,133,000 after buying an additional 6,505 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Scorpio Tankers by 2.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,578,947 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $55,136,000 after buying an additional 57,184 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Scorpio Tankers by 15.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 155,472 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $3,324,000 after acquiring an additional 21,160 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Scorpio Tankers by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 12,099 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. 66.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Scorpio Tankers alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several research firms recently weighed in on STNG. StockNews.com downgraded Scorpio Tankers from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Scorpio Tankers from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Scorpio Tankers from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a buy rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $74.00. Scorpio Tankers Stock Down 1.3 % Shares of Scorpio Tankers stock opened at $68.32 on Friday. Scorpio Tankers Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.34 and a 1 year high of $72.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.87 and a beta of 0.21. The firms 50-day moving average is $66.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.98. Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The shipping company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $336.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $335.70 million. Scorpio Tankers had a net margin of 40.78% and a return on equity of 22.86%. Scorpio Tankerss revenue was down 31.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.24 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Scorpio Tankers Inc. will post 12.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Scorpio Tankers Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. This is an increase from Scorpio Tankerss previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Scorpio Tankerss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.10%. Scorpio Tankers Company Profile (Free Report) Scorpio Tankers Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the seaborne transportation of refined petroleum products in the shipping markets worldwide. As of March 23, 2023, its fleet consisted of 113 owned, finance leased, or bareboat chartered-in tankers, including 39 LR2, 60 MR, and 14 Handymax with a weighted average age of approximately 7.2 years. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Scorpio Tankers Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Scorpio Tankers and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 19,132 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $627,000. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EQNR. Glassman Wealth Services raised its position in Equinor ASA by 89.5% in the 2nd quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,114 shares of the companys stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Equinor ASA by 558.9% in the 3rd quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,331 shares of the companys stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in Equinor ASA in the 1st quarter valued at $50,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in Equinor ASA by 119.1% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,167 shares of the companys stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Equinor ASA in the 4th quarter valued at $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.38% of the companys stock. Get Equinor ASA alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities analysts have issued reports on EQNR shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Equinor ASA from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $26.40 to $28.50 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. DZ Bank cut shares of Equinor ASA from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Equinor ASA from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America raised shares of Equinor ASA from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, December 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Equinor ASA from a hold rating to an underperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $28.25. Equinor ASA Stock Performance NYSE:EQNR opened at $26.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.66. Equinor ASA has a twelve month low of $24.44 and a twelve month high of $34.73. The company has a market capitalization of $81.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.71 and a beta of 0.84. Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.44). Equinor ASA had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The business had revenue of $29.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $27.35 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Equinor ASA will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Equinor ASA Cuts Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.57%. Equinor ASAs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.06%. Equinor ASA Company Profile (Free Report) Equinor ASA, an energy company, engages in the exploration, production, transportation, refining, and marketing of petroleum and other forms of energy in Norway and internationally. It operates through Exploration & Production Norway; Exploration & Production International; Exploration & Production USA; Marketing, Midstream & Processing; Renewables; and Other segments. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EQNR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Equinor ASA Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Equinor ASA and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in Tri Pointe Homes, Inc. (NYSE:TPH Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 18,417 shares of the construction companys stock, valued at approximately $504,000. Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Tri Pointe Homes by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 176,362 shares of the construction companys stock worth $3,541,000 after purchasing an additional 3,591 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in Tri Pointe Homes by 53.8% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 25,492 shares of the construction companys stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 8,922 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Tri Pointe Homes by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 10,793 shares of the construction companys stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 2,213 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Tri Pointe Homes by 39.4% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 128,677 shares of the construction companys stock worth $2,584,000 after purchasing an additional 36,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in Tri Pointe Homes by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 40,731 shares of the construction companys stock worth $818,000 after purchasing an additional 3,884 shares in the last quarter. 97.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Tri Pointe Homes alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research firms recently issued reports on TPH. Wedbush reissued a neutral rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Tri Pointe Homes in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Tri Pointe Homes from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $41.00 price target (up from $36.00) on shares of Tri Pointe Homes in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Tri Pointe Homes currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $38.20. Tri Pointe Homes Price Performance Shares of TPH opened at $34.60 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.53. Tri Pointe Homes, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.00 and a twelve month high of $36.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $34.85 and a 200-day moving average of $31.14. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Tri Pointe Homes (NYSE:TPH Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The construction company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.24. Tri Pointe Homes had a return on equity of 11.75% and a net margin of 9.37%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.98 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Tri Pointe Homes, Inc. will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year. About Tri Pointe Homes (Free Report) Tri Pointe Homes, Inc engages in the design, construction, and sale of single-family attached and detached homes in the United States. The company operates through a portfolio of six regional home building brands comprising Maracay in Arizona; Pardee Homes in California and Nevada; Quadrant Homes in Washington; Trendmaker Homes in Texas; TRI Pointe Homes in California, Colorado, and the Carolinas; and Winchester Homes in Maryland and Northern Virginia. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TPH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Tri Pointe Homes, Inc. (NYSE:TPH Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Tri Pointe Homes Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Tri Pointe Homes and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,299 shares of the business services providers stock, valued at approximately $681,000. Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in Robert Half by 151.9% during the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 72,505 shares of the business services providers stock worth $5,313,000 after acquiring an additional 43,726 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Robert Half by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 785,690 shares of the business services providers stock worth $57,594,000 after purchasing an additional 118,800 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Robert Half by 88.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 27,740 shares of the business services providers stock worth $2,048,000 after purchasing an additional 13,026 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its holdings in shares of Robert Half by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 5,925 shares of the business services providers stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Robert Half by 28.0% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 67,176 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $4,923,000 after purchasing an additional 14,691 shares during the last quarter. 91.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get Robert Half alerts: Robert Half Stock Performance Shares of NYSE RHI opened at $81.34 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $81.10 and a 200-day moving average of $78.99. The stock has a market cap of $8.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 19.85 and a beta of 1.26. Robert Half Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.65 and a fifty-two week high of $88.39. Robert Half Increases Dividend Robert Half ( NYSE:RHI Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.01. Robert Half had a return on equity of 25.73% and a net margin of 6.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. The companys revenue was down 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Robert Half Inc. will post 3.34 EPS for the current year. The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. This is an increase from Robert Halfs previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 22nd. Robert Halfs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.78%. Insider Activity In other Robert Half news, EVP Robert W. Glass sold 7,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.46, for a total value of $603,450.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 186,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,970,548.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.70% of the companys stock. Analyst Ratings Changes Several analysts have issued reports on RHI shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Robert Half from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Robert Half from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $68.57. Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on RHI Robert Half Company Profile (Free Report) Robert Half Inc provides talent solutions and business consulting services in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The company operates through three segments: Contract Talent Solutions, Permanent Placement Talent Solutions, and Protiviti. The Contract Talent Solutions segment provides contract engagement professionals in the fields of finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal and administrative, and customer support. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RHI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Robert Half Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Robert Half and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. South Mountain Merger Corp. (OTCMKTS:SMMCU Get Free Report)s stock price shot up 1.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $19.69 and last traded at $19.69. 300 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 2,460 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.44. South Mountain Merger Stock Performance The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.69. About South Mountain Merger (Get Free Report) South Mountain Merger Corp. focuses on effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses. The company was founded in 2019 and is based in New York, New York. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for South Mountain Merger Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for South Mountain Merger and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com lowered shares of Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Tuesday. Separately, B. Riley downgraded Stellus Capital Investment from a neutral rating to a sell rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, January 8th. Get Stellus Capital Investment alerts: Read Our Latest Report on SCM Stellus Capital Investment Stock Up 0.9 % Shares of NYSE SCM opened at $12.99 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $313.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $12.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.14. Stellus Capital Investment has a 1 year low of $12.19 and a 1 year high of $15.40. Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The investment management company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.01). Stellus Capital Investment had a return on equity of 14.01% and a net margin of 16.56%. The business had revenue of $28.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $27.20 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Stellus Capital Investment will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Stellus Capital Investment Announces Dividend The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a $0.1333 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Stellus Capital Investments payout ratio is currently 205.13%. Institutional Trading of Stellus Capital Investment Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Stellus Capital Investment during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $163,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Stellus Capital Investment by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 27,279 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 8,784 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Stellus Capital Investment by 261.5% during the 2nd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,948 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 2,856 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Stellus Capital Investment by 184.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 32,573 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 21,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Credit Suisse AG purchased a new stake in Stellus Capital Investment during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $787,000. 14.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About Stellus Capital Investment (Get Free Report) Stellus Capital Investment Corporation is a business development company specializing in investments in private middle-market companies. It invests through first lien, second lien, unitranche, and mezzanine debt financing, often with a corresponding equity investment. The fund prefers to invest in US and Canada. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Stellus Capital Investment Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Stellus Capital Investment and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW Get Free Report) insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 29,991 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.80, for a total transaction of $2,033,389.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 81,446 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,522,038.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Charles Schwab Price Performance Charles Schwab stock opened at $67.17 on Friday. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 52-week low of $45.00 and a 52-week high of $73.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $64.91 and a 200-day moving average of $60.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.44, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Get Charles Schwab alerts: Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 26.90% and a return on equity of 21.33%. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.07 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.34 EPS for the current year. Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement Institutional Trading of Charles Schwab The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. Charles Schwabs dividend payout ratio is currently 39.37%. Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SCHW. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 54.2% in the 2nd quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 135,940 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $7,705,000 after purchasing an additional 47,792 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY increased its position in Charles Schwab by 0.5% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 8,102,475 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $444,826,000 after acquiring an additional 42,588 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 551,682 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $30,287,000 after buying an additional 166,316 shares during the period. Act Two Investors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 2nd quarter valued at $13,488,000. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 32,214 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,769,000 after buying an additional 1,843 shares in the last quarter. 81.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SCHW. JMP Securities reissued a market outperform rating and issued a $77.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a market perform rating and a $77.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a neutral rating and issued a $71.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $69.92. View Our Latest Analysis on SCHW About Charles Schwab (Get Free Report) The Charles Schwab Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a savings and loan holding company that provides wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Investor Services and Advisor Services. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Charles Schwab Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Charles Schwab and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. They are not something that stands out to anyone who isnt looking for them. Embedded in a discreet corner of a shopping mall, cryptocurrency ATMs have appeared, looking more like a slot machine than a bank ATM. In one of them, in the center of Madrid, there is a strange warning in capital letters: Important: if you have received a call from your boss telling you to come here, do not buy! You are the victim of a scam. This disconcerting message is also not the expected welcome for potential cryptocurrency investors who, once they stand in front of the screen, are informed that the activity they are about to carry out is not regulated, among other conditions. However, next to the machine there is a long line of anxious customers, when barely an hour is left before the ATM closes. Worldwide, there are 40,000 ATMs that work with cryptocurrencies, according to data from the analysis firm Coin ATM Radar. These BTMs, as they are known, allow for the sale of cryptocurrencies (also the purchase, although this is a minority of transactions), and their attraction lies in the fact that they bring the complex world of cryptoassets down to street level (or to the shopping mall): many of these firms target their services to people with little knowledge of the sector and, usually, low incomes. Their big appeal is quick cash and, in some cases, anonymity. Crypto-assets, as a form of investment, are not yet regulated. The European regulation that will bring order to their activity, MICA (short for markets in crypto-assets) will not come into force until the end of this year, and then only in a small part. We operate among many gray lines, notes Aitor de Linares Serrano, head of marketing for Shitcoins, a BTM operator, in Spain. Often we dont know were doing something wrong, until we do it. Sandra (35 years old, Madrid), has been looking for a cryptocurrency ATM for four days. She has moved, she says, from a house she squats in the Barajas neighborhood to a shopping center in the Salamanca neighborhood as a last resort. I need money, the police came to my apartment this morning. Sandra is far from the usual profile of the crypto bro, and her search for cash is due not to the resurgence of bitcoin, which topped $69,000 on the stock market for the first time on Tuesday, but rather she is looking to make a quick buck through Worldcoin, the new crypto project of OpenAI founder Sam Altman, which is already worth some $10 billion on the stock market and has risen 337% since 2023. The deal seems straightforward: users sell their biometric data to the company and, in return, Worldcoin, which uses the images to advance the development of AI programs, pays with redeemable cryptocurrencies or tokens. Prices are variable, but this month the iris capture is paid at 10 tokens, plus a biweekly subscription of an uncertain amount (now, three tokens) and a bonus of 10 for each additional user referred (up to five at most). And, although users may not know what bitcoin is, the currency moves up and down like all other cryptoassets. It now trades above seven dollars, so the image transfer brings in at least about 70 euros. It has four million users globally. The Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) ordered on Wednesday the blocking of this activity (and the blocking of the data already collected). The authority has given Tools For Humanity, the technology company that developed it, 72 hours to stop the Orb, devices that capture the image, from operating for three months. Worldcoin plunged 10% after the suspension. GBTC ATM in Madrid, this week. Mario Bermudo Next to the storefront of a GBTC Finance establishment on Paseo de la Habana in Madrid, which includes one of its 30 BTMs in the capital, a dozen people wait to redeem their Worldcoin tokens. None of them know that bitcoins valuation has brushed $1.5 trillion. Nor do they care. Nor do they fit the profile of a cryptoasset aficionado: they are mostly immigrants looking for new ways to send remittances to their home country, or people looking to cash in on the latest fad. There are people who pay their room rent with this, they admit. Others are also unclear about the commissions they charge for using their machines, and most brokers dont provide that information until the user is in the middle of a transaction. One woman was not even aware that she had to own cryptocurrencies in order to get money. Our clients are usually people who are unfamiliar with the world of cryptocurrencies. We help them, says the CEO of GBTC Finance, Alejandro Montoya, who acknowledges that the commissions charged in the 19 branches it has in Spain tend to vary: where there is more demand, the commissions are higher. Jose Ruiz (51 years old), earns 1,300 a month as a corpse embalmer and has come to this store to redeem Worldcoin cryptocurrencies for the first time. He admits that he decided to scan his iris and sell his biometric data after a friends recommendation. When asked about the lack of regulation on cryptoassets and the warnings issued about data protection, Jose lights a cigarette and shrugs his shoulders. Dont look a gift horse in the mouth, he concludes dryly. High commissions The commissions charged by these ATMs are higher than those of traditional banking and, also, than those of the operating cryptocurrency platforms. In Spain, as an example, GBTC charges under 5% in commissions to buy bitcoin, and 7% if the client wishes to sell cryptocurrencies, according to a company manager. BitBases commissions, on the other hand, usually touch double digits: if you make a transaction between 20 and 1,000 euros, they charge a 10% commission, and if the client withdraws or sells an amount above 1,000 to 2,500 euros, 8%, they claim. The manager points out that the cheapest and most attractive method is by bank transfer, where they only charge 5%, although some banks, such as Caixabank, usually refuse. However, if you are looking to redeem a Worldcoin token, like most customers around the BitBase ATM, the fees fly to 25%, a decision that the company made in the face of the growing popularity of the currency. Both this platform and GBTC require a bank account and an ID to be able to operate in their ATMs, something that will be mandatory with the entry into force of MICA, but which is already usually complied with by the most well-known exchanges. Not so in the case of Shitcoins, since, as it explains on its website, it works against the financial system. It thus allows the withdrawal of up to 190 euros without any kind of control, in exchange for a commission much higher than that of the aforementioned financial system: up to 10% on each withdrawal. Now, Shitcoins Club, a Polish cryptocurrency firm that defines itself as anarcho-capitalist defends that it does not distribute Worldcoin because it goes against the companys philosophy. What Worldcoin does is buy personal information, says its marketing manager, Aitor de Linares Serrano. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Toroso Investments LLC boosted its holdings in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD Free Report) by 53.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,051 shares of the aerospace companys stock after buying an additional 3,152 shares during the period. Toroso Investments LLCs holdings in General Dynamics were worth $2,000,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 959,925 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $212,115,000 after purchasing an additional 25,931 shares in the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of General Dynamics by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 14,992 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $3,313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,790 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $838,000 after buying an additional 1,058 shares in the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 425 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cito Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in General Dynamics by 60.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cito Capital Group LLC now owns 3,200 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. 86.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get General Dynamics alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research firms have commented on GD. StockNews.com lowered General Dynamics from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of General Dynamics in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Alembic Global Advisors lowered General Dynamics from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $296.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on General Dynamics from $286.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $271.69. General Dynamics Stock Down 0.3 % Shares of General Dynamics stock opened at $272.30 on Friday. General Dynamics Co. has a 1 year low of $202.35 and a 1 year high of $277.43. The business has a 50-day moving average of $264.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $246.65. The company has a market capitalization of $74.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.92. General Dynamics (NYSE:GD Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The aerospace company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.68 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $11.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.39 billion. General Dynamics had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 7.84%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.62 EPS for the current year. General Dynamics Increases Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This is a boost from General Dynamicss previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. General Dynamicss dividend payout ratio is 43.93%. Insider Activity at General Dynamics In related news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total transaction of $19,414,117.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 149,205 shares of the companys stock, valued at $39,502,023.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other General Dynamics news, EVP Mark C. Roualet sold 73,330 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.75, for a total value of $19,414,117.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 149,205 shares in the company, valued at $39,502,023.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 32,355 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.31, for a total value of $8,551,750.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 773,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,569,860.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the companys stock. General Dynamics Profile (Free Report) General Dynamics Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Aerospace, Marine Systems, Combat Systems, and Technologies. The Aerospace segment produces and sells business jets; and offers aircraft maintenance and repair, management, aircraft-on-ground support and completion, charter, staffing, and fixed-base operator services. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for General Dynamics Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for General Dynamics and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Toroso Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST Free Report) by 15.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,076 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock after buying an additional 827 shares during the quarter. Toroso Investments LLCs holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1,553,400.0% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,535 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $5,829,000 after acquiring an additional 15,534 shares in the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 2,321 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 11.1% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 31,280 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $11,748,000 after purchasing an additional 3,113 shares during the last quarter. Sandler Capital Management lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 36.6% in the third quarter. Sandler Capital Management now owns 17,754 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $6,661,000 after buying an additional 4,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 72,770 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $27,304,000 after acquiring an additional 1,446 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.23% of the companys stock. Get West Pharmaceutical Services alerts: West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.9 % Shares of WST opened at $358.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.55, a PEG ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 2.24. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $309.43 and a 1-year high of $415.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $363.52 and a 200 day moving average of $365.14. West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend West Pharmaceutical Services ( NYSE:WST Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $732.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $740.43 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 20.12% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The companys revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year. The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.22%. West Pharmaceutical Servicess dividend payout ratio is currently 10.15%. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WST. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. UBS Group cut their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $435.20. View Our Latest Report on West Pharmaceutical Services Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.85, for a total transaction of $23,077,900.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 152,908 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $55,023,943.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total transaction of $724,053.78. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.85, for a total value of $23,077,900.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 152,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,023,943.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 73,163 shares of company stock worth $26,361,334 over the last three months. 1.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. About West Pharmaceutical Services (Free Report) West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for West Pharmaceutical Services Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for West Pharmaceutical Services and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Warby Parker Inc. (NYSE:WRBY Get Free Report) CFO Steven Clive Miller sold 8,708 shares of Warby Parker stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.88, for a total value of $103,451.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 191,104 shares in the company, valued at $2,270,315.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Steven Clive Miller also recently made the following trade(s): Get Warby Parker alerts: On Thursday, December 14th, Steven Clive Miller sold 10,875 shares of Warby Parker stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.22, for a total value of $132,892.50. On Monday, December 11th, Steven Clive Miller sold 21,550 shares of Warby Parker stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.42, for a total value of $246,101.00. Warby Parker Stock Down 2.4 % Shares of NYSE WRBY opened at $12.13 on Friday. Warby Parker Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.50 and a twelve month high of $16.49. The firm has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.46 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a 50 day moving average of $13.60 and a 200 day moving average of $12.81. Analysts Set New Price Targets Warby Parker ( NYSE:WRBY Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.11) by ($0.04). Warby Parker had a negative return on equity of 16.36% and a negative net margin of 9.44%. The firm had revenue of $161.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $161.01 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Warby Parker Inc. will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Warby Parker from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Warby Parker in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $16.29. Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Warby Parker Institutional Inflows and Outflows Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Polen Capital Management LLC raised its position in Warby Parker by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 369,840 shares of the companys stock worth $4,867,000 after purchasing an additional 40,982 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new stake in Warby Parker in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,430,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in Warby Parker by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,277,969 shares of the companys stock worth $122,098,000 after acquiring an additional 43,601 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Warby Parker by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 598,922 shares of the companys stock worth $7,882,000 after acquiring an additional 80,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Warby Parker by 104.6% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 21,073 shares of the companys stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 10,773 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.24% of the companys stock. Warby Parker Company Profile (Get Free Report) Warby Parker Inc provides eyewear products. The company offers eyeglasses, sunglasses, light-responsive lenses, blue-light-filtering lenses, and contact lenses. It also provides accessories, such as cases, lenses kit with anti-fog spray, pouches, and anti-fog lens spray through its retail stores, website, and mobile apps. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Warby Parker Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Warby Parker and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. In recent years, there has been evidence indicating that nanoplastics are capable of entering breast milk, the placenta and blood plasma, as well as accumulating inside cells. Although some animal studies suggested that these ubiquitous particles could have health effects, there was a lack of analysis that pointed to this link in humans. However, this changed this week after the publication of an article in The New England Journal of Medicine. A team led by Raffaele Marfella, from the University of Campania (Italy), analyzed 257 patients who went to three hospitals in the Naples region to undergo a surgical procedure to treat the accumulation of atherosclerotic plaques in the carotid artery, in the neck. This buildup can cause clogged arteries, which increases the risk of cardiovascular problems. Those responsible for the study took samples of these plaques and analyzed the presence of microplastics and nanoplastics. Their results show that 58% of the patients had traces of these plastic particles and, after monitoring those who had them and those who did not, they noted that, in the case of those who did, the accumulated risk of dying from any cause, myocardial infarction and stroke multiplied by 4.5. It is a conclusive result that opens a new vision about the pollutants to which we are exposed and dont see, says Jaume Marrugat, a researcher at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute in Barcelona, who did not participate in the study. Although the results do not establish a cause-and-effect link, there are clear factors that point in that direction. Inflammatory biomarkers, which show the bodys response to what it considers a threat and increase the risk of heart disease, were higher among those with nanoplastics in the carotid. This study highlights the importance of inflammation in arteriosclerosis, because we are used to thinking about cholesterol or hypertension as risk factors that produce this deterioration, but they are all inflammatory processes, like the one that nanoplastics have shown to cause, says Enrique Gutierrez, a cardiologist at the Gregorio Maranon University Hospital in Madrid. Furthermore, the carotid is an artery and the heart is also irrigated by arteries, the coronary arteries, so we can infer that what happens in the carotid will also happen in the coronary artery, concludes Marrugat. Other studies have found that those who are exposed to plastic pollution at work have a higher risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases. Animal models had also shown how nanoplastics, after being ingested or inhaled, are easily distributed throughout the body through the bloodstream and accumulate in well-irrigated organs, including the heart. The study was carried out with a relatively small number of patients, and the authors themselves admit the possibility that the samples they used may have been contaminated. However, if confirmed, the results are troubling. Nearly 400 million tons of plastics are produced each year for products that can be found everywhere. A recent study published in the journal PNAS showed that approximately 250,000 plastic nanoparticles could be found in each one-liter plastic bottle. In addition, the particles that are released by a water bottle when it gets warm, or when the cap is opened and closed, can continue to divide to almost infinity. The team led by Marfella observed that most of the particles detected were below 200 nanometers and that, the smaller the size, the easier it is for them to colonize organs or even cells. In a relatively new field of study, there are still important unknowns. The researchers saw no differences in the presence of nanoplastics in patients living in different regions. We have no hypotheses at this time [regarding why some patients accumulate nanoplastics in their atheroma plaques and others do not], but we are preparing larger studies to explore the association between exposure to plastics and the accumulation of micro- and nanoplastics in the tissues, says Francesco Prattichizzo, a researcher at IRCCS MultiMedica and co-author of the study. These future studies will also serve to understand the weight of nanoplastics compared to other risk factors. As the authors of the study point out, in the last decades, at a time in which the populations exposure to plastics has greatly increased, the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases has actually decreased. New analysis techniques have made it possible to detect the presence of plastics in places where it used to be unthinkable, and now the different types of particles that can accumulate in the body can be identified. That way it will be possible to know their origin, the different risks posed by each type of particle and what preventive measures can be established in the face of what could be a global health problem, if results such as those published by the Italian team are confirmed. If microplastics and nanoplastics pose a significant health problem, then the use of a material that can remain in the environment for centuries, that in most cases has a single use and of which only 9% gets recycled, will have to be reassessed. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Catarina Basto does a quick count of the instant lottery tickets that she sells in her stationery store in the center of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. We have 21 different kinds, not counting the special products that come out for Christmas, Easter or the vacation season, she says. Raspadinhas, as the popular game is known in that country, can cost from a few cents to more than $16. The mechanics are simple: players scratch off some numbers to see if a lucky match will entitle them to a prize. They are sold everywhere; until January of last year, they could even be purchased at post office stalls an irresistible temptation for the retirees who went there to collect their pensions at the beginning of each month. The government banned their sale at the branches of the CTT the company that operates the postal service as a result of the study Quem Paga a Raspadinha (in English: Who pays for the scratch-off tickets), financed by the Economic and Social Council in 2023, which brought to light worrying figures about the addictive potential of this game. However, dealing with this gambling problem will require the government that emerges from the early elections that Portugal is holding on Sunday to take new measures. The report, made by seven researchers from the University of Minho, concluded that approximately 100,000 people had problems with this lottery, with about 30,000 already suffering from a pathological addiction. The authors of the study were astonished by the data: We knew that it was a significant problem, but not that it had such a high incidence, says Pedro Morgado, professor of psychiatry at the University of Minho and one of the coordinators of the study along with the economist Luis Aguiar-Conraria. The most troubling part for Morgado is the predominant profile of the most frequent players: low-income, advanced-age, uneducated people with manual occupations. We saw that gambling especially affects the most vulnerable layers due to several reasons: the rules are simple, it is widely spread in cafes, newsstands and supermarkets, the reward can be immediate and the bets are cheap, which creates the illusion that one is not spending much, explains Morgado. To this, he adds the effects of the indirect publicity that the raspadinha gets every time someone wins big and it appears in the media. A man scratches a Portuguese instant lottery ticket. Joao Henriques At the newsstand he has run for three years near a shopping center in Lisbon, Xavier Sepulveda witnesses this phenomenon every day, although his demographic perception is different. The people who buy the most are over 50, but there are clients of all kinds, from a cleaning lady that takes a 1 raspadinha every day to a lady who owns many apartments that spends 500 every day. Everyone plays according to their possibilities, he says. The sale of scratch-off tickets skyrockets during the holidays, Sepulveda explains, because giving them out as Christmas presents has become a tradition in recent years. He also noticed that the sales increased during the Covid-19 lockdown. Ive never sold as much tobacco and raspadinhas as I did during the pandemic, due to peoples anxiety, he says. Morgado speaks about a historical turning point in the evolution of the instant lottery. In Portugal, it began to gain popularity after the 2008 crisis, and especially during the harsh austerity measures that followed, starting in 2011. In 2014, it took a huge leap and became the most popular game, he explains. Another indirect, poisoned gift from the troika, the institutional triad formed by the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank, which intervened in the countrys administration between 2011 and 2014 in exchange for a 78 billion bailout. The adjustments and cuts of those days impoverished large sections of the population. The growth in sales of raspadinhas was collateral damage of the time of the troika. People turned to them in the hope of finding financial balance for their lives, continues Morgado. An instant lottery ticket in a Portuguese establishment. The monopoly of these instant lotteries in Portugal is in the hands of the Santa Casa de Misericordia, an institution founded in 1498 by Queen Leonor to help people in need and which today develops social, educational and cultural initiatives for the groups with fewer resources. The paradox posed by the fact that the institution that uses money to help the most disadvantaged is financed with a product that harms their mental health is a hard one to solve. This is a social problem that affects those that Santa Casa supports the most, which are the most vulnerable and most in need of social and health support, admitted the head of the institution, Ana Jorge, to the Lusa agency, days after the study of the Economic and Social Council was published. Jorge offered the organizations collaboration to fight addiction and promote responsible gambling. The study, which will be complemented with two new stages, found that people with monthly incomes between 400 and 664 ($435 to $725, approximately) are three times more likely to be frequent buyers than those who earn more than 1,500 ($1,650). In addition, those over 66 years of age are twice as likely to fall into it as young people. The researchers also observed a relationship between instant lottery ticket purchases and the consumption of alcohol, which favors disinhibition and difficulties in making decisions that are beneficial to health, state the conclusions. The research coordinator does not see prohibition as the solution. Every time we ban something, the immediate effect is people switching to other unregulated, riskier games, warns the psychiatrist. Among the alternative measures, he proposes greater control of indirect advertising, the application of self-exclusion mechanisms similar to those in other forms of gambling and, in the long term, educating people more about the risks of gambling disorders in instant lotteries. Morgado praises some government decisions, such as the dissociation of the raspadinha from the national heritage its funds used to be allocated to cultural institutions, promoting the idea of spending on a good cause and the prohibition of sales at post offices. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition MMWO condemns | IMPHAL, Mar 9: The Manipur Meitei Pangal Welfare Organisation (MMWO) has vehemently condemned the brutal physical assault on a driver and a handyman at Moreh recently and urged the Government to arrest the culprits by March 13. If the culprits are not booked and arrested by March 13, MMWO will launch stringent agitations, said its president Boboi Korimayum. Notably, the two Meitei Pangals were brutally assaulted by suspected armed Kuki militants near Moreh College on March 7. At the office of the MMWO at Hatta Minuthong today, Boboi said the driver and the handyman had delivered sand for construction of a barrack at IB Police Post at Moreh, and were returning when they got abducted and beaten black and blue. MMWO strongly condemns the incident in the strongest terms. No community should allow such incidents to take place in the future, he said. The incident happened in Moreh where Central forces have a large presence. Despite their presence, Moreh has become a hotspot for crime and "Kuki volunteers" have been given a free hand. This is very unfortunate, Boboi said. Amid the turmoil in the State, there have been many incidents where drivers and handymen ferrying essential goods were assaulted. However, the Government is yet to take concrete steps for safety and security of the drivers and handymen, he said. Boboi further asserted that the violent incidents and crimes happening in the peripheries have proved that the Central forces are ineffective. MNRF warns | IMPHAL, Mar 9: The Manipur Naga Revolutionary Front (MNRF) has warned an individual named Abraham Naga against levelling unfounded allegations against the front. In a statement, MNRF said the charges levelled against the front on social media could cause misunderstanding to the people. Abraham had levelled serious charges that MNRF is "operating under the patronage" of NSCN/Naga Army Chief and that the MNRF and Pambei-led UNLF are "sleeping partners." Abraham Naga shouldn't "poke nose beyond the limit" without knowing the aspirations and objectives of the MNRF. Today Sunny with gusty winds developing this afternoon. High 68F. WNW winds at 5 to 10 mph, increasing to 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible. Tonight Clear skies. Low near 35F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Tomorrow Plentiful sunshine. High 64F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. 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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 A woman cries as she calls out to the government to help and rescue school children that were kidnapped by gunmen in Chikun, Nigeria, Thursday, March 7, 2024. The kidnapping of 287 grade school students by gunmen in northwestern Nigeria this week was only the latest in a slew of such raids since the infamous Chibok schoolgirls abduction by the Islamic militant group Boko Haram a decade ago. Around 1500 students have been kidnapped in raids since 2014. The kidnappings take place in the countrys troubled northern region, where relentless violence by insurgent Islamic militant organizations and by bandit groups with no particular ideology have crumbled communities and killed thousands of people. While some of the Chibok school victims were believed to have been forced into marriage with militants, most of the kidnappings since then have been for ransom. Bandits also attack communities to force adults into labor on seized farmlands and mining sites. Some of the raids have targeted colleges, such as a 2021 attack on Greenfield University in Kaduna State in which at least five students were killed when parents failed to meet ransom demands. But most victims have been schools for younger students. Here is a closer look at the crisis in Africas most populous nation: What is happening in Northern Nigeria? The impoverished and educationally disadvantaged northern region of Nigeria has been worst hit by a wave of crime and insecurity. The government claims progress against Boko Haram and its splinter Islamic State in West African Province, but the groups remain active and have established bases, including in Niger State near Abuja, outside of their original northeastern birthplace. But an even worse and seemingly intractable problem has arisen in the northwest where large numbers of armed gangs, called bandits, have taken control of swaths of territory, invading schools and communities to conduct mass killings and abductions. They have seized mining sites and farmlands and forced rural people to labor for them. The Nigerian armed forces, fatigued from fighting endless internal conflicts for more than 10 years, have done little to stop the gangs. The gangs threaten the countrys food security because they control parts of Nigeria where much of the countrys homegrown food is produced. Who are the bandits conducting mass abductions? There has been no claim of responsibility in the latest attack, but it happened in an area where bandits are active and have attacked communities in the past. The bandits generally are of the nomadic Fulani community, who initially took up arms to fight the ethnic Hausa communities in Zamfara State over access to land and water resources. But they have now developed into organized armed groups specializing in abduction for ransom and forcibly taking over farmlands and gold mines. There are believed to be hundreds of gangs, each with scores of armed fighters. Why are the abductions happening? The abductions generally are aimed at obtaining ransom and have become a lucrative business, according to Shehu Sani, a former federal lawmaker from Kaduna, where the attack occurred on Thursday. Schoolchildren are targeted because the bandits know that it will evoke public sympathy for the pupils, and pressure will be mounted on the government to bow to their demands, Sani said in a post on X. The government does not admit it, but sources close to the negotiations say ransom payments are made by both families and state governments, Sani said. Ransom payments and other illicit incomes, such as proceeds from seized farms and mines, have helped the gangs amass a massive arsenal of weapons strong enough to even down military planes. Nnamdi Obasi, an advisor at Brussels-based International Crisis Group, said the willingness of desperate families, embattled communities and even the state governments to pay ransoms has turned mass kidnapping into arguably the most lucrative criminal enterprise in the northwest zone. Affected communities often are in remote rural locations where the government is largely absent, making them vulnerable to attacks from bandits based in nearby forests. How was the government been responding? While the federal government has taken an official position of armed response, some state governments such as those in Zamfara and Katsina have tried softer measures, such as negotiations and amnesty deals with the bandits. Obasi said the failure of state and federal governments to apprehend kidnappers has added to a climate of impunity that only enables more heinous atrocities. Some gang leaders have been killed over the years, including one recently in Kaduna, but that has only put a small dent in the problem. Enticing gang members to leave behind the lucrative business of kidnapping has proven difficult. Are there threats to education? The states in northern Nigeria already have the countrys lowest rates of literacy, and high rates of children staying out of school. The spate of abductions in recent years could affect the efforts of the government and development partners to encourage parents to send their children to school. Many parents in rural areas are now afraid of allowing their children to go to school, Sani said. This is a serious problem for basic education in Northern Nigeria. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Bengal has recently exported vegetables and fruits worth Rs 5,700 crore and Rs 5,500 crore respectively, said Subrata Gupta, additional chief secretary, food processing industries and horticulture. He was addressing the MCCI Food Processing and Horticulture Conclave recently held in the city. Mr Gupta said India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables after China. In 2021-22, India produced about 205 million MT of vegetables and 107 million MT of fruits. Bengal ranks first or second in the production of vegetables and seventh or ninth in fruits, said Mr Gupta. Advertisement He said there is huge potential to invest in harvesting, storage, transport and processing in recent years. He regretted that one sixth of production is wasted due to no use of appropriate technology. He said problems faced by the entrepreneurs in the food processing sector are poor CIBIL score, lack of balance sheet and lack of experience. He said only 25 per cent of the cultivated land is used to grow food and 75 per cent is used for animal husbandry. Mr Partha Mandal, general manager NABARD said if FPOs in Bengal come up with micro food production units, such as households then it can create winters. Mr Mandal said of 900 FPOs in the state, 400 are under NABARD, which has organized over 5 lakh farmers under FPOs in Bengal. Mr Mandal spoke about Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), which helps the small producers to onboard their products in e-commerce. Gold nanoparticles, also known as gold bhasma, used in medicines and beauty products not only protect the skin from external infestations but are also capable of arresting the effects of aging with declared beneficial anti-aging, hydrating, restorative, and regenerative properties, the researchers from the Paris University in France said in a study. Demand for such beauty products is already on the increase across the world as in India. In a significant validation of ancient Indian Ayurvedic practices regarding the use of gold nanoparticles, also known as gold bhasma in skincare, European researchers have affirmed the efficacy of these elements in combating aging. Advertisement The study Assessment of antioxidant and dermoprotective activities of gold nanoparticles as safe cosmetic ingredient published in the science journal Elsevier said that solar ultraviolet rays, pollution, and cigarette smoke harm the skin cells. The pollutants damage the epidermal and fibroblast cells of the skin leading to dryness, infection, and inflammation, while beauty products enriched with gold nanoparticles have efficiency to protect these cells from degradation. Dr. Sanchit Sharma, Director of Aimil-Ayouthveda, agreed that products containing gold nanoparticles are being increasingly adopted by the younger generation in India. Recently, in collaboration with Indian researchers, AIMIL has prepared a sparkling gold face wash by mixing 24-carat gold nanoparticles with Kashmiri saffron, which fortifies its effects. This special formulation, by using the synergistic benefits of these natural ingredients including gold nanoparticles, Kashmiri saffron, floral distillates, and juices of fruits known for their high antioxidant contents , works to keep the skin youthful and increases collagen production. European researchers too in the study found that beauty products with gold nanoparticles benefit the epidermal and fibroblast cells of the skin. The damaged cells of the skin begin to heal, and the process of collagen production accelerates. Thus increases the elasticity of the skin, preventing wrinkles & fine lines, they said. In fact, say the researchers, gold nanoparticles do not have any side-effects as these are not toxic, not phototoxic, not genotoxic, non-irritant and non-sensitizing according to OECD guidelines even as these slow down the skin cell degradation, simultaneously promoting their regeneration. In a nut-shell, the study underscores the potential of gold nanoparticles in skincare formulations and highlights their role in maintaining youthful, healthy-looking skin. In a reaction to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals speech in the Assembly on Saturday where he remembered former Delhi minister Manish Sisodia, who is presently behind the bars, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said that Kejriwal today sounded as if he is fighting a lost battle. Sachdeva further accused the Delhi CM of giving false hope to their jailed party leader Manish Sisodia by saying that he hoped the next budget will be presented by the former minister. The BJP leader claimed that Kejriwal was under pressure from the jailed AAP leader and due to that time and again gives him false political hopes, despite knowing that Sisodia is unlikely to get bail in near future, Sachdeva added. Advertisement The BJP leader further hit out at Kejriwal, alleging that for the last decade he and his party have been giving false hopes of development to the people of Delhi and have misled the citys residents. Sachdeva also criticized Kejriwal, claiming that AAP leader takes Lord Rams name when he mentions ED summons and further added that he must know that every time he politically takes lords name, he hurts the sentiments of crores of voters, who are all devotees of Lord Ram. The Delhi BJP chief further said that dozens of political parties in the country and thousands of elected representatives who have realised that people from their constituencies have pinned their hopes on Prime Minister Narendra Modis agenda of development, has prompted them to move over to BJP and join the journey of development. On the auspicious occasion of Mahashivratri, the makers of the Vishnu Manchu-starrer Kannappa unveiled the first-look poster of the film, featuring Vishnu as the greatest devotee of Lord Shiva. The poster shows Vishnu as Bhakta Kannappa with unparalleled charisma and intensity. In the poster, Vishnu stands poised with a bow and arrow after emerging from a waterfall, ready to unleash his prowess on his target. Advertisement The image hints at the devotion and determination that defines the character of Kannappa. Sharing the poster on social media, Vishnu wrote: Honoured and privileged to portray the greatest devotee of Lord Shiva, Kannappa. Today on MahaShivaRathri, here is your Kannappa. Featuring actors like Mohan Babu, Mohanlal, Prabhas, Sarath Kumar and Brahmanandam, team Kannappa is currently shooting its second schedule in New Zealand with over 600 international crew members. Talking about the same, Vishnu shared: Kannappa has been an incredible journey filled with dedication and passion. It goes beyond being a film. Kannappa delves into the profound exploration of a warriors soul. Im thrilled to reveal the magic that has unfolded as we bring this film to life. Choosing to showcase the first look on Mahashivratri feels like the blessings of lord Shiva are guiding us. The film is directed by Mukesh Kumar Singh. Uttarakhand witnessed a record of more than 6 crore tourist footfalls in 2023. With its numerous religious places, especially the Chardham pilgrimage, the hill state is turning out to be a crowd-puller. Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj gets candid in an interview with P R Singh of The Statesman on his governments development work, people-centric decisions and efforts to develop non-religious tourist destinations. Q: Uttarakhand has become the first state to make a law on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). What changes do you foresee? A: We are the first state in the country to create history by passing the UCC bill in the Assembly. It is a big leap towards ushering in an era of uniformity in civil rights and abolishing certain traditional ill practices among communities cutting across religious lines. UCC will have a longterm impact in bringing justice and well-being, especially to Muslim women. They will find it much easier and comfortable with the passage of time. Advertisement In fact, it will lead to parity in civil rights among women of all communities. Uttarakhand is also the first state to uphold the nations constitutional obligation on UCC as it will be implemented no sooner the President of India gives her assent. Several other states have now demanded our draft to legislate UCC for their people. Q: Muslim leaders allege the UCC is an interference in their personal law and aimed at garnering votes in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. A: UCC does not acknowledge or differentiate among Hindus, Muslims or other communities on religious lines. Negative reports about the proposed law are initiated by people who are against the growth and development of women. They do not want women to progress and get out of their ghettos. Some people, on the other hand, continue their tirade against the BJP government. They do not want the people to know what good was being done for them. UCC law and its implementation has always been our partys national agenda. It was a commitment made to the people as an electoral promise in the 2022 state Assembly elections. UCC has nothing to do with the 2024 general elections. Q: Although Uttarakhand is a favourite destination for religious tourism, non-religious tourism is yet to flourish in the state as compared to other Himalayan states. What steps are the state government and the tourism department taking in this regard? A: We witnessed a record of more than 6 crore tourist footfalls in 2023. Although a majority of them visited Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath, Kedarnath and Hemkunt Sahib shrines, non-religious tourist destinations were also big attractions last season. However, we are committed to develop new non-religious destinations in the coming days. Work is on to develop 13 new unexplored tourist destinations, one each in all 13 districts. Apart from this, several least explored destinations are being upgraded with more services and facilities. Massive investment is planned for the upgradation of renowned destinations like Tehri Lake. Our government is developing huge road and air connectivity infrastructure with a large network of cable cars for creating access to remote hill areas. The tourism department has also embarked upon the Manaskhand Mandir Mala Mission project to create a circuit of temples for promoting tourism in Kumaon hills. In addition, the states tourism policy 2023 entails massive concessional schemes offering subsidies for investors. The governments homestay scheme has also resulted in massive improvisation of lodging infrastructure for tourism. We are also trying to make eco and wildlife tourism more attractive and service-oriented. Q: Investors Summit 2023 resulted in more than Rs 3,000 crore of MoUs in the tourism sector. A:Yes. These are mainly for developing tourism infrastructure, especially setting up cable cars and services for high hill tourists. Work will also be started for creating ideal wedding destinations in the state, also known as devbhoomi. Besides this, investment is also expected in wellness tourism, yoga and other service-oriented sectors. Q: The much-awaited demand for a separate land law is still hanging in the balance in the state. What is the progress on this? A: A separate land law is needed for the natives of Uttarakhand to protect their land holdings from outside buyers. As promised by the chief minister himself, the law is also needed to save agricultural lands in the hills of Uttarakhand. Several parts of the state have witnessed demographic shifts due to large-scale land purchase and settlements in the hills by the outsiders. The special committee report submitted to the state government is being studied. Its recommendations are being examined. The government will take all necessary legal measures on separate land law after that. Meanwhile, contrary to earlier norms, the government has withdrawn the district magistrates power to issue permits for purchase of agricultural land following recommendation by the special committee. Q: The BJP had won all five seats in the last two Lok Sabha polls. Do you think it will repeat its performance for the third time? A: Undoubtedly, we will repeat our Lok Sabha poll performance for the third consecutive time. It will be a clean sweep again. People of Uttarakhand voted for Narendra Modi in the 2022 Assembly poll and they will continue to do so in 2024 as well, irrespective of the type of elections it will be. People of Uttarakhand have put their faith and confidence in Prime Minister Modi and his developmental works. He had openly said that the coming decade belongs to Uttarakhand. Q: Do you think Haldwani mob violence has brought a bad name to the state? A: No, on the contrary, I will say our government took timely action to rein in the unruly mob. Those who were on the rampage, attacked the police and burnt down a police station were taken to task, and the violence could not spread to other parts of the town. This was also a lesson for those encroaching government lands. Swift action by the police and district administration has bolstered the governments image across the country. The closure of the electoral cycle in El Salvador on March 4, marked by the election of municipal councils and delegates to the Central American Parliament, resulted in Nayib Bukeles New Ideas party securing the majority across all popularly-elected positions. However, the dominance of New Ideas in the legislature and mayoral offices doesnt solely stem from the presidents popularity and unconstitutional reelection, but rather, it raises serious questions of potential electoral fraud. Supporters of the president and his party argue that fraud allegations are exaggerated. They claim the recent election results reflect the popular will, despite concerns over low voter turnout. Only 52.6% participated in the presidential and legislative elections, with 38-40% voting in mayoral races, reflecting public disaffection with electoral irregularities and recent redistricting measures that consolidated 262 municipalities to 44. The ruling party may claim that the aim of redistricting was to save money, but winning 43 out of 44 mayoral positions with its allies shows the true goal was amassing power. Disguised as an upright electoral process, it was a blatant move to avoid accusations of dictatorship. On the night of March 3, Bukele claimed that his party had won 58 of the 60 Legislative Assembly seats. However, the presidential votes were still being counted, and the legislative ballot boxes remained unopened. Bukele the astrologer was overly eager to announce a victory falsely cloaked in democracy. Over the next few days, El Salvador witnessed some of the worst election monitoring practices since the series of military dictatorships ended in 1979. The sun was setting on the countrys democracy, and a new dictatorship was rising. The vote counting system failed, and was found to have duplicated votes for Bukeles party, as well as not counting votes for opposition parties. The vote tallying boards absurdly lacked internet connections and some even experienced power outages. Election workers worked tirelessly into the wee hours of the morning counting ballots by hand. Ballots were found stashed in schools that served as polling stations, and ballot boxes showed clear signs of tampering. Since May 2021, El Salvador has lacked a true separation of powers, and citizen rights are increasingly vulnerable to the whims and foibles of its president. The election was so flawed and inconsistent that the head of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal mentioned the possibility of boycotting the process. The official, who was appointed by the ruling party, avoided commenting further and accused the news media of bias when they reported that Jose Cristian Portillo Portillo, the chief of the electoral tribunals information technology unit, had been a trusted Bukele employee from 2015 to 2021. That fraud was blatant, with ballots that had to be folded up to four times to fit into the ballot boxes. Some votes were were marked with a felt pen instead of the crayon supplied by the electoral tribunal. The vote count was mainly overseen by New Ideas supporters who aggressively blocked press access, excluded opposition parties and even ejected an observer from the Organization of American States. The National Civil Police surrounded every voting station, adding to the oppressive atmosphere. The outcome favored the ruling party, of course. But if the vote counting formula had not changed, opposition candidates would have won at least 11 seats in the legislature. The goal was clear: undermine the minority parties. The tactic proved so effective that it also decimated the party (GANA) that carried Bukele to his first term as president. Bukeles opposition has now been reduced to three legislators and one mayor. Claudia Ortiz is one of the most prominent opposition legislators and overcame a fierce smear campaign to win reelection. After winning, there were false allegations connecting her votes to gang members. She has been vocal in calling for the repeal of the two-year-old state of emergency, and has harshly criticized the numerous arbitrary arrests, some of which have ended in the deaths of innocent people in prison. Dissenting voices like Claudia Ortiz are vital in a country where democracy has been tossed out like a Christmas tree in January. Yet even the opposition has not taken up the certain fundamental issues that affect every citizen. Ensuring access to comprehensive sexual education for children and adolescents is vital in a democratic society for informed decision-making. However, the conservative right-wing opposition remained silent on this crucial issue ahead of the municipal elections. When those in power fail to speak up against threats to fundamental rights, the public loses its ability to demand what is rightfully theirs. In a breakthrough for Oppositions INDIA bloc, the DMK and Congress on Saturday announced seat-sharing agreement in Tamil Nadu for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. As per the agreement, Congress has been given nine seats in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry. The remaining 30 of the 39 seats in Tamil Nadu will be contested by DMK and other allies. Congress will contest elections on 9 seats in Tamil Nadu and one seat in Puducherry. On the remaining seats, we will support the candidates of DMK and alliance parties. We will win all 40 seats of Tamil Nadu, Congress MP KC Venugopal told reporters. Advertisement The Congress leader also exuded confidence of winning all the 39 seats in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry. We are confident that INDIA Alliance will win all 40 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. They (NDA) can make the perception that they are winning but INDIA Alliance will be ruling the country after this election, the Congress leader said. In 2019, the Congress had contested nine seats in the state and won eight, while the DMK swept all the 20 seats it has contested. Earlier today, Kamal Haasans Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) also joined the DMK alliance in Tamil Nadu for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. In a major setback back to Opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh ahead of Lok Sabha polls, former union minister Suresh Pachouri on Saturday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Besides Mr Pachouri, four other senior Congress leaders, including former MP Gajendra Singh Rajukhedi, ex-MLAs Sanjay Shukla, Arjun Paliya, and Vishal Patel, also took the saffron plunge and joined the ruling BJP. Pachouri, once a Gandhi-family loyalist, said that the Congress party has alienated itself from its principles and policies. Advertisement It has alienated itself from the public and is unable to establish a relationship, he said while addressing the media after joining the BJP. Pachouri was a prominent Congress face in Madhya Pradesh and served as the grand old partys state president. He was also elected to Rajya Sabha on Congress ticket four times. Madhya Pradesh BJP chief VD Sharma welcomed Pachauri, calling him a saint in the politics of Madhya Pradesh. Someone who does clean politics, who is considered a saint in the politics of Madhya Pradesh has joined the BJP today. He has expressed confidence in them (party leaders). He has said that he wants to work for the country, without any conditionsHe said that those who questioned the Army, who declined the invitation to the (Pran Pratishtha of) Ram Temple need to be given a reply toI welcome him to the party, Sharma said. Taking a potshot at the Congress over its latest high profile exit before Lok Sabha elections, former MP CM and BJPs Bhopal candidate Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that it seems Rahul Gandhi will breathe easy after finishing off the grand old party. It seems Rahul Gandhi will breathe easy only after finishing off the Congress. It will be in line with what Mahatma Gandhi suggested the Congress should do. All good leaders in Congress are fed up with the partys rudderless and directionless state. The Congress appears to be on the verge of extinction, Chouhan said. With the aim of empowering the countrys farmers by equipping them with information, services and facilities using digital technology, Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda inaugurated the Agriculture Integrated Command and Control Center established at Krishi Bhawan in New Delhi. On this occasion, Mr Munda described it as an innovation of the government to make the farmers self-reliant across the country. He said that work is being done with the basic mantra of Prime Minister Narendra Modi Minimum Government-Maximum Governanceso that it can be ensured that the life of a common man is not unnecessarily affected and they do their work wholeheartedly, independently and impartially and empower the nation by making themselves self-reliant, capable and empowered. Advertisement Mr Munda said that today technology has become an integral part of everyones life and the government has its own responsibility as a partner. He said that it is the governments intention to further support people so that everyone can benefit from the technology. He said that with complete transparency, commitment and goal, the government wants that even a common farmer living in a village can make himself self-reliant with technology. No matter how proficient we are in any field, agriculture is a particularly important task because humans cannot live without food. That is why; we have given importance to the agricultural sector and called farmers Annadata because it is through them that food grains are stored in the country, he said. Mr Munda said that the objective of the new initiative is to provide farmers the information about the reality in the farm and also to find out what are the real challenges the agriculture sector is facing. He said that with the availability of real-time data and its analysis, their problems can be resolved. He said the farmers will also be able to avail the benefits of government schemes. This digital innovation is an important opportunity to reflect India in the 21st century. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was accorded a rousing welcome in his Varanasi parliamentary constituency on late Saturday evening. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath welcomed the PM at the airport. The BJP workers gave him a grand welcome amidst conch sound and beating of drums. They also raised slogans of Modi-Modi along with chants of Har-Har Mahadev. Advertisement Strict security arrangements have been made at gate number four of Kashi Vishwanath Dham, where the PM is slated to visit. During his road show from Airport to Vishwanath Dham, the PM was greeted with showering of flower petals by people from both sides of the road. During his 28-km long road show people thronged the roads to welcome their Lok Sabha representative, who will contest from here for the third time. At around 30 points, the BJP workers made special arrangements for welcoming the PM. Later, the PM will worship at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and thereafter will reach Bareka for the night stay. Tomorrow morning, PM Modi will go to Azamgarh to inaugurate five airports of UP and other projects, besides addressing a public meeting Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) will not attend the Baramati rally of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) as seat sharing talks with Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP(SCP) and the Congress could be not finalised, its chief Prakash Ambedkar said on Saturday. Ambedkar also refused to join Rahul Gandhis Mumbai rally later this month, saying it serves no purpose to attend the rally without alliance confirmation. We will not participate in Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)s Baramati rally (to be held today) and Rahul Gandhis Mumbai rally (to be held on March 17) because until we establish coordination with them or join the MVA, attending any such MVA rally serves no purpose, he said. Advertisement Ambedkar revealed that the MVA alliance partners could not build consensus on 15 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra. There are 10 seats where there is no coordination between Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) and Congress. There are 5 seats which are being demanded by NCP (Sharad Pawar), Congress and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray). So in total, there are 15 seats out of 48 in which they do not have coordination and because of this lack of coordination, I think their talks (on seat sharing) are not going ahead, he said Commenting on the lack of coordination between the Maharashtra allies of Oppositions INDIA alliance, the VBA chief said, We go to the meeting, have coffee and biscuits and request them to coordinate with each other so that we can put forward our demands. Sandeep Poundrik, Additional Chief Secretary, Industries Department in Bihar Government and Sanjay Jain, Managing Director, TT Limited, on Saturday launched the Made in Bihar logo to strengthen the manufacturing and marketing network of Made in Bihar Hosiery products. The Made in Bihar Hosiery products are being manufactured in collaboration with hosiery manufacturing company TT Limited and units established by the beneficiaries of Mukhyamantri Udyami Yojana in Sikandarpur Industrial Area, Bihta. Addressing the congregation on the occasion, Poundrik said that 40,049 people have been selected under the Mukhyamantri Udyami Yojana and an amount of Rs 2449 crore has been given to them as stimulus. Advertisement He said that in order to help the new entrepreneurs associated with the Mukhyamantri Udyami Yojana, their coordination with big companies is being ensured of availability of raw material and marketing to ensure regular production. The Additional Chief Secretary said that a tie-up of 40 beneficiaries of Mukhyamantri Mahila Udyami Yojana has been done with a reputed brand in Muzaffarpur Bag Cluster and all of them are manufacturing branded bags. Several people independently started doing their business within a year and have created their own brand. This experiment is being replicated in the field of hosiery in Bihta. Under this, the first 8 beneficiaries have been linked with TT Limited. He further added that the first Plug & Play shed of Sikanderpur Industrial Area of 50,000 square feet has been completed and in this shed space has been provided to the beneficiaries of Mukhyamantri Udyami Yojana. He said that another eight sheds of 50,000 square feet size are under construction, all sets will be of 3 floors. He further emphasised that the Department of Industries is making efforts to develop Sikanderpur Industrial Area as a textile cluster and that efforts are being made to establish Bihta and Muzaffarpur as new centres of hosiery production. Bihar is a huge consumer market of 13 crore people. If the consumer market of the surrounding states is added, then the consumer base of Made in Bihar products turns to be 40 crores. To cater such huge market, there is a need for mass production units in Bihar. If the beneficiaries of Mukhyamantri Udyami Yojana ensure timely manufacturing at low cost without compromising on quality, they will grow immensely, Poundrik added. During the event, Sanjay Jain, the Managing Director of TT Limited, highlighted that the companys products are exported to over 65 countries. The textile cluster being established in Bihta currently operates with approximately 400 machines, and there is potential for it to accommodate up to 4,000 machines in the future, said Jain. He asserted that Bihar holds immense potential for labor-intensive industries such as textile, leather, and gem processing. Rather than fixating on the monetary value of investments pouring into Bihar, our attention should shift to the number of people who will gain employment from these investments, he added. Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh attended the Kisan Mahakumbh organized by the BJP Kisan Morcha at the historic Science College Ground here on Saturday. He was welcomed by Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, accompanied by Deputy CMs Arun Saw and Vijay Sharma. In his address, Singh lauded Prime Minister Modis diplomatic finesse, revealing how PM Modis intervention led to a 4.5-hour ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. This ceasefire facilitated the safe evacuation of approximately 25 thousand Indian students from the tumultuous region, underscoring Indias commitment to its citizens welfare on the global stage. Singh pivoted to the crucial realm of agricultural reforms, juxtaposing the recent union budget for agriculture with that of the Congress government in 2014. In a scathing critique of the Congresss neglect, Singh proclaimed a fivefold increase in budget allocation for farmers under the Modi government since 2014. He also announced the forthcoming provision of free electricity up to 300 units for farmers. Advertisement Expressing heartfelt gratitude for the opportunity to engage with farmers, Singh celebrated Chhattisgarhs swift return to the path of development within 100 days under the BJP government. He candidly condemned the alleged corruption during the Congress tenure and expressed unwavering confidence in Chhattisgarhs rapid progress under the leadership of Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai. In a poignant reflection of his rural roots, Singh underscored Chhattisgarhs pivotal role as a stronghold of farmers, affirming the BJPs steadfast commitment to reshaping the states destiny. He emphasized the intrinsic value of farmers in wealth creation and reiterated PM Modis unwavering commitment to uplift rural communities. The Defense Minister extolled Prime Minister Modis transformative policies, highlighting their profound impact in uplifting 25 crore people out of poverty. Singh pledged comprehensive access to permanent housing and piped water supply under Modis visionary leadership, alongside the provision of soil health cards to farmers in Chhattisgarh. Singh assured farmers of government support in mitigating the fertilizer prices and lauded Modis visionary initiatives to bolster the agricultural sector. He promised the provision of solar lights and free electricity up to 300 units for farmers, reaffirming rapid fulfillment under the double engine government in Chhattisgarh. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai echoed Singhs sentiments, championing the BJP as the unequivocal voice of farmers. Sai outlined a plethora of measures undertaken by the BJP to augment farmers income, emphasizing the governments unwavering commitment to the dignity of mothers and sisters. Rajnath Singhs visit to Chhattisgarh could be significant in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. His meeting with former Chief Minister and Speaker Dr Raman Singh indicates the importance of his presence in shaping the electoral landscape. However, the electoral benefits for the BJP from Rajnath Singhs visit to Chhattisgarh will only become clear after the Lok Sabha election results are announced. Vedanta Lanjigarh, one Indias leading producers of metallurgical grade alumina and a part of Vedanta Aluminium, conducted a week-long health camp for cancer screening and prevention awareness and disability assistance in remote regions of Odishas Kalahandi district. The week-long health campaign is a part of the companys various health programmes, that aims to mitigate several prevalent health maladies and facilitate free-of-cost and quality healthcare for the local communities. The camp reached out to more than 600 residents from nearby communities, taking the companys overall health initiatives reach to 75,000 people in FY24. Advertisement The recently held health campaign encapsulated two major drives a cancer prevention drive that was conducted in collaboration with Mahatma Gandhi Hospital & Research Institute, based in Visakhapatnam a leading cancer hospital in the region. The drive aimed at promoting greater awareness on cancer prevention, timely detection, and care. A screening camp was also organised as part of the campaign and included a diverse range of early detection facilities as well as free consultations with specialists. Secondly, a disability assistance camp was also organised in collaboration with Jaipurfoot, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that works with people with locomotor disabilities by identifying and distributing customised prosthetic aids and appliances. The camp reached out to people with special needs from neighbouring communities, enabling them to lead a self-sufficient life. The initiative was focused on enhancing the quality of life with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of Good Health & Well-being (SDG 3). Speaking on the companys health endeavours, Mr. Pranab Kumar Bhattacharyya, CEO Alumina Business, Vedanta Ltd- said, We firmly believe that access to quality healthcare is a catalyst for socio-economic progress. At Vedanta Lanjigarh, we are dedicated to making a positive impact on the well-being of the communities around us. Through targeted interventions in health, we strive to elevate the collective health standards in remote and underserved regions of the country, contributing to the holistic development of the region. Our commitment is rooted in the belief that a healthier community paves the way for a stronger and more prosperous future. Appreciating the initiative, Mr Chancher Majhi, Sarpanch of Basantpada Gram Panchayat, said, My heartfelt gratitude to Vedanta Lanjigarh for extending regular support to all the villages in vicinity by organising free health drives for the people with different needs. Such kinds of holistic interventions ensure a healthy community and Vedanta successfully fulfils its commitment towards the communitys development through such initiatives. Vedanta Lanjigarh has also been supporting the local communities through several additional healthcare initiatives, including Vedanta Hospital, Maa Santoshi Jankalyan Hospital, MHU (Mobile Health Unit), Cataract Camps, Pehli Udaan, Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan, and Ni-kshay Mitra program. The Congress on Saturday hit back at the BJP for accusing former party president Rahul Gandhi of running away from UPs Amethi parliamentary seat, and asked the saffron party why it is so much worried about Gandhi. We only released the list of 39 candidates yesterday. Wait for our list. Why is the BJP so much worried about Rahul Gandhi now? We will win Amethi and Rae Bareli, we are very much confident, Congress general secretary in-charge of Organization KC Venugopal told reporters. Attacking the BJP, the senior party leader said, These people are trying to create an impression that they are everything. The people of India are everything, not the BJP or Narendra Modi. People of India will decide the future of India. We are very much confident in the people of India. Advertisement On Friday, the Congress released the first list of 39 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, including Gandhi, who has been fielded from Keralas Wayanad, the constituency he currently represents. Since the announcement of Gandhis candidature from Wayanad, the BJP has stepped up its attack on him, asking why he is not contesting from Amethi, which the Congress considers as its bastion. In a post on X, BJPs in-charge of IT department Amit Malviya said, Rahul Gandhi wont contest from Amethi ? Scared ?. In 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Rahul contested from Amethi and Wayanad parliamentary seats. Union minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani defeated Gandhi in Amethi. The INDIA alliance must draw some succour from the response to its rally in Patna on Sunday. The numbers were significant, some estimates putting them at close to a million, and suggested that the machinations that saw the transfer of allegiance of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar from this alliance to the NDA may not gone down too well with voters. The essence of this rally lay thus not just in its magnitude but in the resonance of the issues articulated amid the fervour. While the rally may not have got the play it deserved in mainstream media, the event did serve to articulate the interweaving of a broader political and ideological discourse. Advertisement The rally became a platform where concerns found a vocal expression, transcending the immediate political rhetoric. Economic sanity and justice for the disempowered masses emerged as focal points. The call to hold cronies accountable resonated strongly, challenging the policy of privatisation that has eroded public wealth. The gaping economic inequality, marked by record levels, demanded rectification through job creation and empowering the common mans purchasing power. Beyond economic matters, the rally articulated a broader vision. It advocated for the autonomy of state agencies, a transparent rule of law, and the restoration of freedom of expression. The demand for unbiased policing and investigations, detached from the influence of high offices, became a clarion call for reforming a system, whose corrosion, it must be fairly admitted, began under some of the constituents of the INDIA alliance. Academic institutions and watchdog establishments were not left untouched in this narrative; speakers urging for their emancipation from undue influence. The electoral system itself faced scrutiny, with a plea to free it from pressures that cast doubt on its decisions. Criticism of the government, a cornerstone of democratic philosophy, was emphasised as essential and distinct from anti-state activity. The constitutional injunction for the state to treat all religions equally was reasserted, urging a departure from divisive narratives. As the rallys echoes linger, it sets the stage for a potent electoral campaign. The combined opposition, buoyed by the momentum of March 3, will aim to steer the narrative away from guarantees towards substantive issues. The significance of this moment is not lost, coming just twelve days before the ides of a memorable month. It suggests the possibility of a peaceful, democratic engagement that revitalises the republic. The opposition, elements of it now seemingly united, must tread carefully, mindful that divisive actions may cost them a place in destiny for a considerable time. The oppositions strength lies in unity, and their success in leveraging this moment could shape the future trajectory of Indian democracy. While one swallow does not make a summer, Patna sent out a message. The area surrounding Haitis National Palace in the capital Port-au-Prince witnessed a new escalation of violence Friday night, according to the Spanish news agency EFE. A series of shootings has raised the tension in a large area of the capitals center as confusion grows over what happened. Last week has been one of the most chaotic since the assassination of president Jovenel Moise in July 2021. In the past few days, more than 3,000 prisoners escaped from several prisons, the countrys main airport has been attacked and the military and police have clashed with organized crime gangs, led by former police officer Jimmy Barbecue Cherizier, who threatened a civil war if the prime minister and acting head of government Ariel Henry who is currently in Puerto Rico does not resign. In Haiti, a country gripped by violence, where little information gets out, there are contradictory versions about what happened on Friday night. Some argue that the goal of the armed gangs was to seize the National Palace, the official residence of the president. Images shared on social networks also show large holes in the walls of the Port-au-Prince airport. Friday day began without incident in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince. Shot were fired in the afternoon, but it was not until the early hours of the night, that chaos broke out. Tension in Haiti has been escalating since February 28, after Henry agreed to hold general elections before the end of August 2025. The violence reached its peak last Saturday, when armed gangs entered the two main prisons in the capital, allowing more than 3,000 prisoners to escape. Henry, who has been persecuted by armed gangs since Moises assassination, has not been able to return to the country, where flights to and from Miami and Santo Domingo were cancelled this past week. The prime minister is now under pressure both within and outside the country to agree to a government transition that would help stop the acute crisis and unchecked violence gripping Haiti, leading to a near-unprecedented wave of migration. Haiti is awaiting the deployment of a multinational security support mission led by Kenya and approved by the United Nations last October. Adding to these pressures is Guy Philippe, who led a coup in Haiti in 2004 and returned to Port-au-Prince last year after serving time in the United States. Philippe a former coup police chief demanded Henrys resignation on Friday. He should resign, Philippe said in an interview with Reuters. I think he should stay where he is now ... and let Haitians decide their fate. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Has the Republican Partys isolationism caused U.S. allies to doubt Washingtons commitment to safeguarding the global order that it put in place after World War II? Have former President Trumps comments about not protecting certain NATO member states and have Congressional Republicans delay in approving Ukraine aid damaged trust in Americas willingness to defend liberty and democracy? Increasingly, the evidence points to yes on all counts. Ukraines efforts to protect itself as an independent, democratic nation are suffering setbacks due to a lack of ammunition from the U.S. This stems from Mr Trump pressuring Republican lawmakers to oppose legislation that combines immigration reform laws and aid for Ukraine and Israel. According to Mr. Trump, the proposed law lacks the necessary mechanisms to tighten security on the U.S. southern border. While the need to address the humanitarian and security crises at the border is real and urgent, Americas allies are wondering if entrusting their security to Uncle Sam is wise amid this on-going political dysfunction in Washington. All this while Mr Trump and his supporters in Congress argue that U.S. foreign aid should be restructured as loans, protecting Ukraine is not in Americas interests, and that NATO protection should only be afforded to those member states who pay 2 per cent of their GDP on defense. Perhaps former President Trumps comments on NATO protection were just a negotiating tactic to get European countries to spend more on their own defense. Yet, how far does this reasoning go and what does Mr. Trump believe Americas role is on the world stage in 2024? Advertisement Hopefully voters will learn more soon, as some reporting suggests the former president is open to withdrawing the U.S. from world historys most successful military alliance (NATO) as well as removing American troops from South Korea and Japan if they do not contribute more to the costs of stationing troops in their countries. In some ways, Mr Trumps stances are nothing new for his party. The GOP has long had an isolationist wing that opposed foreign entanglements. As Hitler and Imperial Japan became stronger in the years leading to World War II, many Republicans voted for the Neutrality Acts of the 1930s and opposed the Lend-Lease Act that sent vital aid to allied nations. Just as abandoning world commitments in the years leading up to World War II did not work (i.e., the attack on Pearl Harbor), the GOPs latest game of footsie with isolationism is also dangerous and ill-suited for our time amid a deteriorating security environment on the world stage. Understandably, there is frustration in the American electorate about two decades of wars in the Middle East that resulted in disappointing outcomes. The Biden administrations incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan left many veterans and families of the fallen believing that their valour was squandered, and many former service members tragically continue to receive inadequate medical care and counselling. While many mistakes were made in U.S. foreign policy since the 9-11 attacks, it does not change the nature of actors on the world stage who continue to threaten American interests. Simply abandoning Washingtons important role of providing deterrence and keeping a lid on things in strategic areas of the world is a recipe for dragging the U.S. into future costly wars. There will be consequences for the security of America and its partners if this latest chapter of isolationism is left unchecked. Republican critics of the current $60 billion Ukraine aid bill before Congress assert that such a package would deplete American weapons stockpiles and that U.S. assistance should not be rendered in the absence of a strategy. Yet, most of the money appropriated by Congress to arm Ukraine is used in the U.S. to build new weapons for American use ~ creating U.S. jobs in the process ~ while the older existing supplies are sent to Kyiv. Concerning strategy for Ukraine, it is a multiyear commitment to provide Kyiv with the weapons (not American troops) that it needs to survive as a free country, defend the territory it currently holds and mount a counteroffensive to regain lost land over time. This will require giving Kyiv replenished missile and air defense systems in addition to F-16 fighter aircraft. Ukraine also needs longerrange weapons such as the U.S. Armys Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) to target Russian supply lines and forces in eastern Ukraine, western Russia and Crimea. Efforts also need to be made to increase Ukrainian domestic defense production and to admit Kyiv to the European Union. After a cessation of hostilities, Ukraine should be brought into the NATO alliance or enter into security agreements with the U.S., Poland, France and the United Kingdom. Put short, abandoning Ukraine and not living up to NATO commitments would communicate to Moscow that Europe is not in Americas interest to protect. Similar conclusions would be drawn by Beijing, Tehran and Pyongyang concerning Taiwan, Israel and South Korea, respectively. As the worlds threat environment changes, Washington must rebuild its industrial base and increase its military size and capabilities. This needs to include a long-term commitment to allocating larger annual military budgets north of US$1 trillion and expanding the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force. Additionally, American involvement on the world stage is vital for securing the free flow of commerce on the seas and protecting the principle adopted by the world community following World War II: there shall be no changing of international borders by force. Withdrawing from these commitments would contribute to an unravelling of the worlds security architecture and allow for larger states to swallow smaller states with impunity. Isolationism would not have salvaged the southern half of the Korean Peninsula from the communist onslaught during the Korean War. Nor would it have brought victory in World War I, World War II or the Cold War, much less success with degrading Al Qaeda and ISIS in recent decades. Furthermore, it strains credulity to think that isolationism would provide protection today against aggression coming from Putin, Xi, Khamenei and Kim. Autocracys increasing challenges to democracy and freedom point to the pivotal time we are in ~ a moment that requires leadership which America is uniquely positioned to provide. The security of Ukraine, Taiwan, the U.S. and other states will depend upon leaders in Washington renouncing isolationism, re-engaging the world and working ever closer with their allies and partners. (The writer is Associate Clinical Professor and Director of the Tribal Administration Program at Claremont Graduate University) The industry leaders on Friday hailed the governments IndiaAI Mission initiative, the countrys first artificial intelligence (AI) mission that was approved with an outlay of Rs 10,371.92 crore. The IndiaAI Mission will establish a comprehensive ecosystem catalysing AI innovation through strategic programmes and partnerships across the public and private sectors. The focus on funding deep tech AI startups, developing open source databases, as well as domain-specific large language models will play an instrumental role in fueling AI innovation in the country, making India a global leader in harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence, said Tilakraj Parmar, Co-Founder & CEO, QX Lab AI. Advertisement He also mentioned that the governments move to provide financial support and a strategic roadmap for AI integration will act as a catalyst for economic growth and innovation. Prashanth Kaddi, Partner, Consulting, Deloitte India, said that this move gives a fillip to the startup ecosystem to drive innovation helping India leapfrog into areas such as text summarisation, video/image generation, and next-gen chatbots etc., including enablement across Indian languages. The Mission will be implemented by IndiaAI Independent Business Division (IBD) under Digital India Corporation (DIC). According to an official, the approved IndiaAI Mission will propel innovation and build domestic capacities to ensure the tech sovereignty of the country. It will also create highly skilled employment opportunities to harness the demographic dividend of the country. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Ishaq Dar, who had earlier held the Finance portfolio when his party was at the helm, is tipped to become the Foreign Minister of the country, media reports said. According to sources, Dar will be handed over the Foreign Affairs Ministry in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, The News reported. However, caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani is set to serve as an advisor to the premier on foreign affairs, while Tariq Fatemi will be appointed as the special assistant on foreign affairs. Advertisement Dar, as per the sources, was present during a meeting held on Thursday between Shehbaz Sharif and the former caretaker Foreign Minister and Foreign Secretary, The News reported. Jilani, during the meeting, provided a detailed briefing to the premier regarding the developments in various foreign affairs when the caretaker set-up was managing the government at the Centre. This will be the first time that Dar will serve as the Foreign Minister. As one of PML-Ns veteran politicians, Dar had earlier served as the Finance Minister. His return to the coveted role came after his arrival to Pakistan after five years of self-imposed exile in September 2022, The News reported. South Korea and Japan held a vice-ministerial meeting on Friday to discuss ways of cooperating on a wide range of economic and financial issues, Seouls finance ministry said. South Koreas Deputy Finance Minister Choi Ji-young met with Japanese Vice Finance Minister Masato Kanda in Tokyo earlier in the day for the vice-ministerial finance dialogue, the second of its kind, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Yonhap news agency reported. During the meeting, the two sides discussed issues of mutual concern, including the situation in the global economic and financial markets, and explored ways of working more closely on those matters. Advertisement They also discussed the envisioned meeting of their finance ministers, as the last one took place in Tokyo in June last year for talks on stronger bilateral relations in the financial and economic fields. The two officials agreed to continue both high-level and working-level cooperation and consultations closely and agreed to hold their next meeting in Seoul, the ministry said. The dialogue was launched in June of last year, as the two nations have sought to enhance bilateral economic relations amid a recent thaw in the bilateral diplomatic relationship. Last year, Seoul and Tokyo revived a US$10 billion currency swap deal, which expired in 2015. Two people were killed and another wounded in a Turkish airstrike in Iraqs Duhok province on Friday, a Kurdish security source said. A Turkish aircraft bombed them in the morning when they were collecting herbs in a mountain near their village in the provinces Shiladze area, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The Turkish forces often carry out cross-border operations in northern Iraq against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants, especially in the Qandil Mountains, the main base of the group. Advertisement The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and the European Union, has rebelled against the Turkish government for more than three decades. Details are awaited. Saint-Laurent, CA (H4T1V6) Today Snow showers early will give way to a mixture of rain and snow showers for the afternoon. High around 40F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Rain and snow showers this evening. Overcast overnight. Low 26F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precip 50%. A few days before the start of the holy month of Ramadan, negotiations for a second Israel-Hamas ceasefire have stalled just as the word optimism was being repeated most frequently. The talks which will resume on Sunday have run aground due to mistrust. Israel is demanding a list of how many of the 134 hostages are alive and how many are not. While Hamas wants guarantees that the temporary ceasefire will become definitive a condition rejected by Israel and fears agreeing to a phased deal that will fall apart once the hostages are freed. For weeks, there have been high expectation about the possibility of a second ceasefire following the first in the last week of November to swap Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. U.S. President Joe Biden even said an agreement was going to be reached by last Monday. But in the end, the Israeli delegation did not even fly to Cairo for the talks, and the Hamas delegation ended up withdrawing on Thursday after making no progress after four days of negotiations with the mediators: the United States, Qatar and Egypt. The basic points of the first phase are clear: a six-week ceasefire to exchange 40 (of the more than 130) Israeli hostages in Gaza for 400 Palestinian prisoners and an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza, which is on the brink of famine. According to Biden, Israel accepted these terms and the ball was in Hamass court. But in a statement to Reuters, a senior official of the Islamist movement, Sami Abu Zuhri, has blamed Israel for thwarting the negotiating efforts by refusing to stop the aggression, withdraw its forces and ensure the free entry of aid and the return of displaced Gazans. The problem lies in the details and the horizon for the war in Gaza. These are the main differences that are holding back the ceasefire agreement: Temporary ceasefire or end of war Both Israel and Hamas understand that an eventual ceasefire agreement would not mark a definitive end to the hostilities. But they differ on whether it will be a step in that direction: Hamas wants it to be, but Israel does not. As Hamas leaders left Cairo on Thursday, they complained that the negotiations were only focused on the first phase: the release of 40 hostages, made up of women, men under 19 and over 50, and the sick. Hamas would like to immediately move to a second phase afterward, but only once both sides agree, through the mediators, on the necessary requirements to definitively end the war. In this second phase, it would hand over the rest of the hostages who are alive and dozens of corpses in exchange for the Israeli armys complete withdrawal from Gaza. Israel rejects this proposal, as it fears that international pressure will prevent it from reinvading Gaza. It would mean that Israel would have failed to meet its objectives, by leaving a sort of Hamas government active. Hamas will be looking for maximum guarantees in exchange for the release [of the hostages], because when it releases them it will have run out of ways to pressure Israel, says Mabel Gonzalez Bustelo, an expert in international mediation and conflict resolution at the Institute of Studies on Conflict and Humanitarian Action (IECAH). Ceasefire negotiations are very difficult, almost as difficult as those at the end of a war, she adds. Distrust is prevailing over the talks. A Hamas leadership source quoted by the Al-Mayadeen TV channel blamed the stalled talks on Israel, arguing it will not provide clear answers to its demands. Israel meanwhile does not believe Hamas official Basem Naims claim that the group does not know how many hostages are alive (not all of them are in their hands) nor can determine the number without a ceasefire. An Israeli soldier in Gaza, last Tuesday. ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES (via REUTERS) Avi Issacharoff, a military affairs commentator in the Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot, believes that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is betting everything that, if Israel does not accept an end to the war (which Hamas would present as a victory), the month of Ramadan would mark a change, sparking a major uprising backed by Palestinians from the West Bank or with Israeli citizenship. With a few days to go before Ramadan, multiple measures are being used to pressure the other side and try to force them to change. But, at the same time, when they leave the table, the negotiation continues. You dont just negotiate at the table, says Gonzalez Bustelo. During the month of Ramadan, which will begin on Sunday evening, with the first day of fasting on Monday, any incident can trigger unrest on the street. On Thursday, Israels Interior Minister Moshe Arbel and the head of the internal security services (Shin Bet), Ronen Bar, met with officials from the Israeli Arab community. The minister acknowledged that they have a challenge ahead of them. Return of Gazans displaced from the north Hamas has focused its demands on five points: the exchange of hostages for prisoners, the ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the end of its siege, the unlimited entry of humanitarian aid and the return of displaced Gazans to their homes, Hamas official Mahmud Mardawi told the Palestinian agency Quds News. The last point has turned into a major stumbling block. Hamas is demanding that some of the hundreds of thousands of Gazans from the north, who the Israeli army displaced to the south, be allowed to return to see the state of their homes. Most are damaged or destroyed. The Israeli army fears that this will lead to the reorganization of Hamas battalions in the north, an area which in its own jargon it has cleansed. In fact, few things cause more shock in Israel than the very infrequent rocket fire from areas from which Israeli troops have withdrawn or the video that showed the hostages leaving underground (for the first exchange) in an area that had been cleared by the Israeli army. Hamas wants 500 families to be able to return on each day of the ceasefire, according to the Saudi TV network Al Arabiya. Israel is open to the idea, but only wants women and children to return. It is still under consideration whether elderly men, who are too old to fight, may be included in this plan. Prisoners with blood on their hands According to sources familiar with the ceasefire talks, cited by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, in the first phase, Hamas is asking for the release of 100 prisoners with blood on their hands, as those who have killed Israelis for nationalist motives are called in the country. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been ambiguous on this point, stating only that he will not release hundreds of terrorists in exchange for the hostages. Another tricky issue is who will be released. Hamas is calling for the release of the most famous prisoner: Marwan Barghouti, who was sentenced to five life sentences and has been behind bars since 2002. Aware of its weakness on the battlefield, the Islamic Resistance Movement (the full name of Hamas) wants to take advantage of the more than 240 Israeli hostages it captured on October 7 the largest number in Israels history. Hamas knows that, once they are handed over, it will have lost its main weapon to demand an end to the war. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition The COVID-19 virus can persist in the blood and tissue of the infected patients for more than a year after the acute phase of the disease has ended, according to a study. The research, presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) held from March 3 to 6 in Colorado, US, offers potential clues to why some people develop long COVID, a condition in which the symptoms linger for months. The researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) found pieces of SARS-CoV-2, referred to as COVID antigens, lingering in the blood up to 14 months after infection and for over two years in tissue samples from people who had COVID-19. "These two studies provide some of the strongest evidence so far that COVID antigens can persist in some people, even though we think they have normal immune responses," said Michael Peluso, an infectious disease researcher at UCSF. Early in the pandemic, COVID-19 was thought to be a transient illness. But a growing number of patients, even those who had previously been healthy, continued having symptoms, such as, brain fog, digestive problems and vascular issues, for months or even years. The researchers looked at blood samples from 171 people who had been infected with COVID. Using an ultra-sensitive test for the COVID "spike" protein, which helps the virus break into human cells, the scientists found the virus was still present up to 14 months later in some people. Among those who were hospitalised for COVID, the likelihood of detecting the COVID antigens was about twice as high as it was for those who were not. It was also higher for those who reported being sicker, but were not hospitalised. "As a clinician, these associations convince me that we are on to something, because it makes sense that someone who had been sicker with COVID would have more antigen that can stick around," Peluso said. Since the virus is believed to persist in the tissue reservoirs, the scientists turned to UCSF's Long COVID Tissue Bank, which contains samples donated by patients with and without long COVID. They detected portions of viral RNA for up to two years after infection, although there was no evidence that the person had become reinfected. The researchers found it in the connective tissue where immune cells are located, suggesting that the viral fragments were causing the immune system to attack. In some of the samples, the researchers found that the virus could be active. Peluso said more research is needed to determine whether the persistence of these fragments drives long COVID and such associated risks as heart attack and stroke. Indian students aspiring to study abroad makes them one of the biggest chunks in several foreign universities, but revelations about possible misuse of student visas to dupe youngsters into entering the Russia-Ukraine war zone is ringing alarm bells. After a few cases wherein Indian nationals were forced to fight in Russias war in Ukraine came to light, the government has decided to probe the human trafficking network spread across several states that was luring gullible youth to travel to Russia. The Central Bureau of Investigation, which registered an FIR on March 6, conducted searches at 10 locations in seven cities. This points to startling evidence of not just illegal job rackets but also student visas where many youngsters on a visa to study in Russia never joined the university but were used by private contractors to illegally enlist their services and enter the war zone. These students were offered free discounted visa extensions and an easy fee structure but later they were left at the mercy of visa agents who were running the illegal racket in both the countries. The CBI has noted that when these Indians reached Russia, their passports were snatched by the agents. Some of these students are learnt to have been sent for training in combat roles and provided military fatigues and put into batches for entering the war zone, endangering their lives. The outcome was worse. Investigators have found that some human trafficking victims were grievously injured in the war zone. The CBI FIR names 19 accused companies and persons based in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Punjab, Rajasthan and Kerala as well as Indian accused based in Russia, hailing from Kerala, for being involved in trafficking of gullible youngsters by luring them with better employment and high paying jobs. For example, a visa consultancy firm in Delhi is learnt to have sent 180 people to Russia, said sources, as the central agency is joining pieces of evidence before cracking down on the accused and making arrests. The accused persons themselves and through their agents trafficked Indian nationals to Russia on the pretext of getting jobs related to Russian Army, security guards and helpers, says the CBI in its FIR. They were offered better life, jobs and education and huge amount of money was charged from these persons illegally, it added. The accused have been charged with criminal conspiracy, cheating and human trafficking for the purpose of exploitation punishable with more than five years jail term. Sources said the CBI is verifying how many are still in the war zone. Initial investigations revealed that some of them were sent on student visas and sleuths are now trying to find out how many of them actually got enrolled in universities or never took admission. The suspicion is that once they reached Russia, many of them never joined the university but took up jobs illegally. The illegal network of touts appears to be running both in India and Russia, an official said, and efforts are on to ascertain whether they were illegally enlisted as fighters by private contractors. What is worrisome is that these agents or human traffickers have been duping Indian students by offering admission in dubious private varsities in Russia instead of government-run or credible universities, said sources. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today, inaugurated the strategically important Sela Tunnel, along with a host of other projects worth Rs 55,600 crore spread across Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh, at a programme in Itanagar. The tunnel, constructed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) at an altitude of 13,000 ft and at a cost of about Rs 825 crore, will provide all-weather connectivity to Tawang across Sela pass on the Balipara-Chariduar-Tawang Road in Arunachal Pradesh, a statement said. Specifications of the Sela Tunnel The construction work was completed in five years, and is said to be the worlds longest twin-lane tunnel above 13,000 ft. It consists of two tunnels - Tunnel 1 of 980m and Twin Tube Tunnel 1,555m long, with 8.6km approach and link roads. The second tunnel has an escape tube adjacent to the main one as per international norms. In case of emergency, this escape tube can be used for the movement of rescue vehicles and evacuation of stranded people. The Saga of Sela Tunnel pic.twitter.com/5K2BLc6ENE Rajnath Singh ( ) (@rajnathsingh) October 14, 2021 The tunnel has been designed for a traffic density of 3,000 cars and 2,000 trucks per day with a maximum speed of 80 km/hr. It was constructed using the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM). Strategic importance of Sela Tunnel Lack of road and rail connectivity in in Arunachal Pradesh have always been a disadvantage for India, with China breathing down its neck at the border, having better infrastructure to and along the LAC, thus giving it a strategic advantage. The earlier route to Sela pass had only single-lane connectivity, and heavy vehicles and container trucks could not go to Tawang because of the treacherous terrain. The Sela Tunnel is one of the several high-altitude infrastructure that India is building to enhance connectivity to areas close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC). It will help the Indian Army mobilise resources quickly in case of an emergency in the Tawang sector, irrespective of the weather. The tunnel will facilitate Army movement in an area where India lost to China in the 1962 war. It will also reduce the travelling time between Tawang and Tezpur by an hour. Time passes peacefully along the seafront of Xiamen, the closest Chinese city to the Taiwanese archipelago of Kinmen. Its February, but a bright sun invites you to soak your feet in the sea. A couple of girls pose for a picture; children play in the sand. For a visitor, the picture is paradoxical. Not far away, the fog blurs several military ships, which slowly cross the waters. On the other side, you can see the first islets belonging to Taiwan, the democratically self-governed island that China considers to be an inalienable part of its territory. A few days earlier, on February 14, two Chinese fishermen drowned in those waters while being chased by the Taiwanese Coast Guard, which accused them of being in the area illegally. While Beijing has increased patrols after the incident, so far, theres been no escalation. Tension coexists here, alongside Chinas attempt to attract residents and investments from the other side of the Taiwan Strait to this coastal city, which almost touches Taiwan. Shao Gao is around 50-years-old. A native of Xiamen, he has the morning free to walk along the beach. Thats Taiwan, he states, pointing with his finger at the accumulation of land that can be seen in the distance. Its part of Kinmen, the group of small Taiwanese islands separated by just three miles of water from the Asian giant. Thats where the Nationalists stopped the advance of Maos communist troops in 1949. That year, the losers of the Chinese Civil War established the government-in-exile of the Republic of China in Taipei, under the leadership of General Chiang Kai-shek. Meanwhile, on the mainland, Mao Zedong founded the Peoples Republic of China. 1949 is the origin of one of the largest geopolitical conflicts of the contemporary era, in which the two great powers of the 21st century continue to clash: the United States Taiwans main ally and China. The Kuomintang settled in Taiwan when it lost the war, but were all Chinese, Shao asserts, looking towards Kinmen. Although hes never visited the other side of the Taiwan Strait, he maintains that reunification will take place at some point. Its the best for everyone, he emphasizes. China considers Taiwan to be a rebellious province that it intends to reunify peacefully. However, Beijing has never renounced the use of force to achieve this historic mission of the Communist Party. And that rhetoric which both Chinese leaders and the state media repeat ad nauseam affects the citizenry. In February, Wang Huning Chinas top official for Taiwan policy (after President Xi Jinping) asserted that its crucial to resolutely combat separatism and firmly support patriotic forces for reunification. His remarks issued at the annual Taiwan Conference were the first on the subject to have been made by a member of the Communist Partys top decision-making body since the Taiwanese presidential elections this past January. Several political analysts such as the American Bill Bishop point out that Wangs speech was more assertive than during last years address, when he limited himself to stating that Beijing should oppose separatist activities and firmly defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Although China had described the elections as a decision between war and peace, the Taiwanese chose to continue with the most China-skeptic path: the one proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party, which has been in government since 2016. The president-elect Lai Ching-te presented himself as a guarantor to maintaining the current status quo, in line with the policies of outgoing president Tsai Ing-wen. Her eight years in power have been marked by the absence of communication with the Peoples Republic, Taipeis rapprochement with Washington, as well as growing tensions in the Strait. It seems that the new Taiwanese president wants enmity with China, but that makes no sense. Taiwanese have families and businesses here, Shao shrugs. In September 2023 ahead of the elections Beijing announced a plan to turn the province of Fujian (which Xiamen is a part of) into a test zone for integrated development across the Taiwan Strait. The project seeks for the region to serve as a showcase to attract Taiwanese residents and companies, with the goal of increasing cooperation across industries such as electronics, petrochemicals, or precision machinery. Xiamen is key to that program. The coastal city with four million inhabitants brims with energy and vitality. Its multicultural and modern charm invites you to stay. According to figures from Chinas National Development and Reform Commission, more than 10,000 Taiwanese companies representing a total investment of more than $30 billion had already established themselves in Fujian province before the initiative was launched. Some 9,000 are based in the coastal city, accounting for a quarter of the municipalitys total industrial output value, according to data from the Xiamen Office for Taiwan Affairs. A 20-minute ferry ride from Xiamen is Gulangyu Island an enclave of just under a square mile that, at the end of the 19th century, became one of the five gateways for foreign trade. Thus, the fusion between East and West is palpable in every corner: bougainvilleas and vines cover the facades of European-style buildings, which stand alongside Taoist and Buddhist temples. Hui Min, 55, runs a restaurant where she serves regional specialties. Its empty inside, but several curious people are gathered at the stall that shes set up at the entrance. She tries to attract passers-by to sell them her main product (for a not-so-modest price): a peeled, flower-shaped mango, stuck on a stick. Buy this beautiful mango flower! Perfect for photos! she shouts, while her sister cuts the fruit, giving it that particular shape. Her tactic works. Hui a native of Gulangyu tells EL PAIS that many of her customers are Taiwanese. Were the same family, were very close! she exclaims. In her opinion, her neighbors love traveling to the mainland, because China is much more technologically advanced and the economy is doing better. In Taiwan, they dont use WeChat to pay. It causes a delay, she boasts. She claims that shes gone to Taiwan to meet friends and family. We have very strong commercial and social ties, Hui emphasizes. But when asked if the results of the recent elections could ruin those ties, she remains silent and averts her gaze. She returns to hunting for new clients. On one of Gulangyus busiest streets, Lin, 32, and her boyfriend Yang, 35, run a craft shop. This bracelet is made with blue coral stone, a mineral found on the coasts of Fujian and Taiwan, Lin details. Its very easy for Taiwanese to visit the mainland, but for us, traveling to the other shore is complicated, she laments. Chinese citizens need approval from the government to travel to Taiwan. And the permit can only be requested at police stations in specific cities if youre in possession of that citys hukou (meaning that youre registered in the census system). The document is only valid for one entry, so you must request it and pay the fees each time you want to visit the island. Our heart is the same. But now, it seems that our leaders dont get along very well, Lin concedes. Yang chimes in: The thing is, Taiwanese people are very proud, he opines. But the real problem is the United States. With its interference, it has caused all the recent crises at the international level, he affirms. Washington transferred diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979. However, the American government has maintained unofficial ties with Taipei and has defended its strategic ambiguity. It sells weapons for the islands self-defense and doesnt specify whether or not in the event of an attack by China it would be Taiwans greatest military ally. During the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit held in San Francisco last November, President Xi Jinping reminded President Joe Biden that the Taiwan issue is the most important and sensitive issue in the relationship between the two main world economic powers. Yang defends his countrys position, but believes that its very unlikely that the tension will lead to an armed conflict. In the end, the will of the people always prevails. Although it will take time, perhaps decades, he murmurs, letting us read between the lines. We Chinese want peace, he adds. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Amid a diplomatic standoff between the two countries, China warned India that deploying more troops at the border is not conducive to safeguarding peace and tranquility of the border areas. The statement comes amid reports that India has pulled around 10,000 personnel from the western border and deployed them at the border with China. Adressing a press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, "India's move of strengthening military deployment along the border with China is counterproductive to the two countries' efforts to ease the situation at the border and not conducive to safeguarding peace and tranquility of the border areas." Asserting that China is always committed to upholding peace and tranquility in the border areas, Mao Ning said India's actions do not conform with common understandings reached by China and India on deescalating tensions in the border areas". India and China have been in a military stand-off since the altercations in eastern Ladakh in 2020. Times of India had reported that the Army wants to convert the Uttar Bharat (UB) Area based in Bareilly into an operational corps, to guard the middle sector of the 3,488-km line of actual control (LAC). Interestingly, in February this year, India and China had held the 21st round Corps Commander level meeting at the Chushul-Moldo border to defuse tensions along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. "The 21st round of India-China Corps Commander Level Meeting was held at Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on 19th February 2024. The discussions built on the previous rounds, seeking complete disengagement in the remaining areas along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh as an essential basis for restoration of peace and tranquillity in the India-China border areas." The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday said it has arrested Jaffer Sadiq, former DMK functionary and film producer, over alleged involvement in running a Rs 2,000 crore drug trafficking network connecting Australia and New Zealand. Sadiq allegedly ran the drug ring, which facilitated the trafficking of pseudoephedrine from India to Australia and New Zealand. Pseudoephedrine is controlled substance in India under the NDPS Act, 1985, and a precursor chemical used in manufacturing methamphetamine. Sadiq's arrest comes two weeks after three people from Tamil Nadu were apprehended at a warehouse in West Delhi's Basai Darapur. Who is Jaffer Sadiq? Jaffer Sadiq alias Bezo has produced five Tamil movies and was a former DMK leader. He serves as the Chennai West Deputy Organiser of DMK's NRI Wing. He was expelled by the Tamil Nadu ruling party on February 25 after his links to the drug trafficking group were revealed. NCB has sealed his house in Mylapore on February 29. NCB arrested Sadiq based on information provided by Australian and New Zealand authorities. Pseudoephedrine were trafficked to the two countries by concealing them in desiccated coconut powder, according to the authorities. The US Drug Enforcement Administration found out the source of the consignments was Delhi. An NCB teamed up with Delhi Police's Special Cell to launch a probe about more than months ago. They busted the drug trafficking racket on February 15 and around 50 kg pseudoephedrine was seized. It was revealed that the cartel had trafficked 3,500 kg of the drug in 45 consignments via air and sea over the last three years. The bureau is also investigating if the drug money was used in producing Sadiq's movies. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has released new photographs of the suspect linked to the blast at the Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru and sought citizens cooperation to identify him. "NIA seeks citizen cooperation in identifying the suspect linked to the Rameswaram Cafe Blast Case. Call 08029510900, 8904241100 or email to info.blr.nia@gov.in with any information. Your identity will remain confidential," the anti-terror agency said in a post on X on Saturday. The NIA has already offered a reward of Rs 10 lakh to find the suspect, whose image has been captured on CCTV. At least 10 people, including customers and staff, were injured after a low-intensity blast occurred at the Brookfield outlet of the eatery on March 1. The NIA and the Central Crime Branch have detained a cloth merchant from Kaul Bazaar in Ballari and a Popular Front of India (PFI) cadre, though the key accused remains at large. The investigators suspect that the PFI member was part of the conspiracy and that he had proximity to some terrorist organisations. He is believed to have brainwashed many people, including the man who planted the bomb. The investigation teams have also found that the key suspect has travelled from Bengaluru to Tumakuru, Ballari, Bidar and then Bhatkal after planting the bomb at the cafe. CCTV footages captured by the cameras at the city bus and bus stand shows him that he frequently changed his dress to hide his identity and mislead the investigators, reported PTI. Sweden and Canada said they will resume aid payments to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees after it suspended the funds over the agency's staff involvement in Hamas attacks last month. At least 16 countries stopped its funding to UNRWA over the accusation of its staff's involvement. Presently, 12 of its staff are facing investigation over the alleged attacks on October 7 last year. The investigation is done by the UN, while France's foreign minister is leading a review. Sweden said on Saturday that it would send 200 million kronor initially after UNRWA agreed to more investigations on the allegations. "The government has allocated 400 million kronor to UNRWA for the year 2024. Today's decision concerns a first payment of 200 million kronor," it said in a statement. Swedens announcement comes after Canada on Friday said that it would re-start funding for UNRWA while investigations continue. UNRWA is the biggest UN agency operating in Gaza providing healthcare, education and other humanitarian aid to the people. There are about 13,000 UNRWA employees there. After many countries stopped the funding, the agency was "at risk of death". Within days, Lazzarini said an investigation was being carried out, and "to protect the agency's ability to deliver humanitarian assistance" these staff members had been sacked. "What is at stake is the fate of the Palestinians today in Gaza in the short term who are going through an unprecedented humanitarian crisis," said Lazzarini. According to a 2022 data, Sweden is the fourth largest contributor to the agency's budget, and Canada is the 11th largest. The US, Germany, EU, Sweden, Norway and Japan are the top five countries contributing to the UNRWA. The Canadian Armed Forces said it will also donate about 300 cargo parachutes to Jordan, so they can be used to airdrop supplies into Gaza. The attempt to change Ireland's Constitution, underlining a woman's place in the home and makeup of the family, seems to have failed. The early tallies showed a strong support for No-No votes signalling a failure to adopt changes to the Irish Constitution. Irelands government was not expecting such a failure. "We havent expected this. We respect the voice of the people. We have to wait until the final count is done," said Eamon Ryan, the transport minister. Its quite complicated when you try to change the constitution in any way. We didnt convince the public of the argument for a Yes-Yes vote. I think the next government will have to come back to this and consider the campaign and what were the arguments that merited a No vote in both cases, he added. On International Women's Day, Irish voters voted to decide whether to change the 87-year-old document's passages that the government called outdated and sexist. The twin referendums are on deleting a reference to women's domestic duties and broadening the definition of the family. WHAT ARE THE REFERENDUMS ABOUT? In the recent voting process, the citizens of Ireland were first presented with an amendment to their constitution, related to the protection of the family as the primary unit of society. The amendment proposed the replacement of the existing clause that mentions marriage as the basis of a family with a new clause that allows families to be founded on other durable relationships as well. This amendment, if passed, will mark the 39th amendment to the Constitution of Ireland. A proposed amendment, known as the 40th amendment, would make two changes. Firstly, it would remove a reference implying that women's primary role is to support the state by taking care of their homes. Additionally, it would delete a statement that says mothers can't be forced to work outside the house due to economic reasons and neglect their duties at home. Instead, the amendment would include a new clause stating that the government will strive to support families in taking care of their members. The conditions and situations in Ireland have changed since 1937. A conservative society has become increasingly diverse and socially liberal over the years. According to the Central Statistics Office, the proportion of residents who are Catholic fell from 94.9% in 1961 to 69% in 2022. Therefore, social transformation paved the way for a constitutional change. Irish voters legalized divorce in a 1995 referendum, backed same-sex marriage in a 2015 vote and repealed a ban on abortions in 2018. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar announced a year ago, on International Women's Day 2023, that the government would hold a referendum to enshrine gender equality and remove discriminatory language from the constitution. Earlier, opinion polls suggested that many voters remained undecided and the turnout may be low. All major political parties supported a 'Yes-Yes' vote. Nearly 3.5 million people were eligible to cast their ballot. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with his ally and United States former president Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Friday night. The meeting had raised several eyebrows among the world leaders including European nations. According to a statement from Trump's campaign, the two discussed a wide range of issues affecting Hungary and the United States. "A wide range of issues affecting Hungary and the United States, including the paramount importance of strong and secure borders to protect the sovereignty of each nation," it said. Notably, Orban, an autocrat and a strongman who is known for his anti-immigration and anti-LGBTQ policies, did not get any formal invitation from the White House. Orban also did not reach out or meet with any members of the Biden administration during his visit. It acquires significance as Trump is not only the former US president but also the presumptive Republican nominee, who might become the president again. According to experts, Orbans visit gives an idea of where he might align himself with the world leaders if Trump is elected to power. Trump in several situations has mentioned how he admires authoritarian leaders like Orban as well. Both Trump and Orban have more or less similar political views on the free press, immigration and the Ukraine war. In some instances, Orban had mentioned that Ukraine war would not have happened if Trump had become the president. Regarding the Russia-Ukraine war too, Orban had locked horns with the European Union (EU) members. Be it sending weapons to Ukraine, or maintaining economic ties with Moscow since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Orban had raised the issues with the EU officials. Orban had said that only the return of Republican candidate Trump to the White House could bring peace to Ukraine. "We need leaders in the world who are respected and can bring peace. He is one of them! Come back and bring us peace, Mr. President!," Orban said in a post on X after the meeting. Make America great again, Mr. President! wrote Orban. Orban had also said that during Trump's term, there was peace in the Middle East, referring to the Israel-Hamas war, and also Ukraine. Earlier Biden had expressed that the meeting between both Orban and Trump was worrying. On asked whether he was concerned, he said "If I'm not, you should be". You know who hes meeting with today, down in Mar-a-Lago? Orban of Hungary, who stated flatly he doesnt think democracy works hes looking for dictatorship, Biden told the crowd gathered for what was effectively his first rally of the 2024 general election campaign. Thats who hes meeting with, Biden added. I see a future where we defend democracy, not diminish it," said Biden. Though the Orban-Trump meeting is said to be friendly, it raises a series of issues for the EU, NATO and other US allies. My parents come from a humble background. They were both educated in the Hindi medium. They made a lot of sacrifices to give the four of us siblings an education that was beyond their income and social class. We went to the absolute best schoolsLawrence School, Lovedale; The Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai; St Xaviers College, Mumbai; IIM Calcutta. In school, I had friends whose shoes cost more than my fathers monthly salary. My parents only saving was the education they gave us. They made a lot of sacrifices for us. We learnt how to soar from my father and how to be rooted from my mother. Our family used to read a lot. I read at least five to six books a month. Dad was the more indulgent parent and Maa was the strict disciplinarian. She had read something in the Chanakyaneeti on how children should be brought up. She brought up all four of us that way. I know it may sound traditional, but she used to say that the character of a child is formed by the mother. The guru and the mother are the most important people in the life of children and, therefore, in the life of society. According to the Chanakyaneeti, in the first five years of a childs life, the mother should be around all the time and drown the child in love. The child should have no insecurities because he is attended to all the time. That does not mean you get everything that you want, like some expensive toy. Sometimes she may choose not to give it to you, for your own long-term good. But you will have all of your mothers love and attention. Then from ages 5 to 15, the mother should be a strict disciplinarian. Maa was extremely strict with all four of us at that age. We had to sleep by 9.30pm and wake up by 4.30am-5am. She never hid the sacrifices that dad and she were making for us. She used to keep telling us that it is our duty to be successful. That is the only way you can honour the sacrifices of your parents, she said. Whatever you do, you should be the best at it. We had to eat whatever was on the table. I remember once my sister and I had refused to eat the bitter gourd (karela) sabji she made. Its very good for health, but it tastes bitter. I wasnt trying to throw a tantrum, but I gently pushed the plate away. She was so livid that for a week, for lunch and dinner, my sister and I were served bitter gourd sabji. Theres no compulsion, we were told. You can either eat this or stay hungry. We never threw a tantrum after that. We quietly ate whatever was on the table. Her logic was that discipline makes us tough. And life is supposed to be tough. Why should the world make it easy for you? You cannot handle it if you are not tough enough. That was from ages 5 to 15. After 15, Chanakya had apparently said that a parent should just be a friend. Because after that, nothing can be done on a childs character, it has already been formed. Now, if you become a friend, at least they wont keep secrets from you. You can be an advisor. For all of us, Maa completely relaxed on our 16th birthdays. She said, now you guys live your life, but I am there for any advice that you ever need. So, she brought us up that way. The other rule was that the four of us siblings were not allowed to fight with each other. Therefore, if we got into fights, we were made to stand next to each other and keep kissing each other on the cheeks up to a count of 100. Normally, we would start laughing by the end, and then we would forget what we were fighting over. Her entire logic was, the world is not going to make it easy for you. So, the four of you must be like the Rock of Gibraltar with each other. Our family passed through a lot of personal tragedies for some seven to eight years, from 2015 onwards. We kept losing people in the family, some very tragically. We could have broken down into depression or worse, during that period. But we did not. The fact that the four of us siblings are very close and always there for each otheryou cannot imagine what strength that gave us all. Maa was right. Your only true strength is your family. You must treasure and cherish it. We were always aware of the sacrifices my parents were making for us. Once, Maa had taken my sister to this convent school because that was the best school in that region, and she wanted to get her admitted there. The guard was not letting her in because he assumed that Maa was a maidservant. My sister said Maa was crying outside, but refused to leave. I want to go in and get the form and meet the principal, she said. Didi still feels the pain of that moment. Today, our familys material fortunes have changed dramatically. We are living a life that they could not even have dreamt of. Now, we get the opportunity to take care of Maa, and our father when he was alive, and we love it. The fact that wives of us three brothers are also extremely close to each other, and to Didi (our eldest sister), makes it that much better for us. My parents used to tell us all these stories, and they were always about learning philosophies and lessons. When we were sent to boarding school, they used to send long letters to us, full of philosophy, quoting the Puranas and other texts. The letters used to come every Friday, and they would be distributed in our dormitory. My twin brother and I were together in boarding school. There were many children who did not receive letters every Friday, and you could see the disappointment on their face. We, however, received thick letters, and we were 100 per cent sure our mother would never forget. Most of it would fly over our heads, because she used to write long philosophical tracts about what life is, and what we are meant to do. But somewhere, it stuck in the back of our minds. Unlike Maa, our father used to be very indulgent. Once, when we were living in the company colony in Odisha, my brother and I wanted to go to the club to play. Maa had said no, because we had not finished our homework. And then dad came, and we asked him. Dad said yes (as he usually did), and we ran away to the club. We came back after some two hours. Maa and dad were together, and I have never seen dad so angry. For the first time in our lives, he slapped us. If Maa had told you no, how dare you even ask me, he asked us. If Maa has said no, it means I have also said no. We learned a good lesson. That was a slap that was worth it. Today, Maa is 79 and lives with my wife Shivani and me. She is happy, because all four of us are settled and doing well. She goes for walks every day in our complex. We sit and chat every morning on the balcony. She is smiling most of the time. Happiness, she says, is a choice. Not getting what you want in life is a curse, she used to tell us. But an even bigger curse is getting what you want. Because you will realise that it will not give you the happiness you thought it would. She has a quiet strength and stoicism that I admire very much. She is my rockstar. Dads character was more intellect-driven and philosophical. We learnt how to soar from my father and how to be rooted from my mother. A childs character is built by the mother; my Maa was right about that, too. As told to Anjuly Mathai Spearheaded by The Akshaya Patra Foundation, The Breakfast Revolution, and Share Our Strength, with the goal of enhancing awareness and promoting community engagement in child nutrition initiatives Key findings: 64% agree that community involvement is crucial to ensuring nutrition for children However, only a mere 21% have participated in or supported any initiatives related to child nutrition in their community 74% have never come across any information related to community initiatives to address child undernutrition MUMBAI, India, March 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Breakfast Revolution, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, and Share Our Strength, that work towards driving positive change in the child nutrition sector, announced the results of a survey conducted to gain insights into community perceptions about child nutrition in India and the extent of community awareness and engagement in addressing issues on child nourishment. As per the survey, a majority - 76% are aware of government schemes providing free meals to children in schools and more than half the respondents (57%) find the school feeding programs effective in addressing children's nutritional needs. It is indeed heartening to find that 60% of the respondents personally know of a child who has benefited from programs that provide meals to school going children. When asked to describe what is good nutrition for children, 57% described it as, 'Getting enough protein, healthy carbs, vitamins, and minerals from the meals for healthy growth'. "The survey confirms our belief that addressing the challenge of child nutrition requires the collective efforts of not only government agencies and non-profit organizations, but also the wider community, including parents, schools, health professionals, among others. Community involvement is crucial to enhance the nutritional health and well-being of children. While the survey indicates a big gap in community participation, it underscores the urgent necessity to raise awareness about such initiatives within our communities, run by both public and private organizations, fostering increased engagement in both volunteering and fundraising efforts," said Dr Pankaj Jethwani, Co-Founder, The Breakfast Revolution. To build that awareness and create more avenues for participation, Share Our Strength is organising an exclusive dinner event in aid of The Akshaya Patra Foundation and The Breakfast Revolution. They have partnered with The Bombay Club and EazyDiner, to host the event with the aim to raise INR 1 crore to provide daily breakfasts and mid-day meals for over 10,000 underprivileged school children in the upcoming academic year. Share Our Strength has also committed to match all donations from the event, thereby doubling the impact. The Bombay Club, Mahalaxmi Race Course have stepped up as community champions and opened their doors to allow more people to attend the exquisite culinary experience being curated by the globally renowned chefs on March 17th. "We need to make more people realise that Charities like Akshaya Patra and The Breakfast Revolution are working with the government to nourish children in schools and the various ways they can help in this noble cause. The Bombay Club is proud to be a partner for this unique dinner event. We strongly feel that no child should go to school hungry," said the partners at The Bombay Club. Sachin Pabreja, Co-founder and CEO of EazyDiner has also come forward to help raise awareness. "Our platform EazyDiner will lend its full support to this wonderful initiative from Share Our Strength. People will be able to easily register for the dinner event and also gain from lots of benefits available with our service. It is time we create more opportunities for people to contribute through volunteering, fundraising, and sharing knowledge" The event has received a great response so far, along with substantial support from well-wishers and changemakers. It stands as a testimony to the commitment and unwavering positivity towards our future generation children, who are the cornerstone of our society and future economy. The Survey garnered more than 2500 responses from across India of which 75% are in the 25-34 years age bracket. About The Breakfast Revolution: The Breakfast Revolution (TBR) is the main program under the Decimal Foundation, a registered non-profit Charity Trust (80G) in Mumbai. The basic mission of TBR, founded in 2014, is to combat malnutrition among children in India. It has been on an aggressive path to reach poor children in anganwadis, low-income schools, and low-income communities with high-quality, tasty, nutritious, cost-effective, and safe breakfasts. The meal fulfills the gaps of the midday meal program by providing most of the child's daily requirement of vitamins, minerals, and protein in one meal itself. (Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with PRNewswire and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR PWR Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 9: In todays connected world where technology is the cornerstone of progress, women are emerging as pioneers, breaking stereotypes, and spearheading innovation. Women are challenging gender norms and breaking into what were once predominantly male-dominated fields. From engineering to AI and manufacturing to energy and academia, women are increasingly taking the helm and driving change. Women leaders are paving the way for a more equitable future by encouraging inclusive work environments and introducing diversity initiatives. Their advocacy extends beyond the boardroom, influencing policies and practices that promote a better workplace for budding women leaders and diversity in technology. Women in tech are instrumental in driving the digital revolution. Women digital leaders are lowering the risks of digital transformation and maximise its added value for the organisation. Women in technology are serving as leaders and mentors and guiding and inspiring more women to pursue careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). Industrial Automation Magazine is celebrating the Women in Technology, featuring 17 women leaders shaping the future of technology. These women achievers from STEM ecosystem, who include professionals, engineers, teachers, and entrepreneurs, speak about their journeys, the challenges they faced and overcame, and share their perspective that can help other women. Dr Alka Mahajan, Dean, Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management & Engineering, said, I was drawn to academics majorly due to my genetic makeup and possibly due to my subconscious desire to excel and prove myself in the profession loved by my parents. PV Rukmani, Sr General Manager at IPCL & Reliance Industries, said, When I began my career at IPCL, I was the only female engineer amongst 71 trainees. In 1996, I got the opportunity to lead the Instruments Maintenance Team at the plant. Dr Jayalekshmi Madhu Nair, Principal, Vivekanand Education Societys Institute of Technology, shared, Teaching my younger sister made me feel proud since I was able to do what my teachers were doing in my school. The appreciation from teachers and classmates boosted my confidence and made me realise that teaching was my calling. Ritu Agarwal, Deputy GM, Project Management, Projects and Development India Limited, recalled, When I began my career, men significantly outnumbered women in the workplace. It was a challenge but I overcame it through my knowledge, hard work and extra effort. Priyanka Kaul, Senior Instrumentation Engineer, Technip Energies, opined, With ambition, mutual respect, hard work, and empowering collaborations, we are all contributing to a brighter future for women in engineering. Ana Stefanova, Education & Research Division Director, ISA USA, said, As educators, we serve as facilitators of learning. Success hinges upon the ability to collaborate effectively with colleagues, fostering an environment of idea exchange and mutual support. Sujata Tilak, Founder & MD, Ascent Intellimation, said, I was fascinated by software as well as automation and control. Combining the two, I decided to pursue a career in industrial automation software. There were challenges but the experience was very interesting. Rajalakshmi Hegde, Sr Director Product Engineering: Manufacturing, LTIMindtree, shared, My current role is to focus on aspects of Manufacturing and IIoT from IT, and add my expertise and experience from OT to offer the right solution to the client. Latha DS, General Manager, Tata Consulting Engineers Limited, said, I have been involved in important national and international projects and have travelled across the world and country for work-related commitments. Banoo Jakkirriaah, Engineering Manager, Caterpillar India, reminisced, Sometimes, I felt that few colleagues believed in my capabilities. I paused and reflected and overcame the same by learning and enhancing my knowledge. According to Dr S Geetha, Outstanding Scientist and former Programme Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre: Space exploration and launching satellites are very challenging and costly exercises. We have implemented redundancy management and zero-defect policy in all domains. Sonal Singh, Assistant Manager, Europe Projects, Valmet India, said, I started as an application engineer with a company in the valve industry and now I handle the companys operations in Europe. Khanjari D Kumbhar, GM, Burns & McDonnell Engineering India, said, Maintaining a balance between professional and personal life is important. Mahalakshmi Ramesh Kumar, Additional GM & Deputy Head, Customer Service Division, Yokogawa India, said, Effective time management and prioritising helps strike a balance between professional and personal lives. Sonal Bhatawadekar, Director, STPI-Gandhinagar, said, Performing professional duties with a sense of responsibility, ownership and a sense of belonging towards the organisation is the key to achieving professional success. Manisha Jain, Senior Manager (Instrumentation & Control Engineering), Linde Engineering India, said, My advice to aspiring women leaders is to embrace their unique strengths, cultivate a strong support network, and embrace continuous learning. Confidence and resilience are the other essential elements to thrive in leadership positions. Shalini Verma, CGM & HOD- Project Engineering Management, Engineers India Limited, said, My advice to my women colleagues is to have confidence in your abilities and dont be afraid to take risks. Building strong relationships and staying informed are also important to succeed. The success stories of these women are encouraging, but a systemic change is needed to address the root causes of gender disparity in technology. It would require a collaborative effort from policymakers, industry leaders, educators, and communities, to develop a more inclusive and supportive ecosystem for women in technology. Companies must prioritize diversity, implementing policies fostering gender equity and women's advancement. About Industrial Automation Magazine Industrial Automation Magazine is a monthly industrial magazine published by IED Communications based in India since 1980, catering to the Factory and Process Automation needs of the industry. The magazine is the top most widely read and referred monthly magazines and trade journal in the automation industry and is a delight for the engineering college students and technology enthusiasts who want to learn about instrumentation, factory automation, process automation, digitalisation, robotics and many more topics. Subscribe to Industrial Automation Magazine today and stay updated with the latest trends, innovations, and insights in the rapidly evolving world of industrial automation. Click on the link https://www.industrialautomationindia.in/subscription or email us at crm@industrialautomationindia.in to start your subscription journey. (Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with PNN and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR PWR Islamabad, Mar 9 (PTI) Voting began on Saturday in the Presidential elections in Pakistan in which Asif Ali Zardari is set to be elected for a second time. Asif Ali Zardari, the 68-year-old joint candidate of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and Sunni Ittehad Councils candidate Mahmood Khan Achakzai, 75, are vying for the office of president. The voting began at 10 am and will continue till 4 pm. The new president would replace the incumbent Dr Arif Alvi, whose five-year term ended last year. However, he has continued since the new electoral college was not yet formed. According to the Constitution, the president is indirectly elected by an electoral college comprising federal and provincial lawmakers. Achakzai is the head of his Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and is contesting from the platform of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), which came to prominence after independent candidates backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) joined it. Zardari, a businessman-turned-politician is the husband of slain Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Zardari, the co-chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is supported by the coalition government led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) which has the necessary numbers. This is part of a quid pro quo deal after the February 8 polls delivered a fractured mandate: PPP supported PML-Ns candidate for prime ministers post and also got to form the government in the Punjab provincial assembly while Zardari got the support of PML-N and his party got to rule the Sindh province. Zardari, who served as the president from 2008 to 2013, will also be the first civilian to be elected for the second time as president. The ruling coalition is confident that Zardari will be elected as president for the second time as the parties have a majority in the Senate, National Assembly, Punjab Assembly, Sindh Assembly and Balochistan Assembly. The opposition enjoys a majority only in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assembly. Just hours before the presidential elections, Achakzai demanded the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) postpone the polls till the electoral college is completed. In a letter written to Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja, Achakzai stated that the electoral college as "prescribed by law and Constitution" for a presidential election was "still incomplete" because "some reserved seats" in the National Assembly and all provincial assemblies are still vacant. "...As yet no one was elected on those reserved seats and without nominations and proper election on these seats, if the presidential election is conducted as per the schedule that would be a denial of their votes, which otherwise is against the fundamental rights, law and constitution," stated the letter, written by Achakzai. The PTI-backed presidential candidate added that the electoral college cannot be completed till the seats are filled. He added that till the seats are not filled the presidential polls would be "illegal, unlawful and against the spirit of the Constitution". He also mentioned the Peshawar High Court (PHC) stay order on the reserved seats which he believes would give a "clear verdict" in favour of the PTI-backed party. The parliament buildings and buildings of the provincial assemblies have been designated as polling stations to let the lawmakers vote. The PML-N-led ruling coalition has calculated that its candidate Asif Ali Zardari would get more than 400 electoral votes. As many as 325 members of the National Assembly, 91 senators, 354 members of the Punjab Assembly, 157 members of the Sindh Assembly, 117 members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and 65 members of the Balochistan Assembly are eligible to cast their vote. PTI SH NPK AKJ NSA NSA NSA Robert Oppenheimer, standing before blackboard and holding pipe, in an undated photograph. Bettmann Archive J. Robert Oppenheimer is the central figure in the most recent Christopher Nolan film, where he is portrayed by Cillian Murphy. The movie focuses on Oppenheimers significant contribution to the development of the atomic bomb during World War II and the subsequent controversy he faced when expressing concerns about the escalating arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union later in his life. Due to his political views and alleged associations with communist sympathizers, he became the subject of a government investigation, transforming from a celebrated scientist to a potential adversary of his own country. Born in New York City in 1904, Oppenheimer displayed an early interest in science. Throughout his early career, he conducted groundbreaking research in theoretical astronomy, nuclear physics, spectroscopy, and quantum field theory. He also played a crucial role in establishing the American school of theoretical physics, which gained prominence in the 1930s. Manhattan Project On October 9, 1941, two months before the United States entry into World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved a program to develop an atomic bomb. In May 1942, James B. Conant, Chairman of the National Defense Research Committee and a former lecturer of Oppenheimer at Harvard University, invited him to contribute to fast neutron calculations. The U.S. Army subsequently established the Manhattan Engineer District, also known as the Manhattan Project, in June 1942. Leslie Groves, who had overseen the construction of the Pentagon, was appointed as the projects director. Despite Oppenheimers left-wing political views and lack of experience in leading large projects, Groves selected him to head the projects secret weapons laboratory due to his profound understanding of the practical aspects involved in designing and creating an atomic bomb. Recognizing the need for security and cohesion, Oppenheimer and Groves decided to establish a secret research laboratory in a remote location. They chose a flat mesa near Santa Fe, New Mexico, which was the site of a former boys school. The Los Alamos Laboratory, also referred to as Project Y, was built there under the operation of the University of California. Its mission was to design and construct the first atomic bombs. Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein. Historical (Corbis via Getty Images) Although initially lacking expertise in large-scale administration, Oppenheimer quickly familiarized himself with the responsibilities, becoming a permanent resident of Los Alamos. Those who worked with him noted his mastery of all scientific aspects of the project and his efforts to mediate between the scientific and military personnel. In 1943, the projects development efforts shifted towards an implosion-type weapon, known as Little Boy, which replaced the earlier Thin Man design. On July 16, 1945, the first detonation of a nuclear weapon, code-named Trinity, took place in the Jornada del Muerto desert in New Mexico. Oppenheimer, who chose the name Trinity, was inspired by John Donnes poetry. Witnessing the explosion, he recalled a verse from the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita, stating, If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one. He also later mentioned another verse translated as I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds. Following the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, Oppenheimer expressed regret during an assembly at Los Alamos that the weapon had not been available earlier to use against Nazi Germany. However, he and many others involved in the project were reportedly upset about the second bombing in Nagasaki, as they did not view it as necessary from a military standpoint. On August 17, Oppenheimer traveled to hand-deliver a letter to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, expressing his dissatisfaction and advocating for a ban on nuclear weapons. In October 1945, he had a meeting with President Harry S. Truman, which ended poorly after Oppenheimer stated that he felt he had blood on my hands, infuriating Truman. Following the meeting, Truman told Dean Acheson, his Undersecretary of State, I dont want to see that son-of-a-bitch in this office ever again. However, Truman awarded Oppenheimer the Medal for Merit in 1946. American physicist Dr. Robert Oppenheimer points to a picture of the atomic bomb explosion over Nagasaki, Japan, as scientist Henry D. Smyth, major General Kenneth D. Nichols, and scientist Glenn Seaborg look on. Hulton Archive (Getty Images) The FBI had been monitoring Oppenheimer even before the war due to his communist sympathies while working as a professor at Berkeley and his close associations with members of the Communist Party, including his wife and brother. On June 7, 1949, Oppenheimer testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee, acknowledging his past affiliations with the Communist Party and revealing that some of his students at Berkeley had been communists during that time. Oppenheimers security clearance On November 7, 1953, William L. Borden, a former executive director of Congress Joint Atomic Energy Committee, sent a letter to FBI director J. Edgar Hoover regarding Oppenheimer. Borden accused Oppenheimer of being an agent of the Soviet Union based on the governments investigative dossier. The letter alleged that Oppenheimer had financially supported the Communist Party since April 1942, employed several Communists at Los Alamos, and worked against the development of the hydrogen bomb and postwar atomic energy initiatives. Upon receiving this information, President Dwight D. Eisenhower was concerned about the possibility of these allegations being true and ordered that a brick wall be placed between Oppenheimer and atomic secrets on December 3. Lewis Strauss, the Chief of the Atomic Energy Commission, harbored long-standing resentment toward Oppenheimer due to his opposition to the hydrogen bombs development and a past humiliation before Congress. On December 21, 1953, Strauss informed Oppenheimer that his security clearance had been suspended after a re-evaluation of his security file. Oppenheimer chose not to resign and requested a hearing. The hearing primarily focused on Oppenheimers past communist affiliations and his associations with suspected disloyal or communist scientists during the Manhattan Project. Although many prominent scientists, government officials, and military figures testified in support of Oppenheimer, Edward Teller and Leslie Groves testified against him. Tellers testimony provoked outrage within the scientific community and resulted in his expulsion from academic science. Decades later, KGB archives revealed unsuccessful attempts by the Soviets to recruit Oppenheimer. Robert Oppenheimer in Washington D.C. Bettmann Archive Oppenheimers security clearance was revoked one day before it was set to expire. However, on December 16, 2022, Jennifer Granholm, the United States Secretary of Energy, overturned the 1954 decision to revoke Oppenheimers security clearance. Granholm acknowledged the flawed procedure used by the Atomic Energy Commission in 1954, which violated their own regulations. Over time, additional evidence has emerged, shedding light on the bias and unfairness of the process Oppenheimer endured, further affirming his loyalty and patriotism. Following the Manhattan Project, Oppenheimer continued to lecture, write, and work in the field of physics. He delivered talks on the history of science, the role of science in society, and the nature of the universe, emphasizing the importance of avoiding the use of nuclear weapons. Oppenheimer passed away in 1967. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Islamabad, Mar 9 (PTI) Pakistan's ruling PML-N party and its coalition partner PPP have reached a consensus to abolish the caretaker system and reform the politically volatile and cash-strapped country's electoral system, a media report said on Saturday. Three-time ex-premier Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and ex-foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari-led Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have eliminated the need for a caretaker government, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. The two parties agreed that the outgoing government's head will remain in office until the new general elections, and the prime minister's cabinet will be dissolved after completing its term, while the premier will continue to serve. The PML-N and PPP have also endorsed the drafting of legislation for electoral reforms to make the electoral process "simple and easy", the report said It added that both parties will take other parties into confidence on the proposed reforms. The PML-N-led alliance is also aiming for major constitutional amendments, which will include abolishing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). A PML-N leader said that abolishing the NAB and changing the wording of Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution back to the original were included in the partys manifesto as well, according to the report. In January, Nawaz Sharif declared while launching the PML-Ns manifesto that if his party secured victory in the February 8 general elections, the NAB would be abolished. At that time, the PML-N supremo also faced disqualification under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution. Under Article 62(1)(f), a person cannot be qualified as a member of the national or provincial legislatures if he is not Sadiq (truthful) and Ameen (trustworthy), the report said. Meanwhile, newly-elected Pakistan Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, who is also the PML-N President, urged unity among the ruling coalition, the Dawn newspaper reported. He said that the country is facing major challenges, which could only be overcome through the collective efforts of all political forces and stakeholders. He also invited jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to collaborate with the government and stated that the Centre would fully cooperate with the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. Though the PTI-backed independents won majority seats at the 266-member National Assembly, the PML-N and the PPP agreed on a power-sharing deal to form a new coalition government. Khan's party has rejected the attempts by the PML-N and the PPP to form a coalition government, warning that robbing its public endorsement by the "mandate thieves" will result in the worst political instability. Jerusalem, Mar 9 (AP) On the eve of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, Jerusalem's Old City bears few of its usual hallmarks of festivity. Nearly half of the grotto-shaped gift shops are sealed behind metal shutters. The narrow streets that run toward Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third-holiest site, are eerily empty. Absent are the fairy lights and shining lanterns that would usually dangle above hurried worshippers. Ramadan preparations in Jerusalem, the spiritual heart of the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, have been subdued because of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, now in its sixth month. With more than 30,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza and hundreds of thousands going hungry, there's little room for expressions of joy. This will be the black Ramadan, Abu Mousam Haddad said in front of his coffee stand near Damascus Gate, one of the Old City's main entrances. But over the next few days, attention is likely to shift from Gaza to Al-Aqsa, which has been a frequent flashpoint for quickly escalating Israeli-Palestinian violence in the past. Hamas, which portrayed its October 7 attack on southern Israel as a battle for Muslim rights at Al-Aqsa, seeks such an eruption now in the hopes of engaging Israeli forces on new fronts and improving its leverage in Gaza cease-fire talks. The militants have urged Palestinians across Israel and the occupied West Bank to stream to the mosque during Ramadan to challenge anticipated Israeli restrictions on worship and movement. Although such restrictions often triggered past clashes, it's not clear if Palestinians will risk confrontations in the current climate in which Israeli forces are clamping down hard on any perceived threats. There is great fear among people about what Ramadan will look like this year and how the Israeli police will behave regarding the entry and exit ... into the city, said Imad Mona, who owns a bookshop outside the Old City. Israel has limited access to Al-Aqsa to varying degrees over the years, including by barring young men, citing security concerns. The Israeli government has provided few details ahead of this year's Ramadan, which could start as early as Sunday evening. But it has said some Palestinians from the West Bank will be allowed to pray at Al-Aqsa In the past, Israeli forces raiding the sacred compound have clashed with stone-throwing Palestinians who barricaded themselves inside, at times to protest Israeli access restrictions. Such clashes have triggered escalations, including Hamas rocket fire, which set off a brief Israel-Hamas war in 2021. The compound has long been a deeply contested religious space, as it stands on the Temple Mount, which Jews consider their most sacred site. It lies in east Jerusalem, a section of the city Israel occupied during the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed. Palestinians want to make it the capital of their own future state. The United States and other international mediators had pushed for a Gaza cease-fire to coincide with the start of Ramadan. However, there has been no breakthrough. Israel remains committed to continuing its invasion and annihilating Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people in Israel and took about 250 hostages on October 7. The militant group freed dozens of hostages during a November truce, but it refuses to release more without guarantees of a complete end of hostilities. Most Old City shop owners declined to share their views about the coming Ramadan. Scores of Palestinians have been detained by Israel over social media posts about the war in Gaza since it started. Some who would speak said that more Israeli police have been deployed in the Old City since October. Young Palestinian men are regularly barred from entering the Al-Aqsa compound for noon prayers on Fridays since the war started, according to the store owners. This has fuelled speculation about other possible restrictions. The Israeli police did not respond to requests for comment. According to Israeli media, the country's firebrand National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, has been pushing to keep out all West Bank Palestinians, as well as young men who are among the more than 2 million Palestinian citizens of Israel. His spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. The Israeli military body in charge of Palestinian affairs in the West Bank, known as COGAT, said Friday that some Muslims from the West Bank would be allowed in from the territory for Ramadan prayers, but it didn't elaborate. Last year, hundreds of thousands were able to enter, most of them women, children and elderly men. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also been vague, saying only that similar numbers of people as last year would be allowed for prayers at Al-Aqsa during the first week of Ramadan. He said this will be evaluated on a weekly basis throughout the month. No further details were made public. Under an informal arrangement since 1967, the compound is administered by a Jordanian-based Muslim religious body known as the Waqf. Jews are allowed to visit the compound, but not to pray there. The agreement has broken down in recent years as large groups of Jews, including hard-line religious nationalists, have regularly visited. Some among them have attempted to pray at the site. In the days leading up to Ramadan, West Bank Palestinians have been unsure whether they would be able to attend prayers. In general, Palestinians in the territory need a permit to enter east Jerusalem, which Israel considers part of its united capital, though its annexation is not recognised by most of the international community. Since October 7, Israel has forbidden Palestinians from entering Jerusalem or any part of Israel. It is the dream of every Palestinian, Muslim and Arab to pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan, said Akram al Baghdadi, a Ramallah resident who has extended family scattered across the West Bank and Gaza. The holy month also threatens to heighten divisions within Israel's unruly cabinet, with ministers already split over how to conduct the Gaza war. In a post on X, Ben Gvir denounced Netanyahu's decision to allow Palestinians access to Al-Aqsa for Ramadan prayers. He wrote that Hamas celebrations on the Temple Mount do not equate to a complete victory, a reference to Netanyahu's wartime battle cry. Ben Gvir, who has visited the Al-Aqsa compound several times, is also a vocal opponent of any cease-fire arrangement with Hamas. He has repeatedly called for the removal of Palestinians from Gaza and the establishment of Israeli settlements ideas that most Cabinet members oppose. Months of conflict and tension have also brought economic hardship, with a lack of tourists and Palestinians shopping in the Old City. Its not just my shop that is affected, but all the traders here, too, said Jihad Abu Salih, a sweets and pastry merchant from the city. It's sad. (AP) GRS GRS Charleston (W.Va., USA), Mar 9 (AP) Democrat Kayla Young and Republican Patricia Rucker frequently clash on abortion rights and just about everything else in West Virginia's Legislature, but they agree on one thing: Too few of their colleagues are women, and it's hurting the state. There are exceptions to every single rule, but I think in general, men do kind of see this as their field, said Rucker, part of the GOP's Senate supermajority that passed one of the nation's strictest abortion bans while Young the lone Democratic woman elected to the House opposed it. Nearly 130 years since the first three women were elected to state legislative offices in the US, women remain massively under-represented in state legislatures. In 10 states, women make up less than 25 per cent of their state legislatures, according to Rutgers' Centre for American Women in Politics. West Virginia is at the very bottom of that list, having just 16 women in its 134-member Legislature, or just under 12 per cent. That's compared with Nevada, where women occupy just over 60 per cent of state legislative seats. Similar low numbers can be found in the nearby southern states of Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Louisiana. It's absolutely wild to know that more than 50 per cent of the population of West Virginia are women, and sometimes I'm the only woman that's on a committee, period, said Young, currently the only woman on the House Artificial Intelligence Committee and was one of just two on the House Judiciary Committee when it greenlighted the state's near total abortion ban. The numbers of women filling legislative seats across the US have remained low despite women registering and voting at higher rates than men in every presidential election since 1980 and across virtually every demographic, including race, education level and socioeconomic status. For the last three decades, voters have demonstrated a willingness to cast ballots for women. But they didn't have the opportunity to do so because women weren't running, said Jennifer Lawless, chair of the politics department at the University of Virginia. The gender gap in political ambition is just as large now as it was then, said Lawless, adding that women are much less likely to get recruited to run for office or think they're qualified to run in what they perceive as a hostile political environment. And those running in southern, conservative states still mostly Democratic women, data show aren't winning as those states continue to overwhelmingly elect Republicans. In 2022, 39 women ran as their party's nominee for state legislative seats in West Virginia, and 26 were Democrats. Only two of the Democratic candidates won, compared to 11 out of 13 of the Republicans. Debbie Walsh, director of Rutgers' Centre for American Women in Politics, said there's more money, infrastructure and support for recruiting and running Democratic female candidates. The Republican Party often shies away from talking about what is labelled or dismissed as identity politics,' she said. It's a belief in a kind of meritocracy and, the best candidate will rise. And if it's a woman, great.' They don't say, We don't want women, but if it's a man, that's fine, too,' she said. There's no sort of value in and of itself seen in the diversity." Larissa Martinez, founder and president of Women's Public Leadership Network, one of only a few right-leaning US organizations solely supporting female candidates, said identity politics within the GOP is a big hurdle to her work. Part of her organization's slogan is, we are pro-women without being anti-man. In 2020, small-town public school teacher Amy Grady pulled off a huge political upset when she defeated then-Senate President Mitch Carmichael in West Virginia's Republican primary, following back-to-back years of strikes in which school employees packed into the state Capitol. Carmichael took in more than USD 1,27,000 in contributions compared to Grady's self-funded war chest of just over USD 2,000. Still, Grady won by fewer than 1,000 votes. It's just you're told constantly, You can't, you can't, you can't do it,'" said Grady, who has now risen through the ranks to become chair of the Senate Education Committee. And it's just like, why give it a shot?" Tennessee state Sen. Charlane Oliver says she didn't have many resources when she first raised her hand to run for political office. She had to rely on grassroots activism and organizing to win her 2022 election. Yet securing the seat was just part of the battle. Oliver, a 41-year-old Black Democratic woman, is frequently tasked with providing the only outside perspective inside for the Republican supermajority Legislature. They don't have any incentive to listen to me, but I view my seat as disruption and give you a perspective that you may not have heard before, she said. Many male-dominant statehouses have enacted strict abortion bans in GOP-controlled states since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. For many female lawmakers, this trend has meant sharing deeply personal stories surrounding abortion and childbirth. In South Carolina, the abortion debate resulted in an unlikely coalition of women banding together to filibuster a near-total abortion ban. The five female senators three Republicans, two Democrats and one independent quickly became known as the sister senators" as they took turns describing pregnancy complications, the dangers surrounding limited access to contraceptives and the reproductive system. Their actions were met with praise from national leaders, but at home, the consequences have been swift. The Republican women received censures and promises of primary challenges in this year's elections. Women also have championed gun policy, education, health care, and housing proposals. Recently, some states have allowed candidates to make childcare an allowable expense for campaign finance purposes. Young was the sponsor of her state's law one of her priorities her first session in the Capitol in the minority party. During Young's first term in office, she relied on a family member who would care for her two young children while he was at the state Capitol. But she was left without a solution last year when that caregiver passed away unexpectedly days before the session. Her husband, who works in television production, had to stay home and didn't work for two months, meaning the family lost out on his income. Young's bill won the vote of Rucker, the first Hispanic woman elected to the West Virginia Senate. She too has had to juggle the challenges of being a working mom. She left her job as a teacher to homeschool her five children, and the family relied on her husband's salary as a pediatric nurse to make ends meet. I ran for office because I feel like having that voice is actually really important someone who lives paycheck to paycheck, said Rucker, a first-generation US citizen who made the difficult decision to pull her kids. I'm not here because of a title, I'm not here because of a position, I'm here to do my job, and I want to do the best I can. (AP) NPK NPK Cairo, Mar 9 (AP) A Sudanese paramilitary group battling the country's military in a nearly yearlong ruinous conflict endorsed on Saturday a resolution by the UN Security Council calling for a cease-fire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The group, known as the Rapid Support Forces, said in a statement that it hopes the resolution, adopted by the UN Security Council on Friday, would help deliver crucially needed humanitarian assistance to millions of Sudanese trapped in the fighting across the Northeastern African country. Ramadan, during which adult Muslims are required to fast from dawn to sunset, is expected to start on or around Monday, depending on the sighting of the crescent moon. The RSF said it views the initiative as a crucial opportunity for the warring parties to embark on negotiations to find a political settlement to the conflict. We view this as a crucial opportunity to initiate earnest discussions that could catalyse a political pathway. This pathway must culminate in a durable ceasefire, foster security and stability, and result in a substantive resolution that addresses the foundational issues of the historical crisis in Sudan, it said. Sudan's military has already supported a call by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a Ramadan cease-fire. In his Thursday appeal, Guterres warned on Thursday that the conflict threatens Sudan's unity and could ignite regional instability of dramatic proportions. Sudan plunged into chaos in April last year, when long-simmering tensions between its military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo broke into street battles in the capital, Khartoum. The fighting broke out during Ramadan last year. Fighting spread to other parts of the country, especially urban areas, but in Sudan's western Darfur region it took on a different form, with brutal attacks by the Arab-dominated Rapid Support Forces on ethnic African civilians. Thousands of people have been killed. The 15-member Security Council voted overwhelmingly in favour of the British-drafted cease-fire resolution, with 14 countries in support and only Russia abstaining. The resolution expressed grave concern over the spreading violence and the catastrophic and deteriorating humanitarian situation, including crisis levels, or worse, of acute food insecurity, particularly in Darfur. The head of the World Food Program, Cindy McCain, said earlier this week that the conflict risks creating the world's largest hunger crisis, with some 18 million people across Sudan facing acute hunger, including 5 million who face starvation. The conflict has uprooted more than 10 million people either to safer areas inside Sudan or to neighbouring countries, according to UN agencies. South Sudan received 600,000 people who fled the fighting in Sudan. (AP) GRS GRS Mumbai, Mar 9 (PTI) The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has asked city-based Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) to set up an expert committee to suggest a solution to the alignment problem involving the Gokhale bridge and a flyover in Andheri. Politicians and citizens have heavily criticised the BMC after it emerged that the reconstructed Gokhale bridge over railway tracks at Andheri station did not align with the connecting Barfiwala flyover built just over a decade ago. In a letter to the state-run VJTI, the BMC has sought from its experts a proven time-saving construction technology to expedite the merger of the two overpasses without breaking the existing Barfiwala structure. BMC has told VJTI that it proposes to connect the northbound arm of the Barfiwala flyover to the first phase of the Gokhale bridge to facilitate direct access from Barfiwala Road to the Western Express Highway avoiding the SV Road Junction. BMC has asked VJTI for the quickest and non-breaking, implementable solution possible. A report is expected in three to four days, a BMC spokesperson said. Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said Mumbai civic commissioner (administrator) IS Chahal should be placed under suspension for the Gokhale bridge reconstruction fiasco. "The Gokhale bridge reconstruction by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and Railways is a national shame. It is an example of politician-official nexus. The news has reached all over the globe but the two agencies continue to play a blame game," Thackeray had said earlier. New Delhi, Mar 9 (PTI) More than 10 years after a Supreme Court judgement paved way for introduction of the NOTA button on EVM for polls, the number of voters choosing it still remains low, with the experts dubbing it as a "toothless tiger" with no implications on the results. NOTA (None of the Above) was introduced in India through the Supreme Court's judgement in September 2013. The need to introduce NOTA was felt to discourage the parties from fielding tainted candidates. The Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to make necessary provision in the ballot papers/EVMs so that the voters can decide not to vote for any of the candidates in the fray. Introduced in 2013, the NOTA option on electronic voting machines has its own symbol - a ballot paper with a black cross across it. After the Supreme Court order in September 2013, the Election Commission added the NOTA button on the EVMs as the last option on the voting panel. One ballot unit has 16 buttons. Before the apex court order, those not inclined to vote for any candidate had the option of filling what is popularly called form 49-O. But filling out the form at the polling station under Rule 49-O of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, compromised the secrecy of the voter. However, even as NOTA has secured over 1.29 crore votes in the state assembly elections and the Lok Sabha elections combined in the last five years, the number of candidates with criminal records has increased in both the general and the assembly elections. According to a report by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), the share of MPs with declared criminal cases against them has been increasing in the last decade. While 30 per cent elected MPs had criminal cases against them in 2009, which went up. Of the 543 winners analysed by the ADR in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, 162 (30 per cent) had declared criminal cases against them, with 76 (14 per cent) had serious criminal cases against them. In 2019, the share of MPs with criminal and serious criminal cases increased to 43 per cent and 29 per cent. "NOTA has made no difference as far as criminality is concerned, in fact the number of candidates with criminal cases has increased," Major General (Retd) Anil Verma, Head of ADR, told PTI. "The concept of NOTA was that some pressure would be on the parties not to field tainted candidates. It has not happened," he said. Overall in different state and general elections, votes polled on NOTA have been between .5 per cent to 1.5per cent, according to data compiled by the ADR. It secured around 1.06 per cent votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, and among states, highest was when it got 1.98 percent of the total votes in the 2018 Chhattisgarh Assembly polls. The lowest number of votes NOTA in the Lok Sabha was 100 votes in Lakshadweep, and among the state polls, it secured the lowest percentage of vote share - 0.46 percent in both the Delhi State Assembly Elections, 2020, and the Mizoram State Assembly Elections, 2018. "Unfortunately, it turned out to be a toothless tiger. It merely provided a platform to express dissent or one's anger for political parties to take note and nothing more," Maj Gen Verma (Retd) said. He, however, pointed out that overall, the percentage of NOTA votes in seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribe has been slightly higher, which may indicate there are more grievances among these groups. "In the reserved constituencies, we have seen the percentage of NOTA votes are higher. Perhaps the tribals and SCs have more grievances so they go in larger numbers for NOTA," he said. Constituency wise, NOTA has secured as high as 27,500 votes in Maharashtra's Latur Rural constituency, a seat reserved for the SC community, over 13 per cent of the total votes. NOTA got the second spot, with Congress' Dhiraj Deshmukh winning with over 67 per cent of the total votes. In 'Red Alert Constituencies', the seats with three or more candidates with criminal cases contesting the elections, NOTA secured 26, 77,616 votes (26.77 lakhs) in the state assembly elections since 2018. It ranges from 1.63 per cent in Bihar in 217 red alert constituencies to 0.43 per cent in Delhi. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the highest number of NOTA votes (51,660) were polled in Bihar's Gopalganj, another reserved SC constituency, where it secured the third spot getting 5.03 per cent of the total votes. Axis India chairman Pradeep Gupta said there is a requirement to give more teeth to the NOTA option. "I believe that candidates, who have lost against NOTA should not get a chance to contest again. That is what the logic is all about. Since there is no such rule, many voters think what is the point of choosing NOTA," Gupta told PTI. "In 2014, 1.08 pc voters chose NOTA, the percentage was 1.06 pc in 2019. It is a sizeable number but I believe it is more due to error and less due to intention," Gupta said. "But if a rule is brought in barring the rejected candidates from contesting again, I believe the number will go up like anything. The political parties understand the sensitivity of this and that is why I believe no one will favour such a law and hence NOTA is a toothless option," he added. Calls have also been made for scrapping NOTA. Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel had last year sought scrapping NOTA, stating that in certain cases it polled more votes than winning margin. In 2018, the Supreme Court had ruled that NOTA option should not be given in the Rajya Sabha elections. Chandigarh, Mar 9 (PTI) Within weeks of switching to the BJP, two Chandigarh municipal councillors rejoined the Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday. The development came days after the Congress-AAP alliance lost elections to the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation. Poonam Kumari and Neha Musabat returned to the AAP fold on Saturday, a party statement said. Both leaders rejoined the AAP in the presence of AAP's co-incharge Sunny Ahluwalia on Saturday. Kumari, Musabat and another councillor had joined the BJP on February 19, a day before the Supreme Court was scheduled to hear a plea alleging irregularities in the mayoral polls. The majority of the AAP-Congress alliance looked to be in trouble with their switch. Now, that Kumari and Musabat have returned to the AAP, the party's strength in the 35-member house of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation reaches 12, while the BJP's tally is down to 15. The Congress has seven councillors while the Akali Dal has one. Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher, who is a BJP member, also has voting rights as an ex-officio member of the corporation. On March 4, the BJP won the reelection for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, defeating the Congress candidates who were backed by the AAP as part of the opposition's INDIA bloc. On February 20, the Supreme Court had declared Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Kuldeep Kumar as the new mayor of the corporation after it overturned the result of the January 30 mayoral poll in which BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar had emerged the winner. The apex court judgment had come after allegations of tampering with ballots during the January mayoral polls. As the mayor is the presiding officer for the elections to the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, the polls were held again on Monday after the change of mayor. Puducherry, Mar 9 (PTI) Puducherry Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Saturday urged police officials and the government machinery here to ensure that more centres for rehabilitation of those addicted to drugs be opened in Puducherry and that they function round-the-clock. A release from office of the Lt Governor said Soundararajan had made the appeal at a meeting she convened with senior police officials and also officials of several other departments including Revenue and Disaster Management at her office to review the situation in Puducherry particularly in the context of the recent alleged murder of a nine- year-old girl and steps taken to control the drug menace. Home Minister A Namassivayam, Director General of Police B Srinivasan, Chief Secretary Sarath Chauhan, Health Secretary Muthamma, Revenue and Excise department Secretary E Vallavan and Director of Health G Sriramulu among others participated in the meeting. The Lt Governor, who chaired the meeting urged the officials to enhance the number of rehabilitation centres to protect the people from falling prey to drug addiction. Counselling should also be intensified in all Primary Health Centres and hospitals, the Lt Governor said and asked officials to constitute monitoring committees in all schools and colleges. Home Minister Namassivayam told reporters after the meeting that stern action would be taken against drug peddlers and inter-state borders would be particularly monitored. Meanwhile, Chief Minister N Rangasamy issued an order granting Rs 7.12 lakh to the parents of the girl at his office here Saturday. A release from the office of the Chief Minister said that the solatium was sanctioned under the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Earlier, the government had announced a solatium of Rs 20 lakh from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund to the girl's family. A team of officials of National Commission for Scheduled Castes led by its Director S Ravivarman is in the union territory in connection with the probe into the death of the girl. The yishuv of Eli in Binyamin announced on Motzei Shabbos that one of its residents, Amishar Ben-David, 43, Hyd, a commander in the Oz Commando Brigade, was killed on Friday in battle in the Gaza Strip. Shortly later, the IDF announced the death, adding that another officer from the Oz Brigade was seriously injured. Amishars death raises the death toll of the ground war in Gaza to 248 and the death toll of IDF soldiers killed since October 7th to 588. Amishar, zl, a baal chessed who volunteered as the head of the MDA team in Eli, left behind a wife and six children as well as his parents and six siblings. He was a cousin of Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich, who published a post on Motzei Shabbos, bemoaning the loss. He was killed in a battle in Khan Younis as Shabbos began. Amishar is the 18th talmid from Bnei Dovid, the mechina in Eli, to fall in battle in the Gaza Strip. (YWNs Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis haShabbos in Israel) Dasha Kiper, a psychologist and author of 'Travelers to Unimaginable Lands' (2023). A woman arrives at a cozy Italian restaurant, looking for her husband. When she finds him, she sits down at the table. Together, they enjoy a gin and tonic and a lively conversation. Anyone watching from the outside might envy her but things begin to get tense towards the end of the evening. After finishing their drinks, the man tells her that its been a pleasure, but that they should go home. She stealthily switches her heels for sneakers and says goodbye to her husband, leaving the restaurant. Then after pretending to go in another direction she turns the corner and starts running, so that she can get to the apartment (which theyve shared for years) before him. Its not much use. Once he gets home, the man has completely forgotten about the date, not to mention the life theyve shared. He accuses the woman of sneaking into his house and asks her to leave. She desperate tries to reason with him: she shows him their wedding photos, the joint names on the mailbox but nothing works. The man gets even more angry. The nights usually end with her crying in the hallway and him locked up in his bedroom. But they always start in the same way: the woman returns to the Italian restaurant to look for her husband. She knows she can always find him there. The problem is that her husband has disappeared from almost every other place in her life. It sounds like something out of The Twilight Zone, writes Dasha Kiper, a clinical psychologist, in Travellers to Unimaginable Lands (2023). This is one of the stories that the author has collected, to analyze the relationship between people with dementia and their caregivers. The book combines personal cases with scientific studies and cultural references (from Borges to the Teletubbies to Chekhov). Ultimately, it ends up raising questions that are more philosophical in nature, rather than medical. When someones memory disappears when their personality and behavior change who are we dealing with? the author asks. Where does personality end and where do symptoms begin? She reflects on the idea that memory isnt merely about remembering, nor is memory loss just about forgetting. Memory is where we keep the experiences that make us who we are it consists of the stories we tell ourselves about who we are and who others are. Alzheimers is the most common of the dementias, a family of diseases that affects more than 55 million people worldwide. Its expected that, by 2050, this figure will nearly triple. In the United States alone, there are more than 16 million caregivers looking after these patients, many of whom are family members providing unpaid care. Kiper has spent a decade accompanying these non-professional caregivers. Thats why she focused on them in a book that analyzes the most intimate part of the disease: the personal tensions and the old family wounds that are reopened with dementia. Kiper spoke with EL PAIS in a video conference from her New York apartment. Question. The title of your book is based on a phrase by Oliver Sacks, who defined patients with neuronal diseases as travelers to unimaginable lands. Is this an individual or a collective trip? Where do your caregivers travel? Answer. We often forget that its a journey thats accompanied: at the side of the sick person, theres a caregiver. There are two people who go to these surreal and bizarre places. I wanted to write this book to give a neurological framework to caregivers. To say to them: youre not a bad person. When youre arguing with [someone suffering from dementia] when you know you shouldnt, youre not a bad person: youre human. This trip to imaginary lands is made by two people, but at the same time, its a lonely trip and it can be disorienting. Its surreal, but also familiar. Q. Many of the conflicts that you portray in the book respond to previous family dynamics. Theyre stories about dementia and family relationships. A. Yes, many of the discussions that one has with a patient are discussions that have already taken place before. On the one hand, its assumed that theres a profound neurological change in the patients brain. But on the other hand, this person is still as loving, irritating and exhausting as the person youve always known. Memory loss seems like something very simple, a medical diagnosis: the person doesnt remember. But if you apply it to a family dynamic, everything changes. If you apply it to a father who was too harsh on his child, other dynamics come into play. Its easy for him to accuse his son of never visiting him, even though he does. This may be a manifestation of memory loss but its also the normal behavior of a father who feels that nothing his child does is ever enough. So, in many ways, the fights you have with a family member with dementia may feel eerily familiar. Q. And this makes it difficult to distinguish between pathology and patient. Symptoms and personalities are conflated. A. A lot of the time, I see medical professionals make the mistake of telling caregivers, Oh, thats not your mother, thats her brain. And thats just naively binary its fake, because how the hell do you know? Youre a doctor, but you dont know what relationship the patient has with the caregiver. Maybe your mother has said something unpleasant to you but its the kind of thing your mother has always said to you. The hardest thing is that you cannot know where the person ends and the disease begins. When a doctor tells you its not your mother, its her brain, what hes really telling you is that you shouldnt be so hard on her. But thats not the way were connected. Were not programmed to understand the brain as something like a failing body. Human beings have a very intuitive understanding of cancer, because the problem is in the body. When bodies fail, we understand. But when minds fail, we find it very difficult to get rid of concepts like free will or responsibility. Its very hard for us to not hold our family members with dementia accountable. Oliver Sacks refers to the pathology and the patient as a marriage: theyre intertwined. And I think its a very nice way to express it. But I would say that this can become a trio: the disease, the patient and their caregiver. If a father has dementia, it will manifest differently with one daughter or another, depending on the individual relationship he had with each of them before. Daughters will receive different versions of their father. This disease takes on many forms. Q. You write that caregivers arent saints. A. Not only are they not saints, but many get angry when you tell them that. Because the simplification doesnt allow them to be human beings. Its as if theyre expected to always be self-sacrificing, generous and kind. But thats just not the way it goes. We expect caregivers to be rational and calm because theyre usually healthy. But theres something called emotional contagion: when one person is angry, our brains are meant to mimic other brains. And so, its very hard for us not to catch this feeling and become angry as well. Ultimately, its not that the healthy brain trumps the sick brain. Were at the patients mercy just as much as they are at ours. And I think this is something very surprising that this distinction between the healthy brain and the unhealthy brain isnt as clear as we would like it to be. Q. In your book, the majority of the caregivers you talk to are women A. Theres a societal expectation for women to do this. In the same way that theyre expected to take on any caregiving role, right? I think that its expected that this comes more naturally to women. Youre nurturers by nature how could you feel anger and resentment? Of course, this is absurd. Its absurd when mothers are told that, but I think, in some ways, its even more absurd [when it comes to women caring for someone] with dementia, because nobody is emotionally geared to deal with this disease. Q. I would like to tell you about a case that happened in Spain a few weeks ago. A man died in his house, due to a domestic accident. He was the caretaker of his mother a dependent elderly woman who died a few days later due to starvation. The bodies werent found until weeks later, when neighbors alerted the authorities about the smell. We know that illness and old age can isolate a person but do they have a contagion effect on the caregiver? A. Old age isolates, just like dementia isolates. And, in my opinion, caregivers can become even more isolated. Its a depressing illness. With other illnesses, people are supportive but with dementia, caregivers often talk about how friends and family are too uncomfortable and depressed, so they leave. With cancer, you can feel sorry for the patient: you share a reality and concerns. But with dementia, youre alone. The symptoms are extremely isolating. The patient and the caregiver live in two different realities. Biologically, were not programmed to experience stress alone our instinct is to share it. Therefore, loneliness for a caregiver is actually the biggest risk. Q. What happens when a patient dies and the caregiver must resume their life? A. Some people really feel free because they can get back to their lives. And thats a positive thing, its a good thing. But many times since theyre no longer in a constant state of emergency, managing crises they have time to think. And many sink into guilt. They begin to review their reactions, all the decisions they made. They may ask themselves: Was that the right decision? Should I have done it this way or that way? As a caregiver, you have to make many ethical decisions. And when the person dies, you have time to reflect and punish yourself. Its like soldiers coming back from war: we expect them to be happy to be back to normal life, but your brain and your biology are still in fight mode. I think that theres a lot of trauma and a lot of flashbacks. Q. You dedicate the book to your parents. Have you had to act as a caregiver for them? A. No, no. Luckily, my parents dont have any type of cognitive impairment. I dedicated the book to them because they supported me a lot and are interested in what I do and I know thats a great gift. I ran a group of caregivers for a long time and they were all about my age, millennials. And many had very difficult relationships with their parents. When they reached certain vital milestones in their adult lives when they got married, had children, or had success at work they couldnt share that joy with their parents. They desperately sought that validation. While writing this book, I kept all of that in mind. Its a gift that your parents can still share life with you, for them to be there to recognize what youre doing When you work in this field, you value the little things, like having a cup of coffee and having a conversation with your mom or dad and knowing how, in that moment, youre living in the same reality. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Seven IDF soldiers were wounded on Erev Shabbos in a terror attack near the Palestinian town of Silat ad-Dhar in the Shomron, near the Jewish yishuv of Chomesh. The terrorists first opened fire at an IDF post. When the soldiers ran outside to return fire, the terrorists threw an IED at them, moderately injuring three soldiers and lightly wounding four soldiers. The terrorists then fled the scene. Three soldiers were evacuated by helicopter to the hospital, as seen in the video below: The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group claimed responsibility for the attack and issued a video of the attack, as seen below: (YWNs Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis haShabbos in Israel) Israels Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Motzei Shabbos condemning the decisions of Canada and Sweden to restore funding to the UNWRA. The decisions by Canada and Sweden to restore funding to UNRWA after having received the intelligence-based information about the organizations employees who participated in the 7 October massacre and prior to the completion of the work of the investigative bodies and the publication of their findings is a serious mistake that constitutes tacit agreement and support by the governments of Canada and Sweden to continuing to ignore the involvement of UNRWA employees in terrorist activity, the statement said. The return to funding UNRWA will not change the fact that the organization is part of the problem and will not be part of the solution in the Gaza Strip. Israel calls on the governments of Canada and Sweden to stop the funding and not to support an organization whose ranks include hundreds of members of the Hamas terrorist organization. Sixteen countries, including the US and the US, halted their funding to the UNWRA after Israel released information about 12 UNWRA employees who took part in the October 7th massacre. Israel later published information about two more employees of the agency that took part in the assault and also said that 450 UNWRA employees are members of terror groups. Canada and Sweden announced it was restoring funding to the agency over the weekend after promises from the UN and UNWRA for accountability and reforms. (YWNs Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis haShabbos in Israel) Israels Chief Rabbi HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Yosef delivered a sharp message to the countrys political leadership on Motzei Shabbos regarding the public debate on drafting yeshivah bochurim. The Ravs statements were made on the background of the Supreme Courts decision to force the government to explain why Chareidim shouldnt be drafted to the IDF and the resulting political debate on the matter. Speaking at his weekly shiur, the Rav said: Shevet Levi is exempt from the army they wont take them no matter what happens. If they force us to enlist well buy tickets and all travel abroad. They need to understand this the secular people who dont understand. They need to understand that without Torah, without kollelim, without yeshivos the army wouldnt be successful. The army is only successful in the zechus of Bnei Torah, the soldiers are successful in the zechus of Bnei Torah. Rabbosai, everyone needs to say this with pride yes, were oisek bTorah, the Torah is what protects us. Last week, HaGaon HaRav Meir Tzvi Bergman said that we wont agree to anything regarding the recruitment of bnei yeshivos. And nothing will help them! No one is the baal habayis to be mevateir on the Torah nothing will help them. And Hakadosh Baruch Hu will have mercy on us. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) There is a spring in the step of those good people who run Nationwide by a country mile, the country's largest building society. They have just agreed to purchase rival Virgin Money and they've got the banks firmly on the back foot over their collective propensity to axe branches as if they are dead wood. Having recently annoyed its banking rivals with a witty TV advert featuring Dominic West as a swaggering, smoothie-drinking, branch-axing banker, Nationwide has now taken another swipe at the banks. This time, it has put up a sign alongside a road on the outskirts of Windsor in Berkshire which says: 'You are now leaving Windsor. Just like the big banks.' Underneath these words, it adds: 'Unlike the big banks, we're here to stay.' Unlike the fictional character it created for its advert, Nationwide is dead right about Windsor. This glorious Royal town lost its last banks just over six months ago when Barclays and HSBC shut their branches within a day of each other. Other banks Lloyds, Metro, NatWest, and Santander had long deserted the town. As a result, Nationwide is the last 'bank' standing and as part of a pledge made last June, it will not be leaving Windsor or any other town or City it has a presence in until at least 2026. The only other bank to have made anything resembling a similar pledge on branches is HSBC which said late last year that it would not announce any more closures this year. So far, it has been true to its word. Spot on: Dominic West in the Nationwide TV ad and, right, the sign outside Windsor I trust Nationwide will soon be putting up similar signs in towns where it is now the last 'bank' standing. According to long-standing community bank campaigner Derek French, Windsor is one of 37 largish towns (with populations more than 15,000) where Nationwide is the only 'bank' present. Bizarrely, says French, these 37 towns should all qualify for a banking hub (a community bank funded by all the big banking brands). But because Nationwide is still in town, the banks won't fund them. Shameful. As for the Nationwide TV advert that has annoyed the banks so much, Santander has filed a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). It argues that the advert is misleading about banks closing branches and both denigrates and discredits competitors. On Friday, the ASA told me that its investigation into the complaints surrounding Nationwide's advertising campaign was 'ongoing'. Although the advert is a little bit naughty, especially when Mr West mocks a customer who wants to speak to a branch manager over the loss of his life savings ('total yawn fest'), I trust the ASA decides that Nationwide has no case to answer. Why? First, Nationwide is right to mock the banks for closing branches. Since cash machine network Link started compiling a list of closure announcements in early February 2022, 1,325 branches have either shut or been told that they are shutting sometime soon. Of these, only 22 are Nationwide (all pre the June 2023 pledge). While Santander has only announced six closures over the same period, it did shut 111 in 2021. Secondly, isn't it great to watch a financial advert that for once makes you laugh rather than yawn out loud. I would rather watch Dominic West's pompous banker any day over horses (admittedly beautiful on the eye) galloping across the Sussex countryside in an effort to convince us that Lloyds will always be by our side. A branch befitting the Bard... Like many of you, I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to bank branches former ones and existing premises. Quite often, I marvel at their architectural magnificence and their imposing presence on the high street. Such was the case eight days ago when I spent a pleasant afternoon nosing around Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, visiting the home that William Shakespeare was brought up in and the nearby church (Holy Trinity) where he is buried. Iconic: The stunning HSBC branch in Stratford While wandering the streets, I was struck by the presence of all the big banks in the town: Barclays, NatWest (located in a building rather out of kilter with the rest of the town), Lloyds and Santander. Good for Stratford I say. Long may they stay open. But it was the imposing HSBC branch that took my breath away a massive Victorian gothic building built of red brick and terracotta. I haven't seen a branch quite as striking in a while and it remains open for business (until at least the end of this year, hopefully even longer). The branch's roots go back to 1810 when the Stratford Old Bank was established by three local businessmen. The firm issued its own notes, adorned with an image of the bard's head. Indeed, the words 'Old Bank' remain over its front door to this day with a mosaic of the bard just below. The branch eventually became part of Midland (the precursor to HSBC) in 1914 and remains on the schedule of many Shakespeare walking tours that take place daily in the town. The branch is a listed building and it is to HSBC's credit that it has maintained its integrity, even when undergoing a refurbishment four years ago. Is there a bank branch that strikes an architectural chord with you? If so, do drop me an email at jeff.prestridge@mailonsunday.co.uk. Window on chaos in Brum... It was lovely to spend some time after my mum's funeral ten days ago reacquainting myself with Birmingham, the city I grew up in. Highlights of the day included a visit to Birmingham Cathedral which I have walked past at least 200 times without ever once stepping inside. To stand and marvel at the four exquisite stained-glass windows, designed by pre-Raphaelite artist (and Brummie) Edward Burne-Jones, was a joyous experience. They are spell-binding. I also enjoyed the Victorian Radicals exhibition at the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery where more of Burne-Jones's sublime work (paintings rather than stained-glass) were on display. The exhibition runs until the end of October and is well worth every penny of the 11 entry fee. Birmingham has progressed since I left at the age of 18 for academia and ultimately the bright lights of London. It is therefore distressing to learn that Labour-run Birmingham City Council has got itself into a terrible financial pickle which will result in near double-digit increases in council tax bills next month and savage budget cuts. Nothing will be spared adult social care, children's services, support for the arts and local libraries. What a great shame. The Labour council's mismanagement, perpetuated by Government funding cuts, now threatens the City's very fabric. A portent of the future under a free-spending, tax-heavy Labour government? Only time will tell. Things are getting ever more discordant for investors in Hipgnosis. The music fund, which owns the rights to songs by artists such as Shakira and Justin Bieber, saw its shares plunge to an all-time low last week after it slashed the value of its portfolio by a quarter. It said its vast catalogue could be worth as little as 1.5 billion, which is 26 per cent less than what it was valued at in September. This pushed shares to a record low of 53p, a far cry from their peak of 1.29 in late 2021. In an even less comforting sign for investors, Hipgnosis, the brainchild of music mogul Merck Mercuriadis, has said it will give another update to the market by March 29. Elephant in the room: Hipgnosis has said it will give another update to the market on March 29 This is, Whispers notes, Good Friday and a Bank Holiday. It will delay the possibility of more share price misery as it leaves a four-day break before trading resumes on the Tuesday. Perhaps Mercuriadis just wants to eat his Easter eggs in peace. Richard Griffiths tripled his holding in IQE There was a boost for IQE last week as 'Welsh wizard' Richard Griffiths tripled his holding in the semiconductor firm to 7.6 per cent. The former sheep farmer is known for his success in backing firms such as Nanoco, GVC and Oxford Nanopore Technologies. Maybe his latest move will work some magic on IQE's share price, which has yet to recover from a plunge a year ago. M&S scoops fashion retailer award Britain's top shopkeepers gathered at the swanky Grosvenor House Hotel in Mayfair last week for the annual awards hosted by trade rag Retail Week. Among those on the podium were Sainsbury's boss Simon Roberts, who clinched retail leader of the year. Tesco won the gong for best big retailer. Perhaps the biggest winner of the night was M&S, which secured the trophy for fashion retailer of the year. None will be celebrating harder than the firm's head of clothing Richard Price. He has spent the past four years, along with director of womenswear Maddy Evans, making Marks & Spencer stylish again. What a makeover! Ship broker Clarksons buoyant Clarksons posted a record set of results. The FTSE 250 firm has been in demand as Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea have left transport companies scrambling to secure passage on alternative routes. But buried in its results was another reason. Clarksons flagged that the lack of ships had been exacerbated by a push to green fuels as the sector battles to bring down emissions. This is making owners hesitant to order more vessels due to worries that they may not pick the right fuel technology. Not exactly plain sailing, eh? Contributors: Francesca Washtell and Leah Montebello Commitment: Nationwide's Debbie Crosbie used to work for Virgin Money Nationwide must give members a vote on its planned takeover of Virgin Money, politicians and customers are demanding this weekend. The building society surprised the City last week by agreeing a 2.9 billion bid from Nationwide for Virgin, the UK's sixth largest bank, which was founded by Sir Richard Branson. The deal would create Britain's second biggest savings and loans group. It would catapult Nationwide into the big league of retail banking, with almost 700 branches and 366 billion of assets. Nationwide has snapped up a number of smaller building societies in the past, including Dunfermline, Derbyshire and Cheshire, without a member vote. But the Virgin Money deal is easily its biggest, leading some of the mutual's members who own the business to demand a vote on the outcome. Financial services expert Baroness Bowles said the deal looked good on paper but members need more detail and should have a say. Bowles, who sits on the board of the London Stock Exchange, said the deal could involve 'quite a change in character for Nationwide, which would be jumping into the big bank league'. She added there are 'obvious benefits' for members including more branches. Bowles also questioned what was in it for members. 'Are they going to be better off by being bigger?' she asked. > What Nationwide's bid to buy Virgin Money means for borrowers and savers Combination: Nationwide Building Society to create one of Britain's biggest banks with Virgin Money UK takeover Other Nationwide members have taken to social media to demand a vote on what they regard as a transformational deal. 'This may be within the letter of Nationwide's rules but it is very far from being in the spirt of a mutual,' one said. Nationwide, led by chief executive Debbie Crosbie, insists it has taken 'extensive' legal advice including from an unnamed senior lawyer that no member vote is needed under the 1985 Building Societies Act. The society also argues that a poll would 'tie the board's hands' and restrict its ability ever to buy a listed bank. It plans to write to 14 million members in the next few weeks outlining the benefits of the deal. Former Business Secretary Vince Cable said: 'My reading is that the takeover will strengthen our biggest mutual and seems to be business sense.' Crosbie, who is a former chief operating officer at Virgin Money and therefore knows the business well, said the combined group 'would bring the benefits of fairer banking and mutual ownership to more people in the UK,' including a commitment to keeping branches open when other high street players are closing theirs. She has until April 4 either to state a firm intention to bid or to pull out. Experts have said Virgin Money is now 'in play' and that rival bidders may emerge. The best bank accounts to switch to How hard does your bank account work for you? Hard enough to give you cashback on your household bills, interest on your balance or simply standout customer service? Here is our pick of the best accounts to make your money work harder, cut down on fees, or get free stuff. > Five of the best bank accounts Nationwide may be reluctant to enter a bidding war if a third party were to enter the fray. Branson set up Virgin Money in 1995. The bank bought Northern Rock from the Government after the 2008 financial crisis. It was itself bought by Clydesdale and Yorkshire bank for 1.7 billion in 2018 and is now about a third of Nationwide's size. Virgin Money will remain a separate legal entity within Nationwide with its own board and banking licence for the 'medium term'. The calls to give members a vote on the deal come as a Mail on Sunday analysis found that Virgin Money chief executive David Duffy could be in line for a 12 million pay-off if the current offer is accepted. Duffy, who earned 2.7 million last year, has come under fire from Virgin Money's shareholders over his pay and the bank's lacklustre performance in recent years. If he were to leave as a result of a Nationwide takeover it could trigger a big pay-off under the terms of his long term bonus scheme. Britain's Budget watchdog has hailed the success of services exports despite an increase in post-Brexit trade barriers. The Office for Budget Responsibility has reported that overseas sales of services such as management consulting, advertising, and research and development have grown faster than in any other major economy. They are now 12 per cent higher than in 2019, outstripping average growth of 9 per cent in other G7 countries. The news comes as debate rages over the effects of Britain leaving the EU. Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch last week insisted that Britain had 'embraced world trade' and she said it was a 'myth' that exports had declined. She claimed: 'The value of UK goods sold overseas had increased from 624 billion in 2020 to more than 850 billion today, despite the impact of Covid and the war in Ukraine'. Success: The Office for Budget Responsibility has reported that overseas sales of services have grown faster than in any other major economy The UK had 'negotiated more free trade deals than any other independent country in the world' in recent years, Badenoch added. But the OBR, which marks the Government's Budget homework, said growth in the trade of UK goods both imports and exports had 'fallen well behind the rest of the G7'. It highlighted exports of services to the United States and suggested that many American firms were 'outsourcing' work to the UK to take advantage of the weaker pound. However, it said exports of financial services such as banking and insurance had lagged and 'are likely to have been impacted by Brexit frictions'. Overall, the OBR still expects a 15 per cent fall in trade and a 4 per cent drop in productivity compared with the likely outcome if voters had chosen to stay in the EU in the 2016 referendum. Thomas Sampson, of the London School of Economics, said: 'While it's still too early for anything more than a preliminary judgement, I think it would be hard to quibble with the OBR's assessment so far. 'Services trade seems to have held up well, whereas goods trade has been harder hit, particularly for small exporters who are struggling with the new red tape required to export to the EU.' The boss of insurer Direct Line plans to launch a new strategy this month after the company rejected a 3.1 billion takeover offer from a Belgian rival, The Mail on Sunday understands. Adam Winslow is set to mount his defence of the company alongside annual results on March 21. Winslow has not had long to prepare as he joined Direct Line just two days after the board rejected the 'unattractive' offer from Belgium's Ageas at the end of February. He is keen to lay out the case for why Direct Line should remain an independent company listed on the London Stock Exchange. The FTSE 250-listed firm was launched in 1985 as the UK's first telephone-only insurer. Racing ahead: Adam Winslow was hired in the knowledge he would need to overhaul the business, but he is now having to cram a months-long review process into three weeks It has about 10 million customers and its brands include Churchill and Green Flag. Although Direct Line's board rebuffed Ageas's approach, the predator may come back with a higher offer. Rival bidders may also enter the fray. Winslow's plan is expected to outline ways that Direct Line could become more tech-savvy, which could include setting up an app for the first time. He is also likely to propose cost cuts. Winslow was hired in the knowledge he would need to overhaul the business. But he is now having to cram a months-long review process into three weeks. The move on Direct Line came shortly after two other bids for London-listed companies. Currys rejected a bid from American investment group Elliott Advisors, while logistics group Wincanton accepted a 762 million offer from US suitor GXO. Direct Line's founder Sir Peter Wood told The Mail on Sunday last week that the company had been run 'so abysmally' for years that it deserved to be taken over. The insurer has released multiple profit warnings over the past few years. In January of last year it scrapped its dividend after admitting it had been caught out by a surge in claims for burst pipes caused by icy weather. Within weeks it parted ways with chief executive Penny James. It was later forced to repay about 30 million to customers who were charged more than they should have been to renew home and car insurance policies. Direct Line posted a loss of 76 million in September. It sold a commercial insurance unit for 520 million in an effort to shore up its balance sheet. Sitting pretty: Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou After three decades in a whirlwind of activity, you'd think easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou might want to put his feet up. The tycoon is certainly in the right place for it his house on the French Caribbean island of Saint Barthelemy. Instead of enjoying the fancy restaurants, pristine beaches and high-end boutiques, Haji-Ioannou's mind is on the defence of his empire. He is waging war on 'brand thieves' firms, individuals and even boy bands who use the 'easy' trademark without permission. The easyGroup spends 3 million to 4 million a year taking legal action against those who infringe its name. Haji-Ioannou, 57, says it is 'to prevent consumers from being confused', adding: 'Stealing the brand is profitable and that's why they do it.' He has built a fortune worth an estimated 865 million thanks to the budget airline and other companies under his Easy umbrella. They include hotels, car rental, cruises, driving schools and even pizza delivery. 'We sometimes do deals with former brand thieves,' Haji-Ioannou admits, insisting that many see 'enormous benefits' from joining the business empire. One such group is easyCleaning, an online maker and seller of cleaning products such as bleach and washing powder which joined his empire in 2020. 'Instead of fighting us, they decided the best thing was to join easyGroup. So we did a deal and their revenues are now up 30 to 40 per cent,' Haji-Ioannou says. Another dispute was with travel comparison website easyVoyage owned by French media company Webedia which inked a partnership with easyGroup in 2021. 'I consider it a back-handed compliment to the brand I have created over the last 30 years that so many people are trying to take advantage of it,' Haji-Ioannou adds. For now, his attention is focused on a row with easyfundraising, a UK website, backed by a private equity firm, that aims to raise money for what it says are good causes. When a customer uses the site to shop, its partner brands donate a small percentage of what is spent to a charity of the shopper's choice. Haji-Ioannou labels it another brand thief. The firm's boss James Moir has accused the tycoon of 'bullying' the company through his lawsuits in a bitter struggle that has dragged on for over two years. The charge that Haji-Ioannou is targeting only small firms which do not have the resources to fight back is one that he denies. 'It's false to say we only pick on small companies,' he says, pointing out that easyGroup is currently battling against German car giant Volkswagen and airline trade body the International Air Transport Association. 'We're sometimes taking on companies that are many times our size,' Haji-Ioannou says. 'I've been taking companies to court for the best part of 15 years and until recently everyone including the media were indifferent to it. 'I don't think we're alone in this either. Virgin has a brand protection budget and so does Apple. And they have also named their companies after ordinary words.' Listen: Sir Stelios on the This is Money podcast In this special bonus This is Money podcast episode, Simon Lambert speaks to easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou. Sir Stelios tells the story of how he launched easyJet his easyGroup of companies - and how allowing others to build companies using the easy brand works. He also explains why he is backing entrepreneurs under the age of 35 with his Stelios Philanthropic Foundation awards and giving away 150,000 to the successful winner. Press play to listen to the episode on the player above, or listen (and please subscribe and review us if you like the podcast) at Apple Podcasts, Audioboom, YouTube and Spotify or visit our This is Money Podcast page. But the fight has sometimes extended beyond the realms of business. Leicester-based boy band Easy Life changed its name after Haji-Ioannou threatened legal action over their T-shirt and poster designs. Haji-Ioannou argues that 'brand theft' is an attack on the 'billions and billions of pounds of investment' devoted to marketing his empire, which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary. Born into privilege as the son of shipping magnate Loucas Haji-Ioannou, he could have led a comfortable life without exerting much effort. The Greek-Cypriot businessman who studied at the London School of Economics and Bayes Business School at London's City University initially worked for his father's firm Troodos Shipping Co. But then he received a spectacular leg-up when his father gave him 30 million, which he used to establish Stelmar Shipping. 'The best time to start a business is when I did at the age of 27 because you know enough to manage a firm but not enough to know how much risk you're taking,' he jokes. 'And if you can get someone to finance your dreams, be it a rich father or a private equity firm, so much the better.' In the mid-1990s he spotted that the strict regulations on European airlines were being relaxed. He believed correctly as it turned out that this was opening the door to budget airlines, which were already popular in the US. Soon after this brainwave, the first orange-liveried easyJet flight took off from Luton to Glasgow. Fast forward almost 30 years and easyJet is a member of the elite FTSE 100 share index. The airline made record profits last summer. Haji-Ioannou and his family remain the company's biggest shareholders with a stake of nearly 15.3 per cent although it was previously much larger. It hasn't always been blue skies. Haji-Ioannou admits that he thought easyJet could have 'gone bust' during the pandemic. He praises the firm's management for helping to 'recover from that situation'. This is a change of tone for Haji-Ioannou, who has at times had a turbulent relationship with easyJet's board. In 2020 there was a major war of words, sparked by management's decision to continue with a large aircraft order despite the travel restrictions that were in place. Haji-Ioannou branded the bosses 'scoundrels'. The row escalated to threats of legal action and he attempted to oust half of the board. That wasn't the first time the magnate butted heads with easyJet's management. In 2012 he accused the firm's board of running votes at annual general meetings 'like one of Putin's elections in Russia'. That broadside came after he tried and failed to unseat the then chairman, City grandee Sir Mike Rake. Two years later he was on the attack again, criticising the company's former chief executive Carolyn McCall over her 6.5 million pay packet. Tensions appear to have cooled in recent years. Haji-Ioannou now says that, like every business, easyJet 'has its up and downs'. Despite his new conciliatory stance, he admits easyJet's stock market value is far lower than he'd like. He told The Mail on Sunday last month that bosses should consider listing the company's shares in New York as well as London to attract more American investors. 'I often look at the value of Ryanair and wonder why it is higher than easyJet,' Haji-Ioannou says. Ryanair, which is listed in Ireland and the US, has a stock market value of 20 billion, compared with easyJet's 4 billion. However, there is no guarantee that easyJet would see its value skyrocket if it were to fly off to Wall Street. While he may be fierce in defence of his commercial interests, Haji-Ioannou is also a big charit- able donor. He has signed up to The Giving Pledge, where some of the world's wealthiest people promise to donate most of their wealth to charity. Signatories include former Microsoft boss Bill Gates and investment guru Warren Buffett. His charitable work, he says, will be the 'second sentence of my obituary'. He adds: 'I'll always be the founder of easyJet, but now I'm working on giving back to society.' Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Cable One (NYSE:CABO Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $615.00 price target on the stock. CABO has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Cable One from $550.00 to $460.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Cable One from $1,110.00 to $900.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Cable One in a research note on Monday, December 4th. They set an underperform rating and a $418.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $643.60. Get Cable One alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on CABO Cable One Price Performance Cable One Dividend Announcement Shares of CABO stock opened at $449.94 on Tuesday. Cable One has a 12-month low of $405.75 and a 12-month high of $768.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $509.15 and a 200-day moving average of $560.84. The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $2.95 per share. This represents a $11.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Cable Ones dividend payout ratio is presently 26.12%. Insider Buying and Selling In other Cable One news, insider Christopher D. Boone sold 204 shares of Cable One stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.00, for a total value of $93,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,854 shares of the companys stock, valued at $852,840. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Cable One by 753.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,860 shares of the companys stock worth $1,879,000 after buying an additional 2,525 shares during the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Cable One by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,324 shares of the companys stock worth $2,662,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Cable One by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 155,097 shares of the companys stock worth $95,484,000 after purchasing an additional 30,831 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in shares of Cable One in the 2nd quarter worth about $319,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Cable One by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 240,869 shares of the companys stock worth $148,289,000 after acquiring an additional 10,521 shares in the last quarter. 98.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About Cable One (Get Free Report) Cable One, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides data, video, and voice services in the United States. The company offers residential data services, a service to enhance Wi-Fi signal throughout the home. It also provides various residential video services from basic video service to digital services with access to hundreds of channels; and provides a cloud-based DVR feature that does not require the use of a set-top boxes. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Cable One Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Cable One and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. The Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) made an unprecedented decision this past Wednesday. For the next three months, the Worldcoin orbs will no longer be allowed to operate in the country. Since July 2023, these devices have scanned the irises of some 400,000 Spaniards, in order to validate their accounts and reward them with a batch of cryptocurrencies (which have a cash value of about $80). The data collected to-date by Worldcoin a company linked to Sam Altman, the godfather of ChatGPT is currently blocked. It cannot be processed or shared, until an international investigation decides whether or not its legal for a private company to collect this type of data. In Spain, its the first time that the AEPD has taken such precautionary measures. The director of the agency Mar Espana has highlighted the exceptional nature of the move: We acted urgently because the situation required it. Our decision is justified so as to avoid potentially irreparable damage. Not taking action would have deprived people of the protection that theyre entitled to. Why the sudden rush to freeze the collection of high-resolution photographs of users irises? Because a state of alarm has been generated in our society. I think that the queues that have formed in shopping centers [for the orbs] and the fact that there are cryptocurrencies involved have forced the AEPD to move quickly, Borja Adsuara notes. Hes a consultant and expert in digital law, who expresses his concerns about Worldcoins orbs. The problem isnt whether they give you money for an image of your iris, but whether that data is being treated correctly. The value of biometric data There are many types of personal data. The most used in day-to-day procedures are names and surnames, addresses, or phone numbers. All of them can be used to identify a specific individual, but they share another characteristic: the interested party can modify them. Other personal data, however, stays with us for life. This is the so-called biometric data, which refers to the unique characteristics of each person, whether physiological, physical, or behavioral. This type of information can be encrypted and often remains unchanged over time. We have the same DNA from the moment were born until we die. The same is true of fingerprints (unless we burn them). The face evolves over the years (we gain weight, we age, we lose hair), but there are algorithms capable of establishing unique patterns. For example, they can measure the distance between the eyes, or the distance between the eyes from the nose or the mouth. This allows for the recognition of people with a high degree of success over time. The iris is among the different types of biometric data the one that most accurately identifies a person, according to David Arroyo, principal researcher of the Cybersecurity and Privacy Protection working group at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). He warns that if an image of your iris is stolen or, rather, the alphanumeric template with which that biometric trait is stored your identity can be impersonated in many contexts. Iris-scanning is much more accurate than facial recognition. Its not used as much, because the necessary sensor is more expensive and the adjustment of these systems is more complex. In Madrid, people wait to have their irises scanned at the Worldcoin booth. The images are taken by Orb operators, who are subcontractors. Pablo Monge In addition to its value as a personal identifier, an iris analysis can provide lots of other information, both physiological and behavioral. Through your gaze and how your pupil dilates, you can tell what someone likes, what scares them, what interests them. You can even see certain cognitive characteristics, such as whether they have Parkinsons, says Carissa Veliz, a professor of philosophy at the University of Oxford and author of the book Privacy is Power (2020). Iris-scanning is usually limited to high security environments, as an additional means of identification to access certain facilities. It allows for very robust authentication, but it entails many privacy problems, because the iris is something thats directly and unequivocally linked to a specific person, Arroyo points out. Special treatment The particularities of biometric data make its legal treatment stricter than other forms of data. European legislation considers it to be a special category of data. Biometric data can be captured either when Spanish legislation expressly allows it in certain cases, or when theres consent, argues Ricard Martinez, director of Privacy and Digital Transformation at the University of Valencia. Spanish regulations say that, supposedly, in health and biometric data, you should be able to consent. But that doesnt mean everything is possible. You could have the consent of the affected person and pursue an illegal or disproportionate activity, or violate a fundamental right. Its more complicated than it seems. Proportionate use of this data is key. In 2021, the AEPD fined the Spanish supermarket chain Mercadona 3.5 million ($3.83 million) for using cameras containing facial recognition systems in 48 of its stores. The company argued that it installed this technology to detect people who are barred from entering its establishments. The agency resolved that the goal pursued of identifying convicted people didnt justify collecting facial patterns from all customers who entered the chains supermarkets. Returning to the case of Worldcoin, the orbs scan the iris and convert that image into an alphanumeric code. That template is what identifies the user. The problem isnt that Worldcoin has collected this data from 400,000 people, but that they make all these databases and images available to other algorithms, and they dont disclose exactly why they do this, says Jorge Garcia Herrero, a lawyer who specializes in enforcing regulations surrounding data privacy. An American soldier scans the iris of an Afghan man south of Kandahar. Chris Hondros (Getty Images) The great danger of biometric data is that it can be used for illegitimate purposes. In China, for example, facial recognition systems are used to monitor and persecute those from the Uyghur ethnic group. Theres also a suspicion that, when the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, they turned to biometric identification technologies such as iris-scanning to detect and repress those who collaborated with the former regime. Biometrics are an unrivalled tool if youre looking to repress a population and, of course, biometric data can also be used to impersonate people. What if I dont care about privacy? Im an ordinary citizen. Google already has all my data. I dont think the eye contributes much, a young man shrugs. He was preparing to have his iris scanned at a mall in Madrid two weeks ago, when he was interviewed by EL PAIS. This is a recurring argument. But Carissa Veliz from the University of Oxford thinks its a false one. We tend to think that when something is personal, its individual. But when you share your personal data, in reality, youre also putting others in danger, as was seen in the case of Cambridge Analytica, she explains, referencing the scandal carried out by said consultancy during the 2016 presidential campaign in the United States. The firm accessed the personal information of 50 million Facebook users to create profiles of American voters and target them with personalized election advertising. You may not care about your privacy, but I dont see privacy as a right, but rather as an obligation, because you can put your entire environment at risk, says David Arroyo, from the CSIC. This type of data is then used to profile other people. From there, more sophisticated attacks are mounted, such as phishing or disinformation, he emphasizes. Even if the right to rectify is later exercised and the biometric data collected is eventually deleted, it will have already been used to train the system. In other words, to make it more efficient. What worries experts in the Worldcoin case is that it contributes to the normalization of a technology iris-scanning which is a double-edged sword. If we let it establish itself as a legitimate form of verification, eventually, everyone will end up using it, Veliz laments. Im very upset that the use of facial recognition to unlock phones has become normalized. I think its made people perceive that kind of technology as something natural. Lets hope that the same thing doesnt happen with iris-scanning. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Argus reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on PM. UBS Group downgraded Philip Morris International from a buy rating to a sell rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, November 16th. They set a neutral rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Societe Generale raised Philip Morris International from a sell rating to a hold rating and set a $87.50 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, November 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $105.40. Get Philip Morris International alerts: Read Our Latest Stock Report on PM Philip Morris International Stock Performance NYSE:PM opened at $92.68 on Tuesday. Philip Morris International has a 1 year low of $87.23 and a 1 year high of $101.92. The stock has a market cap of $143.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average of $91.98 and a 200-day moving average of $92.63. Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.08). Philip Morris International had a net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 116.29%. The firm had revenue of $9.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International will post 6.39 EPS for the current year. Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.61%. Philip Morris Internationals payout ratio is presently 103.59%. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Philip Morris International Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PM. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.70% of the companys stock. About Philip Morris International (Get Free Report) Philip Morris International Inc operates as a tobacco company working to delivers a smoke-free future and evolving portfolio for the long-term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The company's product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products primarily under the IQOS and ZYN brands; and consumer accessories, such as lighters and matches. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Philip Morris International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Philip Morris International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shore Capital reiterated their buy rating on shares of Rathbones Group (LON:RAT Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. Rathbones Group Stock Performance LON RAT opened at GBX 1,554 ($19.72) on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.14. Rathbones Group has a 1 year low of GBX 1,436 ($18.23) and a 1 year high of GBX 2,050 ($26.02). The company has a market capitalization of 1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 2,128.77, a P/E/G ratio of -26.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of GBX 1,626.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 1,643.51. Get Rathbones Group alerts: Rathbones Group Cuts Dividend The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 18th will be paid a GBX 24 ($0.30) dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a yield of 1.55%. Rathbones Groups dividend payout ratio is presently 16,301.37%. About Rathbones Group Rathbones Group Plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides individual investment and wealth management services for private clients, charities, trustees, and professional partners in the United Kingdom, Jersey, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Investment Management and Funds. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Rathbones Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Rathbones Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of Moderate Buy from the thirty-one brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $61.03. WMT has been the topic of several research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $68.33 price objective (up from $61.67) on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Walmart to $67.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, November 17th. Get Walmart alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Walmart Insider Transactions at Walmart Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total value of $638,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 104,346 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,086,850. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink . In other Walmart news, Director S Robson Walton sold 479,469 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.67, for a total transaction of $24,772,565.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 692,821,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,795,764,635. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website . Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total value of $638,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 104,346 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,086,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders have sold 39,032,156 shares of company stock valued at $2,217,713,412 in the last 90 days. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 1,490.0% during the third quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 159 shares of the retailers stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.18% of the companys stock. Walmart Stock Performance Shares of WMT stock opened at $60.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83. Walmart has a 52 week low of $45.36 and a 52 week high of $61.07. The companys 50 day moving average price is $56.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.18. The company has a market capitalization of $485.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.49. Walmart (NYSE:WMT Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The business had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. The firms revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Walmart Announces Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmarts dividend payout ratio is presently 43.46%. Walmart Company Profile (Get Free Report Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Walmart Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Walmart and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Winpak (OTCMKTS:WIPKF Get Free Report) and Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK Get Free Report) are both consumer cyclical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and risk. Profitability This table compares Winpak and Graphic Packagings net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Get Winpak alerts: Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Winpak N/A N/A N/A Graphic Packaging 7.67% 35.66% 8.28% Analyst Recommendations This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Winpak and Graphic Packaging, as provided by MarketBeat. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Winpak 0 0 0 0 N/A Graphic Packaging 1 3 5 0 2.44 Valuation and Earnings Graphic Packaging has a consensus target price of $28.22, indicating a potential upside of 3.11%. Given Graphic Packagings higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Graphic Packaging is more favorable than Winpak. This table compares Winpak and Graphic Packagings top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Winpak N/A N/A N/A $1.17 26.31 Graphic Packaging $9.43 billion 0.89 $723.00 million $2.35 11.65 Graphic Packaging has higher revenue and earnings than Winpak. Graphic Packaging is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Winpak, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. Dividends Winpak pays an annual dividend of $0.11 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Graphic Packaging pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Winpak pays out 9.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Graphic Packaging pays out 17.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Institutional and Insider Ownership 21.0% of Winpak shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.7% of Graphic Packaging shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Graphic Packaging shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term. Summary Graphic Packaging beats Winpak on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks. About Winpak (Get Free Report) Winpak Ltd. manufactures and distributes packaging materials and related packaging machines in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Flexible Packaging, Rigid Packaging and Flexible Lidding, and Packaging Machinery. The Flexible Packaging segment provides modified atmosphere packaging products for fresh and processed meats, poultry, cheese, medical device packaging, and high-performance pouch applications; high-barrier films for converting applications; specialty films, including barrier and non-barrier films converting applications, such as printing, laminating and bag making, and shrink bags; and biaxially oriented nylon films for food packaging and industrial applications. The Rigid Packaging and Flexible Lidding segment offers portion control and single-serve containers, as well as plastic sheet, custom, and retort trays for food, pet food, beverage, dairy, industrial, and healthcare applications; die-cut, daisy chain, and rollstock lidding products for food, dairy, beverage, industrial, and healthcare applications; and specialized printed packaging solutions for the pharmaceutical, healthcare, nutraceutical, cosmetic, and personal care markets. The Packaging Machinery segment provides horizontal fill/seal machines for preformed containers and vertical form/fill/seal pouch machines for pumpable liquid and semi-liquid, as well as various dry products. The company was incorporated in 1975 and is based in Winnipeg, Canada. Winpak Ltd. is a subsidiary of Wihuri International Oy. About Graphic Packaging (Get Free Report) Graphic Packaging Holding Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides paperboard packaging solutions to food, beverage, foodservice, and other consumer products companies. It operates through three segments: Paperboard Manufacturing, Americas Paperboard Packaging, and Europe Paperboard Packaging. The company offers recycled, unbleached, and bleached paperboards to various paperboard packaging converters and brokers; and paperboard packaging products, such as folding cartons, cups, lids, and food containers primarily to consumer packaged goods, quick-service restaurants, and foodservice companies; and barrier packaging products that protect against moisture, hot and cold temperature, grease, oil, oxygen, sunlight, insects, and other potential product-damaging factors. It also offers various laminated, coated, and printed packaging structures that are produced from its recycled, unbleached, and bleached paperboard grades, as well as other grades of paperboards that are purchased from third-party suppliers; designs and manufactures specialized packaging machines that package bottles and cans, and non-beverage consumer products; and installs its packaging machines at customer plants and provides support, service, and performance monitoring of the machines. The company markets its products primarily through sales offices and broker arrangements with third parties in the United States, Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Graphic Packaging Holding Company was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Receive News & Ratings for Winpak Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Winpak and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Ferrellgas Partners (OTCMKTS:FGPR Get Free Report) and DCC (OTCMKTS:DCCPF Get Free Report) are both energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends. Institutional & Insider Ownership 0.0% of Ferrellgas Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Ferrellgas Partners shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth. Get Ferrellgas Partners alerts: Volatility and Risk Ferrellgas Partners has a beta of 2.99, suggesting that its stock price is 199% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, DCC has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Profitability Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Ferrellgas Partners -5.53% N/A -2.81% DCC N/A N/A N/A Analyst Ratings This table compares Ferrellgas Partners and DCCs net margins, return on equity and return on assets. This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Ferrellgas Partners and DCC, as reported by MarketBeat. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Ferrellgas Partners 0 0 0 0 N/A DCC 0 0 0 0 N/A Valuation and Earnings This table compares Ferrellgas Partners and DCCs gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Ferrellgas Partners $1.50 billion 0.45 -$82.50 million ($0.85) -8.20 DCC $26.77 billion 0.27 $402.60 million N/A N/A DCC has higher revenue and earnings than Ferrellgas Partners. About Ferrellgas Partners (Get Free Report) Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. distributes and sells propane and related equipment and supplies. The company transports propane to propane distribution locations, tanks on customers' premises, or to portable propane tanks delivered to retailers. It conducts its portable tank exchange operations under the Blue Rhino brand name through a network of independent and partnership-owned distribution outlets. In addition, the company's propane is primarily used for space heating, water heating, cooking, outdoor cooking using gas grills, crop drying, irrigation, weed control, and other propane fueled appliances; as an engine fuel for combustion engine vehicles and forklifts; and as a heating or energy source in manufacturing and drying processes. Further, it is involved in the sale of refined fuels; provision of common carrier services; and retail sale of propane appliances and related parts and fittings, as well as other retail propane related services and consumer products. The company serves residential, industrial/commercial, portable tank exchange, agricultural, wholesale, and other customers in the United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. As of July 31, 2023, the company operates through a network of 49 service centers and 803 service units for propane distribution locations. Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. was founded in 1939 and is based in Liberty, Missouri. About DCC (Get Free Report) DCC plc provides sales, marketing, and support services worldwide. The company operates through DCC Energy, DCC Healthcare, and DCC Technology segments. It sells and markets liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), refrigerants, and natural gas; markets, sells, and retails transport and commercial fuels, heating oils, and related products and services; operates retail petrol stations; resells fuel cards; distributes oil; and provides logistics services. It also offers products and services to healthcare providers, and health and beauty brand owners; contract manufacturing services to the health and beauty sector; nutrition products, such as vitamins and health supplements; beauty products; and product development, formulation, manufacturing, and packaging services. In, addition it distributes consumer technology products, including smart home products, peripherals and software, and accessories, as well as provides supply chain services. The company was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Receive News & Ratings for Ferrellgas Partners Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ferrellgas Partners and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of SolarWinds (NYSE:SWI Free Report) in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a hold rating and a $13.00 target price on the software makers stock. SWI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on SolarWinds from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on SolarWinds in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a neutral rating and a $14.00 price target for the company. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of SolarWinds from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, SolarWinds currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $13.50. Get SolarWinds alerts: Read Our Latest Report on SolarWinds SolarWinds Stock Down 0.7 % Shares of NYSE SWI opened at $12.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of -244.90 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day moving average of $12.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.14. SolarWinds has a 52-week low of $8.06 and a 52-week high of $13.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. SolarWinds (NYSE:SWI Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The software maker reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.12. SolarWinds had a positive return on equity of 5.08% and a negative net margin of 1.20%. The company had revenue of $198.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $190.54 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that SolarWinds will post 0.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Institutional Trading of SolarWinds Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in shares of SolarWinds during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,268,000. Voss Capital LLC raised its position in shares of SolarWinds by 111.5% during the 3rd quarter. Voss Capital LLC now owns 1,168,839 shares of the software makers stock valued at $11,034,000 after acquiring an additional 616,274 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its position in shares of SolarWinds by 31.2% during the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 115,125 shares of the software makers stock valued at $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 27,400 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of SolarWinds during the 3rd quarter valued at $791,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of SolarWinds during the 3rd quarter valued at $495,000. 95.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. SolarWinds Company Profile (Get Free Report) SolarWinds Corporation provides information technology (IT) management software products in the United States and internationally. It provides a suite of network management software that offers real-time visibility into network utilization and bandwidth, as well as the ability to detect, diagnose, and resolve network performance problems; and a suite of infrastructure management products, which monitors and analyzes the performance of applications and their supporting infrastructure, including servers, physical, virtual and cloud infrastructure, storage, and databases. See Also Receive News & Ratings for SolarWinds Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for SolarWinds and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its holdings in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI Free Report) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 793,234 shares of the technology companys stock after selling 4,786 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 1.00% of MSCI worth $406,993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSCI. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in MSCI in the third quarter worth about $26,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in MSCI by 5,600.0% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 57 shares of the technology companys stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MSCI in the first quarter worth about $35,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in MSCI in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in MSCI by 105.1% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 80 shares of the technology companys stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 88.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get MSCI alerts: MSCI Stock Performance MSCI stock opened at $551.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $43.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.07. MSCI Inc. has a 1 year low of $451.55 and a 1 year high of $617.39. The firms 50 day moving average price is $563.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $536.07. MSCI Increases Dividend MSCI ( NYSE:MSCI Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The technology company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.39. MSCI had a net margin of 45.42% and a negative return on equity of 111.17%. The firm had revenue of $690.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $662.64 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.84 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that MSCI Inc. will post 14.75 EPS for the current fiscal year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. This is a boost from MSCIs previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. MSCIs payout ratio is presently 44.44%. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of MSCI from a neutral rating to a sell rating and cut their target price for the stock from $620.00 to $470.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. StockNews.com cut MSCI from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Edward Jones assumed coverage on MSCI in a report on Friday, December 22nd. They set a buy rating on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on MSCI from $600.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on MSCI from $544.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $578.21. Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSCI About MSCI (Free Report) MSCI Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides critical decision support tools and solutions for the investment community to manage investment processes worldwide. The Index segment provides indexes for use in various areas of the investment process, including indexed financial product, such as ETFs, mutual funds, annuities, futures, options, structured products, and over-the-counter derivatives; performance benchmarking; portfolio construction and rebalancing; and asset allocation, as well as licenses GICS and GICS Direct. Read More Receive News & Ratings for MSCI Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for MSCI and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its position in SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEARCA:GLD Free Report) by 17.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,483 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after buying an additional 225 shares during the quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LPs holdings in SPDR Gold Shares were worth $254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in SPDR Gold Shares by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,660,292 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $799,007,000 after purchasing an additional 591,368 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in SPDR Gold Shares by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,451,135 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $599,794,000 after purchasing an additional 137,604 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in SPDR Gold Shares by 67,584.6% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,037,008 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $515,198,000 after purchasing an additional 3,032,521 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in SPDR Gold Shares by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,637,245 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $276,956,000 after purchasing an additional 9,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in SPDR Gold Shares by 256.0% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,142,717 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $206,432,000 after purchasing an additional 821,773 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get SPDR Gold Shares alerts: SPDR Gold Shares Price Performance GLD opened at $201.63 on Friday. SPDR Gold Shares has a 12 month low of $168.30 and a 12 month high of $203.30. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $189.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.26. SPDR Gold Shares Profile SPDR Gold Trust (the Trust) is an investment trust. The investment objective of the Trust is for the Shares to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion, less the Trusts expenses. The Trusts business activity is the investment of gold. The Trust creates and redeems Shares from time to time, but in one or more Baskets (a Basket equals a block of 100,000 Shares). Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for SPDR Gold Shares Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for SPDR Gold Shares and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its position in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT Free Report) by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,000 shares of the restaurant operators stock after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LPs holdings in Brinker International were worth $411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of EAT. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Brinker International in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 68.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 946 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in Brinker International in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Get Brinker International alerts: Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International In other Brinker International news, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 24,163 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.97, for a total value of $1,086,610.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 56,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,548,045.17. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 24,163 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.97, for a total transaction of $1,086,610.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 56,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,548,045.17. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 11,000 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.11, for a total transaction of $452,210.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 71,286 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,930,567.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,114 shares of company stock worth $2,148,223. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Brinker International Trading Up 0.8 % EAT opened at $49.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.46. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.23 and a 1-year high of $49.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.67. Brinker International (NYSE:EAT Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.08 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 3.63% and a negative return on equity of 113.41%. On average, research analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 3.69 EPS for the current year. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research firms have recently commented on EAT. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $41.77. View Our Latest Research Report on Brinker International Brinker International Profile (Free Report) Brinker International, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the ownership, development, operation, and franchising of casual dining restaurants in the United States and internationally. It operates and franchises Chili's Grill & Bar and Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant brands. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EAT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Brinker International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Brinker International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its stake in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS Free Report) by 9.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,330,261 shares of the companys stock after selling 354,529 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.57% of General Mills worth $213,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in General Mills by 1.9% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,278 shares of the companys stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Adviser Investments LLC bought a new stake in General Mills in the third quarter worth approximately $323,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in General Mills by 5.9% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 342,794 shares of the companys stock worth $21,935,000 after purchasing an additional 19,209 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its stake in General Mills by 60.4% in the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 12,261 shares of the companys stock valued at $785,000 after acquiring an additional 4,616 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Guys Formula LLC grew its stake in General Mills by 17.1% in the third quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 7,225 shares of the companys stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054 shares during the period. 75.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get General Mills alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of brokerages have commented on GIS. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on General Mills from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on General Mills from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Mizuho cut their target price on General Mills from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on General Mills from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on General Mills from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $72.67. Insider Buying and Selling In other General Mills news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.15, for a total value of $492,094.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 102,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,602,574.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Jonathon Nudi sold 7,671 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.15, for a total value of $492,094.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 102,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,602,574.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Harmening sold 60,056 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.44, for a total value of $3,870,008.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 318,483 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $20,523,044.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. General Mills Price Performance Shares of NYSE GIS opened at $65.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $64.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.80. General Mills, Inc. has a twelve month low of $60.33 and a twelve month high of $90.89. General Mills (NYSE:GIS Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 20th. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. General Mills had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 12.06%. The companys revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year. General Mills Dividend Announcement The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. General Millss payout ratio is 57.42%. General Mills Company Profile (Free Report) General Mills, Inc manufactures and markets branded consumer foods worldwide. The company operates through four segments: North America Retail; International; Pet; and North America Foodservice. It offers grain, ready-to-eat cereals, refrigerated yogurt, soup, meal kits, refrigerated and frozen dough products, dessert and baking mixes, bakery flour, frozen pizza and pizza snacks, snack bars, fruit and salty snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, nutrition bars, and savory snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GIS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for General Mills Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for General Mills and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Joe Biden has scored a legal victory. A federal court has left one of Bidens administrations central immigration policies. Fridays ruling from a district judge means the U.S. government will be able to continue to provide temporary humanitarian permits. Under the program formally known as the Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) up to 30,000 nationals from these countries can temporarily stay in the United States if they have a U.S. sponsor. The measure had been attacked in court by the Texas state government, which claimed that Washington had opened the border and sparked a crisis. Judge Drew Tipton ruled that neither Texas nor the other 20 Republican states that backed the lawsuit proved the damage that the Biden policy had allegedly caused in their territories. Tipton who was appointed by former U.S. president Donald Trump added that the ruling was not a verdict on the legality of the program, but was rather based on Texas failure to justify the grounds for the lawsuit. Last summer, the federal government scored another legal victory when the Supreme Court rejected a Republican-led challenge to a long-blocked Biden administration policy that prioritizes the deportation of immigrants who are deemed to pose the greatest risk to public safety or were picked up at the border. Louisiana and Texas had argued that federal immigration law requires authorities to detain and deport even those who pose little or no risk. The latest lawsuit was filed in January by a conservative coalition led by Texas prosecutor Ken Paxton. He argued that the arrival of immigrants across the U.S.-Mexico border had forced the state administration to invest millions of dollars in health, education and public security services. It is likely that Texas or another state in the coalition will appeal Fridays decision to an Appeals Court. Todays decision is a victory for the 1.5 million people who have jumped at the opportunity to sponsor loved ones under this program, said Monika Langarica, senior staff attorney at the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law, which was among the intervenors in the case in support of the administration. The CHNV parole program confers immeasurable benefits to people, families, and communities across the country, she said, adding that the ruling is a critical repudiation of Texass attempt to hold immigration policy hostage for the entire country. The Biden administration launched the humanitarian parole program at the end of 2022. Since then, some 357,000 migrants from the four nations have entered the United States. The largest group arrived from Haiti, with 138,000 people entering the states thanks to the CHNV program. It is followed by Venezuela (86,000), Cuba (74,000) and Nicaragua (58,000). Record high numbers of people have fled these countries, which are ruled by autocrats and in the grips of severe economic crises. The battered diplomatic relations between Washington and these nations has made it difficult for the United States to deport citizens from these nations back home. In October last year, the United States announced that it was resuming mass deportations to Caracas, despite the fact that there is no Venezuelan consular network in the United States. To apply for temporary humanitarian parole, individuals must fill out an online form in the CBP One application from their home countries. To be valid, applicants must have a sponsor in the United States, who may be a family member or someone who is willing to give them a job. If the permit is authorized, applicants must pay for their flight and have a two-year permit, which may be renewed, allowing them to extend their stay. The Department of Homeland Security, which is in charge of border management, has also used this program to allow citizens from countries at war to enter the United States. Thanks to this program, around 80,000 Afghans fleeing the return of the Taliban, and more than 100,000 Ukrainians escaping the Russian invasion, have been able to enter the country. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Crestwood Advisors Group LLC purchased a new stake in iShares Europe ETF (NYSEARCA:IEV Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,380 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $305,000. Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in IEV. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new stake in iShares Europe ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of iShares Europe ETF by 511.3% during the 3rd quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 758 shares of the companys stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Coastal Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of iShares Europe ETF during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of iShares Europe ETF by 113.1% during the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 895 shares of the companys stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of iShares Europe ETF during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Get iShares Europe ETF alerts: iShares Europe ETF Stock Down 0.5 % Shares of IEV stock opened at $55.04 on Friday. iShares Europe ETF has a 12-month low of $45.43 and a 12-month high of $55.44. The firm has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.70 and a 200-day moving average of $50.42. About iShares Europe ETF iShares Europe ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares S&P Europe 350 Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P Europe 350 (the Index). The Index measures the performance of the stocks of companies in the countries, which includes Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IEV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Europe ETF (NYSEARCA:IEV Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares Europe ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Europe ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Toroso Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in Invesco Senior Loan ETF (NYSEARCA:BKLN Free Report) by 5.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 109,053 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 6,556 shares during the quarter. Toroso Investments LLC owned 0.06% of Invesco Senior Loan ETF worth $2,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Invesco Senior Loan ETF by 142.1% during the 2nd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,519,410 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $30,798,000 after acquiring an additional 5,127,335 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department purchased a new position in shares of Invesco Senior Loan ETF in the second quarter worth $85,637,000. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Invesco Senior Loan ETF in the third quarter worth $70,619,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Invesco Senior Loan ETF during the 1st quarter valued at $50,149,000. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its position in Invesco Senior Loan ETF by 112.5% during the 1st quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,286,923 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $93,327,000 after buying an additional 2,269,823 shares during the period. Get Invesco Senior Loan ETF alerts: Invesco Senior Loan ETF Stock Performance Shares of BKLN stock opened at $21.19 on Friday. Invesco Senior Loan ETF has a fifty-two week low of $20.33 and a fifty-two week high of $21.27. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $21.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.04. Invesco Senior Loan ETF Profile The Invesco Senior Loan ETF (BKLN) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in high yield fixed income. The fund tracks a market-value-weighted index of senior loans issued by banks to corporations. BKLN was launched on Mar 3, 2011 and is managed by Invesco. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BKLN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Invesco Senior Loan ETF (NYSEARCA:BKLN Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Invesco Senior Loan ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Invesco Senior Loan ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Toroso Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG Free Report) by 130.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,202 shares of the restaurant operators stock after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the period. Toroso Investments LLCs holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $2,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CMG. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 79.5% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 948 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $1,500,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 15.5% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 171 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 7.3% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,032 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $4,796,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 777 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 38.9% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 218 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 91.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Chipotle Mexican Grill alerts: Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Down 0.2 % CMG stock opened at $2,686.12 on Friday. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a 52 week low of $1,536.26 and a 52 week high of $2,733.74. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $2,471.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2,183.53. The company has a market cap of $73.65 billion, a PE ratio of 60.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.29. Insiders Place Their Bets Chipotle Mexican Grill ( NYSE:CMG Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The restaurant operator reported $10.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.73 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.49 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 44.41%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.29 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 53.07 EPS for the current fiscal year. In related news, Director Albert S. Baldocchi sold 750 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,608.51, for a total transaction of $1,956,382.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 37,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,221,776.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Albert S. Baldocchi sold 750 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,608.51, for a total transaction of $1,956,382.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,221,776.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 1,996 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,399.91, for a total transaction of $4,790,220.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,870,779.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,744 shares of company stock worth $11,607,678 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.96% of the companys stock. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several research analysts recently weighed in on CMG shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $1,930.00 to $2,226.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Wedbush restated a neutral rating and issued a $2,400.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,250.00 to $2,750.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,650.00 to $2,750.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,800.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $2,469.88. Get Our Latest Research Report on Chipotle Mexican Grill Chipotle Mexican Grill Company Profile (Free Report) Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants. The company offers burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, tacos, and salads. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Newport Beach, California. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Chipotle Mexican Grill Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Chipotle Mexican Grill and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Toroso Investments LLC raised its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR Free Report) by 19.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,623 shares of the business services providers stock after acquiring an additional 2,332 shares during the quarter. Toroso Investments LLCs holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $2,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,714,442 shares of the business services providers stock worth $2,135,476,000 after acquiring an additional 108,223 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,043,656 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $944,766,000 after buying an additional 2,048,184 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,660,175 shares of the business services providers stock worth $775,189,000 after acquiring an additional 11,728 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 34.1% during the second quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,712,221 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $614,559,000 after acquiring an additional 943,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 2.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,488,037 shares of the business services providers stock worth $511,243,000 after purchasing an additional 96,566 shares during the period. 89.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Broadridge Financial Solutions alerts: Insider Activity In related news, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 12,200 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.71, for a total transaction of $2,497,462.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,648,980.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, VP Thomas P. Carey sold 12,731 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.02, for a total value of $2,559,185.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,303 shares in the company, valued at $2,674,169.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Douglas Richard Deschutter sold 12,200 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.71, for a total transaction of $2,497,462.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,648,980.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 62,917 shares of company stock valued at $12,660,561. Insiders own 1.60% of the companys stock. Broadridge Financial Solutions Trading Down 0.7 % Shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions stock opened at $203.55 on Friday. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $133.97 and a 12-month high of $210.24. The companys 50-day moving average price is $201.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The company has a market cap of $23.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.46 and a beta of 0.99. Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.03. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 41.12%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. Broadridge Financial Solutionss revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 7.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Broadridge Financial Solutions Dividend Announcement The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Broadridge Financial Solutionss dividend payout ratio is currently 55.75%. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several research analysts have commented on BR shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $226.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, December 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $212.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Raymond James upped their target price on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $205.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $203.17. View Our Latest Report on BR Broadridge Financial Solutions Company Profile (Free Report) Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc provides investor communications and technology-driven solutions for the financial services industry. The company's Investor Communication Solutions segment processes and distributes proxy materials to investors in equity securities and mutual funds, as well as facilitates related vote processing services; and distributes regulatory reports, class action, and corporate action/reorganization event information, as well as tax reporting solutions. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Broadridge Financial Solutions Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Broadridge Financial Solutions and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $2.45-2.65 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $2.25. John Wiley & Sons also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 2.450-2.650 EPS. John Wiley & Sons Stock Performance Shares of John Wiley & Sons stock opened at $36.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.84 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.04. John Wiley & Sons has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $40.94. Get John Wiley & Sons alerts: John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $460.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $392.60 million. John Wiley & Sons had a negative net margin of 8.14% and a positive return on equity of 18.83%. John Wiley & Sonss revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that John Wiley & Sons will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. John Wiley & Sons Dividend Announcement Insider Transactions at John Wiley & Sons The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 27th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 26th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. John Wiley & Sonss dividend payout ratio is -48.61%. In other news, EVP Todd Zipper sold 3,935 shares of John Wiley & Sons stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.12, for a total transaction of $122,457.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,787 shares of the companys stock, valued at $522,411.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.79% of the companys stock. Institutional Investors Weigh In On John Wiley & Sons Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in John Wiley & Sons by 43.5% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the companys stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in John Wiley & Sons in the 4th quarter valued at $100,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in John Wiley & Sons in the 3rd quarter valued at $109,000. Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new stake in John Wiley & Sons in the 4th quarter valued at $126,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in John Wiley & Sons in the 1st quarter valued at $208,000. 84.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. About John Wiley & Sons (Get Free Report) John Wiley & Sons, Inc operates as a research and education company worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Research, Academic, and Talent. The company offers scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly journals, as well as related content and services to learned societies, individual researchers, other professionals, and academic, corporate, and government libraries. Read More Receive News & Ratings for John Wiley & Sons Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for John Wiley & Sons and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. BJs Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.05, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. BJs Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 40.84% and a net margin of 2.64%. The companys revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. BJs Wholesale Club updated its FY 2024 guidance to 3.750-4.000 EPS and its FY25 guidance to $3.75-4.00 EPS. BJs Wholesale Club Stock Down 4.3 % NYSE:BJ opened at $75.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.26. BJs Wholesale Club has a 1-year low of $60.33 and a 1-year high of $78.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $67.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.89. Get BJ's Wholesale Club alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets Several analysts have recently weighed in on BJ shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an equal weight rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (down previously from $73.00) on shares of BJs Wholesale Club in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of BJs Wholesale Club in a report on Monday, November 20th. Gordon Haskett downgraded BJs Wholesale Club from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Citigroup reduced their target price on BJs Wholesale Club from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on BJs Wholesale Club from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $73.63. Insider Activity at BJs Wholesale Club In other BJs Wholesale Club news, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.87, for a total value of $65,870.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,464 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $689,263.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BJs Wholesale Club during the 1st quarter worth about $268,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of BJs Wholesale Club by 44.3% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,180 shares of the companys stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 2,203 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BJs Wholesale Club by 104.7% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,961 shares of the companys stock worth $741,000 after acquiring an additional 5,607 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of BJs Wholesale Club by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 12,440 shares of the companys stock worth $843,000 after acquiring an additional 862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its stake in shares of BJs Wholesale Club by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 74,006 shares of the companys stock worth $5,143,000 after acquiring an additional 5,272 shares in the last quarter. 98.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. BJs Wholesale Club Company Profile (Get Free Report) BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates warehouse clubs on the eastern half of the United States. It provides perishable, general merchandise, gasoline, coupon books, promotions, and other ancillary services. The company sells its products through the websites BJs.com, BerkleyJensen.com, and Wellsleyfarms.com, as well as the mobile app. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for BJ's Wholesale Club Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BJ's Wholesale Club and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB Free Report) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,959 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Schlumberger during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 1,355.9% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new stake in Schlumberger in the third quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the companys stock. Get Schlumberger alerts: Schlumberger Stock Down 0.7 % Schlumberger stock opened at $50.40 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $49.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $42.73 and a twelve month high of $62.12. The company has a market capitalization of $71.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.59. Schlumberger Announces Dividend Schlumberger ( NYSE:SLB Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 12.68%. The business had revenue of $8.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. Schlumbergers revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.54 EPS for the current year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 7th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 6th. Schlumbergers dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.25%. Insider Activity at Schlumberger In other news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.86, for a total value of $336,625.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 163,515 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,806,917.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.86, for a total transaction of $336,625.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 163,515 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,806,917.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 178,441 shares of company stock worth $8,972,947. Company insiders own 0.26% of the companys stock. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $77.00 to $74.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Susquehanna reissued a positive rating and issued a $77.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $70.87. Get Our Latest Research Report on Schlumberger Schlumberger Profile (Free Report) Schlumberger Limited engages in the provision of technology for the energy industry worldwide. The company operates through four divisions: Digital & Integration, Reservoir Performance, Well Construction, and Production Systems. The company provides field development and hydrocarbon production, carbon management, and integration of adjacent energy systems; reservoir interpretation and data processing services for exploration data; and well construction and production improvement services and products. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Schlumberger Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Schlumberger and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Essex Financial Services Inc. cut its stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI Free Report) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,555 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after selling 170 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CCI. United Services Automobile Association lifted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 13,411 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,516 shares during the period. Caden Capital Partners LP lifted its position in Crown Castle by 75.6% during the second quarter. Caden Capital Partners LP now owns 342,243 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $38,995,000 after buying an additional 147,329 shares during the period. Slagle Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,123,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Crown Castle by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 117,914 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $10,852,000 after buying an additional 542 shares during the period. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the 3rd quarter worth about $8,927,000. 90.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Crown Castle alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In CCI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Crown Castle from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $115.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Crown Castle from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. HSBC initiated coverage on Crown Castle in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. They issued a hold rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Crown Castle from an underperform rating to a market perform rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $121.33. Crown Castle Trading Up 1.2 % NYSE:CCI opened at $112.92 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $109.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.04. The company has a market cap of $49.03 billion, a PE ratio of 32.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.46. Crown Castle Inc. has a 12 month low of $84.72 and a 12 month high of $136.29. Crown Castle Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $1.565 per share. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Crown Castles dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 180.92%. Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 1,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.16, for a total transaction of $171,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,035 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,145,595.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.39% of the companys stock. Crown Castle Company Profile (Free Report) Crown Castle owns, operates and leases more than 40,000 cell towers and approximately 90,000 route miles of fiber supporting small cells and fiber solutions across every major U.S. market. This nationwide portfolio of communications infrastructure connects cities and communities to essential data, technology and wireless service bringing information, ideas and innovations to the people and businesses that need them. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Crown Castle Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Crown Castle and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Essex Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,651 shares of the industrial products companys stock, valued at approximately $517,000. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Manhattan Co. purchased a new stake in Hubbell during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Hubbell by 120.6% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 289 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hubbell during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new position in Hubbell in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Hubbell in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 85.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Hubbell alerts: Hubbell Trading Up 0.1 % Shares of Hubbell stock opened at $393.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Hubbell Incorporated has a 1 year low of $219.77 and a 1 year high of $396.92. The firm has a market cap of $21.09 billion, a PE ratio of 27.99, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $348.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $321.02. Hubbell Announces Dividend Hubbell ( NYSE:HUBB Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.32 billion. Hubbell had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 30.82%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. Analysts expect that Hubbell Incorporated will post 16.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 28th. Hubbells payout ratio is currently 34.73%. Insider Activity In other Hubbell news, CEO Gerben Bakker sold 13,355 shares of Hubbell stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.13, for a total transaction of $4,716,051.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,783 shares of the companys stock, valued at $18,286,130.79. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Gerben Bakker sold 13,355 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.13, for a total transaction of $4,716,051.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,783 shares of the companys stock, valued at $18,286,130.79. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John F. Malloy acquired 797 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $313.50 per share, for a total transaction of $249,859.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,923 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,618,860.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 34,125 shares of company stock worth $12,065,100. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Analyst Ratings Changes A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Hubbell from $351.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. TD Cowen started coverage on Hubbell in a research report on Friday, December 8th. They set an outperform rating and a $338.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Hubbell from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Hubbell from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Hubbell from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and raised their price target for the company from $333.00 to $335.00 in a report on Friday, November 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hubbell presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $353.00. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Hubbell Hubbell Company Profile (Free Report) Hubbell Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells electrical and utility solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Electrical Solutions and Utility Solutions. The Electrical Solution segment offers standard and special application wiring device products, rough-in electrical products, connector and grounding products, lighting fixtures, and other electrical equipment for use in industrial, commercial, and institutional facilities by electrical contractors, maintenance personnel, electricians, utilities, and telecommunications companies, as well as components and assemblies. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Hubbell Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hubbell and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS Get Free Report) Director James Page Lansdale sold 5,502 shares of Saul Centers stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.89, for a total value of $208,470.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,298 shares in the company, valued at $49,181.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Saul Centers Stock Performance BFS opened at $38.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.34. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $38.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $925.63 million, a P/E ratio of 22.31 and a beta of 1.08. Saul Centers, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.13 and a 12-month high of $41.04. Get Saul Centers alerts: Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saul Centers Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BFS. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Saul Centers during the 3rd quarter valued at about $99,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Saul Centers by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 54,931 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,937,000 after buying an additional 12,514 shares in the last quarter. XML Financial LLC grew its position in Saul Centers by 13.6% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 31,439 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 3,763 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Saul Centers by 3.8% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 13,810 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Saul Centers during the third quarter worth $365,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.95% of the companys stock. Saul Centers Company Profile Saul Centers, Inc is a self-managed, self-administered equity REIT headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, which currently operates and manages a real estate portfolio of 61 properties, which includes (a) 50 community and neighborhood shopping centers and seven mixed-use properties with approximately 9.8 million square feet of leasable area and (b) four non-operating land and development properties. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Saul Centers Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Saul Centers and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. KYODO NEWS - Mar 9, 2024 - 18:49 | All, Japan, World Foreign fans of Akira Toriyama, best known as the creator of the "Dragon Ball" manga series, gathered at spots in Tokyo linked to his work and anime culture on Saturday to remember him after his death was announced the previous day. Fans from Mexico, Taiwan and elsewhere were drawn to a statue of series protagonist Goku, situated outside the head office of a toy and merchandise firm. A 36-year-old Portuguese voiced his love for the hero, saying many in his home country were mourning. A 37-year-old man from Poland, visiting Japan for sightseeing with his wife, expressed admiration for Goku's unwavering determination, adding he had wanted to take a photo with the statue before leaving for home on Sunday. The death of Toriyama, who also worked on the character designs for the iconic "Dragon Quest" video game series, from an acute subdural hematoma on March 1 at the age of 68 was announced Friday by publisher Shueisha Inc., shocking fans worldwide. Dragon Ball, serialized from 1984 to 1995, was a huge hit, selling over 260 million copies and spawning a franchise that included anime series, films, video games and toys. At Comic Zin Akihabara, a bookstore popular with foreign visitors, a man in his 40s from the United States expressed his gratitude to Toriyama as he has loved Dragon Ball above all other Japanese cartoons since first reading it at the age of 15. At another bookstore in Tokyo, a section dedicated to Toriyama was quickly set up on Friday along with an in-memoriam sign. Yukari Yamaguchi, in charge of comics at the shop, said, "His work was a source of strength for many people across generations." Related coverage: Toriyama's "Dragon Ball" boosted popularity of Japan anime overseas Akira Toriyama, creator of "Dragon Ball" manga series, dies at 68 BQE Water Inc. (CVE:BQE Get Free Report)s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as C$34.99 and last traded at C$34.99, with a volume of 200 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$33.00. BQE Water Trading Up 6.0 % The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.18, a current ratio of 4.76 and a quick ratio of 3.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of C$33.03 and a 200-day moving average of C$29.65. The firm has a market capitalization of C$44.09 million, a PE ratio of 20.70 and a beta of 0.66. Get BQE Water alerts: Insider Buying and Selling In other BQE Water news, insider Robert Stein sold 1,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$32.50, for a total transaction of C$32,500.00. In other BQE Water news, insider Robert Stein sold 1,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$32.50, for a total transaction of C$32,500.00. Also, Senior Officer David Kratochvil sold 3,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$30.00, for a total value of C$105,000.00. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,900 shares of company stock worth $150,646. Corporate insiders own 54.12% of the companys stock. BQE Water Company Profile BQE Water Inc, a water treatment company, provides wastewater management and treatment solutions to the mining and metallurgical industry in Canada, the United States, Latin America, China, and internationally. It offers water treatment solutions for mine drainage, run-off, waste rock seepage, tailings water, groundwater, and lime plant influent and/or effluent streams for treating metals, sulphate, selenium, nitrate, ammonia, and cyanide in the mining sector; smelting and refining services for treating metals and sulphate; and hydrometallurgy services for the treatment of metals, cyanide, and acids. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for BQE Water Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BQE Water and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY Get Free Report) CAO Neil Russell sold 1,722 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $137,760.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,082 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,926,560. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Sysco Price Performance Shares of NYSE SYY opened at $80.56 on Friday. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $78.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.28. Sysco Co. has a twelve month low of $62.24 and a twelve month high of $82.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.00. Get Sysco alerts: Sysco (NYSE:SYY Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.32 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 105.22% and a net margin of 2.69%. Syscos revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year. Sysco Announces Dividend Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Syscos dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.90%. SYY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sysco from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on shares of Sysco from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $85.44. Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Sysco Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SYY. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in Sysco by 166.0% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 16,127 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,338,000 after buying an additional 10,065 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Sysco by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 258,746 shares of the companys stock valued at $21,068,000 after acquiring an additional 16,772 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Sysco by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 22,139 shares of the companys stock worth $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 2,522 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Sysco by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 659,712 shares of the companys stock worth $53,865,000 after purchasing an additional 6,711 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Sysco by 54.8% in the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 833 shares of the companys stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. 80.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Sysco Company Profile (Get Free Report) Sysco Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the marketing and distribution of various food and related products to the foodservice or food-away-from-home industry in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and internationally. It operates through U.S. Foodservice Operations, International Foodservice Operations, SYGMA, and Other segments. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Sysco Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sysco and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE:INSP Get Free Report) rose 7.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $205.59 and last traded at $205.59. 125,240 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 545,582 shares. The stock had previously closed at $191.89. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on INSP. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Inspire Medical Systems in a report on Friday, January 19th. They issued a buy rating and a $245.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on Inspire Medical Systems from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Inspire Medical Systems from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a hold rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Inspire Medical Systems in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Inspire Medical Systems from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and dropped their price target for the company from $245.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $272.92. Get Inspire Medical Systems alerts: Read Our Latest Report on Inspire Medical Systems Inspire Medical Systems Price Performance The firms 50-day moving average is $194.77 and its 200 day moving average is $184.05. Inspire Medical Systems (NYSE:INSP Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.53. Inspire Medical Systems had a negative net margin of 3.39% and a negative return on equity of 3.93%. The business had revenue of $192.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $186.75 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current year. Insider Buying and Selling at Inspire Medical Systems In related news, insider Randy Ban sold 3,060 shares of Inspire Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.01, for a total value of $556,950.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $551,308.29. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 4.50% of the companys stock. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Inspire Medical Systems A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in INSP. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Inspire Medical Systems by 11.3% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,284 shares of the companys stock valued at $586,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Inspire Medical Systems during the first quarter worth about $452,000. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Inspire Medical Systems during the first quarter worth about $203,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Inspire Medical Systems by 668.6% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,422 shares of the companys stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 1,237 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Inspire Medical Systems by 4.0% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 14,694 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,838,000 after buying an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.91% of the companys stock. About Inspire Medical Systems (Get Free Report) Inspire Medical Systems, Inc, a medical technology company, focuses on the development and commercialization of minimally invasive solutions for patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in the United States and internationally. The company offers Inspire system, a neurostimulation technology that provides a safe and effective treatment for moderate to severe OSA. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Inspire Medical Systems Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Inspire Medical Systems and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. John Bean Technologies (NYSE:JBT Get Free Report) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Saturday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 5.050-5.450 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 4.850. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.8 billion-$1.8 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.8 billion. Analyst Ratings Changes Separately, Robert W. Baird reiterated an outperform rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of John Bean Technologies in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, John Bean Technologies has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $121.00. Get John Bean Technologies alerts: Read Our Latest Report on JBT John Bean Technologies Price Performance Shares of JBT stock traded up $2.81 on Friday, hitting $104.11. 343,848 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 187,093. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.78. John Bean Technologies has a 12 month low of $89.96 and a 12 month high of $125.88. The stock has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $98.94 and a 200 day moving average of $102.82. John Bean Technologies (NYSE:JBT Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.04. John Bean Technologies had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 33.53%. The business had revenue of $444.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $445.81 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that John Bean Technologies will post 5.16 EPS for the current year. John Bean Technologies Dividend Announcement The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 8th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. John Bean Technologiess payout ratio is presently 2.12%. Hedge Funds Weigh In On John Bean Technologies A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JBT. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in John Bean Technologies by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,821 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of John Bean Technologies by 4.6% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,476 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $761,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of John Bean Technologies by 6.7% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of John Bean Technologies by 11.5% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 30,180 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $3,575,000 after buying an additional 3,120 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of John Bean Technologies by 55.8% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 16,840 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $1,995,000 after buying an additional 6,030 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.19% of the companys stock. John Bean Technologies Company Profile (Get Free Report) John Bean Technologies Corporation provides technology solutions to food and beverage industry in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. It offers value-added processing that includes chilling, mixing/grinding, injecting, blending, marinating, tumbling, flattening, forming, portioning, coating, cooking, frying, freezing, extracting, pasteurizing, sterilizing, concentrating, high pressure processing, weighing, inspecting, filling, closing, sealing, end of line material handling, and packaging solutions to the food, beverage, and health market. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for John Bean Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for John Bean Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in iShares MSCI Japan ETF (NYSEARCA:EWJ Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 16,597 shares of the exchange traded funds stock, valued at approximately $1,001,000. Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 2.8% in the third quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,023 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $845,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Wunderlich Capital Managemnt raised its stake in iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 4.3% in the third quarter. Wunderlich Capital Managemnt now owns 6,269 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 221.0% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 954,657 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $57,556,000 after buying an additional 657,246 shares in the last quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 0.7% in the third quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC now owns 57,242 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $3,451,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its stake in iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 27.7% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 177,379 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $10,694,000 after buying an additional 38,465 shares in the last quarter. Get iShares MSCI Japan ETF alerts: iShares MSCI Japan ETF Stock Down 0.2 % iShares MSCI Japan ETF stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $71.18. The companys stock had a trading volume of 8,613,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,373,241. iShares MSCI Japan ETF has a fifty-two week low of $54.56 and a fifty-two week high of $71.75. The company has a market cap of $15.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.26. About iShares MSCI Japan ETF iShares MSCI Japan ETF (the fund), formerly Ishares Msci Japan Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of publicly traded securities in the Japanese market, as measured by the MSCI Japan Index (the Index). Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EWJ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI Japan ETF (NYSEARCA:EWJ Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI Japan ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI Japan ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. First Foundation Advisors grew its position in General Electric (NYSE:GE Free Report) by 56.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,856 shares of the conglomerates stock after acquiring an additional 2,460 shares during the quarter. First Foundation Advisors holdings in General Electric were worth $758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of General Electric by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 109,332 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $12,087,000 after purchasing an additional 10,722 shares during the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. increased its position in shares of General Electric by 159.8% during the 2nd quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,455,000 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $159,832,000 after purchasing an additional 895,000 shares during the last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of General Electric by 51,152.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 22,551 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $2,493,000 after purchasing an additional 22,507 shares during the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,846,000. Finally, Cambridge Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $6,285,000. Institutional investors own 74.83% of the companys stock. Get General Electric alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on GE shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on General Electric from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded General Electric from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded General Electric from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. TheStreet upgraded General Electric from a c+ rating to a b+ rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a market perform rating on shares of General Electric in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $138.71. General Electric Stock Up 0.9 % NYSE:GE traded up $1.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $167.96. 16,953,106 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,067,814. The company has a fifty day moving average of $140.04 and a 200 day moving average of $123.94. General Electric has a twelve month low of $86.45 and a twelve month high of $175.81. The company has a market capitalization of $182.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.18. General Electric (NYSE:GE Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. General Electric had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.95%. The company had revenue of $19.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that General Electric will post 4.53 EPS for the current year. General Electric Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 28th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 27th. General Electrics dividend payout ratio is currently 3.82%. Insider Activity at General Electric In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. General Electric Company Profile (Free Report) General Electric Company operates as a high-tech industrial company in Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. It offers gas and steam turbines, full balance of plant, upgrade, and service solutions, as well as data-leveraging software for power generation, industrial, government, and other customers. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for General Electric (NYSE:GE Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for General Electric Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for General Electric and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Employees Retirement System of Texas lowered its holdings in shares of Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE:RGA Free Report) by 22.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,794 shares of the insurance providers stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas holdings in Reinsurance Group of America were worth $2,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Reinsurance Group of America by 8,400.0% in the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Reinsurance Group of America by 47.8% in the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 368 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Reinsurance Group of America by 59.1% during the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 350 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Reinsurance Group of America during the second quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Reinsurance Group of America by 43.4% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.78% of the companys stock. Get Reinsurance Group of America alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on RGA shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Reinsurance Group of America from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Reinsurance Group of America from $186.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Reinsurance Group of America from $191.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Reinsurance Group of America from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $171.00 to $189.00 in a report on Monday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Reinsurance Group of America from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $176.90. Insider Activity at Reinsurance Group of America In other news, EVP Ronald Herrmann bought 440 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $166.78 per share, for a total transaction of $73,383.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 440 shares in the company, valued at $73,383.20. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Todd C. Larson sold 2,966 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.88, for a total transaction of $542,422.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 49,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,061,521.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ronald Herrmann bought 440 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $166.78 per share, for a total transaction of $73,383.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 440 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $73,383.20. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,462 shares of company stock valued at $1,162,239 over the last three months. 1.31% of the stock is owned by insiders. Reinsurance Group of America Stock Down 0.7 % Shares of RGA traded down $1.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $182.22. 320,973 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 317,699. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.17. Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated has a 12-month low of $120.99 and a 12-month high of $184.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $11.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.57 and a beta of 0.88. Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE:RGA Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The insurance provider reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.40 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $5.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.57 billion. Reinsurance Group of America had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 4.86%. Reinsurance Group of Americas revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.99 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated will post 19.17 EPS for the current fiscal year. Reinsurance Group of America Announces Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 13th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Reinsurance Group of Americas dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.32%. Reinsurance Group of America Profile (Free Report) Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated engages in reinsurance business. The company offers individual and group life and health insurance products, such as term life, credit life, universal life, whole life, group life and health, joint and last survivor insurance, critical illness, disability, and longevity products; asset-intensive and financial reinsurance products; and other capital motivated solutions. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RGA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE:RGA Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Reinsurance Group of America Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Reinsurance Group of America and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,641 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $91,000. Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd grew its holdings in Yum China by 4.9% in the second quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 9,113,960 shares of the companys stock valued at $514,939,000 after purchasing an additional 421,588 shares during the last quarter. XY Capital Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Yum China by 1,325.8% during the third quarter. XY Capital Ltd now owns 107,650 shares of the companys stock valued at $5,998,000 after acquiring an additional 100,100 shares during the last quarter. New Silk Road Investment PTE Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Yum China by 9.7% during the third quarter. New Silk Road Investment PTE Ltd. now owns 207,841 shares of the companys stock valued at $11,581,000 after acquiring an additional 18,300 shares during the last quarter. Broad Peak Investment Holdings Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Yum China by 24.5% during the third quarter. Broad Peak Investment Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,743,123 shares of the companys stock valued at $97,127,000 after acquiring an additional 343,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Yum China by 27.8% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 912,489 shares of the companys stock valued at $51,555,000 after acquiring an additional 198,756 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.91% of the companys stock. Get Yum China alerts: Yum China Trading Up 0.4 % Shares of Yum China stock traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $41.25. The stock had a trading volume of 2,155,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,385,921. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.55 and a 1 year high of $64.70. Yum China Increases Dividend Yum China ( NYSE:YUMC Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. Yum China had a return on equity of 11.63% and a net margin of 7.53%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year. The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This is an increase from Yum Chinas previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 4th. Yum Chinas dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.65%. Analyst Ratings Changes A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $38.00 price objective (down previously from $65.00) on shares of Yum China in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Yum China in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. They set a buy rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. TheStreet downgraded Yum China from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Monday, November 20th. Finally, HSBC reduced their target price on Yum China from $66.80 to $51.30 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $54.65. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on YUMC Yum China Profile (Free Report) Yum China Holdings, Inc owns, operates, and franchises restaurants in the People's Republic of China. The company operates through KFC, Pizza Hut, and All Other segments. It operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Lavazza, Little Sheep, and Huang Ji Huang concepts. The company also operates V-Gold Mall, a mobile e-commerce platform, which sells electronics, home and kitchen accessories, and other general merchandise, as well as fried rice, steak, and pasta; and offers online food deliver services. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Yum China Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Yum China and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. First Foundation Advisors raised its stake in Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX Free Report) by 12.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,304 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after buying an additional 571 shares during the period. First Foundation Advisors holdings in Phillips 66 were worth $637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSX. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Phillips 66 in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in Phillips 66 in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in Phillips 66 by 134.8% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 263 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Phillips 66 in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its position in Phillips 66 by 82.1% in the third quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 306 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.83% of the companys stock. Get Phillips 66 alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets PSX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Phillips 66 from $134.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, December 4th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Phillips 66 from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Phillips 66 from $151.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Phillips 66 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. They set a buy rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Phillips 66 from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Saturday, February 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $138.15. Phillips 66 Stock Up 0.1 % PSX stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $149.34. 2,398,568 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,720,481. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firms fifty day moving average price is $140.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.54. Phillips 66 has a 52 week low of $89.74 and a 52 week high of $150.77. The company has a market cap of $63.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.36. Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.72. Phillips 66 had a net margin of 4.68% and a return on equity of 22.10%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Phillips 66 will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Phillips 66 Announces Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Phillips 66s payout ratio is 27.15%. Insider Buying and Selling In related news, VP Joseph Scott Pruitt sold 1,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.23, for a total transaction of $133,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,593 shares in the company, valued at $878,385.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Joseph Scott Pruitt sold 1,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.23, for a total transaction of $133,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,593 shares in the company, valued at $878,385.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Vanessa Allen Sutherland sold 3,700 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.18, for a total value of $492,766.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,567 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $6,334,973.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,887 shares of company stock worth $4,543,437. 4.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Phillips 66 Company Profile (Free Report) Phillips 66 operates as an energy manufacturing and logistics company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties (M&S). The Midstream segment transports crude oil and other feedstocks; delivers refined petroleum products to market; provides terminaling and storage services for crude oil and refined petroleum products; transports, stores, fractionates, exports, and markets natural gas liquids; provides other fee-based processing services; and gathers, processes, transports, and markets natural gas. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Phillips 66 Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Phillips 66 and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Employees Retirement System of Texas lowered its holdings in shares of Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK Free Report) by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,968 shares of the industrial products companys stock after selling 15,690 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas holdings in Crown were worth $4,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Crown by 68.6% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 11,889,202 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $1,032,815,000 after acquiring an additional 4,836,470 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Crown by 202.1% in the 1st quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 3,019,873 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $249,774,000 after buying an additional 2,020,200 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Crown in the 4th quarter worth $123,506,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Crown by 55.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,709,202 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $322,218,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323,107 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Crown by 41.9% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 2,213,904 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $195,886,000 after acquiring an additional 654,082 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.18% of the companys stock. Get Crown alerts: Crown Stock Up 0.2 % CCK traded up $0.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $77.98. The stock had a trading volume of 894,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,336,576. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.15. Crown Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.61 and a twelve month high of $96.35. The company has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.74, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.91. Crown Increases Dividend Crown ( NYSE:CCK Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.19). Crown had a return on equity of 25.75% and a net margin of 3.75%. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Crown Holdings, Inc. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year. The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is an increase from Crowns previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Crowns dividend payout ratio is 25.53%. Insider Buying and Selling In related news, CEO Timothy J. Donahue sold 7,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.96, for a total value of $682,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 651,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,238,973.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird reissued a neutral rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Crown in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Crown from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Crown from $110.00 to $97.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Crown in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued an outperform rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Crown from $117.00 to $100.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crown has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $101.23. View Our Latest Stock Report on Crown Crown Profile (Free Report) Crown Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, supplies rigid packaging products in Pennsylvania and internationally. It operates through Americas Beverage, European Beverage, Asia Pacific, and Transit Packaging segments. The Americas Beverage segment manufactures recyclable aluminum beverage cans and ends, glass bottles, steel crowns, and aluminum caps. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CCK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Crown Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Crown and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. KYODO NEWS - Mar 9, 2024 - 18:39 | World, All, Japan Chinese nuclear power plants released wastewater containing tritium in 2022 at levels up to nine times higher than the amount expected to be found in the planned annual discharge from Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi complex, a public document showed Saturday. China has criticized Japan for releasing "nuclear-contaminated water" into the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima power plant while imposing a blanket import ban on all seafood products from the neighboring country since the start of the discharge in August 2023. According to the latest China Nuclear Energy Yearbook, radioactive materials were investigated in 2022 at a total of 19 monitoring points at 13 nuclear power plants, such as the Qinshan complex in the eastern province of Zhejiang. The amount of tritium contained in the wastewater at 15 locations greatly surpassed the maximum annual limit of 22 trillion becquerels set for the treated water planned to be released from the Fukushima power plant, the yearbook said, noting that the Qinshan plant, for one, discharged around 202 trillion becquerels of tritium in 2022. The Japanese government said the Fukushima nuclear power plant was releasing about 2.2 trillion becquerels of tritium annually before it suffered meltdowns following a devastating earthquake and ensuing tsunami in March 2011. In July 2023, the International Atomic Energy Agency submitted a report to Japan, concluding that the Fukushima water discharge aligns with global safety standards, adding it will have a "negligible radiological impact on people and the environment." The treated water released from the Fukushima plant is diluted to reduce the tritium levels to less than one-40th of Japan's national safety standards. Related coverage: 4th release of Fukushima treated radioactive water begins Most Japan fishing groups hit by China import ban over Fukushima row IAEA reaffirms Japan's treated water release in line with standards BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN (NYSEARCA:FNGD Get Free Report)s share price fell 7.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $3.64 and last traded at $3.65. 11,720,042 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 8% from the average session volume of 12,713,090 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.95. BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN Stock Performance The firms 50 day moving average price is $4.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.95. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN during the second quarter worth approximately $65,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN during the third quarter worth approximately $74,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN during the third quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, Flow Traders U.S. LLC bought a new position in shares of BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN during the first quarter worth approximately $206,000. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Invesco Total Return Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:GTO Free Report) by 983.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 183,328 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 166,403 shares during the quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc.s holdings in Invesco Total Return Bond ETF were worth $8,182,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GTO. Northwest Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Invesco Total Return Bond ETF by 319.5% in the third quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 2,408 shares of the companys stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new stake in Invesco Total Return Bond ETF in the second quarter valued at approximately $903,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Invesco Total Return Bond ETF by 19.9% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 141,832 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,589,000 after buying an additional 23,567 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Invesco Total Return Bond ETF in the third quarter valued at approximately $939,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Invesco Total Return Bond ETF by 13.7% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 42,982 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,918,000 after purchasing an additional 5,178 shares during the last quarter. Get Invesco Total Return Bond ETF alerts: Invesco Total Return Bond ETF Price Performance Shares of Invesco Total Return Bond ETF stock traded up $0.04 on Friday, hitting $47.00. The stock had a trading volume of 134,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 223,102. Invesco Total Return Bond ETF has a twelve month low of $43.27 and a twelve month high of $47.70. The businesss 50 day moving average is $46.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.78. Invesco Total Return Bond ETF Profile The Invesco Total Return Bond ETF (GTO) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in broad credit fixed income. The fund is an actively managed fund with the ability to invest in any number of fixed income securities with varying credit ratings, countries, and durations. GTO was launched on Feb 10, 2016 and is managed by Invesco. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GTO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Invesco Total Return Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:GTO Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Invesco Total Return Bond ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Invesco Total Return Bond ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEARCA:IWM Free Report) by 1,800.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,898 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after acquiring an additional 11,272 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc.s holdings in iShares Russell 2000 ETF were worth $2,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of IWM. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 113,180.6% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 334,806,395 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $58,376,843,000 after purchasing an additional 334,510,840 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 19,634,415 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $3,470,187,000 after acquiring an additional 5,063,767 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 11,206,000 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $1,980,548,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115,400 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,445,800 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $1,315,971,000 after acquiring an additional 33,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,106,992 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $1,256,090,000 after acquiring an additional 164,788 shares in the last quarter. Get iShares Russell 2000 ETF alerts: iShares Russell 2000 ETF Price Performance NYSEARCA IWM traded down $0.13 on Friday, hitting $206.83. The company had a trading volume of 41,447,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,813,448. The companys fifty day moving average price is $197.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.59. iShares Russell 2000 ETF has a 12-month low of $161.67 and a 12-month high of $210.41. iShares Russell 2000 ETF Company Profile iShares Russell 2000 ETF (the Fund) is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Russell 2000 Index (the Index). The Index is a float-adjusted capitalization weighted index that measures the performance of the small-capitalization sector of the United States equity market and includes securities issued by the approximately 2,000 smallest issuers in the Russell 3000 Index. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IWM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEARCA:IWM Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares Russell 2000 ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Russell 2000 ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (NYSEARCA:VYM Free Report) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,443,912 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 20,686 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley owned 2.06% of Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF worth $975,745,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Providence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire raised its position in Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF by 380.3% in the third quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 562 shares of the companys stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. Get Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF alerts: Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF Stock Down 0.2 % Shares of NYSEARCA VYM opened at $117.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $53.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 0.84. Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF has a 52-week low of $98.40 and a 52-week high of $117.99. The businesss 50 day moving average is $113.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.24. About Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF The Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index Fund (VYM) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the FTSE Custom High Dividend Yield index. The fund tracks the FTSE High Dividend Yield Index. The index selects high-dividend-paying US companies, excluding REITS, and weights them by market cap. VYM was launched on Nov 10, 2006 and is managed by Vanguard. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. BRYN MAWR TRUST Co trimmed its stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE Free Report) by 1.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 14,099 shares of the conglomerates stock after selling 250 shares during the period. BRYN MAWR TRUST Cos holdings in General Electric were worth $1,559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its holdings in General Electric by 2.8% during the second quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 3,261 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. King Wealth lifted its position in shares of General Electric by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. King Wealth now owns 2,988 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Electric by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,776 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Electric by 43.4% in the 3rd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in General Electric by 2.7% during the third quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,765 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 74.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get General Electric alerts: General Electric Trading Up 0.9 % NYSE:GE traded up $1.46 on Friday, hitting $167.96. 16,953,106 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,067,814. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. General Electric has a fifty-two week low of $86.45 and a fifty-two week high of $175.81. The stock has a market cap of $182.80 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $140.04 and a 200-day moving average of $123.94. General Electric Announces Dividend General Electric ( NYSE:GE Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. General Electric had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The firm had revenue of $19.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $17.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. The firms revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Electric will post 4.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 28th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 27th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. General Electrics dividend payout ratio is currently 3.82%. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In GE has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised General Electric from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on General Electric from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on General Electric from $148.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. TheStreet raised shares of General Electric from a c+ rating to a b+ rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of General Electric from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and upped their target price for the company from $166.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $138.71. View Our Latest Report on General Electric Insider Transactions at General Electric In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,153,863.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $1,843,615.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total transaction of $3,195,107.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the companys stock. General Electric Company Profile (Free Report) General Electric Company operates as a high-tech industrial company in Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. It offers gas and steam turbines, full balance of plant, upgrade, and service solutions, as well as data-leveraging software for power generation, industrial, government, and other customers. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for General Electric (NYSE:GE Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for General Electric Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for General Electric and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 872 shares of the utilities providers stock, valued at approximately $59,000. Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. WFA of San Diego LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 29.9% during the third quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC now owns 2,439 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its position in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 68,696 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $4,673,000 after buying an additional 34,348 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC increased its position in Sempra by 93.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 2,195 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its holdings in Sempra by 114.4% during the 3rd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 32,782 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 17,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 94.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 186,952 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $12,264,000 after purchasing an additional 90,701 shares during the period. 84.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Sempra alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth SRE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Sempra from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Sempra from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and boosted their target price for the company from $78.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $81.83. Sempra Stock Up 0.7 % Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $0.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $71.07. The stock had a trading volume of 2,744,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,781,702. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.66. The company has a market capitalization of $44.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Sempra has a 12 month low of $63.75 and a 12 month high of $79.51. Sempra (NYSE:SRE Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year. Sempra Increases Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempras previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Sempras dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.69%. Insider Transactions at Sempra In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,105.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 5,158 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $367,301.18. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 43,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,063,739.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 156,622 shares of company stock worth $11,089,713 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the companys stock. About Sempra (Free Report) Sempra operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: San Diego Gas & Electric Company, Southern California Gas Company, Sempra Texas Utilities, and Sempra Infrastructure. The San Diego Gas & Electric Company segment provides to San Diego and southern Orange counties; and natural gas service to San Diego County. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Sempra Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sempra and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Chesapeake Wealth Management decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS Free Report) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,225 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 302 shares during the quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Managements holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $108,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 306,637 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $26,801,000 after acquiring an additional 22,095 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 61.9% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 6,957 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 2,660 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 64.5% in the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 17,070 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 6,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 66.9% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 626 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.09% of the companys stock. Get Morgan Stanley alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes MS has been the subject of a number of research reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a market perform rating and set a $91.00 target price (down previously from $102.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $94.56. Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.0 % NYSE:MS traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $87.04. 9,689,299 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,759,482. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $95.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 10.36%. The business had revenue of $12.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. The firms revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.37 earnings per share for the current year. Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 30th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. Morgan Stanleys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.76%. Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total value of $584,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 97,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,158,297.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total value of $584,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 97,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,158,297.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total transaction of $4,396,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 400,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $35,172,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 208,155 shares of company stock worth $18,149,314. Company insiders own 0.26% of the companys stock. Morgan Stanley Company Profile (Free Report) Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Morgan Stanley Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Morgan Stanley and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D Free Report) by 1,748.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,587 shares of the utilities providers stock after purchasing an additional 33,662 shares during the quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc.s holdings in Dominion Energy were worth $1,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of D. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Dominion Energy by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 168,723 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $14,325,000 after buying an additional 12,002 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Dominion Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,528,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Dominion Energy by 30.0% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,195 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Dominion Energy by 49.8% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 394 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Dominion Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $419,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.66% of the companys stock. Get Dominion Energy alerts: Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, Director Joseph M. Rigby purchased 2,130 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $46.94 per share, with a total value of $99,982.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,417 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $395,093.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Robert M. Blue purchased 21,735 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $45.91 per share, with a total value of $997,853.85. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 176,240 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,091,178.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph M. Rigby bought 2,130 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $46.94 per share, for a total transaction of $99,982.20. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,417 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $395,093.98. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.14% of the companys stock. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on D shares. Mizuho reduced their target price on Dominion Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Dominion Energy from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 4th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Dominion Energy from $57.00 to $52.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Dominion Energy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Dominion Energy from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $49.90. Read Our Latest Analysis on Dominion Energy Dominion Energy Price Performance NYSE:D traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $48.00. The company had a trading volume of 4,393,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,673,447. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $46.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.84. Dominion Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $39.18 and a one year high of $58.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Dominion Energy (NYSE:D Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.21 billion. Dominion Energy had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 8.83%. The businesss revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Dominion Energy, Inc. will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year. Dominion Energy Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be paid a $0.6675 dividend. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 29th. Dominion Energys dividend payout ratio is currently 114.59%. Dominion Energy Company Profile (Free Report) Dominion Energy, Inc produces and distributes energy in the United States. It operates through three operating segments: Dominion Energy Virginia, Dominion Energy South Carolina, and Contracted Energy. The Dominion Energy Virginia segment generates, transmits, and distributes regulated electricity to approximately 2.8 million residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental customers in Virginia and North Carolina. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding D? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Dominion Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Dominion Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. By Masafumi Sugita, KYODO NEWS - Mar 9, 2024 - 14:47 | Feature, All As gender diversity spreads around the world, the position of sexual minorities in Chinese society is deteriorating, with many sent to correctional facilities where they undergo brutal treatment in the name of "conversion therapy." The accusation comes from a group of victims and their supporters who in recent interviews revealed that there are some 100 such facilities in the country, including hospitals and private institutions. They say inmates are subject to beatings and other violent acts to attempt to "correct" their sexual orientation or gender identities. While prejudice based on conservative ideas pervasive in Chinese society plays its part, one expert said discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people is being spurred on by the Chinese leadership under President Xi Jinping, who see respecting the rights of sexual minorities as a "Western value." The leadership "fears that any human rights activism by LGBTQ and other sexual minorities would lead to criticism of the system," Tomoko Ako, a University of Tokyo Graduate School professor specializing in contemporary China, told Kyodo News in a recent interview. Many of the inpatients at facilities in Shanghai and other cities and provinces such as Hebei, Hubei and Sichuan are young people in their pre-teens, teens and 20s who say they were more or less forcibly brought to facilities by family members. Even when they are able to escape for a short while, they are often brought back by police. In what has become a rampant abusive practice, officers at facilities tell inmates that they are "sickening and useless," beat them and have them strip naked in front of others. The victims say some of them have also been sexually abused by officers at the facilities. With a look of torment, a 23-year-old university student known as Reisen, who prefers the pronouns "they and their," recalled the "conversion therapy" they experienced last summer after being tricked into taking a ride with their father. Reisen grew up as the eldest son of a family in Kunming, Yunnan Province, in the south. But around middle school, Reisen felt "different to other classmates." "I noticed I had different feelings toward the opposite sex and my own subjects of interest," Reisen said, adding, "I was afraid to tell my parents about this." Last August in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, Reisen was convinced by their father to take a drive with him to collect money for school, but when the pair arrived at their destination, it was a facility "for correction" adorned with military designs. Aware that his "son" was a member of a sexual minority, the father forced Reisen to go through the admission process. Reisen's shoulder-length hair was sheared into a short crop at the facility, where the inmates were taught traditional Chinese values. Reisen also witnessed the sexual assault of a girl -- a young teen or perhaps even younger -- by an instructor who was a retired veteran. In mid-September, with the support of a college professor and classmates, Reisen managed to leave the facility. It was "hell," Reisen said, adding, "The only emotion I have for my father now is hatred." Having lost their place in Chinese society, large numbers of members of sexual minorities are now fleeing abroad. Molly, 24, moved to Finland from China in 2022 and now has a research job there. Born male, Molly, who also prefers the pronouns "they and their," identifies more as a female than a male but says they do not like to be categorized as either. Molly was forcibly brought to a facility -- at their father's behest -- seven years ago. "I felt like I was having a mental collapse," Molly said in an online interview with Kyodo News, adding they became a victim of sexual abuse at the facility. Inmates at the correctional facilities are denied access to the outside world with their smartphones and computers confiscated. Apart from their hair cut short, they go through tough military-like training and attend classes on traditional gender roles of "men who work and women who give birth." Homosexuality used to be considered a mental disorder and was once outlawed in China. Patients were subjected to electric shock "correction" treatments, provoking criticism from international human rights organizations. Homosexuality became legal in 1997 and was removed from the mental illness category in 2001, but the situation has deteriorated again in recent years. In May last year, the Beijing LGBT Center discontinued its activities for protection of sexual minorities' human rights, ostensibly under pressure from Chinese authorities. According to one estimate, China has an LGBT population of 75 million. "Thousands of them are considered victims of violence, but we don't know the exact number," said a member of a Chinese support group. "Not only sexual minorities but also members of support groups are under pressure, subject to summons by the police and surveillance," noted Ako, the University of Tokyo Graduate School professor. She said that Xi's leadership uses its dismissal of the concept of the rights of sexual minorities as a Western value in its propaganda, and that "people have been widely influenced, including the parental generation." For people like Molly, living in such a society is no longer a viable option. "I don't have a place in my homeland. It's too dangerous to return there," Molly said. Ako suggested giving a voice to sexual minorities is needed more than ever. "It is precisely in China, where speech is controlled, that it is important to communicate from the perspective of minorities," she said. Related coverage: FEATURE: Japan feminist Ueno's books resonate with struggling Chinese women Japanese court approves nonsterilized trans man's gender change Japan firm nixes translation of U.S. book questioning trans surgery This photo taken with a mobile phone shows villagers purchasing daily supplies using the points they gained in exchange for good deeds at a "point store" in Zuolan Township of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, Feb. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhou Siyu) CHONGQING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- In a "grocery store" in Zuolan Township of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, local resident Zeng Xingyou took a bottle of cooking oil priced at 40 yuan (about 5.6 U.S. dollars) to the cashier. Rather than producing money to pay for the cooking oil, Zeng took out a booklet that recorded his good deeds and showed it to the cashier. "We earn points when we make contributions to our hometown. I got three points for keeping the yard clean, five for volunteer work and five for intervention when two villagers were in conflict," said Zeng, while adding that the oil had a value of 40 points. This store also provides other goods including rice, toilet paper, and laundry detergent, to name a few, to villagers like Zeng, who can make purchases by using the points they gained in exchange for good deeds. Such "civilization stores," also known as "points stores," can be found not only in Chongqing but across China. In 2020, the country's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs expressed its support for the promotion of this points-rewards system, as it helps ameliorate rural governance. In Chongqing alone, 6,883 villages had adopted the points-rewards system, accounting for 78.5 percent of all villages administered by the municipality, according to a report released in June 2023. The municipality vowed to ensure incorporation of all villages into the system. Points-rewards stores play an important role in enhancing people's enthusiasm for being active in rural governance, said Lin Yingmao, deputy Party secretary of Zuolan Township. Prior to the introduction of the points-rewards system, local resident Gui Fengchun tended to hang bed covers and clothes on road guardrails near his house. Village cadres believed this practice took up public space and posed risks to road traffic. They tried several times to convince Gui to refrain from such actions, but their attempts proved unsuccessful. Gui changed his ways after seeing other villagers earn points by keeping the environment clean -- points they could use to buy daily necessities. Gui began paying more attention to the public environment and later even became a cleaning volunteer in his village. "Now almost everyone in the township is actively involved in rural governance," said Lin. "By making their hometown a better place through their own efforts, they have developed a sense of satisfaction." Chengkou County, which administers Zuolan Township, now has a total of 204 "points stores" in its 173 villages and 31 communities. Currently, 58,000 households in the county, 84 percent of the total, have accumulated 23 million points. The practice of points-rewards in rural areas has also facilitated the implementation of some major policies. One example was the "toilet revolution." China launched the "toilet revolution" in 2015 to increase both the number and the sanitation levels of toilets at tourist sites. The campaign expanded to also focus on improving public toilets in cities and building better private toilets in rural areas. However, some people were initially reluctant to transform their dry toilets into water-flushing ones, as they were concerned about the difficulty of adapting to the new lifestyle, such as the maintenance of a new toilet. In Huatian Township of Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, villagers can earn points by taking part in renovation and cleaning of toilets. The "points stores" there offer necessities for toilet cleaning, such as detergent and brushes. "The village conducts regular evaluations of our toilet environment, with those doing well in maintenance rewarded points," said local villager Tuo Xingwei. "The points are not that many, but what we care about more is recognition." "Besides, the supplies of 'points stores' help save costs concerning long-term maintenance of our toilets," he added. "To us, maintenance of the new toilet is now no longer something we consider costly and time-consuming, but rather something rewarding." People inspect destroyed buildings after intense airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 9, 2024. The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,960 with 72,524 others wounded, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a press statement on Saturday. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua) GAZA, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,960 with 72,524 others wounded, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a press statement on Saturday. During the last 24 hours, the Israeli army killed 82 Palestinians and wounded 122 others, it added. The statement noted that some victims remained under the rubble amid heavy bombardment and a lack of civil defense and ambulance crews. Dozens of Palestinians, the majority of whom are children and women, were killed and others injured in a series of Israeli airstrikes that targeted multiple areas across the Gaza Strip since Friday night, Palestine's official news agency WAFA reported. The report said at least 23 people were killed in intense airstrikes that targeted a number of houses in the southern Gaza Strip cities of Khan Younis and Rafah. Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 taken hostage. People inspect destroyed buildings after intense airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 9, 2024. The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,960 with 72,524 others wounded, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a press statement on Saturday. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua) A Palestinian inspects destroyed buildings after intense airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 9, 2024. The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,960 with 72,524 others wounded, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a press statement on Saturday. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua) People inspect destroyed buildings after intense airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 9, 2024. The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,960 with 72,524 others wounded, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a press statement on Saturday. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua) People inspect destroyed buildings after intense airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 9, 2024. The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,960 with 72,524 others wounded, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a press statement on Saturday. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua) People inspect destroyed buildings after intense airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 9, 2024. The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,960 with 72,524 others wounded, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a press statement on Saturday. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua) People inspect destroyed buildings after intense airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 9, 2024. The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,960 with 72,524 others wounded, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a press statement on Saturday. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua) Irish transport minister Eamon Ryan has conceded that the government has lost the twin referenda to change the Constitution in Ireland. He made the comments as early indications show a significant no vote in both questions. Counting is under way in the twin referenda on proposed changes the Constitution. The boxes were opened at 9am after the public went to the polls on Friday to vote on whether to change the wording of the Constitution relating to the areas of family and care. Results for both will be announced separately later on Saturday. Early tallies show a strong support for no votes, signalling an embarrassing defeat for the government. Its clear we lost, Mr Ryan said. When it was put to the Green Minister that the government did not get the result it wanted, he said: No we didnt. But you have to respect the voice of the people. We have to wait until the final count is done but if it is a no no vote, have to respect that. I dont think you can respect the peoples vote by saying what went wrong, the people didnt vote the right way. People are sovereign in this. They have to decide. Its a complex issue, both were complex. I would have preferred a yes yes. I dont accept that our campaign did go wrong. He added: Its complex issues. There were a myriad of reasons to vote no. We will continue to make sure in government that we will heed that advice from the people. It was never easy. It took a long time to come up with the wording because its not easy, its quite complicated when you try to change the Constitution in any way. We didnt convince the public of the argument for a yes yes vote. I think the next government will have to come back to this and consider the campaign and what were the arguments that merited a no vote in both cases. There was a low turnout reported throughout the day, with some areas understood to be less than 30% of registered voters. There was a slight uplift at polling stations as people made their home on Friday evening, however it is thought that numbers remained lower compared to previous referenda. The two questions will be counted separately, with both results expected to be declared at Dublin Castle by Saturday evening. The family amendment will be counted and declared first. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said her party is very much in touch with the Irish public, despite tallies showing the two referenda will be defeated. Her party advocated for a yes-yes vote in Irelands ballot on family and care. No, were very, very much in touch with people, and youll recall that I said from the get-go, that we were very much in favour of removing sexist language from the Constitution, very much in favour of an inclusive definition of families, Ms McDonald said on Saturday. But we knew that the government did come up short in terms of the caring wording. They disregarded the citizens assembly, they didnt consult with opposition or with other stakeholders. They didnt collaborate, and they failed to convince. I know, talking to lots of people, that people were left with an unbalanced decision to make and I think its a great pity that the government went on this kind of solo run, and theyve had their answer. I dont think there has been a lack of clarity for people, I think people when they came out and voted were very clear how they were voting and why they were voting in a particular way. If there is one big takeaway message from this, it is that support for people with disabilities as full and equals citizens and support for carers is something that has to be taken seriously by government. I think itll fall to the next government to vindicate those rights. Ms McDonald said Sinn Fein will return to consideration the sexist language in Irelands Constitution if the party is in the next government. Senator Michael McDowell, a former tanaiste and ex-justice minister, who campaigned for a no no vote, said it was unwise social experimentation with the Constitution. Mr McDowell, who was part of the Lawyers For No group, said: I trust individual voters. They looked at what was being put before them and they said no. Many of them will have a slightly different perspective as to why they were voting no, but in the end we live in a republic and the sovereign power is the people and every individual vote is as good as anybody elses vote and this is an emphatic repudiation of what I think was unwise social experimentation with the Constitution. Labour leader Ivana Bacik said: The result at this early stage certainly looks disappointing for those who campaigned for a yes yes vote. I do think and it is clear that it is the governments responsibility because the government needs to explain to the people first why it chose and proceeded with wording that was so distinctly different from the wording that our Oireachtas committee on gender equality has proposed, wording that cross parties had supported. Why did they not go out more assertively and sell it to the people because what we saw from government, particularly in the last few weeks as the no side was gaining ground, we saw a lacklustre campaign from government. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Tanaiste Micheal Martin and Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald also voted in the referenda. The family amendment proposes extending the meaning of family beyond one defined by marriage and to include those based on durable relationships. The care amendment proposes deleting references to a womans roles and duties in the home, and replacing it with a new article that acknowledges family carers. The Constitution is the fundamental legal document for the country and can only be changed with the approval of Irish citizens through a national vote. The campaigns have led to national debates over the role of women in the home, what responsibility the State has for care and the meaning of family. The Irish Government campaigned for a yes vote in both amendments. It says the changes will remove sexist language, recognise family care and extend protection to families not based on marriage. The result of the referenda will be decided by majority. Counting of the ballots happens at a constituency basis at various centres around the country. Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said the result of today's referendum was a direct consequence of a rushed and confused campaign by the Government. Speaking of the result, Ms Cairns said: The defeat of both the family and care referendums is the result of a rushed and confused campaign by the Government. The Government delayed publishing the wording of both amendments; refused to accept Opposition amendments; guillotined legislation in the Oireachtas; and, patronisingly, insisted on holding the referendums on International Womens Day." According to her, the low voter turnout and the resounding 'no' result is due to the Government's failure to properly engage with the public from the outset of this "shambolic" referendum campaign. The electorate were confused by the wording of the family amendment and the implications of it on things like succession rights and unimpressed at the lack of ambition in the care referendum," she said. "I am disappointed that the family referendum has failed, given it is discriminatory that the Constitution recognises just one form of family the marital family." Issues raised by No campaigners in relation to the lack of clarity on the implications of the change in other areas of law were clearly effective in swaying voters. A lack of clear planning, and definitive responses, from the Government helped to sow this confusion. In recent days, a no vote on the care amendment was looking increasingly likely - in large part because of the Governments appalling decision to reject wording overwhelmingly endorsed by the Citizens Assembly." She hit out at "inflammatory comments" made by the Taoiseach. Inflammatory comments made on television by the Taoiseach just days before polling will have done little to convince voters about the States commitment to support carers and vindicate the rights of disabled people," she continued. Many carers and disabled people are tired of receiving nothing more than lip service from successive governments. This record of failure, and absence of trust, lies at the heart of this failed referendum. The vote of the electorate must now be respected and there should be careful consideration and analysis of the reasons for their rejection of these amendments. In the interim, there is nothing stopping the Government from demonstrating that they can pay more than just lip service to disability rights. An obvious, immediate next step is for the Government to ratify the Optional Protocol on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities without any further excuses or delay," Ms Cairns said. A retrospective and brief explanation of why the loop is packed with chubbier versions of super heroes this weekend . . . "Its worth reflecting on Kansas Citys own comics history as the city welcomes Planet Comicon Kansas City and Naka-Kon this spring. "Held March 8-10 at the Kansas City Convention Center, this year marks Planet Comicon's silver anniversary. " Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . 25th Planet Comicon KC celebrates origin story, fans embrace inner nerd Celebrities, artists and tens of thousands of fans proud to call themselves nerds are converging in Kansas City for the 25th annual Planet Comicon this weekend. We notice that a couple of homicides have been removed from the daily analysis published by police. This often happens as old cases are reclassified amid new information. Nevertheless . . . Tragic local violence continues to escalate amid warmer weather. Here's a morning news roundup starting with the first report of a deadly KCMO shooting and then more coverage: Homicide- 7300 block of Park Rd This morning, just after 5:30 AM, officers were dispatched to the 7300 block of Park Road. When officers arrived, they were summoned to a nearby residence. When police entered the residence, they located two adult male victims suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. EMS responded alongside police personnel and transported one adult victim to an area hospital, where he is being treated for injuries. An additional adult male victim was unresponsive inside the residence, and declared deceased at the scene. Preliminary investigation is believed the shooting stemmed from an argument between several people when an adult male fired shots. Homicide detectives and crime scene personnel have responded to begin gathering evidence and collecting witness statements. Detectives are actively working on identifying a person of interest and police do not currently have anyone in custody. This is being investigated as a homicide and is ongoing at this time. If anyone was in or around the area at this time and saw or heard anything they are asked to contact Homicide detectives directly at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS there is a reward of up to $25,000 for information submitted anonymously to the TIPS hotline. We are committed to assisting victims of violent crimes through use of Missouris Protection Program for Victims/Witnesses of Violent Crime. Funding for temporary, or even permanent relocation, may be available but is subject to pre-approval by the States administering agency. We are working with Partners for Peace in all our homicide investigations to monitor risks for retaliation and provide social services to affected residents. ############## Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . Two shot, one dead after argument between many in Kansas City: police 2 men, 1 dead after an argument between several people less than two miles away from Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City Saturday morning. One killed, one wounded in eastern Kansas City shooting Police say a double-shooting resulted from an argument between several people. KCPD responds to shooting homicide witnesses say started as dispute The Kansas City Police Department is on the scene of a shooting homicide that witnesses say was caused by an argument between multiple people. Developing . . . Of course this isn't a perfect solution but we notice that even some of our progressive friends are concerned about public space takeovers chasing away other residents and customers. Check-it: The bill is born out of a months-long effort in Sedgwick County and Wichita to address homelessness. Last December, the city and county signed a letter to the governor seeking $50 million in a state grant program to address local homelessness infrastructure. Wichita needs at least $20 million of those dollars to help build a new one-stop shop for people experiencing homelessness, with shelter and affordable housing units. The governors budget, released in January, included $40 million in grants for local governments to address and prevent housing insecurity. The county helped write a new bill to request that the money focus solely on homeless shelter infrastructure. The bill also adds language requiring governments that receive the dollars to enforce local ordinances regarding camping and vagrancy, which has drawn some pushback from service providers and advocates in Wichita. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . A woman makes bread at a temporary camp in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 8, 2024. Commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini said on Friday that the situation in the Gaza Strip defies description and has not been seen "in any previous crisis." (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua) Villagers wait to be served with freshly fried mushrooms in Gba village of Bangui, the Central African Republic, Feb. 5, 2024. Developed by the National Engineering Research Centre of the Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (FAFU) of China, Juncao technology has allowed smallholder farmers to grow mushrooms from dried, chopped grasses, without chopping down trees and damaging the environment. (Xinhua/Han Xu) A worker assembles an electric minibus at a factory in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, March 6, 2024. The Chinese Golden Dragon Company supplies components to the local company, which assembles both EV minibuses and 12-meter-long big buses to meet the country's ever-growing demand for EVs. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) pose for photos in front of the Great Hall of the People after attending the second plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2024. The International Women's Day falls on March 8. At the ongoing sessions of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), female lawmakers and political advisors play an essential role in pooling wisdom to fuel the country's development. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo) An aerial drone photo taken on March 6, 2024 shows the No. 1 launch pad of Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site in Wenchang, south China's Hainan Province. Construction of the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site is still underway. While the No. 1 launch pad was completed and in a debug phase, the No. 2 launch pad is still at the construction phase, with the capping of the diversion trough's main body finished. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu) Huang Li (3rd R) and Wang Yongcheng (2nd R), deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), leave after being interviewed ahead of the second plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo) This photo taken on March 8, 2024 shows giant panda cub Katyusha at Moscow Zoo in Moscow, Russia. Katyusha, Russia's first giant panda cub, made her public debut Friday at Moscow Zoo. She was born here in August 2023. (Xinhua/Cao Yang) Protesters demonstrate against the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas outside the Israeli Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on March 8, 2024. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua) Sent by our BEST & BRIGHTEST READERS . . . This international news note offers an overview of a nasty case wherein a Missouri teacher is accused of preying upon a student and even parents seemingly didn't do much to intervene in the midst of widespread knowledge of the incident. Warning . . . The deets and court dox might be too graphic for some but serve to reveal a strangely relaxed attitude when young males endure ALLEGED abuse at the hands of females. The basics: "Hailey Clifton-Carmack, 26, a former maths teacher at Laquey High School in Missouri, was arrested on January 5 over an alleged intimate relationship with a 16-year-old male. Court documents suggested she would dress inappropriately in "tight or low-cut shirts" to show off her cleavage and "tight leggings that showed off her camel toe". "Documents further revealed the single mum-of-two would often be reprimanded by the school's administration for being "too close with students". Separately, the recently-divorced teacher wanted to leave her husband as he only wanted to do butt stuff, a witness told investigators, the Daily Star previously reported." Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Daily Star: Court documents suggested the woman would dress inappropriately in 'tight or low-cut shirts' to show off her cleavage and 'tight leggings that showed off her camel toe' Developing . . . Ben Barry turned 41 last month, but hes been shaking up the status quo in the fashion industry since he was a ninth grade entrepreneur running an inclusive modelling agency in Ottawa. Since 2021, Barry has been the dean of fashion at Parsons School of Design in New York. His latest coup is the co-founding of the Parsons Disabled Fashion Student Program, which welcomes its first students this fall. Fashion schools arent designed to support different bodies and minds, said Barry. He became determined to make change from the ground up, to get people with different lived experiences sitting around the decision-making table. There are barriers around disabled folks, said Barry, who has a degenerative eye disease. Even as more brands move into adaptive fashion, disabled persons are usually only involved to give feedback, as testers in the design process. Often, he said, they arent seen as designers in their own right, whether they want to make adaptive fashion or not. The idea for the fashion program came about when a U.S. style site published a piece about Barry taking over the top chair at Parsons Fashion. Sinead Burke, CEO of Tilting the Lens, an accessibility-oriented consultancy which advises global brands from Mattel to Gucci slid into Barrys DMs. Ben spoke with such pride about his disabled and queer identities, and how as dean, he had an ambition to create long-lasting systemic change, said Burke. That spoke to my mission." Burke wanted to discover the ways we could get in good trouble together. Disabled people may have long been ignored by the fashion world, but Burke says their potential purchase power is massive. Some one billion people worldwide are disabled, she said about 15 per cent of the population and the global spending power of disabled people is $1.9 trillion. Still, for Burke, any needed shifts are about more than seeing disabled people as potential customers; they need to be involved at every step of the process. (We want to see) disabled people as designers and colleagues. Moving beyond seeing disabled people as merely customers (though that is important), but also as designers and colleagues. To do that we had to remove significant barriers. Citing a UN.org document, Burke said 80 to 90 per cent of disabled people in developing countries are unemployed; in industrialized countries that figure is 50 to 70 per cent. So the Parsons program is about actively addressing that and then spreading the research gleaned from the program to other fashion schools around the world. Money was needed: scholarships and cost-of-living funding for the four-year pilot program comes from H&M while a Ford Foundation grant provides money for research and mentorship. The program has a deliberate limit of three students (mixed between undergraduate, graduate and flexible degrees). Said Barry: Sinead and I wanted to do it right. Fashion can be a really hostile place. Barry has been fighting that unfriendly system since his teens, when he started his modelling agency with nothing but chutzpah. He must get tired of this origin story, but it's worth retelling. He stood up for a friend who wanted to model but, at size 12, was considered too big. Barry hustled and made his case until he got her work. That was the beginning of his desire to change the way the system works and who it works for: I started my career thinking about how the images we see impact how people think they can belong in society. Barry kept the agency going with partners while he was in school (University of Toronto undergrad in womens studies, and a masters degree and PhD in business from Cambridge). His grad thesis included a study that proved that women are more likely to buy products advertised by women who look like them. He realized then that models are only one part of a much larger systemic tradition of discrimination. In 2012, his doctorate newly minted, Barry closed the agency (which had some 150 models on its books, all outside mainstream, i.e., size 2 sample size). He moved to Toronto Metropolitan University as director of the centre of fashion diversity and social change, then was named dean in 2018. During his time at TMU, he said, his focus was on changing hiring policies to focus on inclusion, sustainability and decolonization. Both TMU and Parsons are urban campuses, he pointed out: not academic castles in their own worlds but instead embedded within a city, surrounded by the range of people that are human, which influences design experience as a student so much, seeing the range of bodies, how people move, different esthetics. Outside the academic year, Barry, his husband, Daniel Drak, and their dog, Apple, find balance in life in the seven-hour drive between New York City and the home they bought in Prince Edward County just before the pandemic. I think Im a rural soul at heart and it takes energy for me to be in a city and move through the intensity of urban life both in Toronto and New York. The county, he said, is an amazing space to recharge and feel grounded. Burke echoes the energy Barry puts into his work and his friendships. I am continually impressed by his tenacity and ambition to create change, while also modelling grace and vulnerability, qualities which are rooted in accessibility in order to ensure that everyone can equitably participate and that everyone comes along the journey. Equity has been Barrys lifes work and, even with his thick resume, hes only just beginning. That question has been continual, he said of his drive to make the industry more responsive. Has there been change since Barry began sending out model cards of people outside the traditional box? I think whats changed is that there is a very active conversation about, and awareness of, diversity," said Barry. Brands are held to account by what they do consistently, season after season. Are they promoting healthy, inclusive beauty? When Burke attended the Met Gala (in custom Gucci) for the first time in 2019, she wrote for British Vogue: If you can see it, you can be it. Tonight marks the first time that a little person has attended the gala. It is surreal, inspiring and humbling to be gracing the infamous red carpet. Barry applauds every first in representation, and points out the mannequins made for his Crippling Masculinity exhibit at TMU which debuted in January employed 3D models of the actual participants in the study, a joint collaboration between TMU and the University of Alberta. Unravelling how Disability, Deaf and Mad Identified Men (CIS or Transgendered) and Masculine Identified Non-Binary People express and identify their identities in their everyday lives. A mouthful, to be sure, but there are worlds of lived experienced contained in that description, from TMUs Creative School description of the exhibit. Clothing is access to life, said Barry, more simply, of the effect of the show, which was five years in the making. But at the end of the day, there has to be a business case for inclusivity, he added: not just representation but business rationale. Thats why he did a business PhD, because changing the fashion system from the inside at an educational level is one thing; creating jobs for a more inclusive swath of society has to make business sense for employers to be sustainable. We want to see these students carve a path into paid internships, to be hired and promoted. Thats the real seat at the table, when fashion is diverse enough to have decision-makers eyeing all that spending power and creating clothing for everyone to express themselves exactly how they want to. Peel Region has experienced its warmest winter ever while Toronto had to settle for a virtual tie, according to Environment Canada. Steven Flisfeder, warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, explained that the period covers meteorological winter, the complete months of December, January and February. He said average mean temperature is being used to make the determination, which takes both the daytime highs and the overnight lows into account. The numbers for Peel, he added, are taken from Pearson Airport in Mississauga. So looking at that number, yes, Pearson did break the record for warmest winter, he said. The average mean temperature for those three months (December, January, February), he said, was 0.3 degrees C. The previous record was 0 C and that was in the winter of 2001/02. The Pearson numbers, which go back to 1938, he explained, apply to the entirety of Peel really: Its the longest standing station we have for Peel Region. By comparison, he said, Toronto, using numbers from a downtown station with data going back to 1841, had to settle for a tie. In this case, its what we would call a virtual tie just because we have to (go) to 1/10th of a degree when we take the average. So it is a virtual tie for the warmest winter season with a 1.3 C average mean temperature, and again its a tie with 2001/02. BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- As the Israeli-Palestinian conflict spills into the Red Sea, disrupting vital shipping lanes and global supply chains, attention is being drawn to the land-based rail route between China and Europe. The China-Europe freight train service, a flagship program of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is experiencing a surge in demand amidst the turmoil, highlighting its critical role as a dependable trade route that contributes to the resilience of global supply chains. The growing popularity of the freight train service stems from its safety, reliability, and resilience against external disruptions. Unlike maritime routes, which are susceptible to piracy, adverse weather conditions, and geopolitical tensions, the land-based China-Europe freight train channel offers a faster, more secure and stable alternative. Safety concerns are significantly reduced along the rail route because it avoids piracy-prone waterways and potential conflict zones. This assurance of security is especially appealing to businesses that need to carry high-value goods and cargo. The freight rail service goes to great lengths to ensure timely delivery and minimize supply chain disruptions. Therefore, companies can better manage their logistics with scheduled departures and specified transit durations, reducing the risk of delays and uncertainty that are prevalent in maritime shipping. In addition, the China-Europe freight train service is highly cost-effective. In reaction to the Red Sea crisis, many shipping corporations have to redirect their routes through South Africa's Cape of Good Hope. This move, which adds 14 days to normal East-to-West container ship voyages and 18 days for slower bulk carriers and tankers, eventually results in higher costs. A report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in February showed that shipping fees from Shanghai to Europe via sea transport have increased by some three times since November. This surge in costs has diminished the price advantage traditionally associated with sea freight. Currently, rail freight from China's Chongqing municipality to Europe is about 30 percent cheaper than sea freight. As a matter of fact, over a decade of development, the full-process costs of China-Europe freight trains have decreased by over 30 percent compared to their initial operation costs. Amidst the Red Sea crisis, an analysis by Foreign Policy magazine in late January called China "ahead of the curve" and the BRI "a blueprint for what every nation needs in an age of uncertainty and disruption." "The solution to supply shocks is more supply chains. More belts, more roads," it wrote. The China-Europe freight train service, a pivotal component of the BRI, epitomizes this sentiment by offering new possibilities for global trade to navigate various challenges. The rail line, which connects 219 cities in 25 European countries, is not in competition with maritime shipping, but rather complements it. Both forms of transportation work together to ensure the smooth flow of commodities and promote global economic stability amid uncertainties and volatility. Those people are our people too. The words of UNC Senator David Nakhid, following the deadly Today, the authorities of the Republic of Kazakhstan confirmed the preliminary information about the murder of two citizens of the country by Russian security forces in Moscow. According to Ukrinform, this was reported on the website of the National Security Committee (NSC) of Kazakhstan. "The media published information about the killing of two Kazakh citizens by the Russian security forces during an attempt to organize a terrorist attack in Russia. The Kazakh citizenship and departure of these persons to Russia are confirmed," the NSC of Kazakhstan noted. As noted by the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a joint Russian-Kazakh "pre-trial investigation" is being conducted into this fact. Read also: Nearly 60 Ukrainians and their family members evacuated from Gaza Strip to Egypt The investigation is being carried out in close contact with the Russian Federal Security Service within the framework of "existing channels of cooperation". As reported in the media, Russian special services killed two Kazakh citizens, the Russian edition Astra reported on Telegram, citing its sources. The names of the victims and the place of the incident were named. Allegedly, 35-year-old Sabit Ashiraliyev and 32-year-old Dzhanibek Taskulaev were killed on the morning of March 7 in the village of Koryakovo, Borovsk district, Kaluga region, and they arrived in Russia on February 28. Head of the Ukrainian State Property Fund Vitalii Koval has met with the representatives of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Toho Titanium to discuss the possibility of investing in Ukraines titanium industry. The relevant statement was made by Head of the Ukrainian State Property Fund Vitalii Koval on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. In February, together with the government delegation, I visited Tokyo, and today [March 8, 2024 - Ed.] I have met with the representatives of JICA and Toho Titanium to discuss further steps, in particular the possibility of investing in Ukraines titanium industry. I told them about the industrys largest enterprises controlled by the State Property Fund, such as Zaporizhzhia Titanium and Magnesium Plant (ZTMP), Sumykhimprom, and United Mining and Chemical Company (UMCC), Koval wrote. The Ukrainian State Property Fund also governs Titanium Institute JSC, which is specializing in the research and development of titanium industry solutions in different countries. Koval mentioned that Ukraines titanium industry requires investment, experience and technologies. Today, it is important for Ukraine to launch the processing of titanium ores, namely in order to prevent Russians from gaining access to Ukrainian raw materials, Koval added. Photo: Telegram, Vitalii Koval by Xinhua writer Hong Zehua GUANGZHOU, March 9 (Xinhua) -- As the Year of the Dragon began, a wave of business rejuvenation swept across China. To gauge the economic pulse, I explored various companies in Guangdong, renowned as the foreign trade hub, engaging in conversations over tea with business personnel to understand the recent developments and aspirations. To my surprise, I encountered extended waiting times for my appointments. Despite the early stage of the year, numerous business managers have been either out of the province or abroad attending business meetings and conferences. "I've been incredibly busy lately. I am either attending exhibitions or traveling to visit clients," said Li Yongtai, a business manager and an acquaintance of mine. Frequent business travel has become commonplace once again among business people in the foreign trade sector, according to Wei Wenwu, director of sales at an electronics company. He noted that he visited around 20 countries and regions in 2023. Amidst international geopolitical turbulence and a global economic downturn, the challenges faced by foreign trade companies in Guangdong in recent years are greater than before. Shrinking orders and reduced earnings are pushing some factories to the brink of closure, especially in a province renowned for manufacturing and foreign trade. In such a challenging environment, sales teams should proactively focus on retaining existing customers and exploring lucrative markets, said Xing Xuehong, who works for an international freight agency. "Going out opens the door to discovering more opportunities." As a fundamental strategy of China's reform and opening-up policy, "going global" has become a widely adopted approach for enterprises to expand sales and explore global markets. Companies are also striving to enhance their product quality and competitiveness through technological research and development. At Guangzhou International Bio Island, a gathering of the city's biomedical science companies and labs, I had the opportunity to ride a self-driving bus developed by WeRide, an autonomous driving company headquartered in Guangzhou. During the 20-minute ride, the bus demonstrated its features by strictly adhering to traffic light signals and promptly responding to pedestrians crossing the road. Outfitted with advanced technologies like radar, motion sensors, cameras, etc., it seems well-prepared to operate effectively in bustling city centers. Throughout its six-year history, the company has consistently prioritized investment in research and development. This substantial commitment to technology has garnered widespread market recognition, with autonomous driving tests and operations now conducted in 30 cities across six countries. "To invest in technology is to invest in the future," said Huang Yehua, vice president of government affairs at WeRide. Industries are also increasingly focused on adapting to meet market demands. In recent years, Guangdong has excelled in exporting "new three" products -- new energy vehicles (NEVs), lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaic products -- recognized as high-tech and environmentally friendly. According to data, China exported 4.91 million vehicles in 2023, marking a 57.9 percent increase over the previous year. Additionally, 1.2 million new energy vehicles were exported, representing a 77.6 percent year-on-year rise. Guangdong's exports of "new three" products surged by 33.9 percent last year. The export of the "new three" not only propels business growth but also paves the way for green development. Sun Bin, deputy general manager of a solar panel company in Guangzhou, said the company will continue to increase R&D investment, prioritize product quality, and contribute to the green transformation. During my visits, several managers spoke about their preparations for the upcoming Canton Fair in April. Officially known as the China Import and Export Fair, this event has been held biannually since 1957 and stands as one of the most prominent foreign trade fairs in China and globally. The Canton Fair serves as a platform not only for international buyers to seek out high-end goods and suppliers but also for manufacturers to gauge the demands of the international market, thus enhancing their products, said Liu Xin, manager of a foreign trade agency. Inspired by the dedication and zeal of foreign trade companies, I am also eagerly looking forward to the upcoming fair. It promises to be a dynamic convergence of innovation and opportunity, where passion meets progress. U.S. President Joe Biden criticized former President Donald Trump's meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Thats according to The Guardian, Ukrinform reports.. Joe Biden has criticised his election rival Donald Trump for meeting Viktor Orban, saying the Hungarian premier was looking for dictatorship, the report reads. You know who hes meeting with today, down in Mar-a-Lago? Democrat Biden told supporters in a campaign rally. Orban of Hungary, who stated flatly he doesnt think democracy works and is looking for dictatorship. "I see a future where we defend democracy, not diminish it," Biden added. The U.S. president also recalled Trump's statement that he would encourage" ussian leader Vladimir Putin to invade NATO countries, which Trump believes did not pay their financial dues to the Alliance. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban reportedly met with potential presidential candidate Donald Trump and asked him to "return to office and bring peace." Previously, speaking at one of the panels of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, Orban referred to Trump "the only serious chance to end the war in Ukraine" in the event of his return to the White House. Photo: Wade Vandervort By Abigail Lauten-Scrivner, UM News Service MISSOULA Long before she was cast as a lead in the award-winning and Oscar-nominated film Killers of the Flower Moon, Lily Gladstone was cast in her very first University of Montana theatrical production during her junior year by Head of Acting and Musical Theatre Professor Bernadette Sweeney. It was 2006, and although Dr. Sweeney couldnt have predicted the dazzling heights her former student would ascend to, Gladstones success is far from a shock. In a way, it's not surprising because her talent was very evident from the beginning, Sweeney said. Were just all so proud to see how her training here helped her on that path. Sweeney continued to be a mentor and friend to Gladstone after she graduated from UMs School of Theatre and Dance in 2008, following her journey during moments of difficulty, when Gladstone considered a different career, to times of historic achievement. Gladstone recently became the first Indigenous person to win the Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globes best actress awards, among other award season accolades. Sweeney takes pride in watching sparks of talent catch fire as young actors hone their artistry, noting the scores of gifted and hardworking actors who walked UM stages and found their own flavor of success. But it is a unique sweetness to witness a former student rise to the level of Academy Awards-nominated actress a distinction largely considered the most prestigious in the filmmaking world. It is extraordinary to see Lilys work take her all the way to such national and international recognition. And while that is not the case for every actor, I think what it showcases is how far the work can take you, Sweeney said. As an Indigenous performer, she has really blazed a trail and is bringing some very belated representation all the way to the Oscars. Gladstone was born on the Blackfeet Nation reservation in Browning and is up for the Oscars best actress award for her portrayal of Mollie Burkart, an Osage Nation woman. Gladstone is the first Native American nominated for the Oscars best actress category. In anticipation of the Academy Awards on Sunday, Sweeney spoke with UM News Service about watching Gladstone grow into the lauded and trailblazing actor she is today, and what theater students can learn from her success. The worlds eyes are on her via the big screen, but few actually know Lily outside the role of Mollie Burkhart and other characters shes played. How would you describe Lily to those who dont know her? Lily is very talented and works hard to support that talent with her readiness, focus and ambition. But she is also fun! She can be silly and engaging in the rehearsal room and has an infectious laugh. She is very supportive of the other actors and crew this was evident when I directed her on the Montana Repertory Theatres 2014 national tour of The Miracle Worker. Lily had graduated by then, but she made every effort to support the other undergraduate actors who were on that tour. Having had the experience of going through our program herself, and with a few years out in the profession behind her, she was encouraging and a good role model and mentor for those younger students. How did Lilys talent stand out early on as a student at UM, and what steps did she take to help set herself apart in such a competitive industry? I cast Lily in her first UM production, Riders to the Sea, in 2006 when I was visiting faculty from University College Cork. I came to UM to direct that production on the invitation of the School of Theatre and Dance, where we consider our productions to be coursework and our theaters to be working classrooms. In that first production, it was evident to me that Lily was a talented young actor with a great work ethic. Her identity of course makes her who she is, and we had some fascinating discussions in rehearsal on Riders to the Sea as a postcolonial Irish text. Lily drew parallels and comparisons between its staging of ritual, poetry, language and the environment and her own Indigenous experience and culture. We had some intriguing conversations, which were all the more remarkable given how young she was at that time. I loved working with her and was anxious to do so again. So much of acting is telling stories. What can be learned from Lily telling such rich, nuanced stories from an Indigenous perspective? I think Lilys success proves that as artists, it is important to remember who we are and to take pride in our origins and cultures. Lily is paving the way for other Indigenous artists who have been marginalized for far too long. She also reminds us that the work of the actor involves inhabiting many different roles as an act of imagination and empathy, and that there is a wide range of possibility available to every actor. Lilys success is a powerful example of the power of performance and how crucial storytelling is to us, perhaps now more than ever. We need art forms that can question and console, can educate and entertain. We need stories that matter, and we need storytellers like Lily. It must feel rewarding watching a former student be celebrated for her work and enjoy such success. What are your reflections on teaching an Oscar nominee? Its remarkable and surreal! But it also feels inevitable Lily was a standout from the start, and anyone who works with her wants to work with her again. She recently mentioned that she still uses a voice warm up that I taught her years ago that was a lovely example of how her training is still useful to her, on film sets, every day she goes to work. Lilys success also is an example of how resilience can meet opportunity. Lily has stayed true to herself and has advocated and continues to advocate for herself and for others Indigenous actors and artists. She is using her platform to make a difference. All of us at the School of Theatre and Dance are very proud of her achievements and her advocacy. What unique opportunities or resources does UM offer to students with dreams of becoming actors or other roles within the industry? The School of Theatre and Dance offers young actors comprehensive training coupled with live theater experiences as part of our production season. Our actors and musical theater performers take classes in introductory to advanced acting, dance, voice, movement and combat. They also take classes in theater history, directing, script analysis and dramaturgy. To help them become fuller theater artists, they can also take classes in stagecraft, lighting costume or scenic design, and stage-management, and must take some introductory classes in design and technology. Lily herself spoke to how working on a production crew as a student helped her to form a greater understanding of how a production works overall, and a greater appreciation of the work put in by everyone in production. What advice might you offer to UM students hoping for a career like Lilys? Lilys success is well-deserved and a perfect example of how a combination of talent, hard work and integrity can take you far, in any profession. My advice to students is to maximize your opportunities while at UM, take every class you can, satisfy your curiosity across disciplines if you want to take a class in film editing or creative writing, do it now! As a student, you are in a very special place in your life where you can put your learning first and develop your own pathway through your degree and electives. Make the most of every day, sleep and eat well, do your research, and take care of yourself and your ensemble rise up to meet the work and it will serve you long after you graduate. ### Contact: Bernadette Sweeney, UM School Theatre and Dance professor and head of acting and musical theatre, 406-243-5216, bernadette.sweeney@mso.umt.edu ADDIS ABABA, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The 2024 Chinese Short-term Training Seminars for the African Union (AU) were jointly launched by the Chinese Mission to the AU and the AU Commission (AUC). The launch took place on Friday at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, under the theme "Contribute to African Talent Cultivation, Promote Modernization of Africa," in the presence of AU officials and staff as well as members of the Chinese Mission to the AU. The short-term training seminars to be offered in different provinces of China are the extension of the training programs that were disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The China-sponsored training programs and seminars aim to empower the staff of the continental body in various fields and create a community of shared future. Mohammed Belhocine, AU commissioner for education, science, technology and innovation, said during the occasion that China has been playing an important role in promoting joint cooperation with the AU and its members, notably under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). "These proposed training sessions are instrumental in promoting mutual understanding and improving the effectiveness of cooperation frameworks that exist between the AU and China," Belhocine said. Noting that the AUC will shortly sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China's Ministry of Science and Technology to further cooperate in science and technology, the commissioner said the China-sponsored training programs and seminars will foster stronger cooperation and contribute to the realization of the AU's 50-year continental development blueprint, Agenda 2063. "The seminars are to be provided in different languages, showing China's commitment to adapting to the needs of the AU and promoting sustainable development across the continent," he said. Recalling that education is key to promoting sustainable development, peace, and freedom, the commissioner said the training will focus on food security, governance, digitalization, technology and innovation, green economy, disaster reduction, and human resource management, among others. Appreciating the Chinese government for coming up with such an initiative to empower the AU staff, Steve Lalande, director of the Partnership Development and Resource Mobilization Department of the AUC, said the AU-China cooperation has seen improvement over time. He said the training opportunity comes as the AUC is undertaking a reform to improve its efficiency and service delivery among its various departments and organs. For his part, Hu Changchun, head of the Chinese Mission to the AU and representative of China to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, said the short-term training seminars will focus on human capital development in Africa. "China is ready to provide 1,000 training programs involving talent development, trade, information technology, 5G communications, radio satellite, and mobile payment, among others," said Hu. He said China attaches great importance to people-centered development in Africa and remains to be a strategic partner of the AUC. China's Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong, and Chief of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration Wang Hesheng attend a press conference on people's livelihood for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) China's Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong, and Chief of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration Wang Hesheng attend a press conference on people's livelihood for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) China's Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong, and Chief of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration Wang Hesheng attend a press conference on people's livelihood for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) China's Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping speaks at a press conference on people's livelihood for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. China's Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong, and Chief of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration Wang Hesheng also attended the press conference on Saturday. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) China's Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong speaks at a press conference on people's livelihood for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. China's Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping, and Chief of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration Wang Hesheng also attended the press conference on Saturday. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) China's Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng speaks at a press conference on people's livelihood for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. China's Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong, and Chief of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration Wang Hesheng also attended the press conference on Saturday. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) China's Chief of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration Wang Hesheng speaks at a press conference on people's livelihood for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. China's Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping, and Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong also attended the press conference on Saturday. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) China's Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong, and Chief of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration Wang Hesheng attend a press conference on people's livelihood for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang) China's Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong, and Chief of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration Wang Hesheng attend a press conference on people's livelihood for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang) China's Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong (2nd L) speaks at a press conference on people's livelihood for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. China's Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping, and Chief of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration Wang Hesheng also attended the press conference on Saturday. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) China's Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng (3rd L) speaks at a press conference on people's livelihood for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. China's Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong, and Chief of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration Wang Hesheng also attended the press conference on Saturday. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) A journalist raises her hand to ask questions at a press conference on people's livelihood for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. China's Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong, and Chief of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration Wang Hesheng attended the press conference on Saturday. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) China's Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong, and Chief of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration Wang Hesheng attend a press conference on people's livelihood for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) A journalist asks a question at a press conference on people's livelihood for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. China's Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong, and Chief of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration Wang Hesheng attended the press conference on Saturday. (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang) A journalist asks a question at a press conference on people's livelihood for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. China's Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong, and Chief of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration Wang Hesheng attended the press conference on Saturday. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) China's Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong, and Chief of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration Wang Hesheng attend a press conference on people's livelihood for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) A journalist asks questions at a press conference on people's livelihood for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. China's Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong, and Chief of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration Wang Hesheng attended the press conference on Saturday. (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang) China's Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong, and Chief of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration Wang Hesheng attend a press conference on people's livelihood for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) A journalist works at a press conference on people's livelihood for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. China's Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong, and Chief of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration Wang Hesheng attended the press conference on Saturday. (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang) This combo photo shows China's Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng (2nd L), Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping (2nd R), Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong (1st L), and Chief of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration Wang Hesheng (1st R) attending a press conference on people's livelihood for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Mu Yu) China's Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong (2nd L) speaks at a press conference on people's livelihood for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. China's Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping, and Chief of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration Wang Hesheng also attended the press conference on Saturday. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) The U.K.'s science secretary has agreed to pay undisclosed damages to Professor Kate Sang for false accusations regarding Hamas sympathy. Allegations and Settlement Science Secretary Michelle Donelan suggested that members of a research advisory group sympathized with Hamas, later withdrawing her claims. The controversy began when Donelan criticized members of Research Englands expert advisory group on equality, diversity, and inclusion in a social media post following the Hamas attack on Israel. Donelan accused the group of holding "extremist" and "unacceptable" views, citing Professor Kate Sang's apparent description of the government's plan to address Hamas support in the U.K. as "disturbing." Subsequently, Sang clarified that her remarks were taken out of context, prompting Donelan to retract her allegations and offer damages. The settlement, facilitated by the law firm Bindmans, was confirmed on March 5. In her statement, Donelan expressed regret over the misunderstanding and acknowledged Sang's explanation regarding her tweet's context. However, the damage to Sang's reputation had already been done, leading to broader repercussions within the academic community. READ ALSO: Clash Between Politics and Education at Indiana University Threatens Academic Freedom Resolution and Fallout The settlement brings a close to a tumultuous period that saw significant debate over academic freedom and the role of government officials in scholarly discourse. Donelan's intervention led UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to suspend the equality group, sparking widespread criticism and prompting several academics to resign from their UKRI appointments. However, an independent investigation by UKRI found no evidence of wrongdoing by the advisory group, nor any failure to uphold ethical standards. Despite the exoneration, the controversy has raised concerns about the influence of political agendas on academic institutions and the potential chilling effect on scholarly expression. In response to the settlement, Professor Sang expressed her disappointment with Donelan's handling of the situation, emphasizing the damage caused to her reputation and career. Sang criticized Donelan for making "cheap political points" at her expense and urged greater sensitivity from government officials in addressing academic matters. Meanwhile, UKRI expressed regret over the ordeal experienced by members of the equality group and extended an invitation for them to resume their contributions to the organization's work. However, the fallout from the incident has underscored the need for greater transparency and accountability in the relationship between government bodies and academic institutions. The resolution of this case serves as a reminder of the importance of safeguarding academic freedom and upholding ethical standards in scholarly discourse. It also highlights the potential consequences of politicizing academic issues, underscoring the need for greater collaboration and mutual respect between policymakers and the academic community. Implications for Academic Freedom The controversy surrounding Donelan's allegations and subsequent settlement has reignited discussions about the boundaries of academic freedom and the responsibilities of government officials in addressing contentious issues. Many academics argue that government interference in academic affairs undermines the principles of free inquiry and open debate, potentially stifling diverse perspectives and hindering intellectual progress. The settlement with Professor Sang underscores the need for policymakers to exercise caution and restraint when commenting on academic matters, particularly those involving sensitive political issues. Moving forward, there is a pressing need for clearer guidelines and protocols governing the interaction between government agencies and academic institutions to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. By upholding the principles of academic freedom and fostering an environment of open dialogue and mutual respect, policymakers can ensure that scholarly discourse remains vibrant and uninhibited, ultimately benefiting society as a whole. RELATED ARTICLE: News Update: US House Committee Launches Investigation Into Harvard, MIT, and Penn After Antisemitism Hearing During a heated House hearing, Democrats passionately defended diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives against Republican attacks, highlighting their importance in creating inclusive college campuses. The hearing, titled "Divisive, Excessive, Ineffective: The Real Impact of DEI on College Campuses," served as a platform for lawmakers from both parties to voice their opinions on DEI programs. Democratic Advocacy for DEI Representative Burgess Owens drew controversy with his opening remarks, where he described DEI initiatives as "a cancer" within academic institutions. In response, Representative Suzanne Bonamici and other Democratic representatives vehemently opposed this characterization, emphasizing the positive role that DEI offices play in supporting students and fostering an inclusive environment. Bonamici and Democratic witness James Murphy argued that DEI initiatives are essential for addressing systemic inequalities and promoting diversity on college campuses. They highlighted the multifaceted functions of DEI offices, including providing support to marginalized communities, ensuring compliance with anti-discrimination laws, and promoting dialogue on issues of equity and inclusion. Democrats defended DEI programs as vital tools for promoting social justice and combating discrimination in higher education. They refuted Republican claims that DEI initiatives promote divisive ideologies, asserting that they are instead aimed at creating a more equitable and inclusive learning environment for all students. READ ALSO: Republicans Attack DEI Practices in Public Colleges and Medical Schools In Congressional Hearing Political Disputes Over DEI The hearing underscored the deep political divisions surrounding DEI initiatives, with Republican-led states introducing legislation to ban DEI at public colleges. Democrats and activists expressed concerns that such bans would undermine efforts to promote diversity and inclusion on college campuses, particularly for marginalized communities. Democratic lawmakers criticized Republican witnesses for perpetuating misconceptions about DEI and called for a more nuanced understanding of its goals and objectives. They emphasized the importance of education and dialogue in promoting inclusivity and combating discrimination in higher education. Democrats urged their Republican colleagues to join them in supporting efforts to create more inclusive and equitable learning environments. They rejected Republican attempts to portray DEI initiatives as ideologically driven and emphasized their role in addressing systemic inequalities and promoting social justice. Democratic Response and Conclusion Democratic lawmakers reaffirmed their commitment to advancing DEI initiatives and combating discrimination in higher education. They condemned Republican attempts to undermine DEI efforts and called for bipartisan cooperation to address systemic inequalities that persist on college campuses. Representative Lucy McBath criticized Republicans for exploiting concerns about antisemitism to undermine DEI efforts and advocated for improving support for all marginalized groups. Democrats emphasized the importance of DEI initiatives in creating inclusive learning environments where all students feel valued and supported. Overall, Democrats emphasized the importance of prioritizing equity and inclusion in higher education and called on policymakers to work together to address systemic inequalities. They highlighted DEI initiatives as critical components of efforts to create a more just and equitable society. RELATED ARTICLE: Indiana Bill Threatens Academic Freedom by Linking Tenure and Diversity to "Intellectual Diversity" Standards (@Abdulla99267510) The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) says the aim of the exercise was to enhance professional skills and battlefield procedures required to meet future challenges in operational environment. RAWALPINDI: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-March 9th, 2024) Chief of Army Staff, General Syed Asim Munir has expressed the resolve that Pakistan Armed Forces, with support of the nation, are fully prepared to defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of motherland against full spectrum of threat. He was interacting with the troops engaged in the Field Exercise "Shamsheer-e-Sehra" in training area near Rahim Yar Khan. According to ISPR, the aim of the exercise was to enhance professional skills and battlefield procedures required to meet future challenges in operational environment. The Chief of Army Staff witnessed integrated fire and battle maneuvers of various elements including Armour, Infantry, Mechanized Infantry, Artillery, Air Defence, and Anti-Tank Guided Missiles. Pakistan Air Force Aircrafts also participated in the exercise. The exercise also incorporated Electronic Warfare capabilities and Information Operations required to subdue enemy's communications capabilities and disinformation campaign during war. The Army Chief spent complete day with the troops in the exercise area and lauded the training standards, operational preparedness and high morale of all ranks. He emphasized that Armed Forces should always remain prepared against any misadventure by the enemy. Earlier, on arrival in the field area, the Chief of Army Staff was received by Corps Commander Karachi and Inspector General Training and Evaluation. LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Mar, 2024) Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has urged parents in the Punjab province to teach their children the Punjabi language and help preserve the Punjabi culture. Addressing the Punjab Culture Day event at Alhamra Hall here on Saturday, she expressed gratitude for being chosen as the first female chief minister of Punjab, acknowledging the support from people. She emphasised the strength of Punjabi women and highlighted the significance of preserving Punjab's rich cultural heritage and announced plans to introduce Punjabi as a subject in schools. She called for promotion of Punjabi language and culture at educational institutions and shared her commitment to reviving the Punjabi film industry. Expressing gratitude for the invitation to the cultural day event, Maryam praised Punjab Minister for Information and Culture Azma Bokhari for organising an exceptional programme with outstanding performances by artists. She emphasised the significance of taking a break from the office routine to participate in such events. The CM acknowledged the rich cultural heritage of Punjab, noting the lion-hearted nature of Punjabis and the historical importance of the region as the land of Sufis and scholars. She lamented the diminishing pride in speaking Punjabi and urged parents to teach their children the language to preserve it. Maryam also highlighting the sweetness of the language and the emotional depth expressed through Punjabi poetry. The present state of Punjabi films diverges from our cultural roots, leading to a decline, the CM said and called for a rejuvenation in the Punjabi film industry, offering full support to filmmakers and expressing a commitment to revitalising the spirit and culture of Punjabi films collaboratively. The CM expressed a profound connection to Punjabi poetry, citing revered poets such as Baba Fareed, Sultan Bahu, Mian Muhammad Bakhsh, and Shakir Suja Abadi. She extended wishes for a long life to Anwar Masood, praising his beautiful Punjabi poetry. Sharing her interest in the poetry of Amrita Pritam from across the border, she recalled turning to literature during challenging times. The CM distributed prizes to students participating in various cultural activities, underscoring the need to remember and promote Punjab's cultural traditions. Senior Provincial Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, chief secretary, Secretary Information and Culture Daniyal Saleem Gillani, DGPR Rubina Afzal and others were present. Staff members work at the secretariat of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. Chinese national lawmakers submitted 298 proposals to the country's annual legislative session as of Friday noon, the deadline for proposal submission at the ongoing second session of the 14th NPC. (Xinhua/Liu Xu) BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese national lawmakers submitted 298 proposals to the country's annual legislative session as of Friday noon, the deadline for proposal submission at the ongoing second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC). The secretariat of the session said Saturday it had also received over 7,000 suggestions, criticisms and comments from NPC deputies. While the majority of the proposals are legislative bills, lawmakers' suggestions mainly focus on developing new quality productive forces, fostering emerging and future industries, and expanding effective investment, among others. Staff members work at the secretariat of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. Chinese national lawmakers submitted 298 proposals to the country's annual legislative session as of Friday noon, the deadline for proposal submission at the ongoing second session of the 14th NPC. (Xinhua/Liu Xu) (@Abdulla99267510) Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN Munir Akram says the women face increased vulnerability to violence, exploitation, and discrimination, as their rights are often violated with impunity, especially in a situation of foreign occupation. NEW YORK: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-March 9th, 2024) Pakistan has said the plight of women under foreign occupation, such as Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine, is characterized by a myriad of challenges, ranging from systemic oppression to grave human rights violations. At an event organized by Group of Friends in New York on Gender Parity to mark the International Womens Day, Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN Munir Akram said the women face increased vulnerability to violence, exploitation, and discrimination, as their rights are often violated with impunity, especially in a situation of foreign occupation. Ambassador Munir Akram said the foreign occupation also restricts women's access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities, thus perpetuating cycles of poverty and disenfranchisement. (@FahadShabbir) PortauPrince, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Mar, 2024) Residents of Haiti's capital on Saturday surveyed the damage caused by the latest explosion of gang violence, which saw armed groups set fire to the presidential palace and attack the police headquarters. Lionel Lazarre of the Haitian police union said police repelled the attacks and that several "bandits" were killed. No police were among the victims, he said. Lazarre called on the authorities to reinforce the police in the face of the escalating violence. Burned-out vehicles were visible outside the Interior Ministry and in nearby streets, an AFP reporter said. Humanitarian conditions continued to deteriorate in the long-troubled Caribbean nation, and aid groups and NGOs have warned of a shortage of food and medical supplies after armed groups unleashed widespread chaos last week. A fragile calm settled over Port-au-Prince on Saturday, as residents continued to flee the city center, where cars set alight the previous night were still smoldering. According to an AFP journalist on the scene, gunshots rang out throughout the capital late Friday, especially in the southwestern districts of Turgeau, Pacot, Lalue and Canape-Vert. Fearful residents scrambled to take shelter, with witnesses telling AFP they had seen clashes "between police officers and bandits" as gangs apparently tried to commandeer police stations in the city center. - Overrun by gangs - Criminal groups, which already control much of Port-au-Prince as well as roads leading to the rest of the country, have attacked key infrastructure in recent days, including two prisons, allowing the majority of their 3,800 inmates to escape. The gangs, along with some ordinary Haitians, are seeking the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who was due to leave office in February but instead agreed to a power-sharing deal with the opposition until new elections are held. The United States has asked Henry to enact urgent political reform to prevent further escalation. But he was in Kenya when the violence broke out and is now reportedly stranded in the US territory of Puerto Rico. After months of delays, the UN Security Council finally gave its green light in October for a multinational policing mission led by Kenya, but that deployment has been stalled by Kenyan courts. On Thursday, the Haitian government issued a month-long state of emergency for the western region, which includes the capital, and decreed a nighttime curfew until Monday, though it was difficult to see how the already overstretched police could enforce it. - 'A simple cigarette salesman' - Port-au-Prince resident Fabiola Sanon told AFP that her 32-year-old husband James was killed in the unrest. He used to wake up early to earn money for their son's breakfast before taking him to school, she said. "James has never been in conflict with anyone," Sanon said. "He's a simple cigarette salesman." Lazarre, the police union spokesman, warned that the police were at the end of their rope and needed urgent help. "The high command must provide means and equipment to agents so that they can consolidate police buildings and other important infrastructure," Lazarre told AFP on Saturday. Haiti's airport remained closed Friday, while the main port -- a key source for food imports -- cited instances of looting since it suspended services on Thursday, despite efforts to set up a security perimeter. "If we cannot access those containers (full of food), Haiti will go hungry soon," the NGO Mercy Corps warned in a statement. CARICOM, an alliance of Caribbean nations, has summoned envoys from the United States, France, Canada and the United Nations to a meeting Monday in Jamaica to discuss the outbreak of violence. Guyana's President Irfaan Ali said the meeting would take up "critical issues for the stabilization of security and the provision of urgent humanitarian assistance." The UN warned Friday that thousands of people, especially pregnant women and survivors of sexual violence, are in danger of losing vital health care as the crisis drags on. In addition, hundreds of thousands of students could see their records destroyed, as schools and ministry of education offices were vandalized, according to officials. abd-gw/bjt/caw/sco/bbk BEIJING, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Mar, 2024) Hong Kong, with its status as a free port and one of the world's most liberal economies, offers significant advantages for cross-border e-commerce development," stated Choi Koonshum, a committee member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Chairman of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Entrepreneurs Alliance. During this year's Two Sessions, the National People's Congress (NPC) and the CPPCC, multiple Hong Kong CPPCC members expressed their support for leveraging the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, particularly Hong Kong's foreign trade advantages, to boost cross-border e-commerce development in China. The goal is to enhance the regional economy and increase international competitiveness. "Although China has strongly supported e-commerce development and the industry has demonstrated strong resilience, cross-border e-commerce still faces certain challenges." Choi Koonshum highlighted the restrictions faced by cross-border e-commerce in mainland China, such as taxation, logistics and consulting service limitations. In a proposal submitted during the Two Sessions, Choi Koonshum suggested policy support to encourage e-commerce platforms to establish overseas warehouses in Hong Kong. "Establishing overseas warehouses in Hong Kong would enable mainland businesses to handle goods-related issues more smoothly, eliminating the cumbersome process of returning them to mainland China. Hong Kong serves as a convenient transit point for both import and export activities, providing efficient solutions for logistical challenges. Additionally, the option of legal arbitration in Hong Kong adds to its convenience in resolving disputes," added Choi Koonshum. Lam Kin-ngok, a CPPCC member and Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, also proposed further promoting cross-border e-commerce cooperation between Hong Kong and mainland China. According to the China E-commerce Report (2022), China's e-commerce transaction volume reached 43.8 trillion Yuan in 2022, with a year-on-year growth rate of 3.5%. Online retail sales accounted for nearly 14 trillion yuan, growing at a rate of 4.0%. Cross-border e-commerce imports exceeded 550 billion yuan, accounting for nearly 30% of overall imported consumer goods. Lam Kin-ngok stated, "The retail market in mainland China is enormous, and the development of e-commerce is fairly mature. Currently, cross-border e-commerce has become one of the crucial channels for imported consumer goods in mainland China, and the Hong Kong business community is actively engaging in e-commerce operations, striving to expand their market presence." To strengthen cooperation between Hong Kong and mainland China in the e-commerce sector, Lam Kin-ngok proposed expanding the coverage of the national cross-border e-commerce retail import goods list. He also recommended improving port inspection facilities, enhancing interconnectivity, and developing electronic port infrastructure to alleviate the high costs of cross-border logistics, CEN reported. "Hong Kong serves as a crucial node in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and can play a pivotal role as a super connector in the development of Silk Road e-commerce," suggested Lam Kin-ngok. His view aligns with Lin Long'an, CPPCC member and founder of Yuzhou Group, who proposed establishing a Silk Road E-commerce pilot zone in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. "The regional collaborative mechanism for Silk Road e-commerce can fully leverage Hong Kong's advantages as an international financial, shipping and trade center, Macao's China-Portugal economic and trade cooperation platform, as well as the Pearl River Delta as a global manufacturing hub with nine cities being approved as cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones." said Lin Long'an. Lin Long'an suggested various measures, including developing the Silk Road E-commerce + Industrial Belt model, establishing platforms for incubating Silk Road E-commerce brands, and enhancing trade facilitation and cross-border financial development in the region. "Through promoting deep integration between the digital economy and advanced manufacturing and modern services, we can construct a more internationally competitive and innovative modern industrial system in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area," he added. APP/asg Sylhet, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Mar, 2024) Nuwan Thushara grabbed a maiden over hat-trick and finished 5-20 while Kusal Mendis hit a career-best 86 to help Sri Lanka pummel Bangladesh in Saturday's Twenty20 series decider. Bangladesh were bowled out for 146 in the final over in Sylhet despite late efforts by Rishad Hossain and Taskin Ahmed, who top-scored with 53 and 31 respectively. Mendis set up the win for Sri Lanka with his 55-ball knock of six fours and as many sixes, guiding the visitors to 174-7 after they were put in to bat by the tourists for the third and final match. Thushara, bowled skipper Najmul Hossain (one) and Towhid Hridoy (nought) off the second and third delivery of his first over in the series, finishing the hat-trick by trapping Mahmudullah Riyad lbw. "I'm really happy, it was the first hat-trick in my life," he said afterwards. "In a match like this, I'm just pleased to be able to help the team." Bangladesh, already one down with part-time spinner Dhananjaya de Silva removing Liton Das (seven), suffered another Thushara strike in his next over, rattling the stumps of Soumya Sarkar (11) to leave the hosts reeling at 25-5. Rishad delayed the inevitable with his enterprising knock off 30 balls before Maheesh Theekshana ended his innings. His maiden T20 fifty saw seven sixes. Taskin also entertained the sparse crowd with a brief cameo off 21, including two sixes off consecutive balls from Thushara. Man of the match Thushara completed his maiden five-wicket haul by forcing Shoriful islam to give a catch at midwicket. - 'Bowled brilliantly' - "Credit goes to Nuwan Thushara the way he bowled, I think he bowled brilliantly," said Bangladesh captain Najmul. Bangladesh's innings ended on the third-last ball with de Silva taking a juggling catch off Taskin from a Dasun Shanaka delivery at deep midwicket. Kusal earlier led the batting charge for Sri Lanka despite Bangladesh bowlers making regular breakthroughs electing to bowl first. Taskin struck early to remove de Silva for eight before Rishad took the wicket of Kamindu Mendis for 12. Kusal and returning captain Wanindu Hasaranga added 59 runs for the third wicket, with Hasaranga contributing just 15. Mustafizur Rahman forced Hasaranga to give a catch at third man before Shoriful Islam dismissed Charith Asalanka for three. Kusal raced past his previous best of 79 against New Zealand with a six off Shoriful after bringing his fifty off 35 balls. Taskin ended his onslaught in his final spell during the 17th over as Soumya Sarkar took a high catch at midwicket. Dasun Shanaka was the next top-scorer after Kusal. He hit 19 off nine balls before he was run out in the last delivery of the innings. Sri Lanka won the first match by three runs and Bangladesh triumphed by eight wickets two days later. The tour will resume with the first of three one-day internationals in Chittagong on March 15. A U.S. charity said it was loading aid for Gaza onto a boat in Cyprus, the first shipment to the war-ravaged territory along a maritime corridor the EU Commission hopes will open this weekend. The Spanish-flagged vessel Open Arms docked three weeks ago in the port of Larnaca in Cyprus, the closest European Union country to the Gaza Strip. "World Central Kitchen teams are in Cyprus loading pallets of humanitarian aid onto a boat headed to northern Gaza," the charity said Friday in a statement. "We have been preparing for weeks alongside our trusted NGO partner Open Arms for the opening of a maritime aid corridor that would allow us to scale our efforts in the region," it added. The charity said it plans to tow a barge loaded with provisions for the people of Gaza, where dire humanitarian conditions more than five months into the Israel-Hamas war have led some countries to airdrop food and other assistance. "The endeavor to establish a humanitarian maritime corridor in Gaza is making progress, and our tugboat stands prepared to embark at a moment's notice, laden with tons of food, water, and vital supplies for Palestinian civilians," Open Arms said on social media platform X. In Larnaca, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen had earlier expressed hope that a maritime corridor could open this Sunday, although details remained unclear. She said a "pilot operation" would be launched on Friday, aided by the United Arab Emirates, which secured "the first of many shipments of goods to the people of Gaza." There are no functioning ports in Gaza, and officials did not say where the initial shipments would go, whether they would be subject to inspection by Israel or who would distribute aid. The Pentagon said Friday that a U.S. plan to establish a "temporary offshore maritime pier" in Gaza would take up to 60 days and would likely involve more than 1,000 American personnel. The Gaza war was sparked by Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on southern Israel that resulted in about 1,160 deaths, mostly civilians, Israeli figures show. Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel has responded with a relentless military offensive that the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said has killed at least 30,878 people, most of them women and children. Israel, which withdrew from Gaza in 2005 but has maintained control over its airspace and territorial waters, said it "welcomes" the planned maritime corridor. A Biden administration program aimed at reducing chaotic migrant arrivals at the U.S. southern border is being turned into a political issue by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and others who are casting it as a secretive bid to bring hundreds of thousands of migrants into the United States. The White House announced the Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV) parole program on January 5, 2023. Individuals in those four countries are allowed to apply for legal entry to the United States from abroad under the humanitarian parole authority of U.S. immigration law. White House officials said the initiative is part of the administration's efforts to discourage unlawful entries along the U.S. southern border. Applicants legally enter the country once they prove they have financial sponsors in the U.S. and pass background checks. The humanitarian parole authority allows the approved applicants to live and work legally in the U.S. temporarily. The program is modeled on the Ukraine program and an earlier Venezuelan program. CIS report Trumps claim was based on a report by the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington-based group that advocates restricting immigration to the U.S. According to CIS, the administration has not made public the U.S. airports where 320,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela have arrived since the program began. The report showed migrants arrived in 43 U.S. airports, but the administration declined to list them, citing sensitive operational information, an exemption under the Freedom of Information Act. "Today it was announced that 325,000 people were flown in from parts unknown migrants were flown in airplane, not going through borders. ... It was unbelievable, Trump said during a speech on Tuesday. I said that must be a mistake. They flew 325,000 migrants. Flew them in over the borders and into our country. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a policy director at the American Immigration Council, told VOA that the U.S. government is not paying migrants to fly to the United States and that the program requires people to receive travel authorization, purchase their own airfare and come on a commercial flight. "Every person approved for parole is vetted by the U.S. government prior to being granted the status. The idea that people arriving through this government program are 'unvetted' or 'illegal immigrants' is flagrantly wrong," Reichlin-Melnick said. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson also told VOA those with approved applications and travel permission must buy a plane ticket to fly into the United States on a commercial airline and they are screened and inspected when they arrive at a port of entry. The program limits total admissions to 30,000 each month. Congressional authority President Joe Biden authorized the program with his power of parole, granted by Congress in 1952. It allows the executive to admit individuals "on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit." During a speech on January 5, 2023, Biden said an applicant must have a lawful sponsor in the United States. Then the applicant has to "undergo rigorous background checks and apply from outside the United States and not cross the border illegally in the meantime," Biden said. "If they apply and their application is approved, they can use the same app, the CBP One app, to present at a port of entry and be able to work in the United States legally for two years. That's the process." The CBP One app "is just really an organized way to show [up] at a port of entry," Leon Fresco, an immigration attorney and former U.S. Department of Justice official, told VOA. Legal status The program does not lead to U.S. citizenship or permanent residence. However, Fresco said, people may be able to adjust their immigration status from temporary parole to a more permanent one, such as a visa or sponsorship through a U.S. relative, which can lead to a green card. Cubans, after a year in the U.S., can apply for permanent residence under the Cuban Adjustment Act. "Which says if you [a Cuban] are admitted or paroled legally into [the U.S.], after a year, you're going to apply for a green card," Fresco said. "The Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans have to apply for asylum or marry a U.S. citizen or find some other solution." Those under the parole program can obtain work permits for the two-year duration of their status. They are not undocumented immigrants; they have legal immigration status, Fresco said. Monthly numbers U.S. Customs and Border Protection releases monthly CHNV program data. Through the end of February, more than 386,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans arrived lawfully under the program. "These processes are part of the administration's strategy to combine expanded lawful pathways with stronger consequences to reduce irregular migration, and have kept hundreds of thousands of people from migrating irregularly, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told VOA. The CHNV parole processes are public; claims of a secret program are false. David Bier, associate director of immigration policy at the libertarian Cato Institute, wrote in a September briefing that the parole program "has transformed migration to the United States." "The broad accessibility of these pathways and the quick adjudications directed people to seek sponsors and apply to enter legally rather than go to the U.S.-Mexican border," Bier wrote. Biden has used the parole authority more than any other president, something Trump strongly criticizes, calling it "an outrageous abuse." He vowed to end it if he returns to the White House. China will adopt wide-ranging security laws in 2024 to "resolutely safeguard" its sovereignty, a top lawmaker vowed at a key legislative meeting Friday, as President Xi Jinping's government seeks to eliminate perceived threats to its rule. The "Two Sessions" parallel meetings of China's rubber-stamp parliament and political consultative body offer a rare glimpse into the strategy of the Communist Party-led government for the year ahead. Top legislator Zhao Leji promised Friday that lawmakers would "resolutely safeguard China's sovereignty, security, and development interests" as he laid out the agenda for the National People's Congress (NPC) for the coming year. "To modernize China's system and capacity for national security," he said, Beijing will enact "an emergency management law, an energy law, an atomic energy law, and a hazardous chemicals safety law." It will also revise "the National Defense Education Law and the Cybersecurity Law," Zhao said in his report. He did not offer more details about what the new laws would involve, nor when precisely they would be adopted. The NPC is also set to introduce and amend laws in areas ranging from financial stability to preschool education and disease control. "Military education and cybersecurity are clear priorities" for China's legislators, Jean-Pierre Cabestan, professor and Chinese politics expert at Hong Kong University, told AFP. "They want to strengthen the legal framework in these areas, which is part of Xi's own priorities," he said, adding it was "no surprise" that national security was highlighted in Zhao's report. Broad security push China last year approved a revised anti-espionage law that dramatically expanded its definition of spying, giving Beijing more power than ever to punish what it deems threats to national security. A state secrets law adopted last month added more categories of sensitive information, including "work secrets" information not classified as state secrets, but which could "impede the normal duties of (state) organs or work units" if leaked. Such leaks must be met with "necessary protective measures," the amended law says. "Putting a heavy focus on national security legislation has been a key feature of the NPC's legislative work during the Xi era," Changhao Wei, founder of the NPC Observer website, told AFP. He pointed to over a dozen pieces of national security legislation rolled out by Beijing since 2014, including counterterrorism, national intelligence, and data security laws. "There has been a general effort to build the necessary legal infrastructure for safeguarding China's national security," Wei said. Under Xi, he said, "national security is a priority area for legislation and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future." ADDIS ABABA, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat has called for the cessation of hostilities in Sudan during the holy month of Ramadan. The AU Commission chairperson "calls upon Sudanese parties to observe a total cease-fire across the whole national territory throughout the holy month of Ramadan," the AU said in a statement on Friday. Faki stressed that such a cease-fire during the holy month of Ramadan could help facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in need throughout the conflict-torn country. He urged the warring parties "to shoulder their responsibilities to prevent the serious risk of famine and other humanitarian catastrophes from befalling the Sudanese people and the neighboring states." Deadly clashes have been going on between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Sudan since April last year. Amid the continued fighting in different parts of the country, Sudan is now home to the world's largest internal displacement crisis, with 6.3 million people seeking safety within the country since the beginning of the conflict. Another 1.7 million people have also fled to neighboring countries, according to the United Nations. On Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the cessation of hostilities in Sudan during the holy month of Ramadan. "A Ramadan cessation of hostilities can help stem the suffering and usher the way to sustainable peace. Let us spare no effort to support the people of Sudan in their legitimate aspirations for a peaceful and secure future," said Guterres. The European Commission president said a maritime corridor to Gaza could be operational as soon as this weekend, part of an international effort to deliver humanitarian relief to the besieged territory. Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Cyprus that a vessel belonging to the Spanish aid group Open Arms is ready to make a pilot voyage to test the corridor. The ship is at Cyprus' port of Larnaca, waiting for permission to deliver food aid from a U.S. charity, World Central Kitchen. "We are launching this Cyprus maritime corridor together, the European Union, the United Arab Emirates and the United States," von der Leyen said after visiting facilities at the port. "The humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire, with innocent Palestinian families and children desperate for basic needs," she said. The comments come a day after U.S. President Joe Biden said in his annual State of the Union address that the U.S. military would establish a "temporary pier" off the coast of Gaza to help deliver aid to the region. U.S. military officials say it will take about 60 days to build the pier. The Associated Press reports that World Central Kitchen is also constructing a pier to receive aid, including from the vessel in Cyprus. When asked Friday if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needed to do more to let relief into Gaza, Biden told reporters, "Yes, he does." Biden was caught on a hot mic Thursday night saying that he and the Israeli leader will need to have a "come to Jesus meeting." The comments by Biden came when he was speaking to Democratic Senator Michael Bennet on the floor of the House after the State of the Union address. Bennet urged Biden to keep pressing Netanyahu to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza. Using Netanyahu's nickname, Biden said, "I told him, 'Bibi, and don't repeat this, but you and I are going to have a 'come to Jesus' meeting.'" Senior U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag told reporters Friday the U.N. welcomes the plan for a maritime corridor. But she noted that sea corridors and air drops of aid are not a substitute for the delivery of lifesaving aid via trucks over land. She said the maritime plan, nevertheless, will provide very important help. Meanwhile, medical personnel and eyewitnesses reported Friday that a humanitarian aid drop killed five people at the Al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza after the parachute malfunctioned and the parcel hit a residential area. The head of emergency care at Gaza City's Al Shifa Medical Complex, Muhammad Al-Sheikh, confirmed the deaths. A U.S. defense official told CBS News an initial review indicated the U.S. airdrop was not responsible for the fatalities on the ground but said that further investigation was required. Also Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it is up to Hamas whether a cease-fire takes place in Gaza in the near future. Speaking ahead of talks in Washington with a delegation from Turkey, Blinken said the U.S. is continuing to work toward a cease-fire in Gaza, despite reports Thursday that Hamas negotiators had left talks in Cairo. "In this moment, in this hour, we're also intensely focused on seeing if we can get a cease-fire," Blinken told reporters, "And there, the issue is Hamas. The issue is whether Hamas will decide or not to have a cease-fire that would benefit everyone. The ball is in their court. We're working intensely on it." Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Armed men broke into a boarding school in northwestern Nigeria early Saturday and seized 15 children as they slept, police told The Associated Press, about 48 hours after nearly 300 students were taken hostage in the conflict-hit region. School abductions are common in Nigeria's northern region, especially since the 2014 kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls by Islamic extremists in Borno state's Chibok village shocked the world. Armed gangs have since targeted schools for kidnap ransoms, resulting in at least 1,400 abducted since then. The gunmen in the latest attack invaded the Gidan Bakuso village of the Gada council area in Sokoto state about 1 a.m. local time, police said. They headed to the Islamic school where they seized the children from their hostel before security forces could arrive, Sokoto police spokesman Ahmad Rufa'i told the AP. One woman was also abducted from the village, Rufa'i said, adding that a police tactical squad was deployed to search for the students. The inaccessible roads in the area, however, challenged the rescue operation, he said. "It is a remote village (and) vehicles cannot go there; they (the police squad) had to use motorcycles to the village," he said. Saturday's attack was the third mass kidnapping in northern Nigeria since late last week, when more than 200 people, mostly women and children, were abducted by suspected extremists in Borno state. On Thursday, 287 students were also taken hostage from a government primary and secondary school in Kaduna state. The attacks highlight a security crisis that has plagued Africa's most populous country. Kidnappings for ransom have become lucrative across Nigeria's northern region, where dozens of armed gangs operate. No group claimed responsibility for any of the abductions. While Islamic extremists who are waging an insurgency in northeastern Nigeria are suspected of carrying out the kidnapping in Borno state, locals blamed the school kidnappings on herders who had been in conflict with their host communities before taking up arms. Nigeria's Vice President Kashim Shettima, meanwhile, met with authorities and some parents of the abducted students in Kaduna state Saturday and assured them of efforts by security forces to find the children and rescue them. India on Friday began deporting the first group of Myanmar refugees who sought shelter there after a military coup in 2021 and plans to send back more in the coming days, weeks after saying it would end a visa-free border policy with Myanmar. Thousands of civilians and hundreds of troops from Myanmar have fled to Indian states, where communities between the two countries share ethnic and familial ties, which has worried New Delhi because of the risk of communal tensions spreading to India. "First batch of Myanmar nationals who entered India illegally deported today," N. Biren Singh, the chief minister of northeastern Manipur state, which borders Myanmar, said in a post on the X social media platform. Manipur planned to send back at least 77 refugees starting from Friday, according to a state government document seen by Reuters. The state has been roiled by sporadic violence that has killed nearly 200 people so far since ethnic clashes broke out in May last year. The first group of refugees arrived in the Indian border town of Moreh and would likely be handed over on Saturday, an Indian security official said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. Singh shared a video clip on X showing women being brought out of security vans and taken into an airport. New Delhi has not signed the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention, which spells out refugees' rights and states' responsibilities to protect them, nor does it have its own laws protecting refugees. Singh wrote in his post that the country gave "shelter & aid to those fleeing the crisis in Myanmar on humanitarian grounds with a systematic approach." India last month said it would end a decades-old visa-free movement policy with Myanmar for their border citizens for reasons including national security, days after the interior minister announced fencing of the 1,643-kilometer border with Myanmar. Eleven female political prisoners at Evin Prison in Tehran have written a letter stating that exposing gender apartheid can help fight discrimination and oppression. Golrokh Iraee, a political detainee, shared the letter on her X social media account, revealing the signatories Nasim Soltan Beigi, Anisha Asadollahi, Mahvash Sabet, Narges Mohammadi, Sepideh Gholian, Vida Rabbani, Golrokh Iraee herself, Joanna Seneh, Pakhshan Azizi, Fariba Kamalabadi, and Mahboubeh Rezaii. The letter says, "March 8, International Women's Day, serves as a reminder of the century-long history of women's struggles. This global day of solidarity aims to realize gender equality and combat all manifestations of injustice, exploitation, as well as legal, economic, political, cultural and social discrimination." The prisoners, reflecting on the status of women, particularly in the Middle East and nations such as Iran and Afghanistan, said, "We acknowledge that there is a lengthy path ahead to attain freedom and equality." Political and civil activists, labor unions, trade unions and critics of the Islamic Republic government extended their greetings on International Womens Day to Iranian women, while condemning the governments suppression of women. Earlier, Narges Mohammadi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate incarcerated by the Islamic Republic, urged the United Nations secretary-general to "criminalize gender apartheid" and designate it as "one of the crimes against humanity" in a message shared on her Instagram page on February 1. In her message, she reflected on decades of "women's existence in Iran under the shadow of the Islamic Republic government," asserting that the Islamic Republic "systematically and deliberately, leveraging all governmental tools and powers, particularly through legislation, perpetuates the marginalization of women and violates their human rights." In that context, a panel of United Nations experts has recently spotlighted the profound injustices experienced by women, particularly under governments such as the Taliban, and urged for the worldwide recognition of "gender apartheid" as a "crime against humanity." The initiative, previously championed by Mohammadi, calls for an investigation by the United Nations. The panel of U.N. experts, comprising representatives from the United States, China, Mexico, Uganda and Serbia, emphasizes that the acknowledgment of gender apartheid as a crime is long overdue and that this form of apartheid is not explicitly addressed in international law. Karima Bennoune, an international law professor at the University of Michigan, told VOA, "Gender apartheid draws from the legal structure of racial apartheid, highlighting that gender discrimination is ingrained within the governmental system itself." The experts are urging the Sixth Committee of the U.N. General Assembly to include gender apartheid in Article 2, which deals with the prevention of crimes against humanity and their punishment. One of those experts emphasizes, "Gender apartheid isn't just a theoretical concept or legal construct; it's a genuine danger and a tangible reality for millions of women and girls across the globe." Last week, Bennoune, an Algerian American and former U.N. special rapporteur on cultural rights, delved into the legal aspects of criminalizing gender apartheid in an interview with VOA. Having held the position of U.N. special rapporteur on cultural rights from 2015 to 2021, she also addressed the U.N. Security Council in 2023 concerning gender apartheid in Afghanistan. Dozens of families in the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip were left homeless Saturday after Israeli forces struck one of the largest residential towers there, asserting that the block is used by Hamas to plan attacks on Israel. No casualties were reported. Israels latest attack is increasing pressure on the last part of the enclave that it has not yet targeted, where upwards of 1 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering. One of the 300 residents of the tower, which is located some 500 meters (1,640 feet) from the border with Egypt, told Reuters that Israel gave them a 30-minute warning to flee the building at night. "People were startled, running down the stairs, some fell, it was chaos. People left their belongings and money," said Mohammad Al-Nabrees. He said that among those who tripped down the stairs during the panicked evacuation was a friend's pregnant wife. Conditions worsen The situation in Gaza is deteriorating rapidly five months after Hamas terror attack on Israel triggered the war. The attack resulted in about 1,200 deaths, mostly civilians, and the taking of more than 230 Israelis and other foreign nationals as hostages, according to Israeli figures. There is nowhere safe for people to go, according to a statement released Saturday by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Hamas-controlled health authorities in Gaza say nearly 31,000 Palestinians have been killed, and thousands more bodies are feared buried under rubble. Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, decried the ongoing civilian casualties in Gaza and made an urgent call for the unconditional release of the hostages held by Hamas. Spoljarics statement also called for a cessation of hostilities in Gaza to allow for meaningful assistance to reach the people in need and for the Red Cross to be allowed to visit the hostages. Additionally, it requested the humane treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israeli detention. As a neutral intermediary, the Red Cross can provide food supplies, shelter and hygiene assistance, if there is a cessation of hostilities, the statement reads. The ICRCs longstanding work in Gazas health, electricity and water sectors would enable us to swiftly support these vital services. Aid coming by sea A ship carrying relief supplies such as pallets of rice, flour and protein was to depart Cyprus Saturday as part of efforts to aid a population on the brink of famine. The Open Arms, a vessel owned by a Spanish nongovernmental organization, is expected to sail on its first mission to Gaza this weekend. The ship is usually deployed to rescue migrants at sea. The pilot project is being run by the international charity World Central Kitchen and financed by the United Arab Emirates. In a statement, the charity said, "WCK and partners agree more than one ship will be needed and are working toward a constant flow of aid," adding that another 500 tons of aid would follow the initial shipment. Ceasefire negotiations Meanwhile, negotiations on a possible cease-fire remain deadlocked. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that whether a cease-fire takes place in the near future is up to Hamas. Speaking ahead of talks in Washington with a delegation from Turkey, Blinken said the United States is continuing to work toward a cease-fire, despite reports that Hamas negotiators had left talks in Cairo. UNRWA funding The head of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency, Philippe Lazzarini, expressed cautious optimism that some donors would resume funding the humanitarian agency again within weeks, warning that the agency is "at risk of death, at risk of dismantlement" after Israeli allegations that 12 of its 13,000 staff took part in the October 7 Hamas terror attack on southern Israel. Lazzarini made the comments in an interview with Swiss broadcaster RTS, which was aired Saturday. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, is under independent investigation by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. The final report is expected to be released next month. Colonna, whose work on the review began in mid-February, said Saturday she would visit Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Ramallah and Amman next week. UNRWA, which provides aid and essential services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza and across the region, said some employees released into the enclave from Israeli detention reported having been pressured by Israeli authorities to falsely admit that staff took part in Hamass terror attack, according to a report by the agency dated February. UNRWA runs schools, health care clinics and other social services in Gaza and distributes humanitarian aid. The U.N. has said some 3,000 staffers are still working to deliver aid in the enclave, where it says 576,000 people one quarter of the population are a step away from famine. VOA U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this report. Some information was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters . The commander overseeing U.S. military operations in the Middle East is warning that deterrence of Iranian proxies is temporary and that Iran is not paying the price for its role in violence across the Middle East. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has details. Within hours of officially joining the alliance this week, Swedish soldiers joined the other new NATO member, Finland, in the Nordic component of the largest NATO exercises since the Cold War ended. Called Nordic Response, the exercises began Thursday in Finland and Norway and included 20,000 participants from 13 countries. Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson in a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter said Sweden contributed about 4,500 personnel. Jonson said they joined Finnish and Norwegian personnel for three days of high-intensity war games in a subarctic climate. It is important to be able to contribute this special Swedish-Norwegian-Finnish capability to NATO, Jonson said in his post. Speaking Saturday in Troms, Norway, alongside his counterparts from Finland, Antti Hakkanen, and Norway, Bjorn Arild Gram, Jonson said the Nordic units showed they can work together in a challenging environment. Together, we make northern Europe more secure, and today's northern flank of NATO is more complete." Nordic Response is part of NATOs Steadfast Defender exercise series, which includes approximately 90,000 total personnel from NATO allied countries. The exercises began in January and continue until May, covering all parts of Europe. Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership in 2022, not long after Russias invasion of Ukraine. Both abandoned long-standing military neutrality that was a hallmark of the Nordic states' Cold War foreign policy. Finlands membership was approved last year, but Swedens was held up by objections from members Turkey and Hungary and not finalized until this week. Both countries add significant militaries to the alliance. Finlands 1,336-kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia is now the longest among NATO allies. Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guided an artillery firing drill by the Korean People's Army, the country's military force, state media KCNA reported on Friday. The drill, carried out on Thursday, involved units near the border that are in firing range of "the enemy's capital," KCNA said, referring to Seoul, the South Korean capital of nearly 10 million residents, and added it "fulfilled important military missions for war deterrence." South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said North Korea's military test-fired multiple rocket launcher shells and self-propelled artillery shells toward the Yellow Sea between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. local time on Thursday. The JCS said it was monitoring the North's military activities as joint drills conducted by South Korean and U.S. militaries are underway. The drills, known as the Freedom Shield exercises, began on Monday with twice the number of troops joining compared with last year. North Korea has also made "multiple attempts" to jam GPS signals near the border in South Korea since Tuesday, the JCS said in a separate statement, adding no damage was caused but warning of consequences. In Washington, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said the joint U.S.-South Korean drills were "routine and defensive in nature" and called on North Korea "to refrain from further provocative, destabilizing actions and return to diplomacy." KCNA said Thursday's artillery drill aimed to increase combat readiness and war capability. Kim urged the military to push forward with preparations so the artillery sub-units could "take the initiative with merciless and rapid strikes at the moment of their entry into an actual war." "He stressed the need to train all the artillery men of the whole army into experts in artillery engagement ... and set forth important tasks for rounding off the artillery war preparations," the report said, referring to the leader of the reclusive state. Photographs published by KCNA showed balls of flame from artillery fire and Kim dressed in a black leather jacket and flanked by soldiers watching from a dugout. Seoul's defense minister, Shin Won-sik, visited the Capital Defense Command on Thursday and ordered a firm response if North Korea made provocations aimed at the capital. Earlier this week, North Korean state media said Kim inspected field training of troops at a major military operations base in the western region of the country. On the eve of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, Jerusalem's Old City bears few of its usual hallmarks of festivity. Nearly half of the grotto-shaped gift shops are sealed behind metal shutters. The narrow streets that run toward Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third-holiest site, are eerily empty. Absent are the fairy lights and shining lanterns that would usually dangle above hurried worshippers. Ramadan preparations in Jerusalem, the spiritual heart of the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, have been subdued because of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, now in its sixth month. With more than 30,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza and hundreds of thousands going hungry, there's little room for expressions of joy. "This will be the black Ramadan," Abu Mousam Haddad said in front of his coffee stand near Damascus Gate, one of the Old City's main entrances. But over the next few days, attention is likely to shift from Gaza to Al-Aqsa, which has been a frequent flashpoint for quickly escalating Israeli-Palestinian violence in the past. Hamas, which portrayed its October 7 terror attack on southern Israel as a battle for Muslim rights at Al-Aqsa, seeks such an eruption now in the hopes of engaging Israeli forces on new fronts and improving its leverage in Gaza cease-fire talks. The militants have urged Palestinians across Israel and the occupied West Bank to stream to the mosque during Ramadan to challenge anticipated Israeli restrictions on worship and movement. Although such restrictions often triggered past clashes, it's not clear if Palestinians will risk confrontations in the current climate in which Israeli forces are clamping down hard on any perceived threats. "There is great fear among people about what Ramadan will look like this year and how the Israeli police will behave regarding the entry and exit ... into the city," said Imad Mona, who owns a bookshop outside the Old City. Israel has limited access to Al-Aqsa to varying degrees over the years, including by barring young men, citing security concerns. The Israeli government has provided few details ahead of this year's Ramadan, which could start as early as Sunday evening. But it has said some Palestinians from the West Bank will be allowed to pray at Al-Aqsa. In the past, Israeli forces raiding the sacred compound have clashed with stone-throwing Palestinians who barricaded themselves inside, at times to protest Israeli access restrictions. Such clashes have triggered escalations, including Hamas rocket fire, which set off a brief Israel-Hamas war in 2021. The compound has long been a deeply contested religious space, as it stands on the Temple Mount, which Jews consider their most sacred site. It lies in east Jerusalem, a section of the city Israel occupied during the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed. Palestinians want to make it the capital of their own future state. The United States and other international mediators had pushed for a Gaza cease-fire to coincide with the start of Ramadan. However, there has been no breakthrough. Israel remains committed to continuing its invasion and annihilating Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people in Israel and took about 250 hostages on October 7. The militant group freed dozens of hostages during a November truce, but it refuses to release more without guarantees of a complete end of hostilities. Most Old City shop owners declined to share their views about the coming Ramadan. Scores of Palestinians have been detained by Israel over social media posts about the war in Gaza since it started. Some who would speak said that more Israeli police have been deployed in the Old City since October. Young Palestinian men are regularly barred from entering the Al-Aqsa compound for noon prayers on Fridays since the war started, according to the store owners. This has fueled speculation about other possible restrictions. The Israeli police did not respond to requests for comment. According to Israeli media, the country's firebrand National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, has been pushing to keep out all West Bank Palestinians, as well as young men who are among the more than 2 million Palestinian citizens of Israel. His spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. The Israeli military body in charge of Palestinian affairs in the West Bank, known as COGAT, said Friday that some Muslims from the West Bank would be allowed in from the territory for Ramadan prayers, but it didn't elaborate. Last year, hundreds of thousands were able to enter, most of them women, children and elderly men. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also been vague, saying only that similar numbers of people as last year would be allowed for prayers at Al-Aqsa during the first week of Ramadan. He said this will be evaluated on a weekly basis throughout the month. No further details were made public. Under an informal arrangement since 1967, the compound is administered by a Jordanian-based Muslim religious body known as the Waqf. Jews are allowed to visit the compound, but not to pray there. The agreement has broken down in recent years as large groups of Jews, including hard-line religious nationalists, have regularly visited. Some among them have attempted to pray at the site. In the days leading up to Ramadan, West Bank Palestinians have been unsure whether they would be able to attend prayers. In general, Palestinians in the territory need a permit to enter east Jerusalem, which Israel considers part of its united capital, though its annexation is not recognized by most of the international community. Since October 7, Israel has forbidden Palestinians from entering Jerusalem or any part of Israel. "It is the dream of every Palestinian, Muslim and Arab to pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque" during Ramadan, said Akram al Baghdadi, a Ramallah resident who has extended family scattered across the West Bank and Gaza. The holy month also threatens to heighten divisions within Israel's unruly cabinet, with ministers already split over how to conduct the Gaza war. In a post on X, Ben Gvir denounced Netanyahu's decision to allow Palestinians access to Al-Aqsa for Ramadan prayers. He wrote that "Hamas celebrations on the Temple Mount" do not equate to "a complete victory," a reference to Netanyahu's wartime battle cry. Ben Gvir, who has visited the Al-Aqsa compound several times, is also a vocal opponent of any cease-fire arrangement with Hamas. He has repeatedly called for the removal of Palestinians from Gaza and the establishment of Israeli settlements ideas that most Cabinet members oppose. A Sudanese paramilitary group battling the country's military in a nearly yearlong ruinous conflict endorsed Saturday a resolution by the U.N. Security Council calling for a cease-fire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The group, known as the Rapid Support Forces, said in a statement that it hopes the resolution, adopted by the U.N. Security Council on Friday, would help deliver humanitarian assistance to millions of Sudanese trapped in the fighting across the Northeastern African country. Ramadan, during which adult Muslims are required to fast from dawn to sunset, is expected to start on or around Monday, depending on the sighting of the crescent moon. The RSF said it views the initiative as a "crucial opportunity" for the warring parties to embark on negotiations to find a political settlement to the conflict. "We view this as a crucial opportunity to initiate earnest discussions that could catalyze a political pathway. This pathway must culminate in a durable cease-fire, foster security and stability, and result in a substantive resolution that addresses the foundational issues of the historical crisis in Sudan," it said. Sudan's military has already supported a call by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a Ramadan cease-fire. In his Thursday appeal, Guterres warned that the conflict threatens Sudan's unity and "could ignite regional instability of dramatic proportions." Sudan plunged into chaos in April last year, when long-simmering tensions between its military, led by General Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo broke into street battles in the capital, Khartoum. The fighting broke out during Ramadan last year. Fighting spread to other parts of the country, especially urban areas, but in Sudan's western Darfur region it took on a different form, with brutal attacks by the Arab-dominated Rapid Support Forces on ethnic African civilians. Thousands of people have been killed. The 15-member Security Council voted overwhelmingly in favor of the British-drafted cease-fire resolution, with 14 countries in support and only Russia abstaining. The resolution expressed "grave concern over the spreading violence and the catastrophic and deteriorating humanitarian situation, including crisis levels, or worse, of acute food insecurity, particularly in Darfur." The head of the World Food Program, Cindy McCain, said this week that the conflict risks creating the world's largest hunger crisis, with some 18 million people across Sudan facing acute hunger, including 5 million who face starvation. The conflict has uprooted more than 10 million people either to safer areas inside Sudan or to neighboring countries, according to U.N. agencies. South Sudan received 600,000 people who fled the fighting in Sudan. The third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Jianhua) BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, held the third plenary meeting of the ongoing annual session on Saturday. Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, attended the meeting. During the meeting, 14 members of the CPPCC National Committee shared their views and suggestions on various topics concerning the country's development. Senior officials from the CPC Central Committee and the State Council were invited to the meeting and listened to the political advisors' suggestions. Among them, Yang Yudong drew attention to the importance of fostering industrial workers as a vital force in developing new quality productive forces. He called for the development of high-level vocational education and a lifelong vocational skill training system. Pansy Ho Chiu-king suggested that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region should leverage its advantages in finance, trade, law and patents to contribute to the development of new systems for the country's higher-standard open economy. Zhang Zongzhen called for accelerating the construction of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, in the city of Zhuhai. Zhang urged greater efforts to improve people's livelihoods and promote an appropriate level of diversity in the economy of the Macao Special Administrative Region. Fu Zhiguan said that the mainstream opinion in Taiwan opts for peace, development, exchanges and cooperation, instead of war, recession, separation and confrontation. Fu said new paths should be explored for integrated development in all fields across the Taiwan Strait. Huang Zhen proposed accelerating the establishment of a legal and regulatory system for achieving goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality to foster clear expectations for the future green development among the public and the industrial sector. The third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) Leung Chun-ying presides over the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen) Wei Xiaodong, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), speaks at the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Yang Yudong, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), speaks on behalf of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions at the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Zhoigar, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), speaks at the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Chen Xingying, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), speaks on behalf of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang at the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Pansy Ho Chiu-king, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), speaks at the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Yanjue, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), speaks at the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Zhang Zongzhen, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), speaks at the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Wang Ning, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), speaks at the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Sui Jun, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), speaks at the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Fu Zhiguan, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), speaks on behalf of the Central Committee of the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League at the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Huang Runqiu, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), speaks on behalf of the sector of environment and resources at the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Huang Zhen, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), speaks on behalf of the Central Committee of the China Association for Promoting Democracy at the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Zhang Yizhen, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), speaks at the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Muyassar Tohti, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), speaks at the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Journalists work at the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) The third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Li He) The third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) The third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Li He) The third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) Journalists work at the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2024. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) This photo taken on March 9, 2024 shows the Great Hall of the People ahead of the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) In what could be the most consequential speech in his bid for reelection, President Joe Biden gave a feisty State of the Union address Thursday night. Political science professor at Clark University, Robert Boatright has analysis on the speech. As hopes dim for a cease fire ahead of the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, concerns an already catastrophic situation in Gaza could get even worse. John Lyndon with the Alliance for Middle East Peace provides insights into the challenges and possibilities for what lies ahead. It's not just opposition politicians who are targeted in the crackdown by Russian President Vladimir Putin's government in recent years. Also falling victim are independent voices as well as those who don't conform to what the state sees as the country's traditional values. Russia's once-thriving free press after the collapse of the Soviet Union has been largely reduced to either state-controlled media or independent journalists operating from abroad, with few critical outlets still working in the country. Prominent rights groups have been outlawed or classified as agents of foreigners. Lawyers who represented dissidents have been prosecuted. LGBTQ+ activists have been labeled "extremists. A look at those who have come under attack during Putins 24-year rule that is likely to be extended by six more years in this month's presidential election: Independent media Independent news sites largely have been blocked in Russia since the first weeks of the war in Ukraine. Many have moved their newsrooms abroad and continue to operate, accessible in Russia via virtual private networks, or VPNs. Reporting inside Russia or earning money off Russian advertisers has been difficult. Russian authorities since 2021 also have labeled dozens of outlets and individual journalists as foreign agents a designation implying additional government scrutiny and carrying strong pejorative connotations aimed at discrediting the recipient. Some have also been outlawed as undesirable organizations under a 2015 law that makes involvement with such organizations a criminal offense. Journalists have been arrested and imprisoned on a variety of charges. The Russian authorities decided to destroy civil society institutions and independent journalism completely after Feb. 24, 2022, said Ivan Kolpakov, chief editor of Russias most popular independent news site Meduza, referring to the date of the invasion. Meduza was declared undesirable in January 2023. More restrictions appear to be coming. Parliament passed a law banning advertisers from doing business with foreign agents, likely affecting not just news sites but also blogs on YouTube that need advertising and are a popular source of news and analysis. Journalist Katerina Gordeyeva initially said she was suspending her YouTube channel with 1.6 million subscribers due to the new law but changed her mind after an outpouring of support. Giving up now would be too simple and too easy a decision, she said. We will try to hang in there. Rights groups Dozens of rights groups, charities and other nongovernmental organizations have been labeled foreign agents and outlawed as undesirable in recent years. Many had to shut down. In December 2021, a court in Moscow ordered the closure of Memorial, one of Russia's oldest and most prominent human rights organizations. It drew international acclaim for its studies of repression in the Soviet Union; several months after the ruling, it won the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize. In yet another crippling blow, its 70-year-old co-chair, Oleg Orlov, was sentenced last month to 2 years in prison over criticism of the war. Another prominent rights group leader behind bars is Grigory Melkonyants, co-chair of Golos, which monitored Russian elections since 2000. He is in pre-trial detention on charges widely seen as an attempt to pressure the group ahead of this month's vote. His arrest last year wasn't a surprise, said the groups other leader, Stanislav Andreychuk, in an interview with The Associated Press, because Golos has been under pressure since it detailed widespread violations in the 2011 parliamentary election that led to mass protests. Pressure against Golos came in waves, however, and at times, the group was able to work constructively with election authorities. It even won two presidential grants. We are like a town on a high river bank, Andriychuk said. The river eats away at the bank, and the bank recedes slowly. At some point, we found ourselves on the cliffside. Lawyers Lawyers who represent Kremlin critics and work on politically motivated cases also have faced growing pressure. Some prominent ones have left Russia, fearing prosecution. Human rights and legal aid group Agora was labeled undesirable in 2023, making its operations and any dealings with it illegal. Three lawyers who represented Alexei Navalny are jailed on charges of involvement with an extremist organization. Associates of the late opposition leader said it was a way to isolate him while in prison. Prominent human rights lawyer Ivan Pavlov told AP the pressure has scared some attorneys away from political cases. Pavlov left Russia in 2021 while defending former journalist Ivan Safronov on treason charges. After Pavlov spoke out about the case, authorities opened a criminal investigation against him and barred him from using the phone and the internet. They simply paralyzed my work, he said. Dmitry Talantov, another lawyer for Safronov, was arrested in 2022 for criticizing the war and is on trial. He faces up to 10 years in prison. LGBTQ+ community The crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights has gone on for more than a decade and often was accompanied by Putin's criticism of Western nations trying to impose their values on Russia. In 2022, authorities adopted a law banning propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations among adults, effectively outlawing any public endorsement of LGBTQ+ rights. Another law enacted in 2023 prohibited gender transitioning procedures and gender- affirming care, as well as changing a person's gender in official documents and public records. In November, the Supreme Court banned what the government called the LGBTQ+ movement in Russia, labeling it as an extremist organization. That effectively outlawed any LGBTQ+ activism. Shortly afterward, authorities started imposing fines for displaying rainbow-colored items. Igor Kochetkov, human rights advocate and founder of the Russian LGBT Network, told AP the Supreme Court ruling was more about ideology than anything else. So far we havent seen attempts to ban gay relations and criminalize them, as the Soviet Union did, Kochetkov said. Rather, it's an attempt to suppress any independent opinion that doesnt fit with the official state ideology ... and any organized civic activity that the government cant control, he added. Religious believers In perhaps a similar vein, the government, closely allied with the Russian Orthodox Church, has cracked down on smaller religious denominations and groups, banning some. Authorities went further with Jehovahs Witnesses, prosecuting hundreds of believers across the country, often simply for gathering to pray. The Supreme Court in 2017 declared Jehovahs Witnesses to be an extremist organization, exposing those involved with it to potential criminal charges. Jehovahs Witnesses spokesman Jarrod Lopes said over 400 believers have been jailed since then, and 131 men and women are in prison. Nearly 800 Jehovahs Witnesses have faced charges, and over 500 were added to Russias register of extremists and terrorists. Its absurd to us, because part of our belief system is to obey the authorities. We want to be good citizens. We want to help our community, he told AP. Were also not anti-government, we are neutral. Were not going to stage a protest. In 2018, Putin himself said Jehovahs Witnesses are Christians, too, I dont quite understand why clamp down on them, and he promised to look into it. But the number of arrests and raids targeting them only grew. Putin has distanced himself from the law enforcement and security structures that carry out the crackdowns, says Tatyana Stanovaya, senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. They have a certain domain, and they have a mandate in this domain, and they act in accordance with it, Stanovaya says. Putin knows it and agrees with it. Its convenient for him. More than a year after Cambodia's government crackdown on cyber-slavery scams, anti-human-trafficking groups say scams are still operating at scale, casting doubt on the official narrative that Cambodia has significantly addressed its human trafficking problem. Cambodia has received widespread attention for its human trafficking epidemic, in which workers are forced to ensnare overseas victims in online fraud schemes. In September 2022, the government raided scam compounds, netting thousands of arrests and deportations. Since then, Cambodian authorities say they have cut down on human trafficking, disputing a U.N. report that estimated there had been 100,000 victims in Cambodia and accusing news outlets of "baseless" reporting. International attention, meanwhile, shifted to growing cyber-slavery in northern Myanmar and along the Myanmar-Thai border. But victim advocate groups say that rather than shutting down, some operations temporarily relocated during the crackdown before reopening in Cambodia. NGOs say identifying and rescuing victims has become more challenging as the government publicly denies the size of the industry. "From our observation, online scamming has not decreased," Tola Moeun, executive director of the Phnom Penh-based Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights, told VOA. "We don't know why there has been no clear action, and we continue to see this happening." Another international observer working on the issue, who asked for anonymity to maintain relations with the government, told VOA, "It is clear that the volume of trafficking into Cambodia for forced scamming is back to pre-September 2022 levels and maybe exceeding that." Companies relocated As police descended upon the notorious trafficking hotspot of Sihanoukville in September 2022, buildings across the city emptied out. "Michael, 38, a Taiwanese trafficking victim who was inside Sihanoukville's alleged Huang Le compound, using a pseudonym to talk with VOA by phone from Indonesia, recalled companies scrambling to transfer operations. "Many companies just relocated at that time," Michael said. "Our company also decided to move." While some operators went to Myanmar, others remained in Cambodia. Michael was taken to a compound in the town of O'Smach, near the Thai border. Other Sihanoukville companies operated with skeleton crews, according to the Global Anti-Scam Organization (GASO), which helps release trafficking victims across Southeast Asia. "Some buildings in Sihanoukville look like empty buildings but there are indeed human trafficking victims inside," said Alicia, a GASO worker who asked to use only her first name to be able to speak freely. "I can't say that all of them relocated or stopped completely. Some were still running online scams behind closed doors." For the next six months, Michael bounced among three more Cambodian compounds. By June 2023, he was sold to Jinshui, a well-known alleged scam center in Sihanoukville's Chinatown area. He began training to impersonate an Amazon affiliate to try to persuade people to invest money. Already, several Jinshui buildings were occupied with trafficked workers from China, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan, Michael said, while other Chinatown buildings were also filling up. "One building could accommodate [up to] 800 people," he said. "There were at least 400 to 500 people in our company." Return to Sihanoukville Chinatown's repopulation is part of a broader return of scamming to Sihanoukville, observers say. Jacob Sims, senior technical adviser at anti-trafficking organization International Justice Mission, told VOA a Chinese crackdown on Myanmar compounds and the Operation 1027 offensive against Myanmar's junta have caused a resurgence of scams along the Myanmar-Thai border, in Laos' Golden Triangle, and Cambodia. "Reports from numerous sources on the ground in Sihanoukville confirm that the industry there is surging," Sims said. "There are real regional drivers for why that trend makes sense. This is a multibillion-dollar industry that has now been effectively displaced from northern Myanmar." Sihanoukville residents told VOA they have seen a fresh wave of foreigners arriving at compounds straight from the airport. Some previously quiet buildings are now heavily guarded with people living inside. A compound called "Jincai" appeared abandoned after authorities found evidence of trafficking there in 2022. Since last August, buses have dropped hundreds of foreigners at the property, residents said. One business owner said her nephew had briefly worked there but quit because "you have to be good at online frauding." A local policeman told VOA the buildings were filled with Malaysian and Chinese workers, but he did not know what activities occurred inside. The compound is now known as New Golden Wealth Casino Co., which was reissued a casino license in December 2022. "We don't know if it's new people or the old people who run it," the policeman said. Chou Bun Eng, Interior Ministry secretary of state and permanent vice chairwoman of the National Committee for Counter Trafficking, would not speak about specific compounds and told VOA that prior investigations did not prevent companies from restarting business activities. "To allow reopening means that they're among the investigating locations where they could not find anything," Bun Eng said. "It's normal for businesses to continue their work in the case that they do not commit crimes." NGOs cut out Even as scamming continues, civil society groups are struggling to help victims. In several cases, traffickers recorded videos showing "freed" victims outside the compound but brought them back inside after sending the videos to police, GASO's Alicia said. Other victims have been released without help from authorities to travel to Phnom Penh and start the immigration process. "I don't know if it's because the Cambodian government is not placing as much importance on this issue anymore or what, but I think this way of operating is not appropriate," Alicia told VOA. "It gives scam companies an opportunity to deceive and can lead to a higher chance of the victim being beaten or hurt." Cambodia's Interior Ministry set up a hotline for scam victims, which has made the rescue process more opaque, multiple insiders said. Tola, of the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights, said authorities "cut off the role of the NGOs for help." "It is very difficult for civil society, and all the work we do must be very cautious," Tola said. "With some of the more controversial cases, we do not dare to say that we help them." Still, officials tout low official case numbers as evidence the problem has abated. Bun Eng said authorities confirmed fewer than 300 cases of "confinement" since September 2022. "There is no such mysterious place. We have searched all over the place when there is a complaint, but in the end, there is no huge number," Bun Eng said. Cindy Dyer, U.S. ambassador-at-large to monitor and combat trafficking in persons, told a local publication that Cambodian officials "disputed the scale" in recent meetings and are "just not getting at the bigger problem." "There's no way we could see the scale of operation in Cambodia without there being both low-level and high-level complicity," Dyer said. "High-level government officials may be in the front. The low-level enforcement officers know who owns these things." Michael, the scamming victim, escaped in July. As his bosses prepared to transfer operations to Myanmar, he contacted the Taiwanese Embassy and GASO, which helped him get away from a van traveling to the border. Throughout his year in Cambodian compounds, Michael was beaten, isolated in the dark and shocked with an electric baton, he told VOA. He had been recruited on Facebook for a restaurant gig. "My darkest experiences were in Cambodia," Michael said. "Even if you beat me to death, I will never go to Cambodia again." A ship loaded with 200 metric tons of food aid is ready to depart the Cyprus port of Larnaca, bound for Gaza but awaiting final clearance as a pilot run for a maritime aid corridor for the embattled enclave, Agence France-Presse reported late Saturday. Meanwhile, the U.S. Central Command said the U.S. Army has sent a shipment of equipment to set up a temporary pier to deliver aid to Gaza, days after President Joe Biden announced the effort. The food aid ship is owned by the Spanish nongovernmental aid organization Open Arms. In an interview with The Associated Press, the groups founder, Oscar Camps, said the pilot aid shipment is a joint project between it and World Central Kitchen, a food aid group founded by chef Jose Andres. AFP reported that Open Arms said the boat was ready to leave but was awaiting final authorization. The groups spokesperson, Laura Lanuza, told AFP that Israeli authorities were inspecting the cargo. The opening of a maritime aid corridor is a joint project of the European Commission, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, the Republic of Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Britain, and the United States. The food, once offloaded, will be distributed by the World Central Kitchen at 60 locations it has established in Gaza. A spokesperson for Open Arms told AFP the ship will depart Cyprus once it has "all the authorizations and permits" required. Observers suggest the opening of the maritime corridor along with the recent inauguration of airdrops of aid that continued Saturday are signs of increasing frustration with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and a new international willingness to work around Israeli restrictions. In a statement on his X social media account, formerly Twitter, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat said Israel welcomes the inauguration of the maritime corridor from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip. "The Cypriot initiative will allow the increase of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, after security checks are carried out in accordance with Israeli standards." Biden said in his State of the Union speech Thursday that the U.S. military would establish a "temporary pier" off the coast of Gaza to help deliver aid to the region. CENTCOM said the General Frank S. Besson departed Joint Base Langley-Eustis in the U.S. state of Virginia "less than 36 hours after President Biden announced the U.S. would provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza by sea." The U.S. military said the temporary pier could take up to 60 days to construct. In his AP interview, Camps said in the initial shipment, the World Central Kitchen is building a temporary pier of its own at an undisclosed location in Gaza. Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. For 27-year-old Leeda, "life is like hell" as her husband beats her every day and she "has to tolerate it" because she has "no other option." "My body is always bruised, now I am used to it, I have to tolerate it for my children," Leeda, a mother of three who lives in the western city of Herat, told VOA with tears in her eyes. But Leeda, who did not want her real name to be revealed for fear of reprisals, said that she has "nowhere to go" as her parents and siblings are not in Afghanistan and there is no organization in Herat she can turn to for help. "In the past in Herat, women-operated offices used to help women like me, but those offices no longer exist," Leeda said, adding that "if I go to the Taliban for help, they will imprison me. They listen to men, not women. What will I do with my children if I go to jail?" A United Nations report released in December said the Taliban are sending to prison women who complain to them about gender-based violence and do not have male relatives to stay with. "The confinement of women in prison facilities, outside the enforcement of criminal law, and for the purpose of ensuring their protection from gender-based-violence, would amount to an arbitrary deprivation of liberty," stated the U.N. report. The report added that the imprisonment of vulnerable women would have "a negative impact on their mental and physical health." The report, covering the period from August 2021 to March 2023, said that gender-based violence against women in Afghanistan includes murder, honor killings, sexual assault, injury and disability, and deprivation of women from receiving inheritances. The Taliban told the U.N. that the handling of the cases of violence against women is "based on Sharia law and there is no injustice committed against women." After seizing power in 2021, the Taliban closed all the women's protection centers in Afghanistan where female survivors of family violence would take refuge. Even before the Taliban's takeover, Afghanistan had one of the highest rates of violence against women, with nine in 10 women experiencing some sort of intimate-partner violence in their lifetimes. Though the support system was not without shortcomings, female survivors of gender-based violence had access to "pro bono legal representation, medical treatment and psychological support," Amnesty International stated in a 2021 report. "The system was imperfect, but activists had fought hard for it, and it was gradually improving. One of the first things the Taliban did after seizing power was to destroy this system completely," said Heather Barr, associate director at Human Rights Watch. Barr said that the Taliban's return brought about "the worst women's rights crisis" in the world. Under the Taliban, women in Afghanistan are banned from secondary and university education, working with government and nongovernment organizations, and traveling long distances without a male relative. They are also barred from going to gyms and public parks. Samira Hamidi, a regional campaigner for Amnesty International, told VOA that dismantling the institutions, such as the Ministry of Women's Affairs and the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, created "a huge gap" in the ability to monitor the women's rights situation in Afghanistan, especially that of survivors of domestic violence. "The Taliban's measure to accommodate women survivors of domestic violence in prisons instead of safe houses and accommodations is a blatant violation of human rights, especially the right to freedom of movement and life," said Hamidi. She added that the Taliban "have no intention to protect women" who face gender-based violence. With the Taliban's continued crackdown on women's rights in Afghanistan, female victims of gender-based violence, like Leeda, live in fear. "I fear the Taliban," Leeda said. "If I complain against my husband to anyone, my husband will send the Taliban after me." Roshan Noorzai of VOA's Afghan Service contributed to this report, which originated in VOA's Afghan Service. Ukraine said Saturday a Russian bomb landed near a block of flats in the southern city of Kherson overnight wounding a child, while a teenage boy died in shelling elsewhere. "Last night, the Russian army struck the city with a bomb. The shell landed near a five-story building," Kherson's administration said on social media. It published a video of a destroyed building, with a large crater outside it. "A 7-year-old boy who suffered from the shelling is under medical supervision," authorities said, adding that "the child's life is not in danger." Officials in the central Dnipropetrovsk region said Russian shelling killed a teenager in the village of Chervonogrygorivka on the Dnipro River. "A 16-year-old boy was killed. Another 22-year-old is in hospital," said Sergiy Lysak, the region's head. He said Russian forces had shelled the village, damaging a "private house." Kyiv's air force said earlier it had downed 12 out of 15 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia over the eastern Donetsk region and central Dnipropetrovsk and Poltava regions. Ukraine said Saturday it had evacuated almost 200 people from frontline villages in the embattled eastern Donetsk region, including 21 children, amid fighting. Meanwhile, Russia said on Saturday it had destroyed 47 Ukrainian drones over its southern regions overnight, mostly in the Rostov area bordering Ukraine. Kyiv has regularly launched drones into Russia during Moscow's military offensive in Ukraine, now in its third year. "Air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed over the territories of Belgorod region (one drone), Kursk region (two drones), Volgograd region (three drones) and Rostov region (41 drones)," the Russian army said on social media. The southern Rostov region is a hub for the Russian army to plan its military operations in Ukraine. Rostov Governor Vasily Golubev said on social media that a drone attack had hit the city of Taganrog, on the Azov Sea near a Russian-occupied part of Ukraine. He said a rescue worker was wounded, but there were "no dead." Roman Starovoyt, the governor of the Kursk region, which lies further north and also borders Ukraine, said a clinic had been damaged in the main city of Kursk. He posted a video of himself outside "polyclinic number 6 in Kursk." The top of the green-painted building was visibly damaged. "Luckily, everyone is alive," Starovoyt said, adding that medics had evacuated patients from a nearby hospital. Kursk is a city of around 440,000 people, around 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the Ukraine border. Iran is responsible for the physical violence that led to the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022 and sparked nationwide protests of the country's mandatory headscarf, or hijab, laws and its ruling theocracy, a United Nations fact-finding mission said Friday. The stark pronouncement came in a wide-ranging initial report submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council by the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran that concluded Tehran committed crimes against humanity through its actions. It also found that the Islamic Republic employed unnecessary and disproportionate use of lethal force to put down the demonstrations that erupted following Amini's death and that Iranian security forces sexually assaulted detainees. The monthslong security crackdown killed more than 500 people and detained over 22,000. Iranian officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Associated Press on the missions findings. The report is unlikely to change the trajectory of Iran's government, now more firmly in the hands of hard-liners after a low-turnout vote last week put them back in charge of the country's parliament. However, it provides further international pressure on Tehran amid wider Western concerns about its advancing nuclear program, Iran's arming of Russia in Moscow's war on Ukraine and the continued harassment and imprisonment of activists, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi. The protests were unprecedented because of the leadership of women and youth, in their reach and longevity and, ultimately, the states violent response, the report says. Amini, 22, died on Sept. 16, 2022, in a hospital after her arrest by the country's morality police over allegedly not wearing her hijab to the liking of the authorities. She was taken to Iran's Vozara detention facility to undergo a re-education class" but collapsed after 26 minutes and was moved to a hospital 30 minutes later, according to the report. Iran has denied being responsible for her death and disputes that she was beaten. At times, authorities have pointed to a medical condition Amini had from childhood after surgery. The U.N. report dismissed that as a cause of her death. The panel "has established the existence of evidence of trauma to Ms. Aminis body, inflicted while in the custody of the morality police," the report says. Based on the evidence and patterns of violence by the morality police in the enforcement of the mandatory hijab on women, the mission is satisfied that Ms. Amini was subjected to physical violence that led to her death, it said. The report stops short, however, of blaming anyone specifically for harming Amini. The protests that followed Amini's death started first with the chant Women, Life, Freedom. However, the protesters' chanting and cries soon grew into open calls of revolt against Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The U.N. report found Iranian security forces used shotguns, assault rifles and submachine guns against demonstrators in situations where there was no imminent threat of death or serious injury" to them, thereby committing unlawful and extrajudicial killings. It also found a pattern of protesters being shot intentionally in the eye. The mission notes the deterrent and chilling effect of such injuries, as they permanently marked the victims, essentially branding them as protesters, the report says. Some of those detained faced sexual violence, including rape, the threat of rape, forced nudity, groping and electrocution of their genitals, according to the report. The security forces played on social and cultural stigma connected to sexual and gender-based violence to spread fear and humiliate and punish women, men and children, the report says. The panel also acknowledged it continued to investigate the 2023 death of teenager Armita Geravand, who died after falling on the Tehran Metro in what activists allege was an attack over her not wearing a hijab. Geravands parents appeared in a state media video at the time saying a blood pressure issue, a fall or perhaps both contributed to their daughters death. In actions reminiscent of Ms. Aminis case, the state authorities took measures to obfuscate the circumstances leading to Ms. Garavands death, the report says. It also noted a suspected spate of poisonings targeting Iranian schoolgirls, without drawing conclusions on what transpired in the incidents. U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for Iran Abram Paley said the whole world is taking notice of the report and its conclusion that many of the serious human rights violations that have taken place in Iran may amount to crimes against humanity. It is imperative that the Fact-Finding Mission continue its important work, he wrote online. Activists also welcomed the report's release. The Islamic Republics violent repression of peaceful dissent and severe discrimination against women and girls in Iran has been confirmed as constituting nothing short of crimes against humanity, said Hadi Ghaemi, the executive director of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran. Tehran's violent crackdown on peaceful protests and discrimination against women and girls triggered serious rights violations, many amounting to crimes against humanity, a U.N. fact-finding mission concluded Friday. Iran was rocked by widespread demonstrations sparked by the September 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress rule for women based on Islamic law. Anger over her death rapidly expanded into weeks of taboo-breaking protests in an open challenge to the Islamic republic's system of government under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In November 2022, the U.N. Human Rights Council created a high-level investigation into the deadly crackdown. In its first report, the independent international fact-finding mission on Iran said many of the violations uncovered "amount to crimes against humanity specifically those of murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, persecution, enforced disappearance and other inhumane acts." It added that the commission of such crimes, in the context of a deprivation of fundamental rights and inflicted with discriminatory intent, "leads the mission to the conclusion that the crime against humanity of persecution on the grounds of gender has been committed." Truth obfuscated "These acts form part of a widespread and systematic attack directed against the civilian population in Iran, namely against women, girls, boys and men who have demanded freedom, equality, dignity and accountability," said Sara Hossain, who chairs the three-member mission. "We urge the government to immediately halt the repression of those who have engaged in peaceful protests, in particular women and girls." Rather than conducting a proper investigation into Amini's death, Tehran "actively obfuscated the truth," the mission said. The mission said people "who merely danced" or honked car horns were arrested in the crackdown on protests, while hundreds of children, some as young as 10, were also detained. The mission found the Iranian security forces used unnecessary and disproportionate force, resulting in the unlawful killing and injuries of protesters who posed no imminent threat of death or serious injury. Scores of people were blinded, the mission added, saying it also found evidence of extrajudicial killings. The mission found Tehran had arbitrarily executed at least nine young men from December 2022 to January 2024, while dozens remain at risk of execution or a death sentence in relation to the protests. Credible figures suggest that as many as 551 protesters were killed by the security forces, among them at least 49 women and 68 children, the mission said, with most deaths caused by firearms. 'Persecutory system' "Pervasive and deep-rooted structural and institutionalized discrimination against women and girls ... was both a trigger and an enabler of the widespread serious human rights violations and crimes under international law," the report concluded. "Given the gravity of its findings, the mission urges the Iranian authorities to halt all executions and immediately and unconditionally release all persons arbitrarily arrested and detained in the context of the protests or for noncompliance with or advocacy against the mandatory hijab," the mission said. Iran should stop the judicial harassment of protesters and their families, repeal laws that discriminate against women, "in particular those on the mandatory hijab," and disband the "persecutory system" of its enforcement, it said. The mission urged Tehran to provide "justice, truth and reparations" to victims of rights violations in connection with the protests. It also said countries should explore avenues for legal accountability outside Iran, given the absence of effective remedies within the country. Other states should also grant asylum and humanitarian visas to people fleeing persecution for defending rights in Iran. The Iranian authorities refused to cooperate with the mission. The report will be formally presented to the Human Rights Council on March 15. The Republican National Committee voted Friday to install Donald Trump's handpicked leadership team, completing his takeover of the national party as the former president closes in on a third straight presidential nomination. Michael Whatley, a North Carolina Republican who has echoed Trump's false theories of voter fraud, was elected the party's new national chairman in a vote in Houston, Texas. Lara Trump, the former president's daughter-in-law, was voted in as co-chair. Trump's team is promising not to use the RNC to pay his mounting personal legal bills. But Trump and his lieutenants will have firm control of the party's political and fundraising machinery with limited, if any, internal pushback. "The RNC is going to be the vanguard of a movement that will work tirelessly every single day to elect our nominee, Donald J. Trump, as the 47th president of the United States," Whatley told RNC members in a speech after being elected. Whatley will carry the top title, replacing longtime chair Ronna McDaniel after she fell out of favor with key figures in the former president's "Make America Great Again" movement. But he will be surrounded by people closer to Trump. Lara Trump is expected to focus largely on fundraising and media appearances. The functional head of the RNC will be Chris LaCivita, who will assume the committee's chief of staff role while maintaining his job as one of the Trump campaign's top two advisers. With Trump's blessing, LaCivita is promising to enact sweeping changes and staffing moves at every level of the RNC to ensure it runs seamlessly as an extension of the Trump campaign. In an interview Thursday, LaCivita sought to tamp down concerns from some RNC members that the cash-strapped committee would help pay Trump's legal bills. Trump faces four criminal indictments and a total of 91 counts as well as a $455 million civil fraud judgment, which he is appealing. His affiliated Save America political action committee has spent $76 million over the last two years on lawyers. People speculating about the RNC paying for legal bills, LaCivita said, do so "purely on the basis of trying to hurt donors." Trump's legal bills are instead being covered largely by Save America, a separate political entity. "The fact of the matter is not a penny of the RNC's money, or for that matter, the campaign's money, has gone or will go to pay legal fees," he said. The RNC was paying some of Trump's legal bills for New York cases that started while he was president, The Washington Post reported, but McDaniel said in November 2022 that the RNC would stop paying once Trump became a candidate again and joined the 2024 presidential race. When Trump announced his plans to replace the party's leadership, it raised fresh questions about whether the committee would pay his bills. Those questions intensified after Lara Trump said last month that she wasn't familiar with the party's rules about paying her father-in-law's legal fees, but she thought the idea would get broad support among Republican voters. Facing such mixed messages, some RNC members remain skeptical. Republican committeeman Henry Barbour of Mississippi proposed a nonbinding resolution explicitly stating that RNC funds could not be used for Trump's legal bills. Yet the resolution died when Barbour failed to earn the support of RNC members from at least 10 states. "People I've talked to on the committee privately all agree that donor money needs to be devoted to winning elections, not legal fees," said Republican committeeman John Hammond of Indiana. The new leadership team is also expected to more fully embrace Trump's focus on voter fraud and his debunked claims about the election he lost to President Joe Biden. Multiple court cases and Trump's own Justice Department failed to reveal any evidence of significant voting irregularities. Whatley, an attorney, has largely avoided using Trump's characterization of Biden's victory and said in one 2021 interview that Biden "absolutely" was legitimately elected and won the majority of the Electoral College votes. But he said in another interview in the weeks after the 2020 election that there was "massive fraud." He has also made focusing on "election integrity" a top priority for his state party in the years since. In a letter announcing her candidacy for co-chair, Lara Trump wrote to members of the committee telling them she intends to focus on battleground states, getting out the vote in close races and to comb through the RNC's finances, including all of its contracts and agreements, and cut spending "that doesn't directly go to winning elections." A key priority, she wrote, is working to ensure that the election is secure, something her father-in-law has made a chief focus. "The goal on November 5 is to win, as my father-in-law says, 'bigly,' " she said Friday. A top U.S. Treasury official visiting Beirut this week pressed Lebanese authorities to prevent funds from being funneled to Hamas by way of Lebanon, officials said. Jesse Baker, deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for Asia and the Middle East, met with Lebanese politicians and officials from the financial sector Thursday and Friday. His visit came as negotiations for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip appear to have stalled. Should the war continue during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which could begin late Sunday, many fear a regional escalation, including in Lebanon. Near-daily low-level clashes have taken place between the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, and Israeli forces for more than five months. A Treasury official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said Baker shared with Lebanese authorities specific concerns" about "the movement of Hamas funds through Lebanon, Hezbollah funds from Iran into Lebanon and then out into other regional areas and called for proactive measures to combat it. The official said that the groups need the flow of funds to pay their fighters and conduct military operations and cannot achieve their aims otherwise. The Treasury official added that, for Lebanon, showing compliance with global anti-money-laundering and counterterrorism financing standards is key to attracting investment from the United States and the rest of the world and to pulling the country out of its protracted crisis. Baker pushed for Lebanon to crack down on the large sector of illicit financial service companies that have flourished amid the collapse of the countrys formal banking system over four years of economic crisis, including illegal money exchange and unlicensed money transfer operations, the Treasury official said. Those businesses along with a cash economy that the World Bank has estimated amounts to nearly 46% of Lebanon's gross domestic product have offered workarounds for people and groups barred from the formal financial system by U.S. sanctions, including Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which Washington considers terrorist organizations. Walid Kilani, a spokesperson for Hamas in Lebanon, said he had no information about the matter. Halim Berti, spokesperson for Lebanon's central bank, confirmed that officials with the institution had met with Baker and described the meetings as very positive. He said that the central bank is doing its part to regulate licensed financial services businesses but that those operating without a license are not in our jurisdiction and should be dealt with by law enforcement. UNITED NATIONS, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution calling for the immediate cessation of hostilities in Sudan during the holy month of Ramadan. Resolution 2724 also calls on the warring parties in Sudan to seek a sustainable resolution to the conflict through dialogue. The resolution won 14 positive votes among the 15 members of the council. Russia abstained. Dai Bing, the charge d'affaires of the Chinese mission to the United Nations, called on the Sudanese parties to put the interests of the country and its people first, effectively observe a cessation of hostilities, and implement the Security Council resolution through concrete actions. The international community should continue to step up diplomatic and mediation efforts to create favorable conditions for peace negotiations between the parties, with a view to restoring comprehensive peace in Sudan at an early date. At the same time, the relevant actions should be carried out with respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sudan and should not interfere in Sudan's internal affairs, he said. China welcomes the recent efforts by the Sudanese government to open some border crossings to UN humanitarian agencies. China calls on the international community to, on the basis of compliance with UN humanitarian principles, continue to help Sudan and its neighboring countries improve their humanitarian response capacity to prevent the humanitarian crisis from getting worse, said Dai. The lives of all people in the world are precious. While adopting a resolution on a cease-fire during the month of Ramadan in Sudan, the Security Council must not forget that the people of Gaza are still suffering under bombardment. The international community must push for an immediate cease-fire and an end to the conflict in Gaza to give the people some hope for survival and provide the basic security necessary for religious activities by the Muslims there, he said. The Security Council on Friday also adopted Resolution 2725 to extend the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the Sudan Sanctions Committee for another year, till March 12, 2025. China and Russia abstained while the remaining 13 members of the council voted in favor. China and Russia said the mandate of the Panel of Experts should not have been extended beyond the expiration date of the sanctions regime: Sept. 12, 2024. Dai said China has always insisted that the Security Council should take a prudent and responsible approach on the issue of sanctions. "We emphasize that sanctions are only a means to an end, not an end itself, and must be reviewed in a timely fashion and be adjusted or terminated as appropriate. We regret to see that the draft resolution which was voted on is not working in this direction," he said. Security Council Resolution 2676 of 2023 clearly provides that the sanctions against Sudan in relation to the Darfur region are to expire in September 2024. The just adopted resolution renewing the mandate of the Panel of Experts to March 2025 is apparently unjustified and in conflict with the previous resolution, he said. Editor's note: Here is a look at immigration-related news around the U.S. this week. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com. Officials Reject Claim That Biden Administration Is Secretly Bringing 320,000 Migrants to US A Biden administration program aimed at reducing chaotic migrant arrivals at the U.S. southern border is being turned into a political issue by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and others who are casting it as a secretive bid to bring hundreds of thousands of migrants into the United States. VOAs immigration reporter Aline Barros has more. Afghan Student Shot at University Begs Taliban to Let Girls Learn Breshna Musazai endured 19 agonizing months in Qatar, anxiously awaiting resettlement to the United States as a refugee. Forced to flee Afghanistan just two days after the Taliban seized Kabul in 2021, Musazai, who was injured in a campus shooting, found herself separated from her parents and her dreams shattered. VOAs Akmal Dawi has more. Son of Korean Immigrants Takes Charge of Los Angeles Police Department A son of Korean immigrants last week became the interim chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. He is the first Asian American to hold this position. Genia Dulot has the story. Asylum-Seekers Find Shelter at Washington State Church Though the number of migrants crossing daily into the United States has fallen since December, local communities are still scrambling to provide them with resources. In the Pacific Northwest, Riverton Park United Methodist Church in Tukwila, Washington, has become a shelter for hundreds of asylum-seekers from Africa and Latin America. Produced by Natasha Mozgovaya. Israel, Immigration Feature in Biden's State of the Union Speech U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday attacked former President Donald Trump's vision for America, criticized Israel and was challenged on immigration in his last State of the Union address before the two men face off in the November U.S. election. Reuters reports. Immigration around the world Migrant Children Brave Darien Gap on Way to US Border The Darien Gap is a dangerous stretch of jungle on a narrow strip of land that connects Colombia, in South America, to Panama in Central America. The path is taken by many migrants heading north to the U.S. border, and one in five of them is a child. Officials say the number of migrants traversing the perilous route is growing. For VOA, Austin Landis traveled to the starting point of their trek to hear some of their stories. Ukraine's Young Circus Refugees Find New Home in Hungary Hundreds of young Ukrainian circus performers have found a new home in Hungary since fleeing Russias invasion of their country. The Budapest Capital Circus, which has been putting on shows in the Hungarian capital since 1889, has taken in hundreds of young people between 5 and 20 years old over the past two years, along with several choreographers and trainers. Among them is 18-year-old Alesa Astapova, who fled her home in Kyiv as Russias tanks approached the capital in March 2022. Henry Ridgwell reports for VOA from London. UNRWA Chief: Israel Conducting Campaign to Eliminate Palestinian Aid Agency The head of the embattled United Nations agency that assists Palestinian refugees accused Israel on Monday of conducting a campaign to eliminate it, when more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza are counting on their services to survive. UNRWA is facing a deliberate and concerted campaign to undermine its operations and ultimately end them, Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini told a special meeting of the U.N. General Assembly. UNRWA is the acronym for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. Reported by VOAs United Nations Correspondent Margaret Besheer. News brief The Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate unveiled a prototype checkpoint technology a self-service screening system at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ireland voted in a double referendum on Friday on proposals to modernise constitutional references to the make-up of a family and women's "life within the home". All the major political parties support a "Yes-Yes" vote and until recently polls predicted a smooth passage for both on International Women's Day. Polls opened at 7:00 am (0700 GMT) and closed at 10:00 pm, with results in both votes expected by late Saturday. Nearly 3.5 million people were eligible to vote but turnout was less than 50 percent in most constituencies. Surveys in the run-up to the ballots logged rising unease about the vagueness of the two questions -- and the outcome of the votes. This week Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who heads the centre-right-green governing coalition that proposed the questions, admitted that the results were "in the balance". After casting his vote in the capital, Dublin, on Friday, he urged people to vote "yes" to both questions because "all families are equal" and "family carers should be recognised in our constitution". President Michael D. Higgins voted near his official residence in Phoenix Park, a day after he was discharged from a week-long spell in hospital. The two proposals -- called the family amendment and the care amendment -- would make changes to the text of Article 41 in the Irish constitution, written in 1937. The first asks citizens to expand the definition of family from those founded on marriage to also include "durable relationships" such as cohabiting couples and their children. The second proposes replacing old-fashioned language around a mother's "duties in the home" with a clause recognising care provided by family members to one another. The votes are the latest attempt to reflect the changing face of European Union member Ireland, and the waning influence of the once-dominant Catholic Church. Voters in the country of 5.3 million opted to end constitutional limits on same-sex marriage in 2015 and abortion in 2018. - Confusion - In addition to the governing coalition and the main opposition party, Sinn Fein, women's rights and family carer groups have also urged citizens to "vote for equality". "We see these changes as small steps forward and therefore on balance have advocated a 'yes' vote," leftist-nationalist Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said on Thursday. "It's really important that we change our constitution to reflect the reality of our lives in Ireland and the reality of families," Orla O'Connor, director of the National Women's Council of Ireland, told AFP. But "No" campaigners argue that the concept of "durable relationship" is undefined and confuses voters, and that women and mothers are being "cancelled" from the constitution. Disability rights activists also told AFP that the care amendment appears to portray disabled people as a burden on families, with the state abdicating its role in providing care. Meanwhile, ultra-conservative voices have argued that the changes could constitutionally protect polygamous relationships and increase immigration via migrant family reunions -- accusations all denied by the government. For Yvonne Galligan, a political scientist, the care amendment is the "more complex" and more likely of the two referendum questions to deliver a "No" vote. "People could vote 'No' for very different reasons -- some to preserve the paternalistic status quo and enhance it, and others because it doesn't recognise disability rights," said Galligan, a professor at the Technological University of Dublin. pmu-jwp/phz/gil/bc/tym World number one Scottie Scheffler fired a five-under-par 67 to join a six-way tie for the lead at the halfway stage of the US PGA Tour Arnold Palmer Invitational on Friday. Scheffler, the 2022 Masters champion, could have taken sole possession of the lead at Bay Hill but missed a 20-foot birdie put on the 18th green. Nevertheless, Scheffler's 67 was good enough to vault him alongside Shane Lowry, Hideki Matsuyama, Russell Henley, Brian Harman, and Wyndham Clark at the top of the leaderboard on seven under. Scheffler's round started inauspiciously with a bogey on the par-four first. But the American steadied with birdies on the fourth and sixth holes to reach the turn at one under for the day. Another bogey on the 11th dropped him back to level par, but a brilliant eagle on the par-five 12th, chipping in from just off the green, proved to be the catalyst of his round. Scheffler notched birdies on the 15th, 16th and 17th holes to move to the top of the leaderboard. The six-times winner on the PGA Tour was satisfied that his hat-trick of birdies down the stretch put him in the mix. "I think I just did a great job of staying patient, and just a great finish," Scheffler said. "There's a lot of names up at the top of the leaderboard right now. It's pretty stacked going into the weekend. I'm proud of how I finished today to give myself a good chance." Lowry, leading by one after Thursday's first round, shot a one-under-par 71 to remain in the hunt heading to the weekend. Matsuyama meanwhile carded a two-under-par 70 to join the pack at the top. Clark thrust himself into the reckoning with a six-under-par 66 in a round that contained nine birdies that were offset by three bogeys. "Nine birdies out here didn't seem realistic, and so I really didn't even know I made nine birdies until someone told me," Clark said after his roller coaster second round. The cluster of leaders are one stroke ahead of Will Zalatoris on six under. Zalatoris shot a second straight three-under-par 69. Argentina's Emiliano Grillo and Germany's Stephan Jaeger are tied for eighth place on five under, two off the lead. Grillo shot a two-under-par 70 while Jaeger finished with a bogey-free five-under-par 67. Elsewhere on Friday, Rory McIlroy's hopes of making a charge were stymied after an erratic two-under-par 70 that included six birdies and four bogeys. But while McIlroy was preparing for the weekend, England's Tommy Fleetwood was among those players who failed to make the cut. Fleetwood, who began the day at one over, saw his round go up in smoke after a disastrous start that left him eight-over-par for the day after just six holes. The nadir came on the par-five sixth hole, where Fleetwood posted a quintuple-bogey 10 after finding the water three times. Fleetwood eventually carded an eight-over-par 80 to leave him nine over after 36 holes, six shots outside the cut. rcw/sev Photo-Illustration: Vulture. Photos: Frazer Harrison / Getty Images, Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Tan France is denying that he gave the Queer Eye lineup a makeover. On February 27, Netflix announced that Jeremiah Brent who is also Frances friend would be replacing Bobby Berk as the shows new interior designer. Rolling Stone later published a report on March 5, claiming that France (with alleged support from Antoni Porowski) had campaigned for the Berk-Brent switch, with one source describing what happened as mean-girl antics. Three days later, France took to Instagram to respond via video. I just want to address one point real quick, he said on March 8. My former colleague getting fired had nothing to do with me trying to get my friend hired. France denied swaying Netflixs decision, noting that Brent was chosen as the best person for the job after a full casting process. I didnt get [Brent] hired by getting rid of somebody else, he concluded. Heres all the gossip we can spill so far, below: Was Bobby Berk fired from Queer Eye? Frances Instagram video was a bit dramatic vis-a-vis the fired allegations. The interior designer left the show on his own volition, Berk explained in a January interview with Vanity Fair. According to him, the Fab Five had all mentally prepared to leave after their contract expired in September 2022. But with content running low due to last years Hollywood strikes, Netflix offered the Fab Five a new deal for four more cycles. Berk declined; hed already started planning multiple other projects. He thought his co-stars were going to follow suit, but right before the deadline, he said they all decided to sign. And with only one of us not coming back, Netflix felt [it] could recast one person, Berk explained. Though he admitted to being mad for a second, he vaguely said that each one of us had our reasons why we did what we did. How did the feud between Tan France and Bobby Berk begin? Queer Eye fans have been constructing theories of behind-the-scenes beef ever since news broke last fall that Berk would be leaving the Fab Five (which also includes France, Karamo Brown, Jonathan Van Ness, and Porowski) after the upcoming eighth season of the reality show. Naturally, the speculation continued when Berk unfollowed co-star Tan France on Instagram shortly after announcing his exit in November 2023. Tan and I had a moment, Berk confirmed in a January interview with Vanity Fair. There was a situation, and thats between Tan and I, and it has nothing to do with the show. It was something personal that had been brewing and nothing romantic, just to clarify that. Looking back, Berk said he shouldnt have unfollowed France, and maybe just needed to mute his account. But that day, I was angry, and thats the end of it, Berk said. We became like siblingsand siblings are always going to fight. He noted that he and France hugged and congratulated each other at the Emmy Awards earlier this month, which he described as the first bandage on that wound. In six months to a year, he said he could see himself and France at each others house being good. Do Jonathan Van Ness and Antoni Porowski have anything to do with Berks exit? Yes and no. Multiple production sources alleged the Fab Five were decidedly not close and simply maintained a veneer of friendliness to appease the public eye, according to a Rolling Stone report published March 5. Worse, anonymous insiders claimed Van Ness, arguably the breakout star of Queer Eye, contributed to a toxic workplace, using words like monster, nightmare, and demeaning to describe his presence on set. Berk would allegedly quarrel with France and Van Ness over his larger workload while filming, and grew to feel that his small screen time didnt match the amount of effort he put into rebuilding a subjects room and furniture in four days. He checked out during the last season, sources alleged. As for the Porowski of it all, France and the Chopped protege are friends outside the series. Based on that fact, it was easy to speculate that Porowski stood behind his friend when advocating for Brent as a replacement. The fifth member of the Fab Five, Karamo Brown, cant be factored in to the mess at this point. When Berk left, Brown loudly begged for Netflix to bring him back in an Instagram comment on Berks original goodbye post in November. We are #ForeverTheFab5 no matter what, he wrote. Im about to be at Netflixs door & e-mails telling them you cant leave! Who is coming with me? At least someone knows silly lukewarm drama like this could be bad business. This post has been updated. Photo: Neon / Courtesy Everett Collection Spoilers ahead for the plot and ending of Anatomy of a Fall. [Steel drum cover of P.I.M.P blasting] HELLO, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT ANATOMY OF A FALL! In Anatomy of a Fall, a Best Picture nominee directed by Justine Triet, Sandra (Sandra Huller) finds herself on trial after her husband, Samuel, is found dead outside their picturesque chalet (which, incidentally, you can rent on AirBnB, Im sure your significant other wont find that unsettling at all!). The surface question of the movie is just how Samuel fell to his death: Was he pushed? Did he jump? Was it all a horrible accident? Sandras first language is German and the language of her household is English; unfortunately for her, she is on trial in France, where she already feels like an outsider and where she is at a tactical and linguistic disadvantage. As an American watching the trial scenes in Anatomy unfold, I found the trial proceedings fascinating and bizarre. Based on my law education (I have seen My Cousin Vinny many times), trials are mostly lawyers yelling OBJECTION. Witnesses, like properly-raised children, only speak when spoken to, the judge wears one of those goofy graduation gowns, and lawyers wear suits in fact some of our finest, most effective attorneys dress slutty in court, for feminism. In Anatomy, on the other hand, judges and lawyers wear goofy graduation gowns, plus frilly little collars. And the trial itself is basically a free-for-all: Witnesses and the accused argue with each other right over the heads of their (hot) lawyers and no one really objects to anything, including accusations like (and Im paraphrasing only slightly), Your husband wasnt suicidal, he told me he just hated his bitch wife. I kept wondering: Wait, is that allowed? Is that how they do things in France? To find out, I called up Jacqueline Hodgson, a professor at Warwick School of Law in England and an expert on comparative criminal justice, author of the book French Criminal Justice: A Comparative Account of the Investigation and Prosecution of Crime in France. She thought the film was brilliant and extends her sympathies to its confused American viewers. Thematically, its very important in the movie for Sandras character to be tried in a foreign language to not be able to really defend herself in the language with which she is most comfortable. There are a few moments, though, where she reverts to English, and a court translator steps in for everyone else. In real life, would she not get a translator for the whole procedure? That was a bit strange! She could have had a translator for the whole thing. There wouldnt be an expectation that if thats not your native tongue, you would have to bumble along. Its an absolute fair trial right that youd be able to do this in your own language. But also the translator in court can be a really strange barrier. If youre being interviewed by the police, having a translator can give you a bit of a buffer, or breathing time, in between their questions and your answer. But in trial, its really tedious. Everything takes twice as long. You lose the flow. So a lawyer wont like it, because they will have to keep pausing when they cross-examine you. And for you to tell your story, it interrupts the flow if someone keeps stopping to translate. So if you were that character, would you have preferred as much as you could to speak in French? Her French was really good but if its not your mother tongue, it seems like its not a good idea. You always risk saying things not the right way. In the film, before the trial, theres this official reenactment process at Sandra and Samuels house, overseen by a judge. I was surprised to see a judge so involved in all this pre-trial stuff. In American court, my understanding is you never see the judge outside of court and they dont participate in any sort of pre-trial investigation at all. Whats that about? The judge who was present visiting the scene and reenactments, that is the investigating judge: the juge dinstruction, the pre-trial judge. And at the court, you would have seen the trial judges a panel of three, chaired by a woman, in this case. Thats the iconic representation of French justice, rather like the jury in the American criminal justice system. So because this was potentially a homicide, it has to go to the juge dinstruction for the pre-trial investigation. That judge will delegate the majority of the investigation to the police. But interestingly, they cannot delegate any of the questioning of the accused to the police once the case has passed to them. Its completely different to America or Britain. The model there is a model of truth-finding, and the idea is that you, as the accused person, along with the public prosecutor and the victim, all can feed into that investigation, and both the accused person and the victim can each be represented by a lawyer. The parties can all try to contribute to the investigation by suggesting lines of enquiry to the juge dinstruction. We saw this guy, Bill, he was at the scene, he always said he wanted to kill that person. The juge dinstruction will decide whether to pursue these or not and has to give reasons if they decide not to. The court relies heavily on the dossier of evidence provided by the judge. But its an interesting model. In North America, you, as the accused, cant contribute to the investigation. Its only at trial that the defense gets a chance to chip in and steer things. Photo: Le Pacte Does the juge dinstructions findings carry more weight than others? Yes, because its understood by the court to be the product of a judicial investigation not simply the assertion of a more partisan party. Thats especially true of the defense lawyer who only represents the interests of the accused. The public prosecutor carries more weight as they are a judicial officernot in the same way as the fully independent juge dinstruction or trial judge but they are seen as less partisan and more public interest centered than the lawyer. Sandra and Samuels son Daniel gets this court-appointed babysitter who follows him home and makes sure he doesnt speak to his mother. Is that a common practice? I was amazed by the sudden introduction of a random adult tasked with protecting the testimony of someone young and vulnerable. I spoke with a French colleague who hadnt ever come across that, and neither had I. And just the cost of that, I would be very surprised if that happens very often, if only because the French justice system, just like every other one, is really strapped for cash, and she would have been paid for by the state. At the pre-trial hearing, the court decides to let Sandra out on bail. Were told in the movie that thats unusual in these cases. What did you make of that development? There should be a presumption that you can be released on bail unless youre a flight risk or a concern that you could interfere with witnesses. The whole parent-child relationship, and the damage that would be done in removing either the child or the mother from the home, that damage outweighs the risk. The other thing is that when Ive talked to instructing judges during my own research, theyve said to me something quite funny given the presumption of innocence We would never remand someone in custody if we thought they were innocent. So their way of approaching it would be, if we think this person is probably going to get convicted, its reasonable to hold them, whereas if they think this person wont be convicted, they dont want to imprison them in that time before their trial. So they let Sandra out on bail because they dont think shes a flight risk. Theres a certain kind of trust in her. Shes been very clearly asserting her innocence. In a murder case, quite often, someone is remanded in custody, but not always. Baseline question but: Do the accused have the presumption of innocence in the French justice system? Almost everyone at the trial seemed intent on proving Sandras guilt. Yes, absolutely they do. And I wonder if people kind of have that impression because in North American and Wales, its an adversarial party-driven system, in which the two parties determine the contours of the case and the judge has this much more umpire-type role. Frances is an inquisitorial system, because the model is of a single inquiry into the truth, rather than two parties presenting opposing versions for the judge to then decide which is correct. So its very different. I feel like that brings us to this bigger existential question of: which system is more just? Which is more likely to produce a fair outcome? Is it just my own bias of having grown up with one system that this other system seems much less appealing? The thing to remember with both types of trials is: they are absolute ideals. Of course in the U.S. there are hardly any trials. The system is completely dominated by plea-bargaining. And in England and Wales, guilty pleas make up the majority; very few go to trial. And similarly in France, a judicial investigation like we saw in the film happens in only around one to two percent of cases. What we see in Anatomy of a Fall is very much that rarefied ideal of criminal justice. Just like a jury trial is for your and my system, the judicial investigation is the absolute gold standard in France. And that all sounds really lovely! Rather than having lawyers in court arguing black is white and night is day, where neither party is interested in the truth because theyre only interested in winning. Whereas the French system is about the truth. But thats not how the French system works in practice. In practice, theres actually very little difference between the two systems. The big centerpiece of the movie is this dramatic recording that was taken without Sandras knowledge or consent. Watching that I thought, wait, is France a single-party consent state? Is this recording even admissible? In the United States, whether or not you could even admit that recording wouldve been a huge part of the story. In Anatomy of a Fall, its like, oh, we have this tape. Just press play! Absolutely. In France because you want to bring in as much information as you can and you dont want to be hooked up in this system of what can go in and what cant. The idea being, its not going to a jury, its going to a judge. And the judge can determine what weight to apply to that evidence. Photo: Neon The physical structure of the courtroom feels very gladiatorial because its partly in the round. Is that just what court looks like in France? Why is the advocate general who is leading this questioning of witnesses and is Sandras opposition so much higher than the accused? Thats a feature of North America, that the lawyer sits beside her client. In France, the accused will be separated off and everything goes on around her. The judges will be raised, and thats quite symbolic about their position. And even at the beginning of the 1990s, the prosecutor used to also be on that same level as the judges. That architecture of the courtroom is really important, where they sit and what they wear. Yes, tell me more about their robes. The robes just go over their attire. I was really surprised in France that often, particularly the defense lawyers, were dressed really casually sometimes under their robes. Coming into court in flip-flops or something. My stereotype of the French is that theyre really stylish! But theyre not necessarily stylish in court. During the trial, the advocate general asks so many invasive and suggestive questions. It seemed so out of pocket, all this salacious stuff: Did you know she was BISEXUAL?! And of course, my American response to that is, why isnt someone constantly saying objection? I think thats quite realistic! You wont have lawyers jumping up and saying objection thats a very North American thing. Really, the judge is running the show, and you wouldnt object to what the judge is saying. The judge might object to your questions. And they have a lot of latitude. They make comments that are sometimes inappropriate and they ask questions that are maybe not relevant. Lawyers dont play such a massive role in the French criminal justice system at all. Lawyers are super-important in North America. In the French system much, much less so. The judge and advocate general are much more important. And the defense lawyer is sort of the poor relation. One of the other things that I found really striking is that the advocate general could go from interviewing a witness say, the journalist who was trying to interview Sandra at the very beginning of the movie and then they can just pop over and ask the accused a question. Its not like the American system where one person is being questioned at a time. And when Samuels therapist is on the stand, Sandra and the therapist are able to talk to each other. In France, can everybody just talk to everybody else at any time? Not quite. In North America, youre right, you question one person and the accused will testify, and thats it. In the French trial, the accused gets to contribute to her own trial a lot more. She gets to say, Hold on, that wasnt right, and she can comment on someone elses testimony. And its also a principle that the accused has to have the last word at the trial as well. So its part of that different model of truth-seeking, rather than an adversarial one that very strictly controls the boundaries of who can say what and when. Its not exactly a free for all. The other thing thats really shocking for North American and British audiences is that the judge constantly speaks to the accused directly. In North America youre always protected by the lawyer so you dont say something that can get you in a muddle. I was pretty uncomfortable with it. That felt very much like dramatic license. I feel like it would be so stressful as the accused to never be able to just exhale. Its like youre always on the witness stand as long as youre in the room. But also, think about how stressful it is if you have to sit there listening to someone saying something about you that isnt true and you dont get to correct it. That would be very stressful. In adversarial systems, I think its actually quite hard, ironically, for the accused to participate in her own trial. The only way it will happen is through her lawyer. The defense can cross-examine and challenge and maybe the accused will whisper to their lawyer, this is nonsense, ask them about this. But thats it. It also feels so prudish and not French for the advocate general to be so lame about Sandra and Samuels open marriage and Sandras affairs! Hes so scandalized by the idea that Samuel would have known about, and in some way condoned, Sandras other sexual relationships. I thought the French were supposed to be cool about that sort of thing. I wouldnt say that France is really cool about things like that. If shed been a man, it may have been different. But as a woman? I think France still has a bit of a way to go in terms of feminism and womens rights, for sure. As a writer, the part that really made my heart rate skyrocket was when they just took Sandras novel and they put her book on trial. Well, look, she wrote about a murder in fiction. She must be a murderer. I guess it just shows the range of almost anything going in as evidence. I was pretty uncomfortable with it. That felt very much like dramatic license. What did you make of Daniels testimony? He does this unsupervised experiment on Snoop (Palm Dog winner Messi) and gets to give this very moving monologue about a memory of his dad, without any real guardrails on his testimony. What struck me about Daniels testimony as a bit unusual is, normally, you couldnt sit in on the trial, hear what everybody else says, and then testify. Its a slightly weird thing, because he never would have delivered that second load of testimony if he hadnt heard everything at the trial. I was thinking: would that be allowed? They might think what hes saying is in some way tainted or influenced by the rest of it. But in the interest of the truth-seeking role, even though its a little bit out of the usual order of events, maybe theyd have permitted it. So spoiler alert Sandra gets acquitted. Did that seem like a realistic outcome from the trial you saw? And do you think she did it? I thought the film was very clever in that I dont know about you, but there was a point in the film where I wondered, did she do it? It wasnt clear to me all the way through that she was innocent. I thought it was quite nice that it kept that bit of dramatic tension. In terms of the verdict, I was ready for it to go either way. I came away thinking, no, she didnt do it. And I started out thinking that, too. Did that seem a realistic thing given the trial wed seen? I think so. I felt like the outcome was a fine balance, it wasnt a slam dunk either way. And thats realistic. Thats what trials are like. You often genuinely dont know quite which way its going to go. Okay, this is gossipy, but it seems pretty clear that Sandra and her lawyer have some kind of history. The actors have done interviews where theyve disclosed that they did, in fact, shoot a sex scene, but it got cut. I kept waiting for someone at the trial to say, Are we not going to talk about how hes sleeping with his client? I am curious what you make of the fact that they have at least some kind of personal relationship in addition to being lawyer-client. Would that have made her more vulnerable in court if the other side had found out about it? I thought about that. Would the other side say its some conflict of interest and he couldnt represent her personally? But would you say that you couldnt represent a brother or a cousin? It might have put you in a weak position because you might challenge that persons professionalism, to say they had ulterior motives or they werent being dispassionate. But dramatically, I thought it was kind of an interesting thing in the trial. Because from her point of view, is that actually the best person to represent you? Someone who has a personal investment? In a hypothetical scenario in which you found your husband dead outside your mountain home under mysterious-but-suspicious circumstances, would you want the mountain home in question to be in France? Or do you think youd prefer to be tried under a different justice system? Good question! I think I would instinctively prefer the system in England and Wales with which Im more familiar for a number of reasons. You are always at a disadvantage being investigated/tried in a language that is not your mother tongue. We saw that in the film: She seemed much more vulnerable when speaking in French, as this was her weakest language. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Photo: John Paul Filo/CBS via Getty Images The driver in the Vermont crash that killed Treat Williams accepted a plea deal that will allow him to avoid prison time, WTEN reports. On Friday, 35-year-old Ryan Koss pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of negligent driving with death resulting. According to CNN, a judge ruled that Kosss sentencing will be deferred for one year. During this probation period, Koss will have his license revoked and be required to go through mental health counseling and a restorative justice program. He previously pleaded not guilty to the original felony charge of gross negligent operation with death resulting, which could have meant up to 15 years in prison. (With the lesser charge, he will only face up to two years in prison if he breaks probation.) Koss collided with Williamss motorcycle in Dorset, Vermont in June. Williams was airlifted to a hospital in New York, and ultimately died at 71. Per AP News, Koss had known Williams for years through Vermonts theater community, and considered him to be a friend. Koss expressed his sincerest apologies and condolences to the actors family during the Friday hearing. Im here to acknowledge that this accident occurred because I made a left turn in front of an oncoming motorcycle that collided with my car, Koss told the court, and it was my responsibility to avoid that from happening, and for that I am truly sorry. Williamss son, Gil, attended the hearing and addressed Koss directly. I do forgive you, and I hope that you forgive yourself, and I dont want you to go to prison, Gil said, noting that his family hadnt pressed charges. Still, he added, I really wish you hadnt killed my father. I really had to say that. Williamss wife, Pam, was not present. According to Bennington County States Attorney Erica Marthage, Koss called Pam after the crash to tell her what happened. In a statement that was read aloud in court, she said she hopes Koss can forgive himself for what she described as a tragic accident. The entry of Chinese electric car brands into the Turkish market has substantially bolstered sectoral growth, captivating increasing interest from Turkish consumers. Produced by Xinhua Global Service RICHMOND, Va. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin took final action late Friday on 84 pieces of legislation, signing 64 bills into law and vetoing eight others, including legislation that would add more restrictions on firearm transfers. Cut through the 2024 election noise. Get The Campaign Moment newsletter. ArrowRight Youngkin, a Republican, had a deadline of 11:59 p.m. Friday to act on the legislation sent to him by the Democratic-led General Assembly last week. The governor usually has 30 days to take action on legislation, but a 7-day deadline applies to bills sent to his office before the last week of the legislative session, which is scheduled to end Saturday. Most of the bills were not highly contentious. The 64 bills Youngkin signed into law had bipartisan support, including legislation to enshrine the legality of same-sex marriage in Virginia in the event that the U.S. Supreme Court reverses its 2015 decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide. Advertisement The legislation provides state-level protections by prohibiting the denial of marriage licenses on the basis of sex, gender or race and requiring that lawful marriages be recognized by the state. It allows religious organizations or members of the clergy the right to refuse to perform any marriage. Another bill signed into law will prohibit public universities in Virginia from giving preferential treatment in admissions to students related to donors or alumni. In a statement, Youngkin said the bipartisan bills he signed into law are a clear demonstration of what can be achieved when we set politics aside and work together for Virginians. Youngkin vetoed a bill aimed at clarifying that a law requiring parental notification of sexually explicit materials in schools is not meant to enable censorship. Advertisement He also vetoed legislation that would have required the state commissioner of elections to rejoin a data-sharing interstate compact aimed at fighting voter fraud. Last year, Virginia became the eighth Republican-led state to withdraw from the Electronic Registration Information Center after the group was targeted in a series of online stories that questioned its funding and purpose. Virginia was one of the founding members when the center was formed in 2012, an effort promoted by then-Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican. The voluntary system aims to help about two dozen member states maintain accurate lists of registered voters by sharing data that allows officials to identify and remove people who have died or moved to other states. Following state elections in November, Democrats now have narrow control of both the House and the Senate. During the current legislative session, Democrats have pushed to have Virginia rejoin the compact. Advertisement It will take a two-thirds vote to override Youngkins vetoes. Youngkin sent 12 bills back to the General Assembly with amendments he said he hopes will be reviewed with serious consideration. One of those bills would require local school boards to provide an annual notification to parents of their legal responsibility to safely store all firearms in their homes, and to provide parents with statistics on firearm-related accidents, injuries and deaths among young people, as well as safety tips. The legislation was proposed in the wake of a shooting last year of a Virginia teacher by her 6-year-old student at an elementary school in Newport News. The teacher, Abigail Zwerner, survived but was seriously injured. Youngkins amendment includes a reenactment clause and directs the state Department of Education to convene a work group to create a comprehensive list of the parental rights and responsibilities and to develop an efficient method for distributing the list to parents. They say that you should face your fears head on. Thats why I am front row at Kmarts runway show as part of the Melbourne Fashion Festival, bracing myself for an onslaught of stretch nylon dresses, untucked mens cotton shirts and dinosaur-themed childrens clothing. Last year I wrote an article questioning the presence of a low-cost brand selling wardrobe basics alongside the considered creative output of designers such as Jordan Gogos, Gail Sorronda and Lesleigh Jermanus of Alemais. To escape accusations of snobbery, Ive returned to test my appreciation of $2.50 T-shirts. The Kmart runway show as part of the Melbourne Fashion Festival. Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui Talking to guests attending the free show held on Saturday, its clear that Im not the only one facing the stigma of snobbery. We sometimes call it Ahnkoo, says Tania Romano, adding a mysterious European inflection to Kmarts home brand Anko. The pronunciation is reminiscent of Tar-jay for Target. Last week, a star-studded three-day event took place in India, where Rihanna performed for a host of international guests, including Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Ivanka Trump, all of whom were issued with a nine-page dress code guide before their arrival. When they werent being serenaded by one of the worlds biggest pop stars (whose performance fee was reportedly $US9 million, or $13.6 million in our currency), guests had the opportunity to visit an animal rescue sanctuary or sample one of 500 dishes cooked by 100 chefs as part of a celebratory feast. A no-expense-spared wedding can leave you with a serious debt hangover. Credit: Dionne Gain So, what were they attending? Not a global summit or major international merger, but a wedding, of course. The happy couple, Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant, are both the children of billionaires (Ambanis father is the ninth-richest person in the world and the richest person in Asia), meaning their wedding was never going to be a modest affair at the registry office, but even by Instagram-envy standards, their celebrations took things to the next level. Bank records and previously secret emails obtained by this masthead and published online for the first time reveal details of how Adeang has been enriched by $850,000 or more in illicit payments from Gupta and his relatives. Adeang and Waqa could not be contacted for comment, but have previously denied bribery allegations. Adeang said in 2015 they were baseless claims all of which have been consistently disproven, and to be honest, are of no interest to Australia as they are Nauruan domestic matters. Adeang is also implicated in a separate alleged bribery plot, involving allegations he received illicit payments sourced from Australian businesses involved in asylum seeker offshore processing on Nauru. An Australian law enforcement intelligence report from early 2021, sighted by this masthead, shows at least $300,000 was paid into Adeangs bank accounts in 2020. Those payments have been traced by Australian Federal Police as part of an investigation into allegations Australias offshore processing subcontracts were rorted enriching Nauruan officials. The intelligence report referred to rapid movement of large volume of funds by David Adeang, forming a suspicion of corruption and money laundering. When the $300,000 moved through Adeangs accounts in 2020, he was Naurus justice minister and responsible for negotiating with Australia on offshore processing. Pacific Island Forum chief and former Nauruan president Baron Waqa. Credit: Michelle Smith Both sides of politics The leaked documents also reveal Gupta made payments between 2008 and 2013 to Adeangs political opponent, the ex-president turned speaker of the island nations parliament, Marcus Stephen. Stephen received payments totalling $170,000 while president between 2007 and late 2011. He also did not respond to attempts to contact him. Multiple payments from Gupta to Adeang and Stephen, along with at least eight other senior Nauruan officials, are referred to in coded emails as candy and messages. Other emails are more explicit, with reference to payments for Adeangs school fees and to buy a car to help people politick. In one leaked email from 2010, Adeang described his intention of working together in partnership for the longer term with Gupta. Around the same time, Gupta emailed Adeang instructions about an apparent cash drop off in Brisbane. Please advise person concerned to meet at 12-12:30 pm tomorrow (Sunday) at Hungry Jacks Shop at Queen Street Mall. There will be one person who will call her mobile and meet and give her a packet. The documents show that, in 2010, Gupta paid $585,000 to at least 10 Nauruan politicians aligned to Adeang to secure their vote to topple the then government of Marcus Stephen in return for ongoing and favourable access to phosphate. The plot failed, and it wasnt until 2013 that Adeang succeeded in his long-term plan to install Waqa as president. Political power Despite wide knowledge and evidence of the bribery allegations in Canberra and across the south pacific, Adeang and Waqa continue to wield political power in the region, and over Australia, due in part to Naurus role as the sole remaining asylum seeker offshore processing site. Adeang was elected Naurus president last October, but prior to that he controlled Naurus offshore processing negotiations with Australia as a senior minister. Thirty-nine people seeking asylum were sent to Nauru last week after arriving on a boat in Western Australia. Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong with Pacific leaders in 2022. Credit: Joe Armao Successive Australian governments have remained quiet about evidence of Adeangs corruption. After Chalmers meeting with Adeang, who is also Naurus finance minister, the Nauruan president posted on Facebook that their discussions had centred on finance and economy including banking, setting the pace and direction as Nauru shifts banking services. Chalmers was approached for comment and declined to confirm if he had been briefed on the bribery investigation. The Nauruan politicians also wield regional power. Waqa was recently appointed, with Australias support, to the top role at the Pacific Islands Forum, which plays a key role in regional affairs and managing Chinas rise. Earlier this year, Adeang switched Naurus allegiance from Taiwan to China, with Taiwanese officials stating he had done so because Beijing was willing to fill a funding shortfall caused by Canberra reducing the money for offshore processing. A spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong refused to answer questions about what the Australian government knew of bribery allegations against Waqa, and why it supported him. Former president of Nauru Marcus Stephen. Credit: Glen McCurtayne Well funded, well lubricated The emails published by this masthead today show how explicit the politicians were when asking phosphate magnate Gupta for money. One and last request, if candy can be organised so that I can use on my trip to Copenhagen, Stephen emailed Gupta in December 2009. Some of the payments to Stephen were made in cash in Queensland and recorded in Guptas companys files as: cash given to Amit for Nauru president. Adeang though was the biggest recipient of suspect payments. The payments from Gupta, along with the funds sent to Adeangs account in 2020 and linked to offshore processing contractors, total at least $1 million. More than $850,000 was paid to Adeang by Gupta and his relatives as they sought control over Naurus phosphate industry between 2008, when he was an opposition MP, and 2013. The leaked emails reveal a series of messages sent between Gupta and Adeang between 2009 and 2010, including as Adeang embarked on an ambitious plot to replace then-president Stephen with Waqa in a move that would result in a government favouring Guptas business interests. On August 21, 2009, Adeang reminded Gupta to pay him his monthly message because Adeang had school fees and associated expenses to meet. A few months later Adeang wrote another reminder saying: Can i take this opportunity to pls remind you of the November message most grateful for your continued assistance. David. Corresponding bank records show that on November 13, one of Guptas companies transferred $9400 to Adeangs Australian account. Then in December, Adeang wrote again to his Gold Coast benefactor: Dear Amit, just a friendly reminder pls for the December message. The email was followed by another bank transfer, with $13,700 wired to Adeangs Australian bank account by a Gupta-linked firm. Adeang also sought a modest amount of funds to help a large group of other opposition politicians, whom Adeang was working with to oust Stephen. In an email dated November 2009, Adeang requested $7000 to buy a car the politicians would use for group activities in the political arena and for meals that were well funded, well lubricated. The group would have of course have no knowledge of the source of funding but i would mention that it is externally sourced from a friend to the group who wishes to assist our groups efforts, Adeang wrote to Gupta. At one point Adeang complained that, instead of using the money Gupta had sent to run political campaigns, his group of plotters had instead spent most of their time shopping and even more time horse betting at the TAB. Phosphate mining in Nauru has left an arid landscape. Credit: Angela Wylie A phosphate monopoly The requests for funds escalated during 2010 as Gupta pressed Adeang to wrest control of Naurus government, which would in turn hand Gupta control of the countrys phosphate industry. Please mobilize all resources to turn the table and whatever is required from our end please let us know, Gupta wrote to Adeang. Adeang advised him that the Nauruan politicians he needed onside would have their own demands. It is inevitable that they will have foremost in their considerations, their personal outcome after the change [in government] that is, whats in it for me? I am counting on you to assure them of your support to them to convince them of the merits of change, Adeang told Gupta via email. Loading In May 2010, Adeang demanded the biggest suspected bribe yet: a payment totalling $585,000 to be divided among several politicians. One of those Adeang singled out for a kickback of $30,000 was Waqa, who was then an opposition MP. On May 8, Adeang sent Waqas Westpac account details to Gupta, asking for money to be wired to BW. Banking records show that two days later, Waqas account was wired $30,000 by a Gupta-controlled company in the UAE called Pan Ventures Limited. We are confident that with the resources above, we can further consolidate the votes that are already poised to topple government, Adeang wrote to Gupta on May 8, 2010. Days later, Gupta emailed Adeang to tell him the suspected bribes had been paid. All transfers have been done make 100% sure that they win. One charge laid Eight years after beginning its investigation into these matters, the AFP laid a charge of bribery against one of Guptas companies, Getax. However, the firms lawyers are seeking to have the charges permanently stayed arguing evidence had been lost due to unjustified and inexplicable delays in investigating and prosecuting the case. This masthead is not suggesting Getax is guilty of any offence, simply that charges have been brought and are being contested. Sources close to the Australian corruption investigation in its early stages say the police were acutely aware of the extra sensitivity of the investigation given the involvement of high ranking Nauruan officials and the offshore processing regime. Loading Guptas business empire has continued to grow and sources close to him estimate his personal wealth is $800 million. He runs multinational fertiliser firm Agrifields DMCC, which still buys phosphate from Nauru. His wife, who it is not suggested is involved in wrongdoing, has a significant stake in listed Australian fertiliser company Avenira. The AFPs years-long investigation into Gupta is one of several corporate bribery probes that have faced lengthy delays or collapsed. This masthead can reveal that the AFPs foreign bribery case against two ex-executives from engineering giant SMEC was quietly withdrawn by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions last year. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size In the early hours of June 19, 2013, a panic-wracked Australian businessman boarded an international flight and held his breath. Hours earlier, Amit Guptas Gold Coast home had been raided by the federal police. Investigators had spent weeks tapping Guptas phone, probing sensational allegations he had backed a political coup on the small Pacific Island of Nauru by bribing multiple politicians who had plotted to topple the government. The new government, Gupta hoped, would give him complete control over the island nations lucrative mining rights, but an arrest now could mean years in jail. If these moments of apprehension, with the Australian police snapping at his heels, were Guptas low point, they were fleeting. As his plane soared into the morning sky, his future stretched out brightly ahead. Amit Gupta who is accused of making payments to Nauru politicians. In the decade since, this alleged corporate crime kingpin and fugitive from justice has built a global business worth an estimated $800 million. This masthead has tracked Gupta to Dubai where, late last year, he got more good news: Australian efforts to extradite him had collapsed, rebuffed by the Dubai authorities over a legal technicality. Advertisement Guptas good fortune is not just the product of corporate acumen and cunning. As a key target of the longest-running bribery probe in Australian Federal Police history, Guptas ability to shake off his police pursuers and build his empire abroad starkly illustrates the weakness of Australias struggling anti-corporate crime regime. For years, business bribery investigations by the AFP and corporate watchdog the Australian Securities and Investments Commission have been beset by delays, resourcing shortfalls and legislative challenges. These add to the already significant challenge facing authorities when probing cases involving foreign, sometimes corrupt, regimes which are entwined with Australias foreign relations. The shadow of asylum seeker offshore processing recently reinvigorated on Nauru with the interception of two groups of boat arrivals in Western Australia has hung over the AFPs pursuit of Gupta, as has the fear China will exploit any damage caused to international relations by a full-blown corruption scandal. And while the Albanese, Morrison and Turnbull governments have all backed proposed laws making it easier to charge uber-wealthy allegedly corrupt businessmen like Gupta, the Combatting Foreign Bribery Bill was stuck for years in the parliament before finally passing last week. In December, the OECD urged Australia to implement the new regime without delay, while also warning the new law, as drafted, didnt go far enough. Allegations like those levelled against Naurus politicians suggest that Australian companies have sought unfair advantage by paying politicians at the cost of the ordinary people in the poverty-stricken country. For the cops who have spent years on Guptas trail, though, their quarry has gone. And hes taken his millions with him. Advertisement Just like Gandhi In February last year, Amit Gupta was interviewed by a podcaster who asked about the secret to his success. Well-dressed, slim and urbane, with a slight Indian accent, Gupta slipped smoothly into a quote from Mahatma Gandhi about patience and persistence. First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win, he said. It has been a very powerful lesson for me. If Gupta was hinting at his struggle with Australian authorities, he didnt say it outright. But he had good reason to be looking relaxed. That same month, hed won a secret legal battle in Dubai to thwart a years-long effort by the federal police to hold him to account for suspected corruption. Gupta had defeated the AFPs extradition attempt using a legal technicality. Australian police alleged he had engaged in a conspiracy to bribe Nauruan politicians over a decade earlier, but Gupta argued that given no such crime existed in the United Arab Emirates at the time of his alleged offending, he could not be extradited. The UAE authorities agreed and threw out the extradition request. That was in February 2023, but the development has not been reported until now. The Nauru bribery scandal first erupted in 2010, when a report in The Australian alleged Australian police and intelligence agencies were scrutinising a plot by the then Gold Coast-based Gupta and his relatives to use bribery to effectively transform Nauru into a puppet state, with its only industry phosphate mining entirely controlled by Guptas business interests. Advertisement It took the AFP two years, in October 2012, to tap Guptas phone. Eight months later, they raided his Gold Coast home. In 2015, this masthead and the ABC reported on allegations that charges might be imminent. By then Gupta was two years on the lam. In 2017, the Australian government renewed his Australian passport. Four years after that, the AFP brought a single charge not against Gupta, but against his former company, Getax for allegedly bribing Nauruan officials. The firms lawyers are seeking to have the trial of the company abandoned, arguing unjustified and inexplicable delays in investigating and prosecuting the case by commonwealth agencies has caused critical evidence to be lost. Gupta declined a request to comment, but sources close to the investigation who asked to remain anonymous to discuss confidential information, say he denies any wrongdoing. Refugees and bird droppings AFP investigators and senior officials involved in the inquiry in its early years privately acknowledged how sensitive the criminal investigation into Gupta was because the alleged recipients of largesse were Nauruan politicians on whom Australia relied to help implement its pivotal asylum seeker offshore processing regime. Gupta and his family had by then already made vast sums of money by selling phosphate, which is most commonly used to make fertiliser. This substance, formed by the accumulation of generations of droppings by sea birds, had generated incredible wealth for the tiny island over the decades in a boom that decimated the countrys environment. The windfalls were frequently wasted on bad investments and corruption. Advertisement By 2010, phosphate supplies had dwindled but it was still a lucrative commodity for those who could secure it at a bargain price. Documents obtained by this masthead show while Gupta was making significant payments to a number of Nauruan politicians, Getax paid as little as $43 per metric tonne for shipments of the material, allowing it to make huge profits on the global market. Guptas emails expose a systemic alleged bribery operation targeting Naurus most powerful politicians with the aim of winning preference for his and his familys business, and particularly exclusive rights to phosphate and long, ongoing contracts. In doing so, his dealings threatened the political stability of the island nation of 13,000 people and stood to poison its democracy. Emails from 2009 and 2010 reveal Guptas attention and financial largesse was being courted by both sides of Naurus convoluted political system: Naurus then president Marcus Stephen who is currently speaker in the countrys parliament and the man who, back then, was trying to topple him, veteran politician and kingmaker David Adeang, now Naurus president. Adeang was this week with Australian politicians at the ASEAN summit in Melbourne and has previously strongly denied receiving bribes from Gupta. Nauru President David Adeang (right) met Treasurer Jim Chalmers in Melbourne. Credit: Nauru Government In December 2009, Stephen emailed Gupta to warn him about Adeangs plotting. If David Adeang comes back in [power], I suggest you pack your bags, Stephen wrote. But the email had a second purpose to ask for allegedly illicit payments using a code-word. One and last request: if candy can be organised, Stephen wrote, flagging a trip to Europe for a climate summit. Banking records of firms linked to Gupta shed further light on the meaning of candy. Stephens Australian bank accounts received $110,000 in payments from Gupta between 2006 and 2010. Advertisement BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- A global team of researchers has made strides in refining weather forecasting methods using machine learning. Scientists have been looking for better ways to make weather forecasts more accurate. Despite the maturity of ensemble numerical weather prediction (NWP), the resulting forecasts are still, more often than not, under-dispersed. As such, forecast calibration tools have become popular. Among those tools, quantile regression (QR) is highly competitive in terms of both flexibility and predictive performance. Nevertheless, a QR long-standing problem is quantile crossing, which greatly limits the interpretability of QR-calibrated forecasts. On this point, this study proposes a non-crossing quantile regression neural network (NCQRNN), for calibrating ensemble NWP forecasts into a set of reliable quantile forecasts without crossing. According to the study, the NCQRNN model modifies the traditional QRNN structure by adding a new layer that preserves the rank order of output nodes, such that the lower quantiles are constrained to be perpetually smaller than higher ones without losing accuracy. "Our NCQRNN model maintains the natural order of forecast values, ensuring lower quantiles stay smaller than higher ones. This boosts accuracy and significantly improves forecast interpretability," said Yang Dazhi, a professor at Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT). The new findings, recently published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, was co-developed by researchers from the HIT, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany, National University of Singapore, UK Power Networks, Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) in Hungary, and other institutes. The researchers believe that this innovative machine learning approach has substantial improvements over existing models. Its adaptable design allows seamless integration into various weather forecasting systems, promising clearer and more reliable predictions for a range of weather variables. "This non-crossing layer can be added to a wide range of different neural network structures, ensuring the wide applicability of the proposed technique," said Dr. Martin J. Mayer from the BME. According to Dr. Sebastian Lerch from the KIT, the proposed neural network model for quantile regression is very general and can be applied to other target variables with minimal adaptations. Therefore, the method will also be of interest for other weather and climate applications beyond solar irradiance forecasting. Moreover, the researchers emphasize that machine learning has important application prospects in the field of weather and climate research. "This study provides an instructive case study on how to apply advanced machine learning methods to numerical weather prediction models to improve the accuracy of weather forecasts and climate predictions," said Xia Xiang'ao, a professor from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the CAS. BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Despite Western smears, rumors and lies based on ideological bias, China's Xizang Autonomous Region has entered its best period of development, and its human rights situation has never been better. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012, the region has achieved remarkable progress in economic growth, people's livelihoods, environmental protection and the development of Tibetan culture. Such a feat would not have been possible without the strong and effective leadership of the CPC. The landmark democratic reform in Xizang 65 years ago ended the cruel serfdom system, resulting in the emancipation of a million Tibetan serfs. Former serfs bid farewell to the days when they were starved, traded, abused and tortured; they were allocated farmland and cattle and became masters of themselves and their region. Now, Xizang is on a journey of continuous development, progress and prosperity. Today, the region has seen solid and steady economic growth. Its GDP expanded by 9.5 percent year on year to nearly 239.3 billion yuan (about 33.7 billion U.S. dollars) last year, while this figure was only 129 million yuan in 1951. Modern cities have sprung up, expressways have extended in all directions and industrial parks are full of vigor and vitality. In this region, absolute poverty is something of the past. By the end of 2019, Xizang had lifted 628,000 registered poor residents and 74 county-level areas out of poverty, representing victory in the battle against extreme poverty that had plagued the region for thousands of years. Public health services in Xizang have been elevated to a higher level. The region provides a comprehensive public healthcare system covering regular basic medical services, maternity and childcare, disease prevention and control, and Tibetan medicine and therapies. The average life expectancy increased from 35.5 years in 1951 to 72.19 years in 2021. Xizang is the first provincial-level region in China to provide 15 years of publicly funded education from kindergarten to senior high school, standing in stark contrast to the situation 70 years ago when access to education was limited to the nobility. Courses in both Tibetan and Mandarin are taught in primary and secondary schools. Historical and cultural heritage enjoys effective protection in Xizang. Tibetan classics and intangible cultural heritage are under both proper protection and utilization. Three Xizang cultural items -- Gesar, Tibetan Opera, and the Lum medicinal bathing of Sowa Rigpa -- appear on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In this plateau region, environmental conservation is prioritized. With one-third of the region's land serving as nature reserves, it remains one of the best regions in the world in terms of ecological environment quality, experiencing good air quality 99.5 percent of the year on average. It is no surprise that the region is considered a heaven for photographers and tourists. People's political rights are also effectively exercised. Of the 24 deputies of the Xizang delegation to the 14th National People's Congress, 16 are from the Tibetan and other ethnic minorities, including those with small populations such as the Monba people and the Lhoba people. Almost all of them being descendants of former serfs, they have now become practitioners of Chinese democracy on the plateau. Abundant facts and figures have conclusively proved that Xizang has experienced a period of unprecedented development and momentous change, with people enjoying more and more tangible benefits. The progress in the region serves as an epitome of China's brilliant achievements in development, and is a miracle of human development created on "the roof of the world." Swiss enterprise Gutor has voiced confidence in China's economic outlook and continued to expand business investment in the country. Produced by Xinhua Global Service By Cate McCurry, PA Ireland has voted to reject the Governments proposal to change the Constitution on family, with 67 per cent of people voting against the amendment. The referendum returning officer Barry Ryan made the official declaration at Dublin Castle just before 7pm. Turnout for the referenda was 44.36 per cent, a significant drop from the abortion referendum in 2018 which saw a turnout of 64 per cent. The declaration on the care referendum is expected on Saturday evening. Earlier, the Taoiseach said it was clear that the referenda to change the Constitution in Ireland has been defeated comprehensively. Leo Varadkar said the electorate has given the Government two wallops as the final counts of the two Constitution referenda continued with defeat looking likely in each. Tallies show there was a significant no vote in both questions, with some constituencies polling particularly high against the Governments referenda. The boxes were opened at 9am after the public went to the polls on Friday to vote on whether to change the wording of the Constitution relating to the areas of family and care. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar speaking to the media at Dublin Castle (Damien Storan/PA) Early tallies showed a strong support for no votes, signalling an embarrassing defeat for the Government. Speaking at Dublin Castle, Mr Varadkar said: I think its clear at this stage that the family amendment and the care amendment referendums have been defeated, defeated comprehensively on a respectable turnout. The Government accepts the results and will respect it fully. As head of Government, on behalf of the Government, we accept responsibility for the results. It was our responsibility to convince a majority of people to vote yes and we clearly failed to do so. I think we struggle to convince people of the necessity or need for the referendum at all, let alone detail on the wording. Roderic OGorman accepted the Government had not persuaded people to vote yes-yes (Damien Storan/PA) Thats obviously something were going to have to reflect on into the weeks ahead. What I do want to say to people, though, is that when it comes to the work of Government, in relation to gender equality, in relation to improving conditions for carers, in relation to giving rights for people with disabilities, that work will continue. Mr Varadkar also admitted the Irish Government clearly got it wrong. I think Enda Kenny (former taoiseach) famously said once that the electorate often gives the Government a wallop this is two wallops, he added. Well, look, clearly we got it wrong. Childrens Minister Roderic OGorman said the Government was not successful in convincing the public of its arguments to change the Constitution. The Government has to make the case, and its clear that throughout this campaign issues were raised, issues that I think were incorrect interpretations that I and Government believe were incorrect, Mr OGorman said. The results of both votes are expected later on Saturday (Damien Storan/PA) But we werent successful in convincing people that our arguments were strong. I think it has to be acknowledged that the departure from the wording of the Citizens Assembly meant that some of those NGOs and civil society organisations, who would have been supportive originally, didnt feel they could support and (didnt) feel they could campaign to the same degree. I think that was certainly an element. Finally, I think the people didnt see the urgency of the change here in terms of the repeal campaign, where there was a clear outcome the day after the yes vote and in the case of marriage equality, where there was a clear outcome the day of the vote. People didnt get that sense of the need for change here. I think that was a another factor. The result of the referendums on family and care is clear. The majority were not persuaded by the arguments for changing the Constitution in this way. It is a core strength of our Constitution that the people have the final say. We fully respect their decision. (1/3) Micheal Martin (@MichealMartinTD) March 9, 2024 Tanaiste Micheal Martin said the majority of the public were not persuaded by the arguments for changing the Constitution. The result of the referendums on family and care is clear, Mr Martin said in a statement. The majority were not persuaded by the arguments for changing the Constitution in this way. It is a core strength of our Constitution that the people have the final say. We fully respect their decision. There is no single reason why these proposals were rejected and, like all who supported them, we will reflect on this over time. Transport Minister Eamon Ryan conceded early in the count that the Government lost. Its clear we lost, Mr Ryan said. When it was put to the Green Minister that the Government did not get the result it wanted, he said: No, we didnt. Members of the public arrive at the polling station in scoil Treasa Naofa on Donore Avenue, Dublin, on Friday (Gareth Chaney/PA) There was a low turnout reported throughout the day, with less than 30 per cent in some areas. There was a slight uplift at polling stations as people made their home on Friday evening. However, it is thought that numbers remained lower compared to previous referenda. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said her party is very much in touch with the Irish public, despite tallies showing the two referenda will be defeated. Her party advocated for a yes-yes vote in Irelands ballot on family and care. No, were very, very much in touch with people, and youll recall that I said from the get-go, that we were very much in favour of removing sexist language from the Constitution, very much in favour of an inclusive definition of families, Ms McDonald said on Saturday. But we knew that the Government did come up short in terms of the caring wording. They disregarded the Citizens Assembly, they didnt consult with opposition or with other stakeholders. They didnt collaborate, and they failed to convince. I know, talking to lots of people, that people were left with an unbalanced decision to make and I think its a great pity that the Government went on this kind of solo run, and theyve had their answer. I dont think there has been a lack of clarity for people, I think people when they came out and voted were very clear how they were voting and why they were voting in a particular way. Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald speaking to the media at Dublin Castle (Damien Storan/PA) If there is one big takeaway message from this, it is that support for people with disabilities as full and equals citizens and support for carers is something that has to be taken seriously by Government. I think itll fall to the next government to vindicate those rights. Ms McDonald said Sinn Fein will return to consideration the sexist language in Irelands Constitution if the party is in the next government. Senator Michael McDowell, a former tanaiste and ex-justice minister, who campaigned for a no-no vote, said the move had represented unwise social experimentation with the Constitution. Mr McDowell, who was part of the Lawyers For No group, said: I trust individual voters. They looked at what was being put before them and they said no. Many of them will have a slightly different perspective as to why they were voting no, but in the end we live in a republic and the sovereign power is the people and every individual vote is as good as anybody elses vote, and this is an emphatic repudiation of what I think was unwise social experimentation with the Constitution. Labour leader Ivana Bacik said: The result at this early stage certainly looks disappointing for those who campaigned for a yes-yes vote. I do think and it is clear that it is the Governments responsibility, because the Government needs to explain to the people first why it chose and proceeded with wording that was so distinctly different from the wording that our Oireachtas committee on gender equality has proposed, wording that cross-parties had supported. Why did they not go out more assertively and sell it to the people? Because what we saw from Government, particularly in the last few weeks as the no side was gaining ground, we saw a lacklustre campaign from Government. The family amendment proposed extending the meaning of family beyond one defined by marriage and to include those based on durable relationships. The care amendment proposes deleting references to a womans roles and duties in the home, and replacing it with a new article that acknowledges family carers. Catherine Donohoe is the manager of the extremely busy Mayo University Hospital in Castlebar. Its a tough job, there is no getting away from that fact. But Catherine is a woman who has years of experience in the front line as a nurse herself, both here and abroad, with a deep belief in encouraging and helping real change to happen in the health service. Whats really striking is the way she speaks about the impact her upbringing had on her as a person. She credits her parents for her resilience and determination and the presence of a strong, inspirational female figure in the shape of her mother Mary, can be seen in abundance in Catherines story and the path she has chosen. Angelina: Catherine, thank you for talking to me. Tell us a little about your background? Catherine: I'm Mayo born and bred from North Mayo. I am the youngest of a family of eight. My mum was from Galway and my dad, whilst his parents were Mayo, he was brought up in the UK. I went to school in Richmond National School and secondary school in Gortnor Abbey, and I never worked until I left home at the age of 18, so I had very protected, nice, happy childhood. Angelina: So when you did leave school, what did you decide to do? Catherine: In my Leaving Cert year, I had decided I wanted to do nursing. This would have been back in the late 80s and it wasn't easy to get into it. I did a couple of interviews for nursing once I had got my Leaving Cert and didn't get the places here in Ireland. Somewhere between September and January, I made a decision to go to the UK, and that's where I started my training. Angelina: So when you went to the UK, where did that take you? Catherine: Well, actually I went to my aunt in London and I was totally traumatised. I'd never been away on my own and I was homesick and traumatised my parents as a result of it. My brother had moved over to the UK as well, a couple of months before me. And that was a bit of the solitude I had meeting up wherever I could meet up with him. And then a friend of mine happened to be in Epping and Chelmsford doing her nurse training, and that's why I chose to go to there. I am entirely grateful for the UK training that I got. Angelina: So how long did you spend in the UK? Catherine: I stayed in the UK for my training and a couple of years after that. But like every young person at that time, I wanted to travel and go and see the world, and nursing, again, was the career to actually achieve that. I wanted to do voluntary work, so I wanted to go with CAFOD the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development. When I applied, I was too young, so I thought, okay, I still want to go. I went to Saudi Arabia, which was a fantastic experience. I did a lot of travelling around that area when I was out there, and again, obviously got that experience of working in a hospital where I didn't speak the primary language. I got an opportunity to learn a kind of pigeon Arabic. But I had enough to find out if somebody was sick or did they have pain, and did they want me to get somebody for them so I could do enough to actually interact with the patients. Angelina: How long were you in the Middle East, Catherine? Catherine: I stayed there for close to eighteen months. You had to get an entry visa and an exit visa for Saudi Arabia. And when I was coming home for a Christmas holiday, I couldn't get the re-entry visa. And then once I came home, I thought Im not going back. Then I spent time travelling and went to the United States, but I didn't nurse there. I think Saudi Arabia also kind of gave me that idea of that work-life balance that I wanted. I was clear when I came back that I wasn't going to get back into an area that I couldn't make difference in. So when I travelled in the States, I absolutely had a fantastic time but I knew after six months, I wanted to get back into a routine of sorts. When I came back, my sister had actually moved to England and I said, I'll try again while in England and maybe just get a job. So I initially got a job in a Day Services Department in Cheltenham. And at the time I thought, I'll go back and I'll do another course. So I looked at sales and marketing, and within three months I thought, definitely not for me! I realised I was built to be a nurse. So I worked in Cheltenham for a couple of years and I absolutely loved it. I loved the fact that I worked initially as a staff nurse and then I was what they called over there, a junior ward manager or a junior sister. I started to realise that in a day service department, you could look at the full journey of the patient from admission to discharge and a follow up call. I got involved at that stage trying to develop change and bring in change. Then it got to the stage of me applying for a new, more senior post. And then I thought, is this the time to move back to Ireland? Angelina: So what did you decide? Catherine: The job I actually applied for was a manager of a day services department in Sligo. So I got the job, but the start date kept being extended. I said I better just move back. So I came back, and funnily enough, I worked in what was Mayo General Hospital at the time for about three months as a staff nurse, while I was waiting for my Sligo job to come up. I think I had about six years in Sligo in Day Services, and when I actually took the job, I found out that there actually was no day services department there. The job was actually setting it up and the experience I got in Sligo was just phenomenal. Again, it was a hospital that really embraced that change. Angelina: So after Sligo, where did the journey take you? Catherine: I did want another challenge and the Director of Nursing post came up in Ballina District Hospital, which was very different from day services. It was a challenge. I absolutely loved my time in Ballina District Hospital. There was lots of change. It was in a different realm from standards of care, and the staff in there were really keen to change and bring in change. I was the first lay person to ever be a Director of Nursing there. In that Director of Nursing post, you were actually responsible for the entire site. There was an administrator who visited on maybe a two week or monthly basis. But really, you were responsible for the entire site and it gave you great understanding of keeping an entire site safe and all the elements, bringing it all together. I think it's probably the first time, when I moved from there, that it was a real hard decision and the job had come up in Mayo University Hospital the Director of Nurse and Midwifery post. I knew if I didn't take it at that time, I would have been out of acute services too long. So I started in MUH as Director of Nurse and Midwifery on Valentine's Day in 2011. Angelina: Was it a natural progression then from that role into the role you are in now? Catherine: I never wanted to go out of nursing but the hospital manager that was here had made a decision to move on. So it was kind of a fast decision whether I would apply. Then if you are coming into this role, you need to make sure that you're looking at all of the professions, not just looking at nursing and making sure you divorce yourself somewhat from nursing. So I spent a lot of time thinking about it, and I think I went on the side that I would rather be in it than have somebody else come in and me look at them and think, I wish I went and tried it. I did go for it. And again, that was another first. I was the first female manager of the hospital for Mayo but I was the second nurse. There already had been a nurse, Charlie Meehan, who preceded me. Angelina: Did your passion for what you do come from the upbringing you had? Catherine: I am 100% the outcome of my parents. We only lost my mum about four months ago. She was a school principal and she worked through the marriage ban. She was, I can say without question, the strongest woman I have ever come across in my life. And it's not just a bias because she was my mum. We saw growing up that she was totally committed to her job. She was supported by my dad in doing that. She insisted all of us had access to education. She encouraged us to go and to travel. While daddy would have been far more emotional about you leaving, she would have been the strength to make it happen. And he absolutely taught us the importance of seeing your equity with everybody around you and been able to give what you can. I couldn't have selected better parents to give you that sense of responsibility on things, giving you that sense of opportunity. Angelina: What keeps you driven Catherine? Catherine: I'm a chronic optimist tomorrow is always going to be better. I do believe that I have got huge resilience. And I can definitely, unquestionably, say that is down to the influence that my mother had on me. At 98, right up until the bitter end, she shook herself every morning when her little body was frail and not able, and got dressed and looked well and sat up and conversed with us when she wasn't able. And so if I ever felt in the morning that I'm too tired to do it, I think, you know what, take a breath. Yes, you can. And the commitment and responsibility keeps me driven. I asked for this job. Nobody gave it or made me take it. And by asking for the job, I immediately committed that I need to keep at it until I can't. And then I should gracefully step away and allow somebody else to ask for it. A man who had a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl has been given a suspended sentence. The defendant, who was aged 33 and married at the time, cannot be named to protect the identity of his victim. He pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court to three counts of engaging in a sexual act with a child under the age of 17 years. The charges relate to incidents between May 1, 2020, and October 14, 2020. The facts in this case were heard previously. The defendant began a relationship with the then 15-year-old girl in May 2020 and it lasted for nearly five months. Detective Garda John Lynskey said the defendant picked up the 15-year-old at her house on October 10, 2020, to babysit his children about 10km away. However, the girls mother later learned that the pair had travelled to another town 15km away before going to the man's home to mind the children. Det Gda Lynskey said the girls mother took possession of her phone and observed messages from the accused. These messages had been sent through an encrypted platform. The teenager subsequently admitted to her mother that a relationship had developed with the defendant and the matter was reported to Gardai on October 14, 2020. The girl provided a statement to specialist Garda interviewers on October 26, 2020, in which she said she engaged in consensual oral sex three times with the accused. Gardai became aware of a text message the defendant sent to his wife on October 17, 2020, in which he admitted having had a sexual relationship with the girl. His marriage subsequently broke down. When questioned by gardai, the defendant made a full admission. He has no previous convictions. The girl did not provide a victim impact statement. Judge Eoin Garavan said that this was a most serious offence and it was aggravating that the three incidents occurred over a prolonged period of time when the defendant should have had time to reflect on what he was doing. Judge Garavan said, however, there was no evidence of coercion or grooming and psychology and medical reports have confirmed that the defendant presents no risk to the welfare of children and that he is not likely to commit an offence of a sexual nature again. He added that whatever demons the defendant had were healthily dealt with through counselling which also gave him insight that what he had done was offending conduct. Judge Garavan imposed a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years. Jailed teacher Enoch Burke's High Court defamation action over a newspaper report when he was in prison for contempt for the first time in 2022 is to be heard at the end of April and early May. Mr Burke is approaching his 300th day in prison for twice defying court orders not to attend the Wilson's Hospital School in Westmeath, which sacked him over what he says was standing up for his religious beliefs over transgenderism. On Friday, he attended court by video link from prison when a date was set for his defamation action against Mediahuis Ireland, publishers of the Sunday Independent. The newspaper ran a story on him on October 9th, 2022, during his first period in jail for contempt, and before he was released with 700 daily fines imposed on him instead of imprisonment. When he returned to the school he was jailed for a second time for contempt last September. He told the court on Friday the newspaper article contained an "egregious libel" for which there has been no admission of defamation or apology. Ronan Lupton SC, for Mediahuis, said his client strongly denies defamation and pleads fair and reasonable publication on a matter of public interest. It was a very short article in the paper stating that Mr Burke had been moved to a new cell in Mountjoy because he was annoying other prisoners, counsel said. Mr Burke agreed with Mr Lupton that it was a straightforward case and he wanted an early hearing date. The case will be heard by a judge sitting alone rather than before a judge and jury which is usually what happens in defamation cases. Ms Justice Stack agreed to set April 30th/May 1st for the hearing and also to a request from Mr Burke that each side have written submissions put in in advance of the hearing, as he said it would give some clarity to the case. Mr Burke prefaced his application for a hearing date by complaining that an order requiring the prison authorities to produce him in person for the court on Friday had not been made. The judge told him this was a procedural hearing to fix a date, which is held on a hybrid remote/physical basis, but that a production order would be made for the hearing of the defamation action itself. It was not unusual for people in prison to attend court remotely, particularly for bail hearings, she said. There was also no prejudice to the person in custody in appearing remotely, she said. Mr Burke then said as the judge had mentioned he was in custody a number of times, he said he was there because she [Ms Justice Stack] was the first judge to say the case had nothing to do with his religious beliefs. He told the judge he was in custody because she had granted the first injunction, that she had agreed with counsel in the case at that time "in a false statement". He also said the judge had lied about his position and his religious beliefs. The judge told him the order she made previously had "long since been overtaken" by the orders of other judges which were also appealed and upheld. "All of that has been litigated and is ancient history", she said. Mr Burke said it was not ancient history "for me, I am in court today because of your order". Mr Burke then moved on to choosing a suitable date for the hearing, which Mr Lupton agreed with. As the hearing ended, Mr Burke's sister Ammi began telling the judge she was very concerned about the "ancient history" comment. She said Ms Justice Stack granted her injunction "on the basis of a lie". Asked by the judge to please stop as she did not have a right of audience before the court, Ms Burke continued asking the judge to "retract that offensive statement that it is ancient history". The judge then told her the court would have to rise to have her removed if she did not stop and requested the registrar to call the next case. Ms Burke continued to speak before she was again told by the judge the court would have to rise if she did stop. Ms Burke said the judge should be "ashamed of yourself, this case is all about his religious beliefs". She then left the courtroom. Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal was told on Friday Ammi Burkes appeal of the High Courts rejection of her action against the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) was on track to proceed as scheduled on April 22nd. BETHLEHEM, Pa. Friday, for the first time, 69 News heard from a homeowner who was invited to a closed-door meeting with the Bethlehem Parking Authority. We also received an update from the BPA itself, after a partial collapse of the Walnut Street Garage on Feb. 23. During demolition of the parking garage at 33 W. Walnut St., things don't go as planned. That sent a beam plummeting onto a neighboring building and concerns skyrocketing. It's a moment Market Street homeowners remember. Dan Nigito is one of them. "The floors just pancaked on each other, and one of the beams fell. It panicked everybody," Nigito, a 20-year resident, explained. The BPA invited him and several homeowners living in "closest proximity of the remaining structure" to a private meeting Thursday night. "They were very apologetic for what happened," Nigito said. "They explained what happened." He says officials went on to describe how they are working to ensure that kind of collapse doesn't happen again. "Taking it down, piece by piece by piece, with gigantic machines holding up beams as they go," said Nigito, recalling the meeting. "Stabilizing the system as they go." In a statement to 69 News, BPA Executive Director Steve Fernstrom said, "During the meeting, the demolition team shared information about the upcoming phases of the project, highlighting the additional safety measures that will be implemented, recognizing the sympathetic nature of the proximity to their beautiful and historic homes." Fernstrom said the demolition, with additional safety measures in place, is scheduled to continue on March 11. "Based on the feedback, assessments, and recommendations from professionals, including structural engineers, the BPA team has finalized and approved the next demolition phase, which includes additional safety measures and demolition methodologies," the statement said. "Additional bracing to support the remaining structure, heavy equipment, and barricades will be deployed as part of the additional demolition methods." According to the statement, the meeting was positive and well-received, but it's not being well-received by everyone. "How am I supposed to believe last night's meeting was positive if they don't allow anybody in?" said Joe McGavin, a member of the Bethlehem Historic Architectural Review Board. "No one that was not invited was able to go." That, he says, concerns him. "Lack of transparency is now that they're not giving anyone an engineer's report, and then they go and have a meeting where only certain people are invited to it," added McGavin. "It's, 'Why do they have to be so secretive about it? What's the problem? Where is the transparency in government?'" "My concern as a homeowner is, get it done, get it down, and safety is more important than speed," said Nigito. "I think that's what they presented last night. I left satisfied, frankly." Nigito says people who sat in the meeting were invited by the head of the project to get a tour of the demolition site, and he says that's an offer he's going to take. As for what comes next, demolition is set to pick back up Monday, and people can expect to see additional barricades in place. The BPA says the city has viewed and approved its plans. McGavin says the next step for HARB is to review the exterior design of the proposed, new parking garage once it's available, which the city has viewed and approved. Photo released by Pakistan's Press Information Department (PID) on March 9, 2024 shows Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, speaker of the National Assembly, casting his vote during the presidential election in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan. Ruling coalition candidate Asif Ali Zardari won the presidential election of Pakistan with an overwhelming lead on Saturday, the Election Commission of Pakistan announced. (PID/Handout via Xinhua) ISLAMABAD, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Ruling coalition candidate Asif Ali Zardari won the presidential election of Pakistan with an overwhelming lead on Saturday, the Election Commission of Pakistan announced. Zardari won the election by taking 411 votes from all the electoral colleges, including parliament and four provincial assemblies, the commission said. Zardari got 255 votes in the joint session of the two houses of the parliament, including the Senate and the National Assembly, 43 votes from the eastern Punjab province, eight from the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, 47 votes from the southwest Balochistan province and 58 votes from the southern Sindh province. Zardari's rival Mahmood Khan Achakzai, joint candidate of the opposition parties, secured a total of 181 votes. Zardari, 68, will replace outgoing President Arif Alvi, who had already received a farewell guard of honor on Friday. This will be Zardari's second term as president after he served as the country's 11th president from 2008 to 2013. Zardari was elected member of the National Assembly in the general elections on Feb. 8, 2024. However, before taking oath as the president of the country, he will have to resign from the National Assembly. Photo released by Pakistan's Press Information Department (PID) on March 9, 2024 shows former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif casting his vote during the presidential election in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan. Ruling coalition candidate Asif Ali Zardari won the presidential election of Pakistan with an overwhelming lead on Saturday, the Election Commission of Pakistan announced. (PID/Handout via Xinhua) Photo released by Pakistan's Press Information Department (PID) on March 9, 2024 shows Asif Ali Zardari casting his vote during the presidential election in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan. Ruling coalition candidate Asif Ali Zardari won the presidential election of Pakistan with an overwhelming lead on Saturday, the Election Commission of Pakistan announced. (PID/Handout via Xinhua) Photo released by Pakistan's Press Information Department (PID) on March 9, 2024 shows Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif casting his vote during the presidential election in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan. Ruling coalition candidate Asif Ali Zardari won the presidential election of Pakistan with an overwhelming lead on Saturday, the Election Commission of Pakistan announced. (PID/Handout via Xinhua) This photo released by Pakistan's Press Information Department (PID) on March 9, 2024 shows the Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (L) meets with newly-elected Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan. Ruling coalition candidate Asif Ali Zardari won the presidential election of Pakistan with an overwhelming lead on Saturday, the Election Commission of Pakistan announced. (PID/Handout via Xinhua) This photo released by Pakistan's Press Information Department (PID) on March 9, 2024 shows the Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (1st R, front) greeting newly-elected Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari (1st L, front) in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan. Ruling coalition candidate Asif Ali Zardari won the presidential election of Pakistan with an overwhelming lead on Saturday, the Election Commission of Pakistan announced. (PID/Handout via Xinhua) HANOVER TWP., Pa. - The United States Postal Service (USPS) is finalizing plans to change how it processes the Lehigh Valley's mail. Under the new plan, all outgoing Lehigh Valley mail will be routed to a processing center near Harrisburg, instead of the one in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, a distance of over 80 miles. It's a change that's all part of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's 10-year plan to improve organizational processes, efficiency, and reduce costs. With that new route, some union workers are questioning how quickly folks will receive their mail. USPS spokesperson Paul Smith spoke with 69 News in November when the plan was proposed and said it will save the postal service millions of dollars. But that change is causing some concern. "We are dealing with local mail. We are dealing with mail leaving the state and going to other places. That's all well and good," said Andrew Kubat of Lehigh Valley Area Local 268 American Postal Workers Union. "The idea of a letter going from Allentown to Allentown is now going to travel 160 miles; in what world is that faster? People who are waiting for checks in the mail, who are getting their prescription medications, legal documents, contracts, all of these things going through the mail are going to be slowed down." State Senator Lisa Boscola, who represents parts of Lehigh and Northampton Counties issued a statement that reads in part: "It is dumbfounding to me that the USPS has decided to move forward with its ill-conceived plan to transfer the processing of mail from the Lehigh Valley Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) to the Harrisburg PD&C." "I think it's going to be improved service, efficient service, reliable service," said Smith. Some union postal workers believe that may not be the case. "We've been processing it for 40 years, and we could continue to process it. They will be transferring some of these jobs to Harrisburg. So that's going to be 75 families in this area, who don't have a good sustaining job," Kubat said. The long-term impact remains to be seen but the USPS said no layoffs will happen as a result of the new plan. "It's more than just the mail is leaving, there will be an economic impact on the local area as well," said Kubat. "Our career employees will not lose their jobs, and again, they could look at other positions or locations," Smith said. U.S. Congresswoman Susan Wild, who represents the Lehigh Valley, issued a statement Friday, saying she's glad the USPS is investing in the postal infrastructure, but she intends to hold them to their promise to keep every single job in the process. TAMAQUA, Pa. - The sun is shining on G-Lady's Food pantry in Tamaqua. Even though the pantry has been empty for a while. Sharon Stokes says for a year and a half, this honor pantry provided food and other supplies to those who needed them. But she quickly learned... "In order to help the needy, you have to accept the greedy," said Stokes. Stokes says despite cameras and signs urging the greedy to change their ways, the pantry kept getting wiped out. Stokes learned that people were selling the toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, or trading them. Each time the pantry was wiped out, the phone calls would start. "'I hate you because there's no food in there,'" said Stokes. "It is unbelievable to me what some people will say." Stokes says the ministry took a step back to figure out what to do next. The ministry kept making community food boxes, but the future of the food pantry was uncertain. "We are still helping our community the best way we can," said Stokes. She's now hoping the community will return the favor and provide enough donations to re-stock the pantry. "I believe whole heartedly in Tamaqua," said Stokes. "There are a lot of people with big hearts. I believe they will step up." To donate to the food pantry, visit G-Lady's Ministries Facebook page. EAST GREENVILLE, Pa. - A man was shot and killed just after 8:00 Friday morning along Jefferson Street in East Greenville. Police have not identified his killer. Both East Greenville and State Police had the 200 block of Jefferson Street shut down to traffic as they investigated the deadly shooting. They found the victim, 42-year-old Derek Sherer, dead in front of the house. Neighbors tell us they heard the gunshot shortly after 8 a.m. "8 o'clock this morning I heard this loud noise. Either, I didn't know if it was a gun or what, but it was really loud," said one woman who did not want to be identified. "Just a big, big bomb. Sounded like a big shotgun going off," said John Bossert, who lives two doors down from the house where the shooting happened. "I'm surprised, because we didn't even know that that was a shot, that he got shot there." Around 12:30 p.m., the Montgomery County Coroner came and took Sherer's body off the property. We know from property records the house belongs to Richard and Janice Rodenberger. Bossert said Sherer was their son, and he seemed mentally unwell. "To me, their minds were going, I think. And the younger one, boy, he just walked back and forth all the time," said Bossert. A fire truck responded to the scene in the afternoon to hose down the front yard, but you could still see shattered windows on the side of the house from the incident. The Montgomery County District Attorney has not announced whether any charges will be filed in this case. Ten years on, families of Chinese passengers on a missing Malaysia Airlines flight are still searching for answers. On Friday, a few dozen relatives went to meet with Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of their long journey for answers. They also went to the Malaysian Embassy. Even after a decade, the wound remains raw for many of the families. Some are older people who have lost their only child. Friday is the 10th anniversary of the disappearance of flight MH370, which never reached Beijing. Only small amounts of debris has been found. WARSAW, Poland (AP) Poland's foreign minister says the presence of NATO forces is not unthinkable and that he appreciates the French president for not ruling out that idea. Radek Sikorski made the observation during a discussion marking the 25th anniversary of Poland's accession to NATO in the Polish parliament Friday, and the Foreign Ministry tweeted the comments later in English. They reflect a larger European debate over how to help Ukraine as Russia has gained some momentum on the battlefield and Kyiv is running low on ammunition. The U.S. Congress is withholding aid that Ukraine says it critically needs to hold off the Russians, putting more pressure on Europe to respond to the war that has shattered peace on the continent. Last month French President Emmanuel Macron said the possibility of Western troops being sent to Ukraine could not be ruled out, a comment that broke a taboo among allies and prompted an outcry from other leaders. French officials later sought to clarify Macrons remarks and tamp down the backlash, while insisting on the need to send a clear signal to Russia that it cannot win its war in Ukraine. The Kremlin has warned that if NATO sends combat troops, a direct conflict between the alliance and Russia would be inevitable. Russian President Vladimir Putin said such a move would risk a global nuclear conflict. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk was among those European leaders who initially ruled out sending troops to Ukraine after Macron's remarks, saying: Poland does not plan to send its troops to the territory of Ukraine." But less than two weeks later Sikorski struck a different tone. The presence of #NATO forces in Ukraine is not unthinkable," he said, according to the Foreign Ministry's tweet. He said he appreciated Macron's initiative because it is about Putin being afraid, not us being afraid of Putin. Sikorski's remark is part of a broader shift to align with Macron's position, wrote Phillips OBrien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. The issue of sending European forces to help Ukraine was never one to be dismissed it was always a possibility, O'Brien wrote in an email analysis sent to subscribers Saturday. In fact it has become more of one as the USA has stepped back and withdrawn aid. Europe is now faced with a terrible dilemma watching Ukraine potentially run out of ammunition, or stepping in and helping Ukraine more directly. Polish President Andrzej Duda and Tusk will travel to Washington for a meeting at the White House on Tuesday, a visit the Poles hope they can use to spur the United States to do more to help Ukraine. Poland is a member of NATO along the alliance's eastern flank, with Ukraine across its eastern border. The country has been under Russian control in the past, and fears run high that if Russia wins in Ukraine, it could next target other countries in a region that Moscow views as its sphere of interest. A United Airlines jetliner that lost a tire on takeoff has made a safe emergency landing in Los Angeles. Flight 35 left San Francisco and was bound for Osaka, Japan, on Thursday. United says there were 235 passengers and a crew of 14 on the plane. United says the plane is designed to land safely with missing or damaged tires. Video shows the plane losing one of the six tires on its left-side main landing gear assembly seconds after takeout. The tire smashed into a car in an employee parking lot at San Francisco International Airport. BRASILIA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Friday that women should not settle for current achievements but continue to strive for additional rights. "I always say the same thing: never settle for what you have already achieved. It is good to recognize what you have achieved, but it is something that drives us to want more, it drives us to demand a little more," he said on the occasion of International Women's Day, which fell on Friday. Lula attended a commemorative lunch in the city of Brasilia with his wife, female ministers, civil servants and government employees. In his eyes, it is not enough that equal rights are contained in the constitution, but it is necessary to instill in people's minds that there are no gender differences. "We have already delivered many policies to guarantee rights, whether to combat violence against women and girls or to ensure financial autonomy in public policies. We will go further," Lula wrote on social media. The Brazilian president founded the Ministry of Women after taking office last year. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI Free Report) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 115,349 shares of the health services providers stock after buying an additional 2,150 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $33,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 104.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 90 shares of the health services providers stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in The Cigna Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in The Cigna Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its position in The Cigna Group by 110.0% during the 3rd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 105 shares of the health services providers stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new position in The Cigna Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 85.32% of the companys stock. Get The Cigna Group alerts: Insider Buying and Selling at The Cigna Group In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 6,319 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.24, for a total transaction of $2,181,571.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 336,783 shares in the company, valued at $116,270,962.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other The Cigna Group news, insider Eric P. Palmer sold 6,083 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $2,068,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,649 shares of the companys stock, valued at $15,180,660. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 6,319 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.24, for a total value of $2,181,571.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 336,783 shares in the company, valued at $116,270,962.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,424 shares of company stock worth $20,347,634 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.60% of the companys stock. The Cigna Group Trading Up 0.9 % Shares of The Cigna Group stock opened at $342.91 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $320.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $300.33. The Cigna Group has a 1 year low of $240.50 and a 1 year high of $347.99. The company has a market capitalization of $100.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $51.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.91 billion. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 13.59% and a net margin of 2.64%. The Cigna Groups revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.96 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 EPS for the current year. The Cigna Group Increases Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 6th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 5th. This is an increase from The Cigna Groups previous quarterly dividend of $1.23. The Cigna Groups payout ratio is 32.20%. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an overweight rating and set a $392.00 target price (up from $382.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their target price for the company from $355.00 to $370.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and increased their price target for the company from $327.00 to $354.00 in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $361.87. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on The Cigna Group About The Cigna Group (Free Report) The Cigna Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and related products and services in the United States. Its Evernorth Health Services segment provides a range of coordinated and point solution health services, including pharmacy benefits, home delivery pharmacy, specialty pharmacy, distribution, and care delivery and management solutions to health plans, employers, government organizations, and health care providers. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for The Cigna Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for The Cigna Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU Free Report) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 16,177 shares of the coal producers stock, valued at approximately $420,000. A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 3.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,337,844 shares of the coal producers stock valued at $281,406,000 after acquiring an additional 397,931 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 5.3% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,371,250 shares of the coal producers stock valued at $181,321,000 after purchasing an additional 420,514 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 8.2% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,359,137 shares of the coal producers stock valued at $137,811,000 after purchasing an additional 484,574 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 11.7% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,215,026 shares of the coal producers stock valued at $159,105,000 after purchasing an additional 649,904 shares during the period. Finally, Progeny 3 Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 5.6% in the second quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 3,412,304 shares of the coal producers stock valued at $73,911,000 after purchasing an additional 180,930 shares during the period. 82.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Peabody Energy alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Separately, B. Riley lifted their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Insiders Place Their Bets In other Peabody Energy news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,750,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.35, for a total transaction of $40,862,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,480,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at $361,458,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Nicholas J. Chirekos sold 14,000 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total value of $357,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,279 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $619,114.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,750,000 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.35, for a total transaction of $40,862,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,480,000 shares in the company, valued at $361,458,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,031,509 shares of company stock valued at $71,999,589. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Peabody Energy Stock Up 1.3 % Peabody Energy stock traded up $0.35 during trading on Friday, reaching $27.16. The stock had a trading volume of 2,863,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,637,265. Peabody Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $17.71 and a 52-week high of $27.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $25.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.99. Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The coal producer reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.08). Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.36%. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. The firms revenue was down 24.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Peabody Energy Co. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year. Peabody Energy Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Peabody Energys payout ratio is currently 6.02%. Peabody Energy Company Profile (Free Report) Peabody Energy Corporation engages in coal mining business in the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, India, Brazil, Belgium, Chile, France, Indonesia, China, Vietnam, South Korea, and internationally. The company operates through Seaborne Thermal Mining, Seaborne Metallurgical Mining, Powder River Basin Mining, and Other U.S. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BTU? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Peabody Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Peabody Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,907 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $634,000. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Strs Ohio raised its holdings in GMS by 1.3% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 16,200 shares of the companys stock worth $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in GMS by 5.2% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 4,683 shares of the companys stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in GMS by 8.3% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 3,082 shares of the companys stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in GMS by 1.4% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 16,812 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,075,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in GMS by 10.7% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,571 shares of the companys stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.88% of the companys stock. Get GMS alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets GMS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on GMS from $72.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Raymond James upped their price objective on GMS from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, December 11th. Stephens upped their price objective on GMS from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Barclays upped their price objective on GMS from $75.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on GMS from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, GMS currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $89.63. Insider Buying and Selling In related news, SVP Craig D. Apolinsky sold 4,455 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.54, for a total transaction of $354,350.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,360 shares of the companys stock, valued at $824,034.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other GMS news, COO George T. Hendren sold 3,404 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $272,320.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 23,261 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,860,880. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Craig D. Apolinsky sold 4,455 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.54, for a total value of $354,350.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $824,034.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,073 shares of company stock valued at $1,400,396 over the last 90 days. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. GMS Price Performance Shares of NYSE GMS opened at $90.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. GMS Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.93 and a 1-year high of $92.81. The businesss 50 day moving average is $85.19 and its 200-day moving average is $73.29. GMS (NYSE:GMS Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. GMS had a return on equity of 25.65% and a net margin of 5.48%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.85 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that GMS Inc. will post 8.35 earnings per share for the current year. About GMS (Free Report) GMS Inc distributes wallboard, ceilings, steel framing and complementary construction products in the United States and Canada. The company offers ceilings products, including suspended mineral fibers, soft fibers, and metal ceiling systems primarily used in offices, hotels, hospitals, retail facilities, schools, and various other commercial and institutional buildings. Read More Receive News & Ratings for GMS Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for GMS and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Auto Trader Group plc (OTCMKTS:ATDRY Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $2.36 and last traded at $2.36, with a volume of 518810 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $2.33. Auto Trader Group Stock Up 0.8 % The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.64. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $2.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.09. Auto Trader Group Company Profile (Get Free Report) Auto Trader Group plc operates in the digital automotive marketplace in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company provides vehicle advertisement on its websites for private sellers, as well as insurance and loan financing products to consumers; and display advertising on its websites for manufacturers and their advertising agencies. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Auto Trader Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Auto Trader Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO Get Free Report) (NYSE:BMO) Director Darrel Hackett sold 3,297 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$91.76, for a total value of C$302,532.72. Bank of Montreal Stock Up 0.5 % Shares of BMO opened at C$126.91 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of C$126.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$118.70. The stock has a market cap of C$92.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.18. Bank of Montreal has a 52 week low of C$102.67 and a 52 week high of C$132.11. Get Bank of Montreal alerts: Bank of Montreal Announces Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. Bank of Montreals payout ratio is 83.08%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BMO shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$134.00 to C$130.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Bank of America raised Bank of Montreal from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from C$120.00 to C$145.00 in a report on Monday, December 18th. TD Securities lowered their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$140.00 to C$135.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Desjardins lowered their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$135.00 to C$133.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, National Bankshares lowered their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$141.00 to C$137.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of C$132.39. Read Our Latest Research Report on Bank of Montreal Bank of Montreal Company Profile (Get Free Report) Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. It operates through Canadian P&C, U.S P&C, BMO Wealth Management, and BMO Capital Markets segments. The company's personal banking products and services include deposits, mortgages, home lending, consumer credit, small business lending, credit cards, cash management, financial and investment advice, and other banking services; and commercial banking products and services comprise various of financing options and treasury and payment solutions, as well as risk management products. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Bank of Montreal Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bank of Montreal and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Franco-Nevada (TSE:FNV Free Report) (NYSE:FNV) had its target price lowered by BMO Capital Markets from C$200.00 to C$195.00 in a report released on Wednesday, BayStreet.CA reports. FNV has been the subject of a number of other research reports. CIBC dropped their price objective on Franco-Nevada from C$258.00 to C$250.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 21st. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Franco-Nevada from C$163.00 to C$162.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 21st. National Bankshares decreased their price target on Franco-Nevada from C$205.00 to C$190.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Franco-Nevada from C$170.00 to C$165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Franco-Nevada from C$186.00 to C$182.00 in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of C$189.46. Get Franco-Nevada alerts: Check Out Our Latest Research Report on FNV Franco-Nevada Trading Up 2.7 % Shares of FNV stock opened at C$155.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of C$29.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.34, a P/E/G ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$146.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$163.69. Franco-Nevada has a fifty-two week low of C$139.19 and a fifty-two week high of C$217.70. The company has a quick ratio of 23.26, a current ratio of 37.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. Franco-Nevada (TSE:FNV Get Free Report) (NYSE:FNV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported C$1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of C$1.07 by C$0.16. The firm had revenue of C$412.95 million during the quarter. Franco-Nevada had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 55.19%. On average, analysts forecast that Franco-Nevada will post 4.3681517 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Franco-Nevada Increases Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th will be paid a $0.477 dividend. This is a positive change from Franco-Nevadas previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $1.91 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 13th. Franco-Nevadas payout ratio is currently 40.21%. Franco-Nevada Company Profile (Get Free Report) Franco-Nevada Corporation operates as a gold-focused royalty and streaming company in Latin America, the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through Mining and Energy segments. The company manages its portfolio with a focus on precious metals, such as gold, silver, and platinum group metals; and engages in the sale of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Franco-Nevada Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Franco-Nevada and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- China will release a slew of measures to stimulate employment as demand is rising in the job market, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping said Saturday. There is strong demand for talent in fields such as artificial intelligence and big data, Wang told journalists on the sidelines of the ongoing national legislative session, adding that demand is also on the rise in sectors including health care, accommodation, catering, and cultural tourism. Such demand proves that China's economy is picking up momentum, and reflects the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries and the accelerated development of new quality productive forces, according to the minister. Wang said the country will release stimulative measures to stabilize the job market and improve people's livelihoods, such as continuing preferential social insurance policies and financial support, and broadening employment channels by supporting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. The measures also include optimizing employment services and ensuring the employment of major groups. BRYN MAWR TRUST Co lifted its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL Free Report) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,556 shares of the enterprise software providers stock after buying an additional 2,381 shares during the period. BRYN MAWR TRUST Cos holdings in Oracle were worth $4,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ORCL. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in Oracle during the second quarter worth $27,279,000. Quantum Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the third quarter worth $229,000. Greenfield Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 7.8% during the third quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 9,034 shares of the enterprise software providers stock worth $957,000 after buying an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Oracle during the second quarter worth $218,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 45.3% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 286,461 shares of the enterprise software providers stock worth $30,342,000 after buying an additional 89,295 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get Oracle alerts: Insider Activity at Oracle In other Oracle news, Director Naomi O. Seligman sold 16,300 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.02, for a total transaction of $1,728,126.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,771 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,686,421.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 42.80% of the stock is owned by insiders. Oracle Stock Down 1.9 % Shares of ORCL stock traded down $2.12 on Friday, reaching $112.42. 8,312,943 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,263,080. The company has a market cap of $309.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.06, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $110.81 and a 200-day moving average of $111.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.84, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Oracle Co. has a one year low of $82.04 and a one year high of $127.54. Oracle (NYSE:ORCL Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. Oracle had a net margin of 19.64% and a return on equity of 703.26%. The business had revenue of $12.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $13.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year. Oracle Dividend Announcement The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 11th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Oracles payout ratio is 44.20%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ORCL shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oracle from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Oracle from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. Erste Group Bank restated a hold rating on shares of Oracle in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Oracle from $130.00 to $126.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $127.00. Check Out Our Latest Report on ORCL Oracle Company Profile (Free Report) Oracle Corporation offers products and services that address enterprise information technology environments worldwide. Its Oracle cloud software as a service offering include various cloud software applications, including Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP), Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise performance management, Oracle Fusion cloud supply chain and manufacturing management, Oracle Fusion cloud human capital management, Oracle Cerner healthcare, Oracle Advertising, and NetSuite applications suite, as well as Oracle Fusion Sales, Service, and Marketing. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ORCL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Oracle Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Oracle and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Chesapeake Wealth Management reduced its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Free Report) by 6.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,417 shares of the companys stock after selling 283 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company makes up about 1.0% of Chesapeake Wealth Managements investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Chesapeake Wealth Managements holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $2,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,878,417 shares of the companys stock worth $15,888,300,000 after acquiring an additional 642,274 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,205,501 shares of the companys stock worth $7,111,568,000 after purchasing an additional 338,077 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,545,572 shares of the companys stock worth $6,738,605,000 after purchasing an additional 83,915 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,158,275 shares of the companys stock worth $5,456,314,000 after purchasing an additional 355,317 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,416,206,000. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Eli Lilly and Company alerts: Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance LLY stock traded down $18.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $762.14. The company had a trading volume of 4,054,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,134,959. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $694.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $617.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market capitalization of $724.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 131.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.34. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12-month low of $312.31 and a 12-month high of $800.78. Insider Activity Eli Lilly and Company ( NYSE:LLY Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $9.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $8.95 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 51.22%. The businesss revenue was up 28.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.44 earnings per share for the current year. In other news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 14,388 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $630.28, for a total transaction of $9,068,468.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,754,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,873,217,098.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 195,055 shares of company stock worth $125,254,657. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities research analysts have commented on LLY shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $815.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a b rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Monday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $710.00 to $865.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $800.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $677.62. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Eli Lilly and Company Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile (Free Report) Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. It offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; and Jardiance, Trajenta, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LLY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Eli Lilly and Company Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Eli Lilly and Company and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Employees Retirement System of Texas lessened its stake in shares of Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK Free Report) by 25.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,968 shares of the industrial products companys stock after selling 15,690 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas holdings in Crown were worth $4,067,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Crown by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 104,506 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $9,247,000 after purchasing an additional 14,063 shares in the last quarter. Scopus Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Crown by 2,620.4% in the third quarter. Scopus Asset Management L.P. now owns 250,001 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $22,120,000 after acquiring an additional 240,811 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Crown by 8.3% in the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 34,070 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $3,015,000 after acquiring an additional 2,617 shares during the period. 13D Management LLC raised its position in shares of Crown by 35.6% during the 3rd quarter. 13D Management LLC now owns 142,172 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $12,579,000 after purchasing an additional 37,322 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in Crown by 329.0% during the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 347,688 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $30,763,000 after purchasing an additional 266,633 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.18% of the companys stock. Get Crown alerts: Crown Stock Up 0.2 % NYSE CCK traded up $0.18 on Friday, reaching $77.98. The stock had a trading volume of 894,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,336,576. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34. Crown Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.61 and a 1 year high of $96.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $83.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.27. The company has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.91. Crown Increases Dividend Crown ( NYSE:CCK Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. Crown had a return on equity of 25.75% and a net margin of 3.75%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Crown Holdings, Inc. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year. The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 13th. This is a boost from Crowns previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Crowns payout ratio is currently 25.53%. Insider Activity at Crown In other news, CEO Timothy J. Donahue sold 7,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.96, for a total value of $682,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 651,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,238,973.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several research firms have commented on CCK. Robert W. Baird restated a neutral rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Crown in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Crown from $93.00 to $78.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Crown from $110.00 to $97.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Crown from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Crown from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $101.23. Read Our Latest Stock Report on Crown Crown Profile (Free Report) Crown Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, supplies rigid packaging products in Pennsylvania and internationally. It operates through Americas Beverage, European Beverage, Asia Pacific, and Transit Packaging segments. The Americas Beverage segment manufactures recyclable aluminum beverage cans and ends, glass bottles, steel crowns, and aluminum caps. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CCK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Crown Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Crown and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Employees Retirement System of Texas trimmed its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD Free Report) by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,630 shares of the companys stock after selling 1,530 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $3,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 6.0% during the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,384 shares of the companys stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Lithia Motors by 71.6% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 41,241 shares of the companys stock worth $12,180,000 after acquiring an additional 17,209 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 8.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 326,957 shares of the companys stock worth $96,560,000 after acquiring an additional 25,429 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its position in Lithia Motors by 0.4% during the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 126,063 shares of the companys stock valued at $37,230,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. Finally, Kensico Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 41.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kensico Capital Management Corp now owns 113,000 shares of the companys stock valued at $33,372,000 after purchasing an additional 33,000 shares during the last quarter. Get Lithia Motors alerts: Insider Buying and Selling In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total transaction of $40,208.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,662 shares of the companys stock, valued at $495,010.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Lithia Motors Stock Down 1.0 % Shares of LAD stock traded down $2.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $288.46. The stock had a trading volume of 205,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 182,785. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $203.65 and a 12-month high of $331.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firms 50-day moving average is $297.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $287.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.59. Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $8.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $8.11 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 3.22% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.05 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 35.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Lithia Motors Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Saturday, March 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. Lithia Motorss payout ratio is 5.51%. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $380.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $298.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $336.40. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on LAD Lithia Motors Company Profile (Free Report) Lithia Motors, Inc operates as an automotive retailer. The company operates through Domestic, Import, and Luxury segments. It offers new and used vehicles; vehicle financing services; warranties, insurance contracts, and vehicle and theft protection services; and automotive repair and maintenance services, as well as sells body and parts for the new vehicles under the Driveway and GreenCars brand names. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Lithia Motors Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Lithia Motors and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Everi Holdings Inc. (NYSE:EVRI Free Report) by 19.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,764 shares of the credit services providers stock after selling 11,354 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.s holdings in Everi were worth $631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Everi by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,977,955 shares of the credit services providers stock valued at $100,901,000 after acquiring an additional 599,505 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Everi by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 6,002,359 shares of the credit services providers stock valued at $102,940,000 after purchasing an additional 279,348 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Everi by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,446,730 shares of the credit services providers stock valued at $35,380,000 after purchasing an additional 37,353 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in Everi by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,156,636 shares of the credit services providers stock valued at $28,511,000 after purchasing an additional 57,275 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Everi by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,000,823 shares of the credit services providers stock valued at $42,018,000 after purchasing an additional 220,937 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.83% of the companys stock. Get Everi alerts: Everi Trading Up 1.1 % Everi stock opened at $9.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.28, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $797.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 2.08. Everi Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $9.31 and a one year high of $18.43. The companys fifty day moving average price is $10.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.64. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Everi ( NYSE:EVRI Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The credit services provider reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.19). Everi had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 42.93%. The firm had revenue of $192.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $200.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. The firms revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Everi Holdings Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Several brokerages have issued reports on EVRI. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a hold rating and set a $13.00 target price (down from $18.00) on shares of Everi in a research note on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Everi from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down from $14.00) on shares of Everi in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $18.00. Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Everi About Everi (Free Report) Everi Holdings Inc develops and supplies entertaining game content, gaming machines, and gaming systems and services for land-based and iGaming operators in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Caribbean, Central America, and Asia. It operates in two segments, Games and Financial Technology Solutions. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EVRI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Everi Holdings Inc. (NYSE:EVRI Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Everi Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Everi and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF (NYSEARCA:LCTU Free Report) by 1,338.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,447 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 67,409 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.22% of BlackRock U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF worth $3,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF by 69.1% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 849 shares of the companys stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. UBS Group AG acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at about $63,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group grew its stake in shares of BlackRock U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF by 41.3% in the 3rd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 1,788 shares of the companys stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of BlackRock U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,976 shares of the companys stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the period. Get BlackRock U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF alerts: BlackRock U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF Price Performance Shares of LCTU traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $56.23. The stock had a trading volume of 34,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,041. BlackRock U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF has a 1-year low of $42.17 and a 1-year high of $56.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.66. BlackRock U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF Profile The BlackRock U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF (LCTU) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the Russell 1000 index. The fund is an actively-managed portfolio of large- and mid-cap US firms in the Russell 1000 Index that are selected and weighted with a preference for lower carbon emissions. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LCTU? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for BlackRock U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF (NYSEARCA:LCTU Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for BlackRock U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BlackRock U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. First Foundation Advisors cut its position in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW Free Report) by 57.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,622 shares of the medical research companys stock after selling 16,852 shares during the quarter. First Foundation Advisors holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,926 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 22,813 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 8,172 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC grew its position in Edwards Lifesciences by 99.4% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 6,900 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 3,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in Edwards Lifesciences in the 3rd quarter worth $3,856,000. 79.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Edwards Lifesciences alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Edwards Lifesciences from an outperform rating to an in-line rating and decreased their target price for the company from $80.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Edwards Lifesciences from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $87.38. Edwards Lifesciences Price Performance Shares of NYSE EW traded down $1.67 during trading on Friday, reaching $92.14. The company had a trading volume of 5,909,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,614,697. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 52 week low of $60.57 and a 52 week high of $94.87. The stock has a market cap of $55.40 billion, a PE ratio of 40.07, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a current ratio of 3.38. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $81.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.47. Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts consensus estimates of $0.64. Edwards Lifesciences had a net margin of 23.35% and a return on equity of 23.56%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The companys revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year. Insider Buying and Selling In related news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 14,510 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.55, for a total transaction of $1,110,740.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,248 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,473,434.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 14,510 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.55, for a total transaction of $1,110,740.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 19,248 shares in the company, valued at $1,473,434.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael A. Mussallem sold 29,350 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.62, for a total transaction of $2,190,097.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,486 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $334,745.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 220,967 shares of company stock valued at $17,740,350 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.29% of the companys stock. Edwards Lifesciences Company Profile (Free Report) Edwards Lifesciences Corporation provides products and technologies for structural heart disease and critical care monitoring in the United States, Europe, Japan, and internationally. It offers transcatheter heart valve replacement products for the minimally invasive replacement of aortic heart valves under the Edwards SAPIEN family of valves system; and transcatheter heart valve repair and replacement products to treat mitral and tricuspid valve diseases under the PASCAL PRECISION and Cardioband names. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Edwards Lifesciences Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Edwards Lifesciences and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Essex Financial Services Inc. reduced its holdings in Ford Motor (NYSE:F Free Report) by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 39,975 shares of the auto manufacturers stock after selling 5,897 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.s holdings in Ford Motor were worth $496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. RB Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ford Motor by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 27,339 shares of the auto manufacturers stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 3,477 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in shares of Ford Motor during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 275.4% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 111,481 shares of the auto manufacturers stock valued at $1,886,000 after acquiring an additional 81,783 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 325,778 shares of the auto manufacturers stock valued at $5,509,000 after acquiring an additional 47,959 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 564,002 shares of the auto manufacturers stock valued at $9,537,000 after acquiring an additional 16,498 shares during the last quarter. 52.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Ford Motor alerts: Insider Transactions at Ford Motor In other news, CAO Mark Kosman sold 26,898 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.53, for a total value of $337,031.94. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,102 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $88,988.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders. Ford Motor Price Performance Ford Motor stock opened at $12.18 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $48.38 billion, a PE ratio of 11.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.63. Ford Motor has a one year low of $9.63 and a one year high of $15.42. Ford Motor (NYSE:F Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.17. Ford Motor had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.95%. The company had revenue of $43.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ford Motor will post 1.89 EPS for the current fiscal year. Ford Motor Dividend Announcement The company also recently announced a Variable dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. Ford Motors payout ratio is 55.56%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research analysts have recently commented on F shares. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Ford Motor in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. They set a sell rating and a $10.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas lowered Ford Motor from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $12.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. HSBC began coverage on Ford Motor in a research note on Monday, December 4th. They set a hold rating and a $11.30 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of Ford Motor in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ford Motor from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $13.81. Check Out Our Latest Research Report on F About Ford Motor (Free Report) Ford Motor Company develops, delivers, and services a range of Ford trucks, commercial cars and vans, sport utility vehicles, and Lincoln luxury vehicles worldwide. It operates through Ford Blue, Ford Model e, and Ford Pro; Ford Next; and Ford Credit segments. The company sells Ford and Lincoln vehicles, service parts, and accessories through distributors and dealers, as well as through dealerships to commercial fleet customers, daily rental car companies, and governments. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding F? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ford Motor (NYSE:F Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Ford Motor Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ford Motor and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. DCC (OTCMKTS:DCCPF Get Free Report) and Ferrellgas Partners (OTCMKTS:FGPR Get Free Report) are both business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, dividends and analyst recommendations. Profitability This table compares DCC and Ferrellgas Partners net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Get DCC alerts: Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets DCC N/A N/A N/A Ferrellgas Partners -5.53% N/A -2.81% Analyst Ratings This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for DCC and Ferrellgas Partners, as reported by MarketBeat.com. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score DCC 0 0 0 0 N/A Ferrellgas Partners 0 0 0 0 N/A Volatility and Risk DCC has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ferrellgas Partners has a beta of 2.99, suggesting that its stock price is 199% more volatile than the S&P 500. Earnings & Valuation This table compares DCC and Ferrellgas Partners gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio DCC $26.77 billion 0.27 $402.60 million N/A N/A Ferrellgas Partners $1.50 billion 0.45 -$82.50 million ($0.85) -8.20 DCC has higher revenue and earnings than Ferrellgas Partners. Institutional & Insider Ownership 0.0% of Ferrellgas Partners shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Ferrellgas Partners shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term. About DCC (Get Free Report) DCC plc provides sales, marketing, and support services worldwide. The company operates through DCC Energy, DCC Healthcare, and DCC Technology segments. It sells and markets liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), refrigerants, and natural gas; markets, sells, and retails transport and commercial fuels, heating oils, and related products and services; operates retail petrol stations; resells fuel cards; distributes oil; and provides logistics services. It also offers products and services to healthcare providers, and health and beauty brand owners; contract manufacturing services to the health and beauty sector; nutrition products, such as vitamins and health supplements; beauty products; and product development, formulation, manufacturing, and packaging services. In, addition it distributes consumer technology products, including smart home products, peripherals and software, and accessories, as well as provides supply chain services. The company was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. About Ferrellgas Partners (Get Free Report) Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. distributes and sells propane and related equipment and supplies. The company transports propane to propane distribution locations, tanks on customers' premises, or to portable propane tanks delivered to retailers. It conducts its portable tank exchange operations under the Blue Rhino brand name through a network of independent and partnership-owned distribution outlets. In addition, the company's propane is primarily used for space heating, water heating, cooking, outdoor cooking using gas grills, crop drying, irrigation, weed control, and other propane fueled appliances; as an engine fuel for combustion engine vehicles and forklifts; and as a heating or energy source in manufacturing and drying processes. Further, it is involved in the sale of refined fuels; provision of common carrier services; and retail sale of propane appliances and related parts and fittings, as well as other retail propane related services and consumer products. The company serves residential, industrial/commercial, portable tank exchange, agricultural, wholesale, and other customers in the United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. As of July 31, 2023, the company operates through a network of 49 service centers and 803 service units for propane distribution locations. Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. was founded in 1939 and is based in Liberty, Missouri. Receive News & Ratings for DCC Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for DCC and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Henderson European Focus Trust (LON:HEFT Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as GBX 180.61 ($2.29) and last traded at GBX 180.07 ($2.29), with a volume of 139170 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 178 ($2.26). Henderson European Focus Trust Price Performance The stock has a market capitalization of 384.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,064.71 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 6.48, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 172.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 164.83. Get Henderson European Focus Trust alerts: Henderson European Focus Trust Increases Dividend The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 4th were issued a GBX 3.05 ($0.04) dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 4th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is a boost from Henderson European Focus Trusts previous dividend of $1.30. Henderson European Focus Trusts dividend payout ratio is currently 2,352.94%. Henderson European Focus Trust Company Profile Henderson European Focus Trust plc is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Henderson Investment Funds Limited. It is co-managed by Henderson Global Investors Limited. The fund invests in public equity markets of Continental Europe. It seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Henderson European Focus Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Henderson European Focus Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Liu Lei (2nd L), a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a plenary meeting of deputies from the delegation of Heilongjiang Province at the second session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2024. The International Women's Day falls on March 8. At the ongoing sessions of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), female lawmakers and political advisors play an essential role in pooling wisdom to fuel the country's development. (Xinhua/Mou Yu) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) Lu Dan (L), Zhao Ziyi(C) and Fu Qingmei walk out of the Great Hall of the People after attending the second plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2024. The International Women's Day falls on March 8. At the ongoing sessions of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), female lawmakers and political advisors play an essential role in pooling wisdom to fuel the country's development. (Xinhua/Li Ga) National political advisor Gong Jianmei speaks at a group meeting at the second session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2024. The International Women's Day falls on March 8. At the ongoing sessions of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), female lawmakers and political advisors play an essential role in pooling wisdom to fuel the country's development. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) pose for photos before attending the second plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2024. The International Women's Day falls on March 8. At the ongoing sessions of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), female lawmakers and political advisors play an essential role in pooling wisdom to fuel the country's development. (Xinhua/Cai Yang) National political advisor Gao Jinfeng speaks at a meeting of national political advisors from the sector of education at the second session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2024. The International Women's Day falls on March 8. At the ongoing sessions of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), female lawmakers and political advisors play an essential role in pooling wisdom to fuel the country's development. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) Chen Yujia, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), speaks at a plenary meeting of deputies from the delegation of Heilongjiang Province at the second session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2024. The International Women's Day falls on March 8. At the ongoing sessions of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), female lawmakers and political advisors play an essential role in pooling wisdom to fuel the country's development. (Xinhua/Mou Yu) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) pose for photos in front of the Great Hall of the People after attending the second plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2024. The International Women's Day falls on March 8. At the ongoing sessions of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), female lawmakers and political advisors play an essential role in pooling wisdom to fuel the country's development. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo) National political advisor Lan Zhen (2nd R) speaks at a group meeting at the second session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2024. The International Women's Day falls on March 8. At the ongoing sessions of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), female lawmakers and political advisors play an essential role in pooling wisdom to fuel the country's development. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) Zhang Yao (L) and Wang Haixia pose for photos in front of the Great Hall of the People after attending the second plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2024. The International Women's Day falls on March 8. At the ongoing sessions of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), female lawmakers and political advisors play an essential role in pooling wisdom to fuel the country's development. (Xinhua/Cai Yang) Lin Yanyun (L), a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a plenary meeting of deputies from the delegation of Guangdong Province at the second session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2024. The International Women's Day falls on March 8. At the ongoing sessions of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), female lawmakers and political advisors play an essential role in pooling wisdom to fuel the country's development. (Xinhua/Li Xin) Wen Shanlian (1st R, front), a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends the second plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2024. The International Women's Day falls on March 8. At the ongoing sessions of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), female lawmakers and political advisors play an essential role in pooling wisdom to fuel the country's development. (Xinhua/Lu Ye) National political advisor Meng Yan speaks at a meeting of national political advisors from the sector of education at the second session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2024. The International Women's Day falls on March 8. At the ongoing sessions of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), female lawmakers and political advisors play an essential role in pooling wisdom to fuel the country's development. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) Ithaca Energy plc (LON:ITH Get Free Report) insider Iain Clifford Scobbie Lewis acquired 108 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 139 ($1.76) per share, for a total transaction of 150.12 ($190.53). Iain Clifford Scobbie Lewis also recently made the following trade(s): Get Ithaca Energy alerts: On Monday, February 5th, Iain Clifford Scobbie Lewis acquired 112 shares of Ithaca Energy stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 134 ($1.70) per share, for a total transaction of 150.08 ($190.48). Ithaca Energy Trading Down 1.3 % LON ITH opened at GBX 136.80 ($1.74) on Friday. The businesss 50-day moving average price is GBX 137.78 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 150.97. Ithaca Energy plc has a twelve month low of GBX 123.20 ($1.56) and a twelve month high of GBX 187.40 ($2.38). The company has a market capitalization of 1.38 billion and a PE ratio of -1,368.00. Ithaca Energy Company Profile Ithaca Energy plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas in the North Sea. The company own a portfolio of assets located in Northern and Central North Sea, Moray Firth, and West of Shetland area of the UKCS. Ithaca Energy plc was formerly known as Delek North Sea Limited and changed its name to Ithaca Energy plc in October 2022. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Ithaca Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ithaca Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB Get Free Report) Director Baye Adofo-Wilson sold 10,074 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total transaction of $223,542.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Berkshire Hills Bancorp Price Performance Shares of BHLB opened at $22.52 on Friday. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.07 and a fifty-two week high of $27.33. The firms 50 day moving average price is $23.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.90. The company has a market cap of $982.32 million, a P/E ratio of 14.08 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Get Berkshire Hills Bancorp alerts: Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The savings and loans company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.02). Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.48% and a net margin of 11.24%. The business had revenue of $142.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $109.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 20th. Berkshire Hills Bancorps dividend payout ratio is presently 45.00%. BHLB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 26th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Berkshire Hills Bancorp has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $25.00. View Our Latest Analysis on Berkshire Hills Bancorp Institutional Investors Weigh In On Berkshire Hills Bancorp Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $719,000. Berkshire Bank grew its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 12,584 shares of the savings and loans companys stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 1,691 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $522,000. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 166.2% in the 2nd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 70,520 shares of the savings and loans companys stock valued at $1,462,000 after buying an additional 44,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,146,000. 82.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Berkshire Hills Bancorp Company Profile (Get Free Report) Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Berkshire Bank that provides various banking products and services. It offers various deposit accounts, including demand deposit, interest-bearing checking, regular savings, money market savings, time certificates of deposit, and retirement deposit accounts; and loans, such as commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, consumer, and residential mortgage loans. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Berkshire Hills Bancorp Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Berkshire Hills Bancorp and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,733 shares of the financial services providers stock after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLCs holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $4,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 396,059 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $16,183,000 after acquiring an additional 121,012 shares during the last quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 3,002.0% during the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 29,035 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 28,099 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 276,986 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $11,318,000 after purchasing an additional 13,971 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toroso Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 67,172 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $2,745,000 after buying an additional 10,293 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Wells Fargo & Company alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several brokerages recently weighed in on WFC. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a neutral rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a hold rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $54.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $51.43. Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.1 % Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $57.07 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $50.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.53. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $35.25 and a fifty-two week high of $57.68. The firm has a market cap of $204.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $20.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.30 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.40% and a net margin of 16.60%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 4.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. Wells Fargo & Companys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.05%. About Wells Fargo & Company (Free Report) Wells Fargo & Company, a financial services company, provides diversified banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WFC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Wells Fargo & Company Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Wells Fargo & Company and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV trimmed its position in shares of NVR, Inc. (NYSE:NVR Free Report) by 25.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,646 shares of the construction companys stock after selling 571 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV owned approximately 0.05% of NVR worth $9,816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NVR. First Pacific Financial acquired a new stake in shares of NVR in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Clear Street Markets LLC raised its holdings in NVR by 133.3% in the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 7 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in NVR in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $64,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in NVR in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank bought a new position in NVR in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $76,000. 84.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get NVR alerts: Insider Activity In related news, CFO Daniel David Malzahn sold 2,000 shares of NVR stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7,252.83, for a total value of $14,505,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,209 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $95,802,631.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other NVR news, CFO Daniel David Malzahn sold 2,000 shares of NVR stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7,252.83, for a total transaction of $14,505,660.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,209 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $95,802,631.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew B. Kelpy sold 100 shares of NVR stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7,615.00, for a total transaction of $761,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 230 shares in the company, valued at $1,751,450. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,981 shares of company stock worth $59,155,947 in the last quarter. 8.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Analysts Set New Price Targets NVR has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of NVR from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of NVR from a sell rating to a hold rating and raised their price objective for the company from $4,900.00 to $6,300.00 in a report on Friday, December 8th. Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on NVR NVR Stock Down 0.4 % NVR stock opened at $7,654.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 3.90 and a current ratio of 6.10. NVR, Inc. has a 52-week low of $5,150.32 and a 52-week high of $7,825.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $7,306.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6,568.73. The firm has a market cap of $24.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.13. NVR (NYSE:NVR Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $121.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $121.50 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. NVR had a net margin of 17.09% and a return on equity of 38.50%. The companys revenue was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $133.44 EPS. Equities analysts predict that NVR, Inc. will post 484.48 EPS for the current year. NVR announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 14th that allows the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the companys leadership believes its shares are undervalued. NVR Profile (Free Report) NVR, Inc operates as a homebuilder in the United States. The company operates through, Homebuilding and Mortgage Banking segments. It engages in the construction and sale of single-family detached homes, townhomes, and condominium buildings under the Ryan Homes, NVHomes, and Heartland Homes names. The company markets its Ryan Homes products to first-time and first-time move-up buyers; and NVHomes and Heartland Homes products to move-up and luxury buyers. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for NVR Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for NVR and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Morgan Stanley trimmed its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL Free Report) by 1.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,646,640 shares of the basic materials companys stock after selling 60,414 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanleys holdings in Ecolab were worth $956,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Live Oak Investment Partners bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Robbins Farley purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. 73.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Ecolab alerts: Ecolab Trading Down 0.5 % NYSE ECL opened at $223.45 on Friday. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $207.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $189.20. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.87 and a twelve month high of $227.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $63.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.65, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.10. Ecolab Announces Dividend Ecolab ( NYSE:ECL Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 8.96%. The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.39 EPS for the current fiscal year. The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 19th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Ecolabs payout ratio is presently 47.60%. Analyst Ratings Changes ECL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a peer perform rating on the stock. Barclays upgraded Ecolab from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Ecolab from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and upped their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Ecolab from $220.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $238.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $219.06. View Our Latest Analysis on Ecolab About Ecolab (Free Report) Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Global Industrial, Global Institutional & Specialty, and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences segments. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ECL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Ecolab Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ecolab and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,802 shares of the healthcare product makers stock, valued at approximately $175,000. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ABT. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 104,649.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,247,436 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $3,320,866,000 after acquiring an additional 30,218,560 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth $1,893,715,000. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 38,966,499 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $4,278,132,000 after acquiring an additional 4,886,954 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 59,178,607 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $6,451,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,747,652 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 83.1% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,925,012 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $582,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,235,314 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.70% of the companys stock. Get Abbott Laboratories alerts: Insider Buying and Selling In related news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,760 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,223,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Abbott Laboratories news, VP John A. Jr. Mccoy sold 472 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $55,932.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,760 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,223,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,435 shares of company stock valued at $8,071,298 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock. Abbott Laboratories Price Performance NYSE:ABT traded up $0.04 on Friday, reaching $120.96. The stock had a trading volume of 3,357,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,516,574. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $114.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.36. The company has a market capitalization of $209.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts consensus estimates of $1.19. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratoriess quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 EPS for the current year. Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratoriess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.48%. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ABT shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $128.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $120.00. Check Out Our Latest Report on Abbott Laboratories About Abbott Laboratories (Free Report) Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Meniere's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Abbott Laboratories Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Abbott Laboratories and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in FIGS, Inc. (NYSE:FIGS Free Report) by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 650,698 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 86,047 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLCs holdings in FIGS were worth $3,839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC raised its position in FIGS by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 85,715 shares of the companys stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 33,003 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY raised its position in shares of FIGS by 6.2% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 25,032,830 shares of the companys stock worth $147,694,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470,706 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of FIGS during the third quarter worth $692,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of FIGS by 51.1% during the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 695,422 shares of the companys stock worth $4,103,000 after acquiring an additional 235,241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC raised its position in shares of FIGS by 219.6% during the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 343,800 shares of the companys stock worth $2,028,000 after acquiring an additional 236,243 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.21% of the companys stock. Get FIGS alerts: Insider Buying and Selling at FIGS In other news, CFO Daniella Turenshine sold 4,201 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.08, for a total transaction of $25,542.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 429,821 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,613,311.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Daniella Turenshine sold 4,201 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.08, for a total transaction of $25,542.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 429,821 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,613,311.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Heather L. Hasson sold 27,547 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.93, for a total value of $163,353.71. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 499,308 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,960,896.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 53,535 shares of company stock valued at $311,528. Company insiders own 21.40% of the companys stock. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group downgraded FIGS from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $6.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on FIGS from $6.75 to $4.85 and set a sell rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays dropped their target price on FIGS from $7.00 to $5.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded FIGS from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, FIGS currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $6.77. View Our Latest Report on FIGS FIGS Trading Up 4.7 % NYSE:FIGS opened at $5.61 on Friday. FIGS, Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.95 and a 1 year high of $8.84. The stock has a market cap of $953.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.00, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $6.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.27. FIGS (NYSE:FIGS Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.03. FIGS had a return on equity of 6.72% and a net margin of 4.15%. The firm had revenue of $144.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $149.09 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.05 earnings per share. The companys revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that FIGS, Inc. will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current year. FIGS Company Profile (Free Report) FIGS, Inc operates as a direct-to-consumer healthcare apparel and lifestyle company in the United States. It designs and sells healthcare apparel and scrubwaer and non-scrubwear offerings, such as lab coats, under scrubs, outerwear, loungewear, compression socks footwear, and other lifestyle apparel. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FIGS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for FIGS, Inc. (NYSE:FIGS Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for FIGS Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for FIGS and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning. Several other analysts also recently issued reports on PNW. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $79.00 to $77.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 1st. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $76.00 to $69.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Guggenheim raised shares of Pinnacle West Capital from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Pinnacle West Capital from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $73.00. Get Pinnacle West Capital alerts: Check Out Our Latest Report on Pinnacle West Capital Pinnacle West Capital Stock Up 0.5 % Pinnacle West Capital Announces Dividend Shares of NYSE PNW opened at $71.70 on Wednesday. Pinnacle West Capital has a 12-month low of $65.20 and a 12-month high of $86.03. The company has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The firms 50-day moving average is $69.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.95. The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 1st were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 31st. Pinnacle West Capitals dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.82%. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pinnacle West Capital Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS Group AG increased its position in Pinnacle West Capital by 83.2% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 308,765 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $22,750,000 after purchasing an additional 140,215 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Pinnacle West Capital by 244.4% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,758 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 4,086 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in Pinnacle West Capital by 18.2% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,257 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital in the third quarter worth $5,476,000. Finally, Cypress Capital Group increased its position in shares of Pinnacle West Capital by 37.2% in the third quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 9,599 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $707,000 after acquiring an additional 2,602 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.95% of the companys stock. About Pinnacle West Capital (Get Free Report) Pinnacle West Capital Corporation, through its subsidiary, Arizona Public Service Company, provides retail and wholesale electric services primarily in the state of Arizona. The company engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity using coal, nuclear, gas, oil, and solar generating facilities. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Pinnacle West Capital Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Pinnacle West Capital and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 700 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $96,000. Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of J. Clear Street Markets LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 93.8% during the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 250 shares of the companys stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Jacobs Solutions by 47.7% during the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 254 shares of the companys stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Jacobs Solutions by 210.5% during the second quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 295 shares of the companys stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Park Place Capital Corp grew its position in Jacobs Solutions by 473.9% during the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 264 shares of the companys stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new stake in Jacobs Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 84.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Jacobs Solutions alerts: Jacobs Solutions Price Performance Jacobs Solutions stock opened at $146.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.73. The firms fifty day moving average is $139.10 and its 200 day moving average is $134.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.00 and a 52-week high of $149.50. Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend Jacobs Solutions ( NYSE:J Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.46. Jacobs Solutions had a net margin of 4.20% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The business had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 8.06 EPS for the current fiscal year. The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 22nd. This is a boost from Jacobs Solutionss previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Jacobs Solutionss dividend payout ratio is presently 20.71%. Insider Transactions at Jacobs Solutions In other news, EVP Shelette M. Gustafson sold 1,852 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $274,096.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,791 shares in the company, valued at $4,261,068. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Jacobs Solutions news, insider Steven J. Demetriou sold 6,666 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.75, for a total transaction of $851,581.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 581,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,240,379.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shelette M. Gustafson sold 1,852 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $274,096.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,791 shares in the company, valued at $4,261,068. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the companys stock. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus restated a buy rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, November 21st. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a sector weight rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $151.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Raymond James lowered shares of Jacobs Solutions from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 22nd. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a buy rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, November 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $152.11. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Jacobs Solutions Jacobs Solutions Profile (Free Report) Jacobs Solutions Inc provides consulting, technical, engineering, scientific, and project delivery services for the government and private sectors in the United States, Europe, Canada, India, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through Critical Mission Solutions, People & Places Solutions, Divergent Solutions, and PA Consulting segments. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding J? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Jacobs Solutions Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Jacobs Solutions and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 886 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock, valued at approximately $107,000. A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its stake in Digital Realty Trust by 19.8% in the first quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 545 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Digital Realty Trust by 15.4% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 691 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Digital Realty Trust by 1.8% in the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 5,448 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $620,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Digital Realty Trust by 1.1% in the third quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,175 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,110,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in Digital Realty Trust by 0.6% in the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 17,883 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $2,164,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 99.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Digital Realty Trust alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes DLR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Digital Realty Trust from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $144.00 price target on shares of Digital Realty Trust in a research report on Friday, February 16th. HSBC began coverage on shares of Digital Realty Trust in a research report on Friday, December 1st. They set a reduce rating and a $112.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, December 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $136.53. Digital Realty Trust Price Performance Shares of DLR stock opened at $149.48 on Friday. Digital Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $86.33 and a 1 year high of $154.18. The firms 50 day moving average is $140.83 and its 200-day moving average is $132.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.33, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Digital Realty Trust Dividend Announcement The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Digital Realty Trusts payout ratio is 164.31%. About Digital Realty Trust (Free Report) Digital Realty brings companies and data together by delivering the full spectrum of data center, colocation, and interconnection solutions. PlatformDIGITAL, the company's global data center platform, provides customers with a secure data meeting place and a proven Pervasive Datacenter Architecture (PDx) solution methodology for powering innovation and efficiently managing Data Gravity challenges. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Digital Realty Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Digital Realty Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. People look at an ORA Good Cat electric car during the Vientiane International Auto Show 2024 in Vientiane, capital of Laos, March 8, 2024. The Vientiane International Auto Show 2024 is held here from March 2 to March 10. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua) People visit the Vientiane International Auto Show 2024 in Vientiane, capital of Laos, March 8, 2024. The Vientiane International Auto Show 2024 is held here from March 2 to March 10. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua) This photo taken on March 8, 2024 shows the booth of China's car brand Hongqi at the Vientiane International Auto Show 2024 in Vientiane, capital of Laos. The Vientiane International Auto Show 2024 is held here from March 2 to March 10. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua) Samsara (NYSE:IOT Get Free Report) updated its first quarter 2025 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 0.000-0.010 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of -0.010. The company issued revenue guidance of $271.0 million-$273.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $266.8 million. Samsara also updated its FY 2025 guidance to 0.110-0.130 EPS. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of brokerages have issued reports on IOT. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Samsara from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, December 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Samsara from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, December 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Samsara from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, December 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Samsara from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, December 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Samsara from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, December 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $31.56. Get Samsara alerts: Get Our Latest Analysis on Samsara Samsara Stock Performance Insiders Place Their Bets NYSE IOT traded up $4.80 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $39.16. The company had a trading volume of 17,657,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,021,795. Samsara has a 52 week low of $16.63 and a 52 week high of $39.88. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -73.91 and a beta of 1.55. In other Samsara news, CEO Sanjit Biswas sold 79,165 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.42, for a total value of $2,487,364.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 38,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,206,528. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Sanjit Biswas sold 79,165 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.42, for a total value of $2,487,364.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,400 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,206,528. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Bicket sold 79,236 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.43, for a total transaction of $2,490,387.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,400 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,206,912. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,061,207 shares of company stock worth $69,019,248 in the last quarter. 66.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Samsara Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IOT. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Samsara during the first quarter worth about $558,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Samsara by 141.6% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 20,170 shares of the companys stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 11,820 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Samsara by 17.3% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,227,576 shares of the companys stock worth $51,704,000 after purchasing an additional 477,013 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Samsara by 52.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,033,132 shares of the companys stock valued at $48,591,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Samsara in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,109,000. Institutional investors own 52.47% of the companys stock. Samsara Company Profile (Get Free Report) Samsara Inc provides solutions that connect physical operations data to its Connected Operations Cloud in the United States and internationally. The company's Connected Operations Cloud includes Data Platform, which ingests, aggregates, and enriches data from its IoT devices and has embedded capabilities for AI, workflows and analytics, alerts, API connections, and data security and privacy; and applications for video-based safety, vehicle telematics, apps and driver workflows, equipment monitoring, and site visibility. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Samsara Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Samsara and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,546 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $519,000. A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,938 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association grew its stake in Unum Group by 1.9% in the third quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 12,530 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Unum Group by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,997 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 7,927 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,946 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.37% of the companys stock. Get Unum Group alerts: Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.15, for a total transaction of $2,457,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,076,753 shares in the company, valued at $52,922,409.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Unum Group news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $250,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,450 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,772,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.15, for a total transaction of $2,457,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,076,753 shares of the companys stock, valued at $52,922,409.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 71,000 shares of company stock worth $3,507,500 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.94% of the companys stock. Unum Group Trading Down 1.9 % Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $50.40 on Friday. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $36.27 and a 52-week high of $52.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $9.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.86. The stocks 50-day moving average is $47.63 and its 200-day moving average is $46.94. Unum Group (NYSE:UNM Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.86 by ($0.07). Unum Group had a return on equity of 16.03% and a net margin of 10.36%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year. Unum Group Dividend Announcement The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 26th were issued a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 25th. Unum Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.50%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several equities analysts recently weighed in on UNM shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Unum Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Unum Group from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $55.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Unum Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Unum Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $55.44. View Our Latest Research Report on UNM Unum Group Company Profile (Free Report) Unum Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial protection benefit solutions primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, and internationally. It operates through Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, and Closed Block and Corporate segments. The company offers group long-term and short-term disability, group life, and accidental death and dismemberment products; supplemental and voluntary products, such as individual disability, voluntary benefits, and dental and vision products; and accident, sickness, disability, life, and cancer and critical illness products. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Unum Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Unum Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. American Trust lessened its holdings in shares of Summit Materials, Inc. (NYSE:SUM Free Report) by 7.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,402 shares of the construction companys stock after selling 564 shares during the period. American Trusts holdings in Summit Materials were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SUM. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Summit Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of Summit Materials by 81.3% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 939 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. grew its position in shares of Summit Materials by 37.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 1,015 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Summit Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Summit Materials by 162.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the period. Get Summit Materials alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens reissued an overweight rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Summit Materials in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Summit Materials from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Summit Materials in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Summit Materials in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They set an overweight rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $42.30. Summit Materials Stock Down 0.8 % Summit Materials stock opened at $42.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.49 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 4.62 and a current ratio of 5.36. The firms 50 day moving average price is $38.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.90. Summit Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.43 and a twelve month high of $44.42. Summit Materials (NYSE:SUM Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The construction company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.04. Summit Materials had a net margin of 10.91% and a return on equity of 8.73%. The firm had revenue of $613.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $560.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Summit Materials, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year. Summit Materials Company Profile (Free Report) Summit Materials, Inc operates as a vertically integrated construction materials company. It operates in three segments: West, East, and Cement. The company offers aggregates, cement, ready-mix concrete, asphalt paving mixes, and concrete products, as well as plastics components. It also provides asphalt paving and related services. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Summit Materials Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Summit Materials and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Unity Software Inc. (NYSE:U Get Free Report) SVP Felix The sold 5,000 shares of Unity Software stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.28, for a total value of $136,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 293,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,018,901.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Felix The also recently made the following trade(s): Get Unity Software alerts: On Monday, February 26th, Felix The sold 4,374 shares of Unity Software stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.55, for a total transaction of $142,373.70. Unity Software Stock Down 1.1 % Unity Software stock opened at $27.04 on Friday. Unity Software Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.20 and a 12-month high of $50.08. The firms 50-day moving average is $33.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.49. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Institutional Trading of Unity Software Unity Software ( NYSE:U Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.89). Unity Software had a negative return on equity of 10.14% and a negative net margin of 37.64%. The business had revenue of $609.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $551.01 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.50) EPS. Unity Softwares revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Unity Software Inc. will post -0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year. Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Unity Software during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Front Row Advisors LLC grew its stake in Unity Software by 15,550.0% during the second quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 626 shares of the companys stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 622 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Unity Software by 665.0% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 895 shares of the companys stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unity Software in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Meitav Investment House Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Unity Software in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. 64.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on U shares. Wedbush lowered their price target on Unity Software from $50.00 to $33.50 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. HSBC started coverage on Unity Software in a report on Monday, December 18th. They set a hold rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Unity Software from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Unity Software from $50.00 to $38.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Unity Software from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unity Software currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $37.03. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on U About Unity Software (Get Free Report) Unity Software Inc operates a real-time 3D development platform. Its platform provides software solutions to create, run, and monetize interactive, real-time 2D and 3D content for mobile phones, tablets, PCs, consoles, and augmented and virtual reality devices. The company offers its solutions directly through its online store and field sales operations in North America, Denmark, Finland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, China, Singapore, and South Korea, as well as indirectly through independent distributors and resellers worldwide. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Unity Software Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Unity Software and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF (NYSEARCA:IWS Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,876 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $300,000. Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ambassador Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF by 128.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 293 shares of the companys stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new stake in iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Get iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF alerts: iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF Stock Down 0.2 % IWS opened at $121.71 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $116.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.29. The company has a market cap of $14.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 1.08. iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF has a 52 week low of $97.40 and a 52 week high of $122.87. iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF Profile iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares Russell Midcap Value Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Russell Midcap Value Index (the Value Index). The Value Index measures the performance of the mid-capitalization value sector of the United States equity market. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IWS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF (NYSEARCA:IWS Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK Free Report) by 512.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,484 shares of the utilities providers stock after acquiring an additional 2,915 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLCs holdings in Duke Energy were worth $307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 100,433.2% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,846,616 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $808,123,000 after acquiring an additional 7,838,811 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,188,381 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $734,825,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435,725 shares during the period. Imprint Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 8,722.3% during the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,127,837 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $112,784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,053 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,018,171 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,031,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037,012 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 166.1% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,656,141 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $59,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033,790 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.68% of the companys stock. Get Duke Energy alerts: Duke Energy Price Performance Shares of DUK stock opened at $94.94 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $83.06 and a 1 year high of $100.39. The firms 50 day moving average is $94.84 and its 200-day moving average is $92.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Duke Energy Dividend Announcement Duke Energy ( NYSE:DUK Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The business had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year. The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th will be paid a $1.025 dividend. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 15th. Duke Energys payout ratio is presently 115.49%. Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the companys stock. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several research firms have recently issued reports on DUK. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $100.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. Bank of America cut shares of Duke Energy from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their target price for the company from $105.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $100.00. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on DUK Duke Energy Profile (Free Report) Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments, Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I) and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest; and uses coal, hydroelectric, natural gas, oil, solar and wind sources, renewables, and nuclear fuel to generate electricity. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Duke Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Duke Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fidelity High Dividend ETF (NYSEARCA:FDVV Free Report) by 41.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,750 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 2,575 shares during the quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc.s holdings in Fidelity High Dividend ETF were worth $338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Fidelity High Dividend ETF by 7.8% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 571,551 shares of the companys stock worth $22,056,000 after purchasing an additional 41,353 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new position in Fidelity High Dividend ETF during the second quarter worth about $153,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Fidelity High Dividend ETF during the third quarter worth about $457,000. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in Fidelity High Dividend ETF by 2.9% during the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 16,123 shares of the companys stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Fidelity High Dividend ETF by 14.9% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 8,237 shares of the companys stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Get Fidelity High Dividend ETF alerts: Fidelity High Dividend ETF Price Performance NYSEARCA:FDVV traded down $0.04 on Friday, reaching $44.50. 347,547 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 290,715. The firm has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.94. Fidelity High Dividend ETF has a 52 week low of $36.08 and a 52 week high of $44.79. About Fidelity High Dividend ETF The Fidelity High Dividend ETF (FDVV) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the Fidelity High Dividend index. The fund tracks an index of large- and mid-cap companies that exhibit positive dividend characteristics, with overweights to sectors that exhibit higher dividend yield. FDVV was launched on Sep 12, 2016 and is managed by Fidelity. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FDVV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Fidelity High Dividend ETF (NYSEARCA:FDVV Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Fidelity High Dividend ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Fidelity High Dividend ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. by Xinhua writer Wang Jiangang UNITED NATIONS, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The deputy chief of United Nations (UN) Women on Friday called for investing in women and girls to drive societal advancement while reiterating the agency's dedication to fostering gender equality and enhancing women's participation in decision-making roles. "Our first message is: Let's invest in women and girls, let's create opportunities for them to be socially empowered, to be economically empowered, to be in positions of decision-making," Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, deputy executive director of UN Women, the world body's entity dedicated to promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women globally, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview in the UN Women's office in New York. "The importance of investing in women is that when women at the household level are educated and have income, they are able to also send their children to school," Gumbonzvanda said. Without investment in women, the world is short-changing itself in economic terms, she added. "By investing in little girls to elderly women, we witness dividends across families, societies, and nations," Gumbonzvanda said, underscoring the broad spectrum of benefits stemming from supporting women and girls. "On International Women's Day and beyond, we implore our member states to intensify their efforts" in "creating economic opportunities for women and fostering violence-free environments in our families and communities," she said. Meanwhile, investing in women encompasses not just economic aspects but also "empowering their voice and perspective to shape policies," Gumbonzvanda said, as "having women at the decision-making table enables them to address societal inequalities and elevate issues that are often overlooked." "Political participation and women in decision-making have been priorities since the 1995 Beijing conference," she said. Gumbonzvanda, from Zimbabwe, assumed her duties as UN Assistant Secretary-General and UN Women Deputy Executive Director for Normative Support, UN System Coordination, and Programme Results on Feb. 6. Noting that currently elections are taking place in over 60 countries, Gumbonzvanda said: "With 1.3 billion women voting, this becomes a critical moment for them to influence governments to prioritize gender equality." She urged both men and women in these countries to "support female candidates to achieve the 50-50 parity agreed upon by member states." Gumbonzvanda also emphasized the critical contributions of women and girls to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by saying, "We cannot fulfill the SDGs without addressing the challenges faced by women and girls, including exclusion and violence, and without expanding their opportunities in society." She also highlighted the need for "broader fiscal space and the implementation of gender-responsive budgeting" as critical elements in this effort. Talking about the upcoming 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68), she noted, "The meeting is timely in its focus on poverty, institutional strengthening, and financing for gender equality, alongside social protection concerns, given the current global context." Addressing the alarming prediction that over 300 million people could still be living in poverty by 2030, she stressed the need for governmental commitment to prioritize resources for poverty alleviation programs and called for "reform of the global financial architecture to address inequalities and enhance support for gender equality programs, including education and healthcare for women." Gumbonzvanda expressed pride in UN Women's current initiatives with China, particularly the projects in Wuhan, which focus on "bringing our technical expertise to support efforts in the country" and "creating policies and employment capacities" targeting women. She also revisited the pivotal moment of the 1995 Beijing conference, highlighting its significance in setting the agenda for women's political participation and decision-making globally. Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Weather Alert ...Elevated Fire Danger Today and Tuesday... ...Hard Freeze Expected Tonight... The combination of very dry air and northwest winds gusting up to 20 mph will create an elevated risk of uncontrolled fire spread this afternoon. Relative humidity values will fall to 20 to 35%, with the lowest humidity levels over the Ozark Foothills of southeast Missouri. A more substantial fire danger is expected Tuesday, as southwest winds increase significantly, with gusts of 25 to 40 mph forecast Tuesday afternoon. Relative humidity values Tuesday afternoon will fall to 25 to 35%. If you are planning outdoor burning today and Tuesday, use extra caution and have fire suppression equipment ready. Tonight, very cold and dry surface high pressure will allow temperatures to drop into the middle and upper 20s throughout the region. Although the growing season has not officially started, tender vegetation could be impacted by these cold temperatures. Please take necessary actions to protect any tender vegetation tonight. "Shocked and devastated" that's some of the reaction after a beloved Paducah community leader passed away over the weekend. Mary Hammond, the executive director of the Paducah Convention and Visitors Bureau, died a month after announcing her retirement. UNITED NATIONS, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Friday called on the parties to the Ukraine crisis to enhance direct engagement and dialogue to find a solution. As the Ukraine crisis drags on, aggravated attacks and civilian casualties continue to occur, and the humanitarian situation keeps worsening. China is deeply concerned and saddened by this, said Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations. Conflict and confrontation produce no winner. All conflicts have to end at the negotiating table. The earlier the talks start, the sooner peace will arrive, he told the Security Council. So long as all parties uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and properly address each other's legitimate concerns, Europe will be able to truly establish a balanced, effective, and sustainable security architecture, he said. "We call on the parties concerned to remain calm and exercise restraint, enhance direct engagement and dialogue, gradually build consensus, and jointly explore viable solutions," he said. "The international community should also increase diplomatic efforts to facilitate the de-escalation of the situation and create conditions for a political settlement." On the Ukraine issue, China has always held an objective and just position and has never given up efforts to facilitate talks for peace. China supports the holding in due course of an international peace conference that is recognized by both Russia and Ukraine, that ensures the equal participation of all parties and fair discussions on all peace plans, said Geng. China is ready to continue communication and engagement with all parties to work tirelessly to consolidate consensus for ending the conflict, to pave the way for dialogue and peace talks, and to promote a political solution, he said. Criminology, Law, and Policing students get career insight at Wrexham University conference Criminology, Law, and Policing students have gained a valuable insight into careers and employability beyond their studies, as part of a special conference, centred around their subject area. Cohorts from the three subjects came together to listen from teams within Prifysgol Wrecsam/Wrexham University, as well as a number of external organisations. Members of the Universitys Careers and Employability Service designed and delivered the conference with Programme Leader Dr Jo Prescott. Day one of the conference involved sessions that covered how students can self-refer for support via the Careers Portal, receive advice around career planning and obtain careers guidance from the team. The second day of the conference saw the Universitys Moot Courtroom come alive with activity as numerous external organisations came along to network with students. They consisted of: Adferiad BAWSO British Transport Police Citizens Advice Gamlins Solicitors GHP Legal Housing Justice Cymru North Wales Police Victim Support Students were also provided with a range of information on opportunities for future employment and how to build skills for the workplace with the organisations present. Julia Nowak, Second Year Law student, said: These sessions are always so informative and interactive. Its an incredible opportunity to discover roles and pathways into sectors that you didnt know were possible, or even existed. It wasnt just current students that found the event beneficial. Rajeena Holland, who completed her Masters in Psychology at Wrexham, visited specifically for the chance to network. She said: I drove an hour to be here for the event because I know how beneficial events like this are. The visitors from the external organisations were amazing at signposting me to suitable roles and opportunities that I didnt know were available. Bawso, work to support people from backgrounds who are affected by domestic abuse and several other forms of abuse, such as human trafficking and forced marriage. The organisation currently supports over 6,000 people every year in Wales through the provision of purpose-built refuges, safe houses, and an extensive Outreach & Resettlement Programme. They attended the conference and were on-hand to speak to students. Alice Amedor, Local Services Manager at Bawso, said: We provide a wealth of work placements and volunteering opportunities, so we were delighted to speak with the students at the event. We are pleased to be able to support them, and it was amazing to see their continuous journey from being a student to working within the community. This transition creates a sense of recognition and familiarity within the community, and it is amazing for service users and colleagues to recognise familiar faces. Lucy Jones, Head of Careers and Employability, added: It was a delight to see so many of our Criminology, Policing and Law students networking and engaging with sector professionals at our collaborative careers and employability fair. Having organisations from across our region sharing their knowledge, expertise and opportunities is a fantastic way to build community cohesion and support employers and students to work together to build in-sector professional services. Throughout the afternoon, Adferiad, Bawso and North Wales Police conducted breakout question and answer sessions to allow students to gain even more of an insight into work experience and career opportunities. The conference has now become an annual event due to its success and popularity with both students and visitors. [email protected] UK Government accused of dragging its feet over WASPI campaign The UK Government has been accused of continuing to drag its feet on ensuring women born in the 1950s receive pension equality. Thirty campaigners from the Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) group were in the public gallery as the issue was raised in the Senedd on March 6. The campaign was launched amid concerns about the way in which womens state pension age was increased from 60 to 66 in line with men. Millions of women saw their retirement plans plunged into chaos after they were given little to no notice of the change, causing financial hardship for many. Delyth Jewell, Plaid Cymrus deputy leader, raised their plight during questions to Mick Antoniw, who is counsel general, the Welsh Governments chief legal adviser. Scandal She told the chamber: The 1950s-born women denied their state pensions still await justice. I suggested to you last year that Waspi also stands for Waiting and Still Pleading for Integrity. They should not still be waiting. Its a scandal that the UK Government has dragged its feet for so long that women have died before getting the money theyre owed, and they are due financial redress. I hope, I trust that the ombudsman will recommend awarding payments of the highest level possible but Westminster has the final say, so Id urge you please to maintain pressure at this critical time. Ms Jewell added: Any proposal to pay these women off with a sum thats less than what theyre owed would go against the Equality Act 2010 and would flout international law, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Compensation Mr Antoniw said he has written to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, which has been investigating the way state pension age changes were introduced. Calling for the matter to be expedited, he said: Weve had a response, and, of course, the issue is still being considered by the ombudsman. Well continue to monitor what is happening and continue to make, where appropriate, representations. In respect of the issue of the compensation that I think we all feel is due and would be just, there should be two things. Firstly, all the women whove been affected should be compensated for the specific economic loss that they have suffered. They should also be compensated for the impact this has had on their lives. Justice He added: I doubt whether there is anyone in this chamber who doesnt know someone who has been affected and who isnt concerned about it, so extensive has been the impact. In 2021, the ombudsman published a report finding maladministration in the way the Department for Work and Pensions communicated the changes. The Waspi campaign group says more than 260,000 women impacted by the state pension changes have died since the fight for justice began in 2015. Mr Antoniw stressed the importance of posthumous payments, saying: So many people have passed away before seeing any form of justice or rectification for what has happened. It is important that that is recognised and the estates of those people and their families also see that justice is delivered for those who are no longer here to receive that. By Chris Haines, ICNN Senedd reporter Picture: Delyth Jewell MS joins campaigners on the Senedd steps [email protected] Parcelforce owner drivers in Britain are taking legal action against Royal Mail, challenging their self-employed status that deprives them of basic employment rights such as sick pay, paid holidays and the minimum wage. Unlike delivery drivers employed directly by Parcelforce, owner drivers do not receive an hourly rate and are paid per parcel delivered. They must lease their vans and pay their own petrol costs, and health and vehicle insurance. Example of aggressive messaging from management to Parcelforce delivery drivers on their hand-sets demanding they speed up their work [Photo: screenshot] Parcelforce Worldwide, the dedicated parcel delivery arm of Royal Mail Group (RMG), employs around 6,500 workers across 54 depots in the UK. In some depots the percentage of owner drivers reached 20 percent last year. Last month, under the heading, Royal Mail sued by delivery drivers in Uber-style gig economy legal case, the Observer interviewed Marc Francis, one of three claimants bringing a case against Royal Mail with the support of the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) and are being represented by solicitors Leigh Day. Francis told the newspaper that after 10 years of working for Parcelforce, hed had enough. The article explained, Despite being classed as self-employed, owner drivers do not have control over the days they work (which are outlined in contracts with Parcelforce), the hours they work (as it is dependent on the number of packages given to them by Parcelforce each morning) or even the route they take (determined by the companys Route Excellence computer system). Self-employed delivery drivers are often unable to earn the minimum wage after paying for van lease and fuel costs, fear taking sick leave because of loss of earnings and are forced to pay for agency staff covering their routes when they are absent. Francis recounts how last September, in a flare-up of ulcerative colitis, he was unable to work for two weeks. On return, he was asked to pay 764 to Parcelforce to cover the cost of hiring an agency worker who covered his route. After being diagnosed with pneumonia, he felt compelled to inform his managers he would be at work the next morning. During another work absence, he received a letter from management threatening to terminate his contract after the planned cover for his route did not show up. The reason why owner drivers are much more suitable to the business is purely down to exploitation, he said, explaining that he and his colleagues are fighting for the legal rights were due. Leigh Day described the situation as endemic, with solicitor Lianna Wood commenting, In our view, Parcelforce drivers working for Royal Mail should be entitled to workers rights such as receiving holiday pay and being paid the national minimum wage. This issue affects thousands of Parcelforce owner drivers. A campaign statement by the IWGB explains: In February 2021 the Supreme Court ruled that Uber taxi drivers should be classified as workers instead of independent contractors which provided a very strong precedent. There is no reference in the IWGBs campaign material to the protracted legal case it waged at Deliveroo, which exposed how the state and the union bureaucracy conspires to deny employment rights to super-exploited workers. Its legal campaign to have Deliveroo riders designated as workers with collective bargaining rights was struck down by the Supreme Court last November, aided by a union recognition deal between the company and GMB union. The GMBs sweetheart deal accepted that riders would continue to be designated as self-employed. The recent strikes by thousands of delivery drivers at four major food delivery platform companies including Deliveroo have developed against the GMBs collusion. There is one glaring omission in the Observer article about the legal challenge mounted by Parcelforce owner drivers--the role of the Communication Workers Union (CWU). Between August and December 2022, the CWU led 18 days of industrial action by 100,000 Royal Mail workers--including those at Parcelforceover massive attacks on pay, terms and conditions. That Parcelforce drivers are being forced to seek legal redress to protect their employment rights is an indictment of the rotten deal pushed through by the CWU postal executive to sellout the strike. CWU leaders Dave Ward and Andy Furey vetoed an overwhelming strike mandate to enter secret talks with Royal Mail, producing a negotiators agreement which they boasted meant Uberisation has been cancelled. In reality, it was a sweatshop charter for increased exploitation. Their deal was backed by the Labour Party, whose MP Darren Jones was accorded a standing ovation at the CWU reps meeting that endorsed the union-company betrayal. Ward is the frontman for Labours New Deal for Working People, which promises to do away with fire and rehire and the gig economy by overseeing a corporatist alliance between union officials and corporate boardrooms to drive up exploitation and profits. The Postal Workers Rank-and-File Committee (PWRFC) has fought to develop a fightback against the CWUs sabotage of the strike and its alliance with the company through a raft of union-management committees that have fully integrated the CWU bureaucracy with the company at every level. CWU national officer Davie Robertson referenced the national agreement in a signed letter with senior management at Parcelforce on May 9, 2023, to introduce revisions at pace. Annex 3 of the agreement stated there would be a freeze on owner drivers, conditional on considering alternative solutions for cost-reductions. The CWU also agreed that headcount reduction at Parcelforce would be managed at the expense of owner drivers and agency workers, opposing any fight to unify workers in the struggle for decent pay, conditions and protections for all drivers. The WSWS approached the CWU for comment on the legal case brought by Parcelforce drivers against Royal Mail. We received no response. A Parcelforce worker and member of the PWRFC in London who is employed directly by the company, spoke with WSWS about the issues facing drivers and why a rank-and-file movement is needed to unite workers across Royal Mail: The CWU does not go near owner drivers. They are kept at arms-length and treated as a nuisance. But we dont share the view that they are the enemy, or agency staff. It is the CWU officials who have sold all of us down the river. They speak with one voice with management. Letters and other communication from the company even carries the logo of the CWU. They call these revisions, but its backbreaking workloads. The volume of the delivery routes has not been reduced, but the hours have for 95 percent of drivers, and those with failed deliveries are being disciplined. Drivers with a long service are unable to meet unachievable targets. We are handling parcels weighing up to 20-30kg and walking up to 25km per day, up flights of stairs, and making repeated trips with our trolleys for collections at the Post Office and factories. We have 9am,10am and other a.m. parcels which cost more to the customer due to the time they want them delivered. We keep on getting messages on the PDA handset to deliver before the time. Any deliveries after the time are called up and the manager wants to know why it has been missed. This causes us problems as we have a set route and if the 9am is at the end of the route we must break off from our route to deliver the timed parcel, and this wastes time. We are all the same whether directly employed, owner drivers or agency, doing the same job and just trying to earn a living. We, the rank-and-file need to come together against Royal Mail and the CWU bureaucrats who have ganged-up against us. On Thursday, Kenya announced that it is moving ahead with the US backed and developed plan for it to lead a Multinational Security Support (MSS) intervention in Haiti to bloodily restore bourgeois law and order in the Western Hemispheres poorest country. The Caribbean island-nation has been overrun by criminal gangs, most of which have close ties to rival factions of Haitis ruling elite. While cast as a response to the desperate plight of the Haitian people, the true purpose of the MSS is to uphold US, Canadian and French imperialist interests and domination over the Caribbean. A National Police officer patrols an intersection in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. [AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph] The mission will see more than 1,000 Kenyan police, drawn from a force notorious for its brutality and criminality, working with the thoroughly corrupt Haitian National Police and security forces from Caribbean Community member-states Jamaica, Bahamas, Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda. Last week, Benin pledged to send 2,000 troops. Burundi, Chad and Senegal have also pledged troops. All of them have a track record of mass violence against their respective populations. The mission is not only deeply opposed by the vast majority of Haitis impoverished workers and toilers, but also by the Kenyan masses. On Thursday, Kenyan government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura criticized Kenyans for not supporting a mission to foster peace. Why are we complaining on matters of security when we have been given such help before? Let us be patriotic and support the government he declared. In the days before Mwauras remarks, the thuggish nature of the whole mission had, in fact, been on full display. On March 1, Kenyan President William Ruto signed a deal in Nairobi with Haitis unelected, US-installed prime minister, Ariel Henry, to launch the latest imperialist military-security intervention in Haiti. This step became necessary after Kenyas High Court had ruled the deployment of Kenyan forces to Haiti was unconstitutional, in part due to the lack of any reciprocal agreements between the two countries. Just four days later, Henrya right-wing figure who the US had hitherto staunchly supportedwas effectively kidnapped by Washington. On his way back to Haiti, Henrys plane was forced to land in the US territory of Puerto Rico, after he was confronted while in mid-air with a US State Department demand that he agree to a new transitional governmentand resign. When Henrys plane landed in San Juan, Puerto Ricos capital, he was immediately met by US Secret Service agents and refused permission to deplane for hours, a Miami Herald exclusive on last Tuesdays events further reported. The US is pressing Henry to reach agreement with opposition leaders on an interim government led by a three-member presidential council, then step aside. Washington has long backed Henry in refusing opposition demands he broaden his government prior to any election. (The mandates of all the countrys elected officials long ago expired, and Henry was himself imposed as prime minster at the demand of the US, French and Canadian-led Core Group of nations, following the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.) However, such is the state of the crisis now convulsing Haiti and the popular hatred for Henry, Washington has concluded his rule is no longer viable and wants to put into place a new political instrument to provide a legal, Haitian fig leaf for the MSS deployment, which it is simultaneously working to expedite. Speaking of the Kenyan police deployment on Wednesday, the US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Washington hoped that action will take place quickly. Kenyas role as an imperialist satrap Kenyas potential role in leading a US-Canadian financed and logistically supported MSS has been discussed for over eight months. Last July, Kenyas Foreign Affairs Minister Alfred Mutua suddenly announced the mission, justifying it on racialist and pan-Africanist lines. Mutua cynically stated, At the request of Friends of Haiti Group of Nations, Kenya has accepted to positively consider leading a Multi-National Force to Haiti. Kenya stands with persons of African descent across the world, including those in the Caribbean, and aligns with the African Unions diaspora policy and our own commitment to Pan Africanism, and in this case to reclaiming of the Atlantic crossing The truth is that Kenyas police forces are being sent to Haiti as de facto mercenaries, acting in the role of jailers for a country which has become an open-air prison. The mission seeks to terrorise the Haitian population into submission to ensure the gang crisis does not precipitate a mass outflow of refugees to the US and Canada or serve to destabilise the Caribbean region. Not coincidentally, Nairobi has already received advances for its services. Weeks after announcing it was volunteering to lead a mission to Haiti, the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) granted Kenya a new loan of more than $941 million, as the country continues to grapple with a host of economic challenges including vast debt, the deterioration in living standards and a tumbling currency. Kenyan President William Ruto, center left, inspects a guard of honor parade, during the 60th Jamhuri Day Celebrations (Independence Day) at Uhuru gardens Stadium in Nairobi, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. [AP Photo/Brian Inganga] Washington and Ottawa have selected Kenya under conditions where they are waging war against Russia in Ukraine, supporting Israels genocide in Gaza and actively preparing for war with China, and amid mass opposition among the Haitian masses to an intervention led by either the US or Canada. Both have a long history of neo-colonial occupation and military intervention in Haiti, including as recently as 2004, when they deployed troops to oust its elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Tasking ruthless African and Caribbean police with pacifying the gangs and suppressing the Haitian population is, they calculate, a less costly optionin terms of both money and the lives of imperialist soldiersthan sending in US and Canadian troops. Kenya has a long track record of acting as a satrap for US and European imperialism in maintaining their strategic grip over Eastern and Central Africa. In Somalia, where US drone strikes have killed over 1,000 Somalis in the past three years alone, Kenya has been intervening with thousands of troops since 2011 as the US proxy against the Al-Shabaab insurgency. The US seeks to maintain control of the geostrategic Red Sea, where Washington and its allies are currently launching attacks against the Houthi militia in Yemen that have attempted to disrupt supplies to the Israeli military, in solidarity with the Palestinians. Kenya is the only Horn of Africa country to publicly endorse airstrikes on the impoverished nation. This follows from Rutos support for Israels genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. After the October 7 Palestinian uprising, Ruto rapidly condemned Hamas and supported actions against perpetrators, organizers, financiers, sponsors, supporters and enablers of terrorism. Soon after, Kenya refused to endorse South Africas case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and announced a plan to send 1,500 Kenyan casual workers to Israel to help make up for the acute labor shortage that has resulted from the exclusion of tens of thousands of day-labourers from the Occupied Territories and the departure of migrant workers from southeast Asia. Kenya also signed onto a Western-backed East Africa peacekeeping force to the DR Congos mineral-rich east, to stabilise the war-torn region so Western corporations can plunder the minerals in the region. The mission has ended in fiasco as various neighbouring countries back rival militia groups within the country. Over the past year, top US security chiefs have been trooping to Nairobi. The latest was General Michael Langley, the head of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), in January. His visit came two weeks after CIA Director William Burns met Ruto at State House, as Washington was planning its attacks on Yemen. It followed the visit of US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in September 2023 to sign a new five-year Defense Cooperation Agreement between the two countries, with the stated purpose of supporting Kenyas capabilities for operational deployments. Ruto regards Kenyas proxy services as a necessary demonstration of his governments commitment to the US and its global geostrategic aims. It underlines the Kenyan governments support for the US-led attempts to counter Chinas economic preeminence on the African continent. By serving as a proxy force for Washington, the Kenyan ruling class hopes to secure economic support. But its principal goal is securing imperialist political and military-security support, so as to steel itself in the face of mounting worker and farmer opposition to its imposition of class-war IMF austerity measures, including savage tax hikes, subsidy cuts on staple food and privatisations. The bloody, repressive role of the Kenyan police The plans to deploy Kenyan police to Haiti are themselves a devastating exposure of the claims of the imperialist powers to be concerned about the Haitian people. Despised by the masses, the Kenyan police act as a state sanctioned criminal gang, with the freedom to demand bribes, falsely accuse and imprison, and are regularly involved in extortion and extrajudicial killings. On a daily basis, the population is cash-milked dry by cops who demand chai (tea), a code-word for a bribe. The Kenyan police has a long history of violence. After Kenyas independence from Britain in 1963, the new ruling class Africanised the police, but ensured it retained its repressive colonial character to suppress the masses. During the rule of Western-backed dictator President Daniel Arap Moi (1978-2002), Rutos mentor, the police violently repressed workers and peasant strikes, murdered and tortured left-wing opponents, detained opposition figures without a trial, and enforced disappearances. After Moi, police violence continued. Between 2002 and 2007, the Mungiki gang that operated protection rackets in slum areas, was violently suppressed by police forces. An estimated 8,000 mostly young people were killed in extrajudicial police murders. The brutality was such that decomposing bodies of as many as 500 victims were found in the outskirts of Nairobi. Then minister in charge of security, John Michuki, thuggishly stated that if you dont toe the line, [Nairobi principal police officer] Kingori will give you a bullet. In the 2007-2008 post-election violence, police were found to be complicit in mass killings, which claimed the lives of more than 1,200 people and displaced 600,000 from their homes, as police terrorised the population to enforce the election theft of then president candidate Mwai Kibaki. The majority of the killings happened in opposition strongholds where police shot dead hundreds of demonstrators. Last year, Ruto sent the police to violently crack down on anti-austerity protests called by the opposition. Over 60 people were killed. To date, no police officer has been held accountable. This is the track record of the police that the imperialist powers are sending to supposedly aid the Haitian people. Amid mounting opposition within the Kenyan working class to sending police thugs to suppress their brothers and sisters in Haiti, the main opposition party, Azimio, is attempting to posture as an opponent of the Haiti intervention. On Monday, Azimio spokesperson, Kalonzo Musyoka, said, We will hold this government responsible in case our sons die in Haiti under the illegal deployment. We still oppose the move that was declared illegal by our courts. Kalonzos concerns for police deaths is not surprising given his track record working for Mois police state. Under Mois rule, he was the Foreign Affairs Minister (1993-1998), Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly (1988-1992) and National Organising Secretary of KANU, the only legal party under Moi, as workers, students and left-wing opponents of the regime were killed and tortured. As for Azimios multi-millionaire leader, Raila Odinga, he is a darling of Washington and London, having maintained close relations with the US and other imperialist powers for decades. In 2011, as Kenyas prime minister, he supported Kenyas illegal invasion of Somalia. In the same year, he personally intervened to support Frances soldiers in Ivory Coast to install Alassane Ouattara as president, after disputed November 2010 presidential elections. Raila is an open defender of using Kenya to serve imperialist interests. In his autobiography, The Flame of Freedom (2013), he accuses the Kibaki government (2002-2013) of not seeing it necessary to deploy our military forces to secure our borders against foreign incursion, nor to engage in regional, bilateral or international intervention and co-operation to help solve some of the problems bedevilling eastern Africa. Similarly, the Communist Party of Kenya (CPK), whose leaders deserted the party and backed Ruto in 2022, are making empty appeals to the Kenyan regime. After the High Court declared the deployment of the police to Haiti as unconstitutional, the CPK posted a statement stating, In light of this ruling, the CPK Majority urges the Kenyan government to respect the courts decision, abandon any plans for the unconstitutional deployment of police officers, and redirect efforts toward addressing domestic challenges faced by our citizens. In opposition to the Stalinists pathetic and reactionary appeals to the Ruto regime and the Kenyan bourgeoisie to stop the deployment to Haiti, the World Socialist Web Site insists that this can only be achieved through the mobilisation of the international working class. This must be linked to the struggle to fuse the fight against imperialist war with the growing mass upsurge of working people around the world against capitalist austerity and the assault on their social and democratic rights. The way forward is to build a revolutionary Trotskyist vanguard in the working class, opposed to bourgeois nationalism and Stalinism, and fighting to bring the working class to power and build socialism. UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron flew to Berlin Thursday to meet his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock. Under discussion were plans to massively upscale military aid to Ukraine. The talks took place just days after Russias RT leaked a conversation, dated February 19, between top German generals on how long range Taurus cruise missiles could be delivered to Ukraine and used against Russian targets. One proposal was that Germany could hand control over to Britain, which already had people on the ground. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had already stated earlier that Britain had troops in Ukraine. UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron (left) at a joint press conference with German counterpart Annalena Baerbock, March 7, 2024 [Photo by Ben Dance/FCDO / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Publishing the leak was one Russian response to French President Emmanuel Macron publicly declaring that the NATO powers had to consider not just further missile deliveries but putting troops on the ground in Ukraine to fight Russia. Scholz had publicly opposed Macron on sending ground troops, after previously opposing sending Taurus missilesstating that this would require German soldiers to be involved in targeting them and would mean direct conflict with Russia. Taurus has a range of 500km and could even reach Moscow from Ukraine's north-eastern border. Macron followed up by commenting, in words clearly aimed at Scholz, that he fully stood behind his NATO troops on the ground call as, We are at a time in Europe where it is fitting not to be cowardly. Britains media has been filled with articles denouncing Scholz and Germany, both for confirming the presence of UK troops in Ukraine and for Scholz opposing sending Taurus missiles. Former Defence Minister Ben Wallace told The Times that the Taurus discussions leak shows Berlin is neither secure nor reliable and said of Scholz, as far as the security of Europe goes he is the wrong man, in the wrong job at the wrong time. The Telegraph editorial Tuesday proclaimed, German defence insecurity: Olaf Scholz must give Ukraine the Taurus long-range missiles it urgently needs. An op-ed in the same newspaper by former British army commanding officer Colonel Richard Kemp was headlined, It was delusional to think that Germany had changed. Cameron went to Germany to discuss with Baerbock, who he recognises as a co-thinker, with a mission to smooth relations with Berlin while making clear the UKs support for Macrons position on Taurus. His aim is to ensure that Scholz reversed himself, as he did previously when declaring a red line on sending Leopard tanks to Ukraine. On that occasion, Scholz wanted, and secured, agreement that Washington would send US M1 Abrams battle tanks before committing to send Leopards. Germany under his leadership is second only to the United States in sending billions of euros in deadly weapons to fuel NATOs war against Russia. Cameron would not say so openly but would nevertheless have stressed privately that he spoke to Baerbock with the full backing of the Biden administration. On Monday, as Scholz was maintaining his stance on Taurus, Baerbock had insisted that her Green Party coalition partnersScholzs Social Democratic Party and the Free Democratic Partyshould intensively consider deliveries of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine and all materials that the Zelensky regime requires. After four hours of talks which covered Ukraine, Gaza and illegal immigration, Cameron and Baerbock held a joint press conference. Cameron refused to be drawn on Wallaces attack when questioned in Berlin, stressing that whether Taurus missiles were sent was Germanys decision to make and praising the enormous amount Germany had done already as the second largest supplier of weapons to Ukraine after the US. Asked whether Britain was pushing Germany to supply Ukraine with Taurus, he replied that it a matter for the German government to decide but then repeated almost verbatim Macrons arguments about why NATO, especially its European members, should not hesitate to send troops because of threats from Russia of escalation. Cameron declared, I can only speak for Britain's experience of how effective these weapons have been at helping Ukraine to fight off this illegal aggression. At every stage its been said if you give anti-tank weapons to the Ukraine, thats escalation. No, it wasnt. If you give tanks to the Ukrainians, thats escalation. No, it wasnt. If you give long-range artillery or long-range fires to the Ukrainians, its escalation. No, it isnt. He added, If what youre doing is helping a country defend itself from illegal and completely unjustified aggression, then there should be nothing to stop you helping that country to fight back to recover its territory. Cameron said of a Ukrainian army that has suffered massive casualties and cannot operate without NATO firepower, I dont have any doubt in their ability to fight and to resist this appalling Russian aggression. He then insisted, As long as were not in a situation where a NATO soldier is killing a Russian soldier, we are not causing escalation. Were allowing Ukraine to defend itself. He asked, The question is for us: Are we . going to see this through? Are we going to give them what they need? Are we going to back them with everything that we have? I just think this is the test for politicians of this generation, of this time. Opening the press conference, Baerbock had already solidarized herself with Camerons escalatory position, declaring, This is a war of annihilation. Those who do not realise that we have to mobilise all means at our disposal in order to allow Ukraine to defend itself will be neglecting their duties in concrete terms what is needed is more ammunition, more air defence, more long-range weapons to allow Ukraine to defend itself and make sure it survives. As Cameron and now everyone else knows, following Scholzs statements and RTs leaksand as Downing Street has been forced to acknowledgeBritain already has troops on the ground in Ukraine. But at this point, Londons open focus is on supporting the sending of long-range missiles and stops short of openly backing Macron on sending troops. The Financial Times editorialised this week on Europes damaging divisions over military aid to Ukraine: Macrons underlying messagethat Nato members must be ready to do more to help Ukraine against resurgent Russian forcesis well founded. But this should be by sending more arms, not troops. His public talk of boots on the ground has wrongfooted allies and laid bare strategic divisions, particularly with Germany, over military assistance to Kyivjust when a united front is needed. However, it insisted, Scholz, for his part, should lift his opposition to sending Taurus missiles, which have a longer range than cruise missiles supplied by France and the UK and which Ukraine is crying out for. Recognising the growth of anti-war sentiment, expressed in demonstrations throughout the world against Israels decimation of Gaza, the FT also warned, The problem is that many counterparts have legitimate concerns that even limited troop deployments would put Nato on the path to direct confrontation with Moscow. Though they have stressed the need to aid Kyiv and asked voters to bear higher energy costs, many western leadersnot just Scholzwill fear that any talk of sending soldiers could turn sentiment against the war. Fear of public opposition should the full extent of their war plans become known is indeed a major factor in Scholzs political calculations. In a recent poll a majority of the German population (61 percent) are opposed to sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine and an even larger majority (80 percent) are against sending NATO troops. Nevertheless, despite their tactical disagreements, it is Macron and not Scholz who has most clearly indicated the direction in which the main NATO powers, including the US, UK, France and Germany are moving. In The Hill March 7, an influential Washington-based publication aligned to the Democrats, Mark Toth and former US military intelligence officer Jonathan Sweet wrote of the Macron/Scholz controversy: Macron is pushing buttons and making Western leaders increasingly uncomfortable. They need to be pushed in order to create a sense of urgency. The dirty little secret is now public that boots on the ground may be necessary if Russia is able to threaten Kyiv Half measures will not win the war. The West needs a plan and a message to send to Russiathat Ukraine will not fail, and that all options are on the table. ZARANJ, Afghanistan, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Seven travellers have been killed and three others sustained injury after a vehicle turned turtle in west Afghanistan's Nimroz province, provincial traffic police official Abidullah Mirwais said Saturday. The road accident took place on Friday night on a road linking Dilaram district with the provincial capital Zaranj city, killing four men, two women and a child on the spot while injuring three others including a child, the official said. This is the second deadly road accident reported in the past four days in Afghanistan. In the last accident on Wednesday, six people were killed with 32 others injured when a passenger bus turned turtle in the eastern Ghazni province. Reckless driving, congested roads, lack of safety measures during travel and dilapidated highways are among the major factors claiming traveller's life in Afghanistan, according to Afghan officials. The latest data from national traffic authorities showed more than 1,600 people were killed with more than 4,000 others injured in road accidents in the Central Asian country over the past 10 months. As wildfires continue to scorch the Panhandle region, Texas electric utility Xcel Energy admitted this week that a downed utility pole near the city of Stinnett likely ignited the devastating Smokehouse Creek fire, which quickly became the largest in the states history and has burned more than a million acres. A telephone pole burns from the Smokehouse Creek Fire, Feb. 28, 2024, in Canadian, Texas [AP Photo/David Erickson] Since igniting February 26, a cluster of five simultaneous blazes swept across the Panhandle region to the north of Amarillo, resulting in three deaths and the destruction of more than 500 structures, including many homes. On Thursday, the Texas A&M Forest Service wildfire web site tracker indicated that the blazes, while not fully contained, were largely extinguished. The tracker lists three fires smoldering, down from five recorded the previous day. The record-breaking Smokehouse Creek fire, the largest fire still blazing, was 74 percent contained, with the Grape Vine Creek fire nearly extinguished at 96 percent. The third fire, Windy Deuce, was 89 percent contained. On Thursday Xcel Energy released a statement to the media admitting the role its equipment played in setting off the blazes: Based on currently available information, Xcel Energy acknowledges that its facilities appear to have been involved in an ignition of the Smokehouse Creek fire. While admitting its equipment failed, the energy company disputed claims that it acted negligently, and directed residents who have lost property to make claims with Xcel through a dedicated process. Xcel Energy is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and provides electric utility and natural gas delivery to more than 6 million people across eight states. According to its CEO Bob Frenzel, the company has operated in the Texas Panhandle for more than 100 years through its subsidiary Southwestern Public Service Company based in Amarillo. Xcel Energys acknowledgment comes after news that a Canadian, Texas, resident filed a lawsuit on March 1 against the power company, claiming a faulty electrical utility pole was to blame for the Smokehouse Creek fire which destroyed her home. Melanie McQuiddy filed the suit against the power company and its subsidiary Southwestern Public Service Company. Also targeted in the lawsuit were Osmose Utility Services, a contractor located in Georgia which inspects logs which are used in manufacturing electrical poles. The principal claim in the suit alleges that the companies failed to properly inspect, maintain, and replace a utility pole, which splintered, and snapped off at the base on February 26, and thus ignited the fire. Upon news of the lawsuit, the energy giants stock price fell 13 percent, a loss of more than $5 billion. Xcel Energys revenue for the year of 2023 was more than $14 billion, and the companys market value totals $28.3 billion, and total assets of more than $64 billion. Simultaneous to the lawsuit on March 1, Texas Governor Greg Abbott called for an investigation into the origin of the blazes, stating, Were going to continue to work with our local partners to do calls in origin determination. Considering the history of collusion between energy conglomerates and the state government in Austin to cover up the disasters brought about by utility companies malfeasance, the promise of an investigation is essentially meaningless. Xcel Energys acknowledgment of responsibility for setting off the largest inferno in Texas history once again raises significant questions about the condition and operation of the states power grid. While the exact circumstances behind what occurred with Xcels equipment and the legal dimensions of its culpability are not yet established, it is certainly not out of the ordinary for a utility company to abandon the maintenance of its facilities as part of its cost-cutting to increase profits. In 2019, investigators with the California Public Utilities Commission found that Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) for years concealed knowledge of its decrepit infrastructure. The investigation comprising 700 pages, found that PG&E engaged in a pattern of deliberate neglect for the maintenance of transmission lines and towers, which directly led to the sparking of several deadly wildfires, including the Camp Fire in 2018 that killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise. As with the Texas 2021 winter snowstorm and cold snap, which led to the loss of power to millions, the Panhandle wildfire catastrophe is the product of corporate greed in a years-long conspiracy with state politicians and energy companies seeking to squeeze every drop of profits from the population. The state of disrepair of failing electric facilities in California, Texas and across the country is the product of decades of deregulation of energy conglomerates, carried out by both Democrats and Republicans. The criminal collusion between energy corporations and politicians is exacerbated by capitalist-induced climate change, with scientists predicting that wildfires will increase in frequency across the globe as a consequence of ever-warming temperatures produced by the industrial emission of carbon dioxide. But the capitalist system, completely impervious to science, is opposed to any effort to address any social problem and the necessary internationally organized response to combat climate change. The criminal neglect of energy conglomerates and their politician allies is an indictment of capitalism, wherein every aspect of society is subordinated to the profit interests of the corporate oligarchy. The governments criminal response to the Covid-19 pandemic with the abandonment of public health measures and any scientific effort to stop the virus spread is governed by the same capitalist principles that sacrifice the health and life of the population for the profit interests of the parasitic financial oligarchy during any social disaster. The regularity of devastating fires and other natural disasters fueled by climate change combined with the complete abandonment of the population to the catastrophe by the ruling class make it necessary for a socialist reorganization of society, characterized by the mobilization of resources based on human and social need, and not the private profiteering of the financial elite. In 2014, the centenary year of the outbreak of the First World War, the old debate broke out again as to whether the major powers had slithered or sleepwalked into the war, or whether they had deliberately started it. With NATOs deployment against Russia, this question is superfluous. The European powers are not slithering into war, they are plunging headlong into it. In recent days, leading European statesmen, military leaders, and opinion-makers have accused each other of not going far enough in the war against Russia. Like adolescent boys engaged in a test of courage, they have called each other cowards, sissies and useful idiots of Putin. In this photo provided by South Korea Defense Ministry, a Taurus missile flies during a drill off the country's western coast in South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017 [AP Photo/South Korea Defense Ministry] French President Emmanuel Macron called on his European allies not to be cowards after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (Social Democratic Party, SPD) publicly contradicted his proposal to send Western troops to Ukraine. Ben Wallace, British defence secretary until last summer, berated Scholz as the wrong man in the wrong job at the wrong time for refusing to deliver Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. Following the publication of an intercepted conversation between German military officers by Russian media, Britains Telegraph, the house organ of the Conservatives, wrote, citing a diplomatic source, that Russia had identified Germany as the weakest link in the alliance and Scholz as a useful idiot to take Germany out of the equation. Scholz, for his part, boasts that no other country apart from the US has poured as much money and weapons into the Ukraine war as Germany. According to the Ukraine Support Tracker published by the Kiel Institute for Economic Research, German aid commitments in the first two years of the war totalled 22 billion, of which 17.7 billion was for military purposes alone. The UK is in third place with a total of 15.7 billion, and France is in 14th place with 1.8 billion. Scholz opposes the delivery of Taurus missiles only because he considers the timing to be premature, just as he once opposed the delivery of Leopard tanks before the Americans joined in. He does not want to expose Germany prematurely. On the other hand, he is expressly keeping open the option of later delivery. The competition regarding who is the most reckless warmonger is also being played out within Germany itself. The state-owned and private media are campaigning around the clock for an escalation of the war against Russia. On the ZDF evening news, Green MP Anton Hofreiter angrily accused the chancellor of his own governing coalition of a lack of leadership and weakness towards Putin for refusing to supply Taurus missiles. Defence lobbyist and self-proclaimed war expert Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (Free Democratic Party, FDP) even voted against her own government in the Bundestag (parliament), supporting an opposition motion calling for the immediate delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine. The risks that Macron, Scholz, Biden, Sunak and all the other warmongers are taking are breathtaking. They are playing Russian roulette with the nuclear bomb. There is an obvious contradiction in their propaganda. On the one hand, they demonise Putin as the embodiment of evil, the reincarnation of Hitler, who is planning to conquer all of Europe and is capable of any crime. On the other hand, they dismiss his repeated warnings of the possible use of nuclear weapons if Russias existence is threatened, calling them a bluff that should not be taken seriously. Just as before the war began, they threw to the wind all warnings that Russia would react militarily if NATO continued its expansion to the east and continued to arm Ukraine, they are now doing the same in the face of warnings of nuclear escalation. There is only one explanation for this behaviour: The US government, NATO headquarters in Brussels and the European governments are planning to use nuclear bombs themselves. They are seriously considering the use of weapons that have long been downplayed as a mere means of deterrence. In 2014, they helped a right-wing, pro-Western regime come to power in Kiev and then systematically reorganised and rearmed the Ukrainian army. In this way, they deliberately provoked a military attack by Russia. They hoped to bleed Russia dry economically and militarily and bring the huge country with its vast natural resources under their control. Now that the Ukrainian army is heading for defeat after hundreds of thousands of casualties, they are planning a further escalation of the war. The deployment of NATO ground troops, which is already underway on a small scale, the delivery of high-precision Taurus cruise missiles that can reach Moscow, the huge NATO manoeuvres on the Russian border, and the transformation of the Baltic and Black Seas into NATO waters are intended to provoke Moscow into a further military response. If the military and intelligence officials who have influence over Putin conclude that outright war with NATO is inevitable, they could decide that attack is the best defence and give NATO the pretext for a huge escalation. That is madness. But the Schlieffen Plan, by which Germany prepared to conduct a two-front war in the First World War, and Hitlers even more reckless plans for world conquest, were also madness. Nevertheless, they were implemented and supported by the generals and the ruling class to the bitter end. The foreign policy of the capitalist powers, especially in times of war, is not determined by Kantian logic, but by the class logic of imperialism. After decades of increasing social inequality and the accumulation of mountains of speculative capital, the crisis of world capitalism has once again reached a point where there is only one way out on a capitalist basis: The violent redivision of the world among the imperialist powers and the brutal subjugation of the working class. That is the reason for the support for war against Russia and genocide against the Palestinians by all parties defending capitalism. The pro-war policy is supported not only by the representatives of the corporations and banks, but also by the mouthpieces of the wealthy upper-middle classes that have profited from the stock market and property boom of recent decades. The trade unions, which have been transformed into corporatist apparatuses for disciplining workers, are just as much behind the escalating world war as the Greens, the SPD and the Left Party. The Greens, in particular, are inebriated by widening war. In their early days they blockaded nuclear weapons depots. Today, they call the loudest for the atomic bomb. In contrast, the working class and broad sections of the population reject the pro-war policy. According to an ARD Deutschlandtrend survey, despite the constant propaganda, 61 percent of respondents oppose the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to the Ukraine. Only 29 percent are in favour. Only the Greens and the FDP show a majority of their supporters favouring the delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine. This mass popular opposition cannot, however, end war and mass slaughter and prevent a nuclear holocaust if it remains within the framework of the establishment parties and institutions. Averting a nuclear catastrophe requires the building of a powerful anti-war movement based on the international working class, which combines the fight against war and militarism with the struggle against social inequality and its root cause, capitalism. This is what the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party) and its international sister organisations in the International Committee of the Fourth International are fighting for. As 10.8 million voters prepare to go to the polls Sunday in Portugals general elections, the far-right Chega party is rising quickly in the polls. Andre Ventura, right, leader of far-right party Chega (Enough) during a Chega campaign action in Almada, south of Lisbon, Feb. 23, 2024. [AP Photo/Armando Franca] A March 6 poll showed the right-wing Social-Democratic Party (PSD) at 35 percent, the ruling Socialist Party (PS) at 28 percent, and Chega at 15 percent of the vote. The PS main pseudo-left allies, the Pabloite Left Bloc and the Stalinist Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), have collapsed to five and four percent, respectively. Overall, the PSD, Chega and their smaller right-wing allies, such as the Liberal Initiative, would control over 56 percent of the vote. This could lead to the installation of the first Portuguese government backed by the far right in a half-century. The far-right has not backed a national government in Portugal since the 1974 Carnation Revolution toppled Antonio de Oliveira Salazars fascistic Estado Novo regime. The ruling class organized the election based on a trumped-up corruption scandal against PS Prime Minister Antonio Costa, while Chega somewhat downplayed its appeals to anti-immigrant hatreds and instead making socially-demagogic promises to raise living standards. This was facilitated above all by the right-wing role of the PS and its discredited pseudo-left satellites, BE and the PCP. Costa ran as a backer of the NATO war with Russia in Ukraine and of Israels genocidal war on Gaza, which he defended as Israels right to defend itself. The potential entry of the far right into government is a warning: amid capitalisms plunge into a new world war and genocide, the Portuguese bourgeoisie is shifting sharply to the right. They are driven both by the international crisis and by the rapid growth at home of the class struggle, as workers have mounted repeated militant strikes that were brutally repressed by the PS government, with the complicity of its pseudo-left allies. From 2015 to 2021, the BE and PCP maintained the so-called geringonca (contraption) alliance with the PS, supporting but not joining minority PS governments. They obtained access to influence and power, while the PS brutally suppressed waves of strikes against the collapse in living standards due to European Union (EU) austerity measures after the 2008 Wall Street crash. In this time, the PS not only imposed several EU austerity packages but sent the police or army to assault yellow vest protests and strikes by truckers, teachers and other key industries. The rise of Chega is, in the final analysis, the product of the brutally anti-working class record of the pseudo-left tendencies and the PS. However, the reactionary role of the parties falsely marketed by capitalist media as the left does not in any way lessen the anti-working-class role of the political heirs of Salazar. Arguments in the political establishment that Chegas rise should not cause concernbecause many Chega voters do not support all of its far-right policiesare false and staggeringly complacent, given the enormous dangers facing the working class. An example of this complacency are Catholic University of Portugal Professor Andre Azevedo Alves remarks to the Guardian. Alves said that Chegas sudden risefrom 1.3 percent in the 2019 elections to 7.2 percent in 2022 and now 15 percent in 2024reflected widespread discontent with the political class, left and right. Immigration may be a key issue for a significant chunk of the voters who would align with Chega, Alves said. However, he added, housing, public services and wages remain the key issues in the election. But the capitalist class is not promoting the political heirs of Salazar in order to improve housing, public services and wages fro workers. Amid world war, genocide and a rapidly-growing economic slump across Europe, it is putting forward Chega as part of its plans for a drastic escalation of repression and war in the 21st centuryjust as it used Salazar for that purpose in the 20th. The key question posed by these elections is building a revolutionary internationalist, socialist alternative to pseudo-left groups like BE and the PCP in the working class. Absent this, the far right is left to capitalize on working class anger at the pseudo-left and push the political situation ever further to the right. The trumped-up pretext on which the Portuguese elections were organized last November underscores that these elections are part of a carefully-prepared conspiracy against the peoplethat is, above all, against working class struggles. On November 6, reports emerged that Portuguese prosecutors were investigating potentially improper awarding of contracts for mining lithium, a key mineral of which Portugal has Europes largest reserves, and for making green hydrogen energy. Several top PS government officials, including Prime Minister Antonio Costas chief of staff, were detained. In fact, this matter had been known for years, and the decision to suddenly use it to oust the PS was a political operation, involving the participation of the PS itself. Indeed, the magazine Sabado reported that, already in 2019, there were accusations of favoritism against the PS in its dealings with various corporations involved in these contracts. In 2021, according to the daily Expresso, investigators taped a conversation of Costa with his Environment Minister on the location of lithium mining and processing facilities. The only proof against Costa, the Portuguese prosecutors office stated, was that: During the investigations, it became clear, moreover, that suspects were invoking the name and authority of the prime minister to remove procedural blockages. The Supreme Court thereupon opened a separate investigation on Costas role. It was the first time in Portuguese history that the Supreme Court had investigated a sitting prime minister. These reports were seized upon by the ruling class, including both the PSD and the PS, as an opportunity to orchestrate a change of government. Only 15 minutes after the prosecutors reports became public, Costawho was not formally accused of anythingcalled Portugals right-wing president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and announced that the PS government was resigning. Even PS officials were taken aback by Costas sudden resignation. A member of Costas staff told Sabado: We all stayed there, stunned. Indeed, Costa himself had previously declared that he did not think being under investigation meant he had to resign. As Costa tendered his resignation to Sousa, he knew this meant the fall of his government: Sousa had said the year before that if Costa did not serve out his mandate, Sousa would call new elections. The PS subsequently petitioned Sousa to form a new government under a new prime minister. But Sousa rejected this, even though the Portuguese State Council, a consultative organ whose decisions are non-binding, did not support the calling of new elections. Costas ouster was in effect a presidential coup carried out with the complicity of the entire political establishment. On November 12, only six days after Costa resigned, Portuguese authorities admitted that the Antonio Costa mentioned in the police recordings was not the prime minister. It was PS Economy Minister Antonio Costa Silva, and there was no evidence implicating the prime minister in the scandal. Sousa and Costa already called new elections, however. These elections were allowed to proceed, and the PS and its pseudo-left allies were silent on the fact that the basis on which they had been called was utterly fraudulent. The pseudo-left partiesBE, the PCP and numerous smaller parties that orbit around themspeak not for the working class, but for layers of the affluent middle class in academia, the professions and the union bureaucracy that are deeply hostile to the workers. Working to keep workers struggles divided along national lines by various union bureaucracies, they were deeply shaken by the global upsurge of the class struggle in the last five years. They have moved to the right in lockstep with the rest of the Portuguese political establishment. During the election campaign, the pseudo-left parties continued to signal their continued search for an alliance with the PS. Mariana Mortagua, a leading member of the Pabloite BE, hailed her partys six-year geringonca alliance with the PS in a recent interview with the Guardian, presenting it as the best defense against threats from right-wing parties, as one of the rightwing candidates wants to have a referendum to ban free abortion. On this basis, she declared her support for this violently anti-worker, pro-war party. We did something important in 2015 and we need to keep that capacity to change the country, to have agreements on the left, and to have progressive measures, she told the Guardian. She stressed that the BE is looking for a deal with the pro-austerity PS, though she demagogically claimed that such a deal would protect workers: Wed be happy to have an agreement if that agreement means we have enough power to impose new measures for wages and the healthcare system and housing and so on. Such political lies no longer convince workers, who for years have been assaulted by PS police forces backed by BE, the PCP and similar, miserable middle class groups. They are happy to have an agreement because it will let them keep profiting from the plundering of the workers. To the extent that these forces are allowed to falsely pose as the left, this enrages ever-broader layers of the population, goading them to vote for the far right. This is underway across Europefrom the coming to power of Giorgia Meloni in Italy to the rise of Frances National Rally and the Alternative for Germany. Mobilizing the working class against war, genocide, and far-right authoritarianism requires building a new, Marxist-internationalist revolutionary leadership in the working class against groups like BE. The political and historical basis to undertake such a struggle is the unbroken international continuity of the International Committee of the Fourth Internationals (ICFI) defense of Trotskyism against Pabloite groups oriented to social-democracy and Stalinism. Premier Francois Legaults right-wing Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) government used a February 27 press conference to step up its anti-immigrant campaign. One after another, a chorus of ministers denounced immigrants as a threat to public services and Quebecs way of life. This latest tirade against immigrants came amid a marked escalation in recent weeks of anti-immigrant agitation by Quebec politicians and the corporate media. Increasingly the establishment is adopting rhetoric once restricted to far-right provocateurs. A pronounced turn toward Quebec chauvinism can be dated back to 2007 and the reactionary debate whipped up by the CAQs predecessor, the ADQ, over claims of excessive accommodations to religious minorities. However, in recent years, Quebecs ruling elite has promoted ethno-nationalist chauvinism in ever more virulent forms. It now portrays ethnic and religious minorities as an existential threat to the French language and Quebec nation, and is openly scapegoating immigrants for the worsening social crisis caused by decrepit capitalisma crisis that condemns more and more workers and young people to economic insecurity and poverty. At the press briefing, four prominent ministers in the Legault government called on Ottawa to take urgent action to stanch the inflow of asylum seekers and slash the number of them settling in Quebec. The CAQ government claims the cost of providing limited support to refugee claimants fleeing political repression, war and poverty exceeds $1 billion annually, and is demanding more funding from the federal government. Demonstration against the reactionary Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement, which has forced those seeking sanctuary from Trump and Bidens mass deportations to enter Canada irregularly, including until it was shutdown last year by Roxham Road in Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Quebec. [Photo: David Asper, Centre for Constitutional Rights] This is pure right-wing demagogy. As pointed out by the Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes refugiees et immigrantes (TCRI, Roundtable of organizations serving refugees and immigrants), People seeking asylum represent 1.8% of the Quebec population and the budget allocated to these people represents only about 0.25% of Quebecs overall spending. The governments distortion of reality is aimed at justifying its xenophobic agitation, which was the real purpose of the press conference. Denouncing excessive immigration, French Language Minister Jean-Francois Roberge asserted: Yes, there are things that are threatened, there are services that are threatened, there is a way of life that is threatened when the numbers [of asylum applications] are too great. Education Minister Bernard Drainville then threatened to deny refugee children access to education. Weve reached a point, said Drainville, where we cant rule out the possibility that, eventually, well no longer be able to educate the young asylum seekers who come to us. This threat was reiterated two days later by the Premier after the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled that it was discriminatory for the Quebec government to exclude asylum seekerseven those with work permitsfrom access to subsidized childcare. Denouncing the Court of Appeal as a federal court, Legault accused it of telling us that we are obliged to provide subsidized childcare to asylum seekers, when we already cant provide it to Quebec citizens. This ultra-nationalist rhetoric is now increasingly central to the platforms of all the parties in the Quebec National Assembly. While the Legault government tries to blame immigration for the manifest crisis in the public healthcare and education systems, it is pressing forward with its attacks on the working conditions of public sector workers and privatization drive. These are in fact two sides of the same blade: dividing the working class by pointing the finger at immigrant workers facilitates the assault on working conditions and social services. At the end of last year, most of Quebecs 600,000 public sector workers walked off the job to fight for better working conditions and public services. The strike had the potential to trigger a working class counter-offensive against austerity, not just in Quebec, but across North America. It ended in defeat because the pro-capitalist trade union apparatuses systematically isolated the public sector workers and refused to broaden the strike by appealing to other sections of the working class to join a political struggle against Legault and his pro-austerity, Quebec First government. The defeat of the public sector workers struggle has left the field open for the ruling class to intensify its anti-immigrant hysteria. All with the aim of diverting along reactionary chauvinist lines the growing social anger over public services that have been bled white by decades of austerity, the lack of affordable housing, and the spread of precarious contract employment. None of the parties in the National Assembly systematically opposes this outpouring of xenophobia. This is as true of Quebec Solidaire (QS), the supposedly left-wing pro-Quebec independence party, as it is of the CAQ, the Liberals, and the Parti Quebecois. While QS timidly criticizes some of the most outrageous examples of anti-immigrant incitement, it never goes so far as to exposes the fundamental class aims of the chauvinist agitation. It never denounces Quebec chauvinism as a weapon used by the ruling class to divide the working class, divert and channel social anger and frustration along reactionary lines, and strengthen its political-ideological hold over Quebecois workers by promoting a false national unity. In fact, QS is increasingly embracing the ruling elites chauvinist agitation. It is once again courting the Parti Quebecois, which has largely set the tone for the anti-immigration campaign. And QS has been quick to assert its agreement with the reactionary framing of various social problems as caused or exacerbated by immigration and to propose its own anti-immigrant measures. After its chief spokesman Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois commented on X that immigration was an aggravating factor in the housing crisis, QS became the champion of greater Quebec government control over immigration. In a letter reported by the Montreal daily La Presse, Quebec Solidaire MP Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, the partys immigration spokesman, called for the invocation of article 33 of the 1991 Canada-Quebec Accord on immigration, which would allow Quebec to repatriate full powers over immigration. Elaborating on his partys motives in a commentary reported by La Presse, Cliche-Rivard asserted that weve reached 530,000 temporary immigrants, the current capacity has been exceeded. Invited to the talk-show Tout le monde en parle on Feb. 25 (another example of the medias obsession with the immigration issue), Cliche-Rivard made a few sentimental statements of sympathy for refugees before hammering home the point: Its not up to Quebec to take in 55% of asylum seekers. QS thus accepts not only the framework of the debate, but the main conclusion of its right-wing colleagues: the housing and social services crisis is caused by immigration, and immigration must be restricted even further. In reality, the degradation of public services is a direct result of the actions of the ruling class, which has drastically cut social spending to increase the wealth of the richest through tax cuts and multi-billion-dollar subsidies to big business. Public spending cuts have also allowed the ruling class to divert tens of billions into rearming Canadas military so it can participate in wars of aggression abroad. Furthermore, the mass exodus of populations from poor and war-ravaged countries is itself the outcome of the predatory actions of Canadian capitalism and its international partners, particularly the United States. The North American imperialist powers have ravaged many societies through their wars, inaction on climate change, and the harsh economic policies they have imposed though the IMF and World Bank, affecting entire regions such as the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and Latin America. As it happens, the vast majority of asylum seekers in Quebec come from Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly Haiti. The ruling class in Quebec and increasingly openly in English Canada blames the victims of its aggressive foreign policy for the consequences of its domestic, class-war policy of dismantling public services and social programs. In a context of growing social and geopolitical tensions, the ruling elites in all the imperialist powers use this lie to divide workers and channel social anger in an explicitly right-wing direction. Front page of the Journal de Montreal proclaims: Quebec caught in a trap: French condemned to decline; Its political influence diminished; 12 million people in Montreal; 5 million in Quebec City; the Grand Scheme of Ottawa explained. [Photo: Twitter] The whipping up of anti-immigrant chauvinism is a key element in the ruling-class response to the global upsurge of the class struggle, which demonstrates the objective unity of the international working class. The establishments anti-immigrant venom aims to poison the atmosphere and stir up the worst forms of chauvinism in a desperate effort to prevent the rising tide of workers struggles from developing into a conscious challenge to the bankrupt capitalist order. Last year, the Journal de Montreal (owned by the billionaire former Parti Quebecois leader Pierre-Karl Peladeau) published a large dossier accusing the federal Liberal government of preparing a vast expansion of Canadas English-speaking population through massive immigration, with the aim of drowning the French-speaking Quebec nation. This is a Quebec version of the fascist Great Replacement theory advocated by far-right figures such as Marine Le Pen and Eric Zemmour in France, or supporters of Donald Trump in the United States. This theory presents mass immigration as a plot by elitesoften implied to be Jewishto replace the white, Christian population with African and Arab immigrants in Europe, or Latin American and Asian immigrants in the United States. The turn of the ruling class towards fascist elements is not a sign of strength, but of weakness. It is a desperate attempt by the ruling elite to preserve an historically obsolete social order in deep crisis, facing growing opposition from their own populations. For this opposition to lead to historical progress, it is essential that workers in Quebec and Canada understand that they share common class interests with immigrant workers, and that they must wage a common struggle against the real source of war and social inequalitycapitalism. In a series of massacres over the past two weeks, more than 170 people were killed in Burkina Faso, a former French colony plunged into bloodshed by Frances 2013-2022 war in neighboring Mali. Victims of the recent massacres in Burkina Faso, March 2024. On February 25, 170 people were killed in the towns of Komsilka, Nodin and Soro in Yatenga, in northern Burkina Faso. On March 4, RFI (Radio France Internationale) reported, new massacres occurred in the villages of Bigbou and Soualimou in eastern Burkina Fasos Komondjari province, near the border with Niger. RFI stated, Several videos collected by our editorial staff show dozens of corpses: men, women, children, lying on the ground. In these same images, we see a few men in armed civilian clothes, on motorcycles, who collect and give water to children, obviously survivors of the massacre. A mosque in Natiaboani was also attacked. Armed individuals attacked a mosque in Natiaboani on Sunday around 5:00 a.m. (local time and GMT), leaving several dozen dead. The victims are all Muslims, mainly men who had gathered at the mosque, a witness told AFP (Agence France-Presse). A series of other attacks also on February 25 targeted the military detachment of Tankoualou (east), Kongoussi and the Ouahigouya area in the north. The horrific February 25 massacre was reported internationally after Ouahigouya regional prosecutor Aly Benjamin Coulibaly released his findings last Sunday. Survivors said dozens of women and young children were among the victims as well. On the same day, an attack on a church in the village of Essakane in northern Burkina Faso left 12 dead and three wounded. Attackers killed at least 15 worshipers and wounded two others, Abbot Jean-Pierre Sawatago said in a statement. Sawatago blamed the massacres on jihadist groups. Burkina Fasos military junta blamed the attack on Ansaroul Islam, a local armed group linked to Al Qaeda, and the Islamic State of the Sahel (EIS). Residents who took refuge in Fada Ngourma, the capital of neighboring Gourma province, told the press that the new Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) was involved in the massacres in Komondjari province. The BIR, created last October by junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traore, is stationed in the area of Gayeri in which the massacres took place, the Burkina Faso Information agency reported two weeks ago. Since the French intervention in Mali began in 2013, fighting has mounted across the entire Sahel region. In Burkina Faso, nearly 20,000 people have been killed and more than 2 million internally displaced since clashes between jihadist groups and government forces began in 2015. According to Acled, a US-based non-governmental organization that tracks deaths in armed conflicts worldwide, 439 people were killed in the violence in Burkina Faso this January alone. Many provinces of Burkina Faso have established a state of emergency, and large portions of the country are not under government control. A November 2 Amnesty International report, titled Death Awaits Us, found that 46 localities with a total population of over 1 millionof the countrys 22 millionare besieged by jihadist groups. UN figures at the end of 2022 showed that over 2.6 million civilians faced severe food insecurity in Burkina Faso. One in five Burkinabes, or 4.7 million people, needed humanitarian assistance. The French war in Mali not only led to massively bloody massacres by French forces, like the infamous 2021 bombing of a wedding in the Malian town of Bounty that killed 22 people. It also led to bloody fighting between militias and state authorities elsewhere in Africa. In August 2023, the Washington D.C.-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies reported: Africa has experienced a near three-fold increase in reported violent events linked to militant Islamist groups over the past decade (from 1,812 events in 2014 to 6,756 events in 2023). Almost half of that growth happened in the last 3 years. Broad layers of working people as well as top state officials in the Sahel accuse Paris of using jihadist forces to foment civil war and prepare new invasions in the region. It is a matter of public record that Paris and its NATO imperialist allies supported Al Qaeda-linked militias funded by the Persian Gulf oil sheikdoms in the wars for regime change that they launched in 2011 against Libya and Syria. Two years later, France intervened in Mali on the pretext that they had to save Mali from Islamist forces like Al Qaeda, the Islamic State and Boko Haram. France, America, Germany and other major NATO powers on this basis continued to plunder Africas rich resources. Between 2013 and 2022, thousands of French troops deployed to Mali and nearby Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad on military operations Serval (2013-2014) and Barkhane (2014-2022). As popular anger mounted at Operation Barkhane, coups toppled governments that supported the French military presence, in Mali in 2021, then last year in Burkina Faso and Niger. In October 2021, Malian Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga accused the French government of secretly arming Islamist terrorists to maintain conflict in Mali and justify French military occupation. Nigerien officials leveled similar charges at Paris last year. In Burkina Faso, which has seen eight coups since formal independence from France in 1960, a junta of officers led by Ibrahim Traore seized power in September 2022. Anti-French sentiment was fueled by rumors on social media that Sandaogo Damiba, who received military training in France and backed Operation Barkhane, was hiding at a French base in Kampoincin near the capital Ouagadougou. French troops withdrew from Burkina Faso in February 2023 amid growing protests by workers and youth against war and social hardship. These wars in Africa became inextricably linked to global war waged by NATO on Russia in Ukraine as the newly formed juntas in the Sahel, breaking with Paris, sought military aid from Moscow. The Russian state-linked Wagner Group militia has deployed forces to Mali and held talks with Nigerien and Burkinabe officials. In the last two years, as Paris took an ever more aggressive stance against Russia in the Ukraine conflict, it also moved aggressively to recoup its lost military positions in the Sahel. It pressed the major regional powers in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to impose sanctions on and prepare to invade Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. There is little doubt that top French officials are well aware of, and seek to exploit, Islamist militia operations in the region. The growing movement of the African workers, youth and rural masses places direct struggle against French and world imperialism in Africa on the order of the day. Nevertheless, bitter historical experience shows African workers cannot rely on military alliances with Moscow in such a struggle. Not only does Russias corrupt post-Soviet capitalist oligarchy seek to cut a deal with the imperialist powers it calls its Western partners, but a struggle against imperialism faces deep-rooted opposition in the African ruling classes. This is the critical lesson from the 1987 French-backed assassination of Burkinabe President Thomas Sankara by Blaise Compaore. Hostile to Sankaras political overtures to the Soviet bureaucracy, Compaore saw in Sankaras removal a way to develop a base of support in ruling circles and especially in Paris for a military regime he would lead. Compaore was only toppled 27 years later, in 2014, by mass protests of youth and workers. These experiences vindicated Leon Trotskys theory of permanent revolution. The capitalist class of underdeveloped countries is incapable of resolving basic democratic tasks or leading a struggle against imperialism. The struggle against imperialism requires the mobilization of the working class and the oppressed across Africa and internationally, on a revolutionary and socialist program aimed at overthrowing the economic power of the capitalist ruling elite. The way forward for workers in Africa, as in the NATO imperialist countries and the countries of the former Soviet Union, is building an international movement in the working class against imperialist war and for socialism. The United States will deploy 1,000 troops off the coast of Gaza for the nominal purpose of building a floating pier for humanitarian aid, the Pentagon said Friday. President Joe Biden announced the construction of the pier during his State of the Union address on Thursday. Im directing the US military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the Gaza coast that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters, Biden said, adding, No US boots will be on the ground. A Navy lighterage system craft connects to the offloading ramp of a Military Sealift Command ship during joint logistics over-the-shore, or JLOTS, training in waters off Virginia, Aug. 4, 2022. [Photo: Navy Chief Petty Officer Justin Wahl ] The claim that the construction of the floating pier is motivated by humanitarian concerns is a transparent pretext. The entire population of Gaza could be fed within a matter of days if not for Israels blockade of food into the besieged enclave. While US officials declare that Israel should do more to allow food into Gaza, the US is enabling Israels genocidal policy of starving the Palestinian people by continuing to surge weapons and funding to Israel. This week, US press reports indicated that the Biden administration has sent over 100 separate arms shipments to Israel since October 7, breaking them up into smaller tranches to avoid congressional oversight. At best, the building of the floating dock is a massive public relations exercise, designed to distract attention from the United States ongoing support for the Gaza genocide. Moreover, the dock will not be operational for two months, during which time 2 million Gazans will continue to starve. But it has other, more ominous connotations as well. One thousand US troops will be deployed in Gaza in all but name, increasing the level of participation of the US military in the war. The Pentagon sees the genocidal war as a chance to rehearse its amphibious landing and logistics capabilities, which it plans to put to use in future wars throughout the region and the wider world. To date, US airdrops of food into Gaza have been a pittance, with Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder saying that approximately 11,000 meals are being delivered per dayto feed a starving population of over 2 million. On Friday, three more children died of malnutrition at Gaza Citys al-Shifa Hospital, bringing the confirmed death toll from the famine to 23. In his State of the Union address on Thursday, which took the form of a warmongering diatribe against Russia, Iran and China, Biden endorsed Israels actions in its onslaught against Gaza. He declared that Israel has a right to go after Hamas and that the conflict should end with the total capitulation of the resistance to Israel. Hamas could end the conflict by surrendering, he said. Biden absolved Israel of targeting the civilian population by saying that Hamas hides and operates among the civilian population like cowards, under hospitals, daycare centers and all the like. Israeli officials have made it clear that they intend to launch a full-scale attack on Rafah before the start of Ramadan, which begins in less than a week. With negotiations over a ceasefire having broken down, Biden said Friday that it was looking tough to reach to a ceasefire agreement before Ramadaneffectively admitting that an invasion of Rafah will take place. As Israel enforces famine conditions on Gaza, the meager aid that does get through often turns deadly. Five children were killed when a parachute malfunctioned during an airdrop of humanitarian aid on Friday, while Israeli forces once again opened fire on people at a food distribution center in Gaza City the same day. Last month, Israeli forces fired on people lining up to receive flour, killing over 100 people in what came to be known as the flour massacre. In a briefing, Michael Fakhri, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, told reporters in Geneva that the US airdrops of food and plans to build a floating port were absurd and cynical. He said they will do very little to alleviate hunger, malnutrition, and do nothing to slow down famine. He added, The time when countries use airdrops and these maritime piers is usually, if not always, in situations when you want to deliver humanitarian aid into enemy territory. But Gaza is completely besieged by Israel, Washingtons closest ally in the region and its largest recipient of military aid. The director of communications for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), Juliette Touma, said: There is an easier and cheaper way to bring much-needed supplies into the Gaza Strip. That is via the road, including sending more trucks from Israel into the Gaza Strip. It shouldnt be this difficult. There are several crossing points that connect Israel to the Gaza Strip, and this is what we used before the war started. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) told Al Jazeera, A temporary pier that could take weeks to construct or airdrops is not a solution. Instead, it called on Israel to lift its siege of Gaza, [reopen] its crossings, including the Karni (Al-Muntar) and Erez (Beit Hanoon) crossings in the north, and [allow] the safe and unimpeded movement of humanitarian workers and aidincluding fuel, food and medical supplies. Palestinians quoted in the US media condemned the plan. Instead of telling us they will build a port to help us, stop [providing] the weapons they fire at us, Hassan Maslah, a displaced Gazan sheltering in Rafah, told Reuters. New Zealands far-right government and sections of the media this week launched a furious witch-hunt against an academic who criticised plans to cut spending on school lunches and to establish military boot camps for teenage offenders. Joanna Kidman addressing launch of the Centre of Research Excellence for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism, He Whenua Taurikura, June 3, 2022 [Photo: Mele Wendt, Facebook] The outpouring of vitriol against Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) Professor Joanna Kidman, including demands that she resign or be sacked, is meant to intimidate all academics and anyone else who opposes the National Party-led governments vicious austerity measures, its promotion of militarism and draconian law and order policies. Kidman, the director of VUWs Centre of Research Excellence for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism, wrote on X/Twitter on March 6: There is so much evidence that military-style youth boot camps dont work and are expensive, that I can only assume that this government hates children, most of whom will be poor and brown. Plus it wants to snatch childrens lunches. Is this a government or a death-cult? The post reflected the widespread anger and opposition to the governments reactionary agenda. As part of several tough on crime policies, the National Party campaigned in the October election to reintroduce boot camps as a sentencing option for young people aged 15 to 17 convicted of serious crimes. National leader Christopher Luxon, now the prime minister, repeatedly hailed the military as our best leaders and mentors, claiming that they would turn young peoples lives around. The policy was embraced by Nationals far-right coalition partners, New Zealand Firstwhich has previously promoted military training for unemployed youthand the ACT Party, whose member Karen Chhour is involved in establishing the boot camps as minister for children. The camps have nothing to do with stopping crime, which is fuelled by rising unemployment and poverty, let alone helping young people from impoverished backgrounds. As Kidman correctly indicated, numerous experts have pointed out that the previous National-led governments boot camp program from 20102016 did not significantly reduce recidivism. Lawyer Amanda Hill, who has represented abuse in state care survivors, told TVNZ that such military-run programs were used as dumping grounds for all sorts of kids and inevitably led to a lot of physical and verbal abuse. The disability organisation IHC warned in a statement that boot camps will unfairly target young people with intellectual disability as well as indigenous Maori youth. In a vicious attack on Kidman, ACT Party public service spokesman Todd Stephenson called her post deranged garbage and demanded that the VUW Centre move immediately to sack the extremist in their midst. He called on Luxon to defund the Centre, which was established with funding from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) under the previous Labour government, to conduct research into extremism following the 2019 terrorist attack by fascist gunman Brenton Tarrant in Christchurch. The governments National Security Group executive director Bridget White told Newshub that the DPMC had conveyed to the university Professor Kidmans comments may bring the centre into disrepute. VUWs deputy vice-chancellor research professor Margaret Hyland told Stuff that Kidman was being spoken to and Some of the language used in Professor Kidmans social media post does not support an inclusive conversation. Kidmans academic profile has been removed from the universitys website, without explanation. In an interview with the right-wing Platform websites Sean Plunket, ACT leader David Seymour made clear that the attack on Kidman is meant to send a message to anyone receiving government funding that if they step out of line, they will be defunded. As we put together a budget, I think some of these people may find that we can only afford to do so many things that really matter to the average person, and theyve ruled themselves out of that, he said. Plunket provocatively called for a pogrom against fifth columnists in the public sector. Seymour said he would not use the term, but agreed with the sentiment. The government is seeking to slash between 6.5 and 7.5 percent from 39 government department budgets, threatening thousands of jobs. Even as billions of dollars are allocated to expand the prisons, the police and the armed forces, deep cuts are being prepared to social welfare programs. Seymour, as associate education minister, is in charge of cutting back the school lunches program, which provides meals to many schools in low-income areas. This takes place amid a cost-of-living crisis: according to World Vision, the price of 10 common food items in New Zealand soared by 56 percent in the past year, and charities are reporting a comparable surge in demand for food parcels. The military boot camps, the first of which is set to open in mid-2024, are part of a broader agenda of the ruling class to boost the role of the armed forces in society. The government, backed by the opposition Labour Party, intends to increase military spending from about 1.4 to 2 percent of gross domestic product. It is also desperately trying to recruit more young people into the military, which has seen high attrition rates in recent years. No criticism of this agenda can be tolerated, hence the hysterical response to Kidman and others. Winston Peters, leader of NZ First, who is also the deputy prime minister and foreign minister, told Waatea News that the government was seeking to do something to help youth turn their lives around, and the usual cacophony of clowns calling themselves experts say this wont work. Theyve never talked to [Brian] Poananga. Theyve never talked to the Maori who were the heads of the military in this country. Poananga was the first Maori to be appointed as chief of general staff. Prior to that, he joined imperialist wars in Korea and Borneo and played a significant role in organising New Zealand troops to join the barbaric US-led war in Vietnam in 1967. This is the model presented for todays youth, including Maori, amid an historic upsurge in imperialist violence. The US and its allies are charging towards world war against Russia and China, in a reckless bid to resolve their economic crisis at the cost of millions of lives. As a minor imperialist power in the Pacific, and a member of the US-led Five Eyes intelligence network, New Zealand is completely integrated into the US war plans. The previous Labour-Greens government sent more than 100 troops to Britain to help train Ukrainian conscripts for the US-NATO war against Russia. The current government has sent military personnel to the Middle East to assist the US-led bombing of Yemen, to stop Yemeni forces from disrupting supplies for Israels genocidal war against Gaza. New Zealand is also cementing its alliance with Australia and the government is considering joining the AUKUS (Australia-UK-US) military pact, a major component of war preparations against China. The Labour Partynotwithstanding some hypocritical reservations expressed about AUKUS by some of its MPsstrengthened the US alliance and repeatedly expressed support for the warmongering against China. While Labour criticises boot camps as ineffectivewith police spokesperson Ginny Anderson saying they will produce fitter, faster, more well-connected young criminalsthe party has said nothing in defence of Kidman. Nor have the pro-capitalist trade unions, including the Tertiary Education Union, issued any statement defending her right to free speech. The 20172023 Labour government, which included NZ First and the Greens, promoted militarism to Maori, through the construction of a World War II museum at Waitangi, and expanded police training programs in schools along with the Limited Service Volunteers a military training scheme aimed at unemployed youth. There is widespread opposition to war and militarism among young people, students and workers, as seen in the protests against the Gaza genocide, which have continued for more than five months. The entire political establishment is terrified of this development and is seeking to politically neutralise the protests, with the assistance of the middle class pseudo-left groups that fraudulently promote Labour and its allies, the Greens and Te Pati Maori, as an alternative to the National government. At the same time, the attacks on Kidman and others are aimed at instilling fear and obedience, including on the campuses and among young people. In order to resist these attacks, the anti-war movement must break from Labour and all the established parties and adopt an explicitly socialist program, aimed at putting an end to capitalism, which is the source of war and inequality. This includes defending democratic rights and free speech, and opposing the promotion of militarism in schools and universities, as well as the reactionary boot camps. Above all, the fight against war must be fused with the struggles of the working class, which is facing an historic assault on its living standards, both in New Zealand and internationally. This is the only force that can put a stop to the genocide in Gaza and the developing third world war, in a rebellion against the pro-imperialist trade unions, by carrying out political strikes and other militant actions to shut down the production and shipment of weapons. The Florida Senate this week passed a bill banning the homeless from sleeping or setting up camp in public spaces. If signed into law, as expected, by fascistic Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, it would represent the most expansive attack yet on the democratic rights of the most vulnerable layer of society. Volunteers tally the number of people living unsheltered in downtown Miami, late on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024 [AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell] The new law would require municipalities to remove the homeless from public spaces. If a city government fails to do so, it would allow individuals, business owners, and the state attorney general to sue that city for failing to enforce the new restrictions. It would also establish the option for cities to set up designated encampments, where the homeless population in that area could be concentrated, supposedly to provide public services to them in an organized fashion. The bills provisions would require the homeless camps to be approved by the Florida Department of Children and Families and provide a minimal level of infrastructure, such as restrooms and running water. Individuals would be restricted to living for a year in the proposed camps, and alcohol and drug use would be banned. Camps would be prohibited under the new law if they could be shown to bring down the value of surrounding properties or endanger public safety, and those municipalities which could prove that establishing camps would create an undue financial burden would be exempt. The bill does not provide a direct source of funding for the camps, other than the $30 million allocated in the most recent state budgetout of a total of $117.46 billionfor cities to provide services to the homeless. The new laws provisions are contradictory by design. On the one hand, it requires law enforcement to conduct an ongoing crackdown on the homeless, forcing them from public spaces, arresting them if they fail to comply, and establishing an overall legal framework for a permanent campaign of harassment. On the other hand, the only legal option for the homeless would be forced relocation to one of the proposed camps, the establishment of which would be virtually prohibited by the property value provision of the bill. If one of Floridas large cities was able to build a camp, it would only increase the poverty, misery and violence that characterize homeless life. Official figures place the number of homeless individuals in Florida in 2023 at 30,809. This figure, however, is based on a one-time annual counting of the homeless throughout the state, an imprecise method that most experts agree vastly undercounts the total number of homeless. Nevertheless, comparing previous surveys is instructive. The same count in 2022 totaled 25,959, 18.7 percent less than in 2023. As with many of the other pieces of reactionary social engineering introduced by the Florida legislature in the recent period, the anti-homeless legislation was authored by a right-wing think tank, in this case the Cicero Institute. Similar measures have also been championed by Peter Thiel, the far-right billionaire and Trump supporter, and Joe Lonsdale, another billionaire who was an early donor to DeSantis failed 2024 presidential campaign. The law is also shaped to increase the power of the Republican-led legislature over the states largest cities, whose mayors and city councils are predominately led by the Democratic Party. It is part of an overall strategy dubbed pre-emption by its proponents, that aims to undermine the ability of cities to pass legislation opposed by the far right. According to USA Today, other proposed legislation would ban local heat safety requirements for outdoor workers, speed-up local permitting, impose term limits on county commissioners, ban local governments from flying Pride flags in support of the LGBTQ community, and blunt local efforts to slow urban sprawl by imposing new limits on land-use plans. Other laws passed in the recently concluded session would loosen restrictions on employing teenage workers, ban educators from including identity politics in their lesson plans and prohibit children younger than 16 from using social media. This follows last years session, when the legislature enacted a series of laws that banned abortions after 15 weeks, loosened gun control restrictions and expanded the death penalty, among other measures aimed at elevating Governor DeSantis national profile in the lead-up to his bid to unseat former President Trump as the 2024 Republican nominee for president. The bill passed the Republican-controlled Senate by a vote of 27-12, with lawmakers split along party lines. Though various Democratic lawmakers predictably denounced the bill, they too have no progressive solution to the problem of homelessness, not because they lack a majority in the legislature, but because like the Republicans they are a capitalist political party that represents the interests of the ruling class. Homelessness, along with crime, drug abuse and other social ills, flow directly from the system of capitalist exploitation. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, these social ills have increased, visibly, throughout the US. This has been exacerbated by the exploding costs of food, rent and other necessities that have pushed the poorest and most vulnerable layers of the population onto the streets. Everywhere the increase in social misery is evident. Simultaneously, trillions of dollars have been allocated by the US Congress to fund the US-NATO proxy war in Ukraine against Russia, sponsor the genocide of the Palestinian people by the Zionist regime in Israel, and protect the fortunes of the ruling class when the capitalist system was near collapse in the early days of the pandemic. The contradiction is obvious: There are plentiful resources to permanently end poverty, homelessness and hunger, but they are controlled by a social class that benefits directly from these conditions. This contradiction can only be resolved in a revolutionary struggle by the working class against the system of capitalist exploitation in the fight for socialism. On Tuesday, March 12, International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) at the University of Michigan (U-M) will host a lecture by Socialist Equality Party (US) national chairman David North titled, The Gaza genocide and the death of Aaron Bushnell: What are the political lessons? The meeting will begin at 6:00pm in the Ballroom, Michigan League, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. We encourage all of our readers and supporters who live in the area to make plans to attend. *** Israels genocidal war against the people of Gaza has now entered its sixth month. More than 30,000 Palestinians, of whom more than one half are women and children, have been murdered since last October. The aircraft, artillery, tanks, bombs and bullets used by Israel to carry out the slaughter have been provided by the Biden administration. The United States and its imperialist allies in Canada and Europe are providing massive financial support for the carnage. Following the example of Hitlers use of the tactic of the Big Lie, Democrats, Republicans and the corporate-controlled media viciously label opponents of the genocide as anti-Semites. Since the beginning of the war, millions of people have demonstrated all over the world demanding a cease fire and an end to the assault on Gaza. But what has been lacking is a political strategy that can achieve this goal. The suicide of 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell on February 25, an act of extreme protest against the war, was a demonstration of personal idealism and self- sacrifice. It is correct to mourn his death and pay tribute to his memory. But his action should not be glorified as an effective response to the war, let alone one that should be emulated. The defeat of Zionism and its imperialist patrons requires the building of an international revolutionary socialist movement based on the working class. David North speaking at the University of Michigan on October 24, 2023. The political issues raised by the death of Aaron Bushnell and the socialist strategy to end the genocidal war will be the subject of a lecture by David North, the national chairman of the Socialist Equality Party. North has played a leading role in the American and international socialist movement for a half century, and has written prolifically on Marxist theory and political strategy. His active involvement in the struggle against the Zionist regime and for the establishment of a socialist and bi-national Palestinian state dates back to the 1970s. David Norths latest book, published in February, is The Logic of Zionism: From Nationalist Myth to the Gaza Genocide. Despite the lies of the Biden administration and every world government, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to exact a heavy toll globally, in particular through the mass disabling event of Long COVID. As a result of governmental negligence, millions of people across the United States are fighting for long-term disability benefits to which they have wrongfully been denied access. The symptoms of Long COVID, including extreme fatigue, as well as cognitive and memory problems, are often debilitating. Among the most disabling features of Long COVID is post-exertional malaise, which occurs when even minor physical or mental activity substantially worsen a persons symptoms. The most recently available statistics from US Census data, from April and May 2023, show that 11.9 million people were then suffering at least some limitations from Long COVID, with 3.6 million suffering extreme limitations. A 2022 analysis by the Brookings Institute estimated that Long COVID was resulting in between $170 and $230 billion in lost wages each year in the US alone. Some of the most prevalent symptoms of Long COVID This mass disabling event is not a natural disaster. The ruling class has inflicted it on the population by prioritizing private profit over public health. Despite Bidens campaign promise to follow the science, his administration has overseen the scrapping of the most limited mitigation measures used at the beginning of the pandemic. As far as the ruling class is concerned, the pandemic is over, in the sense that it will not allow COVID-19 to impinge on corporate profits. An article by Dr. Karen Bonuck with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine entitled Long COVID is a Mass Disabling ConditionTreat it Like One, shows the complexity of treating Long COVID. She tells how her daughter was seeing specialists in cardiology, neurology, gastroenterology, immunology, nutrition, otolaryngology, psychiatry, and sleep medicine simply to manage her Long COVID. She poignantly describes the recovery process as proceeding in inch-stones, not milestones. Long COVID is a debilitating illness even for those with access to high-quality medical care and insurance. For the working class, Long COVID can only be more disastrous. Workers who have been forced to stay on the job since the beginning of the pandemic are at great risk for developing Long COVID, which becomes more likely after each reinfection. Despite these facts, the Social Security Administration and private insurers regularly deny benefits, often forcing people to wait months or even years for a final decision after appeal. From a legal standpoint, Americans with Long COVID can seek accommodations from employers under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Guidance from the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) states that Long COVID qualifies as a disability under the ADA if it substantially limits one or more major life activities. However, they note, the ADA does not guarantee that people will qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or private benefits, in the case that one cannot work even with reasonable accommodations. Those for whom Long COVID leaves completely unable to work must either have long-term disability insurance from their employer, though not every employer health plan will offer it, or a private plan, or apply for SSDI from the federal government. This leaves people with a debilitating illness that can affect cognitive ability to slog through a labyrinth of bureaucracy to receive whatever they can. SSDI benefits generally amount to $800 per month for individuals and $1,300 for families, while rates by private insurers vary. The complexity of the process usually requires that a person hire an attorney to help fill out and file paperwork. Disability attorney Nancy Cavey told CNN Business, I tell my clients, Fully expect youre going to be denied. Thats, unfortunately, just the process. After applicants are denied the first time, the government and most private insurers will leave only a limited time to file an appeal, which can be challenging for someone with Long COVID. In the case of SSDI, the applicant has only 60 days to file their appeal. People protest during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing to examine addressing long COVID, focusing on advancing research and improving patient care, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. [AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib] In Michigan, Kelsey Warshefski, a mother and former manager of a Trinity Health nursing home, is suing her insurer, the Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company, who denied her application for long-term disability benefits. According to the lawsuit, before contracting COVID-19, Warshefski was a runner, cyclist, athlete, and an energetic human being. Due to Long COVID, she now suffers epileptic seizures, mini-strokes, skin rashes and breakouts, chronic pain throughout her upper and lower extremities, life-altering fatigue, digestive difficulties, and cognitive impairment. Despite the clearly disabling nature of these symptoms, Hartford denied her benefits. The lawsuit quotes at length the requirements under Hartfords rules for Warshefski to receive benefits, all of which she meets. The lawsuit also notes the dirty tricks used by private insurers to deny benefits. Hartford based its denial of benefits on error-filled reports from Medical Evaluation Specialists, Inc., which Warshefskis attorneys describe as a disreputable insurance industry review organization. Her lawyers found, most notably, that the two MES employers who reviewed Warshefskis case got her name and certain dates wrong. When the reviewers were made aware of these fundamental errors, one stated that his opinion did not change. The lawsuit correctly states that Hartfords denial was preordained because, upon information and belief, it does not want to recognize a new potential cause of disability, namely PostCOVID-19 Syndrome. Chris Pham, a former head of sales in San Francisco forced to live with his parents in Arizona due to Long COVID, told NPR about his own experience with private insurance. The disability company would often come back and say it needs review. And this happened every single month. So they would only approve the benefit one month at a time. So I had no certainty on how to plan. You know, I was basically just chasing down my benefits the whole time. Pham concluded, You know, if I didnt have the support of my family, Id be out on the streets, and they dont care. Dr. David Putrino of Mount Sinai in New York, a prominent physician who treats Long COVID, told NPR, These individuals need to be held accountable for withdrawing support from people who deserve benefits and deserve adequate levels of care. Please let us stop asking sick people to prove to us that theyre sick. The process is equally difficult for people applying for SSDI. Michaelene Carlton, who has suffered with Long COVID since 2020, explained her own situation to CNN Business in March 2023. Her case had been assigned to a new case manager and she spent nearly four months calling every other week just to try to get information on her status. During that time, she was unable to get in touch with anyone. The Social Security Administration told CNN that the issue is widespread due to years of underfunding and a mass exodus of employees. What workers the SSA has are all new and inexperienced. The issue has reached the point where, according to the think tank USAFacts, the decision times in disability cases can take months or even years. Its my familys future, Carlton told CNN, I cant do much physically. I cant work. This way, I could at least contribute something. It would allow me to feed my family. But the system is broken. Next Friday, March 15, a coalition of Long COVID patients and advocates known as LC/DC is organizing an important demonstration at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., to protest the lack of care and funding for research into Long COVID treatments. The World Socialist Web Site will cover the demonstration and encourages its readers in the region to make plans to attend. JAKARTA, March 9 (Xinhua) -- A small cargo plane went down in a deep forest in Indonesia's North Kalimantan province, an official said on Saturday evening. The wreckage of the plane, which lost contact on Friday while flying above the province in central Indonesia, was found on Saturday, spokesman of National Search and Rescue Office Agus Basori said. "The location where the wreckage was found has been known. The next step is an evacuation," he told Xinhua. "The rescue team would head to the location." However, the spokesman could not ensure the condition of the pilot and engineer on board. The plane departed from the airport in Tarakan town of the province and was supposed to land in Nunukan regency in the province, according to the office. WINDHOEK, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Namibian Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah on Saturday emphasized the need for unity within the ruling party to carry forward the historic mission of prosperity. Nandi-Ndaitwah, who is also the vice president of ruling South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) Party, delivered an address at the occasion of the Central Committee of the SWAPO Party. The gathering, attended by dignitaries including Namibian President Nangolo Mbumba, was marked by a sense of loss following the recent passing of Hage Geingob, the third president of Namibia and the SWAPO Party. Nandi-Ndaitwah paid tribute to Geingob's legacy, highlighting his pivotal role in the liberation struggle and his unwavering commitment to the development of Namibia. Reflecting on the smooth transition of leadership within the government, Nandi-Ndaitwah expressed confidence in Mbumba's ability to lead the nation. "I am confident that he will continue to carry out the work of governing Namibia for the remainder of the term with wisdom and fortitude." She called on party members to support Mbumba and to uphold the principles of solidarity, freedom, and justice that define the SWAPO Party. Speaking about the upcoming national elections, Nandi-Ndaitwah stressed the importance of unity and cohesion. "To deliver the resounding political victory that our people deserve, it is incumbent on the shoulders of the SWAPO Party leadership to remain united and in turn to unite all our members, supporters, and sympathizers for a common political goal as has been the case over the years," she added. She also urged party members to remain steadfast in the face of challenges, including the looming threat of drought and food insecurity exacerbated by climate change. Motorists ride past a damaged house after heavy rain at Pesisir Selatan Regency in West Sumatra, Indonesia, March 10, 2024. The death toll of floods and landslides in Indonesia's West Sumatra province rose to 19, and 7 others were still missing, a senior official of the disaster agency said on Saturday. (Photo by Andri Mardiansyah/Xinhua) JAKARTA, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The death toll of floods and landslides in Indonesia's West Sumatra province rose to 19, and 7 others were still missing, a senior official of the disaster agency said on Saturday. The province has been stricken by the natural disaster since Thursday as the rivers could not accommodate excessive waters from heavy downpours, said Muharrindo Idwan, senior official at the provincial disaster management and mitigation agency. "Most of the casualties were found in Pesisir Selatan regency. A total of 16 bodies were discovered there and 7 others remained unfound. The rest of the deceased were found in Pariaman regency," Idwan told Xinhua over phone, adding that two residents were also wounded in the regency of Pariaman. "The victims were not only swept away by strong currents, but also buried by soils during the landslides," he said. The strong currents collapsed and submerged 16 bridges, cut off roads and swept away houses, which hampered the distribution of aid for the affected people, he added. The aid needs another access, which takes a longer time, Idwan said. Head of the Emergency Unit of the Provincial Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency Fajar Sukma said on Saturday that the floods have receded, but tens of thousands of houses remained submerged. An operation to search and rescue the missing persons was still ongoing, involving personnel of the disaster agency, soldiers, policemen and volunteers, said Sukma. Emergency relief efforts have been undertaken by the agency and other government institutions, he said. A house is left damaged after heavy rain at Pesisir Selatan Regency in West Sumatra, Indonesia, March 10, 2024. The death toll of floods and landslides in Indonesia's West Sumatra province rose to 19, and 7 others were still missing, a senior official of the disaster agency said on Saturday. (Photo by Andri Mardiansyah/Xinhua) A house is left damaged after heavy rain at Pesisir Selatan Regency in West Sumatra, Indonesia, March 10, 2024. The death toll of floods and landslides in Indonesia's West Sumatra province rose to 19, and 7 others were still missing, a senior official of the disaster agency said on Saturday. (Photo by Andri Mardiansyah/Xinhua) Multipolarization gaining traction across globe Russian performers pose with volunteers at the 2023 Shanghai Cooperation Organization International Investment and Trade Expo in Qingdao, Shandong province, in June. The expo provided a platform of cooperation and communication for SCO and countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. LI ZIHENG/XINHUA In the eyes of many foreign diplomats and policy analysts, working toward "an equal and orderly multipolar world" has become a catchphrase and a key goal emphasized by Chinese diplomats in speeches, readouts of meetings and signed articles in recent months. Siddharth Chatterjee, the United Nations resident coordinator in China, has witnessed how China has prioritized global multipolarity and shored up multilateralism. "China's leadership is crucial to resurrect the whole spirit of multilateralism," he said in a recent interview with China Daily. He stressed that the world's efforts on multipolarity "have to meet at one place, and that is why the United Nations is there". "The work that China is doing both at the headquarters in the UN and as a country is remarkable on all counts, and I am really happy that we can look at 2024 with real hope," he added. While some researchers and officials in Europe and the United States are still debating the definition of multipolarity, Beijing and its partners have been seeking to make the concept better understood over the past few decades. One of the many examples is a joint communique issued by China and Indonesia in December 1999. It says both sides agree that "multipolarization is a general trend in establishing a more just and balanced world order". Boosting global multipolarity has also been mentioned by Beijing in official meetings with France, Russia and the European Union. At the end of last year, the urge for "an equal and orderly multipolar world" together with "a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization" was made clear at the Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs. Held in Beijing from Dec 27-28 and chaired by President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the conference is a high-level meeting held every five years to chart the course of foreign policy. It was attended by many key diplomats, including ambassadors based abroad. "An equal, orderly multipolar world" means that "every country or grouping of countries find its own place" in the global multipolar system, Foreign Minister Wang Yi explained in an article published in Qiushi, a flagship magazine of the CPC Central Committee, in January. Wang underlined the need to "put an end to the traditional narrative that always relates multipolarity to only a few major countries", adding that multipolarity should become a process of countries seeking "unity, dialogue and cooperation rather than division, confrontation and conflicts". To better explain the concept to the rest of the world, Chinese ambassadors based overseas, including those who also serve as members of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, have published articles on the subject recently. Zhang Hanhui, a member of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC and China's ambassador to Russia, said that the world today is "no longer a world in which only a few major countries have the final say". "Solidarity, dialogue, cooperation and a win-win approach are all that the international community has in mind and is looking forward to," he wrote in an op-ed published in a Russian newspaper earlier this year. "As the world's largest developing country and a member of the Global South, China has always practiced its vision of global governance featuring extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefits," he said. "China does not seek hegemony, expansion or spheres of influence, it opposes the monopolization of international affairs by only a few countries, and it advances world politics toward fairness, justice, equality and sustainability," he added. Photovoltaic panels manufactured by Chinese company DMEGC are prepared for delivery in Ahrensburg near Hamburg, Germany, in October. The company saw a 50 percent increase in its exports to Europe in the first half of 2023. REN PENGFEI/XINHUA Lasting pursuit for equality China's desire for an equal, orderly multipolar world has been responded to by like-minded nations, including those in Africa. During a state visit to China by Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio that ended this month, the two governments issued a joint statement. The two sides agreed that "it is necessary to uphold the equality of all countries regardless of their size, large or small, oppose hegemony and power politics, work for an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization". When rolling out its diplomatic actions to advance the building of a multipolar world over the past decades, Beijing "has been consistent and faithful in seeking equality, mutual learning among cultures and rejecting hegemony", according to members of the CPPCC National Committee. China's efforts in seeking exchanges and mutual understanding among cultures "carry forward and develop the fine traditions of Chinese diplomacy and the landmark Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence it proposed", said Liu Xianzhong, a member of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and director of the Department of Russian History and Culture at the Institute of Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He noted that when it comes to China-Russia relations, both Beijing and Moscow uphold the idea of friendship handed down by generations and win-win cooperation. A businesswoman slices Iberian ham imported from Spain at the Yiwu International Trade Market in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, in July. Frequent China-Europe freight train services link Yiwu and Madrid two cities known for their small goods that are 13,000 kilometers apart. HUANG ZONGZHI/XINHUA "The two countries stick to the principles of non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting of third countries," he said. When approaching relations with the United States, China upholds the three principles as put forward by Xi peaceful coexistence, mutual respect and win-win cooperation. "Mutual respect means respecting each other's social systems and development paths; core interests and major concerns; and each other's right to seek development," Liu said. The Belt and Road Initiative, on which China has worked with numerous countries since 2013, "transcends differences in cultures, social systems and varying stages of development, and creates a new path for interaction among countries", he added. When explaining why China supports seeking equality in a multipolar world, Wu Jianghao, a member of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and China's ambassador to Japan, pointed to a landmark document signed by Beijing and Tokyo more than 40 years ago rejecting hegemony. In 1978, the leaders of China and Japan signed the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, which Wu said "serves the fundamental interests of the two peoples". "The treaty clearly underscores rejecting hegemony, and it solemnly states that China and Japan do not seek hegemony and they oppose attempts by any other country or grouping of countries to establish such hegemony," he said. According to Wu, seeking equality in a multipolar world means "opposing the monopoly of only a few countries in international affairs, and effectively promoting the democratization of international relations". "In response to a series of major issues and challenges in today's world, China and Japan should not forget the original aspiration of the treaty," he said. The envoy highlighted the need for Japan to maintain strategic autonomy, and he urged both nations to "jointly stand by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and adhere to the universally recognized basic norms of international relations, and practice genuine multilateralism". Rejecting confrontation While co-chairing the 25th China-France Strategic Dialogue in Paris with French President's Diplomatic Counselor Emmanuel Bonne last month, Foreign Minister Wang reiterated that Beijing "regards Europe as an important pole in the multipolarization process". "China supports Europe in strengthening its strategic autonomy and holding its future in its own hands," the Foreign Ministry quoted Wang as saying in a statement. In a video speech to a reception in January celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China-France diplomatic relations, Xi said the two sides should "jointly advocate an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization". Lu Shaye, a member of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and China's ambassador to France, said the two important proposals put forward by Xi "are of China's solution to a series of major challenges in today's world, and fit very well with the current world situation". "The two proposals also rhyme with some of France's foreign policies," he noted. As part of its efforts to promote a multipolar world, Beijing looks to strengthen cooperation with Paris in the international and multilateral arena and jointly promote the resolution of some international issues, including some hotspot ones, he said. Speaking of the lingering Ukraine crisis, Lu said, "We have always been advocating peacemaking and promoting talks, and we are also against some countries' adding fuel to this crisis. "China believes that the conflicts and wars in today's world are not conducive to the progress and prosperity of humanity," he said. "The end point of any war is the negotiation table, and it is better to talk sooner rather than later." He noted that when it comes to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, China's viewpoints and positions are not always on the same page with parties such as Europe and France, but "it doesn't matter". "We can seek common ground and put our differences aside. If everyone's common goal is peace, let's work in that direction," he said. Speaking on the EU, Lu said that China has always regarded it as a comprehensive strategic partner. However, the EU's three-sided definition of China a partner for cooperation, an economic competitor and a systemic rival "is actually ambivalent", he warned. "The Chinese culture believes that, 'Since I treat you as a friend or as a partner, I will not do anything unfavorable to you, and I will not take you as a rival and stab you in the back'," the envoy said. "Despite the differences between Chinese and Western cultures, the Chinese side is willing to continue to cooperate with the EU side," he added. Foreign Minister Wang Yi chairs a United Nations Security Council meeting on the Palestinian-Israeli crisis on Nov 29 in New York. The meeting was initiated by China, which was the rotating president of the council in November. LI RUI/XINHUA A fairer world Recently at the UN headquarters in New York, the world has seen how hard China's representatives have worked with colleagues from many member states to seek a resolution at the UN Security Council for a ceasefire in Gaza. Zhang Jun, a member of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and China's permanent representative to the UN, told China Daily that as the country advocates an equal and orderly multipolar world, it "firmly upholds and practices genuine multilateralism, and contributes solutions and takes actions to address global challenges". "China shares the same future through thick and thin with other developing countries, and it safeguards the common interests of developing countries and the Global South," he said. When asked about how China firmly safeguards international fairness and justice, he referred to the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict. Since its outbreak, Beijing has "made unremitting efforts to facilitate a cease-fire and an end to the war, and has always stood on the side of justice and human conscience", he said. Liao Liqiang, a member of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and China's ambassador to Egypt, noted that China has earnestly implemented the Global Security Initiative, actively urging peace and promoting talks, and "constructively participating in resolving global and regional hotspot issues such as the Palestine-Israel conflict". He noted in an article published in January that President Xi has on many occasions articulated China's principled position on the current Israeli-Palestinian situation, and that Beijing has released a position paper on the resolution of the conflict. "China will put forward more Chinese proposals for solving the world's hotspot and difficult issues," Liao said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has praised the country as "a pillar of the multilateral system" on multiple occasions in recent years. "China is playing an increasingly important role in leading the way forward, upholding justice and promoting cooperation in UN affairs, and the world is witnessing an increasingly different China," said Zhang, China's top envoy to the UN. He stressed that no matter how the international situation changes, China will "always fulfill its duties and assume its purpose as a major country". "China will work with other countries to promote the development and improvement of the global governance system and move forward toward the goal of building a community with a shared future for mankind," he added. "May the world come out of the mist of turbulence and uncertainty at an early date, and humanity usher in a harmonious and bright future," he said. The unique rental is located in the SoHo area of Manhattan OCR Realty/ Instagram SoHo tiny apartment A New York City apartment listing is gaining popularity for its rather bizarre layout. The studio unit is now available for rent in the sought-after SoHo neighborhood of New York. Selling points cited on various real estate websites showcasing the property include high ceilings, exposed brick, and hardwood floors. But none of these features steal the show quite like the shower which is located directly off the entry in the kitchen. OCR Realty/ Instagram SoHo apartment Though the square footage is unlisted for the 232 Elizabeth Street property, the asking price is very clear $3,495 per month. Earlier this week, an Instagram user named David Okocha, who goes by @ocr_realty on the social networking platform, posted a video of himself touring the Manhattan property. 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 celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Were in SoHo checking out what I think is the worst design layout Ive ever seen in an apartment, he said in the clip as he entered the hallway of the complex. As he walked past other units to get to apartment 1E, Okocha warned his viewers that what hes about to show them is so absurd that some could be left speechless. Related: Realtors Tour of the 'Tiniest' Apartment in New York Sparks Outrage: 'Should Be Illegal' It does not take long for the realtor, who has more than 55,000 followers on the app, to show off the studio living space. After a brief pan of his camera, the unit has been seen, and he asks a question. Look at this! Now I want you to guess, what the hell do you think is behind this? he asked before giving viewers a closer look at a glass shower with no door or curtain that appeared to have tile missing on the walls. Look how close this shower is to your kitchen! he continued. Okocha noted that it gets worse because the toilet was nearby in a small room with no mirror, no sink, no lights. Just your toilet and a window. OCR Realty/ Instagram SoHo apartment Although he called the apartment weird, he did highlight three windows that allowed sunlight into the unit. However, the windows were not enough to sell his followers on the offer. Jail for everyone involved, one Instagram user commented. Another wrote, The New York rental market should be presented to the Supreme Court for absolute audacity.. According to a listing shared by Compass, the apartment has been on the market for 57 days as of Thursday. The building was constructed in 1910, and there are 28 residences in the six-story complex. The minimum lease is for 12 months, and the listing adds that you cannot beat this block because it is conveniently located to the best shopping and restaurants New York City has to offer. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. If youre someone who loves the Oscars, then youre likely to also be someone who often finds them frustrating. Even the Academys most ardent supporters know that this august body does not always get things right, and sometimes they get things very, very wrong. Thankfully, though, the Academy doesnt always get things wrong, either. Theyve nominated and awarded plenty of worthy titles over the years, and many of those titles are now available to stream on one platform or another. For this list, weve gathered five of the best Oscar-winning films that are available to stream on Amazon Prime for your viewing pleasure. In the Heat of the Night (1967) You might think that a film about race released in 1967 would feel dated or out of touch, but In the Heat of the Night is anything but. The film follows Sidney Poitier as a Black police detective from Philadelphia who is arrested for murder while in the Deep South. After he proves that he is not the killer, he and the racist sheriff team up to find out who actually committed the crime. As they do so, they disrupt the hierarchies at work in a small Mississippi town, and offer a vivid portrait of how racial prejudice had infected every part of life in the dDeep South by the mid-1960s. Get Out (2017) Get Out - In Theaters This February - Official Trailer Jordan Peeles debut feature signaled the emergence of a major new director, and his follow-ups have proven that to be the case. In case you somehow missed it when it came out, Get Out tells the story of Chris, a Black man who visits his white girlfriends family for the weekend. Things seem weird almost immediately, but as Chriss visit continues to get stranger, he begins to suspect that everything is not what it seems in this ostensibly progressive family. In addition to signaling Peeles singular voice as a director, Get Out also proved that Daniel Kaluuya (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse) was a major talent. The Untouchables (1987) The Untouchables (1987) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers Brian De Palmas retelling of the story of Elliot Ness, the prohibition agent who took down Al Capone, The Untouchables is like an elevated version of every great team movie ever made. At its core, the film is about a group of men (led by a pre-Yellowstone Kevin Costner) battling both the considerable power that Capone had amassed and corruption within their own ranks in order to bring a flagrant criminal to justice. The films most famous sequence is undoubtedly the staircase shootout that famously references Battleship Potemkin. Less widely discussed, though, is Sean Connerys stellar work in a supporting role, for which he won an Oscar. Women Talking (2022) WOMEN TALKING | Official Trailer A brilliant act of imagination thats both beautifully performed and remarkably well-written, Women Talking tells the story of a group of women living in a remote religious colony who discover that the men in their community have been sexually assaulting them for years. After making this discovery, these women are left with a stark choice about how to respond: They can leave the colony, stay and fight, or simply choose to forgive. The conversations that these women have as they move toward a decision are utterly compelling, thanks in large part to a remarkable ensemble cast that includes Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, and Jessie Buckley. Witness (1985) Witness - Trailer A brilliant movie that has aged like fine wine, Witness follows a Philadelphia detective who must temporarily take shelter in an Amish community in order to protect a young Amish boy who was witness to a murder. The movies triumph comes in large part because of the respect it shows for the Amish in terms of both their steadfast beliefs and their basic humanity. The movie is also aided by one of the best performances of Harrison Fords career in the lead role, and by Peter Weirs incredible direction. Witness may seem like a strange concept for a movie, but in Ford and Weirs hands, its an all-time classic. The airline is also facing a $1 billion lawsuit after a portion of a plane blew out mid-flight in January Getty Alaska Horizon airplane -- stock image Alaska Airlines is in the news once again for a recent incident concerning a commercial flight. Alaska Airlines Flight 1437 landed safely at the gates at Portland International Airport last week after traveling from Los Cabos, Mexico, however, according to multiple sources, the aircrafts cargo door was open with passengers pets inside upon arrival. Related: Alaska Airlines Flight Attendant Meets Baby Flamingos Hatched from the Eggs She Saved on Flight In an article published on Thursday, Portlands KOIN 6 stated that a source close to the situation said the airplane did not require an emergency landing, though it was unclear just how long the cargo door was ajar. Upon landing at PDX on March 1, Alaska Airlines flight 1437 was discovered to have the forward cargo door unsealed, the company said in a statement to the news station. getty plane cargo door -- stock image There was no indication to the crew that the door was unsealed during flight and all indications point to the door partially opening after landing. Our maintenance teams inspected the aircraft, replaced a spring in the door, tested the door and reentered it into service. PEOPLE reached out to Alaska Airlines for additional information, but did not immediately hear back. This comes after the airline recently came under fire in early January when an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 aircraft heading from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, California had to make an emergency landing when a portion of the plane blew out mid-flight as passengers were onboard. The impact was so severe that one passenger claimed his shirt was ripped off from the sudden pressure in the cabin. 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 celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Diego Murillo, who had been on January flight, told the BBC the hole left in the airplane was "as wide as a refrigerator. Another passenger named Evan Smith told the outlet that all the air masks dropped as a result. In a news release posted to the companys website on Jan. 5, Alaska Airlines admitted that Flight 1282 experienced an incident this evening soon after departure. They added that all 171 guests and 6 crew members made it to their destination and said the incident was under investigation. "My heart goes out to those who were on this flight I am so sorry for what you experienced, company CEO Ben Minicucci said in a statement. Getty Alaska Airlines airplane -- stock image I am so grateful for the response of our pilots and flight attendants. We have teams on the ground in Portland assisting passengers and are working to support guests who are traveling in the days ahead. Minicucci also said that the company made the decision to temporarily ground our fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircrafts to have inspections performed. Passengers on the flight were also given $1,500 in compensation. Alaska Airlines resumed operations at the end of January by offering 30 percent off flights for a limited time with the code THANKYOU30. According to a complaint obtained by CBS News earlier this week, several passengers who were on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 are now suing the airline and Boeing for $1 billion. Per the complaint, they allegedly suffered severe mental, emotional, and psychological injuries, including post-traumatic stress, and physical injuries, which were a direct result of the frightful, death-threatening failure of the Boeing aircraft. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. When Colman Domingo steps to the stage to introduce the SXSW premiere of his new film Sing Sing a deeply affecting depiction of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program at the titular maximum security prison in New York he gets a standing ovation before a second of the film has screened. That might be in part because, less than 48 hours later, Domingo will be stepping inside the Dolby Theater for the 96th Academy Awards, nominated for his performance as civil rights activist Bayard Rustin in Rustin. This wasnt even the world premiere for Sing Sing that was at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, where A24 scooped it up for a theatrical release this July. But as Domingo explains to Variety following the films screening at SXSW where the film received another, much longer standing ovation there was never any question for him about whether he would attend. More from Variety The funny thing is, Im shooting a movie in L.A., Im shooting a series in Toronto, and even my publicist asked me the other day, Are you sure you want to go to Texas? he says with a smile. I said, I have to be there. Its just instinctual. Domingo plays John Divine G Whitfield, who channels his roiling frustration at his wrongful murder conviction into his work as an actor, writer and founding member of the RTA program at Sing Sing. Other than Paul Raci (Sound of Metal), as the groups civilian director, and theater actor Sean San Jose, as Divine Gs best friend and fellow inmate Mike Mike, the rest of the films core cast consists of former Sing Sing inmates and alumni of the RTA program, playing versions of themselves. One of those actors, Clarence Divine Eye Maclin, conceived the films story with the real Divine G, as well as director Greg Kwedar (Transpecos) and writer-producer Clint Bentley (Jockey). Along with the uncommon make up of the cast, Kwedar, Bentley and fellow producer Monique Walton (Bull) took an equally exceptional approach to profit participation on the film: Everyone was paid the exact same day rate during production, and the entire cast and crew has equity in the film based on the amount of time they worked on it. At the premiere party for Sing Sing, Domingo spoke with Variety exclusively about why that model was so appealing to him and his husband Raul Domingo both are also executive producers of the film as well as the effect shooting in correctional facilities had on him, and what he learned from his co-stars. This is a very busy weekend for you. Why was it important for you to come to SXSW for this premiere? The funny thing is, Im shooting a movie in L.A., Im shooting a series in Toronto. And even my publicist asked me the other day, Are you sure you want to go to Texas? I said, I have to be there. Its just instinctual. I think larger movies will get the love and amplification that they need. A film like this needs its star. Its a small film, we built it in a very small, beautiful way. Films like this matter so much to me. So I was like, no, I have to. Even if Im a little tired. I wrapped last night, got on a plane at five in the morning to get here and I leave in the morning [tomorrow], but its worth it. Im here because this is the work that I believe in. Every actor hopes that they can do work like this, I think. Im very proud of the way we built this in a very equitable model. Im very proud of what it can possibly do to change minds and amplify these voices, and also to really change the system. Can you talk about that equitable model, how that came about? Yes. That came through Greg and Clint and Monique, our producers. And then when Raul and I jumped on board as executive producers, we thought that that was the way to go. They really asked us in every step of the way, What do you think is the healthiest way to do this? Should we go to the studio route? Should we go getting a lot of large investors? Or should we keep the overhead low, and make sure that its equitable with everyone above and below the line? The points that you get are based on how much work youve done in this film, so its equitable in every single way. Something about that feels good, too. It feels just right. Every single person on that set felt like this film was theirs. It didnt feel like you were a work for hire. It felt like a mission. What has it been like for you to watch your co-stars who are playing essentially versions of themselves get standing ovations for their work? I love watching them because I know never in their life did they ever think that this could happen for them, that the circumstances that they were in before could lead them to do this, to transform that pain, that hurt, that harm, whatever it was, for something beautiful and graceful. [Points at Sean Dino Johnson, one of his co-stars, sitting nearby.] I love watching Dino. Dinos the tallest, most sensitive one of the bunch. Look at this guy. Its written all over his face. He would never imagine this could happen in his life. That his trauma, tragedy, human experience theres some flowers growing because of it. You shot a little bit at the actual Sing Sing, and at a different correctional facility upstate. What was it like for you to be in those spaces that a lot of your co-stars had lived in? You get the feeling that you were filming in hell. The air felt different. I would always get lost whenever we were in them because I think theyre designed for you to not know due north. It was hard to find sunlight. There are so many things that I found that were psychologically helping to suppress, not to actually heal or to rehabilitate. You cant rehabilitate that environment. You just cant. Not in the decommissioned prisons that we shot in. I knew immediately just by being in the space, this has to change. This isnt how you treat human beings, and this is not how you make things better. This is how you keep a system going. Its designed for people to come back. So it was hard. I think maybe thats why suddenly I needed Sean [San Jose]. At first, my best friend, Sean, was going to stay in a hotel, and I made him move in into my one bedroom suite that I was in, Airbnb, because I think I needed a roommate. I needed the light and love and joy while I was shooting to go into the spaces. Youre coming in with so much experience in film, TV and theater, acting opposite people who are playing versions of themselves. Was there anything you took away as an actor from their performances? Yes. I think Ive been working with a certain level of experience for a while. And this, I had to go back to zero in a way, and just be available as I would any other film actor and say, what are they giving me? How can I take this and respond to this organically? It doesnt have to be perfect and it can be a bit more raw. Because I think the the sleight of hand for me was to slip into their world. I didnt want to for them to become at the level of myself as an actor, I had to fall in line with them. I had to lean into whatever they were giving me. Part of what I loved about the movie is that for most of the characters, we never learn about why they were incarcerated. It seems like the movie is saying, it doesnt matter why theyre here; just deal with who they are now. Well, I think that thats an always a choice that one has to make. I made that choice that it wasnt necessary for me to know who my co-stars were when they were on the inside. I met them on the outside of where they were. Whether a person has worked through their issues or whatever, I meet them where they are and what were creating and how theyre doing it. And theyve become brothers to me. This interview has been edited and condensed. Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. "The puppies don't care if you get stuck on a word. They're just happy to sit in your lap. So much confidence has come from this program," Brooke Hughes said Getty A stock image of a child reading with a dog A Delaware teacher is proving that a good book pairs perfectly with puppies! Brooke Hughes, a first-grade teacher at Hanby Elementary School in Wilmington, launched the Foster Tales Puppy Program last year to help young students not only boost their reading skills, but improve their mental health, according to Good Morning America. Local rescue puppies are brought into the classroom, giving kids an opportunity to pet and cuddle the animals while they learn and go about their school day. Hughes told the outlet that she first dreamed up the idea for the puppy therapy program when she began fostering dogs during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. "I just couldn't stop thinking of all the amazing benefits that the puppies could bring to the actual classroom," she recalled. "It could bring so much mental health support and reading support, not only for the students, but for the staff too." Inspired, she wrote up a proposal to welcome dogs into the classroom and pitched the idea to her school's administration. In January 2023, Hughes who has been teaching first grade at Hanby for 12 years did a trial run of her new program. "[Hanby Principal Juliet Agresti] let me bring in three puppies for one day to see how it went and it was amazing. It brought so much joy to the school," she told GMA. "The puppies just lifted everyone's spirits and ever since then, we haven't had many days without puppies in our school." 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 celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. So far, Hughes has partnered with the Rags 2 Riches Animal Rescue in nearly Garnet Valley, Pa., to bring in more than 50 puppies, between the ages of 6 and 12 months old. She noted that rather than being a disruption, the puppies bring a "calming" influence to the classroom and serve as a great incentive to encourage kids to get their work done efficiently. Related: Millie Bobby Brown Reveals She Has 9 Pet Dogs and Is Fostering a Further 23 Dogs Right Now' "People think that my classroom must be a zoo and straight chaos. But the puppies are actually very calming," Hughes told GMA. "Our productivity is up because [the students] have to get all their work done to have puppy time." To make the program possible, the students and their parents sign up to care for the puppies on weeknights and weekends, and Rags 2 Riches generously covers the financial costs and provides all the necessary supplies for the animals' care. Typically, the foster puppies get adopted within weeks. Getty A stock image of a child and a dog In just one year, Hughes is already seeing her students make significant strides with their reading, thanks to their furry friends. "We're collecting data on the reading scores from fall to spring, compared to other years [where] we didn't have puppies. And just from fall to winter, we've noticed almost a 32% increase," she told GMA, noting that the gain can likely be attributed in large part to all of the extra reading practice that students are getting in. "Because they're eager they want to read and they want to practice, and that is going to always increase scores," she added. Hughes also said that even students who struggle with reading and were reluctant to pick up a book in the past now jump at the chance to sit and cuddle up with a book and a puppy. Related: Working Dogs Spend Valentines Day Delivering Cards and Smiles to Children at Texas Hospital "Even the kids that have a hard time reading and they didn't want to pick up a book and they were frustrated, [now] they can't wait to read to the puppies," she told GMA. "The puppies don't care if you get stuck on a word. The puppies don't care if you try to read one word for five minutes. They're just happy to sit in your lap. So, so much confidence has come from this program." And it's not just the students who are experiencing the puppy perks, Hughes noted. "I call it a win-win-win-win ... the staff benefits because we like coming to school with puppies, the students benefit from learning so many life skills, the puppies benefit because they're getting out of the shelter and loved on completely, and then the rescue benefits because we're freeing up another spot at the rescue for another animal to be saved," she said. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. At an emotional hearing, the actor's son reportedly told the driver, "I do forgive you, and I hope that you forgive yourself." The Vermont man charged with grossly negligent operation in the vehicular crash that killed Everwood actor Treat Williams pleaded guilty to a reduced charge Friday. According to the Associated Press, Ryan Koss, 35, pleaded guilty to negligent driving with death resulting and was given a one-year deferred sentence. Koss, who knew Williams, will lose his driving license for a year and has to complete a community restorative justice program as part of his probation. Police said in a news release last year that the June 12 accident occurred when Koss attempted to turn his Honda Element into a parking lot, with the initial investigation indicating that he "stopped, signaled a left turn, and then turned into the path of a northbound 1986 Honda VT700c motorcycle operated by Williams." Authorities added that Williams "was unable to avoid a collision and was thrown from his motorcycle. He suffered critical injuries and was airlifted to Albany Medical Center in Albany, New York, where he was pronounced dead." Williams, whose screen credits also included Hair and Blue Bloods, was 71. Gabriel Olsen/Getty Treat Williams in 2017 After the Bennington County State's Attorney's Office completed its review of the crash in August, Koss voluntarily met with police, was processed on the charge of grossly negligent operation with death resulting, and was released. Koss initially pleaded not guilty to that charge, which is a felony that could have carried a sentence of up to 15 years. According to the AP, Koss' hearing Friday was "emotional" because, as the managing creative director of the Dorset Theatre Festival in Vermont, he had known Williams for many years. Bennington County State's Attorney Erica Marthage told the court that Koss called Williams' wife, Pam, after the accident to inform her of what had happened, and that he had taken responsibility for it, which he reiterated in the courtroom. "I'm here to apologize and take responsibility for this tragic accident," he said. Williams' wife and daughter provided written statements, but the actor's son, Gill, appeared in court on behalf of the family, ultimately saying that it was not their wish to press charges or see Koss go to prison. Though Gill admitted to Koss "I really wish you hadn't killed my father," he said, "I do forgive you, and I hope that you forgive yourself." Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. Related content: Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly. "Im here to apologize and take responsibility for this tragic accident, the driver, Ryan Koss, said to the Williams family in the Friday hearing Lars Niki/Getty Treat Williams on September 21, 2019 in New York City. The Vermont driver who crashed into and killed Treat Williams pleaded guilty to negligent driving on Friday, reports the Associated Press, CNN, and The Hollywood Reporter. Ryan Koss, 35, received a one-year deferred sentence and will be on probation. Additionally, his license will be revoked for a year, and he is required to attend a community restorative justice program on the misdemeanor charge, per the Associated Press. In September, Koss initially pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of gross negligent operation with death resulting. If Koss was convicted of the first charge, he could have faced up to 15 years in prison, per the Bennington Banner. Rachel Luna/Getty Treat Williams on October 17, 2019 in Hollywood, California. On June 12, 2023, the car driven by Koss collided with Williams' motorcycle. Investigators believe Koss didn't see the actor on the motorbike. After the accident, Kosswho knew Williams beforehand from the town community called Williams wife, Pam Van Sant, and told her what had happened, reports the Associated Press. Im here to apologize and take responsibility for this tragic accident, Koss said as recounted the accident in the Friday hearing, per the Associated Press. He also offered condolences and apologized to the late actors family and fans. And I hope this moment can bring some resolution to anyone impacted by this tragedy, especially to Pam, Gill and Ellie, Im so sorry," said Koss, reports CNN. Related: Treat Williams, Star of 'Everwood' and 'Hair,' Dead at 71 Following Motorcycle Accident Walter McBride/Getty Images Treat Williams on March 23, 2017 in New York City. I do forgive you, and I hope that you forgive yourself, Williams son Gill told Koss. I really wish you hadnt killed my father. I really had to say that. Gill, 32, also said the Williams family did not want Koss to go to prison or to press charges against him. While Gill appeared at the hearing, his mother and sister, Ellie, did not appear in court on Friday. Both women wrote their separate statements, which were read out loud during the hearing. Ellie, 25, said she cant forgive Koss right now, but she hopes she can in the future. I will never get to feel my fathers hug again; be able to get his advice again, introduce him to my future husband, have him walk me down the aisle, introduce him to my babies, and have him cry when I name my first son after him, read her statement, per the Associated Press. Our lives will never be the same, our family has been torn apart and there is a huge hole that cant possibly be filled, Williams wife wrote in her statement, per the Associated Press. Related: Treat Williams' Cause of Death Determined Nearly 2 Months After Fatal Motorcycle Accident CBS Treat Williams in "Blue Bloods." On June 12, 2023, PEOPLE confirmed with Williams' agent Barry McPherson, that the former Everwood actor died due to the motorcycle accident. He was 71. "He was killed this afternoon. He was making a left or a right [and] a car cut him off," McPherson told PEOPLE. "I'm just devastated. He was the nicest guy. He was so talented." He died of severe trauma and blood loss, the Vermont State Police confirmed that the Medical Examiners Office in New York determined in Augst. 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 celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Williams is best known for playing Dr. Andrew Brown on Everwood from 2002 to 2006. He had more than 120 acting credits, one of which was Hair which scored him his first Golden Globe nomination. He also starred in Steven Spielberg's 1941, Heart of Dixie, Blue Bloods, Chicago Fire, and several Hallmark films. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. "I want to be myself, so he knows this is me," the 'Today 'anchor tells PEOPLE of dating potential suitors amie McCarthy/Getty Hoda Kotb attends the 2022 Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame at The Ziegfeld Ballroom on April 14, 2022 in New York City. Hoda Kotb isnt holding back when it comes to dating. Two years after her engagement to Joel Schiffman ended, the Today anchor, 59, told PEOPLE at Hudson River Park Friends 8th Annual Playground Committee Luncheon in New York City on Friday that she doesnt want to put on airs while dating. You know what? I just decide before every date, I'm gonna be exactly who I am, she shared. I'm not gonna pretend. I'm gonna eat what I would normally and not get a salad. That's not for me. So I want to be myself, so he knows this is me. Nina Westervelt/Variety via Getty Hoda Kotb at the 27th Annual Webby Awards held at Cipriani Wall Street on May 15, 2023 in New York City. Related: Hoda Kotb Opens Up About Daughter Hope's Health Crisis in Emotional First Interview: 'So Resilient' (Exclusive) She noted that she doesnt have a hype-up routine before a date but I usually have a cocktail, maybe play music... 'Lil Boo Thang' usually puts me in a good mood. So I'll start there and then go out. The journalist also revealed she has a third date coming up with a man that co-host Jenna Bush Hager previously set her up with, calling it her ideal way to meet potential suitors. "A setup, 'cause that means somebody kind of knows you and kind of knows them," she explained. "I like that a little bit better than random person number three." Related: Hoda Kotb's Daughters Hope and Haley Crash Her Interview with Jimmy Fallon: 'Future of the Today Show' The mother of two also dished her advice for returning to the dating pool, saying, If you sit in your house and order Domino's Pizza, you're not meeting anybody. Okay? You got to just kind of go out, and who cares if it's a good day or a bad day, it doesn't even matter, she continued. Go out, learn a little, have some fun and be open. Like just do it. You get one ride around the sun. You might as well go out and eat with someone. They're paying, who cares? Like, go do it. Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager on "Today" Related: Hoda Kotb Reveals Savannah Guthrie's Book Helped Her Through a Tough Parenting Moment: 'It Was Meant for Me' In January, Kotb told co-host Hager had only got on two dates since her split from Schiffman. Well I think its time for us to change that, her co-host responded. The conversation came after Sofia Vergara noted that dating in New York City has less pitfalls than Los Angeles. (The reason? Not everyone is famous.) Hager thought it was time for both Vergara and Kotb to give love another chance. The inflection in my voice sounded too dramatic. But I think it is time for us to change that for you. And for Sofia, Im on it for both of you, Hager shared. Yeah. You know what? There are a lot of people who are entering brand new and exciting chapters, she responded. And these are all exciting chapters. So yes, I agree with that. Schiffman, 65, popped the question to Kotb in 2019, but the pair broke off their engagement in 2022 after eight years together. The pair share daughters Hope, 4, and Haley, 7. 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 celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Today with Hoda and Jenna airs weekdays at 10 a.m. ET on NBC. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. "The world is a cruel place and it will chew you up and spit you out and not think twice about it," Mama June told cameras after admitting she didn't believe Alana was "ready" to take the next step for college Robin L Marshall/Getty Alana"Honey Boo Boo" Thompson (left) and Mama June Shannon As Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson's college decision looms over the family, Mama June Shannon isn't quite sure about her youngest leaving the nest. On Friday's episode of Mama June: Family Crisis, Alana, 18, finally made up her mind about going to Colorado and told her sister Lauryn "Pumpkin" Efird that she had decided to pursue higher education. While Lauryn, 24, was ecstatic to hear that Alana was "maturing and growing up and not depending on a man" for her future, the two grew apprehensive about how Mama June, 44, would handle the news. Alana, Lauryn and her husband Josh Efird headed across state lines to Alabama to help Mama June and her husband Justin Stroud move their belongings to back to Georgia. Lauryn Efird/Instagram; Noel Vasquez/Getty Lauryn 'Pumpkin' Efird with Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson (left) and Mama June Shannon Related: Lauryn 'Pumpkin' Efird Refuses to Let Sister Alana's Boyfriend 'F--- Up' Her Future amid His Legal Issues "Are you gonna tell Mama, Alana?" Lauryn asked to which she replied, "For what? Like Mama is not making it seem like she really wants me to go to Colorado. I think she wants me to stay here. She's finding every excuse in the book why Colorado is not a good idea." Lauryn theorized that Mama June may be feeling "a lot of guilt" about being absent during their childhoods and wants Alana to stay in Georgia so she can try to "correct her wrongs." "But like girl, it's a little too late for that now," she added. Over at her Alabama residence, Mama June told Justin she didn't believe Alana was going to go to college. She claimed that her youngest hadn't found a place to live or signed up for classes. Desiree Navarro/Getty Mama June Shannon (left) and Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson Related: Mama June's 'Stronger' Mentality Causes Rift with Husband Justin as They Move Closer to Anna amid Her Cancer Journey "Alana's college deadline is coming very fastly," she told cameras. "Do I think she's ready for college? Nope. But me and Pumpkin are all the time fussin' cause she's like 'Let her spread her wings, let her spread her wings.'" "I don't want her to spread her wings and damn crash," she added before Justin made her promise that she wouldn't "make a scene" about Alana's college. When the trio arrive, Alana broke the news of her decision to attend university, much to Mama June's disappointment. The Shannon family matriarch attempted to sway her verdict by reminding her about finding a new place to live and how high the rent in Colorado could be. As Lauryn and Mama June started "bickering," Alana left the house and sat in the car after pointing out that she delivered "happy" news. Lauryn "Pumpkin" Efird (left) and Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson Related: Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson 'Ready' for College but 'Not Sure' What Will Come of Relationship with Dralin "I'm just trying to defend Alana because at the end of the day, like I don't know if Mama is mad because she missed so much time with Alana and f---ed up over the years and now Alana's moving away," Lauryn said in a confessional. "Alana doesn't need to stay in Georgia, there's nothing but bad memories, drama and b----- that surrounds Mama 24/7. It would be nice for everyone to get a fresh slate," she continued. Mama June claimed that Alana wasn't prepared for life on her own and needed to figure out what she was going to do for income and rent. She shared her concern that Alana would spend money to go through college only to discover she regretted the experience. "The world is a cruel place and it will chew you up and spit you out and not think twice about it," Mama June told cameras. "And there's nothing I'll be able to do, Josh will be able to do, Pumpkin will be able to do to save Alana at the end of the day." 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. Mama June: Family Crisis airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on WE tv. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. TRIPOLI, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Abdoulaye Bathily, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Libya, emphasized the urgent need for electoral law implementation and forming a unified government to pave the way for elections in the country. During a meeting with four High Council of State (HCS) members, Bathily addressed Libya's political deadlock and the necessity of finding a resolution, according to a statement posted by Bathily on social media. "I encouraged them to continue seeking consensus within the HCS, the House of Representatives, and the broader Libyan political spectrum, including key actors, on implementing electoral laws and forming a unified government to lead Libya towards elections," Bathily added. During a phone conversation with Aguila Saleh, speaker of the House of Representatives, on Wednesday, Bathily also emphasized the need for prompt efforts to reach a political compromise in Libya. Libya failed to hold general elections in December 2021 as previously scheduled, due to disagreements among the Libyan parties over election laws. Ever since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011, Libya has been struggling to make a democratic transition amid escalating violence and unrest. Former First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump, has broken her social media silence by sharing a heartfelt message to mark International Women's Day. Prior to this, the last time Melania made a post was to thank her supporters for their kind words following the passing of her mother, Amalija Knavs. Melania's International Women's Day message comes amid heightened scrutiny of her marriage and lack of involvement in her husband, Donald Trump's election campaign. Melania Trump Marks International Women's Day MEGA On Friday, Melania made her first post in a long time by sharing a message on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram to mark International Women's Day. The former first lady took to her Instagram page with a heartfelt statement to commemorate the special day honoring women around the world. She wrote, "On #InternationalWomensDay, we celebrate extraordinary women & girls who defy expectations, shatter barriers, uphold distinction & leave a lasting impact. I applaud those who exhibit courage, stand firm in their beliefs, & strive for excellence." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Melania Trump (@melaniatrump) "Let us remember that true greatness lies in embracing our unique selves & staying true to our values," Melania added. Prior to this statement, Melania's last social media post was on January 21, after her mother Amalija Knavs' burial. The Slovenian-born former model shared a message thanking people for supporting her and her family during their period of grief. "On behalf of my family, I would like to extend our deepest gratitude for the love and support that you have showered upon us throughout this journey of loss and grief. We will cherish the beautiful memories of my beloved mother and forever keep her light in our hearts," Melania said at the time. Fans Gush Over Melania Trump's Message MEGA Shortly after posting the message, fans of the former First Lady took to the comment section of her post to gush about how much they miss her. One person wrote, "Best First Lady! We miss you and desperately need your grace and elegance." Another said, "Happy Women's Day to you, Melania! You are a beautiful woman inside out, a great inspiration to millions of us all over the world! May God bless you today and always!" "We miss [you], Melania; I love to hear [you] speak in your own unique accent, so soft-spoken, steady & elegant. Please post more," a third person commented. Another fan stated, "Please share your presence with America!!! We need to see you standing and holding hands with [former] President Trump now more than ever!!" She Recently Came Under Fire For Being Absent During Her Husband's Victory Speech MEGA Melania's recent post comes after she faced backlash from MAGA supporters for not being by her husband, Donald Trump's side, during his speech at Mar-a-Lago following his victory on Super Tuesday. The 53-year-old's absence made fans speculate that Melania "wants nothing to do with the White House." Since Trump began his re-election campaign, Melania has barely made an appearance. The last time the duo were seen together was at a gala held by the Trumpettes, a Donald Trump fan club, at Mar-a-Lago. "Melania wants nothing to do with the White House or Donald, apparently. She showed up at one dinner in the past several months," an individual wrote on X. Amid the outrage from MAGA, Melania's former aide, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, revealed the reason why she was absent during Trump's speech. She wrote, "Melania Trump was NOT at Donald's victory party because she did NOT have to be. His supporters do NOT care if she is by his side or NOT, so now she does NOT have to be. NOThing more, NOThing less." New Book Details Strained Relationship Between Melania & Donald Trump MEGA Trump and Melania's marriage has come under severe scrutiny in recent times, with many claiming that the couple is no longer as close as they once were. In the book, "American Woman: The Transformation of the Modern First Lady, From Hillary Clinton to Jill Biden," New York Times reporter Katie Rogers detailed several moments when the pair were at loggerheads. One of these moments took place in 2018 because of the Stormy Daniels hush money allegation. Melania was reportedly angry with Trump and wanted to "humiliate" him. According to a report, the mother of one was so angry that she decided against traveling with her husband abroad at the time and instead returned to their Mar-a-Lago. "[FLOTUS press secretary Stephanie] Grisham, who traveled with her on that jaunt, said that the first lady had wanted to communicate her anger to the president," Rogers claimed in her book. Grisham further shared with Rogers that Melania "was p at Trump and wanted him to be a little humiliated that she took off." Jake Gyllenhaal in 'Road House.' - Credit: Laura Radford/Prime Video You remember Road House, right? The 1989 movie where Patrick Swayze is a professional New York City bouncer imported to Missouri to work at the most raucous road house bar in the Show Me State? The kind of film in which the hero does tai chi, reads philosophy and coos Zen koans like Pain dont hurt, and the bad guy utters bon mots like, I used to fuck guys like you in prison? (It was a different time.) Direct by the appropriately named Rowdy Harrington, this finely aged slice of cinematic Velveeta remains the perfect action flick to watch on basic cable at 3am, features whats easily Swayzes best grace-under-pressure performance, and wins the award for Best 80s Hair in a Motion Picture in the same decade that gave us Valley Girl, Working Girl and Labyrinth. Remaking any cult classic, much less one so associated with the mall-bangs moment of its creation, is tougher than taming a trashed crowd at closing time. You cant just replay everyones favorite bits, but youve still gotta kiss the ring. Keep it old, yet make it new. Thats the line that Road House, Doug Limans redo of the epitome of cinema du brawl, has gotta walk. And walk it is does, as staggeringly punch-drunk as it needs to. Both a great excuse to stage brutal fight scenes and relieve a more-ripped-than-usual Jake Gyllenhaal of his shirt, this modern take on yesteryears guilty pleasure is twice as goofy, three times as violent and a solid tribute to both its predecessor and the art of bodily harm. Only the location, the backstory and the names have changed. Everything else is the same old bloody-knuckled joy ride. More from Rolling Stone Instead of a tony NYC nightclub, we kick off in Anywhere, USAs underground fight club circuit, where Frankie (Jessica Williams) is looking to hire some out-of-town help. Shes been tipped off that the heavily tattooed slugger (yes, that is indeed Post Malone) wiping the floor with all comers may be the person shes looking for. The person who attracts her attention, however, is the mystery man in the hoodie whos just entered the makeshift ring. As soon he reveals himself, the champ throws in the towel. He aint going in the ring with that guy. Because that guy is Elwood Dalton, former UFC heavyweight and current man without a fixed address. Hes never ripped anyones throat out, but Dalton did kill an opponent during a bout once upon a time, and now he makes his living by letting his reputation do the heavy lifting. Jake Gyllenhaal is the type of movie star who tends toward two speeds: leading man with haunted look and solid jaw, and wonderfully self-conscious eccentric. (See: Okja, Velvet Buzzsaw, parts of Ambulance, this seven-minute masterpiece.) When youre really lucky, you get a performance that combines both, and the mix here is about a 75/25 split. The minute he wearily shows up and displays a torso that suggests hes done hard time in a Crunch Fitness, youre reminded why hes someone you regularly cast as an emotionally bruised bruiser. Then, when he gets shivved in the parking lot and starts performing amateur surgery on himself, you get a quick glimpse of who we call Weird Jake. Its a hint of what Road House 2.0s name above the title does throughout the film tough-guy-whos-seen-too-much upfront, party in the back. Frankie owns a road house down in the Florida Keys. A biker gang regularly shows up and wreaks havoc. Its bad for business, and shes decided that Dalton is the guy who can help her fix the problem. After a long, dark night of the soul, he takes her up on the offer. Arriving in the fictional seaside burg of Glass Key, Dalton is greeted by a young teen (Hannah Lanier) who runs the local bookstore. A stranger whos come to clean things up and run the outlaws out of town? Sounds like the plot of a Western, she notes. That, or the original Road House, but: bonus points for the meta-genre acknowledgement. Sure enough, the new gunslinger in town with the jacked-up guns poking out of his sleeves gets to show the gang why things are gonna be different now. And because Dalton adheres to the golden rule Be nice he even drives them all to the hospital after he breaks their bones and gives their cocky leader (JD Pardo) a concussion. That first stand-off in the parking lot of the road house named Road House, because what else would you call the joint? telegraphs the tone that Liman and Gyllenhaal want to establish. The bars staff ranges from a daffy bartender (B.K. Cannon) to an apprentice bouncer (Lukas Gage). A band is always playing some of sort of tropically flavored version of a blues, zydeco, gospel and/or rock staple behind a wire fence onstage. Dalton exudes the confidence of a person who understands how do maximum damage yet doesnt jump into the fray until he has to, and even then, he escorts the gang into the parking lot. One biker, played by the movies designated scene-stealer Arturo Castro, keeps a dim-witted running commentary. And then, when Dalton does spring into action, its a hyperkinetic mixed-martial-arts melee thats a blur and an adrenaline rush. You suddenly remember that Liman was the man calling the shots behind both the casual comic rapport of Swingers (1996) and the close-combat sequences in The Bourne Identity (2002). The humor is deadpan and the fights feel deadly in a way that channels a very 21st century, post-John Wick style of snap, crackle and pow. Conor McGregor and Jake Gyllenhaal in Road House. After Dalton meets Ellie (Daniela Melchior), a reprise of Kelly Lynchs doctor-slash-romantic-interest from the original, Road House slips into a groove. The electric blue of Floridas keys provide a fresh, picturesque backdrop to a lot of B movie pulp, but the rest is properly familiar. Once again, a particularly loathsome rich prick, played by a deep-in-the-douchebag-pocket Billy Magnusson, is behind all of the troublemaking. Once again, an alpha brute in the form of Knox (Conor McGregor) is brought in to take the hero down. Once again, Dalton bends over backwards to be nice, until its time not to be nice. Once again, were reminded that no one wins in a fight, except the moviegoer, who gets to satisfy an inherent bloodlust by indulging in the second-hand thrills of an epic barroom brawl in Margaritaville. Oddly enough, the introduction of McGregors unstoppable terminator and genuine agent of chaos who gets both a first-rate introduction scene and the films requisite naked-ass shot gives this remake its giddy high point and signals the beginning of the end. Whether you think the third acts prolonged mix of explosions, double crosses, hostage drama, mayhem and Cool Hand Jake finally losing his shit drags down the momentum or simply offers up a dopamine overdose is your call, because hey: Opinions vary. The climactic mano-a-mano is indeed a clash of titans, and helps the movie go out with a bang among a surprising chorus of whimpers; you get the sense that, like a number of fighters without a clear sweet-science strategy, this homage to a trashterpiece wears itself out swinging hard in the early rounds. So, no, this Road House is not a roundhouse knockout. Yet it still packs a punch. One last thing: This was the opening night selection of this years SXSW Film Festival, and regardless of whether you love this fest or find it to be obnoxious, it really was the perfect place to premiere this remake of an 80s favorite. Horror, comedy and action movies tend to play to extremely overenthusiastic crowds down here, which describes Road House to a tee (re: the first category, lets just say theres a crocodile put on the mantle on Act One that definitely goes off later in the proceedings). It will also be one of the few times someone would be able to see this crowd-pleasing film in the manner in which it was meant to be consumed, a point thats been one of several controversies dogging the picture and of particular consternation to its director. Doug Liman called out MGM/Amazon for punting this straight to streaming and said he was boycotting the premiere. Yet he was there last night in the audience, if not onstage basking in the post-screening glory. Its great to think he got to experience the reaction to what he made. As for the movies distributors, were begging you: Please reconsider giving this a theatrical run. To paraphrase a wise man, dont be too stupid to keep moviegoers from having a good time. (Full disclosure: In 2021, Rolling Stones parent company, P-MRC, acquired a 50 percent stake in the SXSW festival.) Best of Rolling Stone Last week, "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Actor Alec Baldwin had been holding the gun on October 21, 2021, when it went off, although he has maintained that he never pulled the trigger. His trial is scheduled to start on July 9, 2024. Although she has yet to be sentenced, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed faces 18 months behind bars. 'Rust' Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Having A Rough Time In Jail MEGA On Wednesday, after a jury found Hannah Gutierrez-Reed guilty of involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the death of "Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, she was sent to a New Mexico detention center to await sentencing. Although she has yet to be sentenced, her main attorney, Jason Bowles, told TMZ that she is having a rough time behind bars. Her family has reportedly yet to visit her at the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Facility, although they are working on a time to make that happen. Her loved ones are said to be devastated by the guilty verdict, although she was acquitted on a charge of tampering with evidence. Prosecutors presented a witness who testified that Hannah Gutierrez-Reed handed her a bag of white powder on the day Halyna Hutchins was killed. The witness, who identified herself as a recovering addict, believed the substance to be cocaine and threw it in a garbage can at the hotel where the crew was set up. The substance was never tested or found. On Tuesday, prosecutors tried to get the word "cocaine" omitted from the charge and replaced with "controlled white substance." However, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer rejected the prosecution's bid and cocaine remained on the charge. Without being able to prove the substance was cocaine, a jury found Hannah Gutierrez-Reed not guilty when it came to the tampering with evidence charge. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's Legal Team Will Be Seeking An Appeal MEGA Although a jury found her guilty of involuntary manslaughter, her legal team told the outlet that they plan to seek an appeal to overturn the involuntary manslaughter guilty verdict. The defense maintains that the accident was due to her being overworked by production, as well as her split duties between being an armorer and a prop master. They put the blame on "Rust" producers, claiming that Gutierrez-Reed was just an overworked employee who was rushing around to do her job. However, the prosecution presented multiple pieces of evidence to the jury, including photos from the set that showed "Rust" crew members walking around with firearms that were laid out in the open. One photo even showed the rookie armorer with the barrel of a gun pointing toward her own head. Halyna Hutchins' Family Comments On 'Rust' Armorer's Guilty Verdict MEGA Halyna Hutchins' parents and sister are being represented by attorney Gloria Allred in a civil lawsuit against Alec Baldwin and other "Rust" producers alleging their their negligence and lack of safety protocols on set led to the death of the beloved cinematographer. Gloria Allred is also representing "Rust" script supervisor Mamie Mitchell in her own civil lawsuit against "Rust" producers. Mitchell was one of the many crew members who testified against Hannah Gutierrez-Reed on set and is expected to testify against Alec Baldwin as well. In a brief statement made to People magazine, family attorneys Gloria Allred and John Carpenter said, Halynas parents and her sister have always wanted everyone who is responsible for Halynas death to be held accountable, adding, Today was the first trial and conviction in the criminal justice process. We are satisfied that the jury, based on the evidence, found Hannah Gutierrez-Reed guilty beyond a reasonable doubt for her part in the taking of Halynas life. Alec Baldwin's Trial To Begin In July 2024 MEGA The criminal trial against "Rust" actor Alec Baldwin will begin on July 9, 2024. Charges were filed against both him and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed in January 2023; however, they were dropped in April 2023 without prejudice pending further investigation into the gun that went off in the church, seeking possible malfunction. After an FBI report concluded that the trigger had to have been pulled in order for the gun to go off, prosecutors refiled charges against the 65-year-old actor in January 2024. He has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Stormy Daniels skipped the red carpet Friday but took the stage briefly after a screening of documentary Stormy, which had its SXSW premiere on the festivals opening night. She was emotional, often wiping away tears, as she embraced director Sarah Gibson and talked about how important the film is to her. But she displayed her trademark defiance too, closing with a parting shot And f*ck Trump. Thank you Sarah for doing this with me and telling such a great story, she said. As a filmmaker, your transitions were amazing. And you didnt use too many shots that made me look fat. So thank you. More from Deadline Judd Apatow is an executive producer for the film, which premieres on Peacock later this month. I met Judd, I think it was 2004. And not very many people know this story, but I stood in line and auditioned for a bit part in a movie called The 40-Year Old Virgin. She got the role but had death in the family so didnt get to to set. I expected them to replace me, and instead of doing so Judd Apatow rearranged his entire shoot schedule and sent flowers to the funeral. Apatow, who did speak briefly before the screening, said its important to realize that there are real people behind the clickbait. The doc follows the former adult film star whose life was upended after becoming entangled with Donald Trump. She said as did Trumps former fixer Michael Cohen that he paid her $130,000 to stay quiet about an affair. Since the payout came in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, some called it election fraud. The Manhattan District Attorney is currently preparing for trial in its hush money case against Trump. Back when existence of the payments were revealed, Trump called Daniels a liar. She sued him for defamation and lost, ending up on the hook for $300,000 to cover his legal expenses. The lawyer who took up her case initially and defended her up and down cable news, Michael Avenatti, was convicted of defrauding her and in 2022 was sentenced to four years in prison for wire fraud and identity theft after stealing book-contract proceeds from Daniels by forging her signature on a letter to her agent. Stormy is her story with new details. It is produced by Erin Lee Carr, with Sara Bernstein executive producer. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. United Airlines flight 821 diverted to L.A. on Friday as a result of a hydraulic system issue, the airline company said Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Stock image of a United Airlines flight A plane headed from San Francisco to Mexico City on Friday made a diversion to Los Angeles due to a hydraulics issue, in what now marks the fourth emergency situation for a United Airlines flight in the span of a week. United Airlines flight 821 which left San Francisco International Airport on Friday evening was ultimately "diverted to" Los Angeles International Airport due to an "issue with the aircrafts hydraulic system," a company spokesperson tells PEOPLE in a statement. The Airbus 320 plane, which was traveling with 105 passengers and 5 crew members at the time of the flight, has three hydraulic systems, which United notes are for "redundancy purposes." Only one of the three had an issue during Friday's flight, the airline reported, citing preliminary information. "The flight landed safely and passengers were deplaned normally at the gate," United says. "Customers traveled to MEX on a new aircraft." The Federal Aviation Administration revealed that it will be investigating the flight, which it reported ultimately landed safely around 4:30 p.m. local time on Friday. ABC News, citing a spokesperson, said that Los Angeles City Fire Department engines were not needed when they responded to the plane's landing. AP Photo/Gregory Bull The Los Angeles International Airport, as pictured in November 2013 Related: Tire Falls Off United Airlines Flight After Takeoff, Hits Vehicles in Parking Lot Below The recent flight mishap marks the fourth emergency situation involving a United trip this week. The incident follows passengers being evacuated that same day after a United plane in Houston rolled off a runway, after a tire fell off a flight that departed San Francisco on Thursday, and after a flight from Houston to Fort Myers, Texas, reportedly had to turn around after one of the engines had caught fire. The early Friday evacuation in Houston happened around 8 a.m. local time, when 160 passengers were left on the plane at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), the FAA previously noted and the Associated Press shared. United Airlines Flight 2477 had reportedly slid on grass after landing, following its journey from Memphis International Airport. "After landing in rainy conditions, United 2477 exited the taxiway into a grassy area. All passengers were bused to the terminal and assisted by our team with their onward connections and other needs," United Airlines told PEOPLE in a statement, with IAH confirming on X that no passengers were injured. Mike Allard, a passenger on the flight, told local outlet KTRK that a "huge pop" could be heard after the aircraft tilted. "Seems like we were making a turn. The plane was going a little too fast and just slid off. That's what I took it as. I'm glad everybody's OK. I think the Lord was with us and protected us," he said. 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 celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Just a day before, a tire fall at San Francisco International Airport from United Airlines Flight 35 ended up damaging vehicles in a below parking lot. The plane, headed to Japan, diverted to Los Angeles shortly after takeoff. NBC Bay Area reported at the time that the wheel ultimately landed on two vehicles and bent a fence in the airport's employee parking lot before coming to a halt. "There were no injuries," the airport's public information officer Doug Yakel shared with PEOPLE. "The runway was briefly closed to clear debris, but has since reopened. No further impact to airport operations." For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. The NYPD said the 29-year-old woman was found "conscious" and "responsive" on the tracks and was transported to a local hospital in stable condition Getty A New York City subway train A woman has been hospitalized after she was struck by a train in lower Manhattan on Saturday morning, according to the New York City Police Department. The NYPD confirmed in a statement to PEOPLE that officers responded to a 911 call at approximately 10:25 a.m. of a female on the tracks at the Fulton Street subway station in lower Manhattan. When officers arrived on the scene, they found a "conscious" and "responsive" 29-year-old woman who had been "struck by a southbound No. 3 train," per the NYPD. An initial investigation determined that she had been "pushed onto the tracks." NYPD said that EMS responded to the scene, and the woman, who was not immediately identified, was transported to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition. Related: NYPD Searching for Suspect Who Pushed a Woman Into a Moving Subway Train The woman had lost both of her feet in the incident, according to WABC-TV, NBC 4 New York and The New York Post. Sources also told WABC-TV and The New York Post that the womans boyfriend allegedly was the one who pushed her onto the tracks. Sources told the latter outlet that they were arguing and then he pushed her before fleeing the scene. The man was wearing a blue shirt, blue jeans and a dark-colored jacket when he fled, according to NBC 4 New York. The outlet reported that police have been canvassing the site for video evidence of the interaction between the pair. Related: Commuters Save Woman Who Was Accidentally Pushed onto Subway Tracks as Train Was Entering Station As a result of the incident, some subway trains heading southbound were delayed for hours as police carried out their investigation, according to NBC 4 New York. The NYCT Subway posted on X (formerly Twitter) at 10:30 a.m. that southbound No. 2 and No. 3 trains were delayed while they investigated why a train's brakes activated at Fulton St. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. In an 11 a.m. update, NYCT Subway shared that southbound No. 2 and No. 3 trains were being rerouted and that people taking the No. 4 and No. 5 trains would also experience delays due to the reroutes. In a later update, at about 1 p.m., NYCT Subway said that southbound No. 2 and No. 3 trains would not stop at Fulton Street in both directions, but that service had resumed between Manhattan and Brooklyn. It also noted that people should still expect delays in both directions. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. While Japanese whisky (spelled without the "e" after Scottish style) has been around for a century, it has only become popular stateside in recent years. While the international market for Japanese whisky throughout most of the last 100 years remained virtually nonexistent, in 2001 Nikka's 10-year Yoichi single malt won "Best of the Best" at Whisky Magazine's awards. Public opinion of Japanese whisky at this time began to change. Later, the 2013 Yamazaki Sherry Cask won "Best Whisky in the World" by Whisky Bible in 2015. Since then, exports of Japanese whisky have risen sharply. (According to Trade Data Monitor data as reported by the United States Foreign Agricultural Service, exports are up 233 percent since 2013 from $40.8 million in sales to $135.8 million.) And, due to the increased demand, prices for Japanese whisky especially for older, rarer products likewise increased. Producers, according to the Foreign Agricultural Service, are also struggling to keep up with demand, "as quality aged whiskey is a labor-intensive product and requires long lead times." This has led to an increase in falsely advertised and counterfeit products looking to take advantage of the whisky craze. But this raises the question: What constitutes an authentic Japanese whisky? Tasting Table spoke with Jun Tanaka, alcohol responsibility committee chair for the Japan Spirits & Liqueurs Makers Association (JSLMA), as well as James Bowker, House of Suntory global advocacy manager, to learn more about Japanese whisky's explosion in popularity and how consumers can avoid being fooled. Read more: The 27 Best Bourbon Brands, Ranked Check The Ingredients malted cereal grains - Bloomberg/Getty Images Fortunately, in recent years, strict regulations determined by the government-approved JSLMA have been created to clearly identify what qualifies as a Japanese whisky (as opposed to the many other varieties of the spirit). This was "aimed at curbing the spread of products misleadingly labeled as 'Japanese whisky," Bowker tells Tasting Table. According to the "Standards for Labeling Japanese Whisky," which was enacted in 2021 for enforcement by April 1, 2024, raw ingredients must be limited to malted grains, other cereal grains, and water extracted in Japan. Malted grains must always be used and plain caramel coloring may be used. The use of any additional or other ingredients will no longer qualify the spirit as an authentic Japanese whisky. Whiskies that fail to meet the above criteria, according to the new "Labeling Standards," will not be allowed to include the names of people that invoke Japan, the names of Japanese cities, regions, famous places, mountains, and rivers, or the Japanese flag or Japanese era name on its labeling ("unless measures are taken to clarify that the product being labeled does not meet such requirements"). In other words, to have packaging that legally invokes Japanese names or imagery, under the new regulations, the product must be an authentic Japanese whisky. Major brands like Suntory, Bowker says, support these new regulations, "as they will go some way in helping to preserve the prestige and quality of the Japanese whisky category." Learn About The Production Method Man checking whisky barrels - Artistgndphotography/Getty Images Along those same lines, if you are unable to determine the ingredients of the whisky, try to learn how it was produced. Those same "Labeling Standards" have specified a proper production method for a spirit to be considered a Japanese whisky. What does that entail? Among other details, saccharification (a process that breaks down complex carbohydrates into ethanol), fermentation, and distillation must be carried out at a distillery in Japan. The distilled product must be poured into wooden casks and matured in Japan for at least three years afterward. Bottling must take place only in Japan, with an alcoholic strength of at least 40 percent at such time. That means that any product that, for instance, has an ABV below 40 percent, was aged for fewer than three years, or was bottled outside of Japan no longer qualifies as a Japanese whisky. These factors are important: Japan's water sources and climate (which are crucial for the growing of the required ingredients as well as the barrel-aging process) are what give Japanese whisky its distinct flavor. As Bowker explains: "Every quality whisky is unique to the place it is made, so the terroir for each Japanese distillery is incredibly important." But we'll get into this a bit more later on. Look At The Spelling bottles of Japanese whisky - Bloomberg/Getty Images Another clear indicator of a proper Japanese whisky is in how it's spelled. Whiskey ("e" included) is most common in the U.S. and Ireland, whereas the spelling sans "e" was popularized in Scotland. Why, then, does Japan follow the trend set by Scotch whisky? Well, Japan began making whiskies after Masataka Taketsuru, the eventual founder of Nikka Whisky, traveled to Scotland in 1918 to learn how they made their whisky. After apprenticing at three Scotch distilleries, he returned to Japan in 1920 and produced the country's first whisky at the Yamazaki Distillery. The naming convention stuck. That said, the JSLMA's "Labeling Standards" indicate that an authentic Japanese whisky may use either spelling with or without the "e." While this does muddy the water a bit, many of Japan's top whisky producers, including Hakushu, Hibiki, Kaiyo, Komagatake, Nikka, Suntory, and Yamazaki, maintain the Scottish style of spelling. So always be sure to check the labeling. Going one step further, "If 'Japanese whisky' is not stated on the bottle at all, it's likely the new ["Labeling Standard"] are not met," says Bowker. "If a specific distillery is not mentioned on the label, it's also unlikely the new standards are met, as the location of the distillery will generally be utilized. Finally, when regulations are met, brands are likely to be explicit in stating their provenance and reference to Japan; if this is unclear, the product may not meet the new Standards." Do A Little Math calculator on white backgound - kitzcorner/Shutterstock Whether you're unable to determine the validity of the whisky from the above steps, or maybe you can't find the necessary information to make a sound judgment, it might be time to do a little math. As Japanese whisky has become increasingly popular around the world, so have its imitators. Brands may be trying to take advantage of the current craze (and prices) by buying up foreign batches of whisky to label as their own or by quickly producing their own and labeling it as something better. For instance, if a bottle says the whisky has been aged 12 years, but if you look up the history of the distillery and it acquired its license or was founded more recently than that, you will know something isn't right. The website Nomunication (which focuses on the food and drink of Japan) has a very handy Japanese whisky distiller tracker. That said, the chart which notes both when the distillery opened and released its first single malt dates only to 2015, as this was when a myriad of new distilleries in Japan began popping up. For a more comprehensive look at Japan's whisky distillers, the website also offers a Japan distillery map, which includes information about when they each opened. You can use these or do a quick Google search to learn more about the distillery; after that, it should be some simple subtraction to determine if the math and whisky checks out. Try To Determine The Distiller Nikka Whisky barrels - Seaonweb/Getty Images If, in trying to complete the aforementioned math, you are unable to even determine who the spirit's producer is, it may very well be a fake." Companies that are trying to hide the distillery are likely doing so for a reason. Perhaps they have sourced their whisky from outside of Japan and have bottled it to appear authentic. These companies may go one step further and include language like "Product of Japan," which, technically, might not be incorrect (especially if it's bottled in and distributed from the country) but is not as clear as a label that reads, "Distilled in Japan" (and even then, as mentioned earlier, there are strict regulations as to what that can entail). If you're having trouble determining the producer, you might think it's a smaller/lesser-known distillery and they simply have not put their name on the label. As Bowker explained, this would be unlikely. These producers, perhaps more than any others, would want to be extremely clear with their labeling as they are trying to make their brand known. Any real-deal product will make it explicitly clear it is such. If the bottle doesn't confirm that, be wary. Compare Prices person holding liquor bottle - Stanislaw Mikulski/Shutterstock Japanese whiskies on Drizly, an online ordering and delivery platform for alcohol purchases, have an average unit price that's more than double the average price of all whiskies sold on the site. It's perhaps the top reason why counterfeit Japanese whisky has become nearly as popular as the real deal. "I think any premium product that enjoys a prolonged period of successful growth is always going to be subject to fakes," Bowker says. "In that regard, Japanese whisky is no exception." While this can make finding a deal on a product a bit of a challenge, it also should worry consumers that if they stumble upon a price that's significantly lower from one retailer than all the others, it should set off an alarm. Likely, if the price sounds too good to be true especially when looking to purchase a rare or vintage product chances are it probably is. In this instance, it may be that a counterfeiter is looking to sell a product disguised as an expensive whisky at a slight discount to the proper price because it is still a tremendous markup for the cost to produce it. Tanaka recommends being very cautious, adding that whisky drinkers should only purchase products from trusted sources. This will very likely help you avoid purchasing an inauthentic Japanese whisky. Inspect The Bottle gloved man holding whisky bottle - Tristan Fewings/Getty Images If you're buying the product in person (rather than online), get your hands on the bottle and give it a thorough inspection. Examine everything from its appearance to its weight. Does the label, seal, and fill level match a verified product (whether that's one you currently own or found on the distiller's website)? Additionally, does the bottle appear to have the proper weight? To paraphrase Martin Ferrero's character in "Jurassic Park," if it's heavy, then it's expensive. If a bottle feels a bit too light, that could be indicative of a cheaply made bottle and a possible fake. If you're looking to purchase an aged product, there are additional signals to look for. Older whiskies often have sediment at the bottom, especially if they were matured in sherry casks. The absence of sediment could indicate the bottle was refilled with a newer and cheaper whisky. You can also give the bottle a little shake to see how many bubbles form at the top. Stronger liquors which Japanese whisky typically is will have bubbles that last for a bit (up to 20 or 30 seconds), while weaker spirits will have bubbles that disappear nearly instantly. See If It's Sold In Japan person typing on laptop - Delmaine Donson/Getty Images A dead giveaway whether a product is an authentic Japanese whisky or something designed to fool the foreign market is if it's actually sold in Japan. This requires a bit of creative problem-solving because, if you're currently not located in Japan, your Internet browser will default to retailers and websites in your country. So, in trying to determine if a whisky is, indeed, available in Japan, you might not actually be able to find out. Try, then, searching for the brand name/product in Japanese (Google Translate will be your friend here) or searching on the Japanese version of websites (like Amazon JP). If you're able to find the product available in the Japanese market, you should feel confident that it's a genuine product. This is especially handy when looking to purchase a whisky from a boutique distillery, one that might not yet have international acclaim but you're the type of person who has to be the first to try something new. Protect your investment by first doing a little research. Become Familiar With The Major Players whiskies on shelf display - Bloomberg/Getty Images While it's possible that any whisky can be counterfeit, by sticking to the "major players" that are available at trusted retailers whether online or at a store location you will likely have no issues with the authenticity of the product. This is a good tip if you're newer to the world of Japanese whisky and you don't quite know your way around yet. It might also be a good idea to learn a bit about the major food and beverage conglomerates that might own several brands. This will give you a good idea of whether a parent company is more about producing large quantities of affordable spirits or a smaller amount of high-quality products. Some of the most common, tried-and-true Japanese whisky brands include Suntory, Hibiki, and Nikka. You can also consider this list of the 12 best Japanese whiskies to learn a bit more about the products and which you might find the most enjoyable. Even better is that none of them will break the bank. Buy Directly From The Source exterior of Japanese building - Shizuko/Getty Images Perhaps the best way to ensure you are not purchasing a fake product is to go directly to the source: the distillery. By cutting out the middlemen, you can guarantee that the product is, at the very least, produced by the distiller it claims to be produced by. That said, it's still important to do your research on the distillery; just because it's located in Japan does not mean the product is an authentic Japanese whisky as defined by the Japan Spirits & Liqueurs Makers Association. A producer and distillery that's doing things the proper way, especially in light of the new "Labeling Standards," will want to make it clear that it's creating an authentic Japanese whisky. This information should surely be available on its website, but if it's not, and you're looking to purchase directly from the source anyway, simply ask them about their ingredients and processes, and confirm for yourself. Remember: You want to ask about the ingredients, the production method, the aging process, and where the bottling takes place. Go By The Taste person sipping whiskey - Oskars Kupics/Shutterstock Now, all of the above tips should help if you're looking to purchase a bottle but they might not help if you're at a bar or restaurant and are simply looking to buy by the glass. Granted, there are myriad Japanese whisky distillers, all making different products, so the flavor profile may vary from one whisky to the next, but there are some key elements that make Japanese whiskies stand out. According to the Tanaka, with Japanese whisky, you can expect "smoothness, complexity, aromas of fruit such as citrus, fruit trees, and tropical fruits," as well as "delicate floral notes, honey, spice, [with a] balanced and elegant finish." In addition to the region that the whisky is produced in, the "variety of barrel types, including ex-bourbon, sherry, and Mizunara casks ... provide unique flavors and aromas." Japan's hot, humid summers and cold winters also speed up the maturation process of the whisky, meaning a younger product can develop a bolder flavor than, say, a Scotch whisky at that same time. To enjoy the maximum flavor of the whisky, try this expert-approved approach to tasting. Whether served on the rocks or neat, first consider its aromas (our sense of smell is responsible for 80 percent of what we taste), then take a small sip, allowing you to taste some of the flavors without overwhelming your tastebuds. After that sip, take a pause, and then have a second, more savoring sip. Read the original article on Tasting Table. Any food with the term "imitation" in the name is sure to lead to some confusion. Usually, this results in the public asking what the imitation food is actually made of. This is one of many questions that plagues imitation crab, a food that's been consumed in the United States since the 1970s. Unsurprisingly, several myths have arisen concerning what ingredients are used to make imitation crab. Further myths, regarding how the product is made and how cooks use it, also abound. Many of these myths put prospective consumers off imitation crab -- which is otherwise known as surimi -- potentially limiting their enjoyment of this cheap protein. What's more, they limit the ability of America's public and its food businesses to take full advantage of imitation crab's growing global market at a time when domestic crab supplies are becoming increasingly tenuous. As such, we have taken it upon ourselves to debunk seven of the biggest myths surrounding imitation crab, providing you with the requisite knowledge to understand this oft-derided food. Read more: What These Imitation Foods Are Actually Made Of Myth: It Doesn't Contain Any Seafood Imitation crab being made - Food Kingdom/YouTube Given its status as an imitation food, many Americans believe that imitation crab contains no seafood at all. This is incorrect; imitation crab's primary ingredient is actually fish. While the type of fish that's used varies depending on where it is produced, white fish meat is always preferred. In the United States, fresh Alaska pollock -- the same species that's used to make McDonald's Filet-O-Fish -- is particularly popular because it is naturally abundant, easy to process, and carries minimal flavor. All these characteristics are perfect for producing imitation crab at a large scale. Aside from the fish, the production of imitation crab uses other seafood ingredients, including natural flavor compounds derived from crabs. Some imitation crab products even blend Alaska pollock with the meat of shellfish species including crab and lobster, although the percentage of shellfish meat used is usually small. Imitation crab does contain several ingredients that are not derived from seafood, including egg whites, sugar, and starches. Artificial flavors and colorings are also used by some suppliers to achieve the desired appearance and taste. However, others manage with natural ingredients alone, using the likes of paprika as a natural food coloring. Myth: It's Only Used In Sushi California rolls on plate - Creativeye99/Getty Images Imitation crab has many culinary uses. Among the most popular is using it as a filling for California rolls and derivative recipes such as California roll lettuce cups. Imitation crab is used in these instances because it is a much cheaper alternative to real crab meat and satisfactorily performs the same role. Nowadays, all but the most luxurious California rolls use imitation crab as a filling, and this ubiquity has caused many Americans to associate the product with sushi alone. This is a mistake, as imitation crab is actually used to make a huge variety of dishes. Imitation crab's versatility was highlighted by chef and Food Network star Nancy Fuller. In an interview with Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers, Fuller recalled, "In 1974 I started using Surimi in a recipe I called 'crab dip' ... I would keep back a small batch to stuff fish, bake pasta, mix to scrambled eggs or add to fresh vegetables. Surimi is one of the most versatile proteins I worked with." Other culinary uses for surimi include using it to make kani salad and even enjoying imitation crab in sandwiches alongside tuna. What's more, many grocery store crab salads are made with an imitation crab mixture. Myth: Imitation Crab Has A Short History Pack of imitation crab - Sergey Ryzhov/Shutterstock As imitation crab was only distributed across the United States during the late 20th century, many Americans believe it is a food product that came about relatively recently. However, imitation crab has a centuries-long history, as it stems from the Japanese tradition of making surimi. Surimi was created in Japan as a means to preserve leftover seafood by grinding fish with salt. This mixture was -- and is -- used to create dishes such as chikuwa, wherein surimi is wrapped around bamboo sticks before being steamed. Another traditional, popular, surimi-based dish is satsuma-age, which is made by frying discs of surimi in oil. Surimi was first transformed into imitation crab during the early 1970s, when scientists discovered that adding sugars allowed the surimi to be frozen without losing its properties. This allowed production and distribution of surimi products, including imitation crab, to be completed on an industrial, global scale. Myth: There's Only One Type Of Imitation Crab Imitation crab flakes in bowl - Foodio/Shutterstock When speaking to Vice, a flavorist called Matthieu explained how varied surimi can be, saying, "In Japan, there are a lot of different types of surimi. What differentiates them is how they're cooked. Some are steamed, others are cooked in the oven, boiled or fried. It gives them different textures." Imitation crab can also be differentiated by the form it is shaped into. There are two main options: flakes and sticks. Of these, flakes tend to be denser and are best used in baked dishes such as imitation crab macaroni and cheese. Crab sticks have a looser, more stringy texture and are seen as being more versatile than flakes. Of course, imitation crab can also be distinguished by brand. Due to differing ingredient lists and processing methods, each company produces a slightly different type of imitation crab. Trying various styles and brands is the only way to find which imitation crab suits your tastes and needs best. Myth: It's Got A Similar Nutritional Profile To Crab Crab meat on plate - fluke samed/Shutterstock Given that it is used as a substitute for real crab meat, some Americans assume imitation crab boasts a similar nutritional profile. This is not the case, with imitation crab containing much less protein than regular crab meat. In fact, per 100-gram serving, imitation crab contains around 10 fewer grams of protein than cooked crab meat. Imitation crab also has slightly less sodium than cooked crab meat and contains much lower amounts of micronutrients, including an array of vitamins and minerals. Given that starch forms a key ingredient in imitation crab, it's not surprising that the product contains a great deal more carbohydrates than crab meat. Each 100-gram serving of imitation crab contains around 16 grams of carbohydrates, whereas cooked crab meat contains none. As an important aside, this means imitation grab is not suitable for those with gluten intolerances. Myth: Imitation Crab Is Unsustainable Crab fishing port in Alaska - Alaska Public Media/YouTube Given that imitation crab is a highly processed food, some consumers believe it is more sustainable to eat fresh, locally caught crab. While this can be the case, many of America's crab fisheries are severely depleted, with some having collapsed completely with catastrophic consequences. For example, some 10 billion snow crabs have been lost from the Bering Sea fishery. Rather than overfishing, climate change has been suggested as the key driver of these collapses. As Professor Christopher Harley explained to New Scientist, "There have been a number of big population crashes in marine species due to overfishing. We are now witnessing more and more big crashes associated with extreme temperatures." Buying alternatives to crab, such as imitation crab, alleviates pressure on these decimated fisheries and gives them a greater chance of regeneration. Thankfully, the stocks of Alaska pollock, which most of the imitation crab sold in the United States is made from, are extremely robust. It is one of the largest fisheries on the planet and is not currently overfished. What's more, bycatch (accidentally netting other species) is notably low, standing below 1%. All of this makes imitation crab a much more sustainable option then many currently believe. Myth: It Requires Thorough Cooking Sauteing imitation crab in pan - Go and Yo Explores/YouTube A classic mistake that people make when first using imitation crab is to cook it thoroughly. People often do this because they believe it is a raw product. In reality, imitation crab is always cooked during the production process, usually via steaming. This means the product only requires heating or defrosting before it is consumed. Anything more, and the imitation crab becomes overcooked. There are many ways of heating up imitation crab without overcooking it. One of the most popular methods is to put imitation crab sticks in a microwave for approximately 30 seconds. Those without a microwave can opt to use the oven, although it is advised to place the imitation crab in a water-filled pan to prevent it from drying out. Other methods of heating abound, including steaming for three to five minutes or sauteing. For this latter method, smaller pieces of imitation crab are preferred, as they heat up much quicker than their larger counterparts. Read the original article on Daily Meal. A cargo door on an Alaska Airlines flight was unsealed upon landing. There were reportedly pets in the cargo hold. Here we go again. Embattled Alaska Airlines is at the center of a second aviation drama after a plane arrived at an airport gate in Portland, Ore. last Friday with its cargo door open. The cargo hold was stowing passengers pets, according to local TV station KOIN, although none of the animals were injured. The plane had flown in from Los Cabos, Mexico. Alaska Airlines told KOIN in a statement that there was no indication to the crew that the door was unsealed during [last Fridays] flight and all indications point to the door partially opening after landing. Our maintenance teams inspected the aircraft, replaced a spring in the door, tested the door and reentered it into service, the Alaska Airlines statement concluded. The Post reached out to Alaska Airlines for comment. Alaska Airlines hit headlines in January after a door plug blew off mid-air during a flight from Portland to Ontario, Calif. Embattled Alaska Airlines is at the center of a second aviation drama after a plane arrived at an airport gate in Portland, Ore. with its cargo door open. KOIN6 An Alaska Airlines cargo door was unsealed upon landing in Portland, Oregon. Pets were reportedly in the cargo. KOIN6 While the company appeared to downplay any issues, aviation expert Joe Schwieterman told KOIN that a cargo door opening up on its own as a pretty major defect. It affects a lot of the electrical equipment in that cargo hold. So, it is troublesome that you may have a plane where some things like this went undetected, he said. Both Boeing and Alaska Airlines are already amid a $1B lawsuit over plane safety. The chair of the National Transportation Safety Board also warned that the January incident could be repeated. Alaska Airlines has come under a litany of criticism over safety issues this winter. AFP via Getty Images That aircraft was a Boeing 737 MAX 8. Meanwhile on Friday, a Boeing 737 MAX 9 rolled off a runway at Houstons George Bush Intercontinental Airport, forcing all passengers to evacuate. The United Airlines flight had been scheduled to fly to Memphis, Tenn. The competition for best non-alcoholic wine is heating up in 2024. These days, it's not just designated drivers, non-drinkers or pregnant people seeking out non-alcoholic alternatives. From Dry January to Sober October to the sleepy girl mocktail craze sweeping social media, there's never been a better time to be sober-curious. Non-alcoholic wines are one of those products you might have tried and written off years ago, but now deserve a second chance (Im looking at you, digital picture frames). They've come a long way in just a few short years, and experts believe this is just the beginning. Kristen Bear, host of the Creative Sobriety podcast, thinks sobriety is on the rise, but it's more of a health-conscious, "elevated lifestyle" trend. "When I first got sober, there were a couple of non-alcoholic wines and they were awful," Bear said. "I think because the demand has just skyrocketed, we have these companies making really, really quality beverages with craftsmanship in mind, and it's not so much just like, 'here's a grape juice, enjoy.'" Rapidly changing technology and an increased interest in sobriety has brought non-alcoholic wines into the zeitgeist. The category has come a long way in a short time and, experts admit, still has a way to go. "Non-alcoholic beer has been around for a really long time, and then came the non-alcoholic spirits. Wine is sort of the last frontier, and I think part of that is because it's really hard. It's a challenge to fake the flavor profile that you'd have in wine," said Elizabeth-Rose Mandalou, sommelier and beverage director at Allora restaurant in Sacramento, Calif. So whats the deal with non-alcoholic wine? Is it any good? (Spoiler alert: Yes!) I spoke with several industry experts, including the owner of a non-alcoholic bottle shop in Nashville and the founders of Sacramentos first non-alcoholic bar, and assembled a panel of taste testers to rate more than 20 bottles white, red, rose and sparkling on appearance, aroma, taste, finish and similarity to alcoholic wine. Read on to see which ones we liked best and how to find a bottle that appeals to your preferences. Best non-alcoholic wine overall Prima Pave Prima Pave Blanc de Blancs Best overall non-alcoholic wine Type: Sparkling white | Grape varietal(s): Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc & Gewurztraminer | Country of origin: Italy | Wine sweetness: Dry | Calories: 18/100 ml | Alcohol content: 0.0% | Sugar content: 3.1g/100 ml | Similarity to real wine: 3.8/5 The experts I consulted all agreed that sparkling wine lends itself to de-alcoholization better than still wine, because the effervescence provides a bit of a bite that usually comes from the alcohol. Sure enough, our top-rated wine was this sparkling blanc de blanc from Prima Pave. (In fact, our top five picks for taste and similarity to "real" wine were all sparkling wines!) Taste testers described this zero-proof champagne as "very refreshing," "sparkly, light" and "smooth." Its fruity flavor profile and dry finish sealed the deal for the top spot if you only drink one non-alcoholic wine, make it this one. Pros The closest tasting to "real" wine we tried Lovely to look at Cons A bit pricey $25 at Prima Pave Other top non-alcoholic wines we recommend for 2024 Surely Surely Red Blend Best non-alcoholic red wine Type: Still red | Grape varietal(s): Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah | Country of origin: United States | Wine sweetness: Dry | Calories: 20/100 ml | Alcohol content: 0.5% | Sugar content: 3.4 g/100 ml | Similarity to real wine: 1.5/5 Red wines dont tend to lend themselves to the de-alcoholization process as well as whites and roses, so you may not want to start here if youre new to non-alcoholic wine. But if red's your jam, this blend beat out our other bottles thanks to its uniquely smoky, spicy flavor. With a medium body and earthy, tannin-y tasting notes, Surely's red blend isnt for everyone. Case in point: Two testers reported a cigar taste, but one gave it four stars and the other only one. As with alcoholic wine, non-alcoholic wine is a highly subjective experience. Nevertheless, this interesting blend surely beat out the competition. Pros Widely available in stores, online Interesting flavor profile Cons Non-alcoholic red wine is not for everyone $27 at Amazon Giesen Giesen Pinot Grigio Best non-alcoholic white wine Type: Still white | Grape varietal(s): Pinot Grigio | Country of origin: New Zealand | Wine sweetness: Medium dry | Calories: 18/100 ml | Alcohol content: <0.5% | Sugar content: 3g/100 ml | Similarity to real wine: 2.6/5 Two experts I spoke to recommended one of Giesens other non-alcoholic wines (the Sauvignon Blanc, which you can read more about below), but it was the brands Pinot Grigio that reigned supreme in our tasting. Tasters called it "crisp," "refreshing" and "not too sweet or too acidic." Thanks to a touch of sweetness and tasting notes of white flowers, lychee and red apple, a few of the testers christened it the ideal poolside beverage for the sober crowd. This bottle scored lower than most of our sparkling options on its similarity to alcoholic wine, but that speaks more to the category than the brand experts recommend starting off with sparkling because still non-alcoholic wines are harder to get right. With still wines, "If you're looking for something that tastes exactly like traditional wine, you're going to be disappointed," said Amanda and Kathryn Altman-Brincat, founders of Sacramento, Calif., non-alcoholic bar the Teetotalist. Pros Love a twist-off lid Looks and smells just like the real thing Cons Non-alcoholic still wines are an acquired taste $25 at Amazon Thomson & Scott Thomson & Scott Noughty Sparkling Chardonnay Best non-alcoholic sparkling wine Type: Sparkling white | Grape varietal(s): Chardonnay | Country of origin: Spain | Wine sweetness: Medium dry | Calories: 14/100 ml | Alcohol content: 0.0% | Sugar content: 2.9g/100 ml | Similarity to real wine: 3.8/5 Theres nothing naughty about Thomson & Scotts Noughty line of non-alcoholic wines. Since our overall best pick was also sparkling, this bottle is technically the sparkling runner-up. Though it scored slightly lower in our taste test than the Prima Pave, it rivaled our top pick for similarity to alcoholic wine. This sparkler has a bit more bite than the others we sampled, with a spiciness and acidity that made the lack of alcohol almost imperceptible. With a crisp, somewhat tart finish, this one would make a great mixer for a champagne mocktail (mimosas, anyone?) or on its own as a celebratory baby shower toast or for a hangover-free New Years Eve countdown. As one tester put it, "This is a wonderful drink." Pros Tastes great Organic and vegan Cons A bit pricey $26 at Amazon Prima Pave Prima Pave Rose Brut Best non-alcoholic rose wine Type: Sparkling rose | Grape varietal(s): Montepulciano dAbruzzo, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc & Gewurztraminer | Country of origin: Italy | Wine sweetness: Medium dry | Calories: 19/100 ml | Alcohol content: 0.0% | Sugar content: 3.2g/100 ml | Similarity to real wine: 3.8/5 Unsurprisingly, our favorite non-alcoholic rose wine was also sparkling. Prima Pave must be doing something right, because the brand's second entry on this list beat out four other bottles of rose, including offerings from Giesen and Thomson & Scott. Testers appreciated its light fizz and dryness, making it another good candidate for a zero-proof celebration or a cocktail mixer or a patio pounder without the pounding headache. Pros Just as aesthetically pleasing as its sparkling chardonnay counterpart Cons May be harder to find than other brands Pricey $25 at Prima Pave Other non-alcoholic wines we tested Sparklings Sovi Sparkling White: A great sparkling option that just didn't score as highly as the others on our list, plus it's the most expensive of the bunch. Giesen Sparkling Brut: Half our testers said they'd buy this one again. The other half? "Too sweet," "too sour," "does nothing for me." Surely Sparkling Brut: Surely lost us at the aroma on this bottle, and the taste wasnt much of an improvement. One tester compared its flavor to an armpit. Another was more diplomatic: "[The] aroma is off-putting." Whites Leitz Eins Zwei Zero Blanc de Blancs: This bottle of white was a little too sweet for us, and not as complex as you'd want an adult beverage stand-in to be. One tester compared it to grape juice. Still, it was our runner-up in the category (though much pricier than our winner). Studio Null Gruner Weiss: We appreciated that this bottle wasn't too sweet, but overall found it a bit bland not to mention almost double the cost of some other bottles in the category. Surely Blanc: Testers didn't love the aftertaste of this white blend, and the overall experience was a little underwhelming. It was also one of the least wine-like of the bunch. Thomson & Scott Noughty Blanc: Noughty wins points for its similarity to real wine but loses points for blandness. Giesen Riesling: Giesen can't win them all, and our testing panel agreed that its Riesling was underwhelming. Giesen Sauvignon Blanc: After two experts recommended the Giesen Sauvignon Blanc, I was surprised that the tasting panel united against it, for both flavor and dissimilarity to its alcoholic brethren. Roses Prima Pave Rose Dolce: If you prefer your wine sweet but not as sweet as, say, literal grape juice this is the bottle for you. Our testing panel found this sparkling rose a bit too cloying to take the top spot, but it's still a solid choice. Three testers compared it to soda, but all agreed that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Noughty Rose: This bottle of rose was just fine crisp, refreshing, mild, with just a bit of a bite. One tester summed it up thusly: "Pretty good." Giesen Rose: This bottle had an earthier, almost smoky vibe with a bit more complexity than the others. Still, its overall taste didnt win us over. Jyus Rose: The group agreed that this bottle went down easy a little too easy. More than one person compared it to juice. Again, not necessarily a bad thing, but not the best substitute for the real thing, either. Reds Gruvi Dry Red Blend: Our first canned wine of the bunch! Gruvi wins points for portability and dryness, but ultimately the cranberry flavor was a tad overpowering. Gruvi Sangria: This non-alcoholic sangria tastes very much like alcoholic sangria, which makes this canned wine another excellent patio pounder for the sober crowd. Splash it over some fruit and you may not even know the difference. Thomson & Scott Noughty Rouge: Thomson & Scott promises notes of "ripe red fruit, crushed black pepper, dried rose petal and candied cherries integrated with French oak tannins." But the inoffensive red was pretty mild, and not as flavorful as we'd have liked. Giesen Premium Red: This red also lost points for blandness and lack of flavor. It's hard to get a non-alcoholic red right because the alcohol is what gives it much of its body, and this one tasted particularly light. Sovi Red Blend: Almost everyone described this red blend as "watery," an attribute that remains a hurdle for most non-alcoholic reds. Leitz Eins Zwei Zero Pinot Noir: Pour one out for this bland, watery red: "Tastes like wine, but bad wine," one taster said. "This wine makes me wish I was drinking grape juice," said another. How we tested I asked several experts for their picks for the best non-alcoholic wines, and they recommended a range of brands and grape varietals to try. After procuring a collection of sparkling, white, rose and red wines (24 bottles total), I assembled a group of eight taste-testers with varying degrees of familiarity with non-alcoholic beverages and sobriety (a nursing mother, a pregnant woman, some medical fellows with frequent on-call sobriety requirements, etc.) and tested the wines in four rounds, from white to rose to red, finishing with sparkling. Tasters rated each wine based on overall taste and similarity to alcoholic wines, judging based on appearance, aroma, taste and finish. We paired the wines with cheese, charcuterie, olives and dark chocolate for added nuance. Factors to consider when choosing a non-alcoholic wine Grape varietal You probably have some favorite (and not-so-favorite) grapes already when it comes to alcoholic wines, and you may find yourself gravitating toward those same varietals with an non-alcoholic wine or, you may not! Experts agree that whites generally fare better than reds after de-alcoholization. "The whiter the wine, the easier it is," the Altman-Brincats told me. "Red wine still has a ways to go. You just notice the lack of that bite more than you do in some of the white wines." According to Stephanie Styll, owner of Nashville non-alcoholic bottle shop Killjoy, sauvignon blanc is always a good place to start. Mandalou is also partial to Riesling: "Riesling is the best grape [for non-alcoholic wines] because it is so aromatic and interesting, versus chardonnay, which is a really rather neutral grape," she says. "In the winemaking process, we do all of these things to bring the character out of [chardonnay]. Riesling in and of itself doesn't need much manipulation to show its aromatic intensity." For red drinkers, Bear recommends a pinot noir. Sparkling vs. still You're unlikely to find someone who prefers a non-alcoholic still wine to sparkling. Every expert I spoke to recommended starting with bubbles, and my own taste buds concur. The reason for that is textural removing alcohol removes some of the aromatics and texture from wine, but effervescence does a lot to offset that loss. That's not to say still expressions should be written off; they're just not the best place to start. Price In general, non-alcoholic wine is a real you-get-what-you-pay-for situation. "What happens is most people go to the grocery store, and they get the $10 bottle of wine, and they try it, and it's terrible," Styll said. "And so there's a common misperception that non-alcoholic wine is just not good." Because non-alcoholic wine is so difficult to get right, it's easier even for someone with an unsophisticated palate to recognize a "bad" non-alcoholic wine than one with alcohol. "There is a lot of art and labor that goes into [producing a good non-alcoholic wine]," the Altman-Brincats said. "It costs more and takes more time to make." In short, "If you're in America and it costs less than $10, there's a good chance it's not a great bottle of [non-alcoholic] wine," Styll said. Alcohol content Wait, non-alcoholic wines still have alcohol in them? They can sort of. Check the label and you should see either 0.0% alcohol or 0.5% alcohol. Practically speaking, there's no real difference. You're not going to get drunk from 0.5%. If youre abstaining for health reasons, pregnancy or because you just don't want to get a buzz tonight, the alcohol content of a non-alcoholic wine probably shouldnt weigh too heavily on your decision-making. But scroll down to the FAQs for more information on the differences. Sugar content Health-wise, non-alcoholic wines are great because, well, there's no alcohol. You may think that means these wines will be higher in sugar to make up for the lack of alcohol, but that's actually a common misconception. In fact, an entire bottle of non-alcoholic wine might contain the same calories as a single glass of alcoholic wine. Most of the wines we tasted contained only about 3 grams of sugar per 100-milliliter serving. "The number one thing I have people say to me is 'I want something that's not sweet and doesn't taste like grape juice,'" Styll said. "I would say under 6 grams of sugar is going to taste fairly dry. And if it has 20 grams of sugar, it's going to taste very sweet." Personal preference Obviously, you like what you like, and the converse is also true. You may very well love one of the wines that didnt make our list, and you may be disappointed by one of our faves. This is true for any product category, but especially for non-alcoholic wines, which for better or worse remain a bit of an acquired taste. "Go into this knowing that drinking de-alcoholized wine is a different experience, and it's meant to be," Bear said. "Be open-minded, but also make sure that you don't just try one and decide, 'Oh, I don't like this.' There are just dozens and dozens of really quality options now." Mandalou agreed: "Set your expectations so you're not disappointed. ... It's sort of like when people try gluten-free bread for the first time," she said. "Just keep trying until you find something you like and don't discredit the whole category." FAQs Is non-alcoholic wine just grape juice? Not at all! "Its traditional wine made with traditional winemaking methods," Bear said. "And then the alcohol is removed from the wine, so you're left with a product that is very much wine and has the same taste, texture and feel of wine, but no alcohol." Are wine alternatives the same as non-alcoholic wines? Think of it as a Venn diagram: All non-alcoholic wines make good wine alternatives (unless they taste bad!) but not all wine alternatives are considered non-alcoholic wines. Confused? A de-alcoholized wine is, as its name suggests, a wine that has had its alcohol removed. But there are other wine alternatives that dont contain wine or even grapes at all. Some use tea, mushrooms, fruit and other ingredients (even adaptogens) to approximate the tannins and other natural flavors of wine. We stuck to true de-alcoholized wines for this article, but there are tons of interesting wine alternatives on the market from brands like Non and Proxies that taste delicious; theyre just not actually wine. Gruvi, whose de-alcoholized dry red and sangria we tried, also offers a few wine alternatives. What is the difference between 'non-alcoholic' and 'de-alcoholized'? Throw in "zero-proof," "alcohol-free" and "alcohol removed" and you've got less of a taxonomy and more of a ... mess. The industry is still standardizing its terminology, but in general, you can't call a wine zero-proof or alcohol-free if it has any trace amount of alcohol after the de-alcoholization process. Still, even a wine with 0.5% alcohol is safe for those who cannot have alcohol for health reasons. Two of the experts I consulted compared this trace amount to that of an overripe banana. (Upon further research, this appears to have come from a 2016 study in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology that's been given the internet rumor-mill treatment.) Bottom line: A grown adult cannot get a buzz from a glass of 0.5% alcohol wine, but if you're abstaining for religious or medical reasons or because you're in addiction recovery, check the label. Why is non-alcoholic wine so expensive? The short answer: Because it's wine. Wine is expensive to produce at high quality, and quality matters even more when you remove the thing that gives wine so much of its body and flavor profile. On top of that, removing alcohol is an added step, so the process is actually more labor-intensive than producing alcoholic wine. There are a few different de-alcoholization methods that winemakers will use reverse osmosis, vacuum distillation, other proprietary processes and some tack on yet another step to add to the flavor profile after that. So the lack of alcohol in a bottle of non-alcoholic wine doesnt make it any cheaper. If anything, it makes it more expensive. Is non-alcoholic wine healthy? Non-alcoholic wines are certainly healthier than their alcoholic cousins, but they're not necessarily providing health benefits. The lower calorie count is a plus, and the lack of alcohol is obviously better for your body. The jury's still out on the real benefits of resveratrol in a glass of wine, but if a glass a day really does keep the doctor away, non-alcoholic wines count too. "You should commend yourself for making healthier choices," Mandalou said. "As much as I love wine, it is poison alcohol is poison, it's not a health food, regardless of research that will pop up every now and again. ... The great thing about non-alcoholic wine is that you can sort of throw caution to the wind and just enjoy it." Meet our experts Kristen Bear, host of the "Creative Sobriety" podcast Amanda and Kathryn Altman-Brincat, founders of the Teetotalist, Sacramento, Calif. Elizabeth-Rose Mandalou, sommelier, Piedmont food & wine specialist, Italian wine scholar, beverage director/partner at Allora restaurant Stephanie Styll, owner of Killjoy, a non-alcoholic bottle shop in Nashville NAIROBI, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President William Ruto said on Saturday that his government is strengthening the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) to guarantee the country's peace and stability. Ruto said the military, which has participated in peacekeeping missions abroad, is a model institution that has guaranteed Kenya's peace and stability for several years. "As you provide security and stability for our nation, we will work smart and hard to make sure that we deliver on our commitments to the people of Kenya," he said during the swearing-in ceremony of the newly appointed KDF vice chief and service commanders in the national capital of Nairobi. Ruto, who noted that the strength of a nation is dependent on its institutions, said his government is strengthening all public institutions to make them deliver on their mandate, including food production, job creation, and healthcare provision, among others. The president pointed out that without the country's security and stability, "it becomes much more difficult to achieve all other aspirations". Ruto affirmed the government's commitment to a united Kenya devoid of tribalism and division. "It is my desire that we eliminate tribalism, ethnicity, and marginalization and consolidate our nation into a peaceful, united, and progressive nation." Discussions of alcohol may involve some places more often than others. For example, 41 of the 50 drunkest U.S. counties are in Wisconsin. Likewise, while tea may be an integral part of British culture (likely thanks to Catherine of Braganza), the U.K. is also well-known for its alcohol consumption, with over 30% of citizens reporting heavy drinking at least once per month, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The world's biggest consumer by the liter, however, is Zimbabwe and not by a small margin. According to data from Wisevoter, Zimbabwe's consumption per capita sits at 62.8 liters, considerably higher than runner-up Tunisia's 36.6 liters. As any well-seasoned traveler knows, tourist drinking can significantly impact a country's alcoholic intake. The Bahamas, for example, saw tourists consume almost 6 liters of alcohol in 2019, according to the World Health Organization (WHO); meanwhile, the country's per capita figure is 10.1 liters, per Wisevoter. Zimbabwe isn't like The Bahamas, however, as WHO reports that tourists consume zero liters of alcohol, indicating that the country's high consumption is all local. This isn't a long-standing tradition among Zimbabweans, nor is it a result of steadily increasing drinking levels. Based on data from WHO, Zimbabwe averaged a per capita consumption of only 3.26 liters between 2000 and 2019. This dramatic increase is the consequence of two key factors: The COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of Zimbabwe's backyard brewers. Read more: Popular Vodka Brands Ranked From Worst To Best The Rise Of Fake Alcohol In Zimbabwe Illicit alcohol pouring into cup - marketlan / Shutterstock An economic analysis carried out by The World Bank found that Zimbabwe was hit particularly hard by the pandemic. Research showed that citizens encountered mass job losses, food insecurity, and poverty, and the systematic failure of health and social care systems pushed to the brink. In the wake of this economic and social crisis, imitation alcohol sold at extremely cheap prices lined market stalls and shebeens (unlicensed bars). These drinks, made from dyed ethanol or methanol that has been diluted with water, could be purchased in packs of 12 for as little as $5. Speaking to The Guardian, one seller described "looking for used bottles" to package her product as cheaply as possible. Later in the piece, that same seller recalled a neighbor's sudden death and suggested it was a result of the "musombodia," a colloquial term for the brew. To crack down on the creation and sale of illicit alcohol, Zimbabwean authorities began carrying out police raids on backyard brewers. In a 2023 statement to Reuters, police spokesperson Paul Nyathi claimed that 4,000 suspects had been arrested over mere months. Companies also stepped in; Jameson Irish Whiskey, for example, introduced extra features on its packaging, including a plastic seal on the lid of each bottle and a sticker stating, "Drink Responsibly." Read the original article on Mashed. Some 130 miles north of Haitis capital of Port-au-Prince, which has been gripped by a wave of gang attacks, a private cruise port is receiving guests at a resort with its own security and controlled access. Royal Caribbean ships are still calling into Labadee the cruise companys day-use property located on a peninsula more than six hours drive from Port-au-Prince. The company is monitoring the situation throughout the area, according to a spokesperson for Royal Caribbean. A US Department of States Level 4 travel advisory (do not travel, the highest warning level) for the Caribbean nation of Haiti was most recently updated on July 27, 2023, citing kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and poor health care infrastructure, among the reasons the US State Department has advised against travel to Haiti for some time. Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, which has a Level 2, exercise increased caution advisory. (Other countries with Level 4 travel advisories include Russia, Syria and Burkina Faso). In recent days, Haiti has made global headlines for gang violence and, on March 3, a mass prison break in Port-au-Prince led the government to declare a state of emergency after thousands of inmates escaped. The US Embassy has advised US citizens to depart Haiti as soon as possible. On the northern coast of the country, 128 miles from Port-au-Prince lies the port of Labadee, a destination accessible only to Royal Caribbean employees and guests. The port is exclusive to Royal Caribbean Group ships, and guests arrive by ship and are required to stay within the resort for the duration of their time on shore. Which ships are calling on Labadee? Royal Caribbean has not canceled any calls or sailings visiting Labadee at this time, according to the companys spokesperson, adding that only guests and employees are permitted on site and the area has private security to limit access. The safety of our guests and crew is our top priority. Our global security teams are closely monitoring the situation in the area. At all times, we remind guests to remain aware of their surroundings while ashore and follow all State Department guidelines. Should any changes be required, guests will be notified directly, said a Royal Caribbean spokesperson in a statement sent to media outlets, including CNN. Labadee, Royal Caribbean's day-use resort pictured here in a file photo, is located on a peninsula in northern Haiti. - Don Mennig/Alamy Stock Photo/FILE According to the spokesperson, ships scheduled to call into Labadee during the upcoming weeks include Independence of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas and Odyssey of the Seas. Oasis is next visiting during a seven-night Caribbean & Perfect Day itinerary that departs from Miami on March 10, 2024. (Perfect Day at CocoCay is a private Royal Caribbean resort in the Bahamas). There are no current plans for Icon of the Seas, currently the worlds largest cruise ship, to call into port in Labadee in 2024, the spokesperson said. No shore excursions in Labadee all of which are held within the private resort area have been cancelled. Celebrity Cruises, which is owned by Royal Caribbean Group, also lists Labadee as a stop aboard several of its ships including Celebrity Eclipse, Celebrity Apex and Celebrity Ascent for December 2024 itineraries sailing from Florida ports, according to its website. Should cruise passengers be concerned? Cruise ships are still calling on Labadee, confirmed Cruise Critics Editor-in-Chief, Colleen McDaniel, calling it, Royal Caribbeans insulated private destination, located on the northern coast of Haiti. As a cruise line private destination, Labadee is only accessible to cruise ship guests, and the experience is completely owned and run by the cruise line, using the destination to serve as an extension of the onboard experience, McDaniel told CNN. She noted that the cruise lines closely monitor situations in all ports. That said, for any concerned travelers whether traveling by land, air or sea its always recommended to familiarize yourself with any travel alerts from your home country, McDaniel said. She added that guests always have the option to stay onboard the ship if they have concerns about any port of call. Columbus Cove Beach in Labadee in 2018 - Ron Buskirk/UCG/Getty Images/FILE A recent post from Monday, March 4, 2024, on a Cruise Critic forum with the subject line Labadee?, from a user asking whether readers thought the news of the jailbreak would lead Royal Caribbean to skip the port has gotten more than 7,000 views since Monday, according to Cruise Critic. Stewart Chiron, a cruise industry expert known as The Cruise Guy, said he has visited Labadee many times while cruising with Royal Caribbean over the years (although not within the last year) and describes the beach location as completely fenced in with private security. There are still ships visiting Labadee without issues. RCGs private beach area is quite a drive, 6-8 hours north of Port Au Prince, Chiron said, adding that concerns were raised after Haitis devastating earthquake in 2010. RCG ships were first on the scene with relief supplies, he said. In 2016, local protests caused at least one cruise to skip docking in Labadee. Dominique Moussignac, 38, a former journalist who lives in Hinche in Central Haiti, says there are no political tensions there like those in Port-au-Prince, and Labadee, in the North, is also 100% out of danger. Whats it like? Royal Caribbean started leasing the Labadee port in the mid 1980s, investing tens of millions of dollars over the years to transform it into a private resort. Experienced as a day visit while the ship is in port, Labadee is similar to other cruise line private destination offerings elsewhere in the Caribbean. Disneys Castaway Cay, Norwegian Cruise Lines Great Stirrup Cay and Royal Caribbeans CocoCay all located in the Bahamas are exclusive to the cruise lines. Royal Caribbean Groups Labadee has five different stretches of beachfront on a peninsula. In Labadee, guests disembark the ship into an environment controlled by the cruise line where they can kick back in a private bungalow at Nellies Beach with attendant service to keep the refreshments flowing, according to the website. Royal Caribbeans website touts beachside bliss and endless adventure as well as pristine sands, coral reefs and jungle-covered hilltops nestling lagoon-like bays. Moussignac said he tried visiting Labadee in 2022 to learn how it works, and said its a shame that locals cant access the private beaches. The locals just watch the cruises, nothing more, and look for other less attractive areas to indulge themselves. During his visit in December 2022, Moussignac went swimming but on a beach a little far from the paradise sites reserved for Royal Caribbean guests, he said. While its an idyllic spot that earns rave reviews from some guests, its fenced location in struggling Haiti has generated online comments about a weird vibe at the insulated resort. What recent guests have to say about Labadee Some recent guests report great experiences in Labadee. Sailing on a six-night cruise from Fort Lauderdale aboard Odyssey of the Seas, Erica McNamara, 32, from Tampa, Florida, made a February 28, 2024 port of call in Labadee her favorite stop of the entire trip on an itinerary that also visited Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas, and a port in the Dominican Republic. My cousins went snorkeling, my parents did a catamaran trip and my three-and-a-half year old thought the tram was the coolest thing ever, said McNamara, who was traveling with 12 family members, including her husband and their two young sons, and spent the day enjoying a beach called Nellies Cove. Erica McNamara and her family visited Labadee in late February. - Erica McNamara McNamara said her mother was the only one in the family who expressed concern about calling into port in Haiti. When I told her I was getting off the ship by myself that morning she said I was crazy and shouldnt do that, McNamara said. I told her it was owned by Royal Caribbean and was a private area. Another recent cruiser, Alexandra Graham, 45, also from Tampa, visited Labadee on Sunday, March 3, 2024, the same day as the prison escape, aboard Royal Caribbeans Adventure of the Seas, and said she felt safe visiting. We didnt specifically notice any heightened security until we got onto the bus, which took us to a higher point on the mountain, which was the highest point for us to get onto the zip line, she said. When we were on the bus on the way to that point, we passed through a security checkpoint gate and at the gate there were armed guards, and again they were taking things very seriously. Labadee was very well run and had lots of things to do, Graham said. Graham said it wasnt until she returned to the ship that evening that she heard about the jailbreak. Frankly, we felt very safe, she said. For McNamara, an avid traveler before having children who has been on many cruises, her familys first international trip together felt like a good way for her to ease back into international travel as a mother to young children. I joke the stops were so fabricated it wasnt a big trip, she said. We had a phenomenal day in Labadee. Florida-based travel writer Terry Ward lives in Tampa and has traveled to Leogane and Port-au-Prince in Haiti but never to Labadee. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com I'm stocking up while it lasts! Dotdash Meredith/Janet Maples Butter makes everything better, but one particular butter from Costco may flip your life upside-down. Last year while studying the dairy section at the wholesale club, forever in search of the best new cheese, I ended up chatting with a friendly elderly Italian woman holding four boxes of butter. This is from the best kinds of cows in Italy, she told me, handing me a package of Ferrarini Butter ($11.99 for three 8.8-ounce logs). She told me it would be one of the creamiest butters Id ever had, and she was right. (She also became my honorary nonna that day.) Why Is Ferrarini Italian Butter So Good? The butter comes from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italywhich is also known for excellent Parmigiano Reggiano cheeseand is so creamy because of a special, particularly fatty milk made from a combination of Friesian and Jersey cows. It comes paper-wrapped and feels like opening a gift as you unroll the perfect, plump log. Even straight out of the fridge, its somehow gently soft, enough to yield under the pressure of a butter knife onto a piece of baguette or to dip a radish directly into it. I did both upon arriving home, and discovered that it was unsalted. As much as I love salted, cultured, funky butter, this is not that. This is a creamy, dreamy, milky, luscious, slightly sweet butter that washed over my taste buds like a dairy wave. It was subtle yet incredibly satisfying, and a sprinkle of flaky salt on the next bite made it even better. And it made turning those two other logs of butter into different compound buttersby softening at room temp for a few hours then mashing in roasted garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme into one and strawberries and honey into the othereasier to mix sweet and savory. I froze those and used them for biscuits, scones, toast, finishing steaks, and pasta over the next few months. Ferrarini Butter Is Back at Costco This butter impressed everyone that tried it in my life, and there are also vocal fans online. Delish with a little sea salt on top, raves @costcontessa on Instagram. Definitely a great premium unsalted butter option if you spot it at your store! Another fan, @costco_socal_treasures on IG, also named it the best butter Ive ever tasted! They, like me, were probably distraught when it disappeared from Costco for a few months. After discovering that one 8.8-ounce log normally runs at least $8 or more at local grocery stores and online, I decided to find another butter to fall in love with. But I didnt like anything as much as Ferrarini for a subtle, super creamy base. Then on a recent trip, I saw it again. We were reunited, this time not with my honorary nonna, but I did consider buying four boxes in her honor. Especially because, as with all things at Costco, who knows who long this product will stay on shelves! Read the original article on All Recipes. Fortnite will be available to play on iOS in Europe once again as Apple announced that it will reinstate Epic Games' developer account for Sweden. Apple has told us and committed to the European Commission that they will reinstate our developer account. This sends a strong signal to developers that the European Commission will act swiftly to enforce the Digital Markets Act and hold gatekeepers accountable," the video game publisher stated. "We are moving forward as planned to launch the Epic Games Store and bring Fortnite back to iOS in Europe. Onward!" Following conversations with Epic, they have committed to follow the rules, including our DMA policies. As a result, Epic Sweden AB has been permitted to re-sign the developer agreement and accepted into the Apple Developer Program," an Apple spokesperson told Variety. Apple had terminated Epic Games' developer account less than three weeks after approving it as there was an egregious breach of its contractual obligations to Apple. Epic Games responded and alleged that the termination was in serious violation of the European Unions Digital Markets Act and shows Apple has no intention of allowing true competition on iOS devices. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney welcomed the reversal of Apple's termination and lauded it as a "big win for European rule of law, for the European Commision, and for the freedom of developers worldwide to speak up." He continued on X, "The DMA went through its first major challenge with Apple banning Epic Games Sweden from competing with the App Store, and the DMA just had its first major victory. Following a swift inquiry by the European Commission, Apple notified the Commission and Epic that it would relent and restore our access to bring back Fortnite and launch Epic Games Store in Europe under the DMA law." Variety reports that Apple terminated Epic Games' developer account less than three weeks after approving it as there was an egregious breach of its contractual obligations to Apple. Epic Games responded and alleged that the termination was in serious violation of the European Unions Digital Markets Act and shows Apple has no intention of allowing true competition on iOS devices. The DMA went through its first major challenge with Apple banning Epic Games Sweden from competing with the App Store, and the DMA just had its first major victory. Following a swift inquiry by the European Commission, Apple notified the Commission and Epic that it would relent Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) March 8, 2024 Google has fired a Cloud engineer who interrupted Barak Regev, the managing director of its business in Israel, during a speech at an Israeli tech event in New York, according to CNBC. "I'm a Google software engineer and I refuse to build technology that powers genocide or surveillance!" the engineer was seen and heard shouting in a video captured by freelance journalist Caroline Haskins that went viral online. While being dragged away by security and amidst jeers from the audience he continued talking and referenced Project Nimbus. That's the $1.2 billion contract Google and Amazon had won to supply AI and other advanced technologies to the Israeli military. Last year, a group of Google employees published an open letter urging the company to cancel Project Nimbus, in addition to calling out the "hate, abuse and retaliation" Arab, Muslim and Palestinian workers are getting within the company. "Project Nimbus puts Palestinian community members in danger! I refuse to build technology that is gonna be used for cloud apartheid," the engineer said. After he was removed from the venue, Regev told the audience that "[p]art of the privilege of working in a company, which represents democratic values is giving the stage for different opinions." He ended his speech after a second protester interrupted and accused Google of being complicit in genocide. A Google Cloud engineer just interrupted Google Israel managing director Barak Regev at Israeli tech industry conference MindTheTech this morning in NY. I refuse to build technology that powers genocide! he yelled, referring to Googles Project Nimbus contract pic.twitter.com/vM9mMFlJRS Caroline Haskins (@car0linehaskins) March 4, 2024 The incident took place during the MindTheTech conference in New York. Its theme for the year was apparently "Stand With Israeli Tech," because investments in Israel slowed down after the October 7 Hamas attacks. Haskins wrote a detailed account of what she witnessed at the event, but she wasn't able to stay until it wrapped up, because she was also thrown out by security. The Google engineer who interrupted the event told Haskins that he wanted "other Google Cloud engineers to know that this is what engineering looks like is standing in solidarity with the communities affected by your work." He spoke to the journalist anonymously to avoid professional repercussions, but Google clearly found out who he was. In a statement to Engadget, a Google spokesperson said, "Earlier this week, an employee disrupted a coworker who was giving a presentation interfering with an official company-sponsored event. This behavior is not okay, regardless of the issue, and the employee was terminated for violating our policies." Update, March 9 2024, 1:58PM ET: This story has been updated to include a statement from Google. This article contains affiliate links; if you click such a link and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." A new season is almost in bloom and what better way to celebrate the end of blizzards, winter parkas, and putting the radiator on full blast than with some flowers? Whether you pluck some vibrant tulips from your backyard or buy lush lilacs at the farmer's market, there's something about a nice arrangement that makes your home feel upscale and upbeat in one fell swoop. But if Cherry blossoms are what you're after, you don't have to fly off to Japan or Washington D.C. to enjoy their delicate beauty: LEGO has you covered with its Cherry Blossoms Floral Display. Shop Now Cherry Blossoms Floral Display amazon.com $14.97 We know what you're thinking: "LEGOs? You mean, the toy I played with when I was kid?!" Yes, but trust us when we say this set is not child's play. (If anything, people have said the kit is a little tricky to assemble!) LEGO's Cherry Blossoms Floral Display contains 430 teeny, tiny pieces that work together to create two blooming branchesone that's white and another in pink. These toy twigs may bear a striking resemblance to the real deal, and they look even cuter when placed in a small bud vase. Unlike the real Cherry blossoms though, which are cute but don't last for long and bring on those dreaded allergies, the LEGO set is eternal. One TikToker even commented on the blossom set in a video and said: "They are so pretty. Def on my to-buy list." Did we mention the kit is surprisingly affordable? Nowadays, most fresh floral bouquets can set you back $20 or more, but the LEGO Cherry Blossoms Floral Display is only $15. Blooms on a budget? Yes, please. And pro tip: You can keep your faux floral arrangement seasonal by adding in LEGO wildflowers come summer, dried florals in the fall, and red roses once Valentine's Day rolls around. Birds Nest Building Toy Kit Shop Now Birds Nest Building Toy Kit amazon.com $12.99 Orchid Artificial Plant Shop Now Orchid Artificial Plant amazon.com $40.98 Daffodils Building Kit Shop Now Daffodils Building Kit amazon.com $14.97 Lotus Flowers Building Kit Shop Now Lotus Flowers Building Kit amazon.com $14.99 Sunflowers Building Kit Shop Now Sunflowers Building Kit amazon.com $12.97 Succulents Shop Now Succulents amazon.com $39.99 Follow House Beautiful on Instagram and TikTok . You Might Also Like Content is created by CNN Underscoreds team of editors who work independently from the CNN newsroom. When you buy through links on our site, CNN and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Learn more Kim Davis/CNN Underscored If you read my article about what Im packing for a year abroad, then you know that Im heading off on an epic adventure to Europe, the US, Asia and beyond this year. As you can imagine, being away for such a long time requires a lot of research, planning and the right balance of packing. Bring too much and it wont be easy to get around. Bring too little and you will either need to make do without critical items or waste money buying items you already own. This is especially true when it comes to electronic devices and accessories. We are so dependent on technology that we feel like we cant live without it. It keeps us connected. It entertains us. It allows us to record lifes most precious moments. But it also comes with some real challenges: Electronics are heavy: Electronics can feel like a ton of bricks in your bag. This added weight can lead to additional fees at the airport or even injuries. Electronics are bulky: Electronics can be very bulky and take up valuable space in your luggage. If they are too bulky, they wont fit in the hotel room safe and therefore, you wont be able to keep them protected while youre out exploring. Electronics can be an expensive loss: Most travel insurance policies will only cover part of the value of your expensive electronics. Which means, if you lose, damage or have your items stolen, you might not get refunded anywhere near their actual value. So, how do you choose which items to take and which items to leave behind when traveling, especially when youre going on a long trip? Ive assembled a list of my favorite electronics and electronic accessories (other than my laptop and smartphones) to help you make the wisest possible choices. Whether your trip is a year, a month or a week long, you wont want to leave home without these fabulous gadgets! Anker Nebula Capsule 3 Portable Laser Projector Kim Davis/CNN Underscored I never knew how much I needed a TV projector until I got the Anker Capsule 3 Portable Laser Projector. Now, I cant live without it. Its completely changed the way I enjoy TV and movies in a hotel room. Its only the size of a soda can, yet it can produce crystal-clear images that are larger than life. You can listen to audio through its built-in speaker or hook it up to your Bluetooth speaker or headphones. You can aim the lens at the walls of your hotel for an intimate viewing or direct it to the side of a building for a multistory cinema experience. Whatever your preference, the Capsule 3 Laser Projector is guaranteed to keep you entertained no matter where you are in the world. Plus, it wont strain your eyes like traditional screens with backlighting. $680 at Amazon $800 at Nebula Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 Speaker Kim Davis/CNN Underscored When your eyes are tired and youre not in the mood for TV, its nice to just relax and switch off from the world with a little music, a nice podcast or an audiobook. However, its hard to relax when youre listening through the tinny sound of a phone speaker or have earphones poking your head. Thats why Im bringing this fabulous little B&O Beosound A1 Speaker with me. Its small, lightweight and waterproof, making it the perfect companion in the hotel room, by the pool, in the car or just singing in the shower! My friends and I like to use it to have little dance parties when were on holiday together. This Bluetooth speaker works for every occasion. $299 at Bang & Olufsen From $199 at Amazon Panasonic Lumix ZS200D Digital Camera Kim Davis/CNN Underscored If youre a photography enthusiast like me, youll understand when I say a professional DSLR camera is too big to lug around on a long trip, and a phone camera is often too small to capture high-quality images that can be blown up onto posters or books. So, whats the solution? For me, its the Panasonic Lumix TZ200D digital camera. It's not too big. Its not too small. Its just right, making it the Goldilocks answer to my photography problem. It has an amazing zoom lens that lets you capture wild animals and other out-of-reach photo subjects from a safe distance. Plus, its 20-megapixel imaging is similar to a decent DSLR camera, so youll be able to capture high-res images that can be used to create books, calendars, mugs and more. Better yet, its small enough to pop into your handbag and take it everywhere you go, so you never have to worry about missing those spontaneous moments. It may look a bit old-fashioned, but handheld cameras are still relevant and will give you the best of all worlds. $698 at B&H DJI Osmo Action 4 Camera Kim Davis/CNN Underscored Phones do have amazing video capabilities these days, but if you want to be able to capture footage underwater, up mountains and everywhere in between, youll want to invest in a proper action camera. The DJI Action 4 is a must. I was completely shocked by its small size. The entire unit fits in the palm of your hand. There are amazing bolt-ons that you can buy to go with this camera as well, such as a suction cup mount for road trips, a remote watch that lets you start recording from far away and a microphone adapter. $299 at DJI $299 at Amazon DJI Osmo Mobile 6 Smartphone Gimbal Kim Davis/CNN Underscored If you want to create amazing videos that look highly professional, then the key is a good stabilizer, otherwise known as a gimbal. This tool is the only way to create that smooth, seamless, flowing visual and the Osmo Mobile 6 by DJI is the one I trust to get the job done. This little handle helps keep your phone steady, even when your hands are shaking. You simply lock your camera in the clamp, turn on the unit and away you go. You can zoom, record and rotate the camera all with a simple and easy press of a button. Even if you dont know the first thing about filming techniques or video production, the Mobile 6 will make it easy to take your videos to a whole new level. It also comes with a tripod so that you can take great videos even when youre flying solo. $149 at Amazon $149 at DJI Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95 Wireless Headphones Amazon Whether youre sitting on a loud plane, working in a noisy cafe or just trying to keep the volume down in your hotel room after hours, youre going to want to invest in a decent pair of over-ear headphones. In general, Im not a fan of noise-canceling headphones. Most muffle and distort the sound. Plus, the noise-canceling feature, which pumps out a neutral sound to cover up the background noise, usually gives me a migraine. That said, I love these Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95 headphones, which allow you to switch the noise-cancellation feature on and off, so its perfect for everyone, no matter what your preference. Not to mention they cancel out plane noise better than any other brand Ive tried. Ive spent years working in TV and radio, and I play multiple instruments, so my ears are hypersensitive to sound. I can honestly say that Ive never found better headphones than B&O. They ensure you hear layers in the music that you cant hear at all in other products. Its as if youre standing in the room with the musicians. If you want to listen to music and movies the way they were meant to be heard, there is no one better than B&O. $754 at Amazon reMarkable 2 10.3-Inch Digital Notepad Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored A lot of excitement, drama and chaos is inevitable on this trip, which is why I want to keep a journal to document every moment. But how can I write my private thoughts down without the hotel staff reading through my diary with a bucket of popcorn while Im gone? Thats where the reMarkable 2 Digital Notepad comes in. This nifty little tablet can keep all my secrets safe, sound and backed up on the cloud, so I never have to worry about the content getting read, lost or damaged. Whats even more fun is that I can handwrite all my notes and then the reMarkable will transpose my thoughts into typeface. Its the perfect cross between traditional writing and modern-day technology. From $279 at reMarkable Charmast Small Portable Charger Kim Davis/CNN Underscored As a single woman who often travels alone, there are few things scarier than having your phone run out of battery. Im experienced enough to know how to survive without it, but being unable to make emergency phone calls, navigate home and translate language can leave you in unnecessary jeopardy. Thats why I always bring a Charmast charger with me. This tiny battery bank is only the size of a lipstick tube, so it fits easily in my handbag. It also fits easily onto the bottom of your phone, acting as one complete unit. Thanks to the Charmasts chargers, I can FaceTime friends and family to share in my experiences without worrying about my battery running out of power. $15 at Amazon LaCie Rugged 5TB Hard Drive Kim Davis/CNN Underscored With this much content, Im going to need backup external hard drive backup. Theres no way my computer is going to have the capacity to hold thousands of photos, videos and more. Thats why I keep it all stored and backed up on these portable LaCie Rugged Hard Drives. Unlike most hard drives, the Rugged series is designed to move around, so I dont need to worry about losing data because its had a little shake. The plastic padding around the border protects it from bumps and falls. I personally like to have two hard drives: one to hold the main content and the other to be the backup. Once upon a time, these devices were very expensive, but now you can get a super-sized 5TB unit for under $200, which will be more than enough to back up not only your photo and video memories but everything on your computer. $180 at Amazon Nordace Siena Pro 15 Backpack Kim Davis/CNN Underscored Now that I have all my electronics worked out, its time to pack them up and transport them. I would never store such valuable and fragile items in my checked luggage because they inevitably would go missing or get damaged. So, Im packing my electronics in the Nordace Siena Pro travel backpack. You might think all backpacks are created equal, but I can assure you, they are not. Most are just big, empty voids where items bang up against one another and get jumbled around and broken. But the Nordace Siena Pro Backpack is different. It is heavily padded and has loads of pockets everywhere so everything remains protected. $120 at Nordace Bellroy Tech Kit Kim Davis/CNN Underscored With this many electronic gadgets, there will likely be many tangled wires and probably a lot of cursing. How do those wires get so knotted? Its a mystery. Luckily, Bellroy makes this great little tech kit that helps me keep every wire, charger and plug in its place. I can access everything easily and quickly with this smart little organizer. So save yourself the stress of the tangle game and make sure you add this little pouch to your tech list. $59 at Bellroy Looking for a travel credit card? Find out which cards CNN Underscored Money chose as the best travel credit cards currently available. Note: The prices above reflect the retailers' listed price at the time of publication. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Silver diamine fluoride treatment is less invasive than the traditional "drill and fill." Blend Images - Peathegee Inc / Getty Images Fact checked by Sarah Scott A few weeks ago, I took my 5-year-old son to the dentist and learned theres a new option for the prevention and treatment of cavities in kids. Its less invasive, yet just as effective as the scary drill we all dread. Now, a new study published in JAMA Pediatrics looks at silver diamine fluoride (SDF), shining new light on what the treatment is all about. The good news for parents and kids is that when it comes to a common problemcavitiesthe fear factor may be a thing of the past. First, its important to know that cavities happen in about half of all kids between 6 and 19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Phew! My son is not alone in developing what dentists call "caries," or tooth decay. Second, SDF is FDA-approved, per the American Dental Association, and carries little risk when used on baby teeth. So lets dig more into what this treatment is and whether it's right for your kiddo. What Does the Study Tell Us About SDF? Researchers looked at 7,418 kids in New York City schools. Each child was assigned either traditional sealants or SDF, followed by a fluoride varnish. In the end, researchers determined that the SDF was a non-inferior treatment when used as a primary intervention for tooth decay in school-aged kidsin other words, just as good. I talked to study author Ryan Richard Ruff, PhD, MPH, an associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology & Health Promotion at the New York University College of Dentistry. As he explains to Parents, Our study suggests that silver diamine fluoride (SDF) can prevent and control caries, with effects being similar to dental sealants. Dr. Ruff adds, We are particularly interested in the use of SDF as an innovative approach to increase access to dental care for children through school and community-based caries prevention. In fact, our results also indicate that nurses can effectively administer SDF. There's even more good news according to Dr. Ruff. Overall, SDF use has been increasing in dental offices, with pediatric dentists being more likely to use it than general dentists," he explains. "Additionally, primary care providersphysicians, nursesare also starting to use SDF in family medical practices. What Does SDF Treatment Look Like? This all sounds good, but as parents, you might be wondering what this type of treatment looks like. Denver, Colorado-based cosmetic and general dentist Mike Woods, DDS of Signature Dentistry of Arvada, explains to Parents what is involved in the SDF treatment. Assessment: When you bring your child in for a dental checkup, the dentist checks their teeth and looks for any spots that might need SDF. They might use X-rays or just take a good look. Preparation: Before putting on the SDF, the dentist ensures the tooth is clean by removing plaque. This makes it easier for the SDF to do its job and protect the tooth. Application: Using a small brush or applicator, the dentist carefully paints the SDF solution onto the needed spots. This solution contains silver ions that kill bacteria and prevent cavities. It also contains fluoride to strengthen the tooth. Protection: To keep things clean, the dentist might add a special coating like fluoride varnish or dental sealant to the treated tooth. This helps prevent staining and keeps the SDF from getting on other parts of the mouth. Thats it! No drill, no numbing the area, and no mom in the corner, taking deep breaths and trying not to cry. Just me? In any event, of course, this treatment is not without a few possible side effects. Are There Potential Risks With SDF Treatment? The only thing to be aware of when you choose SDF for your childs treatment plan is that there may be slight staining. "If used to arrest or control caries, it can cause dental staining when applied to the cavity, Dr. Ruff explains. For this reason, SDF is typically used on baby teeth, that fall out, or posterior teeth, where you wouldnt see the staining. If used on sound, healthy teeth to prevent caries, there is no staining, Dr. Ruff says. Kids who have allergies to the components of SDF, silver or fluoride, would not be candidates for the treatment, per Dr. Woods, who adds, Children with open sores or ulcerations in their mouths may not be suitable candidates for SDF treatment due to the potential for irritation or discomfort. Ultimately, Dr. Ruff says about SDF, It's an attractive alternative, as many children experience fear or pain from the traditional drill and fill approach for cavities. Related: These Five Dental Products Actually Get My 5-Year-Old Excited to Brush Her TeethThey Start at $3 For more Parents news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on Parents. Sometimes, some good advice goes a long way, especially if it's coming from people who've been in your position before. Recently, older adults from the BuzzFeed Community chimed in and shared the advice they think younger generations should hear, and it's so enlightening. Here are some of the responses that just might make you rethink your outlook on life: 1."I wish I'd figured out sooner that people don't care what you're doing or what you look like nearly as much as you think they do. Most people are worried about themselves and their own issues, not whether your nails are done or if you've gained weight or aren't working." janetsever86 Maskot / Getty Images/Maskot 2."Never wed on a whim. 28 days after my husband's and my first date, we got married. Three decades later, we're only doing so well because we allow each other the illusion that the other is in charge." d8mach 3."I wish I'd known that love is not how it's portrayed in movies. I thought it was supposed to be turbulent and dramatic, but no. Love is kind, happy, and gentle. If your love interest is unkind and you're not having fun and glowing, they are not the one for you, and it's never going to magically get better with that person. It's better to move on." Ildi, 69, Colorado Westend61 / Getty Images/Westend61 4."Not only should you stop comparing your successes (or failures) with others, but you shouldn't be making others feel guilty for talking about the bad things happening to them. Just because you're struggling, it doesn't invalidate the struggles of others because you think you're 'struggling more.' Just like there will always be someone who has it better than you in this world, there's someone who also has it worse. Focus on yourself and stop worrying about others, because unless you're privy to every single part of their life, you don't know half of what's going on." mishybp73 5."This isn't life-altering advice, but please take care of your skin." merinc Fg Trade / Getty Images 6."Value your education and aim for success. When I was younger, I acted like I had no care in the world, and now I'm paying the consequences." Anonymous 7."When you get upset with your mom, talk or respond to her like she is someone else's mom. You will be kinder, and she'll be thankful for it. Moms aren't walls that you can throw stones at; they deserve a lot more than you can imagine." Jazz Fg Trade Latin / Getty Images 8."Stay away from toxic people. If they happen to be a family member or someone you have to work with, keep your distance and set good boundaries." Anonymous 9."YOU need to be the most important person in your life! It doesn't matter if you're married, have children, if you're a caretaker, etc. You need to prioritize yourself! It's okay to tell people no no one is entitled to an explanation. Don't set yourself on fire to keep others warm. It's not being selfish; it's practicing self-love. Without it, you'll eventually burn yourself out and be of no use to anyone." jmacxjr Westend61 / Getty Images/Westend61 10."My daughter told me that the best advice I'd ever given her was to 'Step away from the clusterfuck.' I was referring to steering clear of problematic traffic situations, but she told me it works for many aspects of life." psycwench 11."Go to the doctor if you need to. Don't just think you'll be okay, because it'll be a lot easier if something is caught sooner than later! My late uncle lasted six months after his cancer diagnosis before we sadly lost him, but if he'd gone to the doctor much sooner, we might've had more time with him. Now, he has two beautiful granddaughters and a grandson on the way, who he sadly will never get to meet. Speaking of my uncle, guess what? It's okay for men to cry, too. Yes, real men DO cry!" Carlie, 40, England Rapideye / Getty Images 12."Live within your means and save money for the future. Also, cherish the time you have with your loved ones. Life is fleeting, and our time here is finite. You never know when it will be the last time you see someone." beatfarmer 13."Nobody's tombstone reads, 'I really wish I'd spent more time at the office.'" jamesc420ce9ec1 Justin Paget / Getty Images 14."Plan for retirement, but life has no guarantees. Don't put everything off because there isn't enough time and money that time may not come, and you might regret not spending the time and money you did have with your loved ones." Kathy, 63 15."If you feel like you should give a word of encouragement to someone, or maybe you know something that could help them with work, life, or anything else, don't be afraid to offer it to them. Try not to put it off, thinking you'll tell them later. I regret not doing this. I always think that maybe there have been problems that could've been prevented had I communicated properly." Joshua, 52 Justin Paget / Getty Images 16."I wish I'd learned how important it is to heed the subtle hints and red flags people give off. I chose to ignore them because I desired successful outcomes and had high expectations from others. When people show you who and what they are, believe them without hoping or thinking they'll change their ways for you. Always be on guard and listen to your intuition and gut feelings because they will never fail you. If something or someone doesn't feel right or appears too good to be true, remove yourself from the situation and let it go. Forcing or attempting to steer a situation that meets resistance is never a good choice. Being true to myself became an acquired mindset." Anonymous, 65 17."Control your thoughts, especially when you're around other people. Negative thoughts can draw negative people to you, just like positive thoughts attract positive people who want to be around you. There's a little song we sing at the retreats I go to, and part of it goes, 'Our thoughts are prayers, and we are always praying.' We are incredible humans who have the power to manifest what we need or desire through our thoughts. You need a path to go through life, so choose your road." babycapricorn129 D3sign / Getty Images 18."Be mindful of your inner critic and how you treat yourself. You don't have to be perfect to be okay. Life can be messy at times, so clean up your side of the street and be kind to all beings. Everybody has a story; you are one of eight billion people on this planet. Everybody wants to be happy and secure, so don't take yourself so seriously. We only get one life per customer. The secret is to get out of self and into others." Bill, 52, Ohio 19."Try recalling when you remember a stranger, friend, or family member did something awkward or embarrassing. I bet you can't remember many. The same goes for everyone; most people won't care or even remember that thing you did that made you self-conscious. Don't worry or obsess about it because it's likely that no one else is." aditson Maskot / Getty Images/Maskot 20."Don't go into debt with credit cards. You don't need credit to buy something; save as much as you can for what you want. Carrying too much debt is bad for you and your health." Anonymous 21.Don't rush into marriage. Get to know who you are before inviting someone into your life. Make sure the person you marry has the same values and that you're on the same page and in the same lane. Find the one who makes you belly-laugh, makes you smile, and is a team player when it comes to raising any children you may have. Go into a relationship open-minded and with open eyes; don't lose who you are. Remember the good and change the bad to make life better." Anonymous Jena Ardell / Getty Images 22."Do not listen to the voice in your head if it's negative. Immediately stop and say what you're thinking out loud in a positive way. You will see your life change overnight. If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at will change." Anonymous 23.Last but not least: "Make memories. Think about it: When you are talking to a friend or family member, you are constantly saying something like, 'Do you remember...?' Especially when it comes to events, friends, spouses, kids, and grandkids. Everything that you do or say is actually a memory in the making, whether you are with someone or by yourself. Not all memories are good, but the bad ones tend to fade over time. As a grandparent, my memories are of my kids and my grandkids. I see all the similarities between them. I also see a lot of the things that I missed while they were growing up. Memories help us bridge the distance between loved ones, and they are all we have left of loved ones who've passed away. So stop and make some memories because they're all we really have." Anonymous Jena Ardell / Getty Images I don't know about you guys, but as a Gen Z'er, I've learned so much! Do you have any advice for younger generations that you think they should know before it's too late? What's something you wish you'd known sooner? Let me know in the comments, or you can anonymously submit using this form! Spains equality minister is under fire from feminists for refusing to join a march demanding the end to a controversial transgender law. More than 4,000 people took to the streets of Madrid for a breakaway International Womens Day rally to protest against a law passed last year that allows people to switch their official gender at will. Spains equality minister, Ana Redondo, previously said she supported both womens day demonstrations but chose to attend the main march, organised by the 8M Commission. You cant suck and blow at the same time, said Ana de Blas, a spokeswoman for the Feminist Movement of Madrid, calling on the minister to end confusion over where she stands on the transgender issue. Ms Redondo needs to read up on feminism, said Sonia Gomez, a 62-year-old at the Feminist Movement of Madrid march on Friday evening. This law is erasing women and allowing men to occupy our legal rights and spaces in prisons, public toilets and in custody battles merely by saying they are transgender. Ms Gomez told The Telegraph she had campaigned all her life for LGBT rights as well as feminist causes, but believed that Spains government had got it wrong on this issue. Its the only law that exists in which a persons word is all that counts. If I say I have a disability, even if you can see my arm is missing, I will need to provide medical proof, she said. Another veteran LGBT campaigner on Fridays march, 68-year-old Lucia Gonzalez, called the equality minister a hypocrite and a sell-out. Ms Redondo was appointed by Socialist Party prime minister Pedro Sanchez to replace Irene Montero, a controversial minister from the hard-Left Podemos party who alienated some traditional feminists with her support for the ultra-permissive transgender law. Ms Redondo backed one of her officials who faced resignation calls over transphobic social media posts in which she said that trans women do not exist. But the minister has defended the transgender law as it stands. Asked this week about reports of fraudulent misuse of the law by men to gain privileges meant to help women, Ms Redondo said such cases do not even reach 5 per cent of the total. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. ULAN BATOR, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The Golden Eagle Festival opened near Mongolia's capital on Saturday to promote winter tourism and ethnic Kazakh culture. The 18th edition of the festival is co-organized by the country's Ministry of Environment and Tourism, the Mongolian Eagle Hunters' Association and the Governor's Office of the western province of Bayan-Ulgii and others. Twenty-one eagle hunters aged 21-68 from the province of Bayan-Ulgii, home to the people of the Kazakh ethnic group, are competing in the two-day festival to catch stuffed animals with their specially trained golden eagles, showing off the skills of both the birds and their trainers. In addition, more activities include concerts of Kazakh folk music and dance as well as a fair of traditional handicrafts, clothing, and food of Kazakhs. Mongolia is home to the thousand-year-old tradition of hunting with trained golden eagles, which has been passed down through generations among Kazakh nomads. The Golden Eagle Festival is held twice a year in Mongolia -- one in spring and another in autumn. The country has declared 2023-2025 "Years to Visit Mongolia" to boost tourism, and the eagle festival is one of the more than 90 events planned for this year. Last year, Brent and I spent a month living in Athens, Greece. As always in our travels, we came to the city with certain preconceptions about what it would be like. Many of those turned out to be true. The Acropolis is exactly as breathtaking as advertised. And, well, olives. But also just like always, we had some of our preconceptions upended and learned a number of unexpected things about our new temporary home. 1) The hills Like almost every European city weve visited, Athens has loads of parks. Thats a necessity in Europe where small personal living spaces are offset by glorious public spaces. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement But what I hadnt expected in Athens was that so many of those parks would be vertical. Athens is famous for having seven hills. And every one of them is a park of some kind. The most famous is, of course, the Acropolis (which is the name for the rocky hill and also the entire ancient complex that covers its top). This is home to the Parthenon (the famous temple that is the centerpiece of the complex). Next to the Acropolis (but overlooked by far too many visitors, IMHO) is Filopappou Hill, which offers fantastic views of the Parthenon. The Acropolis! From Filopappou Hill. (Michael Jensen) Meanwhile, across the city is Lycabettus Hill, which, at 277 meters tall, is the citys highest point. On top youll find food for the body and soul a restaurant and a church and stunning views of the entire city. We had the great fortune to live at the foot of Strefi Hill (which isnt one of Athens seven most famous hills). And while it doesnt rise as high as Lycabettus, it still gave us an amazing place to watch the sun rise and set over this ancient city. The Acropolis and Lycabettus Hill from Strefi Hill. (Michael Jensen) 2) Those fragrant orange blossoms I knew oranges grew in Greece, but I didnt expect to find orange trees lining the streets of very urban, very gritty Athens. And we arrived at the perfect time, because they blossom from April into May, exactly when we were there. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement There is nothing like opening your apartment window and having the smell of orange blossoms flood inside. The smell isnt orange like when you peel an orange, but rather a fresh, sweet, very smooth floral smell. Fun fact: some species of orange tree take so long for the fruit to ripen that they start blossoming even when there are still oranges on the tree. Thats the case in Athens, and it makes for a lovely combination of the visual and the olfactory. In fact, we could literally reach outside the windows of our apartment and pick oranges off the trees. Orange trees! (Michael Jensen) Alas, this is a species of orange tree that is used in urban settings and is for decorative purposes only: the oranges are far too bitter to eat. Although they might be sour enough to substitute for lemons in your cooking! 3) The Temple of Hephaestus At the risk of sounding like a total idiot, coming to Athens, I was jazzed to see the many ancient buildings in the Acropolis complex. But Id barely heard of the Temple of Hephaestus or the Agora of Athens (which is Ancient Greeces public gathering place, sort of like the Roman Forum in Rome). This is all located off to one side below the Acropolis. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement One afternoon while snapping pics of the Acropolis, I caught sight of the Temple of Hephaestus and eventually Brent and I found our way there (no thanks to Google Maps, which brought us into a fenced cemetery very near the temple but very far from the ticket booth to get inside the complex). The whole area includes the ruins of government buildings, a mint, monuments, religious buildings, and old markets. But the Temple of Hephaestus, which dates back to 415 BC, is the absolute highlight. Its the best-preserved ancient temple in Greece and was even still in use as a church until 1834 (which is part of the reason why its so well-preserved). So remarkable! The temple behind us is fairly nice too. (Michael Jensen) Sitting next to the temple, looking out over the tree-filled Agora and up at the Parthenon, felt a bit like wed hopped in a time machine and were back in Ancient Greece. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Brent thought the temple was the single most magical thing we saw in Athens, in part because it was so unexpected. 4) There are so many dogs! (But where are the cats?) Brent loves cats (the understatement of the century). So when we told folks that Athens was our next stop, everyone said he would be in cat heaven. We saw cats, but mostly only around the Acropolis (completely ignoring its majesty, naturally, while displaying plenty of their own). Meanwhile, I saw many, many dogs. Athens has a lot of dogs, and theyre often very large breeds, especially for an urban area. (Michael Jensen) Alas, while Greeks love their dogs, they dont always love picking up after them (at least compared with other European countries). I also had to wonder: What accounts for the deficit of expected cats? This cat in our neighborhood of Exarcheia wasnt impressed with me. (Michael Jensen) Perhaps its merely a matter of expectations after having lived in Istanbul, Turkey where cats truly rule. Or maybe for some unknown reason there just are fewer cats in Athens these days. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement As for dogs, Ancient Greeks loved dogs too, and sometimes even buried them with treats for the afterlife. Clearly, the affection has persisted. 5) Kallidromiou Farmers' Market Our visit to Athens got off to a bad start when our cab driver dropped us off at the wrong end of Kallidromiou Street. To reach our apartment, we had to fight our way through six dense blocks of merchants and shoppers in the Saturday farmers market. But once wed settled in, and on every Saturday that followed during our time in Athens, I discovered the majesty of this incredible market, taking in its amazing selection of fresh olives, piles of ripe tomatoes, heaps of oranges, mounds of glistening strawberries, fresh seafood, eggs, and more. Just some of the fantastic produce for sale. (Michael Jensen) Apart from the luscious wares, the markets location is also quite picturesque. It rises up Kallidromiou Street until it ends with a panoramic view of Lycabettus Hill. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Locals arent thrilled that expats and tourists are rapidly discovering this hidden gem of a market and probably hate articles like this. But shopping here was still one of my favorite things to do in Athens. Just walking up the Kallidromiou Farmers Market was a visual treat. (Michael Jensen) 6) You cant flush toilet paper Brent and I have lived in many countries where you cant flush toilet paper (and for the record, the vast majority of the world doesnt flush their toilet paper). Instead, toilet paper is placed in a sealed bin next to the toilet and, well, this is already TMI. Why cant you flush it? Essentially, its older plumbing systems, and the pipes are so narrow that they clog very easily. But we figured Athens, a modern European country, would have a modern sewage system like all of Western Europe. But thats the thing. Its easy to think of Greece as a western European country: it was an Allied power during World War II, joined NATO all the way back in 1952, and is widely considered the cradle of Western Civilization. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement But in other ways, its more a part of Eastern Europe. Where youre far more likely to have older plumbing systems in which you cant flush toilet paper. I guess that's pretty clear! (Michael Jensen) And the situation is even more complicated in Greece because any time you do an underground construction project, you risk coming across ancient ruins, which can massively increase costs. This is why Athens subway system is limited as well. If and when they ever do update the sewage system, it will be very difficult and expensive. Toilet paper aside, another thing that surprised me is the fact that 7) Greece is a Balkan Country I did know this intellectually, of course. Greece is literally on the Balkan Peninsula. But again, I still thought of it as basically a Western European country. But here are the countries that share its border: Albania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Turkiye (which is how Turkey now wants to be written). During the Cold War, Greece was only accessible to the West by air and sea. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Greek is one of the parent languages for the Slavic tongues (and share many letters in their alphabets). And while much of Western Europe is Catholic, Greece, like most of Eastern Europe, subscribes mostly to Eastern Orthodox Christianity. An Eastern Orthodox Church. (Michael Jensen) Western Europe has spent most of the last century in opposition to the Soviet Union and now Russia. But Greece, like many Balkan countries, has traditionally been more concerned about Turkiye, home of the Ottoman Empire, which used to control Greece, and likes to remind Greeks of that fact. Greece also feels like a Balkan country because Greeks seemed to me a bit pessimistic and guarded, with a strong anti-authority aura about them. Perhaps thats to be expected in a country with a long history of warfare: the country has had well over a dozen conflicts since gaining independence in 1830, and a great deal of internal political upheaval as well. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement This isnt to say Greece is exactly like other Balkan or Eastern European countries. In some ways, it also resembles Mediterranean countries like Italy and Malta, in its wonderful cuisine, and also the fact that people can be quite voluble. And like Italians, Greeks like to strike, take lots of holidays, and have a bureaucracy that can be absolutely maddening. All in all, its a fascinating hybrid of east and west. Which wasnt quite what I expected. Tan France is a style icon of the highest caliber, his fashion expertise on Queer Eye teaching us everything we need to know about how to dress well. It isn't only his great taste in style that inspires us, however, but his interior design prowess, too. After recently completing their family home in Salt Lake City which they built from the ground up, Tan and his husband Rob have been sharing glimpses inside their sprawling mock Tudor property on Instagram, and the interior is just as beautiful as you'd expect. With a confessed love for color, Tan's home also features an expertly curated color palette, with one particularly grounding shade appearing throughout his entire home. Appearing as the first guest on Farrow & Ball's new podcast The Chromologist - launching Monday, 11th March - Tan revealed which shade features most throughout his home and, unsurprisingly, it's a designer favorite. Following the podcast's 'journey through color' format, he also selected the heritage paint brand's calming, classic hue as the one that best represents where he is in life right now. 'It's a color that will be important to me and my husband for the rest of our lives because we don't plan on changing this home anytime soon,' Tan revealed to host Patrick ODonnell. 'We've purposely chosen colors that are classic and timeless.' Whether you're looking for a fresh shade that will spruce up your home for spring, or you want an enduring hue for kitchen cabinets that outlive any color trends, this iconic Farrow & Ball color should definitely be on your radar. What is Tan's Favorite Farrow & Ball Shade for Calming Schemes? A room with mid green walls and a pink and white geometric patterned chest of drawers When asked which Farrow & Ball shade best embodies Tan's life at this moment, the Queer Eye star chose Breakfast Room Green, a lively mid-green that feels seriously calming, especially when paired with white. 'My husband and I love a green because it feels so calming,' Tan explained on Farrow & Ball's podcast. 'We live in the mountains and we like to keep our doors open, and for the walls to be almost a continuation of the landscape we see outside.' Tan went on to say that many of the areas inside his home (and surrounding it) feature a similar hue to Breakfast Room Green, including his entryway, living room, kitchen cabinetry, and the guest cottage, the latter of which has a particularly green-heavy palette. Green color swatch 'Breakfast Room Green' Price: $140 Quantity: 1 Gallon 'When people come and visit, we wanted to offer an added layer of color that really felt relaxing,' he told the host. 'We love Farrow & Ball's tented stripe wallpaper so we had a custom green color made that would closely match the green color that we're using for the kitchen in that space.' Beyond the calming, comforting qualities of this grounding tone, Tan also loves it for its timeless feel when used in a color palette. While green has certainly been enjoying its time in the spotlight lately, this sage-like hue has a retro feel that doesn't seem to age, and it's so versatile that compliments many other shades, too. 'We see it as classic decoration that our kids will allow us to keep them for decades to come,' Tan said. If you're looking for a timeless paint idea that instantly calms you as soon as you enter the room, let this shade be top of your list. If it's good enough for Tan, it's certainly good enough for us. The first three episodes of The Chromologist will be available on Spotify starting on March 11th, with the subsequent five episodes launching weekly. Tan's Other Favorite Farrow & Ball Shades Red color swatch 'Incarnadine' Price: $140 Quantity: 1 Gallon Blue color swtach 'Lulworth Blue' Price: $140 Quantity: 1 Gallon Light red color swatch 'Red Earth' Price: $140 Quantity: 1 Gallon What do you get when a down-to-earth Midwesterner with an architectural bent cultivates an obsession with Italian fabrics, a love of English shop culture, and a very Ralph retail savvy? Todd Snyderplus the $100 million brand that bears his name. Following his standout fall-winter 2024 runway show at the Pitti Uomo menswear exhibition in January, the designer discusses the labels move upmarket, the state of American luxury, getting collaborations right, and the superpower of decoding fashion for men. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. More from Robb Report Lets start with your first European runway show in Florence recently, which seemed to herald a more luxurious and fashion-forward moment for you. What prompted that shift? It was almost like a rebirth of the brand in a way. I wanted to be able to show who I am and what the Todd Snyder brand means for our next phase. I think its very important to reposition ourselves at that levelplus it helps bring so much energy into the brand. Italy is really special to me because all of our fabrics are Italian, and when I fell in love with fashion back in the 80s, 90s, it was Armani, it was mostly Italians that I looked at. [Doing the show] brought me back to what got me into this business. Do you see yourself targeting the same customer as the big luxury houses with more couture backgrounds, just from a different angle? Or are you leading your existing customer into that next price point? I think our customer spans both. Ive always tried to position my brand as an approachable one. When I worked in retail, I worked in this amazing mens store in Des Moines called Badowersthats where I learned how to sew, how to tailor, and got into the whole craft of making clothes. And we knew every customer that came in. So when I was opening stores, that was such a huge component, to be an approachable brand. For me, it was always about having a brand that I would wear and my dad would wear. What I was very intrigued with about Ralph [Lauren] when I used to wear it as a young kid is that my dad wore it, too. I thought, Wow, thats a brand. Thats power, having the kind of product that spans two generations, sometimes even three. We have that in our storeswe get a dad bringing his son in for his first suit. Details from Todd Snyders Rockefeller Center store, one of four N.Y.C. outposts. Weve always had things that I would consider luxury, like 100 percent cashmere chore coats that retailed for three, four thousand dollars. The thing I quickly noticedbecause we make a lot in Italy, we produce in all the same factories the luxury places use, I buy the same fabric they dois that our markup is a lot different than their markup. Could we charge more for this product? We could. Its really more perception and marketing than people think. Your label is also known for its e-commerce, direct-to-consumer success. Whats the key to creating authenticity online? And will you need to tweak your approach going forward given the new direction? You have to have great product. And I really spend a lot of time on design. I touch everythingthe buttons, the fabric, its my favorite thing. But Im always trying to present in a way that the customer understands it. The second step is telling the story. I think thats where the true art happens. How you made it, who you made it with and, you know, Hey, there are three ways to wear this suit. Kind of decoding fashion for men. That, to me, is probably our superpower. You talk a lot about storytelling. At the heart of every story theres a protagonist. Who do you see when you picture your protagonist? Whos the Todd Snyder guy? My hack has always been that I think of a character, a persona. What I love about Paul Newman is that he can dress up or he can be on a motorcycle in jeans and he looks cool as hell. And this was before stylists. This is him being himhe doesnt change who he is. Which to me says a lot. Alain Delon is another whos just so cool and timeless. Luckily weve had a lot of celebrities wear our product. Jake Gyllenhaals one of my favorites. Ryan Gosling, Ryan Reynoldsthey all buy it. We get the whole customer spectrum. The designer in his element: among product. Another secret-sauce question: The collaboration ecosystem has been saturated for ages, but some collabs still break through and really resonate. You seem to have a knack for them. What does a collaboration need to make it work? I dont like to do brands that everybody has touched or become a revolving door. I want to tell a different story. And I really get into it. I dig deep into their archives; I dig deep into what I think is going to be different from what theyve done before. I want to be authentic, but Im always trying to breathe life into it, to make something new versus regurgitating things that have been done. I think thats the reason they resonate: because theyre different from what people expect. I did that with L. L. Bean. I didnt know it at the time, but I was the first designer they ever did a collaboration with, and that one, I have to say, I was most nervous about because Id been to Maine probably a dozen times during the process. I got to know the people welltheyre very, very proud people. Thats when I learned about being a Mainer versus being from away, and I was from away. Me coming in as an outsider into a brand like L. L. Bean, it was intimidating because I didnt want to piss off their customers! I use this word a lot, but its all about juxtaposition. How do you take two things that you dont typically think of together, and how do they fit? When we were doing the Woolrich collection [Note: Snyder is the brands new creative director], I was like, Theyre known for these big, wool, itchy blanket-plaid shirtswhy dont we do them in cashmere? So we did these beautiful Italian cashmere shirts. Its the juxtaposition of taking something utility and making it luxury. Woolrich, L. L. Bean, Moscot, New Balanceyou like working with American labels. What are your thoughts on the state of American luxury as it compares with Europe and elsewhere? Obviously, Ralph is king of that kingdom, but there are a lot of interesting players. You have the big houses that are well backed, well fundedthey pump a lot of money into the machine, and they get a lot of attention. They all have a playbook, and if you notice, its the same playbook. The difference with American luxury is, theres no big houses saying, Heres a wad of cash, lets go hire all these celebrities and then stage a big-ass runway show. You have a much more fragmented point of view here. Everybody has their own script, which is really interesting. Thats what I love about American luxury right nowits not formulaic. Youve got Jerry Lorenzo [Fear of God], Mike Amiri, Thom Browne, me, Teddy Santis with Aime Leon Dore, and everyone is doing it their own way. At Todd Snyders FW24 runway show at Pitti (left); a similarly slouchy Belmont Jacket and Hollywood Dress Pant (right) from the SS24 La Playa collection. Back in 2016, after one of your shows you said, They want me to be the next great American designer, and you talked about putting a stake into the ground for your brand, for what it meant. Eight years later, following your big show in Florence, some people have been mentioning you as the heir apparent to your old boss, Ralph Lauren. How do you feel about that mantle? Its definitely something I dreamt ofstill dream of, I would say. By no means am I there. Ive still got my head down, trying to do the best I can and grow the business. Well probably have 20 stores at the end of this year and probably another five in 2025. Its daunting. I dont think about it every day except, you know, the more stores you have, the bigger the bulls-eye on you. But were ready. Ive been in the business 30 years. I love designing product. I still design product. That will always be me. Best of Robb Report Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. As a writer who focuses mainly on travel and is currently planning spring break travel to Italy and Iceland, Ive had to pack so many carry-ons throughout my career. I hate to check bags, so Ive always flown with a backpack and a carry-on roller suitcase only. A long time ago, I learned the rolling method for packing, where you roll everything piece-by-piece and pack it that way its helped me become a master at traveling without a lot of luggage. But recently I discovered onebag.coms bundle wrapping method. Im always looking for ways to streamline and consolidate my packing process, so I knew I had to try it. Created by Doug Dyment of onebag.com, the bundle wrapping method involves packing your clothes by wrapping items around a central core. The goal is to avoid creases and wrinkles and bundle your items so they dont budge. The bundle wrapping method involves wrapping your clothes around a central core. Everything is wrapped one by one over the core, so it gets bigger as you add more clothes. The goal is to avoid creases that inevitably occur when you put folded clothes into your carry-on. Its also meant to reduce wrinkling because the bundle is anchored in your luggage so it doesnt move around. I hate both folding and ironing, so I gave it a shot. First I packed my carry-on with my normal rolling method to see how much space it took. Then I unpacked and repacked using the bundle wrapping method. Credit: Jennifer Billock Credit: Jennifer Billock Theres a bit of a process to the method. First, you pick your core item. It should be something thats firm but still somewhat soft and measuring around 11 inches by 16 inches. Stuff that with soft, small items like socks and underwear. I used my iPad case. Put the core to the side, then grab all the clothes you plan to bring with you. On a large flat surface like a bed or table, lay your clothes flat, one on top of the other, in this order: jacket on the bottom, longer skirts or dresses, long-sleeved shirts, short-sleeved shirts, trousers or slacks, sweaters and knits, and finally shorts. As you layer each item, be sure you smooth out all the wrinkles before putting another piece on top of it. Credit: Jennifer Billock Credit: Jennifer Billock For pants and longer items, lay them out horizontally, alternating which side the waistband is on (either the left or right). For shirts, lay them vertically, alternating the top of the shirt between bottom and top. You want the things that are most likely to wrinkle on the outermost section of the bundle when you wrap it, so closer to the top of your pile. Remember also to close all the fasteners on your clothing, so zippers, buttons, and snaps should be done. Typically, your jacket should be placed face-down, so the front of it is on the flat surface rather than facing up but thats mostly for tailored jackets and blazers. I had a normal fall jacket, so I placed mine face-up. Credit: Jennifer Billock Credit: Jennifer Billock Now, begin the wrapping process. Place your core item in the middle of the pile and wrap each piece around it one at a time (do not interwrap). I found it was easiest to relocate the core during the wrapping process, lining it up with one edge of the item of clothing before wrapping. Sleeves should be wrapped across the bundle in the natural direction the sleeve falls. Wrap each item firmly, but not so firm or taut that youre stretching the material. Once youre done, relocate the bundle to your carry-on and anchor it in place with the interior luggage straps. When you arrive at your destination, remove everything and hang it up. Credit: Jennifer Billock Credit: Jennifer Billock I ran into a few issues with the bundle wrapping method. The first is that I dont normally unpack when Im in a hotel I just take things out of my suitcase as I need them. If everything is wrapped up in a bundle, Ill have to unwrap it all just to get the one item I want. Its especially an issue if all my socks and underwear are in the central core. That being said, maybe this method would encourage me to start unpacking fully when I arrive. I noticed as well that the bundle can get quite large if you have a lot of clothes to pack. Dont be afraid to use more than one bundle with multiple central cores. Credit: Jennifer Billock Credit: Jennifer Billock Ultimately, Im going to stick with rolling my clothes instead of using the bundle method. While it does have its merits, it takes up more depth in my carry-on than just rolling everything does, so it doesnt save much space because it cuts into the other side of the luggage where I store harder things like shoes and camera equipment. Rolling takes less time and makes it easier to get things in and out of my suitcase overall. But if you dont roll your clothes and are trying to avoid wrinkles, give it a try! Men have behaved violently towards women since our common ancestors first stood upright, and I know whereof I speak. Elizabeth Flock has written an important and deeply moving book revealing how this kind of violence manifests itself today in different cultural settings, and what we are doing about it. An award-winning American journalist, who reveals on the first page that she herself is a rape victim, Flock shapes The Furies around three stories. She calls the three sections separate books, which is apposite, as at first glance, the stories have little in common, except violent men. Book One follows Brittany, from Alabama in the US, who murdered a rapist, but failed to secure protection in court through the so-called self-defence argument, despite formal documentation of 33 injuries. Before the assault, Brittany had been a drug user and lost custody of her children as Flock says, this meant Brittany presented in court as an imperfect victim. It counted against her as it has counted against so many. Women in Alabama, Flock writes ruefully, have long fared poorly in self-defence cases. Brittanys patient-advocate in the mental hospital where she was incarcerated for seven months was arrested for possession of child pornography. Book Two follows Angoori, a Dalit, the lowest caste in India and the one previously known as Untouchable. Born in Uttar Pradesh in 1963, married at 15 and the victim of endemic abuse, violence and prejudice of every stripe, Angoori rose from near-destitution to form a female gang of avengers who deployed lathis long bamboo canes on perpetrators of domestic violence. (In this she was following the model of Phoolan Devi, immortalised in the film Bandit Queen.) Book Three concerns Cicek, a young Kurd who served in an all-female militia against Isis in northeast Syria. She swallowed the propaganda of Abdullah Ocalan, the Kurds ideological leader, with blind acceptance, and joined the Womens Protection Units, or YPJ, working initially, after basic training, as a driver. Flock shows how the Western press sexualised these guerrillas, dubbing one 19-year-old YPJ fighter the Angelina Jolie of Kurdistan. A drone seriously wounded Cicek in Afrin, but she returned to the battlefield as a base commander at Tal Tamr. All three of these women, Flock suggests, handled matters on their own because the cops, courts and state failed to safeguard them. They sought to change the status quo, yet never fully escaped the oppressive systems they grew up in and continue to live under. Flock travelled widely to write The Furies and gained the sympathy and support of the women themselves and the wider community except, that is, when her findings challenged the men supposedly in charge. She is a dogged investigative reporter she followed Brittany for four years, made a Netflix documentary (State of Alabama vs Brittany Smith) and published a New Yorker piece on the way women with self-defence claims are being criminalised and treated as murderers. For the second section, Flock relied on a translator to converse with Angoori and others in the Hindi dialect of Bundelkhandi. For the third, she twice crossed into Syria from Iraq. She cites academic studies and case law, including cases from the UK, for example that of Sally Challen, who killed her husband with a hammer in 2010 after decades of coercive control. In the pages of The Furies, the author works hard to embed facts within a narrative framework, adding colour to maintain reader sympathy. The book is anything but dry reportage. So, what do the stories have in common? In these three wholly different cultures, violence is apparently the only means of survival for marginalised women. Institutions set up to protect them fail. Brittany, Angoori and Cicek had all endured abuse before in some form personal or social or both and as the author writes, The abuse-to-prison pipeline is today a much-studied phenomenon. Did their actions ultimately help them, and did anything systemically shift as a result? Flock asks. There are no neat conclusions to these stories, or to The Furies as a whole. The complexities of each case and each culture are too hard to unravel, and the structural injustices too deeply rooted; and so the violence continues. But we fight on. The Furies is published by Viking at 18.99. To order your copy for 16.99, call 0844 871 1514 or visit Telegraph Books. Sara Wheelers latest book is Glowing Still: A Womans Life on the Road Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Dr. Dave Rabin says that MDMA-assisted therapy is the single closest thing to a cure for mental illness weve had in the history of psychiatry, with the psychedelic giving patients the feeling of safety so that they can then heal. His new wearable technology can get you into a similar relaxed statewithout the drugs. Rabin, who is a neuroscientist, psychiatrist, and expert in psychedelics, spoke with Robb Reports deputy editor Josh Condon at House of Robb during Austins South by Southwest about how Apollo Neuros wristband can help those dealing with trauma. (The company recently completed a clinical trial, too.) More from Robb Report The device is different from second-generation wearablesyour Oura ring, Fitbit, Apple watch, etc.in that it doesnt provide you with a tsunami of data but a way to calm your body. The device, which Rabin says is the first third-generation wearable, delivers different types of vibrations to help us in different situations. (Higher vibrations improve your energy and focus, while lower vibrations reduce stress and help you relax or fall asleep.) By emulating the sensation of touch, which is a remarkably effective healing modality in and of itself, Apollo can replicate some of the effects of MDMA. Apollo Neuro Wristband Apollo Wearable Buy Now on apollo: $349.99 Rabin says the way that MDMA works is actually pretty simplethough perhaps less simple for those of us who dont, you know, hold multiple doctorates. The drug actually molecularly activates the safety cascades that tell the amygdala Hey, bro, Im safe enough that you can just chill right now, all of a sudden resources get diverted back to our recovery response, safety nervous system, the vagal parasympathetic system. Feeling safe means that we can start resolving trauma memories and treating mental illness. MDMA is catalyzing or celebrating the safety experience of therapy, as Rabin puts it. Its a therapy catalyst. The results speak for themselves. A 2021 trial showed that just three doses of MDMA, with 42 hours of psychotherapy over 12 weeks, induces an 88 percent response rate in people with treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder. Of that, 52 percent have symptom remission achieved in two months, meaning theyre no longer meeting diagnostic criteria for the disorder that they experienced for an average of 17.6 years. Whats even more remarkable: in one year, that 52 percent goes up to 67 percent with no additional treatment. Pretty astonishing considering that currently over 70 percent of the people in the U.S. diagnosed with PTSD never actually get better, even with the best treatments. There is anecdotal evidence, too. During another panel at House of Robb, U.S. Marine Corps veteran, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder of GoDaddy Bob Parsons told Robb Report editor-in-chief Paul Croughton that psychedelics changed his life. I like to say when I was treated with psychedelics, it was 49 years since the [Vietnam] war, and I finally came home, he said. The kicker is that psychedelic-assisted therapy isnt accessible to allat this stage, anyway. (Rabin thinks the FDA will approve an integration to clinical practice at some point this year.) It can be a relatively lengthy and pricey process, and its probably not on offer via your local GP. Fortunately, through his comprehensive research, Rabin found an alternative. We figured out, you dont need MDMA, he explains. Touch is the fastest, most rapid pathway to safety. The fact that Apollo can mimic human touch means that we can get that feeling of safety instantly, whenever we want or need it. You can even try it now: iPhone users can download the Apollo Neuro app from the App Store and get a demo experience. (Android isnt compatible just yet.) I highly recommend it, it will upgrade your phone forever, Rabin adds. I can guarantee you never felt your phone soothe you like this before with vibration. Alternatively, you can buy the Apollo wristband for $350. Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Rock the Block is back on HGTV, and all of the returning contestants are looking for redemption. Season 5 got out to a hot start in Treasure Island, Florida, with the four teams taking on one of the most important rooms in the house: The kitchen. HGTV fans will recognize the competitors: Bryan and Sarah Baeumler (Renovation Island), Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas (Bargain Block), Lyndsay Lamb and Leslie Davis (Unsellable Houses), and Page Turner and Mitch Glew (Fix My Flip) gave their identical spaces a new look showcasing their design styles. The teams were surprised with an unexpected twist: Host Ty Pennington announced that the kitchen and dining areas are a blank slate with no walls to demo, so they have complete control over the final layout. Season 3 champions Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson (Married to Real Estate) stepped in to judge the spaces. Lindsey and Leslie went with a tropical retreat style, mixing greens and woods, reminding Egypt of a trip to Bali, but she struggled with some of the functionality and symmetry. Keith and Evan were praised for their artistry and color choices, but the judges were concerned about the lack of pantry. Bryan and Sarah received high marks for their craftsmanship and design, but it was a bit "taste-specific," plus the home lacked a dedicated dining space. Egypt called Page and Mitch's kitchen "a vacation in Tulum," and Mike loved the grocery lift. Egypt and Mike ultimately awarded the victory to Page and Mitch for adding the most value to their home with the renovation. Page was emotional when the announcement was made, saying she felt like they were "robbed" when their kitchen didn't win on their previous season. The duo will have $1,000 to add to their budget for the next challenge. HGTV shared a photo of the winning space and viewers took the opportunity to sound off in the comments section. They left messages like: "Keith and Evans place was the coolest. They brought class. The others were typical." "Team Page & Mitch!" " looks so clean and sleek!" "I didnt LOVE any of them. That spice rack behind the cooktop was ridiculous! And Im over wine walls." "Page played it safe." "Clearly Bryan & Sarah had the best design & brilliant elevator. Get with the times their attached dining table was smart!" "Congratulations @mitchglew and @pageturnerunlimited THE absolute best kitchen hands down." Egypt dropped in the comments section to explain her reasoning. She wrote, "My personal fave was Keith and Evan as its the one I would live in today. But our job was to figure out who added most value and would appraise higher...Page and Mitch did a great job adding value, lift, walk in pantry, kept the dining room, which makes the overall house feel larger, and had straight shot views to the water with a panoramic window that opens to an indoor/outdoor bar. Hard to argue with that!" Page shared some behind the scenes notes on her Instagram account and took time to thank everyone who helped with the design. She said, "This is truly some of the hardest work I've done -In fact, I think having my 7.2 & 7.11 pound twins at 40.5 weeks naturally was easier!" Up next, the teams will take on the living rooms, with 100 Day Dream Home's Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt judging their work. Tune in to HGTV on March 11 to see who wins, or stream on Max. You Might Also Like People lay flowers and light candles at park near the crime scene at Berrigan Drive in Ottawa on Thursday. (Marina von Stackelberg/CBC - image credit) A man who died alongside five members of a family in a mass killing in Ottawa's Barrhaven neighbourhood on Wednesday is said to have been supporting his own family in Sri Lanka. Gamini Amarakoon, an acquaintance of the Wickramasinghe family, was living with them when he, along with the mother of the family and her four children, were killed. Their bodies were found by police inside a townhouse the family was renting on Berrigan Drive near Palmadeo Drive in the capital's southern suburbs, after the police received 911 calls to the home late on Wednesday night. Dhanushka Wickramasinghe, the father of the family, was the sole survivor of the attack. The family were newcomers from Sri Lanka, from which Amarakoon had arrived even more recently, according to Anzul Jhan, the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner. Jhan said Amarakoon was the only member of his family in Canada, on a work permit, and that he was supporting his wife, two children, mother and a sister who are still living in Sri Lanka. Flowers sit at the scene of a homicide where six people were found dead in the Barrhaven suburb of Ottawa on March 7, 2024. Flowers sit at the scene where six people were found dead late Wednesday in the Barrhaven suburb of Ottawa. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press) "So that is very tragic news for them," Jhan told CBC News. Naradha Kodituwakku, a community leader at the Hilda Jayewardenaramaya Buddhist Monastery, where the Wickramasinghe family were members, said he believed Amarakoon had moved to Canada two months ago. "Obviously there is a family that is torn there too," he said. He said the temple and High Commission are both working to support Amarakoon's family in Sri Lanka. The family's father, Dhanushka Wickramasinghe, moved to Canada in 2020 after completing his education and getting a work permit, according to Bhante Suneetha, a resident monk and director of the monastery. Suneetha said the mother, 35-year-old Darshani Dilanthika Ekanayake, and three of the children, moved to Canada last year while she was pregnant with her fourth child. Anzul Jhan, Sri Lanka's Deputy High Commissioner in Canada, says she is working with the Buddhist temple to reach out to next of kin of the victims of Wednesday's mass killing. Anzul Jhan, Sri Lanka's Deputy High Commissioner in Canada, says she is working to reach out to the victims' next of kin. (Submitted by Anzul Jhan. ) She and the children daughters Kelly, who was two months old; Ranaya, 3; and Ashwini, 4, and son Inuka, 7 were all killed on Wednesday. Suneetha said the family came to his temple for events and helped out. "They are innocent and also very helpful people. It doesn't matter [who would ask] for help from them." Jhan said the High Commission has been working with leaders from the temple to contact family members of the victims. "This is something we never expected as a community to happen. It was so sudden," Jhan said. "Within moments, one person's whole family was gone." Jhan said the family of the suspect, Febrio De-Zoysa, had not yet come forward, but that she hopes they will get in touch so the High Commission can offer proper consular services. A court sketch of 19-year-old Febrio De-Zoysa, who has been charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. A court sketch Febrio De-Zoysa, 19, who has been charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. (Lauren Foster-MacLeod) De-Zoysa, 19, came to Canada from Sri Lanka as an international student, according to police. He was arrested at the scene and is facing six first-degree murder charges and one count of attempted murder. He was also living in the home. Algonquin College president Claude Brule said Thursday De-Zoysa had been a student there, and that he was last enrolled at the school in the winter semester of 2023. Harpreet Chhabra, the owner of the home the Wickramasinghe family was renting, told CBC News they had moved in in June or July 2023. Chhabra said he was at the Montreal airport on his way to Mexico for a family vacation when he got a call from the police early Thursday morning informing him of the tragedy. "I was shocked. I don't know how to put this in words," Chhabra told CBC News. "You're never prepared for these kinds of calls." Chhabra said he met the father once, when there was an issue with the house, but had never met the mother or children. He added that, until Thursday, he was unaware that other people were also living in the house. Although his contact with the family was minimal, he spoke highly of the father's character, describing him as soft-spoken and respectful. "He was a great father. That's my personal perception." A candlelight vigil is scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. in Barrhaven's Palmadeo Park. The Wickramasinghe family at daughter Rinyana's third birthday party earlier this month. From right to left, father Dhanushka Wickramasinghe; two-month-old daughter Kelly; daughters Ashwini, 4, and Rinyana, 3; son Inuka, 7; and mother Darshani Dilanthika Ekanayake, 35. The Wickramasinghe family at daughter Rinyana's third birthday party earlier this month. From right to left, father Dhanushka Wickramasinghe; two-month-old daughter Kelly; daughters Ashwini, 4, and Rinyana, 3; son Inuka, 7; and mother Darshani Dilanthika Ekanayake, 35. (Facebook) DALLAS - One person is dead and another is in critical condition following a crash overnight Friday along westbound I-30, just south of Downtown Dallas. Dallas County Sheriff's Office deputies said three vehicles were involved in the wreck at about midnight. Firefighters had to pull out two people who were trapped. They were rushed to a hospital, where one of them died. Investigators are working to find out what led to the crash. CHICAGO A man is dead and another is injured after a shooting on the citys South Side on Friday afternoon. According to Chicago police, the shooting occurred just before 2:30 p.m. in the 7400 block of South Euclid Avenue in South Shore. Officers say the two men, a 36-year-old and a 20-year-old, were standing outside near an alley in the area when a physical altercation broke out and both men suffered gunshot wounds. Teen accused in Northwest Side burglary string The 36-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to his head and was pronounced dead on the scene. The 20-year-old man was shot in the leg and taken to the hospital in critical condition. Police have not confirmed who fired the shots or what led to the altercation. Police have not provided a description of either individual involved or identified the man killed. Glenview man charged with possession of child pornography Officers say no arrests have been made in connection with the shooting and an investigation is now underway. Anyone with information that could help authorities in their investigation is asked to contact CPD Area One Detectives at 312-747-8380 or dial 911. Those with information can also leave a tip at CPDtip.com. Tips can be filed anonymously. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. ISLAMABAD, March 9 (Xinhua) -- China's strong leadership and its peaceful foreign policies are the major driving factors behind the country's remarkable success, a Pakistani senator has said. Speaking on Thursday at a book launch titled "China at 75: China Story-Standing Up to Getting Rich to Becoming Strong," Mushahid Hussain Syed, a senator and the chairman of the Pakistani senate's defense committee, said that the Chinese people and their well-being are the two major focuses of the Chinese leadership, which has overcome multiple challenges to achieve socio-economic development by lifting hundreds of millions of people out of acute poverty. Addressing the event, Shakeel Ahmad Ramay, the author of the book, said that the current Chinese leadership's vision to achieve a stable, fair, and prosperous society through the rule of law, people-centric governance, and equal opportunity will have far-reaching effects not only on China but across the world. At a time when developed countries were primarily focused on their own interests, the Chinese leadership has introduced the concept of a community with a shared future. This model emphasizes diplomatic relations built on win-win cooperation, rather than exploiting weaker nations, added Ramay, who also serves as the chief executive officer of the Asian Institute of Eco-Civilization Research and Development, a think-tank based in Islamabad. "China gave the developing countries a new hope when the Chinese leadership proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, intending to share the dividends of prosperity to ensure peace and sustainable security," said Ramay. Talking to Xinhua on the sidelines of the event, Ramay said that in his book, he quoted examples from China that can help Pakistani students and policymakers learn from China. "China's progress tells us that there is no alternative to honest, selfless, and qualified leadership, and people-centric governance is the key to ensuring peace and prosperity," he said. Editors note: Due to fear caused by the tense environment in Krasnohorivka and the possibility of their city being occupied by Russian forces in the future, some subjects interviewed declined to give their last names. KRASNOHORIVKA, DONETSK OBLAST On the streets of the small industrial city of Krasnohorivka, just outside occupied Donetsk, the term full-scale invasion is rarely heard among locals. Here, the event that brought Ukraine to the brink of annihilation and heralded a dark new chapter in world history is simply when the guns got a lot louder. Ive been living like this since 2014, said 73-year-old Volodymyr Lytvynenko to the Kyiv Independent as he lined up with his brother to receive humanitarian aid. Lytvynenko, a pig farmer by trade who now lives in his basement and survives off his pension and the aid brought mostly by religious organizations, starts listing recent shell and rocket hits in his neighborhood. One two months ago, one seven, one a year and a bit ago; when day-to-day life becomes an exercise in survival for years on end, the accurate recollection of time starts to lose its meaning for many. The last two years have been really tough, he said. On the southern edge of the city, an abandoned, half-destroyed petrol station sits quietly beside a large roundabout. The column displaying fuel prices still stands proud: all the labels remain frozen at around Hr 16 ($1.43 at 2014 exchange rates) per liter. The last time fuel was that cheap, and the hryvnia that strong, was almost 10 years ago. Fighting broke out in Krasnohorivka in spring 2014, when Russian proxy forces set up several checkpoints controlling the roads in and out of key settlements in Donetsk Oblast. Ukraine liberated the area in August that year, but the front line remained less than two kilometers outside the city. Map of Krasnohorivka and surrounds as of March 8th, 2024. (Lisa Kukharska / The Kyiv Independent) Before the war, Krasnohorivka was, like Avdiivka, a satellite city of the regional capital of Donetsk. Of the citys pre-war population of 16,000, many residents had moved from Donetsk to work in the local materials factory. Since the launch of Russias full-scale invasion, while some of the wars heaviest fighting has been fought nearby, Krasnohorivka has been a zone of relative calm. Outside the city, front-line positions have barely moved since February 2022, but that is beginning to change. Northeast of Krasnohorivka, Russian forces have been advancing deeper into Donetsk Oblast following the fall in mid-February of the Ukrainian stronghold of Avdiivka. On Feb. 28, Ukraines Third Assault Brigade, which had only recently arrived in the area, reported repelling a Russian attempt to break into the city for the first time. According to the brigade, Russian soldiers did at first manage to entrench themselves in some of the citys outlying buildings before being expelled. The roundabout marks a turnoff to the road to the open plain of rubble and ruin that used to be the city of Marinka. After 22 months of heavy fighting, Russian forces took the last streets of the city in December last year. Normally, this intersection, between 1-1.5 kilometers from forward enemy positions, would be in easy range of Russian mortars, FPV (first-person-view) drones, and tank fire from Marinka. In the thick fog of the winter morning, its much safer to move around. Deprived of mobile connection and other basic utilities, residents of Krasnohorivka maintain semblances of ordinary life, seemingly oblivious to the sheer proximity to Russian forces. Just by the roundabout, Iryna, 56, mops the floor in a small convenience store. Maintaining a cheerful mood as best as she can, Iryna acknowledges that the intensity of fighting has increased recently; the gaping shell hole in the mud just outside the shop is all the proof one needs. It was a week ago, maybe two, she said. But I dont pay attention to these things. God protects us, we feed the people god bless. As is often the case in eastern Ukrainian cities like Krasnohorivka, once the heartland of supporters of ousted pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, the political opinions of locals can get messy and confusing very quickly. A lot of people here, they don't care. Maybe some are still tempted by the idea of cheap gas, said 47-year-old Vitalii at the aid distribution point, who switched to speaking Ukrainian after the war began in 2014. We need to call things what they are. War is war, and a neighbor who attacks a neighbor is an aggressor. With the war already at their doorstep in 2014, locals often found themselves isolated from Ukraines path following the EuroMaidan Revolution, where special police killed over 100 protestors before Yanukovych fled to Russia. Contempt for Moscows campaign of destruction often goes bizarrely hand-in-hand with old political loyalties, as in the case of Lytvynenko. I am against them (Russia), I was born in Ukraine, worked here, retired here, he said. I don't plan to change anything, that would be treason. But I have one question to Yanukovych, why did he abandon the country? He could have taken some fire trucks and soaked that Maidan and everyone (pro-European protestors) there who were against Ukraine. If locals views havent changed over 10 years of war, Vitalii said, there is little hope that they can ever be. There is a saying, some people can only be fixed by the grave, he said. Some people thought that way before the war, or before the full-scale invasion, and some will keep on thinking that way until the end. My views since 2014 haven't changed, I take my stand with my language. Read also: Ukrainian soldiers recall retreat from Avdiivka on foot, leaving their wounded behind Hard of hearing and suffering from poor mobility, 72-year-old Serhii Kashelkovskyis world is bound by the confines of the tight, dark basement of his apartment building. His wife, 59-year-old retired factory worker Larysa Kashelkovska, still visits the surface when it is safe. She is responsible for both their survival: gathering food, firewood, and pensions on a regular basis. The two spend their nights on a damp sofa bed together, with pots and pans hanging above, wrapped in plastic bags to protect them from the dust that falls when a shell hits nearby. The picture of their life is a familiar one for civilians all across the front line: heat from wood-burning stoves, food and water from humanitarian aid. We got used to it, you can get used to anything, Kashelkovska said. When they start shelling, we know what they are and where they are coming from, we go together (with her sister) to the cellar to wait for it to pass. The couple lives in the old city center, a little further back from Russian positions; occasionally, they even get some electricity in the basement. For Kashelkovskyi, its a blessing, and allows him to stay busy and connect with his family far away. On an ancient computer dragged down into the cellar, he labors away at animated slideshows of his grandchildren. Rudimentary love hearts dance around the photos as the words I Love You, My Dears appear on the screen and sentimental guitar music plays in the background. Despite his health problems, Kashelkovskyi, like most residents still living in front-line settlements like Krasnohorivka this long into the war, refuses to evacuate. Two years into the full-scale war, government support for internally displaced people remains minimal, and those without other support networks often find themselves exploited or languishing in poverty. Where could I go? he said. If we were still in a state to work, maybe we could go somewhere but no, home is home. The home Kashelkovskyi refers to has already suffered from two direct hits from Grad rockets. We dream of peace, only peace, to see our grandchildren and daughters, Kashelkovska said, surveying the damage. The silence is broken by two thundering crashes, after what had been a relatively quiet morning thanks to the fog. By now though, the sun was up, the sky was clear, and Russian forces had just dropped two gliding bombs on the city, several kilometers away. It was time to leave, but for Kashelkovska, it was back to the basement. With Russia slowly advancing across the front line, and the level of destruction only increasing, the situation for people in cities like Krasnohorivka can and will only get worse. For people like Kashelkovskyi though, the decision has been made. If it was 20 years ago and they offered me to leave, I would, he remarked with a drawn-out sigh. But now... I mean, what's the point? The road near Krasnohorivka on February 2, 2024 Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. (Olena Zashko/The Kyiv Independent) Note from the author: Hi, this is Francis Farrell, who wrote this piece from on the ground in the middle of Russia's neverending assault on Ukrainian cities in Donetsk Oblast. I know that sometimes, stories about civilians in front-line towns can end up reading in a similar way, but it's worth remembering that all these characters are individual human beings living through hardship that we could never imagine from our comfortable homes. See above for the video version of this story, and please consider supporting our reporting. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. A 100-year-old influencer shared the secrets to her long life, such as a dark sense of humor and travel 100-year-old Mildred Kirschenbaum has 100,000 followers on Instagram. She advises younger people on how to lead as long a life as possible. The centenarian has published a book of tips on how to live your life to the full. Neither Mildred Kirschenbaum nor her travel agent could understand why she kept appearing as an "accompanied minor" when they tried to book a flight. It took a while, but they finally caught on. The airline's computer system couldn't register her birth year as 1923. Instead, it thought she was born in 2023. Kirschenbaum, who turns 101 in August, told Business Insider that the unusual situation was somewhat typical of life as a centenarian. "It was the kind of thing that might drive people crazy," she said. "But I always see the funny side." Kirschenbaum might be 100, but she lives life to the full. Courtesy of Gayle Kirschenbaum She said it was "all about attitude" a mantra she shares as one of the oldest influencers on Instagram, with 100,000 followers. Now, the grandmother of nine has published a book, "Mildred's Mindset," outlining her life lessons. Here are three highlights. Don't stay angry Kirschenbaum described her late husband, Gerald, as "her best friend," despite them arguing "every day of the week." But, she said, they drew a line under the acrimony in time for bed. "We'd fight about something, and the next question might be, 'Do you want salad with your meal later?'" she added. "The door was closed on the argument." The New York native said your marriage could be in trouble if you stewed on negative thoughts. "If you're angry the first night, you could be thinking of divorce by the second night." She also said it was important "not to go your grave with regrets." She told BI she'd been a "tough mother" to her daughter, Gayle, and had recently asked for "forgiveness." "She accepted," Kirschenbaum said. Develop a sense of humor The centenarian said she had a dark and often self-deprecating sense of humor that has smoothed her path through life. She said she called Gayle, who lives in Manhattan, "about 10 times a day" from her home in Florida. "I told her, 'When I die, bury me with my phone so you can call me.'" she said. One of her followers recently asked how she stayed fit at 100. "I exercise my mouth," she responded. Kirschenbaum as a young woman. Courtesy of Gayle Kirschenbaum. Meanwhile, strangers laugh when she makes a toast at a bar she enjoys "Meatball Night," especially when there's a "Happy Hour" and says, "Here's to those who wish me well, and those who don't can go to hell." Travel the world even if you have to wear an adult diaper Kirshenbaum, a former secretary and model who once ran a travel agency, has visited dozens of countries worldwide. She recently went to India for the second time. "I flew up to the Himalayas," she said. She went to the UK in 2023 and cruised to Mexico earlier this year. "Most people my age are afraid of traveling," she said. But, to her, it's "no big deal." Kirschenbaum on a recent cruise to Mexico. Courtesy of Gayle Kirschenbaum "They'll say things like, 'I won't be able to lift my suitcase or get around the airport,'" Kirshenbaum said. But, she said, strangers are "happy to help." "I've lost some strength in my hands," she said. "If I have trouble opening a bag of pretzels or other snacks on the plane, I just ask the person next to me to open it for me." The 100-year-old said that if you have a "leaky bladder" because of your age, invest in adult diapers before you leave. "Wear Depends," she said. "Don't let it stop you from going out and doing things." Do you have a powerful story to share with Business Insider? Please send details to jridley@businessinsider.com. Read the original article on Business Insider DELAWARE, Ohio (WCMH) A 17-year-old is in custody after a man was shot and killed in Delaware on Friday afternoon. Delaware police officers were called to the first block of Ross Street on the report of a shooting just before 4 p.m., according to the City of Delaware. A caller told police a male suspect fled the scene on foot. Pedestrian in critical condition after Columbus hit-and-run When officers arrived, they discovered a man suffering from a gunshot wound lying in Ross Street. The victim was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital where he died of his injuries. Police located the 17-year-old suspect in the area shortly after the shooting and he was taken into custody without incident. He will be held at the Central Ohio Youth Center pending murder charges in the Delaware County Juvenile Court. The identity of the victim is being withheld pending the notification of family, the City of Delaware said. The investigation into the incident remains ongoing; anyone with information may contact the Delaware Police Departments tip line at 740-203-1112 or PoliceTipLine@delawareohio.net. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. CHICAGO Two Chicago Police officers were injured after a squad car crashed into another vehicle Friday night, police said. According to police, officers were driving southbound with emergency lights activated near the 10700 block of South Western Avenue around 11:53 p.m. Friday night. Concealed carry holder fatally shoots armed robber on South Side The officers proceeded to drive through the intersection with the emergency lights activated when it struck a vehicle going westbound on the passengers side. The officers were transported to a local hospital with minor injuries. The woman driver of the second vehicle refused medical attention. The incident is being investigated. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. Two former Texas sheriffs deputies were acquitted of all charges in the death of a Black man who was tased several times following a police chase that was captured on the reality television show "Live PD." James Johnson and Zachary Camden, two former deputies with the Williamson County Sheriffs Office, were found not guilty by a Travis County jury just after 8 p.m. Thursday, defense attorney Ken Ervin said. They were cleared on charges of manslaughter, criminal negligent homicide, and assault in the March 2019 death of Javier Ambler. Ambler, 40, died in police custody after he was tased four times. He had told the deputies he had heart issues and could not breathe. Javier Ambler. (Facebook) The verdict was handed down following a nine-day trial. After the decision was announced, Amblers father, Javier Ambler Sr., embraced Johnson and Camden and said "no hard feelings" before leaving, NBC affiliate KXAN of Austin reported. Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza said he had hoped the outcome of the trial "would bring justice and closure" for Amblers family. "Our hearts continue to break for the family of Javier Ambler," he said in a statement. "We are grateful to our community members who served on the jury for this case, respect their decision, and thank them for their service." Ervin said Friday that Camden and Johnsons records will be expunged. The younger Ambler had led authorities on a 22-minute chase after Williamson County deputies tried to stop him for failing to dim his headlights for oncoming traffic, according to a police report. The chase began in Williamson County around 1:30 a.m. on March 28, 2019, and ended in north Austin. Austin Police Department also responded to the scene. At the time, the former A&E reality television show "Live PD" was filming sheriffs deputies. Body camera video from an Austin police officer showed Ambler on the ground with several officers. An officer told Ambler to give him his hands or he would be tased again, according to the video. Ambler told authorities that he had congestive heart failure and that he could not breathe. He was restrained and tased at least three times. His manner of death was declared a homicide, according to a custodial death report filed with the Texas Office of the Attorney General. Ambler died of congestive heart failure and hypertensive cardiovascular disease associated with morbid obesity, in combination with forcible restraint, the report said. Ambler's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2020, alleging that sheriffs deputies engaged in a reckless chase of Ambler to make entertaining television for "Live PD." A&E canceled the show in 2020. In 2021, the county reached a $5 million settlement with Ambler's family. Both Camden and Johnson resigned shortly after then-Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody lost reelection in November 2020. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) Three people two soldiers and one U.S. Border Patrol agent were killed when a helicopter assigned to the federal Southwest border mission crashed Friday afternoon, March 8 in South Texas, according to a news release sent out by Joint Task Force North at Fort Bliss. The UH-72 Lakota helicopter was conducting aviation operations when it crashed at about 2:50 p.m. MST near Rio Grande City. Two soldiers and one Border Patrol agent were killed. One soldier was injured. The names of the dead will not be released until the next of kin have been notified. The release did not say where the soldiers were stationed or where the helicopter was from. Joint Task Force North is headquartered at Fort Bliss and coordinates planning and support for federal law enforcement along the border in the fight against trans-national crime. The cause of the accident is under investigation, according to the news release. This is a developing story and we will update it when we learn more. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. MEMPHIS, Tenn. The Tunica County Sheriffs Office is investigating after a 14-year-old and 16-year-old were shot in Tunica, Mississippi Thursday night. At around 8:45 p.m., deputies received a call stating that two individuals had been shot outside Cottonland Village Apartments at 1655 Beatline Road. Suspect captured after MPD officer shot during traffic stop on I-240 A woman on the scene reportedly told officers that it was her two children that had been shot. One of the teens was identified as a 16-year-old boy who was transported by helicopter to Regional One in Memphis. The other teen was identified as a 14-year-old boy who was also transported to Regional One. According to TCSO, both boys are expected to survive. If you have any information regarding this incident, call the Tunica County Sheriffs Office at 662-363-1411 or Crime Stoppers at 662-910-0400. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) The War Eagles Air Museum in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, will be hosting the Commemorative Air Forces Arizona Wing in April as it kicks off its Flying Legends Victory Tour. The tour will visit 23 cities around the country and Canada this year, including its first visit to the East Coast since 2020. The El Paso area is the tours first stop. The tour is scheduled to include two iconic World War II bombers B-17 Sentimental Journey and B-25 Maid in the Shade. The stop in the Borderland will be from Thursday, April 25 through Sunday, April 28 with the planes departing on Monday, April 29. Plane tours will be available on that Thursday through Sunday and living history experience flights will available for purchase on that Friday through Sunday. More details about the War Eagles visit can be found by clicking here. The B-17 Flying Fortress Sentimental Journey is one of only four currently flying in the world out of more than 12,000 manufactured during World War II, according to the news release sent out announcing the visit. The B-25, meanwhile, was one of the best weapons and one of the most versatile aircraft used in World War II, according to the news release. The Made in the Shade B-25 that will be visiting flew 15 combat missions over Italy and Yugoslavia during World War II, according to the news release. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. Members of the Oregon Senate wave to the House of Representatives as the 2024 Legislative adjourned Thursday, three days before the 35-day deadline. The short legislative session that concluded Thursday was in stark contrast to the tumultuous, 160-day session in 2023 that ended with eight straight days of long floor sessions to pass a flurry of bills before deadline. The 2024 Legislature adjourned three days before the 35-day, Sunday deadline after passing legislation that party leaders had made clear were the session priorities: addressing the state's drug crisis and housing shortage. From day one, we said wed come together to address housing and homelessness and take up the difficult and emotionally charged conversation of how to help those struggling with addiction and keep our communities safe and we did, House Speaker Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, said in a statement. The Oregon Supreme Court ruled before the session began Feb. 5 that 10 Republican senators who walked out during the 2023 session and had more than 10 unexcused absences would be barred from running for reelection. House Republican Leader Rep. Jeff Helfrich, R-Hood River, told reporters Thursday night after adjourning he thought the session showed the success lawmakers could have when working together. Rep. Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, who served as House Speaker the last two years, and Senate President Rob Wagner meet for a press conference after the 2024 Legislature adjourned Thursday. Focus on legislation around addiction, housing in Oregon Lawmakers passed House Bill 4002, recriminalizing possession of small amounts of illicit drugs on March 1. The bill intended to roll back a key component of Measure 110 asks counties to commit to making deflection and diversion programs available and creates a new misdemeanor that places those arrested under mandatory probation first. If probation is revoked, the individual could face 180 days in jail. Lawmakers also directed $211 million toward implementing the new law and toward treatment programs. Gov. Tina Kotek said in a statement Thursday night she intends to sign HB4002 within 30 days. "My office will work closely with each implementing authority to set expectations, specifically in response to the Criminal Justice Centers Racial Equity Impact Statement, which projected disproportionate impacts to communities of color and the accompanying concerns raised by advocates," Kotek said. The law, she said, will require "commitment from state and local government to uphold the intent that the Legislature put forward: to balance treatment for individuals struggling with addiction and accountability." Kotek's bill to boost housing production to meet her goal of building 36,000 new units a year passed early in the final week of the session. The package of bills directs more than $300 million toward housing and allows cities a one-time expansion of their Urban Growth Boundary. The bill also creates a brand-new Housing Accountability and Production Office and a $75 million loan fund. Compromise campaign finance reform bill Lawmakers also passed historic campaign finance reform, introducing contribution limits to Oregon. The legislation a compromise between labor unions, business groups and "good governance" groups took shape quickly with two ballot initiatives poised to ask voters to approve campaign finance reform during the November general election. Backers of those ballot initiative efforts said they would withdraw their petitions if Kotek signs the bill into law. The bill would limit contributions by individuals and corporations to $3,300 to a statewide candidate per election cycle, and political party and legislative caucus committees to $30,000. Limits would be lower for non-statewide candidates running in legislative, district attorney or circuit court judge races. These and other limits outlined in the bill would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027. The bill also requires the Oregon Secretary of State to hire a full-time employee to provide outreach and education and to publicly release a list of the 100 largest contributors to candidates or committees 10 days before each election, starting in 2028. The Oregon House of Representatives elects Rep. Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, House Speaker before sine die Thursday night. Julie Fahey elected new Oregon House Speaker One of the last acts of the session was formally electing Rep. Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, as the new House Speaker. Fahey thanked Rayfield for the "tone and expectations" he set as speaker the two years after Kotek stepped down to run for governor, and for her colleague's trust and confidence. She urged lawmakers to remember they weren't just legislators, but the "voice of the people." In her speech, she said lawmakers would next tackle passing a transportation funding package and additional policies around housing and homelessness. Rayfield, who is running for Oregon attorney general, made a speech ahead of his formal resignation, which he announced before the session. What we do here in this building is unquestionably some of the most meaningful work any of us can do on behalf of Oregonians, he said. Looking back on the incredible progress we made this session on housing, addiction, and community safety, I leave the speakership knowing our work will create positive ripples and opportunities for all families and communities across the state for years to come. Legislation related to the environment After four years of work, lawmakers this year passed the nations strongest right to repair bill. Senate Bill 1596 makes it easier for consumers and independent repair shops to fix smartphones, computers and other products containing electronics sold in Oregon. It requires electronics manufacturers to make available parts, tools, manuals and documentation consumers and independent repair professionals can use to fix damaged products. The legislation makes Oregon the first in the nation to address the practice of parts pairing, which can be used to inhibit independent and self-repair by reducing functionality of products fixed outside of a manufacturers authorized repair network. This legislation is an opportunity to give people more choice on how to repair their devices, create pathways to saving consumers money, and reduce the harmful environmental impacts of our increased reliance on technology and the waste we create when we cannot repair, said Rep. Courtney Neron, D-Wilsonville, a chief sponsor of the bill. Lawmakers also passed an environmental bill that establishes how the state will spend and manage the nearly $700 million it received in a historic legal settlement over pollution associated with products made by agriculture giant Monsanto. The 2022 settlement with Bayer, the German biotechnology and pharmaceutical company that now owns Monsanto, was the largest environmental damage recovery in Oregons history. Bayer said the agreement contained no admission of liability or wrongdoing and resolved all of Oregons claims. Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, were used in many industrial and commercial applications including paint, coolants, sealants and hydraulic fluids until they were banned by Congress in the late 1970s. PCBs associated with Monsanto products still contaminate Oregons landfills and riverbeds and show up in fish and wildlife. The chemical compounds have been found to cause cancer in animals and are probable carcinogens for humans, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The money from the settlement will be deposited into a new fund. It will go toward environmental remediation projects and disproportionately impacted communities in order to tackle water, land and air pollution. Environmental advocates saw some other wins this year as well: House Bill 4083 directs the Oregon State Treasury to end new investments in thermal coal and to phase out an estimated $1 billion in current holdings in coal stocks. It requires the Treasury to annually report on progress to the Legislature. House Bill 4132 increases the states investment in its system of marine reserves and protected areas. It requires the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to create a management plan for Oregons five marine reserves, and directs ODFW to work with tribes, fisheries and local communities to make sure the scientific work being done on the reserves incorporates regional knowledge and is usable for communities on the coast. ~Tracy Loew and the Associated Press Legislation related to education In response to a lawsuit filed against Salem-Keizer Public Schools and a former teacher, the Legislature passed a bill to better protect students from sexual grooming in schools. House Bill 4160, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Mannix, R-Salem, increases the time during which an individual is considered a student, from 90 days to one year after graduating or leaving high school, for laws requiring reporting, investigation and disclosures about a school employee, contractor, agent or volunteer engaging in sexual contact with a student. The $10 million lawsuit alleges former McNary High School choir teacher Joshua Rist groomed and sexually abused two women while they were students between 2015 and 2020. On behalf of Salem-Keizer Public Schools, we thank Rep. Mannix and all members of the Oregon delegation that voted in support of HB 4160, Salem-Keizer Public Schools Superintendent Andrea Castaneda said. This legislation adds a critical new stitch in the legal fabric that keeps our students safe. Other education legislation passed included: Lawmakers passed a $30 million bill to expand summer learning programs for K-12 students. The measure seeks to make up for learning losses from the COVID-19 pandemic. It prioritizes funding for programs that serve disadvantaged students, such as those with disabilities or from low-income families. House Bill 4147 allows education providers to install cameras on school bus stop sign arms to catch drivers who illegally pass the buses, and to work with law enforcement to cite violators. The bill prohibits the cameras from recording drivers or students while they are on the bus, and providers who use the cameras must inform school bus drivers about them and post signs on the bus notifying the public about their use. Senate Bill 1502 requires school district, community college and university boards to post recordings of their meetings online for the public. House Bill 4082 appropriates $30 million for summer learning programs. It also requires the Oregon Department of Education to study the establishment of summer learning as a permanent part of Oregons K-12 system. ~Tracy Loew and the Associated Press Recreational immunity legislation The short legislative session brought a surprisingly big moment for outdoor recreation in Oregon. Recreation and tourism groups came together in support of Senate Bill 1576, which passed with overwhelming support. The civil omnibus bill includes an amendment to temporarily restore the legal power of recreational immunity a law that protects landowners who open their land for recreation. The law was thrown into question last July when Oregons Court of Appeals ruled the city of Newport couldnt use recreational immunity to dismiss a lawsuit from a woman who sued the city after slipping and breaking her leg while crossing a trail bridge. CIS Oregon, which provides insurance to most Oregon cities and counties, said the court had effectively ended recreational immunity and local governments should consider closing trails. In response, around 22 trails were closed, mostly on the coast. It halted a number of other trails projects being planned, multiple city officials said. If Gov. Tina Kotek signs the legislation, it should allow those trails to reopen and trails projects that had been halted to restart. The bill is only a temporary fix and sunsets in 2026. Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, the author of the bill, said plans are in the works for a working group that would look at a longer-term fix. ~ Zach Urness Bills passed to help wildfire survivors The Oregon Legislature passed two bills aimed at financially helping survivors of wildfires. Senate Bill 1520, sponsored by Sen. Brian Boquist, I-Dallas, creates a tax exemption for awards stemming from lawsuits related to wildfires. Multiple lawsuits have resulted in millions in settlements and awards to survivors over the past year, primarily from legal action against PacifiCorp, which a jury found at fault for igniting four of the 2020 Labor Day wildfires Santiam/Beachie, Echo Mountain Complex, 242 and South Obenchain. The legislation exempts any awards or judgments from state taxes. Senate Bill 1545, sponsored by Rep. Jami Cate, R-Lebanon, and Sen. Fred Girod, R-Stayton, grants a property tax break to destroyed homes rebuilt after the 2020 wildfires. ~ Zach Urness Criminal penalties for interfering with animal abuse investigations Lawmakers passed House Bill 4043, which criminalizes the interference of an investigation into an offense against an animal. The law would apply to those who intentionally or knowingly conceal or transport an animal or take action to prevent a peace officer or licensed veterinarian from examining an animal suspected of being the subject of animal abuse or neglect. The violation would be a Class A misdemeanor under Oregon state law. Rep. Charlie Conrad, R-Eastern Lane County, who sponsored the bill, said "any acts of good animal husbandry or practicing veterinary medicine are not a violation." ~Haleigh Kochanski Lawmakers redefine definition of electric-assisted bicycles Lawmakers passed House Bill 4103 updating the definitions of electric-assisted bicycles. The bill known as Trentons Law is named after Trenton Burger, a 15-year-old boy who was struck and killed in June 2023 in Bend while riding a Class 2 e-bike. When our community lost Trenton, our community immediately converged to decipher how to prevent any further incidents, Rep. Emerson Levy, D-Central Oregon, said in a statement. We discovered that the statute around e-bikes hadnt been updated since 1997." Under the new law, kids under 16 may ride Class 1 e-bikes, which provide assistance only when the rider is pedaling and stops providing assistance when the bicycle reaches a speed of 20 mph. Only people 16 or older could operate a Class 2 e-bike, which cease to provide assistance when the bike reaches 20 mph, or a Class-3 e-bike, which stop providing assistance when the bike reaches 28 mph. ~Haleigh Kochanski Drug price and access to treatment legislation Lawmakers allocated $4.5 million to increase staffing and establish a 24/7 call line and mobile nurse clinic in Springfield and Eugene, in response to the PeaceHealth emergency department closure in Eugene in December. Rep. Nancy Nathanson, D-North Eugene, sponsored House Bill 4136 and another bill, House Bill 4149, which will place further regulations and require more transparency from Pharmacy Benefit Managers. PBMs influence the pharmaceutical industry and can impact which drugs are covered by insurance and where prescriptions can be filled. HB 4149 was initiated in response to an August secretary of state audit that found the lack of transparency required of PBMs caused barriers to medication access and misused taxpayer dollars. Senate Bill 1506 will allow pharmacists to test and provide medication treatment for COVID-19 to decrease the burden on primary and urgent care clinics and increase access to treatment. Senate Bill 1578 will establish an online portal to make it easier for health care providers to schedule health care interpreters. This bill will directly support Oregonians covered by Oregon Health Plan who need language interpreter services, as the online system will automatically process billing for services provided to Oregon Health Plan members. Senate Bill 1508 will restrict state Medicaid services from using quality-adjusted life year (QALY) standards for determining which treatments are covered by Oregon Health Plan and will cap the price of insulin at $35 for a 30-day supply and $105 for a 90-day supply. QALY measures treatment effectiveness by how much it improves patients quality of life, but those in opposition say QALY standards are discriminatory against older patients and those with disabilities. House Bill 4081 will modernize emergency medical services (EMS) by establishing a statewide EMS network, improve data systems and coordinate statewide and regional plans. The bill is intended to increase access to emergency care in rural areas of Oregon. House Bill 4012 will ban health care insurers from requiring medications to be obtained from a specific pharmacy. House Bill 4113 will require insurers to count all copays made toward deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums, regardless of if the payment was made on behalf of an individual through a pharmaceutical copay program. ~ Sydney Wyatt Behavioral health and addiction crisis legislation House Bill 4092 requires the Oregon Health Authority to analyze and allocate funding for community mental health programs. It also directs OHA to study ways to decrease administrative procedural burdens for state-established community programs, such as lengthy paperwork requirements. House Bill 4023 forbids local governments from requiring developers of residential treatment facilities to obtain zone change or conditional use permit. Eliminating these steps is intended to expedite efforts to increase behavioral health treatment facilities and beds across the state. House Bill 4150 establishes a coordinated, secure system to share information with health care professionals about previous patient overdoses within the past year. If a patient has overdosed recently, providers who have prescribed a narcotic in the past can adjust the treatment plan and possibly prevent future overdoses. ~ Sydney Wyatt Health care workforce recruitment and retention House Bill 4045 creates a new class of employees in Oregons Public Employees Retirement System for those who work in hazardous positions, including Oregon State Hospital workers who have direct contact with patients. The new classification allows those individuals to retire earlier with higher pensions. The enhanced benefits are intended to improve workforce retention and recruitment, which has contributed to ongoing staffing shortages at the psychiatric hospitals in Salem and Junction City. House Bill 4010 makes a range of changes including allowing the state's two psychiatric hospitals to focus on staffing challenges. Section 4 of the bill exempts the state hospitals from staffing requirements outlined in House Bill 2697, which required all hospitals to establish a hospital service staffing committee. House Bill 4151 creates a task force to study ways to increase and sustain the youth behavioral health workforce. The task force also will study the diversity of the current workforce and propose ideas for increasing diversity within the youth behavioral health care community. ~ Sydney Wyatt Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.com or on Twitter @DianneLugo. This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon lawmakers passed these bills during the 2024 session TCJ Students guest editor, noted First Nations author Richard Van Camp, has announced the winners of the 2024 TCJ Student creative writing contest. How blessed am I to have been asked to read each of the writings submitted to the TCJ Student creative writing contest this year, stated Van Camp. I was astounded and inspired by each of the poems, essays, and works of fiction. I want to send a huge mahsi chothank you very muchto each of writers who put so much into what they created. To be welcomed into so many hearts and homes and lives of the narrators and protagonists was a joy, and we can expect great things from each of these students. Get ready for great reads from gorgeous voices and bravo to TCJ Student for publishing these," Van Camp added. Never miss Indian Countrys biggest stories and breaking news. Click here to sign up to get our reporting sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. The top fiction entries are: Whispers Like the Scent of Pine by R.H. Dolly Peterman of Leech Lake Tribal College, Obtaining a Dog by Minja Utahna Gaines of the Institute of American Indian Arts, and The New World by Danelle Jishie of Tohono Oodham Community College. The top nonfiction entries are: Medicines in the Ground by Natalie Mullen of Northwest Indian College, Adeehonilzin (To Know Yourself) by Elxcia N. Smith of Dine College, and A Kinaalda Blessing Inspired by My Grandmother by Linda A. Curley of Navajo Technical University. The top entries in poetry are: Corn Beads by Emerald GoingSnake of the Institute of American Indian Arts, untitled by Sareya Taylor of the Institute of American Indian Arts, and When Mama Cooks by Natasha Endito of Dine College. Once again our creative writing contest was a big success thanks to all the students who participated and the tribal college faculty who encouraged and mentored them, said Bradley Shreve, editor of the Tribal College Journal. Ahehee for supporting your TCJ Studentwe look forward to showcasing Richards selections in the 2024 edition of the magazine, along with many others online at TCJStudent.org. TCJ Student is still accepting submissions to its art and film contests through March 15th. For contest guidelines and more information, visit: https://tcjstudent.org/contest/ About the Author: "Native News Online is one of the most-read publications covering Indian Country and the news that matters to American Indians, Alaska Natives and other Indigenous people. Reach out to us at editor@nativenewsonline.net. " Contact: news@nativenewsonline.net ISTANBUL, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a series of discussions during his visit to Istanbul on Friday, seeking to bolster cooperation with Turkiye, including the field of defense and joint projects. Zelensky, accompanied by his defense minister, visited a shipyard where Ukrainian navy ships were under construction. He inspected "the readiness and equipment of the Ivan Mazepa corvette and assessed the progress of construction of a second Ada-class corvette." "I thank Turkiye's President and all Turkish and Ukrainian defense companies for their partnership and for working together to bring peace closer and make it a lasting one," Zelensky wrote on social media platform X. Later in the day, speaking at a joint press conference, Zelensky said that his visit was devoted to bilateral cooperation, and the two countries are working towards joint arms production. For his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan noted that many Turkish companies have endured working in Ukraine despite the conflict. "We will also strongly support the reconstruction of Ukraine," he said. During the visit, the two sides signed an agreement to establish an electronic preliminary information exchange system regarding goods and vehicles transported between the two countries. Salih Yilmaz, an academic from Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, said depending on its existing budget, Ukraine would like to establish a partnership with Turkish arms industry companies to produce artillery shells. "Turkiye seems to be the safest country that can quickly produce the artillery shells that Ukraine needs most," Yilmaz told the state-run Anadolu agency. Baris Doster, an academic at Istanbul-based Marmara University, told Xinhua that Turkiye also maintains very strong political and trade relations with Russia. "Fostering good relations with both Ukraine and Russia would bolster Ankara's position to act as a mediator in a potential peace summit," Doster noted. The visit marked Zelensky's second trip to Turkiye since the onset of the crisis between Ukraine and Russia. Previously, Russian President Vladimir Putin was also scheduled to visit Turkiye in February. However, press reports said the visit will now take place in late April or early May. An investigation by The Kansas City Star and three of its reporters has received the 2023 Casey Feldman Award for Transportation Safety Reporting. Investigative reporters Judy L. Thomas and Laura Bauer and former Star reporter Kevin Hardy documented the dangers of railroad crossings in 12 states that have the most miles of public track. Their investigation Hundreds Crash at Dangerous Rail Crossings That Should Have Been Fixed. Whose Fault Is It? found that 46% of deadly collisions occur in rural areas or small towns. Their reporting also showed that flashing lights and gates can reduce collisions, but many railroad crossings dont have them. According to their findings, railroads also pay little for improving safety at crossings, instead relying on government funding to pay for upgrades, and for labor and lodging costs for railroad workers to complete the upgrades. The award, for which Thomas, Bauer and Hardy received the first-place prize, honors Casey Feldman. The Fordham University journalism student was killed by a distracted driver in 2009. EndDD.org, created by the Casey Feldman Memorial Foundation to end distracted driving, sponsored the award along with the journalism department at the University of Colorado Boulders College of Media, Communication and Information. The New York Times and reporters Peter Eavis, Mark Walker and Niraj Chokshi received an honorable mention for their story that explored staffing issues at Norfolk Southern and declining safety ratings that predated the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in February 2023. Three men, all of whom appeared Friday in Rock Island County Court, also are suspects in an earlier fire, a prosecutor said Friday in court. Supporters of William Kosgard IV, Kadon Svec and Matthew Wooddell were in the courtroom where each suspect appeared before a judge, who made the decision to detain all three in jail before their next court appearances. (Clockwise from upper left) William Kosgard IV, Kadon Svec and Matthew Wooddell (Rock Island Police Department) Each man, appearing in the courtroom via a remote screen, said he understood the charges of arson, criminal damage to property and animal torture. While he judge read the charges, he said the fire caused a cow to be burned alive after the blaze at the Rock Island Livestock Auction Barn. A prosecutor said the three also are being investigated in connection with a fire Feb. 21 involving more than 200 railroad ties. She said the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) is involved in that case. She said surveillance video shows three men walking toward hay bales and hovering around them just before the fire started. Robert Westphal, who was in the courtroom during the proceedings, spoke briefly to the judge, saying he worked at the sale barn for 45 years. He said the blaze threatened firefighters and residents in the area, and They need to be held accountable for that. The judge said the suspects are presumed innocent. A destructive blaze The fire on Feb. 24 led to the complete destruction of the buildings and the death of one of the cattle on the property. The Rock Island Police Departments Criminal Investigation Division and the Rock Island Fire Marshals Office conducted an investigation, which resulted in three suspects being identified, officials said earlier. An arson investigation into the fire by the Rock Island Police Departments Criminal Investigation Division and the Rock Island Fire Marshals Office resulted in three suspects being identified. Arrest warrants were issued for Matthew E. Wooddell, 21; William T. Kosgard IV, 22; and Kadon J. Svec, 18; on March 4 for the charges of arson, felony criminal damage to property, and animal torture, according to a news release. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. LOUISVILLE, Colo. (KDVR) A state investigation into Centennial Peaks Hospital found no serious wrongdoing after cases of suicide, attempted suicide and patients who said they were held against their will at the behavioral health center. The series of site visits by the Colorado Behavioral Health Administration followed an attempted patient suicide in July, a completed patient suicide in September and two cases of patients insisting they were held against their will when they were ready to be discharged. The mother of one patient, who filed a complaint, found the state investigation underwhelming. Something seems amiss, said Christy Bligh, whose 18-year-old daughter checked herself into Centennial Peaks Hospital in mid-January. Her daughter and 28-year-old Jonathan Delgado, featured in a previous Problem Solvers investigation, both felt they were held hostage when they asked to be released. Blighs daughter checked herself into the hospital for some self-help. She thought, Ill kind of remove myself from outside pressures, check into an inpatient, spend a couple of days there, get some good coping mechanisms, get some good life skills,' said Bligh, whose daughter would later feel she was being held for no legitimate reason when she asked to be released on her third day at the hospital. Previous coverage: Louisville psychiatric hospital facing 4 state investigations At the point that she said she wanted to come home, she was put on a (mental health) hold. She was not informed that she was on a hold, said Bligh, who added that when she showed up at the Louisville hospital to try to secure her daughters release, she was threatened with arrest for trespassing if she didnt leave. It was honestly very scary. I mean, I was definitely extremely frustrated and concerned. I did not have access to any information, Bligh said. Investigators visited site, interviewed patients and staff An investigator with the Colorado Behavioral Health Administration made a site visit on Jan. 18 and interviewed Blighs daughter and hospital staff. The investigator said she could not substantiate any findings of wrongdoing besides some minor paperwork issues. The Behavioral Health Administration confirms that Centennial Peaks Hospital would have needed a court order to keep Blighs daughter in treatment past the original three-day hold and not notifying the patient of a court order would be a patient violation, but it cannot confirm or deny if this patient was notified of a court order, as such information is considered identifiable health information under state law. Jury awards couple $21M for false allegations of child abuse during custody battle The Behavioral Health Administration will not confirm, because of patient privacy reasons, that Delgado and Blighs daughter are the two cases they investigated for keeping patients longer than necessary. But based on the inspection dates, the Problem Solvers have reason to believe those are the patients involved. In Delgados case, he was never interviewed by state investigators with the Behavioral Health Administration, which admits its investigator only reviewed the patients medical chart to determine no wrongdoing by Centennial Peaks Hospital. Theres always another side of a story, and every patient should have a voice. These abuses, sometimes nobody does anything about it, said Delgado, who said he was disappointed that the Behavioral Health Administration investigators did not attempt to contact him. A spokesperson for the Behavioral Health Administration, while not confirming Delgado was the patient in question, said it did not contact the patient in the November case because the record review was found to be dispositive, meaning it gave BHA all the information needed to make an informed and accurate decision. Exterior sign for Centennial Peaks Hospital Former patients suspect insurance payouts behind alleged abuses Delgado said he was ready to be released after his first two weeks but wasnt discharged until the day after the Problem Solvers inquired about his status. By then, he had been at Centennial Peaks Hospital for nearly a month. I think it was just to get paid. They (Centennial Peaks Hospital) just wanted to get paid, said Delgado, referring to his Medicaid insurance. Insurance fraud is all I can think, said Bligh when asked why she suspected her 18-year-old daughter, who was also on Medicaid, was kept six days when she was ready to leave after three days. She was released only after she secured legal representation, Bligh said. Change Healthcare cybersecurity issue disrupting some pharmacies She added that a letter from her attorney and the threat of media exposure finally led to her daughters discharge. In 2020, Universal Health Services, which owns Centennial Peaks Hospital, paid $122 million to settle allegations by the U.S. Justice Department alleging it had engaged in Medicaid fraud while also failing to properly discharge appropriately admitted beneficiaries when they no longer required inpatient care, according to a Justice Department press release. Just last week, Universal Health Services reported revenues of $14.3 billion for 2023. A spokesman for Centennial Peaks Hospital told the Problem Solvers it entered into the 2020 settlement in order to avoid the continuing costs and uncertainty of continued litigation. The company vehemently denies the allegations and was able to present significant evidence to effectively rebut the claims. In July 2023, a Centennial Peaks patient attempted to hang himself. A state inspection found staff falsified round records and failed to check patients every 15 minutes. Sources told the Problem Solvers a staff member was fired as a result. I did not feel there was any health care happening In September 2023, a 41-year-old patient killed himself with a knife found in the hospital cafeteria. According to an autopsy report, his medical history included depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Multiple sources told FOX31 the man had been on five-minute watches until the day of his death, when he was taken off the very restrictions that kept him monitored on his unit. According to an investigative report obtained by the Problem Solvers, an inspector for the Behavioral Health Administration recommended that Centennial Peaks Hospital consider how it may adjust the expectation that one staff is responsible for both utensil return and watching the beverage area in the cafeteria. Doctors urge reconsideration of artificial sweeteners: Study links A-fib to diet soda Centennial Peaks Hospital was not fined or threatened with a license suspension. Instead, the investigative reports from the Behavioral Health Administration essentially told Centennial Peaks to do a better job of following state protocols in the future. Based on our experience, I did not feel there was any health care happening, Bligh said. In a statement to FOX31, Centennial Peaks shared the following: Centennial Peaks Hospital is cooperating fully to address the issues identified by the Behavioral Health Agency (BHA). The most recent survey of our facility has been productive. Due to HIPAA patient privacy laws, I cannot offer any comment on specific patients or their care. Centennial Peaks Hospital is committed to delivering compassionate care, being responsive to the needs of our patients and their families. Our team utilizes evidence-based therapies and treatments to best support those in our care. Our facility is a highly regarded, trusted provider of behavioral health services in our community. Centennial Peaks Hosptial Bligh and her attorney have asked for her daughters medical records from Centennial Peaks, but they have yet to receive them six weeks later. She has a distrust of health care now, said Bligh, who added her daughter came out of the hospital more traumatized than when she went in. Shes scared. The experience was scary. And she came out of the hospital with infected wounds that we needed to seek medical treatment for. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. LANSING Four top Michigan State Police officers are being removed from their posts in a major administrative shake-up by the director, Col. James Grady. Grady sent an email across the department Friday announcing that contracts with Lt. Col. Dale Hinz, Lt. Col. Chris Kelenske, Maj. Beth Clark, and Maj. Ryan Pennell will not be renewed when they expire over the next few weeks. While the current team has served honorably, I feel its critically important to assemble a team who will best carry out my vision, Grady said in the memo, a copy of which was obtained by the Free Press. Hinz and Kelenske are two of the department's three deputy directors. The third deputy director, Lt. Col. Michael Krumm, has a contract that does not expire until next year. Clark, an assistant deputy director and the highest-ranking woman in the MSP who is a member of the classified civil service, said she was surprised when she was called to a meeting with Grady on Thursday and told her contract would not be renewed. Maj. Beth Clark, shown in a screenshot from a Michigan State Police YouTube video. At the time, she was the first female captain in the forensics division. Im disappointed at the release of the four of us., said Clark, a 26-year veteran of the MSP who reports to Kelenske and oversees forensic sciences, biometrics, intelligence operations, emergency management and homeland security, information technology, 911, highway safety planning and the Criminal Justice Information Center. Clark said she was even more surprised Friday by Gradys reference to a shared vision. Since Grady took over the department in September, not once in that six months that he has been in office has he shared a vision with the leadership team members, Clark said. In terms of helping Grady achieve his vision, we would have been happy to do that if we knew what it was, Clark said. Grady said in the memo the four senior officers will be offered other positions in the MSP, but Clark said she understands those would come with lower rank; in her case, as a lieutenant. The highest-ranking officials at the MSP typically work on limited-term employment agreements, though they retain some civil service protections. Clark, 57, who is considering retiring earlier than she otherwise would, said she has received glowing reviews with the MSP throughout her career, and was told her removal was not personal and not performance-related. Clark joined the MSP as a trooper at the Adrian post in 1998 before moving to the MSPs Michigan Intelligence Operations Center and then working as part of former Gov. Jennifer Granholms security detail. Clark then moved into forensics as she worked her way up the ranks through the Grand Rapids, Lansing and Northville labs, reaching the rank of captain before she was elevated to major four years ago under Gradys predecessor, Col. Joseph Gasper. In 2016, Clark graduated from the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command as vice president of her class. There, her fellow classmates honored her with the Franklin M. Kreml Leadership Award, which recognizes high ethical and professional values and dedication to public service. Grady said in the memo that more details about his planned reorganization would be revealed "in the coming weeks." More: MSP to pay $475K after barring disabled Michiganders at Americans with Disabilities event More: Depicting Barbie as an MSP trooper brought instant blowback from top ranks, records show Shanon Banner, a spokeswoman for the MSP, said Friday that Grady's memo "is the entirety of our statement on this matter" and that "no decisions have been made on replacements." Hinz, Kelenske and Pennell did not respond to emails seeking comment. Hinz is in charge of the field operations bureau, which includes eight geographic districts around the state, plus commercial vehicle enforcement, special investigations and special operations. A 30-year veteran of the MSP, Hinz joined the department as a trooper in Adrian in 1994. He formerly was the commander of the MSP's 6th District, based in Grand Rapids, and served as commander of MSP posts in Paw Paw and Coldwater, according to his LinkedIn page. Kelenske, who joined the MSP in 1995 as a trooper at the Lansing post, is in charge of the field support bureau and was a familiar face during the early days of the Flint water crisis, overseeing much of the state's response in terms of bringing safe bottled water to the city when its drinking water supply was contaminated by lead. He has been an instructor and trainer around the country on emergency response. Pennell is an assistant deputy director in the field operations bureau, reporting to Hinz. He joined the MSP as a trooper in Flint in 2000 and has served as commander of the 3rd District, which is based in Flint, and earlier as post commander in Caro. Friday's announcement was the second major personnel move by Grady since Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appointed him to succeed Col. Joseph Gasper, who retired. In December, Grady announced the promotion of 1st Lt. Aimee Brimacombe to lieutenant colonel and chief deputy director. That's an "unclassified" position outside of the Michigan civil service. Brimacombe joined the MSP as a trooper in 1998. Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on X, @paulegan4. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 4 top Michigan State Police officers will be removed from posts (NEXSTAR) There are roughly 81.5 million owner-occupied homes in America. Of those, more than 31.3 million or about 38.5% do not have a mortgage, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau. While something to celebrate today, becoming mortgage-free was once so notable that people would adorn their homes with a symbol to let everyone know they were free of debt. If you drive around in an older neighborhood or maybe own an older home, you may still find that symbol a metal eagle displayed. Former NYPD cops brewing success with new coffee business They may be wood, cast iron, bronze, or another darker metal and can be found above garages and front doors alike. Your first thought may be that the eagle is simply patriotic symbolism, considering our national bird is the bald eagle. As you may have inferred by now, that answer is about halfway accurate. To better understand the eagle plaques, you have to go back about 70 years. An example of a freedom flyer eagle you may find on a mortgage-free home. (Getty) At the time, American soldiers were returning home from World War II. Many would take advantage of the newly signed Servicemens Readjustment Act, better known as the G.I. Bill. Signed into law in 1944, it provides veterans with funds for college, unemployment insurance, and housing. Within about a decade of the bill being enacted, 4.3 million home loans had been granted, the Department of Defense explains, and 20% of all new homes built post-World War II were bought by veterans. It was also a time of strong patriotism nationwide, which seemingly sparked a tradition among homeowners, Chris Varsek, the lead real estate agent with The Varsek Team in Illinois, told Nexstar. As Americans paid off their mortgages, they would hang eagle plaques above their front doors, garages, or other parts of their home, to signify they were free from debt, he explains. The decor was (and still is) sometimes known as a freedom flyer. Watch: NYPD cops save woman from jumping off Brooklyn Bridge The tradition continued for decades, but the history is a bit murky and [has] mostly been lost to time, says Varsek. Nearly 2 in 5 homeowners nationwide are mortgage-free (or eagle-eligible), Census data shows. Thats pretty spot on for the state of New York, where data says 41.1% of the 4.1 million owner-occupied homes do not have a mortgage. Thats about 1.7 million homes that could, in theory, adorn their homes with a freedom flyer. Of the 4 million plus owned homes in New York, about 60% cost more than $300,000. For about a third of people still paying off their homes in New York, their mortgage payment tops $3,000, according to Census data. The interactive map below shows the percentage of owner-occupied homes that are without a mortgage, according to five-year estimates from the Census annual American Community Survey, which occurs more frequently than the actual Census. This data in particular was released in 2022. Two states, Colorado and Maryland, and the District of Columbia, have rates below 30%. This may not be much of a surprise: about 70% of householders living in the District of Columbia have moved in since 2010 7.5% have moved in since 2021 alone, the highest rate in the U.S. Nationally, about 60% of householders have moved into their residences since 2010, with about 4.7% moving in since 2021. If youre among those newer homeowners or are currently home-shopping, it could be a while before you earn your freedom flyer eagle. The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose earlier this month for the third time in as many weeks: the average rate on a 30-year mortgage rose to 6.90% from 6.77%, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said. Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also rose this week, pushing the average rate to 6.29% from 6.12% last week. A year ago, those rates averaged 6.5% and 5.76%, respectively. The NYPD is using social media to target critics. That brings its own set of worries For comparison, in 1955, when the typical home price was around $22,000, the average mortgage rate was around 4%. The last time rates were that low in the U.S. was early 2022. Experts say, however, that 2024 will likely be a better year for homebuyers. Unfortunately, when you do pay off your mortgage, its unlikely anyone will bring a cast iron eagle plaque to your home. You can, however, find them at retailers like Home Depot and Amazon. The Associated Press contributed to this report. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. The Long Beach Police Department arrested five suspects for a murder that occurred in November 2023. Authorities say the arrests are in connection with the death of 41-year-old Andre McClendon, who was shot in the 1700 block of Pine Avenue. The suspects have been identified as: 18-year-old Adonis Reese from Long Beach 20-year-old Jose Ramos from Lancaster 20-year-old Joshua Spencer-Morgan from Long Beach 20-year-old Emily Castaneda from Compton 24-year-old Angelica Esquivel from Long Beach Reese, Ramos, and Spencer-Morgan have been charged with murder and are being held on $2 million bail. Castaneda and Esquivel were charged with accessory to murder and arson. They are being held on $50,000 bail. McLendon was killed just after 2 a.m. on Nov. 26, 2023. Authorities say he was shot shortly after being approached by a group of males. Police did not provide a motive for the murder but did say it could be gang-related. The suspects entered a vehicle and fled the scene before officers arrived. Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to contact Homicide Detectives Oscar Valenzuela or Leticia Gamboa at 562-570-7244. Anonymous tips can be provided to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. Speculation surrounding mystery bales of cotton and empty whiskey barrels washing up on the North Coast are an echo of the wild conspiracy theories surrounding the S.S. Roanoke, the almost forgotten maritime tragedy that was likely the most deadly in San Luis Obispo County history. The 1916 voyage was supposed to be just beginning when it ended with fatal results for almost everyone aboard. The S.S. Roanoke departed San Francisco bound for Valparaiso, Chile, with a cargo of dynamite, wheat, oil and kerosene. Captain Dickson was so confident of a smooth trip he even invited his wife. But the seas were rough off the coast of California. The Roanoke sank 50 miles north of San Luis Obispo, about 3 p.m. on Tuesday, May 9, 1916, about 15 miles out to sea, west of the Piedras Blancas Lighthouse. According to the Daily Telegram of May 12, 1916, there were 53 souls aboard, 48 crew members and three Mexican stowaways in addition to Dickson and his wife. A print of a steamer, likely the Roanoke, then owned by the Old Dominion Steamship Company. Built in 1882, the steam ship sank near San Simeon in 1916 and 50 aboard died. There were only three survivors. Library of Congress Only three would survive: Manuel Lopez, Joseph Elb (alternatively spelled Erb in a few stories) and Charlie Rabeiro. They were recovered in a lifeboat near the lighthouse with five other men who had died of exposure after over a day on the water. At least three ships passed in sight of the stricken Roanoke but didnt know the ship was in distress. Lopez later testified at a federal hearing that the radios dynamo that powered the unit was not in workable condition. Ill-fated ship carried first Mormon immigrants, gold miners The S.S. Roanoke was built in 1882 for the Old Dominion Steamship Company serving the Atlantic seaboard. Notable early passengers were some of the first Mormon immigrants. The Alaska Gold Rush saw the steamship sold to a Pacific coast company where it made the run from Seattle to St. Michael, Alaska. There passengers would transfer to river steamers up the Yukon River. Later, it offered service to Nome, Alaska the location of a later gold strike. When Klondike business faded, the ship was sold again and worked primarily along Oregon and California routes. On its last voyage, the ship was about 34 years old and was filled with cargo rather than passengers. The Piedras Blancas Light Station in a 2008 aerial photo. Joe Johnston/jjohnston@thetribunenews.com Conspiracy theories abound in wake of ship sinking The disaster brought on conspiracy theories, a phenomenon not unique to our time largely speculation that completely ignored eyewitnesses survivor statements. North Pacific Steamship Co. lawyer E.E. Sooy theorized to a Daily Telegram reporter that a silent bomb had sunk the ship. The fact that none of the three survivors remember hearing any explosion does not mean that there was not one, Sooy said. The same May 12, 1916, story said the president of the steamship company had personally overseen the ships loading. Survivor, Joseph Elb said the ship was listing to the port side after the cargo shifted before leaving the harbor. One report attributed the shifting to a hard turn. May 12, 1916: Roanoke owners believe ship was blown up by 'silent bomb' May 12, 1916: Roanoke owners believe ship was blown up by 'silent bomb' 12 May 1916, Fri The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, California) Newspapers.com The wildest theory ran under a headline, Did the Roanoke sink or steam for Europe? Weird theory is out on May 15, 1916. In that, a Santa Barbara bank manager speculated the ship had sailed for Europe, via the Panama Canal, sending the explosives to the region inflamed by almost two years of the first world war. Dickson formerly worked at Port San Luis, according to a May 11, 1916, Daily Telegram story. He had captained the Union Oil tanker Argyle until recently. Many years earlier, he had been in charge of the tug boat Liberty at the port and is kindly remembered by parties familiar with port life then, the article read. The fate of Capt. Dickson and his wife, who was the only passenger aboard, remains a mystery, the Daily Telegram said. Joe Elb, one survivor, says the last he saw of him, he was standing on the bridge of the boat. Another report says Dickson sent his wife into a boat but refused to leave the boat (Roanoke). When the lifeboat containing his wife capsized, he sprang overboard to rescue her and both perished together. A historic photo shows the Piedras Blancas Light Station grounds as it looked when the lighthouse was in operation. The lightkeepers dwelling in the foreground has been removed and is now a private residence in Cambria. Most of these older structures have been removed or torn down to make way for modern living quarters for the Coast Guard force manning the station and their families. This old photograph was provided by the San Luis Obispo County Museum and is from the Irene Carpenter Collection of Historic San Luis Obispo County pictures. Copy negative made in 1963. Survivors tell of harrowing sinking off SLO County coast Two of the survivors shared their stories which were certainly more believable than the conspiracy theories. They were interviewed after a hospital stay in the May 11, 1916, Daily Telegram and days later would have similar testimony at a federal probe into the accident. Here is what they said with the many typos cleaned up. Joseph Elb, quartermaster I attribute my escape to the fact that I had hold of an oar practically all of the 27 hours we were out in the life boat, Elb said. While I was not clad any warmer than the others, constant exercise at one of the oars kept me in better condition. Only one of the five who perished took active part at the oars and he was the last to give up. We didnt feel much like eating on the boat, only a little hardtack, Elb continued. A can of biscuits was unopened. There was plenty of drinking water but only a few sups were taken as all were so cold. He concluded: The Steamer sank about 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, and when night came on, we cast our anchor so we wouldnt drift onto the coast. When it got light yesterday morning, two in the boat were dead. Three others died during the day the last one, I think, just at the breakwater. I remember seeing the lighthouse vaguely, but didnt know anything more. May 11, 1916: May 11, 1916: "Scouring sea and patrolling beach to locate lost sailors" 11 May 1916, Thu The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, California) Newspapers.com Manuel Lopez, oiler Crew of the Roanoke was inexperienced, Lopez said. Crew was picked up on the water front and few knew any of his mates. Very few knew a thing about launching a lifeboat. An experienced crew could have had a chance for life. When the ship listed to starboard at three oclock Tuesday afternoon, the six boats on the port side of the ship were cut loose with difficulty. The others were out of reach, he said. The vessel was badly loaded. I remonstrated with Capt. Dickson as to the manner in which the boat was loaded, also told him it was unwise for him to take his wife with him on such a voyage with such a cargo. According to Lopez, the main cargo of the Roanoke was dynamite, though the top deck was heavily loaded with wheat and oil, including kerosene. Shifting of cargo in the heavy sea was the sole cause of the disaster, he said. Lopez said two of the lifeboats were swamped as they were launched. He said one of the missing boats after the sinking had the second mate as the only occupant. The other has eight men. He concluded: The vessel listed for hours and had we been able to use our wireless we could have secured help. We sighted three vessels while the vessel was still afloat, but could not attract them. NEW YORK More than 60 demonstrators were arrested in three separate city protests late Friday over the conflict in Gaza, police said. Marchers took to the streets near Union Square, in lower Manhattan and in downtown Brooklyn beginning at 4 p.m., cops said. At least one of the protests didnt end till about 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators coupled with International Womens Day marchers paralyzed traffic as they marched through the streets, decrying the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which is now into its fifth month. During each protest, marchers were met by a large number of cops backed up by helicopters and drones that flew overhead. Protesters began marching near Union Square at about 4 p.m. Cops took 30 demonstrators into custody for blocking traffic and refusing to follow orders as demonstrators made their way south to Zuccotti Park in the Financial District, where the Occupy Wall St. demonstrations were held in 2011. Videos taken during the protest show police in shoving matches with some demonstrators as they try to get some marchers under control. Out of the 30 taken into custody, 24 marchers were given summonses and six received desk appearance tickets for criminal mischief and obstructing government administration, cops said. Two hours later, a separate march began at Brooklyns Grand Army Plaza. Marchers went down to Tillary St. and the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. Cops stopped and zip-tied 21 demonstrators who were put in prisoner wagons and taken to NYPD headquarters for processing. Eighteen protesters were given criminal court summonses, two received desk appearance tickets and one was arrested with a criminal charge and brought to court, cops said. The protests continued around 8:40 p.m. as marchers protested the war in Gaza at Park Row and Pearl St. in lower Manhattan. Cops took 12 protesters into custody through the night, an NYPD spokeswoman said. Eight of the detainees were given summonses, one was arrested and brought to court and three were given desk appearance tickets. Details of the two arrests were not immediately disclosed. No serious injuries were reported in the protests, cops said, although one account of the Manhattan protest said a demonstrator was found lying on the ground unconscious. Marches against the Israeli-Hamas conflict have taken place in the city almost weekly since Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, massacring some 1,200 people and taking hostages. Over the past few months, Gaza war protesters tried to disrupt the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade, the lighting of the Rockefeller Christmas Tree and picketed the Capitol in Washington during Thursdays State of the Union address. _______ 8 ways to experience Tennessee like a local, according to National Geographic NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) From music blasting on Broadway and Beale Street to picturesque scenery in the Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee has something to offer for everyone and is considered a must visit destination for many people. The Volunteer State gets more than 100 million visitors every year. In fact, in 2022 the state saw over 141 million visitors and broke a record by raking in nearly $28.8 billion in direct tourism spending. To help navigate the state, National Geographic asked travel experts for their tips on how to experience Tennessee like a true local. Take a stroll on Beale Street (Courtesy: Getty Images) If youre searching for live music accompanied by good food, look no further than Beale Street in downtown Memphis. According to the national magazine, Beale Street is lined with Black-owned businesses and has an atmosphere thats from another era. B.B. Kings Blues Club and the Rum Boogie Cafe are just a few of the establishments on the strip recommended by travel experts. Paddle down the Mississippi River On the Mississippi River at sunset in Memphis, Tennessee. (Courtesy: Getty Images) The Mississippi River the third-longest river in North America and runs along the western side of Tennessee. According to National Geographic, the Mississippi River is one of the best destinations for paddling adventures in America. The channel suggested taking a guided tour with Mississippi River Expeditions. Another suggested location was renting a kayak, or taking a guided tour with Kayak Memphis to see beautiful views of the Memphis skyline. Explore the cypress forests on Reelfoot Lake Cypress trees in Reelfoot Lake, 1938. Tennessee State Library and Archives. The results of the earthquakes that hit in 1811 and 1812 are visible in todays landscape of Tennessee. In fact, the New Madrid Earthquakes were so powerful that it created a new lake known as Reelfoot Lake. The Great ShakeOut and earthquakes in Middle TN and South KY National Graphic said the lake is a shallow sea of cypress knees, cattail reeds, egret colonies, and blue heron rookeries, which makes it a great area for travelers to fish. In fact, a record bowfin weighing 15 pounds and 7 ounces was caught in the lake in 1983. Experience Nashville beyond Broadway (Courtesy: Getty Images) Broadway is an iconic landmark in Nashville and one of the first destinations tourists embark upon when visiting Music City. The stretch of road is known for its live music on every corner, bustling honky tonks and lines of party buses. However, the travel channel says Nashville is much more than Broadway, and suggests indulging in the food scene in Music City. 3 Nashville-area restaurants make Yelps top 100 places to eat in 2024 Specifically mentioned were Attaboy and Tiger Bar for cocktails, Bastion for their menu and International Market for their award-winning Thai food. Several Nashville eateries have earned national recognition in the past few months. In fact, Noko earned a spot on OpenTables top 100 restaurants list for 2023. Meanwhile, Locust was recently named on USA Todays 2024 Restaurants of the Year list. Hike the Great Smokies A group stops at the Look Rock area in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2015. (Getty Images) The popular Great Smoky Mountains National Park was the third-most visited park in 2023, according to National Park Service (NPS) data. National Geographic spoke to a travel expert who suggested walking Cades Cove and trekking a much more remote area such as Mount Sterling, near North Carolina. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park straddles Tennessee and North Carolina. Travelers can enter the park through three main entrances: Gatlinburg, TN; Townsend, TN and Cherokee, NC. To learn more about the park, click here. Seek out songwriters (Photo: WKRN) They dont call it Music City for nothing. In fact, several big name artists got their start in Nashville including Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Luke Bryan and more. The travel channel suggests checking out new artists at venues like The Basement, The 5 Spot, and The Bowery Vault. Try samples from the godfather of TN whiskey Uncle Nearest Distillery (WKRN photo) In need of a drink? National Geographic suggest visiting Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey located in Shelbyville. The distillery pays homage to African American master distiller, Nearest Green, who is also known as the Godfather of Tennessee Whiskey. In 2023, Greens role in Tennessee whiskey history was memorialized with a historical marker at Dan Call Farm, which is where Jasper Jack Daniel learned the craft from a slave named Nathan Green, also known as Uncle Nearest. Distilling industry generates billions for Tennessee tourism economy During an interview with News 2 in 2023, Victoria Eady Butler, great-great granddaughter of Green, explained many local residents know that Green is responsible for the taste Tennessee Whiskey has today. The townspeople of Lynchburg knew their relationship and that Nearest was responsible for making whiskey for Jack Daniel and teaching him how to make whiskey, said Butler. Go back in time at Knoxvilles Gilded Age theaters Courtesy: Getty Images The Bijou Theatre, which began as The Lamar House, is believed to be the oldest commercially active property in Knoxville. Travel experts at National Geographic said besides movies, the theater is also known for hosting concerts and comedy nights. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com To see events being held at the Bijou Theatre this month, click here. For those looking for tips on what to do in Tennessee, visit National Geographics Explorers Guide. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. American and French military forces took down numerous drones in the Red Sea over the weekend after Yemen's Houthi rebels, who are aligned with Iran, launched an assault on the bulk carrier Propel Fortune and U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Aden. Since November, the Houthis have been targeting ships in the Red Sea, claiming it as a show of support for Palestinians amidst the conflict in Gaza. Yahya Sarea, the group's military spokesperson, stated in a televised address on Saturday that they had aimed 37 drones at the cargo vessel and several U.S. warships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that American Navy ships and aircraft had successfully intercepted 15 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operated by the Houthis in the Red Sea area. According to CENTCOM's social media post, the military reacted to a significant attack launched by the group between 4 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. local time. The statement emphasized that these drones posed an immediate threat to merchant vessels, U.S. Navy, and coalition ships in the vicinity. Additionally, a French warship and fighter jets thwarted four combat drones approaching naval vessels belonging to the European Aspides mission in the region, as per a French army statement. The action was deemed defensive and aimed at protecting the cargo ship True Confidence, flagged under Barbados, which had been hit on March 6 and was under tow, along with other commercial vessels transiting the area. France has naval presence in the area, along with warplanes stationed in Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) confirmed an attempted attack on the Singapore-flagged Propel Fortune. The shipping company reported two explosions near the bulk carrier, but all crew members were unharmed, and the ship continued its voyage to the next port. According to UKMTO's statement, Propel Fortune was likely targeted due to outdated ownership data linked to the United States. Sarea reiterated the Houthis' intent to persist with their attacks until the perceived aggression ends and the blockade on Gaza is lifted. Indian Navy Rescues Crew from Houthi Missile Attack in Gulf of Aden US and UK air strikes hit 18 Houthi targets in Yemen Israel war Day 152: Israeli Forces Kill Civilians in Gaza Attack March 9 (UPI) -- Nine people are dead and another person is hospitalized Saturday following a collision between a passenger van and a semi-trailer truck in rural west-central Wisconsin. The passenger van was northbound on a county road and carrying nine people when it crossed into the intersection of Wisconsin State Hwy. 95 near Dewhurst Township, located about 150 miles southeast of Minneapolis and 200 miles northwest of Milwaukee. The van collided with the semi, which was eastbound on the state highway, shortly before 8 a.m. on Friday, the Clark County, Wis., Sheriff's Department said in a release. The semi came to a stop off of the highway with its trailer turned onto its side, while the van came to rest on its side on the shoulder of the road. The van appeared to have suffered fire damage, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Eight of the van's passengers, including its driver, and the driver of the semi died, while one passenger in the van was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital in nearby Marshfield, Wis. "Our hearts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones of all those involved as well as the first responders who worked quickly to provide support at the scene," Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers posted on X. The first responders included the Clark County Sheriff, Wisconsin State Patrol, Hatfield, Wis., Fire and Rescue, Neillsville, Wis., Area Ambulance, and the Clark County Highway Department. Clark County Coroner Clarissa Rochester pronounced the semi-truck driver and eight of the van's nine passengers dead at the scene. Hwy. 95 was closed most of the day and reopened after the initial investigation concluded and the van and semi were removed from the accident site. State and local law enforcement are investigating the wreck's cause. The accident victims haven't been identified pending notification of their family members. None are from the area and were passing through when the accident occurred, according to the sheriff's department. A 96-year-old woman who was found dead in her Montecito, California, home in May 2022 was the victim of a fraud scheme that turned into a murder-for-hire plot when the perpetrators grew frustrated that she wouldnt die quickly enough, local authorities revealed Thursday. Violet Alberts, 96, was an elderly widow, described as warm and social, who played an active role in the local community, even though she had recently fallen on financial hardship. She was getting ready to bake cookies for her upcoming birthday when the killers struckresponding cops found the ingredients on the kitchen table, and Alberts dead in her bed. A shattered window in the bedroom and the results of an autopsy led police to investigate Alberts death as a murder, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Paul Brown said during a press conference on Thursday. Alberts died of asphyxiation, and the coroner ruled her death a homicide. The case was revealed to be a tangled, evil web of financial exploitation against the victim, Brown said. Pauline Macareno, 48, took advantage of Alberts vulnerability and posed as a real estate agent to fraudulently acquire Alberts house. Through deceptive means, Macareno orchestrated a series of transactions, including forging documents and establishing fraudulent entities to gain control over Alberts assets unlawfully, Brown said. Macareno allegedly gained Alberts trust by offering her a fraudulent reverse-mortgage, purporting to offer Alberts more cashflow while actually taking ownership of her property. But Macareno became fed up with waiting for Alberts to die, and sought to inherit her estate immediately, police said. Thats when the fraud scheme turned into a plot for murder. Macareno conspired with three menHarry Basmadjian, Henry Rostomyan, and Ricardo MartinDelCampoto enter Alberts house and end her life, authorities say. Two of them partook in a scouting trip days before the murder, which Brown said highlighted the premeditated nature of the case and showed just how calculated their efforts were to end Alberts life. The three men were arrested between January and March and are charged with murder and conspiracy to murder. Rostomyan and MartinDelCampo are being held in county jail without bail, while Basmadjian remains in federal custody after suffering a life-threatening injury that left him essentially brain dead, Brown said. Macareno had been arrested in June 2022 for elder abuse and was recently sentenced to 6 years in prison for the fraud she committed. She could face more charges in light of the murder conspiracy. 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. The break from school for Spring Break usually comes with headaches for travelers, so Triple A shared how North Carolinians can enjoy all of their time off. A survey from AAA revealed that 30 percent of residents in the Tar Heel state will travel for Spring Break in 2024. The travel season is already off to a hot start in 2024, said Debbie Haas, Vice President of Travel for AAA The Auto Club Group. Americans continue to make travel a top priority, and AAA travel agents have been busy planning a wide range of vacations from weekend getaways to world cruises. Based on the survey, most NC travelers are heading to the beach or a major city. US issues travel warning for spring break travel to Mexico Travelers heading to Florida to catch a cruise picked up a heavier bill than previous Spring Breaks. AAA Travel data shows a 28% increase in cruise bookings for March and April compared to last year, and a 60% percent increase for cruises departing from South Florida. Many Spring Break cruises have been sold-out for months. AAA advises to plan ahead and get travel insurance, which can cover for accidents, illness, medical emergencies, delayed or canceled flights, lost luggage and more. If traveling internationally with plans to drive, make sure to get an International Driving Permit. AAA is the only entity in the U.S. authorized by the State Department to issue an IDP. (WATCH: Statesville travel agent arrested in Alaskan cruise scheme) In a deeply unconvincing speech full of stale platitudes and bare-minimum promises, President Joe Biden treated abortion rights like they were a campaign-trail side dish rather than the main course of his coming election. If youve seen the articles gushing about his 2024 State of the Union address, youve probably noticed a number of outlets striving to center the abortion part of his speech as though they might encourage him, like a grade schooler, by loudly praising even the poorest effort in order to spur him toward better attempts. And I get it. We all need some hope right now. Taking your wins where you can get them no matter how small is part of that. But Bidens not a kid, and Im not here to spare the rod. Ill vote how I must, but Im not so scared of Donald Trumps return that Ill grit my teeth and cheer for whatever bare-minimum candidate the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee props up on stage. And if you care about abortion rights, you shouldnt cheer either. At least not for a string of empty promises and hollow threats. If you havent seen the abortion excerpt of Bidens speech, Time Magazines video cut is tidy enough. Watch: Biden targets Republicans on IVF and abortion access in State of the Union https://t.co/J3CJk52MA4 pic.twitter.com/nlBL6qjwQ4 TIME (@TIME) March 8, 2024 My predecessor came to office determined to see Roe v. Wade overturned. Hes the reason it was overturned, and he brags about it. Look at the chaos that has resulted, Biden said. If you, the American people, send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again. Bullshit. You want to know why Roe was overturned? Because it could be. For 49 years, the entire right to abortion in this country hinged on a court ruling, not a law. And that ruling was left undefended by lawmakers who had every chance to make it the law of the land. Democrats have had since 1973 the year Roe was ruled and that Biden was first elected to office to enshrine the bare-minimum right that American women only narrowly obtained after having to scrape and plead and fight and die for it. Democrats had trifecta control of the House, Senate and White House in 1993 under Bill Clinton, 2009 under Barack Obama, and 2021 to 2023 under Biden and they could have codified Roe through any of those years. They didnt. Of course, as he told an interviewer in 2006, Biden himself did not view abortion as a choice and a right. And, until 2019 when his campaign advisers apparently directed his attention to the year printed on the calendar, Biden still thought federal funds shouldnt be used for abortions. In the hours before the SOTU, the White House sent out what can only be seen as a desperate reminder of their list of good deeds following the fall of Roe. They include: allowing a sliver of abortion access for Veterans Affairs patients and active military; reminding hospital administrators and insurance companies of the rules theyre already under; offering hard-to-use Medicaid waivers to patients seeking out-of-state abortion care; taking the first step to improve abortion data privacy; and, most critically, finally getting contraception approved for over the counter sale. And, yes, those are all good things. Every marginal inch we can get, even if its a watered down half-measure, is a good thing. But this list isnt enough and everyone knows it. This is just another male politician offering women the bare minimum possible while expecting our gratitude and still under-delivering while blaming others. Bidens moves wouldnt have been necessary had Democrats delivered protections for abortion rights at any point in the past five decades instead of using the fear of loss rights as a cudgel to get women to the polls. It was nice of him to sign that executive order when Roe fell but, as Reuters put it, it offered few specifics and promises to have limited impact in practice, since U.S. states can make laws restricting abortion and access to medication. The White House is not publicly entertaining the idea of reforming the court itself or expanding the nine-member panel, the outlet reported. I know, I know I can hear you asking some fair questions. Dont I care how much worse it could have been under the GOP? Arent I grateful that we had Biden and the Democrats to triage the damage of Dobbs? Cant I just appreciate the crumbs he left on the table for us? No. Abortion rights are an expectation of any free people and an entitlement by virtue of biological nature. I will therefore act with entitlement toward my body and life. I will not praise a Democratic president for doing the bare minimum expected of him in a moment when my life is threatened. No more than I would praise a Republican president for not threatening my life. By some accounts, it took Biden 468 days to even say the word abortion once he took office. The first time he said it was on May 3, 2022, hastily addressing the leaked SCOTUS draft opinion. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade the next month. When it did, my state, Kentucky, was the first to effectively ban abortions in the US. In July, we found out that the night before Roe fell, the White House sent our governor an email heads up that Biden was set to nominate an anti-abortion Republican to a federal, lifetime-appointment judgeship in Kentucky. It's why Biden's failure to say the word 'abortion' matters so much. It's not a gotcha by advocates and activists. You can't defend what you won't name, Rewires Jessica Mason Pieklo tweeted. It's why Biden's failure to say the word 'abortion' matters so much. It's not a gotcha by advocates and activists. You can't defend what you won't name. Jessica Mason Pieklo (@Hegemommy) March 8, 2024 Our last abortion clinic is still closed and, for all his bluster, Biden wont bother coming to Kentucky in his post-SOTU campaigning. Likewise, as Kentuckys volunteer network of grannies and aunties have been shuttling women and girls back-and-forth over state lines, begging for donations to abortion travel funds and running estimates on the likely increases of teen pregnancies and maternal mortality, Biden was taking his sweet time to come up with abortion access options for ban states like mine. I dont recall seeing him down here doing the Lords work for the teen girls living in trailer parks and public housing projects who are just trying to get through high school in a state where 45% of women have faced sexual violence and the actual rape-kit backlog numbers arent clear. I certainly didnt see him jumping into action, enacting immediate protection of abortion rights on federal lands inside ban states as everyone begged him to, nor jumping down Republicans throats with the fury of the Defense Department. My criticism of Biden doesnt come from a desire to see the GOP win in November. It comes from my inability to punch Nazis in the face without going to jail, and from my refusal to sit through the burning of the planet while watching women die. Ive got no applause left in me for anyone who isnt actively in the fight, and no feigned excitement for a party that treats a rising tide of dead women like a political opportunity. If Democrats want to see me clapping, they can drop the saccharine malarky, by gosh shtick and lay down some bare-knuckle brutal politics like the GOP has used against them at every turn. The Democrats have most female voters hostage here; they know the GOP is more lethal to women on this issue, so they know women will vote Blue. But Im not throwing roses at Bidens feet just because he tosses us some crumbs. Im keeping the roses and I want my bread. Users of popular acne products like Proactiv, Clearasil and PanOxyl got a scare this week when a report said these products can form high levels of the cancer-causing chemical benzene. The report, issued March 6 from Valisure, an independent lab in Connecticut, prompted concerning headlines as many of these products are used widely, especially among young people, to clear otherwise unruly skin. Welp, guess Ill die, one person wrote under a Reddit post about Valisures report. Literally nothing else works for me, another person wrote. The report said 66 products containing benzoyl peroxide (BPO), a popular skin-clearing ingredient, could degrade into the carcinogen benzene. The report presented data that when BPO products were stored at 98.6 degrees, 122 degrees and 158 degrees for four to 18 days, products developed concerning levels of benzene. Researchers said some products tested can form over 800 times the conditionally restricted FDA concentration for benzene in two weeks at 122 degrees. Alongside this report, the lab filed a citizen petition asking the Food and Drug Administration to recall the products. Valisure has sounded a similar alarm before and caused major recalls. In May 2021, a similar report condemning 78 popular sunscreens for the same offense containing benzene led to concern. Valisure President David Light is also named as an inventor on a patent filed in 2023 for a method to prevent benzoyl peroxide from breaking down into benzene in drug products. While independent testing is important to consumer health, some experts said they are taking a closer look at the details of the labs benzene reports, including the one focused on acne products. Martyn Smith, a professor of toxicology at the University of California at Berkeley, told The Washington Post after the sunscreen scare that even the highest level of benzene contamination was comparable to the amount of benzene you ingest breathing for 24 hours in a city. Outdoor air contains low levels of benzene from tobacco smoke, gas stations, motor vehicle exhaust, and industrial emissions, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. Indoor air generally contains levels of benzene higher than those in outdoor air. The benzene in indoor air comes from products that contain benzene such as glues, paints, furniture wax, and detergents. Benzene is one of the 20 most widely used chemicals in the United States, says the American Cancer Society. People are exposed mainly by breathing in air containing benzene. Simply put, exposure to low levels of benzene does not pose a cause for concern, experts say. Its the building block for many chemicals in our world, Smith told The Washington Post. Whats more, chemist and educator Michelle Wong explained in a video on Instagram on March 7, Benzene doesnt absorb through skin that easily. Wong worked to quell public concerns after Valisures sunscreen report. I am once again asking you not to freak out about benzene in your products, she said in the March 7 video. Experts expressed concern that the lab tested acne products for benzene using excessive heat. When benzoyl peroxide is exposed to excessive heat, it breaks down faster and gives you more of a benzene buildup, Wong said. Hence the elevated levels at high temperatures. The premise of this report is that benzoyl peroxide has the potential to thermally decompose into benzene, dermatologist John Barbieri said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. However, most people are not storing benzoyl peroxide in the studied conditions. Barbieris sentiments are echoed by other experts. If you look at the data from Valisure they used temperatures WAY higher than any normal person stores their acne medication, dermatologist Ade Adamson wrote in a post on X. Who even keeps their BPO product in a locked car under the sun for 18 days?? The Skincare Concierge joked on X. According to Valisures report, benzene levels closer to room temperature were much lower. Clearasils parent company Reckitt said in a statement to Reuters that Valisures findings reflect unrealistic scenarios rather than real-world conditions and that Clearasil products were safe when used and stored as directed on their labels. To ensure acne products are safe, experts say to keep them in a cool, dry place as directed on the label and dont use them beyond their expiration date. Lydia Rose, a licensed esthetician quelled viewers concerns in a TikTok video on March 7. You need to know the nuances of this topic, she said, warning people to look closely at the report. Your skincare is not going to kill you. Birth control without prescription hits shelves this month. What is Opill? PCOS, a painful condition for millions of women, linked to memory loss, study finds Study finds marijuana can kill skin cancer cells but there are some big caveats WASHINGTON (DC News Now) D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser cut the ribbon on a new affordable housing spot in Southeast D.C. on Friday. The Clara will provide Anacostia with 81 new units of affordable housing, according to a press release from Bowsers office. It also includes 11,000 square feet of retail space and will be the new permanent home of Americas Islamic Heritage Museum. This is an important day for the community not only because we are cutting the ribbon on 81 new homes in historic Anacostia, but also because of the history and culture that this site represents and preserves, said Bowser in a statement. The Clara is a reminder of what is possible when we lead with and invest in our values and focus on creating hope and opportunity in our community. DC police responding to fatal shooting in Northeast Units at the Clara range from studios to three-bedroom apartments, with 61 units reserved for households earning up to 50% of the median family income (MFI), and the remaining 20 units reserved for households earning up to 30% of the MFI. Retail space at the ground level will host local businesses, including Sweet Tooth Bathery and Restaurant and TOIZ, a youth-owned environmental tenant services company that provides laundry and vending services and environmental equipment, the statement read. Sweet Tooth Bakery is set to open in April 2024 and Americas Islamic Heritage Museum will open in the winter of 2024. The Clara represents the first of its kind faith-based partnership with an Islamic house of worship, said DC Housing Finance Agency Executive Director/CEO Christopher E. Donald. Metro to host Fleet of the Future Expo on National Mall showcasing new trains, buses The Clara is situated on the grounds once home to Americas Islamic Heritage Museum and the Clara Muhammad School and is named in honor of Clara Muhammad. The Clara Muhammad Schools are a national network of schools, established in the 1930s and initially launched as the University of Islam. The name of the building and the return of Americas Islamic Heritage Museum marks a return to the heritage of the site and an homage to its history that celebrates the legacy of the Black Muslim community, the press release read. The Clara is the latest addition to the Bowser Administrations goal of creating 12,000 new affordable housing units throughout D.C. by 2025 and was built through a partnership between the District and local developer Banneker Ventures. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. Wayne L. Smith, an engineer in the Washington, D.C., area, scoffed at an image he saw last week of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gleefully nestled among a group of smiling Black people. Seeing the image immediately alarmed him. Everything he does to try to get Black people to like him is fake, Smith said. Why wouldnt that photo be fake, too? It just didnt feel right. Smiths instinct about the photo was correct; it was created by Trump supporter and conservative radio host Mark Kaye, who admitted he used artificial intelligence to create the image and posted it on social media for his 1 million Facebook followers to see. Kaye did not respond to an NBC News request for comment. Im not out there taking pictures of whats really happening. Im a storyteller, Kaye told BBC News, which tracked down the images origins. He added, If anybodys voting one way or another because of one photo they see on a Facebook page, thats a problem with that person, not with the post itself. Trumps campaign did not respond to an NBC News request for comment on this article, but last week one campaign official said: The only ones using AI to meddle in an election are President Trumps opponents. The Trump Campaign has absolutely nothing to do with these AI images. Nor can we control what other people create and post. In this election cycle, Trump has made some headway with Black voters. Sixteen percent of them said in an NBC News poll published in February that they would consider voting for Trump if the election were held today. Thats compared to the 12% who supported Trump in 2020. Still, this photo generation was the latest in a series of awkward efforts including claiming hes being persecuted in the legal system by Trump, his campaign and his supporters to try to show a connection with Black voters. They want our vote but dont know how to get it, Smith said. Bidens no peach, but hes not Trump. And they know that. Thats why they are trying anything. Tricks. Deception. And, to me, theyre just making it worse by insulting us. On one hand, said Rhonda Sherrod, who ran for a Democratic Illinois Senate seat this year, these moves to appeal to Black voters rely on racist stereotypes and can be insulting. In a recent NBC News focus group of likely Black voters, participants all generally agreed that Trumps rhetoric can often be racist. I got indicted for nothing, for something that is nothing, Trump said to a group of Black conservatives last month in South Carolina before the states primary. And a lot of people said thats why the Black people like me, because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against, and they actually viewed me as Im being discriminated against. Its been pretty amazing but possibly, maybe, theres something there. All the while, these efforts to illustrate Black voters embracing Trump may also appeal to white voters who have found his previous statements and actions discomforting, said Calvin Lawrence, an IBM chief training officer for responsible and trustworthy AI. What about those independent white people who dislike him and wont vote for him for the mere reason they think hes a racist? Lawrence said. When you see these deep fake videos and images generated by AI with him wrapped up with Black folks, theyre also targeting those white voters and saying, Look. Im not a racist. Hes not a racist. They are using AI on a larger scale. Beyond the AI-generated photographs, Trump has also boasted that Black people will connect with him because he has had a mug shot taken. My mug shot, Trump said to the Black conservative group. Weve all seen the mug shot, and you know who embraced it more than anybody else? The Black population. You see Black people walking around with my mug shot, you know. They do shirts, and they sell them for $19 apiece. Its pretty amazing millions by the way. In February Trump unveiled the Never Surrender High-Top Sneaker, a limited edition $399 pair of gold shoes with American flag details, a day after he and his company were ordered to pay a $453 million penalty for real estate fraud. Raymond Arroyo, a Fox News contributor, said in February that Trumps release of golden sneakers will be attractive to Black voters because they love sneakers. These efforts are nothing more than bigotry concealed as campaigning, said Rahna Epting, executive director of the progressive grassroots organization MoveOn. Black voters have real concerns about tangible issues like the economy, safety and health care. Ray Richardson, a retired government worker in Atlanta, agreed. Donald Trump views me and my Black vote as a cheap whore on the street corner, Richardson said. I want passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Bill, criminal justice reform. He has no regard for my intelligence or interest. Its insulting and disrespectful. How artificial intelligence will affect Black voters and the electorate at large For many, the disingenuous use of AI is particularly alarming. Elizabeth M. Adams, an artificial intelligence expert, told NBC News that the images of Trump generated by Kaye using AI is the epitome of weaponizing or misusing the tools purpose. But it also was not surprising to Adams, the CEO of EMA Advisory Services, a company that focuses on responsible use of AI. Artificial intelligence really is training a computer to think fast, like a human, but at a much faster pace, she said. And so, when, in a case like this, its being weaponized, it is also a mirror of society. Its all the things that people think the biases people have. Its also troubling, Adams said. Very unfortunate, but it is a consequence of what happens when you dont have a good vision for how A.I. should be used, Adams said via a phone interview from a conference in Saudi Arabia. If you have bad actors before AI, theyre just going to use the tools and continue being bad actors. IBMs Lawrence wrote a book, published last year, Hidden in White Sight: How A.I. Empowers and Deepens Systemic Racism. For the last four years, he said he has been cautioning about the exploitation of AI. With Trump and his supporters, Lawrence said he sees the manifestation of his concerns and more. The bigger picture wont affect Black voters who know what Trump stands for, Lawrence said. The bigger goal is the long-term effect of the deep fake to create a zero trust society, where people no longer believe what you say or what they see. With a zero trust society, you cant distinguish the truth from falsehood. Truth gets eroded. He cited the George Floyd murder in 2020 as an example. Imagine if the nation thought that womans video was a deep fake, thought it was AI-generated? he said of a bystanders cellphone video of Floyds fatal encounter with Minneapolis police. If people didnt believe what they saw, would we have had a social justice movement? Half of the responses to questions about politics by AI chatbots like ChatGPT4 and Google Gemini were completely inaccurate, according to an analysis published by the AI Democracy Project last month. This is only the beginning of AI influx into the election, Adams and Lawrence said. For Chicago psychologist Sherrod, who ran for the state senate this year, that is concerning. Its going to be a bruising political season, said Sherrod, author of the 2021 book, Surviving, Healing and Evolving: Essays of Love, Compassion, Healing and Affirmation for Black People. In this cycle, the legitimacy of democracy is at stake. The volatility of the campaign with its racial undertones and potential for misleading information, despite some companies having policies against such acts and the specter of Trump returning to the White House can take a toll on Black voters, Sherrod said. From a psychological standpoint, so many of us are already tired. Weve been bombarded with so much information, and because there are so many different information sources including AI that Black people have to protect themselves psychologically, she said. A lot of times that means that if you see something that strikes you a certain way, you need to try to look at some other sources of information to figure out whether or not it is credible. Its a shame we have to go through all those hoops, but thats the world we live in. But they are worth going through to make sure we get the right person in the White House. For more from NBC BLK, sign up for our weekly newsletter. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Alaska Airlines is at the centre of a second aviation plight after a plane arrived at an airport gate with its cargo door open. The cargo hold was stowing passengers pets, according to local TV station KOIN, although none of the animals were injured. The plane had flown in from Los Cabos, Mexico and landed in Portland, Oregon on Friday 1 March. Alaska Airlines told KOIN in a statement that there was no indication to the crew that the door was unsealed during the flight and all indications point to the door partially opening after landing. Our maintenance teams inspected the aircraft, replaced a spring in the door, tested the door and reentered it into service." The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Friday that law enforcement must have a warrant prior to using aircraft and binoculars or cameras with zoom lenses to surveil areas around homes. The decision by Alaskas high court explains that some argue that because small airplane travel is so common in Alaska, and because any passenger might peer into your yard and snap a picture of you, law enforcement officials may do the same, according to The Associated Press. We disagree, the decision continued. The Friday ruling has its roots in a case dating to 2012, when Alaska State Troopers got a tip from an informant that John William McKelvey III was growing marijuana on his property north of Fairbanks, according to the AP. McKelveys property was heavily wooded and had a driveway that led to a clearing that had a house and a greenhouse, according to the ruling. Ground-level visibility of the buildings was restricted by trees, and a gate prevented cars from coming in. Two troopers who followed up on the tip flew past McKelveys property and used a camera with a high-power zoom lens to get photos of the greenhouse with buckets that had unidentifiable plants in them, according to the court, per the AP. A search warrant for McKelveys property was obtained, resulting from the tip and flight. Amid the search, items including marijuana plants, methamphetamine, scales, a rifle and cash were found. A lower court denied McKelveys attempt to have the evidence suppressed, and he was convicted of third-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance and a weapons misconduct count, according to the AP. He appealed and said the judge had incorrectly denied his motion to suppress. An appeals court later reversed the original courts decision, which was followed by the Last Frontiers highest court affirming the appeals court decision. The Alaska Constitution protects the right to be free of unreasonable searches, the Alaska Supreme Court ruling states, according to the AP. The fact that a random person might catch a glimpse of your yard while flying from one place to another does not make it reasonable for law enforcement officials to take to the skies and train high-powered optics on the private space right outside your home without a warrant. An attorney for McKelvey, Robert John, said the ruling is a tremendous decision to protect the rights of privacy of Alaskans and hopefully set an example for the rest of the country, according to the AP. An attorney Robert John, who represents McKelvey, told The Hill in a statement that the ruling is a tremendous victory for the privacy rights of all Alaskans. The Alaska Department of Law also told The Hill it is reviewing the ruling. The Associated Press contributed reporting. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) The Albuquerque Police Department says a man hit a Metro security officer last year and that they found drugs on him after being arrested. However, the plea deal he took on Friday says he only tried to do those things. Woman from Crownpoint receives sentence for deadly drunk driving crash Donald Johnson Jr. was arrested back in August after getting into a confrontation at an ART bus stop. The criminal complaint says he slapped a security officer and after being arrested, officers found meth inside his bag. He took a plea deal having battery upon a peace officer and possession charges dropped. It was replaced with attempt to commit battery of an officer and attempt to commit possession of a controlled substance. Judge Rudolfo Emeterio sentenced Johnson Jr. to six months of supervised probation. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. Daniel Ricciardo was at a loss to explain his subdued pace in Fridays qualifying in Jeddah, which the RB charger concluded well down the order in 14th position. The Australian driver made the Q2 cut but ended the second segment almost half a second adrift from the threshold that would have propelled him into Q3. It was Ricciardos second P14 finish in succession in qualifying, but while he believed that he hadnt performed to the best of his ability a week ago in Bahrain, he felt that something was amiss with his equipment in Jeddah. "Very frustrating," the Australian said. "I think last week I was frustrated just more with myself because I knew there was time on the table, it was on me. But today is honestly a bit more of a mystery, I would say. "The balance, okay, a few corners which you struggle with a little bit here and there, but simply in Q2 when everyone's able to find even half a second or something, we just plateaued. Read also: "I felt like I couldn't get any more out of it with what I had. It wasn't like I had massive understeer or oversteer. It was simply, just, we didn't have what felt like grip compared to the others. "Even if I had another set of tyres now... I know where the time was, but I don't know how we could have got it in that session. I'm hopeful we find something, because half a second is kind of crazy." Tsunoda was able to power his way into Q3 where he secured a spot on the fifth row for Saturdays race, which further baffled Ricciardo as the pair had been pretty much evenly matched until qualifying. Obviously, he did a good job but it's not like he's been really comfortable and I haven't been, commented the Aussie. "Coming into qualifying it was pretty evenly matched and in Q1 it looked that way, and then he and pretty much everyone else was able to make that step and we simply struggled. "Being that far behind is frustrating, and being 14th when we're obviously fighting for points, it doesn't help. I know that's not the gap." On the other side of the RB garage, Tsunoda was obviously satisfied to make the top-ten shootout in Saudi Arabia, his fifth incursion into Q3 in 23 races. "Definitely happy with the result," he said after qualifying P9. "The team did a fantastic job, they gave me such a good car. "I can see their happy faces after going into Q3. This gives us extra confidence for the future as well. But the Japanese driver still believes that scoring points this evening in Jeddah will require a flawless performance from both team and driver. "It won't be easy and there is still an Aston Martin and Ferrari behind, so we have to get it absolutely right with strategy, everything and also myself," he added. "I'm expecting Haas will also be pretty fast. Anything can happen here and it won't be easy to overtake, so hopefully I can use that my advantage." Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter ALEXANDRIA, Va. (DC News Now) The Alexandria Police Department (APD) said officers were assisting Metro Transit Police on Friday night after an incident between an officer and a man. In a post made just before 9 p.m. on X, formerly Twitter, APD said it was at the King Street Metro Station. There, they say an altercation occurred between a man and a Metro Transit Police officer. Men arrested after crashing into Virginia State Police cars in separate chases on I-495, troopers say The suspect was in custody. DC News Now reached out to APD for more information, but has not yet received a response. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. SEBASTIAN COUNTY, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) An Alma man is dead after police say he engaged in a high-speed pursuit with a stolen vehicle on Friday evening. According to a crash report by the Arkansas Department of Public Safety, Willis Kelvin, 32, was driving a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe north on Hwy 71 and Hwy 45 at a high speed when traveled off the road and collided with a utility pole. Kelvin was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the report. Arkansas State Crime Lab making improvements on rape kit turnaround time; headed in the right direction for victims Kelvins passenger, a Fort Smith man, was injured in the crash. According to Greenwood Police Department (GPD), an infant was also in the car at the time of the crash but was not injured. GPD says that the vehicle was stolen. Yesterday evening our officers intercepted a stolen vehicle. A traffic stop was attempted. However, the driver of the vehicle fled away at high speeds. As the pursuit was being transferred to the state police, the driver of the vehicle left the roadway and struck a utility pole at Hwy. 71 and Hwy. 45 and then collided with a second vehicle, said GPD. Arkansas State Police investigating the crash, and Greenwood police says they will conduct an internal pursuit review. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24. Ukraines State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) has initiated two criminal proceedings against Vitaliy Shabunin, the head of the Anticorruption Action Centre (AntAC), based on allegations of document forgery and military service evasion, the Ukrainian journalist Volodymyr Boiko said on Facebook on March 7. Cases were filed against Shabunin under Part 4 of Art. 409 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (evasion of military service) and Part 1 of Art. 358 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (forgery of an official document), Boiko said. The second case pertains to Shabunin allegedly submitting letters to the military unit where he was registered, bearing the signatures of the head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), Oleksandr Novikov, and deputy head of NABU, Artem Sytnyk. These letters requested the transfer of soldier Shabunin to NABU. However, after the situation became public, NABU leadership officially claimed that they never issued such letters and accused Shabunin of writing them himself, Boiko said. Read also: Ukraine to try former judge for treason I think that the NABU leadership is lying and these letters are real, the journalist said. However, this does not impact the assessment of the military unit commanders actions, who, having illegally assigned Shabunin to NABU, paid him 53 thousand hryvnias ($1.4 thousand) every month 23 thousand hryvnias ($602) of monetary allowance and 30 thousand hryvnias ($786) of additional remuneration for, allegedly, performing combat missions. These tasks, as far as I understand, involved soldier Shabunin removing empty bottles from Sytnyks office. Shabunin confirmed the initiation of two criminal proceedings against him in a comment to NV. The SBI was directed in December by an investigating judge of Kyivs Shevchenkivskyi District Court to register a statement regarding the alleged offenses committed by Shabunin. The request for an investigation came from Rostyslav Kravets, the head of the NGO Public Integrity Council. The appeal aimed to verify claims that Shabunin was enlisted in the military units personnel but did not fulfill military service duties, and forged documents for a business trip. Read also: Ex-Berkut deputy commander sentenced to 15 years in prison, Prosecutor's Office reports Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Antioch PD asks for assistance identifying vehicle theft suspect (KRON) The Antioch Police Department is asking for community assistance in identifying an unknown suspect. ACSO asks for assistance in finding man connected to homicide investigation Antioch Police Department Antioch Police Department The suspect was recorded on video stealing a vehicle and later dumping it, police said. The vehicle was recovered near East 6th Street and A Street. According to police, the suspect is seen on camera walking away from that area afterward. Anyone with information on the identity of this suspect is asked to contact Community Service Officer Collazo at (925) 778-2441. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) Two men accused of stealing cars were arrested by the Albuquerque Police Department overnight. The arrests were part of the APDs Auto Theft, Intel, and Robbery Detectives tactical plan to address auto theft and warrant backlog. Antoine Richardson, 38, was arrested in the northeast Area Command after detectives found him inside a reported stolen vehicle. Richardson was charged with receiving/transferring a stolen motor vehicle. BCSO cracking down on aggressive, speedy drivers in the metro Later during the operation, detectives were searching for Dusty Jimenez, who had four outstanding warrants for auto theft related charges and was previously on APDs Top 25 Auto Theft Offender list. Officers found Jimenez in the Southwest Area Command inside a stolen vehicle. Jimenez was booked and charged with receiving/transferring a stolen motor vehicle and the four warrants. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. A canvasser in Ohio discusses a ballot initiative to raise the vote threshold to enact new citizen-initiated constitutional amendments. (Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal) A Central Arkansas judge is allowing the group challenging Arkansas new ballot petition law to amend its complaint before he decides whether to grant the attorney generals request to dismiss the lawsuit. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Herb Wright wrote in an order this week that he had concerns about whether a sitting state senator and the League of Women Voters of Arkansas had legal standing to bring a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a new state law that raises the number of counties where ballot initiative groups must gather signatures from 15 to 50. State Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, doesnt enjoy any special privileges in the case as a state lawmaker, Wright wrote. Plaintiff League of Women Voters comes somewhat closer to chinning the bar on proving standing, as the record shows that they have been involved in voter initiatives in the past and may be in the future, including the upcoming November 2024 election, Wright wrote. Nonetheless, their argument regarding their standing also falls short. Plaintiffs counsel stated for the record that the League is currently involved in two ballot initiatives that would be affected by Act 236, but that fact is not pled in Plaintiffs Complaint. Wright gave the League five days to amend its complaint to address the standing issue. David Couch, the Leagues attorney in the case, filed an amended complaint this week, noting that the League of Women Voters is a member of the Arkansas Period Poverty Project ballot question committee, which is supporting a proposed initiated act to exempt feminine hygiene products and diapers from state sales tax. That should resolve his issues with standing, then it will squarely teed up for: Is it constitutional or not? Couch said. The AGs office has asked Wright to dismiss the case over the standing issue and due to the principle of sovereign immunity, which prohibits lawsuits against the state. Wright said sovereign immunity didnt apply in this case because it deals with the constitutionality of legislation. Wright in a hearing last month said he planned to rule on the attorney generals motion to dismiss before deciding whether to block the new law from taking effect. His decision is almost certainly going to be appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court, and it could have major implications for which ballot proposals make it to Election Day in November. Those efforts include the Period Poverty Projects proposal and initiatives on medical marijuana, public education, government transparency, abortion and absentee voting. The lawsuit targets Act 236 of 2023, the state Legislatures most recent attempt to make it more difficult to qualify a proposed constitutional amendment, initiated act or referendum for the ballot. Act 236 requires canvassers to gather signatures from half the number of registered voters who voted in the most recent gubernatorial election in at least 50 counties. Thats an increase from the at-least 15-county requirement in Article 5 of the Arkansas Constitution. The law also removed the so-called cure period, which allowed ballot efforts that got close but fell short of the required number of signatures additional time to collect more petitions. Proponents of the bill said it would ensure rural Arkansas has a voice in the petition process and protect the Constitution from out-of-state interests. King and the League of Women Voters, though, argue Act 236 places additional restrictions on the initiative process, directly contradicting Article 5 of the state Constitution. SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST. DONATE The post Arkansas judge will allow amended complaint in challenge to new ballot petition law appeared first on Arkansas Advocate. ST. LOUIS An Arkansas mans sentencing is scheduled after admitting to exchanging nude pictures with a minor, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office in St. Louis. 25-year-old Joseph D. Najera, from Lincoln, AR, sent a friend request to the victim in 2017 on Kik Messenger. Najera began sending nude artwork and had the victim exchange artwork as well. The victim was 12 years old at the beginning of the exchanges. A release stated that the requests for drawings became significantly more complex and sexual. Najera asked the victim to perform sexual acts on video chat or create images, according to the plea agreement. Police confirm arrest following fight near Hazelwood East High School Nude videos from Najera were sent via Facebook Messenger and TextNow. In addition, the 25-year-old monitored the victims phone through parental controls to ensure she was not talking to other boys at school. A release also said he had to approve of the victims makeup, clothes, and haircuts. Meeting in person was discussed, but the plan never went through. Najera pleaded guilty to one felony charge of coercion and enticement of a minor. His sentencing is scheduled for June 27, with both sides recommending 10 years in prison. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. Arkansas State Crime Lab making improvements on rape kit turnaround time; headed in the right direction for victims LITTLE ROCK, Ark. A pre-budget meeting for state lawmakers Friday shed light on a serious issue in Arkansas that officials said is now headed in the right direction. For years now, rape and sexual assault kits in the state have been behind schedule for examination, but that turnaround time is lowering significantly. Arkansas State Police launching new Cold Case Division to find answers to unsolved crimes The rape and sexual assault kit turnaround time this time last year was about eight months. That is eight months of those committing these crimes not being arrested, and victims waiting for answers, officials said. However, officials with the state crime lab have reported there is now a 90-day turnaround time and noted the time will keep going down. Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester (R-Cave Springs) and a handful of other lawmakers pressed the state crime lab director and other officials about this turnaround time in the meeting Friday. They all acknowledged its a relief to know improvements are being made and Arkansas is ahead of nearly every other state in the nation now. State Crime Lab Director Ted Brown said the problem is needing more staff and a new crime lab, which could be up as soon as 2025. From The Ground Up: Meeting the Little Rock Police Departments all-civilian, all-female team of crime scene specialists Hester told KARK 4 News the focus also needs to be on upping the pay for those employees so we can recruit more people and get these kits returned at an even faster rate. Ninety days is something we can celebrate but say the work is not done, but we are headed in the right direction, Hester said. A spokesperson for Arkansas Public Safety said the goal is to have a turnaround rate under 60 days by 2025. State Crime Lab officials also pointed out that it takes a year to train the DNA analysts who work on the rape kits, so while they need more employees, its also not a quick process to get them on board and ready to start helping out with this time issue. Director of Arkansas State Crime Lab discusses how forensic scientists play a role in all criminal investigations The legislatures fiscal session, where theyll actually approve budgets, is next month. Hester said the state has set aside more than $100 million to focus on these issues and make improvements to the state crime lab. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. Red Bull took another step forward this weekend in terms of their already dominant form, according to the team's drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez after they finished 1-2 in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Verstappen started from pole position and easily held on to the lead at the start of the race, only dropping to second during an early round of pit stops triggered by Lance Stroll crashing out. Perez lined up in third place on the grid but had little trouble dispatching Charles Leclerc before the safety car came out. He was hit by a penalty for an unsafe release during the pit stops but it was easily overcome in the race. Such was the dominance of the pair that they were soon lost in the nighttime darkness, barely featuring in the television coverage of the race, and their cruise to the finish line had the feeling or a procession. The winner of last year's race here, Perez said that the result was a great day for the team, and added: Its a very different track to Bahrain and were keeping strong, so we just have to keep this momentum going. "I think weve taken a step forward from Bahrain," he continued, words that will strike fear in their rivals. "Weve done good improvements from yesterday, so we have some things to tidy up and our time will come. "It was a shame that we just qualified out of the front row, because we had a great start. Unfortunately Charles really kept it together and we couldnt get through - it was a nice fight. We definitely made some good progress, he continued. It was quite a compromised race: with the safety car so early, it was a very long stint on the hard." While Verstappen and Perez both pitted under the safety car, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton both stayed out to avoid hold-ups on piot lane due to 'double staking', and Norris inherited the lead for a spell after the restart. "It took us a long time to get through Lewis and Lando," Perez acknowledged. It was tricky at times, especially in the beginning, and we had no warm-up at all. We were sliding a lot." Verstappen seemed to have little difficulty re-passing Norris to retake the lead, and indeed his race had a sense of serenity to it as the reigning champion extended his run of race wins with a sense of inexorable inevitability. "Overall it was a fantastic weekend for the whole team, but also for myself, he told the media after the chequered flag. I felt really good with the car, and basically it was the same in the race. Of course the last stint was a bit longer than we would have liked, but with the safety car you had to go for it," he noted. "The last two laps with those backmarkers with the cold tyres was a little bit slippery, but we had good pace all around. We could manage it quite well with the gap, so overall Im very pleased. It's a perfect start for Verstappen and for Red Bull, although for once he was unable to secure to secure the bonus point for fastest lap which went to Leclerc. Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter Police officer standing outside of taped-off subway entrance, empty gun and bullet seized by police; bullets and gun seized by police Cops this year have seized 113% more guns in subway busts, troubling data obtained by The Post revealed. Police recovered 17 guns from people arrested on the citys rails through March 3, more than double the eight confiscated during the same period in 2023. The 299 blades and other sharp weapons grabbed from crooks on city transportation represents a 50% increase from the 199 seized during the same period in 2023, the data show. Gun seizures on subways have more than doubled this year. X @NYPDTransit Overall, cops have seized 53% more weapons which includes guns and cutting instruments from people arrested in the subway system, confiscating 316 weapons compared to 207 during the same period in 2023, according to NYPD data. Pre-pandemic, in 2019, just 126 weapons were taken from perps during this period. The odds of confiscating a gun is high because criminals are more emboldened than ever to carry a firearm because they know there are no consequences, said Paul DiGiacomo, president of the NYPD detectives union, blaming the citys broken criminal justice system. The real question is when are state legislators, district attorneys, and the City Council going to recognize and fix the crisis they created, he added. The shocking stats come as Gov. Hochul this week deployed 750 National Guardsmen along with 250 state and MTA police to check riders bags at busy stations, citing the gruesome, near-fatal slashing of subway conductor Alton Scott, 59, and a 64-year-old postal worker being kicked onto the tracks. Many weapons seizures this year have come during fare-beating stops, one veteran cop said. Three subway riders were killed in fatal subway shootings this year. X @NYPDTransit They dont do enough stopping on the trains with stop and frisk, the cop said. They get the knives and guns because of turnstile jumping. Mayor Adams announced a push to permanently increase the number of cops on subway platforms to combat the scourge of crime underground, which is up 13% so far this year compared to the same period in 2023, per police data. The spate of subway violence this year has included three fatal shootings, between Jan. 14 and Feb. 23. Cops this year have seized 113% more guns in subway busts, troubling data obtained by The Post revealed. cunaplus stock.adobe.com A lot of people are wilding, subway rider Brian Jacotin, 31, said about the spike in weapons seizures. If I make it home, its by the grace of God. The governor and mayors plan to add patrols to the subways is a good start, he said. If they are going to do this, it has to be long-term. It cant be until crime goes down [and] then they disperse, he said. Transit crime is up 13% this year compared to the same period last year. Matthew McDermott An NYPD spokesperson blamed the surge in weapons on the subway system on a lax criminal justice system failing to properly punish criminals for repeated criminal conduct, however minor in the eyes of some, emboldening them to bring dangerous weapons onto the rails. The increase in weapons seizures can be attributed to the continued work of NYPD officers who remain committed to the mission of public safety by confronting lawlessness, proactively engaging offenders, and removing weapons at near historic highs from the subway system, they said. Asif Ali Zardari became Pakistan's president for a second time (JOHN THYS) Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of Pakistan's slain first female premier Benazir Bhutto who has had a life storied equally by tragedy and farce, was on Saturday voted president for a second time. Initially a background character as Bhutto's consort, Zardari was stained by a bevy of corruption and other allegations, including absurd kidnapping plots and taking kickbacks lavished on hoards of jewellery. Despite a reputation as "Mr. Ten Percent" -- the alleged cut he took for rubber-stamping contracts -- a sympathy vote propelled him to office when his wife was assassinated in a 2007 bomb and gun attack. Between 2008 and 2013, he ushered in constitutional reforms rolling back presidential powers, and the 68-year-old's second term will see him steer a largely ceremonial office. He has spent more than 11 years in jail, a long time even by the standards of Pakistani politicians, with a wheeler-dealer's talent for bouncing back after scandals. Back in 2009, the New York Times said he had a knack for "artful dodging" -- "maneuvering himself out of the tight spots he gets himself into". Newly sworn-in national and provincial lawmakers and senators voted him in under the terms of a coalition deal brokered after February 8 elections marred by rigging claims. Under that deal, Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) took the presidency, while its historic rivals the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party secured the prime minister's position for Shehbaz Sharif, who was officially sworn in on Monday. Zardari is expected to take his oath on Sunday. - 'Polo playboy' - Zardari was born in 1955 into a land-owning family from the southern province of Sindh. "As a child, I was spoilt by my parents as an only son," he said in a 2000 interview with The Guardian newspaper. "They indulged my every whim." He expressed only limited political ambitions as a young man -- losing a 1983 local government election. It was his 1987 arranged marriage with PPP leader Bhutto that earned him a spot in the political limelight. Their union -- brokered by Bhutto's mother -- was considered an unlikely pairing for a leader-in-waiting from one of Pakistan's major political dynasties. Bhutto was an Oxford and Harvard graduate driven by the desire to oust then-president Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq, who forced her father from the prime minister's office and had him executed. Zardari was a university dropout with a reputation for brawling, partying and romancing women at a private disco in his family home. On the eve of their wedding, Bhutto's team issued a formal statement denying he was "a playboy who plays polo by day and frequents discos at night". Their nuptial celebrations were dubbed the "people's wedding" -- doubling as a political rally in the megacity of Karachi, where a crowd of 100,000 fervently chanted PPP slogans. Initially, Zardari pledged to keep out of politics. - On the make - Bhutto served as prime minister from 1988 to 1990 -- the first woman to head a democratic government in a Muslim country -- and again from 1993 to 1996. PPP insiders regarded Zardari as a liability, considering him likely to embarrass her leadership. Their fears were perhaps well-founded. In 1990, he was embroiled in accusations of an absurd plot to extort a businessman by tying a bomb to his leg. He was jailed for three years on extortion and kidnapping charges but was elected to the national assembly from behind bars. In Bhutto's second term, he served as investment minister. A bombshell New York Times investigation detailed how he tried to engineer vast kickbacks on military contracts over this period while lavishing huge sums on jewellery. After Bhutto's government fell in 1996, Zardari was back behind bars within half an hour. - Accidental president - In December 2007, Bhutto was assassinated while on the campaign trail for a third term in office. Her killing shook the nation to its core, a wave of sympathy carrying the PPP to victory in 2008. The party nominated Zardari as president. In 2010, he was widely criticised for continuing a European holiday when the nation was devastated by floods that killed almost 1,800 and affected 21 million. He was also head of state when US commandos trespassed onto Pakistani soil for the 2011 assassination of Osama Bin Laden, an episode that humiliated many compatriots. He did, however, usher in constitutional reforms rolling back the sweeping powers of the presidency and bolstering parliamentary democracy that had been undermined by three decades of military rule since 1947. In 2013, Zardari became the first Pakistani president to complete his full term. He was jailed once again over money laundering charges in 2019 but was released months later. Zardari and Benazir had three children, including Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the current chairman of the PPP. zz/jts/ecl/mca PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) The Astoria Police Department is searching for a man accused of attempted murder after an injured individual was located at the Port of Astoria Boatyard Pier 3 with injuries, officials said. Police say that the Astoria Fire Department responded Thursday to reports of a man who was injured in a fall. However, when first responders arrived at the pier, they discovered during the injured persons medical treatment that the victims injuries were not a result of a fall. Missing bolts, fumes, an off-duty pilot facing charges: 5 months of questions for Alaska Airlines While the victim isnt being identified, pending notification to his family, police did say they are trying to locate and interview the suspect, 30-year-old Dylan Xavier Campana. Police say Campana should be considered armed and dangerous and is currently wanted on an Oregon State Parole Board Violation. Campana is six feet tall and weighs 180 pounds, according to authorities. Anyone who has information about the incident or the suspect is encouraged to contact Astoria police. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. A law clinic at the University of Georgia has sued the Atlanta Police Foundation, after the non-profit organization repeatedly ignored records requests from journalists and researchers about its role in backing the controversial police-training center opponents have dubbed Cop City. The complaint, filed on behalf of the digital news outlet Atlanta Community Press Collective and the Chicago-based digital transparency research organization Lucy Parsons Labs, details how numerous queries to the foundation under Georgias Open Records Act have not been answered. Related: Georgia police and FBI conduct Swat-style raids on Cop City activists homes It is the first lawsuit to my knowledge taking on a police foundation over access to information about what they do, according to Robert Vargas, a University of Chicago sociology professor who researches police foundations. The Atlanta Police Foundation, or APF, is building the $109m training center on a 171-acre footprint in a forest south-east of the city; at least $67m of the projects cost comes from taxpayer funds. The lawsuit alleges that by virtue of [the foundation] performing a service or function for or on behalf of the City of Atlanta, all records related to the project should be publicly available, according to a press release from Samantha C Hamilton, an attorney at the university law schools first amendment clinic. The APF has followed a nationwide trend of police foundations receiving increasing donations over the last decade, since the inception of the Black Lives Matter movement, Vargas noted. Their role has increasingly been to help launder the reputation of the police [and] operate outside of open records laws. The lawsuits claims highlight how over the last decade, the failure of police foundations nationwide to provide basic levels of transparency raises questions about their motives, and whether or not they have the public interest at heart, said Alex Vitale, the author of The End of Policing. If you have nothing to hide, then why are you hiding? Vitale said. The fight against Cop City has drawn national and global headlines, particularly since 18 January of last year, when state troopers shot and killed Manuel Paez Teran, known as Tortuguita, who was camping in protest at a public park near the Cop City site the first such incident in US history. Opposition to the project has come from a wide range of local and national supporters, with concerns such as unchecked police militarization and clearing forests in an era of climate crisis. Atlanta police say the center is needed for world-class training. Last weeks lawsuit draws attention to the centers driving force, the APF the nations largest police foundations, and one of the most well-funded among hundreds, with support from corporate donors such as Delta, Wells Fargo and Home Depot. Its CEO, Dave Wilkinson, is also the highest-paid among police foundation CEOs nationwide, with a 2022 salary of $500,000. Corporate funding, coupled with their non-profit status, have allowed police foundations to escape public scrutiny, said Vitale. Police have relied on these slush funds to provide them with levels of independence from government oversight unheard of in any other agency, Vitale said. The complaint joins at least four others linked to Cop City filed by journalists and documentarians in more than a year, for actions ranging from Atlanta police deleting a documentarians footage to the Georgia bureau of investigation refusing to release its investigative file on Paez Terans death, claiming that it forms part of an ongoing criminal investigation into dozens of people opposed to the project. The Atlanta Community Press Collective, or ACPC, began reporting on the training center in late 2021, filling a vacuum left in local media exemplified by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution failing to disclose in much of its news and opinion coverage of the project that Alex Taylor, the CEO of Cox Enterprises the papers owner had led a multimillion-dollar fundraising drive for the foundation. ACPCs early reporting gleaned details from minutes of the APFs quarterly board meetings, which the scrappy startup obtained from open records requests to Atlanta police, who were receiving the minutes by email. By the end of 2022, we noticed they stopped sending the minutes that way, along with other emails, said Matt Scott, an ACPC reporter. In spring 2023, the outlet started making records requests directly to the APF for board meeting minutes and a line-item construction budget. They received no reply. Scott said that foundation representatives also havent appeared in Atlanta city council meetings with updates on the project for more than a year. Around the same time last year, Ed Vogel, a researcher at Lucy Parsons Labs, also began submitting records requests to the foundation including for contracts, environmental testing and assessments, communications about a grassroots initiative to let voters decide via a referendum whether the center should be built and communications between Wilkinson and the Georgia attorney general, Chris Carr, who by September had issued an unprecedented indictment of 61 people for alleged conspiracy, or RICO. Vogel also received no reply. APF spokesperson Rob Baskin did not return requests for comment. Vogel said he was as interested in financial records as in understanding how key individuals [such as Wilkinson] understand their relationships to government figures such as Carr. For me, its important to see how individuals with significant roles are talking about their roles, and how they are talking to each other, Vogel said. Not having access to records and not understanding these relationships means not understanding how certain key decisions in any community get made, said Vitale. By obscuring the role of police foundations, we allow very powerful actors to shape public policy around public safety with absolutely no accountability, he said. Vogel hopes the suit leads to more than producing documents. Transparency is important creating public access regarding whats happening in and around this facility, he said. But transparency isnt democracy What this should lead to is better democratic processes a greater role of the public in deciding how infrastructure gets built. It shouldnt be something handled behind closed doors. An Oklahoma City Police Department vehicle is parked along Shartel Avenue in December. A street gang member has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for repeatedly punching an Oklahoma City police officer in the face during a domestic abuse call. DeAngelo T. Wright, 27, pleaded guilty Friday to aggravated assault and battery upon a police officer. Sgt. Morgan Reynolds was knocked unconscious during the April 27 attack and was hospitalized. She suffered a broken jaw, broken nose, broken teeth and a concussion. Sgt. Reynolds is one of the bravest, most courageous people I have ever met, prosecutor Mykel Fry said Friday. Her wounds have healed, and she is back to work with the Oklahoma City Police Department." Wright earlier on April 27 strangled his then-girlfriend at an Oklahoma City apartment after becoming intoxicated, police reported in a court affidavit. He fled when she called police. The victim, Perrishea Smith, told police he strangled her with both hands for 10 to 15 seconds. He returned to the apartment but fled when police were called again, according to the affidavit. He returned a second time and said he would wait for police. "He stated he wasn't going back to prison and he would fight if he had to." Reynolds was attacked when she came to the apartment about 5 a.m. Among the evidence against Wright was the officer's bodycam video. It shows he said to her, "I haven't done nothing." He began punching the sergeant after she said she was going to pat him down "and make sure you ain't got nothing." Police reported he continued to punch her after she fell to the floor unconscious. A cousin, Darryl Puckett, pulled on Wright's shirt to try to stop him from hitting the officer, police reported. He then struck the cousin. Wright struck his cousin at least five times, "causing her ears to ring and her head to hurt," police reported. He pleaded no contest Friday to domestic assault and battery by strangulation for attacking his then-girlfriend. He pleaded no contest to domestic abuse in the presence of a child for striking his cousin. The outcome Friday was the result of a plea agreement. His jury trial had been set to begin Monday in Oklahoma County District Court. "We were ready to go to trial next week but are relieved for all of victims in this case that they dont have to relive that violent day in court," Fry said. Wright was identified in the court affidavit as a known active member of the Nutty Block Crips gang. He has been to prison before for burglary and domestic abuse. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Man ordered to prison after pleading guilty to attacking OKC police officer One civilian has been killed and four wounded in attacks by Russian troops on Donetsk Oblast on Saturday. Source: Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor's Office Quote: "One was killed and four wounded as a result of Russian troops' attacks on Donetsk Oblast." Details: On the morning of 9 March, the Russian forces fired on the village of Ocheretyne in the Pokrovsk district. A hostile rocket exploded near the house, causing a 63-year-old man to sustain shrapnel wounds. At the time of the explosion, the local was standing on his porch. Soon after that, the Russian invaders shelled the town of Chasiv Yar in the Bakhmut district. A 46-year-old man sustained multiple shrapnel wounds while being outside. The eyewitnesses tried to provide him with first aid, but they failed to save the wounded man. At 15:30, the village of Yelyzavetivka of Marinka hromada came under fire. (A hromada is an administrative unit designating a town, village or several villages and their adjacent territories ed.). A 68-year-old woman was wounded and taken to hospital with a shrapnel wound to the chest. At the same time, the Russian forces attacked the village of Arkhanhelske in Ocheretyne hromada. A man, 57, was injured near a body of water. The Russian invaders attacked these settlements with artillery. At 17:20, the Russians attacked the town of Ukrainske in Selydove hromada, likely using an Uragan multiple-launch rocket system. A 29-year-old woman was taken to hospital with a mine-blast injury and an open fracture of her tibia. Three high-rise buildings and three private houses were damaged. Support UP or become our patron! AUBURN, Ala. (WRBL) The Auburn Police said another suspect has been arrested in connection with a 2023 robbery in Auburn on Wednesday. According to police, 22-year-old Derrick Alexander Thomas Jr. from Auburn was arrested on a felony warrant charging him with first-degree robbery. His arrest stemmed from a robbery investigation, where he was developed as a suspect. Auburn Police said the robbery happened on Dec. 13, 2023, and Thomas Jr. is the second suspect arrested in connection with the incident. The first suspect, Jacoreyious Tyrek Walker was arrested back on Dec. 14, 2023. Police said they obtained arrest warrants for Thomas Jr. and with help from The U.S. Marshals Task Force he was arrested and transported to the Lee County Jail. As of now, Thomas Jr. is being held without bond until judicial review. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRBL. AUSTIN (KXAN) The Austin Police Department said detectives with its robbery unit were searching for a suspect concerning an incident on Feb. 16. APD said a robbery occurred at approximately 10:20 a.m. at Beauty Plus located at 2805 Rogge Lane. According to police, the suspect entered the store, selected an item and then attempted to leave the store. Police said the victim tried to assist the suspect to prevent the theft, which was when the suspect attacked the victim. Police described the suspect as an approximately 57 to 58 tall Black man in his 20s last seen wearing a multi-colored bonnet, red head wrap, white mask, black hoodie, gray pants and black-and-white Nike shoes. Surveillance images of suspect in Rogge Lane robbery investigation (APD photos) Anyone with any information was asked to contact APDs Robbery unit at 512-974-5092. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the Capital Area Crime Stoppers Program by visiting austincrimestoppers.org or calling 512-472-8477. A reward of up to $1,000 may be available for any information that leads to an arrest. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. Authorities have identified a man shot and killed by a Wright County sheriffs deputy in St. Michael following a traffic stop last weekend. The Midwest Medical Examiners Office said Friday that Jeffrey Chapman, 67, of Albertville, died of multiple gunshot wounds. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension identified the deputy who shot him as Austin Feenstra, saying the deputy fired his department handgun. Feenstra has about 10 months of law enforcement experience, the BCA said. He is on standard administrative leave. According to the preliminary investigation, Feenstra attempted to stop Chapman at about 4:45 a.m. Saturday when he saw him driving erratically, weaving and slowing down, and then suddenly accelerating. Chapman drove about two blocks before stopping for the deputy. He got out of his vehicle and began walking toward Feenstra. Despite Feenstra telling him to stop, Chapman continued walking toward him. Feenstra kept backing away but Chapman followed him. At one point, Chapman took out a length of pipe from his waistband. Feenstra fired his gun and struck Chapman multiple times. Officers performed lifesaving efforts but Chapman died at the scene. Crime scene investigators from the BCA found a 9-inch metal pipe and cartridge casings at the scene. Initially, Feenstra reported over the radio that Chapman had a knife but saw when he was providing medical aid that it was actually a pipe. The Wright County sheriffs office doesnt have body cameras, but a squad car camera captured a portion of the incident. BCA agents are reviewing all video as part of the investigation. Related Articles RUTHEFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) The Rutherford County Sheriffs Office is warning the public about an ongoing phone scam. The sheriffs office said the scammers are posing as sheriffs deputies and threatening to arrest Rutherford County residents on fake warrants. WATCH: 5 signs its a scam call before you even pick up The scammers reportedly tell their victims that in order to avoid arrest, they are to deposit money into a crypto coin kiosk or ATM machine using an account number that only scammers have access to, according to investigators. Authorities said these methods make it difficult to prosecute these cases because there are limited regulations on crypto currency, adding that the scammers extorted $10,500 from innocent victims this week alone. According to the sheriffs office, the scammers are using recordings of sheriffs deputies voicemails and their phone numbers to make their demands for money sound real. CRIME TRACKER | Read the latest crime news from Middle Tennessee Sheriffs deputies do not accept payment for outstanding warrants and they most certainly do not accept cryptocurrency, which is the preferred currency of scam artists as it limits the ability to track these funds, Sheriffs Chief Deputy Keith Lowery said. If you receive a call like this, do not give the caller any information and hang up the phone. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. If you've ever worked in a restaurant, you'll know technology had largely passed the industry by. Most eateries have a hodgepodge of software applications for scheduling, inventory, payroll, digital ordering, and payment processing. Even worse, these systems don't communicate, making them even more burdensome. That's why Toast (NYSE: TOST) has captured the attention of investors, driving its stock up 34% so far this year. The company's integrated software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform handles all those tasks and more, offering the industry an attractive solution. Image source: Getty Images. Wall Street has taken notice. BNP Paribas Exane analyst Thomas Poutrieux upgraded Toast to outperform (buy) from neutral (hold) while boosting his price target to $30, representing potential upside of 22% as of this writing. Based on the company's recent results, there are plenty of reasons to be bullish. Fourth-quarter revenue of $1.0 billion grew 35% year over year, while annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $1.2 billion also jumped 35%. At the same time, the company cut its net loss by two-thirds to $36 million. Furthermore, Toast generated strong operating and free cash flow, so profitability is on the horizon. There's more. Just last month, Toast shared two announcements of significant interest to investors. First, Caribou Coffee selected Toast's software platform to serve its 500 locations across the U.S. Then, Choice Hotels International selected Toast to serve two of its upscale brands -- Cambria Hotels and Radisson -- while being named a qualified vendor for its other properties. These announcements highlight the growing demand for Toast's "restaurant operating system." Toast's $1.2 billion of ARR at the end of 2023 is a drop in the bucket compared to its total addressable market, which management estimates at $110 billion. Wall Street expects Toast's revenue to grow roughly 23% in each of the next two years, which is likely conservative, given revenue has climbed 129% in just the past two years. Story continues Yet Toast stock is currently selling for just 2.8 times forward sales estimates. Taken together, Toast stock is a buy. Should you invest $1,000 in Toast right now? Before you buy stock in Toast, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and Toast wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than tripled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of March 8, 2024 Danny Vena has positions in Toast. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Toast. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 1 Wall Street Analyst Thinks Toast Stock Is Going to $30. Is It a Buy? was originally published by The Motley Fool Bryn Hughes said he felt "some pride" after campaigning for the honour following his daughter's death A new award for UK emergency service workers who die in the line of duty has been announced, after a campaign by the father of a murdered police officer. Named after the late Queen, the Elizabeth Emblem will be given to the families of public servants. Bryn Hughes, whose daughter PC Nicola Hughes was killed in an ambush in 2012, has been calling for two years for an award to recognise these sacrifices. NHS workers who died during the pandemic will also be eligible. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said: "We will not forget those who died in our service." He added: "The Elizabeth Emblem will bring the nation together to honour the dedication and commitment of these exceptional public servants who have given their lives in service of the United Kingdom." The Elizabeth Emblem incorporates a rosemary wreath around the Tudor Crown The award is the civilian equivalent of the Elizabeth Cross, which recognises members of the UK armed forces who have died in action or due to a terrorist attack. The Elizabeth Emblem can be retrospectively awarded; eligible nominations will be for deaths which occurred on or after 1 January 1948 or have taken place in Palestine between 27 September 1945 and 31 December 1947, which mirrors the eligibility of the Elizabeth Cross. Mr Hughes previously said he started his campaign after being "surprised" there was no official state recognition specifically for emergency service workers who had died in the line of duty. His daughter, a Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officer, was murdered alongside colleague Fiona Bone by Dale Cregan in September 2012. Mr Hughes said there were times when he found the wait for the government's introduction of the posthumous honour "confusing and disappointing". With today's announcement of the new award for public servants, he told BBC North West Tonight: "I was always thinking it's going to be a dozen or two dozen [affected]. "But you're talking hundreds, if not thousands of people." Symbol of remembrance Mr Hughes, who set up a charity for children who have lost parents due to crime, said he felt "some pride" after the efforts of himself and other affected families to introduce the award. He added Ms Hughes would be "really proud and I think she'd be embarrassed at it being associated with her - she'd be, 'oh, this is because of me'". The design of the Elizabeth Emblem includes a rosemary wreath - a symbol of remembrance - around the Tudor Crown. It will be inscribed with "For A Life Given In Service" and will have the person's name on the reverse. Relatives can apply for the Emblem on the government's website. They will be reviewed by the George Cross Committee and recommendations made via the Prime Minister to the King. Policing Minister Chris Philp said: "We owe so much to our public servants who make sacrifices every day to keep us safe. "The Elizabeth Emblem will recognise those who tragically lost their lives in public service and rightly enshrine them in our country's history so that their sacrifices are never forgotten." Recipients will receive the award from a senior public representative, such as a chief constable or chief fire officer. Why not follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk The emblem is the equivalent of the Elizabeth Cross, given to members of the Armed Forces killed in terror attacks An Elizabeth emblem has been created to commemorate public servants who have died in the line of duty. The award is considered the civilian equivalent of the Elizabeth Cross, which recognises members of the Armed Forces who have died in action or as a result of a terrorist attack. It will be conferred on the bereaved families of police officers, firefighters and other emergency workers and public servants by the King. In late 2020, Elizabeth II indicated her agreement with the concept and it was signed off by her son, Charles, 75, earlier this year. Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister, said: We will not forget those who died in our service. The Elizabeth Emblem will bring the nation together to honour the dedication and commitment of these exceptional public servants who have given their lives in service of the United Kingdom. Next of kin The design of the emblem incorporates a rosemary wreath, a traditional symbol of remembrance, surrounding the Tudor Crown. It is inscribed with the words For A Life Given In Service, and will have the name of the person commemorated inscribed on the reverse. It will also include a pin so that it can be worn by their next of kin. Like the Elizabeth Cross, which was created in 2009, relatives of those who have died since 1948 will be eligible to apply. Full eligibility criteria will be published by the Cabinet Office on March 9. Nominations will be reviewed by the George Cross Committee before its recommendations are put to the King via the Prime Minister. Recipients will receive their award from a senior representative such as a chief constable, chief fire officer or His Majestys Lord Lieutenant. National recognition The announcement will be welcomed by campaigners who have long fought for national recognition for their loved ones. Bryn Hughes, whose daughter PC Nicola Hughes was killed alongside colleague PC Fiona Bone, 32, in an ambush by on-the-run gunman Dale Cregan in Manchester in September 2012, has campaigned for years for her sacrifice to be recognised with a medal. In parliament, Wendy Chamberlain, Liberal Democrat MP, has led calls for the creation of such an award, telling the House of Commons last year: We have long-standing awards for gallantry, sacrifice and service, for those who have given to our country in all sorts of different ways. It is right that such service deserves recognition, and the recipients and their families are rightly proud. Chris Philp, the Policing Minister, said: We owe so much to our public servants who make sacrifices every day to keep us safe. The Elizabeth Emblem will recognise those who tragically lost their lives in public service and rightly enshrine them in our countrys history so that their sacrifices are never forgotten. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Daniela Klette was found living a normal life in the centre of Berlin, where she was an active member of a Brazilian dance group - Reuters/Wolfgang Rattay German police have discovered a grenade launcher, a Kalashnikov rifle and bars of gold hidden in a secret compartment in the wardrobe of a suspected former member of the far-Left Baader-Meinhof terror group. Police arrested Daniela Klette, 65, last week after she had been on the run since the late 1980s. One of three remaining members of the Marxist terror organisation, she was found living a normal life in the centre of Berlin, where she was an active member of a Brazilian dance group. During a search of Ms Klettes tiny one-room apartment, detectives found 40,000 in cash and 1.2kg of gold underneath a false floor in a cupboard. They also discovered ammunition stored in Tupperware, a grenade launcher with a grenade, and a pistol, according to Der Spiegel magazine. Authorities have reportedly already identified one of the weapons as originating from a heist at a gun store in the mid-1980s. Third generation Ms Klette appeared in front of a federal court on Thursday, where the judge ordered her arrest on suspicion of involvement in several terror attacks in the early 1990s. Prosecutors suspect that Ms Klette belonged to the third generation of the Baader-Meinhof gang, a militant organisation that terrorised Germany during the last two decades of the Cold War. Ms Klette is suspected of involvement in a shooting at the US embassy in Bonn in 1991 and of the bombing of a prison near Frankfurt in 1993. The group officially disbanded in 1998. Since then, Ms Klette and two others are suspected of carrying out several robberies, including a spectacular hold-up of a money transporter a decade ago. The robberies are believed to have been carried out to help the trio fund their lives in hiding. The remaining two fugitives, Burkhard Garweg and Ernst-Volker Staub, both now well over 50, are on the run and may have escaped abroad, police say. Mr Garweg is also reported to have possibly hidden in Berlin, where he had dogs and lived in a caravan park inhabited by anarchists and punks. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. NEW JERSEY (PIX11) An infant was mauled to death by a family dog in New Jersey early Saturday morning, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office. The incident happened at around 6:17 a.m. in a home located on Mereline Avenue, the prosecutors office said. Responding officers discovered an unresponsive baby with serious injuries. More New Jersey News The mother was also seriously injured by the dog, and the baby was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. The mother and father were rushed to a hospital for treatment, officials said. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Thomas Ratajczak of the Woodbridge Police Department at 732- 634-7700 or Detective Michelle Coppola of the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office at 732-745-3477. Charline Charles is a digital journalist from Brooklyn who has covered local news along with culture and arts in the New York City area since 2019. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) A man has been arrested after allegedly burglarizing a business in downtown Bakersfield. On March 8, Bakersfield police arrested Christopher Alexander, 48, after being identified as a vandal who allegedly burglarized TruConnect, in the 2300 block of Chester Avenue. Alexander was arrested for charges associated with burglary, vandalism and resisting arrest, according to police. Oh my God feeling. Trooper speaks about shooting knife-wielding man, worrying about other officers Officers responded to TruConnect on March 4 after a burglary and reviewed surveillance footage of the incident. Police shared the information of Alexanders identity with Citiguard Security, who later notified police officers when the suspect was seen in the downtown area. After a brief foot pursuit, around 4 a.m. Friday morning, Alexander was apprehended. Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to contact the Bakersfield Police Department at 661-327-7111. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17. With Britains first vertical launch expected to lift off from Shetland this year, the UK could soon become the go-to European destination for space missions. But behind the scenes, an army of space inspectors is ensuring that, despite reaching for the stars, companies have their feet planted firmly on the ground. It is the job of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to make sure that things go off with a bang but only at the right time. If you mix hazardous materials too quickly, you get a firework before you planned to have a firework, said Emma Cuddy, chief engineer for space at the CAA, who heads up the space inspectors. We want to make sure they have the mitigation in place to stop that from happening. There are more than 2,200 companies working in Britains 65 billion space economy from satellite manufacturers to spaceports, from software to observation. The industry has grown significantly in recent years, and is aiming to capture 10 per cent of the global space market by 2030. Launch Pad One at Lamba Ness in Unst But with any new technology comes risk. When Virgin Orbit attempted the first vertical launch from Spaceport Cornwall in January 2023, a rocket fuel filter dislodged, causing one of the engines to overheat, scuppering not only the mission but also the company, which folded soon after. The CAAs space inspectors carry warrants giving them the authority to force companies to open up their doors for monitoring and have powers to stop or prohibit activities, and suspend or revoke licences. There are currently three senior inspectors, supported by dozens more engineers who are also warranted and who have been recruited from the police, Border Force, the Health and Safety Executive and the aviation industry. The main focus is obviously safety, said Cuddy. Theres other things that we look at such as national interest, national security, international obligations, that persons finance and technical resources. But actually what you want to do is go into an organisation and see what they are as an organisation, understand how they work, the culture. Were trying to promote safety management and learning from mistakes. Red flags would be people not being competent, not understanding the jobs they do. If you go into somewhere and its a mess, for example, then I know Im going to find things quite easily. Cuddy began her career as an avionic engineer for British Airways, working for the company for 17 years, before moving to the CAA in 2017. In the past seven years the pace of technological change has been dramatic, and keeping up has proved challenging. Sixth sense Determining if a company is playing fast and loose has become a sixth sense based on years of experience, and is largely a matter of having the right systems in place. Theres so much change and so much innovation and every single launch vehicle is different, and youve got different fuels and youve got different systems, she said. When I walk into an organisation, Im on, Im looking, and you get an immediate sense of what kind of organisation this is, what are their priorities, and whether the staff know what they are doing. We dont do a technical assessment of their rocket or satellite, but we look at their assessment and ask whether that seems like a reasonable argument. A satellite may have introduced a new battery, but how much history has that battery got? Has it got years of use from other organisations that proves its reliability? Its not something you can teach, its something you pick up because youve done it so many times. You are thinking back to everything youve heard, everything youve seen and how it fits into the bigger picture. Its our purpose to ensure that the processes are in place so that they could ground themselves if something happened and call it to a halt. So far, the team has not had to carry out enforcement and has been successfully working with operators to achieve compliance. Last December, the CAA granted a spaceport licence to the SaxaVord in Unst, Shetland, and is expected to approve its range licence in the coming weeks, which gives permission for the spaceport to clear the area around the flightpath of the rocket. Each launch operator will also require a launch licence. At the boundary of space Edinburgh-based aerospace firm Skyrora is scheduled to be the first to lift off from SaxaVord, and will start with a small test rocket that will reach around 65 miles high, the start of the Karman line, which marks the boundary with space. If successful, the company is hoping to carry out an orbital flight by the end of the year. Lockheed Martin is also expected to launch its UKs Pathfinder mission from the site, while German company Rocket Factory Augsburg has already installed a rocket platform or stool for its first launch. Rocket-builder HyImpulse, which is based near Stuttgart, also announced earlier this month it was planning a programme of orbital rocket launches from SaxaVord from late 2025, with sub-orbital test flights next summer. Other spaceports across Britain, including Sutherland, Argyll and Prestwick, are also hoping to be operational by the end of the decade. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Passengers stranded in Barbados by Tui after an aircraft was hit by a vehicle were told they could not claim more than 180 (153) per household for accommodation, meals and additional travel. For a family of four, the figure works out at less than 40 per person for an overnight stay and all meals on one of the most expensive islands in the Caribbean. Stranded travellers were notified of the limit after their flight home to London Gatwick on Thursday evening was cancelled. The Boeing 787 jet was being prepared for departure when a ground service vehicle struck the plane. Passengers spent about five hours aboard the stricken aircraft. Initially they were assured that hotel rooms were being sourced. But Tui found accommodation only for the aircraft crew, families with young children, and older or infirm passengers. The remainder were faced with spending the night trying to sleep on chairs at Barbados airport, or finding hotels themselves. Tui sent stranded passengers a message reading: If you manage to find suitable accommodation, well reimburse up to 180 per household to help cover any extra travel, meal, or accommodation costs you may incur. One passenger, Toni Agland, successfully found somewhere to stay. She tweeted: After checking in at the hotel we received an email stating Tui would reimburse 180 per household for accommodation, food and transport! Had anyone from Tui tried to book a hotel in Barbados for 180? Communication has been exceptionally poor and the helpline was useless. In a later message to stranded customers, Tui increased the allowance to 180, or 45 each for a family of four. On Friday, the cheapest hotel room for two was 135 at the two-star Pirates Inn near the islands capital, Bridgetown. A taxi to and from the hotel would add the equivalent of at least 50, breaking the second limit imposed by Tui even before any meals were taken. Under UK air passengers rights rules, airlines that cancel flights are required to provide accommodation, meals and transport as required. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) guidance says: The airline must provide you with these items until it is able to fly you to your destination, no matter how long the delay lasts or what has caused it. But in many cases the carrier cancelling the flight hands over the task to stranded passengers. The CAA guidance is: Sometimes airlines are unable to arrange care and assistance for all passengers. This can happen when staff are stretched during major disruptions. If this happens, in our view you have the right to organise reasonable care and assistance yourself, then claim the cost back later. If you end up paying for things yourself, keep every receipt and do not spend more than is reasonable. The airline is allowed to provide guidance on reasonable costs, according to the CAA. But it cannot stipulate the maximum reimbursement, as Tui did twice. After the holiday company was contacted by The Independent, Tui said there was no longer any cap. A spokesperson for the CAA said: Caps on welfare, expenses and self-re-routing costs could leave consumers out of pocket or deprive them of their entitlements. Were pleased that Tui has amended an error in its system and apologised to consumers for any confusion caused. In the financial year ending in September 2023, Tui reported profits of almost 1 billion. Listen to Simon Calders travel podcast on Tuis cancellation and subsequent behaviour Arizona for about a year stood out politically because of the prospect of an unprecedented three-way U.S. Senate race. But after Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., announced this week that she would not seek a second term, the promise of a new senator transforms the race into a more familiar scrum. Arizona will have a Senate race for the fifth straight election cycle, with Democrats and Republicans both clamoring to hold their political bases while reaching for the stray independent. A race that for months had centered on the question of whether Sinema would run and where her votes would come from if she did, now seems headed to a stark partisan choice. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., is the only prominent member of his party running. He will face former TV news anchor Kari Lake, the Republican front-runner, or Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, who is trailing in money and attention. Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema greets attendees during the public ceremonial inauguration ceremony for newly elected Arizona officials at the Arizona state Capitol on Jan. 5, 2023, in Phoenix. Im not changing the rating, said Jessica Taylor, Senate editor for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, which tracks races nationally. I still see it as a toss-up and I think thats because the state itself is a toss-up state in the presidential and when you look at the last few Senate races. Jacob Rubashkin, a deputy editor with the nonpartisan Inside Elections, said the race has more clarity than it has in months. Moving forward, what this looks like is something weve seen over the last three election cycles, which is a highly competitive, very expensive Senate race in Arizona, he said. The state is no stranger to this game now. Its going to be a barn-burner. Theres no other way about it. To political observers, the new dynamics sharpen the big questions that will settle the race. U.S. Senate candidate Ruben Gallego (center) holds a press conference before submitting signatures to the Secretary of State's office, on March 4, 2024, at the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix. Without Sinema in the race, Rubashkin said Gallego figures to benefit from a party that is fully united in a way it couldnt be with Sinema still in the race. To me, the most important difference between a race that included Sinema and one that didnt is there was a tremendous amount of trepidation among national Democrats over how much they could involve themselves in a three-person race because shes still a sitting senator, he said. Republicans felt no need to go easy on Gallego or Sinema, Rubashkin said. Taylor said Sinemas departure clears the way for Senate Democrats to openly embrace his candidacy, which can translate into better fundraising moving forward. With Sinema, they had to do a delicate dance because they relied on her vote, too, she said. The fundraising battle is already heating up with Sinema out of the picture. Lake's campaign said it raised $330,000 at a Republican fundraiser in Washington, D.C., that included 20 sitting GOP senators. Gallego's campaign said it raised more than $1 million from nearly 24,000 donors in the first 24 hours after Sinema's retirement announcement. Both Lake and Gallego continued to praise Sinema for her work in the Senate in a sign that both want the voters closer to the political middle that Sinema might have won. I would argue Sinema was never in a position to actually win. It was clear she had 10 to 15% of the vote that was in her corner. Those voters are now up for grabs. I think theres going to be a ton of research and focus on who they are and how to win them over. For Lake, my main question is can she stay disciplined? Taylor said. Kari Lake speaks during a television interview before Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives at a primary election night party in Nashua, New Hampshire, on Jan. 23, 2024. While there are suggestions that Lake is running a more professional campaign focused on taking down Gallego, on Wednesday Lake posted an insulting social media message noting Nikki Haleys departure from the Republican presidential race. Taylor said it invited the kind of distracting chatter that could undermine Lakes effort to win over Arizona voters. I feel its sort of two steps forward, one step back, Taylor said. Rubashkin said Lake is well-known in the state and closely identified with the kind of election denialism that voters havent rewarded. Paradoxically, some Republican voters have looked past Trumps denialism in a way they didnt in 2022 with Lake in her gubernatorial loss. Similarly, he said, Arizona Republicans who still admire the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., may be more supportive of Trump than of Lake, even though both have memorably insulted McCain for years after his 2018 death. It points to the possibility that Lake could underperform in Arizona compared to Trump, Rubashkin said. Gallego, meanwhile, is a lesser-known quantity at the moment, which means he could fare better than President Joe Biden, who is consistently trailing Trump in polls in Arizona. For Gallego, the question, Taylor said, is whether Arizona voters will embrace a Democrat more to the left than either Sinema or Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., both of whom played up their independence from partisan politics. Hes more progressive, and this is the battle for independents and who can win them over, Taylor said. Perhaps an even bigger concern is whether Lakes political operating costs will leave her with too few resources when the campaign reaches peak interest months from now. Her burn rate is an issue. It does seem like more of official Washington getting behind her, but what I keep coming back to is Republicans wanted to avoid the types of candidates like Kari Lake," Taylor said. "And you have Kari Lake now. It still seems to me more of a marriage of convenience in many ways. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kari Lake vs. Ruben Gallego: How the Arizona Senate race is shaping up On Monday, the Bartlesville City Council unanimously approved $94,123,445.18 worth of line items, from WiFi upgrades to major improvements to the wastewater plant. Here's where it all went. City Hall for the City of Bartlesville $83,235,500: The Council locked in a loan rate from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board for an Oklahoma Department of Equilty required improvement to the Chickasaw wastewater treatment plant. The loan will be paid back over approximately 30 years out of the capital investment fee on the customer's water bill. The City has been slowly raising utility rates since 2016 in preparation for this investment. Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen said the rates might require an adjustment once the total cost of construction is known. Still, he believes "we're in a good position based on the actions we've taken in anticipation of this project." Construction is set to begin in 2026, and payments to the loan won't begin until the City starts drawing on the funds. $10,500,000: The Council agreed to act as the pass-through for Bartlesville Public Schools to sell bonds. This move allows the school to issue bonds at better rates, saving the school money. There is no cost to the City of Bartlesville, and the Council has approved similar agreements several times over the years. $170,864: In 2020, voters approved a $16M General Obligation Bond, of which $420,500 was designated for pickleball courts. On Monday, the Council added lighting to the project, resulting in a $102K deficit, which will be covered by 2022 GO Bond funds until private donations are secure to pay for the upgrades. This move was made to keep the project moving along. City staff were confident that private funds would be secured and that public funds would ultimately not be required to finish the project. $112,060: After 31 years, the skylights in the Bartlesville Public Library aren't as clear as they used to be. After receiving three bids, the Council awarded Burgess Company the project. Construction is slated to begin in July and take approximately one to two weeks. $50,500: The Bartlesville Fire Department requested additional storage for the No. 3 fire station near Sooner Park. The request was approved as part of the 23-24 capital budget, and a bid for the project was accepted on Monday. The 25'x30' steel will used to store equipment like hoses. City Staff budgeted $70K for the project. The remaining $19K will be used for the electrical portion. $23,620.18: Not just skylights but the Bartlesville Library's WiFi is getting upgraded. City Staff report that the library's network has been operating at near capacity for a year and needs improvement. The Erate Federal grant funding is paying for 80%, and the City will kick in $4,725. $23,250: The Council amended this fiscal year's budget to accommodate a $23,250 grant from Phillips 66 to pay for a parks/pathfinder patrol vehicle for the Bartlesville Police Department. The budgetary impact is zero. $4,950.00: The Council used its discretion to forgive a tax lien plus fees and penalties on a property recently acquired in a county tax sale. Due to a timing issue, the purchasers were unaware of a city lien on the property. In exchange for releasing the lien, the owners agreed to a stricter development agreement for the property's future use. Recently, the Council has debated forgiving liens altogether and took no action after a local nonprofit sought the same action last month. +$2,700: The Council agreed to lease ramp and office space at Bartlesville Airport to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Forestry Division. The BIA pays $270 per day for the space only on the days it is used. The minimum guaranteed amount to be paid per event is $2,700, regardless of the length of use. +$1: The Council agreed to lease a small property to B The Light for one year. The nonprofit agrees to maintain and carry insurance for the property. Similar agreements exist between the City and nonprofits around Bartlesville; notably, Kiddie Park sits on city-owned land and leases for $1 a year. This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Breakdown: $94M in line items approved by City Council The movie Rustin has finally shone a proper spotlight on the life and crucial work of civil rights pioneer Bayard Rustin, picking up abundant accolades along the way that include an Oscar nomination for its lead actor, Colman Domingo. Created for and embraced by wide audiences, Netflixs Rustin biopic openly incorporates its title characters sexuality, revealing how Rustins refusal to hide his gayness likely prevented him from taking a more prominent place at least publicly in the struggle for Black equality in America. Rustin has also long been revered for his vital contributions to queer culture and history, first as an unapologetically out gay man within the greater civil rights movement, and later as a vocal advocate for LGBTQ rights in particular. Bayard Rustin activist (AP file) But Rustins connection to queer culture may have stretched back even further, indeed to the very beginning of his life. Born Bayard Taylor Rustin in West Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1912, he was named after Bayard Taylor, the man some now credit with having written Americas first gay novel some four decades earlier. At the time of Rustins birth, Taylor was West Chesters most famous son, thanks to his eminent career as a writer and diplomat. Likely just as importantly for Rustins grandmother Julia, who named him, Taylor had come from West Chesters Quaker community, as had she. Born in 1825, Taylor first rose to national fame as a poet and travel writer, publishing several books of poetry and travel essays in the 1840s and 50s. He published his first novel in 1863, followed by two more that same decade. By 1876, Taylors prominence was so great that he was commissioned by Philadelphias Centennial Exhibition to write an official poem honoring Americas 100th birthday. The crowd of more than 4,000 people that gathered on July 4 to hear Taylor recite his National Ode gave him the largest-ever audience for a poetry reading, a record that would stand for the next 85 years. a story of Pennsylvania book cover (Courtesy Amazon) A few years earlier, in 1870, Taylor had published his fourth novel, Joseph and His Friend: A Story of Pennsylvania, serialized chapters of which also appeared in The Atlantic Monthly. At the center of the books plot lay the extraordinarily close and undeniably homoerotic bond between two young men, Joseph Asten and Philip Held, who fatefully meet after eyeing each other up on a train ride through eastern Pennsylvania. A few years older than the struggling-to-conform Joseph, and already made wiser by a stint on Americas western frontier, Philip argues for the rights of those who cannot shape themselves according to the common-place pattern of society, wrote Robert K. Martin in the 2002 edition of the criticism anthology The Gay and Lesbian Literary Heritage. In a pivotal scene from the novel, Philip takes Josephs hand, draws him nearer, flings his arms around him and holds him to his heart. O Philip, if we could make our lives wholly our own! Joseph laments. If we could find a spot I know such a spot! Philip gushes back. A great valley, bounded by a hundred miles of snowy peaks; lakes in its bed; enormous hillsides, dotted with groves of ilex and pine; orchards of orange and olive; a perfect climate, where it is bliss enough just to breathe, and freedom from the distorted laws of men, for none are near enough to enforce them! I will go with you, and perhapsperhaps Colman Domingo was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of Bayard Rustin in the Netflix biopic Long held as a prime example of late 18th century romantic male friendship in literature, in recent decades Joseph and His Friend has been reinterpreted by some LGBTQ writers and scholars as Americas first gay novel. Even post-Stonewall there was a hesitation to say Joseph and His Friend was a homosexual novel, let alone Americas first, observed author L.A. Fields in her 2017 book, The Annotated Joseph and His Friend: The Story of Americas First Gay Novel. But it is still the strongest candidate. Fields told NBC News that any earlier books with glimmers of masculine fixation were either not American, like James Hoggs anonymously published The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner from Scotland in 1824, or not explicit enough to qualify as a gay novel, like 1799s Edgar Huntly, Or, Memoirs of a Sleepwalker by Charles Brockden Brown. The latter, like Taylors Joseph and His Friend, is set in rural Pennsylvania, but its obsessive male fixation revolves around the main characters murdered friend not someone living whom he dreams of running away with and kisses, a startling scene which does take place in Joseph, Fields said. Like many scholars, Fields said she believes Taylor based Joseph and His Friend on the real-life relationship between early 19th century poet Fitz-Greene Halleck sometimes called the American Byron, and whose statue graces the Literary Walk in New Yorks Central Park and his beloved friend Joseph Drake. For someone like Bayard Taylor who admired Halleck from a young age both personally and professionally as a writer, it seems like a very obvious inspiration, even if he never explicitly affirmatively declared it, as far as we know, Fields explained. Hallecks relationship with Drake was the making of his life and literary career, and Drakes loss, first to marriage and then to death, forever colored Hallecks outlook. As for Taylors own sexuality, the evidence is somewhat murkier. He married twice and fathered a daughter, but he also maintained an unusually strong friendship with a German businessman named August Bufleb whom he met on a train, perhaps foreshadowing the meeting between the characters of Joseph and Philip. Bufleb built him a special guest house on his property so that Taylor would visit him, and Taylor later married this mans niece so they could be family, Fields said. Joseph and His Friend, the last of Taylors novels, was not particularly well received by critics of its day, though its unclear whether that owed more to its quality or its inclusion of a jarringly close male relationship. It is an unpleasant story of mean duplicity and painful mistakes, wrote Taylors biographer, Albert H. Smyth, of the book in 1896. The characters are shallow and their surroundings mean. There is not a single pleasing situation or incident. Plenty of readers must have disagreed, because by 1893, Joseph and His Friend had been reprinted eight times and translated into German. According to a widely shared newspaper account following Taylors death in 1878, the novel even became a main topic of discussion between Taylor and Germanys Chancellor Otto von Bismarck when they were first introduced, with the German leader telling the author what he disliked about the book, and Taylor defending his literary choices. When they met again by chance a few days later, von Bismarck was re-reading Joseph and His Friend and had already changed his mind about the story. On the whole, I think youre right about it, he told Taylor. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com You are here: Business China's top market watchdog on Friday pledged further efforts to address the pressing issues of regional protectionist practices and market segmentation in 2024, aiming to develop a unified domestic market. Luo Wen, head of the State Administration for Market Regulation, made the remarks on the sidelines of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress, China's national legislature. The administration will push for the introduction of regulations on the review of fair competition, facilitate cross-regional relocation and operation of enterprises, and rectify local protectionist practices that exploit hidden barriers, Luo said. Regarding the administration's work on standardization, the official said that China will steadily expand related aspects of institutional opening up, and support foreign-invested enterprises to participate equally in the process of formulating standards in accordance with the law. China will also engage actively in international standardization work, he said. kali9 / Getty Images While the Ford F-150 is the best-selling vehicle in America and crossover SUVs are the most popular type. Smaller, fuel-efficient compact cars have experienced significant growth in recent years, according to Statista. Read Next: 6 Questions You Should Never Ask at a Car Dealership Learn More: 6 Genius Things All Wealthy People Do With Their Money Drivers increasingly prioritize fuel efficiency, cost-effectiveness and durability. Compact cars offer these in spades and are ideal for those who dont need much seating or trunk space. Most compact cars have four-cylinder engines, perfect for city driving (although some can struggle to reach highway speeds). If youre looking for an affordable compact car lasting over 300,000 miles, here are 10 of the best new and used models available. Sponsored: Owe the IRS $10K or more? Schedule a FREE consultation to see if you qualify for tax relief. Toyota Corolla 2024 MSRP: $22,050 While the Camry is considered a midsize, the Corolla is a compact sedan, and one of the most reliable cars on the market year after year. Toyotas have an average lifespan of 200,000-250,000 miles, but if you maintain your car, your Corolla could be driven way over 300,000 miles. Lexus CT 200h 2017 MSRP: $31,250 This hybrid hatchback was discontinued in 2017, but sharing the Prius platform and equipped with an Atkinson-cycle 1.8L four-cylinder engine and an electric motor for a total of 134 horsepower, it was built for the long haul. Edmunds feels $23,000 would be the top price you would have to pay to get a used but still reliable CT. Honda Civic 2024 MSRP: $23,950 Debuting in 1972, the Civic has provided affordable and fuel-efficient transportation in times of energy concern. As HotCars notes, Some comments on discussion websites like Civic Forum, Reddit, and Quora suggest the Honda Civic could reach 500,000 miles or more before it requires thorough repairs or breaks down. Kia Forte 2024 MSRP: $19,990 Story continues The Forte is an affordable and dependable option with a base price of under $20,000. When buying a car with hopes that it can last over 300,000 miles, you should trust research and owner reports rather than wishful thinking. While it flies under the radar compared to other compacts, HotCars believes the Forte can surpass the 300,000-mile mark and continue long beyond that figure. Acura ILX 2022 MSRP: $27,300 With a 4.5 out of 5.0 reliability rating and a low average annual repair cost of $435 from RepairPal, the site ranks the ILX second out of 17 luxury compact cars. Another discontinued model, the ILX, can be had for cheap on the used market and no matter which used Acura ILX you choose, it should be able to last at least 200,000 miles or more. Hyundai Elantra 2024 MSRP: $21,625 According to a 2022 J.D. Power study, Hyundai ranked among the top brands regarding the highest levels of dependability after three years of ownership, and the South Korean company has proven dependability in its mission since the early 2000s. The chances of your Elantra needing significant repairs are low, but the probability that it will last past the 300,000-mile mark is high. Toyota Prius 2024 MSRP: $27,950 The Prius features a wide range of driver assistance systems and is one of the most reliable hybrids ever manufactured due to its battery, which MotorBiscuit describes as almost invincible. 200,000 is an easy distance milestone for this predictably dependable car. Mazda Miata 2024 MSRP: $28,985 As MotorBiscuit said of its niche demand, Dont let it fool you: Miata is a safe bet to last forever. According to Consumer Reports, the site singles out the 2010 and 2016 models specifically for durability and customer satisfaction, but the current Miata is a more reliable bet than most 2024 models. Ford Focus 2018 MSRP: $21,435 As Ford increasingly focuses on electric vehicles and crossovers, the Focus will cease fabrication globally in 2025. Its last year in the U.S., in 2018, so you should be able to swing a bargain for a used model. As a reliable and economical daily driver, the Focus can easily outpace similar models and last up to 300,000 with proper maintenance. Mazda3 2024 MSRP: $24,170 The 6 is often cited as the most reliable Mazda, but the 3 is more affordable and isnt a slouch in the durability department either. As one of the most fuel-efficient and reliable compact cars that you can currently buy, MotorBiscuit claims that you can expect a Mazda3 to last upwards of 200,000 to 300,000 miles on average. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 10 Affordable Compact Cars That Will Last 300,000 Miles President Joe Bidens erosion of support among Black men should set off alarm bells in his campaign. Unlike other interest groups in the Democratic coalition, Black men should be among his most enthusiastic supporters in crucial states. The Georgia primary, held this coming Tuesday, may offer a moment for Biden to reflect on the lackluster support of a key constituency. Thats because the dilemma first came to light in the Peach State during Stacey Abrams ill-fated campaign for governor in 2022. Back then, her platform reflected the thinking of strategists that the compelling issue of concern to Black men was criminal justice reform. How Mass Immigration Hurts Black Americans But when Black men failed to respond positively, Democratic strategists were quick to point the finger at the perceived shortcoming of the constituency, including unfair allegations of misogyny. The campaign of Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, by contrast, drew support from white (and some Black) working-class men with an appeal to pocket book concerns. Abrams gradually adjusted her platform with a set of economic policies called the Black Mens Agenda. The adjustment drew support, but too late to make up for lost ground. Still, it should have provided insight for Biden and Democratic strategists, but evidently did not. Now Biden faces a continued shortfall as Donald Trump plays to fill the role of a champion of Black men. 1975810264 Supporters of President Joe Biden attend a First In The Nation rally at the Daydawn Baptist Church in Pineville, South Carolina. Brandon Bell/Getty Images Bidens reluctance to crusade for working-class men is mind-boggling. One suspects it stems from the priorities of a coterie of upper-class Black confidants, like Vice President Kamala Harris, who tend to keep the constituency at arms length. In Jan. 2023, Harris acted as Bidens liaison to a gathering of Black men concerned about the disconnect. She promised to represent their concerns and work to correct things; a year later, there is no evidence of any substantial follow-through. W. Mondale Robinson, founder of the Black Male Voter Project and mayor of Enfield, North Carolina, was not invited to the session. But if invited, he would not have attended over doubts about the sincerity, he told USA Today, adding, People come to our communities two, three months before an election, talking about proverbial fried chicken and church fans with nothing else to offer us, nothing to address the issue thats really plaguing our lives. Beyond Harris, Bidens reliance on ineffective confidants may include the progressive wing of the Congressional Black Caucus, and its obligation to pro-immigration coalition partners. At times, the CBC is willing to sacrifice the interests of working class men in the hopes of gaining support from Hispanic, Asian, and Arab voting blocs, with a history of under-performance. Meanwhile, recent outreach instruments like the Biden-Harris Fact Sheet on Black opportunity come off as transparent gimmicks, largely isolating benefits available to all as somehow specific to Black folk. Yet, if Biden prioritized the material needs of Black men in the same manner that Democrats are doing for border migrants in sanctuary cities, his poll numbers would probably improve. I offer the following ideas for a Black Mens Agenda for November. The Infrastructure of Bidens Dilemma First, Biden should champion an inclusive civil construction industry. The oversight is dismaying because it was one of the planks in Stacey Abrams agendaGeorgia has a vibrant residential, commercial, and civil construction industryand it plays to his signature infrastructure law. However, Black labor tends to be shut out of the skilled occupations and contracting opportunities in the huge industry. The high rates of displacement and discouragement stem from a history of union racism and contractor preference for immigrants. As such, the racial demographic these days is 60 percent white, 30 percent Hispanic, and 5 percent Black American, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In New York City, the construction industry employed 374,000 people in 202053 percent of whom were immigrantseven as Black men experienced the highest unemployment levels. Most recently, New York advocates for border migrants welcomed them at bus stations with invitations to apply for construction work certificationa process recently subject to prosecution for bribery. Travis Watson, a commissioner on the Boston Employment Commission, wrote in a 2021 article, Union Constructions Racial Equity and Inclusion Charade, that in Boston Black labor is largely excluded from construction jobs due to union and contractor bias. The dynamic was explored in the 2022 NPR report, Boston construction sites still have very few Black workers. Who's to blame for that? and is indicative of a national trend. 2033107501 U.S. President Joe Biden (L) listens to Vice President Kamala Harris as she addresses governors from across the country on Feb. 23, 2024, in Washington, DC Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Even during the aftermath of 2005s Hurricane Katrina, federal contractors exploited the cheap labor of immigrant work crews rather than hire and train Black men from the region. The infrastructure law was meant to correct the history of substitution. The CBC supported President Bidens infrastructure legislation with the expectation of thousands of well-paid jobs for their people on highway, bridge, tunnel, and public building renovations. Such projects will require the hiring and training of thousands of skilled workers with high school and some college education. Black Women Are the Next Targets of Right-Wing Legal Activist The law called on states to devise plans for the inclusion of under-represented workers in civil construction. To date, the administration has failed to hold states to account for equity planning. And, according to John Warren, publisher of the San Diego Voice and Viewpoint, prime contractors fail to place ads for construction jobs in Black news sites despite state and federal mandates. Mr. President, why not stand with Black men seeking skilled jobs in the construction industry? You certainly did so for the white-run auto workers union and it was an impressive display of solidarity with striking workers. Could it be that Bidenand the Democratsare too beholden to a nexus of immigration advocates and white construction union and contractor donors? If so, Biden should be inspired by a courageous episode in Black labor history. The United Construction Workers Association (UCWA) was established in 1970 after a federal court found that Seattle unions were operating in violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The UCWA expanded across the country, held protest rallies at work sites to demand inclusive hiring, and helped people get skilled labor jobs. Defend the Value of Black Labor Second, Biden must demand that legislation on border security includes employment security protections as well. Currently, Democrats are promoting provisions for migrant work authorization, and funding for social services, that lack safeguards for American workers and communities. Yet, the effects of immigrationlegal and illegalon Black America are well-documented: The U.S. Civil Rights Commission concluded in 2010 that illegal immigration harmed Black wages and employment. And the 2010 academic study, Immigration and the Economic Status of African-American Men concluded, As immigrants disproportionately increased the supply of workers in a particular skill group, the wage of black workers in that group fell, the employment rate declined, and the incarceration rate rose. Meanwhile, Black communities are outraged with Democrats in sanctuary cities diverting resources for border migrants. In Bostons Roxbury neighborhood, residents watched in frustration as Gov. Maura Healey revoked community access to a state-owned recreational center. It was converted to a shelter for 400 migrantseven though Healey could have selected facilities in white areas. In Chicago, Black residents sued city authorities over similar acts of taking from Peter to feed Paul. It led me to inquire of 25 of the 60 members of the CBC whether they support migrant provisions in the bipartisan Senate bill on border security. Specifically, the issuance of work authorizations and federal monies for shelters, apartment rentals, and medical care? If so, will they demand safeguards to prevent employers and agencies from substituting migrants over Black workers and families in need? None of the representatives responded, but Biden can act on his own. He can ensure that any such legislation protects the status of American workers, and includes local communities in services, or be subject to a veto. Joe Biden Must Uphold the Law and Keep His Promise to Black Labor Esteem Young Black Men Finally, Biden should showcase initiatives for young men estranged from the economic systemand often from society itself. Such community programs may be models for a national program of youth recovery. Too many boys suffer a crisis of confidence that prevents them from seizing opportunities. Biden, in fact, should revisit the work of President Barack Obamas initiative, My Brothers Keeper Alliance, which promoted a support system. In closing, Bidenand the Democratic Partycan do better if they want working-class Black men to turnout with enthusiasm in November. Roger House is professor emeritus of American Studies at Emerson College and the author of Blue Smoke: The Recorded Journey of Big Bill Broonzy and South End Shout: Bostons Forgotten Music Scene in the Jazz Age. His forthcoming book is Five Hundred Years of Black Self Governance by Louisiana State University Press. 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. President Bidens presidential re-election campaign on Friday launched a $30 million ad buy following his State of the Union address Thursday night, as the president heads out on a battleground state tour. The ad spending is more than Bidens campaign spent in all of last year, his deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty said. Flaherty said in a statement on social media that Biden had the best fundraising hours of this cycle after his State of the Union, claiming it set a record for fundraising for an incumbent Democrat without giving numbers. "The dumbest thing you can do is underestimate Joe Biden," Flaherty wrote on his X account. BIDEN'S SOTU BLASTED AS NAKEDLY PARTISAN CAMPAIGN SPEECH: UTTER DISGRACE President Biden's campaign is planning a $30 million ad buy over the next six weeks. Republicans have slammed Bidens aggressive speech as "divisive," "partisan" and an "utter disgrace." READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP BIDEN CAMPAIGN TROLLS TRUMP'S WEAKEST OPERATION IN RECENT HISTORY AMID LAGGING CAMPAIGN CASH "I thought it was the most divisive State of the Union from the most out-of-touch president in American history," Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., told Fox News. "I thought it was bizarre." Democrats felt Biden's aggressive State of the Union speech gave him momentum, while Republicans called it "partisan." The president visited Pennsylvania on Friday, and also plans swings through Georgia, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Michigan over the next week as he prepares to face-off against former President Trump. Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Arizona and Nevada. "We firmly believe that this race is going to be won on the ground across key states that afford multiple pathways to 270, and everything we are doing this month to kick off the general election is grounded in that premise," said Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said, according to Reuters. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Biden campaign for comment. Reuters contributed to this report. Original article source: Biden campaign launches $30 million ad buy following aggressive, political SOTU President Bidens campaign released an ad Saturday that will air in major battleground states connecting the presidents age with his ability to get things done during his first term, seeking to draw a contrast with former President Trumps record. Look, Im not a young guy. Thats no secret, Biden says in the new ad, titled For You. But heres the deal, I understand how to get things done for the American people. Biden narrates the 60-second spot, highlighting his navigation of the COVID-19 pandemic upon taking office, the strength of the U.S. economy, legislation to lower prescription drug prices, the passage of a bipartisan infrastructure law and his commitment to protect reproductive health care after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade which ended the federal right to abortion access. Donald Trump believes the job of a president is to take care of Donald Trump, Biden says in the ad. I believe the job of a president is to fight for you, the American people, and thats what Im doing. In an outtake at the end of the ad, Biden says, Look, Im very young, energetic and handsome, what the hell am I doing this for? The ad is part of a six-week, $30 million ad campaign targeting voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina, all of which are expected to be battleground states in November. The spot will air on national cable and local broadcast and cable, and will appear on ESPN, TNT, FX and Comedy Central, as well as during the upcoming NCAA Tournament, the campaign said. The ad tackles the question of the incumbents age, which polling has consistently shown is a concern for many voters as Biden, who is 81, seeks a second term. He is on track to face Trump, who is 77, in a rematch of the 2020 election. A New York Times/Siena College poll released last weekend found 73 percent of registered voters said they either strongly or somewhat agree that Biden is too old to be an effective president. Biden has repeatedly joked about his age, but he and his aides have argued voters should judge him on his record of accomplishments. Now, Joe Biden is 81 and hes going to beat Donald Trump again because he wakes up every single day fighting for the American people while Trump wages a campaign of revenge and retribution focused on himself, Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler said in a statement. Trump may be four years younger than Joe Biden, but his ideas are old as hell and theyve already been rejected by the American people, Tyler added. Joe Biden is running to make sure we reject them for good. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. US President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Jim WATSON) US President Joe Biden criticized election rival Donald Trump on Friday for meeting Viktor Orban, saying the Hungarian premier was "looking for dictatorship." Orban traveled to Florida on Friday to meet his "good friend" former US president Trump. He has frequently expressed hope for the Republican's return to power. "You know who he's meeting with today, down in Mar-a-Lago?" Democrat Biden told supporters in a campaign rally that repeatedly slammed Trump. "Orban of Hungary, who stated flatly he doesn't think democracy works and is looking for dictatorship." He added: "I see a future where we defend democracy, not diminish it." Biden referred to the Orban meeting immediately after blasting Trump for having encouraged Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade NATO countries that did not pay their financial dues. Orban Friday evening posted photos and videos to social media showcasing the visit to the former US leader's Mar-a-Lago residence, writing in English, "Make America great again, Mr. President!" Trump is seen in the posts offering a tribute to the prime minister during a reception at the Florida estate. "There's nobody that's better, smarter or a better leader than Viktor Orban. He's fantastic," Trump said in one video, standing on stage with the band. "He's a noncontroversial figure because he said 'This is the way it's gonna be,' and that's the end of it. He's the boss," the real-estate mogul added. "The visit emphasized building relations between American and Hungarian conservatives, and the benefits that could come from the election of President Trump in November," Orban aide Gladden Pappin told AFP. Hungary is the only EU member that has maintained close ties with the Kremlin following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Orban regularly advocates for immediate ceasefire and peace talks, arguing Trump, who has previously expressed admiration for Putin, is best qualified to find a way out of the conflict. The Hungarian leader angered fellow EU leaders by meeting Putin in September and has previously spoken out against Western sanctions on Moscow. dk/tjj/caw/ Just one day after President Biden delivered a State of the Union address many liberals said put to rest questions about his mental fitness, the president raised eyebrows with several gaffes in Pennsylvania. Biden visited Strath Haven Middle School in Delaware County on Friday for his first swing state campaign stop after outlining his agenda to a joint session of Congress. There, he pitched his plans for a second White House term, promising to protect abortion rights, defending his economic record and calling for new gun control laws. He also made some unforced errors in his speech, which were ridiculed by Republicans. "Pennsylvania, I have a message for you: Send me to Congress!" Biden shouted at one point, appearing to mix up the office he's running for. He was a six-term U.S. senator representing Delaware in Congress before he became vice president in 2008. Later in his remarks, Biden said, "we cut the deficit and we added more to the national debt than any president in his term in all of history, than under Donald Trump." BIDEN ASSAILS PREDECESSOR TRUMP, GOP IN SHARPLY PARTISAN STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH U.S. President Joe Biden, accompanied with U.S. First Lady Jill Biden attends a campaign event, at Strath Haven Middle School in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, United States on March 8, 2024. Both comments were picked up by the Republican National Committee's opposition research account and shared far and wide on X. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP At another point, Biden mistakenly referred to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots as taking place on "July 6th," and then corrected himself. The gaffes illustrate how Biden, 81, must continue to fight off criticisms of his age and mental fitness from Republicans as the general election heats up. The president did earn praise from many liberals for his "energetic" State of the Union performance on Thursday. BIDEN'S STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH REINFORCED MENTAL ACUITY AND AGE CONCERNS, REPUBLICANS SAY Former CNN journalist John Harwood, known as one of the most sycophantic Biden White House boosters in the media, mocked the president's critics for saying they were worried about his vitality. "[T]hose Dems complaining that Biden lacks vigor and fight getting splash of cold water in the face right now," he wrote, later adding that the "people yapping for so long about Biden not being up to the job look pretty dumb this morning." "My fellow Americans the issue facing our nation isnt how old we are its how old our ideas are? Hate, anger, revenge, retribution are among the oldest of ideas," CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem wrote, quoting from Biden's speech. "It would seem Biden has landed on a perfect framing for the age issue." Left-wing New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote, "A thought: the whole Biden-is-too-old thing was kind of a bubble, in the sense that people were buying it mainly because other people were buying it. Did Biden just burst that bubble?" LIBERAL JOURNALISTS REJOICE OVER BIDEN PERFORMANCE AT SOTU, CLAIM IT PUTS AGE QUESTIONS TO REST Republicans saw the speech differently. They questioned why Biden kept shouting to emphasize his points and noted that he spoke very fast at times and slurred his words. "A lot of the time it was hard to understand what he was saying," said House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good, R-Va. "He was kind of mumbling and slurring." "We couldn't understand him. He was so mad," agreed Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan. "The volume was up and down." Sen. Ted Cruz , R-Texas, remarked the president's annual address was "reminiscent of an old, angry man standing on his porch screaming get off my front lawn." Fox News Digital's Jeffrey Clark, Julia Johnson, Elizabeth Elkind and Charles Creitz contributed to this report. Original article source: Biden drops embarrassing gaffes days after liberal media hypes SOTU performance President Biden slammed former President Trump for meeting with Hungarian premier Viktor Orban, highlighting his major campaign platform that he is running to preserve democracy. You know who hes meeting with today down at Mar-a-Lago? Biden said at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Orban of Hungary, who stated flatly he doesnt think democracy works, hes looking for dictatorship. The president added that world leaders have said to him that Trump cant win again, because my democracy is at stake. Biden last month also claimed that nine heads of state have told him he has to win in November. Orban visited Trump at his home in Florida and posted a photograph on Facebook of the two of them together with the caption, Meeting with President Donald Trump. Make America great again, Mr. President! Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said its as an honor having the Hungarian prime minister and his daughter Flora, at his resort. Viktor is a Great Leader, respected all over the World, he wrote Saturday. Hungary is a Safe Country because of his Strong Immigration Policies, and as long as he is in charge, it always will be! When Biden was leaving the White House for Philadelphia, he was asked if hes concerned that Trump is meeting with Orban. If Im not, you should be, the president replied. Biden has made the fight to defend democracy a top issue in this election and often on the campaign trail talks about how democracy would be at stake with another four years of Trump. Biden and Trump both head to Georgia on Saturday to campaign dueling trips that mark the ramp up of general election campaigning after Super Tuesday and the presidents State of the Union address. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. President Joe Biden campaigns in a Philadelphia suburb Friday, riding high after a State of the Union speech that even some conservatives conceded was energetic and focused. Kyle Mazza/Anadolu/Getty Images Wasting no time building momentum from his State of the Union speech, President Joe Biden on Friday announced a $30 million ad blitz over the next six weeks in seven key battleground states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. On Saturday, the presidents reelection campaign unveiled the first ad to be aired during the television offensive. For You, the one-minute spot, focuses on acquainting the public with Bidens successes, and contrasting his commitments with those of former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Look, Im not a young guy. Thats no secret, Biden says while speaking directly to the camera. But heres the deal. I understand how to get things done for the American people. Biden then ticks through a list of what he sees as some of his biggest achievements: shepherding the country through the end of the COVID-19 pandemic; presiding over an economic recovery; capping insulin at $35 a month for Medicare beneficiaries; passing an infrastructure bill; and passing the biggest law in history to combat climate change, because our future depends on it. Wherever relevant, Biden intersperses descriptions of his accomplishments with jabs at Trumps record. For four years Donald Trump tried to pass an infrastructure law, and he failed, Biden says as clips of Trump looking either sinister or goofy flash across the screen. I got it done. While Biden is determined to pass a law codifying the abortion-rights standard laid out in the now-defunct Roe v. Wade ruling, he notes, Donald Trump took away the freedom of women to choose by appointing Supreme Court justices who struck down the constitutional right to an abortion. Donald Trump believes the job of the president is to take care of Donald Trump, Biden concludes. I believe the job of the presidents to fight for you, the American people. Bidens campaign and allies were evidently pleased with Thursdays State of the Union remarks, which quieted some doubts about the presidents ability to address voters concerns about his age and mental acuity. As in the ad, the 81-year-old found ways to make light of his age, while also putting Republicans on the defensive over their role in threatening abortion rights and even in vitro fertilization as well as other unpopular positions. During a campaign stop at a middle school in the Philadelphia suburbs Friday, first lady Jill Biden said, Last night, Joe showed the world what I see every day. Now that Trump is the GOPs presumptive nominee and the general election has essentially begun, Biden is set to ramp up his campaign schedule. On Saturday, he and the first lady are speaking in Atlanta at a joint endorsement event with groups like The Collective PAC, Latino Victory Fund and AAPI Victory Fund. He is also slated to campaign in New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Michigan next week. Biden still has a difficult road ahead of him. Opinion research on whether his State of the Union address improved his standing in the polls is not yet available to the public. Nationally, Biden trails Trump by 5 points, according to survey results released earlier this month by The New York Times and Siena College. The floating port Joe Biden plans to build in an effort to deliver much needed humanitarian aid to Gaza could take up to 60 days to complete, according to the Pentagon. The Pentagon presented the timeline on Friday in the wake of Mr Biden's State of the Union speech. The port intentional or not will likely serve as an olive branch from Mr Biden's administration to Democratic voters who feel his staunch support of Israel is implicit approval of the civilian displacement and deaths caused by the Israeli Defence Forces. The UN has issued a warning that Gaza Strip is likely to suffer widespread famine if urgent action is not taken. That famine could begin as early as next week, according to a UN analysis. It warned that once a famine has been declared, it is typically already too late to help many of the affected. The port is intended to provide a means for the US to quickly deliver aid to Palestinians, but critics have pointed out that the structure would not even be necessary if Israel would allow the US to bring aid in by land. "This is not a logistics problem; it is a political problem," Avril Benoit, executive director for Medecins Sans Frontieres [Doctors Without Borders], told Reuters. "Rather than look to the US military to build a work-around, the US should insist on immediate humanitarian access using the roads and entry points that already exist." Despite the looming threat of famine and further civilian deaths, the port is still in its planning stages, according to the Pentagon. The Open Arms vessel, carrying two-hundred tonnes of food aid to Gaza, is seen docked in the Cypriot port of Larnaca on March 9, 2024. (AFP/Getty) General Patrick Ryder said there were also questions over exactly how the port would be secured which still need answers. When asked during a press briefing if he thought the port might become a target for Hamas, he said it was "certainly a risk." "But if Hamas truly does care about the Palestinian people, then, again, one would hope that this international mission to deliver aid to people who need it would be able to happen unhindered," Mr Ryder said. While US military members will build the port, none will enter Gaza due to security concerns. The first part of the port will be construction of an off-shore barge that can accept aid items. That barge would then move the goods to a floating, 1,800 foot causeway that will be anchored to the shore. Mr Ryder said the system should allow for the delivery of approximately 2 million meals every day to the people of Gaza. At least one Republican lawmaker criticised Mr Biden's plan. Senator Marco Rubio said building the port in Gaza effectively meant building "a port for Hamas." Democrats have largely praised the move, thought it's unclear how far the structure will go to win back the support of leftwing party members who were shocked by Mr Biden's refusal to outright condemn the widespread civilian casualties caused by the IDF. The Michigan Democratic primary results made clear that frustration with Mr Biden was more than just noise online; 13 per cent of voters who cast a ballot in the state's primary race wrote that they were "uncommitted" to any candidate. Dearborn, Michigan is home to the largest concentration of Muslims in the US. Mr Biden won the primary, receiving 81 per cent of the vote, but the "uncommitted" voters still accounted for more than 100,000 votes. The president only beat Donald Trump in the state in 2020 by approximately 154,000 votes. Politicians love to talk about their families, but in her Thursday night response to President Joe Biden's State of the Union speech, Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala. went even further, portraying her powerful position as little more than the hobby of a housewife. While allowing that it's an "honor" to be a senator, Britt argued, "thats not the job that matters most." Instead, she said her real job is to be "a proud wife and mom of two school-aged kids." Britt seemed to want viewers to imagine her in an apron, gazing lovingly upon her family and realizing she must sacrifice some measure of domesticity for "the future of children." It's all nonsense, of course. She is exactly the "permanent politician" she accused Biden of being, as any perusal of her resume will show. Britt holds a political science degree and law degree from the University of Alabama. She went straight from graduation to work on the staff of her predecessor, Sen. Richard Shelby. She worked in private practice and government, but never as a full-time stay-at-home mother. And yet, even as her colleagues were in D.C. for the speech, Britt framed herself as a hausfrau, talking about how "my husband, Wesley, and I just watched President Bidens State of the Union Address from our living room." Her address was filmed from her kitchen with an aesthetic that former White House communications director Jennifer Palmieri mocked as "'tradwife," which is internet slang for "traditional wife." As feminist writer Jill Filipovic wrote, Britt's was a message of who women should be: "Afraid, valued only for being mothers, and in the kitchen." Republicans didn't even bother to hide the sexist nostalgia they were angling for. As the New York Times reported, talking points circulated before the speech suggested Republicans call her "America's mom." Tuberville says Britts delivery was good: She was picked as a housewife, not just a senator, somebody who sees it from a different perspectiveI mean, she did what she was asked to do. I thought she did a good job. And it's hard when you've never done anything like that. Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) March 8, 2024 Want more Amanda Marcotte on politics? Subscribe to her newsletter Standing Room Only. Just last week, the GOP nominated Donald Trump to be president, despite a New York judge recently finding that "Trump sexually abused indeed, raped" journalist E. Jean Carroll. In his State of the Union speech, Biden blew off the long-standing lie that Republicans oppose abortion because of "life," instead accusing Republicans of broadly opposing "reproductive freedom" and adding, "those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women in America." The "pro-life" mask is fully off, proving feminists were right all along: Republicans just want to make women second-class citizens. Britt's speech contained a tacit admission of this, when she defensively insisted that Republicans "strongly support continued nationwide access to in-vitro fertilization." It's a lie, as was much of her speech. The Republican-controlled legislature in her own state tacitly banned in-vitro fertilization (IVF) last month. When Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., introduced a bill to keep IVF legal in all 50 states, congressional Republicans blocked it. Republicans in Alabama recently passed a law to prevent the state court from blocking IVF, but as many feminists pointed out, they did with the understanding that, if Trump becomes president, he will likely sign a bill that bans both IVF and abortion nationwide. But that Republicans are willing to prop up this lie does unintentionally reveal a deeper truth: They do not and have never thought that embryos are the moral equivalent of children. An abortion kills one embryo. For every successful IVF procedure, at least 2-3 embryos are typically destroyed. By embracing a surface-level support for IVF while denouncing abortion, Republicans are tacitly admitting this was never about "life." It's about denying women health care that helps them gain more autonomy. Both IVF and abortion allow women more options, which is why the GOP hates both. But abortion, for obvious reasons, more directly allows women to escape bad relationships, which is why banning it is such a priority for Republicans. Britt's tradwife cosplay was on-the-nose, but compared to some of the sexist shenanigans of Republicans on the state level, her June Cleaver act was downright quaint. In North Carolina, for instance, Republicans nominated Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson to be governor, even though he manages to best even Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., in the obnoxious trolling department. He's racist, homophobic, anti-semitic, and frankly, it's easier to list who he doesn't hate: white conservative Christian men. Unsurprisingly, the vitriol Robinson fires at women is quite gross, such as calling victims of sexual harassment "whores" and demanding women be "led by men." Shortly after his nomination last week, a video surfaced from 2020 in which Robinson came out against women's suffrage, arguing, "I absolutely want to go back to the America where women couldnt vote." He made these remarks at an event hosted by the Republican Women of Pitt County, which means his party was well aware of his stance but backed him anyway. Robinson is the most prominent Republican leader so far to speak out against the 19th Amendment, which was ratified in 1920. But this idea of repealing women's suffrage has been percolating in far-right circles for a while now. Prior to the Trump-endorsed Robinson, a Michigan congressional candidate endorsed by Trump in 2022, John Gibbs, supported the end of women's right to vote. Prominent conservative commentator Erick Erickson, who has worked for both Fox News and CNN, has also called for the end of women's suffrage. My big issue with Roe has always been that abortion shouldnt be a constitutional right, but left to each state under federalism. But given the hysterics and histrionics coming out about Dobbs, Im starting to think we need to repeal the 19th amendment. These people are nuts. Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) May 6, 2022 Joel Webbon, a conservative activist tied with the group writing "Project 2025," Trump's blueprint for a second term, also spoke in favor of repealing the 19th Amendment. Takeaways: 1) Yes, women are more easily deceived than men. 2) Yes, the majority of universities are merely institutions for deception. 3) Yes, the 19th Amendment was a bad idea. https://t.co/c1cvhZ3ZcZ Joel Webbon (@rightresponsem) November 4, 2022 In Christian right circles, the euphemism for ending women's suffrage is "head of household voting," in which the right to vote would be held only by the man of any house. (That women head households is of no consequence, as the Christian right's goal is to make sure all women live either with fathers or husbands.) This pathway to overturning the 19th Amendment is backed by Abby Johnson, an anti-abortion activist who was invited by Trump to speak at the 2020 Republican National Convention. But while ending women's right to vote is still a stretch goal for MAGA, the war on birth control is rapidly escalating after Justice Clarence Thomas suggested the Supreme Court is open to repealing the right to contraception as well. In Missouri, Republicans in the state house are once again attempting to block Planned Parenthood from using Medicaid funds. The word "abortion" is thrown around a lot to justify this, but it's obvious bad faith for two major reasons. First, Medicaid doesn't cover abortion and hasn't since the mid-70s. Second, abortion is banned in Missouri, which was one of the most eager states rushing to do so after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. No, this is all a transparent effort to stop women, especially low-income women, from accessing birth control and other sexual health care services, such as those that prevent sexually transmitted infections. Far from being "pro-life," this policy is anti-baby. In no small part due to cuts to sexual health care in red states, the U.S. is facing a dramatic surge in syphilis, a disease that was once so rare as to be close to eradication. The disease kills newborns, leading to 51 baby deaths and 231 stillbirths in 2022 alone. The only reason to deprive women of birth control and other sexual health treatment is to punish them for being sexually active. Which is really to punish them for being living adult human beings, as research shows over 99% of Americans have sex at some point before middle age, making it as close as you're going to get to a universal behavior. The mask has been slipping for a while, as Republicans adore Trump, a man who bragged on tape about how much he loves to sexually assault women. Britt's bizarre speech Thursday night is part of a larger effort by the Christian right to put a cheerful face on their repressive and hateful policy preferences. Thankfully, most in the press seemed to see right through her, and even the loudest MAGA voices were disappointed at Britt's failed efforts at playing the frightened housewife. But more work needs to be done to link her strange performance to the full-scale assault Republicans are launching against women's rights. This article takes a look at the 15 states for couples retiring on just social security in the US. If you wish to skip our detailed analysis on a couples guide to budget retirement living, you may go to 5 States for Couples Retiring on Just Social Security in the US. Couples' Guide to Budget Retirement Living in The United States If you've got a car or a van and a good parking spot, living on just social security seems pretty doable. This perception aligns with the expectations of the typical retiree in the United States as they envision navigating their retirement years on a fixed income. A modest 3.2% Cost-of-Living-Adjustment may be partly to blame for this pessimistic outlook, or it may be the swirling speculations regarding the depletion of social security funds. As of January 2024, the majority of Americans enrolled in Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) or a Medicare Advantage plan have also begun paying a standard monthly premium for Part B at $174.70. Additionally, they have been subject to a Part B annual deductible of $240. Compared to figures from 2023, this is a significant uptick of $9.80 (5.9%) in the premium and a $14 (6.2%) increase in the deductible. Whether it's the modest Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA), depleting funds, or the escalating costs of healthcare, the idea of retiring on Social Security alone seems rather distant for majority of Americans today. Interestingly, this fear appears to be propelling potential retirees in the right direction, statistics suggest. According to the Retirement Survey & Insights Report 2023 by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, a division of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS), more US workers have been saving further for retirement, with many even confident that their retirement savings are on track. As of 2022, only 57% of workers were confident that they would be able to meet their retirement savings goals. However, this number reached 65% the following year, highlighting how potential retirees are now quite proactive regarding their future. Story continues Nevertheless, a potential financial vortex seems to be eroding savings for many US workers saving towards their retirement goals, reveals The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS). For a majority of US workers saving for retirement; savings for college, credit card debts, and even caring for family members can affect how much they are saving for their retirement years. Only 36% of US workers have three months of income or more saved for emergencies. Unplanned and often unpredictable financial challenges push too many of us off track, and catching up may be difficult. Saving for retirement must remain a top priority. - Chris Ceder, Senior Retirement Strategist at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Despondently, the BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Read on Retirement report reveals only 56% of respondents believe they are on track with their retirement savings to retire with the lifestyle they desire. According to BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) CEO, one reason may be that workers are "over-saving", yet "under-investing". "In some countries, people are actually over-saving but under-investing. If they are keeping their money in the bank rather than investing in the market, they won't generate the returns necessary to retire with dignity," - Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Due to the many above reasons, retirees often end up having little to no savings for their so-called golden years. Their only option now is to move to some of the best states to live on Social Security, the benefits majority of American retirees rely on. Given that the average social security for 2024 is $1,906, and that for a couple is an estimated double; moving to an affordable state to retire seems only wise. But what constitutes an affordable state? According to The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW), there are many factors one should look at before making a move. "Whether you're a retiree, a remote worker, or just looking for a change of scenery, the idea of pulling up stakes for purportedly greener pastures isn't that unusual these days. -Hayden Adams, CPA, CFP, director of tax and financial planning at the The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) Center for Financial Research. According to The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW), looking at only one factor, for instance, taxes, isn't the right way to calculate a move. "Florida's lack of an income tax may seem like a bargain, but property tax there is high, and the government raises the bulk of its revenue through state and local sales taxes. That's why it's important to consider your entire tax burden." The giveaway? The best state to live in if youre on social security may not be your what you think it is. So the question is, which ones are? Now that you know what the worst states to retire on social security are, let's move on to discover some of the best ones. 15 States for Couples Retiring on Just Social Security in the US f11photo/Shutterstock.com Methodology To compile the list of states for couples retiring on just social security in the US, we have used our previous work on the best states to live in for retirement, states that dont tax your retirement income, and best states to retire on social security. Next, we listed down all these states and scored them on their overall cost of living index, healthcare cost of living index, tax-friendliness, and average rent. This allowed us to come up with the best states to live on Social Security alone. Cost of living index and health index has been sourced from Missouri Economic Research & Information Center, tax-friendliness from Smart Asset, and average rents from Renthop, Rent Data, etc. Scores were summed up and places have been ranked in an ascending order from the lowest to the highest scores. By the way, Insider Monkey is an investing website that tracks the movements of corporate insiders and hedge funds. By using a similar consensus approach, we identify the best stock picks of more than 900 hedge funds investing in US stocks. The top 10 consensus stock picks of hedge funds outperformed the S&P 500 Index by more than 140 percentage points over the last 10 years (see the details here). Whether you are a beginner investor or a professional one looking for the best stocks to buy, you can benefit from the wisdom of hedge funds and corporate insiders. Here are the top states for couples retiring on just Social Security in the US: 15. Michigan Insider Monkey Score: 40 Cost of Living Index: 90.6 Tax Friendliness: Tax-Friendly Health Index: 93.3 Average Rent (2-bedroom): $1,400 Coming in at 15th place on our list of states for couples retiring on just social security is Michigan. Michigan has earned a spot on our list owing to its cost of living, which is 9.4% lower than the national average. The state doesnt tax Social Security retirement benefits, a relief for couples who rely solely on these benefits to survive. Traverse City, Marquette, Battle Creek, and Holland are some of the best places to retire within the state on a budget. Retirees who are old and sick can prefer retiring to Traverse City or Grand Rapids for good healthcare facilities. Ann Arbor, in particular, has also been highlighted as one of the most peaceful places in the US. 14. Louisiana Insider Monkey Score: 48 Cost of Living Index: 91 Tax Friendliness: Tax Friendly Health Index: 98.7 Average Rent (2-bedroom): $1,150 Ranking 14th on our list, Louisiana is one of the best states to retire for taxes and cost of living. A couple can rent a 2-bedroom apartment for an average of $1,150 in this state, and enjoy a cost of living that is 9% lower than the national average. The state has around 122 hospitals, according to Beckers Hospital Review. 13. Alabama Insider Monkey Score: 50 Cost of Living Index: 88.3 Tax Friendliness: Tax-Friendly Health Index: 87 Average Rent (2-bedroom): $1,160 One of the many states that dont tax Social Security benefits is Alabama. Not only do retirees get to enjoy tax-free benefits in this state, but they also enjoy a cost of living that is 11.7% lower than the national average. The state of Alabama only has 89 hospitals. For retirees who prioritize good healthcare, Montgomery, Huntsville, and Mobile are good options. 12. Florida Insider Monkey Score: 51 Cost of Living Index: 100.7 Tax Friendliness: Very Tax-Friendly Health Index: 96.5 Average Rent (2-bedroom): $2,400 Who knew that the Sunshine State of Florida is one of the states for couples retiring on just social security in the US? Thanks to its absence of state income tax, a cost of living that closely aligns with national averages, and property and sales tax rates that also mirror national benchmarks, it has rightfully earned this position. 11. Iowa Insider Monkey Score: 51 Cost of Living Index: 90.3 Tax Friendliness: Moderately Tax-Friendly Health Index: 99.4 Average Rent (2-bedroom): $975 Those who already live in Iowa must know that the state promises its residents an affordable cost of living and rent. Not only that but Social Security benefits aren't taxed in this state either. 10. Kentucky Insider Monkey Score: 53 Cost of Living Index: 92 Tax Friendliness: Tax-Friendly Health Index: 83.7 Average Rent (2-bedroom): $1,100 Kentucky emerges as an ideal retirement choice with its picturesque landscapes, diverse recreational opportunities, and a cost of living that allows retirees to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. Additionally, the state's friendly communities and favorable tax environment contribute to a satisfying retirement experience. 9. Oklahoma Insider Monkey Score: 55 Cost of Living Index: 86.2 Tax Friendliness: Tax-Friendly Health Index: 92.6 Average Rent (2-bedroom): $1,020 The low cost of living, scenic beauty, and a welcoming community atmosphere make Oklahoma another wise choice for those looking for the right state to retire on just Social Security in the US. 8. North Dakota Insider Monkey Score: 56 Cost of Living Index: 94.6 Tax Friendliness: Moderately Tax-Friendly Health Index: 111.2 Average Rent (2-bedroom): $900 North Dakota may be moderately tax-friendly for retirees, but it boasts affordable living expenses and good healthcare. The state also boasts low rents, a plus for couples trying to get by on social security. 7. Georgia Insider Monkey Score: 58 Cost of Living Index: 90.8 Tax Friendliness: Very Tax-Friendly Health Index: 100.3 Average Rent (2-bedroom): $1,649 Number 7th on our list of states for couples retiring on just Social Security is Georgia. The cost of living in this state is an estimated 9% lower than the national average. The state is also very tax-friendly, and Social Security benefits arent taxed in this state. 6. Nevada Insider Monkey Score: 59 Tax Friendliness: Very Tax-Friendly Cost of Living Index: 101 Health Index: 91.7 Average Rent (2-bedroom): $1,600 Another tax-friendly state, Nevada has a cost of living that is 1% higher than the national average. Nevertheless, many places within the state are very affordable for couples who wish to retire on social security alone. The state enjoys relatively low property taxes, and even though sales tax is high, seniors get to enjoy exemptions on prescription drugs, durable medical equipment, groceries, and newspapers. Click to continue reading and see the 5 States for Couples Retiring on Just Social Security in the US. Suggested Articles: Disclosure: none. 15 States for Couples Retiring on Just Social Security in the US is originally published on Insider Monkey. President Biden said Saturday he should not have used the word illegal during his State of the Union address when talking about a migrant accused of killing of a University of Georgia student. An undocumented person. I shouldnt have used illegal, its undocumented, Biden told MSNBCs Jonathan Capehart. And look, when I spoke about the difference between Trump and me, one of the things I talked about in the border was his, the way he talks about vermin, the way he talks about these people polluting the blood. I talked about what Im not going to do. What I wont do. Im not going to treat any, any, any of these people with disrespect. Look, they built the country. The reason our economy is growing. We have to control the border and more orderly flow, but I dont share his view at all, Biden continued. So, you regret using that word? Capehart asked. Yes, Biden responded. The president used the term illegal after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a fierce ally of former President Trump, heckled him during the speech and called for him to recognize Laken Riley, the Georgia student killed late last month. Authorities have charged a Venezuelan migrant who entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 but was released in the killing. An innocent young woman who was killed, Biden said in the speech. By an illegal. Thats right. But how many of thousands of people are being killed by legals? Bidens use of the term drew criticism from some progressives, including Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), who posed on social media that no human being is illegal. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. President Joe Biden signed a package of six government funding bills into law Saturday, a day after lawmakers raced to fund critical government departments and agencies through the remainder of the fiscal year. The spending bills backed by the top Democrats and Republicans in both chambers represent a major breakthrough for lawmakers after months of using stopgap bills to avert shutdowns at the eleventh hour and a race to get the latest measure across the finish line ahead of the Friday night deadline. The White House thanked top congressional lawmakers from both parties for their leadership in getting the bills to the presidents desk. The Office of Management and Budget said late Friday that agencies would continue their normal operations and had ceased shutdown preparations after Congress finally passed updated funding legislation. But the work isnt over yet: Lawmakers still need to finalize and pass a second slate of funding bills ahead of a March 22 deadline. Democrats and Republicans have both claimed wins in the spending package, which includes funding for the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Interior, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development as well as the Food and Drug Administration, military construction and other federal programs. The Senate passed the measure Friday evening in a 75-22 vote, after it had passed the House earlier in the week. The package will support a wide array of programs and initiatives, including hiring new air traffic controllers and rail safety inspectors; medical care and benefits for veterans; and science, technology and research programs aimed at bolstering US economic competitiveness and competition specifically with China in fields including artificial intelligence. House Republicans, who have an extremely narrow majority, passed the package on a bipartisan basis Wednesday in a 339-85 vote, with 132 Republicans voting in favor and 83 Republicans opposed. Two Democrats voted in opposition. Democrats have highlighted that the package funds key social safety net programs, including providing $7 billion for the WIC program, which delivers nutrition assistance for women, infants and children, a $1 billion increase from the prior fiscal year. The package also includes funding for rental assistance and other child nutrition programs, including the school lunch program. Republicans, meanwhile, have touted some spending cuts in the legislation as well as conservative policy riders. This legislation forbids the Department of Justice from targeting parents exercising their right to free speech before school boards, while it blocks the Biden Administration from stripping Second Amendment rights from veterans. It imposes deep cuts to the EPA, ATF and FBI, which under the Biden Administration have threatened our freedoms and our economy, while it fully funds veterans health care, House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has faced criticism from his right flank over his handling of the government spending fight, said in a previous statement. In a sign of opposition from conservatives, the hardline House Freedom Caucus took an official position against the spending package, saying in a statement that it punts on nearly every single Republican policy priority and surrenders Republicans leverage to force radical Democrats to the table to truly secure the southern border. CNNs Samantha Waldenberg contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com By James Oliphant and Nandita Bose ROME, Georgia (Reuters) -A defiant and bitter Donald Trump returned on Saturday to the state where he faces criminal charges for undermining the 2020 U.S. presidential election, looking to win the battleground of Georgia as a stepping-stone to taking back the presidency. Trump was stumping in Georgia on the same day as President Joe Biden, who campaigned in nearby Atlanta, signifying the critical role the state will play in November's general election. In his remarks, Trump repeatedly insisted falsely he was the victim of widespread election fraud and he blasted the Georgia district attorney, Fani Willis, who is prosecuting him for interfering with the 2020 election, accusing her of working with the Biden administration to target him. Theyre trying to take us out, and its not going to work, Trump told the crowd at an arena in Rome, Georgia. Biden, meanwhile, took aim at Trump for entertaining Hungary's right-wing nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban at his Florida club in recent days, accusing him of "sucking up to dictators and authoritarian thugs all around the world." "When he says he wants to be a dictator, I believe him," Biden said. There may not be a more hotly contested state than Georgia in the Nov. 5 general election, which swung to Biden in the 2020 election and was central to Trumps fraud claims. Trump is expected to clinch his party's nomination on Tuesday when Georgia, along with Hawaii, Mississippi and Washington state hold nominating contests. On Thursday, Biden delivered a State of the Union speech laden with criticisms of Trump, accusing him of threatening democracy, kowtowing to Russia and sinking bipartisan immigration reform. The president, however, continues to grapple with a backlash among Democrats for his staunch support of Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza, discontent that could manifest itself in the vote in Georgia on Tuesday. At his campaign event on Saturday, a heckler was escorted out after calling the president "Genocide Joe." A coalition of multifaith and multiracial groups in Georgia have launched a campaign urging voters to leave their ballots blank instead of voting for Biden on Tuesday in the hope of sending a message to the White House to reconsider its support of Israel. A KEY STATE Trumps event was held within the congressional district of right-wing firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene, who raised eyebrows when she attended Thursdays State of the Union address clad in Trump attire was given a heros welcome by Saturday's rowdy crowd. Georgia is a key state, its a key state in this election, she said. Were going to work as hard as possible to deliver it for Donald Trump." As he has done in recent speeches, Trump devoted much of his remarks to the situation at the southern U.S. border. He blamed Biden for the death of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was killed last month in Athens, Georgia. A Venezuelan man who authorities say entered the U.S. illegally has been charged in her death. Members of Rileys family attended Trump's rally and some in the crowd held aloft her picture. Biden mentioned Rileys murder during his State of the Union remarks. He apologized on Saturday for referring to the suspect as an illegal. Chris LaCivita, Trumps co-campaign manager, said Trump would continue to focus on immigration and the economy in the weeks ahead. Im very confident about where we are today, where were going to be in November. LaCivita said. Because the issues right now arent changing. NO FRAUD Biden edged out Trump in Georgia by just 0.23% in 2020. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and the state's top election official, Brad Raffensperger, were adamant that no widespread fraud occurred and that the vote count was legitimate despite Trump's insistence otherwise. Prosecutors in Georgia allege Trump and his allies engaged in a conspiracy by making false statements about the election and developing a plan to disrupt and delay the congressional certification of the electoral votes. Trump denies the charges. Trump and his co-defendants are attempting to disqualify Willis from the case, alleging she was involved in an improper relationship with a special prosecutor she named to the case and that she financially benefited from the relationship. Willis has denied the allegations. Last month, a Fulton County judge heard arguments on Trumps request and is expected to issue a ruling within days. This whole witchhunt should be put out of its misery and dismissed immediately, Trump said. Prosecutors have pushed for starting the Trump trial in Georgia as early as August when Trump would be in the heat of the campaign. But it remains unclear whether it will go forward before the election. (Reporting by James Oliphant and Nandita Bose; Additional reporting by Alexandra Alper and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Marguerita Choy and Daniel Wallis) On March 8, 2024, U.S. President Joe Biden's State of the Union (SOTU) speech generated controversy due to his reported use of the term "illegals" in reference to migrants residing in the U.S. without authorization. The moment occurred when Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green shouted the name "Laken Riley" from the crowd referring to a 22-year-old, in her words, "was killed by an illegal." In response, Biden seemingly went off script. And, according to social media posts attempting to highlight a wording issue by the president and some media outlets, he responded: "How many of thousands of people are being killed by illegals?" (Screenshot via X) We listened to CNN and C-SPAN's video recording of Biden's speech several times. Based on our listening, during the in-question part of the speech, Biden did not say "illegals," but, rather, he used the uncommon phrase "legals" presumably in reference to killers who are not undocumented. The White House's official transcript of the speech and The New York Times also said, "How many of thousands of people are being killed by legals?" Outlets like CNN, however, reported Biden said, "But how many of the thousands of people being killed by illegals." We should note, seconds earlier, Biden did use the term "illegals" in reference to undocumented immigrants. Saying the phrase dehumanizes immigrants, a number of Democratic lawmakers criticized him for using the word, including Rep. Chuy Garcia and Rep. Ilhan Omar. Here's What Happened With her heckling, Green was calling attention to Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia who was killed in February 2024. A migrant from Venezuela residing in the U.S. illegally without authorization was charged in her killing. During the SOTU speech, Green wore pins on her lapel that referred to Riley. Biden who had picked up one of those pins labeled, "Say Her Name Laken Riley," on his way to the rostrum responded to Green's shouts by holding up the pin and directing his next comments to Riley's parents. He said, according to our viewing of the C-SPAN video and White House transcript, "Lanken Riley. An innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. That's right." Biden clearly used the phrase "an illegal" in that instance, and he mispronounced Laken's name. He continued (emphasis, ours): But how many of the thousands of people [are] being killed by legals? to her parents, I say my heart goes out to you. Having lost children myself, I understand. But look, if we change the dynamic at the border people pay these smugglers 8,000 bucks to get across the border. Because they know if they get by and are let into the country, it's six to eight years before they have a hearing. [...] But if its only six weeks, the idea is it's highly unlikely that people will pay that money and come all that way knowing that they will be kicked out quickly. Presumably, the hypothetical question was Biden alleging the level of crimes carried out by undocumented migrants is smaller compared to those committed by people who reside in the U.S. as documented immigrants or citizens. He added, "I will not demonize immigrants. [...] I will not separate families. I will not ban people because of their faith." He called for securing the border and providing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children. The in-question part of the speech can be seen in this video: Sources: "Biden Holds up Laken Riley Pin as Greene Heckles Him." CNN, 7 Mar. 2024, https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/state-of-the-union-biden-03-07-24/h_6aa466f1f7641648739c847b82f07e67. Accessed 8 March 2024. Cameron, Chris. "Biden Spars With Marjorie Taylor Greene About a Murder He Said Was Committed 'by an Illegal.'" The New York Times, 8 Mar. 2024. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/07/us/politics/laken-riley-sotu-biden-marjorie-taylor-greene.html. Accessed 8 March 2024. "Full 2024 President Biden State of the Union Annotated and Fact-Checked." CNN, March 8, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2024/03/annotated-fact-checked-president-biden-sotu/. Accessed 8 March 2024. "Full Transcript of Biden's State of the Union Speech." The New York Times, 8 Mar. 2024. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/08/us/politics/state-of-the-union-transcript-biden.html. Accessed 8 March 2024. "Remarks by President Biden in State of the Union Address." The White House, March 8, 2024, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/03/08/remarks-by-president-biden-in-state-of-the-union-address-3/. Accessed 8 March 2024. "See Biden's Response to Marjorie Taylor Greene Interrupting Speech." CNN, March 7, 2024. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64ivmhyyRSI. Accessed 8 March 2024. Nov. 13, 2023; Columbus, Oh., USA; Members of the Palestinian community and supporters attended Monday's Columbus City Council meeting, asking councilmembers to call for a ceasefire in Palestine. Just prior to the meeting, Councilwomen Lourdes Barroso de Padilla and Shayla D. Favor issued a statement addressing, "the humanitarian crisis in Palestine." They condemned, "any behavior in the City of Columbus that can be attributed to islamophobia, antisemitism, or any form of hate." The case against a cease-fire President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are pushing Israel for a six-week cease-fire with Hamas. I believe Israel should decide on their own, with no pressure from the U.S. Hamas and the Palestinians have said their mission is elimination of all Israelis from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River. Absolutely no 2-state solution for them. If things were reversed and Hamas were winning, do you honestly think they would want a cease-fire? Letters to the Editor A six-week ceasefire would allow Hamas to rearm, leading to more carnage. Iran will continue funding Hamas for as long as they wish. What do you think? How to submit a letter to the editor for The Columbus Dispatch Hamas and most of the Mideast hate America and Israel, so why try to please them. Israel is our only true ally in the Mideast, we should continue to support them, I feel sorry for the Palestinian civilians. Why will Egypt not take them in? Opinion: Biden, do the right thing. Push Israel and Netanyahu hard now for a cease-fire in Gaza. But, in all reality, if the war were to end tomorrow, if Hamas and the Palestinians do not agree to live in peace with the Israelis, we are doomed to see further conflict. Robert Griffey, Circleville This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Six-week Israel, Hamas cease-fire a deadly idea In this weeks episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm very possibly the last remaining sitcom on earth thats actually funny Larry David issued a warning which all men would be wise to heed. Especially if theyre about to go on a date. Women like questions, he explained to a male friend. When you have a date with one, youve got to ask a ton of questions. Otherwise, theyre going back to their friends, and you know what theyre saying? He didnt ask me one question. To men, that might not sound like the worst crime in the world. Women, however, take a very different view. Last summer, a female journalist wrote a column in The Sunday Times complaining about all the men shed dated who hadnt asked her enough questions about herself. The column went viral online, with countless female readers reporting that theyd had the same experience. Such behaviour, they fumed, was typical of male sexism because it showed how uninterested men are in womens careers, experiences and opinions. What none of these women seemed to realise, however, is that for men its the other way round. We cant stand it when women ask us lots of questions on dates. So while, for men, its a mistake to ask too few questions, its just as big a mistake for women to ask too many. To a man, being bombarded with questions makes the date feel like a job interview, for the role of boyfriend. The woman comes across like a prospective employer, demanding to know our qualifications, relevant experience, and where we see ourselves in five years time. We start to worry that well be asked to supply two references from former girlfriends. On top of that, excessive questioning can make a woman seem too keen, thus triggering male commitment-phobia. If this is what shes like on the first date, the man thinks, imagine being married to her. Would she endlessly interrogate me about where I was going, who I was meeting, and what I was thinking about? (This last question in particular highlights how little women know about men. Because, all too often, the truthful answer is either nothing, or nothing wed want to admit.) All of which explains why men are reluctant to ask too many questions themselves. Women may not like it. But they shouldnt take offence. The fact is, men dont ask their male friends questions, either. Instead, we communicate largely through jokes, anecdotes, mutual mockery and exchanges of trivia. So yes, we may be shallow and emotionally stunted. But not sexist. Because were just as bad with each other. Should our pets check their privilege? During a talk about diversity, it was reported this week, staff at a well-known organisation were told about the importance of allyship and recognising your privilege. These staff have also been informed that gender-fluid means someone whose gender identity is on a fluctuating spectrum, and that white privilege is the unquestioned and unearned set of advantages and benefits bestowed on people because they are white. These days, of course, theres nothing especially unusual about this. Many organisations are eager to show off how au fait they are with the latest progressive lingo. What I find intriguing about this particular story, however, is that the staff are employed not by some Left-wing lobby group or NGO. Theyre employed by the nationwide pet shop chain, Pets at Home. But if your job is to feed guinea pigs and muck out gerbils, why on earth would you need to know this stuff? I myself have never worked at a pet shop. Over the course of a typical working day, however, I cant imagine that analysis of white privilege is of much practical use. Unless, that is, experts have found statistical evidence that white rabbits are treated more leniently by police than black rabbits, or that black rabbits are significantly under-represented on television. Still, these are apparently concepts which which modern pet shop staff are expected to be familiar. Next thing you know, theyll be telling the pets to check their privilege, too. Whos a good boy? Whos a good boy? Whos a very, very good boy? Unfortunately, not you, Rover because you remain disturbingly silent on Gaza, the climate crisis, the marginalisation of trans people, and Starmers sickening betrayal of Jeremys 2019 manifesto. The school that lost its head Heres a story that illustrates just how dramatically society has changed. In 2022, a school headmistress was sacked after a teacher filed an official complaint, accusing her of physically hurting a child. What exactly had this headmistress done? Shed tapped the child on the hand, to deter him from mucking about with a bottle of hand sanitiser. As it happens, the child in question was the headmistresss three-year-old son. Until about 40 years ago, teachers were entitled to thrash children with a cane. Now, it seems, they cant give a child a gentle tap on the hand. Not even if the child is their own. Thankfully, some semblance of sanity has at last been restored. An employment judge has ruled that the headmistress was unfairly dismissed. Shes now in line for compensation. In the old days, children were taught not to tell tales. Perhaps some teachers should be taught this, too. Way of the World is a twice-weekly satirical look at the headlines aiming to mock the absurdities of the modern world. It is published at 7am every Tuesday and Saturday Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. A draft law on the potential mobilisation of convicted and imprisoned persons may be submitted to the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, next week. Source: Denys Maliuska, Minister of Justice, on the national joint 24/7 newscast Quote: "I think it will be registered next week. At the next session meetings of the Verkhovna Rada, it will be voted on in the first reading and the second as well. I expect that will be in spring, no later, and I think not even the end of spring." Details: The minister noted that "there are a lot (thousands) of prisoners and convicts who are prepared to become military personnel" and defend their country. Maliuska said that at the request of the military, the bill will exclude the mobilisation of convicts who violated military discipline, committed crimes related to the performance of their military duty, or committed crimes against statehood. "Mobilisation will probably not apply to such categories. But parliament will have the last word. I do not expect consideration in parliament to be delayed, because so far I have not met a single politician, MP or Armed Forces leader who would actively oppose it," Maliuska said. At the same time, Maliuska said, not all military commanders are prepared to accept convicts in their units. "We wont force such mobilised servicemen on anyone. Most likely, these will be separate detachments. But in any case, only commanders who understand who they will be dealing with, and how to work with that, will receive appropriate units so that they can defend their homeland," the minister said. Support UP or become our patron! Oppenheimer, the Christopher Nolan film up for several Academy Awards this weekend, tells the story of how J Robert Oppenheimer developed the worlds first atomic bombs. Set in a secret laboratory in Los Alamos, on northern New Mexicos Pajarito plateau, the film pays scant attention to the Indigenous communities who inhabited the land before the Manhattan Project and the illnesses they endured after nuclear tests. Now, nearly 80 years later, Los Alamos is once again booming as the US modernizes its nuclear arsenal. Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the only facility in the country currently producing plutonium cores of nuclear weapons, aim to ramp up production from zero to 30 pits per year over the next two years. The lab has hired some 4,000 new employees in the last two years, bringing the staff population up to nearly 16,000 people. Related: Why is the US ramping up production of plutonium pits for nuclear weapons? Locals worry about what the expansion will mean for their health. We know that every single family in our communities, especially those that are in closest proximity to [Los Alamos National Laboratory], have a handful of family members that suffer from different types of cancer and autoimmune disease, said Marissa Naranjo, who is from Santa Clara, Kewa and Cochiti Pueblos. An activist with Honoring Our Pueblo Existence (Hope), Naranjo lives in Albuquerque but grew up on tribal land less than 20 miles from the lab. In the years after Oppenheimer and his team experimented with radioactive plutonium, residents of surrounding communities began reporting heightened rates of cancer, autoimmune disease, and reproductive health issues not unlike residents of north-western New Mexico, who lived near uranium mines that began supplying the lab, or their neighbors to the south, who lived downwind from the site where scientists first detonated the atomic bomb. Studies and investigations found heightened rates of esophageal, bone, lung, kidney and brain cancer among former lab employees. But there were few formal efforts to study the labs impact on the pueblos, or local tribal communities. Theres a lack of epidemiological studies on these populations that have been, most likely, most heavily affected, said Dylan Spaulding, a senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists. The pueblos have not been in a position to do their own studies and yet the burden of proof is often on them. Scientists at Los Alamos conducted a few early experiments in the 1940s on the impacts of plutonium on the human body, including by injecting 18 subjects, at least five of whom were civilians, with the substance. They found that plutonium collected in subjects livers, lungs, bones and lymph nodes, and that exposure to radiation predisposed people to thyroid and breast cancers. The plutonium concentration in her liver was 60 times higher than that of the average New Mexico resident CDC report A later, controversial study that analyzed the remains of 271 employees and 1,825 civilians indicates the impact the labs activities carried over the general population. Of the more than 2,000 tested subjects, the one with the highest concentration of plutonium was the body of a 91-year-old woman who lived 30 miles north of the facility. She had lived with her son-in-law, a janitor at the lab. The plutonium concentration in her liver was 60 times higher than that of the average New Mexico resident, according to a report on CDC findings published in December in Searchlight New Mexico, a local outlet. As the lab expands, with plans to store as much as twice as much radioactive waste on site, locals are concerned. Plutonium, the radioactive material at the core of nuclear weapons, is most dangerous when inhaled. It can accumulate in the bones, disrupt cell development, and has been linked to sterility and cancer. I think LANL is used to being able to dump and manage waste very recklessly because they have the shield of being a militarized area, said Kayleigh Warren, the environmental justice project coordinator at the non-profit Tewa Women United, and a member of the Santa Clara and Isleta Pueblos. She added: Theyre not in the practice of consulting with the community. Warren said that local distrust of the facility goes back to its foundation. Los Alamoss plutonium facility and radioactive waste disposal areas were built atop nearly 2,000 cultural sites including ceremonial kivas, petroglyphs and ancestral prayer sites adjacent to the modern-day boundaries of the Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Cochiti and Jemez Pueblos. From 1956 to 1972, the lab released chromium-contaminated water from its cooling towers into a nearby canyon, creating a large plume that seeped into local groundwater that the energy department is still cleaning. Another thing that Im really concerned about is unexplained infertility Kayleigh Warren Local wariness only grew as communities suffered illnesses they attributed to the lab; Warren said her community has a prevalence of breast and prostate cancers. Another thing that Im really concerned about is unexplained infertility, she said. There are a lot of healthy young women in my community who are infertile, who have recurrent miscarriages, who cannot carry pregnancies to term or who cannot conceive at all. As it ramps up warhead core production, the lab is making room for the new waste that it will generate. Although most of the labs waste has been moved to a waste disposal facility in southern New Mexico, it stores some legacy waste and containers that officials say are too unstable for transport on site. That includes four containers of cold war-era waste that lab employees believe have accumulated radioactive hydrogen, called tritium, inside. To safely transport those containers, the lab says it needs to release the gas that has built up inside them. Tritium, though rarely released in quantities high enough to cause health impacts, has been linked to cancer and birth defects. The lab first announced its plans to vent the containers in March 2020 a few weeks into the Covid-19 pandemic when many surrounding pueblo communities were preparing for outdoor spring ceremonies. The All-Pueblo Council of Governors issued a statement of concern and Tewa Women United collected more than 3,000 signatures on a petition, delaying the planned release. Earlier this year, the lab postponed those plans again, after Tewa Women United collected another 2,000 signatures and petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency and New Mexico environmental department to withhold the permits the lab required. Related: We didnt know we were poisoning ourselves: the deadly legacy of the US uranium boom Steve Horak, a public affairs specialist at the lab, says that all decisions at the lab, including tritium venting, follow state and national environmental laws, like the Clean Air Act. The Clean Air Act limits are set at levels that are protective of even the most vulnerable members of the population, including pregnant women, children, and the elderly, he said in an emailed statement. By following the act, the venting will be safe for all residents of the nearby communities. Warren, meanwhile, says: The United States has really been lax in its regulation of tritium and that pueblo activists are very concerned about exposure because it bonds to hydrogen including in food and water. In 2015, the Department of Energy launched an environmental management field office in Los Alamos, tasked with cleaning up legacy contamination from the Manhattan Project and Cold War eras. Since 2016 that work has been guided by a consent order from the New Mexico environment department, which has prioritized investigating spills and soil surrounding landfill leaks in nearby watersheds and canyons. The field office is also responsible for disposing of and transporting radioactive waste. Most recently, in 2022, the field office began hosting listening sessions with a diverse group of stakeholders, pueblos, non-governmental organizations and the public to develop a long-term strategic vision. According to the field offices website (the Department of Energy did not provide comment for this article), it has met with approximately 170 participants who represent 20 stakeholder and pueblo groups, and has received nearly 2,000 comments. (BCN) Pittsburgs Black Diamond High School this week was named a 2024 California Model Continuation High School, marking the third consecutive time the school has received this distinction. Principal Phillip Lucido credits his innovative staff and teachers for providing holistic education and wraparound support to help at-risk students find success. Many, he said, are foster youth or facing homelessness or other life challenges that have significantly impacted their ability to achieve the credits needed to graduate. Neighborhood lockdown in Bay Point due to police activity Theres a lot a lot that theyre up against, Lucido said. Yet, theyre thriving here. Pittsburg Unified School District (PUSD) Black Diamond High School (PUSD via Bay City News) Black Diamond High Schools student body population ranges from about 210 to 240 and is predominantly people of color (97%) with about 35% learning English as a second language. With 18 teachers, Lucido notes the small class sizes are an important component to creating a positive learning environment where educators are keenly aware of their students individual needs. We have students who couldnt find themselves at a conventional high school they didnt want to go, they felt defeated or depressed, Lucido said. And all of a sudden, they come here, they find their identity, they have a purpose, their attendance is up. I think thats the success story of Black Diamond: everybody knows you, everybodys pushing you. We know what you need to succeed, and were going to motivate you to do it. In addition to small student-to-teacher ratios, the school has two counselors who meet with each student at least once a week to address barriers to graduation like trauma. We also have a Care Team, which is our community of service supports, Lucido continued, adding that the team is responsible for identifying the students who are in the most urgent need of support and coordinating services, even over the weekend. In addition to various electives and student empowerment groups, the school has a full-time restorative justice facilitator and partners with Improve Your Tomorrow, a nonprofit that aims to break down the school-to-prison pipeline for young men of color. Improve Your Tomorrow provides mentoring for 50 of Black Diamonds male students of color identified as being most at-risk. While many students find themselves at Black Diamond for a want of credits, they later find the community there to be a better fit and decline to transfer out. Take, for example, Feliza Harrison, who described her journey of falling behind and transferring to the continuation school with plans to return to Pittsburg High School once back on track. She later decided she would remain enrolled through graduation. At BDHS, I can focus better, I feel comfortable asking the teachers for support, and I can tell they actually care for us, she said. Here, I have a counselor who always has an open door and knows everything about my credits by heart. I know she is on my side. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced this week that Black Diamond is among 31 schools throughout the state selected for the California Model Continuation High School award. The 31 schools selected retain their designation for three years and will be recognized at the California Continuation Education Association Plus 2024 State Conference. Firearm with a high-capacity magazine found in traffic stop Black Diamond High School was selected as a Model Continuation School based on a comprehensive and competitive application process, incorporating assessments, data analysis, and an on-site evaluation conducted by a peer review panel. According to Thurmond, schools receiving a Model Continuation School status by the California Department of Education are helping students thrive personally and academically and are model schools that give students a chance to not only succeed in high school, but in life. Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools Lynn Mackey called the recognition a tremendous honor. All students need a school community that supports, nurtures and helps teens see what is possible in the future, Mackey said. Students who havent found those things at traditional schools have found them at Black Diamond. I want to thank the schools leadership, dedicated educators and support staff for setting a stellar example for continuation high schools across Contra Costa County. For Lucido, who has been an educator for 27 years including 18 as a math teacher and seven as a vice principal at Pittsburg High School the last two years of his career with Black Diamond have been the most rewarding. Its an honor, you know, he said. You get to know every student, and you get to really dissect what they need so they can feel safe and good about coming to school. Copyright 2024 Bay City News, Inc. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wears a Laken Riley shirt as she arrives before President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Thursday March 7, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Marjorie Taylor Greene wore a T-shirt to Thursday night's State of the Union address that carried a seemingly simple message: Say Her Name. The hard-line Republican congresswoman from Georgia, who was decked out in a red MAGA hat and other regalia, borrowed the phrase from Black racial justice activists who have been calling attention to the extrajudicial deaths of Black women at the hands of police and vigilantes. However, Greene used the rallying cry to successfully goad President Joe Biden into saying the name Laken Riley, a nursing student from Georgia whose death is now at the center of U.S. immigration debate. An immigrant from Venezuela, who entered the U.S. illegally, has been arrested in Riley's case and charged with murder. Riley's name is a rallying cry for Republicans criticizing the president's handling of the record surge of immigrants entering the country through the U.S-Mexico border. The origins of the Say Her Name rallying cry date back well before Greene donned the T-shirt. Who first coined the phrase Say Her Name in protest? The phrase was popularized by civil rights activist, law professor and executive director of the African American Policy Forum Kimberle Crenshaw in 2015, following the death of Sandra Bland. Bland, a 28-year-old Black woman, was found dead in a Texas jail cell a few days after she was arrested during a traffic stop. Her family questioned the circumstances of her death and the validity of the traffic stop and the following year settled a wrongful death lawsuit with the police department. Black women are statistically more likely than other women to witness and experience police violence, including death, which is also linked to heightened psychological stress and several related negative health outcomes. Everywhere, we see the appropriation of progressive and inclusionary concepts in an effort to devalue, distort and suppress the movements they have been created to advance, Crenshaw said in a statement to The Associated Press. When most people only hear about these ideas from those that seek to repurpose and debase them, then our ability to speak truth to power is further restricted. Greenes appropriation of the phrase undermines civil rights movements and pushes our democracy closer to the edge, Crenshaw wrote in her statement. The misuse of these concepts by others who seek to silence us must be resisted if we are to remain steadfast in our advocacy for a fully inclusive and shared future. Tamika Mallory, a racial justice advocate and author, said Laken Riley deserves justice, but in this case she doesn't think that conservatives are being genuine when they use #SayHerName. If they were, they wouldnt be using language that they claim not to favor, she said. They demonize our language, they demonize our organizing style, but they co-opt the language whenever they feel it is a political tool. Who are the other Black women included in Say Her Name? Crenshaw and others began using the phrase to draw attention to cases in which Black women are subject to police brutality. In 2020, the hashtag #SayHerName helped put more public scrutiny on the shooting death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman in Louisville, KY who was shot and killed in her home during a botched police raid. The campaign was founded to break the silence around Black women, girls, and femmes whose lives have been taken by police, Crenshaw said. The list of women killed in fatal encounters with law enforcement and whose families continue to demand justice is long. Tanisha Anderson, Michelle Shirley, Sandra Bland, Miriam Carey, Michelle Cusseaux, Shelly Frey, Breonna Taylor, Korryn Gaines, Kayla Moore, Atatiana Jefferson, and India Kager are just some of the many names we uplift women whose stories have too often otherwise gone untold. We must call out and resist this attempt to commandeer this campaign to serve an extremist right-wing agenda. ____ Graham Lee Brewer is an Oklahoma City-based member of AP's Race and Ethnicity team. __ This story was first published on March 8, 2024. It was updated on March 11, 2024, to correct the name of Kimberle Crenshaws organization. It is the African-American Policy Forum, not the African-American Policy Institute. In this article, we list and discuss the 20 Countries with the Strongest Paramilitary Forces in the World. If you would like to skip our detailed discussion of the topic, you can go directly to the top 5 Countries with the Strongest Paramilitary Forces in the World. In recent years and throughout history, governments have involved paramilitary forces on many occasions, mostly to counter the ongoing tense situations within the country. For example, in 2014, when Russian-backed armed forces were taking charge in Ukraine, a self-funded paramilitary group, Azov Battalion, was formed to fight the crisis. Another time, in 2019, the Chinese government deployed a paramilitary force, the Peoples Armed Police (PAP), to quell the protests in Hong Kong. A paramilitary force or quasi-military is basically a semi-militarized force that has the same organizational structure, tactics, and training, as well as functions as a professional military force. But formally, it is neither a part of a military force nor a civil force. Although paramilitary forces may seem similar to military forces, there are subtle differences in both forces. A military force is a highly trained armed force formally organized and operated under the sovereign government with the primary role of defending the country from external threats, upholding national security, and engaging in warfare when necessary. Military forces are often subject to strict hierarchical command structures and operate according to established laws and regulations. On the other hand, paramilitary forces are deployed with a specific purpose; internal security, counter-insurgency (action taken against revolutionaries), or assisting military forces in non-combat operations. Unlike the traditional military, paramilitary forces operate with more flexibility and less accountability. In global politics and conflicts, paramilitary forces help counter unforeseen internal events, such as violence, protests, ethnic riots, etc. Moreover, these forces are often on the front lines when it comes to protecting high-profile sites and infrastructure, as well as protecting VIPs and fighting terrorism within the country. For instance, in September of 2023, when six footballers were abducted by a militant group in the Balochistan province of Pakistan, Pakistans government turned to paramilitary forces to rescue the players. Story continues While paramilitary might help with stability within the country, if not managed by the government, the same forces can become the reason for igniting civil unrest. Since these forces are used during unforeseen emergencies, such as violent civil protests against the sovereign government, they operate more flexibly. They might act outside the law, committing human rights abuses and engaging in unlawful activities against the protesting civilians, which can pose a threat to public safety. However, the risks vary from country to country. For instance, in its Preventing Private Paramilitary Activity Act of 2024, the Congress of the United States declared unauthorized private paramilitary forces as unlawful. So individuals who consider joining such groups can face potential legal consequences. Furthermore, this legislation may diminish the demand for arms and ammunition used by private paramilitary groups, which might potentially impact the sales of firearm companies in the United States. Some key players in the US firearm industry are Sturm Ruger & Company Inc (NYSE: RGR), Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ: SWBI), and Olin Corp (NYSE: OLN). Sturm Ruger & Company Inc (NYSE: RGR), also known as only Ruger, is one of the leading firearms companies in the US. However, last year, in Q3 2023, the company experienced a fall in its firearm demand, resulting in around 13% decline in the net sales for Q3 2023, which was $120.9 million, down from $139.4 million in Q3 2022. Christopher Killoy, the CEO of Sturm Ruger & Company Inc (NYSE: RGR), explains that the reason behind this decline was the market going back to pre-pandemic trends; in COVID-19, firearms demand was on the rise. The Preventing Private Paramilitary Activity Act of 2024 might further push down the sales of Ruger. On the other hand, Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ: SWBI), which is the leading pistol manufacturer in America, experienced a jump in sales despite the ongoing decline in the firearm market. The financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 showed year-over-year net sales of $114.2 million, an increase of $29.8 million from Q1 2023, which is a staggering growth of 35.4%. Mark Smith, the president and CEO of Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ: SWBI), is very pleased with the companys performance so far. Meanwhile, Olin Corp (NYSE: OLN), one of the leading chemicals and ammunition manufacturers, has been struggling lately as its sales declined faster than most other companies mainly due to reduced commercial demand and higher commodity costs. Olin Corp (NYSE: OLN)s Q4 2023 net income reported $52.9 million, which is a decrease of $143.7 million compared to Q4 2022. The new legislation prohibiting private paramilitary groups in the United States might further hurt Olin Corps (NYSE: OLN) earnings in the upcoming quarter. 20 Countries with the Strongest Paramilitary Forces in the World ANURAKE SINGTO-ON/Shutterstock.com Our Methodology For our list of 20 Countries with the Strongest Paramilitary Forces in the World, we have considered two metrics: the strength of paramilitary forces by number and the 2024 expenditure budget for military forces for each country. Weve ranked the countries based on weighted-averaged rankings on these two metrics, with the former having a weightage of 70% and the latter having a weightage of 30%. The list is in descending order, starting with the top twentieth country and ending with the topmost country, with the final rankings adjusted according to their weighted-averaged rankings. The defense expenditure for these countries has been sourced from Global Firepower Index of 2024. By the way, Insider Monkey is an investing website that uses a consensus approach to identify the best stock picks of more than 900 hedge funds investing in US stocks. The website tracks the movement of corporate insiders and hedge funds. Our top 10 consensus stock picks of hedge funds outperformed the S&P 500 stock index by more than 140 percentage points over the last 10 years (see the details here). So, if you are looking for the best stock picks to buy, you can benefit from the wisdom of hedge funds and corporate insiders. 20 Countries with the Strongest Paramilitary Forces in the World 20. Cuba Paramilitary Strength by Numbers: 1,145,000 Military Expenditure Budget for 2024: $2,533,000,000 Weighted Average: 21.9 Cuba has the twentieth strongest and one of the largest paramilitary forces in the world today, with an active paramilitary manpower of 1,145,500. The Cuban government has allocated $2.5 billion to its defense budget for 2024, out of which a sizable portion will be used towards the paramilitary forces, which make up about 93.05% of the total Cuban military manpower and 10.4% of the countrys total population. Cubas paramilitary forces include the Territorial Troops Militia and the National Revolutionary Militia. 19. Mexico Paramilitary Strength by Numbers: 120,000 Military Expenditure Budget for 2024: $14,824,000,000 Weighted Average: 21.5 Mexico's paramilitary forces have a substantial manpower of around 120,000 personnel, which makes it the twentieth-largest paramilitary in the world as of 2024. With a defense budget of over $14 billion, Mexico's paramilitary forces make up about 19.03% of its total military. The Mexican paramilitary forces play a major role in combating organized crime and drug cartels. 18. Italy Paramilitary Strength by Numbers: 105,000 Military Expenditure Budget for 2024: $31,600,000,000 Weighted Average: 19.9 In comparison with other countries on the list, Italy has a much smaller paramilitary force, with an active paramilitary manpower of only 105,000. However, the country has a huge defense budget of $31.6 billion, and the overall military ranks among the top ten global military forces. Since the paramilitary makes up about 36.33% of the countrys complete military force, a substantial amount of the defense budget goes towards the modernization, technological advancement, health, and training of the paramilitary forces. 17. Vietnam Paramilitary Strength by Numbers: 250,000 Military Expenditure Budget for 2024: $7,900,000,000 Weighted Average: 18.7 Vietnam's paramilitary forces are diverse and include various units like the Peoples Public Security and Border Defense Force. Their paramilitary forces include around 250,000 personnel Vietnam's powerful paramilitary has been shaped by a history of conflicts. The country also has a maritime military force, the Permanent Maritime Militia Unit, that actively patrols and safeguards the coastline and maritime interests. It is one of the countries with the most powerful paramilitary. 16. Colombia Paramilitary Strength by Numbers: 150,000 Military Expenditure Budget for 2024: $14,012,180,000 Weighted Average: 18.6 Colombia has a paramilitary force with a manpower of over 150,000. Colombia's paramilitary forces are also internationally recognized for their expertise in jungle warfare due to decades of combating guerilla groups. As of 2024, Colombias military budget is over $14 billion, which helps with equipping the countrys paramilitary forces as they make up about 31.37% of the entire Colombian military manpower. 15. Pakistan Paramilitary Strength by Numbers: 500,000 Military Expenditure Budget for 2024: $6,349,876,689 Weighted Average: 18.3 Pakistan, having the ninth strongest military in the world as of 2024, has a paramilitary force with over 500,000 personnel. Although the country has a modest defense budget of over $6 billion, since the paramilitary makes up about 29.34% of the countrys overall manpower, Pakistan allocates a substantial amount of resources to its paramilitary forces as well. There are a number of paramilitary forces in the country, with the most prominent being the Civil Armed Forces (CAF), which itself comprises 9 different paramilitary groups. Out of these, the most prominent ones are Sindh Rangers and Punjab Rangers. Overall, Pakistans paramilitary mainly focuses on counterterrorism, border security, and combating criminals. 14. South Korea Paramilitary Strength by Numbers: 120,000 Military Expenditure Budget for 2024: $44,700,000,000 Weighted Average: 18 South Korea has a large paramilitary force with a manpower of 120,000. For 2024, the countrys defense budget stands at $44.7 billion, which is the 11th highest in the world this year. Even though the paramilitary makes up only 3.14% of the overall South Korean military, there is no denying that the countrys military strength is among the top 5 global militaries. South Korea invests in cutting-edge technology and training for its paramilitary, using technologies like artificial intelligence in its paramilitary operations. 13. Iran Paramilitary Strength by Numbers: 220,000 Military Expenditure Budget for 2024: $9,954,451,000 Weighted Average: 17.6 With a long history of warfare and internal conflicts, The Islamic Republic of Iran has a strong military and paramilitary force to protect the country from all kinds of threats. As of 2024, the country boasts a total of 220,000 paramilitary personnel, which is about 18.64% of the total military and 0.3% of the total population. The primary force of Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), established many paramilitary forces to exercise operational control over the Persian Gulf. The Basij, one of the IRGCs five forces, is one of the countrys largest paramilitary volunteer militia, with about 90,000 active personnel. It is often deployed for crackdowns on drug traffickers and smugglers. 12. Turkiye Paramilitary Strength by Numbers: 150,000 Military Expenditure Budget for 2024: $40,000,000,000 Weighted Average: 16.5 With a defense budget of $40 billion, Turkiye, officially the Republic of Turkiye, boasts one of the strongest military forces in the world. Part of that budget is spent on paramilitary, which makes up about 16.97% of the total military 0.2% of the total population. Moreover, the paramilitary forces are the second largest corps after the army, with the Turkish Gendarmerie as the main unit with 100,000 personnel. On March 6, 2024, the Turkish Gendarmerie force destructed a total of 59 caves, bunkers, and explosive depots of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is a Kurdish militant political organization with an aim to gain control of Kurdish areas of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey to advance Kurdish rights and recognition. 11. Algeria Paramilitary Strength by Numbers: 150,000 Military Expenditure Budget for 2024: $21,600,000,000 Weighted Average: 16.4 Ranked 11 on the list, Algeria is a North African country with a defense budget of over $21 billion. As of 2024, it has a paramilitary force of 150,000 personnel, making up 24.59% of the total military force and 0.3% of the total population. Most of these numbers come from the Gendarmerie Nationale, the largest paramilitary body in Algeria mainly used for maintaining law and order in villages, towns, and rural areas. 10. Egypt Paramilitary Strength by Numbers: 300,000 Military Expenditure Budget for 2024: $9,400,000,000 Weighted Average: 15.4 With an annual defense spending of over $9 billion, Egypt is a country with a fairly strong military of around 1,220,000 personnel. The military has a paramilitary strength of 300,000 personnel, which makes up 24.59% of the total manpower and 0.3% of the countrys population. The Central Security Force (CSF) is the main paramilitary unit in Egypt responsible for protecting sensitive government sites and subduing civil disturbances. 9. Brazil Paramilitary Strength by Numbers: 200,000 Military Expenditure Budget for 2024: $24,752,000,000 Weighted Average: 14.5 Brazil is the largest country in South America, with a population of over 218 million people. The country's armed forces comprise 900,000 military personnel, 200,000 of whom are paramilitary forces. The paramilitary force makes up 22.22% of the total military and 0.1% of the total population of Brazil. Moreover, the Brazilian army has a paramilitary unit, Special Operations Command, responsible for fighting terrorism within the country mostly taking down other illegal paramilitary groups, mainly in Rio de Janeiro. 8. Venezuela Paramilitary Strength by Numbers: 220,000 Military Expenditure Budget for 2024: $24,120,000,000 Weighted Average: 14.4 With a defense budget of $24,120,000,000 and total paramilitary personnel totaling 220,000, Venezuela ranks in the top 10 countries with the strongest paramilitary in the world. As of 2024, the country comprises plenty of authorized paramilitary units, including the National Bolivarian Armed Forces as well as the National Guard and national militia, which are primarily focused on internal security matters such as combating drug trafficking, exercising rescue operations, and aiding civilians in case of natural disasters. 7. France Paramilitary Strength by Numbers: 150,000 Military Expenditure Budget for 2024: $49,730,000,000 Weighted Average: 14.2 France, one of the richest countries in Europe, has allocated almost $50 billion to its defense this year. Out of this, a substantial portion may go to the paramilitary force of 150,000 personnel, as it makes up about 39.89% of the total military and 0.2% of the countrys population. The main paramilitary force in France is the Gendarmerie Nationale, a police force under the administrative control of the Ministry of Interior, responsible for ensuring public safety through all kinds of internal threats. In 2021, Gendarmerie Nationale, with the support of Europol, dismantled a crime group involved in a 13 million EURO financial fraud and money laundering scam across Europe. 6. Bangladesh Paramilitary Strength by Numbers: 6,800,000 Military Expenditure Budget for 2024: $6,995,040,000 Weighted Average: 13.6 In terms of paramilitary strength in numbers, Bangladesh has the most paramilitary personnel in the world. With a manpower of 6,800,000, the Bangladeshi paramilitary makes up 97.66% of its overall military and comprises about 4.1% of the total country population. The main paramilitary forces of Bangladesh include the Border Guard Bangladesh-BGB, Coast Guard, Village Defense Force, and Ansar. These forces are deployed during protests, political events, or any out-of-order activity within the country. Last year, in November of 2023, a total of 65,000 Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party (VDP) personnel were deployed across the country in railways, waterways, and highways to ensure public safety during anarchy and arson by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Click to continue reading and see the top 5 Countries with the Strongest Paramilitary Forces in the World. Suggested articles: Disclosure: None. 20 Countries with the Strongest Paramilitary Forces in the World is originally published on Insider Monkey. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is warning agents to be on the lookout for members of a notorious Venezuelan prison gang coming across the southern border -- just as the socialist country is refusing to take its citizens back. A CBP source provided Fox News with an internal CBP intelligence bulletin revealing tattoos and identifiers for Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan prison gang. Members of that gang have been entering the U.S. illegally through the southern border. Fox News reported this week that the brother of the suspect in the killing of Georgia student Laken Riley has ties to the gang. Both the suspect and his brother are Venezuelans who entered the U.S. illegally. ILLEGAL BROTHER OF LAKEN RILEY MURDER SUSPECT LINKED TO VENEZUELAN CRIME GANG: DOJ These images from a CBP intelligence bulletin, show tattoos and identifiers for Tren De Aragua. Federal authorities have been warning that the gang, also known as TdA and known for its violent turf wars as it expanded into other countries in South and Central America, is trying to establish itself in the U.S., where police are already linking it to organized crime. The FBI has also warned that the gang could team up with the bloodthirsty MS-13. Last month two suspects in the assault of two NYPD officers were revealed to be members of TdA. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP But CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sources have expressed frustration to Fox News that Venezuelan gang members are extremely difficult to deport because Venezuela is currently not taking them back. Only 834 Venezuelans were deported in FY 2023, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data, despite there being over 335,000 encounters at the border. The administration had started returning illegal immigrants from Venezuela directly to the socialist dictatorship in October as part of a way to discourage the flow to the border. While the administration took heat for the flights from immigration activists, who argued Venezuela was not an appropriate country to return migrants due to its human rights abuses, administration officials told reporters in January that it was looking to increase the number of flights. One official said that "we do have the intention of ramping up repatriation flights to Venezuela" and that the administration sees it as a "critical part" of the broader immigration strategy. "Its an important deterrent," they said, with officials also saying they were pleased that Mexico was also now flying migrants straight to Venezuela. FBI FEARS VENEZUELA MIGRANT GANG MEMBERS COULD POTENTIALLY TEAM UP WITH MS-13 KILLERS In December, the administration had made limited exceptions to sanctions on a Venezuelan airline to help facilitate deportation flights from Canada and Latin America. But last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Maduro regime has stopped flights of deported migrants from both the U.S. and Mexico after the U.S. reimposed some economic sanctions. The flights ended at the end of January, officials told the outlet, after around 1,800 returns. Before beginning the flights last year, the administration had extended deportation protections to nearly 500,000 Venezuelans already in the U.S. in September. Venezuela is also part of a controversial parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV) which allows 30,000 migrants with sponsors to fly into the U.S. each month. Fox is told that Venezuelans can still be removed to Mexico, but that many then typically re-enter the U.S. illegally as a "gotaway." Fox News' Michael Ruiz and Aubrie Spady contributed to this report. Original article source: Bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua sets up shop in US as border authorities sound alarm Police are asking for help in locating a Kansas City, Kansas, man who is accused of second-degree murder in a fatal February shooting. Anthony Wayne Taylor Jr., 33, is considered armed and dangerous, Blue Springs Police said in a news release Saturday. Police believe Anthony was involved in a shooting around 11:50 p.m. Feb. 25 at a residence in the 300 Block of Northwest Summit. The night of the shooting, officers rendered aid to a victim later identified as Cornell Elam of Kansas City. Elam was taken to a hospital where he died from his injuries. Taylor faces a second-degree murder charge in relation to the shooting and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. He is 6-foot, 2-inches tall and weighs about 230 pounds. Police said if he is seen, they urge citizens to contact local or Blue Springs police. People should not attempt to apprehend the suspect themselves, police said. People can also contact the crime stoppers TIPS hotline at 816-474-8477. Former national security adviser John Bolton said he is perplexed about reports of former President Trump receiving intelligence briefings if he becomes the GOP presidential nominee. Im somewhat perplexed myself that the Biden White House has apparently agreed that hell get these briefings, Bolton said in an interview with MSNBCs Katy Tur. His comments come after multiple outlets reported Thursday that intelligence agencies are gearing up to share information with the former president, as he is likely to be the GOP nominee for the White House. As NBC News reported, the briefings would come despite Trumps troubled history with classified documents. I dont think it makes any sense, Bolton argued. And I think it, really, puts whatever he is told at risk of being disclosed. It is customary for major-party candidates to be included in intelligence briefings once theyve secured their respective partys nomination, which could make transitioning into the White House easier if they win the presidency. Trump is currently facing 40 charges claiming he mishandled classified records and tried to obstruct the government from retrieving them after he left the White House. The files allegedly contained national defense and weapons information, including some that had top secret markings. President Biden has also been accused of retaining documents from his time as vice president. A special counsel report released in February determined that the president willfully retained classified documents, but did not bring charges against him. Instead, it painted Biden as to an elderly man with a poor memory. In the wake of the report, Trump pushed for his own case to be dismissed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Hostage Situation Scammers have already been using the advent of AI to get smarter and more unhinged including spoofing voices to demand ransom for loved ones held "hostage." Take this chilling anecdote in The New Yorker, which illustrates the phenomenon in grim new detail. In it, a Brooklyn couple who used the names Steve and Robin to protect their identities described waking up in the middle of the night to an unsettling phone call from the husband's parents. Robin, the wife, recalled initially declining the call from her mother-in-law Mona that roused her from slumber, presuming it was a butt-dial from her early-to-bed in-laws down in Boca Raton. When it rang again, she answered and heard wails: "I cant do it, I cant do it." "I thought she was trying to tell me that some horrible tragic thing had happened," Robin said, and her mind began running through all manner of horrible scenarios that could have happened to her in-laws or her own parents, who also spent winters in Florida. "Mona, pass me the phone," she heard her father-in-law Bob say, before imploring her to "get Steve, get Steve." The woman roused her husband, who works in law enforcement, and as he picked up the phone, he heard an unfamiliar man's voice. "Youre not gonna call the police," the man told Steve. "Youre not gonna tell anybody. Ive got a gun to your moms head, and Im gonna blow her brains out if you dont do exactly what I say." The man implored Steve to send him $500 on Venmo which even in the moment seemed like an unusually small amount for a hostage situation and then had another woman, perhaps an accomplice, pump him for $250 more. After the second person hung up, the couple called their parents to see if they were ok, only to find that they were sound asleep and safe in their beds. App For That Though it's unclear what software the scammers used in Steve and Robin's case, they'd have several off-the-shelf options, as The New Yorker explains, that could have cloned Steve's parents' voices or those of others who've been subjected to this disgusting scam. Among them is ElevenLabs, a New York-based AI firm that's used by The New Yorker itself and lots of other publications for all kinds of tasks, including article narration and text-to-voice translations. It can also, however, be used to clone anyone's voice with far less recorded audio as training data than ever before. "You can just navigate to an app, pay five dollars a month, feed it forty-five seconds of someones voice, and then clone that voice," Hany Farid, a generative AI expert at the University of California, Berkeley, told the magazine. How the scammers got Steve's parents' voices, we and they will probably never know but they did get their money back from Venmo, the article reports. More on AI scams: Hackers Steal $25 Million by Deepfaking Finance Boss FILE - Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham smiles during warm ups before an NFL football game against the New York Giants Monday, Dec. 25, 2023, in Philadelphia. The Eagles agreed to terms on a one-year contract with Graham, the team announced Saturday, March 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File) PHILADELPHIA (AP) The Philadelphia Eagles agreed to terms on a one-year contract with veteran Brandon Graham, the club announced Saturday, meaning the defensive end will be back for a franchise-record 15th season. Graham has 73 sacks in a record 195 career games with the Eagles, including three sacks last season. The 35-year-old is a popular player in the locker room and in the Philadelphia community. Graham helped clinch the franchise's only Super Bowl with a late strip sack of Tom Brady in Super Bowl LII, a 41-33 Eagles' win over the Patriots on Feb. 4, 2018. Philadelphia drafted Graham No. 13 overall in the 2010 draft out of Michigan. He missed most of the 2022 season with a torn Achilles tendon but came back to post a career-high 11 sacks. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL After this weeks Budget left defence spending out in the cold, the chorus of critics has continued to grow. Now two serving ministers security minister Tom Tugendhat and Indo-Pacific minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan have broken ranks and published a piece arguing for the need to expand Britains military capacity. They were right to do so. But more money will not be enough. Our entire model for defence procurement must be rethought. The ministers article questions Britains current level of defence spending. That currently stands at just above 2 per cent of GDP, the minimum expected for Nato members. The Government has stated its intention to raise spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP, but has set no timeline for this. In the immediate aftermath of the Budget, this newspaper also reported on three former Conservative defence secretaries Sir Michael Fallon, Sir Gavin Williamson and Ben Wallace who called for their partys manifesto to guarantee spending 3 per cent of GDP for the Armed Forces. There can be no doubt that Britain finds itself in the most dangerous geopolitical environment since the end of the Cold War. In Europe, Putins Russia continues its brutal, unprovoked assault on Ukraine. In the Indo-Pacific, China menaces Taiwan. In the Middle East, British forces are already engaged trying to hold back Houthi rebels and keep the Red Sea open for maritime traffic. This is no time for half-measures, or looking the other way. We must build up our nations defences to help deter the bloody ambitions of the new axis of autocratic regimes. Yet this requires radical thinking. Simply focusing on defence spending as a percentage of GDP is not enough. Money has too often been diverted into well-meaning but ineffective schemes to prop up British manufacturing, used to buy costly leverage in geopolitical trade pacts, or spent on reinventing the wheel instead of purchasing off-the-shelf systems from our allies. The result has been costly disasters like the Ajax fighting vehicle. Today, we can afford neither the time nor the money. Britain needs to rearm as fast as possible and as cheaply as possible. We must focus first on capability. What do our Armed Forces need today, in terms of both manpower and weapons platforms, to hold back the threats of the 21st century? We then need a new procurement doctrine that prioritises speed and value for money. This requires the courage to scrap the GCAP sixth-generation fighter in favour of buying F-35 jets from America now. Even with these steps, paying for rearmament will not be easy. It is time for a hard look at some of the government spending that has been tolerated as part of the post-Cold War peace dividend. To soften the blow as much as possible, boosting the British economys growth rate must also now be considered a matter of national security. Whatever the costs, Britain must be able to defend its interests. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) New York is full of interesting places and sights. Some Brooklyn neighbors are encouraging locals and visitors to go on an adventure in their part of the city. A splash of color and art can change the view and refocus a routine commute. The history of the block can reveal a new world. Their community effort puts Flatbush, Brooklyn on the map. New youth community center opens in Brooklyn The art and culture map is a collaboration with the Flatbush Development Corporation (FDC), the arts group Beautify Brooklyn and NYC Small Business Services. Spencer Alexander has lived, worked and created art around Flatbush for about 13 years. He was commissioned to do the illustrations. We wanted to do an art map highlighting different things. Its good for locals and tourists as a reminder to put down the phone, Alexander said. The area is known for street art and historic Victorian architecture along tree-lined streets. The map is available online and at the FDC offices. You can take the B Q trains to Newkirk, Cortelyou and Beverley. It positions you in a great neighborhood steps away from the rest of the borough, said Nina Leonard with the FDC. The FDC was founded by homeowners in 1975. Over the decades, the nonprofit has grown to serve 50,000 families and advocate for economic and neighborhood issues, including affordable housing. Our mission is to improve the lives of people who live and work or play in Flatbush, said FDC Executive Director Robin Redmond. A big copy of the map was printed and posted in Newkirk Plaza. But it mysteriously disappeared recently. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. Anton Hofreiter, a member of the German Bundestag from the Green Party, has supported a UK proposal to swap German-made Taurus missiles for British Storm Shadows as a way of providing Ukraine with long-range weapons. Source: AFP, citing Hofreiter, as reported by European Pravda Details: Hofreiter believes that "it would have been better" if German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had not blocked the supply of Taurus missiles to Ukraine. "However, until Ukraine receives more cruise missiles, such an arrangement is a possibility," he added. The lawmaker is also convinced that Scholz "should not stand in the way of this". Background: Earlier, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron suggested that Germany swap Taurus missiles for British Storm Shadows so that Ukraine can be provided with long-range weapons. The German newspaper Handelsblatt reported on this proposal in January. However, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said at the time that he was unaware of any British proposal to exchange missiles. Support UP or become our patron! The Greater Burlington Partnership on Friday announced that Amazon is entering into an agreement to open its first facility in Burlington, Iowa, to support last-mile deliveries in the region. This facility will be approximately 38,600 square feet, in the Flint Ridge Business Park at 715 West Burlington Ave. Launch plans for the facility are in the early stages, with renovations to the existing structure slated to start in the coming weeks, according to a Friday release. The 38,600-square-foot former Dura Plastics building, Burlington, will be renovated for a new Amazon fulfillment center. This last-mile facility will allow us to better serve customers in the southeast Iowa, said Jason Vangalis, manager of economic development for Amazon. Were grateful for our partnership with the Greater Burlington Partnership, City of Burlington, and Des Moines County to launch Amazons first facility in the area, and we look forward to sharing more details about this facility and the good jobs well offer in the future. Amazon supports more than one million employees worldwide who are innovating and working to serve customers throughout several global fulfillment centers, retail locations, data centers, corporate offices, tech hubs, and headquarters locations, the announcement said. Hourly employees in customer fulfillment and transportation generally earn between $17 and $28 per hour. We look forward to the positive impact this significant development will have on our community and the opportunities it will create for the local workforce, said Jeremy Hess, director of economic development for the Greater Burlington Partnership. This is a huge win for the region! We are very thankful Amazon has chosen to invest in our city and region through its capital investment and job creation. The city of Burlington thanks its Economic Development partner, the Greater Burlington Partnership, for its outstanding efforts to continually develop workforce opportunities. Truly we are all partners in success. What a great day! said John Billups, Mayor of Burlington. The new Amazon fulfillment center in Davenport, west of the municipal airport. Occupying the former Dura Plastics building, the facility will undergo immediate interior and exterior renovations for the last-mile operation. Last-mile facilities are the final stops in Amazons transportation network before packages are delivered to customers doorsteps. Employees sort packages according to delivery routes who finish the shipping cycle by delivering goods like books, household items and toys. This location will feature advanced automation technologies, and the wages offered will surpass the regional average. Last October 85 miles north of Burlington, Amazon celebrated the soft launch opening of a new Robotics Fulfilment Center in northwest Davenport and planned to expand its workforce to 1,000 employees by March 2024. The first Quad Cities-area Amazon facility, at 20710 155th Ave., Davenport, covers 2.3 million square feet, opening with 500 employees and starting wages of $17.50 an hour. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. LOS ANGELES - Authorities sought the public's help Friday to find a woman and her 16-month-old son. Officials said she has been charged with kidnapping the child from his foster family in Los Angeles County and is possibly fleeing with him to Mexico. "The FBI is seeking the whereabouts of Brigette Benitez and her biological child, Miguel Eduardo Zuniga Medina Jr.," the FBI said in a statement. Authorities believe the 31-year-old mother may have taken Medina Jr. to Aguascalientes, Mexico after "failing to return him to his legal guardian following an unsupervised visit" on February 6 in Walnut. The child's non-custodial father is believed to be living in Aguascalientes, authorities said. Benitez and her son were last seen in a black 2021 Toyota Camry with California license plate number 8WAS968, according to authorities. SUGGESTED: Video shows woman being kidnapped in Hayward A federal arrest warrant for Benitez was obtained Thursday after she was charged with international parental kidnapping in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, according to officials. "Medina Sr. was arrested last year for an alleged domestic violence incident and has a history of engaging in violent altercations in the presence of children, according to a Juvenile Dependency Petition filed in Los Angeles County," the FBI said in a statement. Medina Jr. was placed in the custody of DCFS following Medina Sr.'s arrest. "The Superior Court in Los Angeles County found that it was necessary to remove Medina Jr. from his parents for his own health, safety, and well-being," officials said. "Benitez and Medina Sr. have also been charged in Superior Court in Los Angeles County." The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and the United States Marshals Service. The United States Attorney's Office in Los Angeles is prosecuting Benitez. Anyone with information as to the whereabouts of Benitez or her son was asked to call their local FBI office or nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Information may also be provided at www.tips.fbi.gov. Stellantis Media Theres nothing wrong with going out of your way to support American-made products. U.S. manufacturing propels the national and local economies and provides jobs for American citizens. Learn More: 10 New Cars To Avoid Buying in 2024 Find Out: How To Get $340 Per Year in Cash Back on Gas and Other Things You Already Buy According to a 2022 Harris Poll and Retail Brew survey, 71% of Americans intentionally purchased American products and nearly half of those polled would be willing to pay up to 20% more for American-made products. When it comes to cars, theres a common belief that Japanese models are better constructed, more reliable and are cheaper than their American counterparts. Comparatively, many Americans prefer domestic models that have abundant interior space, bigger bodies and more powerful engines, things that U.S. auto brands take pride in providing to buyers. When considering factors such as performance, safety features and price, Japanese cars consistently outperform American models in affordability, fuel-economy and reliability rankings, however, U.S. brands are well-known for producing robust trucks and SUVs. American and Japanese automakers produce vehicles with various strengths and weaknesses. The best car for an individual depends on their specific needs, preferences and budget. Here are a few examples where American cars are often considered competitive or even superior to their Japanese counterparts, with help from Marcus Withers, founder of Withers Automotive LLC. Read Next: 6 New Cars for 2024 That Will Hold Their Value Sponsored: Owe the IRS $10K or more? Schedule a FREE consultation to see if you qualify for tax relief. Jeep Wrangler With its one-of-a-kind styling, killer off-road capabilities and a broad range of powertrains, the Wrangler has been an attractive option for adventurers for years. Compared to Japanese SUVs like the Toyota 4Runner, the Wrangler leads in off-road capability and customization, said Withers. It has better ground clearance for outdoor adventures. Story continues Dodge Challenger American muscle cars, such as the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro are beloved for their powerful engines and sleek designs. However, the Dodge Challenger is the best-selling muscle car in the U.S. (although the Mustang is quickly closing the sales gap, per CarScoops) and outperforms any Japanese comparable, including the Toyota Supra, Subaru BRZ or Nissan Z. Dodge Ram 1500 The rugged Ram 1500 is a popular light-duty truck that has always had ample capabilities. This truck out-tows Japanese competitors like the Toyota Tundra and Nissan Titan, said Withers. Known for its strength and technology, its recognized by J.D. Power for its outstanding performance. Tesla Model Y Toyota is still the biggest car company in the world, but according to The Verge, the best-selling vehicle of 2023 globally is Elon Musks all-electric Model Y, surpassing popular and cheaper cars like Toyotas Rav4 and Corolla. Japanese electric SUVs like the Nissan Ariya, Honda Prologue or Toyota bZ4X simply cant compete. Jeep Cherokee In February 2023, the last Cherokee rolled off the assembly line in Belvidere, Illinois. But its popularity will live on for a few more years. Against rivals like the Honda CR-V or Toyota RAV4, the Cherokee stands out with higher J.D. Power ratings and has more tech and safety features at its price point, said Withers. Cadillac Escalade American manufacturers know power and size and few large luxury SUVs can compete with the Escalade. The Escalades nearest rivals might be the Lincoln Navigator and the Mercedes-Benz GLS, but great Japanese models like the Lexus LX 570 or Acura RDX run in the same circles. Despite its high cost and subpar mileage, few can rival the Escalades pure power, advanced tech and spacious, luxe interior, regardless of where they are manufactured. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 6 American Cars That Are Better Values Than Their Japanese Counterpart Federal authorities are seeking a California woman suspected of kidnapping her 16-month-old biological son and taking him across the Southern Border into Mexico. Brigette Benitez, 31, is wanted by the FBI after she allegedly failed to return her son Miguel Eduardo Zuniga Medina Jr. to his foster family following an unsupervised visit. On Feb. 6, Benitez picked up her son in Walnut, California, for a scheduled, unsupervised visit. But at the end of the visit, Benitez, who does not have legal custody of her son, did not return him to his legal guardian, according to the FBI. The two were last seen in a black 2021 Toyota Camry with the California license plate 8WAS968. 2 AMERICANS ACCUSED OF KILLING ITALIAN POLICE OFFICER RETURN TO COURT AFTER CONVICTIONS WERE TOSSED OUT Benitez was charged with international parental kidnapping, and a federal arrest warrant was issued for her on Thursday. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP The FBI said Benitez may have taken Miguel to Aguascalientes, Mexico, where his non-custodial father is believed to live. Investigators said Benitez crossed the border into Mexico on Feb. 6 at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in San Diego County, according to KTLA. Miguel's father was arrested last year for an alleged domestic violence incident in Los Angeles County. Medina Sr. also has a history of violence in the presence of children, according to the FBI. CALIFORNIA MAIL CARRIER FIGHTS BACK AFTER GETTING SUCKER PUNCHED, VIDEO SHOWS The FBI said Benitez may have taken Miguel to Aguascalientes, Mexico, where his non-custodial father is believed to live. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Benitez and Medina Sr. lost custody of their son following the arrest, and Miguel was placed in the custody of Child and Family Services. Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Benitez or her son is urged to call their local FBI office or the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Original article source: California woman wanted for allegedly kidnapping biological son, fleeing across Mexico border: FBI U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron opposed sending Western troops to Ukraine, including for training the Ukrainian military, in an interview with Suddeutsche Zeitung, published on March 9. The comments came after French President Emmanuel Macron recently said that Western military presence in Ukraine cannot be "ruled out" in the future. The U.S. and multiple European allies, as well as NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, have distanced themselves from Macrons statement. U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesperson said that there was a "small number of (British) personnel" in Ukraine who support the countrys military, but that there were no "plans for large-scale deployment" beyond the existing support. Cameron said that it is better to conduct training missions abroad, adding that London has trained 60,000 Ukrainian soldiers this way. According to Cameron, deploying foreign soldiers in Ukraine would create additional "targets" for Russia. "We must avoid creating obvious targets for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin," Cameron noted. French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on March 8 that while the deployment of combat troops was not currently being discussed, there was a possibility that Paris would send military personnel to Ukraine to train Ukrainian troops or participate in mine-clearing operations. Earlier, Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair also said Ottawa was ready to send a limited number of military personnel to Ukraine, but in "a clear non-combat role." Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski didn't exclude the potential presence of NATO troops in Ukraine. During a two-hour State of the Nation address on Feb. 29, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened "tragic consequences" if NATO troops were sent to Ukraine, claiming the West's support for Kyiv "risks a conflict using nuclear weapons." Russia has consistently threatened the West with nuclear weapons since it launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Read also: Wests response to Macron comments on troops to Ukraine reveal discord, weakness, experts say Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Former mayor of Dakar Khalifa Sall is one of the presidential candidates (JOHN WESSELS) Campaigning got underway Saturday for Senegal's March 24 presidential election, after weeks of turmoil caused by its delay, as one of the leading contenders met voters. Khalifa Sall, a former mayor of Dakar, toured different neighbourhoods of the capital in the evening, greeting several hundreds of his supporters. Of the 19 presidential candidates, he is seen as one of the main contenders to succeed President Macky Sall, who is not standing for re-election. The vote was due to take place on February 25 but Sall plunged the country -- usually a beacon of stability in a region fraught with military coups -- into its worst crisis in years on February 3 by postponing the election, just before campaigning was due to begin. That sparked street protests that left four people dead and international condemnation, while opponents accused Macky Sall of trying to remain in power beyond the scheduled end of his term on April 2. Several hundred supporters of Khalifa Sall, who is not related to the outgoing president, waited for his arrival in a festive mood, singing and playing music, and cheered him upon his arrival. The coalition of anti-establishment candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who is currently behind bars but hoping to benefit from an amnesty law that would allow her to stand, was also due to begin a campaign caravan on Saturday and present its programme to the press. Amadou Ba, the candidate picked to represent the outgoing president's camp, was due to meet with his campaign team on Saturday. Earlier, he met with Sidiki Kaba, who succeeded Ba as prime minister after he resigned on Wednesday to allow him to campaign for the presidency. The fight to restore an election programme in the last few weeks spoke of the attachment to democracy in a country of 18 million people that is among the lowest 30 in the world for human development, according to the United Nations. The campaign season will be limited to two weeks rather than the usual three weeks due to the need to find a successor before Macky Sall's tenure is up next month. Campaigning will largely take place during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan in a country that is majority Muslim. Many electors have told AFP about their eagerness to vote and turn the page on the turbulence of recent weeks. ck-fal/bc/js Keith Sam Preaching(WGNO) NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) Keith Sam, known for preaching in public on Canal Street for decades, is battling stomach cancer. WGNO spoke with Sams sister, Yvette Sam-Martin, and she says that while her brother is hospitalized, he continues to battle every day. Sam, 65, recently came off of a ventilator and is out of intensive care. Sam-Martin also says that her brother continues to be carried by his faith. This is a profile story on Keith Sam we originally aired in July 2016: Keith Sam has been a mainstay on Canal Street for 40 years. You would consider him a vendor of sorts. As opposed to selling items like shoes, jewelry, or clothes, Sam peddles the Good News of Jesus Christ. Sam came to preach like almost everyone does. Well, God called me to preach, and he first started preparing me for the street ministry when I was in Job Corps back in 1975, Sam says. Keith Sam- Canal St. Preacher Back then, a riot broke out on the Job Corps base, and a lot of guys, including Sam, started going to chapel. Out of that bad incident came Sams intro to the gospel. So, why does Sam preach downtown? Well, Canal Street is pretty much a public place where a lot of people are back and forth. Jesus said go to the highways and hedges and compel men women and children to come to him, so its just one way to expose a lot of people to Gods goodness, he says. Keith Sam- Canal St. Preacher One thing you wont see when you see Sam is a change bucket or tip jar. I try hard not to focus on preaching for money, even though through the years Ive had a lot of people approach me to try to preach for money, but the bible is plain as far as saying that is without charge, according to Sam In a world where we all have motives for what we do, its common to want ones work to affect people positively. Sam says believes hes done just that. I believe the Lord through me has made a change and a difference in the lives of a lot of people, he says. Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter. Latest Posts For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGNO. Officials are trying to determine what caused a milky-like substance to appear in the west branch of Nimishillen Creek on Friday near the 1100 block of Stadium Park Drive NW in Canton. CANTON Local officials are trying to determine the source of a nonhazardous white milky substance that appeared Friday in Nimishillen Creek near Monument Park. Canton Fire Battalion Chief Dan Reed said the city health department alerted fire officials just before 2 p.m. Friday that someone reported some type of spill in the west branch of Nimishillen Creek. The spill was located near the 1100 block of Stadium Drive NW, just south of 12th Street NW, but officials with the fire department, Stark County's hazardous materials team and the Canton sewer department could not locate the origin of the spill. The hazmat team sampled the substance and determined that it was not hazardous. "They were unable to determine exactly what it was," Reed said. "But they were able to determine that it was not hazardous." Local officials then consulted with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and determined to allow the substance to dissipate on its own. "Environmental Health Specialists confirmed the initial report of an odorless, milky-white liquid fully mixed into the water near the catch basin opening. Water flowing from the catch basin was clear," a city health department spokesperson wrote. "No further evidence was found to confirm the type of chemical in the water or to pinpoint the source of initial release." Reed said the county hazmat team will continue to monitor the spill over the next few days. Reach Canton Repository staff writer Kelli Weir at 330-580-8339 or kelli.weir@cantonrep.com. This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton fire, Stark County hazmat investigate milky substance in creek ***Video above: How to report a tip to U.S. Marshals.*** WASHINGTON, D.C. (WJW) A Canton man was arrested after investigators say he fought with officers while trying to bring a hammer into the U.S. Capitol on Friday. According to United States Capitol Police, around 3:40 p.m., officers noticed the man had a hammer in his backpack during an x-ray screening at the Capitol Visitor Center. Canton man arrested bringing hammer into Capitol Video: What led to Sheffield Lake workers arrest An officer went to look inside the bag for a secondary screening, but investigators say the suspect tried to grab it and started fighting with the officer, according to a press release. U.S. Capitol Police say several officers stepped in to help, leading to a struggle. Investigators say they used a Taser to stop the suspect and took him into custody. The suspect, identified as 33-year-old Christopher Snow of Canton, is charged with assault on a police officer. Bond set for suspects who drove dead man to bank to take out cash Investigators say the hammer was found inside his backpack. Theyre still trying to figure out why he brought it to the Capitol. These officers did what they were trained to do and stopped this man from getting into the U.S. Capitol, said USCP Captain Andrew Pecher. Great work from the officer who spotted the hammer, to the officers who quickly took the suspect into custody. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. WASHINGTON The U.S. Capitol Police said Friday that they had arrested a man who was trying to enter the building with a hammer. The hammer was discovered Friday when 33-year-old Christopher Snow was going through security at the Capitol Visitor Center, according to Capitol Police. The hammer inside a plastic bag. (Capitol Police) An officer discovered the hammer inside the man's backpack as it went through an X-ray machine, but the man "attempted to grab the bag and became combative" when the officer tried to look inside the bag, USCP said in a press release. During a "struggle," officers "deployed a Taser to stop the individual and take him into custody," according to the press release. These officers did what they were trained to do and stopped this man from getting into the U.S. Capitol, USCP Captain Andrew Pecher said in the press release. Great work from the officer who spotted the hammer, to the officers who quickly took the suspect into custody. The incident took place at around 3:40 p.m. Snow, from Canton, Ohio, is being charged with assault on a police officer, according to the USCP. The Senate is currently in session. The USCP has made about a dozen arrests this month so far for charges including driving under the influence, theft and unauthorized use of a vehicle, according to public arrest reports. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Cardi B doesn't like Filipino Balut eggs. TikTok commenters are thanking her for not playing into stereotypes about Asian food. Cardi B tried Balut eggs, a popular Filipino dish, on TikTok. Despite not enjoying the taste, fans praised her respectful reaction. Her response was compared to Benny Blanco's recent review of Jollibee. Cardi B isn't a fan of Balut eggs (at least for now), but her reaction to trying one has gotten some praise for being "respectful." Balut eggs are fertilized duck eggs popular in Asia especially in the Philippines that have become a popular food item for TikTokers to try. While wearing a burnt-orange updo and stunning blue eyeshadow, Cardi B presented a bowl of Balut eggs she made in a TikTok post on Wednesday. "I got it; let's try it and rate it one to 10," Cardi B said as the camera dramatically zoomed into her face. The signature tagline and edit belong to food content creator Keith Lee, who rose to fame on TikTok for his quirky and wholesome food reviews of small businesses. Cardi B proceeded to try it with lemon and salt. And let's just say she definitely did not like it. "I think I overcooked the duck," she said before putting the cooked yolk in her mouth. She immediately spit it out. Cardi B explained that the duck tasted like raw chicken but said she liked the liquid inside the egg. However, she said she would be open to trying it again if made by a professional. "I'm not even going to rate it a 1 through 10," Cardi B said. "I'm just gonna say it's not for me, but I'm so glad I tried it." Commenters took notice of Cardi B's openness to trying the dish and compared her response to music producer Benny Blanco's review of Jollibee a popular Filipino fast-food chain. Blanco's review received criticism after he repeatedly filmed himself gagging on the food. "See benny blanco? If you don't like it, you don't have to disrespect it. Cardi B literally just said, 'it's not for me.' She didn't even rate it because she thought she cooked it wrong," one commenter said. "Im filipino and just ain't no way but love how brave & respectful you are," another person said. Representatives for Cardi B and Blanco did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours. Asian cultures often face stereotypes surrounding their food. Notably, the presentation of Eastern cuisine became a focal point on James Corden's "Late Show," which featured a segment called "Spill your Guts or Fill your Guts." The segment, which asked celebrities to reveal a truth or eat food deemed unappetizing, featured Asian cuisine being described as "disgusting" or "horrific." Activists eventually began a campaign to remove the segment or change the food options. Corden removed the Asian food options in 2021. "My whole point is that James Corden is a white person and is actively using ingredients from Asian cultures and profiting from it and showing it in such a negative light," Kim Saira, one of the activists, told The New York Times. "There's a way to not like foods and still be respectful about it." The stereotypes live on in the form of TikTok taste tests, where many creators share videos gagging over Asian cuisine with millions of likes. "It's absolutely rooted in racism and Sinophobia," Robert Ji-Song Ku, the author of "Eating Asian America: A Food Studies Reader," told the Daily Dot. What set Cardi B's review apart from the dozens of videos of influencers who have reviewed Asian cuisine, people thought, was that Cardi B didn't call Balut eggs disgusting. Instead, she just said it was not for her and returned to doing what she does best: making money moves. Read the original article on Business Insider Members of the General Security Unit of the National Palace, USGPN, set up a security perimeter around one of the three downtown stations after police fought off an attack by gangs the day before, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, March 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph) PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) Police and palace guards worked Saturday to retake some streets in Haitis capital after gangs launched massive attacks on at least three police stations. Guards from the National Palace accompanied by an armored truck tried to set up a security perimeter around one of the three downtown stations after police fought off an attack by gangs late Friday. Sporadic gunfire continued Saturday, and one woman writhed in pain on the sidewalk in downtown Port-au-Prince with a gunshot wound after a stray bullet hit her in the leg. The unrelenting gang attacks have paralyzed the country for more than a week and left it with dwindling supplies of basic goods. Haitian officials extended a state of emergency and nightly curfew on Thursday as gangs continued to attack key state institutions. Caribbean leaders issued a call late Friday for an emergency meeting Monday in Jamaica on what they called Haitis dire situation. They have invited the United States, France, Canada, the U.N. and Brazil to the meeting. Members of the Caricom regional trade bloc have been trying for months to get political actors in Haiti to agree to form an umbrella transitional unity government. But average Haitians, many of whom have been forced from their homes by the bloody street fighting, can't wait. The problem for police in securing government buildings is that many Haitians have streamed into them, seeking refuge. We are the ones who pay taxes, and we need to have shelter, said one woman, who did not give her name for safety reasons. Another Port-au-Prince resident, who also did not give his name, described the massive attacks Friday. "They (the gangs) came with big guns. We have no guns and we cannot defend ourselves. All of us, the children are suffering, said the man. So far, efforts to broker a solution have been unsuccessful. Caricom, the 15-nation Caribbean bloc, said in a statement late Friday that the situation on the ground remains dire. The Caricom statement said that while regional leaders remain deeply engaged in trying to bring opposition parties and civil society groups together to form a unity government, the stakeholders are not yet where they need to be." We are acutely aware of the urgent need for consensus to be reached, according to the statement. "We have impressed on the respective parties that time is not on their side in agreeing to the way forward. From our reports, the situation on the ground remains dire and is of serious concern to us. "It is vital that this engagement be at as high a level as possible to send a clear message of unity between Caricom and the international community as we work together to provide the critical support to the Haitian people at this time of crisis for them, said the statement. In February, embattled Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry agreed to hold general elections by mid-2025, and the international community has tried to find some foreign armed force willing to fight gang violence there. Caricom has also pushed Henry to announce a power-sharing, consensus government in the meantime, but the prime minister has yet to do so even as Haitian opposition parties and civil society groups are demanding his resignation. Henry, a neurosurgeon, was appointed as prime minister after the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise. It was unclear whether Henry would be in Jamaica. The prime minister had traveled to Kenya to push for the U.N.-backed deployment of a police force from the East African country to fight gangs in Haiti. A Kenyan court, however, ruled in January that such a deployment would be unconstitutional. Henry, who is facing calls to resign or form a transitional council, remains unable to return home. He arrived in Puerto Rico on Tuesday after he was unable to land in the Dominican Republic, which borders Haiti. The Dominican government said he lacked a required flight plan as they closed their countrys airspace with Haiti. On Saturday, the office of Dominican President Luis Abinader issued a statement saying that "Henry is not welcome in the Dominican Republic for safety reasons. The Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, has closed its land border. Given the current situation, the presence of the Haitian prime minister in the Dominican Republic is not considered appropriate, according to the statement, adding this decision reflects the firm position of the Dominican government to safeguard its national security and stability. The statement described the security situation in Haiti as totally unsustainable" and said it poses a direct threat to the safety and stability of the Dominican Republic. The statement predicted the situation could deteriorate even further if a peacekeeping force is not implemented urgently to restore order. A cyberattack at U.S. health tech giant Change Healthcare has ground much of the U.S. healthcare system to a halt for the second week in a row. Hospitals have been unable to check insurance benefits of in-patient stays, handle the prior authorizations needed for patient procedures and surgeries or process billing that pays for medical services. Pharmacies have struggled to determine how much to charge patients for prescriptions without access to their health insurance records, forcing some to pay for costly medications out of pocket with cash, with others unable to afford the costs. Since Change Healthcare shut down its network suddenly on February 21 in an effort to contain the digital intruders, some smaller healthcare providers and pharmacies are warning of crashing cash reserves as they struggle to pay their bills and staff without the steady flow of reimbursements from insurance giants. Change Healthcare's parent company UnitedHealth Group said in a filing with government regulators on Friday that the health tech company was making "substantial progress" in restoring its affected systems. As the near-term impact of the ongoing outages on patients and providers becomes clearer, questions remain about the security of millions of people's highly sensitive medical information handled by Change Healthcare. From Russia, a prolific ransomware gang taking credit for the cyberattack on Change Healthcare claimed without yet publishing evidence to have stolen enormous banks containing millions of patients' private medical data from the health tech giant's systems. In a new twist, the ransomware gang now appears to have faked its own demise and dropped off the map after receiving a ransom payment worth millions in cryptocurrency. If patient data has been stolen, the ramifications for the affected patients will likely be irreversible and life-lasting. Change Healthcare is one of the world's largest facilitators of health and medical data and patient records, handling billions of healthcare transactions annually. Since 2022, the health tech giant has been owned by UnitedHealth Group, the largest health insurance provider in the United States. Hundreds of thousands of physicians and dentists, as well as tens of thousands of pharmacies and hospitals across the U.S., rely on it to bill patients according to what their health insurance benefits permit. That size presents a particular risk. U.S. antitrust officials unsuccessfully sued to block UnitedHealth from buying Change Healthcare and merging it with its healthcare subsidiary Optum, arguing that UnitedHealth would get an unfair competitive advantage by gaining access to "about half of all Americans health insurance claims pass each year." For its part, Change Healthcare has repeatedly avoided saying so far whether patient data has been compromised in the cyberattack. That has not assuaged healthcare executives who worry that the data-related fallout of the cyberattack is yet to come. In a March 1 letter to the U.S. government, the American Medical Association warned of "significant data privacy concerns" amid fears that the incident "caused extensive breaches of patient and physician information." AMA president Jesse Ehrenfeld was quoted by reporters as saying that Change Healthcare has provided "no clarity about what data was compromised or stolen." One cybersecurity director at a large U.S. hospital system told TechCrunch that though they are in regular contact with Change and UnitedHealth, they have heard nothing so far about the security or integrity of patient records. The cybersecurity director expressed alarm at the prospect of the hackers potentially publishing the stolen sensitive patient data online. This person said that Change's communications, which have gradually escalated from suggesting that data might have been exfiltrated, all the way up to acknowledging an active investigation with several incident response firms, suggest it's just a matter of time before we learn how much has been stolen, and from whom. Customers will bear part of the burden of this hack, this person said, asking not to be quoted by name as they are not authorized to speak to the press. Ransomware gang pulls "exit scam" Now, the hackers seem to have disappeared, adding to the unpredictability of the situation. UnitedHealth initially attributed the cyberattack to unspecified government-backed hackers, but later walked back that claim and subsequently pointed the blame at the Russia-based ransomware and extortion cybercrime group called ALPHV (also known as BlackCat), which has no known links to any government. Ransomware and extortion gangs are financially motivated and typically employ double-extortion tactics, first scrambling the victim's data with file-encrypting malware, then swiping a copy for themselves and threatening to publish the data online if their ransom demand is not paid. On March 3, an affiliate of ALPHV/BlackCat effectively a contractor that earns a commission for the cyberattacks they launch using the ransomware gang's malware complained in a posting on a cybercrime forum claiming that ALPHV/BlackCat swindled the affiliate out of their earnings. The affiliate claimed in the post that ALPHV/BlackCat stole the $22 million ransom that Change Healthcare allegedly paid to decrypt their files and prevent data leaking, as first reported by veteran security watcher DataBreaches.net. As proof of their claims, the affiliate provided the exact crypto wallet address that ALPHV/BlackCat had used two days earlier to allegedly receive the ransom. The wallet showed a single transaction worth $22 million in bitcoin at the time of payment. The affiliate added that despite having lost their portion of the ransom, the stolen data is "still with us," suggesting the aggrieved affiliate still has access to reams of stolen sensitive medical and patient data. UnitedHealth has declined to confirm to reporters whether it paid the hackers' ransom, instead saying the company is focused on its investigation. When TechCrunch asked UnitedHealth if it disputed the reports that it paid a ransom, a company spokesperson did not respond. By March 5, ALPHV/BlackCat's website was gone in what researchers believe is an exit scam, where the hackers run off with their new fortune never to be seen again, or stay low and reform later as a new gang. The gang's dark web website was replaced with a splash screen purporting to be a law enforcement seizure notice. In December, a global law enforcement operation took down portions of ALPHV/BlackCat's infrastructure but the gang returned and soon began targeting new victims. But this time, security researchers suspected the gang's own deception at play, rather than another lawful takedown effort. A spokesperson for the U.K. National Crime Agency, which was involved in the initial ALPHV/BlackCat's disruption operation last year, told TechCrunch that ALPHV/BlackCat's ostensibly seized website "is not a result of NCA activity." Other global law enforcement agencies also denied involvement in the group's sudden disappearance. It's not uncommon for cybercrime gangs to reform or rebrand as a way to shed reputational issues, the sort of thing one might do after being busted by law enforcement action or making off with an affiliate's illicit earnings. Even with a payment made, there is no guarantee that the hackers will delete the data. A recent global law enforcement action aimed at disrupting the prolific LockBit ransomware operation found that the cybercrime gang did not always delete the victim's data as it claimed it would if a ransom was paid. Companies have begun to acknowledge that paying a ransom does not guarantee the return of their files. For those on the front-lines of healthcare cybersecurity, the worst-case scenario is that stolen patient records become public. The patient safety and economic impacts of this are going to be felt for years, the hospital cybersecurity director told TechCrunch. Do you work at Change Healthcare, Optum or UnitedHealth and know more about the cyberattack? Get in touch on Signal and WhatsApp at +1 646-755-8849, or by email. You can also send files and documents via SecureDrop. Ai-Media Technologies Limited (ASX:AIM) is possibly approaching a major achievement in its business, so we would like to shine some light on the company. Ai-Media Technologies Limited provides technology-driven captioning, transcription, and translation products and services in Australia, New Zealand, North America, and internationally. With the latest financial year loss of AU$4.0m and a trailing-twelve-month loss of AU$4.1m, the AU$82m market-cap company amplified its loss by moving further away from its breakeven target. As path to profitability is the topic on Ai-Media Technologies' investors mind, we've decided to gauge market sentiment. We've put together a brief outline of industry analyst expectations for the company, its year of breakeven and its implied growth rate. See our latest analysis for Ai-Media Technologies Ai-Media Technologies is bordering on breakeven, according to the 2 Australian Commercial Services analysts. They expect the company to post a final loss in 2024, before turning a profit of AU$3.5m in 2025. The company is therefore projected to breakeven just over a year from now. What rate will the company have to grow year-on-year in order to breakeven on this date? Using a line of best fit, we calculated an average annual growth rate of 108%, which signals high confidence from analysts. Should the business grow at a slower rate, it will become profitable at a later date than expected. We're not going to go through company-specific developments for Ai-Media Technologies given that this is a high-level summary, however, take into account that by and large a high forecast growth rate is not unusual for a company that is currently undergoing an investment period. Before we wrap up, theres one aspect worth mentioning. Ai-Media Technologies currently has no debt on its balance sheet, which is rare for a loss-making growth company, which usually has a high level of debt relative to its equity. This means that the company has been operating purely on its equity investment and has no debt burden. This aspect reduces the risk around investing in the loss-making company. Story continues Next Steps: There are key fundamentals of Ai-Media Technologies which are not covered in this article, but we must stress again that this is merely a basic overview. For a more comprehensive look at Ai-Media Technologies, take a look at Ai-Media Technologies' company page on Simply Wall St. We've also put together a list of key factors you should further examine: Valuation: What is Ai-Media Technologies worth today? Has the future growth potential already been factored into the price? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether Ai-Media Technologies is currently mispriced by the market. Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business take a look at who sits on Ai-Media Technologiess board and the CEOs background. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here. 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. Deaths are rising among people trying to cross the Channel to the UK. Who's to blame? French police have expressed alarm about a sharp rise in the number of deaths among people trying to cross the Channel in small boats. Already this year nine people have drowned attempting the journey, compared with 12 for the whole of 2023. The latest to die was a seven-year-old Iraqi girl, one week ago, when a smuggler's boat capsized on a French canal. But a sharp debate is also emerging over how to explain, and who to blame, for the rising death toll. French police say increasingly smuggling gangs are forcing migrants, year-round, into ever more crowded and unseaworthy boats. But critics say that a more "militarised" coastline, bristling with new policing equipment paid for by the UK, is compelling people to take ever greater risks in their determination to cross the Channel. In recent months, the small resort town of Wimereux, south of Calais, has emerged as a focal point for the smugglers, with hundreds of migrants from Iraq, Sudan, Vietnam and elsewhere, gathering on clear nights in the hope of a successful crossing. "You can see the cameras, and the antenna," said Wimereux mayor Jean-Luc Dubaele, showing visitors new CCTV equipment installed on 12 poles. The cameras are all paid for as part of a three-year, 480m UK support programme that is a year old on Sunday. "I'm convinced this will work. It's indispensable. Last night we had 200 migrants coming into town. We're targeting the smugglers, looking for car number plates at those places where they drop off their equipment," said Mr Dubaele, whose town is the first to be fitted with the new cameras. The new CCTV will play a key role in deterring people smugglers, says Mayor Jean-Luc-Dubaele Some of the CCTV footage will soon be screened, live, at a new police facility in the French city of Lille, where officers are already monitoring remote infra-red cameras scanning the region's ports and beaches. "Much of this equipment is financed by Britain. It enables us to intervene more quickly, and more safely," said Mathilde Potel, the French police commissioner who heads efforts to tackle the migrant issue. She said her teams were now able to identify and intercept boats and other equipment long before they reached the coast. But Potel expressed concern about "worrying trends emerging this year". She cited 40 confrontations on beaches so far this year between police and increasingly violent smugglers who have begun to supply migrants with "sticks and stones to attack our forces and prevent the boats from being intercepted". "We have more hostility. So we are forced to use tear gas in order not to become victims ourselves," she said, showing a video on her phone of a recent encounter. "We have more confrontations. More hostility. So, we are forced, in order not to become victims ourselves, to use tear gas", Source: Mathilde Potel, Source description: Police commissioner, Image: Mathilde Potel Potel acknowledged that the number of crossings so far this year was similar to 2023, but she said she was "most worried" that those crossings were becoming "more and more dangerous. Last year we had 12 deaths. In 2023 it is already nine." Potel said the smugglers were increasingly supplying "extremely poor-quality boats, produced in China", which at least partly explained why almost 40% of crossing attempts failed. "We are dealing with thugs, with people involved in organised crime and arms trafficking. Those responsible [for the deaths] are the smuggling networks that make these people take enormous risks and then make enormous profits for themselves," said Potel. French police have set up a new facility in Lille to help tackle illegal Channel crossings Louis-Xavier Thirode, a government official in charge of security for the whole of northern France, acknowledged that there was no quick fix to the migrant issue. Regardless of how many smugglers they arrest - 700 in the past three years - new gangs will emerge because "these crossings are very profitable", he says. But he stressed that France had a duty to "prevent by all means those seeking to head to sea in risky conditions". The three-year funding deal with the UK, Thirode added, transformed efforts to clamp down on small-boat crossings. Across the Channel, in London, the UK's Home Office said its co-operation with the French had already prevented a significant number of crossing attempts this year. "The severity and brutality of the criminals facilitating these journeys, as we have seen this week with a seven-year-old girl losing her life, reinforces our commitment to disrupting the gangs and breaking their business model," said Charlie Eastaugh, who heads the Small Boats Operational Command. But in Calais, local charities involved in assisting migrants in distress argue that it is wrong to lay all the blame for the deaths on the smuggling gangs. "The presence of police officers on the beach... doesn't mean fewer crossings will happen. It's actually going to make it more dangerous", Source: Julie Hernandez, Source description: Utopia 56, Image: Julie Hernandez "The presence of police officers on the beach, [the increased] militarisation, and the equipment does not mean that fewer crossings will happen. It's not a deterrent, but it is actually going to make it more dangerous," said Julie Hernandez from the Utopia 56 organisation. She argued that migrants, often having already taken huge risks to cross the Mediterranean, were now so close to reaching the UK that they would willingly put themselves in even greater danger on the French coast. In Wimereux, Mayor Jean-Luc Dubaele was also keen to put the British and French police efforts in a wider context. "We can slow it down, but we can't stop the crossings. For me it's become my life, night and day, unfortunately," he said, stressing the widespread French belief that the only long-term solution is for Britain to regulate its jobs market far more strictly. "Why do the migrants want to go to England? It's for work. The answer, as I see it, is to forbid migrants from working in England without an employment contract. If the English solve this problem, then we'll have taken a big step," said Dubaele. And if that doesn't happen? "It will continue," said the mayor, turning his head back towards the beach, the flat expanse of water, and the White Cliffs of Dover glinting, beguilingly, in the distance. CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) A recent study by the University of Virginias Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service studied how school enrollment trends have changed following the pandemic. Chesapeake is seeing fluctuating numbers, but theyre trending up compared to to other school divisions in the 757. Chesapeakes numbers arent up to what they were before the pandemic in 2019, but theyre getting closer. The area is also seeing more houses popping up, new businesses moving in, and growth for certain parts of the area. Theres some in particular, like the Greenbrier area, the Hickory area, the Dominion Corridor, said Superintendent Dr. Jared Cotton. Were finding that developments are being approved and we have a lot of underdeveloped land in our city, which is unlike some of our neighbors. Underdeveloped land, which is also giving the school division room to grow. Cotton said theyre especially seeing that growth at the elementary level. A new school is in the works for Culpepper Landing, while Crestwood Intermediate School is going to be converted into a K-5 elementary school. The design for Crestwood looks similar to the current exterior of Great Bridge Primary. Whats exciting about that is the 21st century design, Cotton said, and theres a lot of research to support [that] when students are in modern buildings, they have an opportunity to really engage in the learning. From 2017 to 2020, the school division saw steady growth, with a peak enrollment of 40,699 students during the 2019-2020 school year. But not all of those students came back following the pandemic. Im assuming many of them went to do homeschool or private schools, Cotton said, and we really have not brought all of those students back. But theyre absorbing the growth in other areas, with new housing developments popping up and new families moving into the school division. I think theyre coming here because of the reputation of our great school division, Cotton said, and its not because of me, its because of our staff who work hard each and every day at our schools really building those relationships with the families and the community. Their numbers dropped to just over 39,000 in 2021, but they have since grown to just over 40,000 40,053 to be specific this school year. Cotton said they continue to see fluctuating numbers and are anticipating a slight decrease for next year, but that isnt stopping them for planning for the future. I was just at an event recently where our city manager and our mayor commented on the fact that our school division is what brings people to our community, Cotton said. When I talk to parents, they tell me that theyre here because of the reputation of our school division and of course, as I said earlier, we have areas of the city that is primed and ready to be developed. The new Crestwood Elementary building should be open for the 2025-2026 school year. Theyre hoping the new school at Culpepper Landing in Deep Creek will be open for the 2027-2028 school year. Cotton said they also have some other plans in the works, such as auditorium renovations and playground improvements, also, in their five-year plan. Some parts of their 10-year plan are still not funded. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. Messages in a bottle written by three Fife schoolchildren forty years ago have washed up on a beach in Angus. Jenny Smith was taking part in a beach clean-up in Monifieth when she found three notes and a map from the Wormit Primary School pupils from 1984. She managed to track down the three girls, who are now in their late 40s, on a local Facebook group. The messages will be returned to the school four decades after they set sail on their six-mile journey. The girls joke in the messages that they have been kidnapped by their teacher The women, who live in Arbroath, Ireland and Fife, are all still in touch with each other. Jenny said: "I picked up three bin bags of rubbish and found this bottle, and I thought there was something like a felt-tip pen inside it. "I got it out and it was rolled up with an elastic band around it. "The girl who drew the map had cleverly used wax crayon as the outside wrapping so it had protected it from some of the water that had managed to seep in." Jenny dried the messages at home and found they were all still legible. She said: "I could see it said 'help' on it, and I thought, 'oh my goodness', and then realised it was from children. "It said they'd been taken captive on this HMS WPS, and it explained that this stood for Wormit Primary School." Jenny said she was surprised at the age of the messages, which outdate various vintage crisp packets from the 1990s that she has found on beach cleans. A map drawn in crayon helped protect the messages She left a message on the Wormit Community Facebook group and within hours had a reply from Linda Bell, who still lives in the village. Linda said: "When I first read Jenny's Facebook post and saw that the date on the letters from Wormit Primary was June 1984, I thought that I must know who the letters were written by. "When I read further, I realised that one of the pupils that wrote one of the letters was me and the other two letters were written by my primary school friends, Anna and Kelly." The messages were still in good condition after four decades After telling her friends of the discovery, Linda and Kelly met Jenny to see their letters, which were part of a school project. Linda said: "We think it was part of a pirate topic while we were in P4. "It was great to see the letters in such good condition after such a long time." The messages were discovered rolled up in a plastic cola bottle Perched on the bleak southern coast of Inexpressible Island, Chinas new crucifix-shaped scientific research station in Antarctica has triggered alarm bells about Beijings ambitions in the worlds southernmost continent. The Qinling base, occupying 5,244 square metres near the deep bay of the Ross Sea, opened in February, and can operate through the brutal winter months while housing up to 80 people in summer. Qinling is expected to include a wharf for icebreaker ships and is well positioned to collect signals intelligence over Australia and New Zealand and telemetry data on rockets launched from Australias new Arnhem Space Centre, according to the US-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies. It will also help China fill in a major gap in its ability to access Antarctica. The station is Chinas fifth, on a par with other major actors in Antarctica, including the UK, Russia, and the United States, which has the largest research presence, including the biggest facility in its McMurdo base. But the speed of Chinas expanding footprint has raised fears that Beijing is aiming to extend its surveillance capabilities, gain strategic control over valuable resources and shipping routes, or even establish a future military presence there when the continents governance treaty expires in 2048. Beijing, like all parties has ambitions for Antarctica beyond science, Dr Elizabeth Buchanan, an expert associate of the ANU National Security College, told The Telegraph. The problem, for the West, broadly, becomes that China is more capable and credible in terms of concerns it might one day look to exploit its footprint for economic, and strategic, advantage. Any base could be refashioned for military purposes, she added. Scramble for influence forecast Seven countries the UK, Australia, France, New Zealand, Norway, Argentina and Chile maintain territorial claims in Antarctica, which are not recognised by most other nations. The US and Russia have a basis of claim. In practice, the continent is governed by parties to the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, which restricts activities to peaceful purposes only. Military personnel can conduct scientific research but are banned from setting up bases, carrying out manoeuvres, or testing weapons. That treaty is due to be revised in 2048, when new sovereignty claims may trigger a scramble for influence over minerals, including gold, chromium, uranium and coal, resources and territory. Countries may fight in the future to provide security towards those mineral resources which are going to be very valuable in 10, 20 more years, said Dr Carlos Solar, a senior research fellow in Latin American security at the Royal United Services Institute. By creating a fifth base, Beijing is declaring its strong focus in Antarctica even as other countries are receding from other parts of the world to focus on resources, he said. Chinas interests are to be in the best position that they can be for 2048, Dr Solar added. Beijings Antarctic interests are purposefully framed in a long-term decadal strategic manner, said Dr Buchanan. For example, the position of the new base in the continents Pacific vector could give China the ability to draw a line from the eastern entry point of the Arctic Ocean straight down to Qinling, she explained. This creates an interesting capability and future potential buffer for curtailing US seapower, she added. Beijing rejects espionage claims A 2022 Pentagon report supported the view that Chinas new infrastructure was likely to be intended in part to strengthen future claims to natural resources, and improve the capabilities of the Peoples Liberation Army. This could mean increased surveillance as Qinlings equipment can concurrently be used for intercepting other nations satellite communications, suggested the US-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies in a study last April. China has rejected claims that its stations will be used for espionage. Last month, its foreign ministry stated the construction of Qinling was fully in line with international rules and procedures concerning Antarctica. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban (right) meets with Wang Xiaohong, Chinese state councilor and minister of public security - Xinhua/Shutterstock Chinese police will patrol alongside Hungarian officers after an agreement with Budapest, raising fears of Beijing oppression being meted out in Europe. Hungarys interior ministry claimed the deal would improve safety in tourist hotspots or during events that attract large numbers of spectators. But the plan has drawn criticism from those concerned the agreement will be abused by communist China, which has a lengthy record of human rights abuses. The patrols could be the first step to establishing secret police stations or used to intimidate the overseas Chinese community, they warned. Police officers from the two countries will in the future be able to carry out patrol duties together, thus helping to improve communication between the citizens and the authorities of the two countries, and improving internal security and public order, the ministry of the interior said after the agreement was signed. The Telegraph understands that some influential EU member states are considering raising the arrangement in the corridors of power in Brussels. Clashes with Europe Hungary is a member of the EU but has regularly clashed with the European Commission and Parliament over accusations that long-time prime minister Viktor Orban is backsliding on the rule of law and democratic standards. Mr Orbans opposition to EU sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, and his decision to sign energy deals with Vladimir Putin after the war began, have also made him unpopular in the blocs de facto capital. Daniel Freund is a German Green MEP and one of Mr Orbans fiercest critics in Brussels and Strasbourg. Chinese policemen do not enforce law and order but injustice and authoritarian control. They have no business on the streets of an EU member state, he said. Orban is showing his true colours: deep red. Theres nothing to learn from a communist dictatorship except for tyranny and totalitarian control of citizens. The EU views China as a partner but also as a systemic rival, which has been guilty of industrial espionage and anti-competitive dumping of products in its market. Hungary is also a member of Nato, which describes China as a competitor. Deep-seated anxieties There are also deep-seated EU anxieties about Beijings use of surveillance and its human rights record with the Uighurs. EU officials have branded Chinese tech giant Huawei, a high-risk supplier, and the bloc is trying to lessen its dependence on the country for supplies of precious metals and semiconductors. It is not the first time that Chinese officers have carried out joint patrols in an EU member state. Similar deals were struck with Italy and Croatia, which are both part of the bloc, and Serbia, which is not. Safeguard Defenders is an NGO that monitors Chinese human rights abuses. In 2022, it exposed 102 secret Chinese police stations in countries, including the UK, Italy, France, the Netherlands and Hungary. Laura Harth, of Safeguard Defenders, said: A taboo appears to have been broken, but Id say at this point its important to highlight how clear warnings and lessons learned in the meantime have not been heeded. We were clearly able to establish how those joint police patrols on Italian soil directly contributed to the establishment of the pilot overseas police service centres, as touted by Chinese state media, and a heightened sense of fear in the Chinese overseas community. Broke ranks over Chinese jabs Hungary has a closer relationship with China than many member states. During the Covid pandemic, it broke ranks with an EU-wide system to get Chinese-made jabs. It was the first European country to sign up to the Chinese belt-and-road initiative: an investment programme that leverages Chinas global influence. In October last year, Mr Orban controversially shook hands with Vladimir Putin at a belt-and-road event in Beijing. Hungarian officials pointed out the arrangement was not unprecedented. Hungarian and Croatian officers had carried out joint patrols, as had Italian and Chinese, they said. They pointed to media reports from 2022 that British former police officers had trained Chinese cops, who could have served in Uighur areas. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. A surveys respondents were asked what would happen if the opposing party won. Their answers were dire and specific. A surveys respondents were asked what would happen if the opposing party won. Their answers were dire and specific. Illustration: Marcus Peabody/Getty Images In past years, the first phase of the general election has involved at least one of the presidential nominees introducing themselves to the broader public and presenting their case for taking the country in a new direction. But that has been rendered unnecessary this year: former president Donald Trump and president Joe Biden are very familiar to the American electorate and they are broadly unpopular. I think this is the worst election in my lifetime, said George Argodale, a Nikki Haley supporter from Gainesville, Virginia. Its just terrible that we dont have better candidates. Related: RNC: Trump coup complete with loyalist as chair and daughter-in-law as co-chair Thats a sad state of affairs for our country that those are the two best candidates that we can come up with, agreed Peggy Hudson, a primary voter in Charleston, South Carolina. Judith Smith, from Moncks Corner, South Carolina, said of Biden and Trump: Thats like choosing between a hedgehog and a porcupine. As the primary season sputters to an expected ending, following Haleys withdrawal from the Republican primary on Wednesday, voters frustration with their general election options is palpable. According to FiveThirtyEights polling averages, Bidens approval rating now stands at 38.1%, and Trumps rating rests at a nominally stronger 42.6%, meaning both men are disliked by a majority of Americans. Those low opinions have carried into voters views on the general election. A YouGov-University of Massachusetts Amherst poll conducted in January found that 45% of Americans believe a Biden-Trump rematch is bad for the country. Another 26% say the rematch is neither good nor bad, while just 29% view it as good for the nation. Its not all for the same reason; the many voters lamenting their general election options represent a diverse array of ideological perspectives, ranging from anti-Trump Republicans to progressives outraged over Bidens response to the war in Gaza. On the whole, theres a lot of ambivalence and disappointment about the prospects of a rematch, said Jesse Rhodes, a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Theres a widespread perception among those individuals that the candidates are too old and that they tend to focus on issues that are issues of yesterday. Conversations on the campaign trail reflect those commonly held beliefs, as a number of primary voters across multiple states said that they wished they had another option for November. Among anti-Trump Republicans, many of whom voted for Haley in their primaries, the potential re-election of the former president represents a return to the chaos that defined his first term. Echoing concerns shared by most Democrats, they predict that Trump would undermine the foundation of the US government if elected. Related: Biden hits campaign trail riding train of positive State of the Union reviews Vincent DiMaro, an 80-year-old voter in Charleston who voted for Haley in the primary last month, cited Trumps temperament and Bidens age of 81 as significant liabilities for the nations future (Trump is 77). I want to see the country survive, and I dont think it will under Trump, he said. But, he added: I dont think Biden is a particularly good president right now. I cant be president. I know what my limitations are, and Im in better shape than Biden. Argodale voted early in the Virginia primary to cast a ballot for Haley, but he said he would have to support Biden in the general election if Trump won the Republican nomination. I am on the conservative side of things, and [Haley] is the only viable candidate in my opinion, he said. [Trump] is just a terrible human being and doesnt deserve any votes. Although Democrats broadly agree with that assessment, some carry concerns about Biden, particularly regarding his age. Hudson acknowledged her politics lean to the left, as she previously worked for the late Democratic senator Fritz Hollings of South Carolina, but she cast a primary ballot for Haley in Charleston because she is disgusted by Trump. Hudson indicated she would support Biden in November, but she lamented the options available to voters in the general election. Not that Joe Biden has not done a good job. He has done some very good things for this country, Hudson said. But I do think it is time for a new generation of leaders. An enthusiasm problem The war in Gaza has presented a significant electoral vulnerability for Biden, as the president has faced intense criticism from progressives within his own party over his response to Israels airstrike campaign that has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians. Related: Trump gambit in Florida could mean no election trial before 2024 vote Progressive leaders in multiple states have organized campaigns to urge supporters to vote uncommitted or leave it blank instead of casting a ballot for Biden as a means of protesting his handling of the war. In Michigan, uncommitted won 13% of the vote in last months primary, and uncommitted captured 19% of votes in the Minnesota Democratic primary on Tuesday. Hassan Jama, an imam in Minneapolis, Minnesota, campaigned for Biden in 2020 but has joined the uncommitted campaign. When asked about his options for November, he suggested he may vote for a candidate other than Biden or Trump. Voters can cast ballots for the independent presidential candidate, Cornel West, or the Green Party candidate, Jill Stein, both of whom have condemned Israels actions in Gaza as genocide, or they could leave the top of the ticket blank. Were not voting for Trump, definitely no, Jama said. We have more than two choices. Ruth Schultz, a Minnesota primary voter who has organized with MN Families for Palestine, similarly ruled out voting for Trump, but she would not yet commit to supporting Biden in the general election. I know that I will never vote for Trump. That is a given, Schultz said. I want to see President Biden take a stronger stance for peace and how to get a ceasefire and to use all the tools at his disposal in order to do that. I am watching that as a voter in the general election. The uproar among many left-leaning voters has created an enthusiasm gap between the two political parties that could pose a problem for Biden. Although many people who backed Biden in 2020 express concern about his re-election, Trumps most loyal supporters remain as fervent as ever. According to the YouGov-UMass poll, 45% of Republicans believe the Biden-Trump rematch is good for the country, but only 21% of Democrats say the same. Related: Biden backtracks on climate plans and walks tightrope to court both young voters and moderates When speaking to Trump voters on the campaign trail, many are quick to praise him as the best president of their lifetimes, and they display no hesitation about supporting him again this fall. Ive been supporting him since he ran [in 2016], came down the escalator [at Trump Tower], ever since that, said Chris Pennington, a voter from Johns Island, South Carolina. I think hes the best one to take on all the problems that we have. Argodale does not support Trump, but he has seen firsthand how much devotion he can inspire. In my social circle, there are Trumpers, so theyre diehard, he said. If he shot somebody on Fifth Avenue, theyd still vote for him. If Biden wants to win in November, he will have to work to narrow that enthusiasm gap or bring enough reluctant independents into his camp or, most likely, do both. Dire predictions The widespread disappointment among voters regarding the Biden-Trump rematch will have sweeping political consequences this fall, but their opinions on the election also offer startling revelations about Americans fears for the countrys future. The YouGov-UMass survey included open-ended questions that asked respondents what they believed would happen if the opposing party won the White House. The answers were both dire and specific, Rhodes said, with respondents predicting the end of democracy and a sharp rise in political persecution if their party were to lose. The perception that victory by the other candidate would be dangerous and threatening has been rising pretty consistently for some time, Rhodes said. I think whats distinctive in this election cycle is just how intense those feelings are and how personal they are. Biden and Trump have both spoken in severe terms about what would happen if their opponent were to win, and those arguments appear to be sinking in for many voters. Nathan Richter, who voted for Biden in Arlington, Virginia, on Tuesday, was concise when asked about the possibility of Trumps return to the White House. Please, God, no, he said. I question our countrys ability to withstand another four years of Trump. John Schuster said he plans to vote for Biden in November, but he cast a primary ballot for Haley because of his overwhelming concern about a Trump victory. Theres no greater imperative in the world than stopping Donald Trump, Schuster said. Itll be the end of democracy and the world order if he becomes president. Biden supporters tend to frame the stakes of the election in terms of democracy and political violence, Rhodes noted, while Trump supporters concerns are more often shaped around a perceived threat that Democrats pose to American values. Douglas Benton, a Trump supporter from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, warned that the US would become a third-world country if Biden were to win reelection. Our business is broken, Benton said. Thats how we became the most profitable country on the planet, is through capitalism and democracy and laws. Right now all three of those are gone. Past elections have proven just how motivating negative emotions can be in turning out voters, which is why Rhodes believes that participation will still be high in November despite the nominees unpopularity. Its not an election that is going to inspire people on the basis of positive sentiments, Rhodes said. But it is an election that I strongly suspect is going to ultimately mobilize a lot of people because they believe that their vote is important for protecting themselves. The Guardians Lauren Gambino contributed reporting from Moncks Corner, South Carolina, and the Guardians Rachel Leingang contributed reporting from Minneapolis, Minnesota The latest round of ballot counts Friday for the city of Sacramentos most consequential races provided a motley mix of updates. The hotly contested mayoral race experienced a major change-up of ranking among candidates, while margins in other races stayed consistent. County election officials will update the results Tuesday. There are about 31% of ballots left to be counted, according to The Sacramento Bees analysis, which could alter hopeful elected officials prospects. Heres an updated look at how Sacramento residents voiced changes to the citys political landscape. New results in race for Sacramento mayor The Sacramento mayoral race called the closely-watched primary election toss-up in California by one political expert featured a major shakeup as a fourth-place candidate on Election Day is now separated by a few hundred votes from the leading contender. Only 349 votes divide epidemiologist Flojaune Flo Cofer from the No. 1 vote-getter, former state Sen. Dr. Richard Pan. She leapfrogged ahead of two other opponents since Tuesday nights updates. Cofer notched 23.26% of votes while Pan garnered 23.93% of ballots. Former City Councilman Steve Hansen tallied 22.89% of votes, while longtime Sacramento Assemblyman Kevin McCarty is in fourth place with 22.58% of ballots. The margin between Pan and the three other leading contenders was just 705 votes, tighter than it was on Election Night. With such a tight race, the next mayor will likely be decided during a runoff in November. The bottom candidates, Jose Antonio Avina II and Julius Engel, received 6% and about 1% of votes, respectively. There are 52,213 total votes that have been counted and roughly 44,000 city ballots are estimated to be outstanding, according to Bee research. 4th City Council District Phil Pluckebaum, a former city planning commissioner, remained in the lead against incumbent Katie Valenzuela though the race margins tightened after Fridays update in the citys most contentious council race. Valenzuela, the first-term liberal councilwoman, grew her vote total to 40%, according to the latest figures, an increase from the 38% reported after polls closed. Pluckebaums lead dropped slightly to 56%, though he remains poised to win the race outright. A capital political expert earlier in the week said Valenzuela did not secure enough votes early to have a shot at forcing a November runoff against her challenger. It just becomes harder and harder to catch up when you have that kind of deficit, said Paul Mitchell, vice president of bipartisan voting data firm Political Data Inc. I dont think theres a possibility she would be able to catch up. Im in no hurry to declare victory, Pluckebaum, a former Planning and Design Commissioner, said Wednesday. Lets let the process play out. But Im grateful and humbled by the support. 2nd City Council District Roger Dickinson, a former Assemblyman, continued to staunchly hold his lead over eight competitors for the seat representing neighborhoods in North Sacramento, such as Del Paso Heights and Woodlake, though he did not have enough to avoid a November runoff as of Friday. Dickinson held 46% of votes with the latest tally with the No. 2 contender, Realtor Stephen Walton, garnering 14% of ballots. Former Grant Union High School vice principal Kim Davie collected 11% of votes, a drop from the 12.4% ballots she received on Election Day. The other six 2nd District hopefuls once occupied by former Councilman Sean Loloee, who is now facing federal criminal charges into alleged labor violations at his grocery business didnt receive more than 10% of ballots. Measure C Sacramento voters continued to reject Measure C, the city-backed business tax in the latest dump of votes. Measure C restructures businesses tax burdens for the first time since 1991 to address a $66 million budget deficit. The city of Sacramento has said a majority of retailers would get a tax decrease and only major corporations would face higher rates if the measure passed. Professionals such as lawyers, accountants and surgeons would have also seen an increase to their taxes. Approximately 62% of city voters were opposed to the simple-majority initiative, while about 38% of residents wanted to implement the city-backed change. Whats left to count? Based on estimates by The Bee, about 44,000 more city ballots are expected to be counted in the days and weeks ahead. That figure is based on the likely percentage of city ballots within the reported number of total ballots left to be counted across the county. Sacramento County elections officials said more than 182,000 ballots have been counted and that a little more than 142,000 have yet to be processed. There are close to 870,000 registered voters, putting county turnout at about 37%. Thats down from about 43% in the 2020 primary election. Emma Wilson plays in the City Library in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 8, 2024. The City Library is one of the world's most popular libraries, according to new rankings based on Google review scores, Wikipedia page views and social media posts. The City Library is among the most popular libraries worldwide in new rankings based on Google review scores, Wikipedia page views and TikTok and Instagram posts. Salt Lake Citys main library is mentioned in the same company as the Library of Congress, the Vatican Library and the New York Public Library in the rankings by Preply, a language learning platform. Seven of the top 15 ranked libraries are in the United States, with the Library of Congress topping the list. The City Library in the heart of Salt Lake City ranked 15th worldwide. Quinn McQueen, director of marketing and communications at The City Library, said the ranking was welcome recognition but Im also not super surprised just considering how ingrained we are in our community and what an architectural marvel we have right there in the city. The City Library is pictured in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 8, 2024. The City Library at 210 E. 400 South celebrated its 20th birthday in 2023, in tandem with the library systems 125th anniversary. The internationally renowned architect Moshe Safdie and associates partnered with VCBO Architecture of Salt Lake City to design the iconic building, which opened to the public in February 2003. The City Library is a place for connection, whether it is hosting community events and performances, working with preschoolers or providing meeting spaces, McQueen said. Its pretty cool to look at this list and see that our somewhat small local library is rated up there right alongside Yale and Library of Congress, New York Public Library and Trinity College in Dublin. These are some big names, and its neat to see us rounding out the top 15. Thats pretty exciting, she said. Heres the list: 1. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 2. New York Public Library, New York City. 3. Boston Public Library. 4. Bodleian Library, Oxford, United Kingdom, 5. Yale University Beinecke Library, New Haven, Connecticut. 6. Vatican Library, Vatican City. 7. Austrian National Library, Vienna, Austria. 8. Seattle Central Library, Washington. 9. Trinity College Library, Dublin, Ireland. 10. Tianjin Binhai Library, Tianjin, China. 11. George Peabody Library, Baltimore. 12. The Morgan Library & Museum, New York City. 13. State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia. 14. Reading Room at the British Museum, London. 15. The City Library, Salt Lake City. 16. Central Public Library, Vancouver, Canada. 17. Royal Portuguese Reading Room, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 18. UNAM Central Library, Coyoacan, Mexico. 19. Royal Library of Denmark, Copenhagen. 20. National Library of Finland, Helsinki. The City Library is a highly utilized resource, McQueen said. For example, patrons checked out over 2.7 million items in 2023. Malia Hansen and Scout Callens look at books at the City Library in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 8, 2024. McQueen said the systems main library has had other accolades over the past two decades. The City Library is regularly highlighted as a must see when visiting Salt Lake City, she said, a visit that is made even easier now that we offer two hours of free parking. We most recently were listed as a Five Star Library by Library Journal in 2021, and won Library Journals Library of the Year award in 2006, McQueen said. The Salt Lake City Public Library systems new executive director, Noah Baskett, began his duties on Jan. 8, following a nationwide search. Baskett grew up in Salt Lake City and was educated in Washington state, where he has led community-based and nonprofit organizations and networks. He attended the University of Puget Sound and earned a masters degree in transformational leadership from Seattle University. In a recent interview conducted by library staff, Baskett was asked what library patrons have to look forward to in the near future. We are a world-renowned library system partly because of our impressive spaces. The Main Library is a treasure in the heart of Salt Lake City, and our branches are hubs within the citys neighborhoods. We must invest in the library systems perpetual future to prepare for a presence that matches the citys growth, he said. Baskett said he was drawn to the position because he believes libraries are in a unique position to help bring connection within a community. He noted that Americans are in the midst of a public health crisis of loneliness and isolation, according to the U.S. surgeon general. The Library is in such a perfect position to make a difference by offering meaningful opportunities for connection for people from every conceivable background and walk of life throughout the city. Having spent my formative years here, it feels good to be back in my hometown with a real chance to make a difference in this rapidly growing community. Our library system is in a position to see and connect the remarkable people in Salt Lakes neighborhoods. Butterflies reading books are part of a hanging sculpture at the City Library in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 8, 2024. The proposed development of a green ammonia plant north of Corpus Christi has sparked debate among residents and local officials about Nueces River water rights and the volume of water that would be consumed as part of production. The discussion as of late last week had reached the desks of state legislators, Nueces County officials, Corpus Christi city officials, the company Avina Clean Hydrogen Inc. and the local water district that would provide the water. In memos, news releases and public meetings, city officials have voiced concerns about the potential water volume of the contract, both in how it may impact total regional supply and in potential costs for customers who are provided water by the city. Theres concern that increased water drawn solely from the Nueces River system could dramatically increase the potential for scarcity with this water supply, states a March 1 memo to legislators, penned by Ryan Skrobarczyk, the citys director of intergovernmental relations. In a meeting earlier this week, company representatives said they aimed to be as conservative with water as possible. The Nueces County Water Control and Improvement District #3 along the Nueces River on March 6, 2024, in Corpus Christi, Texas. The intake plant processes water for municipal and agricultural use in parts of the county. The contract would be for 5.5 million gallons of water per day four million gallons treated, and 1.5 million gallons per day raw, according to officials with the Nueces County Water Control and Improvement District No. 3. Like Corpus Christi, the agency which is independent of the city and the citys infrastructure serves the Robstown area and has rights to water drawn from the river. The agency is permitted to draw about 10.5 million gallons of water per day, according to district officials. The average is about 2.2 million gallons of water per day, which includes in its customers about 5,500 residential and two commercial connections, according to an email sent to the Caller-Times by the agencys staff. Marcos Alaniz, district manager of the Nueces County Water Control and Improvement, has generally declined to comment on statements that were made in the news release raising questions about impacts to the water supply. City officials have been vocal about approaching Stage 2 drought restrictions. As of Thursday, the capacity of Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir had dropped to about 30.2%. Stage 2 drought is declared when the combined capacities slip below 30%. In a memo to Corpus Christi City Council members, City Manager Peter Zanoni described the Nueces River is our cheapest of the four water sources we have today. The loss of millions of gallons of water a day will have an impact on our water supplies, he wrote. To backfill that loss will potentially result in rate impacts to all (Corpus Christi Water) customers. Water rights are legally complex in Texas the water districts rights are older that the city of Corpus Christis. The city is working with attorneys to to help us understand our and WCID3's water rights at the Nueces, Zanoni wrote in the memo to the council. City officials have said there are plans to schedule a meeting between city staff and water district officials. Water for the plant Avina representatives discussed water in a meeting with Nueces County commissioners earlier this week. Karen White, Avinas director of business development and regulatory, told Nueces County commissioners that the company is aiming to design the proposed plant in a way that would minimize the usage of water, which she described as a golden resource (and) a resource that makes economies run or not run, she said. Thats part of why were taking so much time and diligently looking at the water treatment facility to reduce, reuse and produce as little water waste as possible and when possible, return the water back to the district so they can utilize that water for additional uses, she said. Many of the residents who attended Wednesdays commissioner court meeting pushed back on the proposed plants development, with questions about possible negative impacts on the surrounding area, including potential property devaluation and hazards. White asserted the estimated $2.2 billion project would be operated safely and would be an asset to the area, due to both tax contributions and jobs. The water would ultimately be used, whether by the city of Corpus Christi or by the water district, she added. Someone is going to use the water the question is, where is the value of the project going to exist, White said. And I think theres some value to the existence of the project being in the region in which it is. More: Ingleside City Council denies Enbridge ammonia production facility permit during lengthy meeting More: Corpus Christi is moving forward with its desalination project. Here's what's next. More: Corpus Christi dodged Stage 2 drought this week. Here's when models show it may return. This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: City concerned ammonia plant water contract regional supply PORTERVILLE, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) The City of Porterville invited the community to attend the annual Wall of Fame Ceremony on Friday. Every year the Porterville City Council says they honor and recognize individuals in the Porterville community for their significant efforts and service to the community. The honorees who were inducted into the 2024 Wall of Fame include Edward S. Ed Flory, Brent Gill, John D. Lollis, Stanley Jay Santos Sr., Fire Captain Ramon Ray Figueroa, and Firefighter Patrick Jones. The City of Porterville says the Wall of Fame program started in 2007 and has been honoring members of the community every year since then. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47. This is a locator map for Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) An attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels set off explosions ahead of a Singapore-flagged vessel in the Gulf of Aden, authorities said, the latest in a campaign of assaults by the Iranian-backed group over Israels war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The attack on Friday targeted the bulk carrier Propel Fortune, which continued on its way, according to the United States military's Central Command. The missiles did not impact the vessel, the U.S. military said. There were no injuries or damages reported. The Houthis said Saturday they were behind the attack. Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed that along with targeting the Propel Fortune Attack, the Houthi forces also launched 37 drones targeting American warships. American officials said early Saturday that the U.S. Navy, allied warships and aircraft have shot down 15 bomb-carrying Houthi drones in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Friday's attack on Propel Fortune came after a Houthi missile struck a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, killing three of its crew members and forcing survivors to abandon the vessel. That was the first fatal strike in the Houthi's campaign over the war in Gaza. The Houthis describe the attacks as trying to pressure Israel into stopping the war, but their targets increasingly have little or nothing to do with the conflict. Other recent Houthi actions include an attack in February on a fertilizer-carrying cargo ship, the Rubymar, which sank on Saturday after drifting for several days, and the downing of an American drone worth tens of millions of dollars. The U.S. also conducted airstrikes Friday that it said destroyed two Houthi truck-mounted anti-ship missiles in Yemen. The rebels did not directly acknowledge any destruction from those strikes. The Houthis have held northern Yemen and the country's capital of Sanaa since 2014. Theyve battled a Saudi-led coalition since 2015 in a long-stalemated civil war in the Arab world's most impoverished country. Since the U.S. began its airstrike campaign in January, the Houthis have acknowledged the killing of at least 22 of its fighters. One civilian has also been reported killed. Washington was "preparing rigorously" for a possible Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine in late 2022, which would have been the first nuclear attack in a war since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1945 bombings, CNN reported on March 9, citing two unnamed U.S. officials. Russia has repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons in response to Western support for Ukraine, but the threats have so far failed to materialize. Russia continues to wage an all-out war in Ukraine without utilizing its nuclear arsenal. The White House was particularly concerned Russia might use a tactical or battlefield nuclear weapon in Ukraine, the officials told CNN. The U.S. National Security Council held a series of meetings from late summer to fall 2022 to put contingency plans in place "in the event of either a very clear indication that they were about to do something, attack with a nuclear weapon, or if they just did, how we would respond, how we would try to preempt it, or deter it," said the first administration official. "Thats what the conflict presented us, and so we believed and I think its our right to prepare rigorously and do everything possible to avoid that happening." Read also: Russias Medvedev threatens to nuke US, UK, Germany, Ukraine if Russia loses occupied territories President Joe Bidens administration was led to such an assessment not by one indicator but by a combination of developments, analysis, and highly sensitive intelligence, CNN wrote. The White Houses fear Russia might use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine "was not just hypothetical it was also based on some information that we picked up," the second official said. "We had to plan so that we were in the best possible position in case this nolonger unthinkable event actually took place." One of the arguments in favor of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's potential use of nuclear weapons at the time reportedly was Ukraines advance on then-occupied Kherson, which Putin claimed was a part of Russia. The White House was worried that the loss of the city could be a "potential trigger" for Putin to launch a nuclear strike on Ukraine, according to CNN. At the same time, the Kremlin's propaganda machine was spreading a new false flag story about a "Ukrainian dirty bomb," which US officials feared could be a cover for a Russian nuclear attack, added the media outlet. In one of the latest cases of nuclear saber-rattling, Putin claimed on Feb. 29 that there will be "tragic consequences" if NATO troops are sent to Ukraine, and the West's support for Kyiv "risks a conflict using nuclear weapons." Putins threat followed French President Emmanuel Macrons Feb. 26 statement that sending Western troops to Ukraine can not be "ruled out" in the future. The U.S. and many European NATO allies then said they were not considering deploying their troops to Ukraine. Read also: Wests response to Macron comments on troops to Ukraine reveal discord, weakness, experts say Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Coast Guard officials on Saturday continued to investigate the cause of an oil sheen off the coast of Huntington Beach in Orange County. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times) The U.S. Coast Guard is still investigating what caused the oil sheen off Huntington Beach in Orange County this week, as clean-up crews on Saturday morning fanned out across the coast. The sheen its still unclear, officials say, if it was caused by a leak or a spill was first reported Thursday evening not far from the site of a massive spill in 2021. By Friday night, officials had skimmed most of the oil, or about 85 gallons, from the ocean. Coast Guard spokesperson Richard Uranga said that a flyover of the area early Saturday morning showed a lighter sheen on the water. Uranga described the cleaning efforts along the coast Saturday morning as very light, but urged people walking along the shore with children or pets to keep an eye out for tar balls. The city of Huntington Beach said beaches remain open, but cautioned against picking up tar patties to dispose of them. If you see tar, the city said, notify a lifeguard. Uranga said that investigators are still looking into what caused the sheen. Read more: Before O.C. oil spill, platform owner faced bankruptcy, history of regulatory problems In a statement Friday, Amplify Energy Corp., which owns the pipeline that spewed at least 25,000 gallons of crude oil into the ocean and along the coast in 2021, said they had no indication that this sheen is related to our operations. We will continue to cooperate with the U.S. Coast Guard and other relevant authorities, the company added. Officials from the California Department of Fish and Wildlifes office of oil spill prevention and response said Friday that, so far, one oiled bird, a grebe, had been recovered. The Coast Guard plans to conduct another fly-over inspection Saturday afternoon. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Shakespeare has nothing on the theatrical masterminds at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility. Thats probably because Shakespeare never had the guts to blend his Hamlet with Gladiator, Blazing Saddles, and Back to the Future. But few in the world would have the pure gall to experiment with around a dozen genres at oncethe theatre group in Sing Sing, however, has no inhibitions about putting on such an ambitious production. Although the play in question is definitively a comedy, Sing Singdirector/writer Greg Kwedars sophomore feature, following 2016s Transpecoshas that magical balance of wit and sentiment. Based on a true story reported in Esquire in 2005, Sing Sing sees a full production come to fruition in the brilliant theatre group at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility, located in Ossining, NY. Although the group has always put on drama productions under the leadership of John Divine G Whitfield (Colman Domingo), an incarcerated man who has taken most leads in the productions, and director Brent (Paul Raci), a newcomer spins the group on its head when he pitches a new idea: Why doesnt the group put on a comedy? They need to lighten up! In many ways, the theatre group seen in Sing Singwhich had its U.S. premiere at this years SXSW Film Festival on Fridaymirrors the same structure as high school theater. Theres the ringleader and his second-in-command, Mike Mike (Sean San Jose), as well as a director who works closely with the recurring main star. Then, out of nowhere, a younger newbie threatens to dethrone the superstar. In Sing Sing, that newcomer is Clarence Divine Eye Maclin (starring as himself), who is recruited by the company and the first to pitch this swap to lighter content. While Divine G has always brainstormed their projectsand even written some himselfthe group is tired of Shakespeare. They like Divine Eyes idea of blending Robin Hood, Peter Pan, and Hamlet, notoriously not a comedy, and notoriously written by Shakespeare. Jake Gyllenhaals Road House Remake Punches Way Above Its Weight From there, Brent pens a script that is a third time-traveling, a third mummy-movie, a third Hamlet, and wholly incredible. Againthis was a real production that actually happened, which is bizarre and miraculous and hilarious all at once, a true marvel to watch be recreated in Sing Sing. Brent tries to describe the plot, and we learn more as we watch the men practice: This play, titled Breakin the Mummys Code, is about an ancient Egyptian named Leslie who travels through time to uncover clues that lead him to finding his lost mummy. Leslie finds himself in ancient Greece, in Shakespearean England, in the American West, and in goddamned outer space in an attempt to locate his body in the future. This play serves as a spectacular starting point for Sing Sing, which transforms into something even bigger and more poignant as we learn more about the characters. As acting exercises, the men talk about their favorite moments, introduce themselves as their characters, and talk about the people they miss the most. The ensemble is lovable from the moment they start to giggle about Brents sure-to-be-Tony-nominated script, become even more endearing as they audition, and have a lasting impact as they devote themselves to their roles. Sing Sing is made even better by the fact that most of the stars play themselves; David Dap Giraudy, Patrick Preme Griffin, and Sean Dino Johnson round out the cast. Domingo, who should certainly earn his second Oscar nomination for this part, ties the group together like glue. He pulls off an acting tour-de-force as Divine G, who is trying to be granted clemency after being at Sing Sing for over a decade while also managing the theater program. Its a lot to balance. G is also attempting to mentor wary Divine Eyealthough G seems to hold a bit of contempt towards Eye after he stole the role of Hamlet. After all, Eye was the one who pitched comedy, why does he want to play the one dramatic role! Domingo may be the shining star of Sing Sing, but really, its hard to say whos the best hereany moment Mike Mike is on screen is heart-wrenching, and G really steals the spotlight from Eye. (Literally.) Again, like high-school theater, this theater group becomes a safe space for the people who are incarcerated, a haven for them to express themselves and pretend like lifes a little normal. When Divine G starts to become distrustful of the men, fearful theyll make fun of his acting, one of his co-stars tries to ease his anxieties: Were here to become human again, he says, the most powerful line of the film. To put on nice clothes and dance around. To enjoy the things that are not in our reality. These men soar through space and time to discover the real truth about life: Art can save us. Like the theatre group, Sing Sing the movie has the power to savebe it our hope for humanity, our love of the arts, or however else. But Sing Sing is not just inspirational. As much as it is bright and moving, it is equally a push to correct our flawed justice system. Divine G has been incarcerated for more than a decade for a crime he did not commit; even though he finds friendship and purpose in the theatre group, G still finds himself feeling lost and hopeless. When hes not reading lines for the play with Mike Mike, hes reading lines from the script hes written for himself to use in future interviews that he may have with the people who will determine his fate. In one of those interviews, G faces one of the most cruel questions of his life: If hes so proud to be leading the theatre program at Sing Sing, whos to say he isnt acting now, pretending to be innocent? I Dont Understand You Sends Gay Dads on the Italian Vacay From Hell Sing Sing is a revelationalthough perhaps not as much as Breakin the Mummys Code. But nothing could top a story that sees a young Egyptian boy calling out for his mother, Mummy! Mummy! Comedic gold. Shakespeare ought to hand over his crown for being the greatest playwright of all time to anyone involved in the creation of Sing Sing, the first total triumph of the year. 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. Oscar-nominee Colman Domingos love story with his husband, Raul Domingo, could serve as the inspiration for a feel-good romantic comedy. The 54-year-old actor has recounted his meet-cute moment with Raul in multiple interviews over the past few years. But Colman and his husband, who is a producer and writer, decided to both open up about their nearly 20-year romance when they were featured in GQs Modern Lovers issue in February 2021. They recalled falling in love unexpectedly in 2005, before dating apps became the norm. The Rustin star revealed in the interview that he wouldve probably swiped past Raul on a dating app instead of getting to know him. He explained that meeting during a chance encounter on the street in Berkeley, California, allowed him to look past the imperfections or the off-roading and things like that that are sometimes highlighted on dating apps. Its supposed to be like this, he gushed about their love. You never know what youre supposed to get. He described their romance as magical. So, what happened the day they crossed paths in the Bay Area? Read on to learn more about how Colman and Raul Domingo fell in love. Colman Domingo and Raul met in 2005 thanks to a 'Missed Connections' Craigslist ad During an appearance on the The Graham Norton Show in February 2024, Colman Domingo said he was proof that missed connection columns personal advertisements posted on the internet in an attempt to reunite people after a brief interaction sometimes come true. The Color Purple star, who was a guest on the British late-night talk show along with Sterling K. Brown, Dakota Johnson and Domhnall Gleeson, told host Graham Norton about bumping into Raul Domingo in Berkeley, California, in 2005. Colman Domingo explained that he lived in New York at the time but happened to be in Northern California for the weekend. One Sunday night, he went to Walgreens to purchase a mud mask. As he walked into the store, he noticed a beautiful man with long hair and a lip piercing walking out. Colman Domingo was on the phone and the handsome stranger was busy arguing with the woman beside him. And he keeps looking at me, the actor said. So, he hung up the phone to find out what was wrong, but he was too late, he said. They walk off down the street, but he keeps looking back. And I wave, but he just keeps going. And then Im just dumbfounded, he shared. He remembered checking the time and waiting in a Blockbuster video store before going back outside to see if the man had returned. When he didnt, Colman decided to wait a week and hopefully bump into the man again. Raul Domingo and Colman Domingo (Matt Winkelmeyer / FilmMagic) Im that kind of hopeless romantic, he added. But, he didnt have to wait that long. Three days later, he tried to buy a used computer and started reading some missed connection ads on Craigslist. He thought about placing an ad before realizing the stranger had beat him to it. I go to page two of them, as Im reading, and I see, Saw you outside of Walgreens Berkeley. He placed an ad for me two hours before, the actor revealed. He continued, I jumped up. I was like, Are you kidding me? Thats me! He described me with my faux hawk. It was 2005, he reminded the laughing crowd. They connected and agreed to meet three days later for their first date. After, Raul invited Colman back to his place and he agreed, saying that he only wanted to cuddle. We cuddled. I thought he was asleep. (At) 4 oclock in the morning, I couldnt sleep. And I said, I think I love you and youre about to change my life. And weve been together for almost 19 years. The audience erupted into applause as he finished his story. Raul Domingo and Colman Domingo (Kevin Winter / Getty Images) According to GQ, the two spent their first summer together in Juneau, Alaska, because Colman booked an acting role. Raul also landed a job as an assistant costume designer on the production. I feel like I needed to understand everything that you are, Raul said during their joint interview. They relocated again to New York in the winter and Raul asked the actor to marry him that November. They tied the knot in 2014 Colman and Raul Domingo said I do during an intimate ceremony in 2014, GQ reported. They invited 25 guests who thought they were attending a house party. When their friends arrived, the couple announced, Welcome to our wedding. Colman wore a Hawaiian shirt for the ceremony, according to the publication, and the newlyweds spent the night dancing until the early hours of the morning. They are style standouts on red carpet events together Throughout the years, two continued to land jobs in Hollywood. Colman appeared in Lincoln, The Butler, Selma and If Beale Street Could Talk before he was cast in the hit HBO series Euphoria. Meanwhile, Raul helped produce his husbands web series Bottomless Brunch at Colmans. The producer also worked on other projects like the film When My Sleeping Dragon Woke and the 2023 drama Sing Sing, starring Colman. When Colman won the 2022 Emmy for outstanding guest actor in a drama series for his Euphoria character, he thanked Raul in his speech. A lot of kindness brought me to this stage, people who love me, people who lift me up. Thank you to those people, he said in September 2022, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He praised the Euphoria team before adding, Thank you to my darling Raul. This is for you. A few months later, the couple attended the 2023 Golden Globes together and matched in all-black tuxedos. Colman uploaded a picture of them from the awards ceremony on Instagram in January 2023 and wrote, in part, Wanted to shine like a black diamond. At the end of the post, he said that the event marked Raul's first press line and that the night was memorable and smooth. He also gushed that his husband shined in his suit. We had a time last night, he concluded. Colman, who has consistently been one of the best-dressed actors during this years award season, is set to make another grand entrance when he arrives at the 2024 Oscars on March 10. The actor received his first Academy Award nomination for his leading role in Rustin. This article was originally published on TODAY.com A now-former forensic scientist with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation manipulated or omitted DNA test results in hundreds of cases, an internal affairs investigation found, which prompted a full review of her work during her nearly 30-year career at the agency. The CBI released the findings of the investigation into Yvonne Missy Woods Friday, which concluded Woods handling of DNA testing data affected 652 cases between 2008 and 2023, including posting incomplete results in some cases. A review of her work from 1994 to 2008 is also underway, according to the CBI. This discovery puts all of her work in question, and CBI is in the process of reviewing all her previous work for data manipulation to ensure the integrity of all CBI laboratory results, the agency said. CBI brought in third-party investigative resources to protect the integrity of the inquiry. Woods, a 29-year veteran of the agencys crime lab, was placed on administrative leave in October after the CBI became aware DNA sample testing performed by Woods may have deviated from standard operating procedures, the agency said. She didnt perform any laboratory work thereafter and retired on November 6, it said. A separate criminal investigation into Woods conduct is ongoing, and the CBI said it continues to work with law enforcement agencies across the state. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser declined to comment on the criminal case against Woods when contacted by CNN on Friday. The CBI internal investigation, which was conducted in collaboration with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, did not find Woods falsified DNA matches or fabricated data. It revealed Woods had omitted material facts in official criminal justice records, thus tampering with DNA testing results, and violating agency policies ranging from data retention to quality control measures, the agency said. Public trust in our institutions is critical to the fulfillment of our mission, said CBI Director Chris Schaefer. Our actions in rectifying this unprecedented breach of trust will be thorough and transparent. Analyst trained generations of scientists, attorney says In a statement to CNN on Friday, Woods attorney Ryan Brackley said the findings support Woods earlier statements that shes never created or reported any false inculpatory DNA matches or exclusions, nor has she testified falsely in any hearing or trial resulting in a false conviction or unjust imprisonment. Brackley said his client has been a loyal and dedicated forensic scientist during her time at the agency and has worked with and trained generations of prosecutors, scientists and law enforcement agents. The agency said its forensics team discovered Woods deleted and altered data that served to conceal evidence of her tampering as well as her failure to troubleshoot issues within the testing process. The agency said Woods manipulations appear to have been the result of intentional conduct. The CBI said its also conducting a comprehensive audit of all DNA analysts to ensure the accuracy and completeness of its entire catalog of records. As part of this process, the agency said it discovered a separate case in which an analyst with the Weld County Sheriffs Office at the Northern Colorado Regional Forensic Laboratory may have also manipulated testing data. The sheriffs office announced last month it fired the DNA analyst as the result of an internal investigation About $7.5 million may be needed The Colorado Department of Public Safety has requested almost $7.5 million from state government to review and retest DNA samples after anomalies in the forensic testing of one scientist were discovered. Based on an early assessment, the CBI estimates approximately 3,000 cases will be required to retest through a third-party accredited laboratory for DNA retesting, according to a report provided by the Office of State Budgeting and Planning. The cost of retesting is estimated to be $1,000 per case, which equates to $3 million, the Department of Public Safety said. Additionally, Colorado district attorneys will be responsible for reviewing the legal ramifications of impacted cases, working through the post-conviction review process, and presenting cases for re-trial. The Colorado District Attorneys Council estimates a statewide impact of 72,000 hours to their offices to address this situation through reworking cases for a total cost of $4,392,000. The Department of Public Safety has also requested funding to hire an accountant to facilitate the payments to Colorado District Attorneys offices. Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty told CNN in a statement his office has identified 15 open cases and 55 closed cases in which Woods has testified as a witness. For the past several months, prosecutors around the state have waited anxiously for information because of the impact on victims, the accused, and our ability to do justice, Dougherty said. The district attorneys office did not have information on how many of its cases were affected by Woods conduct and emphasized it is too early to know whether any cases will need to be re-tried. The office of Colorados Fourth Judicial District Attorney told CNN that CBI had informed them of 75 potentially affected cases within its jurisdiction, adding Woods was not used as an expert witness in any of those cases. Woods faulty analysis led to wrongful conviction, lawsuit claims A week after Woods resigned from CBI, attorney Mark Burton filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of his client, 64-year-old James Hunter, who is currently in prison. The lawsuit identifies Woods as the lead scientist on his case and alleges Hunter was prosecuted and tried based on fabricated and false evidence. The suit claims Hunter was wrongly convicted of the 2002 burglary and sexual assault of a mother and her daughter by a suspect who was wearing a mask. Woods conducted an early, microscopic examination of hairs collected from the crime scene, which was used as evidence to link Hunter to the crime, the lawsuit says. A preliminary hearing dismissed the charges against him after a separate examination found the hairs belonged to the victim, the suit says. In acknowledging her error in the examination, Woods told the court it was a blow to her ego, according to the lawsuit. But 10 months after the crime, new evidence of a hair was introduced into the case as evidence, and used to indict Hunter for the same crimes, according to the lawsuit. There is no verification or record of collection of this hair from the crime scene by the Crime Scene Investigation Unit, the suit noted. Hunter was ultimately convicted on the charges based on the hair evidence, which was examined and tested by Woods, the lawsuit says. Last month, attorneys for Woods filed a motion to dismiss Hunters complaint. The Jefferson County District Attorneys office told CNN due to the active criminal investigation into Woods conduct, which includes labs in its jurisdiction, it is unable to comment. CNNs Andy Rose and Holly Yan contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com BLUE RIVER, Colo. A beloved family dog who had been missing for 10 days was recently found safe and sound, nestled among snowdrifts and fallen trees just a short distance from her home in Colorado. On the morning of Feb. 22, Pepper, a 6-year-old Bernese/black lab mix, went missing from her home in Blue River. The family promptly contacted Summit Lost Pet Rescue a few hours later, and volunteers immediately sprang into action to help locate her. WATCH 'MINNESOTA WINTER VERSION OF BAYWATCH' AS BORDER COLLIE RESCUED FROM ICY WATERS "We sent them our standard search protocols put out a scent station on their front porch (owner's dirty clothes and dog bed), set up cameras, made social media posts to spread awareness, hung neon (colored) signs in the neighborhood, and boots on the ground search," Melissa Davis, the rescue's executive director, said in a Facebook post this week. Neighbors were also given flyers and asked to check their garages, decks, tree wells and any other places where Pepper might be stuck. "The snow is very deep down in Blue River with very high snowbanks," Davis said. "Since there were zero sightings of her, we assumed that she was either stuck someplace nearby or got picked up and left Blue River." Family members and volunteers expanded their search to nearby trails. Davis said it was more likely that Pepper was stuck in the snow, so they spent a lot of time snowshoeing and searching in areas where she could be stuck. "We noticed many dog tracks that were circling the neighborhood near her house with no human prints nearby, so it could've been Pepper, and we kept track of these prints as clues," Davids added. "Although she never showed up on our cameras, so we didn't know for sure." After the 10th day of searching, a Summit Lost Pet Rescue volunteer and his dog returned to the creek to continue their search for Pepper. COLORADO MAN BITTEN BY PET GILA MONSTER DEAD DAYS LATER "We often take our dogs on searches with us and use them as magnet dogs," Davis said. "When pets go missing, they often are afraid of humans, but have a better trust with other dogs." During this particular search, Pepper was found trapped in a narrow section of the creek, surrounded by snowdrifts and fallen trees. "A black dog under muddy black tree roots made it very hard for Kevin (the volunteer) to see her, but his dog Finn did," Davis said. "Eventually, Kevin saw her tag shining on her collar. He immediately contacted the owner, who arrived with his son to help." HAWAIIAN CAT LOST DURING MAUI WILDFIRES REUNITED WITH FAMILY IN MONTANA Pepper's owners managed to use calming techniques and trek through the deep creek with snowshoes and poles to rescue her. It took three people to retrieve her successfully. "Ultimately, she was stuck 714 feet from her house," Davis said. Original article source: Colorado dog missing for 10 days found trapped in snow just feet from home COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Georgia said a Columbus man operating as a gun supplier by stealing and reselling firearms pled guilty to theft of firearms and now faces up to 10 years in prison. The U.S. Attorneys Office says 24-year-old Joshua Holland, aka Lou from Columbus, pled guilty to two counts of theft of firearms from a federal firearms licensee, and along with facing the possibility of 10 years behind bars, Holland is also facing a $250,000 fine per count. Hollands co-defendants, James David Lowery, 28, and Jerry Starks aka John Hill, 31, both from Columbus also pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit theft of firearms from a federal firearms licensee. Lowery and Starks are facing up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The U.S. Attorneys Office says that based on court records, Holland confessed to stealing firearms from a business in 2022 to resell to warring criminal street gangs in Columbus including the Zohannon and the Marlo organizations. On Aug. 9, 2022, around 1:35 a.m., Holland along with co-conspirators broke into the Northside Money Mizer Pawn Shop on Manchester Expressway in Columbus. The attorneys office says one of the defendants crashed a stolen car through the front door of the business. Holland entered the store and took five firearms, while the other co-defendants assisted by carrying the stolen firearms and acting as lookouts. Holland and some other individuals involved ran away, while other burglars were picked up by another car. On Sept. 7, 2022, around 1:46 a.m. Holland and others forced their way into A Better Pawn on 2nd Avenue in Columbus and stole 19 firearms. A couple of days later on Sept. 16, 2022, Holland and five others stole eight guns from the Money Mizer Pawn shop in Phenix City, Alabama. During the Sept. 16 incident, Holland and his co-conspirators made entry, but Holland and two others were successfully captured and arrested by Phenix City Police Officers. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRBL. CHEROKEE COUNTY, Kan. A Columbus man will spend nearly three decades in prison after being convicted of child sex crimes. Friday, a judge sentenced Brian Stewart, 38, to 26 years in prison. Back in January, it took a jury nearly 6.5 hours of deliberation to convict Stewart of one count of rape and five counts of aggravated liberties with a child Those charges stem from incidents between March and August 2016. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. Reality Check is a new Sun News series holding those in power to account and shining a light on their decisions. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email online@thesunnews.com. When having problems with an HOA or a neighbor, it may be easy to complain about it online. But spreading that negativity could impact your ability to sell your house. At least, thats what one Nextdoor user said, pointing out that posting such problems could be shared with others, affecting the resale of a home. How do such online comments affect a homes sellability? Brie Bender, the director of brokerage operations at BRG Grand Strand Real Estate based in the Myrtle Beach area, said homeowners could immortalize neighborhood issues by posting about them online. Posting about your neighbors loud music could scare people away, even if that neighbor no longer lives there. Bender says she has seen people use Interstate 73 to influence where they buy their home. The goal of the Interstate is to connect S.C. 22 to Interstate 94. However, the expansion in Horry County does not have a finalized map or plan, but people look at older maps thinking theyre accurate. Bender said the logic of online posting can be applied to HOA drama, for instance. Anything that comes up, theyll dig into it, Bender said, referring to people looking for a new home. She compared home buyers to detectives. In 2023, Horry County made the most HOA complaints in South Carolina with around 123 complaints against HOAs, according to a South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs report. The most common complaints are HOAs not enforcing their bylaws, concerns about maintenance and disagreement with fees or special assessments. Instead of posting on social media, Bender encourages homeowners to take issues directly to the source. Rather than complaining to strangers and potential home buyers about your neighbors music, it would be better to ask your neighbor to turn it down or talk to your HOA. Absolutely, what you say online has an impact, Bender said. Labour members might not campaign for the party due to its position on Gaza, a council leader has admitted. Luton Council leader Hazel Simmons said it was a "concern" and a "possibility" that Muslim members might down tools, though she had not seen it happen yet. The Israel-Gaza war has exposed deep divisions within Labour. In February, the national leadership called for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire". All of Luton's councillors voted unanimously to call for a ceasefire. That cross-party vote, on 14 November, was followed by the town's two Labour MPs quitting shadow front bench positions after supporting an amendment to the King's Speech in Parliament. The 2021 Census showed both Luton's constituencies were at least 30% Muslim Sarah Owen, Luton North MP, and Rachel Hopkins, MP for Luton South, said on social media the amendment demanded "the immediate end to violence against innocent civilians, the release of hostages and the vital access of humanitarian aid into Gaza". Israel invaded Gaza following attacks by Hamas that killed about 1,200 people on 7 October. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government's aims were the destruction of Hamas and the return of the hostages. Many political leaders, including British Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, said Israel had a "right to defend herself". More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, and tens of thousands injured by Israeli strikes since the start of the war, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry. Luton, where about 30% of people are Muslim, has seen regular pro-Palestine demonstrations, which have often criticised the local and national Labour party's stances. The Labour Muslim Network has said the "future relationship" between the Muslim community and Labour is at "crisis point". Fahim Qureshi said Luton's Asian Muslim community may be unwilling to campaign for Labour Fahim Qureshi, a 63-year-old who described himself as a "grassroots activist" in Luton, left the Labour party in 2022. He said some in the town's Muslim community were "very distraught" over the response to the Israel-Gaza war. "There's anger at the hypocrisy they see from mainstream politicians," he said. "This level of distress, despair and anger that's galvanised people I don't think I've ever seen it in the town before, not at this level." Mr Qureshi predicted the anger would have "tremendous impact" at the ballot box "in the months and years to come", including at a UK general election, which must happen by 28 January 2025. "In the [Luton] Labour party, the foot soldiers have been the Muslim members, the Asian Muslim members. They've gone out and done canvassing, leafleting, knocking-up potential voters, running the election centres in different wards on election day I don't think that's going to happen," he said. "Also, I don't think our councillors and activists will be welcome on doorsteps when they go knocking for Labour." Hazel Simmons said Labour would "go out" and "try to sell the Labour message" Responding to Mr Qureshi's claim, Ms Simmons told BBC Politics East: "Obviously it's a concern yes, it's a possibility. "That's not what we've found to date, but I fully accept that there could be people who don't wish to campaign for Labour. "But the Labour Party will carry on and will go out and knock on doors and try to sell the Labour message." Ms Simmons said she "absolutely" understood the "anger of the community across the country" and that scenes in Gaza were "absolutely horrific". "That's why the council called for an immediate ceasefire," she said. Arsalan will vote in his first general election and expects people in Luton will choose carefully who to vote for Arsalan, 17, helped organise protests among Luton's sixth formers. He believed people locally "will be much more careful with their vote this time". "I know from my working class family we used to just go out and vote Labour. However, this time it's not the case," he said. "I think since this Gaza situation's happened, a lot more people are paying attention to what maybe Rishi Sunak's saying, what the Labour Party is saying, what the Conservatives are saying, compared to the past because they're talking about issues that they dearly and deeply care about." In 2003, Labour lost control of Luton Borough Council, with the Liberal Democrats taking the leadership. The Lib Dems said the Iraq war, which began less than two months before the local elections, was in part to blame. Amjid Ali said it was not just the Muslim community that has been protesting about Gaza Amjid Ali, the Lib Dem leader in Luton, said his party was seeing new members joining. But he said anger in communities was not confined to Gaza and that it was not just Muslims who were protesting about the Middle East. "We've had so many years of austerity, the cost of living crisis, the ongoing issues with everything the bills going up, the fuel going up," he said. "People are at a very hard-knock stage at the moment, so there are going to be people that are frustrated, they are going to be angry and I think that's across the board, rather than just in Luton or any particular community." Luton is not due to have local elections until 2027 but voters will see a general election by the end of January BBC Politics East will be broadcast on Sunday, 10 March at 10:00 GMT on BBC One in the East of England, and will be available after broadcast on BBC iPlayer. Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830 A flying tire. A runway roll-off. Multiple emergency landings. It may seem like mishaps involving planes have been growing in frequency. But experts say there is no cause for major alarm, as the aviation industrys safety record remains better than its ever been when measured by lives lost. This is not a safety trend, said John Cox, a pilot and the president and CEO of Safety Operating Systems LLC, of the recent spate of high-profile incidents. According to the aviation industry publication FlightGlobal, there were just six recorded fatal commercial aviation accidents worldwide in 2023, resulting in 115 deaths the fewest on record. National Transportation Safety Board data confirms the downward trend: Compared with 27 major accidents involving large U.S. carriers in 2008, there were just 20 in 2022, the most recent year for which data is available. The rate of accidents involving injury or death to a passenger or substantial damage to a plane has also declined from 0.141 per 100,000 flight hours to 0.112 in 2022. In other words, the data shows flying has rarely been safer. Theres not anything unusual about the recent spate of incidents these kinds of things happen every day in the industry, said Jeff Guzzetti, a pilot and the president of Guzzetti Aviation Risk Discovery LLC. Still, the flying public is now especially attuned to such reports perhaps most notably because of Januarys midair blowout incident on an Alaska Airlines flight involving a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet. Among the latest high-profile events: On Friday, a United Airlines flight on a Boeing 737-800 rolled off the runway in Houston while taxiing to its gate. No one was injured. United noted the plane was operating in rainy conditions at the time. On Thursday, a tire fell off a United Airlines flight on a Boeing 777-200 that had just taken off from San Francisco, forcing an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport. No one was injured in that incident either. Cox told The Associated Press tire incidents are usually a maintenance issue and not linked to the manufacturer. United said the plane, built in 2002, was designed to land safely without all tires in operation. Story continues On Monday, a United Airlines flight on a Boeing 737-900 from Houston to Fort Myers, Florida, had to make an emergency landing after flames started shooting out of the engine. United said in a statement that it appeared bubble wrap entered the airfield and was ingested by the planes engine. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating these incidents. The NTSB also revealed this week it was investigating a United flight on a Boeing 737 Max in February that had potentially faulty rudder pedals. In a statement, United said it is also looking at each of the incidents, though they all appear to be unique. Each of these events is distinct and unrelated to one another, the airline said. Safety is our top priority, and well continue to do everything we can to keep our customers and employees safe. Boeing also said it was assisting with investigations of the incidents. No likely connection to any one airline or plane manufacturer Experts pointed out that each incident is unique and may not be related to United or Boeing. Even as he acknowledged the commonality of United and Boeing as the players in each of these incidents, Guzzetti said such cases were still fairly common in the regular course of flying. If you look at the big picture, there hasnt been an increase in the number of incidents, Guzzetti said. Theres just a lot of scrutiny now because of the door-plug event, so you have a jittery public and the news media picking up all these things. Because consumers can use their phone cameras to immediately broadcast these mishaps over vast social media networks as they happen, that makes the public more aware of them, even if their frequency has not actually increased, Cox said. Still, while experts say there is little cause for alarm, they acknowledge a crucial part of the air travel industry has changed in recent years namely, that aviation personnel on average now have less experience than previous generations of pilots and maintenance crews. I think its a possibility that the lack of super-experienced and qualified pilots and mechanics could play a role in decreasing aviation safety, Guzzetti said. But its hard to quantify. I dont think the decrease is alarming you cant quantify that or even correlate it. But its worthy of consideration. Another factor that could be at play is newer airplanes. In fact, older planes were in some ways easier to manage because they were less technologically sophisticated, experts say. But newer planes have more automatic or computerized features that may make flying easier for a pilot, but which are harder to deal with when something goes wrong. The evolution of airplanes is requiring changes in how we train pilots, where theres a focus not only on understanding the systems of an airplane, but also managing that automation while keeping manual flying skills sharp, said Cox. Yet the reduced accident count is proof that, overall, these newer planes have made flying safer, he said. Boeing and its 737 Max line of planes remain under investigation by the NTSB in the wake of the January blowout incident. Earlier this week, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy blasted Boeing for failing to turn over information related to its 737 Max manufacturing process; a day later, Boeing provided the names of 737 Max employees, according to Reuters. The news wire service also reported the NTSB now plans to hold a multiple-day investigative hearing into the Max 9, likely in late summer. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com The decision to lift the anonymity order surrounding the identity of the armed police officer accused of shooting Chris Kaba has caused understandable worry among the rank and file. In a statement released yesterday, the Metropolitan Police Federation said that it was hugely shocked, saddened and concerned by the step and said that it would work to mitigate any risks the court decision might bring. Nobody in Britain is above the law. Firearms officers expect to be held to account for the split-second decisions that they make in what can be extremely difficult circumstances. But as the Federation points out, officers must also have confidence that they have the protection needed to do the dangerous work that society expects of them. Last year, the then home secretary, Suella Braverman, ordered a review into armed policing intended to help restore that confidence. This came after hundreds of authorised firearms officers had laid down their weapons, resulting in the Army being placed on standby to support counter-terrorism operations. Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, has called for more legal protection for officers. The review is expected to be published in the coming weeks, and it is to be hoped that it will result in a better balance between supporting firearms officers and maintaining public confidence in the police. Only criminals gain if the police are afraid to do their jobs. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Campaigning got underway in a festive atmosphere on Saturday for Senegal's March 24 presidential election, after weeks of turmoil caused by its delay, as one of the leading contenders met voters. Khalifa Sall, a former mayor of Dakar, toured different neighbourhoods of the capital in the evening, greeting several hundreds of his supporters. "I am delighted after all these months of tests and uncertainty that we can at last begin the electoral campaign," he told AFP. Several hundred supporters of Sall, no relation to the outgoing president, waited for his arrival in a festive mood, singing and playing music, and cheering him on his arrival. Of the 19 presidential candidates, he is seen as one of the main contenders to succeed President Macky Sall, who is not standing for re-election. The vote had originally been due to take place on February 25. But the president plunged the country -- usually a beacon of stability in a region fraught with military coups -- into its worst crisis in years on February 3 by postponing the election, just before campaigning was due to begin. That sparked street protests that left four people dead and international condemnation, as opponents accused Macky Sall of trying to remain in power beyond the scheduled end of his term on April 2. The crisis was defused after the Constitutional Council overruled Sall and set the election date for March 24. The campaign season was limited to two weeks rather than the usual three weeks due to the need to find a successor before Sall's tenure is up next month. - Faye campaigns behind bars - The coalition of anti-establishment candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye, began its campaign on Saturday by presenting its programme to the press. Faye has been behind bars since April 2023 but is hoping to benefit from an amnesty law that would allow him to stand. His potential release, as well as that of his party's leader Ousmane Sonko, who has been barred from running in the election, could fire up the election campaign. Sonko's vitriolic speeches against the elites, multinational companies and former colonial power France's enduring influence in Senegal resonates with younger voters. Faye is confident of claiming outright victory in the first round. But so too is Amadou Ba, the candidate picked to represent the outgoing president's camp, who was due to meet with his campaign team on Saturday. Earlier, he met with Sidiki Kaba, who succeeded Ba as prime minister after he resigned on Wednesday to allow him to campaign for the presidency. Another contender is former prime minister Idrissa Seck, but the race is viewed as wide open with no-one guaranteed of making a second-round run-off. The fight to restore an election programme in the last few weeks spoke of the attachment to democracy in a country of 18 million people that is among the lowest 30 in the world for human development, according to the United Nations. Campaigning will largely take place during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan in a country that is majority Muslim. ck-fal/bc/jj CONWAY, S.C. (WBTW) To commemorate womens history month, the Conway Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. will host a Womens Empowerment Brunch and a semi-formal ball that will celebrate women, allows networking opportunities, and provides relaxation to women during the month of March. The Conway Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. announced the events in a news release. Throughout American history, women have made significant contributions in various industries. From law enforcement to politics to education and many other fields, women have broken barriers, the release said. The Conway Alumnae Chapter prides itself upon service and providing positive spaces for women to fellowship. The month of March is no different. The inaugural Womens Empowerment Brunch will take place on the campus of Coastal Carolina University in the Singleton Ballroom on Saturday, March 16, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., the release said. Attendees will enjoy a variety of breakfast foods like chicken and waffles, bacon, sausage, eggs, fruit, and an assortment of non-alcoholic beverages, according to the release. Women who have made significant impact in their communities will be celebrated. Each nominee has proven to significantly contribute to the economic development, education, international awareness, physical and mental health, and politics of their communities, the release said. The Womens Empowerment Brunch includes a motivational message from Emmy-nominated and award-winning journalist Christel Bell. Bell uses her personal story of triumph to empower women in her community to reach their full potential in life, the release said. The chapter will conclude womens history month with the A Crimson and Cream Affair on Saturday, March 23, at 6:00 p.m. at the Crown Reef Beach Resort. The attire for the event is semi-formal. Attendees can expect a plated dinner while listening to the sounds of Tamir and Company, the release said. The event will bring together all members of the community, and those who are part of Divine 9 organizations. After dinner, attendees will be able to dance to the music of DJ Ricky the Truth, the release said. Both events require a ticket purchase. For those interested in attending the Womens Empowerment Brunch, you can purchase a ticket at this link. For those interested in purchasing a ticket to a Crimson and Cream Affair, tickets can be found here. All proceeds go toward supporting scholarships for local high school students. * * * Taylor Ford is a digital journalist for News13. She joined the News13 team in January 2023. Taylor is a Florence native and covers the Pee Dee out of News13s Florence Bureau. Read more of Taylors work here. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. In every Florida city, there's so much potential to empower strong communities through positive change and the people who live there. Though the need for volunteer help has never been greater, the number of Americans who formally volunteer has continued to decline, according to the Census Bureau. Its time to reverse that trend in our state and we can all play a role. Corporate volunteerism not only connects businesses with the places they call home but also serves as a vital conduit between residents and the causes they hold dear. At its core, community engagement empowers employees, fostering a heightened sense of purpose and a stronger bond within the workplace. At Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), weve witnessed the positive impact first-hand, from distributing hurricane preparedness meal kits to seniors statewide to honoring local veterans during the holidays with energy-efficient home makeovers and so much more. As we commemorate the 16th annual Power to Care campaign, an entire week dedicated to the spirit of giving back, hundreds of FPL employees, alongside family and friends, unite to volunteer across numerous projects throughout Florida. We provide unwavering support and flexibility to our teams, enabling them to dedicate time to the causes that resonate deeply with them. We firmly believe that civic engagement benefits us all. Pam Rauch Here in Northwest Florida, FPL employees recently helped clean, paint and landscape animal rehabilitation areas in partnership with Gulf World Marine Institute, while others helped renovate family facilities alongside Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northwest Florida. Across Florida, others are making a difference by planting trees, cleaning beaches, and aiding families, children and seniors in need. While our commitment extends beyond a week, it's worth noting that last year alone, our employees contributed nearly 55,000 hours to local communities, supporting more than 2,500 nonprofit organizations. In every corner of Florida, businesses are starting to recognize the value they can contribute through structured volunteer initiatives. As we look ahead to 2024, we hope to see more Florida companies inspiring their workforce to actively engage in philanthropy. Nonprofits and charitable organizations play an invaluable role in our communities, extending aid when resources are lacking. Financial donations will always be crucial to sustaining these organizations, but volunteering is just as valuable as it connects us all in a personal way and promotes a sense of service to our communities. Let's pledge to elevate our efforts in 2024, dedicated to strengthening and endorsing volunteerism throughout our communities. Together, we can power strong communities to create a brighter future. Pam Rauch is vice president, external affairs and economic development, for Florida Power & Light Company. This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Corporate volunteerism powers strong communities across Panhandle COSHOCTON Encouraging the next generation of local small business owners is the goal of the entrepreneur club at Coshocton High School. The adviser is Adam Clark, who has taught at CHS for 17 years and is currently an instructor for economics and personal finance. He said the club started last school year and this year has six to eight members. They meet on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during an open period time. Michelle Turner Ganz of Dean's Jewelry speaks to students from the Coshocton High School Entrepreneur Club during a May 2023 field trip. Turner Ganz spoke to the group previously on her longtime family owned business. Clark said the concept was discussed between him and Kirby Hasseman, owner of Hasseman Marketing and Communications and past president of the Coshocton County Chamber of Commerce, based on Junior Achievement of North Central Ohio in Canton wanting to start such local groups. "I have wanted to have an entrepreneurs club for years in Coshocton County. There was never the right time or the right partner," Hasseman said until Junior Achievement got involved. "The idea is simple, give kids that are interested a bit of information about how to start a business. And then give them practical ideas on how to get started." Clark said they use the organization's three part Be Entrepreneurial curriculum and have had guest speakers talking about their businesses and how they got started. This has included Hasseman, Carly Thompson of Howard Hanna Real Estate, Michelle Turner Ganz of Dean's Jewelry and Tiffany Swigert of the Coshocton Port Authority. Last spring featured a walking tour of Downtown Coshocton with students visiting local businesses and learning about projects such as the Coshocton Collaborative. "The kids get real life advice from business people and it starts networking," Clark said of the value to students. Carly Thompson speaks with students of the Coshocton High School Entrepreneur Club during a May 2023 field trip that included Thompsons Ninety-Nine restaurant. Thompson said the club is a great way for students to see that owning your own business and improving your community is something anyone can do. Along with her real estate company, Thompson spoke to the students about the other ventures she and her husband, Jason, operate. This includes the Thompson Business Center and Annex, Thompson Ninety-Nine restaurant and Grason Properties and Construction. She told them how when she got her first apartment and wrote a rent check it inspired her to at least be a homeowner, or possibly the one accepting the rent checks from others. "Having normal people come in and visit their class makes it relevant to them," Thompson said. "It makes it a down to earth, real thing that anyone can put in the time, effort and education; all the resources they have into something and it can make a difference for these students right out of the gate, right out of high school." For the future, Clark would like to build more mentor-mentee relationships and enter a nationwide business competition sponsored by Junior Achievement. Students from Coshocton High School attended a Junior Achievement Inspire Event recently at the Wayne County Fairground in Wooster. The school was able to take 105 students to the college and career fair via Junior Achievement support, which is also providing curriculum for the entrepreneur club. Junior Achievement also sponsored the school's 105 students recent visit to the Wayne County Fairgrounds in Wooster for a college and career fair. That touched more students than just club members. "That's helped our students, personally, outside the club and that came from networking with me," Clark said of the connection the entrepreneur club opened up with Junior Achievement. Kirby Hasseman of Hasseman Marketing and Communications speaks to students of the entrepreneur club at Coshocton High School on his business and work with the Coshocton County Chamber of Commerce. Clark said they're always looking for new speakers and community connections, those interested can contact him at Coshocton High School or Hasseman at Hasseman Marketing. Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with more than 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @llhayhurst. This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Coshocton High School's entrepreneur club now in its second year LONG ISLAND, N.Y. (PIX11) A couple accused of hiding body parts at several locations across Long Island returned to court on Friday, where they were released again and told to return to court at another date. Alexis Nieves and Jeffery Mackey returned to court with their faces covered. When the couple was in front of the judge, they uncovered their faces. Flowers become a nightmare for Brooklyns Green-Wood Cemetery Police arrested Nieves and Mackey, along with two other suspects, early Wednesday morning. All four suspects are accused of scattering the dismembered remains of a man and woman at Bethpage State Park, Southards Pond Park and another wooded area in Babylon. Less than an hour after being charged with concealing a human corpse, tampering with evidence, and hindering prosecution, all four suspects were released without bail. Their release has sparked outrage among officials who blamed New Yorks bail reform laws. Unfortunately, due to Bail Reform passed by the New York State Legislature in 2019, charges relating to the mutilation and disposal of murdered corpses are no longer bail-eligible, read a statement from Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney. This is yet another absurd result thanks to Bail Reform and a system where the Legislature in Albany substitutes their judgment for the judgment of our judges and the litigants in court. We will work with the Suffolk County Police Department to resolve this investigation as soon as possible and implore our Legislature to make common sense fixes to this law. The defendants were ordered to wear GPS ankle monitors. They are due back in court on March 19. Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. The UK government commissioned a mass Covid testing centre at Cardiff City Stadium, without telling the Welsh government or Public Health Wales The UK Covid Inquiry has spent a second week in Cardiff examining how the Welsh government handled the pandemic. And again, it had its fair share of remarkable "mic drop" moments. At one point a surprised inquiry chair Baroness Hallett had to ask a senior health official: "Did I hear you correctly?" And, yes, she had done. "Extraordinary," came the response. The inquiry is looking at the decision-making of governments for the UK, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Cruise ship-sized warning Early in February 2020, the giant Diamond Princess cruise ship moored in Japan caught the world's attention as cases of Covid were confirmed on board. Tests carried out on the quarantined passengers and crew showed most of those with the virus didn't show symptoms. This went against what the world thought it understood about Covid-19 at the time and it would take a few months before full scientific studies were concluded. However, for those watching in Wales and beyond it served as an early warning that only testing people with symptoms may not be enough. When he was questioned about Wales' policy of not testing patients as they were discharged from hospital until May 2020, Dr Goodall was asked about the Diamond Princess. He confirmed that he was aware of the ship and reports of that asymptomatic transmission were possible but said that it did not stand out to him at the time Lockdown was war-gamed When the first lockdown was announced on 23 March 2020 it felt like a sudden shift in national life that caught many by surprise. This week we learned that, 20 days before lockdown, Welsh health officials and police in south Wales had come together to stress-test what a lockdown would involve. Tracey Cooper of Public Health Wales was involved in a "stress-test" exercise before the first lockdown Public Health Wales chief executive Tracey Cooper said the "Seren City" exercise on 3 March was a face-to-face meeting that worked though gaps in the system. It rapidly found there were questions over whether the right laws were in place, how the public would respond and who controlled the supply of PPE (personal protective equipment) - all issues that would become very real within a matter of weeks when the first lockdown was imposed. WhatsApp worries We have heard a lot in the inquiry about the use and deletion of WhatsApp messages by ministers and officials. In her evidence Dame Shan Morgan, the Welsh government's former permanent secretary, was asked about concerns raised with her as far back as October 2020 over inappropriate use of WhatsApp. A message was circulated within Welsh government suggesting some senior staff were asking people to use the app on their personal phones for work purposes. The memo went on to raise concerns that some may feel "pressurised by line managers to breach the policy" or "left out of work-related discussions if they do not breach the policy". It concluded "these behaviours must stop". Evidence shows some officials carried on using WhatsApp to discuss work. First Minister Mark Drakeford's special adviser Jane Runeckles was pressed on her claim she had only used the app for "admin" and "morale". "But isn't using your personal phone for admin purposes using it for Welsh government business?" asked the chair, Baroness Hallett. "Yes," came the reply. "So you were using it wrongly?" "Yes." Baroness Hallett doesn't like jargon Civil servants are not famed for their frankness. It's often part of their role to make diplomatic - some would say dry, technical - statements. However, it's clear Baroness Hallett wants straight answers. Dr Andrew Goodall, NHS Wales chief executive in the pandemic, was asked what he meant by "reasonable worst-case scenarios were worked through" When Wales' top civil servant Andrew Goodall was questioned about the Welsh government's actions early in March 2020, he said that "reasonable worst-case scenarios were worked through". Baroness Hallett was not happy. "I'm sorry to interrupt," she said. "Again, what did you do? Apart from set up groups, talk about business continuity with weekly calls, what did you do?" When Mr Goodall replied that the response involved "working through weekly NHS capacity plans," she still was not satisfied, asking again: "What does that mean you were doing?" Explanations by the man leading the Welsh government's emergency response, Reg Kilpatrick, drew similar interjections. "I didn't really understand that answer," Baroness Hallett said as Mr Kilpatrick was asked what his team's "gradual mobilisation" entailed. "Was it meeting?" she asked. "It was not physically co-located," came the response. Exasperated by the jargon, she gave it one last try: "I'm sorry, was it meeting?" The exchange ended with an eye-roll. The 'extraordinary' surprise As the virus started to spread in 2020, there was a scramble for Covid testing kits and places where people could be swabbed. By the beginning of April, Public Health Wales had developed a test but capacity was low. It therefore came as a bit of a shock when it was told that a private company, commissioned by the UK government, had been setting up a mass sampling centre in the car park of Cardiff City Stadium, without its knowledge. "Unfortunately, neither ourselves or the Welsh government knew about that," Dr Tracey Cooper of PHW told the inquiry, as she explained that within days her team had to staff and run the drive-through centre for a couple of months. This really caught Baroness Hallett's attention. "Did I hear you correctly?" she asked. Indeed she had, although Dr Cooper did not know whose decision it had been to set up the Cardiff centre. "Extraordinary," said the chair. The story of the surprise test centre can be seen in two ways: either as an example of resources being rapidly pumped into Wales without being caught up in the usual paperwork - or as a vivid illustration of how confused and un-coordinated the pandemic response could be in those early months. Emma Stone is nominated for best actress for her portrayal of Bella Baxter Techniques from a bygone era were used to create the striking and surreal backdrop to one of the years most recognised films. Oscar nominee James Price, from Herefordshire, worked with co-designer Shona Heath to create the Victorian sci-fi world of Poor Things, home to protagonist Bella Baxter. The 2023 movie, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Emma Stone alongside Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe, has received 11 Academy Award nominations. Price and Heath are nominated for best production design and will be at Sunday's ceremony. Models and painted backdrops were used to create the set The director wanted to make it studio based and produced as if films from the 1930s were made now, Price said. Modern day techniques were used as well as those from a "bygone age, to create a new aesthetic. We built a Tower Bridge as a scale model too, which was really fun, he added. Painted backdrops were also used to help create the look. They were absolutely huge, 60 meters by 20 meters, and theres only a few people can do that because its a dying art, he said. Price and Heath have already won an Art Directors Guild Award, as well as accolades from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) and the Set Decorators Society of America alongside the films set decorator, Zsuzsa Mihalek. The past few months had been a bit crazy, he said. People have been coming up to us and just telling us how much they love the film and what it meant to them. Its kind of mind blowing you know these are our peers, just being unbelievably generous." Were just a couple of Brits in the home of movie making, he added. James Price and Shona Heath have been nominated for best production design Picking up a Bafta, also for production design, was another level of craziness, he added. Id say it was a dream come true, but you dont dream about things like that, its impossible." Pupils and staff at his former Herefordshire School, would be supporting him on Sunday night, he said. Wigmore School played a big part in my life, it was hugely influential, as was Hereford Art College," he said. They turned me into an adult and started my career so hugely important," he added. I was severely dyslexic and they helped me get ready for the outside world." Old and new technologies were used to create the aesthetic, said the production designer The Poor Things family were expected to be quite rowdy on Sunday he added. "Its going to be like being at a family wedding." The pair are nominated along with set designer Zsuzsa Mihalek. Jerskin Fendrix, from Shropshire, is also nominated for the films score. Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, X, and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk Related stories Related internet links A man was rescued Friday evening from the Sylvan Slough area in Moline after he became disoriented, firefighters said. Moline Fire Department crews responded to a call of a man in distress in the Mississippi River shortly before 5 p.m. Friday. (photo by Mike Colon) Firefighters told Our Quad Cities News that the man had been fishing along the Sylvan Slough when he had a medical issue and went into the 46-degree water. Crews from Rock Island Arsenal and Moline Police who used a drone to help locate he man and fire departments responded to the scene. Firefighters rescued the man and took him to a waiting ambulance, which transported him to a Quad City hospital for observation. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. Cyprus-Gaza maritime aid corridor to open this weekend, with EU and US support The Cyprus-led initiative, named Amalthea, is backed by Western and Arab partners including the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. It will allow a surge in humanitarian aid deliveries, which have been severely constricted by the land routes controlled by Israel since the outbreak of the war. It comes as leaders warn of a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, where parts of the population are facing starvation. Speaking in Larnaca, on the south coast of Cyprus, von der Leyen said that the EU executive could also consider further options, including the parachuting of humanitarian cargo into Gaza, following the US's lead. The bloc has already pledged 250 million in aid to Palestinians this year. "The maritime corridor can make a real difference to the plight of the Palestinian people, but in parallel, our efforts to provide humanitarian assistance through all possible routes will continue," the Commission president said in a joint press conference with Cyprus' president Nikos Christodoulides. The sea corridor is due to formally open this weekend, with a first pilot operation to leave either on Saturday or Sunday, when the right conditions are in place. That pilot will be part of a partnership with US-based charity World Central Kitchen, founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres, which provides food to crisis-ridden populations, von der Leyen said. It comes just hours after President Biden confirmed in his annual State of the Union speech that the US military would lead an "emergency mission" to establish a "temporary pier" on the Gaza coast to ramp up the delivery of life-saving aid. Biden said there would be "no US boots on the ground" as part of the construction of the port, but it does represent a crucial shift in his administration's intervention in the Gaza crisis. The port could be operational in three weeks' time, Cypriot sources say. US intervention crucial Plans to open a maritime corridor into Gaza were first made public by French President Emmanuel Macron following the European Council summit in late October. But a senior Cypriot diplomat told Euronews that the plan did not materialise until the US intervened, using their diplomatic weight to convince Israel to allow the Gazan coast to be used for humanitarian purposes. In his speech on Thursday evening, Biden censored Israeli leadership for restricting the flow of aid and failing to safeguard humanitarian workers, many of whom have in recent weeks been forced to suspend aid deliveries in northern Gaza due to the chaos wrought as hungry Palestinians try to reach aid convoys. "To the leadership of Israel I say this: humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip," the US president said. The initial proposal for a sea corridor, championed by Cypriot president Nikos Christodoulides and pitched to EU leaders in Brussels as far back as October, stalled due to the absence of a functioning port on the 40 kilometre-long coast of Gaza. Cyprus lies in the Mediterranean Sea some 400km northwards of Gaza. Von der Leyen said that the island nation's critical role in mediating the deal demonstrated its "historical role" as a "bridge between Europe and the Middle East." A UK-operated ship capable of offloading cargo without the need for a physical port could be used as part of the corridor, if more aid cargo becomes available, according to the senior Cypriot diplomat. The floating maritime pier could then allow more aid to be delivered at pace. The presence of British Forces on the Mediterranean island is considered an advantage to coordinate the shipments. Since the outbreak of its war against Hamas, Israel has demanded that all cargo entering Gaza be checked to ensure no material that could be repurposed for military purposes by Hamas enters the enclave. Israel has approved the control mechanisms organised by Cyprus, according to diplomatic sources, who added that they would be open to further Israeli monitoring of aid. Pressure mounts on Israel The move signals increasing pressure on Israel to prevent the humanitarian crisis in Gaza from deepening further. UK's foreign minister David Cameron joined Biden's call for Israel to allow more aid to reach Gazans in need via land. "We will continue to work with Israel to expand deliveries by land, insisting that it facilitate more routes and open additional crossings to get more aid to more people," a joint statement. Von der Leyen, considered a staunch ally of Israel, did not join the criticism: "We know the difficulties faced at the land borders in Gaza, be it through the Rafah border crossing, or through the Jordan road corridor," she said. The UN coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag warned on Thursday that aid deliveries by sea and air cannot be a substitute for land deliveries. "It's easier, it's faster, it's cheaper, particularly if we know that we need to sustain humanitarian assistance to Gazans for a long period of time," she said, referring to aid deliveries by truck convoys. Whether you're a casual investor or trade professionally, you're likely aware of the boom in artificial intelligence (AI) that kicked off last year. The launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT reignited interest in the technology, leading countless tech companies to pivot their businesses toward the high-growth sector. As a result, the AI market is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 37% through 2030, which will see it hit just under $2 trillion. The industry is expanding at a rapid pace, making it one of the best places to make a long-term investment. Two stocks currently leading the way in AI are Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) and Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), with their shares recently up 149% and 257% respectively year over year. As prominent chipmakers, these companies supply the hardware necessary to train and run AI models. Their stocks could soar further in the coming years as the market develops. So, let's compare these companies' businesses and determine whether AMD or Nvidia is the better AI stock this March. Advanced Micro Devices AMD was slightly overshadowed by Nvidia's head start in AI chips last year, as Nvidia seized an estimated 80% to 95% market share in AI graphics processing units (GPUs). However, the massive potential of the industry suggests AMD won't need to dethrone Nvidia to still see major gains from AI. So, despite spending years prioritizing its position in central processing units (CPUs), AMD has shifted its focus to developing its GPU technology and expanding in the budding AI market. Last December, the company unveiled its MI300X AI GPU. The chip was designed to compete directly with Nvidia's offerings and has already caught the attention of some of tech's most prominent players. In November 2023, Microsoft announced that Azure would become the first cloud platform to use AMD's MI300X to optimize AI capabilities. Microsoft has a close partnership with ChatGPT developer OpenAI, making the company a powerful ally for AMD. An agreement with Meta -- which aims to use the new chips as well -- also helps AMD's future in AI look bright. Story continues Moreover, AMD isn't banking solely on stealing market share from Nvidia in GPUs. AMD seeks to lead its own space within AI by investing in AI-powered PCs. According to research firm IDC, PC shipments are projected to see a major boost this year, with AI integration serving as a key catalyst. And a Canalys report predicts that 60% of all PCs shipped in 2027 will be AI-enabled. Nvidia Nvidia captivated Wall Street over the last year as its chips became the gold standard for AI developers everywhere. Soaring demand for AI GPUs enabled Nvidia's revenue to skyrocket. In the fourth quarter of 2024 (ended in January), the company's revenue increased by 265% year over year to $22 billion. Meanwhile, operating income jumped 983% to nearly $14 billion. The monster growth was primarily from a 409% increase in data center revenue, reflecting increased chip sales. In addition to soaring earnings, Nvidia's free cash flow is up 430% in the last year to more than $27 billion, significantly higher than AMD's $1 billion. So, despite new GPU releases from its competitors, Nvidia's head start in AI potentially pushed it further ahead with greater cash reserves to continue investing in its technology and retain its market supremacy. Nvidia has a powerful position in AI that looks unlikely to dissipate anytime soon. Its market cap surpassed $2 trillion this year thanks to its massive success in AI. AMD's market cap is significantly lower at about $327 billion. However, that could mean AMD has more room to run over the long term as the company is still in the early stages of its AI journey. Is AMD or Nvidia the better AI stock? AI can potentially boost countless industries, from cloud computing to consumer products, autonomous vehicles, video games, and more. With so many sectors prioritizing generative technology, chip demand is only likely to continue rising for the foreseeable future. As a result, AMD and Nvidia are two exciting options to invest in AI. However, earnings per share (EPS) estimates indicate AMD might have more growth potential in the near term. AMD EPS Estimates for 2 Fiscal Years Ahead Chart This chart shows AMD's earnings could hit just over $7 per share in the next two fiscal years, while Nvidia's may reach $34 per share. On the surface, Nvidia looks like the clear winner. However, multiplying these figures by the companies' forward price-to-earnings ratios (AMD's 56 and Nvidia's 35) yields stock prices of $403 for AMD and $1,197 for Nvidia. Considering their current positions, these projections would see AMD's stock rise 99% and Nvidia's 41% by fiscal 2026. Alongside heavy investment in AI and potentially more room to run, AMD is the better AI stock over Nvidia and a screaming buy this month. Where to invest $1,000 right now When our analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for two decades, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has more than tripled the market.* They just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now and Advanced Micro Devices made the list -- but there are 9 other stocks you may be overlooking. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of March 8, 2024 Dani Cook has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Better AI Stock: AMD vs. Nvidia was originally published by The Motley Fool DALLAS - Dallas City Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn wants to thank the community for the huge outpouring of support she's received after her fence was defaced with antisemitic messages last month. The story about what happened to Mendelsohn's home has now received coverage around the world, and it also caught the attention of Gov. Greg Abbott, who made a personal phone call to her. The protest movement against Israel's war in Gaza has been highly visible at Dallas City Hall and elsewhere. "We've had a pro-Palestinian protest outside my house," Mendelsohn said. "I received a death threat, threatening messages to my staff, a variety of things." But when someone resorted to red spray paint at Mendelsohn's home, she says that crossed the line to criminal activity. "First thing I thought about were my grandparents," she said. "They immigrated to America escaping antisemitism, death threats, and they would say this could happen again." It is not yet clear who was responsible for the vandalism on Feb. 10. But in the weeks following the defacement to her fence, Mendelsohn says the story has struck a nerve that she did not expect. "The governor called me to express his concerns about antisemitic incidents that have happened to me," she said. "And, specifically, he has seen about the fence and heard about death threat, the t-shirts people would wear with horns and a pig nose of my face." Mendelsohn says there is also a hateful postcard that was sent to her and other council members. "He was concerned about my safety and family's safety but also immediate and longer term how he could help support," she said. Mendelsohn, who often votes on DPD matters, says it has given her a different perspective to be on the side of needing DPD's help. "I chair the public safety committee," she said. "I'm sure they want me to feel taken care of, but I feel like they would do this for anyone." A contractor has even volunteered to donate his services to repair Mendelson's fence. Kelly Martin, owner of Sealant Specialists in Flower Mound, told Mendelsohn that he wanted to right this wrong. "I wanted to send a message that racism is not okay. If you do that, you should be arrested," he said. "And there are people who will help. You are not going to win." The Dallas Police Department has not yet charged anyone in the vandalism, and the case is still under investigation. Mendelsohn now has a number of security enhancements to her property in addition to the increased police presence. As suspected, giant logs and tree trunks probably were what doomed the far end of the Cayucos pier during the late February storm surge. The damage left the pier drooping and wobbly, minus at least five support pilings, a batter piling and part of the upper railing. Its hanging there like a cantilevered deck with no support, Shaun Cooper, deputy director of San Luis Obispo County Parks and Recreation, reiterated to The Tribune on Thursday. For public safety reasons, the entire pier was closed off periodically during the heaviest parts of recent storms, but portions deemed safe have reopened since then. The unsupported portion of the pier will remain closed until it can be repaired. Theres a lot of work to be done before that can happen, Cooper said, but officials and local residents all hope the repairs can happen before the start of the next winter season. The Cayucos Pier lost five pilings in a February 2024 storm that left the end of the structure dangling over the ocean. The pier has been mostly reopened with the end closed off. The county hopes to complete full repairs by the fall ahead of next winters storms. Officials may never know what tore the pier pilings off Residents say they often see logs, branches and even large tree trunks being driven down into the ocean by rain-swollen Cayucos Creek waters, where the debris can turn into wave-powered battering rams. That ocean junk has been showing up all winter, as evidenced by some big logs still on the sand near the pier and the wall. At least one massive trunk is already partially buried under sand near the shoreline and the pier. Other sizable flotsam and jetsam, such as big bales of cotton and empty wine or whiskey barrels, have also made their way to the beach this season. As Cooper reported soon after the crucial pieces of the pier washed ashore, a preliminary assessment by engineer Bruce Elster of Shoreline Engineering in Morro Bay conjectured that a very large log could have slammed into the end of the pier in the storm swell and high tide. There was physical evidence that the piles had been impacted by a tree trunk, Elster said Friday. It appears that the piles were broken out at the sea floor, sheared off at the mudline. They didnt topple. It looked like the piles had their feet knocked out from underneath them. The sun rises Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, over the damaged Cayucos Pier. Five pilings were knocked loose from the end of the pier in the recent storms. The pier has reopened, but the end will be fenced off until repairs can be completed, hopefully by the fall, the county said. Or one of the first two pilings ripped away from the pier earlier in the storm siege could have taken out the others. Its kind of like having loose teeth in your mouth, Cayucos resident Gary Bettencourt told the Cayucos Citizens Advisory Council Wednesday night. Losing one tooth puts the others at risk. The broken pilings that came ashore appear to have been sheared off, Cooper said of the Elsters observations on the day after the damage was done. Compounding the onslaught from floating debris were king tides and the force of the unrelenting storm swells. More will be known after a complete engineering analysis and damage assessments are done, but doing those studies on and below the water will have to wait until the sea calms and clears. Several pilings were knocked loose from the end of the Cayucos Pier in the February 2024 storms. The pier has reopened, but the end will be fenced off until repairs can be completed, hopefully by the fall, the county said. Once the studies are complete, which Cooper hopes can happen by early summer, it will take another 60 to 90 days to have plans drawn for the repairs, which could go out to bid for construction by the end of summer/start of fall. We hope to get a waiver from the California Coastal Commission, which could require lengthy environmental studies before the a coastal development permit allows work to start, he added. The county can use up to about $120,000 in accumulated interest from a community endowment established with excess donations townspeople and others gave toward rebuilding the pier, a project completed in October 2015, Bettencourt said. The county and pier enthusiasts will then have to find grants, donations and other funds to pay for the piers repairs, Cooper said. The endowments principal, at least $500,000, cannot be used. These large logs on the sand near the Cayucos Pier are among the ocean debris that washed down the swollen waters of Cayucos Creek to the shore during this winters storm. Officials conjecture that one or more free-floating, large tree trunks or logs may have bashed the end of the pier in late February 2024, knocking loose support pilings and other parts of the pier. Studies must be done before permanent repairs can begin. Lawmakers have secured over $3 million to help a Beaver County community impacted by the East Palestine train derailment secure clean drinking water. Senator Bob Casey, Senator John Fetterman and Rep. Chris Deluzio on Friday announced $3.66 million in funding meant to expand Darlington Townships access to clean public drinking water. Currently, the lawmakers say Darlington residents dont have access to a public water source only private wells. The funds will provide them access to public water through Beaver Falls Municipal Authority. Pennsylvanias constitution guarantees the right to pure water, but Norfolk Southerns train derailment last year threatened that right for Darlington residents, Senator Casey said in a statement. I fought for this funding with Senator Fetterman and Congressman Deluzio because providing access to clean water is a prime example of taxpayer dollars going exactly where they should: right back into our communities. I wont stop advocating for the people of Darlington get the aid and resources they need. Mike Carreon, Chairman of the Darlington Township Board of Supervisors, says he appreciates the help from local lawmakers. We are appreciative of the efforts of Senator Casey, Senator Fetterman, and Congressman Deluzio as they work to assist Darlington Township, in partnership with Beaver Falls Municipal Authority, bring public water infrastructure to the township, Carreon said. This infrastructure is vital in providing a source to clean safe drinking water should a future need arise. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Penn Hills gunshot victim remembered as a friend to everyone Man accused of setting fire to Monongahela businesses taken into custody 3 killed when helicopter with National Guard members, Border Patrol agent crashes in Texas VIDEO: New charges filed against former Butler school board member accused of having sexual relationship with teen DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts On March 9, 1841, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, with one dissent, that the enslaved Africans who seized control of the Amistad slave ship had been illegally forced into slavery and thus were free under U.S. law. File Image courtesy of Wikimedia March 9 (UPI) -- On this date in history: In 1841, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, with one dissent, that the enslaved Africans who seized control of the Amistad slave ship had been illegally forced into slavery and thus were free under U.S. law. Some 150 years later, a copy of the Bible given to former President John Quincy Adams as a thank you gift for representing the defendants in the case, was stolen and later returned. In 1862, a battle between ironclad ships -- the Union's Monitor and the Confederate's Merrimac (renamed the Virginia) -- ended indecisively off Hampton Roads, Va. In 1916, several hundred Mexican guerrillas under the command of Francisco "Pancho" Villa crossed the U.S.-Mexican border and attacked the small border town of Columbus, N.M., killing 17 Americans. File Photo by Library of Congress/UPI The lead flower car for the funeral procession of rapper Notorious B.I.G., aka Christopher Wallace, leaves Campbells Funeral Home in Manhattan, on March 18, 1997, after services. Wallace died March 9, 1997, in a drive-by shooting. File Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt presented the first of his New Deal policies, the Emergency Banking Act, to Congress, which promptly passed the legislation. In 1945, more than 300 American B-29 bombers attacked Tokyo with incendiary bombs, killing about 100,000 people and destroying an estimated 250,000 buildings over 16 square miles. NASA's space shuttle Discovery approaches Runway 15 at the Shuttle Landing Facility for an on-time landing at 11:57 a.m. at the Kennedy Space Center on March 9, 2011. File Photo by Joe Marino-Bill Cantrell/UPI In 1959, Barbie, which became a perennially popular doll, made its debut in stores. Celebrate Barbie at 25, 30, and 50. In 1945, more than 300 American B-29 bombers attacked Tokyo with incendiary bombs, killing about 100,000 people and destroying an estimated 250,000 buildings over 16 square miles. The public wasn't notified until more than a month later. On March 9, 1945, more than 300 American B-29 bombers attacked Tokyo with incendiary bombs, killing about 100,000 people and destroying an estimated 250,000 buildings over 16 square miles. File Photo by Ishikawa Koyo/Wikimedia In 1981, dozens of workers at the Japan Atomic Power Company nuclear plant in Tsuruga were exposed to radiation after a sludge tank overflowed. Sixteen tons of the radioactive waste spilled into Wakasa Bay. Officials didn't tell the public until more than a month later. In 1992, a federal judge in New York announced a final $1.3 billion agreement to settle civil suits growing out of the 1989 collapse of Drexel Burham Lambert, once the most powerful firm on Wall Street. Barbie Dolls by Mattel are on display at the 113th North American International Toy Fair at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City on February 13, 2016. On March 9, 1959, Barbie, which became a perennially popular doll, made its debut in stores. Celebrate Barbie at 25, 30, and 50. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI In 1997, rapper Notorious B.I.G., born Christopher Wallace, died from multiple gunshot wounds after a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. He was 24. In 2005, Dan Rather stepped down as anchor and managing editor of CBS Evening News. His departure followed acknowledgment of major flaws in a broadcast about U.S. President George W. Bush's National Guard service. Visitors look into the well that holds the vaults containing the remains of President Ulysses S. Grant and his wife Julia at Grant's Tomb in New York City on February 19. On March 9, 1864, Grant was appointed commander in chief of Union forces in the U.S. Civil War. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI File Photo by Patrick D. McDermott/UPI In 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama lifted the U.S. limit on federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, calling it an important advancement in the cause of science in the United States. The Washington, D.C., sniper victims memorial is seen at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Md., on November 10, 2009. John Allen Muhammad, the mastermind behind the attacks, was sentenced to death on March 9, 2004. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI In 2011, after 39 flights over 27 years of service, the space shuttle Discovery made its final landing at Kennedy Space Center. In 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of genocide after Kyiv officials said Kremlin bombed a children's hospital and a maternity ward in Mariupol, leaving children and women under the debris. NASA astronaut Robert Curbeam works on the International Space Station's S1 truss during the space shuttle Discovery's STS-116 mission in December 2006. On March 9, 2011, the Discovery made its final landing at Kennedy Space Center. File Photo courtesy of NASA In 2023, the United Nations announced plans to purchase a decaying, oil-filled supertanker that had been sitting off the coast of Yemen since the start of the country's civil war in 2015. At risk of causing a major environmental disaster, the U.N. offloaded more than 1.14 million barrels of oil in July and August 2023. File Photo by Yahya Arhab/EPA-EFE WASHINGTON (DC News Now) The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said it charged a man for a fatal shooting that happened in Northeast D.C. on Friday afternoon. Officers responded to a report of the sound of gunshots in the 1200 block of Mount Olivet Rd. NE at about 12:09 p.m. There, they found a man who had been shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Fourteen dogs rescued from Southeast DC home up for adoption this weekend He was identified as 46-year-old Jimmy Thomas Jr, of Northeast D.C. Later that day, police said they arrested and charged 27-year-old Damon Clark of Northeast D.C. with second-degree murder while armed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. Diversity, equity and inclusion programs have come under attack in boardrooms, state legislatures and college campuses across the country. Since 2023, 81 anti-DEI bills that target programs at colleges have been introduced in 28 states and in Congress, according to a tally by the Chronicle of Higher Education. Eight have been signed into law, in states like Texas and Florida. A 2023 survey by the Pew Research Center found that 52% of employed U.S. adults say they have DEI trainings or meetings at work, and 33% say they have a designated staff member who promotes DEI. But recently, some companies have slashed teams dedicated to DEI and wealthy corporate leaders such as Bill Ackman and Elon Musk have made posts on social media that decried diversity programs. Critics say DEI programs are discriminatory and attempt to solve racial discrimination by disadvantaging other groups, particularly White Americans. But supporters and industry experts insist the decades-old practice has been politicized and is widely misunderstood. What is DEI? CNN interviewed seven DEI experts and industry leaders and asked each to define diversity, equity and inclusion. Although their responses varied slightly, most had a shared vision for what constitutes DEI: Diversity is embracing the differences everyone brings to the table whether its someones race, age, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability or other aspects of social identity. Equity is treating everyone fairly and providing equal opportunities. And inclusion is respecting everyones voice and creating a culture where people from all backgrounds feel encouraged to express their ideas and perspectives. Daniel Oppong, founder of The Courage Collective, a consultancy that advises companies on DEI, said DEI was created because marginalized communities have not always had equal opportunities for jobs, or felt a sense of belonging in majority-White corporate settings. That is the genesis of why some of these programs exist, he said. It was an attempt to try to create workplaces where more or all people can thrive. President Lyndon Baines Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act on July 2, 1964. The law made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and barred unequal application of voter registration requirements. - AP When did workplaces start embracing DEI? The backlash against DEI may feel like a pendulum swing from 2020, but the DEI practice has been around for decades. Dominique Hollins, founder of the DEI consulting firm WE360, said the origins of DEI programs date back to the civil rights movement, which played a pivotal role in accelerating efforts to create more diverse and inclusive workplaces. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed employment discrimination based on race, religion, sex, color and national origin. It also banned segregation in public places, like public schools and libraries. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which works to eliminate employment discrimination. In the 1960s and 70s, employees began filing discrimination lawsuits with the EEOC and many companies began incorporating diversity into their business strategies by providing diversity training, according to a 2008 report published in the Academy of Management Learning & Education. These diversity training efforts emerged around the time that affirmative action began by executive order from President John F. Kennedy. Although the two concepts may seem similar, affirmative action is different from DEI because it required federal contractors by executive order from the president to treat all applicants and employees equally based on race, color, religion and sex. Colleges and universities also used affirmative action to boost enrollment of students of color at majority-White schools. But last year, the Supreme Court gutted affirmative action, ruling that race-conscious college admissions were unconstitutional. After President Ronald Reagan backed corporate deregulation policies that said companies should be addressing discrimination internally in the 1980s, Hollins said some of the diversity efforts lost momentum. In the decades to follow, Hollins said many companies continued to push for DEI-focused jobs and training in a piecemeal fashion, instead of creating ongoing programs and dedicated teams. Hollins said many companies didnt have the staffing or resources to sustain DEI efforts. But the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in May 2020 sparked a racial reckoning and a renewed push for creating DEI leadership roles and initiatives at major corporations. Between 2019 and 2022, according to a LinkedIn analysis, chief diversity and inclusion officer roles grew by 168.9%. Today, some of those efforts have been rolled back and people have left DEI roles because they didnt feel fully supported, Hollins said. Companies were giving the appearance of commitment without actually doing the right work for that commitment to be sustainable, Hollins said. Despite the backlash against DEI programs and initiatives, many companies are standing firm in their support for DEI. A survey published in January by the polling firm Ipsos, found 67% of people surveyed said their employers require or offer trainings, lectures, webinars, or resources on DEI. And 71% of people surveyed said they think DEI training is important to creating a positive workplace culture. What does DEI look like at work? Today, studies show that many companies are prioritizing some form of DEI. According to a 2023 study by the Pew Research Center, 61% of U.S. adults say their workplace has policies that focus on fairness in hiring, promotions or pay. And 56% of U.S. adults say, focusing on increasing diversity, equity and inclusion at work is mainly a good thing. Kelly Baker, executive vice president and chief human resources officer at Thrivent, an organization that provides financial advice, said DEI in the workplace can be a mix of employee training, resource networks and recruiting practices. Her company, for example, has resource groups for women in leadership, young professionals, Black employees, Hispanic employees, and military veterans, among others. Their DEI training teaches employees how to understand and bridge cultural differences in the workplace, she said. Thrivent also seeks job candidates with diversity in their race, geography, gender and industry background, Baker said. Experts say many corporations tie DEI to their business strategies. Diversity is related to our business growth strategy, Baker said. Its pragmatic and essential and critical for us to ensure that our client base reflects the world that we are in and the world that we are going to be in. Adela Zhang of the Affirmative Action Coalition speaks to a diverse group of fellow students about race-conscious admissions to colleges as the Supreme Court weighs the issue, on the University of North Carolina campus in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 2023. - Jonathan Drake/Reuters/File What does DEI look like in higher education? College campuses have become ground zero for the DEI debate as state lawmakers across the country launch efforts to halt or limit DEI programs in public schools and universities. Last week, the University of Florida eliminated the office of its Chief Diversity Officer to comply with regulations from the Florida Board of Governors that prohibit spending state funds on DEI programs. Ella Washington, professor of practice at Georgetown Universitys McDonough School of Business, said she is concerned that efforts to ban DEI on college campuses will prevent students from being prepared for the real world. I think a lot of it is short-sighted and politically motivated, Washington said. Its hard for me to believe that all of these lawmakers want exclusion be taught and to erase all of history. Washington said while DEI looks different on every college campus, many schools focus efforts on recruitment and admissions, curriculum and special programs for underrepresented students. Georgetowns Office of Student Equity & Inclusion oversees several DEI-centered programs including the Disability Cultural Center, Womens Center, LGBTQ Resource Center, and the Center for Multicultural Equity and Access, according to its website. Washington said there is also a program for first-generation college students where they have a chance to build community. Prioritizing and embracing a diverse student body allows students to interact with peers from different walks of life and learn new perspectives even outside of the classroom, Washington said. Colleges are certainly a microcosm of the world, Washington said. So, having an experience where equity is centered, equality is considered, inclusion is at the forefront of peoples minds, those are things we are teaching the next generation about how they should be running the world. What are critics saying? In recent years, DEI has become a social and political lightning rod for lawmakers, corporate leaders and even conservative activists, who have sought to cast the initiatives as unfair and even racist. Some were emboldened by the Supreme Courts decision to gut affirmative action last June. Christopher Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and an outspoken critic of DEI, wrote in a New York Times op-ed last year that these are not neutral programs to increase demographic diversity; they are political programs that use taxpayer resources to advance a specific partisan orthodoxy. The Claremont Institute, a conservative think tank, holds a similar position. Ryan P. Williams, president of the institute, previously told CNN he believes the ideology behind DEI is fundamentally anti-American. The words that the acronym DEI represent sound nice, but it is nothing more than affirmative action and racial preferences by a different name, a system that features racial headcounts and arbitrarily assigned roles of oppressor and oppressed groups in America, Williams said in an emailed statement. If we continue to do democracy this way, it will only end in acrimony, strife, resentment, and American collapse. Earlier this year, billionaire investor Bill Ackman posted a 4,000-word opus on X that criticized DEI as inherently a racist and illegal movement in its implementation even if it purports to work on behalf of the so-called oppressed. Ackmans lengthy thesis was later reposted by billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who now owns the social media platform. DEI is just another word for racism. Shame on anyone who uses it, Musk wrote in his post. In a follow-up post, Musk doubled down, adding, DEI, because it discriminates on the basis of race, gender and many other factors, is not merely immoral, it is also illegal. Tesla, which is owned by Musk, has since omitted all language regarding minority workers and outreach to minority communities in its 10-K filing with the SEC made January 29, CNN previously reported. But not every business leader agrees. Mark Cuban, billionaire businessman and minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks, pushed back on Musks posts in a thread defending DEI as good for businesses and their workers. The loss of DEI-Phobic companies is my gain, Cuban wrote. Having a workforce that is diverse and representative of your stakeholders is good for business. In April 2022, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 7, known as the "Stop WOKE' bill," in Hialeah Gardens. - Miami Herald/Miami Herald/TNS/Getty Images/File Whats next in the fight over DEI? Texas, North Dakota, North Carolina, Tennessee and Utah each have at least one anti-DEI bill that has been signed into law, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. In Nebraska, Republican State Sen. Dave Murman proposed a bill in January that would prohibit state colleges and universities from dedicating public money and staff time to DEI efforts. The bill is currently with the Nebraska legislatures education committee which will decide whether to move it to the full legislature. Murmans office did not respond to a request for an interview. Nebraska Democratic state Sen. Danielle Conrad told CNN she opposes the bill in part because the broader effort to ban DEI has become divisive. She said it also distracts from the real issues colleges are facing, such as families who cant afford tuition. DEI, she said, is valuable to colleges and universities. We absolutely know from common sense and research that when we have more diverse perspectives in discussion or as part of our education, it helps us to have more thoughtful results, Conrad said. It helps us to be more well-rounded, active and engaged citizens. CNNs Athena Jones contributed to this story. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com This is Totally Normal Quote of the Day, a feature highlighting a statement from the news that exemplifies just how extremely normal everything has become. Thank you to everyone who supported our campaign and voted to shake up the status quo in Washington. Because of you, we had the establishment running scaredwithstanding 3 to 1 in TV spending and an onslaught of billionaires spending millions to rig this election. A tweet sent by Rep. Katie Porter after she lost the California Senate primary Rep. Katie Porter is not known in Washington for having a lot of friends. Nor, evidently, is she a gracious loser. After getting stomped in Californias Senate race Tuesday night by Democrat Adam Schiff and Schiffs campaign ward, Republican Steve Garveywho, it must be said over and over, didnt have a campaign of his ownshe weighed in rather bitterly: We had the establishment running scared, she wrote on X, of her own campaign that fell far short, withstanding 3 to 1 in TV spending and an onslaught of billionaires spending millions to rig this election. Thank you to everyone who supported our campaign and voted to shake up the status quo in Washington. Because of you, we had the establishment running scared withstanding 3 to 1 in TV spending and an onslaught of billionaires spending millions to rig this election. (1/) Katie Porter (@katieporteroc) March 6, 2024 That last verb perked up some ears! Porters would-have-been colleagues, Democratic Sens. Brian Shatz of Hawaii and Alex Padilla of California, pounced. Shatz tweeted: The election in California was not rigged. Padilla said her statement was blatantly not true. Its interesting. You dont hear a lot of Democrats calling elections rigged these days. As political verbiage, it has been annexed by Trump and his enablers. The backlash to Porters tweet (which was voluminous) was clearly an emotional response to the word itself; it wasnt just that Porter was a sore loser but that she implicated her fellow Democratic lawmakers in some level of MAGA-coded subterfuge. Rigged, terminologically speaking, seems to have a different valence after the 2020 election, and the subsequent attempt by Republicans to overturn it. In response, Porter doubled down by way of clarification: Rigged means manipulated by dishonest means. A few billionaires spent $10 million+ on attack ads against me. Please find a statement from me below. pic.twitter.com/as8H2cHWL8 Katie Porter (@katieporteroc) March 7, 2024 And the cycle repeated. (This time, even journalists at major outlets piled on to condemn her.) Extricating the genuine outrage from some good old-fashioned dancing on the grave of a vanquished, not-entirely-beloved colleague is impossible here; there are elements of both at play. But was Porter wrong? Everyone knows that money influences elections. Few things in politics are less controversial. And super PACs and billionaire megadonors did play a major role in the California Senate raceregardless of whether rigged was the right way to describe it. Schiff had tons and tons of money. So did Porter, albeit more from small-dollar donations. But one of Porters biggest nemeses, Fairshake PAC, was stood up by the cryptocurrency industry she so abhors. That PAC sunk $10 million into the race; half of it came from Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, the villain twins of the Facebook saga, who seemed to have it in for Porter on a personal level. Another Republican-backed influence operation, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, threw in $5 million for Schiff, possibly because Porter got tangled up in her messaging on the war in Gaza. Again, is that rigging? Maybe not, but its certainly putting a finger on the scale. And that was only a small part of the dealings that helped decide the race. As you can read heretweet my piece, Katie!Pelosi worked tirelessly in the background of the Senate race to secure the position for Schiff. She hammered fellow California House reps and orgs for endorsements and elevated him with her personal backing. Rigged? OK, maybe thats a little harsh. Or maybe Democrats cant bear to hear that term anymore. But you wont find a member of the party who doesnt believe the basic fact that money influences elections, and that that should be reeled in. In fact, as commonplace as it is today to hear Democrats calling to overturn Dobbs, it has been equally commonplace in the last decade to hear Democrats call for action on a different Supreme Court decision: Citizens United, the ruling that led to the creation of super PACs and ushered in the modern era of unlimited political spending. The abolition of big money in politics has been a clarion call for elected Democrats for a long time; if anything, the dogpile on Porter is indicative of the sad fact that getting money out of politics has lost its priority status for Democratsespecially in the vaunted effort to defend democracy. (Since the Trump years began, Democrats have not infrequently enjoyed major fundraising advantages, perhaps blunting the urgency of that core principle in their minds.) One of Porters few defenders online was Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig, who put it about as succinctly as one can. Sure, it wasnt rigged in the sense that Trump means. But when did Trump-speak become obligatory? posted Lessig. What she said was true and fair, given her (correct) values about how this democracy is broken. A Democrat running to represent Uvalde, Texas, in Congress blasted the latest report into the 2022 school shooting as an insult to grieving families and criticized one of his Republican rivals as a would-be Rambo who is a poor role model for teenagers. Santos Limon, who won Tuesdays Democratic primary for the states 23rd District, spoke Friday in a wide-ranging phone interview about the election, the Uvalde mass shooting, the role of Elon Musk in Texas politics and other subjects. Limon faces an uphill fight in the West Texas district, which Republicans have represented for years, but he said he likes his odds because of his own conservative views and because Republicans are sharply divided. Republicans will decide their nominee in a May 28 runoff primary between the incumbent, Tony Gonzales, and Brandon Herrera, a popular creator of gun videos for YouTube. Santos Limon. (Courtesy Santos Limon) Guns are a major subject in the race in part because the district includes Uvalde. Nineteen students and two teachers died at the towns Robb Elementary School nearly two years ago. On Thursday, the Uvalde City Council published its report into the massacre and the delayed law enforcement response. The report said there was no evidence of police wrongdoing or failure to follow training, and it criticized parents who tried to get into the building during the shooting. Parents and residents responded to the report with anger and disbelief at a council meeting with Jesse Prado, an Austin-based investigator who wrote the City Councils report. Limon said the residents were justified in their anger. He was blaming the parents because they were making chaos outside and, again, there was close to 400 officers inside that building while kids were being massacred, he said. An earlier federal investigation was much harsher on local law enforcement than the Prado report was, saying childrens lives may have been saved if officers had responded differently. Limon said Prado, who did not take questions at Thursdays council meeting, was disrespectful. He didnt even have the decency to take off his cowboy hat in a room full of people that are still grieving, Limon said. Its an insult to the victims and to the survivors. Some news coverage of the meeting took note of the fact that Prado did not remove his hat. In a phone interview Friday, Prado said he kept his hat on indoors so he could see. He said hes had several surgeries that sometimes cause him to see a halo. There was no intention to insult anyone, he said. I really wanted to see the people that were speaking. He declined to comment on the 182-page report. Limon said hed favor a national version of a Florida law barring people under age 21 from buying a gun. Florida passed the law in 2018 after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. The Uvalde shooter bought his gun as an 18-year-old. How is it that a state so Republican like Florida is able to pass a gun bill? Limon asked. Why dont they do that here in Texas? Or why dont they do that across the country? He said hes frustrated that the U.S. has been debating school shootings since the 1999 Columbine High School massacre with no obvious progress to show for it. Its the same topics over and over and over and over. No ones listening to our constituents, and theyve caught on, he said. Guns have also been a topic in the Republican primary in the 23rd District. Gonzales was one of 14 House Republicans to vote for a gun safety law after Uvalde, while Herrera has condemned provisions of the law as unconstitutional. Herrera calls himself a Second Amendment absolutist. Herrera, through a spokesperson, declined an interview request Friday. Gonzales did not respond to interview requests Wednesday or Friday. YouTuber and Congressional candidate Brandon Herrera. (WOAI-TV) Herrera has risen to popularity on the success of YouTube, where he posts videos about firearms including machine guns to 3.2 million subscribers. Using the nickname The AK Guy, Herrera makes and often praises the Kalashnikov-style rifles that originated in the Soviet Union. Limon said Herrera reminded him of the Rambo movies starring Sylvester Stallone. Its like watching Rambo First Blood when he was out there with that .50-caliber gun, he said. Is that what our teenagers need to see? Our high school graduates, are they going to vote for a guy like that? Herrera imitates and talks about the Rambo character in at least one of his YouTube videos where he fires an M60 machine gun. Limon, 50, has never run for office before, though he said as a 14-year-old he dreamed of being a mayor. He grew up in Del Rio, Texas, and now lives in San Antonio, working as a civil engineer on railroad projects. He said he thinks his views are a match for the district that stretches from El Paso to the San Antonio area. I am a conservative Democrat. Im an entrepreneur. I am pro-business. I am pro-choice. I am pro-Israel. I am pro-union. I am pro-teachers. Im against [school] vouchers. Im against charter schools, he said. Limon said that, like Republicans, hes upset about the level of illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border. He said he favors relocating more immigration judges closer to the border so they can work more efficiently, and he criticized Republican immigration proposals as hollow. There are Republican friends who are using it as a stage, he said of the border and specifically the city Eagle Pass. The immigration issue has helped to pull Musk into the race. The CEO of SpaceX and Tesla appeared last year with Gonzales at the border, and Musk has become a rising figure in Texas politics as he has moved more of business operations to the state. Limon said he considers Musk a visionary who could bring greater economic development to his district, but he also said politicians have failed to keep pace with Musk and other executives who have pursued swift technological change. Theyre way ahead with their vision. We need someone to stay right parallel to them, he said. He said, for example, that hed like to slow down deployment of self-driving big rigs and instead invest resources in infrastructure projects including for freight and passenger rail. Third World countries are catching up to our country because we keep playing politics, he said. All of us are fighting against each other while everybody else in the world is constructing and building. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com (Bloomberg) -- Democrats have seized on access to IVF as a key vulnerability for the GOP ahead of November elections, even as Republicans rush to defend their positions on the popular practice. Most Read from Bloomberg With relentless attacks in battleground states, Democrats and abortion rights groups are tying Republicans in races from state houses to the White House to the political fallout from a February Alabama Supreme Court ruling that halted much of the in-vitro fertilization in that state. President Joe Biden welcomed an Alabama woman whose IVF treatments were stalled to the State of the Union Thursday. The first American conceived through IVF was also in the room, a guest of Virginias Senator Tim Kaine. Around the country, Democratic candidates are releasing ads featuring smiling babies and happy families. The Democratic National Committee has splashed signs across battleground states including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The billboards read: Banning Abortion, Stopping IVF. Is (each state) Next? Republicans are especially exposed on the issue in crucial suburban battlegrounds like Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia whose voters could decide who wins the White House and controls both the House and Senate. Arizona and Georgia have abortion bans with personhood statutes that protect embryos from the time of fertilization with exclusions for those created through IVF, although Arizonas is on hold while being challenged in federal court. Both states also have conservative state supreme courts, giving Democrats more ammunition on the issue there. This is one of the biggest issues that is motivating voters women, men, all genders, said Dan Kalik, head of politics and strategy Swing Left, which focuses on supporting Democrats in battleground states. Its motivating volunteers, and its going to play out huge in all the core states that are needed for Democrats to win up and down the ballot. Fertility treatments like IVF, in which embryos are made in a lab before being transferred to a woman, are overwhelmingly popular, despite being controversial for some religious conservatives. In the US about 2.3% of all infants are conceived using assisted reproductive technologies, like IVF, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The technology has long been tied up in the fight over abortion, and some Republicans argue for various limits on IVF like banning sex selection, or even outlawing it completely arguing the resulting embryos should be protected as children. But access to IVF is much more broadly supported than abortion, including among conservatives. Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway, who ran former President Donald Trumps 2016 campaign, said she found 78% of anti-abortion voters and 83% of evangelical voters support access to fertility-related procedures and services. Accordingly, Republican lawmakers and candidates rushed to express their support for IVF. The day after Alabamas ruling, the National Republican Senatorial Committee urged Republicans to defend IVF and they did. Trump, who is on the cusp of clinching the Republican presidential nomination, quickly urged Alabamas legislature to protect the availability of IVF. Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake said in a statement released right after the ruling, IVF is extremely important for helping countless families experience the joy of parenthood. I oppose restrictions. But even with the rapid response to the Alabama ruling, the GOP is sure to be dogged by the issue well into the election year as fights over personhood play out. Reproductive rights were already going to be a hot issue in Arizona this year with supporters fighting to get a initiative onto the ballot that would put abortion rights into the states constitution. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, there are 13 states that have personhood bills currently moving through their legislatures that would afford various levels of protection to embryos. The lengthy court battles and ongoing uncertainty will keep the issue on voters minds. What happens in this region tends to go from state to state, said Darren Hutchinson, a law professor and the John Lewis Chair for Civil Rights and Social Justice at Emory University. So I think if any state in this area is going to try to distance itself or make sure that they downplay this ruling, itll definitely be Georgia, and I can see Arizona doing the same thing because they are like a purple type state too. The margins in both states are razor thin. Biden won Georgia by just 0.2 percentage points and Arizona by 0.3 percentage points four years ago. Reproductive issues have bedeviled Republicans in elections across the board since 2022, when the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, allowing states to limit abortion and other reproductive technology. The party has struggled to craft a message that appeals both to the religious conservatives in their base who back restrictions and to the wider public. Republicans have real vulnerabilities on the broader issue. This magnifies them again, aid Douglas Heye, a GOP strategist. The party certainly understands the impact that this could have. Dozens of GOP lawmakers had previously cosigned a national personhood bill which defines life as starting at fertilization with no exceptions for IVF. Speaker Mike Johnson, while cheering IVF as a tool for building families, said the issue should remain with states and declined to clarify whether he considered the destruction of embryos murder in an interview with CBS. And GOP senators blocked a Democrat-led effort to protect in-vitro fertilization shortly after the Alabama ruling, saying the measure was too broad. Lawmakers in Alabama on Wednesday passed a measure that would offer some immunity from wrongful death lawsuits for doctors who offer IVF, allowing most procedures to go forward in that state. But its scope is unclear and untested, leaving open the question of whether providers will continue to operate in that state over the longterm. --With assistance from Madlin Mekelburg, Gregory Korte and Steven T. Dennis. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Former President Trump led President Biden in a recent national New York Times/Siena College poll by 5 percentage points, prompting a campaign spokesperson for the Democrat to argue polling consistently overestimates Donald Trump while underestimating Joe Biden. The remark is emblematic of a deeper skepticism of Trumps strength in certain Democratic circles. Biden allies point to primary results this cycle that show Trump underperforming his polling numbers and failing to capture moderate voters, as well as nonpresidential cycles under Biden where Democrats outperformed projections. Weve got a long way to go. Weve got a lot of work to do. But I think everyone in this town is overestimating their strengths and underestimating ours, said Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg. Some Democrats were quick to dismiss The New York Times poll in particular. Strategists were puzzled at the polls finding that women were equally split between Trump and Biden at 46 percent each, given exit polls in 2020 found Biden won women by 15 percentage points. Democrats also questioned the polls findings that Trump was leading Biden by 6 points among Latino voters because Biden won that group by 33 percentage points in 2020, according to exit polls. Multiple Democratic strategists and pollsters noted 97 percent of interviews with Latinos surveyed for the poll were conducted in English. Even Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who ended his long-shot primary bid against Biden on Wednesday, was skeptical of the polls findings. When the NYT/Sienna poll shows me at 12%, you better believe it is flawed, he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Only 5% even know who I am. The Biden campaigns belief that Trump is overestimated by polls is largely driven by the fact that voter behavior has not matched projections, including during this years primary elections. Even as Trump has coasted toward the GOP nomination, winning all but two primary contests by huge margins, he has fallen short of what polls projected and has struggled with the voters who will likely play an outsized role in November. Decision Desk HQ polling averages showed Trump projected to win the Michigan primary by 49 percentage points, and he ultimately defeated Nikki Haley by 42 percentage points. In South Carolina, he was projected to win by 29 points and ultimately carried the state by 20 points over Haley. In New Hampshire, Trump was projected to win by 14 points, according to Decision Desk, and won the primary by 11 points. At the same time, Trump has hit his numbers in some races, including in Virginia where polling averages showed him ahead by 25 percent, and he won by 27 percent. Amy Walter of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report wrote Trump is entering the general election campaign in strongest shape ever. Election Day is still roughly eight months away, but polling has shown Trump leading Biden in a likely rematch of the 2020 race. The Decision Desk HQ average of national polls shows Trump ahead of Biden by roughly 2 percentage points, a potential warning sign for Democrats given Trump lost the popular vote even when he won the Electoral College vote in 2016. The swing state data isnt much better for Biden, according to Decision Desk HQ data. Trump leads Biden in Georgia by an average of 7 percentage points, in Arizona by 5 percentage points, in Pennsylvania by an average of 4 percentage points and in Michigan and Wisconsin by an average of 3 percentage points. Biden won each of those states in 2020, and with particularly narrow margins in Arizona, Wisconsin and Georgia. No, President Biden, the polls are accurate. Americans just dont like you for destroying our economy and our borders, said Jason Miller, a senior Trump campaign adviser. There are signs Biden may be underestimated, though. While thousands of Democratic primary voters cast ballots for uncommitted in protest of Bidens handling of the Israel-Hamas war, pollsters said many of those voters are likely to rally to the presidents side once the general election arrives. It is clear that there is some protest vote amongst regular Democratic voters in the primaries, and since polls are a snapshot in time this is what they are capturing, said Scott Tranter, director of data science for Decision Desk HQ. But historical vote patterns tell us staunch partisans usually come home, and as such I expect Biden to get back many of those voters. Rosenberg, the Democratic strategist, argued perhaps the strongest evidence that the polls are wrong about Trump is the reality that Democrats continue to win elections, particularly in the aftermath of the 2022 Supreme Court decision ending Roe v. Wade. Without Trump on the ballot in 2022, Democrats defied expectations of a red wave sweeping Republicans into power in Congress. Democrats added a seat to their Senate majority, while Republicans captured a four-seat majority in the House, a smaller margin than expected. Polls in Washingtons Senate race between Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and GOP candidate Tiffany Smiley showed a close race in the closing weeks, but Murray won by roughly 15 percentage points. In 2023, Democrats retained control of the governors mansion in deep-red Kentucky and won a key Wisconsin Supreme Court race thanks in large part to abortion messaging. Voters also voted to protect abortion rights in red states like Kansas and Ohio, and Democrats won special elections in the Pennsylvania state house and most recently in New Yorks 3rd Congressional District, where Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), outperformed polls by roughly 4 percentage points. To me, the most significant electoral data out there is we keep winning elections, Rosenberg said. Its important to not rely on polls but to match it with what people are doing when they actually vote. When people go vote, Trump is underperforming public polling, he added. The flaw in that argument is Trump was not on the ballot in 2022. And when Trump has been on the ballot, hes tended to perform better than polls predict. Polling in the 2016 presidential race missed significantly, leading to a surprise Trump victory even as he lost the popular vote. A final RealClearPolitics average of polls in Michigan projected then-Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton would carry the state by 3.6 percentage points. Trump won the state by 0.3 percent, or less than 11,000 votes. The RealClearPolitics polling average had Clinton ahead of Trump by 6.5 percentage points in Wisconsin, where Trump won by 0.7 percent. And in Pennsylvania, Clinton was projected to win by 2.1 percent, according to polling averages, and Trump carried the state by 0.7 percent. Polling in the 2020 election was much closer to the final result, but even in some cases, Trump overperformed expectations on Election Day. The final RealClearPolitics average in Georgia had Trump ahead in the state by 1 percentage point, but Biden won the state by 0.3 percent, or about 12,000 votes. Elsewhere, though, Trump fared better than polling predicted, even in defeat. The RealClearPolitics average had Trump down 6.7 percentage points in Wisconsin, a state he lost by 0.7 percent. In Michigan, polling averages showed Biden ahead by 4.2 percentage points before Election Day, and he won the state by 2.8 percent. Trump, who has long quipped to supporters that he only likes polls if they show him ahead, is sure to tout surveys in the 2024 race as long as they are favorable to him. But both sides ultimately expect a close race in November, regardless of what polls show in March. National polling, eight months out, confirms what we know to be true: this will be a very close general election contest like all modern presidential elections are but, we have a clear path to victory, the Biden campaign wrote in Wednesdays memo. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Alaska Airlines aircraft sit in the airline's hangar at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in SeaTac, Wash. Boeing has acknowledged in a letter to Congress that it cannot find records for work done on a door panel that blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight over Oregon two months ago. Ziad Ojakli, Boeing executive vice president and chief government lobbyist, wrote to Sen. Maria Cantwell on Friday, March 8 saying, We have looked extensively and have not found any such documentation. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) SEATTLE (AP) The Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into the Boeing jetliner blowout that left a gaping hole on an Alaska Airlines plane this January, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. Citing documents and people familiar with the matter, the newspaper said investigators have contacted some passengers and crew including pilots and flight attendants who were on the Jan. 5th flight. The Boeing plane used by Alaska Airlines suffered the blowout seven minutes after takeoff from Portland, Oregon, forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing. Boeing has been under increased scrutiny since the incident, when a panel that plugged a space left for an extra emergency door blew off a Max 9 jet. There were no serious injuries. In an event like this, its normal for the DOJ to be conducting an investigation, Alaska Airlines said in a prepared statement. We are fully cooperating and do not believe we are a target of the investigation. Boeing declined to comment. DOJ did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The Journal reported that the investigation would assist the Departments review of whether Boeing complied with a previous settlement that resolved a federal investigation into the safety of its 737 Max aircraft following two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019. In 2021, Boeing had agreed to pay $2.5 billion, including a $244 million fine, to settle an investigation into the crashes of flights operated by Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines. The company also blamed two employees for deceiving regulators about flaws in the flight-control system. Boeing has acknowledged in a letter to Congress that it cannot find records for work done on the door panel of the Alaska Airlines plane. We have looked extensively and have not found any such documentation, Ziad Ojakli, Boeing executive vice president and chief government lobbyist, wrote to Sen. Maria Cantwell on Friday. The company said its working hypothesis was that the records about the panel's removal and reinstallation on the 737 MAX final assembly line in Renton, Washington, were never created, even though Boeing's systems required it. Story continues The letter, reported earlier by The Seattle Times, followed a contentious Senate committee hearing Wednesday in which Boeing and the National Transportation Safety Board argued over whether the company had cooperated with investigators. The safety boards chair, Jennifer Homendy, testified that for two months Boeing repeatedly refused to identify employees who work on door panels on Boeing 737s and failed to provide documentation about a repair job that included removing and reinstalling the door panel. Its absurd that two months later we dont have that, Homendy said. Without that information, that raises concerns about quality assurance, quality management, safety management systems at Boeing. Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington, demanded a response from Boeing within 48 hours. Shortly after the Senate hearing, Boeing said it had given the NTSB the names of all employees who work on 737 doors and had previously shared some of them with investigators. In the letter, Boeing said it had already made clear to the safety board that it couldn't find the documentation. Until the hearing, it said, Boeing was not aware of any complaints or concerns about a lack of collaboration. In a preliminary report last month, the NTSB said four bolts that help keep the door plug in place were missing after the panel was removed so workers could repair nearby damaged rivets last September. The rivet repairs were done by contractors working for Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems, but the NTSB still does not know who removed and replaced the door panel, Homendy said Wednesday. The Federal Aviation Administration recently gave Boeing 90 days to say how it will respond to quality-control issues raised by the agency and a panel of industry and government experts. The panel found problems in Boeings safety culture despite improvements made after two Max 8 jets crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. Authorities have arrested a suspect on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with a February shooting that left a man injured in Merced County. Brandon DeLaCruz-Claude was arrested Wednesday after deputies served a search warrant at a residence in the 1900 block of K Street at around 4 p.m., according to Deputy Michael Domingue. Authorities said DeLaCruz-Claude initially refused to exit the home. According to Domingue, because of circumstances including the use of a firearm in the February incident, the Merced County Sheriffs Office SWAT team was requested and responded to the residence. Authorities instructed the suspect to exit the home over a PA system and after roughly 30 minutes, the suspect exited the home and was taken into custody without the use of force, according to deputies. Authorities said DeLaCruz-Claude was identified as a suspect in a shooting that occurred last month in Planada. At about 2:30 p.m. Feb. 2, deputies responded to the shooting in the 300 block of Gage Street. According to the sheriffs office, a 53-year-old man suffered a nonlife-threatening gunshot wound to his lower body. He was reportedly driven by a friend to a Merced area hospital before being flown to a regional trauma center for treatment of his injuries. Domingue said investigators believe DeLaCruz-Claude and the victim were involved in a verbal altercation that escalated into a physical battle and ultimately a shooting. While serving the search warrant at the Merced residence where DeLaCruz-Claude was located, detectives reportedly found two handguns and ammunition, as well as firearms accessories and magazines. He was booked into Merced County Jail on suspicion of felony attempted murder. A long-awaited Pentagon report on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) concluded Friday that there is no evidence the U.S. has reverse-engineered alien spacecraft and rebutted claims that Washington is hiding off-world technology or extraterrestrial biological material. The first volume of an investigation from the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), called the Historical Record Report, debunks claims of alien or unexplainable UAP, more commonly known as UFOs. It also attributes the persistence that the U.S. is hiding extraterrestrial material to a culture fascinated by aliens, a community trying to prove there is secret alien technology, the misidentification of common objects or other defense technology, and general distrust in the federal government. But there were a few surprises in the report as well. Here are the major takeaways. Program proposal for investigating hidden off-world tech An unexplained aerial phenomenon recorded by the U.S. Navy. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) received a proposal for a program to investigate claims the U.S. has hidden off-world material. The program, called Kona Blue, was pitched by supporters of the theory. It was never approved. The AARO said the program began out of the Advanced Aerospace Weapons System Application Program and the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, both under the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and overseen by a private contractor to develop cutting-edge scientific technology. Part of those programs was UAP research. When the DIA canceled the programs, supporters proposed a separate initiative codenamed Kona Blue to look into UAP, paranormal research and reverse engineering off-world tech. KONA BLUEs advocates were convinced that the [government] was hiding UAP technologies, the AARO said. They believed that creating this program under DHS would allow all of the technology and knowledge of these alleged programs to be moved under the KONA BLUE program. While it gained initial traction at the DHS, Kona Blue was never approved. The agency explained that the U.S. government-controlled access program was expanded to include reverse-engineering UAP but did not offer any further details. This program was expanded despite the lack of any evidence or mission need to justify the expansion, the AARO said, noting it was eventually shut down and never recovered any UAP. Investigation of UAP sightings near nuclear sites A mock Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) and three mock aliens are pictured June 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) The AARO is still investigating a number of UAP sightings around Americas nuclear missile sites. That includes claims of nuclear missiles or test reentry vehicles being shot down by UAP. The AARO interviewed five former U.S. Air Force members who served around intercontinental ballistic missile silos at Malmstrom, Ellsworth, Vandenberg, and Minot military bases between 1966 and 1977 to look into the accounts. The former Air Force service members documented experiences in which launch control facilities mysteriously lost power during flights, and a UAP destroyed a missile loaded with a dummy warhead in midflight. In 1964, a ballistic missile reentry vehicle was allegedly shot down by a UAP and caught on film, but the AARO was not able to find the original footage. Still, the office was able to correlate an antiballistic missile test at the time. The AARO said it is continuing to look into those accounts and U.S. programs at the time that may explain the mysterious incidents. Various US projects on UAPs fail to find evidence of alien origin Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence Scott Bray points to a video display of a UAP during a hearing on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, May 17, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) The report reviewed the lengthy history of U.S. government programs that investigated UAP sightings and determined none of them ever found alien life or technology. One of the first projects was Project Saucer from 1947-48, which looked into claims from a pilot named Kenneth Arnold flying near Mount Rainier, Wash. Arnold said he saw nine circular objects flying at high speeds. The investigation never found any credible evidence of alien technology. A successor to that program called Project Sign looked into 243 UAP sightings but determined they were nearly all common objects. Another successor called Project Grudge achieved similar results. A more well-known investigation is Project Blue Book, which the U.S. Air Force director of intelligence established in 1952. The program lasted until 1969 and looked into balloons, astronomical sightings and aircraft. The AARO reviewed more than 7,000 files from Project Blue Book and found that officials never found evidence of alien life or technology. Of the more than 12,000 sightings under the program, 701 remained unresolved, the office said. The AARO report also mentions the famous Roswell incident in New Mexico in 1947, in which a crashed military balloon spurred conspiracies the U.S. was hiding alien bodies. The U.S. has long debunked those claims, explaining it was from a balloon program at the time and the alleged alien bodies reported by some were dummies and the AARO agreed. CIA has surprising role in UAP studies In this Nov. 13, 2013 file photo, a CIA logo is seen in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) The AARO report documented several instances in which a CIA officer or CIA task group was involved with UAP. The CIA opened an investigation into UAP in 1952 through a special study group, but found 90 percent of the sightings were explainable and 10 percent amounted to incredible claims, though they rejected alien or Soviet Union origin, according to the AARO. Another investigation was briefly opened under the agency in 1964, with similar results. In another instance, interviewees claimed that a former CIA official was involved with a reverse-engineering program from 2009-10. The AARO interviewed the former CIA official, who denied any knowledge of those claims. AARO refutes reverse-engineering alien craft, other claims from witnesses Illustration from witness testimony at a press conference on Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO) and Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Monday, June 12, 2023 The bulk of the report is spent on refuting multiple witness statements and claims that the U.S. has reverse-engineered alien spacecraft or hidden extraterrestrial material. The AARO looked into records as far back as 1945 in the first volume of its report and determined most UAP are normal objects, and those still a mystery remain so only because of a lack of data. Witnesses who have claimed otherwise have often made mistakes in identification, the AARO said in the report, saying they may have been confused by emerging technology in the 20th century such as rockets, or even with newer programs and systems today. The interviewees and others who have mistakenly associated authentic sensitive national security programs with UAP had incomplete or unauthorized access to these programs, the AARO said. In one instance, a witness claimed that a former U.S. military service member came into contact with a UAP, but the situation was denied by the service member, who mentioned they likely touched a stealth fighter jet. Another claim said a private organization had collected a sample of alien technology, but the AARO determined it was of earthly origin. And yet another interviewee claimed to possess 12 alien spacecraft, but the AARO found no evidence of the claims. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. (FOX40.COM) After sweeping the campus and surrounding area of Dixon High School the Dixon Police Department has deemed the area safe and clear. Police say that on Friday two anonymous calls were received by the school making threats of violence. The students were placed on secure and the Dixon Police Department was alerted to the threats. Since the initial announcement to secure their students, the Dixon Unified School District has determined it is safe for students to return to normal activities. The Davis Police Department are still carrying out their investigation into the source of the phone calls. Parents are able to pick up their student and police are asking parents to be patient as many parents will be looking to collect their child. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40. Dr Dimitrios Psaroudakis was suspended from the medical register after several offensive messages The Health Secretary is set to urgently intervene in the case of a doctor who claimed London would be better if it was jew free. Dr Dimitrios Psaroudakis was suspended from the medical register for three months after a litany of anti-Semitic, racist and sexist messages, but his ban from practising ends in a matter of weeks. Sir Michael Ellis, the former Conservative attorney general, said he feared this doctor may be a danger to Jewish patients and called for a review of the tribunals grossly unreasonable decision before his suspension is up. Victoria Atkins, the Health Secretary, is now weighing up what action to take, following the revelations made by The Telegraph that a tribunal had concluded that Dr Psaroudakis was not a racist but someone quite comfortable with using discriminatory language. The consultant gynaecologist resigned from a fertility clinic on Harley Street after being caught sending messages and emails that were derogatory towards patients and colleagues; sexually explicit; sexist; and/or racist. These included repeated references to Jewish colleagues as yews, big nose, leprechaun, alky and st for brains. He also suggested Hammersmith, London, would be improved if it were yew free, and regularly referred to the clinic as the temple. In response to The Telegraphs report, Sir Michael told the House of Commons: He was merely suspended for three months and is due to start seeing patients again in a few weeks. I am concerned this doctor may be a danger to Jewish patients and Im also concerned that this tribunal is defective and their decision is grossly unreasonable, he said. Speaking to Ms Atkins, he said: Will she instruct government lawyers to begin judicial review proceedings against this tribunal? Ms Atkins said: As the Prime Minister set out on the steps of Downing Street last week, there are people whose ideology and dogma are in direct conflict with our shared values as a country. Just as we will not stand for that across the country nor will I stand for that in our NHS, she said. I can assure [Sir Michael] I will be looking into this with great urgency and great care. Ms Atkins has already written to NHS England, the General Medical Council (GMC), the doctors regulator, and other authorities to remind them that hate speech and support for extremism or terrorism are not compatible with the responsibilities and duties of healthcare professionals. As well as seeking a review of the decision which could result in a longer suspension or being struck off the register altogether, as some MPs have called for, Dr Psaroudakis could be banned from undertaking any NHS work again. The NHS intervened in the case of Dr Wahid Shaida, who ran the Islamist extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir until its ban in January and banned him from its list of approved doctors amid inaction by the GMC, which is still investigating. He can still practise privately. It comes as Robin Simcox, the governments counter-extremism commissioner, said that London had become a no-go zone for Jews during weekend pro-Palestinian marches and urged ministers to be willing to accept higher legal risk when tackling extremism. In the case of Dr Psaroudakis, the GMC said it sought a suspension and an independent tribunal deemed that three months reflected the level of seriousness of the misconduct. The tribunal also said: Dr Psaroudakis admitted his wrongdoing, made full admissions to the allegation, and has taken steps to remediate his actions. He has made genuine expressions of regret, remorse and apology, and not sought to blame others. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. As Kansas prepares for winter to end, many are crossing their fingers for warmer, mild weather. However, if the Farmers' Almanac has predicted correctly, Kansans should prepare for colder temperatures, as well as thunder and snowstorms, this spring. The almanac, which has been predicting weather (with varying accuracy) since 1818, recently released its extended weather forecast for the upcoming spring, titled "Polar Coaster Spring." Here's what the Farmers' Almanac has predicted for the spring and how that could impact Kansans. The Farmers' Almanac uses a 200-year-old formula to indicate cold spring temperatures, thunderstorms and possible snow in April for the Midwest. What is the Farmers' Almanac predicting for Kansas's upcoming spring weather forecast? "Ski-lovers rejoice," the almanac writes. "We're heading for a 'Polar Coaster Spring.' Farmers' Almanac long-range weather forecast calls for many days of cold temperatures." The almanac's 200-year-old mathematical and astrological formula indicates the Great Plains will see plenty of cold temperatures and "occasional bouts of storminess," bringing widespread rains and snows. March will bring wild swings in the thermometer, the almanac writes, so Kansans should expect March to go out like a lion, with similar "cool and stormy" conditions predicted for the majority of the United States into the spring. The Farmers' Almanac predicts this spring will be "chilled, rainy" in Kansas. Sunny to partly cloudy temperatures for Easter-weekend and the possibility of April snow are also in the almanac's forecast. Over Easter weekend Thursday, March 28, through Sunday, March 31 Kansas and the north-central U.S. region should expect mixed clouds ... at least according to the almanac, as well as the possibility of snow in April. The almanac predicts cool temps and storms will continue into May. Kansas should expect cool and drier weather. How accurate is the Farmers' Almanac forecast? The Farmers' Almanac has released extended weather forecasts every year since 1818, using the same forecast formula. The almanac states that its readers find its predictions to be accurate about 80% to 85% of the time. However, the Columbus Dispatch found that most analyses of the almanac's predictions have indicated an accuracy rate of 50%. If that's the case, you might as well flip a coin. Last year, the almanac predicted a "cold and stormy" winter for Midwest states in its extended winter weather forecast for winter 2023-2024. Bitterly cold weathers were in the forecast for Topeka in early January, said a graphic posted by the National Weather Service's office in Topeka. Topeka saw 3.1 inches of snow in early January. Snowfall totals were reported of 5.1 inches at McLouth, 5 inches at Ottawa, 4.5 inches at Abilene and 4 inches at Lawrence, said Matt Wolters, meteorologist for National Weather Service's Topeka office. Snow, followed by high winds, had the Evergy electrical utility scrambling to keep up with the number of power outages it was seeing in northeast Kansas. More than 2,100 homes and businesses in the Topeka area were affected with more than 22,000 affected in the greater Kansas City area, Evergy said on an online power outage map it maintains. So, while we don't know what March will look like yet, it's safe to say that the almanac's extended winter forecast has been relatively accurate so far. Where can I find the Farmers' Almanac spring weather forecast? The Farmers' Almanac "Polar Coaster Spring" spring 2024 extended weather forecast can be found online. More: Heres where last month ranked on the list of Topekas warmest Februarys on record Contributing: Claire Reid This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Kansas weather: Farmer's Almanac predicts 'cool, stormy' spring 2024 Mr Gove is to unveil a new, 'more precise' definition of extremism - Paul Grover for the Telegraph Michael Gove has told pro-Palestine protesters that they risk rubbing shoulders with extremists, as he pledged to expose groups trying to subvert democracy. In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, the Communities Secretary warned that some pro-Palestinian events have been organised by extremist organisations. He separately condemned chants, including from the river to the sea, that have become a common feature of anti-Israel marches, suggesting that they amounted to the legitimisation of an extremist position which intimidates and leads to hate. The Government was planning to go into details that will allow protesters to question whether they really want to be lending credence to extremist groups, Mr Gove said, adding that at future marches there would be no excuse for ignorance. Mr Goves intervention came ahead of the publication of a new official definition of extremism intended to ensure that the Government cuts ties with individuals and groups whose behaviour or outlook crosses the line. As part of that work, ministers are preparing to name some organisations deemed to be extremist, amid concerns about a major rise in anti-Semitism since the Oct 7 attacks by Hamas. Also in the interview: The Communities Secretary said hostile states such as Iran were trying to destabilise British democracy by stoking UK-based extremism; Mr Gove called for the Equality Act to be revisited following claims that a tribunal ruling had established that anti-Zionist beliefs are legally protected; He waded into a row over the term Islamophobia, warning that it risked chilling effect on free speech and stating that he preferred to refer to anti-Muslim hatred. This week, Mr Gove will unveil a new, more precise definition of extremism to enable the Government, and ultimately bodies such as universities and councils, to ban funding for or engagement with Islamist and far-Right groups. He said: The definition will replace the existing Prevent definition and give practitioners more specificity on the ideologies, behaviour and groups of concern to support vital counter-radicalisation work. He added: For all state institutions, this definition and a set of engagement principles should act as a guide. Mr Gove said Islamism itself could be defined as an ideology that seeks to set Muslims apart from the rest of society, divide Muslims themselves, apply Sharia law, and create an Islamic state. There are people operating to undermine our democracy The Communities Secretary insisted that fears that individuals such as gender-critical feminists and devout Christians, Jews and Muslims could fall foul of the new definition were misplaced. He stated: Its only extremism if you translate that into a political ideology that is anti-democratic. Private belief should be cherished. Free speech has to be protected. But there are people who are operating deliberately to undermine our democracy and ... this space and the exploitation of that space by extremists has only grown. Asked what effect the changes might have on the protests that the Governments extremism adviser warned last week were turning central London into a no-go zone for Jews every weekend, Mr Gove said: If were clear about the nature of extremist organisations, then I think that means that some of the people and there are good-hearted people who go on these marches, I dont agree with them, but theyre moved by suffering and they want peace but it may help some of them to question who are organising some of these events. I wont go into details now, but we will later. Some of the events that have been organised, have been organised by extremist organisations. That doesnt mean that people who have gone on them are extremist, quite the opposite. But it means that you can begin to question, do you really want to be lending credence to this organisation? If you do, fair enough. But now there is no excuse for ignorance. He added: We can also have a broader conversation about the way in which some of whats said on these marches springs from an extremist ideology, rather than simply being an expression of passionate opposition to conflict. From the river to the sea is not a call for peace ... When youre saying from the river to the sea, youre explicitly saying, I want to see the end of Israel as a Jewish state, the Jewish homeland erased. Now, be clear about that and be clear about what that means. Be clear about the fact that you know a key Islamist demand is the erasure of what they see as the Zionist entity or the crusader Zionist state. And therefore, lets be clear that there is a difference between a cry for peace and the legitimisation of an extremist position which intimidates and leads to hate. Significant increase in anti-Semitic incidents Mr Gove described the rise in extremism as a profound concern, stating: Obviously since Oct 7 weve seen a significant increase in anti-Semitic incidents. Weve also seen an increase in anti-Muslim hatred. And this is a significant acceleration of whats been a deeply worrying trend for years now, which has been the way in which organisations operating below the criminal threshold have been polarising and dividing society, spreading hate and seeking to make our pluralist, liberal democracy contested space. There have been people whove been trying to undermine democratic values, divide people on the basis of race and religion, and I have felt for a while now that we needed to take action. Addressing the question of interference by Iran, Mr Gove said: It is undoubtedly the case that there are individuals who are either linked to or who admire the Iranian regime, and who are extremist in the UK, but I cant say more than that. He added: One of the things that were explicitly looking at is the way in which foreign state and non-state actors seek to encourage extremism here. And again, this is inevitably sensitive work about which I can say only a very limited amount, because its not only Iran that attempts to use some of these forces to destabilise British democracy. Mr Gove also expressed concerns about the characterisation by David Miller, a Bristol University professor sacked for his anti-Zionist views, of a recent ruling which found that he was unfairly dismissed. Prof Millers lawyers have claimed the judgment established that anti-Zionist beliefs are protected in the workplace. Mr Gove said: We do need to revisit the law. Read the full interview It's not right that Jews fear going into central London Click here Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Crowds welcomed Bluebird as it arrived in Coniston on the back of a lorry Donald Campbell's Bluebird craft has returned to the Lake District 57 years after its pilot was killed in a crash on Coniston Water. The hydroplane's wreckage was recovered in 2001 and rebuilt by Tyneside engineer Bill Smith. Following a legal battle, it was handed to Coniston's Ruskin Museum. The machine was collected from North Shields on Saturday morning and was welcomed with claps and cheers when it reached Coniston later that day. The journey from North Shields began at about 12:00 GMT Mr Campbell had been trying to push his water-speed record past 300mph (480km/h) when Bluebird somersaulted in January 1967. The reconstructed craft took to the water again in Scotland in August 2018 and Mr Smith vowed to "fight to the death" over what he said was his stake in it. However, last month it was announced he had relinquished his claim. 'Mission accomplished' Jeff Carroll, vice-chairman of the museum's trustees, said it was a "momentous day". "It means that everybody can actually come and look at Bluebird and see her in all her glory," Mr Carroll said. "It will mean my mission accomplished, for the moment." He thanked Mr Smith and his Bluebird Project volunteers, who reconstructed the craft. Bill Smith led Bluebird's recovery in 2001 and restored it in his Tyneside workshop Once back in the Lake District, it will be the centrepiece of the museum's Bluebird wing. Mr Smith said: "I've always described this as a diving job that got out of hand. That's my short version. "Everyone's very proud of their work and everyone want to clap their work off the premises and be very positive." Timeline of a tragedy Donald Campbell in the Bluebird cockpit, photographed in 1958 Donald Campbell set seven water-speed world records, including four on Coniston Water, between 1955 and 1964 He achieved a further world best on land in 1964 - becoming the only man to set fastest times on water and land in the same year Bidding to smash his mark of 276mph (444km/h), he was killed when Bluebird somersaulted on 4 January 1967 The wreckage was raised by Bill Smith's dive team on 8 March 2001, with Mr Campbell's body recovered on 28 May Bluebird ran again in 2018 at Loch Fad on the Isle of Bute after its lengthy restoration Mr Campbell's daughter, Gina, was at Coniston for Bluebird's arrival, where crowds of onlookers had gathered. "I said to my partner, I will never live long enough to see this day," she said. "And if it hadn't been for the museum and their tenacity and doggedness to see this through, I don't think I would've lived long enough to see this day." Bluebird was visible as it was transported to Cumbria from Tyneside Mr Smith has accused the museum of being "spiteful" and "vindictive" in requesting the craft be handed over. While Miss Campbell said she had sympathy for BBP volunteers, she said that Bluebird was "coming home". "I'm not going to gloat in any way, shape or form. There are no winners in this other than right over wrong. It didn't have to be this way," she said. Donald Trump hopes to win back the deep-pocketed GOP donors who bankrolled his Republican rivals - WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY Donald Trumps campaign is having to cut costs and aggressively seek out new funding as the Republican 2024 candidate confronts a cash crisis heading into the general election. The former president, 77, faces the compounding issue of growing legal bills at the same time as a shortfall in donations to bankroll his bid to return to the White House. Having seen off his last Republican rival, Nikki Haley, Mr Trump is now trying to address the glaring disparity his campaign faces with Joe Biden and the Democrats. Mr Trumps campaign had $30.5 million of cash, compared with Mr Bidens $56 million, according to the latest financial disclosures. Mr Trump hopes to win back the deep-pocketed GOP donors who bankrolled his Republican rivals, but some have expressed scepticism that the money could be used in part to foot Mr Trumps legal bills. On Friday, Mr Trump posted a nearly $92 million (72 million) bond in the defamation case he lost to the writer E Jean Carroll after he denied sexually assaulting her. Mr Trump also owes more than $455 million (354 million) in a separate fraud case relating to his New York businesses. His costs are only growing as he attempts to fight four criminal indictments, the first of which comes to trial later this month. His main fundraising vehicle has already spent more than $50 million on legal expenses since last year, a significant cash-burn rate. In 2019, his campaign collected $72 million in donations of $200 or less. But since launching his third White House bid in November 2022 and the end of last year, small donors have given just $27 million, according to data from the non-profit OpenSecrets. Trump campaign insiders said they were cognisant of the problem and are finding creative ways to address it. One insider suggested Mr Trumps hallmark rallies could be scaled back to cut costs, while a meeting was recently organised between the former president, and Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and one of the worlds richest men. Meanwhile, Mr Trumps extraordinary ability to power his movement through small-dollar, grassroots donors appears to be waning. Mr Trump has even begun to pay some of his legal bills from his own private fortune, according to some within his inner circle. However, some conservative donors remain uninterested in bankrolling Mr Trump. Eric Levine, a former Haley donor, said he would be focusing all my attention on helping Republicans win back the Senate. Ken Griffin, who was the third-largest individual Republican donor in the 2020 presidential cycle, donated $5 million to support Mr Haley but has not given to Mr Trump. Donor uncertainty Mr Griffin has indicated he too will be focusing on the battle for control of Congress, rather than the White House race. Four other significant donors to Ms Haley have ruled out donating to Mr Trump. Im not going to write him a check for $50,000 when I dont know where the hell its going to lawyers or who knows what else, one major California-based donor told Reuters, adding that other donors had said similar. The cash crunch extends to the wider machinery of the Republican Party. The Republican National Committee (RNC) entered 2024 with nearly three-times less cash-on-hand than the Democratic National Committee (DNC). However, with two Trump loyalists including the former presidents daughter-in-law Lara Trump assuming leadership positions in the RNC on Friday, even the RNCs coffers could in future be used to help cover Mr Trumps legal costs. Meanwhile, Mr Biden, as the incumbent Democratic candidate, has had the benefit of raising money in conjunction with the DNC. The presidents senior campaign advisers have gleefully seized on the Republicans dilemma and planned a $30 million advertising blitz in battleground states to capitalise on the advantage. Mr Biden has also embarked on a swing-state tour including Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Michigan. His campaign aides claim the president has amassed more than any other Democratic candidate in history at this point in the campaign, thanks in large part to a record-breaking grassroots operation. Historic war chest Jen OMalley Dillon, longtime White House staffer and Mr Bidens 2024 campaign chairman, said his re-election bid has a historic war chest, having raised nearly $280 million. Following Mr Trumps early lead in the GOP primary, Ms OMalley Dillon said the Biden camp saw their strongest month in grassroots fundraising last month. By contrast, she said, Mr Trump and the Republican Party were entering the general election race cash-strapped and straddled with insurmountable costs. However, Mr Trumps team remains optimistic Republican donors will return to the MAGA fold as the election nears. Mr Trump has already received around $10 million from the banking heir Timothy Mellon. Dan Eberhart, a former donor to Ron DeSantis who has returned to Mr Trump, said a little spending discipline this time around is a good thing. But he added: I expect the donors will be there when it counts. They may not like it, but theyll show up. This is the White House were talking about. And theres no other option on the table. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. The Republican Party is now more than ever the Donald Trump party, with Fridays election of ally Michael Whatley and the former presidents daughter-in-law Lara Trump as chair and cochair, respectively, of the Republican National Committee. They replace Ronna Romney McDaniel, the niece of U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney. Donald Trump and his partisans saw McDaniel as insufficiently supportive, plus her uncle has often criticized Trump. Lara Trump has been married to Eric Trump, Donalds middle son, since 2014. During her father-in-laws presidential campaigns, she has worked on outreach to LGBTQ+ people and other minority groups. In that capacity, she has often falsely asserted that the candidate was committed to inclusivity. Donald Trump has never cared about how you look, hes never cared about your gender, your religion, or who you love, she said at an event in 2020. Donald Trump is fighting for every single American, period. That statement ignores Donald Trumps transgender military ban, his endorsement of numerous license to discriminate policies, his failure to back the Equality Act, his attempt to ban Muslims from immigrating to the U.S., and his frequent disparagement of women (including a jurys finding that he was liable for the sexual abuse of E. Jean Carroll). In an equally untrue claim, she has called Donald Trump the most pro-gay president in American history. At a so-called Trump Pride event in 2020, Lara Trump again painted Donald as an LGBTQ+ ally, saying, Donald Trump led the way [for] the campaign for decriminalizing homosexuality around the world, the only president to do that, ladies and gentlemen. But the Obama administration began this effort, the GLAAD Accountability Project points out. The Trump administrations effort was described as nothing more than self-promoting Twitter photos and led to no advances that can be credited to the administration. Trump himself was unfamiliar with it when asked. Trump-appointed UN Ambassador Nikki Haley oversaw a vote against a decriminalization resolution. Mother Jones lampooned Lara Trumps lack of qualifications to lead the RNC in a post sarcastically titled Lara Trump is all about meritocracy. Before she married Eric Trump, the publication notes, she was a dabbler, having interned at TV stations, gone to culinary school, marketed erotic cakes, and worked as a personal trainer. Her marriage launched her into the world of Fox News, political campaigns, and on Friday, the top post at the Republican National Committee, Mother Jones continues. Whatley has a lower profile than Lara Trump, at least outside North Carolina. But there hes a prominent activist who chairs the state Republican Party. Hes also well known by Republican insiders nationwide. He got his start in politics as a volunteer for virulently homophobic U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina in 1984, when Whatley was a sophomore in high school, The Washington Post reports. In 2000, he was on the legal team for George W. Bushs presidential campaign and worked on the battle over the Florida recount, in which a Supreme Court decision handed a victory to Bush. He then worked in the U.S. Department of Energy and as chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina. Later he became a lobbyist, primarily representing energy firms. In 2015, he returned to North Carolina and became an early supporter of Donald Trumps presidential ambitions. He assisted in setting up the administration after Trump was elected. He became North Carolina Republican chairman in 2019 after the previous chairman, Robert Hayes, was involved in a bribery scandal. Whatley has helped Republicans win supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature; there, theyve passed much anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, often overriding Democratic Gov. Roy Coopers vetoes. He has also echoed Trumps claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. Recently, Whatley congratulated the states Republican nominee for governor in 2024 Mark Robinson, currently the lieutenant governor, who has called LGBTQ+ people filth and denied that the Holocaust took place. North Carolina voters have delivered a resounding message that they want change in the Governors Mansion and Mark Robinson is ready to deliver it! he wrote on X. (@) Explosions echoed Taganrog, Russia. The target may have been a local aviation plant, involved in the repair of the A-50 aircraft Explosions resonated through the night in the Russian city of Taganrog, with the potential target being a local aviation plant specifically engaged in the repair of A-50 aircraft, Rostov Oblast governor Vasily Golubev said on Telegram on March 9. Russian authorities claimed the Ukrainian drones carried out the attack. Russian air defense systems allegedly repelled the attack, said Golubev. One Emergency Situations Ministry worker sustained injuries during ground aftermath operations. Read also: Ukrainian Air Force attacks Russian planes from a distance of more than 150 km The PJSC Beriev Aircraft Company, involved in repairing A-50 AEW&C aircraft for the Russian Aerospace Forces, might have been affected, local Telegram channels said. Russian military bloggers speculate that the aviation plant was the target of a widespread attack. Ukrainian special forces conducted a successful operation in Taganrog, targeting the local aircraft manufacturing plant with drones, Serhiy Bratchuk, the spokesman for the Ukrainian Volunteer Army South said on Telegram on March 9. Read also: Perhaps the most interesting is the modernization of the A-50 to A-50U, the same highly expensive and crucial aircraft for the Russian Aerospace Forces, two of which have already been shot down, Bratchuk said. Such powerful strikes can seriously impede the operation of the plant, and for quite a long time. Read also: Airforce attrition halves intensity of Russian air strikes Ukrainian military A big number of drones with explosive payloads hit the workshops of the plant, causing a fire he said. Whether it has been extinguished at this time is unknown, Bratchuk said. Whether the A-50U nearby was affected is also unknown, but the geolocation of at least one video is known, showing a flash from a drone strike either on the assembly shop or workshop No. 3. However, there were several hits, not just one or two, significantly more. This is an incredibly successful operation using kamikaze drones within the territory of the Russian Federation. Ukrainian forces have already destroyed two A-50 aircraft since the beginning of 2024. The cost of one such aircraft is over $350 million. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Key Insights The projected fair value for Colonial Motor is NZ$9.83 based on Dividend Discount Model Colonial Motor's NZ$8.25 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate Colonial Motor's peers seem to be trading at a higher discount to fair value based onthe industry average of 35% Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of The Colonial Motor Company Limited (NZSE:CMO) as an investment opportunity by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Believe it or not, it's not too difficult to follow, as you'll see from our example! Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you. See our latest analysis for Colonial Motor Crunching The Numbers We have to calculate the value of Colonial Motor slightly differently to other stocks because it is a specialty retail company. Instead of using free cash flows, which are hard to estimate and often not reported by analysts in this industry, dividends per share (DPS) payments are used. This often underestimates the value of a stock, but it can still be good as a comparison to competitors. We use the Gordon Growth Model, which assumes dividend will grow into perpetuity at a rate that can be sustained. The dividend is expected to grow at an annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 2.6%. We then discount this figure to today's value at a cost of equity of 8.3%. Compared to the current share price of NZ$8.3, the company appears about fair value at a 16% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out. Story continues Value Per Share = Expected Dividend Per Share / (Discount Rate - Perpetual Growth Rate) = NZ$0.6 / (8.3% 2.6%) = NZ$9.8 dcf Important Assumptions Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Colonial Motor as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 8.3%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.260. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business. SWOT Analysis for Colonial Motor Strength Debt is well covered by earnings. Dividend is in the top 25% of dividend payers in the market. Weakness Earnings declined over the past year. Opportunity Current share price is below our estimate of fair value. Significant insider buying over the past 3 months. Lack of analyst coverage makes it difficult to determine CMO's earnings prospects. Threat Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow. Paying a dividend but company has no free cash flows. Looking Ahead: Whilst important, the DCF calculation shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. For Colonial Motor, there are three essential items you should consider: Risks: Take risks, for example - Colonial Motor has 2 warning signs (and 1 which shouldn't be ignored) we think you should know about. Management:Have insiders been ramping up their shares to take advantage of the market's sentiment for CMO's future outlook? Check out our management and board analysis with insights on CEO compensation and governance factors. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every New Zealander stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here. 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. (KRON) Disgraced Federal Correctional Institution Dublin prison guards are facing an avalanche of lawsuits stemming from systemic sexual abuse of female inmates. The prisons former warden, Ray J. Garcia, was previously convicted by a jury on eight counts of sex abuse. Inmates said 57-year-old Garcia and guards created a rape club within the prison, located across the street from Santa Rita Jail. On Thursday, Rights Behind Bars, Arnold & Porter, and the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice filed lawsuits on behalf of 12 female inmates who claim they were sexually abused by male guards at the federal womens prison. The incidents of abuse detailed in the complaints filed yesterday are shocking. They reflect the pattern that has emerged across myriad investigations sexual abuse at FCI Dublin has been enabled by a system where coercion is the norm, outside scrutiny is rare, and officers protect one another from accountability at all costs, attorneys wrote. Ray J. Garcia, the former warden of a federal womens prison, leaves a courthouse in Oakland on Nov. 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) Several ex-FCI Dublin prison guards have been criminally charged in a massive scandal. One of the charged guards, 53-year-old Darrell Wayne Smith, was nicknamed Dirty Dick Smith by inmates. Last summer two former guards, Nakie Nunley 49, of Fairfield, and Andrew Jones, 36, of Pleasanton, pleaded guilty to sexually abusing inmates and lying to investigators. Former guard John Bellhouse, 40, of Pleasanton, was convicted by a jury. The female inmates represented in the lawsuits are identified by their initials in court documents. Allegations in the 12 civil lawsuits include: F.S., a Native American woman, was forcibly raped by Officer Pool 1-3 times a week, often while being held down by two other officers, Officers Saucedo and Ramos, according to the lawsuit. The officers made hateful comments, including saying that Native Americans are worth nothing but drinking alcohol and going to prison. FS-SUITDownload Inmate E.S. was forcibly raped by Officer Kinlaw on a number of occasions, the suit claims. He regularly made homophobic remarks to her and threatened to throw her in the SHU (solitary confinement) if she left their shared job. Officer Sinclair stood as a lookout when Officer Kinlaw sexually abused E.S., her attorneys said. ES-SUITDownload Women were subject to horrific incidences of voyeurism, being forced to masturbate, perform strip shows, or commit sex acts on other incarcerated women in front of officers. On multiple occasions, inmate A.Y. awoke to Officer Allwine on top of her, removing her clothes, and digitally penetrating her, the lawsuit states. AY-SUITDownload An undocumented woman, H.G., was threatened with deportation by one guard if she did not commit the sexual acts he demanded. Multiple plaintiffs are immigrant women who were targeted due to their illegal immigration status. HG-SUITDownload The lawsuits were filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Emily Shapiro, a member of California Coalition for Women Prisoners, said there are still abusive guards at FCI Dublin who have not been fired or prosecuted. While some of the officers named in the lawsuits have been convicted at trial, no charges have been filed against officers Allwine, Pool, and Kinlaw, attorneys said. Dozens more lawsuits are expected to be filed in the coming months, attorneys said. This horrific abuse is continuing to happen right here in the Bay Area even during and after officers being convicted, Shapiro said. We have to pay attention if we want accountability from BOP (Bureau of Prisons). The experiences of these 12 additional survivors speak to the fact that the abuse is systemic, that officers weaponize solitary confinement, immigration status, and write-ups to coerce people in Dublin. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. The Duke, seen here with his dogs on his Bagshot estate, has spoken about about the difficulties of adjusting to his title - Chris Jelf/PA The role of Duke of Edinburgh is so closely associated with just one man that even his successor struggles to remember he now holds the title his father once made indelibly his own. So much so that Prince Edward has confessed that he sometimes forgets that people are referring to him and not his father, Prince Philip. The Duke has even walked past chairs with his title on them to find what he assumes will be his correct place in a room. Speaking on ITVs Love Your Weekend about the difficulties of adjusting to his title, which he was bestowed a year ago, he said: It was a huge privilege but also quite a lot of weight of expectation as well. I mean, theres an awful lot of legacy that came with that title and everything that my father had done. Especially when youre not inheriting it, this is a choice that comes with all the expectations that people have. Its just the weirdest and strangest feeling. You walk into a room and, particularly still today, there are name places on a card and I still look around going Yes, but where am I sitting?. The Duke told Alan Titchmarsh that his father was, quite simply, an extraordinary man. He said that Prince Philip was the Prince Albert of our age, adding: He had an extraordinary mind. He loved design, he loved innovation, he was brilliant with all sorts of people. Sometimes it didnt necessarily come across that way but he was actually brilliant with people. He was always, always encouraging everybody. You sort of needed to get to know him. The Duke said his late father was 'brilliant with all sorts of people' - Andy Buchanan/AFP/Getty Images On a weekend when the role of mothers is being celebrated, Prince Edward said his fathers partnership with his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth, was central to his own life growing up. Speaking about Mothering Sunday, the Duke said: Those days were, and these days are really important to remember some very, very special people in our lives. There should be several times in the year when we make a special sort of effort and Mothering Sunday was very much one of those where you made a special effort just to say thank you. So it goes on and thats the lovely thing about it. Thats the lovely thing about families and thats what it should be. Returning to the role Prince Philip played within the Royal family the late Queens strength and stay the Duke said his influence on his own children was incalculable. He revealed the lasting memories his grandchildren had of the late Prince Philip, including teaching his daughter Lady Louise to drive a carriage one of Prince Philips abiding passions. It was entirely off her own bat. I mean, you know, just one day, Can I go out with you and go sit on the boxes?. He was like, Absolutely. He never was going to say no! He took her out with the team and I think it was only the second time, he was driving along and he said, Do you want to have a go? and she didnt have time to even answer the question, he just handed the reins across. Prince Edward also spoke of the support he receives from his wife The Duchess of Edinburgh - which Titchmarsh suggested was similar to the loyal support the late Queen received from her husband. Prince Edward said he is 'incredibly lucky that I found Sophie and that she found me' - Chris Jackson/Getty Images [The Duchess of Edinburgh is] critical, absolutely critical. Shes been an absolutely brilliant rock and Im incredibly lucky that I found Sophie and that she found me, said the Duke. Hopefully weve been a really brilliant partnership. Were very lucky, weve got two, of what we would think are particularly brilliant children, who are forging such different paths for themselves. I think thats also equally fascinating. Prince Edward also discussed the achievements of young people recognised by This is Youth a new initiative by the prestigious Duke of Edinburghs Award which includes prizes such as Planet Protector of the Year. The Duke said: [We are] trying to illuminate the fact that the award is more than just expeditions and walking up and down mountains and things like that. Theres far more to it than that. So, if we can just shine a bit of a light on people who have discovered a passion somewhere else, and a purpose somewhere else, whether thats through the environment, or developing a skill somewhere, or pursuing a particular physical activity, or whatever it is Lila was such a brilliant first recipient of that award. The brilliant thing about it is that its about young people being asked the question, What is it that you want to go and do?. The interview came as the King appointed his brother Edward to the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle on the occasion of his 60th birthday, along with Professor Baroness Black of Strome, Baroness Helena Kennedy of The Shaws and Professor Sir Geoff (Godfrey) Palmer. The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle represents the highest honour in Scotland *Watch the full interview with Prince Edward, The Duke of Edinburgh on Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh on Sunday 10th March at 9:30am on ITV1 and ITVX. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Eastbound Strangler: Serial killer stays in shadows as boogeyman with no face but at least 4 victims Four women's murders and the meticulous way their bodies were staged has the feel of a ghost story, not an actual criminal case. In the fall of 2006, a serial killer hunted women in Atlantic City, and at least four women Kim Raffo, Barbara Breidor, Molly Dilts and Tracy Ann Roberts lost their lives. Their bodies were left along Black Horse Pike in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, and positioned with their arms stretched out in the water and their heads pointed east, giving birth to the sinister moniker "Eastbound Strangler." But the killer remains a shadowy boogeyman nearly two decades later. Various theories that attempted to give this phantom a face have fallen apart. GILGO BEACH MURDER VICTIMS FORGOTTEN DURING YEARS OF CORRUPTION AND SCANDAL STALK System To Apprehend Lethal Killers offered a $25,000 reward that leads to the capture of the killer. An A&E special, appropriately titled "Will the Identity of the Eastbound Strangler Ever Be Revealed?" aired in February. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Criminal profiler John Kelly, whose team at STALK Inc. has an open $25,000 reward for this case, said his team still gets tips, including a couple the team is looking into, but his "level of confidence is not high." WOMAN WHO SURVIVED SEX ASSAULT AS TEEN REACTS TO JUDGE BENCHED AFTER OVERTURNING HER ATTACKER'S CONVICTION "When this first happened, there was a frenzy and panic that was taking place," Kelly told Fox News Digital. "You had a guy who was pretty much killing a girl a week or a girl every 10 days. It was like, Wow, he got a live wire here.'" A couple of women accidentally stumbled upon 35-year-old Raffo's remains behind the since-demolished Golden Key Motel in November 2006. Law enforcement found the remains of Roberts, 23, Breidor, 42, and Dilts, 19, in the same pit. The women were individually discarded over a five-week period in a pit with a creek behind the motel, nicknamed the "Motel from Hell." Each victim was fully clothed except for their feet, which the killer used to anchor them to the side of the ditch so they didn't float away. They were placed about 320 feet apart in the water with their arms stretched out and their heads pointed east. That led Kelly and his team at STALK System To Apprehend Lethal Killers to theorize they were looking for a man with a foot fetish and/or someone who killed as part of some kind of religious ritual. UNSOLVED CASE WITH CONSTANTLY CHANGING CAUSES OF DEATH TORE FAMILY APART, LED TO VICTIM'S SISTER'S SUICIDE: I WANT ANSWERS "To me, this was someone who was concerned about DNA, concerned about some ritual and concerned about possibly coming back, which most (serial killers) do to relive the situation," Kelly said. "It was not about somebody trying to hide the bodies, because if you really wanted to hide bodies in that area, you've got a lot of places you can hide them. And all the women were found with nothing covering them." The full Eastbound Strangler criminal profile put together by John Kelly and his team at STALK. Because the victims' bodies were out in the open and diligently displayed, Kelly and his team ruled out a popular theory that the Eastbound Strangler and LISK, the Long Island Serial Killer, were the same person. That became a popular theory after the bodies of the "Gilgo 4," all sex workers, were found on Gilgo Beach along Long Island's south shore in late 2010. REX HEUERMANN'S PECULIAR CONNECTION TO MANORVILLE BUTCHER AND VICTIMS' SCATTERED BODY PARTS But the methods never matched. The victims on Gilgo Beach were covered in burlap and hidden, so Kelly ruled LISK out in 2011 or 2012. Even after the alleged Long Island Serial Killer was identified as Rex Heuermann, who was charged with the murders of the "Gilgo 4," there's nothing definitively tying him to the Atlantic City victims, according to Kelly. The Suffolk County District Attorney also said there's no evidence connecting Heuermann to the Eastbound Strangler murders. Rex Heuermann appears inside Judge Timothy P. Mazzeis courtroom with Atty. Michael Brown at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. The Eastbound Strangler may not have a face, but Kelly worked up a personality profile based on the evidence. "This lethal predator is a local male, who is familiar with the Atlantic City area and the disposal site of his victims," he wrote in his most recent update on his website. "He has a very organized personality which influences his personal and everyday activities, including his work. He is very rigid and structured in his everyday life." VIDEO SHOWS 1982 TYLENOL MURDERS SUSPECT RELAXED AS HE CALLS COPS STUPID FOR MISSING BIG BLUNDER He likely has a foot fetish with a collection of women's shoes and socks, nonsocial and narcissistic, according to Kelly. "In his pre-offense mode, he may have spoken about the sinful nature of prostitution, or he may have voiced economic concerns about prostitutes destroying Atlantic City's value or reputation," he wrote. "In his post-offense mode, he would say things like, They got what they deserved or Good riddance.'" VIDEO: WHY FILMMAKER NEVER THOUGHT LISK CASE WOULD EVER BE SOLVED The killer likely follows news about his murders, has a prior record of sexual or physical abuse toward women and is likely detached from his father and abused as a child, according to the profile. But no crime scenes that Kelly studied matched the victims' purposefully thought out placement, Kelly told Fox News Digital. And there hasn't been any update on potential DNA recovered from the scene or if it was tested using the latest advancements. SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER What's even more troubling is Kelly's belief the killer likely killed before these four victims were found and likely killed others after. "This was not his first rodeo," Kelly said. "I truly believe he killed before because it's rare for somebody to evolve that quickly, very rare. And so I have to believe he killed people somewhere else. "And I would believe that there's a really good chance that he killed after. And why I'm not saying definitely killed after is because we have seen some of these guys go through a cooling-off period." GET REAL TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB Why the killings stopped could be for any number of reasons, Kelly said, ranging from a suspect not wanting to get caught to settling down in a relationship with someone the suspect genuinely cared about. That's assuming the homicides are driven by substance abuse, like serial killer Ted Bundy, who killed essentially every time he drank, Kelly said. Killers like the Eastbound Strangler would often solicit sex workers, Kelly said, which could be in Atlantic City, somewhere else in New Jersey or in a different state. That doesn't mean he would've killed every prostitute, but they would "routinely habituate" sex workers, according to Kelly, which would likely be the key to unlocking this particular case. "They are constantly with prostitutes, and somebody out there knows him," Kelly said. "And you know, if it's because they all have a fetish, whether it's a foot fetish or something ritualistic, it could be how he's caught." Tips can be sent to johnkelleyprofiler@gmail.com, your local police department or the Atlantic City Police Department at (609) 347-5780. Original article source: Eastbound Strangler: Serial killer stays in shadows as boogeyman with no face but at least 4 victims Several egg hunts with the Easter Bunny are scheduled in and around Mansfield and Richland County. Here are some of the local events planned, so get the kids and a bag, bucket or basket and have some family fun. Dayspring's 31st annual Easter Egg Hunt, is 1 p.m. March 30 at 3220 N. Olivesburg Road, Mansfield. Hunts for various age groups on tap including a new toddler area, plus carnival games, food and goodie bags. March 16 Easter Egg Bash, Paradise Church, 87 N. Illinois Ave., noon-1:30 p.m. Hunt by age group (0-12 years), face painting, prizes and photos with the Easter Bunny. March 17 March 18 March 23 Graham Automall, 1515 W. Fourth St., Mansfield, 10 a.m. Ages infant-12, 10 a.m. More than 1,000 eggs. Grand prize in every age group. Drive-Thru Easter, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., lower South Park, 100 Brinkerhoff Ave., Mansfield. Sponsored by the City of Mansfield Parks and Recreation Department. Madison Community Easter Egg Hunt (children through sixth grade), 3 p.m., Trinity Grace Fellowship, 1592 Grace St., Mansfield. There will be a 15-minute program in the church, followed by a hunt for 4,000 eggs. Then the children will return inside to make a special craft, decorate cookies to take home, and they will receive an Easter gift. Shelby Alliance Church, 105 E. Smiley Ave. Shelby, 10 a.m. Sponsored by the Shelby YMCA. Ages: 1-12 years old (will be divided by age); egg hunts will take place in 10-15 minute increments so all can enjoy watching their kids hunt for the eggs. After egg hunt, candy will be handed out to the participants. All participants will meet in the Sanctuary for an Easter message, then will be divided by age groups. Please arrive by 10 a.m. Richland County Dog Wardens Shelter, 2:30 p.m. All ages. Professional pictures with the Easter Bunny free with any donation made to the dog shelter. Please RSVP. PANAMA CITY On March 8, during an official check presentation held at FSU Panama City, the Ed Hickey Trust offered a big helping hand to local college students. The trust has donated $260,000 to the FSU Panama City Foundation. The money will provide scholarship opportunities for Panama City Beach students in need. The original scholarship donation was at $250,000. But in a surprise move, Jeff DiBenedictis, executive of the Ed Hickey Trust, added a $10,000 bonus. Ed Hickey, Panama City Beach business pioneer. Ed Hickey was a pioneer in the Panama City Beach business community, and he was a man who always believed in second chances. This scholarship will be a tribute to Hickey, who died in April 2021 at the age of 94. According to a press release from FSU Panama City, the gift from the Edward F. Hickey Jr. Memorial Trust will provide up to $10,000 in scholarships per year to deserving students. More PCB News: Look up! Panama City Beach to host inaugural Gulf Coast Salute Air Show in May "The scholarship will be reserved for students from the beaches area (specifically, ZIP codes 32407, 32408, 32411, 32413 and 32417) who need a second chance opportunity for a higher education," the release reads. With the additional $10,000, FSU Panama City can begin giving scholarships as early as this fall. This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Ed Hickey Trust donates $260,000 to FSU Panama City EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) The El Paso Independent School District will expand its Dual Language Bilingual Education program in the 2024-25 school year to continue fostering bilingualism and biliteracy among a new generation of students, El Paso ISD announced in a press release sent Friday, March 8. A phased implementation of the immersion program design was launched this school year at four pilot elementary schools for grade pre-kindergarten 3 only, according to the district. The district says the program will expand to other elementary schools next year, with one new cohort joining each subsequent year. El Paso ISDs 90:10 model will start with 90 percent of instruction in Spanish and 10 percent in English, with a gradual decrease of Spanish each year until language instruction is evenly split in second grade. The district says students will remain at 50:50 English to Spanish throughout their elementary years. All students currently enrolled in the 50:50 model will be grandfathered into 50:50 for the rest of their elementary school years. Mesita Elementary Schools Mundos Unidos Gifted and Talented Program, where students also receive instruction in Mandarin Chinese in addition to Spanish, will remain a magnet program with a unique language allocation plan, according to the district. El Paso ISD provided an example of the language allocation plan as shown below: Pre-kindergarten 3 = 90 percent Spanish, 10 percent English Pre-kindergarten 4 = 80 percent Spanish, 20 percent English Kindergarten = 70 percent Spanish, 30 percent English First grade = 60 percent Spanish, 40 percent English Second grade = 50 percent Spanish, 50 percent English The district says the shift to the 90:10 model is underpinned by significant research, including works by dual-language research professors Kathryn Lindholm-Leary, Wayne Thomas, and Virginia Collier. Their findings indicate the effectiveness of the model in bridging the achievement gap between English learners and native English speakers. What we found as we dug into the data was that Emergent Bilingual (EB) students underperformed as compared to both non-EB Dual Language program participants and monolingual students, sometimes by very wide margins, Veronica Reyes, executive director of Specialized Learning Programs, noted. The strategy for the new model is grounded on the principle that early and substantial immersion in the minority language not only fosters linguistic proficiency but also amplifies academic achievement and fosters deep connections for Emergent Bilingual students. According to the 2023 Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR), more than 43 percent of El Paso ISDs student population qualifies for bilingual education services compared with 23 percent at the state level, according to the district. In a city like El Paso, bilingualism is not just a skill, Chief Academic Officer Al Garcia said. Its a bridge between cultures and communities. For many children in our district, its also the foundation for learning. This approach promotes a deep understanding of both languages and reaffirms our commitment to a strong bilingual education program. Additionally, El Paso ISD will form a steering committee, comprised of a diverse group of stakeholders including principals, bilingual education teachers, researchers from the University of Texas at El Paso, and parents of both Emergent Bilingual students and monolingual students that will play a vital role in expanding the program into the secondary years. This steering committee represents a critical step in our journey toward a comprehensive K-12 dual language program, Garcia said. While we are proud of the strides we have made in our elementary schools, we recognize the importance of continuity in bilingual education through secondary school. This committee will ensure that the transition is not only seamless but also reflective of our communitys needs and aspirations. As the regions pioneer of public education and the first to provide the community with dual-language programming, El Paso ISD remains committed to dual-language education, El Paso ISD Superintendent Diana Sayavedra said. Strengthening our program ensures that we are providing the best educational opportunities for our students, fostering bilingualism and empowering them for success in an increasingly interconnected world. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. EMPORIA (KSNT)- Earlier this week, Emporia found out its municipal airport will receive a nearly $1 million grant from the Kansas Airport Improvement Program. The airport will use the money to expand the apron, which is where planes park to board passengers and refuel. One city leader says this will resolve their current spacing problem. Lawrence plastic bag ban officially in full effect It will allow space for smaller planes to get to the self serve fuel station which currently when we have a larger plane on the apron it is very difficult to get the planes in to the self serve fuel station, Dean Grant, Director of Emporia Public Works said. Sausage sold in Kansas recalled due to contamination risk The state will not allocate funds for this project until the start of the fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2024. Once funds are allocated, designs will begin for this project. For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. Like many of us, Richard Harwood has had enough. Enough division. Enough hate. Enough fear. Enough feeling helpless, hopeless and unheard. For roughly 35 years, Harwood has worked in communities across the U.S. helping them rethink how we can improve politics and public life. And in recent years, he's heard from people all over the country that inequities and disparities in our nation are growing, not diminishing, and that a lack of trust in our institutions and in each other has eroded into a pervasive sense of mistrust. "Hope is in really short supply in our country, and people believe that we're going in the wrong direction regardless of who you vote for," Harwood said. How do we turn things around? Harwood posits that in this divisive environment, where so many of us feel worn down, we can grow hope by taking small steps that demonstrate we can get things done things that we aspire to and that enable us to forge stronger communities. So, he started a campaign encouraging community leaders and active citizens to step forward and build together. That campaign is called "Enough. Time to Build." "What this is about is people reclaiming community life and saying, 'Look, while we disagree on some things, let's figure out what we can agree on, and let's get to work, together, and let's build from there,'" Harwood said. On Wednesday, March 20, at a CivicCon event at First United Methodist Church of Pensacola, Harwood will discuss the campaign and how we can reclaim the public square from those who wish to divide us and to unleash our capacity as builders and doers. Who is Richard Harwood? Richard Harwood Harwood is the president and founder of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, a Maryland-based nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to equip people, organizations, communities and networks with the tools to bridge divides, build capacity and tackle shared challenges. "Communities move forward when enough people intentionally choose to step forward, turn outward toward one another, and set in motion meaningful actions that spread like a positive contagion, according to Harwood. His institute describes its work as a "philosophy and a practice," and Harwood and his team have been on the ground to facilitate dialog and community-led change in places including Newtown, Connecticut, where he led the process for citizens to collectively decide the fate of the school building after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School; in Reading, Pennsylvania, which in 2011 was declared the poorest community in the U.S. by The New York Times; and in Flint, Michigan, where residents struggled with poverty, crime and declining population even before its infamous water quality crisis. Harwood's life-long investment in civic life and community-building can be traced back to the hospital beds where he spent much of childhood. "I was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. In 1960, that was a death sentence," Harwood said. "I was given three to five years to live. Luckily, my diagnosis changed over time, but the damage was done before then." He recalls doctors, nurses and specialists routinely surrounding his bed, all talking with one another, but never to him. He has never forgotten the pain and loneliness of being neither seen nor heard. "I learned what it feels like to get your dignity stripped from you, to not have a voice, to be chewed up by a healthcare system that was supposed to heal me, to see my parents overwhelmed and run out of money," he said. Those experiences along with watching his parents' work and advocacy in faith, mental health and disadvantaged communities, and his own strong faith inspired Harwood to dedicate his life to working so that all people are afforded dignity. By the time he was 23 in 1988, he had already worked for 20 political campaigns. The experiences left him disillusioned. Later work with nonprofits also left something to be desired. "Those (political) campaigns were really about winning at any cost, and didn't reflect the values that I really believe were important," Harwood said. "I worked for some nonprofits that I'm still in touch with, but I believe that too many nonprofits ... live off the soft money, and we were unwilling to get dirt under our fingernails and do the hard work that's really required to move communities forward." So, Harwood struck out on his own at 27, establishing The Harwood Group in his one bedroom apartment in Washington D.C. In 1991 he published the report "Citizens & Politics: A View from Main Street America," research that found Americans were not apathetic about politics and public life, but felt pushed out, disconnected and impotent. Over the next 30-plus years, Harwood's organization has researched and innovated ways to solve shared problems and change civic culture. Its practices and philosophies have spread to thousands of groups in all 50 states. Previously at CivicCon: Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves gives 'State of the City' address But during his many trips across the U.S., Harwood has learned many communities feel they are moving backward. "So many of the community leaders and active citizens that I talk with are worn out, they're exhausted, they're frustrated," Harwood said. "They believed that more change was going to come whether out of COVID, or issues around social injustice, or around the changes in our economy, or around our politics and what they say is things have only gotten worse, not better. And so ... I've come to believe that we need a new civic path forward that restores our sense of belief that we can actually come together and get things done in the country." So, he said, "Enough. Time to Build." What is the "Enough. Time to Build" campaign? Harwood is crisscrossing the country this year in an effort to mobilize and inspire communities, and to create spaces that build us up and bring us together, rather than divide us and perpetuate negativity. Discussing communities that have been able to do this work successfully, he cited a handful of common factors they share. "I think it's that they have brought people together to focus on their shared aspirations for what matters to them in their lives," Harwood said. "Not endless lists of problems, nor utopian visions for the future, but their shared aspirations about what really matters. That's No. 1. "Second, they believe that talk alone can't move us forward, that we need to get in motion and take action. And so they have come together around those things they can agree on and started to move. And in doing so, what we're finding is they're unleashing a chain reaction of actions that start small and grow over time and spreads like a positive contagion, and in doing so, they're creating a new trajectory of hope." Part of the impetus for the "Enough. Time to Build" campaign is the contentious 2024 election cycle and Harwood's belief that the public square is being dominated by the most divisive voices. He said while those voices have a right to be heard, they shouldn't drown out all other conversation. "I don't think our traditional leaders right now are in a position to be able to lead. They are in a position to make noise and divide us," Harwood said. "I think we need to lead our leaders." Much of the acrimony around the country is attributed to polarization, but Harwood argues that's an oversimplification. Rich Harwood is president and founder of The Harwood Institute. "What we keep hearing over and over again, is what people want is a sense of acceptance, validation, affirmation. And so we're going to smaller and smaller groups to find that, and even if we don't agree with everything that that group stands for, if they accept us, we're gonna go with them." And when members of opposing camps meet, there's a "fight or flight" response. People either go into every social media page, government meeting or family gathering ready to come out swinging, or they avoid meaningful public discourse altogether to avoid confrontation. "The good news is that in almost every place where we're working across the country, we're finding ways to unlock this fight or flight where people will come back into community life and not hold hands and sing 'Kumbaya,' but get to work on the real things that they're concerned about and try to make some progress." Harwood said through many years of work, the institute has learned that dealing with issues that matter to the community creates real, authentic hope. "Not that we're solving everything, but that we're taking steps in the right direction, that we're demonstrating a track record of action over time, that we're beginning to lift up the progress that we're making so that people can see it," Harwood explained. "That when we realize that we're going down a path that's not working, we don't keep insisting on going down that path, but we acknowledge that we're on the wrong path and make adjustments. "Those are actually the things that we set realistic expectations for change and don't over promise those are the things that actually engender authentic hope. And we would be really wise to spend a lot more time focused on those things." At CivicCon, Harwood will delve deeper into the "Enough. Time To Build" campaign, how other communities have found ways to come together and build, and how we can apply these lessons in our own communities. "We need a path forward that restores a sense of belief in ourselves and in one another, and I think that's going to come from our communities and historically, throughout our country's history, it's come from our local communities. And that's where we need to turn again," he said. How to watch Richard Harwood's CivicCon presentation CivicCon Harwood's CivicCon presentation will be 6-7:30 p.m. in the Wesley Abbey building at First United Methodist Church of Pensacola, 2 E. Wright St. Attendees can enter through the front door of the white house, or the side door in the courtyard. The presentation will also be live streamed on the News Journal's Facebook page and at pnj.com. The event is free and open to all. Registration for the event is available by searching CivicCon at eventbrite.com. Those who register online can submit a question for Harwood. CivicCon is a partnership with the News Journal to help empower citizens to better their communities through smart planning and civic conversation. More information about CivicCon, as well as stories and videos featuring previous speakers, is available at pnj.com/civiccon. This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: CivicCon Pensacola presents Richard Harwood and Enough Time to Build Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey is ready to host a peace summit between Ukraine and Russia after the meeting with his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on March 8 in Istanbul. Turkey has tried to maintain good ties with both Kyiv and Moscow amid Russias full-scale invasion and sought to position itself as a mediator in the war. The final rounds of unsuccessful peace talks in 2022 occurred in the Turkish city of Antalya. Ukraine insisted on conducting peace talks based on its 10-step peace formula, which includes a full withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. Moscow denied the proposal. "We are giving our utmost contribution for the war to end on the basis of negotiations. We are ready to host a peace summit that Russia will attend too," Erdogan said, adding that Turkey fully supports Ukraines territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence. Zelensky said that Ukraine "does not see a place for Russia" during the peace summit. "We cannot see (opportunities) how to invite people who block everything, destroy and kill. We want to achieve the result, a just peace for Ukraine," Zelensky said. Switzerland in January agreed to host a global peace summit on Ukraine. Over 160 countries will be invited to discuss Kyiv's peace formula and create a joint document on what needs to be done to restore the countrys sovereignty. Andriy Yermak, Ukraine's Presidential Office head, said that Ukraine could invite representatives from Russia to a future peace summit if an upcoming meeting of global leaders in Switzerland proves successful. Read also: Ukraine war latest: Zelensky rules out Erdogans idea of peace summit with Russia during Turkey visit Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Estonia plans to sign a security agreement with Ukraine, in additional to committing more military aid to Kyiv, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said on March 8. Tsahkna was speaking at a press conference following a meeting with his counterparts from the Baltic states, Ukraine, and France. However, he did not specify when the agreement would be signed. Read also: EU uneasy about anti-Kremlin Estonian PM Kaja Kallas as new foreign policy chief Politico "We are going to sign a bilateral agreement between Estonia and Ukraine on long-term security commitments," said Tsahkna. Read also: Allies must arm Ukraine from their stocks Estonian PM The minister also announced that Estonia would allocate another military aid package to Ukraine next week. He noted out that his country has already invested 1.4% of its GDP into military support for Ukraine and will continue to provide assistance. Read also: Estonian PM's cleverly responds to allegation of 'eating Russians for breakfast According to the official, once the security agreement is signed, Tallinn commits to allocating 0.25% of its GDP annually toward military aid to Kyiv. If each country acts the same way and I think this is feasible for everyonethat would mean EUR 120 billion [$131 billion] a year in military support [for Ukraine], and that would be enough for Ukraine to push Russia back, Tsahkna concludes. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine This photo taken on June 27, 2022 shows a vehicle being assembled at a smart factory of Chinese vehicle manufacturer Seres Group in Liangjiang New Area, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. [Photo by Wang Quanchao/Xinhua] In SANY (Chongqing) Industrial Park, situated in Liangjiang New Area of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, a large excavator rolls off from the smart production line every 17.3 minutes on average, with minimal human presence as robots are handling most tasks. More than 700 robots are involved in welding and other tasks, enabling the production lines to operate primarily without human intervention, including assessment, according to Deng Jinghui, general manager of SANY Heavy Industry (Chongqing) Co., Ltd. "The extensive use of intelligent equipment allows a workforce of just 300 workers to manage 24 production lines, yielding an annual output of over 5 billion yuan (about 700 million U.S. dollars)." Unlike traditional factories bustling with thousands of workers alongside buzzing machines, this intelligent factory operates quietly and efficiently 24 hours a day. It is a microcosm of China's rapidly developing intelligent manufacturing. "Traditional manufacturing has been troubled by a shortage of skilled workers and low production efficiency. Breakthroughs in digital technology, new energy and novel materials have presented opportunities for China's manufacturing to transition toward high-end, smart and green practices," said Zhao Bin, deputy director of Chongqing's municipal commission of economy and informatization, adding that intelligent manufacturing is the primary direction for industry upgrading. The use of robots and smart equipment has liberated intelligent factories in Chongqing from dependence on laborers to some extent. This photo taken on June 27, 2022 shows a vehicle being assembled at a smart factory of Chinese vehicle manufacturer Seres Group in Liangjiang New Area, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. [Photo by Wang Quanchao/Xinhua] On Feb. 5 this year, Chinese vehicle manufacturer Seres Group's super factory started operations in Chongqing's Liangjiang New Area. Walking through the factory, visitors will find themselves amidst a forest of robotic arms, where over 1,000 intelligent devices and 3,000 robots are running seamlessly to execute intricate tasks. Here, a fleet of logistics robots efficiently navigates production lines with minimal human oversight. According to Seres, the general assembly procedure usually requires many laborers, with the industry's overall automation rate below 30 percent. However, Seres achieves automated assembly of essential components such as the battery pack and dashboard, among others, with a general automation rate exceeding 50 percent. New technologies have also greatly boosted the efficiency of these smart factories. Changan Auto has established a fully equipped 5G factory in Chongqing's Yubei District, boasting 2,524 sets of equipment across seven workshops, creating a virtual factory in the digital world. The virtual factory synchronizes the real one, as it can deliver real-time production data involving equipment, personnel and supplies. These data and the advanced scheduling platform enable the factory to increase its production efficiency by more than 30 percent and strike a balance between production and marketing. Chongqing, China's southwestern industrial powerhouse, had built 144 intelligent factories and 958 digital workshops by the end of 2023, according to Zhao. By Siyi Liu and Colleen Howe BEIJING (Reuters) - China's lithium industry would benefit from a stabilisation of prices of the battery metal, which is set for a long-term uptrend, said the chairman of Ganfeng Lithium, a major Chinese supplier of the battery metal. Lithium demand from producers of power batteries, energy storage and others will keep growing amid "an irreversible trend" of global energy transition, Ganfeng Lithium Chairman Li Liangbin told Reuters on Friday. Some fluctuations are inevitable during the uptrend, he wrote in response to Reuters questions. China's lithium prices have plunged over the past year on surging supplies and slowing demand. Spot lithium carbonate prices in the world's top electric vehicle market are hovering around 100,000 yuan ($14,000) per ton, about one-sixth their November 2022 peak. The fall has hit miners' profits, threatening to curb global output. "If lithium prices can stabilise between 80,000 and 150,000 yuan, leaving upstream and downstream (companies) along the industry chain certain profit, it might be the best development environment for the whole industry," said Li, who is a delegate of the National People's Congress at the annual meeting of parliament in Beijing. China and Chinese companies have taken many measures to stabilise prices, Li said, including the launch of a lithium carbonate futures trading platform and companies making purchases via long-term contract to ensure steady supply and prices. Geopolitics brings certain entry barriers and risks of investment failure for companies, wrote Li, whose company has massive investments in overseas resources, including Australia and Argentina. It exports to Europe, Japan and South Korea. Gangfeng's subsidiary in Mexico had to indefinitely postpone its target to start mining after the local government cancelled nine of its concessions, Reuters reported in November. On the other hand, geopolitics will aid more international cooperation such as Chinese companies partnering with locals to set up production, Li said. ($1 = 7.1855 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Siyi Liu and Colleen Howe in Beijing; Editing by Ryan Woo and William Mallard) Ethiopian Jewish immigrants arrive in Israel on an aircraft chartered by the Jewish Agency in June, 2022 (GIL COHEN-MAGEN) After Yegebal Ayalew immigrated with her son from Ethiopia to Israel in 2012, she watched him thrive in their new home only to lose him in Hamas's October 7 attack. Now, as she mourns the slain 21-year-old soldier she tearfully described as "respectful to all", she has just one wish for Israeli authorities: that they facilitate the relocation of relatives left behind in Ethiopia so her family can be together again. Israel's war against Hamas militants in Gaza, now in its sixth month, has underscored the mixed fortunes of the country's estimated 170,000 residents of Ethiopian descent. Fallen soldiers are honoured for defending their country, a sign of successful efforts to integrate them into Israeli culture and institutions. At the same time, many Ethiopian-Israelis remain on the short end of income and education gaps while pining for loved ones still in the highlands of Ethiopia's Amhara region. Often those divisions can be seen among different generations under the same roof, as evidenced by Yegebal and her dead son, Maru Alem, whose military service always filled her with dread. "He used to say to me, 'Mom, what's the problem? I'm going to work for my country. If we don't protect Israel, Israel won't be protected,'" a tearful Yegebal, dressed in black and clutching a tissue, told AFP. The only thing that might console her, she said, was a reunion in Israel with her Ethiopia-based siblings and other relatives. "I call upon the Israeli authorities to bring them here with God's help," she said. "It will be good if the Israeli authorities help me with this... My son has given his life to this country." - Generation gap - The bulk of Ethiopia's Jewish community, known as "Beta Israel", moved to Israel in the 1980s and early 1990s via covert airlifts during a grim stretch of famine and war in the Horn of Africa nation. Those left behind are often referred to as "Falash Mura", a derogatory term meaning "wanderers" that highlights their status as descendants of Jews who converted to Christianity -- many under duress -- in the 18th and 19th centuries. They identify as Jewish today but are not recognised by rabbinical authorities and do not immigrate under the Law of Return guaranteeing Israeli citizenship for all Jews. Instead their flights are organised under family reunification rules, and all claimants need to have a parent in Israel already. Thousands of "Falash Mura" are languishing on waiting lists in Ethiopia, hoping Israeli authorities will green-light their immigration so they can start what they hope will be new, more prosperous lives. Yegebal and Maru are both considered "Falash Mura", but Maru, arriving when he was just nine years old, had an easier time than his mother learning Hebrew and making Israeli friends. It's a common dynamic in Ethiopian-Israeli households, said Dr Liat Yakhnich of Israel's Beit Berl College, who researches immigrant families and immigrant youth at risk. "I meet a lot of young people who grew up in families where they perceived the parents as weak," she said. "I think they appreciate very much the endurance, how their parents survived the immigration. But at the same time, they have had to deal with life in Israel on their own," without much parental support. Ethiopian-Israeli activists say the challenges they face include discrimination at the hands of police, which spurred violent protests in 2019. Yet Yakhnich said that, on the whole, integration efforts have seen progress. "They are Jews and they are Israelis and they feel that they belong to this society," she said. "They can be hurt by this society, but they feel like they belong here." - 'Unity' - Gil Elias, an Ethiopian-Israeli activist in Ashkelon, said he hoped the war would help mitigate tensions between the community and the broader Israeli society. "We see the sacrifice in the numbers," he said, noting that 24 of the more than 500 Israel security forces killed either on October 7 or in military operations since then had Ethiopian backgrounds. "Ethiopians are 1.7 percent of the Israeli population and around 5 percent of the dead soldiers," he said. "Since October 7, we think more of unity. We can care for one another and not fight our old wars." The Israeli military does not maintain statistics on troops' ethnicities. But there is no doubt the military "is a very powerful social mechanism of belonging," Yakhnich said, a phenomenon displayed clearly one recent afternoon by Savht Farda, the father of a soldier wounded on October 7. As he walked through a market frequented by Ethiopian-Israelis, he showed off a picture of his son in a hospital gown meeting Benny Gantz, a former defence minister and member of Israel's war cabinet. "We love our country, Israel," Savht told AFP. "We would rather die than see our country die." mod-rcb/jd/srm March is Womens History Month, a time to reflect, honor and celebrate diverse womens contributions to American history. Friday, March 8, also marks International Womens Day, a global celebration that recognizes the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, according to the IWD website Many worldwide will also use the day to call for action to advance gender equality. In honor of Womens History Month and International Womens Day, here are some events across Los Angeles County that will honor women. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. The investigation into the carbon monoxide death of a student at The Evergreen State College is expected to be released next week, the president of the four-year school told the board of trustees on Friday. It has been three months since Jonathan Rodriguez died, President John Carmichael said, adding that the Washington State Patrols investigation is forthcoming. State Patrol spokesman Chris Loftis confirmed the announcement on Friday, but said the report will not be released before Wednesday. The release of the investigation, which was undertaken by a forensic engineering company, has been complicated by the recent death of a state trooper, he said. Trooper Christopher Gadd, 27, was killed the morning of March 2 after being struck by a motorist on southbound Interstate 5 near Marysville, the agency announced. The troopers funeral procession will take place Tuesday and then the investigation should be released in the middle or late in the week, Loftis said. Rodriguez, 21, of DuPont, died Dec. 11 from exposure to carbon monoxide. Two other students, a 20-year-old woman and a 19-year-old woman, were hospitalized from exposure to the gas, but have since been released, The Olympian has reported. The incident happened in Evergreens modular housing. A student residence manager couldnt reach the three students inside the housing, so an Evergreen police officer entered the unit and ended up attempting to revive the students. The officer was poisoned by carbon monoxide as well, and was treated at the hospital, according to The Olympian. The board of trustees voted in January to spend as much as $1 million to pay for costs tied to the students death. The money will be used to cover some or all of the cost of the State Patrol investigation, the cost to relocate students into other housing, and to make repairs to campus housing, President Carmichael previously said. Loftis couldnt immediately speak to why Evergreen would pick up those costs and not the State Patrol. During the board meeting, chairwoman Karen Fraser shared some thoughts about Rodriguez. We remain in shock and sorrow over his untimely death on campus and we grieve for him and his family and his close friends, she said. Fraser told the board that Rodriguez received a nice tribute in the most recent issue of the Cooper Point Journal, the student newspaper. She quoted from a poem about Rodriguez. His favorite plant was the Begonia and the poem uses the Begonia as a metaphor for his life. In Begonias presence, one left feeling rejuvenated, feeling joyous, feeling filled with the light, the air, the water, the love, flowing around it, flowing within it, Fraser said. Independence Chief of Police Adam Dustmans eyes looked out beyond the blue and white bouquets of flowers on the altar and paused at an American flag draped over Independence police officer Cody Allens casket. They moved back out across Community of Christs Auditorium where hundreds of law enforcement personnel sat sniffling as Dustman choked up on his words. His gaze then focused on the front rows. I want you to know that your dad was a superhero just like the ones you see in the movies, Dustman said to Allens son, Brody Ray Allen, and daughter, Adley Mae Allen. Your dad was special, and the only thing more special than him is his love for you. Then, Dustman spoke directly to his fallen brother. Cody, you have fought the good fight and you have earned your place in heaven as you stand as a hero among peacemakers and guardians alike, he said. Officer Cody Allen was shot and killed March 29 during a call for service in Independence. A Jackson County courts civil process server also died. Independence Police Department Allen, 35, is remembered as a devoted father, selfless leader and strong-willed servant, among other attributes which embody the legacy of everything a police officer should be, his colleagues said Friday. Allen was killed while rendering aid to Drexel Mack, a Jackson County civil process server who also shot and killed, while attempting to serve an eviction last week. Thats Cody Family members and law enforcement officials enter the Community of Christs auditorium for the funeral of Independence police officer Cody Allen on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Independence. Allen was fatally shot during an eviction in northeast Independence last week. Nick Wagner/nwagner@kcstar.com Among sorrow and hurt, moments of laughter and joy spread between those who came to celebrate Allens life. It was something he would have wanted, his father Tim Allen said. Codys father saw the superhero side of him long before he became a police officer. He was always extreme, Tim said. When we would ride four wheelers, he would lay it all on the line. He would go as fast as he could, he said. Im sure that when he got to that house (the day of the shooting) he only knew one thing he was going to help that man that was on the ground. Thats what he did. Thats Cody. Codys mother Loretta Allen stood beside Tim at the altar Friday wiping away tears. Smiles came in between remarks about her late sons love for peanut butter, staying fit, camping and his work in law enforcement. Tim said Codys brief stint as a lineman with Evergy was something he had to do to know if there was another career out there for him besides law enforcement. But in his mind, Tim Allen said, Cody never left the police department. Hes going to leave the biggest hole in our family, Loretta said. Were all broken and I know all of you are too. Loretta said she knew her son was amazing, like a mother always does, but her instincts were confirmed by the outpouring of support the Allen family received following Codys death. Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman salutes the casket of police officer Cody Allen on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Independence. Allen was fatally shot during an eviction in northeast Independence last week. Nick Wagner/nwagner@kcstar.com Codys sister Corie Allen remembers her brother as a caretaker, teacher and protector. Her brother was a cornerstone of her life, she said. Her life will be dimmer without her brother shining brightly in it, she said, but she will carry him with her wherever she goes. She told a story Friday about how her siblings would frequent a neighborhood creek as children. They would have to hike through wooded areas to get there. He made sure to help me through the woods, she said. I never hurt myself a single time in the woods, because Cody made sure of it. Corie said she and her brother had made big plans to travel together in the future to see canyons of color you could only imagine. I wanted my big brother to show me all his favorite places he had been and maybe I could show him a few I liked, she said. Id be able to keep up, to answer questions he had, to help him over fallen logs and up rocks. To show him I remembered everything he taught me. A life lived to inspire others Norvin Johnson holds a thin blue line flag while waiting for the funeral procession of Independence police officer Cody Allen on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Independence. Allen was fatally shot during an eviction in northeast Independence last week. Nick Wagner/nwagner@kcstar.com Independence Police Chaplain Garner opened the Friday funeral service with a prayer quoting John 15:13, There is no greater love than this: that a person would lay down his life for the sake of his friends. And in closing the more than two hour long service, Garner encouraged the community to use Allens life as a source of inspiration. I hope these stories inspired you to take your career higher, your relationship with your children higher, your marriage with your spouse higher. Blue and red lights consumed the parking lot at Community of Christs auditorium as squad cars and motorcycles weaved into a single file line heading for Odessa, where Cody Allen grew up. Police motorcycles lead the funeral procession to the Odessa Cemetery for Independence police officer Cody Allen on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Independence. Allen was fatally shot during an eviction in northeast Independence last week. Nick Wagner/nwagner@kcstar.com Along Walnut Street to Memorial Drive to Truman Road to Lees Summit Road to 39th Street to Little Blue Parkway and onto Interstate 70 East, the procession was met by community members on the sidewalks waving, saluting and sharing messages of support for the fallen officer. Cody Allen was laid to rest in Odessa Cemetery Friday after receiving law enforcement honors graveside. He was a hero, Harness said. He will remain a hero for time eternal. A former student is taking legal action against the Princess of Waless old school over allegations he was given no choice but to leave or be expelled after he claimed to have broken up a fight. Thomas Cole alleges Marlborough College failed to comply with a request for data about an incident he was involved in, by only providing some heavily redacted documents. He is now taking legal action against the Wiltshire school, where termly boarding fees cost 15,665. He claims in documents lodged in the High Court that his parents felt they had no choice but to remove him from the school after they were warned he faced expulsion for his part in the incident, which came after a ritual of beer and pizza known as Captains. Siegfried Sassoon and Jack Whitehall among alumni The Princess of Wales was educated at Marlborough College, alongside her sister Pippa Middleton, and the Prince and Princess of Wales are believed to be considering the school for their eldest son, Prince George. Other famous alumni include war poet and author Siegfried Sassoon, writer Bruce Chatwin and comedian Jack Whitehall. In the hours following the incident, Thomas, then aged 18, submitted hand-written statements setting out his version of events. He was then taken to spend the night at the colleges medical centre. At the same time, according to legal documents, housemaster George Lane emailed Thomass parents, David and Anna Cole, to say he had been involved in an unpleasant incident and that it would be good to speak to them. Following an investigation, deputy headmaster Ed Nightingale warned Mr and Mrs Cole, both solicitors, that expulsion was the likely outcome because of what was described as the severity of the alleged incident. According to the writ, Mr Nightingale told Mr and Mrs Coles that if a pupil was expelled, all school support would cease and the pupil would not receive Old Marlburian status. He allegedly added, however, that if the pupil was merely withdrawn, the disciplinary process would stop and the pupil might retain the status and would keep school support. Thomas, now aged 19, sat his last A level on June 21 2022 and was due to face disciplinary proceedings on July 1. It was at this point that his parents decided it would be in his best interests to withdraw him from the school. Mr and Mrs Cole say they believed the school had already decided that, whatever their son said, it would make findings against him leading to his expulsion. As a result, they withdrew him on June 28 three days before the disciplinary hearing. Following an official complaint by Mr and Mrs Cole, the school provided them with several heavily redacted documents. Thomas argues that Marlborough College improperly over-redacted the documents it provided, even though he had a substantial interest in being able to see who said what about his alleged actions. He also claims the school failed to comply with its obligations under data protection legislation and failed to carry out adequate searches for documents with his personal data. College must act with fairness and integrity Thomas, whose family live in a listed six-bedroomed 1 million house in Wiltshire claims the colleges actions resulted in him having to leave the school after an otherwise exemplary record as a student. He told the Telegraph: No matter how prestigious the institution, transparency is of the uppermost importance for past, present and future pupils. The college must always act with fairness and integrity, remaining true to its founding principles. The teenager, who is now at university, is asking the High Court to make legal declarations that the school acted unlawfully in failing to comply with his right of access to his personal data and redacted information which should not have been. Thomas is also asking the court to order the school to comply with its data subject request within 14 days, and seeking his legal costs. The Telegraph understands that Marlborough College denies the allegations and will contest the claim. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. In late 2022, the US began preparing rigorously for Russia potentially striking Ukraine with a nuclear weapon, in what would have been the first nuclear attack in war since the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki nearly eighty years before, two senior administration officials told CNN. The Biden administration was specifically concerned Russia might use a tactical or battlefield nuclear weapon, the officials said. I first reported US officials were worried about Russia using a tactical nuclear weapon in 2022, but in my new book, The Return of Great Powers publishing on March 12, I reveal exclusive details on the unprecedented level of contingency planning carried out as senior members of the Biden administration became increasingly alarmed by the situation. The Return of Great Powers" publishes March 12. - From Penguin Random House Thats what the conflict presented us, and so we believed and I think its our right to prepare rigorously and do everything possible to avoid that happening, the first senior administration official told me. What led the Biden administration to reach such a startling assessment was not one indicator, but a collection of developments, analysis, and crucially - highly sensitive new intelligence. The administrations fear, a second senior administration official told me, was not just hypothetical it was also based on some information that we picked up. We had to plan so that we were in the best possible position in case this nolonger unthinkable event actually took place, the same senior administration official told me. During this period from late summer to fall 2022, the National Security Council convened a series of meetings to put contingency plans in place in the event of either a very clear indication that they were about to do something, attack with a nuclear weapon, or if they just did, how we would respond, how we would try to preempt it, or deter it, the first senior administration official told me. I dont think many of us coming into our jobs expected to be spending significant amounts of time preparing for a scenario which a few years ago was believed to be from a bygone era, this senior administration official told me. Russians surrounded Late summer 2022 was proving a devastating period for Russian forces in Ukraine. Ukrainian forces were advancing on Russian-occupied Kherson in the south. The city had been Russias biggest prize since the invasion. Now, it was in danger of being lost to the Ukrainian counteroffensive. Crucially, as Ukrainian forces advanced, entire Russian units were in danger of being surrounded. The view inside the administration was that such a catastrophic loss could be a potential trigger for the use of nuclear weapons. A member of the Ukrainian military, 59th Brigade, waits to take on new supplies before moving to a new position in November 2022 in Kherson, Ukraine. - Chris McGrath/Getty Images/File If significant numbers of Russian forces were overrun if their lives were shattered as such that was a sort of precursor to a potential threat directly to Russian territory or the Russian state, the first senior administration official said. In Kherson at that time there were increasing signs that Russian lines could collapse. Tens of thousands of Russian troops were potentially vulnerable. Russia was losing ground inside Ukrainian sovereign territory, not inside Russia. But US officials were concerned that Russian President Vladimir Putin saw it differently. He had told the Russian people that Kherson was now part of Russia itself, and, so, might perceive a devastating loss there as a direct threat to him and the Russian state. Our assessment had been for some time that one of the scenarios in which they would contemplate using nuclear weapons [included] things like existential threats to the Russian state, direct threats to Russian territory, the first senior administration official said. In such an assessment, Russia could view a tactical nuclear strike as a deterrent against further losses of Russian-held territory in Ukraine as well as any potential attack on Russia itself. False Flag At the same time, Russias propaganda machine was circulating a new false flag story about a Ukrainian dirty bomb, which US officials feared could be intended as cover for a Russian nuclear attack. In October 2022, Russias defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, made a series of phone calls to defense officials in the US, the UK, France and Turkey, telling them that the Kremlin was concerned about possible provocations by Kyiv involving the use of a dirty bomb. US and other western officials rejected the Russian warnings. Still, Russias UN ambassador delivered a letter directly to the United Nations detailing the same alleged threat. Russian officials alleged Ukraine would build and detonate a dirty bomb against Russian forces and then blame the attack on Russia. US officials dismissed the Russian warnings but feared the motivation behind them. Russian public messaging came way out of the left field on the potential for Ukraine to use a dirty bomb, which we saw not grounded in reality, the first senior administration official told me. More concerning to this official was that the Russians would say these things either as a pretext for them to do something crazy or as a cover for something they themselves were looking at doing. So that was quite alarming. But there was one more piece that raised such concerns to a new level. Western intelligence agencies had received information that there were now communications among Russian officials explicitly discussing a nuclear strike. As the first senior administration official described it to me, there were indications that we were picking up through other means that this was at least something that lower levels of the Russian system were discussing. US access to Russian internal communications had proved capable before. In the runup to the Ukraine invasion, the US had intercepted Russian military commanders discussing preparations for the invasion, communications that formed part of the US intelligence assessment, later proved accurate, that an invasion was imminent. Its never a cut-and-dry, black-and-white assessment, the first senior administration official told me. But the risk level seemed to be going up, beyond where it had been at any other point in time. Would the US know? At no time did the US detect intelligence indicating Russia was taking steps to mobilize its nuclear forces to carry out such an attack. We obviously placed a high priority on tracking and had some ability at least to track such movements of its nuclear forces, this senior administration official told me. And at no point did we ever see any indications of types of steps that we wouldve expected them to take if they were going down a path toward using nuclear weapons. A dud warhead imitating a nuclear part of a Kh-55SM strategic cruise missile, which was used by Russian troops during missile attacks on Ukraine, is seen during a media briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine, in December 2022. - NurPhoto/Getty Images However, US officials were not certain they would know if Russia was moving tactical nuclear weapons into place. Unlike strategic nuclear weapons, capable of destroying entire cities, tactical or battlefield nuclear weapons are small enough to be moved quietly and could be fired from conventional systems already deployed to the Ukrainian battlefield. If what they were going to do is use a tactical nuclear weapon, particularly a very low-yield tactical nuclear weapon and particularly if they were only going to use one or a very small number, it was not one hundred percent clear to us that we necessarily would have known, this senior administration official continued. Multiple senior administration officials took part in an urgent outreach. Secretary of State Antony Blinken communicated US concerns very directly with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, according to senior administration officials. Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley called his Russian counterpart, General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of the Russian Armed Forces. According to a senior US official, President Joe Biden sent CIA Director Bill Burns to speak to Sergey Naryshkin, the head of Russias foreign intelligence service, in Turkey to communicate US concerns about a nuclear strike taking place and gauge Russian intentions. The US also worked closely with its allies both to develop contingency plans for a Russian nuclear attack and to communicate warnings to the Russian side about the consequences of such a strike. We conducted a number of quiet conversations with core allies to go through our thinking, the first senior administration official told me. Thats a hallmark of our entire approach that we are better and stronger doing this stuff when were totally aligned with our allies. India and China In addition, the US sought to enlist the help of non-allies, in particular China and India, to discourage Russia from such an attack. One of the things we did was not only message them directly, but strongly urge, press, encourage other countries, to whom they might be more attentive, to do the same thing, the second senior administration official told me. US officials say that outreach and public statements from Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi helped avert a crisis. I think we believe showing the international community the concern about this, particularly the concern from key countries for Russia and the Global South, was also a helpful, persuasive factor and showed them what the cost of all this could be, the first senior administration official said. China's President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin pose for a photo on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization leaders' summit in Samarkand in September 2022. - Alexandr Demyanchuk/Pool/Sputnik/Getty Images I think the fact that we know China weighed in, India weighed in, others weighed in, may have had some effect on their thinking, the second senior administration official told me. I cant demonstrate this positively, but I think thats our assessment. In the time since the nuclear scare of late 2022, I have asked US and European officials if they have identified any similar threats. The danger diminished as the war entered a period of relative stalemate in the east. However, the US and its allies remain vigilant. We have been less concerned about the imminent prospect since that period, but its not something that is ever far from our minds, a senior US official told me. We continue to refine plans, and its not beyond the realm of possibility that we could be confronting at least the rising risk of this again in the months ahead. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Explosions were heard in Odesa on Saturday evening during an air-raid warning. Source: Suspilne, Ukraine's public broadcaster; Dumska, a local outlet Details: According to Suspilne, a series of explosions took place in Odesa. Dumska reports that booming and explosions were heard in various parts of the city. Earlier, the Air Force reported a Shahed attack in Ukraine's south, particularly Odesa Oblast. Support UP or become our patron! Claim: Viral social media posts accurately claimed a heart transplant recipient married his donor's wife, then died in the exact same way the donor had. Rating: Rating: True On Feb. 21, 2024, a viral Reddit post claimed that a heart transplant recipient met his donor's widow, married her, then committed suicide in the same way as his donor. The post had garnered 12,000 upvotes at the time of this writing, with many redditors speculating that the men had not actually died of suicide, and that the wife may have been behind their deaths. In 2019, the claim returned in another Reddit post, and gained 26,000 upvotes: [Today I learned] that after a man received a heart transplant from a suicide victim, he went on to marry the donor's widow and then eventually killed himself in the exact same way the donor did. In early 2023, a TikTok video repeated the story, resulting in 14,100 likes and 745 shares. The claim, which is true, has received a good deal of mainstream media coverage over the years. The 2024 Reddit post included a link to an article on CBS News' website, published on Sept. 1, 2008. We reviewed this article, as well as other well-sourced accounts from The Island Packet (Hilton Head Island, South Carolina), NBC News, The Seattle Times and The Associated Press. Parallel Lives in South Carolina Sonny Graham, a 69-year-old man in Georgia, fatally shot himself on April 1, 2008. This happened 12 years after he received a heart transplant from 33-year-old Terry Cottle, who'd also fatally shot himself. They had also both married the same woman. When they first met, Terry Cottle and Cheryl Sweat were each married to someone else. Sweat had her marriage annulled. Cottle's divorce was granted in May 1989. Nine days after that, Sweat and Cottle got married and moved in together in Moncks Corner, S.C. Cheryl Cottle had two boys from her previous marriage, whom Terry Cottle adopted, and the two had a daughter together. A few years later, difficulties appeared in the marriage. After an argument on March 15, 1995, Cottle killed himself at their home. In Hilton Head, S.C., Sonny Graham, then 57, was waiting for a donor heart. His had been weakened by a virus a year before, and he was placed on the transplant list. Graham had been married to the same woman for more than 30 years and had two children. When Cheryl Cottle agreed to take her husband off life support, his heart went to Graham. Graham Meets the Widow In 1996, Graham decided to contact Cottle's family to thank them for his new heart. After a few exchanged letters, Graham and Cheryl Cottle met in early 1997, and though Graham said he fell in love with her instantly, she would marry someone else a few months later, in April 1997. She had another son from this marriage. She and Graham stayed in touch. In 2001, Graham obtained a divorce after 38 years of marriage. He and Cheryl moved in together shortly thereafter, but it would only be a few months before she would move out. The separation was acrimonious and Graham sued her for money owed. She soon met someone else, and married again. The Pair Finally Marry After she got a divorce in 2004, she finally married Graham. But according to friends, Graham began to act strangely and seemed preoccupied. He drew up a will and asked his nephew to be the executor. Eventually, on April 1, 2008, he, as Terry Cottle had done many years before, took a gun and fatally shot himself. As his nephew and others would discover, Graham had drained his savings to keep her happy, according to CBS News. He had been deep in debt. His financial troubles were so dire his nephew declined to act as executor of the will. Left a widow a second time, she soon moved on. The CBS News article, however, gives more context: Investigators have interviewed all three of Cheryl Graham's surviving exes. (...) During a 2005 dispute over custody of their grandchildren, first husband Isaac "Bo" Carter said Cheryl called his North Carolina home and threatened to "blow my brains out w/her 38 pistol ..." A protective order was granted. Johnson, husband No. 4, says anyone who gets involved with his ex-wife is in for an emotional roller coaster ride. "One day she hates you and one day she loves you and the next day she hates you," Johnson told the AP. "I guess I am lucky to be alive." 'Unanswered Questions' In a February 2010 update, The Associated Press reported that some of Graham's family members questioned the official explanation that he shot himself: Michelle and Lauren Crozier, Graham's daughter and granddaughter, have repeatedly questioned why Graham would kill himself when he had gotten up early to plan a day that included a party, why he would use birdshot to kill himself when he had more efficient options available and why his wife sent her son a computer message of "call me!!" almost three hours before Graham's body was discovered. While conceding there were still "unanswered questions," the Georgia Bureau of Investigation nevertheless stood by its Sept. 22, 2009, conclusion that Graham shot himself in the neck with a shotgun. If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health, suicide or substance use crisis or emotional distress, reach out 24/7 to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) by dialing or texting 988 or using chat services at suicidepreventionlifeline.org to connect to a trained crisis counselor. Sources: 'Man with Suicide Victim's Heart Takes Own Life'. NBC News, 6 Apr. 2008, https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna23984857. Recipient of Suicide Victim's Heart Kills Self 12 Years Later, 6 Apr. 2008, https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/recipient-of-suicide-victims-heart-kills-self-12-years-later/. 2 Suicide Victims Shared Same Heart, Wife - CBS News. 1 Sept. 2008, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/2-suicide-victims-shared-same-heart-wife/. "GBI: Heart Recipient Committed Suicide." The Times and Democrat, 22 Feb. 2010, p. 4. newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-and-democrat/142669372/. "Questions Linger After Suicide Ruling in Graham Death." The Island Packet, 22 Nov. 2009, p. 1. newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-island-packet/142814707/. Claim: Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu was recorded in 1990 saying: "America is a golden calf and we will suck it dry, chop it up, and sell it off piece by piece until there is nothing left but the worlds biggest welfare state that we will create and control." Rating: Rating: Unfounded For almost a decade, an alleged quote attributed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has inspired online content and sparked discussion as to the relationship between the U.S. and Israel. "America is a golden calf and we will suck it dry, chop it up, and sell it piece by piece until there is nothing left but the world's biggest welfare state that we will create and control," Netanyahu allegedly said. "This is what we do to countries that we hate. We destroy them very slowly." The alleged quote was not new, having repeatedly resurfaced since at least 2017 on both X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit. The statement was supposedly uttered by Netanyahu in 1990, although he did not assume prime ministership until 1996. This is the full quote attributed to Netanyahu as it has appeared in other social media posts: If we get caught they will just replace us with persons of the same cloth. So it does not matter what you do, America is a golden calf and we will suck it dry, chop it up, and sell it off piece by piece until there is nothing left but the world's biggest welfare state that we will create and control. Why? Because it is the will of God, and America is big enough to take the hit so we can do it again and again and again. This is what we do to countries that we hate. We destroy them very slowly and make them suffer for refusing to be our slaves. This text accompanies the quote in memes such as the one above: Benjamin Netanyahu, employed at the time as a Soviet agent, in a covert conversation taped in 1990 @ Finks Bar in Jerusalem, a well known Mossad hangout. Taken directly from the transcript of the recording, which was witnessed and has been 100% fully authenticated. Shown here making the satanic sign of '666' at that meeting. Made public by Gordon Duff, Veterans Today. Sources: https://www.veteranstoday.com/2015/03/12/shockwaves-part-iii/ https://new.euro-med.dk/20150320-veterans-today-rewrites-us-history-much-worse-than-you-ever The meme cites "Gordon Duff, Veterans Today" as its source. Veterans Today is a website we have previously found to publish antisemitic, pro-Nazi and Holocaust-denying material. Vice called Veterans Today "conspiracy-oriented." Duff, the senior editor and director of Veterans Today, stated in a 2012 interview that "about 30% of what's written on Veterans Today, is patently false. About 40% of what I write, is at least purposely, partially false, because if I didn't write false information I wouldn't be alive." Veterans Today has a disclaimer that reads as follows (archived here): Due to the nature of uncensored content posted by VT's fully independent international writers, VT cannot guarantee absolute validity. All content is owned by the author exclusively. Expressed opinions are NOT necessarily the views of VT, other authors, affiliates, advertisers, sponsors, partners, or technicians. Some content may be satirical in nature. All images are the full responsibility of the article author and NOT VT. The first link )archived here) listed takes us to a page written in 2015 by James Preston, who claims to be a Social Psychologist with a Ph.D. The second link doesn't work, either because the page has been deleted or because the URL is incomplete. (Image via Veterans Today) The article itself claims that Netanyahu is the "Operational Head of the Khazarian Mafia" (an antisemitic trope) and that the statement was recorded while he was meeting at Fink's Bar in Jerusalem, a real bar that closed in 2005. Although the article claims that the quote was pulled from the transcript of a recording, no such recording has never been presented as evidence. https://media.snopes.com/2024/03/veterans_today_conspiracy_doc_netanyahu_golden_calf_quote_single_page.pdf (Veterans Today) In sum, although Veterans Today claimed this quote was "100% fully authenticated," we found no corroborating evidence to support this claim, nor indeed any evidence that the quote even existed prior to the 2015 article in which it was published. Additionally, Veterans Today has a reputation for spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories. Because of this, we rate this claim "Unfounded." Sources: Fact Check: NO Evidence Netanyahu Once Said 'America Is A Golden Calf And We Will Suck It Dry,' 'Destroy' It | Lead Stories. 18 Jan. 2024, https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2024/01/fact-check-no-evidence-netanyahu-once-said-america-is-a-golden-calf-and-we-will-suck-it-dry-destroy-it.html. 'Https://Twitter.Com/AlgerianPalest/Status/921115692136529920'. X (Formerly Twitter), https://twitter.com/AlgerianPalest/status/921115692136529920. Accessed 4 Mar. 2024. 'Https://Twitter.Com/LadyVelvet_HFQ/Status/1730786770982256956?Lang=en'. X (Formerly Twitter), https://twitter.com/LadyVelvet_HFQ/status/1730786770982256956?lang=en. Accessed 4 Mar. 2024. Kasprak, Alex. 'Did Rep. Paul Gosar Promote Holocaust-Denying Website in Email to Constituents?' Snopes, 17 Apr. 2023, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/gosar-veterans-today/. Preston, James. 'Shockwaves (Part III)'. Veterans Today, https://www.veteranstodayarchives.com/2015/03/12/shockwaves-part-iii/. 'Remembering Fink's in Jerusalem, Politicians, Celebrities Dined There'. The Jerusalem Post | JPost.Com, 20 Sept. 2020, https://www.jpost.com/opinion/remembering-finks-in-jerusalem-politicians-celebrities-dined-there-642974. Thompson, Alex. '9/11 "truthers" Vow to Never, Ever Forget'. Vice, 12 Sept. 2016, https://www.vice.com/en/article/pa499n/911-truthers-vow-to-never-ever-forget. White, Gregory. 'Israeli Prime Minister: "America Is A Thing You Can Move Very Easily"'. Business Insider, https://www.businessinsider.com/israeli-prime-minister-america-is-a-thing-you-can-move-very-easily-2010-7. Accessed 4 Mar. 2024. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., delivered the Republican response to President Joe Bidens State of the Union address from her kitchen table in Montgomery, Alabama. During her 17-minute rebuttal, Britt criticized Biden on immigration, the economy and crime. "What we saw was the performance of a permanent politician who has actually been in office for longer than I've been alive," Britt, who is 42, said of Biden's speech. "Our families are hurting. Our country can do better. And you don't have to look any further than the crisis at our southern border to see it," Britt said. "President Biden inherited the most secure border of all time. But minutes after taking office, he suspended all deportations, he halted construction of the border wall and he announced a plan to give amnesty to millions." "We know that President Biden didn't just create this border crisis," Britt continued. "He invited it with 94 executive actions in his first 100 days." Its unclear which specific 94 executive actions Britt was referring to. A few months into Bidens administration, the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute released a report detailing 94 immigration-related Biden executive actions. However, not all the actions were directly related to the border. Heres the context behind Britts claims: Biden 'suspended all deportations' On Bidens first day in office, the Homeland Security Department published a memo pausing the removals of certain people illegally in the U.S. for 100 days. Federal courts quickly stopped the pause. The memo also acknowledged that because of resource constraints and increased illegal border crossings, removals should be prioritized for people who posed a national security or public safety threat or who entered the U.S. after Nov. 1, 2020. "While resources should be allocated to the priorities enumerated above, nothing in this memorandum prohibits the apprehension or detention of individuals unlawfully in the United States who are not identified as priorities herein," the memo added. In September 2021, the Homeland Security Department released a second memo detailing similar guidelines for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to prioritize the removal of people who have crossed the border in recent years or who threaten public safety. Courts also halted those guidelines in 2021, but they were reinstated in 2023 after a Supreme Court decision. There have been more than 3.6 million removals, returns and expulsions from February 2021, Bidens first month in office, to September 2023, based on Homeland Security Department estimates. Biden 'halted construction of the border wall' On his first day in office, Biden issued a proclamation terminating the national emergency former President Donald Trump used to divert Defense Department funding to build additional border barriers. However, in October 2023, the Biden administration resumed barrier construction using money Congress had previously appropriated. The administration also has spent millions on border barrier repairs. Immigration experts have questioned the barriers effectiveness at reducing illegal immigration. Instead of lowering the number of people crossing, barriers have mainly prompted people to try crossing at different parts of the border, David Bier, immigration studies director at the libertarian Cato Institute told PolitiFact in July 2023. Biden 'announced a plan to give amnesty to millions' "Amnesty" is a political term that can be defined narrowly as giving people in the U.S. illegally citizenship or broadly to mean any policy favorable to people in the U.S. illegally. On his first day in office, Biden proposed the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 to provide a citizenship path for farmworkers and immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children and for beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status. House Democrats introduced the bill in February 2021, but it did not advance. More recently, Biden said he would sign the Senates bipartisan immigration bill into law if it reached his desk. That bill, which failed a vote in the Senate, did not include a path to citizenship for people living in the U.S. illegally. Biden 'chose to release' the man accused of killing Laken Riley Britt also mentioned the killing of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. "This beautiful 22-year-old nursing student went out on a jog one morning, but she never got the opportunity to return home," Britt said. "She was brutally murdered by one of the millions of illegal border crossers President Biden chose to release into our homeland." Jose Ibarra, the man charged with Rileys killing, illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in September 2022. Ibarra was paroled in, allowing him to be released into the U.S. to await further immigration proceedings, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Biden does not decide who is released to await further immigration proceedings. Border officials decide whom to release into the U.S. because they lack enough resources to detain everyone who illegally crosses U.S. borders. PolitiFact Staff Writer Samantha Putterman contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Fact-checking Katie Britt's Republican 2024 State of the Union response Shares of Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL) rose dramatically after it reported fiscal first-quarter 2024 earnings. There were very good reasons for this, but investors still need to dig into the details before they get too upbeat about the future of this iconic food maker. China is an important and lingering trouble spot. Hormel had a strong quarter When Hormel reported fiscal Q1 earnings, management proudly highlighted that volume grew 4% year over year. Since volume fell 4.2% in 2023, the Q1 results suggest that the food maker is at an important inflection point. Notably, volume rose in all three of the company's divisions, which include retail, food service, and international. Image source: Getty Images. The weakest performance was in the company's retail business, basically all of its U.S. business that isn't food service. Volume in this segment rose 2%. Foodservice, which has been performing relatively well, continued its strong performance, with volume up 8%. Outdistancing even that showing was Hormel's foreign business, with volume rising 11%. This is where things start to get a bit more interesting. Per the earnings release, foreign "Segment profit increased due to the inclusion of our investment in Indonesia and significantly higher results from our partnership in the Philippines." So, in some ways, that 11% improvement in volume wasn't exactly an apples-to-apples comparison. And more to the point here: "...in China, foodservice results improved as we lapped COVID-related disruption last year. This benefit was more than offset by continued weakness in the retail channel." This consumer staples maker's best-performing business on the volume front may not be quite as big a positive as it seems. Reading between the lines If you had to summarize the foreign business' results, it would probably go something like this: Volumes grew thanks to the addition of a new business, but China is only just beginning to show signs of recovery. That's not terrible, but it certainly isn't good, either. Story continues China is a large and important global market, and Hormel has been investing heavily in the country. To put some numbers on that, it is the single-largest foreign market for Hormel, with 842 production facilities, 33 warehouses, and 26 corporate offices. While Hormel doesn't actually break out China as a percentage of its overall business, its presence in the country accounts for roughly two-thirds of its foreign properties. It is reasonable to assume that China is very important to Hormel's future. If you own Hormel, you need to keep an eye on the still-struggling China operations. The good news is that the Chinese market has reopened after a long closure related to the coronavirus pandemic. That's clearly resulted in a material improvement in the country's foodservice segment now that people are able to go out and about again. But they still aren't buying Hormel's products for their homes like they used to. Two things should be monitored here. First, investors need to remember that foodservice demand in China is likely coming off a very low base. So, the improvement is nice to see as an early sign of a turnaround, but the real questions are what happens through the rest of the year and what happens when these results are eventually lapped. Listen carefully to ensure China's food service business continues to grow. Second, and probably more important, Hormel needs to get people in China to buy its products again. That hasn't happened yet, and it is a worrying sign. It seems highly likely that Hormel will eventually figure out how to get this business back on track, but the longer it takes to do that, the worse it is for the company and investors. Watch what management says about Chinese customers over the next few quarters, too. Not huge, but important to the future Foreign sales make up only around 6% of Hormel's top line. China is a big part of that. While 6% isn't a massive figure, foreign expansion is expected to be an important long-term growth driver for the food maker. As such, long-term investors will want to closely monitor China's still-weak performance. If the company can't get back on track in China, it will be much harder to grow the business. Should you invest $1,000 in Hormel Foods right now? Before you buy stock in Hormel Foods, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and Hormel Foods wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than tripled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of March 8, 2024 Reuben Gregg Brewer has positions in Hormel Foods. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Consumer Sales in China Are Still a Trouble Spot for This Dividend King. Here's What to Watch Out for Before You Buy the Stock was originally published by The Motley Fool Senior US officials, Americans who had returned from detention abroad and loved ones of those who have yet to come home gathered in front of the US State Department as a new flag was raised ahead of the nations first-ever Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day. This is a solemn day, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said Friday as he stood before the flag, bearing the words bring them home and dozens of tally marks. Todays ceremony is a solemn recognition of those who have returned home, those who regrettably never will, and those still being held captive abroad, he said, adding that it was an opportunity to recommit ourselves to truly recommit ourselves to stand united against the scourge of hostage diplomacy, and to reaffirm the principles of peace, justice and human dignity for all. The State Department will solemnly raise the flag each year and whenever a hostage or wrongfully detained returns from abroad or dies in captivity, Campbell said. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day will be annually recognized on March 9 the date on which former FBI agent Robert Levinson was abducted in Iran 17 years ago. Levinson is believed to have died in Iran. His family members are strong advocates for the hostage and detainee community, and legislation on wrongful detention has been named in his honor. Speaking outside the State Department Friday, Campbell vowed to the loved ones of those still held abroad: The United States government is with you and we will work tirelessly until you are reunited with your loved ones. However, for some, the message rang hollow. As the years have gone by with few apparent updates and little to no public acknowledgment by the US government, these families say they fear that their loved ones cases are not being made a priority. Family members of Americans detained abroad demonstrate in front of the White House on March 8, 2024. - Jennifer Hansler/CNN We do feel invisible, said Maryam Kamalmaz, whose father Majd Kamalmaz was detained in Syria in February 2017. He hasnt been heard from since. Kamalmaz is among the family members who have called on President Joe Biden to meet with them a request that has not yet been granted. After the flag raising Friday, they gathered in Lafayette Park in front of the White House to once again plead their case. We are sick and tired. Sick and tired of standing in front of the White House, having to travel across the country to DC, to the doorstep of President Biden, begging with him to just meet with us. Even for only five minutes, said Harrison Li, whose father Kai Li has been detained in China since 2016. We were here in December, sitting in this park, begging for President Biden to see us for a few minutes to talk about our loved ones, said Aida Dagher, the sister-in-law of Zack Shahin, imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates. The next morning, he met with the families of Gaza hostages. Were very happy for them. Were not jealous. But treat us all equally. US officials have repeatedly said that a meeting with the president is not necessary to ensure that their loved ones cases are being worked on and it does not expedite someones release. We know the president has met with some families and not all of them have come home, Li said. We know its not easy. Theres no magic button, he said. But at the same time, if the president doesnt even hear from us, doesnt know the names of our loved ones or isnt reminded of it, hes not going to be able to do anything. US officials say that bringing home Americans wrongfully held abroad is a top priority. In his State of the Union address Thursday, Biden said the US will work around the clock to bring home Evan (Gershkovich) and Paul (Whelan) Americans being unjustly detained by the Russians and others around the world. Whelan told CNN on Tuesday that he would like to speak with Biden, to remind the President and the National Security Council that Im still here, being held hostage by the Russian government, and the Biden administration has got to take decisive action to secure my release. If they dont do anything, Im stuck here. And if Im stuck here, I die here, he said. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) A Davidson County family filed a wrongful death lawsuit after routine cosmetic surgery went horribly wrong. Five children are left without a mother in a case where attorneys said her doctor was not properly licensed. A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Nashville resident Erica Russell this week alleges the 33-year-old died due to the actions of a doctor during a routine Brazilian Butt Lift procedure, known as a BBL. The lawsuit was also filed against the Seduction Cosmetic Center after Russell flew from Nashville to Miami for the surgery at the facility. Metro Council approves $250K settlement to family of domestic violence shooting victim There are five young people without their mom that should not be in that situation, said Michael Levine, one of the attorneys of Stewart Tilghman Fox Bianchi & Cain, P.A., representing Russells family in the lawsuit. (Courtesy: Carol Goraczko via the Russell family) The suit alleges Dr. John Sampson repeatedly punctured Russells abdominal wall and internal organs during a 2021 cosmetic surgery and injected fat into the wrong areas, which allowed fat deposits to get into her bloodstream. This surgery involves suctioning fat from one area of the body and injecting it into another, and youre using a canula to do that, and Dr. Sampson was so reckless in the way he did this surgery that he apparently lost either control or awareness of where the canula was and he ends up perforating Ms. Russells liver and abdomen, Levine told News 2. Attorneys for the case said Sampson was not properly licensed to work at the Seduction Cosmetic Center in Miami and his actions resulted in a significant bleed and a pulmonary fat embolism that triggered fatal cardiac arrest. Sampson has since been banned from performing these types of surgeries. (Courtesy: Carol Goraczko via the Russell family) Ultimately, the state of Florida was conducting an investigation. The Department of Health has long been involved in this case, and in our opinion, the consequences from that investigation have been quite light, said Levine. This is really what troubles me about this case Dr. Sampson began surgery at 6:30 in the morning and he started Erica Russells surgery at 8:30 at night; 14 hours later and shortly before 11 p.m. is when she suffers an arrest, and thats about 16 hours into his workday and apparently, Ms. Russell was his seventh patient of the day. Lawsuit says Tennessee hospital shouldnt have discharged woman who died, police should have helped Cosmetic surgery is rising in popularity. Data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons shows the number of BBL procedures totaled $28,638 in 2022. If youre interested in cosmetic surgery, health officials with the society listed questions you can ask doctors to help you better determine who you want to do your procedure, including: Are you a board-certified plastic surgeon? How often have you performed this procedure? What are the risks involved? How have you handled complications with procedures in the past? As the lawsuit involving Sampson moves forward, attorneys for Russells family said they are working to bring justice for her Read todays top stories on wkrn.com What were trying to accomplish for her children is to hold these folks accountable and make them pay for what they did, said Levine. News 2 also reached out to Seduction Cosmetic Center in Miami for comment on the lawsuit, but did not hear back at the time of this publication. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. Family of Indiana mom who died on AA plane remain with unanswered questions The family of an Indiana mom who died on an American Airlines flight from the Dominican Republic are still in the dark as to how she passed, her brother told NBC News Friday. Stefanie Smith, 41, was on American Airlines Flight 2790 from Punta Cana to Charlotte, North Carolina, on Feb. 28 when her health took a sudden turn, police said. She was given CPR on the plane and then the aircraft was diverted to the Turks and Caicos Islands, where she was taken to a local hospital but could not be saved. INDIANA MOTHER APPEARED FIT AND HEALTHY BEFORE SUDDENLY DYING ABOARD AA FLIGHT, FAMILY AND FRIENDS SAY Stefanie Smith, 41, was on American Airlines Flight 2790 from Punta Cana to Charlotte, North Carolina when she started convulsing and died. "Id say the uncertainty, the not knowing how she died, the not knowing when her body will be returned to us, has been the hardest thing recently," Chris Volz, Smith's brother, told NBC News. "Its been a week so were past the initial shock. But now, its the uncertainty." Volz told the outlet the family has picked out a potential date for his sister's "celebration of life." However, they still do not know when the Turks and Caicos hospital will release her body and Volz said they have yet to hear from American Airlines. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP "We are hoping to find out soon," Volz told NBC. He also told the outlet the family has been struggling to handle the situation after his sister's passing. "My sister was the kind of person who saw the best in everybody," Volz told NBC. "She was very much into her relationships with her family, with her friends. She put smiles on peoples' faces." Fox News Digital reached out to Volz for additional comment. INDIANA MOTHER FALLS ILL, DIES ON AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT FROM DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Smith's cause of death has yet to be announced. The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force said "a female passenger fell ill mid-flight," after which "the Police Control Room received a call from the Air Traffic Control Tower requesting medical assistance for a 41-year-old female, who at the time was receiving Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)." "A medical team, along with police units, were dispatched, and the patient was transported to Cheshire Hall Medical Centre, where she died. A post-mortem will be conducted to ascertain the cause of death," police said in a statement released on Feb. 28. Fox News Digital reached out to police and the hospital for comment. Stefanie Smith, 41, was on American Airlines Flight 2790 from Punta Cana to Charlotte, North Carolina, on Feb. 28 when her health took a sudden turn, police said. "On Feb. 28, American Airlines flight 2790 with service from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ) to Charlotte (CLT) diverted to Providenciales International Airport (PLS) for the medical needs of a passenger. First responders met the aircraft and one passenger was taken to the local hospital," American Airlines told Fox News Digital in a statement on Friday. ALASKA AIRLINES PLANE WAS A 'TIME BOMB,' SAYS ATTORNEY OF PASSENGERS SUING BOEING, AIRLINE Smith's friend, Maria Yannotti, told ABC News Smith's boyfriend was sitting next to her on the flight and said her eyes rolled back and she started convulsing. Yannotti was also on the trip but traveled separate from Smith and her boyfriend. Yannotti said Smith's boyfriend initially thought she was joking around but soon realized she was in distress. A doctor and nurses on board the plane helped administer CPR before the plane made an emergency landing in the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory located in the southeast of the Bahamas. A doctor and nurses on board the plane helped administer CPR before the plane made an emergency landing in the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory located in the southeast of the Bahamas. Smith was vacationing with her boyfriend for five days and seemed healthy right before the flight, Yannotti said. Fox News Digital reached out to Yannotti for additional comment. Smith was the mother of two children, an 18-year-old son named Coen and 16-year-old daughter, Macee. Original article source: Family of Indiana mom who died on AA plane remain with unanswered questions The sound of Austin Turner walking through the house with his "big old cowboy boots" is one of a million things his family said they'll miss. Known as "Auttie" to his loved ones, he was a big, tall man with a gentle heart, according to his father, Josh Turner. That's something he saw in his son from an early age. "He was even kind on the football field," Josh Turner said of his son. "He didn't want to hit people too hard." Austin Turner poses for a photo in 2005. Austin Turner died Thursday after spending more than two weeks at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. He turned 26 while he was in the hospital. An altercation with a guard at Tin Roof, a popular Nashville bar on Demonbreun Street, left him with a fractured skull, along with cerebral trauma and swelling, according to his family. The guard was charged with aggravated assault and later released on bond. Discussions about further charges are underway, according to the Metro Nashville Police Department. On Saturday, Austin Turner's family shared more about the young man they knew and loved as they mourned his death and struggled to make sense of what happened. His stepmother, Meagan Turner, remembered a selfless young man whose eyes twinkled when he smiled and who was deeply uncomfortable with conflict. "He was not a troublemaker. He didn't hang out with the wrong crowd," his stepmother said. "He'd give you the shirt off his back." Both Meagan and Josh Turner said they plan to push for change to make sure nobody else suffers what their son did. In 2022, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a law requiring private security guards to undergo CPR, first aid, de-escalation and restraint training to become licensed. The measure, dubbed "Dallas's Law," came after Dallas "DJ" Barrett died in August 2021 after a fight with guards at Dierks Bentley's Whiskey Row in Nashville. But the Turner family isn't sure if that law is enough. "It's just unbelievable that this happened to him," Meagan Turner said. "I just fear for other people because of his gentle nature." Austin Turner, at the far right, poses with his family for a photo in 2018. In the back row, from left to right are: his sister Beatrix Turner, his father, Josh Turner, his stepmother, Meagan Turner, his sister Taylor Felts and his brother-in-law Zachary Felts. His sister Avalyn Turner is standing at the bottom center. Stories have poured in on social media in the wake of Austin Turner's death. "An entire community is really, really tore up over this," his stepmother said. The whole experience has been surreal and difficult to process, Josh Turner said. He remembers his son riding along with him as he worked for a wrecker service. He started putting tools in his son's hands at age 8 or 9. While his dad was more mechanically inclined, Austin Turner gravitated to construction. "Me and him are a yin and yang, but we loved each other a bunch," Josh Turner said. He talked about how his son could fix anything around the house, doted on his younger siblings and thrived as he built his own business, subcontracting for a larger company. He also fondly recalled his son's fun-loving side. "The kid could dance," he said with a laugh. Dallas Barrett: A timeline of what happened after Nashville Whiskey Row patron's death Funeral arrangements for Austin Turner Austin Turner poses for a photo in 2023. Austin Turner's family plans to hold a visitation for him on Wednesday from 3-7 p.m. in the chapel of Cheatham County Funeral Home at 117 Elizabeth St. in Ashland City, Tennessee. He'll be laid to rest in a private graveside service that will be held on a later date at Will Smith Cemetery in Ashland City. Reach reporter Rachel Wegner at RAwegner@tennessean.com or follow her on Twitter, Threads and Bluesky @RachelAnnWegner. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tin Roof Nashville death: Family says Austin Turner was gentle, kind OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. - Surveillance video released by Florida Highway Patrol earlier this week showing a driver checking on a bicyclist he's suspected of hitting in Kissimmee and then taking off may be key evidence in the case, but for the victim's family, it's a painful reminder of what happened to their loved one. "I couldn't see it. I had to run out crying. It was just hurtful. It was just pain. Pain," Stella Garza said. "To know that he walked off on my son and left for dead just on the ground that was hard." FHP says the unidentified driver hit Robert Centeno II, 48, about 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 12 while he was riding his bicycle near Poinciana Boulevard and SR 535. He was taken to the hospital, but his family in San Antonio, Texas, did not know Centeno had been hurt until days later because he didn't have his ID on him. "My son was classified as a John Doe, and that was really, really hard on me because he has a name. He has a name," Garza said. She says a nurse at HCA Florida Osceola Hospital, where Centeno was being treated for his injuries, noticed his cell phone in the room and connected it. Centeno's father, by luck, was then able to get through, and that's how the family found he was fighting for his life. Jessica Gallegos, Centeno's younger sister, says she and the family immediately flew to Florida after learning what happened to him. "We know he felt us, and we know, too, he had peace knowing that his family was right by his side," she said. Garza was thankful for the little time she had left with her only son. "The Lord gave me three day full days with my son. We were able to hold him and caress him and talk to him and read scripture to him and all that, and that was just precious time that I'm always grateful for," she said. Centeno died from his injuries 11 days after the hit-and-run. A celebration of life is scheduled for Sunday, March 17, at Friendship Church in San Antonio. Now, his family is on a mission to get justice for him. "Someone has to turn [the driver] in. Someone has to have the [conscious] mind. The spirit has to work to be able to turn this man in," Garza said. FHP says the silver Hyundai Elantra seen in the video likely has damage to its front right side. If you know anything, give FHP or Crimeline a call at 800-423-TIPS. KANSAS CITY, Mo. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking for potential Kansas City-area victims in a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. A St. Louis-area grand jury indicted investment advisor Siddharth Jawahar in December on three counts of wire fraud and one count of investment adviser fraud. Prosecutor wont press charges in Jericho Home founders death Jawahar ran a Texas-based investment company called Swiftarc Capital LLC. Prosecutors say from July 2016 to December 2023, Jawahar took more than $35 million from investors, but only spent about $10 million on investing in companies. The indictment says Jawahar used money from new investors to repay older investors but he also used the money to fuel an extravagant lifestyle that included flights on private planes, stays at luxury hotels and expensive outings at lavish restaurants. Prosecutors say, starting in 2015, the 36-year-old began investing majority of client funds into a single investment. Eventually 99% of client funds were consolidated into that investment. Jackson County orders flags at half-staff Monday to honor Drexel Mack But Jawahar didnt tell his clients of the investments drastic decline in value, the indictment says, instead misleading them about their profits. Texas authorities also revoked Swiftarc Capitals authority to conduct investment activities in 2022, but prosecutors say Jawahar continued to fraudulently solicit and receive investor funds. At a Feb. 16 detention hearing, federal prosecutors said the FBI has located victims in St. Louis and Kansas City, but also across the country, including Miami, Los Angeles, Cleveland, New York, San Francisco and Austin. Anyone who invested with Jawahar or Swiftarc Capital is asked to contact the FBI St. Louis Division at 314-589-2500. Download the FOX4 News app on iPhone and Android The 36-year-old investment advisor is currently being held in jail until trial. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 for each wire fraud charge. The investment adviser fraud could result in up to 5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, if convicted. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday said it cleared Ozempic manufacturer Novo Nordisk to market the weight-loss drug Wegovy for heart benefits. Novo Nordisk said it conducted a 17,000-patient study that showed people who took Wegovy had a 20% lower risk of having a cardiac event than people who took a placebo. File Photo by Ida Marie Odgaard/EPA-EFE March 8 (UPI) -- The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Wegovy manufacturer Novo Nordisk's application to add cardiovascular benefits to the weight-loss drug's label. The decision makes Wegovy to first weight-loss drug to be marketed to prevent cardiovascular events such as heart attack or stroke. "We recognize how important this moment is for the millions of people who live with excess weight or obesity and known heart disease, and we will continue to advance options that put their needs first," Novo Nordisk President Doug Langa said in a statement. The label expansion is expected to improve insurance coverage for Wegovy -- the sister drug to Novo Nordisk's better-known Ozempic -- which costs more than $1,300 per month out of pocket. Many insurers, including Medicare, don't cover drugs for weight loss. Dr. Harlan Krumholz, a cardiologist and scientist at Yale University and Yale New Haven Hospital, said the importance of Wegovy is "not about appearance but about health. " "The evidence is that they reduce risk and save lives -- and so it is indefensible to deny people access, or make it difficult for people to access, medications that will directly improve their health," she said. The FDA approval is based on a 17,000-patient study that showed people who took Wegovy had a 20% lower risk of a cardiac event than people who took a placebo. Wegovy is indicated for people who are considered obese -- body mass index of 30 -- or overweight -- BMI of 27 -- and have at least one "weight-related" condition such as high blood pressure or cholesterol. "This patient population has a higher risk of cardiovascular death, heart attack and stroke," Dr. John Sharretts, director of the FDA's Division of Diabetes, Lipid Disorders and Obesity said in a statement. "Providing a treatment option that is proven to lower this cardiovascular risk is a major advance for public health." Approximately 70% of American adults struggle with obesity or being overweight, according to the FDA. These conditions carry an added risk of premature death and cardiovascular health problems. The Novo Nordisk's trial was done with people who have had cardiac events in the past. More studies need to be done to determine heart benefits for people who have not suffered a cardiac event. FDA approval may improve insurance coverage for Wegovy, but there continues to be a shortage of the drug as manufacturers struggle to keep up with demand. Novo Nordisk has said it is gradually increasing its supply over the course of this year. "The shortages are really, really bad right now," Dr. Jody Dushay, an endocrinologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, told CNN. Dushay said she's hopeful that the approval would improve insurance coverage, as generic weight-loss drugs come with an increased heart risk, but expanded access could create a demand that manufacturers might not be able to meet. In a statement, Langa said Novo Nordisk is working "to increase manufacturing capacity to responsibly supply this important medicine." "Pages of history" features excerpts from The News Journal archives including the Wilmington Morning News and the Evening Journal. March 10, 1993, The News Journal Dial tone cost to jump 40%, water rates to soar Beginning today, Diamond State Telephone Co. residential customers will be paying 40 percent more for their dial tone. The increase, from $8.23 to $11.60 a month, will give Diamond State $10.4 million more in annual revenues. The hike is temporary while the Delaware Public Service Commission continues its deliberations in a rate case in which the phone company seeks to raise its annual revenues by more than $13.6 million. Page B8 of The News Journal from March 10, 1993. Customers of Wilmington Suburban Water Corp. are facing water rate hikes totaling 60 percent during the next five years as the utility spends $28 million to upgrade its plant to comply with the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. Todays typical residential water bill of $175 per year would increase to $300 by 1997 March 12, 2011, The News Journal Earthquake, tsunami kill hundreds, ravage Japan Japan launched a massive, military-led rescue operation today after a giant earthquake and tsunami killed hundreds of people and turned the northeastern coast into a swampy wasteland as authorities braced for a possible meltdown at a nuclear reactor. Prime Minister Naoto Kan said he is sending 50,000 troops for the rescue and recovery efforts following Fridays 8.9-magnitude quake that unleashed one of the greatest disasters Japan has witnessed a 23-foot tsunami that washed far inland over fields, smashing towns, airports and highways. Front page of The News Journal from March 12, 2011. The official death toll stood at 413, while 784 people were missing and 1,128 injured. Adding to the worries was the damage at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, where two reactors had lost cooling ability. When earthquake hit Delaware: 'This is wild,' USGS says of Dover 4.1 earthquake March 13, 1933, Wilmington Morning News Roosevelt says banks ready to reopen; promises aid for states President Franklin Roosevelt told the nation last night that the banking system was ready for reopening today on a progressive basis and asked for renewed confidence and faith by the people. Let me make it clear that the banks will take care of all needs, he assured. Front page of the Wilmington Morning News from March 13, 1933. Catching a spare moment almost for the first time in his eight busy days in the White House, the President used the press and the radio to tell the people in his own words of what was done and what he intends to do. He promised the assistance of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and of Federal Reserve member banks to make sure of the opening of sound state institutions outside the Federal Reserve. The new currency now being pushed into the far corners of the nation for needs of the citizenry he described as sound. He skewered those bankers who had shown themselves either incompetent or dishonest and asserted: It was the governments job to straighten out this situation, and do it as quickly as possible and the job is being performed. Warning that some banks might not be reopened, he asked that no concern be felt if an institution is not immediately restarted and explained it probably would be opened shortly. Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in hurrying out our plan, he said. Wilmingtons payroll requirements will be met in currency beginning today by member banks of the Wilmington Clearing House Association, an official said last night following a meeting of the association. Meanwhile these member banks are preparing to resume full operations tomorrow under licenses from the Federal Reserve system which are expected by tonight. The city banks today will operate with the exception of meeting payroll demands, exactly as they did the latter part of last week. Responding to President Franklin Roosevelts request that gold be returned to the Treasury because of the banking crisis, Mrs. Irenee duPont has sent to the Wilmington Trust Company a number of gold coins she has treasured for sentimental reasons over a period of years. Her husband, writing to Elwyn Evans, executive vice-president of the trust company, explained: These are an accumulation of directors fees paid me during the last 20 years, which, in accordance with custom, I turned over to my wife. Catch up on history: 2 presidents impeached, U.S. invades Panama: The News Journal archives, week of Dec. 17 March 16, 1965, Wilmington Morning News LBJ asks for prompt right-to-vote law President Lyndon Johnson declared last night that is time to guarantee every American the right to vote to answer the cries of pain, the hymns and protests of oppressed people In solemn, measured tones, the president called for broad new legislation and paid tribute to the Negro demonstrators he said have awakened Americas conscience. Front page of the Wilmington Morning News from March 16, 1965. Johnson said he will put his proposals into the hands of Congress in legislative form tomorrow, and he awarded them No. 1 priority. Before a joint session of House and Senate a forum normally summoned for a presidential State of the Union address or in time of grave national crisis Johnson declared: It is wrong, morally wrong, to deny any of your fellow Americans the right to vote in this country. Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: FDR reopens banks, Japan earthquake: News Journal archives, March 10 DENVER No more flowers in the medians. Cuts to rec center hours and at the DMV. A hiring freeze in some city departments. After more than 40,000 migrants arrived Denver in less than a year, city officials are struggling to help the new arrivals and serve their taxpaying residents amid skyrocketing rents and a housing shortage. A self-described sanctuary city, Denver has found shelter for the migrants, helped their kids get into schools, provided emergency food assistance and taught them how to fill out paperwork. It's a vast, expensive effort in a city unaccustomed to managing such challenges. And now cracks are beginning to show in the city's generosity. Denver has already spent more than $60 million aiding the migrants, and officials are planning budget cuts to keep the aid flowing. A hastily built coalition of churches and nonprofits has stepped in to help, but several surrounding cities have refused to assist or accept migrants. "We overextended a while ago," said Ismael de Sousa, a longtime Denver bakery owner who grew up in Venezuela and has struggled with whether to open his own home to newcomers. "It's tricky because you don't know who you're opening your door to for an indefinite amount of time." Lizbeth Torres and her son Will Daniel pose for a photo inside the Denver Friends Church shelter for migrants. The Torres family trekked about 3,000 miles from Venezuela to reach the United States. In Denver, the newcomers have erected ramshackle tent cities near upscale apartment buildings, flooded medians to offer windshield-washing services and staked out street corners with signs begging for money. Unlike migrants arriving in years past, most of the newcomers are penniless Venezuelans without the typical informal social support system that can find them housing with friends or family and get them work under the table. De Sousa, 39, said he has seen a steady stream of migrants seeking work at his Reunion Bread bakery, even though they have no baking experience, don't speak English and have no permission to work. He said it's heartbreaking to turn them away, knowing they have few options. He recently organized a community fundraiser to feed migrants. "I had to do something," he said. "But I'm just a small baker, so there's not a ton I can do." Many of the migrants have been bused to Denver after crossing the Mexican border, shipped 600 miles north via Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star, which disperses migrants to sanctuary cities. Abbott's efforts have put Denver on the front lines of the nation's emotionally charged immigration debate. City officials said Denver has received more migrants per capita than any other big city outside Texas in the past year. In his State of the Union speech on Thursday, President Joe Biden urged Congress to pass an immigration reform law toughening border controls while speeding up the process by which migrants receive hearings to determine whether they can remain in the United States. Republicans killed a bipartisan border bill in February that aimed to achieve those goals. Former President Donald Trump has vowed to launch widespread deportations nationally if reelected, and he has accused migrants of "poisoning the blood of our country." Biden said that such language demonizes migrants and that the United State should remain a welcoming country: "We are the only nation in the world with a heart and soul that draws from old and new." For many Denver residents, the migrant arrivals are an increasingly obvious population in a city that is markedly whiter, wealthier and better educated than the country as a whole. Some Abbott supporters say that's the whole point of the operation: forcing Americans to personally grapple with the problems caused by the nation's broken immigration system. The migrant arrivals have pitted neighbors against one another and prompted Democratic mayors like Denver's Mike Johnston to demand Biden's administration respond more forcefully. In January, Johnston said the city was on track to spend 10% of its entire annual budget aiding migrants, although it has since scaled that back. "What we don't want is people to arrive here at 1 a.m. in T-shirts and sandals with two young kids and end up homeless on the street in 10-degree weather," Johnston told USA TODAY. "We don't want that to happen, but we also know we can't provide an infinite amount of services. We're having to pull back the amount of services we can provide, the number of people we can serve, and figure out how to balance the budget to get there." Venezuelan migrant Fabian Garcia Torres, 6, looks at a tray of grilled cheese sandwiches at the Denver Friends Church shelter for migrants. Different views of how much aid government should provide Abbott has sent more than 104,000 migrants to Democratic cities, primarily Chicago, New York and Denver, which have declared themselves "sanctuary cities." Although the term has no legal meaning, a sanctuary city usually provides safe harbor to migrants regardless of their immigration status and declines to assist federal immigration authorities in tracking them down. Over the past year, Denver has assisted migrants through tens of thousands of hotel vouchers, hot meals and millions of dollars in cash assistance, a move that has upset some locals already struggling to pay rents that are 30% above the national average. Abbott and other Texas officials say the number of migrants crossing from Mexico is too much for border communities to handle, and they're simply spreading the burden to cities that have gone on record as being willing to protect and support migrants. Chicago has formally enshrined its policies in a "Welcoming City Ordinance," although Denver has never formally adopted a similar policy. "Texas will not stop until President Biden secures the border," Abbott vowed last month. Latest on migrant issue: Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Catholic migrant aid organization for alleged 'human smuggling' In Denver, city officials say they're trying to carefully balance their legal responsibilities with humanitarian needs. And Johnston said he has been surprised at how gleeful some Texas officials appear to be about having caused problems for Denver. Johnston has called for other mayors to help Denver by accepting migrants, but many have outright refused or just ignored his calls. Other cities have simply handed out bus tickets and sent migrants elsewhere. "I was surprised I would ever see elected officials who seem delighted at the prospect of Americans suffering, or cities suffering," Johnston said. "That's not how we're built (here), and that's not how we'll proceed. "In Denver, there really is a bipartisan effort to succeed. I wish we had that around the country, but we will figure it out regardless because we're not the type to point fingers or to make excuses. We just work harder and work together." Churches try to figure out the best way to serve Racing around the dingy church gym as people tried to sleep on foam mattress recently, two young brothers tossed balls, batted a balloon, zoomed a plastic toy firetruck across the carpet and flopped down to watch videos on their mother's phone. They snuggled up to their father, spilled cereal on the floor and insisted that strangers play patty-cake. Their mom looked exhausted. Their dad looked exhausted. The church pastor looked exhausted. Everyone around them looked exhausted. But the boys were excited for this adventure, their new toys and this new temporary home in a quiet Denver neighborhood. "Eat more," Will Daniel Garcia Torres, 4, urged a visitor in Spanish, offering a cup of crispy chocolate cereal flakes as his brother, Wisler Fabian Garcia Torres, 6, sprawled quietly on the floor. "It's for you." Along with their parents, the two boys trekked nearly 3,000 miles from South America to the Mexican border, crossed into Texas, surrendered to federal authorities, then were released to await an immigration court date in 2025. The boys' parents believe their dangerous, lengthy journey to the United States will bring them better work, better pay and better lives than what they left behind in Venezuela. "Venezuela is my horror," said their mom, Lisbeth Torres, 42. "This country is better." Denver Friends Church pastor Keith Reeser plays basketball with Will Daniel Torres y Wisler, 4, in the church's gym, which has been converted to a shelter for migrants, most of them from Venezuela. Once they were in Texas, authorities put them on a bus to Denver. Torres doesn't know who those officials worked for or why they fastened a GPS tracker anklet on her husband's leg. Right now, all she knows is the kindness of strangers, virtually none of whom speak her language. Torres said they have no family here, no connections and no prospects for work. And she's worried about the boys' education. "The kids aren't studying," she said in Spanish. "We don't have jobs. We don't have a stable home. It's sad they have to be in this situation." Still, she's glad they came to the United States, she said, where the opportunities are greater even if the struggles now are hard. Before Torres and her husband left Venezuela last October, their two grown children left to work in neighboring Colombia and Ecuador. Conditions at home kept worsening, and her husband, a butcher with his own small business, faced extortion even as the local currency was all but worthless. They could barely feed their boys, so they headed north toward the United States. Its not right that they have to go hungry, she said. We had no option but to emigrate. Torres said she is thankful to the Denver church for the shelter and the hot meals. But what she really wants is to find work, for her kids to go to school, for her family to find its footing in their new country. As long as we have faith in God and we keep fighting, this is a country where we can make it. Its hard, but we Venezuelans are legendary. Do you know what weve been through to get here? You think we cant learn English? Fabian is already my translator, she said, laughing. She called to her son. How many numbers do you know? He answered by counting excitedly in English: One, two, three, four, five A Spanish-language Bible sits on a table at the Denver Friends Church, which has been hosting a shelter for newly arrived migrants, mostly from Venezuela. Pastor Keith Reeser was moved to open the shelter at Denver Friends Church in November for families like the Torres clan after he saw city officials struggling with the new arrivals. Because the church once housed a preschool, fire officials were quick to let Reeser open its doors to migrants, and now up to 29 people a night sleep on mattresses in the gym after getting a hot meal. Reeser said it's clear the federal immigration system is broken, and it's also clear Denver is overwhelmed. But he said it's also important to remember that each migrant is a person with hopes and dreams, not just a number or a stereotype. "What we're doing for them affects them for generations," he said. "We're talking about an eternal impact. Their kids' kids' kids will grow up here." Reeser's church has limped by on donations and volunteers, and he said there has been plenty of internal debate over whether providing an overnight shelter is the best way to help. Some Denver-area churches have declined to offer shelter to migrants, citing insurance and staffing costs, preferring to let city officials instead spend taxpayer money to rent hotel rooms. He's committed to doing what he can, given the lack of a comprehensive approach what should be the "United" States. I would dare any person with a heart to stand at the door of our church and say 'good riddance, get out of here,'" Reeser said. "We say that we follow Jesus. We say to love those who are hurting or homeless or widowed or the children ... and right now we have cities that are saturated and people starved of the basics of life." A Venezuelan migrant at the Denver Friends Church shelter shows the GPS ankle monitor attached by authorities when he entered the United States. Nonprofits, residents help migrants with housing, money, skills As Denver city officials have struggled to finance their assistance, nonprofits and other businesses are helping. A group of moms in the city's Highlands neighborhood has for months used Facebook to coordinate hot lunches, home stays, informal work opportunities, English and computer classes, and help filling out paperwork. In the group, migrants offer housecleaning services and seek landscaping jobs, while moms collect donations to buy tools and equipment for the new arrivals. The group also offers tips on food donations avoid peanut butter or hummus because the migrants might be unfamiliar with that and what kinds of clothes or personal goods are most in need. Organizers say they try hard to remember how privileged they are compared with the migrants. They have homes, jobs, health insurance and the cultural background necessary to navigate life in the city. Several members of the group also have called out wealthy churches that have so far done little to assist. De Sousa, the baker, said his fundraiser is the best way he can help, using his baking skills and connections with suppliers to raise money for migrants. He said it's important to remember each person comes with their own hopes and dreams, and he worries migration opponents will use the arrest of a Venezuelan migrant in the death of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, highlighted at the State of the Union, to turn public opinion against them. "That could easily turn into hatred and xenophobia," he said. Venezuelan migrant Will Daniel Garcia Torres y Wisler, 4, rides his bike past a rack of donated winter clothes offered to new arrivals at the Denver Friends Church shelter. The neighboring city of Aurora passed a resolution last month symbolically blocking migrants from being moved into its boundaries. City officials said they were unwilling to sacrifice their budget to help migrants. In Denver, Andreina Gomez, 30, a digital marketer, volunteers as a translator with the Highlands Moms group. Born in Venezuela, Gomez moved to Miami with her family as a child, then made her way to Colorado, drawn by the Rocky Mountains. In between ski trips and remote work, she has advised migrants on connecting with immigration attorneys and jobs. Like many Denver residents, Gomez was taken aback as the numbers of migrants swelled, hearing their Venezuelan accents on the street near her apartment. She said some of her friends have griped about the costs and the consequences, from housing costs to cuts to hours at the DMV. "I hear the frustration, don't get me wrong," she said. "But I think it comes from a lack of understanding." Gomez said her own mother, who lives in Florida, has wondered aloud why the new arrivals can't just get jobs like her generation. Depending on how and when they crossed the border, many of the migrants arriving in Denver face yearslong waits for immigration hearings and monthslong waits to hear whether they'll be allowed to work. Some migrant assistance groups have hinted they think Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has also shipped migrants to other states, have specifically picked people who lack work permits to send to Denver, New York and Chicago. "'Well yeah mom, your governor is one of the ones shipping people around like boxes,'" Gomez said. "It makes me sad that it's on us to fix this. But I am proud to be part of a community that is stepping up. We are treating these people like people." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Migrant crisis threatens to overwhelm Denver's compassion On February 26, one of Russias longest-serving human rights activists stood up at the end of his trial in a Moscow court and offered his uncensored verdict on Russian democracy. The state in our country is once again controlling not only social, political and economic life, but is now claiming full control over culture, scientific thought, and is inserting itself in private life. Its becoming all-pervasive, said Oleg Orlov, a 70-year-old who was on trial for discrediting the army. Powerful voices like Orlovs are becoming a rarity in Russia, where high-profile opponents to President Vladimir Putin and his ruling elite are now mostly either in exile, in prison, or dead. Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 accelerated a process already two decades in the making the erosion of democratic freedoms, media independence and civil society at home. With the war now in its third year, and Putin set to be re-installed for a fifth term in a tightly-controlled election next week, there are signs that this process is picking up speed once again. Orlov, co-founder and co-chair of Memorial, a Nobel Prize-winning human rights organization set up in the Soviet Unions twilight years, knew he had nothing to lose. Russian rights campaigner Oleg Orlov during a court hearing in Moscow on February 27, 2024. - Tatyana Makeyeva/Reuters The day after his speech in court, he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Discrediting the army is just one of several new offenses added to Russias penal code since the invasion of Ukraine. Orlovs so-called crime was committed just over a year earlier, when he published an article in a French online newspaper titled They Wanted Fascism, They Got It. After his sentencing, Amnesty International called him a prisoner of conscience and called for his immediate release. Russian human rights group OVD-Info says more than 260 people are currently serving jail terms in the country for crimes related to taking an anti-war stance. The group has recorded almost 20,000 detentions, and while most of those were at the beginning of the war, there is still a steady stream. Theyre not large numbers in a country of 140 million people, said OVD-Info lawyer and analyst Darya Korolenko, but just enough to make for an effective deterrent. And its not just known opposition figures or activists who are being targeted. They will imprison old people, they will imprison people who have disabilities. They will imprison people with children, women with children, Korolenko told CNN. They just want everyone to be silent. The wartime censorship laws discrediting the army, or the more serious offense of knowingly spreading false information about the army have turned social media into a minefield. Platforms are closely monitored by the FSB, which acts as Russias secret service, said Konstantin Eggert, an exiled Russian journalist who was among many added to Russias ever-growing list of foreign agents last year. He believes the grip on social media will tighten further. The war finally allowed Putin and his crowd to introduce a uniform ideology in Russia, which they always dreamt of introducing, but they could not do it because they were supposed to play democracy, he said in an interview with CNN. They do not have to hide anymore what they really want. Evgeniya Mayboroda, a pensioner in her early 70s from Shakhty, a town less than 50 km (around 30 miles) from the Ukrainian border, found herself unable to conform to that uniform ideology. According to OVD-Info, she was arrested and fined in early 2023 for alleged anti-war social media posts. In January, she was jailed for five and a half years for spreading false information about the army. Russian independent news outlet Mediazona reported she was convicted after two reposts on VKontakte Russias version of Facebook including one about Russian troop deaths. In this climate, old practices are creeping in, like Soviet-style denunciations. In early February, 67-year-old Moscow pediatrician Nadezhda Buyanova was accused by a young patients mother of calling her husband who had recently been killed in the war a legitimate target for Ukraine. The woman filed an official report and Buyanova was arrested, her modest Moscow apartment ransacked by police. Nadezhda Buyanova in her Moscow apartment after police searched her home. - Oskar Cherdzhiev Russias powerful investigative committee ordered a criminal case be opened on charges of spreading false information about the army. Buyanova, who denies the charges, is out on bail, but is now suing to try to get her job back. The climate is fed by the mainstream media that everyone is a spy and a traitor, foreign agent, everyone wants to destroy Russia, destroy your home, said Korolenko. People fear that they will lose what they care about. So they try to protect this. Deeper and deeper into this darkness With mainstream Russian media now entirely state-controlled, the authorities are targeting other forms of expression the arts, literature and culture. Orlov argued in his courtroom speech that this is yet more proof of Russia sinking deeper and deeper into this darkness at an ever-quickening pace. He listed evidence from the last four months alone, including: the branding of the LGBTQ movement as extremist, new rules prohibiting students at Moscows prestigious Higher School of Economics from citing people on Russias growing list of foreign agents in their work, and the effective banning of many modern authors. One of those authors is Grigory Chkhartishvili, who goes by the pen name Boris Akunin. One of Russias most popular modern literary figures, a master of the historical detective genre, hes been living in exile since 2014 but that has not insulated him from Russias crackdown. In December, Akunin was added to Russias terrorist and extremist list for allegedly justifying extremism and spreading false information about the Russian army. Despite Akunins regular public criticism of Putin and the war, that move was apparently triggered by what he sees as an orchestrated setup a prank call by Russians posing as Ukrainians, later posted online, in which he was tricked into expressing his opposition to the war and his willingness to help Ukraine. Author Boris Akunin attends a protest in Moscow on May 13, 2012. - Misha Japaridze/AP In response, his main publisher in Russia announced it would not be releasing new copies of his books, and a major network of bookstores pulled them off its shelves. In January, Akunin was labeled a foreign agent, and in early February a Moscow court issued an arrest warrant for him for allegedly justifying terrorism and spreading false information about the Russian army. In an interview with CNN, Akunin suggested he was targeted because of his wide readership, and the Russian states desire to take control of the more or less uncontrolled literary sector ahead of the upcoming presidential election. The Russia that I remember was not like this, he said. It was a troubled, chaotic democracy, an interesting country where a lot of things were happening. Now, it has become totally Kafkaesque, Orwellian. For many in Russias disparate dissident community, the death of Alexey Navalny, Putins most prominent critic, was the last stop on the countrys journey back to authoritarianism. Akunin said he believes it is clear evidence the Kremlin is no longer even trying to hide the lengths it will go to stamp out dissent. By killing Alexey Navalny, they lost the last chance of trying to pretend that they were decent, law abiding, he told CNN. The Kremlin has called accusations Russian authorities were behind Navalnys death unfounded. Russia did not make the mass arrests or carry out a violent crackdown at Navalnys funeral last week, as many of the activists supporters had feared, but no one should be fooled by that, said Andrei Soldatov, a Russian investigative journalist and expert on the Russian intelligence services. Borrowing an effective tool from the days of Covid-19 regulations, he said, Russian authorities simply relied on surveillance from Moscows many facial recognition cameras, as well as plainclothes officers from the Center for Combating Extremism, a unit of Russias interior ministry. Arrests of those who laid flowers at makeshift memorials and attended Navalnys funeral have continued for days after the event, and in one case, according to OVD-Info, a Moscow resident arrested on March 5 was told he had been spotted on security camera footage. It makes sense because you do not create a picture of a huge crush or huge attack on protesters, but it still has a chilling effect, Soldatov told CNN. Soldatov said this is this reaction stems from an official paranoia in Putins Russia, an an incessant obsession with the fragility of the state, fueled by history and made worse by the war in Ukraine, as well as the impending election. It all goes back to the two historical traumas of 1917 and 1991, he said the Bolshevik revolution and the collapse of the USSR. They dont understand why two Russian empires basically collapsed for no apparent reason, he said. So everything you can do to prevent this is justifiable. In his final words to the Moscow court, Orlov echoed that sentiment. The authorities are even at war with the deceased Navalny, he said. They fear him, even when he is dead. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Oceaneering International Inc (NYSE:OII), a company that provides engineered services and products primarily to the offshore oil and gas industry, with a focus on deepwater applications, has experienced an insider sell event. According to a recent SEC Filing, Director Karen Beachy sold 7,600 shares of the company on March 7, 2024. Over the past year, Karen Beachy has sold a total of 17,100 shares of Oceaneering International Inc and has not made any purchases of the stock. The insider's recent transaction further adds to the trend observed over the past year, where there have been no insider buys but a total of 8 insider sells for the company. On the day of the insider's recent sell, shares of Oceaneering International Inc were trading at $20.5 each, resulting in a market capitalization of $2.073 billion. The company's price-earnings ratio stands at 21.65, which is above both the industry median of 10.46 and the company's historical median price-earnings ratio. The stock's price-to-GF-Value ratio is 1.07, indicating that Oceaneering International Inc is Fairly Valued based on its GF Value of $19.13. The GF Value is a proprietary intrinsic value estimate from GuruFocus, which takes into account historical trading multiples, a GuruFocus adjustment factor based on past returns and growth, and future business performance estimates from Morningstar analysts. Director Karen Beachy Sells 7,600 Shares of Oceaneering International Inc (OII) The insider trend image above reflects the recent insider selling activity for Oceaneering International Inc. Director Karen Beachy Sells 7,600 Shares of Oceaneering International Inc (OII) The GF Value image above provides a visual representation of the stock's valuation relative to its intrinsic value estimate. Investors and stakeholders in Oceaneering International Inc may consider monitoring insider transactions as part of their analysis of the company's stock performance and valuation. This article, generated by GuruFocus, is designed to provide general insights and is not tailored financial advice. Our commentary is rooted in historical data and analyst projections, utilizing an impartial methodology, and is not intended to serve as specific investment guidance. It does not formulate a recommendation to purchase or divest any stock and does not consider individual investment objectives or financial circumstances. Our objective is to deliver long-term, fundamental data-driven analysis. Be aware that our analysis might not incorporate the most recent, price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative information. GuruFocus holds no position in the stocks mentioned herein. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. An imagining of Christopher NolanOs short film OLarceny,O based on the scarce details known about it. (Chris Retsina via The New York Times) Before Christopher Nolan became a celebrated director before Inception penetrated the land of dreams, Interstellar played with the laws of physics and Tenet warped all sense of chronology there was Larceny. In 1995, Nolan directed Larceny with a group of friends he had met through the film society at University College London. It is about 8 minutes long, was shot in black and white with 16-mm cameras and involves an apartment burglary. That is essentially all the public information about the film. After a screening at the Cambridge Film Festival in 1996, it vanished. Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times In the decades since, Nolan, 53, has become known for his expansive cinematography and mind-bending plots in movies such as Memento, the Dark Knight trilogy and Dunkirk. He is expected to win his first Oscar on Sunday for Oppenheimer, a three-hour biopic about a theoretical physicist that made nearly $1 billion. The popularity of Nolans work has made the elusiveness of Larceny maddening for fans who want to watch his entire filmography, and perhaps gain insight into his early development as a filmmaker. When I meet God, I wont ask about the scrolls from the Library of Alexandria, Ill shake him down for this lost film, Dan DeLaPorte wrote on Letterboxd, a website where people rate and review movies. DeLaPorte said in an interview that he had scrolled through pages and pages of Google search results and combed through Reddit, Vimeo and underground media sites to try to find Larceny. Nolans decision to keep Larceny private while publicizing Doodlebug, a 3-minute short from 1997, has fueled speculation among his fans. Is he planning to transform Larceny into a full-length feature? Embarrassed by his work as a young filmmaker? Nervous about some of its content? In English literature theres this term, juvenilia, which is great artists younger works when they were teenagers or apprentices, said Matthew Tempest, who was secretary of the universitys film society when Nolan was its president. Frustrating as it might be for fans, I think they have a right to destroy or withdraw it. In 2021, a fan tracked down a copy of another of Nolans early short films, Tarantella (1990), with the help of a Chicago public television station. After the film was posted on Vimeo, Nolans production company filed a copyright infringement claim to have it removed. Even so, the discovery renewed hope among Nolan fans. Could Larceny be unearthed next? A Training Exercise In the 1990s, the film society at University College London met weekly in a cluttered theater basement where strips of film hung from the ceiling. Nolan and the groups other members, including Emma Thomas, his future wife, had access to cameras, tripods, dolly tracks and other filmmaking tools. He continued to use the equipment after graduating in 1993. While most students wore jeans, sweaters and denim jackets, Nolan dressed meticulously in button-down shirts and suit jackets. He was also dedicated to the granular details of filmmaking. Tempest recalled seeing Nolan try to create a distortion effect with a glass bowl. He was really interested in the physical mechanics of cameras and lights and equipment, Tempest said. The film society, Tempest said, would screen movies like Ridley Scotts Blade Runner in the theater upstairs to help fund its members filmmaking. Student films provide opportunities for budding filmmakers to experiment with their craft and forge partnerships with actors and crew members, said Christopher Chan Roberson, who teaches cinematography at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. The idea of making a student film is a notion of process, Roberson said. Its just a process of going, OK, maybe I didnt make the best film, but I really love working with this cinematographer and this is my cinematographer for life. Jeremy Theobald, who played the occupant of the apartment in Larceny, also starred in Nolans debut feature, Following, about an aspiring writer who meets a professional burglar. David Julyan, who created the music for Larceny, later worked with Nolan on Memento, Insomnia and The Prestige. Theobald told Darren Mooney, the author of Christopher Nolan: A Critical Study of the Films, that Nolans script for Larceny differed from the surreal film society scripts he had read. This was witty, Theobald said. It was funny, it was pithy and it was dark. It had a great twist at the end. The plot involves an encounter during which a burglar is disturbed by the homeowner, Julyan said. In an interview with Empire magazine, Theobald said his character was arguing with another about a woman when a third man bursts out of the cupboard. This story may have been inspired by Nolans personal life. He had recently returned home from work to find his apartment door kicked in and his place a mess, according to Ian Nathans book Christopher Nolan: The Iconic Filmmaker and His Work. Larceny was shot over one weekend at Nolans apartment, Julyan said, and features percussion loops, electric piano and bass guitar from a synthesizer Julyan had borrowed. In an interview with Vice published in 2014, Nolan recalled treating Larceny and Doodlebug as opportunities to experiment with filmmaking techniques before applying those skills to Following. Can you create a very stripped-down, very tight production machine that would then be applied to making a feature film? Nolan said. He added, When we came to do Following, we were sort of shooting a short film every weekend. So it would be a 2-minute, 3-minute chunk of the film done every weekend. A Very Controlled Artist Tarantella lives on in the recesses of the internet, and Doodlebug is included on the Criterion edition of Following. But very few people have seen Larceny, and that seems unlikely to change. Directors sometimes avoid releasing their early work out of concern that it could reflect poorly on them, Roberson said. I think Chris Nolan doesnt want to make himself vulnerable, Roberson said, adding, Why share incomplete stuff youre not proud of, versus Oppenheimer? In Mooneys book, Theobald said: I think Chris thought it was too similar to Following, that people would think that it was a test bed for Following. A spokesperson for Nolan declined to comment. Robert Coren, a former archivist for the University College London film society, said he was not aware of any copies of Larceny in its archives. And a former director of the Cambridge Film Festival said no copies were in the festival archives. Julyan said he had a VHS tape of the film but would not share it. Other people who worked on Larceny were circumspect about the film. As its not publicly available Im not going to divulge what its about, Ivan Cornell, who has a producing credit on Larceny, wrote in an email. Theobald told The New York Times that because Nolan never released Larceny after the film festival, I am unable to talk about its content. The other actors in the short, Dave Savva and Mark Deighton, could not be reached. Chris is a very controlled artist, a controlled filmmaker, said Nigel Karikari, the assistant director of Larceny, recalling how Nolan would use a camcorder to take rehearsal shots before filming. Him not wanting to release that is just another extension of that. For DeLaPorte, there is a silver lining to the mysterious, unwatchable nature of Larceny. Theres lore with it now, he said. Its almost bigger than it would have been if it was available. Theres this unattainable thing that just keeps the hunt going. c.2024 The New York Times Company There were some not-so-dry eyes and scratchy throats Saturday, as officers and dogs from several Central Kentucky law enforcement agencies said a final goodbye to K9 unit Macho, who worked with the Jessamine County Sheriffs Office. Lt. Daniel Schlernitzauer said Macho was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer just a few weeks ago, after Machos handler, Deputy Carson Gentry, noticed that he was more listless than usual. Macho, who was 5 years old, was found to have multiple tumors, and the difficult decision was made to put him to sleep, Schlernitzauer said. Saturday, as Macho and Gentry arrived at PetVet365 in Brannon Crossing, they were flanked by saluting law enforcement officers as they made their way inside, a video posted to Facebook by the sheriffs office shows. There were a few whines from other dogs in attendance, and a dispatcher on the radio could be heard giving the final call for K9 unit Macho. He was a loyal partner, protector and best friend to his handler, the dispatcher said in the video. ...We thank you for your service. She said Macho had given an extraordinary two-and-a-half years of service to the department and had assisted in finding narcotics and apprehending multiple suspects. Schlernitzauer said the sheriffs office wanted to find a good way to honor all he had done, so Schlernitzauer reached out to a canine handler with the Lexington Police Department Friday night, and they worked together to arrange Saturdays sendoff for Macho. He said the Jessamine County Sheriffs Office was there, along with representatives from the Nicholasville Police Department, Lexington Police Department, Paris Police Department and Franklin County Sheriffs Office, some of whom brought their police dogs with them. I dont know of a better way to honor a fallen K9 unit, he said Saturday afternoon. Law enforcement officers are often not ones to show emotion, Schlernitzauer said, but there definitely was some Saturday. He said the Jessamine County Sheriffs Office has one other K9 unit in service, Batman, and a deputy was recently sent to select a dog that will be trained to work with the sheriffs department. Firefighters battled a residential fire in the 11,000 block of Lattasburg Road on Saturday started at about 4:30 a.m. When firefighters arrived the fire was fully involved and the roof was collapsing into the second floor of the home, according to a release from the New Pittsburg Fire Department, which notes the structure eventually collapsed into the basement. An excavator was called to the scene to remove metal roofing and debris after the fire was extinguished. No one was injured and no one was home at the time of the fire, according to the release. A home along Lattasburg Road was destroyed by fire early Saturday morning. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Assisting at the scene were Town and Country, Polk, Wooster Township, Mount Eaton and Wayne Township fire departments, as well as the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, Ohio Department of Transportation and Holmes-Wayne Electric. A total of 48 firefighters and 14 pieces of fire apparatus were on scene. About 37,000 gallons of water were used. Firefighters left the scene at about 10 a.m. The American Red Cross will be assisting the family. This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Fire destroys Lattasburg Road home early Saturday morning; no injuries OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) Firefighters responded to a house fire on Friday afternoon at a SW Oklahoma City residence where a total of 35 dogs were found inside. According to OKCFD, firefighters arrived at a house near SW 80th Street and S Pennsylvania Avenue and reported significant fire and smoke from the home upon arrival. House fire near SW 80th St. and S Pennsylvania Ave. Photo courtesy KFOR. Fire crews were able quickly locate and extinguish a fire near the entry way that was reportedly started by an unattended candle. A total of 35 dogs22 adult dogs and 13 puppieswere rescued from the home. First responders found one dog that was not breathing, but revived the pup at the scene. Corporation Commission finds water in Elgin gas stations tanks once again Brandon Self with OKCFD told News 4 on scene that the house was part of a dog boarding business, and that the business owner told firefighters he has been in contact with all of the dog owners following the fire. No other injuries were reported, and no other occupants were home when the fire began. The fire damage is estimated to be $33,000. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. MEMPHIS, Tenn. A total of five people are now facing charges in the shooting of a Memphis police officer Friday morning. Geronimo Kee, 22, is accused of shooting an officer four times after he was pulled over for speeding along I-240 near South Parkway. The officer, identified as 2nd Lieutenant Bobby Johnson, was released from the hospital Friday night and is now recovering at home. Geronimo Kee, suspect in officers shooting, had juvenile record in Fayette County According to an affidavit, the officer pulled Kee over for going 81 mph in a 55 mph zone. He wrote Kee a citation, which he refused to sign. Reports say that Kee rolled up his window and for over 15 minutes the officer continually asked Kee to sign the citation. The officer notified Kee that if he did not, he would be arrested, to which Kee responded, You are going to have to kill me. The officer broke the drivers side window after Kee again refused to sign the citation or get out of the car. Kee then fired multiple shots at the officer, hitting him four times. An additional officer on the scene fired shots back at Kee, striking him in the hand. Police say Kee fled the scene and was taken into custody about two hours later in the 4700 block of Turco Drive. He was charged with criminal attempted first-degree murder, intentionally evading arrest in an auto, employment of a firearm with intent to commit a felony, and speeding. Suspect captured after MPD officer shot during traffic stop on I-240 Three women and a man at the address were also detained. Zaire Kee, 24, Tezaree Pennington, 42, Kennedy Williams, 23, and Malik Oliver, 25, were all charged with accessory after the fact to wit: attempted first-degree murder. Reports say MPD called Kees mother, Tezaree Pennington, and told her they were looking for Kee, but she claimed she did not know where her son was located. Police say Kee had already contacted Pennington, Zaire Kee, and Malik Oliver about the situation, and they had already driven to Walgreens to get first aid supplies for him. Kennedy Williams allegedly called an Uber for Kee and had him dropped off at her house in the 4700 block of Turco Drive, where all suspects were taken into custody. Police said Geronimo Kee was transported to the Regional One Medical Center to be treated for the hand injury before being booked into the Shelby County Jail. He is being held on a $175,000 bond and is set to appear in court on Monday. Tezaree Pennington is being held on a $50,000 bond, Zaire Kee has a $45,000 bond, Malik Oliver has a $25,000 bond, and Kennedy Williams was released on a $5,000 bond. They are also set to appear in court on Monday. Fayette County court records show Geronimo Kee was one of 11 charged with a disturbance at Wilder Youth Development Center when he was 18 years old. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. Pistols on the shelf at Casos Gun-A-Rama store on March 25, 2021, in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Quality Journalism for Critical Times Florida lawmakers say they want minors to pay a price for illegally possessing a firearm, and thats why they passed a bill this week to increase sanctions: First-time offenders carrying a gun would be held in a detention facility for up to five days and serve 100 hours of community service or paid work though they wouldnt be charged with a felony. Theyd be charged with a third-degree misdemeanor instead. A second-time offender would be charged with a third-degree felony and would spend 21 days in a detention facility. He or she would be required to serve between 100 to 250 hours of community service or paid work determined by the Department of Juvenile Justice. A third-time offender would be adjudicated delinquent and committed to a juvenile residential program. The majority of House Democrats opposed the bill. The legislation had originally called for minors caught with a gun to be charged with a third-degree felony a much more severe penalty. We dont want teenagers carrying guns, said Sen. Darryl Rouson, of Tampa Bay, who told the Phoenix on Friday. We dont want teenagers thinking that if they carry one, theyll be out in a few hours [after being arrested]. We want sanctions as if it were a felony but allow a pathway to those who are of a mind to be corrected and rehabilitated to experience that too, without the stigma of a felony. Rouson had pushed for an amendment in the bill to ensure that first offenders would be for third-degree misdemeanors. Rouson says that its important to hold minors accountable without marking them with a felony that would follow them the rest of their lives. What if a 14-year-old gets arrested for possession and its a felony? Then the next time when hes 15 and wants to apply for a job at Publix, hell have to answer that question: Have you ever been arrested for a felony? Well now he can answer it, no if hes of a mind to be corrected and learn the error of his ways. Pinellas County Republican Berny Jacques, sponsor of HB 1181, told the Phoenix on Friday that his motivation was to combat what he says is an excess of gun violence committed by teens in Florida. A former prosecutor in Pinellas, Jacques said that he had spoken to some of his former colleagues in the prosecutors office, and they confirmed that they have been seeing more gun violence committed by juveniles. Though he did not provide specific data, Jacques said that after talking about the issue with some of his fellow lawmakers, he believes the problem is statewide. He says that led to a work group involving Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary Eric Hall brainstorming over ideas about minors and guns that ultimately made it into his bill. The Florida Sheriffs Association also was involved in crafting the legislation. Jacques also was prompted to push the bill in the Legislature when news broke about a shooting on Christmas Eve in the Pinellas County city of Largo, where two teenage brothers fighting over Christmas presents led to a 14-year-old shooting and killing his 23-year-old sister. The boys 15-year-old brother then retaliated by shooting and wounding the 14-year-old. The Senate approved the measure unanimously, 39-0. The House approved it 84-25. The post FL lawmakers increase sanctions on minors possessing guns; 1st time offenders wouldnt get a felony appeared first on Florida Phoenix. Related video above: Florida drivers saved more than $227M as Florida Toll Relief Program hits halfway point TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) Florida lawmakers passed a budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year that includes the return of the toll relief credit and also includes other tax relief holidays, if the pieces of legislation are signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis. House Bill 5001, the General Appropriations Act, sets aside $450 million from the General Reserve Fund to the Department of Transportation for the program. The bill passed the House in a 105-3 vote and passed the Senate in a 39-0 vote. Tampa man charged in hate-motivated murder of gay man at dog park, state attorney says House Bill 5003, the implementing bill, lays out the details for the program. The toll relief program would go into effect on April 1 and last through March 31, 2025. Drivers who use a Florida transponder such as the SunPass and have a two-axle vehicle will receive a credit to their account the following month worth 50% of the previous months transactions. The credit is available for drivers who have more than 35 transactions in a calendar month on any toll road in Florida, including the Selmon Expressway and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The funds set aside in the budget to the Department of Transportation would then be used reimburse the department, Florida Turnpike Enterprise, and other Florida toll facilities for any credits issued. Any unused funds on May 30, 2025 would revert back to the General Revenue Fund. What you need to know before heading to the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg The toll relief program was previously in place from January 2023 through December 2023. Through the end of November 2023, an average of 1.2 million drivers per month saved a total of $385 million on tolls, according to the Florida Department of Transportation. The legislature also passed House Bill 7073, which implements other tax savings for Florida residents. Freedom Month From July 1 to July 31, there would be no sales tax on recreational items such as tickets to movies, museums, concerts, sporting events and cultural events. It also includes tickets to theatre and dance performances, and state park admission. Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday The legislation creates two 14-day sales tax holidays for disaster preparedness items like flashlights and lanterns (under $40), radios (under $50), coolers and portable power banks (under $60), generators (under $3,000), and smoke detectors and fire extinguishers (under $70). The sales tax holidays would be from June 1 June 14 and Aug. 24 Sept. 6. Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday From July 29 Aug. 11, Floridians would be able to purchase some back-to-school items sales-tax free. Items include clothing, footwear and backpacks (under $100), school supplies (under $50), learning aids (under $30) and personal computers and computer accessories (under $1,500). For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. The Florida Senate on Thursday gave final approval to a plan aimed, in part, at addressing party houses at short-term rental properties, as the use of online platforms such as Airbnb continues to skyrocket. Regulation of vacation rentals for years has been a thorny issue for the Legislature. Champions of short-term rentals maintain that they provide extra income for homeowners, while critics complain that noise, trash, and traffic woes from a revolving cast of visitors negatively transform neighborhoods. The Senate voted 23-16 to approve the plan (SB 280), which was approved Wednesday by the House in a 60-51 vote. The House made changes to a version passed earlier by the Senate, requiring another vote Thursday in the Senate. The bill is now ready to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis. The bill addresses one of the key sticking points over the years an effort to preempt regulation of short-term rental properties to the state. Read: Florida lawmakers weigh vacation rental plans Current law bans local ordinances or regulations passed after 2011 that prohibit vacation rentals or regulate the duration or frequency of rentals. The bill would preempt regulation of vacation rentals to the state while allowing local governments to have short-term rental registration programs that meet certain parameters. The bill would grandfather in regulations adopted by counties before 2016. During floor debate Thursday, Senate sponsor Nick DiCeglie, R-Indian Rocks Beach, said the exception applies to Flagler County home to House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast and Broward County. The exception drew sharp criticism from Sen. Jason Pizzo, D-Sunny Isles Beach, whose district includes parts of Broward. Pizzo said Broward County does not have an ordinance. Read: 2024 HGTV Dream Home winner will have to wait another month before house could be approved by city The only other county that gets an exemption is the House speakers. Want to know why the public doesnt have confidence in state government? Its because of that, Pizzo argued. Pizzo said the Houses Wednesday vote was rushed and several Democrats were too late to vote on it. I think the public is tired of special carve-outs and a race to the (voting) board, he added. The House speaker shouldnt get a special exemption. The measure, in part, seeks to address party houses in beachfront communities by restricting how many people can stay overnight at properties. The bill would set maximum overnight occupancy at two people per bedroom, plus an additional two people in one common area, or more than two people per bedroom if there is at least 50 square feet per person, plus an additional two persons in one common area, whichever is greater. The plan also would allow officials to suspend registrations for a material violation of local codes that do not apply solely to vacation-rental properties. It would also allow local officials to charge a reasonable fee for registration inspections. The measure would require the state Department of Business and Professional Registration to set up a database with information about vacation rentals and assign a unique identifier to properties. Platforms would have to include the unique identifier and any local registration numbers on advertisements or listings for the property and collect and remit sales taxes on rentals. The plan also would require vacation-rental operators to designate and maintain a responsible party who is capable of responding to complaints or emergencies related to the property, including being available around-the-clock by phone. Read: Apopka mom in medical field buys Habitat for Humanity home Pizzo argued that the bill would strip local governments of control over what he called the most important legislative issue for his beachfront district. But DiCeglie called the bill a good product that should help ease litigation over vacation rentals and ensure that property owners rights are protected. The bill sets up a framework for local governments, he said. Im not doing this just to do it. If I thought this was a product that was going to make things worse and it wasnt going to address an issue, I would never, never present that to my colleagues at all, he said. Four Republicans Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island; Sen. Ileana Garcia, R-Miami; Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, R-Homestead; and Sen. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville joined Democrats in voting against the measure. Sen. Debbie Mayfield, R-Indialantic, disputed that the proposal would take away local officials control. Read: SeaWorlds United Parks & Resorts confirms Orlando hotel plans The cities are getting more than what they had (in an earlier Senate version of the bill). They can charge whatever registration fee they want to charge. They can charge whatever renewal fee they want to charge. They can charge whatever inspection fee they want to charge, Mayfield said. A bipartisan group of lawmakers from coastal communities spoke against the measure during House debate Wednesday. Rep. Hillary Cassel, D-Dania Beach, rattled off a series of ills - including shootings and near-drownings that took place at vacation-rental properties in her district. This is something that if we get it wrong, our cities and our neighborhoods are ruined, Cassel said. Rep. Randy Fine, a Brevard County Republican, pointed to part of the bill that would set up parameters for when local registrations can be suspended. Fine indicated that the suspension provisions are too lenient and said the bill doesnt do enough to address sexual predators and human trafficking. When you buy a home, you have bought the right to live in a residential neighborhood, Fine said. I get no joy in trying to kill a bill from a (House) member, but I also think about the fact that I want my kids to be able to ride their bikes to the library. But House sponsor Griff Griffitts, a Panama City Beach Republican and former Bay County commissioner whose family was in the hotel business, urged his colleagues to support the bill, despite its flaws. This is not a perfect bill. I have these Airbnbs in my neighborhood. I know the problems they create. This is one step forward to creating a uniform registry where people like all of us can make sure that everybody is doing things above board, paying their taxes, getting their health and safety inspections so that the public at large can remain safe, he said. Tiffany Edwards, executive director of the Florida Professional Vacation Rental Coalition, said the bill lacks consumer protections. Edwards told The News Service of Florida the bill is vague and does not require renters to be notified if a vacation rental is suspended or revoked. None of us are sure what a material violation or reasonable fee are. With no clarity on those, and no right to be reinstated after a local license has been revoked, this bill will be a vehicle for unfriendly local governments to methodically permanently purge legitimate businesses, Edwards said. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. WALTON COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) A Florida man faces felony charges after he impersonated an IRS agent for a Publishers Clearing House scam, according to the Walton County Sheriffs Office. Deputies with the WCSO arrested 38-year-old Terrance George Owens, of Orlando, after he showed up for a staged meet-up to collect money for a scam, according to a WCSO news release. Sheriffs deputies arrested 38-year-old Terrance George Owens after he allegedly showed up for a staged meet-up to collect money for a scam. (Courtesy: Walton County Sheriffs Office) Teen allegedly stabbed and set 70-year-old relative on fire, unprovoked: MCSO Officials say an 82-year-old victim had contacted the Walton County Sheriffs Office after being scammed out of $20,000. According to the release, the victim had received phone calls from a woman who claimed to be with Publishers Clearing House. After obtaining the victims trust, the woman allegedly convinced the victim that he and his wife had won millions of dollars in prices but that he had to prepay part of the taxes to the IRS. WATCH: Bear, aka box-head dog, has found his forever home and has a new job The victim reportedly was convinced to provide $19,500 to a person claiming to be an IRS agent. According to reports, the meet-up happened in the parking lot of McDonalds in Freeport. The victim described the suspect as a well-built black male wearing nice clothing, according to the release. Following the delivery, a woman called the victim and told him an additional $30,000 was needed because the prize was increased to $74.5 million, a brand-new car, and $550,000 in cash. A meet-up was then arranged, and investigators with the Walton County Sheriffs Office posed as the victim. Mobile Police chief says mishandling of a gun led to 13-year-olds death Deputies with the Walton County Sheriff's Office arresting Terrance George Owens in a parking lot. Owens is wearing a mask and is being handcuffed. Two deputies are standing behind him and one is standing infront of him. A white car is in the background of the photo. According to reports, Owens was arrested after he told an undercover investigator that he was there to pick up money and took a bank bag from him. After his arrest, investigators were able to confirm Owens was the suspect who posed as an IRS agent, the release said. Owens was charged with grand theft, impersonating a federal agent, exploitation of the elderly, scheme to defraud, and using a two-way communication device to commit a felony. He is being held at the Walton County Jail on a $100,000 bond, according to the release. Officials say additional charges are forthcoming. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5. WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) A group of House Democrats and Republicans have not given up on a bill that would link foreign military aid to tougher migrant policies at the southern border. Ukraine is an ally, Israel is an ally, Taiwans an ally and we have problems on our own southern border, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.) said. Fitzpatrick is leading the effort that he believes could unite a divided Congress. This is not a transportation bill, this is not the naming of a post office. This is literally U.S domestic security and world peace on the line here, Fitzpatrick said. The bill would provide more than $66 billion for Ukraine and Israel, and it would reinstate the Trump era remain in Mexico policy, as well as provide the authority for the border patrol to expel some illegal migrants. Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) is a cosponsor of the bill. But we still have the opportunity to make a difference and the world is watching, Costa said. The lawmakers hope House Speaker Mike Johnsons office will agree to get the package to the floor. But they say they think they have the support to force a vote on the bill, with whats called a discharge petition. It takes 218 signatures. The alternative cant be that Ukraine fails and our border remains open. We cant allow that to happen, Fitzpatrick said. However, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) says the bill, as it is, lacks humanitarian aid for Gaza, and the migrants at the southern border. Thats a non-starter for the house democratic caucus, Jeffries said. Fitzpatrick acknowledges the bill is bare bones and Democrats could try to add whatever provisions they need to get the job done. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. Shareholders might have noticed that Ibstock plc (LON:IBST) filed its annual result this time last week. The early response was not positive, with shares down 9.1% to UK1.49 in the past week. It looks like a pretty bad result, all things considered. Although revenues of UK406m were in line with analyst predictions, statutory earnings fell badly short, missing estimates by 49% to hit UK0.053 per share. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year. See our latest analysis for Ibstock Following last week's earnings report, Ibstock's eight analysts are forecasting 2024 revenues to be UK405.7m, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to jump 38% to UK0.074. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of UK424.9m and earnings per share (EPS) of UK0.08 in 2024. The analysts are less bullish than they were before these results, given the reduced revenue forecasts and the minor downgrade to earnings per share expectations. The analysts made no major changes to their price target of UK1.61, suggesting the downgrades are not expected to have a long-term impact on Ibstock's valuation. That's not the only conclusion we can draw from this data however, as some investors also like to consider the spread in estimates when evaluating analyst price targets. There are some variant perceptions on Ibstock, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at UK2.00 and the most bearish at UK1.35 per share. There are definitely some different views on the stock, but the range of estimates is not wide enough as to imply that the situation is unforecastable, in our view. Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. We would highlight that revenue is expected to reverse, with a forecast 0.03% annualised decline to the end of 2024. That is a notable change from historical growth of 5.0% over the last five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the same industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 6.2% annually for the foreseeable future. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - Ibstock is expected to lag the wider industry. Story continues The Bottom Line The most important thing to take away is that the analysts downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. On the negative side, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates. Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Ibstock going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.. Even so, be aware that Ibstock is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those can't be ignored... 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. Teams of Metropolitan Police officers and staff are being relocated to other areas following a major fire at a London police station, the force said. About 175 firefighters and 30 engines attended the station in Forest Gate from about 16:00 GMT on Wednesday. Some 60 people were evacuated from the building and London Fire Brigade said the fire "destroyed" the roof. Among teams to have moved is the 999 response team, which has been relocated to Plaistow Police Station. There were no injuries reported as a result of the fire, but the Met said road closures around the station remain in place. In a statement, the force said Forest Gate forensics and specialist unit teams had been relocated within Newham and Waltham Forest. While the station is closed, police say anyone due to return there on bail has been contacted and will need to report to Stratford Police Station. This is also where a "mobile front counter" has been set up and it will operate 24-7, the statement continued. Officers will also be temporarily stationed on the cordon outside Forest Gate police station to discuss any concerns from residents. The Met said most officers and staff have been issued with replacement equipment "and this work will continue throughout this weekend". Det Supt Charles Clare explained officers "have changed their shifts at short notice, shared uniform and kit, and flexed to fit around an awful set of circumstances in order to ensure business as usual for policing in Newham". He added: "Organisational units from across the Met have come together to ensure that officers are fully briefed, have the equipment to do their job and that the building housing them is fit for purpose. "We have worked hard to ensure that policing has been unaffected by the fire and would like to reassure local residents and business that we are here for Newham." Speaking at a media briefing on Thursday, Supt Dan Card explained staff had "lost personal items in the fire, such as wedding rings and car keys". Forensic evidence stored in lockers and fridges has been removed by officers and firefighters, and will be assessed in the coming days. Supt Card said many had worked "beyond their shifts to support the emergency response". Firefighters from Stratford, Leytonstone, Plaistow and other nearby stations were sent to help local crews. London Fire Brigade assistant commissioner Pat Goulbourne previously said specialist fire investigators will begin an investigation into the cause, adding this "may be a protracted investigation". Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk George MacDonald with one of his daughters This year marks 200 years since the birth of George MacDonald, whose fantasy writing and ideas on faith inspired literary greats including JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. MacDonald, who was born in Huntly and grew up on a farm, wrote more than 50 books. They included children's fairy tales which were read by Tolkien - author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings - when he was a boy. Some of MacDonald's work remains in print today, but Amy Miller of Aberdeenshire Museums Service said the Scot had been largely forgotten. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland writer Lewis Carroll with George MacDonald's family MacDonald was born in 1824 in Aberdeenshire, though his family were originally from the Highlands. John McNeill, of the George MacDonald Society, said: "He was born in a house just off the square in Huntly. It's a dental practice today. "He moved out of Huntly when he was two and was brought up on a farm. "He was a farm boy." MacDonald was interested in nature and science and won a bursary to study natural philosophy at the University of Aberdeen. JRR Tolkien, whose works include The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, read MacDonald's children's stories To help fund his university studies, MacDonald took a job cataloguing books in a castle's library. Mr McNeill said it remained a mystery which castle it was, but it has been suggested it might be Dunbeath or Thurso Castle in the Highlands, or Fordyce Castle in Aberdeenshire. The library included works by German writers, including fairy tales, and Mr McNeill said these works had a "massive influence" on the young writer. After leaving university, MacDonald had hoped to become a chemist but did not have the funds to pursue it as a career. He became a church minister and moved to England. Amy Miller, of Aberdeenshire Museums Services, said MacDonald had been largely forgotten But Mr McNeill said some of MacDonald's ideas on faith were unorthodox for the times and sometimes put him at odds with others. MacDonald eventually resigned as a minister after a falling out with a congregation. He scraped a living writing and lecturing in literature to support his wife and their 11 children. Poet Lord George Gordon Byron's wife, educational reformer Anne Milbanke, was among famous figures who encouraged MacDonald in his writing. He was also a friend of Lewis Carroll, creator of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and a pen friend of American writer Mark Twain. A photograph of George MacDonald as a knight in a theatrical performance George MacDonald's knight costume MacDonald's own work was highly influential. Tolkien read MacDonald's children's books when he was a boy, including the fairy tale The Princess and the Goblin - a tale of good versus evil after a goblin falls in love with a princess. Tolkien would later criticise MacDonald's work for being moralising. CS Lewis, who wrote The Chronicles of Narnia, was another fan of the Scot and described him as his "spiritual master". Mr McNeill said MacDonald had a talent for creating myths, and was also supportive of other writers. He said: "Lewis Carroll took his Alice in Wonderland manuscript to MacDonald's home and read it to his 11 children. "They loved it so much it encouraged Lewis Carroll to publish it." Some of MacDonald's manuscripts along with a knight's chainmail costume made from sequins that MacDonald wore during family theatrical shows are held in Aberdeenshire Museums Service's collections. Museums development coordinator, Amy Miller, said: "I think he used fantasy as a tool to talk about moral truths and Christian ideals that he believed in. "His stories appealed to adults and children." She added: "He's not well-known and that's the real shame of it given how influential he was." A former Army lieutenant colonel who pleaded guilty to possessing and sharing images on an instant messaging app of children younger than 12 being exploited sexually was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. Edgar Ali Cerda, 49, of Cooper City, will also serve 15 years of supervised release for possession of child pornography after his 3-1/2 year prison sentence ends. Cerda offered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith in Fort Lauderdale federal court in December 2023. He was sentenced on March 5, according to the U.S. Attorneys Southern District. READ MORE: Florida man who was an Army lieutenant colonel when caught with child porn admits guilt How investigators found evidence In December 2020, detectives from the Davie Police Department were tipped by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children about a person using the instant messaging app Kik to share videos with other users of girls and boys younger than 12 and one as young as 2, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office being sexually abused by men, prosecutors said. On March 10, 2021, law enforcement officers used a search warrant to examine Cerdas electronic devices and found multiple images and videos on his Toshiba laptop. Evidence found that Cerda, who had served three tours in Iraq during the war, shared images on the app in a group chat, according to court records. Cerda was arrested at his home. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ajay Alexander prosecuted the case. Judge Smith imposed Cerdas sentence on March 5. Investigation team U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of FBI Miami, and BSO Sheriff Gregory Tony announced the sentence. Among the investigators: detectives with the FBI Miami Field Office and Broward Sheriffs Office, with assistance from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Fort Lauderdale Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations. Cerda was an Army logistics officer from May 1998 to June 2022. Skeptics of American aid to Ukraine should not ignore how the $60 billion in aid will save Western democracies even more money in the future, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in an interview with NV on March 8. He believes that the strongest arguments for Kyiv's accession to NATO and for the provision of American aid to the Armed Forces should be made in the United States. "There will certainly be difficulties with some NATO members" in Ukraine's negotiations to join the alliance, Johnson said. "We know who they are, we know the problems, we know what they are. But at the end of the day, the country that matters is the United States. Because NATO is an expression of the military power of the United States in Europe. It's a vehicle for that. And so this argument [about the need for Ukraine to join NATO] has to be won in the United States." Read also: Former UK PM Johnson backs Ukraines NATO bid, citing clear need for security In terms of combat power and army efficiency, "there is hardly a NATO force in the entire alliance that can really match Ukraine. If the West wants to help Kyiv win properly, "we need to give Ukraine everything it needs to win faster. "We need the State Department and the Congressmen to think about all the things they are accomplishing from a NATO perspective, he added. You [Ukraine] are pushing Russia back, you are stopping Russian aggression, you are protecting all the other former Soviet countries and satellites. You're defending the Baltic states, you're defending Georgia - you're defending all these areas from invasion. You heard what Putin said about Poland, and I didn't like it. You are shutting all that down. You are sending a message to China about Russian power," Johnson listed his arguments. Read also: Top House Republicans consider separate Ukraine aid bill "Yes, you are sending a message to China about Russian power, which is not very much power, but you are also sending a message to everybody in the world that it is not wise to attack your neighbor. Because in the end, if you attack your neighbor, you lose. And that is a great message. This is the message that should be discussed in the debate over the $60 billion in U.S. aid. "This is a huge savings and the best investment in the security of the world that can be made," Johnson said. "And it will save trillions. It could potentially save trillions of dollars in the future if, God forbid, we have an even bigger war. If Putin or somebody else does even more of this madness." Read also: White House is considering allocating $200 million from Pentagon reserves to Ukraine Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and Lieutenant General Serhii Shaptala, former Chief of the General Staff, have been released from military duty for health reasons. Source: Ukrainska Pravda source in the Ministry of Defence Details: Independent sources within the Defence Ministry say that Zaluzhnyi and Shaptala have been discharged based on the conclusion of a military medical board declaring them unfit for military service and have been removed from the military register. Ukrainska Pravda has requested an official comment from the ministry. Background: On 7 March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved the appointment of Zaluzhnyi as Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom. Later, media reported that Zaluzhnyi underwent a military medical examination in the winter, before his appointment as ambassador to the United Kingdom, where he was found to be unfit for military service. Support UP or become our patron! BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) Theres an old saying about coffee tasting better with a friend. For Jack Cucci, Eric Covo, and Sean Leahy, all retired members of the NYPD, their perfect brew, which is processed and bagged in a Brooklyn roasting facility, is a product of the company they keep and the values they hold dear. This is the best part, just smelling it when the bag is open. This is really about high-quality coffee, Cucci said. The brand, Pour the Finest, which recently celebrated its second birthday, donates most of its revenues to a charity called NYPD With Arms Wide Open, which assists department families raising children with special needs, like Covos. My youngest son is on the spectrum and many years ago I had large medical bills. Insurance paid some of it. They said Just put in for it. Thats what were here for, Covo said. To fully appreciate the commitment these three friends made, it helps to know just how far back they go, and to what lengths they went to get Pour the Finest off the ground. The men started working with each other after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks when they were randomly assigned to the NYPDs Intelligence Division. After their retirement, they randomly reunited when they started working together again at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn. But the business is completely intentional. It started with a trip to South America looking for the right coffee bean, I had more of an understanding of what good coffee should taste like. We went out to dinner and said, Either were going to do this or were not,' Covo said. Merritt Riley, co-founder of the NYPD With Arms Wide Open charity, raved about how the former cops are helping the organization. These guys could have easily just taken that money and put it in their pockets, he said. The new businessmen are brewing bigger plans, all in the spirit of service. The more we grow, the more we sell, Cucci said. I actually would love to hand our charity a huge check one day. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. Guy Philippe, a rebel leader turned politician, told Reuters news agency he wants to be president Guy Philippe, a leader of the 2004 Haitian coup, has joined calls for Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign. Philippe, who returned to Haiti last year after serving a prison sentence in the US, told Reuters news agency that he wants to be president. Haiti's capital has been paralysed by gang violence recently, and it escalated dramatically when Mr Henry left for a regional summit last week. A state of emergency has been extended by a month in Port-au-Prince. Philippe, who was deported back to Haiti in November after serving six years of a prison sentence for conspiracy to launder drug money, said Mr Henry should resign and "let Haitians decide their fate". Asked if he wanted to become president, he said: "Yes! I'm going into politics." "I was a senator, I've been elected by my people, I will go again in elections," added Philippe, who was one of the main leaders in 2004's overthrow of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. 'Beyond untenable' Also on Friday, there was heavy gunfire around Haiti's national palace in Port-au-Prince, news agency EFE reported. The gang violence has seen a jail stormed, police stations torched and an attempted takeover of Haiti's airports. As a result, the airports and harbours are closed, and thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes. The UN said the situation was "beyond untenable". It added on Friday that nearly 3,000 pregnant women could be cut off from essential health services in the capital. "Today, too many women and young women in Haiti are victims of indiscriminate violence committed by armed gangs," the UN said in a statement. Dozens of protesters took to the streets in Port-au-Prince to demand the prime minister's resignation on Thursday Philippe said he did not have a deep connection to the gangs and was not behind the ongoing violence. But he added that he would seek to implement an amnesty for gang leaders if he were to take power. Philippe said he would seek to put his country's relationship with powers like the US on a more equal footing, and criticised international backing that he said had kept Mr Henry in power. "If Haiti is where it is now, it's partly because of them," he added. But Philippe does not think there will be a civil war in Haiti, as gang leader Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier warned earlier this week. "No... I know the Americans who are deciding everything here will be wise enough to understand that Haitians want some kind of change," he said. Haiti has not had a president since Jovenel Moise was assassinated by Colombian mercenaries in July 2021. Mr Henry, who was sworn into office two weeks after Mr Moise's assassination, has been ruling the country since, repeatedly promising to pave the way for long-delayed elections to be held. But in 2023, when elections were due to be held, he argued that worsening levels of gang violence made it impossible to ensure free and fair elections. The repeated failure to hold not just presidential but also legislative elections means Haiti has not had a single elected government official since the term of the last elected senators expired in January 2023. Former Rep. George Santoss announcement that he would jump into a different House race in New York raised eyebrows Thursday evening, including his former communications director. Asked if she thought something was wrong with Santos, who was ousted from his own seat in December, Naysa Woomer seemingly agreed with the assessment. I want to say yes, a little bit, because it sounds like someone who just, he went from being a congressman to a celebrity, Woomer told CNNs Jake Tapper Friday on The Lead. And I think, just the media attention that came around him during his entire time in Congress, it just, I think it increased his egoI mean, its a joke. And one of my biggest questions is, you know, do we need to go back? she added. Her comments come just a day after Santos made a surprise appearance at President Bidens State of the Union address. During the speech, he took to social media to announce he is launching a bid for New Yorks 1st Congressional District against Rep. Nick Lakota (R-N.Y.) New York hasnt had a real conservative represent them since I left office arbitrarily, thanks to RINO, empty suits like Nick LaLota, Santos said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. He is a willing to risk the future of our majority and the future of this country for his own political gain. LaLota replied, signaling he would be up to the challenge. To raise the standard in Congress, and to hold a pathological liar who stole an election accountable, I led the charge to expel George Santos, he posted on X. If finishing the job requires beating him in a primary, count me in. Santoss appearance at Bidens address to Congress sparked more than just a few groans. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) who played a large role in the effort to expel the former lawmaker unveiled plans for a new rule that would prevent him from making another surprise visit. The GEORGE rule or the Getting Expelled Officially Revokes Guaranteed Entry rule would ensure former members who have been voted out of the House cannot use their privileges to return to the House floor. Woomer suggested to Tapper, who called the title pretty clever, that she supports the rule in Fridays interview. I think it is a good rule, she said. I mean, lets just remember too, only, I think hes the sixth member of Congress who had been expelled. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Boris Johnson was in Kyiv on the second anniversary of the Russian invasion, attending the event Two years - stay in fight, organized with the support of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed his support for Ukraines accession to NATO in an interview with NV on March 8, stating that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin had eliminated the only argument against Kyivs membership. There should be no major obstacles now, said the consistent supporter of Ukraine and current member of the International Working Group on Ukraines Security and Euro-Atlantic Integration, established a month ago with the participation of former NATO head Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Johnson believes it is vital that Ukraine be in NATO. I mean, the problem has been caused by our ambiguity, our inability for decades to clearly define what Ukraine is and what its place is in the Euro-Atlantic security architecture, he said. Read also: Stoltenberg assures that Ukraine will join NATO Now the answer is clear Ukraine must be in NATO. We tried to live when Ukraine was not in NATO, and lets face it: it was a disaster. I find it hard to imagine that Russia could be any more of a threat than it already is, and I cant imagine anything more barbaric than what Russia is doing today, Johnson said, adding that the not provoking Russia argument against Ukraines membership in the Alliance had been eliminated by Putin. At the same time, he acknowledged that one of the main difficulties on Ukraines path to NATO is the ongoing war. And that, of course, gives Putin an incentive to continue the war, because then Ukraine will not join NATO. So there is a vicious circle that has to be broken. You have to find a way to start the process of Ukraines accession, even if the borders are not stable, even if the war continues. Read also: Probably after the war Ukraine wont be invited to join NATO this year U.S. State Department Johnson optimistically outlined strong practical arguments for such an approach, including the interoperability of Ukrainian forces with NATO troops. In terms of combat power, in terms of the effectiveness of the army, the armed forces, I think there is hardly a NATO force in the entire Alliance that can really be compared to Ukraine. I think it was the Supreme Allied Commander Europe who said that when it comes to the ability to kill Russian troops, the Ukrainians are actually superior and the most effective. On Feb. 13, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith said that at the summit in Washington this summer, the Alliance would probably not invite Ukraine to join, but would give a clear signal of future membership. Read also: Boris Johnson declines Tucker Carlson interview following Navalny's death Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine FILE -Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin, Jr., speaks during a special emergency city council meeting, Tuesday, June 7, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas, to reissue the mayor's declaration of a local state of disaster due to the recent school shooting at Robb Elementary School. Two teachers and 19 students were killed. A new investigative report that cleared all City of Uvalde police officers of wrongdoing in one of the deadliest classroom shootings in U.S. history surprised, Don McLaughlin the citys former mayor, who said he believes the acting police chief on the scene should have been held accountable for his failures.(AP Photo/Eric Gay, File) The former Uvalde mayor who ordered an investigation into actions by local police during the Robb Elementary School shooting said Friday he was surprised the report defended officers and believes the acting chief on the scene failed during the 2022 massacre. "What Ive seen so far, its not quite what I was expecting, said Don McLaughlin, who stepped down as mayor of the small Texas city last year and is now the Republican nominee for a seat in the state Legislature. The independent report released Thursday was commissioned by the city to determine if any of the 28 Uvalde Police Department officers and three dispatchers violated department policy in their response to the shooter who killed 19 students and two teachers. Nearly 400 law enforcement agents, including Uvalde police, rushed to the school but waited more than an hour to confront the teenage gunman who was inside a fourth-grade classroom with an AR-style rifle. The new report, which acknowledged missteps but ultimately defended the actions of local police, prompted outrage from several family members of the victims during a City Council presentation. One person in the audience screamed Coward! and some family members angrily walked out of the meeting. McLaughlin, who ordered the independent probe in the weeks following the shooting, said that although he had not read the entire 180-page report he was surprised by some of its findings. He singled out the actions of former Uvalde Lt. Mariano Pargas, who was the city's acting police chief at the time. In January, a sweeping Justice Department report criticized six responding officers from Uvalde police, including Pargas, for not advancing down a school hallway to engage the shooter. Federal investigators also said in that report that Pargas continued to provide no direction, command or control to personnel" for nearly an hour after the shooter entered the classroom. Jesse Prado, a former police officer and investigator for the Austin Police Department who conducted the inquiry for the City of Uvalde, noted that Pargas retired from the job just days after his interview. But he said if he had remained, it would be my recommendation and my teams recommendation to exonerate Lt. Pargas. McLaughlin said he disagreed with those findings. I'm not speaking on behalf of anyone else ... but in my opinion, Mariano Pargas failed that day as acting chief," McLaughlin said. That part I heard that they said they exonerated him I disagree with that," he said. Pargas, an 18-year UPD veteran, was acting chief on the day of the shooting because Chief Daniel Rodriguez was out of town on vacation. Phone and email messages left Friday with Pargas, who has since been elected as a Uvalde county commissioner, were not immediately returned. In the nearly two years since the shooting, families have accused police of a leadership void during the 77 minutes that elapsed between the gunman's arrival and police confronting him. Others criticized for their actions during the shooting also remain in elected office. Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco advanced to a runoff during Tuesday's GOP primary and county constable Emmanuel Zamora defeated his Republican challenger outright. Prado's report was also highly critical of the district attorney for Uvalde County, Christina Mitchell, who the investigator accused of hindering the inquiry by refusing to share reports and evidence gathered by other law enforcement agencies. McLaughlin blamed Mitchell for the report taking nearly two years to complete. Mitchell did not return phone and email messages seeking comment Friday. The district attorney has blocked this every way, he said. I dont know what her agenda is. I understand she has an investigation, but you can still run an investigation and be transparent. A criminal investigation into the law enforcement response remains open and a grand jury was summoned earlier this year. Key Insights The projected fair value for Zublin Immobilien Holding is CHF29.27 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity Current share price of CHF25.60 suggests Zublin Immobilien Holding is potentially trading close to its fair value Zublin Immobilien Holding's peers are currently trading at a premium of 69% on average Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Zublin Immobilien Holding AG (VTX:ZUBN) by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. One way to achieve this is by employing the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple! Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you. See our latest analysis for Zublin Immobilien Holding The Model We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Seeing as no analyst estimates of free cash flow are available to us, we have extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the company's last reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate: 10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (CHF, Millions) CHF6.21m CHF6.43m CHF6.60m CHF6.72m CHF6.81m CHF6.88m CHF6.93m CHF6.97m CHF7.00m CHF7.02m Growth Rate Estimate Source Est @ 5.15% Est @ 3.65% Est @ 2.59% Est @ 1.85% Est @ 1.34% Est @ 0.97% Est @ 0.72% Est @ 0.54% Est @ 0.42% Est @ 0.33% Present Value (CHF, Millions) Discounted @ 7.1% CHF5.8 CHF5.6 CHF5.4 CHF5.1 CHF4.8 CHF4.5 CHF4.3 CHF4.0 CHF3.8 CHF3.5 ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St) Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = CHF47m Story continues The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 0.1%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 7.1%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033 (1 + g) (r g) = CHF7.0m (1 + 0.1%) (7.1% 0.1%) = CHF100m Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= CHF100m ( 1 + 7.1%)10= CHF50m The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is CHF97m. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of CHF25.6, the company appears about fair value at a 13% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent. dcf The Assumptions Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Zublin Immobilien Holding as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.1%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.525. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business. SWOT Analysis for Zublin Immobilien Holding Strength Debt is well covered by earnings. Weakness Earnings declined over the past year. Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Real Estate market. Opportunity Current share price is below our estimate of fair value. Lack of analyst coverage makes it difficult to determine ZUBN's earnings prospects. Threat Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow. Dividends are not covered by earnings. Next Steps: Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. For Zublin Immobilien Holding, we've compiled three additional factors you should look at: PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Swiss stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here. 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. A man who spent decades in prison before starting a new chapter as a high-profile advocate for criminal justice reform has been arrested and charged in the brutal murder and dismemberment of a Bronx man. Sheldon Johnson, 48, was arrested and charged with murder, manslaughter, criminal possession of a weapon and concealment of a human corpse on Thursday, according to the New York Police Department. Johnson was arraigned Thursday and pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was remanded back into custody and is due in court on Monday. He stands accused of fatally shooting Collin Small, 44, inside Smalls Bronx apartment, according to court records. Police were called to Smalls apartment after neighbors overheard gunshots coming from inside on Tuesday, according to a law enforcement source. Neighbors heard two gunshots and then two more shots, the source said. Police told CNN that when officers arrived, they found an unidentified human torso at the apartment. The Office of Chief Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death, according to the NYPD. Johnson was at Smalls apartment when officers arrived, a law enforcement official told CNN. When law enforcement officials visited the suspects Harlem home, they discovered a human arm, legs and head with a gunshot wound stored in the freezer, a law enforcement official told CNN. Surveillance video also showed the suspect entering and exiting the victims building wearing different disguises and at one point carrying a large blue bin, the official said. The bin was found at Smalls home with the torso inside, another law enforcement official told CNN. After decades in prison, Johnson was released last May and described himself as a client advocate for at-risk youth at Queen Defenders, which provides legal representation for people who have been charged with a crime in Queens and cannot afford to hire a lawyer. Since his release, Johnson has been a public voice for rehabilitation after incarceration. Last month, he appeared on Joe Rogans popular podcast, where he detailed his journey through the criminal justice system. He described himself as formerly the top of the food chain in the Bloods. In 1999, Johnson was convicted for homicide, robbery and several other charges, according to court records. He was incarcerated on June 8, 1999. The Queens Defenders declined to comment when asked about Johnson Friday. Brian Stanley, a justice court advocate at Avenues for Justice, an NYC-based group that advocates for alternatives to incarceration for youth offenders, told CNN he hopes people can distinguish between Johnsons alleged crimes and the work he was doing in criminal justice reform. We can acknowledge the depravity and insanity of this and at the same time be able to look at a broader picture and see the general impacts of the kind of work that we do and that even Mr. Johnson was engaged in, he told CNN. He added that jails and prisons are inherently violent places and noted that Johnson had been released less than a year ago. The trauma that people experience while incarcerated I just think its something that the general public is not really wrapping their mind around, he added. A product of intergenerational incarceration Speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience, Johnson described himself as a product of intergenerational incarceration who faced social and economic challenges in his youth. My father was incarcerated when I was young at an early age he did about 15 years, he said. I was incarcerated. My grandfather was incarcerated. My great-grandfather was a slave. He described being sent to a psychiatric facility for behavioral issues as a child. This is where I learned how to be a criminal, he said. Afterwards, he never returned to school and turned to selling drugs to survive, he said. I had a whole nation under me, he said of his gang relationships during the 1980s and 1990s. He said that he continued to sell drugs while in prison. It was after enduring solitary confinement and other harsh treatment in prison that he decided to turn away from crime, he said on the podcast. I made the decision that I was going to walk away and I didnt care about what the consequences was, he said. And I said to myself, Ive been doing bad for so long. Im going to try to do something good. He got his GED in prison, he said, and stopped his gang involvement. Johnsons LinkedIn profile describes him as the co-founder of FICAR (Formerly Incarcerated Citizens Against Recidivism), an organization geared toward dismantling recidivism and stemming the pipeline of mass incarceration. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne backed the idea of sending foreign troops to Ukraine during his March 8 visit to Lithuania to meet with his Baltic and Ukrainian counterparts, Politico reported. He repeatedly mentioned mine-clearing operations as a possibility, saying it "might mean having some personnel, [but] not to fight." "Ukraine did not ask us to send troops. Ukraine is asking us to send ammunition at the moment," Sejourne said, adding that "we do not exclude anything for the coming months." "It is not for Russia to tell us how we should help Ukraine in the coming months or years," he said at a meeting chaired by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis and attended by his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba. "It is not for Russia to organize how we deploy our actions, or to set red lines. So we decide it among ourselves." The meeting comes as Ukraine suffers from a shortage of artillery ammunition, making it difficult to stop the onslaught of Russian attacks. Baltic ministers praised France for "thinking outside the box." French President Emmanuel Macon raised the possibility that Western soldiers may have to be sent to Ukraine after a conference in support of Kyiv held in Paris on Feb. 26. In response to Macron's statements, several NATO countries publicly rejected the idea of sending troops to Ukraine, including Poland, the United States, Germany, Czech Republic, Canada, and the United Kingdom. However, the three Baltic countries the most exposed to any Russian attack should Moscow succeed in its war against Ukraine are much more open to the idea. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas did not reject the possibility of sending troops but clarified that they will send them only for training missions. General Onno Eichelsheim, Chief of the General Staff of the Dutch Army, said that "all options should be kept open." Warsaw is also shifting its position. The AFP news agency quoted a source as saying that European NATO member states had been studying the possibility of sending NATO troops to Ukraine for weeks. On Feb. 29, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal explained that French troops could participate in the war on the side of Ukraine to protect certain borders, take part in exercises or ground air defense. He stated that there will be no participation of French soldiers in battles directly on the front line. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine (COLORADO SPRINGS) Renters in Colorado Springs are invited to attend a free workshop offered by the city. The Renter Rights 101 informational session will take place on Tuesday, March 12, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the Independence Center, 729 S. Tejon St., with both in-person and virtual attendance options available. The event is part of the Renter Rights 101 workshop series for 2024, and information on this and upcoming events can be found on the citys website. Clinton Albert, an attorney with Colorado Legal Services, will lead participants through a range of topics, including lease fundamentals, reasonable accommodations and modifications, deposits, repairs, eviction, and updates on recent housing legislation in Colorado. Other community legal and housing resources will also be made available. Event registration online is optional and gives the option to sign up for a copy of the slides and event recording, which will also be posted on the Housing and Community Vitalitys website and newsletter. To attend virtually at the time of the session, click here, and enter the meeting ID: 210 770 837 383 and the passcode: X99o6L. To listen to the session by phone, call (720) 617-3426, then enter the phone conference ID: 367 611 560#. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX21 News Colorado. A French sailor uses binoculars to scan the area as others stand on the bow of the French navy frigate Normandie during a docking manoeuvre in a Norwegian fjord, north of the Arctic circle, Friday March 8, 2024. The French frigate is part of a NATO force conducting exercises in the seas, north of Norway, codenamed Steadfast Defender, which are the largest conducted by the 31 nation military alliance since the cold war. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) ABOARD THE FRENCH FRIGATE NORMANDIE (AP) Large NATO drills in the frigid fjords of northern Norway may be just war games meant to hone the fighting skills of the newly expanded 32-nation military alliance. But for troops taking part, they are very real. And thats the whole point. With drills underway now, NATO is baring its fangs in its biggest exercises since the Cold War, sending an unmistakable message to Russia that alliance members are ready to defend each other if needed. Having watched Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its third year, the NATO training aims to cover all eventualities. That can include trying to catch troops off guard. This week, crew members aboard the French frigate Normandie, one of Frances most modern warships, were roused from sleep and scrambled to hunt down and destroy a submarine that snuck into cold Norwegian waters. The submarine belongs to Germany, also a NATO member. But for the purpose of the war games dubbed Nordic Response 2024, it was acting as an enemy vessel. The Normandie crew spotted its periscope poking through the waves and sprang into action. The submarine had already attacked a nearby Italian ship, the aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi, scoring an imaginary torpedo hit. The crew were determined not to let Normandie a top-of-the-line vessel, in service only since 2020 suffer the indignity of also being struck. An urgent 7 a.m. call got Normandie's commander, Capt. Thomas Vuong, up from his bunk. He ordered the frigate's submarine-hunting helicopter to be readied for flight, waking its pilot. We spotted its attack periscope," Vuong told The Associated Press on board Normandie in an exclusive interview. Then it dived again, he said. We were asked to hunt for it. We succeeded. Once airborne, the Normandie's NH90 helicopter hovered over the waves and lowered its submarine-detecting sonar into the sea. The frigate also used its sonar, and together, they zeroed in on the sub's position and attacked it in turn. Intelligence confirmed to us that there were no friendly submarines in the sector, so we were certain that it was an enemy submarine," the helicopter pilot, Lt. Olivier, recounted. The French navy withheld his last name for security reasons. "So the frigate was able to fire a torpedo and destroy the submarine," he added but not for real, of course. The frigate and its helicopter pinpointed the submarine with sufficient accuracy to be sure that it wouldn't have survived had actual torpedoes been fired. The Normandie crew of 146 mariners got no advance warning of the German sub attack," to test their readiness in the inhospitable environment above the Arctic Circle, Vuong said. As of this week, NATO nations now also include Sweden. It formally joined on Thursday as the 32nd member, ending decades of post-World War II neutrality. Finland had already joined NATO in April 2023 in a historic move after decades of its military nonalignment. In both countries, Russia's aggression in Ukraine triggered a dramatic shift in public opinion, leading to their May 2022 applications to join the trans-Atlantic alliance. The Nordic drill in the northern regions of Finland, Norway and Sweden involves more than 20,000 soldiers from 13 nations and kicked off on Monday. It is part of wider exercises called Steadfast Defender 24. They are NATOs biggest in decades, with up to 90,000 troops involved over several months. They're aimed at showing the alliance can defend all of its territory up to its borders with Russia. German submariners are more familiar than Normandie with Norway's deep and narrow fjords and the cold Arctic waters that can complicate submarine detection, Vuong said. The drill was extremely beneficial, because we reach a very high degree of realism and so we better prepare our teams, he said. The fjords are a special environment, with a temperature profile different to what we know in the Atlantic." To be able to train our teams here, against this threat, is extremely valuable and extremely stimulating, he added. This is their playing field. So they know the hiding places. Special Olympics Pennsylvania officials are starting to explain just how impactful funds from the Pittsburgh Polar Plunge will be for the community. In a post on Facebook, officials say the history-making $1 million raised during the Pittsburgh Polar Plunge will help more individuals with intellectual disabilities get involved with Special Olympics programming. >> Pittsburgh Polar Plunge sets Special Olympics Pennsylvania record Specifically, officials say theyre going to be able to grow the number of schools involved with Special Olympics and offer more sports, health and leadership opportunities to athletes in the Three Rivers Region. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Penn Hills gunshot victim remembered as a friend to everyone Man accused of setting fire to Monongahela businesses taken into custody 3 killed when helicopter with National Guard members, Border Patrol agent crashes in Texas VIDEO: New charges filed against former Butler school board member accused of having sexual relationship with teen DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/chrt.fm/track/35917C/d2h6a3ly6ooodw.cloudfront.net/reasontv_audio_8268619.mp3 1x 1.1x 1.25x 1.5x 2x 3x :15 :15 Download The two African refugees arrived in Oneonta, New Yorka quaint, upstate college town of just over 12,000 peoplein summer 2023. By then a group of volunteers had been preparing for them for "six, seven, eight years." Mark Wolff, communication chair of The Otsego Refugee Resettlement Coalition (ORRC), says his group had to put its hopes of helping refugees on hold during the Trump administration, which cut the refugee cap to its lowest level ever. Even after Joe Biden's inauguration, with promises of a more humane immigration policy on the horizon, things didn't look good for their plans: Oneonta was more than an hour away from the requisite refugee caseworkers in Utica. During the bitter upstate New York winters, help would be even slower to arrive. The ORRC had already begun to raise money and identify community partners. It had done its homework and it had momentum. So when the Biden administration announced the Welcome Corpsan initiative that would let private citizens take the lead on sponsoring and supporting refugees, rather than the longstanding government-led approachthe coalition knew it had found its way to welcome newcomers. "We were one of the first [private sponsor groups] in the United States to get approval," Wolff says. A handful of people make up the sponsor group's core steering committee, which meets weekly. But around 100 volunteers support the refugees in a broader capacity, with everyone from the mayor to the local Rotary Club getting involved. When some townspeople expressed concerns about the newcomersparticularly as New York City dealt with an influx of asylum seekers and bused many of them upstatethe Republican-dominated Otsego County Board of Representatives let Wolff give a presentation to dispel myths about refugees and describe the sponsorship effort. "We seem to have a lot of support that crosses political divides," Wolff observes. "A lot of people often take a stance for or against immigration as a concept, but once you meet refugees, it's kind of hard not to like them. They've been through so much, and just to see them and to relate to them as people I think really does a lot to get people to come together." The Welcome Corps is one of several private sponsorship schemes to be rolled out in the last three years. From the Sponsor Circle Program for Afghans to Uniting for Ukraine to a program specifically for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV), Americans who are moved by scenes of suffering around the world can put those feelings into action. Wolff's sentiment speaks to the promise of these young private sponsorship schemes: getting more Americans directly involved in the welcoming process, getting newcomers to the point of self-sufficiency more quickly, and improving outcomes for immigrant and native communities alike. At a time when Americans are increasingly concerned about migration into the country, these community-driven approaches could be key to rebuilding trust in both immigrants and immigration. 'Looking Back in the Past' The U.S. has a long history of using private sponsorship to welcome newcomers. "It actually predates the traditional resettlement system," says Kit Taintor, former vice president of policy and practice at Welcome.US, a nonprofit that helps inform Americans interested in sponsoring refugees. "It was really only after the passage of the Refugee Act in 1980 that it became sort of the model that we know as traditional resettlement"that is, conducted through refugee resettlement agencies with coordination and funding from the federal government. Voluntary organizations "sponsored and funded the resettlement of displaced family members overseas" throughout the early 20th century, wrote David J. Bier and Matthew La Corte in a 2016 Niskanen Center paper. "Religious and ethnic groups provided resources and sponsors to refugees without families in the United States," and after World War II "these private associations and societies were the primary sponsors for refugees, funding almost all refugee resettlement to the United States with private money." Even after the Refugee Act created the government-led refugee resettlement system, the Reagan administration launched an initiative that let private organizations finance refugee arrivals that fell outside of the normal quotas. The organizations provided "food, housing, medical insurance, and cash insurance," explained Bier and La Corte. From 1987 to 1995, the program resettled over 16,000 refugees, the vast majority of whom were Cubans or Soviet Jews. The Clinton administration didn't renew the initiative, citing financial challenges for sponsoring organizations. (A complex application process for those organizations didn't help matters.) "In some ways," says Taintor, the Welcome Corps grew from "looking back in the past to find things that worked well and applying them to the current situation." The traditional refugee program wasn't ready for two major international crises that displaced millions recentlythe Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 and Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. As of late 2021, with the refugee system still reeling from the Trump administration (and already dysfunctional and backlogged long before then), refugees could expect a resettlement wait time of anywhere from two to 10 years. Unsurprisingly, in the first month after the Russian invasion, just 12 Ukrainians came to the U.S. through the traditional program. On top of that, the vast majority of Afghans and Ukrainians didn't qualify as refugees under the U.S. government's definition of the word. The Biden administration launched a private sponsorship program for evacuated Afghans in October 2021, in hopes of "complementing the work of the State Department's non-profit resettlement agency partners." In April 2022 it announced another capacity-building program, called Uniting for Ukraine, which provides two-year residency and employment authorization to Ukrainians who are sponsored by groups of private citizens. While the Afghan program has been smallas of April 2022, just 415 Afghans were being sponsored by citizen groupsUniting for Ukraine has seen Americans sponsoring more than 117,000 Ukrainians as of February 2023. One of those sponsors is Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason Universityand contributor to The Volokh Conspiracy, a group blog hosted by Reasonwho writes regularly about migration. From the time he submitted the necessary sponsorship forms in November 2022, it took just nine days for the U.S. government to authorize the Hasanovs, a Ukrainian family of three, for admission to the country. They arrived five weeks later, a stark contrast to the years refugees currently wait under the traditional resettlement system. The Hasanovs now live in Jacksonville, Florida, and the Somins have already sponsored another family, who arrived in the U.S. in late October. These programs helped lay the foundation for the Welcome Corps, which launched in January 2023. Groups of five U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents may qualify to be sponsors if they commit to financial requirements and support expectations. "What we're doing here is we're just streamlining the ability for all of these folks, whether they are in Denver, Colorado, or whether they are in Lansing, Michigan, to allow them to participate more directly in the welcoming of newcomers," says Taintor. Private sponsors are now active in around 10,000 zip codes. Under the traditional model, by contrast, refugees must be placed where there are refugee resettlement agencies, limiting them to 340 communities. Groups like Oneonta's ORRC benefit from the lack of location requirementsand so do the refugees. Those smaller towns often have lower housing costs and tighter community bonds than the urban centers that traditional resettlement efforts tend to favor. The federal government has also begun to embrace private sponsorship as a partial solution to pressures at the U.S.-Mexico border. As of January, Americans can sponsor Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, an effort intended both to help people who want to flee turmoil in those ailing countries and steer them away from illegal migration pathways. In its first six months, the program welcomed nearly 160,000 migrants. Though private sponsorship isn't a new concept, it's being applied to new challengesand by many counts, it's been wildly successful. 'A Hugely Transformative Experience' There are a number of factors that predict how well and how quickly a refugee will integrate into a new communityspeaking English, for instance. "One of the things that really drives integration is friendships with members of the receiving community," Taintor notes. "What research has shown over time is that if a newcomer really develops a relationship with somebody who is from the community they're resettling in, their integration is accelerated in the same way that their integration will be accelerated through knowing English." In this way, private sponsorship models have a distinct advantage over government-led resettlement. Refugees arrive with a built-in network. Privately sponsored refugees in Canada, which has the longest-standing private sponsorship program in the world, "generally adapt more quickly to Canada than those who arrive through the government-assisted pathway," according to the Migration Policy Institute. Sponsorship isn't just "a hugely transformative experience" for refugees, says Taintor. It "allows sponsors to really get to know the family that they are welcoming and put their skill setsto work to help that newcomer find success here in the United States." She points out that Americans have "innate wisdom"knowledge about good school districts, how to use libraries, where to find health carethat refugee resettlement agencies simply might not have. The smaller-scale process means that existing networks and local knowledge matter a lot. Oneonta's two privately sponsored refugeesone from Burundi, one from the Democratic Republic of the Congomight find people from their home countries if the government settled them somewhere like New York City. But they'd miss out on the personal connections they've been able to build with Oneonta locals, the kinds of connections Taintor says are predictors of successful integration. "We're small enough that we can invite them over to our house, they get to meet the mayor, they get to meet other community leaders," says Wolff. "I think we sort of offer a kind of hospitality that a larger city might not be able to offer as well." Because sponsors are financially responsible for refugees, they have a strong incentive to get refugees working and self-sufficient. The Niskanen Center has found that 70 percent of privately sponsored refugees in Canada secured a job within a year of arrival, compared to just 40 percent of government-sponsored refugees. Private sponsorship could thus infuse new life into the U.S. economy at a critical time, given ongoing labor shortages and economic pain. One of the biggest selling points for private sponsorship is one of its most intuitive results: When people have an opportunity to immigrate to the U.S. legally, they're far less likely to immigrate here illegally. According to a 2023 paper Bier wrote for the Cato Institute, the CHNV program, combined with an app-based admission process at the border, has transformed migration from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela "from mostly illegal to mostly legal in less than a year." This reduces the government's enforcement burden and creates a more orderly border. The latter directly addresses many Americans' concerns about immigration. Despite all this promise, some aspects of the private sponsorship schemes could threaten their success. And some critics want the programs gone. 'Permanent Homes' Congress hasn't passed broad immigration reform in decades, which means that a huge amount of decision making on the issue rests in the president's hands. That's a problem for programs like Uniting for Ukraine, which Biden authorized. "The executive aspect," Somin says, makes it "by nature temporary and potentially revocable by a future executive." House Republicans have already passed one border bill that would effectively shut down the programs for Afghans and Ukrainians, were it to become law. The CHNV program faces a much more immediate challenge: a lawsuit brought against it by Texas and 19 other GOP-led states. They claim it lacks congressional authorization. Somin, conversely, argued in an amicus brief that immigration law authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to grant temporary "parole" entry to migrants "for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit," both of which apply to CHNV nationals. "Officials from the very states challenging the program have themselves repeatedly talked about how horrible the communist governments of Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua are," Somin says. "They should listen to what they themselves have said and drop the lawsuit." Even if the sponsorship programs survive, their beneficiaries could face serious obstacles. The CHNV, Afghan, and Ukrainian programs let migrants live and work in the U.S. for two years. Once those two years are up, they have to rely on stopgap status extensions, still unsure of their ability to build permanent lives in the United States. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has said that "the vast majority" of Ukrainians will want to go home eventually. But "many of them will want and need permanent homes," says Somin. "Most postWorld War II refugees who came to the U.S., for instance, never ended up going back, because their original homes were destroyed." Congress has previously passed adjustment acts to give permanent status to large groups of people who fled authoritarianism and war, such as Cubans and Vietnamese refugees. "That's good for them, but it's also good for the U.S. economy," Somin argues. "People with permanent status can be more productive. They can make long-term plans for their work and education, for the upbringing of their kids." There are Ukrainian, Venezuelan, and Afghan adjustment acts before Congress, but none have gotten close to full passage. The CHNV program has a unique problem: It's capped at 30,000 recipients per month, which led to a backlog of 1.7 million applicants not even a year into its existence. "That has actually mitigated the program's effectiveness in stemming problems at the border," says Somin. "If there's this massive backlog, people who need to flee are less likely to rely on the program if all they can do is get into a queue that they can't get out of for several years or longer." Officials could learn from these flaws and combine the best of each private program to create more streamlined and effective pathways. Instead, private sponsorship may be evolving into yet another battleground in the unproductive war over immigration policy. 'We Need Them' Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called the Welcome Corps "the boldest innovation in refugee resettlement in four decades." There's truth to that. Private sponsorship schemes have ended a decadeslong government monopoly on welcoming refugees. They're providing quick relief to migrants who otherwise might have waited years to reach a safe haven in the U.S., or who would have never made it here at all. And they're bringing newcomers far beyond city centers, helping to revitalize economically depressed areas. They've proven that a smaller-government, community-driven approach to immigration can be good for both immigrants and native-born Americans. Proponents of private sponsorship often say that it's not meant to replace the government-led approach, but even so, it's an invaluable complement. As international conflicts and humanitarian disasters displace millions of people worldwide, it's critical that countries give their citizens an opportunity to act on their goodwill and live out their values. Thousands of Americans have shown that, given that opportunity, they're more than willing to help. Reducing the financial burden on the government gets around one of the most common criticisms of welcoming refugees, and putting more Americans into direct contact with refugees fosters better relationships than the government-run system does. For communities like Oneonta, welcoming newcomers is more than just a matter of immigration policyit could be a matter of survival. "We're losing population and there's a labor shortage hereOur community needs new people, and refugees are a great source to revitalize a community," Wolff says. "We need them." There have been bumps in the road. The refugees were supposed to come with Social Security cards in hand when they arrived in July, but they didn't get them until late September. Many employers were hesitant to hire them until they got those. The local social services department wasn't quite sure how to help the newcomers, having never really seen refugees before. Despite those struggles, Wolff is hopeful. "If we can find employment for them, if they become self-sufficient, then we will have figured out how to do it," he says. "And then we can bring more over and hopefully build a community within our community." The post The Future of Immigration Is Privatization appeared first on Reason.com. The 11th Circuit Solicitor General of South Carolina said a Georgia man pled guilty to having sexual conduct with a minor after driving across state lines to meet up with a teenager. Hes now been sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison. According to the Lexington County Sheriffs Office, Michael Shawn Copson, 37 of Savannah, pled guilty on Thursday. An investigation into Copson revealed in March 2022 that hed been consistently traveling from Savannah, Ga. to a Lexington County, S.C. home to visit acquaintances for several months. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] For nine months, Copson maintained a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old, continuing until it was discovered and reported to members of law enforcement, the sheriffs office said. WOLO, an ABC affiliate in South Carolina, reported that the investigation determined there were multiple occasions in which Copson purchased inappropriate gifts for the minor, intimidated her, and attempted to isolate her from her family. While being interviewed by investigators, Copson admitted to having illegal sexual contact with the juvenile, according to the Lexington County Sheriffs Office. TRENDING STORIES: At a recent hearing, Copson pled guilty. Describing grooming, the sheriffs office said that grooming was when behaviors often used by adult perpetrators to build a relationship of trust with a child in an effort to exploit or abuse the minor. Assistant Solicitor Ashley Wellman explained that the grooming process attempts to normalize the abuse and obtain the childs continued compliance, the sheriffs office reported. Wellman also said that while Copson was not accused of physically coercing the victim into a sexual relationship with him, it was by no means a consensual sexual relationship, adding that the case was a classic and egregious case of grooming. Copson was extradited from Georgia on Nov. 11, 2022, the sheriffs office said. He remained in custody in Lexington County for the duration of the legal process. Now that hes pled guilty, the sheriffs office said hell be transferred to the South Carolina Department of Corrections to serve a 28 year prison sentence. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: Criminals with ties to MS-13 and other gangs are selling fake green cards and social security cards to migrants on street corners in Queens a dangerous security threat as rogue newcomers pour into the Big Apple. Criminals with ties to MS-13 and other gangs are selling fake green cards and social security cards to migrants on street corners in Queens a dangerous security threat as rogue newcomers pour into the Big Apple. This week The Post spotted at least 10 men camped out in broad daylight at four different corners along Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, hawking the bogus documents for $80 to $250. The forged social security numbers can be used to open up a bank account and potentially obtain a real drivers license. Criminals with ties to MS-13 and other gangs are selling fake green cards on street corners in Queens. The Post spotted 10 men camped out along Roosevelt Avenue hawking fake IDs for anywhere between $80 and $250. J.C. Rice Permanent resident cards, also known as green cards, give immigrants the lawful right to live and work in the United States. Many migrants buy the forgeries to land jobs where employers do not look too carefully at documentation. But others can have much darker intentions. Armed with such ID, a person could load up a truck with bombs and bring it underneath the Holland Tunnel and create something major and disastrous, warned Bruce Foucart, a former special agent in charge of Homeland Security investigations in New England. For someone that wants to do terrorist activity or is a national security threat, its easy to establish this second life within the US, said Foucart. I guarantee right now, were just waiting for another 9/11. On Wednesday, along Roosevelt between 82nd and 103rd Streets, stretching from Jackson Heights to Elmhurst and Corona, The Post observed: A fake document seller offered to have the forged IDs ready in an hour, according to reports. Five hooded men gathered outside the La Gata Golosa bakery, whispering social, social to passersby and chatting up Spanish-speaking clients near a massage parlor. One offered a Post reporter pristine permanent residency and social security cards for $80. They work, the shady salesman assured, showing an example of the forged documents on his phone. I need your name, your whole name, your age . . . I can take your picture. Some of the groups members darted from the corner into an 82nd Street stairwell, below the Madelyn Salon, customers in tow. The cash handoffs and document pick-ups take place behind a glass door, according to one observer. Another fake ID peddler, sitting in a chair outside of an insurance office between 102nd and 103rd Streets, offered a fake green card for $180 and a social security card for $70. He said many people purchase the fakes, but declined to specify how many he sold. One black-market seller brought a reporter into a stairwell beneath a barber shop, where he asked the scribe to enter his name, age and country of origin into a phone. The salesmen initially asked for $200 for a green card and social security card, but the price was negotiated down to $80. The Post didnt buy the cards. Another fake document peddler was captured on video sitting on a chair on the sidewalk under the elevated train tracks, according to footage posted by the Instagram account Zombiesinnyc. The Roosevelt Avenue sellers are affiliated with the 18th Street gang, and with the ruthless MS-13, a high-ranking police source said. Both gangs originated in Los Angeles and are rivals known for violence and drug dealing but also selling fake IDs. Security experts warned migrants with criminal intentions could use fake social and green cards to carry out devastating attacks. Its big business, the source said. The transnational criminal organizations running the mills also may have helped smuggle in migrants, creating a one-stop shop for undocumented newcomers, Foucart noted. Roosevelt Avenue has long been known to investigators as the East Coast epicenter for fake IDs. The area has also been a hotbed of prostitution, with The Post recently exposing the open-air Market of Sweethearts, as it is known in popular YouTube videos. Area residents and workers are outraged by the fake ID mills in their midst. If theyre doing social security number and nobody says st, next time itll be weapons and passports, said Zee Omar, 24, a clerk at Candy Grocery Food Corp. on Roosevelt Avenue. Everyone can do what they want now. The influx of nearly 180,000 migrants to the city since the spring of 2022 has created a higher demand for the cards. People from other boroughs are coming specifically to this area to get the IDs, all the new migrants are coming here, one local said. Roy Fenoff, an associate professor at the Department of Criminal Justice at the Citadel, South Carolina, said the fake documents give migrants access to a slew of services otherwise impossible without government identification. Once people have these fake cards, they can work, they can travel, they can access a lot of aspects and services in the United States, he said. There are people getting these cards that are not here just to get a job, that they have other intentions, and this helps them carry out criminal activity. The social security cards are fake, but the numbers are real, so U.S. citizens can be affected, he said. If Im using a social security number thats of another person, and then Im committing crimes, and Im using [their] name, you potentially have warrants out there for innocent peoples arrest, because you dont really know who this person was, he said, citing a case he handled of a Denver woman whose ID was stolen. The influx of nearly 180,000 migrants to the city since spring 2022 has created a higher demand for the cards. Rogue migrants can also use the fake documents to avoid developing a criminal record under their real name, according to law enforcement experts. If theyve never been fingerprinted before, under their fake name they can get arrested five, six, seven, eight times . . . and they themselves would never have a record, said John Cutter, retired NYPD deputy chief of the Intelligence Division. With fake IDs, they become [a] ghost, so they become more emboldened and more willing to break the law and potentially do something thats really serious, he continued. Illegal immigrant Diego Ibarra, the brother of Jose Ibarra, who is accused of killing nursing student Laken Riley at the University of Georgia, is in federal custody in a case involving alleged possession of a fake green card, which he used to get work at the school. Diego has been linked to a brutal Venezuelan gang. In New York, the charge for making fake ID is criminal possession of a forged instrument a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison. The NYPD said it is looking into all potential lawbreaking on the strip. The NYPD will continue to address conditions . . . on Roosevelt Avenue, an NYPD spokesperson said. Area residents and workers are outraged by the fake ID mills in their midsts. J.C. Rice Its impossible to say how many of these fake cards are in circulation or the value for the black market of forged documents, although Cutter estimated there are likely tens of thousands of fake green and social security cards in use in New York City But the production and sale of the forged documents is increasing in New York City amid the spike in migrants, Fenoff noted. As opportunities for the fraud increase, and the demand increases, then the market always follows, he said. PORTSMOUTH Gather, a nonprofit organization that provides free food to residents in 59 communities in southern New Hampshire, reports January was the busiest month in its 200-plus-year history. According to Gather Executive Director Anne Hayes, 2023 as a whole saw a notable surge in the number of people seeking food assistance from the nonprofit. Hayes says individuals served by Gathers Pantry Market and Mobile Markets increased by 43% while food donations declined by 29% vs. just two years ago. Gather, the nonprofit organization that works to eradicate hunger on the Seacoast, says a record number of residents are visiting its mobile food markets and food pantry. While the economy is doing well for many, there are a significant number of people who are struggling with the high price of groceries, housing, and fuel," Hayes said. "To run all our programs, we need 40-50 volunteers a day preparing to-go meals, stocking our Portsmouth pantry, and distributing food across the Seacoast through our free mobile markets. With food donations down, we are asking the community to remember our neighbors in need and to get involved! New statewide data from New Hampshire Hunger Solutions shows 44% of adults and 52% of children in the state live in households facing chronic food shortages. Gather receiving NH Center for Nonprofits award The New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits announced it has chosen Gather to receive the 2024 Nonprofit Impact Award. Kathleen Reardon, CEO of New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits, said, The Nonprofit Impact Awards recognize organizations whose exemplary leadership, vision, and commitment is contributing to the vitality of our state. Gather has shown itself as a leader in envisioning a hunger-free community and in marshaling the efforts across the region to successfully reduce food insecurity. We hope this award will bring even broader awareness of this important issue and Gathers work. Hayes said, This award could not be more timely as it helps us spotlight the urgent need. Last year we served over 100,000 individuals, despite the fact that food donations were down significantly. We rely on monetary donations to purchase food to make up the difference. In fact, ninety cents of every dollar donation to Gather goes directly to distributing food to our neighbors. We could not be more appreciative of this award and we welcome the support of the public in helping us address this issue. The Nonprofit Impact Celebration will be held on April 16 at the Bank of NH Stage in Concord at 4:30 p.m. Register at NHNonprofits.org This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Gather reports record demand for food in Seacoast A floating pier intended to be used to deliver critical humanitarian aid by sea to Gaza is expected to take up to two months to construct and require as many as 1,000 U.S. servicemembers to complete, the Pentagons top spokesperson said Friday. The Defense Department will undertake the emergency mission to establish a temporary pier off the shore of Gaza using Navy and Army personnel, Press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters. We anticipate that itll take over 1,000 U.S. forces to participate in building this capability, Ryder said. As far as timeframe several weeks, likely up to 60 days in order to deploy the forces and construct the causeway and the pier. The offshore pier allows for shipping vessels to transfer cargo to smaller vessels to transport and offload cargo to a temporary causeway for the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, he said, but stressed that there will be no U.S. boots on the ground in the enclave. The concept that is being planned involves the presence of U.S. military personnel on military vessels offshore but does not require U.S. military personnel to go ashore, Ryder explained, adding that Washington is working with other nations determine who will help with operating the causeway and distributing aid into Gaza as Israels war against Palestinian militant group Hamas continues. Cyprus has been identified as one of the locations where aid could be loaded onto ships and then taken to the floating pier, according to Ryder. The Pentagon has already identified elements of the Seventh Transportation Brigade Expeditionary from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., to help build the pier and causeway, which is expected to be 1,800 feet long and consist of two-lanes. No cost estimate is yet available for the effort. And once built, defense officials expect that deliveries via the pier could provide more than two million meals to Gaza citizens per day. The comments are the first new details of how a maritime corridor will work in getting desperately needed humanitarian aid into Gaza as millions face starvation. Biden had announced the pier in his annual State of the Union address Thursday night, and later told reporters Friday that the Israelis would provide security for the port. He has also pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow more aid into Gaza. The president, who has publicly voiced his frustration with Netanyahus unwillingness to allow more assistance into the territory, was captured on hot mic that he told his counterpart that they will need to have a come-to-Jesus meeting. In the meantime, the U.S. continues to conduct airdrops of aid into Gaza, the latest of which came Friday when Washington along with Jordan dropped over 11,500 meal equivalents. The Pentagon has now delivered roughly 124,000 meals over the past week in four airdrops, but the method is seen as inefficient, expensive and dangerous. At least five people were killed and 10 others injured when an aid airdrop malfunctioned, hitting people and landing on homes in Gaza Friday. Ryder said that none of the U.S. airdrops into the enclave caused civilian casualties. Press reports that U.S. airdrops resulted in civilian casualties on the ground are false, as weve confirmed that all of our aid bundles landed safely on the ground, he claimed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. FedEx pilots want higher pay and other benefits, but their negotiating power has diminished compared to two years ago because freight and parcel volumes have declined. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves) The union representing some 5,800 pilots at FedEx Express has asked the National Mediation Board to be officially released from mediation for the purpose of being able to go on strike against the company to achieve a new contract. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) announced Friday that it asked the federal agency to declare an impasse in contract negotiations and move the process to binding arbitration. The request is designed to clear the way for a potential strike against the company in a heavily regulated bargaining process. Talks, which have been underway for nearly three years, have broken down over retirement, pay and quality of life. The sides reached a tentative agreement that was endorsed by the FedEx ALPA Master Executive Council, but narrowly rejected by membership in July. It would have raised pilot pay 30% over four years. Mediated negotiations resumed in November. While ALPA has been generous in our movement on positions, FedExs incremental movement on some items and refusal to accept many of ALPAs items indicate an unwillingness to ever reach an agreement, Captain Christopher Comer and First Officer Jose Gomez, local FedEx union leaders, said Wednesday in a letter to fellow pilots obtained by FreightWaves. FedEx (NYSE: FDX) said internal divisions within the pilots union are the main reason for the lack of a deal. We strongly disagree that a release from mediation is appropriate. This is a common union tactic that does not impact our outstanding service to customers around the world, the company said in a statement. We have already reached one tentative agreement with our pilots that ALPA leadership supported and hailed as the highest value achieved among major carriers in the last twenty years. Despite active support by its leadership, FedEx pilots narrowly voted it down last summer, and since that time we have seen continuous changes in union direction and leadership that have hindered progress toward a new deal. FedEx remains steadfastly committed to bargaining in good faith and reaching an agreement that is fair to all stakeholders. We believe the mediation process under the supervision of the National Mediation Board which ALPA requested remains the best way to achieve that goal. Story continues The pilots said FedEx apparently doesnt intend to offer more money to a new contract proposal that it did last year. The comment indirectly referenced a FreightWaves article from January in which Pat DiMento, FedExs vice president of flight operations and training, was reported saying the company plans to offer the same amount of total money to the pilots as it did in the tentative agreement, but reallocate it differently between retirement, higher pay scales, signing bonuses or other areas. The intransigence of the company should not be a surprise to us, nor should it be used as an excuse for lowering our expectations. Rather, it should be the motivation for our deliberate, intentional demonstration of our unwavering will and unflinching determination to achieve the recognition that we have earned and that we deserve, the letter said. Pilots are also concerned about how pilots are paid when removed from trips for student training and language regarding medical mandates, such as vaccines, according to a Jan. 26 message from the FedEx negotiating committee to the pilot group. ALPA notes that FedEx Express accounted for nearly half of the corporations $90 billion in revenue last year, is also in the midst of a $5 billion stock buyback and that 18 days of flying would pay for the entire increase pilots seek in a four-year contract. But the union ask comes at a fraught time for FedEx, which is under shareholder pressure to increase profitability after a prolonged stretch of weaker parcel demand. The slowdown in demand previously spurred management to undertake an ambitious restructuring strategy designed to improve network efficiency and save $6 billion in structural costs. At the same time, the future of FedExs contract with the U.S. Postal Service is an open question with the Postal Service motivated to shift more volume to cheaper ground transportation and FedEx considering whether to walk away from the business if it cant get higher rates needed to make its daytime flying profitable. FedEx pilots are making much less money than they did two years ago because there are fewer flight hours. Management has indicated a desire to offer early retirement packages to hundreds of pilots once a new contract is finalized, FreightWaves reported in January. In this business environment, as a pilot you cant go in there asking for the world. Its just not going to happen, DiMento privately told a group of FedEx evaluators late last year. Next steps The Master Executive Council plans to organize an informational picket on Wall Street on March 21 to coincide with the release of FedExs quarterly earnings, according to the letter. Collective bargaining for airlines is governed under the Railway Labor Act, which is much more restrictive than general labor law. Under federal rules designed to prevent work interruptions in critical interstate commerce, workers are prohibited from striking and companies from locking out workers until a lengthy series of bargaining steps, including federal mediation, are completed. The federal mediator has the power to hold the parties in mediation indefinitely. Before a strike can take place, the National Mediation Board (NMB) must first decide that additional mediation efforts would not be productive and offer the parties an opportunity to arbitrate the dispute before a special panel. If either side declines the arbitration, both parties enter a 30-day cooling off period, after which the parties can engage in self-help a strike by the union or a lockout by management. Arbitration in the airline industry is rare because both sides must agree to it. And, the NMB historically has been very reluctant to open the door to potential strikes, which airlines often use to their advantage in negotiations. And getting to the point of a legal strike doesnt end there. The law allows the president to create an emergency board to investigate a labor dispute and issue a report within 30 days if the parties reject binding arbitration. That is followed by another 30-day period to consider the boards recommendations and reach an agreement. If no agreement is reached at the end of the second cooling-off period, the parties may take action. The pilot union at Air Transport International, a cargo subsidiary of Air Transport Services Group, in late January also asked the National Mediation Board to end contract talks and allow the process to move to arbitration. The NMB rejected the request and directed the ATI pilots to return to mediated negotiations, said Michael Sterling, chairman of the ATI Master Executive Council. Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch. Sign up for the weekly American Shipper Air newsletter here. RELATED READING: FedEx pilots face pay cuts, buyouts as contract talks resume How FedEx could win by losing its Postal Service business FedEx fleet restructure poses threat to freighter operators FedEx braches for 50% cut in Postal Service air contract The post FedEx pilots seek release from federally mediated contract talks appeared first on FreightWaves. The ship belongs to Spanish charity Open Arms, and will be carrying food provided by US charity World Central Kitchen A ship carrying desperately needed humanitarian aid is expected to set sail this weekend, bound for Gaza. The Spanish vessel, Open Arms, is scheduled to depart from Cyprus - the closest EU country to Gaza - and hopes to use a newly opened shipping route. With no functioning port and shallow waters, it is still unclear where the ship will dock when it reaches Gaza. The UN says a quarter of the Strip's population is on the brink of famine and children are starving to death. The ship, expected to reach Gaza in the next few days, belongs to the Spanish charity of the same name, Open Arms. It docked three weeks ago in Larnaca and will tow a barge loaded with items provided by US charity World Central Kitchen, Open Arms founder Oscar Camps told the Associated Press. Open Arms said Israeli authorities have started inspecting the cargo of "200 tonnes of basic foodstuffs, rice and flour, cans of tuna". Laura Lanuza told AFP news agency the vessel could embark "today or tomorrow" depending on all the "authorisations and permits, and when we get them". The ship will take around two to three days to reach an undisclosed location off the coast of Gaza, Mr Camps said. He added that the final mile of the journey - which is about 216 nautical miles in total - would be "the most complicated operation", but added that he was not "concerned at all about security". At the destination point, a team from the World Central Kitchen has been building a pier to receive the aid, he said. The group has 60 kitchens throughout Gaza, where it will be able to distribute the food. "What initially appeared as an insurmountable challenge is now on the verge of realization," read a post on Open Arms' X account. "Our tugboat stands prepared to embark at a moment's notice, laden with tons of food, water, and vital supplies for Palestinian civilians." World Central Kitchen said its team had been waiting for a sea corridor to open to be able to scale up its efforts in Gaza World Central Kitchen said it had been preparing for the aid trip for weeks, waiting for the shipping route to open. The maritime corridor was announced by European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Friday, while she was in Cyprus. That came a day after President Joe Biden announced that the US plans to build a temporary floating port to Gaza's shoreline. The Pentagon later said it would take up to 60 days to complete and need about 1,000 troops to build - none of whom would go ashore. The port will be able to receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters, US officials said. Initial shipments will arrive via Cyprus, where Israeli security inspections will take place. A Pentagon spokesman said the pier could help to deliver up to 2 million meals every day. It is unclear whether, or how, the US' temporary pier and the EU's sea corridor will work together, as neither Mr Biden nor Ms Von der Leyen mentioned the other's plans. On Saturday afternoon, the US said it dropped 41,400 "meal equivalents" and 23,000 bottles of water into northern Gaza as it said more aerial deliveries were planned. Getting aid into the Gaza Strip has been increasingly difficult and dangerous - the World Food Programme paused its deliveries to northern Gaza last month, after its convoys endured "complete chaos and violence", the organisation said. With land deliveries near impossible, several nations have turned to air drops, but the situation in Gaza is so dire, the drops are an inefficient way of getting supplies to people. On Friday there were reports that five people had been killed by a falling aid package, when its parachute failed to open properly. Israel's military launched an air and ground campaign in the Gaza Strip after Hamas's attacks on Israel on 7 October, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 253 others were taken hostage. More than 30,800 people have been killed in Gaza since then, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry says. The conflict has created a growing humanitarian crisis, and the UN has warned that famine in Gaza is "almost inevitable". At least 576,000 people across the Gaza Strip - one quarter of the population - are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity and one in six children under the age of two in the north are suffering from acute malnutrition, a senior UN aid official warned last week. Save the Children welcomed the recent international efforts to provide more aid into Gaza, but said children there "cannot wait" for the time it may take to build a temporary port to eat. "They are already dying from malnutrition and saving their lives is a matter of hours or days - not weeks," the charity said in a statement. Doctors Without Borders said the US plan for a temporary pier was a "glaring distraction from the real problem", urging Israel to facilitate the flow of supplies. Additional reporting by Tiffany Wertheimer Video of an air drop in the Gaza Strip this week appeared to show aid packages suffering a parachute malfunction, which local reports claim resulted in the deaths of several individuals. Initial reports, citing sources in the Gaza Strip, claimed that the air drop came from a U.S. cargo plane, but the Pentagon told Fox News Digital that "Reports of injuries in Gaza from a U.S. airdropped aid box are false." "We have no additional information to provide on this," the spokesperson added when pressed for more details, but CENTCOM later wrote in a post on social media platform X that officials "are aware of reports of civilians killed as a result of humanitarian airdrops." "We express sympathies to the families of those who were killed," the message said, once more stressing that "contrary to some reports," the incident did not occur as a result of U.S. airdrops. THERE ARE STILL AMERICANS IN HAMAS' CAPTIVITY: RONEN NEUTRA Video on social media appears to show an air drop on the al-Shati refugee camp, with several packages dropping without parachutes. Reports claim that five people died, and 10 others were injured due to the malfunction, with one witness in the camp saying the packages "fell down like a rocket on the roof of one of the houses." READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP A plane drops humanitarian aid around to Al-Shati refugee camp and Jamal Abdel Nasser Street in Gaza City, Gaza on March 9, 2024. "Ten minutes later, I saw people transferring three martyrs and others injured, who were staying on the roof of the house where ethe aid packages fell," Mohammed al-Ghoul, 50, told the Agence France-Press (AFP). The U.S. earlier this week initiated a series of air drops to deliver tens of thousands of meals along the Gaza coastline, working with the Royal Jordanian Air Force to complete the operation, CENTCOM said in a statement released Wednesday. IDF RELEASES REVIEW OF DEADLY SHOOTING NEAR AID CONVOY IN GAZA, SAYS PALESTINIANS FIRED AT POSED A THREAT "The DoD humanitarian airdrops contribute to ongoing U.S. and partner-nation government efforts to alleviate human suffering," the statement read. "These airdrops are part of a sustained effort, and we continue to plan follow on aerial deliveries." U.S. Central Command and the Royal Jordanian Air Force conduct a combined humanitarian assistance airdrop to Northern Gaza to provide essential relief to civilians affected by the ongoing Israeli attacks on March 7, 2024, in Northern Gaza. The combined, joint operation included US Air Force C-130 aircraft and U.S. Army Soldiers specialized in aerial delivery of U.S. and Jordanian humanitarian assistance supplies. The Wednesday drop delivered 38,000 meals, dropped from U.S. C-130s, and subsequent drops on Thursday and Friday delivered 41,000 "meal equivalents" and 23,000 bottles of water and 11,500 "meal equivalents" and "life-saving humanitarian aid," respectively. Each airdrop occurred with assistance from the Jordanian air force. Fox News Digital reached out to the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Jordanian Embassy in Washington, D.C., but received no response by the time of publication. The deceased Palestinians are brought to the morgue at Shifa Hospital after it was reported that there had been deaths and injuries as a result of the parachutes of the humanitarian aid boxes dropped from the air by planes carrying aid to the Gaza Strip not opening and falling on Palestinians waiting for help in the area in Gaza City on March 8, 2024. The deceased Palestinians were transported to the morgue at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where grieving relatives mourned the loss of their loved ones. A Jordanian military source told the AFP that none of the kingdoms four aircraft that participated in the operation had any involvement with the fatalities. DENNIS KUCINICH: A CEASE-FIRE WOULD BE IN ISRAEL AND THE PALESTINIANS' INTEREST "The technical defect that caused some parachutes carrying aid not to open and to fall freely to the ground during the airdrop on Gaza on Friday was not from a Jordanian aircraft," the source said, noting that five other countries were involved in the operation. A Palestinian man, who sees his relative dead, his body wrapped in a blanket, mourns on the ground after it was reported that there had been deaths and injuries as a result of the parachutes of the humanitarian aid boxes dropped from the air by planes carrying aid to the Gaza Strip not opening and falling on Palestinians waiting for help in the area in Gaza City on March 8, 2024. The deceased Palestinians were transported to the morgue at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where grieving relatives mourned the loss of their loved ones. Egypt, France, the Netherlands and Belgium have also dropped aid into the Gaza Strip over the past week, according to the BBC. The Gaza media office insisted that airdrops were "not the best way for aid to enter" the region, which President Biden appears to have taken to heart as he looks to build a temporary pier for increased aid delivery on the coast. The United Nations, meanwhile, has argued that land deliveries have proven the most effective means to deliver aid, but passage through the Rafah Crossing remains difficult. Original article source: Gaza air drop mishap reportedly kills five, injures 10 as U.S., Jordan deny any involvement in incident The U.S. military port that is intended to provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza is expected to take up to two months to construct and requires over 1,000 U.S. servicemembers to complete, the Pentagon said. In a press conference on Friday, Press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters that that port would take at least 1,000 U.S. forces. "We anticipate that it'll take over 1,000 U.S. forces to participate in building this capability," Ryder said. "As far as time frame, several weeks, likely up to 60 days in order to deploy the forces and construct the causeway and the pier," he said. BIDEN TO HAVE US MILITARY BUILD A PORT IN GAZA Smoke rises from damaged residential buildings in Khan Yunis seen from the city of Rafah following the Israeli attacks on January 11, 2024 in Rafah, Gaza. Ryder said that the Department of Defense is starting immediately in constructing the port. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP "But again, we're starting immediately, in terms of putting things into motion on that front," Ryder said. The spokesperson explained that the offshore pier that President Biden ordered will allow for expedited humanitarian aid to Gaza. "Simply put, they'll establish a temporary offshore maritime pier that allows for shipping vessels to transfer cargo to smaller vessels to transport and offload cargo to a temporary causeway for the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza," Ryder said. Ryder stressed that there would be no boots on the ground. "The concept that is being planned involves the presence of U.S. military personnel on military vessels offshore but does not require U.S. military personnel to go ashore," Ryder explained, saying that the White House is coordinating with likeminded nations to determine who will be operating the pier and distributing the aid into Gaza. Cyprus has been highlighted as one of the locations where aid could be loaded onto ships and then taken to the floating pier, Ryder said. AFTER MICHIGAN PRIMARY, DEMOCRATS WATCH FOR BIDEN TO THREAD THE NEEDLE ON ISRAEL AND GAZA The offshore pier is expected to provide more than two million meals for people in Gaza when fully operational. "Once operational, the actual amount of aid delivered will depend on many variables, and will likely scale over time," Ryder said. "However, we expect that deliveries via JLOTS could provide more than two million meals to the citizens of Gaza per day." President Biden announced on Thursday during his State of the Union address that the U.S. military will build a port in Gaza. The development was revealed earlier Thursday by senior administration officials discussing humanitarian aid for the Hamas-controlled territory. "Tonight in the speech, the president will announce that he's directing the U.S. military to lead an emergency mission to establish a port in the Mediterranean on the Gaza coast that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters," the official said. "This port, the main feature of which is a temporary pier, will provide the capacity for hundreds of additional truckloads of assistance each day," a second official added. "We will coordinate with the Israelis on the security requirements on land and work with the U.N. and humanitarian NGOs. Understanding the distribution of assistance within Gaza and Israeli settlements will come via Cyprus enabled by the U.S. military and a coalition of partners and allies." Fox News Digital has reached out to the Pentagon for comment. Original article source: Gaza humanitarian aid port likely to take approximately two months, 1,000 US troops to build: Pentagon TOPEKA (KSNT) Kansas lawmakers have advanced a bill banning all gender-affirming care for minors. The House Health committee approved the bill on Thursday, and are on target to fast-track it through the Senate. However, the bill could await a veto from the states democratic governor. Nexstars Kansas Capitol Bureau spoke with Democratic Governor Laura Kelly about the plan on Friday. This is not the first time theyve passed that bill out and I think you can look back in history and see how Ive responded in the past, and I really havent changed my position, Kelly said. The governor has vetoed similar legislation in the past. During the committee meeting on Thursday, Republicans made several changes to the House bill, including making a motion to substitute its contents into a similar bill that passed the Senate last year. That means, if the House passes the bill, the Senate will only have to concur instead of scheduling it for a hearing. In addition to banning doctors from providing gender transition treatments to minors, the bill would also allow for a civil cause of action against doctors providing treatments. Under the plan, doctors could also lose their license, if they perform any treatments listed in the bill. The bill will head to the House floor for a vote. If it passes both chambers, it will be sent to the governors desk. If she vetoes the plan, the House will need 84 votes to override a veto, and the Senate will need 27 votes. To watch the full House Health committee meeting, click here. For more Capitol Bureau news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. Russia has lost 423,160 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on March 9. This number includes 850 casualties Russian forces suffered over the past day. According to the report, Russia has also lost 6,712 tanks, 12,823 armored fighting vehicles, 13,683 vehicles and fuel tanks, 10,428 artillery systems, 1,012 multiple launch rocket systems, 707 air defense systems, 347 airplanes, 325 helicopters, 8,041 drones, 26 ships and boats, and one submarine. Read also: Ukraines UN envoy: Russia trying to block maritime corridor through strikes on Odesa Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Ukraine shot down 12 Shahed drones out of the 15 launched by Russia overnight, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on March 9. Ukrainian air defense downed the drones over Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, and Poltava Oblasts. Explosions were heard in the suburbs of Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, according to Ukrainian media Suspilne. Air alerts sounded across eastern, southern, and central Ukraine at 9.18 p.m., includuing Kyiv shortly before 10 p.m. A Russian strike earlier on March 8 injured a seven-year-old boy in Kherson. An aerial bomb landed on his home causing "an explosion injury and contusion." Four people were also injured in Donetsk Oblast on March 8, according to the Donetsk Oblast Prosecutors Office. Russian shelling on the village of Pivdenne injured a 23-year-old man, while two people were injured in the city of Siversk after a drone hit a civilian car. A 68-year-old woman was also injured in the village of Berdychi after a Russian attack. During the early hours of March 9, Russia claimed that Ukrainian drones attacked the Russian regions of Kursk and Rostov, allegedly injuring one person and damaging the roof of a medical clinic. The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims. In recent months, Russian authorities began reporting an increasing number of drone strikes targeting Belgorod, Bryansk, Oryol, and Leningrad oblasts, as well as other regions. Read also: General Staff: Russia has lost 423,160 troops in Ukraine Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Conservative attorney George Conway said the Supreme Courts decision in former President Trumps Colorado ballot case doesnt come as good news but argued that he would rather see Trump defeated at the ballot box than be disqualified ahead of the election. Its hard for me to think of what the good news is, Conway told MSNBCs Katie Phang about the ruling. I will say this. I mean, I understand how people feel about it. I would rather see Donald Trump beaten at the ballot box and I think he will be than him being kicked off the ballot. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Colorado cant disqualify Trump from the ballot under the 14th Amendments insurrection ban. The amendment prevents individuals who took an oath to support the Constitution and then engaged in an insurrection from returning to office. It was originally designed to keep former Confederates from returning to office after the Civil War but fell dormant until anti-Trump voters began filing dozens of lawsuits against Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Conway argued that all nine Supreme Court justices understood that if they disqualified the former president there would be a backlash against the court and backlash against the ruling. In an interview with CNN, Conway said he thinks the justices had a very difficult time with the decision because the three opinions released dont make any sense whatsoever. The Trump critic continued, saying the silver lining in the situation was that Colorados Supreme Court, and other courts across the country, have made unrebutted findings that Donald Trump is an insurrectionist. But I dont find any, you know, I dont find any solace in the courts opinion, refusing to apply the law, he said. Following the justices decision, Trump celebrated, calling it a Big win for America!!! He said that since the decision was unanimous among the justices, it was both unifying and inspirational. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Deputies in east Georgia are asking for the publics help to find a man missing for over two weeks. The Richmond County Sheriffs Office says Gerald Weathers was last seen in the area of Ellis Street on Feb. 27. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Weathers, 62, sent a text message around 1 a.m. that he would be home shortly. Deputies say he hasnt been seen or heard from since. Weathers is described as 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighs about 145 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes. The sheriffs office said he is known to frequent stores around the 2000 block of Broad Street and also the Rack & Grill on Riverwatch Parkway. Anyone who has information on where Weathers may be is asked to call the Richmond County Sheriffs Office at 706-821-1020 or 706-821-1080 TRENDING STORIES: IN OTHER NEWS (This column was first published in the Tallahassee Democrat on Nov. 14, 2004.) Welcome to pessimism. Welcome to the sinking feeling that this time the war has turned: We really are going to lose the lush landscape that made so many of us fall in love with Tallahassee. We're going to lose our canopy road/heavily wooded/other Florida paradise. We're going to lose it to the longtime enemy: commerce. Move Tallahassee walkers will hit the Miccosukee Greenway at 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. You may have read about the proposals to change green-space and tree requirements for building in Tallahassee. They include such measures as reducing the percentage of greenspace set-asides and even allowing developers to buy their way out of any green-space requirements. They include decreasing the number of trees required to be saved during construction. The proposals are aimed at putting fewer constraints on builders and developers --- and thereby increasing our attractiveness to more builders and developers. They are just proposals now. But in some fashion, they will be implemented. And those of us who firmly believe that how Tallahassee looks is its greatest charm will lose. We'll lose because we have a pro-business City Commission. Four otherwise nice guys are convinced that the three most important things for Tallahassee are growth, growth and growth. Environmentally minded Commissioner Debbie Lightsey isn't enough to stop them. We'll lose because pro-growth forces have logical-sounding arguments: Construction permits in Tallahassee take two to five times longer to get than in most Florida cities. Tallahassee's current green-space requirements produce little more than strips of grass and trees in parking lots. The money developers would pay to opt out --- $5,000 to $50,000 an acre --- could be used to buy big swaths of land for real parks. Yes, there are counter-arguments: Permits sometimes take longer here because developers sometimes don't follow the steps correctly. Even small strips in parking lots reduce pollution runoff. The city hasn't wisely spent the money from tree-ordinance fines, so why think it'll do better with greenspace-buyout money? Still, we're going to lose. We'll lose because the mood of the people --- even if it's only the 51% who elected George Bush --- is opposed to government and taxes. Government exists to perform the services that produce no profit but make life better, such as protecting the environment. Taxes are how you pay for those services. Someday, the selfish idiots who vote against government and taxes will realize it hurts us all. Tallahassee will be clear-cut by then. The land at the corner of Thomasville Road and Ox Bottom Road has been leveled for new developments. We can still pack the public meetings and persuade city commissioners to ride the brakes against the full-throttle pursuit of growth. But it will be only a delay. The drumbeat of money to be made always drowns out the wind chimes of beauty to be saved. Maybe it's the natural order of things. Maybe the Tallahassee some of us fell in love with 20, 30, 40 years ago was an accident. Maybe we just arrived before commerce discovered the potential of paradise. Maybe no city retains its charm forever. Perhaps we should not despair. Our children want things that we don't --- or why would someone keep bulldozing forests to build bland apartment complexes? And in change is occasionally beauty: landscaped new roads, attractively designed buildings, the odd "Betton Hills" neighborhood sign. So bye-bye, pretty Tallahassee. Gangway for growth. Tallahassee Democrat columnist and staff writer Gerald Ensley passed on Feb. 16, 2018. Gerald Ensley was a reporter and columnist for the Tallahassee Democrat from 1980 until his retirement in 2015. He died in 2018 following a stroke. The Tallahassee Democrat is publishing columns capturing Tallahassees history from Ensleys vast archives each Sunday through 2024 in the Opinion section as part of the TLH 200: Gerald Ensley Memorial Bicentennial Project. JOIN THE CONVERSATION Send letters to the editor (up to 200 words) or Your Turn columns (about 500 words) to letters@tallahassee.com. Please include your address for verification purposes only, and if you send a Your Turn, also include a photo and 1-2 line bio of yourself. You can also submit anonymous Zing!s at Tallahassee.com/Zing. Submissions are published on a space-available basis. All submissions may be edited for content, clarity and length, and may also be published by any part of the USA TODAY NETWORK. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Gerald Ensley: Bid goodbye to Tallahassee as we know it Bernhard Kruesken, Secretary General of the German Farmers' Association, arrives for a meeting with the leaders of the "Ampel" parliamentary group. Kay Nietfeld/dpa The German Farmers' Association (DBV) has signalled its willingness to reach an agreement in the dispute over the tax exemption for agricultural diesel, saying it will not insist on the subsidy being retained in full. "We are prepared to compromise if, in return for additional fuel costs, there is real relief in other areas," DBV Secretary General Bernhard Krusken told the newspaper Welt am Sonntag. "We don't want to pretend to our members that whoever shouts the loudest will be heard the best." The conservative opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) parliamentary group in the German lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, is calling for a swift agreement. "It is advisable to accommodate the farmers now - not only for reasons of content, but also to remove the basis for any radicalization tendencies of individuals who do not represent the broad mass of peacefully protesting farmers," said the deputy CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Steffen Bilger. Any possible compromise would have to be discussed with the farmers, otherwise it would miss its target, he said. But regional farmers' groups in Saxony-Anhalt state indicated they are less willing to compromise. Martin Dippe, President of the Farmers' Association of Saxony-Anhalt, said on Saturday that farmers did not take to the streets for months only to walk things back meekly now. In a joint statement, three regional associations in Saxony-Anhalt said they are sticking to their demand that the tax exemption is retained. Farmers in Germany have been protesting for months by blocking traffic on motorway on-ramps and choking traffic in major cities, over government plans to scrap agricultural diesel subsidies. Key Insights Institutions' substantial holdings in Filtronic implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price A total of 5 investors have a majority stake in the company with 55% ownership Insiders have sold recently To get a sense of who is truly in control of Filtronic plc (LON:FTC), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 46% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn). Since institutional have access to huge amounts of capital, their market moves tend to receive a lot of scrutiny by retail or individual investors. Therefore, a good portion of institutional money invested in the company is usually a huge vote of confidence on its future. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Filtronic. Check out our latest analysis for Filtronic What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Filtronic? Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing. As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Filtronic. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Filtronic, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too. Story continues Filtronic is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is D.M. Dixon with 18% of shares outstanding. Canaccord Genuity Asset Management Limited is the second largest shareholder owning 14% of common stock, and David Newlands holds about 12% of the company stock. Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 55% of the company is controlled by the top 5 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business. Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time. Insider Ownership Of Filtronic The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it. Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group. Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Filtronic plc. Insiders have a UK30m stake in this UK82m business. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling. General Public Ownership The general public-- including retail investors -- own 17% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies. Next Steps: I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Take risks for example - Filtronic has 2 warning signs (and 1 which is potentially serious) we think you should know about. Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. 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. Cars belonging to employees of the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg parked outside the factory. Production at the Tesla car factory in Gruenheide is at a standstill due to a power outage following an arson attack on a high-voltage pylon. The police are investigating suspected arson following a power failure on 5 March morning. Patrick Pleul/dpa Calls grew on Saturday for greater security for Germany's energy grids after an arson attack on the power supply to the giant Tesla factory near Berlin. "The incident emphasizes the need for resilient energy supply structures," said a spokeswoman for the Federal Network Agency, responsible for regulating energy and telecommunications infrastructure. The government is now working on the security requirements for critical infrastructure, including how to protect it against physical threats. "The aim is to further raise the level of security." Specific requirements should be tailored to actual faced by operators, the spokeswoman told dpa. According to the Interior Ministry, the cabinet is to deal with what is known as the Kritis umbrella law in the first half of the year, to better protect critical infrastructure against threats. The Federal Association for the Protection of Critical Infrastructures (BSKI) also said there was a lot of catching up to do as many electricity pylons are located in undeveloped areas, making it easy to access these objects. "There is still a huge field of activity [to implement] here," the deputy chairman of BSKI's board, Hans-Walter Borries, told rbb-Inforadio. Energy suppliers and grid operators would have to invest in the installation of cameras, motion detectors and sensors on electricity pylons in sensitive locations. "The fact is that so far, only a fraction of a percent has been invested in corporate security," said Borries. "In the future, we must bear in mind that we will probably have to prioritize corporate security in a higher percentage range." On Tuesday, previously unknown perpetrators set fire to an electricity pylon in a field in East Brandenburg, which also supplies power to the massive Tesla factory in Grunheide near Berlin. The pylon was freely accessible. Production at the only European factory of Elon Musk's company was halted. Tens of thousands of residents were also affected by the power outage. The Tesla factory and a logistics centre belonging to the Edeka supermarket chain were still without power on Saturday. They expected the outage to be resolved in around a week. The responsible electricity grid operator Edis did not give a date but said they were in the process of "quickly restoring the power supply to Tesla and the logistics centre." The left-wing extremist Volcano Group, previously unknown, declared that it was responsible for the attack. The police consider a letter of confession to be authentic. The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office took over the investigation after the attack. Its investigation is based on an initial suspicion of membership of a terrorist organization, anti-constitutional sabotage and joint arson, among other offences. Tesla employees showed solidarity with their company at a rally organized by the works council on Friday evening. Around 2,000 people gathered in front of the car manufacturer's plant in Grunheide and used torches on their mobile phones to signal their support. At the same time, the protest continued against Tesla's plans to massively expand the factory. Environmentalists have been occupying a wooded area since last week and have erected tree houses there. An alliance calling itself "Turn off Tesla's tap" has called for a demonstration on Sunday afternoon and was expecting several hundred participants. Cars belonging to employees of the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg parked outside the factory. Production at the Tesla car factory in Gruenheide is at a standstill due to a power outage following an arson attack on a high-voltage pylon. The police are investigating suspected arson following a power failure on 5 March morning. Patrick Pleul/dpa Germany's Federal Network Agency, responsible for regulating energy and telecommunications infrastructure, joined calls for greater security for energy grids after an attack on the power supply to the Tesla factory near Berlin. "The incident emphasizes the need for resilient energy supply structures in Germany," a spokeswoman for the Network Agency told dpa. "The legislator is currently working on the requirements for the security of critical infrastructure, including against physical threats. The aim is to further raise the level of security," she said. At the same time, the concrete requirements should be tailored to the specific risks faced by operators, she said. According to the Interior Ministry, the Cabinet is to deal with what is known as the Kritis umbrella law in the first half of the year, to better protect critical infrastructure against threats. On Tuesday, previously unknown perpetrators set fire to an electricity pylon in a field in East Brandenburg, which also supplies power to the massive Tesla factory in Grunheide near Berlin. The pylon was freely accessible. Production at Elon Musk's company's only European factory was halted. Tens of thousands of residents were also affected by the power outage. The industry is pressing for more security for such networks. The Tesla factory and a logistics centre belonging to the Edeka supermarket chain are still without power. They say the outage should be resolved in around a week. The responsible electricity grid operator Edis did not give a date but said they were in the process of "quickly restoring the power supply to Tesla and the logistics centre." The left-wing extremist Volcano Group, previously unknown, declared that it was responsible for the attack. The police consider a letter of confession to be authentic. Germany's Public Prosecutor's Office took over the investigation after the attack. They are working on an initial suspicion of membership of a terrorist organization, anti-constitutional sabotage and joint arson, among others. Numerous Tesla employees showed their solidarity with their company at a rally organized by the works council on Friday evening, in front of the car manufacturer's plant in Grunheide in Brandenburg. MEMPHIS, Tenn. A man accused of shooting a Memphis officer Friday morning has a juvenile record in Fayette County, court documents show. Memphis police say Geronimo Kee,22, shot an officer four times when he was pulled over for speeding on I-240 near South Parkway. But, despite a juvenile charge several years ago, a neighbor recalled him as not a bad person. He is now facing charges of criminal attempt first-degree murder, intentionally evade arrest in auto, employ firearm with intent to commit felony, and speeding. When WREG arrived at the address connected to Kee, his grandmother answered the door. She said she was just learning about the shooting and did not want to talk. Suspect captured after MPD officer shot during traffic stop on I-240 Daniel Ngu lives next door to Kees grandmother. He says Kee seems like a nice and quiet person. Yes, sometime I saw him come visit his grandparents. I think he drove a black Nissan or something, said Ngu. Hes not a bad person from what Ive seen. Kee was taken into custody about a mile from where the shooting happened. The Nissan was found on Dempster Street in South Memphis with a smashed window, which according to police, indicates gunfire hit the window. You mentioned just now hes involved in a police shooting and its just sad, especially nowadays with a lot of crime going on, said Ngu. WREG looked into Kees background. Nothing shows up in Shelby County adult court, but in Fayette County, Kee was one of 11 charged in a disturbance at Wilder Youth Development Center when he was 18 years old. Download the WREG App today and stay up to date with breaking news and weather. Sign up for WREG newsletters and have the latest top stories sent right to your inbox. See more breaking news, local news and weather from WREG.com for Memphis and the Mid-South. He faced a charge of vandalism, escaping custody of an officer, and inciting a riot after a disturbance. Authorities say several housing pods were damaged in the incident and cinder blocks were used to break windows, doors, security mirrors and security cameras. We asked Shelby county juvenile court what landed him in Wilder, but under state law, there was no information they could release. Police say he has an injury to his hand, but its not known if it was from gunfire or glass fragments. The officer is currently in critical, but stable condition. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said President Bidens most inspirational moment of his State of the Union address was when he left Friday. I think at the end when he left, Gingrich responded when asked by Fox News host Laura Ingraham on her show, The Ingraham Angle, if the president had an overriding, inspiring moment that grabbed him in his speech. Biden gave a fiery and energetic State of the Union address Thursday night that drew criticism from conservatives including current Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who was sitting behind the president for the speech. People are saying that I made funny facial expressions. I tried to keep a poker face, but it was very difficult. I disagreed so vehemently with so much of what he said, and I think the people back home did as well, Johnson told reporters after the speech. Theres a lot of memes, I guess, going around tonight about my facial expressions. I did not like the speech, I dont think the American people liked it, and there wasnt much I could do about that. I guess I didnt hide that very well, Johnson told Fox Newss Sean Hannity. In his interview with Ingraham, Gingrich said the address was the most hateful, divisive and destructive speech ever given at a State of the Union. He also said that he thinks that Bidens Thursday speech will lead an immense number of Americans to decide that they will, not under any circumstance, ever, support Joe Biden for anything. Biden also went after likely GOP presidential nominee former President Trump multiple times during his speech, a few days after Trumps last major rival in the GOP presidential primary race, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, dropped out. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. When the San Juan River flows out of the San Juan Mountains in Southwestern Colorado, it contributes 15% of Lake Powells water. But theres a problem: The river carries a hefty 55% of the sediment entering the reservoir, and that mud is piling up. Dave Marston The sediment-heavy river flows south into New Mexico before jogging into Utah, then it joins the Colorado River close to the Arizona border. The confluence is submerged under Lake Powell. After decades of drought, the reservoir created by Glen Canyon Dam has dwindled to just a third full. Now, as the San Juan River flows toward Lake Powell, it rambles over a huge pancake of mud thats 49 miles long, a mile wide in some places, and as much as 120 feet deep in the final reaches of the San Juan River. Unique hydrology has contributed to this plug, A relatively wide canyon and multiple waterfalls slow down the river, allowing sediment to drop out. Though the San Juan is the muddiest tributary, all the Colorados tributaries drop a good deal of mud 100 miles or more upstream of Glen Canyon Dam. Its a Western phenomenon caused by damming swift rivers, said Jeff Geslin, a geologist at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. The result is that reservoirs in the West have become temporary sediment storage facilities. If that mud could move through the Grand Canyon, like it did before the dam, biologists say that would help restore the canyons ecosystem, which depends on sediment-laden flushes in spring to scour riverbanks. Then, as the river slows, beaches form and vegetation returns. Gary Gianniny, professor of Geosciences at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado has been studying the San Juan River, along with river researchers who call their team, The Returning Rapids Project. The groups big worry is that without drastic actiondraining Lake Powell to let the Colorado River run freetime may be running out for the languorous San Juan River. Mike DeHoff, principal investigator of the Returning Rapids Project said the sediment layer on the San Juan has created new channels and new waterfalls. DeHoff added that no one knows whether the rivers sediment plug would dissipate even if Glen Canyon Dam were breached. Researchers boating the San Juan River where it approaches Lake Powell say theyre forced to navigate an ever-moving pile of sediment that also involves portaging around rock waterfalls. When they finally arrive at Lake Powell, theres dangerous liquefied clay and sand to navigate. Ive seen people sink to their chests in the mud, saved only by their flotation devices and nearby boaters, said DeHoff of Moab, Utah. Well need a drone to study that area, added Gianniny. Researchers with the Returning Rapids Project talk a lot about what to call these giant slabs of calving sediment. DeHoff suggests mud bergs. Semi-solid mud walls along the river have already been dubbed the Dominy Formation, named after the avid federal dam-builder Floyd Dominy. Technically, Gianniny said, the giant mud plug is a mass of uncompacted mud and sand that causes alluvial fanning. And falling slabs of sediment, those mud bergs, act as semi-permanent river features. BLM River Ranger Chad Niehaus uses a packraft to regularly visit what researchers are calling the Lowest San Juan. He floats over 30-plus miles of the muddy river, finishing with a four-mile backpack out to a four-wheel drive vehicle 48 miles from Page, Arizona as the crow flies. Niehaus marvels at the deserted region. Sediment is moving around, and you must be vigilant in a different way than you do on a normal river. Drought, climate change, whatever you call it, the Lowest San Juan has re-emerged, Niehaus said about wildlife in the once-submerged canyon. Ive seen river otters, mountain lions, coyoteseven pelicansbut the most astounding aspect is how quickly nature is coming back. In places, cottonwood trees are 20 feet high, he said. When I was a teenager there were places on maps that were considered forever gone, he said, pointing to sections on the map entitled, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Now, he said, some forever-gone places are revealed. He mentions Cathedral in the Desert, a wondrous site on the nearby Escalante River. Enough water has receded to make it visible, though some of this sacred place for Indigenous people is buried under 30-plus feet of sediment. Meanwhile, the muddy end of the San Juan River is wild again: I rarely see a footprint. Dave Marston is the publisher of the independent nonprofit, Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. He lives in Durango, Colorado. This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Glen Canyon Dam has created a world of mud on the San Juan River NEW YORK Gov. Kathy Hochul has pulled back the big guns in her subway safety surge, ordering the National Guard not to carry military-grade assault rifles when they check riders bags for weapons. Many of the 750 troops Hochul deployed Wednesday to check riders backpacks hauling laptops or school books or bags carrying groceries carried M4 carbines, military assault rifles whose 5.56mm rounds can defeat some body armor. Unlike their civilian counterpart, the AR-15, the M4s are capable of automatic fire. After a flurry of news coverage showing the rifle-carrying Guard members checking straphangers totes at Grand Central and Penn Station, the governor ordered the troops to carry out their work without their large guns. A Hochul spokesperson told the Daily News the order was issued immediately after the deployment of the Guard for bag checks. Hochuls order to stow the long guns followed photos on news sites and social media showing well-armed soldiers checking riders property. It also came amid concern from civil libertarians that the governors subway safely plan is militarizing public transit. The order took time to implement soldiers were seen carrying the rifles well into Thursday. But by Friday evening rush hour not a single long gun was visible among the dozen soldiers and law enforcement officers at the entrance to the No. 4, 5, 6 and 7 trains below Grand Central Terminal. At Penn Station, a mass of law enforcement officers and Guard members stood near the entrance to the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 trains, all wearing only sidearms. A few hundred feet away in the Long Island Rail Road concourse, two Guard members stood before a storefront. One carried an M4. Were with Empire Shield, but were supporting the bag checking, said the Guard member with the rifle. Joint Task Force Empire Shield is a long-running task force that regularly deploys National Guard members to transit hubs. The Guard member acknowledged that the long-guns had been banished from the bag-check areas. Thats why were standing far way from them, he said. Whether they carried rifles or not, the Guard soldiers presence in the subway system concerned some. No matter what weapons theyre carrying, a Guardsman is still a Guardsman, said Albert Fox Cahn, founder of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project. Its incredibly irresponsible and a chilling symbol, said Cahn, adding that he worried about the normalization of militarized tactics in the transit system. Donna Lieberman, head of the New York Civil Liberties Union, agreed. Treating our public transit system like a war zone is an unnecessary overreaction based on fear, not facts, she said in a statement. Deploying military personnel to the subways will not make New Yorkers feel safe, she said It will, unfortunately, create a perfect storm for tension, escalation and further criminalization of Black and Brown New Yorkers. The M4 carbine is standard issue for many members of the U.S. military, and the weapons are fielded by most police tactical units, including the NYPDs Emergency Service Unit and the New York State Police. The weapons arent wholly foreign to the citys transit system. Well-armed Guard troops are routinely deployed with M4s to the main concourses at Grand Central Terminal, the Oculus at World Trade Center, and other locations as part of the Empire Shield joint task force that began after the Sept. 11 terror attacks and is charged with deterring national security threats. A New York Guard spokesman told The News that the troops deployed at subway station bag-checks were bound by similar use-of-force rules to the Empire Shield task force deadly force is authorized in cases of self-defense or defense of another person. Guard members are not law enforcement officers. If they see a crime while deployed in the subway, they cannot make an arrest, the spokesman said though the law does allow them to detain a suspect until law enforcement arrives. The Guard members as well as State and MTA Police officers are playing second fiddle to the NYPD, which remains in charge of subway security, transit officials said. NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell posted posted on social media, Our transit system is not a war zone! and noted that subway bag checks have been a regular part of NYPD operations for more than 15 years. _______ (New York Daily News reporter Tim Balk contributed.) _______ ROCKVILLE, Md. (DC News Now) Its been a little more than three months since Montgomery County Police launched its Drone as First Responder program. On Friday, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore toured the drone operations center in Rockville. Police now have two drones operating in Wheaton and Silver Spring. Montgomery County Drone as First Responder program expanding Montgomery County Police touted the programs success only in operation for just a few months. Data shows the average response time for being first on scene is 64.81 seconds and the average response time for all calls is 76.5 seconds. Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones said having an eye in the sky is improving police response times, without having officers on the ground immediately. We found the ability for our officers and again, for us as the police department to respond in a timely manner to emergencies, Jones said. Moore got an inside look at the pilot program where police can launch a drone before even being dispatched. Proposed bill in Maryland aims to limit prosecutors from using lyrics against artists in court They can see the real-time location of someone who calls 911 and they can listen in on the call. As of Thursday, the drones in Silver Spring and Wheaton have responded to 360 calls. In 249 of those cases, the drone was first on the scene. In 35 cases, getting eyes on the scene with the drone helped prevent unnecessary dispatch of officers. We believe that you can have law enforcement that moves with appropriate intensity and both transparency and absolute integrity. And we think that this is a tool that helps us to accomplish exactly that, Moore said. Jones said the drones have allowed officers to de-escalate lots of situations. The more information we have, the better our officers are prepared to deal with those, Jones said. We want our local law enforcement and chief to know that the states going to support it and the states going to have their back in this work, Moore said. And we think this kind of work, this kind of technology is not just going to be supportive for local law enforcement. Its going to be supportive for our community. The county is hoping to expand the program if theres more room in the budget for locations in Gaithersburg and Bethesda. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. A partial government shutdown was narrowly avoided when the Senate passed a six-bill package to ensure funding through September. The Senate voted 75 to 22 on Friday night just before a midnight deadline. Joe Biden then signed the bill into law on Saturday. The package provides $460bn in funding for parts of the government. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer praised the cooperation between the parties that enabled the bill's passage. "We have good news for the country," he said just before the vote. "We will keep important programs funded for moms and kids, for veterans, for the environment, for housing and so much more. Because both sides cooperated today, we've taken a major step towards our goal of fully funding the government. Today's bipartisan agreement gives us momentum and space to finish the remaining appropriation bills by March 22." He said that despite deep political divides, the passage of the funding measure showed that Congress can still govern. To folks who worry that divided government means nothing ever gets done, this bipartisan package says otherwise," he said. Republican lawmakers threatened to hold out past the midnight deadline, demanding amendments to issues involving immigration. Even still, Democrats in the House managed to secure enough votes on Wednesday to move the package to the Senate. While the bill does not provide full government funding, the package will cover energy, environment, agriculture, transportation, housing, and veterans issues. It also will provide funding to the Justice Department. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) walks to a luncheon with Senate Republicans at the U.S. Capitol Building on February 27, 2024 in Washington, DC (Getty Images) Senator Susan Collins, the top Republican on the chamber's appropriations committee, urged her colleagues to vote in favour of the funding. Do we really want a veteran who has bravely and loyally served his country, and is now trying to file a claim for benefits, to find that the Veterans Benefits Administrations doors are closed to him or her? Is that what we want to have happen? Ms Collins said. Why in the world would we want to shut down the government and stop serving the American people? The Office of Management and Budget announced on Friday night that it had stopped "shutdown preparations" because the funding had been passed. "Because obligations of federal funds are incurred and tracked on a daily basis, and the President will sign the bill tomorrow, agencies will not shut down and may continue their normal operations tomorrow," the agency said in a statement. In order to fully fund the government, Congress will need to pass an additional six spending bills. Lawmakers have until 22 March to pass the remaining legislation. The remaining bills will provide the Defence Department, Homeland Security, and the State Department funding to continue operating. Several federal agencies will be subject to cuts as part of the latest funding measure. The FBI, the EPA, the ATF will all face cuts. Despite the shrinking of the federal agencies, Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus were still not pleased with the result, complaining that the package "punts on nearly every single Republican policy priority". Russian forces struck Chasiv Yar and Ocheretyn in Donetsk Oblast, killing a person and wounding another one, Governor Vadym Filashkin reported on March 9. Civilians in Donetsk Oblast settlements suffer from daily Russian strikes due to their proximity to the front line. Heavy battles continue in the region as Russia intensifies offensive actions along the front, and Ukraine's military faces severe ammunition shortages due to delays in U.S. aid. A 46-year-old man was killed when Russia shelled Chasiv Yar, which lies around 10 kilometers west of the Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut, Filashkin said on Telegram. Two apartment buildings in the town of Chasiv Yar were reportedly damaged as a result of the shelling. Russian troops also hit the village of Ocheretyn near the front line early on March 9, injuring a resident and damaging houses, according to Filashkin. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Russian forces shelled a settlement near Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast early on March 9, killing a 16-year-old boy and injuring another person, Governor Serhii Lysak reported. The city of Nikopol in southeastern Ukraine and nearby settlements are regular targets of Russian attacks due to their proximity to Russian positions. Dnipropetrovsk Oblasts Nikopol lies on the banks of the dried-up Kakhovka Reservoir, just across from Russian-occupied Enerhodar and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Russian shelling targeted a village in the Chervonohryhorivka community, damaging a house, an outbuilding, a power line, and a gas pipeline, according to Lysak. Except for killing the teenage boy, the shelling wounded a 20-year-old male resident, who was then hospitalized in severe condition, the regional governor said on Telegram. Russian strikes on Chasiv Yar and Ocheretyn in Donetsk Oblast on the same day reportedly killed a person and wounded another one. Read also: Who are they fighting, children? Family of 5 killed in devastating Russian attack on Kharkiv Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Fresenius Medical Care AG's (ETR:FME) dividend will be increasing from last year's payment of the same period to 1.19 on 21st of May. The payment will take the dividend yield to 3.2%, which is in line with the average for the industry. See our latest analysis for Fresenius Medical Care Fresenius Medical Care's Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions Solid dividend yields are great, but they only really help us if the payment is sustainable. The last dividend was quite easily covered by Fresenius Medical Care's earnings. This indicates that quite a large proportion of earnings is being invested back into the business. The next year is set to see EPS grow by 130.1%. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 32%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend. Fresenius Medical Care Has A Solid Track Record The company has an extended history of paying stable dividends. The annual payment during the last 10 years was 0.77 in 2014, and the most recent fiscal year payment was 1.19. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 4.4% over that duration. Although we can't deny that the dividend has been remarkably stable in the past, the growth has been pretty muted. The Dividend Has Limited Growth Potential Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. Unfortunately things aren't as good as they seem. Earnings per share has been sinking by 23% over the last five years. Such rapid declines definitely have the potential to constrain dividend payments if the trend continues into the future. Over the next year, however, earnings are actually predicted to rise, but we would still be cautious until a track record of earnings growth can be built. In Summary Overall, this is a reasonable dividend, and it being raised is an added bonus. With shrinking earnings, the company may see some issues maintaining the dividend even though they look pretty sustainable for now. The payment isn't stellar, but it could make a decent addition to a dividend portfolio. Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. For example, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Fresenius Medical Care that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Is Fresenius Medical Care not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out 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. The cheque for Feathers Futures was presented by the mayor of Great Yarmouth, Cllr Penny Carpenter A charity that helps women rebuild their lives after suffering domestic abuse has been given 394,796. The National Lottery Community Fund granted the money to Great Yarmouth-based Feathers Futures. Presented by the Norfolk town's mayor Penny Carpenter, the award will fund four support workers over the next five years. It is the third grant made to the charity by the National Lottery since 2021. Jo Critch, chief executive of Feathers Futures, said the funding would help staff "deliver the groups, activities and specialist support day in, day out". The grant was presented on a giant cheque and the mayor said it was a fantastic to make the award as it coincided with International Women's Day. "I've known Jo for a long time and I know the passion and the ladies here today, I know they really benefit from this because this is a safe space," said Ms Carpenter, who is a borough councillor for Caister North. "It gives them the confidence to go out into the world and rebuild their lives." The charity said it had helped more than a thousand women since it was founded in 2019, with 450 helped in the past year alone. Feathers Futures celebrated the grant, and International Women's Day with cakes and pampering sessions for members In March 2021, the National Lottery gave 137,532, and a further 9,984 two months later, taking the total to 542,492. To mark the latest grant, the charity laid on craft activities, cakes and refreshments and a beautician hosted pampering sessions. Ms Critch added: "We are celebrating every single woman in Great Yarmouth who wants to come along and have some treats, some pampering and know they are an incredible bunch." Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp 0800 169 1830 GREENING OF THE FOUNTAIN: This annual Ga. tradition sees a community celebrate St. Patricks Day One Georgia spirit is feeling the luck of the Irish! To celebrate St. Patricks Day, the City of Savannah dyes the water in its iconic Forsyth Park fountain green. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The community gathered in the park on Friday to watch the water change from its normal, natural color to bright green. The annual Greening of the Fountain marks the unofficial kickoff to the week of St. Patricks Day, Savannahs biggest event each year. TRENDING STORIES: Just after noon, John Forbes, grand marshal for the 2024 Savannah St. Patricks Day Parade, poured a gallon of green dye into the fountains pool. The March 16 parade marks its 200th anniversary. Several other fountains around the city will also be dyed green for St. Patricks Day. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: Grisham on Trumps meeting with Orban: He wants to be a dictator Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said former President Trumps recent meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban shows he wants to be a dictator. I think youre looking at a second Donald Trump term in terms of, he wants to be strong, that he can be tough with his own people not be good to our allies, not be good to our people and not to, you know, defend people like in Ukraine. He wants to be a dictator, Grisham said in an interview on CNN. President Biden went after Trump for his meeting with the Eastern European leader at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. You know who hes meeting with today down at Mar-a-Lago? Biden said at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Orban of Hungary, who stated flatly he doesnt think democracy works. Hes looking for dictatorship. Grisham also said she has sat in many bilateral meetings with world leaders and that Trump always looked forward to speaking with figures such as Chinese President Xi Jinping and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leaders who have been criticized for their authoritarian leanings like Orban. Orban went to Trumps home in Florida and also posted a picture of them together on Facebook. Meeting with President Donald Trump. Make America great again, Mr. President! the photo was captioned. The former president has often praised Orban, and he has become an important figure among the American right. There is a great man, a great leader in Europe Viktor Orban, Trump said at a January rally. He is the Prime Minister of Hungary. He is a very great leader, a very strong man. Some people dont like him because hes too strong. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Ask three different people what they think gentrification is, and you might get three different answers in return. The term, which refers to the economic development of a low-income area that ultimately displaces the neighborhoods current residents, is culturally ubiquitous but rarely understood. Because of its prevalence, the more broad definition of gentrification has been reduced in peoples minds to the emergence of new coffee shops, or white people moving in with their dogs. While those arent exactly untrue results of this phenomenon, gentrification typically begins higher up, when urban planners, city officials, and bigwig developers with their fat pockets lined with shiny gold doubloons get together to revamp local infrastructure. They are the ones whose residential buildings and businesses drive the cost of living up, and force residents out of homes theyve lived in for decades. It was this type of insidious, dictionary-definition gentrification that led eight artists in Providence, Rhode Island, to fight back. Just before the turn of the century in August 1999, construction was completed on the massive Providence Place Mall, which developers hoped would boost the citys economy and revitalize its downtown area. The shopping center was not just an eyesore in the middle of the city; it was also a central attraction that pushed the value of the surrounding land sky-high. Cut to local artist Michael Townsend and his friends being kicked out of their home nearby so it could be torn down and turned into a grocery store. While trying to find a new place to stay, they hatched a plan: Take an empty, forgotten space inside of the gigantic mall, and turn it into an apartment as a middle finger to the man. Except this wasnt just some punks playing a prank. The apartment turned into a home, one that housed a group of working artists on and off for four whole years before it was discovered. Townsend and his cohorts are the subjects of Secret Mall Apartment, a fantastic new documentary premiering at this years South by Southwest Film Festival. Even though their hidden home made national news when it was discovered by mall security in 2007, no other accomplices came forward. The documentary introduces the world to Townsends friends and partners in this project for the first time, telling their story through priceless archival footage from a dingy digital camera used to document the whole multi-year process. The result is an odd and outrageous doc that captures a low-tech blip in time, and affirms the power and necessity of art and those who create it. When Providence Place opened a few months before the new millennium, a shopping mall as a revitalization tool seemed like a sure bet. No one could have predicted how online shopping would shake the industry, especially considering the impending Y2K incident had people legitimately convinced that all computer systems would fail and the country would be plunged into darkness. Why not throw $500 million at a super-mall? Surely that concept would not be verging on extinction two decades later. That lack of forethought impacted Townsend, his friends, and the thousands of others who were eventually displaced from their homes after the mall was built. Townsend was part of an artists enclave in an old mill building on the poorer side of town, not far from the mall, which now physically divided Providences income brackets. Hidden camera footage of a developer who bought their building telling them, When I come back, you better be outIm not fucking around, is downright chilling. Is it so shocking that a group of ultra-creative people would turn their rage from being kicked out of their home into an ambitious, slightly dangerous real-life art project inside the very structure that displaced them? In 2003, Townsend, along with his then-wife Adriana and friends Andrew and Jayas well as an eventual rotating group of eight total artist colleaguesscouted the corridors of Providence Place and found a room hidden in the bowels of its design. The decently sized cement surface sat atop a large set of steep metal stairs, which were only accessible through tight passageways or security doors that set off a loud alarm. But once Townsend and his team discovered that the two-minute alarm was more of a deterrent than an actual alert, their plan was hatched. The footage captured during this time is remarkable. Though Townsends little digital camerawhich fit inside of an Altoids can and could remain discreet as they surveilled and mapped the mallis low-res, the extent of what has survived and made it into the finished film is incredible. Secret Mall Apartment is a time capsule of early-2000s iconography, with loose-cut, dirt-washed jeans and War of the Worlds novelty popcorn bags (purchased from inside the malls movie theater and brought back to the apartment) catapulting us back to a bygone era. Watching the team trick and evade the malls security and staff and slowly build out their fantasy apartment piece by piece is completely thrilling. This was not a simple project by any means. The goal was to turn the secret apartment into a real, livable home, and the videos of the group at thrift stores picking out couches and wooden hutches to haul through the mall and finagle up those steep stairs undetected are hysterical. Half the fun of Secret Mall Apartment comes from watching the project ramp up from a wacky idea into its unbelievable execution. And it helps that Townsend and his friends are such compelling, confident documentary talking heads. Its so vividly clear that this secret apartment was not merely a stunt; it deeply meant something to them. The film dextrously expands past all of its initial excitement when it illustrates precisely why this group of creative minds held such affection for their clandestine condo. Director Jeremy Workman sews together a larger narrative that, at times, becomes unexpectedly moving. Yes, the secret apartment was a living, changing project. But it was also a place for people to come together and to plan more involved, important work together. The film finds its strongest emotional footing when it explores the art that Townsend and his crew made during the years that the mall apartment was functioning. His beautiful tape art projects, which Townsend brought to childrens hospitals and used to memorialize the victims of 9/11 in the years immediately following the attacks, will not so much tug at your heartstrings as yank them. Meanwhile, the footage of a late-90s sculpture piece that Townsend hid underneath a Providence train track for the public to find is a stirring reminder that art doesnt need clear political intention attached to be poignant and significant. The movie isnt always as graceful as these moments. At one point, in their present-day talking head interviews, Townsend and his friends recall their white privilege after they werent arrested or violently harmed by police while being questioned about why they were hauling cinder blocks through an armed entrance in the mall. (This was, naturally, to build an entire cement wall, with a door in the middle, to throw any prying eyes off their trail.) These observations are frustratingly surface-level, short, and shoehorned in, as if to remind us that these artists are globally aware of their privilege. Thats a necessary talking point in this story, but the film doesnt explore it past a few quick soundbites before moving back to the fun. The result is tonally jarring, and feels perfunctory and obvious when compared with how excellently the film studies other subjects. But Secret Mall Apartment is also careful to avoid suggesting that gentrification is bad specifically because it displaced these brilliant artists. Rather, the film asks its audience to consider the people whose whole lives are in one place, and who have them tossed aside by forces outside of their control so a strip mall can be built. Townsend and the rest of the people who frequented the secret apartment know well that their experience with gentrification was relatively trivial compared to others. But its because they were affected at all that their four-year project and this documentary exist. Often, art reveals an even greater importance over time. By examining the effects of gentrification on a small scale, and the need for artistic outlets in the face of strife, the secret mall apartment inside Providence Place finds a new significance 20 years after it was created. The documentary depicts the reptilian idea of progress eating its tail, and in its final kicker, Secret Mall Apartment delivers one hilarious, nauseating gut punch that reaffirms its brilliance. 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. A Florida man has been charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting of a gay man at a Tampa dog park on Feb. 2, and prosecutors say the victim was targeted because of his sexual orientation, the Hillsborough State Attorneys Office announced Friday. Gerald Declan Radford, 65, of Tampa, was arrested Friday and charged with second-degree murder in the death of John Walter Lay, 52. The day before he was killed, Lay sent a video to his friends saying that a man he called Dec had been threatening him, according to a news release shared with HuffPost by the State Attorneys Office. Investigators said they believe he was referring to Radford. The arrest came five weeks after the shooting because investigators were gathering evidence that ultimately cast doubt on Radfords claim at the scene that he had acted in self-defense, the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said that they will seek tougher sentencing guidelines under the states hate crime laws. John Walter Lay of Tampa, Florida, shown in a photo posted on Facebook, had told friends he was being threatened. Facebook The investigation into Lays death began after authorities were called to the West Dog Park in Hillsborough County just before 8 a.m. on Feb. 2, according to a news release by the sheriffs office. According to the sheriffs release, authorities discovered Lay at the scene with a gunshot wound. Deputies attempted to perform life-saving measures, but Lay was pronounced dead at a hospital. During the initial investigation, Radford allegedly told responding investigators that he and Lay were in a scuffle and that he shot Lay in self-defense. Radford also told The Tampa Bay Times that he acted in self-defense. I was attacked. I defended myself. End of story, he told a reporter. According to the prosecutors news release, several community members contacted investigators in the days and weeks after the shooting to report that Radford had used bigoted slurs toward Lay and talked about wanting to harm him at the dog park. The defendant alleged self-defense, but following a thorough investigation, the evidence shows Radford was the aggressor and was motivated by the fact that the victim was a gay man, the news release said. Detectives said they learned Lay had created a recording of himself the day before the shooting in which he told friends that Dec had threatened him by screaming Youre gonna die repeatedly. Weeks went by as community members and Lays friends grew concerned that the man who killed Lay was free. Prosecutors responded by noting the difficulties of refuting a stand your ground claim of self-defense. The controversial self-defense law became a national issue in 2012 when 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was fatally shot in Sanford, Florida, by a self-described neighborhood watchman who was later acquitted. Since then, nearly 40 states have enacted their own version of the law, which allows gun owners to use deadly force if they feel their life or safety is threatened. A study from the JAMA network in 2022 found that stand-your-ground laws were associated with an 8% to 11% national increase in monthly rates of homicide and firearm homicide. Throughout the course of this investigation, community members stepped forward with important information about ongoing tensions that helped add context to the incident, the statement said. Combined with video recordings created by the victim before he was killed, investigators were able to build a strong case to bring to our office for prosecution. In the statement, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said it was clear that Radford acted from hatred within his heart. A hatred that will not be tolerated within our strong and diverse community, Chronister said. In the prosecutors news release, State Attorney Suzy Lopez said, We should all be able to enjoy a day at the dog park without the fear of gunfire. Lay deserved to live free from fear and discrimination based on his sexual orientation, Lopez said. The evidence shows the defendants actions were motivated by hate, and he will be held accountable. My heart is with the victims family and large group of friends as we fight for justice together. Related... The prime minister is stranded abroad and under pressure to resign. At home, political and civil leaders are unable to reach consensus to build a new government. Armed gangs have taken over most of the capital and continue to gain ground. An armed international force that might help is stuck half a world away. That is the situation on the ground in Haiti, which remains mired in such chaos and near-anarchy that the United States fears any semblance left of government may collapse at any moment. Its raising a disturbing question: In the middle of the violence and the vacuum of power, who is going to end up running the country? One alarming prospect: The situation is ripe for Haitians victimized by the growing wave of unending violence, killings, kidnappings and rapes since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021 to welcome a ruthless authoritarian leader who promises to put an end to the bloodshed. History is full of men who rose to power because panicked populations turned to anyone who could end the chaos. Haiti could soon find itself in a similar situation, said veteran diplomat and experienced Haiti hand Thomas Shannon, a former under secretary of state who spent nearly 35 years in the U.S. foreign service. If were not careful were going to have another brigand claiming to be the rightful leader of Haiti, Shannon said. Its very distressing. The gangs, Shannon added, are the only ones working with completely alienated and disaffected people to address the immediacy of their concerns in a way that neither the government nor the international community can. Said Haiti-born political scientist Robert Fatton: The gangs might well emerge as the arbiter of Haitis immediate future. Events over the past few days have hastened the maneuvering for power Prime Minister Ariel Henry remains in Puerto Rico, facing U.S. pressure to step down. A multinational force to be led by Kenya to help Haiti appears far from deploying. There is no shortage of candidates in Haiti who covet leadership. Some can make a case to a degree of legitimacy former politicians, respected members of civic society, previous government officials. And some are essentially warlords with violent histories who have amassed a large armed following and are already laying a claim to leadership. Heres a look at some of the key figures jostling for power. Guy Philippe, a former coup leader who led the paramilitary overthrow of President Jean Bertrand Aristide in 2004. Philippe, 56, recently finished serving a six-year prison sentence in the U.S. on drug trafficking-related charges and was deported to Haiti in November. Since his return, he has been calling for Prime Minister Henrys ouster, joining forces with members of an armed government environmental agency that has emerged as a paramilitary group. In this 2002 file photo, Guy Philippe (far left) is one of the rebel leaders that took the city of Gonaives in an armed revolt. While rallying the public to follow his revolution, he has also sought support from gangs and established politicians. Earlier this year, Philippe, who also enjoys the tacit backing of some members of Haitis private sector, extended a hand to Jimmy Cherizier, the influential gang leader who declared last week that the gangs are now one and called on gang members to take down Henrys government by any means necessary. While pleading with gangs to stop killing people, Philippe, a former police chief of Delmas in the capital and the northern city of Cap-Haitien, also told the armed groups to listen to Cherizier. This week, as Henry struggled to return to Haiti, Philippe made a grab for the presidency as head of the Reveil National political party and as part of an alliance with one of Haitis most well-known leftist leaders, Jean-Charles Moise. The latter proposed a three-person presidential council that would include Philippe, a member of the judiciary and a representative of the religious community. Philippes National Awakening party has proposed that he lead the council despite Haitis constitutional ban on convicted felons holding office, and even announced on Tuesday his pending installation in the National Palace as transitional president under the proposed council, which has issued a five-point plan for governance. The installation didnt happen but all eyes remain on the convicted felon who has been gathering crowds. Philippe walks with a politicians swagger as he works crowds. His ability to rally them, coupled with the Robin Hood reputation he developed as he evaded capture by U.S. drug agents for nearly a dozen years, has only helped increase his popularity. Fluent in English and Spanish, hes taken his opposition to any foreign intervention directly to the Kenyan people, releasing a video in English warning that imperialism is trying to use African and Africans again to stop our movement to free our country. Guy Philippe in a Miami Herald file photo. Peter Andrew Bosch/Miami Herald Philippe is among a group of Haitian police officers who were trained at the police academy in Ecuador. That has further helped his popularity despite his well-known reputation within the ranks for helping turn Haiti into a narco state by accepting bribes to protect drug smugglers who used the island to ship Colombian cocaine to the U.S. In a video address that circulated on Thursday,Philippe saluted the population for their peaceful revolution, and called on them to remain mobilized and vigilant. We are advancing and we will get to where we promised, he said. Its the only way we can find a Haiti that is more just, with more equality. Jimmy Cherizier, the leader of the G9 Family and Allies gang alliance goes by the nickname Barbecue. During press conferences he is armed and often dressed in camouflage gear and sporting a beret. Human-rights groups have linked him to a host of violent attacks and massacres, which he has denied. Cherizier, 47, has warned that if Henry doesnt step down there will be civil war that will lead to genocide. Jimmy Cherizier, a former elite police officer known as Barbecue who now runs a gang federation, stands with his fellow gang members after speaking to journalists in the Delmas 6 neighborhood of Port-au-Prince in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph) Odelyn Joseph/AP Today, I am asking you, Drop Ariel Henry, he said on Feb. 29 when he announced the gangs movement to take down the government. Ariel Henry will fall. In 2021, Cherizier catapulted himself on the international stage by blocking the countrys main fuel terminal at the seaport, fanning a humanitarian crisis, and demanding Henrys ouster. His second blockade a year later amid a deadly cholera outbreak led to Henry to request the worlds help to quell the violence by deploying an armed international force. A former cop with the Haiti National Police, Cherizier spent 14 years in the force and was still on the payroll when he and two other members of President Jovenel Moises government allegedly carried out a 2018 massacre in Port-au-Princes La Saline neighborhood. The incident was cited as among the reasons he was sanctioned by both the U.S. and the United Nations. Well-spoken and media savvy, Cherizier presents himself as a revolutionary fighting the elites and a system that has long victimized the poor and downtrodden. The leader of Haitis main armed gang, Jimmy Cherizier, speaks to the media during a tour of the La Saline neighborhood, in Port-au-Prince in 2021. EFE/EFE/Sipa USA Attempting to sound more like a statesman than a warlord, he turns his press events into a soapbox about Haitis problems, though he sometimes wears a bulletproof vest while speaking. We are fighting for another society another Haiti, he often says. But according to a U.N. report, Throughout 2018 and 2019, Cherizier led armed groups in coordinated, brutal attacks in Port-au-Prince neighborhoods. Cheriziers critics say he makes his money through extortion and protection rackets that earn him and his gang top dollars. Since the U.N. in October approved the deployment of a Multinational Security Support mission to Haiti, Cherizier has publicly warned against foreign intervention and asked for amnesty for gang members. Masked members of G9 and Family gang stand guard during a press conference by their leader, Jimmy Cherizier, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Odelyn Joseph/AP He announced last week that all of the gangs have banded together under one umbrella, Viv Ansanm, Creole for Live Together. Haitian people, please, this is your battle, he said, encouraging the public to support the movement and to refuse government efforts to stop it. Today, the moment has arrived for us to do legitimate violence. Take to the streets with everything you have. Jean-Charles Moise, also known as Moise Jean-Charles. An outspoken leftist leader who recently called on Haitians to destroy the country if Henry doesnt leave power. Jean-Charles, 56, thrives on theatrics hes known for riding a horse during protest marches and promotes his opposition to U.S. involvement in Haiti. His supporters fly the Russian flag as well as the red-and-black flag of the Duvalier dictatorship that ruled Haiti for decades. Opposition politician Jean-Charles Moise is lifted by supporters who came to greet him from the roadside, as he leads several hundred protesters through the Tabarre neighborhood toward the United States embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019. Rebecca Blackwell/AP He has warned foreign diplomats to stay out of Haitis internal affairs or risk being kicked out of the country. Although Jean-Charles is a backer of the five-point plan, he recently came out in support of appeals court Judge Durin Duret Jr., one of the members of the proposed three-member presidential council. Like other political figures, Jean-Charles, a former senator and presidential candidate, has his eye on the presidency. Any involvement in a transition would most likely make him ineligible to run if elections are set, and he is seen as more likely to seek to be the power behind the presidency. Jean-Charles Moise. Credit: Facebook In 2022, while transiting through Miami, the ex-lawmaker had his U.S. visa revoked and accused Washington of targeting him. Jean-Charles has acknowledged the oddity of his alliance with Philippe, the man who led a bloody rebellion against his one-time mentor, Aristide. Durin Duret, Jr. A judge on Haitis Court of Appeals who was appointed in 2014 to lead the investigation into former President-for-life Jean-Claude Baby Doc Duvalier when he made a surprise return to Haiti from exile in France. In 2021, human-rights activists and lawyers accused Duret of denying justice in Haiti to victims of the brutal regime, noting that he had not submitted his reports on Duvaliers crimes to the court of appeals. A former president of the National Association of Haitian Magistrates, Duret also sits on the Superior Council of the Judiciary, a judicial oversight body, as the representative for the Court of Appeals. Haiti appeals court judge Durin Duret,. Jr. Credit: Facebook Durets name was first cited by Jean-Charles as the person who should take charge of the transition. The move has led some political observers to believe that hes a proxy for Jean-Charles. Duret hasnt made any public declarations about the presidency but a source told the Miami Herald hes been working the phones in recent days, expressing interest and rallying support for the proposition. Most of the men in Oksana Rubanyaks platoon are at least 10 years older than her. Before the war, having a young woman in charge of an all-male Ukrainian military unit might have given the troops pause. But as the platoon prepares for a frontline deployment at a time Ukraine is desperately trying to hold off Russian advances, things like gender and age no longer matter that much, Rubanyak said. Its a huge change compared to when she first joined the army two years ago. Women are recognized, women are promoted to combat positions, to officer positions. These are no longer just medical or headquarters roles, she told CNN in a phone interview. Female soldiers are now participating in assaults, she said. And I am very happy about it. The number of women in the military has increased significantly since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with more than 62,000 women currently serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, according to official statistics. More than 5,000 are serving in the combat zone, like Rubanyak, who is now 21. Rubanyak was 19 when she joined the Ukrainian army as a volunteer. She served near Bakhmut and was, as now, the only woman in her platoon. She operated a heavy machine gun and, while she did everything the men did, she said she experienced some level of bias such as some men trying to stop her from carrying heavy weapons. I heard people saying behind my back that I must be someones daughter, that my father would promote me and so on. It was something new for many people. Everyone was trying to find a catch, that just didnt exist, she said. And while she said that there have been many positive changes in the past two years, there is still work to do. Everything takes time, she said. Although all the conditions for women to serve in the army are there now, if they choose to. Working two jobs As more and more Ukrainians join the war effort, the countrys women are increasingly stepping in and not just in the military. The Ukrainian government doesnt disclose how many people have signed up to the armed forces in the last two years. However, its clear that hundreds of thousands have swapped their day jobs for military service. With new waves of military conscription expected soon, employers are facing a new problem: how to fill the vacancies left by the men drafted. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of women have left the country, seeking refuge abroad. According to the National Bank of Ukraine, employers nationwide are currently facing a shortage of about 60,000 skilled workers, an increase of some 20,000 since 2021. With so many unfilled vacancies, women are often picking up the slack. A number of Ukrainian organizations and companies are offering training courses for women for some of the jobs conventionally thought of as male roles. Halyna Shevchenko knows this firsthand. She works in a repair department of the Ukrainian Railways in the Poltava region. Before the war, she managed a team of 10 men who repaired complex parts of railway cars. When two of her colleagues were mobilized, the company couldnt find anyone to fill their specialized positions. So, Shevchenko started to learn the technical skills and now does some of the repairs herself. With women making up 40% of Ukrainian Railways employees, she is likely not the only one. We have some tasks where male colleagues prepare everything for me as much as possible, and then I do them because the men need help. Before the war, I had never done this on my own, I only supervised the process, she told CNN. The new tasks and the war have significantly increased her workload. Halyna Shevchenko, left, is among the Ukrainian women stepping up during the war to do what have traditionally been seen as "men's jobs." - Department of Information Policy and Public Strategic Communications The Ukrainian Railways told CNN that 10,200 of their 190,000 employees have been mobilized, with 600 having been killed in the war since the beginning of the war. At the same time, the railways have become the vital arteries of Ukraine since Russias attacks have halted passenger air travel and severely limited shipping through the Black Sea. The railways have carried more than 40 million passengers and huge amounts of cargo since the war began. The company has also introduced all sorts of new, military-focused services, including evacuation trains for wounded soldiers. All of that means that Shevchenkos team has to carry out more repairs. I am a techie, just like my colleagues. Thats why we communicate with the guys on an equal footing. We complement each other and consult on complex repairs, she said. War and the economy Kernel, one of Ukraines largest agricultural producers and exporters, has also started to look for solutions to the worker shortages. There is a shortage of both women and men in the labor market. We have lowered the requirements for candidates and introduced basic training programs where a person can learn to become a laboratory assistant or a (machine) operator from scratch, Natalia Teryakhina, Kernels HR director, told CNN. The company has also started training women to be boiler operators a job women didnt tend to do before the war. We piloted this project to prove that women can work in conventionally male occupations. It was a successful experiment, and all the women continue to work, she said. Shevchenko said she is determined to keep doing the mans job of fixing railway cars for as long as is needed. She has built up a good rapport with her team and said she feels respected by them. As long as I have enough health and strength, I will do everything to help my colleagues as much as possible until the end, until we win, she said. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The marshal for the Cambria Lions Clubs annual Pinedorado parade on Aug. 31 will be an international media mogul with ties to the small town, San Luis Obispo County and California, club leaders told The Tribune recently. William R. Will Hearst III, 74, is chairman of the board of the media giant Hearst Corp., based in New York and San Francisco. Hes a grandson of William Randolph Hearst, who built the corporation and Hearst Castle in San Simeon. Pinedorado and its parade have been an annual event in Cambria since about 1949, except during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Will Hearst has attended Pinedorado since early childhood, an event he still attends and passionately supports, along with his dedication to supporting local businesses, Greg Aitkens, 2024 parade chairman and past president of the club, told The Tribune recently. Some other Hearst family members have participated in past parades and Pinedorado celebrations, which strut, drive, walk, dance and wiggle up Main Street on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. Hearsts father, William R. Hearst Jr., was again the events grand marshal in 1957, according to the Cambria Historical Societys archives of The Cambrian newspaper. He was accompanied by his sons, Will and Austin Hearst, and crooner Bing Crosby. Hearst ranch hands and cowboys, along with owners of area ranches, also rode in the parades. Will Hearst is continuing the familys Arabian horse operation in San Simeon, which began in the early 1900s. He also brought cable television to the tiny town, founding the San Simeon Community Cable service in 1982. Will Hearst, a 1972 graduate of Harvard University, also is the editor and publisher of Alta Journal, which he founded in 2017. He is president of the William Randolph Hearst Foundation and a director of The Hearst Foundation, having been actively engaged in the charitable activities and programs of the Hearst Foundations for the last 20 years, according the Hearst Corp. website. He also sponsored and led a historical retrospective symposium at Cuesta College in 2005 about area and Hearst history. The daylong, information-sharing session included scholars, biographers, authors, historians and other Hearst experts from all over the country. Hearst and some other family members also have contributed to and supported the Cambria Historical Societys restoration of the Santa Rosa Schoolhouse Museum and Education Center, one of Cambrias original schools. The Tribune reached out to Hearst for comment, but he didnt respond immediately. A bright, fuzzy dot can be seen among a background of stars, leaving a wispy trail behind it. You might get a chance to catch sight of a comet this month. All you'll need to see comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, besides fair weather and a little luck are good binoculars or a telescope and sky map to help guide you to where this celestial vagabond happens to be. The comet bears the names of two of the most renowned comet hunters of all time. First, let's talk about how it was discovered, then, how much we know about it from an historical standpoint and then finally, when and where you should look for it. Related: Comets: Everything you need to know about the 'dirty snowballs' of space The discoverers TOP TELESCOPE PICK: A Celestron telescope on a white background Want to see comet 12P/Pons-Brooks for yourself? We recommend the Celestron Astro Fi 102 as the top pick in our best beginner's telescope guide. Jean-Louis Pons (1761-1831) was a French astronomer, who went on to become the greatest visual comet discoverer of all time. In today's world, comets are routinely found when they are far out in space, beyond the ability of being picked up by human eyes, but are caught using robotic cameras attached to large telescopes either here on Earth or from satellites out in space. In contrast, Pons made most of his discoveries using telescopes and lenses of his own design; his "Grand Chercheur" ("Great Seeker") was an instrument with a large aperture and short focal length, similar to telescopes that our modern-day amateurs would refer to as a "comet seeker." Pons is noted today for visually discovering 37 comets (still a record) from 1801 to 1827. One of those discoveries came on July 12, 1812. When first sighted, Pons described it as "a shapeless object with no apparent tail," but over the next month, the comet became bright enough to be dimly visible to the naked eye. On Aug. 15 that year, it reached its peak brightness at fourth magnitude (Magnitude indicates an object's degree of brightness. The lower the figure of magnitude, the brighter the object.) The new comet also possessed a split tail measuring approximately three degrees. Orbital calculations suggested that comet Pons was periodic, taking somewhere between 65 and 75 years to circle the sun. On Sept. 2, 1883, British-born American comet observer William R. Brooks (1844-1921) accidently found it. Like Pons, Brooks was a prolific discoverer of comets. In fact, his total of 27 visual discoveries is second only to Pons. Not until the first orbital calculations of Brooks' discovery was made, was it realized that this comet and the comet found by Pons of 1812 were one of the same. So, this comet now bears the surnames of both observers. With an orbital period of roughly 71 years, comet Pons-Brooks is considered to be a "Halley-type" comet, that is, a comet with an orbital period between 20 and 200 years, often appearing only once or twice within one's lifetime. Other comets with a similar orbital period include 13P/Olbers, 23P/Brosen-Metcalf and the most famous of all, 1P/Halley. Because it was the twelfth comet to have a definitive orbital period calculated, it is cataloged today as 12P/Pons-Brooks. a bright, fuzzy dot can be seen among a background of stars, leaving a wispy trail behind it Past performances That 1883-1884 apparition of 12P/Pons-Brooks was quite favorable because it made its closest approach to Earth of 58.6 million miles (94.3 million km) on Jan. 10, 1884, just 16 days before it passed closest to the sun (perihelion) at a distance of 72.5 million miles (116.7 million km). During this time frame the comet reached third magnitude and in binoculars displayed a tail measuring some 20-degrees in length. antique sketches of a comet, appearing like an orb with strands hanging from it It also seems that whenever this comet arrives at perihelion in late fall or early winter, is when it puts on its best displays. In 2020, German astronomer, Maik Meyer demonstrated that the appearance of a naked-eye comet mentioned by the Chinese in November 1385, and another that was observed by an Italian astronomer in January 1457 were probably relatively bright apparitions of 12P/Pons-Brooks. And there is some evidence that an ancient record of a bright comet dating back to 245 A.D. might also have been 12P. Also, of special interest in 1883-1884 was that, on a few occasions, this comet seemingly was prone to sudden outbursts or flare-ups in brightness, helping to brand it as a famously capricious comet. In fact, en route toward its next return to the vicinity of the sun in May 1954, 12P/Pons-Brooks experienced four more unexpected outbursts. But at its closest to the Earth that year, the comet was more than 2.5 times farther away compared to 1884 and so it was not as bright or as impressive, peaking at magnitude +6.4 (near the threshold of naked-eye visibility) and producing a tail that measured only a half-degree in length. Flare supply This year, 12P/Pons-Brooks will arrive at perihelion on April 21, but it is already up to its old tricks regarding sudden flare-ups in brightness. Last July 20, an unexpected brightness outburst caused it to briefly become about 100 times brighter and, the shell of expanding gas surrounding its nucleus (called the coma) expanded to resemble, for some, a horseshoe. Others, however, suggested a horseshoe crab, the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars, the cartoon character Yosemite Sam, or even as many news media outlets christened it the horns of a devil, a.k.a. "The Devil's Comet." Other outbursts occurred on Oct. 5, Nov. 1 and 14, Dec. 14 and most recently on Jan. 18. a series of photographs showing a fuzzy-looking orb among a background of stars And additional flares seem possible as we move through this month. The exact cause of these flares is unknown, although Richard Miles of the British Astronomical Association thinks 12P may be one of 10 to 20 known comets with active ice volcanoes. The "magma" is a cold mixture of liquid hydrocarbons and dissolved gasses, all trapped beneath a surface which has the consistency of wax. These bottled-up volatiles can explode when sunlight opens a fissure. For this reason, some have dubbed 12P as a "cryovolcanic comet." Tracking the comet From now, through the end of March, 12P/Pons-Brooks will be visible in the early evening sky, within the constellation of Andromeda the Princess, to the upper left of the Great Square of Pegasus and hovering about 20-degrees above the west-northwest horizon at the end of evening twilight. a map showing the pegasus constellation and a line across it indicating the path of a comet With the aid of a good sky chart and a dark sky, it should be readily accessible in binoculars. Its apparent night-to-night motion will now be accelerating as it draws nearer to the sun. By mid-month, it will have shifted into Pisces, the Fishes; now perhaps a 6th-magnitude object, it should be a fine sight for binoculars. And by the end of March, it may brighten to 5th-magnitude, reaching naked-eye visibility against the backdrop of the zodiacal constellation of Aries. By now, a short tail may also have formed. Thereafter, the comet will disappear into sunset glow during April and will arrive at perihelion on April 21 at a distance of 72.6 million miles (116.8 million km). 12P/Pons-Brooks passes 22-degrees northeast of the sun in mid-April, but then will fade very rapidly and largely become an object for Southern Hemisphere observers. It will have probably dropped to 6th or 7th magnitude by the end of May and 8th or 9th magnitude by the end of June. a bright, fuzzy dot can be seen among a background of stars, leaving a wispy trail behind it Future flares and the solar eclipse There has been some talk that should 12P/Pons-Brooks undergo another flare-up in the coming weeks that it might become a very bright, even spectacular object. Unfortunately, that does not appear to be likely. Space.com asked the well-known comet expert, John Bortle for an assessment of how the comet may "perform" in the days ahead. His belief is that while 12P/Pons-Brooks brightened dramatically last summer when the comet was far from the sun and just beginning to get active, that for any flare-ups in the near-future, the comet will not appear to brighten very much because the overall brightness of the comet has increased significantly as it now has moved much closer to the sun. "As a result," notes Bortle, "the outburst brightness cannot overwhelm the overall brightness of the comet's coma as easily." So, any additional flares or outbursts will probably result in only a minor surge in the comet's brightness. There has also been talk that 12P might be visible during the total solar eclipse on April 8. "But," adds Bortle, "I would think that much more a fantasy than anything else." Indeed, the comet is not expected to get much brighter than magnitude +4.5 around eclipse time; far too dim even with a little help from a flare to see. Next time? After 12P/Pons-Brooks moves back out into space, it will take another 71 years for it to complete another full circuit around the sun. For most of us, this year's appearance will be the only time we will see it. But the very young who are around now, perhaps might get a second opportunity in the summer of 2095. The Japanese orbital expert Hiroshi Kinoshita of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) has calculated that 12P will arrive at perihelion on August 10th of that year. If you want to see comet 12P/Pons-Brooks or any other comet in the night sky for yourself, our guides to the best telescopes and best binoculars are a great place to start. And if you're looking to take photos of comet 12P/Pons-Brooks or the night sky in general, check out our guide on how to view and photograph comets, as well as our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography. Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium . He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine , the Farmers' Almanac and other publications. For a Sacramentan, hanging out in New York City can easily draw a connection to the arts of our hometown. Of course, Joan Didion rates high in the written word category, spending her last years in her apartment on Park Avenue. From her home, it is a short walk to the Thiebaud Triangle, named after Sacramentos most celebrated artist, Wayne Thiebaud. Thiebaud died on Christmas Day in 2021, but happily, his footprints remain in three locations in the Upper East Side of New York, and its fun to retrace them. No New York tourist map shows the Thiebaud Triangle. Thats because it resides only in my mind. It is one part geography, another part certain hallowed institutions in that neighborhood and yet another part historical. Maybe a few other things as well. Opinion This imaginary triangles points are as follows: First is Lady M Cakes, located at 41 East 78th Street, roughly halfway between Park Avenue and Madison Avenue, on a beautiful tree-lined street. There are other locations of Lady M Cakes, but New Yorks Upper East Side was the firms first U.S. location. Thiebaud would take coffee and pastries at Lady M Cakes, and claimed it inspired him which is easy to accept when one looks at his paintings of confectioneries, especially Bakery Case (1996), Two Wedding Cakes (2015) and Cherry Pie (2016), not to mention older pieces like Pies, Pies, Pies (1961) and Cakes (1963). One look in the floor-to-ceiling glass front of Lady M Cakes and its obvious how it could inspire delicious oil paintings by Thiebaud, including the many that appeared on the cover of the New Yorker magazine. The northwest corner of the Thiebaud Triangle is the Acquavella Gallery, at 18 East 79th Street. This is located between Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue, which borders Central Park. At over 100 years-old, the gallery is close to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum. (The Met has in its collection Thiebauds Pie Rows, 1963, among other works of his.) The Acquavella Gallery entrance is a bit imposing, maybe even sterile. But the same cannot be said for the art inside. John Roberts Thiebaud Triangle. A photo of Thiebaud can be found on the gallerys website along with a list of other artists whose work it represents including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Mary Cassatt, Richard Diebenkorn, Willem de Kooning and Robert Rauschenberg (and the even more famous). This is where I first saw Thiebauds work with price tags in the millions. Returning to Sacramento after seeing this, with Thiebaud still very much alive in his late 90s, I found that not many realized his works were priced at such lofty heights. Some simply didnt believe it when told. Finally, the south end of the Thiebaud Triangle is where the artist once had lunch with the New York Times then art critic Michael Kimmelman. This was at Viand, at 673 Madison. It bills itself as a coffee shop, but most would call it a classic cafe. The menu clearly makes that case, and a look inside will confirm it. Following a lecture at Sacramentos Crocker Museum last year, I asked Kimmelman if the lunch meetings he had with Thiebaud in New York City referred to in his lecture at the Crocker that preceded our conversation was at the Sant Ambroeus on Madison Avenue. Sant Ambroeus is located very close to Lady M Cakes and the Acquavella Gallery and visited by famous creatives. Kimmelman indicated no, that that was too expensive for Wayne (which was surprising with Thiebauds paintings at the nearby Acquavella priced in the aforementioned millions of dollars). Instead, Kimmelman said that Thiebaud preferred Viand, a 20-minute walk south, also on Madison Avenue. Others are sure to have Wayne in New York City stories, likely having nothing to do with geography. But this is mine. Going to or at least walking past the points on this triangle often, I have never done so without thinking of him. (I only met and spoke one-on-one with Thiebaud once, at a Christmas party at a mutual friends home in East Sacramento.) Itd be easy to follow this path: one place which at least in part inspired his (arguably) most famous paintings of confectionaries, another which sold his paintings alongside arts most noted celebrities and yet another which was a favorite cafe where hed meet people to talk shop and maybe a little business. We know he had been to them, and that they made a difference in his life. The Thiebaud Triangle lives on as a great Sacramentans enduring imprint on New York. John Roberts has run non-profit organizations in Sacramento for 40 years. Demolition of the Saint-Gobain site continues Friday. WORCESTER Take a ride on Interstate 190, and as youre driving past Saint-Gobain's sprawling campus, youll likely see some heavy demolition. Abandoned buildings are being knocked down to make way for what could be a project that represents Worcester's clean energy future. A future that includes geothermal. The Worcester Business Development Corp. is clearing the 51 acres that Saint-Gobain transferred to the development corporation at no cost in 2022 in order to develop the property into a commercial hub. Geothermal will be explored to power the buildings in the future development. In simple terms, heres how geothermal works: Holes are dug to access heat in the ground. Pipes filled with water send the underground heat into a building, where it combines with a pump. The result is heat in the winter and cool air in the summer. Ground source heat pumps tap into a constant temperature in the ground that is around 55 degrees in New England, while geothermal digs deeper to access heat from the earth's core. Its clean, renewable energy with zero carbon emissions, a selling point in this time of global warming. Redevelopment has begun on the 51-acre Saint-Gobain site off Ararat Street in Worcester. Initial costs a red flag However, upfront costs for geothermal can be significant to cover drilling, pipes and equipment. Thats a prospect that could scare off some real estate developers. However, proponents say a combination of financial incentives plus expected energy savings over the long run will cover a portion of the initial expense. The WBDC plans to spend up to $75,000 on a study to see if its land along I-190 can handle geothermal. Drills will bore into the Earth, and if they hit a ridge of rocks, it wasnt meant to be. If the study is successful, Worcester could have a geothermal project of considerable size and scope. Bigger than the one that powers Clark Universitys Center for Media Arts, Computing and Design, which has wells 500 feet deep. Larger than geothermal that will supply heat and cooling to the new education and research building at UMass Chan Medical School, with its more than 70 boreholes, each 500 feet deep. Construction of that building is expected to wrap up in June. Story continues The development corporation expects to hire a firm in the next 30 days to do the study. The work should take four to six months, said Roberta Brien, WBDC executive vice president. Saint-Gobain's buildings that remain in full operation and nearby properties, like the Abby Kelley Foster Charter Public School, could connect to the development corporation's geothermal system, said Brien. This is a unique development project for us, said Brien. Its aligned with many of the citys sustainability goals. John Odell, Worcesters chief sustainability officer, knows those goal well. The Worcester Business Development Corp. is exploring geothermal for its commercial hub on the 51-acre Saint-Gobain site in Worcester. Odell said the city is eager to see how the development corporations investigation plays out, as it could serve as a model for future geothermal projects in Worcester. He noted large-scale developments like this one headed by the WBDC work best for geothermal, because the cost and benefits are spread out over several properties. Single-family homes can invest in geothermal, said Odell, but since installation costs are high, many homes go with less expensive air source heat pumps. Geothermals high upfront costs are a factor that cant be ignored, said Odell. Conceptually, geothermal is really good, but the devil is in the details, he said. Worcester edged out by Framingham The details didnt line up in Main South, where Worcester failed to reach a deal with Eversource to pilot a geothermal project that would have included properties near the YMCAs Central Branch on Main Street. Instead, Eversource went with Framingham. Construction of the $14 million project is nearing completion. It includes 90 boreholes, each averaging 600 to 700 feet deep, that will heat and cool 37 buildings 32 residential and five commercial that serve 140 customers. Residential and commercial customers in the Framingham pilot will pay $10 and $20 monthly, respectively, to access the geothermal system over the pilot's two-year period. Plus, each customer is responsible for paying their utility bill. Pilot projects are part of the states effort to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The state is encouraging utilities that invested heavily in gas infrastructure to move into clean-energy alternatives. It's all about the data Worcester lost out to Framingham, said Odell, because Eversource supplies natural gas and electricity in Framingham. As a result, Eversource controls the data from both sources on the pilot project, a benefit when deciding if geothermal is something that Eversource wants to pursue in its territories. Controlling the data wouldnt be the case in Worcester, where Eversource supplies natural gas, not electricity. National Grid supplies electricity in Worcester, and not having control over the electricity data was a problem for Eversource, said Odell. Nikki Bruno, vice president of clean technologies at Eversource, said Framingham was selected because it has a mix of fuel diversity oil, gas, propane that doesnt put an added load on the energy grid. That compares to Worcester, where Bruno said there are many natural gas customers, but finding customers using oil and propane was difficult. Worcester's grid 'constrained' Bruno also noted that Worcesters electric grid is constrained. She said investments are needed to modernize Worcester's grid so it can meet increased demand to run energy-efficient technologies such as heat pumps and geothermal. Christine Milligan, principal program manager at National Grid, did not respond to a request for comment on whether Worcesters grid can handle geothermal now and in the future. Milligan also didnt respond to questions on how the utility plans to modernize Worcesters grid, how much it will cost and who will pay for it. National Grid previously said it will cost $2 billion to upgrade its grid in Massachusetts. Nicola Medalova, chief operating officer for electric at National Grid New England, made a stop in Worcester in November and said one or two generations of the utilitys customers will cover the cost. The state gave National Grid the green light to build four geothermal pilot projects. The utilitys gas customers will pay for the pilots. Construction of the Lowell pilot starts this year. Another in Boston at the Franklin Field public housing complex is in the planning phase. Milligan said in an email that National Grid is looking at ways to transition away from fossil fuels, and geothermal has significant potential to be part of the solution. Demolition of the Saint-Gobain site continues Friday. However, Worcester is not in the utilitys current plans. Since we see geothermal as an alternative to current gas infrastructure, we are currently targeting communities in our gas service areas. Therefore, we are not currently looking at Worcester, which is Eversources territory for gas, said Milligan. Learning curve Bruno at Eversource noted the Framingham pilot is a learning opportunity. If the project's data is encouraging, Bruno said Eversource could partner with Worcester on a geothermal project down the road. Were eager to work with Worcester, she said. Developer's perspective Anthony Rossi is considering geothermal for his 253-unit apartment project on Harvard Street when construction starts. However, Rossi said it didnt make sense for some of his completed projects in Worcester because each had 40 to 100 apartments. Those numbers are too small, given the high upfront expenses for geothermal. A project needs at least 200 to 300 units to make the math work, said Rossi, because costs are spread out over more units. He also noted there arent many subcontractors with the expertise to do geothermal, so they hike their fees. Worcesters low water table is another problem, he said, because it drives up the cost of putting pipes in the ground. New construction is the time to put in geothermal, said Rossi, because fixed costs, like pouring a foundation, are there no matter what. Retrofitting a building is not the time for geothermal, because the cost of replacing a current HVAC system is prohibitive. It's the future Despite the challenges, Rossi said geothermal is the future because heating and cooling systems that run on electricity, not fossil fuels, is where its all headed. However, what gets under Rossis skin is even when developers invest in electric systems for the good of the planet, utilities get approval from the state to charge more per kilowatt hour for electricity. Rossi looks forward to the day when geothermal is the renewable source for heating and cooling and solar panels on roofs fully power the entire operation. Its a combination that Rossi said cuts out the utilities. It could be the future, he said. Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com. Follow him on X: @henrytelegram. This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester Business Development Corp. eyes geothermal at development TAMPA, Fla. - A man accused of trying to harm two elementary school students nearly two years ago faced a Tampa judge Friday for his punishment. David Daniels recently pleaded guilty to two counts of false imprisonment and two counts of child abuse. Johanna Burgess testified in a Tampa courtroom Friday that she and her son saved the lives of two children. "Ultimately, the thing that comes to mind is the look of fear on these girls' faces when they mouthed help me he is not our dad. They said that to me in the parking lot," explained Burgess. RELATED: Brandon man arrested after FishHawk woman catches him trying to kidnap two kids, deputies say The two girls, ages nine and eleven, were at a FishHawk restaurant on June 12, 2022, when they said Daniels targeted them and began yelling and harassing them. He then forced the terrified girls to follow him. They ended up at a nearby church, where Johanna's son, Brendan, spotted the trio and knew right away something was wrong. "I go over there as soon as I get close enough to these kids and hear their voices, I knew something was wrong, so we get them inside eventually and get them separated and the terror on these kids' faces is something I will never forget," explained Brendan. His mother remembered the trauma behind the girls' tears. CRIME: Tampa man charged in deadly dog park shooting fought with victim over sexual orientation: HCSO "What comes to mind is the screaming for what felt like hours once we remove him from them and locked them safely in a room and even then, they couldnt believe they were safe," explained Burgess. Later, Daniels' mother told the court her son was suffering from a mental health disorder and had bouts of paranoia and hallucinations just before the incident. Daniels also spoke at the hearing. "Im so sorry. I cant explain to you what happened. I know sorry is not gonna cut it," he said. And after an hour of testimony, it was the court's turn. Before handing down her sentence, Tampa Judge Lyann Goudy took the time to thank the Burgess family for what they did. READ: Serial sex offender accused of exposing himself to women, kids in Winter Haven: This aint his first rodeo "I applaud you. I wish you would not have been put in that position, but you were, and you rose to the occasion," said Goudy. Goudy then sentenced Daniels to nine years of both community control and probation. He will also be under house arrest during a portion of his sentence. However, no jail time was given to Daniels. The judge also ordered him to stay away from the FishHawk community and not have any contact with the victims or witnesses in the case. WATCH FOX 13 NEWS: SIGN UP: Click here to sign up for the FOX 13 daily newsletter An Indian restaurant is facing closure by the Home Office due to modern slavery concerns. The Raj on Bridge Street in Loddon, Norfolk, was raided in October by an immigration enforcement team as part of an "intelligence-led" operation. Two out of four staff members were found to be illegal. The Home Office has recommended the premises' licence be taken away, after illegal working was identified. A report to South Norfolk Council said remedying the situation was "insufficient". It said: "Merely remedying the existing situation is insufficient to act as a deterrent to the licence holder from engaging in criminal activity. "This business has clearly failed to meet the prevention of crime and disorder objective. "Whether by negligence or wilful blindness, illegal workers were engaged in activity on the premises." 'Mistake' Mohammad Uddin, manager of The Raj, admitted he had not completed the checks required to make sure the employees had the right to work in the United Kingdom. During the investigation, the Home Office discovered that instead of paying his employees, Mr Uddin was giving them food, which the report to the council classed as "effectively modern-day slavery". However, Mr Uddin said the arrests were a "mistake". He said: "The people arrested were not working at my restaurant and they were coming in for cleaning just for one or two hours, and that was when they raided." The restaurant manager said he was working alongside his solicitor to "challenge" the review and the arrests. "We are an honest, hardworking, business and love serving the people of our town and will fight this unfair decision." Michelle Bartram, licensing officer at Norfolk Police said: "Norfolk Constabulary clearly supports the review of the premises licence by Immigration Office and acknowledges that the employing of illegal workers is a serious offence." Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp 0800 169 1830 The Zebra Coalition is holding a vigil to celebrate the life of Nex Benedict. WATCH CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS Nex Benedict, whose family said the teen was bullied at Owasso High School, died a day after a fight inside a girls bathroom at the school. According to family, Benedict identified as nonbinary and used they/them pronouns. Federal officials are opening an investigation into the Oklahoma school district where the nonbinary 16-year-old high school student was in a fight before dying last month, according to a letter sent by the U.S. Department of Education on Friday. Read: Federal officials will investigate Oklahoma school following nonbinary teenagers death The loss of Nex is heartbreaking for everyone, especially us trans kids. They were a kind soul and never deserved to be killed for their identity, said Saffy, a 14-year-old from Orlando The vigil will be held by the local LAGBTQ+ community to celebrate Nexs journey and honor their legacy as a beloved member of the trans youth community. Read: K9 Copper returns to duty following life-saving stomach surgery The vigil will feature words from trans and non-binary youth, as well as artistic performances, opportunity to learn about how Nex is described by his loved ones, time to hold space for one another in small groups and a candle lighting closure, according to a news release. Read: Renewed federal effort to make daylight saving time permanent The hope is for individuals to come together to celebrate Nexs life and mourn his loss while remembering other trans and non-binary lives lost to violence. Nex should have felt safe at school. Nex left us too soon and should still be here to live their life authentically and freely, said Zebra Coalition executive director Heather Wilkie. The vigil be held on Saturday, March 9 from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at The Center Orlando, located at 946 N Mills Avenue. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) A traffic stop in Horizon City led to the arrest of a man who was in possession of marijuana, methamphetamines and nearly $6,000 in cash, according to Horizon City Police. According to the Horizon Police Department, an officer conducted a traffic stop at about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 6 at the intersection of Ascension Street and Horizon Boulevard. During the stop, the officer saw what appeared to be narcotics inside the vehicle, according to Horizon PD. Upon further investigation, the officer found marijuana, methamphetamines and $5,900 in cash. The driver, identified as Anthony Mena, 27, was then arrested and transported to the El Paso County Detention Facility for booking. During the booking process, Mena was found to be hiding additional narcotics on his person, according to Horizon PD. He is charged with possession of marijuana and two separate counts of possession of a controlled substance, with total bonds totaling $6,500. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) Horry County Schools students will soon be able to quickly and and anonymously report potential safety concerns in real time to district officials. Superintendent Rick Maxey announced the program on Friday in an email to parents and guardians. Providing our students and employees with a safe and secure environment that is conducive to learning is the top priority of Horry County Schools, Maxey said in the email. We want to work together with all of our stakeholders because school safety is a responsibility that we all share. Starting on Monday, a new icon will appear on all students school-based computers and tablets. Once clicked on, it automatically loads a page where safety issues can be reported. Pair of Horry County schools placed on secure status after threat, district says Maxey said all safety issues will be merged into one location. Once the student clicks on the red icon, the student will have multiple options to report information, which include: An email address (saysomething@horrycountyschools.net) that will send an email message to the appropriate district staff member. An If You See Something, Say Something form that, when completed, will be routed to the appropriate district staff member, who, in turn, will notify the school administration. A phone number ( 843-915-SROS(7767)) that will connect directly to law enforcement. An email address (srotips@horrycounty.org) that will send an email message to law enforcement. The news comes two weeks after district leaders announced plans to upgrade metal detectors and hire more security personnel at each facility. Horry County Schools is the states third largest district, with more than 46,000 students. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. ANTIOCH, Ill. The Antioch Police Department sent out a community alert after two cars were stolen and a dozen other vehicles were burglarized early Friday morning in the far north suburban community. According to APD, two vehicles were reported stolen from the Trevor Creek and Antioch Manor subdivisions around 4:30 a.m. and after responding officers spotted the stolen vehicles, a pursuit was initiated where officers said speeds reached nearly 100 mph. Police said the chase was ended as they approached downtown Antioch out of concern for public safety. In the ensuing investigation, detectives said they determined one of the vehicles was stolen from a driveway while it was being warmed up by its owner, and the other stolen vehicle appeared to be hotwired. APD also posted a video to Facebook of security camera footage collected of the suspected car thieves. Concealed carry holder fatally shoots armed robber on South Side Police said there has been no evidence the car thieves were armed. These crews operate as a well-organized crime syndicate targeting communities across the region, said Antioch Police Chief Geoffrey Guttschow. I would like to remind residents that if they see suspicious activity, they should call 911 immediately, and not intervene. In the past, we have had video footage of some car thieves carrying guns, which is another common occurrence that weve seen in similar crimes throughout the suburban area. Please remember it is not worth risking your life to stop a car theft. Chief Guttschow says the police department is stepping up overnight patrols in residential neighborhoods. Anyone with any additional information related to these crimes, including security camera video, or anyone who may have been the victim of an unreported crime, should call the Antioch Police dispatch center at 847-270-9111 or email crime@antioch.il.gov. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. A group of House Republicans fired off a pointed letter to the Biden administration, calling for the president to "immediately terminate" a program that has flown in more than 320,000 migrants into the U.S. "We write today to express our grave concerns over the Biden administrations actions to fly approximately 320,000 illegal immigrants from Latin American airports to 43 cities across the United States," the letter from Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C., to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) acting director Troy Miller said. "These secretive flights have compounded the effects of the already historic crisis at the Southern Border." Fry was joined by 22 GOP lawmakers to demand answers about the continued crisis on the southern border. "We urge you to provide Congress and the American people with information as to where these illegal immigrants have been deposited into the country and immediately terminate this practice," Fry said. BORDER PATROL UNION BOSS SAYS BIDEN SLAPPED EVERY AMERICAN IN THE FACE DURING STATE OF THE UNION Migrants walk on the road at the migrant caravan in Huixtla, Chiapas, in Mexico on June 9, 2022. Fry cited a report by the Center for Immigration Studies that revealed how CBP has allowed "secret flights" to transport illegal aliens from Latin America to communities across the U.S. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP "The Biden administrations usage of the CBP One mobile application has exasperated this deposit of illegal immigrants in our country," Fry wrote. The southern border crisis recently culminated in the death of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, who was brutally murdered by an illegal migrant. LAKEN RILEY'S MOTHER SPEAKS OUT ABOUT AVOIDABLE TRAGEDY AFTER DAUGHTER'S FUNERAL "The recent murder of Laken Riley by an illegal immigrant highlights the senseless and destructive policies put in place by the Biden administration," Fry said. "The American people cannot afford more tragedies due to immigrants entering our country illegally." President Joe Biden speaks during a State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. The South Carolina representative noted that under Biden's presidency, 340 individuals who were stopped at the Southern Border in 2023 were on the terrorist watchlist. Fry noted that in the Fiscal Year 2024, there had already been 58 people whose names appeared on the terrorist watchlist. "We are concerned that there could be additional illegal immigrants on the terrorist watch list who could be flown into cities across the United States," Fry said. Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C. In the letter, Fry demanded that the Biden administration provide details on the locations that the illegal migrants were flown to and the cost to taxpayers: 1. What prompted this practice of flying illegal immigrants into the United States from Latin America? 2. What airports were illegal immigrants flown into between the dates of January 20, 2021, and March 8, 2024? MEXICAN MAN ILLEGALLY IN US DEPORTED TO FACE MURDER, ROBBERY CHARGES IN HOME COUNTRY 3. On what dates did these flights occur? 4. What nations were these illegal immigrants from who came to the United States on these flights? 5. What was the total cost of these flights? 6. Who within CBP is responsible for overseeing this program? Migrant men check into a processing center in Lower Manhattan, as thousands of migrants continue to arrive into the city. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, said that the Biden administration is "exploiting" the CBP One app and bringing "unvetted" migrants into the U.S. "Joe Biden, his impeached DHS Secretary Mayorkas, and his other White House cronies are exploiting the CBP One app and every other loophole in existence to sneak unvetted illegals into the nation by the hundreds of thousands," Babin said. "We will not stand idly by and watch as this reckless president unravels our national security and endangers the American people." A group of migrants receive food outside the migrant landing zone in Chicago. Illegal immigration has skyrocketed in recent years. According to a report from the House Republicans, since Biden took office in 2020, there have been 8.7 million illegal crossings nationwide. Since the start of the Fiscal Year 2024, there have been over 1 million illegal immigrant encounters. U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital. Original article source: House Republicans call for Biden to 'immediately terminate' program that flew 320K migrants into US cities House Republicans are working on their own version of an aid bill to Ukraine to speed up the delivery of assistance to the country, with one version including treating nonmilitary aid to Ukraine as a loan, NBC reported on March 9. Another proposal on the table is the REPO Act which concerns utilizing seized Russian assets for Ukraine. Using Russian assets, "is a very popular idea in the House, House Foreign Affairs Chairman Mike McCaul, a Republican congressman from Texas, said. The proposals are currently in the early stages of development, three sources told NBC, but pro-Ukraine Republicans in the house want something ready before March 22 when another government shutdown is on the line. The U.S. Senate approved a $95 billion funding package on Feb. 13 that contained $60 billion in aid for Ukraine, but the House under Johnson's leadership has derailed the bill. Ukraine is already in its third month of the year without any aid from the U.S. as Washington argues over the funding package. The consequences have already been felt, with President Joe Biden blaming Congress for the fall of Avdiivka on Feb. 17. The idea of a loan may be more appealing to Republicans opposing further U.S. support for Ukraine. But National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said last month that a loan isnt preferential for Ukraine, as it could only make the economic problems of that country worse, adding that a stable Ukraine is in Washingtons national security interest. Senator Lindsey Graham (R) is one of the key figures backing the loan proposal. He claims that the idea came from presidential candidate Donald Trump who suggested a loan on his Truth Social account on Feb. 10. I think President Trump when he mentioned a couple of weeks ago that lets make this stuff a loan, resonates with the taxpayer, Graham said last week, NBC reported. And I think it will make it unlock the House. () You may have to add a little more humanitarian aid to get Democrats, but turn it into a loan and maybe we get this thing done. Read also: US House may start gathering signatures to bypass speaker on Ukraine aid Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. A march has been held in Hull to remember women lost to male violence. The group set off from a memorial bench that marks the life of Libby Squire, 21, who was raped and murdered in 2019. The Hull University student was last seen alive at seating on Beverley Road before being abducted and killed by Pawel Relowicz. One of the organisers, Jo Charlton from the Say Her Name group, said that three women every single week in the UK were murdered by men. "We all live very close to this spot where Libby was taken away and we can't forget her," she said. "We walked past this spot nearly every day of our lives. "We see these places and any one of us could have been Libby, any one of our daughters could have been Libby. "So it strikes a chord and it hits home." Libby Squire, 21, was on a night out in Hull in 2019 when she was murdered The march headed towards the city centre and paused at the site where Claudia Kambanza, 22, was fatally stabbed in January. Mateus Johannes, 28, of no fixed address, has been charged with her murder. Vicky Foster from the Say Her Name group said it was appropriate the event took place on International Women's Day. Claudia Kambanza, 22, died after being found stabbed in a Hull street "We think it's important to recognise that whenever women's achievements are celebrated, we're doing that against the backdrop with still huge inequalities and these horrific rates of violence against women and girls that affect women every day," Ms Foster said. "They affect our behaviour. There are women living in fear and and it's something that we think really needs to be addressed." Follow BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastyorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary, has held a meeting with Donald Trump, the future candidate for the US presidential elections from the Republicans, in the American state of Florida. Source: Reuters and European Pravda Details: They discussed "a wide range of issues affecting Hungary and the United States, including the paramount importance of strong and secure borders to protect the sovereignty of each nation," as Trumps campaign statement notes. Orban expressed his confidence that only Trump's return to the White House can bring peace on Twitter (X). "We need leaders in the world who are respected and can bring peace. He is one of them! Come back and bring us peace, Mr. President!" Orban wrote. At the same time, in his Facebook video, Orban stated that during the Trump presidency in 2017-2021 there was peace in the Middle East, as well as in Ukraine. He added that there would be no war in Ukraine now if Trump had been re-elected in 2020. Sources familiar with the matter revealed to CNN that Trump and a small group of close advisers had held talks with Orban for about an hour Friday night at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. After that, Trump took Orban to a tribute band concert, which was part of a closed event at the club. A CNN insider described the meeting as "social" with no agenda, while a separate source said it was "friendly." According to another source, Orban wanted to meet with Trump and planned to be in the US separately. Background: Earlier, Peter Szijjarto, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, said that Orban wants to discuss with Trump how to stop Russia's war against Ukraine. Orban participated in several pro-Trump events in previous years and directly spoke out for his re-election as president. He said, in particular, that "if Trump had been president, the war would not have started" and that Trump's return "will bring peace." Trump responded by praising Orban. The media previously reported that Trump plans to host Orban on 8 March at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Support UP or become our patron! Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images Realtor.com's Hannah Jones said this year "will still be a challenging housing market." A Realtor.com report noted that the US would need to build single-family homes three times faster to keep up with demand. Jones noted a technological shift as one thing needed to help resolve the housing gap problem. It's no secret there's a housing shortage in the US, and it's not likely to get better any time soon. Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst for Realtor.com, told Business Insider this year "will still be a challenging housing market." "Buyers are seeing less home inventory, less homes for sale in the market, and sellers are less incentivized to sell in today's market," Jones said. That's partly due to relatively high mortgage rates, Jones added. "Also, they would then have to buy into a higher price market on top of higher mortgage rates," Jones said about sellers. Jones added sellers' wariness is contributing to the problem of relatively low supply to choose from, "worsening" the housing gap "where household formations have outpaced new construction," Jones said. Amid some Americans moving out from family homes or living with roommates and forming new households, "the gap between total housing starts and household formations widened from 2.3 million housing units between 2012 and 2022 to 2.5 million units at the end of 2023," a recent Realtor.com report said. The situation is even more stark when looking at single-family homes alone. "The gap between single-family housing starts and household formations grew from 6.5 million at the end of 2022 to 7.2 million at the end of 2023 as household formations remained steady and single-family home construction waned," the report continued. While people may find it tough to find a single-family home, multifamily apartment buildings might be a more affordable option. Jones said, "multifamily housing has been a bit of a bright spot in the last couple of years." Story continues "For buyers who can't quite afford to purchase in today's market, there should be more affordable renting options to kind of wait out the market a little bit to see if it improves or to just save a bit more money so participating in today's market is a bit more feasible," Jones said. How long it could take to close the gap depends on what data and assumptions are looked at. It could take just a handful of years but that may not be likely in reality as this also would require massively increasing the number of housing starts. "If only single-family homes are considered, the rate of housing starts would need to triple to keep up with demand and close the existing 7.2 million home gap in 4 to 5 years," the Realtor.com report stated. Jones said the ramp-up in production needed to achieve that in just those few years isn't really a "reasonable expectation" for builders. "It will require sustained new construction activity, and it's likely that it will continue to be an issue for the years to come because it's just not likely that new construction activity is going to pick up to that level," Jones said. "However, we have seen that multifamily activity, at least the pickup in multifamily activity, provides places for people to live." That could be a good thing as Jones said this could take pressure off prices. There are two changes in particular that are needed to help resolve the housing problem according to Jones: either demographic or technological shifts. The demographic shift would include having some homes from the aging population go on sale, Jones said. Better technology could make building homes more efficient and less expensive, Jones added. "I think that if the market continues as it is now, it is unlikely that we're going to see a big shift," Jones said. Read the original article on Business Insider Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban reiterated his admiration for former US president Donald Trump after they met in Florida on Friday, endorsing him as a "president of peace." "We Hungarians have only one thing to do, and that is to admit honestly: The world would be better and it would be better for Hungary if Mr. President Donald Trump were to return [to power]," Orban said in comments dubbed over video footage of him visiting Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach. During Trump's time in office, there was peace in the Middle East and Ukraine, and these wars would not exist today if he were leading the United States, Orban said in a message posted on Facebook. Trump had "offered respect in the world and thus created the conditions for peace," according to Orban. He also expressed the hope that his return to the White House would revive bilateral trade relations. Trump is seeking re-election for a second term for the Republican Party in US presidential elections scheduled for November. At a campaign appearance in Pennsylvania on Friday evening, the incumbent US President Joe Biden mocked the fact that Trump was meeting the very head of government from Europe "who's stated flatly that he doesn't thinks democracy works." Orban's Facebook post contained footage without sound of his meeting held at Trump's luxurious Florida estate. The two later planned to have dinner together and listen to a concert, said Orban's spokesman Bertalan Havasi, according to the Hungarian news agency MTI. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto was also present. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban reiterated his admiration for former US president Donald Trump after they met in Florida on Friday, endorsing him as a "president of peace." "We Hungarians have only one thing to do, and that is to admit honestly: The world would be better and it would be better for Hungary if Mr. President Donald Trump were to return [to power]," Orban said in comments dubbed over video footage of him visiting Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach. During Trump's time in office, there was peace in the Middle East and Ukraine, and these wars would not exist today if he were leading the United States, Orban said in a message posted on Facebook. Trump had "offered respect in the world and thus created the conditions for peace," according to Orban. He also expressed the hope that his return to the White House would revive bilateral trade relations. Trump is seeking re-election for a second term for the Republican Party in US presidential elections scheduled for November. At a campaign appearance in Pennsylvania on Friday evening, the incumbent US President Joe Biden mocked the fact that Trump was meeting the very head of government from Europe "who's stated flatly that he doesn't thinks democracy works." Orban's Facebook post contained footage without sound of his meeting held at Trump's luxurious Florida estate. The two later planned to have dinner together and listen to a concert, said Orban's spokesman Bertalan Havasi, according to the Hungarian news agency MTI. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto was also present. Before their meeting, Orban also made an appearance at the conservative Heritage Foundation in Washington and met with Trump's former chief advisor, the right-wing publicist Steve Bannon. Trump and Orban regularly praise each other publicly. Orban, in power in Hungary since 2010, was the only EU leader to openly declare his support for Trump even before his election as president in 2016. The two populists have much in common politically, with Bannon once referring to the Hungarian as "Trump before Trump." Trump has in the past openly expressed his admiration for a number of authoritarian leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin. Orban also maintains good relations with Putin and only half-heartedly supports the West's sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, launched in 2022. ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4) An Idaho couple was arrested in St. George Monday after allegedly stealing $3,000 worth of merchandise from multiple stores, using balloons. Tawny Raelynn Rodden, 44, was arrested on several third-degree felony charges, including retail theft, possession of a controlled substance, and a pattern of unlawful activity. She was also arrested on several misdemeanor charges, including possession of prescription drugs for unlawful activity, theft detection shielding device, criminal conspiracy, use or possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of marijuana, according to the St. George Police Department. Dustin James Rinebarger, 43, was arrested on two third-degree felony charges of unlawful acquire/possess/transfer financial card and a pattern of unlawful activity. He was also arrested on several misdemeanor charges, including possession of a controlled substance, criminal conspiracy, use or possession of drug paraphernalia, retail theft, and possession of marijuana, SGPD said. Hundreds flock to Morgan County to see rare bird Just after 7 p.m. on Monday, March 4, an employee at the Red Cliff Malls Buckle reportedly called St. George police to report a suspicious person, according to the affidavit. The employee said a woman with red hair was possibly stealing clothing. The employee told police the woman had a baby stroller with her but no apparent baby, and that she would go into changing rooms to try on new clothes and walk out in different outfits, the affidavit states. When police arrived, they said they saw the woman at checkout, but that her transaction declined due to insufficient funds. They made contact with her and identified her as Rodden from her Idaho drivers license. Additionally, police said they learned that Rodden had an active warrant for arrest, issued by the Fifth District Court of St. George. Rodden reportedly admitted she stole from Buckle, and that she was wearing stolen property. Police said she was wearing stolen pants under her other pants. Rodden also told police that her boyfriend was with her, but that they had no child regardless of the stroller, the affidavit states. Police said they found her boyfriend, identified as Rinebarger from his Idaho drivers license. Police also learned that on the couples drive from Idaho to St. George, they had stopped at a number of stores and stole items such as high-value purses, perfume, clothing, and tools to help remove theft detection devices, the affidavit states. Rodden reportedly said they would walk into the stores with bags filled with balloons to appear full, but would pop the balloons to fill the bags with merchandise. Police said they found ledgers with specific items to steal from each store, including Dillards, JC Penney, Nordstrom, Buckle, Victorias Secret, Ross, Boot Barn, and TJ Maxx. They had approximately $3,000 worth of merchandise inside their vehicle, the affidavit states. Rodden and Rinebarger were arrested and booked into the Washington County Jail. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. Illinois could ban politics and religion in workplace Illinois could soon ban employers from making employees participate in meetings about politics or religion. The move is part of a bill that passed out of a State Senate committee. As Illinois Capitol Bureau correspondent Theodora Koulouvaris reports, some business groups are fighting it. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. Farruquito, heir to one of Spain's most renowned flamenco dynasties, is performing at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre (Peter PARKS) As heir to one of Spain's most renowned flamenco dynasties, dancer Farruquito pairs furious footwork with strumming syncopated beats and verve -- bringing the art form's "way of life" to global audiences. His real name is Juan Manuel Fernandez Montoya, and at 41, he has followed the steps of his grandfather, legendary dancer El Farruco. "I was born imbued with flamenco because my family is one of the important houses of flamenco, the Farrucos," Farruquito tells AFP in an interview, beaming with pride. "My grandfather -- the maestro -- my mother, my aunt, my brothers, my cousins, my father who sang. I was born and the soundtrack of my days was flamenco." Now he's bringing that soundtrack -- and his impassioned stage presence -- to Hong Kong, where his show has three performances this weekend as part of an arts festival. Visiting the city for the first time, Farruquito said his performance in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre would hold some traditional elements, "but with a modern update". An art form that fuses song, dance and emotive showmanship, it was declared by UNESCO an intangible cultural heritage for Andalusia, a region on Spain's southern coast. But the dance waltzes across borders, attracting aspiring foot-tappers to popular classes from Bangkok to Tokyo -- and now drawing curious audiences in Hong Kong. "There are a lot of people from Asia who do it very well because they are very disciplined. They have a lot of respect for it." But to truly experience it, one must be "up close to it", he said. "Flamenco is not just a music -- it is a culture, it is a way of life." - 'Stay on stage forever' - Born to a Romani family full of artists and musicians, Farruquito was declared a child prodigy when he shared the stage with his grandfather on Broadway in New York at the age of five. By 18, he was declared "one of the great flamenco dancers of this new century" by The New York Times -- and anointed the presumptive heir to El Farruco's legacy after his grandfather passed away in 1997. But his meteoric rise came to a sudden halt in 2004 when he fatally ran over a pedestrian in Spain and fled the scene. Sentenced to three years in prison, he was released in 2010 -- and fearful for the end of his dancing days. "For a long time, they erased me from the map. But it was understandable at that moment," he said. The dancer has since rediscovered his place on stage, though he still feels the responsibility of his grandfather's legacy -- and pre-performance nerves -- three decades into his career. "There are times when right before going on stage, I want to go home and go to bed," Farruquito said. "But there are other times when I want to stay on stage forever -- I want to die there." dbh/dhc/cwl The three Merced County Supervisor seats up for grabs appear to be decided based on the latest updates from Tuesdays primary election and one incumbent is staring at defeat. The latest addition of 3,745 votes brought Fridays total to 22,632. There is still approximately 14,000 more ballots to be counted, having arrived via mail with postmarks of Election Day (March 5) or earlier. But unless there is a major change in the early voting trends since Tuesday, likely nothing will change from the current unofficial results. Merced County District 2 Supervisor Josh Pedrozo speaks with supporters while checking Primary Election voting results in Merced, Calif., on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Merced County Supervisor District 1: Retired Merced County Sheriffs deputy Jim Pacheco still appears well on his way to securing the 50% vote to avoid the November runoff and win the District 1 seat. The latest results show Pacheco has received 55.4% of the 2,833 total votes in the district for a total of 1,570 votes. Incumbent Rodrigo Espinoza, who is trying to win a third term, is a distant second with 22.4% (635 votes). Maria Soto is in third with 15.9% of the votes, and Sonia Fernanda Alshami is fourth at 6.2%. Merced County Supervisor District 2: Incumbent Josh Pedrozo still has a comfortable lead with 69.2% of the votes with a total of 4,244 votes. Local business woman Annissa Fragoso trails with 30.3% for a total of 1,856 votes. Merced County Supervisor District 4: Incumbent Lloyd Pareira leads his two challengers convincingly with 62.5% of the votes for a total of 2,439 votes. Dennis Brazil is second with 18.9% (737 votes) and Jim Soria is just behind Brazil iwth 18.3% (715 votes). Superior Court Judge: Monika Saini-Donabed has a big lead in the race for Merced County Superior Court Judge. Saini-Donabed received 62.6% of the votes for a total of 12,488 votes. Carlos Dammeier is second with 20.8% and Regina Adams is third with 16.6%. A sign promoting Measure C in a front window of Five Ten Bistro in Merced, Calif., on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Measure C: The renewal of Measure C, a half-cent sales tax that funds public safety and essential city services, has received strong support from voters. The measure received 69.5% Yes votes from voters casting ballots, well ahead of the 50% plus one vote needed for passage. It has received 5,302 Yes votes compared to 2,328 No votes. If approved by voters, Measure C would again have a 20-year lifespan and would be reviewed by a citizens oversight committee. Measure C roughly funds 30 police and fire department jobs, according to officials. According to Merced County Registrar of Voters Melvin Levey, there were 13,500 vote-by-mail ballots received before election day. As of Thursday, there were 1,500 vote-by-mail ballots received after election day. The next updated results are expected to be released Wednesday, according to Levey. Indiana Republican Sen. Todd Young told the media on Friday, days after former President Trumps commanding Super Tuesday performance, that he will not be endorsing the former president. "Nothing's changed from my standpoint," Young told CNN after WWEV 44 News reported that Young will not support Trump due to the former presidents position and comments on Russias war in Ukraine. "I trust the people I represent to make their own decisions on who theyre going to vote for." The outlet reported that Young has not decided who he will support in November. TRUMP SET TO TAKE OVER REPUBLICAN PARTY BY INSTALLING KEY ALLY, DAUGHTER-IN-LAW TO LEAD RNC L - Sen Todd Young R - President Trump Youngs position reiterates comments he has made in the past, including nine months ago when he said he doesnt "intend to support him." READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP "Where do I begin?" Young said when asked what the reasons for not supporting Trump are. "I think President Trumps judgment is wrong in this case," Young previously said, referring to Trump declining to call Putin a "war criminal" in 2023. "Putin and his government have been engaged in war crimes. . . . Thats why I dont intend to support him for the Republican nomination." TRUMP POSTS $91M BOND, APPEALS $83M E JEAN CARROLL JUDGMENT Young took office in 2017 and was re-elected to the Senate in 2022, beating his Democratic challenger Thomas McDermott Jr. by about 20 points. Young was one of only four GOP senators Trump did not endorse for re-election that year, according to Politico. Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump arrives for an election night watch party at Mar-a-Lago on March 5, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. Young is the third sitting Republican senator to decline to support Trump, along with Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney. The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Original article source: Indiana GOP Sen. Todd Young renews his pledge not to support Trump in 2024 A prominent Ghanaian social media influencer from The Bronx has 'fessed up to swindling over $2 million from older, single American men and women in a depraved lonely hearts scam, federal authorities said. A prominent social media influencer from The Bronx has pleaded guilty to her role in laundering the proceeds of a long running multimillion dollar catfishing scam, authorities said. Mona Faiz Montrage, who boasted 3.4 million Instagram followers before she removed her profile from the platform, was living in the Boogie Down from 2013 to 2019 while assisting a West Africa-based group of con artists who relied on emails, texts and social media messages to reel in their romantic rubes, prosecutors said. Many of those taken in were vulnerable, older men and women who lived alone, authorities said. The con artists used fake identities to convince the lonely hearts across America to send them cash. Mona Faiz Montrage who had 3.4 million Instagram followers of her page Hajia4Reall pled guilty to conspiracy to receive stolen money, the feds said Instagram / @hajia4reall Montrage pleaded guilty in Manhattan Federal Court Feb. 21 to conspiracy to receive stolen money, federal authorities said. In total, Montrage controlled bank accounts that received over $2 million in fraudulent funds from the enterprise, the feds said. Montrage and other scammers convinced their lovelorn marks to help move gold to the US from overseas; to help resolve purported FBI investigations; and send cash to help US Army officers in Afghanistan, according to court papers. The social media influencer whose Instagram account was among the top 10 most followed in Ghana was arrested on Nov. 10, 2022, in the UK and brought to the US in May. Instagram / @hajia4reall Her ill-gotten gains were deposited in Montrages Bronx bank accounts before she wired much of the money to her native Ghana, authorities said. She allegedly charmed one pigeon into sending her $89,000 through 82 wire transfers by claiming her fathers farm in Ghana needed help, the court documents said. She now faces up to five years in a federal prison, court documents show, Instagram / @hajia4reall The Ghanaian social media influencer was extradited to the US in May in connection with the $2 million catphishing scheme. Instagram / @hajia4reall She tricked that person into believing the pair were married by sending them a tribal marriage certificate after a series of phone conversations using her real identity, authorities alleged. Montrage now faces up to five years in prison at her May 21 sentencing. She also must make $2.1 million restitution, according to the plea deal. Montrage is no longer living large following her arrest and guilty plea in federal court. Instagram / @hajia4reall The social media influencer whose Instagram account was among the top 10 most followed in Ghana was arrested on Nov. 10, 2022, in the UK for conspiracy, and brought to the US in May. On her page, she shared posts about her music, travels to London and luxury goods. Romance scams such as Montrages harmed her vulnerable, elderly victims not only in the cruel betrayal of trust in the realization that their online romantic connection was fiction, but by also callously stealing their money, said Manhattan US attorney Damian Williams. The influencer, posing here outside a Louis Vuitton, must now make $2.1 million restitution, the feds said. Instagram / @hajia4reall Montrage is currently out on $500,000 bail and staying with a relative in Union, NJ, according to court papers. She must wear a GPS tracker and is allowed limited travel in parts of New York and New Jersey, according to the Manhattan US Attorneys Office. A secret, men-only right-wing society with members in influential positions around the country is on a crusade: to recruit a Christian government that will form after the right achieves regime change in the United States, potentially via a national divorce. It sounds like the stuff of fantasy, but its real. The group is called the Society for American Civic Renewal (the acronym is pronounced sacker by its members). It is open to new recruits, provided you meet a few criteria: you are male, a trinitarian Christian, heterosexual, an un-hyphenated American, and can answer questions about Trump, the Republican Party, and Christian Nationalism in the right way. One chapter leader wrote to a prospective member that the group aimed to secure a future for Christian families. Its an uncanny mimicry of the clandestine engine that, in the right-wings furthest imaginings, has driven recent social changes and left them feeling isolated and under siege: a shadowy network occupying the commanding heights of business, politics, and culture, open only to a select, elite few, committed to reshaping the United States to align it with the groups radical values. The men TPM has identified as behind this group and they are all men have a few things in common. Theyre all a certain kind of devout Christian traditionalist. They are white. They have means, financial and social, and are engaged in politics. Until TPM began reporting this story several weeks ago, the membership of the group had remained largely secret. Its existence was known and has been previously reported on by The Guardian, but the details of the groups mission, membership criteria, board, and internal communications remained outside of public view. Beginning late Thursday, some of the leading members of the group identified by TPM through our reporting came forward publicly to acknowledge their memberships in the organization and published an internal document that TPM had already obtained. They said they were doing so in anticipation of another story by The Guardian. The members identified by TPM dont necessarily fit the profile of the disaffected, disgruntled loner or the amped-up, testosterone-fueled militia types often found on the paranoid right-wing fringe. TPMs reporting has identified as SACR members the president of the influential, Trump-aligned Claremont Institute, Harvard Law grads, and leading businessmen in communities scattered across America. The group speaks earnestly about itself and tries to downplay its more controversial views. It is, the groups leaders say, merely another in a long line of fraternal organizations that try to foster civic engagement. But theres a lot thats almost zany about the groups aims and activities. An Idaho chapter sought to fight back against marriage equality by making stickers representing traditional marriage to compete with the rainbow, pro-LGBTQ-rights symbols which adorned coffee shops in the area. In another episode, that chapter supported a quixotic bid to court wealthy conservative donors into funding a website focused on unearthing the spread of DEI in Idaho. The man who incorporated the national umbrella group is an Indiana shampoo tycoon who refers to himself as maximum leader and blogs about Rhodesian anti-guerilla tactics and how the must-read dystopian fiction novel for white supremacists, The Camp of the Saints, is actually a vision of Americas present. Group members hold a distinct vision of America as a latter-day ancient Rome: a crumbling, decadent empire that could soon be replaced by a Christian theocracy. To join, the group demands faithfulness, virtue, and alignment, which it describes as deference to and acceptance of the wisdom of our American and European Christian forebears in the political realm, a traditional understanding of patriarchal leadership in the household, and acceptance of traditional Natural Law in ethics more broadly. More practically, members must be able to contribute either influence, capability, or wealth in helping SACR further its goals. Most of all, we seek those who understand the nature of authority and its legitimate forceful exercise in the temporal realm, a mission statement reads. Once in the group, the statement says, members can expect perks: direct preferential treatment for members, especially in business, and help in advancement in all areas of life from other members. Its a vision of society which doesnt just extend back before the Obergefell decision on same-sex marriage or before the sexual revolution of the 60s and 70s, before the Civil Rights movement or even before World War II. It goes back further, beyond living memory: to the late 19th century, before the Progressive Era opened the floodgates to what the group regards as a long corruption of Americas founding principles. Unmasking A Secret Society TPM first began reporting on SACR in January. Though the groups membership rolls are secret, some of its activities are out in the open. It maintains a website, all in crimson, in which it advertises its mark, and calls on members to rebuild the frontier-conquering spirit of America. An early reporting breakthrough came when we were able to identify a Boise State University professor and Claremont official named Scott Yenor as a possible member of SACR because he appeared on incorporation papers for the groups Boise lodge. Yenor is a character in his own right, attracting public attention for a November 2021 blow-up when he suggested that elite professions like law and medicine stop recruiting women into their ranks. Because Boise State is a public university, TPM was able to obtain via public records requests in January and February a trove of Yenors office emails that mention SACR. The trove included internal SACR correspondence, documents, and other materials from when the group was first being conceived in late 2020, was founded the following year, and began to grow. The trove reveals SACRs core mission: to create a mini-state within a state, composed entirely of Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Christian men. Its explicitly patriarchal, demanding that group members assume a dominant role at home, and celebrates the use of force and existence of authority. Amid all the hearkening back to the founding fathers, Americas first principles, and patriotism, there are few mentions of democracy in the materials TPM reviewed. Using the Yenor email trove as a starting point, TPM was able to confirm that Yenor is a SACR member, to identify other members of SACR, including prominent people like the president of the Claremont Institute, and to map other chapters of SACR around the country and locate incorporation papers for them, which yielded the identities of other potential SACR members. The Yenor emails also included a mission statement for SACR, membership criteria, and copies of prayers used by the group in different settings. The emails include extensive internal discussions about the group, its organizing principles, its aims, and its methods for recruiting and expanding nationwide. TPM continued to report the story, expanding it beyond the Yenor emails, until this week, when it began reaching out directly to the SACR leaders it had been able to identify. Its not clear whether it was TPMs outreach or that of The Guardian, as the SACR leaders have since suggested, that prompted them to go public. Regardless, some key figures in the group began to reveal their memberships publicly in advance of the anticipated news coverage. Nate Fischer, a member in Texas, posted a tweet Thursday evening warning of an imminent story from The Guardian and outing himself as a member. Fischer said that SACRs previous practice of secrecy was due to the environment of 2020-21 when the group was first being organized. The prospect of impending news stories and Fischers tweet spurred other group members to also reveal themselves on Twitter into Friday. That included Ryan P. Williams, president of the Claremont Institute and a SACR board member, and Andrew Beck, a brand consultant. In a Friday phone call with TPM, Williams denied that the group was some cabal with the aim of taking over the federal establishment and said that it only sought to create a common citizenship of the Americanized and assimilated as the best recipe for a large, multiracial, multi-ethnic republic. When asked why SACR documents show that it aims to staff an aligned future regime with members, Williams said that the new regime would be a U.S. Constitutional order brought much closer to its origins after about a century of what we regard as its corruption and undermining by progressivism, which I regard as anti-constitutionalist in its roots and its evolution. This shouldnt be regarded as anything radical or new, Williams said. Its in a long line of tradition of American civic organizations of like-minded men worried about the direction of their country. Certainly the activity of any members of SACR or any chapters are always meant to be well within the law and constitutional norms of American politics, he added. Theres nothing subversive about it. It shouldnt be regarded that way. The self-outing by key figures in SACR did not make public all of the materials that TPM obtained through its reporting, including the trove of Yenor emails and certain internal organizational documents. What follows is what TPM learned from that reporting, and interviews with some of the SACR figures who appeared in the documents. Howdy Doody Men SACR stands out in the pantheon of right-wing extremists not necessarily due to the exclusivity of its membership there are militias and groups across the country which are men only and Christian only, either de facto or by rule. What sets SACR apart is that its members come from and are recruited from the upper crust of American society. They are wealthy independent wealth is a requirement for membership, per documents TPM obtained. And they are credentialed. SACR offers a redoubt for powerful people who take the culture war extremely seriously and believe in their bones that hemorrhaging church membership, the Obergefell decision on same-sex marriage, and the ebbing status of Christian men in American society are an existential threat to their vision for America, and who have the means to build a society on a different path. Organized as a 501(c)10, Williams described SACR as analogous in structure to the Masons or Moose lodges a national superstructure with chapters around the country, some public and some not. Its members are, as a rule, secret. But those members who have incorporated chapters, as TPM discovered, end up identified in public records. Charles Haywood In an interview, Williams told TPM that SACR emerged from conversations between himself, self-described industrialist Charles Haywood, and others around Claremont in 2020. Skyler Kressin, an Idaho accountant, and Fischer, also participated. The idea, Williams said, came about amid conversations about civic projects and constitutionalism and the state of America. Part of the scholarly project of the Claremont Institute has been to lament the rise, really since the late 19th century, of a certain different way of thinking about politics and how to do government outside, we would argue, the American constitutional tradition, he said. Haywood, a University of Chicago-educated attorney, incorporated SACR and sits on its board. He did not respond to requests for comment from TPM. Haywood has laid out an elaborate cosmology of Americas place in time, and his own place in America, through hundreds of blog posts hes written on his website, The Worthy House. To Haywood, American government is a house of cards waiting to be blown over run by a cabal that he describes as the brawndo tyranny, referring to the energy drink from the 2006 cult classic movie Idiocracy. Haywood says he can see what will likely come next: a new feudalism, an archipelago of local armed patronage networks, a vision inspired by the groups white settler farmers formed in southern Africa as Blacks struggled for majority rule. On the blog where he explains these ideas, Haywood refers to himself as maximum leader. In October 2022, Haywood appeared on a podcast with with former Trump official and Flight 93 essay Michael Anton and others for a discussion about caesarism the idea that a strongman is needed to solve Americas problems. After referring to an unspecified secret event that brought the group together, Haywood said that he wholeheartedly endorsed national divorce as a solution to the countrys problems. Since selling his shampoo manufacturing firm in September 2020, Haywood has mobilized. His nonprofit, the Howdy Doody Good Times Foundation, began to contribute to the Claremont Institute. Howdy Doody has contributed money to SACR as well. Over the following year, a chapter in Dallas, Texas, and three in Idaho were founded. Haywood has said that additional chapters exist; Williams put the total number at beneath one dozen. Among the emails obtained by TPM are ones that show the organizations reach. In one January 2023 exchange, Haywood cced a group of people while asking for a board meeting to discuss SACR finances. The men on the exchange do not appear to be down on their luck. Fischer, a venture capitalist who leads the groups Dallas chapter, graduated from Harvard Law. Fischer has described leading a private equity career investing in apartment complexes distressed after the 2008 financial crisis. Also cc-ed was Williams, the Claremont president. Williams confirmed his involvement in the group on Friday on Twitter, writing, may 1,000 chapters bloom and flourish. Claremont came into national consciousness in 2021 because it was where Trump co-defendant and co-conspirator John Eastman, the attorney who played a key role in the 2020 election subversion effort, works as a senior fellow. Claremont Institute President Ryan Williams accepts the National Humanities medal on behalf of Claremont, awarded by then-President Donald Trump in the East Room of the White House on November 21, 2019. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) Under Williams leadership, Claremont has become well-known for a vision of America in which the country as we know it is all but lost, set to be replaced by a regime that its leaders hope to craft to come after the current, cold civil war concludes. While introducing another podcast discussion between Haywood and Anton, Williams called Haywood a friend of recent years who was willing to discuss the countrys decaying republic. The phrase cold civil war is chosen deliberately, Williams told TPM. I hope it remains cold indefinitely. Its not only about the republic. Internal SACR messages show that the group envisions itself as stewards of a hard brand of Christianity. Yenor, in one message that he planned to use for recruitment, summed it up: Our belief is that the countrys track is unsustainable, and the only way to secure a future for Christian families is to keep and take back space now closed to Christians. Who is un-SACR? Who is excluded, in some sense, reveals more about SACR than who is allowed in. The group bans anyone who is not Christian: Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and others. But it goes further than that and bars non-trinitarian Christians; Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and others cannot be SACR members. Williams said that the religious exclusivity came from the long and robust tradition of the intersection between Trinitarian Christianity in a broad sort of ecumenical sense and American civic leadership and statesmanship. Too much ecumenism is sometimes counterproductive in these sorts of ventures, he added. Which is not to say that we dont of course have nothing but toleration in the great American tradition for all faiths as long as theyre genuinely as long as they are not hostile to American principles and notions of natural rights and constitutionalism. Women are not allowed in SACR, whatever their faith. The group emphasizes a traditional role for the man in the household, a robust and muscular exercise of temporal authority by men, and the forceful application of male dominion in civic affairs. Yenor, the Boise State professor, told TPM in a text that the groups exclusivity was a way to bring men together for real community and fraternity, allowing members to build each other up and encourage responsibility in public and private life. A SACR Membership Criteria & Recruiting Guide obtained via TPMs public records requests shows questions that the group puts to prospective members. What are your thoughts on the Republican Party? What are your thoughts on Christian Nationalism? Comment on the Trump presidency and what it entails for the future. Describe the dynamic of your household in terms of your role and that of your wife. Describe your church community and your and your familys involvement there Other criteria for membership include faithfulness (adherence to traditional Christian sexual ethics), virtue (restraint and self-denial; household management; leadership and orderliness), and alignment, defined as: deference to and acceptance of the wisdom of our American and European Christian forebears in the political realm, a traditional understanding of patriarchal leadership in the household, and an acceptance of traditional Natural Law in ethics more broadly. Finally, members are asked to possess one of these three qualities: influence, capability (any skill conducive to the technical work of productive entrepreneurship; lawfare; cybersecurity), or wealth. If you make it in, youre asked to pay regular dues and appear at meetings once a month. Chapter members names are hidden, as are national or Chapter initiatives. Fischer posted a copy of a mission statement and objectives already previously obtained by TPM on Twitter Thursday evening. The group has public and non-public descriptions of its purpose and goals. In an internal version of the mission statement, SACR says we are un-hyphenated Americans and we believe in a particular Christianity that is not blurred by modernist philosophies. We are willing to act decisively to secure permanently, as much as anything is permanent, the political and social dominance of that ideal, the document says. Why the big secret? Perhaps the most startling element of SACR is one of its long-term objectives. Per the mission statement obtained by TPM, SACR aims to have its members form the government of an aligned future regime. They would be next generationnot founding participants, but those who joined as the project of civic renewal grows deep roots, the document reads. That is, men who grow up in the system. Other goals include providing preferential treatment for members, especially in business, and to both coordinate allied fraternal networks and defend fraternal networks against attacks by those opposed to civic renewal, and strongly deter such attacks. In Yenors Boise chapter, SACR members attempted to craft a Statement on Marriage in which local church leaders would proclaim an intentional effort to celebrate the benefits of family life because the culture is hostile to Christian marriage. To do that, the group would promote marriage publicly through a pro-marriage sticker to be spread around the Boise region. The same group held events with speakers, including writer and policy researcher Aaron Renn. At one point, emails show, Yenor pitched an Idaho news website to Claremont funders called Action Idaho, saying that SACR would take care of back-end work for the venture. Other public remarks from members point towards the groups activities. After The Guardian published its initial story on the group over the summer, a small controversy erupted among evangelicals who regarded Haywoods views as dangerous and the prospect of a certain strain of Christianity taking control of the government as troubling. Fischer hit back in a podcast appearance, describing SACR as a big-tent thing where men get together. So the local chapters or lodges will have a meeting and maybe 15 guys get together and a speaker comes in and talks about something political, sometimes its a political candidate or whatever. And then we learn and sometimes we just hang out, he said. Theres no sort of great secrecy associated with it. Theres a little degree of confidentiality because theres guys there who are at companies where even being associated with a group that is all men would be seen as suspicious. SACR and its members harp on the idea that America is in a fatal stage of rot, and that they are an oppressed people waiting to rise up on behalf of a silent majority. The SACR website speaks to the deeply held grievance and sense of a lack of masculine purpose which animates the group. SACR exists, the website says, because a man is no longer encouraged to fly to the stars, because those who rule today spit on such ambitions; they corrupt the sinews of America. They have alienated men from family, community, and God. We counter and conquer this poison, rebuilding a society where a man can find genuine fulfilment, true to his nature and calling, rejoicing in virtue and vitality, the website says, before offering a Google docs link where men can apply. At the end of the day, SACRs members are not oppressed. Claremont is free to publish whatever it likes its widely seen as tremendously influential on the right generally and in MAGA circles specifically. SACR chapters can meet; Haywood can blog in fact, on Tuesday he wrote an encomium to The Camp of the Saints, a 1970s French novel in which a horde of Indian immigrants overwhelms, degrades, and exterminates the white West. The goal of the Left was always total expropriation of white people and then, if at all possible, their extermination, a goal made explicit by many powerful people in 2020, Haywood wrote. How, given this history, should white Americans respond? SACR may be his answer. In emails from November 2020, Yenor wrote to Skyler Kressin, the head of the SACR chapter in Coeur dAlene, Idaho, and on the groups national board. Yenor sent a screenshot of an Amazon link to The Super Afrikaners, a 1979 nonfiction account of the Afrikaner Broederbond, a semi-secret society which ruled South Africa under apartheid. That good? Yenor titled the subject line, highlighting the book long out of print and its $95.62 price. Thats the one, Kressin replied. South Africa, with its visions of white settlers driven away from status and wealth, appear consistently in Haywoods writings, and in Fischers as well. The Broederbond, an Afrikaner-only, Calvinist-only group of elites which functioned as a series of hundreds of independent cells across the country, offers an eerie reflection of SACRs structure. Williams told TPM that the Afrikaner Broederbond came up in conversations over what SACR would be, but denied that it served as a model for the group. The grievance, perceived loss of status, and lack of metaphysical meaning that these men feel are very real, to them. But theres enough in Americas own history to understand the aims and tradition in which SACR is operating. Correction: An earlier version of this article misidentified writer and policy researcher Aaron Renn as a self-identified Christian Nationalist. Renn does not describe himself as a Christian nationalist but rather has been a critic of Christian nationalism. We regret the error. Integration appears to be failing following a decade of increasing migration, the equalities chief has warned. In an interview with The Telegraph, Baroness Falkner of Margravine said that the discord on the countrys streets since the Oct 7 Hamas attacks had shown that we seem to be failing to integrate. Lady Falkner, a first-generation Muslim migrant from Pakistan who chairs the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), called for new arrivals to the UK to be required to take an integration course, adopting an approach used in Germany. She also raised concerns about children living segregated, parallel lives from school upwards, calling for better education on democracy and rights. The peer suggested there had been complacency among politicians over the consequences of a major increase in immigration. A government focus on extremism following 2005s July 7 attacks was no longer at the forefront of peoples minds after things calmed down. She added: The complacency is what worries me and thats why I thought the Prime Ministers speech last week was important, but I only wish it had come a month earlier. Elsewhere in the interview, Lady Falkner called for Parliament to update the Equality Act which the EHRC is responsible for policing to help resolve disputes on issues such as sex and gender. Rights must balanced On Nov 10, a month after the attacks by Hamas, Lady Falkner wrote to the Metropolitan Police to warn that pro-Palestinian protesters rights were not absolute and must be balanced against the rights of those to whom some behaviour might cause anxiety. Last week, Robin Simcox, the Home Offices independent adviser on extremism, warned that the weekly protests were turning London into a no-go zone for Jews every weekend. Lady Falkner said: Its been a sad period to witness this level of discord but, more seriously, to imagine that there are some communities in our country who dont feel safe coming out and about and going into town. I was alarmed about this early on. One of the things thats come as a surprise is that we seem to be failing to integrate. And its one thing to be very proud of, our diversity and our pluralism in our society. But I think weve missed a trick in the last 15 or 20 years. Lady Falkner continued: One of the big factoids of the last decade is that we have significantly increased immigration. We have to recognise that large numbers of first-generation migrants havent had the background of growing up in a rights-respecting country. What I would love to see would be a concerted programme of integration. Our citizenship test was a good innovation, but I think we need to reassess it, require people to take courses in integration. Germany does, for example, and I think we need to follow the model of other countries that, before people are granted citizenship, require them take a course on what it means to live in western democratic societies. Lady Falkner, an independent peer who was formerly director of policy at the Lib Dems, was a member of Sir Tony Blairs taskforce on Muslim extremism in the wake of the July 7 bombings. She expressed concern that warnings she first recalls being raised in a 2001 report highlighting segregation in Bradford schools, appear to have gone largely unheeded. She said: You cant have segregated, parallel lives from school upwards. We havent managed to deliver a society that actually coheres around a broad understanding of what British values are. Democracy, but respect for minorities, both go hand in hand. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. You are here: China Zhao Leji, executive chairman of the presidium of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), presides over the second meeting of the presidium at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua] The presidium of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature, held its second meeting Friday. Zhao Leji, executive chairman of the presidium, presided over the meeting. The meeting decided to submit multiple documents to lawmakers for deliberation. The documents include draft resolutions on the government work report, on the national economic and social development plan report and the plan for 2024, and on the central and local budgets report and the budgets for 2024. The documents also include a draft revision to the Organic Law of the State Council. The presidium's executive chairpersons met before the meeting to prepare the documents. The executive chairpersons meeting was presided over by Zhao, who is also chairman of the NPC Standing Committee. It's common for many investors, especially those who are inexperienced, to buy shares in companies with a good story even if these companies are loss-making. Sometimes these stories can cloud the minds of investors, leading them to invest with their emotions rather than on the merit of good company fundamentals. A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up. If this kind of company isn't your style, you like companies that generate revenue, and even earn profits, then you may well be interested in Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS). Even if this company is fairly valued by the market, investors would agree that generating consistent profits will continue to provide Watts Water Technologies with the means to add long-term value to shareholders. View our latest analysis for Watts Water Technologies How Quickly Is Watts Water Technologies Increasing Earnings Per Share? If you believe that markets are even vaguely efficient, then over the long term you'd expect a company's share price to follow its earnings per share (EPS) outcomes. That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. It certainly is nice to see that Watts Water Technologies has managed to grow EPS by 33% per year over three years. If the company can sustain that sort of growth, we'd expect shareholders to come away satisfied. It's often helpful to take a look at earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. Watts Water Technologies maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 3.9% to US$2.1b. That's encouraging news for the company! The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart. In investing, as in life, the future matters more than the past. So why not check out this free interactive visualization of Watts Water Technologies' forecast profits? Story continues Are Watts Water Technologies Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders? We would not expect to see insiders owning a large percentage of a US$6.8b company like Watts Water Technologies. But we do take comfort from the fact that they are investors in the company. Indeed, they have a considerable amount of wealth invested in it, currently valued at US$1.3b. Coming in at 19% of the business, that holding gives insiders a lot of influence, and plenty of reason to generate value for shareholders. Very encouraging. Is Watts Water Technologies Worth Keeping An Eye On? You can't deny that Watts Water Technologies has grown its earnings per share at a very impressive rate. That's attractive. With EPS growth rates like that, it's hardly surprising to see company higher-ups place confidence in the company through continuing to hold a significant investment. The growth and insider confidence is looked upon well and so it's worthwhile to investigate further with a view to discern the stock's true value. However, before you get too excited we've discovered 1 warning sign for Watts Water Technologies that you should be aware of. While opting for stocks without growing earnings and absent insider buying can yield results, for investors valuing these key metrics, here is a carefully selected list of companies in the US with promising growth potential and insider confidence. Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction. 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. A Colorado Bureau of Investigation DNA analyst intentionally manipulated data in the testing process for at least 15 years, according to an internal affairs investigation. Yvonne Missy Woods, a now-former DNA scientist who worked at the CBI crime lab for 29 years, has been under investigation since September 2023, according to the bureau, known as CBI. The investigation concluded that Woods manipulated data in the DNA testing process and in some cases posted incomplete test results. At this time, 652 cases have been identified as affected by Woods data manipulation between 2008 and 2023, the CBI said in a release. A review of Woods work from 1994 to 2008 is also underway. internal affairs probe dna lab tampering (Google Maps) The investigation, dated Feb. 26, found Woods "Omitted material facts in official criminal justice records," "Tampered with DNA testing results by omitting some of those results," and violated the bureau's code of conduct and lab policies "ranging from data retention to quality control measures." According to the investigation, a DNA forensics team found Woods manipulated her work by deleting and changing data that hid the fact that she interfered with controls and failed to troubleshoot problems that arose during the testing process. It also found she did not provide adequate documentation in case records related to tests she performed. "These manipulations appear to have been the result of intentional conduct on the part of Woods," the CBI said. The CBI said the findings puts all of her work in question." Ryan Brackley, an attorney representing Woods, said she "will continue to cooperate with law enforcement to preserve the integrity of her work that resulted in true and just criminal justice findings whether arrests, convictions or exonerations." The bureau launched the investigation in September after becoming aware that a DNA sample testing performed by Woods "may have deviated from standard operating procedures." Woods was placed on administrative leave on Oct. 3, and later retired from her post on Nov. 6. The CBI said she did not perform any additional lab work during that time. Since Oct. 3, the CBI, in collaboration with members of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, looked into all of Woods' work over the course of her 29-year career with the bureau. Ultimately, the review did not find that Wood "falsified DNA matches or otherwise fabricated DNA profiles." "She instead deviated from standard testing protocols and cut corners, calling into question the reliability of the testing she conducted," CBI said, adding that Woods "should have conducted additional testing to ensure the reliability of her results in these affected cases." Her attorney said the investigation's findings "support Ms. Woods earlier statements shes never created or reported any false inculpatory DNA matches or exclusions, nor has she testified falsely in any hearing or trial resulting in a false conviction or unjust imprisonment." A separate criminal investigation into Woods launched late last year is still underway, according to the CBI. The CBI said it is working to implement changes that will "enhance the integrity of its testing processes and their results" and to prevent this kind of issue from arising in the future. "Public trust in our institutions is critical to the fulfillment of our mission," CBI Director Chris Schaefer said. "Our actions in rectifying this unprecedented breach of trust will be thorough and transparent." The bureau said it is also working through an audit of all of its DNA analysts "to ensure the accuracy and completeness of its entire catalog of records." Over the course of the audit, the CBI found that an additional analyst who works for the Weld County Sheriffs Office at the Northern Colorado Regional Forensic Laboratory may have also manipulated DNA testing data, but noted that this case is separate from Woods'. That analyst, Chiara Wuensch, was fired by the Weld County Sheriffs Office last month after an internal investigation that centered on anomalies in her work. The investigation, which began Jan. 31, found she violated the Weld County Code for expectations of proper conduct, and the sheriffs office standards of conduct policy for not cooperating with the agencys internal investigation, according to the sheriffs office. Wuensch did not immediately respond to a request for comment on her termination or the circumstances surrounding it. The sheriff's office said it intends to pursue criminal charges against Weunsch. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com The production of beef is a major contributor to deforestation, and a new investigation has linked a number of major companies to the practice in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, which is home to part of the Amazon and the "upside-down" Cerrado forest savanna. What's happening? Nongovernmental organization Global Witness reported that deforestation in the Cerrado forest is an overlooked "ecological catastrophe," as rates of forest destruction hit a record in 2023, rising 43% from the previous year. After digging into public data, the NGO wrote that three of Brazil's biggest meatpackers JBS, Marfrig, and Minerva played a role, selling products connected to illegal deforestation. Cattle farms that did business with the companies, which denied the allegations, reportedly contributed to forest loss at a five times higher rate. Trade data indicated that demand for beef in the European Union and United Kingdom was a significant factor that accelerated the destruction of the Cerrado, which spans 22% of the country. This deforestation was partially facilitated by American, British, and EU financial giants, according to commercially available market data obtained by Global Witness. Barclays, BNP Paribas, HSBC, ING Group, Merrill, and Santander were among the "juggernauts" named that have "underwritten billions of dollars in bonds" in support of the industry's growth. Why is this concerning? The Cerrado's deep, expansive root system is a carbon-storing machine. According to Global Witness, it soaked up 15.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide in 2017. Scientists believe that it will be impossible to limit the warming of our planet to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit above preindustrial levels if deforestation continues in the Cerrado. The removal of the forest is also spilling over into the savanna, one of the most biodiverse plains in the world. The World Wildlife Organization noted that almost half of the neighboring savanna's 11,000 plants are unique to the area, with locals relying on them for medicine and food. What can be done to help the Cerrado? There have been various agreements aimed at protecting the neighboring Amazon, and they have led to some success, as the rates of deforestation in that jungle have been slowing down. Unfortunately, as Global Witness pointed out, this appears to have fueled further deforestation, as well as the destruction of savanna's native plants, in the Cerrado. After completing its investigation, the NGO concluded that there should be more robust illegal protections for the Amazon's neighbor. It also believes that there should be more transparency to help hold companies accountable and wrote that financial institutions should withhold their services "until each [meatpacking] company can demonstrate deforestation-free supply chains in Mato Grosso and beyond." At a local level, cutting back on meat consumption by eating one plant-based meal per week is not only good for your wallet and your health, but also could help the Cerrado. According to Global Witness, a 2020 study found that two-thirds of deforestation there was because of cattle farming. Join our free newsletter for cool news and cool tips that make it easy to help yourself while helping the planet. DULUTH State investigators will begin digging through the debris of what was the Lutsen Lodge next week, as they continue the search for answers about the fire that destroyed the historic building on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Crews will be coming and going from the scene starting Monday, according to a news release from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Investigators are looking for the origin and cause of the Feb. 6 fire that resulted in the total loss of the North Shore destination. "We are dedicated to preserving the integrity of the investigation, and we ask people to give us the space we need to complete this work," state fire marshal Daniel Krier said in the release. The Cook County Sheriff's Office secured the scene after the fire and will limit public access to the area which is considered a safety risk because of unstable fire debris. A staff member at the lodge saw smoke in the lobby and called Cook County emergency dispatchers just after midnight on Feb. 6. The flames quickly engulfed the entire lodge, which did not have any guests staying in its 40 rooms. Vacancies manager Edward Vanegas said at the time were because it was a Monday night in a snowless winter. Vanegas described as a "natural disaster." By midday that morning, just two chimneys were left standing tall over piles of burned rubble. The air was filled with a smoky haze and small pockets still crackled with flames. Lutsen Lodge was in operation for nearly 140 years and billed itself as the state's oldest resort. Current owners Bryce Campbell and his mother and business partner Sheila Campbell bought it in 2018. The Campbells also bought Superior Shores Resort in Two Harbors in 2020 for about $15 million. Soon after the fire, the state fire marshal released a statement noting that the lodge had a working sprinkler system when it was inspected in July. Seven violations were found at the time, three that were repaired. Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images One Arizona senator helped to involuntarily commit his brother who now refuses to speak to him. Another whose brother has been in and out of treatment and incarceration now works to treat those with opioid use disorder. A lobbyist told lawmakers that she made call after call to get help for a loved one, only to be refused. The number of those who work at the Arizona Capitol who have been impacted by the fallout of drug addiction shines a light on the pervasiveness of substance abuse disorder in the Grand Canyon State. But lawmakers at the Capitol, both Democrats and Republicans, as well as advocacy organizations, are sharply divided on whether court-ordered treatment for those dealing with addiction will save lives or exacerbate the problem. Senate Bill 1578, sponsored by Sen. Justine Wadsack, R-Tucson, passed through the Senate on Wednesday by a vote of 20-10, with a few Democrats siding with Republicans in support. If passed into law, the bill would allow Arizonans to petition the courts to order treatment for their loved ones who suffer from substance abuse disorder, but who refuse to seek help on their own. At present, Arizona allows people to petition for court-ordered treatment for mental health disorders, but not for substance abuse disorders alone. Sen. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale, who voted against the measure, said he would never support a law that allowed court-ordered treatment, saying it goes against his belief in personal freedom. Those on the other side of the aisle who opposed the bill, including Sens. Juan Mendez of Tempe and Eva Burch, of Mesa, said that the proposal would only serve to hurt familial relationships and overburden a treatment system that is woefully inadequate. I believe it is very well intended and think it is going to have terrible consequences, Burch said on the Senate floor on Wednesday. Burch, who described herself as a medical provider who treats patients with opioid abuse disorder exclusively, said that involuntary treatment would hurt families, communities and those suffering from addiction. She added that the treatment system simply doesnt have the resources or capacity to deal with it. But those who supported the bill spoke with passion about their belief that it would help those who were too sick to help themselves. Sen. Catherine Miranda, a Phoenix Democrat, shared her belief that if this law were in place at the time, it would have saved the life of 23-year-old Joshua Fox, who hanged himself while in custody of the Arizona Department of Corrections on Dec. 20, 2023. Fox, who Miranda said suffered from untreated schizophrenia, was convicted of manslaughter on Dec. 15 for stabbing his father to death in July 2021. Miranda shared that Fox had been previously released from multiple agencies that screened him for mental health issues because it was just drugs. He never received appropriate care, Miranda said. Mendez pointed out that the system in Arizona lacks the proper resources to care for those who are involuntarily committed to treatment. And he knows about that from personal experience. Mendezs voice shook as he told his colleagues in the Senate that he once helped his family locate and involuntarily commit his younger brother, who has a severe mental illness and substance abuse issues. Forcing my brother through this system had deep psychological and emotional consequences for my family, he said. Mendez described his brothers involuntary commitment as traumatic, involving seclusion, restraint and filled with underpaid staff and guards who were constantly sedating him and changing his medication without an adequate explanation. Hes never going to talk to me again, Mendez said. Im dead to him. Mendez added that he wishes that instead of legalizing court-ordered treatment, the legislature would scale up its service for the severely mentally ill and those dealing with addiction so that people could get help before involuntary commitment seemed like the only option, and that those who do receive treatment get care that is adequate. This proposal will only set up another vulnerable population to fail because we refuse to invest in the treatment they need, Mendez said. But others with loved ones suffering from addiction say that the bill is the only way to get them the help they need. Rachel Streiff, organizer of the advocacy group Mad Moms told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 15 that she has a loved one whose life was saved via court-ordered treatment. Weve seen court-ordered treatment work for serious mental illness, she said, adding that those in the throes of addiction often have poor insight and are unable to help themselves until their brains are free of drugs. During the same committee hearing, Wadsack told her fellow lawmakers that she was aware that some of them didnt like the idea of involuntary treatment, but that, in all honesty the alternative is usually going to be death, or overdose. Marilyn Rodriguez, a lobbyist for the ACLU of Arizona, countered that addiction is a complicated medical condition that almost always requires enthusiastic buy-in from the patient for any hope of success. I have a deep personal connection to this legislation, she said. I understand where its coming from. I know that its well-intended. And I know how it feels to desperately want your loved one to get help. How futile the whole system can seem when youve called 911 for the 10th, 11th and 15th time only to be told by first responders that they cant take her if she doesnt want to go. I understand. Rodriguez described it as cruel to offer this proposal as an option for families when the necessary resources are not available to implement it successfully. The bill does not appropriate any funding for treatment, but relies on families to pay for it. The average cost of that treatment is $13,000, a cost that the vast majority of families cannot afford, she said. She added that the options for addiction care are lacking, especially for women and those living in rural areas, with not enough beds and long waitlists. Rodriguez asked the legislators why they wouldnt first consider funding care for those suffering from substance abuse disorder who actually want treatment but who cant pay for it. Next, the bill will head to the House for consideration. SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST. DONATE The post Involuntary treatment bill highlights sharp divide on how to deal with substance abuse disorder appeared first on Arizona Mirror. FILE PHOTO: Vote on referendum on changes to the Irish constitution called the Family Amendment and the Care Amendment, in Ireland DUBLIN (Reuters) -Irish voters have rejected proposals to replace constitutional references to the makeup of a family and a mother's "duties in the home" in a significant defeat for the government. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar had pitched the vote, held on Friday to coincide with International Women's Day and counted on Saturday, as a chance to delete some "very old-fashioned, very sexist language about women". A proposal to expand the definition of family from a relationship founded on marriage to include other durable relationships was rejected by 67.7% to 32.3%. A second referendum on a proposal to replace language surrounding a woman's duties in the home with a clause recognising the role of family members in the provision of care was rejected by 73.9% to 26.1%. Campaigners argued the proposal would enshrine care as a private responsibility, and not a state one. Speaking to reporters in Dublin on Saturday, Varadkar said voters had given his government "two wallops". "It was our responsibility to convince a majority of people to vote yes, and we clearly failed to do so." (Reporting by Graham Fahy; Editing by David Holmes, Nick Macfie and Chizu Nomiyama) INDIANAPOLIS Police are investigating an interstate shooting that injured one person on I-65 early Saturday morning. According to Indiana State Police, officers were dispatched to mile marker 118.9 near W 38th St. on the west side of Indianapolis on the report of a person shot at approximately 2 a.m. Officers located a male who had been shot in the leg. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment. Police say they had several northbound lanes shut down as they completed their investigation. Those with information on the incident are encouraged to contact Indiana State Police at (317) 899-8577 or Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at (317) 262-8477. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTTV CBS4Indy. Palestinians inspect the massive damage caused by an Israeli air strike on Al-Masry Tower, downtown Rafah. Mohammed Talatene/dpa Israeli forces killed dozens of Islamist Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, military officials said on Saturday. In the southern city of Khan Younis, troops eliminated 20 Hamas militiamen in close combat and air strikes, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Military facilities of the enemy were destroyed in targeted operations and an unspecified number of fighters were captured. At least ten terrorists were killed in central Gaza, the IDF said. The information could not initially be independently verified. According to Palestinian sources, Israeli fighter jets early on Saturday bombed a high-rise building in Rafah, the southernmost village in the sealed-off coastal strip. The residents had received warnings in advance and were not in the building in the centre of the city, which was destroyed. Nevertheless, an unspecified number of civilians were injured in the attack on the Al-Masri Tower, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported, citing local sources. A total of 82 Palestinians have died in the past 24 hours as a result of fighting, the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza said on Saturday. A further 122 people were injured. The number of Palestinians killed since the beginning of the Gaza war last autumn has risen to 30,960 and the number of injured to 72,524. These figures could also not be independently verified. Casualty figures collected in the hospitals do not differentiate between civilians and armed fighters. However, 70% of the victims are said to be women, children and elderly men. The war was triggered by an unprecedented massacre carried out by Palestinian Hamas and other extremist groups in southern Israel on October 7 that killed 1,200 people. Another 250 people were abducted to the Gaza Strip. Palestinians inspect the massive damage caused by an Israeli air strike on Al-Masry Tower, downtown Rafah. Mohammed Talatene/dpa Palestinians inspect the massive damage caused by an Israeli air strike on Al-Masry Tower, downtown Rafah. Mohammed Talatene/dpa Israeli soldiers stand as right wing settlers trying to cross into Gaza strip in order to build a settlement. Ilia Yefimovich/dpa The fighting between the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel continued on Saturday as Hamas released an estimate showing that the war had so far resulted in $30 billion in damages. The figure could not be independently confirmed. The Hamas-controlled media office said as many as 80% of the buildings in Gaza City have been destroyed. The overall damage is to residential buildings, economic facilities and infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water pipes and sewerage systems, the office said. Part of Israel's warfare includes massive bombardments of towns and residential areas in the densely populated Gaza Strip. Allies such as the United States have criticized the intensity of Israel's military action, which also claims many victims among the civilian population. The Israeli military claims that it intends to crush Hamas and free the hostages. Hamas hides behind the civilian population and operates military installations, weapons depots and command centres in the middle of residential areas, Israel says. It has shown several photos and videos of such installations over the course of the now five-month war. As such, Israel considers it necessary to destroy a network of tunnels several hundred kilometres long created by Hamas. Bunkers and tunnels are often located under civilian facilities such as hospitals. Meanwhile, Israeli forces killed dozens of Islamist Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, military officials said on Saturday. In the southern city of Khan Younis, troops eliminated 20 Hamas militiamen in close combat and air strikes, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Military facilities of the enemy were destroyed in targeted operations and an unspecified number of fighters were captured. At least ten terrorists were killed in central Gaza, the IDF said. The information could not initially be independently verified. According to Palestinian sources, Israeli fighter jets early on Saturday bombed a high-rise building in Rafah, the southernmost village in the sealed-off coastal strip. The residents had received warnings in advance and were not in the building in the centre of the city, which was destroyed. Nevertheless, an unspecified number of civilians were injured in the attack on the al-Masri Tower, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported, citing local sources. The IDF confirmed the attack on the tower block. According to the Times of Israel, it had housed a Hamas planning cell. The terrorist organization had prepared attacks on Israeli soldiers and rocket attacks on Israel from there, the paper said. A total of 82 Palestinians have died in the past 24 hours as a result of fighting, the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza said on Saturday. A further 122 people were injured. The number of Palestinians killed since the beginning of the Gaza war last autumn has risen to 30,960 and the number of injured to 72,524. These figures could also not be independently verified. Casualty figures collected in the hospitals do not differentiate between civilians and armed fighters. However, 70% of the victims are said to be women, children and elderly men. The war was triggered by an unprecedented massacre carried out by Hamas and other extremist groups in southern Israel on October 7 that killed 1,200 people. Another 250 people were abducted to Gaza. By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Bassam Masoud CAIRO/RAFAH, Gaza (Reuters) -Efforts to secure a deal on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza are ongoing, Israel's intelligence agency Mossad said on Saturday, despite dimming hopes for a truce during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Mossad chief David Barnea met on Friday with his U.S. counterpart, CIA Director William Burns, to promote a deal that would see hostages released, Mossad said in a statement. U.S. President Joe Biden said on Saturday that Burns remained in the region. "Contacts and cooperation with the mediators continue all the time in an effort to narrow the gaps and reach agreements," Mossad said in the statement, which was distributed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. Israel and Hamas, the militant Islamist group that rules the Palestinian enclave and has been locked in a war with Israeli forces since its deadly Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel, have traded blame over the apparent deadlock in talks in the run-up to Ramadan, which begins on or around March 10. A Hamas source told Reuters the group's delegation was "unlikely" to make another visit to Cairo over the weekend for talks. Egypt, the U.S. and Qatar have been mediating truce negotiations since January. The last deal struck was a week-long pause in fighting in November during which Hamas released more than 100 hostages and Israel freed about three times as many Palestinian prisoners. Hamas blames Israel for the impasse in negotiations for a longer ceasefire and the release of 134 hostages believed still held in Gaza - saying it refuses to give guarantees to end the war or pull its forces from the enclave. Mossad said Hamas was digging its heels in and aiming for violence in the region to spiral during Ramadan. Israeli officials have said that the war will end only with the defeat of Hamas, whose demands Netanyahu has called "delusional". Biden, who has repeatedly called for a temporary ceasefire, said in an MSNBC interview that it was "always possible" that a deal could be reached before Ramadan. But he did not elaborate. While reiterating steadfast U.S. support for Israel's right to defend itself, Biden told MSNBC his message to Netanyahu about the need to limit Palestinian civilian casualties is that he is "hurting Israel more than helping" by acting in a way "contrary to what Israel stands for." Asked whether he would be willing to return to Israel, where he visited in mid-October in a show of solidarity, to address lawmakers, Biden said "yes." But he declined to elaborate. 'RELEASE THE HOSTAGES' In a statement marking Ramadan, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh vowed the Palestinians would continue to fight Israel "until they regain freedom and independence". Five months into Israel's air and ground assault on Gaza, health authorities there say nearly 31,000 Palestinians have been killed. The war was triggered by the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, in which 1,200 people were killed and 253 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. At an anti-government protest in Tel Aviv on Saturday, some demonstrators blocked a highway and were dragged away by police. Another rally was led by families of hostages who called for their loved ones' release. "The pain and anger are still running through my blood," said Agam Goldstein, a teenager freed from Gaza with her mother and two brothers in November, addressing the hostage-related rally. "Hamas, if you have any humanity left in you, release the hostages." Charity workers loaded relief supplies bound for Gaza on to a barge in Cyprus as part of an international effort to launch a maritime corridor to a Palestinian population on the brink of famine. The U.S. also has said its military will build a temporary floating dock off Gaza's coast to bring in aid, though it does not envision deployment of U.S. troops on the ground. Israel was coordinating with the U.S. on the dock project for shipment of aid "after it undergoes full Israeli inspection", to be delivered to Gaza civilians through international organizations, said Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari. A U.S. Navy logistics support vessel was headed for the eastern Mediterranean carrying the first equipment to be used to help establish the pier, the U.S. Central Command said. Amid continuing tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border where Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants have regularly exchanged fire, Lebanese security sources said an Israeli strike killed a family of five and injured nine people in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said it was looking into the report. 'RED LINE' In a somewhat contradictory exchange, Biden told MSNBC that Israels threatened invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza would be his red line for Netanyahu but then immediately backtracked, saying there was no red line and "Im never going to leave Israel." Concerned about further heavy civilian casualties, Biden has urged Netanyahu not to launch a major offensive in Rafah unless Israel has first crafted a plan for mass evacuation from the last area of Gaza it has not yet invaded with ground forces. More than half of Gaza's 2.3 million people are sheltering in the Rafah area. During a Biden campaign speech in the presidential election battleground state of Georgia, a protester yelled "genocide Joe" but was quickly drowned out by the crowd's chants of four more years" and was removed by security. Theres a lot of Palestinians who are being unfairly victimized," Biden quickly responded. Stepping up pressure in Gaza, Israel struck a 12-floor residential tower in Rafah, leaving dozens of families homeless, though no casualties were reported. Israel's military said the block was being used by Hamas to plan attacks on Israelis. Israel's offensive has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian catastrophe. Much of the enclave is reduced to rubble and most of its population is displaced, with the U.N. warning of disease and starvation. (Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Additional reporting by Noele Illiene, Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber, Adam Makary, Henriette Chacar, Maayan Lubell and Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Writing by Maayan Lubell and Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Giles Elgood, Helen Popper, Frances Kerry, Nick Macfie, Daniel Wallis and Marguerita Choy) People try to retrieve their belongings from debris after Al-Masry Tower was targeted by Israeli air strikes on March 9 - Ahmad Hasaballah Israel struck one of the largest residential towers in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, residents said, stepping up pressure on the last area of the enclave it has not yet invaded and where over a million displaced Palestinians are sheltering. The 12-floor building, located 500 metres from the border with Egypt, was damaged in the strike. Dozens of families were made homeless though no casualties were reported, according to residents. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the incident. One of the towers 300 residents told Reuters that Israel gave them a 30-minute warning to flee the building at night. People were startled, running down the stairs, some fell, it was chaos. People left their belongings and money, said Mohammad Al-Nabrees, adding that among those who tripped down the stairs during the panicked evacuation was a friends pregnant wife. A Rafah-based official with the Fatah party, which dominates the Palestinian Authority that has limited self-rule in the West Bank, said he feared that hitting the Rafah tower was a sign of an imminent Israeli invasion. Follow the latest updates below 03:50 PM GMT Thats all for today. Thanks for following the Telegraphs live blog. Well be back tomorrow with the latest updates on the war. 02:36 PM GMT Sweden resumes payments to Unrwa Sweden said on Saturday it would resume suspended payments to the UN refugee agency for Palestinians (Unrwa), with a grant of 200 million crowns (15 million). Several countries, including the United States and Britain, paused their funding to Unrwa after accusations by Israel that a dozen of the agencys 13,000 staff in Gaza took part in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. The Swedish government said it had resumed payments after Unrwa agreed to strengthen internal controls and to extra checks on its employees, among other measures. 02:16 PM GMT Aid ship from Cyprus ready to sail for Gaza Two-hundred tonnes of food aid were ready to be sent from Cyprus to war-ravaged Gaza by sea, a Spanish NGO said Saturday, the first shipment along an EU-backed maritime corridor. A spokeswoman for Open Arms, a charity whose boat docked three weeks ago in the Cypriot port of Larnaca, said everything will be ready to be able to set sail later Saturday. Depending on all the authorisations and permits, and when we get them, the vessel - also called Open Arms - could embark today or tomorrow, Laura Lanuza told AFP. 01:58 PM GMT Humza Yousaf gave 250k to Gaza after overruling his officials Humza Yousaf has been accused of a conflict of interest after overriding officials to give 250,000 to a Gaza aid agency while members of his family were trapped in the warzone, writes Camilla Turner. The First Minister stepped in after officials recommended a 100,000-200,000 donation to Unicef, the United Nations agency which provides humanitarian aid to children, to fund water programmes in Gaza. He overruled their advice, declaring that 250,000 of taxpayers money should instead be given to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the biggest international aid agency operating in Gaza, which has been criticised over alleged links to Hamas. Read the full piece here. 01:40 PM GMT Erdogan says Turkey firmly backs Hamas Turkish President Recep Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday Ankara firmly backs Hamas. No-one can make us qualify Hamas as a terrorist organisation, he said in a speech in Istanbul. Turkey is a country that speaks openly with Hamas leaders and firmly backs them. Mr Erdogan has been one of the most virulent critics of Israel since the start of the war in Gaza, which began after an October 7 attack by Hamas in Israel that claimed at least 1,160 lives, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures. 01:11 PM GMT First Gaza aid ship to set sail from Cyprus Around 200 tonnes of food is being loaded onto a boat bound for Gaza in what is set to be the first shipment to the war-ravaged territory along a new maritime corridor due to open this weekend. World Central Kitchen teams are in Cyprus loading pallets of humanitarian aid onto a boat headed to northern Gaza, the charity said Friday in a statement. We have been preparing for weeks alongside our trusted NGO partner Open Arms for the opening of a maritime aid corridor that would allow us to scale our efforts in the region, it added. 12:48 PM GMT UN Palestinian refugee agency at risk of death, Unrwa chief says The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency is at risk of death after a string of donors suspended their funding over Israeli allegations some staff took part in the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas in southern Israel, Unrwa chief Philippe Lazzarini said. The agency is at risk of death, it is risking dismantlement, Mr Lazzarini told Swiss broadcaster RTS in an interview aired on Saturday. What is at stake is the fate of the Palestinians today in Gaza in the short term who are going through an absolutely unprecedented humanitarian crisis. 12:27 PM GMT Pictured: Israel strikes residential tower in southern Rafah Israel struck one of the largest residential towers in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday - Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images Europe 12:08 PM GMT US Navy shoots down 15 UAVs in Red Sea US Navy ships and aircraft shot down 15 drones fired by Yemens Houthis in the Red Sea area early on Saturday, US Central Command (Centcom) said. The military was responding to a large-scale attack by Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists launched into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden between 4 am and 6:30 am (1300-1530 GMT), Centcom said in a post on X. The UAVs were determined to present an imminent threat to merchant vessels, US Navy, and coalition ships in the region, it said. 11:59 AM GMT French military destroys four combat drones in Gulf of Aden A French warship and fighter jets destroyed four combat drones that were heading towards a European naval mission in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday, the French military said. This defensive action directly contributed to the protection of the cargo ship True Confidence, under the Barbados flag, which was struck on March 6 and is being towed, as well as other commercial vessels transiting in the area, the army said in a statement. 11:25 AM GMT Israel strikes residential tower in southern Rafah Israel struck one of the largest residential towers in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, residents said, stepping up pressure on the last area of the enclave it has not yet invaded and where over a million displaced Palestinians are sheltering. The 12-floor building, located some 500 metres from the border with Egypt, was damaged in the strike. Dozens of families were made homeless though no casualties were reported, according to residents. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the incident. One of the towers 300 residents told Reuters that Israel gave them a 30-minute warning to flee the building at night. People were startled, running down the stairs, some fell, it was chaos. People left their belongings and money, said Mohammad Al-Nabrees, adding that among those who tripped down the stairs during the panicked evacuation was a friends pregnant wife. 11:12 AM GMT Iran says removal of Khamenei social media accounts violates free speech Iran on Saturday denounced US tech giant Metas decision to remove the Facebook and Instagram accounts of its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling it a violation of freedom of expression. Instagram and Facebook are among the most popular social media platforms for Iranians, but while the government blocks their use, officials in the Islamic republic have accounts on them. Meta said last month it had removed Khameneis accounts from Facebook and Instagram for having repeatedly violated its policy on dangerous organisations and individuals. In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said the move was not only a violation of freedom of speech, but also an insult to millions of followers of his positions and news. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Insiders who acquired AU$1.29m worth of Richmond Vanadium Technology Limited's (ASX:RVT) stock at an average price of AU$0.38 in the past 12 months may be dismayed by the recent 14% price decline. Insiders purchase with the hope of seeing their investments increase in value over time. However, due to recent losses, their initial investment is now only worth AU$1.04m, which is not great. While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. See our latest analysis for Richmond Vanadium Technology The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Richmond Vanadium Technology In fact, the recent purchase by Jinru Liu was the biggest purchase of Richmond Vanadium Technology shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being AU$0.30). While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when an insider has purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price. Jinru Liu was the only individual insider to buy during the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction! There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying. Does Richmond Vanadium Technology Boast High Insider Ownership? Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. From our data, it seems that Richmond Vanadium Technology insiders own 13% of the company, worth about AU$8.8m. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings. Story continues What Might The Insider Transactions At Richmond Vanadium Technology Tell Us? It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. On this analysis the only slight negative we see is the fairly low (overall) insider ownership; their transactions suggest that they are quite positive on Richmond Vanadium Technology stock. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Richmond Vanadium Technology. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Richmond Vanadium Technology has 4 warning signs (2 make us uncomfortable!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies. For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests. 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. Yotam Dankner leaving his arraignment for strangling a anti Israeli protestor that taunted him with an anti jewish verbal attack. An Israeli businessman was hit with criminal charges for chokeslamming an anti-Israel protester but claims he acted in self-defense after the antisemitic bigot repeatedly called him a genocidal Jew, his lawyers said Friday. Attorneys for Yotam Danker, an Israel citizen who served in the Israel Defense Forces, said the Manhattan District Attorneys Office had the case all wrong, and that their client acted out of fear for his life during the Jan. 26 encounter in Midtown. The DAs office has decided to weigh into the current Gaza-Israeli situation by arresting and charging a private citizen who was insulted by an anti-Semitic, bigot who repeatedly called him a genocidal Jew, lawyer Zach Intrater said after Dankers Manhattan Criminal Court arraignment Friday. My client was doing absolutely nothing. Prosecutors claim that Danker, a senior vice president for Carmel Partner, was walking with his pals on East 55th Street around noon when they started beefing with Simon Miller, who was handing out fliers. Yotam Dankner left his arraignment for strangling an anti-Israeli protestor who taunted him with an anti-Jewish verbal attack. Steven Hirsch Danker allegedly returned about 10 minutes later, grabbed Miller by the throat, slammed him to the concrete and put him in a rear chokehold, wrapping his arms around his throat and causing him to become disoriented, before running off, according to prosecutors and sources. Miller suffered bruising, a small laceration to the neck and a cut to the hand. But Dankers attorney said he was simply trying to grab some lunch when Miller, who was allegedly protesting against Israel, began spewing the hateful speech Sources say Danker wrapped his arms around Millers throat. Steven Hirsch When my client returned from getting his lunch, this antisemitic bigot continued to harass, assault him using horrific antisemitic language, Intrater said, adding that Danker only ran off because he feared that his life was in danger. Judge Rachel Pauley asked prosecutors what was written on Millers fliers which they couldnt identify but Dankers attorney said that he guessed they contained the same antisemitic language that was hurled at Danker. Teny Geragos, another attorney for Danker, said in court that Dankers chokeslam came after he was repeatedly called a genocidal Jew, adding that Danker should be released on his own recognizance since he never had any run-ins with the law. Dankner was charged with strangulation, assault and criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation. Prosecutors asked for supervised release on the bail-eligible charges. The judge released Danker, whose next court date is scheduled for April 17. The Manhattan District Attorneys Office says they are continuing to investigate the case. Some are stabbed, some are shot, some are strangled. But all the women killed by femicide in Italy have one thing in common: they knew their killers. More than 100 women were killed in 2023. The term femicide which is typically when a woman is killed by a current or former partner - became so topical an Italian encyclopedia named it as its word of the year in 2023. Italy might have a female prime minister, but she makes a point of not identifying herself as a feminist. The country only criminalized crimes of passion in 1981, and the judicial system still often gives lighter sentences to male killers if their wives were unfaithful. In a notorious case in 2020, 80-year-old Antonio Gozzini was cleared of bludgeoning to death his 62-year-old wife, Cristina Maioli with a rolling pin while she slept and then slicing her throat and cutting up her legs because the court said he suffered a raptus or delirious jealousy over his wifes job at a local school. Gozzini remains free today. The prevalence of domestic violence in Italy is fed by societal failures, says Lorella Zanardo, an activist, educator and documentary filmmaker. Zanardos 2009 documentary Il Corpo delle Donne or Womens Bodies, about sexism in Italian public and private television, started a national conversation about the link between sexism, sexual assault and gender equality. While Italy does not have Europes highest rate of domestic violence, it is among the lowest ranked in Europe when it comes to gender equality. In 2023 Italy dropped in the rankings from the previous year based on factors like increasing wage disparity, which makes it harder for women to leave marriages because they cannot support themselves. Italy has been a country of patriarchy for many, many years, but its also a country of difficult to understand because in the 70s one of the most important and successful womens movement was Italian, Zanardo said. I have asked myself what happened after this movement. Its difficult to explain but this movement was very political [and] had a very clear political connotation. The Wall of the Dolls, il Muro delle Bambole, is an art installation in Milan that raises awareness of violence against women. - Frank Bienewald/LightRocket/Getty Images Part of the problem with having a feminist movement so closely tied to politics is that it becomes divisive. In Italy, the feminist movement was largely driven by the left, which meant that those who supported right-leaning parties, including current Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, have distanced themselves from feminism entirely. We have a woman prime minister, but shes completely against it, Zanardo said, adding that Meloni has even chosen to use the masculine article in front of the Italian word prime minister rather than embracing the fact that Italy has one of the worlds few female leaders. She pretends to be called il prime minister like a man and I think that a woman like her could be an activist also in language by showing to younger generations that leaders can be women, Zanardo said. Melonis office did not respond to a request for comment on the reason behind the use of the male article in front of her title. Feminist movements have been successful vehicles to drive greater equality across the world. The Council of Europe says, In general, feminism can be seen as a movement to put an end to sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression and to achieve full gender equality in law and in practice. And it is feminist movements that are doing the most to help Italian victims of abuse. CADMI is a shelter and resource center for abused women in Milan that has rescued 600 women from abusive situations in the last year. The center was started by Italys Union of Women, which is a left-leaning anti-fascist feminist group that opened the center to give women a lifeline. Cristina Carelli, who runs the center, told CNN they work on rehabilitation and re-education to empower the women to evolve from victims to survivors, and to become financially independent. They have helped support more than 36,000 women since they opened the doors in 1986, Carelli says. Developing relationships built on trust is key to empowerment, but their work hasnt always been easy. When they started, people distrusted them, Carelli says. They were very young, but they hadnt recognized the violence and hadnt had the chance to get out of that story. Why? In fact, because the anti-violence centers were little known, she said. And then because even culturally, women were still very rooted in patriarchal culture, which is that culture that is based on a disparity in power between males and females, also on a relationship dimension of very different conceptions of relationships. Carelli believes that success inspires other women. For us, a womans path to freedom is also important for all other women, because it demonstrates, it is symbolically representative of a possibility, she said. Women have the right to be free and therefore this has a strong value for us, including political value. Students hold banners reading "Femicide is a state murder" and "We want us alive" outside the university of Milan on November 22, following 22-years-old Giulia Cecchettin's murder. - Claudia Greco/Reuters There was a flashpoint last year when in November, 22-year-old Giulia Cecchettins body was found with multiple knife wounds in a ravine in northern Italy a week after being seen with her ex-boyfriend Filippo Turetta. Turetta fled to Germany where he confessed he had killed he woman he still called his girlfriend even though the two were no longer together. Cecchettins friends told investigators that she was concerned that Turetta was stalking her. She met him to try to defuse the situation, her sister said. Turetta is awaiting a fast-track trial that will take into account his confession. He faces up to life in prison, but will likely be given a shorter sentence due to his confession, based on cases with a similar precedent. Cecchettins murder reignited the debate on violence against women, with massive protests held across the country. More than 8,000 people, including Italys president, attended her funeral. But a week after she was buried, four more women were dead, all killed by ex-husbands or boyfriends. Names of femicide victims are projected onto the Colosseum lit up in red to honor women who have been killed by men to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, in Rome, Italy, on November 25, 2021. - Remo Casilli/Reuters Maria Grazia escaped a relationship she describes as abusive. She told CNN that she contacted the authorities numerous times, but no one took her seriously. Women in Italy who try to escape their abusers or fear for their lives consistently complain that police are often condescending or accusatory, that somehow it is the victims fault for provoking the man, or that they should just let him cool off. There were threats, continuous threats, Maria Grazia told CNN. Weapons, messages, insults, my intercom was broken, I wasnt sleeping at night. She said she hid in her home with the lights out. She was afraid. I called the police, who came, but then asked me, there isnt any blood?, she says. I replied but when there is blood I will no longer need you. When she finally got away, she and a friend went on to start a cooperative called Maison Antigone, which has helped thousands of women navigate a complicated bureaucratic system that often makes it difficult to report abuse. Often women are left to feel responsibility for the abuse, she said. Her group also helps women work through Italys complex family law legal system to protect children as well. Progress is slow and often hard to measure. After Cecchettins murder, the Italian senate passed a unanimous bill to strengthen protections for women who are at risk, or who have asked authorities for restraining orders or for abusive partners to be removed from the home. This law introduces measures that in many cases can make the difference between life and death, Family Minister Eugenia Roccella said at the time. But for many women the changes arent coming fast enough. My generation has to educate the generation to come, said Christina, a woman who spoke to CNN. We are failing [with] things I thought would have been gone with my grandparents generation. With additional reporting from CNNs Valentina Di Donato. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com I've been a tour guide in Rome for 16 years. Here are 9 of the biggest mistakes tourists make. Tourists visiting Rome often make mistakes that detract from their experience in the city. I've worked as a tour guide here for 16 years, and many people forget to plan their trip in advance. Disregarding dress codes, ignoring local customs, and booking short trips can also be mistakes. My husband and I have 25 and 16 years, respectively, of guiding experience in Rome. He's a licensed guide who leads cultural, archeological, and art tours, and I am a certified sommelier who leads food and wine tours. When visiting Rome, tourists often make several common mistakes that can detract from their experience in the Eternal City ranging from simple cultural misunderstandings to more serious breaches of etiquette. My husband and I often discuss some of the more frustrating things we wish guests knew before they visited. Here are the top mistakes we've seen. Disregarding dress codes Tourists often fail to adhere to dress codes when visiting religious sites, such as St. Peter's Basilica or the Sistine Chapel. Wearing revealing clothing can be seen as disrespectful in these sacred spaces, so make sure to look up guidelines beforehand. Typically, at least the knees and shoulders must be covered. Ignoring local customs Many visitors overlook the importance of local customs, such as greeting people with a polite "Buongiorno" in the morning and "Buonasera" in the evening. Small gestures like this can go a long way in showing respect for Roman culture. Not tipping their servers Tipping isn't required in Rome, but it is seen as a sign of respect. Kirk Fisher/Shutterstock Tipping is less customary in Italy than in some other countries, and it's not expected or mandatory. But leaving a few euros per person on top of the bill is considered polite in Rome. I don't know why so many guidebooks and articles state that the "coperto" is a service charge that goes to the server. This is untrue it covers things like the bread, olive oil, and vinegar for the restaurant. But if you see the word "servizio" on the receipt, that money goes to the server. Booking too short of a trip Rome is more than just the Colosseum, Sistine Chapel, and Trevi Fountain it deserves time. It's the Eternal City with over 2 millennia of history to get through, after all. Confining yourself to the most heavily touristed areas usually means missing out on some authentic local experiences off the beaten path. Many tourists are only in Rome for two or three days, which doesn't give them much time to visit lesser-known sites like Ostia Antia or contemporary museums like Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna. As we say in Rome, "Roma, non basta una vita" ("In Rome, a lifetime is not enough"). I know people's holidays are limited, but instead of trying to visit four Italian cities in a week, maybe slow down and give Rome at least five days. Relying solely on English English is widely spoken in tourist areas, but learning some basic Italian phrases or using a translation app can significantly enhance your interactions with locals. It's also a way to demonstrate respect for the host culture. Not planning ahead The Colosseum can sell out in advance. Vasilii L/Shutterstock Visitors often need to pay more attention to the time and effort required to visit Rome's most popular attractions if they want to avoid long lines and frustration. Tours of the Colosseum or Vatican often sell out months in advance. One of my favorite websites for up-to-date advice for travelers planning trips to Rome is Rome Wise. You can find information on anything from the best cocktail bars and hotels to art exhibits and even general helpful information. Visiting at the wrong time If you're deciding when to come, most guidebooks and travel sites advise people to skip Rome in August. But I think July is more unbearably hot and crowded August is much cooler. Since more Italian people tend to be on holiday in August, it can also be less crowded. Disrespecting art and architecture Tourists occasionally disregard the rules against touching artwork, leaning on ancient structures, or sitting on historic fountains, which can damage these important cultural treasures. You don't want to end up on the local news as a tourist who took a piece of marble from the Roman Forum or left graffiti on the Colosseum. Missing out on the local cuisine Artichokes are famous in Rome, but they're only in season from late winter into spring. Wider View/Shutterstock Tourists often stick to familiar dishes or opt for restaurants in high-traffic areas missing out on the incredible diversity of Roman cuisine and the charm of neighborhood trattorias (small restaurants). Italian food is seasonal. Rome might be famous for artichokes, but if you're eating them in June, they probably aren't local (the vegetable is only in season from February until April). I recommend following advice from the local food experts at Casa Mia. They have excellent information on seasonal cuisine, and they offer food and wine tours. Read the original article on Business Insider KANSAS CITY, Mo. Jackson County Executive Frank White has ordered flags be lowered at half-staff Monday at all governmental offices and police stations for Drexel Macks memorial service. The 41-year-old was shot and killed last week in Independence while working as a process server for the 16th Circuit Court of Jackson County. Independence Officer Cody Allen was also killed in the shooting, and two other officers were injured. Friend mourns process server killed in Independence shooting A memorial service for Mack will take place 11 a.m. Monday, March 11, at the Jackson County Courthouse in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Mack had been with the Jackson County court for over 12 years. White also announced temporary adjustment in county operations on Monday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. County departments will have limited staff available for in-person or phone assistance to residents. Residents during this time are being asked to refrain from conducting business at the downtown courthouse. Adjusting our staffing schedule at this time allows county associates the chance to attend the ceremony and pay their respects to Mr. Mack, his family, friends and colleagues, White said. Mr. Mack devoted his life to public service, a commitment shared by everyone working for our county each day. The profound loss of his life deeply affects us and I hope that any support we can offer brings comfort, peace and love to those in mourning. Prosecutor wont press charges in Jericho Home founders death Jackson County said Missouri Governor Mike Parson will order flags at half-staff on the day of Macks interment on Saturday, March 16. Prosecutors have charged 69-year-old Larry D. Acree in the deaths of Allen and Mack. Hes facing two counts of first-degree murder, among other charges. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. Student Transportation of America is responding to backlash after one of its bus drivers made a 6-year-old girl get off at the wrong bus stop on Dunn Avenue in December. A spokesperson for STA sent the following statement to Action News Jax on Friday: Student Transportation of America (STA) can confirm that our leadership team members are in ongoing dialogue with both our District partners at Duval County Public Schools and representatives from the Jacksonville NAACP chapter regarding transportation best practices. We arranged a productive meeting earlier today and anticipate continued conversation. Our highest priority is always to provide safe and reliable transportation services to DCPS students, and we thank everyone involved in these discussions. Student Transportation of America Action News Jax spoke with the childs family last month. She was just left to the wolves, Joseph Simmons, the childs father, said. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] The family told us they reached out to the Jacksonville NAACP, which is why STA met with them and DCPS. The STA spokesperson said the driver wasnt aware of a stop added to their route for the student. Simmons told Action News Jax that a Good Samaritan stopped to help his daughter. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. The road to Road House has been a bumpy one. Prime Videos reimagining of the 1989 classic starring Patrick Swayze has been dotted with precarious mile markers signifying that critics and viewers might want to turn back before its too late. First, there was the fact that the Road House reimagining has been languishing in production purgatory since it was first announced all the way back in 2013. Then, after finally securing a director and cast after Amazon promised to funnel a billion dollars into filmmaking with its purchase of MGM, the film hit another yield sign. Director Doug Liman wrote a scathing (and slightly pompous) editorial in Deadline complaining that Amazon did not honor its promise, and is hindering the film by sending it straight to Prime Video without any theatrical release. Finally, R. Lance Hill, who wrote the original film, filed a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement and the use of AI-generated actor voices to complete the films production during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. With all of those obstacles scuttled about the road in front of Road House, it briefly looked as though audiences might never make it to the titular dive bar to see Dalton (Jake Gyllenhaal) clean up trouble with his mean right hook. But all the chaos surrounding its production only increased the audiences excitement for the films world premiere, held March 8 at Austins SXSW Film Festival. The chatter among viewers was loud and excitable, and for good reason: Road House is a rollicking rage fest. Liman was correct to be so haughtythis bloody action flick really might be his best movie yet. Laura Radford / Prime Video This take on Road House, which was co-written by Anthony Bagarozzi and Chuck Mondry, sees Swayzes martial artist with a heart of gold transformed into a juiced-up Gyllenhaal, whose Dalton is as stacked with muscles as he is pure, masculine rage. A former UFC champion, Dalton wears the disgrace that got him kicked out of professional fighting on his veiny sleeve. Hes at the point where it has begun to affect every element of his life when he meets Charlie (Jessica Williams), the owner of the titular roadhouseliterally called the road housea dingy Florida Keys bar who recognizes Dalton and needs his help. Her joint is being overrun by rowdy local crime bosses, and she needs his help to turn things around. What follows is a rip-roaring series of action as Dalton delves deeper into the low-stakes world of crime in Glass Key, Florida. Local big boss Ben Brandt (Billy Magnussen) wants to drive all business from the bar for his own devious plans, but Daltons appearance in town puts a major dent in his deal. Though he might look sweet and is friendly with the colorful locals, Daltons mean streak can emerge at any second. And its when Ben enlists the psychopathic leprechaun Knox (MMA fighter Conor McGregor) to assist him that Road House starts pulsating with sinewy adrenaline and never lets up. As hard as Gyllenhaal worked to transform his physique, his drive to make this reimagining of Road House just as mesmerizing is evident. His Dalton is delightfully dangerous, a total charmer who fills Swayzes big shoes with Gyllenhaals palpable charisma. Its that demeanor that makes Daltons violent switches so enthralling to watch, as well as what makes him so easy to root for. Magnussens just as excellent of a foil, ratcheting up his typical smarm to hold the screen against Gyllenhaals electricity and McGregors balls-to-the-wall intensity. The fight scenes, particularly the ones between all three of these actors, are charged with thrills. Limans kinetic camerawork more than holds up to the lofty promises that the director wrote about in his editorial. Rarely will an artist extoll their own skill and have the finished product genuinely hold up to their ostentation. But Limans work in Road House is downright captivating. The fights are oiled to perfection, cameras planted on dollies and tracking his characters every last move. The director is completely unafraid to experiment, using every last trick in his arsenal to make the crowd go absolutely wild. Laura Radford / Prime Video Liman was onto something here: His Road House is an undeniable crowd pleaser. While its not necessarily a film that will look any less fantastic on a smaller screenor, admittedly, one that looks so different from your average Prime Video (or any other streaming service) originalits one that deserves to be seen with an amped-up crowd. The gasps, cheers, and laughter that filled the theater at the films premiere are exactly the kind of reaction that Liman anticipated, and whose absence he lamented for others in his field. But even if Road House wont screen anywhere other than your living room, the films nonstop, hysterical action will be enough to flip your tables and turn over your couches, on sheer popcorn movie spectacle alone. 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. Prosecutors say Mr Crumbley had multiple opportunities to prevent his son's shooting Prosecutors have accused the father of the Michigan teenager who killed four students at his school of being negligent for ignoring his son's mental health and buying him a gun. James Crumbley is charged with involuntary manslaughter over his son's mass shooting at Oxford High School. Mr Crumbley did not know what his son was going to do, his attorneys argued during opening statements in the trial. His wife, Jennifer Crumbley, was convicted of manslaughter last month. Mr Crumbley, 47, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of involuntary manslaughter in the 30 November 2021 mass shooting. During opening arguments on Thursday, attorneys for Mr Crumbley said he did not have a duty to protect other people from his son, nor did he know what Ethan was planning. "You will not hear that James Crumbley knew what his son was going to do," defence attorney Mariell Lehman said. "You will not hear that James Crumbley even suspected that his son was a danger." Officials also announced that Mr Crumbley's phone privileges from the jail would be curtailed after he was caught making threatening statements. They did not elaborate on what threats he had been making. The case marks the first time parents have been charged with manslaughter over their child's role in a shooting. Their son Ethan, 15 years old at the time, killed fellow students Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17. He is serving a sentence of life in prison without parole. Jennifer Crumbley, meanwhile, is facing up to 60 years in prison after a jury last month found her guilty on four counts of manslaughter for failing to stop her son from carrying out the deadly shooting. She will be sentenced next month. This embedded content is not available in your region. During Mr Crumbley's trial on Thursday, prosecutors said Mr Crumbley had several opportunities to prevent the shooting, including getting his son help and taking him home from school. The shooting "didn't just happen out of the blue", Oakland County prosecutor Marc Keast said. "That nightmare was preventable, and it was foreseeable." Prosecutors called two witnesses to the stand, including a teacher injured in the shooting and Oxford police detective Edward Wagrowski. Mr Wagrowski revealed that on the morning of the shooting, Mr Crumbley did not start his work as a DoorDash driver until 11:00 EST (16:00 GMT), despite telling school staff earlier in the day that he could not take his son home that morning because of work. The parents had been called to the school because they found disturbing drawings from Ethan. After they would not take him home, school officials released him back to class with a gun in his backpack. He started shooting hours later. In the hours after the meeting, Mr Crumbley drove past his home multiple times while doing deliveries, never once stopping to check that his son's gun was still there, prosecutors argued. School officials had also asked the Crumbleys to get their son mental health treatment, but the police detective said Mr Crumbley had made no immediate effort to look into a list of counsellors the school suggested. For the investigation, Mr Wagrowski reviewed text messages between James and Jennifer leading up to the shooting discussing their son's mental health. In one text, Mr Crumbley wrote to his wife: "Dude. Chill. He is fine. AND I am trying to [expletive] work." Prosecutors say the Crumbleys gifted Ethan a weapon just days before the shooting and did not properly store it. They showed jurors pictures of a lock for the weapon still in its packaging. They also showed a text Ethan Crumbley had sent a friend a month before the shooting with a video of him holding a gun and saying: "My dad left it out so I thought, 'Why not' lol." During the first week of the trial, jurors also heard emotional testimony from teacher Molly Darnell, who Ethan shot in the arm before she barricaded herself. She said she saw blood going down her arm as she texted her husband: "I love you. Active shooter". "He was aiming to kill me," she said. Like his wife, Mr Crumbley could also face 60 years behind bars if convicted. Prosecutors in the involuntary manslaughter trial of James Crumbley have argued that he failed to do the "smallest of things" that could have saved four children's lives such as taking a break from his DoorDash job after he and his wife were summoned to Oxford High School on the day of the shooting. That's one of the seeds they planted in the jury's mind Friday as they sought to drive home this message: Had James Crumbley taken a work break in the hours before his son shot up Oxford High School, he would have discovered that the gun the teen had long begged for was missing. But he didn't, Assistant Prosecutor Marc Keast argued to jurors Friday, noting that James Crumbley drove past his house four times while making DoorDash runs in the hours after he saw a violent drawing that his son had made that morning in geometry class. The drawing included a gun, a bleeding human body and the words, "The thoughts won't stop. Help me." The parents were summoned to the school over the drawing, and went back to their jobs after a brief meeting in the counselor's office, promising to get him help within 48 hours. Their son went back to class. 'Never once did he stop at home?' Two hours later, at the moment his dad received his fourth DoorDash order from Tropical Smoothie Cafe at 12:51 p.m., the teenager emerged from a bathroom and fired his first shot. In rehashing the timeline of Nov. 30, 2021, the day of the massacre, Keast turned the jury's attention to the troubling drawing. "He drove past his house four times from the time he saw this," he said, referring to the drawing, "and never once did he stop at home?" "No, he did not," answered the prosecution's witness, former Oakland County Sheriff Detective Edward Wagrowski, who investigated the Crumbley family's actions before and after the shooting. Crumbley is facing four counts of involuntary manslaughter for buying his son the gun the teen used in the mass shooting at Oxford High and not disclosing that detail to school officials when given the opportunity. His trial comes one month after his wife, Jennifer Crumbley, was convicted of the same charges and became the first parent in America to be held responsible for a mass school shooting commited by their child. The shooter, Ethan Crumbley, pleaded guilty to all his crimes and is serving life without parole. Slain the rampage were Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17. Oxford High School students Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Tate Myre, 16, at top, and Justin Shilling, 17, and Hana St. Juliana, 14, were killed in a school shooting on Nov. 30. The prosecution has portrayed James Crumbley as a careless and neglectful father who bought a troubled son a gun and failed to secure it, while the defense maintained that the father never saw any signs that his son was dangerous or mentally ill, and that he did not know of his son's plans to shoot up his school or that the teen had access to the gun. Friday's testimony opened with Crumbley's attorney Mariell Lehman cross-examining Wagrowski, who also evaluated text messages, phone calls and social media accounts of the Crumbley family. Lehman spent much of her time questioning the detective about what he did not know. Specifically, she got him to concede that he found no evidence that James Crumbley knew about the troubling texts his son was sending his friend late at night in the months before the shooting, when the boy alleged he was asking his parents in vain for help with mental health issues, including hearing voices. For example, Lehman asked him about a text the shooter sent his friend on April 4, 2021, which reads: "I actually asked my dad to take me to the doctor the other day, and he just gave me some pills and said to 'suck it up.' My mom laughed when i told her." On cross-examination, Wagrowski conceded that he does not know if James Crumbley ever saw or knew about that text, and that he found no evidence that the boy actually did ask to go to the doctor other than him saying so in the text and that he does not know what kinds of pills to which the boy might have been referring. James Crumbley sits as defense attorney Mariell Lehman cross-examines investigator Ed Wagrowski on Friday. Lehman suggested it could be Tylenol, while Wagrowski suggested it could be Xanax, given other communications the parents had. But Lehman countered that a conversation involving Xanax was from a different time period and that the parents actually discussed giving him melatonin. Lehman also asked Wagrowski to explain how much he really knows about a video the shooter sent to his friend in the summer of 2021, in which the boy's hand is seen clicking a gun and loading a magazine into it. 'You don't know; that's my point' "You dont know if James is next to his son, across from his son," or if he was in the room or even heard anything when this happened, Lehman asserted. Wagrowski said he did not have that information, though he opined that in a house as small as the Crumbleys', that a clicking sound could have been heard. Investigator Ed Wagrowski looks over text messages while on the stand in the Oakland County courtroom, Friday, March 8, 2024, in Pontiac, Mich. James Crumbley is on trial for involuntary manslaughter. He's accused of contributing to the tragedy at Oxford High School by failing to properly secure a gun used by son Ethan Crumbley. Four students were killed and more were wounded. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, Pool) "You don't know; that's my point," Lehman said. Lehman also asked Wagrowski about an Instagram post that the shooter made on the day his dad purchased the gun that he would use four days later in the massacre. The post reads: "Just got my new beauty." Lehman asked Wagrowski if there is anything to show that James Crumbley saw this post. No, he answered. She also asked him about social media posts by his wife and son that included pictures of the two at a shooting range. "Theres nothing illegal or improper about taking your child to a shooting range, or posting photos of the target that you use," she said. No, the detective answered. Lehman also questioned him about perhaps the most damning evidence in the case: the troubling drawing the shooter made on his math worksheet on the morning of the shooting, the one that led to his parents being summoned to the school. "James obviously expressed some concern," Lehman said, referring to the text he sent his wife after first seeing that drawing that said: "my god, wtf." Lehman did not question the witness about what happened in the school counselor's meeting that day with the parents, as the detective said he didn't know details about that meeting. But she did address other actions of James Crumbley that day, noting that after an active-shooter alert went out, he drove to a Meijer parking lot, which was the reunification center for parents and kids, and called his son two times. He didn't know the boy was in custody already. James Crumbley also called his wife and then drove home and called 911. "In that 911 call he told the dispatcher that he saw and heard the sirens, he said that he went to the Meijer, that his son was a student, that he heard that there was a shooting, that he discovered that his son was missing, that he didnt know if his son took the gun, and that he was freaking out," Lehman said. "That is correct," Wagrowski said. Assistant principal brings Crumbley to tears 'He was a sweet kid' Jurors also heard from Kristy Gibson-Marshall, the assistant principal at Oxford High School who came into contact with the shooter during his rampage. According to her testimony, after the school went into lockdown, she ventured down a hallway toward the sound of gunfire and came upon the gunman. The shooter was coming close to me. As he got close, I saw that it was Ethan, Gibson-Marshall said, adding she was surprised as she had known him since middle school. He was a sweet kid. I asked if him if he was OK, she recalled. He looked away from me. Kristy Gibson-Marshall, assistant principal at Oxford H.S. testifies before Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald in the Oakland County courtroom Friday, March 8, 2024, in Pontiac, Mich. James Crumbley is on trial for involuntary manslaughter. He's accused of contributing to the tragedy at Oxford High School by failing to properly secure a gun used by son Ethan Crumbley. Four students were killed and more were wounded. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, Pool) That also was unlike Ethan Crumbley, she said, adding: He would have talked to me. He kept walking. I walked with him for a couple of steps and then I turned my back on him because I had a student that I needed to check on. That student was Tate Myre, who was lying face down near a trash can. He had been shot in the head, she said, but still had a pulse. His mom was my PTO president, Gibson-Marshall said while choking up. I began to give him rescue breaths I continued until they took him from me. Myre did not survive. During her testimony, James Crumbley became emotional, wiping tears from his eyes even after she left the stand. Gun store manager tells of Black Friday sale Jurors also heard from Cammy Back, office manager at Acme Shooting Goods in Oxford, where James Crumbley went on a Black Friday shopping trip with his son and bought a 9mm Sig Sauer, the gun that was used in the school massacre. Back testified that James Crumbley was a familiar face at the store and that he had purchased two guns there in June 2021. She said that when he came into the store, he had a young person with him and asked to see the Sig Sauer, telling her he "had had his eye on it. Gun shop office manager Cammy Back looks over the gun case held by Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Marc Keast, that was sold with a handgun to James Crumbley, in the Oakland County courtroom Friday, March 8, 2024, in Pontiac, Mich. Crumbley is on trial for involuntary manslaughter. He's accused of contributing to the tragedy at Oxford High School by failing to properly secure a gun used by son Ethan Crumbley. Four students were killed and more were wounded. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, Pool) Jurors saw a portion of a firearms transaction record, which showed James Crumbley checking the box indicating that he was the actual buyer of the gun. The record included a warning on bold: You are not the actual transferee/buyer if you are acquiring the firearm(s) on behalf of another person. If you are not the actual transferee/buyer, the licensee cannot transfer the firearm(s) to you. Back also testified that the Sig Sauer came in a plastic case that did not have a lock mechanism on it, but a cable lock was provided with the gun purchase. She also said she didnt see any conversations between James Crumbley and his son while they were at the store. On cross-examination, Lehman asked Back if there is anything illegal about a dad going to a gun shop with his son, or a minor going to the shooting range with a parent. No, she answered. On redirect questioning, Keast asked the gun shop manager if James Crumbley's son had walked into the store that day and said "'Hey dad, that's the one I want,' would you have sold it to him?' " No, she answered. James Crumbley gets emotional after watching the video of his son walking through the halls of Oxford H.S. in a video shown in the Oakland County courtroom Friday, March 8, 2024, in Pontiac, Mich. Crumbley is on trial for involuntary manslaughter. He's accused of contributing to the tragedy at Oxford High School by failing to properly secure a gun used by son Ethan Crumbley. Four students were killed and more were wounded. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, Pool) James Crumbley has maintained that the gun was not actually a gift and that it came with rules, such as the boy was only allowed to use it at the shooting range with a parent. Jurors also saw a video of James Crumbley explaining this to investigators in the hours after the shooting. "We go to the shooting range all the time," James Crumbley is heard saying in the video. "I try to teach him safety." Jurors see video of Crumbley sobbing The prosecution showed the jury a video of James and Jennifer Crumbley speaking with investigators at a sheriff's substation in the hours after the shooting. Jennifer Crumbley remarked that they had just been at the school that morning and said their son had never done anything bad. As James Crumbley started talking about how their son had been doodling on a test or a practice test, his wife interrupted and asked if they should get a lawyer. James Crumbley told her: I think we can speak to the cops. They talked about meeting with the school counselor and Jennifer Crumbley said she texted her son that afternoon to see if he was OK. He texted her back that he had just gotten back from lunch and that he loved her. Asked whether their son had any issues, James Crumbley told the investigators not that we know of, adding that his sons best friend was sent out of state over health concerns, that their dog had recently died and that James' mom had passed away earlier that year. James Crumbley could also be heard saying their son was the perfect kid and didnt get in trouble. He told investigators the gun had been hidden in their armoire, in a case, and the bullets were hidden in a different spot underneath jeans. After he learned there was an active shooter at the school and saw the cops, he said he immediately raced home, found the gun missing and called police. In a frame grab from video, James Crumbley, left, and his wife Jennifer Crumbley meet with their son Ethan Crumbley after the Oxford H.S. school shooting in an interiewed displayed in the Oakland County courtroom Friday, March 8, 2024, in Pontiac, Mich. James Crumbley is on trial for involuntary manslaughter. He's accused of contributing to the tragedy at Oxford High School by failing to properly secure a gun used by son Ethan Crumbley. Four students were killed and more were wounded. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, Pool) Video also was shown of the couple being led into a room where their son was handcuffed to a wall. James Crumbley is sobbing, and tells his son repeatedly, "I love you," though the prosecutor suggested that the father was trying to cover up the sounds of his son, who was saying: "I did it." Testimony resumes Monday. Will the father testify? To date, there is no indication that James Crumbley will testify, as his wife did in her trial. In fact, his lawyer asked nearly every prospective juror if they thought they needed to hear from James Crumbley, and if they would hold it against him if he didn't take the stand. All said they understand the presumption of innocence and would not hold it against James Crumbley if he exercises his right to remain silent. Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com. Contact Gina Kaufman: gkaufman@freepress.com. Follow her on X: @ReporterGina. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How James Crumbley's DoorDash runs haunt him in Oxford shooting trial BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) A Jamestown man was arrested Friday night after he allegedly allowed a 1-year-old child to consume marijuana, the Jamestown Police Department announced. Police said Elijah T. McBride, 21, allegedly allowed the child to consume marijuana at UPMC Chautauqua hospital. McBride is then accused of removing the child from the hospital before the 1-year-old could be treated, placing them in a dangerous situation. McBride allegedly left the hospital for around 30 minutes before returning, police said. McBridge was charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Latest Local News Adam Gorski is a Buffalo native who joined the News 4 team in 2022. You can find more of his work here. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo. BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) A Jamestown man was arrested twice in four hours Friday after he allegedly threatened a person with a knife and later engaged in disorderly conduct, the Jamestown Police Department announced. Police said Ervin L. Mitchell, 53, allegedly brandished a knife in a threatening matter towards an employee around 10 a.m. at a business in the northern part of the city. He was taken into custody by police, arraigned on second-degree menacing and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon charges and released in accordance with New York bail reform. Jamestown man accused of allowing 1-year-old child to consume marijuana Later that day around 1:30 p.m., officers responded to a report of disorderly conduct at a business on the citys west side, where they once again encountered Mitchell, according to police. Police said Mitchell allegedly broke a window at the business and was taken into custody once again. He was arraigned on a fourth-degree criminal mischief charge and released under bail reform a second time. Latest Local News Adam Gorski is a Buffalo native who joined the News 4 team in 2022. You can find more of his work here. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo. If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. Having said that, from a first glance at Aquirian (ASX:AQN) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look. Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It? For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. To calculate this metric for Aquirian, this is the formula: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) 0.048 = AU$889k (AU$24m - AU$5.5m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023). Therefore, Aquirian has an ROCE of 4.8%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Professional Services industry average of 15%. See our latest analysis for Aquirian roce Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Aquirian's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you're interested in investigating Aquirian's past further, check out this free graph covering Aquirian's past earnings, revenue and cash flow. The Trend Of ROCE On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Aquirian doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 23% over the last three years. On the other hand, the company has been employing more capital without a corresponding improvement in sales in the last year, which could suggest these investments are longer term plays. It's worth keeping an eye on the company's earnings from here on to see if these investments do end up contributing to the bottom line. Story continues On a related note, Aquirian has decreased its current liabilities to 23% of total assets. So we could link some of this to the decrease in ROCE. What's more, this can reduce some aspects of risk to the business because now the company's suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of its operations. Some would claim this reduces the business' efficiency at generating ROCE since it is now funding more of the operations with its own money. Our Take On Aquirian's ROCE To conclude, we've found that Aquirian is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. Since the stock has declined 22% over the last year, investors may not be too optimistic on this trend improving either. Therefore based on the analysis done in this article, we don't think Aquirian has the makings of a multi-bagger. If you want to know some of the risks facing Aquirian we've found 3 warning signs (2 make us uncomfortable!) that you should be aware of before investing here. For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity. 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. There is a plan for Jersey and Guernsey to collaborate over healthcare plans Jersey's and Guernsey's health authorities have pledged to work together to improve healthcare. The Channel Island Alliance for Health and Social Care will "explore options for more joint working". The alliance would provide a forum for "collaboration and partnership" to make the system "more integrated and resilient", the Government of Jersey said. It would identify "where innovation and transformational change" was required. The move was also about enabling "affordable" developments that would deliver the "best outcomes" for both communities, the government added. Minister Tom Binet said sharing resources and information was important Deputy Tom Binet, Minister for Health and Social Services in Jersey, said: "It is becoming increasingly important for our islands to share resources and information that will strengthen the sustainability of our health and social care services and provide greater value for money." Deputy Al Brouard, President of the Committee for Health & Social Care in Guernsey, said recruiting and retaining staff were among shared challenges for Guernsey and Jersey, as well as delivering services for an "ageing demographic". "Where there is the potential to work together both islands' health authorities are committing to do so", he added. The alliance, which includes senior staff from both islands, aims to meet six times a year and report to their respective political leaders quarterly, Jersey's government said. It will identify core areas of focus to develop each year, including operational delivery and recruitment, it added. Follow BBC Guernsey on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. Follow BBC Jersey on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk. New Jersey students motivated to read at annual Read Across America event NEWARK, N.J. (PIX11) Read Across America is an annual reading motivation and awareness program calling for every child in every community to celebrate reading. On Friday, PIX11 News went to an event at Franklin Elementary School in Newark. Photojournalist Darren McQuade has more in the video player. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. Jill Biden still hasnt forgotten when Kamala Harris essentially accused Joe Biden of being a segregationist. Melania Trump might not move back to Washington full time if Donald Trump wins the White House in November. And Hillary Clintons advisers say she never could have gotten away with how Laura Bush handled the Iraq War. These are just some of the insights Katie Rogers has gleaned after writing a new book on the transformation of the modern first lady. The role is a largely ceremonial one for the public, but behind the scenes, the first lady is often one of the most influential and therefore one of the most powerful people in any White House. Rogers, a reporter for the New York Times, sat down with me for this weeks episode of the Playbook Deep Dive podcast where we covered everything from the first ladys role in staffing, campaigning and policy decisions to serving as the presidents enforcer. She mirrors her husbands grievances and channels them in her own way, Rogers said of Melania Trump. We also discussed the time Rogers editors sent her to Arkansas to report a story about the Bidens that she didnt want to cover and how it ended up forcing Jill and Joe to confront an uncomfortable truth about their family. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity, with help from Deep Dive Senior Producer Alex Keeney. Let's talk about Jill Biden in office and what we've now learned about her in these three-plus years. There's a strong element of Jill the enforcer in Biden world. What are your favorite examples? Maybe we can start with Kamala Harris? It's so baked into her. I could go back to the 80s, but we could start with Kamala Harris. So Harris, during one of the Democratic primary debates, she basically calls him a segregationist. It becomes a moment in which Harris receives a bump in the polls. It's very temporary. And in exchange for that slight bump, she earns a very visceral reaction from Jill Biden, who essentially says, Go fuck yourself. Do you say that on here? We can. I encourage you because then you get a very classy explicit rating on Apple. Oh that's cool. On the first lady's episode. Look at that. So Jill Biden is very angry about this. There was one moment in 2022 where Jill Biden goes to a fundraiser in San Francisco, which is Kamala Harris' home turf, and is hearing from donors about how much they hope Kamala Harris is serving the Bidens and how proud they are of her We just hope she represents us well meaning San Francisco. And Jill Biden, who is a very classically trained fundraising political spouse, doesn't say anything, takes a beat to the point where it's awkward and says, But what about Ketanji? steering the conversation away from a very fulsome compliment of the vice president toward her husband's pick for the Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson. And if you ask people who know her, that surprises nobody. One person said, You know, she's Italian. It's about loyalty. [That] is exactly how they explain that whole thing to me. A couple other examples: a prime one is Ron Klain, who was Biden's first chief of staff and a longtime fixture of Biden world. When he decamped to work on Hillary Clinton's campaign, that was seen as an ultimate disloyal move. And several people actually told me that it took a lot of diplomacy to get Jill to the point that she was supportive of [Klains hiring]. I don't think, from my reporting, that she would ultimately have the power to stop someone like Klain coming on, but I also think she wouldn't do that, because at points throughout their history together and Harris is actually an example she understands that what these people can help her husband win. That's a key thing to understand about her and Biden, is how competitive they are. Your narrative about Jill Bidens somewhat fraught relationship with Kamala Harris does make you wonder how much lingering friction there is, and if it contributes to Harris' difficulties in the Biden White House, and if that might be preventing her from being a full partner. The one thing I would just say to that is Joe Biden's inner circle is as much Jill's domain as it is his. She's really a gatekeeper for the people who are closest to him, even though she's not in the West Wing. She's not stationed there holding open the door to the Oval. But she definitely knows everything that's going on. She has several aides who have been with the Bidens for years, if not decades. They understand how she wants things to be run. They understand that loyalty is super, super paramount. And if it's violated, it's really hard to get that back with both Bidens, especially Jill. Speaking of gatekeeping and Jills staff, there's a character who you flesh out that I think our listeners would find interesting, and thats Anthony Bernal, who you quote Jill as saying she is in a work marriage with. Tell us a little bit about what it's like inside the East Wing and what role Anthony has. Anthony first came to the Bidens on the 2008 campaign as part of Jill Bidens staff and quickly established himself as an ear for her when the Biden camp sort of struggled against the Obama machine. So starting there, traveling forward to 2015, when Beau Biden dies of brain cancer, part of that relationship with Anthony Bernal and the Bidens is absolutely solidified because of how he was able to keep things quiet, keep their privacy intact. He's incredibly loyal. Somebody told me that he would walk in front of a speeding train for her. And all of that manifests into an East Wing that has actually no chief of staff. Jill Biden's chief of staff left like two years ago, and ever since then, it's been a chief of staff-less East Wing, which is very unusual. Anthony Bernal is the most powerful person in that East Wing by far because he has dominion over everything that happens in it, from trips and scheduling, to speeches and messaging. This is a person whose background is in scheduling and advance. So he's got control over all sorts of different levers that the first lady has; but also by extension, he's in senior calls every day. He helped plan the president's trip to Ukraine because the first lady had gone there first. President Biden went to Brownsville last week to the border. Jill Biden made that trip during the campaign, and that was something that had already been scouted and blueprinted by Bernal. He has sort of made blueprints for how these trips go, how the president looks when we see him not just the first lady. So he's a very interesting figure in the sense that he has a lot of control in the East Wing, certainly, and a lot of control in the West Wing. And the other beat to that is he is known to sort of be very overbearing. He can be aggressive and direct with aides, specifically less experienced ones, and that has at times been a source of a lot of tension in the White House. Another really fascinating story in this book is the very sensitive reporting around Hunter Biden and Lunden Roberts' child, Navy Joan Roberts. This was a blockbuster story and I wonder if you could just tell us how it came about, whether you were apprehensive at all about digging into this, and the fallout from it? So I really didn't want to do it. Who made you do it? People way above my paygrade, as we like to say. People in New York and in the highest ranks of Washington assigned it. You were just following orders? Well, I was really trying not to for a while and we had several meetings about it. I have a daughter and the way I perceived the story was that they wanted me to write about a little girl whose family didn't want her, and journalistically I couldn't wrap my head around that assignment. I just kept saying no, and they kept sort of sitting me down. And eventually I had a conversation with our [New York Times] bureau chief, a woman named Elisabeth Bumiller, who brought me to the bureau. And I trust her a lot because this is the kind of story that, to me, if I do this badly, it's my last one. I don't want to write a story that I can't keep control of, you know? So she kind of sat me down and said, You can do this story because it's about two families. One of them is powerful, and one of them is not powerful. And this is a story about what it means to be a Biden. That gave me the grounding and the journalistic curiosity that I needed to pursue it, because I didn't want to write about a child support dispute and a little girl. So I went down to Arkansas and made contact with the family and learned more about the little girl. And the more I learned, the more I realized how loved she was and innocent she was. She was literally above this toxic, horrible, politicized mess. So when I sat down to write the story, I'm proudest of the lede where I kind of made her the top. You see a little blond girl in the story with sun in her hair, riding four-wheelers and playing with her cousins, and then it backs into the sort of ugliness that adults in her life are engaged in. It ended up being an important story because it led to the president and the first lady acknowledging a granddaughter that they hadn't ever acknowledged publicly before. Now they say they have seven grandkids and not six. And Hunter Biden is participating in or upholding his end of the agreement. I'm proud of how the story turned out. At some point it becomes a private matter again. That's kind of how I had to get my head around it. It was an excellent story and you dealt with it with an incredible amount of sensitivity. And it did something rare in political journalism, which is you held up a mirror to the powerful players in the saga and forced them to confront how they were dealing with this, and they couldn't really defend it. They went to People magazine and with a bit of an assist from Maureen Dowd, who wrote a column about it, you completely changed the way the Biden family talks publicly about their granddaughter. Maureen does deserve credit. She was able to speak directly to [Biden]. And, from my reporting, I know he read that. I think that having the journalistic base is super important before a column like that, but she was able to sort of speak directly to the president on that one. Listen to this episode of Playbook Deep Dive on Apple, Spotify, Google or wherever you get your podcasts. A good chunk of the book is about the history of first ladies and the changes in that role. Who was the most surprising to you? Who did you learn something new and interesting about that you didn't expect? Revisiting Laura Bush was actually the most interesting for me because I grew up at a time where the older brothers of my friends were literally going to war. That started happening when I was in high school. She launched the National Book Festival three days before 9/11 happened. The National Book Festival was going to be her thing. That was it. You know, I'm a librarian. I'm going to talk about literacy. I'm going to support No Child Left Behind, and that's pretty much it. And then she becomes a wartime first lady overnight and has to assume the president's regular radio address, talking about the war and talking about the plight of Afghan women and girls. And Hillary Clinton's advisers told me, There's no way on God's green earth that she could have done that she was seen as divisive and ambitious, and parts of the country revolted against that. Is it easier for Republican first ladies to have a role like that? For example, one of the interesting things in reading the book is the difference between the way that Barbara Bush and Hillary Clinton were treated. I suppose Republican women have had it easier, but really they haven't in their own way, because the knee-jerk reaction to them is they're housewives and help maids. If you know anything about Barbara Bush, her primary role was to be a wife and a mother, but she was an adviser and a confidante and had an immense influence within her family and in that White House. People knew not to cross her. She was known to have very sharp political instincts and an even sharper sense of humor. She was a powerful woman. On the other end of the spectrum, Hillary Clinton was expected to walk this very fine line of being a wife and a supporter but not disparaging women by talking about her own career. And when Hillary Clinton was introducing herself to the country, she kind of made a few missteps, like when she said, I'm not going to stay at home and bake cookies. I want to work. The reaction to her was a lot sharper in another way, but it all goes back to this idea that women are expected to be one thing or the other, and they must not emerge from those boxes. Republicans and Democrats both deal with different versions of that same gendered expectation. One thing that strikes me is that the dominant narrative about these first ladies is often based on the criticism from their political opponents, whereas the first lady's own party tends to be quiet and just sort of respects who they are. Or completely ignores them. It was interesting about Melania remember when everybody thought she was a secret resistance figure/liberal? That's what I want to talk to you about. Because that was definitely the thread that runs through your material on her and you answer this question. What are your conclusions about Melania? She's not a secret resistance figure. But there was this time for maybe the first year and maybe that's because she wasn't actually in Washington yet she was still getting her son ready to move down and working out some marriage-related agreements [with Donald Trump]. Regarding the reporting about Melania and Donald negotiating the legal agreement between them early in the Trump presidency, what did you discover about that? So Mary Jordan, she's a journalist for the Washington Post, first reported this in her book on Melania Trump, which is that part of the delay in Melania Trump coming to Washington was she was reorganizing her pre- and post-nuptial agreements with Donald Trump, which her office denied at the time. I did some reporting for my book and years had passed and people had left the Trump administration and were willing to speak on the record about what they knew and what they had seen. Stephanie Grisham, who is Melania Trump's former communications director, former White House press secretary, she's written a tell-all about her time. She talked to me separately for this and said much of [Melanias] time was indeed focused on post-nuptial agreements and money she had in the bank. Melania Trump's office didn't outright deny this. They just said to me, She's a businesswoman and has her own business interests to uphold. And that was in the context of me asking about Did she spend a lot of time in the White House meeting with her lawyers? Yes. She did. So I think there was just a lot of expectation or maybe even hope among liberals, there was a time where people were almost liking her. It felt like to me, and this is all anecdotal, but there's polling that shows that she was pretty popular at one point, because ... ... She was a secret member of the Resistance. Yeah. There was this expectation that the reason she was slapping Trumps hand away in public, or not moving down [to Washington], was because she had opposition to what he believed. The reality of it is that, after reporting on this, she mirrors her husband's grievances and channels them in her own way and is, in most cases, not a mediating force for him at all. In fact, the opposite is often true, where if her husband is being attacked, she encourages him to fight back. Charlottesville she got a lot of credit for in the aftermath. She said, Let the violence stop, when her husband said, Both sides have good people. But that is really an outlier. She is someone who's much more likely to channel her husband's beliefs. And that also is rooted in his birtherism stuff with President Obama. She was on The View, talking about how Obama needed to show off his birth certificate because people wanted to know. And on January 6th, she was not exactly a moderating influence on him, was she? I don't think she was any sort of influence. Toward the end of her time there, she was in the residence almost all the time. And when she wasn't, she was summoning a photographer to take photos of the aesthetic changes she had made to the White House, which are culturally relevant. I don't mean to disparage a first lady's interest in improving the White House complex, but during an unfolding of such violence it was stunning as things unfolded that day, she was asked by Grisham whether she wanted to say anything to encourage an end to the violence. And she just flat out said no. She was busy having photographs of a rug taken that day. So that's what she was up to while Trump was in the dining room off the Oval watching the proceedings. What's your sense of her complete lack of a public role in the Trump campaign? And if you had to predict, what do you think her role will be this year? You know that it's terrible to predict things, but I'm going to go ahead and do it. Knowing what I know and what my reporting on Melania Trump shows, she likes being first lady. But my reporting does not show that she enjoys campaigning. My reporting does not show that she enjoys defending her husband, as she has been called to do numerous times. And my reporting doesn't show that she has an interest in returning to Washington full time. So, I guess taken together, if Trump wins, we could expect a first lady who embraces the role, but possibly, because she was such a norm-breaking figure, takes her time coming to Washington, goes back and forth that seems possible to me. People who know her say that she would absolutely do it over again, but they're less clear on the details of what that would look like. And in terms of being a campaigner, she's somebody who has no interest in doing that. I know Trump has said that she will be out there in the near future, but I don't know. I think I would be surprised to see her out anytime soon on the trail. Jill Biden had been around Washington for a long time and was a little bit more integrated into the Washington community than Melania or Michelle Obama. But right away, Jill Biden had her own challenges. I think starting her relationship with Joe Biden is maybe the way to look at that in terms of how much he adores her. He just is obsessed with his wife. And I think they have a real love story. I hate to interrupt you but we just have to talk about this nugget from the book that went viral. You know what I'm going to ask, right? Yeah. I had put this line in the book. It's like no more than a paragraph about Joe Biden's obsession with his wife, which is real. He has told aides that the secret to a good marriage is good sex. And people picked that up and ran with it all over the internet. But another thing that's interesting is people I didn't talk to for the book who have worked for the Bidens reached out to me. And one person told me he's been saying this since he was VP. Like, Biden just says this to people. It's a point of advice he gives to young-uns. Your reporting took you into very sensitive places. It did. That interlude is all to set up this idea that he really loves his wife, and it can sometimes veer into over-protectiveness. Can you tell us the story of how she pressed on Joe Biden and his campaign to carve out her role as a teacher, and how historically unique that was after he was elected? He doesn't like her to be gone for more than a few days at a time. He's always happier when she's there. As his aides will attest, he's much more demanding, frustrated, quick to anger when she's away. And the context of these conversations about whether she would teach or not is him saying baby like, literally baby she does not like that nickname saying, We don't know how you're going to do this, if it's going to be too much, how are you going to take a salary? Some of the concerns were about whether she would violate the emoluments clause working for a state-funded school after four years of Trump sort of breaking the rules with that specific clause. If you know anything about the Biden circle, they obsess over everything and sometimes the little things. So she had to sort of nod along and not react in this meeting. But then behind the scenes she works with one of her senior aides to clear a path with the school. She says, I'm going to teach. I'm going to sign up for Zoom teaching. And then she kind of springs it on Biden and everybody during the transition when they're preparing for an interview for Stephen Colbert. Basically, one of the prep questions is, Are you going to teach? And she's like, Yep. And Biden interjects and says, Yeah, but only a few hours, right? And she says, No, 15 credits. Full course load. I didn't know this. I told you this. And then it was settled. It was just she set it up, but he didn't know. What was so amazing about that story is that they're doing this in front of staff, and Biden is very surprised by her decision, which is a pretty important decision. It's been recounted to me as kind of an awkward moment. Mommy and daddy are fighting, right? Yeah. And you're getting this look into a marriage that everybody understands is solid. But these two have been around a long time. They know not to have conversations like this around anyone. The fact that this played out in the open was interesting; and it's interesting strategy on the first lady's part for her to say, Not only am I going to do this on a call with my husband, but it's so everyone who is closest to us knows that this is what I'm doing, and I'm going to say this on television if it gets asked. How did writing this book while you were covering the White House and raising a newborn daughter influence your views of these women? It's funny because I have thought about this fleetingly. Nobody's ever really asked me about it. I guess maybe I thought it's obvious, but becoming a mom in this business, it changes your view on a lot of stuff. I had a 5-month-old when I decided to write a book about first ladies, so it changed how I encountered them in my reporting and my research; and I understood their boundaries in a different way, in a way that I could not have possibly understood before. Michelle Obama is maybe the prime example of this, where she stepped back from a high-powered career to make sure her husband had the best shot he could at winning the presidency. But more than that, she didn't really put a policy plan in place until her two daughters were well-adjusted in Washington, and she knew herself well enough to set those boundaries and set those expectations right from the beginning. She had given up so much of her identity already, and just the fact that she preserved that piece of it for her family, I think there were people at the time who had opinions over whether or not she should have given up her job, or whether or not she should have launched Let's Move in the first six months or been more of an activist or policymaking first lady. The fact that she stuck to her boundaries in service of her daughters I looked at that a lot differently than I would have before. *** Listen to this episode of Playbook Deep Dive on Apple, Spotify, Google or wherever you get your podcasts. Nice couples finish first! At least, thats the lesson to learn from John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, whove been together since 2008 and married since 2010. Krasinski, 44, and Blunt, 41, have proved themselves wildly successful apart she broke out in 2006s The Devil Wears Prada, and he became a star thanks to NBCs The Office as well as together, having collaborated on the series of A Quiet Place films. But the parents of two little girls are also known for being totally sweet on one another. I wasnt really looking for a relationship and then I met her, and I was so nervous; I was like, Oh, God, I think Im going to fall in love with her, Krasinski said on The Ellen Show in 2011 shortly after getting married. As I shook her hand, I went, I like you. So if anyones looking for a way to pick up a girl, thats the way to do it. But what are the details of how this seemingly perfect couple got together? Lets take a trip down the Blunt-Krasinski memory lane, starting with his devotion to one of her films. 2006: John Krasinski goes wild for The Devil Wears Prada Its become almost legendary that Krasinski went bananas for the 2006 comedy starring Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep and his future wife. When he finally met Blunt, who plays Emily, one of Miranda Priestlys dutiful fashion assistants, she asked him how many times hed seen the film. Like 75 times, he told Glamour in 2016. Im lucky enough that she stayed with me and didnt realize that she had really married her stalker! 2008: Fate brings them together in a restaurant While at dinner with his pal Justin Theroux, Krasinski spotted Blunt and a mutual friend at a nearby table, and headed over, as Blunt recalled on Late Night With Seth Meyers in 2018. I was in a restaurant. He was in the restaurant. I was sitting with a mutual friend, Blunt said. He abandoned Justin and came over to talk to us. He did not eat. He just stood there and made me laugh. For their first date, the two ate pizza at Krasinskis apartment in West Hollywood, they shared in a joint 2018 interview with The Hollywood Reporter. That night, something happened between them that was so precious Blunt declined to share details. In 2022, Blunt noted on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert that she still has the royal blue velvet jacket she wore that night even though, in her words, it was an awful jacket. I wore it on John and Is first date, and I have not thrown it out, she said. Its such an awful jacket. It sits there, and I go, That is a terrible jacket. August 2009: They get engaged Emily Blunt and John Krasinski (Patrick McMullan / Getty Images) In October 2010, Krasinski shared on The Ellen Show that he and Blunt had brought home a new Labrador puppy a year earlier. They named him Finn, but the pup wasnt the only step forward for the couple in 2009. According to a September 2009 interview with Access Hollywood, Krasinski got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend. It was very casual, he said. I was nervous and the whole nine yards. There were unicorns and oceans and clouds, and she said yes. We cried. And then everyone around us was crying. Apparently, Ina Gartens legendary engagement chicken played a part. In 2021, Blunt said on iHeartMedias podcast River Cafe Table 4 that she made the recipe ahead of the proposal. A roast chicken, who doesnt love roast chicken? she asked. July 2010: They get married Krasinski and Blunt were married in a private ceremony at George Clooneys home on Lake Como in Italy, People reported. The bride wore a Marchesa Bridal custom cream chiffon sweetheart draped gown featuring embroidery, and the ring was a Neil Lane three-carat round diamond and platinum stunner. February 2014: They welcome a baby Emily Blunt and John Krasinski (Christopher Polk / Getty Images) In September 2013, the couple announced they were expecting their first child, confirming the happy update with E! News. Their little girl arrived on Feb. 16, 2014, with Krasinski tweeting out a birthday message on X (formerly Twitter). Wanted to let the news out directly. Emily and I are so incredibly happy to welcome our daughter Hazel into the world today! Happy bday! he wrote. January 2015: Krasinski interrupts Blunt onstage for a hug Who was more excited than Blunt to win a Critics Choice Award in 2015 for her performance in Edge of Tomorrow? Possibly Krasinski, who ran onstage during her acceptance speech to give her a big hug and congratulate her. June 2016: They welcome baby No. 2 During the summer of 2016, the couple welcomed their second baby girl, and again, Krasinski took to X for the announcement. On July 4, the actor wrote, What better way to celebrate the 4th... than to announce our 4th family member!!! 2 weeks ago we met our beautiful daughter Violet #Happy4th. John Krasinski and Emily Blunt (Christopher Polk / Getty Images) 2017: The couple announce their first film together, A Quiet Place Not every couple wants to live and work together, but Blunt and Krasinski do. And theyre proof it can be bliss. In March 2017, news broke that the duo would be sharing the screen in A Quiet Place, a creature feature Krasinski would also co-write and direct. The film was a smash, raking in more than $340 million worldwide, with Blunt winning a SAG Award for her performance. During her acceptance speech (which Krasinski did not interrupt this time), Blunt said, I am going to share this completely with my husband, John Krasinski, because the entire experience of doing this with you has completely pierced my heart directly. The sequel, A Quiet Place Part II (again directed by Krasinski and starring Blunt), premiered in 2020; further entries in the franchise are set for 2024 and 2025. 2020-Present: They celebrate 10 years married and are still going strong Krasinski and Blunts marriage turned 10 at the peak of the pandemic, but the lockdowns seem to have only made them a stronger couple. Having Johns support is everything, because we are each others confidant, Blunt told People in December 2020. That shared understanding has really been a very vital anchor for me. Meanwhile, Krasinski remains her biggest fan. As he told Parade in December 2022, I wouldnt be anywhere in my life without her. On a daily basis, but certainly career-wise, as a dad, she pushes me to be better every single day at everything I do. This article was originally published on TODAY.com Employees at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in Illinois on Saturday fully switched over to the new joint military and Veterans Affairs electronic health records system, a milestone that officials hope will help jump-start VAs stalled adoption of the software. The deployment makes the North Chicago complex the final Defense Department medical site to begin using the new record system, and the first Veterans Affairs site in 21 months to launch the software. VA officials announced a halt to all new site deployments in April 2023 amid growing concerns about staff training and system readiness. Whether the deployment to Lovell FHCC would go ahead as scheduled this month was in doubt just a few weeks ago, with lawmakers and advocates questioning whether enough fixes had been made to VA processes to ensure patient safety. VA halts all new work on health records overhaul But Neil Evans, acting director of VAs Electronic Health Record Modernization Integration Office, told reporters this week he is confident that patient safety will be improved not jeopardized with the launch of the new records system. We believe that it is important for us to operate as an integrated system, he said. We want to make sure that we are integrated and functioning as a cohesive whole, and making sure this will work as expected. Were not concerned about unleashing new issues. Since President Donald Trump announced plans to put VA and the Defense Department on the same health records system in 2017, the effort has been fraught with software problems, employee frustrations and patient safety concerns. After deployment to just five sites, VA Secretary Denis McDonough halted all future installations at veterans medical centers until officials were confident that those issues had been corrected. Several lawmakers have openly questioned whether VAs $16 billion contract with Oracle Cerner will ever produce a workable system for the department. But McDonough and Oracle officials have insisted the problems can be fixed, given time and focus on the issue. Meanwhile, the Defense Departments version of the software MHS Genesis has largely been installed with only minor technical setbacks. In a statement, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Lester Martinez-Lopez said deployment of the system to Lovell FHCC will help DOD and VA deliver on the promise made to those who serve our country to provide seamless care from their first day of active service to the transition to veteran status. The Illinois medical center is a joint VA and Defense Department facility which provides care to about 75,000 veterans, service members and family members annually. It is the only joint health care complex of its kind in the nation. Evans said bringing all of those patients into a single records system will help with coordinating care and provide important insights for VAs future software deployments. But in the short term, the move will leave some VA patients in the North Chicago region who use multiple health care sites with two sets of medical records: one in the new Millennium software, and one in VAs legacy VistA platform. Those double records have led to problems in the past, particularly with fulfilling pharmacy orders. Evans said officials have made adjustments in recent months and will be closely monitoring the issue going forward. Anthony Joshua dispatched Francis Ngannou with a devastating knockout in Saudi Arabia to boost his pursuit of becoming a three-time heavyweight world champion. Joshua dispatched the Cameroonian quickly and looked superior to Tyson Fury in the process, with the WBC heavyweight champion taken to points by the former UFC heavyweight champion last October. Joshuas brutal power punching provides fresh momentum to his career with coach Ben Davison helping him to rediscover his ruthless streak. But with Fury next fighting Oleksandr Usyk, who defeated Joshua twice previously, in a bout to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion in May, Joshuas future is uncertain. Here, Independent Sport analyses Joshuas options moving forward and what comes next after such a scintillating performance in Riyadh: Tyson Fury The fight that fans, especially in Britain, have longed to see for years. Fury suggested after AJs win that there is still a long way to go, with the Gypsy King first set to box Usyk for undisputed status in May. Then there is the prospect of Fury vs Usyk 2, which is believed to be contractually agreed. With the Saudis involvement in boxing, however, Joshua vs Fury looks as likely as it has in years, and AJs chances of winning are perhaps better than ever given each mans current form. Fury was ringside in Riyadh on Friday (Getty Images) Filip Hrgovic Hrgovic has been mentioned as a potential opponent for Joshua for months. The Croat is the IBF mandatory challenger, and that status could affect the likelihood of Fury vs Usyk 2 being for all the major belts. In fact, the winner of Fury vs Usyk in May might choose to face Hrgovic next, but if they do not, he could go up against AJ. Hrgovic has never quite lived up to his potential but is unbeaten. Filip Hrgovic is the mandatory challenger for Usyks IBF belt (PA) Joseph Parker Joshua outpointed Parker in 2018, handing him his first pro loss, and the New Zealander would soon lose to Dillian Whyte before suffering a TKO by Joe Joyce in 2022. However, Parker has excelled since that latest defeat, outpointing Deontay Wilder in December and Zhilei Zhang on Fridays undercard. He even climbed off the canvas twice against Zhang to win. Parker is not the fighter he was in 2018, and a rematch with Joshua would be an interesting match-up. Joshua and Parker fighting each other in 2018 (Getty Images) Oleksandr Usyk Not likely, given Tyson Fury possesses a rematch clause should he lose to the Ukrainian in May, while two clear victories for Usyk against AJ before removes some appeal for fans. But Joshuas improvement and better performance in the rematch keep the conversation alive. Should Fury be unavailable for a sustained period of time, perhaps due to injury, then a third fight with Joshua could appeal to Turki Alalshikh, rather than waiting until 2025 for another blockbuster heavyweight in Saudi Arabia with any of the top three heavyweights in the world. Joshua has been beaten by Usyk twice (Getty Images) Dillian Whyte Cleared to fight again after a contaminated supplement was attributed as the reason for last years failed doping test, which scuppered Whytes proposed rematch with Joshua last year. A return against the veteran Christian Hammer next week in Ireland will enable him to shake off any rust before talk of resuming their bitter rivalry, which would allow AJ to remain active in 2024. Whyte was scheduled to take on Joshua last year (PA Wire) A lawsuit filed by Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne that challenge an English Language Learner model used in schools across the state was tossed out on Friday. Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy | Arizona Mirror A lawsuit launched by Arizona schools chief Tom Horne last year in the hopes of shutting down dual language instruction across the state was tossed out of court on Friday. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper, in a 14-page ruling, offered a blistering criticism of Hornes complaint, repeatedly stating that the Superintendent of Public Instruction has no authority or standing under Arizona state law to challenge the teaching model. Simply put, no Arizona statute grants the Superintendent an open-ended general grant of authority to sue, she wrote. At issue is how Arizona schools help their English Language Learner students achieve proficiency in English. The State Board of Education authorizes schools to implement one of four teaching methods, including the 50-50 Dual Language Immersion model, under which students learn half the day in English and the other half in another language, such as Spanish. Horne, long an opponent of bilingual education, contends that the 50-50 model violates the provisions of Prop. 203. Approved by voters more than two decades ago, the initiative mandates English-only instruction and requires a parental waiver before bilingual methods can be taught. In 2019, lawmakers concerned about the lack of academic advancement of ELL students directed the board of education to research and authorize the use of effective teaching models. One of those models ended up being dual language instruction. Since then, as many as 26 school districts across the state and more than 100 schools have adopted the model. In late June of last year, just months away from the start of classes, Horne threatened to withhold funding from schools using the 50-50 model. The Republican heads the Arizona Department of Education, which carries out the directives of the board of education and monitors schools to ensure theyre complying with both state laws and board policies. That announcement set off a monthslong spat between the state superintendent and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, who shortly after issued a legal opinion stating that Horne had no authority to follow through on his threat. The Arizona State Board of Education quickly affirmed its backing of the 50-50 model, and Horne later responded by taking Mayes, Gov. Katie Hobbs and 10 school districts using the model to court. Horne sought a statement from the court that Mayes opinion was incorrect and that the use of the 50-50 model sans waivers unlawfully violates Prop. 203. Judge Cooper dismissed Hornes request concluding that the head of Arizonas public schools has no power to sue, and, even with the authority to do so, Hornes case falls flat due to a lack of valid claims. State lawmakers imbued the Arizona Board of Education with the power to launch a lawsuit or be the subject of one. But state superintendents were given no such authority. Horne is responsible for overseeing Arizonas public schools, and the most he can do under state law when a school is out of compliance is refer cases to the board for further review. Horne attempted to argue that an ability to sue was necessary to execute his role as the enforcer of board policies and state law. Cooper was unconvinced, pointing out that neither the laws outlining a state superintendents responsibilities nor the ELL laws that Horne is disputing authorize him to sue. But, she noted, the board does have explicit authority to file lawsuits, and Prop. 203 itself expressly empowers parents of students to take schools to court to enforce its provisions. Well-established, controlling case law holds that the Superintendent has only those powers and duties prescribed by law, Cooper wrote. Neither the general statutes imposing educational responsibilities nor particular provisions in the ELL statutes authorize him to file this lawsuit. Another of Hornes arguments sought to persuade Cooper that his rights as a state Superintendent were jeopardized by the actions of the education board and the incongruent ELL laws. They both prevented him from carrying out his responsibilities as the chief supervisor of Arizona public schools and thus a clarification from the court was necessary, Horne said. But the board, which is the only entity that can modify or strike down a teaching method, isnt a defendant in the lawsuit, Cooper noted. Mayes, Hobbs and the 10 school districts have no power to address Hornes complaint. Simply filing a lawsuit for judicial declarations on a topic does not create standing, Cooper said. Superintendent Horne has not shown that the Defendant Parties have affected his own rights or status. Further, even if he had, he could not file this lawsuit against them because he lacks the statutory authority to do so. And the case as a whole is unable to move forward because the parties Horne sued arent involved with implementing the requirements of Prop. 203, Cooper added. Challenging them based on violations of the initiative would lead nowhere. Horne included Hobbs in the lawsuit due to her repeatedly expressed support for dual language instruction, alleging that as the states top executive its her responsibility to enforce state laws. But, Cooper said, the governors comments dont amount to violations and she has no hand in determining school teaching methods. Mayes was sued because of her legal opinion and the 10 school districts were sued because they use dual language instruction. Cooper dismissed the complaint against the AG, pointing out that Mayes legal opinion is purely advisory, and said the school districts were simply fulfilling their responsibilities. Ultimately, only the state board of education is in charge of deciding how to teach English Language Learners. At its core, the (complaint) challenges the way in which Prop. 203 has been implemented, Cooper wrote. Only the State Board has the authority to control how schools implement Prop. 203. Cooper concluded that each of the parties Horne had erroneously sued were eligible to recover their costs, and granted a request from Hobbs to recover her attorneys fees. In an emailed statement, Horne vowed to appeal Coopers ruling and criticized her ruling for not discussing the allegation that Prop. 203 is being undermined. As that argument hasnt yet been ruled on, its still available to pursue, according to Horne. He added that his intent was only to obtain a declaration from the court that 50-50 learning models must be changed to comply with the initiative, and now that such a declaration is out of reach, worse consequences for schools lie ahead. The districts that opposed our position will regret this development. A near identical action will be filed by a parent, and this will have much worse consequences for the districts, Horne said. If such a lawsuit is successful, the school board members and superintendent of a district found to be in violation of the law are removed from their positions and cannot run for any public office in education for five years. There are parents prepared to file such a suit, and todays court decision dismissing my lawsuit on purely technical grounds means that is the pathway forward. Stand for Children Arizona, a public education advocacy organization that has been a strong critic of Hornes moves against the 50-50 model, celebrated the courts ruling. Rebecca Gau, executive director of the group, noted that the 2019 law that Horne, a Republican, opposes was unanimously supported by Arizona Republicans in the state legislature, and slammed Horne for threatening a critical educational tool. We hope this marks the end of Hornes flagrant misuse of taxpayer dollars to try to overturn a law that was unanimously supported by Republican legislators, Governor, and State Board of Education members and is enabling Arizona school districts to achieve educational progress, Gau said, in an emailed statement. SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST. DONATE The post Judge dismisses State Superintendents English Language Learner suit appeared first on Arizona Mirror. A federal judge in a surprising ruling has dismissed a Texas lawsuit against a Biden administration policy that allows migrants of certain nationalities to fly to the United States if they have US sponsors. The lawsuit focused on a parole program that permits migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to apply to come to the US and, if approved, temporarily live in the country. The policy allows up to 30,000 migrants from those four countries to come to the US each month, and since its launch more than a year ago, over 386,000 people of those nationalities have arrived in the US. Officials have cited the policy for driving down border crossings of those nationalities by providing a legal pathway to the country. Republicans, however, have slammed the Biden administrations use of parole, arguing that officials are using the authority too broadly as theyve ramped up their attacks in recent months on President Joe Bidens broader immigration agenda. US District Judge Drew B. Tipton, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, on Friday rejected the challenge filed early last year by Texas, along with other Republican-led states, for failing to establish how they were hurt by the program. The states argued that the Biden administration didnt go through a notice and comment rulemaking process before instituting the rule and that the policy exceeds the administrations authority. Texas further argued that the program would incur significant financial costs for the state as it would have to provide services such as driver licenses, healthcare, education, as well as enforcement and correctional services. But Tipton, who did not consider the merits of the case in his dismissal, said that Texas had not shown that it had standing to bring the suit. The parole program has actually lowered (Texas) out-of-pocket costs, he wrote, noting that illegal entries into the US by migrants from the four countries have decreased following its implementation. CNN has reached out to the Texas attorney generals office for comment. The White House said that it welcomes the ruling and reiterated its call for Congress to pass the stalled border security deal. The Biden-Harris Administration remains committed to expanding lawful pathways to the United States, while delivering consequences to those who do not avail themselves of these processes and have no legal basis to remain in the United States, a White House spokesperson said in a statement. Supporters of the policy celebrated the dismissal Friday. Todays decision is a victory for the 1.5 million people who have jumped at the opportunity to sponsor loved ones under this program, said Monika Langarica, senior staff attorney at the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law, which was among the intervenors in the case in support of the administration. She added that the ruling is a critical repudiation of Texass attempt to hold immigration policy hostage for the entire country. Texas state officials have filed a number of legal challenges against the Biden administration as they have been at odds over immigration and the handling of the US-Mexico border. Tipton ruled in favor of Texas and Mississippi in a separate suit Friday, blocking the Biden administration from using funding set aside by Congress for a border wall for other border-related purposes. The preliminary injunction is paused for seven days to allow time for an appeal. This story has been updated with additional information. CNNs Tierney Sneed contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com A Biden administration humanitarian parole program that has let hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, and Haitians come to the U.S. can continue, after a federal judge on Friday turned back a legal challenge from several Republican-led states, including Florida and Texas. The Court finds that Plaintiffs have failed to establish that they have standing on any of their claims, said the final judgment by Judge Drew B. Tipton, who issued the decision from a courthouse in the Texan city of Victoria. The Biden administration launched the parole process for Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua in January 2023, after first launching the program in October 2022 for Venezuela. It allows people from the four countries to come to the U.S. for two years, as long as they have financial sponsors and pass background and health checks. READ MORE: Florida, other states sue feds over parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans But the fate of the program had been uncertain since Texas, Florida, and over a dozen other states sued the administration less than a month after it was announced. They argued that the program was illegal because it was an overstep of federal government authority and burdened the states with millions of dollars in costs. On Friday, Tipton who was appointed to the federal bench by President Donald Trump and has previously ruled against the Biden administration on immigration matters dismissed the case and denied any relief to the states in a 27-page opinion. The ruling is a huge win for Bidens White House, which has used executive authority to grant humanitarian parole to several countries, including to Ukrainians after Russia invaded their country. Tiptons decision is also a relief for parole program recipients and their sponsors, many of whom are family members. Following Fridays development, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement that the parole program was a key element of our efforts to address the unprecedented level of migration throughout our hemisphere, and other countries around the world see it as a model to tackle the challenge of increased irregular migration that they too are experiencing. Since the end of January, over 357,000 people from the four countries have arrived in the United States. That includes over 138,000 Haitians, 58,000 Nicaraguans, over 74,000 Cubans, and more than 86,000 Venezuelans, according to federal government data. DHS launched the program as part of its package of policies to reduce irregular immigration and increase legal pathways for people from the four countries. Its an incredible victory to ensure that the parole programs that have reunited so many families and provided protection for so many can continue, said Karen Tumlin, founder and director of the Justice Action Center, which represented seven U.S. citizen sponsors of parole program beneficiaries in the lawsuit. This is a great day for them because they wanted to have the freedom to welcome, the freedom to exercise their own religion, to reunite families. I hope that the hundreds of thousands of other people who are waiting in line for this program find confidence in this decision, she told the Miami Herald. Valerie Laveus, a middle school teacher in Broward County, brought her brother and 15-year-old nephew from Port-au-Prince through the parole program in August. She is among the sponsors Tumlins group represented. Her family had been living in uncertainty since the case went to trial in August. The fear that the program could go away had only deepened as the crisis in Haiti worsened in recent days. On Friday, Laveus said she was overjoyed. I want to thank God for this. It was definitely scary, to think that the program was going to be completely obliterated. Not just for my brother, but for everybody that has been given the opportunity to come here, she said. We dont have to live in fear that they are going to be sent awayThey can do what they came to do, which is live with peace and learn as much as they can and live with freedom. Back in Haiti, Laveus relatives couldnt work or go to school because of the continuing gang violence. Her brother had long been approved for a green card, but it was a years-long wait for a visa to become available. It was becoming harder for U.S.-based family members keep sending money while hoping it would last them long enough to eat and survive. Then the parole program offered another way out. When my brother came he was half of a man. Now hes joyful, and looking forward to life. My family came with a lot of adversity.... That adversity has shifted. This is a new life, a new experience, she said. Her brother found a job in construction since moving to Florida. Her nephew is attending a magnet school. Hes learning, he rides his bike, and plays with friends. He doesnt have to look behind his back, she said. Parole program for Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela goes to trial. Will it survive? Tipton issued a final order, which means that if Texas and the other states want to challenge his ruling, they will have to go to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans. In reaching this conclusion, the Court does not address the lawfulness of the Program. The Court may only reach that question after a plaintiff has established that it has standing, wrote Tipton in Fridays ruling. Its unclear what will happen to parole recipients for the Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, and Nicaragua program once the two years are up. But Laveus hopes that the parole program will lead to more permanent immigration solutions for families like her. What Im praying for is a pathway that can offer other opportunities for people who are here, to not only prove themselves but to contribute, because they are contributing, she said.Its an amazing thing thats happened. Bayern Munich's Harry Kane (L) scores his side's seventh goal of the game during the German Bundesliga Soccer match between Bayern Munich and FSV Mainz 05 at the Allianz Arena. Sven Hoppe/dpa Harry Kane scored his fourth Bundesliga treble in an all-round masterclass to help Bayern Munich crush second-bottom Mainz 8-1 at home on Saturday and trim Bayer Leverkusen's lead to seven points. Leon Goretzka was on target inbetween the England striker's first-half double, thanks to Kane's clever leave, and after a thumping free-kick from Nadiem Amiri failed to derail the improving champions, Thomas Muller, Jamal Musiala and Serge Gnabry netted. Kane then headed in his 30th goal of his maiden Bundesliga season as he eyes Robert Lewandowski's league record of 41 goals in a campaign before Goretzka made it eight in stoppage time. Unbeaten Leverkusen, seeking a first ever Bundesliga title, host Wolfsburg on Sunday when Xabi Alonso's side can re-establish their 10-point lead with just nine games left this season. In other Saturday matches, third-bottom Cologne draw 3-3 at mid-table Borussia Monchengladbach in a wild Rhine derby after 200 fans were detained following violence on Friday. Cologne are still adrift in the relegation play-off spot but put themselves two points ahead of Mainz in the automatic drop zone. Darmstadt, also in the relegation zone in bottom spot, are now 12 points from absolute safety after Thomas Isherwood's early own goal and Christoph Baumgartner's strike in a 2-0 defeat at RB Leipzig. The win for Leipzig put them into the fourth Champions League spot pending Borussia Dortmund's game at Werder Bremen later on Saturday. Augsburg powered up to eighth, with a late European push not out of the question having looked in a relegation battle just a few weeks ago. Jess Thorup's side beat mid-table Heidenheim 1-0 at home courtesy of defender Jeffrey Gouweleeuw's fine finish from a corner. Bayern Munich's Serge Gnabry (above) celebrates his side's sixth goal of the game with teammate Leon Goretzka during the German Bundesliga Soccer match between Bayern Munich and FSV Mainz 05 at the Allianz Arena. Sven Hoppe/dpa Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala (R) scores his side's fifth goal of the game during the German Bundesliga Soccer match between Bayern Munich and FSV Mainz 05 at the Allianz Arena. Sven Hoppe/dpa Bayern Munich's Thomas Mueller celebrates his side's fourth goal of the game during the German Bundesliga Soccer match between Bayern Munich and FSV Mainz 05 at the Allianz Arena. Sven Hoppe/dpa Bayern Munich's Harry Kane (R) and Mainz's Anthony Caci battle for the ball during the German Bundesliga Soccer match between Bayern Munich and FSV Mainz 05 at the Allianz Arena. Sven Hoppe/dpa Mainz's Robin Zentner fists the ball out of the penalty area during the German Bundesliga Soccer match between Bayern Munich and FSV Mainz 05 at the Allianz Arena. Sven Hoppe/dpa Mainz's Nadiem Amiri (2nd R) scores his side's first goal of the game during the German Bundesliga Soccer match between Bayern Munich and FSV Mainz 05 at the Allianz Arena. Sven Hoppe/dpa Bayern Munich's Leon Goretzka (C) scores his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga Soccer match between Bayern Munich and FSV Mainz 05 at the Allianz Arena. Sven Hoppe/dpa At some point, meetings are counterproductiveand employees must be given a block of time without them to get work done. That sentiment has led some companies to implement a no-meeting day policy. Last year, for instance, Shopify made Wednesday such a day, part of a calendar purge to give employees more time to focus. Soon after, workers trying to schedule a meeting on that day received an automated Slack reminder asking them to reconsider. Block, the financial technology firm helmed by Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey, recently settled on Tuesday as its no-meeting day. Kristen Anderson, who serves as product lead for Blocks Cash App, celebrated the move on Friday, writing on X: So @jack made Tuesdays a No Meeting Day across Block, and I am unbelievably pumpedLess talk about the work. More work. Here for it. Jeff Stephens, CTO at Dignari, replied: This really needs to become standard practice. Meeting fatigue is real and not just due to the quantity of meetings. Many times its just a few meetings but they are sprinkled throughout the day just enough to prevent real quality work being done in the gaps. Paul Graham, an influential Silicon Valley essayist who cofounded the startup accelerator Y Combinator, delved into the problem of too many meetings in a 2009 post entitled Makers Schedule, Managers Schedule. In it, he described the differences between how a maker views meetings, versus how a manager does. The schedule of a manager, he noted, often consists of one meeting after another, with a day cut into one-hour intervals. But a makersay, a programmer or writerneeds at least half a day to get real work done. If a meeting is inserted into that block of time, its a disaster for a maker, Graham wrote: A single meeting can blow a whole afternoon, by breaking it into two pieces each too small to do anything hard in. Worse, a meeting in the afternoon can cause a maker to not start anything ambitious in the morning, knowing the day will be interrupted later. That, in turn, can hurt morale. As Graham put it: Story continues Don't your spirits rise at the thought of having an entire day free to work, with no appointments at all? Well, that means your spirits are correspondingly depressed when you don't. And ambitious projects are by definition close to the limits of your capacity. A small decrease in morale is enough to kill them off. This helps explain why someone like Anderson, who referenced Graham's writing, is unbelievably pumped to have a day with no meetings. Aram Attar, founder of The VC Factory in Paris, responded to Andersons post by describing Grahams essay as one of the most defining pieces of business thought hed ever read, calling it truly worklife changing. Not every company that tries a no-meeting day likes it, however. Last August, Zoom announced an end to Wednesday being such a day. We move fast, and this effort has become more of a barrier to collaboration than it was intended, CEO Eric Yuan wrote in a memo. And as an increasingly global company, no Internal Meeting Wednesday creates a lack of clarity for Zoomies working across multiple time zones. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com Signs on the wavy metal fence outside of the fountains at Crown Center read: PLEASE DO NOT ENTER FOUNTAIN. But this ban hasnt always been in place. For decades, Kansas City kids cooled down on summer days by running through the checkerboard of spouts shooting water into the sky. The fountains have drawn children into their spray almost as long as they have been open. Sign outside of Kansas Citys Crown Center fountains tells visitors to stay out. Feb. 9, 2024. Eleanor Nash/enash@kcstar.com Heres the history of the fountains which are still running and why kids are no longer allowed: How old are the Crown Center fountains? A newspaper spot announced the opening of the Crown Center fountains in a Sept. 2, 1972 edition of The Kansas City Times. K. Kenneth Paik/Kansas City Times archives The fountains were installed in 1972, more than 50 years ago. The newest fountain in a city noted for its fountains bubbled to life Tuesday The 49 jets, lighted at night, can be adjusted to shoot up from a modest six feet on windy days to 30 feet when it is calm, a Kansas City Times article stated the year the fountains turned on. A Kansas City Star story detailed childrens enjoyment of the fountains on a Sunday in June 2006: Two-year-old Grace Johnson could not stand still Forty-nine fountains were shooting water straight to the sky and she had to get back in there right now. She shivered with excitement, screamed with glee and rocketed face-first into the spray. Her big sister, Angel, 8, demonstrated a trick she had devised to amplify the fun: Sit on top of the spray until it bursts up between your knees and right up your nose. PARKER ESHELMAN/ The Kansas City Star Destiny, left, and Grace Johnson play in the Crown Center fountains, as their mom, Natisha gets a good laugh. cutline: Destiny (left) and Grace Johnson played in the fountains at Crown Center on a recent Sunday afternoon. Parker Eshelman/The Kansas City Star Jamiya Dennis, 4, of Kansas City, reveled in the fountain spray in Crown Center Square. June 18, 2006. CHRIS OBERHOLTZ/\The Kansas City Star When did the Crown Center fountains close to kids? Even now, Kansas Citians can see the memories of this excitement. Walking into the Ward Parkway Trader Joes, shoppers can find a mural depicting children frolicking in the water spouts. The painting shows a child holding a bucket, trying to capture the water. Another kid appears to be running, T-shirt soggy and hair plastered to his face. Painted by artist Mark Fetty, the mural was completed in 2011, according to his website, just before the fountains closed to visitors the next year. A mural of children playing in the Crown Center Fountains decorates the dairy section in the Ward Parkway Trader Joes. Painted by artist Mark Fetty, the painting was completed around 2011, just before the fountains closed to visitors in June 2012. Feb. 27, 2024. Eleanor Nash/enash@kcstar.com On a sunny Friday this February, an Overland Park mom said it would be a huge bummer not to let her four kids, ages 3 to 10, run through the water on a hot summers day. When I saw the sign today, I was like Thats weird, said Shantay Henrie, sitting at a shaded table by the mall. Itd be annoying to try and keep my kids out of them, Henrie said. The family moved to the Kansas City area almost two years ago and Henrie remembered letting her kids cool down in similar fountains in Minnesota and Texas. Everywhere weve lived theyve had fountains at the mall. Gabirel Howell, 2, is a bit nervous about jumping in to the fountain in front of Crown Center in 2003. File/The Kansas City Star Children keep cool in the fountains at Crown Center in August 2010. Temperatures were perfect for outdoor activities on Sunday, July 19, 2009. Josiah Daniel Sanchez, 18 months, enjoyed an afternoon in the sun and water, as his father, Efrain Sanchez, of Grandview, holds him while he plays in the fountain outside Crown Center in Kansas City, Mo. CHRIS OBERHOLTZ/The Kansas City Star Chris Oberholtz Why were the fountains shut down for visitors? The Star reported in June 2012 that the fountains closed after a test showed unsafe bacteria in the waters, according to a Crown Center spokesperson at the time, Chris Ronan. After Legoland and Sea Life opened that April, the spokesperson said more people were cooling off in the fountains, increasing safety concerns. Ronan was quoted in a June 13, 2012 Star story: Its a fountain and not a poolIts not designed to handle things the same way a pool is. Crown Center declined a request to comment for this story. A June 13, 2012 edition of The Star shows children searching for water in the Crown Center fountains. Officials at the time said harmful bacteria caused them to close the fountains to visitors. Eleanor Nash/enash@kcstar.com Kansas Citians reacted with outrage on social media, The Star reported in 2012. One Facebook commenter wrote, No. Just no. I grew up playing in those fountains and always planned on taking my kids to play in them when visiting family in KC. Native Kansas Citian Kia Turner remembered playing in the fountains after a Coterie show when she was a child, as she told Star columnist Jenee Osterheldt in 2012. Turner had introduced her 2-year-old daughter to the tradition. I looked forward to her growing up being able to enjoy it the way I did. Now I cant. The fountain ban hurts because it ends a tradition for many people, Turner said. Star columnist Mary Sanchez bluntly wrote her opinion on the matter: (Crown Center doesnt) want to get sued for children slipping, falling and cracking their heads open. And they dont want some ugly bacterial infection caused by toddler poop, or just too many humans, in the water sprays. How many fountains are there in Kansas City? The Crown Center fountain is one of over 200 fountains in Kansas City, which is known as the City of Fountains. Originally, fountains were used as drinking basins for Kansas Citys horses, according to Visit KC. Each April, the city turns on the almost 50 public fountains for the event coined Fountain Day. Do you have more long-gone Kansas City traditions you want to share? Contact the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com. Katie Britt, the Alabama Senator who delivered the Republicans rebuttal to President Joe Bidens State of the Union address, is being accused of misrepresenting a graphic story about a human trafficking survivor in Mexico to criticise Mr Bidens border policy. During her speech on Thursday, Ms Britt elevated Republicans rhetoric and concerns about the US-Mexico border by recounting the time she travelled to Del Rio, Texas in 2023 and met with a young woman who was allegedly trafficked by Mexican cartels at the age of 12. Ms Britt briefly described the horrific crimes the young woman experienced before calling for different border policies. We wouldnt be OK with this happening in a third-world country. This is the United States of America and its past time we started acting like it. President Bidens border crisis is a disgrace. Its despicable. And its almost entirely preventable, Ms Britt said on Thursday. Though Ms Britt did not name the individual she was speaking about, an independent journalist, Jonathan Katz, said that it appeared she was speaking about Karla Jacinto. Ms Jacinto is a human trafficking survivor whom Ms Britt, along with Senators Marsha Blackburn and Cindy Hyde-Smith, met last year while visiting the border. Ms Jacinto appeared briefly in a video with the Alabama senator. Though Ms Britt has not confirmed this is the individual shes speaking about, Ms Jacinto shares an almost identical story to the one Ms Britt spoke about. In 2015, Ms Jacinto testified to Congress about being trafficked in Mexico beginning when she was 12 years old in 2004 until she was rescued at 16 years old in 2008. Her testimony was used as evidence in support of International Megans Law. Ms Jacinto never testified to being trafficked by drug cartels nor being trafficked in the US. She told CNN in 2015 that she was trafficked in Mexico City, Guadalajara and other Mexican cities Those details, which were omitted from Ms Britts speech, considerably distance Ms Jacintos experience from the current border crisis and Mr Bidens presidency. Mr Katz accused Ms Britt of being fundamentally dishonest in repeating Ms Jacintos story to make it appear as though it happened on or near the US-Mexico border during the Biden administration. The Independent has reached out to Ms Britts office for comment. Her spokesperson, Sean Ross, responded to The New York Times and said in a statement that The story Senator Britt told was 100 percent correct. If you are a child and you need help because something has happened to you, you can call the NSPCC free of charge on 0800 1111. You can also call the NSPCC if you are an adult and you are worried about a child, on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adults on 0808 801 0331 Katie Britt delivered a rebuttal to President Joe Bidens State of the Union address that was remarkable for its setting, tone and over-the-top facial expressions (CNBC) Katie Britt, the Alabama Senator who delivered the Republicans rebuttal to President Joe Bidens State of the Union address, is being accused of misrepresenting a graphic story about a human trafficking survivor in Mexico to criticise Mr Bidens border policy. During her speech on Thursday, Ms Britt elevated Republicans rhetoric and concerns about the US-Mexico border by recounting the time she travelled to Del Rio, Texas in 2023 and met with a young woman who was allegedly trafficked by Mexican cartels at the age of 12. Ms Britt briefly described the horrific crimes the young woman experienced before calling for different border policies. We wouldnt be OK with this happening in a third-world country. This is the United States of America and its past time we started acting like it. President Bidens border crisis is a disgrace. Its despicable. And its almost entirely preventable, Ms Britt said on Thursday. Though Ms Britt did not name the individual she was speaking about, an independent journalist, Jonathan Katz, said that it appeared she was speaking about Karla Jacinto. Ms Jacinto is a human trafficking survivor whom Ms Britt, along with Senators Marsha Blackburn and Cindy Hyde-Smith, met last year while visiting the border. Ms Jacinto appeared briefly in a video with the Alabama senator. Though Ms Britt has not confirmed this is the individual shes speaking about, Ms Jacinto shares an almost identical story to the one Ms Britt spoke about. In 2015, Ms Jacinto testified to Congress about being trafficked in Mexico beginning when she was 12 years old in 2004 until she was rescued at 16 years old in 2008. Her testimony was used as evidence in support of International Megans Law. Ms Jacinto never testified to being trafficked by drug cartels nor being trafficked in the US. She told CNN in 2015 that she was trafficked in Mexico City, Guadalajara and other Mexican cities Those details, which were omitted from Ms Britts speech, considerably distance Ms Jacintos experience from the current border crisis and Mr Bidens presidency. Mr Katz accused Ms Britt of being fundamentally dishonest in repeating Ms Jacintos story to make it appear as though it happened on or near the US-Mexico border during the Biden administration. The Independent has reached out to Ms Britts office for comment. Her spokesperson, Sean Ross, responded to The New York Times and said in a statement that The story Senator Britt told was 100 percent correct. If you are a child and you need help because something has happened to you, you can call the NSPCC free of charge on 0800 1111. You can also call the NSPCC if you are an adult and you are worried about a child, on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adults on 0808 801 0331 A relatively unknown United States senator from Alabama made a name for herself among Democrats, independents, and her fellow Republicans after she spoke following President Joe Bidens State of the Union address. Bidens speech was characterized by a showcase of political acumen and vigor, but the GOPs decision to have relatively unknown Sen. Katie Britt deliver the rebuttal has ignited widespread discussion. The 42-year-old inadvertently triggered a far-reaching conversation across political messaging, gender dynamics, and social issues, particularly in the wake of contentious legal decisions surrounding reproductive rights in Alabama and in conservative-led states across the country. Who is Sen. Katie Britt? Since her election, Britt has quickly become a prominent figure within the Republican Party. As the former CEO of the Business Council of Alabama and as chief of staff for GOP Sen. Richard Shelby, Britt brought a blend of business advocacy and legislative experience to her Senate campaign. Her victory made her the first woman elected to the Senate from Alabama and the youngest woman ever elected to the chamber. Britts conservative platform emphasized traditional values, economic development, and staunch border security. (@) When was Britt elected? Britt was elected in 2022, representing a historic milestone for Alabama and women within the Republican Party. Her election spotlighted a broader trend toward increasing female representation in politics, particularly within the GOP, where white men still dominate. Whats her LGBTQ+ rights record? Britt has aligned with the conservative wing of her party, especially on LGBTQ+ rights. She has shown support for policies limiting discussions of sexuality and gender identity in schools, reflecting a commitment to traditional values and so-called parental rights to control educational content. She has not received a score from the Human Rights Campaign, which evaluates politicians LGBTQ+ voting record. She's already showed her transphobia by appearing in a video against trans students using the bathroom in schools. Why was she chosen to give the Republican response to the State of the Union? Britts selection to deliver the Republican response was seemingly a move by the GOP to attempt a portrayal of a fresh, dynamic lawmaker as a counterpoint to the 81-year-old Biden. By choosing Britt, the party aimed to appeal to younger voters and women, leveraging her profile to potentially narrow the gender voting gap and highlight the evolving face of the Republican Party. The fact that Alabama is at the forefront of the assault on womens rights, with the abolition of abortion access and a recent assault on families access to IVF, contributed to her selection. What did she say in her response? In her response, Britt touched on several key issues, from immigration and economic policy to national security, criticizing the Biden administrations handling of these areas. Her speech also navigated the complex terrain of reproductive rights, particularly in light of the Alabama Supreme Courts ruling on IVF and embryos (the court ruled they were people and not property, thrusting the procedure into limbo until the legislature made a statutory correction this week. Its why we strongly support continued nationwide access to in vitro fertilization, Britt claimed, signaling the GOPs stance amidst this legal and ethical maelstrom. Her message aimed to bridge the partys pro-life stance with public support for reproductive treatments like IVF. (@) How was Britt's response received? Britts performance was met with widespread mockery. She came across as a mix of high school drama students auditioning for a character with a range of multiple personalities to the leader of a cult who used some Southern slang but sounded like somebody from the Midwest. Some commentators mocked her for the dramatic delivery and the choice of her kitchen as the backdrop, which sparked debate on gender roles. The anticipation among Saturday Night Live fans for the show to lampoon Britts performance on Saturday highlights the cultural impact of her rebuttal and the broader discussions it has spurred within and beyond the political sphere. Journalist Jonathan Katz reported that one part of Britt's speech was actually a fictionalized account based on a 20-year story from the Bush administration. You can see his breakdown below. (@) twitter.com A story about a sex trafficking victim shared by Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) in her bizarre State of the Union rebuttal is coming under fire for the dishonest way it was used to attack President Joe Bidens border policies. In a seven-minute TikTok video, former Associated Press reporter Jonathan Katz explained how his lingering questions over the anecdote led him to the conclusion that Britt had lied about something really horrific and really important. The actual content of the story is heart-wrenching. As Britt told it, she traveled to Texas just after taking office last year and spoke to a woman who shared her story with me. She had been sex trafficked by the cartels starting at the age of 12, Britt said, going on to outline horrific acts of sexual violence that the woman said she endured as a child. We wouldnt be okay with this happening in a third-world country, Britt said with dramatic flair. This is the United States of America, and it is past time, in my opinion, that we start acting like it. President Bidens border policies are a disgrace. This crisis is despicable. There are a few problems with Britts framing of the story, though. Britt did not name the abuse survivor in her State of the Union rebuttal directly, but Britts communications director, Sean Ross, confirmed to The Washington Post that the story was about an activist named Karla Jacinto Romero, as Katz had suggested. While Britt made it seem like an example of recent lawlessness caused by Biden-era policies, the abuse Romero endured happened two decades ago, when George W. Bush was president. That fact alone has led many people on social media to ask how Biden can be to blame. As he explained in his now-viral video, Katz unearthed a press release from Sen. Marsha Blackburns (R-Tenn.) office dated Jan. 11, 2023 shortly after Britt was sworn in describing a trip to Texas. Blackburn, Britt and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) traveled to the southern U.S. border to assess the migrant situation Republicans have been railing against since Biden took office. A photograph in the press release showed the senators holding a roundtable discussion alongside a Mexican congresswoman, a Fox News contributor and Romero. Britt later released a video from the trip showing her hugging the activist. For years, Romero has been telling her story to raise awareness about sex trafficking she also shared it during a congressional hearing in 2015. In that sworn testimony nine years ago, Romero said that she was forced to have sex with thousands of men over four years of her life, starting at the age of 12, until she was rescued in 2008. Bush would have been president throughout that time. Further, while Britt implied in her speech that Romeros abuse had taken place in the United States, Romero testified that it actually happened entirely in Mexico. She made no mention of drug cartels. Romeros experience was also precipitated by her mother throwing her out of the house; she said she then fell prey to a professional pimp. As The Washington Post pointed out in its analysis of Britts speech, many sex trafficking victims are trafficked after being put in similarly vulnerable situations in countries all over the world. HuffPost reached out to Britts office for comment but did not receive a response. Ross, Britts communications director, said in a written statement shared with other news outlets that the story Senator Britt told was 100% correct. There are more innocent victims of that kind of disgusting, brutal trafficking by the cartels than ever before right now, the statement read. The Biden administrations policies the policies in this country that the President falsely claims are humane have empowered the cartels and acted as a magnet to a historic level of migrants making the dangerous journey to our border. Similar assertions by former President Donald Trump have been subject to heavy scrutiny from professional fact-checkers, who, for example, were unable to substantiate his anecdotes about sex trafficking in Trumps 2019 State of the Union speech. It remains true that a record number of migrants are attempting to cross at the U.S. border with Mexico, overwhelming border authorities. But efforts to address the situation with legislation have been foiled in large part by pressure from Trump. Need help? Visit RAINNs National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Centers website. Related... Kazakhstan's National Security Committee (NSC) has launched a pre-trial investigation following reports that Russian law enforcement officers killed two Kazakh citizens during a supposed attempt to organise a terrorist attack in Russia. Source: Kazakhstan's NSC; Latvia-based Russian media outlet Meduza, citing Russias Federal Security Service (FSB); Telegram-based news outlet Astra Quote from NSC: "The fact that these individuals had Kazakh citizenship and had travelled to Russia has been confirmed. The NSC has launched a pre-trial investigation into this incident. It is being carried out in close contact with Russia's FSB within the framework of existing cooperation channels." Details: The FSB announced on 7 March that it had prevented a terrorist attack on a synagogue in Moscow, which was supposedly being prepared by terrorists from Khorasan Province, the ISIS cell in Afghanistan. "During the detention, the terrorists put up armed resistance to the FSB officers and were finally killed by return fire," the Russian secret service said. The FSB claimed that firearms, ammunition and components for making an improvised explosive device had been found at the homes of the killed suspects. The FSB office in Kaluga Oblast opened a criminal case on charges of preparing for a terrorist attack (Article 30.1, Article 205.2. of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The Telegram-based news outlet Astra was one of the first to report that the killed were Kazakh citizens. Its sources said that a skirmish between the FSB officers and suspected terrorists took place in the early morning hours of 7 March in the village of Koryakovo, Kaluga Oblast. Two suspects, Sabit Ashiraliyev, 35, and Dzhanibek Taskulaev, 32, who arrived in Russia on 28 February, were killed in the shootout. Background: Support UP or become our patron! TechCrunch Last week, Midjourney, the AI startup building image (and soon video) generators, made a small, blink-and-you'll-miss-it change to its terms of service related to the company's policy around IP disputes. Generative AI models like Midjourney's are trained on an enormous number of examples -- e.g. Vendors assert that fair use, the legal doctrine that allows for the use of copyrighted works to make a secondary creation as long as its transformative, shields them where it concerns model training. Last summer, two superintendents and three school board members from the Kansas City and Kansas City, Kansas, public school districts arrived at a small brick office in Pendleton Heights. The reason for their visit was a common one for school administrators: a meeting for parents from their districts to ask questions, give feedback and discuss their childrens school experiences. The twist? All the parents in the room spoke in Spanish the entire night. Their questions, comments and concerns were relayed to the English-speaking administrators through a translator. The interpretation was happening for the superintendents, it wasnt happening for the parents, recalled Edgar Palacios, who helped organize the event. It gave the superintendents much more empathy, and a better understanding of what its like to be in a room where people arent speaking your language. The meeting was just one example of how Palacios organization, the Latinx Education Collaborative, aims to amplify Latinx voices in the education system. In addition to building connections in the broader school community, his group helps Latinx educators at all stages of their careers access professional development, mentorship, job resources and social support. The Kansas City-based organizations political arm, Revolucion Educativa, pushes for policies that help Latinx teachers and families participate more fully in the education system. Tricia McGee, the groups policy director, moderated the Spanish-language parent discussion last summer. Tricia McGee is the director of policy for the nonprofit group Revolucion Educativa, part of the Latinx Education Collaborative. It was important to us to invite superintendents and board members to a community space where parents had already engaged in events and we had established trust, McGee said. The intention to help educational leaders understand what it feels like to not be the dominant language in the room was actually a secondary priority for us. Our first priority was to give parents and community members a direct connection to educational leaders who are in charge of making decisions for their children. Latinx teachers and administrators make up around 8% or 9% of educators nationwide, but only around 1% of the educators in the Kansas City area, Palacios said. Thats a problem for the many Latinx students who dont see themselves represented in the classroom, and the Latinx educators themselves who often lack a sense of community at school and are called upon to act as translators or cultural liaisons on top of their regular work. Along with recruitment, you actually have to really critically think about retention, Palacios said. Educators of color need to find like-minded communities, folks from similar cultures and identities, and that helps sustain folks. (Otherwise) whats going to happen, particularly in the Latino community, is theyre not going to go to a different school. Theyre going to just exit the teaching profession altogether. Celebrating outstanding Latinx educators Part of the groups efforts to build community and resilience among Latinx educators is by celebrating their contributions to their school communities. On Friday, the organization honored six current and future education professionals in its fifth Latinx Educator Awards at Parlor in the Crossroads. Four of the winners live and work in the Kansas City area, while two others flew in for the ceremony from Atlanta and Baltimore. Here are the 2024 winners selected out of 115 nominations: Educator of the Year: Edwin Perez, a Spanish teacher at Parkville High School just outside Baltimore, Maryland. Counselor of the Year: Samanta Landa, a high school counselor at Olathe North High School in Olathe. Administrator of the Year: Ileana Farney, the principal of Central Middle School in Kansas City, Kansas. Support Staff of the Year: Mariela Arzabe, a parent liaison at Lakeside High School, part of the Dekalb County School District in Atlanta. Future Educator of the Year: Julia Avila, a student teacher at the Allen Village Charter School in Kansas City and a student at the University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Education. Aspiring Educator of the Year: Jacqueline Guillen, a high school junior at the Guadalupe Centers Charter Schools in Kansas City. Some people will tell me that celebrations are not a meaningful way of retaining educators, Palacios said. Until you talk to the educators, and this is the first time in their careers that theyve been awarded anything. He recalled a recent meeting where an educator about to leave the profession told him that she didnt want another Starbucks gift card as a tepid thanks for her hard work she wanted to see policy shifts that will materially benefit teachers. From interventions with individual teachers to meetings with district leadership, Palacios hopes that the groups political arm can continue making inroads that will strengthen the voice of Latinx educators around the city and beyond. Important to the awards is, we want to build community, he said. We want the community to invest in our educators, we want the community to see that this is important. And if we do that well, then our young people are going to directly benefit positively because of the work that we do. Do you have more questions about educational resources in the Kansas City area? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com. Shark Tank investor Kevin OLeary suggested that he will buy social media platform TikTok if a proposed ban goes ahead Friday. Not going to get banned, cause Im gonna buy it, OLeary said on Fox News The Story in an interview with anchor Gillian Turner. Somebodys going to buy it, it wont be Meta and it wont be Google, causeregulator [will] stop that. On Tuesday, a bipartisan House bill that would ban the popular app if its China-based parent company ByteDance doesnt divest from it was unveiled. It was introduced by Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), who are both the top lawmakers on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. This is worth billions, its one of the most successful advertising platforms in social media today, OLeary continued. All my companies use it, Ill buy it. If the bill becomes law, ByteDance would have more than five months to divest from TikTok. If it does not do that, the platform will become illegal to distribute on an app store or web housing platform in the U.S. This bill is an outright ban of TikTok, no matter how much the authors try to disguise it. This legislation will trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they rely on to grow and create jobs, TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek told The Hill. Last year, a Republican-supported bill that tried to ban TikTok tried to ban the app completely faced criticism from Democrats over how it could possibly encroach on free speech. President Biden said he will sign the bill if it makes it through Congress Friday. If they pass it, Ill sign it, Biden told reporters Friday. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. KEWASKUM, Wis. - A former Kewaskum resident wanted for multiple child sexual assault counts was arrested in Mexico last year, the sheriff's office announced Friday. He is now being held in the Washington County Jail on $1 million cash bond. The sheriff's office said 52-year-old Ingmar Adir Chew Moran faces 140 years in prison if convicted of the charges he currently faces and further charges are expected involving a second victim. The charges stem from a December 2020 sexual assault investigation. Within hours of the sexual assault being reported, the sheriff's office said investigators went to Chew Moran's home but learned he had fled to Mexico earlier that day. SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News In the years that Chew Moran was on the run, the sheriff's office said investigators worked closely with both U.S. and Mexican authorities to take him into custody in Monterrey, Mexico. While he was arrested in November 2023, he remained imprisoned in Mexico City until FBI agents flew him to Chicago on Wednesday, March 6. He was then moved from the Cook County Jail to the Washington County Jail. Moran is currently charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child under 16 years of age and one count of repeated sexual assault of a child. Washington County Jail Statement from Washington County Sheriff Martin Schulteis: "The process to obtain approval for Mexico to extradite one of their citizens is a long, arduous, and often frustrating process but in the end, hard work and tenacity paid off in the interest of justice. I was there the night of the search warrant back in 2020 and cannot describe the emotions we all experienced when we learned that Chew had narrowly avoided capture. Naturally, we all doubted whether we would ever see him again. My heart goes out to these victims and am hopeful that they will experience some level of peace knowing he is now back to answer these charges. Based on the high cash bail given, I am confident he will remain in our jail for the remainder of the justice process." Statement from Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann: "I commend Washington County Sheriff Martin Schulteis, his team and the multiple law agencies across the United States who were involved in investigating and apprehending Ingmar Adir Chew Moran. I am especially pleased the $1 million cash bail will ensure he remains off the streets while he awaits trial. This hefty bail helps ensure justice will be served." US President Joe Biden announced today he would sign legislation forcing Chinese tech giant ByteDance to divest from its popular social media platform, TikTok. Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland's Prince George's County, Biden affirmed his commitment to the measure, stating: "If they [Congress] pass this, I'll sign it." The legislation, known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, has garnered bipartisan support in the House of Representatives. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. It sailed through the House Committee on Energy and Commerce by a unanimous 50-0 vote on Thursday. The bill is sponsored by Wisconsin Republican Mike Gallagher and Illinois Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the House select committee on the Chinese Communist Party. The legislation aims to curb the influence of foreign-controlled apps within the US. Specifically, it would give ByteDance 165 days to divest from TikTok. If it failed to do so, app stores operated by Apple, Alphabet's Google and others could not legally offer TikTok or provide web-hosting services to ByteDance-controlled applications. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has thrown his weight behind the legislation, which is expected to come to a vote as early as next week. On Friday, the select committee's leadership voiced gratitude for the support of its counterparts on the energy and commerce panel, saying "TikTok poses a serious threat to US national security" in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Since taking office, the Biden administration has maintained an ambiguous stance towards TikTok. While federal government-owned phones and devices have been barred from using the app, the administration has stopped short of enforcing the ban imposed by former president Donald Trump in 2020. Story continues Trump's ban, which also targeted Chinese-owned WeChat, was subsequently overturned by several courts. In his ruling at the time, US District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, said the administration's officials had failed "to adequately consider an obvious and reasonable alternative" before banning TikTok. TikTok, which says it has not and would not share American user data with the Chinese government, argues the US House bill amounts to a ban. Photo: dpa alt=TikTok, which says it has not and would not share American user data with the Chinese government, argues the US House bill amounts to a ban. Photo: dpa> Biden's re-election campaign even joined the social network in February, drawing criticism from Republicans and Democrats. Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat and chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, expressed concern about TikTok's implications for US national security. "I think that we still need to find a way to follow India, which has banned TikTok. I'm a little worried about a mixed message," said Warner, referring to New Delhi's decision in 2020. But Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, sounded a note of caution following Biden's comments on Friday, despite his past efforts against the popular app. "If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business," the former president said on Friday in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, alluding to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook's parent company, Meta. "I don't want Facebook, who cheated in the last election, doing better," Trump added, referring to the 2020 US presidential race. "They are a true enemy of the people." Meanwhile, following the House panel's vote on Thursday, Congress members "were inundated with calls from angry constituents after TikTok told its users that the popular social media app was at risk of being shut down in the US", according to Axios. TikTok has yet to respond to Biden's latest comments. Analysts have said it is unlikely China will approve any moves by ByteDance to divest from the platform. In 2020 the country's Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology introduced regulations that could prevent TikTok's algorithm from being exported. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) Newport News police seized a knife found on a school bus on Wednesday. Police say the bus was for East End Academy. No one was hurt and there was no altercation involved. Police say the knife was originally found by a staff member, who notified authorities. The student has been banned from riding the bus following the incident. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. Nine people were killed and one other person was injured Friday after one of the deadliest crashes in Wisconsin history. The incident involving a semi-truck and a passenger van occurred Friday morning in Clark County, according to the Clark County Sheriff's Office. Here is what we know and don't know about what happened: More: Nine dead, one hospitalized after Clark County crash between tanker truck, van Where did the crash occur? The crash happened in Clark County in west central Wisconsin at County J and State 95 in Dewhurst, between Neillsville and Black River Falls. When did the crash occur? Around 7:53 a.m. March 8. Aerial view of Clark County crash that killed nine people March 8, 2024. What happened? According to details released by the Clark County Sheriff's Office, a preliminary report indicated the semi and the passenger van collided at the intersection of the two highways. The semi was eastbound on State 95, approaching the intersection, when the van, which was northbound on County J, entered the intersection and was struck by the semi. Aerial footage from Twin Cities television station WCCO showed the semi and its trailer ended up off the road, with the trailer in its side. The van, also on its side on the shoulder of the road, appeared to have been charred by fire. How many people died in the Clark County crash? Nine people died in the crash. The driver of the semi was pronounced dead at the scene. Eight of the nine people in the passenger van were pronounced dead at the scene. One passenger in the van was taken to the Marshfield St. Josephs Hospital as a result of their injuries. Have the victims been identified? As of Saturday morning, none of the victims' names had been released by the Clark County Sheriff's Office. Law enforcement officials told Twin Cities television station KSTP that none of the victims are from the area and were just passing through. Is this one of the deadliest crashes in Wisconsin history? Friday's crash that killed nine people had more fatalities than Clark County has had in a single year since at least 2019, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Nine deaths makes this crash tied for the second-deadliest crash in Wisconsin history. Nine people also died in a crash in 1937 in Manitowoc County, according to Wisconsin Watch. The deadliest crash in Wisconsin history occurred in 2002 on Interstate 43 in Sheboygan County, according to previous media reports. Ten people died in a 45-vehicle pileup on a foggy day. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What we know about the Clark County crash in Wisconsin that killed 9 MEMPHIS, Tenn. An upcoming guest speaker at the University of Memphis is stirring up controversy. Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of killing two men and wounding another during a Black Lives Matter rally in Wisconsin in 2020 when he was 17 years old. He is scheduled to appear at the University of Memphis on March 20, but some Memphians say his visit makes them uneasy. Geronimo Kee, suspect in officers shooting, had juvenile record in Fayette County Some have stated online they plan to protest the event by signing up for free tickets and then not showing up. They are asking others to do the same, so Rittenhouse will have to address an empty room. The event is hosted by the registered student organization Memphis Turning Point USA. Students and local and state leaders are all weighing in on the guest appearance. They say allowing Rittenhouse to appear on a campus whose student body is 40% black makes students uncomfortable and sends the wrong message. I was baffled to be honest. This is clearly an event that is here to incite anger amongst a predominantly black college in a predominantly black city where MLK was killed. They knew what they were doing with this, said Joe Griz, a University of Memphis student. Download the WREG App today and stay up to date with breaking news and weather. Sign up for WREG newsletters and have the latest top stories sent right to your inbox. See more breaking news, local news and weather from WREG.com for Memphis and the Mid-South. Democratic representative Antonio Parkinson says this is a learning experience, arguing that first amendment rights must be upheld for everyones sake. Whether you like Kyle Rittenhouse or not, I abhor him. However, he is a part of our history now, believe it or not. And so, if you have an opportunity to hear while the person is here, take advantage of that opportunity, said Parkinson. I also dont believe that we should be suppressing freedom of speech. I think that, just as we allow Rittenhouse here, other what would be deemed controversial speakers, those that may be African American or others, should be allowed as well. The University of Memphis said in a statement that due to free speech, they cannot legally prohibit the event. We also reached out to Turning Point USA about the event but have not yet heard back. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. Compromise is a dirty word. So said Sen. Kyrsten Sinema as she revealed she would not seek reelection. In the months previous, she kept mum on her plans, perhaps hoping polls would change in her direction. No such luck for Arizonas first independent senator. She ultimately came to the same conclusion as the previous occupant of her seat, Republican Sen. Jeff Flake. This is no time to step across the aisle or hash out bipartisan agreements. Lots of lawmakers are hanging it up Either U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego or Kari Lake will move to the U.S. Senate at a time when make of its compromise-makers are leaving. To succeed in politics these days, take a maximalist position, refuse the slightest compromise, and brag about all the bills you killed on cable news. Our current politics of outrage has chased out many legislators. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted by a bakers dozen of his own representatives. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell recently announced hes stepping down. In all, eight senators and 42 members of the House have decided not to run for reelection. Its hard to blame them. Why remain on Capitol Hill when youre guaranteed never to accomplish anything? Arizonas open seat will go to either Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego or Republican Kari Lake. Either of them will fit in better with the do-nothing backbiters dominating Washington these days. Our nation was founded on compromise Modern politicians and most voters have forgotten the ugly truth of the legislative branch: Its compromise all the way down. Our foundational document, the U.S. Constitution, was an endless series of compromises between differing biases, philosophies and factions. As Benjamin Franklin said, Both sides must part with some of their demands in order that they may join in some accommodating proposition. Across the pond, the Parliament was working along the same principles. All government, indeed every human benefit and enjoyment, every virtue and every prudent act, is founded on compromise and barter, British conservative philosopher Edmund Burke said. We balance inconveniences; we give and take; we remit some rights, that we may enjoy others; and we choose rather to be happy citizens than subtle disputants. Compromise was Sinema's wheelhouse There are few current legislators who would agree with Ronald Reagan, who said, if you got 75 or 80 percent of what you were asking for, I say, you take it and fight for the rest later. Yet even back in the 80s he got pushback from those he labeled radical conservatives. Like many Americans, I dont care for compromise. I strive to stand my ground and fight for what I believe in. And thats why I never worked in electoral politics. As much grief as politicians get, theyre in the compromise business. I couldnt do it, but someone has to figure out what all sides want and hammer out an agreement that will please at least 51% of them. Why Sinema's departure: Hurts Arizona, the nation That was Sinemas wheelhouse. She made friends across the political divides, listened to everyones concerns and cajoled all to get on board. I disagree with her on most issues but never got the sense she hated me for it. But to succeed in todays Beltway, hating the other side is the chief qualification. So, now, the choice is Lake or Gallego Compromise is a dirty word. Weve arrived at that crossroad, and we chose anger and division, Sinema said. So in November, Arizonans get to choose either Ruben Anger or Kari Division. Both will prove how much they hate the other side. They will brag to their bases about ideological purity, and condemn even those in their own party who dare waver. Anger and Division will tell Arizonas new independent majority that they secretly admired Sinemas bipartisan record. They will be lying. In more ordinary times, Sinema never would have left her party and would easily be the front-runner on Election Day. But these are far from ordinary times. Jon Gabriel, a Mesa resident, is editor-in-chief of Ricochet.com and a contributor to The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. On X, formerly Twitter: @exjon. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Senate choice now: Either Ruben Anger or Kari Division The Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles was a hotel for nearly a century before the Skid Row Housing Trust began operating it in 2021 to provide affordable housing. (Al Seib / For The Times) Now searching for a new owner: Downtown Los Angeles high-rise rich in colorful anecdotes from its history, albeit most quite haunting. Offers units overlooking Skid Row, many stubbornly vacant. Best known for the Netflix series about the dead body found in a water tank on its roof. The building is the infamous Cecil Hotel, which was transformed in recent years into a privately funded supportive-housing complex for the formerly homeless. A new owner wouldn't technically acquire the property at 640 S. Main Street but would instead take over the 99-year ground lease, which allows its long-term use and development. The new listing did not include a selling price, but the property's land and improvements were assessed at a total value of $31 million in 2023. The storied building opened in the 1920s as a luxury hotel but later became the site of a string of deadly incidents, including several murders, suicides and overdoses, as well as the home of notorious serial killers. Perhaps its best-documented tragedy was the 2013 death of a Canadian guest whose body was found in a water tank on the hotel's roof after she'd been missing for weeks; her story later became the subject of a 2021 true-crime series on Netflix. Read more: It takes a village to house the homeless. Residents say the Cecil Hotel is failing to provide Recent renovations were made to revamp the 15-floor building, which reopened in 2021. Since then, the owners have reserved most rooms for tenants in the bottom 30% of the areas median income, accepting unhoused Angelenos with government-funded housing vouchers. But the housing project has struggled to take off, unable to fill its 600 units most of which share bathrooms, kitchens and laundry facilities despite the city's worsening homelessness crisis. Among those who did move in as well as property staff, there were complaints and increasing concerns about safety issues, unsanitary conditions and constant maintenance backups. Despite the challenges, the building's real estate listing said it was currently 60% occupied, with an expectation that it would be 80% to 90% filled by midyear. About half of the units were occupied last summer. The Cecil's listing on the commercial property site LoopNet was first reported by real estate news outlet the Real Deal. One agent listed for the property declined to answer questions from The Times, deferring to a public relations spokesperson who did not immediately respond. Matthew Baron, president of Baron Property Group, which owns the building and has been working to transform it, did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did the Eberly Co., the Cecil's property management company. Nonprofit teams and volunteers working in the Cecil Hotel building said they were caught off guard by the potential sale, especially after new programs providing needed services including medical and mental health care were just established in recent weeks. Read more: How problems at two of Skid Rows largest landlords threaten to worsen L.A.'s homelessness crisis I'm hoping, in any transaction, that this program is not only preserved and kept in place but has a lot of potential for growth," said Al Ballesteros, chief executive of the JWCH Institute, a nonprofit healthcare provider now operating two clinics on the Cecil Hotel's ground floor. "We have served quite a few people there; I know for sure that its making a difference." His organization, in conjunction with the county, recently started a program called Safe Landing, aimed at helping people get off the streets and connecting them to services, support and temporary housing. They are also running a medical clinic for residents. With so much need in the area, Ballesteros said, he's hopeful the Cecil will soon have all of its rooms filled. It seems to be a missed opportunity," he said. "Im hoping the new owners, they invest the type of energy and resources to be able to fully utilize the building for individuals that we serve." The Rev. Dylan Littlefield, chaplain for the Cecil Hotel apartments, said he and the building's residents had learned this week about the potential sale, which caused a rush of concern and shock. It was very destabilizing," Littlefield said. I probably got a dozen calls or emails." Read more: L.A. hotels homeless residents forced school to shut down, lawsuit says He said residents feared that they were going to lose their homes some after finally settling in following years on the street. He wished the current owner had met with residents to explain the situation and assure them that they won't soon be facing homelessness again. People need to know there is some stability," said Littlefield, who visits the building at least twice a week. Simon Baron Development, a New York-based real estate developer, acquired the building in late 2015 through the 99-year ground lease, and initially planned to renovate it as half hotel, half market-rate apartment building. But then COVID-19 hit, and the developer pivoted to make affordable housing the project's focus. (Simon Baron Development has since split into Simon Development and Baron Property Group, the latter of which still owns the lease.) There are 91 years remaining on that lease. Littlefield said he believes there's a chance now for a new owner ideally not one based in New York who could better support the high-need community that's getting a second chance at the Cecil. My hope would be that whoever does buy the lease is able to do a better job at community building, at being proactive in the life of the building," he said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Labour has called for the punishment of Pro-Palestine protesters who damaged a portrait of Lord Balfour at the University of Cambridge. Bridget Phillipson, Labours shadow education secretary, said the vandals must face consequences as a result of their actions, which she said were completely wrong. In a video posted on social media by Palestine Action this week, a woman can be seen spray-painting and slashing the portrait at Trinity College. Balfour was a leading supporter of creating a Jewish homeland in Palestine. While serving as foreign secretary, he was the author of the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which gave British backing to the movement. Speaking at the Association of School and College Leaders conference in Liverpool on Saturday, Ms Phillipson condemned the actions of protesters. She said: It is completely wrong, totally unacceptable. And I would hope and expect that they will face consequences as a result of their actions. She added: I dont believe that we should be a country where we see actions like that. There is an important role for legitimate protest, for peaceful protest. That does not represent what I regard as an acceptable form of protest. Her intervention comes after Cambridge Police launched an investigation into the damaged portrait. A Trinity College spokesman said: [We] regret the damage caused to a portrait of Arthur James Balfour during public opening hours. The police have been informed. Support is available for any member of the college community affected. Jewish students feel unsafe The Instagram video of the incident was accompanied by a caption that read: Palestine Action spray and slash a historic painting of Lord Balfour in Trinity College, University of Cambridge. Written in 1917, Balfours declaration began the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by promising the land away which the British never had the right to do. After the declaration, until 1948, the British burnt down indigenous villages to prepare the way; with this came arbitrary killings, arrests, torture and sexual violence including rape. The British paved the way for the Nakba and trained the Zionist militia to ethnically cleanse over 750,000 Palestinians, destroy over 500 villages and massacre many families. The Nakba never stopped, and the genocide today is rooted and supported by British complicity. Now Elbit Systems, Israels biggest weapons manufacturer, uses Britain as a manufacturing outpost to build arms which are battle-tested on Palestinians. Still images from the footage show the woman spraypainting and slashing the portrait Jewish students have said they feel unsafe on British university campuses. In January, Tabytha Shapps, a Leeds University student whose father is Grant Shapps, the Defence Secretary, said she was intimidated by people marching through campus shouting From the river to the sea and displaying placards with the message end Israeli state terror in protest at the conflict in Gaza. At Cardiff University, Jewish students have claimed they were intimidated, abused and harassed when they wanted to speak at the student union on a motion calling on the student body to vote for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, has urged university vice-chancellors in England to act swiftly and decisively against any threats over the welfare of Jewish students. There have been a series of attempts by activists to deface or remove statues in recent years. In 2020, a Rhodes Must Fall campaign engulfed Oxford University, when protesters demanded the removal of a statue of the Victorian imperialist Cecil Rhodes as part of a movement to decolonise buildings and statues. The college decided to keep the statue and installed an explanatory plaque describing Rhodes as a committed British colonialist who obtained his fortune through exploitation of minerals, land and peoples of southern Africa. Asked whether she supports campaigns to remove statues of historic figures which some people find upsetting, Ms Phillipson said it was up to individual institutions. She said: Its important that we understand our history, in its richness and its complexity. Its for individual institutions to take a judgement as to their approach. I dont think its for government to set out in great detail how institutions ought to operate. But I want young people, for example, to have an understanding about the richness and the breadth of our history. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) Paperwork to drop the lawsuit challenging mayoral candidate Larry Turners residency in San Diego was filed earlier this week, leaving open questions of qualification that the case sought to address. The case alleged in a 61-page complaint and private investigator declaration that Turners primary residence was in El Cajon at the time he submitted his qualification papers for his long-shot mayoral bid. It was previously scheduled to head to trial this month on March 29. The attorney who brought the case, Robert Ottilie, had initially pushed the judge hearing the suit to set the hearing prior to election day, arguing it was crucial to work out the questions of his residency before voters took to the ballot box. Historic Marine Corps helicopter moves out of Miramar This case was filed well before the Primary election, Ottilie said in a statement on Friday. My client sought a trial to be conducted Thursday, February 29th or Friday, March 1st. Had that request not been opposed by election officials and (Mr. Turner), this case would have been over and resolved before the Primary election. He added that the decision by his client, Helen VanDiver, to drop the suit had nothing to do with the merits, but because of personal attacks by Turner challenging both her integrity and motives. What should have been an opportunity to try this case on the merits last week, has been turned into what is anticipated to be a month-long political spectacle, Ottilie said. My client is unwilling to subject herself or her family to any further harassment. Since the suit was filed, Turner has openly questioned VanDiver, framing the suit as a scheme involving her son, an appointee on Glorias military advisory council, to interfere with the election on behalf of Mayor Todd Gloria to help his bid for a second term. Turner and his attorney, Mike Aguirre, has pointed to payments by New San Diego, a independent political action committee backing Gloria, arguing that it has not played by the rules. New San Diego has raised about $400,000 since it was founded last July, according to campaign finance disclosures about $150,000 going towards mailers supporting Republican candidate, Jane Glasson. Disclosures also show at least $5,000 was paid from the PAC to the private investigator firm cited in the lawsuit for opposition research, while $7,500 was paid for Ottilies legal services. However, Ottilie, representatives of New San Diego, and those involved in Glorias re-election bid have all denied that there was any coordination between the campaign and lawsuit to FOX 5 and reporting partners at the San Diego Union-Tribune. He had three very close friends and advisors who he has working on the citys dime and they put this little plan together, but he didnt know anything about it, Turner said in a press conference on Friday. Im not calling him a liar, but then you have no control over your staff. When asked about the claimed harassment, Turner encouraged VanDiver to file a police report, describing it as the kind of stuff we dont stand for in San Diego. If its true, I would like her to file a police report and I would be more than happy to help with that, he said. Early election results released by the county Registrar of Voters office through Thursday have Turner about 27-points behind Mayor Todd Gloria at 24% of the vote, while progressive candidate Genevieve Jones-Wright sitting in third with 14.26%. This is some dirty stuff that they tried to do to trick voters. They tried to do it before March 5 then after March 5th they dropped it, Turner said. Here we are now, its going to be me and the mayor (Todd Gloria) in November. VIDEO: Home burglary spree suspect caught rummaging through bedroom While VanDiver is withdrawing the suit, Ottilie says the questions of Turners permanent residency persist: Her allegations remain unrebutted. These issues do not go away and can be raised at any time. Perhaps election officials will now pursue the matter on their own. Its not too late. Aguirre said they are also hoping to further investigate the context in which the lawsuit was brought. Who made the orders, who gave the coordination, he said. Lets find out what was really going on behind the scenes. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A local womans family is asking the community for help to find the person who shot and killed her in an apartment near Downtown Las Vegas. She went out of her way to help people, Raymond Garcia said of his mother, Lina Pigill. She was always in a good mood, Raymonds daughter, Lindsey Garcia added of Pigill. She always liked to come around the family. According to Las Vegas Metro Police, 69-year-old Pigill was shot in her apartment in a retirement community on Burnham Avenue, near Eastern Avenue and Charleston Boulevard on February 4. She died at Sunrise Hospital two weeks later, on February 23. 69-year-old Lina Pigill was shot in her apartment in a retirement community on Burnham Avenue, near Eastern Avenue and Charleston Boulevard February 4. (LVMPD) 69-year-old Lina Pigill was shot in her apartment in a retirement community on Burnham Avenue, near Eastern Avenue and Charleston Boulevard February 4. (LVMPD) My sister called me just after midnight, Raymond Garcia recalled. To tell me my mom had been shot in the head. Raymond Garcia and his daughter, Lindsey Garcia, told 8 News Now they believe the killer, whom police are still searching for, was someone Pigill knew and invited inside her home the night of the shooting. Were all devastated, no robbery, no nothing, you literally just went there to do this? Raymond Garcia said. What kind of person are you that you would do this to a 69-year-old lady? The Garcias told 8 News Now they hope their efforts to speak out will encourage anyone who knows anything about what happened to come forward and speak to authorities. We definitely want justice for her, Lindsey Garcia said. And our family, as far as closure. Raymond Garcia said his grief over losing his mother is overwhelming and he knows nothing will bring Lina back. You see it on the news and you hear about other people youre like, man, thats awful,' Raymond Garcia said. And for that to happen to you, its very hard to deal with. However, he believes the smallest break in the case will help his family and all those who miss her so much to move forward. Were hoping that somebody says something, he concluded. Anyone with any information should contact the LVMPD Homicide Section at 702-828-3521 or homicide@lvmpd.com. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers of Nevada at 702-385-5555 or visit www.crimestoppersofnv.com. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) and Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) are pushing to extend a COVID-era federal education program aimed at supporting school efforts to address the specific needs of students experiencing homelessness. In a joint letter, the two lawmakers implored House appropriators for the continuation of the $800 million program, established through the American Rescue Plan of 2021, through the next school year as part of the Education Departments spending bill. Education is one of the six remaining spending bills for federal agencies that congressional leaders need to pass before March 22 to prevent a government shutdown. Currently, state education officials and schools have until the end of September to use the remainder of the programs money, known as ARP-HCY funds a deadline that some school districts across the country say they may not be able to meet due to issues with its roll out. $13.5M secured for these San Diego projects in appropriations package By pushing the obligation deadline back by a year, Jacobs and Bacon say it will give schools more time to strategize the best way to use their grant to meet the needs of their unhoused students. We recognize that difficult decisions will have to be made in regard to budget, and we respect your due diligence. Our ask is clear and it does not cost anything, the two wrote in their letter. We urge you to include a one-year extension of the obligation deadline for ARP-HCY funds in the current FY 2024 budget. According to Jacobs office, the program was first proposed as an amendment to the American Rescue Plan, following studies that found unhoused students experiencing higher rates of learning loss due to COVID-era school closures. Before the pandemic, students experiencing homelessness already experienced significant barriers to education, such as chronic absenteeism or issues enrolling in school without a permanent address. ARP-HCY funds stepped in to address these disparities, providing schools a unique and flexible tool to support the needs of unhoused students everything from supplies and cell phones to transportation and short-term hotel vouchers for families. Yet there remained significant issues that curbed districts ability to take full advance of the funds. Administrative restrictions, lack of staff capacity and high rates of personnel turnover posed challenges for some districts towards using their ARP-HCY funds, Jacobs office said. Delays in federal guidance also slowed some districts in using their ARP-HCY funds: It was not until September 2023 a year before the spending deadline that the Department of Education issued recommendations about how the money can be used. Given these hurdles, nearly a quarter of school district homeless liaisons across the country indicated in a a recent survey by nonprofit SchoolHouse Connection that they would not be able to use all of their ARP-HCY funds by the Sept. 30 deadline. While another 25% of liaisons said they still did not know if their school even received any funds from the program. Since then, however, the number of children experiencing homelessness has only grown, complicating educators efforts to improve educational outcomes for these students. San Diego Unified votes to approve job cuts to close nearly $94M deficit ARP-HCY funds have been transformative in the lives of children, youth, and families that have experienced homelessness, Jacobs and Bacon wrote in the letter. With the obligation deadline looming just months from now, schools are running out of time to thoughtfully and effectively use ARP-HCY funds, despite unprecedented homelessness. Lawmakers are still in the process of negotiating the remaining six appropriations bills before Congress. The first package was sent to President Joe Bidens desk Friday night hours before a partial government shutdown. The second package faces an uphill battle in negotiations, given contentious issues like how to fund the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security that may be even more difficult to reach a bipartisan agreement on. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. TOPEKA (KSNT) Kansas Legal Services is holding a special clinic this weekend to help Topekans with suspended drivers licenses hit the road again. 27 News spoke with Director of Drivers License Restoration Project Micah Tempel to learn more about how this special opportunity can benefit locals with suspended licenses. He said the clinic is meant to help Topekans learn the ins and outs of how to get their licenses back with professional legal help from lawyers with Kansas Legal Services. Each situation is a little different, but whats the same with all of them is once youre suspended, it ignites a web of bureaucracy that is difficult to navigate, Tempel said. These services are provided free of charge to attendees. However, people must be at or below 125% of the federal poverty guidelines and walk-ins are not guaranteed an appointment. Tempel said the focus is on people from a lower socio-economic status. 350,000 pounds of trash cleared from Kansas River homeless camps in Topeka This will be our second clinic, Tempel said. In the past, we did one back in January. We were able to serve about 60 people that day. They met with attorneys and left with steps to get their licenses back. Tempel said Kansas Legal Services is working with the local municipal court to arrange for special dockets to hear motions to help people get their licenses back and take care of tickets. These efforts are meant to also have the secondary impact of getting people back to work by restoring their ability to travel longer distances. When your license is taken away, you cant get to work, Tempel said. Getting a new, better job is hard. Thats a drain on the community as a whole, not just on the individual. The clinic will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 9 at the Topeka Independent Resource Center at 1921 SE Indiana Avenue. To register for the event, email klsprobono@klsinc.org or call 800-723-6954. Another suspended drivers license clinic will be on June 18. You can learn more about Kansas Legal Services by visiting its website by clicking here. SE Topeka fire devastates home with $80,000 loss For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. This week's third annual Leap technology conference in Riyadh, which ran from Monday through Wednesday, was seen by Hong Kong start-ups and investors as an opportunity to make inroads in Saudi Arabia as it invests heavily to take on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the dominant regional market. The government-backed conference has been able to attract attention from companies large and small because Saudi Arabia is seen as the next big growth market in the region compared with the more mature UAE market, where Dubai typically leads as a destination for tech investment. "I always give the sort of rough comparison of Saudi [Arabia] as more like China in the late 90s, early 2000s, with UAE or Dubai more like Hong Kong: sexy, bright lights, tourists and so on," said Patrick Tsang, founder of the Hong Kong-based Tsangs Group family office. "But [the UAE] is a much smaller place, much less population and fewer projects than you can invest into." Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. "Because [the UAE is] so mature now, it's actually quite difficult to penetrate the relationships with the top brass and the business leaders," the British investor added. "Whereas in Saudi, they're ... a little bit after the beginning, and this is the best time to come. So the next 10-15 years in Saudi is a golden period for them, and also for investors." Leap 2024 also marked the first year to host a pavilion dedicated to Hong Kong start-ups. Attendees there noted the potential of the Saudi market as the main driver of their interest rather than any material benefits they might realise today. "We didn't have many expectations [for Saudi Arabia] ... It's definitely exploratory for us," said Pete Laverick, senior project manager at tech education firm Preface and head of business development for its Web3 affiliate Prolog. Preface attended the event as part of a Cyberport delegation, joined by Hong Kong Science and Technology Park (HKSTP), which covered airfare and accommodation for the Post's trip to Leap. Story continues "It's definitely a market we're looking to move into with both Preface and Prolog," Laverick added. "So it's really a case of coming here, trying to get a lay of the land a bit, meet some people, and start building those relationships." For a company like Prolog, Dubai in the UAE would make more sense as a regional headquarters. The city has become a major global Web3 hub, attracting some cryptocurrency entrepreneurs previously chased out of mainland China. But Saudi Arabia has forged close ties with China and is considered a critical partner in Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative. Those ties could be more beneficial to some companies than others. A surgical robot from Hong Kong Science and Technology Park start-up Cornerstone Robotics on display at the Leap technology conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 5, 2024. Photo: SCMP/Matt Haldane alt=A surgical robot from Hong Kong Science and Technology Park start-up Cornerstone Robotics on display at the Leap technology conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 5, 2024. Photo: SCMP/Matt Haldane> Cornerstone Robotics, an HKSTP company that makes a surgical robot offering surgeons greater precision in primarily abdominal procedures, is making inroads in mainland China, where it expects to get regulatory approval for medical use by the middle of this year. Stuart Moran, Cornerstone's director of clinical development, said the company was just exploring opportunities in the Middle East, including in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. However, he noted that the company hoped to find funding and partnership opportunities in Saudi Arabia. "We did expect to get some leads on investment and of course there may be some down the line and linkage in Saudi Arabia," Moran said. "We know they're changing their economy dramatically. So we know there's funding there, some interest there, maybe some JV [joint venture] down the line." The ties to China could play a critical role in Saudi Arabia's ability to scale its economy to the level of the UAE. While the Saudi economy is nominally the largest in the Middle East, it lags far behind some of its neighbours in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and foreign direct investment (FDI). In 2022, the last year for which data is available from the World Bank, the UAE saw US$22.7 billion in FDI compared with US$7.9 billion in Saudi Arabia. GDP per capita was US$53,708 and US$30,448 for those countries, respectively, in the same year. The booth for Alibaba Cloud at the Leap conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 4, 2024. Photo: SCMP/Matt Haldane alt=The booth for Alibaba Cloud at the Leap conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 4, 2024. Photo: SCMP/Matt Haldane> Held in a new convention centre more than 70km north of the Riyadh city centre, taking two to three hours by car in traffic, the event's logistical issues also put the market's growing pains on international display. The situation led to grumblings among attendees and even some negative attention in Chinese articles on WeChat. Yet at Leap, the likes of telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies, global drone leader DJI, Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the South China Morning Post, were able to all stand side-by-side with Google, Amazon.com and Microsoft. Contrast this with CES, the world's largest consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, where Huawei and DJI are barred from attending because of US sanctions. Companies like Alibaba and TikTok owner ByteDance attended CES this year, but political tensions between Washington and Beijing have clouded their business outlooks. Even in India, widely considered the next big growth market globally, Chinese tech giants have faced a difficult time amid tensions between New Delhi and Beijing. That makes Saudi Arabia look even more appealing to Chinese firms, as there are few rapidly growing markets left where they are likely to stand as equals beside Silicon Valley rivals. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. If it wasnt bad enough that some on the Left have questioned whether the rapes, murders, beheadings and child killings of October 7 actually happened, now Jewish people who have said that they feel too intimidated to go into central London at the weekend during the pro-Palestinian protests are being similarly gaslit. This week, the counter-extremism tsar Robin Simcox raised his own concerns about the effect of the marches on Jewish people, saying the demonstrations had turned London into a no-go zone for Jews every weekend. Blaming the UK for developing a permissive environment for radicalisation which has seen extremism become normalised, he wrote in The Telegraph: [Extremist] groups have gone unchallenged for too long, and have used their time well. They are now embedded and influential among communities. Simcox should know: hes the Home Offices independent adviser on counter-extremism. But if you dont believe him, you only have to look at the results of surveys conducted since October 7, which reveal that Jewish people feel far less safe than they used to. Weve heard from Jews who no longer feel comfortable wearing a Star of David in public and others who actively avoid London when the marches are on. Yet apparently the darlings of the Left know better. In response to Simcoxs warning, former Labour MP Diane Abbott posted on X (formerly Twitter): Nonsense that pro-Palestinian marches make London a no-go zone for Jews. Blocs of Jews on every march. Complainers dont like the cause. Well, if Ms Abbott says so, that must be settled, then. The irony here is that every claim by hysterical pro-Palestinian protesters about Israel perpetuating a genocide and Gaza being occupied is taken as gospel even when they fly in the face of fact. Yet when non-protesting Jewish people calmly report that they feel intimidated by the demonstrations, they arent believed. If any other minority claimed to be feeling as many Jewish people do right now, there would be uproar from the likes of Ms Abbott. But as David Baddiel has repeatedly pointed out, when it comes to how so-called progressives view racism against minority groups, Jews dont seem to count. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. One of the best things about Lego is that anybody can pick up a handful of bricks and build something incredible. With that in mind, the Lego Ideas program allows any Lego fan to design their own Lego set and upload it to the Lego Ideas platform. There, it can be viewed by the public, where it'll be voted on. If a set gets 10,000 votes, it'll go in front of a panel of Lego judges, who ultimately decide if it will be made into a real, boxed Lego set or not. Thousands of set proposals are uploaded to Lego Ideas each year, but only a handful ever get made. Its a tough business then, where rejection is the most likely outcome, but there are three space-based Lego Ideas sets at the moment which have truly caught our eye. Two of them have already reached 10,000 views and one of them is well on its way, so we have our fingers crossed that at least one of these sets might, one day, sit on our shelves as the real Thing. Related: Best Lego space sets 2024: NASA sets, spaceships and more Lego Icons Galaxy Explorer - was $100, now $87.49 at Amazon Save 13% on one of the best space-themed Lego sets you can currently buy. Based on a classic space set from the 70s, the Galaxy Explorer is made up of 1,254 pieces... and endless nostalgia. It's close to retirement, too, so grab it at a discount while you can.View Deal The Martian Image 1 of 5 A concept image of the Lego Ideas The Martian submission Image 2 of 5 A concept image of the Lego Ideas The Martian submission Image 3 of 5 A concept image of the Lego Ideas The Martian submission Image 4 of 5 A concept image of the Lego Ideas The Martian submission Image 5 of 5 A concept image of the Lego Ideas The Martian submission Designed by Lego Ideas user Mr Sci-Fi, The Martian is the first and only set he's ever submitted to the platform. Submitted in December 2023, it's already garnered 3,879 supporters along with a coveted "staff pick" accolade. And with a year and a half left to reach 10,000 votes, we'd say the odds are stacked in Mr Sci-Fi's favor for reaching that all-important 10,000 milestone. If you couldn't guess, the set idea is based on The Martian, the 2015 sci-fi movie starring Matt Damon. Along with its lone Mark Watney minifigure, it comes with a MAV rocket, a Mars rover and an artificial habitat where Watney grows a potato farm. Those familiar with The Martian will appreciate little details included by Mr Sci-Fi: There's a calendar tally, where Watney keeps track of how long he's been on Mars, a laptop filled with disco music, and an airlock door that's held together with duct tape. We love seeing clever, intricate details like these in Lego sets. Will The Martian get made into a proper Lego set? Right now, there's no way of knowing. It seems likely it will at least reach 10,000 votes, at which point it'll be assessed by a panel of Lego judges. You can add your own vote into the mix, and keep up with its progress on The Martian's Lego Ideas page. NASA's Space Launch System: To the moon and Mars Image 1 of 5 Concept images of the Lego Ideas submission, NASA SLS To the Moon and Mars Image 2 of 5 Concept images of the Lego Ideas submission, NASA SLS To the Moon and Mars Image 3 of 5 Concept images of the Lego Ideas submission, NASA SLS To the Moon and Mars Image 4 of 5 Concept images of the Lego Ideas submission, NASA SLS To the Moon and Mars Image 5 of 5 Concept images of the Lego Ideas submission, NASA SLS To the Moon and Mars What's particularly cool about this Space Launch System set is that it's been designed by a 15 year old. Kansas-born William Butterworth also known by his Lego Ideas handle, NASA RocketBuilder first submitted the concept to the Lego Ideas platform back in August 2022. A year later, in August 2023, it had reached the 10,000 supporter milestone and it's currently in review at Lego. Along with 48 other submissions, it's being assessed by a Lego team for its eligibility to be made into a commercial set. & Unsurprisingly, Butterworth says that his favorite ever Lego set is the Lego Ideas Saturn V, and it's not hard to see the inspiration here in the scale and design of the SLS, NASA's flagship rocket for its Artemis program. He's a lifelong NASA fan and so building a NASA-inspired model came naturally. While we should find out the results of the review that Butterworth is a part of soon, it's hard to know whether itll be approved. Typically, Lego approves only one or two sets from each review wave. The Saturn V it's based on was indeed a Lego Ideas submission, which is promising, but Lego has had Artemis-based sets as part of its City range, so might not want to revisit the concept. Read William Butterworth's 10K Club Interview on Lego Ideas to find out more about him and his set design. Kerbal Space Program - Modular Ship System Image 1 of 5 Concept images of the Lego Ideas Kerbal Space Program submission Image 2 of 5 Concept images of the Lego Ideas Kerbal Space Program submission Image 3 of 5 Concept images of the Lego Ideas Kerbal Space Program submission Image 4 of 5 Concept images of the Lego Ideas Kerbal Space Program submission Image 5 of 5 Concept images of the Lego Ideas Kerbal Space Program submission RELATED STORIES: Lego space deals: Discounts on spaceships, space stations and NASA kits Watch 1,000 Lego astronauts fly near the edge of space (video) 'Lego Space: 1978-1992' takes off for a brick-filled blast from the past 28-year-old Sam Haughton from Cornwall, England, is the designer of the Kerbal Space Program - Modular Ship System. Also known by his Lego Ideas handle Sam67c, he submitted the idea in May 2023, and by July hed already reached 10,000 supporters. That's seriously quick business and its currently in the same review batch as William Butterworth's SLS above. Based on the popular Kerbal Space Program video game, Haughton's set is designed to be modular, allowing users to design their own ship. There's a standard build, or designs of 40 other "mini builds" to choose from, giving a fantastic amount of customization. Interestingly, as Haughton explains in his 10K club interview on the Lego Ideas blog, the original idea for the set came from him creating a short animation with Lego about Kerbal Space Program 2. After building all the parts he needed for his animation, he realized he had a potential Lego Ideas submission on his hands. Clearly the target audience here is people who are fans of the Kerbal Space Program games, but even for those who aren't, it's clear to see the appeal. Building our own modular-style rockets sounds very neat, and with Lego not having anything comparable unless you count its brand new modular space station we'd say it has the potential to be selected as a real set. But we'll have to wait to find out for sure. Residents packed the council chamber at Leland Town Hall on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, as staff answered questions about the 2025 fiscal year budget. It was standing room only in the council chambers at Leland Town Hall on March 5 as concerned residents packed the room, fraught with questions about how the town's budget would impact their wallets. The 34-year-old town's low tax rate and proximity to Wilmington, largely, have contributed to its steady growth over the last two decades. But, in order to invest in infrastructure to sustain that growth and facilitate future growth, one of the town's biggest draws may be threatened. Earlier this year, town staff presented the proposed budget for the 2025 fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2024, and ends June 30, 2025. The budget proposed budget totals $56 million -- a 30% increase from the $42.8 million budget for the 2024 fiscal year. Here are some takeaways from the proposed budget. Proposed tax increase After seeing a slight reduction in the tax rate in the 2024 budget (from 0.25 cents per $100 in valuation to 0.23 cents per $100 in valuation), residents raised concerns when the proposed 2025 budget proposed a tax rate of 0.39 cents per $100 in valuation -- a nearly 70% increase. In 2024, a home valued at $350,000 would have paid $805 in Leland property tax. If the proposed budget for 2025 passes with the tax increase, a home valued at $350,000 will pay $1,365 in Leland property tax. In his budget message to members of the Leland Town Council, Town Manager David Hollis said it's conversations with council and the goals of the board that led staff to propose a budget with such a tax rate. "The town has historically imposed a low tax rate and maintained a lean organization that has postponed many infrastructure, facility, and operational improvement projects," Hollis wrote. "The town council has communicated to staff that the time has come where delaying projects is not appropriate for the viability of the town and the well-being of the citizens." The general fund revenue in the 2024 budget totaled $38.8 million. In 2024, property taxes totaled nearly $14.3 million -- making up 36.8% of the town's revenue for the fiscal year. The general fund revenue in the proposed 2025 budget is $52 million -- a difference of $13.2 million largely coming from taxpayer pockets. In the proposed 2025 budget, property taxes total $25.9 million, making up nearly 50% of the town's anticipated revenues. The proposed 2025 budget has the town receiving $11.6 million more in property taxes compared to 2024. According to the town, $5.5 million of the additional revenues will be used to resurface and improve five miles of roads in the town, beginning a 20-year lifecycle program aiming to resurface 5% of the town's roads each fiscal year. The town said for each taxpayer dollar, 33 cents funds public safety, 15 cents funds public services, 14 cents funds general government expenses, 12 cents funds infrastructure and capital improvement projects, 12 cents funds debt payoff, nine cents funds information technology, and four cents goes toward the town's emergency contingency budget. "The town of Leland is growing, and it's going to continue to grow," Hollis said. "Those revenues are going to continue to grow along with the rest of the town." More: With limitations lifted, Belville is annexing again. Here's why Leland says not so fast Investing in public safety Through the budget planning process, Leland Town Council identified five areas to prioritize in the 2025 budget: public safety, community connectivity, street and transportation safety, economic vitality and operational excellence. Included in the proposed 2025 budget is an investment in additional police and fire personnel ($1 million for five new police personnel and $550,000 for five new fire personnel). Additionally, the budget includes $1.3 million for a new fire truck and funds for nine new police vehicles. Investing in infrastructure The proposed 2025 budget includes hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of investments in public parks and roads, including $86,000 in improvements to town parks and $750,000 allocated for property acquisition. Carly Hagg, the town's finance director, said the town has identified several parcels of land that it would look to purchase to expand the town's services. In addition to the $5.5 million budgeted for road resurfacing, more than $400,000 is budgeted for sidewalk additions, intersection improvements and other roadway improvements. STAY CONNECTED: Keep up with the areas latest Brunswick County news by signing up for the Brunswick Today newsletter and following us on Facebook and Instagram. Want to share your thoughts? Residents looking to share their feedback on the budget with members of town council can do so during the budget public hearing at council's next meeting at 6 p.m. on March 21. The meeting will be held at Leland Town Hall. Citizens may also submit a digital public comment on the town's website. Jamey Cross covers Brunswick County for the StarNews. Reach her at jbcross@gannett.com or message her on Twitter/X @jameybcross. This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Proposed Leland, NC budget for 2025 would include 70 percent tax hike SIR With regard to the Chancellors announcement of additional funding for the NHSs IT systems (report, March 7), please could we rid ourselves of the delusion that digitisation enables doctors to see more patients? A paperless medical record has advantages: easy transferability, security against loss (though not unauthorised access) and a reduced need for filing staff and storage facilities. In some areas notably diagnostic radiology and pathology services there are huge benefits. Crucially, though, paperless systems do nothing to increase the efficiency of outpatient clinics or surgical operating lists, and can have the opposite effect. When the NHS hospital in which I formerly worked introduced an electronic patient record, the number of patients I was able to see in a morning fell by 25 per cent partly because the system would not allow me to book extras (usually patients with urgent or complicated problems), but principally because of the time it took to access the information needed to manage each patient properly. Flipping through a paper file is far quicker than opening and closing a lot of different on-screen ones in search of a letter or surgical note. Jeremy Hunt identified an improvement in the throughput of operating theatres as one of his expectations, but there is no reason why this should occur. Writing up the surgical note is not the rate-limiting step in a surgical list, as it takes far less time than it takes the anaesthetic team to move one patient out and bring in the next, set out fresh instruments and so on. If we are serious about improving productivity, we should follow the example of some US cataract surgeons by having two operating theatres for each surgeon, who can then operate on one patient while the next is being prepared next door. This would obviously require more theatres and, problematically, the nurses to staff them. Neil Rowson FRCS Burwash, East Sussex SIR Throwing money at the NHS and its computer systems will not alter the human element. I attended, on time, an appointment at an ophthalmology clinic. After waiting completely on my own for 25 minutes, I asked a passing nurse if she could check what was happening. She returned to tell me I had been entered as DNA (did not attend). The receptionist had said she was so busy that she must have missed me. I had been completely on my own at the reception desk too. Gillian Baglee Leigh, Lancashire SIR Lord Frost (Comment, March 8) discusses the NHS and its need for reform in the wake of the Chancellors latest cash infusion. All I can say is this: on Wednesday I slumped to the floor rather theatrically on entering my local practice, with what later turned out to be gallstones. I was immediately helped by one of the GPs, a nurse and an in-house paramedic. Within an hour I was in Southampton General Hospital A&E, where I had been taken by ambulance. After various tests and scans Im now waiting for the consultant to determine the next treatments. Without exception I have been treated with care, compassion, cheerfulness and great skill by a wide range of nationalities, using some impressive-looking machinery, in immaculate facilities. For me, the service has been magnificent and absolutely makes me proud to be British. Mick Caulkin Southampton Exit Theresa May SIR Theresa May has announced that she will not be standing as an MP at the general election (telegraph.co.uk, March 8). I wish other Tories in Name Only would follow her example (I have Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt in mind). Then they could be replaced by true Conservatives capable of taking the fight to Labour. John Kennedy Hornchurch, Essex SIR Theresa May has an impeccable record as a constituency MP, and Im sure that the people of Maidenhead will be sad to see her go. Her record as prime minister, however, is another matter. Having won the Conservative Party leadership by default, she made her first catastrophic mistake early on, when she called an unnecessary election. Throwing away David Camerons hard-won majority and coming within an inch of losing to of all people Jeremy Corbyn set the tone for everything that would follow. Her time in office was defined chiefly by her abysmal handling of the Brexit negotiations. Never apparently believing in the benefits of British sovereignty, she allowed Brussels to dictate the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement in a way that would have left Britain an impotent province within an emboldened EU empire. But the most damaging aspect of her tenure was surely net zero, introduced after shed announced her departure, and without proper debate. This commitment has cost Britain billions of pounds the single most expensive act of virtue-signalling in history. Jeremy Crick Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire SIR It would be deliciously ironic if Boris Johnson were to step up and stand in Theresa Mays seat. Andy Lyons Sherborne, Dorset Jews in London SIR As Jewish people living in the UK, we strongly disagree with the sentiment of your front-page report ( London is now a no-go zone for Jews , March 8), and believe that this kind of story only further entrenches distress and fear. Anti-Semitism is a very real problem, faced by us for centuries and increasingly in recent months. That being said, it is not the case that London is a no-go zone, nor that the tone of the pro-Palestinian marches is a major problem that we face. Many of us join those marches and feel safe on them; indeed, we are much more worried by the Governments branding of them as hate mobs, and the constant stream of Islamophobia coming from the media and Westminster. We urge care when it comes to reporting anti-Semitism because doing so in the way you have undermines our ability to combat real threats to British Jews, increases our anxieties and risks dividing our communities. David Feldman Director, Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism Emily Hilton UK director, Diaspora Alliance Zack Polanski Deputy leader, Green Party of England and Wales Francesca Klug Visiting professor, LSE Human Rights Andrew Samuels Former chair, UK Council for Psychotherapy Leo Reich Comedian Jacqueline Rose Professor of humanities, Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities Lynne Segal Academic and writer Daniel Levy President, US Middle East Project Biden vs Trump SIR Donald Trump versus Joe Biden (report, March 7). How can it have come to this? Camilla Coats-Carr Teddington, Middlesex SIR The problem is Joe Biden. He should have stepped aside in favour of a competent Democrat who could take the fight to Donald Trump effectively. John Matthews Hove, East Sussex Triple-lock myths SIR I really must take issue with the suggestion (Letters, March 8) that pensioners have profited from the generosity of the triple lock. It may be true that a rise of 20 per cent over two years comes as a nice bonus for those with other pension income but for those without that benefit, 20 per cent of a pittance remains a pittance. Alan Quinton Eastbourne, East Sussex The Church atones SIR I understand that the Church of England manages an investment portfolio worth more than 8 billion, part of which presumably comes from its past involvement in slavery. Why, then, is it seeking to raise money from citizens today in order to pay reparations for its own inglorious historical activity (Letters, March 8)? Dr Richard A E Grove Isle of Whithorn, Wigtownshire SIR My husband, a Church of England priest ordained in 1962, died a fortnight ago. In his last months, as more care became necessary, I asked the Church whether it might be able to provide some help with the fees. Answer came there none. Perhaps the Archbishop of Canterbury should look closer to home before coughing up 1 billion for slavery reparations. He could also acknowledge that slavery was abolished thanks, in part, to the efforts of many church folk across this land during the 19th century. Stella Herbert Great Bardfield, Essex Endless potholes SIR Your report (March 5) on potholes highlights the difficulty of providing a quick fix for a major problem. In my village, repairs rarely last even nine days. This is because of all the HGV and tipper trucks that bounce along the road. Unless the design of these roads is improved to deal with such traffic, or the traffic is shifted to roads that can cope, we will remain in a never-ending cycle of despair. Ralph Anderson Stadhampton, Oxfordshire SIR David Millars letter (March 2) on surprising road warnings reminded me of my first days in Cyprus back in the 1970s. Come the autumn and the grape-picking season, I was startled to see signs along the side of the main road reading: Caution road sticky with grape juice. I soon learnt that the lorries taking grapes to the wineries, when going uphill, would leave a trail of juice squeezed below their back doors by the sheer weight of the load. It felt most peculiar driving over that sticky surface. Hilary Ives Nicosia, Cyprus The shifting fortunes of an old seaside favourite Walkers on Brighton beach at sunrise, with the Palace Pier in the background - Alamy SIR Your feature (March 6) about scruffy Brighton could not be more true. This town has gone from being a pleasant, vibrant, trendy destination to a rubbish-strewn embarrassment. I now avoid it like the plague. No doubt the council has much to answer for. Robin N Pierrepoint Sykes Eastbourne, East Sussex Of malt and mustard SIR My mother prepared mustard with an interesting twist (Letters, March 8). Instead of adding water to the powder, she would use malt vinegar. Delicious. Peter Shirley Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire SIR More effective than mixing mustard powder with milk suggested on yesterdays page is to add a little sherry. Dr Erik Borthwick Cavendish, Suffolk SIR I recommend adding wasabi. Harriet Crocker Bristol SIR Jennifer Abbots painting of a Colmans tin being used as a vase (Letters, March 7) reminded me of the mustard-tin money boxes that sat on a shelf in my mothers larder. Each week, when my father handed her his wages, a shilling or two went into the Boot tin (shoe repairs and new shoes for two growing children) and the Chemist tin (toothpaste, soap, lavatory paper). There was also a round cocoa tin for Little Treats, and this was the one that lost out when my father went for a drink after work and returned with a depleted pay packet. Eleanor Saunders Chessington, Surrey Letters to the Editor We accept letters by email and post. Please include name, address, work and home telephone numbers. ADDRESS: 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 0DT EMAIL: dtletters@telegraph.co.uk FOLLOW: Telegraph Letters on Twitter @LettersDesk NEWSLETTER: sign up to receive Letters to the Editor here Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. *The above video explains what the orange and green light is on your iPhone* WESTLAKE, Ohio (WJW) Westlake police tracked down a suspect in an unusual way, they said. Police said a man broke into cars and stole numerous valuables including a wallet, laptop, cash, a garage door opener, gift cards and credit cards, then bought merchandise with the stolen cards at a local shopping center. Busy road to close, detour for drivers & local school Police Capt. Gerald Vogel said the suspect took the items from vehicles on Creekside Drive in Westlake on the night of Feb. 22, and that the case was cracked this week. Police obtained video of the suspect on Creekside Drive from the night of the thefts and then got video from a store at Steelyard Commons in Cleveland the next day, where the suspect bought merchandise with the stolen cards, Vogel said. But where was the suspect? The answer came two days ago on Wednesday, March 6. The victim of one of the thefts noticed that his stolen AirPods were turned on in the area of a homeless shelter on Lakeside Boulevard in Cleveland, where detectives and officers watched the area and saw the same male suspect, Vogel said. The 34-year-old suspect was charged with felony theft, he added. University of Akron wants to hire a private company to manage its dormitories If youd like to learn how to find your Apple AirPods by using your iPhone, you can click here. If you dont have an iPhone or other Apple device to use the Find My app, you can also find your AirPods at iCloud.com/find. But the experience might be different and some functionality might not be available, according to Apple. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron expressed his countrys willingness to work closely with Germany to supply Ukraine with Taurus missiles in an interview with the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung published on March 8. London is ready to consider all options in order to achieve the maximum effect for Ukraine,including an exchange in which Berlin would provide Britain with Taurus missiles while Britain would supply more of its Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine. I will not go into details and tell our adversaries what we mean, he said. In response to German concerns about possible strikes on Russian territory with the supplied missiles, Cameron suggested introducing restrictions on the use of the Taurus missiles to ensure that they do not escalate the situation. He further mentioned that the UK trusts Kyivs commitment to refrain from attacking Russian territory and expressed satisfaction with the effectiveness of supplying Ukraine with weapons thus far. Read also: Long-range missiles have no impact on war progression German DM Pistorius On March 8, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that long-range missiles did not determine the course of the war, amid discussions about supplying German Taurus missiles to Ukraine. Berlin has not outright denied Ukraine the Taurus missiles but has not been ready to provide them, possibly due to Chancellor Scholzs hesitations, Pistorius said in September 2023. Ukraine has repeatedly stated that it will not use Western long-range missiles to strike Russian territory. The Bundestag did not support a draft resolution calling for the supply of long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine on Jan. 17, with only 178 out of 666 MPs voting in favor. Read also: Berlin and London vow not to let Putin divide Kyivs allies amid increased Russian espionage activities Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine The original M on the Franklin Mountains was painted in 1923, just to the east of what is now Murchison Park. University of Texas at El Paso celebrates TCM Day this week, the longest-running student tradition at UTEP, with a day of events. TCM Day began in 1923 when the school was known as the Texas College of Mines and Metallurgy, and it was observed every March to initiate new student engineers and geologists into the Order of St. Patrick, the patron saint of engineers, according to UTEP. TCM Day events include a team mining challenge and whitewashing the "M" on the mountain north of Sun Bowl Drive. Following is a look back at how the tradition of whitewashing school letters on the mountain got its start: A Jan. 24, 2011, Las Cruces Sun-News article by Christopher Schutz reported the history of the NMSU "A." The Aggies began their tradition in 1920, the same year as El Paso High, and three years before the University of Texas at El Paso. Excerpts from the report follow: On the cool morning of April Fools' Day in 1920, the roughly 150 students of the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts gathered at the base of Tortugas Mountain and began mixing the lime for the whitewash. For the rest of the day, they passed buckets full of the stuff to each other up a half-mile of rocky slope, crafting a crude, 100-foot letter "A" on the west side of the mountain. When it was done, everyone seemed pleased with the result. Tradition handed down "We now have a large 'A' which can be seen for miles in every direction," the editors of the student newspaper the Round Up wrote. "It will be the duty of the incoming freshmen to keep the "A" painted, and is thus handed down a tradition." Every year since, groups of Aggies have maintained that tradition, though it's been generations since the entire student population took part. The first "A" the students made in 1920 was reportedly a little crude, and was "redrawn" the next year. More: El Paso history: 1894 front page documents wild west gunfight It was worth the effort Many rocks had to be moved for the new "A," as well as hundreds of gallons of fresh paint applied, but apparently it was worth the effort. "It was so laid out that it looks much better from the college and surrounding country than the letter of last year, and is in direct line over Hadley Hall with the road from Mesilla Park to the horseshoe," according to the Round Up. By the early 1920s, the local newspapers proclaimed the painting of "A" Mountain a "tradition." The Class of 1922 laid down the rules that would carry on for decades: freshmen, often called "fish," were to wear green skullcaps emblazoned with the Aggie "A" the week prior to "A Day," and were responsible for cleaning the whitewash containers, as well as carrying them, half-filled up to the "A." By the 1950s, the sororities and fraternities had begun to take a larger role in organizing the "A" Day festivities, but it still brought out a large percentage of the school, a fair number of whom were locals who'd grown up with the big "A." 'M' Day at UTEP As for "M" Day at UTEP, The Prospector on Oct. 13, 1951, ran an article by Carolyn Van Trease with the following history: And finally we have the "M." After discussing and estimating time and costs, the student body got together last week, assembled the materials, and in less than two days had placed on a prominent peak on Mount Franklin a giant white "M" 150 feet square. It can be seen for miles down the valley and quite a distance into Mexico. Last Wednesday was declared to be an unofficial holiday and at 8:30 a.m., everyone hiked himself to the upper slopes of the Franklin Mountains toting a broom and a bucket, to enjoy the holiday moving boulders of huge denomination and decorating them with whitewash.' El Pasoans opposed 'M' In 1924, due to the huge opposition of the citizens of El Paso, the repainting of the letter was indefinitely postponed. The Prospector says concerning this, "if the people who criticize us most harshly and call us 'Dirty Miners' will reflect on the antics of other college students, they will come to realize that the Miners are a hard-working and sober bunch, everything considered. In 1931, the only members of the freshmen class who had to work on the painting of the letter were the boys. The girls thought they had it bad then all they had to do was feed the boys. That year, all the roads to the school were blocked so that no one could attend classes. More: Federal government has rarely stopped legal travel at the Mexican border: Trish Long Army concerned about landmark In 1942, it was reported in The Prospector that the College of Mines might have to do away with another tradition if the Army decided that the "M" was too definite a landmark. Reliable sources say that the school had to promise the Army not to light up the letter at night, thus saving it from an ignominious, official fate. 1943 saw a very different treatment of the proceedings. Radio station KTSM broadcasted the goings-on up at the mountain, especially concerning the freshmen. Students up there working even put on a pep rally for the radio listeners. From 1944 up to the present time, "M" Day has been celebrated pretty much the same way every year. Little variations kept the reports on the event from being too much the same every time. Maybe this year there will be as much enthusiasm over it as there was in 1930, Dean C. A. Puckett was quoted in The Prospector as saying, "I want 'M' Day as a school holiday. It should be full of tradition and be looked forward to with much enthusiasm. I hope we shall soon have all this instead of just a day when a few students paint the 'M' on the mountain and others cut classes to get out of school work.' Dr. A.E. Beynon said, "I am tired of teaching a few stragglers on 'M' Day. I want to be on the side of the mountain with the others." Tigers add an 'E' El Paso High School's "E" Day was started in the 1920-21 school year. El Pasoans were upset over the painting of the Franklins then, too. The school promised not to maintain the letter or to paint a new one but when the Miners painted their M in 1923, the Tigers added their E. Trish Long may be reached at tlong@elpasotimes.com or 915-546-6179. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: UTEP's TCM Day brought whitewashed "M" to El Paso's Franklin Mountains On April 2, Lees Summit voters will decide on City Council, municipal judge and Board of Education races, as well as Jackson Countys Question No. 1, a sales-tax renewal question impacting the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals stadiums. City council For the city of Lees Summit, only one of the four city council races District 2 is opposed. Two candidates are also running to fill the position of James Tobin, a longtime municipal judge who did not file for the position this year. In District 1, incumbent City Councilwoman Hillary Shields is unopposed. Elected in 2020, Shields works as a real-estate paralegal. She has been endorsed by the Greater Kansas City Building and Construction Trades Council, Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council, Roofers Local 20, Teamsters Local 41, Pipefitters Local 533, Iron Workers Local 10, IBEW Local 53, CWA Local 6360 and IAM Local 778. The citys second district includes three candidates running to fill a position currently held by Andrew Felker, who was elected in 2020 and did not file for a second term. Trish Carlyle, who works as a paralegal, served two terms as District 2s city councilwoman from 2014 to 2022. Lees Summit City Council members are restricted to no more than two consecutive four-year terms. She served on numerous city committees during her years on the council including the Rules, Finance and Budget, and Community and Economic Development committees. Also on the ballot for District 2 is Bob Gough, who is retired. Gough has been endorsed by the Jackson County Taxpayers Association, an organization the candidate founded. Over the last couple of decades, Gough has run for office unsuccessfully under the names of both Bob Gough and Roberta Gough for city of Lees Summit offices, Jackson County Legislature, U.S. House of Representatives and Missouri House of Representatives, according to Ballotpedia and city and school district officials. Gough also filed for Lees Summit R-7 Board of Education in 2023 but later withdrew from the ballot. Shari Frazier, who filed for the District 2 seat, is employed as a public health program and resource manager. She is endorsed by Strengthening Education Together. Within District 3, Cynda Rader, broker/owner of the Cynda Sells Real Estate Company, is unopposed. This position is currently held by Phyllis Edson, who could not file due to term limits. Rader is endorsed by the Lees Summit Police Officers Association. She serves on the Lees Summit Planning Commission, License Tax Review Board, Water Utilities Board and Cultural Commission of Lees Summit. District 4 features an unopposed race with Fred DeMoro running for his second four-year term on the council. He was appointed in 2017 to fill a vacant seat and elected in 2018 to finish out the remaining two years of the four-year term. DeMoro, who is retired, is endorsed by IAFF 2195, Lees Summit Police Officers Association and FOP Lodge 50. He has served on numerous city of Lees Summit committees and boards including the Public Works Committee, Legislative and Intergovernmental Relations Committee, Rules Committee, City Council liaison for the Water Services Advisory Board, City Council liaison for the Public Safety Advisory Board, Excise Tax Committee, Planning Commission, Charter Review Commission and Downtown Master Plan Committee. Municipal judge Two candidates Venessa Maxwell-Lopez and Sam Buccero are running for Lees Summit municipal judge to fill a position currently held by James Tobin. After serving on the local bench since 1989, Tobin did not file for re-election this year. Maxwell-Lopez, an attorney, has been an appointed counsel for the city of Lees Summit Municipal Court since 2007. She is endorsed by the Lees Summit Police Officers Association and Strengthening Education Together. Maxwell-Lopez currently serves on the Jackson County Merit Commission and is a former commissioner of the Jackson County Combat Commission. Buccero, an attorney, has worked as a public defender for the Raytown Municipal Court since 2000. He previously served as an assistant city prosecutor for the Kansas City Municipal Court and as domestic violence prosecutor for the Blue Springs Municipal Court. School Board race In the Lees Summit R-7 School Board race, five people have filed for two seats on the board: Stacie Myers, Reuben Mitchell, Juanice Williams, Rodrick King Sparks, Bill Haley and Dan Blake. Sparks is making a bid for a second three-year term on the Board of Education. Ryan Murdock, who has served two three-year terms on board, did not file for re-election. Myers retired in 2023 after teaching for 21 years in Lees Summit R-7 schools. During her tenure, she served on the districts Social Studies Curriculum Committee. Myers has been endorsed by the Lees Summit National Education Association. Mitchell works as a data analyst for the federal government. He has three young children. Mitchell is a member of the Cedar Creek Elementary PTA. This is the second time Mitchell has filed for a seat on the Board of Education. He completed candidate paperwork last year for the April 2023 election but later withdrew. After filing for the 2024 election, he requested on Jan. 12 that his name be withdrawn from the ballot, according to district officials. He then contacted the district on Jan. 13 with a request to remain on the ballot. Williams works as the coordinator of field education/associate instructor at the University of Central Missouri. Her four children graduated from Lees Summit West High School and she was involved in PTA at her childrens elementary and secondary schools. Williams previously served as PTA president at Woodland Elementary, as a member of the Lees Summit West High School Booster Club and as a member of the school districts Comprehensive School Improvement Process Team. She is endorsed by the National Association of Social Workers-Missouri PAC and Strengthening Education Together. Sparks, who is employed as an escrow assistant, currently serves as the Board of Education president. He has two children attending Lees Summit R-7 schools. Sparks is a member of the districts Citizens Advisory Committee, Policy Committee, Business Roundtable, Team Lees Summit, the Health and Insurance Committee, PTA and R-7 Fathers Club. He has been endorsed by Strengthening Education Together and the Lees Summit National Education Association. Haley, who owns his own business, has two children who recently graduated from the Lees Summit R-7 School District. He is a member of the PTA. Blake, a mechanical engineer, is employed as a project manager, account manager and business lead. He was elected to serve on the American Society of Plumbing Engineers. He has a daughter in Mason Elementary, where he is a member of the PTA. Sales tax questions Also on the local ballot is Jackson County Question No. 1, which asks voters county-wide to approve a 40-year 3/8th-cent sales tax to fund a new stadium for the Kansas City Royals Stadium and major renovations for the Chiefs Arrowhead Stadium. According to the county proposal, the new Royals stadium would be located in Kansas Citys Crossroads area. If approved, the sales tax would apply to all purchases in Jackson County. The county ballot issue includes repeal of an existing sales tax, set to expire in 2031, with a new sales tax scheduled to end in 2064. A Los Angeles man has been charged in federal court on allegations that he kidnapped a woman, raped her and forced her to work for him as a prostitute. Leslie Anthony Bailey, 32, was arraigned Friday afternoon in Santa Ana on a five-count federal grand jury indictment, according to the United States Department of Justice. Bailey was arrested Thursday by special agents with the Department of Homeland Security and members of the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force. Authorities say Bailey, who lives on a boat docked in the South Bay of Los Angeles, has been charged with sex trafficking, kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse and two counts of using a cellphone to operate a prostitution business. He is accused of kidnapping a woman on Feb. 5, 2022, holding her for several days against her will and forcing her to engage in at least one commercial sex act, according to the criminal complaint. A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department bulletin from March 2022 shows Leslie Bailey, who is accused of sex trafficking and raping a woman. He continued to hold the woman captive for several days, eventually driving her to the Angeles National Forest where he allegedly raped her by use of force and threatened to kill her. Bailey was identified as the suspect in the attack and arrested Thursday, one day after the federal indictment was returned, the DOJ said. He had previously been arrested in March 2022 by the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, although its unclear what transpired between then and now. United States Attorney Martin Estrada called Bailey a sex trafficker who preys upon vulnerable people, turning their misery into profits. This defendant is charged with using threats, coercion and physical violence to control his victim, Estrada said. We are committed to fighting human trafficking and bringing perpetrators to justice. As part of the five-count indictment, Bailey is also accused of using a facility of interstate commerce, aka cell phone, to pimp out the victim and collect the profits from her forced prostitution. An additional charge was also filed regarding a second victim whom Bailey allegedly pimped out using a cell phone between March 7 and April 25, 2023, the DOJ said. Each sex trafficking offense carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a potential sentence of life in prison. Both the kidnapping and aggravated sexual abuse charges carry the same potential sentence of life in prison. The two counts related to the use of the cell phone carry up to five years in federal prison. Eddy Wang, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said his office would hold these predators accountable and will provide victims with a pathway towards restorative justice. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. LOVELAND, Colo. (KDVR) He signed up to serve his country as a teenager. And he never stopped serving. Hank Castillon of Loveland is a Vietnam veteran, former brigadier general in the Wyoming National Guard and former mayor. And he has one more honor to add to his accomplishments: Hes been named the FOX31 Serving Those Who Serve Hero of the Month for March 2024. I did everything that I was supposed to do, Castillon said when asked about his service in Vietnam. He was only 17 when he joined the military too young to sign up for the Army. So his mother signed for him, and off he went. My dad was really against it, he told FOX31. Henry Hank Castillon On Hill 947 in Vietnams Plei Trap Valley, he came face to face with enemy soldiers, and someone made it out alive from a three-day battle that killed 575 American soldiers, including at least 40 in his own unit. And I was wounded in the back with some shrapnel, Castillon said. A shadow box on his wall filled with awards and decorations including the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart tell the story of his heroism. But his service to his country did not end with his year-long deployment to Vietnam. When he came back, he rose through the ranks of the Wyoming Army National Guard, eventually reaching the rank of brigadier general in March 1993. He was later elected mayor of the town of Green River, Wyoming, in 2006. Colorado Marine veteran plans to skydive at age 75 to raise money for memorial His public service rubbed off on his family. His daughter Andrea is a U.S. Army pilot. I think she took after me because I couldnt go to flight school, Castillon joked. For his decades of service to his country and community, he is being honored by Ford and the Leo Hill Charitable Trust as the Serving Those Who Serve Hero of the Month. To nominate a veteran or active-duty service member for our Hero of the Month honors, visit the nomination page. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. HOLLAND Rob Raymond's career at Haworth began because he was in the right place at the right time. It was 1989, and Raymond was going through a temp service, looking for a job. He started at Haworth in December and was hired within 30 days as the company worked to add a third shift. At the time, Raymond lived in South Haven. Eventually, he moved his family closer to work, in Hamilton. In July 2022, Raymond retired from Haworth. He spent over 32 years with the company. He met his wife, Rachelle, while working there. Rachelle worked for the company for 18 years. Rob Raymond (left) and his son, Joshua, have almost 50 combined years of experience working at Haworth. In the end, Haworth was much more than a career. It was a home for Raymond's entire family. His son, Joshua, started work there in 2007. His other children worked in the company for a short time, too. My father suggested that I get hired in because I was in the Army National Guard and he suggested that Id have a job when I came back, Joshua said. They took care of me the whole year I was deployed and Ive been here ever since. Joshua admits he wasnt too keen on the idea when his father suggested it. I thought he was crazy ... because that initially wasnt my goal, Joshua said. These days, Joshua is a CNC operator. He's grown with the company in 17 years. His supervisor, Bill Johns, was also his father's supervisor for a time. We took breaks and had lunch together, Raymond said. His mom would make him lunch and Id bring it in for him." Both men say technology has changed dramatically during their time on the job. Raymond remembers hand-punching timecards. Joshua says technology has changed the way he works. Subscribe: Get all your breaking news and unlimited access to our local coverage As Haworth celebrates 75 years, the Raymond family celebrates more than seven combined decades of work with the company. The company is also celebrating a strong 2023, with sales of $2.57 billion, mostly because of the men and women who've worked there people like Rob, Rachelle and Joshua. Contact reporter Austin Metz at ametz@hollandsentinel.com. This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Raymond family tallies 70+ years at Haworth In a new campaign advertisement, President Joe Biden tries to take control of the narrative around his age by addressing the obvious with a joke. Look Im not a young guy, thats no secret, he laughs in a new ad released Saturday. Mr Biden, 81, appears laid-back in the new advertisement and counters the joke about his age with a benefit to his many years of experience: But heres the deal, I understand how to get things done for the American people. He then lists his administrations accomplishments like tackling the Covid-19 pandemic, boosting the economy and lowering prescription drug prices before hitting talking points that are especially relevant to young voters. Ive passed the biggest law in history to combat climate change because our future depends on it, Mr Biden says. Donald Trump took away the freedom of women to choose, Im determined to make Roe v Wade the law of the land, again. The ad, aptly titled like the popular TikTok homepage, For You, is part of the presidents re-election campaigns appeal to young voters the same voting bloc that helped Mr Biden get elected in 2020. Mr Bidens tone is much softer and jokier compared to the fiery State of the Union speech he gave on Thursday. While Mr Biden compares his accomplishments to those of former president Donald Trump, its less confrontational. He describes Mr Trumps failure to pass infrastructure legislation, and how he championed overturning the federal right to an abortion. Here's the spot, titled "For You" -- Joe Biden in navy blue Polo quarter zip to camera: "Look, I'm not a young guy. That's no secret. But, here's the deal. I understand how to get things done for the American people" pic.twitter.com/2HBGQPiIwr Medium Buying (@MediumBuying) March 9, 2024 The ad even features one of Mr Bidens sarcastic one-liners in an outtake. Off-camera, a crew member asks the president to do one more take leading Mr Biden to respond: Look Im very young, energetic and handsome, what the hell am I doing this for? For You will play on TV channels that are popular with young voters like ESPN, Adult Swim and Comedy Central. It arrives as Mr Biden faces negative polling that shows a majority of Americans arent confident in his efficiency due to his age and young people arent happy with his economic record. The advertisement is part of a $30m ad buy recently announced by the Biden-Harris campaign. It is expected to air over the next six weeks on local cable channels in swing states like Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and more. Capturing wild frogs for commercial uses is banned in the EU - AFP/Philippe Desmazes Conservationists have pleaded with French president Emmanuel Macron to place controls on frog leg imports over fears that one of the countrys most beloved delicacies is destroying ecosystems on the other side of the globe. Urgent measures are needed to combat a decline in amphibian populations in Indonesia and Vietnam caused by Frances hunger for frog thighs, a group of more than 500 conservationists and scientists said in a letter addressed to Mr Macron this week. The letter argued that the international trade in frog legs was a major threat to several species and risked causing cascade extinction effects. Capturing wild frogs for commercial uses is banned in the EU, something that has led French restaurants to look further afield to supply their guests with the famed delicacy. The EU imports more than 4,000 tonnes of frog legs annually, with the majority of that meat supplying the French market. Major suppliers include Indonesia, Vietnam, Turkey and Albania. The letter pointed out that frogs play a crucial role in their ecosystems by eating insects that can carry disease or damage crops. Are the French condemned to always be the frogs? asked Charlotte Nithart, director of Robin des Bois, a conservation non-profit that helped organise the petition. Populations of some frog species in Turkey could go extinct by 2032 if nothing is done to regulate the trade, the letter warned. Absurd trade Pro Wildlife, another NGO that took part in the appeal, described the import of frog legs from outside the EU as absurd. Wild populations of frogs in Europe are protected by European legislation. But the EU still tolerates the capture of millions of animals from other countries, even if it threatens those countries frog populations, said Sandra Altherr, the head of science at Pro Wildlife. It is not clear how much resistance such controls would face. There would be no revolution if the government imposed a ban on imported frog legs, French food critic Francois Simon told The Telegraph. It is a forgotten food for French people that is only served in a few nostalgic restaurants, he said, adding that restrictions on imports may even be welcomed as the French are increasingly concerned about buying organic, homegrown produce. Concerns over the treatment of frogs that are served up on the plates of French bistros have been growing in recent years, with animal rights protesters condemning the fact that the animals are dissected while still alive. Recently, a small group of French farmers have started to breed the amphibians in farms, with a growing number of French restaurants preferring to source their frog meat from these local producers. However, domestically produced frog legs still only make up a fraction of the overall market. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Supporters wave French and European flags as President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance launches its campaign for European elections in the northern city of Lille (Sameer Al-Doumy) Allies of French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday sought to cast the country's far-right forces as bedfellows of the Kremlin as the centrist alliance launched its campaign for European Parliament elections. Speaking in the northern city of Lille, 34-year-old Prime Minister Gabriel Attal lambasted the far-right National Rally (RN), which leads Macron's alliance by a wide margin ahead of the June elections, and accused them of betraying the interests of France and Europe. "They have always said 'no' to Europe," France's youngest prime minister said. "The only difference now is that they are hiding it a little and the 'no' has turned into a 'nyet'," Attal said, accusing Marine Le Pen's party of flirting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Edouard Philippe, Macron's former prime minister and leader of the Horizons party, warned about the risks of appeasement, citing British statesman Winston Churchill to castigate those who are feeding "a crocodile" hoping it will eat them "last". Macron, who plans to join the campaign at a later stage, has asked his ministers to fight the RN "every step of the way" as he tries to curb the rapid rise of the far right. In France's polarised political landscape, Russia's war against Ukraine has emerged as a major hot-button topic. Macron has been seeking to hammer home the importance of greater support for Ukraine and last week caused an uproar by refusing to rule out the dispatch of Western ground troops to the ex-Soviet country. In an apparent response to Macron, Putin has warned of a "real" risk of nuclear war. The European elections are seen as a key milestone ahead of France's next presidential election in 2027, when Le Pen is expected to mount a fourth bid for the top job and Macron cannot stand again due to term limits. - 'Act or suffer' - Macron has picked Valerie Hayer, the 37-year-old head of the Renew group in the European Parliament, to lead his camp in the polls. A daughter of French farmers, Hayer is relatively unknown to the public. Speaking in Lille, she also attacked the RN and said her camp's responsibility was to thwart "this worst-case scenario". "In this campaign we will be the only ones to defend Europe," she said. "In three months, we will face a choice: act or suffer, strengthen our Europe or give up in the face of those who want to tear it down," Hayer added. The head of the National Rally's list for the European elections is 28-year-old Jordan Bardella, a rising star of far-right French politics. Last weekend Bardella hammered on the far right's central theme of immigration when the party launched its election campaign in the southern port of Marseille. Members of the opposition have accused the president of using the conflict to boost his coalition's standing ahead of the European elections. Earlier this week, Bardella described Macron's stance on Ukraine as "no limits and no red lines". He said he had pleaded with the French leader "not to go to war with Russia". Some in Macron's camp have questioned the focus on Ukraine and the far right. A lawmaker with the centrist MoDem party, which is part of Macron's coalition, said that targeting the far-right forces could backfire by further raising their profile. are-adc-as/imm An overnight crash on I-75 in Cobb County has left two people dead and two others hospitalized. The northbound side of the interstate was shut down for nearly five hours on Saturday morning Triple Team Traffic reports the crash happened just before 2:30 a.m. near the S. Marietta Parkway exit. The lanes reopened just before 7 a.m. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Police say a family from Michigan driving a Chrysler Pacifica was rear-ended by a black 2016 Acura ILX, which spun out and ended up in the middle of the interstate. The Chrysler was able to stop on the shoulder of the interstate. A black 2015 Audi Q5 then crashed into the Acura. A 53-foot tractor-trailer then crashed into both the Acura and the Audi. The driver of the Acura, 33-year-old Carl Moore, and his passenger, James Mettle, were pronounced dead on the scene. TRENDING STORIES: The driver of the Audi, a 44-year-old man from Marietta, and a female passenger were taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital with serious injuries. The family in the Chrysler and the driver of the tractor-trailer were not injured. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS MERCED, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) A man has been arrested after allegedly burglarizing a business in Merced, the Merced County Sheriffs Office announced on Friday. Deputies say they were dispatched to a business on East Gerard in Merced for a burglary in progress. Upon arrival, sheriffs officials say they saw the suspect fleeing the area in a car. They were able to catch up to the suspect, identified as Alfredo Sagrero. Sheriffs officials say they were able to take the suspect into custody and he was arrested on suspicion of burglary, possession of stolen property, vandalism, and driving with a suspended license. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47. For more than 35 years, two families in Virginia have been left without knowing who brutally killed a beloved member of each of their families. Now, a major investigative break finally has arrived for one family and perhaps soon could for the other thanks to advances in science one grieving mother called incredible. On November 14, 1986, Jacqueline Lard, 40, was last seen closing for the day at her realty office, the Stafford County Sheriffs Office said Tuesday in a news release. She never made it home. The next morning, employees at neighboring businesses called the police after they discovered a crime scene at the realty office which indicated a horrific struggle. The following day, her body was discovered underneath a pile of discarded carpet in a wooded area in Woodbridge, about 30 miles southwest of Washington DC. Jacqueline Lard - Stafford County Sheriff's Office Just a few years later in 1989, Amy Baker, 18, was visiting family in Falls Church when she went missing while driving back home to Stafford County, according to Fairfax County Police. On March 29, 1989, her unoccupied vehicle was found on the side of the road and was towed by police the following day, as it was presumed abandoned. On March 31, her family searched the area where her vehicle was found and discovered her body in a wooded area near the exit ramp of Interstate 95 in Springfield, west of Alexandria. Detectives investigated and determined Bakers car had run out of gas on the exit ramp, Fairfax County Police said. They believe she left her vehicle to seek help at the nearest gas station, encountering the suspect who subsequently fatally strangled her. In both cases, forensic evidence was collected but the cases eventually went cold. Detectives join forces after a DNA breakthrough However, authorities have found success in sending DNA from cold cases to labs in recent years. Advancements in forensic science technology and the use of forensic investigative genetic genealogy, which combines DNA analysis with traditional genealogy research, have allowed more breakthroughs with DNA evidence collection. It has become increasingly used as a powerful tool in law enforcement investigations to finally solve some of the countrys most notorious cold cases, such as that of Golden State Killer in 2018. It wasnt until 2021 that DNA led to a breakthrough in the Virginia cases. Fairfax County Police Departments Cold Case detectives submitted evidence from Bakers cold case to DNA Labs International and a DNA profile was developed, police said. Meanwhile, a detective in Stafford County was using forensic investigative genetic genealogy to help identify Lards killer. Uploading this profile to the Virginia state database revealed a link between Bakers death and the ongoing homicide investigation of Jacqueline Lard in Stafford County, Fairfax County Police said. Detectives from both counties joined forces, determined to bring this murder suspect to justice, police said. Then, forensic investigative genetic genealogy identified a family name for the suspect in December, according to the Stafford County Sheriffs Office. A search warrant for DNA was obtained for Stafford County resident Elroy Harrison, 65. Two months later, Harrisons DNA was reported as a match to the DNA evidence authorities submitted. Amy Baker - Fairfax County Police Harrison was indicted by a Stafford County grand jury on Monday for the first-degree murder of Jacqueline Lard, as well as abduction with the intent to defile, aggravated malicious wounding and breaking and entering with the intent to commit murder, according to the sheriffs office. He was arrested Tuesday and placed in the Rappahannock Regional Jail without bond. At a hearing Wednesday, Harrison was assigned an attorney, and CNN has reached out to the attorney for comment. Harrison remains held without bond, and will be arraigned next month, according to the sheriffs office. Nobody has been charged in Bakers cold case yet, but the Fairfax County Police Department says it is closing in on the case, noting that forensic evidence has linked the same suspect in Lards murder to Bakers homicide. The Stafford County Sheriffs Department said Tuesday that Fairfax County police investigators are working with the Fairfax County Office of the Commonwealths Attorney to seek charges against Harrison for Bakers murder. As of Friday morning, no charges have been filed, a spokesperson with the Fairfax County Office of the Commonwealths Attorney said. Bakers mother, Sue Baker, who virtually attended Harrisons hearing in Stafford County Wednesday, called the developments in the case surreal and the advancements in forensic science incredible. Fairfax is taking care of this, and they will, but right now we want Jacqueline Lards case taken care of so we know hes never coming out of jail, Sue Baker told CNN. We never expected this, Sue Baker said. I never gave up. I told her Id never give up. The Stafford County Sheriffs Office told CNN that Lards family is not interested in making a comment at this time. CNNs Michelle Watson contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com A man accused of illegally entering the home of a Santa Monica woman and performing a sex act near her as she slept has been charged with a pair of felonies. Los Angeles County prosecutors on Tuesday charged Anthony Romero, 28, with one count of burglary and one count of indecent exposure and illegal entry. Romero, who remains in custody, is expected back in court April 17 for a preliminary hearing. Anthony Romero, 28, who has a lengthy criminal record, faces charges for allegedly breaking into a Santa Monica woman's home and masturbating next to her as she slept. (Santa Monica Police Department) Romero is alleged to have entered the 2nd Street apartment at 2:10 a.m. on Feb. 29, according to Santa Monica Police. He is alleged to have climbed through an unlocked window, likely by stepping on a porch, according to Santa Monica Police Lt. Erika Aklufi. Read more: Unhoused woman charged in shooting death of music producer in Santa Monica Romero then walked over to the victim and masturbated as she slept, according to authorities. He did not make contact with the woman, according to Aklufi. While he was exposing himself, the victim awoke and ordered Romero to leave, according to police. Romero complied as the woman called police. He left the apartment before officers responded to the call. Security footage was collected by police, who arrested Romero just before 9:30 a.m. the following day while he was walking on Santa Monica Boulevard. Read more: 4 Chileans stole from homes across L.A. in a case of 'burglary tourism,' police say Romero was initially booked with an additional charge of attempt to commit rape, which has been dropped. Romero was on parole in San Bernardino County for a weapons violation. He had been arrested in Santa Monica in January 2022 for shoplifting and last June for public intoxication, resisting arrest and battery on a police officer, according to Aklufi. Police said Romero identified himself to officers as homeless. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) David Anthony Baynes has been found guilty of murder by a Washington County jury after shooting a man 15 times in 2022. According to a press release from the Washington County District Attorneys Office, this unprovoked attack occurred after Baynes became jealous of his then-girlfriends continued contact with her ex, the victim. PDX announces return of iconic carpet in main terminal remodel On September 18, 2022, Baynes was exiting his girlfriends home in Forest Grove when he saw a minivan approaching. He pulled his truck up next to the victims van and shot the victim 15 times with a handgun, officials said. Each bullet entered the victims body, and he died within minutes. Baynes would later claim to authorities that he was acting in self-defense since the other person was armed. However, detectives confirmed through a search of the crime scene that the victim wasnt armed. In the immediate aftermath of the killing, Baynes fled to rural Yamhill County to hide, sleeping in blackberry bushes overnight. He had gotten rid of the weapon, concealed his truck under a tarp, and factory reset his phone to evade authorities. Nevertheless, he was found by a Yamhill County Sheriffs Office deputy the next day and arrested, officials say. Lawsuit accuses Portland police officer of fatally shooting unarmed Black man in 2022 The gun Baynes used was later located by the Washington County Search and Rescue Team. Baynes was previously convicted of manslaughter in 2008. For this latest incident, he was also convicted of felon in possession of a firearm. Despite claiming self-defense, Baynes admitted to authorities he knew he wasnt allowed to own a handgun due to being a felon and he told detectives he knew what he did was wrong. Baynes is slated to be sentenced on April 24 and will remain in custody until then. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. A 35-year-old Wichita man who was fatally shot by police Wednesday night in north Wichita pulled the handgun from his head and fired three rounds at police before eight officers fired back 45 times, Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter said Friday. Luis Alfonso Rivera died at the scene. Just moments before the shooting, a Wichita officer used a 40 mm less-lethal projectile and hit Rivera in the back after he refused to drop his weapon, Easter said. While the officer was announcing the deployment of the less than lethal round, the suspect stated he was going to make it lethal, Easter said during a news conference. The suspect turned toward the officers, leveling his gun toward the officers and fired multiple rounds. Eight officers fired either a department-issued handgun or rifle. All of them were put on administrative leave, as required under police policy. Two officers have been with the department five years; two for four years; two for three years; one for six years and one for seven months, police said. To promote transparency, the sheriffs office and Wichita Police Department recently started investigating critical incidents involving each others officers, including shootings. The sheriffs office released pictures and a short video that showed Rivera, with a gun to his head and back toward officers, being hit by the less-lethal round and then turning toward police while raising his gun. The reason we are not showing the rest of that video is we dont think that is appropriate for anybody to see and then also we have to maintain the sanctity of the case for if there is any criminal charges to this, Easter said. The video did not have any audio. Easter said that was how he received the clip but didnt know if audio was available. The incident started at 7:44 p.m. after a 911 call about someone in the house pointing a gun at another person in the 2300 block of North Fairview, Easter said. Rivera knew the three people who were at the home and lived there. Inside the home, he pointed the gun to his own head and at one male who lived there, Easter said. Easter said they are still investigating what sparked the incident. The crux of this is he was in a mental health crisis, Easter said. Officers arrived at 7:54 p.m. and found Rivera walking south on Fairview with a handgun to his head and yelling at the officers. Officers told the suspect to put the gun down, but he wouldnt listen. Some officers followed on foot and others in vehicles. A WPD crisis negotiator used a vehicle speaker and ordered Rivera to drop the gun, he said. At one point he had charged at the officers still holding the gun to his head, Easter said. He said Rivera headed west on 21st while refusing to comply with the multiple requests to drop the gun. He walked in the middle of the road as police tried to reroute traffic. He then walked to the parking lot of a vacant building at 21st and Arkansas before an officer used the less lethal round. The shots were fired around 8:07 p.m. Rivera was hit multiple times. Police started first aid. Medical officials with the Wichita Fire Department arrived at 8:14 p.m. and found Rivera unresponsive. EMS arrived three minutes later. Rivera was pronounced dead at 8:21 p.m. Mr. Rivera had sent text messages stating to people that he was going to commit suicide by cop, Easter said. Rivera has convictions in 2009, 2016 and 2019 for aggravated robbery, aggravated battery, fleeing and eluding, criminal threat and two counts of criminal possession of a firearm by a felon, according to Kansas Department of Corrections records. All of those were in Sedgwick County. He has more than 50 disciplinary reports from his time in prison. He was last released from prison in November 2022, KDOC records show. MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN) Authorities have launched an investigation into a shooting that resulted in a mans death in Murfreesboro Saturday morning. According to the Murfreesboro Police Department (MPD), just before 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 9, officers responded to a home in the 1100 block of E. Vine Street, where they found a 23-year-old man who had been shot multiple times on the back porch. MTSU police issue critical alert over armed suspect near campus Officials reported the victim whose identity has yet to be released was brought to Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital, where he later died from his injuries. Police said a person of interest has been taken into custody, adding that charges could be pending in connection with this ongoing investigation by MPDs Criminal Investigations Division. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com No additional details have been released about this incident. Download the News 2 app to stay updated on the go. Sign up for WKRN email alerts to have breaking news sent to your inbox. Find todays top stories on WKRN.com for Nashville, TN and all of Middle Tennessee. This is a developing story. WKRN News 2 will continue to update this article as new information becomes available. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. Key Insights The considerable ownership by individual investors in LondonMetric Property indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy 31% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders 48% of LondonMetric Property is held by Institutions Every investor in LondonMetric Property Plc (LON:LMP) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 50% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn). While individual investors were the group that reaped the most benefits after last weeks 6.3% price gain, institutions also received a 48% cut. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about LondonMetric Property. See our latest analysis for LondonMetric Property What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About LondonMetric Property? Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices. LondonMetric Property already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see LondonMetric Property's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in LondonMetric Property. BlackRock, Inc. is currently the largest shareholder, with 5.2% of shares outstanding. Norges Bank Investment Management is the second largest shareholder owning 3.0% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 2.8% of the company stock. Story continues On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest. While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future. Insider Ownership Of LondonMetric Property The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves. Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group. Our information suggests that LondonMetric Property Plc insiders own under 1% of the company. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own UK33m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling. General Public Ownership With a 50% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over LondonMetric Property. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies. Next Steps: I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for LondonMetric Property (of which 2 are a bit unpleasant!) you should know about. If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. 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. Three people in Florida were arrested Tuesday over an alleged livestreaming business that broadcast the sexual abuse of children for paying viewers. Walquiria Cassini, a 38-year-old living in the Boca Raton area, and her 42-year-old boyfriend, Ryan Londono, are charged with sexual battery, solicitation and use of a child in a sexual performance, according to arrest warrants obtained by HuffPost. Walquiria Cassinis 20-year-old son, Matthew Cassini, is charged with sexual battery of a child under the age of 12. According to an affidavit, the case centers on the abuse of two boys, ages 14 and 7. The 14-year-old said that his abuse began around age 9, while the 7-year-old said that his abuse began around age 5. At a hearing Wednesday in Palm Beach County, Judge Donald Hafele said that he was shocked by the allegations in the case, ABC affiliate WPBF reported. For the past 25 years, Ive seen just about everything, so to shock the courts conscience is frankly a difficult proposition, Hafele said. Alexandr Kolesnikov via Getty Images Authorities first began investigating in November, when Marion County sheriffs deputies were called to a residence in Ocala, Florida, over a report of the boys sexual abuse, according to the affidavit. When deputies arrived, they met the individual who reported the abuse, referred to in the document as the complainant. The affidavit cited remarks that the boys made to the complainant and investigators, with the children saying that the abuse had been occurring for a while at a separate residence linked to the suspects and did not want to return there. One boy said that two of the suspects would pull the children out of their beds to sexually abuse them in front of a laptop. The 14-year-old said that the last time he had been sexually abused was four or five months prior, and characterized it as a particularly violent incident, according to the affidavit. He told officers that it was the longest night of my life, adding that the following morning he was shivering and scared and could not speak a word. The teen also recalled one night when he peeked into a suspects bedroom through a cracked door. He said that he witnessed the younger boy and one of the suspects, both naked, talking with an unknown male on the computer, the affidavit read. The laptop was on the edge of the bed, according to the teens recollection suggesting that it was placed there for a clear view of the abuse. The 14-year-old said that he saw two of the suspects sexually abusing the younger child, who was asking them to stop. He recalled seeing multiple toys and open lubricants on the bed. The teen told detectives that he went back to his room and threw up. The next morning, he saw the younger child sitting on his bed holding his butt as if he were in pain, the affidavit said. On another occasion, the teen witnessed a bunch of people on the computer watching as sexual abuse took place, the document said. One boy said that he overheard a suspect asking people on the computer about paying her money, and believed they were in some kind of business venture selling the livestream, videos and photos of them, the affidavit said. One of the children also told investigators that he has nightmares about his sexual abuse. The FBI became involved in the investigation in February. But this came after the agency had already launched its own investigation into the suspects for computer crimes associated with transmission of child sexual abuse material. In January, federal agents served letters to multiple tech companies, including Google, TikTok and X, over accounts linked to the suspects. The three suspects are due back in court April 4. Its unclear if Walquiria and Matthew Cassini have retained legal counsel. An attorney for Londono, who has pleaded not guilty in the case, did not immediately respond to HuffPosts request for comment. Need help? Visit RAINNs National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Centers website. Related... PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) A man was sentenced to six years in prison Thursday after attempting to sexually assault a woman in her backyard nearly three years ago. Lawsuit accuses Portland police officer of fatally shooting unarmed Black man in 2022 Leroy Morales, 57, was found guilty of first-degree attempted sodomy, second-degree attempted sexual abuse and private indecency in Oct. 2023. The incident took place in Oct. 2021 in the Piedmont neighborhood. The jury also found Morales not guilty of two counts of first-degree burglary and harassment. Morales is in custody in Multnomah County and will be taken to the Oregon Department of Corrections to serve his sentence. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. Man shot in head at famed music space in Midtown MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) Police are still searching for suspects following an overnight shooting at a famous music studio in Midtown Manhattan. Known as the Music Building, located on Eighth Avenue between 38th and 39th streets, it famously rents studio space to musicians small and big alike. The shooting happened on the 11th floor just after 12:30 a.m. Friday. It left a 26-year-old man in critical condition after he was shot in the head, according to police. The Music Building is really the last of its kind, said musician Jake Rich. Former gang member accused of killing, dismembering Bronx man Rich spoke glowingly about the history of this building, which rents short-term and long-term recording space. The Strokes wrote Is This It in this building, he said. Madonna is said to have lived on the top floor for a time. Her signature is on the wall, Rich said. Rich, like others coming and going Friday, was stunned to find out about the overnight shooting. Police only have a vague description of four suspects, including a man in his 20s wearing a Nike sweatshirt at the time. Rich said since COVID this section of Midtown has felt less safe, which he said is unfortunate for the Music Building. All the rehearsal spaces have been moving out to Brooklyn and Queens and Gowanus, Rich said. Midtown used to be that spot for music with all the recording studios and theyve just gotten priced out. But even those new businesses get skittish when they hear about shootings like this. Areeb Sheikh and his business partner are about to open up a legal cannabis shop Indoor two storefronts down. Everyone gets a little bit wary and worried about whats happening on the streets of Eighth Avenue, he said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. MANHATTAN (KSNT) Police say some people in Manhattan got a little too rowdy during Fake Pattys Day this year in a new citation and arrest report released Friday. The Riley County Police Department (RCPD) announced the full crime statistics for their efforts on Fake Pattys Day in 2024. The reporting period includes citations and arrests made between 7 p.m. on Friday, March 1 and 6 a.m. on Sunday, March 3. While this report includes crime numbers going back to 2017, the RCPD notes that the COVID pandemic had a big impact on the 2020 and 2021 years. In terms of calls for service made, the RCPD received 533 in 2024, the highest amount seen since 2018 when 607 calls were made. These include both officer-initiated and citizen-made calls for service. The top five list of most common calls for service in 2024 include: Alcohol: open container 111 Traffic stop 53 Parking problem 27 Alcohol: minor in possession or minor in consumption 22 Welfare check 16 Manhattan parents arrested for murder of 1-year-old daughter Aggieville in Manhattan was a major hot sport for calls for service from locals this year along with some neighboring areas as seen in the map below: A total of 260 citations were issued in 2024, falling below the five-year average. The top citation was for the possession of an open container in public at 107 recorded offenses, according to the RCPD. Rising above the five-year average was the number of arrests at 57 total for the reporting period. Compared to last years 31 reported arrests, this was a more than 80% increase. More statistics on the reasons for arrests this year can be found below: Interference/obstruction 24 Disorderly conduct 14 DUI-alcohol or drugs 12 Alcohol: minor in possession or minor in consumption 7 Drug possession 6 Fake cash pushes police to issue warning in Manhattan You can read the full report by clicking here or looking through the document below: 2024 Fake Pattys Day Report . External Report by Matthew Self on Scribd This embedded content is not available in your region. For more crime news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. About 90% of the more than 250,000 Broward students who attend a public or district-managed charter school are fully vaccinated with the mandatory shots needed to attend class this year. However, most schools fell short on meeting the states vaccination goal. The vaccination rate at a majority of Broward County Public Schools lags behind the 95% threshold public health experts say is needed to prevent and reduce the risk of outbreaks for diseases, including polio, measles, Hepatitis B, chickenpox, and whooping cough. In fact, only 52 locations, or nearly 16%, met or exceeded the vaccination goal, according to a Miami Herald analysis data showing how many students in Browards school district are considered to be fully vaccinated for the 2023-2024 school year. Its worth noting that the districts data, which the Herald obtained through a public record request, includes the vaccination rate for 331 locations or programs, including the districts 326 schools, which includes technical colleges, as well as virtual school and other programs, like homeschooling, substance abuse, detention and migrant programs. [T]hose schools with less than 95% of children vaccinated are at higher risks of an outbreak, and the situation has to be addressed in those schools, Dr. Mary Jo Trepka, an epidemiologist at Florida International University, who reviewed the data for the Herald, wrote in an email. The majority of schools in Broward have less than 95% of their students vaccinated and that is too low to prevent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. Most recently, seven students fell ill with measles in February during an outbreak at Manatee Bay Elementary in Weston. On Friday, state and school officials officially declared the measles outbreak over, noting that the 21-day infectious period at the school ended on March 7. READ MORE: How quickly could measles outbreak spread? Heres what worst-case scenario looks like Check your Broward schools vaccination rate In Florida, kids are required to get certain age-appropriate vaccines to attend K-12 school, though some children can avoid the shots for medical or religious reasons. About 3% of students in the district have a permanent medical or religious exemption, though that number jumps to nearly 9% when students with temporary medical exemptions are included, the data shows. Students with temporary medical exemptions are missing one or more of the required school vaccines and were given a deadline to complete their vaccinations. So, how many kids are vaccinated at your childs Broward school? Search for your childs public or district-managed charter school below. Keep in mind that more students may have been vaccinated since this data was collected. Jorge Martin got the first points on the board in the new MotoGP season, winning Saturday's sprint in Qatar with defending double world champion Francesco Bagnaia in fourth. Pole-sitter Martin, narrowly beaten by Bagnaia for the title last year, led from the flag under lights at the Lusail International circuit. The Spanish rider was followed across the line by South African Brad Binder (KTM) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia). But Martin revealed afterwards that it had not been all plain sailing on his Ducati-Pramac bike. "It was fast, today I was really close to crashing on a lot of corners. "We need to work on the bike and let's see tomorrow if we can enjoy a big one (in the grand prix itself)." Binder was all smiles, saying: "It's always awesome to finish on the podium, especially in the first race back." Martin, who had claimed the front of the grid with a record lap time in qualifying earlier, led Binder into the first corner of MotoGP's 75th anniversary season. The two front runners quickly built up a half second gap from the rest of the pack led by Aleix Espargaro. Bagnaia, who set off from fifth, was up a place by the end of the first lap. Fabio di Giannantonio, winner of the grand prix in Qatar last year, took a thumping fall from his VR46 Ducati bike on lap eight. Bagnaia was up into a podium place with seven laps to go, with Marc Marquez up to fourth on his first outing since switching from Honda to Ducati's satellite Gresini team. Running wide at a corner a few laps later left the door open for Espargaro to nip past the former six-time MotoGP world champion. And Espargaro got the measure of Bagnaia with one lap left to knock 'Pecco' off the first of 21 sprint podiums in 2024. hdy/nr/ea OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) A Mary Esther, Florida man was sentenced to life in prison after he was found guilty of sexual battery of a child, according to a press release from the Florida State Attorney. Faith Academy guidance counselor found guilty of not reporting suspected misconduct Circuit Court Judge Terrance Ketchel sentenced 45-year-old Barry Joseph Gasmen of Mary Esther, Florida, to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Tuesday. The designated sexual predator was found guilty by a jury for the sexual battery of a child under the age of 12 in November of 2021. Barry Joseph Gasmen (Courtesy: Okaloosa Department of Corrections) According to reports, the 11-year-old victim reported that she had been sexually battered while at the defendants home. Further investigations showed that the abuse had been going on for approximately two years. The victim was taken to the Emerald Coast Childrens Advocacy Center for a forensic and medical examination, and officials say the analysis of the kit revealed DNA evidence that supported the charges against Gasmen. The Okaloosa County Sheriffs Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Emerald Coast Childrens Advocacy Center conducted the investigation, according to the release. Teen allegedly stabbed and set 70-year-old relative on fire, unprovoked: MCSO Assistant State Attorney Christine Bosau, prosecuted the case on behalf of Ginger Bowden Madden, State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit of Florida. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5. ANNAPOLIS, Md. (DC News Now) The Maryland Department of Health announced $13.5 million towards the creation of pilot programs aimed at improving access to behavioral health services. This funding will help ensure that we support Marylanders contending with a mental health or substance use crisis with speed, strategy, expertise, and compassion, Gov. Wes Moore said. Today, we take an important step forward in our work to build stronger, healthier communities for all. The money was awarded to the 19 jurisdictions that applied for the funding and will result in the creation of new Behavioral Health Crisis Stabilization Centers across Maryland, including Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties. These centers, which will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, will provide immediate and equitable care to anyone in need, as well as link them to ongoing, community-based solutions, Alyssa Lord, Deputy Secretary for Behavioral Health, said. Montgomery County councilwomen host Womens History Month breakfast These centers are the first of their kind in Maryland and are built to provide short-term intensive crisis prevention and support, encompassing screening, assessment, brief intervention and prescribing capabilities, and navigation of mental health care or substance abuse treatment. Another aspect of the funding is the expansion of mobile crisis teams. These initiatives are built to direct better use of resources, decreasing visits to the emergency room and from law enforcement. Marylands Mobile Crisis Teams provide immediate support to any youth or adult who is experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis, Secretary of Health Dr. Laura Herrera Scott said. The face-to-face intervention deployed in real-time is key in de-escalating the crisis and assisting the person by connecting them to the proper long-term support. The $12 million is only part of Moores plan for 2024 which aims to tackle mental health by funneling a record $1.4 billion to mental health and substance abuse programs overall. Ten DMV spots with Easter activities for the whole family This funding announcement comes amidst increasing bipartisan support to address the mental health crisis in America. In 2023, 27.3% of adults in Maryland reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, according to the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation, and a preliminary report from the Maryland Department of Health found that over 2,500 people died from overdoses in the past two years. Congress passed a bill in 2022 that designated 9-8-8 as the national Suicide & Crisis Lifeline number, shortening it to three digits from ten. Maryland was quick to establish a special trust fund to provide reimbursement for costs that came with designating and maintaining 9-8-8 as the number for the hotline, according to the Maryland General Assembly. Former Gov. Larry Hogan approved Senate Bill 241/House Bill 293 in April 2022 which established the fund, and last year Moore approved a bill that allocated $12 million for the 988 fund in the 2025 budget. This announcement was released less than a month after the state replaced health contractor Optum Inc. after a 2022 audit uncovered flaws with the system that werent reviewed before the systems 2020 launch and which cost the state more than $220 million. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. As the busiest part of the session draws near, both chambers of Marylands General Assembly have scrambled to push out massive juvenile justice bills to quell calls from constituents to address the rise in certain crimes. And, though they started as identical bills, the legislation drafted by Marylands House and Senate have morphed into policies with glaring differences. Bill sponsors Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Chair Will Smith, a Montgomery County Democrat, and House Judiciary Committee Chair Luke Clippinger, a Baltimore City Democrat, have one month to meld their measures. But Smith and Clippinger had different motivations behind the bills drafting. Brooklyn was very hard, Clippinger said, referring to the July mass shooting that occurred in his district and left two dead and 28 injured. Theres no question that influenced the drafting of the legislation, Clippinger said. But he can also point to instances where children were accused of crimes and sent home, while others returned to the Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) repeatedly. The perception is that theres nothing thats really stopping this from happening, he said. The truth is that every single kid is different, and every single kid is coming at this from a different place with a different set of circumstances, and theyre going into a system that has to be and is deliberately opaque. Juvenile court records are shielded from the public under state law. Clippinger said this is done deliberately and in the hope that minors will receive the services they need and redirect their paths. Clippinger also said he took some of the lessons learned from briefings held ahead of the 2024 session and matched them with some of the broader concerns that were coming from people in the community, particularly regarding children who re-offend, oversight of DJS and access to rehabilitative programming. Smith was more driven by what he called points of failure in the system, notably DJS which is the largest part of this whole thing, he said. Smith said that conversations in the interim demonstrated that recent reforms were necessary and the right thing to do, but were more than DJS was prepared to accept and fully develop. Services werent being provided in a timely manner, there werent enough contracted vendors and children were being sent out of state for inpatient substance abuse and mental health treatment. So, what do you do? What tools do you have at your disposal? he asked. Expanding probation is one of them. Incarcerating kids is not where my mind was going. As originally drafted, the legislation would allow judges to extend probationary periods if children have two unexcused absences from their court-mandated treatment programs. The Senate bill was amended to give judges discretion to not extend probationary periods in spite of those absences if they find the child has substantially completed their program. If probation is extended, judges would receive a progress report if children accrue four additional unexcused absences. Currently, the maximum amount of probation a child can get for a misdemeanor is six months, which can be extended up to one year. For a felony, the initial sentence is one year with a possible extension of up to two years. Clippinger said it was becoming clear that minors were either unable to enroll in rehabilitation programming, or were running the clock and not engaging, at all. He also noted that juvenile court judges dont have tools to enforce participation. So, part of the probation extension was to make sure that you truly have enough time, Clippinger said. The legislation also expands the charges that 10- to 12-year-olds can face. For the House, that includes third-degree sex offenses, animal mutilation and firearms charges. Car theft is also among the charges. Under the House bill, those children would attend diversion programs on their first offense for a firearm or car theft charge. Subsequent charges would land them under the purview of DJS. The Senate bill also increases the charges for that age group to include third-degree sex offenses and the same firearms offenses as the House bill, but strikes the mutilation of animals. Children who steal cars regardless of the number of occurrences would be subject to Child in Need of Services (CINS) petitions. This is not a large universe of kids, Clippinger said of the 10- to 12-year-olds affected by the bill. According to Clippinger, only six kids in this age group committed car thefts that resulted in complaints in 2022. He said firearms charges that year were similarly low definitely less than 100, probably less than 50. Senate lawmakers are particularly invested in the CINS process because competency in the courts can be hard to achieve for younger children. According to Smith, two-thirds of children aged 10 to 12 are deemed incompetent to stand trial and languish under inadequate supervision without access to rehabilitative services. When Ive looked at CINS across the country, the use of CINS is a really productive tool in the juvenile services system, he said. In Maryland, that has not been the case. Weve had a much more carceral corporal, detention-based program, and we have worse outcomes. The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee rejected an amendment offered by Sen. Jill P. Carter, a Baltimore City Democrat, that would have more closely matched the House bill by requiring children aged 10 to 12 facing gun charges to go through the CINS process. Smith called it a policy choice, noting that children cant be on supervised detention, or detained in DJS facilities under CINS. Firearms are inherently dangerous, and we have a serious health crisis with regard to gun violence in Maryland, Smith said at a news conference last week. Sometimes that will necessitate someone being under supervised housing because whatever is happening in the house and because [of] whatever the individual is doing out in the community. Its a very, very serious offense, and thats why we drew that line. Clippinger said finding a child in possession of a gun has to be an all-hands-on-deck, what-the-hell-is-going-on moment that justifies putting them in a different category. But thats where there are questions, because then people look at a 10-year-old and theyre a fifth grader maybe a fourth grader and they dont want to see the kid get detained, Clippinger said. He doesnt necessarily want them detained either, he clarified. But when they have a firearm, I think the community has a responsibility to stop and say, Wait a minute: Not just where did you get it, but why on earth would you have that in the first place?' Clippinger said. Several Democratic lawmakers fear that this policy is a step backward from the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2022, which limited criminal charges for 10- to 12-year-olds to only crimes deemed violent under Maryland law, such as carjacking, rape and murder. Policies in the Juvenile Justice Reform Act stemmed from recommendations made by the Juvenile Justice Reform Council, which met for two years to study state and national data and best practices. Both Clippinger and Smith sat on the council. Some Democratic lawmakers questioned whether any data was behind the 2024 bill, noting that creating the Juvenile Justice Reform Act was a multiyear endeavor. Sen. Charles Sydnor, a Baltimore County Democrat who twice voted against the 2024 bill, said the reported numbers of car thefts among 10- to 12-year-olds led him to believe that the stories that we were hearing were overblown. Clippinger said his goal is not to tear down everything that was passed in 2022, but to put guardrails on those policies to stop children from reentering the system. Under both bills, children could be held pretrial if they were found delinquent twice over a two-year period, or if they were under DJS supervision and committed an offense that would be punishable by over two years in prison if committed by an adult. The Senate bill provides a carve-out to exempt children from being detained for second-degree assault. The House bill would allow DJS intake officers to release children to community detention, but would also let them place minors back into an agency facility if they violate the conditions of community detention. The House bill offers policy changes that werent added to the Senates legislation, including amendments to codify the recently established Governors Office for Children and the Governors Office of Crime Prevention and Policy. Additionally, the House bill would require local boards of education to provide alternative options for children on the juvenile sex offender registry to continue their education away from school grounds and other children. Smith said that the policy discrepancies will be addressed in a conference committee hearing later this session, but that he plans to speak with Clippinger before they reach that point. The legislation has detractors on both sides of the aisle, with some Democrats alleging that it goes too far and Republicans arguing on the House and Senate floors that it doesnt go far enough. Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey, an Eastern Shore Republican, said after casting his favorable vote that there are more aggressive crime bills to work on, but they havent moved out of committee. In a statement, Maryland Public Defender Natasha Dartigue said both bills have problematic provisions. She singled out Smiths version, saying that it disregards best practices and triggers the overpolicing of Black children from marginalized communities. Yanet Amanuel, the public policy director for the ACLU of Maryland, applauded the six Democrats who voted against the bills passage on the House floor, and said Clippingers bill was driven by media propaganda and not rooted in best practices or actual data. When you get to a place where no ones quite happy, maybe youve done the right thing, Smith said after the bill received preliminary approval in the Senate last week. Their ability to act ends at 12:01 a.m. April 9, when the legislature adjourns for the year. Then the management of youth justice solely falls to Gov. Wes Moore and DJS Secretary Vincent Schiraldi. At the end of the day, do I believe this bill will help address some of the issues? Absolutely, Clippinger said. Do I believe that on April 9th, April 10th whenever the hell we are done that the focus honestly, with no disrespect to the governor, no disrespect to Secretary Schiraldi the focus shifts back to, How are you running this agency?' A Maryland jury convicted a woman this week of killing and dismembering her boyfriend and dumping the remains in various locations. Michelina Desiree Goodwin, 46, of Great Mills, was convicted of second-degree murder, use of a firearm in commission of a felony and the unauthorized disposal of a body in the death of 50-year-old James Volodimir Nalborczyk, following an eight-day trial, prosecutors said Thursday. BALTIMORE POLICE OFFICER INDICTED ON EXCESSIVE FORCE, RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT Nalborczyk's family first reported him missing on Dec. 21, 2022, saying they last saw him on Dec. 7 of that year, the St. Mary's County State's Attorney's office said. Michelina Desiree Goodwin, 46, was convicted of killing and dismembering the body of James Volodimir Nalborczyk. Weeks later, the case later developed into a homicide investigation and Goodwin was identified as a suspect. While being questioned by investigators in January 2023, she said she and Nalborczyk got into a fight at her home and that she accidentally shot and killed him. She then admitted to dismembering his body and disposing of the remains in remote parts of St. Mary's and Charles counties, authorities said. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP "This horrifying crime shocked the community and caused unimaginable pain to the victims family," said States Attorney Jaymi Sterling in a statement. "Over eight days, the victims family and the jury heard the graphic circumstances surrounding the victims final moments and gruesome post-mortem mutilation. The Defendants gutless decisions deprived the family of a proper burial." Goodwin faces up to 61 years in prison. She is being held without bail pending a sentencing hearing. Original article source: Maryland woman convicted of killing, dismembering boyfriend, disposing his remains JLco - Julia Amaral / Getty Images/iStockphoto From haircare to skincare to nails and more, there are lots of areas to spend money on when it comes to beauty products. While its understandable to want to save money on beauty products, as these items can start to add up, its also important to weigh the value that some items provide in terms of uplifting your daily routine and helping you look and feel great. Check Out: 6 Things Minimalists Never Buy and You Shouldnt Either Read Next: 6 Genius Things All Wealthy People Do With Their Money You dont always have to spend a lot of money, but sometimes buying cheap beauty products leads to more hassle than its worth. Whether a product just doesnt work very well or doesnt agree with you, sometimes pinching pennies ends up costing more in the long run, as you cant get much use out of your original purchase. Instead, sometimes youre better off splurging on certain beauty products that youll thoroughly enjoy and that many people rave about the quality. Just be sure you can actually afford the items, such as by setting more space in your budget for beauty products, while perhaps cutting out expenses like subscriptions you barely use. Below, two beauty experts share some of the top products they think are worth spending a good chunk of money on. Learn More: 10 Expenses Most Likely To Drain Your Checking Account Each Month Sponsored: Owe the IRS $10K or more? Schedule a FREE consultation to see if you qualify for tax relief. 1. La Mer: The Broad Spectrum SPF 50 UV Protecting Fluid $115 Want to protect your face from the suns rays with a product that can be worn under makeup or over moisturizer? Consider this SPF 50 UV protecting fluid from La Mer. Allison Weiss Brady, a fashion model and co-owner of beauty brand Embellish Beauty, said she uses this product year round on my face to shield it from UV harm. Its worth the price because the product blends easily into my skin and doesnt leave any white residue, and doubles for me as a light moisturizer, she suggested. Story continues 2. Dior: Glittery Top Coat Nail Polish $32 A high-quality nail polish can be worth splurging on you potentially can go for longer stretches between painting your nails. I love this Dior Vernis nail polish in Glittery Top Coat because it adds a dash of chic to my fingers and toes, said Brady. Its a great investment because I dont need to constantly change my nail color to match my outfits. This light glittery gold color is fun and goes with everything. Another way its worth it is its versatility wear it alone or on top of other nail polish colors, she added. 3. Prada: Eye Blending Makeup Brush $60 Makeup and skin products arent the only type of beauty products worth splurging on. Also consider investing more in the tools you use to apply makeup, like this blending brush. I invested in this Prada Beauty Eye Blending Brush because I assumed with the Prada name, that it would be a top-notch product. It did not disappoint, said Brady. Looks-wise it evokes sleek and elegant luxury with its silver-colored handle and embossed Prada logo. And the brush feels like a cloud touching my eyes and blends my eyeshadow perfectly. For a luxury beauty product, its $60 well spent, she said. 4. La Roche-Posay: Lipikar Wash AP+ Moisturizing Body and Face Wash $16.99 Shower products are another area that can be worth splurging on, as it can feel great to start your day with a high-quality face and body wash, like this one from La Roch-Posay. I love this face and body wash; its become a daily essential in my shower routine. The cleansing power is incredible, yet it remains gentle and unscented, which is perfect for me as Im not much of a fan of scented washes, said Genevieve Dolan, founder of skincare brand Vieves Leaves. It effectively cleanses my entire body while keeping it moisturized at the same time a fantastic product that does exactly what it promises, she said. 5) Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare: Alpha Beta Extra Strength Daily Peel $92 Skincare products can get pricey, but it can be worth splurging on some items that are typically effective while also fitting in well with your lifestyle. Im a fan of exfoliating pads, and my favorites are custom-made at local spas. However, these are not very travel-friendly and are only available for purchase at their respective locations, said Dolan. Thats why Ive discovered Dr. Dennis Grosss travel-ready peel pack, which has proven to be the perfect solution. It provides that extra glow during my trips and has become my go-to for on-the-go skincare. 6) Prose: Custom Hair Products Price varies by product One challenge with spending a lot of money on beauty products is that while one customer might love a certain item, it might not agree well with someone else. You dont want to overspend on something thats not a good fit for you. Instead, you might find that personalized products, like custom shampoo from Prose ($28.90), are worth splurging on. I switched to Prose hair products last year, and my hair has experienced a remarkable transformation, said Dolan. The personalized quiz they offer truly delivers tailored formulations based on your hair type. I appreciate that their products are clean and provide my hair with all the essential nutrients it needs. Im thrilled with the results. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Im a Beauty Expert: 6 Products Worth Splurging On The penultimate episode of Masters of the Air introduces the Tuskegee Airmen of the 99th Pursuit Squadron. Under the Fifteenth Air Force and operating from Italy, and Africa before, the Black fighter pilots proved their abilities in combat despite doubts some leaders in the Army Air Forces. An evaluation ordered by Gen. Henry "Hap" Arnold found that the 99th was at least equal to other units operating the P-40 Warhawk fighter plane in Mediterranean. In 1944, the 99th was assigned to the 332nd Fighter Group, another segregated unit, and transitioned to the iconic P-51 Mustang which the Tuskegee Airmen are most commonly associated with. Captain Westgate undercover in France (Apple TV+) While their fighter pilot counterparts are eager to get into heavier combat, Buck Cleven and Bucky Egan find different ways to cope with life as POWs. Tired of waiting around, Bucky calls for them to take action while Buck stresses patience in the wake of the executions of participants in the Great Escape. Across the English Channel, Crosby begins preparing the 100th's flight plans and maps for D-Day. With the invasion of mainland Europe on the line, no mistakes can be afforded. Like most troops, Cros turns to caffeine, denial and uppers. As he works himself to the point of collapsing, Sandra Westgate is revealed to be a British agent working undercover in France to lay the groundwork for the Allied invasion. Life in Stalag Luft III isn't getting easier for the prisoners (Apple TV+) On May 15, 1944, Col. Thomas Jeffrey took over command of the 100th from Lt. Col. Bennett. One of the youngest officers to command a bomb group, Jeffrey was awarded the Silver Star for "gallantry in action" during the Schweinfurt raid in October 1943. With Rosie confirming the upcoming invasion of mainland Europe, the men of the 100th cheer in excitement at finally reaching the goal toward which they had been fighting for months. As tensions come to a head between Buck and Bucky in the Stalag, the news of the Allied landings is more than enough to get the two men back on the same side. Lt. Col. Clark discusses possible scenarios and responses with his senior leaders (Apple TV+) After recovering from his collapse, Cros awakes having missed D-Day. Rosie's account of the invasion illustrates the importance of having achieved air superiority beforehand, but it does little to console Cros' regret of missing the big show. With the Allies closing in on Germany from the west and east, Lt. Col. "Bub" Clark formulates plans and preparations for the American POWs with Buck, Bucky, DeMarco and Crank. Following up on the Normandy landings, the 99th gears up to strike German positions in Southern France in support of the Operation Dragoon landings there. Lieutenants Alexander Jefferson, Robert Daniels and Richard Macon from the 99th are shot down during their attacks and are taken prisoner, Macon with a serious neck injury. "Each flight is its own lesson" (Apple TV+) In the Stalag, the Allied invasion of Europe is met with transfer of POW camps to the infamous SS. Luckily for the prisoners, the SS allowed the Luftwaffe to retain operational control of the camps. To covertly bulk the prisoners up, the Americans take turns on the camp's stump remover under the guise of stocking up firewood for the winter. In turn, the extra wood is used to craft weapons in case the Germans decide to begin executing the prisoners en masse. Jefferson, Daniels, and Macon formulate escape plans in the Stalag (Apple TV+) Following their interrogations, affirming their loyalty to the United States, the Tuskegee Airmen are transferred to Stalag Luft III. While some of their white counterparts treat the Black pilots with disdain, many are welcoming, having been saved by the famous Red Tail fighter escorts during bombing missions; Buck welcomes the new arrivals into the barracks and the other prisoners follow his lead. Later in the library Jefferson connects with Buck over flight training, books, and Jefferson's critical map-drawing skills. Buck admits that he welcomed the Black pilots since he knew that they couldn't be German spies. Buck enlists Jefferson's skills in the compound library (Apple TV+) The episode concludes with Crosby going on a forced leave and Sandra ending their relationship. In the Stalag, the prisoners train for the possibilities of fighting off murderous guards and escaping to friendly lines. Buck's radio provides the men with news of the approaching Allies; welcome news to the prisoners, and concerning news for their German captors. With just one episode left of Masters of the Air, there's a lot to tie up before the nine-part miniseries concludes. Hawaiian officials are pushing to speed up the processing of building permits by opening a new center next month, in hopes it will help will Mauis recovery from last years deadly wildfires. Recovery efforts in Maui County, specifically in the town of Lahaina, have been impeded by permit processing delays after last years fires nearly destroyed the entire town, caused $5.5 billion in damage and killed almost 100 people. Keanu Lau Hee, an executive assistant with the county, announced earlier this week that a County Expedited Permitting Center would open in April. The center will assist private developers with five projects that will build over 500 housing units in the area and speed up processing times in an area known for long waits, according to The Associated Press. University of Hawaii researchers found that in the last five years, the states median wait time for a construction permit to build a multifamily project was 400 days, per the AP. The Aug. 8 wildfire destroyed more than 2,000 buildings and displaced 4,500 people in Lahaina. Lau Hee said a vast majority 87 percent of those who lost their homes were renters, and the rest were homeowners. At the time, it was estimated that the recovery would take up to a year and it could cost over $1 billion. Lau Hee said the county wants to help out homeowners with rebuilding. Their properties were damaged and infested with toxic debris that she hopes will cleared by next year. Our goal is to create opportunities for you folks to start rebuilding on your properties, she said, AP reported. The news comes as roughly 3,800 residents are still living in hotels following the fires. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has also worked to build temporary housing units. The Associated Press contributed reporting. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. ST. LOUISStarting today, March 9, and continuing through Monday, March 11, Mayor Tishaura O. Jones will be traveling to Austin, TX, to attend the South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival and the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM). She will be participating in two panels. The first, scheduled for Saturday, March 9, is titled Startup Hacks: Unleashing Innovation on a Shoestring Budget. The second panel, set for March 11, is titled Organoleptic Retailing: Using the Senses to Engage Customers. These discussions will include her efforts to combat state intervention in the management of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and advocate for common-sense gun laws. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) Friday is International Womens Day, and McConnell Air Force Base took the time to highlight women in the ranks and around Wichita at the McConnell AFB Youth Center. One captain says celebrating women is important because they are not always given credit. I think its important to celebrate women in history. So, you know, a lot of, unfortunately, women in history get erased. So, its nice to have the opportunity to give us a day to not only celebrate, you know, national, but international women that have had an impact on the world, the military, and various areas just around the world, said Victoria Williams, Captain of the 22nd Medical Group at McConnell AFB. I wanted to make a difference: Salina woman launches nonprofit benefiting kids battling cancer Captain Williams said that she was inspired by women in her life to join the military. A lot of my mentorship, one of the reasons why I joined, I had some inspirational women in my life that encouraged me, you know, to serve, she said. It just seemed obvious for me to join the military to you know, contribute my passion, and my efforts, and all my education to doing something that aligned with my personal goals. Being an African American female in the military is no easy task. Storm Tracker Shoutout: McConnell Air Force Bases Youth Center It can be very difficult. As you know, many things in the world are male-dominated, especially the military. So even being an African American female in the military is not common. So just, you know, navigating different areas, different ranks. So Im an officer, thats also another aspect to it, said Captian Williams. Its very important for me to be out there to show people that you can do it, and then also, representation matters. McConnell AFB had various speakers, including City Councilmember Maggie Ballard, City Attorney Jennifer Magana, Wichita Fire Chief Elizabeth Snow, and KSNs Chief Meteorologist Lisa Teachman. Wichita City Councilmember Maggie Ballard at McConnell Air Force Base, at the McConnell AFB Youth Center on March 8, 2024 (KSN Photo) Wichita City Attorney Jennifer Magana at McConnell Air Force Base, at the McConnell AFB Youth Center on March 8, 2024 (KSN Photo) Wichita Fire Chief Elizabeth Snow at McConnell Air Force Base, at the McConnell AFB Youth Center on March 8, 2024 (KSN Photo) KSNs Chief Meteorologist Lisa Teachman at McConnell Air Force Base, at the McConnell AFB Youth Center on March 8, 2024 (KSN Photo) Dont let anybody or anything tell you cannot do what you wanna do. I didnt realize I wanted to be a meteorologist, but I think the universe had plans for me to become that meteorologist, said Teachman. I honestly thought that I was going to be an architect. I loved drawing houses. And maybe you love drawing houses. Maybe you love taking care of your pets. Maybe you love taking care of your brother Start reaching out to those people that do those jobs and say, Hey, can I shadow you, maybe spend the day with you? Because that might change your life completely, and thats what changed my life. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV. WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) Rural towns are known for doing things their own way, and catching stray cattle is no different. Police departments in both McCook, Nebraska, and Goodland, Kansas, made Facebook posts about cattle that were making their ways throughout town. The Goodland Chase In Goodland, the police department said it was involved in the lowest-speed chase ever, in pursuit of a runaway calf. They attempted to keep the calf off the road, but it was determined to get to McDonalds for a Happy Meal. Unfortunately, the calf didnt have any money (moo-lah, one might say) and moved onto a field to the east. Goodland police said Josh Dorn, along with his horse named Boat, took time away from his family to help the calf get to safety where it was transported by its owners back home. Seriously, thank you to the officers for keeping the calf off the roadways, and a huge shout out to Josh and Boat for taking time away from their family to help GPD and the owner of the calf, The Facebook post reads. I have heard Josh go out and help many times in these situations, great guy to have in our community!! (Courtesy: Goodland Police Department) (Courtesy: Goodland Police Department) (Courtesy: Goodland Police Department) Mid Plains Community College rodeo team helps rope nine bulls Early Friday morning, around 12:46 a.m., the McCook, Nebraska, Police Department received a report of cattle out at the Red Willow County Fairgrounds. The caller said the bulls were about to walk out of the fairgrounds and onto West Fifth Street. A Red Willow County Deputy and McCook police officers were dispatched to assist. When they got there, they found two bulls out. Members of the Mid Plains Community College Rodeo team responded to the fairgrounds and were able to secure the two bulls. Officers were then advised there were still seven more bulls at large. An officer found six of those seven bulls north of a UPS building after following their tracks in the snow. Six of them were captured using a pen located north of the intersection of West Q Street and West 10th Street. The last bull evaded capture and was spotted later in the are of Norris and Marsh Avenues. Members of the MPCC Rodeo Team, including 3 on horseback pursued the bull southeast to Norris Park. The Rodeo Team members on horseback were able to safely lasso and capture the bull in Norris Park. The bull was loaded on a trailer and returned to the Red Willow County Fairgrounds. The McCook Police Department thanked the members of the Mid Plains Community College Rodeo Team for their fast response and assistance to capturing these animals. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says a child has died after contracting influenza. Its the first influenza-linked pediatric death in the state this flu season, the department said Friday in a release. Nationwide, there have been at least 103 as of March 2, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By March 4 of last year, two children in Michigan had died after contracting influenza, data from MDHHS shows. CDC: Flu activity very high in Michigan These are tragedies that no family should ever have to endure, said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, the states chief medical executive, in a statement. Each year influenza claims the lives of dozens of children across the United States. MDHHS says influenza is on the rise in Michigan. Data from the department shows Michigans influenza-like illness levels were very high for the week ending March 2. That week, 6% of outpatient visits to Michigan health care providers were for influenza-like illnesses, according to the data. The national rate was 4.1%. MDHHS recommends everybody 6 months of age and older get the flu vaccine. Its the best way to protect yourself and your family from getting sick and reduces illness severity if someone does get the flu, Bagdasarian stated. Across the state, around 25% of Michigan residents have been vaccinated against flu this season, MDHHS says. For children ages 6 months to 17 years, the rate hovers around 19%, which is slightly lower than last year. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. The next Ramstein-format summit of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) will be held on March 19 at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, the U.S. Air Force in Europe's press service told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). The UDCG comprises over 50 countries, including all 31 NATO members, and has been meeting regularly since April 2022 to coordinate military support for Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. (U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd) Austin once again invited defense ministers and senior military officials from around the world to discuss the crisis in Ukraine and various security issues facing U.S. allies and partners," the U.S. Air Force in Europe said, as cited by the Ukrainian service of RFE/RL. No official announcements of the 20th Ramstein summit have been made yet. The previous Ramstein summit was held on Feb. 14 in a hybrid format, both in-person at NATO headquarters in Brussels and online. The meeting reportedly focused on meeting Kyiv's short-term urgent needs in the fields of artillery, ammunition, and air defenses. Following the 19th Ramstein summit, Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced the official launch of allied coalitions supporting Ukraine's air defense and drone capabilities. The UDCG serves as an umbrella for several other "capability coalitions," such as the Dutch and Danish-led "fighter jet coalition" or the French-led "artillery coalition," aimed at long-term support for Ukraine's military capacities. Read also: Ukraine destroyed 13 Russian military aircraft in 2 weeks. How? Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. A man who has maintained a famous shopping centre water clock for over a decade says he hopes to keep its legacy going for future generations. The Emett Clock stands 23ft (7m) high in the Victoria Centre, in Nottingham. Retired engineer, Pete Dexter, said was "inspired" to help repair the clock after visited the "iconic piece" with his granddaughter in 2011. He has now been presented with a painting featuring him with the sculptor as recognition for his work. The Aqua Horological Tintinnabulator or water-powered clock, which opens up and moves every 15 minutes, was designed by the eccentric Englishman Rowland Emett in 1973. The sculptor and cartoonist also created contraptions for the 1968 film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Restoration project Mr Dexter, who had a career in engineering for 40 years, said he was "keen to have a look inside and how it worked" when he took his granddaughter to see the sculpture in 2011. "I was rather surprised of its poor state," he said. "At that point, thought if I don't get involved it could end up in a skip." Mr Dexter redesigned the electrical control system the following year and after extensive research he was then able to reinstate the clock's chime by transferring the harpsicord music it played from an obsolete audio cassette tape system to a CD player, which he installed. The clock was then dismantled in 2014 and taken to Birmingham to be completely restored before it was retuned 18 months later. The 66-year-old said it was a "really proud moment" to see the clock return. He added: "We did it. We got it back to the original specification. "I studied old online videos frame by frame to look at things like the colour of the little crystals and the butterflies. "I'd be very particular about getting it as near to visual as I could even though some of the detail would not be noticed by anybody - even things like the nuts and bolts. Mr Dexter said he had also designed and handcrafted some missing elements "from scratch" like the opening of flower buds and reinstalled the water supply system. 'Iconic piece' The newly restored clock was unveiled by his granddaughter, which Mr Dexter described as a "legacy to her". "My granddaughter inspired me, but then I was driven by thinking this is an iconic piece in Nottingham for the people of Nottingham," he said. "Everyone in Nottingham knows about it - it's a meeting place. So it's important and I hope it's still there in 50 years. "I also have two other grandchildren, and hopefully in 10 years time they can appreciate it knowing their granddad had a hand in keeping it going." To mark Mr Dexter's dedication, the Victoria Centre teamed up with Nottingham Trent University's fine art graduate, Molly Moss, to produce a bespoke acrylic painting. Miss Moss said it was "an absolute delight" and she was "excited" to present the canvas, which took three weeks to create, to Mr Dexter. Mr Dexter said he was "really surprised" and "touched" to receive the token. The Victoria Centre director Nigel Wheatley said: "We're delighted to have formally thanked Pete for everything he's done, not just for the Emett Clock, but for Victoria Centre, and the wider Nottingham community." Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210. LONDON (Reuters) - Meghan, Britain's Duchess of Sussex, has said she was targeted with "hateful" online abuse during her two pregnancies, criticising the toxicity and lack of humanity on the internet and in parts of the media. Meghan married King Charles' second son Harry in 2018, and the couple have two children, Archie, 4, and Lilibet, 2. "The bulk of the bullying and abuse that I was experiencing in social media and online was when I was pregnant with Archie and with Lili, and with a newborn," Meghan said at an event at SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, on Friday. "You just think about that and really wrap your head around why people would be so hateful ... In the digital space and in certain sectors of the media, we have forgotten about our humanity, and that has got to change." Harry and Meghan have spoken out over the difficulties that have come with being part of the British royal family, especially after they quit royal duties and moved to California - a decision Harry said he took to protect his own family. Meghan's appearance comes during a difficult time for the royal family, after Charles was diagnosed with cancer and as Kate, the wife of Harry's older brother William, recovers from surgery. Harry has said his father's cancer diagnosis could help bring the family closer together again. (Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Giles Elgood) Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle denounced her most ferocious online critics during a panel at the SXSW conference in Austin on Friday, where she was joined by journalist Katie Couric and actress Brooke Shields. Asked how she handles the seemingly endless toxicity that pervades social media, Markle said she had endured the bulk of the bullying and abuse while pregnant with her children, Archie and Lilibet. You have to really wrap your head around why people would be so hateful. Its not catty, its cruel, she said. Why you would do that? Markle went on to say that pregnancy and early motherhood are supposed to be such a tender and sacred time. In her case, she said, she felt the pull to succumb to the toxicity, or nearly succumb to how painful that is. But she said she fought to power through it. Maybe in some regards, because I was pregnant, that mammalian instinct just kicked in, [to] do everything you can to protect your child, she continued. Markle and her husband, Prince Harry, stepped down from their royal duties in 2020 amid relentless scrutiny from the British press and tabloids, allegedly fueled by leaks from inside the royal familys inner circle. During Fridays panel, Markle further lamented the deleterious effect social media can have on mothers mental health, both by causing sleep loss and creating false standards of parenthood. It can also be really dizzying for them to see this portrayal of motherhood that looks so perfect, when we all know its not perfect, she said. The Duchess argued that many corners of the internet and media have forgotten about our humanity, and that has got to change. I understand theres a bottom line and I understand that a lot of money is being made there, she said, before ending with a quip: But even if its making dollars, it doesnt make sense. 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. Oil-Dri Corporation of America (NYSE:ODC) Second Quarter 2024 Results Key Financial Results Revenue: US$105.7m (up 3.9% from 2Q 2023). Net income: US$12.4m (up 221% from 2Q 2023). Profit margin: 12% (up from 3.8% in 2Q 2023). The increase in margin was primarily driven by lower expenses. EPS: US$1.81 (up from US$0.57 in 2Q 2023). All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period Oil-Dri Corporation of America's share price is broadly unchanged from a week ago. Risk Analysis Before we wrap up, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Oil-Dri Corporation of America that you should be aware of. 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. MESA COUNTY, Colo. (KREX) Mesa County Public Health has recalled certain ground cinnamon products that were distributed nationwide and may have been sold in Mesa County due to lead concerns. The recalled products are as follows: La Fiesta Ground Cinnamon sold by La Superior SuperMercados Marcum Ground Cinnamon sold by Save A Lot MK Cinnamon Powder sold by SF Supermarkets Swad Cinnamon Powder sold by Patel Brothers Supreme Tradition Ground Cinnamon sold by Family Dollar and Dollar Tree El Chilar Ground Cinnamon sold by La Joya Morelense The products have been recalled due to elevated levels of lead that could lead to health concerns. Mesa County health officials recommend throwing out any recalled products, as exposure to these products may be unsafe. According to officials, most people have no obvious, immediate symptoms of lead exposure. Click here to see the entire list of recalled products. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WesternSlopeNow.com. Three globe maps of the world with hashtag speech bubbles emerging from different countries. An offshoot of the #MeToo movement has sprung up in France, paving the way for a new reckoning for the nation's cinema industry. Actor Aurelien Wiik launched the hashtag #MeTooGarcons (#MeTooBoys) last month and claimed that he was a victim of sexual violence by his agent and members of his entourage from the age of 11 to 15. "The boys of the cinema are waking up," he said. Within "a matter of days", said Euronews, a new movement "liberating the male voice was born", with "hundreds of accounts of sexual assault and rape published online. Coined by US activist Tarana Burke in 2006, the term #MeToo became a viral hashtag in 2017. Allegations of rape and sexual assault against film producer Harvey Weinstein, and his subsequent conviction, "shook Hollywood to its core", said the news site, and "sparked worldwide conversations" about harassment and misogyny. Here is how the movement has taken hold in different countries. China In the "land of censorship", feminists have had to contend with "headwinds in a political environment where the ruling Communist Partys control over the internet, media and independent activism is tighter than it has been in 30 years", wrote Yaqiu Wang in The Washington Post in 2020. As the movement grew around the world, an article in the state-run China Daily newspaper insisted that sexual misconduct was rare there, because "Chinese men are taught to be protective of their women". But Chinese sportswomen, academics and women from the film industry have since shared their experiences, under the hashtag #WoYeShi. Middle East Mona Eltahawy launched the hashtag #MosqueMeToo in 2018. "I was called a liar when I first spoke out about my sexual assault at hajj," she wrote in The Washington Post, but "now, we are too many to be dismissed as liars". In 2020, as the #MeToo movement gained momentum in Iran, 13 Iranian women told The New York Times that they had been subjected to sexual assault and abuse by Aydin Aghdashloo, an internationally renowned Iranian artist with ties to the Tehran regime. "I am not a perfect man," said Aghdashloo, dubbed the "Harvey Weinstein of Iran" by his accusers. But he told the paper that the allegations were "full of significant inaccuracies, mischaracterizations and fabrications". In Israel, a Hebrew hashtag meaning #UsToo made front-page headlines, with some men responding by using a hashtag, #HowIWillChange, discussing how to prevent future abuse. In Gaza and the West Bank, Palestinian women used #AnaKaman (#MeToo). United States Since 2017, employers in Hollywood have been required to provide more intensive training to prevent workplace harassment, immediately investigate claims of harassment, and implement a "zero tolerance" policy towards offenders. But the movement has "seemingly fallen short" in maintaining its success in the US "beyond the glamorous celebrity sphere", said The McGill International Review. Nevertheless, the National Women's Law Center found last year that 24 US states and the District of Columbia have passed more than 80 workplace anti-harassment bills since #MeToo began, said Forbes. In 2022, five years after the hashtag went viral, around half of Americans who had heard of the #MeToo movement expressed support for it, while 21% were opposed, according to Pew Research Center. The think tank reported "wide partisan gaps", with Democrats "roughly three times as likely" as Republicans to be supportive. Mexico When the #MeToo movement started in 2017, it "felt distant, like a Hollywood production", wrote Tamara De Anda in The Washington Post. But two years later it "exploded" and Mexican women have "lost their fear forever". Ana G. Gonzalez, a political communications consultant, used Twitter to accuse a writer of abusing 10 women. "By speaking up, she would go on to inspire hundreds of women to share their personal stories of harassment and abuse," said Do Something. Last year, the nation's "worst alleged #MeToo offender", writer and diplomat Andres Roemer, was arrested in Israel, "two-and-a-half years after sexual misconduct allegations against him from dozens of young women surfaced", said Vice. France Judith Godreche, an actor who has accused two high-profile directors of raping her as a teenager, last month called for an end of the "omerta" surrounding the abuse of women and girls in the film industry, said The Guardian. Both men deny the claims, but after the story went public, several other actors came forward with allegations of sexual assault and harassment, and Godreche's speech at the 49th Cesars ceremony was "something of a landmark moment", said Euronews. The French film industry has been "shaken" by numerous allegations against actor Gerard Depardieu, said The Guardian, the most recent of which emerged last month when a film assistant accused him of sexual assault in 2014. With the #MeTooGarcons hashtag gathering online traction, there could be a new wave of allegations against other figures in France. The metro-east doctor who admitted to falsifying records to collect payment for services he didnt provide was one small part of a broader scheme by his employer to defraud Medicare of more than $40 million over a nine-year span, according to a False Claims Act lawsuit filed by the federal government. According to court documents, Dr. Phillip J. Greene, 59, of Edwardsville, was employed by General Medicine PC to provide healthcare services to nursing homes and assisted living centers throughout southern Illinois. As part of a plea agreement, he admitted guilt to a single charge of healthcare fraud for documenting examinations he didnt perform and billing them through his employer for Medicare reimbursement. A 96-page civil complaint filed in the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Illinois in 2022 alleges that its a practice General Medicine encouraged. In the civil suit, the U.S. attorney argues that beginning in at least 2013, General Medicine knowingly billed Medicare for visits to patients that were not medically necessary, if they were performed at all. It also alleges that the Michigan-based company set monthly patient-visit quotas for doctors and nurse practitioners without any consideration as to whether the patients needed the services and that it submitted inflated claims. In some instances, including those to which Green admitted guilt, doctors completed progress notes containing inaccurate or embellished information to support higher reimbursement rates. The suit also names 17 shell companies affiliated with General Medicine as defendants. Rather than focusing on caring for the vulnerable patient population they served and treating each resident based on their individualized needs, Defendants played a numbers game designed to bill as many patient visits as possible, regardless of whether those visits were actually performed as documented or medically necessary, the complaint states. As one GM clinician put it: Defendants preferred quantity over quality. In its response to the lawsuit, General Medicine and owner Thomas M. Prose, M.D. deny the allegations, noting that so-called quotas were part of compensation plans that have since been changed and that, while some Medicare claims might have been falsified, the company did not submit them knowingly. In cases where the company knew services were falsified, it either didnt submit the claim or reimbursed Medicare, the answer states. The company also objects to the use of the term shell companies to describe its subsidiaries. General Medicine operates clinics and employs healthcare clinicians in Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, Louisiana, Iowa, Ohio, and North Carolina. The lawsuit alleges thousands of fraudulent claims, but specifically cites 27 examples of how the scheme was carried out. Among them was one of Greenes patients, which court records identify only as E.S. who resided at Nursing Home 1 in Mascoutah. According to both the civil complaint and the criminal indictment, Greene claimed to have examined E.S. at the nursing home, after she had already been admitted to a local hospital for treatment of a variety of ailments. Medicare again paid General Medicine PC $109.37 for services Greene recorded, but never performed. The indictment against Greene spells out the circumstances of two other complaints against General Medicine related to services he later admitted he didnt provide patients. In one of them, he reported visiting Assisted Living Facility 1 in Shiloh to examine a patient identified as D.B. on Oct. 24, 2016. Greene well knew his representations were false because he had not actually examined D.B. at all on October 24, 2016, the indictment says. In fact, D.B. had died one day earlier on October 23, 2016. General Medicine PC put in a claim for $275, which Medicare denied. In the other case described in court records, Greene generated a false progress report stating that he had examined M.W. at the Mascoutah facility on June 1, 2017. In it, he claimed to have checked M.W.s head and face and observed no swelling, deformity, acchymosis or erytheme. In fact, M.W.s face was bruised from a fall and shed had a dozen stitches removed from her face the day before the purported exam, the complaint stated. Medicare reimbursed General Medicine PC $109. 37. Greene routinely generated progress notes he knew contained misrepresentations and materially false statements about the services he purportedly provided and that he knew General Medicine PC would use the false information he provided to support false claims for reimbursement to Medicare. In total, Greene billed $20,135 in false claims, for which Medicare reimbursed General Medicine $10,031. Greenes personal share was $5,220, according to the court records. Greenes sentencing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on June 5. Healthcare fraud is punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release. Greene must also pay restitution for government losses. An effort to settle the claims against General Medicine PC through a mediator failed and a judge denied a motion to dismiss the suit. A trial date has not yet been set. Police have arrested a Madison man accused of making threats against the judge and jury in the trial of a man convicted of causing the downtown St. Louis crash in which a volleyball player from Tennessee lost both of her legs last year. Erick M. Buntyn, 34, of the 800 block of Iowa Street in Madison, was arrested Thursday, and on Friday he was charged with tampering with a judicial officer, which is a felony, according to authorities and charging documents After Daniel Riley, 22, was found guilty Thursday of causing the injuries to Janae Edmondson, a deputy in the courthouse hallway heard Buntyn say, (Expletive) the judge and the jury, they are all racists, if I see any of them outside, Im going to (expletive) kill them, according to authorities and court records. A probable cause statement filed Friday says Buntyn made an audible outburst in the courtroom before he entered the hallway. Buntyn was being held in the St. Louis city jail Friday. His arrest warrant says no bond is allowed for him. A defense attorney is not listed in court records for Buntyn. Edmondson, a high school senior at the time of the crash, was injured on Feb. 18, 2023, after leaving The Dome, where she had played in a volleyball tournament. She was pinned between two vehicles in the crash caused by Riley at the intersection of St. Charles and North 11th streets, according to a news release from the St. Louis Circuit Attorneys office. Her father, James Edmondson, said his military training kicked in when he saw his daughters injuries. My mind actually went from father mode to military, he said in the prosecutors news release. And when I looked down and saw her leg was severed, and I knew she only had seconds and not minutes, my mind just kinda blocked everything out. It was like God had control of my hands... He used a bystanders belt to apply a tourniquet to this daughters legs before paramedics arrived. Janae Edmondson was able to graduate from her high school in Tennessee in May. Riley was found guilty of second-degree assault and armed criminal action for reckless driving that caused the accident that severed Janae Edmondsons legs, one count of fourth-degree assault for his role in the collision that injured another person, and driving without a valid license, the prosecutors news release said. Jurors recommended that Riley be sentenced to about 19 years. Circuit Judge Michael Noble set sentencing for April 18. When Michael Gove was mobbed by a hostile crowd of pro-Palestinian protesters at Londons Victoria station, some of his fiercest political opponents were among to condemn the scene in the strongest possible terms. But the intimidation faced by Mr Gove is not what is concerning the Communities Secretary today. If youre a politician, and particularly if you have been around for a while, you will be used to people saying and doing disagreeable things, he says. What I worry about is that if youre a 17-year-old Jewish teenager, you think I cant go into London, in my own city. Mr Gove is referring to concerns expressed by some Jews about venturing into central London on Saturdays due to the anti-Semitic nature of some material brandished and chanted by some protesters. Those who have expressed such fears include Lord Wolfson, the former justice minister, who said his daughter had been left wondering whether it was safe to go on the Tube. At the same time, recorded incidents of anti-Semitism have soared across the country since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Mr Gove says: People have a right to march, but it is not a defensible situation when you have, not just a mood created, but evidence of events and actions, that mean that people cant move freely about their own city. Victoria station, anyone should be able to use it any time of night or day and feel safe. And the fact that friends of mine feel that they cant, the fact that people like David Wolfson have said in the House of Lords that his daughter cant venture into London on Saturdays, thats terrible. New official definition of extremism Mr Gove, 56, is sitting on a sofa in the corner of his office in the building that the Levelling Up and Communities department shares with the Home Office. It is 5.30pm on Friday and the vast majority of desks in the building appear unoccupied. In marked contrast is the hive of activity in front of Mr Goves office as the last of the Cabinet ministers papers are packed into his overflowing ministerial red box. This week, Mr Gove will announce details of a new official definition of extremism, designed to ensure that Whitehall cuts ties with people who are setting out to subvert democracy and who want to deny other people fundamental rights. The new definition redraws a version dating from 2011, which Mr Gove describes as way too broad and now more honoured in the breach than the observance. The definition is intended to be used across Whitehall to indication the individuals and groups that should be beyond the pale when it comes to official dealings with the Government. It will also form a new basis for the Prevent counter-extremism programme which, under the existing regime, was criticised after it emerged that internal analysis listed Jacob Rees-Mogg as being among figures associated with far-Right sympathetic audiences, and Brexit. For all state institutions, says Mr Gove, this definition and a set of engagement principles should act as a guide, so that you can conduct due diligence. Weve established a centre of excellence with support from outside academics here in the department in order to provide people with the information that they need to draw distinction. So when someone presents themselves as the person who can help you build bridges, but they come from a tradition or an organisation or institutions with these links, then the due diligence work, the definition will mean that it is it will be far easier to say, no, you present yourself in this way, but youre wholly unsuitable to be advising us on on hate crime. Free speech has to be protected Mr Gove fears that some people with extremist outlooks have used links to state institutions both to gain legitimacy, but also to influence the way in which we operate when it comes to upholding the law without fear or favour. There have been claims that a new definition risks being used, for example, by trans activists to try to label campaigners for womens rights as extremists. Mr Gove says the Government will be clear that gender-critical campaigners will not fall foul of the definition, and that neither will devout Muslims, Christians and Jews, if their outlook does not extend to a political ideology that is anti-democratic. What we want to do is to be more precise, and to make it clear that, for example, if youre a gender-critical feminist, youre not an extremist. If youre a Bible-believing Christian, youre not an extremist. If youre Haredi or ultra-orthodox in the Jewish community, youre not an extremist and, indeed, if you are a pious Muslim with traditional beliefs, youre not an extremist. Its only extremism if you translate that into a political ideology that is anti-democratic. Private belief should be cherished. Free speech has to be protected. But there are people who are operating deliberately to undermine our democracy and ... this space and the exploitation of that space by extremists has only grown. Mr Gove is at pains to draw a distinction between Muslims and Islamists. Islamism is a precise ideology, he says, whose adherents can be identified partly if they are followers of the teachings of individuals such as Hassan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb, former leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood. Such figures are the inspiration for Islamism in the same way as we know that Marx, Engels and Lenin were the inspiration for communism. We can determine precisely what Islamism is: an ideology that seeks to set Muslims apart from the rest of society and, indeed, to divide Muslims themselves. Its an ideology that believes in the application of Sharia law, that believes in the creation ultimately of an Islamic state, and we know that there are Islamist organisations like the Muslim Brotherhood Hamas is its Palestinian branch that operate globally and then have groups here. Now, ideas can be disseminated and meme-ified Shortly after entering the Commons in 2005, Mr Gove, a former journalist, published Celsius 7/7, a book examining the origins of Islamist terrorism. During his time as education secretary in the Coalition government, between 2010 and 2014, he led the government response to the alleged Trojan Horse plot by hardline Islamists to take over state schools in Birmingham. At the time, David Cameron, then prime minister, also commissioned a major review into the Muslim Brotherhood, including its reach into the UK. But, a decade on, the influence of Islamists appears to have ballooned in Britain and the same Conservative government that introduced the 2011 definition of extremism is stating that it needs revision, in order to cut ties that have formed between Whitehall and extremists during the Tories time in office. The Charity Commission is investigating scores of groups alleged to have hosted extremist speakers or disseminated extremist material in recent months. Did the Conservatives take their eye off the ball? I dont think so, says Mr Gove. The thing is that it is often the case that you see a rise in extremist activity when there are big foreign policy events. So the Bosnian War was a radicalising moment, the Iraq war was a radicalising moment, as was 9/11. And events in the Middle East have been exploited to create division. The other thing is the more sophisticated use of social media. Ideas that would once have relied on being present in a hall or getting a copy of Sayyid Qutbs Milestones in your hands. Now, ideas can be disseminated, and not just complex ideas, they can be meme-ified and shared in a way that drives this. Independent adviser on anti-Muslim hatred to be introduced Mr Gove believes the primary threats from extremism are twofold: Islamists and the extreme Right, which is stoking anti-Muslim hate. The two, he believes, have elements in common and are creating a particularly toxic situation at the moment. The Islamist narrative is, youre not British. The West doesnt value Muslim lives ... your principal identity is as Muslim, your principal loyalty is to the Ummah [Muslim community] and its only through the creation of an Islamic state that you will get the dignity you deserve. Similarly, the Nazi or the extreme Right-wing view is you are poor and white, you are being overlooked and exploited, there are shadowy figures brackets, Jewish manipulating this country and who are responsible for your downtrodden state, you need to fight back. And these ideologies capture the minds of people who may be vulnerable. This week, Mr Gove is due to unveil a new independent adviser on anti-Muslim hatred, amid concerns about rising incidents involving anti-Muslim hate. Fiyaz Mughal, a critic of extremism and a campaigner for closer links between Muslim and Jewish communities, is a leading contender for the post. Mr Gove says he uses the term anti-Muslim hatred over Islamophobia, an approach he suggests has now been adopted by the Government. The broader description of Islamophobia, he says, risks a chilling effect on free speech when people are debating the pros and cons of Islam as a religion. He adds: Im a Christian, I dont just have respect for, but think that Islam is a force for good, but its also the case that it is perfectly legitimate, obviously, to criticise my belief system and to criticise Islam as a belief system. If people use it [the term Islamophobia], thats fine. I think I know what they mean. But I prefer to be precise. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Former Republican National Committee (RNC) leader Michael Steele went after outgoing chair Ronna McDaniel in her departing speech, arguing it is messed up as hell for her to talk about unity in the party. The unity thing is a two-way street, Steele said Saturday, a day after McDaniel officially stepped down as RNC chair. And you dont have unity when you refer to Republicans like me as a RINO (Republican in Name Only) whos been in the party for over 50 years. His rebuke comes after McDaniel acknowledged Friday that while the Republican Party has issues, they need to find unity before the November election. We want to make sure that were united as we head into this next election, McDaniel said. Seven years ago I talked a lot about unity. I talk about it all the time; you guys hear me. We cannot win if were divided. We can only win through addition, we cannot win through subtraction, which is why I have worked diligently to expand our tent, she added. Steele, the co-host of MSNBCs The Weekend show, argued that unity had already been broken by party infighting. You dont have unity when you disavow and, and break apart the very foundations of a once proud party based on the principles and ideas of Lincoln, and Eisenhower and Reagan and Bush, he said Saturday, adding that when he was head of the committee, Republicans were winning elections. You dont create, you know, this space for unity when you allow authoritarian, white nationalism, illiberal behavior to overwhelm and consume the very foundations of the party, so yall need to check the unity conversation amongst yourselves first before you bring it to others, Steele continued. Because thats where the disunity is. He added, Its not its not with me. I was doing just fine till your behind showed up. I was winning elections, right? What did you do? McDaniels decision to step down was not unexpected, as she announced her plan to resign late last month, following a push from former President Trump, the likely GOP nominee for the White House. Trump endorsed his preferred pick, North Carolina GOP chair Michael Whatley, to lead the committee. He also named his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, as his preferred RNC co-chair. The committee formally elected Whatley and Lara Trump to lead the committee, after McDaniel stepped down. As co-chair, Lara Trump the wife of Trumps son Eric will focus on fundraising as the RNC has fallen behind Democrats in raking in cash ahead of the 2024 election. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. President Biden lashed out at members of the Supreme Court for their controversial Dobbs decision during his State of the Union address on Thursday night. It mirrored the actions of former President Barack Obama, who rebuked a decision made by justices on the High Court during his 2010 State of the Union address to Congress. During Thursday's high-profile speech from the Capitol, which was attended by six sitting Supreme Court justices, Biden spoke at length about abortion and women's health care. At one point, the president took direct aim at the justices over their June 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and implied they weren't aware of the "electoral or political power" women in America hold. "With all due respect, justices, women are not without ... electoral or political power," Biden said. "You're about to realize just how much." BORDER PATROL UNION BOSS SAYS BIDEN 'SLAPPED EVERY AMERICAN IN THE FACE' DURING STATE OF THE UNION President Biden's decision to target Supreme Court justices during his State of the Union address on Thursday mirrored that of former President Barack Obama in 2010. "Those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women, but they found out when reproductive freedom was on the ballot and we won in 2022 and we won in 2020 and when we win again in 2024," he added. Biden's remarks drew an immediate round of applause and a standing ovation from Democrats, as well as members of his cabinet, who had gathered in the House chamber to hear the president's remarks. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP The six justices in attendance Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Ketanji Brown Jackson remained seated and looked on as Biden vowed to "restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land" should he be given a "Congress that supports the right to choose." Though uncommon, Biden's move to directly target the justices for a decision they had made resembled the actions of Obama when he expressed frustration with a Supreme Court ruling during one of his own State of the Union addresses. Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court listen to President Biden's State of the Union address in the House Chamber at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. BIDEN CAUGHT ON HOT MIC REVEALING PRIVATE 'COME TO JESUS' CONVERSATION WITH NETANYAHU While addressing a joint session of Congress in January 2010, Obama criticized the court's 5-4 ruling in Citizens United, which slashed corporate campaign spending limits. "With all due deference to separation of powers, last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests including foreign corporations to spend without limit in our elections," Obama said from the chamber of the House of Representatives that year. "I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people. And I'd urge Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps correct some of these problems," he added. President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address to a Joint Session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 27, 2010. In apparent disagreement with Obama's remarks at the time, Justice Samuel Alito could be seen mouthing what appeared to be the words "not true." Alito, along with Justices Amy Coney-Barrett and Clarence Thomas, did not attend Biden's Thursday evening address. Alito, who is part of the court's conservative majority, has not attended a State of the Union address since 2010. Following Obama's 2010 remarks, Biden, who served as vice president at the time, reportedly argued during an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America" that Obama "didn't question the integrity of the court. He questioned the judgment of it." Original article source: Mirroring Obama, Biden rebukes Supreme Court for overturning Roe v. Wade in SOTU address CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department says a man who went missing on Friday has been found and is with his family. Police said John Barry Bennett, 74, was last seen in the 7400 block of Honey Flower Place in Charlotte, driving a blue/gray 2002 Hyundai Sonata four-door with NC tag: HBS-1093. Search underway for missing Charlotte mother and her two young children CMPD said Bennett could be suffering from cognitive issues and might appear confused. However, around 10 a.m. on Saturday, CMPD said he was back with his family. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. CHICAGO - Update: Damian Abarca has been located, according to Chicago police. No further details have been released. Original: Chicago police are asking for the public's help in finding a missing, high-risk 56-year-old man on the city's North Side. Damian Abarca was last seen March 8 driving westbound in the 800 block of West Foster Avenue. He was driving a 2019 silver Volkswagon Jetta with Illinois plates, according to Chicago police. Abarca is described as being 5-foot-7 with brown eyes, short black hair, a mustache and a light beard. He was wearing a navy blue jacket with navy blue jogging pants and gray shoes at the time of his disappearance. Authorities say Abarca has memory loss and needs medication twice a day. Anyone with more information on his whereabouts is urged to contact Chicago PD at 312-746-6554. Less than a month after the mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade, a Missouri Senator looks to pass legislation further loosening the states gun laws. State Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, sponsored the Anti-Red Flag Gun Seizure Act, which would prohibit the confiscation of firearms from individuals who are deemed to be a threat to themselves or others. His bill was heard by the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee on Wednesday. I think we all agree we have a right to keep and bear arms, Hoskins said. Unfortunately, some anti-Second Amendment groups can weaponize the red flag laws to quiet their opponents. We have the Second Amendment to protect the First Amendment and a right to due process. State Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, speaks in the Missouri Senate during the 2021 legislative session. Although Missouri does not currently have any red flag laws in place, along with 30 other states, Hoskins means for his legislation to serve as a preventative measure against their enforcement, should they be enacted. We've seen the federal government weaponize the Department of Justice against political opponents, so it is happening, Hoskins said. We don't want that to happen in Missouri. Speaking in support of the bill was William Bland of Liberty, a board member of the Western Missouri Shooters Alliance. He spoke on behalf of the group to say that they felt red flag laws were unconstitutional and a bad idea. If a person is believed to be a danger to themselves, or others, taking away their firearms does not remove that danger, Bland said. It is easy enough for a suicidal individual to swallow a bottle of Tylenol pills, or harm themselves or others with a kitchen knife or some other weapon. He said that red flag laws often deprive some individuals of their firearms because they live with someone who is considered dangerous to themselves or others. In other cases, he worries that red flag laws could be used to take revenge on a person by falsely claiming they are dangerous in order to get their guns taken away, although he offered no evidence of this happening in actuality. Members from the Moms Demand Action organization march during the Labor Day Parade on Monday, Sep. 2, 2019, in Springfield, Mo. Speaking in opposition to the legislation was Kristin Bowen, a Boone County resident and volunteer for Moms Demand Action, a group that advocates for public safety measures relating to gun violence. Missouri already has some of the weakest gun laws in the country and our legislature has spent the past decade gutting our common sense public safety laws, while simultaneously resisting attempts to make our communities safer, Brown said. Brown cited a report from Everytown Research and Policy that showed Missouri's rate of gun deaths have increased 59% from 2012 to 2021, compared to a 39% increase nationwide. Constant heartbreak cannot and should not be our reality in Missouri, Brown said. Instead of taking steps backward, our state needs to be taking steps forward by passing laws that would keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals and provide our communities with the support that they need to adopt local solutions to gun violence. More: Gun laws in Missouri: Who can buy, own, carry and sell firearms in the state? Missouri has few regulations surrounding the sale, ownership or carrying of a firearm. State law also prohibits local officials from superseding its gun laws, although it does allow for cities to create local ordinances requiring permits to carry firearms. In 2021, Missouri lawmakers passed and Gov. Mike Parson signed into law the Second Amendment Preservation Act, sponsored by now U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison, which attempts to bar federal gun laws from being enforced in the state. Police who try to do so could face a $50,000 fine. The act is being challenged in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case in October, and the law remains on hold while the appeal is active. It is unclear if Hoskins bill has any traction this year, as lawmakers near the halfway point of the legislative session. No vote was taken on the bill during Wednesdays hearing. The Missouri House decided to stop pursuing the passage of two bills expanding firearms access following the mass shooting in Kansas City last month, including one that would have exempted guns and ammunition from state and local taxes and another that would have allowed guns on public transit and in churches, while also lowering the age to get a concealed carry permit. The Missouri House Democratic Caucus addresses reporters about giving local municipalities the authority to regulate guns in their city. Minority House Leader Crystal Quade delivered remarks. Following the shooting, Democrats in the Missouri House of Representatives filed nearly 40 identical resolutions seeking the ability to enact local gun laws that supersede those at the state level. There are currently initiative petitions filed that seek to accomplish the same goal, though it is unknown where those stand in respect to getting enough signatures to make the ballot this year. This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Senate bill aims to block red flag gun laws that Missouri doesn't have China's legislature, judiciary vow high-quality work to drive modernization Xinhua) 09:08, March 09, 2024 BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislature, top court and top procuratorate on Friday pledged high-quality work in 2024 to facilitate the country's modernization drive. The message was sent at a plenary meeting held during the national legislature's annual session, when lawmakers heard the work reports of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the Supreme People's Court (SPC) and the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP). The meeting was attended by Chinese leaders Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi, and Han Zheng. Zhao Leji, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, delivered the work report of the top legislature to the meeting. Reviewing the year 2023, Zhao said the NPC Standing Committee has focused on improving the quality of legislation. It deliberated on 34 items of legislation and adopted 21 of them, including six new laws, eight revised laws, and seven decisions on legal issues and major matters. For 2024, Zhao said the legislature will pursue high-quality work to provide legal guarantees for building a great country and advancing national rejuvenation on all fronts through Chinese modernization. The legislature will strengthen the implementation of the Constitution and the oversight of constitutional compliance, improve the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics, and take solid steps to exercise effective oversight, he said. It will also give full play to the roles of NPC deputies, expand international exchanges, and strengthen self-improvement, he added. Delivering the work report of the top court, SPC President Zhang Jun said Chinese courts at all levels accepted 45.57 million cases and concluded 45.27 million cases in 2023, up 15.6 percent and 13.4 percent from the previous year respectively. Over the past year, the top court focused on the theme of impartiality and efficiency in advancing its work, Zhang said. He said in 2024, courts across the nation will focus their work on advancing Chinese modernization, stepping up modernizing adjudicatory work, and refining the supervision system. While delivering the SPP work report, SPP Procurator-general Ying Yong said the top procuratorate has achieved high quality and great efficiency in handling every case in 2023. Procuratorates across the country handled 4.25 million cases in 2023, marking a year-on-year increase of 28.9 percent, according to Ying. He called on procuratorates nationwide to support Chinese modernization through the modernization of procuratorial work, resolutely safeguard national security, social stability and the well-being of the people, and provide lawful services for high-quality development. (Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Liang Jun) You are here: China Workers assemble cotton pickers at an agricultural machinery manufacturing company in Usu, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Feb. 28, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua] Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region had 1,911 high-tech enterprises in 2023, spanning fields such as smart agriculture, new energy, and new materials, hitting a record high, local authorities said on Friday. The number of small and medium-sized scientific and technological enterprises reached 2,256 in Xinjiang in 2023, an increase of 80.2 percent year on year, said the regional science and technology department. It added that the turnover of the region's technology contracts exceeded 7.37 billion yuan (around 1.04 billion U.S. dollars) last year, a year-on-year increase of 130 percent. In 2024, the region aims to achieve a turnover of technology transactions exceeding 9 billion yuan, an increase of 550 high-tech enterprises, and a total number of over 2,500 small and medium-sized scientific and technological enterprises. (Bloomberg) -- Brazilian state-controlled oil giant Petrobras sent a team of production specialists to Venezuela at the request of Nicolas Maduro, whose administration is welcoming oil majors despite US sanctions threats on its oil industry. Most Read from Bloomberg The Petrobras delegation visited oil fields in Lake Maracaibo this week in what people familiar with the matter described as a courtesy trip. Maracaibo is a key production region for Venezuela and an opportunity for the country to resuscitate the linchpin of its economy after years of underinvestment. While Maduro has been backsliding on his promise towards free and fair elections, major oil companies are betting that the Biden administration facing a tough reelection campaign against Donald Trumpwill probably refrain from imposing the stiffest penalties related to energy to keep down global oil and US gasoline prices. Read More: Chevron Restarts Drilling in Key Venezuela Oil Field Venezuelas Oil Minister Pedro Tellechea has recently announced visits from Algerias Sonatrach SpA, Bolivias YPFB and Petroleos Mexicanos officials to Caracas. Many of Petroleos de Venezuelas fields have gone idle during the past decade amid sanctions, mismanagement and a collapse of what was once one of Latin Americas top economies. PDVSA and Petrobras press officials did not respond to requests for comment. The US eased sanctions on Venezuelas oil industry this year as part of a deal towards free and fair elections. Then Maduros administration banned the oppositions leading candidate from running in a move that could prompt the US to bring back some sanctions. Petrobras entered Venezuela during an oil opening earlier this century but hasnt been active there for years. The company is planning to increase investments to expand abroad at a time in which it hasnt had much success exploring in Brazil. Story continues It is also paying less in dividend, a move that has disappointed investors and prompted a share selloff. While geopolitical risks remain a hurdle for any potential investments in Venezuela, oil majors reentering the nation have done so under conditions that offer more operational control to foreign partners, including procurement and financial decisions. Read More: Petrobras Dividend Disappointment Sends Stock, Currency Tumbling Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. National and local LGBTQ+ advocates spoke this week about Nex Benedict's death and the anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric surrounding the tragedy, one month after a reported altercation involving the 16-year-old. Advocates blamed Oklahoma state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters for fueling hateful sentiments toward Oklahoma's LGBTQ+ community, and called for an explanation from the Oklahoma State Department of Education and Owasso Public Schools. Oklahoma City native Sara Cunningham, the founder of Free Mom Hugs, said the state government is ripping protections from the LGBTQ+ community, but vowed to continue efforts to combat these attempts. If you don't hear the cry of the oppressed, then you are not listening," Cunningham said. A memorial for Nex Benedict is pictured at Owasso High School on Feb. 26. Students and community members gathered for a peaceful demonstration in honor of Nex Benedict, calling on school and state officials to better protect LGBTQ+ students. What happened to Nex Benedict? Benedict was a 16-year-old Owasso High School student who died in February after sustaining injuries in an altercation on school grounds. Medical examiners are still completing their investigation into what caused the death of Benedict, but police said Feb. 21 that an autopsy determined Nex did not die as a result of trauma. News of the high school sophomore's death has generated widespread attention, in part because of the student's gender-expansive identity and claims of bullying that led up to the fight. Critics blame Nex Benedict's death on anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric from Ryan Walters, 'Libs of TikTok' Critics and LGBTQ+ advocates argue negativity amplified by Walters and right-wing social media accounts has fed aggression toward LGBTQ+ individuals. Chasten Buttigieg, an LGBTQ+ advocate and spouse of U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, said Walters is failing to keep students like Benedict safe in schools by hiring anti-LGBTQ+ people to prominent positions, such as Chaya Raichik, the creator of right-wing social media account "Libs of TikTok." In January, Raichik was named to an Oklahoma library media advisory committee by Walters. "Youre bringing in somebody who's famous for riling up people on the internet, who traffics in arrangement engagement, as I like to call it, and you're putting them in a position of power specifically related to the education of young children," Chasten said. Raichik is not qualified to be on the advisory committee, Chasten said, adding that he wants to see qualified people in Oklahoma education who care about the state's students. Oklahoma consistently ranks low in terms of education, recently ranking second to last. Chasten said this is what Walters should be focusing on. "Every kid deserves a classroom where it is OK to be themselves, to focus on their learning and know that the adults in power have their backs," Chasten said. "Nex was robbed of that opportunity, and the state superintendent should be extremely embarrassed." Ryan Walters, 'Libs of TikTok' respond to criticism In response to criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates blaming Benedict's death on Walters' rhetoric, state Education Department spokesperson Dan Isett said Walters is heartbroken by Benedict's death, and that the "radical left" is using the situation in a "political game." "What we have seen is the radical left and their allies in the liberal media taking partial information, distorting it, and exploiting the death of a young Oklahoman to play a desperate political game," Isett said. "It is another example of the extreme gender ideology the left wants to push on our schools." Raichik has denied on social media the claims suggesting she played a role in Benedict's death. Candidate for Oklahoma House repeating a straight up lie. There is no evidence the student was targeted because of her nonbinary identity. @CommunityNotes https://t.co/hXD36OFH12 pic.twitter.com/AmcApOwMmX Chaya Raichik (@ChayaRaichik10) February 20, 2024 HRC launches separate Owasso High investigation, citing lack of trust in Walters, state Department of Education Last week, Owasso High School confirmed the U.S. Department of Education will launch a civil rights investigation into the district. The investigation will look into allegations that Owasso Public Schools failed to adequately address reports of sex-based harassment. During the Thursday news conference, Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said the HRC doesn't have faith in Walters to investigate Owasso High School, and the organization is seeking an explanation of what happened on Feb. 7, and what led up to it. Robinson said the organization also is seeking answers as to how the school district and its administration handle anti-LGBTQ+ harassment. The group also is asking the U.S. Department of Education to investigate the state Education Department's role in Benedict's death. Nex had a whole life left to live and it's no coincidence that what happened to them happened in the state where elected officials and adults like Superintendent Ryan Walters have repeatedly villainized trans kids," Robinson said. In a statement from an Owasso Public Schools spokesperson, the spokesperson said the safety and security of the district's students is its top priority, adding that it's committed to fostering a safe and inclusive environment for everyone. The spokesperson said all reported bullying accusations are investigated by administrators and reviewed by the district's director of safety and security. According to the spokesperson, Owasso High School students go to an assembly at the beginning of each school year where they're introduced to their school resource officers and district's director of safety and security and review the school district's handbook with school leaders. Crisis calls increased after Nex Benedict's death Lance Preston, founder and executive director of the Rainbow Youth Project, said after Benedict's death, the organization's crisis call center received 1,000 contacts from Oklahoma in February, and the large majority of those occurred after Benedict's death was reported in the news. He said 87% of those callers reported bullying in Oklahoma schools. Preston said typically, the call center receives an average of 350 contacts from Oklahoma each month. In March 2023, it received 63 Oklahoma calls. That number shot up to 406 the following July, and 453 in August amid anti-LGBTQ+ policies and rhetoric from elected officials, Preston said. The Rainbow Youth Project has been assisting three other students at Owasso High School who reported incidences of bullying starting last September. After Benedict's death, several former and current Owasso students told The Oklahoman they recognized their own experiences in Benedict's story. They described instances of repeated bullying and harassment over their gender identities and sexualities and said they often felt administrators failed to appropriately intervene. So far this year, the hotline has received 3,331 calls, and 81% of those highlight bullying across the country as a key factor behind the caller's emotional distress, Preston said. These kids are hurting, not only from Nex Benedict's tragic death, but they're hurting from the political rhetoric that Ryan Walters continues to spew even after (Benedict's) death," Preston said. Advocacy group tracks anti-LGBTQ+ incidents after Nex Benedict's death Although the exact details of the fight are unclear, Benedict's family and friends have said Benedict was routinely bullied because of their gender identity. The FBI's 2022 crime report showed that anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime reports increased from the previous year, with a 13.8% hump in reports based on sexual orientation and a 32.9% increase in reported hate crimes based on gender identity. GLAAD, the LGBTQ media advocacy organization, began sorting reported anti-LGBTQ+ incidences in Oklahoma after Benedict's death. The organizations data reports 18 incidents since September 2022. Nex Benedict's Choctaw heritage points to broader crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people Benedict was of Choctaw heritage, and Nicole McAfee, executive director of Freedom Oklahoma, said policy isolation of those who are trans or 2-Spirit isnt new. They added that its not that different from Indigenous, 2-Spirit and queer youth who often didnt survive forced removal and placement into residential boarding schools, which caused a loss of language for gender expansiveness and queerness. But, we remember and we've unearthed old language and develop new language and documented our own histories, and still, too many people in Oklahoma see 2SLGBTQ+ folks as something they can take apart so they can understand how to socialize us away from queerness or tried to wipe us from existence once again," McAfee said. McAfee said Benedict was an Indigenous person who died on Indigenous land, which speaks to the larger missing and murdered Indigenous relatives crisis. It also speaks to the McGirt v. Oklahoma decision and whether there should be federal and tribal agencies engaged in the investigation into Benedict's death, McAfee said. Anti-LGBTQ+ bills crowd Oklahoma Legislature At the beginning of Oklahoma's 2024 legislative session, over 50 bills targeting members of the LGBTQ+ community were filed during the 2024 legislative session in Oklahoma, and about a handful advanced from committee. These bills target public school activities and curriculum related to LGBTQ+ topics, speech and expression and would allow certain religious exemptions. Robinson said shes seen the impact that anti-LGBTQ+ bills have had on families. I've made too many phone calls to parents who have lost a child to hatred, Robinson said. I've tried to comfort children who have been traumatized by bullies and bigots many of those bullies being adult elected officials. McAfee said Oklahoma politicians are political posturing and advancing laws and policies that create a hostile environment among the state's vulnerable residents. At the same time, state politicians are either ignoring the death of Benedict and pretending LGBTQ+ Oklahomans are some sort of myth, McAfee said, or they're clarifying their disgust for the state's queer community. They said Oklahoma leaders and enforcers of the status quo are trying to make the state unsafe for LGBTQ+ youth, but queer advocates will dismantle every obstacle to protect them. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Nex Benedict: Crisis calls, anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric still rising a month later The University and College Union said the role of principal lecturers is being replaced More than 120 staff at Sheffield Hallam University have been issued with "risk of redundancy" letters. They have until 18 March to apply for voluntary redundancy or one of a "limited number of roles", said the University and College Union (UCU). Those affected were "grade 9" staff members, including principal lecturers, it added. The university said there were 120 new roles to apply for that were "ring-fenced" for principal lecturers. The UCU also claimed the principal lecturer roles would be replaced by lesser qualified grade 6 academic tutor roles - which Sheffield Hallam University labelled "inaccurate". If that happened, it would be a breach of the "national and local framework agreement" between the employers and unions for the "modernisation of pay structures in higher education", the UCU said. However, a university spokesperson said the academic tutor role was a "new entry-level position for those looking to begin their academic career" and not to replace the principal lecturer roles. Sheffield Hallam University recently underwent a voluntary severance scheme under which 140 academic staff have left or are planning to leave. In a letter to the university's Vice-Chancellor Professor Liz Mossop, UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: "I am aware that there are proposals for academic role changes at Sheffield Hallam University that will lead to a breach of both the national and local framework agreement." A university spokesperson said that "some academic and leadership roles are being removed", but several new roles were being created, including a new Associate Head of School. They added: "Therefore, we do not expect significant numbers of staff whose roles are at risk to opt for voluntary redundancy." Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk. A Morgan State University student accused a security guard of sexual harassment in a viral video posted Thursday and said a staff member, to whom she turned for help, dismissed her claim. Sya McKay, a 23-year-old political science major from Columbia, shared a nearly six-minute video on social media from her car Thursday about two hours after the incident, recounting how the security guard, a man she described as being in his 60s, said she had nice legs and told her he wanted to take her out and get to know her better. Her TikTok video has gained more than 1.3 million views as of Saturday afternoon. I am advocating for change. I want justice. I was violated and discriminated against by the higher-ups at my school, McKay said in an interview with The Sun. I want to be vindicated in this instance because Ive never experienced something like that and Im paying to attend this university. McKay said the office of school president David Wilson reached out to set up a meeting on Monday. In a statement, Morgan State said it is investigating the incident. The alleged improper behaviors described in the video do not represent Morgans core values, and the matter is currently being thoroughly investigated, the statement read. The safety and well-being of the members of our community is and will continue to be a top priority. Should any member of the Morgan community need assistance, we encourage them to engage with available resources, including the Counseling Center, Title IX, and MSUPD. In 2015, the U.S. Department of Educations Office of Civil Rights investigated Morgan State for its handling of a 2014 sexual assault. Last spring the student newspaper, The Spokesman, conducted a poll on social media that found 91% of students do not know how to report sexual assault on campus anonymously. McKay said she attempted to share her story with a political science department staff member, who said she would call the department chair about the incident. McKay said she did not think the staff member was aware that she could overhear the call that was made. I heard her say on the call I have a student in here, and she is claiming the security guard has been making sexual advances at her, but I know him and Ive known him and I dont believe he did any of that, McKay said. McKay said she then confronted the staff member about the call. I asked are you insinuating that Im lying?, McKay said on the video. She was like well um no, Im just saying I dont believe he would do that because hes worked here for a while. McKay said most of the more than 9,000 comments on the video are from other women and girls sharing similar experiences. McKay also said this wasnt the first time the security guard had commented on her appearance. The more I ignored it, the more it was happening, McKay said. McKay said she lives off campus and balances being a full-time student with social media influencing, modeling and acting. She has more than 75,000 followers on TikTok and another 24,000 on Instagram. Moscow has elevated its police force to a heightened state of alert in response to a warning published by the US Embassy regarding potential terrorist threats in the Russian capital. Source: Telegram channel BAZA; Novaya Gazeta Evropa, a Russian news outlet Details: Reports indicate that the number of patrol groups in central Moscow and on certain modes of transportation has been increased by 2-2.5 times. Additionally, personnel in civilian attire have been deployed for duty. Media sources say that each patrol team is now required to include a female member, likely as part of the effort to conduct thorough checks on both women and men. Background: The US Embassy in Russia warned that extremists have "imminent plans" to attack Moscow. The Embassy of the Netherlands in Moscow called on Dutch citizens in the capital and other major Russian cities to be vigilant due to possible terrorist attacks this weekend. Support UP or become our patron! OTTAWA COUNTY Ottawa County is on the hunt for its next administrator. Meanwhile, an interim administrator will be named next week by the Board of Commissioners and Board Chair Joe Moss' favored candidate has no prior experience in administrative government. Ottawa County Board of Commissioners Chair Joe Moss oversees a meeting in January 2024. An agenda published Friday includes a point on selecting an interim administrator on Tuesday, March 12. The candidates being considered are not included in the board packet, but Commissioner Doug Zylstra released their names on social media, including: Benjamin Wetmore Paul Sachs Karen Karasinski Jon Anderson Wetmore took over as deputy county administrator in November, while Sachs is the county's director of strategic impact and Karasinski is the county's longtime fiscal services director. Anderson isn't currently employed with the county and has no prior experience in a similar role. This Tuesday, the Board will be voting on an Interim County Administrator. There are currently four names being suggested by leadership for this position, as follows: - Ben Wetmore - Paul Sachs - Karen Karasinski - Jon Anderson Karen and Jon have been highlighted, and Jon pic.twitter.com/J4yWoUmmA2 Commissioner Zylstra (@OCCommZylstra) March 8, 2024 "Karen and Jon have been highlighted, and Jon Anderson has been recommended by (Moss) as his choice," Zylstra posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday. "Having reviewed Mr. Andersons qualifications, I do not believe he would be the best fit, and will be encouraging my colleagues to consider appointing Karen Karasinski." Anderson, of Grand Haven, co-owns Bullet Hole Firearms and Training in Holland, and served 30 years in law enforcement in the Los Angeles area. He filed last month as one of three Republican candidates for sheriff. More: Holland business owner joins the Republican race for sheriff Anderson was the third candidate to file, and the third Republican, joining Ottawa County Undersheriff Eric DeBoer and Grand Rapids Police Department Captain Michael Maycroft. The three will face off in a primary election Aug. 6. As of publication, no Democrats have filed to run. Andersons law enforcement career began in 1985, according to his LinkedIn page. He spent 10 years in the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department and Brea Police Department before joining the Riverside County Sheriffs Department. He worked in the RCSD from 1996 until his retirement in 2016. Anderson held a variety of positions, from deputy to captain. Along the way, he spent time as a detective, sergeant and lieutenant. A job description for interim administrator hasn't been published, but mandatory requirements for candidates in 2021 included: Subscribe: Receive unlimited digital access to your local news coverage Bachelors or masters degree in public administration, public policy, planning, business or related field At least 10 years of progressively responsible local government leadership At least five years as a chief administrative officer or assistant chief administrative officer of a local government of similar size and complexity to Ottawa County Experience working with diverse departments, including law enforcement, courts, public health, mental health and park systems Strong financial and asset management skills, including significant experience in capital improvements planning Knowledgeable in land-use planning, community and economic development, affordable housing and tourism Strong, proven leadership and skills in union labor relations, and negotiations of collective-bargaining agreements Anderson holds an associate degree from the University of Phoenix and a bachelors degree in criminal justice administration from Columbia Southern University. He responded March 1 to The Sentinel's Feb. 6 request for comment after filing to run for sheriff. That story was updated March 11 with his statement, saying he has lived in Michigan for eight years and is a retired sheriffs commander with 32 years of law enforcement experience. "I taught community policing at a college out west and at our sheriffs academy, and I believe in true community policing that brings members of the community together with law enforcement to enhance and maintain our quality of life," he said in the March 1 email. "I believe in protecting the constitutional rights of all citizens in the county. I have an extensive background in new and innovative technology and policies to assist law enforcement officers in keeping our community safe and free for more proactive patrols and community involvement." Former County Administrator John Gibbs in September 2023. Moss controls the board's Ottawa Impact majority, a group of far-right fundamentalists disgruntled over school mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. The group fired administrator John Shay unexpectedly in January 2023 and hired former Republican congressional candidate John Gibbs without posting the job. More: 'The damage they've done': Gibbs will pursue legal action against Ottawa County The board fired Gibbs last month after Moss published on social media allegations from Wetmore and administrative executive aide Jordan Epperson claiming he engaged in unprofessional conduct. Gibbs has denied the allegations and has indicated he plans to pursue legal action against the county for wrongful termination. Sarah Leach is executive editor for The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @SentinelLeach. This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Moss favorite for interim administrator could be problematic EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) Crime Stoppers of El Paso, Inc. releases images and details about fugitives wanted by the El Paso Police Department and the El Paso County Sheriffs Office weekly through its Most Wanted feature. The following fugitives are individuals, which attempts to locate have been unsuccessful. El Paso Police Department Adrian Alejandro Zarate: Age 25; 60; 285 lbs.; brown hair and brown eyes; wanted for indecency with a child; $150,000 bond. Adrian Alejandro Zarate Alex Sanchez: Age 40; 57; 215lbs.; brown hair, brown eyes; wanted for indecency with a child sexual conduct; $80,000 bond. Alex Sanchez Precious Dominique Bailey: Age 27; 57; 240lbs; black hair, brown eyes; wanted for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon; No bond. Precious Dominique Bailey Gloria Oyetunde: Age 25; 56; 224lbs.; black hair, black eyes; wanted for poss cs pg 1<1G x2; No bond. Gloria Oyetunde Adrian Laris: Age 30; 58; 220 lbs.; brown hair and brown eyes; wanted for theft of property P>=$2500<$30K x4>. No bond Adrian Laris El Paso County Sheriffs Office Theron Leander Turnbough: Age 45; 511; 190lbs.; black hair, brown eyes, wanted for online solicitation of a manor sexual conduct; CTII: Online solicitation of a minor. Bond $100,000. Theron Leander Turnbough Raymundo Julian Fernandez: Age 42; 58; 190 lbs.; brown hair and brown eyes; wanted for theft of property >=$2,500<$30K; $10,000 bond. Raymundo Julian Fernandez Yulisa Pina: Age 26; 54; 193lbs; black hair, brown eyes; wanted for possession of controlled substance PG 2<1G; MAN/DEL CS PG 1>=4G<200G; Bond N/A. Yulisa Pina Roberto Jaramillo: Age: 35; 511; 188lbs.; brown eyes, brown hair; wanted for driving while intoxicated 3rd or more if at trial; Bond: 100,000. Roberto Jaramillo Donovan Jaquez: Age: 35; 60; 180lbs; hair: bald, eyes: brown; wanted for CT I-II: I indecency with a child/ sexual contact; Bond: $100,000. Donovan Jaquez Anyone with information on the location of any of these fugitives should call Crime Stoppers of El Paso immediately at (915) 566-8477 (TIPS), or submit the information on-line at www.crimestoppersofelpaso.org. You will remain anonymous, and if your tip leads to an arrest, you can qualify for a cash reward. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. When Denisse Oleas-Arancibia immigrated from Ecuador to New York five years ago, all she wanted to do was provide a good life for her family. The day before the 38-year-old sex worker was found dead on the floor of a hotel room in a swanky SoHo neighbourhood during New York Fashion Week was a normal day, her son recalled. She made her son breakfast at their Queens home, blessed him with the sign of the cross and sent him off to school in a taxi. Edwin Cevallos, 18, told the New York Daily News that he had no idea what his mother did for a living in order to give him a good life and to support the family they had left behind in Ecuador. My mom, she worked very hard, Mr Cevallos said. She was working all day. She was always working for us to give us the best life in this country. He knew that she went to Manhattan for work every day at 2pm. And he knew that she always returned home. But on 8 February, she never came back. Denisse Oleas-Arancibia was found dead on 8 February at the SoHo 54 Hotel in Manhattan (Provided by family) Across the East River, a maid at the SoHo 54 Hotel on Watts Street entered room 1109 on the 11th floor despite the Do not disturb sign on the door. A womans body lay on the floor under a blanket. A broken iron was next to her. New York City Police say the brutal killing happened when the woman, later identified as Oleas-Arancibia, and a man argued about how long he would be allowed to stay in the room. The argument escalated and turned violent when the man, alleged to be 26-year-old Raad Almansoori, flew into a rage and bludgeoned Oleas-Arancibia with the iron. Mr Almansooris crime spree continued in Arizona which led to his arrest in connection to two separate stabbings. He admitted to the authorities that he was on the run after killing a woman in New York. While Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg fights to have Mr Almansoori extradited back to New York, Oleas-Arancibias family has been fighting their own battle to raise enough money to get her body back to Ecuador. Finally, they did. Her son has also returned home to Ecuador to be with his father, grandparents and the rest of the family, Oleas-Arancibias sister Maria Oleas told The Independent. I already took my sister back home in Ecuador to be buried, she said. I also took my nephew back to Ecuador to be with his father and grandparents and the rest of the family. We are glad he (Mr Almansoori) is caught and cant wait to see him be indicted for my sisters case, she added. The Murder Denisse Oleas-Arancibia was found dead on 8 February at the SoHo 54 Hotel on Watts Street near Sixth Avenue in New York City. A hotel maid found the womans lifeless body with trauma to her face in a room on the 11th floor of the hotel around 10.30am. Bits of plastic were found embedded in her head and a bloody iron was next to her, according to authorities. A pair of blood-splattered men's pants were found alongside her body. Officers said her death was determined to have been caused by blunt force trauma to the head. Hotel staff made the discovery at the SoHo 54 Hotel on Watts Street near Sixth Avenue in New York (Google maps) Victoria Marinucci, who was in town from Los Angeles for New York Fashion Week, was staying in the room next door to where Oleas-Arancibias body was discovered. She recalled a chaotic scene at the hotel, which she said was packed at the time with people attending upcoming New York Fashion Week events. The manager was banging and screaming, Hello? Hello? Hello? Ms Marinucci told local news outlets. Then there were detectives everywhere. It was really scary, she added. We knew that the person didnt make it. She just wouldnt die Shortly after Mr Almansooris arrest, the suspect blabbed to the cops about the murder and attempted killings, going into graphic detail about how he took the life of Oleas-Arancibia basically unprompted, Detective Jeremy Goebel with the Surprise Police Department, said at his court hearing last month. Mr Almansoori described to Arizona police that he and the victim had met on an online website and arranged a meet-up at the hotel in the SoHo neighbourhood. He tried more than once to end Oleas-Arancibias life before finally succeeding, Det Goebel revealed. After a dispute over how long he would stay in the hotel room, Mr Almansoori began choking her with his hands and forearms. He then tried to snap her neck, turning it from side to side, and hit her in the head with an iron multiple times, he added. Mr Almansoori then tried to suffocate Oleas-Arancibia with a sock and blanket, according to Det Goebel. In his words, She just wouldnt die, said the prosecutor questioning the detective. Suspect fled hotel wearing slain womans leggings Surveillance footage released by the NYPD captured Mr Almansoori fleeing the violent scene of the murder wearing the slain moms distinctive leggings. The suspect was seen walking down on the sidewalk near the hotel wearing light-coloured leggings, a tan jacket, a dark-coloured hoodie and a beanie. Meanwhile, a pair of blood-splattered mens pants were found alongside Oleas-Arancibias body. We have video of the woman arriving at the location, wearing a distinct pair of leggings and later on we have a male leaving the hotel wearing the same leggings and we also have a pair of male pants in the hotel room, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said before Mr Almansooris arrest. There was blood all over the pants. Surveillance video caught the suspect fleeing the crime scene wearing the slain moms leggings (NYPD) Alleged crime spree continues in Arizona with two stabbings Following Oleas-Arancibias murder, Almansoori, 26, fled to Arizona, where he was arrested on 18 February for stabbing two other women in two separate cases. He told police hed come from New York because he was on the run after the murder. Not a single woman on this planet likes me so I was very upset, he told police, adding that he was addicted to sex and was broken because of it. Commissioner Lindsey Coates ruled that Mr Almansoori would remain behind bars in Maricopa County, Arizona, without bail due to the danger he poses to the public. Suspect pleads not guilty in Arizona stabbing cases Mr Almansoori has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and other felony charges in Arizona in separate stabbings of two women. He was arraigned on 5 March in Maricopa County Superior Court on charges stemming from the stabbings on 17 February in Phoenix and on 18 February in the suburb of Surprise. Raad Almansoori was arrested weeks later for the mother-of-twos murder (Surprise Police Department) Mr Almansooris only comments during the two-minute hearing were stating his name and birth date when asked by the court to do so, FOX10 reported. His trial on the Arizona charges was scheduled for 2 July. Arizona case sparks political feud In the meantime, Arizona officials have refused to extradite Mr Almansoori to New York to face the charges in the hotel murder due to the citys soft on crime policies. It has sparked a political feud between Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, who is a Republican, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is a Democrat. Mitchell said Mr Almansoori must first be tried in Arizona for the stabbings before being extradited. But Bragg said since the suspect is facing homicide charges in New York, he should be prosecuted here first. The Manhattan District Attorneys Office will continue to press for Mr Almansooris return to New York, said office spokesperson Emily Tuttle. We are proceeding as we do in each and every case involving an out-of-state arrest, she said. Following the facts and the law to ensure justice is served. Queens migrant mom worked hard to give family the best life Five years ago, Denisse Oleas-Arancibia immigrated from Ecuador to the United States for a better life. A better life, not only for herself, but for her family including her 18-year-old son, her 13-year-old son, her three siblings and her parents. All remained in South America except for her 18-year-old son Edwin Cevallos, who came to the US three years after she did. She wanted a better life because in Ecuador is a lot of bad people. It was so dangerous, he told The New York Daily News in the days following her death. She gave us the life that we always wanted. Mr Cevallos said he called police on 8 February when she didnt come home from work the night before. I was waiting for her to come the next day and at 1pm I saw that she didnt come (home) so then I called the police, he said. Later that day, police broke the heartbreaking news to her son that her body had been found. I am in shock. I cant believe this happened. This is surprising, Mr Cevallos added. Everything here in New York reminds me of her. Everything. It was a normal day Mr Cevallos said he last spoke to her a day before her death when she woke him up for school and made him breakfast. Bacon with eggs and a milkshake of banana, he said. It was a normal day. She then paid for a taxi to get him to school and blessed him with the sign of the cross. Then she said, Goodbye, I love you, Mr Cevallos said. Just after 9:20am that same day, he texted her asking for money for a haircut. She sent him a voice message in Spanish and told him shed send the barber money through her phone when he got there, which she did. Mr Cevallos added that he didnt know what his mother did for a living or why she was at the hotel that day. All I knew is that everyday at 2pm she went to Manhattan to work, he said. My mom, she worked very hard, Cevallos said. She was working all day. She was always working for us to give us the best life in this country. He added that in the week (before) she was like, sad. She was so nervous and she was worried, Cevallos told the New York Daily News in Spanish. However, he added that he did not know if that fear was connected to her death. Denisse Oleas-Arancibia immigrated from Ecuador to the United States for a better life (GoFundMe) He described his mother as happy and fun-loving, weeping as he showed off a photo of her from his 18th birthday dinner at a Brazilian restaurant. She was always happy and having fun, he said. The best part of her is she always helped us and the family and she was very organized, he added, breaking down in tears often as he talked about his mom. She always had money to cover anything in the house. She didnt owe no money to anybody. I want (people to know) that she was always helping people. She was a very good person. She never hurt anybody. She was always paying for everything. She never owed money to anybody. She was always looking to help them move forward, Mr Cevallos said. A GoFundMe to help the family with funeral expenses and support for her children was created by Maria Oleas. On behalf of the family of Denisse-Oleas Arancibia, we are asking our community to please help support us in raising the funding needed to properly say goodbye to our beloved family. Denisse was a mother full of so much life and opportunity who leaves behind two sons who now have to go on without their loving mom. Denisses life was taken away too soon and her boys are struggling with the events surrounding this loss and are in need of any and all support. Lets help my family send my sister back home to Ecuador. Please help the family in any way possible. Thank you. Florida woman recalls chilling encounter with suspect before hotel murder Following Mr Almansooris arrest last month, Florida native Leah Palian claimed she was attacked and sexually assaulted by Mr Almansoori in April 2023. Ms Palian, who said she previously worked with Mr Almansoori at a restaurant in Orlando, recounted the alleged attack to Eyewitness News. He gets right on top of me on the couch and he starts strangling me with the utmost force, he just goes directly under my chin, he knew exactly what he was doing, he cut off my airways, she said. Immediately like I was laying there in fear for my life. Police managed to catch Mr Almansoori when he fled with her car, but Florida prosecutors ended up dropping the most violent charges, the outlet reported. After reviewing all the evidence and facts related to the case, we concluded there was insufficient evidence to prove the sexual battery and aggravated assault charges beyond a reasonable doubt, Orlando State Attorney Monique H. Worrell said. Mr Almansoori was able to post bond in Florida before making his way to New York City. I told the prosecutors if they let him walk that he was capable of doing this, Ms Palian told Eyewitness News following the news of his arrest for the New York murder. Its just so disheartening that this is allowed to happen, she added. Joe Biden holds a 'Say her name Laken Riley' badge while making his speech - SAUL LOEB/AFP President Joe Biden has been branded pathetic for saying the wrong name in his State of the Union speech when he spoke about a nursing student whose murder by a migrant has become a touchstone issue in the US. Laken Riley, 22, was kidnapped and murdered while studying at Augusta University in the state of Georgia in February. Police have since arrested a murder suspect, Jose Antonio Ibarra, an immigrant from Venezuela who crossed into the US illegally in 2022. The crime has caused uproar in the US, where illegal immigration has become a major election issue. During Mr Bidens agenda-setting annual State of the Union speech on Friday, he was interrupted by Right-wing politician Marjorie Taylor-Greene heckling him. Ms Taylor-Greene, a Donald Trump ally, called on the president to say [Lakens] name during a part of the speech in which he defended his record on immigration. Laken Riley, 22, was kidnapped and murdered Mr Biden then searched for a button with the murder victims name on it and stumbled over her first name. After appearing to get her name right at the first time of asking, he repeated it by calling her Lincoln Riley. Marjorie Taylor-Greene interrupted and heckled Mr Biden during his speech - MANDEL NGAN/AFP Biden does not even KNOW my childs name it [sic] pathetic! said Allyson Philips, the mother of the murder victim, in a post on Facebook. Since Lakens murder, the US House of Representatives has passed the Laken Riley Act, which requires the federal detention of illegal immigrants who have committed burglary or theft. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. The ongoing fight over the method state lawmakers will use to determine the amount of money needed to operate Mississippis public schools has major ramifications. Yes, the issue is complicated, and the way its playing out in the Legislature is confusing to say the least. It is confusing, at least in part, because House leaders are using the existing school funding formula, which they are trying to scrap because they say it is inefficient, to decide how much money to put into their new proposal. House leaders say their goal is to rewrite the long-standing Mississippi Adequate Education Program, which provides the states share for the basics to operate local schools. But in doing so, they are using the MAEP to ascertain how much money to place in their plan, which theyre calling Investing in the Needs of Students to Prioritize, Impact and Reform Education, or the INSPIRE Act. Mississippi State Sen. David Jordan, D-Greenwood, asks a question during the floor debate on legislation that makes changes to the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. Wait, so why are the folks who want to rewrite the MAEP because they say it is inefficient, outdated and unfair using the MAEP to determine how much money to place in their new funding plan? Well, the answer to that is simple: their plan does not have a formula to ascertain how much money the schools need. The INSPIRE Act, would depend on a committee granted, education professionals who can make educated decisions to determine the amount of money. But there is no objective formula in the House leaderships plan, like can be found in the MAEP, to ascertain the amount of money. The Legislature, of course, could accept or reject the recommendation of the proposed new committee, just like they have for years ignored the MAEP formula. Heck, its reasonable to assume that if the House plan passes and the advisory committee is put in place, the committee would use the MAEP to make its suggestions to legislators. Mississippi State Sen. Lydia Chassaniol, R-Winona, consults a funding graph as she monitors the MAEP floor debate. House leaders could read this and argue that they are not using MAEP to ascertain the amount of money that is in their plan. But they have said that they accepted the funding request from the state Board of Education as the amount of funding that would go into their plan to be allocated to local school district. Guess what the request from the state Board of Education is based on? Youre correct! It was based on the MAEP formula. We had to have a starting point, said House Education Chair Rob Roberson, R-Starkville, when asked about using the MAEP numbers. We didnt want to throw the baby out with the bath water. Mississippi State Sen. Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall speaks during the MAEP floor debate. It should be noted that the plan put forth by Roberson and his colleagues, including second-term House members Kent McCarty, R-Hattiesburg, and Jansen Owen, R-Poplarville, has many laudable features that appear to provide more funds for poor students and others who would be deemed as costing more money to educate. That is a good thing, most would agree. But it also should be noted that many legislators from districts with high poverty, such as Bryant Clark, a Democrat from Holmes County, have been trying for more than a decade to tweak the MAEP to add additional funding for those same students living in poverty. Those efforts have, time and time again, been blocked by Republican leaders who say MAEP already was too costly. Even though there are many good features in the House plan in terms of the equity it provides, there are concerns for many in the public education community with repealing an objective formula. Removing an objective funding formula is a big deal. Mississippi State Sen. Angela Hill, R-Picayune, asks a question during the floor debate. Since 1953, Mississippi has had an objective funding formula to determine the states share of the money needed to provide for the basics of operating schools first the Minimum Education Program, followed by the Adequate Education Program that was passed in 1997. Eschewing any type of objective funding formula in a state that has had one for nearly three-quarters of a century should be closely vetted and scrutinized, many public education groups contend. Some question whether that vetting and scrutiny has occurred. The specifics of the House plan did not become public until the current session was well underway. Before then, there was a little chatter about the plan, but no specifics were offered. There is no reason that House leaders could not have taken their plan and incorporated an objective funding formula in it to arrive at their stated goal of providing more equity for Mississippis schools and students. For whatever reason they chose not to do so. And even as theyre trying to scrap MAEP, theyre having to rely on it to push their alternative. This analysis was produced by Mississippi Today, a nonprofit news organization that covers state government, public policy, politics and culture. Bobby Harrison is Mississippi Todays senior Capitol reporter. MTA workers calling for more protection: There should be officers at all 450 terminals NEW YORK (PIX11) Several dozen transit workers marched to Governor Kathy Hochuls midtown office Friday afternoon, denouncing the escalating assaults targeting them and their colleagues in the subway system. Many are skeptical of Hochuls new subway safety plan. Police fatally shoot man who stabbed wife in Queens: NYPD With a tally of at least eight MTA workers brutalized on the job this year, conductor Ciara Bromfield pointed out, After somebody got their neck cut somebody got hit in the face with a bottle. Transit workers demanded improved safety measures against subway criminals. Evangeline Byars said, We have 450 stations there should be officers at all 450 terminals they can do so. Their demands included deploying MTA police alongside the NYPD and National Guard. Governor Hochul announced additional security measures including more random bag screenings aimed at protecting both workers and riders. Hochul proposed legislative action to ban individuals convicted of transit assaults. The NYPD found 38 individuals were responsible for over 1,100 such attacks last year. Transit Chief Michael Kemper called on state lawmakers to strengthen bail laws, demanding accountability for criminals targeting New Yorkers, Where are the voices screaming accountability on the people committing crimes on New Yorkers? The governor admitted they got some of the legislation wrong, It never should have gone as far as it did. Were trying to pull it back and support our police to do their jobs, but also protect peoples civil liberties. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. Generally, when a single insider buys stock, it is usually not a big deal. However, when several insiders are buying, like in the case of Frenkel Topping Group Plc (LON:FEN), it sends a favourable message to the company's shareholders. While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. View our latest analysis for Frenkel Topping Group Frenkel Topping Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year The MD & Executive Director Mark Holt made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK70k worth of shares at a price of UK0.54 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being UK0.48). While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price. Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 181.00k shares worth UK101k. On the other hand they divested 51.00k shares, for UK31k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Frenkel Topping Group insiders. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date! There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them). Insider Ownership Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Our data suggests Frenkel Topping Group insiders own 2.1% of the company, worth about UK1.2m. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. We prefer to see high levels of insider ownership. Story continues What Might The Insider Transactions At Frenkel Topping Group Tell Us? There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. The transactions are fine but it'd be more encouraging if Frenkel Topping Group insiders bought more shares in the company. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. For example - Frenkel Topping Group has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of. If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt. For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests. 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. MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN) Members of the Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) community were urged to stay inside Saturday afternoon due to an armed individual near campus. The MTSU Police Department issued a critical alert shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 9, saying the Rutherford County Sheriffs Office was chasing an armed suspect in the area of Alumni Drive and City View Drive. Have breaking come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts Authorities described the suspect as a male wearing a black hoodie and gray jeans. Community members were urged to avoid the area or stay inside until further notice. MTSU police told News 2 that Rutherford County deputies were performing a traffic stop when the suspect fled toward campus. Man found shot multiple times at Murfreesboro home dies at hospital Then, just after 2:45 p.m., MTSU police reported that, after an extensive search, the suspect was believed to have left the area, saying, There is currently no active threat to the MTSU campus. Resume normal activities. No additional details have been released about this situation. Download the News 2 app to stay updated on the go. Sign up for WKRN email alerts to have breaking news sent to your inbox. Find todays top stories on WKRN.com for Nashville, TN and all of Middle Tennessee. This is a developing story. WKRN News 2 will continue to update this article as new information becomes available. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. The mysterious workings of Jupiter's intense magnetic field are coming to light, thanks to a tiny jet buried deep in the gas giant's atmosphere. Every four years, this jet appears to fluctuate like a wave. While it's not yet clear what drives this atmospheric jet, new findings reveal some clues about the invisible, complex workings of an intense area of magnetism near Jupiter 's equator, dubbed the "Great Blue Spot." This region isn't actually blue; the name comes from the color scale scientists use to build maps of Jupiter's magnetic field. Unlike Earth's magnetic field , the gas giant 's field is not symmetric with its rotational axis this asymmetry is so pronounced, in fact, that the Great Blue Spot can even be likened to a second south pole poking out from the planet's equator. It also appears part of the region is getting swept westward by one jet while other parts are being tugged at by winds flowing eastward. "It's a mystery," Yohai Kaspi, a professor of Earth and planetary sciences at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and a co-investigator of NASA 's Juno mission, told Space.com "We don't know why that place has that kind of an anomaly." Related: Jupiter's Great Red Spot turns blue in new ultraviolet view from Hubble Telescope (photo) In a paper published Wednesday (March 6) in Nature, however, scientists may have offered some more insight into the Great Blue Spot. They used data sent home from the Juno probe, presently investigating Jupiter, as it had mapped the Great Blue Spot during a series of targeted flybys conducted during its extended mission. Much like ocean waves that change their speed as they move, the new finding suggests there may be wave-like behavior deep inside Jupiter's metallic core that could power the observed magnetic field, study lead author Jeremy Bloxham of Harvard University told BBC Science Focus . "These changes can be explained in large part by an eastward drift of the spot, but, as reported in this paper, that rate of drift is fluctuating." a colorful pale circle with wavy lines and a grid overlayed. Scientists previously knew this cluster of intense magnetic fields drift more than anywhere else on the gas planet, thanks to strong winds blowing right from its turbulent "surface" to 1,860 miles (3,000 kilometers) deep. At that deepest point, Jupiter's intense magnetic field is thought to dampen these winds. The newfound jet may even be drifting at a miniscule scale of tens of centimeters per second in that area, as opposed to other jets on the surface which travel many times faster. Related Stories: Uranus grows a smoggy cap while Jupiter's Red Spot keeps shrinking, Hubble telescope reveals (photos) Something weird is happening in Jupiter's atmosphere, 40-year study shows Jupiter's Great Red Spot is even deeper than scientists had thought Still, the finding is a "very marginal measurement," said Kaspi, who was not involved with the paper. He says it's better thought of as an initial result within the noise threshold as scientists don't yet have enough data to conclude the jet fluctuates precisely every four years. "If your data is just from five years, you can't really say anything about a four-year period." More observations from Juno could deliver certainty soon, which would ultimately help scientists better understand the dynamo that powers Jupiter's complex magnetic field. Republicans in North Carolina have selected Mark Robinson as their nominee in the swing states 2024 gubernatorial race. Robinson the states first Black lieutenant governor, who will now face Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein in the general election has a richer history of bigoted commentary than any major-party political candidate in recent memory. He has leveled truly vile attacks against Muslims, Jews, women, and the LGBTQ community, while pushing a torrent of conspiracy theories about everything from Covid-19 to the 2020 election. He also loves Donald Trump. Trump loves him back, naturally. The former president last summer said he would endorse his run for governor, and made it official ahead of the primary earlier this month, calling Robinson Martin Luther King on steroids during a rally in North Carolina. I told that to Mark, Trump recalled. I said, I think youre better than Martin Luther King. I think you are Martin Luther King times two. Robinson, a former furniture manufacturer who got into politics by defending gun rights after the 2018 Parkland High School shooting, defeated his closest Republican primary challenger by over 45 percentage points. The day after he won the nomination, video surfaced of Robinson pining for a return to the America where women couldnt vote. The video went viral, but its only one of countless reprehensible comments hes made in recent years. Heres an incomplete list of some of the others: Holocaust denial In Facebook posts, Robinson has repeatedly denied the Holocaust. In one 2018 post, he wrote that this foolishness about Hitler disarming MILLIONS of Jews and then marching them off to concentration camps is a bunch of hogwash. In another post, published in 2017, Robinson wrote that there is a REASON the liberal media fills the airwaves with programs about the NAZI and the 6 million Jews they murdered, placing the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust in scare quotes. Calling Black Panther a ploy for Jewish people to take money from Black people The 2018 Marvel film Black Panther was an immediate, worldwide blockbuster success Mark Robinson hated it. Shortly after its release, Robinson took to Facebook to author an antisemitic screed about the film. It is absolutely AMAZING to me that people who know so little about their true history and REFUSE to acknowledge the pure sorry state of their current condition can get so excited about a fictional hero created by an agnostic Jew and put to film by satanic marxist, he wrote. How can this trash, that was only created to pull the shekels out of your Schvartze pockets, invoke any pride? he added, invoking a derogatory Yiddish term for Black people. Quoting Hitler Robinsons prolific Facebook musings also include quotes from the genocidal Nazi dictator Adolf Hilter. In 2014, Robinson posted a History who said it, on his profile: Pride in ones own race and that does not imply contempt for other races is also a normal and healthy sentiment. I have never regarded the Chinese or the Japanese as being inferior to ourselves They have the right to be proud of their past, just as we have the right to be proud of the civilization to which we belong. He didnt clarify in the post that the text was drawn from Hitlers political testaments, as recorded by Martin Bormann, in the months before his suicide in April of 1945. While Robinson decontextualized the quote, at the time Hitler said those words, millions of Jews had already been exterminated by the Nazis throughout Europe. Robinson later defended quoting Hitler at a Moms for Liberty conference. In subsequent years, Robinson complained that people talk too much about the Nazis and their atrocities. I am so sick of seeing and hearing people STILL talk about Nazis and Hitler and how evil and manipulative they were, he wrote in 2017. NEWS FLASH PEOPLE, THE NAZIS (National Socialist) ARE GONE! We did away with them. Calling homosexuality filth and likening LGBTQ people to maggots In a 2021 sermon before a North Carolina church, Robinson referred to LGBTQ people as filth. Theres no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality, any of that filth, Robinson said. And yes, I called it filth, and if you dont like that I called it filth, come see me and Ill explain it to you. North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson says Christians must take control of public schools because children are being abused by being taught "filth": "There's no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality, any of that filth." pic.twitter.com/aXjCPFKTs0 Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) October 6, 2021 Months later, during another sermon, Robinson declared that heterosexual couples were superior to homosexual couples, and likened LGBTQ relationships to having less validity than what the cows leave behind. Everything that God made, from the foul odor of what the cow left behind, to the decaying body of every living creature, to the maggots that eat those dead bodies, to the flies left behind God made all those things for a purpose. Would someone please explain to me the purpose of Homosexuality? he said. If homosexuality is of God, what purpose does it serve? What does it make? What does it create? It creates nothing. Anti-trans rhetoric Robinson clearly harbors a disgust for LGBTQ people, but he is particularly vitriolic in his rhetoric regarding transgender people. Earlier this year, during campaign remarks in Cary, North Carolina, Robinson said transgender women should be arrested for using womens restrooms. Were going to defend women in this state, he said. That means if youre a man on Friday night and all of the sudden on Saturday, you feel like a woman and you want to go in the womens bathroom in the mall, you will be arrested or whatever we got to do to you. Instead, Robinson said, transgender women should find a corner outside somewhere to go. Anti-Muslim posts In 2017, Robinson attacked Muslims, and Muslim immigrants to the United States, in a lengthy Facebook post. In many areas they DEMAND their own space on land which they have paid for in neither blood or money [] I for one am SICK OF IT, he wrote. They jumped off the pile of rocks they once called home and now come to what someone else has built and DEMAND rights they were too afraid to fight for in the countries they fled. And Im not afraid to say it; It sicken me to my core to see them congregated like sullen anti-American separatist who refuse to assimilate to our ways while demanding respect they have not earned, Robinson said. The truth of the matter is this; these people are not immigrants, they are INVADERS. In another post, Robinson wrote that the question is not When is the last time you saw anyone but a Muslim holding a severed head and smiling The question is, when is the last time you saw a Muslim protesting against a Muslim who severed a head. or bombed a shopping mall, or ran down a group of humans with a truck, or shot up a nightclub, or burned someone alive.. Mocking Asian accents Robinson loves creating his own memes, so much that in the past hes watermarked them to ensure his Facebook followers know exactly who made them. In one such meme, published in 2016, Robinson mocks Asian accents. The post, containing the image of the Chinese philosopher Confucius, contains the text NOT GOOD IDEA TO TALK ABOWT OTHER MANS SKELWETON IN QASET WHEN VOU HAB DEAD BODY ON YOUR WIVING WOOM FOUR. Longing for the days when women couldnt vote A day after the primary, HuffPost reported on a 2020 video in which Robinson said he wished America could return to the days when women couldnt vote. I absolutely want to go back to the America where women couldnt vote, Robinson said. Do you know why? Because in those days, we had people who fought for real social change, and they were called Republicans. I absolutely want to go back to the America where women couldnt vote. In 2020 video resurfaced by HuffPost, NC governor nominee Mark Robinson (R) reminisces about a past in which peoplefought for real social change, saying thats the America we want to bring back. pic.twitter.com/Y3F0ezxKHL The Recount (@therecount) March 6, 2024 Saying women should not be leaders in society because We are called to be led by men During a 2022 sermon, Robinson made clear that he feels womens role in society is not in leadership. We are called to be led by men, he said God sent women out when they had to do their thing, but when they had to do their thing, but when it was time to face down Goliath, [He] sent David. Not Davita, David. God also sent Moses, not Momma Moses. Daddy Moses, he added. Calling Beyonce Satanic Youve made it this far, so its probably clear there are a lot of things Mark Robinson doesnt like. If theres space left in your brain, add Beyonce to the list. Her songs sound like they say stuff like Satan laughs as you rot in hell if you play them backwards. SUPER WEIRD!!!!! Robinson wrote in 2019, alongside a change my mind meme featuring the phrase Beyonces songs sound like Satanic chants. Shes not the only entertainer he considers to be influenced by the devil. He wrote in 2017 that Beyonces husband, rapper Jay-Z, was a demonic stooge of Satan who has promised to lead as many people as possible away from Jesus in exchange for millions of dollars and worldwide fame. Calling Michelle Obama Alongside his support for conspiracies about the former president, Robinson repeatedly posted hateful and derogatory comments about former First Lady Michelle Obama. Michelle Obama is an anti-American, abortion and gay marriage supporting, liberal leftist elitist and Ill be glad when he takes his boyfriend and leaves the White House, he wrote on Facebook in 2017. The post echoed a longstanding attack from the right accusing Obama of being secretly transgender or a man. So what First LADY Melania Trump speaks five languages. First lady Michelle Obama spoke five also; female, male, ghetto, anti-American liberal, and wookie, Robinson wrote in another post. Calling the allegations against Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein an illuminati plot One would hope that as a society we have evolved beyond the need for anyone to feel they have to defend convicted sexual abusers Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein. But Robinson did just that during a 2018 interview on the Politics and Prophecy with Chris Levels radio show. Wow: @markrobinsonNC comes to the defense of Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby and Matt Lauer and their "so-called crimes" because "everyone's got something in their past." Is Mark telling us all something? Or is he just on Team Weinstein because, y'know #ncpol pic.twitter.com/eFKJEXNTbe Carolina Forward (@ForwardCarolina) June 5, 2023 What the left is doing with the Harvey Weinsteins, the Bill Cosbys, the Matt Lauers. They have picked out the elite group of people that have committed these so-called sexual crimes, or whatever kind of crimes theyve committed or offenses, and they have thrown those people underneath the bus, eating their own to breed a spirit of fear in people so people will be afraid to stand up and speak up and get involved, he said. Everybody sins, come short of the glory of God. They know that. They want people to be afraid of their power and they want to create a climate of fear, Robinson added. Calling mass shootings karma for abortion In 2019, Robinson claimed that mass shootings were karma for Americans support for abortion rights. When you spill that innocent blood, that blood is going to come back as a stain on you and its going to come home to roost, he said in an interview with conservative commentator John Age. People say, Well, I just cant believe were having all these mass killings. And I cant believe that people are so mean. Our own government is promoting the murder of infants. Do you think that somehow people talk about karma all the time. Do you think that thats not swinging back around in this society and that people are seeing how human life is being devalued through the murder of all these infants? Robinson added. Calling Parkland shooting survivors spoiled little bastards and prosti-tots Robinson may think mass shootings are karma for abortions, but that doesnt mean he has any sympathy for young people who exist outside of the womb. A fierce anti-gun control advocate, Robinson repeatedly attacked the teenage survivors of the 2018 Parkland mass shooting, calling them spoiled, angry, know it all CHILDREN; spoiled little bastards; and media prosti-tots in various social media posts. I remember when CHILDREN knew their place, and when they got out of place and got sassy. ADULTS would out them back into it, he wrote in on X, formerly Twitter, post. A spoiled, angry, disobedient CHILD shot and killed 17 of his classmates, and now spoiled, angry, know it all CHILDREN are trying to tell law abiding ADULTS that we must give up our Constitutional RIGHT to own certain weapons, he wrote in a 2018 Facebook post. David Hogg and the rest of these silly little immature media prosti-tots need to grab a passy, have seat in time out, and shut up [] If, two days before this shooting, a hard nosed nonsense conservative had walked into that school and put into place the ideals and principles that would have avoided that massacre, you spoiled little bastards would have kicked and screamed like babies in a crib, he added. Attacking gay people after the Pulse nightclub shooting In 2016, a mass shooter murdered 49 people at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The Pulse shooting, which was briefly the deadliest mass shooting in the nations history, sparked nationwide horror and renewed attention towards violence against the LGBTQ community. Mark Robinson begged to differ. I pray for the souls of all those killed, healing for all those wounded, and comfort for the family members of the terrorist shooting in Orlando. However, homosexuality is STILL an abominable sin and I WILL NOT join in celebrating gay pride nor will I fly their sacrilegious flag on my page, Robinson wrote on Facebook days after the shooting. Sorry if this offends anyone, but Im not falling for the media/pop culture okey-doke. Mocking Paul Pelosi In October of 2022, right wing conspiracy theorists when off the rails after Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, was attacked and seriously injured by a home intruder. Several prominent right-wing figures pushed false claims that Pelosi knew his attacker and that they were actually lovers because Pelosi had referred to him as a friend while attempting to tip off 911 dispatchers as to his situation. Robinson joined in, posting a picture of a fake Spirit Halloween costume depicting Pelosis attacker which included underwear, hammers, and a lame story to tell the press. Im sorry Paul I dont believe you or the press!!!! Robinson captioned the post. Defending white pride Robinson felt the need to defend the slogan White Pride from accusations of racism. In 2013, he wrote that he was TIRED of blacks and mexicans running around shouting about being proud of their race but when a white person does it they call them a bigot. Im not saying that Mexicans and Blacks should not be proud, but who do you think has the most to brag about, the folks who built Mexico, the folks who bulit the Nations in Africa, or the folks who built The United States. Whats good for one race is good for all. If others can thump their chest and claim pride in their race, so can white people, he wrote. In a separate 2014 post he wrote a note to liberals stating that he would accept gay pride when they accept White Pride. The racist trope is obvious. Pushing the Obama birther conspiracy Robinson promoted baseless right-wing birther conspiracy alleging that former President Barack Obama was actually ineligible to be president because he had been secretly born in Kenya and forged his birth certificate. Pushing Covid-19 conspiracies Robinson has cut a name for himself as a MAGA sycophant, closely tying his own policies and politics to those of the former president. During the Covid-19 pandemic when Robinson was in the midst of his campaign for the lieutenant governorship he claimed that the pandemic was actually a globalist plot to derail Trumps success as president. Robinson opposed community door-knocking efforts by the Biden administration to send volunteers into certain communities in order to provide them information on the vaccine, and falsely claimed that the program violated HIPAA laws. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) Crews spent Saturday afternoon working to extinguish a train fire that broke out in the Woodbine area of South Nashville. A News 2 employee saw the train on fire near Grandview Avenue and Melrose Avenue. According to Metro Nashville dispatch, 20 units from the Nashville Fire Department (NFD) were dispatched to that incident shortly before 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 9. Have breaking come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts When first responders first arrived at the scene, they learned the train had derailed, which punctured the underbelly of the locomotive, causing fuel to spill from the 2,000 gallons of diesel it was carrying. As fuel spilled onto the tracks, a fire ignited, according to officials. Crews had to be careful with how they approached the blaze so they wouldnt mix water with any electrical charge. The first locomotive was de-energized, but the second one still had energy running to it with the diesel fuel leaking out of the bottom, so we had to wait for CSX to get on site so they could de-energize that second locomotive while our personnel were trying to contain the diesel fuel leak that was still happening, so it was a very, kind of, complicated process that was happening simultaneously, a lot of moving pieces and parts, which is why a lot of personnel were called to the scene, Kendra Loney, the NFD public information officer, explained. NFD said there are no reports of injuries from the fire, adding that the driver from the locomotive managed to get out safely. Fire officials said CSX temporarily stopped nearby train traffic until the hazardous materials could be cleared from the tracks, but nobody had to be evacuated in the immediate area. WATCH: Nashville first responders fight train fire in Woodbine area Specialized trucks from around Middle Tennessee were called to the scene to remove any remaining diesel from the train car that was leaking fuel. That diesel was hauled off so the car could be removed and the train tracks reopened. Meanwhile, firefighters sprayed a special foam on the ground and used other absorbents to handle the diesel that had been spilled. There was a fire that was happening with that energized car that had a leak going on all at the same time, so if you dont follow the steps and protocols down to every single step, then you might miss something and you might cause another emergency within that emergency, Loney said. No additional details have been released about this incident. Download the News 2 app to stay updated on the go. Sign up for WKRN email alerts to have breaking news sent to your inbox. Find todays top stories on WKRN.com for Nashville, TN and all of Middle Tennessee. This is a developing story. WKRN News 2 will continue to update this article as new information becomes available. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. National Guard helicopter crashes near southern border in Texas, killing at least 3 on board A helicopter carrying three National Guard soldiers and a Border Patrol agent crashed Friday near the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas, killing at least three on board, officials said. The helicopter went down in La Grulla, a border town that sits near the Rio Grande in Starr County. Starr County Judge Eloy Vera, the county's top local official, said the fourth person was in critical condition. THOUSANDS OF NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS HAVE NOT RECEIVED PROMISED ENLISTMENT BONUSES A National Guard helicopter seen after crashing in La Grulla, Texas on Friday. Law enforcement sources told Fox News that the three National Guard soldiers were working on federal orders on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security. The helicopter was a New York National Guard "Lakota." READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Authorities in La Grulla, Texas, at the site of a National Guard helicopter crash. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Starr County Sheriff's Office, the National Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. In January, a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter on a patrol mission crashed along the state's border with Mexico lost power and crashed. The co-pilot suffered a minor hand injury and the helicopter was significantly damaged. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Original article source: National Guard helicopter crashes near southern border in Texas, killing at least 3 on board LA GRULLA, Texas A helicopter flying over the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas crashed Friday, killing two National Guard soldiers and a Border Patrol agent, the military said. Another soldier on board was injured. The UH-72 Lakota helicopter was assigned to the federal governments border security mission when it went down near Rio Grande City, according to a statement released by Joint Task Force-North, the command overseeing the mission. The cause was under investigation. The crash happened mid-afternoon Friday while the helicopter was conducting aviation operations, according to the statement. No other details were provided. Starr County Judge Eloy Vera, the countys top official, said those on board included one woman and three men. He said the person who was injured was in critical condition. The names of those killed were not immediately released. Command spokesperson Maj. Ryan Wierzbicki said the military casualties will not be publicly identified until the next of kin have been notified. Border Patrol spokespersons did not immediately return messages seeking comment. The site of the crash is in Texas Rio Grande Valley. The Starr County Sheriffs Office posted on Facebook on Friday that it was assisting with a downed helicopter incident on the east side of the county. Vera said the scene had been secured by the sheriffs office and that federal officials were on the way. The border region is heavily patrolled by both state and federal authorities, including routine aerial surveillance. Federally controlled National Guard soldiers have assisted such efforts off-and-on for decades. The current mission there began during the Trump administration and has continued amid large volumes of migrant encounters. Fridays crash marks the third time a National Guard helicopter has gone down since Feb. 12. The Army National Guards top officer temporarily grounded all Guard flight crews last month after a pair of Apache crashes in Mississippi and Utah killed two service members and injured two more. National Guard orders aviation safety pause after Apache crashes Other aviation mishaps have occurred at the border, though not under the auspices of the federal military mission there. In January, a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter patrolling the states border with Mexico lost power and crashed, officials said at the time. The co-pilot suffered a minor hand injury and the helicopter was significantly damaged. That helicopter was flying as part of Operation Lone Star, Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts nearly $10 billion border mission that has tested the federal governments authority over immigration. A National Guard helicopter that flew over the U.S.-Mexico border crashed in Texas on Friday has claimed the lives of two National Guard soldiers and a U.S. Border Patrol agent. Another National Guard solider was injured. Around 2:50 p.m. MST, a UH-72 Lakota helicopter assigned to the federal Southwest border support mission crashed while conducting an aviation operation near Rio Grande City, 41 miles west of McAllen, the Joint Task Force North said in a press release. The Starr County Sheriffs Office responded to the scene of a, downed helicopter incident. Police confirmed that there was possibly fourth passengers on board the plane, the press release states. Starr County Judge Eloy Vera told the Associated Press that the passengers on the chopper included one woman and three men. Vera said the person who was injured was in critical condition. The Joint Task Force North will not release the names of those who were killed in the crash until all the families are notified. The cause of the accident is under investigation. Deadly crash: 5 people dead after single-engine plane crashes along Nashville interstate: What we know Tributes pour in for the fallen soldiers, border patrol agent A U.S. Customs and Border Protections agent divert members of the media away from the crash site involving a U.S. Border Patrol and CBP and Marine Operations helicopter in a field just north of the Rio Grande Friday, March 8, 2024, south of La Grulla, Texas. A helicopter carrying three National Guard members and a Border Patrol agent crashed along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas on Friday, killing three of the people on board, a county official said. Gen. Daniel Hokanson, head of the National Guard Bureau, sent his condolences on Friday to the family, friends and colleagues of those killed. Kelly & I, & the National Guard family, send our deepest condolences to the families, loved ones, friends & colleagues of the two Army National Guard Soldiers and the U.S. Border Patrol officer killed in today's helicopter crash in Texas. We mourn these heartbreaking deaths. They pic.twitter.com/8WZ6wtTujI General Daniel Hokanson (@ChiefNGB) March 9, 2024 Kelly & I, & the National Guard family, send our deepest condolences to the families, loved ones, friends & colleagues of the two Army National Guard Soldiers and the U.S. Border Patrol officer killed in today's helicopter crash in Texas., Hokanson wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. We mourn these heartbreaking deaths. They are a tragic loss beyond words. We pray for the speedy recovery of a third Guard Soldier who was seriously injured. All of these people represent selfless service & the best of America. A Texas congresswoman asked for prayers in the wake of the deadly crash. "I am asking for a prayer request and support for Border Patrol and CBP Air and Marine Operations. A tragic helicopter crash just happened near La Grulla, Texas. My thoughts and prayers are with you," Rep. Mayra Flores Vallejo (R-TX) wrote in a post on X. I am asking for a prayer request and support for Border Patrol and CBP Air and Marine Operations. A tragic helicopter crash just happened near La Grulla, Texas. My thoughts and prayers are with you pic.twitter.com/x4Woxjfoeq Mayra Flores Vallejo (@MayraFloresTX34) March 8, 2024 Ahjane Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjane covers breaking news, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at aforbes@gannett.com. Follow her on Instagram and X @forbesfineest. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: National Guard helicopter crash leaves 3 dead, 1 hurt: What to know (WBRE/WYOU) Training a new generation of police officers will be the focus of this Sundays Newsmakers. The monthly public affairs program is hosted by Jayne Ann Bugda and Andy Mehalshick. Bugda and Mehalshick will be joined by Kevin F. Mahoney, Director of Police Academy Operations, Lackawanna College Police Academy, and Gerard Dessoye, Academy Assistant Director, Lackawanna College Police Academy. They will discuss the Police Academy at Lackawanna College. The program is offered at the Scranton and Hazleton Campuses. Mahoney and Dessoye will discuss the requirements to be accepted, the extensive training, and the need for new officers. The two long-time law enforcement officers will also discuss the challenges of being an officer and how police training has changed over the years. Newsmakers will air this Sunday, March 10th at 7:30 am on WYOU and 11:30 am on WBRE. The Lackawanna College Police Academy has trained thousands of police officers in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The law enforcement field is expected to grow by 7% over the next 10 years and police officers are needed. Lackawanna College offers a unique opportunity to obtain certification from its Police Academy along with an associate degree in Criminal Justice in two years. Lackawanna College is the only private college in northeastern Pennsylvania that provides this combined education. In addition to the curriculum provided by the Municipal Police Officers Training. Cadets participate in simulated weapons training, mental health first aid, child abuse and domestic violence protocol training, and a variety of other hands-on training types. Applicant Eligibility Requirements 18 years of age at the time of application High School graduate or GED equivalent Valid Drivers License United States Citizen More Information For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com. The Department of Educations federal investigation into the death of Oklahoma 16-year-old Nex Benedict could take months and yield potentially unsatisfying results for advocates who want to see big changes in how LGBTQ young people are treated in schools. The departments Office for Civil Rights (OCR) launched the investigation last week in response to a Feb. 21 letter from the Human Rights Campaign, the nations largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, that accused Benedicts school district of failing to adequately respond to sex-based harassment that may have contributed to the students death on Feb. 8, the day after getting into a fight in the girls restroom. Rachel Perera, a fellow at the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institute, said its typical for OCR to respond quickly to reports of civil rights violations the departments policy is to probe any complaint that alleges a form of discrimination but it doesnt often begin its investigations with something as devastating as a death. This is not the type of incident that is typically the inciting incident of a Department of Ed investigation like this, Perera said in an interview. Im hoping that they handle this a bit differently than their standard protocols would dictate, just because of how incredibly sensitive and tragic this initial incident is. Key details surrounding Benedicts death and identity are still unclear. Sue Benedict Benedicts grandmother whom they called Mom told The Independent that Benedict did not see themselves as male or female. Benedict saw themselves right down the middle. Friends of Benedict during a vigil in Owasso, Okla., where they lived, said Benedict was transgender and primarily went by he/him pronouns at school but also used they/them pronouns. LGBTQ advocacy groups have described Benedict, who was of Choctaw Nation ancestry, as identifying under the Two-Spirit, transgender and gender non-conforming umbrella. A police investigation is ongoing, and the results of an autopsy and toxicology report are pending. The fight at school has not been ruled out as a possible cause of death, local authorities have said. It is also not known how long the OCR investigation into Benedicts school district, Owasso Public Schools, will last. Certain investigations, particularly ones that involve violent crimes, can take months or even years. The Department of Education told The Hill it began the investigation on March 1, but did not say how long it may take. It is so important that we have a real investigation to determine what happened and ensure that theres accountability and justice served, Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said Thursday on a call with reporters. We need to know what is happening in this school district; we need to know how the administration is handling, broadly, anti-LGBTQ+ harassment, she said. Robinson referenced a recent report from The Oklahoman in which current and former Owasso students said the Tulsa suburb has a long history of bullying that targets LGBTQ people. Lance Preston, the founder and executive director of the Rainbow Youth Project, told reporters on Thursday that calls to the groups crisis hotline have surged since Feb. 16, when Benedicts death began to receive widespread media attention. Most Oklahoma callers, Preston said, reported instances of bullying at local schools. Benedicts death has cast a spotlight on Oklahoma which leads the nation in anti-LGBTQ legislation filed this year, according to the ACLU and its treatment of LGBTQ students. More than 350 LGBTQ and civil rights organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign, in February called for the removal of the states top education official, Ryan Walters, for his anti-LGBTQ views and policies and for appointing Chaya Raichik the conservative activist behind Libs of TikTok, whose posts often target LGBTQ people to a state library advisory board. Walters at a January State Board of Education meeting said gender fluidity is the most radical concept weve ever come across in K-12 education and accused the Biden administration of weaponizing the Education Department to push gender ideology on kids. Responding to the groundswell of attention on Benedicts death, Walters in a statement accused the radical left and their accomplices in the media of using the incident to push a political agenda and a false narrative. I will continue to fight for parents and will never back down to the woke mob, he said. The Human Rights Campaign has called for a separate investigation into Walters and the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Hes more busy covering his tail than doing his job, so we need to make sure that theres an outside entity ensuring that there is a thorough investigation, Robinson said Thursday, referring to the OCR investigation. And if this investigation finds what we have heard to be true that there is a pattern of systemic harassment in the school there has to be action taken. The Department of Education in that case would need to lay out clear steps for the school district to change its policies and culture, Robinson said, and Owasso Public Schools would be required to enter a compliance agreement to ensure those steps are taken. The school district may also opt to resolve the investigation itself through a resolution agreement, which is allowed in certain cases, according to OCRs complaint processing procedures. Schools found to have violated one of the laws OCR enforces, which includes Title IX, are almost always given a chance to negotiate a settlement. Settlements typically require schools to collect better data on Title IX complaints and offer more resources to students. I would argue that those seem insufficient to address the type of harassment that has been documented by the family and friends of Nex Benedict, said Perera, of the Brookings Institute, especially in a state where you have the state superintendent vehemently attacking any efforts to make schools more inclusive for LGBTQ youth. In rare cases, schools found to have violated the law may lose federal funding. Schools that refuse to comply with agreements struck with OCR may have their cases referred to the Department of Justice. Advocates said they dont expect discrimination against LGBTQ people in Oklahoma and Owasso, specifically to disappear overnight, and the OCR investigation is only the first step in the right direction. Young people that are watching need to be reassured that when something happens that is flat out wrong, that there are people that are willing to stand up for them, said Robinson, of the Human Rights Campaign. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Guernsey Electricity said previously the works would avoid major roadworks in the future Guernsey Electricity said more roads would close as the completion of its first phase of works at Le Bourg makes way for the second. The company began works to upgrade high voltage power cables in the Forest on 12 February. Roads including Le Bourg and Le Chene were scheduled to reopen on Saturday, it said. The next stage of works would then begin. Mike Lloyd, the company's head of distribution, said Le Chemin Le Roi was due to close from Monday until Friday. He said Forest Road would then be closed from 16 March to 22 March. He added: "This particular work is necessary in this area and our responsibility is not only to maintain the electricity network across the island but to invest in and future proof the area to avoid major roadworks in the future." He said other utility companies would also be working in the area during this period "with the aim of preventing future closures". Follow BBC Guernsey on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk. FILE - A man wears a one dollar bill on a miner's helmet painted in gold color in Bucharest, Romania, Sept. 21, 2013, during a protest against the exploitation of gold by by Gabriel Resources, a Canadian mining company, at Rosia Montana, the site of ancient Roman mining galleries in a mountainous western Romanian region and home to Europe's largest gold deposits. The Romanian government has won a years-long legal dispute with a Canadian mining company seeking financial damages over failed plans to open a gold and silver mine in the Eastern European country. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File) BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) The Romanian government has won a yearslong legal dispute with a Canadian mining company seeking damages over failed plans to open a gold and silver mine in the Eastern European country. Gabriel Resources was seeking $4.4 billion (4 billion euros) in damages from the Romanian state, which owned a 20% stake in the mining project in Rosia Montana, a mountainous western region that contains some of Europes largest gold deposits. The Romanian government withdrew its support for the project in 2014. The government said that the ruling late Friday by the Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes ordered Gabriel Resources to reimburse its legal costs for the arbitration case the Canadian miner launched in 2015. Romanias Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said it would have been unfair for Romanian citizens to be burdened with high costs a loss would have incurred. I thank the team of lawyers who represented Romania with professionalism, he said after the ruling. The decision came 25 years after Gabriel Resources gained concession rights for the mining project that planned to extract gold and silver over a 16-year period. It would have involved razing four mountain tops, displacing hundreds of families and leaving behind a waste lake containing cyanide, a toxic chemical used in the process of gold extraction. The project drew strong opposition from environmental and civic activists who helped organize protests that drew tens of thousands of people to Romanias streets in 2013. Gabriel Resources said the project would have provided jobs in an area where employment opportunities are scarce. Rosia Montana is also home to ancient Roman mining galleries, which were added to UNESCOs World Heritage list in 2021. The next 20th meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (Ramstein format) will take place on 19 March at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Source: Radio Liberty, citing the press service of the US Air Force in Europe, as reported by European Pravda Details: "US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin plans to hold a face-to-face meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on 19 March 2024," the statement said. The US Air Force noted that Austin has again invited defence ministers and senior military officials from around the world to "discuss the crisis in Ukraine" and various security challenges facing US allies and partners. Background: Oleksandr Syrskyi, the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, attended the previous, 19th meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group on 14 February for the first time. The Ramstein-format meeting formalised the drone coalition and announced the list of its members. It plans to provide Ukraine with one million drones. In addition, NATO and Ukraine are reportedly setting up a joint training centre in Poland. Support UP or become our patron! Three fentanyl-related bills coming off hairline committee votes were passed by the New Hampshire Senate on Thursday, showing a growing appetite among lawmakers to see the state clamp down on drug distribution. Moving onto a future House vote are: Senate Bill 316 establishing a penalty and mandatory minimum prison sentence specifically for a person who transports fentanyl class drugs into New Hampshire with the intent to distribute. Senate Bills 414 and 415 adding mandatory minimums for death-resulting cases and fentanyl possession of certain amounts. All three bills were brought forth to the Senate unamended with a 3-2 recommendation from the Judiciary Committee. Three fentanyl-related bills coming off hairline committee votes were passed by the New Hampshire Senate on Thursday. Public safety is a priority of this state, and keeping criminals off the street, said Sen. Daryl Abbas, a Salem Republican and prime sponsor of SB 316. The black market fentanyl has been very damaging to New Hampshire communities and the families of New Hampshire. Abbas bill, which passed 14-10 after an emotive debate, would impose a five-year minimum prison sentence for an individual who enters this state while possessing any quantity of a fentanyl class drug with the intent to distribute the fentanyl class drug. Sen. Sharon Carson, a Londonderry Republican who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, called the bill a much-needed piece of legislation that will make drug dealers think twice about setting up shop here in New Hampshire. She cited testimony from a formerly convicted drug dealer who spoke in front of the House last year, quoting him, Youre going to scare people away with mandatory minimums. We must fight against drug trafficking, especially with fentanyl-related offenses, Carson said. We are now seeing fentanyl-laced drugs, other drugs, making an appearance in our state and killing our states citizens. Meanwhile, opposing lawmakers contended there isnt evidence that mandatory sentences make a dent in the overdose crisis, and instead, direct more money and resources toward incarceration. In January, both the New Hampshire Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the American Civil Liberties Union testified that mandatory minimums also disrupt the judicial process and take discretion out of a judges hands. These bills attempt to solve the problem, the problem being the scourge of fentanyl in our communities, but they attempt to resolve those problems by means that do not work, said Sen. Shannon Chandley, an Amherst Democrat, pointing to the failed mandatory minimum policies of the 1980s and 1990s. Sen. Rebecca Whitley, a Hopkinton Democrat, referenced a 50-state analysis done by Pew Charitable Trusts in 2017 that found no statistically significant relationship between states drug offender imprisonment rates and three measurements of drug problems: rates of illicit use, overdose deaths, and arrests. She argued that evidence is on the side of prevention and treatment. The Senate also passed two Gov. Chris Sununu-supported bills sponsored by Sen. Bill Gannon, a Sandown Republican. SB 414, passed 18-6, would establish a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison for the crime of distribution of a controlled drug with death resulting. SB 415, passed 18-6, would add mandatory minimums for certain fentanyl crimes, including 3 years incarceration for possession of 5 grams or more and seven years for 28 grams or more. Gannon said he introduced SB 414 on behalf of families in Fremont and Seabrook who lost loved ones to overdoses and wanted to see someone held accountable. Under the states Controlled Drug Act, a person can be charged with selling a drug that ultimately led to a persons overdose death. These are typically referred to as death-resulting cases, which can be challenging to prosecute because a high level of proof is needed to achieve a conviction. These cases also tend to be controversial because the person facing the charge is often in the throes of addiction, as well. Because of that, some feel judges should maintain discretion in sentencing, so theyre able to take mitigating factors into account. Gannon said 10 years in prison is appropriate for a life taken, and while he does support rehabilitation efforts, deterrence is also an important piece of a multi-pronged approach to curbing the opioid crisis. Speaking emphatically to his fellow lawmakers, Sen. Kevin Avard, a Nashua Republican, said: This is a bill that sends a strong message. It has to stop. This story was originally published by the New Hampshire Bulletin. This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: NH Senate targets drug distribution with passage of three bills Northamptonshire's suspended chief constable is facing a second criminal inquiry, it has emerged. Nick Adderley is under investigation at his former force, Staffordshire Police, over allegations of fraud in relation to the maintenance of police vehicles. It comes while he faces an inquiry into claims he misrepresented his military service. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is supervising the latest probe, but has not named him. The BBC has been able to obtain independent confirmation Mr Adderley is one of two former Staffordshire officers served with misconduct papers. The NN Journal first revealed the pair had been informed in February they were under investigation. The identity of the second officer is not known. The IOPC said: "We can confirm that two serving police officers have been told they are under criminal investigation as part of ongoing inquiries by Staffordshire Police into alleged fraud linked to the maintenance of police vehicles. "The investigation is being carried out under the direction of the IOPC." The watchdog continued: "The officers have been served with notices telling them they are under criminal investigation and that their conduct is under investigation at the level of gross misconduct. "Neither of them currently work for Staffordshire Police and both are suspended from their respective forces". It stressed the the serving of notices did not necessarily mean that criminal charges or conduct proceedings would follow. Gross Misconduct Mr Adderley was due to attend a gross misconduct hearing last week over allegations he had misrepresented his service in the Royal Navy. That hearing has been been postponed until May. The Sun newspaper first revealed the 57-year-old had worn a Falklands war medal at a number of public events even though he would have only been 15 years old when the conflict began in 1982. He had also claimed to be a Royal Navy officer despite having never achieved that rank, according to a BBC investigation. Mr Adderley was confirmed as Northamptonshire's chief constable in July 2018 having served as an assistant chief constable in Staffordshire with responsibility for the county's uniformed local policing teams. He has been previously contacted for comment but has so far not responded. Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp 0800 169 1830 Family members of those who had been abducted from a school in Kaduna gathered to meet the state governor on Thursday Nigeria is once more being rocked by mass abductions. Twice in one week, gangs of motorcycle-riding armed men, operating from forests in two different places in the north of the country, kidnapped hundreds of people. First on Wednesday we got news from a remote town in Borno state in the north-east that suspected militant Islamists had seized women and children from a displaced persons camp who were searching for firewood. It took several days for the news to emerge because the local mobile phone masts had been destroyed. Then the following day, more than 280 children, aged between eight and 15, and some teachers, were taken away by gunmen from a school hundreds of miles away in the north-western state of Kaduna into a nearby forest. There are reports locally that this attack was carried out by militants from the al-Qaeda-linked Ansaru group. In recent months, there had been a lull in this type of mass kidnapping that had plagued Nigeria since the notorious abduction of nearly 300 girls from a school in Chibok in April 2014 which captured international headlines. But now, it's deja vu as the 10th anniversary of that tragedy looms. The mass abduction in Kaduna is the biggest from a school since 2021. So why is there a resurgence of this kidnapping that is endangering the lives of the most vulnerable Nigerians? It is hard to discern a pattern from the coincidental timing of two apparently unconnected incidents, but it is a reminder that the threat has not gone away. The fact that they happened just days before the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan may be significant. Those who have been kidnapped and freed in the past have talked about being forced to do cooking and other menial jobs in the forest camps. But in general, kidnap-for-ransom in Nigeria is a low-risk, high-reward business. Those abducted are usually freed after money is handed over, and the perpetrators are rarely arrested. This is despite the fact that paying a ransom to free someone has been made illegal. In all, more than 4,700 people have been kidnapped since President Bola Tinubu came into power last May, risk consultants SBM Intelligence have said. Campaigners have called on the authorities to do more to end the insecurity Kidnapping has become a lucrative venture for people driven by economic desperation to raise funds. Apart from ransoms of money, gangs have in the past demanded foodstuffs, motorcycles and even petrol in exchange for the release of hostages. "Nigeria's poor economy creates the conditions for kidnapping. Over the past year, the government has not been able to fix its foreign exchange problem," William Linder, a retired CIA officer and head of 14 North, an Africa-focused risk advisory, told the BBC. "Food prices have skyrocketed, especially over the past six months. The perception of corruption continues." Alex Vines, director of the Africa programme at the Chatham House think-tank agrees. He said that the recent attacks can be tied to Nigeria's underperforming economy and the inability of the forces to disrupt the kidnapping gangs' activities. Rising food costs have been worsened by the farmers not being able to access their fields to grow food as they fear being attacked or kidnapped. "In large swathes of these areas, armed gangs have supplanted both the government and traditional rulers as the de facto authority," Dr Vines explained. The gangs often extort money from people, but the fact that they are unable to farm means there are fewer funds available, which may explain the gangs turning to kidnapping. Likewise, the shrinking of the Lake Chad basin and the spreading of the Sahara Desert southward has led to the disappearance of arable farmland and a scarcity of water. "These pressures only add to the woes of many, especially in the north. This pushes people to seek alternative means of income. Unfortunately, kidnapping for ransom is one," Mr Linder said. The gangs are aided by the fact that Nigeria's borders are porous and insecure. Islamist violence in the wider region has added to the insecurity. The vast forest reserves in the border regions have been turned into operational bases for the criminals. "Nigeria needs to work with its neighbours," said Bulama Bukarti, a senior conflict analyst at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. "Without transnational co-operation especially with Niger, Cameroon, Chad, including in the north-western part of Nigeria's border, these incidents will continue to repeat themselves." But that alone would not help Nigeria defeat the gangs, Mr Bukarti added. The authorities also need to be willing to bring perpetrators to justice. "We have never seen a gang leader arrested and prosecuted. It's lucrative. More people will join, and impunity will increase," he said. Map of Nigeria More about Nigeria's kidnap crisis: After a resounding series of losses on Super Tuesday, Nikki Haley announced she was suspending her campaign for president, locking in the Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden rematch that America was dreading. Despite surprisingly winning both Washington, D.C., and Vermont in the Republican primary, Haleys deficit of delegates against Trump was too much to overcome in the race for the GOP nomination. Republican primary voters were too consumed by the promise of what they would call the glory years of Trump's presidency returning to truly evaluate Haley's campaign for what it was: our best chance at denying a second Biden term and retaking the White House. Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said on March 6, 2024, a day after Super Tuesday, she is suspending her campaign. Haley spoke to media and some campaign staff, doubling down on not supporting former President Donald Trump. The fact that Trump was able to win the GOP nomination while under four criminal indictments, refusing to step on a debate stage and still refusing to concede his last election serves as a testament to how strong his grip on the party base is. Unfortunately for the countless principled Republicans like myself, we cannot justify a vote for Trump, no matter how bad a Biden presidency has been. I find myself now in the middle of two candidates I view as severely damaging to the future of our country. Biden is trailing in Michigan polls. Democrats must engage Black voters. Haley is better suited to beat Biden in November There is no doubt that Haley was better poised to win in a general election against Biden than Trump is. A poll released last month showed her beating Biden in a head-to-head election. Haley also is far more palatable to centrists than both Trump and Biden and was even capable of capturing a significant portion of voters who favor Biden over Trump. Republicans would rather lose elections than abandon Trump Haley was not my first choice for president, but she was far from my last. I certainly prefer her to Trump as the Republican nominee, and it's frustrating that the GOP base is entirely unconcerned with electability when selecting their candidate of choice. However, what has become abundantly clear this time around is that a significant portion of Republican voters would rather lose elections than abandon Trump, and that is a pill the anti-Trump conservatives have to swallow. Trump is vulnerable: Sure, Nikki Haley lost big on Super Tuesday. But warning signs for Trump are flashing. Republicans losing young voters. Trump won't help. For young conservatives like me, the only choice we've known for president is Trump. While a majority of Gen Z Republicans support the former president, the GOP has a major numbers problem when it comes to my generation, spanning from 1997 to 2012. Polling suggests that only 21% of Gen Z identifies as Republican compared with 36% as Democrat. The 30% of Gen Z who identifies as independent is unlikely to support Trump in large numbers come November, but Haleys support among independents could have unlocked a new source of votes for the GOP. Donald Trump celebrates with supporters at a Super Tuesday watch party at Mar-a Lago on March 5, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida. Even if Trump loses this year, which is a strong possibility, the loyalty expressed in this cycle gives me no reason to think we wont see a repeat in 2028 and beyond. I honestly dont know what will break through to those who support Trump anymore. The only way to be rid of Trump at this point might be for him to win an election and be precluded from running for a third term. Until then, it seems the GOP is stuck with Trump as our perpetual nominee. Instead of winning elections, the GOP is relying on Democrats to lose them. Instead of appealing to new voters, the GOP will rely on the same base it always has. If neither party will give us candidates worth voting for, I simply wont. Dace Potas Dace Potas is an Opinion fellow for USA TODAY. A native Detroiter, he is a graduate from DePaul University with a degree in political science. He is also president of the Lone Conservative, the largest conservative student-run publication in the country. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Haley drops out. But as a Republican, I won't vote for Trump in 2024 No Labels convention chair Mike Rawlings said that Democrats will get pummeled by the former Presidents Trump train when responding to pushback that the groups jump into the 2024 race would tilt the contest and hand the Oval Office back to the 45th president. Were gonna get run over by the Donald Trump Train, Rawlings told CNNs Michael Smerconish on Saturday. Okay. We didnt tie the Democrats to this track. We were the ones that saw this coming and say get off the track. Lets do this in a different way. Lets talk about common sense issues. Lets get common sense leadership. Lets take accountability in this country. Rawlings, the former Mayor of Dallas, countered the criticism that No Labels, a political group created to build support for a third-party presidential ticket, would be the culprit if their effort of potentially running a unity ticket shaves off enough votes from President Biden and gives back the White House to Trump. Im fascinated with this theoretical fear-mongering thats going on that somehow whats going to keep America from leaping into Dantes nine circles of hell is what No Labels does, Rawlings said. No Labels decided on Friday to formally jump into the 2024 race during a private meeting. Hundreds of state delegates affirmed the decision. They point to polls showing that wide swaths of voters are willing to entertain independent and third-party candidates. The meeting convened just days after Super Tuesday election results showed that Biden and Trump are likely dead-locked in another general election showdown, a repeat of the 2020 contest. Rawlings said the Democrats are blaming the wrong group when asked about No Labels acting as a spoiler in 2024. He said that Democrats should blame themselves since they chose Biden, again, as their nominee. Somehow this is No Labels fault, Rawlings, the former CEO of Pizza Hut, said. The Democrats, my Democrats, this is my party my whole life, okay have done this to themselves with quixotic, windmill-chasing, with bad, bad talking points, with the candidate that they chose. This is what the Democrats have done. No Labels is just speaking for the common sense majority that says we got to have a better way out of this thing. Following the Friday private meeting, it was reported that Geoff Duncan, the Republican former lieutenant governor of Georgia, could be on the potential ticket, according to the Wall Street Journal. Duncan is meeting with Republican donors this weekend, with the meetings set up by No Labels, according to ABC News. The Hill has reached out to No Labels for comment. Duncan served as the states lieutenant governor from 2019 to 2023. Duncan, a Republican, has been a critic of Trump. Meanwhile, our country remains on a collision course for the sequel no one wants, Duncan wrote in an op-ed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last month. An increasingly frail President Joe Biden versus an increasingly unhinged Trump, who could be a convicted felon before Election Day 2024. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. North Florida Land Trust (NFLT) marked a significant milestone at its Annual Meeting and 25th Anniversary celebration held at TPC Sawgrass, where partners, supporters, members, and potential members gathered to acknowledge achievements and outline future goals in conservation. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< During the event, presented by the Doolittle Family, NFLT President and CEO Allison DeFoor, alongside Board Member Lisa Barton, honored Atlantic Beach Holding Co. and the Bull Family with the inaugural Charlie Commander Land Conservation Award for their dedication to preserving land. The award, named after the late Charlie Commander, recognized the familys contribution of nearly 217 acres along the Intracoastal waterway, now known as the Harcourt and Florence Stolbrand Bull Memorial Preserve. Additionally, the NFLT Legacy Award was bestowed upon conservation stalwarts NFLT Founder Bill McQuilkin and former NFLT President Jim McCarthy. David Strickland, accepting on behalf of McQuilkin, conveyed gratitude, stating My family and I are appreciative of the NFLT team who have more than fulfilled our early conservation vision and efforts. Thanks for continuing the work and great wishes for the next 25 years. DeFoor highlighted NFLTs significant accomplishments since its inception in 1999, including the protection of over 37,000 acres over the past 25 years. With ongoing fundraising efforts, NFLT aims to preserve more land, having raised nearly $2.5 million in 2023 alone. DeFoor emphasized the urgency of conservation efforts, stating, It is now or never, urging collective action to safeguard vulnerable lands for future generations. Acknowledging the vital support from the board, staff, and supporters like Delores Barr Weaver, DeFoor announced milestone gifts and memberships exceeding first-year goals. Weavers generous contributions have bolstered NFLTs membership program and land-buying efforts. Funding provided to the stewardship department has empowered initiatives such as increased prescribed fires, habitat restoration, and long-leaf pine seedling planting, led by Stewardship Director Rianna Elliott and her team. Director of Conservation Acquisitions Ramesh Buch outlined NFLTs strategic focus areas, including the Ocala to Osceola (O2O) Wildlife Corridor and salt marsh and climate resilience. The event concluded with a call to action for continued support through membership, donations, and land protection efforts. For more information on how to engage with NFLTs mission, visit nflt.org. NFLT extended gratitude to all sponsors, including the Doolittle Family, The Players, Wetland Preserve, and Dream Finders Homes, for their support in advancing conservation efforts. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. A man wanted on a warrant is in jail after Darke County community members told police where he lived, according to the Greenville Police Department Lieutenant Ryan Benge. >> Approximately 75% of Ohio fire department to resign due to unaddressed issues Greenville police arrested Spencer Kouts, 32, at a residence in the 120 block of Virginia Avenue on Saturday. According to Benge, Kouts was wanted for a warrant out of Mercer County. This residence has been the subject of numerous complaints from citizens and investigation of the residence has been in progress since receiving those complaints, Benge said. Greenville police conducted a search warrant of the residence and found suspected narcotics and narcotics paraphernalia. Darke County Childrens Services responded and helped police with the investigation, Benge said. >> Man accused of using Snapchat to send child pornography formally charged Kouts was taken to the Darke County Jail on initial charges of possession of drugs. The Greenville Police Department remains committed to these types of investigations and encourages our citizens to continue reporting suspicious/criminal activity, Benge said. News Center 7 is working to learn what the warrant out of Mercer County is for. Angela Simmerman of Peoli is a family nurse practitioner specializing in pediatrics. She graduated from Indian Valley High School in 2002, then Kent State Tuscarawas with an associate degree in nursing before graduating from Malone University as a family nurse practitioner. But her interest in healthcare really began in while school. I worked at a nursing home and really enjoyed helping people and feeling like I was making a difference. I have always been a fan of science and the fact that our local community college had a very reputable nursing program. it just made sense for me to attend nursing school. Angela Simmerman But an even bigger step in her career awaits her as shell open Be Well Peds in Uhrichsville next month. As the state of Ohio requires, I will have a collaborating physician, but will be the only medical professional on site. After the opening she plans to obtain certification in holistic healthcare. It is still hard for me to believe this is my new journey. If you would have asked me 20 years ago when I graduated with an associate degree in nursing about going further I would have told you there were zero plans of me returning to school, she added. But everything has come full circle for Simmerman. It just goes to show that God has a plan for everyone, and you end up where you are supposed to be. It has been a roller coaster of emotions going through this process and even believing that I was capable of doing this at all. My family has made sacrifices financially and with time, but they have been so supportive and encouraging through this process. For other nurse partitions considering opening their own practices, Simmerman has a bit of advice: Kent State Tuscarawas has a great small business development center that has been so helpful to me from the start. The staff is knowledgeable and will guide you in the right direction from setting up your business plan to assisting with bank contacts for financing." This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Angela Simmerman opening Be Well Peds in Uhrichsville next month APPLETON, Wis. (WFRV) After a review by the Outagamie County District Attorneys Office of the deadly officer-involved shooting at Appletons Maritime Bar back in January, it was determined that the officers actions were justified. According to a release from the Appleton Police Department, the Outagamie County District Attorneys Office has completed its review of the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigations report on the incident that took place at the Maritime Bar in Appleton on January 23. First time in 55 years: Appleton neighborhood rocked by officer-involved shooting The review included written reports from the investigators, body camera video from the officers, surveillance videos, officer and witness statements, and photographs from the scene, ultimately leading to a conclusion of a justified use of force. Appleton Police Officers responded to an active disturbance involving the discharge of a firearm within the Maritime Bar. Officer Thor, without hesitation and by himself, entered the establishment to address an active threat. After entering the business, he was fired upon, sustaining injuries. Despite this, Officer Thor took the necessary steps to stop an imminent threat. Officer Thors quick action undoubtedly saved the lives of patrons and additional responding officers. His actions were nothing less than heroic. Our community should be proud of the officers who are committed to keeping Appleton safe. Chief Polly Olson, Appleton Police Department It was noted that the officer involved will be returned to duty effective immediately. Man named Deez-Nuts arrested in Green Bay, charged with battery The incident reportedly happened around 1:30 a.m. on January 23 when the Appleton Police Department got a report of shots fired inside the Maritime Bar. When authorities got to the scene, they were allegedly confronted by an armed subject who shot at law enforcement. A police officer then fired at the subject, hitting them. They were later pronounced dead at the hospital. No additional information regarding the Outagamie County District Attorneys Offices review was provided. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton. Samsung Bioepis Interchangeability study for HADLIMA (adalimumab-bwwd) was conducted in accordance with the FDAs Guidance for Industry; primary pharmacokinetics (PK) endpoints as well as efficacy, safety and immunogenicity profiles were comparable between switching group and continuous reference product Humira group 52-week results from SB17 Phase 3 study demonstrated long-term efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of SB17 compared to reference ustekinumab, including switching from ustekinumab to SB17 INCHEON, Korea, March 09, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. presented two new study results for its immunology portfolio SB5, a biosimilar to Humira1 (adalimumab), and SB17, a proposed biosimilar to Stelara2 (ustekinumab) at the 2024 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting being held from March 8 to 12 in San Diego, California, United States. We are excited to present new clinical data for our immunology portfolio at AAD Annual Meeting. We will continue to work towards generating robust scientific evidence that demonstrate comparable efficacy and safety of biosimilars to reference products, including data for switching from reference products to biosimilars, said Ilsun Hong, Vice President, Production Evaluation Team Leader of Samsung Bioepis. SB5, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the brand name HADLIMA (adalimumab-bwwd) as a biosimilar to Humira, is being reviewed by the FDA as an interchangeable biosimilar to Humira based on the Phase 4 study results. The Phase 4 randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, multiple-dose, active comparator, multicenter study (NCT05510063) assessed pharmacokinetics (PK), efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity in two treatment groups of adult patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis: patients who switched between reference product Humira and the high-concentration formulation SB5 (40 mg/0.4 mL) versus those receiving reference product continuously. The interchangeability study met primary endpoints of AUC tau (week 23-25) and C max (week 23-25), demonstrating comparability between the switching group and continuous reference product treatment group. Other endpoints including efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity were also comparable. Story continues SB5 was first approved by the FDA in July 2019 under the brand name HADLIMA (adalimumab-bwwd) as a low-concentration (40 mg/0.8 mL) formulation of prefilled syringe and prefilled autoinjector. The high-concentration (40 mg/0.4 mL) formulation of prefilled syringe and prefilled autoinjector of HADLIMA was approved in August 2022. HADLIMA was introduced into the U.S. commercial market on July 1, 2023 and is marketed by Organon. In addition, Samsung Bioepis presented the final 52-week results from the Phase 3 study for SB17, comparing the long-term efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity between three treatment groups: SB17-treated group, reference ustekinumab-treated group, and switched group from reference ustekinumab to SB17 at Week 28. The study showed that efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity between the three arms were comparable up to Week 52. SB17 was recommended for approval by the European Medicines Agencys (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) in February 2024 under the brand name PYZCHIVA. In the United States, the Biologics License Application (BLA) for SB17 is under review by the FDA. If approved, SB17 will be commercialized by Sandoz in Europe and the U.S. Details of the Samsung Bioepis abstracts are as follows: Presentation Title Presentation Details Interchangeability of SB5 and Adalimumab Reference Product in Patients with Moderate to Severe Chronic Plaque Psoriasis Session: Poster Exhibit Date/Time: March 8-9th, 2024, 8:30 AM 5:00 PM Abstract Number: 50522 Authors: Steven R. Feldman, Skaidra Valiukeviciene, Grazyna Pulka, Elzbieta Krolikowska, Pawel Brzewski, Malgorzata Janczylo-Jankowska, Bartlomiej Kwiek, Lidia Rajzer, Soyeon Kim, Yumin Baek, Hyuna Lee Clinical Similarity of SB17 (Proposed Ustekinumab Biosimilar) to Reference Ustekinumab in Patients with Moderate to Severe Plaque Psoriasis: Randomized, Double-blind, Phase III, 52-Week Results Session: Poster Exhibit Date/Time: March 8-9th, 2024, 8:30 AM 5:00 PM Abstract Number: 49140 Authors: Steven R. Feldman, Joanna Narbutt, Giampiero Girolomoni, Jan Brzezicki, Nataliya Reznichenko, Maria Agnieszka Zegadlo-Mylik, Grazyna Pulka, Magdalena Dmowska-Stecewicz, Jiyoon Lee, Minkyung Lee, Young Hee Rho About HADLIMA (adalimumab-bwwd) Injection 40 mg/0.4 mL and 40 mg/0.8mL HADLIMA is a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blocker indicated for: Rheumatoid Arthritis: HADLIMA is indicated, alone or in combination with methotrexate or other non-biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), for reducing signs and symptoms, inducing major clinical response, inhibiting the progression of structural damage, and improving physical function in adult patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis. Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: HADLIMA is indicated, alone or in combination with methotrexate, for reducing signs and symptoms of moderately to severely active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis in patients 2 years of age and older. Psoriatic Arthritis: HADLIMA is indicated, alone or in combination with non-biologic DMARDs, for reducing signs and symptoms, inhibiting the progression of structural damage, and improving physical function in adult patients with active psoriatic arthritis. Ankylosing Spondylitis: HADLIMA is indicated for reducing signs and symptoms in adult patients with active ankylosing spondylitis. Crohns Disease: HADLIMA is indicated for the treatment of moderately to severely active Crohns disease in adults and pediatric patients 6 years of age and older. Ulcerative Colitis: HADLIMA is indicated for the treatment of moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis in adult patients. Limitations of Use : The effectiveness of HADLIMA has not been established in patients who have lost response to or were intolerant to tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers. Plaque Psoriasis: HADLIMA is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy, and when other systemic therapies are medically less appropriate. HADLIMA should only be administered to patients who will be closely monitored and have regular follow-up visits with a physician. Hidradenitis Suppurativa: HADLIMA is indicated for the treatment of moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa in adult patients. Uveitis: HADLIMA is indicated for the treatment of non-infectious intermediate, posterior, and panuveitis in adult patients. SELECTED SAFETY INFORMATION SERIOUS INFECTIONS Patients treated with adalimumab products, including HADLIMA, are at increased risk for developing serious infections that may lead to hospitalization or death. Most patients who developed these infections were taking concomitant immunosuppressants such as methotrexate or corticosteroids. Discontinue HADLIMA if a patient develops a serious infection or sepsis. Reported infections include: Active tuberculosis (TB), including reactivation of latent TB. Patients with TB have frequently presented with disseminated or extrapulmonary disease. Test patients for latent TB before HADLIMA use and during therapy. Initiate treatment for latent TB prior to HADLIMA use. Invasive fungal infections, including histoplasmosis, coccidioidomycosis, candidiasis, aspergillosis, blastomycosis, and pneumocystosis. Patients with histoplasmosis or other invasive fungal infections may present with disseminated, rather than localized, disease. Antigen and antibody testing for histoplasmosis may be negative in some patients with active infection. Consider empiric anti-fungal therapy in patients at risk for invasive fungal infections who develop severe systemic illness. Bacterial, viral, and other infections due to opportunistic pathogens, including Legionella and Listeria. Carefully consider the risks and benefits of treatment with HADLIMA prior to initiating therapy in patients: with chronic or recurrent infection who have been exposed to TB with a history of opportunistic infection who resided in or traveled in regions where mycoses are endemic with underlying conditions that may predispose them to infection Monitor patients closely for the development of signs and symptoms of infection during and after treatment with HADLIMA, including the possible development of TB in patients who tested negative for latent TB infection prior to initiating therapy. Do not start HADLIMA during an active infection, including localized infections. Patients older than 65 years, patients with co-morbid conditions, and/or patients taking concomitant immunosuppressants may be at greater risk of infection. If an infection develops, monitor carefully and initiate appropriate therapy. Drug interactions with biologic products: A higher rate of serious infections has been observed in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients treated with rituximab who received subsequent treatment with a TNF blocker. An increased risk of serious infections has been seen with the combination of TNF blockers with anakinra or abatacept, with no demonstrated added benefit in patients with RA. Concomitant administration of HADLIMA with other biologic DMARDs (eg, anakinra or abatacept) or other TNF blockers is not recommended based on the possible increased risk for infections and other potential pharmacological interactions. MALIGNANCY Lymphoma and other malignancies, some fatal, have been reported in children and adolescent patients treated with TNF blockers, including adalimumab products. Postmarketing cases of hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma (HSTCL), a rare type of T-cell lymphoma, have been reported in patients treated with TNF blockers, including adalimumab products. These cases have had a very aggressive disease course and have been fatal. The majority of reported TNF blocker cases have occurred in patients with Crohns disease or ulcerative colitis and the majority were in adolescent and young adult males. Almost all of these patients had received treatment with azathioprine or 6-mercaptopurine concomitantly with a TNF blocker at or prior to diagnosis. It is uncertain whether the occurrence of HSTCL is related to use of a TNF blocker or a TNF blocker in combination with these other immunosuppressants. Consider the risks and benefits of HADLIMA treatment prior to initiating or continuing therapy in a patient with known malignancy. In clinical trials, more cases of malignancies were observed among adalimumab-treated patients compared to control patients. Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) was reported during clinical trials for adalimumab-treated patients. Examine all patients, particularly those with a history of prolonged immunosuppressant or psoralen and ultraviolet A (PUVA) therapy, for the presence of NMSC prior to and during treatment with HADLIMA. In adalimumab clinical trials, there was an approximate 3-fold higher rate of lymphoma than expected in the general U.S. population. Patients with chronic inflammatory diseases, particularly those with highly active disease and/or chronic exposure to immunosuppressant therapies, may be at higher risk of lymphoma than the general population, even in the absence of TNF blockers. Postmarketing cases of acute and chronic leukemia were reported with TNF blocker use. Approximately half of the postmarketing cases of malignancies in children, adolescents, and young adults receiving TNF blockers were lymphomas; other cases included rare malignancies associated with immunosuppression and malignancies not usually observed in children and adolescents. HYPERSENSITIVITY Anaphylaxis and angioneurotic edema have been reported following adalimumab administration. If a serious allergic reaction occurs, stop HADLIMA and institute appropriate therapy. HEPATITIS B VIRUS REACTIVATION Use of TNF blockers, including HADLIMA, may increase the risk of reactivation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in patients who are chronic carriers. Some cases have been fatal. Evaluate patients at risk for HBV infection for prior evidence of HBV infection before initiating TNF blocker therapy. Exercise caution in patients who are carriers of HBV and monitor them during and after HADLIMA treatment. Discontinue HADLIMA and begin antiviral therapy in patients who develop HBV reactivation. Exercise caution when resuming HADLIMA after HBV treatment. NEUROLOGIC REACTIONS TNF blockers, including adalimumab products, have been associated with rare cases of new onset or exacerbation of central nervous system and peripheral demyelinating diseases, including multiple sclerosis, optic neuritis, and Guillain-Barre syndrome. Exercise caution when considering HADLIMA for patients with these disorders; discontinuation of HADLIMA should be considered if any of these disorders develop. HEMATOLOGIC REACTIONS Rare reports of pancytopenia, including aplastic anemia, have been reported with TNF blockers. Medically significant cytopenia has been infrequently reported with adalimumab products. Consider stopping HADLIMA if significant hematologic abnormalities occur. CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE Worsening and new onset congestive heart failure (CHF) has been reported with TNF blockers. Cases of worsening CHF have been observed with adalimumab products; exercise caution and monitor carefully. AUTOIMMUNITY Treatment with adalimumab products may result in the formation of autoantibodies and, rarely, in development of a lupus-like syndrome. Discontinue treatment if symptoms of a lupus-like syndrome develop. IMMUNIZATIONS Patients on HADLIMA should not receive live vaccines. Pediatric patients, if possible, should be brought up to date with all immunizations before initiating HADLIMA therapy. Adalimumab is actively transferred across the placenta during the third trimester of pregnancy and may affect immune response in the in utero-exposed infant. The safety of administering live or live-attenuated vaccines in infants exposed to adalimumab products in utero is unknown. Risks and benefits should be considered prior to vaccinating (live or live-attenuated) exposed infants. ADVERSE REACTIONS The most common adverse reactions in adalimumab clinical trials (>10%) were: infections (eg, upper respiratory, sinusitis), injection site reactions, headache, and rash. Before prescribing HADLIMA, please read the accompanying Full Prescribing Information, including the Boxed Warning about serious infections and malignancies, Medication Guide and Instructions for Use. About Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. Established in 2012, Samsung Bioepis is a biopharmaceutical company committed to realizing healthcare that is accessible to everyone. Through innovations in product development and a firm commitment to quality, Samsung Bioepis aims to become the world's leading biopharmaceutical company. Samsung Bioepis continues to advance a broad pipeline of biosimilar candidates that cover a spectrum of therapeutic areas, including immunology, oncology, ophthalmology, hematology, and endocrinology. For more information, please visit: www.samsungbioepis.com and follow us on social media X, LinkedIn. _________________________ 1 Humira is a trademark registered in the US by AbbVie Biotechnology Ltd. 2 Stelara is a trademark of Johnson & Johnson. CONTACT: MEDIA CONTACT Anna Nayun Kim, nayun86.kim@samsung.com Jane Chung, ejane.chung@samsung.com Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost stopped in Thursday at Center of Hope in Ravenna to see how one of the programs funded with an award from his office is being used. County Auditor Matt Kelly said Yost greeted LaJoyce Harris, program manager of the Center of Hope, and Marquice Seward, who oversees Kent Social Services, along with visitors on hand Thursday enjoying a meal. Both programs are part of Portage County's Family and Community Services. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost speaks with LaJoyce Harris, program manager of the Center of Hope, and Marquice Seward, Kent Social Services program director, during a visit Thursday, March 7, 2024, to Center of Hope in Ravenna. Yost's office sued Dollar General over deceptive pricing practices. A $1 million settlement was reached, and Yost announced $750,000 would be split among food banks and hunger relief organizations within the state's 88 counties. Kelly decided Portage County's award would go to the Kent and Ravenna programs. Kelly said he was happy Yost had a chance to see the work that both programs are doing. "I was happy to play a part and help with their work," he said. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, left, chats with Mark Cash during a visit Thursday, March 7, 2024, to Center of Hope in Ravenna. Center of Hope and Kent Social Services received a portion of a $1 million settlement with Dollar General. Yost previously spoke about the importance of food pantries when the settlement was reached. "Our county auditors play a vital role in making sure that retailers operating in Ohio have fair and honest pricing, Yost said at the time. Thats why we're partnering with the auditors and channeling settlements dollars back into our communities. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, seated at right, speaks with LaJoyce Harris, program manager of Center of Hope in Ravenna, and some visitors on Thursday, March 7, 2024. Settlement details When the settlement was reached, Yost said the goal was to bring some monetary restitution for the deceptive pricing practices in which the Tennessee-based discount retail giant engaged. According to the allegations in the attorney general's lawsuit, Dollar General was advertising goods for one price and charging a higher price at the register. Yost filed the lawsuit against the retail chain after reports and tests out of Butler County revealed that 20 Dollar General stores within the county had overcharge error rates ranging from 16.7% to 88.2%. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, right, speaks with Kathy Miller during a visit Thursday, March 7, 2024 at Center of Hope in Ravenna. Yost visited the center, which received a portion of a $1 million settlement with Dollar General. How funds will be used Kelly said each county auditor in Ohio was asked to select select two food pantries to benefit from the settlement. The Ravenna and Kent food pantries will receive about $7,400 each. Seward and Harris previously said the funds would be used to stock shelves, which are often bare when donations drop. Kelly said he is working to get funding to two other food programs in the county, but that has not yet been finalized. Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at 330-298-1139 or dsmith@recordpub.com. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, left, speaks with Portage County Auditor Matt Kelly on Thurday, March 7, 2024, at Center of Hope in Ravenna. The center received a portion of a $1 million settlement with Dollar General. This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost visits Ravenna meal program WASHINGTON - United States Capitol Police officers thwarted a potential security breach at the U.S. Capitol Friday when they said a man armed with a hammer in his backpack tried to enter. Around 3:40 p.m., the agency said, 33-year-old Christopher Snow, was being screened at the Capitol Visitor Center. The Canton, Ohio native's backpack went through the X-ray machine, and a USCP officer noticed that a hammer was inside the mans bag. Snow allegedly became combative during a second screening. Officers intervened and deployed a Taser to subdue him. Photo via United States Capitol Police Snow is now facing charges of assault on a police officer as investigators seek to uncover his motives for attempting to access the Capitol with a hammer. USCP Captain Andrew Pecher commended the officers' swift response, emphasizing their adherence to training protocols. "These officers did what they were trained to do and stopped this man from getting into the U.S. Capitol," said Captain Pecher. "Great work from the officer who spotted the hammer to the officers who quickly took the suspect into custody." COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) The first of two dozen super loads traveling across Central Ohio from a dock in Manchester is expected to pass through Groveport this weekend, shutting down stretches of State Route 317 in the process. The first of the oversized loads is moving along as planned and on schedule. But the current shipment is set for arrival at a Freepoint Eco-Systems recycling facility near Hebron, not Intels Ohio One site in New Albany. Most of the incoming loads will head to Intel, however. The load started in Adams County, and then moved through Lucasville, Chillicothe, and Pickaway County, before arriving at its resting point near Rickenbacker Airport on Friday. (NBC4 Photo/Thomas Gardner) (NBC4 Photo/Thomas Gardner) (NBC4 Photo/Thomas Gardner) Intel will not meet predicted 2025 launch for Ohio plant On Saturday, the super load moved through the Groveport area before stopping near Bixby Road for the night. Starting at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, the super load will continue its progress in Franklin County, specifically: The load will depart from Old Bixby Road and travel east on Bixby Road to U.S. 33 Continue east on U.S. 33 in the westbound lanes When exiting at Gender Road the load will travel the wrong way on the Gender Road southbound to U.S. 33 westbound ramp The load will head north on SR 674/Gender Road to Brice Road Continue north on Brice Road to the intersection of Tussing Road/SR 204 in Columbus The load will turn east on Tussing Road/SR 204 before stopping on Freedom Way The shipment is scheduled to reach its final destination in Hebron on Monday. Video courtesy of Donna Killion Groveport Police Chief Casey Adams said that motorists can expect to experience traffic delays on at least one major Ohio roadway. People have been asking me what am I anticipating the shutdowns being, like I said again, its going to be in sections, different sections of State Route 317, Adams said. According to Ohio Department of Transportation Press Secretary Matt Bruning, referring to these delays as road shutdowns or closures is not quite accurate. He said slow-moving roadblocks could briefly stop traffic at times, but that they wont completely close roads, instead slowing traffic flow when the loads are on certain sections of the roadways. Predicting the exact time that the shipment will be in certain areas isnt possible, he said, meaning an exact timeline for delays wont be available. Bruning said that the load currently being transported is one of the smaller super loads. He referred to the current shipment as only 390,000 pounds, saying that some of the future trips will move much heavier loads. Later on, the loads will weigh in at as much as 900,000 pounds. New Albanys Silicon Heartland: How it changed in 2023 and whats next Locals who may want to observe the super loads are more than welcome, Bruning said. However, he did ask onlookers to keep their distance. Bruning added the transportation project entails a lot of moving parts, and that people should be aware of that when planning to view the shipments. Its amazing to see that theres so much interest and I hope that that interest for the first one is the same interest that we see at the 24th one, Bruning said. Adams described good places for people to come and witness the caravan. There are parking lots along the route if they want to take pictures or see them being transported, Adams said. Dont park along the side of the road because again, emergency equipment may need to use those berms to get around to get to different situations. An ODOT news release on Friday revealed that the second super load will head for Central Ohio next week. The next load will depart from Adams County on Wednesday. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. The Rainbow Youth Project USA, a national organization devoted to LGBTQ youth suicide prevention, saw a 238% increase in crisis calls from Oklahoma in the weeks since 16-year-old Nex Benedict died. Nex, who identified as nonbinary according to family, died on February 8, one day after they told their family that they and a transgender student were involved in a fight with others in a restroom at Owasso High School in Owasso, Oklahoma, CNN previously reported. Police are still investigating the cause of Nexs death and its unclear if the fight contributed. The US Department of Education also launched an investigation into whether the school district failed to appropriately respond to alleged harassment, according to a letter from the department. The Rainbow Youth Project USA told CNN the organization counsels LGBTQ youth in Oklahoma, fielding an average of 325 calls per month from the state to their hotline. But in the last two weeks of February 2024, after Nexs death, that call volume increased by more than 200% to 1,097 calls, according to the organization. This led the organization to create a rapid response team in Oklahoma simply to handle the volume of calls, particularly from Owasso. This increase showsit reveals the need for these support services and for mental health services and for allies for these young people, Lance Preston, founder and executive director of the Rainbow Youth Project told CNN. Weve seen a rapid increase in those calls because kids are scared, they are worried and they are hurting, Preston told CNN, adding that its not just kids who are calling. I would say, up to 15% of those calls are from concerned parents, who are asking what their rights are under Title IX, what can they do to persuade schools to be more proactive against reports of bullying instead of reactive, Preston said. Reaction to Nexs death and the spike in calls to the Rainbow Youth Project highlight the challenges the LGBTQ community faces in Oklahoma. In 2022, the state legislature passed a bathroom bill requiring students in pre-K through 12th grade public schools to use the restroom and locker rooms matching the sex designated on their birth certificates. Last year, Gov. Kevin Stitt issued an executive order requiring government agencies to identify people according to their sex assigned at birth rather than their gender identity. Kris Williams is the program developer and intimate partner violence advocate at the Diversity Center of Oklahoma, a local organization that provides services to LGBTQ youth. Williams told CNN that fear among LGBTQ youth is extremely heightened after Nexs death. The main thing that is on their mind right now is death, Williams said. Theyre scared; theyre worried. Theyre afraid about coming out at home and being rejected and being thrown out on the streets. Still, Preston is encouraged that some parents are supporting their LGBTQ children. To see parents who are taking that step. It says a lot about the support that some of these kids have. Unfortunately, not all of our kids have that, but its good to know that some of them do, Preston said. Both Williams and Preston agree that its time to turn down the political rhetoric. This isnt going on in everybodys homes in Oklahoma, this dialect of just, just hate and loathing. We have more support within our communities within our conservative communities than people realize, Williams said. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The Olympia School Board hosted what it called a community solutions work session on Thursday, and the community came ready to offer solutions. Directors had invited members of the public to submit ideas for improving school efficiency and bring in more revenue without making cuts to programs or closing schools. The meeting was scheduled after public hearings were conducted at Madison and McKenny elementary schools, the schools the district has proposed closing to deal with a $3.5 million budget deficit. Board President Hilary Seidel began by reading ideas from people who couldnt attend the meeting, but submitted ideas anyway. Hattie Osborne, a school district staff member, suggested the district increase efficiency by reimagining the outdoor school program, including relocating the camp experience to some place closer, which would make it less expensive and more inclusive. The program now takes older elementary students to the 68-acre Cispus Learning Center in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest near Randle, nearly two hours away from Olympia. Osborne also suggested constructing a series of day trips that are curated and designed to expand scientific knowledge without an overnight stay like they do at Cispus. Alexa Silver suggested eliminating the nine remaining district positions that were initially hired through ESSER funds, which were emergency relief dollars from the federal government provided through the American Rescue Plan Act during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those positions include the mentor program, the family liaison program, early learning director and the native education director for a total savings of $664,000. Another person suggested closing Boston Harbor Elementary to increase efficiency. Colette Paulson suggested reducing administrative staff by six positions and returning to 2021-2022 pay levels. She also suggested decreasing centralized support for schools and hiring a grant writer to generate more revenue. Joshua Hettena brought a slideshow to Thursdays meeting depicting a staff rebalancing scenario to make all schools more efficient. Its really intended to show whether there could be opportunities to redistribute the staffing within the district more efficiently, and it also allows us to now have as many staff per school to meet the budget challenge ahead, Hettena said. Hettena said rebalancing staffing across the district could save anywhere between $2 million and $6 million. He said if you exclude teaching and learning positions, the district could still save between $1 million and $3 million. Hettena said he didnt make any judgment calls in his analysis about the impact on students and teaching if classroom student-teacher ratios were to go up. Penny Reck jumped off Hettenas suggestions and focused on efficiencies at the administrative level. Looking at the central office, we know that its very important for people to run the district, Reck said. But theres a lot of money going into there, and we havent heard anything about efficiencies targeting that section of employees. Reck said the district should be looking from the top down to make cuts so students and learning arent involved. Including benefits, Reck said the central office administration receives about 8% of the yearly budget when it could be capped at 5%. Reck didnt have specifics on what positions could be cut from the central office to make up for the budget deficit. Kelcy Shaffer is a former employee of the Department of Children, Youth and Families, said the district could generate more revenue by having a more robust Early Childhood Education and Assistance program. Currently Madison Elementary is the only school in the district with a pre-kindergarten transitional program. Shaffer said if the district contracted for just 200 school day slots for early learning, it could bring in $2.8 million. Other community members asked the board to consider a multitude of other options, including offering additional contracted classes outside of normal school hours to bring in more money. The Thursday night meeting was recorded and can be viewed online. The next OSD regular board meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. March 14. The B-21 bomber pairs cutting edge tech with a throwback aircraft design. It is based on a visionary aircraft design that dates back to World War II. That aircraft, the YB-49, minimized drag but proved too hard to fly with 1940s technology. Described by Northrop Grumman as a sixth-generation bomber, the US Air Force's new B-21 Raider pairs the most modern stealth and targeting technology with what is actually a throwback-style design. It is similar in appearance and mission to its direct predecessor, the B-2 Spirit, and demonstrates the ascendancy of the flying wing design for the most sophisticated bombers. But for all its space-age looks and capabilities, it is the product of advances in flight control technology based on a visionary aircraft design that dates to World War II. Originally designed before America's entry into the Second World War, the YB-49 flying wing was intended to be America's first intercontinental bomber. Over the course of its development, however, it oddly proved to be both too advanced and too antiquated for its time. The first flight of YB-49 was in October 1947. US Air Force The flying wing The YB-49 was the final iteration of a flying wing bomber concept created by legendary aircraft designer Jack Northrop, founder of the Northrop Corporation. The backdrop behind its development was stark. In 1941, concerned that an outright Nazi German victory in Europe would eliminate the ability to fly bombers from allied airbases in the continent, the United States Army Air Forces wanted a bomber capable of carrying about 10,000 pounds of ordnance at least 6,000 miles for round-trip intercontinental bombing runs in the event of war. Most of the bombers at the time had ranges of around 2,000 miles and payloads ranging from 4,000 to 5,000 pounds. Consequently, engineering practices of the time would have likely called for a design that was up to three times larger than existing bombers. But Northrop saw this as an opportunity to field a new kind of military aircraft; one that utilized the high-lift low-drag flying wing design. The flying wing is designed to eliminate as much drag as possible. In conventional aircraft design, wings are needed for lift, but the tail structure, fuselage, and even the engines protrude outwards and create drag, reducing lift potential and thus engine efficiency. Moreover, in a conventional design like the B-17, the bulk of the weight is centrally located in the fuselage, thus requiring heavier wings to support the weight. A flying wing, on the other hand, distributes weight over the span of the entire aircraft, meaning it can carry heavy loads while weighing less. The concept was unorthodox. It had been proven possible by the British-made Dunne D.4 and D.5 models in 1908 and 1910 respectively, at the dawn of the age of flight, and Northrop himself built something of a prototype called the X-216H in 1929. A larger test aircraft, the N-1M, was tested in July of 1940, proving the potential of the flying wing design. Northrop argued that because flying wings weighed less and were more aerodynamic, it could carry more bombs further, faster, and higher than conventional designs, and was the best way to build an intercontinental bomber. Convinced by his prototypes, preliminary designs, and arguments, the US Army Air Forces contracted Northrop to develop such a heavy bomber in 1941. 13 YB-49 aircraft were built but the program was beset with problems. US Air Force Efficiency of structure and design The first result of Northrop's efforts was the XB-35; a 172-ft wide and 53-ft long flying wing. The central focus of the aircraft was the emphasis on efficiency of structure and design. The bomber's nine-man crew operated in a sealed section in the center of the aircraft that included a cockpit, equipment bay, crew cabin, and observation station. Eight bomb bays could carry some 10,0000 pounds of bombs, and the range was expected to amount to 7,500 miles. The XB-35 was powered by eight piston engines driving contra-rotating propellers that were housed inside the wing. It also featured elevons then a new type of control surface on the wing's trailing edge to control pitch and roll and split ailerons on the wingtips to control yaw. The bomber's small frontal area and profile also provided the added benefits of making it difficult for enemy fighters of the time to hit and for radar to detect. But the bomber wasn't destined to serve in the war it was designed for. Delays caused by engineering difficulties and wartime priorities for the Northrop Corporation slowed development, and when Britain held, the need for a transcontinental bomber became less urgent. In May 1944, the full production contract was canceled, but the USAAF allowed the continued development of the 13 pre-production XB-35s under construction for testing purposes. Two years later and with WWII over, the XB-35 conducted its first flight on June 25, 1946. Though 13 aircraft were built, the program was beset by problems. The contra-rotating propellers proved so troublesome that they were eventually replaced by single prop engines. But this change drastically reduced performance, so much so that it was decided to scrap the propellers entirely in favor of the emerging technology of jet propulsion. Two of the XB-35s were fitted with eight jet engines and were redesignated as YB-49s. First flown on October 21, 1947, the jet engines improved performance but came at a cost; two bomb bays had to be converted to house fuel tanks, and the added weight decreased the bomber's range and payload by more than half. The YB-49 also proved to have problems with excessive yawing, as movements that shift the aircraft's nose to the side are known, limiting its ability to accurately deliver bombs. And although nuclear bombs didn't require high degrees of accuracy, the YB-49, designed in the days before knowledge of the atomic bomb was common, was unable to carry them. On June 5, 1948, one day after the delivery of the first YB-49 to the Air Force, a flight test ended in catastrophic failure when the bomber broke apart midair and crashed, killing all five of the crew. The Air Force blamed structural and mechanical failures, while Northrop claimed the pilots had pushed the aircraft beyond its limits. The following September, the Air Force changed the role of the YB-49 to reconnaissance, with a new intended designation of YRB-49. However, just four months later, the project was canceled due to budget cuts. Northrop was allowed to continue testing the sole remaining YB-49, but on March 15, 1950, it was destroyed when its landing gear collapsed during a high-speed taxi run test. A B-2 Spirit takes off for Red Flag-Nellis 24-1 training at Nellis Air Force Base on Jan. 16. William Lewis/US Air Force The Spirit and the Raider As the Air Force had decided against converting the remaining 11 XB-35 airframes in November of 1949, the flying wing concept was completely dead. With the aircraft originally drawn up in 1941 and planned for propellers, the technology just did not yet exist for it to fly the way it was intended. It was both too advanced and too antiquated for its time. The shuttering of the program was particularly hard on Jack Northrop, who had personally invested so much in the flying wing. In 1952, he sold his holdings in his company and retired. Decades later, however, he would be vindicated. In 1979, the US Air Force initiated the Advanced Technology Bomber (ATB) program, which called for a new long-range strategic bomber with stealth features to evade enemy air defenses. Remembering that the YB-49 proved difficult to detect, Northrop Corporation looked into the flying wing. The problems with aerial instability could now be solved by computers utilizing fly-by-wire technology and differential thrust, and so a flying wing design was submitted. In April 1980, as a tribute to its founder, the company obtained permission from the Air Force to show the 85-year-old Northrop the new design. Northrop reportedly broke into tears when he saw the design and stated, "Now I know why God has kept me alive for the last 25 years." In 1981, the Air Force selected Northrop's design as the winner of the ATB program. In 1997, the stealth bomber was officially introduced into service as the B-2 Spirit. The B-2 has since conducted bombing operations in the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya, and holds the record for the longest combat bombing operation in history. They remain some of the most potent weapons in the US inventory, and their deployments are almost always meant to convey American strength and resolve. As advanced as the B-2s are, the cost to produce and maintain them have proven to be a limiting factor so much so that the original order for 132 Spirits was reduced to just 21. In order to maintain a powerful bomber force and to keep up with technological innovation, the Air Force launched the Long Range Strike Bomber program in 2011. The result is the B-21. Developed by Northrop Grumman, it is a completely updated aircraft meant to deal with contemporary and modern air defenses. Its design is also built on an open-system architecture concept, meaning it can be more easily armed and upgraded with weapons and systems that have yet to be invented. At the unveiling of the B-21 in 2022, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that "the B-21's edge will last for decades to come." The Air Force is planning to field at least 100 B-21s, with the first entering service in the mid-2020s via the initial low-rate production contract. They are expected to replace both the B-1 and B-2 bombers by the mid-2030s. Read the original article on Business Insider PORT BARRE, La. (KLFY) The Port Barre Police Department have reported one male was killed in a shooting incident. Authorities said officers responded to a residence in the 400 block of Pacific Street around 10:24 p.m. on Friday, in reference to a shooting. Upon arrival, they discovered 33-year-old Percy Jones of Port Barre who died from a single gunshot wound. A domestic violence altercation led to this shooting, according to law enforcement officials. Authorities said, based on interviews from witnesses, the suspected shooter was a family member who was not at the location of the incident when police came. Two firearms were involved in the shooting, but authorities were only able to recover one weapon and a single fired casing. No further details were given. Officials said the investigation is on going, and updates will be provided as more information becomes available. Latest Posts For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLFY.com. Think back to how the race for U.S. senator for California started: In January 2023, Democratic Reps. Katie Porter (Irvine) and Adam Schiff (Burbank) announced their candidacies for the seat being vacated by Sen. Dianne Feinstein. The next month, Rep. Barbara Lee (Oakland) gets in the race, rounding out a field of Democratic candidates that ran the ideological gamut of the party. In letters to the editor, readers welcomed a race featuring such high-profile legislators and looked forward to a friendly, substantive contest. We know how that turned out. Schiff and his allies focused their attacks on Steve Garvey, a politically shrewd effort to elevate the Republican candidate's profile. Porter, who came in third behind Schiff and Garvey and therefore failed to make the runoff, used the Trumpian term "rig" in a post-election day tweet, drawing backlash from members of her own party. After election day, our letter writers are focused on the ugly politics of the Senate race more than the candidates' ideas. Now, it's on to Garvey versus Schiff. To the editor: I voted for Schiff and believe that he is the best candidate for the Senate. But I cannot get the bad taste out of my mouth over the tactics he used to ensure that he would face Garvey and not Porter in the general election in November. I always saw Schiff as a very honorable man, and now I am rattled. As columnist George Skelton wrote, Schiff's targeting of Garvey as a way to raise the Republican's profile was a cold and calculated political move that was not necessary. Schiff had been ahead in all the polls from the start, and at worst he would've faced Porter in November. Schiff needs to fire his campaign manager as a signal to us that he regrets using this regrettable and unacceptable tactic and that he will not pull such shenanigans again. Carol Spector, Ventura .. To the editor: I'm absolutely stunned that Skelton considers Schiff's strategy to prop up Garvey a blemish on his reputation. Come on. The whole idea of running is winning. Did Schiff attack his Democratic rivals? Did he smear them? Did he call them names? No. Rather, what he did was extremely clever: He went after Garvey, giving him more name recognition because the Republican would be easier to defeat in November. How is that dirty politics? For me, Schiff's tactic reaffirmed that he's very intelligent and knows how to get things done. Isn't that what we want in a senator? Mike Moersen, Thousand Oaks .. To the editor: So, let me understand the objections to Schiff's campaign strategy if he had attacked Porter rather than Garvey, that would have somehow decreased Garvey's votes and increased Porter's? Isn't it more likely that with three strong Democrats in the race, the Democratic vote was always going to be split? And Garvey, the only Republican with name recognition, would get most of the much smaller Republican vote but still wind up in at least second place? Why shouldn't Schiff go after his likely general election opponent from the start? Richard Webber, Sherman Oaks .. To the editor: Columnist Mark Z. Barabak criticizes Porter for calling an election influenced by billionaires and dark money "rigged." But a system where outside parties can come in and spend unlimited amounts and we see this all the time is indeed a rigged system. The problem of money in politics is much worse than what MAGA Republicans complain about when they say that an election is rigged. Harlan Levinson, Los Angeles .. To the editor: Porter could have dramatically furthered her reputation and career had she not used a loaded term such as "rigged." Rather than reflect and further the ideals of the Democratic Party, she sounds as petulant and spoiled as a certain former U.S. president. Tsk, Rep. Porter. You could have salvaged yourself had you displayed a modicum of grace when you lost. Toby Horn, Los Angeles .. To the editor: I find Barabaks argument incredibly disheartening. He seems to be making the case that the system worked just as it should. Billionaires were able to get rid of someone challenging their power by spending millions of dollars on advertising. What could be more undemocratic than that? I will miss Porters voice in Congress. There are too few politicians willing to challenge the power of money in our system. John La Grange, Solana Beach .. To the editor: Porter's bitterness after she lost is so sad. It was not that long ago that I attended a fundraiser sponsored by Schiff for Porter that raised meaningful funds for her House campaign. Because of Schiff, I contributed to Porter's campaign, and she proved to be a very effective member of Congress. Schiff's ads did not target Porter; they attacked a Republican opponent, something for which she is now expressing bitterness. Instead, she should be supporting Schiff. Louis Lipofsky, Beverly Hills .. To the editor: Shame on Porter. As a politician, she should know the drill. She was outfoxed, maybe, but not cheated or defeated in a "rigged" election. If Porter is so naive as to think she can use words that impugn our election, especially in the current environment, she is not yet seasoned enough to be trusted with a Senate seat. I was so sorry to lose Porter in the House that I was ready to volunteer my services and support her in whatever she decided to do. Now, not so much. Grow up. California voters got it just right. Sharon Fane, Corona This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Trump must stow $500M cash in a bank to cover the appeal bond for his NY fraud case, experts say. If he fails to by March 25, NY will start seizing assets, the state attorney general has warned. A premium of anywhere from $250K to $1M will push the cost of a bond even higher. One fiscal kick-in-the-gut down, one more to go for Donald Trump. On Friday, Trump posted a bond in his E. Jean Carroll defamation case it's backed by $93 million experts say he most likely pulled out of his own wallet in the form of ready or borrowed cash. This small fortune will now sit in a bank, untouchable, until Trump exhausts his appeals and the ultimate winner takes all. His next appeal bond will cost him far more. The presumptive GOP presidential candidate still owes a $455 million fraud penalty to New York Attorney General Letitia James a debt that comes due March 25, the same day as jury selection for his Manhattan hush-money trial. "Grossly excessive," he called the sum in a bulky, 1,794-page appellate filing last week. But despite his protests, a Manhattan appeals court has declined to lessen or delay what Trump must pay, at least for now. So Trump's deadline clock keeps ticking. Surety experts and professionals say Trump must come up with half-a-billion in cash for a fraud-case appeal bond before that March 25 deadline, or else risk state liens and even the forced seizure and Sheriff's sale of his properties. "All you have to do is give the judgment to the Sheriff and say, 'Sheriff, Donald Trump owns this. We want you to sell it,'" said Eric Snyder, a bankruptcy attorney and an expert in judgment enforcement. "It's as easy as that. And the Sheriff will say, 'Sure. Since I get five percent under New York law, I'll be glad to sell it,'" Snyder added. "It happens pretty quickly." Can't Trump just declare bankruptcy? This is Trump's least likely option right now, experts say. Like any lawsuit loser who faces a giant penalty, Trump can file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This move tends not to work out for litigants with lots of money, as the NRA found out in 2021. A doomed bankruptcy effort could buy a little time. But Trump is the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Going bankrupt would not be a good look, politically, for Trump, who likes to be seen as fabulously wealthy. "I have a lot of money," he told Fox on Tuesday, even as his lawyers claimed otherwise. Option two: show them the money To meet his March 25 deadline, Trump must show the state and his Manhattan fraud case judge, New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, that he has set aside the $455 million in cash he now owes from last month's civil fraud judgment. How does Trump prove he has set the money aside? By posting another appeal bond. Similar to the more familiar jail bond, an appeal bond is a promise of payment that's backed by collateral, meaning cash or property. "I'll bet you a pastrami sandwich" that Trump will post bonds for both judgments, predicted Snyder, who is bankruptcy chair at Wilk Auslander LLP. "He's not going to have any choice," said Snyder. The process of getting an appeal bond begins with hiring a surety agent to shop around for the best deal, said Julie Alleyne, general counsel for the Surety & Fidelity Association of America. The agent's job is to negotiate with potential surety insurers, shopping for the best deal. Trump has already struck up a relationship with the Federal Insurance Company, a subsidiary of the Chubb Group, which underwrote his $93 million Carroll appeal bond. The relationship goes back at least to 2018, when Trump appointed Chubb CEO Evan G. Greenberg to a key trade advisory committee. Donald Trump appointed the Chubb Group's Evan G. Greenberg to a trade advisory committee in 2018. Business Insider "Chubb is very respected, but conservative," said Neil Pedersen, owner of the surety bond agency Pedersen & Sons. "Chubb can easily do a $500 million bond," he said. "They can do a billion-dollar bond." The surety insurer will have taken a close look at Trump's financial fitness before putting together an offer. "The offers would vary, depending on the surety company's appetite for that kind of bond," Alleyne said. The agent would push for the lowest premium, which is the (generally) non-refundable price Trump must pay the carrier for putting together the bond. The premium on a half-billion-dollar appeal bond could run anywhere from $250,000 to north of one million dollars, just to purchase the bond, experts guestimated. Multiple carriers can chip in on underwriting any single giant bond, Alleyne noted. And the carrier or carriers will likely take reputational risk into account in setting their terms, noted Pedersen. "Regardless of whether you love him or hate him, everyone has an opinion on Trump," Pedersen said. One thing is certain, bonding professionals told Business Insider: any bank and surety carrier will want to see cash or liquid assets such as securities not property as collateral. Cash on the barrelhead That means Trump will need a bank, or multiple banks, on board. Trump seems not to have that much cash on hand, judging from the little he's revealed in financial documents and court papers. Estimates of his liquidity have ranged from $350 million (what Trump claimed in a 2021 financial filing) to "substantially in excess of $400 million," (what Trump swore in a deposition in April), all the way up to $600 million (according to estimates by Forbes and Bloomberg). He may need a loan, as defense lawyers suggested in successfully asking a fraud-case appellate judge for permission to borrow to meet his obligations. "No one, including Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Donald Trump, has five hundred million laying around," lead defense lawyer Christopher Kise told the judge at a recent hearing. Wherever he gets the $500 million, Trump would still need to park it in one or more interest-bearing bank accounts for the duration of his appeals, experts said. Once the money's parked, Trump's bank or banks would give the bond underwriter Chubb or any other carrier what's known as an "irrevocable letter of credit." That's a guarantee from the bank saying Trump has the judgment money set aside with them, and he can't touch it until the appeal is decided. Whoever wins the appeal gets the cash. "You want cash, you want an irrevocable letter of credit, you want anything but real estate," when underwriting bonds of this size, said Pedersen. Because if Trump loses his appeal in the fraud case, he'll have only 10 days to turn the judgment over, in cash, to the state. "How do you turn real estate into cash in just 10 days?" Pedersen said. A warning from Letitia James "If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets," James, the state AG, told ABC News last month. And she knows where to find them. After five years of looking at the Trump Organization's books, James' office knows more about Trump's worth than anyone besides the former president himself. Forbes estimates that Trump's net worth includes some $690 million in real estate assets in New York City alone. That includes $287 million for his 30 percent stake in 1290 Avenue of the Americas, a Midtown Manhattan commercial skyscraper. It also includes the $80 million net value of Trump's ground lease for 40 Wall Street, a Financial District skyscraper. "We are prepared to make sure that the judgment is paid to New Yorkers, and yes, I look at 40 Wall Street each and every day," New York Attorney General Letitia James said of Donald Trump and his Manhattan skyscraper also known as The Trump Building. Roy Rochlin via Getty Images; Justin Sullivan via Getty Images Trump's fraud trial judge found he fraudulently doubled the worth of his stake in 40 Wall Street in financial statements for the years 2012 and 2015. The skyscraper bears the name "The Trump Building" on its facade, and happens to be right next door to a taller building that houses AG's Financial District offices. James can see 40 Wall Street, aka The Trump Building, through her conference room windows. "Open the curtains," Trump had urged, inviting the AG and her lawyers to admire his skyscraper during a pretrial deposition he was forced to sit for in April. "Open the curtain, go ahead," he cajoled. "It's right here," he told them. "I just looked out the window." At the time, a transcript shows, state officials declined Trump's request to look at his building. But James is clearly keeping her eye on it now. "We are prepared to make sure that the judgment is paid to New Yorkers," James told ABC, warning of the consequences should Trump default. "And yes," she added, "I look at 40 Wall Street each and every day." Read the original article on Business Insider BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. (WKRG) Friday is set up day at the Festival of Arts; the golden anniversary is this weekend. Gates will open on Saturday at 10 a.m. This is a sun catcher it is made out of driftwood and hand-cut stained glass, Elberta artist Leeann Jones said. Baker School teacher arrested on child neglect charge It is just one of the creations that will be up for sale at this years Festival of Arts in Orange Beach. This is Jones first visit to the festival celebrating 50 years this weekend. Really looking forward to it and see what happens, she said. 8 arrested in prostitution sting Operation Spring Fling: Mobile Police By the time set up is finished almost every nook and cranny of Waterfront Park will be filled with paintings, pottery and just about anything else you could ever hope to find. Its one-on-one, returning artist from Tennessee Tracey Rogers said. You get personal attention with every artist, and so it is just a real fun place to come and experience all different types of medium. Although windy on Friday, the bad weather has held off for the most part. It looks like the worst of it will go north of us, artist Larry Rogers said. May get a little wind and rain, and so we are okay with that. MOBILE 2023 CRIME REPORT: Violent crimes down, robberies up The threat of severe weather forced BBQ and Blues to push back the start of their weekend festival in Foley. But Friday, Heritage Park was already starting to fill up with cook teams and their RVs. Festivals in Baldwin County may have a soggy start, but thats not stopping anything maybe just delaying it a bit. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5. With a midnight deadline looming, the Senate voted tonight to avert a government shutdown by passing the $459 billion, six-bill spending package approved by the House earlier this week. The vote was 75-22. The drive to pass the package hit a little speed bump earlier in the day as several conservative Republican senators reportedly demanded amendment votes before they would agree to expedite a final vote on the legislation. Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced a deal Friday evening to allow votes on four Republican amendments before moving to final passage. After months of hard work, we have good news for the country: Tonight the Senate has reached an agreement avoiding a shutdown on the first six funding bills, Schumer said. We will keep important programs funded for moms and kids, for veterans, for the environment, for housing, and so much more. Because both sides cooperated today, weve taken a major step toward our goal of fully funding the government. Schumer said the deal gives the Senate momentum and space to also finish the remaining six appropriations bills by the next deadline on March 22. Up until the deal was reached, though, the timing of a vote on the first batch of spending bills and whether Congress might stumble into a brief shutdown remained unclear as Republicans blocked quick action. Throughout Friday afternoon, a parade of far-right lawmakers took to the Senate floor to protest the legislation, which they said did not do enough to cut federal spending and lacked policy wins that conservatives on both sides of the Capitol demanded, The Washington Posts Jacob Bogage reports. Some Republicans wanted the bills to include harsh new restrictions on immigration and to beef up U.S.-Mexico border security. Another wanted an amendment to exclude undocumented immigrants from the apportionment of electoral votes and members of the House. Yet another sought to eliminate earmarks from the funding bill. The bottom line: The Senates approval of the minibus spending package sends it to the president, who can sign it and officially avert a shutdown. Lawmakers will then have two weeks to pass the final six spending bills. Like what you're reading? Sign up for our free newsletter. Following a face-to-face meeting at Mar-a-Lago, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban is once again full of praise for former US president Donald Trump. Source: dpa, citing Orban, as reported by European Pravda "For us Hungarians, there is only one thing to do, and that is to honestly admit: the world would be better, and it would be better for Hungary, if President Donald Trump returned to power," he said. Orban also reiterated his previous statement that during Trump's presidency, there was peace in the Middle East and Ukraine. He claimed that Trump "offered respect in the world, thereby creating conditions for peace". Orban also said he hoped that Trump's return to the White House would invigorate bilateral trade relations. Following their meeting at Trump's estate in Florida, Orban and Trump planned to attend a concert, reported Havasi Bertalan, the Hungarian prime ministers spokesperson. Hungary's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peter Szijjarto, was also present at the meeting. Background: Orban held a meeting with Trump in Florida. They discussed a "wide range of issues affecting Hungary and the United States, including the paramount importance of strong and secure borders to protect the sovereignty of each country". Orban is known to have participated in several pro-Trump events in previous years and has openly advocated for his re-election as president. He has stated, among other things, that "if Trump were president, the war would not have started" and that Trumps return would "bring peace". Trump has praised Orban in response. Support UP or become our patron! Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with Donald Trump, who is set to become the Republican nominee for the general U.S. presidential election, during his trip to the U.S. on March 8, and supported Trumps presidential bid. Orban, an ally of former U.S. President Trump, has a long-standing relationship with conservatives in the U.S. and is the only European leader who is openly friendly toward the Kremlin. Trump has also spoken highly of the Hungarian prime minister on several occasions since leaving the White House. The two met at Trumps official residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, and discussed "a wide range of issues affecting Hungary and the United States, including the paramount importance of strong and secure borders to protect the sovereignty of each nation," according to a statement from Trumps campaign. Following the meeting, Orban urged Trump to "come back and bring us peace" in his post on X (formerly Twitter). Orban previously said that only the return of Trump to the White House could bring peace to Ukraine, which has been fighting off Russias full-scale invasion for over two years. "It was a pleasure to visit President Donald Trump today. We need leaders in the world who are respected and can bring peace. He is one of them!," reads Orbans post. Read also: Opinion: Orban is plain wrong on Ukraine Trump has long criticized U.S. aid to Ukraine, a position in line with his "America First" foreign policy views. He has claimed that he would be able to negotiate peace in Ukraine within 24 hours, although he did not elaborate on concrete steps to achieve this. Trump's sway over the Republican party has contributed to the continuing deadlock in Congress over U.S. aid to Ukraine. The Senate passed a funding bill containing $60 billion in aid for Ukraine earlier in February, but House Speaker Mike Johnson has so far declined to bring it to a vote. Orban also claimed in a video on his Facebook page, as cited by Reuters, that under Trumps presidency in 2017-2021, there was peace in the Middle East and Ukraine, adding there would not be a war in Ukraine if Trump had been re-elected in 2020. Russias war against Ukraine began in 2014 with the illegal annexation of Crimea and the invasion of the Donbas region, followed by a full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. Hungary and Ukraine have had a contentious relationship that has worsened since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion. Orban has maintained close ties with Russia, bucking the united front that the EU has tried to present in support of Ukraine. Hungary has repeatedly opposed Ukraines accession to NATO and the European Union and blocked the EU's financial support for Ukraine. Orban previously said that Ukraine is a financially "non-existent" and "no longer sovereign" state due to its "dependence" on international support. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. PORTLAND, Ore. (PORTLAND TRIBUNE) Oregons statewide unemployment rate ticked up another notch in January, when it rose from 4% in December to 4.1%. The national rate was at 3.7% both months. Still, that is a low unemployment rate by historical standards in Oregon, Gail Krumenauer, Employment Department economist, told reporters during a virtual briefing on Wednesday, March 6. PDX announces return of iconic carpet in main terminal remodel Comparable records go back to 1976. Since October 2021, the statewide rate has hovered in a range between a record-tying 3.4% and 4.2%. Oregon recorded a record-low rate of 3.4% in the final months of 2019 and early 2020 before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, when the rate shot up to a one-month high of 13.2% in April 2020. Read more at PortlandTribune.com. The Portland Tribune and its parent company Pamplin Media Group are KOIN 6 News media partners For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. Editors note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal. The growth and economic momentum of The Villages Central Floridas mega-retirement community continues to attract new projects to its periphery, with an Orlando-based homebuilder the latest to ramp up plans for a new development. Park Square Homes has site work underway for its new Highfield at Twisted Oaks community, which will bring 130 new homes to the Wildwood area just west of The Villages, near the intersection Sumter County Road 462 East and Sumpter County Road 205. Read: Youre invited: SPCA hosts Kitten Shower Donation Drive in Titusville on Saturday Nicole Stanton, Park Squares vice president of sales and marketing, told Orlando Business Journal vertical construction on homes will begin by the end of the second quarter, and homes in the community will be priced in the low-$300,000s. Click here to read the full story on the Orlando Business Journals website. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. A tribunal heard claims that Professor Zheng Shusen had 'been able to harvest organs on demand evidently from captive individuals held on standby' Oxford University organised training programmes attended by Chinese transplant doctors facing allegations of illegally harvesting human organs, The Telegraph can reveal. Academics designed dozens of courses over three years for the benefit of hundreds of medics, despite warnings that there is no safe way to collaborate with the Chinese transplant sector because the killing of political prisoners for their organs is so widespread. The alleged role of one honoured guest at the most recent New Horizons programme, Prof Zheng Shusen, was said in a submission to a 2018 tribunal to need explanation over a clear and convincing evidence pattern of being directly or indirectly complicit in the commission of crimes against humanity against unknown individuals who were killed in the process of having their organs extracted. Data experts, and The Telegraphs own investigation, have identified 15 other medics who took part in the sessions in 2023 regarding whom concerns have also been raised. Oxford has been warned that its involvement in the programme could amount to inadvertent complicity in organ harvesting and was urged to disclose whether, and how much, it had been paid to take part. Last years New Horizon also involved several senior NHS clinicians, according to the programme, including Prof Dale Gardiner, the clinical lead for NHS blood and transplant. No personal wrongdoing is alleged against him. It comes amid increasing concern about the influence of the Chinese Communist Party on Britains top universities. China has repeatedly used international medical collaborations as a propaganda tool to quell concerns about its transplantation ethics. In contrast to nearly all other medically advanced countries, it allows almost no transparency around the sourcing of organs. For decades, Beijing claimed that its unusually large supply of organs came from legally executed prisoners. China has a network of internment camps - Greg Baker/Getty It said the practice ended in 2015 and that all organs have been supplied voluntarily since then. However, experts argue that death-row prisoners could never have accounted for the scale of Chinas organ transplantation programme. They point instead to the documented widespread imprisonment and torture of Falun Gong spiritualists. Falun Gong practitioners In 2020, the independent China Tribunal, chaired by Sir Geoffrey Nice KC, formerly the lead prosecutor in the trial of Slobodan Milosevic, concluded that: In the long-term practice in the PRC [Peoples Republic of China] of forced organ harvesting it was indeed Falun Gong practitioners who were used as a source probably the principal source of organs for forced organ harvesting. The judgment added that there was no evidence of the practice having stopped. Although non-statutory, the tribunal has since been endorsed by government ministers, who have written to the World Health Organisation (WHO) urging it to take note of its findings. There is a global shortage of available organs and a lucrative black market for illegally obtained tissue. A 2018 submission to the tribunal named Prof Zheng, a liver transplantation specialist at Zhejiang University, and stated that: The evidence that Zheng has been able to harvest organs on demand evidently from blood-typed captive individuals held on standby coupled with transplants at his hospital being far in excess of available death-row prisoners in Hangzhou, requires an explanation. Prof Zheng has also been alleged to be a prominent member of the so-called Anti-Cult Association, which in practice is said to be a mechanism for supporting the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. In the preface to a book on the prevention of cults, he likened the movement to viruses corroding the organism of humanity, according to the submission. Submissions banned In 2017 the scientific journal Liver International was forced to retract a study submitted by Prof Zheng after he failed to provide sufficient evidence that the organs used in the study were sourced ethically. It banned him from submitting any further work. Despite this, the 2023 New Horizon programme, which was delivered via a series of online seminars to a conference suite in China, included Prof Zheng in its honoured guest category alongside the president of the European Society for Organ Transplantation (Esot), which endorsed the conference. No personal wrongdoing is alleged against the president. In a statement, Oxford said its Centre for Evidence in Transplantation had provided webinars to raise standards in research practices, rather than direct transplant practice or surgery training. The logo of the universitys Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences sits above all the session posters, such as: Advances in Heart Transplantation. Prof Wendy Rogers, chairman of the international advisory committee of the International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China, said: Its really shameful that Zheng Shusen participated. It shows a real lack of due diligence by Oxford and Esot. She added: The New Horizons programme involves close collaboration with Chinese transplant clinicians and institutions. Due to Chinas record of transplant-related human rights abuses, including forced organ harvesting, the programme exposes participating clinicians to potential complicity in those abuses. Involvement in organ harvesting Data research by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation highlighted five further attendees at the 2023 conference who have authored studies which, the foundation says, inadvertently revealed that the donors were alive just before their organs were removed. The Telegraph has identified another 10 attendees who have been accused of involvement in organ harvesting by Falun Gong human rights campaigners. In 2022, the law firm Global Rights Compliance (GRC) published a groundbreaking legal advisory document setting out how Western institutions risk criminal liability for inadvertent collaboration with China in the field of transplantation. Wayne Jordash, managing partner at GRC, said: Oxford Universitys Centre for Evidence in Transplantation has a clear international legal responsibility that, at a minimum, obliges them to ask the difficult questions about the known risks in the field of organ transplantation in China. If those questions have not been asked, nor answered, satisfactorily by the relevant Chinese institutions, then Oxford Universitys Centre for Evidence in Transplantation will have violated its international legal obligations. The Telegraph understands that Esot was made aware of this advisory in the context of New Horizons. No follow-up New Horizon programme is believed to be scheduled for this year. Condemns inhumane practice Oxford University did not disclose on what financial basis it had taken part in past programmes. A spokesman said: Oxford thoroughly condemns the inhumane practice of harvesting organs from executed prisoners and university academics have been in the forefront of urging international organisations to pressure China into ending the practice. The World Health Organization, the European Society for Organ Transplantation and other international bodies now permit support for lawful transplant education and research in China. Esot said it was deeply committed to upholding the utmost ethical standards within the realm of organ donation and transplantation and campaigned against unethical conduct. Prof Zheng did not respond to a request for comment. Additional reporting by Aidan Coyle Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. X was downed after jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party called for protests against a government official's admission of vote manipulation in last month's election (LOIC VENANCE) Pakistan entered on Saturday its fourth week of nationwide disruption to social media platform X, with activists waging a court battle to get it restored. The platform, formerly known as Twitter, was downed after jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party called for protests against a government official's admission of vote manipulation in last month's election. Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party faced a sweeping crackdown ahead of the February 8 poll, forced into opposition by a coalition of military-backed parties despite winning the most seats. Journalists and academics have filed a case in Sindh High Court in the mega city of Karachi against Pakistan's Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for the outage. "X is a common platform of commentary in Pakistan and if you block it, then you are taking oxygen away from public discourse which is illegal," said their lawyer Abdul Moiz Jaferii. "The reason behind this (disruption) is not to stop people from talking but it is to stop most people from listening." In a hearing on Thursday, the telecommunications authority sought more time to respond to the challenge. The government has not commented on the outage. AFP staff reported Saturday that X remained disrupted in the capital Islamabad, as well as the megacities of Lahore and Karachi. Access to X has been sporadic, occasionally available for short cycles based on the internet service provider, forcing users to virtual private networks (VPN), said Alp Toker of the NetBlocks internet monitor. - Opposition censorship - Mobile internet services were cut across the country on election day, with the interior ministry citing security reasons. It was followed by a long delay in issuing voting results -- giving rise to allegations of rigging. Khan's opposition party had already faced heavy censorship in the weeks before the election, banned from television channels and from holding rallies, forcing its campaign online. But the censorship followed. Pakistani internet freedom watchdog Bytes For All recorded four separate hours-long social media shutdowns in January - cutting off access to TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube while Khan's PTI live-streamed to its supporters. "It all started with targeting one political party's online campaigning during pre-polls, however, post-polls it is more a test of all citizens and democratic institutions -- particularly the parliament and judiciary. How are they going to respond and interpret the blockage of X?," the watchdog told AFP. Amber Rahim Shamsi, one of the petitioners and the director of the Centre for Excellence in Journalism, said she believes the restrictions are an attempt by the state to control PTI's social media success. "When the state has no credible counternarrative, it uses coercive measures to control or manipulate information," Shamsi said. zz/ecl/mca This is a locator map for Sudan with its capital, Khartoum. (AP Photo) CAIRO (AP) A Sudanese paramilitary group battling the countrys military in a nearly yearlong ruinous conflict endorsed Saturday a resolution by the U.N. Security Council calling for a cease-fire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The group, known as the Rapid Support Forces, said in a statement that it hopes the resolution, adopted by the U.N. Security Council on Friday, would help deliver crucially needed humanitarian assistance to millions of Sudanese trapped in the fighting across the Northeastern African country. Ramadan, during which adult Muslims are required to fast from dawn to sunset, is expected to start on or around Monday, depending on the sighting of the crescent moon. The RSF said it views the initiative as a crucial opportunity for the warring parties to embark on negotiations to find a political settlement to the conflict. We view this as a crucial opportunity to initiate earnest discussions that could catalyze a political pathway. This pathway must culminate in a durable ceasefire, foster security and stability, and result in a substantive resolution that addresses the foundational issues of the historical crisis in Sudan, it said. Sudan's military has already supported a call by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a Ramadan cease-fire. In his Thursday appeal, Guterres warned Thursday that the conflict threatens Sudans unity and could ignite regional instability of dramatic proportions. Sudan plunged into chaos in April last year, when long-simmering tensions between its military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo broke into street battles in the capital, Khartoum. The fighting broke out during Ramadan last year. Fighting spread to other parts of the country, especially urban areas, but in Sudans western Darfur region it took on a different form, with brutal attacks by the Arab-dominated Rapid Support Forces on ethnic African civilians. Thousands of people have been killed. The 15-member Security Council voted overwhelmingly in favor of the British-drafted cease-fire resolution, with 14 countries in support and only Russia abstaining. The resolution expressed grave concern over the spreading violence and the catastrophic and deteriorating humanitarian situation, including crisis levels, or worse, of acute food insecurity, particularly in Darfur. The head of the World Food Program, Cindy McCain, said earlier this week that the conflict risks creating the worlds largest hunger crisis, with some 18 million people across Sudan facing acute hunger, including 5 million who face starvation. The conflict has uprooted more than 10 million people either to safer areas inside Sudan or to neighboring countries, according to U.N. agencies. South Sudan received 600,000 people who fled the fighting in Sudan. Downtown Los Angeles can be seen from Runyon Canyon. The Los Angeles City Council established new parking restrictions for residential streets surrounding the park. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) It will soon be harder to find parking around Runyon Canyon after the Los Angeles City Council approved new regulations for a swath of residential streets near the popular hiking spot. Parking will be restricted west of the canyon and north of Hollywood Boulevard from North Curson Avenue to Laurel Canyon Boulevard, a stretch roughly half a mile wide. Residents living within the restricted area will be able to obtain permits from the city. Councilmember Nithya Raman, who represents the neighborhood, requested the regulations in 2022 in response to residents complaints that hikers and tourists were filling up street parking near their homes. Much of the street parking surrounding Runyon Canyon is already off-limits to non-residents, forcing drivers to flood residential streets west of the canyon, Raman said in a 2022 letter to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation. The residents deserve immediate relief from the influx of parking on their streets, said a Transportation Committee report sent to the council in February. Kris Heller, a resident of North Curson Avenue, said she is grateful for the impending restrictions. This is a narrow street and it gets crazy over here, especially on the weekends, she said. Another neighbor, Mary Ann Christopher, said she was concerned about ambulances and other emergency vehicles getting through the street when there are cars lined up on both sides. She said she had been hoping for permit-only parking in the area. The City Council hasnt yet specified what kind of restrictions will apply on which streets, but the limitations will range from two-hour parking to no parking during certain hours without a permit. Some Runyon Canyon hikers said the new restrictions worsen an already challenging parking situation and will deter people from visiting the park. There is one small unmetered lot at the top of the canyon, but it fills up quickly, according to hikers. The Los Angeles City Council has established new parking restrictions for residential streets surrounding Runyon Canyon. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) We should be looking to expand access to the outdoors, not reduce it, said Lowell Goodman, a Hollywood Hills resident and outdoor enthusiast. I think it's really important that everybody be able to park there and use this space. Runyon Canyon attracts big crowds on weekends. Hancock Park resident Scott Manlin, who lives in a permit-only parking area south of the canyon, said he sees both sides of the issue. He hikes in the canyon nearly every day and tries to park somewhere between North La Brea Avenue and Sierra Bonita Avenue. I can empathize with the owners perspective, he said. They want access to parking near their house, they own those homes and they have an entitlement to it. But it's also a public good and there needs to be access to it. Hikers who park on or west of North Curson Avenue can walk to the park entrances near North Vista Street or North Fuller Avenue, at the bottom of the canyon. The new restrictions will push hikers looking to park more than half a mile west of these entrances. If you came here to hike, you can walk a little further from your parking spot to get here, said Dean Neistat, who lives close enough to the canyon that hes able to run there from his home. Other hikers said crowded streets are just part of the territory when you live near Runyon Canyon. When you move here you sign up for it, said Brad Hoegl, who lives near the canyon and visits it frequently. Its like moving to Disney World and complaining about the people. The City Council hasn't announced when street signs outlining the regulations will be posted. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Targeted anti-social behaviour patrols are being rolled out across England and Wales from April, with at least 1m funding given to each of the 43 police forces. BBC News went out with Lancashire Police on a trial patrol in Brunswick, Blackpool, where a small team of officers have spent the past eight months making inroads with the community. "Come in, come in." Lynn ushers us out of the rain and into her house in Blackpool's Brunswick neighbourhood, one of the most deprived parts of England. It's a close-knit community of red brick terraced streets, under the shadow of Blackpool Tower. Half of those aged 16 and over are unemployed or economically inactive, while about one in three children live in poverty. Lynn was devastated when her mobility scooter was stolen from outside her local shop before being dumped at the railway station. "I was ever so upset because that's how I get about - I can't go out without it. It felt like heaven getting it back," she says. The police helped track down her scooter using CCTV and the help of the local community on Facebook. "They've been absolutely marvellous. They are always available to chat about anything you're worried about. And they always ask me how my little dog is," she says. Lynn's mobility scooter was stolen from outside a local shop Residents 'scared to walk to cars' For PC Danny Nelson, this friendly approach is key to "Operation Centurion", in which the same officers repeatedly patrol this small pocket of the town, a crime hotspot. The officers are ring-fenced and cannot be taken off to assist with other, more serious incidents elsewhere. Anti-social behaviour had become one of the neighbourhood's most common complaints. "If we went back a year ago, before [Operation] Centurion started, this would be a terrifying area, even for police to attend. We had a minimum of four to five calls a day, just for youth anti-social behaviour," PC Nelson says. "Residents were saying they didn't want to come out at night. They're scared to just walk to their cars, scared to meet with their own community, with their friends and families. "Doctors at the Sure Start Centre didn't want to go out to their own cars parked 20-30ft (7-9m) away from the door - they're that worried that they're going to be attacked." PC Nelson says the area used to be "terrifying" The next stop is a cup of tea and a chat with the Boys and Girls club, a local after-school centre for children as young as eight. A boy aged about 11, with his hoodie pulled up, pokes his head around the door and sees the officers chatting to one of the staff. He nods shyly in their direction. That child was responsible for a fair amount of the anti-social behaviour going on around here, PC Nelson confides, but says he is now more receptive and sometimes even challenges the officers to a game at the club's pool table. 'First name' policing In some ways, of course, the initiative is not new at all but a return to the "Bobby on the beat" style policing of the last century. "People are saying 'I don't know my local officer'," says PC Nelson, adding: "OK, well, let's bring it back to basics and let's get to know each other. "Let's have the local people in the community engaging on a first name basis of going 'oh, that's my local officer. I know what he can do for me, I know what he's done in the past - and I know, now this operation is in full swing, we can come together'." Not everyone agrees. We meet Elle, 18, helping to paint a mural outside the club. She tells the officers she had her phone stolen on New Year's Eve by someone she knew. Teenager Elle says she doesn't think anything will change She says she thinks the police are "trying" but adds: "Nothing's really going to change Blackpool." But figures suggest the patrols, piloted in 10 areas of the country, have actually helped cut many types of anti-social behaviour. Between July and December 2023, recorded incidents of theft in Brunswick dropped by 14%, and drug offences by a quarter. Criminal damage, arson and public order offences almost halved. Victim without a crime However, these new patrols may not provide much comfort for some. Of the 10,000 anti-social behaviour victims helped by Victim Support last year, 81% had been told their experience did not meet the criminal threshold. That is because some of the most common types of anti-social behaviour, such as neighbour disputes and verbal harassment, are not always logged as a crime, meaning victims are not entitled to support. That is what happened to Ian, who lives 40 miles away from Brunswick in a West Lancashire village. The aircraft engineer says he has not allowed visitors to his home for over a year after walking into a "nightmare" dispute with his elderly neighbour, who he says shouts often violent abuse and bangs on the adjoining wall all hours of the day and night. His now ex-partner moved out amid the strain and he regularly sleeps in his car to get away from the noise. Ian's neighbour, he says, is convinced he is secretly running a laundrette from his home and that she can hear noisy machines through the wall. He has called the police five or six times, he says, but they tell him they're unable to help, partly because of his neighbour's vulnerabilities. "The police investigate, go round and visit and decide it's not a criminal act," he says, continuing: "The council say, actually, some of this stuff might be a threat to kill. It's a police matter. "So, we had maybe six months of toing and froing between police and the council, trying to find someone to take responsibility." He says while initiatives like Operation Centurion are important, they are not the whole story. "It's the graffiti, it's the real criminal behaviour out on the streets. However, what you also have is some underlying anti-social behaviour that's more chronic, it's more ongoing, that really impacts people's lives in the long term, but isn't visible to the public." Ian's council says it takes anti-social behaviour very seriously. Charity Victim Support and others are calling for the Victims and Prisoners bill, currently going through parliament, to recognise people like Ian as victims and give them an automatic right to support. "Amending the Bill to include victims of non-criminal anti-social behaviour would grant them access to the same rights as other victims," Victim Support chief executive Katie Kempen says. She adds: "As things stand, support is a postcode lottery - but there are thousands of people up and down the country whose lives have been devastated." Former GOP presidential primary candidate and Vice President Mike Pence urged Congress to pass a bill that could ban TikTok in the U.S. The era of appeasing the Chinese Communist Party is over, Pence said in a thread on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Politicians claiming to be tough on China while simultaneously supporting TikTok spewing CCP-sanctioned propaganda across the world are wrong. China is poisoning the minds of American children. Enough is enough. Congress should pass legislation forcing the sale of TikTok as soon as possible, and President Biden must immediately sign it into law, Pence continued in the thread. On Tuesday, a bipartisan House bill that would ban the popular app if its China-based parent company ByteDance doesnt divest from it was unveiled. It was introduced by Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), who are both the top lawmakers on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. This bill is an outright ban of TikTok, no matter how much the authors try to disguise it. This legislation will trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they rely on to grow and create jobs, TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek told The Hill. The House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously advanced the bill Thursday and President Biden said he will sign the bill if it makes it through Congress. If they pass it, Ill sign it, Biden told reporters Friday. Pence called TikTok Chinese spyware that allows the Chinese Communist Party to manipulate the minds of young Americans at will and compromises the privacy of millions of Americans, in his thread on X. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Hong Kong's market for initial public offerings (IPOs) is suffering from another sluggish start in 2024. Once a beacon of hope for retail investors looking for a windfall and a lucrative source of fees for investment bankers, listings have instead become a source of stress and job insecurity due to a drop in such activity. This year, five companies have raised HK$2.18 billion (US$279 million) from their stock offerings in the first two months, according to data compiled by London Stock Exchange Group, the slowest momentum since 2011. In mainland China, 18 IPOs generated 15.2 billion yuan (US$2.1 billion), the least since 2016 at this stage. In contrast, the US market is enjoying its best run in three years, with 26 IPOs and US$6.3 billion in proceeds. Hong Kong-based bankers have expressed concerns about the state of the market. One industry veteran said his peers are in "survival mode," while waiting for the market to recover in the second half of the year. A junior banker said it has been difficult to win deals, especially if one is too focused on the Hong Kong IPO market. They declined to be named, because they are not authorised to speak to the media. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. Jerry Chang, a human resources consultant Barons & Co in Hong Kong. Photo: Handout alt=Jerry Chang, a human resources consultant Barons & Co in Hong Kong. Photo: Handout> "The environment is very stressful right now, particularly for young investment bankers," said Jerry Chang, a human resources consultant at Barons & Co in Hong Kong. "You can imagine, deals are not going through and bankers are not earning commission fees and high bonuses like they used to." It's a daunting task for Bonnie Chan Yiting, who was promoted to the top post as CEO of bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) on March 1. A lawyer by training, the 54-year old executive has seen the slump first-hand as IPO proceeds more than halved to US$5.9 billion last year, and compared with US$51.2 billion in 2020. Story continues Last year, 27 stocks or 42 per cent of the IPOs ended the year below their offer prices, according to Bloomberg data. In 2022, 42 stocks or 61 per cent of the debutants inflicted losses on investors versus 58 stocks or 67 per cent in 2020. Chan said she is not oblivious to the challenges. "These are turbulent times for global financial markets, Hong Kong being no exception," she said in an internal memo on March 1, after succeeding Nicolas Aguzin as CEO. "Despite the macro environment, our business has not slowed down. We have not allowed the noise of short-term challenges to distract us from positioning our business for the long term." Bonnie Chan took over as CEO of HKEX on March 1, succeeding Nicolas Aguzin. Photo: May Tse alt=Bonnie Chan took over as CEO of HKEX on March 1, succeeding Nicolas Aguzin. Photo: May Tse> An unprecedented four-year, trillion-dollar sell-off, induced by heightened US-China geopolitical tensions, has pummelled Hong Kong's valuation to the cheapest among major global equity markets. That has become a scourge for IPO candidates, which traditionally favour exchanges commanding the highest pricing for their shares. Hang Seng Index members now command a valuation of about 8.6 times their current-year earnings on average and 7.8 times 2025 earnings, according to Bloomberg data. It is a far cry from the about 13 times before a full-blown Covid-19 pandemic, and 14 times in 2017 when benchmarks tracking Chinese stocks at home and abroad produced their best returns since 2009. "Companies wanting to list need to get better valuations, which is not there yet," said Federico Bazzoni, CEO of Vantage Capital Markets, who has advised two clients to delay their plans. "There is no clear indication that the market is moving up, that the trend is going to be positive for the next two or three quarters." Last year also, Bazzoni advised two of his clients to delay their IPO plans. The market weakness remains a significant barrier for ambitious issuers, even though the city has continued to attract regional companies, especially those from Southeast Asia. Federico Bazzoni, CEO of Vantage Capital Markets in Hong Kong. Photo: Handout alt=Federico Bazzoni, CEO of Vantage Capital Markets in Hong Kong. Photo: Handout> "You may call this a little bit of a disappointment," he said. "From our point of view, it would be better to wait another year to get a better result." That sums up the situation involving big offerings from industry leaders. It has been almost five months since Midea Group, the world's largest white-goods producer based in southern Guangdong province, announced its Hong Kong listing plan. There has been no progress in JD.com's plan to spin-off and list its industrial and property units. Eleven months have also passed since Alibaba Group Holding, the owner of this newspaper, announced an internal business reorganisation that proposes hiving off and listing some of its units. They include the cloud-computing and Cainiao smart logistics businesses. In Alibaba's post-earnings call last month, chairman Joe Tsai said the market was "just not in a state where we believe we can really truly reflect the true intrinsic value" of Cainiao or its supermarket chain Freshippo, both earmarked for IPOs under the business revamp. While facilitating and managing existing stock listings offer a stable and regular stream of fees, the business remains a relatively small part of the HKEX group. Listing fees contributed only 10 to 12 per cent of its revenue annually over the past decade, according to its financial reports. As a subset of group revenue, fees generated from new listings of stocks on the Main Board and the GEM market, as well as from equity bull-bear contracts and derivative warrants, accounted for half. Hong Kong is also working to attract Middle Eastern companies with secondary listings in the city. By adding Saudi Arabia's Tadawul bourse to its list of recognised stock exchanges, HKEX has also paved the way for state oil giant Saudi Aramco to find a base in the city. Listing candidates are postponing roadshows until the broader market sentiment improves, according to investment bankers. That could be months away, some remarked, given that the US-China geopolitical and tech rivalries are not going away anytime soon. That leaves the industry to jostle for smaller deals. For instance, Chinese restaurant chain Xiaocaiyuan International and Mixue, which operates 36,000 bubble-tea stores, are not going to fan investor fervour in the way that Tencent Holdings and Alibaba, or even the ill-fated Ant Group, did in the past. DBS Group of Singapore and Wall Street banks such as Citigroup said the attention and yearning for blockbuster issues may risk under-appreciating a steady flow of profitable but smaller-sized companies that are greasing the IPO market. "While much of the discussion is focused on jumbo IPOs, there continues to be a substantial amount of mid-cap companies targeting listings," said Lindsay Chu, head of capital markets for Hong Kong and China at DBS Group, Singapore's biggest lender. "Mid-cap Chinese companies will continue to see Hong Kong as an attractive IPO venue." From L to R: Kenneth Chow, co-head of Asia equity capital markets at Citigroup; Melody Ngan, Asia-Pacific head of equity capital markets at Deutsche Bank, and Lindsay Chu, head of capital markets for Hong Kong and China at DBS Group. Photo: Handout alt=From L to R: Kenneth Chow, co-head of Asia equity capital markets at Citigroup; Melody Ngan, Asia-Pacific head of equity capital markets at Deutsche Bank, and Lindsay Chu, head of capital markets for Hong Kong and China at DBS Group. Photo: Handout> Based on last year's 68 IPOs, the median size worked out to US$45 million while the pre-trading market capitalisation was about US$510 million, according to Chu. This year, DBS expects both metrics to improve, given the number of larger IPOs being contemplated. It's a view shared by Kenneth Chow, co-head of Asia equity capital markets at Citigroup. He believes there is a strong pipeline of medium-sized Chinese companies seeking to expand their businesses globally. "Many of these companies are born global," he said. "Given the regional and global nature of their operations, there is merit in having a diversified global investor base and an offshore listing. Hong Kong is well positioned to benefit when these companies look to list." Melody Ngan, Asia-Pacific co-head of equity capital markets at Deutsche Bank, said the start of 2024 will continue to be tough for mainland China and Hong Kong IPO candidates. "The Hong Kong stock exchange has always seen a steady flow of mid-cap Chinese companies listing, but the size of IPOs are looking smaller than in previous years," she said. Still, "companies with positive earnings and strong balance sheets will continue to resonate well with investors." As an example, Chinese biotech firm Wuxi XDC Cayman attracted the Qatar Investment Authority as one of its key cornerstone investors in its HK$3.7 billion (US$471 million) stock offering in November last year. After completing a small IPO transaction this year, one banker with a Chinese investment bank said it had been a relief. In the past, deal makers would typically measure success by getting a mandate on blockbuster deals. Jumbo IPOs, few and far in between now, are the ones that will keep many in the job or avert the chop, he added. The landscape in the industry has shifted quite considerably last quarter, with an overall decrease in hiring levels across the investment banking sector, according to Carol Cheung, director of financial services at Robert Walters, a human resources and pay consultancy. "The market has been conservative and cautious in hiring for mid-senior levels and shifted to hiring for more junior levels," she said in a report. Bankers who talked to the Post said they are counting on the second half of the year for a revival. A lot will depend on the timing of the Federal Reserve's expected interest-rate cuts, a move that would give Hong Kong and Beijing extra room to stimulate the economy. To revive the city's sluggish financial market, Hong Kong also aims to attract companies from mainland China, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. The government was actively engaging with regulatory authorities on the mainland to speed up the approval process for companies listing in Hong Kong. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said at a forum in January. Hong Kong remains the reasonable market of choice for companies looking for fresh capital to expand in the region, according to Bazzoni of Vantage Capital Markets. "We need some strong signs. Right now, there is very little indication." Additional reporting by Li Jiaxing and Enoch Yiu This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Pentagon report says there are no UFOs or aliens but accepts popular beliefs will endure A Pentagon report denies government cover-up of extraterrestrial activity. The report refutes claims of UFO sightings and supposed knowledge of alien existence. The report acknowledges that public skepticism of denials will inevitably persist. The Pentagon released a report saying they'd found no evidence of UFO sightings or an alien cover-up. The 63-page document represents the most extensive rebuttal by the Pentagon in recent years, addressing widespread suspicions of hidden information on extraterrestrial activity. ARRO (All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office) issued the report to Congress under the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. It details the government's records related to extraterrestrial phenomena since 1945. AARO found no evidence confirming unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) as extraterrestrial technology most were ordinary objects or misidentified phenomena. AARO debunked various claims, including involvement in extraterrestrial experimentation and alleged intelligence documents. Reviewing one incident, AARO determined a sample from an alleged crashed spacecraft was a terrestrial alloy, not off-world technology. Claims of military officers witnessing extraterrestrial technology tests were also refuted in the review. It dismisses allegations of government involvement in capturing or reverse engineering alien technology, saying that sensitive government programs are unrelated to extraterrestrial matters. While acknowledging a surge in unusual observations, including those attributed to secret government flights and modern technology like drones and satellites, the report states that none of these sightings involved alien spacecraft. Despite conducting interviews with individuals claiming direct knowledge of a cover-up, the Pentagon found no corroborating evidence to support their claims. Conspiracy theories complicate efforts to address public skepticism Fan wears "I want to believe" UFO t-shirt in front of FOX's "The X-Files" UFO episode event featuring UFO model. Tommaso Boddi / Getty Images The Pentagon concluded that most reports likely result from misidentification due to a lack of domain awareness. Despite efforts to counter claims of secrecy, the report acknowledges that public skepticism will inevitably persist. The lack of conclusive evidence has fueled conspiracy theories, complicating efforts to address popular beliefs about UFOs and aliens. The report affirms that previous efforts to debunk misinformation, including congressional testimonies and scientific analyses, have not swayed public opinion. Last year, the US military released combat drone footage of a mysterious object resembling a silver orb. The Pentagon said it wasn't aliens. At the time, the director of AARO told Congress they were reviewing more than 650 UAP incidents reported by US military personnel but none had yielded any evidence of extraterrestrial activity. In 2019, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden tried to shut down conspiracy theories surrounding aliens. He said when he trawled through CIA databases, he couldn't find any evidence supporting claims of covert government involvement in extraterrestrial activity. "Everybody wants to believe in conspiracy theories because it helps life make sense," he told Joe Rogan. "It helps us believe that somebody is in control, that somebody is calling the shots." Read the original article on Business Insider Pentagon UFO report finds no alien evidence: 'If US won't fess up, other nations will,' expert warns The Pentagon found no evidence of aliens, alien technology or secret government-run reverse engineering programs. "The aggregate findings of all USG investigations to date have not found even one case of UAP representing off-world technology," according to the report, which was released Friday, and "authentic sensitive national security programs" were "mistaken" with UFO programs. "AARO (All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office) has no evidence for the USG reverse-engineering narrative provided by interviewees and has been able to disprove the majority of the interviewees claims," the report says, although "some claims are still under evaluation." Jeremy Corbell, an investigative journalist and pivotal figure in the fight for UFO transparency, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement, "If the U.S. won't fess up, other nations will." UFO REVOLUTION DOCUSERIES SHOWS UAP FLYING OVER MILITARY BASE, BLOWS UP DECADES OF CONSPIRACIES: EXPERT "The reason AARO was formed in the first place was because of the mishandling of the UFO problem by our government agencies in the past," Corbell said. "It was instated to address the UFO reality, the cover-up, as a defense against the dangerous and real possibility of strategic surprise. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP "The historical review is an attempt to rewrite history and obscure the basic fundamental facts about the UFO phenomenon." The purpose of the 63-page report "is not to prove or disprove any particular belief set, but rather to use a rigorous analytic and scientific approach to investigate past USG-sponsored UAP investigation efforts" and claims the government and private contractors are hiding alien technology and biological material. RUSSIAN UFO ENGAGEMENTS, SECRET TIC TAC REPORT AND 3 KEY FIGURES SLIP UNDER RADAR AT CONGRESSIONAL HEARING A "vast majority" of reported UFOs, or UAPs (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena), are "the result of misidentification," according to the report. The Pentagon acknowledged an Intelligence Community Control Access program was expanded in 2021 "without sufficient justification" to protect UAP reverse-engineering. But the program never recovered an extraterrestrial craft and was disestablished "due to its lack of merit," the report says. WATCH: "JELLYFISH UAP" FLIES OVER IRAQ As the debate rages in the U.S., Canadian officials addressed the UAP phenomemon earlier this week. Mona Nemer, the country's top scientific advisor, told lawmakers they're close to finishing their report, which should be released late summer or early fall. "I think our report is going to be quite fascinating on the historic front, so stay tuned," Nemer told the Canadian Parliament's science and research committee on Tuesday. Nemer said they've been in contact with their counterparts in the U.S. and France, and "enthusiasm for the responses have been uneven." "Sometimes the information is more complete or, you know, more cryptic than we'd like it to be," Nemer said, "which is why in some cases I will be engaging directly with the deputy ministers to make sure that we have the information that we need." Other conclusions put forth in the report include the public's general mistrust of the government and "perceived bureaucratic barriers," intense secrecy related to military programs and growing interest in UFOs. To put the rapidly growing interest in UFOs into perspective a once-considered taboo subject that destroyed careers, like Bob Lazar's after he was essentially forced to hide in exile, had its own Super Bowl commercial. Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Department of Defense spokesperson, said there was no evidence that any information was "illegally or inappropriately" withheld from Congress. UFO HOTSPOTS MAP REVEALS CLUSTER OF SIGHTINGS LINKED TO ATOM BOMBS, WAR ZONES A Fox News Digital-created UFO hotspot map based off information by the Department of Defense. "What we found was that claims of hidden programs are largely the result of circular reporting by a small group repeating what they heard from others and that many people have sincerely misinterpreted real events for mistaken sensitive U.S. programs as UAP or being extra-terrestrial exploitation," he said. In a statement released with the report, the DoD said the conclusions are based on "verifiable evidence." "All investigative efforts, at all levels of classification, concluded that most sightings were ordinary objects and phenomena and the result of misidentification," the statement says. Watch Full Super Bowl Ad The report didn't sit well with many whistleblowers and elected officials, as they sounded off on social media or during interviews. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn, who's been one of the most outspoken members on the UFO subject, wrote on X, "So the people doing the cover up of #ufo #uap say they find no cover up. Classic self fulfilled prophesy." MOSUL ORB: US SILENT ON UFO FILMED BY MILITARY OVER IRAQ Burchett warned in a previous interview that humanity "can't handle" the technology he's seen in videos. "If theyre out there, theyre out there, and if they have this kind of technology, then they could turn us into a charcoal briquette ," Burchett said on the "Event Horizon" podcast. "And if they can travel light years or at the speeds that weve seen, and physics as we know it, fly underwater, don't show a heat trail, things like that, then we are vastly out of our league." The "Mosul Orb" was recorded by a military reconnaissance plane over Mosul, Iraq in 2016. Former Navy pilot Ryan Graves, ex-Navy commander David Fravor and former U.S. intelligence officer David Grusch testify before the House of Representatives subcommittee focused on UFOs. Lue Elizondo, the former director of the Pentagon's advanced aerospace threat identification program, told The Good Trouble Show that it's "inconceivable that the Pentagon continues to go down this road of obfuscation and denial." "Our adversaries have already stated for the record they have their own UAP programs. Is this not important to the Pentagon?" Elizondo said. "This report is not only inaccurate, but also misleading in many of its assertions. READ FULL PENTAGON UFO REPORT CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "Furthermore, this is yet another example of a long list of missteps by the Pentagon in recent history. It's a sad day for democracy when the American public is being fed misinformation under the guise of truthfulness and transparency." Fox News Digital's Louis Casiano contributed to this report. Original article source: Pentagon UFO report finds no alien evidence: 'If US won't fess up, other nations will,' expert warns For Melody Lewis, a member of the Hopi, Tewa, and Mohave nations, finding other Indigenous-owned companies and businesses in the Valley is "a rare find." Lewis, who originally hails from the Fort Mohave Indian Reservation in northern Arizona, was disappointed with the lack of Indigenous representation in the workforce when she relocated to the Phoenix area several years ago. This inspired her to launch the Indigenous Community Collaborative in 2019, a social enterprise that "creates Indigenous-inclusive solutions" for small businesses in Phoenix. "For ICC, it's always been about system change," Lewis said of her company's initiative, which partners with Indigenous entrepreneurs and Indigenous-owned businesses to promote commercial growth. "Sometimes, that means we're collaborating with other organizations or businesses. It's natural for us to want to collaborate and engage. We have a lot to learn from each other." According to Lewis, the idea to "share knowledge and skillsets" with other corporate groups and individuals stemmed from another organization she had helped spearhead in 2021, known as Cahokia PHX. Known for their annual Indigenous People's Day festival in the Valley, Cahokia PHX is an art space located in downtown Phoenix that "serves to uplift Indigenous culture" through events, exhibitions, and retail, who have since becoming pioneers in Indigenous-related initiatives in the Valley. After resigning from her position at Cahokia PHX, Lewis pivoted to focus on a "service-based business," and launched ICC, offering guidance and programming to help locally-owned businesses and entrepreneurs that have "plateaued" in their economic development, according to Lewis. "We uplift each other with the type of work that we do," Lewis said. Bridging the gap between Phoenix and Indigenous communities Melody Lewis, owner of Indigenous Community Collaborative in Phoenix, aims to incorporate Indigenous perspectives through her organization's programs and services. For Lewis, running a business that advocates for and envelopes "innate Native qualities" is a key aspect to her company's mission, and is one that contradicts mainstream systems, she said. "Oftentimes, when services or programs or education are offered to us, we're not necessarily mentioned or seen," Lewis said. "Increasing Indigenous voices is multilayered. We need more Native people to be in spaces. We need more support mechanisms that makes sense to them culturally." Michael Webb, a frequent collaborator with Lewis, says the ICC is about "creating visibility" by connecting Indigenous communities and individuals with business opportunities. "It's really apparent that there's still this gap of understanding how to incorporate Indigenous peoples," Webb said. "And especially Indigenous youth." Webb, a Chicano and Chickasaw native whose identity is "tied with indigeneity," currently serves as a facilitator, contractor, and "idea man" for the ICC, having originally been employed by Lewis during her time at Cahokia PHX. After "befriending quickly" with Lewis, Webb began collaborating with Lewis on a variety of Indigenous-led projects, where he saw his own personal and professional development flourish under Lewis' tutelage. "She became a big sister to me," Webb said. "I truly have not seen anyone else do this work as well, as effectively, and as beautifully as Melody does. She's my friend, she's my mentor." One of the primary endeavors that Webb and Lewis have pushed for includes "indigenizing design," which involves creating safe spaces for Indigenous communities that adhere to and align with traditional Native and tribal values. "The need for representation and advocacy is so dire," Webb said. "There's still so much work that needs to be done to understand the way that the native community moves." Despite this, Webb cited Lewis as one of the many "wonderful individuals" who are currently championing Indigenous communities through the ICC. "I'm just amazed and inspired by the work that Melody does and the way that she approaches this work," Webb said. "It's truly an example that I think a lot of our colleagues and peers can learn from." Additionally, Lewis continues to look for ways to "bridge the economies" between Phoenix and the Fort Mohave Reservation due to a desire to give back to the community she grew up in, in addition to supporting other Indigenous nations, she said. While primarily serving the Phoenix area, Lewis' organization has also extended to parts of Nevada, New Mexico, and California as well, Lewis said. As of now, ICC is a communal-based property and does not have a permanent facility, but this hasn't stopped Lewis from reaching out and connecting with clients and understanding the needs of the population she wants to serve, Lewis said. Forging a path 'through their own lens' In addition to ICC being Indigenous-founded and owned, Lewis also stressed the importance of the organization being woman-owned, or as Lewis referred it, "a matriarch-owned entity." "It makes sense for us when it comes to stewarding our businesses," Lewis said. "(We are) incorporating the knowledge that's received from all of our matriarchs." According to Lewis, the Indigenous communities that she belongs to are matriarchal, meaning that the women of her society are at the head. "I ask myself, how are we incorporating the lessons that we learned from our moms, our aunties, our grandmas, and our sisters into modern-day society?" Lewis said. "That's what I think helps me navigate the business." One of the program initiatives that ICC has introduced is REZponse, a digital storytelling platform that shares the backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives of Indigenous people in the community "through their own lens." "We interview other Indigenous people who are doing amazing things and talk about what it's like being native in their space," Lewis said. "There are Native people in these spaces and they're doing great things." Adan Madrigal, an Indigenous contractor and collaborator with the ICC, went on to identify what he described as "an eye-opening experience" with the workforce development he's witnessed under Lewis' leadership, who helps transition Indigenous entrepreneurs from the reservation to the job market, according to Madrigal. "What I've learned is that there's a lot of talented and educated people in the Native American community," Madrigal said. "What Melody and the ICC does is empower them and help find them job opportunities." Other workforce developments that ICC offers includes grants services, collaborations with nonprofits and educational platforms, and consulting firms for a variety of different markets that help diversify the Indigenous perspective, according to Lewis. For Webb, the leadership cultivated through Lewis and the ICC serves as a foundation that sets their clients up for success and allows them to thrive. "(ICC) is the bridge, it's the catalyst," Webb said. "(Lewis) is the connector and the protector for these individuals or groups that are trying to do new, exciting, amazing things, but maybe dont understand how to advocate or to represent themselves." Additionally, being able to amplify Indigenous voices goes beyond economic advancement, with a need to incorporate inclusivity into the classroom as well, according to Lewis. "The curriculum is very different for us. The conversations that are had in classrooms are really centered around the past when really, we are here. We have been here," said Lewis, citing differences of Indigenous portrayals in "traditional Western systems." "That's why we chose to go into that environment and teach our youth about Indigenous identity because it's not necessarily taught. We're not mentioned in the classroom setting." In response, Webb has helped lead a variety of ICC-related projects targeted toward youth, including hosting a career night for Phoenix Union High School students to help develop students professionally while "taking their Indigenous identities into account," according to Webb. "We're trying to create an experience where these students really feel seen, heard, and represented while they choose what kind of careers they want to go into," Webb said. Despite ongoing inequities, progress toward "uplifting Indigenous truths" in other areas, such as the media, has managed to capture the lived experience of different nations and tribal communities, Lewis said. "It's really exciting that our stories are being told from our own perspectives," said Lewis, citing FX Network's "Reservation Dogs" as a prime example of Native relatability and recognition. "It hit home for all of us. Our presence in TV and film right now is so massive." Becoming 'culturally confident' Though Lewis doesn't feel Indigenous nations are obligated to educate the public on Native culture and identity, she does urge individuals to engage with their communities for inquiries and "utilize available resources" to pursue independent learning. Lewis also suggests maintaining awareness and consideration for local Native communities, advocating for Indigenous issues, and supporting Indigenous-owned businesses as additional ways to stay informed. With a principle of "forward-thinking" at the heart of ICC, the most critical component of Lewis' organization is the setup of success for future generations. "I just want to navigate and learn these systems in a way where it's not foreign to see a lot of Native people, and where it's not foreign to have our perspective at the table," Lewis. "I'm trying to create more Native folks in these spaces so it's easier for (younger generations) to navigate when they're ready to go to college or into the corporate world." For Lewis, seeing her clients go into spaces as their authentic selves and "culturally confident" is the most aspiring part of the job, focusing on the growth and success of each individual she collaborates with. "We've paved the road far enough where they don't have to deal with some of the things that we had to deal with. We're navigating these different environments," Lewis said. "It's generational impact." Reflecting on their collaborative efforts, Webb went on to say that Lewis' "incredible perception" has made her an invaluable resource for the community, adding how her unwavering support and accommodative approach adds validity to those seeking help. "I think that the most special thing that Melody does with me and with everyone else that she decides to work with is she provides a genuine, authentic relationship," Webb said. "And that relationship allows for advocacy to move forward." Federal money: Biden administration sends Arizona Indigenous nonprofit $8M to bring power to 300 tribal homes This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Indigenous Community Collaborative unites Native entrepreneurs in AZ Satellite pictures capturing the massive expansion of Russian military cemeteries prove the huge cost of the Ukraine war for Moscows army, according to experts. The startling pictures show cemeteries linked to elite units such as the Guards Airborne Division, the Guards Motorised Division and the Wagner Mercenary group have all grown substantially in size since the invasion began in February 2022. Although Russia does not provide a death toll for its soldiers, the pictures provided by Maxar Technologies and obtained by The Telegraph and National Security News add weight to Western estimates of significant losses. Images of just one section of Moscows Tula cemetery, for example, show the numbers of graves have roughly quadrupled between October 2021 and April 2023. The nearby Bogorodskoye cemetery has had a whole new section added during that time, apparently tripling its size. Both are near Ryazan, in western Russia, where units of the 106th Guards Airborne Division are based, according to Maxar, a private US-based satellite company. Troops from that division took part in the opening battles of the war in Ukraine and also later fought in operations in the Bakhmut area along with Wagner forces. Western intelligence estimates suggest that as many as 20,000 Russian troops could have been killed in the fight for Bakhmut. Col Philip Ingram, a former British Army intelligence officer and Nato planner, described the images as startling. They show the huge price Russian conscripts are paying, he said. I am not surprised at the clear growth in cemeteries near bases as Russia is losing more than 900 troops a day at the moment for minimal territorial gains. The Russian losses in the battle for Avdiivka, where over 16,000 of their soldiers died are testament to that. Estimates of the number of Russian soldiers killed fighting in Ukraine vary enormously. A recent study by Mediazona and Meduza, two independent Russian media outlets, suggested it was up to 88,000 as of the end of 2023. They based their numbers on public obituaries and official inheritance records. That estimate tallies with the British Ministry of Defence, which estimates that up to 70,000 have died. The US thinks the figure could be as high as 120,000, while Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky last month suggested it was 180,000. Russia does not supply official death tolls. Around a quarter of Russian soldiers killed are in regular military units, another quarter are newly mobilised troops or volunteers, and the rest are convicts, part of private contractor groups or unknown, according to recent research by The Economist. The reality for the Russian people is that the expansion of the size of these cemeteries doesnt fully reflect the true numbers of Russian dead, said Col Ingram. Many bodies are left where they fell on the battlefield. The recovery and repatriation of Russian dead is not a priority as it keeps the true extent of the casualties away from public gaze and saves the Russian government paying compensation to families. This year will likely see casualties from both sides reach the one million in total mark. I should imagine that the cemeteries will either grow in size again or new ones will have to be developed. Other cemeteries shown in the images include Blyzhnie cemetery, near Feodosiya, Crimea, and Mikhaylovsk cemetery, near Stavropol, also in Crimea. Both are associated with the 7th Guards Airborne Division, which has been involved in the Ukraine war since the start. Troops from the unit took part in the southern Ukrainian offensive and the battles of Kherson and Mykolaiv that month, where they are reported to have suffered heavy losses. The same unit lost 49 soldiers a single day last year. The elite Russian paratroopers were serving with 247th VDV Regimen, part of the 7th Guards Airborne Division, when they were killed in a battle close to Staromayorske, a village in Donetsk. Russian media reported in March 2022 that the divisions commanding general, Andrei Sukhovetsky, was killed in combat. Alabino cemetery is linked to units which make up the 2nd Guards Motorised Rifle Division. The cemetery appears to have been expanded to house graves belonging to troops from the division, who have died in the war. The division took a small part in the northern Ukraine offensive of the 2022 Russian invasion, and in the failed month-long Siege of Chernihiv. During the siege in February 2022, over 150 soldiers from the unit were killed and around 300 were captured by Ukrainian forces. Bakinskaya and Berezovsky cemeteries are linked with the Wagner Group and are believed to contain the graves of many of its dead fighters. Both cemeteries have exhibited significant expansion since February 2022. Up to 21,000 Wagner fighters are believed to have been killed since the start of the war. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Ukrainian border guards have received information from the Polish authorities that farmers are supposedly planning to temporarily unblock traffic at the Krakovets border checkpoint. Source: European Pravda, citing Andrii Demchenko, spokesperson for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, on air during the national joint 24/7 newscast Details: "We were informed that this may last until around 13 March. However, whether this will be adhered to and whether the route towards the Krakovets border checkpoint will indeed be unblocked by 13 March, remains to be seen," he said. Demchenko added that as of the morning of 9 March, approximately 2,300 lorries are queuing up on all routes where Polish farmers are hindering or almost preventing their passage. "The most difficult situation is opposite the Yahodyn and Shehyni border checkpoints. In fact, Polish farmers are not allowing lorries heading towards Poland to pass through there at all," stated Demchenko. He specified that over the past day, on 8 March, approximately 70 lorries entered Ukraine through Yahodyn and about 20 through Shehyni. At the same time, Demchenko noted that other categories of vehicles, such as passenger cars and buses, are not being blocked by the Polish farmers. Humanitarian and other essential cargoes continue to arrive at Ukrainian border checkpoints. Read also European Pravdas report from the border: Report from the border: how Polish authorities and protesters are blocking trade with Ukraine Background: Polish farmers are continuing to block the movement of lorries at six checkpoints on the border with Ukraine. In February, farmers in Poland started nationwide protests, blocking border checkpoints with Ukraine and disrupting the operation of ports and roads. Support UP or become our patron! (KRON) More than a dozen dogs and 200 cats were rescued from a Hollister house where a local organization claimed to operate an animal rescue center, police said Friday. Hollister Police Animal Care and Services received a tip regarding SBC Pet-A-Palooza Rescue Inc. reporting that the organization housed animals in unsanitary living conditions, police said. On Thursday, Hollister Police Department officers served a search warrant at a home located on the 700 block of El Toro Drive. Dozens of animals were discovered in deplorable conditions without food or water and housed with built up feces, police wrote. The founders of SBC Pet-A-Palooza Rescue Richard Lopez, 60, and Susie Alarcon, 59 were arrested on suspicion of felony animal cruelty. (Photo via Hollister Police Department) Animal control officers seized 13 dogs from the property. Officers worked with Hitchcock Road Animal Services, Cat Crew California, and other agencies to help the 200 remaining cats. Many of the cats on the property need care for extreme medical conditions, police said. (Photo via Hollister Police Department) Hollister Police Animal Care and Services said residents should be aware that it is unlawful for any person to subject an animal to needless suffering, inflict unnecessary cruelty upon an animal, or in any manner abuse an animal, or deprives an animal of necessary sustenance, drink, or shelter. The crime is punishable as a felony by imprisonment, or a fine up to $20,000. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. MARSHALL, Texas (KETK) The Harrison County Sheriffs Office said three people were arrested on Friday after they discovered methamphetamine, marijuana and Diazepam (Valium) during a search of a residence. Police: 2 in custody after armed carjacking in Tyler According to a release, a search warrant was ordered after an investigation revealed methamphetamine was being sold from a residence on Walnut Street in Marshall. Decorian Kashun Stewart, 25, Savion Dashawn Hicks, 21, and Taylor Roshelle Dotie, 22, all of Marshall, were located in the residence by the Harrison County Emergency Response Team (ERT), the sheriffs office said. Mugshot of Decorian Stewart, courtesy of Harrison County Jail Records Mugshot of Taylor Dotie, courtesy of Harrison County Jail Records Mugshot of Savion Hicks, courtesy of Harrison County Jail records Stewart allegedly tried to flush methamphetamine in the toilet when the ERT entered the home, the release said. A subsequent search revealed approximately 5.6 grams of methamphetamine, less than two ounces of marijuana, approximately 5.7 grams of Diazepam (Valium) and one 9mm handgun, the sheriffs office said. Son of elected Smith County officials sentenced to 30 days in jail for interfering with public duties Stewart and Dotie were charged with possession of a controlled substance. Dotie and Hicks were both charged with possession of marijuana and Stewart was also charged with tampering with evidence. According to the release, the drug charges were enhanced because of Drug-Free-Zone violations since the residence is within 1,000 feet of East Texas Baptist University. They are currently booked at the Harrison County Jail. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KETK.com | FOX51.com. A 33-year-old man from Canton attempted to bring this hammer into the U.S. Capitol March 8. He was stopped by police. A 33-year-old Canton man has been charged with assault of a police officer after he tried bringing a hammer into the U.S. Capitol. The U.S. Capitol Police press release said the man was being screened at the Capital Visitor Center around 3:40 p.m. Friday. As the mans backpack went through the X-ray, a USCP officer noticed a hammer inside the bag. When the officer attempted secondary screening to further investigate the bag, the suspect attempted to grab the bag and became combative. Several officers immediately intervened to stop the suspect, the news release said, and a struggle ensued. USCP officers deployed a Taser to stop the man and take him into custody. These officers did what they were trained to do and stopped this man from getting into the U.S. Capitol, said USCP Captain Andrew Pecher. Great work from the officer who spotted the hammer, to the officers who quickly took the suspect into custody. Investigators are working to determine why the man came to the Capitol with a hammer. This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Canton man allegedly brought hammer to US Capitol, arrested MANHATTAN (KSNT) A corrections officer with the Riley County Police Department (RCPD) was listed as the victim of an alleged attempted strangling by an inmate. Around 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 7 a 32-year-old female inmate allegedly tried to strangle a 37-year-old female corrections officer. The inmate was previously arrested on March 2 for failure to appear, according to the RCPD. As a result of the alleged strangulation incident, the inmate was arrested again for aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer (LEO), battery on an LEO and criminal destruction of property. The inmate was issued a $25,000 bond, according to the RCPD daily report. How squatters can take your property in Kansas The RCPD says the inmate is currently being held in the Riley County Jail. For more crime news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. To download our Storm Track Weather App, click here. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) Hampton Police are asking people to avoid the area around West Lamington Road due to a potential hazmat situation after receiving a call for a possible drug overdose Friday evening. Police said they responded and found a 43-year-old Hampton man inside a shed, behind a residence, who was unconscious but breathing. The man was taken to a local hospital, police said. A preliminary investigation showed that materials were found that are consistent with making methamphetamine as well as a possible explosive device. Nearby residents were asked to evacuate, police said. The Newport News Fire Department Bomb Squad and the Hampton Division of Fire and Rescue hazmat team are at the scene and helping Hampton Police with the investigation. The Virginia State Police/Drug Enforcement Agency Division 5 Drug Clandestine Unit has also been notified. A woman with active warrants on file who was at the scene was taken into custody, police said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. Hannah Peichel works at the String Instrument Workshop, 147 N. Broadway, Green Bay. She and Jarrett "Lucas" Coniff purchased the shop from former owner Larry Frye. The well-known String Instrument Workshop in Green Bays On Broadway District will soon have an updated website. Thats because Larry Frye, who started the business in 1980, has finally taken a well-earned retirement. He recently closed on the sale of the business to Hannah Peichel and Jarrett Lucas Coniff. Changing the website is just one of many items on their to-do list as they learn to operate a business they never dreamed would be theirs. It all started when the pair graduated from technical college in Red Wing, Minnesota, the same school where Frye had established the String Instrument Repair course, a program that has gained national recognition. Frye taught there until opening the Green Bay shop. That was the course that Peichel and Coniff took and where they learned instrument repair. After graduating, Peichel found herself working in unrelated fields. It was difficult going to school during the pandemic," she said. "I graduated in 2022 with a certificate in violin-making and repair, but found myself taking coffee shop management positions that were unrelated to my field. We knew that we werent going to work at coffee shops forever, and went to instrument repairs shops in the Twin Cities and Green Bay looking for jobs. When visiting Green Bay (Coniff is from here; Peichel is from Minnesota) during Christmas break in 2021, they stopped in at the String Instrument Workshop, 147 N. Broadway. We clicked with Larry instantly and ending up talking for an hour, Peichel said. He took down our names and said he would let us know if he had any openings. We did hear back, but it was to hear that he was going to sell. That was late spring 2022. The couple said they were devastated. They had hoped to work for an established shop and thought it seemed perfect. All of the other places they applied were not hiring, either. Then, one day, the situation changed. After work at the coffee shop, I got home and Lucas had numbers in front of him and he said, Hannah, you need to trust me on something. I want to buy the business, she recalled. It was the kind of crazy that I thought just might work. Story continues That led to months of number crunching. They had several mentors including a former manager and Frye. Frye talked them through the process and worked with them in the shop focusing on repair and operations. Their parents and friends provided additional support. With that encouragement, they moved to Green Bay. We gutted out our apartment in Red Wing and found a place in Green Bay on the west side," Peichel said. "Then it started. We did a lot of talking to the bank, more time talking to the bank, talking to lawyers. We spent a year-and-a-half gathering support. Jarrett "Lucas" Coniff works at the String Instrument Workshop in downtown Green Bay. He and Hannah Peichel purchased the shop from former owner Larry Frye. They worked with On Broadway to gain some financial assistance as a minority-owned business (that is still in the works). A friend worked with Coniff on the financials and Peichel said he became a numbers wizard almost overnight. Once we had the numbers together, it all made sense," she said. "The rest of the time was spent trying to convince others that it made sense. Their business plan summarized a business model to provide high-quality repairs on instruments of all kinds at a reasonable cost with studio space for instructors and a partnership with local school districts. Several changes in operations are planned. There will be a core model change to update the business for the world we live in," Peichel said. "To make it more convenient for people to bring their instruments in, we are extending hours to 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. It was kind of a big ask to expect people to make it in when hours are limited and they have to sacrifice a lunch hour. The couple will both work at the shop, and Peichel will also be keeping her job as a team leader at Scooters Coffee until the business can support them both. They recognize the loyal clients that Frye had and said they want to continue with that same high level of customer service. Because of Larrys success, word of mouth has been crucial. Peichel said. To add to that, we want to bring in more clients with a website that includes a digital interface for scheduling appointments. We plan to utilize Facebook and Instagram to produce videos that show off the process of repairing an instrument; we also want to blog. The process of purchasing the business has also proven the tenacity of the couple; both are in their 20s. In obtaining financing, a final piece of the puzzle came together when a family member purchased the building so it could be leased back to the couple. Being young was a big question mark hanging over everyones heads when we decided to do it. It was a fear that people would question us just because of our age, Peichel said. While she admits to being very nervous and taking a leap of faith, she said Coniff feels comfortable because he believes the numbers support the purchase. He is also more acquainted with entrepreneurship having come from a family where his dad, the late Pat Coniff of Heroes Club on South Washington Street, succeeded for years. As they end up in the same general vicinity, there are plans to become fully entrenched in the community by participating in local events including the weekly Farmers Market on Broadway. For the business, long term, they want to grow and be in a position to hire additional people. One thing that wont change is their philosophy. Every instrument means something to someone and everyone deserves to play. If you have a broken instrument, you cant do that. There are stories that go along with every instrument and we love to hear those stories, Peichel said. As they settle in as owners, they take comfort in knowing that Frye is just a phone call away. Peichel also is encouraged by Coniffs confidence; that he doesnt quit and refuses to use the word impossible. For both, it already feels like the right decision. I already consider it to be kind of a success," she said. "We took a potshot at the moon and landed in the stars; I consider that a success. Our goal is to sustain ourselves completely on the business to fuel the rest of our lives. As long as we can get better and better at what we do, we will continue to succeed. This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: New owners take over String Instrument Workshop in downtown Green Bay A number of bodies have been removed from the Hessle Road branch of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors, police said A number of bodies have been removed from a Hull funeral directors as part of a police inquiry. An investigation was launched into Legacy Independent Funeral Directors after a report of concern for "care of the deceased", Humberside Police said. Cordons are in place at the firm's three branches in Hessle Road and Anlaby Road in Hull, and in Beverley. Assistant Chief Constable Thom McLoughlin said officers were working with local councils and the coroner. "Together we have been conducting extensive enquiries to fully understand the circumstances and concerns expressed in the report made to us," he said. "As part of this, we are now in the process of moving a number of deceased from the premises on Hessle Road in Hull to the local authority mortuary in Hull." Mr McLoughlin said the investigation related to "concern about the storage and management processes relating to care of the deceased in these locations". Humberside Police has set up two helpline numbers for anyone worried about the news - one from within the UK and one for people who are abroad. The firm has a branch in Beckside in Beverley, East Yorkshire "We have already received a number of calls from concerned members of the public and I want to offer my personal reassurance that we are working as hard as possible to make direct contact with each and every family that may have been affected by the concerns reported," Mr McLoughlin said. He added: "I do want to please ask the public to remain respectful and refrain from speculation. "At the core of this investigation will be heartbroken and devastated families and we ask for the utmost respect for bereaved families within our community." According to its website, Legacy Independent Funeral Directors is a family-run business that was established in 2010. The company has been contacted by the BBC for comment. Follow BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastyorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) Authorities in Shelbyville are searching for a man who allegedly fled from police after he was caught trying to meet an underage girl for sex. According to the Shelbyville Police Department, the incident occurred on Wednesday, March 6 during an undercover operation. WATCH: Cumberland County police chase caught on video Robert Mohrmann (Courtesy: Shelbyville Police Department) Detectives said the operation was conducted to arrest 26-year-old Robert Austin Mohrmann after he tried to meet a 13-year-old girl for sex. While authorities tried to take Mohrmann into custody, he reportedly fled in a vehicle and almost hit detectives. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com He is now wanted for solicitation of a minor, attempted aggravated statutory rape, aggravated assault, evading arrest by motor vehicle and driving on revoked 8th offense, officials said. Anyone with information regarding Mohrmanns whereabouts is asked to contact Detective Nathan Everhart at 931-684-5811. Download the News 2 app to stay updated on the go. Sign up for WKRN email alerts to have breaking news sent to your inbox. Find todays top stories on WKRN.com for Nashville, TN and all of Middle Tennessee. This is a developing story. WKRN News 2 will continue to update this article as new information becomes available. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. March 9 (UPI) -- Police have shot and killed a man suspected of vehicle theft in Rochester, N.H., authorities said Saturday. The New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella announced that police shot and killed Joseph Russell, 36, after he drew a firearm when a police dog took him to the ground. Rochester police officers and New Hampshire State Police troopers were searching for Russell in connection with multiple vehicle thefts Thursday night, the attorney general said. Police believed Russell to be armed and dangerous, based on witness accounts. Authorities were notified Friday that Russell was seen driving in Rochester. They intercepted him on Route 16 near the Gooseberry Circle neighborhood. He then abandoned his vehicle and ran from police into the neighborhood, Formella said. Police found Russell walking in between houses, and he fled from them again. Officers claimed they told Russell repeatedly to stop and surrender. When he did not, a state police trooper released a K-9, which brought Russell to the ground. Officers then claimed they saw Russell draw a firearm, at which point two troopers drew their guns and fired at Russell. He died at the scene. The New Hampshire Department of Justice and New Hampshire State Police Major Crimes Unit are investigating the shooting. Russell's autopsy is scheduled for Saturday. The AG's office said the identities of the troopers who fired at Russell will be disclosed after formal interviews. Polish farmers are planning to temporarily unblock the Krakovets checkpoint with Ukraine, the State Border Guard Services spokesman Andriy Demchenko said on national television on March 9. Polish farmers may end the blockade of the checkpoint by March 13, Demchenko said. "We will see whether this will be observed, whether they will actually unblock it by the 13th," he said. About 2,300 trucks were queued in all directions where Polish farmers were blocking the vehicle passage as of the morning of March 9, said Demchenko. The most difficult situation is observed at the Yahodyn and Shehyni checkpoints. During the past day, trucks were able to enter into Ukraine, while other types of transport were not blocked at the border at all. Humanitarian aid shipments continue to arrive at Ukrainian checkpoints. Read also: Warsaw shouldnt close Ukrainian border Polish politician Polish farmers continue to block the movement of trucks at six crossing points: Yahodyn, Ustyluh, Uhryniv, Rava-Ruska, Shehyni, and Krakovets. Protesters completely blocked the movement of trucks at the Shehyni checkpoint on March 1. Polish protesters began to restrict traffic on the border with Ukraine on Feb. 20. Trucks were blocked at the Medyka-Shehyni, Dohobyczow-Uhryniv, Zosin-Ustyluh, Korczowa-Krakovets, Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska, and Dorohusk-Yahodyn checkpoints. The farmers expressed numerous demands, including two main ones: the abolition of duty-free trade with Ukraine and the complete closure of the Ukrainian-Polish border for trucks. Poland also asked Ukraine to cancel the electronic queue for three checkpoints. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry believes that the blocking of the border by the Poles has no justification, no matter which slogans are used. Polish Minister of Development and Technology Krzysztof Hetman said he supports the farmers who are "protesting for a worthy cause." Read also: Police clash as farmers protest expands in Poland There were reports of restrictions on passenger transportation. A scandal also erupted over a pro-Russian banner on a farm tractor at the border. It read, "Putin, sort out Ukraine, Brussels, and our government". The Polish police announced that the farmer was charged with inciting hatred. Protesters threw grain out of eight railroad cars carrying Ukrainian agricultural products overnight on Feb. 24-25. This was the fourth incident in recent days. Poland said it was unable to collect all the Ukrainian grain that had fallen out of the railroad cars. The Ukrainian and Polish sides held talks on the possibility of unblocking the border and taking into account the interests of farmers on Feb. 28. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine The recent suggestion by French President Emmanuel Macron that the West may eventually deploy troops to Ukraine should be kept as on option to consider, Polish Foreign Minister Radosaw Sikorski said on March 8. Read also: France joins Czech ammunition procurement initiative Macron Speaking at the Polish parliament on the 25th anniversary of Poland's NATO membership, Sikorski noted that the Korean War has set a precedent for an international coalition sending forces into the conflict following a UN Security Council resolution. Remember, immediately after the [Russian] invasion [in 2022], at the United Nations General Assembly, over 140 countries out of 190 voted to denounce the aggression as unacceptable, said Sikorski. This is not merely a statement for the press; it establishes a certain legal basis. The minister added that Western troops in Ukraine could aid in halting Russian aggression rather than cause an escalation. Read also: Discussions on deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine should be stopped Pistorius That's why I value the recent French initiative, he said. Read also: Warsaw relies on NATO allies in case of Russian aggression Polish military In my opinion, it has a noble intentto make the Russian president [Vladimir Putin] question what our next move might be, instead of him being certain that we won't do anything creative, allowing him to plan his next moves. After a conference in support of Ukraine held in Paris on Feb. 26, Macron said that Ukraine's Western allies would form a coalition to provide the Ukrainian armed forces with long-range weapons, and that sending Western troops to Ukraine in the future is not off the table. Read also: No red lines for French support of Ukraine Macron In response to Macron's statements, several NATO countries publicly rejected the idea of sending troops to Ukraine, including Poland, the United States, Germany, Czechia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas did not reject the possibility of sending troops but clarified that they will send them only for training missions. General Onno Eichelsheim, Chief of the General Staff of the Dutch Army, said that "all options should be left open." Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine By Marek Strzelecki WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's prime minister pledged to reduce a grain surplus on the domestic market at talks with farmers on Saturday, a government official said, but union leaders said they were pressing on with weeks of protests. Prime Minister Donald Tusk held three hours of talks in Warsaw with the farmers, who are demanding a halt to cheap imports and to environmental regulations they say harm their livelihoods. "The premier told the farmers there will be money available to take several million tons of grain off the market," Deputy Agriculture Minister Michal Kolodziejczak told reporters, suggesting a cut of 4-5 million tons had been proposed. But Tomasz Obszanski, leader of the NSZZ RI Solidarnosc union for individual farmers, said after the meeting that the protests would continue and would be stronger. "In reality we left the meeting with nothing," he told reporters. Andrzej Sobocinski, a farmer from northern Poland, told reporters after taking part in the meeting that dealing with the surplus was not enough. "If grain keeps flowing from Russia and other countries the problem will persist," Sobocinski said. Farmers across the European Union have been calling for changes to restrictions placed on them by the bloc's Green Deal plan to tackle climate change, and for the re-imposition of customs duties on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine that were waived after Russia's invasion in 2022. Farmers from neighboring Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, all of which are members of the EU, say the move undercut their prices. Ukraine is not part of the 27-member EU. Poland has called for an EU ban on imports of Russian and Belarusian agricultural products. In Warsaw, protests by tens of thousands of farmers and their supporters ended in violent clashes with police this week, and the protesters warned they would bring Poland to a standstill. The farmers' leaders had hoped to hold talks with Tusk on Tuesday but said their request was turned down. Tusk, however, invited them to talks on Saturday. The protests, including blockades of Ukrainian border crossings and disruptions at ports and on roads, have posed a challenge for the new government led by Tusk. He faces a balancing act, seeking to address farmers' concerns while maintaining Warsaw's staunch support for Kyiv in a year when local and European elections will be held. (Reporting by Marek Strzelecki, Editing by Timothy Heritage) Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has told farmers' organisations that Poland does not intend to close the border with Ukraine. Instead, Tusk has offered the farmers support from the state budget. Source: Radio Liberty, citing Andrzej Sobocinski, one of the farmers present at the meeting with Tusk Quote from Sobocinski: "The Prime Minister said he would try to convince the European Commission regarding the Green Deal. Regarding the border, he stated that he will not close it." According to Sobocinski, Tusk said he would help purchase excess grain from farmers using government funds and had instructed the Ministry of Agriculture to calculate the amount. The farmer added that a final agreement with the government has not been reached, and that the farmers have taken note of Tusk's words and await specific decisions. There is currently no discussion about ending the protest and the border blockade, he said. Background: Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on 4 March that the border blockade by Polish farmers would cause greater losses to Poland than Ukraine. As of 9 March, 2,300 lorries are waiting in queues at all border crossings with Poland. Support UP or become our patron! Polish protestors on the border with Ukraine plan to temporarily unblock traffic at the Korczowa-Krakovets crossing, Andriy Demchenko, spokesperson of Ukraine's State Border Guard Service said on air on March 9. Demchenko said on the national telethon that the border blockade could end on March 13, but remained cautious about whether or not the protestors will resume traffic flow after the date. Currently, 2,300 trucks are held up in lengthy lines in both the direction of Poland and Ukraine, according to Demchenko. He noted that the situation is the worst at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk and Medyka-Shehyni checkpoints as protestors block all trucks coming into Poland. The protestors, led by Polish farmers, claim that the influx of Ukrainian agricultural products is of poor quality and undermines local businesses amid rising costs across Europe. They also oppose the EU's Green Deal policies. Protestors began blocking border crossings with Ukraine in early February. Currently, six checkpoints are blocked. Demchenko said that over the last day, 70 trucks entered Ukraine through the Yagodin crossing and 20 through Shehini. Protestors are allowing passenger vehicles and humanitarian aid to enter Ukraine, Demchenko said. However, the Kyiv Independent reported last month that some trucks carrying humanitarian and military aid were stuck in queues for days. The dispute has led to deteriorating relations between Kyiv and Warsaw. Protestors spilled Ukrainian grain on several occasions sparking outrage in Ukraine. Polish farmers, agrarian workers, foresters, and hunters staged a general strike in Warsaw on March 6, a week after Polish farmers organized a mass protest in Warsaw on Feb. 27 Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at a press conference on March 4 that the border blockade and ongoing trade disputes with Poland have a higher economic cost to Warsaw than Kyiv. Only 5% of Ukrainian agricultural exports are transported by road, with 90% being shipped out via maritime routes, he said. "Ukraine has not exported wheat, corn, or sunflower seeds to Poland since September of last year, Shmyhal noted. Read also: Polish parliament calls on European Commission to ban agricultural goods from Russia, Belarus Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. WARSAW (Reuters) - Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of a Polish bishop for negligence in handling cases of sexual abuse committed by some clergy against minors, his representatives in the country said on Saturday. Andrzej Dziuba, a bishop in Lowicz, had not informed law enforcement authorities about the case of a priest from his diocese who abused a 14-year-old boy, according to local media reports, which said Dziuba is facing charges in Poland. "Difficulties in the management of the diocese were identified, in particular negligence in handling sexual abuse cases committed by some clergy against minors," the Apostolic Nunciature in Poland said in a statement. Dziuba had been asked to resign by the Holy See, it added. The Lowicz diocese said on its website that Dziuba was retiring, citing the Pope's decision to accept his resignation without further elaboration. Dziuba did not immediately comment. His departure comes less than a month after the pope accepted the resignation of a Polish archbishop accused in a 2021 documentary of turning a blind eye to child abuse. One of Europe's most devoutly Catholic countries, Poland has seen a string of child abuse scandals, with the church saying two years ago that between July 1, 2018, and Dec. 31, 2020, it received 368 reports regarding abuse of minors. According to 2021 census data, 71% of the population consider themselves Catholic. (Reporting by Marek Strzelecki; editing by Giles Elgood) Pope Francis takes part in his weekly General Audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. Evandro Inetti/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa Pope Francis has dismissed the Bishop of owicz, Andrzej Dziuba, for failing to investigate allegations of abuse of minors by members of Poland's Catholic clergy. The pontiff accepted an offer of resignation from the 74-year-old, the Vatican announced in Rome on Saturday. According to a statement from the papal nunciature in Poland, "difficulties in the administration of the diocese and, in particular, negligence in the handling of cases of sexual abuse committed by some clergy against minors" had been identified. The diocese of owicz belongs to the archdiocese of odz in central Poland. According to Polish media reports, Dziuba transferred a priest in his diocese from one parish to another, even though he knew about the allegations from victims' statements. The priest has since been sentenced to three years in prison. The Catholic Church in the homeland of Francis' John Paul II, who was pope from 1978 until his death in 2005, has for years been rocked by allegations of child abuse. The Polish Pope - whose real name was Karol Wojtya - appointed Dziuba as a bishop two decades ago. Since then, several bishops in Poland have resigned prematurely. In many other countries children and young people were also sexually abused by Catholic clergymen. However, many cases were found to have been covered up by elements in the Church, which has more than 1.4 billion worshippers worldwide. Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day before the record date which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company's books as a shareholder in order to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. Therefore, if you purchase Broadridge Financial Solutions' shares on or after the 14th of March, you won't be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 5th of April. The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.80 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$3.20 to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Broadridge Financial Solutions has a trailing yield of 1.6% on the current share price of US$203.55. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. So we need to investigate whether Broadridge Financial Solutions can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow. Check out our latest analysis for Broadridge Financial Solutions If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Broadridge Financial Solutions paid out 53% of its earnings to investors last year, a normal payout level for most businesses. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Broadridge Financial Solutions generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. Fortunately, it paid out only 37% of its free cash flow in the past year. It's positive to see that Broadridge Financial Solutions's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut. Story continues Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends. Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing? Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. This is why it's a relief to see Broadridge Financial Solutions earnings per share are up 9.6% per annum over the last five years. While earnings have been growing at a credible rate, the company is paying out a majority of its earnings to shareholders. Therefore it's unlikely that the company will be able to reinvest heavily in its business, which could presage slower growth in the future. Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the past 10 years, Broadridge Financial Solutions has increased its dividend at approximately 16% a year on average. We're glad to see dividends rising alongside earnings over a number of years, which may be a sign the company intends to share the growth with shareholders. The Bottom Line Has Broadridge Financial Solutions got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Earnings per share growth has been modest and Broadridge Financial Solutions paid out over half of its profits and less than half of its free cash flow, although both payout ratios are within normal limits. To summarise, Broadridge Financial Solutions looks okay on this analysis, although it doesn't appear a stand-out opportunity. On that note, you'll want to research what risks Broadridge Financial Solutions is facing. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Broadridge Financial Solutions 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. Pope Francis said in an interview this February that Ukraine should have what he called the courage of the "white flag" and negotiate an end to the war with Russia. Source: Reuters, citing Pope Franciss interview with Swiss broadcaster RSI Details: Pope Francis made his comments in an interview recorded last month. Reuters obtained the transcript of the interview and part of the video. The interview will be broadcast on 20 March. Pope Francis was asked where he stands on the debates between those who believe that Ukraine has to surrender because it has not been able to repel Russian forces, and those who believe that this position legitimises Russias actions. The interviewer used the term "white flag" in posing his question. Quote from Pope Francis: "I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates [...] The word negotiate is a courageous word. When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate." Details: Pope Francis added that international actors should be involved in the negotiations. Reuters reported that this was the first time Pope Francis has used terms such as "white flag" or "defeated" in discussing the war in Ukraine, even though he has spoken about the need for negotiations in the past. "One may feel shame, but how many dead will it [the war] end up with? [One should] negotiate in time, find a country that can be a mediator," the Pope said, mentioning that Turkiye had offered to perform this role. "Do not be ashamed of negotiating, before things get worse," Pope Francis said. Asked if he was willing to mediate, he said "I am here." In another part of the interview, speaking of the war between Israel and Hamas, Pope Francis said: "Negotiating is never a surrender." Spokesman for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not responded to Reuters request for a comment regarding the Popes statement at the time of publication. Background: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan once again suggested his country as a platform for negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow, including for a "peace summit" with the participation of Russia. Support UP or become our patron! WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden announced a plan for U.S. Army and Navy forces to build a temporary pier on the Gaza coast. It will allow the U.S. and other countries to deliver shiploads of food, water, medicine and other critical supplies to the more than two million Palestinians caught in the Israel-Hamas war. Prevents us from putting boots on the ground in Gaza while at the same time ensuring that we can deliver and distribute aid securely, said Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder. Ryder said the emergency mission will require about a thousand troops, mainly from a Virginia base. He said other countries will be responsible for securing and distributing the aid. Sixty days from now, this will be up and operating, Ryder said. White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt said land missions and air drops will continue, but the new port will more effective. Ships can carry so much more humanitarian assistance than trucks, LaBolt said. The Pentagon expects the mission to eventually provide two million meals a day to Gaza. No one should be able to accept the suffering that weve seen, said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY.). Congress has been largely supportive of the announcement, but even Biden administration officials worry about protecting the aid. Once within Gaza, the assistance has to be distributed more effectively to people who need it, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Blinken pointed to chaotic distribution efforts, where Palestinians have rushed aid trucks. Blinken stressed the best solution is a ceasefire. The issue is whether Hamas will decide or not to have a ceasefire that would benefit everyone, he said. The U.S. was hoping for a deal before Ramadan this weekend, but negotiations are still stalled. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Portlands camping ban could go back to the drawing board less than a year after it passed the City Council. The ordinance to ban daytime camping was initially slated to go into effect in July 2023, but stalled after the Oregon Law Center sued the city in September on behalf of thousands of homeless residents prompting a Multnomah County judge to issue an injunction in November that paused any enforcement until the end of the lawsuit. PDX announces return of iconic carpet in main terminal remodel Homeless advocates say they are not surprised to see these legal setbacks while Multnomah County only has about 2,000 shelter beds and an estimated 8,000 homeless residents. Dr. Sandra Comstock, the executive director of Hygiene4All said, They are basically saying that its a criminal act simply to exist as a houseless person. The City Attorneys Office confirmed Thursday that an Oregon Supreme Court judge declined its request for legal guidance on the injunction, refusing to weigh in. While we had hoped to get some guidance from a court in the form of an opinion on the citys time, place, and manner regulations, the city now must move forward without a judicial opinion, City Attorney Robert Taylor wrote to the council. TIMELINE: Rain, wind, and thunderstorms possible around Portland this weekend Taylor went on to recommend city leaders contemplate repealing the passed ordinance to replace it with something we believe may be more likely to survive a [legal] challenge. Comstock said its because its a violation of peoples basic rights to exist in public space, adding that its a civil rights issue, plain and simple. Both the city attorney and Mayor Ted Wheeler declined interview requests from KOIN 6. In response to the judges ruling, the mayors office wrote the following statement: Mayor Wheeler firmly believes that the status quo is not working. The City learned about the order this morning and is disappointed in the lack of judicial guidance from the court. We are exploring numerous potential pathways forward and will follow up as plans further develop. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. President Joe Biden says he regrets using the term illegals during his State of the Union address earlier this week. During President Bidens address on Thursday, he used the term illegals during an impromptu response to heckling from Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, about the recent murder of a 22-year-old nursing student. Right-wing politicians have turned Rileys death into a political talking point because it was allegedly committed by an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela. Laken Rileyan innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal, Biden said. But how many thousands of people are killed by legals? To her parents, I say, my heart goes out to youhaving lost children myself, I understand. During an interview slated to air on Saturday night, MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart asked Biden about his use of the outdated term, which disturbed many Democrats and immigration advocates. NEW: President Biden tells @CapehartJ that he regrets using the word "illegal" during his State of the Union speech to refer to the alleged killer of Laken Riley. I shouldn't have used 'illegal.' It's undocumented." Tune in at 6pm ET on MSNBC for the full interview. pic.twitter.com/EX7XuyhF1N MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 9, 2024 During your response to [Greenes] heckling of you, you used the word 'illegal' when talking about the man who allegedly killed Laken Riley Capehart said, before quickly being interrupted by the president. Undocumented, an undocumented person, Biden said. I shouldnt have used illegal, it's undocumented. And look, when I spoke about the difference between Trump and me, one of the things I talked about in the border was, is the way he talks about vermin, the way he talks about these people polluting the blood. I talked about what Im not going to dowhat I wont do. Im not going to treat any, any, any, of these people with disrespect, he said. Look, they built the country. The reason our economy is growing, Biden added. We have to control the border, and more orderly flow but, I dont share his view at all. So you regret using that word? Capehart asked. Yes, Biden replied. The full interview will air at 6 p.m. on MSNBC. 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. WASHINGTON President Joe Biden said Friday that he would sign a bill that could force TikToks Chinese owner ByteDance to divest the popular social media company or face a ban in the U.S. "If they pass it, Ill sign it," Biden said, referring to bipartisan legislation that is on track to get a vote next week in the House. The bill, called the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, would need to pass the Senate as well before reaching Biden's desk. The legislation would allow the president, via the FBI and intelligence agencies, to name certain social media apps as national security threats if they are determined to be under the control of foreign adversaries. Apps deemed a risk would be banned from U.S. app stores unless they sever ties with foreign-controlled entities within 180 days. Members of Congress have made clear that their intention is to force ByteDance to divest the app. Both parties have raised concerns about whether China can access U.S. user data, as well as TikTok's effect on young people. TikTok launched a lobbying campaign Thursday against the effort, sending notifications to some of its users claiming Congress is "planning a total ban" of the app and urging them to call their representatives. Some members of Congress, like Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., said they were inundated with calls from children and teenagers. "We had kids, we had little children calling into our office and others basically saying questions like, 'What is Congress? What is a congressman? Can I have my TikTok back?'" While it is usually congressional staff members who answer phones, Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, said she joined the effort personally. "Well, I kind of went into mom mode, right? Because I know that TikTok has really weaponized our young people," Hinson said. "They filled them with propaganda and it was very, very clear that they proved our point to us. So I took it into my own hands, got on the phone and tried to explain to our young people why were doing what were doing." Hinson, a co-sponsor of the bill along with Krishnamoorthi, said when she explained the legislation "to most of these kids, and they understood what was really at stake." They then thanked her, she said. Despite the calls to congressional offices, the bill passed unanimously out of the Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday, 50-0. It will go the the House floor next week under suspension of the rules, meaning it cannot be amended and it must get two-thirds support to pass. Krishnamoorthi said that the call-in campaign completely backfired for TikTok and led to the unanimous committee passage. "We cant have a foreign-controlled social media app pushing misinformation, certainly not to our children using their geolocation targeting data in the manner that they did," he added. The office of Rep. Tony Cardenas, D-C.A., received multiple calls from a "young individual" claiming to be the congressman's child with an emergency, according to Enrique Gutierrez, a spokesperson for Cardenas. "After multiple calls from this individual, and through other internal means we were able to determine it was a hoax," Gutierrez said. "Unfortunately, this incident happened to be during the time our office was receiving the hundreds of calls from this TikTok campaign." While Republican leaders in the House have signaled support for the legislation, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has not fully weighed in yet. He called the committee vote impressive and said he would have a conversation with top committee Democrats about the way forward." In a statement Thursday, a TikTok spokesperson confirmed that the app sent a notification to U.S. users over the age of 18, arguing that the government is attempting to strip 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression. The proponents of the effort maintain the bill is not a ban. Its just asking for divestment, Hinson said. And if everything goes as planned, then they can continue to put up their videos no matter how bad their dancing or cooking is. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) The Prince Georges County Police Department (PGCPD) said three people suspected of stealing a car were involved in a police chase on Friday night. PGCPD said the carjacking happened at Chillum Rd. and Berkshire Rd. The following police chase began at Toledo Rd. and ended at 23rd Ave. and East-West Highway. DC firefighter who died after medical emergency honored Three suspects were taken into custody without incident. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) Workers may be able to decline participating in political and religious meetings in Illinois workplaces without consequences with a bill advancing in the statehouse. In 2022, the National Labor Relations Board announced a memorandum to advocate for ending penalties employees face when they opt out of attending meetings whose main purposes are discussing political and religious topics, often called captive audience meetings. The agencys general counsel wanted to reverse a previous court ruling. This license to coerce is an anomaly in labor law, inconsistent with the Acts protection of employees free choice, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo said in a news release announcing the memorandum. It is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of employers speech rights. Illinois bill would crack down on political deepfakes Since the memorandum, the federal government hasnt taken any action on implementing it. This left many states to try and create their own ban on mandatory employer meetings on religious and political issues. State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago) thinks Illinois should step in as he views the idea as a part of promoting the workplace. The employer-employee relationship should maintain a certain level of objectiveness, Peters said. The use of coercive pressures in mandatory meetings to discuss employer political or religious matters is an over-step of employer power. Under the proposed bill, no employer can punish an Illinois employee for skipping a meeting. Union leaders also said it should be up to the employee to partake in any sort of expression or speech in their workplace. If they support a union, they shouldnt have to sit through and listen to anti-union rhetoric of the bosses opinion, Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea said. We just think that people go to work to work, they dont go to work to be indoctrinated. IL House District Republican Primary to be decided by rare write-in battle Business groups like the National Federation of Independent Business, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and Illinois Manufacturing Association are opposed to the bill. President of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce Lou Sandoval worries the language of the bill can be too vague. A lot of things could be construed as, you know, political conversations, Sandoval said. The bill passed the Senate Labor Committee along party lines earlier this week and can be debated on the Senate floor. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com. Russian forces struck Ukraine's southern city of Kherson on the morning of March 9, wounding three civilians, the Kherson Oblast Prosecutor's Office reported. Ukraine's Armed Forces liberated Kherson and other regional settlements on the west bank of the Dnipro River in the fall 2022 counteroffensive. Russian troops were pushed to the river's east bank, from where they have since been firing at the liberated territories, regularly resulting in civilian deaths as well as large-scale destruction of homes and infrastructure. The attack on Kherson took place at around 8:40 a.m. local time, the prosecutors said on Telegram, without specifying the type of weaponry used for the strike. Three civilians suffered injuries of varying severity and received medical assistance, added the regional prosecutor's office. Russian attacks in Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts on the same day killed two people, including a 16-year-old boy, and injured another two. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. WASHINGTON From the skies over the Gaza Strip these days fall American bombs and American food pallets, delivering death and life at the same time and illustrating President Joe Bidens elusive effort to find balance in an unbalanced Middle East war. The presidents decision to authorize airdrops and the construction of a temporary port to deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza has highlighted the tensions in his policy as he continues to support the provision of U.S. weaponry for Israels military operation against Hamas without condition. Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times The United States finds itself on both sides of the war in a way, arming the Israelis while trying to care for those hurt as a result. Biden has grown increasingly frustrated as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel defies the presidents pleas to do more to protect civilians in Gaza and went further in expressing that exasperation during and after his State of the Union address this week. But Biden remains opposed to cutting off munitions or leveraging them to influence the fighting. You cant have a policy of giving aid and giving Israel the weapons to bomb the food trucks at the same time, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said in an interview the day after the speech. There is inherent contradiction in that. And I think the administration needs to match the genuine empathy and moral concern that came out last night for Palestinian civilian lives with real accountability for Netanyahu and the extreme right-wing government there. The newly initiated American-led air-and-sea humanitarian campaign follows the failure to get enough supplies into Gaza by land and represents a sharp turnaround by the administration. Until now, U.S. officials had eschewed such methods as impractical, concluding that they would not provide supplies on the same scale as a functional land route and would be complicated in many ways. Airdrops are actually dangerous, as was made clear Friday when at least five Palestinians were killed by falling aid packages, and they can create chaotic, hazardous situations without a stable distribution system on the ground. The construction of a temporary floating pier will take 30 to 60 days, if not longer, according to officials, and could entail risk for those involved, although Biden has stipulated that it be constructed offshore with no Americans on the ground. But the administration reversed course after more than 100 people were killed and hundreds more injured last month when a crowd gathered around a convoy of aid trucks and the Israeli military opened fire. A senior U.S. official who insisted on anonymity to discuss internal deliberations called the disaster a tipping point for the administrations thinking. The official said aerial video of the episode made clear the desperation of civilians in Gaza. Although Israeli officials had hoped the release of the video might exonerate their troops by showing an out-of-control mob, the official said that instead it revealed conditions dire enough to make people rush a convoy at 4:30 a.m. Critics said the supplies now floating down by parachute hardly meet the needs and only highlight the moral conflict in Bidens approach to the war, which started when a Hamas terrorist attack killed about 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7 and prompted an Israeli response that has killed more than 30,000 people in Gaza. It doesnt make any sense, said Yousef Munayyer, the head of the Palestine-Israel program at the Arab Center in Washington. Its akin to showing up at a five-alarm fire with a cup of water while giving fuel to the arsonist. The administration is trying to deal with a political problem, which is the optics of supporting this horrific war with these cosmetic measures that are aimed at defusing some voter anger. Israelis and their supporters reject that logic. Why are they at cross purposes? said Eyal Hulata, who served as national security adviser to former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. The message is and I strongly support Biden for doing so that he supports the elimination of Hamas, which is the source and cause of all those atrocities, while at the same time putting a lot of emphasis on assisting the civilian population of Gaza. People who say that there is a contradiction actually dont differentiate between Gazans and Hamas, he added. We do differentiate between Gazans and Hamas. White House officials have declined to be drawn into a public discussion of the thorny questions raised by dropping aid to the same people trying to escape U.S.-provided arms. We have been very, very clear about our concerns over the humanitarian situation there and how unacceptable it is that so many people are in such dire need, John Kirby, a national security communications adviser to the president, told reporters from The New York Times this past week. Biden has strongly supported Israels right to defend itself and retaliate for the terrorist attack. He has been criticized by some in his own party for not expressing commensurate empathy for Palestinian civilians, many of them destitute and displaced amid the destruction of their coastal enclave. During his State of the Union address Thursday, though, he went further than before in lamenting the suffering. The president did not change policy, but his tone and emphasis represented an evolution of his public messaging. This war has taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in Gaza combined, Biden told a national audience. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of whom are not Hamas. Thousands and thousands of innocents, women and children. Girls and boys also orphaned. Nearly 2 million more Palestinians under bombardment or displacement. Homes destroyed, neighborhoods in rubble, cities in ruin. Families without food, water, medicine. Its heartbreaking. The president went even further in a post-speech conversation on the House floor with Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., who pressed him to keep pushing Netanyahu, known by the nickname Bibi. I told him, Bibi and dont repeat this but, You and I are going to have a come-to-Jesus meeting, Biden explained to the senator in a comment caught on a microphone. After an aide whispered in his ear, Biden acknowledged that he had been overheard but seemed perfectly content to have his irritation known. Im on a hot mic here, Biden told Bennet. Good. Thats good. The change in tone did not go unnoticed. There was a recognition among progressives that this represents a shift in language by the president and that language matters, said Khanna, who exchanged texts during the speech with Arab Americans in Michigan, where anger at the president has been particularly heated. Hes becoming more public with it. The friction has grown especially over humanitarian assistance. United Nations officials have warned that more than 570,000 Palestinians in Gaza face catastrophic levels of deprivation and starvation and that if nothing changes, a famine is imminent in northern Gaza. Before the war started, Gaza relied on 500 truckloads of aid a day, but the World Food Program said it is now down to 150 and needs to double that to meet some of the strips basic needs. The senior U.S. official said that Israels strategy during the conflict has been to allow just enough aid in to prevent starvation and nothing more. But in recent weeks, several factors have threatened to push conditions below that threshold, including Israeli protesters who have blocked aid convoys from leaving Israel on the grounds that the aid benefits Hamas and slows the release of the Israeli hostages being held. A state of virtual anarchy within Gaza has also made efficient distribution nearly impossible. One result is that malnourished babies have begun showing up at Gazas few functioning hospitals. The official said that, while airdropped packets of meals would most likely make only a marginal difference, Bidens plan for a floating pier could have a substantial effect on conditions within Gaza eventually. So in recent days U.S. officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have adamantly insisted that Israel facilitate more aid into the territory without further delay. The official added that Israeli leaders may have anticipated that a deal would be reached by Ramadan, which is expected to start Sunday, to release some hostages and pause their military campaign. That would have allowed a major influx of aid by trucks and spared Netanyahu from making hard political concessions in a domestic environment where many Israelis oppose sending more sustenance to the place from which the Oct. 7 attack originated. But David Miliband, president of the International Rescue Committee, said Friday that airdrops and a pier were last resorts that were expensive and risky without solving the underlying problem. All of these should not divert attention from the material evidence that only a cease-fire will provide the civilian protection, aid flows, repair of infrastructure and public health measures that are so needed, he said. Fourth- and fifth-best solutions should not be normalized as effective alternatives to better solutions. c.2024 The New York Times Company A 38-year-old East Moline man who faces a felony charge of indecent solicitation of a child appeared Friday in Rock Island County Court, where a judge told him he will remain in jail. Earlier, Brian Taylor thought he was communicating with a 12-year-old girl named Heidi, prosecutors said Friday. He and the girl, who was a decoy created by Predator Poachers out of Houston, Texas, agreed to meet at a McDonalds in East Moline. Brian Taylor (Rock Island County Jail) His attorney called Predator Poachers a vigilante group, and said Taylor lives in East Moline with his parents. His attorney said his client has zero history and has a full-time job. Heidi doesnt exist, he said. Its a creation of these Predator Poachers out of Houston, Texas. They were not law enforcement officers, his attorney said. The prosecutor said East Moline Police did arrive at the meeting place. The judge said Taylor will remain in custody in Rock Island County Jail, because he is a possible threat to the community. Taylor is set to appear again in Rock Island County Court on March 26. Who are the Predator Poachers? According to its website, Predator Poachers was found in 2019 by Alex Rosen as a group of independent journalists and private citizens who travel the country conducting intervention-style sting operations to catch child predators. The groups mission is to take pedophiles offline, off the streets, and away from kids, one predator at a time. To find out more about Predator Poachers, visit here. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. Google co-founders Sergey Brin (left) and Larry Page in 2003. Brin has come out of retirement to address the risk AI poses to his search engine - JOKER/Martin Magunia/ullstein bild via Getty Images It is one of Silicon Valleys legendary investments. In 1998, a 34-year-old Jeff Bezos gave $250,000 (196,000) to a pair of Stanford University students who had developed a new type of search engine. At the time, it was a risky bet. Most people browsed the web by using portals like Yahoo or by remembering their favourite sites; it was not obvious that searches would be a profitable business. But when Google went public in 2004, Bezoss stake was worth $280m. If he had held on to it, it would now be worth billions. So in January, when the Amazon founder invested in a company seeking to take Googles place in the food chain, people sat up and took notice. Bezos took part in a $74m investment in Perplexity, a San Francisco start-up that aims to answer queries with artificial intelligence rather than a list of links. Type a question into the app how to roast a chicken and it will confidently answer with a couple of sentences and a few bullet points, rather than the list of links that made Google famous. Aravind Srinivas, Perplexitys chief executive, is yet to meet the worlds richest man: he says the two will be catching up soon. But he is fond of quoting a Bezos-ism: Your [profit] margin is my opportunity. Srinivas is betting that just as Google swept away Yahoo as the once-dominant website rested on its laurels, his company will hasten the downfall of the search engine. Google is perceived as the de facto place for information and knowledge on the internet, he says. Thats going to change. Perplexity has around 1m people using it at least once a day, including tech VIPs like Jensen Huang, the chief executive of Nvidia and Tobi Lutke, the boss of ecommerce site Shopify. That is barely a dent in the billions of Google users, and the search giant is richer than ever: both the companys profits and its share price hit an all-time high earlier this year. But the rise in answer engines AI chatbots that can respond to a query with a succinct answer has set alarm bells ringing within Google. Last week, co-founder Sergey Brin said he had come out of retirement in part to address the rise of systems such as ChatGPT, run by the Microsoft-backed start-up OpenAI. Story continues The logic behind using AI bots rather than search is straightforward: when most people search the web, they are looking for answers, rather than a particular website. Why be forced to click through a series of links for the thing you are looking for when you could have a simple but comprehensive response? But web users may not simply be attracted to simpler alternatives Google may also be turning them off. In January, researchers appeared to confirm what users have complained about for years: Googles search results appear to be getting worse. German academics found that results from Google as well as rival search engines Bing and DuckDuckGo had become steadily polluted by search engine-optimised but low-quality content. Many of the websites that appeared at the top of search results were designed purely to earn fees from sending users to websites like Amazon, instead of being genuinely useful. The researchers said the problem was likely to increase as AI made it effortless to write Google-optimised web pages instantly. The problem is largely a consequence of Googles success. When the search engine was founded, the web was an untamed wild west of people publishing websites for their own enjoyment. Now, so much of the webs traffic flows through Google that the economic incentives to rise to the top of search results trump everything else. The company has sought to respond. Last week it announced an update to its search algorithm that it said would address spam and low-quality sites, reducing them in search results by around 40pc. Nor has Google ignored the AI threat, developing its own Gemini chatbot. But in recent weeks the company has been caught in a storm over its results, after its image generation feature was found drawing black Nazi soldiers. Brin said Google "messed up" after its AI chatbot created images of black Nazis The bigger problem is that moving away from its classic search engine threatens to kill the golden goose. Even as Google has invested billions in other pursuits in recent years, its search engine still accounted for the majority of its $307bn in revenues last year. AI chatbots have obstacles compared to search. The extra computing power required means that it often takes a few seconds for queries to be answered. It also remains to be seen how the bots will be profitable: Perplexity, for example, has no adverts, but charges users $20 a month for a more powerful Pro version. But some analysts are betting that this can be overcome. Last month the research company Gartner predicted that the number of internet searches would fall by 25pc by 2026. Srinivas is determined to seize the moment. Reports last week suggested that Perplexity was again raising funds at a $1bn valuation, meaning Bezoss investment will have almost doubled in a couple of months. Its a tremendous time, Srinivas says. The most powerful, profitable business in the history of capitalism is being disrupted because we all want back our time and we dont want to be taken advantage of anymore. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. A 13-year-old died from a single shot in the area of his neck at an East Conway Street home last week. An autopsy determined that Joseph T. Martinez was only hit once, Benton County Coroner Bill Leach said. It remains unclear what happened inside the home between the 13-year-old and two other teens, ages 13 and 14. Martinez was shot just 5 p.m. on Feb. 29 while visiting the home where the other teens live, on the 200 block of East Conway Street All three were middle school students in Kennewick. Police Commander Isaac Merkl told the Tri-City Herald earlier in the week that they were still investigating the details of the shooting. Leach said the manner of Martinezs death has been determined to be a homicide. He clarified that it doesnt mean anyone committed a crime and that it could include accidental deaths. Police officials have said they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the shooting. A GoFundMe organized by a family friend raised nearly $11,000 before being disabled by organizer Angelica Gonzales. Joseph was so loved by everyone in his life, from his mother, sister, all the tios and tias, cousins, friends; the list is endless, Gonzales wrote. If you knew Joe, you knew he was an amazing brave young man who loved his family. A rabies alert is in effect for portions of Columbia County, the Florida Department of Health said Friday. The Columbia County Sheriffs Office also shared the alert on its Facebook page on Friday. The DOH issued the alert, in response to a domestic dog testing positive for the disease on Tuesday, and a racoon that tested positive on Feb. 29. The alert is in effect 60 days from the date which it was issued, until about May 2. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] The first area of concern for the rabies alert has the following boundaries: NE Christie Street to the north NW Falling Creek Road to the west Five Points area to the south NE Gum Swamp Road to the east The DOH said the second area of concern is located in the area of: SW Sisters Welcome Road State Road 247/Lake City area East of State Road 247 West of State Road 47 The DOH-Columbia also said that rabies activity can happen outside the areas of concern, and all residents and visitors in Columbia County should be aware that rabies is present in the wild animal population. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Residents should take the following steps, the DOH said. Keep your pets under direct supervision and on a leash so they do not come in contact with wild or stray animals. If an animal bites your pet, seek veterinary assistance for the animal immediately and contact Columbia County Animal Enforcement at 386-758-3352. Avoid contact with wild or stray animals. Do not handle, feed, or unintentionally attract them with open garbage cans or litter. Call your local animal control agency to remove any stray animals from your neighborhood. Contact Columbia County Animal Enforcement at 386-758-3352. Immunize your pets based on your veterinarians recommended schedule. Spay or neuter your pets to help reduce the number of unwanted pets that may not be properly cared for or regularly vaccinated. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. Like most kids, Gilbert resident Rowan Imrans 4-year-old daughter is a fan of Curious George. The young girls mom has been reading her "Its Ramadan, Curious George." In the colorful picture book, the monkey explains to children the Islamic month of sacrifice marked by fasting and prayers that begins Sunday, March 10, and concludes Tuesday, April 9. Imran and other Valley residents of Palestinian descent discussed with The Arizona Republic how they retain a bond with their homeland amid the hardships and happiness found there. Rowan Imran, an American-born Palestinian, has her Gilbert house prepared for Ramadan on March 5, 2024. "Every tradition that they have there, I grew up with here. And I try my best to keep it all for my daughter now the same traditions that we do in Palestine," Imran said. Recalling advice her own mother gave her, the 32-year-old Imran said, "You're from here and you're American, you're also Palestinian. You have to keep these traditions alive." The war between Israel and Hamas has drawn out a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory of Gaza. War broke out after Hamas Oct. 7 raid on Israel. According to the Israeli government, 1,200 died at the hands of the militant group, with at least 30 of the 250 hostages taken said to be dead. As of March 4, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, including combatants, in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. More than 70,000 people have been wounded. The war has displaced 80% of the 2.3 million Gaza residents, according to the health ministry. The United Nations warned that a quarter of Gaza's population is at risk of starving. Without cause Palestinians confront daily burdens under the decades-long Israeli occupation, Palestinian Americans told The Republic. Imran detailed how her grandfather, who is in his 70s and lives in the heavily militarized West Bank, is in colon cancer remission and refuses to leave his home fearing the Israel Defense Forces will strike him with tear gas. Israeli forces have killed nearly 400 Palestinians in the West Bank since Oct. 7, according to Palestinian health officials. "They kind of just put this terror in everyones hearts," Imran said of the Israel Defense Forces. "Its difficult." Ahmad Riyad, a 19-year-old from Gilbert, said his father, Mohammad Riyad, has told him about how the military group detained him for up to two hours without cause multiple times while the now 47-year-old was between 12 and 15 and living in the West Bank. Ahmad Riyad was in high school when he visited family there during Ramadan. "Its not safe. You dont know whats going to happen," he said of the West Bank. Imran and Riyad pointed to relatives enduring warrantless raids by the Israel Defense Forces, their belongings confiscated or damaged as soldiers rummaged through their homes. They said their families dealt with undue detention and questioning by the military group. Learning of his dad's struggles emboldened Riyad when he turned 13 and was allowed to fast during Ramadan. "I was able to stand alongside my father," Riyad said. Reclaiming identity Phoenix-area Palestinian Americans also highlighted how community and customs lift the Palestinian spirit. Rowan and Dr. Ali Imran, both American-born Palestinians, have their Gilbert home ready for Ramadan on March 5, 2024. They remembered bright days visiting Palestinian territories. They recalled a whiff of a street vendors spit-roasting lamb meat breezing through a bustling street where children played and friends pulled up in their cars to chat with each other. They thought back on families gathered on rooftops in the late afternoon, sipping coffee and bantering with each other. "One thing I've always noticed is how content they (Palestinians) are with life no matter what is happening," said Imran, who enjoys U.S. and Palestinian citizenship and often travels to her parents home country. The early summer sunlight shone on the golden Dome of the Rock when Haveen Qarini first caught sight of the more than 1,300-year-old shrine at the heart of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. She was there on a June 2016 visit to Jerusalem and still marvels at just how pristine she found the tree-lined roads there. "First time going to my own homeland," Qarini said, her voice slightly rising. These past five months have pushed the 29-year-old Peoria resident to learn more about the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Qarinis own family was part of the mass flight from what is now the state of Israel following the 1948 war there. Known as Nakba, or catastrophe, the resulting exodus led to Qarinis parents being born in Kuwait and Jordan. This has left Qarini striving to reclaim her Palestinian identity. For instance, she wore the thobe, a traditional Palestinian womans dress, during her 2018 engagement to her Palestinian American husband. "Im heritage-stripped," Qarini said. "I have to work hard to know where I'm from, to hold on to my culture." Faithful abstain There are approximately 8,000 Arizona residents of Palestinian origin, according to estimates by the Phoenix-based Palestinian American Community Center. Ahmad Ewais, a Muslim chaplain at the Islamic Community Center of Tempe, leads a call to prayer during a Wednesday afternoon service at the mosque on March 6, 2024. The figures are nearly split evenly between those born and raised in the state and those who immigrated here, Mohammad Riyad, the community centers founder, detailed. More than half of the Palestinian immigrants have resided in Arizona for 20 years or more. Mohammad Riyad, who immigrated 25 years ago, mentioned the first known Palestinian family in Arizona arrived in the late 1970s. Regardless of where they call home, Palestinians are at their most united during Ramadan, Ahmad Riyad assured. Based on the Islamic lunar calendar, Ramadans date changes yearly. From sunrise to sunset, the faithful abstain from food and drink and focus on prayer. Those observing Ramadan also avoid reactionary emotions, explained Yasmin Saikia, an Arizona State University history professor. This "reinforces and strengthens" a belief in "God, but also the unity of the community" and to the observer becoming "more compassionate to people who have less," Saikia said. Ramadan is "not just an individual, disciplining themselves," but is also about community coming together to break the fast and pray at a mosque, added Chad Haines, an ASU religious studies associate professor. A congregant prays during a Wednesday afternoon service at the Islamic Community Center of Tempe on March 6, 2024. Both professors are Muslim and co-directors of ASUs Center of Muslim Experience in the United States. Saikia is Indian American, while Haines is of English and Italian descent. Haines described Muslims in the U.S. as the most diverse outside of Mecca. During Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, Haines said distinct "colors and cultures" come together at about 19 mosques throughout the Valley. The more than 100,000 Phoenix-area Muslims make for a rich tapestry of different national and socioeconomic backgrounds, he said. Glimmer of optimism Families exchanging gifts and large crowds celebrating on the streets is how Ahmad Riyad best remembers Eid al-Fitr while he was visiting the West Bank some years ago. Riyad said there is grave uncertainty among many Muslims on how this years festivities will play out for Palestinians. "Theres a feeling of helplessness," he said. Since late February, President Joe Biden and his White House team have been pushing for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. "Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire for at least the next six weeks, which is what is currently on the table," Vice President Kamala Harris said to cheers on Sunday, March 3, during remarks in Selma, Alabama. Ramadan ebbs the despair for Palestinian Americans in Arizona. Riyad clings to a glimmer of optimism, praying for prosperity and dignity to illuminate those in Gaza. Qarini said she prays for a "miracle" to restore peace. During Ramadan, Imran will teach her young daughter the value of daily prayer by way of a calendar where every date features a pocket with a small reward enclosed. As for the mothers prayers, they are simple yet expansive. "I hope this Ramadan every Palestinian, regardless of where they are, can enjoy the universal blessings of safety, happiness and freedom," Imran said. Reach breaking news reporter Jose R. Gonzalez at jose.gonzalez@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter: @jrgzztx. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizonans with Palestinian roots hold onto faith for Ramadan A class that some may have thought was only possible in their Wildest Dreams is coming to a Penn State campus this fall a course on Taylor Swift. Michele Ramsey, an associate professor of Communication Arts & Sciences and Womens, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, will teach Taylor Swift, Gender, and Communication at Penn State Berks in Reading, the singer-songwriters hometown. The class will begin in the fall with space for 100 students, and an online class will be available in the Maymester a four-week semester in May and June open to all students. Ramsey has always been interested in rhetoric and popular culture. For years she taught a class titled Rhetoric of American Horror Films, and it was her first step into teaching a full class about pop culture. Studying pop culture is important, Ramsey said, because ideology is most powerful when its least visible. People dont often think critically about entertainment even if it influences their behavior or appearance. Theres actually a lot of ideology in entertainment. Theres lots of direction on who were supposed to like and dislike, and look like and not look like. Think back to your own childhood and who your idols were, and wanting to dress like them and look like them and all of that, she said. Its just one of those places that is really, really prevalent in our lives and even in our identities, and it seems to be one of the places that we are least in the habit of viewing critically. The specifics of the class are still being ironed out, but it will focus on gender and communication while helping students think about how art can illuminate issues like gender, sexism, racism and feminism. Theyll also talk about how representations of women are constructed in media, social media campaigns and branding. People may look at the class and think, A Taylor Swift class? Thats just fluff, but Ramsey said that couldnt be further from the truth. Its how Im going to teach other really important core skills and knowledge Im just going to use Taylor as the vehicle for doing that, she said. Critical thinking, writing, public speaking, working collaboratively, media and digital literacy, and even event planning will all be part of the class. And while Swift is the primary case study, Ramsey said, theyll talk about other people, too. We will talk about Beyonce. We will talk about the double standards of a Black superstar vs. a white superstar and the flak that Beyonce probably gets that Taylor doesnt get in certain ways, Ramsey said. Tell Me Why Although Ramsey knew who Swift was, she wasnt a Swiftie until the global superstars The Eras Tour began last year. From then on, she saw the criticism and backlash Swift got from people especially men who called her fan base cult-ish. It got worse when The Eras Tour concert film hit theaters. Seeing so many people dressing up, singing and dancing in theaters hit a nerve with a certain population, and it bothered her. I got really irritated with that, and for a number of reasons, one of which is men go to sporting events in huge numbers all the time, wearing the same clothes with other mens names on their backs and painting their faces and cheering and screaming and why are we judging one and not the other? Ramsey said. That was her first step toward wanting to develop and teach this course. Another factor was seeing her friends 9-year-old daughter know what patriarchy means thanks to Swift a word Ramsey said she didnt learn until college. Most importantly, she wanted to teach it because she wants the class to hear Swifts lyrics and give her students a relevant vocabulary. She used Swifts song, The Man, which is about the double standards women face, as an example. (If) theyre listening to The Man and they say, Yes, thats happened to me. Well, let me give you a vocabulary for that so that when you go out into the workplace, and this happens to you, you have a name for it, Ramsey said. I think thats a really, really important opportunity that her music gives us. Plus, Ramsey said she cant think of a time when womens stories, or people who identify as women, were the center of pop culture. Shes in movies, shes on television, shes on the stage, shes at the football games. I mean, shes everywhere, and her stories are there too. These are some just incredible moments that she has sort of ushered in for us, she said. Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs kisses Taylor Swift after defeating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 during Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. Its Nice To Have a Friend A full class would comprise 100 seats, half of which will be saved for first-year students. A class that large is uncommon for the Berks campus, Ramsey said, as it prides itself on a small teacher-to-student ratio. The average class size is 21 students, according to the campus website. Despite the Taylor Swift, Gender, and Communication class being about five times larger than the average Berks class size, Ramsey sees this as an opportunity for connections to blossom. The class will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and she wants to give students time during class once a week to connect with each other and build friendships. Students are very isolated, she said, largely due to missing critical social years during the COVID-19 pandemic. Intentionally giving students space to connect with someone will help and will be especially helpful for first-year students. As part of her efforts to help classmates become friends shell do a bracelet making activity, something that quickly became a staple to The Eras Tour experience and connected fans across the world. Inspired by Swifts lyrics So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it, in her song, Youre on Your Own, Kid many Swifties made friendship bracelets to trade with others at the concert. Bracelet making is doing more than just making bracelets. That is one thing I would like us to do one day in class, is just to let them sit and make a bracelet and talk about how this stuff is rolling over them this week or whatever it is they want to talk about, Ramsey said. Taylor Swift attends Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert movie world premiere at AMC The Grove 14 on Oct. 11, 2023, in Los Angeles. Is there any Bad Blood? As the class will examine, Swift is no stranger to heavy criticisms. One constant question Ramsey said the course has faced is, Why Taylor and not Beyonce? Her response is that it would be inauthentic for her to teach a class on Beyonce. I dont listen to a lot of Beyonce. I think shes immensely talented. I love the stuff that pops into my ears but its just not something I listen to, she said. What I can do, though, is I can make her a part of this course. We can talk about systemic racism. We can talk about systemic sexism. And we can talk about the fact that Beyonce has to deal with both of those things. Taylor only has to deal with one. So, that stuff will be meshed in there. For those who may not think pop culture is important to teach, Ramsey said if shes right if ideology is most powerful where its least visible then teaching a student how to critically assess those messages is important. Two people can listen to the same song and have different interpretations and thats OK, she said. The class wont tell students what to take away from the songs or messages, rather how to critically assess them. If youre someone who feels that ideology is dripping from the airwaves and Hollywood, then dont you want somebody teaching people how to be media literate, and how to be rhetorically savvy when they hear stuff, and to be able to critically assess it? Ramsey said. The resettlement of 75 refugees in Eau Claire has generated a backlash in western Wisconsin from those who want more control over the arrival of foreigners who have fled persecution. St. Croix County supervisors will vote Tuesday on whether to pause refugee resettlement, following the lead of Chippewa County. Several other counties are pursuing similar efforts. A bill that recently passed the Wisconsin Legislature requires much wider notification about the prospect of refugees coming to a community. While Minnesota has been resettling refugees for decades, the events in western Wisconsin offer a window into the political consequences of bringing refugees into new places, and the concerns of locals that they should have the right to say no. "I am more convinced than ever that we need a pause. The whole process has just been horrible," said St. Croix County Supervisor Mark Carlson at a March 5 meeting. He noted a shortage of affordable housing, seniors struggling to pay rent and high poverty rates in some towns. "But then we're telling people we're going to take more of your money and give it to people from a foreign country to come in we're not protecting the people when we do that." President Joe Biden raised refugee admission limits to 125,000 a year following record lows under the Trump administration, though the program struggled during the pandemic. After refugee pathways opened up again, resettlement agency World Relief looked into starting a new office in western Wisconsin. Eau Claire City Manager Stephanie Hirsch reached out to the organization a year ago and helped set up a meeting with representatives of government, churches and employers. She described inviting a resettlement agency as a step toward promoting the region as an attractive place to live. Half of Wisconsin's towns have lost population since 2020 while Eau Claire is one of the fastest growing. Hirsch noted that it's common for her to meet with those relocating to Eau Claire and not something that requires approval from officeholders, so there was no need to notify the Eau Claire County supervisors and every elected official. "Our role was just saying we would love to have people move here and we are a fantastic place to live," she said. After World Relief met with others in Eau Claire over the next few months, the federal government approved the nonprofit's plans. Local news reports revealed those plans in October, and World Relief began holding public meetings. U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a Republican from western Wisconsin, was among many who complained that the community never had a chance to weigh in before the plans were set. Most refugees for now are expected to be Karen people from Myanmar and the two Congolese nations. But a billboard went up in Eau Claire claiming taxes were funding an organization to traffic Somali refugees and questioning why the plan was hidden for months. Citizens organized opposition and packed meetings, complaining that Hirsch had struck a deal with World Relief without giving local taxpayers any say on a program that would cost public money. The federal government supports refugees for the first 90 days, but they typically rely on local and state support for the first few years as they transition to self-sufficiency. Matthew Bocklund, former chair of the St. Croix County GOP, and other critics say their concern is not rooted in racism or xenophobia, but about taxation without representation. "The citizens have to ask themselves, where is the representation if we're going to be hit with these taxes?" Bocklund said. "We look at this as a 1773 moment, like the Boston Tea Party." Federal law requires resettlement agencies to consult with local governments about plans to bring in refugees. A World Relief official said the federal government provided the agency with a list of stakeholders to contact about opening an office and for regular meetings about the arrivals. The Eau Claire City Council unanimously voted to welcome refugees. An Eau Claire County resolution to pause resettlement until World Relief completes an economic impact study failed 18-9. Emily Crane Linn, World Relief's director of initial refugee resettlement, said she attended a meeting last month with a large group of stakeholders and leaders from the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Health and Human Services. "I tried to be conciliatory to [convey] that sincerely our desire is to be collaborative, to be good neighbors, good partners, and if anyone feels as if they've been left out or not consulted enough, we want them to ... be involved going forward," she said. The controversy spurred the Wisconsin Senate and Assembly recently to pass a bill requiring that if a local official contacts or is contacted by a nonprofit or federal agency about proposed placements of refugees then it must be reported to every municipality, county and school district in a 100-mile radius. Each local government entity must put it on a meeting agenda and hear public comment. World Relief officials said that could mean half of Wisconsin would have to be notified about just one meeting, and they and Hirsh describe it as a significant barrier to the resettlement process. Meanwhile, Tiffany recently joined other GOP members of Congress in sponsoring a bill barring resettlement in any locality that takes legislative or executive action to disapprove it, saying that the federal government has not been consulting and coordinating with local municipalities, adequately vetting newcomers and considering the cost of services. In 2020 in Minnesota, Beltrami County voted to bar refugee resettlement based on an executive order issued by President Donald Trump allowing local governments to do so. A federal judge blocked the action. None of the Wisconsin actions have derailed World Relief's plan. The organization moved in 21 refugees to Eau Claire starting in February from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic. World Relief said it has no plans to resettle refugees in St. Croix County, but public comment has remained heated. Overflow crowds have packed several recent meetings in Hudson an hour west of Eau Claire to speak on the issue. One commenter in January declared, "I don't want to live in a third-world hellhole," to applause from the audience. At another meeting last week, Bocklund stood before the 50 citizens gathered and told them, "We have the opportunity to stand up for America." Resident after resident stepped forward to voice concern that the government didn't adequately screen refugees, that they would not properly assimilate, that struggling taxpayers could not bear more costs and that citizens had not been given proper say. Several immigrants also spoke in favor of pausing refugee plans, noting they had endured an expensive and lengthy process to come to America and questioned whether residents could afford to support the newcomers. Some speakers, however, lamented the message that St. Croix County was sending. "Most of them are just like us," Teresa Chandler said to the board on Tuesday night. "I'm just heartbroken that we're going to make a resolution that officially says you're not welcome." As she walked out the door, one resident told her, "That's a lie." An investigation by the Missouri Ethics Commission revealed that a Bolivar school board member was part of an opaque group that actively campaigned to defeat a tax levy increase sought by the Bolivar district. Board member Brad Wommack, re-elected in April 2023 after serving a stint on the board years earlier, did not publicly disclose his role in the group known as the Concerned Citizens of Bolivar and Polk County. The group failed to register as a campaign finance committee in Missouri and failed to report how much it raised, and from whom, as well as how the funds were spent, according to the MEC The involvement of Wommack was not known to the district, or his fellow board members, until the MEC published its findings Feb. 26. In November, the Bolivar district asked voters for permission to become part of the official Ozarks Technical Community College service area, a move that would have raised residents' property taxes 20 cents per $100 of assessed valuation in exchange for significantly lower tuition. Gov. Mike Parson, who has a farm in Polk County, was supportive of increasing residents' access to the education and training provided by OTC, saying it aligned with workforce development, which has been his top priority. In the days before the election, the Concerned Citizens group mailed postcards to voters and paid for a newspaper advertisement. The group urged a "no" vote and made statements, some of which were false or speculative in nature. The only name publicly associated with the group was Janet Arnold, who was listed as treasurer on the newspaper ad but not the postcard. Following voter defeat of the proposal, two members of Bolivar school board president Paula Hubbert and vice president Kyle Lancaster filed, as private citizens, complaints about the Concerned Citizens group with the MEC. The complaints named Arnold. Paula Hubbert "As the president of the board of education, I filed my MEC complaint because I believe it is my role to defend and protect the Bolivar school districts best interests," Hubbert told the News-Leader. "Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that a fellow member of the Bolivar Board of Education would have secretly funded a campaign built on blatant inaccuracy and lies in opposition to an effort designed to help our students and community." In the report, the MEC described the Concerned Citizens group of people who "meet every month to discuss issues and encourage people to call state senators and representatives when they agree or disagree with their actions." The MEC investigation found up to 20 people contributed a total of about $3,000 to mount an opposition to the tax levy proposal. The only names listed in the report were Wommack and Arnold. "There were a group of individuals of like-mind that included retired school teachers, elderly, some retired business people that felt like I did and felt like we ought to get together and put something out there to the public that would avail them of an alternate viewpoint from what they're hearing," said Wommack, 70, who owns the Wommack Monument Company, in a Friday interview with the News-Leader. The MEC investigation found that Arnold was not actually the treasurer. For that reason, the MEC said the complaint against her was dropped. "The investigation showed Brad Wommack, a member of CCBPC collected the contributions for the advertisement featured in the Nov. 1, 2023 edition of the Bolivar Herald-Free Press," the MEC wrote in its report. Brad Wommack The MEC found that "Arnold contributed $100 and agreed for her name to be used in the advertisement because the newspaper required the name of a treasurer." According to the MEC report, Wommack ordered and paid for the postcards. In all, he collected and paid $3,035 for the printed materials to oppose the tax levy. The MEC concluded that based on Wommack's activity, he should have been the one to file the paperwork to form the campaign finance committee and the disclosure reports that were required. The report stated: "Wommack also collected cash contributions and made cash expenditures in excess of statutory allowances and included incorrect 'paid for' disclosures on the materials." After the report was issued, Hubbert and Lancaster each filed complaints with the MEC against Wommack. "I wasn't aware that we were violating anything," Wommack said Friday. "We were just exercising our First Amendment right." More: Bolivar school leader seeks apology to voters and promise that ban won't happen again The News-Leader asked Wommack why Arnold was listed as treasurer. "When we went down to the newspaper just to put a notice in there about our concerns, the newspaper informed us that they had to have a treasurer. Well, we're not a group that collects dues, has a treasurer but she said 'We have to have somebody's name down there,'" Wommack recalled. "One of the ladies that was participating in it, Janet Arnold said 'OK, put me down as treasurer.' That is how that occurred." Arnold is one of three candidates vying for two open seats on the April 2 board election. "Put together a list of concerns" Wommack said the group was crunched for time. He said there was a short window to get information out to the voters prior to the election. "All I did and all the others did was come together and just put together a list of concerns that we all had," he said. Asked why the group did not file paperwork with the MEC, Wommack said: "If we had done that and taken the time to do that, we would have never gotten it (the advertisement) in the paper. It was in the 11th hour, there is no way it all would have happened." He added: "I'm sorry that some did not get their way on it. I apologize. But, I am just one voter. Apparently, there were 1,400 others that felt the same way I did." Wommack said part of his frustration with the ballot measure stemmed from the final meeting with the OTC officials in the fall. There was a presentation and then a call to vote on whether or not the request should be placed on the ballot. The Bolivar school district placed a tax levy proposal on the November 2023 ballot but it was defeated. At that point, Wommack said and Hubbert confirmed that he wanted to "ask that our guests leave" so the board could go into closed or executive session. Wommack said he told the board he had questions that had not yet been answered. Hubbert declined to close the meeting, insisting the discussion occur in the public part of the meeting. Wommack said: "The board president wouldn't have it...she went ahead and put it through for a vote." A majority of the board voted to put the question on the ballot. Wommack voted against that step. Asked his primary concern, Wommack said it was that the district was requesting the tax levy but the funding that it generated estimated at $400,000 a year were to go to OTC. The college concentrates its services and offers in-district tuition to residents in the school districts that are part of its taxing district, which includes Ash Grove, Branson, Clever, Everton, Fordland, Hollister, Logan-Rogersville, Marshfield, Nixa, Ozark, Pleasant Hope, Republic, Springfield, Strafford, Walnut Grove and Willard. "I don't recall...ever in the history of Bolivar R-1 have we put up a tax levy increase proposal whereby we would collect the money and simply hand it over to another entity, which in this would be a college," he said. "That is money that goes to the kids." "Why we have election laws" Lancaster, one of two incumbents not running for re-election in April, said the newspaper ad and postcards were not accurate. For example, the Concerned Citizens group urged voters to oppose the ballot measure alleging, among other things, the levy was a "redistribution of wealth" that "takes money away" from Bolivar students and employees and transfers it to OTC, which provides programs that benefit "relatively few" high school students and residents. The way the taxing district for OTC is structured, the request to join and the corresponding tax levy must be proposed by a school district and approved by voters. According to OTC, 1,503 students from Polk County 787 from Bolivar had enrolled at the college in the five years before the vote. the prior year, there were 218. The group speculated that "rents would likely be increased and businesses could adjust pricing to reflect higher costs" due to the higher taxes. The Concerned Citizens group also alleged there was no "sunset clause" on the tax levy, meaning it would stay in place if approved. That statement as misleading. Half of the proposed levy, or 10 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, was to remain in place but the "sunset" cycle on the other 10 cents per $100 of assessed valuation required voter approval every 20 years. More: Bolivar's next superintendent is part of Springfield Public Schools leadership team Lancaster and Hubbert said there is no way to know for certain what if any impact the group had on the outcome of the election. "The measure was defeated, due in large part to a negative and inaccurate campaign organized by an individual who did not want his name or the names of 18-20 donors to his cause, known to our community," Hubbert said. "This group's actions are the epitome of why we have election laws governing the disclosure of campaign finance." This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri school board member works to defeat tax levy in own district Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 with 239 people on board, took off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing some ten years ago. After 40 minutes, it wasn't heard from again. "I think it is certainly the greatest mystery of modern aviation," leading aerospace engineer Richard Godfrey told Fox News. The plane veered dramatically off course. Its telemetry shut down. There were some pings picked up by satellites that tracked it to the southern Indian Ocean. And then it vanished. "No one can understand how a modern airplane like a Boeing 777 with all of its electronics and communications can just disappear without a trace," Godfrey noted. MALAYSIA AIRLINES FLIGHT MYSTERY: FORMER NTSB INVESTIGATOR INTRODUCES NEW THEORY ABOUT MISSING PLANE MH370 victim Philip Wood and partner Sarah Bajc. Those at the airport in China could only wonder, including Michigan native Sarah Bajc, who was waiting for her Texas boyfriend Philip Wood, who was on the plane. They were planning to start a new life together abroad. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP "He didnt come, and he didnt come," she told Fox. "You know, it was like, How could this happen, how is this possible? There was no evidence of a crash." Greg Palkot on Reunion Island, where a piece of the MH370 plane was found, July 2015. The disappearance triggered a massive multi-national, multi-year air, sea and underwater hunt, one of the biggest of all time. And it has come up with very little. Except for a few pieces of the plane washed up on distant shores, including a piece of wing found on Reunion Island in 2015. MALAYSIA ANNOUNCES RENEWED PUSH TO FIND MH370 DECADE AFTER DISAPPEARANCE: SEARCH MUST GO ON Sarah Bajc and Philip Wood were going to start a new life together abroad. As victims' families gather at memorial events this week, theories about what caused the crash are still out there. The theories range from a mechanical malfunction to evil foul play by the pilot and even some broader political conspiracy. "How can ten years go by," Sarah noted, "and we still dont know what really happened. Thats the biggest trauma." RETIRED FISHERMAN CLAIMS HE FOUND PART OF MALAYSIA AIRLINES MH370 IN SOUTH AUSTRALIAN WATERS: REPORT Six years since the last search, there is new hope for answers to the aeronautical riddle. Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was quoted this week as saying, "Im inclined to support reopening all the investigations of MH370." A Texas-based marine robotics firm, Ocean Infinity, which tried once before to find the plane, now says it has new state-of-the-art underwater gear and wants to give the hunt another try. Map indicating the possible location of MH370 using new WSPR technology. In a statement provided to Fox News, the firm said it hopes "to narrow the search area down to one in which success becomes potentially achievable." Specialists, led by aerospace scientist Godfrey, have come up with a clever way to track the path of the plane. It can locate it minute-by-minute just by studying tiny disturbances in radio waves. "I think it will take just one more search," Godfrey confidently said. "As long as we look in the right places, then we will find it." That's reassuring news for the flying public as answers to what happened could ensure new safety systems to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening again. "Ten million of us get on a plane every day," Godfrey said, "and they want to know theyre going to safely arrive at their destination." It's also reassuring news for those still grieving, including Bajc, who is trying to find peace at Camaroncito EcoResort &.Beach, a place she set up in Panama with her new husband. A French officer takes a picture of debris Aug. 11, 2015, in the eastern part of Sainte-Suzanne, on France's Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, during search operations for the missing MH370 flight. "Of course, I have wishes," she said. "We all want resolution. Leaving it hanging open is, its like the wound that can never totally heal." After all these years of the mystery of MH370, all are hoping the healing from this disaster can truly begin. Original article source: Reporter's Notebook: New clues 10 years after the disappearance of MH370 Hungarian Vizsla's watch their owners on the second day of the Cruft's dog show in Birmingham, England. The silver and black fluff balls with curled-up feathery tails, almond-shaped eyes and narrow, fox-like pointed muzzles were named Bumblebee and Aurora after the robot characters in the Transformers franchise. The two Keeshonds, a German breed believed to be descended from ancient Arctic dogs, sat side-by-side on a small table inviting admiring glances as dogs of every shape and size wandered past. Some were in leg warmers, colorful coats or being pushed in buggies. Nearby, Maverick, a six-year-old German shepherd, burst into a short run, realized he was not in a park, spun in a circle, stuck out his tongue, then carried on with his "heel work to music" routine, which involved high-fiving his trainer's abdomen to the tune of "Still Loving You," a power ballad by the German hard rock band Scorpions. Bumblebee, Aurora, and Maverick were among 25,000 dogs from 50 countries who, though Sunday, will take part in the Cruft's dog show, billed by the organizers as the world's largest event of its kind. It sees dogs from miniature Schnauzers to Chow Chows, take part in a variety of challenges including agility and jumping. The event culminates in the Best in Show 2024 trophy, awarded on Sunday night. "She's won quite a lot already as a young puppy," said Liam Day, the trainer of April, a long-coated Chihuahua who exuded focus and unteachable big-dog attitude as she waited to compete in a "toy" dog event Thursday. A world leader who gets strategy advice from his mastiffs Dogs. They're weird and funny and diverting. They play wonderful and serious and even political roles in our lives. They act as salves. They can sniff out medical problems. They can be gross and heroic often at the same time. Sometimes they have jobs. Serious ones, such as guide dogs for the visually impaired or as therapy pets to help people reduce their anxieties. They help fight crime and terrorism. They have silly ones, too, as mascots or as the butt of social media memes and jokes. They appear in movies. Messi, a 7-year-old blue-eyed Border Collie, for example, has impressed critics and audiences with his performance as Snoop in the Oscar-nominated film "Anatomy of a Fall." Is it time to give Oscars to dogs? Why Hollywood's cute canines are ready for their moment Advice from dogs: Javier Milei, far-right libertarian, is Argentina's new leader Javier Milei, Argentina's oddball right-wing leader, claims he seeks strategy advice from his fur babies (mastiffs). Of the past 46 U.S. presidents, 31 have had at least one dog at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave The White House according to a book by Andrew Hager, All-American Dogs: A History of Presidential Pets from Every Era. Commander, President Joe Biden's German shepherd, was recently removed from the White House for repeatedly biting secret service agents. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had his dog, a Jack Russell-cross named Dilyn, neutered because of what Johnson described as the dog-cad's "romantic urges." Dilyn, Johnson revealed, kept trying to hump visiting officials and diplomats to No. 10 Downing Street. "Goody," a Yorkshire Terrier from Germany, is seen at the Crufts dog show, in Birmingham, England, on March 7, 2024. Crufts: The largest but not oldest dog show Still, while Cruft's may be our planet's largest dog show, it's not the oldest. That title belongs to an event that took place in 1859 in Newcastle, England, when about 50 gun dogs, mostly Setters and Pointers, featured in a side event at an annual cattle show. Charles Cruft, a traveling salesman who later worked as general manager for a manufacturing company that made dog toys and biscuits, did not put on his first dog show, in Islington, England, before 1891. The event started with 2,437 entries and 36 breeds, according to the U.K.'s Kennel Club. It now has over 200. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, which takes place annually in New York City, was established in 1877. About 3,500 dogs compete at Westminster, which hold its 148th event in May. Miniature Daschunds walk through the venue on day two of the Crufts dog show at the National Exhibition Center in Birmingham, England, on March 8, 2024. More than a dog show Today, Crufts isn't just a dog show, according to Bill Lambert, a veteran dog breeder and spokesman for the U.K.'s Kennel Club, which organizes the event that takes place each year in Birmingham, England, at the National Exhibition Center, a vast cavernous space where many of the U.K.'s biggest shows and conventions are held. "At the center of Crufts, there is a dog show," he said. It's an event, in other words, where pedigree dogs are scrutinized against exacting breed standards. "But it's also about everything that goes along with owning a dog. Everything that you could see you or want to buy for a dog. There's advice on training and behavior. It's much more of an educational event than a dog show. The dog show drives it, but it's really about this relationship that people have with their dogs," he said. In fact, Crufts is more like an Olympics for dogs crossed with a shopping opportunity. Lambert said Crufts was the largest consumer event in the British Isles. It's not hard to see why. In this year's official program, 158 exhibitors are listed. Perhaps to be expected, there's plenty of stalls selling bouji organic dog food and "green" poo bags. However, there's also more arcane and mysterious offerings such as pet-hair-dissolving products, fur-boosting gels, specialist "grippy" leashes, dog life jackets, dog jewelry, bones that even the most "aggressive" chewers won't ever break (goes the sales pitch). There's also plush-textured spa towels for dogs, companies that can turn your dog photos into dog oil paintings, a firm that can capture your dog's profile and make it into a metal wall ornament. There's dog therapy services, AI-powered dog insurance plans, even an accountancy service aimed at dog owners. For the dapper dog walker there's plenty of tweed caps and country-style rain slickers. Yannic Oberer, a Crufts first-timer from Bern, Switzerland, where he works as a refrigeration engineer when he's not training the Transformer-inspired Bumblebee and Aurora, said the whole show was well, "wow." "It's really well organized, but really it's the shopping that's so very impressive," he said. Charlie Pissavy traveled to Crufts from his home in the south of France with his dog Teddy, a Cavalier King Charles, who placed third in an event Thursday. "Teddy likes coming to this show," said Pissavy, a nurse. "He gets to sleep on the bed in the hotel." "Teddy," a Cavalier King Charles, is seen at Crufts with his third place medal, on March 7, 2024. Russian dogs banned In the past, Crufts has been a kind of gauge for what's happening in the world. It's pitted traditionalists versus modernists, the former a little uneasy initially with the idea of the "heel work to music" category that Maverick competed in, and which Lambert described as "dancing with dogs." For the last few years Crufts has banned Russian dogs and their owners because of the war in Ukraine. If Israel's war in Gaza against Hamas has registered this year, there were no obvious signs of that on Thursday. In one hall, Irene Sheyko, a Ukrainian-born fashioner designer, had set up a replica Ukrainian apartment as part of an initiative she called Forever Lida, named after her grandmother who died in a Russian missile strike in Mariupol, a once-vibrant city in Ukraine's southeast that has been decimated by the war. A Maltese dog is seen in Crufts, the dog show, in Birmingham, England, on March 7, 2024. The apartment, Sheyko said, was meant to show a "peaceful house" in Ukraine to illustrate for those who have never been to Ukraine or are not overly familiar with the country how the war has impacted everyday life. She also collects pet food for homeless pets in Ukraine, which was why she was at Crufts. "Last year I was here with just two tables and a flag. This year, I wanted to bring attention to Ukrainian crafts and products," she said, further explaining her idea for the apartment, which featured a variety of handicrafts: small, hand-painted plates, bracelets, scarves and screen prints with animal faces on them. When a reporter mentioned that over the course of multiple trips to Ukraine over the last few years he noticed that Ukrainians, at least in the capital Kyiv, appeared to have a soft spot for Corgis, a herding dog from Wales that was a favorite of the late Queen Elizabeth II, Sheyko said Dobermans were also quite popular in Ukraine. At King Charles III's coronation: these dogs stole the show Sheyko said she grew up with dogs but now has three cats. According to some reports, despite being a salesman-turned-showman who created the world's biggest dog-related exhibition, Charles Cruft never owned a dog. He had a cat, a tabby named Tiddley. He even tried to launch, in 1984, the "Crufts Great International Cat Show." It didn't work out. Dig deeper: A dog on daylight saving time: 'I know when it's dinner time. Stop messing with me.' This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crufts: A day with the dogs WASHINGTON When Republicans won the House majority, some of their most conservative members pledged to use their power to slash the budgets of the federal agencies they claimed had been weaponized against them chief among them the FBI. So when Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled the package of six government spending bills he had negotiated with Democrats that cleared Congress on Friday, he touted the deep cuts 6% Republicans had secured to the agencys budget. Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times But the story of the FBI cut is not so much one of how House Republicans used their slim majority to raze the budget of an agency they claim has gone rogue. Instead, it is a remarkable yarn about how a single powerful senator used budgetary sleight of hand to steer hundreds of millions of dollars to a single project in his state, only to see the money slashed by members of his own party after he retired. Out of the $654 million lawmakers agreed to cut this year from the FBIs operating budget, $622 million came from eliminating what was essentially an old earmark: money for construction at the bureaus campus at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. The funding was placed into the budget years ago by Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, a legendary pork-barreling veteran who retired in 2022 at 88. The actual cut to the FBIs operating budget mostly for personnel and operations was roughly $32 million, or 0.3%. Ultraconservative Republicans like Rep. Chip Roy of Texas who voted against the spending package this week, deriding it as full of budgetary gimmicks, pointed to the elimination of Shelbys pet project as a prime example of how little his party had actually been able to cut. Grousing about the FBI budget cut on the House floor this week, Roy said, What they wont tell you is, 95% of that cut is eliminating an earmark from Richard Shelby, because Richard Shelby is no longer here to defend his pet project building back in Alabama. For years, Shelby used his perch on the Appropriations Committee to single-handedly transform the landscape of his home state, harnessing billions of federal dollars to conjure the creation and expansion of university buildings and research programs, airports and seaports, and military and space facilities. One of his most prioritized projects was the twin FBI campuses at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, where over the course of a decade, he steered more than $3 billion to build up the 1,100 acres of land the bureau has secured there for facilities dedicated to cyberthreat intelligence and training. The FBI has said to expect that more than 4,000 jobs will come to Huntsville over the next eight to 10 years. Normally, such pet projects are funded through earmarks a practice that allows lawmakers to direct federal funds for specific projects to their states and districts. Those projects are enumerated in a separate list, which clearly lays out how much federal money is going to a specific project, and which lawmaker requested it. Shelby instead shoehorned money for the campus into the text of the spending bill, in an apparent effort to ensure it would be available even after he left Congress. For multiple years in a row, the Biden administration requested about $61 million for the FBIs construction budget. Instead, at the senators behest, Congress gave it $632 million one year, and $652 million the next. Shelby did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In each case, the laws stated that the additional funding was to be used to address the FBIs highest priorities outside of the immediate national capital area, meaning Washington, D.C. While it did not say so in the legislation, it was clear that that meant only one place: Huntsville. Growing the FBIs presence in Huntsville has been a priority of mine for quite some time, Shelby said in an announcement in 2022 touting the additional funding. And I am proud to have helped bring it to fruition. c.2024 The New York Times Company A model of the mammalian heart (Photo by Souza e Silva via Wikimedia Commons | CC-BY-SA 4.0). Luring cardiologists to rural parts of Iowa may mean subsidizing their salaries, a new study has found. Tom Gruca, a marketing professor at the University of Iowas Tippie College of Business, looked at data from more than 40 years of public health in his state. His study, Bringing the Doctor to the Patients: Cardiology Outreach to Rural Areas, found that paying doctors to participate in traveling practice models could help alleviate the coming cardiologist shortage in his state. Using subsidies and an existing Visiting Consultant Clinic model would be a better and more cost-effective way to get cardiology care to rural patients, he said. A VCC model is a formal arrangement between a rural hospital or clinic and a specialist physician, typically from an urban area nearby. In a VCC arrangement, the specialists travel to rural areas on a regular basis to see patients in their own communities. There, they can use the rural hospital to examine them and provide basic support and non-invasive procedures, and treat them in larger hospitals for more complex procedures. The policy that the American Heart Association and everybody else always talks about is lets get doctors to move to rural areas, Gruca said in an interview with the Daily Yonder. That might work with the primary care physician because if theres a hospital there, theres probably enough equipment and staff for them to do what theyre doing. This will not work for almost any specialist because they need the imaging equipment, the surgical equipment, the surgery nurses, and all that other stuff to do their jobs. The VCC model is used in every state, he said. Looking at the numbers the research found that the model would not only provide rural patients with access to care, but save money. Putting a cardiologist in a rural community would mean the doctor would not have enough patients or patient visits to support their practice, Gruca said. And paying cardiologists on a per-mile basis to drive to rural communities would be excessively expensive. In some cases, getting doctors to give up patient time to spend up to three hours of windshield time to get rural communities to participate in the VCC model was a challenge. His research found that a state investment of about $430,000 per year would provide doctors with the necessary funding to cover windshield time and still provide current levels of cardiology coverage in the state. Getting that cardiology care to rural communities is important on a number of levels, he said. First, rural residents are more likely to have cardiology issues. According to one study, between 2010 and 2015, the death rate for rural residents from coronary heart disease was significantly higher than it was for those in urban areas. And a 2017 study found that people in rural areas have a 30 percent higher risk of dying from a stroke due to their increased chronic disease, and reduced access to pre-hospital care. Second, research shows that rural residents who have access to cardiology care are better off for it. What we can say is that the difference between having VCC outreach and not having VCC outreach means anywhere between 700,000 and a million rural residents having better access, he said. And studies show that Medicaid patients who see a specialist at least once a year are way more likely to stay out of the hospital and way more likely to live for another year. Even more important, he said, is that rural America is facing a pending shortage of cardiologists. Currently, the state has fewer than 200 cardiologists, Gruca said, almost all of them in urban areas. Nationally, the number of cardiologists is expected to decline by as much as 10% due to retirement and aging workloads. While fellowship programs graduate about 1,500 new cardiologists a year, he said, about 2,000 leave the practice annually. I thought, whats going to happen when the number of cardiologists goes down? he said. When this shortage actually hits If we lose 10% of our current cardiologists there are a lot of cities (in Iowa) that will get no outreach at all. Similar programs have worked in Australia, he said. The same kind of subsidies could be successful in encouraging specialist physicians to work in rural areas as well. Even though the program was expensive, he said, it will still save states money over the alternative. We looked at what it would take to hire people and put them into rural areas and the cost was many, many times (the annual subsidies) simply because they would have very little to do, he said. If we pay them some amount to do this outreach and we build a mathematical model to figure out how much would we have to pay them per mile or per minute its actually really many, many, many times the $400,000 for the subsidy that we calculated. This article first appeared on The Daily Yonder and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. The post Researcher promotes subsidies to bring cardiac care closer to home in rural areas appeared first on Daily Montanan. Sundry Photography / / Rob Wilson / Shutterstock.com CVS and Walgreens are the two largest healthcare and pharmacy retail chains in the U.S. As a prospective investor, you might want to know which stock option makes sense: CVS Health Corporation or Walgreens Boots Alliance. Check Out: Im a Self-Made Millionaire: 5 Stocks You Shouldnt Sell Read Next: 6 Genius Things All Wealthy People Do With Their Money Yahoo Finance spoke with Alex Morris, F/m Investments President and CIO, who explained why he believes that CVS is the right choice. He noted CVS Health is worth investing in over its competitor because of the more experienced leadership at CVS, where the company has demonstrated its ability to grow within a changing market. CVS is also vertically integrated with Aetna, offering insurance as well. Morris said the merger means that customers will purchase not only prescriptions, but also other items as well, which is something that their competitors do not offer. He added that while this brings along the relevant concerns of being an insurance company, it ultimately benefits them in the future with potential retail difficulty or uncertainty. On the other hand, when it comes to Walgreens, Morris discusses how the trends are the opposite. Walgreens does not have that enticing insurance offering. It also has high leadership turnover, and without the consistent message that goes along with coherent leadership, the stock prices and earnings suffer. While Walgreens trades cheaper and has a greater dividend yield, it has worse cash flow and an ongoing need for funding. CVS simply doesnt have this issue, but rather, strong valuation, growth potential and free cash flow. They recently acquired Signify Health and Oak Street Health, adding to their long-term growth opportunities. Learn More: If You Had Invested $10K in GameStop and AMC in 2021, Heres How Much Youd Have Today Walgreens recently had a new CEO appointment, Tim Wenworth, who Morris calls an industry veteran and someone that could turn things around, but he ultimately isnt worried about CVS prospects. He notes that Walgreens greater international presence is one of many moving parts that will make going forward for them a difficult process. He remains confident that CVS Health is the right investment option. Story continues More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Walgreens or CVS Stock: Which Is a Better Investment? WRIGHT CITY, Mo. A fire that broke out Friday in Wright City has left one dead, according to officials. Crews were called to a residential fire in the 200 block of Westwoods Road. Within one minute of dispatch, an officer arrived on scene and determined there to be an active fire in a house, the release said. Three people had already escaped the house before the officer arrived, with one sustaining burn injuries. Police were then told two other individuals were still inside. Three minutes later, a firetruck arrived and attempted to enter the home through the front door with a hose, as well as the bedroom window. Wright City police said conditions presented zero visibility and high heat inside the home. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Breaking News Firefighters located an infant and a 23-year-old woman who were brought to the window and transported to Saint Joseph Hospital West in Lake Saint Louis. Crews were able to determine there were no other occupants inside, but they discovered two dogs who had died in the fire. The 23-year-old victim succumbed to her injuries, according to the release. The incident has been turned over to the Missouri Division of Fire Safety Investigation teams. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. A retired medical scientist is being prosecuted in a free speech test case after holding up a sign near an abortion clinic saying: Here to talk if you want to. Livia Tossici-Bolt, 62, who worked at Southamptons University Hospital Trust as a medical researcher, has been accused of breaching a buffer zone when she attended the abortion clinic in Bournemouth. She faces trial after refusing to pay a fixed penalty notice issued by the local council for the alleged breach of a public space protection order (PSPO), which was applied to create the buffer zone. The trial at Poole magistrates is a test case over clauses within the legislation that allow women to engage in consensual conversations with protesters and protect the rights of pro-life campaigners for silent prayer. Ms Tossici-Bolt refused to pay the fine on the basis that she claims she did not breach the PSPO and had the right to freedom of expression, protected under Article 10 of the Human Rights, to offer consensual conversations. She said several women approached her to discuss issues they were facing in their lives. Nothing wrong with offering help We all condemn harassment. But buffer zones are going so far even to criminalise activities which are peaceful and helpful, said Ms Tossici-Bolt, whose defence is being supported by ADF UK, a faith-based legal advocacy organisation. For several years now, I have been offering a helping hand to women who would like to consider other options for abortion, and pointing them to options where they can receive financial and practical support if thats what they would like. Theres nothing wrong with offering help. Theres nothing wrong with two adults engaging in a consensual conversation on the street. I shouldnt be treated like a criminal just for this. It is the second test case in which Ms Tossici-Bolt has been involved after losing a legal challenge in December last year to an order banning prayers outside a clinic run by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) in Bournemouth. In a High Court ruling, two judges Lord Justice Warby and Mrs Justice Thornton said there was evidence the protests had caused harm. It is, in our judgment, naive and simplistic to suggest that activities of this kind in this context cannot be considered detrimental ... just because they are silent, they said. The prosecution is being taken by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council which recently apologised for causing Ms Tossici-Bolt to feel distressed and harassed when officers wrongfully attempted to move her from a public street on another occasion. She was holding a sign reading Pregnant? Need help? with a helpline number for women in crisis pregnancies. In a moment captured on video, officers confronted Tossici-Bolt, accusing her of standing inside Bournemouths censorial buffer zone, which criminalises expressions of approval or disapproval of abortion. The authorities have since acknowledged that she was not within the censored buffer zone on this occasion but claim the map she brought with her to indicate her position was confusing. The map was a replica of the map found on the councils website. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. New Quay in Ceredigion has been identified by the Telegraph as the most cut-off place in Britain - Jay Williams Use our tool see how isolated your area is, or continue to read the article below. Set on the west Wales coast, the popular seaside town of New Quay is best known for its sandy beaches, links to Dylan Thomas and its resident pod of bottlenose dolphins in Cardigan Bay. But it now has another, slightly more ambivalent accolade to its name being within the most cut-off location in England and Wales. According to an analysis by the Telegraph, homes in the area of New Quay & Penbryn are on average 6.8 miles from key amenities, such as large supermarkets, train stations, banks, schools, GPs and pubs. Its main supermarkets Tesco and Aldi are 20 miles down the coast in Cardigan, while its closest train stations are in either Aberystwyth, a 40-minute drive up the coast, or Carmarthen, roughly an hours drive south. New Quays status as the most cut-off town is closest rivalled by Bellingham in Northumberland, which had homes on average 6.3 miles from main amenities. While, unsurprisingly, the least cut off area is Whitechapel in Tower Hamlets in east London. For New Quay residents, their isolated location means some locals think nothing of driving hours to find a shop they like be it John Lewis, Waitrose or Primark. Tracy Hay, 52, who owns the Starfish gift store, grew up in the area, then moved to Oxfordshire to work in banking, before returning home. She says: Of course its isolated. Its a 40-mile trip just to get food. And its difficult to get a delivery slot, especially in the summer. Hay used to work for JP Morgan in Canary Wharf, commuting in from Charlbury, in the Cotswolds. And she says living in New Quay is a completely different lifestyle. Tracy Hay: 'Moving here was a great decision for my quality of life' - Jay Williams Much of the rural area outside the town has no mobile phone signal, she explains. She also drives 40 minutes to take her daughter, eight, for after-school activities, such as shooting, horse-riding and reciting, while one of her older sons, who has an accountancy degree, now milks cows on a local farm. On occasions, Hay also travels to Cardiff two hours 20 minutes drive away to go shopping at John Lewis and Waitrose. You could easily do nothing as the distances are so large, but then youd feel trapped, she says. You have to be prepared to get in the car and drive, even if its just for a good gym. She says New Quay felt more isolated when she lived here as a teenager. I left as soon as I could at age 18. It felt like there was nothing here. Obviously, I was less isolated in Oxfordshire, but I had a two-hour commute into work, and was on the 5.28am train each morning. I eventually thought what am I doing? Moving here was a great decision for my quality of life. And obviously, New Quay is rammed in the summer, so it certainly doesnt feel isolated then. The town has a population of roughly 1,000, but numbers swell in the summer as tourists descend. There is a local food shop a small Costcutter and the post office offers some banking services, with main branches of HSBC and Lloyds being in Cardigan. Theres a GP in town, and a small primary school for 100 children. For secondary school, most children get a bus to Aberaeron roughly 20 minutes away - or Newcastle Emlyn, around half an hours drive. Another local, Trinity Hancox, 23, works as a barmaid in the Jitterbug pub, with views over the Irish Sea. It is isolated and the jobs are very seasonal. We are always short staffed in the summer. She says wages are low and properties are very expensive. There is no way I can ever buy in New Quay, I will end up living in a village outside of it, further from the sea. They are a lot cheaper. She too travels long distances to go shopping. I go to Swansea or Llanelli for Primark, both roughly an hour and a half away by car. And the local cinema is in Cardigan. In the winter, this is a ghost town. Another resident, Carla Hogg, 48, adds: The most annoying part is the airport. We have Cardiff, but most flights go from Bristol. So its a three-and-a-half hour drive just to get there. But we love it here. We use online banking and my husband works from home for a dairy tech firm. We have everything we need. New Quay resident Carla Hogg: 'We have everything we need' - Jay Williams The acceptance of the situation in New Quay is echoed in the second most cut-off spot the quiet village of Bellingham, Northumberland. Julie Kennedy, manager of The Cheviot Hotel, says locals get used to driving places. She says: The nearest train station is Hexham, a 35-minute drive away, and thats where the supermarkets are too. Were a small town but self-sufficient. We have a GP, chemist, butcher and small Co-op. We have a mobile Lloyds bank that comes once a fortnight for the time being. The secondary school kids have a 50-minute bus ride to Haydon Bridge, but you get used to it. The Internet is fine and its a beautiful place to live. The lack of amenities and services ties in with additional Telegraph data which reveals the rate at which rural facilities are closing. Our analysis has found that, since 2010, food stores have fallen by 12 per cent in urban constituencies. But in rural areas, they have plummeted by 28 per cent more than double. Pubs once the lifeblood of communities have fallen by 18 per cent in rural constituencies, compared to 11 per cent in urban ones over the same time period. Banks have closed slower in the countryside than they have in the cities but they have still declined by 50 per cent since 2010 (compared to 57 per cent in more urban areas). A recent report from the County Councils Network also found that more than one in four bus services had vanished over the last decade in rural areas, with passenger numbers dropping to a record low. This was more than in urban areas. Brad Taylor, a rural transport campaigner from CPRE, the countryside charity, says: Villages in many parts of Germany, Austria and Switzerland are served by hourly buses, 12 hours a day and 7 days a week. But in the UK, woeful and worsening public transport connections have left people in the countryside isolated and unable to access education, work and healthcare. Trinity Hancox, 23, says that wages are low while properties are expensive - Jay Williams Rural buses urgently need much higher levels of investment as well as integrated timetables and ticketing systems. Local authorities such as Cornwall are already showing the way forward on this others must now follow suit. In terms of access to train stations, while on average homes in England and Wales are around 1.7 miles away, this can differ hugely in rural areas. In Bude & Stratton, Cornwall, for instance, the average home is 23 miles from a station. With the decline in services, such as banks and shops, many in rural communities are more reliant on the Internet than those in urban areas. Yet, they also face significant challenges in getting access to fibre broadband, which offers the top speeds. In 2019, Boris Johnson pledged full-fibre for all by 2025 as part of his election campaign. Yet today, only 58 per cent of people in urban areas have access, up from 10 per cent in 2019, with just 42 per cent in the rural areas (up from 12 per cent in 2019). At current rates, it will take another seven years for all rural areas to get access to full-fibre. One of the worst places for the Internet is, again, in rural Wales. In Cwmisfael, just outside Carmarthen, local Richard Husband, 71, says: We get seven million bits per second. Its fast compared to what it was 20 years ago. But its very slow compared to what you might get in a city or with fibre. If you try and watch a film it drops off. I did pay for fibre broadband at my office for a while, but it cost 60 a month so I stopped. In this part of Wales, just 17 per cent of households have superfast broadband. Nationally, 76 per cent have access to superfast broadband, which guarantees download speeds of more than 100 Mbits/s, recommended for larger households. Most of the properties rely on the old copper-wire service, which struggles with high speeds. A spokesman for the Countryside Alliance, says: There are several reasons why rural areas suffer with slower broadband speeds. Much of it comes down to cost. In Cwmisfael, many properties rely on the old copper-wire service, which struggles with high speeds While providers are permitted to subsidise rural connections with profits they make from urban customers, it is still often uneconomical to lay fibre in those areas where only a few customers would pay for the service. The distance between properties in rural areas means it is much more expensive to connect them to faster broadband. Ernest Doku, broadband expert at Uswitch.com, adds: While the average UK broadband speed is increasing year on year, not everyone is benefiting. We are seeing a large and growing gap between customers benefiting from ultrafast speeds and those who are getting the bare minimum. Either way, rural areas face significant challenges. Ben Lake, MP for Ceredigion, says: Ceredigion is a wonderful place to live. However, living in a rural area in todays economic climate is not without its challenges. The closure of bank branches, lack of decent connectivity, poor transport services, to name but a few challenges facing rural communities that warrant urgent attention. If the UK Government is truly committed to levelling up, then it must prioritise investment in the economic and social infrastructure of rural communities. Failure to do so will only see the gap between urban and rural regions widen. The research by the Telegraph compared 7,200 geographic areas (Middle Layer Super Output Areas), which are designed to enable the reporting of small area statistics in England and Wales. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. A reward is being offered for information on a suspect wanted for the murder of an Army veteran in Lancaster. The victim was identified as Ismael Zabala, 26. The suspects allegedly involved were Oscar Palazuelos, 19, and Ervin Alvarez, 25, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. On Dec. 20, 2020, Zabala was attending a cousins birthday party at his aunts home on the 400 block of West Avenue J-12. The two suspects showed up at the party after being invited by another attendee. At some point, the two men were asked to leave the home and a fight started at the front door. Zabala and another person tried intervening but were assaulted during the confrontation. Thats when the suspects allegedly pulled out handguns and a shot was fired into Zabalas chest, said LASD. Zabalas younger brother was also shot in the hand. Suspect Oscar Palazuelos seen in a photo from the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. Victim Ismael Zabala seen in a photo from the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. Victim Ismael Zabala (left) and suspect Oscar Palazuelos (right) are seen in photos shared by the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department on July 27, 2021. The suspects fled the scene before deputies could arrive. Zabala was transported to the hospital where he died from his injuries. His brother survived the shooting. Authorities later arrested Alvarez in connection with the murder, however, Palazuelos remains at large. LASD said Palazuelos is the one who allegedly fired the shot that killed Zabala. Investigators believe Palazuelos is aware that he is wanted and has gone into hiding. Zabala was honorably discharged from the Army in March 2020 after getting hurt in a training accident, the Los Angeles Times reported. The victims father, Alex Zabala, described his son as a great kid who was always smiling. He said Zabala, who is the second oldest of eight children, had just gotten out of the army a few months before his death. On the night of his murder, Zabala was accompanied to the party by several of his brothers and had been looking forward to the party. He was surrounded by family members at the time of his death. U.S. says these mistakes could get spring breakers hurt or killed in Mexico He couldnt wait for that day, Alex told the L.A. Times. He was inviting everyone he could. A $10,000 reward is being offered by L.A. County officials for information leading to the apprehension and conviction of Palazuelos. More than three years have passed since Ismaels life was violently and unjustly ended, said L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger. It is unconscionable that he was murdered in front of his family. This case is unique because a suspect has been identified. Im hopeful this reward will lead to someone stepping forward to provide a critical tip that will lead to an arrest. Ismaels family is heartbroken and devastated. They deserve answers, justice, and closure. Anyone with information on the case can call the LASDs Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5554 and ask to speak with Lt. Michael Gomez. Anonymous tips can be provided to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. criticized President Bidens State of the Union address Friday, calling it a hyper-partisan stump speech that did little to spark unity in the nation. I mean, I thought the speech in general, I agree with some of the commentators that youve had, that it was hyper-partisan, Kennedy told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. This was more of a campaign stump speech that youd give to a red meat crowd during the last two weeks of the campaign rather than that kind of statesman-like and presidential unifying speech that we want to see and that the nation expects under the world expect from the State of the Union address, he continued, You want something that inspires pride in our country and in our country and all around the globe. Kennedy joins a cadre of other politicians and pundits who have criticized the president for his address to Congress Thursday, with many calling it overly political. During his address, Biden spoke about Ukraines war with Russia and pushed Congress to move aid for the embattled country. Kennedy slammed Bidens framing of the war, as in his view, the war should have been settled by now. I disagree with the kind of comic book characterizations that President Biden has made, this is a war that should have been settled, Kennedy said. This was not about stopping [Russian President Vladimir Putin] from rampaging across Europe. It is a war about the ascension of NATO into Ukraine, which we should not be doing, he added. Our greatest diplomats have condemned that it was a mistake. Kennedy seemed pleased that the president brought up the housing crisis during his address speech. Though, the independent candidate did not agree with Bidens proposed solution. One issue that he has not mentioned before that I was very happy about, which is the housing crisis in this country. The fact that young people cant get into our home, he said. His solution however, I think was, I would say, a cynical solution, which is a $10,000 gift over the next two years. Including a few unscripted moments, Bidens speech before Congress was his chance for him to address growing concerns around his age and mental acuity as well as tout his first-term accomplishments and create more distance between himself and his likely November challenger, former President Trump. While many argued the speech was overly partisan, there were some memorable moments Thursday night that included bipartisan approval. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Tatiana Rothchild is a Rhode Island resident and a political science Ph.D. candidate at Northeastern University. Her current research explores state coercion and the role of institutions in the anti-human trafficking movement. As we approach the third anniversary this March of the murder of six Asian massage workers in a shooting spree, Rhode Islands legislature is hosting bills that would intentionally exclude Asian massage workers from immunity protections when reporting a crime. Lawmakers have an opportunity to pass protective laws that include migrant workers and spa workers, but an upcoming Senate hearing for S2441 considers a bill that excludes these groups from immunity when reporting crimes. Immunity laws, like those proposed this year in bills S2441, H7165 and H7307, outline protections from arrest when sex workers, sex trafficking survivors, or their clients report being victim or witness to a crime. Laws like this help focus public safety efforts on crimes against people and violent crimes, including human trafficking, rather than prioritizing moral crimes at the expense of public safety. More: Rhode Islanders rally against anti-Asian violence and racism In a survey conducted by COYOTE RI, 88% of Rhode Island sex workers report that they have been the victim or witness of a serious crime that they did not report to police. When they did report, 18% said they were arrested or threatened with arrest and 6% said police wouldn't take their report. Only 6% said that police did take their report. Activists in Washington, D.C., take part in a rally in response to the Atlanta, Georgia spa shootings that left eight people dead, including six Asian women in March 2021. Some 80% of Rhode Island sex workers said they would report crimes to police if there were an immunity law in place. Passing an immunity law would directly increase the number of serious crimes reported. Two of the bills considered this year, however, S2441 and its sister H7165, offer immunity from prostitution charges only. They do not offer immunity from the most commonly charged prostitution-related misdemeanor, massage without a license, for those reporting violent crimes. In recent years, massage without license charges in Rhode Island have made up as much as 81% of prostitution-related misdemeanors and disproportionately target Asian workers. Testimony for exclusionary bill H7165 has already taken place, while S2441 is being considered by a committee in the coming weeks. During testimony for H7165, an out-of-state interest group testified that protections for Asian spa workers are unnecessary, as they plan to ask the attorney generals office not to prosecute spa workers for reporting crimes. This demonstrates an incredible ignorance of Rhode Islands context, where law enforcement can use charges to seize financial assets from workers. More: Is it time to legalize prostitution in RI? The arguments for and against In 2021, the Rhode Island attorney general used the state RICO law to seize $650,000 from Grace Kwon, an Asian spa worker who would be excluded from protections under S2441. The money was divided between the Pawtucket Police Department and the attorney generals office. It is unrealistic to expect law enforcement to voluntarily prioritize investigations into violent crimes over receiving this kind of money. Asian spa workers are increasingly targeted by local police, Homeland Security and mass shooters. Immunity laws are put in place to standardize and guarantee protections to those targeted by police. The goal of any immunity bill is undermined if the workers most often targeted are excluded from its protection. Supporting public safety with this bill requires including spa workers. Rhode Island sex workers are clearly and loudly calling for any immunity laws passed to include all sex workers and sex trafficking survivors. Legislators should listen to the workers they represent and consider the strong research presented by sex worker-led organizations like COYOTE RI. You can join Rhode Islands sex worker community and ask your representatives to vote against S2441. Make it clear to state legislators that excluding migrant workers from basic protections harms all public safety. Rhode Island knows better than to accept legislation that further marginalizes minority workers. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: S2441 excludes migrant workers and spa workers from immunity when reporting crimes. Black Friday turned out to be green for Richland County. County Commissioner Tony Vero reported at the boards regular meeting Thursday that the February state distribution of local sales tax revenue, which reflects November sales, was 7.53% better than February 2023. Commissioners said last year during the process of putting together the 2024 general fund budget they were being cautious because sales tax revenues generally declined in 2023 over the same period in 2022. Their projections for 2024 called for sales tax collections to be 3% to 4% lower. Tony Vero Vero on Thursday said Richland Countys February sales tax figure was significantly better than the statewide average of 1.37% reported by the Ohio Department of Taxation. Were very pleased when you crush the state average after we had a completely negative quarter in Q4 (compared to 2023) and the last positive sales tax month was September and we were negative in June, July and August, he said. Thats a sign we had a healthy November, and lets hope that the December spending and March receipts will be similar. Vero noted the state still is not able to provide a breakdown of sales tax receipts for online sales to see how they affected the overall figure. Commissioner Cliff Mears said consumer confidence has to be part of the reason for the good February figure. County Administrator Andrew Keller added, This is encouraging for the commissioners because this board has a pro-business, pro-market philosophy and so to see Richland County thriving economically, thats why were here. Vero also reported that figures for the rest of the eight major general fund revenue sources varied but were up overall by 5% from the same time last year. Local government fund receipts were down 8% while building permit revenue was off 4%, the countys share of casino tax revenue was up slightly and the county has not received a number of reimbursements. Were about on pace with where we were last year, which is OK for the first couple of months, Vero said. The Richland County commissioners are hoping an increase in sales tax revenue last November may be a sign that collections could be higher than projected in 2024. Commissioners OK new jail lighting During the business portion of the meeting, commissioners approved a $298,780 contract with Energy Optimizers of Dayton to retrofit the county jail with energy-saving LED lighting. Maintenance Director Josh Hicks said he has been working on the project for the past six months and that the company assessed the needs and put together the project after being recommended by local consultant Al Berger. Keller said the selling point for the lighting retrofit is it will pay for itself. The energy savings are calculated to justify the entire cost of this contract by Year Eight, and thats using our current rate per kilowatt hour, which is lower than it will be over the next eight years, he said. Hicks noted the cost is less than he estimated and will be paid out of the maintenance department budget. There also is a potential $15,000 rebate from First Energy. Courthouse renovations continue Commissioners also voted to allocate $69,560 in county American Rescue Plan Act funds to buy new office furniture from Four U Office Supplies of Celina for the new Clerk of Courts office on the L-2 level of the county administration building. Hicks reported during the commissioners quarterly department head meeting on Thursday that the walls are up and the drywall is ready to paint on the L-2 renovation project. Hicks also said during his report that the project to repair and refurbish the elevators in the building started Feb. 26 and that all the materials for the project were received Wednesday. He said both elevators should be working again by September or October. Keller told the board qualifications from architects are being reviewed for design work on a remodel project on L-1 that includes the land bank office, space for conferences, probation and general meetings and renovation of nine restroom on all three building main floors. He also is working with Human Resources Director Kelley Christiansen to finish a complete revision of the county policy manual, which officials say will include some major changes but did not give details. Dog warden, Dayspring updates Dog Warden Missy Houghton reported that 1,150 dogs were taken into the shelter in 2023 with 529 adopted, 417 returned to owners, 35 sent to rescue organizations and 97 dogs still at the shelter. She also said a volunteer who has worked 6 to 8 hours every day for almost 20 years to help walk the dogs has received a national honor and will be formally recognized for her work in April. Dayspring Director Michelle Swank reminded the board that the facility will hold its 31st annual Easter egg hunt March 30 at 1 p.m. with hunts for various age groups including a new toddler area carnival games, food and goodie bags for the children. The residents are excited to have everyone show up again, she said. Its a way for Dayspring to say thank you to our community, which gives us so much. This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Commissioners report sales tax revenue increase in February The Richland City Council unanimously voted this week to award a 10-year tax break worth $20 million for a proposed manufacturing plant. At that price, the city had better see some solid returns. Richland must carefully monitor the companys performance to ensure taxpayers get the well-paying jobs theyve been promised. Atlas Agro plans to build a first-of-its-kind carbon-free fertilizer plant at a cost of more than $1 billion. The green facility will manufacture fertilizer using hydrogen instead of ammonia. That would fit well with Richlands goal of becoming a leading center for clean energy manufacturing in the Pacific Northwest. Though some details remain to be worked out before sealing the deal, $20 million certainly sweetens the appeal. The tax break is possible after Richland became the first city in the Washington state to create a targeted urban area. Authorized under a new law, TUAs allow communities to waive property taxes on improvements in exchange for development and living-wage jobs. Richland designated an area north of the airport for such development. Just two months ago, it awarded tax breaks worth $6.7 million to a nuclear fuel company in the same urban area. Before that it had given $2.7 million for expansion of a titanium smelting plant. Atlas Agros tax break is worth more than double those two combined. The city is placing a huge bet on a new, uncertain technology. If green fertilizer doesnt work as well as the old-school stuff, if it isnt popular or if it just proves harder to manufacture than expected, the project could fall apart quickly, leaving the city with little to show for its investment. The plant will need access to 350 megawatts, which is triple what all of Richland consumes. The rush by the federal government and environmental activists to tear down hydroelectric dams without clear plans to replace their lost energy, increases the uncertainty. Will there be enough affordable, reliable energy to meet demand in the future? Even if Atlas Agro succeeds, it will take many years for Richland to recoup its lost revenue. The payoff is supposed to come in the form of jobs and tax revenue after the waiver expires. Atlas Agro has promised to create 158 new direct jobs at a plant that will operate around the clock, seven days a week. Those jobs will pay at least $23 an hour, the states definition of a living wage. In addition, the company predicts it will generate more than 500 non-construction jobs in the community. Its critical that the city monitor Atlas Agros progress. If the company hasnt delivered within a couple of years of opening, city council should demand it start paying its taxes. Meanwhile, other Richland businesses and city residents will have to shoulder more of the cost of government. Make no mistake, Atlas Agro and its employees will impact local services. If it isnt paying its share of taxes to cover those costs, everyone else will pay more to make up the difference. In pitching the project, economic development officials trotted out the tired but sadly effective strategy of warning that the company might go elsewhere if the city didnt pay up. Karl Dye, president of the Tri-City Industrial Council, said an unnamed city in Oregon could woo Atlas Agro away. I say that not as a threat, he added after making the threat. We long for a day when communities arent subjected to such corporate extortion. At least the council put the item on their action agenda at last weeks meeting, opening it up for a staff presentation, public comment and council discussion. Perhaps council members learned their lesson from the last time when they were much more surreptitious about it, almost as if they wanted to sneak it by the public. Richlands vision of becoming a hub of green manufacturing is a smart goal for a community that could use economic diversification. Reaching that goal will require paying some upfront costs for long-term gains. Atlas Agro will cost a lot. If the gains dont materialize, the city should be ready to cut its losses. A British concept similar to the XQ-67, the Lightweight Affordable Novel Combat Aircraft (LANCA). It was to fly in 2023 but the project was cancelled in 2022 by the head of the RAF, Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston, a fighter pilot A 22-foot-long experimental drone warplane, taking off for the first time in California on Monday, might represent the future of the US Air Force. Unless, as has happened before, service leaders lose their nerve and abandon a good idea because it threatens the status quo. An X-45 unmanned drone makes a precision bombing strike during testing in 2004. The US Air Force decided not to continue with the project - Fred Prouser/Reuters The General Atomics-built experimental plane, the XQ-67, is a proof of concept for a jet-propelled, subsonic sensor platform, according to the Air Force. The idea is for drones like the XQ-67 to fly alongside manned fighters, accepting commands from the fighters pilots or from other controllers in the air or on the ground and navigating with the help of built-in artificial intelligence. These loyal wingman drones could scout ahead of manned planes, jam enemy radars, fire missiles and drop bombs. And they could absorb the enemys own missiles without risking the life of a pilot. Robotic wingmen are an obvious good idea in an age where drones are performing more and more of the most dangerous battlefield tasks. Just look at the fighting in Ukraine, where flying, rolling and swimming drones tens of thousands of them per month reconnoiter enemy positions, blow up armored vehicles and sink big, expensive warships. But the rise of the drones isnt just about saving lives. For the US Air Force, its also about saving money. Recognizing that its manned planes are getting more and more expensive as they get heavier and more sophisticated a new Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter costs $80 million, a third more in constant dollars than the Lockheed Martin F-16 it replaces the Air Force knows it needs some way of bulking up its thinning fighter wings without spending a lot more money. A drone in the class of the XQ-67 might be just the thing. The Air Force has been spending around $7 million per copy on its XQ-67s and similar experimental drones. Thats cheap enough for the service to consider the drones attritable. That is, expendable in combat. And the cost should come down. Looking to the automotive industry for inspiration, the Air Force plans to establish hot production lines that can quickly build large numbers of drones like the XQ-67 and, every year or so, swap in a slightly newer design with the latest electronics. The main objectives here are to validate rapid time-to-market and low development cost, said Trenton White, a manager in the drone program. As workers gain experience and the overhead costs get amortized over more and more completed drones, the price of one drone wingman could drop to just a few million dollars. The Air Force is already planning for production of an initial 1,000 drone wingmen over the next decade or so. The concept is to assign two drones to each of 500 manned stealth fighters. If the flying branch chooses to expand the program, it could build additional drones to assign to the balance of its 1,900-strong manned fighter fleet. And with those hot production lines humming, the Air Force could fly each generation of robotic wingmen for just a few years before replacing them with a newer generation. An X-47B stealth jet drone touches down aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H W Bush in 2013, proving that unmanned aircraft can perform even the most difficult piloting feats. The US Navy subsequently decided against a combat role for such jets, instead demoting them to aerial refuelling duty - Steve Helber/AP Its all very exciting for advocates of American air power. But its an excitement tinged with apprehension. Nearly 20 years ago, the Air Force came very close to introducing highly-autonomous jet-powered attack drones. But the service got cold feet after a series of successful tests in 2005. The Boeing X-45 and Northrop Grumman X-47 drones lingered for a few years, in a strictly experimental capacity, before becoming museum exhibits. The Air Force wasnt willing to spend the money those earlier drone programs required. One analyst called the X-45 and X-47 the worst-funded good idea in decades. But it wasnt just money that grounded that first effort to build robotic fighter jets it was, by many accounts, the Air Forces reluctance to take jobs away from human pilots. In 2005, it seems, drones frightened the Air Force not because they didnt work, but because they did. Nineteen years later, in a world thats increasingly comfortable with robots big and small, attitudes in the worlds leading air force have changed. But have they changed enough? If theres reason to be optimistic for the second-coming of drone fighters, its that theyll complement and not replace human pilots, at first. The XQ-67 and its ilk are wingmen, not flight leaders. But if the drones work as well as their advocates claim, it might not be long before they outgrow the need for human controllers. Maybe its time to let them evolve. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. In conjunction with its annual Eddy Awards, River Action is offering Eddy Scholarships to students with a commitment to environmental interests, according to a news release. These scholarships were initiated with funding from a family foundation. This year they are being additionally funded by Janet and Norm Moline. (riveraction.org) Created in 2019, the scholarships award students who embody the spirit of the Eddy Awards, going against the current to get things done, and who are majoring or minoring in an environment-related field at a college or university, or if currently a senior in high school, are planning to include a focus on an environment-related field in their college or university studies beginning in the summer or fall of 2024. Three Eddy Scholarships of $1,000 each will be granted based on the character, academic standing, school and community involvement, and career goals of applicants. Preference will be given to those students who will be attending a college or university in the Quad Cities area of Iowa and Illinois. Application deadline is March 22, 2024. Applicants will be interviewed in the final round of the selection process. Scholarships will be awarded during the Eddy Award Ceremony at River Actions annual Fish & Fire dinner on May 2, 2024, at the Waterfront Event Center, 2021 State Street, Bettendorf. Visit here to complete the online scholarship application. Call 563-322-2969 for more information. River Action launched the Eddy Awards in 2000 to recognize well-designed undertakings and environmental programs with far reaching effects on the health of the river, and cultural programs that celebrate the industry, history or art of the Mississippi River. The award is named Eddy in order to recognize especially courageous efforts that go against the current to get things done. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. Hong Kong Customs on Friday said that it has detected two cases with suspected smuggled goods worth about 211 million Hong Kong dollars (about 27 million U.S. dollars) in total. A Customs spokesperson said that through intelligence analysis and risk assessment, the Customs suspected that river trade vessels were used to smuggle goods to the Chinese mainland and thus formulated strategies to combat related activities. In recent operations, two river trade vessels departing from Hong Kong and respectively bound for Macao and Guangzhou were selected for inspection. Customs officers onboard the vessels found large batches of suspected smuggled goods. The contrabands include over 130,000 hard disks, about 200,000 electronic product accessories, about 160,000 cigarettes, about 13,000 bottles of health products, and about 3,000 boxes of pharmaceutical products. Related investigations are underway. The Customs will keep up its enforcement action and continue to combat sea smuggling activities through proactive risk management and intelligence-based enforcement strategies, along with mounting targeted anti-smuggling operations, the spokesperson said. Walt Disney's (NYSE:DIS) stock is up by a considerable 19% over the past three months. However, we wonder if the company's inconsistent financials would have any adverse impact on the current share price momentum. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Walt Disney's ROE today. Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity. Check out our latest analysis for Walt Disney How Do You Calculate Return On Equity? ROE can be calculated by using the formula: Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) Shareholders' Equity So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Walt Disney is: 4.0% = US$4.2b US$106b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023). The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. So, this means that for every $1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of $0.04. What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth? So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that dont share these attributes. Walt Disney's Earnings Growth And 4.0% ROE As you can see, Walt Disney's ROE looks pretty weak. Even compared to the average industry ROE of 14%, the company's ROE is quite dismal. Therefore, it might not be wrong to say that the five year net income decline of 30% seen by Walt Disney was possibly a result of it having a lower ROE. We believe that there also might be other aspects that are negatively influencing the company's earnings prospects. For instance, the company has a very high payout ratio, or is faced with competitive pressures. Story continues However, when we compared Walt Disney's growth with the industry we found that while the company's earnings have been shrinking, the industry has seen an earnings growth of 21% in the same period. This is quite worrisome. Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. Is Walt Disney fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide. Is Walt Disney Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively? When we piece together Walt Disney's low three-year median payout ratio of 21% (where it is retaining 79% of its profits), calculated for the last three-year period, we are puzzled by the lack of growth. This typically shouldn't be the case when a company is retaining most of its earnings. So there might be other factors at play here which could potentially be hampering growth. For instance, the business has faced some headwinds. Moreover, Walt Disney has been paying dividends for at least ten years or more suggesting that management must have perceived that the shareholders prefer dividends over earnings growth. Existing analyst estimates suggest that the company's future payout ratio is expected to drop to 16% over the next three years. As a result, the expected drop in Walt Disney's payout ratio explains the anticipated rise in the company's future ROE to 9.7%, over the same period. Summary Overall, we have mixed feelings about Walt Disney. While the company does have a high rate of reinvestment, the low ROE means that all that reinvestment is not reaping any benefit to its investors, and moreover, its having a negative impact on the earnings growth. Having said that, looking at current analyst estimates, we found that the company's earnings growth rate is expected to see a huge improvement. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more. 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. Actor Robert DeNiro slammed former President Trump Friday as the former president is likely to be the GOP presidential nominee in November. The guy is a total monster I dont understand it, DeNiro said Friday on HBOs Real Time with Bill Maher, referring to polls that show the GOP front-runner leading President Biden, adding that Trump is such a mean, nasty, hateful person. The actor added that he would also refuse any role that requires him to depict Trump because he cant see any good in him. Nothing, DeNiro told Maher. Nothing at all, nothing redeemable in him. He warned that a second Trump administration would be dangerous, alluding to the former presidents rhetoric. Therell be things that happen that none of us can imagine, he said Friday. Thats what happens in that kind of a dictatorship, which is what he says. Lets believe and take him at his word. So hes a sociopathic, psychopathic, malignant narcissist, he added. He is a dangerous person. Trump hit back Saturday in a post on Truth Social, calling the actors comments stupid. Robert DeNiro has a terminal case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, he wrote. Such a stupid sounding guy, a low IQ individual! De Niro made a similar argument against the GOP presidential front-runner last year, claiming democracy wont survive if Trump is reelected. He also referred to him at the time as a wannabe dictator. Ive spent a lot of time studying bad men, the actor said in a statement read by former Trump aide Miles Taylor in October. Ive examined their characteristics, their mannerisms, the utter banality of their cruelty. Yet theres something different about Donald Trump. When I look at him, I dont see a bad man. Truly. I see an evil one, he added at the time. After DeNiro spent spent time knocking the president during an awards speech late last year, the former president said he should focus on his life, which is a mess, rather than the lives of others. He has become a total loser, as the World watches, waits, and laughs! Trump wrote. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. WASHINGTON - Here's a look at how area members of Congress voted over the previous week. Along with this week's roll call votes, the House also passed these measures: the Securing the Cities Improvement Act (H.R. 4403), to make improvements to the Securing the Cities program; the Improving Travel for Families Act (H.R. 5969), to revise certain regulations to permit certain children to accompany their parents or legal guardians through Global Entry airport lanes; the 9-8-8 Lifeline Cybersecurity Responsibility Act (H.R. 498), to secure the suicide prevention lifeline from cybersecurity incidents; and the DiasporaLink Act (H.R. 3385), to require a report on the value, cost, and feasibility of developing a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable connecting the contiguous United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Ghana. House votes Congressman Chuck Edwards House Vote 1: CHILDHOOD DISEASES: The House has passed the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0 (H.R. 3391), sponsored by Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Va., to reauthorize through fiscal 2028 a National Institutes of Health program for research into pediatric cancer and diseases. Wexton said the reauthorization was needed because "there is still a long fight ahead to better understand, treat, and ultimately cure childhood cancer." The vote, on March 5, was 384 yeas to 4 nays. YEAS: Edwards R-NC (11th). House Vote 2: MATERNAL DEATHS: The House has passed the Preventing Maternal Deaths Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3838), sponsored by Rep. Michael C. Burgess, R-Texas, to reauthorize federal programs that fund state maternal health care programs. Burgess said the bill "will help to ensure that resources are directed where they will have the most positive impact." The vote, on March 5, was 382 yeas to 12 nays. YEAS: Edwards R-NC (11th). House Vote 3: CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT SPENDING: The House has passed an amendment to the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 4366), sponsored by Rep. John R. Carter, R-Texas, to provide fiscal 2024 funding for various federal departments, including Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, and Veterans Affairs. A supporter, Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, said the bill "honors our commitment to our veterans, strengthens our energy security, holds agencies accountable, supports our farmers and ranchers, and makes our transportation systems safer." An opponent, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, criticized the bill for excessive spending that went beyond previously legislated limits for 2024, and for failing to secure the border with Mexico. The vote, on March 6, was 339 yeas to 85 nays. YEAS: Edwards R-NC (11th). House Vote 4: CANCER AND FIREFIGHTERS: The House has passed the Firefighter Cancer Registry Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3821), sponsored by Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-N.J., to reauthorize through fiscal 2028 the National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health's registry of nationwide information about firefighters and cancer. Pascrell said the registry could lead to more knowledge of "the ties between career-long exposure to dangerous fumes and toxins and the incidence of firefighter cancer." The vote, on March 6, was 413 yeas to 7 nays. YEAS: Edwards R-NC (11th). House Vote 5: ILLEGAL ALIENS AND CRIME: The House has passed the Laken Riley Act (H.R. 7511), sponsored by Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., to require the Homeland Security Department to apprehend illegal aliens who are facing charges for theft in the U.S. Collins called the requirement "a key piece in our fight to restore the rule of law and get criminal illegal aliens off our street" by removing illegal aliens from the U.S. before they commit worse crimes than theft. An opponent, Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., said Congress did not have the authority to set such a requirement. The vote, on March 7, was 251 yeas to 170 nays. YEAS: Edwards R-NC (11th). House Vote 6: EXPANDING DENTAL WORKFORCE: The House passed the Action for Dental Health Act (H.R. 3843), sponsored by Rep. Robin L. Kelly, D-Ill., to reauthorize, through fiscal 2028, a program for issuing grants to states for resolving local shortages of dental health providers. Kelly said: "By prioritizing early diagnosis, intervention, and preventive dental treatments, we can significantly improve the well-being of patients and alleviate strain on our healthcare system." The vote, on March 7, was 391 yeas to 32 nays. YEAS: Edwards R-NC (11th). Senate votes Sens. Ted Budd, left, and Thom Tillis Senate Vote 1: MILITARY STAFFING: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Ronald Keohane to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. Keohane, currently a partner at the veterans-focused Blue Rose consultancy, was previously a Clinton and Obama administration official in the Defense Department and the National Guard. A supporter, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Keohane "understands the value of caring for our servicemembers and their families." The vote, on March 6, was 69 yeas to 30 nays. NAYS: Tillis R-NC, Budd R-NC. Senate Vote 2: REGULATING COAL, OTHER MINES: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Moshe Z. Marvit to be a member of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission for a term ending in 2028. Marvit has been a lawyer at the Commission for a decade, and has been a law professor and a private practice lawyer representing the United Steelworkers union and other workers. A supporter, Sen. Bernie Sanders, ID-Vt., called Marvit "a well-qualified nominee strongly supported by the United Mine Workers of America and the United Steelworkers." The vote, on March 6, was 50 yeas to 49 nays. NAYS: Tillis R-NC, Budd R-NC. Senate Vote 3: MERIT SYSTEMS FOR GOVERNMENT WORKERS: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Cathy Harris to be chairman of the Merit Systems Protection Board. Harris is a lawyer at a private practice Washington, D.C., law firm, specializing in federal government employment law. The vote, on March 6, was 51 yeas to 48 nays. NAYS: Tillis R-NC, Budd R-NC. Senate Vote 4: NUCLEAR RADIATION COMPENSATION: The Senate has passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act (S. 3853), sponsored by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. The bill would extend the deadline for filing compensation claims for exposure to radioactive waste from the 1940s Manhattan Project to develop a nuclear bomb and from working in uranium mines. Hawley said the extension "is about doing basic justice for the working people of this nation whom their own government has poisoned." The vote, on March 7, was 69 yeas to 30 nays. NAYS: Tillis R-NC, Budd R-NC. Senate Vote 5: WASHINGTON, D.C., JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Adrienne Jennings Noti to be a judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Noti has been a magistrate judge on the Superior Court for a decade, and before that was a law professor and a lawyer specializing in family law. A supporter, Sen. Gary C. Peters, D-Mich., said Noti "has proven herself to be fair and effective and has shown a deep commitment to the local community." The vote, on March 7, was 51 yeas to 45 nays. NAYS: Tillis R-NC, Budd R-NC. This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Here's how WNC's members of Congress voted March 1-7 A man has pleaded guilty in U.S. District court in Seattle on Friday to a conspiracy to transport charge after transporting 12 illegal people, including multiple children, into the U.S. through Washington. Daniel Andronache, 27, was arrested near Blaine on Nov. 9, 2023 after being caught driving a Ford Expedition he obtained in Tacoma with several adults and children that were classified as being in the U.S. illegally. According to a plea agreement, Andronache flew from Omaha, Nebraska to Seattle two days prior his arrest, obtained the white SUV and drove to the near the international border in Blaine to pick up the group of people who were later identified as Romanian citizens. Andronache has also been identified as a Romanian citizen as well. The group emerged from brush near the border and got in the car. When Border patrol stopped the car, officers noticed that the the car had only seats for eight people but 14 people in total were inside the vehicle crammed. Two children, one under the age of three, were not properly retrained while in the car, the plea agreement stated. In Andronaches plea agreement, he admitted to the charge and knew that the group were non-citizens and were planning to stay in the U.S. illegally. Now, everyone that entered the U.S. illegally have been referred to immigration authorities for processing. Andronache could face up to ten years in prison after his upcoming sentencing on June 12. Texas school districts resisted the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education that separate but equal schools were unconstitutional. Fort Worth ISD was one of the last major Texas school district to integrate in 1963. In 1959, the Fort Worth chapter of the NAACP filed a lawsuit to desegregate. The Mexican American Education Advisory Committee (MAEAC), headed by Rufino Mendoza Sr., followed suit in December 1971 as an intervenor for the districts discriminatory treatment of Chicano students. Rufino Mendoza Sr. in 1975. Courtesy, Rufino Mendoza Jr. In May 1971, Eddy Herrera led a meeting at All Saints Catholic Church with 60 concerned Chicano parents to discuss their childrens poor educational status. Herrera had taught Rufino Mendoza Jr. at the University of Texas at Arlington and inspired him to become an activist. Father and son engaged Herrera, formed MAEAC, and became president and vice-president, respectively, along with five others. The Mendoza pair proved powerful. Today's top stories: Baby gorilla born by C-section needs new surrogate mother Student at Eastern Hills Elementary locked in classroom alone, mom says Man nearly decapitated wife, told police she cut herself: affidavit Get free alerts when news breaks. Statistics of the time indicated high Chicano dropout rates and low educational performance compared to white students. A 1970 U.S. Civil Right Commission report, Unfinished Education, concluded that Texas provides the worst education for Mexican American students of any state in the Southwest. The Texas Education Agency reported in 1985 that incompetent principals and teachers were dumped in four predominately Chicano schools in Fort Worths North Side. Aware of the districts practice of counting Chicano students as white for integration purposes, the committee immediately demanded they identify them as a separate ethnic group. They also called for the hiring of more Chicano administrators, teachers, counselors and auxiliary staff. Curriculum changes such as the inclusion of Chicano history and heroes were needed. After six months of unproductive meetings with the superintendent, administrators and school board, the MAEAC retained attorney Ronald Fernandes and sued. Over the years, the MAEAC intervention was called the Mendoza lawsuit. L. Clifford Davis, NAACP attorney, welcomed Chicano intervention. Other Black citizens raised concerns the second lawsuit would detract from their initial demands. Superintendent Julius Truelson said, We keep telling these people that there arent that many qualified Mexican-Americans around for those positions, but they just dont hear. Assistant Superintendent Frank Kudlaty warned identifying Chicano people as a distinct ethnic group could destroy the bilingual program. When Cecil Morgan, the districts attorney, walked out of negotiations with Davis from Judge Eldon B. Mahons court, he told waiting reporters a racial joke that included a slur used against Black people. He bragged he had never been photographed with Davis in his 20 years of litigation and hoped it would never happen in the next 20 years. MAEAC won in gaining the distinct ethnic status in 1989. In a second lawsuit partnered with the United Hispanic Council over at-large elections, they gained another Chicana representative, Rachel Newman, in 1994. Mendoza Jr. said the committee contended with Mexican Americans who complained about the legal actions. The Hispanic people who favored status quo claimed the district taught well Chicano students and objected to the troubles MAEAC stirred. Some rejected the Mendozas use of the term Chicano as an ethnic identifier. Ruben Salazar, a Los Angeles Times reporter, wrote in 1970, A Chicano is a Mexican-American with a non-Anglo image of himself. Mendoza Sr. plowed ahead, claiming the first Mexican American trustee at Tarrant County Junior College (as Tarrant County College was formerly called) failed to advocate for hiring and promoting Chicano people. To Mendoza Sr., trustee Pete Zepeda was another safe Mexican American that white people picked to represent the Chicano community. In a neighborhood meeting with Police Chief Thomas R. Windham, Mendoza Sr. advised him to promote more Chicano employees to policy-making positions. He qualified his remarks stating he sought no personal gains for his three sons who served on the force. Mendoza Jr. was the first native-born Fort Worth Chicano police officer in the city. In 2000, the city appointed Ralph Mendoza as the first Fort Worth Chicano chief of police. Fort Worth police officer Rufino Mendoza Jr. worked in the Community Service Division. He is speaking here with Worth Heights youth in 1973. Courtesy, Rufino Mendoza Jr. Although Mendoza Sr. had a ninth-grade education, and wife Martina even less, he stressed Chicano people must learn marketable skills to compete successfully. He told Superintendent I. Carl Candoli that he would go to school with his nine children and sit next to them. When the district ignored his daughter Rebecca Mendozas teacher application in 1974, Mendoza Sr. announced he knew of a Chicana educator who sought employment. She retired in 2016 after teaching 45 years at Riverside Middle School. School board member Newman initiated with Mendoza Jr. a North Side petition drive to rename Denver Avenue Elementary for Rufino Mendoza Sr. After receiving over 1,750 signatures, the school board voted 8-1 to change the name in 1998. Jean McClung, the dissenting vote, would later have a middle school named after her. In this Dec. 3, 1998, photo, Rufino Mendoza Jr. stands before Denver Avenue Elementary School ahead of presenting a petition to the Fort Worth school district to rename the campus after his father, Rufino Mendoza Sr. Bobby Ornelas/STAR-TELEGRAM Mendoza Sr.s children and grandchildren have a family reunion of sorts when they participate in Rufino Mendoza Elementary School career day. They represent physicians, nurses, engineers, teachers, police officers, attorneys, postal workers and other professions as living testimony to his legacy. In response to Candolis probe of his activism, considering his children were successful, Mendoza Sr. told him not all Chicano children had a father like him. After 30 years working as a postal worker, Mendoza Sr. retired in 1982. At 64, he suffered a heart attack while mowing lawns and died June 25, 1992. Rufino Mendoza Jr. visits with his 4-year-old daughter, Rebecca Mendoza, 4, at Clayton House Montessori in 1993. Courtesy, Rufino Mendoza Jr. Author Richard J. Gonzales writes and speaks about Fort Worth, national and international Latino history. Russian forces fired at Sumy Oblast 45 times on March 9, striking 11 communities, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported. The communities of Yunakivka, Khotin, Mykolaiv, Bilopillia, Myropillia, Krasnopillia, Velyka Pysarivka, Shalyhyne, Esman, Seredyna-Buda, and Svesy were targeted. The attacks caused at least 222 explosions in the area. Throughout the day, Russia assailed the border communities with mortar, artillery, and grenade launcher attacks. Explosives and mines were also dropped by drones onto four of the communities. The town of Bilopillia, with a pre-war population of about 15,600 residents, experienced the bulk of the attacks reported with 74 explosions recorded in the area. The community is located just eight kilometers south and 25 kilometers west of the Ukraine-Russia border. Russian attacks on Sumy Oblast have become increasingly destructive in recent weeks. Earlier this week, a Russian drone strike in Sumy during the early hours of March 6 injured four people and caused damage to multiple homes, schools, and medical centers. Another attack on March 7, killed two people and injured 26, with six civillians hospitalized. Late last month, a Russian attack on the village of Khotin killed two police officers and injured eight others. Shelling is a daily occurrence for the communities near Ukraine's northeastern border with Russia, with residents in the region's vulnerable border settlements experience multiple attacks per day. Read also: Ukraine war latest: Zelensky rules out Erdogans idea of peace summit with Russia during Turkey visit Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Russia cannot intimidate Ukrainians and force them to capitulate by launching missile strikes. Source: James Kariuki, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, at the UN Security Council meeting dedicated to the discussion of Russian attacks on Odesa; Ukrinform Details: Kariuki said Russia's actions demonstrate a complete disregard for international law and the UN Charter. Russia tries to intimidate Ukraine, its residents and those who support Ukraine, but it will not succeed. In his opinion, Ukrainians have shown that nobody will force them into submission, and "Russia should know that the UK stands proudly by their side". He called on Russia to "withdraw your troops, cease the bloodshed and end this senseless war". Quote: "Ukraine deserves a just and lasting peace that respects its territorial integrity. And with our support, that is what Ukraine will achieve." Support UP or become our patron! Russia claims to have shot down Ukrainian 47 drones overnight, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on March 9. Moscow earlier said Kyiv launched a mass drone attack that lasted over an hour and allegedly injured one person and damaged the roof of a medical clinic. Russian air defense intercepted one drone in Belgorod Oblast, two in Kursk Oblast, three in Volgograd Oblast, and 41 in Rostov Oblast, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Local Telegram channels reported that five explosions were heard in the city of Taganrog in Rostov Oblast overnight. Rostov Oblast Governor Vasily Golubev described the attack on Taganrog as "massive. The strike allegedly damaged the Beriev Aircraft Company plant in Taganrog, which produces Be-200 amphibious aircraft, the Russian Telegram channel Astra said. The factory also repairs Russian A-50 early warning and control aircraft, Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesman for the Odesa regional military administration, said on Telegram. The attacks "can seriously interfere with the operation of the plant, and for quite a long time," Bratchuk wrote. Ukraine has damaged two Russian A-50 aircraft: one in January and another on Feb. 23. One aircraft costs around $330 million. In recent months, Russian authorities began reporting an increasing number of drone strikes targeting Belgorod, Bryansk, Oryol, and Leningrad oblasts, as well as other regions Read also: UK pledges $416 million to buy 10,000 drones for Ukraine Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Russia claimed that Ukrainian drones attacked Kursk and Rostov regions during the early hours of March 9, allegedly injuring one person and damaging the roof of a medical clinic. Kursk regional governor Roman Starovoyt announced via Telegram that debris from a Ukrainian drone fell on the roof of a medical clinic. No casualties were reported, but due to the threat of explosions, patients in the intensive care unit were forced to evacuate. Additionally, Rostov Oblast Governor Vasily Golubev stated that several drones were allegedly destroyed over the region. An emergency response worker was reportedly injured in the attack. Local Telegram channels reported that locals in the city of Taganrog in Rostov Oblast heard five explosions overnight. Golubev described the attack on Taganrog as "massive." The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims. In recent months, Russian authorities began reporting an increasing number of drone strikes targeting Belgorod, Bryansk, Oryol, and Leningrad oblasts, as well as other regions. Read also: Ukraine war latest: Zelensky rules out Erdogans idea of peace summit with Russia during Turkey visit Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Russia launched a drone attack on Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, overnight, targeting an industrial enterprise, the head of the Kryvyi Rih Defense Council, Oleksandr Vilkul, reported on Telegram on March 9. The impact caused a fire, which was later extinguished, but the cleanup is still being conducted, he said. No casualties reported. Read also: Russian targets southern and eastern Ukraine with missiles and drones, Ukraine shoots down 33 of 37 drones Ukrainian air defense forces successfully shot down five attack drones heading towards Kryvyi Rih, with no other incidents reported in the area. Russians attacked the Marhanets municipality in the Nikopol district with artillery. No fatalities were reported. Read also: Russian overnight attack damages infrastructure in southern Ukraine, most of 37 Shaheds downed Air raid alerts were issued in several Ukrainian central, eastern, and southern oblasts due to the Russian ballistic missile threat on March 8. Multiple groups of drones were reported in Kherson Oblast. Russian forces struck the city of Kherson, injuring a seven-year-old boy who has been hospitalized. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Russian strategists believe their country must be ready for NATO conventional missile strikes. Russian media publicized their article just as NATO war games began. The missile strike they think NATO is planning is a mirror of how Russia itself would fight a war. Russian strategists argue its military needs more robust systems to defend against a NATO surprise attack that would come in the form of conventional missile strikes, a warning that comes as NATO conducts a massive exercise near Russia's northern border. A recent article in Voyennaya Mysl ("Military Thought") argues that a likely scenario is a "likely enemy" presumably the US and its NATO allies launching a massive barrage of missiles at vital Russian facilities, a strategy that looks a lot like Russia's. "An attack might begin with a rapid global strike alongside several massive missile and aviation strikes on the country's administrative-political and military-industrial infrastructure," according to an official TASS news agency summary of the article, which recommends expanding the missions and equipment of the Russian Aerospace Forces, or VKS. How exactly NATO would attack Russia in this scenario is unclear, though the Russian analysts seem to be describing what the US military would call "multi-domain operations." The article speaks of "joint operative formations" that consist of "compact, highly mobile combined multi-role groups of troops capable of inflicting heavy losses on the administrative-political and military-industrial infrastructure in all spheres: on the ground, on the high seas, in the air, in outer space and in cyberspace." The attack would be preceded by "provocations" to justify a war, as well as the deployment of forces near Russia. "The enemy will take potentially aggressive action, including provocations, for the purpose of controlling the situation, as well as intensify all types of intelligence activity. In addition, it may start deploying aircraft carrier strike groups and ships with guided missiles under the guise of exercises. Enemy aircraft, including strategic bombers and drones, will begin to perform regular flights near Russia's national borders." The attack itself would begin with a massive air offensive (and by 2030, attack from space), "consisting of a rapid (instant) global strike and several (from 2-3 to 5-7) massive missile and air strikes," the article warned. This perceived NATO strategy of massive strikes risks compelling Russia to use its nuclear weapons, especially tactical nukes, to defend itself. But it is not without some grounding. In October 2022, the former CIA director and retired Army Gen. David Petraeus warned Russia that the use of a nuclear weapon against Ukraine would prompt a heavy NATO response that would sink the entire Black Sea Fleet and "take out" the ground forces in Ukraine "that we can see and identify." A US Marine Corps pilot flies an F/A-18D Hornet ahead of Exercise Nordic Response 24 at Andenes, Norway on Feb. 29, 2024. Cpl. Christopher Hernandez/US Marine Corps Perhaps not coincidentally, Russian media publicized the article just as NATO began Nordic Response 2024, a large, 11-day exercise involving more than 20,000 troops, 50 ships, and 100 aircraft operating across Norway, Finland, and Sweden. It will also be notable by the presence of new NATO members Finland and Sweden, whose accession to the alliance has Russia worried over the security of its vast northern frontier. In 2020, the US flew B-52 bombers in the Barents Sea, which abuts Russia's Arctic territories. Predictably, the Russian experts urged more defense spending. This would include expanding the equipment and missions of the Russian Aerospace Forces, including the development of more advanced UAVs and other weapons, creating an automated fire control system (presumably AI-based), and "the improvement of reconnaissance, aviation engineering, airfield and other types of comprehensive support." The call to boost spending on airpower comes as Russia's defense spending explodes, with the Kremlin diverting one-third of the national budget to finance the military and the war in Ukraine. That's triple the amount in 2021, before the war began, by some estimates. While the Russian Air Force has had some success in supporting ground troops albeit at a heavy cost during recent Russian offensives, its overall performance in the war has been surprisingly ineffective. Ironically, the missile strike that Russian military experts accuse the West of planning is a mirror image of how Russia itself would fight a war. "Russian military thought has broadly cohered around the idea of 'active defense' in the event of a NATO-Russia war," Julian Waller, a Russia expert at the Center for Naval Analyses think tank in Arlington, Virginia, told Business Insider. "Such that due to expectations of overwhelming kinetic strikes in the initial phases by the West, Russia needs to be able to withstand these while also striking back at critical military and civilian infrastructure. This involves heavy usage of missiles, long-range fires, and VKS assets." Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds an MA in political science from Rutgers Univ. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn. Read the original article on Business Insider Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) stock was on quite a roll this young year, but a new development shifted that momentum on Friday. The shares fell as much as 3.2% in price on Friday afternoon, following the news that a top regulator is delaying a decision on one of the company's most important drug candidates. FDA decision on Alzheimer's drug delayed That regulator is none other than the U.S. government's powerful Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On Friday, Eli Lilly said that the FDA has unexpectedly pushed back its decision on Alzheimer's disease treatment donanemab. The timing for this is unclear, as the FDA informed the company that it would convene a last-minute meeting of advisors to further review the drug's performance in a phase 3 trial, but did not specify when the meeting would occur. The pharmaceutical company and many observers believed that the regulator would render a decision on approving donanemab by the end of this month. While donanemab has done well in clinical testing, like other Alzheimer's drugs there are worries about its safety. Chiefly, these center on brain swelling and bleeding. Eli Lilly said that the root of the FDA's concerns are the safety and efficacy of this treatment. Signaling full cooperation and assistance Understandably, Eli Lilly continues to stand behind its Alzheimer's candidate. It quoted the president of the Lilly Neuroscience unit, Anne White, saying, "We are confident in donanemab's potential to offer very meaningful benefits to people with early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease." She added that the company is eager to further present the late-stage clinical trial results, and pledged to "work with the FDA and the stakeholders in the community to make that presentation and answer all questions." Should you invest $1,000 in Eli Lilly right now? Before you buy stock in Eli Lilly, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and Eli Lilly wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Story continues Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than tripled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of March 8, 2024 Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Eli Lilly Stock Flopped on Friday was originally published by The Motley Fool Russia has started mass-producing high-damage glide bombs capable of destroying a multi-storey building with one hit. FAB-1500-M54 bombs weigh 1.5 tons and carry 1,500Ib of explosives, a payload nearly five times the size of Russias current arsenal of glide bombs. Russian military bloggers this week posted three videos of FAB-1500 bombs destroying multi-storey buildings in Ukrainian-held towns near the front lines in Donbas. In the videos, the bombs speed into the frame at an angle before striking the buildings and exploding into fireballs. In one film, a building collapses after being hit. Epic footage of a FAB-1500 direct hit on a target in Krasnogorovka, said the Iron Helmets Russian war propaganda channel. Russia has focused on boosting its arsenal of weapons over the past 18 months, ramping up production at its factories and signing supply deals for drones, missiles and artillery shells with North Korea and Iran. Glide bombs are conventional bombs retrofitted with pop-out wings and a guidance system that turns them into smart bombs. They are dropped by fighter jets up to 25 miles away from their target, rather than overhead, and have improved accuracy and faster speeds. They are also more difficult to shoot down than conventional missiles and drones because they are in the air for only a short time. Russian FAB-1500-M54 glide bombs weigh 1.5 tons are more difficult to shoot down than conventional missiles and drones John Foreman, Britains former military attache in Moscow, said that Russias extensive use of glide bombs showed its innovation and adaptation on the battlefield. Theyre very effective in terms of price and explosive effect and Ukraine has difficulty in defending against them. The Kremlin has deployed glide bombs since last year. In November, Mykola Oleschuk, commander of Ukraines air force, warned that Russia was preparing to mass-produce the FAB-1500. Analysts said that Russian production of the bigger glide bomb will increase the Kremlins firepower along the front lines, where fighter jets are running up to 100 sorties a day to fire glide bombs at Ukrainian positions. Russian forces used glide bomb strikes to tactical effect in their seizure of Avdiivka in mid-February and are likely attempting to replicate such effects to support ongoing operations elsewhere along the front, said the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Russias capture of Avdiivka, near Donetsk, was its first major battlefield victory since the Kremlins Wagner mercenary group captured Bakhmut in May last year. The ISW also said that Russia was continuing to make gains along the front lines, although military bloggers added that Ukrainian forces were strengthening their positions and mounting counter-attacks to push back this advance, which has cost Russias army about 900 soldiers killed or injured per day. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Russian forces attacked Kherson, injuring a seven-year-old boy, the Kherson Oblast Military Administration reported via Telegram on March 8. According to the post, the boy was wounded after an aerial bomb struck his home. A medical team took him to the hospital where he was diagnosed with "an explosion injury and contusion." Earlier this week, a drone attack in the city of Beryslav in Kherson Oblast injured a husband and wife. A drone reportedly dropped an explosive onto the couple's home, damaging the building. The 59-year-old man and 58-year-old woman received blast injuries. Just a day before, Russian troops attacked the Kupiansk district of the region, killing a 67-year-old woman. Authorities also reported that a 55-year-old woman, who was seriously injured by a Russian attack against the village of Chorne in the Kupiansk district on Feb. 15, died in the hospital on March 5. Ukraine's Armed Forces liberated Kherson and other regional settlements on the west bank of the Dnipro River in the Fall 2022 counteroffensive. Russian troops were pushed to the river's east bank, from where they have since been firing at the liberated territories, regularly resulting in civilian deaths as well as large-scale destruction of homes and infrastructure. Read also: Who are they fighting, children? Family of 5 killed in devastating Russian attack on Kharkiv Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The Russian government is expected to be particularly vulnerable to rising gasoline and other everyday goods prices leading up to the presidential elections on March 15-17, attributed to Ukrainian drone attacks, the UK Defense Ministry intelligence said in a report on X on March 9. Starting from March 1, Russia introduced a six-month ban on gasoline exports to stabilize domestic prices amid rising demand, reinstating the export embargo previously in place from Sep. 21 to Nov. 17, 2023. Multiple Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries across Russia have temporarily reduced the countrys refining capacity. The export ban is intended to relieve supply pressures and allow Russia to conduct repairs on its refineries, a process likely to extend due to Western sanctions impeding the import of essential components. Russias presidential elections are scheduled for March 17, 2024. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin announced in late 2023 his participation in the elections. It was later revealed that the occupiers planned to hold elections in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine for three days on March 15, 16, and 17. Read also: Drone strike ignites fire at major Russian oil refinery in Volgograd, blaze covers 300 square meters Russian media reported in January a 4% decrease in oil processing at Russian refineries compared to the same period last year and a 1.4% decrease compared to December. Reasons cited included repair work and accidents at installations due to numerous drone attacks. Drones attacked the St. Petersburg oil terminal near the Leningrad Oblast of Russia on Jan. 18. Later it was revealed that the attack was a special operation of Ukraines HUR military intelligence service. One of the drones flew over the estates of Russian oligarchs and Putins palace. A fire broke out in the port of Ust-Luga near St. Petersburg on Jan. 21 after several explosions. The fire engulfed the terminal of Novatek, Russias largest independent natural gas producer. Independent sources told NV that the attack on the marine terminal was a special operation of Ukraines SBU security service. This facility, in particular, processes fuel for the Russian forces. Read also: Drone attack in Belgorod Oblast, Russia The source told NV that the Ust-Luga Oil oil terminal is an important facility for the Russians. He added that a successful attack on such a terminal causes not only economic damage to the enemy, depriving the occupiers of the opportunity to earn money to wage war in Ukraine, but also significantly complicates the logistics of fuel for the Russian military. Residents of the Russian city of Tuapse reported a fire near a local oil depot on the night of Jan. 25. Eyewitnesses claimed to have heard explosions over the city prior to the fire. A drone attacked an oil refinery in the Russian city of Yaroslavl on Jan. 29. According to the Russians, they were able to intercept the drone, so it allegedly did not cause any damage. During a nighttime drone attack on the Russia, a drone crashed on the territory of an oil depot in Kaluga on Jan. 30. A fire broke out at the Lukoil-Volgogradneftepererabotka oil refinery in Volgograd, Russia, as a result of a drone attack on the morning of Feb. 3. Read also: Ukrainian drone crashed on the territory of an oil depot in Kaluga, Russia Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine A 16-year-old teenager was killed as a result of a Russian strike on Chervonohryhorivka hromada (Dnipropetrovsk Oblast) on the morning of 9 March [a hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories ed.]. Source: Serhii Lysak, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration Quote from Lysak: "A 16-year-old teenager was killed. Another young man, 22 years old, is in hospital. He is in a serious condition. These are the consequences of the morning attack by the Russians on the Chervonohryhorivka hromada in Nikopol district. A private house, an outbuilding, an electricity transmission line and a gas pipeline were damaged." Details: The authorities stated that the Russians attacked with artillery. Support UP or become our patron! Ukraines Air Force has reported that the Russians launched a missile towards Odesa Oblast. Source: Ukraines Air Force; Defence Forces of Ukraines South Details: The Air Force clarified that the missile is flying towards the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district. An air-raid warning has been issued in the oblast. Updated: Ukrainian forces later clarified that the Russians had launched a missile attack on Odesa Oblast on the morning of 9 March. A Russian tactical aircraft approaching from the Black Sea launched a Kh-31 missile that had hit a field outside of the populated areas. No people or infrastructure were affected. This article has been updated since publication. Support UP or become our patron! Some Russians are resisting the state's 'all-pervasive' crackdown on war dissidents and paying for it The Russian government is cracking down on citizens who oppose the war. Some 260 people have been jailed for anti-war stances, a Russian human rights organization said. The crackdown comes as Russians mourn the death of prominent Putin critic Alexey Navalny. As Russia's war in Ukraine plods onward, so does its severe surveillance of citizens who have spoken out against the war effort. As the invasion enters its third year, authorities have been bringing up charges against citizens like 70-year-old human rights activist Oleg Orlov for "discrediting the army," CNN reported. "The state in our country is once again controlling not only social, political, and economic life but is now claiming full control over culture, scientific thought, and is inserting itself in private life. It's becoming all-pervasive," Orlov said during his trial in Moscow, after which he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, CNN reported. His crime was penning an article in the French press in 2022 about Russia's descent into fascism and President Vladimir Putin's "mass murder of the Ukrainian people," according to The New York Times. Some 260 people are currently detained in Russian jails for their antiwar sentiments, according to OVD-Info, a Russian human rights group, CNN reported. Shortly after the invasion began in February 2022, Putin signed a law punishing people who share "false information" with up to 15 years in prison. People have faced punishment for benign acts of protest, like holding up a blank posterboard or even referring to the conflict as a war, according to Human Rights Watch. "They will imprison old people, they will imprison people who have disabilities. They will imprison people with children, women with children," Darya Korolenko, a lawyer at OVD-Info, told CNN. "They just want everyone to be silent." Similar to Orlov's case, an elderly woman named Evgeniya Mayboroda was jailed for reposting what authorities called anti-war stances on social media, CNN reported. In another case, 67-year-old Nadezhda Buyanova, a doctor in Moscow, was arrested and had her apartment searched after she was accused of sympathizing with Ukraine. Russia's tightening grip comes on the heels of the death of Alexey Navalny, one of Putin's top critics whose sudden demise in a Russian prison has been blamed on state actors. Hundreds of Russians nationwide were detained at memorials for the late Navalny. Read the original article on Business Insider The aftermath of Russian attack on Chasiv Yar. Photo: Donetsk Oblast Military Administration The Russians deployed artillery to attack Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast on the morning of 9 March, killing a man. Source: Vadym Filashkin, Head of Donetsk Oblast State Administration, on Telegram Details: The man was 46 years old. Two multi-storey buildings were damaged in the city. Additionally, in the morning, Ocheretyne came under Russian fire, resulting in one person being injured and a house being damaged. Support UP or become our patron! ISW analysts have noted that Russian forces have improved their tactical capabilities and exploited tactical surprise in recent weeks near Avdiivka. Source: Institute for the Study of War (ISW) Details: This suggests that some elements of the Russian army may have absorbed tactical adaptations gained during offensive operations in Ukraine. Ukrainian military observer Kostiantyn Mashovets stated on 8 March that Russian forces were able to tactically regroup and shift the focus of their offensive operations from the northern part of the Avdiivka Coke Plant in northwestern Avdiivka to areas near northeastern Avdiivka. Mashovets noted that Russian troops had carried out this regrouping and tactical shift without Ukrainian forces fully being aware of it. It is stressed in Mashovets report that Russian troops advanced in the area by creating a tactical surprise. Military analysts have noted that the ability of Russian forces to achieve elements of tactical surprise in such an operational environment is noteworthy. ISW has not observed any other notable instances of Russian forces employing or using tactical surprise recently. The fact that Russia was able to do so near Avdiivka is not necessarily indicative of broader Russian capabilities. ISW stated that Russian forces had demonstrated limited tactical adaptation in certain areas of the frontline, but widespread Russian tactical failures across Ukraine suggested that the Russian military command had not absorbed and disseminated all possible tactical adaptations to all Russian forces operating in Ukraine. To quote the ISWs Key Takeaways on 8 March: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated that a ceasefire in Ukraine would allow Russia to rebuild its forces and means for future offensive operations, as Russia previously did following the start of Russias 2014 invasion. Some Russian forces may have improved their tactical capabilities and leveraged limited tactical surprise during the final weeks of the Russian effort to seize Avdiivka, suggesting that select elements of the Russian military may have internalised tactical adaptations from conducting offensive operations in Ukraine. Ukrainian Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk stated on 8 March that Ukrainian forces are regularly targeting Russian fighter aircraft. Ukraines European partners continue efforts to send additional aid and materiel to Ukraine. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors approved a resolution calling for Russias withdrawal from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), undermining Russian efforts to use the IAEA and other international organisations to legitimise its occupation of the plant. Ukrainian efforts to encourage women to serve in the Ukrainian armed forces continues allowing Ukraine to tap into a wider mobilisation base for its war effort. Russian information space actors are intensifying their focus on covering recent events surrounding the governor of the pro-Russian Moldovan autonomous region Gagauzia, Evghenia Gutul, and are amplifying Kremlin narratives aimed at destabilising Moldova to a wider audience. A recent Russian state-run poll suggests that the Kremlin aims for Russian President Vladimir Putins predetermined "support level" to be around 80% in the upcoming 17 March presidential election in an effort to portray Putin as legitimately popular and use the March election to legitimise Putins next term. Russian forces recently made confirmed advances near Avdiivka amid continued positional engagements along the entire line of contact on 8 March. BBC Russian Service and Russian opposition outlet Mediazona published a joint report on 8 March that at least 46,678 Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, including at least 1,555 confirmed killed in the past two weeks. Unspecified actors, likely Ukrainian partisans, assassinated a Russian occupation official in occupied Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia Oblast on 6 March. Support UP or become our patron! The Russian cities of Taganrog and Kursk were attacked by drones on the night of 8-9 March. The Beriev Aircraft Company in Taganrog was damaged. Source: Astra and Mash, Russian Telegram channels; Vasily Golubev, Governor of Russias Rostov Oblast, on Telegram; Roman Starovoit, Governor of Russias Kursk Oblast, on Telegram Details: Local residents reported a large number of drones in the skies over Taganrog. People heard at least five explosions. Eyewitnesses stated that the drones were flying from the sea. In addition, air defence systems were responding. The drone raid lasted more than an hour. Golubev called the attack "large-scale" and said it was repelled by Russian air defence. He said that an employee of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, who was involved in the relief operation on the ground, was injured. He was taken to hospital, and his life is not in danger any more. Local Telegram channels reported that the Beriev Aircraft Company might have been damaged. Kursk local authorities also reported a drone attack. Starovoit noted that the debris of the UAV shot down in Kursk fell on the roof of a polyclinic. Patients in the intensive care unit of a nearby hospital were evacuated because of the threat of an explosion. Updated at 06:00: Russia's Ministry of Defence reported that 47 drones were supposedly intercepted and destroyed over Russian oblasts overnight: one over Belgorod Oblast, two over Kursk Oblast, three over Volgograd Oblast and 41 over Rostov Oblast. Updated at 07:00: Russian military bloggers stated that the target of the large-scale UAV attack in Taganrog was the Beriev Aircraft Company, which produces Be-200 amphibious aircraft. In addition, an A-50 Russian long-range radar detection aircraft is currently being repaired in the plant's workshops, as it was previously damaged in a drone attack. This article has been updated since publication. Support UP or become our patron! (FOX40.COM) California State University Sacramento is scheduled to host the 2024 Nowruz Spring Festival on Saturday, March 9, from 1 to 8 p.m. The festival is a celebration of the Iranian or Persian new year. Its an event that promises to bring together the greater Sacramentos Iranian and Afghan communities in a celebration of diversity, unity, and the spirit of renewal, according to the Iranian American Cultural and Educational Center. Sacramento State launches first Black Honors College in the U.S. Nowruz the beginning of Spring, holds significant cultural and symbolic importance for Iranians and Afghans worldwide, festival organizers said. It marks the onset of spring, signifying new beginnings, rejuvenation, and the triumph of light over darkness. The 2024 Nowruz Festival promises a vibrant tapestry of cultural performances, traditional music, dance, art exhibitions, and delectable cuisines, all showcasing the heritage of Iran and Afghanistan. The 2024 Nowruz Spring Festival will happen at the Sacramento State University Union Ballroom, 6000 J Street, Sacramento. For more information call 916-832-2797. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40. A family in Colorado is calling the practices of a global real estate company unethical after they were charged over $4,000 in fees when their mother died in one of the companys apartments. Leticia Farrer moved into the complex owned by Greystar last October. She died unexpectedly in January; days later, the family says, it was sent a bill for $4,140, citing penalties for breaking her lease early. In addition, the family claims, the apartment complex kept Farrers security deposit. Legally, it appears, the company is in the clear. Colorado law says if the lease stipulates that tenants are responsible for fulfilling the terms even in case of death, thats enforceable. The family, though, says there are moral considerations that outweigh the rules of law and it does not intend to pay. "We were shocked," Kelly Gantos, Farrers daughter-in-law, told CBS News. "It's not right, and we feel that if we stand up, others will be able to follow... So we want to set that example that says we're not going to do it, and neither should anyone else have to This is not something that we're going to tolerate. We're going to do something about it." Greystar did not respond to Fortunes request for comment about the situation. This isnt the companys first run-in with customers about its practices. Greystar, which is based in Charleston, S.C., is facing a class-action lawsuit in Denver District Court alleging it has charged thousands of tenants with illegal fees. Farrers family says it hopes to see Colorado laws changed so other families who find themselves in this situation do not have to go through the same process. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com If you venture into central London of an evening for dinner or perhaps a few pints, you better head in early and drink up quickly. The chances are last orders will be called at 10pm and youll be turfed out by 10.30. By 11pm on most nights even the busiest areas of our capital resemble a ghost town. To those of us from provincial England, Londons legendary nightlife was once part of what defined it. It was a 24-hour city. Now its the city that always sleeps. Young professionals, drawn to London not just by jobs but a social lifestyle, lament the decline. And Londons hospitality industry has been crippled by it. Undoubtedly, the pandemic tipped some businesses over the edge, despite generous support from central government. But that cant explain why Londons hospitality industry was struggling before Covid, or why Britains other major cities have rebounded more strongly after. For that we must turn to the Mayor of London, and to the coterie of Labour councils that have suffocated the citys pubs and restaurants in a thicket of unnecessary regulation and taxation. Most destructive of all are the restrictive licensing rules that have imposed a de facto curfew on vast swatches of London. In Hackney, for instance, all new venues must close by 11pm Monday-Friday and midnight at the weekend. To make things worse, Tower Hamlets, Camden and Islington are among a series of councils that impose a late-night levy on establishments serving alcohol after midnight, on top of the taxes they already pay. Elsewhere in London, Labour councils in Wandsworth and Westminster have scrapped pedestrianised high streets and the al fresco dining I established as housing secretary during the pandemic. At the time, they proved so popular they carried through into the winter and precipitated a national shortage of outdoor heaters, such was the demand. It was a revelation that is remembered now only with nostalgia. Instead of taking these Labour councils on, the mayors night czar, Amy Lame, has been globetrotting around the world. Her most recent attempt to defend her record, a TV appearance which would have made Comical Ali blush, went viral as dismayed Londoners shared it. She has done nothing to help alleviate the VAT burden, or to make late-night travel more convenient (why, for instance, does the night Tube not run on Thursday, now the busiest night of the week?). From Hatch End to Old Bexley, business appears to be increasingly interested in the predominantly Conservative-run suburbs outside Labours writ. Yet despite presiding over the collapse of Londons night-time economy, the Mayor has rewarded Lame with a whopping 40 per cent pay rise. The drinks would be on her, if only there were any bars open. Londons crime epidemic has only made things worse. Knife crime has surged in the capital, leaving too many Londoners wary of going out. But instead of tackling gangs with Susan Halls calls for common-sense policing, Left-wing councils are using licensing to respond to Londons crime wave. Its a foretaste of what life would be like elsewhere in the country were there to be a Labour government too weak to tackle crime head-on, and eerily reminiscent of those Democratic cities in the US where wokery has been elevated above public safety and the good economic sense. Like the planning system, licensing laws are devolved to local councils skewing authority towards nimby councillors and the tyranny of the minority. Time after time, proposals are blocked on the whim of a handful of nearby residents. But if you choose to move to high streets with late-night venues, you have to accept the vivaciousness that comes with it. With political will, the vetocracy can be overcome. During the pandemic, Boris Johnson and I liberated small businesses and communities from reams of red tape to allow shops, cafes and restaurants to make use of outdoor hospitality, enable every cafe and restaurant to become takeaways overnight, permit pubs to erect marquees, grant late-night shopping on major high streets, and make it easier for people to hold markets, festivals and street parties. To my surprise, some of the regulations we reformed were literally medieval. The liberalisations we pursued then were a direct response to overbearing and destructive lockdowns, helping businesses to survive and the public to enjoy themselves in the company of family and friends. But they were also a reaction to an overbearing state that doesnt value entrepreneurship. With a stagnating economy, there should be a moratorium on anything that stifles those trying to build businesses or take risks with new investments. We should be focused on making regulation quicker, cheaper and simpler for businesses to navigate. But instead, the extension of the state continues unabated. Almost all of the reforms I pursued to ease the burden of lockdowns and reignite the economy have been quietly dropped, as if the UK today enjoys an embarrassment of riches. In London, with pubs closing at the fastest rate in the country, it would appear the Mayor of Londons policies and incompetence are producing something akin to prohibition. The Conservative antidote is not to ape this red tape obsessed puritanism, but to scrap unnecessary restrictions, bring our restaurants, pubs, bars and clubs back, and breathe life into high streets. We might even find that young people are more conservative than we think, if we give them something to vote for. Ill drink to that. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. The News After an investigation into his conduct found no wrongdoing, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman returned to the companys board of directors Friday, roughly three months after he was fired, causing turmoil at the artificial intelligence company responsible for ChatGPT. OpenAI also announced it would add three new board members: Former Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann, former Sony global general counsel Nicole Seligman, and Instacart CEO Fidji Simo. That brings the total number of OpenAIs board to eight people. Only one of the eight board members - Quora founder and CEO Adam DAngelo - voted to oust Altman. The news of Altmans reinstatement was first reported by The Information. OpenAI said its investigation, handled by the law firm WilmerHale, found that that a breakdown in trust between the prior Board and Mr Altman that precipitated the events of November 17, the day Altman was ousted. The board believed firing Altman would mitigate internal management challenges, and didnt anticipate Altmans firing would destabilize the company. The company did not release many details on the investigation, which relied on dozens of interviews and 30,000 documents. Bret Taylor, a veteran Silicon Valley executive, said Altmans firing did not relate to product safety. That seemed intended to dispel concerns that Altman may have been fired to stop a dangerous artificial intelligence algorithm from getting loose a theory that had bounced around social media and in some news articles. In a press conference Friday, Altman said that he had learned a lesson from how he handled a lack of trust in one of the companys former board members. He did not name the board member, but Altman did have a falling out with Helen Toner, an AI ethics expert who served on the board and voted to fire him. OpenAI will retain its corporate structure, by which a non-profit organization oversees a for-profit entity, a $100 billion-company leading the AI industry in capabilities. San Francisco Mayor London Breed delivers her State of the City address at Pier 27 in San Francisco. (Eric Risberg / Associated Press) Mayor London Breed was all smiles during a packed primary party on Tuesday in Hayes Valley, a boutique neighborhood about a half mile from City Hall, stopping for selfies and congratulations as she navigated the crowded bar toward a microphone. "Change is coming!" Breed shouted to thundering applause from the patio at the hip cocktail bar Anina. Early results showed promise for a slate of local candidates running on a more centrist agenda, and for ballot measures that would transform downtown with new development and called on the city school board to reinstate Algebra I as an offering for middle school students. But the focus of Breed's excitement that evening centered on two ballot measures she had championed to broaden police surveillance powers and impose drug treatment mandates that were garnering overwhelming voter support a stunning rightward shift for a city known nationally for its progressive politics. San Francisco Mayor London Breed rallies supporters during an election night party. (Godofredo A. Vasquez / Associated Press) The first measure, Proposition E, bolsters police powers in the city. The second, Proposition F, will require drug screening and treatment for people receiving county welfare benefits who are suspected of illicit drug use. The measures give teeth to efforts to address the city's open-air drug addiction crisis and the street crime and rampant homelessness that come with it. Taken together, they give credence to Breed's message that San Francisco is not the bastion of lawlessness its critics love to claim. "Enough is enough," Breed said. "We need change." Breed faces a difficult reelection campaign in November as she seeks a second full term in office. Two of her opponents Levi Strauss heir and nonprofit founder Daniel Lurie, and venture capitalist Mark Farrell, a former district supervisor and interim mayor are considered moderates by San Francisco standards, and have blasted the mayor for the city's street conditions and the lagging post-pandemic economic recovery. A third opponent, Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, is a well-known progressive likely to garner support among stalwart liberals concerned with the city's recent shift toward the center. As she navigates a middle path forward, Breed's supporters hope the ballot victories inject her reelection bid with a jolt of energy and chart a clearer path for a city that has struggled to get homeless people off the streets and to rebound from the pandemic-related exodus of its downtown tech sector. "This is a really good night for London Breed, Madam Mayor," state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) told the crowd. "This city has been getting beaten up for the last few years, and San Francisco is coming back, and it's going to be even better than ever." The ballot measures approved Tuesday build on several initiatives Breed has spearheaded over the past year to put teeth to the city's efforts to stem drug addiction and overdose deaths, adding punitive components to policies that long have centered on a gentler treatment-focused approach. Last fall, city officials announced plans for a law enforcement task force, set to launch in spring, that will investigate opioid deaths and illicit drug dealing in the city as potential homicide cases. Months before, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom deployed the California National Guard and California Highway Patrol to target drug-trafficking networks funneling fentanyl into the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods, an operation that has led to hundreds of arrests. Breed contends those efforts are paying off: Over the last six months, property crime has fallen by 30% and violent crime by 4%, according to the mayor's office. San Francisco Mayor London Breed says the ballot measures voters approved this week give needed teeth to efforts to address the city's drug crisis. (Godofredo A. Vasquez / Associated Press) Breed said the drug-screening initiative will build on those efforts by compelling more people with substance-use disorder into treatment. Proposition F, set to go into effect in January 2025, will modify the County Adult Assistance Programs, which offers cash benefits to low-income single adults 65 and under without dependent children. Recipients will now be required to undergo a drug-screening assessment if there's "reasonable suspicion" they struggle with substance-use disorder, and to enter into treatment if warranted. Proponents say the change will safeguard city resources against a street drug culture that's ballooned because of San Francisco's lenient policies and generous benefits. The program assisted about 5,700 people monthly in the 2022-23 fiscal year, according to the city controller's office, with some recipients receiving up to $712 per month. Between March 30, 2023, and the start of February, 141 people who were cited for public drug use were also receiving the county assistance, according to the mayor's office. Of those, 33% did not actually live in San Francisco. "This is just adding another level of accountability of screening, and hopefully what will lead to the kind of results we want to see: people who are in treatment and people who end up getting clean and sober," Breed said. Critics of Proposition F dismiss it as a poorly crafted proposal that fails to fix the roots of the city's homeless crisis: a lack of affordable housing and quality treatment options. They echoed a popular progressive tenet that forcing people into drug treatment doesn't work, and said the policy changes will have devastating consequences on low-income residents who rely on the assistance for housing and other necessary expenses. "It's just going to make treatment less accessible for everyone in San Francisco," said Jeannette Zanipatin, state director for the left-leaning nonprofit Drug Policy Alliance. "To sell an initiative with false promises is just really the mayor and her office choosing political convenience over really trying to roll up their sleeves and find real solutions that are actually going to have an impact on the overdose crisis." Read more: Some D.A.s are fighting fentanyl with murder charges. Why San Francisco will join them The measure wasn't drafted with specific rules around how the drug screening will be administered or how treatment will be enforced. Breed has directed the city's Human Services Agency to create an "action plan" for implementation, meaning it could be months before official guidelines are available. Breed's office has said the measure was intentionally designed to be flexible on the treatment component. Treatment options could range from out-patient services to a prescription for buprenorphine, a medication used to treat addiction. They noted it doesn't include a requirement for participants to remain sober, recognizing that people often lapse in recovery and shouldn't be kicked out of the program for a slip-up. "I don't think Proposition F is as bad as its critics say it is, and it's probably not going to be a panacea as some of its more fervent supporters said it was either," said Supervisor Matt Dorsey, a moderate Democrat who's been candid about his own addiction recovery journey. "But I do think on balance, it's a step in the right direction. Wiener, one of the state Capitol's leading progressives, didn't support Proposition F but said he understands why people voted for it. "Only by San Francisco standards would this be considered moderate," he said. "As in many cities right now, there is a concern about public safety and public drug use and people want their neighborhoods and their city to be as good as it can be." Proposition E, the measure that bolsters police powers, also passed handily. The measure weakens certain oversight authority by the Police Commission, which has been a voice for clamping down on police use of force. The measure also eases restrictions that have been blamed for fostering a lax police response to retail and property crimes. It provides more leeway for police to pursue suspects by car and allows officers to use drones for certain pursuits. The changes also loosen requirements for documenting suspect confrontations that lead to police use-of-force and authorize body camera footage to stand in for certain paperwork. Supporters of Proposition E said it will cut the amount of time police spend behind desks on administrative tasks and ensure they are properly equipped with technology to fight crime. Opponents see a troubling retrenchment toward reduced transparency and oversight. "It made it easier for SFPD to hide police violence and makes it harder for the public to hold police officers accountable," said Yoel Haile, director of the Criminal Justice Program at the ACLU of Northern California. "What we're seeing right now happen is politicians who are offering the public these tried and failed solutions as the magic bullet to real frustrations that people have about crime and public safety." Breed is offering no apologies. On Thursday, she delivered her State of the City address at Pier 27, a waterfront venue with a shimmering view of the city's skyline as her backdrop. She sharply rebutted the narrative that San Francisco had lost its progressive way, instead positing that Tuesday's election results were in alignment with the city's liberal values to house and treat those suffering from addiction and provide communities with quality policing. Throughout her speech, she doubled down on the message that San Francisco is turning a corner, proclaiming it a "city on the rise." "San Francisco is not wearing the shackles of your negativity any longer," she said as the room echoed with applause. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. TOPEKA (KSNT) Federal health officials say a recall is active for more than 35,000 pounds of sausage due to fears it is contaminated with pieces of rubber. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) says Salm Partners, LLC, from Wisconsin is recalling its Johnsonville turkey kielbasa sausage produced between Oct. 30-31 in 2023. These came in 12 oz packages labeled as Johnsonville POLISH KIELBASA TURKEY sausage with a best by date of May 17, 2024 and May 18, 2024. Each product bears the establishment number P-32009 on the side of the packaging. (Photo Courtesy/FSIS) (Photo Courtesy/FSIS) These sausages were shipped to retail locations in 11 states, including Kansas, according to an announcement from the companys website. Other states included in the recall are Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Washington, California, Oregon, Idaho, North Carolina, Iowa and Minnesota. The problem was first noticed after some customers discovered pieces of rubber in their sausage, according to the FSIS. No injuries have been reported yet in connection to this recall. State of chaos: Top Kansas political heads react to Biden State of the Union speech The FSIS is worried some people may still have these sausages in their refrigerators. If you purchased the recalled product, you are encouraged to throw them away or return them. If you have any questions about this recall, you can call 888-556-2728 or send an email to Director of Global Corporate Communications for Johnsonville Stephanie Schafer at sschafer@johnsonville.com. You can also reach out to the U.S. Department of Agricultures (USDA) Meat and Poultry Hotline by calling 888-674-6854 or by emailing mphotline@usda.gov. For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. Florida lawmakers this week approved a watered-down bill targeting vape products geared toward children, setting up a process for Attorney General Ashley Moody to go after illegal electronic-cigarette manufacturers and sellers. The legislation underwent a major overhaul before it was unanimously passed Tuesday by the Senate and overwhelmingly approved Thursday by the House. The bill (HB 1007), now ready to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis, targets single-use electronic cigarettes. Senate sponsor Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, said the proposal is narrowly focused on single-use devices, a significant change from a plan floated earlier. Read: Youre invited: SPCA hosts Kitten Shower Donation Drive in Titusville on Saturday Its still a really good bill, Perry said in an interview Friday. The attorney general, kind of through things she has to prove, can determine that theyre marketing towards children, then she can regulate those (products) and take those off the market. Thats really where the problem has been, anyway. Were not concerned with adults that vape. Thats their decision. Lawmakers earlier considered a proposal that would have severely restricted products that could be sold. According to legislative analyses of the earlier plan, about two-dozen products sold by Juul Labs and other businesses affiliated with tobacco companies would have been deemed legal. Read: Aldi completes Winn-Dixie deal, announces timeline for conversions and 800-store expansion plans The original measure sparked outcry from vape sellers and manufacturers, who maintained that the plan would have shuttered mom-and-pop businesses throughout the state. The changes adopted this week would allow Moodys office to set up a registry of products deemed off-limits, after an administrative process. We are grateful that the Legislature listened to the concerns of all of us who traveled to Tallahassee to share our views throughout the committee process, Nick Orlando, president of the Florida Smoke-Free Association, said in a statement Friday. Read: Orlando homebuilder Park Square Homes cues up new project near The Villages Perry said after Juul and other companies stopped producing single-use electronic cigarettes Chinese companies made them. Juul Labs over the past few years has agreed to pay nearly $3 billion to settle lawsuits with states for allegedly luring children to buy addictive nicotine products. Moodys office in October filed a lawsuit against the company alleging it improperly marketed to children and offered misleading information about nicotine content in its products. The case is pending at the Hillsborough County circuit court. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. Planet Here We have some truly epic news. There is indeed life on Earth. A team of American and European scientists have confirmed this not-so-surprising observation after they simulated the workings of a proposed space telescope, and then focused the telescope on Earth, treating it like a distant exoplanet to see if the instrument could pick up evidence of life. In this kind-of-round-about way, the scientists can estimate the future performance of the space telescope, called LIFE or Large Interferometer For Exoplanets, when it's deployed into space to search for exoplanets that are similar to our own. The scientists detailed the findings in a study published in The Astronomical Journal. Currently, there is no exact date when the LIFE telescope being overseen by the Swiss university ETH Zurich would start getting built, but this paper at least shows that its ambitions are viable. Life Signs The scientists created a synthetic version of Earth and had a simulated version of the telescope examine it for "biosignatures," or chemicals in the atmosphere that would indicate life such as nitrous oxide and methylated halogens. "[T]hese biogenic gases is most consistent with a productive global photosynthetic biosphere," the scientists write. The LIFE telescope, which would actually be made up of five satellites working in tandem, would operate by picking up infrared radiation in exoplanets' atmosphere. From this raw data, scientists hope they'd be able to calculate the chemical composition of the exoplanets' atmosphere. The ultimate goal of the ambitious project is to study in further detail 30 to 50 exoplanets that are of similar size to Earth and see if there's is any glimmer of life in their atmospheres. Astronomers will be focusing their search on systems that are at most 65 light years away from us. If LIFE is indeed deployed, it may go a long way towards answering one of the universe's biggest mysteries: are we alone? More on space telescopes: James Webb Spots "Extremely Red" Black Hole Watery Depths About 70 light years away from our solar system is a planet that may potentially be covered entirely with water. But before you start imagining oceans just like the ones here on Earth, astronomers at the University of Cambridge say the planet-wide sea could be as hot as a pot of boiling water. The astronomers uncovered this planet after interpreting data they had picked up using the NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, subsequently publishing their findings in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. They trained their sights on the TOI-270 system, which consists of a red dwarf star orbited by three exoplanets. Of these three planets, they studied data from TOI-270 d, which scientists have described as a smaller version of Neptune due to its gaseous composition. After crunching data, analysis of the atmosphere's chemical composition suggests it might instead be a "Hycean world" meaning a planet with a large ocean and hydrogen-rich atmosphere. And astonishingly, the scientists also calculated that its temperature could be as hot as 212 degrees Fahrenheit, the boiling point of water. Strange New Worlds But the data is open to interpreation. Other scientists who have studied the same planet were quoted by The Guardian saying they think the planet has instead a rocky surface and is covered with a very dense atmosphere made up of super hot steam and hydrogen. "The temperature in our view is too warm for water to be liquid," University of Montreal astrophysics professor Bjorn Benneke told The Guardian. No matter the true nature of TOI-270 d, it's astonishing we're now able to pick up the chemical signatures of distant exoplanets. Since humankind found the first detection of an exoplanet in 1992, the number of exoplanets we have found has grown to the thousands. Maybe the real question: in that wealth of worlds, will we ever find a planet as hospitable as our own? More on exoplanets: Astronomers Discover Potentially Habitable Planet NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has made one of its "most unexpected" discoveries to date: tiny red dots in some of the oldest corners of the universe, which turned out to be "baby" life stages of supermassive black holes. After studying observations by the groundbreaking observatory, the team concluded that "faint little red dots very far away in the universe's distant past are small versions of extremely massive black holes," as team lead Jorryt Matthee, astrophysics assistant professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria and lead author of a new paper published in The Astrophysical Journal, explained in a statement. "These special objects could change the way we think about the genesis of black holes," he added. The team is hoping to hone in on how these early-stage supermassive black holes, which often lurk at the center of large galaxies including our own, came to be and how they change over billions of years. "The present findings could bring us one step closer to answering one of the greatest dilemmas in astronomy: According to the current models, some supermassive black holes in the early universe have simply grown 'too fast,'" Matthee explained. "Then how did they form?" As their name suggests, supermassive black holes can reach epic proportions, anywhere from millions to billions of times the mass of our Sun. While scientists believe they can grow by merging with other black holes, their origin remains an active field of study. Over the last couple of years, scientists have found evidence of one hiding at the center of the Milky Way dubbed Sagittarius A*, which is roughly 4.3 million times the mass of the Sun. Some types of supermassive black holes, called quasars, are extremely luminous galactic cores that light up as gas and dust fall into them. They're some of the brightest objects in the universe, emitting thousands of times more light than our entire galaxy. Matthee and his colleagues believe the little red dots in the JWST images are quasars except that they're far smaller than their counterparts elsewhere. "One issue with quasars is that some of them seem to be overly massive, too massive given the age of the universe at which the quasars are observed," Matthee said in the statement. "If we consider that quasars originate from the explosions of massive stars and that we know their maximum growth rate from the general laws of physics, some of them look like they have grown faster than is possible." As a result, the astrophysicist suggests the "little red dots are more like 'baby quasars,'" with masses somewhere between "ten and a hundred million solar masses." They likely predate the stage of these "problematic quasars,"as Matthee puts it, which are more massive than they should be. As for why they're red, Matthee has a simple answer: "Because they are dusty. The dust obscures black holes and reddens the colors" in the observations. The "baby quasars" are destined to balloon into much larger supermassive black holes, eventually turning into ones that appear blue thanks to the bright disc of matter that orbits and feeds them. "Studying baby versions of the overly massive SMBHs in more detail will allow us to better understand how problematic quasars come to exist," Matthee concluded. The team used datasets acquired by the EIGER (Emission-line galaxies and Intergalactic Gas in the Epoch of Reionization) experiment to come to their conclusion. While EIGER wasn't designed to find the little red dots in particular, the team "found them by chance in the same dataset," Matthee explained. But mysteries linger, and more research will be needed. "So far, we have probably only scratched the surface," Matthee said. More on supermassive black holes: James Webb Spots "Extremely Red" Black Hole TWO RIVERS The search for missing 3-year-old Elijah Vue in Two Rivers continues as authorities Friday announced the search of a nearby landfill in Calumet County is now finished. Two Rivers Police Captain Andrew Raatz shared the update on the search in a news release at 3:30 p.m. Friday. Raatz said searches, primarily of rural areas, were conducted over the last several days with still no sign of Elijah. He said further searches were conducted on the West Twin River by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources while a large-scale search was done Thursday by volunteers from local law enforcement, fire, state and federal agencies, in addition to students from local technical colleges. Raatz said the department is thankful to all property owners for their cooperation during the search efforts and also thanked those who continue to donate food and beverages for the search. The community support we have received has been amazing as we continue to look for Elijah, Raatz said in the release. Recently, a local group began decorating downtown light poles with blue and green ribbons in support of the efforts to find Elijah. We encourage all of you to do the same, in addition to your tips and search efforts. We appreciate everyones concern, dedication and assistance in trying to locate Elijah. Missing Wisconsin children: Elijah Vue is one of more than 30 missing children in Wisconsin Blue hearts adorn the window at GJs Salon N Spa supporting missing 3-year-old Elijah Vue on Tuesday along Washington Street in Two Rivers. The search for Elijah Vue in Two Rivers started Feb. 20. Police are still seeking video of a vehicle recovered as part of the investigation. Elijah was reported missing at 10:59 a.m. Feb. 20 from an apartment in the 3900 block of Mishicot Road in Two Rivers. Daily search efforts by local, state and federal law enforcement officers have included canvassing of urban and rural neighborhoods; searches of rivers, shores and a landfill in Calumet County; and K-9 teams "checking and rechecking various areas." Police ask public to search security footage on Feb. 19 for a 1997 four-door Nissan Altima, biege in color, bearing Wisconsin registration beginning with "A" and end with "0." In Friday afternoon's update, Raatz said police are still seeking video of a vehicle they recovered a 1997 four-door Nissan Altima, beige in color, bearing Wisconsin registration beginning with A and ending with 0. Police have previously said the vehicle is not owned by either Elijahs mother, Katrina B. Baur, or her boyfriend, Jesse Vang, who have been charged with neglect in relation to Elijahs disappearance. Police said they want people and businesses in Manitowoc County and those in adjacent counties to check their security camera footage for the vehicle between 2 and 9 p.m. Feb. 19. They said their interest is not with the current owner of the vehicle, only in the camera footage captured Feb. 19. Anyone with information is asked to call the tip line at 844-267-6648 or to upload their video of the vehicle at https://widoj.sharefile.com/remote/801a6dd5-12f7-4d63-95da-4d7db3ec2b85?fbclid=IwAR2MD1rP680oO6KWia0d8KWf3LWkP07-hbe8dHjpuTlEGeIT_vJ6VLE0Jq4. Elijah Vue's mother and her boyfriend Jesse Vang remain in jail on child neglect charges. An apartment complex in the 3900 block of Mishicot Road in Two Rivers was where 3-year-old Elijah Vue disappeared from, as seen Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, in Two Rivers, Wis. Elijah's mother, Katrina B. Baur, 31, of Wisconsin Dells, and her boyfriend, Jesse Vang, 39, of Two Rivers, have been charged with child neglect. Baur's charges were amended Thursday to felony chronic neglect of a child, plus a second felony child neglect charge was added that involves a 6-year-old child. A criminal complaint states that a photo was found on Baur's phone that was taken at approximately 3:13 a.m. Feb. 14 of Elijah lying down on a bed. The photo showed Elijah had a blindfold over his eyes and appeared to have bruising on his jawline, neck and upper arm on the left side. That photo was deleted an hour later. According to the criminal complaint, Elijah was staying at Vang's Two Rivers residence for more than a week before he was reported missing while his mother stayed in Wisconsin Dells. On Feb. 18, the complaint listed another series of texts between Vang and Baur. Vang told Baur to trust him regarding Elijah's visit with him and that he'll make sure "he hates me and being here." She responded that she only wanted Elijah to fear him, not hate him, the complaint said. Vang messaged: "he did fear me ... but he didn't respect me ... now I'm making him respect me." Baur is being held in Manitowoc County Jail on $15,000 cash bond and Vang is being held on $20,000 cash bond. In Wisconsin, the court system requires people to pay the full cash bail to be released from custody. Both Baur and Vang appeared in Manitowoc County Circuit Court March 7 via Zoom for their respective preliminary hearings, but those hearings were rescheduled to March 14. What to know about Jesse Vang: What to know about Jesse Vang, the Two Rivers man charged with neglecting missing 3-year-old Elijah Vue Baur's motion to modify bail was addressed during the March 7 court appearance. The motion asked to change the cash bail to a personal recognizance bond, which would not require Baur to pay any money, "on the grounds that Ms. Baur is unable to post the cash bail as set." Baur's attorney, Ann Larson, said Baur's lifelong residency in Wisconsin and having no serious criminal record should be considered. "There's a lot of high emotion going on with this case, but there's also high emotion going on with Ms. Baur," Larson said. "She's been worried sick not knowing where her son is." District Attorney Jacalyn LaBre pointed out that Baur does have a history of missing court dates and said that she does have contact with people out of state who might help her flee. LaBre also read a letter from Baur's mother, Elijah's grandmother, advocating for the court to maintain its current bail and stating her daughter is a "flight risk" and has a "history of erratic behavior." "She has contacts in other states that may be willing to assist her depending on the story she is telling," the letter said. "Her story always depends on her audience." Baur's mother wrote in the letter that Baur cut ties with her family in October 2022. LaBre, during the March 7 hearing, also said she was amending Baur's felony child neglect charge to felony chronic neglect of a child and adding another charge of child neglect. Judge Robert Dewane decided the bail would remain at $15,000 cash. Total reward for information in missing Elijah Vue case now at $25,000. The FBI has offered a $15,000 reward for information leading to locating Elijah or convicting those responsible for his disappearance, and Manitowoc County Crime Stoppers has offered a $10,000 reward, bringing the reward total to $25,000. Tips can be submitted anonymously by calling 920-683-4466 or by using the P3 app. A special fund has been created by Crime Stoppers for people to add to the reward total in the search for Elijah Vue. Donations can be made in person at the Two Rivers Police Department or by mail to Manitowoc County Crime Stoppers, 1025 S. Ninth St., Manitowoc, WI 54220. All checks can be made payable to Manitowoc County Crime Stoppers, Inc. Donations exceeding $100 will have the option to receive a refund if no tip leads to an arrest and charge. Donations less than $100 will be added to the Crime Stoppers General Fund at the conclusion of the case. Do you have information about Elijah Vue? Police describe Elijah as being of Hmong and white ethnicity with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He is approximately 3 feet tall and has a birthmark on his left knee. He was last seen wearing gray pants, a dark-colored, long-sleeve shirt and a pair of red-and-green dinosaur slip-on shoes. He may also be carrying a red-and-white plaid blanket. If you have information that could help the Two Rivers Police Department find Vue, contact their tipline at 844-267-6648 or submit information via the Crime Stoppers app P3. Alisa M. Schafer is a reporter for the Herald Times Reporter in Manitowoc. She can be reached by email at aschafer@gannett.com. Brandon Reid is editor of the Herald Times Reporter. He can be contacted at 920-686-2984 or breid@gannett.com, or follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @breidHTRNews. This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Elijah Vue still missing in Two Rivers as search of landfill ends SEARCY, Ark. Its a battle of the bots in White County this weekend. The Searcy School District is hosting a regional FIRST Robotics Competition at Lion Arena. Robotics SeaPerch challenge draws hundreds of students Clayton Hass is a robotics programmer on one of Searcy High Schools teams. He says courses and challenges completed Thursday through Saturday aim to develop students skills in STEM so they can hopefully turn it into a career. Computer science, its getting bigger and bigger with AI and all sorts of jobs that are rising out of computers, and events like this and learning the engineering aspects and the programming and the robots, Hass said. I mean, learning this stuff is going to help you if you want to take up a job like that. Arkansas Tech University robotics team ranked best in US, top 2 in world Over 30 teams have programmed, built, and are piloting their machines. 12 teams are from Arkansas. The other 18 teams are from 10 different states, the farthest team being from California. Other states represented include Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Illinois, Oklahoma, Missouri, Minnesota, and Arkansas. Arkansas teams came from Alma, Booneville, Bentonville, Batesville, Hope, Texarkana, Viola, Searcy, Jonesboro, North Little Rock and Mountain Home. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. For the second time, a Maryland man is facing charges in connection with a 2021 shooting in Fredericksburg. Kim Deshawn Prophet II, 28, of Bowie, Md., is charged with robbery, conspiracy and using a firearm in the commission of a felony. He was arraigned Tuesday in Fredericksburg Circuit Court, where a trial is scheduled for May 23. The charges stem from an Aug. 23, 2021, shooting incident in the 1000 block of Wicklow Drive. At least three people were shot and needed treatment at Mary Washington Hospital and in Fairfax. None of the injuries were life-threatening. According to police and court records, surveillance footage showed that Prophet and others arrived in the area hours before the shootings and kept a lookout on the victims apartment for several hours. During that time, they purchased gloves from a nearby store. An affidavit for a search warrant states that Prophet drove the shooters to the scene but did not go into the apartment where the shooting took place. No one else has been charged. Court records state that robbery was the apparent motive. Some of the victims were known to distribute marijuana, and a large amount of cash, marijuana and packaging supplies were found in the apartment. Charges against Prophet were dropped in June of 2022, but he was indicted again by a city grand jury later that month, court records show. He was not apprehended again until last month following an arrest on unrelated charges in Maryland. A Colombian man was extradited this week to Miami on charges of conspiring with a former Colombian military officer to plant a bomb in a vehicle to murder members of the U.S. Army who were working with soldiers in the South American country. Three U.S. Army members were injured in the bombing attack about three years ago, U.S. authorities said. Ciro Alfonso Gutierrez Ballesteros, 32, made his first appearance in Miami federal court on Thursday three months after a co-conspirator, Andres Fernando Medina Rodriguez, 39, was extradited from Colombia. Together, they face trial on a five-count terrorism-related indictment, including conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction and conspiring to murder members of the First Security Assistance Brigade, part of United States Uniformed Services. The charges carry up to life in prison. Gutierrez Ballesteros, represented by the federal public defenders office, is set for a detention hearing and arraignment on Tuesday. Medina Rodriguez, who is being held at the Miami Federal Detention Center, has pleaded not guilty. According to the indictment, Medina Rodriguez planned a bombing attack with Gutierrez Ballesteros and others against the U.S. Army soldiers stationed at the Colombian 30th Army Brigade Base in Cucuta, Colombia, in 2021. Medina Rodriguez used his status as a medically discharged Colombian Army officer to gain access to the base where he conducted surveillance, according to federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorneys Office and Justice Department. As part of the surveillance, he took photographs and video of the areas where the U.S. Army soldiers were at the base, the indictment says. One of Medina Rodriguezs co-conspirators, Gutierrez Ballesteros, instructed him to find a vehicle to carry out a vehicle borne improvised explosive device attack at the base. With money from Gutierrez Ballesteros, Medina Rodriguez bought a white SUV, and he and his co-conspirators drove the vehicle to Venezuela where it was outfitted with the explosives, according to the indictment. In mid-June 2021, Medina Rodriguez drove the vehicle with the explosive device to the 30th Army Brigade Base in Cucuta, Colombia, the indictment states. He then parked it in front of the mission support site and intelligence building where U.S. and Colombian military personnel were gathered. Medina Rodriguez pulled the detonation pin on the explosive, running away before he fled on a motorcycle driven by Gutierrez Ballesteros, according to the indictment. Three U.S. Army soldiers were injured in the explosion, prosecutors said. The FBI led the investigation of the case, assisted by the FBI legal attache at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota and the Colombian National Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randy A. Hummel and Andy Camacho, along with the Justice Departments National Security Division Trial Attorneys David C. Smith and Michael Dittoe, are prosecuting the case. The film reenacts the Battle of Bushy Run, which was fought in 1763 in Pennsylvania A Second World War US fighter pilots dream of making a film about a British military hero of an earlier century came true shortly before his death last year aged 101. Enabling the Hollywood production to take off was to be the final successful mission of Lt Col Amos Hess Bomberger, who had flown 66 missions with the 356th Fighter Group. Based at Martlesham Heath aerodrome near Ipswich, Suffolk, he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, among many military awards. The film reenacts the Battle of Bushy Run, which was fought in 1763 in Pennsylvania. As a story of heroism, self-sacrifice, faith, family, duty and honour, it focusses on the courageous Col Henry Bouquet, who led an attack on American-Indian tribes who had threatened British forts and outposts, torturing, killing and pillaging their enemy. With a ragtag group of British soldiers, Scottish Highlanders and American volunteers, Bouquet heroically saved hundreds of men, women and children facing certain death or worse in Fort Pitt. It was a decisive victory that determined the future of the American colonies. Bomberger had wanted the film to be made in honour of a 1928 novel, The Battle of Bushy Run, written by his father, CM Bomberger. Unusually for the film industry, he privately financed it, donating almost 8 million to the cause. Titled Love, Courage and the Battle for Bushy Run, the film will be released this year. Bouquet is portrayed by Tom Connolly, a British actor making his debut in a lead role. His performance is described by the filmmakers as charismatic and compelling. Historical accuracy Solomon J LeFlore, the films executive producer, said that the Battle of Bushy Run is little-known yet changed the course of world history: It is the story of a clash that defined the future of America and England Told from the British perspective, [the film] places an emphasis on historical accuracy. The horrors of war had never left Bomberger. In an interview, he recalled seeing a bomber, a B-24, take a direct hit and explode into pieces: Amidst all the pieces falling, I saw two chutes streaming down, both with guys The chutes were on fire and smoking. They went faster and faster as the fire spread to the risers and I just had to look away. Those guys never had a chance. He was able to see an early screening of the film, Mr LeFlore said: [He] was impressed by the finished film and the collaborative filmmaking process. He was also the top cat among his elderly friends a war hero and a movie mogul in one lifetime. Not bad at all His father was a publisher in Pennsylvania and did very well with it. So thats the lions share of how he inherited. Charlie Richards, the films screenwriter, had liaised with Bomberger in working on the production: Hess was in his 90s when he began to seriously look into the idea of turning the story that his father obsessed over into a film. It was nearly 100 years after the book was published that the movie was completed. Hess spent many of his final years talking about Colonel Bouquet and his quest to save Fort Pitt in 1763. He recalled going to the site of the battle as a child and finding old arrowheads and bullets. He lived to see that story turned into a movie, visiting the set and meeting the actors who portrayed Bouquet and many of the other historical characters he loved to discuss. Although Hess died in 2023, his efforts live on in this wonderful tale, which might have been lost forever if not for his determination to see the story come to life. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. A family of seven say they will miss their beloved Myers Park mansion after putting their estate on the market for $6.8 million this week. The price represents the highest current home listing in Charlotte, according to Compass North Carolina, part of the national real estate company Compass. Compass Realtors Cat Long and Meghan Hampton listed the two-story Georgian- and traditional-style home at 1930 Queens Road West. This mansion on Queens Road West in Myers Park hit the market this week as Charlottes highest-priced home listing, according to Compass North Carolina, which listed the property for sale. Built in 1949, the 7,300-square-foot home spans an acre along one of Charlottes most iconic roads, draped by more than century-old oaks and enjoyed by generations of walkers, joggers and cyclists. An acre is rare these days for a home so close to uptown, Compass North Carolina officials said in an email to The Charlotte Observer. The mansion has many first-floor areas where the Springer family of seven enjoys gathering. And the mansion has a large fenced backyard that seems a world away from Charlottes hustle-and-bustle, Bryan Springer, an orthopedic surgeon who owns the home with his wife, Summerson, told The Charlotte Observer on Friday. This is a home we never dreamed wed be in, he said. Theyre selling because theyre moving to Florida, where Bryan Springer was named chairman of the orthopedic surgery department at Mayo Clinic Florida in Jacksonville. A spiral staircase leads to the second floor of the mansion. Peaceful and secluded The mansion has six bedrooms, five bathrooms and three half bathrooms, according to its listing. The Springers are selling their beloved Charlotte mansion because of dad Bryans major new role at Mayo Clinic Florida in Jacksonville. That includes a second-story master bedroom for the couple and a bedroom for each of their sons, Brycen, 18; Finn, 16; and Bennett, 15; and daughters Evie, 14, and Poppy, 8. The family also includes black Labrador Retriever Ripken (named for Bryans all-time favorite MLB player) and white golden retriever Pippa. The master bedroom has the feel of an off-on-its-own apartment, Springer said his wife has always said. The central first-floor area of the home, with its kitchen, informal dining room and what the family calls the Blue Room, is where the family comes together, Springer said. The central first-floor area of the home, with its kitchen, informal dining room and what the family calls the Blue Room, is where everyone comes together, dad Bryan Springer said. The home also retains its thick doors, crown molding and other period features. Seven doors open to the backyard that Springer described as peaceful and secluded. Seven mansion doors open to the expansive backyard. Impossible to replicate The property includes a custom one-bedroom guest house that overlooks a lap-size pool. The guest house has a full bedroom, one-and-a-half bathrooms, a modern kitchen and an upstairs gym, according to the property listing. The mansion property includes a custom one-bedroom guest house that overlooks a lap-size pool. A spa, multiple outdoor living spaces, artificial turf and bluestone hardscape also highlight the grounds. Its a really wide, expansive lot, Bryan Springer said. And literally everything we need to do is within a 3-mile radius, he said Its going to be impossible to replicate this home in Florida, he said. Its going to be a big loss to us (emotionally). But we hope whoever buys it will value and appreciate it as much as we have. Its going to be impossible to replicate this home in Florida, Bryan Springer said of his familys Charlotte mansion. This is a home we never dreamed wed be in, Bryan Springer said about his familys Charlotte mansion. This embedded content is not available in your region. TOPEKA (KSNT) Seeing a mountain lion might rank as one of the scariest experiences you can have while enjoying the outdoors in Kansas. Mountain lion, puma or cougar. No matter what you call them, seeing one in the wild is enough to set most peoples hearts racing. Sightings of these big cats has only increased in recent years thanks largely to transients moving through the Sunflower State from established populations in neighboring states. For more than a century, mountain lions were thought to be completely removed from Kansas, according to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) website. A mountain lion killed in 1904 in Ellis County would be the last confirmed sighting until another was shot and killed in 2007 in Barber County. (Photo Courtesy/Getty Images) How to coexist with the coyote next door KDWP Biologist Matt Peek spoke with 27 News about the recent uptick in mountain lion sightings in Kansas last year. In a more recent interview, he said the cats are becoming a little more common in Kansas. We had 38 confirmations from 2007 to 2021 and it looks like we have had 34 confirmations in 2022 and 2023, Peek said. Almost as many in the last two years as in the previous fifteen years combined. While sightings have gone up, the animals are still considered rare for someone to spot. Peek said photographic evidence is a must in order to make any sighting official and to make sure the animal isnt something similar like a bobcat. Tips for Kansas morel mushroom hunting in 2024 The odds of that happening [seeing a mountain lion] are pretty low but we do get some confirmations of mountain lions, Peek said. The first thing I would say, its a rare occurrence. Many of the confirmed sightings come courtesy of trail cameras presented to KDWP officials that help solidify whether a mountain lion was really in the area. Other evidence of mountain lion activity comes from finding things like tracks on the ground, a cached kill, droppings or fur. Peek emphasized that people who think they might see a mountain lion should take precautions when trying to document them such as staying inside the safety of a vehicle. Alternatively, if youre out on foot, the risk of any negative encounter is low, Peek said. However, they are a big carnivore. A person should not approach them or try to get closer to them on foot. Top big game records in Kansas for deer, elk and antelope Peek said if youre out hiking and find yourself in close proximity to a mountain lion, you should try to make yourself look as large as possible. This includes tactics like holding a jacket or shirt over your head and avoiding sitting or crouching down. If there are kids around, get them close to you., Peek said. If one does approach you, make some noise and throw stuff at it. They can be deterred by that type of thing. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) also has a list of recommendations to follow if you encounter a mountain lion. These include: Always be aware of your surroundings and act accordingly. Make yourself appear larger by opening your coat and throwing stones and branches. Wave raised arms slowly. Speak slowly, firmly and loudly to discourage predatory behavior. Dont turn your back on a mountain lion. Never run by or from a mountain lion as this could trigger their instinct to chase. Pick up small children. Never bend or crouch down as this makes you appear like a mountain lions prey. Try to remain standing to protect your head and neck. If attacked, fight back with whatever is at hand. Never approach a mountain lion. Look after children, especially outside between dusk and dawn. Always hike, backpack and camp in the wild with a companion. Dont feed wildlife or leave food outside. Keep pets secure and as roaming pets can become easy prey for mountain lions. Steel weights found stuffed inside Kansas state record catch, KDWP says Evidence of mountain lion activity in Kansas can be submitted to the KDWP by calling 620-342-0658 or by using this link. You are also encouraged to contact a KDWP game warden or call Operation Game Thief at 1-877-426-3843 if you see one of the big cats. They are, for the most part, pretty elusive, Peek said. Maybe thats changed in the last ten to fifteen years as there are a lot more of them in suburban areas. The likelihood of seeing them is higher than it used to be. But, generally, you would consider them to be highly elusive. We have had people get photographs or video of them when they witness them its not impossible for people to see them. For more Kansas Outdoors, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. Miami Beachs strictest spring break measures took effect Friday in anticipation of large crowds, but the mood on Ocean Drive and the beach was calm after the sun set. Still, the citys efforts to shut down spring break were easy to spot. Sidewalk seating along Ocean Drive had been removed. Sign displays announced beach entrances would close at 6 p.m. And police cars and ATVs were lined up in Lummus Park, keeping a watchful eye on the strip that has been the site of several shootings during spring break in recent years. A police officer directs traffic on Ocean Drive during spring break on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Miami Beach, Fla. Police set up a DUI checkpoint along Fifth Street and a license-plate reader on the Julia Tuttle and MacArthur causeways that caused lane closures and substantial backups for drivers entering Miami Beach. Miami Beach officers and Florida Highway Patrol troopers were handing out citations and dumping bottles of alcohol at the checkpoint. Read more: Bringing the country to the city. Cowboys rode horses on Ocean Drive during spring break Commissioner Joseph Magazine said he was optimistic that spring break will keep calm with no major incidents. Were still welcoming people that want to come to Miami Beach and have a good time, but you are going to do it under the need to respect our laws, Magazine said. If you can do that, you are welcome to come to our city. People visit South Beach during spring break on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Miami Beach, Fla. Around 10 p.m., Ocean Drive was buzzing with activity but calm, with relatively sparse crowds compared to peak spring break weekends in past years. Dozens of police officers blanketed the area in cars and on bikes and ATVs. Miami Beach police spokesperson Christopher Bess said 18 different local, state and federal law enforcement agencies will be patrolling during the weekend. Read more: As Miami Beach spring break begins, law and order plan exposes political tensions Young visitors in South Beach said they were acutely aware of the citys well-advertised campaign to discourage spring break chaos. Several told the Miami Herald they saw a viral video on social media in which the city announced it was breaking up with spring break. Of course we did. Its everywhere, said Josh Pryor, 21, a senior at Georgia State University. Amaya Moulton and Aziah Lee, left to right, take a selfie after traveling from Charlotte, North Carolina to South Beach along Ocean Drive for spring break on Miami Beach, Florida on Friday, March 8, 2024. Pryor said crowds this year were so far smaller than they were when he visited Miami Beach during spring break in 2022. Its just a different scene. Theres still a good amount of people here, but its not the same, he said. People visit Lummus Park during spring break on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Miami Beach, Fla. Pryors friend, a Georgia State senior who identified himself as Scott, said he understood the citys approach. As sad as it is, I understand, he said. Were mature enough to be like, Okay, lets be safe so people dont lose their lives. Some people sought to capitalize on the citys restrictions by inviting spring breakers to events across the bay in the city of Miami. An event planner from Washington, D.C., who goes by the name Lodevinci, was on South Beach late Friday afternoon advertising a party at a warehouse in Little Haiti. He wore a T-shirt that read, Spring break will never die. Were having events across the bridge, he said, adding that he believes the city should encourage spring breakers who congregate on Ocean Drive to instead go to safe, indoor events. The thing with people is you just have to direct them, he said. You cant just tell them, Hey, get the [expletive] out of here and kick them off. I think the city should maybe have a different approach about it. Florida Highway Patrol officers talk to a driver at a DUI checkpoint near 5th Street and Meridian during spring break on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Miami Beach, Fla. A group of visitors from Charlotte, North Carolina, said Miami Beachs measures felt punitive and unfair. For people who know how to act, I feel like they shouldnt be penalized for other people acting crazy, said Aziah Lee, 21. We come out here. We dont bother anybody. Were just here to get away from home. Its not all of us. Lee and three friends said they booked their stay at the Essex House on Ocean Drive months ago and learned about the citys restrictions when it was too late to change their plans. When the commercial came out, it was like, Dang, theyre canceling the whole spring break. We already paid for everything, said Amaya Moulton, 19. Miami Beach officials have warned visitors to expect curfews, but no curfew was announced Friday. City Manager Alina Hudak would first need to declare a state of emergency for a curfew to take effect. Spring breakers, who would only give their first name, Mario, Jessie, Tamika and EJ, left to right, take a selfie on their smart phones on Ocean Drive during spring break in Miami Beach, Florida on Friday, March 8, 2024. Spring breakers, who would only give their first name, Heaven, Brooklyn and Treasure, walk past Miami Beach police officers along Ocean Drive on Miami Beach, Florida on Friday, March 8, 2024. People visit Lummus Park during spring break on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Miami Beach, Fla. Selena Gomez is celebrating boyfriend Benny Blanco's birthday! On March 8, she dedicated a sweet Instagram post to him, and in the caption she raved about his stellar personality. Gomez wrote, "Happy birthday baby! Your emotional endurance, positive disposition, unbelievable talent (that blows me away), undeniable humor and loving, kind heart absolutely kill me. I love you @itsbennyblanco." Blanco commented with several emoji, including the happy face with tears emoji. For the post, Gomez shared a bunch of sweet moments that she's had with her beau, including a snap of them kissing, a video of them kissing in the dark and more photos of them embracing each other. Ashley Benson commented with a couple of heart emoji. Through the years, Gomez has collaborated with Blanco on a few of her hit songs, including Kill Em with Kindness, Same Old Love and I Cant Get Enough. Then, after Gomez released her August 2023 track Single Soon, which Blanco co-produced, she confirmed she was seeing Blanco when she shared a photo of them kissing on Instagram. In the caption, Gomez said their PDA session was one of her favorite moments while she was spending some time in New York. But when did Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco first meet? Ahead, a complete timeline of Gomez and her new boyfriend's relationship. October 2015: Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco work together In 2015, Gomez released her second studio album, "Revival." For that project, Blanco was credited as a producer on several songs, such as Kill Em with Kindness and Same Old Love. February 2019: Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco collaborate on I Cant Get Enough In 2019, Blanco and Gomez got back in the studio to work on the track I Cant Get Enough," which also features Tainy and J Balvin. In the music video, Blanco and the three artists danced around on a giant-sized bed. August 2023: Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco collaborate on Single Soon In August 2023, Gomez released her latest song, "Single Soon," where she sings about the excitement that someone can feel when they get out of a relationship. While teasing the song on Instagram, Gomez said she wrote the upbeat tune "a while back" and said her song was "perfect for the end of summer." Blanco also has production credits on this song as well. December 2023: Selena Gomez confirms she's dating Benny Blanco In December 2023, Gomez confirmed that she and Blanco were dating when she liked and replied to a post about her relationship status. Instagram account Popfactions wrote, #SelenaGomez seemingly confirms that she is in a relationship." A few days later, Gomez responded in the comments with the single word: "Facts." Fans also rejoiced when Gomez liked another Popfactions post that said she and Blanco were rumored to be dating. At the time, reps for Gomez and Blanco did not reply to TODAY.coms request for comment. As news started to heat up about a romance between the two, Gomez shared a black-and-white photo online of her snuggling up to a mystery man in a zebra-printed shirt that many eagle-eyed fans speculated was Blanco. Is Selena Gomez dating Benny Blanco? (@selenagomex via Instagram) December 2023: Selena Gomez shares kissing pic with Benny Blanco In December 2023, Gomez went Instagram official with Blanco when she shared a sweet picture of them kissing. In the post, Gomez also shared some of her "favorite moments" that happened while she spent time in New York. She included a photo of her attending a soiree with her friend Taylor Swift, and another pic of her and Blanco at what appeared to be a dinner party. In that snap, Blanco has his arms wrapped around Gomez while she smiles for the camera. Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco (@selenagomez via Instagram) December 2023: Selena Gomez opens up about her love life In a December 2023 interview with Vogue Mexico y Latinoamerica, Gomez opened up about her love life and revealed what she's looking for in a partner. "Honestly, I have to start being attracted to the right kind of people, because its a bit of both," she said. "Its very hard to find someone who can listen to you and care about you, but I know when it happens it will be great and you will want it to be healthy." In the interview, Gomez also said she hopes to become a mother one day, saying it's fundamental to her lifes purpose. January 2024: Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco attend a Lakers game together On Jan. 3, Gomez and Blanco were seen sitting courtside at a Lakers game. As the Lakers faced off against the Miami Heat, the couple were seen cuddling up next to each other. At one point, Gomez laid her head on Blanco's shoulder, and in other moments, he was photographed kissing her hand and placing his hand on her knee. Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco (Allen Berezovsky / Getty Images) January 2024: Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco kiss at the Golden Globe Awards On Jan. 7, Gomez posted a photo on her Instagram stories of her and Blanco locking lips, the same night she was at the Golden Globes. Decked out in a red dress she wore to the event, Gomez is seen pressing her lips into Blanco's. "I won," she captioned the picture. @selenagomez via Instagram Gomez's comment alludes to her defeat in the best performance by a female actor in a television series (musical or comedy) category. She was nominated for her role in "Only Murders in the Building," but lost to Ayo Edebiri for The Bear. January 2024: Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco host a surprise PJ-themed party for Nicola Peltz Beckham In an Instagram post shared Jan. 13, Nicola Peltz Beckham shared fun pictures from a pajama party hosted by none other than the couple themselves. Selena and Benny are twinning in their PJs. Featuring the group decked out in matching PJ sets, Beckham wrote that her best friends surprised her with the birthday gathering, sharing that they played games and she felt so loved. i love you all so much, she wrote. and thank you benny for making the best food everrrr and you and sel for hosting. Feb. 6, 2024: The two stars being cute On Feb. 6, both Gomez and Blanco took to their Instagram stories to share a peek into their lives as a couple. Selena Gomez hides her face behind a photo of her younger self. (@itsbennyblanco / Instagram) Blanco shared a photo of Gomez hiding her face as her beau brandishes an autographed photo of her from her child star days. In a post to her own story, Gomez and Blanco seemed to be together in a vehicle as she rubbed her fuzzy-sock-clad feet on him. Gomez rubs her feet in fuzzy socks on Benny Blanco inside a vehicle. He's holding a pink iphone. (@selenagomez / Instagram) Feb. 12, 2024: Selena Gomez shares new photos of their lives together In a carousel of photos posted to her Instagram, Gomez revealed some behind-the-scenes looks at her life with Blanco. "My bes fwend," she captioned the post. The pictures showed the two musicians cooking together and spending time at a party. The last photo shows Gomez and Blanco sharing a romantic moment while one of their friends seemingly yells into a Golden Globe statue like a microphone as "The Bear" actor Matty Matheson looks on. Feb. 23, 2024: Selena Gomez hilariously recalls how Benny Blanco embarrassed her at the Emmys During a Feb. 23 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Gomez recalled an awkward situation that happened to her at the Emmys when she was with Blanco. This is kind of embarrassing. This is such a weird habit. But every night I fall asleep to the same show, she explained. And itll either be Friends or something comfy. But lately, its How I Met Your Mother. So I fall asleep every night just watching the show and Im a fan. Gomez then said that she crossed paths with Jason Segel at the Emmys and things got awkward once she noticed that he was waving in her direction. But, after waving back, Gomez soon learned he was actually waving to someone behind her. He felt awkward and then inclined to come over, she said. However, once they were face to face, Gomez said Blanco told him, Oh, she falls asleep to you every night. I was like, Thats weird! Gomez said with a shocked expression on her face, laughing. But I do! March 8, 2024: Selena Gomez celebrates Benny Blanco's birthday On March 8, Gomez celebrated Blanco's birthday when she shared a few sweet pictures and videos of them together on Instagram. In the post, Gomez shared a snap of her kissing Blanco, as well as a video of them kissing each other in the dark. selena gomez benny blanco (@selenagomez via Instagram) She captioned it, Happy birthday baby! Your emotional endurance, positive disposition, unbelievable talent (that blows me away), undeniable humor and loving, kind heart absolutely kill me. I love you @itsbennyblanco. Blanco commented with several emoji, including the happy face with tears emoji. This article was originally published on TODAY.com Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, center, speaks during a news conference on border security and funding on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, as Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., right, and Rep. Andrew Ogles, R-Tenn., left, listen in Washington. | Mariam Zuhaib The Capitol was abuzz Friday, following President Joe Bidens fiery State of the Union address the night before, as senators advanced bills detailing $460 billion in government spending in a 75-22 vote. They now head to Biden for his signature. Sen. Mike Lee voted against bills to bankroll government operations until Sept. 30, as he expressed frustration with earmarks attached to the bills. Sen. Mitt Romney voted to close debate on the bill but had to miss the final vote, according to his spokesperson. The bills fund several federal agencies, including transportation, veterans affairs, energy, agriculture, and a few others, until Sept. 30. We will keep important programs funded for moms and kids, for veterans, for the environment, for housing, and so much more, said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in a post. This move comes after Congress has passed four stopgap bills in the last year to avoid a shutdown as House Republicans struggled to leverage their slim majority and come to an agreement with the Democratic-controlled Senate and White House. Lee, R-Utah, and other lawmakers, expressed frustration over the blockage of Republican amendments to the minibus package on the Senate floor. Some of the amendments introduced by Republican lawmakers included restricting migrants from being included in the census, deporting migrants for assaulting a police officer, and defunding sanctuary cities, as Lee noted in a post. In a video message on X, formerly known as Twitter, he accused Democrats, joined by 14 Republicans, for bringing the debate to a close. This motion passed in a 63-35 vote Friday. Weve now got up to 30 hours of post-cloture debate time when we continue to hammer out these reasons why the bills a problem, and why weve been improperly shut out of considering amendments designed specifically to undo the chaos and the carnage by the Democrats, Lee said in the clip. In January, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Schumer agreed to a spending topline of roughly $1.65 trillion, incorporating $69 billion in adjustments as a part of a side deal, as the Deseret News reported. This large package, consisting of 12 spending bills, was divided into two parts with two separate deadlines: March 8 and March 22. At a press conference on March 6, Lee said more than 6,000 earmarks worth at least $12.7 billion were tacked on to the bill. These directly allocated funds might go toward good things that will benefit good people, but he questioned whether its the federal governments responsibility to fund specific projects without subjecting them to the negotiation, discussion and amendment process. He said the package included earmarks like nearly $1 million to Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., a college with an existing $3.3 billion endowment, $850,000 to New Immigrant Community Empowerment, New York, for a new coffee shop and a greenhouse, and another $2.5 million for outdoor recreation, like kayaking, for a New Hampshire town. Lee said he and other Republicans have tried to strike down these earmarks, only to be stopped by Appropriations Committee chairwoman Patty Murray. On Wednesday, the House passed the appropriations package in a 339-85 vote through a fast-tracked process. The House Freedom Caucus stood in opposition to the spending bills, pushing Johnson to make deeper cuts while accusing him of abandoning the Republican leverage and the priority of passing strict border reform, according to a press release. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a Freedom Caucus member, wrote Monday on X the minibus is littered with earmarks, fails to secure the border, (and) punts almost every GOP policy win. But Rep. Celeste Maloy, R-Utah, in a statement said she voted in favor of the bills because she thinks its a good step toward a better budgeting process, adding it isnt a 7,000-page omnibus package negotiated behind closed doors that no one has ever read. Members were involved as these bills went through committee hearings and the amendment process over the last year, Maloy said. I hope that we can ultimately return to regular order where we vote on each spending bill separately. But for now, its time to pass the next package of spending bills and start working on the budget for fiscal year 2025. Utah Republican Reps. Blake Moore, John Curtis and Burgess Owens also voted in support of the minibus. Senators on Friday passed a bill to fund a slew of government agencies for the rest of fiscal year 2024, sending the measure to President Bidens desk hours before a shutdown deadline after Congress has struggled for months to approve its full-year spending bills. The Senate voted 75-22 to pass the six-bill, $460 billion package on Friday evening, approving full-year funding for the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Interior, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Commerce and Energy, among other offices. Biden is expected to sign the bill Saturday, per the White House. The Office of Management and Budget ceased shutdown preparations Friday evening after the Senate advanced the legislation, and said agencies will continue their normal operations. The Senates approval caps off weeks of tough bipartisan, bicameral funding talks, which began to pick up at the start of the year, only after a months-long stalemate over how to fund the government for fiscal 2024. But the package marks just the first of two batches of spending bills Congress is working to pass this month. Lawmakers are also staring down a March 22 deadline for the remaining six full-year funding bills, which fund areas like the departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Health and Human Services and which lawmakers say may be even more difficult to find bipartisan agreement on. Passage of the so-called minibus Friday evening followed last-minute Senate drama that threatened to push the final vote beyond the midnight funding deadline. An eleventh-hour dispute over amendments helped delay efforts to pass the legislation, as Republicans looked to force votes on a number of measures in thorny areas like the border and earmarks. Any changes to the bill would have sent it back to the House for further consideration, and the lower chamber had already left town for the weekend. The bill eventually cleared a procedural hurdle setting up passage later on Friday, but absent support from Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). Both senators seek to replace Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) as head of the conference and had hoped to block the effort as they pressed for amendment votes. Leaders then came to an agreement to vote on several amendments, none of which passed. The measure passed the House on Wednesday in a bipartisan 339-85 vote, but getting an agreement on the bills was a hard-fought battle from the start, as both parties entered bipartisan negotiations with drastically different funding proposals weeks back. Negotiators on both sides have discussed the difficulty in divvying up dollars for programs within the tight constraints imposed as part of a previous spending caps deal brokered by Biden and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) last year. It was a really, really, really hard budget. Nobodys going to like our Interior budget because we had to cut, we had to cut a lot, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), top Republican on the subcommittee that hashes out funding for the Interior Department, said Friday. Congress had to pass four stopgap measures to keep the government funded into fiscal year 2024, which began Oct. 1. McCarthy was ousted as Speaker, in part, for working with Democrats to pass one of those stopgaps. Even after a deal on the six-bill minibus was announced, conservatives came out strongly against it, panning the overall cost, the exclusion of many of their policy priorities, and the inclusion of billions of dollars in earmarks. Still, GOP leadership has claimed some key wins, including cuts to nondefense funds and more money to fight fentanyl. Democrats have touted wins as well, including the exclusion of conservative policy riders, as well as funding increases in areas like housing and nutrition assistance. Weve fully funded WIC so seven million moms and kids wont be malnourished. Weve built on the Infrastructure law by providing billions to repair our roads and bridges and highways, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said ahead of the measures passage on Friday. Well be able to hire more air traffic controllers and rail safety inspectors. And were taking care of our veterans with support for veterans homelessness, mental health, and women veterans. House GOP negotiators said ahead of the mammoth bills rollout last weekend that Democrats some gained leverage in funding talks as spending divides in the Republican conference have continued to dominate headlines over the past year. The package on Friday marks the first full-year funding bills sent out of the divided Congress since Republicans took back the House in late 2022. But not all Democrats are happy with the plan. Some Democrats have voiced frustration with a concession on a GOP-backed guns-related provision aimed at allowing veterans determined unable to manage their benefits to be able to purchase guns. Republicans say the proposal is important to keep veterans who need help managing their money from losing their gun rights. But Democrats have sounded alarms about the impact the measure could have on veterans suicide rates, as well as the potential for those deemed mentally incompetent to have firearms. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a spending cardinal, is among the senators who voted against the package on Friday, after describing the rider as a terrible new gun policy rider that significantly rolls back the firearms background check system. Brett Samuels contributed reporting. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The Senate cleared a six-bill funding package Friday night, sending the $459 billion measure to President Joe Bidens desk just in time to thwart a partial government shutdown after midnight. The upper chamber passed the measure 75-22 following votes on a handful of Republican amendments that failed on the floor. The bill takes care of budgets for more than a dozen federal departments and independent agencies that handle transportation, energy, housing, agriculture and veterans programs, among others. Biden signed the measure Saturday. Passage of the package, which followed partisan sparring over Republican amendment demands that consumed much of Friday, represents Congress first real success funding the government more than five months into the fiscal year, capping off a chaotic round of spending talks delayed by House Republican infighting. Now, facing a deadline of March 22, appropriators and congressional leaders will look to close out work on a much bigger second spending bundle that would fund about 70 percent of the government, including the military and health, education and labor programs. Senate Appropriators Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Friday night that she is confident Congress can pass the rest of the dozen funding bills so long as far-right extremism is left at the negotiating room door. The fighting over Republican amendments, which pushed senators up against their midnight deadline, underscores the potential for negotiations on the bills to go sideways at any moment. The Senate rejected provisions that would have stripped out hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarks and barred undocumented immigrants from being counted toward the population for divvying up congressional seats, among other proposed tweaks. But the first funding package was considered the easier lift. Closing out negotiations on the second batch of six funding bills will serve as the true test of whether Congress can finally conclude a funding fight that contributed to former Speaker Kevin McCarthys ouster last year, before quickly pivoting to spending bills for the coming fiscal year. Within the spending package the Senate passed Friday night, lawmakers secured more than $900 million in earmarks. Ensuring federal funding will be used for specific projects in their districts is seen as a particular boon for Republicans, since the Biden administration would otherwise decide how to divvy up that cash through grants. Republicans can correctly claim that theyre directing funds to worthwhile projects in their state, rather than leave it up to political appointees of the Democratic administration, said Maine Sen. Susan Collins, the top Republican appropriator in the Senate. The next government funding cycle, further complicated by the upcoming presidential election, is already set to kick off when Biden unveils his fiscal 2025 budget proposal on Monday. Murray, Collins and other appropriators said theyre making good progress toward finalizing the rest of the fiscal 2024 spending bills before March 22, while acknowledging that certain measures, like those that would fund the Department of Homeland Security or major health, labor and education programs, present some pitfalls. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), who oversees the funding bill for the State Department and foreign aid programs, said he feels confident about his measure, which is laden with complicated policy provisions. As you know, with any of these things, they can implode at any minute. But I feel really good about it, he said. The negotiations have pressured Speaker Mike Johnson to secure conservative wins while wielding little leverage against a Democratic-controlled Senate and White House. Few conservatives are threatening to strip Johnson of his gavel, however, despite consternation from his right flank over a lack of spending cuts and policy wins. I don't know anybody who can complain that the speaker hasn't listened to them, said Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio), who oversees the Homeland Security spending bill. He's spent more than enough time, as far as I'm concerned, listening to everyone's opinions, concerns. And eventually you have to call the play. He's called the play, and he's executed. The funding package the Senate cleared on Friday night abides by the spending limits set under the debt limit agreement Biden struck with McCarthy last summer, as well as the fresh compromise hatched with Johnson in January. Because leaders settled on keeping non-defense funding levels essentially flat under those deals, most federal agencies and programs covered in the six-bill package are set to receive a slight increase or decrease to their budgets through the end of September. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) has been making disappointing calls to organizations that are not going to get the level of funding that they need and deserve, he said, despite some critical investments in areas that are important to the country, to Delaware, and to me. Overall, we did not set in my view spending levels at the right level, he said. Coons handles the bill that funds the State Department and foreign operations, one of the measures not included in the package Congress cleared Friday. For that bill, the non-defense spending limits leaders agreed to have led to some very hard choices that will have genuinely unfortunate consequences, he said. The package also funds the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration, as well as science and water programs, while covering military construction projects and the departments of Commerce, Interior and Justice. A conflict is building among Mississippi legislative leaders over whether to tweak an education funding formula or ditch it and set a new one. The state Senate voted Thursday, without opposition, to make a few changes to the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, which has been in law since 1997. The action came a day after the House voted to abandon MAEP and replace it with a new formula. MAEP is designed to give school districts enough money to meet midlevel academic standards. It is based on several factors, including costs of instruction, administration, operation and maintenance of schools, and other support services. It also allows superintendents of districts to know roughly what they are getting every year because we have an objective formula, Senate Education Committee Chairman Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, said Thursday. Mississippi state Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, left, confers with House Education Committee Chairman Rep. Rob Roberson, R-Starkville, second from left, state Rep. Daryl Porter, D-Summit, second from right, and House Education Committee Vice Chairman Rep. Kent McCarty, right, about his concerns on the bodys Wednesday passage of a funding alternative to the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. The Senate proposal could require local communities to pay a slightly larger percentage of overall school funding. It also specifies that if a student transfers from a charter school to another public school, the charter school would not keep all of the public money that it received for that student. Legislators have fully funded MAEP only two years, and House leaders say that is an indication that a new formula is needed. The formula proposed by the House is called INSPIRE Investing in the Needs of Students to Prioritize, Impact and Reform Education. It would be based on a per-student cost determined by a group of 13 people, including eight superintendents of school districts. House Education Committee Vice Chairman Kent McCarty, a Republican from Hattiesburg, said INSPIRE would be more equitable because school districts would receive extra money if they have large concentrations of poverty or if they enroll large numbers of students who have special needs or are learning English as a second language. Flanked by members of the Mississippi House of Representatives and Speaker of the House Jason White, R-West, left, Mississippi House Education Committee Chairman Rep. Rob Roberson, R-Starkville, at podium, speaks to reporters about the bodys Wednesdays passage of a new formula to calculate how much money the state will spend on public schools. The House voted 95-13 to pass the INSPIRE plan and send it to the Senate for more work. The Senate bill moves to the House. The two chambers must resolve their differences, or abandon any proposed changes, before the legislative session ends in early May. The House Democratic leader, Rep. Robert Johnson of Natchez, said Thursday that INSPIRE is based on statistics from an unknown source. He suggested conservative groups hostile to public education could be behind the legislation. All theyve tried to do is destroy public education, Johnson said of the groups. They love it, they think its great. And all theyve ever been for is charter schools, vouchers and public money to private schools. Pie in the sky. Fake numbers. Mississippi Speaker of the House of Representatives Rep. Jason White, R-West, speaks at a news conference Wednesday. House Education Committee Chairman Rep. Rob Roberson, a Republican from Starkville, said a communication breakdown occurred Wednesday over information provided to Johnson during Wednesdays House debate. Roberson said financial figures came from lawmakers who sought advice from a range of groups. During a news conference Thursday, House Speaker Jason White said the House Republican majority is not prepared to relent on its view that lawmakers should eliminate MAEP. It is time to once and for all acknowledge that the MAEP formula is a thing of the past, White said. Very few understand it, and it certainly has not been followed. One of Dodge Countys more experienced criminal prosecutors is tossing his hat in the ring to potentially be appointed a district court judge. Dodge County Deputy Attorney Justin Bignell is one of six candidates who applied to be appointed by Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen for the judge seat for District Court Judge in the 6th Judicial District consisting of Burt, Cedar, Dakota, Dixon, Dodge, Thurston and Washington counties. Bignell, a U.S. Army combat veteran, is well-known in Dodge County legal circles. He was one of three candidates in the 2022 election for Dodge County Attorney, running as a Libertarian. He finished third in the voting, losing to Pamela Hopkins by more than 5,300 votes. When he ran for office in 2022, he told the Tribune that he was born in Columbus, Nebraska. I moved to Fremont at a very young age. A few years after graduating from Archbishop Bergan Catholic High School in 2001, I joined the Army and was stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in 2005. I was honorably discharged in 2010, moved back to Fremont in 2011, and finished my undergraduate degree at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, he said in that 2022 interview. I attended law school at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, from 2012 to 2015, and upon completion, I moved back to Fremont where I continue to reside today. In an email interview with the Tribune, Bignell said he has a deep commitment to upholding justice and fairness within our legal system, which is why he is seeking this appointment. Throughout my career, I have developed a strong understanding of the law and a passion for ensuring that everyone is treated fairly under it, and I believe I have shown that during my time as a Deputy County Attorney here in Dodge County, he said. As a judge, I believe I can make a significant impact in ensuring that the rights of individuals are protected, that cases are decided fairly, and that justice is served. I am dedicated to serving my community and believe that my experience and dedication make me well-suited for this important role on the bench. Bignell cited his qualifications to be a judge of his experience and expertise in the legal field, which he said includes family law cases, felony criminal prosecution and defense. He also said he believes his communication and analytical skills are at the needed level to be a judge and that he has a dedication to integrity, impartiality and the principles of justice. Over the years, I have diligently worked to hone my understanding of the law, gaining valuable insights through both academic study and practical application, he said. I have a proven track record of making sound legal judgments and decisions, grounded in a thorough analysis of the facts and a deep commitment to upholding justice. Bignell, who resides in Fremont, is joined in seeking the judge seat by candidates Zachary L. Blackman, of Lincoln; Erik W. Fern, of Lincoln; Michael W. Jensen, of Omaha; James K. McGough, of Waverly; and Patrick R. Runge, of Omaha. According to a press release sent by the Nebraska Judicial Nominating Commission, whoever is appointed by Pillen will work out of Blair, and will replace retiring Judge John E. Samson. The public hearing of the Judicial Nominating Commission will be held in the District Courtroom of the Washington County Courthouse, 1555 Colfax St., Blair, at 10 a.m., Tuesday, March 26. The Commission will review all applicants for the office at that time. The public is welcome to attend the hearing and present information concerning candidates for the judicial opening, officials said in the release. As for why he decided to apply for the judge appointment, Bignell said he believes he has reached a point in my career where I believe that I can make a meaningful contribution to my community and the legal system as a judge. Throughout my years of experience practicing law, and my time as a non-commissioned officer in the Army, I have gained valuable insights and skills that I believe uniquely qualify me for the position, he said. I am passionate about ensuring justice and fairness for all individuals, and I see becoming a judge as the next step in my journey of serving my community and upholding the principles of the legal profession. Additionally, Ive always felt a sense of duty to my community. Whether that be serving my country with two combat deployments, or serving my community now as a prosecutor, I believe that this is a way that I can positively impact the lives of others, and I believe that serving as a judge provides an excellent opportunity to do so. Millions of children worldwide are being sexually abused to order via live-video streams A silent epidemic of live-streamed child abuse is surging in the wake of the pandemic and the UK and its allies must do more to tackle it, a senior Interpol official has warned. Millions of children worldwide are being sexually abused to order via live-video streams, much of which is conducted out of the Philippines but directed by British and US paedophiles. Other hotspot countries include Colombia and Thailand. Stephen Kavanagh, executive director of police services at Interpol, told The Telegraph that cases had grown since the pandemic and that the numbers almost overwhelms us. He also warned that the set-up for conventional law enforcement is not designed to deal with crimes in which the victims are on the other side of the world. Mr Kavanagh, who is standing as the UK candidate to be Interpols next secretary general, said: We have to take more responsibility governments, tech companies, law enforcement because the level of harm cant continue at the level it is without some type of global response. Victims, predominantly Filipino, range in age from just two months old through to 18 and, for as little as $25, will be subject to abuse on a daily basis. Western guilt The vast majority of demand for this type of online child sexual exploitation originates in the West, Mr Kavanagh said. In Britain, an estimated 1.4 per cent of the male population has engaged in a sexually explicit webcam interaction with a child, according to research from the University of Edinburgh, equivalent to more than 450,000 men. In Australia, this percentage stands at 1.8; in the US, its more than twice as high, at 4.2 per cent, the research shows. On Tuesday, MPs, campaigners and officials from the National Crime Agency are meeting in Westminster to discuss this exploitation and how Britain can help better fight it. The events chair, Labours Sarah Champion, told The Telegraph that such abuse is escalating exponentially. The police simply dont have the capacity to address this horrendous crime which means across the planet vulnerable hundreds of thousands of children are being horrifically exploited, she said. Those facilitating the exploitation are usually known to the children; they may be neighbours, friends and family members, including uncles, aunts, siblings and even parents. Some 41 per cent of victims in the Philippines are abused by their mother or father, research says. To communicate with the traffickers and watch the live streaming of abuse, offenders used a range of online platforms, including Skype, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp. Research from the IJM suggests that as many as 500,000 Filipino children or one in every 100 are being sexually abused via live video streams. Duty of care Critics and campaigners say that the technology to tackle this crime is available and could be installed on all phones as a condition of sale. In Britain, the cyber-security company SafeToNet has developed an AI-taught software that can be installed onto a devices internal operating system and blocks child sexual content, regardless of its source. I am absolutely for maintaining privacy, said Mr Kavanagh. But theres a duty of care that we all have to say that the combating abuse of babies demands the use of technologies and algorithms that ensure blocks are being put in place on social media platforms. Mr Kavanagh said he wants to see Western nations take [more] responsibility for the cross-border abuse being dictated by their citizens against foreign children. The fact that there is no child in a jurisdiction in Europe, or the US, does not mean the police should not be taking responsibility for those people who are causing such dreadful harms, he said. He suggested a more sustainable approach was needed one in which international resources, funding and training are provided to overseas police forces in regions like Southeast Asia or Latin America, equipping them with the means to one day launch their own investigations into trafficking rings, without constant help from the West. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. The U.S. Army is overhauling how it develops and adopts software, the lifeblood of high-tech weaponry, vehicles and battlefield information-sharing. The service on March 9 rolled out a policy, dubbed Enabling Modern Software Development and Acquisition Practices, enshrining the revisions. Officials said the measure brings them closer to private-sector expectations, making business simpler and more inclusive. We thought this was important to do this now, and issue this policy now, because of how critical software is to the fight right now, Margaret Boatner, the deputy assistant secretary of the Army for strategy and acquisition reform, told reporters at the Pentagon. More than ever before, software is actually a national-security imperative. Consequences of the policy include: changing the way requirements are written, favoring high-level needs statements and concision over hyper-specific directions; employing alternative acquisition and contracting strategies; reducing duplicative tests and streamlining cybersecurity processes; embracing a sustainment model that recognizes programs can and should be updated; and establishing expert cohorts, such as the prospective Digital Capabilities Contracting Center of Excellence at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. While the policy is effective immediately, the different reforms will take different amounts of time to be realized. The contacting center, for example, has several months to get up and running. No additional appropriations are needed to make the transitions, according to Boatner. Army CIO Garciga forecasts cloud growth following really hard sprint All of our weapons systems, our missiles, our radars, our helicopters, our tanks? They run on software, she said. The ability to rapidly develop and upgrade and enhance these capabilities is critical to ensure that we can maintain that competitive overmatch over our adversaries. U.S. competition with Russia and China world powers considered top-tier national security threats is increasingly digital. A ballooning demand for seamless connectivity, lightning-quick decision making and advanced robotics has propelled software into the spotlight. Chief Information Officer Leonel Garciga said the new directive puts the Army in a more-dynamic posture. As our partners were coming in to compete on work inside the Army, we were almost holding ourselves back by not having some of this stuff in place and missing out on some opportunities, he told reporters. This is kind of edging into the second phase of our digital transformation as a service. The Army considers digital transformation, or the phasing in of new technologies and virtual practices, vital to its larger modernization goals. Previous budget blueprints featured billions of dollars for cyber and information technology. In one moment, a column of soldiers and military pickups creeps along a dirt road in western Mexico. In the next, a massive explosion sends debris and a body flying. The ground where a soldier stood seconds earlier is a gaping hole, the aftermath of an improvised land mine planted by one of the regions warring drug cartels. That soldier was killed and four others were injured in the January explosion, which was captured in a grainy video that circulated on social media. Then last month, four more soldiers died and nine others were wounded when another explosive device detonated in the same region. This week, three laborers were killed and two others injured by yet another mine, leaving a truck split in half and human remains scattered across a dusty road. Soldiers with the Mexican army's special forces show an explosive device used by the Jalisco New Generation cartel in Naranjo de Chila in Michoacan state in 2022. (Alafredo Estrella / AFP/Getty Images) The series of blasts in the Tierra Caliente an area along the border of Jalisco and Michoacan states that has long been a hot zone for cartel warfare mark an alarming escalation of violence in Mexico as criminal groups arm themselves with ever-more sophisticated and deadly weaponry. The drug war in Mexico has come to resemble actual warfare. For years the cartels have been engaged in an arms race, building powerful arsenals that now include grenade launchers, drones rigged with explosives and tank-like vehicles known as monsters that are equipped with machine gun turrets and steel armor. But the widespread use of improvised land mines is new. Experts blame their rise in part on an influx into Mexico of mercenary fighters from Colombia, where explosives played a central role in a long-running war between leftist guerrilla groups and far-right paramilitaries. The scourge of conflicts around the globe, abhorred for killing and maiming unsuspecting civilians and lingering hidden for decades, mines provide cartels with a tactical edge on the battlefield and widen the potential for collateral damage. You can kill more enemies from greater distance and limit direct confrontation, said Tim Sloan, who headed the Mexico City office of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives until 2022. Less members can inflict more bodily harm while in enemy territory. Read more: Dream interrupted: As gang violence soars in Mexico, migrants in U.S. rethink plans to go home Some of the devices have tripwires sensitive enough to be set off by pedestrians not just the heavy armored trucks used by the military or cartels. If a person, cow, vehicle, steps onto the switch it will explode, Sloan said. Last year, four police officers and two civilians were killed after an anonymous caller sent a tip about a clandestine burial site outside Guadalajara. Hidden along the road were improvised explosive devices, seven of which were set off as a convoy of police vehicles passed. Amid growing concern about the problem, the U.S. government has increased its support to Mexican law enforcement and the military, donating bomb suits and detection equipment and training Mexican officials how to investigate crime scenes where explosives have detonated. Mexico's armed forces deactivated 2,241 improvised explosive devices in 17 states between August 2021 and July 2023, according to public records. Most were in Michoacan. In the Tierra Caliente, where a patchwork of criminal groups is fighting soldiers, the powerful Jalisco New Generation cartel and one another, the new technology has brought fresh terror. A woman watches from her home as soldiers patrol the community of El Aguaje, Michoacan, in 2022. (Alfredo Estella / AFP/Getty Images) You live in fear every day of land mines, of drones, of assassins, said a rancher from the outskirts of El Aguaje, a contested town on the front lines of a war between the Jalisco cartel known by its Spanish initials, CJNG and an alliance of criminal groups called the United Cartels. You never know where you can safely step. The rancher, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is afraid of cartel retribution, said the CJNG controlled the area until about four years ago, when a United Cartels faction from the neighboring municipality of Tepalcatepec began vying for power. His pueblo, once a prosperous hub of lime farms, became a ghost town of abandoned homes pockmarked with bullet holes. Many residents fled to other parts of Mexico or the United States. The rancher left too, but two years later, after the federal government claimed it had regained control of the region, he returned. The following day, one of his neighbors, a 79-year-old farmer named Cristobal, died after driving over an improvised land mine. The farmers son was badly injured. Read more: Inside the bloody cartel war for Mexico's multibillion-dollar avocado industry Criminal groups have turned the region into a literal minefield, with a profound impact on daily life. The rancher, for example, said he has avoided a dirt road that winds from El Aguaje to Tepalcatepec ever since an armed man guarding it told him: Go back. You cant pass here and you know why." The man was from Colombia, the rancher said, part of a growing number of mercenaries who experts say have brought bomb-making technology to rural Mexico. Theres always been a conflict with shootouts and displacements, but lately you see other kinds of people who arent from here, who have a different accent, said the rancher. He's heard rumors that the foreigners fabricate improvised land mines and other explosives for the Tepalcatepec cartel leader known as El Abuelo the Grandfather. That account squares with Mexican military intelligence records reviewed by The Times that document foreign mercenaries, drone warfare and improvised land mines in the Tierra Caliente. U.S. officials and experts who study Mexico's criminal landscape have tracked similar developments. John P. Sullivan, an organized crime expert at USCs Safe Communities Institute, said cartels have used improvised explosive devices sporadically since the 1990s, but they have become a mainstay of the conflict unfolding in the Tierra Caliente. Sullivan said a small number of the mines appear to be military grade, and were probably smuggled into Mexico from the United States or nearby countries that have experienced armed conflict. In 2018, suspected members of the Gulf cartel were arrested in the northern Mexican border city of Reynosa with two Claymore M18A1 antipersonnel mines a weapon developed for the U.S. military. But most of the explosives are improvised, Sullivan said, and probably made with the help of former soldiers and guerrilla fighters from Colombia, where a 2016 peace deal between the government and the nations biggest rebel group, the FARC, left many combatants unemployed. Using connections established through the cocaine trade, Mexican cartels began recruiting fighters for their own cause. They're out of work. So what do they do?" Sullivan said. "Well, some of them have gone to work for other criminal organizations. Sloan said: Homemade mortars, land mines, bomblets dropped by drones all that technology was brought up by former FARC members working mainly with CJNG. Mexican military intelligence reports leaked by the hacktivist group Guacamaya in 2022 contain multiple references to Colombian mercenaries operating in the Aguililla region of Michoacan. One report, from September 2021, described the head of an armed cell working under El Abuelo as having 26 Colombian guerrilleros at his service in the fight against CJNG. Another United Cartels boss had hired an additional 10 Colombians for the cause, paying them a weekly salary of around $600, according to the reports, which detail communications by cartel members as well as their battle plans. The latest violence comes during an election year for Mexico, with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador set to leave office after a six-year term that has been tarnished by record levels of bloodshed. After sweeping into office on a campaign slogan of hugs not bullets and a pledge to end the drug war, he has been unable to lower the murder rate or take back vast swaths of the country that are firmly under cartel control. Aguililla and neighboring municipalities in the Tierra Caliente have long vexed Mexico's leaders. Frustrated by the inability of government forces to stamp out organized crime, townspeople in some communities have taken up arms in civilian-led militias. In early 2022, the Mexican military swept into Aguililla, temporarily pushing out the CJNG. Mexican army minesweepers reportedly deactivated more than 250 antipersonnel mines during that campaign. The mayor held a public ceremony to celebrate the government forces bringing peace. Three weeks later, he was assassinated . According to the leaked intelligence reports, Mexican soldiers heard one CJNG commander order his men to mine the roads around one stronghold and to place the explosives in such a way so they wont sink into the ground from vehicles or people without exploding. What we want is to see them blown to bits over there, said the commander, identified in the reports as Miguel Angel Fernandez Valencia, also known as M2. Fernandez Valencia, who was killed in a January 2022 shootout with Mexican soldiers, maintained a stockpile of explosives and bomb-making materials, according to the reports, including 10 sticks of dynamite referred to as sausages two sacks of ammonium nitrate fertilizer and electric switches and wiring for detonators. In Michoacan, mines are increasingly used in tandem with weaponized drones, which Sullivan said give cartels "a decisive advantage in tactical engagements. Read more: Did jailing 'El Chapo' matter? In seizing a city, the Sinaloa cartel shows it's still strong It makes them more lethal and gives them more flexibility in their attacks, he said. It makes it harder for the military or police or any tactical unit to maneuver, because now its not just two-dimensional warfare on the ground, it's three-dimensional warfare from the air. The crisis recently prompted security officials in Michoacan to form a specialized unit tasked with disposing of bombs. The unit's leader, Carlos Roberto Gomez Ruiz, said his team has deactivated 332 devices in just 2 months. Most of them, he said, were discovered inside a single bomb-making workshop. Mexican army special forces members help a fellow soldier put on anti-explosive equipment during a demonstration in Aguililla, Michoacan, in 2022. (Alfredo Estrella / AFP/Getty Images) Gomez said the explosives are cobbled together from gas tanks, pipes, screws, nails and other readily available materials each one a unique puzzle that can take his unit anywhere from a few minutes to several hours to crack. Each mission is different, he said. Gilberto Vergara Garcia, a Catholic priest who serves at the parish in Aguililla, said the new tactics of the cartels amount to "terrorism." They have no right, no justification to create a situation of such imminent danger, he said. Even if the conflict one day is resolved, all the residue and remnants of war will remain, he said. The losers are always the locals, because they are the ones who in the end must deal with the terror of a land mine that these groups might forget. Hamilton reported from San Francisco and Linthicum from Mexico City. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. They gave them a slice of the mob action. The writers of The Sopranos ate the pizza and pasta from Sacs Place in Queens so often that they named one of the shows key characters after the joints owners. The shows Mafia underboss-turned boss John Sacrimoni, also known as Johnny Sack, was named in honor of brothers Anthony and Domenico Sacramone, who own the Astoria restaurant, the duo revealed to The Post. New Jersey native Vincent Curatola played Johnny Sack, who was on the HBO series from Season 1 through 6. WireImage I get a call saying, Hey, we got a nice surprise for you. Watch the second episode of this season. And theres this guy Johnny Sack,' Anthony said of the character played by Vincent Curatola, who appeared on the HBO series from Season 1 through 6. So all my cousins are calling us up, saying, Hey, you guys got anything to do with this? I said, Well, what do you think?' The eatery, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary by revealing the Secrets of Sacs on Instagram this month, delivered pizza pies and pasta dishes like lasagna, gnocchi and ravioli to the Sopranos set for lunch every day. The eatery delivered lunch to the Sopranos set every day. Patrick McMullan via Getty Images The ritual started in 1998, after Anthony met one of the writers for the show, which debuted in 1999, at the now-closed Chez Jacqueline restaurant in Greenwich Village. A week and a half later, he called to order lunch for the entire writing team, and Anthony personally delivered it to Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, where the show was filmed. There were 20 guys and girls in a glass enclosure and you hear one guy go, And Soprano did this and Soprano did that. And then all of a sudden the guy goes, Yeah, that sounds good. Write it down, write it down,' said Anthony, 68. The restaurant is located on the lot of Kaufman Astoria Studios. Courtesy of Sac's Place Sacs Place, which originally opened in 1989 on Broadway and 29th Street in Astoria, relocated in 2019 to the lot of Kaufman Astoria Studios, home to the only outdoor stage facility in the Big Apple. Shows such as Orange Is the New Black and Nurse Jackie were filmed there, and Sesame Street has been taped there since 1992. The production lot first opened in 1920 as Paramount Pictures and Sacs is housed in the movie studios former commissary, where silent film actors like Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson and the Marx Brothers would eat. From the G-File on The Dispatch Dear Reader (Even any of you who took part in the Florida Man Games), So I have precisely 98 minutes to write this. I have no topics in mind, so Im going to cop out and write about the State of the Union address, even though I hate the State of the Union address. If you think thats a waste of your time, I get it. Ill talk to you next week. I wont take offense. Of course, sometimes its fun to put a clock on someone to do something pretty conventional. Give someone a box of Betty Crocker 12-minute brownie mix and ask them to bake some brownies. Thats not interesting. Ask them to make those 12-minute brownies in seven minutes and youve got something. One of the problems with the written word is that it cant convey tone as effectively as the spoken word. Id like to write a G-File in the style of Sen. Katie Britt, but I dont know how to do it. I mean, I could include bracketed directions like it was a movie script, but it wouldnt be the same. [Cue barely controlled rage] Just like America wont be the same because of Joe Bidens refusal to provide real bracketed direction at the American border. [Switch to moist-eyed sorrow] But the written word just doesnt work that way [stifled sob]. So, Ill just have to make do, pecking out word things. Ive written a lot about how I dont like the State of the Union address. Ive also written a lot about how I dont like Woodrow Wilson. I bring him up because hes the one we have to thank for the spectacle its become. In 1800, John Adams was the last president to give the address in person until Wilson brought the custom back 113 years later. I dont think its a coincidence. Adams had a paranoid and authoritarian streak. He used the Alien and Sedition Act to arrest critics of his administration. Wilson used the Sedition Act of 1918 to arrest his critics, too. Indeed, until Bidens address, my main complaint against the SOTU was that its too monarchical. From the sergeant-at-arms introduction onward, the whole thing has a feeling of a monarch visiting Parliament to put it in its place. The fact that Congress must invite the president to appear gets lost because politics requires the invitation. But its worth keeping in mind why that invitation is necessary: Congress is superior to the executive branch. Its the first branch of government and it hason paperthe most power. It is not coequal. Indeed, the whole idea of coequal branches is a fiction invented by the Nixon administration as a way to avoid being held accountable to Congress and the courts. Congress can fire members of the other branches. It sets their pay. It tells them what to do. That republican and democratic vision gets washed away by the spectacle of the State of the Union address. Anyway, that was my primary objection. But its now been reduced to primarily a partisan infomercial. In some ways, it was inevitable. The State of the Union address is one of those civic institutions that commands attention. But because it commands attention in our modern attention economy, politicians cannot resist bending it to their partisan interests. This has been going on for a while, but last nights performanceby Biden, Democrats, and Republicanscrossed a Rubicon. This is a bipartisan failure. Ronald Reagan introduced the schtick of having human props in the gallery, a brilliant tactic used by presidents ever since. Another modern watershed moment was when Rep. Joe Wilson yelled You lie! at a joint session in 2009 (the first address of a presidents term is technically not a State of the Union address). Wilson raised his profile as well as tons of money and off his stunt, which tells you why Marjorie Taylor Greene and her ilk consider that kind of thing part of their business model. But Obama benefited from it too. Everyone is a Baptist and a bootlegger in modern American politics. This is a good example of how changes in one part of our political system have consequences in unanticipated places. When parties had more control over their members, party leaders had tools to discipline such antics. But their purse strings were cut by campaign finance reform and changes in the media landscape made going rogue profitable for individual politicians. Ill skip how the primary system is a big part of the problem because youve heard me out on that plenty of times. But suffice it to say that when base voters and small donors are the only threats to incumbency, you create incentives to ignore rules of decorum and basic civics and civility. Thats why Bidens direct attack on the Supreme Court for overturning Roe v. Wade was so galling. Biden is correct to think he has a problem with his base. He might even have been shrewd in using the SOTU as an opportunity to shore up his problems with the base. But thats sort of my point. The political incentives are perverse everywhere you look. In an earlier era, a president would look for other opportunities to pander to the base rather than use the State of the Union address like it was a rally at SEIU headquarters. Its a bit like Bidens unprecedented decision to walk the picket line with UAW workers. Lots of presidents have wanted to curry favor with unions. But the president is supposed to at least nominally be neutral in labor disputes, not least because he appoints the members of the NLRB, which is supposed to be independent. Anything that can be used for politics gets used for politics now. Recall Donald Trump used the White House as a de facto RNC nominating convention in 2020. I have my doubts about the shrewdness of Bidens decision to use the SOTU as a partisan platform. He may think that he can win the votes from the middle by painting Trump as too extreme. Lord knows Trump can be counted on to help with that messaging. And he may be right. But that decision hinges on a bet about the electorate. Obama made the same bet and it worked for him in 2008 and 2012. The days of pivoting to the center may indeed be over. Just turn out the base and demonize your opponent to the point where the middle votes for the lesser of two evils. Trump world works on the same assumption, telling Haley voters and other getable voters theyre not welcome unless they convert wholeheartedly to MAGA. If they dont convert, theyre the enemy now, too. But Obama and Trump were different kinds of candidates. Obama had, and Trump has, diehard supporters and reserves of low-propensity voters to count on. Biden was supposed to be a reassuring middle-of-the-road guy. I know Biden has superfans but there arent many of them. His majority relied on two groups: 1) base voters who could hold their noses and vote for Biden if it meant ousting Trump. I think he will still mostly get them. 2) The normals who wanted normalcy. Biden has steadfastly refused to govern as if he was worried about these voters. He simply takes them for granted. And by using the State of the Union the way he did he sends a signal that the normals still have no obvious home. This was an understated point of my Wednesday G-File. There are a lot of voters out there who dont want to live in a country where politics is constantly framed as an apocalyptic struggle between good and evil and where the stakes are the survival of the country. Biden is betting that he can win the majority of these voters by casting Trump as an existential threat to democracy and all that. I get the argument. But the risk in Bidens approach is that people may conclude that fear-mongering hyper-partisanship is the new normal for both parties. If thats the case, a lot of voters might simply choose Trump, for any number of reasons, including the fact that Trump is just better suited to be an abnormal president in abnormal times. Or they might just stay home, disgusted with the spectacle entirely. Various & Sundry Canine update: Im very short on time. So Ill be brief. Im in Sea Island, Georgia, and the (canine) girls are staying at Kirstens. We are reliably informed that they are doing just fine, but Zoe refuses to pose for proof-of-life photos. Before I left, I got in some extra ball work with Pippa. Theyre both quite pleased with warmer and wetter weather. I will try to get a good welcoming committee video upon my return. And, done, with 12 minutes to spare. ICYMI Last Fridays G-File Last weekends Ruminant The many problems with accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza The Remnant with Cass Sunstein on the power of habit Why presidents dont matter very much The Remnant with Razib Khan on genetics The ultimate Dune nerdfest for nerds (available exclusively for Dispatch members) And now, the weird stuff DEI Dog eat dog Tall tails Get over here Ice age Mission impossible Read more at The Dispatch The Dispatch is a new digital media company providing engaged citizens with fact-based reporting and commentary, informed by conservative principles. Sign up for free. Nearly two years after a 10-month-old baby died after ingesting fentanyl at her parents home in Boynton Beach, the Lake Worth dealers that sold the couple the drug have been charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. The charge carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence. According to the U.S. Attorneys Offices Southern District, Samantha Hana Yi, 32, and Darnell Julio Mendez, 31, were arrested on Wednesday and appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge in West Palm Beach on Thursday. Yi is also charged with the distribution of fentanyl resulting in death. That charge carries a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. Heres what led to the charges. Infant dies According to allegations in the criminal complaint, Palm Beach sheriffs responded to a mothers 911 call concerning an infant in distress on March 31, 2022. According to The Palm Beach Post, the mother, Kelly Ann Kirwan, then 32, noticed her 10-month-old daughter was making strange noises while sleeping in the afternoon and texted video clips to friends and family who told her the sounds were not normal. The father, who was not identified in court records, was at work and not home at the time. She also reportedly texted Yi her concerns. Two hours later Kirwan reportedly drove to Yis home to buy more drugs. An hour later, about three hours after she first noticed something was amiss with the infant, Kirwan called 911 after pulling over at Boynton Beach Boulevard and Military Trail with the baby in her car, WPTV 5 reported. According to U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointes report, the infant was taken to Bethesda Hospital East in Boynton Beach. Her mother accompanied her. On April 1, 2022, the baby was transferred to Joe DiMaggio Childrens Hospital in Hollywood. Four days later, on April 5, the baby died at the hospital. A Palm Beach County Medical Examiners autopsy determined that the babys death was caused by fentanyl intoxication and that her manner of death was homicide, Lapointes report said. Kirwan was arrested in October 2022 on a charge of aggravated manslaughter of a child by culpable negligence. Her case remains open in Palm Beach County Circuit Court and she has helped DEA investigators identify Yi and Mendez as the dealers, the Palm Beach Post reported. According to the U.S. Attorneys Office, Boynton Beach police detectives recovered fentanyl at the babys home. Investigation determined that the babys mother and father were addicts and had been abusing fentanyl regularly in the kitchen of their apartment, Lapointes report read. What is fentanyl Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over 150 people nationally die daily from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl, according to a 2023 CDC report. Predicted cases in Florida fell by 5.5% between September 2022 and September 2023, however, according to the report. A syringe with Fentanyl, the Narcotic Painkiller. (Dreamstime/TNS) What the investigation found The case was investigated by officers from the Drug Enforcement Agency, Boyton Beach police and Palm Beach Sheriffs Office. Investigators determined that the baby was teething and ingested fentanyl while in the care of her mother and while her father was at work. Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration identified Yi and Mendez as the drug dealers who were responsible for the distribution of the fentanyl that killed the baby. Investigators sifted through months of electronic communications on Kirwans phone. They found exchanges between Yi and the mother involving drug transactions in which the mother was the customer, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. The investigation also determined that Yis boyfriend, Mendez, was also involved in the distribution of fentanyl. Investigators were able to determine that on March 30, 2022, the mother met with Yi in Boynton Beach to purchase fentanyl, and that fentanyl was ingested by the baby resulting in her death. As part of the joint investigation, DEA. Boynton Beach police and Palm Beach sheriffs conducted an operation involving two undercover officers who purchased fentanyl from Yi and Mendez. That undercover operation led to their at their home in Lake Worth on March 6. Previous charges Mendez has a history of controlled substance and violent crime offenses, according to the criminal complaint. Court records in Palm Beach County show Mendez faced felony charges in 2010 for burglary and battery. He entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to six years in prison. He pleaded guilty to marijuana possession in 2015. And 2016, Mendez pleaded guilty to charges of possession of heroin and cocaine with intent to sell. He was sentenced to two years in prison. Yi also has previous felony charges, according to Palm Beach County court records. In August 2023, she pleaded not guilty to drug possession charges, including fentanyl, and grand theft. Both cases are still open. In June 2023, she was found guilty of fleeing from a marked police car and spent 15 days in jail. In 2016, she pleaded guilty to a felony possession of paraphernalia charge and was credited with time served. Whats next? On Thursday, U.S. Attorneys told the federal court in West Palm Beach that Yi and Mendez are convicted felons who are considered a flight risk and danger to the community based on the offenses described in the complaint. Prosecutors also told the court that 14 firearms were in the couples home when they were arrested on March 7. Detention hearings are scheduled for Yi on March 12 and Mendez on March 14. The arraignment and preliminary hearings are scheduled for March 21. FALL RIVER Following news that Steward Health Care is looking to sell its nine Massachusetts hospitals, Southcoast Health's President and CEO David O. McCready says he's interested in taking over Saint Anne's Hospital in Fall River, where, just under two miles away, Southcoast already runs Charlton Memorial Hospital. In a newsletter addressed to the local community, McCready said he was "alarmed" at the news. "As you can imagine, this will be a complex transaction involving multiple parties with the potential to be truly devastating for these hospitals patients and employees if there is an interruption of service," McCready wrote in the letter dated March 8. "In the worst case, if Steward and their partners fail to find a buyer, or enough buyers, they may have to close one or more of their hospitals. "As we engage with Steward, our message to them is clear: The best option for St. Annes Hospital, its patients, its employees, and our community, is for St. Annes to join the Southcoast Health family." Saint Anne's Hospital in Fall River. Get some background: Governor blasts Steward's handling of financial crisis, wants them to hand over hospitals McCready also pointed out Southcoast Health is "our regions only not-for-profit health system." "...we have proven that there is no one else no one in Boston, in Providence, nationally or elsewhere who can provide the same level of dedicated and skilled clinical care and service that we provide to this community every day," McCready wrote. As of this publishing, it is not yet known what the status of talks are between Steward and Southcoast Health. Steward: 'Numerous' health systems interested Asked of the status of engagement with Southcoast Health on the interest in St. Anne's Hospital, Steward spokesperson Deborah Chiaravalloti said, "we are not commenting on any specific expressions of interest at this time," offering the following statement: "Steward Health Care is working with state officials and others to transition ownership of the Massachusetts hospitals in a way that everyone agrees is best for patients, our employees, and the Commonwealth. We are committed to continuity of care in our communities, and we appreciate the strong level of interest we have received from numerous qualified health systems that could facilitate a smooth transition." Chiaravalloti had also declined to respond to questions about the status of the Saint Anne's Hospital Regional Cancer Center in Dartmouth. Steward Health Care also runs Brockton's Good Samaritan Medical Center, and Morton Hospital in Taunton. Is Southcoast Health interested in other Steward properties? Asked if Southcoast Health had yet reached out to engage Steward directly, a Southcoast Health spokesperson Kaitlyn Johnson said: "We have expressed our interest and are engaging in a thoughtful and timely due diligence process." As to whether or not Southcoast Health may be interested in any of the other Steward-owned sites, Johnson said at the moment, the system's "primary focus is on exploring whether it is possible for St. Annes Hospital to join the Southcoast Health family." A Hawthorn Medical media contact had not responded to The Standard-Times' inquiries on the status of Saint Anne's Regional Cancer Center in Dartmouth in time for this publishing. A website for the facility calls Hawthorn Medical "an affiliate of the Steward Health Care Network." Warren, Markey express displeasure with Steward CEO In a press release issued Friday, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey announced they sent a letter to Steward Health Care CEO and Chairman Dr. Ralph de la Torre, "blasting him for years of financial mismanagement, private equity schemes, and executive profiteering that have led to Steward Healths financial crisis." Stewards Massachusetts hospitals are in deep financial distress and appear to be in danger of closure because of years of mismanagement, private equity schemes, and executive profiteering. You have run this hospital system for 14 years, and reportedly have had access to two private jets while owning two luxury yachts, said the lawmakers in the press release.Meanwhile, suppliers were unpaid, the system piled on debt, and patients in Steward hospitalssuffered because of inadequate care. And now, as a result of years of failures by you and the private equity ownership at Steward, access to health care is at risk for Massachusetts communities, and thousands of health care workers jobs could be lost. What is the history of Steward Health Care? According to Warren's and Markey's press release, private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management invested in and created Steward in 2010 after acquiring Caritas Christi Health Care, led at the time by de la Torre. Then in 2016, Steward sold its hospital facilities to real estate investment trust Medical Properties Trust (MPT) for $1.25 billion, "locking the system into massive rent payments that saddled the hospitals with crushing debt," the release reads. In May 2020, Cerberus transferred its stake in Steward to a group of Steward doctors, which included and was led by de la Torre, according to the release. To finance this transaction, in January 2021 Steward borrowed $335 million from MPT, followed by another loan in 2023 that "quickly went bad," the release reads, "creating unsustainable levels of debt that precipitated the current crisis." You have been involved in every major transaction involving the hospital system for nearly two decades, continued the lawmakers. Steward is hundreds of millions of dollars in debt, raising questions about unpaid vendors, patient care, and job losses for front-line health care workers, while creating ongoing uncertainty about whether hospitals will close, and if not, how they will be restructured. Each step in this process reveals mismanagement, the perils of private equity investment in health care and corporate greed and raises questions about compliance with state and federal securities laws and other requirements You owe Congress, state officials, and the public answers for the record of failure and greed that has culminated in the current Steward Health Care crisis." The lawmakers say they are requesting information from de la Torre on these deals and how they contributed to this crisis no later than March 21, 2024. This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Southcoast Health interested in buying Saint Anne's in Fall River A Southern California school district sued by the state has updated its policy requiring staff to notify parents that a student is using a different pronoun or bathroom designated for another gender and now will only mention that a child has requested a change to their student records. The Chino Valley Unified School District board approved the updated policy on Thursday as the district fights a lawsuit filed by Democratic state Attorney General Rob Bonta, who called the original policy discriminatory. Bonta on Friday did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the boards decision. Chino Valley school board enacts transgender notification policy The policy maintains part of the original rule requiring staff to notify parents within three days of their child requesting any changes to their official or unofficial records, although it does not specify what that would include. All references to gender identification changes have been removed from the policy. LGBTQ+ advocates said the new mandate is simply a legal loophole to repackage the same policy that continues to violate the rights of students. Theyre just broadening the scope so that they dont obviously single that population out, said Kristi Hirst, who co-founded the public education advocacy group Our Schools USA. But the intent behind it, in my opinion, is no different. Both Chinos original and updated policies include other scenarios in which school staff would have to notify parents, such as when their child is significantly injured at school. But schools already were required to report when a childs safety is threatened. Hundreds attended a heated Chino Valley school board meeting as a controversial policy requiring parental notification of any transgender children passed with a 4-1 vote on July 20, 2023. (KTLA) Hundreds attended a heated Chino Valley school board meeting as a controversial policy requiring parental notification of any transgender children passed with a 4-1 vote on July 20, 2023. (KTLA) Hundreds attended a heated Chino Valley school board meeting as a controversial policy requiring parental notification of any transgender children passed with a 4-1 vote on July 20, 2023. (KTLA) Tony Thurmond, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, spoke against the policy at a board meeting with the Chino Valley Unified School District on July 20, 2023. (KTLA) Hundreds attended a heated Chino Valley school board meeting as a controversial policy requiring parental notification of any transgender children passed with a 4-1 vote on July 20, 2023. (KTLA) Student voices criticism of the controversial policy at an April 2023 meeting. The policy would require parental notification of transgender students in the Chino Unified Valley School District. (Chino Unified Valley School District) The battle at the district in Chino, a city about 32 miles (52 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, is part of a nationwide debate over local school districts and the rights of parents and LGBTQ+ students. States across the country have sought to impose bans on gender-affirming care, bar trans athletes from girls and womens sports, and require schools to out trans and nonbinary students to their parents. Some lawmakers in other states have introduced bills in their legislatures with broad language requiring that parents be notified of any changes to their childs emotional health or well-being. In California, proponents of the notification policies are trying to get a measure on the November ballot to require schools to notify parents if a child asks to change their gender identification at school, bar transgender girls in grades 7 and up from participating in girls sports, and ban gender-affirming care for minors. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom garnered attention last year when he threatened to fine another Southern California district, Temecula Valley Unified, for rejecting an elementary school social studies curriculum that included supplementary material mentioning politician and gay rights advocate Harvey Milk. The district later reversed course. The Chino Valley Unified board introduced its policy last summer after a Republican lawmaker was not able to advance legislation in the state Legislature, which is dominated by Democrats, requiring school staff to notify parents about their childs request for a gender identification change. Chino Valley Unified school board President Sonja Shaw, who helped craft the original policy, said before the vote on Thursday that the board is committed to upholding the rights of parents and prioritizing the well-being of students. This new policy strikes a balance between these two important principles, ensuring that parents are kept informed every step of the way, Shaw said in a statement. Teachers, parents and advocates who oppose the school board policy say it could put students safety at risk if they live in abusive households. Andrea McFarland, a high school English teacher for Chino Valley Unified, said the policy the board approved last year was unfair to teachers. I dont want to be put in that place to have to choose between potentially putting a child in an unsafe position when they walk in the door at home, McFarland said. I dont know what theyre walking into. She said the updated policy is unclear about what would be considered unofficial records, a term she hasnt heard used in her 13 years as an educator. A judge last year halted part of the policy that required schools to tell parents if their child asks to change their gender identification. He did not grant the states attempt in October to block another part of the policy requiring schools to notify parents about a childs request to make changes to information in their student records. Emily Rae, a lawyer representing the district, said the board decided to consider the updated policy in response to the judges rulings so far in the case. The district still believes the existing policy is legally defensible and constitutional, she said in a statement. She cited a recent ruling over a similar notification policy at Temecula Valley Unified, where a judge allowed the district to require school staff to notify parents if their child asks to change their gender identification at school. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. FILE - Pedro Sanchez, Spain's Prime Minister delivers his speech at the Annual Meeting of World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 17, 2024. Sanchez said Saturday March 9, 2024 that he will propose that Spain's parliament recognizes a Palestinian state. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File) BILBAO, Spain (AP) Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Saturday that he will propose that Spain's parliament recognizes a Palestinian state. I will propose granting Spains recognition to the Palestinian state, Sanchez said. "I do this out of moral conviction, for a just cause and because it is the only way that the two states, Israel and Palestine, can live together in peace. Sanchez added his voice to a chorus of other European leaders and government officials who have said that they could support a two-state solution in the Middle East as international frustration grows with Israels actions in the Palestinian territories. French President Emmanuel Macron said last month that it's not taboo for France to recognize a Palestinian state. British Foreign Minister David Cameron said that the United Kingdom could officially recognize a Palestinian state after a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. Sanchez said that his position on the conflict in the Gaza Strip is much like his countrys support for Ukraine following Russias full-scale invasion more than two years ago. He stressed that Spain demanded respect for international law from Russia, and from Israel, for the violence to end, the recognition of two states, and for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza." His comments at a rights conference in the city of Bilbao came as aid shipments were headed for Gaza amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and a new international willingness to work around Israeli restrictions. Five months after Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage, Israels military has battered the territory, killing more than 30,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) Among the many bills filed ahead of the upcoming regular legislative session is a bill that would eliminate all red-light and speed cameras statewide. Its a bill some drivers insist needs to pass. They quietly contradict our freedom, said David Devaney. Across the board, I dont think its necessary, said Frank Phils. Louisiana lawmaker wants to get rid of inspection stickers Louisiana Senator Alan Seabaughs Senate Bill 21 is one drivers say they are keeping their eyes on believing the cameras are unnecessary. I think they should take them, to be honest. They dont even know if they are speeding or not. Maybe they get you for no reason. Maybe the city wants that money, got two tickets last week, said Alfredo Diaz. Its an intrusion on people. People should monitor their speed and not overdue. I dont think speed cameras are the answer people should be honorable to obey the rules, said Devaney. For Phils, they arent always accurate, remembering the many times he went to fight a speeding ticket. When I went back and viewed the tape, I noticed I was not in the wrong and I actually disputed it. So, in those instances, it is inaccurate and there should be a better system in place, said Phils. The change would also outlaw the school zone cameras, to which some drivers disagree, saying its the one place they are needed the most. They dont stop at red lights, they dont stop at stop signs. They just drive through and when you are driving down the street, even in a school zone, the zip passes you on the right, said Devaney. They are definitely needed to ensure the safety of the children, said Phils. Seabaugh is confident the bill will become a law, though Diaz believes the loss of revenue for cities makes this a hard task. I think they are going to try to keep it because thats more paper for them, said Diaz. The session will begin Monday, March 11 and it must end no later than 6 p.m. on Monday, June 3. Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter. Latest Posts For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGNO. Breakfast and lunch menus for the week of March 11-15 Archbishop Bergan Catholic Schools Monday: No school. Tuesday: Pork patty on a bun, tater tots, vegetable, fruit and milk. Wednesday: Chili or chicken noodle soup, cinnamon roll, vegetables, fruit and milk. Thursday: Sandwich, carrots, chips, Oreos, juice box and milk. Friday: Cheese pizza, carrots, fruit cup, treat and milk. Fremont Public Schools Monday: Chicken nuggets, mixed vegetables, au gratin potatoes, cornbread, juice and milk. Tuesday: Crispito, corn, carrots, peaches and milk. Wednesday: Cheese pizza, romaine lettuce, baby carrots, sliced apples and milk. Thursday: Orange chicken, rice, roll, broccoli, applesauce and milk. Friday: Deli sandwich, baby carrots, juice box, chips and milk. Cedar Bluffs Public Schools Monday: Waffle sticks, toast, fruit and juice; corn dog, baked beans, salad bar, fruit and milk. Tuesday: Scrambled eggs, toast, fruit and juice; crispitos, Mexican rice, salad bar, fruit and milk. Wednesday: Apple churro, toast, fruit and juice; spaghetti with garlic bread, salad bar, fruit and milk. Thursday: Doughnut, toast, fruit and juice; barbecue chicken sandwich, cheesy vegetables, salad bar, fruit and milk. Friday: No school. Logan View Public Schools Monday: Waffles; popcorn chicken, mashed potatoes and dinner rolls. Preschool cereal and fruit; popcorn chicken, mashed potatoes and fruit. Tuesday: Breakfast pizza; corn dogs. Preschool breakfast pizza and fruit; corn dogs, vegetables and fruit. Wednesday: Eggs and toast; cooks choice. Preschool bagel and fruit; cooks choice. Thursday: French toast tornadoes; tacos and breadsticks. Preschool doughnuts and fruit; pizza, vegetables and fruit. Friday: No school. Mead Public Schools Monday: Pop Tart; Pizza Hut, lettuce salad, pineapple and breadstick. Tuesday: Pizza Hut; biscuit and gravy or sausage biscuit, hashbrown, pears and graham crackers. Wednesday: Mini cinnamon rolls; crispito with cheese, corn, grapes and peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Thursday: Tornado; General Tsos or popcorn chicken, fried rice, applesauce and crab rangoon. Friday: Pancake stick; fish sandwich, french fries, strawberries and cookie. North Bend Central Schools Monday: No school. Tuesday: No school. Wednesday: Pancake on a stick; hot dog or cheddar dog and baked beans. Thursday: Choice of bagel; sloppy joe and corn. Friday: Pancake and sausage; pepperoni or cheese pizza and California vegetables. Oakland-Craig Public Schools Monday: French toast, cereal bar, sausage, fruit, apple juice and milk; orange chicken, rice, broccoli and cauliflower, pineapple and milk. Tuesday: Breakfast pizza, cereal, fruit, grape juice and milk; corn dogs, macaroni and cheese, carrots, mixed berries and milk. Wednesday: Cereal, muffin, dragon fruit juice, fruit and milk; chicken alfredo, green beans, fruit salad, garlic bread and milk. Thursday: Combo bar, Pop Tart, mango juice, fruit and milk; pizza, lettuce salad, green beans, cookie and milk. Friday: No school. Scribner-Snyder Public Schools Monday: No school. Tuesday: Mini cinnamon roll; chicken sandwich, chips, baked beans and pears. Wednesday: Breakfast pizza; crispito, chips and salsa, corn and apricots. Thursday: Cereal bar; beef tips over potatoes, dinner roll, California vegetables and mixed fruit. Friday: No school. The campaign is on: the Congress of the European People's Party, which brings together MEPs, party leaders and no fewer than 12 heads of state or government, has officially endorsed Ursula von der Leyen's candidacy. Several senior figures spoke to Euronews Romania and Euronews Brussels during their conference in Bucharest. "We are sending a message of stability at a time of uncertainty linked to the war in Europe and the global economic challenge with China. We are keeping Europe together. That's our main message. We need strong and firm leadership" explains Manfred Weber, President of the European People's Party. The Green Pact, which supports the European Union in its ecological transition, was one of the key achievements of the Von Der Leyen Commission. Manfred Weber assures us that this policy is not threatened by the agricultural protest. "I'm 52 years old and I'm telling you, from my generation, the fight against climate change is probably the biggest, most important task for all of us. It's a historic issue to stop climate change. That's why our commitment is clear: we are the party to fight climate change," adds Manfred Weber. Former Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told Euronews that the Green Deal would be under threat if the European Union failed to take account of the concerns of the farming community: "Of course, the European Union must continue to play a leading role in the green transition. At the same time, it must do so while respecting the social concerns of its citizens and without imposing too many costs on those who are most vulnerable. will turn some of our population against the green agenda. That would be a mistake. And we must also pursue our commitments to green transition, but without putting our industry and agriculture at a competitive disadvantage to other parts of the world. rest of the world." Photo illustration by Getty Images. The question of what government entity will oversee felony criminal jurisdiction on the Flathead Indian Reservation is still to be seen, but its looking like it wont be the state of Montana. And Lake County Commissioners are not pleased. Lake County currently oversees felonies on the reservation through an old agreement passed by Congress that allowed certain states criminal jurisdiction over Native Americans on reservations. The state opted into the agreement years ago, and the county has overseen those duties since, but commissioners argue theyve been burdened with the $4 million cost, and they want out or the state to foot the bill. The state argues the agreement never required it fund the county. Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte in a letter last week to Lake County Commissioners said the only potential tool available to him regarding jurisdiction was to initiate taking the state out of the agreement with the federal government that granted the state control in overseeing felony crimes there. I hope you are able to resolve your concerns in coordination with CSKT, the federal government, and the counties and cities located within the Flathead Reservation, Gianforte said; CSKT are the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes on that reservation. Gianfortes letter comes after years of disagreement between Lake County Commissioners and the governor over who ultimately foots the bill under the federal law, Public Law 280. The CSKTon the Flathead Reservation are the only tribe in Montana in this agreement. The tribes said they are working with stakeholders to determine a path forward. Last fall, commissioners announced they were withdrawing from the agreement. Gianfortes letter responded to this notice from the commission saying the state was never required to provide funding, and the only option he has left is to dissolve the agreement. He has until May 20 to issue an official proclamation recognizing the countys withdrawal. If he does, as hes required to by law, what happens with felony crime on the reservation afterward isnt completely clear. Commissioners say this latest decision is an example of lack of leadership from Gianforte, and in an election year, could mean less support from the Flathead. The polls might be hard pressed in Lake County. I dont know about the other counties, said Lake County Sheriff Donald Bell. If the state dissolves the agreement as it foreshadowed in the March 1 letter, federal criminal oversight may be kicked over to federal agencies, but commissioners said Friday until that is determined, there will be a lot of confusion over where the arrested will be processed after being apprehended. CSKT Response The CSKT tribes said in a March 5 statement they are collaborating with stakeholders in preparation as the state plans to retrocede from the termination-era policy of PL-280. The termination era refers to mid-century federal policies passed to stop federal aid from going to tribes across the country. The tribes said they are offering technical, legal, and personnel resources as the Tribes work with state and federal partners to determine a solid path forward. CSKT Tribal Council Chairman Michael Dolson said in a statement the tribes are focused on public safety regardless of the status of PL-280. The tribes have overseen jurisdiction for misdemeanors on the Flathead Reservation since 1994. Commissioners: Lack of Leadership from Gianforte Commissioner Gale Decker told the Daily Montanan on Friday he wasnt really surprised at the letter, but was disappointed in what he said was a lack of communication and leadership from Gianforte on the issue. We just kind of feel like were on an island here when it comes with dealing with the state government, Decker said. Lake County is known as the redheaded stepchild, and if we want anything done here locally, then we got to figure out the solution to it. Commissioner Bill Barron said he doesnt feel Gianfortes agenda is working with counties. If he would have stepped in, taken control of it, and demonstrated some leadership, I dont think wed be in the situation we are now, Barron said. I think it would have been something that would have benefited the state, the county, the tribe, everyone. Decker said the county expects the governor will issue a proclamation withdrawing the county from Public Law 280 on May 20, the day the governor is required to respond to the countys withdrawal notice. Decker said the commission is going to have a meeting with the U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Jesse Laslovich later this month to discuss options for working with the federal government, but Decker is not optimistic adequate resources would be available for the feds to oversee felony crimes on the reservation. Laslovich did not respond to an inquiry about what resources may be available but confirmed he will be meeting with commissioners. In the meantime, the county is looking at spending $7 million of its own money, and likely some borrowed, to adjust its current space to make room for more beds for detainees, Decker said. The commissioners said they havent received guidance on how to handle people who the county arrested under the PL-280 agreement and whether they will have the authority to hold them after May 20. And we cant just unlock the door and turn them loose, said Barron. Bell said the Sheriffs Office wants to do its due diligence to sort out the details of how law enforcement on the reservation will look before May 20. Decker said the response to a call into the 911 Dispatch wont change, but what will likely have to change is how the apprehended person is processed depending on whether they are Native or non-Native. He said whats disconcerting to some is when someone is detained on a felony, where are they going to go if the county detention center isnt available? Does some tribal Detention Center take them? Do they have to transport them to Missoula? he said. Those are just kind of some on the ground questions that we feel need to be answered before May 20. Gianfortes March 1 Letter In his letter this month, Gianforte said the legislature did not give him the authorization or the funds to enforce PL-280 in the event the county withdrew. The legislature gave the county the authority to withdraw in a law passed during the 2021 session, but it included a $1 funding appropriation for the county. The Legislature did not provide additional resources or funding to the Department of Justice, the Governors Office, or any other state agency in the event of a withdrawal, the governor said. However, legislators tried to account for the potential of a withdrawal during the 2023 legislative session, passing a bill that would require commissioners to stay in the PL-280 agreement. The bill also included a $5 million appropriation meant to assist Lake County with the costs of executing the agreement. But Gianforte vetoed the bill, saying in his veto letter the legislature failed to address the underlying issue of financial responsibility for the implementation of PL-280 and that the money was allocated without requirements around how it was spent and created a slippery slope for future requests from the county. A district court judge in the fall sided with the state over who was financially responsible, saying in her order the state is only required to reimburse the county to the extent the legislature sees fit to appropriate funds. She noted it was unfortunate with the states budget surplus during the last session funding couldnt get out of the capitol building. When asked about whether the county would pursue further litigation on the issue, Decker said he hopes they wouldnt have to go down that road again. That seems to be the governors preferred road, to go to court rather than negotiate, he said. The post State wont step in after Lake County withdraws criminal jurisdiction over Flathead Reservation appeared first on Daily Montanan. TAMPA, Fla. - Two online articles in People Magazine helped Tampa resident Maria Hastings uncovered the difficult details behind her adoption. "I just knew always growing up that I was adopted from Chile," Hastings, 37, said. "I was content with my life. I was happy. But when I saw that article, I had to find out." The two articles were posted online in November 2022. One headline reads: "Twins Stolen at Birth Reunite with Biological Mom Who 'Never Forgot About Us' and Fought to Find Them." A People Magazine article led Maria Hastings to seek out her biological family. As Hastings began to read, she couldnt ignore how similar the twins adoption story was to hers. READ: Tampa man charged in deadly dog park shooting fought with victim over sexual orientation: HCSO "Each of those moms were in poverty and could not afford to take care of them. And then also the time frame," Hastings said. In the 1970s and 1980s, thousands of Chilean babies were illegally put up for adoption under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet as a means of reducing poverty. Pictured: Maria Hastings Hastings continued her research and found a second article featuring fellow Chilean adoptee Tyler Graf, whos now on a mission to reunite these families through his nonprofit, Connecting Roots. "You can tell there is a lot of pain on both sides," Graf told FOX 13 during a February interview. READ: Serial sex offender accused of exposing himself to women, kids in Winter Haven: This aint his first rodeo After conducting his own investigation, Graf called Hastings to tell her she was just like him - stolen at birth. Tyler Graf is on a mission to reconnect families through his non-profit Connecting Roots. Hastings told FOX 13, Chilean records showed she never left the country and still lived there. Despite her birth mother not knowing how to read or write, Hastings said someone forged her mothers signature on her adoption records. READ: Auburndale police officer was speeding 105 mph moments before tragic crash that killed child: Report "Oh my God, my heart dropped," Hastings said of her phone call with Graf. "I was trying not to cry on the phone. But I broke down after our phone call. It was difficult." Through Connecting Roots, the Tampa woman flew down to Chile in February to meet her mom, older sister, and extended family members for the very first time. Pictured: Maria Hastings and her adopted family. Hastings learned she comes from a family of breadmakers, who introduced her to their traditions. She spent a week meeting her biological family members in Chile last month. As she learns to navigate this new chapter, shes also embracing her Florida roots. READ: Barstool's Dave Portnoy made his way through Tampa Bay area giving pizza reviews "I love them both very much," an emotional Hastings said of her Tampa and Chilean families. "I'm very happy to have them in my life." Maria Hastings as a child with her adoptive family and as an adult with her biological mother and sister. Hastings said her family in Florida was shocked to find out what she had discovered. In most of these cases, the adoptive families were also deceived as part of this illegal adoption network, according to Connecting Roots. In the last month, Connecting Roots has received over 100 requests for help with new searches. SIGN UP: Click here to sign up for the FOX 13 daily newsletter A student at Discovery High School in Gwinnett County is facing charges after bringing a gun to school on Friday. In a letter sent to parents, Principal Marci Sledge confirmed that a student brought a gun to school, but did not show, point or threaten anyone with it. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] She said the student had been arrested and would be facing criminal charges and the maximum school disciplinary consequences. I want to reassure you that we are taking this situation seriously. To be clear, bringing a gun or other weapons to school will not be tolerated at Discovery High, Sledge wrote. I understand hearing about this is unsettling. Guns and weapons have no place in our school. TRENDING STORIES: She said that school administrators and the school resource officer acted quickly after learning about the situation and stopped anyone from getting hurt. The students identity and his or her exact charges have not been released. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: (STACKER/WFXR)If the COVID-19 pandemic is considered the stress test for education systems, much of the world failed, according to results from a global assessment showing the sharpest drop in test scores on record. HeyTutor, an in-person and online tutoring provider, looked at data from 2022s Programme for International Student Assessment to see how students worldwide fared during the pandemic. Data shows that from 2018 to 2022, students scores fell by a record 15 points in math, and reading fell by twice the prior record, or by 10 points. In all three core subjectsmath, science, and readingscores fell in an equivalent of about one-half to three-quarters of a year of learning. Science, meanwhile, remained relatively stable. Before 2018, the assessment scores never changed more than five points in reading or four points in math. Education experts said privatization, high-stakes testing, and the need for more investments in schools, regardless of socioeconomic status, were to blame for less-than-stellar test scores. The pandemic is partly to blame for the lagging test scores. The data shows that many schools, teachers, and local governments were unprepared to transition into remote education, ultimately impacting the learning outcome. In addition, students struggled when distracted by digital devices, making it harder to concentrate. Franklin County Supervisors and School District disagree over funding The pandemic, however, cant take all the blame for the changes, as indicated by varying student performance between subjects. For the past decade, reading and science scores have declined. The study found from 2012 to 2022, nearly half (46%) of the participating nations had declining scores in two out of the three subjects. During that same period, only six countries/economies improved in at least two subjects. According to the study, reading and science scores peaked between 2009 and 2012 and started declining years before the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered school doors. Another reason for the decline in scores is that developing nations such as Costa Rica, Indonesia, Morocco, and Romania started incorporating universal secondary education. Previously marginalized students are increasingly getting a formal education, but they tend to lag in knowledge, which impacts the score results. Test scores fell in all 3 core subjects: The PISA exam is the brainchild of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries. The OECD, based in France, works with governments, policymakers, and other stakeholders on key global issues. In the late 90s, the OECD created the PISA after realizing that using years of schooling for examining education outcomes wasnt an effective way of assessing education. Instead, the PISA exam aims to assess what students actually know and can do. Taken every three years, the test examines what 15-year-old students know in science, math, and reading and if they can apply that knowledge and those skills in real life. Only 15-year-olds are tested because globally, its the oldest age that most students receive a standard education. Roanoke County School Board announce three new principals, supervisor Last year, almost 700,000 students from 81 different countries and economiesranging from Albania to Vietnam, Qatar, Colombia, Jamaica, and Canadatook the assessment. The test scores students from Level 1 to 6, with Level 2 students having a base level of proficiency and Level 6 scorers having the highest ability. The information gleaned from the PISA exams can be used worldwide to create better educational systems through collaboration and peer pressure, according to the OECD. The learning loss was worldwide: Global average math scores plummeted by approximately 15 points since 2018the equivalent of three-fourths of a year of learningbut countries such as Germany, Iceland, and the Netherlands saw their PISA math scores drop by at least 25 points. America suffered a 13-point dip in average math scores. On average, 1-in-4 15-year-olds in OECD member countries are considered low performers in mathematics, science, and reading and struggle to do basic algorithms and interpret simple texts, the study found. And wealthy countries that are doing worse in math may have less parental involvement in schools than before. Meanwhile, school systems with increased parental engagement in their childs learning showed improvement, or at least stability, with their math scores, according to PISA. School systems with top-tier digital resources, competitive staff, and increased peer-to-peer tutoring also scored better on the exam, as well as those that focused on the well-being of students and their learning. The studys results overall indicate that while educational investment is important, ensuring funding is targeted to actual needs may be a way to create better test results in the future, especially as schools and students recover from the pandemics impact on education. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFXRtv. Despite some reports that anti-Asian hate crimes are declining in New York, Asian Americans in the city still fear for their safety and remain hypervigilant in public settings, according to a new study. The study whose results were released Thursday by The Asian American Foundation, or TAAF surveyed 1,000 New York City-based Asian Americans ages 16 and above between Nov. 30 and Dec. 19. The findings show that safety is a major concern among Asian Americans there. According to the survey, 1 in 5 Asian Americans were physically assaulted in the past 12 months, and 1 in 2 reported experiencing insults, harassments, threats, or a physical attack during that period because of their race or ethnicity. More than half of those surveyed also reported feeling unsafe on public transportation, with 83% of Asian American women calling public safety a major concern in the city. Between 2020 and 2021, anti-Asian hate crimes surged across the country amidracist rhetoric linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, with New York City experiencing the largest increase in reports of these incidents, according to a study performed at the time. Since then, data from the New York Police Department has shown a decrease in such crimes in the city, with 83 incidents targeting Asians in 2022 and 51 incidents in 2023. But despite this reported decline, TAAF head Norman Chen said that anti-Asian hate crimes have not dissipated, and that fear is still heightened for Asian Americans in the city. TAAFs survey found that 62% of respondents witnessed an Asian American community member being insulted, harassed, threatened or physically attacked due to their race or ethnicity in the past 12 months. Additionally, 75% of respondents changed their daily routines or behaviors to avoid hate crimes, such as by not speaking in their native tongue. The anti-Asian hate rhetoric and violence that targeted the AAPI community in 2020 has not stopped, Chen said in a statement, using an acronym for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Were seeing this in the continued hate, violence, and distrust towards Asian Americans New Yorkers. The othering of our community contributes not only to discrimination and prejudice in public spaces, but also erodes any efforts toward equity and inclusivity for AAPIs. Earlier this week, the governor of New York state announced that National Guard members would be deployed to patrol some of New York Citys subways with police and conduct bag checks to deter criminal activity. In a statement to HuffPost, TAAF Regional Director Eugena Oh said that while she understands the governors urgency in responding to assaults in the public transportation system, TAAFs survey shows that 67% of respondents thought better relations with police would help combat anti-Asian incidents. Enhanced relationships with law enforcement are critical to increasing safety, encouraging reporting, and providing a sustainable sense of security for our community, Oh told HuffPost. In particular, we need linguistically and culturally appropriate mechanisms for reporting and overall trust building with our communities and the police. The TAAF study indicates many New Yorkers are reluctant to report anti-Asian hate crime incidents or face barriers in doing so, which could lead to an undercount in official data on their prevalence. More than half of survey respondents who experienced a hate incident in New York did not report the experience to anyone. Among them, 42% said they were reluctant to bring additional attention to themselves by reporting, and 29% were unaware that reporting an incident was an option in New York. Additional barriers were also present for those aware of the reporting process, with 27% not knowing how to report such incidents and 26% indicating that they didnt feel comfortable reporting them to law enforcement or other officials. We hope this study will shine a light on the ever-present issue of Asian American safety in New York and provide the data necessary for city leaders to come together to meaningfully invest in our community, Oh said in a statement. Related... Stuttgart's Anthony Rouault in action during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen at MHPArena. Rouault is sidelined for up to six weeks with a broken jaw that requires surgery, the Bundesliga club said on Saturday. Tom Weller/dpa VfB Stuttgart defender Anthony Rouault is sidelined for up to six weeks with a broken jaw that requires surgery, the Bundesliga club said on Saturday. Rouault, 22, suffered the injury in Friday's 2-0 league victory over Union Berlin and was substituted at half-time. He was playing with a face mask due to a recent nose fracture. Stuttgart said that the Frenchman would require surgery and would miss "four to six weeks" of action. Rouault came to Stuttgart in summer on loan from Toulouse and signed a permanent contract until 2027 on Tuesday at the third-placed club. CAIRO (Reuters) -Sudan's Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group on Saturday welcomed a call by the United Nations Security Council for a cessation of hostilities in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, offering a potential respite from the 11-month-old conflict. Ramadan is expected to start on Sunday evening. In a statement, the RSF expressed hope that the Security Council resolution would "significantly lessen the suffering of the Sudanese people by ensuring the smooth delivery of humanitarian aid" and pave the way for a political process leading to a permanent ceasefire. War erupted in Sudan on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese army and the RSF. The U.N. says nearly 25 million people - half Sudan's population - need aid, some 8 million have fled their homes and hunger is rising. Washington says the parties to the conflict have committed war crimes. The U.S. special envoy to Sudan, Tom Perriello, will visit a number of countries in Africa and the Middle East from March 11 to 25, the State Department said on Saturday, . It said the trip will demonstrate "the priority the Administration places on ending the Sudan conflict, meeting the immediate and dire humanitarian needs of the Sudanese people, and charting a path toward civilian, democratic government." Perriello will visit Uganda, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. On Friday the Security Council adopted a British-drafted resolution for a cessation of hostilities in Ramadan, but the mechanism for implementing the resolution remains unclear. Sudan's U.N. ambassador, Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith Mohamed, told the council on Thursday that the president of the country's transitional council commended the appeal of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a Ramadan truce. However, he said the leader is "wondering about how to do this." "In embracing the proposed humanitarian ceasefire, we express our readiness to partake in discussions concerning the establishment of mutually agreed upon monitoring mechanisms," the RSF said in its Saturday statement. "These mechanisms are crucial for ensuring the effective implementation of the ceasefire and for achieving the humanitarian objectives intended by this resolution." (Reporting by Hatem Maher, Ahmed Tolba and David Ljunggren; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Giles Elgood and Daniel Wallis) President Bidens fiery State of the Union address on Thursday received mixed reviews after he called out Republicans on abortion, Ukraine aid and the border. Without using his name, Biden targeted former President Trump his likely rival in the 2024 election and kickstarted the general election race for the White House, all of which is likely to be the focus for this weeks Sunday shows. An invigorated Biden addressed the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol and the threat Trump poses to democracy in the United States. With the two 2020 presidential candidates off to the races for a rematch, the 2024 general election season has begun to heat up. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who like nearly all of Bidens cabinet members was in attendance for the annual address, will appear on both ABCs This Week and Fox News Sunday. Following the speech, he fired back at House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who criticized Bidens speech for being hyperpartisan and vitriolic. Buttigieg argued that Johnsons criticisms of bipartisan legislation Biden passed was literally false. Biden, 81, spoke for more than an hour before the joint session of Congress on Thursday, often shouting and showing energy many were surprised about. Dubbed Sleepy Joe by Trump in the past, Fox News host Sean Hannity said the president was hyper-caffeinated and he should now be called Jacked-up Joe. Biden addressed a deeply divided Congress. The Senate passed a $460 billion package of six spending bills Friday, avoiding a partial government shutdown. The legislation ran into staunch opposition from conservatives, even after passing the House. Another divisive issue is the stalled border bill. After the bipartisan Senate border deal failed, Biden used his address to directly condemn Republicans for opposing the deal on behalf of Trump. When GOP members vocally dissented, Biden argued Look at the facts. I know you know how to read. Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) was one of three senators to draft the bipartisan border deal that failed. It would have included $20 billion for border security and given the federal government temporary authority to expel migrants when daily crossings at the border exceeded a set threshold, as well as allow officials to process asylum claims more quickly, among other provisions. While Biden referenced the border deal, Lankford was seen mouthing the words thats true and nodding his head. He is set to join CNNs State of the Union on Sunday. Other advocates of Bidens are set to appear on this weeks shows, where they will likely talk about his performance and upcoming general election efforts. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) will appear on CBS Face the Nation. Following the address, Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) delivered the Republican response. She received heavy criticism online for a melodramatic and unusual rebuttal. Britt will appear on Fox News Sunday. Bidens address was predicted to be a pivotal moment in his campaign, as its become increasingly likely that he will face Trump in the polls this fall. Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley suspended her campaign Wednesday after a significant defeat in Super Tuesday elections across the country. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who suspended his GOP primary bid and endorsed Trump, will appear on Fox News Sunday Morning Futures. Trump confirmed that Scott is on his shortlist of vice-presidential candidates. Here is the full list of guests scheduled to appear on this weeks Sunday talk shows: ABCs This Week Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg; Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.). NBCs Meet the Press Sens. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.); Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). CBS Face the Nation Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.); House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). CNNs State of the Union Warnock; Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.); North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein (D). Fox News Sunday Buttigieg, Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.). News Nations The Hill Sunday with Chris Stirewalt Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) and Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.). Fox News Sunday Morning Futures Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.); Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.). For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. This week I had the pleasure and honour of being the guest speaker at the Northern Irish branch of the Council for Christians and Jews. The Jewish community in Northern Ireland is small but very important. It has always contributed in a positive way, particularly in Belfast, which is the birthplace of Chaim Herzog, the late 6th president of Israel and father of the current president, Isaac. In April of 2023, I was in the synagogue in Belfast and we were reflecting on anniversaries the 100th anniversary of Northern Ireland in 2021 and the 75th anniversary of the state of Israel. This week, instead of celebrating happy anniversaries we had a dreadful date to recall: October 7, and the horrific Hamas terrorist attack. Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK. Yet many have no fear of expressing support for this murderous group as there have been few consequences for doing so. The Prime Minister told us last week that enough was enough. He was correct, but when will we move from words to action? When are we going to see consequences for those who support Hamas in the UK? It appears that there are some in the upper echelons of our society and indeed Government who do not want to act. Indeed, the reverse appears to be true, with some wanting a softer line. It was only last week that the Foreign Office held a seminar where speakers told staff that calling Hamas terrorists was an obstacle to peace, and that applying the label was unhelpful. It is certainly unhelpful to Hamas which, like the IRA, is trying to claim freedom fighter status. But it is very helpful to those who cry out for justice, including the hostages. Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, has said that if Hamas were to be left in control of even a part of Gaza, there will never be a two-state solution because you cannot expect Israel to live next to a group of people that want to do October 7 all over again. He was right. Hamas must be defeated, not just for safety of the Israeli people, but for a peaceful route map for the region. We must remind ourselves how heinous the events of October 7 were, and how the pain continues for the families of those still held hostage. The sexual violence that was used by Hamas on that day was also unprecedented. Rape is not resistance. It is a war crime. And yet so many womens groups usually so vocal about such things have been strangely silent about what happened. Why is that the case? Is it, as one of my colleagues in the House of Lords said, Its MeToo, unless youre a Jew. Are Jewish women the wrong sort of women for those on the liberal Left? The UN, not known for its love of Israel, has confirmed that Hamas used sexual violence as a weapon of war. It found clear and convincing evidence of sexual violence by Hamas. Why then is there still silence from those so used to claiming a platform to shout and advocate for victims of sexual crime? Remember, its not just Israeli women and children who have suffered. The women and children of Gaza living under the misrule and violence of Hamas need to be freed too. Mothers are crying out, but their voices are not being heard. Terrorists do not care for their own communities. They have a callous disregard for their vulnerable people we saw that often here in Northern Ireland and indeed sometimes terrorists use their women and children as propaganda. We must do all we can to highlight the depravity of Hamas both towards the Jewish community and indeed to their own people as well. I, and many others, will continue to speak up for our friends and neighbours in the Jewish community. I know what it is like to be under attack from terrorism and its at times like this that you find out who your friends truly are. Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee is a former first minister of Northern Ireland Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. The excitement emanating from almost 70 attendees at the Thursday nail-tapping ceremony for the renovation of a house in central Fremont was evident, as a list of elected officials, volunteer charity leaders and business community members waited for the program to begin. The celebration was to recognize the home renovation project that started in January and is in the early stages of construction. Rebuilding Together received a low-interest loan from the Greater Fremont Development Councils Fremont Home Fund to purchase the house, and is working to get it fully remodeled. The home will then be sold, at a small profit, to a first-time homeowner family. The project is one example of many different efforts across Fremont to beef up and add to the citys affordable housing stock, something that elected officials have said is a dire need as the city grows with new industries. The funds from the GFDC are part of a robust plan to help bring residents to Fremont as well as offer benefits to existing home and property owners, from a $1.5 million pool of grant funds that will be distributed to eligible applicants by the Greater Fremont Development Council. In July 2023, Megan Skiles, president and CEO of the GFDC, said after about 20 local businesses and organizations donated close to $500,000 in matching funds, the GFDC was awarded another $1 million from the Nebraska Rural Workforce Housing Fund grant. During a July 2023 interview, Skiles said applications for the program funds would be available for residents and newcomers to the city to get low-cost loans intended to assist with transforming a range of property types in Fremont in an effort to increase quality and affordable housing in Fremont. Kirk Brown, executive director of Rebuilding Together Platte Valley East, said his organization got a loan under the program to embark on the North Platte Avenue project. Brown took some time before the ceremony began to talk about the Fremont Home Fund and his organizations role in helping bring affordable and attainable housing to lower and middle income families in the city. QUESTION: Can you talk about the project here on North Platte Avenue? BROWN: So this is money that was set aside for us through the Greater Fremont Development Council. They got a grant from the (Nebraska) Department of Economic Development for rural workforce housing. And out of that pool of money, $200,000 was set aside for Rebuilding Together. So with that money, we purchased this house for $60,000, we've got another $60,000 loan to make the improvements that we're going to do. We've had some great community partners that I'll be talking about later that have helped us keep our costs down. QUESTION: When will the home be completed? BROWN: We hope by this summer to have the house completely remodeled and then sell it to hopefully a first-time homebuyer because there is just not affordable housing available in Fremont or in lots of places, actually. Then our goal is, you know, just to turn around and, and try find another house to purchase and, and continue the process. QUESTION: How many total people will be involved in the construction? Do you contract out with a variety of different companies or use the Fremont High School? BROWN: We're going to do as much of what we with ourselves and with volunteers. As for high school students, we have talked to them about that. It's a little hard for them to get away from the high school at this point. But, you know, we're, we're trying to come up with a way. QUESTION: One topic of discussion in Fremont in recent months, in the last couple of years, is affordable housing. Where does this project fit in making that goal to be attainable for city leaders? BROWN: Well, it's, you know, it's going to be, you know, we think we're going to sell a house for around $150,000 and there just aren't many houses on the market at that price. So, that's, that's our goal, and then it'll provide us with some revenue that we can use to do our regular programs, which is what we normally do. That is home remodels and modifications for low income people that are homeowners that, you know, need something done to make their home healthy and safe. QUESTION: Can the community do anything as far as donations, or volunteering to help your Rebuilding Together? BROWN: Definitely, they can contact us. Our website is RebuildingTogetherPVE.org. Or they can call us and, and, you know, if they want to volunteer or if they want to donate, they can." QUESTION: How grateful are you to the State and the Greater Fremont Development Council for helping get the money in that pool that's in that fund? BROWN: Oh, extremely grateful. I mean, we've never done this before. This is a new venture for us, but we're excited about it. And it gives a little different avenue to fulfill our mission. And so we're super excited. Our little experiment in multiracial democracy rarely leaves an encounter with the Supreme Court unscathed, but Mondays 90 decision in Trump v. Andersonin which the justices ruled that Colorado could not keep Donald Trump off the ballothas left a deeper wound than most. As The New Republics Matt Ford explained soon after the unanimous, unsigned per curiam decision was handed down, the ruling is an absolute cock-up that willfully misinterpreted the plain text of the Fourteenth Amendment, seemed to misunderstand how either the Constitution or most elections in the United States work, took up questions that hadnt been brought before the court in the first place, and found terrible ways to answer them. The American people began the day armed with a constitutional fail-safe that provided them with the means of keeping an insurrectionist off the ballot. By noon, the court had ruled that they werent entitled to that tool, that it would be up to the voters themselves to decide whether an insurrectionist can hold higher office, and that their decision was subject to review and reversal in the form of a subsequent insurrection. Seems like a bad way to run a country. As far as the legal matters in play are concerned, the ruling is, for the lack of a more polite descriptor, hot garbagea sentiment, as Ford documented, shared by many people, including those who actually believed Trump should remain on the ballot. But outside of the jurisprudential hash left steaming on the courthouse steps, there is a rather savage truth sitting there, sub rosa, in the decision: It seems the Roberts court unanimously agrees that the Republican Party is truly, and despicably, lawless. How could the court butcher the ruling so badly? asked Ford. The simplest answer appears to be fear. Fear was especially apparent in Justice Amy Coney Barretts admonition of the liberal trios fiery concurrence. The Court has settled a politically charged issue in the volatile season of a Presidential election, she wrote. Particularly in this circumstance, writings on the Court should turn the national temperature down, not up. Its a bit rich coming from one of the justices whose rulings, most notably on the abortion rights front, have done a great deal to elevate that national temperature, and sow considerable chaos along the way. But as New Republic contributor Jess Coleman quipped, Things definitely tend to get messy when a political party unequivocally chooses an insurrectionist as its nominee. Its on this precise front that the court curiously avoided taking an obvious escape hatch: disputing that Trump had, in fact, aided an insurrection. Trumps legal team provided that off-ramp, arguing that the former president was innocent of such treachery. Still, as Ford told me, most of the constitutional arguments that Trumps lawyers advanced in his defense only apply if, all other things being equal, he did participate in an insurrection. That the Supreme Court chose to try to resolve the matter along constitutional lines suggests an admission: They believe Trump to have done the very thing that the Fourteenth Amendment forbids. From there, their mission became to backfill a rationale in support of the notion that Colorados remedy would cause too much pandemonium if it were to be administered. But as they put themselves to this task, the court continued to quietly snitch out the GOP for their misrule. At one point, the court warns in its unsigned opinion of an evolving electoral map that could dramatically change the behavior of voters, parties, and states across the country, in different ways and at different times, potentially leading to the nullification of the peoples will. Here, Ford said, the court was essentially caving to threatschief among them the ones raised in amicus briefs from a coalition of Republican-led states that darkly hinted at the possibility that some states might exclude other presidential candidates from the ballot if Trump were disqualified. Naturally, its hard to see why anyone should fear a Republican secretary of state citing the Fourteenth Amendment in an effort to remove a Democratic candidate who had participated in an insurrection. I daresay that I am 100 percent in favor of such Democrats being barred from higher office. Here, however, the justices seem to be implying that the GOP will have reckless disregard for the law, and kick off candidates who cannot be said to have contributed to the sort of crimes that the Fourteenth Amendment inveighs against. Indeed, we can foreclose the possibility of Democrats abusing their power in this fashion. For starters, at least one Republican secretary of state, Jay Ashcroft, had already issued such a threat, the cited reason simply being that he was upset that Colorado and Maine had moved to keep Trump off the ballot. Meanwhile, there is no such behavior among Democrats: Nikki Haley, a more fearsome opponent for President Joe Biden, was left on the ballot, untroubled by Democratic secretaries of state that might have wanted to help the Democratic candidate. (Also, it wasnt Democrats who sent amicus briefs to the court written in the spirit of Nice democracy youve got here, be a shame if anything happened to it.) Its understandable that the Supreme Court would be worried about a Republican Party that doubles as a criminal cartel, because weve seen how, in the Trump era, they have descended into that lowly state, with one of their chief exports being the fomenting of political violence. This fact happened to be on the mind of Colorado Secretary of State Jenna Griswold as she wrestled with whether or not to invoke the Fourteenth Amendment in the first place: After the Supreme Court ruling was handed down, Griswold gave an interview on cable news where she lamented how the insurrection to which she was trying to respond hasnt actually ended, as threats to her state election officials keep pouring in. We have had 38 percent of our county clerks step down since 2020, Griswold said. We cant allow people who would use intimidation or threats to win that battle. From the Supreme Court came the reply: If you dont allow those people to win, the Republican Party might very well hurt you next. This article first appeared in Power Mad, a weekly TNR newsletter authored by deputy editor Jason Linkins. Sign up here. A 37-year-old Knoxville, Iowa, man is in custody after a bank robbery in Delmar, a news release says. Shortly before 12:30 p.m. Friday, Clinton County Sheriffs Deputies responded to a report of a bank robbery at the Delmar Branch of Clinton National Bank, 301 Western Ave., Delmar. Deputies canvassed the area and generated a suspect from video surveillance. Robbery 640 Iowa State Patrol stopped a suspect vehicle in Eldridge, where Jeffrey Brian Bettis was arrested. The Clinton County Sheriffs Office was assisted by lowa State Patrol, Jackson County Sheriffs Office, Dewitt Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Clinton County Attorneys Office. The Clinton County Sheriffs Office asks anyone with video surveillance around Clinton National Bank (Delmar Branch) or any other information to contact the sheriffs office at 563-242-9211or Clinton County Crime Stoppers at 563-242-6595, the release says. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. South by Southwest canceled a panel discussion that on Saturday was to examine the voting power of independent Americans after the moderator objected to the 11th-hour inclusion of unaligned presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Paul Rieckhoff, an independent political analyst and commentator, had been slated to moderate the discussion during Austin's signature annual festival where the worlds of entertainment, popular culture and politics intertwine because he was "not comfortable with promising Kennedy involvement in any part of the program." Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaks during a campaign event at Independence Mall, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) ORG XMIT: PAMS106 In a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, Rieckhoff said an unnamed SXSW "organizer" had planned to add the son of late U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of late president John F. Kennedy to the program. The younger Kennedy, an environmental lawyer and an anti-vaccine crusader, dropped out of the 2024 race for the Democratic presidential nomination to run as an independent. "I will not elevate or support RFK Jr.," Rieckhoff, founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said in one post. "For many reasons to include his promotion of 9/11 conspiracies. Especially as a 9/11 First Responder myself." The post was an apparent reference to Kennedy saying on a podcast last year that he had doubts about the official account of the Sept. 11, 2001, deadly terrorist attacks on New York City's World Trade Center and the Pentagon, including whether al-Qaida bore responsibility. In the podcast, Kennedy said he was not a 9/11 expert, or perhaps the best person to comment on the attacks. But, he added, "I dont always accept official explanations. In an unsigned emailed statement, SXSW said the late decision to include Kennedy in the panel titled, "Independents: Wielding the Power to End Polarization," was to have included 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and was among many deviations from the original schedule. More: A 2024 frenzy? How RFK Jr. could chip away at Donald Trump and Joe Biden's strategies "This session about the Independents role in the context of partisan polarization and the upcoming election went through several last-minute changes, including speakers dropping out," the statement said. "Ultimately, due to timing, the session organizer felt it was best to cancel. Rieckhoff's office did not respond to an email seeking a direct comment. But he said in his social media postings that he would not have objected to Kennedy joining the audience for the discussion, but only to his planned inclusion in the discussion. "I stated I could only remain if he attended just like anyone else. No special treatment or coordination," he said in his post on X. "She (the organizer) pressed it, and others decided to remove themselves. I tried to salvage the panel without RFK Jr, and she decided to remove me as moderator and cancel the whole thing." Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee said in a media advisory that it had commissioned a video message-board truck Saturday to drive through Downtown Austin where SXSW events are taking place linking Kennedy to Trump supporters. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Plan to add RFK Jr. to SXSW panel sparks objection, cancelation A Syrian refugee who was the subject of fawning coverage on the BBCs Newsnight has been convicted of the rape of a 13-year-old girl. Omar Badreddin and his brother Mohamed, along with two others, were handed a combined 38.5-year sentence for the rape of a 13-year-old girl abused between August 2018 and April 2019. The victim said that her attackers tortured her and made her life a living nightmare. Omar Badreddin raped her on at least seven occasions, and threatened to kill her or take her to another country if she failed to comply. The Badreddin family were the subject of 2016 documentary To hell and back: the story of a Syrian family given refuge in the UK. The show documented the familys 11-month journey from Syria to Newcastle as part of the Syrian refugee resettlement program. During the production, the BBC became aware of criminal proceedings against Omar, then aged 18, who was accused of the sexual assault of a 14-year-old-girl. The trial lasted two weeks, before the request of the defence barristers to throw out the case was accepted. The defence argued that significant translation errors made during police interrogation invalidated the evidence. Omar and the other accused were unable to speak English. Syrian brothers Omar and Mohamed Badreddin led the gang - UNPIXS Former Newsnight journalist Katie Razall subsequently interviewed the Badreddin family in the aftermath of the trial. Badreddin said: I felt she [the accuser] didnt want foreigners in this country and that is why she made up the whole story. Razall did not appear to challenge this, and added: That, believes Omar Badreddin, was at the heart of the case against them. During a voiceover segment, Razall claimed: The Syrian men in many ways appeared less sexually experienced than the girls they were supposed to have attacked. In a follow-up BBC article, Razall said: The family told me ever since their sons arrest, they have felt humiliated and dishonoured, even though they were certain their son was innocent. In Syrian culture, this type of accusation is so damaging to their reputation, that even though Omar Badreddin has been cleared, they fear the stigma of it will stick. Omar and Mohamed Badreddin in the 2016 BBC Newsnight documentary Neil OBrien MP, a Conservative former minister, said: The BBC showed remarkably poor editorial judgment in commissioning this fawning documentary, more interested in airing an unchallenged accusation that a 14-year-old girl was a racist who had made up a rape accusation. Given that they smeared a young girl as sexually experienced and failed to challenge the racism accusations made by someone who turns out to be a dangerous sexual predator, you would hope there would be a bit more contrition, but I dont see any signs so far that any lessons are being learned from this shocking, appalling case. A BBC spokesman said: In 2015 and 2016, Newsnight followed the story of the Badreddin family, who were Syrian refugees who had settled in the UK. During 2016, their son Omar was tried for sexual assault and found not guilty. Two years afterwards, in 2018 and 2019, Omar Badreddin and his brother Mohamed committed multiple counts of rape. They were found guilty and were jailed on 1 March 2024. The BBC reported this. In any situation, the BBC can only report on the facts as they stand at the time, which is what we did in 2016. The Badreddins subsequent crimes are appalling, and we express our sincere sympathies to their victim. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Turkish and U.S. officials held talks in Washington; Russias war in Ukraine was among the topics discussed, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said, Reuters reported on March 9. The officials of the countries held several rounds of talks on such topics as Syria, Ukraine, and Gaza, defense industry cooperation, energy, and counterterrorism, Fidan said. He also discussed ways to end Russias invasion of Ukraine with U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, reiterating that Ankara believed it was time to discuss paths toward an end to the war but that Turkey did not see this willingness from Kyiv and Moscow, Reuters said. We need a basis for talking, for this war to stop, and a dialogue to prevent worse crises, and we call for this, he said. Read also: Ukraine, Turkey sign trade liberalization deal The NATO allies started the meetings, dubbed the Strategic Mechanism, on March 7 to discuss efforts to move beyond deep policy disagreements and improve cooperation in other areas, Reuters said. Ties between the allies have been strained in recent years amid growing disagreements over a range of issues, although relations have since gained momentum following Ankaras approval of Swedens bid to join NATO. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Istanbul on March 8, where he met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. During the meeting, the leaders discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation and joint defense manufacturing projects. Erdogan said he wants to hold a peace summit with Russia. Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine does not see Russia at the peace summit yet. Read also: Ukrainian President to meet his Turkish counterpart in Istanbul Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Tampa pastor accused of using racist, homophobic slurs at New Beginnings veterans shelter TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) Former staff and volunteers at New Beginnings claim the CEO of the homeless shelter for veterans used racial and homophobic slurs while they worked there. Neon Frazier, who volunteered at the shelter until recently, is one of several who claim Tom Atchison called staff the help and much worse. He would refer to us as [racial slur] Frazier said. We heard it several times. Atchison denies he has ever used any racially or sexually charged language. I never in the world have said anything like that, Atchison said. I have never called anyone those types of names. 11 endings at New Beginnings in disputed staff shakeup at veterans homeless shelter Evelyn Manley was also a volunteer who helped veterans find housing. She recalled a remark she claims was made by Atchison while music was played at the facility. He was talking, Manley said. Whos playing that [slur] music. I said the veterans want to hear it. [Atchison said] well, they dont need to hear that. Atchison said his former employees are just angry about a failed attempt to take over the program. All the petty gossip, threats and lies of a few disgruntled employees does not equal the overwhelming evidence of a lifetime of service to the community to the disenfranchised, Atchison said in a statement. No matter the color of skin or their sexual orientation or any religious beliefs that they might have. Manley and Frazier said there was never an attempt to take over New Beginnings. We wanted it run better, Frazier said. There were times he couldnt keep the lights and water on. Where did the money go? Another allegation Atchison denied involves former employee Bobby Coy, a Navy veteran who also lived at the facility when he was homeless. Coy identifies as a male. He didnt have any respect for me or my decisions, Coy said. Frazier said she witnessed Atchison talking negatively about Coy. He would call him all kinds of things that arent polite, Frazier said. A lot of homophobic things that he would say. Coy said the issue started when he was homeless and asked to move in to New Beginnings. Pastor Tom was actually in the office and he made the comment thats not going to happen, Coy said. Very hurtful: St. Pete widow asking what happened to her plot next to husband at troubled Royal Palm No, Atchison said when asked if he refused to let Coy live at the facility because of his sexual orientation. Weve had gay people live here. We do not discriminate. Atchison pointed out Coy did eventually move in to the facility, but former employees claim that happened after complaints about the decision against allowing him to live there. Frazier and Manley said their volunteer positions were suspended by Atchison. Coy and several other former employees said they were fired. Atchison claims he fired two and the rest left on their own after he refused to the let former New Beginnings Executive Director Ian Donnell run the place. Donnell has not responded to requests for comment. The terminated employees said they were fired after questioning how Atchison spent federal VA funding to run New Beginnings that they said totaled about $70,000 a month. Frazier said she set aside the slurs from Atchison because her goal was to help the homeless veterans. I know the vets need my help, Frazier said. We were able to get them through the most difficult time of their lives. That outweighed the racism. Ive heard those things my whole life. She said it was very disappointing to hear the harsh language from someone whos supposed be a pastor, and she added she would swear on the Bible that her claim is true. How many Bibles can you bring because I could put my hands on all of them, Frazier said. Because this is definitely the truth. 8 On Your Side has heard similar claims from more than a dozen employees, volunteers and witnesses, but Atchison said they are all lying. Yes. All of them are lying. Ive got 30 years with me and my wife, with several staff members. that will vouch for me and say theyve never heard me say [these words], Atchison said. For over 30 years, we have shown love, compassion and respect for their belief even if they are contrary to our personal belief. What did Florida know about this sexual predator camp? Did anyone tell the public? Atchison claims theyre disgruntled employees who have their own agenda. They want to run this place the way they want, he said. Former New Beginnings staff members said they were interviewed by VA investigators. James Haley VA Public Affairs said there is not an active investigation. Haley Chief of Communications Roderick Cunningham has not answered questions about the slurs that were emailed to him Thursday. According to Cunningham, following the staff shakeup, the VA is not currently sending veterans or the nearly $50 dollars a day in federal funding for each one to New Beginnings. We have temporarily paused new referrals to New Beginnings of Tampa due to their recent personnel turnover, Cunningham said. However, we continue to work with New Beginnings and their newly hired staff to ensure they have adequate, trained staff as well as record of documentation requirements outlined in the contract to ensure they continue to provide quality care and services for Veterans experiencing homelessness. Atchison said he expected the referrals to continue after his new employees complete a certification process. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. In nearly every village, town, and city across Ukraine today, you can spot some kind of monument to the 19th-century poet and artist Taras Shevchenko. Following Ukraines independence in 1991 and the Euromaidan Revolution in 2014, many of them replaced statues of 20th-century Bolshevik revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin that had symbolized the Soviet Unions grip on Ukraine for close to 70 years. Shevchenko's widespread presence throughout Ukraine in many ways highlights that the heart of contemporary Ukrainian society is a poet. Central to many of his works are notions of perseverance, unity, and kindness in the face of adversity, ideas that resonate in a country that has seen its sovereignty threatened and denied by Russia and other aggressors throughout history. In his 1838 poem, Shall we ever meet again, Shevchenko instructs Ukrainians: Love your dear Ukraine, adore her / Love herin fierce times of evil / In the last dread hour of struggle. Almost 200 years later, Ukrainians have turned to his works in their latest struggle against Russias invasion. A now famous video from the Ukrainian Armed Forces Kharkiv Oblast counteroffensive in September 2022 serves as a testament to this. In the video, Ukrainian soldiers rip down a Russian propaganda poster in the liberated city of Balakliia. Underneath it is a billboard poster with lines from Shevchenkos poem The Caucuses'' (1845). The featured lines of Shevchenkos poem, which invokes themes of national identity, resilience, and the fight for justice, are known by just about every Ukrainian today, regardless of whether theyre a fan of literature or not: Keep fightingyou are sure to win! God helps you in your fight. Shevchenkos life is defined by his long struggle against injustice. Born a serf and only freed at almost 30 years of age, he faced arrest and exile for his groundbreaking works of art that have inarguably shaped the modern Ukrainian identity. Shevchenkos early life Shevchenko was born on March 9, 1814, in the village of Moryntsi, located in Ukraines central Cherkasy Oblast. Most of modern-day Ukraine was under the control of the Russian Empire in Shevchenkos lifetime. Through a series of legislative bans, tsarist authorities went to great lengths to suppress the Ukrainian language, culture, and traditions. Serfdom in the Russian Empire meant that Shevchenkos family did not own the land they worked on and lacked the same legal rights as ordinary citizens. Shevchenko grew up in the village of Kyrylivka, now called Shevchenkove, located in Cherkasy Oblast. The land of the village was owned by Russian nobleman Vasily Engelhardt. After his death in 1828, the land passed to his son Pavel, who eventually took then-young Taras Shevchenko with him to St. Petersburg as his servant. Shevchenko's parents' house in Kyrylivka (1843). (Wikimedia) It wasnt until 1838 that Shevchenko, by then 28 years old, would be released from serfdom, thanks to the help of those who took notice of his talent as a painter. In the years that followed, he devoted his lifes work to championing the cause of an independent Ukraine. Shevchenkos life & work after serfdom Shevchenko could have chosen a quiet life after gaining his freedom. Instead, he fully immersed himself in his literature and art, both of which celebrated Ukrainian culture. Through his work, he also aimed to raise awareness about the hardships faced by serfs and other social injustices within the Russian Empire. His poem Kateryna (1838), part of his famous collection Kobzar published in 1840, is centered around a naive young maiden who is betrayed by a soldier of the Russian imperial army. The opening lines of the poem begin with Shevchenko encouraging young maidens to fall in love but not with Muscovites, / For Muscovites are foreign folk / They do not treat you right. 'Kateryna', a painting by Taras Shevchenko (1842).(Wikimedia) The eponymous heroine ends up pregnant after being seduced by the soldier. As a result, she is shunned by her family, her village, and everyone she asks for help along the way as she goes off in search of him. When she eventually locates him, he rejects both her and their son. Katerynas tragic story is both one of unjust power dynamics in a patriarchal society and, more broadly, how easy it can be for someone in a position of power to take advantage of others. In this sense, the poem holds a universal appeal. In the backdrop of Ukraines enduring struggle against Russia and the full-scale invasion, it's impossible to ignore the objectification of Ukrainian women by Russian imperialists that Shevchenkos poem also highlights. Celebrating Russias full-scale invasion, infamous Kremlin propagandist Margarita Simonyan fantasized online in November 2022 about the day when our (Russian) husbands will again crane their necks to check out the black-browed Oksanas in a hospitable, cheerful, bright Kyiv. One of the most famous Soviet Union films is Christmas Eve (1961) an adaptation of 19th century Ukrainian author Mykola Gogols story of the same name. The heroine and love interest is a beautiful dark-haired woman named Oksana. The source of Simonyans delusion of Ukraine as a Russian playground liberated from an imagined tyranny can be traced back through centuries of Russian cultural figures, including those beloved by the West today. For example, 19th-century poet Aleksandr Pushkin wrote poems like To The Slanderers of Russia that furthered the notion of brotherly Slavs who would unite to defend Russia against any outside force despite their internal quarrels. Despite the prevailing cultural climate in the Russian Empire, later the Soviet Union, and in current-day Russia, which has claimed that Ukrainians and other groups are somehow indistinguishable linguistically and culturally from Russians, artists such as Taras Shevchenko have persisted in their work, even when they faced significant personal risks. Shevchenkos return to Ukraine Shevchenko was enrolled as a student at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg between 1840 and 1845. During his studies, he made several trips back to his native Ukraine, the first being in 1843. He traveled widely, conducted ethnographic sketches, and wrote. In many ways, these trips further radicalized him against the injustices committed by the Russian Empire against the Ukrainians. One of his most famous poems is The Dream (1844), in which a bards visions of a free and prosperous Ukraine are interrupted by the trials of its people. In the poem, Shevchenko calls Tsar Nicholas I crafty, evil, grasping and poison-fanged viper and condemns the Russian Empire for the destruction of the Ukrainian Cossack Hetmanate: What did you with the Cossacks do? / Their noble bones you sank / In the morass and on them built / Your capital-to-be / On tortured Cossack corpses built! Taras Shevchenko's self-portrait (1843). (Wikimedia) The Cossacks were free men who established an autonomous military state, also known as the Hetmanate, that lasted from the mid-17th century until its destruction by Russia in the late 18th century. Their warrior-like legacy has been a source of inspiration not only for Shevchenko but subsequent generations of Ukrainians, particularly during periods of national revival. In The Dream, Shevchenko explores not only the harsh conditions of those living on the territory of modern-day Ukraine but also the penal colonies of Siberia. Shevchenko accuses the Russian Empire of benefitting from the suffering of others to enrich itself: It was you that drove us from Ukraine / A hungry, tattered lot / Into these far-off snows to toil, / And here our throats you cut / Our bleeding skins you used as cloth / To make your purple robe / Our sinews served you as the thread / With which the robe to sew. Shevchenko also goes on to describe the tsars wife as a dried-up prune in the poem, along with other insults, such as, Is this the beauty rare they praise? Poor thing, you are a wreck! Tsarist authorities confiscated copies of Shevchenkos work when they arrested members of the Brotherhood of St. Cyril and Methodius in Kyiv in 1847. The secret society called for the abolition of serfdom, the promotion of mass education, and the freedom of Slavic nations to embrace their own languages and cultures. Shevchenko was also arrested and sentenced to 25 years of military service in exile. According to a letter dated December 1847 from Russian literary critic Vissarion Belinsky to his fellow critic Pavel Annenkov, the lines in Shevchenko's The Dream ridiculing the tsar's wife had greatly angered Tsar Nicholas I. Belinskys letter also reveals how elements of the Russian intellectual elite dismissed those who maintained Ukraine is its own distinct nation instead of merely a "little Russia. Belinsky declares that neither he nor anyone in his circle had read the lines of Shevchenkos poem in question, but he was certain that the flat and stupid insults were outrageously disgusting. He also claims that common sense reveals Shevchenko to be an ass, a fool, a vulgarian, and moreover, a total drunkard, not to mention a horilka-drinking lover of Ukrainian patriotism. Belinsky uses a highly offensive Russian slur instead of Ukrainian in the language of the letter. After his arrest in 1847, Shevchenko was forced to serve in a military garrison near Russias far east. Later, he was transferred to an outpost with harsher conditions in Kazakhstan. The tsar had given orders to forbid him from painting or writing during his sentence, but Shevchenko did manage to write and keep his work hidden. Ukrainian poet and writer Taras Shevchenko among friends in St Petersburg, 1859. Left to right: O. Lazarevsky, M.Lazarevsky, T. Shevchenko, G. Chestahivskyy, P. Yakushkin. (Wikimedia) Tsar Alexander II succeeded Nicholas I in 1855, and the initial political climate that followed led to Shevchenko receiving amnesty 10 years into his sentence. While Shevchenko managed to return to Ukraine in 1859, he was not permitted to settle down there. He died in St. Petersburg on March 9, 1861, and was buried there. Later that May, he was reburied on a hill overlooking the Dnipro River in Kaniv in Ukraines central Cherkasy Oblast. As he wrote in his poem My Testament (1845), it was his wish to be put to rest in his home country, which he felt so profoundly attached to despite the Russian Empires efforts throughout his life to separate him from it: When I am dead, bury me / In my beloved Ukraine. The lines of the poem in which Shevchenko expresses his wish to be buried near the Dnipro River so that "my eyes could see, my ears could hear / the mighty river roar" evoke imagery of being connected to the land even after his death. He also conveys hope in the poem that Ukrainians won't forget the sacrifices made for their freedom. He imagines a time when they'll "break their heavy chains" and "water with the tyrants' blood / the freedom they have gained." Shevchenko dedicated his artistic endeavors to the plight of Ukrainians, but his work speaks to the broader human desire for dignity and self-determination. My Testament ends with his need to be remembered by Ukrainians in the great new family / the family of the free. Given his ubiquity in contemporary Ukrainian culture and society, Shevchenkos last will appears to have been granted. English translations of Shevchenkos work by John Weir and Vera Rich on Storinka. Read also: The origins of Slava Ukraini Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. A Tarrant County Jail inmate died at John Peter Smith Hospital on Thursday after hanging himself in his cell earlier in the week, according to the sheriffs office. Tarrant County Detention Officers found the inmate hanging in his cell Tuesday shortly after 6 p.m. The officers cut him down and immediately started life-saving measures in an effort to revive him, the Tarrant County Sheriffs Office said in a news release Friday. The man was transported to JPS Hospital and placed on life support, but he died two days later. The inmate was housed in a general population cell. Hed also had access to and been in contact with My Health My Resources of Tarrant County during his time in jail, according to the release. Detention officers check on the general population inmates every 40 minutes. The initial investigation indicates the prisoner planned to harm himself between those 40-minute checks, the release said. The last check was performed at 5:37 p.m., and surveillance video showed the inmate open his cell door at 5:52 p.m. and give something to another prisoner. He was found hanging at 6:02 p.m., officials said. The inmates name and cause of death hasnt yet been published on the Tarrant County Medical Examiners website. According to the release, he was arrested by Fort Worth police on Nov. 21 and charged with evading arrest, possession of a controlled substance and tampering with or fabricating evidence. At least seven agencies review and investigate all in-custody deaths, according to the sheriffs office. These include Tarrant County Sheriffs Office jail staff, the TCSO Criminal Investigations Division, The Texas Commission on Jail Standards, an outside law enforcement agency, JPS medical staff, the Tarrant County Medical Examiners Office and the Texas Attorney Generals Office. Today's top stories: Baby gorilla born by C-section needs new surrogate mother Student at Eastern Hills Elementary locked in classroom alone, mom says Man nearly decapitated wife, told police she cut herself: affidavit Get free alerts when news breaks. TROUP COUNTY, Ga. (WRBL) The Troup County Sheriffs Office (TCSO) is investigating a shooting that happened on Thursday, which left one person dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. TCO says around 9:30 pm., deputies responded to 1155 Shoemaker Rd. to a report of someone with a gun who was making threats to shoot himself and possibly harm several people, including a child who was also inside the residence with him. After deputies arrived on the scene, they determined that multiple family members were inside the house with the suspect, later identified as 52-year-old Russell Heiser. The sheriffs office says the family members were unable to leave the house out of fear that Heiser may hurt himself or them. Responding deputies quickly established communication with the suspect in an attempt to persuade him to allow the other family members to leave and for him to come out of the residence as well. TCSO says after a brief period, Heiser allowed everyone to leave the home, and around 11:45 p.m. he exited the home and placed a handgun on the front porch railing. While talking with deputies, Heiser ran and grabbed the gun, which resulted in a deputy discharging a taser. Heiser was able to grab the gun and pointed it toward deputies. TCSO Deputies responded with multiple rounds of bullets at Heiser, while he tried to run back into the residence. After Heiser made it inside the residence, deputies heard a gunshot from inside the house, and deputies later found Heiser unresponsive from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. TCSO says Troup County Fire Department and AMR personnel attempted life-saving measures, but Heiser was taken to Well Star West Georgia Medical where he later died. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRBL. FRESNO, Calif. (KGPE) Concerns are circling across Fresno Unified School District as the district is facing an almost $40 million budget shortfall and is considering cutting hours, positions and programs. The district is trying to calm fears and concerns about the shortfall, but staff are speaking out. Teachers say that the focus should be on what students need. As COVID hit, the district was bragging about having over $130 million stashed away in rainy day funds. Well if we are having budget issues, that is a rainy day, said Jason Stansell, a teacher at a Fresno Unified School. Fresno Unified teachers made their case at the districts board meeting this week. They mentioned why budget cuts will hurt students. It just doesnt make a whole lot of sense, said Fresno Unifieds Nikki Henry. Due to lower attendance rates, declining enrollment, state funding cuts, and the changes in the Fresno Teacher Association contract agreement, Fresno Unified faces a mounting $38 million budget deficit. Henry says to make up the difference, the district is considering cutting days, hours, and positions or program services. That is scary when you see it on a board agenda. We want to be clear is that there might be some movement and readjustment that our staff will continue to be employed at Fresno Unified, Henry said. While there are proposals on the table, a decision will not be made until June during the budget approval process. Until then, Henry says the district will tap into the districts reserve fund. They will implement a 7% budget cut across the board for all departments. Henry says staff might see changes in the future. We dont expect anyone to lose their jobs because of this, they will still be employed with us, they just might be in a different position next year, Henry said. The teachers association president opposes the cuts and said at the meeting that at least one of them violates the FTA contract. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47. Bearman is the first British driver to represent Ferrari at the highest level in 25 years - QIAN JUN/GETTY If the name Oliver Bearman was all but unknown to UK motorsport fans until this weekend, the same cannot be said in his adopted Italy. Il bimbo della rossa screamed one Italian newspaper at the news the 18-year-old from Essex was to line up for Ferrari at this weekends Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He ended up finishing seventh in his first race at the level, scoring six points for the team. In doing so, following the eleventh-hour medical withdrawal of Carlos Sainz, Bearman, the red baby, made history by becoming the youngest British Formula One driver of all time. More importantly, perhaps, in a country where the team enjoys a near mythical status, he is the first British driver to represent Ferrari at the highest level in 25 years. Oliver Bearman behind the wheel of his Ferrari - Clive Rose/Getty Images Europe The young star stormed to a remarkable seventh-place finish - Darko Bandic/AP A resident of Modena since 2021, the teenager has quickly become a fixture of the area, with his quirky YouTube videos featuring visits to local shops and hostelries, which appear on his channel The Bear Necessities and have even been credited with producing increases in footfall. In one, he samples the wares of a local perfume shop in a bid to emulate the amazing smell of his former Ferrari boss. In the end, he opted for a good luck perfume for race weekends, with warm scents of vanilla, tobacco and rum. A visit to a local music shop, DJ Groove Point, gets the same enthusiastic treatment. Bearman worked hard to learn Italian According to local press, Bearman has worked hard to learn Italian and always tries to speak it when out and about in the town. The 18-year-old already has a cult following in Italy - Clive Rose/Getty Images Europe He has previously joked that learning the language has helped him avoid the Essex accent. A lot of people have told me my accent has changed even if I dont notice it, he said. I spend a lot of time with Italians and to communicate with people where English is not their first language is not easy, so I have changed my word order and ended up with this everywhere accent. It is unsurprising, then, that the people of Emilia-Romagna, plus the widespread Ferrari fan base, have reacted with such pride at Bearmans meteoric rise. News that he would line up alongside principal driver Charles Leclerc in Jeddah provoked a blaze of excitement on social media, where for many he is known simply as il ragazzo, the kid. It is not long since "il ragazzo", the kid, earned his driver's licence An eventful qualifying session saw him start 11th at last nights race, an effort that earned fulsome praise from Red Bulls Max Verstappen. What he has done has been very, very impressive, said the multiple world champion. It has emerged that Bearman only found out he was to step up to the F1 car a couple of hours before the final practice. He finished Thursday expecting to be racing in the Formula 2, having taken pole position for that event. Bearman described a glancing blow to a wall during his second qualifying session as a bit messy, but after trying again he ended up missing out on a top-10 place by just 0.036 seconds. I didnt have the time to get nervous or overthink it His father, David, who just five years ago was accompanying the young Bearman to go karting competitions, could be seen nervously pacing back and forth during the session. David Bearman affords himself a smile during the nervous moments of his son's F1 debut - Kym Illman/Getty Images Europe He had just one hour in the Ferrari before going into this debut qualifying session, missing out on the two Thursday sessions enjoyed by all his competitors. I didnt have the time to get nervous or overthink it. It was so late I had to focus on getting up to speed and catch up on lost time, he said afterwards. Missing out on Thursday made my life a bit more difficult. On Monday, I will feel it and be quite proud. At the moment I am just trying to maximise and bring the team some points but Im sure on Monday I will step back and punch myself and be quite proud. It is not known whether Bearman has been joined in the Middle East kingdom by his girlfriend, law student and social media influencer Estelle Ogilvy. Bearman's girlfriend is the social media influencer Estelle Ogilvy The 21-year-old regularly shares details of her fashion and lifestyle choices with her nearly 75,000 fans on Tiktok and 100,000 followers on Instagram. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. ST. LOUIS Two teenagers face felony charges in a St. Louis County kidnapping case that sparked an AMBER Alert last year. Prosecutors have charged Kendal White, 19, of St. Charles, and CamRon Henderson, 19, of St. Louis, with on one felony count of kidnapping. A federal indictment disclosing their charges was returned on Wednesday. White and Henderson are accused of kidnapping a child on Aug. 10, 2023, in north St. Louis County. Police confirm arrest following fight near Hazelwood East High School Investigators say White and Henderson were searching for someone they believed had stolen firearms from them. The two allegedly kicked in the door of the childs mothers home, though the childs father was the target of their search. He was not there, though the teens tried to take the child from the mother. The indictment alleges that White pistol-whipped the mother when she resisted to hand over the child. The two reportedly dropped off the child with strangers in St. Louis after seeing an Amber Alert about the kidnapping. If convicted, White and Henderson could face decades in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. The Department of Labor seeks to prevent a Tennessee farm from retaliating against employees after a severed pigs head was allegedly left at a workstation, according to a complaint. The department requested a temporary restraining order in a Feb. 21 filing in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee on behalf of Tosh Pork employees who asked about their wages. Two employees, a husband and wife couple whose job duties typically include providing animal care for pigs on the farm in Henry County, asked their employer about pay and later filed a complaint with the DOLs Wage and Hour Division in February 2022, according to the complaint. pork farm (Google Maps) After learning of the complaint, Tosh Pork allegedly tasked one employee with cleaning offices, bathrooms and picking up pig waste all responsibilities outside of the workers normal job duties, according to the complaint. Tosh Pork also allegedly tried to force both employees to sign a document forbidding them from speaking with coworkers about pay issues, the complaint states. Tosh Porks appalling actions and clear attempts to intimidate and retaliate against its employees will not be tolerated, Tremelle Howard, a regional solicitor with DOL who is responsible for civil trial litigation, said in a statement. Investigators also learned another worker who asked about wages was called to meet with the farms management and threatened with termination, the complaint said. Returning to their workstation, they found a severed pigs head, according to the complaint. The legal action names Tosh Pork LLC and human resources manager Dianna Rosa as defendants in addition to asking the court to stop the company from violating the Fair Labor Standards Act. Rosa could not be reached for comment on Friday. Tosh Pork denies it engaged in the retaliatory conduct alleged by the DOL, Seth Krantz, a veterinarian speaking on behalf of the company, said in an email to NBC News. The company seeks to follow all federal, state, and local regulations including the Fair Labor Standards Act, he said. Federal law prohibits an employer from firing or discriminating against workers who have filed a complaint, are cooperating in an investigation or inquiring about pay, which is legally protected activity, the DOL said. During its investigation, the agency also determined Tosh Pork failed to meet employment requirements for H-2A visa workers and corresponding American workers under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the complaint said. The division found the employer owed five workers $39,375 in back wages and assessed $36,731 in civil money penalties, according to the DOL. Federal law protects employees who provide information to the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division District Director Lisa Kelly in Nashville, Tennessee, said in a statement. Tosh Pork, which owns 11,000 acres of land and produces swine and grows corn, soybeans, wheat, canola and barley, employs people from foreign countries to work on its farm, DOL said. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com A Tennessee woman was arrested after authorities say she was involved in the fatal shooting of a man she believed to be her ex-boyfriend. Kiauna Newsom, 29, was charged with first-degree murder in connection to the March 2 incident. Memphis police officers responded to a local residence on the 5400 block of Apple Blossom Drive just before 2 a.m., according to authorities and an affidavit from the Shelby County Sheriffs Office obtained by Law & Crime. Kiauna Newsom was charged with first-degree murder in connection to the death of her ex-boyfriends roommate. (Photos: Getty Images, WREG/Youtube screenshot) Law enforcement discovered the unresponsive victim, identified as George Harris, who was shot several times inside a parked vehicle described as a Chevy Malibu. He was transported to a local hospital and died from his injuries. During their investigation, officials learned from Newsoms ex-boyfriend that he let Harris borrow his car, and he believed that he was the intended target, the outlet reported. The man also noted that he got into a verbal dispute with Newsom at a local store. [The ex-boyfriend] loaned his car to Harris and advised that a short time later, he received a phone call that Harris had been shot, the affidavit, in part, alleged. Video from the store at Kirby and Shelby showed that Kiauna Newson was wearing a white V-neck shirt and driving a gray Nissan a short time before the murder. As People reported, detectives were able to track down the Nissan in the driveway of a residence. Officials took Newsom into custody the following day, and while speaking to police, she confessed to being the driver behind the wheel of the car. Newsom said she and an alleged male accomplice, Justin Howard, trailed the ex-boyfriends vehicle, per the outlet. She claimed Howard pulled out a rifle and opened fire, ultimately killing Harris. According to the report, after Howard was arrested, Newsom selected him out of a lineup. The 32-year-old was hit with the exact charges as Newsom. Arguments turning into gunfights and shootings as opposed to conflict resolution, Chief CJ Davis said at a town hall referring to the gun violence in the area. A Tennessee Woman Is Accused of Attempting to Kill Her Ex-Boyfriend; Mistakenly Shot His Roommate Who Borrowed His Car Instead A federal judge ruled Friday that a new program allowing up to 30,000 would-be asylum-seekers from four countries to enter the U.S. via airports each month can continue, handing a blow to Republican officials in Texas who sued to block the initiative. The lawsuit centers on the administrations use of parole under immigration law to grant entry to migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, who otherwise would likely not qualify for entry visas. U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton, in his decision, said Texas and 19 other states were unable to prove that theyve suffered financial harm as a result of the program and thus they lack standing to bring these claims. As far as [the Department of Homeland Security] is concerned, the Program has been a tremendous success, the order reads. In their complaint, the states argued that the DHS created a new visa program without legislation from Congress under the false pretense of preventing aliens from unlawfully crossing the border between ports of entry. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton took it a step further, claiming in a statement that every state in America had been crushed by the impacts of illegal immigration. In one example, Texas argued in its lawsuit that the program harmed the state because immigrants approved under the program qualify for state services such as health care and public education. Its one of over two dozen lawsuits that Texas has filed since January 2021 seeking to reverse the Biden administrations immigration policy. The Biden open borders agenda has created a humanitarian crisis that is increasing crime and violence in our streets, overwhelming local communities, and worsening the opioid crisis, he said. This unlawful amnesty program, which will invite hundreds of thousands of aliens into the U.S. every year, will only make this immigration crisis drastically worse. The lawsuit came as the Biden administration is seeking to separate border and immigration issues from each other creating avenues for asylum-seekers to bypass the border while cracking down on migrants who cross into the U.S. without authorization. The White House commended Tiptons decision in a statement. The district courts decision is based on the success of this program, which has expanded lawful pathways for nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who have a sponsor in this country and pass our rigorous vetting process, while dramatically decreasing the number of nationals from those countries crossing our Southwest Border, White House spokesperson Angelo Fernandez Hernandez said, per The Associated Press. Since the programs launch in 2022, more than 357,000 people have been granted parole. The biggest group, according to the AP, have been Haitians. Migrants apply online, arrive at an airport with a financial sponsor in the U.S., and if approved, they can stay for up to two years if they obtain a work permit, AP reported. The Hill reached out to Paxtons office for comment. The Associated Press contributed reporting. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Theresa May was Prime Minister from 2016 to 2019 Compliments have flooded in for former Prime Minister Theresa May after she announced she would be standing down as an MP. The Conservative politician, who has represented Maidenhead in Berkshire for 27 years, said she would be giving up her seat in the next general election. Former colleagues said she would be "sorely missed" in her role. But during her time as PM, she was also criticised for failing to win support for her Brexit withdrawal deal. Making the announcement on Friday, Mrs May said leaving the seat had been a "difficult decision". Mrs May speaks at the opening of a new forecourt at Maidenhead railway station Simon Dudley, former Conservative leader of Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council, said she would be "sorely missed". "Sometimes people say Theresa's a bit cold - but I've always found her to have a very dry wit," he said. May was his constituency's MP for the whole time he was in the role. "It's been an honour to see her progress from just being a backbench MP, to being Home Secretary, to being Prime Minister - where she did a great job in the hardest of conditions." May leaving a church service, near her Maidenhead constituency, in 2019 Chris Wilkins, former chief speechwriter to Theresa May said she worked "incredibly hard". "I've worked for a lot of politicians over the years, but she is the one that really embodied that sense of service and duty." He said her role as Maidenhead MP was the job she loved more than anything. "It was being on the streets of Maidenhead, meeting people, going to the dry cleaners... because she felt that was kind of what kept her grounded." BBC South political reporter, Patrick O'Hagan, said: "Many former Prime Ministers walk away from politics as soon as their time is up, but Mrs May remained a committed local MP. "History won't be kind to her though. Her inability to pull the various factions of the Tory party together and get Brexit done, as someone once said, cost both her and her party dearly." Mrs May said it had been an 'honour and privilege' to be MP for Maidenhead Geoff Hill, former head of the Maidenhead Conservative Association, worked with Mrs May during the EU referendum in 2016. He said he had been "taken aback" by the announcement that she was stepping down - but that he respected her decision. He said: "Theresa, to my mind, is best known for being an excellent constituency MP and she leaves some very big shoes to fill." Follow BBC South on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2240. A Houston lawyer was fired from his law firm in February after he sent a harassing letter to a federal judge that asked, Who do you think you are? Attorney Ben Aderholt penned the disrespectful missive on his firms letterhead and mailed it to U.S. immigration Judge Erica Hughes, who said Aderholt started off in the wrong direction by addressing the judge by her first name. I was shocked and surprised to receive that letter, Hughes told Fox 26 in Houston. Judge Erica Hughes received a letter from an attorney belittling her. (Photo: Facebook/Judge Erica Hughes) Hughes was elected as a criminal court judge in Harris County in 2018 before she was appointed to the federal bench in the Biden administration. She immediately went public with the letter to call out the blatant disrespect toward Black female judges. Calling me Erica, as if we are friends or as if he knows me, started off in the wrong direction, she said, pointing out that the letter became progressively worse. Aderholts now former law firm, Coats-Rose, issued a statement in late February announcing the lawyers termination after he practiced poor judgment. In the letter, Aderholt reportedly mocked judicial officials as political animals who treat our judiciary as political games. Judge Hughes said she was appalled. The animals part stands out to me, that an individual in 2024 would show such disdain for an individual theyve never met, she said. Hughes said the presence of several Black female judicial candidates, including herself, is continuing to inflame tensions throughout Houston, leading to multiple lawsuits. I expect to be attacked when I serve in the military. I dont expect to be attacked when I run for a political position in a party, in a democracy in the United States, she said. Hughes was elected and rose to the federal bench at a time when many Black female judicial candidates faced scrutiny over their eligibility or qualifications, and in this case, led to an overt challenge to the judges authority. So no one could attack my qualifications, Hughes said. This was another way to try to get me removed from the ballot, which she said failed. The letter from Aderholt arrived after the Texas Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit that claimed Hughes forged 102 signatures on a petition to keep her name on the ballot in the next election. So in criminal court, thats 102 allegations and punishable by a felony, two to 10 years in jail. Its false, of course, she explained. Hughes defended her qualifications and blasted the legacy of slavery, which she said was evident in the discriminatory treatment she faced. Its very disheartening, in 2024, I receive letters like this calling me an animal, calling me by my first name. I reference the year because of the history in this country, of slavery. I dont expect that in 2024. Democracy is what this country was built on. I served in the military, so I can run as a judicial candidate in a free country, as long as Im qualified, Hughes said. In a statement to Fox 26, Aderholt said his use of company letterhead to pen the note to the judge violated the firms policy. He acknowledged that this action was unintentional and careless but was an error of judgment. He apologized for using the firms letterhead but did not apologize for insulting the judge. Coats-Rose confirmed that Aderholt was fired due to the threatening nature of what he wrote, not because of his use of the firms letterhead. Who Do You Think You Are? White Houston Lawyer Fired for Sending Letter to Black Federal Judge Calling Her an Animal Thousands of Israelis took to the streets in Israeli cities on Saturday to demonstrate for the release of the hostages held by the militant Palestinian organization Hamas and against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Saturday's rally by hostage families in the centre of Tel Aviv was marked by International Women's Day a day earlier. Relatives of female hostages and victims of Hamas violence and a young woman who was released in November addressed the rally. A few hundred metres away, several thousand people demonstrated against Netanyahu's government. Near the headquarters of the Defence Ministry, police stopped them from blocking a city highway, Israeli media reported. A total of 16 demonstrators were arrested. The opponents of the government accuse Netanyahu of a misguided policy that is only concerned with his own interests, meaning that the country was unprepared when Hamas and other extremist groups attacked southern Israel on October 7th. Hundreds of people demonstrated on Saturday in front of President Isaac Herzog's residence in Jerusalem. They also demanded freedom for the hostages. According to Israeli estimates, 134 hostages, including around 20 women, are still in the hands of the terrorists. According to Israeli information, only around 100 of the hostages are believed to be alive. In Caesarea, near Tel Aviv, a large crowd gathered in front of Netanyahu's private villa. Referring to the prime minister, one of the speakers, a former general, said: "Your policy is aimed at only one thing: staying in power at all costs, and the war serves your purposes perfectly." Indirect negotiations on a temporary ceasefire and the release of more hostages are currently at an impasse. Around 15,000 flocked to Cibeles Square in the historic centre of Madrid (Pierre-Philippe MARCOU) Thousands of people on Saturday protested in Madrid against an amnesty bill the Spanish government reached this week with Catalan independence parties, demanding the resignation of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Sanchez pledged last year to pass an amnesty exonerating people prosecuted for their role in Catalonia's failed 2017 independence bid -- in exchange for crucial parliamentary support from hardline Catalan separatist party JxCat. Around 15,000 flocked to Cibeles Square in the historic centre of Madrid, waving Spanish flags and chanting "Sanchez resign". Some carried a large banner depicting Sanchez with a Hitler moustache that said in English: "Spain is no longer a democracy. It's beginning to be a dictatorship. SOS Europe." Civil groups called the protest, which was attended by right-wing and far-right parties, when the draft amnesty law was approved on Thursday by the parliament's justice committee. MPs are expected to vote on it on March 14. Sanchez's Socialists failed to secure a majority in the inconclusive general election in July and his fragile left-wing minority government needs support from other parties to pass legislation. MPs rejected a first amnesty bill in January, with JxCat MPs saying it did not protect all the relevant people, starting with exiled ex-Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont. The Socialists and the Catalan parties advocating independence for the wealthy northeastern region agreed on Wednesday on a strengthened bill that they said complied with "the constitution, the law and European jurisprudence". But the right and far right say it is unconstitutional. Ester Munoz, an MP for the main right-wing opposition Popular Party, accused the government of engaging in a "corrupt deal" to swap "impunity" for separatists in return for votes in parliament. The far-right Vox party, the third largest group in parliament, branded the government as "evil". However, Sanchez defended the bill during a party meeting in the northwestern city of Bilbao and insisted it would "strengthen" democracy. Sanchez said the bill would smooth "the path of reconciliation" in Catalonia. Protester Ana Garcia, a 50-year-old lawyer who declined to say which political party she supported, said the amnesty law "made some Spaniards more equal than others". "Our democracy is in trouble (because) Sanchez has no limits," she told AFP. Meanwhile, Sanchez announced that he would push Congress to recognise a Palestinian state before the end of his mandate in 2027. "We will do it because of moral conviction, because it's a just cause, but also because it is the only way that two states -- Israel and Palestine -- can live together and coexist in peace and security," said Sanchez. du/es/gil/bc/imm People, holding Spanish flags, attend a demonstration called by the Freedom and Alternative Forum against the Spanish government's amnesty law for people who participated in the failed independence attempt of Catalonia in 2017. Luis Soto/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa Thousands of people have once again taken to the streets of Madrid to protest a controverisal plan to give Catalan separatists amnesty. Police estimates put the number of demonstrators in Cibeles Square in Madrid at 15,000, while organizers said there were 400,000 participants. Members of opposition leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo's People's Party (PP) and the right-wing populist Vox also joined the protest. The demonstrators demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and chanted "Sanchez traitor" and "Sanchez in prison." An initial bill by the left-wing Sanchez government was rejected by the lower house of parliament at the end of January. Not only did the conservative and right-wing populist opposition vote against that bill, but also the Catalan Junts party of former regional government leader Carles Puigdemont. The Junts was concerned that the amnesty would not protect all separatists prosecuted by the judiciary from punishment. On Wednesday, however, the parliamentary justice committee approved an amended draft for the amnesty, which was also accepted by Junts. The new version of the law is to be discussed and voted on for the first time in the lower house of parliament on Thursday. However, the parliamentary process is likely to take months. Sanchez had promised the "Catalanistas" the amnesty in order to secure the votes of two separatist parties for his re-election in the lower house in Madrid in autumn 2023. Feijoo described the plan as a "national disgrace and international embarrassment." The opposition to the law is intended to "save" the endangered democracy in Spain, he asserted. The liberal Junts party of Puigdemont, who has been living in exile in Belgium since the failed separation attempt in autumn 2017, and the left-wing ERC of Catalan regional president Pere Aragones both want Catalonia to secede from Spain. Sanchez wants to defuse the conflict through dialogue and concessions. A woman carries a sign with the face of Pedro Sanchez, Prime Minister of Spain, during a demonstration called by the Freedom and Alternative Forum against the Spanish government's amnesty law for people who participated in the failed independence attempt of Catalonia in 2017. Luis Soto/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa Alejo Vidal-Quadras, Vice-President of the European Parliament from 1999-2014, speaks during a rally calling for the resignation of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in the Plaza de Cibeles. Mateo Lanzuela/EUROPA PRESS/dpa Long before a national TV crew swooped in to film a segment about Colorado Springs first Black-owned business to hit the $1 million mark, circa 1976, Reginald Smith said he knew he was working for a local icon. His dad, restaurant founder Howard L. Smith, had worked his way up from hardscrabble beginnings, persevered through racial bias that threatened to derail his dreams, and forged ahead to create a successful business that was earning raves at its spot on the citys west side. For the younger Smith who, like his siblings, then was spending mornings before school working at the restaurant and returning to help out after class being one of the few Black families in a tight-knit community, with a locally famous dad, meant teen antics perpetrated off the clock always had an audience. Wed try but we couldnt get away with anything, Reginald Smith said. Everyone knew my dad, and everyone loved my dad and if we tried something, he knew about it before we got home. Howard Smith, omniscient-seeming father of eight and barbecue king of Colorado Springs, who catered to presidents, celebrities and generations of neighbors in his adopted hometown for more than 50 years, died February 7, at age 86. Howard Smith was born into a large family in Athens, Alabama, in 1938, and learned early the value of a dollar, struggling to help provide for his siblings after the death of his mother when he was nine or 10, said his wife of almost 12 years, now widow, Demetra Smith. He grew up during the civil rights era in the South, she said. Hes actuallylived truly an epic life, the kind of life people write novels about. And thats not an exaggeration. Howard Smith served a tour in Korea and, as a young father, was drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War. He served as a cook, attaining the rank of Sergeant First Class/E-7 and earning a number of decorations and awards, including the Vietnam Service Medal and the Bronze Star Medal for Meritorious Achievement in ground operations against hostile forces. It wasnt so much a source of pride as a source of pain, said Demetra. Even in his 80s, he would just weep over Vietnam and the waste that it was. Those were his words: such a waste. Smiths time in service brought boons, though, including an introduction to the city he came to love and call home, via Fort Carson, and an opportunity to exercise his budding entrepreneurial nature. He married and had kids when he was very young, so he always had extra money he needed to make, and he pretty much continued to do that the rest of his life, Demetra said. Even in Vietnam, he was a leader, a businessman, he was going to make it work in his favor. In Vietnam, Smith carved out a side-hustle as a tailor, sewing service stripes onto uniforms for his fellow soldiers. Come payday, he would be at the front of the line getting his pay, then go to the back of the line to get what everybody owed him for tailoring, Demetra said. The subsequent side-hustle the one that would earn him an enduring name as a business pioneer and barbecue wizard in the Springs also got its start during his years in service, with a road-side pit stop that helped inspire a budding chef, and scrapper entrepreneur. Sign up for free: Gazette Business Receive a weekly roundup of business news around El Paso County. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Featured Local Savings Smiths first restaurant iteration in the Springs opened on the citys west side in 1969 as The Chefs Table, a spot that served a range of culinary options but quickly became known for its barbecue. In 1972, Smith parlayed the popularity into a new location, The Pit Barbecue, in a new, nearby spot on West Colorado Avenue. After initially being denied a small business loan to expand his already-successful operation and then a subsequent green-light, but with exorbitant interest fees Smith turned to his friend and then-U.S. House of Representative Joel Hefley for an assist. Within days, a loan was approved, at a much more affordable rate. He never waited for someone else to make the opportunity, Demetra said. If there was something that needed to be done, he would make it happen, from the ground up, sometimes out of thin air. That doesnt mean Smith didnt have to put up a fight, or that he won every battle. He famously stood up to encroaching Big Business when it swept in to fundamentally change the westside landscape first with an expanding grocery store footprint that displaced him from a spot at 3305 W. Colorado Ave. If you go in the produce department at Safeway, thats exactly where it used to sit, said Reginald Smith, recalling the spot where he got his start working for his father, a location that was leveled to make room for a bigger grocery store. The restaurant then moved to just east of 31st St., off Colorado Ave., a leased location where Smith operated for years before McDonalds came sniffing with an offer the property owner found too good to refuse. Smith fought as long as he could. Despite an early round win, the Golden Arches ultimately prevailed and Howards Pit Bar-B-Q was demolished to make way for a fast food joint. Howards barbecue moved across the street and then, in 1997, to 114 Sierra Madre St., throwing a grand opening celebration that drew an A-list audience including then-Mayor Mary Lou Makepeace, the U.S. Womens Volleyball team, and a live soundtrack by the Coronado and Palmer high school jazz bands. Over Smiths decades as a restaurateur in the Springs, a number of celebrities stopped in for a recommended nosh, including B.B. King and Ray Charles (who penned a personal thank you message to the chef/owner), and Smith catered events for the topmost of top brass, including Vice President Dick Cheney. Throughout it all, he knew the value of a friendly face in your face, in front of a wall of hand-scrawled fan well-wishes, or above the microwave heating instructions of a to-go- package of his delicious, famous barbecue. He was just everywhere, Demetra said. He retired from the restaurant maybe ten years ago, but it was a very active retirement...that wasn't really like retirement at all." Smiths good food lives on through the family-run Lil Howards BBQ and Catering, as well as his legacy of good works supporting schools, programs and the community he loved, said his son, Reginald. I think the thing that really drove him and that he did instill in us was to have integrity, to look out for one another and look out for your fellow man, Reginald said. He believed in everybody and he tried to help everybody. "That was his main thing. He just wanted to see a smile on everybodys face, and I think he did that through his food. The old Roosevelt school is pictured in 2023 at 900 N Klein in Oklahoma City. Three groups are competing to redevelop the blighted former Roosevelt school, last home to Oklahoma City Public Schools' headquarters. The three-story building at 900 N Klein was designed by noted architect Solomon Andrew Layton and built in 1924 as the home of Roosevelt Junior High. The 122,000-square-foot school was converted into the Oklahoma City Public Schools headquarters in 1955 and was abandoned by the district in 2017. Marva Ellard, who redeveloped the Sieber Hotel and is renovating the former Villa Teresa school into a hotel, teamed up with Cathy OConnor, former director of the Urban Renewal Authority, to submit a proposal to convert the Roosevelt into 96 apartments and build an additional 79 apartments with ground floor retail facing Western Avenue. Coalign is proposing a $37 million redevelopment of the former Roosevelt school that would result in 175 apartments. The project would consist of 96 units in the historic building facing Klein Avenue and construction of 79 units and ground floor retail in a surface parking lot facing Western Avenue. What to know about each proposal, amenities offered The $37 million Coalign development also includes restoring the schools pool. Ellard said several ideas are being looked at for the schools auditorium. Commonwealth Development Corporation of America is proposing to convert the former school into 66 units of affordable housing. The plan calls for creating a greenspace on the surface parking lot where the Coalign group proposed new apartments. Commonwealth has renovated several historic schools across the country into housing, including the former Dunbar Elementary in Oklahoma Citys John F. Kennedy Neighborhood. Commonwealth Development Corporation of America proposes a $20 million redevelopment that would consist of the former Roosevelt school being renovated into 66 affordable, low- and moderate-income apartments. The $20 million development proposal includes a community room, business and fitness centers, and a courtyard with a playground and picnic area. A third group, Unburden Development Spatium, submitted a proposal to renovate the former school into 10 short-term transitional housing beds, 30 studios and 12 apartments. The proposal did not include a portfolio of past development projects or the overall cost estimate. The proposal did include a list of potential partnerships with social service agencies helping low-income and homeless residents and how the development would be operated to not just provide housing but assistance to improving lives. Unburden Development Spatium proposes renovating the former Roosevelt school into a mix of social services, 10 short-term transitional beds, 30 studio units and 12 apartments. More: Can another use for Capitol Hill High School building be found before new school is built? Proposals were required to include a $25,000 deposit. The Oklahoma City Public Schools district also requires a minimum payment of $2 million for the property. The school attracted multiple proposals in 2019 when the district first teamed up with the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority to offer the property for redevelopment. The school district pulled out of the deal without explaining why after Urban Renewal chose a group led by Tulsa restaurateur and developer Elliott Nelson. Several schools remain abandoned without future plans in Oklahoma City Public Schools The former Roosevelt school is one of several the district abandoned over the years without any future plans. The school district pledged to change its ways after an investigation by The Oklahoman in 2016 and agreed to work with the Redevelopment Authority to find developers committed to restoring closed schools. The 2019 reversal of the pending sale to Nelson was seen as a return to prioritizing money over neighborhood safety and appearance. The school district sat on the property before deciding in 2022 to spend $764,540 to tear down the landmark. Metro Park neighborhood protests prompted the school district to put demolition on hold and ultimately team up again with Urban Renewal to seek new proposals. Metro Park resident Joe Slack said Friday he was encouraged by the new proposals. Im excited and very hopeful, Slack said. But I dont want to get too excited when were not 100% down the road. You never know whats going to happen. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Housing pitched for former OKC school once targeted for demolition WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (ABC4) Three people were killed Friday night after a driver ran a red light in West Valley City, according to West Valley City Police. Two women and one man, all inside the same vehicle, were killed in the crash at Mountain View Corridor, according to Lt. M.T. Johnson, WVCPD. At around 8:30 p.m. on March 8, a vehicle was heading westbound on 3500 South, police said. The driver reportedly ran a red light at Mountain View Corridor, crashing into a vehicle that was heading southbound on Mountain View Corridor. 12-year-old girl allegedly takes police on I-15 chase in her moms car in Salt Lake County The driver, a man, and front passenger, a woman, of the vehicle that ran the red light were killed on impact, police said, while a rear passenger, a woman, was taken to the hospital in critical condition and later declared deceased. Police said those inside the vehicle that was hit sustained minor injuries. A third vehicle that was waiting at the intersection was also impacted in the crash. The occupants of that vehicle also sustained minor injuries, police said. The identities of the victims have not been released at this time. No further information is currently available. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. Three civilians were injured in the Russian attack on the city of Kherson on 9 March. Source: a report from Kherson Oblast Prosecutor's Office Details: The report noted that Russian forces struck Kherson yet again at about 08:40 on 9 March. Three civilians sustained injuries of varying severity in the Russian bombardment. They have been provided with medical care. Support UP or become our patron! It is perhaps fitting that Kansas Natural Remedies is in a former aircraft manufacturing building near downtown. Much like aviation, which was new to Wichita just over a century ago and became a leading industry for Kansas, the cannabis industry is still in its infancy here but backers say it is poised to grow into a major revenue producer for the state. It really piqued my interest, said Sam Jones, a former corporate attorney who now is COO for Kansas Natural Remedies. The 4-year-old company has a licensed hemp-growing facility, sells hemp nationally and is behind one potential bill to legalize medical marijuana in Kansas. Of its 20 investors, 19 are Wichitans. A lot of them are very successful business people, Jones said. That includes his father, Wichita developer Jerry Jones. I like the idea of getting involved on the ground level of an emerging industry in Kansas, Jerry Jones said. I saw a business opportunity there. Emerging is one way to put it. Ultimately, this was a bit of a wild, wild West, said Heath Martin, president of Wichitas Kancanna and Butler Hemp Co. Its an industry almost born overnight. The western Kansas native has a background in agriculture and is a former sales manager for a tractor dealership in Wichita, and he said he saw an opening with the national legalization of hemp production in 2018. Everybody wanted to grow it, and nobody knew where to take it. I felt that I had a good understanding of all facets of the business, Martin said. To me, Im a forever optimist, and the opportunity in my lifetime to take part in an industry that had been under the wraps of prohibition for the past 100 years was just a great opportunity. The opportunity for the next level of the business has stalled, though. Kansas is one of a dozen states not to have some legal form of medical or recreational marijuana. Currently, Kansans are allowed to use CBD products without THC, which is the main ingredient in marijuana. Just as Kansas Natural Remedies is trying to bring a bill to change that, Kancanna and Butler Hemp are supporting a rival potential bill. No one is sharing full details on that potential bill yet except to say its more inclusive than the proposed Kansas Natural Remedies bill, which would be a limited pilot program that allows a maximum of four operators to produce and sell medical marijuana. It would prohibit smokable products and gummies. This is all still in motion, said Kelly Rippel, advisor to the Kansas Cannabis Coalition. Thats where we need to leave it right now. This is politics. With only a few weeks left to introduce new bills in the legislative session, some doubt theres time for anything to happen with either potential bill. Rippel disagrees. Hes been lobbying on behalf of cannabis in Kansas for almost a decade and thinks this is going to be the year something will happen on the medical marijuana front. The likelihood of it is pretty strong, he said. There are conversations being had with leadership about this issue, and they know something needs to be done. Senate President Ty Masterson an Andover Republican who has been a major roadblock to getting medical marijuana legalized recently said he expects to start to have a real discussion on the legalization in the coming weeks. A quick evolution When Sam Jones put together a business plan for Kansas Natural Remedies, it quickly evolved from simply cultivating hemp the firm sells the raw flower to also advocating for medical marijuana. This is something Kansas patients have waited patiently for, and its something they desperately need, he said. After hemp growing was legalized in 2018, Jones said the financials fell apart in 2019 when the price per pound dropped precipitously and became less economically viable. Jones said new hemp producers hit a peak in 2019. It slowly decreased year after year across the country. He said Kansas went against the trend and continued to increase. The state had 40 licenses as of late last year. Most of those are outdoor operators, but Jones said there are several indoor cultivators, including his company. Hemp is not typically grown indoors, he said. The quality of our product exceeds . . . a lot of the hemp that youll see out there. Kansas Natural Remedies employees trim buds at the companys production facility in a former aircraft manufacturing building near downtown. Jaime Green/The Wichita Eagle Hemp is a cannabis plant with less than 0.3% THC. Marijuana has more than 0.3% THC. The company sells to out-of-state hemp distributors that use it for a number of purposes, mostly for minor cannabinoids. There are more than 100 cannabinoids, which are compounds from the cannabis plant, such as CBD. CBD gets all the attention, Jones said. When CBD came out it was a craze. He said CBD on its own has no substantial benefits, though others disagree. He said what Kansas Natural Remedies offers is a product with several kinds of cannabinoids, or a full spectrum. Thats when the effects start to compound, and you really start feeling the benefits of it. He said that might be help with sleep, pain or anxiety. Jones said the real help would come from high-quality medical cannabis, which he said his facility is designed to produce. Jerry Jones said part of his interest in the industry is seeing how people close to him have benefited from cannabis in relief from chemotherapy and PTSD. For the past three years, the company has lobbied for more broad medical marijuana legislation but changed tactics this year. Its clear that that strategy is not working, Sam Jones said. He said he and lobbyist Michael ODonnell are appealing directly to leery conservative legislators and their constituents with a pilot program to give proof of concept. Were putting this together to . . . potentially pave the way for a more fully realized medical cannabis program. A personal Butler At Kancanna and Butler Hemp Co., which are located in an industrial park in southwest Wichita, Martins businesses are twofold. Kancanna is the extraction side that produces large quantities of industrial hemp for existing cannabinoid products. Butler Hemp Co. is a full-line manufacturer that produces its own tinctures, topicals, gummies and, now, seltzers. We are already selling all throughout the Midwest with our CBD products, Martin said. His silent partner happens to live in Butler County, but Martin said his partner chose the Butler name to be like a personal butler to make your day a little easier. Kancanna grew its own hemp for two years, but Martin decided to streamline the business and focus on industrial hemp and products derived from it. Thats always going to be our bread and butter. Heath Martin of Kancanna and Butler Hemp Co. said with his two companies, We are the only business that can take this from raw flower that a grower delivers to extraction to product formulation and bottling. Travis Heying/The Wichita Eagle Martin, like all Kansas hemp processors, faced a number of obstacles along the way, including licensing changes at the state level. It was new to everybody, so there were stumbling blocks at all levels. Martin said the industry has to be regulated, so its not a get rich quick endeavor even if medical marijuana becomes legal. Were maybe a little more realistic than some of the other pie-in-the-sky opportunists that maybe want to take part in this industry. Martin said industrial hemp and CBD are where his companies roots are. All our eggs are not in a medical marijuana basket. If, or when, medical marijuana becomes legal, Martin said there wont be a ramp-up period for his companies. We will add THC production on top of our current CBD production . . . day one, he said. We are the only business that can take this from raw flower that a grower delivers to extraction to product formulation and bottling. The Oklahoma problem With all the varying opinions on medical marijuana in the state, theres one thing on which producers and a lot of legislators can agree: Oklahoma screwed up things for Kansas. Sam Jones said Oklahomas exceptionally permissive medical program is as close to free market as you could get. Oklahomas program really set us back in our lobbying efforts tremendously. He said the state allowed a glut of operators and didnt initially implement a seed-to-sale tracking program or a strict microbial regime, among other things. According to a December 2022 Wall Street Journal article, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics estimated the state had become one of the top sources of black-market marijuana. Jones said a lot of legislators saw what was happening and said, Well, this looks a lot like recreational. Martin agreed that Oklahoma has put a black eye on the industry. He also agreed that a more conservative approach with the Legislature is necessary. We understand that thats what its going to take to pass in the state of Kansas. However, Martin said the bill that Jones and ODonnell are proposing is too restrictive not only on companies that would be able to participate but also on patients, who would be able to acquire medical marijuana in populous counties only. Weve got to find something that is not Oklahoma and is conservative enough to work in our state but still give patients and caregivers access to cannabis without driving 200 to 300 miles to acquire it. Jones said an earlier version of his proposed bill was more restrictive about where medical marijuana could be purchased, but he said, Under the final version of the bill . . . patients arent going to have any issue . . . being able to acquire it. Why the hurry? Rippel said its imperative for something to happen with medical marijuana in Kansas because of what may happen at the federal level. He said theres a movement for cannabis to be rescheduled, instead of being in the same class as heroine and methamphetamine, or descheduled and taken out of the controlled substance act States with no legal regulatory framework for businesses to operate within will open themselves up for a massive influx from other states to sell their products here, Rippel said, which is exactly what is happening with alternative cannabinoid products. He said Kansas has one of the most saturated alternative cannabinoid markets in the nation with no oversight, And its a huge public safety concern. Current Kansas law does not require a license for hemp-derived or cannabinoid-derived products, Rippel said, and he said no one has to provide quality assurance on them, either. Martin said theres a financial concern as well with rescheduling or descheduling. That would open up intrastate commerce, and if Kansas has no medical program at all, it would allow the transportation of medical marijuana through our state with no benefit to Kansas at all. So how to proceed? Rippel said the alternative proposed bill would be a conservative and well-regulated version of what the Legislature has seen proposed for the last five years. He said those proposed bills also were well-regulated. It sounds like both of the new proposed bills are more conservative than previous ones, with the Jones proposal being the most conservative. Theyre just different approaches, Jerry Jones said. He said his group would be supportive of any other bill advocating for responsible medical marijuana. Though Rippel said he wants something done yet this year, he said it needs to be the right bill. We need to have availability for everyone who wants and is able to participate, he said. This needs to be an equitable process. A Thurston County judge on Friday invalidated an Olympia School Board vote to open a 90-day window to consider closing Madison and McKenny elementary schools. Superior Court Judge Anne Egeler sided with four district parents over the objections of attorneys for the Olympia School District during a Friday morning hearing. The parents argued that a Dec. 14 vote to open the 90-day window was arbitrary, capricious and illegal because the board had not yet published a specific written analysis of the proposed closures, according to court records. By starting the clock on the process in December, the parents feared the district could close the schools by March 14. In January, the district posted an updated analysis on the latest proposal and the board postponed its decision on whether to close the schools to April 25. Its remains to be seen how the courts decision will affect the timeline for the closures, which are intended to help address the districts $3.5 million budget deficit for the 2024-2025 school year. In a prepared statement, district spokesperson Susan Gifford said district leadership and the school board are reviewing the courts ruling and determining next steps. Madison is at 1225 Legion Way SE in downtown Olympia, and McKenny is at 3250 Morse-Merryman Road SE, across from LBA Park on the citys east side. The latest proposal includes closing one or both schools and moving students into surrounding schools. The school board has considered a number of means of solving its budget deficit. However, the parents argued the idea to close Madison and McKenny elementary schools had not yet been directly studied as required by state law and district policy before the 90-day window was opened, according to court records. By failing to publish a requisite study, the parents argued they could not provide meaningful feedback on the proposal. And supplying the analysis after the vote, in response to litigation, does not cure the defect, the parents said in court records. The parents filed their case against the district on Jan. 10. In response, the attorneys for the district asked the court to deny the parents request and dismiss the case with prejudice. The attorneys argued the school board followed state law and district policy. Furthermore, they said the parents appeal was premature and moot because the board had not yet decided to close any schools and the decision was postponed to April. Alabama Senator Katie Britt delivered the Republican rebuttal to Joe Bidens State of the Union address on Thursday, in which she blasted the presidents economic and immigration policies. The speech, recited with a heightened sense of drama, was poorly reviewed, including by many members of her own party. Now questions are being raised about whether Britt intentionally distorted one of her most salient anecdotes. We know that President Biden didnt just create this border crisis. He invited it with 94 executive actions in his first 100 days, Britt said in her remarks. When I took office, I took a different approach. I traveled to the Del Rio sector of Texas. Thats where I spoke to a woman who shared her story with me. She had been sex trafficked by the cartels starting at the age of 12. We wouldnt be okay with this happening in a third world country. This is the United State of America, Britt continued. The story implied that the events took place under Bidens watch and in the United States, since the 42-year-old senator entered office in Jan. 2023. According to a now-viral TikTok posted by journalist Jonathan Katz, neither of those insinuations appears to be true. After watching Britts speech, Katz said, I immediately had questions. Who was this woman? How did [Britt] meet her? How did she get her to tell her this story? He did some research, he recounted, and quickly found apparent answers. Senator Britt has told this story over and over and over again, he said. Just after entering office, she traveled to southern Texas, to the Del Rio district near the border of Mexico, with Republican Senators Marsha Blackburn and Cindy Hyde-Smith, according to records posted on Blackburns website. Official GOP Response to SOTU Has Republicans Losing It At an appearance alongside Fox News contributor Sara Carter, Katz said, Britt heard from a woman named Karla Jacinto Romero, whose story aligns perfectly with Britts anecdote. Romero, now 31, was a trafficking victim from ages 12 to 16, according to her biography. In testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives in 2015, Romero said that, as a child, she was thrown out of her house by her mother and fell prey to a professional pimp. For the first three months of their relationship, she recalled, her abuser treated her well, but he eventually forced me to work the streets for his own gain. For years and years I was coerced, intimidated, threatened, beaten, robbed of my children, and emotionally and sexually violated time and time again. "My name is Karla Jacinto and today I have a voice. But for more than 4 years of my life from the age of 12 as a little girl whose mother had thrown her out on the streets open to anyone wanting to take advantage of my vulnerabilities I fell prey to a professional pimp" 5/14/2015 pic.twitter.com/0PymG1nbgL Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) March 9, 2024 Romero added that, over the course of those four years, she was forced to serve every type of fetish imaginable to more than 40,000 clients. In Katzs video, he acknowledged the horrors of Romeros story, and he did not dispute her credibility. Still, he said, if Britt was indeed referring to Romero in her State of the Union rebuttal, her telling of the facts was fundamentally dishonest. It goes beyond misleading. I dont know what they put in textbooks in Alabama these days. But Joe Biden wasnt the President of the United States in 2004 or 2008. He wasnt even the Vice President of the United States, Katz said. And none of that really matters here because these events didnt happen in the United States. These crimes didnt take place in the United States or even near the border. They took place in Mexico, he continued. Later, he added, It just looks like she just got on national television and lied about something really horrific and really important. And for her own personal and her partys political gain. A spokesperson for Britt, Sean Ross, defended the senators integrity in a statement to Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Kyle Whitmire, who is based in Alabama. The story Senator Britt told was 100% correct. And there are more innocent victims of that kind of disgusting, brutal trafficking by the cartels than ever before right now, he wrote. The Biden administration's policiesthe policies in this country that the President falsely claims are humanehave empowered the cartels and acted as a magnet to a historic level of migrants making the dangerous journey to our border. Ross did not immediately respond to an emailed inquiry from The Daily Beast, which asked for clarification about whether Britt was in fact referring to Romero. 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. TOMS RIVER - A rally in support of Toms River's Animal Shelter is planned for 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, March 10, at the shelter at 235 Oak Ave. Supporters of the shelter are concerned about Mayor Daniel Rodrick's proposal to have Ocean County take over care of Toms River's homeless animals. Rodrick has insisted that the animal shelter will remain open, even if the county takes over operations. The mayor contends the county can do a better job finding homes for stray animals, a point disputed by many animal care advocates, who fear more animals will be euthanized if the county shelters are filled. The county has not yet indicated if it would keep the building open, or if stray cats and dogs would go to county-run shelters in Jackson and Stafford. Rodrick's administration has put out a request for proposals for animal control services, and the mayor has said he may look to privatize animal control. Toms River's four animal control officers, who also care for stray dogs and cats at the shelter, would likely lose their jobs. School merger: Seaside Heights-Toms River school merger vote OK'd; here is when voters will get their say Patty Claus feeds a treat to Carlos, an adoptable dog at the Toms River animal shelter. Toms River is one of only four New Jersey towns to have its own animal shelter. The Oak Avenue shelter, which replaced one on Whitesville Road, was opened in 2014. Jean Mikle covers Toms River and several other Ocean County towns, and writes about issues related to Superstorm Sandy. She's also passionate about the Shore's storied music scene. Contact her: @jeanmikle, jmikle@gannettnj.com. This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Toms River Animal Shelter rally fights mayor's push for county takeover House Speaker Mike Johnson and the chairmen of key House committees dealing with national security are working to develop their own Ukraine aid package that would treat non-military aid as a loan, NBC News reported on March 9. They hope it can pass Congress without alienating conservatives who oppose further funding for the war-torn country. The plans are in their preliminary stages and far from fully formed, but Republicans who support Ukraine want to be prepared to tackle the legislation as soon as Congress clears another government shutdown deadline on March 22. Waiting any longer could push passage of critical aid for Kyiv into April, given a planned two-week Congressional recess at the end of March, NBC sources said. Among the proposals being floated is treating some non-military aid as a type of loan, said House Foreign Affairs Chairman Mike McCaul, who is involved in the discussions, and Sen. Lindsey Graham. Economic aid to support the general function of Ukraines government and its long-term rebuilding efforts would be subject to a loan under this plan. Read also: U.S. House may finally consider Ukrainian aid package in late March or April Russian assets seized by the U.S. government through sanctions could also be used as collateral for loans to the Ukrainians, McCaul said, adding that the plan could also have a generous repayment system to help Kyiv. Offering up loans as part of the package is designed to help ease the concerns of House conservatives who have criticized billions in U.S. aid for Ukraine and said they will not support sending further U.S. taxpayer dollars without a long-term plan to win the war. McCaul said the proposal would make Russia at least partially responsible for paying for Ukraine to rebuild. Were looking at two factors. One is my REPO Act, which will allow us to attach assets related to the Russian sovereign assets that have been sanctioned to help pay for Russias war crimes. Thats a very popular idea in the House, he said. And secondly, the loan program. At the end of the day, the Russian sovereign assets would pay for that or they would just default. On Feb. 20, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the White House does not think aid to Ukraine in the form of a loan, as former President Donald Trump suggested, would be the best way forward. Asking Ukraine to take on and shoulder a substantial amount of debt right now, as it's fighting for its life, we don't regard that as the best way forward, he said. Talking about loans as opposed to providing the necessary infusion of cash is only going to make the economic problems of that country worse, he said, adding that a stable Ukraine is in the fundamental national security interest of the United States. A U.S. official familiar with White Houses position told NBC News on March 8 that some aid is better than no aid, but this is not an ideal way of doing it. ... Asking a country to take on tens of millions of dollars of debt that they cant afford to pay off is a recipe for a significant burden, will hurt Ukraine long term and could lead to economic crises down the road. McCaul is insistent that work on a new Ukraine aid package begin soon, suggesting the House would write its own bill and send that back to the Senate. Read also: US Congressman Fitzpatrick on options and scenarios to advance $61 billion Ukraine aid bill vote This is urgent in Ukraine. We cant waste any more time, he said. If the House punts the foreign aid bill to April, Republicans will have rounded the corner on several key primaries, which could free up additional GOP support for funding to Ukraine, said two officials with knowledge of discussions. The U.S. Congress has been unable to pass a bill to fund aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan for more than three months. Republicans have been blocking the vote, demanding stricter migration policies and stronger border protection with Mexico. American media reported in January that Republicans were being influenced by former President Donald Trump, who was demanding that the party reject the compromise deal on immigration. The U.S. Senate passed the bill providing $95 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, $60 billion of which is earmarked for Kyiv on Feb. 13. The same day, House Speaker Johnson once again criticized the Senate proposal, stating that he was not going to introduce the bill supported by the Senate for consideration. The U.S. House of Representatives adjourned for recess on Feb. 15 without passing the aid bill for Ukraine. Now this issue will be considered no earlier than mid-March. After a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House on Feb. 28, Mike Johnson said that he would put the extension of aid to Ukraine to a vote in a timely manner. During a meeting with leaders of both parties in Congress, Biden emphasized the urgent need to provide aid to Ukraine. The speakers of 23 parliaments and the head of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, called on Johnson to bring the bill to the floor on Feb. 28. The next day, the speaker said that the House of Representatives would not consider the issue of allocating aid to Ukraine before the U.S. government receives funding. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Last week I read the draft programme for the Reform Party. It did even more than the pitiful Budget presented last Tuesday to convince me that this government is toast. A smaller state, lower taxes, a one out, one in immigration policy, a deregulatory programme to capitalise on Brexit and that is only the tip of the iceberg sounded like everything Conservative voters in 2019 expected their party to do. Instead, their reward was years of inaction, ideological implosion, lies and incompetence for which the pandemic (grotesquely mishandled) is simply no excuse. Yet I suspect Reform even if the charismatic Nigel Farage returns from television to lead it, which I think unlikely will struggle to win a single seat. Taking on long-established parties under a first-past-the-post system is tricky: it is exactly a century since it last happened with any degree of success, when Labour had its first taste of office thanks to the Liberals deciding not to chuck it out. But what Reform can, and almost certainly will, do is garner enough votes in many seats to prevent Conservatives from winning them. I have said to people for months that this feels more like 1974 than 1997, but the Conservatives utter failure to behave politically and to show the slightest sign of an ability to campaign makes me fear I was wrong in this assessment. If so, Reform will help put in a Labour government not for four or five years, in all probability, but for eight or nine at least. Many former Conservative supporters seem unperturbed by this: they argue there would be little difference in having a Labour government after the record of charlatanry, incompetence and intellectual paralysis that characterised the Johnson, Truss and Sunak administrations respectively. If the majority was small and Labour must win 124 seats it did not win in 2019 to obtain a majority of one in the House of Commons, with boundary changes against it the sceptics might be prove to be right. However, a landslide would precipitate an expansion of the already bloated welfare state, of absurdly expensive Sadiq Khan-style stunts in local government, of wokeness paralysing the entire education system and public sector, and of an already entirely dysfunctional immigration system effectively ceasing to exist as Labour continued the old Blairite policy of teaching the middle classes a lesson through mass migration. Productivity and competitiveness would languish, and Labour seems not to know what deregulation means. Some may consider all this (and lets chuck in gratuitous constitutional reform, such as more Khan-like executive mayoralties, and reform of the House of Lords that would ensure most of the rubbish appointed in recent years stays in) a rather high price to pay to teach an admittedly atrocious Conservative party a lesson. With odd notable exceptions, much of the Conservative high command appears to be in denial about this strong possibility. The denial persists even though so many of their backbench colleagues are either running up the white flag 59 have said they wont fight again, plus three who won as Conservative in 2019 but have lost the whip or desperately looking for a career after what they expect will be their defeat. And a glance at the Reform programme, which reads like a document drafted by Mrs Thatchers policy unit, ought to remind them of what they should be doing, but lack the guts to do. That lack of guts was underlined not just in the Budget but in the failure with each day that passes to be seen by an angry public to address the issues most concerning to them that pitiful border control system, but also incontinent public spending and an apparently increasing demoralisation among of those of working age. Some of us are old enough to remember such demoralisation in the winter of 1978-79; we were rescued from it by Thatcherism breaking a sick consensus. With Reform now flying the Thatcherite banner in a way the Conservatives dare not, the consequences should be distressingly obvious. In 2019, gaining very little in return, Mr Farage stood down Brexit party candidates to give the Conservatives a clear run in sufficient seats to allow them to thrash Labour. I am assured no such concessions will be made this time. Therefore, if any sort of pact is to be done between these two Right-of-centre forces, the initiative would have to come from the Conservatives. Yet even at only 18 per cent support in the latest poll 28 points behind Labour, and just five points ahead of reform, which has 13 per cent the Conservatives are maintaining their impersonation of lemmings. How low does their polling have to go before they realise that they are no longer the authentic voice of Right-of-centre Britain? Would it help if Reform overtook them in the polls, as, at this rate, it soon might, especially if its own programme becomes more widely known among the electorate? It is too late to replace yet another Conservative leader though replacing some of the dunderheads in his cabinet might be helpful. However, someone should start talking to Reform about a pact, or a form of coupon election: such as Tories standing down in red wall seats they are doomed to lose and giving Reform a clear run, and Reform not fighting seats defended by sound Conservatives. The alternative appears to be near-obliteration, and the time to prevent that is fast running out. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Tory MPs Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Tom Tugendhat break ranks to call for increase of military spending Two Tory ministers have broken precedent to call on Rishi Sunak to increase military spending to at least 2.5 per cent to deter potential threats. Anne-Marie Trevelyan, a foreign office minister, and former leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat, now the security minister, published the article on LinkedIn on Friday. It's clear that the UK needs to lead the way [by] increasing domestic defence and security spending commitments to 2.5 per cent and beyond, their joint article said. As the UKs Indo-Pacific and Security ministers, we are confronted daily by rising global threats, and the risk they pose. That geopolitical reality is reflected in defence budgets around the world. China announced this week that it was increasing its defence spending by another 7.2 per cent this year, taking it to $230 billion. Thats more than twice what it was a decade ago. Russia is committed to spending 40 per cent of its expenditure on defence and security this year. Their plea comes on the back of the budget which the ministers implied was missing a commitment to raising the spending above the current 2 per cent. The UKs defence budget has risen from 43 billion to 55 billion in the past year, an increase of 28 per cent. Strengthening our defence and security isnt just necessary to deter these threats, the article continued. Its necessary to protect our future prosperity. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has previously pledged to increase military spending as soon as economic conditions allow. General Sir Patrick Sanders, the outgoing chief of the army, has additionally called for a boost in military spending while Boris Johnson has backed his call to arms. Both Mr Tugendhat and Ms Trevelyan went against established ministerial protocol to write their article but have stressed the necessity of such spending. They have said extra cash would be useful towards growing the Navy, strengthening a nuclear deterrent and building a new generation of fighter jets. The defence secretary, Grant Shapps, has not commented. The article added: The reality is that for far too long, we in the West have allowed the false premise of a peace dividend to erode our defence and security. We must work with our partners to change this, and invest to ensure we can both deter and defend effectively. Ukrainian soldiers. Photo: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine A total of 63 combat clashes occurred on the front line over the past 24 hours. The Russians tried to break through Ukraines defences on the Novopavlivka front 22 times. Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, information as of 06:00 on 9 March Details: The Russians launched eight missile attacks and 107 airstrikes. Ukrainian positions and populated areas came under fire from multiple-launch rocket systems 113 times. Over the past day, airstrikes targeted the settlements of Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts and the city of Kherson. More than 140 settlements in Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts came under artillery shelling. In the area of responsibility of the Khortytsia Operational Strategic Group on the Kupiansk front, the Russians carried out three attacks in the vicinity of Synkivka and Kyslivka (Kharkiv Oblast), trying to improve their tactical situation. On the Lyman front, Ukrainian troops repelled five Russian attacks near Terny and Spirne (Donetsk Oblast). On the Bakhmut front, Ukraine's Defence Forces repelled nine Russian attacks near Andriivka and Klishchiivka (Donetsk Oblast). In the area of responsibility of the Tavriia Operational Strategic Group on the Avdiivka front, Ukrainian defenders repelled 15 Russian attacks near Berdychi, Orlivka, Tonenke, Pervomaiske and Nevelske (Donetsk Oblast). On the Novopavlivka front, Ukrainian forces are continuing to hold back the Russians near Pobieda, Krasnohorivka and Novomykhailivka (Donetsk Oblast), where the Russians tried to break through the defences of Ukrainian troops 22 times. On the Orikhiv front, Ukrainian defenders repelled eight Russian attacks near Robotyne and west of Verbove (Zaporizhzhia Oblast). In the area of responsibility of the Odesa Operational Strategic Group on the Kherson front, Ukraine's Defence Forces are continuing to hold their positions. At the same time, Ukraine's Air Force struck 10 areas where Russian personnel, weapons and military equipment were concentrated. In addition, 12 out of 15 Shahed attack drones that the Russians launched at Ukraine were shot down. Units from Ukraines Rocket Forces and Artillery struck one area where Russian weapons and military equipment were concentrated, one command post, three electronic warfare systems, including two Zhitel jamming systems, one Solntsepyok heavy multiple-launch rocket system and one ammunition storage point. Support UP or become our patron! Federal prosecutors have arrested two New Jersey tour boat operators in the 2022 drowning deaths of a 7-year-old boy and his aunt after their overcrowded vessel capsized while speeding in rough water off Manhattan, authorities said. Richard Cruz, 32, and Jaime Pinilla Gomez, 25, were taken into custody Thursday and charged with one count each of misconduct and neglect of a ship resulting in death, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced. On July 12, 2022, Cruz and Gomezs 24-foot boat, the Stimulus Money, flipped over in the Hudson River while carrying 13 people. The operators allegedly did not have proper credentials or certifications. While 11 people on the boat were able to escape, Lindelia Vasquez, 48, and 7-year-old Julian Vasquez became trapped beneath the vessel. Their bodies were recovered by a dive team approximately 25 minutes after the capsizing. Their cause of death was drowning, authorities said. Eleven people were able to escape the capsizing of the Stimulus Money, but two passengers -- a 48-year-old woman and her 7-year-old nephew -- were found unconscious beneath the boat and pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. US Attorney's Office Southern District of New York This case demonstrates the deadly consequences of illegal passenger operations, Rear Admiral John Mauger said in a statement reacting to the criminal charges. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims today. Neither man was listed as having an attorney. Cruz purchased the boat in cash off Facebook Marketplace about three months before the deadly accident, and started charging passengers $200 an hour for tours around the area, despite not having the required United States Coast Guard credentials and certifications to do so, authorities said. Gomez, who was described in the complaint as an insufficiently experienced mariner, piloted the boat and allowed 13 people to board for the ill-fated trip, despite the boats 12-person limit and a small craft advisory being in effect at the time for New York Harbor, according to a copy of the criminal complaint. The Stimulus Money is pulled out of the water after its July 12, 2022, capsizing. US Attorney's Office Southern District of New York Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller vessels, were advised not to navigate the water due to the high winds and strong currents, the complaint states. Once on the water, the boat allegedly traveled at high speeds in strong winds and heavy seas around lower Manhattan. It then entered some swells, causing its bow to take on water. Gomez brought both throttles to a neutral position just as another swell hit the boat. The change in propulsion, coupled with the swell, caused the bow to become completely submerged up to its windshield. Gomez then accelerated the right-side throttle, exceeding the recommended rounds per minute for the vessel, just before it capsized on its left side, authorities said. All 13 people on the boat were thrown overboard, according to authorities. A victim of the boat accident is rushed away by paramedics. New York Daily News via Getty Images Authorities concluded that Gomez was not properly wearing a safety device that would have turned off the boats engine if hed abruptly moved away from the piloting position. Had Gomez been wearing the device as required, investigators said, the vessel may not have overturned. The lanyard was still intact and attached to the helm console at the time of the capsizing, indicating that the pilot was not wearing the Engine Kill Switch Lanyard or not wearing it properly, the complaint states. Both men, who were scheduled to make their first court appearance on Thursday, face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Federal regulations and safety protocols exist to ensure that captains and operators of commercial vessels keep passengers safe, said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in a statement. The defendants allegedly flouted those regulations, recklessly disregarded safety protocols, operated the vessel at an unsafe speed in hazardous conditions, and overloaded the vessel with too many passengers onboard. And the result was tragic a young boy and a woman were trapped under the vessel and drowned after the vessel capsized. Related... TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) A Travis County inmate died at the hospital Thursday following a medical incident, according to the Travis County Sheriffs Office. TCSO said 55-year-old Yolanda Montgomery was found alert but in medical distress in her unit at approximately 2:55 a.m. Thursday. According to officials, Montgomery was then taken to the jails medical clinic but was later moved to a Central Austin hospital. TCSO said Montgomery spoke with doctors while at the hospital before beginning treatment. The sheriffs office said her condition worsened, and she was pronounced dead at 2:27 p.m. Officials said Montgomery was booked into custody Feb. 29 and charged with assault bodily injury family violence. TCSO said there was an investigation underway as is customary with any death in custody. An autopsy was completed Friday, and the results are pending. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. GOSHEN, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) More details on the case of the 14-year-old girl who died after allegedly being neglected and sexually abused by her dad and step-grandfather have been released by the Tulare County Sheriffs Office. 2 men arrested after abuse leads to 14-year-olds death in Goshen, deputies say Deputies say they were dispatched to a home on Jan. 16 in the 30600 block of Road 72 after the teenager called them because she was having difficulty breathing. When deputies arrived, they were met with an adult male who told them there were no girls in the home, turning them away. Hours later, sheriffs officials say they received a 911 call from the same home. The call was from the man who previously turned them away, and the dispatcher was told that there was a girl in the residence who was unresponsive. Sheriffs officials say they found the 14-year-old unresponsive in bed. She was taken to the hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. According to Tulare County sheriffs officials, medical personnel discovered wounds that indicated severe neglect and wounds that indicated sexual abuse. Deputies opened up an investigation and throughout several weeks, after serving several warrants to the home, they found surveillance cameras operating within the home, which contained sexual abuse and neglect footage of the minor. Deputies say they also found footage of sexual abuse to a neighbor, an 11-year-old child in the surveillance cameras. The child would visit the 14-year-old. Sheriffs officials say the childs mother and grandmother passed away in 2022 within months of each other. The 14-year-old was previously diagnosed with diabetes and never received treatment for it. According to sheriffs officials, the two suspects say the girl was lying in bed for several weeks, but upon looking at the surveillance video, they found she had been lying in bed since November 2023. Deputies believe the victim died as the result of severe neglect from the illnesses that never got treated. They say she had several wounds, including insect wounds, and infections. She was treated like an animal, and not even like an animal, said Ashley Ritchie with the Tulare County Sheriffs Office. Ritchie says the girl was only living with her dad and step-grandfather. Deputies say both were arrested on March 1 and booked into custody at the Tulare County Sheriffs Office Adult Pre-Trail Facility on suspicion of homicide and child abuse resulting in death for their roles in the death of Penas 14-year-old daughter. Sheriffs officials say they determined additional girls frequented the home of Pena and Minkler and are working to identify these individuals to determine if there are additional victims. They ask anyone with information in this case to contact Sergeant S. Olmos and Detective J. Haro with the Tulare County Sheriffs Office at 559-733-6218. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47. A federal judge set a date in early July for the trial of a Catonsville woman and Florida man accused of planning an attack on Baltimores power grid last year. Sarah Beth Clendaniel, of Catonsville, and Brandon Clint Russell, of Orlando, Florida, were charged with conspiracy to attack a Baltimore power grid. Their trial will begin July 8, according to online court documents. The Baltimore Sun previously reported Cledaniel and Russell plotted to shoot and destroy multiple electrical substations in the Baltimore region to further their extremist, violent, racial and ethnic beliefs. Damaging an electrical substation could cause power outages that would affect hospitals, businesses and homes. Russell and Clendaniel, 34, had been planning to attack Maryland substations since June. Russell, 27, is the founder of a neo-Nazi group, and Cledaniel was previously sentenced to five years in prison for attempted armed robbery with a butcher knife. Additionally, Russell and Cledaniel were in a personal and online relationship. Clendaniel plotted to secure a rifle for the attack on five electrical substations, including Baltimore Gas and Electric substations in Norrisville, Reistertown and Perry Hall. Russell shared maps of the energy facilities and discussed how to inflict maximum chaos on the power grid by attacking several substations at once. Clendaniel and Russell face a maximum sentence of 20 years for conspiracy to damage an energy facility. Their attorneys could not be be reached for comment. An entrance at New Life Village, 1300 E Ayers in Edmond, is pictured March 6. EDMOND City leaders are expected to decide Monday if they wish to pursue closing an east-side hotel/apartments operation that's experienced public safety and code related problems since at least 2014. Members of the Edmond City Council declared New Life Village at 1300 E Ayers a public nuisance Feb. 26. Council members also ordered the property owner to bring the 90-unit, three-story structure into compliance with Edmond, health, building and public safety codes, to bring aboard around-the-clock, CLEET-certified security to patrol the property and to install a continuously operating video security system there by March 11. Consternation over how the building has been run is nothing new. Edmond Medical Complex LLC, New Life Village's owner since December 2003, has been required to appear before the council three times in just the past six years to answer for health-related issues, fire-safety code violations and reported criminal activities at the property. Some of its problems date as far back as 2014. Its owner avoided having the property condemned in 2019 after making ordered repairs and obtaining the council's approval to change its zoning so that the complex could be operated exclusively as a hotel. In April 2022, the company was back before council members again, potentially facing a public nuisance declaration that could have closed it down. Its owners avoided that fate by again agreeing to make ordered upgrades and successfully obtaining yet another zoning change in early 2023, allowing it to operate as a combination apartments/hotel business under the name New Life Village. A security vehicle sits March 6 outside New Life Village in Edmond. Owners' attorney asked Edmond council member to refrain from voting Before council members took reports from Edmond's police, fire and code enforcement officials about issues involving the property on Feb. 26, attorney Danny Shadid, representing company owners Raj and Rayesh Narula, complained about an earlier social media post Councilman Tom Robins made about his client's operation. Robins followed that post with another March 6, where he highlighted the fact that a 68-year-old man living inside the property was found dead March 4 from an apparent drug overdose. Shadid argued Robins either should recuse himself from considering the issue or be barred by fellow council members from doing so, claiming he already had decided to declare a nuisance before any facts were heard. "By definition, Councilman Robins has prejudged this matter ... placed himself in the middle of the controversy," Shadid said. "I do not take this lightly." Robins openly laughed at Shadid's request, later noting issues he brought up in the post were pulled from Edmond public records. More: Edmond is 'a great place to grow' in Oklahoma. But as it expands, the city is facing an identity crisis Robins voted with other council members to declare the property a public nuisance. Shadid also asked council members to refrain from judging the Narulas for any problems with the property before early 2023, when they reached an agreement with city officials to rezone the property to make it a combination hotel/apartment complex. New Life Village has been owned by Edmond Medical Complex LLC and operated under several different names since December 2003. "(Then-City Attorney) Steve Murdock made a deal with us so that a lot of money could be paid back to the city of Edmond," Shadid said. "Ever since, Edmond has done everything it can to prevent this property from getting back on track." He told council members the Narulas, who attended the Feb. 26 council meeting but did not speak, since had secured $2.4 million enabling them to refinance their purchase of the complex. He said the Narulas also spent hundreds of thousands of dollars making improvements to address ongoing identified issues with the building involving its elevator, its sprinkler system, its hot water tanks, its furnishings and other safety and security issues. "(Considering) a history that goes back to 2014 is not valid," Shadid said. Finally, he told council members the Narulas were not provided sufficient notice to prepare for the council's Feb. 26 meeting. New Life Village at 1300 E Ayers, located near the University of Central Oklahoma and an elementary school, is a 90-unit, three-story structure. Property close to UCO and Northern Hills Elementary The 77,000-square-foot property on Ayers' south side just east of Bryant Avenue originally opened in 1984 as Country Club Square. Its name was changed later to Country Club Villa, then changed a second time to the Village Inn Apartments. After it was acquired by Edmond Medical Complex LLC in 2003, it was renamed Highland Ridge Apartments. At the end of 2019, the owner changed its name to OYO Hotel Edmond University of Central Oklahoma. City officials' main concerns in 2018 with the the property were fire-safety and cleanliness concerns that included complaints to the Oklahoma City-County Health Department about raw sewage pouring out of bathtubs into hallways. A reporter for The Oklahoman who visited the property also observed animal waste and cockroaches inside of some of the building's units. Edmond city records show 80 building, fire, property maintenance, health and nuisance code violations for the hotel have been logged either by the city or City-County Health Department for the property since 2014. Just a recent walk-around inspection showed many of its windows were missing screens, that graffiti was visible on part of its exterior and that parts of its property were littered with trash, Edmond's code enforcement supervisor told council members. New Life Village is pictured March 6 in Edmond. Councilman Robins noted Edmond Medical Complex LLC owes more than $30,000 in fines to the city for about 100 past code and safety inspection-related citations it has been issued and tried upon in municipal court. "(Code enforcement issues are) a perennial problem that's not changing," said Ivan Smith, Edmond's code enforcement supervisor. The Edmond Fire Department repeatedly logged reoccurring problems found during 20 inspections it conducted on the property between Jan. 30, 2017, and Jan. 29, 2024. Mike Fitzgerald, Edmond's fire marshal, told council members the property has a history of having generated numerous false fire alarms, repeated deficiencies with its automated fire protection system, plus issues involving blocked entry and exit points that could both make it hard for firefighters to respond and residents to evacuate the property during emergency situations. Recently, when the fire department responded to a report of smoke inside the building, no property representative was there to help them gain access to the building and they were forced to break in to the property to gain access, he said. "They are big things for us life safety issues," Fitzgerald said. A sign warns against trespassing March 6 at the New Life Village at 1300 E Ayers in Edmond. Edmond also sent police to the property 462 times for either emergency responses or community policing sweeps just between Jan. 5, 2023, and Feb. 15, 2024, council members were told. Just between Dec. 1 and Feb. 15, Police Chief J.D. Younger said officers went to the building 38 times to investigate theft or suspicious activity complaints. Beyond that, Younger said the agency conducted two dozen proactive patrols there. He confirmed an individual whom Robins claimed recently was arrested on complaints of producing and possessing child pornography while living/working at the complex as a maintenance man has been charged. But the Narulas' attorney challenged that, saying there was no record currently of anyone who had lived or worked at the complex being charged with those crimes. "Who is that person?" Shadid asked. While Younger said the owner has used on-site security at times in the past, "I am not aware of any contracted, currently." New Life Village is just one of many names owners of the property at 1300 E Ayers in Edmond have used to operate the past 20 years. Council deflects attorney's request for more time Shadid asked the council for patience, explaining his clients are working with Zoe Healing Center to improve the property. The nonprofit operates Christ-centered centers that offer healing, restoration services to meet the needs of whole families. It desires to see people saved, healed, set-free, equipped, and walking with purpose to be all that God redeemed them to be, its website states. Were Zoe Healing Center to take over, it would provide around-the-clock security and have a representative there at all times. It also would renovate the property's central kitchen and recreational hall, Shadid pledged. "They are going to bring in staff. My clients are going to pay for it." Jo McGuffin, one of Zoe's executive directors, told council members she was a U.S. Army veteran and a nurse who helped establish the nonprofit after working at UCO as its director of health and wellness. "Nobody wants an unsafe, dangerous place. We propose to make it a Christian center ... a safe, beautiful place to live ... a place where we can take care of the vulnerable," McGuffin said. "We want to get this fixed," she said. The entrance to New Life Village at 1300 E Ayers in Edmond is pictured on March 6. Edmond Mayor Darrell Davis reiterated that was the council's desire, but said it had to start with addressing the property's life safety and security concerns first. "For the past year there have been some concerns brought up about the location, where we are having a lot of police and fire calls," he said. "Yes, on a certain day (in early 2023), we said, 'OK, things look good. That sounds good.' What was said then and what's happening now is not happening." "I don't think that's accurate," Shadid said. "I think it is," the mayor replied. "There has been violations in the past year. Too many. We need to clean it up, and we need to clean it up as fast as possible." This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: New Life Village could be closed by Edmond after safety issues Former U.S. President Donald Trump praised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban as a "fantastic leader" while hosting him at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on March 8. Orban has a long-standing relationship with conservatives in the U.S. and is the only European leader who is openly friendly toward the Kremlin. Trump has spoken highly of Orban on several occasions since leaving the White House in 2021. Trump, who is poised to become the Republican party's presidential nominee in the 2024 election, was seen making the remarks in a video shared on Orban's Instagram account. Theres nobody thats better, smarter, or a better leader than Viktor Orban Hes the boss, and hes a great leader, a fantastic leader. In Europe and around the world, they respect him, Trump said, calling Orban a noncontroversial figure. During the trip to the U.S., Orban and Trump discussed "a wide range of issues affecting Hungary and the U.S., including the paramount importance of strong and secure borders to protect the sovereignty of each nation," Trumps campaign statement read. U.S. President Joe Biden criticized the meeting of the two, saying that Orban was looking for dictatorship. Orban previously said that only the return of Trump to the White House could bring peace to Ukraine, which has been fighting off Russias full-scale invasion for over two years. Trump has long criticized U.S. aid to Ukraine, a position in line with his "America First" foreign policy views. He has claimed that he would be able to negotiate peace in Ukraine within 24 hours, although he did not elaborate on concrete steps to achieve this. Trump's sway over the Republican party has contributed to the continuing deadlock in Congress over U.S. aid to Ukraine. The Senate passed a funding bill containing $60 billion in aid for Ukraine earlier in February, but House Speaker Mike Johnson has so far declined to bring it to a vote. Read also: Opinion: Orban is plain wrong on Ukraine Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Within a 24-hour period, the 2024 presidential campaign kicked off in a way that could not present the choice before the American public more starkly. Joe Biden stood before the Congress and, in his State of the Union address, made a powerful case that he would fight with every fiber of his being to preserve American democracy and the fundamental freedoms of all Americans. Then, late Friday, Donald Trump hosted Hungarys authoritarian ruler, Viktor Orban, in the kind of pro-Putin, anti-democracy summit that perfectly captured the true nature of todays MAGA Republican Party. The dinner reception was so important that even Melania Trump made one of her rare appearances at her husbands side. Trump said, Theres nobody smarter or a better leader than Viktor Orban. Hes the boss. Hes a non-controversial figure because he says, This is the way its going to be and thats the end of it. Hes the boss. Hes a great leader. Bidens SOTU Easily Cleared the Very Low Bar Set for Him by the GOP A day earlier, OrbanVladimir Putins man in Europe, his acolyte and championmet behind closed doors with the leaders of the new American right at the Heritage Foundation. There it is, America. Biden is running to preserve Americas traditional values and institutions. Trump and the GOP have openly embraced autocracy, celebrating the virtues of strong man government. That sounds like hyperbole. It sounds like hysteria. It sounds like scare tactics. But it is none of those things and the sooner Americans realize it, the sooner theyll understand the gravity of the threat we face in this election. Bidens State of the Union began by evoking the peril with which the U.S. was confronted in 1941, and he quoted Franklin Roosevelts SOTU of that year, saying, I address you at a moment unprecedented in the history of the Union. Hitler was on the march. War was raging in Europe, intoned Biden. Of all the points in our history, of all the threats we faced, of all the evils with which we were ever confronted, the president chose the very worst for this analogy with the current moment. It was as bold a rhetorical choice as it was an appropriate one. He then went on to say, President Roosevelts purpose was to wake up the Congress and alert the American people that this was no ordinary moment. Freedom and democracy were under assault in the world My purpose tonight is to both wake up this Congress and alert the American people that this is no ordinary moment either. Then-President Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in the Oval Office on May 13, 2019. Mark Wilson/Getty Images There have already been oceans of pundit verbiage devoted to analyzing every nuance of Bidens stirring address. But this first moment is what will resonate in history. Notably, it included the assertion, What makes this moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack, both at home and overseas, at the very same time. Overseas, Putin of Russia is on the march, invading Ukraine and sowing chaos in Europe and beyond. He spoke of Ukraine and its centrality in this struggle. And he looked directly at the Republicans in Congress and condemned them for blocking aid to Ukraine. It wasnt that long ago when a Republican President, Ronald Reagan, thundered, Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall. Now my predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin, Do whatever the hell you want. President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address on March 7, 2024. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images A former American president actually said that, bowing down to a Russian leader. Its outrageous. Its dangerous. Its unacceptable. And the Republicans in Congress just sat there, immune to the invocation of their great partys once-revered hero, Reagan. Inert and dead-eyed, they made it clear that they celebrate Putin today, much as they celebrated Reagan or the greatest generation just a few years ago. They made it clear they have chosen sides and they are no longer on the side of people, institutions, or values of the United States. Orban is a regular guest at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and Trumps kowtowing to Putin needs no introduction. This is the modern conservative movement, openly on the side of the thugs and the enemies of human rights and freedoms. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Racists, and a Newsweek Editor Walk Into a Ballroom Their publications praise the autocrats, their captains want to be seen with them and their mouthpieces praise him. And that includes their leader Trump, who said of Orban, Its like were twins. Cutting closer still to the bone of hard truth, Trump has also said, Some people dont like him because hes too strong. Its good to have a strong man at the head of a country. A week ago, Orban articulated the Kremlin line when he praised Trump as the only serious chance for an end to the Ukraine war. But of course, to achieve the end to that war would require complete capitulation to Putinwhich they would see as a victory, the consequences for Europe or the democratic values of NATO nations be damned. Republicans have praised Orban because, in the words of The Washington Posts Ishaan Tharoor, he offers a template for right-wing victory. Tharoor goes on to quote National Interest editor Jacob Heilbrunn, author of America Last: The Rights Century-Long Romance with Foreign Dictators that this admiration is nothing new, that can be traced to an older ethno-nationalist tradition which in, in the U.S. as far back as the 1920s was linked to fears of a rising tide of color. Heilbrunns book provides an essential, eye-opening perspective in which it is clear that Trumps flirtation with monsters and monstrous policies has deep roots that extend back to the original America First movement and Hitler sympathizers like Charles Lindbergh. It is this resonance that added power and urgency to Bidens remarks. Trump and his cult dont embrace and celebrate Orban despite his anti-democratic record, his fealty to Putin, his hateful stance on immigration, or his contempt for the international institutions the U.S. long toiled to buildbut because of those things. He has become their modeljust the kind of fat, white, corrupt, racist leader they can get behind. CPACs a Joke, but Its a Useful Window Into the Deep MAGA Fringe Theyve made him, in the words of National Review senior editor Jay Nordlinger, the favorite leader of the American right because he speaks the words they dare not utter, such as, The era of liberal democracy is over. How Biden and Trump have chosen to communicate their vision of leadership in a single day at the outset of a long campaign offers not just a bracing contrast. It demonstrates why the alarm sounded by Biden was so essential, why it necessarily had to proceed and infuse his whole address. Biden, standing before the Congress, presented himself in the spirit of Roosevelt and Lincoln, men who led America to defeat fascist and racist threats. Trumps embrace of Orban, and the GOPs work on behalf of Putin (and its rejection of the ideals of Ronald Reagans party), reminded us all that Trump embodies the existential threats our nation faces, again, both at home and abroad. 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. Former US president Donald Trump has lavished praise on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, describing him as a "fantastic leader". Source: Trump at Mar-a-Lago, as reported by Bloomberg Details: Trump said that Orban was a "non-controversial figure because he says, This is the way its going to be, and thats the end of it," Trump said. "Right? Hes the boss. No hes a great leader, fantastic leader," he added. Background: Orban met with Trump in the US state of Florida. The two discussed a "wide range of issues affecting Hungary and the United States, including the paramount importance of strong and secure borders to protect the sovereignty of each nation", according to a Trump campaign statement. After the meeting, Orban praised Trump, saying that if he were to return to power, "the world would be a better place". US President Joe Biden has criticised Trumps meeting with Orban. Support UP or become our patron! Donald Trump heaped praise on Viktor Orban while hosting the Hungarian prime minister at Mar-a-Lago on Friday night. Theres nobody thats better, smarter or a better leader than Viktor Orban. Hes fantastic, the former president told a crowd gathered for a concert at the Florida resort, as shown in a series of videos posted to Orbans Instagram account. Trump added that the European autocrat is a noncontroversial figure because he said, This is the way its going to be, and thats the end of it, right? Hes the boss and hes a great leader, fantastic leader. In Europe and around the world, they respect him. Trump called the visit an honor and seemed to reference the pair staying in contact after he left White House in 2021, saying they kept in touch. The meeting and subsequent admiration underscore Trumps history of embracing global strongmen at times at the expense of more traditional US allies. The former president and a small group of close advisers met with Orban for roughly an hour Friday night, sources familiar with the matter told CNN, with one of the sources describing it as a social meeting with no agenda. A separate source called it friendly. Trump, according to a readout from his campaign, met with Orban to discuss a wide range of issues affecting Hungary and the United States, including the paramount importance of strong and secure borders to protect the sovereignty of each nation. Orban, a fourth source told CNN, sought the meeting with Trump and had been planning to be in the US separately. Afterward, Trump took him to a tribute concert that was part of a members only event at the club, featuring The Beatles and Rolling Stones tribute bands, along with the Palm Beach Symphony. In one clip posted to social media, Orban can be seen at the concert billed as Orchestral Elegance Meets Rock Legends presenting former first lady Melania Trump with a large bouquet of flowers as the band played Oh, Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison. A Biden administration official confirmed to CNN that the White House did not extend an invitation to the authoritarian leader to meet with President Joe Biden, and Orban did not request a White House meeting during his trip to the US this week. Biden earlier in the day suggested the meeting between the Hungarian strongman and Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, was worrying. Asked whether he was concerned about the Mar-a-Lago talks, Biden said: If Im not, you should be suggesting it was only natural for him to be alarmed by the meeting between Orban and Trump. Orbans far-right populism, fierce anti-immigration rhetoric, Christian nationalism and hostility to LGBTQ rights has made him a popular ideological model for Trumps Make America Great Again followers. He has spoken in the past at the Conservative Political Action Conference an annual gathering of pro-Trump forces and Hungary will host another edition of CPACs overseas conferences next month. The Biden administration has mostly declined to comment on Orbans meetings with Trump, but the president seized on the visit during remarks Friday evening in the crucial 2024 battleground of Pennsylvania. You know who hes meeting with today, down in Mar-a-Lago? Orban of Hungary, who stated flatly he doesnt think democracy works hes looking for dictatorship, Biden told the crowd gathered for what was his effectively his first rally of the 2024 general election campaign. Thats who hes meeting with, Biden added. I see a future where we defend democracy, not diminish it. This headline and story have been updated with additional details. CNNs Kevin Liptak, Betsy Klein, Michael Williams and Kaanita Iyer contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com (Bloomberg) -- Former US President Donald Trump praised Viktor Orban as a fantastic leader while poking fun at criticism of the Hungarian prime ministers self-proclaimed illiberal tendencies as the two populist leaders met Friday at Mar-a-Lago. Most Read from Bloomberg Orban is a non-controversial figure because he says, this is the way its going to be, and thats the end of it, Trump joked to a room full of attendees at his Florida resort, according to video of the event posted by Orban on Instagram. Right? Hes the boss. No - hes a great leader, fantastic leader. Trump feted Orban with a tour of his residence, dinner with former first Lady Melania Trump, an hour-long meeting with senior aides, and musical performance by a band covering Roy Orbison. The meeting is a defiant act by Trump just a day after President Joe Biden in his State of the Union address accused his presumptive November opponent and Republicans of turning their backs on democratic ideals by blocking additional assistance for Ukraine. Biden criticized the planned get-together directly at a political rally in Philadelphia earlier Friday, saying Orban doesnt think democracy works and was looking for dictatorship. Orban has in the past urged the West to cut off financing for Ukraine, which he has said is the quickest way to force Kyiv to negotiate a cease-fire with Russia. The Biden administration has criticized Orban over his friendly relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he met last October in China, as well as legislation in Hungary that the State Department warned could intimidate and punish critics of Orbans government. Read More: Hungarys $4.9 Billion Deficit Shows Orbans Fiscal Challenge Trump during his presidency sought to cultivate closer ties with Putin, even saying he believed the Russian leaders denial of interference in the 2016 presidential election over the conclusions of US intelligence services. The former US president last month denounced the Biden administrations request for billions in new funds for Ukraine, saying lawmakers should attach conditions to the assistance or structure the aid as a loan. Fridays meeting was expected to sow further concern across Europe, where leaders are already sounding the alarm over Ukraines ability to maintain its war effort without more US assistance and bracing for Trumps possible return to power. Trump has said he told a NATO ally during his presidency that he would encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want to countries that did not meet the alliances defense spending obligations. We all want peace, but nobody decent would agree to the peace on the conditions set out by Moscow and Putin, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who is expected to meet Biden at the White House on Tuesday, told reporters in Bucharest this week. Kindred Spirits The former American president has praised Orban as a strong leader. The prime minister has cultivated a strongman image in Hungary and used his veto power to frustrate consensus efforts in the European Union. The two men share a political narrative premised on a purported struggle against the established order and a disdain of the Biden administration, which has criticized the erosion of Hungarian democracy and Orbans close ties to Beijing and Moscow. The election campaign is going at full steam here in the US, Orban said in a Facebook video after meeting Trump. Its up to the Americans to decide. But lets be honest, it would be best for the world and for Hungary if Donald Trump returned to the presidency. For Orban, Fridays meeting was a chance to shed his black-sheep image and position himself as a potential bridge between Europe and the US, should Trump win the November election. While leaders from around Europe are renewing connections with Trumps team, few have the direct line and air of camaraderie that Orban has with the former president. Orbans government for years has cultivated ties with Trump allies. Hungary has hosted satellite Conservative Political Action Conferences, with another one planned for April, and cultivated right-wing influencers such as Tucker Carlson. After the meeting in Mar-a-Lago, Orban repeated his claims that a Trump victory would help achieve peace in Ukraine and the Middle East. The Hungarian leader, known as a political risk-taker, was the first European premier to endorse Trump during his first presidential campaign. Hes also called for Trumps return in 2024 and dismissed court cases against the former president as a witch-hunt, which mirrors how Orban has cast EU probes of democratic backsliding in Hungary. --With assistance from Piotr Skolimowski and Andras Gergely. (Adds Hungarian prime ministers quote in 14th paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Former President Donald Trump met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and received his endorsement, sparking outrage from President Biden. Orban traveled to Florida to visit Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Friday. The duo discussed "a wide range of issues affecting Hungary and the United States, including the paramount importance of strong and secure borders to protect the sovereignty of each nation," according to the Trump campaign. HUNGARY'S ORBAN TO MEET WITH TRUMP, NOT BIDEN, ON VISIT TO US COURTING FOREIGN POLICY Then-President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister, at the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C. "Theres nobody thats better, smarter or a better leader than Viktor Orban. Hes fantastic," Trump said. "Hes a noncontroversial figure because he said This is the way its gonna be, and thats the end of it. Hes the boss." The Hungarian leader endorsed Trump following the meeting, claiming the former president is one of the few world leaders who can bring peace. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP "It was a pleasure to visit President [Donald Trump] today. We need leaders in the world who are respected and can bring peace," Orban said on social media. "He is one of them! Come back and bring us peace, Mr. President!" HUNGARY PM RIPS WESTERN EUROPEAN IMMIGRATION POLICIES, SAYS HE DOESN'T WANT 'MINI GAZAS IN BUDAPEST' Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks at an economic forum of Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Budapest, Hungary, on March 4, 2024. Orban said on Monday that the connection between the West and the East is necessary despite their differences. Orban, who has been in office since 2010, has promoted what he calls "illiberal democracy" and has been criticized by international human rights observers, including the U.S. State Department. He has received intense scrutiny for leading an increasingly autocratic system in Hungary, including allegations that he has rolled back minority rights, seized control of the judiciary and media and manipulated the country's election system to remain in power, according to The Associated Press. Biden decried the meeting during a campaign stop in Pennsylvania characterizing the pair as enemies to democracy. U.S. President Joe Biden, accompanied with U.S. First Lady Jill Biden attends a campaign event, at Strath Haven Middle School in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, United States. "You know who hes meeting with today down in Mar-a-Lago? Orban of Hungary, whos stated flatly that he doesnt thinks democracy works, hes looking for dictatorship," Biden claimed. He added, "I see a future where we defend democracy, not diminish it." Fox News Digital's Danielle Wallace contributed to this report. Original article source: Trump meets with Hungarian PM Orban in Florida, Biden claims 'he's looking for dictatorship' WASHINGTON A Donald Trump enthusiast who appeared to fire two gunshots at the Capitol on Jan. 6 was arrested by federal authorities on Friday. NBC News identified John Emanuel Banuelos two years ago as the man in photos and video footage who appeared to be flashing a gun in his waistband as he fought officers on Jan. 6, 2021. Last month, Jan. 6 rioter Derrick Evans, who is now running in a Republican House primary in West Virginia, published previously unseen video that appeared to show that Banuelos actually fired his weapon twice outside the Capitol that day. Online "sedition hunters" who have aided the FBI in hundreds of arrests of Capitol rioters and who first sent Banuelos' name to the FBI in February 2021 quickly surfaced additional footage that confirmed that Banuelos was the man who appeared to have fired the weapon. Banuelos, 39, now lives in Summit, Illinois, and he made his first appearance in federal court in Illinois on Friday after his arrest. John Emanuel Banuelos (U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia) Banuelos, as NBC News reported in conjunction with NBC affiliate KSL, was arrested about six months after the Capitol attack, when he fatally stabbed a 19-year-old in a park in Utah on July 4, 2021. Banuelos was not charged in that attack because he claimed self-defense, but he told investigators that he was at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and had displayed his weapon. Man, should I just tell the FBI to come get me or what?" he said in the interview with Salt Lake City police, police records show. While numerous rioters were armed with guns on Jan. 6, none were known to have actually fired their weapons; Banuelos is the first to be charged with doing so. The shots he allegedly fired outside the Capitol came at 2:34 p.m., which is about 10 minutes before Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot as she breached a window leading into the Speaker's Lobby. That means it was a member of the pro-Trump mob not law enforcement that fired the first gunshot of the day. Charging documents say that Banuelos "can be seen waving the crowd towards him before pulling what appears to be a firearm from his waistband." John Emanuel Banuelos (U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia) The FBI affidavit said that the footage published by Evans, as well as CCTV footage highlighted by NBC News last month, showed Banuelos "raising the gun over his head, and, at approximately 2:34 p.m., firing two shots into the air." The FBI special agent who signed the affidavit said that based on their training and experience with firearms, Banuelos' "actions and the object he is holding is consistent with an operable firearm." The FBI affidavit also notes the bureau received a tip from someone who personally knew Banuelos in February 2021. The person, who had known Banuelos for numerous years, told the bureau that Banuelos said he was in a Vice video about the Capitol attack. John Emanuel Banuelos (U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia) Last year, according to the FBI, Banuelos posted a video on X that appeared to show him racking a semi-automatic weapon, in response to a post that included an FBI poster featuring his image. Banuelos, in an interview with the FBI, "denied intending to threaten anyone and claimed that many of his posts were done by artificial intelligence" and "stated that any weapons seen in his posts on X were fake and/or done by artificial intelligence." This week, an Instagram account under Banuelos' name responded to a request for comment from NBC News that was sent last month after the footage of the gunshots emerged. "The only thing I would like to say is that there's a war going on between the truths of God and the lies of this world the flesh and the devil," the account under Banuelos' name wrote. "And my personal mantra that goes like this God first, think twice moved once, to be aware is to be alive!" More than 1,300 people have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and more than a dozen people were arrested this week alone. Prosecutors have secured more than 950 convictions, and about 500 people have been sentenced to periods of incarceration ranging from a few days behind bars to 22 years in federal prison. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com The Trump-supporting governor of Montana is staking his reelection on a set of 'miracle' YIMBY housing policies Montana Governor Greg Gianforte was once best known for assaulting a reporter. These days, he's recognized for bipartisan housing reforms that YIMBYs call the "Montana Miracle." But many progressives say a free-market approach to housing won't do enough to solve the crisis. Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte blames Paramount's hit 2018 soap opera "Yellowstone" for what he calls his state's most pressing crisis: housing affordability. A flood of wealthy out-of-staters, inspired by Kevin Costner's fictional ranching life, "fell in love" with the last best place and have made it their new (or second) home, Gianforte said. When the pandemic hit, that trend only accelerated. It's been an economic boon for Big Sky Country: Montana's economy grew faster in 2021 than it had in four decades. But it's also meant median single-family home prices in the city of Bozeman have surged from under $500,000 pre-COVID to about $800,000 today. Statewide, home prices have soared by 60% since early 2020. Kelly Lynch, executive director of the Montana League of Cities and Towns, an association of 127 municipalities, said native Montanans like herself are experiencing "culture shock" from all the new remote workers and vacationers. "I can't even explain to you how different it looks here," she said. "People wear fur walking down the street." At the same time, Bozeman has filled up with campers and RVs where unhoused workers and locals priced out of better housing are living. The conditions are dangerous in a place where temperatures regularly fall into the negative double digits. The issue of rich Californians pricing working-class Montanans out of their communities could have been a political loser for the governor. After all, Gianforte himself is a native Californian transplant and billionaire tech CEO. He said it was clear he had to tackle the issue. "The bottom line, demand outstripped supply and we saw housing prices really spike," Gianforte said in an interview with Business Insider. "We knew we had to do something about it." In July 2022, the governor announced a housing task force made up of about two dozen economists, advocates, politicians, and builders, who would come up with a set of policy recommendations to ease the crisis. The bipartisan group delivered its first report just three months later. When Montana's state legislature reconvened in early 2023 something it only does for 90 days every other year it passed a slew of housing and land-use reform bills that make it much easier to build. The raft of legislation loosens zoning, allows more housing density, and requires localities to devise a land-use plan, among other things. Dozens of Republican lawmakers joined virtually all of their Democratic colleagues in supporting most of the various bills. The so-called Montana Miracle has been celebrated by progressive housing advocates across the country. While the governor won't call himself a YIMBY, he's relying on his colleagues who've embraced the pro-development moniker to keep the housing wins coming as he campaigns for a second term. A politician who was once best known for assaulting a reporter on the eve of his election to Congress is now perhaps better known for shepherding the kind of transformative housing policies many blue state governors can only dream of. One law allows residential construction in commercial areas, like downtown Missoula. Mary Vanier/Shutterstock A free-market approach The laws that Gianforte signed last year are focused on stripping away government regulations and empowering landowners and developers to do what they want with their property. One allows accessory dwelling units extra, smaller homes or converted basements and garages on single-family lots. Another allows duplexes to be built anywhere single-family homes are allowed. And another allows residences in commercial areas. But they shift some of the responsibility to local governments one law requires cities to create land-use plans for future population growth. The policies are supply-side fixes for the crisis creating more housing to drive down costs rather than subsidizing renters or lower-income homebuyers. And they focus on reducing government red tape to unleash the free market, which helped conservatives get behind the reforms. "What we did by removing regulations, increasing the workforce, removing restrictions on permitting we've enabled the private sector to fix this problem for us," Gianforte said. "As a conservative, I think free market approaches are the way to do it." It also helps that supporters of the housing policies have sold them as a way to prevent the kind of suburban sprawl and resulting affordability crisis plaguing California. "The fear is that in 25 years, we're going to have a California-style housing crisis," Kendall Cotton, who leads the free-market pro-housing think tank the Frontier Institute, told BI last year. "We're going to have miles of urban sprawl eating up all of the Montana areas that we love, and changing the character of our state." These arguments were compelling enough to convince a significant number of Republican legislators to get behind the effort. Still, Democrats were much more supportive of the various pieces of pro-housing legislation than their GOP counterparts. "The fact that we that we were able to pass what I consider to be a bunch of at least initial progressive policies has, I think, pissed off a lot of Republicans in the state as well," Nathan Dugan, the co-founder of a pro-housing group in Whitefish and a member of the housing task force. One Republican state senator, Daniel Zolnikov, said it was "really kind of fun" to suddenly become a national hero of progressive YIMBYs after a floor speech he gave decrying surging housing costs went somewhat viral on X. "It was interesting because progressives used it against their own progressive leaders because we a bunch of rednecks from the back hills are doing more for folks than the YIMBY folks," Zolnikov said. The Montana League of Cities and Towns wasn't supportive of the housing bills that override local authority, including the bills allowing ADUs and duplexes, but Lynch said they were "really happy" with the process. "It could have been much, much worse for us, but I think the fact that we were all engaged with each other and built those relationships I think helped us come up with a good mix where everybody got a little bit of what they wanted," Lynch said. There's bipartisan support in Montana for protecting public land and preventing sprawl. Education Images/Getty Images Running on housing Gianforte was "pretty distant" when it came to overseeing the housing task force, Dugan said. Zolnikov called him "a very big delegator" when it comes to working out policy details. This hands-off approach made swaying Republican legislators trickier, Dugan added. "I've never actually met him or shook his hand, despite being in the same room at times," Dugan said. "We would have liked to see him, as people that were working on all these bills in the session, be a little bit more involved from his office when things were a little bit tough." But these days, as Gianforte is gearing up to run for a second term, he's putting housing front and center, touting the laws he's signed and other measures he's taken to deal with the crisis. Last June, he extended the housing task force through the next legislative session. Since then, he's spoken about the state's housing reforms at a national gathering of YIMBYs and with a centrist think tank in Washington. "The governor says every time it's bipartisan policy," Zolnikov said of Gianforte's promotion of the housing legislation. "He's touting bipartisan. That's not a thing these days." Progressive housing advocates say there's still a lot of room for improvement. Democrats point to rising property taxes across the state and insist the state needs more subsidies for affordable housing construction and for lower-income renters and homebuyers. There was "not a lot of talk about affordable housing for folks in Montana who might never be able to afford the market" during task force discussions, Dugan said. One major effort Gianforte squashed was a bill that would have created new protections for mobile homeowners including 60 days' notice for renewing leases and the option of one-year leases in mobile home parks. The legislation was the only Democrat-authored bill to make it through both chambers. "We made amendment after amendment to really forge a compromise on that bill. It was truly bipartisan," said Karlen, who authored the bill along with Rep. George Nikolakakos, a Republican who also owns multiple mobile home parks. But Gianforte vetoed it, arguing it "compromises" landowners' property rights and "disincentivizes landlords from maintaining or increasing the inventory of mobile home rental lots." There are some signs that the laws are already starting to grease the wheels of housing production. A mixed-use 210-unit housing development in Whitefish, which includes 21 affordable units, credited one of the laws with speeding the approval process. The governor pointed to home vacancy rates rising and rents falling recently in places like Missoula. But many of the reforms aren't expected to see results for a while. Multiple have been held up by lawsuits. In the meantime, thousands of Montanans are still fighting for an affordable place to live. Karlen called talk of a Montana Miracle "a premature victory lap at best." "There's still a lot of work to do," he said. Correction: March 11, 2024 A previous version of this story misspelled Montana State Sen. Daniel Zolnikov's last name. Read the original article on Business Insider A sailing ship is seen in the harbor at Pago Pago, American Samoa, in July 2002. Jason Palmer, an unknown candidate, won the Democratic primary in American Samoa on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Out of 91 ballots cast, Palmer won 51 and President Joe Biden won 40, according to the local party. Former President Donald Trump swept American Samoa's Republican caucus, securing 100 percent of the vote and nine delegates, according to NBC News and CNN. Friday's election marked the first nominating contest for Republicans in American Samoa since Nikki Haley withdrew from the race after Super Tuesday. The islands, situated nearly 5,000 miles off the coast of California, had garnered attention earlier in the week when Jason Palmer, an underdog candidate, unexpectedly tied with President Joe Biden with three delegates each. Despite Palmer's surprise debut in the Democratic contest, which highlighted the territory's often overlooked role in the electoral process, the Republican caucusall 110 of its voters unanimously favored Trump. The result underscores the entrenched support for the former president within the Republican Party, even in far-flung territories like American Samoa. More: These American Samoa residents supported Jason Palmer over Joe Biden. Here's why. As of Tuesday, 161 delegates will be up for grabs across four statesGeorgia, Mississippi, Washington, and Hawaiiin the upcoming Republican contests on March 12. The GOP frontrunner is expected to surpass the 1215 delegate threshold needed for the GOP nomination by Tuesday evening. More: Brace yourself: Raucous State of the Union launches a brutal Biden-Trump campaign Jeremy Yurow is a politics reporting fellow based in Hawaii for the USA TODAY Network. You can reach him at JYurow@gannett.com or on X @JeremyYurow This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Trump sweeps American Samoa's Republican caucus with 100% of vote Public health advocates are watching in growing alarm as former President Trump increasingly embraces the anti-vaccine movement. I will not give one penny to any school that has a vaccine mandate or a mask mandate, Trump said in a recent campaign rally in Richmond, Va. Its a line Trump has repeated, and his campaign said he is only referring to school COVID-19 vaccine mandates but that hasnt eased fears that the GOP leader could accelerate already worrying trends of declining child vaccination. Trump is an important voice. He has a big platform. And he uses that platform, in this case, to do harm. Because hes implying by saying that we shouldnt mandate vaccines, vaccines are in some ways ineffective or unsafe, said Paul Offit, a pediatrician and vaccine expert at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. The ironic part, Offit noted, is that the Trump administration kickstarted Operation Warp Speed, which helped drug companies use a relatively new technology to make two very effective and safe COVID-19 vaccines in less than a year. Throughout the campaign, Trump has performed a complicated tap dance regarding COVID vaccines. He simultaneously wants to take credit for their speedy development but has also criticized their use and knocked his now former rivals for being too pro-vaccine. In a post on Truth Social reacting to Bidens State of the Union speech on Thursday, Trump again claimed credit for the COVID-19 shots. Youre welcome, Joe, nine month approval time vs. 12 years that it would have taken you! Every state and the District of Columbia requires children to get vaccinated against certain diseases before they start school, including measles, mumps, polio, tetanus, whooping cough and chickenpox. A plan to withhold federal funding would have widespread impact. Like most states, Virginia requires MMR vaccine, chickenpox vaccine, polio, etc. So Trump would take millions in federal funds away from all Virginia public schools, former GOP Rep. Barbara Comstock (Va.) wrote in response to his campaign threat on X, formerly Twitter. Since the public health emergency ended last May, no state requires students to get the COVID-19 vaccine, while 21 states have laws specifically banning schools from requiring COVID-19 shots. Trumps campaign says his comments only apply to states that mandate COVID-19 vaccines making it essentially an empty threat. If you actually listen to the entire section, and also if youve been following his speeches for the past year, hes talking about COVID vaccines in addition to masks in the same breath. This isnt anything new, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in an email. Experts say the politicization of vaccines has led to an increase in hesitancy and is sparking more outbreaks of preventable diseases like measles. There have been measles outbreaks in 15 states this year, most recently in Florida, where state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo did not recommend parents vaccinate their children or keep unvaccinated students home from school as a precaution. Instead, he sent a letter to parents advising them to make their own decisions about school attendance. Ladapo was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in 2021 and has since aligned himself with anti-vaccine sentiments, primarily about the COVID-19 shots. Ladapo told people not to get the most recent shot and has drawn sharp rebukes from the medical community as well as federal health agencies for claims that the shots alter human DNA, can potentially cause cancer, and are generally unsafe. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said he worries that Trump is signaling he will empower more people like Ladapo if he wins reelection. I worry about any administration that doesnt follow good evidence and good science, that they will put more and more people like them in their administration, Benjamin said. We know that Trump had some extraordinarily competent people [in his first term]. But we also know that he had some extraordinarily incompetent people, and that in many situations, some of the really incompetent people carried the day because they aligned with his philosophy, Benjamin added. Robert Blendon, a professor emeritus of health politics at the Harvard School of Public Health, said the experience in Florida and the comments from Trump are part of a much broader Republican backlash against public health expertise and government mandates that can be traced to anti-COVID policies. It isnt that hes just going after these anti-vaccine votes, Blendon said of Trump. Trust in public health authorities has dropped precipitously among Republicans since 2021, and Blendon said Trump is a symbol of that. The anti-vaccine movement has never been associated with one particular political party, whereas the public health backlash is strongly Republican-centric. Thats made it very, very powerful, Blendon said. There are Republicans in the House and Senate, who when theyre not investigating public health, want to cut back the budget so it has caught on within the Republican base very widely. Whether its anti-vaccine specifically or anti-public health more broadly, the sentiment is growing. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of kindergartners whose parents opted them out of school-required vaccinations rose to the highest level yet during the 2022-2023 school year. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a well-known vaccine skeptic who is running for president as an independent, has gained a major platform to spread misinformation and widely debunked claims about vaccines. He has falsely claimed vaccines cause autism, falsely declared the coronavirus shot is the worlds deadliest vaccine and questioned the safety of shots ingredients. Offit, the vaccine expert, said he thinks public health officials could have done a better messaging job on the COVID-19 shots, and that by mandating vaccines they inadvertently leaned into a Libertarian left hook. Still, Offit said he is concerned about the increasing anti-science rhetoric from politicians like Trump. I feel like were on the edge of a precipice here you have the most contagious of the vaccine preventable diseases coming back to some extent, and with Donald Trump basically casting aspersions on vaccines, thats only going to worsen. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Congresswoman Nancy Mace, who once was critical of former President Donald Trump, landed his endorsement Saturday in what could be helpful in her run for a third term. Trump announced his endorsement on his Truth Social platform. Nancy Mace worked hard campaigning across South Carolina in support of our record breaking win, Trump wrote. Mace receiving the endorsement is a win for her as she faces a primary challenge this year in her Lowcountry 1st Congressional District. Most notably, Mace is being challenged by one-time candidate for governor Catherine Templeton. However, Mace and Trump have not always been on the same page. In 2022, Trump endorsed former state Rep. Katie Arrington in the Republican primary over Mace. Mace, who defeated Arrington, had the backing of former Gov. Nikki Haley, who recently dropped out of the presidential race. In this years South Carolina Republican presidential primary, Mace backed Trumps campaign and stumped for the former president. Being supportive of the former president can be key in a primary election as Trump maintains a tight grip on the Republican Party base. Mace said at the time the GOP was coalescing around Trump. Trump went on to win the S.C. GOP primary, but Haley carried the 1st District. Former President Trump is projected to win American Samoas Republican caucus, according to Decision Desk HQ. Trump earned all 110 votes cast, according to Decision Desk HQ. American Samoa awards nine delegates on the Republican side. Since former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has dropped out of the race, the U.S. territory was anticipated to go for Trump. Earlier this week, American Samoa held its Democratic caucus, which led to a surprising upset. An ultra longshot Democratic contender, Jason Palmer, won the caucus over President Biden the first time Biden had lost a Democratic nominating contest this cycle. The U.S. territory awards six delegates on the Democratic side and is hardly expected to make a dent in Bidens lead as hes all but expected to become the Democratic presidential nominee. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Former President Trump is set to hold a Get Out the Vote rally in Rome, Ga., Saturday as a rematch of the 2020 election between him and President Biden becomes more likely. Trump is reeling from an abundance of primary victories, including his most recent victory in the American Samoa caucuses Friday evening. Following an upset on Super Tuesday, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley bowed out of the race paving Trumps way to the GOP nomination. Biden will also be in the Peach State, holding a dueling campaign event in Atlanta Saturday evening just a few miles from Fulton County, where Trump is facing a criminal indictment over his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 results in the state. The former president is expected to deliver remarks at 5 p.m. EST. Watch the live video above. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish and U.S. officials held comprehensive talks about the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and various bilateral issues during meetings in Washington, Turkey's foreign minister said late on Friday. The NATO allies started the meetings, dubbed the Strategic Mechanism, on Thursday to discuss efforts to move beyond deep policy disagreements and improve cooperation in other areas. Ties between the allies have been strained in recent years amid growing disagreements over a range of issues, although relations have since gained momentum following Ankara's approval of Sweden's bid to join NATO. Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan said officials from the countries held several rounds of discussions on topics including Syria, the Ukraine, Gaza, defence industry cooperation, energy, and counterterrorism. "At the moment, especially given the point we have reached, with a renewed psychology, a more positive agenda, we have the opportunity to continue on our path by turning a new page," he told Turkish media in Washington. "While managing the problems we face now, it is important to also realise the joint potential the two nations can create and the opportunities they can bring," he said. Fidan said he reiterated Turkey's view that an immediate and lasting ceasefire was needed in Gaza and emphasised the need for countries to do more to ease the humanitarian catastrophe and pave the way for a two-state solution. He also discussed ways to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine with U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, reiterating that Ankara believed it is time to discuss paths toward an end to the war but that Turkey did not see this willingness from Kyiv and Moscow. "We need a basis for talking, for this war to stop, and a dialogue to prevent worse crises, and we call for this," Fidan said. The allies still remain at odds over a host of issues, such as Turkey's acquisition of Russian S-400 defence systems and the U.S. sanctions triggered by that, which led to Turkey's removal from the F-35 fighter jet programme. Turkey is also deeply concerned over U.S. support for Kurdish militants in Syria, whom Ankara deems terrorists. Fidan said Turkey maintained its position on Syria and over the F-35s, saying Ankara was owed jets for the payment and work it did as a manufacturer. He said Turkey was open to discussing the matter but Washington needed to be "open minded". (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu. Editing by Sam Holmes.) Carol Clark has been a precinct leader for two years, and by now she's well-versed in explaining to El Paso County voters how their voice matters when it comes to elections. As about 14 people trickled into the county Republican Party caucus at Rocky Mountain Classical Academy on the eastern edge of Colorado Springs, which held three precincts, Clark helped those in her precinct sign in and get comfortable before Thursday night's start at 7. "Caucus has a bearing on who is on the ballot. It puts the process in the hands of everyday people who want to have involvement in who represents them," she said. Both the Republican and Democratic party caucuses, held this week, allow residents to debate political ideas and candidates at a neighborhood level. They elect representatives to the assemblies and conventions at the county, district and state levels, gather names of potential election judges, and can also discuss proposed resolutions that could become part of each party's platform. The number of people who show up in each precinct varies greatly. El Paso County Democrats will hold their caucuses online Saturday. Candidates who make the ballot through either the assembly process or a separate petition process, which tends to be more expensive, compete for votes in the primary election in late June. This November, El Paso County voters will pick three county commissioners, state Senate and House representatives, the 4th Judicial District attorney and a U.S representative to replace Rep. Doug Lamborn, among other seats. Featured Local Savings With the local caucuses held on the heels of Super Tuesday, the question of who will be the two major parties' presidential candidates was already resolved, as Republican former President Donald Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden solidified their respective parties' nominations. For El Paso County Republicans, the importance of this year's event was to help elect candidates at all levels who would support Trump if he were to win a second, non-consecutive term as the nation's president this fall. "It matters for Trump to have a Congress he can work with," Clark said. "... Trump found out the first time around that you can do a lot, but you can't do everything alone. You have to have a strong base." Dave Williams, Colorado's Republican Party chairman, a former state lawmaker and a candidate this year to succeed longtime Lamborn in the 5th Congressional District, spoke with residents in all three precincts at the charter school Thursday night before heading to caucuses held at Vista Ridge and Rampart high schools. He promised voters that if elected he would be part of that "strong base" supporting Trump, resolving to back the Second Amendment and be tough on immigration and abortion policies. The party chairman drew criticism from other Republicans in recent days after the state GOP this week mailed a brochure to El Paso County including attacks on one of Williams' congressional opponents in this year's Republican primary But he was well-received by voters Thursday night, many of whom echoed Clark's comments about how important it is for voters to be involved in the political process at the hyperlocal level. "The local level is more important, honestly. We're the ones who pick the people who represent us," resident Tracy Kime said. Born and raised in Colorado Springs, Kime has been involved in politics since before she could even vote, waving candidate signs when she was as young as 7 years old. "This is the most important right we have. This is the most important thing we do." Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk failed to reach an agreement with Polish farmers to end protests against Ukrainian agricultural imports during a meeting on March 9, Polskie Radio reported. Polish farmers have been holding protests across Poland and at the border with Ukraine in opposition to Ukrainian agricultural imports and the EU's Green Deal for a month. Following the meeting with farmers, which reportedly lasted three hours, Tusk said that Warsaw would not close the border with Ukraine. In late February, Tusk said that Warsaw had led talks with Kyiv on the possibility of temporarily closing the border for the trade of goods. Ukraine's deputy economy minister who takes part in talks with Poland on the border blockade and trade disputes, Taras Kachka, denied that. According to the farmers, Tusk criticized Polish officials responsible for agriculture and did not rule out that some of them might be dismissed, Polskie Radio reported. Polish Agriculture Deputy Minister Michal Kolodziejczak also met with farmers and presented "concrete proposals" to them, including financial assistance and concessions in EU policy. Nevertheless, Tomasz Obrzanski, head of the independent self-governing trade union of individual farmers "Solidarity," announced that another big protest across Poland would take place on March 20. Read also: Polish protestors to temporarily unblock traffic at one border crossing The Polish government has repeatedly said it understands the concerns of its agricultural producers and pointed out the supposed negative impacts of the EU's decision to continue a free trade regime with Ukraine, originally instituted in 2022. According to Warsaw, the influx of cheaper Ukrainian products threatens the domestic production and livelihoods of Polish farmers, which Kyiv denies. Poland has already instituted a ban on several Ukrainian products, such as grain. Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at a press conference on March 4 that the border blockade and ongoing trade disputes with Poland have a higher economic cost to Warsaw than Kyiv. Only 5% of Ukrainian agricultural exports are transported by road, with 90% being shipped out via maritime routes, he said. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, has appeared to criticise the absence of increased defence spending in the Budget - Shutterstock/Tayfun Salci Two ministers have gone public to urge Rishi Sunak to lead the way in increasing defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP and beyond. In a highly unusual move, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, a foreign office minister, and Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, published an article on LinkedIn appearing to criticise the absence in the Budget of more money for defence. The article was not sent in advance to Downing Street for approval, The Telegraph understands. After Wednesdays Budget, the Government received criticism for not announcing new money for the Ministry of Defence, with three former Conservative defence secretaries saying a commitment to increase spending to 3 per cent of GDP should be in the partys election manifesto. In his Budget speech, Jeremy Hunt only said that spending would rise from its current position of about 2 per cent of GDP to 2.5 per cent as soon as economic conditions allow. Anne-Marie Trevelyan, a foreign office minister, is one of the ministers calling for the increase in defence spending - LEON NEAL/POOL/REUTERS On Friday night, Ms Trevelyan posted an article on her LinkedIn page co-authored with Mr Tugendhat asking: Is 2 per cent enough? They added: As the UKs Indo-Pacific and security ministers, we are confronted daily by rising global threats, and the risk they pose to the security of our citizens and our economies. That geopolitical reality is reflected in defence budgets around the world. China announced this week that it was increasing its defence spending by another 7.2 per cent this year, taking it to $230 billion. Thats more than twice what it was a decade ago. Russia is committed to spending 40 per cent of its expenditure on defence and security this year. Vast sums by any standard to fight its illegal war in Ukraine. By contrast, the US defence budget is $842 billion this year, up less than 50 per cent over the same period. And the UKs defence budget has risen from 43 billion to 55 billion an increase of only 28 per cent. Turning to the Budget, they said: The Treasury explained that the Budget this week was focused on helping our economy to grow. However, its difficult to overstate the impact that disrupted global supply chains would have on this mission in the long term. Strengthening our defence and security isnt just necessary to deter these threats. Its necessary to protect our future prosperity. The ministers said that for far too long the West had allowed the false premise of a peace dividend to erode our defence and security. They said that while Nato was stronger than ever following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the addition of two new members, the alliance is funded, and sustained in large measure by the USAs commitments. We have heard from many past US presidents that there needs to be a greater investment by European partners to shoulder the burden of threats to member states. We can no longer guarantee the commitment at scale to Nato we have enjoyed when the US has many other threats to deal with. They said it was clear that the UK needs to lead the way in increasing our own domestic defence and security spending commitments to 2.5 per cent and beyond. They added: The sad truth is that the world is no longer benign. Protecting ourselves requires investment. And effective investment means that our industrial complex must grow and strengthen at a much greater pace than at present. We cannot turn on the complex platforms and weapons which ensure military advantage overnight. We must start that growth now, invest at pace to support our allies and stay ahead of our adversaries. The article will increase pressure on Mr Sunak to set out a path for how defence spending will be increased. The Telegraph understands that the article was not signed off by Downing Street because, in general, posts appearing on social media do not require clearance. On Saturday morning, Ms Trevelyan reposted a tweet by Sky News who first reported the article referring to how the two ministers had broken cover with the intervention, although later that morning she removed the re-post. Recommended Increase military spending before Putin makes you pay the price, Sunak warned Read more Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Two Ohio women facing felony charges after propping up dead man in car, driving to bank to withdraw his money Two Ohio women allegedly propped up a dead man in their car during a visit to the bank to withdraw hundreds of dollars from his account before they dropped him off at the hospital. Karen Casbohm, 63, and Loreen Bea Feralo, 55, are now facing felony charges after dropping off the body of Douglas Layman, 80, at Ashtabula County Medical Center emergency room on Monday and leaving, according to Ashtabula Police Chief Robert Stell and Ashtabula Prosecuting Attorney Cecilia Cooper. Medical personnel had no idea who Layman was when the women dropped him at the emergency room. "They left without providing any information to the hospital. They just left him," Stell told Fox 8. OHIO FOUNDATION POISED TO DISBURSE MILLIONS IN OPIOD SETTLEMENT MONEY One of the women called the hospital a few hours later and provided some personal information about him, and authorities were able to identify him, Stell said in a press release. Officers were then dispatched to Layman's home and spoke to the two women, who said he had died at his home in Ashtabula. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Casbohm and Feralo were taken into custody on Wednesday and were each charged with gross abuse of a corpse and theft. "This is very unusual," Cooper told Fox 8. The women, who were not related to Layman but lived at his house, found the man dead inside his home on Monday but decided not to call 911 and instead attempted to take the money from his bank account. According to officials, the women are accused of taking Layman's body out of the home and propping him up in the passenger seat of their car with the help of a third unidentified individual, and driving through a bank drive-thru to withdraw around $900. Police said the women had propped Layman up, so the bank teller could see him and that the bank previously allowed them to withdraw money from Layman's account, as long as he was in the vehicle. OHIO 'INCEL' SENTENCED FOR PLOTTING TO KILL SORORITY GIRLS IN MANIFESTO The cause of Laymans death is unknown. Stell told Fox 8 the case remains under investigation and the two women could face additional charges. Casbohm appeared in court for her arraignment this week and a judge set her bond at $5,000. Feralo is scheduled to appear for her arraignment on Thursday. If convicted, they could face up to a year in prison on each charge. Both women have previous criminal histories. Casbohm has been convicted of theft, soliciting, criminal trespass, receiving stolen property, possession of drug paraphernalia and attempted drug abuse, while Feralo has been convicted of reckless assault, possession of drug paraphernalia, criminal trespass, driving under the influence, theft and attempted possession of drugs. Original article source: Two Ohio women facing felony charges after propping up dead man in car, driving to bank to withdraw his money UPDATE: The victim in this shooting has been identified as 29-year-old Steven Mentzer. KANSAS CITY, Mo. A deadly shooting happened after what police say began with an argument between several people in southeast Kansas City Saturday morning. Around 5:30 a.m., the Kansas City Police Department was called about a shooting at a house at the 7300 block of Park Road, near Interstate 435. When officers arrived and entered the house, they found two men shot. One was declared dead at the scene and the other was taken to a hospital to be treated. Suspects charged in two separate Lawrence deadly shootings Homicide detectives have since gathered evidence and talked to witnesses. According to authorities, the initial investigation reveals that a man allegedly began shooting after an argument between several people. Police say they do not have anyone in custody as detectives are attempting to identify the shooter. Anyone with information are asked to call 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. A US military helicopter crashed Friday afternoon near the southern border, killing two soldiers and a US Border Patrol agent, according to a statement from the military. Another soldier was injured in the incident. We are heartbroken by the devastating loss of Border Patrol Agent Chris Luna, as well as National Guard Chief Warrant Officer 2 Casey Frankoski and Chief Warrant Officer 2 John Grassia, in Fridays helicopter crash near Rio Grande City, Texas, US Customs and Border Protection said in a statement. The UH-72 Lakota helicopter assigned to the federal Southwest border support mission was conducting aviation operations near Rio Grande City, Texas, the military statement said. The cause of the crash is under investigation. The helicopter was following migrants before it crashed in an open field, Starr County Judge Eloy Vera told CNN. A person in critical condition was sent to McAllen Medical Center in McAllen, Texas, Vera said. County officials were waiting on federal authorities to get to town so they can start the investigation, he added. CNN has reached out to the hospital for additional information. President Joe Biden said in a statement Saturday that his deepest condolences are with the families of the two National Guardsmen and US Border Patrol agent who were killed. These brave Americans dedicated their lives to protecting our nation. They signed up knowing the risks and believing in the mission of serving their fellow Americans by keeping our nation safe, Biden said. We extend our deepest condolences to their families and loved ones, as well as their colleagues in the National Guard and U.S. Border Patrol. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas hailed Luna as a heroic public servant in a statement Sunday. Trooper Grassia, who was dedicated to serving and protecting not only the citizens of New York State but also the citizens of the entire United States, will be remembered for his ultimate sacrifice, the New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association said in a statement. Rensselaer, New York, Mayor Mike Stammel also posted about Frankoski, A proud native of Rensselaer and distinguished graduate of Columbia High School, Casey was not only an excellent student but also excelled in sports and community service before joining the New York National Guard. Casey comes from a family deeply rooted in public service, and her legacy as an American hero resonates throughout our community. This story has been updated with additional reporting. CNNs Samantha Waldenberg contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com ST. LOUIS The Archdiocese of St. Louis is planning to close two elementary schools after the 2023-24 school year. The Little Flower School in Richmond Heights and St. Roch School in St. Louis will close at the end of the current school year. The Archdiocese says Archbishop Rozanski has accepted recommendations to close both schools. Police confirm arrest following fight near Hazelwood East High School We are profoundly grateful to our principals, teachers, and staff of these two schools, all of whom share their gifts in our diocesan schools, and to parents raising their children in our Catholic faith, including those who have made a commitment to Catholic schools, said the Archdiocese of St. Louis in a news release Friday. FOX 2 first learned of the possibility of school closures late last year due to low enrollment and budgeting outlooks. Plans for other schools remain to be determined. According to FOX 2s December 2023 report, the Archdiocese says more than 80 schools are less than 65% full, fueling an average yearly deficit of $600,000 per parish. Around 26 schools under the Archdiocese of St. Louis umbrella were reportedly notified of the possibility of closing last year. For several other parishes, ongoing discernment is taking place, and additional closures may be announced before the commencement of the 2024-2025 school year, said the Archdiocese via Fridays news release. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News According to the news release, leading up to Fridays announcement, parishes were asked to review their school enrollment, staffing, building capacity, archdiocesan funding and proximity to neighboring schools, among other factors. The Archdiocese says it is working to provide enrollment assistance to students and placement assistance for faculty and staff impacted by the closures. The planned closures come as the Archdiocese also launched an All Things New plan last year to consolidate 178 individual parishes into 134 parishes. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. The United States introduced new sanctions against companies associated with Wagner PMC Washington sanctioned two companies linked to Wagner PMC, one in Russia and one in the Central African Republic (CAR), for their efforts in advancing Russias malign activities in the CAR, the U.S. Treasury Department announced on March 8. Bois Rouge SARLU (Bois Rouge), also known as Wood International Group SARLU, is a Bangui, CAR-based timber company. Established in 2019, Bois Rouge is just one of many Prigozhin-associated companies operating in CAR, which constitutes a vast malign network spanning the spectrum of CARs political, economic, and information sectors. It received a natural resources concession in exchange for the services the Wagner Group provided in CAR. Read also: "Wagner" mercenaries were spotted in occupied Crimea Limited Liability Company Broker Expert (Broker Expert) is a St. Petersburg, Russia-based company with a lengthy track record of supporting Prigozhins exploits throughout Africa. Broker Expert has exported goods to several Prigozhin-associated companies, including dozens of shipments to Bois Rouge in CAR, multipurpose vehicles to U.S.-designated Meroe Gold Co. LTD. in Sudan, and helmets to Wagner Group forces in Ukraine. Moreover, Prigozhins enterprise had used Broker Expert, among other companies, to regularly move cash to fund malign activities. Read also: Prigozhins body double reportedly killed in Ukrainian southern front Russia has sought to leverage these Wagner-affiliated companies in its efforts both to secure additional revenue from abroad and to advance its interests in Africa, often at the expense of the host countries, their institutions, and their citizens, said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. The United States remains focused on disrupting the networks that enable Russias illicit and destabilizing activities in Africa. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine A travel warning was issued by the U.S. for Americans planning to visit Mexico for spring break. The warning, which was issued by the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico, noted that violent crime such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery is widespread and common in Mexico. Every year, thousands of travelers, especially in Southern California, head to Mexico for spring break vacation. Federal officials said while the majority of travelers do not encounter any serious issues, there are still many things visitors should watch out for, especially when partying in another country. Crime Travelers should maintain a high level of situational awareness, avoid areas where illicit activities occur, and immediately leave any potentially dangerous situations. Visitors should be extra cautious in the downtown areas of popular spring break locations such as Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, and Tulum, especially after dark. Drugs Drug possession and use, including medical marijuana, is illegal in Mexico and could result in a lengthy jail sentence. Visitors have become critically ill or even died in Mexico after using synthetic drugs or adulterated prescription pills. Unregulated Alcohol Unregulated alcohol may be contaminated and could result in the drinker losing consciousness or becoming injured. Pharmaceuticals Counterfeit medication is common and could be ineffective, have the wrong strength, or contain dangerous ingredients. Medication should be purchased after consulting with a medical professional and from reputable establishments. Sexual Assault Visitors should be aware of the dangers of rape and sex assault overseas. Suspects may target drunk or isolated people or potentially drug them. Drowning Some beaches have strong undercurrents and rip tides. Beaches may not have any lifeguards, warnings, or signs of unsafe conditions. Medical Emergencies An illness or accident could require medical treatment or hospitalization in Mexico. Private hospital prices can be higher than those in the U.S. Many facilities require payment (sometimes only in cash) either before providing treatment or before discharging a patient. Guns and Ammunition All guns and even small amounts of ammunition are illegal in Mexico. Firearms and other weapons violations could result in lengthy jail time. Arrests Drunk and disorderly behavior, public urination, and open alcohol containers in vehicles are illegal in Mexico. Immigration Violating the terms of your stay in Mexico could result in steep fines and detention. In this March 10, 2012 photo, people hang out on the beach during spring break in Cancun, Mexico. While American tourism to Mexico slipped a few percentage points last year, the country remains by far the biggest tourist destination for Americans, according to annual survey of bookings by the largest travel agencies. (AP Photo/Israel Leal) A woman drinks from the bottle at a nightclub in Cancun, Mexico, Tuesday, March 4, 2008, during Spring Break. (AP Photo/Israel Leal) Spring breakers drink at the beach in the resort city of Cancun, Mexico, Thursday, March 12, 2009. (AP Photo/Israel Leal) Spring Break revelers enjoy a foam party at a nightclub in the resort city of Cancun, Mexico, Monday, March 4, 2013. Cancun is one of the No. 1 foreign destination for U.S. college students wanting to enjoy Spring Break. (AP Photo Israel Leal) In this Monday March 17, 2003 file photo, students from the United Sates on spring break sunbathe at Cancun beach, Mexico. The U.S. State Department and universities around the country are warning college students headed for Mexico for some spring-break partying of a surge in drug-related murder and mayhem south of the border. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) The Mexican federal police patrol a beach in Cancun, Mexico, on Jan. 18, 2017, where a shooting occurred in a nightclub the day before. (Credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images) US students walk on the beach as they watch girls sunbathing during spring break at Cancun beach, Mexico, Monday March 17, 2003. Thousands of US students came to Cancun to enjoy spring break unconcerned about terrorism and a possible war in Iraq. Authorities however, are concerned that Cancun, a narrow peninsula packed with young Americans, could be the perfect terrorist target, and they have beefed up security to prepare for anything. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Police patrol the beaches of Cancun, Mexico, March 6, 2005 in a operation aimed at maintaining order during the years spring break tourist season. A surge in student interest in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco comes as Mexicos spring-break king, the Caribbean resort of Cancun, is taking baby steps to restrict the college crowds increasingly reckless behavior and to tone down its nonstop party image.(AP Photo/Israel Leal)**EFE OUT** A coastal stretch of Mexicos Caribbean coast resort city of Playa del Carmen is seen in a file photo. (Credit: iStock / Getty Images Plus) People enjoy a day on the beach in the seaside tourist resort of Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo State, on February 15, 2019. Playa del Carmen and nearby Cancun are the top tourist destinations in Mexico, famous for their turquoise waters and white-sand Caribbean beaches. (Photo by Daniel SLIM / AFP) (Photo credit should read DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images) Tourists enjoy the beach at the Playa del Carmen in Quintana Roo state, Mexico, on March 28, 2017. (Credit: Daniel Slim / AFP / Getty Images) Tourists, required to wear protective face masks amid the coronavirus pandemic, visit the Mayan ruins of Tulum in Quintana Roo state, Mexico Jan. 5, 2021. (Emilio Espejel/Associated Press) Springtime in Mexico. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) A Happy travels sign hangs at the start of the Paso del Norte bridge where commuters leave Ciudad Juarez and enter El Paso, Texas, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez) Students have fun during Spring Break 2008 at the Cocobongo nightclub in Cancun, Mexico, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008. Cancun continues to be the No. 1 foreign destination for U.S. college students wanting to enjoy Spring Break.(AP Photo/Israel Leal) An aerial view of Cancun, Mexico, is seen in this file photo. (Credit: iStock / Getty Images Plus) Anyone planning to visit Mexico soon is advised to prepare for emergencies by reading the Mexico Travel Advisory and Country Information Page for details on Mexican travel including entry requirements. Enrolling in the State Departments Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to receive up-to-date safety conditions in Mexico is advised and will help the U.S. Embassy contact you during an emergency. Other tips to stay safe while traveling in Mexico include: Always call 911 in an emergency. Although there may be English-speaking operators available, it is best to seek the assistance of a Spanish speaker to place the call, officials advise. Ensure your health insurance provides coverage in Mexico or purchase extra travel insurance beforehand. Confirm the costs of any medical treatment in advance whenever possible. When partying or having fun, always drink responsibly and keep a close eye on your drink in case of tampering. Always stay with a group of friends or family when spending time in clubs, bars, casinos, walking in dimly lit areas, or riding a taxi at night. Avoid displaying signs of wealth such as expensive watches, jewelry or accessories. Be sure to follow Mexican laws as some may differ from U.S. laws. Limit the amount of cash carried in public and monitor credit/debit cards for unauthorized charges. Be careful when withdrawing cash and avoid using ATMs in isolated or dimly-lit areas. Be aware when using public transportation. Embassy officials recommend using radio taxis or those from sitio taxi stands. Mobile app-based car services such as Uber and Cabify are available in many Mexican cities as a safe alternative to taxis. Inform loved ones at home of all travel plans. Contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate if further assistance is needed. Specific travel advisories issued by the U.S. State Department for Mexican states and cities can be found here. More information on the spring break travel warning from the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico can be found here. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. President Joe Biden is expected to sign into law a package of six bills that cleared Congress on Friday, March 8, 2024. The bills are just part of the equation Congress must solve before the next funding deadline of March 22, when another six bills, which are much more challenging and include a higher price tag, come due. (Bill Dickinson/Getty Photos) WASHINGTON U.S. senators on Friday cleared a bipartisan spending package for President Joe Bidens signature, completing work on half of the annual bills that were supposed to become law by Oct. 1. The $468 billion spending legislation rolls together the Agriculture-FDA, Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy-Water, Interior-Environment, Military Construction-VA and Transportation-HUD spending bills into a so-called minibus. The House voted 339-85 on Wednesday to approve the 1,050-page spending package that was released on Sunday. The Senate vote of 75-22 followed hours of delay as conservative GOP senators pressed to make changes to the legislation that were ultimately rejected. Any changes to the bill would have required it go back to the House for approval, likely leading to a funding lapse when a stopgap spending law expired at midnight on Friday. The six bills are just part of the equation Congress must solve before the next funding deadline of March 22, when the other six bills, which are much more challenging and include a higher price tag, come due. Those include Defense, Financial Services and General Government, Homeland Security, Labor-HHS-Education, Legislative Branch and State-Foreign Operations. Senate complaints Senate debate on this spending package was broadly bipartisan, though several conservative GOP senators argued the spending levels were too high and it didnt do enough to rein in the Biden administration. They also said the earmarks in the bills should be removed. Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray, a Washington state Democrat, said during floor debate Friday the bill includes important priorities like the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children or WIC, housing assistance, environmental protection programs and veterans health care. This first package is evidence that we can get things done when everyone is focused on what can actually help folks back at home and what can actually pass in a divided government, Murray said. This isnt the package I would have written on my own, Murray added. But I am proud that we have protected absolutely vital funding that the American people rely on in their daily lives. Senate Appropriations ranking member Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, rebuked some of her colleagues for making statements about the process and having the opportunity to amend the legislation that werent true. This isnt the package I would have written on my own ... But I am proud that we have protected absolutely vital funding that the American people rely on in their daily lives. Sen. Patty Murray She reiterated that the spending panel, made up of 29 senators from both parties, debated and approved all dozen of the full-year bills last summer on broadly bipartisan votes. The full Senate then spent nearly two months last fall debating a package that included three of the bills in this final package. The Ag and FDA bill, the MilCon-VA bill and the Transportation-HUD bill were brought to the Senate floor, Collins said. So to say, as one of my colleagues did, that there was no opportunity for amendments and debate is flat out wrong. Those bills were on the floor for about seven weeks. We had 40 amendments. So I would urge my colleagues to stop playing with fire here. Collins added the Senate Appropriations Committee held 50 public hearings on the budget requests from various departments and agencies before it drafted the original dozen government funding bills. Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee spoke against approving the package, in part, because of all the spending that House and Senate lawmakers were able to direct to projects back home, known as earmarks. Just days ago, we saw the text of this legislation in its entirety. We saw that it contained, among other things, more than 600 pages of earmarks totaling over 6,000 earmarks, Lee said. It spends a lot of money. Its significant legislation. Whether you love it or hate it, you cant dispute the fact that the legislation does a lot of things in government. It funds a lot of things in government. FBI, ATF see spending cuts The bill includes funding for the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, Transportation and Veterans Affairs. Smaller agencies like the Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA, National Science Foundation and military construction projects are also funded in the package. Dozens of accounts throughout the six bills will need to account for spending cuts that range from mild to significant. The Federal Bureau of Investigation as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, both of which have been the subject of Republican ire during the Biden administration, are seeing their funding cut. The FBI will get $32 million less and the ATF will get $47 million less for salaries and expenses. The Interior-Environment spending bill would see a cut of $1.5 billion to about $38.5 billion for fiscal 2024. Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, ranking member on the spending subcommittee, said Friday that negotiating the bill was especially challenging given those constraints. When you have cuts of that nature, it really does require some very difficult funding choices, Murkowski said. Appropriators, she said, looked to address the most pressing needs within the bill to ensure there were meaningful reductions that are able to help us meet the terms under the Fiscal Responsibility Act. The payments in lieu of taxes program or PILT, which provides states with large swaths of federal public lands with funding to make up for taxes they would otherwise receive if that land were private, received full funding, Murkowski said. When you dont have a tax base in your state because so much of your state is occupied as federal land where do you generate that tax base to provide for the needs of local communities, whether its county roads or public safety or schools? Murkowski said. Well, PILT helps with that. The EPA, funded within that bill, will drop to $9.2 billion after receiving $10.1 billion during the last fiscal year. That represents nearly a 10% cut. What we attempted to do within this budget is to prioritize funding for those programs that result in concrete actions to improve the quality of the environment across the country, Murkowski said of the EPA portion. And I think we tried to ensure that the mission moved forward in a way that does, again, allow for that protection of the environment, but recognizing that there are many areas within the EPA budget that we could look to reduce. Numerous other agencies, including the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management, would see their annual appropriations cut under the bill. WIC increase Programs that generally garner bipartisan support had their budgets increased for fiscal year 2024. The USDA will see its funding rise by $383 million to a total of $22.3 billion. Several of the accounts within that bill were singled out for specific spending boosts, including the Agriculture Research Service, the Food Safety and Inspection Service and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children or WIC. Numerous other USDA accounts are seeing reductions in their budget authority. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Agricultural Marketing Service will all need to account for millions less in spending than they currently have. The Energy Department would see a $1.8 billion increase in spending, bringing its total budget to $50.2 billion. That money would go toward its defense activities, like the National Nuclear Security Administration, and its non-defense programs, such as nuclear energy research, development and demonstration. Military Construction would increase to $18.7 billion, which would go toward housing, child development centers and the NATO Security Investment Program. Medical care at the Department of Veterans Affairs would receive $121 billion in funding, an increase of $2.3 billion compared to its current funding levels. That money would be divvied up between numerous initiatives, including veterans homelessness programs, mental health, rural health care and womens health care. The Federal Aviation Administration would get an increase of more than $1 billion, bringing its total allocation to more than $20 billion. Senate Democrats wrote in a summary of the bill that funding will allow the FAA to continue its air traffic controller hiring surge by adding 1,800 new controllers, improving training facilities at the air traffic controller academy, and addressing the reliability of critical IT and telecommunications legacy systems. Thousands of earmarks The package includes more than 6,600 earmarks totaling $12.655 billion, according to two people familiar with the list. All the approved earmarks as well as senators original requests for funding can be found here. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, didnt request any earmarks in these six spending bills, but Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican did. The Barksdale Air Force Base will receive $7 million for major construction on the 307 Bomb Wing Medical Facility Addition due to an earmark he sponsored alongside Louisiana GOP Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, received about 170 earmarks through these six bills, many co-sponsored with fellow New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, of New York, received 15 earmarks for projects. Murray secured funding for nearly 60 projects, ranging from $11 million for the planning and design of an aircraft regional services facility at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island to $552,000 for a community violence prevention program in Burien, Washington, to $3 million for public safety radio network improvements in Okanogan County. Several of Murrays funded projects were requested alongside fellow Washington state Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell. Collins received more than 165 funded community projects throughout these six spending bills, many of which were co-sponsored with Maine independent Sen. Angus King. The Collins earmarks include $2.9 billion for the town of Brownfield Public Safety Building, $90,000 for the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault for sexual assault expert witness and attorney training, nearly $7.8 million for the Maine Department of Marine Resources for Woodland Dam Fish Passage Replacement and $7.4 million for the National Guard to complete a vehicle maintenance shop in Saco, Maine. SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST. DONATE The post U.S. Senate sends Biden giant spending package hours before midnight deadline appeared first on Colorado Newsline. The Uber driver who found an inert grenade in the back seat of his SUV in Times Square during a pro-Palestinian protest last week is so shaken hes not sure when hell get behind the wheel again, he told The Post. I cant drive, Mourad Chouieb said. Im really scared. Last night, I cant sleep. A group of four female passengers found the grenade last Saturday in his Infiniti QX60 at Seventh Avenue and West 42nd Street around 4 p.m. Anti-Israel protesters blocked a NYPD Bomb Squad vehicle in Times Square. agrayphot0, /INstagram They thought it was a toy and handed it to him, recalled Chouieb, who came to the city from Algeria five years ago. I put it in the front seat, the 30-year-old said. After I dropped the passengers off, I think Oh my God this looks real and called 911. The NYPD Bomb Squad and Emergency Services Unit rushed to the Crossroads of the World to examine the device, but were delayed by rowdy protesters who were part of Millions March for Palestine. Chouieb said he was driving for Uber when a passenger said she found a grenade in the backseat of his Infiniti SUV. Getty Images Six protesters were arrested for resisting and obstruction of government activity, two were arrested for assault and two were hit with disorderly conduct summonses, police said. They were like Is that yours? he said, recalling what police asked him. I was like O-M-G if its mine why do I call 911? He said he had no clue who could have left the device in his car. Protesters clashed with cops when they blocked a Bomb Squad vehicle. agrayphot0, /INstagram A large pro-Palestine protest marched from Washington Square Park to Times Square, amidst reports of a grenade found in a parked vehicle at 42nd Street Citizen I get a lot of passengers, Chouieb said. I work the night shift. You cant see what the people have. I didnt check my cab for like four days. Police determined that the grenade was inert and couldnt have exploded. When cops told him he could leave, he was afraid to drive, he said. He made it home but decided he needed some time off. I never had an experience like this, said Chouieb, who lives in Astoria, said. I want to take a break. One person was arrested and drugs, weapons and stolen ATVs were seized during a raid by law enforcement Thursday, according to Colorado Springs police. The Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted Colorado Springs police in the search of a residence in the 1000 block of Honey Locust Drive, according to an online post Friday by police. The raid resulted in the seizure of 11 firearms, including two stolen handguns, two stolen ATVs and $4,231. Officers also recovered 2.5 pounds of fentanyl, 87.85 grams of methamphetamine and 24 grams of cocaine. According to CSPD, the residence and a storage unit were identified through an undercover operation. Several members of a drug trafficking organization were federally indicted in late 2023, police said. Police arrested Jason Wyatt, 48, Thursday. Federal court records show Wyatt has an extensive felony criminal background in Colorado dating back to 1998, including possession of a schedule II controlled substance and burglary. According to a criminal complaint filed on Wednesday, a CSPD narcotics detective made contact with Wyatt on Feb. 29 to buy drugs and firearms, where the undercover officer purchased approximately 691 grams of suspected methamphetamine, 982 suspected fentanyl pills and 299 grams of suspected marijuana. The officer then met with Wyatt to buy two firearms in Manitou Springs later the same day, one of which was later found to be stolen. Michelle Shipworth says she had 'no choice' but to blow the whistle - Jamie Lorriman A leading British university has launched an investigation over its decision to ban an academic from teaching a provocative course involving China in order to protect its commercial interests. Michelle Shipworth, an associate professor at University College London (UCL), had told The Telegraph that she had no choice but to blow the whistle in order to expose how British universities were conceding to the censorship demands of some Chinese students. Ms Shipworth, 58, was also accused of being anti-Chinese after she caught out two students from China who were cheating and were subsequently expelled. One had used a body double in an attempt to hoodwink her during a supervision. Her head of department at UCL had allegedly told her he was taking action because in order to be commercially viable the universitys courses need to retain a good reputation amongst future Chinese applicants. The university has now announced that it will investigate the matter. A UCL spokesperson said: While it would not be appropriate to comment on individual cases, the issues raised in this article are clearly concerning and we are working to establish what has happened. Ms Shipworth was accused of being anti-Chinese - JAMIE LORRIMAN/JAMIE LORRIMAN UCL has the highest number of Chinese students in the UK, making up almost a quarter of its total student population. More than 10,000 Chinese students are at the university, typically paying two to three times the fees of home-grown students up to 40,000 a year. Ms Shipworth, who teaches at UCLs Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources, found herself under investigation after a seminar last October examining data from the Global Slavery Index 2014. The data claimed China had the second-highest prevalence of modern slavery in the world. She asked small groups to discuss the question: Why are there so many slaves in China? in order to build their data assessment skills, leaving the methodology open to criticism. Far from being anti-Chinese, Ms Shipworth said her use of the survey was intended to highlight problems with it not least that, because China has the worlds second-largest population, it would inevitably be close to the top of a modern slavery index. Prof Neil Strachan, Ms Shipworths boss, was alerted about the seminar and she was subsequently told that another academic had been asked to take over the research module she had taught for 10 years. She said she was also told to not use teaching case studies or examples that only focus on one country, and was advised against posting educational issues about only one country on social media. In an email, Prof Strachan also informed Ms Shipworth that she had been accused of being biased against students from a single country China. Prof Strachan said a further complaint had said that you used a provocative in-class exercise investigating data quality but using the subject of slavery that focused only on China and that made Chinese students feel demeaned. Perceived bias He went on to say that the result of this perceived bias is that Chinese students are not having a good experience at UCL, and that the reputation and future recruitment of our courses is being damaged. Ms Shipworth told The Telegraph she was suicidal after being subjected to restrictions on her teaching, academic freedom and use of social media.. I feel I have no choice but to make this matter public in order to expose the extent to which UK higher education is conceding to the censorship demands of some Chinese students, she said. UCL added in its statement: We are proud to have a thriving and diverse student community, with the brightest minds from the UK and more than 150 other countries, choosing to study and research here. We also have a long tradition of safeguarding freedom of speech and are committed to upholding the rights of our staff and students to facilitate debate and exercise their academic freedom of enquiry. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron hopes Germany will learn from the incident involving a leaked conversation between Bundeswehr officers about the supply of Taurus missiles to Ukraine. Source: Cameron, in an interview with Suddeutsche Zeitung, as reported by European Pravda Details: Cameron noted that such incidents provide an opportunity to learn the lessons. The UK foreign secretary strongly believes that this will happen. Cameron also underlined that Germany and the UK are good friends and partners. "And good friends and partners talk about these things behind closed doors," the secretary added. Background: German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius stated that the conversation of Bundeswehr officers had been intercepted after one of the attendees logged in through an unsecured line from a hotel room in Singapore. As reported earlier, the Federal Ministry of Defence of Germany initiated an investigation into whether the conversations of representatives of its Air Force who, according to Russian propaganda, allegedly discussed blowing up the Crimean bridge with Taurus missiles were intercepted. Subsequently, Germany's Defence Ministry confirmed that an internal conversation between German Air Force officers had been intercepted. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius commented on the scandal, noting that it is a hybrid attack with the aim of misinformation. Support UP or become our patron! UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron has expressed his opposition to sending Western troops to Ukraine, even for training missions. Source: Cameron, in an interview with German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, as reported by European Pravda Details: Answering the question of whether he thought it was reasonable to rule out sending troops to Ukraine in the current situation, Cameron replied: "Training missions are best carried out outside the country. We have trained 60,000 Ukrainian soldiers in the UK". Cameron believes that deploying a foreign mission to Ukraine would provide targets for Russia. "We must avoid creating obvious targets for Putin," the UK foreign secretary added. Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron noted that a possible deployment of Western troops to Ukraine "cannot be ruled out". He later added that his words, which have caused a stir, had been carefully thought through. Macron recently reiterated his statement that "we cannot rule out" the possible deployment of Western troops in Ukraine. In addition, Polish Foreign Minister Radosaw Sikorski believes that the presence of Western troops in Ukraine "is not something unthinkable". Support UP or become our patron! Russian firefighters putting out the fire. Photo: Russias Ministry of Emergency Situations UK Defence Intelligence has analysed the impact of Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Russian facilities on Russia's oil refining industry. Source: UK Defence Intelligence review dated 9 March, as reported by European Pravda Details: The UK MoD reported that it is likely that Russia's oil refining capacity has temporarily plummeted on account of numerous Ukrainian UAV strikes on oil refineries across Russia. Analysts noted that the Russian Federation imposed a six-month ban on petrol exports on 1 March 2024 to stabilise prices in the domestic market amid rising demand. "The export ban will relieve pressure on supplies and enable Russia to make repairs to its refineries," the review stated. However, intelligence indicated that repairs are likely to take longer than usual, as Western sanctions hinder Russia's ability to import some of the critical components. "The Russian Government will be particularly sensitive to rising prices for gasoline and other daily commodities in the run-up to the 15-17 March Russian presidential election," the UK MoD stressed. Support UP or become our patron! UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron has suggested that Germany should exchange Taurus missiles for British Storm Shadows so that Ukraine can be provided with long-range weapons. Source: European Pravda, citing Cameron in an interview with Suddeutsche Zeitung Quote: "We are ready to consider all options to achieve maximum impact for Ukraine." Details: Camerons idea is that Germany could supply Taurus missiles to the UK, and in turn, the British government would provide Ukraine with additional Storm Shadow missiles. "We are determined to work closely with our German partners on this issue, as we do on all other issues, to help Ukraine," said Cameron. He said, however, that he "did not want to disclose details and let our opponents know what we intend to do". Cameron dismissed concerns that the supply of cruise missiles could lead to an escalation of the war in Ukraine. "It is absolutely possible to put restrictions on the use of these weapons to ensure that they do not contribute to escalation in any way," he said. Cameron emphasised that the UK trusts the assurances given by Ukraine and added that London is satisfied with the agreements reached. "Otherwise we wouldn't be doing this," the foreign secretary noted. Background: Handelsblatt reported at the end of January that the UK had offered Germany an option to deal with Berlin's reluctance to provide Ukraine with long-range Taurus cruise missiles. The idea is that the UK or France could receive Taurus missiles from the stocks of the German Armed Forces. Paris and London could then send more of their own cruise missiles, which they are already supplying, to Ukraine. Spiegel reported, citing sources, that Germany is considering getting involved in supplying cruise missiles to Ukraine if an exchange of missiles with NATO allies takes place. However, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius stated at the time that he was unaware of any proposal from Britain regarding a missile exchange. Support UP or become our patron! Ukraine has evacuated 59 of its citizens from the Gaza Strip, the Ukrainian embassy in Israel announced on March 8. According to the embassy, the latest group of Ukrainians to be evacuated included 15 children, 37 women, and 8 men, was taken to Egypt on March 7-8. Read also: Unexploded warhead found in Kyiv apartment after Russian missile attack, evacuation underway The evacuation effort was made possible Ukraines Defense Intelligence and the diplomatic staff of the Ukrainian embassies in Israel and Egypt. The Ukrainians are currently staying at a hotel in Egypt and will soon be transported back home, the embassy added. Read also: Evacuation ordered outside of Sevastopol to destroy part of a missile On Nov. 1, 2023, the evacuation of foreign nationals from the Gaza Strip through the border crossing with Egypt began. At that time, over 350 Ukrainians wished to leave. The first group of Ukrainians was evacuated on Nov. 8. In addition, Kyiv assisted in evacuating citizens of Moldova from the conflict zone. Read also: Israel demands resignation of UN Secretary General Guterres, accusing UN staff of aiding Hamas On Dec. 8, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that nearly 40 more Ukrainian citizens had been successfully evacuated from the Gaza Strip. On Jan. 11, the Ukrainian ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Korniychuk, reported that Israeli and Egyptian security services had denied the evacuation of 29 Ukrainian citizens from the Gaza Strip due to their alleged collaboration with the Hamas militants. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Ten more children have been released from the Ukrainian territories temporarily occupied by Russia. Their families are now safe. Source: Mykola Kuleba, Head of Save Ukraine, a non-governmental organisation that regularly organises rescue missions to liberate Ukrainian children Details: A girl Alina was one of those who were brought back to the Ukrainian-controlled territory. The girl had stayed with her father after the Russians deported her mother. The child was forced to attend a Russian school, sing the Russian anthem, and watch films about the "greatness" of Russia. Russian proxies threatened to lower the children's grades if they refused to do any of these activities. "Although Alina refused to draw pictures and write letters to Russian soldiers, she told the teacher that she did not know how to draw and did not speak Russian. However, it was impossible to avoid watching films about the 'greatness' of the Russian language. It is especially cynical on the part of the invaders to force children to write letters to soldiers who are killing their fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters and to glorify the country that deprived them of a peaceful life," Kuleba stressed. A boy Oleksii has also been liberated from the Russian occupation. His father died of heart disease. Oleksii also explained that children were forced to study using Russian textbooks, which promptly replaced all Ukrainian books at school and to write letters to Russian soldiers. "One day, my classmates found a sign with a Ukrainian flag and hung it in the classroom, but the teacher saw it and immediately threw it away," the child said. Orest and Melaniia have not seen their parents for almost a year and a half, as the children were taken to their grandparents' home in Kherson Oblast's left (eastern) bank to stay away from the hostilities. When Ukrainian forces liberated the Kherson Oblast's right (western) bank, the parents could not take the children back. "Over this time, Melaniia's hearing deteriorated due to extreme stress, as did her mother Oksana's. The brother and sister really wanted to hug their mum and come home. But sometimes they no longer believed that this moment could ever come," Mykola Kuleba said. Save Ukraine also presented the story of little Lana, who was born during the occupation. Her mother Tamila was pregnant when Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "It was very difficult to cope under occupation in the first months, given food and medicine shortages. The young lady hoped that she would give birth in a free Ukraine, but no they [Tamila and her family] had to rush to the maternity hospital through several Russian checkpoints. They barely managed to negotiate with the soldiers to pass. A new life was born under explosions. The woman in labour was terrified, but fortunately, she didn't have to take shelter. She was discharged home four hours after delivery, and her baby received no vaccinations," Kuleba explained. Background: Two teenage sisters who had not seen their mother for almost two years have been released from the Russian occupation. Support UP or become our patron! After nine novel months of steady, accountable and largely transparent government, Bulgaria has relapsed into the familiar state of political uncertainty. The reason is the resignation of prime minister Nikolai Denkov, in accordance with the terms of the rotating coalition agreement that lofted him into office last year, to make way for a leader from another member of the governing alliance. Bulgarians, having savoured the stability supplied by their soft-spoken prime minister, are downhearted to find that his portion of the premiership is at an end. He did prove that we could make a difference here and in Europe, an opposition figure in Sofia conceded to me over the phone. Denkov, unfailingly polite, always seemed an unusual figure for his job. Nothing about his early life or career suggested a future as the head of his countrys government. A member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, he was for decades an exceedingly distinguished scientist who published hundreds of articles in illustrious journals and worked with leading corporations in Europe and Asia. But as I discovered quickly when I met him last year, his demeanour can be misleading. Behind the soft-spoken, neatly trimmed appearance of Bulgarias prime minister is a man of steely resolve. Last June, when Denkov became prime minister, Bulgaria had just emerged from a political crisis that included five inconclusive elections in two years. This was embarrassing for an EU and Nato member with aspirations to gain accession to the Schengen Area and join the Eurozone. In less than a year, Denkov managed to superintend reforms to combat corruption the issue that brought down previous governments that range from constitutional amendments to new laws targeting graft. Bulgaria is still far from being free of corruption, but it has taken significant steps that only a few years ago seemed impossible. Bulgarias debt-to-GDP ratio is the second lowest in Europe, it recently acquired access to the Schengen Area (by air and sea), and appears poised to introduce the euro by 2025. This is more than most politicians achieve in a full term. Denkov, however, has also played a crucial if underappreciated role in the conflict in Ukraine. The Ukrainian military, heavily reliant on Soviet-standard munitions, turned to Bulgaria early in the war, and Sofia for the most part met the need discreetly. But opposition at home, intensifying rapidly, was compounded by foreign aggression. Days into Denkovs ascension to office, ammunition warehouses in Karnobat, in Bulgarias southeast, exploded. It would have been convenient to drop Ukraine. Bulgarias history is powerfully intertwined with Russias: Sofias Alexander Nevsky Cathedral memorialises a medieval Russian prince and honours the Russian soldiers who died emancipating Bulgaria from the Ottomans, the Bulgarian parliament runs through a road named for another Russian nobleman, and a large portion of the Bulgarian populace a third, possibly even half is pro-Russian. Nevertheless, Denkov was adamant that Bulgaria should stand up for the sovereignty of its European neighbour. Weeks after the explosion at Karnobat, Bulgaria announced it was sending heavy military equipment, including 100 armoured personnel carriers, to Ukraine. The grubby business of politics has sidelined, for now, the work of governance. If the conditions of the coalition hold, the next prime minister will likely be Denkovs deputy, Mariya Gabriel, a former MEP and European Commissioner. Denkov set out 500 tasks to be accomplished in the first 16 months of the government. The trouble is that Gabriels centre-Right party, GERB, is tainted by serious accusations of corruption. Can ordinary people trust such an outfit to continue on the path of anti-corruption inaugurated by the prime minister? Denkov, who has known Gabriyal for years, suggested that it would be unfair to judge a person who spent most of the past decade in Brussels by the alleged misdeeds of her partys leadership in Bulgaria. When I met her here, he said, I had the sense that shes honest and dedicated person who wants to follow the same agenda. Denkov was cautiously optimistic about Gabriyal. But what if she should stray from the agreed path? The only reason to have this structure today, as we call it, is to be able to push the country into the right direction, Denkov told me. If the new prime minister deviates from the shared commitment, he warned, we will pull out, and the government will fall apart. Sofia is agog with rumours that GERB is resisting demands by lawmakers to name Denkov as the next foreign minister of Bulgaria. Such an arrangement would ensure a degree of continuity in dealing with allies and would work to Bulgarias advantage. But given Denkovs commitment to the principles on which the coalition was forged, its perhaps unsurprising that the party coming into power doesnt want him in the cabinet. Some years ago, Denkov told his mother that he was entering politics. She advised him to think again. Its a thankless profession, she told him. For now, at least, many Bulgarians are grateful that Denkov made that transition. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. The Russians attacked Ukraine with 15 Shahed attack drones on the night of 8-9 March, 12 of which were shot down by Ukrainian air defence. Source: Ukraines Air Force Details: The Russians launched the drones from Chauda in temporarily occupied Crimea and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia. Russian Shahed drones were destroyed over Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Poltava oblasts. Anti-aircraft missile units from the Air Force and mobile fire groups from the Defence Forces were involved in repelling the air attack. Support UP or become our patron! Russia is trying to disrupt Ukraine's maritime corridor through constant strikes on Odesa, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations Sergiy Kyslytsya said on March 8. The Ukrainian Navy opened a temporary Black Sea corridor in August 2023, weeks after Russia's unilateral termination of the Black Sea grain deal threatened Ukraine's ability to ship out its grain. Kyslytsya stated that in the time since the shipping route was created, close to 30 million tons of goods have been exported to 42 different countries from the ports of Odesa, Pivdennyi, and Chornomorsk. More than 8 million tons were exported in February alone. Exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports have reached nearly pre-invasion levels, Kyslytsya stated. The corridor was originally opened to allow the exit of vessels that had been docked at Ukraine's Black Sea ports since February 2022. Since then, it has become a route for exporting Ukrainian goods such as grain and metal. Ukraine is a major agricultural producer, and its supplies play a major role in feeding countries across the world, namely in the Global South. Despite successful Ukrainian strikes against Russian naval capabilities, Black Sea shipping continues to face risks wrought by the all-out war, namely floating mines. "Russia's attempts to blackmail the international community by withdrawing from the initiative have failed," Kyslytsia stated. "However, Ukraine... despite the war, launched the maritime corridor and continues to strengthen its effectiveness." Read also: Is Ukraines new Black Sea corridor working? Experts say it has potential Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Six months following the underground downtown electrical fire that left hundreds without power and impacted dozens of businesses, city officials on Friday provided answers as to what caused the early morning incident on Sept. 11 a nicked wire. Laying blame on the culprit, however, has proven elusive. The underground fire erupted at roughly 2:30 a.m. on E. Kiowa Street, between Nevada Avenue and Tejon Street. The fire triggered a massive downtown power outage that impacted at least 280 customers, including several downtown businesses. Restoration efforts lasted over seven weeks, and cost the city roughly $1.2 million, city officials said. The downtown network is a very, very intricate system. If you saw a map of it, its not very clear where it runs, it overlaps each other it kind of a big spaghetti mess, Somer Mese, the city utilitys Chief Operations Officer, said. While some of the citys power is derived from overhead power lines, the downtown network is a complicated underground system, creating backup power redundancy. Theres benefits to that, but also cons because if something happens it takes longer to figure out where it's coming from because it's underground. You cant see it, Mese said. According to Mese, investigative efforts by the city unveiled the cause to not be the previously believed underground transformer box. The initial thought was that it was a transformer, it was not the transformer, Mese said. Through, extensive studies, conducted on the transformer, it was found to pass necessary testing and ultimately could have been put back into service, Mese said. We opted not to, Mese said, adding that instead the transformer was proactively replaced to not have to disturb the area in the future. As excavation efforts continued to examine the underground system and search for areas of failure, crews discovered two electric vaults that received damage in several spots, consistent with a core drilling operation. Where the damage was inflicted, crews discovered the hole had been covered by a piece of plywood and had been asphalted over. The pavement of the roadway indicated the damage could have been inflicted years ago, Mese said. Featured Local Savings Mese explained that the damage to the electric vaults had ultimately caused damage to the wires running through the vaults. That nick created damage to create an energy leak, so the energy wasnt flowing through there like it should. This happened in three different places on almost five (electrical) lines, Mese said. What that means is all that energy transfers to the good two lines, causing an overheat of the system resulting in an arc or fire. Officials added that although aging infrastructure is present throughout the downtown system, the September fire was a result of the damage done to the wires, not a maintenance failure. Although efforts were made through reviewing city permits and other records, ultimately the city was unable to definitively identify who caused the damage. Liz Bell, a co-owner of Bell Brothers Brewing Company on Tejon Street said she would like to see an increase of communication from the city as a way to minimize impact to residents and businesses downtown if another incident were to arise in the future. This fire happened at 2 a.m. in the morning. I saw the lights were out as I was on my way to work and just said to myself, I hope the brewery was okay. It wasn't until my bar manager came in four hours later that I knew what was going on, Bell said. If there had been a text at 2 in the morning, I at least would have known when I woke up at 6 a.m. I think that to me is my biggest concern how do we communicate better going forward to minimize the impact in the future. While theres no way to completely eliminate the possibility of a similar incident in the future, Mese said in the history of the downtown systems existence, dating back to the 60s, nothing like the Sept. fire has ever happened before. As a way to prevent further incidents and outages in the future, Mese said the Colorado Springs Utilities is working with multiple contractors to identify problem areas throughout the system to hopefully avoid unnecessary excavations and further outages. To go back and inspect everything would be a massive undertaking, that would mean disconnecting lines and testing them, causing massive outages. We know thats not ideal, Mese said. Were working with vendors to see if there's camera technology that we can run through those lines to identify damaged wires. Additionally, the city is looking at technology that will automatically indicate line failures, leading to proactive fixes. We are starting that project this year. Hopefully, we can get ahead, and take those preventative measures, Mese said. As a way to streamline communication between Colorado Springs Utilities, the city, tenants, and business owners downtown, Colorado Springs Economic Development Manager Jared Miller said the city is working to evolve from sending automatic calls to texts as a way to make information on outages and construction more accessible. The Ukrainian Forces neutralized 346 Russian soldiers (killed and wounded) in the Tavria operational zone, destroying four critical Russian objects, including a command post and dugouts, Tavria Operational-Strategic Group commander Oleksandr Tarnavskyi reported on Telegram on March 9. The enemy has lost 61 units of weapons and military equipment, excluding drones, Tarnavskyi said. The Ukrainian military destroyed: One tank 16 armored fighting vehicles 15 artillery systems Two anti-tank guided missile systems One grenade launcher 20 vehicles Six units of special equipment. A total of 238 drones of various types were neutralized or shot down by electronic warfare means. Read also: Russia intensifies attacks near Orikhiv, trying to cut off Robotyne salient, Ukrainian military says The destroyed Russian equipment included the Groza, Zhitel, and Leer-3 electronic warfare stations, Tarnavskyi said. The Ukrainian forces also eliminated a mine-laying machine, a Murov-M video surveillance system, three Shahed-136 attack drones, three Lancet drones, one Supercam drone, and more. The situation in the Tavria sector is difficult but controlled, Tarnavskyi said. Over the past day, 45 battles occurred in the commands area of responsibility, constituting 2/3 of the battles on the entire Russian-Ukrainian front. The Orikhiv sector is becoming another hot area of the front as the enemy tries to cut off the Robotyne salient, Ukraines South Operational Command spokesman, Dmytro Lykhovyi, said on national television on March 7. Read also: Russian forces apply tactical adaptations in seizure of Avdiivka ISW Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Serhiy Shaptala, former Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), has been discharged from military service due to health reasons, NVs sister publication Ukrainska Pravda reported on March 9, citing sources in Ukraines Defense Ministry. Two separate sources confirmed that Shaptala, similar to the former Commander-in-Chief of the AFU, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, was dismissed based on the conclusion of the military medical commission (MMC) declaring him unfit for military service and removing him from military records. Read also: First Deputy Defense Minister Oleksandr Pavliuk dismissed, appointed as new Ground Forces commander Zaluzhnyi underwent an MMC in winter, where he was deemed unfit for military service. In February, he submitted a report requesting dismissal from military service, Ukrainian online newspaper Dzerkalo Tyzhnia earlier reported, citing sources. Read also: High-profile dismissals in Ukrainian government amid speculation over military leadership changes opinion Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Zaluzhnyi was stepping down as Commander-in-Chief of the AFU, succeeded by the Commander of the Ground Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi. on Feb. 8. Shaptala was also relieved of his duties. Zelenskyy nominated Zaluzhnyi to be Ukraines ambassador to the United Kingdom on March 7, stating that the general himself requested such a direction for his future. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Sixty-three combat engagements along the entire frontline in the past 24 hours were reported by the Ukrainian General Staff on Facebook on March 9, noting a focus of Russian activity in the Novopavlivka and Avdiivka sectors. In the Kupyansk sector, the enemy launched three unsuccessful attacks on Ukrainian positions near Sinkivka and Kyslivka, Kharkiv Oblast, trying to improve their tactical position In the Lyman sector, the Ukrainian Armed Forces repelled five enemy attacks near Terny and Spyrne in Donetsk Oblast In the Bakhmut sector, the Defense Forces repelled nine enemy attacks in the areas of Andriivka and Klishchyivka Read also: Ukrainian Air Force attacks Russian planes from a distance of more than 150 km In the Avdiivka sector, Ukrainian defenders repelled fifteen enemy attacks near Lastochkino, Severne, and Pervomaiske In the Novopavlivka sector, Ukrainian forces continue to hold back the enemy near Pobeda, Krasnohorivka, and Novomykhailivka, Donetsk Oblast, where the invaders, supported by aviation, attempted to breach Ukrainian defenses 22 times In the Orikhiv sector, eight Russian attacks were repelled near Robotyne and west of Verbove, Zaporizhzhia Oblast In the Kherson sector, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to hold their positions and repel the occupiers' attacks. Read also: Journalists identify at least 46,000 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine Russian troops continue to target civilian objects and Ukrainian military positions. Throughout the day, the enemy conducted a total of 8 missile strikes and 107 airstrikes, with 113 instances of firing from multiple rocket launchers. Additionally, Russian forces launched Shahed kamikaze drones at Ukraine during the night. Ukrainian aviation targeted ten personnel, weaponry, and military equipment concentration areas during the day. Missile launchers targeted an enemy concentration area, a command-and-control center, three EW (electronic warfare) stations, including two R-330ZH Zhitel stations, one heavy flamethrower system TOS-1A Solntsepek, and one Russian ammunition depot. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine PEMBROKE, N.C. (WBTW) When UNC Pembroke students resume classes on Monday following spring break, theyll be stepping onto a much safer campus with tighter security and more police presence, Chancellor Robin Gary Cummings announced on Thursday. In his latest BraveNation update following a March 2 shooting at The Commons apartment complex that Cameron Taylor, a 19-year-old nursing student, dead. One other student was hurt. A second person who wasnt a student was killed, while two UNC Pembroke visitors were hurt. Cummings said a candlelight vigil is planned for Taylor at 6 p.m. on March 12 at the Upchurch Auditorium. Starting Monday, UNC Pembroke police have jurisdiction to respond and patrol off-campus housing locations. Theres also a newly implemented zero-tolerance policy for unauthorized gatherings. North Carolina law prohibits any unauthorized weapons on state-run campuses with felony possession charges for those caught. Cummings said a similar ban is now in place on all four off-campus housing complexes punishable by eviction, legal charges and school disciplinary action for violators. Students, staff and faculty, please know we are committed to safely delivering the highly personal campus and learning experience for which UNCP is known, Cummings wrote. Over the past 137 years our university has faced many challenges and now, as always, we will meet and exceed expectations. Pride in UNCP is one of our strengths and that pride, along with our resilience, will prepare our university for the generations to come, he said. * * * Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. Just two days after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced plans to deploy the states National Guard to help police curb a surge in crime in the Big Apple's subways, calls are being made for another deep blue state to do the same. Keith Hill, the head of the largest union of Chicago transit workers, said he would welcome Illinois National Guard members conducting bag checks on trains and buses in the Windy City to help boost security and make the system safer. "The police have got their hands tied with everything that's going on in the city, so any assistance is more than welcome to make passengers, workers, everybody feel safe if they use the system," Hill told CBS News on Friday. A police SUV is seen parked outside the Roosevelt CTA station in the Loop in Chicago on Dec. 19, 2023. CHICAGO POLICE ARREST FOUR VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS FOR ALLEGEDLY STRANGLING, ROBBING MAN ON TRAIN "It's still the best way around the city, but the only way people are going to realize that is if they feel safe," said Hill, who is the president of Amalgamated Transit Union 241, which represents Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus drivers in Chicago. The rate of violent crime on CTA trains dropped in 2023, but it remained above pre-pandemic levels, the Chicago Tribune reported, citing police data. The downward trajectory followed Chicago police and the CTA sending more officers, unarmed security guards and K-9 teams to the train system last year, resulting in a doubling of security costs. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, both Democrats, have not said they are considering deploying the National Guard. Fox News Digital reached out to their respective offices for comment but did not immediately receive a response. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. CHICAGO ACTIVISTS PATROLLING PUBLIC TRANSIT AFTER VIOLENT TRAIN ROBBERY: REPORT Hill thinks New Yorks latest move would work effectively in Chicago. Gov. Hochul on Wednesday announced that 750 members of the National Guard are being deployed to the subways to assist the NYPD with bag searches at entrances to busy train stations. Around 250 New York State and MTA police officers are also being deployed. The move comes as New York City attempts to curb a near 20% increase in crime levels during the first two months of 2024 compared to the same period last year, according to NYPD data cited by the New York Post. Hill said Pritzker and Johnson need to bring a sense of safety to the citys public transit system. "They need to make riders, the workers, feel comfortable and safe as we move people throughout this city. So something needs to be looked at, and something needs to be done," Hill told CBS. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks during the Clinton Global Initiative meeting at the Hilton Midtown in New York City on Sept. 19, 2023. He said that the inconvenience and time consumption of checking bags would be worth it to enhance safety. "What's two minutes of having somebody's bag checked?" Hill asked. "We know for a fact on the bus, people get on with weapons. While asleep, weapons fall out. So a bag check is more than welcome to me, if it makes a person feel safe, it's ensuring that the passengers can get from A to B, we welcome it." Original article source: Union boss calls for National Guard rollout on Chicago's transit system A United Airlines plane headed to Mexico City had to make an emergency landing in Los Angeles Friday, after the crew reported a hydraulics issue. The Airbus A320 jetliner flying from San Francisco to Mexico landed safely at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) around 4:30 p.m. local time Friday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The United Flight 821 carrying 105 passengers and five crew members was diverted to Los Angeles after an issue with the aircrafts hydraulic system, according to United Airlines statement to The Hill. No injuries were reported and passengers were deplaned normally at the LAX gate. The passengers traveled to Mexico City on another aircraft, per United Airlines statement. The Airbus 320 type has three hydraulic systems for redundancy purposes, but the issues occurred on only one system, according to the airline. The FAA will investigate the incident, which marks the fourth emergency landing of a United Airlines flight this week. The most recent event comes just hours after passengers of a separate United Airlines flight were forced to evacuate after a Boeing 737 in Houston rolled onto the grass when exiting onto the taxiway, according to the FAA. The plane was traveling from Memphis. All passengers on that flight were also safely deplaned, per the airline. In another incident, a United Airlines plane flying to Japan Thursday lost a tire during take-off from the San Francisco airport and had to divert to Los Angeles. No injuries were reported among the 167 passengers, but the tire debris damaged a car upon crashing into the employee parking lot and many shared videos showing flames shooting from the engine, per The Associated Press. The news comes as the air line industry and manufacturers, like Boeing, have faced increased scrutiny over a slew of incidents that have led to multiple lawsuits. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Mexico City was diverted to Los Angeles Friday after an issue with the planes hydraulic system, the airline said. It was the carriers fourth emergency in a week, including a tire falling off one flight and an engine catching fire on another. The Airbus 320, carrying 105 passengers and five crew members, landed safely and everyone disembarked at a gate, according to United and the Federal Aviation Administration. Customers were flown to Mexico City International Airport on a different aircraft, according to the airline. The Airbus 320 is equipped with three hydraulic systems for redundancy purposes and preliminary information showed the issue affected only one of those systems, according to United. The FAA said it will investigate the incident. Fridays diverted flight was Uniteds fourth emergency in a week, including an engine that ingested bubblewrap and caught fire midair on Monday, another flight losing a tire after takeoff on Thursday, and another aircraft skidding off a runway into a grassy area on Friday. United Airlines said in a statement that each of these events is distinct and unrelated to one another. We take every safety event seriously and will investigate each of the incidents that occurred this week to understand what happened and learn from them, United said. Much of this work is conducted together with the manufacturers, the FAA, and the NTSB as well as with the manufacturers of individual components Safety is our top priority, and well continue to do everything we can to keep our customers and employees safe. CNNs Ray Sanchez contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com A United Airlines flight headed to Mexico City from San Francisco was forced to land in Los Angeles on Friday due to an issue with the aircrafts hydraulic system in the airlines fourth emergency since Monday. Flight 821 departed from San Francisco International Airport just after 1 p.m. local time, and was scheduled to land in Mexicos capital roughly four and a half hours later. However, after the issue was reported by crew, the Airbus 320 carrying 105 passengers was diverted to LAX where it landed safely and passengers were deplaned normally at the gate, a United Airlines spokesperson told the Daily News. Preliminary information shows there was only an issue with one hydraulic system on the aircraft, the spokesperson said, noting the plane has three hydraulic systems for redundancy purposes. Earlier on Friday, passengers on a United flight coming from Memphis, Tennessee, had to be evacuated from a Boeing 737 Max 8 after the plane rolled off a runway at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. The aircraft left the pavement and entered the grass, airport officials said. Those two incidents came just a day after another United flight was also forced to make an emergency landing when a tire fell off the plane shortly after takeoff. The 265-pound tire went plummeting to the ground, smashing into cars in a parking lot below. Flight 35, which was headed to Osaka, Japan, from San Francisco, lost one tire after takeoff and was forced to land at LAX, a spokesperson told The News. Our team quickly arranged for a new aircraft to take customers to Osaka (Thursday) evening. And on Monday, a United Airlines flight from Houston to Fort Myers, Florida, was forced to turn around after one of the engines on the Boeing 737 caught fire five minutes into the flight, local television station KTRK reported. No injuries were reported in any of the emergencies, the company said. The incidents are being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration, the agency said in a statement. _________ HOUSTON - The NTSB is investigating what caused United Flight 2477 from Memphis to roll off the runway at Bush Intercontinental in Houston Friday. The plane left the pavement around 8 a.m. after landing with 160 passengers and six crew members on board. No one was injured and first responders quickly got to the scene. "I thought we were still in the air, I was like what was that," said passenger Stephen Boggan. "This whole situation sent us back like hours." A passenger told reporters he heard a loud pop when they tried to make a turn, saying the plane appeared to be going too fast. "That is kind of what it sounded like, but I had my airpods in. But it was this huge jerk, and I was like, what was that? And I took my airpods off, I thought we were still in the air," said Boggan. The incident Friday was not the only time the Chicago-based airline made news this week. Thursday, a United Airlines flight leaving from San Francisco had to be diverted to Los Angeles after a tire fell off. The flight was bound for Japan, and it caused the runway to be briefly closed. The tire damaged vehicles in an employee parking lot, but there were no injuries. The cause is under investigation. Monday, a passenger captured video of a United engine catching fire. The plane was leaving Houston to Fort Myers, Florida when the fire broke out. There was a safe landing and no one was hurt. The airline said the fire was caused by plastic bubble wrap debris being sucked into the engine from the airfield. The NTSB has a team heading to Houston to investigate Friday's incident. By Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber GENEVA (Reuters) -The head of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency said he was cautiously optimistic some donors would start funding it again within weeks, warning it was "at risk of death" after Israel alleged some of its staff took part in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. An independent review of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been launched under French former foreign minister Catherine Colonna, and her final report is expected to be published next month. "I am cautiously optimistic that within the next few weeks, and also following the publication of Catherine Colonna's report, a number of donors will return," UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said in an interview with Swiss broadcaster RTS that was aired on Saturday. Lazzarini told RTS that UNRWA was at "risk of death, at risk of dismantlement". Colonna, whose work on the review began in mid-February, said on Saturday she would visit Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Ramallah and Amman next week. UNRWA, which provides aid and essential services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and across the region, has been in crisis since Israel accused 12 of its 13,000 staff in Gaza of involvement in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war in the Palestinian enclave. The allegations prompted several countries, including the United States, to pause funding. Canada and Sweden announced this week they were resuming their funding the agency, which Israel described as a "serious mistake". "The return to funding UNRWA will not change the fact that the organization is part of the problem and will not be part of the solution in the Gaza Strip," the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement. When the allegations emerged, UNRWA fired some staff members, saying it acted to protect the agency's ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, and an independent internal U.N. investigation was launched. UNRWA said some employees released into Gaza from Israeli detention reported having been pressured by Israeli authorities into falsely stating that staff took part in the Oct. 7 attack, according to a report by the agency dated February. "What is at stake is the fate of the Palestinians today in Gaza in the short term who are going through an absolutely unprecedented humanitarian crisis," Lazzarini told RTS. UNRWA runs schools, clinics and other social services in Gaza, and distributes humanitarian aid. The U.N. has said some 3,000 members of staff are still working to deliver aid in the enclave, where it says 576,000 people - one quarter of the population - are a step away from famine. "The agency I currently manage is the only agency that delivers public services to Palestinian refugees," Lazzarini said. "We are the quasi-ministry of education, of primary health. If we were to get rid of such a body, who would bring back the million of girls and boys who are traumatised in the Gaza Strip today back to a learning environment?" (Reporting by Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber; Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Timothy Heritage and Giles Elgood) A Colorado Springs man's burglary spree came to an end earlier this week, after he was convicted of 140 criminal counts. Brandon Kerby, 50, pleaded guilty to the criminal charges in an El Paso County courtroom and was sentenced Tuesday to 34 years in prison. The crimes included burglary, theft, criminal trespass, motor vehicle theft, identity theft, money laundering and additional narcotics-related crimes. According to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, Kerby's actions affected dozens of victims. According to a Sheriff's Office press release, beginning in May of 2022, law enforcement agencies in the area noticed a series of residential and business burglaries were reported across the county. Items stolen during these burglaries included identification documents, heirloom quality goods, guns, electronics and home items. The Sheriff's Office and the Colorado Springs Police Department began investigating. Doorbell surveillance footage along with "continued investigation through various online resources," eventually helped lead investigators to Kerby as a suspect. The Sheriff's Office said it arrested Kerby in September of 2022 on multiple charges. Search warrants served by police and sheriff's deputies resulted in the recovery of several stolen items at that time. Kerby posted bail on his original case "and resumed his criminal behavior," in December 2022. Investigators said that between his release and March 2023 Kerby burglarized businesses and stole more items, including at least one motor vehicle, according to the Sheriff's Office press release. Featured Local Savings In all, investigators said he was responsible for more than $400,000 in thefts, as well as several thousand dollars in property damage. At the time of his sentencing, the District Attorneys Office reported that Kerby was responsible for 15% of all burglaries reported in El Paso County. As I have promised before, criminals will be held accountable, and we will do our best for the victims of crime and the citizens of this great county, Sheriff Joseph Roybal stated as part of his department's press release. The partnerships and collaboration we have within the community and throughout law enforcement in the Pikes Peak Region are invaluable. Kerby has a criminal record reaching back at least 30 years, with prior arrests or convictions in Texas, New Mexico and California. US Army Black Hawk helicopter hit by snowmobile, rider sues government for $9.5 million, says report A man is suing the government for $9.5 million after he crashed into a Black Hawk helicopter. Jeff Smith collided with the helicopter while riding his snowmobile on an evening in March 2019. The US Army has attempted to dismiss the case. A Massachusetts lawyer is suing the government for $9.5 million after he crashed into a Black Hawk helicopter while riding a snowmobile, The Associated Press reported. Jeff Smith collided with the tail of a Black Hawk helicopter while riding his snowmobile on an evening in March 2019, losing the use of his left arm and having been unable to return to full-time work since, per the report. Smith is now demanding that the government pay out nearly $10 million to cover his medical bills and lost wages and to hold the military accountable for the incident. He hopes to use the money to get an electronically-controlled brace fitted that would help him regain some movement in his left arm, per the report. "It would change my life," he said. "I would certainly be able to function and it would easier to do the daily activities of daily life like brushing my teeth, taking out the trash and opening door with one hand." The snowmobile. US Army photograph provided by attorney Douglas Desjardins via AP "The last five years, there's been surgery, recovery, surgery, recovery," he continued. "Honestly, right now, it feels like I'm in a worst place than when I first had the surgeries in 2019," he added. Smith's case is that the Black Hawk crew was negligent in parking the stealth helicopter on a seldom-used airfield that snowmobilers also used, adding that they did not warn them about the aircraft's presence. "Our argument from the beginning has been that it's incompatible to have a helicopter land on an active snowmobile trail," Smith's attorney said. The government has attempted to pin blame on Smith, saying he was driving at 65 mph after drinking two beers and taking prescription medication. It has also argued that it can't be sued under the Federal Tort Claims Act and that the crew was unaware it was landing in an area used by snowmobilers. Following an internal inquiry into the incident, the US Army released a report saying it found "no negligence by the crew" and expressing doubt whether lighting would have prevented the crash. A US District Court will likely rule on the case later this year. A Black Hawk helicopter. Michael Ciaglo The Black Hawk helicopter is a multi-role aircraft designed to aid ground troops and armed escorts, according to the manufacturer Lockheed Martin's website. It is equipped with laser-designated air-to-ground missiles, forward-firing guns, and rockets. There are more than 4,000 of the helicopters in service around the world today, with the US Army being the largest operator, per the manufacturer. Black Hawk helicopters are perhaps most famous for their role in the mission that led to the killing of former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011. Read the original article on Business Insider WASHINGTON (DC News Now) United States Capitol Police (USCP) arrested a man with a hammer in his back who they say was trying to get into the Capitol. In a news release, USCP said that a man was going through the screening at the Capitol Visitor Center around 3:40 p.m. A USCP officer saw a hammer in the x-ray of the mans backpack. When the officer tried to take the bag for a second screening to look inside, the man tried to grab the bag and became combative. DC police responding to fatal shooting in Northeast Officers stepped in to stop him, and USCP said that a struggle followed. Officers had to use a Taser to stop the man and take him into custody. Police later recovered the hammer from the mans bag. USCP identified the suspect as 33-year-old Christopher Snow of Canton, Ohio. Officers were still working to determine why he brought the hammer to the Capitol. Police charged Snow with assault on a police officer. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. Both chambers of the U.S. Congress approved a short-term stopgap spending bill to avoid a partial government shutdown through the fall, sending it for signature to President Joe Biden. Earlier this month, Congress passed the first partial spending bill without additional funding for Ukraine. The second stop-gap measure will fund parts of the federal government until March 22 and also excludes aid for Ukraine. The U.S. Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid bill on Feb. 13 that included $60 billion for Ukraine, as well as funds for Israel and other allies. However, the proposal has yet to be approved by the House of Representatives. Assistance for Ukraine has been held up in Congress since autumn 2023. After delaying the vote for weeks, House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Feb. 29 that his chamber would consider the foreign aid bill "as soon as the government is funded." Holdups in U.S. assistance have put a significant strain on Ukraine's efforts to resist Russian aggression, causing ammunition shortages and contributing to the loss of a key front-line city of Avdiivka. President Biden said during this week's State of the Union address that the U.S. will not abandon Ukraine despite continued obstructions from Congress. The President has met with House and Senate leadership several times to try to pass Ukraine aid. "Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine and provide the weapons and the means to defend itself. That is all Ukraine is asking...But now, assistance is being blocked by those who want to walk away from our world leadership." Read also: Historian Jade McGlynn: Putin 100% believes Russias distorted history Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. (Reuters) -Alaska Airlines said on Saturday it is cooperating with the U.S. Department of Justice after a criminal investigation was opened into the Boeing 737 MAX blowout on its flight in January. "In an event like this, it's normal for the DOJ to be conducting an investigation. We are fully cooperating and do not believe we are a target of the investigation," Alaska Airlines said in an emailed statement to Reuters. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported, citing documents and people familiar with the matter, that the investigators have contacted some passengers and crew on the Jan. 5 flight, which made an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon, after a fuselage panel ripped off midair. The investigation would inform the DOJ's review of whether Boeing complied with an earlier settlement that resolved a federal investigation following two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019, the report added. Boeing and DOJ did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comments. The door plug panel blew off an Alaska Airlines-operated flight not long after taking off from a Portland, Oregon, airport on Jan. 5, forcing pilots to scramble to land the plane safely. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) subsequently ordered the temporary grounding of 171 narrowbody MAX 9 jets with a similar configuration. Days after the incident, Alaska Airlines on Jan. 26 resumed MAX 9 service after it said it had completed inspections on the first group of its Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircrafts. In February, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said the door panel that flew off appeared to be missing four key bolts. The plug was manufactured by Spirit AeroSystems , the onetime subsidiary of Boeing that separated from its parent in 2005. (Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Nilutpal Timsina; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Marguerita Choy) A traffic light with the US congress behind it US lawmakers have passed a government spending package shortly before a midnight deadline, averting a partial government shutdown. The Senate passed six bills totalling $459bn (357bn) which funds nearly 30% of the government. It faced opposition, however, from some Republicans who argued the measure did not do enough to cut federal spending. Republicans also wanted the bills to include stronger measures to address immigration at the southern border. The set of compromise bills passed the Senate by a vote of 75-22 on Friday, following hours of last minute debate. The bipartisan deal was struck by House and Senate negotiators last week, one day after congressional lawmakers travelled to the White House to meet President Joe Biden. If a deal had not been reached, roughly 20% of government departments, including agencies that oversee agriculture, transportation and veterans affairs, would have to temporarily close by 12:01 (05:01 GMT) on Saturday. Other federal funding, including defence spending and homeland security and state department budgets, would have expired a week later. Past shutdowns have led to furloughs of government workers and the closure of national parks. Republicans control the House by a slim majority, while Democrats hold the Senate by a single seat. Spending bills to keep the US government open require buy-in from both parties in order to advance through both chambers to the president's desk for signature. There have been 10 US government shutdowns or partial shutdowns over the past four decades. FILE - Palestinians line up for a free meal in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. President Joe Biden has proposed the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza via a temporary port on the territorys Mediterranean coast. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair, File) WASHINGTON (AP) Even before President Joe Biden announced in his State of the Union address the plans for providing aid to Gaza by sea, the Armys 7th Transportation Brigade and other units were scrambling to pull equipment together. They received their orders before the speech: Build a floating dock off the Gaza coast to provide food and other desperately needed assistance to residents of Gaza. The aid is needed because Israel has sharply restricted land routes into Gaza, slowing the flow of aid to a trickle. Its a complex operation, involving as many as 1,000 U.S. troops, and it wont happen overnight. Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters it will take weeks for this to come together. Some officials say it will take about two months. And beyond the logistical challenges, the operation will depend on Israels cooperation, which isnt assured. A look at whats known about the operation. WHY BUILD A FLOATING PIER? In the five months since Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage, Israel's military has battered the territory, killing more than 30,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The result of the Israel-Hamas war is a devastating humanitarian catastrophe. The U.N. says virtually all of Gazas 2.3 million people are struggling to find food, and more than a half-million currently face starvation. Many people have been reduced to eating animal fodder to survive. Getting in food, medical supplies and other aid has been difficult, if not impossible at times, due to the ongoing hostilities and struggles to coordinate with the Israeli military, which has blocked routes and slowed deliveries due to inspections. Trucks carrying humanitarian aid have to drive from the Rafah crossing with Egypt or the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, both on the southern edge of Gaza, through the conflict zone to reach the largely cut-off areas in the north. It's been frustrating for the Biden administration as its efforts to step up aid to Gaza have been impeded by the obstacles posed by Israel, its close ally. Last week, the U.S. began airdrops of aid for Gaza. But that can provide only a limited amount of aid and may not reach those who need it. In his address Thursday, Biden directed the military to construct a temporary pier on Gaza's coast "that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters. Biden said the pier will enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day. ASSEMBLED LIKE LEGOS According to defense officials, the 7th Transportation Brigade based at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia is already starting to pull together what's called the Joint Logistics Over The Shore (JLOTS) equipment and watercraft. It's like a huge LEGO system an array of 40-foot-long (12-meter-long) pieces of steel that can be locked together to form a pier and causeway. The causeway would be up to 1,800 feet (nearly 550 meters) long and two lanes wide. And in the coming days, U.S. troops will begin loading the equipment onto a large Military Sealift Command vessel. The equipment will include the steel pieces and smaller tug vessels that can help move things into place. That loading isn't likely to start until sometime next week, and once done the ship will set off across the Atlantic Ocean with members of the 7th Transportation Brigade aboard. A number of other military units from the U.S. and abroad will also be participating in the mission. Ryder said the troops will build an offshore pier where large ships can offload food and supplies. Then smaller military vessels will transport that aid from the floating pier to the temporary causeway that will be driven into the ground at the shoreline. Biden said Thursday that there will be no U.S. forces on the ground in Gaza for the mission, which will likely involve other allies, contractors and aid agencies. WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES? A key question will be what Israel is prepared to do to support the aid delivery effort. The U.S. airdrops have been an unusual workaround by the Biden administration, which for months has appealed to Israel to increase the delivery of aid to Gaza and provide access and protection for trucks carrying the goods. According to Biden, the Israeli government will maintain security at the pier and protect it from any attacks by Hamas. And there may also be a need for crowd control, in case residents try to storm the pier to get the desperately needed food. While officials said they don't likely need security on the sea route to Israel there will be a requirement for allies and private ships to deliver the aid along the maritime corridor. It is also unclear who will be unloading the aid at the dock and moving it to shore. WHAT ARE OTHER NATIONS AID GROUPS DOING? Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides offered the use of his countrys port in Larnaca months ago for a possible sea route for aid deliveries to Gaza, a 230-mile (370-kilometer) journey. Cyprus invited authorities from Israel, the U.S. and other European countries to join Cypriot agents in vetting all shipments so nothing could be used by Hamas against Israel. The offer received strong interest from the Americans, Europeans and others, and extended planning followed. The European Commission said Friday that a ship bearing humanitarian aid was preparing to leave Cyprus and head for Gaza. The vessel belonging to Spains Open Arms aid group will make a pilot voyage to test the maritime corridor in the coming days. The ship has been waiting at Larnaca for permission to deliver food aid from World Central Kitchen, a U.S. charity founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres. The UAE ambassador to the U.S., Yousef Al Otaiba, told the AP the exact timing of the pilot shipment by sea depended on conditions, but said Sunday looked favorable. The UAE funded the operation and worked directly with the Israelis in getting the shipment ready without issues, he said. World Central Kitchen prepared the boat in Cyprus with 200 tons of rice, flour and proteins that will soon be ready to leave for Gaza, and an additional 500 tons of aid is in Cyprus and ready to follow, spokeswoman Chloe Mata Crane said in a statement. ___ Associated Press writer Ellen Knickmeyer contributed this report. Editor's Note: This page is a summary of news on the Israel-Hamas war for Saturday, March. 9. For the latest news on the conflict in the Middle East, view our live updates file for Sunday, March 10. U.S. military personnel are scrambling to build a temporary floating dock off Gaza to help distribute food and other aid to Palestinians by way of the sea, a new route for supplies after months of Israel's intense restrictions on aid delivered by land. President Joe Biden announced the assistance to Gaza during his State of the Union Thursday night, as Army personnel were already pulling plans and equipment together. On Friday, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson, told reporters it would take over 1,000 soldiers weeks to create the structure. Biden said there will be no U.S. forces in Gaza for the mission, which will likely involve other allies, contractors and aid agencies. Israeli forces have blocked routes and slowed aid deliveries for inspections over the five months since the war started after Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people in Israel and took 250 people hostage on Oct. 7. State of the Union: President Biden on hot mic says he needs a 'come to Jesus' meeting with Netanyahu Palestinians react as they gather to collect aid food in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 26, 2024, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Israels attacks in Gaza have killed about 31,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. The U.S. has already begun airdrops of aid to Gaza, where the United Nations says nearly all 2.3 million people are struggling to find food, while more than a half-million people face starvation. On Friday, Ryder said the U.S. has delivered over 124,000 meals to date. Called a Joint Logistics Over the Shore, the temporary dock resembles LEGOs, with 40-foot-long pieces of steel that lock together to form a pier and causeway. An aircraft airdrops humanitarian aid over Gaza the northern Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Friday, March 8, 2024. Developments: Five children in Gaza were killed by a humanitarian aid drop from an unknown foreign country on Friday, the Gaza health ministry said. On Friday evening, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement that it was not an American airdrop. U.S. Central Command said on Saturday that American C-130 airplanes dropped more aid equivalent to more than 41,400 meals and 23,000 bottles of water in northern Gaza. At least 20 people have died from complications related to malnutrition in northern Gaza. The deaths come after warnings about the risk of famine during the bombardment and siege of Gaza. Sweden has joined European Union and Canada in restoring funding to the U.N. agency responsible for aiding Palestinians. The announcement comes after a pause in aid weeks ago as Israel accused a dozen of the thousands of workers for the U.N. agency of participating in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. Several countries, including the U.S., stopped million in funds after the allegations. US, allies down at least 28 Houthi drones during attack in Red Sea American and coalition forces shot down at least 28 drones during a Houthi attack on Saturday morning in the Red Sea, according to U.S. Central Command. In one attack, U.S. and coalition forces downed at least 28 Houthi unmanned aerial vehicles between 4 and 8:20 a.m. local time in the Red Sea, CENTCOMs statement said. The drones didnt damage any U.S. or coalition vessels in the attack, and no commercial ships were damaged. In a statement, Yahya Sarea, a Houthis spokesperson, said the rebel group sent 37 drones to target American destroyers in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The Houthis, an Iran-backed rebel group in Yemen, have targeted ships in the Red Sea in what militants call opposition to Israels war in Gaza. The first fatalities from the Houthis' attacks occurred Wednesday when an anti-ship ballistic missile hit a Liberian-owned cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden, killing three crew members and wounding four others. Houthis claimed responsibility for that attack. Cyprus becoming hub for aid delivery The European Union announced on Friday it would open a shipping corridor in the Mediterranean Sea to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza from the island nation of Cyprus. Cyprus, located about 250 miles from the Gaza Strip, is poised to become a key part of food delivery and other humanitarian assistance to the war-torn Palestinian territory as Israel has limited other aid deliveries by truck. The shipping corridor is established in partnership with the European Commission, the U.S., the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus and others, a joint statement from the countries said on Friday. On Saturday, the European Commission said a ship with humanitarian assistance planned to leave Cyprus for Gaza as the pilot voyage through the corridor. The vessel from the Spanish aid group, Open Arms, would deliver aid to northern Gaza from World Central Kitchen, the nonprofit headed by celebrity chef Jose Andres. WCKs John is in Larnaca, Cyprus where our team is working alongside @openarms_fund, United Arab Emirates & Cyprus to send food aid by sea to Gaza. The maritime aid corridor will immediately allow us to scale our efforts & reach more families in northern Gaza.#ChefsForThePeople pic.twitter.com/3jq1KoGilE World Central Kitchen (@WCKitchen) March 9, 2024 The aid is expected to arrive in two to three days at an undisclosed location in northern Gaza, where cases of hunger and starvation are most severe. Lior Haiat, a spokesperson for the Israeli foreign affairs ministry, said on social media that Israel welcomed the maritime aid, but cautioned it would need security checks. A World Central Kitchen news release said it had delivered over 32 million meals to date, via trucks and airdrops. The shipping corridor allows the charity group to increase the amount of aid it delivers, the news release said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Israel, Hamas war updates: US scrambles to build dock for Gaza aid The British Navy helped foil a major Houthi attack in the Red Sea, working with the US and other international allies to shoot down more than a dozen attacking drones. Overnight, Royal Navy Frigate HMS Richmond and international allies fully repelled a Houthi drone attack, with no injuries or damage sustained, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said on Saturday in a post on social media platform X. More than 15 drones were shot down by HMS Richmond, US navy vessels and aircraft, and other anti-Houthi coalition members following a large-scale attack that presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels, US Navy and coalition ships in the region, according to the US Central Command (Centcom). The assault, aimed at commercial and military ships, was one of the largest to date by the Iran-backed militia. The crew of HMS Richmond acted in an exemplary manner, shooting down two drones using Sea Ceptor missiles, an MoD spokesperson said. We are unwavering in our position that we will take the action necessary to protect innocent lives and the global economy. UK-owned cargo ship 'Rubymar' sinking in early March after it was targeted by Yemen's Houthi rebels - Getty/Mohammed Hamoud Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree, also on X, said the rebels had carried out two separate operations. The first targeted the commercial vessel Propel Fortune in the Gulf of Aden, he said, calling it an American ship. Vessel-tracking websites describe the bulk carrier as Singapore-flagged, but did not report its current position. A second operation fired 37 drones at a number of American warships, Saree said. It was one of the Houthis largest attacks since they began in November a campaign of drone and missile strikes against vessels in the Red Sea area, in professed solidarity with Palestinians during Israels war against Iran-backed Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. The United States in December announced a maritime security initiative to protect Red Sea shipping from Houthi attacks, which have forced commercial vessels to divert from the route that normally carries 12 per cent of global trade. The rebel strikes this week caused their first reported fatalities. The government of the Philippines said two Filipino crew members were among those killed in a missile strike on the bulk carrier True Confidence. Barbados-flagged ship True Confidence ablaze following a Houthi missile attack at sea on March 6 - DVIDS/REUTERS On March 2, the first known vessel sinking from the strikes occurred when the UK-owned Rubymar went down in the Red Sea days after being hit by a missile. Since January, the US and Britain have launched repeated strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the ship attacks, but the rebels have continued to target merchant vessels. Yemens rebels control the capital Sanaa and much of the Red Sea coast, despite an earlier bombing campaign that a Saudi-led coalition began in 2015 and which continued for years. On Jan 9, US and British forces shot down 18 drones and three missiles fired by the rebels toward ships in the Red Sea, the US military said at the time. Saturdays attack comes as maritime experts have warned that a mysterious Iranian vessel in the Gulf of Aden could be helping the Houthi rebels to target commercial shipping. The Behshad, which has the outward appearance of a bulk carrier ship, moved to the Gulf of Aden in January from the Red Sea. It has taken an unusual course, slowly meandering around the waters near the entrance to the Red Sea for the past few months. There was a dip in Houthi attacks last month after a reported cyber attack on the Behshad, and after it left the waterway, sitting off the coast of Djibouti from Feb 2 to 19. Ship-tracking data shows there was a surge in attacks after the vessel returned to the Gulf of Aden. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) USA Today has released the winners of 10 beer-related categories across the United States, and one West Michigan city made the list. Grand Rapids was named the number-one beer city in the U.S. USA Today said that Grand Rapids sports the states strongest beer scene, thanks largely to the presence of the world-renowned Founders Brewing Co. Not to be outdone, there are several other brewing operations around town, most notably the Belgian-inspired Brewery Vivant. It also referenced the citys Beer City Ale Trail which covers over 80 breweries in the area as well as the many beer festivals, events and promotions in the area. The categories like best beer bar, best beer festival, best beer label and more were nominated by beer experts, according to USA Today. Readers then voted for their favorite for each category. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. Ive lost a piece of my heart: Family members of man killed in broad daylight in Little Village plead for answers CHICAGO Police say a homicide investigation is now underway after a man who was shot on the citys Southwest Side on Tuesday afternoon died. Police are now searching for two suspects who are believed to be involved. The Cook County Medical Examiners Office has identified the victim as 33-year-old Johnathan Perry, a Chicago resident. Family members said Perry had just finished work on Tuesday and had stopped to grab groceries. They waited for him to come home, but he never made it. They dont know what they took from this world, Krystal Harris, Perrys older sister, said. Family members described the victim as a friend to everyone, a beloved brother, son, and uncle, who will be deeply missed. To know my brother is to love my brother. He was a ball of fun. He always had jokes, he always was helpful, would do anything for you, Krystal said. Perrys mother, Jeannette Harris said she believes her son was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Concealed carry holder fatally shoots armed robber on South Side He didnt bother nobody. They didnt have to kill my baby like that. They didnt, Jeannette said. Photos provided by family members show 33-year-old Johnathan Perry who was fatally shot in Little Village on Tuesday afternoon. Photos provided by family members show 33-year-old Johnathan Perry who was fatally shot in Little Village on Tuesday afternoon. Photos provided by family members show 33-year-old Johnathan Perry who was fatally shot in Little Village on Tuesday afternoon. Photos provided by family members show 33-year-old Johnathan Perry who was fatally shot in Little Village on Tuesday afternoon. According to Chicago police, the shooting unfolded in the 2500 block of West 21st Street, in Little Village, just after 4:30 p.m. Police say Perry was on the sidewalk when he was approached by two people who then got into an altercation with him and opened fire, hitting him in his abdomen. Chicago police described the individuals responsible as two unknown male offenders, and said they both fled the scene on foot. Perry was taken to the hospital in serious condition where hours later, he succumbed to his injuries. Now, instead of celebrating Perrys 34th birthday, his family is now preparing to lay him to rest. My life has changed 100% because Ive lost a piece of my heart, Jeannette said. Roxanne Salinas, a friend of the victim, told WGN-TV that he was a great soul who was always happy and always making people laugh. He will be truly missed by many people, Salinas said. The gunfire erupted just feet from a grocery store and neighborhood church and Perrys family members say nobody should fear for their life while running a simple errand in the middle of the day. LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland I was putting flowers by the site and so many people stopped and told me that they witnessed it, Krystal said. While police have not shared if any witnesses have come forward, Perrys sister is pleading with anyone who may know something to notify authorities. I want justice for John, Krystal said. Family members have started a goFundMe to help pay for Funeral arrangements. No arrests have been made in connection with the deadly shooting and Area Four Detectives are now conducting a homicide investigation. Anyone with information that could help authorities in their investigation is asked to contact CPD Area Four Detectives at 312-746-8251 or dial 911. Those with information can also leave a tip at CPDtip.com. Tips can be filed anonymously. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. One person died in a structure fire in Colorado Springs on Friday morning. According to the Colorado Springs Fire Department, crews arrived on the scene of the blaze along 1126 Norwood Ave. around 11:45 a.m. Smoke and flames were reported to be visible from the home. By 11:58 a.m., fire officials said the fire was knocked down, but not before it caused heavy damage. According to CSFD, one person was discovered dead inside the home. The Colorado Springs Police Department was called to assist in the investigation. This photo from the mid 1950s shows a portion of the U.S. Army Air Base in Venice that would become the Venice Municipal Mobile Home Park. The long building at the top is now the community center. A portion of Tamiami Trail is in the upper left. VENICE The Venice Municipal Mobile Home Park Community Center was built in 1942, as part of the Venice U.S. Army Air Base to train soldiers for World War II. On Tuesday, the Venice City Council will decide whether to nominate the city-owned building for consideration as part of the citys Local Register of Historical Resources. City Council Member Ron Smith asked for the item to be placed on the agenda for the councils March 12 meeting. The community center deserves to be listed because its the last remaining Venice Army Air Base structure in its original location, Smith said in a video released on Facebook. If the other council members agree, the nomination would be reviewed by the citys Historic and Architectural Review Board. If the HARB gives the nomination a thumbs up, it would then be sent to the council for final approval. The Venice Municipal Mobile Home Park Community Center was built in 1942, as part of the establishment of the U.S. Army Air Base. On Tuesday the Venice City Council will decide whether to nominate it for the citys local register of historical places. The council meets at 9 a.m. in chambers at Venice City Hall, 401 W. Venice Ave. Why is the community center considered historic? The Community Center was built with the air base facilities as a service club to provide rest and relaxation for the pilots and service unit members who trained in Venice. In 1949, as the former air base became the location for the mobile home park, two of the original structures the recreation center and a library building remained on site. The library was first remodeled to serve as washrooms and a laundry facility and later demolished. The center qualifies under two of nine criteria for placement on the local register. First, it was significant in the citys cultural development and remains in its original location. Second, it contributed to the pattern of history in the community and nation. How many structures are on the local and national registers? There are 11 individual structures on the local register; three of those are public buildings. Two, the Lord-Higel House and Venice Museum & Archives once known as the Triangle Inn are owned by the city of Venice. The third, owned by Sarasota County, is the Historic Venice Train Depot. Eight structures within the city are also on the National Register of Historic Places. Related: Kentucky Military Institute alumni gather in Venice for all class reunion Earlier: Display at San Marco Building highlights KMI history in Venice There are also four National Historic Districts in the city; Armada Road Multi-Family District; Edgewood Historic District; Venezia Park Historic District; and Eagle Point Historic District. The John Nolen Plan of the Venice Historic District is also on the National Register of Historic Places. This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Venice may consider 1942 air base center for local historical register FILE -Miami-Dade state attorney Michael Von Zamft talks to reporters outside the Miami-Dade County courtroom in Miami, Monday, June 15, 2009. Michael Von Zamft, a veteran prosecutor in Miami has resigned after a judge found that state investigators manipulated witnesses, including possibly providing conjugal visits to jailhouse informants in exchange for their testimony, in a high-profile death penalty case against a notorious gang leader, Friday, March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File) MIAMI, Florida (AP) A veteran prosecutor in Miami has resigned after a judge found that state investigators manipulated witnesses, including possibly providing conjugal visits to jailhouse informants in exchange for their testimony, in a high-profile death penalty case against a notorious gang leader. During his career Michael Von Zamft has led some of the biggest murder, conspiracy and racketeering cases in the Florida state attorneys office in Miami and at times served as a trainer and supervisor to younger prosecutors. He resigned this week following a stunning rebuke by the judge, who disqualified him and another prosecutor, Stephen Mitchell, from the resentencing trial of gang leader and convicted murderer Corey Smith. Judge Andrea Ricker Wolfson said she found evidence of witness testimony manipulation and severe recklessness by prosecutors stretching back to the case's origins 24 years ago and continuing to the present. The allegations in this claim are like a rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland, the judge wrote in her 15-page order. The prosecutors in this case have lost sight of their responsibility, and justice demands their disqualification. State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said Friday that she accepted the resignation of Von Zamft, her colleague of almost 30 years, and reaffirmed her commitment that all prosecutors seek truth and justice lawfully and with honesty, integrity and professionalism. Her office did not respond to questions by The Associated Press about whether she had initiated any discipline actions against the prosecution team behind the case or filed a complaint to the Florida Bar. I will ask my top litigators to examine every aspect of this case and determine the best path forward, Rundle said in a statement, in which she also defended the decision to seek the death penalty for Smith. We are also the voice of the murder victims who cannot speak for themselves. Von Zamft declined to comment. Among the irregularities the judge found was testimony from inmates who said they were granted favors including conjugal visits when they were brought to the Miami Police Department's Homicide Unit to coordinate their testimony against Smith as state witnesses. But the most damaging allegations against Von Zamft came from recordings of his conversations with an inmate in which, in anticipation of the resentencing trial, he discussed arranging jailhouse meetings among several witnesses so they can coordinate their testimony something Smith's lawyers were never told, as is required in criminal prosecutions. In a 2022 phone call, Von Zamft also discussed sidelining another witness whose version of events had shifted over the years, saying that if she didn't testify as he wanted, I will find a way to make her unavailable and read her previous testimony into the record. On television, Perry Mason, defense attorney extraordinaire, always managed to find the smoking gun at the end of every episode, the judge wrote of that exchange. In real life, this happens very rarely. It happened here. David Oscar Markus, a Miami defense attorney who has successfully litigated misconduct allegations against federal prosecutors, said the admonishment of the prosecutors is as brave as it is rare. Sadly this is not some isolated incident, Markus said. If a defense lawyer had come close to this conduct, he would be in handcuffs and charged with obstruction. But little is done to prosecutors who cross the line. Smith was an alleged leader of what's known as the John Doe Gang, a drug organization that sold marijuana and crack cocaine in a poor, predominantly Black neighborhood of Miami in the late 1990s. His conviction in 2004 in the killing of four individuals was touted at the time as a major victory against gangs and was the culmination of years of federal and state investigations. Another prosecutor who worked on that case, Bronwyn Miller, was appointed as a judge on the Miami-Dade County Court. She now sits on the Third District Court of Appeal in Florida. Smith was sentenced to death for two of the killings on the recommendation of a majority of jury members, but in 2017 state law changed to require a unanimous vote in capital punishment cases. As a result the death sentence was vacated. Despite her admonishment of the prosecutors, Wolfson rejected Smith's argument that there is a broader culture of misconduct that should bar Rundle's office from pressing forward on the case. We cannot help but remain concerned that given the tenure of these attorneys, the issues raised were not unique to them or this case, Craig Whisenhunt and Allison Miller, attorneys for Smith, said in a statement. ___ This story has been updated to correct the spelling of attorney Craig Whisenhunt's last name. ___ Follow Goodman on Twitter: @APJoshGoodman Alfredo Troche, 53 told The Post that when he saw two men threatening a woman with a box cutter at the Pelham Parkway Nos. 2 and 5 train station in Allerton around 12:50 a.m. Thursday, his military training compelled him to step in. The Good Samaritan who was stabbed while coming to the aid of a woman at a Bronx subway station this week is a Marine Corps veteran who urged city officials to do something about crime and if not, the vigilantes will come out, he said Friday. Alfredo Troche, 53 told The Post that when he saw two men threatening a woman with a box cutter at the Pelham Parkway Nos. 2 and 5 train station in Allerton around 12:50 a.m. Thursday, his military training compelled him to step in. Troche who on Friday wore a leather motorcycle vest with a Batman logo on the back and a Batman patch said he was returning to the Bronx after visiting his dad in Williamsburg, Brooklyn when he walked right into the startling scene. Alfredo Troche, 53 a former Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan said he felt compelled to step in when he saw two men harassing a woman in the Pelham Parkway subway station. Robert Miller I was coming up the steps on Pelham Parkway and I see a lady screaming, it could be my grandmother, Troche said as he stood in front of Full Moon Pizza on Arthur Avenue in the Little Italy section of the Bronx, near his home. I see two shadows, I see a box cutter, and Im thinking, Oh, I get the adrenaline, Marine Corps. They were going to assault the lady. It could have been my grandmother, it could have been you, it could have been him, your mother. She was screaming, said Troche who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and said his code name is Batman. I jump into action, punching, kicking, kicking the teeth. Martial artist. Troche who was born in Puerto Rico, grew up in Brooklyn and had been living in the Bronx for six years was stabbed in the hand, the inner elbow and on the leg during the scuffle, he said. Troche was stabbed in the hand, the inner elbow and on the leg during the scuffle. Robert Miller Troche said he called the police in the moments after the attack. They didnt come, so I kept on going and I fell down in the Bronx Zoo, [and] at a bus stop I called the ambulance, he said. He was taken to Montefiore Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition, but said he remained there for eight hours. The elderly woman, meanwhile, reached out to Troche in the aftermath of the terrifying encounter, and told him, Thank you for your service, he said. Troche said his military training compelled him to step in to help the older woman. Robert Miller Troche who is currently doing odd jobs around the neighborhood and trying to get his disability benefits due to a back injury said he is pleased with the new move to surge National Guard troops into the citys subway system, but thinks the Guardsmen should cover more ground. All five boroughs, not only Manhattan, everywhere, Troche said. You need to deploy, not only in Times Square, all five boroughs. The point is, they need to deploy, he added. Tell the mayor to deploy. The governor too. If not, the vigilantes will come out. If they dont do nothing, were going to do something. Im tired. Were on the street, were going to work, going to schoolwhen is it going to stop? Troche warned that the vigilantes will come out if more isnt done to thwart crime in the city. Robert Miller Troche was listed in stable condition after the attack but said his injuries kept him at the hospital for eight hours. Robert Miller The point is, we have to protect our society, the veteran said. Troche who was born in Puerto Rico, grew up in Brooklyn and had been living in the Bronx for six years said he thinks crime is now a bigger concern than in the past, and slammed the state bail reform laws enacted in 2020. Its never been like this, he said. You tell the DA, if you get locked up for a violent crime, no bail. No arrests had been made in connection to the stabbing by Friday afternoon, the NYPD said. A group of volunteer rock climbers came out as part of a big effort to clean Mount Washington Saturday morning. The Explorers of Pittsburgh clean up the hill every year. The volunteers use mountaineering gear to remove the garbage from the steeper parts. Organizers say they do the work to keep the city looking good and the environment healthy. Eventually, the rain and erosion is just going to move it straight into our beautiful rivers that weve done such a good job cleaning up, Lindsey Waugaman with Explorers Club Pittsburgh said. Local leaders, such as Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith and Senior Manager of Special Initiatives Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Kathryn Hunninen also pitched in to help. The views from Mount Washington are among the most beautiful in America, and it is critical that we remove litter and protect the hillsides from dangerous erosion and landslides, said Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith. I am proud to support this annual hillside clean-up and applaud the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, the Explorers Club of Pittsburgh, the Citys Department of Public Works 5th Division, and the Citys Park Rangers for their efforts to ensure that Mount Washington remains beautiful and scenic for everyone. This year, 55 people went on the hill to pick up trash. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Penn Hills gunshot victim remembered as a friend to everyone Man accused of setting fire to Monongahela businesses taken into custody Homicide investigation underway in Finleyville death VIDEO: Driver charged with homicide after 2022 fatal wrong-way crash on I-70 DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts DENVER (KDVR) Denver is set to launch a home hosting program for migrants sometime soon, an official confirmed to FOX31. For months, the group Highlands Moms and Neighbors was already doing this. We estimate we have about 500 people who are hosted in homes within our organization, and those homes have done that without any support service, Jenifer Kettering said. Kettering helped organize the group on social media and said their efforts have yielded results in supporting migrants bused to Denver. It suddenly became a viable option, Kettering said. People are willing to do this, theyre doing it already, and we need to do this in a more formal and more supportive way. Denver micro-community opening Monday, neighbors raise concerns The cause stems from a personal motivation for Kettering, whose own son came from foster care. When a child doesnt have a home and we have to come up with a creative solution, we dont want people to be in institutional settings, Kettering said. Thats not the best place for people experiencing trauma and needing to get stability. For migrants, streets, shelters or homes? Back in December, Kettering said her group organized a proposal to city officials about hosting migrants to alleviate the burden on communal shelters and provide a more home-based shelter program until these folks get on their feet. Its this perfect middle ground between living on the streets and being sheltered at expensive hotels with staffing, or apartments that are outside of reach for many people who live here, Kettering said. Their proposal took a back seat to the daily influx of migrants to the city, Kettering said. The issue of rent, specifically the cost, is another motivation for this group. A fire pit at an encampment in north Denver where migrants have set up tents under a bridge Kettering said if migrants find themselves unable to afford rent or part of the growing number of people facing eviction, that adds to existing problems. With a stipend from the city and case management from nonprofits, Kettering said a host program could be a more cost-effective option for housing migrants. I think if we can provide both of those reassurances, there is sort of a huge untapped middle resource that would be willing to participate, Kettering said. An official with Denver Human Services said the citys migrant host program is in its early stages. Next week, members of Ketterings group are expected to meet with city officials to learn more about this proposed program. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. The number of homeless students in Wake County is soaring, just as the school district is losing federal COVID relief aid that has helped serve those children and their families. Wake County has seen an 88% increase in the number of homeless students since 2014, according to state figures. School officials sounded a warning that they need the communitys help such as financial gifts to continue providing the resources to assist those homeless students. The whole community needs to hear about this and the dire needs that we have in terms of community resources and funding, school board member Wing Ng said at last months student achievement committee meeting. Were not going to have the (federal) grant funds to continue to support this, while at the same time the numbers have doubled in 10 years. I think we all need to figure out a way to get the word out. Homeless total hits you in the gut All public schools are required to offer the federal McKinney-Vento program to serve students who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence. This includes students living in shelters, hotels or on the streets. Last school year, the state reported Wake had 5,143 homeless students. But the number reached 5,700 students by the end of last school year, according to Michelle Mozingo, the school districts McKinney-Vento liaison. She said its expected to continue rising this school year. Its important for our community to see those numbers, board member Cheryl Caulfield said at the Feb. 28 student achievement committee meeting. I mean it just really hits you in the gut. Homeless students represent 3.5% of Wakes 160,000 student population. That percentage is more than double what it was in 2010. Most of the students who are experiencing homelessness, or who Wake says are in transition, come from single-parent households. But Mozingo said Wake is also seeing big increases in homeless students coming from 2-parent households. Our families are holding down multiple jobs, multiple minimum wage jobs, Mozingo told board members. Lack of affordable housing The majority of the families lost permanent housing after being evicted, according to Mozingo. She said families told the district they cant afford the deposit and the first months rent. The overall median rent in Raleigh stands at $1,429, The News & Observer previously reported. Mozingo said the majority of homeless students are moving between hotels and the homes of relatives and family friends. Low-cost hotels can be an alternative for unsheltered people, but they can also be dangerous places to live. In July, The News & Observer reported that the Wake Inn off New Bern Avenue had generated 832 calls for police in just half a year, and that nearly 150 overdoses had been reported at the hotel since 2019. Lottie Shelton, a grandmother of 10, sits in an alley way near the Wake Inn in Raleigh where she often stays in June 2023. Eleven people have been shot at the hotel since January 2020, including one person who died. Regardless of whether you think our economy is doing well or not and thats as far as Ill go on that to see these numbers and the displaced housing, thats disturbing, Caulfield said. I dont think people are realizing how many people are struggling. Doing the Lords work Its important to help homeless students now because theyre 4.5 times more likely to become homeless as an adult if they dont graduate or get a General Equivalency Diploma, Mozingo said. According to district statistics, homeless students on average are absent for 25 days each school year and average two school changes a year. Social workers help homeless students and their families meet basic needs, such as food and housing. The district also provides money so homeless students can buy items at school book fairs and attend field trips with their classmates. (Social workers) are essentially doing the Lords work to make sure our families dont fall by the wayside, said board member Tyler Swanson, chair of the student achievement committee. In addition, Wake has used a $1.3 million federal COVID grant to provide before and after-school care for homeless students and to offer them tutoring. The before and after care has been so essential for our families, Mozingo said. It has helped saved jobs. How to help The federal COVID aid is one-time money that has to be spent by September. This means Wake will need to replace the money from other sources to continue providing those childcare and tutoring services. Wake has been reaching out to community groups for help, including those whove asked how they can provide gifts to assist homeless students and their families. (People) are always saying how can we help, how can we help? said board member Toshiba Rice. These are ways they can sincerely help families which directly impacts students and directly impacts student achievement. Anyone who wants to support students in transition can contact Michelle Mozingo, Wakes McKinney-Vento District Liaison. You can email mmozingo@wcpss.net or call 919-694-0574. BENTONVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) Walmart announced on March 7 that it plans to spend $350 million to build a milk processing plant in Robinson, Texas. According to Talk Business and Politics, the facility will employ around 400 people and support 750 of its stores and Sams Clubs in the southern part of the United States. Walmart acquires VIZIO for $2.3 billion Since the plant will be located near Waco, farmers in the area will provide the raw milk to the plant, which will be processed into Great Value and Members Mark bottled milk. Walmart says products like ice cream, butter or yogurt will not be made at the plant. Walmart broke ground on the plant this week and expects it to be operational by 2026. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24. Protestors enter the 16 de Septiembre tunnel during a women's march in Ciudad Juarez, March 8, 2024, to mark International Day of the Woman. Family and friends continue to seek justice for women killed in femicides in the Borderland. JUAREZ, Mexico Julieta Castillo sighed and gave a grim smile as the chilling chants receded down Avenida Juarez toward the cathedral. She brushed her hands against the body-length vinyl banner she wore with a picture of her niece, Esmeralda disappeared since 2009, when she was 14 years old. Well, thats another year, Castillo said in Spanish. It is the conclusion of an annual March 8 protest to mark International Day of the Woman, just one of the events that Castillo and her family, Esmeraldas parents and other relatives, participate in and lead each year in their seemingly-endless search for justice. Their pain is shared by the thousands of women, men, and children who marched side by side on Friday night through downtown Juarez. Some marchers carried banners with the names or photos of a woman or girl they love, some who have confirmation that she is dead, others who still hold out hope that she will someday be found. Nayeli Macias, left, marches with her daughters, Layla, 4, and Ximena, 8, as they enter the 16 de Septiembre tunnel a women's march in Ciudad Juarez, March 8, 2024. Macias said that she wants her daughters to learn to speak up for their rights. Irina Ontiveros walked among other families of missing and murdered women. Her cousin, Angelica, was killed in 2023. She decided to march to demand justice for Angelica and for other women. We at least know that she is at rest, Ontiveros said. We want to support the other families who dont know, who havent found (their loved one). Other signs spoke to the ever-present fear that this worst thing could happen to them or to their daughter, sister, or friend. Spontaneous chants, familiar but jolting, broke out among different sections of the crowd. Not one more, not one more, not one murdered woman more! They were taken alive, we want them back alive! Friends paint a light post where a bike was hung in honor of activist Isabel Cabanillas who was murdered in Juarez in 2020. They made their way from the Benito Juarez Monument along Ramon Corona Street toward a memorial dedicated to Isabel Cabanillas, an artist and activist who was murdered in 2020. There, marchers raised their left fist in the air as a symbol of power and support during a minute of silence. More: Marchers overnight in Juarez demand justice on anniversary of activist's murder Nayeli Macias was marching for the first time with her daughters, 8-year-old Ximena and 4-year-old Layla. Ximena marched with her own sign while Layla cuddled against her mothers neck. I brought them so they learn to be prepared, Macias said. To grow up with freedom, to know how to speak up for their rights. The vast crowd spilled through the 16 de Septiembre tunnel, where protestors painted walls with handprints and slogans and lit tubes that erupted with thick plumes of purple smoke. Several thousand people gather at the Benito Juarez Monument in Ciudad Juarez for a march that commemorates the International Women's Day by demanding safety, equality, and justice for women and girls, March 8, 2024. On Avenida Juarez, the half-mile from the tunnel to the foot of the Paso del Norte Bridge linking El Paso to Mexico, was lined on both sides with protestors six or seven people deep. A group of about 20 women, migrants who are staying in the Leona Vicario shelter, joined the protest with shouts of Migrating women are also in the fight! Leaders shouted a roll call with the names of missing and murdered women: Esmeralda! Cecy! The crowds cry resounded in response: Present! Present! In Ciudad Juarez, more than 150 girls and women were murdered in 2023. Most of these cases, like those in years past, are unsolved. Families are often left with the burden of investigating leads on their own, without the help of law enforcement, despite the existence of a specialized state prosecutors office in Juarez dedicated to crimes against women. More: Aggravated femicide in Mexico 'I can't live with this pain': Fort Bliss soldier accused of killing Juarez woman As the shouts faded, Claudia Eguia stood to the side of the crowd with her friend, Kristara Cunningham. They carried photos of Cecy, Claudias sister. She was murdered by her husband in 2014. Claudia and Kristara marched to add Cecys voice to the cries for justice, they said. Julieta Castillo speaks to the crowd before the women's march begins in Ciudad Juarez, March 8, 2024. Other relatives carried larger-than-life of figures of Castillo's niece, Esmeralda, who disappeared in 2009. Even though she wasnt my family, it hurts me because it hurts a person I love, Cunningham said. If someone had supported (Cecy) in the moment that she was murdered, she might still be here. I want to scream so loudly, Claudia said. I feel like my sisters scream, when she was being killed, couldnt be heard. So now I want to scream, so she can be heard. The crowd dispersed. Julieta Castillo was one of the last to leave Avenida Juarez. Well, thats another year, she said. It was difficult to tell if her voice held determination, resignation, or both. More: 'Search for me': Two missing Juarez women found slain days after disappearance In the 68 days of this young year, 24 women have been killed. Another year in Juarez. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Women protest femicide in Borderland for International Women's Day DOUGLAS Small farms once dotted the landscape in the Sulphur Springs Valley, but they have been fading since the 1980s. The same policies and programs that incentivized producers to "get big or get out," punished those who did not. Now some of the small-scale growers who remain gathered with allies earlier this month to discuss the challenges and opportunities to preserve small farms livelihoods in southern Arizona. The event, the first summit of the newly formed nonprofit Farmers Organizing and Creating Opportunities, is also the first step toward ultimately building a farmer-led grassroots movement," said Aaron Cardona, an organic grain and vegetable farmer from McNeal and the chairman of the new organization. Ed Curry, president of Curry Seed and Chile Company and a member of Gov. Hobb's Water Policy Council, speaks to attendees of the first Farmers Organizing and Creating Opportunities' summit, a nonprofit working to address the issues of small producers, on March 2, 2024. Access to capital and markets still holds back small-scale organic growers in the area, said Cardona. They are also heading into a water-scarce future with new government regulations. We want to stay on our land, said Cardona, a third-generation Mexican-American farmer. We want to pass this to our kids. In panels and breakout groups, growers and others discussed the needs and potential routes to build strong marketing and branding strategies for specialty crops, how to bring added value to their product, and how to expand farm-to-institution models. They called for the creation of the first committee within FOCO to lead branding and marketing research. At the farmer-centered summit were about 15 producers and several food system advocates. Government representatives attended as listeners. Among them were Gloria Montano-Green, U.S. Department of Agriculture deputy undersecretary, and Arizona Department of Agriculture Director Paul Brierly. The event was held in collaboration with Potlikker Capital, a tax-exempt charitable capital fund that serves farmers and ranchers who are BIPOC, Black, Indigenous, and people of color. In Arizona theyve awarded five loans and grants. Pinnacle Prevention, the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, and the Arizona Food Systems Network provided seed grants for the event. "One of the greatest benefits (of FOCO) has already happened," said Claudio Rodriguez, director of policy and community organizing at the Community Food Bank, and a board member at the nonprofit. "It's that connection time between farmers, government agencies, and folks who will help with the market and procurement process to get farmers products out into Arizona and onto the table of Arizona families." "Arizona can feed itself, but only if it chooses to support it small rural farmers." Growth of large farms: Fewer farms, same number of acres: What the new agriculture census means for Arizona 'Small agriculture is what built us' Cardona remembers growing up in a valley full of small farms. But as he grew older, that landscape shifted as many family farms went out of business or sold to larger operations. Out-of-state dairy conglomerate Riverview and several large-scale pecan farms now dominate a lot of the agricultural production in the area. Ed Curry of Curry Farms poses for a portrait next to one of the tractors during the 25th International Pepper Conference at Curry Farms in Pearce, Arizona on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Ed Curry, president of the successful Curry Seed and Chile Company and a speaker at the event, remembers the valley as a place where everyone knew and cared for each other. His dad and Cardona's grandfather farmed together. We were raised by the community, and at the center of it were the farms, Curry said. Small agriculture is what built us. The question, he added, is how do we keep small agriculture alive? Food system advocates argue that a diversity of large and small farms is needed for resiliency, and use as a cautionary tale the COVID-19 pandemic, when distribution chains were disrupted and local producers became the main suppliers overnight. Corporate farms were less nimble to the shock, Potlikker Capital co-founder Mark Watson told The Republic. The scales are so large that it's like turning an ocean liner," he said. "If you have a big ship and you want to turn it around, it's a big issue. If you have a tugboat or a speed boat, you can flip it around." He believes the dependency on small and local farms during the pandemic shouldnt be seen as an accident: Its a signal to reinvest and bolster them. Local farms: Support for locally grown food is high. Here's why land in Phoenix is scarce for the growers The key is sharing knowledge Joseluis Miguel Ortiz y Muniz from New Mexicos Greenroots Institute, and Audra Christophel with the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, sat next to Curry at one of the panels. Ed Curry, Cochise County farmer and president of Curry Seed and Chile Company, speaks at the panel "The future of water, crops and markets in Arizona" at a farmer-led event held on Douglas on March 2, 2024. Speakers shared their experiences and insights on how to build opportunities and better markets for specialty crop growers and marginalized producers, those who are often underserved by government programs or face barriers to loans and grants. Ortiz shared the main lessons behind the success of New Mexicos Agri-Cultura Network, a farmer-owned cooperative that has bolstered small farming economies and agricultural education in the New Mexico community of South Valley. In its early days, it was made of three farms, but today has some 40. John Benedict, board member of Farmers Organizing and Creating Opportunities, leads a discussion with local producers at a farmer-led summit in Douglas, on March 2, 2024. Christophel spoke from her experience helping establish a program that supplies large institutions in Tucson, like hospitals and school districts, with locally grown food from small producers. At the start of the program in 2015, sales were $30,000. For 2024, farmers have landed about $750,000 in contracts. The key is sharing, Ortiz said. Nothing good is going to come out from holding knowledge. A way forward from the ground up Producers at FOCO are already working together but hope to grow in number. Board members John Benedict and Jillian Werhowatz run a Community Supported Agriculture program, or CSA, through their retail store, The Local Co-op, in McNeal. Cardona and his cousin, Bryan Fontes, who is also part of the board, help supply the program. In CSA models, consumers buy shares of the farms harvest in advance and receive weekly farm boxes. Benedict launched the program last July, and today supplies about 32 families in Cochise County. About two-thirds pay with SNAP benefits or receive in-house financial aid from a fund built by private sponsors. Most of them rely on sales to local farmers' markets in Bisbee, Sierra Vista and Tucson, and supply the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, Arizona Food Bank Network, Pinnacle Prevention and Pivot Produce. Cardona believes the nonprofit figure will help them and other small producers and organic producers gain a stronger voice and a seat at the table. Coming together will make organizations and institutions more receptive to their needs, some of them as simple as getting extension specialists assigned. The conversation, he said, "has to be led by people who are actually making a living off their land. At the end of the event, and after blessing the food, attendees ate a locally sourced lunch: red chile and green-chile casserole from Ochoa Farms, local beef, enchilada sauce from Curry's farm, frijol mechudo beans from Arevalo Farms, salad greens and micro-greens from Likah's veggies, and fresh-made tortillas from Mexican June maize. Clara Migoya covers agriculture and water issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to clara.migoya@arizonarepublic.com. You can support local journalism in Arizona by subscribing to azcentral. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How small Arizona farmers are trying to support each other PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Washington just became the 11th state in the country to ban child marriages. House Bill 1455 was officially signed by Gov. Jay Inslee on Friday, making it illegal for anyone less than 18 years old to marry. Previous state law stated that 17-year-old were eligible for marriage as long as they had parental consent or if it was deemed a necessity. PDX announces return of iconic carpet in main terminal remodel In a poll designed by Northwest Progressive Institute in 2023, 80% of voters voiced support for the legislation. NPIs executive director Andrew Villeneuve attended the bill signing and said it represented a strengthening human rights in the state. The stories our team has heard from forced marriage survivors, especially those who were forced to marry before they turned 18, (shocked) the conscience, he said. These survivors showed a lot of courage by being willing to speak in public about what happened to them. Theyve endured horrors that no person should have to endure. This victory is for them and the young Washingtonians coming after them. This year, the House passed it unanimously on the first day of session, and the Senate voted to pass the bill 48-1. Republican Sen. Jeff Holy, of Spokane, cast the lone no vote. Bush Park shooting leaves 1 teen dead, 2 hospitalized with suspect at large In Washington state, 5,048 people younger than age 18 were married between 2000 and 2021, according to the organization. Parents were forcing their children to marry in the majority of instances, according to Unchained At Last. Oregons minimum marriage age is 17 while in Idaho the minimum age is 16, according to the organization. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. A child was critically injured, and a cat was killed in a structure fire in northeast Colorado Springs Saturday. The structure fire was reported at 2070 Dortmund Drive, near North Academy Boulevard. The apartment fire started around 7 a.m. Saturday morning with multiple fire units responding to the scene. In a social media post, the CSFD's public information officer said that one child was taken to a nearby hospital and was in critical condition. Featured Local Savings A dead cat was also discovered in the apartment. Displaced residents were being assisted by the American Red Cross. Most of the fire was contained as of 8 a.m. and investigators remained on scene working to determine its origin and cause. This story will be updated as more information becomes available. A bill creating a hotline to help victims of hate crimes and bias incidents was passed by the Washington state House on Wednesday, after passing the Senate on February 7. Senate Bill 5427 would create and staff a hotline to provide information and referrals for appropriate care and counseling to victims of bias incidents and hate crimes in the state. Staff would be authorized to share contact information with police for those wishing to report a crime. The bill also had hard targets for implementation and reporting requirements. The bill was sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Javier Valdez of Seattle. It now awaits Democratic Gov. Jay Inslees signature to become law. Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson lauded the bills passage. We must stand up to the hate crimes targeting Washington communities, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a statement lauding the bill. Creating this hotline will provide a centralized location for Washingtonians to report hate crimes and bias incidents. This will improve our states response to these incidents and increase public safety. The bill directs the Attorney General's Office to test a pilot hotline in at least three counties by July 1, 2025, and have the hotline up and running statewide by January 1, 2027. The bill also requires the Attorney General to publish an annual report with information on hate crimes and bias incidents. An earlier version of the bill stalled last year in part because of disagreement over using state funds to compensate victims of hate crimes and bias incidents. Victims could have been eligible for payments of up to $2,000 from a special fund, but that section was stripped for this years revised bill. The previous version of the bill also would have authorized hotline staff members to accept reports of hate crimes and bias incidents. The bill passed by the House and Senate this year instead only authorizes hotline staff to pass along information about the incident to police if authorized by the victim. Ferguson thanked Valdez for his two-year effort getting the legislation passed in the House and Senate. I thank Sen. Valdez for his leadership on the hate crimes task force and for bringing forth this legislation, and for the many advocates who joined my office in supporting this policy, Ferguson said. House Republican lawmakers confronted a small group of leftist protesters on Thursday after the activists attempted to interrupt their press conference urging President Biden to keep Cubas terror designation in place. Four Cuban-American lawmakers Reps. Maria Salazar, R-Fla., Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., and Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla. were just minutes into their press conference outside the U.S. Capitol when two members of the group Code Pink and one other person abruptly stepped in front. The protesters were holding signs that said, "Take Cuba off Terror List" and refused to move from the area in front of the lawmakers display when asked. "I wish the average Cuban could have the same privilege that youre having right now," Salazar told the activists. One shot back, "Well, thank you for giving us the privilege." FORMER US AMBASSADOR, NSC MEMBER CHARGED WITH ACTING AS SECRET AGENT FOR COMMUNIST CUBA FOR DECADES: DOJ Leftist protesters interrupted an anti-Communist Cuba press conference held by House Republicans Salazar continued, "You know, I love this, because if we traveled to Cuba now, and you and I go you will not be able to come close this close to the Capitol and speak your mind and have a dialogue like we could be having right now, because they will either put you in jail or put you back on a plane back to Miami." READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP "Isnt it beautiful over there?" the protester replied. Code Pink is an antiwar group that has staged several demonstrations in and around the U.S. Capitol complex in the wake of Israels war in Gaza. PROGRESSIVE HOUSE DEMS MADE SECRET 'HUMAN RIGHTS' TRIP TO CUBA AMID WORSENING BORDER CRISIS AT HOME Malliotakis, whose mother is a Cuban refugee, pointed out that Cuba has close ties to Iran, which backs groups like Hamas. "Instead of standing here protesting our press conference, you should be at the southern border, or maybe standing at the other side of the ocean where we're seeing Cubans fleeing in makeshift rafts," she said. "And maybe you can learn about what's actually happening in communist Cuba, because you're using a privilege that we only have here in the United States and the Cuban people do not have." Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon and Code Pink rally in support of Palestinians demanding a cease fire in Gaza outside the Capitol Hill offices of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) on February 15, 2024, in Washington, D.C. "You will be jailed, you will be beaten, you will be killed, if you do what you're doing right here, protesting in freedom, if you do it in Cuba. . . . It's ironic that we stand here with signs supporting a communist regime that does all those things." At one point, another protester holding a Spanish-language sign got close to lawmakers, prompting police officers to attempt to intervene. The House Republicans stopped her from being taken away and instead asked her to move to a space that didnt raise security concerns. The demonstrators did not move for the duration of the press conference. US STATE AGRICULTURE LEADERS LOOK TO CUBA'S PRIVATE FARMING SECTOR FOR POSSIBLE COOPERATION At least one of them appeared to be Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin, who has been seen in the halls of Congress in recent weeks participating in various protests, including a Gaza ceasefire demonstration with progressive activist and actress Susan Sarandon. Malliotakis called her a "professional agitator." Benjamin confirmed her attendance at the event and said in a statement to Fox News Digital: "Politicians like these have been pushing the same tired position for over 70 years, and the only result has been impoverishment of the Cuban people. If they really cared a whit about Cuban families, they would call for measures to ease shortages, including lifting sanctions and taking Cuba off the terror list." Cuba was designated as a state sponsor of terrorism in 1982 "because of its long history of providing advice, safe haven, communications, training, and financial support to guerrilla groups and individual terrorists," according to the U.S. State Department. Original article source: WATCH: GOP lawmakers confront leftist protesters who interrupt anti-communism event LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Lake Mead has begun its slow decline, the start of an expected 19-foot drop over the next six months. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamations website shows that Lake Mead has dropped every day since hitting 1,076.62 feet above sea level on Monday, March 4. Its not a noticeable change right now only about 3 inches of water by noon on Friday. The most recent projections show the level will drop to 1,057.50 feet in September. That drop could once again expose boat wreckages and force changes in operations at marinas and boat ramps to adjust to the water level. A graphic showing Lake Mead levels over the past five years, with the current level (in blue) through March 7, 2024. There will likely be fluctuations in the water level. Reclamation is expected to conduct high-flow experiment releases at Glen Canyon Dam in an effort to disrupt populations of predatory smallmouth bass a non-native species that has made a home below the dam as waters have warmed. Those high-volume bursts of water also help to rebuild sand bars on the Colorado River. The extra water is enough to make Lake Meads level go up after the water travels the 280 miles to Lake Mead. Last year, a big high-flow experiment release started on April 24, eventually raising Lake Meads level by 2 feet. It was just the start of a steady climb that restored 19 feet of water to the lake by September, thanks to a wet winter and snowpack levels that reached 160% of normal last year. This year, snowpack levels are currently just above the 30-year average (105% today). Measurements taken on April 1 will give scientists a better idea of what to expect for summer runoff in the Upper Colorado River Basin. A graphic showing Lake Powells level through March 7, 2024. Water releases have followed normal patterns at Glen Canyon Dam and Hoover Dam, although wet weather associated with Hurricane Hilary in August 2023 allowed Reclamation to hold back extra water as water demand dropped in Southern California. Reclamation has been releasing water steadily from Lake Powell since early July, sending it down to Lake Mead. But that will start to change as Reclamation puts a priority on raising the level at Lake Powell as spring runoff begins. Lake Powell is currently about 41 feet higher than last year, when Reclamation was scrambling to keep the water level up to avoid damaging hydropower infrastructure at Glen Canyon Dam. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) Families and residents have been left scrambling to find a new home after their West El Paso retirement home abruptly sent a community closure notice a month in advance. Community Closure Notice from Royal Estates Senior Living The Royal Estates Senior Living Community, located on Mesa Hills in West El Paso, sent an email to their residents on Wednesday, March 6, informing them that they will be shutting down their operations, and residents have until April 5 to vacate their units. The email also informed residents that they would assist upon request with the relocation process, and that they will have informational sessions with operators from other senior living communities. Patricia Martinez said she picked Royal Estates for her elderly aunt a year ago after 2 months of extensive research. Martinez said her aunt has loved the community and the staff, but was shocked and upset by the abrupt notice. Thats not a lot of time. These are little old people. I mean, if youve ever tried to find an apartment, a month? Not a lot of time. And especially for somebody who needs some modified medical facilities, thats a pretty quick turnaround, Martinez said. Martinez explained that a month does not allow ample time to research and visit other living communities and learn whether she can trust them to care for her aunt. The chief operating officer for Royal Estates sent KTSM a statement regarding their closure and residents concerns. The statement read in part-quote: In the two days since the closure announcement on March 6th we have already secured new accommodations for more than half of our residents and anticipate finding new homes for the remainder of our residents by the end of next week. The notice period is in accordance with state regulatory guidelines and the terms agreed upon in our residency agreements. KTSM read the statement to Martinez, who said she understood they didnt break state regulations, but having developed a great relationship with the staff and management from Royal Estates, she was disappointed that they did not inform them with more time. Instead of just this pre-formed email, prefab email, and you just feel like, OK, well youve done the absolute least you can do for us. So Im glad that theyve found people other locations to stay. Thats great. But a 30-day notice? Just let us know, Martinez said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. Where have you been?! Beloved Hickory thumbtack returned by thieves HICKORY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) In a truly remarkable turn of events, thieves have returned almost all of the pieces of a 10-foot-long red thumbtack art sculpture they took from a Hickory art gallery more than a week ago. ATAC owner Hunter Speagle told Queen City News that the two pieces missing since last week were placed at the front doors of the Gallery overnight Thursday. It really was a surprise, I thought this chapter in its story was over, but now here it is, he explained to Queen City News Friday afternoon. Hunters sculpture has been a staple of this art gallery and his mission for more than two decades. Sometime on February 27, thieves took the thumbtack from outside Hunters art gallery. The base of the thumbtack was the only piece they left behind, and even that was by accident. Like an art heist. 10-foot long thumbtack sculpture stolen from Hickory art gallery When he first spoke with Queen City News, he said he had small pockets of hope that the piece would be returned fully intact. That mindset, however, changed when a business owner nearby told him the art heist had been caught on security camera. The video shows individuals in a red jeep parked near the front of the gallery. Over the course of two hours, they sporadically took pieces of the thumbtack to the jeep (first the needle, then the body of the thumbtack), before they attempted to drive off. However, the base of the thumbtack rolled off and was left on the side of the road outside the gallery. Hunter explained that he had seen this same jeep before at a neighboring business and had plans to do his own sleuthing. It was my job as the creator of it to do whatever I could to get it back, he explained. MORE FROM QUEEN CITY NEWS Crime & Public Safety He spoke with owners of the neighboring businesses and confronted the owners of a red jeep, similar to that of the one seen in the video. One of those conversations, along with questioning from authorities, led to the two pieces being placed outside his shop overnight Thursday. I showed up to work this morning and it was back. I was just like where have you been?! he said. The tip of the needle has not been returned, and there is damage to the art piece, which his daughter Opal is not happy with. Theres a tip of it missing . . . Im glad its back, but Im still mad they messed it up, she said. Hunter said he doesnt know what a fix-up would look like, but wants to use this as a moment to show his daughter, and others in the art community, why art is so important. Life moves forward and life moves on. So will the story of the thumbtack. It will move on. Police have not made any arrests in this case. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. If you don't already live on the total solar eclipse's path of totality, you may want to make plans to get somewhere to catch a glimpse of the spectacular sight on April 8. Not only is this the last time for 20 years that the moon's orbit will cause it to directly blot out the sun's disk anywhere in the United States, but we may never see an eclipse quite like this again in our lifetime. The sun's outermost layer known as the corona will be brighter, the moon will appear larger, and the nighttime-like darkness known as totality will last just a bit longer than it did during the last North American total eclipse in 2017. You won't want to miss it. Here's a little bit about why the Great North American Eclipse of 2024 is so special, and when and where you can try to witness it. Photos from space: From spiral galaxies to volcanic eruptions on Jupiter moon, see these amazing space images Why is this year's total solar eclipse special? The sun is eclipsed by the moon and the sun's corona can be seen during a total solar eclipse on Monday, August 21, 2017. This image was captured in Deep Creek, Bryson City, North Carolina. The last time North Americans witnessed a total solar eclipse in 2017, the sun's activity was at a minimum. This time around, though, the sun will be at the peak activity of an 11-year solar cycle, making its elusive corona especially visible, astronomers say. Meanwhile, the moon will be closer to Earth than it was seven years ago, making it appear larger in the sky and increasing the length that darkness will last in many places, according to eclipse2024.org. This year's eclipse may also coincide with the passage of a 'devil comet' as the strange, recognizable object hurtles harmlessly overhead Earth. Path of totality: Where can I see the eclipse? The 115-mile-wide path of totality will pass over portions of Mexico and the United States, ending in Canada. In the U.S. alone, hundreds of cities and smaller towns in 13 states lie along the path, providing a glimpse to an estimated 31 million Americans of a spectacular sight not often seen, according to eclipse cartographer Michael Zeiler at GreatAmericanEclipse.com. Some of the major cities include: Dallas and San Antonio, Texas Little Rock, Arkansas Indianapolis Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, New York Erie, Pennsylvania Additionally, small parts of Tennessee and Michigan are also expected to experience the eclipse, NASA says. In the United States, the eclipse's path will end in Maine before visiting the maritime provinces of Canada, according to estimates. What time will the eclipse occur? Mexico's Pacific coast will be the first location in continental North America to experience totality, which will occur at about 11:07 a.m. PDT, according to NASA. As the moon's shadow travels northeast, totality in the U.S. will begin at 1:27 p.m. CDT in Eagle Pass, Texas. From there, the path will cut diagonally across the country before ending around 3:33 p.m. EDT in Lee, Maine, according to nationaleclipse.com. Along the way, periods of darkness could last a mere few seconds or, in some cities, could surpass four minutes. Here are the major cities in each state where you can expect to experience totality in the United States (note that the included times do not account for when the partial eclipse begins and ends): Dallas, Texas: 1:40-1:44 p.m. CDT Idabel, Oklahoma: 1:45-1:49 p.m. CDT Little Rock, Arkansas: 1:51-1:54 p.m. CDT Poplar Bluff, Missouri: 1:56-2:00 p.m. CDT Paducah, Kentucky: 2-2:02 p.m. CDT Carbondale, Illinois: 1:59-2:03 p.m. CDT Evansville, Indiana: 2:02-2:05 p.m. CDT Cleveland, Ohio: 3:13-3:17 p.m. EDT Erie, Pennsylvania: 3:16-3:20 p.m. EDT Buffalo, New York: 3:18-3:22 p.m. EDT Burlington, Vermont: 3:26-3:29 p.m. EDT Lancaster, New Hampshire: 3:27-3:30 p.m. EDT Caribou, Maine: 3:32-3:34 p.m. EDT If you want to see the time and duration for when totality would occur near each of these locations, see these interactive maps. And if you plan on viewing the eclipse, just remember: Certified safety eyewear is a must until the moon completely blocks out the sun's light, leaving only the outermost layer visible. Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When is the total solar eclipse? What to know about path of totality TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) Flags at multiple locations in the state of Florida will be flying half-staff to honor the life of one of the states former politicians Monday. Former state congresswoman Betty Holzendorf died on Feb. 29 at the age of 84. Holzendorf represented the Florida Houses 16th district from 1988 to 1992. Afterward, she represented District 2 in the Florida Senate from 1992 to 2002. To honor her passing, Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered flags to be flown half-staff at the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Jacksonville City Hall, and the state capitol in Tallahassee. The flags remain at half-staff from sunrise to sunset. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. ISHIGAKI, Japan For Yoshitaka Nakayama, the mayor of the tiny Japanese island of Ishigaki, the threat of a hostile China hits very close to home. This tropical tourist destination of 50,000 full-time residents is just 124 miles off the west coast of Taiwan, and he fears a refugee crisis if China carries out aggression against the nearby island nation. We havent prepared for it at all, he said in an interview with The Hill at the islands City Hall. We are expressing our concern to the national government, and its kind of very difficult work to draw a line from our own people and people of Taiwan evacuating. The war is not likely to happen, but the risk is always there. Japans role in the region, the world and its position between the global heavyweights of the United States and China is undergoing a massive shift. Tokyo cant afford to entirely alienate China, its largest trading partner and the priority destination for Japanese business investment. Yet Japan has firmly tied its future to the U.S. its security is guaranteed under Americas nuclear arsenal raising the risk of being collateral damage in any U.S.-Sino conflict, whether thats diplomatic or kinetic. And Taiwan is at the top of potential flashpoints of conflict. President Biden has said he is committed to sending U.S. troops to Taiwans defense if China invades. That position has soured relations with Beijing, which views Washingtons support for Taipei as unacceptable, and risks blowback on Japan. There is an impact on tensions between China and the United States on our bilateral ties, very much, said Makoto Nishida, a member of Japans parliament for the Komeito party, which is a junior member of the coalition headed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishidas Liberal Democratic Party. Nishida traveled to China in November as part of a Komeito delegation, with the goal of resolving at least three points of tension between Tokyo and Beijing: Chinas ban on Japanese seafood imports after Japan began releasing treated nuclear wastewater from the Fukushima Power Station; reviving visa-free travel between Japan and China; and releasing Japanese nationals detained in China. The delegation walked away from the trip with no immediate progress. While discussions continue over seafood imports and visa-free travel, there was no movement on detained Japanese citizens, he said. Nishida, whose main area of focus is economics, studied in China and has deep ties to the country, and the Komeito in general promotes closer and friendlier ties with Beijing. It is a sure fact that Japan-U.S. relations and their alliance is a cornerstone for Japans diplomacy, Nishida said through a translator during an interview at his office with The Hill. But at the same time, Japan cannot cut up our ties with China. A major shift As China has asserted a more aggressive foreign policy over the past decade, Japan has beefed up its own military posture and alliances. Beijing has raised regional alarm with provocative maneuvers in shared waters and efforts at economic coercion; clamping down on Hong Kongs freedom and democracy and threats to subsume Taiwan. Japan in turn has pushed the boundaries of the constitutional restrictions on its military, building up counterstrike capabilities in the event of a Chinese invasion or blockade of Taiwan that could divert Americas military resources. With some of the very advanced missile capabilities [of adversaries], at this moment, theres no way to defend our country, a Japanese Ministry of Defense official told The Hill. Thats why we have to change our policy to possess counter strike capability, and increase the level of deterrence, to stop the intention of aggression, thats a very big difference of the technological shift in the security arena. The focus for both Japan and the U.S. is to give Japan the ability to not only scale up its air defenses but have the ability to take out the launching systems of adversaries, and ultimately decrease its reliance on the U.S. military. We have set a goal, that in five years, we will have the initial operation of counter strike capability with a variety of long range missiles, to include Japanese-produced and U.S.-procured missiles, the official said. Tension at sea A Japanese Coast Guard ship in the port of Ishigaki, a tiny Japanese island off the west coast of Taiwan. (Laura Kelly) At the 10th regional headquarters in Kagoshima, in southern Japan, Inoue Tatsuhiro is the captain of the brand new, 3,500-ton patrol vessel, the PL202 OSUMI increasing the regions fleet to 11 vessels and 10 helicopters. Its a symbol of Japan pouring more resources into its coast guard, a policing force that responds to emergencies in territorial waters but is also charged with enforcing maritime laws that, in Tokyos view, Beijing is regularly testing. The 10th region maintains a Japanese presence around the Senkaku Islands, a flashpoint of tension with China, which claims the territory and calls them the Diaoyu Islands. When I was young, I saw a limited number of vessels, said Tatsuhiro, reflecting on his graduation from the coast guard academy in 1984. Now the ships are becoming larger and the number of them is occurring at an unprecedented scale for me. The PL202 OSUMI was inaugurated in November 2023. Among its stock includes a 40 mm anti-aircraft cannon and a water cannon mounted on the bow. Most recently, the 10th region helped respond to a 7.5 magnitude earthquake that struck northeastern Japan on New Years Day a reminder of the rising threat of climate change. But potential action from China which boasts the worlds largest navy remains front of mind. The Japanese government is keeping track of how often Chinese coast guard vessels intrude into Japans territorial waters in what it describes as provocations beginning in 2012, it has monitored Chinese intrusions between 19 and 52 times each year. Last year saw the most frequent and prolonged presence of Chinese vessels in the disputed waters, at 352 days. And Chinese vessels were present in the waters around the Senkaku Islands nearly every day in January of this year, according to government statistics. Chinas claims to the islands appear to be part of its argument that the islands are affiliated with Taiwan, claiming both as part of greater China, said Satoru Mori, professor of international politics at Tokyos Keio University. It wasnt really clear whether there is a sort of a unified thinking behind what Chinas coast guard does, vis-a-vis Taiwan island and also, Senkaku Islands, Mori said. But, yeah, we are actually beginning to see a sort of a very subtle change in the way the Chinese are acting, vis-a-vis the Senkaku islands. Eyes on Ukraine A sign outside US Embassy in Tokyo. (Laura Kelly) The Japanese government, and many of its people, have also made a connection between Chinese President Xi Jinpings ambitions in the region and Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine. The Japanese government has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine, underscoring that Tokyo views a victory or defeat for Putin as directly linked to emboldening or deterring Xi from carrying out aggression in the region. Japan, as a member of the Group of Seven nations, has operated in near lockstep with other member states on retaliatory measures against Russia. And what it cant provide in lethal military support its constitution blocks weapons exports it has sought to make up in nonlethal, economic and humanitarian assistance. Last month, Kishida hosted a conference promoting Ukraines reconstruction and Japanese investment in the country. But Ukraines military must be able to defend the skies from Russian attacks to make business viable which depends, mostly, on American military support. The United States is the only provider of that extent of assistance, but you have to live with it. Its a special responsibility, a Japanese foreign ministry official told The Hill. And you have too many allies and friends that rely on you. Thats why were always watching the movement, every step of the way, on Capitol Hill. The months-long delay for Congress to deliver on more Ukraine aid is being watched closely in Tokyo, the official said, as are as the fractious fights among Republicans, and the very real possibility of former President Trump returning to power, which would further hamper aid for Ukraine. We are carefully watching what the U.S. politics are going to be like, because its the important ally. From my own occupational point of view, the future posture of U.S. politics and future posture of U.S. policy for Ukraine, is a very big element for us, the official said. Among the wing of Republican lawmakers opposed to U.S. support for Ukraine are those who say Americas military priority should be directed toward Asia, and bolstering defenses for Taiwan. Japan wants the U.S. to do both. We dont want to see reassurance and enhancement of deterrence in the Indo Pacific, with cost incurred in Ukraine or European security, Mori said. Back in Ishigaki, Mayor Nakayama has taken lessons from Russias 2014 invasion and annexation of Ukraines Crimean peninsula. He worries about Chinese spies infiltrating Ishigaki among the refugees desperately fleeing Taiwan, and sabotaging the islands communication lines. What Im afraid of, the example of Russia, what they did in the Crimean peninsula [in 2014], Im afraid of how China may act after they cut all our communications, he said. Nakayama said he has observed China building up its strength at sea over the past 10 years. The Chinese ships approaching this area I can see that the size of the vessels are getting bigger, as well as a number of vessels, and the crew are more skilled, he said. Before, when the typhoon came, their ships were forced to go back. Recently, even with stormy seas, they just stay in the vicinity of Ishigaki. That is the pressure we are mostly concerned with. Disclosure: The reporter traveled to Japan at the expense of the Foreign Press Center Japan, a nonprofit foundation that receives funding from the Japanese government. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) Its a sure mark of spring across northern Utah: Hundreds of large swans flying through the skies, landing to feed in the wetlands off the Great Salt Lake. Throughout March, the annual migration of tundra swans and trumpeter swans brings birders and wildlife enthusiasts flocking to northern Utah, which harbors critical habitat for what are some of the largest waterfowl species in North America. How to see the magnificent swan migration happening in Utah Every year when I go out and see them again, its just amazing, said Mark Hadley, northern region outreach manager for the Division of Wildlife Resources. Wow, those birds are big. Theyre just graceful and beautiful. Why they fly over Utah The swans spend the winter months in places like California and southern Utah. But as spring comes on, they begin a journey of thousands of miles to their nesting grounds in the northernmost arctic regions of Canada and Alaska. What were seeing is swans heading back to the tundra. As their name implies, thats where they like to nest, said Anne Terry, director of education at Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake City. Flocks seen over Utah have been reported to be as large as 1,000 individuals. The reason they course over the Beehive State is because its a key waypoint where the birds can find refuge and food. Tundra swans in the water, with one landing. (credit: Zou Zheng/Xinhua via Getty Images) According to Terry, the swans gather in the freshwater bays around the Great Salt Lake. Using their long necks, they tip into the water and munch on the plants growing up from the bottoms of the bays. One more reason to get water to the Great Salt Lake is to keep these wetlands around the lake super healthy, so that birds that are on their migrations can depend on them as they have for thousands and thousands of years, Terry said. Tundra or trumpeter? Most of the swans traveling through Utah this month are tundra swans. A robust and numerous species, their plumage is pure white. Although they are slightly smaller than trumpeter swans, they look pretty much identical. For a nonexpert, eyeing the difference between a trumpeter swan and tundra swan is almost impossible. However, one can hear the difference. The trumpeter swan has a sound thats definitely different than a tundra, Hadley said. It earned its name, trumpeter. A trumpeter swan on Lake Washington in Kirkland, Washington (credit: Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images) Trumpeter swans are the heaviest living bird native to North America, and they are also the continents largest waterfowl species. Their wing span can reach up to 10 feet. About 100 years ago, these birds were on the edge of extinction, but their numbers have since rebounded. Their comeback story is tied to the history of Utahs Tracy Aviary, which features a trumpeter swan in their logo. According to Terry, the aviary contributed to trumpeter swan breeding programs early on to boost their numbers. They were endangered at the time, and now theyve bounced back so well they are starting to show up in larger numbers in Utah, which is really exciting, she said, adding that trumpeter swans are still at the aviary today. Where to see the swans Perhaps the top spot to see migrating swans in Utah is the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, located about 10 miles west of Brigham City in Box Elder County. The refuge has a 12-mile auto route that runs through the heart of the sanctuarys 80,000 acres of marshland, open water and mudflats. It takes you right through the refuge and you can see lots and lots of swans right from your vehicle, Hadley said. On Saturday, March 9, the refuge is hosting its Swan Day, a free event featuring photography workshops, raptors displays and a swan-themed puppet show. Events run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Swans seen in the water at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in northern Utah. (credit: Kade Garner/KTVX) Another top spot to see migrating swans is the Salt Creek Waterfowl Management Area, which is about 12 miles northwest of Corinne, also in Box Elder County. Per Hadley, birdwatchers can drive onto Comptons knoll and get a clear hilltop view of the swans out on the marsh. A bit of advice for those going out to see the swans for the first time: Bring binoculars or a spotting scope. Waterfowl tend to hang out in the safest spot for them, which might not be near the shore where you are, Terry said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. Oklahoma County commissioners recently picked a site at 1901 E Grand Blvd. near Del City to be the home of the new county jail. Reconsider Oklahoma County jail sites The debate over where to build the new Oklahoma County jail is well deserved. It is concerning to know that you might have to deal with a jail near your house, childrens school, work, place of worship or another location important to you. As a community, we need to remember that no matter where the jail is built, it will be in a location that is important to someone. The Oklahoma County commissioners recently picked the site at 1901 E Grand Blvd. near Del City to be the home of the new jail. After listening to pushback from Del City leaders and area citizens, commissioners still voted to choose the location for the new jail. Commissioners need to reconsider the other sites that remain on their list: near Reno Avenue and Exchange Avenue, SW 74 Street and Rockwell Avenue, and I-240 and Sunnylane Road. We cannot continue to force unwanted facilities on communities. The proposed jail location is now near schools, raising concerns for the safety of children in the area if inmates escape the jail. There also are financial concerns related to additional costs that the jail might incur for Del City as well as the potential impact on economic development and business in the area. While the jail site uses empty land, it is still near homes and schools. From a city planning perspective, its easy to put the jail anywhere that has enough properly zoned land. But we have to remember that each location is home to someone. If you dont want a jail next to your home or your kids school, chances are someone else doesnt either. Ultimately, the county commissioners need to reconsider the remaining sites before forcing the citizens of the Del City area to shoulder the weight of the new jail. Alison Holderbaum, Norman In case you missed it: Oklahoma County commissioner denies donation swayed jail site choice We need more peace, not roads Roads build and destroy communities. The bigger they are, the more they kill wildlife and peace as well as people. They dump toxins into streams, lakes and drinking water. Although we can't live without them, we can easily live with fewer of them. The noise alone of a major highway extends 4 miles wide. We need more peace, not less. We need small communities, little farms and the peacefulness that salves the soul of both human and wildlife alike. No one needs another turnpike as much as we all need the land it would destroy. Dr. Rita Miller-Eppich, Edmond Every human has worth, Gov. Stitt Dear Gov. Stitt, I am heartbroken at the loss of a beautiful soul. Nex Benedict was just a 16-year-old kid, but the atmosphere at the school and in your state tolerated and even encouraged intolerance. Bullying led to beating. What kind of "Christian kindness" does this represent and what are the "grownups" in your state modeling for the next generation with their hate speech against LGBTQ people?!? What would Jesus (who advocated for the leper, the prostitute, those society cast out) say about this "Christian morality." I believe in the worth of every human and am absolutely appalled at this hypocrisy the same "Christian" people who quote the Bible against homosexually violate the Bible's prohibitions on pork, shellfish, tattoos and adultery! I look to those in power, like you Gov. Stitt, to take a stand for goodness, not meanness; inclusiveness, not exclusion. I'm eager to hear you step up and speak out. Will you extend your "pro-life" rhetoric to cover this child? Or are your words merely political posturing your "Christianity" unrecognizable to the first Christian Jesus, himself? Carol Simon Levin, Bedminster, New Jersey Be superintendent, not dictator To paraphrase Ryan Walters: Ryan Walters has determined, once again, that parents dont matter. Hes forgotten that his responsibility is to our kids, not his ego or political career. This is a man who has declared himself better than parents. He is the superintendent, not dictator, of education. Banning "The Glass Castle" and "The Kite Runner?" This is a bridge, or book, too far. Has he read these books or has someone brought selected passages to his attention? J.A. Robison, Edmond More: Ryan Walters threatens to lower Edmond schools accreditation over books: Readers speak out Become aware of climate impact The phrase "fire season" is becoming irrelevant. As Ms. Astons article points out, the times of year when fires typically occur are expanding. Here in California, firefighters have offered that "fire season" is now all year. I want to commend The Oklahoman for including the reference to the contribution of climate change. Only when a critical mass of the population develops an appreciation of how serious global heating is can the political will emerge to ambitiously address climate change with carbon-fee-and-dividend, electrification and permit reform, all advocated by Citizens' Climate Lobby. More: Warm temps, high winds, drought culminate in massive wildfires across Oklahoma this week The Oklahoman owes it to their readers to inform them so that they can plan the time and attention to those issues that impact their lives and those of their loved ones. The photograph that accompanied a recent article looked like a hellscape. A picture is worth a thousand contacts with your legislators. Gary Stewart, Laguna Beach, California Policy should be the duty of a school board; management the job of superintendent The superintendent of Oklahoma City Public Schools recently resigned making the following statement: School board members are meant to give visionary and policy direction to a district, not to direct day-to-day operations. While hes right about what the best practices should be, he is wrong about what Oklahoma law requires. From February: OKCPS superintendent Sean McDaniel unexpectedly resigns after nearly 6 years in post The law makes every school district board directly responsible for each and every expenditure made by the district. It makes every local board responsible for hiring and firing each individual employee, even in districts the size of OKCPS. Unfortunately it is Oklahoma law that requires the local district board members to involve themselves in the day-to-day operations of school. And, if they fail to do so, they, and not the superintendent are personally responsible for that failure. Superintendent McDaniel is right the board should spend its time creating a vision for the district and establishing policy. However, too much time is spent on the minutiae of running the district. To make matters worse, the board members do not have the experience and knowledge about those very matters they are required to address. Those are the things the superintendent addresses on a daily basis and is trained and equipped to manage. Oklahoma law has it backwards and needs to be changed. Place the responsibility where it is most appropriate. Policy should be the duty of the board; management should be the responsibility of the superintendent. Jim McGoodwin, Edmond This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma County proposed jail near Del City is poorly planned Abby Swoveland calls herself one of the lucky ones. Her mom was a victim of the Return to Nature Funeral Home incident, in which 189 bodies were discovered, many deteriorating and some unidentifiable, in the Penrose facility last year. "I'm one of the lucky ones in that she was identified," Swoveland told Colorado Politics Thursday. Her mom's body was left to rot at Return to Nature for two months, she said. When the unanimous vote on House Bill 1335 was announced, Swoveland put her head in her hands, briefly, celebrating how lawmakers understood "the only way any good can come" from her experience is by making changes in the law. "I was so relieved!" she said. House Bill 1335 is one of three bills lawmakers are pushing this session to address the experience described by Swoveland and by many others family members left to rot or body parts sold without their consent. Notably, they are pushing for stricter state oversight which they and other supporters of the measure said funeral homes have been without for years. Reps. Matt Soper, R-Delta and Brianna Titone, D-Arvada, who sponsored the measure, have worked on funeral home issues over the past several years. Colorado is slowing changing its laws to address that lack of oversight, beginning with HB 1335. The bill is a "sunset," a measure designed to reauthorize the state's oversight of an industry or occupation. In this case, the sunset being extended is the state's mortuary science code, which deals only with the business side of the funeral industry. But the sunset, while seeking to reauthorize the mortuary science code until 2031, also intends to put more teeth into how the funeral home business is regulated, supporters said. Chief among the provisions in the bill is routine, periodic inspection of funeral homes, although what "routine" and "periodic" means is not defined in the bill and will be left to rulemaking by the Department of Regulatory Agencies. Those inspections can also take place once a funeral home's registration has expired, which is what happened with Return to Nature. It's only been recently that the department had the authority to inspect funeral homes at all, the result of a change in law in 2022 in the wake of what happened at the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose, where the owners sold bodies and body parts without consent instead of cremating them. The owners, a mother and daughter, were both sent to federal prison. Until 2022, DORA had to obtain permission to inspect a funeral home and the operator could say "no." The 2022 law allowed inspections, but only during normal business hours. Lawmakers on the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee heard some of the stories from families tied to Return to Nature, as well as from professionals in the funeral home industry, who have been calling on the department for years to put in tighter regulations of the industry. Colorado is the only state in the nation that does not require its funeral home directors and related occupations to have any training in mortuary science. Javan Jones, who owns three funeral homes in northeastern Colorado, told the committee the inspections will give DORA the authority to "hopefully curb some of the problems that we have had that have arisen in the past couple years." The Colorado Funeral Directors Association "believes a more proactive inspection schedule will help curb some of the atrocities that have happened in the past recent years," and allow the industry regain consumer trust and weed out the bad actors, Jones said. Featured Local Savings But does the bill go far enough? Not according to Tonya Wilson, a retired U.S. Army captain whose mother was a victim of Return to Nature. Wilson said periodic investigations should clearly be defined and annually conducted by trained individuals, and the statutes should allow for random visits. "We cannot leave room for our lackadaisical approach to conducting inspections," Wilson told the committee. Wilson also raised concerns about the department's accountability on the issue. "It's crucial that the people of Colorado trust DORA to rigorously enforce this legislation without exception," Wilson said, adding that should include more stringent requirements for DORA's response to complaints. When her mother was finally identified and properly cremated, she and her brother were handed a biohazard bag. Inside that bag were two items: a Korean norigae, a kind of good luck charm, and a bracelet. The norigae was discolored and deteriorated from decomposition fluids, either from her mother's body or someone who was stacked on top of her. The bracelet, which her mother had worn from childhood, had bits of rotting flesh stuck inside the links of that bracelet, she said, adding, "This will haunt me for the rest of my life, and this should never happen to any family." While the bill wasn't amended in committee, Rep. Chad Clifford, D-Littleton, indicated he would bring an amendment to shorten the sunset time to four years instead of seven to allow for a quicker review of the changes proposed in the legislation. HB 1335 now heads to the House Finance Committee. Another sunset measure, House Bill 1254, would reauthorize state regulation of non-transplant tissue banks. But it didn't go far enough for its sponsors, Reps. Eliza Hamrick, D-Centennial and Brandi Bradley, R-Roxborough Park, who offered several amendments to boost the oversight of these facilities in a March 5 hearing with the House Health & Human Services Committee. Chief among the amendments substantially increase the standards of practice for tissue banks and prohibit those who own funeral homes from holding a substantial interest in a tissue bank. The original bill from 2018 was also a response to Sunset Mesa, where bodies and body parts from 800 people were sold without the consent of the families. One of the owners of Sunset Mesa ran Donor Services, a body broker operation. "The necessity of this bill cannot be overstated," Bradley told the committee. As non-transplant tissue banks grow in number, "the absence of comprehensive regulation poses risk to our constituents," Bradley said, adding that HB 1254 is intended "to safeguard the health and wellbeing of Coloradans and the sacred deceased that they are trying to protect by ensuring these entities adhere to the highest standards of practice." Bradley addressed the financial concerns that led to the amendments. A funeral home director who has a financial stake in a tissue bank has a financial incentive to sell a body for its valuable parts rather than provide an inexpensive burial, she said, citing a report from Arizona. Through sobs, Danielle McCarthy talked about her husband, David, who died in 2017. She was also one of the lucky ones, she said, as the FBI found her husband's remains, which had been sold to a university for research without her consent. "My husband was evidence for five years" and buried only recently, in 2023 at Fort Logan, she told the committee. HB 1254 won a unanimous vote and now heads to the House Appropriations Committee. The word gauze may have originated from the Palestinian territory Gaza, but even that wound care staple is running out in the besieged region. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, over 30,000 people, mostly women and children, have now been confirmed dead in Gaza as a result of the ongoing siege and bombardment by Israel, with over 70,000 injured, although these figures are considered to almost certainly be undercounts. The conflict was sparked in retaliation for the Hamas massacre of approximately 1,200 civilians and soldiers and kidnapping of around 250 others on Oct. 7th. Now more than two million people the entire surviving population of Gaza are housing insecure and living in unsanitary conditions. The majority, especially in the north, are acutely starving. The untenable situation has threatened to spill over into neighboring nations, with many implications for global conflict. One issue which might not immediately come to mind, but which ought to concern us all, is antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR is a broad phenomenon, but simply describes when our tools defending against deadly microscopic nasties stop working. Bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses can all develop resistance to antibiotic, antifungal, antiparasitic or antiviral drugs. When such medications become ineffective, even formerly mild diseases can become serious threats to public health. Over the past century, heavy use of antibiotics and similar medications has given AMR a boost, threatening to upend the public health gains of the 20th Century that saw child and elderly mortality from common bacterial infections drop dramatically, raising life expectancies from a 19th century average of around 47 years. Diseases of all kinds have been making a worldwide comeback thanks to societal inequities, air travel, a backlash against even basic childhood vaccinations, the tendency of bacterial infections to follow viral ones, and apparent immune dysfunction resulting from COVID-19. But to really come to grips with this new age of disease, you must add the failure of antibiotics to the mix which brings us back to Gaza. The situation in Gaza While volunteering in Gaza for the first 43 days of the war that started after Oct. 7th, Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a British-Palestinian plastic and reconstructive surgeon, volunteered under absurdly difficult conditions in Al-Ahli Arab Hospital and Shifa Hospital in the north of Gaza, as well as Al-Awda Hospital in the Jabalia refugee camp. He was at Al-Ahli when hundreds of displaced people were killed by a blast of disputed origin some may remember him from the press conference he held in the hospital courtyard, surrounded by dead bodies. He left Gaza on day 43 of the war after hospitals were mostly besieged and shut down in the north where he had been working. Since returning to the UK, he has testified to a British war crimes investigation unit about the apparent deliberate targeting of healthcare facilities by Israel, alleging also that he saw patients with chemical burns consistent with the use of white phosphorus, which is a war crime. While still in Gaza, Abu-Sittah co-authored a November letter in The Lancet describing a documented rise in antimicrobial resistance in the territory previous to the current bombardment and siege, and highlighting aspects of the current situation conducive to further spread of AMR. Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter Lab Notes. War-related contributing factors to antimicrobial resistance include restricted resources, high casualties, suboptimal infection prevention control and environmental pollution from infrastructure destruction and heavy metals release from explosives, the authors write generally, also summing up the situation in Gaza. Abu-Sittah, who has also worked in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, previously described development of antimicrobial resistance in the context of war in Syria, teasing out factors contributing to the problem before the conflict started in 2011, and afterward. Others have documented AMR associated with conflict in Ukraine and Sudan. One of Abu-Sittahs co-authors, Antoine Abou-Fayad, has also contributed to a study of war as a driver of antimicrobial resistance in Iraq, in which the authors argued that Contemporary conflicts, waged in urban and industrialized landscapes, pressure microbes with selective environments that contain unique combinations and concentrations of toxic heavy metals and antibiotics, while simultaneously providing niches and dissemination routes for microbial pathogens. Giving evolution a massive boost Every time we pressure a doctor into giving us an antibiotic for the common cold (which is caused by a virus and therefore not responsive to antibiotics), we increase the amount of antibiotics floating around. In 2022, The Lancet published an overview of the global prevalence of antimicrobial resistance, using data current as of 2019. Antimicrobial resistance was directly responsible for 1.27 million deaths, it also played a contributing role in another estimated 4.5 million deaths that year. Clearly, the problem of pathogens like bacteria becoming resistant to commonly-used antibiotics is one of life and death. The impact of antimicrobial resistance isnt confined to a single patient, but affects all of us. It can cue the return of the bacterial infections that used to make life nasty, brutish and short and in some ways, this is already happening. As the Lancet study shows, the problem of growing antibiotic resistance has been an issue for decades. In the words of the World Health Organization, which launched its new data visualization dashboard of antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use last month, AMR puts many of the gains of modern medicine at risk. It makes infections harder to treat and makes other medical procedures and treatments such as surgery, cesarean sections and cancer chemotherapy much riskier. In fact, the WHO considers AMR one of its top ten greatest threats to global health and it is predicted to cause ten million deaths per year by 2050. AMR has massive economic costs and threatens the global food supply. By increasing pressure on health care systems and killing livestock, it is predicted to push some 24 million people into poverty by 2030. What may seem at first like a minor problem is in fact a multi-sector, cross-issue catastrophe in the making. In an attempt to develop an adequately robust response, the United Nations General Assembly will convene its second high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance in September 2024. There is a metaphorical arms race between microbes and drug development, and the literal military-industrial complex is increasingly creating conditions in which AMR can thrive. Casual overuse of antibiotics is not the only factor that favors development of resistant pathogens like bacteria. Although The Lancet study does refer to the challenges of accurate and ample data collection in poor countries and to the difficult conditions that can increase the risk of antimicrobial resistance, it notably fails to mention the role that conflict and war-related collapse of health care and other infrastructure play in its development. For example, Acinetobacter baumannii, a cause of hospital-acquired bacterial infection that can attack most parts of the body, was once sensitive to first-line antibiotics, but the AMR-favoring conditions of war have led to an alarming number of multidrug resistant strains and growing incidence well beyond the Middle East. In fact, A. baumannii was dubbed Iraqibacter after causing many multidrug resistant bloodstream infections among U.S. service members returning from Iraq. A. baumannii, is on the rise in both the U.S. and the U.K., and has not remained confined to military veterans. Likewise, both injured military personnel in Ukraine and refugees from that country have brought AMR to Germany and the Netherlands, and rising rates of multidrug resistant bacteria in Europe more generally have been linked to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Highly polluted sites contaminated with heavy metals are further known to provide an environment that selects for antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Hair analysis of infants in Gaza demonstrated heavy metal contamination in utero following major military attacks in 2009, 2012 and 2014 that could be seen in persistently high levels in the children by the end of the study in 2019. The 65,000 tonnes of bombs dropped on Gaza between Oct. 7th and Jan. 4th have left unknown levels of heavy metals in and around a population among whom nearly 100,000 people are dealing with injuries, including emergency amputations, burns and blast wounds. Three pillars of antimicrobial resistance Work was being done to combat growing antimicrobial resistance in Gaza well before the current war and siege. Dr. Amber Alayyan is a pediatrician who works for Doctors Without Borders as deputy cell manager for the Middle East. Her teams have observed antibiotic resistance in Syria, as well as in Yemen and in Iraq, and she closely followed the impact of antimicrobial resistance in Gaza since well before Oct. 7, 2023. In fact, Alayyan told Salon that over the past 15 years, Doctors Without Borders has worked in Gazas Shifa and Nasser hospitals treating infected wounds resulting from burns (often children injured by ground-level stoves in refugee camps) and traumatic injuries. When I talk about traumatic [injuries] I think of bombs, bullets, violence-related trauma, but its not necessarily violence-related [wounds] that are going to get infected. And so the burn cases as well, and those are a lot of women and children. Then came March 2018, the start of the so-called Great March of Return. This involved sometimes weekly demonstrations against the blockade of Gaza and for the right of return of Palestinian refugees, largely along the border fence between Gaza and Israel and involving as many as 50,000 protesters. The vast majority were peaceful, but stone-throwing, tire-burning, attempts to damage the fence, and the launching of burning rags on kites or balloons into Israel by protesters set off a violent response from Israeli security forces. Over the course of a year, nearly 30,000 people were injured and 175 killed. Injuries to both adults and children resulted from tear gas, rubber-coated bullets and live ammunition, with 7,000 wounds caused by the latter. A year on, the already-strained health care system was in dire condition, and the impact on wound care became impossible to ignore. We were already seeing high rates of antibiotic resistance, and very complicated infection and multidrug-resistant types of bacteria. And so it was complicated. [Treatment is] doable, but its complicated. And what it requires is that patients have to come back over and over, not just for surgery, but also to make sure that the wound is healing. To tackle the gamut of problems leading to wounds that dont heal, become infected, or dont respond to first or second-line antibiotics, Alayyan and her team then set up Gazas only bone and tissue lab, allowing for the identification of specific pathogens infecting wounded tissue. This allows doctors to prescribe only antibiotics that are going to work on the particular pathogen. They also employed doctors specifically trained in antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic stewardship the careful and restrained use of antibiotics to prevent development of resistant bacteria. We looked at it as really sort of three pillars: the doctors who are the stewards, the microbiologists, and the nurses and pretty much everybody is included in what we call IPC: infection, prevention and control, Alayyan told Salon. Without those three things, you cant even talk seriously about antimicrobial stewardship. Alayyan stressed the importance of multidisciplinary treatment to prevent the spread of antimicrobial resistance. At the base of the pyramid is hygiene, so infection prevention and control. Theres also an important component of patient education, and she includes mental health care as a vital factor in ensuring compliance with the strict requirements of effective wound care. Our surgeons are running out of basic gauze That was before, and you throw in October 7 and its a bit of a no-holds-barred kind of situation right now, Alayyan said. Israels siege and bombardment of Gaza began after Hamas' Oct. 7th attack, but ever since, those three things physician stewardship, microbiology and infection prevention and control have become essentially unattainable. At that point, there were tens of thousands of internally displaced people living in Nasser [hospital] so that made follow up care for patients difficult because you had to find your patients, Alayyan explained. There were so many internally displaced people all over the hospital, including not only the patients but their families. All of the injuries weve seen since November, since October really, are blast injuries. And so 99 percent, we could say are explosive injuries." Such injuries result in damaged limbs, burns and injuries to soft tissue of the chest or abdomen. On February 22nd, Christopher Lockyear, the secretary general of Doctors Without Borders, told the U.N. Security Council, Our surgeons are running out of basic gauze to stop their patients from bleeding out. They use it once, squeeze out the blood, wash it, sterilize it and reuse it for the next patient. Karin Huster is a nurse, also with Doctors Without Borders, who just returned from working at Rafah Hospital, in a city whose former population of 300,000 has increased several times over thanks to a million or so displaced people from elsewhere in Gaza. Huster told Salon that surgeons in Rafah Hospital still had access to clean gauze, but not much else. Right now were talking about basic war surgery, she said. Others have referred to being forced to practice 18th century medicine. It is incredibly difficult to do the work as it should be done, Huster said. She has worked in conflict zones across the globe confronting famine in Nigeria, Ebola in Democratic Republic of Congo, cholera outbreaks in Haiti and war in Iraq but said the situation in Gaza cannot be compared to anything she has seen before. Supply issues can always exist, but the deliberate blocking of supplies and staff and labs That is unique. Usually no one does this. Here, we are blocked. Things are deliberately not making it in for a variety of reasons. According to reports by international news outlets, these include aid trucks being held en masse at the border by the Israeli government, Israeli protestors preventing even that access going through, and the Israeli governments policy of siege. It is considered a war crime under the Geneva Conventions to starve civilians as a weapon of war, or to attack, destroy, remove or render useless items needed for civilian survival. Doctors Without Borders has a specialized microbiology lab that hasnt been accessible since the start of the war, and one of their microbiologists was killed with his children in a strike on his home back in October. Nasser hospital, where the group had a surgical team working on soft tissue and burn injuries, has been under assault for days and is no longer operational. Previously, two surgeons were doing up to 20 surgeries every day. And I can tell you, said Alayyan, that having a team of exhausted surgeons does not make for great antimicrobial stewardship. Doctors in Gaza are using whatever is available or can be brought in by international teams, which is typically broad-spectrum antibiotics. They are used prophylactically, with health care workers aware that their patients are vulnerable to infection due to poor conditions, and may be unable to finish a full course of antibiotics or receive follow-up care. This increases the likelihood that resistant pathogens will develop. You want to protect the patient, Alayyan said. But at the same time, youre not necessarily protecting the patient if what it means is that theyre going to get to a point where nothing works on the infection. Its just an impossible situation for the medics to be in. This is the background for the letter by Abu-Sittah and colleagues. I worked for many years on [antimicrobial resistance] in the war in Syria. And I never saw anything like this, Alayyan said. When a body is not well nourished, any of the healing processes are either slowed or stopped completely [...] The problem is that when the wounds dont heal, and when youre malnourished, youre more at risk for sepsis, so blood infections, things like that, or wound infections, which then of course means more antibiotics. Its sort of a dirty spiral, really. When asked what one essential factor could mitigate or prevent the further growth and spread of antimicrobial resistance in Gaza, Alayyan answered with a single word: Ceasefire. WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) Wichita Mayor Lily Wu and city council members are heading to Washington, D.C., for meetings next week. The road trip is a way to meet face-to-face with lawmakers to push for money for big projects. The list includes money to work on flood mitigation, federal funds to improve Kellogg, and another push to get Amtrack to stop in Wichita. Wichita is getting close to having Amtrak from Texas and Oklahoma stop in Wichita, and the mayor and council will meet with railroad and federal executives to make another push to get Wichita on the list. But the trip is also a chance to try and secure federal funds for things like flood mitigation, particularly in west Wichita. Persistent drought in Kansas affecting aquifer levels Some council members say face-to-face meetings can be the best way to bring home federal funding. They say its not what you know, its who you know, and its so true. You can have face-to-face contact. You can communicate with them directly. This is very, very important for our city to have those relationships nationally, said Wichita City Council member J.V. Johnson. Wichita Wu and the city council will also meet with federal officials to talk about the Equus Beds Aquifer recharge north of Wichita and push to get more federal funding to go into the 21st Street corridor to improve railroads and traffic flow. In addition, they will meet with Kansas Senators Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV. An appeal has been launched to find a woman who was approached by a victim of indecent exposure. A man is thought to have approached a woman in her 40s on Devizes Road in Salisbury and exposed himself to her. The victim then walked into a nearby Homesense shop and told a woman what had happened before reporting it. The incident took place on 1 June 2023, but police have now issued the appeal to find the woman, who is described as wearing glasses. Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630 A fatal highway crash in Clark County, Wisconsin has left nine people dead and one injured, authorities say. The collision, which occurred on Friday March 8 near Dewhurst, involved a semi-truck and a van. The van had nine people, eight that were pronounced dead at the scene along with the driver of the semi-truck, and 1 passenger that was taken to a local hospital, according to the Clark County Sheriff's Office. Police responded to the scene just before 7:53 a.m. Preliminary reports said the van, driving north on County J, collided with a semi-tractor heading east on State 95, the sheriff's office said. The highway has since been reopened and the crash site has been cleared. Crash reconstruction crews are working with police to identify what caused the crash. The identities of the deceased will be released to the public once the families are notified. Deadly National Guard helicopter crash: 3 killed include 2 soldiers, 1 US border agent Wisconsin deadly crash: Officials mourn the lives lost Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI) posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, sending his thoughts and prayers to the families of those who have died in the crash. Kathy and I are saddened today by the fatal crash that occurred in Clark County, tragically taking nine lives. Our hearts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones of all those involved, as well as the first responders who worked quickly to provide support at the scene. Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) March 8, 2024 Kathy and I are saddened today by the fatal crash that occurred in Clark County, tragically taking nine lives. Evers wrote. Our hearts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones of all those involved, as well as the first responders who worked quickly to provide support at the scene. Another official called the tragic loss, heartbreaking. Incredibly saddened to hear of the heartbreaking news coming out of Clark County. My heart goes out to the loved ones of the nine lives tragically lost today. I am keeping their friends, families, and communities in my thoughts as we mourn this devastating loss. https://t.co/tphnO56MZC Sen. Tammy Baldwin (@SenatorBaldwin) March 9, 2024 Incredibly saddened to hear of the heartbreaking news coming out of Clark County, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) wrote in a post on X. My heart goes out to the loved ones of the nine lives tragically lost today. I am keeping their friends, families, and communities in my thoughts as we mourn this devastating loss. Wisconsin crash now tied with second deadliest crash in the state Aerial view of Clark County crash that killed nine people March 8, 2024. On May 30, 1937, nine people were killed in an accident in Manitowoc County. A family was headed to Door County for a Memorial Day vacation when their car collided with another car carrying three men. A young child was the lone survivor of the crash, according to the Wisconsin Watch. This crash was the second deadliest crash recorded in the state. The deadliest crash in the state occurred in 2002 when a 45-vehicle crash killed 10 people. On a foggy Interstate 43, 30 people were injured, seven in critical condition and one in serious, the Watch reported. According to statistics from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Friday's crash is 3 times the number of fatalities Clark County has had in the previous year. Ahjane Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjane covers breaking news, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at aforbes@gannett.com. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X @forbesfineest. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wisconsin crash in Clark County: 9 dead, 1 hurt in highway collision A police officer kneels by a baby carriage at the scene of an accident in Leipziger Strasse. Four people, including a mother and her child, were seriously injured in the serious accident in Berlin-Mitte. Christophe Gateau/dpa An 83-year-old driver reportedly slammed into a woman pushing her child in a pram near a busy shopping area in downtown Berlin on Saturday morning, killing the woman, seriously injuring the child and sending her partner and sister to hospital in shock, police said. The woman, 41, and the child, 4, had to be resuscitated at the scene and the woman once more in the ambulance on the way to hospital, where she died, police told dpa. The child had to undergo emergency surgery. The exact circumstances of the accident are unclear and are under investigation, a police spokeswoman said. The party of four were tourists in Berlin, the police said. The accident occurred near a construction site close to Potsdamer Platz, a major thoroughfare and home to a popular mall. The elderly driver was also seriously injured, according to the Berlin fire brigade. He was taken to hospital but released after outpatient treatment and a blood sample was taken, according to the police spokeswoman. Following the accident, another car crashed into a vehicle at the scene. According to the fire brigade, the driver of the car also suffered serious injuries and was hospitalized. A number of witnesses and first responders, some of whom were in shock, had to be assisted by the emergency services, including an emergency counsellor. According to the fire brigade, a total of 48 firefighters were deployed. It is unclear how the two car crashes are connected but investigators consider the accident a single incident, the police spokeswoman said. Police officers stand at the scene of an accident in Leipziger Strasse. Four people, including a mother and her child, were seriously injured in the serious accident in Berlin-Mitte. Christophe Gateau/dpa MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) A woman was sexually assaulted by a suspect riding a scooter inside Central Park on Wednesday, authorities said on Saturday. Investigators said the 30-year-old woman was jogging in the park near 70 West Drive at 6:30 p.m. The suspect was riding a blue Razor scooter, authorities said. More Manhattan News After hopping off his scooter, the suspect walked up to the victim and grabbed her waist from behind while rubbing himself against her, authorities said. He then fled the area. The victim was not physically injured in the attack, authorities said. This incident is being investigated by the NYPDs Manhattan Special Victims Squad. Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Charline Charles is a digital journalist from Brooklyn who has covered local news along with culture and arts in the New York City area since 2019. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. Woman struck by train loses feet after boyfriend pushes her onto tracks: NYPD MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) A woman was pushed onto the subway tracks by her boyfriend and was struck by a No. 3 train in Lower Manhattan Saturday morning, authorities said. The 29-year-old woman was discovered by police officers on the tracks inside the Fulton Street subway station at 10:26 a.m., according to the NYPD. A southbound No. 3 train struck the victim after she was shoved onto the train tracks, authorities said. Police fatally shoot man who allegedly stabbed wife: NYPD First responders rushed the victim to a hospital, where her feet were amputated. Investigators said the woman and her boyfriend were involved in a domestic dispute that led to the incident. Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Charline Charles is a digital journalist from Brooklyn who has covered local news along with culture and arts in the New York City area since 2019. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. CAMBRIDGE Writers at the Crossroads has become the place for authors to read and display their latest creations. This year's event takes place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 23, at Crossroads Library. The 2023 authors for Writers at the Crossroads included, front, Alex Erickson, Jacob Paul Patchen, Megan Slayer, J. Paulette Forshey, Beverly Kerr, Bev Justice, back, Jane B. Night, Mike Ghere, J.L. Enger, Susan Gee Heino, Clayton Etter, Saralee Etter and Anne Chlovechok Fifteen years ago, Crossroads Library was searching for a way to bring more adults to the library. That first year, local authors were given five minutes to read either a section from a book they had written or a short story. It drew a small crowd and was the beginning of a lasting friendship between the library and local readers. Cambridge Writers has been instrumental in organizing this event along with the cooperation of the library. This writing group, led by J. Paulette Forshey and Cindy Stonebrook, welcomes all writers to their meetings every Wednesday at noon in Crossroads Library. They provide information on ways to improve your writing skills, and give encouragement. Over the years, Writers at the Crossroads has grown and now features well-known authors from not only Ohio, but Indiana, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. Every author has a table to set up their display of books, which are for sale. The event will end with a raffle of items donated by many of the authors and area businesses. All proceeds from the raffle are given to the library to use in their children's program. So far, the group has donated more than $3,000. This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Showcase of authors planned at Crossroads Library on March 23 A volunteer registered nurse treats skin wounds at the Savage Sisters community outreach storefront in Philadelphia. Xylazine, a powerful animal sedative thats moving through the illicit drug supply, is complicating the U.S. response to the opioid crisis, causing gruesome skin wounds and scrambling long-standing methods for treating addiction and reversing overdoses. Matt Rourke/The Associated Press Quality Journalism for Critical Times Legislators in a handful of states are offering bills to address the rise in the misuse of xylazine, a cheap animal sedative not intended for human consumption. Xylazine, or tranq, can induce blackouts and cause lesions that sometimes result in severe infections or amputations, and it can even lead to death. The opioid overdose-reversal drug naloxone does not work on xylazine, which drug dealers often find through the dark web and other illicit channels, rather than getting it from veterinary offices. Although xylazine isnt classified by the federal government as a controlled substance, it also isnt approved for human use. Several states including Indiana, New York, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia and Wisconsin are considering bills. The legislation ranges from classifying xylazine as a controlled substance to stiffening criminal penalties for possession and distribution, as well as legalizing testing strips so people who intend to take drugs can make sure they arent tainted by xylazine. Other states Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia have already added xylazine to their lists of controlled substances, which adds tighter controls to the storage and movement of the drug for veterinary use. The accessibility and affordability of xylazine, which can be bought online from Chinese suppliers for $6 to $20 per kilogram, make it an attractive option for drug traffickers, according to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. Xylazine is frequently used as an adulterant to enhance the psychoactive effects of other drugs, such as fentanyl. Yet many people who use such drugs dont realize that xylazine has been mixed in. Public health experts and harm reduction advocates, who work with people who use drugs to help them avoid the worst outcomes, warn that criminalizing xylazine or categorizing it as a controlled substance will just exacerbate the fear and stigma associated with the drug, isolating people who use it and discouraging them from seeking treatment. Scheduling drugs and making things illegal has never had any meaningful effect on people actually ingesting drugs or the amount of drugs showing up in the drug supply, said Colin Miller, the community liaison and social/clinical research specialist at the University of North Carolina Street Drug Analysis Lab. Xylazine is just like the latest in a long line of these examples. Danielle German, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, agreed that ratcheting up penalties will do more harm than good, even if the legislation is coming from a place of good and wanting to help. That increased perception of penalty weve seen over and over and over again that thats what pushes people away from the resources that we most want them to be able to access, German said. State action Nevertheless, several states are embracing a get-tough approach. Credit: Richard Theis/EyeEm/Getty In South Dakota, Republican Gov. Kristi Noem in February signed legislation classifying xylazine as a controlled substance, with fines and penalties of up to two years in prison for using, manufacturing and distributing the drug, while still allowing for veterinary use. A similar bill is pending in South Carolina, where manufacturing or distributing the drug for other than veterinary use would bring a felony charge and up to 10 years imprisonment. Virginia lawmakers are considering legislation with similar penalties. In New York state, legislation would place xylazine in the category of the most dangerous controlled substances, which would carry stiffer criminal penalties for both possession and distribution. In Indiana, a bill making its way through the legislature would criminalize the possession and distribution of xylazine, with potential punishment of jail time. It would add steeper penalties for repeat offenders. The bill exempts use and distribution for veterinary purposes. I fully support other harm reduction avenues, such as [the opioid overdose-reversal drug] Narcan and test strips, said Indiana Republican state Rep. Jennifer Meltzer, the bills author. I just believe that we also need to go after the bad actors. Having a criminal effect will hopefully deter individuals that are dealing or maybe even individuals who are now only seeking out xylazine, to get the help that they need. Another bill in Indiana would have legalized testing strips for all controlled substances, including xylazine, but it died in the Senate. Meltzer, one of the bills co-authors, plans to work with the Democratic lead author of that bill to get it passed during the next legislative session. But in Wisconsin, legislation to legalize xylazine testing strips is awaiting the governors signature. Xylazines spread Xylazine was first detected in other drugs in Puerto Rico in the early 2000s, according to the DEA. Now, the drug can be found across the states, though available research suggests that xylazine-involved overdose deaths are primarily concentrated in the eastern United States, especially in the Northeast. The University of North Carolina Street Drug Analysis Lab tests drug samples sent by over 150 harm reduction and syringe exchange programs across 35 states and publishes those results publicly. Between January 2021 and February 2024, the lab found xylazine in lab-confirmed fentanyl samples from 15 states. Some of the samples analyzed were submitted to the lab because people suspected the presence of xylazine, Miller wrote in an email to Stateline. The states with the highest number of fentanyl samples that tested positive for xylazine are North Carolina, 148; New York, 148; Michigan, 66; Pennsylvania, 38; and Washington, 20. But some harm reduction advocates and public health experts argue that focusing too heavily on xylazine could inadvertently facilitate the entry of other, potentially stronger and more harmful drugs into the illicit drug supply. They warn that what states are doing now to curb xylazine use repeats a strategy that has had limited success with substances such as fentanyl. Because we hyper-focused on fentanyl for so long, the criminal drug market responded with a more lethal and potent substance to adulterate and then dominate the supply, said Sarah Laurel, the founder and executive director of Savage Sisters Recovery, a Philadelphia nonprofit that offers free services to people experiencing homelessness and substance use. Philadelphia is one of the cities that has been hit hardest by the surge in xylazine use. In 2022, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health found that xylazine was involved in 480, or more than a third, of the 1,413 unintentional overdose deaths. Almost every death in which xylazine was found also involved fentanyl, according to the agency. The same thing will happen if we have a new focus on xylazine. They are just going to find a new substance that is going to satisfy the demand, Laurel said. Instead, some advocates say states should focus more on expanding access to substance use treatment services and mobile drug-checking equipment, such as mass spectrometers that can analyze ingredients within a drug mixture. You cant say that you want people to stop using drugs and then every time I call for a detox bed, theres not a bed, said Alixe Dittmore, the housing and shelter capacity building coordinator with the National Harm Reduction Coalition. We have incredibly punitive and prohibitive services, Dittmore said. You really have to holistically look at it when youre worried about how many folks are passing away. This story was published earlier by Stateline, a partner of the nonprofit States Newsroom network, which includes the Florida Phoenix. The post As xylazine surges, some lawmakers want jail time for dealers and people who use the drug appeared first on Florida Phoenix. NEW YORK - A new bill up in Albany would give people leaving prison around $2,600 to help them get on their feet. Introduced by State Senator Kevin Parker and Assemblyman Eddie Gibbs, this bill would require the money be doled out over the course of six months with formerly incarcerated individuals receiving about $400 each month. Samra Haider with the Center for Employment Opportunities, which is backing the bill, says that an initiative like this has shown it can cut down on recidivism. "By almost 30%," Haider said. "It just helps them give a little breathing room allow them to focus on their job search, re-acclimate to the community, and so we think that will really help an individual's reentry home from prison." But right now there are no limitations on how or where the $2,600 can be spent. "In New York crime pays, literally," State Senator George Borrello said. (Photo by Giles Clarke/Getty Images) Senator Borrello says that he is strongly against this bill and pointed to a list of recent criminal justice reform bills that have passed the state legislature over the past few years. Borrello says that the state should prioritize other legislation at this time. "My colleagues seem to think that these these are folks that are a victim of circumstances," Borrello said. "You chose to commit a crime in New York State. If you really are concerned about how much money you're going to have in your pocket when you leave prison, then don't go there to begin with." Right now when people leave prison they are given $40, which comes from their garnished earnings behind bars. "In this economy that amount is barely enough to get groceries or purchase clothes for a job interview," bill sponsor Assemblyman Gibbs said. "The first 72 hours after release are crucial in determining an individual's successful reintegration into society. By increasing the amount to up to $2550 in the span of a few months we allow folks the opportunity to reach their full potential. This isn't just a social justice bill but a public safety one. We need to start offering real support to folks re-entering society if we want to reduce recidivism and ensure stability and dignity for all." Ismael Diaz Jr with center for community alternatives, who also spent some time in prison, says that those $40 does little to help people reintegrate into society. "This $40 that they give you, theyve been doing this for over 50 years," Diaz Jr said. "$40 50 years ago was worth a lot more than it is right now." The sponsors of the bill are asking that 25 million dollars be set aside for this new initiative. The Colorado Springs Police Department has identified the two additional suspects arrested in connection to the Feb. 11 death of 37-year-old Nathan Riley. On the morning of Feb. 11, police received reports of a suspicious death at a residence along the 3600 block of Galley Road in Colorado Springs. Officers on the scene discovered Riley, who was pronounced dead on the scene. An autopsy conducted the following day by the El Paso County Coroner's office determined Riley had died from a gunshot wound to the neck. According to a previous report by the Gazette, on Feb. 13, 43-year-old Brian Baldwin was arrested on charges of second-degree murder and first-degree burglary. Per the Friday morning department announcement, Baldwin's charges have since been amended to first-degree murder and first-degree burglary. Also on Feb. 13, 55-year-old William Dunnington was taken into custody on the charges of second-degree murder and first-degree burglary for his suspected role in Riley's death, police said in a release. A day later, on Feb. 14, police obtained an arrest warrant for 37-year-old Brandon Bohl on charges of first-degree murder and second-degree burglary. On Feb. 16, CSPD's SWAT team and the department's Violent Fugitive Task Force captured Bohl. NEW YORK (PIX11) Muhammad Kone, 16, from the Bronx says this is probably one of the coolest experiences he has ever had on a field trip. Kone got a chance to visit Google with 25 of his classmates, students from Brooklyns High School for Youth and Community Development at Erasmus and KIPP College Prep High School. These students got a chance to have one-on-ones with people who work at Google, who call themselves Googlers. The NYPD is using social media to target critics. That brings its own set of worries Ty Curry is the community manager at Googles Code Next and helped lead a workshop on Friday, where students built their start-ups and built a tech team. The goal is for these students to come back and become future leaders. It is part of what is called Career Discovery Week. Thanks to the partnership for New York City, every day this week, thousands of New York City public high school students got a chance to go to workplaces and meet people who have their dream jobs. From JetBlue to JP Morgan Chase. A beloved Harlem church may be forced to close its doors. One of its members reached out to PIX11 News for help in keeping the vital resources in the community afloat. Every Wednesday at the First Grace Baptist Church in Harlem on Fredrick Douglass Boulevard there is a food distribution and clothing drive. They need volunteers and a new space. Pastor Jenny and Vincent Miller, open up their doors and provide hot meals, groceries, and clothing to those in need. Now they need help to keep the mission alive. One of our viewers Elizabeth Elohim from Harlem reached out to us. She tells us they help the community every day, now they need help. March 24 will be their 40th wedding anniversary. Pastor Jenny and Vincent Miller, say their love for each other is only matched by their love for helping their community. They have run the First Grace Baptist Church in Harlem on Fredrick Douglass Boulevard for more than three years now. Everybody in Harlem seems to know them. To get through the tough times, they started this thrift store to help raise funds. But Pastor Miller says if someone needs something, there is no cost. They even have what is called a free table outside. With food distribution several times a week, it has become a critical source of food, clothing, and services to all who need it. She has a pickup truck and a purpose. A Jersey City community champion has helped families in need get new and gently used clothing for more than two decades. Everybody here in Jersey City knows Tina Nalls. She is a force of good here on Kennedy Boulevard, she is on the go and goes where people need clothing. Now she needs our help to find a permanent place to store, collect, and distribute all the clothing. If you want to help, go here. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) signed two bills aimed at at legacy admissions at public colleges in the state Friday. No public institution of higher education shall provide any manner of preferential treatment in the admissions decision to any student applicant on the basis of such students legacy status or such students familial relationship to any donor to such institution, the identical bills text reads. The bills signing by the governor comes amid a nationwide discussion about legacy admissions, which allows family members of alumni and donors to get a boost in their chances in the admissions process for colleges and universities. Over 100 colleges and universities have stopped legacy preferences since 2015, according to a report from the nonprofit Education Reform Now. Some of the schools that have ended the practice include Wesleyan University, Occidental College and the University of Minnesota. Discourse around legacy admissions have heated up in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling last year that struck down affirmative action and prevented schools from taking into account race in admissions. Colorado was the first state to ban legacy preferences back in 2021. On the same day of the Supreme Court ruling, President Biden took a swing at legacy admissions and directed the Education Department to study practices like legacy admissions and other systems that expand privilege instead of opportunity. Virginia showed we could work in a bipartisan way to end the practice of legacy preferences, state Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg (D), who introduced the Senate bill, said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter Friday. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Scotland's first minister Humza Yousaf has described accusations that he may have had a conflict of interest in sending funding to Gaza as an "outrageous smear" and "far right conspiracy". The Scottish government donated 250,000 to the UNRWA aid agency in November 2023, at the same time as Mr Yousaf's parents-in-law were among millions unable to leave the enclave. The Daily Telegraph reported on Saturday that Mr Yousaf was being accused of overriding officials' recommendations to give Unicef, a different UN agency, between 100,000 and 200,000. In a series of posts on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Mr Yousaf said the story was an "Islamophobic attack" and an attempt to link him to terrorism. He said: "Most of my political life, I've battled insinuations from sections of the media desperate to link me to terrorism despite campaigning my whole life against it. "The latest smear from the Telegraph is just a continuation of these Islamophobic attacks." The first minister added: "Due to my faith & race, there will always be those, particularly on the far-right, who will desperately try to "prove" my loyalties lie elsewhere. That I am a fifth columnist in the only country I call home, the country I love and the country I have the privilege of leading. "I can not tell you the trauma my family suffered, particularly during the weeks my in-laws were trapped there. "To peddle far-right conspiracies in a newspaper is outrageous & will only encourage a further pile-on of vile abuse my family & I have suffered throughout this period." The Conservative MSP Stephen Kerr, who sits on Holyrood's standards committee, had earlier claimed that the first minister "may very well have broken the (Scottish ministerial) code". The Scottish government said the money was allocated to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East in response to a flash appeal for emergency aid as more than a million Palestinians in Gaza faced displacement amid the escalating conflict. Mr Yousaf's parents-in-law left the region on 3 November 2023. The Telegraph story claimed Mr Yousaf told officials that, since he was about to meet senior UNRWA delegates in Edinburgh, "we should just announce an extra 250k to them". It is claimed that went against their proposed advice that the money should go to Unicef for water programmes. The Scottish government stated that the decision had been taken following advice from officials. 'Unarguable humanitarian catastrophe' Mr Yousaf said: "To be clear, the Scottish government gave money to Gaza, like virtually every government in the West, because of the unarguable humanitarian catastrophe that has unfolded there." UNRWA has since been at the centre of controversy surrounding Israeli accusations that members of its staff were involved in the 7 October attacks by Hamas that triggered the fighting. Several countries, including the UK, have announced a pause in support for the relief agency while an investigation takes place after the allegations emerged in January. However, those accusations only became known several weeks after the Scottish government funding announcement had been made. Stephen Kerr had claimed to the Telegraph that the funding decision suggested the first minister was "prepared to bend the rules". He also said there was a "clear conflict of interest" in aid money being provided to UNRWA. Mr Kerr later told BBC Scotland News that it was a "a matter of scrutiny". He said: "The key problem is there were decisions made, there was official advice given by both ministers and officials and at the last minute the first minister, through one email, reversed all those decisions." Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Gaza The row came as hundreds of pro-Palestinian supporters marched in Edinburgh and Glasgow calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) organised the protest and called for demonstrators to "stand in solidarity with Palestinian women" in recognition of International Women's Day. Israel's military launched an air and ground campaign in the Gaza Strip after Hamas's attacks on Israel on 7 October, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 253 others were taken hostage. More than 30,800 people have been killed in Gaza since then, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry says. The conflict has created a growing humanitarian crisis, and the UN has warned that famine in Gaza is "almost inevitable". The former Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, passed amilitary medical examination commission in the winter, even before being appointed as Ambassador to the UK, where he was declared unfit for military service, the Ukrainian newspaper Dzerkalo Tyzhnia wrote on March 9, citing sources. He resigned from military service in February after being placed at the disposal of the Defense Minister, but neither Defense Minister Rustem Umerov nor President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered him a suitable military position commensurate with his level of training and experience. Under these circumstances, General Zaluzhnyi decided to resign from military service in order to have the opportunity and right to pursue other activities. It is unclear whether Umerov signed the resignation after the President announced his intention to appoint Zaluzhnyi as ambassador to London. The several-week delay in resolving the issue was due to changes in the regulatory framework, including Presidential decrees, following the adoption of a law establishing a new list of military ranks. Read also: Zaluzhnyi to become Ukraine's ambassador to UK "Therefore, it was not legally clear who should dismiss Zaluzhnyi, with the rank of general, from military service by order of the Defense Minister or by Presidential decree, as previously generals of the Ukrainian army have been dismissed," the publication explained. According to current legislation, after two months of being at the disposal of the Minister, financial support, excluding salary, is stopped. It was UAH 1,762 ($46) per month for General Zaluzhnyi, who holds the highest military rank On Feb. 8, Zelenskyy announced that Zaluzhnyi was stepping down as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, to be succeeded by the Commander of the Ground Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi. The President made the announcement following a week of speculation about Zaluzhnyis resignation and reports of a rift with the Commander-in-Chief, which resurfaced in November 2023 after two prominent articles published in Time and The Economist, as well as subsequent events. In the run-up to Zaluzhnyis resignation, Ukrainian journalists reported that the general was offered to serve as Ambassador to the UK, but at the time he declined in favor of remaining in the Ukrainian military. On March 7, Zelenskyy appointed Zaluzhnyi as Ukraine's ambassador to the United Kingdom. Read also: Zaluzhnyi steps down as Commander-in-Chief, replaced by Syrskyi Kyiv has not had an ambassador to London since the summer of 2023, when Vadym Prystaiko was dismissed from his post. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the former Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Photo: Zaluzhnyi on Facebook General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the former Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, underwent a military medical examination in the winter, before his appointment as ambassador to the United Kingdom, where he was found unfit for military service. Source: Ukrainian news outlet ZN,UA with reference to its sources Details: The news outlet stated that after being dismissed from his position at the decision of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zaluzhnyi was placed within the scope of responsibility of the Minister of Defence. Quote: "Defence Minister Umierov did not offer Zaluzhnyi any significant military position commensurate with his level of training and experience, just as President Zelenskyy did not offer this before. Under these circumstances, General Zaluzhnyi decided to resign from military service in order to have the opportunity and the right to do something else." More details: Journalists explained that the delay of several weeks was due to the fact that after the passing of the law with the new list of military ranks, the corresponding changes to the regulatory framework, including presidential decrees, were not completed. Therefore it was not clear who should dismiss Zaluzhnyi as a general from the military service the Minister of Defence by his order or the President by his decree, as was previously the case for generals of the Ukrainian army. For reference: An individual actively serving as a general cannot fulfil duties as a diplomat. According to current legislation, after two months of being under the ministers responsibility, the payment of monetary support to a serviceman, except for the salary for a military rank, is stopped. For General Zaluzhnyi, who has the highest military rank, this amounts to 1,762 hryvnias per month (about US$47). Background: On 7 March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved the appointment of Zaluzhnyi as Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom. Support UP or become our patron! SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) Zara is the latest of several retailers who recently announced they will be closing a downtown San Francisco location. The clothing store will be shutting its doors for good in January 2025. Zaras lease for the 250 Post St. location will be expiring January 2025, a company spokesperson told KRON4. Zara said it will not be renewing its lease at the Union Square building. However, there will still be a Zara store in downtown SF. Located a few blocks away, the location inside the Emporium Centre mall will remain open, the spokesperson added. A few stores down, The North Face announced this week it will be closing its only San Francisco store. The North Face, which was founded in San Francisco, will have its final day of business in Union Square sometime this month. Last week, Macys announced it will be closing its iconic Union Square location. The closures add to the list of retailers leaving the San Francisco downtown area, especially in the Emporium Centre (formerly called SF Centre and Westfield). See below for a list of closures to begin 2024. San Francisco Centre: Stores closing to begin 2024 Retailer Opening in Union Square Despite many businesses leaving San Francisco and its downtown area, some are moving or have moved in. That includes IKEA, which opened a location on Market Street last August, and Banana Republic. Luxury Swiss watch brand Patek Philippe is opening on Post Street across from the Zara store. A sign in front of the future store says Patek Philippe is opening Spring/Summer 2024. A Patek Philippe store is set to open in 2024 in Union Square. Patek Philippe sells high-end watches that go as high as millions of dollars for one timepiece. KRON4 reached out to San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin for comment about the recent closures. Peskin oversees District 3, which includes Union Square. We are waiting for a response. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. The WSJ reports that China is on an extensive push to drive out Western tech companies from the country and replace them with domestic alternatives. China reportedly started its domestic expansion in 2022 with a highly secretive "Document 79," an initiative focused on deleting Western tech companies from the country. Since then, China's new plan has been in full effect domestic alternatives have replaced most Western software providers. When initiated two years ago, Document 79 was a super sensitive document that only high-ranking officials were purportedly shown. Security was so paramount that copies of the document were not allowed to be made. The initiative set out by Document 79 is to replace foreign software in China's IT systems by 2027, with state-owned firms required to provide quarterly updates on their progress in replacing foreign software with domestic alternatives. Two years later, the fruits of Document 79 are now apparent. Microsoft, HP Enterprise, and Cisco's market share in China has fallen drastically in the past several years. In 2018, HP Enterprise had a 14.1% market share in China, but in 2023, that has fallen to just 4%. Cisco's market share has halved in the past five years down to just 8%. Microsoft's Chinese sales today account for just 1.5% of the company's overall sales. Most government institutions in China are now buying domestic technology over Western solutions, even if the Western solutions are superior due to Document 79. This includes everything from software to hardware solutions. Chinese customers who were buying IBM-powered rack-mount servers five years ago are now requesting Chinese-made rack-mount servers utilizing Huawei chips. Communications platform WeChat is also following this trend and shifting its hosting and data management from Oracle, IBM, and Microsoft to Chinese companies such as Alibaba and Huawei, which have developed their own database management to replace American tech. Chinese software is also maturing at an accelerated pace thanks to the extra demand now sought after by large Chinese corporations and the Chinese government. KylnOS, a Chinese home-brewed operating system, is reportedly now comparable to Windows 7 from a decade ago. That might not sound great, but Windows 7 is argued among many people as the best Windows operating system ever. The WSJ reports that China-based vendors took over half of the $6.3 billion Chinese market for the first time in 2022. This trend has only increased since then, meaning the vast majority of the Chinese tech market is now dominated by domestic solutions. If Document 79 comes to full fruition, all of China's governmental entities will use domestic technology by 2027. Dating apps matching Israeli citizens with people in Lebanon are likely due to GPS signal jamming. The confusion comes amid heightened tensions and conflict between Israel and Lebanon. Lebanese citizens are barred from having any type of contact with Israelis. Dating apps confused by GPS signal jamming are being blamed for matching Israeli citizens with people in Lebanon. People in Israel and Lebanon have taken to social media to express confusion that their dating app feeds are now filled with people from the other country, the UAE-owned newspaper The National reported. Following the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, tensions escalated in the region, with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the Israeli army conducting strikes with drones, missiles, and artillery. Tensions were high between the countries even before the latest conflict, and Lebanese citizens have been barred from having any contact with Israelis for years. A Lebanese dating app user said the Israeli profiles were 'gorgeous' A match is not always what it seems. Mr. Whiskey/Shutterstock Some have explained that the reason for the dating app confusion is Israel's military use of GPS jamming to prevent attacks coming from Lebanon, which might confuse phones into thinking the users are located elsewhere. "This is affecting not only dating apps but also different applications that have access to GPS to identify the user's location," Abed Al Kataya, a media program manager at a digital rights organization in Beirut, told The National. "Interfering with GPS also endangers civilian and commercial maritime and aerial traffic, potentially causing navigation failures," he said. Israeli profiles accounted for 60-62% of the total on Tinder in Lebanon in February, according to the Lebanese newspaper L'Orient-Le Jour. "Since the war started, I mostly see Israelis on the app I barely use it anymore," said Beirut resident Maher, per The National. People in Israel are reporting a similar problem, with a reservist soldier taking to Facebook to express confusion that many of his recent dating app matches are based in Lebanon. The soldier joked that if Israel decided to go after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, he hoped he would be sent to the country to meet his new matches, according to The National. "I've been in the reserves for quite some time," he wrote. "But if the army decides to get that maniac in the north, I request that my country calls me to arms once more." Another Lebanese dating app user, Omar, said that while he has previously seen the occasional Israeli profile, the volume has recently increased. Per The National, he said about the Israeli profiles: "I keep seeing them, and they're absolutely gorgeous, but I can't do anything because we're divided by an apartheid wall and a genocidal army that doesn't take too well to Arabs." Read the original article on Business Insider Microsoft is still struggling to keep out the Russian cyberspies that gained high-level access to the company late last year, the company announced Friday. Those hackers have in recent weeks gained access to some key company secrets, including digital vaults where the company keeps source code for some of its programs, the company said in a blog post. Microsoft said the hackers are members of a group that the cybersecurity industry and U.S. and U.K. government agencies widely associated with Russias SVR intelligence agency, which is roughly analogous with the U.S. National Security Agency. The U.S. has said the SVR was responsible for the SolarWinds hacking campaign of 2020, one of the most expansive and successful cyberespionage campaigns against the U.S. government discovered to date. A spokesperson for Russias Ministry of Foreign Affairs didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. The extent of valuable information that the hackers took is unclear, and a Microsoft spokesperson declined to share more information. But the ongoing hacking campaign is particularly noteworthy because Microsoft plays a crucial role in the U.S. Federal government systems and the companys artificial intelligence research is some of the most advanced in the world. Adam Meyers, the senior vice president for counteradversary operations at the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike, said that the type of valuable government information that Microsoft holds could be ripe for Russian influence operations aimed at destabilizing the countrys targets. What is significant here is that Microsoft has a tremendous amount of data of the United States government and other governments, Meyers said. If you think about the Russia angle, their goal is to try to drive a wedge in NATO, members of the European Union, in the United States to try and cause dissension and chaos and confusion, he said. Microsoft announced in January that it had discovered an ongoing hacking campaign that began in November. To gain access, the hackers relied on a crude technique, known as password spraying, of repeatedly trying username and password combinations in order to break into an account that had significant administrative authority. The hackers were able to quickly gain access to the email accounts of some key Microsoft employees, including senior corporate leadership, legal teams and those who researched foreign cyberspies like the SVR, the company said at the time. Since then, the problem has only grown more severe, the company said. Password spraying increased by tenfold from February to March, Microsoft said, and it appears that the hackers have been able to use what they initially learned to discover other weaknesses in the companys systems. In an emailed statement, a senior official at the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Eric Goldstein, said the agency remains closely engaged with Microsoft to understand this intrusion campaign and provide all necessary assistance to impacted organizations, including Microsoft customers. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com The artificial intelligence leader OpenAI has reinstated CEO Sam Altman to its board of directors just four months after it fired him, the company announced on Friday. The move was the culmination of a months-long internal investigation into Altmans leadership that concluded in an affirmation of his skills. The probe, which was conducted by an outside law firm, included dozens of interviews with OpenAIs top execs and advisers and a review of more than 30,000 documents, the company said in a statement. We have unanimously concluded that Sam and Greg are the right leaders for OpenAI, Board Chairman Bret Taylor said, referring to Altman and the companys president Greg Brockman. The board also announced the hiring of three new members: Sue Desmond-Hellmann, former CEO of the Gates Foundation; Nicole Seligman, a former executive at Sony; and Fidji Simo, CEO of Instacart. In a separate statement, the ChatGPT innovator said the new additions were part of its commitment to expansion. Altman was initially ousted as CEO and from the board in November in a surprise move by the former board of directors, who claimed Altman hadnt been honest with them in his reports. That firing set off a chain reaction within the small-but-mighty firm, as its president resigned in solidarity with Altman and nearly all of its workforce threatened to follow suit unless he was reinstated. The saga ended in Altmans advantage, with the entire board that fired him agreeing to step down. Altman was reinstated as CEO within days. 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. Illustration picture of Chinese and U.S. flags with semiconductor chips (Reuters) -The United States is weighing sanctions on several Chinese tech companies, including chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies, in a bid to further restrain China's development of advanced semiconductors, Bloomberg News said on Friday. Citing people familiar with the matter, it said the commerce department's bureau of industry and security was considering adding ChangXin to the so-called entity list that restricts access to U.S. technology, along with five more Chinese firms. The department, and the bureau did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. ChangXin Memory Technologies said it "specializes in producing commodity DRAM memory chips for everyday consumer products, with a specific focus on civilian and commercial applications." The company complies with U.S export regulations, it said in a statement sent to Reuters on Sunday. Reuters has reported that the United States moved last year to deny American imports to a major SMIC plant after it produced the chip powering Huawei's Mate 60 Pro phone. The efforts halted millions of dollars worth of shipments of chipmaking materials and parts from at least one supplier, Entegris. The United States has moved aggressively in recent months to halt shipments to China of more advanced AI chips, in its efforts to stop Beijing receiving cutting-edge U.S. technologies that could strengthen its military. (Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal and Angela Christy in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard and Clarence Fernandez) A 61-year-old man was found dead at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma on Thursday. (Greg Gilbert / The Seattle Times, 2021) (Reuters) -Heavy gunfire was seen on Friday near Haiti's national palace in its capital of Port-au-Prince, according to reports by news agency EFE, in the midst of political turmoil sparked by Prime Minister Ariel Henry's absence. Haiti entered a state of emergency last Sunday after fighting escalated, armed gangs broke inmates out of prison , and an estimated over ten thousand people were displaced while Henry was in Kenya seeking a deal for an international force to fight Haiti's gangs. The United States earlier this week called on Haiti's prime minister to expedite a political transition as armed gangs seek his ouster. Henry, Haiti's unelected interim leader, landed in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico on Tuesday. (Reporting by Sarah Morland; Editing by Brendan O'Boyle) By Daniel Wiessner and Ted Hesson (Reuters) -A federal judge in Texas on Friday rejected a challenge by Republican-led states to a Biden administration program that allows hundreds of thousands of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to apply for emergency entry into the United States. U.S. District Court Judge Drew Tipton in Victoria, Texas, said the 21 states, led by Texas, lacked standing to pursue the 2023 lawsuit because they could not show that the "parole" program, which allows up to 30,000 people per month to enter the U.S., caused them any injury. Some 234,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans had entered the U.S. through the program as of November, according to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) statistics. To qualify, migrants must have a U.S. sponsor and enter the country by air. Tipton in his ruling noted that the number of people illegally entering the U.S. from the four countries since the program was implemented had dramatically decreased by as much as 44%. The judge did not address the merits of the lawsuit, which claims that DHS lacked the authority to adopt the program. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas praised the ruling, calling the parole program "a key element of our efforts to address the unprecedented level of migration throughout our hemisphere." The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, did not respond to a request for comment regarding the decision. President Joe Biden, a Democrat seeking another term in the Nov. 5 presidential election, has sought to expand legal pathways to the U.S. to discourage would-be migrants from crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. Republicans, including the party's candidate to face off against Biden, former President Donald Trump, have said the parole programs go beyond the scope of what is allowable by law. Record numbers of migrants have been caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally during Biden's presidency. Republicans say Biden should have kept Trump's more restrictive policies while Biden has argued that Republicans have refused to provide adequate border funding and pass legislation that would toughen enforcement. The states argued in their lawsuit that the U.S. government's authority to use parole is "exceptionally limited" and can only be applied on a case-by-case basis. They claimed they faced irreparable harm because arriving migrants increase the cost of public services, including policing and emergency medical care. Tipton, a Trump appointee, ruled that the program was having the opposite effect. "The court has before it a case in which Plaintiffs claim that they have been injured by a program that has actually lowered their out-of-pocket costs," he wrote. In a separate case on Friday, Tipton ordered the Biden administration to halt its efforts to redirect $1.4 billon in Trump-era border wall construction funds to other projects. Tipton sided with Texas and Missouri in the case, but paused the ruling for a week to allow for an appeal. Paxton, the Texas attorney general, said in a statement the ruling would stop Biden's attempt to "illegally defund the border wall." The Biden administration said in October it would proceed with some border wall construction using Trump-era funds despite a 2021 Biden proclamation pledging that "no more American taxpayer dollars" would be used for such projects. (Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York and Ted Hesson in Washington, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien and William Mallard) Another 30 billion forints (EUR 75.2m) of previously blocked European Union funding has arrived in Hungary, Finance Minister Mihaly Varga said on Facebook. The funding will be used as pre-financing for investments to advance the green and digital transition, the finance minister said. These funds will be used in the framework of an operative programme for environment and energy efficiency, Varga said. He said the transfer brought the amount of funding drawn down from the 2021-2027 cohesion funds to 1.22 billion euros, placing Hungary 11th among member states in terms of drawdown. Since the end of December, Hungary has received more than 550 billion forints from the previously blocked EU funding, Varga said. MTI Photo: Laszlo Beliczay ******************************************************************************************** You're very welcome to comment, discuss and enjoy more stories, via our Facebook page: Facebook.com/XpatLoopNews + via XpatLoops groups: Budapest Expats / Expats Hungary You can subscribe to our newsletter here: XpatLoop.com/Newsletters Do you want your business to reach tens of thousands of potential high-value expat customers? Then just contact us here! The opposition Jobbik Conservatives is rejecting an agreement between Hungary and China allowing Chinese police officers to patrol in Hungary, a Jobbik lawmaker told a press conference. Koloman Brenner, who also serves as the deputy head of parliaments foreign affairs committee, said extremely worrisome press reports on the matter were confirmed by the interior ministry. Calling the measure [ruling] Fideszs worrisome step towards a one-party autocratic regime, Brenner said Chinese officers would probably use the same methods they are used to at home, which are wholly foreign from our European culture. Meanwhile, Brenner said Jobbik had also raised its voice against the ruling partys dangerous plan to bring half a million Asian migrant workers to Hungary. According to the Central Statistical Office, the number of guest workers in the country has already reached 120,000, he added. Half a million migrant workers would drive down Hungarians wages, take away their jobs and put Hungarys cultural integrity at risk, Brenner said. Jobbiks top candidate for the European Parliament, Peter Rona, will work for a normal Hungary, prosperity and freedom in the EU, he added. MTI Photo: Tamas Kovacs ******************************************************************************************** You're very welcome to comment, discuss and enjoy more stories, via our Facebook page: Facebook.com/XpatLoopNews + via XpatLoops groups: Budapest Expats / Expats Hungary You can subscribe to our newsletter here: XpatLoop.com/Newsletters Do you want your business to reach tens of thousands of potential high-value expat customers? Then just contact us here! New Delhi: Kartik Aaryan is gearing up for his return as the renowned 'Rooh Baba' in the upcoming horror comedy 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3,' and he has officially begun shooting for what he deems the "biggest film" of his career. Kartik shared a photo on Instagram, capturing a moment of seeking divine blessings before the commencement of shooting. In his caption, he expressed, "Embarking on the journey of the biggest film of my career today #Shubharambh #BhoolBhulaiyaa3." The actor received best wishes from fans and industry colleagues, with Ronit Roy stating, "All the best," and one user expressing excitement for Rooh Baba's return to the big screen during Diwali. Acknowledging Kartik's post, another user commented, "Can't wait to witness Rooh Baba's magic on Diwali... I'm sure the theaters will turn into a stadium this Diwali." Recently, the film welcomed Vidya Balan back to the franchise. Kartik extended a warm welcome to Vidya and shared an edited video combining iconic visuals of Vidya as Manjulika from the first installment with Kartik's scenes from the second part. Anees Bazmee, the director of the second part, will also helm the third installment. The franchise, which initially featured Akshay Kumar alongside Vidya in the first part directed by Priyadarshan, saw Kartik sharing the screen with Tabu and Kiara Advani in the second installment. Producer Bhushan Kumar expressed his enthusiasm for expanding the franchise, stating, "The 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa' franchise holds a special place in our hearts, and I'm very happy to be taking it forward with a creative mind like Anees and an incredible talent like Kartik. Together, we are set to deliver a cinematic experience that will both honor the legacy of the franchise and bring double the laughter and thrill for the audience." 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3' is slated for release this Diwali. In addition to this project, Kartik recently concluded shooting for 'Chandu Champion,' a film directed by Kabir Khan, narrating the inspiring real-life story of a sportsman's unwavering spirit. Kartik will portray the character of Chandu in this film. Furthermore, he is set to feature in director Hansal Mehta's 'Captain India' and director Anurag Basu's 'Aashiqui 3.' New Delhi: While the market is saturated with companies offering similar products, there are certain brands that manage to carve out a distinct niche in consumers' hearts, leaving a lasting impact that transcends mere profitability. Today, we embark on a journey to explore the captivating narrative of one such brand, whose humble beginnings trace back to a modest kitchen seven decades ago. From its inception, this brand has burgeoned into a multi-billion rupee enterprise, captivating the imagination of consumers with its enduring presence. You might recognize its iconic jingles like "Vicco Turmeric, Nahi Cosmetic, Veco Turmeric Ayurvedic Cream" and "Vajradanti, Vajradanti Veeco Vajradanti," but do you know the rich history behind this household name? The complete name of this renowned brand, often overlooked, is Vishnu Industrial Chemical Company, named after its visionary founder, Keshav Vishnu Pendharkar. Keshav's entrepreneurial journey commenced from a humble grocery store in a quaint district of Nagpur, where he endeavored to provide for his family. Driven by an insatiable curiosity and a desire to explore new frontiers, Keshav relocated to Mumbai, where he navigated through a myriad of odd jobs in Bandra and its neighboring suburbs. It was in the bustling streets of Parel where Keshav's entrepreneurial spirit was truly ignited, spurred by the burgeoning demand for allopathic medicines and imported cosmetics. Immersing himself in the world of Ayurvedic products, Keshav meticulously honed his craft, culminating in the creation of his first Ayurvedic offering - tooth powder - crafted right in the confines of his own kitchen. However, the road to success was fraught with challenges, particularly in the realm of sales and distribution. Undeterred by setbacks and armed with unwavering determination, Keshav, alongside his son, embarked on a relentless campaign of door-to-door sales. Despite facing occasional rejection and skepticism, their steadfast perseverance eventually bore fruit, catapulting their tooth powder into popular acclaim. In 1952, Keshav officially christened his creation as Vicco, marking the beginning of a remarkable journey characterized by exponential growth and unwavering dedication. Within a span of just four years, Vicco emerged as a formidable player in the market, garnering widespread recognition and acclaim. As the years unfolded, Vicco continued its meteoric rise, amassing a valuation of Rs 700 crore, firmly establishing itself as a stalwart in the industry. Today, under the stewardship of the Pendharkar family, Vicco boasts an extensive product portfolio comprising over 40 items, including toothpaste, beauty creams, face washes, and night creams, not only dominating the domestic market but also making significant inroads into international territories. Sini Shetty, the winner of Miss India 2022, will compete for India in today's Miss World competition in Mumbai. After 28 years, the global beauty pageant is returning to India for its 71st edition, with competitors from 112 countries competing for the title of Miss World. "My representation means the world to me. I am not representing myself I am representing 1.4 billion people and that's a huge responsibility all together because you are representing Indian culture, diverse traditions that we have, the feelings and the emotions of each and every individual living in this country," she told news agency ANI. Since Sini Shetty's family is from the southern state of Karnataka, she represented the region in the Femina Miss India 2022 competition. After earning a degree in accounting and finance, Shetty began her career in marketing. The 22-year-old idol of beauty is currently pursuing a career in chartered financial analysis. In addition to being a skilled Bharatanatyam dancer, the winner of Miss India 2022 demonstrated this ability during her pageant performance. Shetty claims that actor Priyanka Chopra, a former Miss World 2000, has encouraged her on her mission. "Its being a journey because at the end of the day you are not representing yourself but you are representing an entire country, prep has been great we have been working on our communication skills, walking, talking, the way we present ourselves making sure that India values the tradition are represented at the best way because its not just representation at Miss World stage but Miss World has come to India. So, we need to give the best of India to the world," shares Sini Shetty with IANS. New Delhi: A private hostel in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, witnessed a food poisoning outbreak that sent 76 students to the hospital after they had dinner for Mahashivratri fast, police said on Saturday. The students, who study at various colleges, ate the dinner on Friday and soon felt uneasy, dizzy and nauseous, police said. The students lived at Aryan Residency in the Knowledge Park area a centre of education and had puris made of kuttu ka atta (buckwheat flour) for Mahashivratri on Friday. The local police are investigating the incident that occurred on Friday evening when around 76 students ate their dinner and then suffered from stomach problems. All the students were taken to different hospitals and they are now stable, police said in a statement. The incident did not cause any law and order trouble and the matter is being looked into, it added. Meanwhile, a team of the local food safety department arrived at the site for a check. The team will take samples of food items and raw materials used to make the dinner. The samples will be tested and legal actions will be taken accordingly, an official told PTI. Students said they had dinner that was prepared specially for them because of their fast. We ate dinner at around 9.30 pm. I felt dizzy by 10.30 pm and then fell asleep. Some friends then saw that many students were feeling dizzy, uneasy, vomiting, said Piyush, a student recovering at a private hospital. I started shaking around midnight and I felt feverish and dizzy. Two of my roommates and I were then rushed to the emergency department here. Some others in my hostel were also vomiting, another student Kushal told reporters at the Kailash Hospital. In another tremor for the Congress Party before the Lok Sabha Elections, Manish Khanduri, the son of former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Retired Major General Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri, Joined BJP on Saturday in Dehradun. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, was also present at the BJP Mahanagar office along with Election in-charge Dushyant Kumar Gautam and state party chief Mahendra Bhatt. He joined hands with the saffron party a day after resigning from the Congress faction. He informed about the resignatiomn through social media platform X, he stated that I am resigning from the Indian National Congress party with immediate effect. This decision of mine is made without any personal grudges or expectations from anyone in the past. Khanduris Debut Election In 2019 In 2019, Manish Khanduri made his foray into politics by joining the Congress, where he contested for the Garhwal (Pauri) Lok Sabha seat during the general elections. Unfortunately, he faced defeat in his bid for the seat, which was previously held by his father, losing to Tirath Singh Rawat by a margin of over three lakh votes. Adding to the family's political dynamics, Manish's elder sister, Ritu Khanduri, currently serves as the speaker of the Uttarakhand assembly and holds a BJP MLA position from Kotdwar. Commenting on Manish Khanduri's resignation, State Congress president Karan Mahara told PTI "The party gave him full respect. It also gave him a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha polls in 2019. He hinted at the complexities involved, including potential family pressures, considering his father's senior position within the BJP and his sister's role as the assembly speaker. While he said that the exact reasons for his resignation can only be determined after talking to him. New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has released new images of the suspect in the Bengaluru Cafe blast. The agency is urging citizens to provide any information regarding the accused to help apprehend him as quickly as possible. The agency had earlier released a CCTV footage of suspected bomber on its social media platforms. Releasing two clips NIA appealed to the public to help identify him. The agency assured that the identity of those who share any information about the suspect will be kept secret. NIA seeks citizen cooperation in identifying the suspect linked to the #RameswaramCafeBlastCase. Call 08029510900, 8904241100 or email to info.blr.nia@gov.in with any information. Your identity will remain confidential. #BengaluruCafeBlast pic.twitter.com/ISTXBZrwDK March 9, 2024 The first video, which is 49 seconds long, showed the suspect entering a BMTC bus and taking a seat. He then gets up from the middle seat and walks to the rear of the bus to dodge the CCTV camera. He is later seen lying down on the backseat and getting off the bus. Rameshwaram Cafe Reopens Meanwhile, the Rameshwaram Cafe, located in Bengaluru, Karnataka, welcomed customers once again on Saturday morning, nearly a week after an explosion caused injuries to at least ten individuals. The incident occurred on March 1st in the Whitefield area of Bengaluru. Despite the recent adversity, the renowned cafe reopened its doors to the public amidst heightened security measures. Customers eagerly lined up outside the establishment for their chance to enter. Prior to commencing operations, the cafe's co-founder, Raghavendra Rao, and the entire staff gathered to participate in the singing of the National Anthem. BJP MP from Jhargram in West Bengal Kunar Hermbram resigned from the party on Saturday. The announcement precedes the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections. In his brief two-line resignation sent to the BJP district President, the sitting MP stated, "I distance myself from the party," attributing the decision to personal reasons. Speaking to reporters, Hembram said he took the decision for personal reasons. State BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, "Hembram had informed the party about his decision a few days back." Reacting to the development, the TMC said he resigned "sensing defeat". "He knows the BJP is going to lose the seat. So he has decided to quit," TMC MP Santanu Sen said. Senior Congress leaders Suresh Pachouri and Sanjay Shukla have officially joined the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) on Saturday ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections. Notable BJP leaders, including Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Kailash Vijayvargiya, and V.D. Sharma, were also present at the party headquarters. Former Union Minister and ex-president of the Madhya Pradesh Congress, Pachauri, has served in various key ministerial positions during his tenure in the Congress government. He has also been elected as a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament four times consecutively. #WATCH | Several Congress leaders, including former Union Minister Suresh Pachouri, join the BJP in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. CM Mohan Yadav, former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, state BJP chief VD Sharma and minister Kailash Vijayvargiya present. pic.twitter.com/yNdfHnBK4V ANI (@ANI) March 9, 2024 In response to the recent departure of a prominent Congress figure ahead of the forthcoming general elections, anticipated to occur between April and May, former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, attributed the move to the perceived 'lack of leadership' within the venerable political party. Addressing the media on Saturday, Chouhan, currently contesting for a Lok Sabha seat from Vidisha, remarked, "It appears that Rahul Gandhi is determined to dismantle the Congress entirely as Mahatma Gandhi's suggested about the Congress. Dismayed by the party's aimless and disoriented state, esteemed leaders within the Congress are growing disillusioned, pushing the party to the brink of extinction." Commenting on the BJP's acquisition of yet another Congress member, the state president of the BJP, VD Sharma, stated, "Suresh Pachouri, a former Union Minister and Congress leader of significant stature in Madhya Pradesh, has found a new home in the BJP. With the Congress offering no space for leaders of his calibre, Pachouri has chosen to align with the BJP, committing to work under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi." Adding his perspective to the unfolding political landscape, BJP stalwart Kailash Vijayvargiya asserted, "Despite Rahul Gandhi's engagement in his Nyay Yatra, towering leaders continue to abandon the Congress. Members and supporters within the Congress have collectively recognized that if anyone can serve the nation equitably, it is Prime Minister Modi. Consequently, a growing number are defecting to join the BJP." Notably, this development follows previous speculations in February about the potential crossover of former Union Minister and Congress state chief Kamal Nath to the BJP. Despite swirling rumours, Kamal Nath ultimately decided to remain steadfast in his allegiance to the grand old party. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a day-long trip to Arunachal Pradesh this Saturday. During the visit, he unveiled the crucial "Sela Tunnel" and initiated developmental initiatives totaling 55,000 crore for the northeastern states in Arunachal Pradesh. In his remarks, PM expressed, "I am privileged to contribute to the progress of all the Northeastern states in this celebration of a developed Northeast today." The tunnel is said to be the world's longest twin-lane tunnel. He also laid the foundation stone for around 20 development projects. The tunnel, situated at an elevation of 13,000 feet, will provide all-weather connectivity to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. Here are five points you need to know about the Sela Tunnel: Here are five points you need to know about the Sela Tunnel: 1. Constructed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) at an expenditure of 825 crore, this project encompasses two tunnelsTunnel 1 stretching 1,003 metres and Tunnel 2, a 1,595-metre twin-tube tunnel. The initiative also involves the establishment of two roads spanning 8.6 kilometers. The tunnel is designed to accommodate a traffic density of 3,000 cars and 2,000 trucks per day, with a maximum speed limit of 80 kmph. 2. The tunnel holds significant importance as it ensures all-weather connectivity to Tawang, situated along the border with China. Moreover, it promises to reduce travel time to Tawang by at least an hour, facilitating the swift deployment of weapons, soldiers, and equipment to areas near the Line of Actual Control (LAC). 3. Strategically located near Sela Pass, the tunnel addresses the challenges posed by the closure of the Balipara-Charidwar-Tawang Road for extended periods due to snowfall and landslides caused by heavy rainfall. 4. Once operational, the tunnel will offer year-round transportation routes for the residents of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. Additionally, both tourists exploring the district and the armed forces are set to reap advantages from its functionality. 5. The foundation of the project was laid by PM Modi in February 2019, with a cost estimation of Rs 697 crore, but work got delayed due to various reasons, including the COVID-19 pandemic. New Delhi: A worker who was stuck under the rubble of a medical college building that collapsed in Morbi, Gujarat, on Friday evening was saved after a seven-hour-long rescue operation, news agency ANI reported. Four other workers were also hurt in the incident that occurred on Friday evening. Officials said that four workers were pulled out of the debris soon after the incident, but one worker remained trapped, with only his face visible. He was finally rescued at 3 AM with the help of firefighting officials. We got a call at 8 pm that a side slab of a new Medical College, which was under construction, had fallen. We reached the spot and rescued 4 people. But one person was still under the debris. His face was visible, but his body was stuck between the slab and concrete. We rescued him at 3 am and took him to a hospital, ANI quoted Fire Officer Devendra Singh Jadeja as saying. Police said that the incident happened during the filling work on the first floor of the new building of the medical college. The slab collapsed and injured at least four workers. #WATCH | Gujarat: A slab of a newly constructed Medical College, collapsed in Morbi. Rescue operation underway. More details awaited. pic.twitter.com/0kWMaWrAhp ANI (@ANI) March 8, 2024 A part of a medical college building that was under construction in Morbi, Gujarat, caved in on Friday evening, injuring at least five workers, officials said. The officials said that the collapse happened at around 8:00 pm, when four workers were involved in filling the roof of the first floor of the new building of the medical college. The slab gave way and fell on the workers, injuring them. As soon as the information reached them, officials and other college authorities reached the spot to assess the situation and help the victims. They said that all the injured workers were shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment. They also said that one more worker was feared to be trapped under the rubble, and a rescue operation was underway. BJP MLA Durlabhjibhai Dethariya also visited the spot after getting the information and said, The construction of a government medical college is going on in Morbi, when a part of a slab that was being filled collapsedit is a tragic incident. I will ask the government to take action against whoever is accountable for it, be it the contractor or officer New Delhi: The Indian Banks Association and bank staff unions reached a consensus on Friday to increase bank wages by 17 percent annually. This will mean an extra expense of about Rs 8,284 crore for public sector banks. Starting in November 2022, up to 8 lakh bank employees are expected to gain from the pay increase. According to the All India Bank Officers' Confederation, a collective agreement was reached to observe every Saturday as a holiday, subject to official government notice. (Also Read: Good News For Job Seekers! Elon Musk's Firm X Has Over 1 Million Openings) The government's announcement of the new working hours will take effect, it stated. (Also Read: India AI Mission: Check 8 Key Components Of Cabinet's Newly Launched Plan) "The new pay scales have been constructed, after merging Dearness Allowance corresponding to 8088 points and additional load thereon," it said. One Sick Day For Female Employees All female employees would be permitted to take one sick day each month under the new wage settlement without having to provide a medical certificate. Privilege Leave According to the statement, accumulated privilege leave may be paid for up to 255 days upon retirement or the passing of an individual while they were still employed. Ex-Gratia Amount As per the agreement, retired employees who became eligible to draw a pension on or before October 31, 2022, including those who retired on that date, will receive a monthly ex-gratia amount in addition to their pension or family pension from Public Sector Banks, including SBI. (With PTI Inputs) New Delhi: If you are a contributor to the EPF, this may be good news for you. The Employee Provident Fund Organisation issued the latest circular on January 30, 2024, regarding the submission of joint declarations, an essential document for every EPF member. Some EPF account holders will not have to submit a joint declaration form, according to the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO). Signature Of Employer And Employee In the joint declaration form, the signatures of the employer and employee are required. Correction of erroneous information in the employee's PF account requires submission to the Regional PF Commissioner. (Also Read: Bank Employees To Receive 17% Annual Wage Hike; IBA, Unions Sign Joint Note) What EPFO Said In Latest Circular? The EPFO published a circular in January of this year stating that in order for employers and employees to jointly contribute to the EPF account on a basic pay that exceeds the present statutory wage ceiling of Rs 15,000 per month, they must submit this form. (Also Read: Good News For Job Seekers! Elon Musk's Firm X Has Over 1 Million Openings) Who Are Exempted From Submitting Form? According to a recent letter from EPFO, EPF members who resigned from their jobs or passed away before a certain date are exempt from submitting the joint declaration forms. The EPFO has said that employees who have paid over the statutory limit but have ceased employment or passed away "till October 31, 2023" are eligible for relief from submitting the joint application form. The EPFO stated that: "All such cases where the employees had already contributed on pay more than the statutory limit and the employer had also paid administrative charges on such contribution made on pay more than the statutory limit but had left the employment or died till 31/10/2023, it is deemed that such cases had been allowed for contributing on pay more than the statutory limit so as to avoid hassles for the concerned stakeholders." In addition, employees of EPF members who currently make monthly contributions exceeding the statutory wage limit of Rs 15,000 and whose employers are covering the administrative costs associated with these higher payments are exempt from filing the joint declaration form right away. After the remarkable grand finale of Bigg Boss 17, viewers are eagerly waiting for the Bigg Boss OTT 3. The Bigg Boss franchise has generated a huge buzz among the viewers. Amidst this, reports are circulating that a contestant from Bigg Boss 17 and a prominent TV star have approached Bigg Boss OTT 3. Hosted by Salman Khan, the journey of Bigg Boss 17 was full of twists and turns with lots of emotional evictions. On January 28, the show concluded with its 17th season winner, Munawar Faruqui, along with the runner-up Abhishek Kumar. As per a report by The Financial Express, Vicky Jain, Mohd Sharia, Sheezan Khan, Rohit Zinjurke, Tushar Silawat, Aryanshi Sharma and Sanket Upadhyay coming to Bigg Boss OTT 3. Just after the conclusion of Bigg Boss 17, reports circulated that makers are gearing up for Season 3 of the OTT version of this reality show. For those who havent watched Bigg Boss OTT 2, it was wrapped up with the victor, Elvish Yadav, topping Abhishek Malhan, aka Fukra Insaan, in the grand finale. Meanwhile, according to Tellyexpress reports, Bigg Boss OTT 3 will likely be aired on Jio Cinema in late May 2024. Also, the makers have reached out to a former contestant of Bigg Boss 17, Vicky Jain. He might be participating without his wife, Ankita Lokhande, in the upcoming OTT season. Additionally, reports further claim that makers have approached TV star Sheezan Khan, Social Media Influencers Tushar Silawat & Rohit Zinjurke, Music Video fame Mohd Sharia, Sanket Upadhyay and Aryanshi Sharma. However, these are ongoing speculations based on reports that are yet to be confirmed from both sides. By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of 12 bipartisan senators said on Friday they are making a new legislative effort to make daylight saving time permanent and end the twice-annual changing of clocks. In March 2022, the U.S. Senate passed legislation that would have made daylight saving time permanent starting in 2023. But Congress could not come to agreement and the bill was never voted on in the House of Representatives. Since then, there has been little movement. However, on Friday, senators led by Democrat Ed Markey and Republican Marco Rubio reintroduced legislation, just ahead of the resumption of daylight saving time at 2 a.m. on Sunday. A companion measure was again introduced in the House by Representative Vern Buchanan. "The antiquated biannual ritual of toggling between times isn't just an inconvenience - it also has very real impacts on our economy, our energy consumption, and our health," Markey said. Rubio said: "We're 'springing forward' but should have never 'fallen back.'" Not putting back the clocks in autumn would enable children to play outdoors later and reduce seasonal depression, according to supporters. But critics say it would force many children to go to school in the dark. President Joe Biden has never taken a position on the issue. Some lawmakers say they support ending clock-switching but are unsure whether to stick with daylight or standard time. Since 2015, about 30 states have introduced legislation to end the twice-yearly changing of clocks, with some states proposing to do it only if neighboring states do the same. Daylight saving time has been in place in nearly all of the United States since the 1960s after being first tried in 1918. Year-round daylight savings time was used during World War Two and adopted again in 1973 in a bid to reduce fuel use because of an energy crisis. But it was repealed a year later amid public complaints. The bill would allow Arizona and Hawaii, which do not observe daylight saving time, to remain on standard time, as well as American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. (Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien) CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's attorney general on Saturday announced the arrest of a regional campaign leader for opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, citing alleged conspiracy, among other crimes. Attorney General Tarek William Saab accused Emill Brandt Ulloa of taking part in violent demonstrations against the government in January, adding he will be prosecuted in an anti-terrorism court in Caracas. Venezuela will hold its next presidential election on July 28, though uncertainty remains over who will be the opposition coalition's candidate, since the country's top court upheld a ban for Machado to run earlier this year. Machado has said her ban was contrived by President Nicolas Maduro's government to protect him from a viable challenger. The Attorney General's office is seeking to avoid the anarchy seen in Haiti at the moment, the attorney general wrote in a post on social media platform X when referring to the arrest. Machado's ally will also be charged with gender-based violence and insulting an official, he noted. Machado warned earlier on Saturday that the Maduro government had "kidnapped" Brandt. In January, three regional leaders of Machado's team were arrested and linked to an alleged conspiracy against the government, according to information from the attorney general's office. The attorney general said at the time that they were part of a group of at least 11 people who allegedly tried to rob a military facility last year, to then attack Freddy Bernal, the pro-government governor in the state of Tachira, which borders Colombia. (Reporting by Deisy Buitrago; Writing by Valentine Hilaire; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) A longtime Atlanta attorney who has a track record of criticizing Donald Trump on social media is running to unseat the judge presiding over the former president's criminal election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia. Robert Patillo, a Democrat and radio host who has been a civil rights defense attorney in Fulton County for 15 years, qualified as a candidate to challenge Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on Friday. He told the Washington Examiner that he has planned his run for the judgeship since Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) appointed McAfee last year to fill a vacancy, and Patillo has criticized what he sees as the trial against Trump and his co-defendants "turning into a soap opera." Patillo's announcement this week came as McAfee is preparing to rule on whether to disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis, who is accused by Trump and several other co-defendants of having an improper relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. The pretrial proceedings against the defendants have been stalled for weeks as defense attorneys and prosecutors spar over the effort to disqualify the district attorney. "I don't think anybody can look at the way that these last two weeks of hearings have gone and say to themselves, 'That looks like that's going well. That seems like that's exactly how that's supposed to go,'" Patillo said in an interview. If Patillo were to defeat McAfee in the May 21 nonpartisan election, he could become the presiding judge in the sweeping racketeering case, which accuses Trump and 18 others of conspiring to undo President Joe Biden's victory. The former president and 14 remaining defendants who have not accepted plea deals have pleaded not guilty to the charges. If McAfee lost the race, he would remain as a judge until his term expires on Dec. 31. Notably, Patillo has made a series of social media posts revealing potential biases against the former president. "#Trump was literally taking a [Pile of Poo emojis] surrounded by nuclear secrets and national security documents...this is a REAL picture of the docs in dude's BATHROOM!" Patillo posted to Facebook on June 9, 2023, in response to a photo of documents stored at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's resort home. The retention of those documents is at the heart of one of two federal criminal cases against the former president. On Feb. 19, Patillo made another Facebook post above an edited photo of Trump's limited-edition golden sneakers dubbed the Never Surrender high-tops, with a caption reading: "AIR Treasons When you've GOT to run!" "Yall these judgements got #Trump so broke he's selling Chinese bootleg Uptowns..." Patillo wrote. Patillo defended those comments during his interview with the Washington Examiner, saying his role as a radio host and political commentator has led him to make a variety of candid remarks about current events. Featured Local Savings "I'm a radio show host," he said. "I'm a political commentator. I've been interviewed by everybody from Tucker Carlson to the Iranian government. I comment on civil human rights [matters] on a global basis and U.S. policy on a national basis. I'm on Newsmax a few times a week, I'm on Fox News a few times a week ... I comment on politics. "We have to look at the realities of the situation, which is that we live in a nation that, this is kind of a first in American history, where the line between public and private discourse has all been eroded," Patillo added. When asked whether he would preside over the case if he unseated McAfee, Patillo said, "You have to be prepared to take on any and every case before you. "I believe that I'm ready to hit the ground running on Day One for whatever type of trial is in front of me, whether it be the president of the United States or a civil litigation trial," Patillo said, noting that McAfee could assign the case to a different judge if he lost his reelection bid. Atlanta-based attorney Phil Holloway said Patillo "absolutely would have to recuse himself" if the trial, which does not yet have a concrete start date, was passed over to Patillo at the end of McAfee's term. "He's expressed personal bias against a defendant in a pending case," Holloway added. "It's just that simple." Patillo stressed that he does not hold any negative views of McAfee but that he simply believes he would do a better job in McAfee's position. Patillo said he has voted for candidates across the political spectrum, and he's described himself as a "conservative Democrat," according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Patillo's main goals, if elected to sit on the court, include cleaning up Fulton County's notorious case backlog, something that McAfee has also expressed an interest in addressing if given a full term, and creating more vocational and education programs for young offenders when they are released from prison. Civil rights attorney Tiffani Johnson, a staff attorney for another Fulton County judge, also qualified for the race. Meanwhile, attorney Christian Wise Smith, who ran against Willis four years ago, is challenging her in May's Democratic primary election. Courtney Kramer, who interned for the White House counsels office under Trump for three months in 2018, was the only Republican to qualify for the district attorney's race by the deadline at noon Friday. The general election is in November. Hunter Bidens computer data, long a source of national scrutiny, is now a central feature in his various legal battles, but the first son is handling the data in different ways depending on the case, according to his court filings. Biden is aiming to prove data belongs to him in a lawsuit against former Trump White House aide Garrett Ziegler and his company Marco Polo. Meanwhile in Delaware, Biden has distanced himself from his computer data and said he will fight to suppress it in a criminal case brought by special counsel David Weiss. Last fall, Biden sued Ziegler, alleging he gained unauthorized access to Apple iCloud backup data and copies of an external hard drive. The first sons laptop and hard drive, which he abandoned at a Delaware repair shop in 2019, first made headlines in 2020 when various operatives obtained copies of them and provided the material to the New York Post to publish ahead of the presidential election his father was running in. Hunter Biden was asked directly if the laptop the New York Post wrote about was his in a 2021 CBS interview, and he responded that he did not know. There could be a laptop out there that was stolen from me. It could be that I was hacked. It could be that it was Russian intelligence, Hunter Biden said when pressed on the matter. Zieglers company Marco Polo has since spread data from the laptop in a highly public and prolific manner, and Hunter Biden has admitted in court filings that at least some of it belongs to him, though he also repeats that it has been manipulated and tampered with. Regardless of how Defendants, without his permission, came to possess Plaintiffs data, once Plaintiffs data was in their custody, they accessed, tampered with, analyzed, and manipulated the data over an extended period of time, Hunter Bidens defense attorneys wrote. Ziegler asked the judge in the case to drop the lawsuit, arguing that Hunter Biden cannot claim to have ownership over copies of data, such as backup data and copies of external hard drives. Hunter Bidens defense team shot back that the argument was "baseless." Hacking statutes do not require Hunter Biden to prove "'ownership' or 'control' of the physical 'computer' or 'device' that Defendants accessed," defense attorneys wrote. Featured Local Savings They noted an appellate court had held that ownership of a "'computer' is not required and that a plaintiff may seek redress where, as here, he is 'proximately harmed by unauthorized access, particularly if [he has] rights to the data stored on it.'" While Hunter Biden has broadly admitted to being the owner of some of the data, the case is still in an early stage and whether he takes more explicit ownership over specific copies of his data and the specific contents of it remains to be seen. Meanwhile, in his criminal case in Delaware related to gun charges, Hunter Biden has mostly dismissed the laptops authenticity so far, though the case is still in its pretrial phase. The first son also indicated that he will argue that its data should be inadmissible as evidence. Weiss first obtained and searched the laptop and hard drive in 2019 after subpoenaing it from the aforementioned repair shop. Questions remain about the provenance and total authenticity of the data on the laptop image and hard drive the government seized, as both had been reviewed and likely altered before coming into the hands of the prosecution, Hunter Biden's defense attorneys wrote in one filing. They further asked Weiss to provide as part of discovery an exact copy of the laptop so it could be examined in the same way in which it was originally found. In a sign that they will continue to raise questions about its authenticity, the defense attorneys said they made the request because the original version would "be needed, for example, to challenge the chain of custody, provenance, or likely tampering with the data before it came into the possession of the government. They also argued that Weiss allegedly made a glaring Fourth Amendment violation by searching backup data, the external hard drive, and the laptop using warrants that only specified that they were going to be used to search for tax crimes, not firearms crimes. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Weiss executed a search warrant of Hunter Bidens laptop related specifically to firearms charges three months after he indicted the younger Biden. Weiss has contended that the evidence he plans to use against the first son is bolstered by but not reliant on what he gathered from that final warrant. Hunter Biden nevertheless said he "intends to challenge" the admissibility of any evidence garnered from that final search warrant by moving to suppress it. A U.S. district judge in Texas rejected a challenge from Republican states on Friday against a Biden administration policy that sponsored thousands of immigrants each month. Judge Drew Tipton argued that the 21 states, led by Texas, failed to prove that the program, which allows up to 30,000 immigrants a month to enter the country, caused them any injury. The states claimed the program is making them spend millions on healthcare, education, and public safety for the asylum-seekers. "The court has before it a case in which Plaintiffs claim that they have been injured by a program that has actually lowered their out-of-pocket costs," Tipton wrote. The states also argued that the federal governments authority to use parole is "exceptionally limited and can only be applied on a case-by-case basis, but Tipton did not address that argument. The program, which began in 2022, has admitted at least 357,000 immigrants, as of January, from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. At least 74,000 immigrants from Cuba, 138,000 people from Haiti, 58,000 from Nicaragua, and 86,000 Venezuelans have been admitted so far, according to the Associated Press. Featured Local Savings Tipton also noted in his ruling that the number of immigrants entering the country illegally from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela has decreased by as much as 44% since the start of the program. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER To be admitted through the program, immigrants are required to apply online, arrive at an airport, and have a financial sponsor in the United States. Those approved are allowed to stay for two years and get a work permit. The ruling will likely be appealed. President Joe Biden signed a package of six funding bills on Saturday, ensuring that a portion of the government is funded through the end of September. The Senate passed the bills on Friday night in a 75-22 vote, averting a potential partial government shutdown set for midnight, bringing lawmakers to the halfway point in their appropriations efforts for the 2024 budget year. The bills passed the House on Wednesday in a vote of 339-85. The White House thanked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), and Reps. Kay Granger (R-TX) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) for their leadership in a press release. After months of hard work, we have good news for the country: Tonight the Senate has reached an agreement avoiding a shutdown on the first six funding bills, Schumer said before the vote. "We will keep important programs funded for moms and kids, for veterans, for the environment, for housing, and so much more." I want to thank our appropriators. Youve done such a fine job, he added. Featured Local Savings The $467 billion package will fund a number of agencies through the fall, including Justice, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Agriculture, Commerce, Interior, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER The Democratic-led Senate passed the legislation mere hours before the shutdown took effect, avoiding amendments requested from Republicans, such as removing earmarks in the bills, which totaled more than 6,000 and would cost taxpayers more than $12 billion, according to Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL). With the 1,050-page measure now signed, Congress will turn its focus toward passing the remaining six appropriations bills by March 22, funding the Department of Defense, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, and others. Republican lawmakers suddenly have split opinions on the House bill that would prevent app stores from hosting the popular short-form video platform TikTok. After Former President Donald Trump, who led the original chorus of those wanting to ban the app, sounded off on the bill passed unanimously out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and proclaimed his disapproval, various Congress members issued their own responses to his concern. "If Congress bans TikTok, they will be acting just like the Chinese communists who have also banned TikTok . . . Why not just defend the first amendment?" Paul wrote on X. "Trump helped solve Tik Tok data problem through Project Texas, which would store and secure all US users data in U.S. So why is the House GOP siding with Biden and still trying to ban Tik Tok?" However, not all Republicans agree with Trump's opposing the ban. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) reposted FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr's post on X, pointing out the duplicitous nature of TikTok's data storage. TikTok previously acknowledged in a letter to the U.S. Senate that it did store some information from its paid creators in China despite Trump's order. "But of course, TikTok had not changed its ways. As the WSJ found, TikTok just kept on sharing sensitive U.S. data with China," Carr wrote. "Because TikTok is different than other social media companies. It is different because, as the evidence conclusively establishes, it is beholden to the CCP. Should the U.S. revise its privacy laws across the board? No objection from me. And acting on TikTok now provides an opportunity to build momentum towards that." Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence also pointed out Trump's change of opinion since enacting the order. In Pence's post on X, he made reference to Trump's campaign promise of being "tough on China." "The era of appeasing the Chinese Communist Party is over. Politicians claiming to be 'tough on China' while simultaneously supporting TikTok spewing CCP-sanctioned propaganda across the world are wrong," Pence wrote. "China is poisoning the minds of American children. Enough is enough." Featured Local Savings "The recent push by TikTok, a Chinese-owned app, to manipulate a response from its users only solidifies our concerns and the unanimous support for legislation to address these issues," Rep. John Curtis (R-UT) wrote on X. Curtis is running for Utah's open senate seat this November. Committee members issued statements to explain the purpose of the bill in a press conference as not only about China, but about all apps owned by China, Russia, or Iran. A lot of people are going to say that this is anti-technology, or that this is somehow a specifically anti-TikTok piece of legislation nothing could be further from the truth," Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) said at the press conference. "This is about making sure our foreign adversaries cannot be targeting Americans. "We wanted to make it clear we do not want to ban TikTok, we just want its ties to the CCP severed permanently and irrevocably," Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) said in a statement. "As explained above, if TikTok is sold by ByteDance, it is free to operate in the United States. But clearly, the CCP does not want to give up their ability to spy and manipulate." CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER "I believe saying this bill would violate the First Amendment is incorrect," Griffith went on. "The Supreme Court makes a distinction between laws based on the content of speech vs. conduct. Laws based on conduct, which threatens national security, particularly when likely orchestrated by a foreign power, are not 'per se' violations of the First Amendment." President Joe Biden has already promised his support of the bill should it reach his desk. The House and the Senate have yet to vote on the legislation. Former President Donald Trump met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Friday, an unconventional move since Orban did not meet with President Joe Biden during the trip. Trumps presidential campaign claimed the pair met to discuss a wide range of issues affecting Hungary and the United States, including the paramount importance of strong and secure borders to protect the sovereignty of each nation." Hes a non-controversial figure because he says, This is the way its going to be, and thats the end of it. Right? Trump said of the Hungarian prime minister in a video on Instagram. "Hes the boss. Orban, who has been prime minister since 2010, also met with former First Lady Melania Trump on Friday, and attended a meeting at the Heritage Foundation on Thursday. President Joe Biden attacked the meeting with Trump while on the campaign trail in Pennsylvania, and criticized Orban as undemocratic. Featured Local Savings You know who hes meeting with today and down in Mar-a-Lago? Orban of Hungary, who stated flatly he doesnt think democracy works, Biden said. I see a future where we defend democracy, not diminish it. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Orban has faced backlash over his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, his resistance on sending aid to Ukraine and expanding NATO, and even faces allegations of trying to weaken the judiciary system in Hungary. Orban has also been accused of touting anti-immigration policy, and rejecting woke ideology. The Hungarian leader has often been likened to Trump, and he's become a popular figure on the right. Orban has even spoken at previous Conservative Political Action Conferences, and will host an overseas edition of the CPAC conference next month. Lieutenant Gov. Deidre Henderson (R-UT) came under fire for an X post on Friday that highlighted a historic Russian protest in a botched attempt to celebrate International Women's Day. Henderson posted a photo of a group of women from March 8, 1917, holding up Russian signs and banners in protest. The protest would lead to further demonstrations that ultimately resulted in a Civil War between the protesters, which would come to be commanded by the socialist Bolsheviks, and the Russian government. "On this day in 1917, tens of thousands of Russian women gathered in Petrograd (Saint Petersburg) to protest terrible working conditions and the high price of bread," Henderson captioned the photo. "A few days later, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated his throne and Russia was in full Revolution." Henderson did not mention that after Nicholas abdicated the throne to his brother Michael, who refused the title, Nicholas, along with his wife and five children, would be assassinated in their home after fleeing St. Petersburg. Millions more would die in the resulting conflict, which many X users pointed out in the comments of Henderson's post. 'Republican' celebrating the Bolsheviks? Interesting," talk show host Jesse Hughes wrote. Featured Local Savings "Bolsheviks like Deidre are alive and well in the Republican Party," radio host David Reilly wrote. "They're here in Idaho too. You can tell who they are because they spend all day accusing their opponents of 'extremism,' 'racism,' and 'anti-semitism.' Big Red Flag. You've been warned." "Baseline request for GOP officials: dont endorse Bolshevik revolution," user Nate Fischer wrote. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER The Utah governor's office did not return the Washington Examiner's request for comment. International Women's Day is a holiday that has its roots in celebrating women's suffrage and political activism. The February Revolution is featured as a highlight of the holiday's history on its website. Corvallis residents Ron and Gail Blodgett have lived in their house in Witham Hill for several decades. It's the home where Ron was raised in the 1950s and where his father lived. The neighborhood has always been lined by single-family residences. That may be changing. A Place to Sleep, episode 8: Portland Portland is not unlike cities in the mid-Willamette Valley in that it spends a lot of time defining when and where homeless people can't sleep rather than where they can. A developer, The Cottage Collective LLC of Springfield, has purchased a .4-acre lot on the corner of Northwest 36th and Lincoln Avenue with plans to tear down a single-family house and replace it with an 18-unit cottage cluster. Each two-story cottage is planned to be about 572 square feet with living and kitchen area on the ground floor and a bed and bath on the upper level. Though an official application has not been submitted yet, two pre-development meetings have been held with the city regarding the new project, prompting neighbor concerns about how the city is enacting House Bill 2001, signed into law in 2019. The bill was designed to spur the development of so-called middle-housing, more affordable homes for middle-income earned locked out of homeownership. At the March 4 Corvallis City Council meeting, residents of Witham Hill asked council to place a cap on the number of cottages allowable in a cluster development. As the name implies, a cluster development allows smaller-sized homes to be grouped together. According to state law, large cities which includes Corvallis the maximum number of cottages a city must allow is eight in a cluster. Cities could, however, decide to increase that maximum. Corvallis currently doesn't have a cap. Neighbors argue that without a cap, developers were poised to turn low-density residential neighborhoods into high-density ones, burdening available city utilities and services and increasing parking and traffic bottlenecks. "The current standards for development of cottage clusters here in Corvallis allows significant abuse and exploitation of the very good intentions and goodwill intended in the original state law," project neighbor Dana Sanchez told councilors earlier this month. "This is the wrong neighborhood for this kind of development," Roger Lewis, another neighbor, said. He cited the sizes of the units vis-a-vis proposed amenities, the removal of a requirement to provide off-street parking spaces and the resulting increased burden on sewer and water utilities. But in a motion which passed 8-1 council asked the city's planning department to push any proposed rule changes down the line. Councilor Gabe Shepherd was the lone dissent. Councilmembers argued that considering city's planning department is facing staffing constraints, along with the costs to initiate and effect the changes and higher priorities, the hoped-for code amendment did not rise to the level of being urgent. Middle housing Corvallis has always allowed the development of cottage clusters, and there are several varieties that exist around the city, Community Development Director Paul Bilotta said via email. Cottage clusters belong to a class of housing referred to as middle housing, which also includes duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and townhomes. They're found in older and historic neighborhoods and around the Oregon State University campus. Typically, the target audience for such housing units, as described in a 2017 report from Oregon States Policy Analysis Laboratory, include early-to-mid career professionals, students and low-income residents as well as empty nesters. "It is only when the post-WW2, auto-oriented suburban housing model took over that middle housing disappeared," Bilotta said via email. But despite being out of fashion, the city's laws have allowed the development of cottage clusters, as far back as 2006. Then Oregon's HB 2001 came along, and the city made some tweaks to make sure its local law complied with the new state law. Now, if approved, the cottage cluster in the Blodgetts' Lincoln Avenue neighborhood would be among the first to come online since those changes but not the very first. That's more likely to be, Bilotta said, a six-unit cottage cluster on Northeast Lancaster Street. The city has received the application and is in the process of reviewing it. Given that Corvallis allowed cluster cottages and other types of middle housing, why haven't there been more? Oregon States Policy Analysis Laboratory said the city's development code language presented a lot of ambiguities. The laboratory allows students to research real-world policy issues in subjects such as education, energy, climate change and disaster response. It penned a report specifically about cottage clusters in 2018 that took the city to task for not providing a "concise definition, rendering the (cottage cluster housing) development process more difficult." HB 2001 brought the clarity. Guidelines, largely dictated by the state's Department of Land Conservation and Development, set rules for the orientation of the clusters, minimum lot sizes for a cluster (7,000 square feet), size of courtyards, height of cottages (not more than 25 feet) and setbacks from neighboring properties. And regarding caps on maximum number of cottages in a cluster, Bilotta told the council at the March 4 meeting that this was a section "pretty heavily dictated by state mandate." But neighbors who may end up living near an 18-unit cluster argue other cities, mostly in Western Oregon, have placed caps of eight or 12 cottages. Bilotta said it was not as straightforward as the residents were making it sound. "It is important to note that this does not limit the number of cottages in the development, just the number around a courtyard," he said via email. The state says in its middle-housing development standards that large cities are not required to set a minimum number of cottages in a cluster, "but if it chooses to, it may require a minimum of three, four, or five dwelling units in a cottage cluster." It also dictates that a large city "must allow up to eight cottages per common courtyard," but a city is not precluded from permitting more than eight per common courtyard. "If a developer has enough space to put more cottages on a site, even if a city does limit the maximum number of cottages in a cluster, they could still develop additional courtyards for additional cottage clusters," Bilotta wrote. "Placing an upper limit on cottages per cottage cluster is more of a community design preference than it is about controlling the overall number of cottages," he said. Part of the concerns neighbors expressed with the proposed 18-unit cluster was that it did not blend into the character of their neighborhood as some already existing cottage clusters across the city do. "It sure takes the spirit of the neighborhood away," Ron Blodgett said in a phone interview after the March 4 council meeting. According to Bilotta, the difference between cities with maximum caps in their cottage cluster standards and cities like Corvallis boils down to the potential sizes of the cluster courtyards. "State law has a standard for the size of courtyards based on the number of cottages in the cluster of at least 150 square feet per cottage, so an eight-unit cottage cluster could have a pretty small courtyard," Bilotta said. Even if councilors were amenable to a fast code change, Bilotta told council at the meeting, the developer could split the lot into two parcels to form two clusters and situate eight cottages per parcel, bringing the total to 16, just two fewer cottages than currently being proposed. On hold for now Councilmembers chose to put off making changes until they were ready to tackle other code amendments in the future. "I think its important that we have all sorts of housing types available in our community, Councilor Shepherd said, adding that the request did not rise to a level of urgency over other priorities. Councilor Tony Cadena agreed: "I look at the list of what might be traded off (and) I dont see that this is something that rises to drop-everything-and do-this. But at the same time, I do think that at the margin some aspects of this does need to be addressed, including the maximum number of cottages." When the city amends its code to comply with a state directive, it is not unusual to have reason to go back to make "clear and objective" changes down the line, Bilotta said by email. "A 'clear and objective' code change is one where the language in the code is ambiguous enough that two people could read the same section and come to a different conclusion," he wrote. This differs from what the neighbors are requesting, which is more policy-related, meaning that the code language is clear, but the council and community desirer a different approach. "Policy changes can be somewhat thought of as ones that represent 'community values' rather than technical or legal compliance issues," Bilotta said. The inclusion of a cap could not be absorbed, Bilotta said, into a regularly scheduled "clear and objective" audit likely to happen later this year. But it could be part of a larger code review. It could also be included in what the city calls the Strategic Operation Plan down the line. To do what the residents were asking on such short notice would likely cost the understaffed department about $10,000 to $15,000, when it could be incorporated into changes necessitated by another proposed housing bill, Senate Bill 1537, which would create a state Housing Accountability and Production Office and is awaiting the governor's signature. "I understand the concerns about your neighborhood, but theres not a whole lot that the City Council can do; you have to take it up with the state," Councilor Charlyn Ellis told neighbors of the proposed development. "I know thats not what any of you want to hear. Its not what I want to hear either," Ellis said, adding that the state is now setting many housing development guidelines. Other concerns In addition to parking bottlenecks that will arise from a new state law that says cities can no longer require parking for new developments, neighbors worry about the ability of existing infrastructure to support an influx of residents. "With this proposal there would be 18 toilets and 36 sinks on one lot. This sounds like a problem to me in regards to 'sufficient infrastructure,'" another neighbor, Dean Malencik, told the council in writing. But Bilotta responded that building permits will include conditions to expand infrastructure to meet demand, if necessary. Neighbors also expressed concern that the cottages, because of their size, would end up as student housing. While the need for more housing varieties was apparent, especially given the number of people who commute daily to Corvallis for work, "these little, tiny houses are not for families or couples," Gail Blodgett said. "Its just going to be for students." But that flies in the face of previous feedback, Bilotta said. Past surveys show that community members are interested in cottage clusters in part because they can potentially address single-family housing needs across the city. "In those earlier cottage cluster advocacy efforts before HB 2001, the community was making the argument that cottage clusters would increase access to single-family housing, not reduce it," Bilotta said. Cottage clusters can also serve rental or home ownership needs. "There is nothing about the building type which limits it to one or the other," Bilotta said. While the developer hasn't submitted an application yet, if it comes before any change in the development code is initiated, the developer can move forward by today's standards. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by becoming a subscriber today. In the meantime, neighborhoods like Lincoln Avenue could see more developers wanting to buy up property to redevelop them into middle housing types as the market needs or dictates. Although it's still too early to tell, Bilotta said, compared to the years prior to HB 2001, there has been a "slight uptick" in development proposals for middle housing types, such as duplexes, granny flats, triplexes and fourplexes. Related stories: SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico Three escaped inmates from the eastern Caribbean island of Grenada were charged in the killing of a U.S. couple whose catamaran they hijacked, police said Thursday. Ron Mitchell, a 30-year-old sailor; Atiba Stanislaus, a 25-year-old farmer; and Trevon Robertson, a 23-year-old unemployed man, were charged with capital murder, escaping lawful custody, housebreaking, robbery and kidnapping. Stanislaus also was charged with one count of rape, according to a statement from the Royal Grenada Police Force. The men appeared in court on Thursday and were ordered held in prison until their hearing in late March. They were accused of escaping from a police holding cell on Feb. 18 and hijacking a catamaran owned by Ralph Henry and Kathy Brandel while they were aboard. Authorities said they believe the couple was thrown overboard as the suspects sailed to nearby St. Vincent, where they were arrested on Feb. 21. The three men were ordered deported from St. Vincent on Monday. The nonprofit Salty Dawg Sailing Association described Hendry and Brandel as veteran cruisers who participated in last years Caribbean Rally from Hampton, Virginia, to Antigua, and had planned to spend the winter cruising in the eastern Caribbean. Their bodies have not been found. Metros in Virginia where jobs are growing fastest Metros in Virginia where jobs are growing fastest #9. Richmond #8. Lynchburg #7. Virginia Beach #6. Blacksburg #5. Roanoke #4. Charlottesville #3. Staunton #2. Winchester #1. Harrisonburg Lisa Noble, the former St. Amelia Church business manager suspected of stealing $465,000 from the Town of Tonawanda parish, was captured in North Carolina on Friday. She was caught late this morning, she is in custody, and I cannot provide any other details at this moment, Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn told The Buffalo News on Friday afternoon. Noble has been the subject of a manhunt by the U.S. Marshals Service and other police agencies for more than six months. She has been identified by church and law enforcement officials as the prime suspect in a theft of $465,000 from St. Amelia Church. Her former boss at an audiology business in the Northtowns also told The News that he has reported to police that she also stole more than $500,000 from his company. Also known as Lisa Prynn, Noble, 43, had intended to take a plea deal in connection with the thefts in November, her attorney, Michael Dwan, said. But Noble failed to show up at two scheduled meetings at the DAs office and left town, Dwan said. Early Friday afternoon, Flynn declined to comment when asked whether Noble has been indicted. If there was an indictment, and it was unsealed, I would be able to say more about the case after that happens, Flynn said. He did confirm that his office has been investigating large-scale thefts at St. Amelia and also at Audiology Service Associates, a company which recently said it had to close its doors because of employee theft. Under the name of Prynn, Noble has been caught stealing from other employers four other times. She was sentenced to a prison term in Niagara County more than 10 years ago. How did Ronald Reagans Republican Party become former President Donald Trumps? That is a question asked by many of the GOP faithful. Though Reagan was the first MAGA president (he ran for the White House in 1980 on the slogan Lets Make America Great Again), he wouldn't be welcomed in todays Republican Party. The brand of Reagans GOP is no more. For starters, Reagans policies on immigration were far more liberal than those of todays GOP. Reagan issued a Statement on United States Immigration and Refugee Policy, announcing his intention to continue the American tradition of welcoming immigrants. He also called for millions of undocumented illegal immigrants then living in the United States to be offered a path to legal status. On Nov. 6, 1986, he signed into law the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which, among other provisions, granted what Reagan called amnesty to 3 million immigrants. For Reagan, immigration was a unique cornerstone of American vitality and renewal, and it was central to his own origin myth. In contrast, when Trump announced his candidacy in June 2015, he attacked immigrants by saying, When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best theyre sending people that have lots of problems. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists. And some, I assume, are good people. After being sworn in as president, Trump signed an executive order banning travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries to the United States for 90 days and later instituted a zero tolerance policy at the southern border that separated children from parents of immigrants arrested while attempting to enter the United States. Unlike Reagan, todays GOP has used immigration to divide Americans and to make immigrants the scapegoats for a range of domestic ills, including income inequality. Reagan, a defender of the NATO alliance, took office after four decades of the Cold War with the former Soviet Union. Impatient with the slow-grinding nature of the post-war containment policy, Reagan turned his foreign policy on a redefinition of Americas stance toward the Soviet Union. He believed the Soviet Union was an evil empire, as he called it in his speech on March 8, 1983. Later, in 1987, in Berlin, Reagan challenged then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down this wall. Russias invasion of Ukraine in 2022 initiated the largest armed conflict in Europe since the end of World War II. Reagan would be shocked by Republican resistance to sending aid to Ukraine to fight Russia. Likewise, he would be incredulous at the flirtations with Moscow by some GOP members, such as recent statements by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., about Putins acumen: You can tell Putin is on top of his game, Tuberville said while addressing Russias posture on the Ukraine war. Trump referred to Putins unprovoked invasion of Ukraine as smart and genius. At a campaign rally on Feb. 10, Trump encouraged Russia to do whatever the hell they want to NATO members that Trump believed do not spend enough on defense. The GOP today has embraced Trump with cultish some say cowardly devotion. Trump has a civil conviction for sexual abuse and is now confronting 91 felony charges in four jurisdictions. Reagan a proponent of immigration, a Cold War warrior, the man who gave that eloquent speech on defending freedom at Pointe du Hoc on the 40th anniversary of D-Day would say today what he once said about his prior affiliation with the Democratic Party years ago: I did not leave the Republican Party. The Republican Party left me. The police chief and mayor of Greensboro were saying earlier this week that if the bodycam footage from the home of city manager Taiwo Jaiyeoba is released, as ordered by a Superior Court judge, then the next time you call the police to your home, you and your household could very well be going viral on the internet. That was a big reason why the city didnt release the footage on Monday and filed an appeal instead, they said. But it had nothing to do with Jaiyeobas resignation on Tuesday, the mayor said. But back to the question at hand: Would the release of the bodycam footage really ruin calling 911 for everybody? Andrea Harrell, senior assistant city attorney, floated out this theory in court several weeks ago when she told Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour that Greensboro Police Chief John Thompson wanted to relay his concern that the release of the body-camera footage would set a precedent in which every time the police are called to your house, it may be reality TV. Baddour ordered the release of the footage, and Mayor Nancy Vaughan and Chief Thompson talked again on Monday about setting a dangerous precedent. Vaughan: We know that there are lots of families right now who are in different stress levels. I know its hard to be a parent. Its hard to be a teenager these days and sometimes things bubble over, and I think we have to be careful to allow people to make mistakes and not have to end up on an internet for the rest of their lives. Thompson: I do think it opens the door that any citizen out here where we go into their home on a call for service could be subject to that video being placed out into the community, Thompson said. I would flip that question back to anyone in the community: Do you want that? Do you, as a community member, want that and if that is a possibility, how does that impact you wanting to call 911 to ask for help? Let me answer that one, Chief. It shouldnt impact you one bit. You should absolutely call 911 and ask for help. Nobody can just grab bodycam video and post it online. The News & Record is pursuing the footage because the city wanted to hide the call to Jaiyeobas house from the public, and the more we find out about it, the more questions we have about what happened that night and how the city handled it. The people deserve transparency. But we couldnt just grab the video. North Carolina law required us to file a motion requesting the release of the bodycam footage. That involved hiring an accomplished first amendment lawyer to argue our case and respond to the citys arguments. A judge had to review the tapes himself and decide whether it was the right thing to do. In our motion, the News & Record requested the release of nine hours of video. Judge Baddour reviewed the footage and ordered the city to release the bodycam footage taken when police visited the Jaiyeoba home and investigated the incident. In his order, Baddour directed that the footage be blurred and muted at a certain spot to protect a minor depicted in the video. He also excluded footage taken within police vehicles, which he found to be investigative material, and footage of police escorting Jaiyeobas daughters to get their belongings the night after the altercation because the release of that material would not advance any compelling public interest. And now the city has appealed and we could be waiting for months for a decision. If the bodycam footage is ever released, that wont mean that all such footage will suddenly be available to everybody in the future. The same checks and balances set by state law will still be in place. So, if you need to call 911 for help, by all means go ahead and do so. Shab e Barat 2024 date in Mauritius is expected in the evening of 24 February, 2024. Shab e Barat is observed every year in the mid of Islamic date of Shaban 15. The same date is also observed in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and followed regions. Shab e Barat date is different in the Arab world and associated regions and expected date in the evening of 24 February, 2024 in Saudia Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Egypt, and other followed regions. When is Shab e Barat 2024 Date in Mauritius Shab e Barat 2024 in Mauritius is 24 February, 2024 (15 Shaban 1445 AH). In Islam, there are several Islamic events that have their own significance. However, Shab e Barat is also among the holiest event of Islam. Each year, Muslims in Mauritius do special arrangements regarding the event. They eagerly wait for the moon sighting to be aware of the confirmed Shab e Barat 2024 date in Mauritius and to plan their activities accordingly. Shab e Barat Nawafil After Maghrib in Mauritius Muslim offers 6 rakaat Shab e Barat Nawafil prayers (2+2+2), after Maghrib Dua e Nisf Shaban in Mauritius Dua e Nisf Shaban is a special prayer that Muslims recite after each 2 nafl prayer, after Magrib. Shab e Barat 2024 Namaz On the 15th night of Shaban, Muslims take ghusl with 7 berry leaves and pray nawafil all night. On this page, you can check the complete and authentic information about the Shab e Barat 2024 date in Mauritius. By utilizing this portal, you can check the exact date on which Shab e Barat 2024 will be expected in Mauritius. On the other side, you can also check the dates of other key Islamic events in Mauritius. It is recommended that you should bookmark this page so you can easily access this informative portal regarding the Shab e Barat 2024 date in Mauritius. However, if you want to check the Shab e Barat date in other countries then you can visit their respective pages. When is Shab e Barat 2024 in Mauritius? The date for Shab e Barat 2024 in Mauritius is scheduled to be on the evening of Feb 24th. Shab e Barat 2024 Mauritius dates for Bel Air, Centre De Flacq, Mahebourg, Saint Pierre, Triolet, Curepipe, Quatre Bornes, Vacoas, Port Louis, Goodlands and other cities are also available on this page. Submissions to Business Briefcase should be emailed to editor@helenair.com. Please write Business Briefcase in the subject line. Briefs should be 200 words or less. Submissions should be written in story form, no flyers please. Photos are always appreciated. Call Phil Drake at 406-447-4086 if you have questions. Have a new business? Tell us about it! Give us the name, address, hours, phone number and photo, if possible. Email editor@helenair.com. Please put New business in the subject line. Group seeks indoor dog activity center Are you among the dog owners who struggle to exercise with your dog during winter weather? Helena dog lovers are invited to participate in a discussion about the need for and amenities that could be offered at an indoor dog/owner activity center in the Helena area. The public may attend a meeting at the Lewis and Clark Library community room 6-7:30 p.m. March 29. For more information, email camdingman@gmail.com. Author to speak to history corral The Last Chance History Corral will meet 5:30 p.m. March 18 in Colonial Delta Natatorium. Guest speaker Lenore McKelvey Puhek, author of six books filled with Montana history, will discuss her findings on the west side of outer Helena, the home of the Broadwater Hotel. Puhek has many "Do you know?" questions about that building's asset to Helena's early tourist trade. "I finally saw the inside during the auction and demise of the Grand Old Lady. For several days I sat on the grass and watched the crowd fight each other for the antiques." The Helena native was recently inducted into the 2024 Montana Cowboy and Heritage Hall of Fame for her many years of researching the state. Puhek attended St. Helena Grade School, Cathedral High School, Carroll College and University of Oregon, working on a masters degree in writing/English/history. Dinner reservations must be made by March 11, by contacting historycorral@gmail.com. Foundation picked to distribute funds The Montana Community Foundation has been selected by the Otto Bremer Trust as a philanthropic intermediary partner to administer and distribute funds through its new Community Responsive Fund. For more information, visit MTCF.org or go to: https://bit.ly/3v831a0. Under the new partnership, MCF will work closely with OBT to administer $1.5 million in funds for grants ranging $10,000-$75,000 to support local organizations that directly respond to immediate challenges and opportunities in the community. The pre-application window is now through March 31. Organizations can fill out an online pre-application. Successful applicants will be invited to apply to a full application in early May, and all awards will be announced in June. MCF will work closely with partners to ensure that the Otto Bremer Trust is increasing the positive impact in the regions it serves. Organizations with missions or program purposes that address relevant community priorities and align with the following funding priorities: basic needs, community asset building, health and wellbeing, and restorative and emergency responsive. Montana nonprofits may apply for funding from the OBTs Community Responsive Fund through MTCF.org. The Otto Bremer Trust is a private charitable trust based in St. Paul, Minnesota, created in 1944 by business and community leader Otto Bremer. Broadwater theater has fundraiser Broadwater Community Theatre will be hosting their annual fundraiser on March 16 at The Lodge, 131 S. Spruce St. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Live music, silent auction, food and refreshments will run until 8 p.m. Tickets will be available at Reading Leaves and Broadwater Blooms, ticket cost $20 per person, cash or check only. The public may attend, enjoy complimentary charcuterie and check out the auction items donated by local businesses. The evening will include Irish and old country music, performed by the Helena Handbasket fiddle quartet; members include Terry and Jim Gundersen, and Candace and Dave Payne. Come down for fun and games with cash prizes, as well as a 50/50 raffle, hosted by leprechaun, Pat O Trick. This year has many things in store for Broadwater, including the Queens City Swing band March 23, Missoula Childrens Theater this May, two additional childrens plays later this year and more. Help propel BCT forward into success this year so they can continue to bring plays and live music to this community. Community foundation has grant meeting The Helena Area Community Foundation will have its 2024 Grant Evaluation Meeting for the 2024 Grant Cycle, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday at Disability Rights Montana, 1022 Chestnut St. A Zoom meeting option will be available for those who wish to attend virtually. The link can be found on the HACF website: https://helenaareacommunityfoundation.org/grants/. Sixty nonprofit organizations submitted grant requests for a pool of funding totaling $72,750. Funding has been provided by the city of Helena, Lewis and Clark County, and the Helena Area Community Foundation. This meeting is open to the public and periods for public comment will be made available. For questions, information, or interview requests from HACF, please contact Emily Frazier, HACF Executive Director at emilyf@helenaareacommunityfoundation.org or via telephone at 406-441-4955. Law firm director to speak to East Helena seniors club Rylee Summers-Flanagan, founder and executive director of the Upper Seven Law Firm, will speak at the March 20 meeting of the East Helena Senior Citizens Club. Summers-Flanagan will discuss the Montana Constitution and the reason Upper Seven Law Firm was founded. The meeting, which features a potluck dinner, is 5 p.m. in the fellowship hall of the United Methodist Church, 50 Prickly Pear Ave. For more information, contact ehseniorcitizensclub@gmail.com. Governor's Prayer Breakfast at Carroll The Montana Governors Prayer Breakfast is 8:30-10:30 a.m. March 16 at the Carroll College Campus Center. The breakfast features Gov. Greg Gianforte, and guest speaker J.P. De Gance. De Gance is the founder and president of Communio and the co-author of the book Endgame: The Churchs Strategic Move to Save Faith and Family in America. Many churches throughout the state will be hosting the simulcasted event. For more information about hosting or joining an event go to: www.montanaprayerbreakfast.church. Tickets are $25 each, and available online: www.montanaprayerbreakfast.church. Will call tickets: please mail checks to 226 Willowbrook Drive, Helena, MT 59602, Attn: Governors Prayer Breakfast. Please be sure to include the name(s) for the tickets. For more information, contact: www.montanaprayerbreakfast.church. AARP has driver safety classes AARP Driver Safety has scheduled single classes March and April in Helena. Participants receive updates on the rules of the road and learn driving strategies to adapt to the effects of aging and to reduce chances of having a crash. The course was developed for participants age 50+; but is open to all ages. The course fee is $25.00 ($20.00 with AARP Membership Card). Auto Insurance Companies in Montana provide a multi-year discount to participants 55 and older. March 18 at First Interstate Bank; 2728 Colonial Drive; 11 a.m. to about 3:30 p.m. April 19 at First Interstate Bank; 2728 Colonial Drive; 11 a.m. to about 3:30 p.m. To register, call: (406) 457-4712. Find additional classes at aarp.org/driversafety EFFINGHAM A 33-year-old suspect in a Michigan bank robbery took his own life after nearly an eight-hour standoff in Effingham. According to the Shelby Township Police Department in Michigan, officers were notified of a bank robbery at 10:36 a.m. Thursday at a Bank of America location. Officers spoke to bank employees who stated that a man had entered the facility, approached a teller and passed a note demanding money. He then fled the bank. Officers were unable to locate the suspect at that time. "Detectives spent the next several hours investigating this case and reviewing video from different locations in the township," stated Sgt. Mark Benedettini of the Shelby Township Police Department. "Detectives were able to learn that once the suspect fled the bank, he got on a motorized scooter which he had parked near the bank. The suspect then drove the scooter to a semi-truck he had parked in the area." The suspect used the semi-truck to flee the area. Detectives found the semi-truck was associated with an Illinois trucking company, and they were able to track the suspect to Effingham. The Effingham Police Department assisted in locating the suspect and the semi-truck at a nearby TA Truck Stop. "The suspect resisted arrest and was able to barricade himself inside of the semi-truck with a gun," Benedettini said. "Police immediately disabled the semi-truck, which prevented his escape." The incident was assisted by Effingham County Sheriffs Department and the Illinois State Police SWAT Team and Crisis Negotiating Team. After nearly eight hours of negotiations had failed, the suspect took his own life, the Shelby Township Police Department said. Make no mistake about it, if you come to Shelby Township to commit a crime, our department will track you down no matter where you try to hide, Shelby Township Police Chief Robert Shelide stated. DECATUR Spelling bee season is different this year. In years past, the Macon-Piatt Regional Office of Education has handled organizing and sponsoring spelling bees at schools in Bond, Christian, Clay, Coles, Cumberland, Douglas, Effingham, Fayette, Macon, Moultrie, Piatt, Richland and Shelby counties. The top spellers from those bees would then travel to Decatur, taking part in a regional bee for the right to represent the area at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Last year's victor, Maroa-Forsyth eighth grader Khadijah Abdul-Rahman, went on to finish in the top 20 at the national competition, edging out over 200 other spellers. That isn't happening this year. The regional office of education ended connection to the event support that amounted to thousands of dollars and dozens of hours of manpower after last year's competitions. As a result, it's unlikely that Macon County and the surrounding region will have a representative in the national spelling bee. It has been an honor for the Macon-Piatt Regional Office of Education 39 to sponsor the Macon County and Regional Scripps Spelling Bees for the past 25 years, Regional Superintendent Jill Reedy wrote in a letter to school districts. We are ending our sponsorship and want to thank all of the schools that have participated and supported the local spelling bees throughout the years. Central Illinois is not alone. A number of schools and sponsors have dropped out, and regions have consolidated, since the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, there were 562 spellers in the national bee; when it returned to a fully in-person experience in 2022, fewer than half that number were there to take the stage. "Some of our sponsors realigned what their missions were and maybe the bee didnt fit," J. Michael Durnil, the bees executive director, said at the time. "Maybe they lost person power and had to rethink their core business and the bee was not part of it. Theres been a great reset in a lot of areas." 'Virtual bee' offers alternate path to qualify Reedy said staffing and expense concerns led to the decision, but there are alternate pathways for school districts who want to offer the opportunity to students to qualify for the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which will be held in May in National Harbor, Maryland, outside of Washington, D.C. The deadline for local schools to enroll students in the competition for the national bee was Dec. 31. "School champions from enrolled schools advance into a virtual spelling bee program with other schools in the Central Time Zone," said Rebecca McCarter, senior manager of communications for Scripps. "The virtual spelling bee for schools that enrolled from the districts previously covered by Macon-Piatt Regional Office of Education will take place on March 23 at 8:30 a.m. Central. It will be administered by staff of the Scripps National Spelling Bee." The path for schools previously covered by Macon-Piatt's sponsorship, she said, is: One student from each enrolled school advances to the next level The next level of competition is a qualifier for the regional spelling bee, a 50-item online test. The top finishers on the 50-item Online Regional Qualifier Test (about 20 spellers) advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee Region Three Regional Spelling Bee on March 23 The winner of this virtual regional bee advances to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, May 28-30. To be eligible for the national bee, spellers must not have completed eighth grade by Aug. 31 or reached his or her 15th birthday by that date. The speller must be declared a champion of a Scripps National Spelling Bee-sanctioned regional competition on or after Feb. 1 or be named as a national competitor by a sanctioned program or by an official Scripps bee partner. Search for new sponsorships 'came up empty' The Scripps organization "is actively seeking to identify another regional partner to continue the spelling bee tradition to serve the schools in the area," said McCarter, the company spokesperson. "Organizations interested in learning more about how to get involved can contact Kim Harp at kim.harp@scripps.com. Spelling Bee Sponsorship Costs Regional partnership fee (plus hotel for D.C. speller and one parent), $4,000 Airline tickets and meals for D.C. speller and one adult, $1,200 Macon & Piatt County medals and trophies, $500 Regional Bee plaques and trophies, $180 Paper and office supplies, lanyards, nametags, programs, etc., $75 Gift cards for judges, $175 Work hours for organizer, 75-80 hours Source: Macon-Piatt Regional Office of Education "Regional Partners can be school systems, libraries, community groups, libraries, universities, colleges and private businesses who seek to make an impact in their community." In the meantime, the change has caused several districts to dispense with spelling bees, or to hold their own school or district bees only for this year. We no longer have an official spelling bee, said Superintendent Travis Roundcount of Mount Zion schools, but if students are interested, the same organization's website allows students to sign up individually and participate. Maroa-Forsyth schools, where many of the past county and regional bee champions have been students, contacted Clinton schools in the hope of being allowed to compete in their regional spelling bee, said Nate Sheppard, principal of Maroa-Forsyth Middle School. However, the Regional Office of Education for DeWitt and McLean counties also doesn't sponsor a regional bee, he said. Finding a business or organization to sponsor a spelling bee proved impossible. It's a lot, Sheppard said. Manpower, hours, expense. We looked into our options and came up empty. I think it's too late for this year at this point. Scripps hasn't responded. Decatur Public Schools held a district-wide spelling bee in January, said district spokeswoman Denise Swarthout, and submitted winners' names to Scripps. Mattoon School District reported that it was not able to schedule a Mattoon Middle School bee or a Coles County one this year due to retirement of key staff who had worked with these events in the past. Mattoon already has begun planning for a district bee and county bee next year. Staff writer Rob Stroud and The Associated Press contributed to this story. Photos: 45th Annual Regional Spelling Bee CHICAGO Illinois is moving to join 10 other states that limit toxic forever chemicals in underground sources of water. Regulations unveiled Wednesday by the Illinois Pollution Control Board are intended to protect millions of people from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, some of which build up in human blood, cause cancer and other diseases and take years to leave the body. Nearly 300,000 Illinoisans rely on utilities where PFAS in well water exceed the states proposed standards, according to a Chicago Tribune analysis of testing conducted between 2020 and 2022. It is unknown how many of the 1.4 million people in the state who depend on private wells are drinking PFAS-contaminated water. The Tribune reported last year that state officials had decided it is up to individual well owners to have their water tested. The new Illinois initiative comes as President Joe Bidens administration is proposing the first-ever national drinking water standards for two of the most widely studied PFAS: perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), used by 3M for decades to make Scotchgard stain repellent, and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which 3M sold to DuPont to manufacture Teflon coatings for cookware, clothing and wiring. If adopted, utilities will be required to limit concentrations of the two forever chemicals in drinking water to four parts per trillion, an amount the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency determined is the lowest at which PFOS and PFOA can be accurately detected. Four other PFAS, including replacements for the original Scotchgard and Teflon chemicals, also would be regulated for the first time. Illinois plans to adopt similar limits for treated drinking water if and when the Biden administration finalizes its plan. For now the states action to restrict PFAS in groundwater addresses widespread contamination of a vital resource that needs to be protected for current and future uses, the Pollution Control Board wrote in a 70-page opinion. Corporations and government agencies potentially responsible for contaminating groundwater have spent the past two years lobbying against the states proposal. They fear the standards would prompt legal action by the Illinois EPA and private lawsuits intended to force the cleanup of contaminated sites and ensure well owners have safe water. Other states with PFAS limits include Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin. Lawyers for 3M persuaded a Michigan appellate court last summer to throw out that states standards for PFAS in groundwater, a decision under appeal before the Michigan Supreme Court. During the Illinois proceedings, witnesses hired by 3M questioned the science state officials relied upon and attempted to raise doubts about the reliability of testing methodologies, among other things. The state rule-making board rejected the companys arguments, noting the U.S. EPA and the World Health Organization have concluded that PFOA and PFOS are carcinogens. The largely hidden health costs of PFAS exposure are staggering. A 2022 study by New York University researchers estimated it will cost the current U.S. population nearly $63 billion. Government action to protect Americans from PFAS has been slow-coming in part because chemical manufacturers kept secret what they knew about the dangers. Documents unearthed during lawsuits show top executives at Minnesota-based 3M knew as early as the 1950s about the harmful effects of forever chemicals the conglomerate pioneered after World War II. 3M didnt begin telling the U.S. EPA what it knew about PFOA and PFOS until 1998 more than two decades after Congress approved the nations first chemical safety law. 3M and DuPont have paid nearly $2 billion combined to settle PFAS-related lawsuits without accepting responsibility for contaminated drinking water or diseases suffered by people exposed to the chemicals. 3M has long maintained the chemicals are not harmful at levels typically found in people. In June, 3M announced the company will pay at least another $10.3 billion to settle thousands of other claims accusing the company of contaminating public water systems with forever chemicals. DuPont and two other companies earlier said they had brokered a $1.19 billion settlement in the same cases, filed by cities and water systems across the nation and consolidated in a South Carolina federal court. The money is expected to be paid out over time to test for and treat PFAS-contaminated water. 3M said last year it will stop making the chemicals by 2025. Steve Playl Viewpoint So, whats your name? Billy. Have you lived here all your life? Born and raised right here in Sevier County. Lived here all my life except for a short time. Couldnt wait to get back to East Tennessee. Billy works in maintenance at the place we were staying in Pigeon Forge. He had come by to try to fix the cigarette smell that had been left by previous guests who had broken the rules while occupying our unit. We had already talked, comfortably, for several minutes about many subjects, including his college experience at Maryville College (for anyone outside of East Tennessee, thats pronounced Meravul). Our conversation also included the subject of our faith. Like Sammie and me, he was a believer. Before he left our condo we learned that he leads the music in his church and he shared some prayer requests from church, family and friends. Then we prayed with him for them and for our churches and families. It was a heartwarming experience. Later in our Pigeon Forge trip, we spoke with a waitress who thanked God for her young children and, without apology, offered a God bless you farewell greeting. When we ate at the same restaurant again, we spoke further with her. Another server, upon learning we were from Bristol and that I am a pastor, inquired about our church so he could worship with us prior to the Spring Race that he plans to attend. He seemed genuinely disappointed when he learned that I preach in Mountain City and he wouldnt be able to join us because of the distance. Sammie and I have spoken with people in different parts of the country, and, when appropriate, we have talked about the Lord in Williamsburg, Virginia; Berlin, Ohio; Flagstaff, Arizona; my hometown of Madisonville, Kentucky; and many other places. Last year, on Valentines Day, we met a couple at the restaurant where we were dining in Bristol and our conversation became a sharing of our faith and theirs. Before we parted we prayed together. Then they confessed that where they had previously lived, on the West Coast, they might have been asked to leave for such a public display of religious faith. That was one of the main reasons they moved to Tennessee. I thank God there are many places in the United States where free speech is still honored. I feel especially blessed to live in one of those places. We should never take this freedom for granted nor should we use the privilege to be unkind or act in a different way than our testimony speaks of. Sometimes the size of the town seems to effect how comfortable we may feel discussing spiritual matters with strangers. Our youngest daughter, Stacia, moved to Dandridge small town, East Tennessee less than a year ago. She has already bonded with nearly everyone in her neighborhood and most of them have invited her to church. That really made her feel at home. Wherever we live, no matter what part of the country or the size of the town, our normal conversation should include the freedom to share our faith in Jesus. We need not be offensive, nor should we have to be defensive. We should neither be confrontational nor timid. If we are followers of Christ, it should be natural for us to talk about Him. Indeed it is easier and more comfortable in some places than others, but wherever God puts us, let us follow the words of the Psalmist: Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story those he redeemed from the hand of the foe ... Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind. Psalms 107:2,8 NIV Flash Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Friday held online talks with French Minister of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty Bruno Le Maire, following an invitation from the latter. The two sides exchanged in-depth views on the concerns of both parties, as well as views on the China-France High Level Economic and Financial Dialogue. He, the Chinese lead of the dialogue, said that China is willing to work with France to implement the important consensus reached by the two countries' heads of state. Taking the opportunity presented by the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and France, China is willing to strengthen economic and financial dialogue, deepen and expand cooperation in the automotive, aviation and telecommunication sectors, and push bilateral economic and trade relations to a new level, He said. As the French lead of the dialogue, Le Maire said that France is willing to strengthen communication with China to inject new momentum into France-China economic and trade cooperation. Its a well-known story. In April of 1775, an American patriot receives intelligence communicated by lantern light and travels on horseback from Charlestown to Lexington, Massachusetts, to warn his fellow revolutionaries that British forces are approaching. The British are coming! The British are coming! the brave rider shouts as he flies through the New England countryside. Paul Revere and his midnight ride are credited with saving Founding Fathers John Hancock and Samuel Adams and putting the American militia on high alert, tilting the balance of power in Americas favor ahead of the Battles of Lexington and Concord just days later. And while the Revere that most Americans know today is more myth than man (He was not the only rider that night, he likely never shouted The British are coming! and he was actually arrested by British forces later that night), his story is considered a singular tale of the heroics Americans expect from their Sons of Liberty. But many Virginians know Revere was far from singular. Six years after Reveres heroics, Jack Jouett, known as the Paul Revere of the South, managed his own midnight ride, saved his own Founding Fathers and changed the course of history. The night of June 3, 1781, Jouett was at the Cuckoo Tavern in Louisa County when he overheard British soldiers discuss confidential war strategies. With Richmond under threat, the Virginia government had relocated to Charlottesville. Jouett understood the British troops to be preparing for a march on Charlottesville, with plans to capture, or kill, members of the General Assembly and Thomas Jefferson, who had just finished his term as governor. Jouett took his horse and rode the 40 miles between the tavern and Jeffersons Monticello estate just south of Charlottesville, where he warned the author of the Declaration of Independence and the other assembled legislators that the British were coming. Jefferson and the General Assembly parted ways, fleeing the Charlottesville area and avoiding arrest and, in some cases, perhaps death. Jouetts tale has become better known in recent years thanks to educational campaigns in the commonwealth, but its what happened next that many dont know. Whereas Americans are brought up learning about the early American victory at Lexington and Concord, many dont know about Jeffersons flight from Monticello. A group of six women are trying to change that. Plenty of people around here have heard of Jack Jouett, lots of kids growing up around here know about that, Wendy Tackett told The Daily Progress. But, most people havent heard of Jeffersons route to escape the British. Tackett along with Charlotte Bailey, Nancy Bolton, Pamela Comberg, Wendy Smith and Yates Nobles are members of the Albemarle Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a nonprofit, lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from supporters of the American Revolution. As part of a project for a Daughters of the American Revolution members course, the women dedicated the past year to researching and mapping out the path Jefferson and his family took from Monticello to Poplar Forest, their retreat outside of Lynchburg. They collected their findings in a brochure now available at both Monticello and Poplar Forest. Following the brochures directions, people can almost exactly replicate the route taken by the Jeffersons all while enjoying the modern conveniences of air conditioning and paved highways not afforded to the Founding Father who was fleeing down dirt roads in a horse-drawn carriage. The route up until Shipman is the route Jefferson took, its almost identical, said Tackett. Once you get to U.S. 29, its about what he took, because some of the roads just dont exist anymore. By combing through primary sources in Jeffersons library at Monticello and speaking with historians at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the University of Virginia and the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society, the women pieced together the events that unfolded after Jouett raised the alarm at Monticello on the morning of June 4, 1781. Right away, Jefferson sent his wife, Martha, and their daughters, Martha and Maria, ahead to a neighboring farm, Col. Edward Carters Blenheim, while he remained behind to collect documents. Jefferson then climbed to the top of Montalto, the peak neighboring his mountaintop home, from where he could view the advancing troops. Taking his fastest horse, Caractacus, Jefferson flew to his family and together they continued on to Poplar Forest. The Jeffersons spent the night at several ordinaries, or inns, over the course of their 10-day trek south. Though these structures are no longer standing, the brochure points out some still-existing stops the family made along the way in addition to unrelated but still interesting attractions, including Michie Tavern, James Monroes Highland, the Monacan Indian National Museum, the Scottsville Museum and the Waltons Mountain Museum. At the Scottsville Museum, visitors can learn about Enniscorthy, the estate where the Jeffersons stayed during their first night on the run. We thought that telling more of the story would, one, help get kids engaged because Jack Jouett is exciting, said Tackett. Two, theres so much more history along the way which is why we provided other stops and, third, people can learn as a family while traveling throughout Virginia. Tackett said the Daughters of the American Revolution is considering installing markers at the sites where the Jefferson family stayed at ordinaries on their journey south. The inspiration behind the brochure came from Jefferson himself, or rather Bill Barker, the longtime Jefferson interpreter at Monticello. Barker attended the local DAR chapters meeting last March and brought up the escape route Jefferson and his family took after Jouetts ride. Surprised by how few people knew the story, the women decided it would be a worthwhile research topic project to tackle for their members course. They uncovered plenty of obscure facts throughout the process. For instance, Jefferson composed the entirety of one of his more famous works, Notes on the State of Virginia, during the familys five-week stay at Poplar Forest. Tackett said the group also was also fascinated to learn of the enslaved communitys efforts to preserve Monticello from British raids; two men in particular, Martin Hemings and Caesar, stayed behind at Monticello and hid all of the houses silver under the floorboards. Our members had an opportunity to do primary research, and most of them hadnt done that before, said Tackett. We got to see this from a concept to fruition and now were going to roll it out. Its a way to give back to the community, and its created a lot of energy and excitement in the chapter, both within the state and nationally. The chapter received a grant that allowed them to print 25,000 editions of the brochure currently only in circulation at Monticello and Poplar Forest. However, they are seeking out additional funding for another round of printing, according to Tackett. The group is also working on forming an educational outreach component to disseminate the brochure to visitor centers across the commonwealth as well as schools at all levels. Close Exploring Virginia's rich history History in the Richmond region is so deep that exploring it whether for longtime residents or one-and-done visitors is one of our most rewarding local endeavors. Of course, all of Virginia has amazing stories to tell, whether in celebration of Black History Month this February or other parts of our heritage. As the weather warms up and you're itching to explore, these spots can inspire you to get out and about and probably learn something fascinating about Virginia's history along the way. As always, hours of operation and costs can vary, so be sure to check before you head out. African-American Heritage Trail This driving trail highlights 11 sites in Spotsylvania County that collectively feature about two dozen historic elements of African-American history. Sites include the John J. Wright Educational and Cultural Center and Museum (pictured), a renovated building of the only high school for black children from 1909 to 1968. Other highlights include the Goodwin Mine at Chewning Park, the third-largest gold mine in the country from 1830 to 1849; and Piney Branch Baptist Church with the adjacent Piney Branch School, the only one-room school for black children still standing in its original location. The church was also home of the 23rd Regiment, U.S. Colored Infantry in the Civil War, it participated in the first known fight on Virginia soil of a full U.S. Colored regiment within the Army of the Potomac. visitspotsy.com/african-american-heritage-trail Gunston Hall In Northern Virginia's Mason Neck area, the Potomac River is a picturesque backdrop for the home built by Revolution-era statesman George Mason, the author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights. (Mason was a proponent of religious tolerance and the right to a fair and speedy trial.) The home (circa 1755) features classical motifs of British design and elaborate formal rooms. Objects include a writing table, as family records note, where Mason did much of his work helping devise governmental forms for state and country. The grounds feature a central allee of English boxwood planted by Mason as well as gardens, a deer park, nature trails and the Mason family burial ground. Outbuildings include a kitchen, dairy, laundry and smokehouse, as well as a reconstructed schoolhouse. 10709 Gunston Road in Mason Neck; (703) 550-9220; gunstonhall.org Anne Spencer House & Garden Museum A poet, civil rights activist, teacher, librarian and gardener, Lynchburgs Anne Spencer was an important figure of the Harlem Renaissance, and she helped found the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She was only the second African-American poet to appear in the Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry (in 1973), and her Queen Anne-style home a kitchen wall even features one of her poems was a gathering place for intellectuals and black travelers in the 1920s. Spencers home and her garden refuge are part of the citys Pierce Street district that is rich with African-American history. The gardens roses and many of the bulbs were planted by Spencer flowers and shrubs that continue to grow. 1313 Pierce St. in Lynchburg; (434) 845-1313; annespencermuseum.com Poplar Forest One of only two homes designed by Thomas Jefferson for his own use, Poplar Forest near Lynchburg served as the third U.S. presidents personal retreat. His neoclassical home was on a more than 4,000-acre plantation and, after age 65, Jefferson spent a great deal of time at the estate, where he could unwind, read and explore the environment. Visitors can take a guided tour of Jeffersons living spaces, including his dining room and parlor/library. A self-guided tour highlights lower-level exhibits and a restored kitchen and service wing. Restoration of the property and archaeology are ongoing. Archaeologists have been restoring the ornamental landscape around the house, which Jefferson designed based on what he saw in England and France. 1542 Bateman Bridge Road in Forest; (434) 525-1806; poplarforest.org Newsome House Museum and Cultural Center In Newport News, African-American attorney, journalist and civic leader Joseph Thomas Newsome moved into this 1899 home in 1906 and converted it from a saltbox structure to a Queen Anne-style residence, which became a hub of the local black community. Newsome served as state president of the Old Dominion Bar Association, and he was one of the first black solicitors in Virginia who successfully pleaded cases before the state Supreme Court. (In tribute to him, the city courts were closed the day of his funeral in 1942.) Newsome was also editor of The Newport News Star, a weekly black newspaper, and became a columnist for the Norfolk Journal and Guide. His home was the first black-owned structure to receive a National Historic Preservation Award. 2803 Oak Ave. in Newport News; (757) 247-2360; newsomehouse.org Hampton Roads Naval Museum One of nine U.S. Navy museums, this location introduces visitors to more than 240 years of naval activity in Hampton Roads. The Norfolk museum is the Navys primary repository of artifacts from the USS Cumberland (sunk by the Confederate ironclad Virginia in the Civil War) and the CSS Florida. The more than 50 exhibits include a collection of naval ship models, 19th-century artwork and underwater archaeological finds from the Civil War. Visitors can learn about sailor life during the Revolutionary War and the floating cities that are modern aircraft carriers. Artifacts include a 1798 cannon from the frigate USS Constellation, a Mark 7 undersea mine from World War I and a torpedo warhead from a German U-boat. The museum also houses a naval history research library open by appointment. One Waterside Drive in Norfolk (second floor of Nauticus); (757) 322-2987; hrnm.navy.mil Schoolhouse Museum In the town of Smithfield, this one-room structure highlights the schooling of black children in Isle of Wight County in the early 20th century, and it honors the legacy of those who promoted their education. The structure was built in 1932 as an addition to the Christian Home School, which was among the thousands of Rosenwald Schools that served black children in the South during the era. The addition was moved to the historic district of Smithfield in 2005 to be renovated and opened as a museum. It now includes period photographs, desks and other artifacts, and serves as a reminder of the commitment in black communities to expand educational opportunities for children. 516 Main St. in Smithfield; (757) 365-4789; theschoolhousemuseum.org Bacons Castle / Smiths Fort Plantation Surry County is home to two Preservation Virginia sites. Bacons Castle (pictured) is the nations oldest existing brick dwelling (circa 1665). Its Jacobean architecture features triple-stacked chimneys and shaped Flemish gables, and the home boasts the oldest English formal garden in North America. (The house got its moniker from Colonial-era patriot Nathaniel Bacon, whose 1676 rebellion drove out loyalist homeowner Arthur Allen.) At Smiths Fort Plantation, the stories of English explorer Captain John Smith, tobacco planter John Rolfe and Pocahontas come to life in guided tours. Though the brick house was built between 1751 and 1765, John Smith had begun construction of a fort on the same site in 1609 before abandoning the project. The land later was a dowry gift from Chief Powhatan to Rolfe. 465 Bacon's Castle Trail in Surry; (757) 357-5976; preservationvirginia.org 217 Smith Fort Lane in Surry; (757) 294-3872; preservationvirginia.org Barrier Islands Center The culture and history of Virginias Barrier Islands are featured at this Northampton County museum and education site. Fishing and farming communities, U.S. Life-Saving Service surfmen and fancy hotels and hunt clubs catering to the elite once populated the islands. But storms, including the 1933 Chesapeake-Potomac hurricane, battered the homes and hotels, eroding the land and forcing islanders to move inland. The center presents exhibits and documentary films to tell the stories of the people who lived and worked on the islands. Opened in 2002 on the site of the former Almshouse Farm, which served as the Northampton poorhouse for almost 150 years, the center has three historic buildings: the 1890s Almshouse, the 1910 African-American Almshouse and a 1725 Quarter Kitchen. 7295 Young St. in Machipongo; (757) 678-5550; barrierislandscenter.org Booker T. Washington National Monument Born into slavery in Franklin County, Booker T. Washington is renowned as an educator, author and presidential adviser who founded the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and became a national black leader. The Booker T. Washington National Monument is located on the former Burroughs Plantation where he was born. (The 207-acre property is still a working farm.) The Plantation Trail runs through the historic area, passing reconstructed 19th-century farm buildings. The Jack-O-Lantern Branch Heritage Trail wanders through trails and forests on the property. The monument, which is part of the National Park Service, offers a video presentation of Washingtons life as well as an exhibit room featuring hands-on activity. Master gardeners work on the heirloom garden through the summer and share techniques used by farmowners and slaves. 12130 Booker T. Washington Highway in Hardy; (540) 721-2094; nps.gov/bowa/index.htm The Crooked Road This 330-mile driving trail through the Appalachian Mountains of Southwest Virginia is designated as Virginias Heritage Music Trail for good reason: It features nine major venues and more than 60 affiliated music sites and festivals, all along a route through 19 counties and more than 50 cities and towns. In Bristol, the Birthplace of Country Music Museum highlights the citys music history and, in Ferrum, the Blue Ridge Institute and Farm Museum captures regional folklore. In Galax, the weeklong Old Fiddlers Convention is the worlds oldest and largest fiddlers convention. The Crooked Road also includes recreational activities, crafts and cultural programs. Look for highway signs that designate the route as well as wayside exhibits highlighting local music and history. (276) 492-2409; thecrookedroad.org Museum of the Shenandoah Valley On the outskirts of historic Old Town Winchester, the heritage of the Shenandoah Valley is on full display at this large museum, whose permanent collection houses more than 11,000 artifacts. Displays touch on furniture, textiles and more in 2016, the museum marked its 10th anniversary, and the Collect, Preserve, Interpret exhibit highlights key items that tell the Valleys story. The 214-acre property also includes the Glen Burnie House (circa 1794), which was home to museum benefactor Julian Wood Glass Jr. (Some pieces of his decorative arts collection are on view at the house, along with panels depicting the homes history.) The house, surrounded by a 7-acre garden, is open for self-guided tours April through December. 901 Amherst St. in Winchester; (888) 556-5799; themsv.org CrossRoads/Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center The center showcases the historical and spiritual legacy of the farmers and craftsmen of the Mennonites and Brethren, who have lived in the Shenandoah Valley for more than two centuries. The 24-acre main campus, CrossRoads, includes a series of 19th- and 20th-century Mennonite-Brethren buildings. Designed as a farmstead, the campus has a working garden and features a log house (circa 1829) that once accommodated church services, a wash house, a one-room school (pictured), a blacksmith shop and other structures including a Brunk Revival semi-trailer from the popular midcentury evangelical program. The center includes two other sites: Breneman-Turner Mill is the only surviving pre-Civil War mill in Rockingham County, and Hildebrand Church is a historic meetinghouse in northern Augusta County. 1921 Garbers Church Road in Harrisonburg; (540) 438-1275; vbmhc.org Chatham Manor This Georgian mansion near Fredericksburg overlooking the Rappahannock River is owned by the National Park Service and is part of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. The former 1,280-acre plantation was built between 1768 and 1771 by prominent Virginia lawmaker William Fitzhugh, and over its storied history, visitors included Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, future American Red Cross founder Clara Barton and poet Walt Whitman. During the Civil War, Chatham Manor served as headquarters of a Union Army field hospital. Today, five of the mansions 10 rooms contain exhibits and are open to the public. So is Chatham Gardens, which offers sweeping views of Fredericksburg landmarks. 120 Chatham Lane in Fredericksburg; (540) 693-3200; nps.gov/frsp/learn/historyculture/chatham.htm James Monroe Museum In Fredericksburg, this site (administered by the University of Mary Washington) is dedicated to the study, interpretation and presentation of the life and times of the countrys fifth president. It holds the nations largest collection of artifacts and documents related to Monroe, who issued the 1823 doctrine that opposed further European colonization of the Western Hemisphere. Holdings include the Louis XVI secretary believed to be where he penned the Monroe Doctrine, as well as jewelry belonging to his wife and a restored 1810 Astor pianoforte. The 48-piece costume collection, whose pieces are shown in rotation, has waistcoats worn by Monroe as a College of William & Mary student as well as the suit he wore in Paris in 1803 when he negotiated the Louisiana Purchase. 908 Charles St. in Fredericksburg; (540) 654-1043; jamesmonroemuseum.org Alexandria Black History Museum The museum chronicles local and regional history in the Northern Virginia city at the heart of the PBS Civil War drama "Mercy Street." The museum incorporates the Robert H. Robinson Library, originally built in 1940 after a sit-in at the segregated Queen Street library, and two additional sites were added to the museum complex in 1995: The Watson Reading Room has a collection of books, videos and periodicals on African-American life, and the nearby African-American Heritage Park (pictured) a 9-acre green space and wetlands area preserves the site of a 19th-century black cemetery. Sculptures of bronze trees serve as the parks focal point, and Washington sculptor Jerome Meadows titled his work Truths That Rise From the Roots Remembered to highlight the African-Americans who contributed to the growth of Alexandria. 902 Wythe St. in Alexandria; (703) 746-4356; alexandriava.gov/blackhistory Claude Moore Colonial Farm Authenticity lives at this living history museum in Northern Virginias McLean area, where visitors can participate in the daily activities of an 18th-century family farm. The site re-creates the life of a tenant family before the American Revolution and offers self-guided tours as well as hands-on educational programs focused on the Colonial period. Costumed staff and volunteers greet visitors in character. The farm holds a number of events related to the period, including an 18th-century Market Fair with period craftsmen, entertainers and merchants; the Wheat Harvest; Dairy Day; and the Christmas Wassail with dancing and caroling. The farm also offers plants, heirloom vegetables and herbs for sale. The Gate House Shop stocks educational and gift items. The farm reopens April 1. 6310 Georgetown Pike in McLean; (703) 442-7557; 1771.org Gloucester Dating to the late 1600s, Gloucesters courthouse square includes one of the nations oldest courthouses (circa 1766) still in use (though not for court anymore). Other structures include a debtors prison and jail, and the Botetourt Building houses the Gloucester Museum of History. (The building originally served as a roadside tavern.) Gloucester also is home to the Rosewell Ruins (pictured). Built in the early 18th century, Rosewell was the ancestral home of the Page family but was destroyed by fire in 1916 the dramatic ruins include several walls, four chimneys and the wine cellar. Other notable sites include the Colonial-era Abingdon Episcopal and Ware Episcopal churches. And the annual Daffodil Festival celebrates Gloucesters nickname as the "daffodil capital of America" colonists brought the bulbs to the county in the 1600s. (866) 847-2450; gloucesterva.info (click visitors) Harrison Museum of African-American Culture The Roanoke Valleys African-American history and culture are featured in the museums permanent collection, which includes memorabilia and photographs as well as African and contemporary art. Local heritage is further documented through oral histories and recollections from elders of the valleys black communities. Each September, the museum hosts the Henry Street Heritage Festival, which celebrates the culture and heritage of people of African descent through entertainment, educational forums, crafts and more. The museums ongoing Artists and Musicians program features lectures, music and artworks presented by professors from nearby colleges. 1 Market Square SE (second floor) in Roanoke; (540) 857-4395; harrisonmuseum.com Virginia Museum of Natural History An official state museum, the Virginia Museum of Natural History interprets the commonwealths natural past, with exhibits touching on our story from 500 million years ago to today. Life-size dinosaur cast skeletons, elaborate animal mount dioramas and hands-on displays are among the attractions. The Uncovering Virginia exhibit highlights sites at which museum scientists have worked to reveal the states past, and visitors can peek inside a working paleontology lab to watch scientists prepare dinosaur fossils from the Mesozoic Era (approximately 250 million to 65 million years ago). The archaeology lab offers a glimpse into the study of artifacts from ancient cultures, and the How Nature Works gallery features landscape models showing how energy and geological forces have shaped the Earth. 21 Starling Ave. in Martinsville; (276) 634-4141; vmnh.net Explore our rich history: 20+ sites to check out in Virginia The RTDs latest Discover Richmond magazine explores intriguing people, places and things in local and state history from a famous Virginian you might not know to a 10-foot sloth with a link to Thomas Jefferson. Discover Richmond will be delivered with Mondays premium RTD for home-delivery subscribers. Newsstand customers and those seeking additional copies can purchase them at select retail locations, visit Richmond.com/Discover or call (804) 649-6261. Exploring Virginia's rich history History in the Richmond region is so deep that exploring it whether for longtime residents or one-and-done visitors is one of our most rewarding local endeavors. Of course, all of Virginia has amazing stories to tell, whether in celebration of Black History Month this February or other parts of our heritage. As the weather warms up and you're itching to explore, these spots can inspire you to get out and about and probably learn something fascinating about Virginia's history along the way. As always, hours of operation and costs can vary, so be sure to check before you head out. African-American Heritage Trail This driving trail highlights 11 sites in Spotsylvania County that collectively feature about two dozen historic elements of African-American history. Sites include the John J. Wright Educational and Cultural Center and Museum (pictured), a renovated building of the only high school for black children from 1909 to 1968. Other highlights include the Goodwin Mine at Chewning Park, the third-largest gold mine in the country from 1830 to 1849; and Piney Branch Baptist Church with the adjacent Piney Branch School, the only one-room school for black children still standing in its original location. The church was also home of the 23rd Regiment, U.S. Colored Infantry in the Civil War, it participated in the first known fight on Virginia soil of a full U.S. Colored regiment within the Army of the Potomac. visitspotsy.com/african-american-heritage-trail Gunston Hall In Northern Virginia's Mason Neck area, the Potomac River is a picturesque backdrop for the home built by Revolution-era statesman George Mason, the author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights. (Mason was a proponent of religious tolerance and the right to a fair and speedy trial.) The home (circa 1755) features classical motifs of British design and elaborate formal rooms. Objects include a writing table, as family records note, where Mason did much of his work helping devise governmental forms for state and country. The grounds feature a central allee of English boxwood planted by Mason as well as gardens, a deer park, nature trails and the Mason family burial ground. Outbuildings include a kitchen, dairy, laundry and smokehouse, as well as a reconstructed schoolhouse. 10709 Gunston Road in Mason Neck; (703) 550-9220; gunstonhall.org Anne Spencer House & Garden Museum A poet, civil rights activist, teacher, librarian and gardener, Lynchburgs Anne Spencer was an important figure of the Harlem Renaissance, and she helped found the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She was only the second African-American poet to appear in the Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry (in 1973), and her Queen Anne-style home a kitchen wall even features one of her poems was a gathering place for intellectuals and black travelers in the 1920s. Spencers home and her garden refuge are part of the citys Pierce Street district that is rich with African-American history. The gardens roses and many of the bulbs were planted by Spencer flowers and shrubs that continue to grow. 1313 Pierce St. in Lynchburg; (434) 845-1313; annespencermuseum.com Poplar Forest One of only two homes designed by Thomas Jefferson for his own use, Poplar Forest near Lynchburg served as the third U.S. presidents personal retreat. His neoclassical home was on a more than 4,000-acre plantation and, after age 65, Jefferson spent a great deal of time at the estate, where he could unwind, read and explore the environment. Visitors can take a guided tour of Jeffersons living spaces, including his dining room and parlor/library. A self-guided tour highlights lower-level exhibits and a restored kitchen and service wing. Restoration of the property and archaeology are ongoing. Archaeologists have been restoring the ornamental landscape around the house, which Jefferson designed based on what he saw in England and France. 1542 Bateman Bridge Road in Forest; (434) 525-1806; poplarforest.org Newsome House Museum and Cultural Center In Newport News, African-American attorney, journalist and civic leader Joseph Thomas Newsome moved into this 1899 home in 1906 and converted it from a saltbox structure to a Queen Anne-style residence, which became a hub of the local black community. Newsome served as state president of the Old Dominion Bar Association, and he was one of the first black solicitors in Virginia who successfully pleaded cases before the state Supreme Court. (In tribute to him, the city courts were closed the day of his funeral in 1942.) Newsome was also editor of The Newport News Star, a weekly black newspaper, and became a columnist for the Norfolk Journal and Guide. His home was the first black-owned structure to receive a National Historic Preservation Award. 2803 Oak Ave. in Newport News; (757) 247-2360; newsomehouse.org Hampton Roads Naval Museum One of nine U.S. Navy museums, this location introduces visitors to more than 240 years of naval activity in Hampton Roads. The Norfolk museum is the Navys primary repository of artifacts from the USS Cumberland (sunk by the Confederate ironclad Virginia in the Civil War) and the CSS Florida. The more than 50 exhibits include a collection of naval ship models, 19th-century artwork and underwater archaeological finds from the Civil War. Visitors can learn about sailor life during the Revolutionary War and the floating cities that are modern aircraft carriers. Artifacts include a 1798 cannon from the frigate USS Constellation, a Mark 7 undersea mine from World War I and a torpedo warhead from a German U-boat. The museum also houses a naval history research library open by appointment. One Waterside Drive in Norfolk (second floor of Nauticus); (757) 322-2987; hrnm.navy.mil Schoolhouse Museum In the town of Smithfield, this one-room structure highlights the schooling of black children in Isle of Wight County in the early 20th century, and it honors the legacy of those who promoted their education. The structure was built in 1932 as an addition to the Christian Home School, which was among the thousands of Rosenwald Schools that served black children in the South during the era. The addition was moved to the historic district of Smithfield in 2005 to be renovated and opened as a museum. It now includes period photographs, desks and other artifacts, and serves as a reminder of the commitment in black communities to expand educational opportunities for children. 516 Main St. in Smithfield; (757) 365-4789; theschoolhousemuseum.org Bacons Castle / Smiths Fort Plantation Surry County is home to two Preservation Virginia sites. Bacons Castle (pictured) is the nations oldest existing brick dwelling (circa 1665). Its Jacobean architecture features triple-stacked chimneys and shaped Flemish gables, and the home boasts the oldest English formal garden in North America. (The house got its moniker from Colonial-era patriot Nathaniel Bacon, whose 1676 rebellion drove out loyalist homeowner Arthur Allen.) At Smiths Fort Plantation, the stories of English explorer Captain John Smith, tobacco planter John Rolfe and Pocahontas come to life in guided tours. Though the brick house was built between 1751 and 1765, John Smith had begun construction of a fort on the same site in 1609 before abandoning the project. The land later was a dowry gift from Chief Powhatan to Rolfe. 465 Bacon's Castle Trail in Surry; (757) 357-5976; preservationvirginia.org 217 Smith Fort Lane in Surry; (757) 294-3872; preservationvirginia.org Barrier Islands Center The culture and history of Virginias Barrier Islands are featured at this Northampton County museum and education site. Fishing and farming communities, U.S. Life-Saving Service surfmen and fancy hotels and hunt clubs catering to the elite once populated the islands. But storms, including the 1933 Chesapeake-Potomac hurricane, battered the homes and hotels, eroding the land and forcing islanders to move inland. The center presents exhibits and documentary films to tell the stories of the people who lived and worked on the islands. Opened in 2002 on the site of the former Almshouse Farm, which served as the Northampton poorhouse for almost 150 years, the center has three historic buildings: the 1890s Almshouse, the 1910 African-American Almshouse and a 1725 Quarter Kitchen. 7295 Young St. in Machipongo; (757) 678-5550; barrierislandscenter.org Booker T. Washington National Monument Born into slavery in Franklin County, Booker T. Washington is renowned as an educator, author and presidential adviser who founded the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and became a national black leader. The Booker T. Washington National Monument is located on the former Burroughs Plantation where he was born. (The 207-acre property is still a working farm.) The Plantation Trail runs through the historic area, passing reconstructed 19th-century farm buildings. The Jack-O-Lantern Branch Heritage Trail wanders through trails and forests on the property. The monument, which is part of the National Park Service, offers a video presentation of Washingtons life as well as an exhibit room featuring hands-on activity. Master gardeners work on the heirloom garden through the summer and share techniques used by farmowners and slaves. 12130 Booker T. Washington Highway in Hardy; (540) 721-2094; nps.gov/bowa/index.htm The Crooked Road This 330-mile driving trail through the Appalachian Mountains of Southwest Virginia is designated as Virginias Heritage Music Trail for good reason: It features nine major venues and more than 60 affiliated music sites and festivals, all along a route through 19 counties and more than 50 cities and towns. In Bristol, the Birthplace of Country Music Museum highlights the citys music history and, in Ferrum, the Blue Ridge Institute and Farm Museum captures regional folklore. In Galax, the weeklong Old Fiddlers Convention is the worlds oldest and largest fiddlers convention. The Crooked Road also includes recreational activities, crafts and cultural programs. Look for highway signs that designate the route as well as wayside exhibits highlighting local music and history. (276) 492-2409; thecrookedroad.org Museum of the Shenandoah Valley On the outskirts of historic Old Town Winchester, the heritage of the Shenandoah Valley is on full display at this large museum, whose permanent collection houses more than 11,000 artifacts. Displays touch on furniture, textiles and more in 2016, the museum marked its 10th anniversary, and the Collect, Preserve, Interpret exhibit highlights key items that tell the Valleys story. The 214-acre property also includes the Glen Burnie House (circa 1794), which was home to museum benefactor Julian Wood Glass Jr. (Some pieces of his decorative arts collection are on view at the house, along with panels depicting the homes history.) The house, surrounded by a 7-acre garden, is open for self-guided tours April through December. 901 Amherst St. in Winchester; (888) 556-5799; themsv.org CrossRoads/Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center The center showcases the historical and spiritual legacy of the farmers and craftsmen of the Mennonites and Brethren, who have lived in the Shenandoah Valley for more than two centuries. The 24-acre main campus, CrossRoads, includes a series of 19th- and 20th-century Mennonite-Brethren buildings. Designed as a farmstead, the campus has a working garden and features a log house (circa 1829) that once accommodated church services, a wash house, a one-room school (pictured), a blacksmith shop and other structures including a Brunk Revival semi-trailer from the popular midcentury evangelical program. The center includes two other sites: Breneman-Turner Mill is the only surviving pre-Civil War mill in Rockingham County, and Hildebrand Church is a historic meetinghouse in northern Augusta County. 1921 Garbers Church Road in Harrisonburg; (540) 438-1275; vbmhc.org Chatham Manor This Georgian mansion near Fredericksburg overlooking the Rappahannock River is owned by the National Park Service and is part of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. The former 1,280-acre plantation was built between 1768 and 1771 by prominent Virginia lawmaker William Fitzhugh, and over its storied history, visitors included Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, future American Red Cross founder Clara Barton and poet Walt Whitman. During the Civil War, Chatham Manor served as headquarters of a Union Army field hospital. Today, five of the mansions 10 rooms contain exhibits and are open to the public. So is Chatham Gardens, which offers sweeping views of Fredericksburg landmarks. 120 Chatham Lane in Fredericksburg; (540) 693-3200; nps.gov/frsp/learn/historyculture/chatham.htm James Monroe Museum In Fredericksburg, this site (administered by the University of Mary Washington) is dedicated to the study, interpretation and presentation of the life and times of the countrys fifth president. It holds the nations largest collection of artifacts and documents related to Monroe, who issued the 1823 doctrine that opposed further European colonization of the Western Hemisphere. Holdings include the Louis XVI secretary believed to be where he penned the Monroe Doctrine, as well as jewelry belonging to his wife and a restored 1810 Astor pianoforte. The 48-piece costume collection, whose pieces are shown in rotation, has waistcoats worn by Monroe as a College of William & Mary student as well as the suit he wore in Paris in 1803 when he negotiated the Louisiana Purchase. 908 Charles St. in Fredericksburg; (540) 654-1043; jamesmonroemuseum.org Alexandria Black History Museum The museum chronicles local and regional history in the Northern Virginia city at the heart of the PBS Civil War drama "Mercy Street." The museum incorporates the Robert H. Robinson Library, originally built in 1940 after a sit-in at the segregated Queen Street library, and two additional sites were added to the museum complex in 1995: The Watson Reading Room has a collection of books, videos and periodicals on African-American life, and the nearby African-American Heritage Park (pictured) a 9-acre green space and wetlands area preserves the site of a 19th-century black cemetery. Sculptures of bronze trees serve as the parks focal point, and Washington sculptor Jerome Meadows titled his work Truths That Rise From the Roots Remembered to highlight the African-Americans who contributed to the growth of Alexandria. 902 Wythe St. in Alexandria; (703) 746-4356; alexandriava.gov/blackhistory Claude Moore Colonial Farm Authenticity lives at this living history museum in Northern Virginias McLean area, where visitors can participate in the daily activities of an 18th-century family farm. The site re-creates the life of a tenant family before the American Revolution and offers self-guided tours as well as hands-on educational programs focused on the Colonial period. Costumed staff and volunteers greet visitors in character. The farm holds a number of events related to the period, including an 18th-century Market Fair with period craftsmen, entertainers and merchants; the Wheat Harvest; Dairy Day; and the Christmas Wassail with dancing and caroling. The farm also offers plants, heirloom vegetables and herbs for sale. The Gate House Shop stocks educational and gift items. The farm reopens April 1. 6310 Georgetown Pike in McLean; (703) 442-7557; 1771.org Gloucester Dating to the late 1600s, Gloucesters courthouse square includes one of the nations oldest courthouses (circa 1766) still in use (though not for court anymore). Other structures include a debtors prison and jail, and the Botetourt Building houses the Gloucester Museum of History. (The building originally served as a roadside tavern.) Gloucester also is home to the Rosewell Ruins (pictured). Built in the early 18th century, Rosewell was the ancestral home of the Page family but was destroyed by fire in 1916 the dramatic ruins include several walls, four chimneys and the wine cellar. Other notable sites include the Colonial-era Abingdon Episcopal and Ware Episcopal churches. And the annual Daffodil Festival celebrates Gloucesters nickname as the "daffodil capital of America" colonists brought the bulbs to the county in the 1600s. (866) 847-2450; gloucesterva.info (click visitors) Harrison Museum of African-American Culture The Roanoke Valleys African-American history and culture are featured in the museums permanent collection, which includes memorabilia and photographs as well as African and contemporary art. Local heritage is further documented through oral histories and recollections from elders of the valleys black communities. Each September, the museum hosts the Henry Street Heritage Festival, which celebrates the culture and heritage of people of African descent through entertainment, educational forums, crafts and more. The museums ongoing Artists and Musicians program features lectures, music and artworks presented by professors from nearby colleges. 1 Market Square SE (second floor) in Roanoke; (540) 857-4395; harrisonmuseum.com Virginia Museum of Natural History An official state museum, the Virginia Museum of Natural History interprets the commonwealths natural past, with exhibits touching on our story from 500 million years ago to today. Life-size dinosaur cast skeletons, elaborate animal mount dioramas and hands-on displays are among the attractions. The Uncovering Virginia exhibit highlights sites at which museum scientists have worked to reveal the states past, and visitors can peek inside a working paleontology lab to watch scientists prepare dinosaur fossils from the Mesozoic Era (approximately 250 million to 65 million years ago). The archaeology lab offers a glimpse into the study of artifacts from ancient cultures, and the How Nature Works gallery features landscape models showing how energy and geological forces have shaped the Earth. 21 Starling Ave. in Martinsville; (276) 634-4141; vmnh.net Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Friday that the budget rewrite that senior General Assembly members just negotiated includes a $2.5 billion tax hike that will disproportionately hit low- and moderate-income Virginians. He said legislators are misleading the public on the impact of an expansion of sales taxes to cover digital services. Ive now had a chance to preliminarily review the budget, its early, we havent dug in but what I can tell is that this is a backwards budget, Youngkin told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. House and Senate budget negotiators on Thursday released their compromise spending package. It does not include Youngkin's proposed $1 billion in tax cuts. It includes a version of just one part of his tax package - to expand application of the sales tax. Youngkin said the General Assembly budgets expansion of sales taxes would have a bigger impact than the $1 billion the budget forecasts for the general fund the state government account that tracks tax revenue and how it is spent. Instead, he asserted that it would amount to a $2 billion tax increase over the next two years when Virginians go shopping. "They don't want anybody to see that they're raising taxes," Youngkin said. He said thats because a portion of the 5.3% sales tax goes to a separate account, the Commonwealth Transportation Fund, to be used for highways and transportation projects. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, that amounted to $1.4 billion. In addition, not quite one-fifth of the sales taxes people pay goes directly to localities, he noted. Youngkin also criticized language in the budget that would Virginia to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a program under which power plants have to pay to buy allowances for every ton of carbon they emit. He said that would amount to an additional $500 million tax on Virginians electricity bills. Youngkin pulled Virginia out of the program last year. Everything weve done in the past 2-1/2 years, theyre taking us backwards, he said. Youngkin said the sales tax is regressive, which means that it takes a relatively bigger chunk of low- and moderate-income individuals funds than those of people who are better off. Thats because low and moderate-income people spend a higher percentage of their income on goods and services than do higher-income individuals. Youngkin's proposed version of the budget had included an expansion of the sales tax to digital services, but Youngkin argued that the impact was more than offset by income tax rate reductions and an increase in the earned income tax credit that the General Assemblys rewrite left out. Meanwhile, the legislature rewrite eliminated Youngkins exemption for business purchases of digital services. Thats going to really hurt small businesses, said Del. Joseph McNamara, R-Roanoke County, an accountant who is the House GOPs point person on tax issues. The tax would come on purchases of software, digital audio and audiovisual products, reading materials, and other data or applications, that the purchaser owns or can continue accessing by downloading or streaming. It also would apply to software application services computer-related services, website hosting and design and data storage. Youngkin said he budget also takes the state back on public safety and economic development. He said it reduced what he sought for help recruiting police officers and for school resource officers. The General Assembly budget rewrite also cut back his proposal for money to prepare sites to be ready as the state tries to woo new businesses or secure existing firms expansions. The budget also rejecting the $2 billion arena and performing arts project in Alexandria that Youngkin called the biggest economic development project in Virginia history. So the governor doesnt like the budget: huh! said an unsurprised Senate Finance Committee chair Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth. She has said she was the roadblock that kept the arena deal out of the budget. House Appropriations Committee chair Luke Torian, D-Prince William, said: I dont have any reaction. Its a good conference report and a good budget. Lobby Day at the Virginia General Assembly 2024 KANNAPOLIS Frederick Buddy Hilbish had a pretty audacious goal when he was a young man. The U.S. Navy veteran, who served his country in the Southwest Pacific Theater in World War II and later attended Harvard Business School, wanted to become a Ford Dealer before his 30th birthday. Through passion and hard work, Hilbish, who had already worked for a family friend at a Ford dealership in Trenton, New Jersey, was able to make his dream a reality, when he purchased the former Yoos Motor dealership in Kannapolis on March 19, 1954, just 30 days before his milestone birthday. Seventy years later, Hilbish is still the proud owner of Hilbish Ford, at 2600 S. Cannon Blvd., which continues to be a steadfast presence in the Kannapolis and Concord communities. The current location was built in 1968 after Hilbish merged his company and a competing company, Concord Motors, which he purchased in 1958. In presiding over the business all these many decades, Hilbish has also made history, as he is the longest continually serving Ford dealer in the country. To celebrate the momentous anniversary, a celebration was held in Hilbishs honor Thursday afternoon, with people from across the community in attendance. I want to thank everyone who made this dealership what it is today, Hilbish told the crowd, surrounded by family and longtime employees, some of whom have been with Hilbish Ford for many decades. Our communities are just so much better off because of what you have done for us, Concord Mayor Bill Dusch said. In 1968, Duschs parents bought him his first Mustang from Hilbish Ford, which he kept for about 25 years. Throughout his career, Hilbish, who turns 100 in April, has been much more than a businessman. Hes also been a philanthropist, giving back to numerous organizations in the area including Cooperative Christian Ministries, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Habitat for Humanity, Hospice of Cabarrus County, Atrium Hospital Foundation, Cabarrus Meals on Wheels, Concord and Kannapolis Police, Cabarrus Arts Council and Rowan Cabarrus Community College, to name a few. Hilbishs daughter Melissa recalled playing hide and seek with her brother in the dealership as it was being built never knowing what car our parents were going to show up to pick us up in, she said. More than anything, Melissa emphasized, Hilbish was a loving father who continually went above and beyond for her and her brother. Not only was he a phenomenal businessman and an epic Ford dealer, but also a wonderful father, Melissa said. All the time that it took to build Hilbish Ford, he always had time for us. Hilbish was presented with a proclamation from the city of Kannapolis along with a framed personal letter from Bill Ford Jr., executive chairman of the Ford Motor Company. Please accept my congratulations on the incredible achievement of 70 years as a proud owner of Hilbish Ford, Ford wrote. What a milestone! It truly serves as a testament to your leadership and unwavering commitment to excellence. You have left an enduring legacy that will inspire generations to come, Ford added. He has been a true friend to each of us in the city, Kannapolis Mayor Darrell Hinnant said, noting his love for the community, his strength of character, his respect for others and his strong work ethic have been the qualities that have contributed to his long life. Hilbish was also presented with an American flag, which was flown over the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., in honor of Hilbishs military service, his upcoming birthday and his 70 years of service in Kannapolis. During a primary election where numerous races were held at the local, statewide and federal level, turnout in Cabarrus County was fairly dismal. Only 31,630 of the countys 155,387 registered voters cast ballots during this primary season. That is 20% of the total, according to unofficial election data from Tuesday night. The total number of voters was much lower than the past two presidential primary years: In 2020, 39,562 people voted (28 percent of the total electorate), and in 2016, the number was even higher, with 43,617 people casting ballots (35% of electorate). The last time so few residents voted during a presidential primary was in 2008, when 31,430 people cast ballots, which was 31% of the 100, 126 registered voters in the county at the time. A perceived lack of interest among voters was not confined to Cabarrus County. Several neighboring counties also faced similar levels of apathy: Only 19% of Mecklenburg residents voted; 23% of Rowan residents voted; 22% of Union residents voted; and 24% of Iredell residents voted. Across North Carolina, only about 1.8 million residents voted during the primary election, about 24% of the roughly 7.5 million registered voters. During the 2020 primary election, by comparison, 2.7 million people voted (or 31% of the electorate). Cabarrus County Board of Elections director Carol Soles told the paper she was surprised by the results, explaining she was expecting around 25% to 30% voter turnout. I thought maybe the lower races might turn people out, for the congressional contests and the County Commissioners race. The absence of 80% of Cabarrus residents who stayed home was felt in at least two close Republican nominating contests, including the race for N.C. House District 82, where Kevin Crutchfield lost to Brian Echevarria by just 171 votes, according to Tuesdays unofficial results. Echevarria received 50.94% of the vote while Crutchfield received 49.06%. In an interview with the Independent Tribune, Crutchfield suggested several possible reasons for the depressed turnout, such as Cabarrus having only one polling place throughout the two weeks of early voting. Counties much smaller than Cabarrus had more polling sites open during early voting, including Stanly County, which had two polling locations and Rowan, which had three. Another factor was the timing of Spring Break for students at both Kannapolis City Schools and Cabarrus County Schools. This is the first year that Im aware that the primary Election Day has run on the same week as Spring Break, and I think that was a contributor to low voter turnout, Crutchfield said. Soles said additional polling places are always open for the early voting period during the general election, but it is just not feasible for early voting in the primary. Crutchfield told the paper on Thursday that he will likely call for a recount. The lack of enthusiasm also played a role in the Board of Commissioners Republican primary, where school board member Laura Blackwell Lindsey and former N.C. House Rep. Larry Pittman, advanced to the general election in November. Lindsey received 24.33% of the vote and Pittman received 20.81%. Longtime incumbent Steve Morris, who is the current chairman, finished third in the race, with 166 votes separating him from Pittman, according to the unofficial results. Morris, who garnered 20.39% of the vote, has been on the board since 2012. His defeat was totally a function of turnout, Morris said. The fact that 80 percent of the voters in Cabarrus County chose not to participate in the process was consequential. Morris is leaning toward not requesting a recount, he said. There are still 313 provisional ballots and 85 absentee ballots to be examined and possibly counted as of Thursday afternoon, Soles said, though that likely will not change the outcome of either race. Provisional ballots are ballots election officials set aside as they conduct research about the voters eligibility, according to the State Board of Elections. Voters may be asked to fill out a provisional ballot for several reasons including questions about their address or voter registration or if they cant provide a photo ID. Each county board must have canvass meetings, when the results are finalized, by March 15. The primary election results will then be finalized by the State Board of Elections on March 26. When you have tens of thousands of people that didnt vote and the margin between the last winning candidate and the first losing candidate being less than 200, it does sort of speak to that issue of turnout, said Cabarrus County Board of Elections chairman Martin Ericson. I would say its disappointing but not surprising, Martin Ericson added. He noted that turnout during presidential years has historically been driven by candidates at the top of the ticket. If you have a presidential primary where it seems to be in doubt as to who the ultimate candidates are going to be, that can sometimes drive attention also, Ericson said. Many people are unenthusiastic about both President Biden and Donald Trump and are not looking forward to a rematch of the 2020 presidential election which can deter large segments of the electorate from voting. The last time the same candidates faced off in subsequent presidential elections was in 1952 and 1956, when Dwight Eisenhower defeated the Democratic challenger Adlai Stevenson. Democracy is not about the will of the people, Ericson said, paraphrasing from a quote by Thomas Jefferson, its about the will of the people who show up and vote. A new North Carolina summer nutrition program branded as Sun Bucks will provide a one-time payment of $120 per eligible child. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services projects nearly 1 million school-age children will benefit from the program. The program also involves the state Department of Public Instruction. The funds come from the U.S. Department of Agricultures new Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer program. Funds will be provided to families on debit-like EBT cards to purchase groceries at retailers that accept EBT, including most major grocery stores. Food is foundational to health, state Health Secretary Kody Kinsley said in a statement. The SUN Bucks program will help relieve kids hunger, support their health and promote the ability for them to learn. Most eligible children will automatically qualify for the program, though some families will have to apply. Children automatically qualify if they are eligible for any of the following programs: free and reduced-price meals at schools; Food and Nutrition Services Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; or if they receive state Medicaid benefits and have a household income below 185% of the federal poverty level. Families are encouraged to keep their contact information up to date with their childs school and with their county Department of Social Services if receiving nutrition or other benefits. A deadline to update contact information is March 28. The SUN Bucks program will coincide with other available nutrition programs, such as summer meals for children, Food and Nutrition Services and the Special Supplemental Nutrition program for Women, Infants and Children to help provide consistent access to nutrition to children and families during the summer. SUN Bucks also will be complementary to existing federal summer nutrition programs for children, including SUN Meals (meals to eat on-site at approved locations) and SUN Meals To-Go (meals for pick up or delivery). For more information, go to www.ncdhhs.gov/sunbucks for eligibility criteria and other information. The website will be updated as new information becomes available. CHICAGO A new Scientology church opened last weekend in Chicago, with its gold and white logo displayed prominently in the middle of a seven-story building in the South Loop. But not everyone in the new neighborhood is laying out the welcome mat. Bari Berger, a spokesperson for the church, said the new location is called an Ideal Church of Scientology, meaning it provides the ideal facilities to service Scientologists on their ascent to greater states of spiritual awareness and freedom. She said it also serves as a headquarters for humanitarian initiatives, such as drug and crime prevention and human rights education. But the church in recent years has been a magnet for criticism by former Scientology employees and members, including actress Leah Remini, who have gone public with accusations of harassment and abuse. Scientology was recently in the headlines during the Danny Masterson rape trial, with prosecutors alleging the church suppressed victims from reporting the That 70s Show actor to police. A judge sentenced Masterson in September to 30 years to life in prison for raping two women. Its opening in the South Loop has unsettled some residents, as well as Columbia College students. Dwight, a residence hall, is right next door. Devin Schwieters, a freshman, said she believes the Church of Scientology has every right to exist in Chicago. However, she said she feels as though the location will attract young students to the church, something she finds disturbing. The first week of school in September when we got here, they did have all these tables set up in front of our dorm with their free stress testing, and they were auditing for students, which was always kind of weird, she said referring to an activity that Scientologists describe as spiritual counseling. When they first started setting up on Saturday, they had all these tables set out again, where it was like, Hey, Columbia, like thank you for being our new neighbors. They were giving out free doughnuts and stuff, and it was just a weird taste in my mouth about it, Schwieters added. Its very obvious what theyre trying to do. The brick building in the Printers Row neighborhood, 650 S. Clark St., has replaced the churchs previous location in Lakeview, Berger said. Inside sits the churchs public information center, featuring displays explaining the beliefs and practices of Scientologists, according to a news release. Theres also a cafe for visitors, a chapel for Sunday services and weddings as well as rooms auditing. According to its website, Scientology is a religion offering a precise path leading to a complete and certain understanding of ones true spiritual nature and ones relationship to self, family, groups, Mankind, all life forms, the material universe, the spiritual universe and the Supreme Being. Founded in the 1950s by L. Ron Hubbard and inspired by his book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health Scientology is well-known for its celebrity members, including Tom Cruise. Theres been a congregation in Chicago since 1974. Complaints after grand opening The Church of Scientology of Chicago hosted its grand opening ceremony last Sunday, blocking access to most of the 600 block of South Clark Street. According to a news release from the church, about 2,000 showed up to the celebration alongside a variety of guest speakers, including David Miscavige, Scientologys controversial leader. When Schwieters woke up Sunday, she said the front lobby of the Dwight was barricaded with a temporary fence, leaving only about two feet of room to get out onto the sidewalk. When she left her apartment building, she said she was escorted through the crowd, which she said didnt feel right. She then filmed a TikTok with more than 400,000 views about the encounter. Columbia sent an email to students in the Dwight informing them the street would be closed for the event, said spokesperson Jacqueline Partridge. She said Columbia also sent security for the event and there was restricted access to non-Columbia guests and visitors for additional safety precautions. Columbia College Chicago is committed to working with the Church of Scientology as a neighbor, Partridge said. Our team plans to meet with representatives in the upcoming weeks. Roisin Darby, a sophomore at Columbia who has lived in the Dwight since fall, thought the grand opening was entirely disrespectful to the residents. Darby said they dont want the church in the neighborhood. Not only were we as students blocked from our building, having to sometimes physically push past people, but most every business on our street had to close that day, Darby said. Ald. Bill Conway, 34th, said his office received a few dozen complaints about the event. Some came from protesters who wanted more space for their demonstrations, while others came from residents and students with sidewalk accessibility issues. Conways office had acknowledged the permit for the event, but it was ultimately processed and accepted by several city departments. The permit had been rejected twice by the Police Department before going through, he said. Conway spoke with church leaders and told them future permits will face significant scrutiny because of the complaints, he said. CHICAGO A large majority of Illinois students who participated in specialized, intensive tutoring during the 2022-23 school year met academic goals in reading and math, highlighting the success of an education recovery program that targets students most impacted by the loss and disruption of learning during the pandemic. From fall to spring, nearly 90% of tutored students met or exceeded expected growth in math, and 80% did so in reading, according to a report published in January. The report analyzed more than 1,300 students in grades 3 to 8 who received individual or small group tutoring as part of the Illinois Tutoring Initiative, a collaboration between school districts and a handful of higher education institutions. Known as high-impact tutoring, the tutors met with the students for one hour, three times a week for eight to 14 weeks in sessions linked with what they are learning in the classroom, according to the Illinois Tutoring Initiative, which operates the program. Tutored students outperformed students who were recommended for but did not receive tutoring in both reading and math, the report found. In math, students receiving special education services and English language learners had more progress if they were tutored, while in reading, statistics were not sufficient to make a conclusion. Students in high-impact tutoring also reported increased motivation and confidence in reading out loud, independently reading and sounding out words after a semester of tutoring. Researchers also measured tutors self-confidence and capacity, reporting increases in the self-efficacy of tutors. The Illinois State Board of Education used federal COVID-19 relief funds to match about 1,900 students with about 700 tutors in 59 school districts throughout the state during the 2022-23 academic year. Last March, the state voted to extend the program to the 2023-24 year with the remaining relief funds, expanding to serve roughly 2,400 students in 64 districts. The ITIs central office at Illinois State University in Normal creates the systems and infrastructure for the program and develops the training for tutors. Regional offices then work with specific districts to recruit, hire and supervise the tutors. ITI officials designed the program specifically for under-resourced schools and districts that were disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a report released in December, the White House recognized Illinois and the initiative as an example of high-fidelity efforts by way of federal relief funds to offset the loss of learning for students. As schools across the state face the reality of relief funds expiring soon, experts warn that the COVID cohort of students could see learning deficits translate to lifelong setbacks. Of the $7.8 billion in federal funds provided to Illinois schools since March 2020 when Congress passed the first of three bills creating an Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, known as ESSER over $6.2 billion has been spent, according to Illinois State Board of Education data as of Jan. 5. Photos: Illinois State Fair political days through the years 2012 State Fair 2012 State Fair 2015 State Fair 2015 State Fair 2015 State Fair 2007 State Fair 2008 State Fair 2008 State Fair 2009 State Fair 2012 State Fair 2012 State Fair 2005 State Fair 2004 State Fair 2003 State Fair 2003 State Fair 2006 State Fair 2007 State Fair 2012 State Fair 2018 State Fair 2012 State Fair 2021 State Fair 2021 State Fair Daylight-saving time starts at 2 a.m. Sunday. It will give us an extra hour of sunlight in the evenings, so sunrise will be an hour later. The sun rose at 6:39 a.m. Saturday and set at 6:23 p.m. Sunday it will rise at 7:38 a.m. and will set at 7:24 p.m. So, remember to turn your clocks and other time devices that don't set themselves forward one hour. The beginning of DST, according to an article on NationalGeographic.com, dates back to 1895 when George Hudson, an entomologist in New Zealand, proposed a two-hour daylight-saving time to provide two additional hours of sunlight in the evenings to go bug hunting. Despite the early push, New Zealand didn't begin observing DST until 1927. Meanwhile, the idea of daylight-saving time was gaining steam across the globe. In 1902, William Willett, a British builder, suggested to Parliament that the country observe DST so daylight wouldn't be wasted. They refused, but he continued to push for it until he died in 1915. Among the people who supported the measure were Winston Churchill and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In 1916, Germany was looking for ways to save energy during World War I. The German government implemented Willett's idea. After that, all the countries fighting in the war started observing DST. During World War I, the United States began observing DST on March 9, 1918. The legislation authorizing DST also authorized the Standard Time Act, which created the time zones in the United States. The U.S. went off DST about 18 months after the end of World War I, Nov. 11, 1918. During World War II, the U.S. went on year-round DST, which was called "war time," in February 1942. Even the time zones got in on the act, becoming Eastern War Time, Central War Time, and so on. The law was repealed in 1945, less than a month after the end of the war. Over the years, according to an article on History.com, DST became a confusing array of some places switching to it and others not. "In 1965, there were 23 different pairs of start and end dates in Iowa alone, and St. Paul, Minn., even began daylight saving two weeks before its twin city, Minneapolis. Passengers on a 35-mile bus ride from Steubenville, Ohio, to Moundsville, W.Va., passed through seven time-changes." In 1966, tired of confusion in time and broadcasting, Congress got in on the act, again. It passed the Uniform Time Act, setting a national standard. It set DST to start on the last Sunday in April and end on the last Sunday in October. In 1973, during the OPEC oil embargo against the United State, President Richard Nixon signed the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act of 1973, which made DST year-round, to help conserve energy. Year-round DST started in January 1974 and ended in April 1975. The start and end dates have changed a couple of times over the years. In 1987, the start date was moved to the first Sunday in April and ended on the last Sunday in October. It changed again, 20 years later in 2007, when the start date was moved to the second Sunday in March and the end date moved to the first Sunday in November. Will daylight saving time end in November? We'll see. There is a bill in Congress to make daylight savings time year-round, permanently. So far, it hasn't gone anywhere. We'll let you know if it passes. If we fall back, it will be on Nov. 3. (The Journal Star is publishing favorite Jim McKee columns every other week. This column first appeared March 2, 2014.) Virtually no one, anywhere in the world, is unfamiliar with the iconic photos of a drop of milk above a white haloed crown just as the previous drop hits a flat surface, or a bullet as it exits a just-pierced apple. Few outside the state, however, realize that Harold Edgerton is a native son and graduate of the University of Nebraska. Harold Eugene Edgerton was born in Fremont on April 6, 1903. Harolds father, Frank, was born in Iowa, then graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1900 as president of his senior class. After teaching in the Fremont public schools, he returned to Lincoln on the staff of the then-new Lincoln Star. After earning a law degree from George Washington University, Frank again returned to Lincoln in 1911, becoming the assistant attorney general of Nebraska and prominent in state politics before becoming county attorney in Hamilton County. Harolds interest in science came early; in 1910, he told of attempting to build a searchlight on the roof of the family home and realizing tin cans were unable to produce a tight beam of light. While attending junior and senior high school in Aurora, he became interested in photography and, with the help of an uncle, set up his own darkroom. In 1921, Harold entered the University of Nebraska and at his fathers suggestion, he earned half of his tuition by wiring Lincoln homes for electricity and working on a line gang for the Nebraska Power & Light Company. It was here that he observed how, in the darkest night, his coworkers became suddenly visible in lightning flashes and just as suddenly again were invisible. As a student, Harold joined Acacia, chose a major in electrical engineering and was active in the annual E-Week open houses. Interestingly, although there is no record of which exhibits Edgerton participated in, one of the demonstrations during his student days involved stop-motion photography that employed either 120 flashes per second or an exposure of 1/50,000ths of a second depending on which report is to be believed. The demonstration featured an electric fan with the letter N painted on the blades. The room was darkened, the strobe light synchronized to the fan, thus making the N stand still people could hardly believe their eyes. After graduating from Nebraska with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1925, Edgerton moved first to Schenectady, N.Y., then entered MIT. He received his master's degree, having developed the stroboscope, which employed a reusable flash bulb that was linked to a camera. Edgerton married his high school sweetheart, Esther Garrett, in 1927, received his doctorate in 1931 and became an associate professor at MIT. As he further perfected his stop-motion photography, some of his work was shown at the Royal Photographic Societys convention in London. In the 1930s, Edgerton and two of his students formed Edgerton, Germeshausen & Grier, later becoming simply E.G.&G. Corp., which manufactured Rapatronic cameras, consulted with the U.S. Army during World War II, had contracts to do photographic research surrounding atomic explosions for the Atomic Energy Commission, was instrumental in the establishment of the New England Aquarium in Boston and ultimately had 47 operating divisions with more than 23,000 employees in several countries. Often forgotten is Edgertons film Quicker 'n a Wink, which won an Academy Award for best short subject in 1941. Myriad awards followed, with perhaps the most prestigious being the Medal of Freedom for his nighttime reconnaissance photos during WWII. In 1947, his photo essay on hummingbirds was published in National Geographic magazine, and in 1953, he began working with Jacques-Yves Cousteau to develop an underwater camera using side-scan sonar technology. These experiments led to discovering the USS Monitor, which sank in 1862, and producing the first real photos of the Titanic in 1986-87. Closer to home, in October 1967, Edgerton donated two strobe lights to be mounted on Nebraskas State Capitol tower as an aircraft warning meant to be visible for 150 miles when extended to their operational capacity, seemingly to fulfill federal aeronautics regulations. Working with Bob Newell, the Capitol building superintendent, Edgerton had his mother standing by to activate the experiment. The low-power version of the lights on the east and west sides of the building were turned on as she said let there be light, as instructed by her son, and almost immediately complaints began to pour in. The experiment lasted only briefly before being abandoned. Ultimately, the strobe light was perfected to the point where the light burst lasted only one-billionth of a second with his stop-motion photos of bullets, hummingbirds, Stonehenge, milk droplets, etc., known worldwide. Edgerton died at MIT on Jan. 4, 1990, and five years later the Edgerton Explorit Center opened as a museum in his honor in Aurora. Top Journal Star photos for March 2024 Seven weeks removed from hip surgery and facing a summertime date for a back operation, Mike Bretta says he's easing his workload. "I'm just downsizing my life," Bretta said Friday, more than a week after announcing he was closing his original Toys from the Past location at 3215 S. 13th St. The store, which features toys from Tonka trucks to Easy Bake Ovens that were all the rage a generation or two ago, will close its doors sometime in the next month. In the meantime, everything inside the Indian Village store is on sale. The Toys from the Past store at 2840 S. 70th St. will remain open, Bretta said. "This is where I want to be," he said. "I'm pretty content right now." In the last year, Bretta has sold off three Scoops ice cream locations and a Haymarket bar that had a Batman theme. Those closures and the toy store closure will leave him with the Toys from the Past east location, the Topper Popper store at 1402 N. Cotner Blvd., and plans for a deep dish pizza restaurant, which he said he will open in the next year. The pizza place, which will feature something between Chicago deep dish and Detroit-style pizza, has been something he'd been thinking about for a while, he said. Bretta wants to bring back the dining experience to a time when families went to, say, Valentino's, Pizza Hut or Shakey's Pizza Parlor for dinner. "I want that neighborhood feel from the 1970s," he said. "People went out as families. It was a family thing and they didn't rush you in and out in 30 minutes." A deep dish pizza, Bretta explained, takes about 45 minutes to make, which ensures that patrons are there for a while. "I'm looking more for that reservation kind of thing on Friday and Saturday nights," he said. But before he begins putting together plans for the pizza place, Bretta is deep into the process of decluttering his life. While he was recovering from the hip replacement, he paid workers to unload 13 storage units containing items he had accumulated over the years. "I've been buying for a long time," he said. "And it just comes into the store so fast. It's so hard to keep up," he said. "We've been selling that stuff online." Top Journal Star photos for March 2024 Flash China urges the United States to stop harassing Chinese students traveling to the country under the pretext of national security, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday. For some time, the United States, out of political purposes, has been frequently harassing, interrogating, and deporting Chinese students without just cause, spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks at a daily news briefing. According to reports, another Chinese student when entering the U.S. border at the San Francisco International Airport was taken to a dark room for interrogation and detained for over 20 hours by U.S. border control staff. Several law enforcement personnel interrogated the student in turn for 12 hours. The student's visa was revoked and the student was banned from entering the United States and repatriated back to China. Recent incidents time and again show that the acts by the United States far exceed the scope of normal law enforcement with strong ideological bias, Mao said. The United States moves seriously infringe on legitimate and lawful rights and interests of persons concerned, disturb normal cross-border travel between China and the United States and go against the common understandings reached by the two presidents on enhancing and facilitating China-U.S. cultural and people-to-people exchanges, Mao said. "China strongly deplores and firmly opposes this and has made solemn demarches to the United States," she said. The United States always portrays itself as open and a place for freedom and claims to be emphasizing U.S.-China cultural and people-to-people exchanges and welcoming Chinese students to study in the United States, Mao said, adding that in fact, the United States keeps overstretching the concept of national security and takes selective, discriminatory and politically motivated law enforcement actions against Chinese students. "It is essentially driven by the Cold War mentality held by certain people in the United States," she added. Mao urged the United States to stop harassing Chinese students traveling to the United States under the pretext of national security, stop poisoning the environment of public support for China-U.S. relations, and stop obstructing friendly interactions between the two peoples. "China will take resolute measures to safeguard legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese citizens," said Mao. It is well documented that trust in core institutions the Supreme Court, schools, churches, the military, banks, Congress and big business has been falling for decades. And the more one investigates it, the more puzzling it is. Part of the trouble is that there are no easily identifiable causes. According to Gallup surveys, nearly 50% of adults had a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in major U.S. institutions in 1979. Today that has fallen to 26%. If you ask why, one reason you are likely to hear is that the institutions are politically biased. But this explanation is puzzling, especially when you consider that each side thinks the major institutions whether they are talking about schools, Congress, media or business are biased in favor of the other side. A recent Pew Center survey found that over 70% of Americans of both parties think their side is losing more than winning. In other words, most people in both parties think democracy is failing them. How this gets expressed differs on the left and the right, of course. Those on the right are more likely to complain about schools and the media; those on the left are more likely to complain about the Supreme Court and gerrymandering. There is no shortage of blame on either side. The other common explanation for loss of trust is that our institutions are not very effective. But this also is puzzling, for there is plenty of evidence that our quality of life keeps improving. Over the past five decades we have had increasing prosperity, equality, health, education and life expectancy. The evidence is easy to find if one takes time to look. Still, it doesnt feel like things are getting better. The more technologically and economically advanced a society is, the more people think the world is getting worse. In the United States, only 6% of those surveyed believe the world is getting better. The big question, given all the evidence to the contrary, is why? In previous columns, I suggested the answer to this question is in the increasing stress that change causes in society. Every major technological advance changes how we organize our lives in relation to each other. And even though advances often bring an improvement in some areas of life, they also bring disruption to social relationships. An example is the cellphone, which makes it much easier to access information and communicate with one another; it also means we have fewer daily interactions, which increases isolation. If you add up all the technological advances we have seen during the past five decades, you can see how we have benefited enormously in some ways while at the same time feel increasingly worse about our lives. It was with these thoughts in mind that I read a recent article by Derek Thompson in The Atlantic about Americans who desire chaos. He cites the research of political scientist Michael Bang Petersen that there are a sizable number of people (on both the right and the left) who willingly share social media posts they know to be false. They do not have any positive political goals in mind; they just want to undermine the existing order. Thompson quotes a 58-year-old white male who says: Our system needs to be broken. He explains that he supports Donald Trump because he can create a miserable four years for everybody. Thompson also quotes Hawk Newsome, chairman of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York, who said in 2020, If this country doesnt give us what we want, then we will burn down this system and replace it. Peterson attributes the desire for chaos to a loss of status. Those who feel that they have lost out in the present arrangement see starting over as their only option. The way to do this is by destroying our institutions. The percentage of deliberate chaos seekers is relatively small, yet you can see in the responses to the murder of George Floyd and to the Jan. 6 invasion of the Capitol building that a large number of both Democrats and Republicans are willing to excuse destructive actions when done in the name of their particular grievances. So, it is not just the chaos seekers who pose a threat to democracy, but a much larger number of chaos enablers. Can anything be done about it? In "The Echo of Greece," Edith Hamilton attributed the decline of Athenian democracy to a loss of internal restraint. She observed, What the people wanted was a government which would provide a comfortable life for them, and with this as the foremost object, ideas of freedom and self-reliance and service to the community were obscured to the point of disappearing. Athenians stopped thinking about how to govern themselves and instead began focusing on what government owed them, their democracy fell apart. I think it is possible to save American democracy, but it requires a turn away from a life that seeks satisfaction only in external circumstances and instead focuses inward, toward ideas like love of neighbor, temperance, courage and a desire for the common good. This is what the ancient Stoics and the early Christians urged in response to the decline of civilization in their day. It might be a path we could take as well, instead of the road to chaos. Nebraska's prison system relies on inconclusive drug field tests that sometimes yield inaccurate results to discipline inmates suspected of harboring contraband, according to a new report from the Legislature's prison watchdog. Prison investigators routinely use the "presumptive field testing devices" to build internal discipline cases against inmates without seeking confirmatory testing, a practice that runs counter to warnings in the user manual for the field tests, according to the report from the Office of the Inspector General of the prison system. The Department of Correctional Services' use of the tests raises concerns over the fairness and credibility of the prison system's disciplinary process "and increases the likelihood that people will be punished including spending more time in prison for something they did not do," Inspector General Doug Koebernick's office warned in the 26-page report published Wednesday. Inspectors pointed to four cases in which the use of the field tests, which are similar in appearance and function to at-home pregnancy and COVID-19 tests, brought disciplinary action or other consequences to inmates who were never definitively proven to be in possession of contraband. Department investigators use the tests to screen for drugs including synthetic marijuana often called K2 or "spice" that can be distributed via pieces of liquid-soaked paper "smaller than a pinky finger," according to the report. Lancaster County prosecutors have routinely filed criminal charges against prison visitors who are caught allegedly trying to smuggle K2-soaked paper to inmates at Lincoln prisons. Those charges are only filed after tests run by the State Crime Lab confirm the presence of of K2. The prison system used to follow the same process for internal discipline of inmates, sending suspected contraband to the crime lab for confirmatory testing. But in early 2018, in the face of an increased volume of requests that accompanied the emergence of K2 in state prisons, the lab notified prison officials that they would only test samples that were tied to a death or illness, were in large quantities or could be directly tied to a criminal prosecution, according to the report. "It is unclear what, if any, efforts (prison officials) undertook to identify other sources of confirmatory testing," Koebernick's office wrote. The Department of Correctional Services has instead relied only on the field tests to build discipline cases that can ultimately extend the period of time an inmate spends behind bars. In one case examined by the inspectors in Koebernick's office, an inmate at the Community Corrections Center-Omaha a low-security prison where inmates are often allowed to participate in work-release programs and other community outings while incarcerated received a misconduct report for possessing what he said was body oil he had received from a relative. A field test indicated a positive detection with possible substances detected including fentanyl, according to the report. The inmate's request for an independent test of the liquid was denied. After inspectors in Koebernick's office inquired about the case, the state's deputy director for prisons, Robert Madsen, told inspectors that a second field test of the body oil was inconclusive and an initial guilty verdict in the inmate's misconduct case was reversed. But more than a year had passed between the initial misconduct report and the follow-up test that cleared the inmate of wrongdoing, according to the inspector general's report. And because of the initial misconduct report based on the presumptive field test the inmate had already been reclassified and transferred to the state's Work Ethic Camp in McCook, a facility with a higher custody level than the Omaha facility where he had been housed. His transfer wasn't reversed when his guilty verdict was. He was paroled from the McCook facility months later. In another case, an inmate at Omaha's low-security community corrections facility was transferred to the medium-security Omaha Correctional Center after he received a misconduct report alleging he had tea bags soaked in K2, according to the inspector general report. The inmate was found guilty of possessing the contraband through the department's internal discipline process and appealed the ruling, requesting an independent test at his own expense. The prison system's Appeals Board denied his request, calling the presumptive positive test "sufficient evidence" of a rule violation and noting that inmates don't have a right to independent confirmation testing under the state's administrative code. Koebernick's office noted that under state law, incarcerated people are entitled to confirmatory testing when prison investigators test their bodily fluids for suspected drug presence a right that Nebraska law does not extend to testing items in inmates' possession. Nebraska's prison system's reliance on presumptive tests, though, is in conflict with warnings issued by the test manufacturers over the limitations of the tests and the potential for inaccurate results. In a user manual for MobileDetect tests the brand of test used most often within the prison system the manufacturer notes that a positive test indicates only that a substance is "presumed present and proper procedure should be followed for collecting evidence for further testing and confirmation with an accredited laboratory. Inmates who are disciplined based off the presumptive tests can lose up to six months of good time and face other "collateral consequences" that come with misconduct reports, including a removal from a work release or clinical programming and demotion to a more-restrictive prison, among others. Those collateral sanctions are noted on reports furnished to the Board of Parole, potentially impacting an inmate's release date for presumptive but unconfirmed drug possession. Koebernick's office recommended the Department of Correctional Services revise its policies to allow for confirmation testing of suspected drug contraband, similar to what is permitted for urine tests, and inform inmates and prison staff accordingly. The inspectors also recommended the prison system update its disciplinary policy to require that misconduct reports should include other context which establishes substantial evidence of the offense" rather than basing misconduct allegations primarily on inconclusive tests. Rob Jeffreys, the state prison system's director, took the recommendations under consideration, according to the report. Through a spokeswoman, Jeffreys said Friday that due to the rise of fentanyl, methamphetamine and synthetic drugs in the community, "we need to be proactive, vigilant and steadfast in our drug interdiction strategies." "Drugs are the driving force for the violence in our facilities," Jeffreys said in an emailed statement. "We are committed to the means necessary to eradicate the problem and keep the population and staff within our facilities safe. We meet all statutory requirements for inmate discipline and act in compliance with our promulgated rules and regulations." The inspector's March 6 report marks the first Koebernick's office has released this year after watchdogs lost nearly all access to prison facilities and records after Nebraskas attorney general suggested the inspectors are unconstitutional in a nonbinding legal opinion his office released in August. Inspectors performed nearly all of the research that led to this month's report prior to the lockout, which amounted to a violation of state law carried out by the state's executive branch. Nebraska's Legislature passed a resolution last month that temporarily restores access to the inspectors under a memo of understanding signed by members of the Legislature and Gov. Jim Pillen. The memo is a stopgap solution set to expire at the end of the 2025 legislative session, giving lawmakers more than a year to study the Legislatures newly controversial oversight system. Top Journal Star photos for March 2024 Dr. David Dyke savors his role as co-chair of the OLLI Curriculum Committee. Dr. Dyke retired in 2009 after nearly a half-century of professional service in the medical field. He was born in Kearney, Nebraska, raised in Lexington and has resided in Lincoln since 1974. The longtime gastroenterologist was ready to experience the next chapter in his life. The adjustment to retirement life became a seamless transition when he was introduced to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, commonly known as OLLI at UNL, a program within and supported by UNL's College of Education and Human Sciences. At the time the medical professional retired and joined OLLI, he was in search of an activity that would fill a void in his life. Dyke became one of OLLI's most active volunteers. Fifteen years later, he still is. Committee co-chairs Since 2013, he and Charlyne Berens have cochaired OLLI's Curriculum Committee, which plays a crucial role in shaping OLLI's educational offerings. It is responsible for developing the list of classes offered during each term. The committee is divided into eight subcommittees, each focusing on specific interest areas. The committee offers approximately 60 classes during each of the OLLI calendar's five terms. Subcommittee members collaborate to recruit instructors, plan courses, and ensure timely delivery of course descriptions and syllabi. As co-chairs of the Curriculum Committee, Dyke and Berens also are among the nearly 20 members who serve on the OLLI Advisory Council. Membership growth Dyke said OLLI at UNL continues its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, a national health crisis that staggered the country. In a mid-February phone interview, Dyke said OLLI at UNL entered this year's winter term the third of five terms on OLLI's calendar with more than 1,500 members. "Membership is outpacing last year's growth rate," said Dyke. The membership total for OLLI at UNL peaked at just under 1,800 prior to the pandemic. The internal medicine specialist said the popularity of Zoom classes a convenient way to attend class without leaving home allowed OLLI at UNL to stay afloat at a time when several OLLI chapters nationwide folded under the destructive path of the coronavirus pandemic. Zoom continues to favorably impact numbers. OLLI at UNL's enrollment report currently lists members in 65 communities in Nebraska and spanning 17 states. Quality instructors Dyke, a frequent course facilitator over his 15 years as an OLLI volunteer, marvels at the quality level of instructors OLLI can attract. "The enthusiasm injected by volunteer instructors is really quite impressive," Dyke observed. "We're fortunate to attract volunteer instructors who give freely of their time and talent, allowing us to provide quality courses at an affordable rate." Dyke said OLLI at UNL has had just one rate increase a hike of $5 per course in his 15-year history as a member. Members of OLLI at UNL share a common bond long before they ever meet: A love of learning. "Curiosity never retires" is more than a slogan at OLLI. It's a common thread that unites lifelong learners. Another reason to join OLLI? There are no tests or grades, said Dyke. "You can even go straight from your bed to your computer if you prefer to attend a Zoom class in your pajamas!" Spring registration Registration for the spring term begins on Tuesday, March 12. The membership fee is $50, valid through July 31, 2024. A one-time class is $10 and a typical six-week course is $35. The spring term runs from March 25 to May 4. There are 85 courses and events from which to choose. Visit https://olli.unl. edu to learn more about OLLI. Aurora offers classes BURLINGTON Aurora Health Care is offering the following programs: Free Blood Pressure Clinic 8 a.m. to noon and 1-4:30 p.m. every Wednesday. To make an appointment, call 262-767-8000. Childbirth and Beyond Get ready for a new addition through free, ongoing classes, including Preparing for Labor and Birth, Bringing Baby Home, Breastfeeding Basics and Infant CPR & Safety. Learn more by visiting https://bit.ly/ALMCchildbirth. Movement and Music This free class for people with Parkinsons disease incorporates stretches, strength training, posture, balance and walking drills, as well as vocal exercises. Manage Parkinsons symptoms and improve quality of daily life while having fun. Modifications will be provided to ensure a safe and effective setting for all participants. Caregivers are also welcome. Register at mail@wiparkinson.org or 414-312-6990. Stroke Support Group This group provides emotional support through opportunities to interact with others who have experienced a stroke. Informational programs also will be provided about stroke/brain attack. The group welcomes individuals newly diagnosed, those with a history of stroke and caregivers. Learn more by visiting https://bit.ly/ALMCstroke. Memory Cafe Memory Cafe is a comfortable, free social gathering that allows people experiencing memory loss and a loved one to connect and build new support networks at the Aurora Wellness Center, Classroom C. For information, or first-time attendees, contact Chad at 262-212-3596 or csutkay@touchinghearts.com. Walk with a Doc Get out, get active and enjoy good conversation on the third Saturday of the month at Burlington High School, 400 McCanna Parkway. Learn about a current health topic, then spend the rest of the hour enjoying a walk at your own pace and distance with a medical provider. The program is free, and no registration is required. Meet at the front entrance vestibule by the flagpole. Art Therapy Open Studio Open Studio is an art group designed to aid in self-expression relaxation, and personal growth. Open Studio is open to current and past cancer patients, companions and caretakers. Each session is facilitated by a credentialed art therapist and will include a featured project. All supplies provided. Learn more by visiting https://bit.ly/AMCBarttherapy. For more information about Aurora Health Care programs, www.aurorahealthcare.org/classes-events/ or call 800-499-5736. Senior group offers lecture SOMERS Adventures in Lifelong Learning, an organization of mostly retired people ages 55 and older, is hosting a lecture entitled Zumba for Seniors at 2 p.m. March 15 at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Tallent Hall, Room L182. Norma Castillo-Radzik of J&N Ultra Fitness Studio in Racine will discuss Zumba theory and teach a few basic moves to salsa, merengue, cha cha and cumbia. Membership in ALL is $50 annually and includes access to lectures, focus groups, classes and day trips at a cost. Learn more at www.uwp.edu/ALL or call 262-595-2793. Nonprofit organizations can submit class/workshop press releases to to community@journaltimes.com. 1. Yes. It will be convenient and the fares are cheap. I plan to use the transit system often. 2. Yes. I have a vehicle, but I may still use the service now and then, especially in bad weather. 3. No. I dont use the current bus service, and I dont plan to use the micro-transit service either. 4. No. It may be fine in town, but it still involves a transfer for longer trips. That wont work. 5. Unsure. Its hard to say. It depends on how well the service works once its in place. Vote View Results KEARNEY With Daylight Saving Time beginning at 2 a.m. Sunday, the American Red Cross encourages people to test their smoke alarms to ensure the devices are working as they turn their clocks forward. Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a home fire in half because you only have about two minutes to get out, said Josh Murray, Red Cross spokesperson. Every second counts, and the sooner an alarm alerts you to a fire, the sooner you can get to a safer place, Murray said. Last year, local Red Cross volunteers responded to help more than 1,100 people in Nebraska who were affected by 378 home fires. Home fires account for most of the 65,000 disasters that the Red Cross responds to annually across the country. Other smoke alarm advice: Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, including inside and outside bedrooms and sleeping areas. Replace smoke alarms that are 10 years or older. Components such as sensors can become less sensitive over time. Follow your alarms manufacturer instructions. Practice your two-minute home fire escape plan. Make sure everyone in your household can get out in less than two minutes the amount of time you may have to escape a burning home before its too late. Include at least two ways to get out of every room, and select a meeting spot at a safe distance away from your home, such as your neighbors home or landmark like a specific tree in your front yard, where everyone can meet. The Nebraska State Board of Education held an emotional discussion Friday on whether sexually explicit material belongs in school libraries and what students are allowed to read. The lengthy debate came on a proposal from board member Kirk Penner to revise state regulation Rule 10 to prohibit pornographic materials or sexually explicit content in all Nebraska public school libraries. The majority of the board voted against discussing it further, letting Penner's proposal die on a 5-3 vote. Members who were in opposition were Jacquelyn Morrison, Patti Gubbels, Patsy Koch Johns, Lisa Fricke and Deborah Neary. Kirk Penner, Elizabeth Tegtmeier and Sherry Jones voted for the proposal. While the entire board agreed porn doesn't belong in classrooms, the majority said Penner's proposal didn't follow the right procedures, was too vague and could target specific student populations. "I'm disgusted because I don't know anyone anywhere who wants pornography in our libraries and who wants to groom children and all the things that were said today," Neary said. "In everything I've read, everybody points out that these book bans overwhelmingly target books about race, racism, gender, sexuality and books by Black and LGBTQ authors." Morrison said Penner's proposal didn't follow the correct procedures for rule revisions. The State Board of Education also worked on revising Rule 10 for an entire year and book content was never brought up, Neary said. Fricke said it bothered her that Penner's proposal said schools could lose accreditation and teachers could lose their certifications if they didn't comply. Penner introduced his revision with a presentation that highlighted specific books like "The Bluest Eye" and "All Boys Aren't Blue." Both books have been banned in some schools around the U.S. for their graphic content and include topics of race, sexual abuse and gender identity. "In my opinion, the vast majority of educators in the state do not like this content in their schools," Penner said. "I believe with many other aspects of education that is regulated by the (board), schools are looking for guidance. Without a doubt, there is sexually explicit content in some Nebraska schools." Koch Johns said she believed Penner's proposal would strip school districts of local control. Penner argued that having sexually explicit content in libraries shouldn't be a local control decision. "When we look at these, we know they are not appropriate for certain ages," Koch Johns said. "However, I think that there needs to be a process that occurs in this. Who decides what is obscene?" Penners proposal followed months of book challenges for schools across Nebraska and the nation. Districts in the Omaha metro area have been receiving a record number of requests from community members to remove books they find inappropriate for students. In January, a school board member with the Plattsmouth Community Schools was recalled after leading an effort to remove dozens of books from the high school library. More than 30 people spoke during public comment, both for and against Penner's proposed rule revision. The discussion at times was heated, with speakers calling out others in the audience or interrupting board members. Former teacher Sarah Mitchell said her collection of books helped support inclusion in her school one student felt more comfortable wearing her hijab because of books that depicted her culture. "Certified librarians are vital, knowledgeable and incredible in supporting literacy," Mitchell said. "They are trained to curate their unique collections to specifically meet their district curricular needs and interests of their students." Nebraska mother Heather Hall said she understood some books with explicit content have important literary meaning, but others are so descriptive they are too graphic for minors. "Last year, I emailed my son's English teacher to ask for the required reading list for that year. I recognized books I knew contained sexually explicit content," Hall said. "This was for 15 to 16-year-old students. My son would have read these books without my consent." Several board members agreed with critics of such books, saying there's no place for any sexually explicit content in school libraries. "No child needs access to sexually explicit materials. Unfortunately, porn doesn't disappear if you read the whole book," Jones said. "I think superintendents are waiting for some guidance. Difficult topics can be taught without using sexually explicit books." Other people were concerned about aspects of the proposal that would have removed requirements for schools to purchase new library books. Right now, all public middle and high schools are required to purchase 150 new books each year to boost inventory. Elementary schools have to purchase at least 25 new books per teacher annually, with a maximum book purchase of 150 for one year. "School libraries in Nebraska serve every child who comes to them. We serve kids with conservative parents and liberal parents," said Chris Haeffner, president of Nebraska School Library Association. "If our students are looking for a map to build their lives, our libraries need to provide the current, complex and meaningful books to do that." You are here: World Flash This photo taken on Jan. 2, 2024 shows buildings and cars damaged in a missile attack in Kiev, Ukraine. [Photo/Xinhua] Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Friday that Turkiye offers to facilitate a peace summit that would include Russia to solve the current Ukraine crisis. Erdogan made the remarks during a joint press conference with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following their discussions at Istanbul's Dolmabahce Palace. "Turkiye will continue to stand in solidarity with Ukraine while working for a negotiated, peaceful end to the war," Erdogan stated. He also addressed the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which was halted in July last year, affirming Turkiye's readiness to support a renewed agreement. The initiative, brokered by the United Nations and Turkiye in July 2022, created a humanitarian maritime corridor allowing food and fertilizer exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports. The Turkish leader pointed out that they also discussed issues such as the safety of navigation in the Black Sea, the security of ports along the maritime route, and prisoner exchanges. Zelensky underlined his country's efforts to bolster security and achieve a fair peace for both Ukraine and the broader Black Sea region. He expressed gratitude to Erdogan for supporting Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence, acknowledging Turkiye's role in achieving significant humanitarian outcomes. The Ukrainian president's visit to Istanbul, which began at approximately 2 p.m. local time (1100 GMT) on Friday, marked his second trip to Turkiye. Prior to the press briefing, the two leaders held a meeting that lasted about 90 minutes. Hansando Island (Photo by Hyemin Lee) () 1. Hansando Island and Jeseungdang Shrine Hansando Island is only accessible by ferry and its Maritime National Park is a top spot for some great ocean views. The island was the scene of the Battle of Hansando Island, a major conflict during the Imjin War (1592-1598). It was during this battle that Admiral Yi Sun-sin commanded Korean naval force turtle ships to the victory over Japanese warships in 1592. Many visitors stop by Jeseungdang Shrine, Admiral Yi Sun-sins former headquarters, to immerse themselves into the wars intense history and to pay respects to the hero. More information about the ferry schedule is below: Tongyeong Ferry Tour (daytime) The ferry tour allows you to explore the battlefields of the Imjin War, Jeseungdang Shrine and Hansando Island. Also, you can choose a tour course for Jangsado Island Maritime Park, renowned for camellia flowers that blossom between January and February. All prices are for round trips. Booking through Naver offers a discount and dont forget to bring your ID card! Address: 2nd floor, 269-38 Donam-ro, Tongyeong-si, Naver Map Hansando Island: The ferry leaves every hour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m (2-hour trip) Jangsado Island: 10 a.m. / 1 p.m. (3.5-hour trip) Tickets: Adults 14,000-21,000 won / Children 8,000-14,000 won Phone: 1688-9301 2. Admiral Yi Sun-sin Park The park commemorates Admiral Yi Sun-sins major victory here and features a bronze statue of the admiral facing Hansando Island. The park is known for its beautiful walking trails along the clear blue South Sea. No admission fee is required. Address: 688-1, Jeongnyang-dong, Tongyeong-si, Naver Map 3. Joseon Naval Ships Near the park, there are four turtle ship replicas where visitors can explore and observe these warships up close. Visitors also get a chance to try on the Joseon navy uniform. This is a fun spot to check out, especially for kids. Address: 236, Jungang-dong, Tongyeong-si, Naver Map Hours: 9 a.m. 5:30 p.m. Tickets: Adults 1,500 won / Teens 1,100 won / Children 500 won 4.Tongyeong Hansan Battle Festival Every year in August, the Battle of Hansando Island is commemorated with a lively festival. Enjoy traditional arts, performances, games, and fireworks while learning about the areas history. The dates of the event change every year, so visit the website for more details. Address: Around Admiral Yi Sun-sin park and Hansando Island Website Born near Indianapolis with spinal muscular atrophy, Alice Wong is the daughter of immigrants from Hong Kong. Despite being unable to walk after the age of 8, Wong earned degrees in English and sociology from Purdue University, and a masters degree in medical sociology from UC-San Francisco. Wong is the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project, and serves as an activist, author, editor, podcaster, and consultant. The Disability Visibility Project is an online community dedicated to amplifying disability media and culture. Wong also participates in a nonpartisan online movement, #CripTheVote, that encourages people with disabilities to vote and engage in politics. While the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act created more parking spots, ramps, and elevators for people with disabilities, Wong has stressed that not enough is being done to protect the community: There are constant attempts to decrease our rights, keep us separate, and take control of our narratives. Through her efforts, disability culture is more celebrated, as Wong advises, We need everyone to fight back with us. In 2013, Wong was appointed by President Obama to serve as a member of the National Council on Disability, where she was seen attending meetings with the president via video robot. In 2016, Wong received the AAPD Paul G. Hearne Leadership Award which recognizes leaders with disabilities who advocate for the disabled community. Wongs writings have been published in the New York Times, Huffington Post, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Esquire, and in dozens of additional outlets. She has participated in several podcasts including Death, Sex, and Money; Truth Be Told; Werk It; and the Disability Visibility Podcast. Wongs career has been covered by British Vogue, Time magazine, and Marie Claire. In 2023, Wong became a regular columnist for Teen Vogue. Wongs debut memoir, "Year of the Tiger: An Activists Life" was published in 2022 and is available at the La Crosse Public Library. You can find Disability Visibility online at https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com. Ive got news this week about the opening of The Blue Zone Pickleball, the upcoming opening of a downtown Taco Broz restaurant, and the move of the Driftless Delights store from Trempealeau to Holmen. The owners of the Bridgeview Plaza shopping center in La Crosse opened The Blue Zone Pickleball on Feb. 23 in the centers former Shopko department store, which closed in 2019. They also plan to open a bar and restaurant by fall in the adjacent former Shopko pharmacy space. The Blue Zone Pickleball at 2500 Rose St. has 17 courts and opened after an extensive remodel of the former department store. It has a lighting system thats specifically for pickleball, said Rick Beyer, one of six owners of the business and of Bridgeview Plaza, which they acquired in 2020. The other owners are his wife, Michelle Jensen-Beyer; Todd and Deb Page; and Jim and Karen Christenson. The Blue Zone Pickleball offers play, lessons and merchandise such as paddles, balls, T-shirts and water bottles. And it has paddles for rent. Players also can bring their own equipment. Theres also a party room that can be booked for things such as holiday parties, birthday parties and corporate events. Beyer said the centers owners had been looking for a business to lease the former Shopko store. Businesses such as furniture stores had shown interest, but Beyer added furniture stores dont generate a lot of traffic to a shopping center. We had a few inquiries from people who were interested in putting in a pickleball facility, Beyer said, but nothing materialized. So the owners decided to open one themselves. The building is well-suited for it, Beyer added. Now, the owners plan to open a bar and restaurant by fall in the former Shopko pharmacy space next door. It will be oriented toward healthy food, Beyer said. But for now, the owners focus is on the pickleball facility. For more information, call 608-615-1000 or visit https://thebluezonepickleball.com or Facebook. The three brothers who own the Taco Broz food truck plan to open a restaurant sometime in April at 118 S. Third St., next to Politos Pizza in downtown La Crosse. Its menu will be slightly larger but similar to that of the food truck, which will continue to operate, Cristian and Eric Mora Donjuan told me earlier this week. They started the Taco Broz food truck in June 2022. Their younger brother, Carlos Mora Donjuan, joined Taco Broz later. The restaurant will offer a variety of Mexican fast food, such as asada fries, tacos, quesadillas, burritos, burrito bowls, nachos, churros and ice cream. We want to be able to be open throughout the year, Eric said of the brothers decision to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant. Their food truck typically doesnt operate a lot during the winter months because of the cold weather. It most often operates next to the 608 Brewing Co. brewery and taproom at 83 Copeland Ave., but also travels to other locations. Having a restaurant also will allow local customers to get Taco Broz food even when the food truck is at an out-of-town event. For more information about Taco Broz, visit www.muycalientetacobroz.com or Facebook. Jon and Melissa Duckworth opened their Driftless Delights store in early February at 1513 S. Holmen Drive in Holmen, in part of the same building that houses the Pizza Corral restaurant. The Duckworths started the business in January 2023 in Trempealeau. The store sells many kinds of snacks, candy, fruits, vegetables and homemade ice cream that the Duckworths freeze dry. I make dozens of flavors of ice cream that then is freeze dried, Melissa said. We also do 3D print and design as well as custom lasering, Jon said, and many of those products such as toys, trophies, custom gifts, figurines, ATV license plates, signs, home decor and drinkware also are sold in the store. Store hours are 1 to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and at other times by appointment. The Duckworths plan a grand opening celebration for 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. March 16 and will post information on Facebook about giveaways before and during the celebration. They also offer delivery and will continue to be a vendor at a number of area county fairs, craft shows and other events. For more information, call 608-397-2728 or visit www.driftlessdelights.com or Facebook. Democrat Tara Johnson, former La Crosse County Board chairwoman, announced her campaign for the newly drawn 96th Assembly District. She lives in the town of Shelby in southern La Crosse County, which is now at the heart of the previously Republican-leaning district that includes southern La Crosse County and all of Vernon County. The district has bee represented by Republicans since the 1940s. If elected, Johnson would be the first woman to represent it. For too long, rigged districts have kept our region from having a voice in the Assembly. Thats changing today, said Johnson, announcing her campaign. Loren Oldenberg does not represent my neighbors in southern La Crosse and Vernon counties. He is a rubber stamp for Robin Vos and his extremist agenda attacking our reproductive freedom, undermining our democracy and helping big corporations squeeze working families. After becoming the first in her family to graduate college with the help of student loans, grants, and service industry jobs, Johnson spent 15 years with United Way, working her way up to executive director of the greater La Crosse area chapter. In 2000, Johnson was elected to the La Crosse County Board of Supervisors. During her 20 years on the board, she served nearly a decade as the first woman chair. Johnson is married to a union electrical contractor, Tim Padesky, and has two adult children, Nicholas and Layna. DEWHURST, Wis. (AP) Nine people were killed Friday in a crash involving a semitrailer and a van at a western Wisconsin highway intersection. Preliminary reports about the early morning crash indicated the semitrailer traveling on State Highway 95 collided with the van traveling on County Highway J, southwest of the small city of Neillsville, Clark County Sheriffs Office Chief Deputy James Hirsch said in a Facebook post. The van entered the intersection and was struck by the semitrailer, he said. Eight of the nine people in the van, including the driver, died at the scene, while an injured passenger was taken to a nearby hospital, he said. The driver was the only occupant of the semitrailer and also died at the scene, Hirsch said. An investigation is ongoing. Our hearts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones of all those involved, as well as the first responders who worked quickly to provide support at the scene, Gov. Tony Evers posted on X. The names of everyone involved in the crash will be released after family members are notified, according to the sheriff's office. Highway 95 was closed for hours. Overhead video footage showed both vehicles on their sides. The area of the crash is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Eau Claire. Introducing the Fordham II The Fordham II floorplan is an up to 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 2-story home by William Ryan Homes.. This floorplan features a dramatic 2-story foyer entrance and up to 2,630 square feet of living space. Enjoy your new home in the Fordham II model with a flex room that is easily transformed into a study for work or at home schooling and the spacious chefs kitchen and breakfast area. The open concept floor plan leads into the expansive family room perfect for entertaining. Upstairs boasts a large master bedroom complete with master bath, with the option to convert into a garden bath, featuring an ample shower, freestanding tub, and walk-in closet as well as the convenience of a 2nd floor laundry room. Add the finishing touch to the master bedroom with the optional tray ceiling.Personalize Your Home to Fit Your LifestyleThe Fordham II can be personalized to your liking. For families looking to grow, add a 4th bedroom to the 2nd Floor or get the most out of the open concept with the family room extension. Choose from one of two optional finished basement layouts to get extra storage space, a recreation room, or an extra bedroom and bath. For entertaining, enjoy the added space featured in the optional morning room or take it easy next to a cozy fire with one of three fireplace options. At William Ryan Homes, there is plenty to choose from!Energy Efficiency & Smart Home Technology in Your New HomeEngineered energy systems and smart home technology can be found in each William Ryan Home. A smart home control hub is included, featuring a video doorbell and WiFi control features. Our homes also rate lower than the average new home on the HERS index. The HERS index is an industry standard which measures your homes energy efficiency. The lower your homes rate, the lower your monthly energy costs, giving you the added value and functionality without the extra cost. View More Welcome to the heart of charming Minden, Nebraska, where small-town charm meets modern convenience! Nestled at 1188 W Sycamore, this newly constructed gem awaits its lucky owner. Minden boasts a tight-knit community, renowned for its welcoming atmosphere and vibrant downtown scene. Explore local shops, cafes, and parks just moments away from your doorstep. Step into this immaculate 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom abode, spanning 1884 sq ft on an expansive 13,000 sq ft lot. A testament to contemporary living, this home offers a spacious open floor plan, perfect for both relaxation and entertaining. The kitchen is a chef's delight, equipped with sleek appliances, ample cabinetry, and a center island for culinary adventures. Retreat to the luxurious primary suite, complete with a spa-like ensuite bath and generous closet space. Outside, a sprawling backyard beckons for al fresco gatherings and endless summer fun. With a 3-car garage providing ample storage for vehicles and hobbies, convenience meets comfort effortlessly. Don't miss the opportunity to make this your dream home! With a recently reduced asking price of $349,900, seize the chance to embrace the quintessential Nebraska lifestyle in this stunning residence at 1188 W Sycamore. Schedule your viewing today and envision a lifetime of memories in this idyllic setting. View More A Cozad man was sentenced to two decades in prison after sexually assaulting a minor last June. David T. Wisecup, 27, was sentenced to 20-21 years in the Nebraska Department of Corrections. District Judge Patrick Heng gave him 269 days credit for time served. Wisecup pleaded no contest to felony first-degree sexual assault of a minor in January. As part of a plea deal, a charge of sexual assault of a child was amended down. Sexual assault of a minor is a Class 2 felony, punishable by up to 50 years in prison. Flash Yemen's Houthi group launched a missile attack on a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden on Friday, continuing their escalation of tension in the region, said a pro-government Coast Guard official. The official, who asked to remain anonymous, said a Singapore-flagged cargo ship, PROPEL FORTUNE, was targeted by missile fire while sailing about 50 nautical miles off the coast of Aden. He confirmed that at least two missiles detonated in the vicinity of the vessel, although there were no immediate reports of casualties among the crew. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations confirmed the incident, noting that it had been alerted to two blasts near a vessel at around 15:00 GMT on Friday, roughly 50 nautical miles off the coast of Aden. So far, the Houthi group has not claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack follows a similar missile strike by the Houthis on Wednesday targeting the Barbados-flagged "TRUE CONFIDENCE" cargo ship, which the group claimed was American-owned. That attack killed at least three crew members and seriously injured four others of the multinational 20-person crew, according to the U.S. Central Command. Since November 2023, the Houthis have increasingly targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which they claim is in retaliation for Israeli strikes in Gaza. In response, the United States and Britain launched airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen starting in mid-January. The spiraling confrontation disrupts a major global shipping lane, as millions of barrels of oil pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden on a daily basis. Dane County has paid $145,000 to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit filed against three sheriff's deputies accused of injuring a man, leaving him with a hip fracture, while he was an inmate at the Dane County Jail in 2020. According to terms stated in the settlement, released Friday by Dane County Corporation Counsel Carlos Pabellon, the settlement is not to be construed as an admission of wrongdoing by the deputies. Jimmie Joshua, 32, sued four deputies, Dane County and contracted medical personnel in January 2022 in U.S. District Court in Madison, alleging the deputies used excessive force during a Dec. 23, 2020, incident at the jail, and then ignored a serious hip injury he suffered. Along the way, Dane County and the medical personnel, along with one of the deputies, were dismissed from the lawsuit. In April 2023, U.S. District Judge William Conley denied a motion by the three remaining deputies to dismiss the lawsuit. They appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, arguing Conley erred by denying that the deputies were entitled to qualified immunity, and argued that under the circumstances in a correctional setting with a defiant inmate, the deputies' actions were not contrary to established law. The settlement was reached while the case was still at the appeals court, which had not ruled on it before it was dismissed on Thursday. Joshua's attorney, Paul Kinne, declined to comment on the settlement. Joshua is currently incarcerated at Dodge Correctional Institution after his extended supervision for prior domestic battery, robbery and drug convictions in Dane and Washington counties was revoked. The lawsuit alleged Deputy Isaac Wachholz used excessive force in dragging Joshua out of his cell and repeatedly punching him, and that deputies Sean Shotliff and Travis McPherson were deliberately indifferent by recklessly disregarding that Mr. Joshua was suffering from substantial harm. The fourth deputy in the lawsuit is listed as B. Poquette. McPherson was dismissed from the lawsuit in March 2022. The lawsuit stated the incident left Joshua with a dislocated hip, a fractured hip socket and nerve damage that required reconstructive surgery, which was found once he was examined at UW Hospital more than 16 hours later. A 20-year-old Madison woman was arrested after leading authorities on a high-speed chase Thursday morning, said Sheriffs Office spokesperson Elise Schaffer. The incident began after the deputy tried to stop the Dodge Charger the woman was driving because it had no license plates, Schaffer said. The driver didnt stop and a pursuit started, but it was soon ended by the deputy. A Wisconsin State Patrol plane spotted the vehicle, which had become disabled at the roundabout at Highways 51 and 138, Schaffer said. Highway 138 runs westeast between Oregon and Stoughton. The driver was tentatively charged with eluding police, second-degree recklessly endangering safety and felony bail jumping, along with citations for possession of THC and drug paraphernalia, Schaffer said. The deputy pursued the vehicle for about a mile before ending the chase, Schaffer said, adding that the driver had hit speeds of 90 mph or more. The driver had one female passenger, but Schaffer said she didn't know the passenger's age. The driver was still being held in the Dane County Jail Friday. A Loveland, Colorado, man convicted in the killing of his grandmother was sentenced on Tuesday to life in prison with the chance to petition for release on extended supervision after 20 years, the Wisconsin Department of Justice reported. A jury found Aric L. Way, 51, of Glendale, and his son Philip G. Schmidt-Way, 28, of Loveland, Colorado, guilty of first-degree intentional homicide in the poisoning of Diana K. Way, 74, of the town of Dodgeville on July 19, 2021. Aric Way was sentenced last month to life in prison with no chance for release. And in Schmidt-Ways sentencing, the court described Aric Way as the mastermind of the crime. With this sentencing, we now know that both of the defendants involved in this extensively planned and despicable homicide will be behind bars for a long time, Attorney General Josh Kaul said in a statement. Thank you to everyone who helped ensure that the exhaustive and thorough work of investigators in this case led to the conviction and sentencing of the defendants. Investigators documented Facebook messages between the two men in the month before Diana Way was killed in which they discussed Arics attempt to get legal guardianship over his mother to prevent her from selling her home and 72-acre farmstead. When that failed, Diana Way changed her will on July 13, 2021, to remove Aric as an heir and replace him with Schmidt-Way, with the updated will specifying that she was intentionally not leaving any gift or distribution to Aric. Diana Way was found dead in her bedroom on July 19, 2021, by a man who had come to buy a collection of her books. Emergency responders found high levels of carbon monoxide in the home but no obvious source of the colorless, odorless and deadly gas that an autopsy later revealed had played a role in the womans death, the complaint states. There was no natural gas service to the home and no internal combustion engines nearby that could have spewed exhaust into the home. Footage from a trail camera on the property, however, showed a pickup truck visiting the home early in the morning of the womans death, the complaint says, and investigators say that, based on markings, including decals that said panty dropper and others of exotic dancers, it was the same one Schmidt-Way used to drop off his father for an interview about Dianas death at the Iowa County Sheriffs Office on July 20, 2021. It was also seen near Arics then-home on East Washington Avenue in Madison and on the Beltline headed toward Dodgeville in the early morning hours of the day of Diana Ways death. Investigators found search terms on Arics phone associated with finding information on products containing sulfuric and formic acids, which, when combined, create carbon monoxide, according to the complaint. They then used location data on the phone to place it at a Middleton hardware store and a Columbus beekeeping supply company where products with those chemicals could be purchased. Staff at the beekeeping store identified Aric as the person who likely bought one of the products in the days before his mother died. Schmidt-Ways phone record data placed his phone in the same area as Ways Google data during the purchase of a product on July 17, 2021. Data from Schmidt-Ways phone also showed that he arrived in Wisconsin on July 16, 2021, after leaving Colorado on July 15, 2021. Schmidt-Ways vehicle was also seen on camera at the victims home on the night of her death. This State Journal editorial ran on March 8, 2004, two years before emergency contraception could be sold in the United States without a prescription: The federal Food and Drug Administration succumbed to political pressure when it delayed a decision on whether to make the morning-after birth control pill available on drugstore shelves. That was a mistake. When the agency finally makes its decision, it should be guided by the scientific evidence that overwhelmingly favors allowing the pill to be sold over-the-counter rather than by prescription only. The morning-after pill Plan B received approval as a prescription-only drug in 1999, but its use has been limited and it is unavailable in many pharmacies. The pills maker, Barr Laboratories, has asked the FDA to switch its status to over-the-counter. The switch would allow women to buy and keep it as a precaution rather than having to find a doctor to write a prescription after unprotected sex or the failure of protective devices. The result would be fewer unwanted pregnancies and fewer abortions. ... In December an FDA advisory committee reviewed the medical science on the pill and found the drug safe and effective for non-prescription use. The committee recommended, 24-3, to approve over-the-counter sales. That was the cue for a crowd of moralists to mount a political campaign against the pill. Forty-nine members of Congress sent a letter to President George W. Bush urging rejection of over-the-counter sales. They cited concern that wider use of the pill could promote sexual promiscuity and venereal disease. The FDA should have answered the opponents with the scientific evidence and approved over-the-counter sales of the pill. Instead, FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan took the unusual step of inserting himself in the decision alongside the agencys center for drug evaluation and research. the result was a 90-day delay for further study. During the delay, FDA officials would be smart to read their agencys mission statement, especially the part about being responsible for advancing the public health and helping to speed innovations that make medicines and foods more effective, safer and more affordable. If these officials fulfill their responsibilities, they will approve over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill as an advancement in birth control. Judicial Council sends out 5th District candidate questionnaires The Judicial Council has sent the Trial Court Administrator office of each county questionnaires for the public, regarding candidates for the position of Fifth Judicial District Judge in Cassia County. The questionnaire must be received in the office of the Idaho Judicial Council no later than April 1 to be considered. Public questionnaires can be obtained by visiting the Judicial Council website at www.judicialcouncil.idaho.gov. The Idaho Judicial Council will interview the candidates for this position on May 7, 2024. For questions about the candidates or about the questionnaire contact the office or view the councils website. Also: The Idaho Department of Transportation said in a press release that construction resumes next week on Interstate 84 Kimberly Interchange. Drivers should plan for daytime lane closures on I-84 as early as March 11. Over the next two weeks, crews will demolish the southbound lanes of the overpass. Lane closures on both I-84 and SH-50 will remain in place for several months, even after bridge demolition is complete. Construction should wrap up in the fall of 2024. Travelers are urged to download the 511 app or visit 511.idaho.gov to stay up to date on traffic impacts. For more information visit I-84/SH-50: Kimberly Interchange ITD Projects (idaho.gov).New data released March 7, in CDCs MMWR show that nirsevimab, a long-acting monoclonal antibody product, was highly effective in protecting infants from hospitalizations associated with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The study looked at 685 infants from October 2023 through February 2024 using early data from CDCs New Vaccine Surveillance Network (NVSN) , a population-based surveillance platform that monitors pediatric respiratory viruses to assess immunization effectiveness. Results show that nirsevimab was 90% effective at preventing RSV-associated hospitalization in infants during their first RSV season. Idaho students, from elementary school through college, have free, 24/7 access to LearningExpress Library of tools and resources through the lili.org platform, provided by the Idaho Commission for Libraries (ICFL). LearningExpress has both, mathematics and English language material for middle school students, along with tutorials, geography and American history practice, and preparation for high school entrance exams. There are other resources for college students as well. Go to lili.org to learn more. College of Idaho Co-President Jim Everett has announced his intention to end his tenure on June 30 and transition to a fundraising role. Co-president Doug Brigham, a 1987 graduate of the College, will continue as President of the College. Everett and Brigham were approved for the unique co-presidency model by the Board of Trustees in February of 2018 and Everett will have completed just over six years as Co-President when he steps down. For more information, visit www.collegeofidaho.edu . The Magic Valley Quilts of Valor will hold a presentation to gift quilts to local Veterans. Twelve honorees will receive quilts at 1 p.m. March 20 at the American Legion building in Twin Falls. Desserts and coffee will be available afterward. March 2024 is the 52nd anniversary of National Senior Nutrition Program Month. This years theme is Connection in Every Bite. The Idaho Commission on Aging promotes the anniversary by celebrating the programs rich history and tremendous value across the nation with Area IV, College of Southern Idaho (CSI) Office On Aging, and the local Senior Centers. CSI has senior nutrition program provides nutrition services for older adults in the community, including home-delivered meals and meals served in group settings like senior centers. For more information, go to . Times-News Your news on your smartphone Your story lives in the Magic Valley, and our new mobile app is designed to make sure you dont miss breaking news, the latest scores, the weather forecast and more. From easy navigation with the swipe of a finger to personalized content based on your preferences to customized text sizes, the Times-News app is built for you and your life. Dont have the app? Download it today from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Every business, interest group, civic organization, legal group, education entity, government agency and living-and-breathing human being in the Gem State should take heed of the chronic shortage of experienced and competent lawyers seeking to be district judges. It has become harder each year to recruit good candidates for district court positions because of a variety of factors low pay, high stress, burnout and the prospect of having to gain the office through a contested election. The situation will only get worse if Senate Bill 1347 is approved by the Legislature this session. For those who may not know how Idahos court system is organized, there are three components. Magistrate courts, which currently have 101 magistrate judges, handle civil trials where up to $10,000 is at stake, plus domestic, traffic, estate, misdemeanor and a variety of other cases. District courts, with 49 district judges, handle the full range of felony and higher-stake civil trials. The appellate courts, with a total of 9 judges, handle and decide appeals from the two trial court components. Candidates for magistrate judge are thoroughly vetted and appointed by regional magistrate commissions. Lawyers seeking positions on the district and appellate court are vetted by the Idaho Judicial Council, which sends a list of the best candidates to the Governor, who appoints from the list. These largely non-political appointment mechanisms have made Idahos court system one of the best in the nation. Former Governor Otter reported on numerous occasions that he regularly received praise from other state governors about the high quality of Idahos judiciary. Former Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Burdick also received accolades from his counterparts in other states for the recognized excellence of Idaho judges. To keep an excellent judiciary up and running, lawyers must be incentivized to step forward and apply for judicial positions. Most will take a pay cut of more than 50% from what they can make in private law practice for the privilege of serving as a judge. I did and I do not regret it. But, if it appears to potential applicants that the burdens of the job substantially outweigh the privilege of being able to perform public service, few would be willing to step forward. That is where Idaho is with district court positions. Appellate positions the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals still have enough well-qualified applicants to fill court vacancies, despite the bargain basement compensation package. The same applies to the magistrate courts. The district courts simply dont have enough competent, seasoned applicants to fill and replenish their ranks. That poses a serious danger to the ability of the district courts to do their work, and to the public that depends on those courts to decide cases quickly and competently. Magistrate judge openings often get at least twice as many applicants as district judge openings because they are assured of a merit-based appointment process, the pay disparity is not substantial and magistrate judges do not have to face the prospect of an election contest. On the other hand, district judges presently have a merit-based selection process that the sponsor of Senate Bill 1347 wants to largely disable by requiring district and appellate openings to be filled through contested elections. The sponsor wants to eliminate a retirement benefit that was put in place in 2000 as a recruitment incentive for district and appellate judges, even though she would leave in place a similar recruitment incentive that was adopted for magistrate judges in 2006. Lawyers could be excused for not wanting to apply for a district court position under such uncertainty as to job benefits and whether the benefits would be subject to future revision during their service. The failure of the Legislature to give all Idaho judges the 7% cost-of-living increase that all other state employees received in 2022 did not go unnoticed by those lawyers. But there is yet another significant consideration for district courts the workload. District judges have the highest-pressure job in Idahos court system. They deal with heavy-duty felonies, like the Daybell and Kohberger murder cases, as well as complicated and high-dollar civil disputes that are litigated to the nth degree by deep-pocket parties. Handling the everyday work of managing a complex case and responding to the incessant demands of the lawyers involved takes long hours nights and weekends, which leads to stress and burnout. Who would want to take a pay cut of more than 50% for that kind of miserable job? Legislators should be considering measures to make all court positions more attractive to a broader range of competent, seasoned lawyers. Special emphasis should be placed on getting more applicants for district court positions, because that is where the recruitment problem has reached crisis proportions. Pursuing measures designed to discourage accomplished lawyers from applying for district court positions, where they are needed the most, does not make sense. The Stand up for Courts group, composed of Butch Otter, Patti Anne Lodge, Denton Darrington, Phil Reberger and a host of other concerned citizens, is urging that Senate Bill 1347 be stopped in its tracks in the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee to help preserve Idahos excellent judiciary. Voters need to be able to trust their elected leaders to safeguard our democratic processes. That trust is eroding in Idaho. Disturbing bills coming from the Republican supermajority threaten to undo votes of the people, make it harder for Idahoans to exercise their voting rights, gerrymander political districts, and much more. One of the most brazen attacks comes in House Bill 637. This bill would dissolve the duly elected Ada County Highway District (ACHD) board and dictate new commissioner districts. It mandates more representation for small towns like Star compared to larger cities like Meridian or Boise, violating the one person, one vote principle. And it would make these offices partisan, creating the only partisan local taxing district in Idaho. This assault stems from a policy disagreement. ACHDs current commissioners want to invest in pedestrian and bike safety a critical need as traffic deaths skyrocket and several campaigned on this platform. Some Republican legislators oppose safety investments and have already passed legislation restricting ACHD funding primarily to traffic mitigation. Unsatisfied, they now want to kick fairly elected commissioners out of office. House Bill 667 arbitrarily limits your right to choose how you vote. You would have to provide an excuse for using an absentee ballot, with the only valid reasons being travel throughout early voting and Election Day, illness, or disability. If long work shifts, lack of transportation, or caregiving responsibilities prevent you from going to the polls, you lose your vote. House Bill 599 makes it illegal to deposit your neighbors sealed ballot as a favor. It also makes it illegal for you to deliver a family members ballot if you have shared your opinion on how to vote a common conversation in many families. Tampering with a ballot is already illegal. This bill criminalizes helping a properly cast ballot get counted. The ballot initiative process enshrined in our Idaho Constitution gives voters the right to enact laws. The Republican supermajority resents this and continues to make it more cumbersome. House Bill 652 requires voter-signed petitions be submitted monthly. This complicates the hard work of collecting signatures while disenfranchising voters. You could sign a petition you strongly support only to have your signature invalidated because a volunteer didnt submit it within a restrictive time frame. The government wont notify you, so you wont know your voice was taken away. House Joint Resolution 4 is a proposed constitutional amendment that seeks to undo the Open Primaries Initiative citizens have put forth before it could take effect by prohibiting runoff elections. Rewriting the rules when you dont like the outcome of an election or fear an anticipated electoral result is tyrannical. Lets elect lawmakers who respect the democratic process. - Advertisement - Chicago-based United Airlines will be offering new year-round, non-stop flights between Tokyo-Narita to Cebu, Philippines beginning July 31, the company has announced. United will be the only U.S. carrier to fly to Cebu with daily flights on 737-800 aircraft, which will have convenient connections from Uniteds flights from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Newark-New York, and Houston to Tokyo-Narita, the airline said in a news release published March 7. The move is part of the companys global route network expansion, adding new non-stop flights as well between New York/Newark-Marrakesh, Morocco and Houston-Medellin, Colombia. It will also increase flights to popular destinations including Hong Kong; Seoul, South Korea and Porto, Portugal. United is the only major American airline to offer transpacific service to the Philippines with its daily flights between San Francisco and Manila, and also flies to Manila from Guam and Palau. Travelers are advised to book their flights via the companys mobile app and official website united.com. - Advertisement - Bayan Academy, with the support of J.P. Morgan, launched #InDemandPH to address the evolving needs of the global workforce. The program empowers individuals in underserved communities with essential skills for eight priority industries identified by TESDA and industry associations. Tourism, IT-BPM, construction, agriculture, manufacturing, electronics, transportation and logistics, and health and wellness are among the industries projected for significant growth. #InDemandPH equips participants for the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and prepares them for emerging jobs. Through industry-customized curricula, the program prioritizes adaptability and flexibility, ensuring participants remain relevant in their fields. - Advertisement - Over 13,000 individuals have participated, with 11,000 earning credentials, significantly increasing their employability. The average monthly wage for placed or promoted participants is $303, uplifting their lives and communities. #InDemandPH originated from the 2018 to 2022 National Technical Education and Skills Development Plan (NTESDP) formulated by TESDA with various stakeholders. Bayan Academy collaborated with TESDA on a previous project, Revamping the Vocational Schools System in the Philippines, which laid the groundwork for #InDemandPH. Launched in 2021, #InDemandPH aims to institutionalize the area-based, demand-driven tech-voc education and training strategy of TESDA. - Advertisement - Los Angeles, United StatesNatalie Portman has divorced her French choreographer husband, a source close to the Oscar-winning actress told Agence France Presse (AFP) on Friday. The Black Swan star filed last July to end her marriage of 11 years to Benjamin Millepied, said People magazine, which first reported the news. The divorce was finalized in France last month, the source confirmed. Portman, 42, who holds both US and Israeli citizenship, is one of Hollywoods top actresses. She made her debut as a child star in Luc Bessons thriller Leon: The Professional, and went on to appear in blockbusters including Star Wars and Marvel films, as well as art-house fare. - Advertisement - Portman met Millepied in 2009 on the set of Black Swan, a psychological horror story set in the ultra-competitive world of professional ballet, for which she won the best actress Academy Award. Millepied starred in the film too, as well as providing choreography. The couple wed in California in 2012. They have two children togetherson Aleph, 12, and daughter Amalia, 7. Last May, media reports emerged of an extramarital affair by Millepied. The couple never publicly addressed the allegations. Representatives for Portman did not immediately respond Friday to an AFP request for comment. Presidium of China's annual legislative session holds 2nd meeting Xinhua) 09:11, March 09, 2024 Zhao Leji, executive chairman of the presidium of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), presides over the second meeting of the presidium at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The presidium of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature, held its second meeting Friday. Zhao Leji, executive chairman of the presidium, presided over the meeting. The meeting decided to submit multiple documents to lawmakers for deliberation. The documents include draft resolutions on the government work report, on the national economic and social development plan report and the plan for 2024, and on the central and local budgets report and the budgets for 2024. The documents also include a draft revision to the Organic Law of the State Council. The presidium's executive chairpersons met before the meeting to prepare the documents. The executive chairpersons meeting was presided over by Zhao, who is also chairman of the NPC Standing Committee. Zhao Leji, executive chairman of the presidium of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) and chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presides over the first meeting of executive chairpersons of the presidium at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2024. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei) (Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Liang Jun) - Advertisement - The Philippines anticipates a boost in business partnerships with American firms as a high-powered US trade delegation arrives next week, a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) official said on Saturday. In a news forum in Quezon City, DTI Foreign Trade Service Officer Jollan Margaret Llaneza reported that a US trade delegation is visiting the country next week. There will be a high-level delegation comprised of 22 business delegates, C-level representatives from strategic sectors and that would be the discussion next week of course, Llaneza said. Our goal here is to foster the relationship between our Philippine business sector and their American counterparts, so we can have commercially meaningful partnerships, she added. US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo leads the upcoming visit, which fulfills a promise made by US President Joe Biden during President Ferdinand Marcos US trip last year. - Advertisement - The White House also made this announcement in a March 7 press release along with the names of individuals who are part of the US Presidential Trade and Investment Mission to the Philippines from March 11 (Monday) to 12 (Tuesday). Among them are Filipino-American artist Allan Pineda, also known as Apl.de.Ap, who will be representing his foundation; United Airlines president Brett Hart, Capital One Philippines president Sara Murphy, and US-ASEAN Business Council president and CEO Ted Osius. Secretary Raimondo and her team are scheduled to meet with both President Marcos in Malacanang and Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual before the Presidents flight to Germany. The US remains a vital trading partner for the Philippines, ranking among the top three alongside Japan and China, according to Llaneza. If you notice, the US and Japan are actually our strategic partners. So, if you observed earlier in the discussion, they were talking about other defense treaties so, thats part of our overall strategic partnership with the United States, Llaneza said. In Japan, we have policy instruments that shape our economic relations. We have a bilateral free trade agreement with Japan called the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement or JPEPA, and we also have an agreement with them under the context of ASEAN, the DTI official pointed out. The Philippines free trade agreement with China falls under the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement. Both Japan and China are also members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP). Llaneza concluded by highlighting the advantages these trade agreements offer the Philippines, including significantly reduced tariffs and simplified market access for Filipino exporters. - Advertisement - KANO, NigeriaNigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday sent troops to rescue more than 250 pupils kidnapped by gunmen from a school in the countrys northwest in one of the largest mass abductions in three years. The Kaduna state attack was the second mass kidnapping in a week in Africas most populous country, where heavily armed criminal gangs on motorbikes target victims in villages and schools and along highways in the hunt for ransom payments. Local government officials in Kaduna state confirmed the kidnapping attack on Thursday, but did not provide figures as they said they were still working out how many children had been abducted. At least one person was shot dead during the attack, local residents said. Sani Abdullahi, a teacher at the GSS Kuriga school in Chikun district, said staff managed to escape with many students when the gunmen, referred to by locals as bandits, attacked early Thursday firing in the air. - Advertisement - He told local officials that 187 pupils had been snatched from the main junior school along with another 100 from primary classes. Three residents also said between 200 and 280 children and teachers had been snatched. Early in the morning we heard gunshots from bandits. Before we knew it, they had gathered up the children, resident Musa Mohammed told AFP. We are pleading to the government, all of us are pleading, they should please help us with security. The Kaduna abduction and the mass kidnapping a week ago from camps for people displaced by jihadists in northeast Borno state illustrate the challenge facing Tinubu, who promised to make Nigeria safer and bring in more foreign investment. I have received briefing from security chiefs on the two incidents, and I am confident that the victims will be rescued, Tinubu said in a statement ordering armed forces to track down the kidnappers. Nothing else is acceptable to me and the waiting family members of these abducted citizens. Justice will be decisively administered. The two mass kidnappings came almost 10 years after Boko Haram militants triggered a huge international outcry in April 2014 by kidnapping more than 250 schoolgirls from Chibok in Borno state. Some of those girls are still missing. More than 100 people were reported missing after last weeks mass kidnapping in Borno, but conflicting accounts have emerged about the time and number of victims. No stone unturned Police did not provide figures for the Kuriga school kidnapping. But the numbers of those reported abducted in Nigeria are often lowered after people who went missing while fleeing attacks return home. The Kaduna State Government and Security Agencies are working round the clock to ensure the safe return of the school children, state governor Uba Sani said on social media platform X. I have received strong assurances from the President and National Security Adviser that no stone will be left unturned to bring back the children. In the last three years, hundreds of schoolchildren and college students have been kidnapped in mass abductions in the northwest and central region, including in Kaduna. Almost all were released for ransom payments after weeks or months spent in captivity at bandit camps hidden in the forests that stretch across northwestern states. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday condemned the kidnappings in Kaduna as reprehensible in a post on X, adding that those responsible for these horrifying attacks must be held accountable. UN child welfare agency UNICEF also condemned Thursdays attack and called on the government to do more to protect students. Schools are supposed to be sanctuaries of learning and growth, not sites of fear and violence, UNICEF Nigeria director Cristian Munduate said in a statement. Nigerias armed forces are fighting on several fronts, including against armed criminals in the northwest and a long-running jihadist insurgency in the northeast that has killed 40,000 and displaced more than two million since 2009. Fighting in Borno has eased as militants have been pushed back from the territory they once controlled, but they still carry out attacks, kidnappings and raids in remote areas. Last September, gunmen abducted more than 30 people, including 24 female students, in a raid around a university in northwest Zamfara State. In February 2021, bandits raided a girls boarding school in the town of Jangebe in Zamfara, kidnapping around 300 students. Months earlier, gunmen snatched more than 300 students from a boys school in Kankara in Katsina state before releasing them days later. Between July 2022 and June 2023, 3,620 people were abducted in 582 kidnap-related incidents in Nigeria, according to local risk analysts SBM Intelligence. It has recorded 4,777 people abducted since Tinubu took office in May last year. - Advertisement - ISLAMABADPakistan entered on Saturday its fourth week of nationwide disruption to social media platform X, with activists waging a court battle to get it restored. The platform, formerly known as Twitter, was downed after jailed former prime minister Imran Khans party called for protests against a government officials admission of vote manipulation in last months election. Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party faced a sweeping crackdown ahead of the February 8 poll, forced into opposition by a coalition of military-backed parties despite winning the most seats. Journalists and academics have filed a case in Sindh High Court in the mega city of Karachi against Pakistans Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for the outage. X is a common platform of commentary in Pakistan and if you block it, then you are taking oxygen away from public discourse which is illegal, said their lawyer Abdul Moiz Jaferii. - Advertisement - The reason behind this (disruption) is not to stop people from talking but it is to stop most people from listening. In a hearing on Thursday, the telecommunications authority sought more time to respond to the challenge. The government has not commented on the outage. AFP staff reported Saturday that X remained disrupted in the capital Islamabad, as well as the megacities of Lahore and Karachi. Access to X has been sporadic, occasionally available for short cycles based on the internet service provider, forcing users to virtual private networks (VPN), said Alp Toker of the NetBlocks internet monitor. Opposition censorship Mobile internet services were cut across the country on election day, with the interior ministry citing security reasons. It was followed by a long delay in issuing voting results giving rise to allegations of rigging. Khans opposition party had already faced heavy censorship in the weeks before the election, banned from television channels and from holding rallies, forcing its campaign online. But the censorship followed. Pakistani internet freedom watchdog Bytes For All recorded four separate hours-long social media shutdowns in January - cutting off access to TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube while Khans PTI live-streamed to its supporters. It all started with targeting one political partys online campaigning during pre-polls, however, post-polls it is more a test of all citizens and democratic institutions particularly the parliament and judiciary. How are they going to respond and interpret the blockage of X?, the watchdog told AFP. Amber Rahim Shamsi, one of the petitioners and the director of the Centre for Excellence in Journalism, said she believes the restrictions are an attempt by the state to control PTIs social media success. When the state has no credible counternarrative, it uses coercive measures to control or manipulate information, Shamsi said. - Advertisement - Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects an estimated 2.3 million Filipinos, according to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), which highlights the importance of having dialysis centers built in all regional and provincial hospitals nationwide. Senator Jinggoy Estrada zeroed in on this issue as he called for the passage of Senate Bill No. 800, one of the four proposed legislations under the title Dialysis Center Act, that are currently pending at the committee level of the Senate. Under his proposal, all national, regional, and provincial government hospitals will be mandated to maintain a dialysis centerwith complete dialysis machine, equipment, and supplieswithin two years from the enactment of the bill. Estrada underscored the necessity of this measure, so that CKD patients in rural areas would not be deprived of access to regular hemodialysis treatments. Kidney diseases emerged as one of the leading causes of death among Filipinos. Sophisticated medical equipment and advanced facilities are concentrated in highly urbanized cities. Consequently, patients from rural areas often need to travel long distances, which incurs high costs, including travel expenses. For patients with kidney disorders who require regular dialysis, these financial burdens can be especially challenging, the senator noted. - Advertisement - As such, Estrada seeks to institutionalize the establishment of dialysis wards or centers in all provincial hospitals that will be free of charge for indigent patients. By doing so, it may be possible to mitigate the impact of CKD on individuals and society as a whole, he said. One Filipino develops chronic renal failure every hour, or about 120 Filipinos per million population every year. The Philippine Society of Nephrology (PSN) said diabetes and hypertension are two of the top common causes of CKD among patients. Estrada released his statement in time for the observation of World Kidney Day in the Philippines on March 14. PSN is set to mark this event in an effort to combat the escalating rates of CKD and other kidney-related diseases in the country. - Advertisement - The government anticipates a boost in business partnerships with US firms as a high-powered US trade delegation arrives next week, a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) official said on Saturday. In a news forum in Quezon City, DTI Foreign Trade Service Officer Jollan Margaret Llaneza reported that the US trade delegation will be a high-level delegation comprised of 22 business delegates and C-level representatives from strategic sectors. Our goal here is to foster the relationship between our Philippine business sector and their American counterparts, so we can have commercially meaningful partnerships, she added. The White House also made this announcement in a March 7 press release along with the names of individuals who are part of the US Presidential Trade and Investment Mission to the Philippines set to visit the country from March 11 (Monday) to March 12 (Tuesday). US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo leads the upcoming visit, which fulfills a promise made by US President Joe Biden during President Ferdinand Marcos US trip last year. - Advertisement - Among the members of the US delegation are Filipino-American artist Allan Pineda, also known as Apl.de.Ap, who will be representing his foundation; United Airlines president Brett Hart, Capital One Philippines president Sara Murphy, and US-ASEAN Business Council president and CEO Ted Osius. Raimondo and her team are scheduled to meet with both President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Malacanang and Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual before the Presidents flight to Germany. The US remains a vital trading partner for the Philippines, ranking among the top three alongside Japan and China, according to Llaneza. If you notice, the US and Japan are actually our strategic partners. So, if you observed earlier in the discussion, they were talking about other defense treaties so, thats part of our overall strategic partnership with the United States, Llaneza said. In Japan, we have policy instruments that shape our economic relations. We have a bilateral free trade agreement with Japan called the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement or JPEPA, and we also have an agreement with them under the context of ASEAN, the DTI official pointed out. The Philippines free trade agreement with China falls under the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement. Both Japan and China are also members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP). Llaneza concluded by highlighting the advantages these trade agreements offer the Philippines, including significantly reduced tariffs and simplified market access for Filipino exporters. - Advertisement - House Speaker Martin Romualdez announced plans to distribute P1.2 billion in cash aid and programs to approximately 50,000 residents of Oriental Mindoro during the two-day Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF) over the weekend. This started with 7,000 Oriental Mindoro residents receiving P23 million in scholarship, farm, and livelihood assistance on Saturday under three separate programs under the House of Representatives in cooperation with national agencies upon the directive of President Marcos. The Speaker led the distribution of financial assistance to beneficiaries in the province under the Integrated Scholarships and Incentives Program (ISIP) for the Youth; the Start-up, Investment, Business Opportunity, and Livelihood (SIBOL) program; and the Farmers Assistance for Recovery and Modernization (FARM). An additional 2,000 residents received more aid under the Cash and Rice Distribution (CARD) Program, which is distributed by legislative districts of the House of Representatives. Romualdez, a key proponent of the BPSF, emphasized the governments commitment to bringing services closer to the people, particularly in providing financial assistance and essential provisions such as rice. - Advertisement - Echoing the Presidents pledge to Filipinos, Romualdez affirmed plans to keep extending government aid across every corner of the Philippines, despite facing criticism. The BPSF, a groundbreaking initiative under President Marcos, aims to assist the impoverished and those encountering obstacles in accessing government services. The Oriental Mindoro leg, the first in MIMAROPA, marks the 13th installment of the Serbisyo Caravan, hosted by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Arnan Panaligan and Gov. Humerlito Dolor. In Oriental Mindoro alone, 42 government agencies are expected to offer 265 services to an estimated 50,000 beneficiaries, with P1.2 billion in assistance, including P278 million in cash aid. The BPSF activity in the province was held at the Oriental Mindoro National High School on Saturday, when 22 agencies conducted a ceremonial turnover of over 20 programs. Following the successful event in Sultan Kudarat, where over 150,000 citizens were served and P1.2 billion in government aid was disbursed, the caravan is set to visit Butuan City, Agusan del Norte, and several other regions. With over 20 members of the House of Representatives joining the launch, the BPSF aims to provide various government services, including drivers license renewal, PhilHealth registration, and applications for passport and National Bureau of Investigation clearance. - Advertisement - The Philippines must strengthen its maritime and air capabilities to defend and protect its territory from the threat of foreign invasion, an analyst said on Saturday. At the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City, De La Salle University professor Renato de Castro even suggested that the Marcos administration should now focus on external threats, particularly Chinas provocative actions towards the Philippines in the latters waters. Meanwhile, President Marcos decision to hold off on invoking the Philippines-US Mutual Defense Treaty after the latest skirmishes with Chinese ships in the West Philippine Sea was the correct call, according to maritime law expert Professor Jay Batongbacal. Batongbacal stressed the importance of peaceful and diplomaticsolutions for issues in the WPS, pointing out that the MDT, while outlining mutual defense in case of an armed attack, also emphasizes cooperation in broader security challenges. As director of the University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, Batongbacal said the government must take an unconventional approach to defend the countrys territory. - Advertisement - Batongbacal said the big challenge for the administration is that Philippine waters and maritime natural resources are being taken actively by China. De Castro added that the government must come up with comprehensive strategies and suggested that it may conduct a unilateral exploration of the countrys resources and develop the Armed Forces of the Philippines tri-service composed of the Army, Air Force, and Navy units. Given that China has the largest navy in the world, de Castro proposed amending the AFP Modernization Law to allow the military to acquire its warships from local manufacturers. On Friday, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. announced that the AFP has adopted the new Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept to defend the Philippine territory, including its EEZ. The move comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping called for coordination of his countrys military strategy at sea and to prepare for potential maritime conflicts. The very essence of this, of course, is to develop our capability to protect our comprehensive power in our exclusive economic zone. Not just in the West Philippine Sea, not just in the South China Sea, but in the entirety of our territory, de Castro said. Of course, this will entail a huge amount of money because indeed, we literally have to start from scratch. But this is of course our effort to address what we call a quintessential security threat, which is, of course, China literally knocking on our door, he added. De Castro also emphasized the need to improve the countrys port facilities and develop the shipbuilding industry. You cannot develop a credible navy if we do not have a strong shipbuilding industry, he said. We have to get ready and, of course, the first thing that we have to do is we have to understand the issue. - Advertisement - The Department of Agriculture is launching a full audit of the National Food Authoritys rice management practices following the controversial sale of 75,000 bags of government rice buffer stocks to private traders worth an estimated P93.75 million. Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. ordered the agencys Internal Audit Service to examine all rice disposition data since 2019, the year the Rice Tariffication Law came into effect. DA-NFA officials and personnel are directed to extend their full assistance and cooperation to DA-IAS to ensure the successful conduct of this audit, he said. The RTL restricts NFAs ability to sell rice directly to consumers, raising concerns about potential misuse by officials or traders, particularly regarding the sale of older buffer stocks. We want to see if there is a pattern of rice disposition that is disadvantageous to the government, the DA chief said. - Advertisement - The audit coincides with the recent suspension of 139 NFA personnel, including administrator Roderico Bioco and assistant administrator John Robert Hermano, by the Ombudsman. The anti-graft body is investigating allegations of corruption linked to the supposedly disadvantageous sale of roughly 75,000 bags of rice to private entities. NFA records indicate that as of Feb. 1 this year, the agency held 361,396 bags of milled rice, with nearly half or 193,386 bags, in storage for more than three months. - Advertisement - Paris, FrancePeople around the world marked International Womens Day Friday with protests and celebrations. Some countries marked the day by voting onor confirming groundbreaking legislation, while the failure of others to pass reforms on key issues such as abortion rights was the focus of some of Fridays protests. Here is a round-up of some of the demonstrations. AFGHANISTAN: Small groups of women staged rare demonstrations in private spaces, after a crackdown by Taliban authorities forced activists off the streets. A handful of women in several provinces gathered to demand restrictions on jobs, travel and education be lifted, said activists from the Purple Saturdays group. - Advertisement - PAKISTAN: Hundreds of women rallied in major cities to highlight street harassment, bonded labor and the lack of female representation in parliament. We face all sorts of violence: physical, sexual, cultural violence where women are exchanged to settle disputes, child marriages, rape, harassment in the workplace, on the streets, said Farzana Bari, lead organizer of the Islamabad event. IRELAND: Voters took part in a double referendum on proposals to modernize its constitution, which could expand the definition of family from those founded on marriage to durable relationships. Another proposed change would replace old-fashioned language around a mothers duties in the home with a clause recognising care provided by family members. ITALY: Thousands of people marched in Rome and Milan calling for an end to violence against women following a number of high-profile cases of young women murdered by their boyfriends. Holding banners, dancing and chanting slogans, at least 10,000 people gathered in the Italian capital at the Circo Massimo, an ancient Roman racing ground, according to police. SPAIN: Tens of thousands of women marched in Barcelona, Madrid and other cities, many dressed in purple, the color associated with womens rights. According to police estimates, 40,000 women marched in Barcelona alone, with around 30,000 in the streets of Madrid on Friday evening. IRAN: Jailed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi called for an end to gender apartheid, which not only amplifies discrimination and oppression against women but also fortifies the authority of religious and authoritarian regimes. She denounced the regimes in Iran and Afghanistan for having systematically orchestrated conditions of suppression, domination, tyranny (and) discrimination against women. JAPAN: Six couples marked International Womens Day by filing a case suing the government for the right to use different surnames after marriage. Under laws in place since the 19th century, married couples must choose the husbands or the wifes name, and about 95 percent take the mans, according to the plaintiffs lawyers. BRITAIN: Protesters in London dressed as characters from The Handmaids Tale, Margaret Atwoods dystopian novel about a future in which women have been reduced to chattel. They held placards calling for womens rights in Iran. A separate demonstration in the capitals Parliament Square highlighted the plight of women in Afghanistan, and called for the right of girls to go to school. FRANCE: President Emmanuel Macron presided over a ceremony enshrining the right to abortion into the French constitution, the first country to make such a move. We will not rest until this promise is held everywhere in the world, he said. Thousands of people, mainly women, marched through Paris and in several cities across France. In Paris there were scuffles between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli activists. Former prime minister Elisabeth Borne, meanwhile, denounced the insidious sexism she said permeates French politics in an interview broadcast on International Womens Day. Men in politics, they all have an interest in imposing masculine codes, it eliminates the competition, she told French broadcaster RTL. DR CONGO: Thousands of Congolese women dressed in black marched in the Democratic Republic of Congo to mourn those killed in conflicts in the east of the country. The women from all walks of life gathered in Bukavu, capital of the South Kivu province in the east, which has been ravaged by decades of armed violence. KOSOVO: In the capital Pristina, women marched in a rally to press for gender equality and to protest violence against women. Cases of gender-based violence remain high due in part to Kosovos patriarchal culture, post-traumatic stress linked to war, and a legal system that has allowed domestic violence to sink deep roots. SOUTH AFRICA: a group of Jewish women held a march to denounce the governments silence regarding abuse by Hamas fighters against Israeli hostages. Organized by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), the women marched in the scorching Johannesburg sun under the banner Me Too unless you are a Jew. UKRAINE: In occupied Ukraine, masked Russian soldiers in combat gear handed out flowers to women, as Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed women soldiers fighting on the front lines. A Russian defence ministry video showed soldiers with scarves pulled over their faces distributing flowers in Mariupol, the Ukrainian port city captured by Russian forces at the start of the war. UNITED NATIONS: Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of a worldwide backlash against womens rights. He singled out the situation in Afghanistan, where girls are excluded from much of the education system and sexual violence against women in Sudan, Israel and against Palestinian detainees. POLAND: Thousands of women angry at the failure of the ruling liberal alliance to move quickly on a reform of the abortion laws took to the streets of Warsaw. We feel betrayed, Marta Lempart, leader of the Womens Strike movement, told AFP. It was women in Poland who decided the outcome of the elections, and now we deserve that work on legalising abortion begins. - Advertisement - Athens, GreeceGreek students clashed with police in Athens Friday as thousands protested a controversial bill on private universities, which they say will favor the rich. Riot police fired tear gas and used batons to keep students away from parliament ahead of a vote on the bill. Some protesters hurled stones and Molotov cocktails and set bins on fire. Media reported that at least eight people had been injured and nine arrested. The proposed measure will make degrees from approved private institutions equivalent to public university diplomas. The bill will also allow foreign universities to open in Greece using a nonprofit status despite charging tuition fees. Police said around 17,000 people marched to parliament in central Syntagma Square for the latest in weeks of student protests against the reform. Organizers put the turnout at 30,000. - Advertisement - No to education for the few and chosen, free education for all, many chanted. Demonstrator Iraklis Marinopoulos, 19, said the reform would undermine public university degrees and threaten regional colleges in smaller Greek cities. Wealthier students will be able to enrol with lower grades. They will just pay and obtain a degree, he told Agence France Presse (AFP). Athina, a 20-year-old engineering student, said private institutions would eat into the meager funds for public universities and devalue public university degrees. The government says the new bill will enable Greek public universities to enter into partnerships with foreign academic institutions, improving their international appeal. It has also said it will introduce stricter rules for private institutions. New horizons Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told parliament the reform would enable Greek students to study at international universities without leaving home. It was a step that opens new horizons to the new generation, he argued. We are establishing something that exists even in North Korea. Sadly, we are probably the last alongside Cuba to have a hard state monopoly on higher education. Ahead of the vote, which the ruling majority is expected to carry, opposition parties accused the government of chronically underfunding public universities. Parliament spokesman for the main opposition Syriza party, Sokratis Famellos, said Greece spent just 7.1 percent of its budget on education when the European Union average is 9.6 percent. And while the European average is one lecturer per 13 students, in Greece the average is 1 to 47, he said. You are doing this so that a few of your friends, some funds and colleges, can make a profit, Famellos told the debate. Public Greek universities are plagued by run-down infrastructure, political meddling in student affairs, and random violence and vandalism. Efforts by previous conservative governments to reform higher education have floundered in the face of student protests, many of them marred by violence. Last week the Virginia legislature produced a bill for Gov. Glenn Youngkins consideration that would make the retail sale of marijuana for recreational use legal in the Commonwealth. One day later the governors office indicated Youngkin had no interest in signing the bill, but he did say he would consider it, along with any other bills that make their way to his desk. I have found it odd that while Virginia has made it legal to grow and possess a small amount of marijuana, it continues to make illegal the selling of it, unless through an approved dispensary for qualifying medical illnesses. In Virginia, if you have colitis, chronic pain, ALS, autism, hepatitis C, insomnia, Tourette syndrome, terminal illness, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, cachexia, fibromyalgia, sickle cell anemia, migraines, depression, cancer, PTSD, glaucoma, anorexia, arthritis, cerebral palsy, or lupus there are doctors that will sign a form qualifying you for a medical marijuana card. Once you receive your card, you can present it at one of 22 dispensaries in Virginia and legally purchase marijuana. The nearest dispensary for residents in Martinsville and Henry County is in Danville, and they even deliver. Otherwise, you must grow your own. If you sell, or even give away an ounce of marijuana you could get up to a year in prison. If it is more than an ounce, you could get up to 10 years and if you are distributing more than 5 pounds, you are looking at a potential 30 years in prison. As a reporter regularly covering the crime and court beat in Martinsville and Henry County, I still occasionally see the marijuana possession charge applied with the inclusion of intent to distribute. These cases always remind me of one that started back in 1974 when Alfred Martin was accused of walking away from a one-year prison sentence after he was sentenced to 10 years with nine years suspended for selling $10 worth of marijuana to a co-worker. What made the case unusual, Martin moved to Michigan, became a prominent broker for a mortgage company, and lived an exemplary life since his conviction. Martinsville General District Judge Joan Ziglar was Martinsvilles commonwealth attorney in the 90s when, after 25 years, she had Martin extradited back to Martinsville to serve the remainder of his term and face the additional charge of escape. With most cases on her desk either directly or indirectly related to drugs, Ziglar made it a priority in her office to pursue the extradition of criminals who had fled her jurisdiction, and Martin was one of them. Ziglar told the Washington Post, in an article published Dec. 14, 1998, that her pursuit of Martin was necessary to send a message. If we say you can just walk away and we wont pursue you, you know what that would mean? There would be a mass exodus out of Martinsville, Ziglar was quoted as saying. In addition to the marijuana drug sale, Martin faced another five years in prison on the escape charge, but Circuit Judge Charles Stone gave Martin 10 days in jail to settle the score, admitting Martins life after the crime indicated he did not need more than a small amount of deterrence that a jail cell provided. Regardless of your position on the legalization of marijuana in Virginia, the current climate has made the proliferation of pot and its use much more prevalent. I rarely escape the occasional whiff of the skunk-like smell emanating from vehicles that pass by while on my daily walks with my dog and friends have told me that their visits to the local Walmart regularly involve the noticeable aroma on the clothing of customers. Then there is the argument by proponents of its use and while drunks regularly engage in violent behavior that ends in injury or even death, one is hard-pressed to find a pair of stoners willing to engage in even an old-fashioned fist fight. Alcohol is to anger what pot is to peace, they say, and while overdoses of illegal drugs occur with great frequency in our community, proponents of marijuana use suggest while an excessive level of THC in the bloodstream might be distressing, it is not life-threatening. Whatever your opinion on the legalization of marijuana, the laws still make its use a slippery slope for everyone. The strategic axes of the Rabat Ministerial Declaration on Middle-Income Countries (MICs) adopted at the closing of the high-level International Conference on MICs, which was held February 5 6 in Moroccos capital was highlighted by Moroccan Ambassador to the United Nations, Omar Hilale in New York. The Declaration presentation took place at the UN headquarters in the presence of ambassadors of Member States, partners, and representatives of several UN agencies, including the UN Development Program (UNDP), the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The participants thanked and congratulated the Kingdom for the strategic vision it has devised for MICs at the level of the United Nations and vis-a-vis international financial institutions. The Ambassador recalled that the February conference, held at the initiative of Morocco, in cooperation with the UN Economic Commission for Africa and UNDP, under the theme Solutions to the development challenges of middle-income countries in a changing world, achieved its objectives. He explained that Morocco succeeded in bringing together MICs from Africa, Asia and Latin America that engaged in collective reflection on concrete and action-oriented solutions to reorganize development cooperation with and between all middle-income countries. The conference made it possible to rethink cooperation frameworks at the national, regional, and international levels to support MICs, noted Hilale, adding that this conclave also succeeded in promoting the emergence of a new strong and positive narrative meant to reorganize development cooperation with middle-income countries with a view to meeting their expectations and needs, as well as the challenges they face. The diplomat further stated that the Rabat Declaration called for a paradigm shift in international cooperation in the service of sustainable development, by inviting United Nations entities, funds, and programs to further develop specific strategies to engage and provide tailored support to middle-income countries. This Declaration also supports the proposal of the UN Secretary-General to establish a high-level expert group to advance the selection of multidimensional indicators that complement or go beyond GDP, he indicated. Under this Declaration, it was also decided to work towards the development of a Strategic Action Plan for MICs for the period 2025-2030 and to promote dialogue, coordination, and cooperation to defend and make the interests of MICs heard. The active participation of several countries and the UN system during this briefing demonstrates the great interest in the Moroccan initiative as well as in its outcome: the Rabat Ministerial Declaration having become an official document of the General Assembly for the current session. The participants highly praised the Kingdoms commitment and the efforts made by Moroccan diplomacy to highlight MICs priorities at the international level. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Opill, the first-ever over-the-counter birth control pill, will be available in major retailers. Credit: Perrigo The first over-the-counter (OTC) birth control pill, Opill, will be available at pharmacies, convenience stores, grocery stores and on the Opill.com website later this month or early April. The birth control pill is used to prevent pregnancy and will be available without a prescription. Opill is made by the pharmaceutical company Perrigo. A one-month supply costs $19.99, and a three-month supply costs $49.99, according to Perrigo. Drug maker says pill will be affordable and easy to get The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced approval of Opill (norgestrel) last year. At a news briefing last July, Frederique Welgryn, Perrigo's global vice president for women's health, said the company is "committed to ensuring that Opill is affordable and accessible to people who need it." A study published earlier this year in JAMA Network Open found that in 2021, almost half (45%) of people seeking reproductive health care services experienced at least one barrier to access, and 19% experienced up to three barriers. "Having over-the-counter access to this progestin-only pill increases patients' ability to obtain contraception that is more effective than other OTC methods like condoms or spermicides," said Melissa Chen, an associate professor in the UC Davis Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. "This will be a convenient option, especially for those who have difficulty getting clinic appointments or prescriptions and refills." According to the nonprofit Free the Pill, birth control pills are already available over the counter in more than 100 countries, including Mexico and the United Kingdom. But in the U.S., birth control pills have only been available by prescription since they were first approved in 1960. Norgestrel, the active ingredient in Opill, was approved for prescription use in 1973. Pills only contain one hormone Progestin-only birth control pills are sometimes known as POPs. The pills contain only one hormone, progestin, and are estrogen-free. "Progestin-only pills are safer compared to combination birth control pills that contain both progestin and estrogen," said Chen. "Progestin-only pills don't have the same risks of blood clots or stroke as combination pills." Credit: UC Davis Mitchell Creinin is a professor in the UC Davis Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and director of the Complex Family Planning Fellowship program at UC Davis Health. "Even with combination pills, serious complications are rare. And significant health complications are incredibly unlikely with POPs," Creinin said. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, progestin-only pills like Opill help prevent pregnancy in many ways. The pills make it difficult for sperm to enter the uterus. They also thin the lining of the uterus and stop ovulation for many people who take it. To be effective in preventing pregnancy, the pills must be taken at the same time every day. The most common side effects of such pills include irregular bleeding, headaches, dizziness, nausea, increased appetite, abdominal pain, cramps or bloating. Other hormonal side effects include acne and mood changes. Some people should not take Opill Although people will be able to purchase Opill without a visit to their doctor, Chen cautions that some people should not take the medication. "People who suspect they are pregnant or have breast cancer or another progestin-sensitive cancer should not take it. The pill could also be less effective in people who are taking certain medications that have drug interactions with the pillsuch as medications for epilepsy or antibiotics for tuberculosis," Chen said. Other medications that can interfere with birth control pills include anti-HIV drugs, some antifungal drugs, and even some herbs, like St. John's Wort. Chen encourages patients to discuss any medications they are taking with their doctors. Preventing unwanted pregnancies In its statement last July, the FDA addressed the potential effect of Opill on unintended pregnancies. "Nonprescription availability of Opill may reduce barriers to access by allowing individuals to obtain an oral contraceptive without the need to first see a health care provider. Almost half of the 6.1 million pregnancies in the U.S. each year are unintended. Unintended pregnancies have been linked to negative maternal and perinatal outcomes, including reduced likelihood of receiving early prenatal care and increased risk of preterm delivery, with associated adverse neonatal, developmental and child health outcomes. Availability of nonprescription Opill may help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and their potential negative impacts." For more information, view the FDA announcement on its website. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Maksim Goncharenok from Pexels A German man who deliberately got vaccinated for COVID-19 a whopping 217 times did not report any side effects from his many jabs, according to researchers studying possibly the "most vaccinated person in history". The immune system of the 62-year-old man from the central German city of Magdeburgwho has not been namedis still firing on all cylinders, the researchers said in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal. They said the man voluntarily received so many shots against all medical advice, and warned against jumping to far-reaching conclusions from this single case. The man first came to the attention of the German-led researchers due to news reports in 2022, when he had only received 90 jabs. Media reports at the time said the man was suspected of getting so many doses to collect the completed vaccination cards, which could then be forged and sold to people who did not want to be vaccinated. A public prosecutor in Magdeburg opened an investigation into allegations of fraud over the case but no criminal charges were filed, according to the scientific paper published earlier this week. The prosecutor collected evidence of 130 vaccinations over nine months, it added. But the man claims to have received 217 vaccine doses of eight different COVID vaccinesincluding all mRNA versionsover 29 months. Kilian Schober, a virologist at Germany's University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and study co-author, said in a statement that when they contacted the man, he was "very interested" in undergoing a range of tests to examine the effect of so many vaccinations. Most vaccinated person ever? The case allowed the researchers an extremely rare chance to study what is known as "hyper-vaccination". Some scientists have theorized that after being hit by so many vaccinations, a body's immune cells would become less effective as they became accustomed to the antigens. But that was not the case for the German man, the researchers found. In fact, he had "considerably higher concentrations" of immune cells and antibodies for the COVID virus than a control group of three people who received the recommended three vaccinations, the study said. His body also showed no sign of fatigue from all those vaccinationshis 217th jab still boosted his number of antibodies against COVID, the researchers found. The man reported that he never had any vaccine-related side effects from any of the 217 jabs. He also never tested positive for COVID and showed no signs of past infection, the researchers said. But they warned against taking away any wider lessons from the man's experience. "It should go without saying that we do not endorse hypervaccination," Schober wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Caitjan Gainty, an expert in the history of vaccines at King's College London not involved in the study, told AFP she had "never come across a historical discussion of someone who received more vaccinations than this". It is "relatively unlikely" that anyone has ever had more vaccinations than the man, she added. Spyros Lytras, a virologist at the University of Tokyo, said it was a "comically large number of vaccinations". "Whether this is the most vaccinated person in history, I cannot know, but they are certainly the most vaccinated person reported to date" by some margin, he told AFP. "And I doubt that we're going to see another such report any time soon." More information: Katharina Kocher et al, Adaptive immune responses are larger and functionally preserved in a hypervaccinated individual, The Lancet Infectious Diseases (2024). DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(24)00134-8 Journal information: Lancet Infectious Diseases 2024 AFP Volunteers needed for Project Community Connect Looking for a meaningful way to give back to your community? Join us at Project Community Connect on March 27 at Missoula Public Library as we come together to support our neighbors facing resource insecurity. PCC is a one-stop-shop, with many community providers and organizations coming together to help those in need. The PCC team is currently recruiting volunteers and searching for volunteer leadership for this incredible event. No matter your skills or availability, there's a place for you to volunteer. Every helping hand makes a difference in creating a safe, stigma-free environment where everyone feels valued and supported. Please visit: tinyurl.com/Volunteer4PCC to check the schedule and sign up as a volunteer. If you consider yourself a leader and love meeting new people, working as a volunteer lead at PCC might be the job for you! If you are interested in working as a volunteer lead, please contact eskilton@thepoverellocenter.org for more information. AARP TaxAide Free Services Appointments Available Every Tuesday This tax season AARP Foundation TaxAide will offer free federal and state tax preparation every Tuesday at Missoula Public Library. From students to seniors and everyone in-between, if you file a simple 1040 Form, the AARP Foundation TaxAide would love to see you! All TaxAide preparers are IRS-certified and your federal and state taxes will be electronically filed on site, thereby speeding up your refund. Visit their website to make an appointment and learn more at: aarp.org/money/taxes/aarp_taxaide/. Memory Cafe Missoula Public Librarys Memory Cafe is a safe, welcoming, and supportive space for individuals experiencing memory loss and their caregivers and family members. This months program is held on March 12 from 2 to 3 p.m. in Cooper Room B on Level Four of the library. Western Montana Genealogical Society Meet with the members of the Western Montana Genealogical Society on March 12 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Blackfoot Conference Room on Level Four of the library. Join the members of this group for general genealogy discussions and tips on making your family history research more productive. Windows 11 Home Edition User Group Want to be more confident using Microsoft Windows? Join us for this two-hour Microsoft Windows User Group held on March 13 from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Blackfoot Room on Level Four of the library. Participants will have fun learning everything about Windows with instructor and your Windows facilitator, Dan Hubing. Each session will start with a demonstration and discussion of a specific feature followed by an open discussion with Q&A. Prior to attending the meeting participants can download the Windows 11 User Group Tips PDF file, find updates to the meeting, and get the latest Tips document on the Missoula Public Librarys website at: missoulapubliclibrary.org/calendar-of-events/windows-11-user-group/. MakerSpace Mending and Sewing Bring your damaged clothing to the Makerspace and learn how to mend it during these mending and sewing-focused walk-in hours. This drop-in program is held every Wednesday with the next session on March 13 from 2:30 to 5 p.m. in the MakerSpace on Level One of the library. YMCA Yoga at the Library Missoula Public Library is thrilled to partner with Missoula Family YMCA to offer free yoga at the library! On March 14 from noon to 1 p.m. in Cooper Room A on Level Four of the library we will focus on basic yoga postures, alignment principles and breathing techniques that help balance, strengthen and stretch the body beginners are welcome! 'Lyla in the Loop' Watch Party with Montana PBS Our friends at Montana PBS are hosting a special free screening of the new animated family show "Lyla in the Loop" on March 14 from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Imaginarium on Level Two of the library! Enjoy two full episodes and fun swag for attendees. "Lyla in the Loop" is a funny and engaging new animated series for kids ages 4-8 about Lyla Loops and her fantastical blue sidekick, Stu, who use creative and strategic problem-solving and critical thinking skills to help their family, friends, and community! Friday After School Meals at the Library After School Meals are available at Missoula Public Library! MPL will serve meals to kiddos 18 and under, courtesy of the Missoula Food Bank & Community Center, every Friday in the Imaginarium on Level Two of the library from 2:30 to 5 p.m. The next After School Meal will be available on March 15. This service will run until June 7. Western Montana Genealogical Society Work Day The Western Montana Genealogical Society hosts a Work Day on March 16 from noon to 4 p.m. in the Blackfoot Room on Level Four of the library. Bring a part of your genealogical project to the gathering where other genealogists can lend a hand and share websites and advice on research problems. Irish Dancing with the Carroll-Henderson School of Irish Dancing Join dancers from the Caroll-Henderson School of Irish Dancing for a St. Patrick's Day performance followed by an introductory dance lesson for all ages. This performance is held on March 16 from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Imaginarium on Level Two of the library. The U.S. Postal Service has released what appears to be a sharp rebuke to a U.S. senator, shedding light on a few more details about its plans for fairly drastic changes in Missoula and has stated the organization is trying to combat mistruths, false narratives, misinformation and disinformation that is a gross offense against the publics trust. Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester shot back with a barb of his own, accusing the USPS of spreading disinformation, "kneecapping" rural America and putting Missoula jobs on the chopping block. This week, USPS vice president of corporate communications Jeffery A. Adams released a letter, written in a pointed tone, to dispel some myths about the Postal Services efforts in Missoula. He led his letter by recalling that in 2020, the USPS faced a $137 billion budget shortfall, was going to run out of cash in 60 days, had 30-year-old vehicles and had $20 billion in deferred maintenance. Even more shocking, there was no plan to deal with this dire situation and that would create a self-sustaining, reliable Postal Service that could effectively serve Americans for years to come, Adams wrote. Now that a transformation and modernization plan exists there are those that either cannot comprehend the significant changes we need to make, or who for their own self-interest want to sensationalize and sow fear of even the simplest of changes. That unfortunately is the case in Missoula, where there are mistruths and false narratives regarding the improvement and investment the Postal Service has proposed at the Missoula facility. For much of the past few months, the Postal Service has been conducting a review of the Missoula Processing and Distribution Center to determine what changes are necessary going forward. No final decisions have been made, but the Postal Service is holding a public meeting on March 15 at 6 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton to discuss their plans. A recent Missoulian investigation found that rural letter carriers in the Missoula area are often forced to work six days a week because the USPS is short-staffed here, and residents in the area have gone weeks without getting important mail. Shortly thereafter, the USPS announced that it was reviewing Missoulas facilities. After that, the head of the local postal workers union said he and his colleagues are seriously concerned about the possibility of moving mail processing functions from Missoula to Spokane, saying roughly a dozen non-career employees could get laid off and that mail would be delayed. That prompted both U.S. Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines to send letters to U.S. Postmaster Louis DeJoy, urging him to keep mail processing functions in Missoula. The USPS then released a statement that said that the initial results of that review support the business case for keeping the Missoula mail processing center open but that the review also supports transferring some mail processing operations to Spokane. On March 6, Tester released another sharply worded statement critical of the USPS reported decision by DeJoy to move outgoing mail processing from Missoula to Spokane. Let me be clear," Tester wrote. "Moving Missoulas Processing and Distribution Center outgoing operations out of state is a slap in the face to Montanans who rely on the postal service for everything from life-saving medications to their hard-earned veterans benefits. Montanans are sick and tired of unelected D.C. bureaucrats leaving rural America behind. I am calling on Postmaster DeJoy to immediately reverse this decision. Then a day later, Adams released his letter talking about false narratives. "To dispel some myths about our efforts, here are the facts, Adams wrote. First, we are not closing the Missoula facility. In fact, we are doing quite the opposite. The Missoula facility will be converted into a Local Processing Center (LPC) and the Postal Service intends on investing between $10 million and $15 million into it. These investments include $3.9 million for a new sorting machine that will help speed up delivery services and $5 million for infrastructure investments that will allow the Missoula facility to house new delivery vehicles, including electric vehicles, that will improve reliability and efficiency, and lower our carbon footprint. Second, Adams wrote, the Postal Service will not be laying off any career employees as a part of this review. Notably, Adams didn't mention non-career employees. Our efforts will improve the workplace by providing our employees with new amenities, Adams said. We are also providing more opportunities for non-career employees to become career employees. In just the last three years more than 165,000 pre-career employees have been converted to career status. If there are changes that ultimately affect our pre-career workforce in the facility, these will reflect the flexible nature of this workforce category. Finally, Adams said that the USPS modernization efforts will improve the mail operations in Missoula. Our initial review found that converting the Missoula facility into an LPC would allow mail and packages to move more seamlessly through our network, thereby enhancing services to residents and businesses, Adams wrote. The fear that mail service will be adversely affected is wrong. Most local mail travels out of state, and local-to-local mail will stay within the current 23-day delivery standard. Moreover, modernizing our Missoula facility would allow it to be co-located with a new Sorting and Delivery Center (S&DC). These massive facilities offer enhanced mail and package delivery services and allow the Postal Service to cover larger geographical areas with increased speed and reliability. Adams took a very sharp tone in his final paragraph. Misinformation and disinformation about the Postal Services efforts in Missoula is a gross offense against the publics trust, he wrote. The facts are readily available, and yet false narratives are being spread. The Postal Service remains committed to the transparency we have applied throughout our network modernization process." He said if people are interested in "knowing the truth" about the modernization and investments the USPS is making in its Missoula facility, people can visit online at About.usps.com/what/strategic-plans/delivering-for-america/. A spokesperson for the USPS declined to provide any additional information besides what was in Adams statement or previous press releases. A Feb. 26 press release from the USPS gave a little bit more information about transforming the Missoula Processing and Distribution Center into a Local Processing Center: The initial results of the facility review support the business case for keeping the Missoula facility open and modernizing the facility as a Local Processing Center (LPC), the release stated. The Missoula LPC will be a critical node to the unified movement of mail and packages across the regional processing and transportation ecosystem. The facility will offer expanded and streamlined package processing capabilities in the local market and new workplace amenities for USPS employees. The USPS declined to say whether Adams' letter was directly in response to Tester's statement. "The letter speaks for itself," said Kim Frum, a strategic communications specialist for USPS. "It provides factual information of the initiatives we are undertaking in Missoula and is directed at people who spread misinformation and disinformation." Tester, for his part, didn't hold back in response to the Adams' letter. Tester's office sent a statement on his behalf to the Missoulian late Friday: Postmaster Louis DeJoy has made one thing abundantly clear over his tenure in office: He doesnt understand rural America, and doesnt care to learn about its challenges," Tester wrote. "His decision to relocate Missoulas outgoing processing operations to Spokane, forcing Montanans mail to be driven hours out of state, will result in delayed delivery for veterans who need life-saving medication, seniors who rely on social security checks to stay alive, and small businesses who need the postal service to send their goods. Despite the misinformation included in his response, Mr. DeJoys business case fails to mention the dozens of processing jobs that would be put on the chopping block, and the proven disruptions to service that resulted from prior relocations in Montana both of which are unacceptable. His leadership is kneecapping rural America, and I will do everything in my power to fight this shortsighted decision." Montana congressman Matt Rosendale has withdrawn from the U.S. House race following a series of whiplash political events. He cited death threats made against him as well as "false and defamatory rumors" in a statement announcing his decision. "In the best interest of my family and the community, I am withdrawing from the House race and will not be seeking office," Rosendale said in a post to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Friday. In early February Rosendale made good on a long-teased entrance into Montanas high-profile U.S. Senate race, defying party bosses who pushed hard to keep him from entering the contest. But he was a candidate only briefly, ending his campaign after just six days. When Rosendale quit the Senate race, he cited an endorsement of his opponent Tim Sheehy by former President Donald Trump as too much to overcome. That endorsement, however, was not unexpected and came the same day Rosendale joined the race. Rumors swirled online about other reasons for Rosendale's departure and culminated in former North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat, saying the congressman had impregnated a staffer. Rosendale has strongly denied the rumor, as has his wife, and hes threatened Heitkamp with legal action. Just last week, Rosendale answered another will-he, wont-he question when he joined the crowded GOP primary for his current eastern House seat, pushing the primary field to nine. "Over the last few days, I have been humbled by the outpouring of support I have received to run for Montana's second congressional district so we can continue our work to cut spending, secure the border and restore America's energy dominance. At the urging of my family, friends, constituents and President Trump, I announce my intention to seek re-election," he posted at the time to the platform X. In Friday's post, Rosendale said since the Senate announcement, "I have been forced to have law enforcement visit my children because of a death threat against me and false and defamatory rumors against me and my family. This has taken a serious toll on me, and my family. Additionally, it has caused a serious disruption to the election of the next representative for MT-02." In Congress, Rosendale found a home in the far-right Freedom Caucus of the U.S. House, playing a significant role by banding with seven other Republicans to oust former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy last fall. Rosendale was also prominent in the 15 rounds of voting it took to elect McCarthy by holding out his support and at one point during the voting process turning down a call from Trump. Still, Rosendale has pledged his loyalty to Trump at every opportunity, including not voting to certify the 2020 election. Rosendale has often found himself among small factions of the GOP in the House, such as being among less than two dozen Republicans who voted against issuing Congressional Gold Medals to officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, opposing intervention in Ukraine and voting against making Juneteenth a federal holiday. He has also peddled in COVID-19 conspiracy theories, such as running a fundraising ad claiming the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases brought the virus to Montana a year before the start of the pandemic. The claim earned a "pants on fire" rating from KFF Health News. In his statement Friday, Rosendale said said he faced pressure from leadership that also played a factor in his decision not to run. "The system is severely broken and badly in need of reforms. Unfortunately, there is immense pressure from those who benefit from the current structure to keep things as they are. And the limited few of us who are willing to try and force true reforms are subject to severe retribution," Rosendale wrote. In an interview with ABC-Fox Montana on Friday, Rosendale said again that he'd been encouraged to run for the Senate, but the resources for the campaign did not materialize and that Trump's endorsement of Sheehy surprised and disappointed him. He then said he was encouraged to run for the House. He continued, providing more information about the death threats in that interview. "I've had a death threat," Rosendale told reporter Bradley Warren. "Law enforcement had to go out to my two sons' homes. They're in Great Falls where my grandchildren live. I've had false and defamatory statements made against me. And this has weighed very heavily on me." Rosendale also cited frustrations with Congress as part of his reason for ending his tenure, saying that though Republicans held the majority in the House they did not use it to reduce the deficit or spending. He pointed to the minibus spending bill which passed both houses of Congress with GOP support as evidence of that. "I asked myself, why am I coming up here and spending the time to try and do this work when even in the majority I don't see us not only not holding the line, but we literally increased spending by an additional $16 billion," Rosendale said in the interview. "I'm out of gas. The tank is empty. I've been fighting this for three years. I understood when I came in under the minority that we were not going to be able to make much progress. But when you gain the majority back and you still aren't even able to hold the line ... " Rosendale again denied any rumors of misbehavior, calling them "false and defamatory." At one point recently, a poll circulated referring to the rumors. "When you take on the most powerful people on earth, when you try to challenge the status quo, you are subject to retribution from the very people that are invested in that system. ... You make enemies with a lot of people in very, very powerful positions that can put any kind of information out about you that they so desire. ... There's no other environment where someone could spread that type of information and even have it repeated except (if) it's against an elected official." Rosendale did not say who those enemies were. At one point in the interview, he expressed frustration at not being able to accomplish what he wanted in Congress. "When I come up here, and I attempt to do this work, and I am not moving the needle one bit, and then all of these attacks come upon me and my family, it makes it impossible for me to focus on the work to effectively represent the people in Montana," he told Warren. Rosendale said after 2025, he'd be done with politics. "Matt Rosendale is going back to the ranch and grandchildren," Rosendale said, pointing to his work on veterans affairs and improving operations at the Montana VA as the highlight of his career. Rosendale's office did not reply to an email requesting an interview for this story. Party division Though Rosendale did an about-face and later endorsed Sheehy, he did not hold back in his criticisms earlier this year about party leaders hand-picking the Belgrade CEO of an aerial firefighting company as the preferred candidate to run against incumbent U.S. Sen. Jon Tester. The leadership is trying to select, instead of allowing the people of Montana to select, who's going to be their next U.S. senator. ... I think it's offensive to the people across the state, Rosendale told reporters after he filed in the Senate race. That leadership includes Montanas junior U.S. Sen. Steve Daines in his role as head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, who Rosendale said threatened him with fundraising hurdles if the congressman ran for Senate. The NRSC also at one point accused Rosendale of being a Democratic plant. After Friday's announcement, Daines issued a statement via email thanking Rosendale for his "long record of public service for the Treasure State" but making no mention of this year's election-season whiplash. "During his time in public service, he has been a strong advocate for fiscal responsibility, the Second Amendment and pushing back against federal overreach," Daines wrote. "I thank him for his service and wish him well as he gets to spend more time with his wife, Jean, and their grandchildren. Rosendale was also the target of about $182,000 in recent ad buys by a group called Montana Policy Action, which ran a spot on TV stations around Montana saying Rosendale "sabotaged" an effort to secure the southern U.S. border. On Friday after Rosendale announced he was dropping out of the GOP primary, state Auditor Troy Downing's campaign sent a press release saying he was officially filing for the seat, saying he's raised about $350,000. The campaign of Elsie Arntzen, the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, pointed to her campaign raising more than $700,000. Earlier in the week Arntzen had issued a statement saying any statements made by Rosendale that implied she was dropping out of the race while he was still running were a "blatant lie." And former congressman Denny Rehberg, who has said he's running but not yet filed the paperwork with the Secretary of State to do so before Monday's deadline, issued a statement thanking Rosendale for his service and saying President Joe Biden's State of the Union address the night prior "strengthened our resolve to send Joe Biden packing and fight in Congress alongside President Trump to save America and our Montana way of life for our kids and grandkids. Rosendale told ABC-Montana there were several qualified individuals in the race but did not endorse a candidate in that interview. Political past Rosendale moved to Montana from Maryland, where he was not involved in politics, in 2002. As a real estate developer on the East Coast, he built a fortune that financial disclosures from his 2018 Senate bid pegged at between $7 million and $32 million. The money allowed him to start exploring a move west in the 1990s. Rosendale picked Dawson County, buying a ranch outside Glendive. Rosendale made his first run for the state Legislature in 2010, winning a seat in the House. In 2012, he successfully ran for the state Senate. Two years later, in 2014, he made a bid for Montana's only U.S. House seat, coming in third in a crowded Republican primary. The next year, 2015, Senate Republicans elected him majority leader. And in 2016, he ran again, winning the statewide contest for auditor. In 2018, he emerged from a crowded GOP primary to face off against Tester in what was at the time the most expensive race in state history. Trump made four visits to Montana that year in support of Rosendale, who lost to the incumbent by about 3 percentage points. After now-Gov. Greg Gianforte in 2019 said he would run for governor instead of trying to keep his seat in the U.S. House, Rosendale announced his candidacy for the congressional seat. He emerged from a six-candidate primary and won the general election against Kathleen Williams by 13 points. In 2022 redistricting placed him in the newly drawn eastern House district, which he won easily with 56% of the vote. Photos: Matt Rosendale in Montana politics Sunday is Oscar time again and "Oppenheimer" has the edge to win best picture. I havent yet seen it, but Im sure when I do it will bring back nostalgic memories of life in the 50s and 60s, especially the second half done in black and white, minus the bomb, of course. Will I watch the Oscars or, like all the other award shows, simply read about the winners on Monday? The only movies Ive seen were "Barbie" and "Anatomy of a Fall." Even though "Fall" was subtitled, it was fantastic thanks to an engrossing plot (viewers are still trying to figure out who did it and if they did it), and a powerful performance by actress Sandra Huller, who is up for an Oscar. "Fall" keeps you guessing and then wondering if you missed something when the final credits begin. Directed by Justine Triet, the French filmmaker has been nominated for the Oscar for best director and best original screenplay. Thats a formidable feat for her and, often, directors dont get enough credit for the amazing work that they do. In my research to see who critics rate as the best directors of all time, the top three were Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Alfred Hitchcock, based primarily on the director's commercial success (Oscars & BAFTA Awards), directing craft and style, as well as their influential greatness. One of my personal favorites is Hitchcock, known for suspenseful plots, gallows humor, and the fact that he made cameos in his movies. Theres another fact synonymous with Hitch and thats the breathtaking but icy blonde female stars in his lead roles. Leading men Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart were two of Hitch's most famous casting choices, but its his female leads that have created the most interest over the years. One of the most interesting things about his blondes was that they went against the popular female stereotypes of the 1940s1960s. Some of the most famous blonde actresses, such as Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield, were not even considered for a role in a Hitch film. In fact, the costuming of Hitch's leading ladies was typically buttoned-up and restrained, doing everything to minimize the shape of a woman. Hitch's casting of icy blonde female leads was partly a matter of his personal taste in women, but theres much more than that to it. What makes his blondes so compelling is that underneath their cool and lovely exteriors are women who are bold and enthusiastic when faced with dangerous situations. Film critic Roger Ebert once observed that Hitch's leading ladies "reflected the same qualities over and over again: They were blonde. They were icy and remote. They were imprisoned in costumes that subtly combined fashion with fetishism. They mesmerized the men, who often had physical or psychological handicaps." Something that Ebert did not mention is that Hitchs blondes were true lead characters. He never relegated one of his beautiful leading ladies to arm candy for the handsome male lead. They were dynamic and were not afraid of taking action. Although not truly light blonde, Hitch loved casting Ingrid Bergman. Besides her cool, reserved manner and natural beauty, one of the things for which Bergman was best known as an actress was her obvious intelligence. This made her a perfect candidate for Hitch as she had the combination of restrained elegance with a deeper underlying passion which set her apart from some of the bubbly 1940s actresses. After Bergman moved back to Europe, it was time for Hitch to find another leading lady and Grace Kelly walked into his life. Beautiful, blonde, and cool, Kelly had the perfect combination of untouchable polish and poise with the underlying taste for passion. My all-time favorite is Dial M for Murder, and the moment she comes into view, the viewer is captured by Kellys presence. She does a spectacular acting job (should have won an Oscar). However, we all know that Grace married a prince, left the U.S., and Hitch needed to find a replacement. Kim Novak was up next, starring in the classic, Vertigo. A psychological thriller, Vertigo is believed to be the one film which reveals the most about Hitch's innermost obsessions because Jimmy Stewart, the hero in the film, endeavors to turn Kim from plain Judy into glamorous Madeleine. Its widely believed among film critics that Stewart was a sort of proxy for Hitch himself, and that the concept of a man crafting a woman into his ideal vision is exactly what the director himself did with his succession of blondes. Hitch followed Vertigo with another of his best-known films, North by Northwest, a thriller starring Eva Marie Saint and Cary Grant. The lovely, blonde Saint played a double agent assigned to seduce Grant and set him up, but in the end, she fell for him and saved him from the foreign agents who were out to get him. As a double agent, Saint held her own, and fit well into Hitch's mode of cool women with nerves of steel. Throughout the cross-country chase, Saint remained polished and well-put together, even running across the face of Mt. Rushmore. The actress was styled directly by Hitch; in fact, he didnt care for the wardrobe chosen by the studio, so he went dress shopping with Saint and together they selected her attire for the film. The final iconic Hitch blonde was Tippi Hedren, who starred in The Birds (1963) and Marnie (1964). The director worked with other well-known fair-haired actresses, including Doris Day and Janet Leigh, but they didnt fit into his standard mode. Hedren was the actress with whom Hitch is believed to have had the most complicated and ultimately difficult relationship, perhaps owing to his unrequited infatuation with her. After Hedren, Hitch did a couple of other movies, but none were huge successes. His icy blondes? Their careers prospered thanks largely to the idiosyncrasies of a demanding director like Hitch. Editors note: Calendar items must be submitted at least five days before an event. Email all items to news@morganton.com. TUESDAY, MARCH 12 Guest presentation Western Piedmont Community College, 1001 Burkemont Ave., will host two guest presentations by Brett Harris, International Education Program Coordinator with UNC Center for European Studies, on March 12 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. in WPCCs Library in Phifer Hall. Harris will give two presentations on global awareness and world languages, including virtual reality tours of European cities. Community forum Open Hearts Place will hold a community forum on the housing shortage in Morganton and Burke County on Tuesday, March 12, from 7-8 p.m. at Saint Matthews Bakery, 201 Shady Rest Road, Morganton. The goal of the forum is to grow awareness of the housing shortage and share how OHP is trying to make a difference. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13 Crime Prevention Council meeting The Burke County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council will meet on Wednesday, March 13, at 8:10 a.m. It will be held in the Burke County Commissioners meeting room in Section E of the County offices at 110 N. Green St. To attend or for additional information, contact A.J. Coutu at jcpcbcc@gmail.com or 828-403-1427. THURSDAY, MARCH 14 Free health fair A free health fair will be held Thursday, March 14, at St. Charles Catholic Church, 728 W. Union St., Morganton, from noon to 6 p.m. The fair will provide a basic exam, along with diabetes risk and heart disease assessments. No appointment is necessary. The fair is sponsored by the Burke County Health Department, UNC Health Blue Ridge, and Campbell University. FRIDAY, MARCH 15 ACC Chili Cookoff The Morganton Downtown Development Association will hold its 30th annual ACC Chili Cookoff from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Morganton Community House. Local amateurs and professionals will compete to make the best chili recipe. Visitors who purchase tickets for $10 will have the opportunity to have all-you-can-eat chili with all of the fixings, cornbread, salad, dessert and beverage. Both dine-in and carry-out options will be available. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the Morganton Main Street office at 828-438-5280 or info@downtownmorganton.com. SATURDAY, MARCH 16 Fundraiser The Meeting Place Mission will hold its annual Skeet Shoot and Bourbon Tasting fundraiser on Saturday, March 16. Skeet shooting will take place at noon followed by a bourbon tasting at 4 p.m. Heavy hors doeuvres will be served and a silent auction will be held. Visit https://skeet.my.canva.site/ for tickets or more information. Support group meeting The Burke County Parkinsons Support Group will meet Saturday, March 16, at 10 a.m. at the Valdese Public Library, 213 St. Germain Ave. SE. Anyone with Parkinsons, their caregivers, friends and family are invited to attend. For additional information, call 828-879-1093. Support group meeting The Survivors of Loss to Suicide Hickory NC Support Group will be meeting, Saturday, March 16, from 9-10 a.m. at St Stephens Library at 3225 Springs Road NE, Hickory. The group offers support for the families and friends who have lost a loved one to suicide and is open to teens and adults. If you have any questions or need any further information, email or call Leisa Bentley at leisabentley@charter.net or 828-234-5822. MONDAY, MARCH 18 Vietnam Veterans meeting Vietnam Veterans of America, Robert Douglas Avery Chapter 1116 will be meeting on Monday, March 18, at Timberwoods Family Restaurant with a social hour beginning at 5 p.m. and meal at 6 p.m. Meals for first-time guests will be paid for. A business meeting will begin at 6 p.m. All Vietnam veterans, members and non-members, are invited to attend this meeting. Membership information will be provided for all non-members interested in joining our chapter. For those who filled out a membership form, dont forget to bring a copy of your DD 214. Any questions that you have can be directed to Chapter Secretary Tom Johnson at 828-413-0143. TUESDAY, MARCH 19 Musical performance Western Piedmont Community College, 1001 Burkemont Ave., will have the KAIA Quartet performing in WPCCs Leviton Auditorium on March 19 at 11 a.m. THURSDAY, MARCH 21 Lunch and Learn Friends of the Valdese Rec will host Valdese Mayor Charles Watts as a guest speaker for its Lunch and Learn. The free event for adults begins at noon with lunch and 20 minutes of social time before the program. RSVP by March 19 to friendsofthevaldeserec@gmail.com if you would like to attend. The event will be held at First United Methodist Church, 217 St. Germain Ave. SE, Valdese. New Dimensions board meeting New Dimensions will hold its monthly Board meeting on Thursday, March 21, at 4 p.m. in person on campus as well as via Zoom. Contact ckinard@ndschool.org for link information. SATURDAY, MARCH 23 Eggroll fundraiser First Hmong Baptist Church of Morganton, 301 Walker Road, will hold a eggroll fundraiser on Saturday, March 23, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The menu includes a combo plate with chicken stick, fried rice and two eggrolls for $10; two chicken sticks and fried rice for $10; four eggrolls and fried rice for $10; a dozen eggrolls for $20; one chicken stick for $5; fried rice for $5; and $4 for boba tea. For more information, email Chong Thao at tsoogthoj@gmail.com. Pancake breakfast The Rotary Club of Valdese will hold its annual pancake breakfast on March 23 from 7-11 a.m. at First Methodist Church, 217 Germain Ave. SW, in Valdese. Tickets are $8. FRIDAY, MARCH 29 Vietnam War Veterans Day ceremony National Vietnam War Veterans Day will be observed at the KIA Monument at the historic courthouse square. The Quaker Meadows Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution will be conducting a service to recognize veterans who served during the time of the conflict on Friday, March 29, at 11 a.m. Those attending should bring chairs if they want to sit. There will be a special section reserved for veterans of the Vietnam War. In the event of rain, the service will be inside the historic courthouse which is handicap accessible. For information, contact the DAR chapter at quakermeadowsdar@gmail.com. Blood Drive A Red Cross Blood Drive will be held Friday, March 29, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at North Morganton United Methodist Church, 990 Sanford Drive, Morganton. To schedule your appointment, contact www.redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-733-2767 THURSDAY, APRIL 4 Smart Start meeting Burke County Smart Starts Board of Directors Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 4, at 4 p.m. at the Partnership offices located at 304 W. Union St. Board meetings are open to the public and are held in handicapped accessible facilities. COVID, flu, and other health restrictions will be observed. For anyone with a hearing impairment who may require the assistance of an interpreter or have other special needs, call the Partnership at 439-2326 or use the NC Relay System at 1-800-735-8262. FRIDAY, APRIL 12 ACAP annual conference ACAP Hickory/Foothills (Adult Children of Aging Parents) will be presenting our Annual Caregiver Conference on Friday, April 12, at 8:30 a.m. until noon on the CVCC Campus, West Wing Commons, 2550 US 70 SE, Hickory. In partnership with the Catawba County Library System and Catawba Valley Community College Human Services Technology Program, ACAP Hickory/Foothills will present the half day caregiving conference. The speakers will be Timothy Aumen, Ph.D. from Wake Forest University and George Place, Ph.D., community wellness specialist, Flow DoJo Training, as they discuss The Mindful Heart of Caregiving: Making Room for Peace, Balance, and Gratitude. SATURDAY, APRIL 13 Scavenger hunt Burkes Amazin Race, a community scavenger hunt, is coming up on Saturday, April 13. Teams of 3-5 members (aged 21+) will compete to collect clues, take on fun challenges, and adventure through Downtown Morganton, followed by an Afterparty & Awards Celebration at Comma Performing Arts Center. Theres even a $300 Top Prize. Register your team by April 1 and learn more at https://www.bcuw.org/amazinrace. THURSDAY, APRIL 18 Lunch and Learn Friends of the Valdese Rec will host Sheriff Banks Hinceman as a guest speaker for its Lunch and Learn event. The event will begin at noon with lunch and 20 minutes of social time before the program. RSVP to friendsofthevaldeserec@gmail.com if you would like to attend. The event will be held at First United Methodist Church, 217 St. Germain Ave. SE, Valdese. SATURDAY, APRIL 27 Trip Cruise Unifour Christian Ministries will be embarking on a cruise to Grand Turk and Dominican Republic. Members of the public are invited to join. Call Annette Guffey at 828-493-1723 or 828-396-1906 for more information. CHARLOTTE Daylight saving time begins on March 10 and the American Red Cross encourages everyone to test their smoke alarms as they turn their clocks forward to make sure the devices are working. Working smoke alarms can cut the risk of dying in a home fire in half, said Allison Taylor, regional CEO, North Carolina Region. Every second counts when theres a home fire and the sooner an alarm alerts you to a fire, the sooner you can get to a safer place. When you turn your clocks forward this weekend, its also a great time to test your smoke alarms. Over the past year, local Red Cross volunteers responded to help more than 8,500 people in the North Carolina region affected by more than 2,500 home fires. Home fires account for most of the about 65,000 disasters that the Red Cross responds to annually across the country. When turning your clocks forward this weekend, test your smoke alarms and replace the batteries if needed. Visit redcross.org/fire for more information, including an escape plan to create and practice with your family, or download the free Red Cross Emergency app by searching American Red Cross in app stores. Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, including inside and outside bedrooms and sleeping areas. Replace smoke alarms that are 10 years or older. Components such as sensors can become less sensitive over time. Follow your alarms manufacturer instructions. Practice your two-minute home fire escape plan. Make sure everyone in your household can get out in less than two minutes the amount of time you may have to escape a burning home before its too late. Include at least two ways to get out of every room and select a meeting spot at a safe distance away from your home, such as your neighbors home or landmark like a specific tree in your front yard, where everyone can meet. Ask for help If you cannot afford to purchase smoke alarms or are physically unable to install one, the Red Cross may be able to help. Contact your local Red Cross for help. Since October 2014, the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign, working with community partners, has saved at least 2,030 lives by educating families about fire safety, helping them create escape plans and installing free smoke alarms in high-risk areas across the country. To learn more about the campaign and how you can get involved, visit redcross.org/homefires. About the American Red Cross The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nations blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or follow us on social media. New York Americans love to eat out. But each time they dine in a restaurant or wait in line during a lunchtime run to the nearest sandwich shop, fast-food or salad chain, theyre literally placing their wellbeing in the hands of people hired to prepare their meals. Why? Because poor personal hygiene, especially inadequate handwashing, is a big problem in the food services industry. Food workers wash their hands as they should only one in three times, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The consequence: Germs spread from food workers hands to food, which can trigger an outbreak of dangerous foodborne illness in restaurants. By improving handwashing practices, food workers can be a critical part to preventing outbreaks of diseases like norovirus, Salmonella, and E. coli, it said. Its a fight that Christine Schindler, a biomedical engineer and inventor, has taken up over the past seven years. A handwashing lie detector Schindler is co-founder and CEO of PathSpot, a New York tech startup thats developed a hand hygiene device to better protect employees and customers of food-based businesses restaurants, food manufacturers and packaging plants from the threat of foodborne illnesses and outbreaks. PathSpots device is called the Handscanner. Schindler describes it as a handwashing lie detector and its already being used in 10,000 food service locations worldwide, including franchised Taco Bell, Arbys and Chopt restaurants. The scanner weighs less than five pounds and is about half the size of a mounted hand dryer. The device is placed next to an employee handwashing station typically where food is prepared. After a 20-second handwash with soap and drying their hands with a paper towel, a worker places their hands first palms up, then palms down under the scanner to activate it. Within two seconds, the device can identify any residual contaminant on the hands and wrist using light fluorescence spectroscopy, an imaging technology already used in healthcare that utilizes safe non-UV LED lights. Schindler said the hospital-grade technology can instantly detect, especially in hard to clean areas such as beneath fingernails and in and around jewelry and knuckles, gut biome molecules that can transmit norovirus, E. coli, salmonella, Hepatitis A, Listeria, and other common illnesses. A screen on top of the device alerts the employee if their handwash scan detected contamination that can lead to foodborne illness. While detection is immediate, we set a two second time frame for the Handscanner to indicate the result on the screen, said Dutch Waanders, PathSpots cofounder and chief technology officer. If the device detects contamination, the person is prompted to thoroughly rewash their hands for the recommended 20 seconds, dry their hands and rescan them. The Handscanner isnt a diagnostic tool but it will detect and alert the presence of molecules that have a correlation to pathogens that lead to foodborne illnesses, Waanders said. Rebecca Bartles, an expert in infection prevention and control, said the PathSpot Handscanner is promising technology that would benefit from additional study and validation. New and novel methods for identifying contamination are very exciting, and having some information can be better in some circumstances than having no information, said Bartles, executive director of the Association or Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, in an emailed comment to CNN. In all circumstances, thorough, frequent hand hygiene is critical for preventing the spread of disease. Technology can potentially assist with increasing compliance and quality of hand hygiene, and that is very exciting indeed, she said. Dont try cheating Try ignoring the scan result at your own peril. The system is built to ensure accountability. By using unique employee ID codes or employee RFID badges (the device has a bluetooth reader that knows your badge has entered the handwash area), the system can track whos washed their hands and when. Different restaurants can choose their tracking options, which can also include fingerprint or face identification. If you dont come back and wash your hands after you fail a scan, thats when we notify management of a particular restaurant location through alerts that theres been a potential contamination situation, Schindler said. Also, wearing gloves isnt an alternative to handwashing. The consistency of gloves and how much contamination they spread is even more dangerous than bare hands, said Schindler. Gloves can provide a false sense of security. Oftentimes when someone says to me their hands are clean because they have gloves on, I say, alright lickem. And they say, no, my gloves are disgusting! Yet, theyre preparing food with that after maybe grabbing a dollar bill or running over to the garbage can now youre preparing our food. Separately, the CDC cited findings from an Environmental Health Specialists Network report on food worker handwashing that also found that the use of gloves in food settings might potentially even lead to less handwashing. The real value of the PathSpot system (which costs restaurant operators $50 a month), is the real-time employee data it generates, which can highlight gaps in hygiene protocols and allow a business to address those concerns, said Schindler. Weve actually seen that when someone fails a handwash, they start washing their hands three to five times more frequently, she said. Weve also seen that nine out of 10 employees, and this is not a requirement, scan their hands when they leave work. Why? Because they said they want to make sure theyre safe when they go home to their families. Tech twist to modernize cleanliness I was working on how to build technologies that can work when theres no heat, no air conditioning, no power, sometimes no ceiling in some of these hospital setting, she said. When she returned to the United States in 2015, she realized there could be a similar need. As a global and public health expert, Schindler (who has a Bachelor of Science in biomedical/medical engineering and global health from Duke University) was working in the developing world on low-cost medical grade tools and technologies a few years ago. One issue that grabbed her attention at the time was foodborne illness. There were major outbreaks where people were becoming hospitalized, even dying, she said. The news was saying it was lettuce or cereal but my thought was that lettuce doesnt spawn illness. What could we have done in the food supply system to prevent this? When she learned that close to 90% of the contaminants in those incidents were traced back directly to poor handwashing, that really got my brain going. If this is what is causing all these massive outbreaks, why is the best practice solution that we have is a sign that says Employees wash their hands before returning to work? she said. I wanted to solve that problem. To date, PathSpot has raised more than $20 million in funding. Investors include the founders of Chopt Creative Salad Co. and Valor Siren Ventures, formed with an anchor investment from Starbucks. Just a few Starbucks locations have installed the Handscanner while a majority of Chopts 90 locations use PathSpot, according to the company. Over the past five to 10 years, food safety in restaurants has become a more pressing issue and it has taken on a different level of urgency, said Chopts cofounder Colin McCabe. PathSpot, he said, is taking an antiquated outlook on food safety and hand hygiene and modernizing it, something which he says is important for the industry thats been very slow to embrace innovation. Its about creating a culture of food safety within the four walls of a restaurant, he said. History of foodborne outbreaks in the US History of foodborne outbreaks in the US Foodborne outbreaks have fallen but remain prominent Montana Tech students drilled, pried, and stomped through the mud and rock inside of Montana Techs underground mine, the Orphan Boy, during their Practical Underground Mining class with Scott Rosenthal, an associate professor and department chair in Mining Engineering, on Wednesday, Feb. 21. The Orphan Boy, which records from the Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives indicate existed as early as 1875, was acquired by Montana Tech in 2010 and developed the Underground Mine Education Center (UMEC). It is also the countrys only on-campus underground mine, Rosenthal said. We have a long reputation for being hands on. They learn about rock bolts, blasting and they can use what they learn in class. Montana Tech will additionally be hosting the 46th International Mining Competition from March 21-23 on their campus, with teams from around the world competing in seven different events. Eileen Joyce is stepping down as Butte-Silver Bows county attorney later this March to take another job, nine months before her four-year term ends. Joyce had previously said she was not running for a fifth term and would not file for re-election. The filing period began Jan. 11 and ends Monday. Her term runs through Dec. 31, but Joyce told The Montana Standard on Thursday she had submitted her resignation and it is effective March 29. She is taking a clerkship position with the U.S. District Court in Montana. As of Thursday, two people had filed to run for county attorney: Kelli Fivey, a deputy county attorney and prosecutor in Butte-Silver Bow, and Matt Enrooth, who lives in Butte but is a deputy county attorney and prosecutor in Anaconda-Deer Lodge County. But Joyces early resignation means Butte-Silver Bow commissioners will have to fill the vacancy soon. Any licensed attorneys who live in Butte-Silver Bow County can apply for the post, even if they dont plan to run for a four-year term. Based on past practices, the county will post the position, people can submit applications and then later appear before the council for brief interviews during a public meeting. Commissioners then vote to appoint someone to the position through the end of the year. The last county official to step down early was Tom Powers, clerk of the District Court, who retired last June with 17 months left in his term. He said the decision would be most beneficial for me personally and for the operation of the Clerks Office. Eighteen people applied for the post but only nine appeared in person before commissioners, who chose Beth Parks to take over. She had been chief deputy clerk for several years and is now running for a full, four-year term. The primary election in Montana is June 4 and the general election is Nov. 5. Montana's Libertarian Party chair and Kalispell city councilman Sid Daoud filed Friday for the U.S. Senate race, bringing a third-party aspect to what's already been an intriguing political contest with a Green Party candidate also jumping in. Daoud, 56 and a first-time candidate for federal office, announced his bid on the state Capitol steps just hours after news broke that Republican Congressman Matt Rosendale, after balking at the Senate race, was likewise abandoning a re-election campaign for the House. The reasoning Rosendale provided in a statement Friday included "retribution" from the political establishment and death threats following rumors about why he quit the Senate race. "That's what happens to 'Freedom Republicans' when they get too popular, they get forced out," Daoud said after the event. Perhaps there's some kinship between Libertarians and anti-establishment Republicans, but the perennial third-party has in Montana also drawn suspicion as a spoiler for the GOP aiding Democratic wins, particularly incumbent Sen. Jon Tester. "The old fallacy that we're just spoilers for the Republicans is ridiculous," Daoud said. "Every election in America is decided by independent voters. The only reason I'm going to get the votes I'm going to get is I'm standing here saying what those voters want to hear. "Those votes don't belong to the Republicans or the Democrats." The Green Party in the past has been animated by Republican funding as a sort of counter balance to Democratic support of Libertarian candidates. On the party's website, the Greens said a recent court ruling secured ballot access for the 2024 ballot. Amid the swirl of news on Friday, Robert Barb of Darby had filed for the U.S. Senate race as a Green Party candidate. Twice Daoud ran for Montana's statehouse, losing out to Republicans in 2018 and 2022. Daoud said he had the same criticism for both of the likely major party Senate general election candidates as entrenched in the Washington, D.C. establishment. Tester is seeking his fourth term in the Senate and Republican newcomer Tim Sheehy floated to frontrunner status as the pick of the National Republican Senatorial Committee chair and Montana GOP Sen. Steve Daines. "Even though he's portraying himself as an outsider, Sheehy has really dug himself in like a tick with the Republican establishment," Daoud said. Daoud said he appreciates Tester's work for veterans as chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee, but said his focus has been too narrow without standing against involvement in overseas conflicts. "We've generated so many broken veterans," he said. "It's our foreign policy that's creating these broken veterans." The economy, foreign policy and the major parties "indicting and investigating the other party" are Daoud's major platforms in the race. But he faces an uphill battle in getting those planks out to an audience. This race is expected to be Montana's most expensive ever, even without a Rosendale-Sheehy primary. Third parties are almost never funded well enough to appear in TV or radio ads. In 2022, Libertarian candidate for Montana's western congressional district John Lamb was denied an appearance in a televised debate between Republican Ryan Zinke and Democrat Monica Tranel. Things may get interesting for the third-party campaign, however, as Daoud said he's heard rumors a Libertarian candidate may primary him. Daoud has been a part of the Montana Libertarian Party since 2016, and chair since 2018. "I'm very familiar with our membership and liberty activists around the state," he said. "When I see people pop up out of the woodwork, I don't know, it's a good chance they're not a real Libertarian." Libertarians are certainly wary. Last cycle, a Billings businessman who had twice run previously as a Democrat entered the eastern congressional race in an empty slot left by Libertarians, despite not reading into the party's platform. The GOP-controlled Legislature last year sought to rework the 2024 Senate race in a fashion that would have likely culled Libertarians from the ballot in what was widely perceived as a strike against Tester's re-election chances. Libertarians have long maintained ballot access in Montana without requiring a threshold of signatures among the electorate. Back in 2012, the Libertarian candidate running against Tester ended up the recipient of $500,000 in ads paid for by a group that also backed Tester. That candidate, Dan Cox, ended up with 6.5% of the vote, while just 4% separated Tester and Republican Denny Rehberg. NOXON Six inches of fresh snow covered the charred rubble of what used to be the core of this small lower Clark Fork town last Saturday morning, a natural white pall draped over blackened timbers that had been three beloved businesses until about 6:30 a.m. Feb. 27. Distressed as Noxon's 250-or-so residents are about the loss of the town's only store, cafe and tavern, they seem united in their resolve: Their tiny town, they said, would not become a ghost town. Fundraisers have been launched; "Noxon Strong" cups, hats and shirts are for sale; cash collection jars are deployed in businesses around Sanders County. But some still fear a ghost-town future. Jim Byler, chief of the Noxon Rural Fire Department and originally from "back East," described how fires like Noxon's extinguished many a small town in the rolling, green mountains of Appalachian coal country. "My concerns with this town is everybody gives up, leaves town, our grandkids read about how this became a ghost town," Byler said to about 100 people at a community meeting in the Noxon school gym Saturday. "Im not going to let that happen." The crowd cheered. But the applause was much louder for another of Byler's commitments: "Fourth of July parade is on." Residents described the Fourth as Noxon's reunion, when anybody who grew up there and left town comes back to visit alongside the tourists. Losing that annual rite, they said, was what happened in other small towns they'd seen atrophy after a major fire. When the general store closed and later burned down in Heron, about 10 miles northwest, they recalled, people there began to travel to Noxon for supplies. No more Fourth celebration, either; they just joined Noxon's. Noxon is a town that helps its neighbors. The town's Lil' Fighters Fall Festival raises tens of thousands of dollars annually for a family in need, generally one with a terminally ill child. Last year's beneficiary was a 2-year-old with leukemia. The families Noxon supports each year often aren't from Noxon. Last year's was from Trout Creek. Now Noxon needs help. 'It means everything' Where the Clark Fork runs slow and wide toward Idaho they used to pull timber from the hills instead of coal. These days they try to pull travelers across a century-old, one-lane bridge from Highway 200, which sits across the river from town. Unless travelers have a reason to get off the highway and cross the bumpy bridge to Noxon to fish, to camp, or to visit any of three businesses that no longer stand they'll miss the town entirely. Noxon is not the most remote town in Montana or the nearby Idaho Panhandle, but it is certainly isolated, now more than ever. It's a 20-minute drive to the small Trout Creek Local Store down Highway 200 toward Thompson Falls. It's an hour's drive to a supermarket or other stores in Sandpoint, Idaho. State and federal data show high rates of food insecurity and poor access to supermarkets in Sanders County, particularly its western half around Noxon. With an aging population Noxon's median age of 46 is years older than the state average and meager economy, many people aren't able to make the drive to what are now the nearest stores. Many don't even cross the bridge out of town. And in a town where streets aren't plowed on weekends, Saturday's surprise snow was a reminder of how badly people need local businesses. Only a couple are left: a small post office, an unstaffed laundromat and Johnson Hardware, which takes up most of the block next to the one that burned. There's a gas station with a small convenience store across the river along the highway. "It means everything to the community," said Kevin Johnson, owner of the hardware store. "We rely on this, the local businesses here, we rely on them. Its the elderly community that really does, because theres some people on this side of the bridge that dont cross the other side. Theyre elderly, they drive down here, pick up their bread, butter, milk, eggs, come to Johnson Hardware and get some stuff to fix something in their house, and they go home." At the Trout Creek Local Store on Saturday, deli worker Donna King made the same observation. "Thats a town of older people," she said, noting that the store was now Noxon's closest. "Ive seen people I havent seen in years. Theyre older and they dont get out and drive." Ross and Michelle Fitchett, originally from Noxon, own the store. King, who also grew up in the area, said the Fitchetts instructed staff the morning of the fire to prepare burritos, cookies and water to deliver to firefighters working the blaze, which smoldered for days. The most gratifying part of the awful day came when a Trout Creek firefighter walked into the store on his way back from the fire to say thank you. Still clad in his turnouts, he hadn't even been back to the station yet. "To get a thank-you like that means everything," she said. That firefighter had a relatively short day. Byler, the fire chief, said 29 firefighters and 16 trucks from Trout Creek, Noxon and Heron fought the blaze. Most went home that day. But Byler stayed at the site nonstop from the morning of Feb. 27 through Feb. 29 three days of sleeping in a truck, monitoring the fire and watering hot spots. Having already aggressively pushed back on social media rumors online, he reiterated at the meeting: "Nothing points toward arson. Nothing." Desperate needs Byler and other officials also outlined nascent plans to rebuild if, of course, private business and property owners elect to do so. One said she absolutely would. Teresa Jackson bought the Angry Beaver General Store a little more than a year ago. Her fiance, Ryan Borgmann, is a handyman. The store sold groceries, fresh baked goods, homemade bread, desserts and sandwiches alongside camping and fishing gear. The pair were remodeling the second floor into a rental apartment Borgmann lost all his tools in the fire and hoped to start renting kayaks and bicycles this summer. Now they just hope to someday have a store and livelihood again. "I feel like its a nightmare that I cant wake up from, in all honesty," Jackson said. Tony Cox, a Sanders County commissioner representing the western part of the county, including Noxon, said at the meeting that the county would do anything it could to facilitate rebuilding. "Hopefully out of the ashes a store would come back," he said. "Noxon desperately needs that." Amy Klaschik, owner of Noxon Mercantile & Cafe, politely declined to discuss what she might do with her business. She said she wasn't ready to talk about it yet. Gail Therrian, owner of Toby's Tavern and daughter of the late Toby Therrian, was in Sandpoint the day of the meeting. Friends said she wasn't ready to talk about the fire and her loss in such a large crowd. Regardless, the community is rallying support for the businesses' owners and employees, and those of The Hereford restaurant on Highway 200 toward Heron, which burned down in January for a second time in recent years. The Noxon Strong Recovery Fund on GoFundMe is raising money to clear the burned rubble and make the Noxon lots ready for rebuilding, according to organizers Tim Wanamaker and Sherry Sutherland. On Friday, the fundraiser had collected $3,800 of its $50,000 goal. It's available at gofundme.com/f/noxon-strong-recovery-fund. Local agents with North West Landmark Real Estate are collecting cash donations at businesses across the area. All of that money will be divided equally among employees of the Noxon businesses and The Hereford. Meanwhile, Byler and Sanders County Sheriff Shawn Fielders have been working with the governor's office and other elected officials to explore aid possibilities from higher levels of government. And after they fought the fire that gutted the soul of their town, Noxon firefighters personally donated $1,500 cash split evenly between the Mercantile & Cafe, Angry Beaver General Store and Toby's Tavern. Byler handed the money to the business owners in person. "This is a small community and this is what this event is about, is our community," Johnson said after the meeting. "Were going to lift it up and rise up through this, and were going to support each other, and were going to get through this. We are not turning into a ghost town. This is going to stay a great community and we will support one another through it." Thirteen arrests, an alderman in handcuffs, several people treated for drug poisoning. In Davenport in 1973, it was a crazy Fourth of July. The occasion? The city's "first real rock fest," the Mississippi Valley Music Fair hosted on the Davenport riverfront on July 4, 1973. It was an all-day affair, with music starting at 10 a.m. and going until 7:30 p.m. The headlining bands were REO Speedwagon and Blue Oyster Cult, with acts like Detroit, Siegel and Schwall, Slaughterhouse, Catfish and Crystal and Truth further down the lineup. The show came just days after a planned festival with mostly the same lineup in Muscatine that had to be cancelled. The 3,000 folks with tickets to that event had their tickets honored in Davenport. Early estimates for attendance ranged greatly from 3,000 to 10,000, all the way up to 25,000. The final estimation, according to a Times-Democrat story published a day after the festival, was around 5,000 on the Davenport levee to see the rock show. It was truly a miniature Woodstock in our backyard, complete with the chaos and iconic rock and roll. At the time, REO Speedwagon was more of a local buzz than the national stars they'd end up being. The band was founded and based in Champaign, Illinois, and by the summer of 1973, they'd just released two records, neither of which garnered much national attention. They didn't truly break through until four years later, with their first entry in the Billboard Hot 100, "Ridin' The Storm Out." Throughout the '80s, they charted 17 more songs and re-visited the Quad-Cities many times in the process. Blue Oyster Cult, on the other hand, was already beginning their upward trajectory. They garnered some buzz with their 1972 single "Cities On Flame With Rock and Roll" and their 1973 full-length sophomore album "Tyranny and Mutation," which cracked the Billboard 200. Three years later, devout listeners everywhere feared the reaper. Davenport's On Flame With Rock and Roll The festival itself was the subject of speculation and controversy in the lead-up. The Moline Dispatch reported that initial plans were for a three-day festival with 50 bands. Even two weeks before it happened, city attorneys described its viability as "up in the air." But still, the show went on. The festival organizers picked the Davenport levee as their venue as a "last resort," first looking for spots in rural Eastern Iowa, according to a recap story published in the Times-Democrat. The whole thing was thrown together in just six days, with help from across the region. Officers with crowd control experience were called in from Chicago. Organizers conceded that there would likely be drug use in the crowd. On site, there would be medical personnel and a children's daycare. Tickets sold for just $5. On the day of the long-awaited and expectedly chaotic festival, a morning rain made the entire festival grounds extremely muddy. Some festivalgoers weren't satisfied with the terrain. "They didn't pick a very good spot," a 19-year-old from Clinton told the Times-Democrat. Others weren't satisfied at all. By the middle of the day, the temperature hit 85 degrees. "It could have been better, a better place with more shade, better groups," a 16-year-old from Davenport said. But still, most of the estimated 5,000 in the crowd managed to have a great time. "Faces of all shapes, adornments and colors smiled easily, voices were gentle and joyful. Many people spent the day under makeshift sun shelters sipping cold beer or wine, chatting with friends and listening to the music," wrote the Times-Democrat. "The closer people were to the stage the more the music affected them until at least they were drawn into the hurricane of sound and beat and seemed to become a part of it." Ridin' The Storm Out Others in the crowd had too great of a time. In the wake of the show, were seven drug-related arrests and 13 arrests total. State agents said that around 450 capsules of what they suspected was LSD were seized at the festival. A Davenport alderman was arrested for trespassing, after getting too close to the fenced exterior, trying to "see if there was anything going on that the city wouldn't permit." When asked how he felt about the way he was treated, the alderman, Powell Owens of Davenport, told the Times-Democrat, "If the citizens of our town are treated like this then I think we're in bad shape." After the show, a sea of trash littered the levee. Bottles and plastic were everywhere, according to the Times-Democrat recap. The show's promoters attempted to announce their plans over the speakers to distribute garbage bags to attendees, but they couldn't get the message out, somebody had already turned off the power and driven off with the wires. The Mississippi Valley Music Fair never returned to the Quad-Cities, but a different rock and roll festival did come back to the riverfront at the end of the decade: Mississippi River Jam, hosted in 1978 and 1979, with bands like AC/DC, Journey, Van Halen and Heart on the bill. In 1980, another fest appeared called "Isle of Rock," which featured Sammy Hagar and a return of REO Speedwagon, then at the precipice of their peak. This story is part of a series called "Timeless Tickets," where we're aiming to find the most notable concert in the Quad-Cities, every year from 1960 to today. Do you have a story or photo to share from an iconic local show? Send it to entertainment reporter Gannon Hanevold at ghanevold@qctimes.com. LOS ANGELES When producers told him he was touring Europe in the second season of The Reluctant Traveler, Eugene Levy thought hed be hitting the continents greatest cities. Instead, says Executive Producer David Brindley, we actually take Eugene very much off the beaten track. That means hes in a wellness facility in Germany, a rain-soaked midsummer festival in Sweden and a working-class community in Scotland that even his Scottish mother didnt want to revisit. If you were to ask me, In your dream, what country in the world are you just dying to get to? Id say I dont know because there isnt one place Im dying to get to, Levy says. The thrill of agreeing to a series like this hinges on the adventure that it offers. It makes me a more enlightened person and, possibly, a more interesting person and I love my interaction with the people. They really make these trips memorable for me. The lodging? Not so much. In Germany, the Schitts Creek star stays in a wellness facility where he drank clear broth and had a piece of very stale bread for dinner. I actually had to cheat and go over to the hotel where the crew was staying to get an occasional cheeseburger, he says. Because Brindley doesnt elaborate, Levy often learns about the itinerary just before it happens. If I was on my own and somebody said, Hey, you want to go to the Philippines or India or something? Id probably say, You know what? Maybe not this year, Levy says. It wouldnt get me out of the house. But the fact that the show actually gets me out of the house to kind of experience this, theres a lot that I truly enjoy. The Emmy winner also found he felt sorry for residents in some parts of the world. In Sweden, for example, it was a very thick season for mosquitoes. You really couldnt enjoy being outside at all because youre swatting a lot of the time. At a midsummer festival there, it poured and the locals who were dressed in elaborate costumes were drenched. You would never know anything was wrong because they were as enthusiastic as they would have been if there had been no rain and the sun was shining, Levy says. That kind of surprise proved transformational, Brindley says. Basically, youre playing in the rain, Levy says. In Scotland, where his mother was born, Levy had a moment that only someone like Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. could prompt. The connection I actually felt as soon as I got to the country was very palpable, he says. While his mothers home is no longer standing, he could sense the kind of life she had. She never talked about how bad it was, how crowded it was. It really put an emotional charge in me and Im glad I did it. Like Finding Your Roots, The Reluctant Traveler afforded Brindley an opportunity to tell Levys biographical story. Hes not somebody who does huge amounts of interviews about his innermost thinking, Brindley says. To be there at that moment, it feels quite special. Ive always had a strong appreciation for family, Levy says. I dont have to be away to appreciate and understand whats going on here. I just relate to it right away. And the food? German broth aside, the reluctant traveler says he found haggis horrible. Its every part of an animals body that you would not want in a recipe. The best? I love Italian food and every single thing at the hotel (in Tuscany) where we were staying was exceptionally great. I really hated to leave there because you got so excited every day about a meal. The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy, season two, begins March 8 on AppleTV+. While acknowledging the hard work of Muscatine staff and council, city council member John Jindrich said he believes there are still areas of the proposed 2024-25 budget where money can be saved. During Thursdays Muscatine City Council meeting, while discussing a bonding agreement, Jindrich voiced his thoughts on the proposed budget. I think there is work to be done yet, he said. I think there are some things we are spending money on that we dont need to. During the meeting, the council set a public hearing for 5:30 p.m. April 4 for the property tax levy. The second public hearing is tentatively set for April 18, but cannot be set until after the first hearing is held and a resolution is passed to set the levy. Both hearings must be held before passage of the budget. The Muscatine City Council recently completed its review of the proposed city budget for the upcoming year, with the property tax rate for 2024-2025 proposed at $15.67219 per $1,000 of taxable property valuation. That is the same rate as the current fiscal year. However, while the rate remains the same, property owners may see a decrease in the City of Muscatines part of their property taxes due to the residential property rollback mandated by the state, along with other reductions to assessed value. Numerous changes to local budget preparation, public hearing requirements, and budget timelines were made after House File 718 was adopted in 2023. Among those changes is a requirement that county offices mail each property taxpayer an annual statement. All political subdivisions, including cities, must file a report with the Iowa Department of Management (DOM) by March 15 that contains the required information for the taxpayer statement. That information is compiled and calculated by DOM and then used by the county auditor to prepare the taxpayer statements, which must be sent by March 20. Later in the meeting, Jindrich asked the council to halt the proposed sale of two city-owned lots on Brooks Street that bids are being taken on, saying he wanted the council to consider the importance of the green space to the neighborhood. He said that he believes the city should just maintain the green space. He also said the lots were appraised at $3,600, so were of no significant value. There is very little expense to maintain a green space for the kids to play in, he said. The council voted 4-2 to remove the land from the auction. Discussion will be held later on how the city will proceed with the property. Council member Jeff Osborne felt the time the council should vote on the issue is after seeing if there were bids or not. It is a goal of the city to get rid of these properties, he said. They are not a good use of taxpayer money in general. Council member Peggy Gordon agreed she wanted to see the process finish before making any kind of decision. She said anyone bidding on it is required to have a plan for the property. A judge ordered detention for one of three men accused of setting a fire at the Rock Island Livestock Auction Barn. The Rock Island Fire Department responded around 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 24 to the barn, 534 34th Ave, according to previous reporting. In the end, fire departments from all over the Quad-Cities area assisted Rock Island in battling the blaze. In the days after, Rock Island authorities said the fire was arson. William Kosgard IV, 22; Kadon Svec, 18; and Matthew Wooddell, 21 have each been charged with arson, felony criminal damage to property and animal torture in relation to the fire, according to court records. The first of the three arrested, Wooddell, of East Moline, had a detention hearing Friday before Judge Ted Kutsunis. The judge ordered Wooddell remain in custody for several reasons, including the damage done and the risk that Wooddell and his co-defendants posed to the public. Fires can get out of control really fast, Kutsunis said. Detention hearings are a new kind of proceeding that began in Illinois in 2023 after the Pretrial Fairness Act went into effect, eliminating monetary bond in most cases. Prosecutors must prove why a person facing charges should be kept in jail. Defense counsel is present and can make counterarguments. Friday, Rock Island County States Attorney Dora Villarreal represented the state, while attorney Tionn Fambro-Carter represented Wooddell. Villarreal said the fire destroyed the property and one of the cows being kept on the property was unable to escape and burned alive. The three men were also being investigated because of a suspected arson on Feb. 21 that involved about 200 railroad ties, Villarreal said. Villarreals arguments for detention also included the severity of the fire, the damage done and the risk to the people, including the first responders, and risk to the animals at the barn. Fambro-Carter argued for her clients release. Her arguments included that her client does not have a long criminal history and was not on parole or probation at the time of his alleged participation in the incident. She said Wooddell also does not appear to have any prior history of failing to appear for court hearings. If released, he would try to remain employed and would be able to stay with family, Fambro-Carter said. Wooddells next court hearing has been set for March 19, court records state. Earlier in the afternoon, Kosgard and Svec, both of Milan, made their initial appearances on the charges in separate hearings before Kutsunis. Both of them said they could not afford attorneys. Kutsunis appointed the Rock Island County Public Defenders Office to represent Svec and attorney Andrew Larson to represent Kosgard. Svec and Kosgard remained in custody pending detention hearings scheduled for Monday. WATERLOO Entering Mary K. Williams' apartment at Landmark Commons, it is clear a special occasion has taken place. Colorful flower arrangements adorn every flat surface in sight. "There's more in the bedroom," Williams said with a grin. A box of dozens of greeting cards is displayed on the living room coffee table. "If you squeeze the button on that one, it plays music," she said, clearly delighted. Williams is still reveling in the well wishes she received from a recent birthday. She turned 106 on Feb. 27. "They had a special coffee for me at church and they had cake here," she said. Williams, an only child, was born in Cherokee in Northwest Iowa and grew up on a farm. "My dad was a farmer, and my mom was a teacher," she said. "I always admired her. My mom lived until she was 98. My dad died much younger." She attended a one-room school house and graduated from Marcus High School in 1935. She then studied at Iowa State Teachers College (now the University of Northern Iowa) to become a teacher herself. "My first job was in Traer teaching kindergarten," she said. "I really enjoyed it. We had a wonderful superintendent who was very supportive." Williams has no problem recalling the names of the schools where she worked or the dates she was there. Her tenure in Traer would mark the beginning of a 40-year career teaching Iowa kindergartners. After brief stints in Clarinda and Webster City, Williams came to Waterloo in 1944, where she had family. She would spend 36 years in the Waterloo Community Schools, initially at Whittier Elementary School, located at West Third Street and Kimball Avenue. "They turned it into an apartment house," she said. She spent the most years at Longfellow Elementary, 233 Edwards St., which was demolished in 2019. She retired from teaching in 1980. "I still hear from many of my students," she said, pulling out a photo of herself and one of her former students. "This one is special. That's Imogene Jones. She was the first black reporter to work at The Courier." Her pride is evident. Williams has found ways to fill the years since retirement. She remained active in her church, First Presbyterian, as an elder, a deacon and in its women's organization. "I joined that church in 1955," she said. "And I still go every Sunday that I am able. A friend picks me up." Williams also volunteered at the YWCA. "I helped with scheduling their trips," she said. "I went on a lot of them, too." She received an award for her volunteer work with the organization in 2010. In 2014, she was named one of The Courier's Eight over 80 honorees. These days, Williams enjoys reading novels and newspapers and doing puzzles. Allison Bencsik and Liliana Karesh, the co-presidents of Napa Schools for Climate Action (S4CA), have been successful advocates for their program, Fossil Free Future. The intent of their efforts is to cut emissions at the source by preventing construction of new or expansion of existing fossil fuel gas stations throughout Napa County. This has been supported with ordinances or moratoriums by the cities of American Canyon, Napa, Yountville, St. Helena, and Calistoga. Bencsik and Karesh are now focusing their efforts on climate restoration. As Bencsik points out, This is the logical next step. We need to stop polluting, but we also need to restore our atmosphere to its pre-industrial composition. This is what it will take to reduce the impact of climate disasters and reestablish an environment where our generation and future generations can thrive. Bencsik and Karesh care deeply about their communities and want to make a significant contribution through their actions. Bencsik, a senior at American Canyon High School, took her first community action in 8th grade when she presented a petition for bike lanes to the American Canyon City Council. She currently participates as an intern in Congressman Mike Thompsons office, is the President of the American Canyon High School Environmental Club and serves as the Youth Commissioner on the American Canyon Open Space, Active Transportation, and Sustainability Commission. Karesh is a junior at Napa High School, a varsity volleyball player and also interns with Congressman Thompson. She was inspired to work on climate action by her older sister, Alisa, who was instrumental in getting the Fossil Free Future project started. Alisa led our cities, town, and county to recognize the climate emergency through resolutions and a proclamation that commit to achieving net zero climate pollution by or before 2030. Last fall Karesh participated in the California Youth Climate Policy Leadership Program. I can make a bigger impact by getting involved in the policy side of things, she said. Right now, we are working on a Climate Restoration resolution for the Napa Valley Unified School District that recognizes the need for climate restoration and commits to increasing the climate literacy of our students to better prepare them for future opportunities. The State of California recognized the importance of and possibility for climate restoration by passing Senator Dave Corteses Climate Restoration Resolution, SR-34, in July of 2023. This resolution formally recognizes humanitys duty to future generations to restore a safe climate for long-term human survival. "Climate restoration," as explained by Cortese, means restoring CO2 concentrations back to safe levels that have historically supported human survival. To achieve such repair, about one trillion tons of old CO2 must be removed from the atmosphere. This can be done by replicating natural processes that remove CO2. Examples include boosting the creation of limestone and the growth of underwater plants that encourage photosynthesis, which cools the earth. These methods are relatively affordable and have the potential to remove all the world's legacy (human-caused) CO2 that has accumulated over time, by 2050. Bencsik and Karesh have made presentations on climate restoration to local groups including the Napa Valley Vintners Environmental Leadership Committee. The Schools for Climate Action team, including Madeline Chiu, Maia Medalle, Abner Silva Toscano and Sophie Wassef along with leaders Bencsik and Karesh, is scheduled to present a Climate Restoration resolution to the Board of the Napa Valley Unified School District at their March 21 meeting. Board President Cindy Watter supports their approach, We owe it to our students to hear their concerns, learn about solutions and take action. On April 23 Schools for Climate Action will give a public presentation at the Napa County Library. This meeting, co-hosted by the Napa County League of Women Voters and Napa Climate NOW!, will also feature a screening of The Climate Restorers with filmmaker John Bowey and global change scientist, Dr. Phoebe Barnard. Actions You Can Take Attend S4CA presentations to the NVUSD Board and at the Napa Library. For more information see https://napa.350bayarea.org/ Learn more about climate restoration on the S4CA website: https://sites.google.com/view/napas4ca/home A man who worked as a manager at Marys Pizza Shack in Napa faces a lawsuit from two former employees who allege he sexually assaulted and harassed them while they were underage. The complaint, filed late last month in Napa County Superior Court, seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages from a former shift supervisor, Angel Isaiha Lopez, as well as from Cullen Williamson, an owner of two of the chain's restaurants, and Vince Albano, the current co-owner of the Marys on Jefferson Street. Daniel J. Russo, the Vallejo-based attorney for the former Marys workers Napa residents who are both now 19 alleged sexual harassment, sexual battery, failure to prevent harassment, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and negligent hiring, training and supervision. Both plaintiffs are listed only as Jane Doe in the complaint. The Napa Valley Register does not disclose the names of people who say they have been sexually abused. Albano, reached by telephone Friday afternoon, said he had not seen the court complaint but added that Lopez was terminated shortly after Mary's Pizza Shack management learned of the allegations. (Eateries in the chain were centrally owned until control was passed in 2023 to individual owners, including Albano and other descendants of founder Mary Fazio.) According to the court complaint, Lopez subjected the two female employees to sexually suggestive comments and gesturing, including slapping their buttocks and fondling the breasts of the second plaintiff. When that worker told her mother about Lopez behavior around March 2022, she called another manager at the Marys in Napa about the allegations, and both employees repeated their claims to the manager by phone, wrote Russo. The manager then told the employees Oh my God, Im sorry; I try to protect you girls, but did not ask any follow-up questions or seek other details about Lopez behavior, the complaint states. The plaintiffs also observed on a regular basis, throughout (their) employment, sexually offensive behavior Lopez directed at other female staff at Marys, Russo said in the complaint. Managers failure to intervene in the case created an intolerable and hostile work environment for the teenage employees, compelling both of them to leave their jobs, according to Russo. The lawsuit also alleges that restaurant owners violated state fair employment law by ignoring Lopez harassment of female workers and not disciplining him. Albano is a grandson of Fazio, who in 1959 opened the first in what evolved into a chain of Italian restaurants across the North Bay. After the Sonoma County-based company closed the Napa eatery and two others in January 2023, Albano partnered with a longtime employee and manager, Mayra Martinez-Cornejo, to reopen the Napa branch that September. The Marys Pizza Shack website currently lists Williamson as co-owner of two other branches in Santa Rosa. Photos: Napa Valley Faces and Places, March 9, 2024 Little changed in updated election results released Friday for two of the three Napa County Board of Supervisors seats up for grabs. But in the 2nd District, Napa City Councilmember Liz Alessio, who already held a wide lead, saw a substantial number of votes added at 2,455. The 4th District race between Amber Manfree and Pete Mott added 21 votes. The 5th District race between incumbent Supervisor Belia Ramos and American City Councilmember Mariam Aboudamous added 45. The Napa County Election Division on Friday updated results for the first time since election night and will make more updates next week as more ballots are counted. In the latest results, Manfree led Pete Mott 1,591 to 1,431. The 4th District includes part of the northeast city of Napa, the Silverado area, and the rural communities of Circle Oaks and Berryessa Highlands. Incumbent Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza didn't run. In the 5th District race, incumbent Supervisor Belia Ramos led American Canyon City Councilmember Mariam Aboudamous 1,074 to 807. The district includes American Canyon, the Coombsville area and a slice of the southeast city of Napa. In the 2nd District race, Napa City Councilmember Liz Alessio led former Napa City Councilmember Doris Gentry 4,486 to 1,424. The district includes the northwest city of Napa and the Mount Veeder area. Incumbent Supervisor Ryan Gregory didn't run. Since each race had only two candidates, there will be no runoffs in November. The winners begin their terms in January. "Napa County voters continued the trend of waiting until the final days to cast their ballot," Registrar of Voters John Tuteur said in a news release. The results announced Tuesday on election night appear to represent about 40% of all the ballots cast, he said. That means overall turnout might reach 45%. He estimated at least 22,265 ballots remained to be counted as of noon Thursday. Updated counts are to be released Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, at which point 95% of all ballots should have been counted. Final, certified results are to be released the week of March 25. Remaining ballots to be counted as of noon Thursday included 21,000 ballots ready to be counted, 1,100 damaged ballots needing duplication and 1,297 ballots challenged because of signature problems. There can also be ballots mailed and postmarked on Election Day, the news release said. PHOTOS: Party hopping on Election Night in Napa County 21:23 A 65-year-old woman was killed and four others were injured in a stampede at a programme organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra's Nagpur city on Saturday, police said. The incident occurred at a camp organised by the BJP's Nagpur city unit at Kavivarya Suresh Bhat Auditorium in the Reshimbagh area around 10.30 am, an official from Kotwali police station said. The party had arranged the camp to distribute utensils and other essential items to workers registered with the Maharashtra Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, he said. People started gathering outside the venue around 5 am, and a massive crowd had formed by the time the gates were thrown open to the beneficiaries, the official said. As the crowd rushed in, some women fell and sustained injuries, he said. The victim, Manubai Tulshiram Rajput, collapsed in the stampede and was rushed to a government hospital, where doctors declared her dead, the official said, adding that four other women sustained minor injuries. At least 50 police personnel, including women, were deployed at the venue at the time of the incident, the official said. A case of accidental death has been registered, and a probe has been initiated into the incident, he said. -- PTI Earlier, the police had arrested two people in connection with the murder. According to Jhajjar police, the shooters were nabbed from Goa in a joint operation of Haryana's Jhajjar police, Delhi Police Special Cell and the Haryana Special Task Force (STF). The police said that the accused, identified as Saurav and Ashish, are residents of Delhi and are suspected of having links with the UK-based Kapil Sangwan gang. The INLD chief Rathee was shot dead on February 25 by some unidentified assailants near the railway crossing at Bahadurgarh in Jhajjar. As per reports, the miscreants came in a car and fired, indiscriminately killing Rathee and a party worker. On February 28, Kapil Sangwan, a gangster based in the United Kingdom, claimed responsibility for Rathee's murder. The gangster took to social media to say that he had put a hit out on the INLD leader, adding that the latter had a close friendship with rival gangster Manjeet Mahal. Kapil alleged that Rathee worked in cahoots with Manjeet Mahal's brother, Sanjay, to grab properties and provided assistance to Manjeet in the murder of his brother-in-law and friends. The gangster claimed the entire Bahadurgarh knows the number of people Rathee had captured and killed while in power. (ANI) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Congress leader DK Shivakumar said on Friday that more names will be finalised for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections after the screening committee meeting on March 11. Speaking to reporters at his Sadashivanagar residence, Shivakumar said, "More names were to be announced in today's list. But those names will be finalised during the next Screening Committee meeting on March 11." "The candidates have been selected based on the feedback from local leaders and our survey inputs," he said. Asked about the number of candidates announced, he said, "It isn't important how many names I had taken to Delhi. The High Command decides it. We only propose the names. The Congress Election Committee gathers its own intelligence. Decisions are taken based on all these aspects." Earlier in the day, Congress released its first list of candidates for 39 Lok Sabha constituencies. The names have been announced for Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshwadeep, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Telangana and Tripura. Shivakumar's brother and Congress leader, DK Suresh has also been named in the first list of candidates. Suresh will be contesting from Bangalore Rural. Of the total 39 candidates announced, 16 are from Kerala, seven from Karnataka and six from Chhattisgarh, four from Telangana. Two from Meghalaya and one each from Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim and Lakshwadeep. In Karnataka, Anandaswamy Gaddadevara Mat will contest from Haveri, Geetha Shivarajkumar has been fielded from Shimoga, Shreyal Patel from Hassan, SP Muddahanumegowda from Tumkur and Vekanataramegowda (Star Chandru) from Mandya. The list was released after the party held its Central Election Committee meeting on Thursday. A total of 16 candidates have been announced from Kerala, including Shashi Tharoor from Thiruvananthapuram and Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad, a seat he won in 2019. Congress party's second Election Committee meeting will be held on March 11 in Delhi to discuss the candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The BJP has already released its first list of 195 candidates. The Lok Sabha polls are likely to be held in April-May this year. (ANI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a late-night meeting on Friday with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to discuss seat-sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The meeting took place at Shah's residence here in the national capital. At around 12:45 am, Maharashtra CM Shinde and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar were seen leaving from Shah's residence after the meeting. The meeting on seat-sharing within the Mahayuti Alliance in Maharashtra began at around 7:00 pm. The Mahayuti Alliance includes the Bharatiya Janata Party, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Nationalist Congress Party-Ajit Pawar faction. BJP National President JP Nadda along with the party's state president Praful Patel were also present in the meeting. Deliberation on seat-sharing formula within the alliance in Maharashtra was made, sources said. Earlier, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday asserted that everything is going well between the Mahayuti Alliance in the state, and discussions are still underway on two or three seats that will be resolved soon. Addressing a press conference, Fadnavis said, "Whenever it comes to ticket distribution for the Lok Sabha, it is based on the ground reality only." "Everything is going well between the three parties of our alliance. Discussion is still going on two or three seats on which there was a deadlock but that too will be resolved soon. There is no dispute of any kind between us. There should not be any speculation about the seats before the announcement because it seems incorrect. Whatever decision will be taken will come before you in a day or two," he said. "Whenever it comes to ticket distribution for Lok Sabha, any party or any leader can make any demand, but when the decision on ticket distribution is taken, it will be based on the ground reality only," he added. (ANI) It released a statement on Friday, expressing its regret over the alleged incident while calling on people to maintain communal harmony. https://x.com/DCPNEastDelhi/status/1766093409146880014?s=20 In a post in Hindi on social media platform X, the DCP, North East Delhi posted, "The people of North-East district have always supported the police in maintaining law and order. We condemn the Inderlok incident. Strict instructions have been given to all police personnel in light of this incident." "We call on the people to maintain communal harmony and not pay heed to rumours," the DCP added. Earlier, on Friday, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), North, Manoj Kumar Meena said necessary action was taken against the accused officer while the police post-in-charge was also suspended in the wake of the alleged incident. "Action has been taken against the police officer seen in the viral video. The police post in charge has also been suspended. Strict disciplinary action is being taken. The situation in the area is normal," the DCP, North said after the video went viral. Earlier this week, a video clip went viral purportedly showing a police officer hitting a few men offering prayers on a road in a bid to disperse them. The viral clip also showed the officer purportedly getting involved in a scuffle with locals. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hit out at the previous Congress-led UPA regime for "neglecting" border villages in the northeastern states. PM Modi also highlighted his government's 'Vibrant Village Program'. At the 'Viksit Bharat Viksit Northeast' programme in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, PM Modi said` "Congress had neglected the border villages and termed them the last village. But for me, this is the first village and so we started the Vibrant Village Program." Mounting a counter offensive on the 'Without Parivaar' jibe, the PM said, "On one hand, Modi is putting together bricks to construct 'Viksit Bharat' and working day and night for the better future of the youth..." "On the other hand, 'parivarvadi' leaders of the INDI Alliance have increased their attacks on Modi. They are asking, "Modi ka parivar kaun hai?...Those who are abusing me, listen carefully. Every family living in the hills of Arunachal Pradesh is saying, "Ye Modi ka parivar hai." Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke on his governments flasghip programs. Addressing the gathering, PM Modi said, "You must have heard of 'Modi Ki Guarantee'. But what is the meaning of it? The entire northeast is witnessing how the 'Modi Ki Guarantee' is working out. You will realize its meaning once you reach Arunachal. The entire Northeast is a witness to this" PM said he laid the foundation of the Sela Tunnel here in 2019, and today it has been inaugurated, asking the crowd, "Is not this a 'Paki Guarantee'? The Vibrant Village Program is a centrally sponsored scheme under which 2,967 villages in 46 blocks of 19 districts abutting the northern border in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Ladakh have been identified for comprehensive development. In the first phase, 662 villages have been identified for priority coverage, which includes 455 villages in Arunachal Pradesh. The Vibrant Village Program will help in improving the quality of life of people living in identified border villages and encourage them to stay in their native locations, thereby reversing the outmigration from these villages and adding to the security of the border. (ANI) "A massive fire breaks out at Vallabh Bhavan State Secretariat in Bhopal. Firefighting operations are underway. Details awaited," the officials said. Expressing concern over the incident, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said, "It has come to my knowledge that a fire broke out on the third floor of the old building of Vallabh Bhavan. Based on the information received from the Collector, I told the CS to monitor it- that detailed information on the incident be gathered and I have also been told that the fire has been brought under control." "We have issued directions to ensure that no such incident occurs again...I hope that no such incident occurs again...," the CM added. Visuals show fumes of smoke coming out of the building. Meanwhile, Harda firecracker factory blast victims ended their 16-day hunger strike on Friday after Rajya Sabha MP and senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh met them, discussed their demands with MP CM Mohan Yadav on the phone and got assurances about compensation. Singh discussed their demands with Chief Minister Yadav on the phone from the protest site and secured an assurance for compensation by March 16. Singh ended the protestors' strike by giving juice to the people. On February 6, a massive fire broke out inside a firecracker factory located in the Bairagarh area of Harda district, which took the lives of 11 people and injured 173 others. (ANI) A total of 11 MLAs from Himachal Pradesh arrived in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand on Saturday amid the turmoil within the Congress party in the state, whose government is led by Chief Minister Sikhvinder Singh Sukhu. A bus with Haryana's number plate arrived in Rishikesh's Taj Hotel today and the 11 MLAs, including six rebel Congress MLAs and three independent MLAs, were seen entering the hotel under a heavy security cover. Sukhu, while speaking to reporters on Friday in Palampur said, "Some MLAs are sad. They have been kept under CRPF security. Is this how democracy will remain strong? Horsetrading weakens the democracy." "I have just come to know through social media that they (rebel MLAs) were taken away from the hotel in Panchkula and a charter plane flew from Chandigarh airport. I don't know where it will land. This is because their family members were putting pressure on them to return," Sukhu said. After they abstained from voting on the budget following their cross voting in last month's Rajya Sabha polls against party candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, six Congress members were disqualified by Himachal assembly speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania. Pathania had said that the six MLAs, who contested on Congress symbol, attracted provisions of anti-defection law against themselves. Those who voted for the BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha polls include Congress MLAs Rajinder Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Devinder Kumar Bhutoo, Ravi Thakur and Chetanya Sharma and three independent legislators- Hoshyar Singh, K L Thakur and Ashish Sharma. The 11 MLAs landed at Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun on Friday at around 2:40 PM, from where they left in a car towards the hotel in Rishikesh. The development comes two days after chief minister Sukhu was in Delhi to meet the Congress top brass. According to information, the Chief Minister was in the national capital to meet the Congress High Command and give a report about the current political situation in the state. Asked about the possible return of the rebel MLAs to the Congress party, Sukhu said on Thursday, "If one realises one's fault then that person deserves another chance." (ANI) Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) president Prakash Ambedkar on Saturday highlighted the differences in Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra over seat sharing. The Aghadi which has the Congress, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP (SPawar) as its main constituents and is looking to get smaller parties like Ambedkar's VBA into the fold. "The current situation of MVA, about which I have said many times, has not stopped because of us. There are 10 seats where there is no coordination between Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) and Congress," he said while speaking to ANI. Ambedkar added, "There are 5 seats that are being demanded by the NCP (Sharad Pawar), Congress and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray). So in total, there are 15 seats out of 48 in which they do not have coordination and because of this lack of coordination, I think their talks (on seat sharing) are not going ahead. We go to the meeting, have coffee and biscuits and request them to coordinate with each other so that we can put forward our demands." Meanwhile, the VBA said it will not be a part of the Aghadi rally scheduled for Saturday in Baramati nor will it attend Rahul Gandhi's Mumbai rally on March 12 until a formal decision is reached on the distribution of seats in the MVA. The VBA chief said, "I was not aware that today's meeting of the VBA has been postponed. On Friday, Sharad Pawar called me and said he would not be able to attend the meeting and I got to know that this meeting has been delayed. We won't speak to the media about the number of seats or the seats that we have asked for. We have informed the Aghadi leaders that before entering into talks with them, we were ready to contest all 48 seats and even now, we are ready to contest at least 27 seats in the state." Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said the MVA has given a proposal to Prakash Ambedkar of the VBA and claimed that the Aghadi would win all the seats that Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi will get in the alliance. (ANI) Opposition parties and the father of the student had blamed the Student Federation of India (SFI) for the death of the student. "The Chief Minister has ordered CBI enquiry into the death of Sidharthan, the second-year veterinary student in Pookkode after his family met CM at his office," an official release said on Saturday. Sidharthan was a student of Government Veterinary College, Pookkode in the state. According to police, he was found hanging in his hostel room on February 18. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan had suspended Vice Chancellor of the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University Dr MR Saseendranath in connection with the death of the veterinary student. On March 1, T Jayaprakash, the father of the veterinary student, alleged that the death of his son seemed to be a "murder sponsored by the leaders and workers of the SFI." Talking to ANI, Jayaprakash said that one of the friends of Sidharthan informed him that the death of his son was "a well-planned murder" and that "brutal ragging" is regular in the college. Sidharthan's relatives told reporters that he was brutally attacked by a group of students inside the campus and it "is a case of murder and not suicide". Kerala Police had arrested six people in connection with the death of the student. Following the government's decision for a CBI probe, opposition parties ended their protest Mahila Congress president Jebi Mather, Youth Congress president Rahul Mamkootathil and KSU state President Aloshious Xavier were among those who were protesting over their demand for a CBI probe. (ANI) Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Saturday that the decision regarding the alliance with Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) will be made at the right time. As the BJP is in negotiations with Mahayuti Alliance comprising Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party-Ajit Pawar faction on the seat sharing formula, some reports emerged about BJP having talks with MNS. Fadnavis said, "MNS has taken an extensive stand; this is not different from our (BJP) stand. We believe in regional pride. The rights of 'Marathi manush' must be protected in Maharashtra, and they must play a wider role". Fadnavis admitted that there is not much difference between the stand of Raj Thackeray's party and the BJP. "MNS has spoken about Hindutva, besides 'Marathi manush'. So, there is not much difference between the stand of MNS and BJP," he said. Fadnavis also clarified that inferences cannot be drawn about what will happen with the alliance with MNS in the upcoming elections; it will happen after discussion and at the appropriate time. "As far as elections are concerned, it is a matter of discussion. The right decisions are taken at the right time," he said. Informing about seat sharing in the state, Fadnavis said, "The discussion about seat sharing in Maharashtra is going in a positive direction, 80 per cent of the issues have been resolved. Discussions are underway on the remaining 20 per cent of issues." He also expressed confidence that they would resolve all issues and form a good alliance in the state. Earlier on Thursday, Fadnavis asserted that everything is going well between the Mahayuti Alliance in the state and discussion is still underway on two or three seats that will be resolved soon.Addressing a press conference, Fadnavis said whenever it comes to ticket distribution for the Lok Sabha, it is based on the ground reality only."Everything is going well between the three parties of our alliance. Discussion is still going on two or three seats on which there was a deadlock but that too will be resolved soon. There is no dispute of any kind between us. There should not be any speculation about the seats before the announcement because it seems incorrect. Whatever decision will be taken will come before you in a day or two," he said. (ANI) "Our party national president, N Chandrababu Naidu, had a meeting with Amit Shah and BJP President JP Nadda along with Pawan Kalyan and came to the understanding that TDP is joining the NDA," TDP MP Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar said while speaking to ANI. "The JanaSena is already part of the NDA and will contest the upcoming 2024 elections in Andhra Pradesh in alliance," he added. This also follows the meeting of TDP Chief Naidu with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP Chief JP Nadda in Delhi, on Thursday. TDP chief and former Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu left for Hyderabad from Delhi Airport after holding meetings with the top BJP leaders. There have been speculations about the TDP joining the NDA fold, six years after breaking ties with the alliance. The TDP, which was part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance until 2018, evinced interest in reviving the alliance after suffering a crushing defeat in the 2019 elections. Actor Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party, which has been a member of the NDA, has already joined hands with the TDP. The state has 25 Lok Sabhas and 175 Assembly seats.Elections for Lok Sabha polls are expected to be held in April-May. The ruling party is eyeing a third term under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has set a target for winning 370 seats on its own and 400 with allies. (ANI) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Saturday said that he was open to suggestions on the Bengaluru water crisis from the Opposition if they were constructive. Speaking to reporters at his Sadashivanagar residence, he said, "The Opposition parties don't seem to know anything other than criticism. If they give any constructive suggestions, we are certainly open to considering them. For the first time in the history of the State, we have taken on the water mafia by taking over private water tankers". "About 50pc of the borewells in the city have dried up. We have decided to take over thousands of private water tankers to supply water for water sources outside the city. We have left the pricing to officials as factors like distance travelled determine costs. Unused milk tankers will be used to ferry water," he added. He said that the state government has taken steps to address the water crisis. "The public must not use water wastefully for washing cars and others. It is important that people understand the value of water. This is the reason why we are proposing the Mekedatu project," he said. Asked why the government is not able to get water while private water tankers are managing large supplies, he said, "Private water tankers supply water from private borewells while government supplies from drinking water units". Asked why a nodal officer has been appointed for Bengaluru Rural constituency and not for others, he said, "Wards under Bengaluru Rural constituency depend on borewell for water." Asked about Congress declaring a list of candidates ahead of the BJP he said, "It is sad to see the state of politics today. Yediyurappa, Yogeshwar and Muniratna were the people who toppled Kumaraswamy's government but now they are now embracing each other. Ideology is important, how will Kumaraswamy show his face to the people?" Asked about the BJP recommending Yaduveer's name along with sitting MP Prathap Simha, he said, "Let them recommend anyone. We are going to fight our elections on ideology and principles." (ANI) Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched various initiatives in School and Teacher Education at Kaushal Bhavan in the national capital on Saturday. Addressing the event, Pradhan said, "The definition of mentoring is too big. Today, an initiative has been taken to frame the National Mission for Mentoring. The steps are being taken to strengthen DeiT and SCERT." Earlier on Monday, he inaugurated a Skill India Centre (SIC) in Angul to equip the youth with employability and new-age skills and open their avenues for employment in domestic and global markets. "Our overarching vision is to extend our reach to remote communities, and the revitalization of public education institutions will particularly benefit underprivileged sections of society, empowering them to improve their livelihoods and access better employment opportunities," Pradhan said." Around 1000 children will annually benefit from skill enhancement programs offered at the centre, thereby contributing to personal growth as well as the nation's economic development," he added. It will enable the youth to leverage modern technologies, provide hands-on experiences on new-age technologies and facilitate career advancement that aligns with the demands of the future of work and skill development. The centre perfectly corresponds with the goals outlined in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which is about creating a flexible and dynamic education system that prepares students for the challenges of the real world. Furthermore, these centres are poised to play an instrumental role in shaping education by actively engaging with industry experts to design curricula that evolve in tandem with changing industry needs. It promotes standardization, preserves the rich cultural heritage of traditional crafts and generates employment opportunities that meet the demand for skilled talent across diverse industries. (ANI) Amid talks between the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Assembly as well as Lok Sabha polls, BJP Odisha election In-charge Vijaypal Singh Tomar said that his party is ready to contest in all the seats in the upcoming elections. "We are ready to contest in all 147 Vidhan Sabha and 21 Lok Sabha constituencies. We are confident that the Bharatiya Janata Party will form the government here. We will win more than 80 seats in the Assembly elections and more than 16 seats in the Lok Sabha elections," Tomar said speaking to ANI on Saturday. The Odisha election In-charge said that the BJP is currently holding discussions on the probable candidates who will be fielded. "We have not discussed anything about the alliance. We have only discussed about the candidates who will be fielded from which seats, our condition and the political scenario in the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections. We will hold discussions shortly as well," Tomar said Responding to the reporter's question about meetings by the BJD with the central leadership of BJP in Delhi, Tomar said that he is not aware of any such developments. "I do not know whether they have met our national leaders in Delhi. If there had been anything substantive, the national leadership would have surely informed us," he said. Speaking about their preparations ahead of the polls, Tomar said, "We are preparing for the polls and determining who will be the probable candidate for every seat. We have sent observers to collect information. We are preparing based on that." Earlier this week, the BJD leaders held an extensive discussion with senior leaders of the party on the strategy for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections. Following the meeting, party vice president Debi Prasad Mishra said that any decision that will be taken will be conducive to the development of Odisha. "Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was present. With him, 18-20 senior leaders and functionaries of Biju Janata Dal were present in the discussion, and all the aspects of the coming General Election was discussed. We will take any decision that will be conducive for the development of Odisha and for people of Odisha," Mishra said, speaking to ANI on Wednesday after the meeting. (ANI) "Lalu Prasad Yadav considers his son as poor, he doesn't work for anyone else's benefit except his son," he said. Further, reiterating his confidence in the NDA in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, K Laxman said "I can say with certainty that I am sure that NDA is going to win 40 out of 40 seats in Bihar in the coming time." Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday announced its list of candidates for the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar MLC elections. The BJP has announced its candidates for 3 seats in Bihar for now, which include Mangal Pandey, Dr. Lal Mohan Gupta, and Anamika Singh for the MLC election 2024. There are a total of 11 seats up for contest in Bihar. The MLC election in Bihar and UP is scheduled for March 21, and the last date for filing the nomination is March 11. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has fielded former Chief Minister Rabri Devi, former Minister Abdulbari Siddiqui, Urmila Thakur, and Saiyad Faisal Ali for the MLC election. Notably, the Congress released its first list of 39 candidates for Lok Sabha elections on Friday with party General Secretary KC Venugopal asserting that his party's priority is to win the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats. "Our priority is to win the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats to defeat PM Modi in the next elections. Our target is to win the maximum number of parliament seats for the Congress party," Venugopal told ANI. Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal informed that senior party leader Rahul Gandhi will again contest from the Wayanad constituency, the seat won by him in 2019. (ANI) Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala hit out at former Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Birender Singh on Saturday, saying that the latter has been giving ultimatums since the last year. "Ask Birender Singh first that it has been one year since he threatened to quit the party if they break the coalition. He has not left since last year. I don't think there is a politician like him in Haryana or the entire country. Just like Sunny Deol's movie where "Tarik pe Tarikh" (date after date) used to be given, he is giving ultimatums and ultimatums," Chautala said speaking to reporters on Saturday. Stressing the fact that he would like a strong coalition with the BJP, Chautala said, "If he has to decide something, he can do it in his own party and leave thinking about the Jannayak Janta Party. If we are in the alliance, it will be a strong one. I don't think we have left any stone unturned in Haryana's development. When the alliance breaks, I don't think anyone needs to say anything." Claiming that Birender Singh is frustrated, the Deputy CM said, "He is frustrated because during his time Uchana was so backward and now it has become so developed. He is taking out his frustration on our alliance." On the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress contesting the Haryana elections together as part of the INDIA bloc, Chautala said that the AAP which has now risen to the stature of a national party should have demanded all 10 seats in the state. "Since Aam Aadmi Party became a national party, it should have raised the bargain from three seats to five and then to 10 seats. What was the compulsion that they (AAP) stopped at only one?...," Chautala said. Slamming the Congress, the Deputy CM said, "The way Congress is resorting to crutches, its ship will surely sink and it will also drown those seats that Kejriwal has given to him in Delhi." Dushyant Chautala had gone to the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) office on Saturday to chair a meeting of his party workers in Uchana on the JJP's rally to be held in Hisar on March 13. (ANI) The two-day conference being hosted at IMA House at Jagannath Bari Road in Agartala will conclude on Sunday. Speaking at the event on Saturday, Tripura CM Manik Saha said, "IMA is just like a seed; if we sow a seed in the soil, it will grow into a tree with branches, flowers, and fruits. Like this, IMA has now been divided into various small associations. As a part of all of this, IMA is the oldest and main association in the field of medical science." "Today morning I got the news of the death of Dr Kishlay Choudhury; I remember him being part of this association for a long time," he added. CM Saha further said that IMA always played a crucial role in the health and medical facility in Tripura. Doctors play a crucial role in building a healthy society. Sometimes they are mistreated when they fail to serve the best. Awareness is very crucial in this regard. "Under the guidance of PM Narendra Modi, our government has been taking various steps to improve the standard of healthcare at every level. We are also strengthening the infrastructure in district hospitals," he added. Gitte Kirankumar Dinkarrao, IAS (Tripura Health Secretary), State secretary of IMA Tripura, Dr Supriyo Mallik (Director of Health Service, Government of Tripura) were also present on the occasion. (ANI) The Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and Head of the UN Deputy Mission in Afghanistan, Roza Otenbayeva, has once again drawn attention to the growing risk that prohibitions on women would drive Afghanistan even deeper into poverty and isolation, according to Khaama Press. The head of the UN Deputy Mission in Afghanistan urged the Taliban to abolish the restrictions placed on women and girls as the world observes International Women's Solidarity Day on March 8. Otenbayeva regrets seeing in Afghanistan a "disastrous negative investment" rather than investing in women, which causes serious harm to women and girls and impedes peace and prosperity, according to a statement released by UNAMA. In its statement, UNAMA also highlighted Afghan women's appeal for international solidarity in their advocacy, guarantees women's active involvement and representation in all talks about Afghanistan's future, and uphold foreign aid that specifically benefits women, reported Khaama Press. In addition to these pressing appeals, Afghanistan is experiencing severe humanitarian problems that are made worse by political unrest and violence, which increases the vulnerability of women and girls. The dire need for swift action to alleviate the situation of women and girls--who are disproportionately impacted by the conflict and socioeconomic limitations--is highlighted by the global leaders. In order to ensure that women actively participate in defining the future of their country and contribute to peace and prosperity for all, it is crucial that coordinated efforts be made to remove obstacles, promote inclusivity, and support women's rights in Afghanistan as the international world rallies support for their rights. Notably, many governments across the world have denounced the Taliban's full-scale attack on the rights of Afghan women and girls. Despite the Taliban's initial promise to take a moderate approach towards women's rights after it seized power in August 2021, the ban on higher education is just one of many steps that the armed group has taken to further segregate the country and limit women's role in society. In the immediate aftermath of August 2021, the Taliban banned girls from going to school beyond the sixth grade and imposed strict rules requiring women to wear hijabs and to travel only with a male chaperone. (ANI) In a stern reply to India amid the diplomatic standoff between the two nations, China has said that deploying more troops at the border would not ease tensions. It said that it is committed to upholding peace and tranquility in the border areas. While addressing a regular press briefing on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, "India's move of strengthening military deployment along the border with China is counterproductive to the two countries' efforts to ease the situation at the border and not conducive to safeguarding peace and tranquility of the border areas." Beijing's reply came in response to Bloomberg's question on the latest reports that state India has stationed 10,000 new troops along the border with China. Speaking further, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that New Delhi's actions are not "conducive" to peace and tranquility at the border. Mao Ning said, "China is always committed to upholding peace and tranquility in the border areas. India's moves are not conducive to peace and tranquility at the border and do not conform with common understandings reached by China and India on deescalating tensions in the border areas." India and China have been locked in a military stand-off for nearly four years after the confrontations at friction points in eastern Ladakh in 2020. Meanwhile, in February this year, India and China held the 21st round Corps Commander level meeting at the Chushul-Moldo border to defuse tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. "The 21st round of India-China Corps Commander Level Meeting was held at Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on 19th February 2024. The discussions built on the previous rounds, seeking complete disengagement in the remaining areas along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh as an essential basis for restoration of peace and tranquillity in the India-China border areas," the official statement read. The two sides also shared their perspectives on this in the talks held in a friendly and cordinal atmosphere. "The two sides have agreed to maintain communication on the way ahead through the relevant military and diplomatic mechanisms. They also committed to maintain peace and tranquility on the ground in the border areas in the interim," statement added. (ANI) Dubai [UAE], March 9 (ANI/WAM): The UAE anti-narcotics agents successfully apprehended an individual with 2,750,000 of narcotic drugs in the Emirate of Ajman. This operation followed the recent arrest by the Ministry of Interior in Kuwait of two individuals at the Kuwait International Airport, who were found in possession of approximately 1,000,000 capsules of the narcotic substance Lyrica. Through information exchange between the Interior Ministries of both countries, the operations of this trafficking gang, endangering community health and safety, were dismantled. This operation exemplifies the high-level coordination among counterpart agencies in the GCC countries, continuing the efforts of Interior Ministries to combat drug trafficking, apprehend dealers and smugglers, and safeguard society from this menace. Brigadier Saeed Abdullah Al Suwaidi, Director General of Federal Drug Control at the UAE's Ministry of Interior, affirmed the vigilance of control units in monitoring drug trafficking gangs. He emphasised the ability of control agencies to locate, disrupt, and cut off the funding sources of such criminal networks. Al Suwaidi conveyed his gratitude to the Ministry of Interior in Kuwait for their ongoing cooperation and coordination, contributing to the collective efforts of Gulf nations in ensuring the security, stability, and prosperity of their societies. (ANI/WAM) Juan Orlando Hernandez, the former president of Honduras, was found guilty on Friday of drug trafficking by an American jury following a two-week trial in federal court in Manhattan, CNN reported. Hernandez, 55, was charged by prosecutors with coordinating with criminal traffickers to transport over 400 tons of cocaine from Honduras to the United States while he was in office. Prosecutors claimed that Hernandez accepted millions of dollars in bribes in return, which he utilized to further his ascent to prominence in Honduran politics. From 2014 until 2022, Hernandez presided over Honduras as president. Following the conclusion of his second term in office, he was extradited to the US in 2022 on allegations of conspiring to import cocaine into the country, conspiring to possess firearms and other explosive devices for drug trafficking, and having this kind of weapon in his possession while participating in the drug trafficking conspiracy. For all of the charges, he may receive a maximum term of life in jail. Using his executive authority to support the extradition of some drug traffickers to the US "who threatened his grip on power," Hernandez "protected and enriched the drug traffickers in his inner circle" during his years in office, according to the Justice Department, reported CNN. Hernandez also "promised drug traffickers who paid him and followed his instructions that they would remain in Honduras." Additionally, according to the prosecution, Hernandez's accomplices in the scheme depended on the Honduran National Police to guard cocaine packages as they traveled across the nation. Earlier this week, Hernandez testified in his own defence and refuted the accusations made against him. A lawyer for Hernandez said Friday they would appeal the conviction. "He's still strong, but he's quite disillusioned," Raymond Colon, the attorney, said of the former president, as per CNN. Calling Hernandez "a noble man who fought for the same goals that the US had in terms of the war against drugs," he continued by saying, "It's a tragedy." (ANI) The US Senate passed a package of six government funding bills worth USD 460 billion, Friday evening (local time), averting the shutdown just hours ahead of the deadline, CNN reported. After lawmakers raced the clock to get the measure across the finish line, the legislation now advances to President Joe Biden's desk for his signature. Biden is expected to sign the package into law on Saturday. The Office of Management and Budget ceased shutdown preparations Friday because Congress had approved the bill, the White House said, according to the pool. "Because obligations of federal funds are incurred and tracked on a daily basis, and the President will sign the bill tomorrow, agencies will not shut down and may continue their normal operations tomorrow," the White House said in a statement. The Senate voted 75-22 Friday evening to pass the measure, after the House approved the legislation on Wednesday. The spending bills - backed by the top Democrats and Republicans in both chambers - represent a major breakthrough for lawmakers after months of averting shutdowns at the eleventh hour with stopgap bills, according to CNN. Although, the Congress has finally passed updated legislation to fund critical government departments and agencies through the rest of the fiscal year, the work isn't over yet, because the lawmakers still need to finalize and pass a second slate of funding bills ahead of a March 22 deadline. Meanwhile, both Democrats and Republicans have claimed victories in the passing of the spending package, which includes funding for the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Interior, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development as well as the Food and Drug Administration, military construction and other federal programs. The package will support a wide array of programs and initiatives, including hiring new air traffic controllers and rail safety inspectors; medical care and benefits for veterans; and science, technology and research programs aimed at bolstering US economic competitiveness and competition specifically with China in fields including artificial intelligence. House Republicans, who have an extremely narrow majority, passed the package on a bipartisan basis on Wednesday. The vote was 339 to 85, with 132 Republicans voting in favor and 83 Republicans opposed. Two Democrats voted in opposition, CNN reported. Democrats have highlighted that the package funds key social safety net programs, including providing USD 7 billion for the WIC program, which delivers nutrition assistance for women, infants and children, a USD 1 billion increase from the prior fiscal year. The package also includes funding for rental assistance and other child nutrition programs, including the school lunch program. Republicans, meanwhile, have touted some spending cuts in the legislation as well as conservative policy riders. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has faced criticism from his right flank over his handling of the government spending fight, said in a statement, "This legislation forbids the Department of Justice from targeting parents exercising their right to free speech before school boards, while it blocks the Biden Administration from stripping Second Amendment rights from veterans. It imposes deep cuts to the EPA, ATF and FBI, which under the Biden Administration have threatened our freedoms and our economy, while it fully funds veterans' health care." In a sign of opposition from conservatives, the hardline House Freedom Caucus took an official position against the spending package, saying in a statement that it "punts on nearly every single Republican policy priority" and "surrenders Republicans' leverage to force radical Democrats to the table to truly secure the southern border." (ANI) This comes as the diplomatic row between New Delhi and Male continues to deteriorate. According to Tourism Ministry statistics for 2023, 41,054 Indian tourists visited the Maldives by March 4 last year. The number of Indian tourists recorded as of March 2 this year was 27,224. This was 13,830 lesser than last year, Maldives-based Adhadhu reported. In the same period last year, India was the second largest source market for tourists to the Maldives with a 10 per cent market share. However, India is now in sixth place on the list with a six percent market share. The row erupted after three Maldivian deputy ministers made derogatory comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, over his pictures from the visit to Lakshadweep. PM Modi had called for the Indian island cluster to be developed as a destination for beach tourism and promotion of domestic tourism. The matter snowballed into a major diplomatic row, with New Delhi summoning the Maldivian envoy and registering a strong protest against the viral posts. The three deputy ministers were suspended and they remain under suspension with pay. Earlier this year, Maldives tourism industry stakeholders expressed concern as the boycott campaign in India grew momentum and gained the support of popular Indian film stars. The Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) conducted a survey to determine the impact of booking cancellations by Indian guests. But the findings were not made public, as reported by Adhadhu. India remained the top tourist market for the Maldives through 2021-23 with more than 2,00,000 tourists each year. However, China is the top market now with more than 54,000 tourist arrivals so far this year. (ANI) Pakistan's anti-terrorism court granted bail to Pakistani journalist Imran Riaz on Saturday, who was arrested in the Zaman Park attack case. Journalist Riaz was arrested in March last year in connection with the Zaman Park case on charges of vandalism and assaulting police officials during a clash at the Lahore residence of Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan. Additionally, hearing the bail plea, the court judge, Arshad Javed, ordered Riaz to submit a sum of PKR 2 lakh against the bail. Taking the X, M Azhar Siddique, the legal heir of Riaz said, "Journalist Imran Riaz Khan granted bail in the Zaman Park police torture case. The court's direction to Imran Riaz to submit two lakhs. The court adjourned the hearing, giving the prosecution a last chance to present its records. On the order of the court, the prosecution presented the case to Karikard court." "Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Arshad Javed conducted the hearing. The accused's lawyer, Azhar Siddique Advocate, presented the arguments. The prosecution wants to keep the journalist in jail for as long as possible. Position Accused Imran Riaz Khan is a journalist, he is innocent, he should be released on bail," he added. https://twitter.com/AzharSiddique/status/1766330217193169113 In a video message, Siddique said, "Thankfully the Imran Riaz was finally granted bail in a baseless and pointless case. Everything that proved him innocent is on record, and we also had submitted the related evidences in the court. However, during the investigation, he was put on remand, and a baseless case was designed against him. And when the court ordered the prosecutor and the investigating officer to present evidence, everyone refused to speak." He further added that "the bail process was delayed, by saying that, the records were not submitted to the court. Finally, when the records reached the court, they said that he had three cases registered against him, one of these cases was anti-corruption, which was baseless. After the appointment of Maryam Safdar as CM of Pakistani Punjab, this is the seventh cycle of investigation and cases are being registered against him." Siddique also stated, "Every one of these cases against him is baseless and pointless. Even the case in which he was arrested this time is baseless. Actually, there were several cases against former Prime Minister Imran Khan and the police wanted to get warrants issued for them. Riaz was present on the site to cover the news he was reporting on at the time. Based on just these incidents, he was given a remand of six days. The entire case was just falsely created, and when the court asked about the accusations, there was nothing to say." Attacking the Pakistan government, Siddique added that we have no hope left from the government and there may be future attempts to arrest Imran Riaz again, under a case registered by the Federal Investigation Agency or any other institution. But we must remember that all these cases are and will be baseless. According to a report on the arrest of Imran Riaz published previously, by Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) "On March 1, the journalist--whose current affairs YouTube channel Imran Riaz Khan has some 4.6 million subscribers--was freed on bail in a corruption case and re-arrested hours later, on separate terrorism charges, outside a court in the eastern city of Lahore, according to multiple media reports and Azhar Siddique, one of Khan's lawyers. An anti-terrorism court ordered that Khan be held for five days in police custody, until March 6, pending investigation, according to a court order, reviewed by CPJ. The police then transferred Khan to an unknown location outside Lahore, according to Siddique and a journalist familiar with the case who spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal. (ANI) WASHINGTON President Joe Biden did what he had to do in his State of the Union address on Thursday night. And then, it was party time. Just seconds after stepping down from the dais in the House chamber, as most news networks pulled their cameras away, Biden was playfully saluting people in the audience and shouting out jokes. Hey Bobby! I didnt embarrass you, did I? he said to laughs from someone nearby. It was possibly Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), who Biden mentioned in his national address. The House chamber was packed with so many of his old friends, former colleagues, his judicial and executive appointments, and even critics who wanted to talk to him. And Biden, all smiles, was here for it. He spent the next half an hour talking to anyone in earshot, taking selfies, telling stories and weighing in on climate change, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin, border security, reproductive rights and whatever other policy topics people threw his way. HuffPost caught most of these details by watching bits of livestreams that were still going and hearing him on hot mics. Thank you for mentioning climate change, said Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), the first person to get to Biden when he stepped into the crowd. Thats why Im working so hard, Biden replied, referencing Democrats taking back the House. Im going to do whatever I can. You were the Baptist preacher tonight! chimed in Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.). Biden leaned in and started telling a story about someone in Del-a-WARRR, or Delaware, who offered to campaign for him but only in certain places, because in some places youll help, in some places youll hurt. Meeks and others laughed at the end. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was near the front, eager to shake his hand. So was Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), an actual Baptist preacher. That was a sermon tonight! he told the president. Thank you, man, said Biden, before shaking someone elses hand and pointing at him. You know theres no T in Scranton. Its Scran-un! Cheeeeese. via Associated Press Some moments were more serious. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) asked about the Ukrainian war effort. By the way, Ive been in constant contact with them, Biden said, leaning in. Heres what I worry about with Ukraine, if we pull away. His next comments were inaudible. But then it was back to joking around. You were on fire! said Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas). No ones even talking about cognitive impairment now! said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.). I kind of wish sometimes I was cognitively impaired, the president said with a grin. Jerry Nadler: No one's gonna call you cognitively impaired now Biden: I kinda wish sometimes I was cognitively impaired pic.twitter.com/W8izB1m9ao Noah Mitchell (@noahmtweets) March 8, 2024 Hey Pat! Biden shouted to former Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who he has known for decades. He told a story to Sens. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) about how he and Leahy had been young senators together, and how disgruntled Leahy had once seemed about a newspaper article about Biden. A headline: Biden: Coolest Man in Congress, said Biden. I felt like I was cheatin on him! The people just kept coming. One attendee thanked Biden for his comments on Israel. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) gave him a hug, as another member of the audience said he couldnt wait to see him in Texas for a debate. Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) urged him to come back to visit her district. Mr. President, you brought the Irish fire tonight, gushed one House member. Ill tell you what, Biden replied, clearing his throat before launching into another story. The chamber had mostly emptied out at that point. The rows and rows of seats that lawmakers usually occupy sat empty. But there was Biden, standing just feet away from where he had given his national address. Still talking. The House chamber is nearly empty after the State of the Union address ended. But President Joe Biden is still there, talking to literally anyone and everyone. CSPAN Im getting texts from everybody at home watching, saying, Wow, said one woman, giving the president a hug. My mom [was] jumping up and down. Wheres your mom? Biden asked. When she said Houston, the president immediately looked around for an aide and asked to get the moms phone number so he could call her. Really? Okay, said the woman, pulling out her phone. That would be amazing. It was now almost 11 p.m. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who was still standing up there on the dais, made eye contact with Biden and tapped his watch. Time to go, man. Nope! I am holdin up everyone here. Im so sorry to keep you guys waiting, Biden said to top military leaders standing nearby. Thanks for accepting the appointment. Its about time we had someone strong running the military, the president told one military official. He went up to another military leader and lightly bumped him on his chest with a fist. I keep telling him, hes got to work on his pecs! President Joe Biden lightly taps his fist on a top military leader at the State of the Union address. "I keep telling him, hes got to work on his pecs! CSPAN The exit doors were in sight. Bidens team appeared to finally be getting him to wrap things up. But then intercepted! The amount. Of carbon. Used in steel and cement. Is gigantic! Biden told one man with great emphasis, putting his hands on his shoulders. Somehow that turned into a story about how his great grandfather was the first Catholic elected to the state senate in Pennsylvania. An aide finally had to interrupt. Most people cant leave until we leave and we need to go this way, the aide said to the president. Well, are they Democrats or Republicans? Biden asked. Im joking. Im joking.... Ill get the hell out of here. Was he joking, though? He stopped again, this time to chat with Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. I told him, Bibi and dont repeat this but you and I are going to have a come to Jesus meeting, Biden said, using a nickname for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. An aide stepped in: Sir, just, just Im on a hot mic here, Biden reported back to the group. Good. That was good. President Biden: "I told him, Bibi, and don't repeat this, but you and I are going to have a come to Jesus meeting." Im on a hot mic here. Good. Thats good. pic.twitter.com/KCgpbx4awf Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) March 8, 2024 Biden was talking to Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) when Johnson gaveled out the House, loudly declaring the joint session of Congress (and thus, SOTU) was over. Biden didnt seem to notice. He didnt seem to notice when the House adjourned, either. Or when the lights dimmed. He was too busy posing for selfies, complimenting peoples glasses and talking to Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) for several minutes about wildfires in California. The president stopped again to talk to Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), who thanked him for mentioning the PACT Act, a 2022 law that expanded health benefits for veterans who were exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances. Takano talked about a veteran he knew whod directly benefited. I didnt do it because of my son, Biden said, suddenly solemn. He was referring to his late son, Beau Biden, a National Guard vet who died from brain cancer in 2015, after previously serving in the Iraq War. Beau died, being a quarter mile from a burn pit for a year in Iraq, Biden said. It was sad for a moment. But then, the president was back to glad-handing, saying hello to someones niece who was viewing the scene from a Zoom call on a tablet. Hi Marissa, how are you! Biden said to the person on the tablet, delighted. You got your Irish shirt on? Alright! ZANESVILLE The site of a former elementary school will be reborn as an affordable housing complex, addressing a need in the community. A groundbreaking was held Thursday for Munson Crossing at 109 Brighton Blvd. It will consists of 43 units of affordable housing at the site of the former Munson Elementary School. It will provide 14 one-bedroom apartments, 23 two-bedroom units and six three-bedroom apartments in a three-story building. There will be four apartments with features for residents with physical disabilities, including sight and hearing disabilities. The complex will include a multi-purpose room with a kitchenette, package room, laundry room and dedicated supportive service space with an on-site leasing and management office. Each unit will have washer and dryer hook-ups and Energy Star appliances, including dishwashers. Units will be available for to 30% to 80% of the area median income. That ranges from just under $17,000 for one person to a bit more than $64,000 for a family of four. Depending on apartment size and resident income, monthly rents are projected to range from $330 to $1,025. Work has begun on the Munson Crossing housing complex at 109 Brighton Blvd. A foundation is being laid and the elevator shaft has been erected. A foundation is being laid now and the elevator shaft has been erected. Completion date is expected in 12 to 15 months. PCI Design Group of Columbus is the architect with Woda Cooper doing the construction. The Ohio Housing Finance Agency is providing $5 million in funding from the Ohio Housing Trust Fund for the project, as well as a 4% tax credit equal to $6.7 million. The estimated total project cost is $13.8 million. Other institutes are also providing funding through loans and purchase of the tax credits. Public-private partnership seeks to increase local housing stock The project is by Woda Cooper Companies in partnership with Housing Services Alliance. It's located in the West Main Street Community Reinvestment Area and is an example of a public-private partnership increasing local housing stock. Woda Cooper previously built Troon Crossing on the East Pike in the early 2000s and is working on a similar project at the former McKinley Elementary School. Munson School was demolished last year via state brownfield funding acquired by the Muskingum County Land Reutilization Corporation, commonly known as the land bank. "There is a great need for affordable housing in all cities across Ohio and across the nation. We appreciate our elected leaders' interest and commitment in finding solutions for families," said Erica Green of Woda Cooper. Mayor Don Mason speaks at a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Munson Crossing housing complex being built by Woda Cooper Companies. Jonathan McKay of Woda Cooper said they always start out on a project by connecting with the local community to see what needs are. They were thrilled when Mayor Don Mason made affordable housing a key element of his 2021 state of the city address. "This is part of our comprehensive plan to bring housing into Zanesville so young people can come back home and take care of their parents or live in close proximity to where they grew up," Mason said. "This is one of those partnerships we so often talk about and why it's so important to keep these relationships going." Matt Abbott with the Zanesville-Muskingum County Port Authority said a third-party housing survey was completed in 2023 and its results were at the heart of why Munson Crossing will be so important to the community. "If Zanesville wants to continue to supply its current workforce or attract new businesses to build a more vibrant workforce, we need to invest in housing and housing at all levels," Abbott said. "We're look forward to continuing our work with Woda Cooper and to amplify our housing stock with this project and hopefully others in the near future." For more information on the project, one can call 740-825-7539 or go to wodagroup.com. This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Groundbreaking held for Munson Crossing housing complex in Zanesville Lt. Debra Aguilar is sworn in as deputy chief by Police Chief Trevor Womack on Friday. Aguilar is the second woman to hold the rank of deputy chief at the Salem Police Department. After 24 years with the Salem Police Department, Debra Aguilar was promoted Friday to deputy chief. As her family, friends and colleagues looked on, Aguilar's daughter pinned her badge on her swearing-in ceremony. Aguilar is now the second woman to hold the rank of deputy chief in Salem. Debbie Baker previously served as deputy chief from 2006 to 2011 and was one of the people who initially encouraged Aguilar to apply to work at the department. The ceremony coincided with International Women's Day. Salem Police Chief Trevor Womack said in a male-dominated profession, Aguilar's promotion was notable and well-deserved. "Debbie brings with her a wealth of experience expertise and unique strengths," Womack said. "She's more than qualified for this new role, and her leadership will be instrumental in driving the organization toward greater success." Madison Aguilar pins a badge on her mom, Deputy Chief Debra Aguilar, as she is sworn in Friday. Her promotion comes after the retirement of Deputy Chief Jake Burke, who led the investigations division that Aguilar will now head up. There are three deputy chiefs at the department. Brandon Ditto and Treven Upkes were promoted to the rank of deputy chief last year. Inspired by her father's career in Oregon State Police's Fish and Wildlife Division, Aguilar served as an OSP cadet in 1997 with initial plans to also work in fish and wildlife. Inspired by mentors and women in Salem Police leadership, she applied and began working there as a police officer in 2000. She began climbing the ranks in 2011, first getting promoted to sergeant and then lieutenant. During her 24 years with the department, she worked as a school resource officer, public information officer, in crisis negotiation, legislative liaison, chief of staff and shift commander. Womack spoke of Aguilar's time working with Salem for Refugees, on homelessness issues and with the city's Human Rights Commission. Salem Police Chief Trevor Womack speaks about Lt. Debra Aguilars career before she is sworn in as deputy chief on Friday. Aguilar said she did not get into policing intending to end up in a leadership role, but when different promotions and opportunities arose, she took a chance. "I felt like I could do that," she said. "I could make a positive impact." During her promotional ceremony Friday, she thanked her family for their support throughout her career. A mother of two, Aguilar recounted getting calls as a crisis negotiator to respond to scenes in the middle of the night when her daughters were babies. She and her husband, who was on the SWAT team, would often both need to leave. Her mother-in-law and parents would be ready to rush over to watch the kids during emergencies and when she needed to travel for training. Aguilar said she was excited to bring her perspective to the leadership team. Womack said Salem is facing two major challenges the budget deficit and the rise in community violence and will need creative and strong leaders to weather those trials. "Debbie is up to that challenge," Womack said. For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter at @wmwoodworth. This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem Police Department promotes Debra Aguilar to deputy chief (Bloomberg) -- Ethiopia is considering scrapping a plan to recognize the breakaway state of Somaliland, amid international pressure to defuse regional tensions over the proposal, according to people familiar with the matter. Most Read from Bloomberg Landlocked Ethiopia signed an initial agreement with Somaliland in January that would make it the first nation to recognize the sovereignty of the semi-autonomous region of Somalia, in return for 50 years of access to the Gulf of Aden. The accord triggered an uproar in neighboring countries, with Somalia saying it would defend its territorial integrity and Egypt and other nations urging caution. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his Kenyan counterpart, William Ruto, held talks last week in Nairobi where the matter was discussed. Abiy expressed his willingness to step back from the deals most controversial elements in an effort to restore relations with Somalia, said the people who asked not to be identified as theyre not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Ethiopian officials privately told foreign officials that the country may be willing to drop its recognition of Somaliland, according to five foreign officials who were briefed on Addis Ababas stance. Ruto also raised the matter in a meeting with Somalian President Hassan Sheikh, who was visiting Kenya at the same time as Abiy. Ruto told Bloomberg in an interview in January that his administration was trying to persuade Ethiopia to consider other options beyond its demand for a port, though its unclear what those options are. Ethiopia has yet to officially pull back from the deal with Somaliland, and Abiy remains keen on achieving his objective of attaining direct access to the coast, the people said. Never miss an episode. Follow the Big Take podcast on iHeart, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen. Read the transcript. Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991 after the eruption of a civil war. Since then, its been pushing for international recognition that would allow it to source foreign funding and aid. The deal with Ethiopia long desperate for greater sea access would take it a small step closer to achieving that aim. Read More: Ethiopia Says Lack of Port Access Can Fuel Future Conflict Neighboring countries and some of Ethiopias biggest donors have expressed concern that the deal which Somalia has said is illegal and would represent an annexation of its territory may spark conflict in an already volatile region. Molly Phee, the US assistant secretary of state for African affairs, told reporters on a call last month that Ethiopia should seek a deal providing it with sea access with the federal authorities in Mogadishu and not officials in Somaliland. The US and United Nations have also said the agreement may allow the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab to exploit the situation for its recruitment. The region can ill afford more conflict, Phee said. Ethiopian, Kenyan and Somali government spokespeople didnt respond to questions about the current status of the Somaliland agreement. Mustafa Ahmed, ambassador-at-large for the Somaliland government, said his state and Ethiopia remain committed to advancing the MoU into a final bilateral treaty. Ethiopian access to the sea rests on them making a formal re-recognition of the State of Somaliland based on its 1960s borders and status, he added. Why Ethiopias Red Sea Access Bid Has Region On Edge: QuickTake --With assistance from Mohammed Omar Ahmed. (Updates with comment from Somaliland official in final paragraphs) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Diversity, equity and inclusion staff at the University of Florida became the latest victims of the right-wing war on woke after being fired last week under a newly approved state rule stripping funding from equity initiatives at public universities. The culling is the latest in a sequence of Florida public university responses to a state law enacted by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last May, banning those institutions from using state or federal funding to support their DEI policies and programs. DEI is toxic and has no place in our public universities, DeSantis wrote on X, formerly Twitter, celebrating the cuts. Im glad that Florida was the first state to eliminate DEI and I hope more states follow suit." DEI is toxic and has no place in our public universities. Im glad that Florida was the first state to eliminate DEI and I hope more states follow suit. https://t.co/oThvwowKu6 Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 1, 2024 But, while experts on diversity, equity and inclusion told Salon that the firings and program elimination were expected given how DeSantis' and conservatives' crusade against DEI in the name of saving students from so-called "left-wing" indoctrination has ramped up in recent years, they fear the harm it will cause to students and the integrity of higher education. "This is worse than trying to just create puppets and mimics of previous generations," Anthony Abraham Jack, an associate professor of higher education leadership at Boston University and Floridian, told Salon, adding: "They're going after things that make the university a welcoming place for all students. They're not going after things just that are targeting one particular group. They're going after things that force people who are used to being in a privileged position to no longer have sole access to the campus, sole access to the life of the campus." Last week's cuts at the University of Florida mark one of the latest steps in the ongoing escalation of anti-DEI efforts in Republican states across the nation. The campaign, spearheaded in part by ultra-conservative leaders and activists like DeSantis, has taken on new legs in the wake of last year's Supreme Court ruling banning race-based affirmative action in college admissions as they endeavor to wipe diversity initiatives from a number of areas of public life. Lawsuits targeting businesses and firms aiming to address historical racial and gender inequities through company policies and grants are making their way through the courts. Students and faculty are also shouldering the brunt of the blow from rollbacks in DEI funding and programming, or complete bans as public universities scramble to comply with the high court ruling or newly enacted state measures. This fallout is unfolding against a backdrop where Republican lawmakers in 20 states are rallying behind around 50 anti-DEI bills this year alone all of which are similar to DeSantis' spate of measures aiming to end what he has called "woke" policies, according to a recent Associated Press analysis. "This is a long game that is a political effort to diminish the advances that have been achieved through affirmative action and through equity and inclusion efforts on college and university campuses to promote and enhance more equitable educational outcomes," Roger L. Worthington, the executive director of the University of Maryland's Center for Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education, told Salon. The split over political ideology playing out in higher education, one mirrored in the media and press, also comes with a swath of associated dangers, said Worthington, who is also a professor of counseling, higher education and special education at the University of Maryland. "Most critically, the demise of democracy is greater potential when academic institutions are not there to do the work that they are charged to do in the missions that they have established," he said. An administrative memo released by University of Florida leadership on March 1 announced that the college would be immediately slashing all 13 DEI staff positions and 15 faculty appointments to the diversity office, closing the office of the chief diversity officer, ending work with DEI-focused contractors and reallocating the $5 million of the university's budget set aside for DEI initiatives, including salaries and expenditures, to a recruitment fund for the school's faculty, NBC News reports. The UF cuts are the third university response this year to DeSantis' May 2023 funding ban and the Florida Board of Governors' subsequent adoption and approval of a regulation that loosely defined "DEI," according to the college's student newspaper, The Alligator. Two other Florida public universities the University of North Florida and Florida International University rolled back their programming last month. Other schools, including Florida State University and the University of Central Florida, have not yet clarified how they will respond to the law. The New College of Florida voted last year to abolish its DEI office, the AP reported. In the immediate aftermath of last week's DEI shuttering, University of Florida faculty are reeling as they navigate what it means for their institution, David Canton, the director of the University of Florida's African American Studies program, told Salon. An air of uncertainty has colored faculty's conversations on how and to what extent they can discuss diversity and equity on campus if they even can. "Can you talk about diversity? Can you say, 'This program will talk about diversity, equity and inclusion, or this discipline will mention that in our classes?' Canton said, describing some of the questions he and his colleagues have been left with as they grappled with how to continue addressing inequities at the university. The "million dollar question" Canton describes himself and other UF faculty asking mirrors a similar reaction that Ericka Hines, the founder of DEI consultancy Every Level Leadership, saw in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's affirmative action decision last summer. A "chilling effect" came over a variety of organizations, leaving them unsure of what to do and how best to approach diversity, equity and inclusion, Hines told Salon, noting that these entities didn't want to stop addressing inequity but felt they needed to "quiet down." Their concerns were wrapped up in a fear of facing legal troubles and a "reputational calculus" around whether a lawsuit over policy was better for business than litigation over inequitable treatment as a result of the conservative reimagining of what DEI means, Hines said. "What has happened is the convolution of this framework where [opponents say], 'Ugh, it makes people feel bad. It's based on an oppressor-oppressee, being oppressed, framework," Hines said, describing common conservative talking points against equity programs. "The fact is that we actually have historical facts that people have experienced inequity and have been oppressed based upon traits. But there has been an allowed oversimplification, on the part of people who have criticized it, to not actually take the time to unpack what it means. "Even when they do unpack what it means then they sort of go, 'But don't we all have the same access to opportunities?'" she continued, adding: "Folks like me are looking at data going, 'That's not true. Your opinion, your word soup, isn't true." The right-wing argument against DEI has also obscured the extent to which equity efforts show up tangibly at universities, making humanities programs like African American studies that offer counters to Western thought appear more active in student participation than they are and funding for DEI initiatives appear more expensive than it is, noted Canton, who previously served as the dean of social equity and inclusion at Connecticut College. The $5 million the University of Florida spent on DEI amounted to less than 1 percent of the university's total budget for the 2022-23 academic year, the Alligator reported. Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course. It's too early to tell what impacts the elimination of the diversity program will have on the university, but Canton suspects that they will see the concrete effects of it in two to three years. The early indicators of that will start to appear in the percentages of minorities in undergraduate and graduate student enrollment in the fall, full-time tenure track positions in the upcoming academic year and tenure-track faculty retention after it, he said. Race-based affirmative action bans in other states suggest that diversity at Florida's public institutions could tank as a result of DeSantis' legislation taking full hold. When California's 1996 elimination of race-based affirmative action in its public universities took effect in 1998, UCLA and UC Berkeley saw a 40 percent decrease in enrollment among Black and Latino students, a 2020 study found. What Florida's DEI ban makes certain, however, is that the "institutional inequities," like lower minority student enrollment as well as post-grad wage gaps, will remain, Canton said, echoing a finding of the study. Florida's anti-DEI legislation and other efforts like it are also transforming DEI's focus on structural and systemic barriers limiting minority students' access and outcomes to an individualist perspective, he said. "The arguments go back down to individuals. It's not the universities, it's individuals who decide not to go to UF or UT," Canton said, referring to the University of Texas system, which has similarly been navigating a state ban on DEI offices, programs and training at public universities. "It's individuals who didn't work hard enough in high school to get into UF or UT because we believe in meritocracy. Now we're shifting discourse back to individuals, values and, that for some Americans, racial oppression doesn't exist. Sexism doesn't exist." These institutions have also erred in allowing the conservative pushback to influence their policy before waiting to see how court challenges to this legislation wind up, Jack added. He pointed to Tuesday's decision by a federal court against the "Stop Woke Act," another DeSantis law banning DEI training in public schools and workplaces that could spur feelings of shame around historical actions undertaken by a race or sex that the court described as a "First Amendment sin" in its efforts. Worthington expects similar rebuffs to come from the courts declaring these widespread anti-DEI efforts not only infringements "on free speech, but as an infringement on academic freedom" in the coming years. He also predicts the greater hurdle to the conservative anti-DEI campaign in higher education will come from within those universities. Faculty and staff will start to "react strongly" about their workplaces and "seek employment elsewhere," while students will show their discontent by choosing other colleges to attend and alumni will decide whether to provide donations. "Those institutions will start to find that this tactic is going to backfire," Worthington said. In the meantime, Jack sees a larger detriment to the U.S. taking root in how anti-DEI policies and efforts are holding back these institutions and their values, and by proxy the future their students will create. "America is only as good as its citizenry, and the more educated the citizenry, the better. But for us to be at our best we need all of us to be more educated and more importantly, more knowledgeable," Jack said. "They're preventing us from doing that. "These legislations are preventing us from not only being more educated, but more knowledgeable and more ready and better prepared for what the future is to bring," he continued. "Because if we can't even handle questions about our past, and our present, we can never be ready for tomorrow." Opposite the northwest corner of the Hackensack Green, a 150-year-old former bank stands on hallowed ground. Now housing law offices, the former Bank of Bergen County was built in 1874 as a monument to the county's prosperity. Gleaming in bright red brick, the building was a refreshing example of Victorian Gothic architecture and a display of Hackensack's wealth. Today, it endures as a reminder of an even deeper history. It serves as a bridge to a time when the site at the corner of what is now Sussex and Main streets held Archibald Campbell's tavern that fed Gen. George Washington during the retreat that made a nation. The former Bank of Bergen County at 41 Main St. in Hackensack as depicted in the Walker 1876 Atlas. It was about dusk when the first of the troops entered Hackensack on Nov. 20, 1776, according to an eyewitness account once kept by the Rev. Theodore B. Romeyn, the mid-19th century pastor of the First Church of Hackensack. They were falling back from a series of disasters that had British generals salivating at the prospects of victory. "The night was dark, cold and rainy," the account continues. "They marched two abreast, looked ragged, some without a shoe to their feet, and most of them wrapped up in their blankets." For the previous 18 months, Bergen County had become increasingly involved in the Revolution. The county had been war-torn, trounced by both Patriots and Loyalists seeking to gain key footholds in the conflict. Former site of Archibald Campbell's Tavern at 41 Main Street in Hackensack pictured in 2014. The drums of battle would beat again after the loss of Fort Washington in Harlem Heights on Nov. 16, 1776. Within four days, 5,000 British and Hessian troops were advancing up the Palisades toward an exposed Fort Lee. The fall of Fort Lee on Nov. 20 added to a string of Patriot mishaps in Long Island, Brooklyn and White Plains, New York. Washington wrote to Gen. Charles Lee the next day from Hackensack, informing him of the loss of the "fort called by your name" and his decision to move his troops to the west side of the Hackensack River. Washington had been staying at Peter Zabriskie's home on the north side of the Green. Some drunk and mostly weary, Washington's troops had left Fort Lee and marched north to Englewood, then southwest along present-day Lafayette Avenue. From there, they turned right on Forest Avenue until they hit Teaneck Road, then called Schraalenburgh Road. They then proceeded north from there to New Bridge Road, where they turned left and proceeded west, crossing the Hackensack River at the "new bridge." Former site of Archibald Campbell's Tavern at 41 Main Street in Hackensack pictured in 2014. Washington, the head of his army of roughly 3,000, had crossed the "new bridge" at New Bridge Landing first. His troops trudged behind Washington and stayed at Zabriskie's, 50 Main St. His supplies were furnished by the tavern keeper across the street at 41 Main St., Archibald Campbell. As the British camped across the river, their fires shone brightly - stretching more than a mile. Campbell rightly had his concerns. Before taking his leave, Washington rode to the dock near the crossing and "viewed the enemy's encampment about 10 or 15 minutes," according to the account. He then returned to Campbell's tavern for some wine and water. Campbell laid his concerns bare for the general. "With tears streaming down his face, (Campbell) said, 'General what shall I do? I have a family of small children and a little property here; shall I leave them?' Washington kindly took his hand and replied, 'Mr. Campbell, stay by your family and keep neutral,' then bidding him goodbye, rode off'." By noon the next day, the British had occupied Hackensack. The Green was packed with thousands of Hessian troops in pursuit of Washington. On Nov. 30, from New Brunswick, Washington wrote of his thoughts on the British tactics. They will pay dearly for it, for I shall continue to retreat before them so as to lull them into security, he wrote. More: Former North Jersey home of prominent business minds, treasure hunter listed for $1.5M In all, Washington's army retreated 90 miles in 19 days before arriving in Trenton. They were there at Christmas in 1776 for the memorable Crossing of the Delaware and victory at Trenton, Washington's first major victory of the war. For Campbell, the conflict also continued, according to Romeyn's account. His attempts to remain neutral went for naught on the night of March 23, 1780, when an estimated 400 British and Hessian troops burned the former Bergen County Courthouse on the west side of the Green. Campbell was taken prisoner. He had been confined to his bed from a bout of rheumatism and unable to hide when his tavern was raided. As the story goes, Campbell was able to escape in the confusion and took refuge under the "new bridge." Once it was safe, he returned home. Campbell lived until 1798 and allegedly never had a recurrence of rheumatism. This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Visit Hackensack NJ corner where Revolutionary War history was made A GoFundMe page has been set up to support the family of Chasity and Zella Nunez, the mother and daughter killed by gunfire in Worcester on Tuesday. "The Nunez family finds themselves in profound sorrow," reads the page, set up by Quadasha O'Leary on behalf of Ben Nunez. "The loss of Chasity and Zella, coupled with the incomprehensible nature of their passing, has left us reeling with grief. As friends of the Nunez family, we humbly reach out through this GoFundMe campaign, seeking your assistance in any form possible. Whether through financial contributions or sharing our cause, every gesture of support, no matter how small, is profoundly valued." By Sunday morning, the page, which was created Friday afternoon, had $38,356 in donations toward a $45,000 goal. The page says that the money raised will help the family pay for funeral expenses, and anything left over will benefit Chasity Nunez's 2-year-old daughter. Chasity Nunez worked as a patient safety and clinical quality program coordinator at MIT Health. She was also a patient administration specialist for the Connecticut National Guard, serving in a unit based in Danbury. Zella was a sixth-grade student in the Worcester Public Schools. This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: GoFundMe page established for family of Chasity and Zella Nunez A sea corridor to Gaza could begin as soon as this weekend, Ursula von der Leyen says A maritime corridor to Gaza could begin operating this weekend to boost aid to the territory, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen says. It comes a day after President Biden said the US planned to build a floating pier to Gaza's shoreline. However, that could take up to 60 days to built, the Pentagon said on Friday. A quarter of Gaza's population is on the brink of famine and children are starving to death there, the United Nations reports. Getting aid into the Gaza Strip has been difficult and dangerous. On Friday reports said five people had been killed by airdropped aid whose parachutes did not deploy properly. The US and other nations have resorted to dropping aid in by air as conditions become increasingly dire, but aid organisations say the tactic is a last resort and can't meet the soaring need. Speaking in Cyprus, Ms von der Leyen said Gaza was "facing a humanitarian catastrophe" and the sea corridor would enable the delivery of large quantities of additional aid. A joint statement from the European Commission, Cyprus, the US, UK and UAE said operating a sea corridor would be "complex" and they would continue to press Israel to expand delivery of aid by road, facilitating more routes and opening additional crossings. UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said: "We continue to urge Israel to allow more trucks into Gaza as the fastest way to get aid to those who need it." Israel welcomed the initiative and urged other countries to join it. A foreign ministry spokesman said aid would be delivered after security checks were carried out "in accordance with Israeli standards". However, the leader of aid agency Refugees International told the BBC that while welcome, the maritime route was unlikely to be able to deliver anything like enough food. "This does not sound like it will come anywhere close to the scale that would be required to reverse the trajectory into famine that Gaza is now in," Jeremy Konyndyk said. Israel denies impeding the entry of aid to Gaza and accuses aid organisations of failing to distribute it. On Thursday, Mr Biden said the US military would construct a pier to transport supplies from ships at sea to the shore, but US officials said it would take "a number of weeks" to set up. The operation - which he said would not include US troops on the ground in Gaza - would enable large ships to deliver food, water, medicine and temporary shelters. The US military said on Friday that it could take up to 60 days to complete the port, and more than 1,000 personnel to build it - but none would go ashore. The Pentagon says the US eventually aims to provide two million meals a day to Gazans. Mr Biden said the pier would enable a "massive difference" in the amount of aid reaching Gaza, but added that Israel must "do its part" by allowing more aid to enter into the territory and to "ensure that humanitarian workers aren't caught in the crossfire". But on Friday, an independent UN expert told a briefing in Geneva that it was "absurd" that a close ally of Israel was resorting to such measures. Michael Fakhri, the special rapporteur on the right to food, said the port plan was likely to be a "performance" aimed more at a domestic US audience as the US presidential campaign gets under way. Aid lorries have been entering the south of Gaza through the Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossing and the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing. But the north, which was the focus of the first phase of the Israeli ground offensive, has been largely cut off from assistance in recent months. An estimated 300,000 Palestinians are living there with little food or clean water. On Friday, Mr Biden said it was "looking tough" for a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas to be reached before the start of Ramadan on Sunday. It had been hoped that a 40-day truce would help desperately needed aid to enter Gaza. Last week more than 100 people were killed trying to reach an aid convoy amid the growing desperation. Palestinians said most were shot by Israeli troops. The Israeli military, which was overseeing the private aid deliveries, on Friday said its troops did not fire at Palestinians around an aid convoy but at "suspects" nearby who they deemed a threat. Israel's military launched an air and ground campaign in Gaza after Hamas's attacks on Israel on 7 October, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 253 others were taken hostage. More than 30,800 people have been killed in Gaza since then, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry says. A North Carolina man faces an officer impersonation charge after police said they spotted him driving in what appeared to be a patrol car. The man was arrested Feb. 28 after police pulled over his vehicle and discovered it wasnt a real patrol car, despite having a functioning blue-light bar and sirens, according to a March 8 Smithfield Police Department news release. Smithfield police noticed the 64-year-old driving a 2003 Ford Crown Victoria with POLICE K9 written across the side, as well as the patrol lights on top of the vehicle, according to the department. When officers ran the Fords registration, it came back as another vehicle, police said. When police pulled the Dunn resident over, they saw he was wearing clothing that said K9 on them, tactical style boots and a holster, according to the department. Officers also spotted a pistol sitting on the passenger seat next to the man, who they learned is a convicted felon, according to the department. Among the evidence collected by officers was the pistol, nine rounds of 9mm ammo, a North Carolina license plate and a USB flash drive that contained pictures of a police car, according to an arrest report obtained by McClatchy News. While searching the vehicle, police found a white powder substance presumed to be cocaine, according to the report. Police said they did not receive any reports that the man pulled anyone over while driving in the fake patrol car. The man was charged with a narcotics drug offense, possession of a weapon by a felon and impersonating an officer, according to police. All three charges were felonies, the report shows. He was booked at Johnston County Detention Center and was held under a $50,000 bond, police said. Smithfield is about a 30-mile drive southeast of Raleigh. Inmate Mail stamp thwarts man posing as Secret Service to get out of prison, feds say Booty Patrol truck draws warning from deputies but Florida community isnt as worried Woman sends fake cop running when she flags down real Florida sheriffs deputy, cops say A court in Pakistan has sentenced a 22-year-old student to death on charges of blasphemy over Whatsapp messages. The court in Punjab Province said he had shared blasphemous pictures and videos with the intention to outrage the religious feelings of Muslims. A 17-year-old was sentenced to life imprisonment as part of the same case. Both have denied wrongdoing. Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan. Some people have been lynched even before their cases go on trial. The complaint was filed in 2022 by the cybercrime unit of Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Lahore, the capital of Punjab. The case was referred to a local court in the city of Gujranwala. In the ruling this week, the judges said the 22-year-old was sentenced to death for preparing photos and videos which contained derogatory words about Prophet Muhammad and his wives. The younger defendant was given a life sentence for sharing the material. The plaintiff had alleged he had received the videos and photos from three different mobile phone numbers. The FIA said that it had examined the plaintiff's phone and established that "obscene material" had been sent to him. In August dozens of homes and churches were torched in eastern Pakistan after two Christians were accused of damaging the Quran Defence lawyers argued that the two students had been "trapped in a false case". The father of the death-row convict, whose identity has not been disclosed, told the BBC that he was filing an appeal in the Lahore High Court. The other student was sentenced to life imprisonment instead of the death penalty because he is a minor, the court said. Laws against blasphemy were first codified by India's British rulers and expanded in the 1980s under Pakistan's military government. Last August, scores of churches and homes were burnt in the eastern city of Jaranwala after two Christian men were accused of damaging the Quran. PROVIDENCE - A security guard at Providence College will get to see his family in Nigeria for the first time in 11 years thanks to a group of students from the dormitory he protects overnight. The students started a GoFundMe and raised $6,287, more than twice their goal, to send James Mogaji to Nigeria in June. A video posted to social media shows Mogaji overcome with emotion and dropping to his knees as the students surprise him with the gift. "We love you. You're part of the family," a student says, and then the others join in, saying, "We love you, James." Freshman Brandon Reichert of Carver, Massachusetts, started the fundraiser for Mogaji, whom he calls "without a doubt the best security guard" at Providence College. Mogaji works four overnight shifts per week guarding Raymond Hall. He greets everybody with a smile "For those of you that don't know James, he truly is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. He greets everybody with a smile and always welcomes conversations no matter what time of the night you run into him," Reichert wrote in his fundraising appeal. "He has expressed how much he enjoys his job here at PC, and we would love to be able to allow him to visit his family," Reichert wrote. Providence College students, including Daniel Singh, front left, and Brandon Reichert, front right, who helped raise funds to send security guard James Mogaji to see family in Liberia stand in front of Raymond Hall, where they live and Mogaji works. The fundraising effort was launched March 1, and as of Friday morning, it had received 216 donations for a total of $6,278. Reichert provided an update Wednesday, thanking donors and saying, "Tonight we were able to gift James with enough money for him to travel to Nigeria to visit his family in June!" Reichert said all further donations would be given to Mogaji at the end of the school year in May to fund another trip. A video of the students presenting the gift to Mogaji was posted to TikTok and Facebook by Leah Quinn of Dighton, Massachusetts. Reichert's mother, Jessica Reichert, is Quinn's best friend, and Quinn calls herself Brandon Reichert's "crazy aunt." "Please stop and take time to watch and share this amazing display of unrelenting kindness and humanity at its best," Quinn wrote in her TikTok post. She's proud of her friend and her son Quinn also acknowledged she wanted to brag about what a great job her friend has done raising Brandon, while a single mother. "I'm bragging on behalf of her," Quinn said in a telephone interview. "I couldn't be prouder of him. I'm just so proud of her, too." The video starts with the sounds of footsteps and shows many sets of legs walking down a stairway, then the camera shows Mogaji sitting at his post as the students gather around him. With a quizzical expression, Mogaji listens as student Daniel Singh, a resident assistant from the Bronx, explains what the students have been up to. When Singh says, "Our gift to you is a trip to Nigeria," Mogaji covers his face and slides from his chair to the floor. After a few moments, Mogaji gathers himself and, still on his knees, says, "I don't know how much I can thank you guys. I pray from the bottom of my heart that God will continue to protect you guys, to make sure you achieve your goals." "This is unbelievable. This is unexpected," he says. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart." This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: 'This is unbelievable': TikTok shows PC students surprising guard with trip to Nigeria Phillips defends father of Marine killed in Afghanistan for State of the Union outburst Former Democratic presidential primary candidate Rep. Dean Phillips (Minn.) defended the father of a Marine killed in Afghanistan who shouted at President Biden and was arrested during the State of the Union address Thursday. As a Gold Star Son myself, I can only imagine the pain he has felt since losing his son in Afghanistan, Phillips said Friday in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in response to a post by The Hill on the incident. No one should interrupt a State of the Union Address, but if Marjorie Taylor Greene wasnt arrested for her outbursts, why should he? Phillips continued. Steven Nikoui, whose son died during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, was arrested for disrupting the presidents address around 10:15 p.m. EST, U.S. Capitol Police confirmed. Our officers warned him to stop and when he did not, the man was removed from the House Galleries, Capitol Police said in a statement. According to Capitol Police, Nikoui was arrested for crowding, obstructing or incommoding. He had been invited to the State of the Union by Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), with the Florida Republican posting online before the address that he was honored to have Nikoui as his guest. He is the father of Marine Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoui, who was KIA due to Joe Bidens disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, Mast said. Joe Biden may try to turn the page on Afghanistan after his incompetence cost American lives, but NOT ON MY WATCH. When Biden entered the chamber for his address, he passed by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who was wearing a red Make America Great Again hat and handed him a pin that read say her name Laken Riley, in reference to a Georgia college student authorities say was killed by a man who crossed the border illegally. During Bidens speech, Greene yelled, Its about Laken Riley, and other Republicans shouted, Say her name. Biden then held up the pin and responded to Greene. Laken Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal, he said. To her parents, I say my heart goes out to you. Having lost children myself, I understand. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Pope Francis made some of his strongest comments yet on Russias war against Ukraine in a newly released interview, declaring that Ukraine should be open to having the courage of the white flag as it contemplates peace negotiations. The interview, with Swiss outlet RSI, took place last month and is scheduled to be released later this month, according to Reuters, which obtained an early copy of the transcript. A spokesperson for the Vatican said that Francis was mirroring the interviewers language when he used the white flag term, and that he was intending to push for a stop to hostilities. The question posed to Francis asked him whether Ukraine might legitimize Russias behavior if it were to concede defeat. It is one interpretation, that is true, the pope replied. But I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates. He urged the countries leaders to turn to the international community for help facilitating the peace process. One may feel shame, he added, referring to negotiations. But how many dead will [the war] end up with? ...Do not be ashamed of negotiating before things get worse. Francis said that he would be open to mediating himself. He previously dispatched a peace envoy to U.S., Russia, and Ukraine to try to expedite the process. The word negotiate is a courageous word. When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate, he reiterated. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is open to peace, he has indicated, provided that Russian forces leave Ukraine and its original borders are reinstated. Russian President Vladimir Putin has flatly rejected such demands. Earlier this week, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered to organize a peace summit, though it is not clear whether the proposal will gain traction. 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 The East Side Tunnel, used by buses and emergency vehicles, will be shut down from March 25 until September as crews work to make repairs. The tunnel dates to 1914, when it first served trolleys climbing College Hill, and today allows buses to skip the steep incline. The tunnel entrance is on North Main Street next to Waterman Street. It exits at Thayer Street, next to Waterman. The entire tunnel is 2,160 feet long. In 2018, the state received a $900,000 federal grant for tunnel repairs. A RIPTA bus stops to pick up passengers before heading up to the East Side through the bus tunnel. According to the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority's website, work on the tunnel will address drainage, lighting, cracks and "restoration" of the bus stop on North Main Street "honoring the historic nature of the tunnel." Bus detours for the tunnel closure Routes 1, 32, 33, 34, 40 and 61x will all be detoured during construction, via Angell and Waterman streets. Routes 32, 33, 34, 40 and 61x Inbound trips on routes 32, 33, 34, 40 and 61x will continue on Angell Street through to Steeple Street and then proceed on the normal route. The bus stop will be on Angell Street at Hope Street, and there will be no stops between Angell and Hope streets and Kennedy Plaza. This map shows the closed bus stop at Thayer Street and the two new bus stops on Angell and Waterman streets, as the tunnel is shut down for construction starting March 25, 2024. Outbound trips for routes 32, 33, 34, 40 and 61x will go to North Main Street via Washington Place, go up the hill on Waterman Street, then proceed along the regular route. At the bottom of the hill, passengers will get on at the temporary bus stop at the traffic island at Washington Place. At the top of the hill, the stop is on Waterman at Hope Street. Route 1 Inbound trips for Route 1 will go to Thayer, left onto Waterman Street, left onto Brook Street, left onto Angell Street, follow Angell Street to Steeple Street and then continue with the normal route. The temporary bus stop is on Thayer before Meeting Street, and there will be no stops between Thayer at Meeting Street and Kennedy Plaza. Outbound trips for Route 1 will go to North Main Street via Washington Place, go up the hill on Waterman Street, left onto Brook Street, then be back to the regular route. At the bottom of the hill, the bus stop will be at Brook Street after Angell Street. The new temporary bus stops This map shows where the temporary bus stop is on North Main Street, starting March 25. North Main Street, outbound: Pedestrian island on Washington Place before North Main Street. Thayer Street, outbound : Stop on Waterman before Hope. Thayer Street, inbound: Stop on Angell before Hope. Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Providence Journal subscription. Here's our latest offer. Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@providencejournal.com or follow him on Twitter @WheelerReporter. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence bus tunnel closes March 25 for repairs as detours planned In 19th century Detroit, there was little stigma attached to public speaking. In the days before the arrival of 20th-century mass media, politicians, barkers and buskers often found eager audiences by simply mounting a soapbox, a flour barrel or even climbing a ladder on a crowded street at least if the police did not object. One of the most unusual speakers to ever address Detroiters in this way was Harry Decatur Cooper. Some called him the Highbrow Hobo, others a curbstone orator, a walking encyclopedia, or a human history book. To most he was known simply as Railroad Jack, History Expert. His promise was a simple one: There are 10,000 characters in history. The average person cant name more than 100. I can name 5,000. Railroad Jack, aka Harry Decatur Cooper, in an undated photo. Whats more, he could name when they were born and when they died. He could instantly recall the day of the week for any date within the last 60 years. Shout out a year and he could tell you what happened during it. Shameless self-promoter For almost a decade, this King of Hobos traveled the country for free by disguising himself as a railroad employee. He carried what he called his annual pass, a canvas hammock he could swiftly attach to the truss rods under railroad cars. In this way he claimed he rode fare-free from coast to coast, 100,000 miles, through dozens of states. By 1899, he said he had dodged fares for 10 years on 70 railroads, and the hammock, by then the 10th in a series, had been refined to include a cover he could draw over himself in dust storms. These and other details he gladly shared with the news media. If a town had a newspaper, he would introduce himself upon his arrival, promoting his skills, offering press statements, even being allowed to access a newspapers library for more research. Similarly, in his travels he sought out governors, politicians, and other important people and discussed them in his talks. Some people criticized his free-riding ways, his lack of credentials, or his vaudevillian trappings. But his life had not been easy. His father died eight days before he was born in 1864, and he was raised in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, by his widowed mother, a small-businesswoman and a stalwart temperance advocate. This so-called "fresh air bedroom" was used by Railroad Jack, aka Harry Decatur Cooper, to sleep outdoors. The photo, taken in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in 1914, was originally provided by Cooper. His crusading mother probably contributed to his ascetic nature, which helps explain why he dropped out of college, fled his job at a Chicago newspaper and became an earnest advocate of voluntary poverty. Cooper was no drunken vagabond: He eschewed alcohol, tobacco, coffee, and even tea, and slept outdoors 99 nights out of 100, by day haunting libraries where his capacious brain could vacuum up more facts. Targeted by the cops His frequent stops in Detroit finally brought the wrath of Detroit police. Cooper was no stranger to politics, being a fluent talker and a talented debater. In 1896, he stumped across Michigan for Detroits populist-leaning Mayor Hazen S. Pingree during the most exciting election season in memory. Perhaps as a result, Cooper spent the next several years playing cat-and-mouse with Detroit cops, a game that sometimes ended with a police escort to Central Station. By 1905, however, he finally won permission from police to ply his trade on the citys streets. To celebrate, he donned an elegant high hat and long coat as he worked the crowd. In many ways, his proudest moment was in Ann Arbor in 1907, when he graced the dais at the University of Michigan, long his ambition. Hazen S. Pingree was both a mayor of Detroit and governor of Michigan. Railroad Jack was a fan. The students hollered with joy to see him appear in a frock coat, pressed trousers, a rhinestone necktie pin and the latest in top hats, the Free Press reported. For Cooper, it was a ringing vindication: He had attained the same forum as presidents, cabinet members, senators, and other great people whose vital statistics he had committed to memory. Despite his new respectability and new duds Cooper remained a champion of free public speech. After police attacked a May Day parade in 1909 in Grand Circus Park, because it dared wave a radical red flag, Cooper sided with the socialists. He even mounted a soapbox with them on Michigan Avenue in a mass meeting police declined to raid. A Detroit institution By then, Railroad Jack had become a Detroit institution, with a home office right on Woodward Avenue, built atop the running gear from an old express wagon. Billed as The House That Jack Built, it was Coopers summer home and public stage. The office on wheels allowed him to better keep moving when weather turned cold, for sojourns in New York or to the U.S. South. Cooper acquired several vehicles over the years, including a covered wagon 20 feet long and a gas-powered vehicle donated by Henry Ford. In the end, Cooper preferred to trudge along with a pushcart, better suited to the country roads where he increasingly spent much of his time. The only thing Cooper preferred to keep up-to-date was his mind. He often refreshed his memory banks with the latest knowledge. After one Detroiter shouted out a question about the expansion of the universe that stumped him, Cooper recognized the man more than a year later and interrupted himself to explain to him the theory in great detail. By the 1930s, Cooper had been traveling the country for more than 40 years, encountering hecklers and scoffers, gradually refining his pitch to something naysayers would agree was fair: He admitted that a professor of history can ask questions he is unable to answer, but he claimed a higher batting average than anybody else. A roadside relic As Detroit and the country moved into the automobile age, Cooper became a quaint anachronism. A columnist for a Detroit newspaper opined that Cooper, a character of Detroit streets, seemed to dissolve into space when the big town became a great city. Our crowded thoroughfares have no space for street corner philosophers. By then, Cooper was living in a pup tent near Marshall, Michigan, pushing a wheelbarrow from town to town, answering questions for nickels and dimes. Motorists sometimes crashed into his cart and destroyed it once even as he pushed it along. By now, his asceticism was extreme: He ate only one meal a day, and eschewed even barbers, shaving his head regularly. One wag summed him up unkindly as one who never married nor saw a show or ballgame, slept on roof tops for forty years. Cooper died at 69. On Oct. 6, 1933, his body was found by an old railroader, slumped in a shack behind a vacant gas station in Coldwater, Michigan. His death generated renewed interest far and wide. He had willed his considerable savings and his own body to the University of Michigan. Henry Ford sought Coopers cart for his museum, even though it had, again, been destroyed by a passing automobile. Coopers body was interred at St. Thomas Cemetery in Ann Arbor, at the crest of a hill overlooking his beloved University of Michigan, near the railroad tracks. Within a few years, those who had known Railroad Jack would bemoan that he exited the world right before the medium best-suited to him arrived: the quiz show. Michael Jackman is a freelance writer and editor who lives in Detroit. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Hobo historian Railroad Jack won Detroit, Ann Arbor fans with memory PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) Several students at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island, recently came together to give their buildings security guard the gift of a lifetime. It just incredible to see how fast God works, especially in our community, Brandon Reichert said. We never thought that number would be possible. Reichert, a PC freshman, told Nexstars WPRI 12 News he was moved to create a GoFundMe page for their residential buildings overnight security guard James, who had told him he hadnt visited his family in Nigeria in more than a decade. The money raised was put toward sending James, whos also known as Unc, on a trip home, according to Reichert. He said James has become a mentor and close friend throughout his time at PC. Sophomore Daniel Singh said everyone loves James. Where have you been?! Beloved Hickory thumbtack returned by thieves Hes just someone youre drawn toward, Singh said. Hes kind and compassionate. After a Friday night out, you come back and James is there and hes not tired, hes not sleeping. Hes up and awake and ready to talk to you. When Reichert gifted James the $3,000 hed raised for him, the security guard fell to his knees. This was unexpected, James told the students in a TikTok video thats since gone viral. I dont know how much I can thank you guys. I pray from the bottom of my heart and will continue to protect you guys. The donations havent stopped since James received the money for his trip home. Efforts to help James visit his family are picking up steam, and the GoFundMe page so far has raised more than $7,000. You have parents, cousins, relatives and other people donating that wouldnt even know who James is, Singh said. It really speaks to how moving he is and how moving the community can be. Click here for more heartwarming news across the Carolinas For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) said during a Thursday interview he would support former President Trump as the GOP nominee but was unapologetic about his past criticism of Trump. Speaking with WMURs Adam Sexton, Sununu was asked if it is safe to assume he would be an enthusiastic supporter of Trump heading into November as the 2024 White House race is set to be a rematch between him and President Biden. Sununu had endorsed Trump rival and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in the GOP primary, but she dropped out Wednesday. Im going to support the ticket. Im going to support Donald Trump, but my focus is definitely going to be here in the state, he said. Sexton noted that Sununu previously called Trump, 77, a loser and jabbed him about his age. Look, I dont take any of that back, to be sure, Sununu said. But again, understand this is an alternative. I mean, the alternative is Biden. And I think where folks are seeing a lack of management, a lack of understanding whats happening with immigration, a lack of fiscal responsibility. The four-term New Hampshire governor, whos not running for reelection this fall, previously said he would back Trump if he were the eventual Republican nominee, but he has been a vocal critic of the former president. Chris Sununu said it himself: Donald Trump is a crazy a**hole and a soon-to-be four-time loser who cant beat President Biden, said Alex Floyd, rapid response director for the Democratic National Committee, in a statement. Sununu called Trump a coward and the definition of extremism who can barely keep a cogent thought. And above all else, Sununu was right about one thing: Trump will lead to Republican losses up and down the ballot in November. Sununu campaigned with Haley in the Granite State seen as the former South Carolina governors best chance at beating Trump or keeping the margin against him narrow. But Trump ultimately beat Haley by 11 points, and she later went on to lose her home state and many others. Haley, however, won the Republican nominating contests in Washington, D.C., and Vermont. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. What happened? Sweden officially became the 32nd member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on Thursday when Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson delivered the final paperwork to Washington. Sweden and neighboring Finland applied to join NATO in 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine. Finland completed its accession last April. Who said what? "Unity and solidarity will be Sweden's guiding light as a NATO member," Kristersson said. "We will share burdens, responsibilities and risks with other allies." Three years ago, "none of this was foreordained" or "foreseeable," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. "There is no clearer example today of the strategic debacle that Ukraine has become for Russia." The commentary "Sweden's membership is a huge geopolitical boost for NATO," and "it's not coming empty-handed," Politico said. Sweden's "centuries of neutrality have forced it to develop a world-class military-industrial complex," building the ships, fighter jets and other armaments used by its modern navy and air force. What next? Sweden's flag will be raised at NATO's headquarters in Brussels in a ceremony Monday. Since the first day of school in the fall, 17 Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi senior education students have spent much of their time in K-12 classrooms in Corpus Christi ISD. Now that their graduation is fast approaching, these future teachers have been promised jobs in CCISD. On Friday afternoon, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and Corpus Christi ISD held a signing day for the resident teachers, marking a successful second year of the teacher education residency program. The paid, year-long residency program is nearing the end of its second year. The university launched a pilot program for prospective elementary teachers last year, offering paid residencies to six teachers in Corpus Christi ISD and five in Gregory-Portland ISD. At the end of last year's program, CCISD hired eight of the residents. This year, 17 elementary and secondary residents were stationed in CCISD schools with another eight in Gregory-Portland ISD schools. Amber Trigo, Erika Pompa and Elisa Gonzales are all completing residencies at King High School. This spring, they spent four days each week at the school, working in the classroom, as well as participating in professional development and professional learning communities on campus. "It was a really good first-time experience," Gonzales said. "It really showed me that I really want to be a high school teacher." Anisa Martinez spent the year in a second grade classroom at Zavala Elementary School. She said that the fact that the residency was a paid opportunity was important. "It helps keep your mind towards teaching and not having to worry about, 'Oh, I have to go to work, I have to worry about another job'," Martinez said. Martinez said she's looking forward to having her own classroom and building a connection with students. There are challenges to the first days in the classroom, Martinez said. "You have to learn the curriculums and learn how to teach it and then take that and adjust your teaching," Martinez said. "It's like this constant cycle of just being new to everything. Trigo said that she learned how to build rapport with students. "You get to experience everything from the good-good to the bad-bad," Trigo said. Some of the best moments are the "aha moments", Caitlyn Breiten said. Madelyn Burton was a resident in a pre-K classroom at Sam Houston Elementary School. "Seeing how impactful my CT (co-teacher) has been this year and taking everything I've learned from her I feel so much more prepared from the beginning to the end, rather than being thrown in," Burton said. Pre-k student teacher Madelyn Burton takes a photo of Marocco Edwards in a turkey outfit during Friendsgiving at Sam Houston Elementary on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in Corpus Christi, Texas. She said she believes the residency will be impactful when she has her own class next year. "We're going in with out eyes open," Burton said. Nine of the residencies were funded with state funds, associate dean of undergraduate studies at the College of Education and Human Development Kathleen Lynch-Davis said. The rest were funded by CCISD and G-PISD. "A lot of our students here at TAMUCC work a large amount of hours," Lynch-Davis said. "This keeps them from having to do that. And, they're providing a service for the school that the school district needs." Next year, the university plans to expand the program to Flour Bluff ISD. "The research tells us that the longer their in their placement, the better ready they are to begin their first year of teaching," Lynch-Davis said. The residents spent about four days a week in the classroom co-teaching. They also assist with other duties such as tutoring and substitute teaching, or working with students in small groups. Kimberly Reinhardt leads the secondary residency program for students interested in teaching in middle or high schools. The goal of the program is to grow teachers who will meet needs in the community. "We've worked for a number of years to put this residency in place and this is the fruit of our residency," Reinhardt said. "This is the thing that we all wanted going into it, both district and the university." To participate, students first have to apply, submitting a video and essay, as well as participating in an interview. Eventually, the university hopes all education students will have the chance to participate in a paid, year-long residency before they graduate, said Robin Pizzitola, who leads the elementary residency program. "The year-long experience is such a valuable experience for them to be part of the school culture, for them to understand and be day-one ready and to be able to walk into the classroom and see what's happening and going on," Pizzitola said. Through the program's co-teaching model, the residents actively teach. "It's not like they sit back and just watch," Pizzitola said. "They are up teaching from the first day." Pizzitola said that the residents also have a positive impact in the classrooms where they are placed. "We see where they have been able to really work with students in their classrooms to help them become successful and to grow in their content areas," Pizzitola said. Hoping to fill teacher vacancies early, CCISD has already offered letters of commitment to the 17 residents who were placed in the district this year. For the past several years, CCISD has had teacher vacancies at the beginning of the school year. The district had a little under 100 vacancies on the first day of school in 2023. "This is such an enormous success because they get to graduate and know that they will be working somewhere," Reinhardt said. "It's a really special thing, getting your first job in the profession you went to school for, sacrificing the blood, sweat and tears as they say. And they're ready. They've got it. They've done it." Corpus Christi ISD announces teacher of the year winners Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi drone program supports Padre Island National Seashore Coastal Bend students present findings on coastal environmental issues This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: University, school district partnership puts teachers in classrooms The luckiest holiday of all is right around the corner: St. Patricks's Day. Celebrate the Naples way with the annual parade. Here are10 things to know about our city's annual Irish tradition. Naples HIgh School Marching Band members perform in the annual St. Patrick's Day parade along Fifth Avenue South on March 17, 2012, in Naples. 1. It draws crowds of more than 40,000 DID YOU KNOW? The Naples St. Patrick's Day Parade is the largest privately-funded parade in the state. 2. The parade raises money for charity The Naples St. Patrick Foundation is a nonprofit that donates proceeds from the parade to local high school bands and scholarships. In the last five years, the organization has donated more than $200,000. 3. The parade is on March 16 this year This year, the parade starts at the corner of 3rd Street South and 10th Ave. It'll turn onto 5th Ave S and then onto 8th Street South to finish in front of City Hall. 4. The parade is nearly 50 years old The first Naples St. Patrick Day occurred in 1976 when Father Thomas Goggin led a group from St. Louis, Missouri, around the church grounds. A few months later, Goggin organized a St. Patrick's Day Celebration, complete with a committee. More: What does a $16.5M mansion look like? Take a look inside this stunning Marco Island home 5. The parade will start at 11 a.m. It typically runs around two hours. 6. There's a couple different parking options 8th St S and 6th Ave S. 8th St S and 4th Ave S. Street parking but make sure you're parked in a valid space. 7. There's an exit strategy for leaving the parade Go south to Broad Ave S or 13th Ave S Take a right on Broad Ave S or 13th Ave S Follow to Gulf Shore Blvd and take a right onto Gulf Shore Blvd Follow Gulf Shore Blvd to Central Ave Take a right onto Central Ave Follow Central Ave to Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) Susie Walsh shows off her costume the Naples St. Patrick's Day Parade on March 16, 2019. 8. Registration is still open if you want to be in the parade If you want to be part of the parade, you can register online. 9. If you want to sponsor the parade, there's still time If you're interested in sponsoring the event, you can apply online. 10. The parade will go on, rain or shine! Make sure you don't miss this local tradition. It's family-friendly and a great way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: What to know about the 2024 Naples St. Patrick's Day Parade The Bryan County Sheriff's Office is still providing assistance in the investigation. Stephen Glosser and Caleb Kinsey of Bryan County were indicted on several charges stemming from the bombing of a home in Richmond Hill in January 2023. Some of the charges include stalking and conspiracy to use an explosive to commit a felony. The announcement came from the U.S. Attorneys Office Southern District of Georgia, which released more details about the two men involved. According to the press release, The two men used electronic communications to place Victim 1 under surveillance with the intent to kill, injure, harass, or intimidate, and used a destructive device during that conduct. The conspiracy charge describes using cell phones to create a plan to kill, intimidate, harass, or injure the victim through methods including shooting arrows into the victims front door, acquiring and releasing a large python into the victims home to eat the victims daughter, mailing dog feces or dead rats to the victims home, scalping the victim, and blowing up the victims home. The press release goes on to say, The indictment further alleges that Glosser located the victims home using internet searches, mapped out a path to the victims residence, and then with Kinsey acquired and built an explosive device at Glossers home using Tannerite that Kinsey purchased online. A photo captures the damaged home on Demeries Lake Lane in Richmond Hill. During a press conference last year, Bryan County Sheriff Mark Crowe described the damage the home sustained. I've never seen anything like this in my 26 years of being in law enforcement, said Crowe. When I arrived on the scene out there, I had no idea of the devastation that I would see at the home. It almost looked like a tornado went off inside the home with all the debris and damage. The conspiracy charge has a punishment of up to 20 years in prison, with another 10 for using an explosive to commit a felony. Both men are in custody. Latrice Williams is a general assignment reporter covering Bryan and Effingham County. She can be reached at lwilliams6@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Two Bryan County men charged in bombing Richmond Hill home A damaged car is seen in an airport employee parking lot after tire debris from a Boeing 777 landed on it at San Francisco International Airport on Thursday. (Haven Daley / Associated Press) A United Airlines plane departing San Francisco International Airport on Thursday morning lost one of its tires shortly after takeoff but landed safely at Los Angeles International Airport. The tire that fell damaged several vehicles in an employee parking lot at San Francisco International Airport, but no one on the ground was injured. In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration said it would investigate the cause of the accident. The incident happened at about 11:35 a.m. as United Flight 35 was en route to Osaka, Japan, according to Doug Yakel, a spokesperson for the SFO airport. He confirmed there were no injuries but said the runway was briefly closed off to clear fallen debris and had since reopened to regular operation. According to LAX representative Dae Levine, the flight successfully landed in Los Angeles at 1:23 p.m. with "no issue." "Operationally, this didn't have an impact," said Levine. "They were able to pull up to the gate." The plane that malfunctioned was a Boeing 777, which is designed to descend safely even with missing or damaged landing gear, United Airlines said in a statement. The plane carried 235 passengers, 10 flight attendants and four pilots but no injuries were reported by the airline. Read more: Beverly Hills school district expels 8th graders involved in fake nude scandal "We are arranging for a new aircraft to continue this trip for our customers," United said. U.S. regulators are currently investigating Boeing's quality controls after a door plug on a 737 Max aircraft blew out midflight earlier this year. There have yet been no groundings reported for other United planes in response to this event. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Sweden and Canada have said they will resume aid payments to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. They were among 16 countries that paused funds after Israel accused at least 12 UNRWA staff of involvement in the 7 October attack by Hamas. The UN is investigating, and France's foreign minister is leading a review. Sweden said on Saturday it would send 200 million kronor (15m; $19m) initially, after UNRWA agreed to more checks on its spending and staff. "The government has allocated 400 million kronor to UNRWA for the year 2024. Today's decision concerns a first payment of 200 million kronor," it said in a statement. It comes after Canada said on Friday that it would re-start funding for UNRWA while investigations into the agency's staff continue. On 7 October, Hamas gunmen stormed across Gaza's border into Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage. In response, Israel launched a campaign of air strikes and a ground invasion of the territory. More than 30,900 people have since been killed in Gaza, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry says, and the amount of aid reaching civilians has plummeted. The UN has warned that a quarter of the Strip's population is on the brink of famine and children are starving to death. UNRWA is the biggest UN agency operating in Gaza. It provides healthcare, education and other humanitarian aid, and employs about 13,000 people there. Its chief Philippe Lazzarini said he was "cautiously optimistic" donors would start funding it again within weeks. He said the agency was "at risk of death" after major donor countries suspended funding following allegations in late January that a number of staff members were involved in the 7 October attack. Within days, Mr Lazzarini said an investigation was being carried out, and "to protect the agency's ability to deliver humanitarian assistance" these staff members had been sacked. "What is at stake is the fate of the Palestinians today in Gaza in the short term who are going through an absolutely unprecedented humanitarian crisis," Mr Lazzarini said. The European Commission said earlier this month that it would release 50m in UNRWA funding. Sweden is the fourth largest contributor to the agency's budget, and Canada the 11th largest, 2022 data shows. UNRWA donors Canada's decision was announced in a statement on Friday by the country's Minister of International Development, Ahmed Hussen. He said it was made so that "more can be done to respond to the urgent needs of Palestinian civilians", and "in recognition of the robust investigative process under way". The Canadian Armed Forces will also donate about 300 cargo parachutes to Jordan, so they can be used to airdrop supplies into Gaza. On Friday the EU, UK, US and others said they planned to open a sea route to Gaza to deliver aid that could begin operating this weekend. Meanwhile an internal draft document compiled by UNRWA and seen by the BBC has detailed widespread abuse of Palestinians, including UNRWA employees who were released into Gaza from Israeli detention. In the document, former detainees describe an extensive range of ill-treatment. It says: "Agency staff members have been subject to threats and coercion by the Israeli authorities while in detention, and pressured to make false statements against the Agency, including that the Agency has affiliations with Hamas and that UNRWA staff members took part in the 7 October 2023 atrocities." In a statement provided to the BBC, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) rejected specific allegations and said: "The mistreatment of detainees during their time in detention or whilst under interrogation violates IDF values and contravenes IDF and is therefore absolutely prohibited." Vector Space is celebrating its one-year anniversary at its new location on the corner of Memorial Avenue and Langhorne Drive as it continues to be a hub for creativity and innovation in the city. Mollie Walsh, the co-organizer for the Maker Faire and outreach coordinator for Vector Space said the move to the new building has been transformative, doubling the workspace from its previous location on 5th Street. Located in Midtown Lynchburg, just across from E.C. Glass High School, Vector Space has become a focal point for the community, hosting myriad events and workshops throughout the year, she said. One of the highlights of Vector Spaces community engagement is the monthly event held on the first Friday of each month. During these gatherings, a community skillshare is offered, inviting kids and adults of all ages to participate in learning a new skill. Additionally, guided tours of the makerspace are provided, offering visitors a glimpse into the diverse array of workshops and equipment available, Walsh said. In addition to the monthly events, Vector Space organizes two major outreach events each year, open and free to the public. The Maker Faire on March 24 and the combat robot event in the fall, showcasing the creativity of makers of all ages. The new space has allowed Vector Space to enhance its programming, particularly for teens. Offering projects as diverse as constructing a canoe to designing technologically integrated fashion lines, Vector Space provides a platform for young minds to explore and innovate. One project is incorporating LED sensors into clothing to create weather-responsive garments, Walsh said. With more than 15 work areas, including welding, printmaking, lasers and stained glass, the makerspace caters to a wide range of interests and skill sets, she said. There is really something for everyone here if youre interested in making anything at all or expanding your current skill set, she said. We also are onboarding a brand-new ceramics area with kilns, pottery wheels, all these things are open to our membership which is 24/7. Members are welcome in the door as soon as they get their key fob. They can come in anytime. Membership at Vector Space offers round-the-clock access to the facilities, providing members with the flexibility to pursue their projects at any time. Currently with about 250 members, Vector Space continues to grow, with open enrollment periods offering opportunities for new members to join, Walsh said. The annual Maker Faire, now in its eighth year, has become a staple event in Lynchburg, attracting makers and innovators. From educational hands-on booths to the Power Racing Series, featuring homemade race cars, the Maker Faire, scheduled to be held at Randolph College on March 24, offers something for everyone, Walsh said. This years event has additions such as a levitation machine and food trucks. Special makers joining us at the fair are Hacksburg from Blacksburg, she said. Theyre bringing a levitation machine that will not be able to levitate you but can levitate very small objects. There will also be a new addition to the fair in the Power Racing Series. Adult innovators from as far away as Chicago and Louisville are coming to race their home-built or makerspace-built race cars. By registering for attendance on the Maker Faire site, participants have the chance to win their own educational electronics kits. We hope that we are able to help accomplish our mission of bringing science-based knowledge to our community, she said. Were really excited about any educational aspects that people can take away from the fair. Its a very positive way to expand your brain and spend a spring day on Randolphs beautiful campus. TOKYO, Mar 09 (News On Japan) - Two new manga series, "RED RULE" and "Fist of Aphasia" have launched in the April issue of Bessatsu Shonen Magazine (Kodansha), following the adventures of Spartans and Samurai. "RED RULE" is a heroic tale set in ancient Sparta, Greece, and follows the life of a young boy named Iason, born into the slave class known as helots and merchant slaves. Living under the dominion of Spartan citizens, Iason strives to fulfill his late father's dying wish to incite a slave rebellion, for which his father was publicly executed. As he dedicates himself to training for this uprising, a fateful day arrives when his sister Helene is attacked by a Spartan citizen. The protagonist of "Shitsugo no ken [Fist of Aphasia]," is a martial artist who wields mystical arts and is the 81st successor of the centuries-old Isshin-ryu dojo. The story begins with the arrival of a government intelligence officer at the dojo requesting to investigate an unrecorded "Dark Age" in history. Source: Natalie Hank Kohlers fascination with water began as a young boy. It only got deeper as the years went by. In 2001, at age 70, the Ames resident with a few others traveled down the Mississippi River by canoe, a journey covering 64 days and some 1,900 miles. Kohler wrote a book about his journey, "One 4 Water: Paddling South to Alligators," and discussed it at the Council Bluffs Public Library on Thursday evening. He even brought along his bent-shaft paddle that was used on the trip. His speech kicked off the librarys Our Community Reads program, which officially kicks off Saturday with Water Fest featuring all sorts of fun and educational water-related activities for children and adults. Council Bluffs Public Library to promote the many uses of water in daily life Water is essential for life and can be used in many ways, bringing people together with each other and the natural world. The trip was something Kohler felt he needed to do before he ran out of time. I think we are all fascinated with time traveling to go back in time and do something to improve the future, he told the audience. Whats wrong doing something in the present? We have to think generations ahead. Kohler and his companions not only enjoyed some of the best that Mother Nature offers, but also in the people they met along the way, providing food, other supplies, and most of all, encouragement. We kept running into great people, Kohler said. Concerning his love for the water, Kohler recalled traveling to a river in northern Minnesota as a young boy with his father when a rainstorm occurred. When his father asked him where the raindrops would travel, Kohler confidently said south to the Gulf of Mexico. This water goes north, his father said. Intrigued by that fact of some northern waterways, he would later go on a trip to inspect them. In 1979, I followed those raindrops, he said. Then one night in 2020, he awoke having goosebumps about doing something special. Why not go the other direction? Kohler asked himself. He decided to make a trip by canoe down to the Gulf of Mexico as a fundraiser for a Mississippi River museum in Dubuque that would provide water-related activities for children. On his journey, he had numerous companions with him, some he met along the way for a few days or much longer. It wasnt always a smooth ride. We had to be on our toes more than I thought. The river is powerful and there was debris and turbulence. He recalled beautiful white pelicans on the river flying away as his canoe came closer expect for one. The bird was entangled in something," he said. "It was a thin wire. Kohler and his companions were able to free the bird. We done a good deed and we felt we would have good luck, he said, adding that they saw large eagles every day. Later on, they came across silver Asian carp, an invasive species that jumps high in the air when spooked. I remember they are hitting us and landing in the canoe, Kohler said. On and on they went, traveling 10 to 11 hours a day. One thing we couldnt escape was the sun, he said. As summer wore on and I was wearing out, we actually went faster. Though the sun may have been brutal during the day, he and the others enjoyed beautiful sunsets at night, Kohler said. They did not go past Baton Rouge, Louisiana, or New Orleans because of heavy river traffic, including large ocean tankers. Instead they took a less traveled alternate route where they came across several alligators one a little too close for comfort. At the end of my paddle there was this alligator head staring at me, Kohler said. But after about five seconds he was gone. They got to within 11 miles of the gulf when the journey ended. What Kohler seems to remember most of all, however, are the many people they met along the route eagerly offering food and other basics. It was a fabulous network," he said. "They were the kind of people we met along the way. We even ran into some (Iowa) Hawkeye fans down in Natchez, Mississippi. At last count, about $40,000 has been raised by that trip for that museum, including funds already spent on two canoes each capable of carrying 10 kids on river rides, Kohler said. His adventure also attracted 1,500 followers on Facebook, he added. It was mostly strangers who convinced me to write the book, Kohler said. So, was that his last adventure? Hardly. Next month, Kohler plans to travel to the Arctic to view musk ox. I also plan to drill a hole in the Arctic Ocean and go fishing, he said. Our Community Reads plans kicks off with Water Fest at Council Bluffs Public Library The Council Bluffs Public Library is inviting the community to come together to kick off Our Community Reads 2024 with a special event next week. Saturdays Water Fest at the library runs 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Adults and children can learn about ways to conserve and protect this essential natural resource, explore the city sewer system with a sewer cam, check out a hovercraft and enjoy crafts and other hands-on activities. The theme for this year's Our Community Reads program is "Water Connects Us" All programs will feature books about water for all ages. Iowa Western Community College will receive a $500,000 grant from the Federal Aviation Administration to help purchase new tools and equipment for its aviation maintenance technology program. The Council Bluffs community college has one of the oldest aviation maintenance technician programs in the country, aviation department chair Dylan Driscoll said. "We've been around a long time, so a lot of our tooling is older," Driscoll said. "A lot of our aircraft are older. And so a lot of it's going to be retooling, basically getting all new top of the line tools and things like that. Driscoll said the program is also looking into adding an avionics course, which would focus solely on aircraft electronics like communications and navigation systems. Iowa Western is one of 32 schools nationwide to receive part of $13.5 million in grants from the FAA Aviation Maintenance Technical Workforce Development program, which were made available by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018. Aviation training programs offer Iowans job security and opportunities for career advancement, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley said in a news release. By investing in Iowans futures and our community colleges, these grants will help meet the national demand for skilled aviation workers. The average age of aviation mechanics is around 60-plus years old, Driscoll said. Skilled pilots are also getting older, and there arent enough bodies in the pipeline to maintain the workforce. With just retirement, and then when COVID hit, it really kind of came to a head, Driscoll said. And not only mechanics, but you have pilots, flight instructors, and the same thing that happened with mechanics happened with pilots. As older pilots and mechanics retire, everybody kind of moves up a rung, leaving companies scrambling to fill entry level positions, Driscoll said. There's just not enough out there, so wages have gone crazy, Driscoll said. Weve got mechanics straight out of school (making) $38 an hour so it's really lucrative for them. Driscoll said that when he graduated from the Iowa Western aviation maintenance program he had to travel around the country to visit potential employers, but now they all come to us. They do interviews and hire people right at our facility, Driscoll said. We're at the Council Bluffs airport, they fly in, come in, interview, and the students don't even have to go anywhere. Because the need for aviation mechanics is so great, graduates can also play employers off one another to get higher wages or better benefits, Driscoll said. The competition from the employers has just gotten so high, they cant find people, he said. According to the FAA, approximately 20,000 fewer people are working in aircraft maintenance than before the pandemic. The FAA grant program will enable Iowa Western to expand its aviation maintenance program and provide valuable education in a highly skilled career field, Iowa Western Vice President of Academic Affairs Jenny Kruger said in a news release. Our focus will be on training the next generation of aviation maintenance professionals and filling the much needed workforce pool. Iowa Western also recently hired a third aviation instructor, which could help bolster enrollment in the program. The FAA requires that we maintain a 25-to-1 student to instructor ratio, so with just myself and the second year instructor, we're limited to 50 students, but with the addition of the third staff member now, technically, we could have up to 75, Driscoll said. The FAA grant will also help Iowa Western promote the aviation mechanics program to not only high school students but also to adults looking to change careers and military veterans. Thats something we've been working on, is to increase our profile to veterans, Driscoll said. It's a logical choice to them because you can be in the Air Force for 30 years, you retire, you have to come get the same certification as a kid who just got out of high school so were trying to make it easier for them to do that. Recreational pilots who own their own airplanes are also required to earn an aviation maintenance technology certificate or associate of applied science degree. I get retired people whore pilots and they just want to be able to work on their own aircraft, so anywhere from 17 to 70 years old, we have students come through, so that's all age brackets, Driscoll said. And like I said, with the demand for mechanics right now, it's a logical choice for adults who want to change careers, too. For more information about the Iowa Western aviation maintenance technology program, visit iwcc.edu. Finding ways to get employees more engaged in their workplace is just good business. That, in a nutshell, is the purpose of a program aimed at helping local businesses track employee satisfaction and creating a culture in which employees want to work. Called UNbelievable Workplaces, this program, now in its fourth year, was developed and managed by the Council Bluffs Area Chamber of Commerce to improve retention rates at area employers. Engaged employees are happy, more productive and have a higher retention rate with their current company, said Alicia Stultz, the chambers workforce development director. UNbelievable Workplaces is an employee satisfaction survey programed in order for chamber member businesses to be able to engage how their employees are feeling in 10 different categories of their work life, Stultz said. This really helps our employers identify where their areas of success are and where there might be areas of challenges that might be causing their turnover and lack of retention that they may have in their organization, she said. Turnover concerns among these businesses sparked the development of this program, Stultz said. We were experiencing a high percentage of turnover inside our local organizations and businesses, and so we wanted to help them by providing a survey to figure out what areas were not satisfactory in their workplace and what was making their employees find other employment, she said. Chamber businesses that have taken advantage of this program have seen employee satisfaction increase and retention decrease, she added. In celebration of these success stories, the chamber held its annual recognition event on Wednesday evening, recognizing 23 area businesses as UNbelievable Workplaces. For a business or organization to receive this designation, 60% of their employees must respond to the survey with 75% of the questions have a 60% or higher score. Awards were handed out in three size categories. Large Businesses: Iowa Western Community College. Medium Businesses: American Games, Lewis Central Community School District, International Gamco, Midstates Bank and Midlands Living Center. Small Businesses: All Care Health Center, American PCS Inc., Avenue Scholars Southwest Iowa, BAT Logistics, Centro Latino of Iowa, Community Foundation for Western Iowa, Council Bluffs Schools Foundation, FAMILY Inc., HGM Associates and HGM Associates Council Bluffs location, Iowa West Foundation, Life Dimensions by Ilona, New Visions Homeless Services, Omaha/Council Bluffs Bridges Out of Poverty, Omni Dental Centre, The Best Wrestler, Vander Haags Inc. and Willson & Pechacek PLC. Brenton Hoesing, superintendent of Lewis Central schools, praised the chamber's UNbelievable Workplaces program. Thats an awesome opportunity for us, he said. I value feedback from the survey. Im a continual learner, and we can all be better. From employee feedback, the school district increased salaries and benefits for its hourly workers, Hoesing said. The attitude is now better, he said. Dorene Scheffel, president of the Lewis Central school board, added: Its great that the chamber has a program like this. Its good for our employees, good for community businesses, good for all of us." Brenda Mainwaring, president and CEO of the Iowa West Foundation, said this was the fourth year the foundation was named an UNbelievable Workplace. "Our mission is to create communities where people love to live, and their careers are a large part of that equation. I'm thrilled for Iowa West to be named an UNbelievable Workplace for the fourth year in a row, and pleased to see so many other employers who are creating positive and supportive work cultures in the community." Promoting this distinction to potential applicants strengthens businesses' recruitment and retention strategies, said Jim Meyer with American Games and International Gamco. This is the second year that American Games and International Gamco have participated in the UNbelievable Workplace program," Meyer said. "We were able to utilize our first years certification in our marketing and recruiting efforts and have been very successful in hiring and retaining staff." He said employers "continue to learn from the feedback our employees provide to us in an anonymous format and plan to continue to do so annually to enable constant refinement and improvement in our operations." For more information participating in the UNbelievable Workplace program, contact Alicia Stultz, workforce development director at the Council Bluffs Area Chamber of Commerce, at 712-325-1000 or alicia@councilbluffsiowa.com. Severe storms with probable tornadoes tore through several central U.S. states, damaging homes and businesses and killing at least three people, with more bodies likely to be discovered, authorities said. As the sun rose Friday, officials scrambled to assess the extent of the destruction wit Whether you planned it originally or held off because of dry conditions in the fall, the time for spring alfalfa planting is just around the corner. Selecting the right seed is crucial, and two traits to consider are fall dormancy and winter survival. These traits often are treated the same Frances Societe General plans to sell majority stakes in its Morocco banking activity to Saham, Moroccan media reported. Saham, owned by former industry minister Moulay Hafid Alamy, had reached a deal to buy 57% stake in the French subsidiary bank, Le360 said in an exclusive. The transaction to buy the fourth largest universal bank in Morocco is being examined by the central bank, it said. The deal would mark the return of Saham to the financial sector after the company sold its insurance business in 2018 to South Africas Sanlam for $1 billion. In 2022, the bank posted a turnover of 12 billion dollars and a net banking income of 520 million dollars. Its net profit stood at 120 million dollars. Morocco, a country of openness, is keen to build bridges between cultures and religions, as enshrined in the Kingdoms multicultural identity, and reflected in the fundamental provisions of the Constitution, Moroccos Permanent Mission in Geneva stressed on Friday. This came during a panel on countering religious hatred constituting incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, held as part of the 55th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), chaired by Morocco. The mission said that Pope Francis visit to Morocco in 2019 intimately embodies Moroccos approach to inter-religious dialogue, and recalled the launch of the Al Quds Appeal by King Mohammed VI and Pope Francis, which calls for safeguarding and promoting the multi-religious character, spiritual dimension, and special identity of the Holy City, as a symbol of coexistence and common civilizational heritage. Islam, in its truest acceptation, is a religion of openness, moderation, tolerance, and dialogue between cultures and civilizations, and cannot be the receptacle of an outpouring of hatred, the mission said. Morocco welcomed the holding of the debate on the fight against religious hatred, insofar as it enables to take the pulse of a context marked by the multiplication of hate speech and acts of violence based on religious motives. The mission highlighted the Morocco-proposed resolution on the elimination of all forms of intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief that was unanimously adopted in July 2023. This text provides for respect for religions and beliefs as an inalienable international right. In this context, the Kingdom reiterated its deep belief that freedom of religion and freedom of expression are indissociable, even consubstantial, and noted that the Rabat Plan constitutes an important tool in the fight against hate speech. 70 years on, success story of people's congresses continues in China Xinhua) 09:13, March 09, 2024 BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Ning Fenfang, a 34-year-old farmer, had spent a lot of time visiting fellow villagers in central China's Hunan Province to gather their opinions and requests ahead of her trip to Beijing for this year's legislative session that opened earlier this week. Such efforts were among her duties as a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature. Her role has also seen her devote considerable time to checking the construction of agricultural infrastructure and visiting relevant government departments to inquire about agriculture policies. Ning has registered a cooperative specializing in large-scale planting, creating about 200 jobs for villagers. At this year's NPC session, she submitted a suggestion on allowing agricultural insurance to cover greenhouses in southern China. There are nearly 3,000 NPC deputies like Ning in the country. Working in a part-time capacity, they come from various backgrounds and cover a diverse cross-section of society. This photo taken on March 8, 2024 shows the Great Hall of the People ahead of the second plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Liu Xu) 70th ANNIVERSARY This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the NPC. Sitting at the pinnacle of the people's congress system, a great creation of the Chinese people in the history of political systems, the NPC is the supreme organ of state power in China. Since Sept. 15, 1954, when about 1,200 deputies gathered in Beijing to attend the first session of the first NPC, the people's congress system has provided an important institutional guarantee that has allowed the Communist Party of China to lead the people in creating miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability. The people's congress system is the fundamental political system in China, serving as an important institutional vehicle for realizing whole-process people's democracy in China. The Constitution passed at the inaugural session of the NPC in 1954 states that all power in the People's Republic of China belongs to the people, and that the NPC and the local people's congresses at various levels are the organs through which the people exercise state power. Over the past 70 years, the people's congress system has seen constant improvements, including the establishment of a commission on work related to NPC deputies under the NPC Standing Committee to improve the quality of deputies' work, and setting up and expanding primary-level legislative outreach offices nationwide to make it more convenient for the public to reach lawmakers. The second plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th NPC is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2024. (Xinhua/Liu Xu) LAW-BASED GOVERNANCE As an important constituent of China's governance system, the people's congress system bears great significance in pushing forward the rule of law and modernizing China's system and capacity for governance. China's legislation has made considerable advances over the years. On July 1, 1979, seven laws were adopted at the second session of the fifth NPC, including the criminal law and the law on Chinese-foreign equity joint ventures, signifying that China's legislation had been put back on the right track in the new period of reform, opening up and socialist modernization. In 2023, the NPC Standing Committee, a permanent body of the NPC, formulated or revised a raft of laws, including the law on ecological conservation of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and the law on building a barrier-free environment. Currently, the country has 300 laws in effect. An important principle of the people's congress system and a basic requirement of its institutional design is that the power of all state organs and their staff are subject to oversight and checks. According to the Constitution, all administrative, supervisory, adjudicatory and procuratorial organs of the state shall be created by the people's congresses and shall be responsible to them and subject to their oversight. On Oct. 22, 2023, a special "examination" took place at the Great Hall of the People. For the first time, a session of the NPC Standing Committee made special inquiries regarding three reports on the same topic from the State Council, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) and the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP). At the meeting, the leading officials of the State Council, the SPC and the SPP answered multiple questions on law enforcement and judicial work in the fields of environmental protection and resource conservation. Last year, the 14th NPC and its Standing Committee also launched law enforcement inspections on the implementation of five laws, including the workplace safety law, the wetland conservation law and the seed law. With these efforts, they facilitated improvements in production activities, environmental protection and building up the country's strength in agriculture. An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 1, 2024 shows the scenery at the Maiya River Wetland in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu) POOLING WISDOM One day in late 2023, residents of Zhongxinwan residential community, along with local cadres and law experts, met to discuss a range of legal topics of common concern. Among the questions raised were "Are females entitled to the same kind of inheritance rights as males?" and "What should females do when confronted with sexual harassment in the workplace?" Zhongxinwan is one of the residential communities under the jurisdiction of Shapingba District of Chongqing Municipality. As a primary-level legislative outreach office, the local people's congress standing committee of Shapingba had contributed more than 1,000 pieces of suggestions on law drafts, with 86 items incorporated into a total of eight national laws as of November 2023. This was in the same vein as the broad-based drafting process of the 1954 Constitution seven decades ago. In the course of around three months, approximately 150 million people across the country participated in the discussion of the draft, bringing nearly 1.2 million suggestions to the drafting committee. Ever since then, releasing draft laws to the public to solicit their opinions has become an important avenue for the NPC Standing Committee to boost people's participation in law-making and the quality of legislation. Another prominent example is the compilation of the Civil Code. The five-year codification work saw 10 rounds of deliberation by the NPC Standing Committee, 10 rounds of public opinion solicitation, three rounds of reading and discussion by NPC deputies, plus a series of symposiums on heated issues. Since taking office last year, the 14th NPC and its Standing Committee have solicited suggestions on draft laws 17 times, garnering over 180,000 items from the public. So far, the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee has established 45 primary-level legislative outreach offices nationwide, further improving the channel for people at the grassroots to participate in the country's legislative work. Connecting the Party and state with the general public, NPC deputies have always played an important role in reflecting public opinion and the public will. "It is the duty of us deputies to always bear the people in mind, communicate with them, and solve problems for them in our work," Ning said. (Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Liang Jun) January 6, 2021. Photo-Illustration: New York Magazine; Photo: Mark Peterson/New York Times/REDUX The clock started ticking on Donald Trumps 2024 presidential campaign last year, when prosecutors announced dozens of criminal charges against him. With each new allegation mishandling classified documents, election fraud, racketeering it became clear that Trumps campaign for a second term would unfold in a time crunch. He was deeply unpopular, holed up at Mar-a-Lago, and venting on Truth Social because Twitter had banned him. Now, he was applying for a job that voters had already fired him from, and he had to somehow get it back before courts could rule against him. Today, the safety of the Oval Office looks like Trumps to lose. Joe Biden is polling worse than any modern president at this stage, weakened by doubts about his age and stewardship of the economy. Trump didnt even bother to debate his challengers in the GOP primary and steamrollered them anyway en route to the nomination. Hes edging out Biden in national polling averages and leading him comfortably in swing states. And in March, a New York TimesSiena College poll suggested that voters have grown less certain that Trump committed federal offenses. As he scampers to the finish line, these changing attitudes toward what makes him deeply abnormal for a presidential candidate his alleged crimes are the latest sign of how normalized hes become. Critics have long worried that Trumps behavior would come to be seen as normal, but they mostly meant his bigotry and lies. In a recent column, Thomas Edsall at the Times lamented how Trump demonizes minorities and fans ethnic hostility, yet a substantial share of the American electorate remains willing to cast a ballot for him. There was always something incomplete about this conceit. Theres no shortage of racists in the history of an office that includes a dozen slaveholders, and Trump got his start in Republican politics as a birther evidence that normalized racism has long been alive and well in the GOP, at least. His real innovation was becoming the first former U.S. president to have been indicted. If his opponents failed to convince the public his rhetoric was beyond the pale, there was still the hope of disqualifying him from politics by labeling him a convicted criminal. It is not too soon for patriotic Americans to publicly take pride in what is now clear, wrote Donald Ayer at The Atlantic in the wake of the charges, that our rule of law is durable and works. The longer Americans wait for this question to be resolved, however, the more that hope seems to be fading. Among Democrats and independents, belief that Trump committed serious federal crimes has fallen by seven and nine percentage points, respectively, from 92 and 66 percent in December to 85 and 57 percent today, according to the Times-Siena poll. Just over half of voters still think hes guilty, and surely that has contributed to Trumps enduring unfavorability in poll after poll. But its notable that attitudes toward him have softened even though no exonerating evidence has emerged and none of the facts has changed. The shift of the past four months seems based mostly on vibes. Time tends to be forgiving of former presidents even under typical circumstances. Jimmy Carter rebounded from the economic crises that doomed his presidency to become a beloved humanitarian. George W. Bush caused hundreds of thousands of deaths during the Iraq War, only to rebrand as a lovable amateur portraitist. Even the poor economy that Trump presided over, which cratered under COVID, is now the toast of electoral focus groups. By deploying a strategy of postponement hoping that by 2025 he could have the power to make his legal problems disappear Trumps legal team has given him the temporal space needed to cast his presidency in a better light. Trump has been helped in this effort by some lucky breaks and unforced errors on the part of prosecutors. Alvin Braggs case in New York, which involves hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, has been widely criticized as weak. Federal prosecutors and Braggs predecessor as Manhattan district attorney had already passed on the case, leaving Bragg to reach a tough threshold for felony charges and explain why it took so long all of which has bolstered Trumps assertion that he is the victim of a witch hunt. In Georgia, where Trump is facing a RICO indictment for interfering with the 2020 election, the upcoming trial has been threatened with delay by charges of prosecutorial impropriety brought by one of his co-defendants canny defense lawyers. Fulton County DA Fani Willis hired her ex-lover, a private attorney named Nathan Wade, to oversee the prosecution for a hefty fee and had to testify that she and Wade didnt improperly benefit from the arrangement. Special counsel Jack Smiths federal cases in Florida and Washington, D.C., are generally seen as the most fraught for Trump. The former involves Trumps refusal to return classified documents he took to Mar-a-Lago and has a trial set for May that may be delayed, and the latter alleges he defrauded the government and disenfranchised voters in 2020 with his efforts to overturn the election, culminating with the January 6 uprising. Now both are on hold after Trumps lawyers filed a motion arguing that he enjoys total immunity from prosecution. The Supreme Court in February agreed to take the case, which will get an April hearing and likely be decided by the justices sometime this summer pushing any trial so close to November that Trump might be reelected before he can be tried, let alone convicted. Trumps campaign team must be delighted at the prospect of the public growing numb to his alleged misdeeds. His path to immunity still runs through a popularity contest. The more room he leaves for people to convince themselves hes done nothing illegal, the better his odds of mitigating their distaste for having him in office. He may never actually be popular, but when the goal is 270 electoral votes in a race won at the margins, he only benefits from making it harder for voters to dismiss him. The shift in public opinion since December casts doubt on the wisdom of Bidens reelection strategy. So far, the presidents campaign staff has taken his dismal polling in stride, remaining confident that Trump is too reviled to actually win. Democrats have been on a tear of state-level election wins lately, thanks to abortion and other issues, a sign that reports of Bidens toxicity are exaggerated. The campaign insists that once the trials begin and despite Trumps efforts, that may very well happen before November voters will be shocked by the evidence that prosecutors present. It says that most voters arent even aware that the 2024 election is set to be a rematch of 2020, and that when they realize this, they will choose old over crazy every time. Mike Donilon, one of Bidens closest aides, told The New Yorker that by November, the focus will become overwhelming on democracy. I think the biggest images in peoples minds are going to be of January 6th. The campaign seems content to let the race run its course with the expectation that it will turn in Bidens favor once voters remember who Trump is. The latest developments suggest the Biden team hasnt woken up to a growing possibility: What if voters just dont? Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images Weeks before uncommitted voters sent a message to Joe Biden that he needs to bring an end to Israels war in Gaza or risk losing reelection, the president had evidently decided to borrow another American neologism to consciously uncouple from Benjamin Netanyahu, Israels recalcitrant prime minister. In the past month, he has, through a series of relatively quiet but closely linked and deliberate moves, sought to marginalize Bibi, as Netanyahu is ubiquitously known, internationally and at home. The change spilled out publicly on Thursday night following the State of the Union address, when Biden announced he ordered the U.S. military to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza via a sea pier. After the speech, Biden was stopped by Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado, who told him to keep pushing Israels leader. Smiling, Biden said, I told him, Bibi dont repeat this you and I are going to have a come to Jesus moment. Hidden behind Secretary of State Antony Blinken, a presidential aide whispered, Sir, youre on a hot mic, to which a buoyant Biden replied, Im on a hot mic here. Good. Thats good. President Biden: "I told him, Bibi, and don't repeat this, but you and I are going to have a come to Jesus meeting." Im on a hot mic here. Good. Thats good. pic.twitter.com/KCgpbx4awf Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) March 8, 2024 Itamar Rabinovich, a former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. and an authority on the relationship between the two countries, says the White House has been unhappy with Netanyahu for a long time, but now in my view theyre even angrier and they are sharpening the tone. Biden is not coming at him personally, but off the record and in closed meetings, the sentiment is clear. They disagree on many things: on Gaza the day after the war; on the Palestinian Authority; on a return to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations; all very significant issues. One Israeli expert frequently consulted by American officials says, I have been asked by a serious administration figure what it is that will force the Netanyahu coalition to collapse. They were interested in the mechanics, what can we demand which will collapse his coalition. In the event the new American position over Netanyahu remained unclear, Vice-President Kamala Harris left no doubts in a Friday interview with CBS News, which asked Are the Israelis at risk of losing U.S. aid if this continues? Harris replied: I think its important for us to distinguish or at least not conflate the Israeli government with the Israeli people. In other words: Israelis, were with you. Netanyahu, be gone. Bidens command to build a sea pier is an end-run around Netanyahus dithering to allow aid to be transported overland from Israel, as the U.S. has demanded for months. The 300,000 people remaining in northern Gaza are at greatest danger of starvation, and almost 2 million are huddling in Rafah, on the border with Egypt, where Netanyahu is rattling sabers about an offensive against Hamas. His fight against more aid has helped him with his hard-right base, which opposes any support for the Gazan population, and has stymied negotiations for the release of the 134 remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a cease-fire. The pier was the second initiative through which Biden undermined Netanyahu over that past week. On March 1, immediately following a stampede around trucks delivering food and water to Gaza City, in which the crush and shots fired by Israeli soldiers who say they were protecting the vehicles left more than 100 dead, Biden announced the U.S., alongside Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, would immediately initiate airdrops of food to besieged residents. (A senior U.S. official told the New York Times this was a tipping point for the Biden administration.) Israel appeared to know nothing of the airdrops, but the Israeli army which also finds itself at loggerheads with Netanyahu took the news in stride, saying in a statement that the operation had been coordinated. Biden addressed Congress six months to the day after Hamas attack killed 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped 250 others. Over the same period, more than 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza (including, according to Palestinian and Israeli authorities, thousands of Hamas fighters). Netanyahu refuses to define any end point to the combat other than his constantly repeated slogan: total victory. As the war escalated in spite of Bidens repeated warnings to Israel not to go overboard and to have a clear exit strategy, his frustration with Netanyahus leadership began to swell. Amos Harel, the military analyst for Haaretz, says apart from his promised total victory, which no one can define, theres no plan, so the armys considerable achievements in Gaza are not being translated into anything strategic. These gains are being lost. The army may not share all of Bidens positions, but each understands that they need a strategy to bring this war to an end. This is something of a pivotal moment, says Daniel Seideman, an Israeli attorney and expert on the geopolitics of the country. The danger of regional war is palpable. They are thinking in terms of the Cuban Missile Crisis [or] of 1938. Things are going on that could easily trigger a broader conflict, and preventing that is clearly the administrations interest and Netanyahu is not being cooperative. Netanyahu is highly vulnerable at home. For months, hes faced blistering anger from the family members of the remaining hostages, whose fate he seems ambivalent about at best. A recent poll shows that a majority of Israelis, 53 percent, believe Netanyahu is extending the war so as to survive politically, not to defeat Hamas. Its just the latest negative finding about the political standing of Israels longest-serving leader, whose popularity among Israelis flounders at about 20 percent. The October 7 debacle Netanyahu presided over, for which he refuses to accept any responsibility, came on top of his corruption trial and his related push to neuter Israels judiciary, which threatened over the past year to tear the country apart. Until and if Israelis find a way to unseat Netanyahu, a relentless politician who returned to power in December 2022, theres not much Biden can do to force him out, but that hasnt stopped him from trying to undermine Netanyahu politically. The first move against Netanyahu came on February 1, when Biden signed an extraordinary executive order imposing sanctions on persons undermining peace, security, and stability in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, which the U.S., Europe, and, crucially, Palestinians, see as the heart of their future state. The sanctions targeted only four Israeli settlers but had a major ripple effect in Israel. In addition to rattling Netanyahus far-right, settler base that has grown accustomed to impunity, the order implicitly condemned Netanyahu: He has constrained police and judicial efforts to investigate and pursue settlers perpetrating acts of violence against Palestinians. An overlooked line in the order underscores the gravity of Bidens threat to Netanyahu and his hard-line coalition. The U.S., it reads, may sanction anyone responsible for or complicit in actions that endanger Palestinian residents, including directing, enacting, implementing, enforcing, or failing to enforce policies. The final clause indicates the American conviction that Israels authorities are flouting their own laws. Not only violent settlers are liable: Netanyahu and his ministers are clearly in their sights. The full effect of Bidens public moves against Netanyahus government took several weeks to sink in. Three days after the Americans, Canada announced it would follow suit with sanctions. Britain and France rapidly fell into line, announcing their own sanctions, which Paris imposed on 28 unnamed settlers. Even Germany, Israels closest ally after the U.S., adhered to the measure. Soon, Netanyahus most extremist ministers, national security adviser Itamar Ben Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, realized they may be among these unnamed targets. Then the Biden administration leaked that it was, in fact, considering direct measures against these two, whom Ehud Barak, a former prime minister, terms Israeli Proud Boys. The White House wont speak directly against Netanyahus partners, Rabinovitch says, but the threat against Ben Gvir and Smotrich is coming closer, and if things arent resolved, I assume they will be made explicit. Weeks later, the White House let it be known it was considering recognition of a Palestinian state in Gaza and in the West Bank, which is anathema for Netanyahu: He reacted to the White House pivot by telling Israelis only I can block a Palestinian state. The prime minister justifies his longtime authorization of transfers of billions of dollars to Gaza money ostensibly destined for humanitarian purposes but that only served to shore up Hamas as a manner of weakening the Palestinian Authority, the internationally recognized Palestinian government. Anyone who wants to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state has to support bolstering Hamas and transferring money to Hamas, Netanyahu allegedly told members of his Likud Party in 2019. This is part of our strategy By early March, the gruff Netanyahu appeared to have been reduced to something of afterthought for the Biden administration: Benny Gantz, Netanyahus political rival who joined his war cabinet in October, went to the White House against the prime ministers wishes and met with Harris, Blinken, and Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser. An American source familiar with the administrations thinking says the White House realizes that Netanyahu is in a corner of his own making. He has no room to maneuver. He is screwing us. The politics of this have to completely change, and I think time is running out. Seideman says the administration is getting ready to put Netanyahu to the test in ways that have not happened before. Are you with us or are you against us? Were not going to dictate the result. But if youre against us, there will be consequences. I dont for a moment think that Biden will abandon Israel, Seideman says, but the Americans are arriving at the conclusion that supporting Netanyahu means being harmful to Israel. There is a distinction between Israels interests and Netanyahus interests. Sign Up for the Intelligencer Newsletter Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. 9 items in this article Photo: Marcus McDonald On the list of common but stubborn skin concerns, melasma is pretty high up. Its the much more stubborn sibling of post inflammatory hyperpigmentation and often the trickiest kind to treat, because its notoriously difficult to get rid of and doesnt always respond well to run-of-the-mill hyperpigmentation-clearing products. Melasma is a type of skin discoloration that typically appears as dark-brown patches on the forehead, cheeks, nose, and upper lip. It affects people of all genders (and can flare up even if youve gone years or your whole life without a breakout), but according to Derma di Colore founder Dr. Carlos A. Charles, it is more prevalent in women with darker skin tones that tan easily, but it can be seen across most skin complexions. Two main factors that contribute to melasma are exposure to UV light and hormonal changes, so summertime and pregnancy are common times when melasma flares up, says Dr. Nava Greenfield of Schweiger Dermatology Group. While Charles, Greenfield, and other dermatologists I talked to say a combination of prescription-strength medications and in-office treatments is the most comprehensive way to treat melasma, there are over-the-counter topical products you can use to help prevent and fade it. Ive personally never had melasma, but Ive dealt with my fair share of dark marks, and many of the best melasma treatments are tried and true for both some of which Ive tested and mentioned below. To round things out, Ive spoken with dermatologists who shared their recommendations for the most effective ways to treat and prevent melasma including a product specifically for pregnant people. What were looking for Ingredients On the prevention front, our experts top recommendation is sunscreen. Sun and light exposure is the most common reason for the appearance of melasma, explains Dr. Morgan Rabach of LM Medical NYC. Therefore, the first and most essential defense, according to all of our experts, is to liberally apply a broad-spectrum mineral sunscreen with zinc or titanium every single day no matter the weather. Melasma responds well to hyperpigmentation-fading vitamin C, which has the additional benefit of protecting skin from UV damage. Experts recommend hydroquinone, a highly effective skin-lightening agent, though one concern is that it paradoxically darkens the skin. This typically happens when its used for too long, which is why most dermatologists recommend it for short periods of time (around three to six months). The latest alternative to hydroquinone is cysteamine, which Dr. Karan Lal says depigments the skin slowly and more safely than other bleaching ingredients. Unlike with hydroquinone, you dont run the risk of paradoxical hyperpigmentation. Price Skin care runs the gamut ranging from drugstore to luxe. Weve noted the size as well as cost per ounce (or fluid ounce), so you can choose what works best for your budget. Best melasma prevention product overall EltaMD UV Clear Tinted Facial Sunscreen Broad-Spectrum SPF 46 $45 now 9% off $41 Ingredients: Zinc oxide, niacinamide, antiocidants | Price: 1.7 ounces (approx. $24 per ounce) One of the best ways to deal with melasma is to prevent it, and sunscreen is the first line of defense. Im a big fan of this sunscreen from EltaMD, which I keep in my regular rotation. It has a lotion-y consistency that spreads super easily and sinks in without a white cast. I like that it has both chemical and physical blockers, which work together to both deflect and absorb the suns rays. The tinted formula of the UV Clear is my favorite in particular because it works well on a wide range of skin tones, and according to dermatologists, it helps to even out patches that have already formed. Dermatologists also love the formula. Three of our experts name EltaMDs moisturizing UV Clear, a perennial favorite of dermatologists that has received top marks in several Strategist sunscreen roundups. This sunscreen-moisturizer combination is good for daily use as it is lightweight and does not leave any significant visible residue behind even on darker skin tones, says Charles. Its specifically formulated for the face, which our experts say is where melasma is most likely to strike. $41 at Amazon Buy $36 at Dermstore Buy with code: REFRESH Best moisturizer for preventing melasma No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Advanced Day Cream SPF 30 $21 $21 Ingredients: Avobenzone (3 percent), octisalate (5 percent), octocrylene (7.5 percent), peptides, and antioxidants | Price: 1.6 ounces (approx. $12 per ounce) A moisturizer with SPF (which you can think of as a more moisturizing sunscreen) is also a good option. This one from No7 contains chemical SPF blockers along with peptides and antioxidants, which help to further protect skin from damage. Its a multitasking day cream good for those who want to prevent melasma and are also interested in treating fine lines, says Dr. Tess Mauricio, a board-certified dermatologist and the founder of M Beauty Clinic. The lightweight cream gives SPF 30 protection and protects the skin against environmental damage. Miami-based dermatologist Annie Gonzalez says this is a favorite of hers and is popular with her clients, who like that it can address a few different concerns at once. $21 at Target Buy $25 at Ulta Beauty Buy Best sunscreen for pregnant people to prevent melasma Belli Pure Radiance Mineral Sunscreen $24 now 21% off $19 Ingredients: Zinc oxide, titanium dioxide | Price: 1.5 fluid ounces (approx. $16 per fluid ounce) Melasma is incredibly common during pregnancy, and while it can fade postpartum, there are still options for treating it during. You will want to be mindful of what you pick up, though, as certain ingredients, like the ones found in chemical SPF, should be avoided. Dermatologists recommend sticking to mineral sunscreen to help prevent melasma. Greenfield is a fan of this one from Belli, a brand that formulates specifically for pregnancy. This one from the brand which is fragrance-, paraben-, and oil-free helps to prevent melasma breakouts. Its formulated to be pregnancy safe, which can help prevent flares during pregnancy, she says. $19 at Amazon Buy $24 at iHerb Buy Best product to treat melasma overall Ambi Skincare Fade Cream $5 Ingredients: Hydroquinone, vitamin E, lactic acid | Price: 2 ounces (approx. $3 per ounce) Hydroquinone is one of those much-discussed ingredients. On one hand, the FDA-approved skin-lightening agent is very effective (six of our experts named it as an extremely effective way to treat melasma flare-ups, especially via products that combine hydroquinone with other active ingredients like exfoliating acids), but it can also cause permanent skin damage if used too long or in very high concentrations. It can take two to three months to see results, says Dr. Y. Claire Chang of Union Square Dermatology, and should not be used for more than three to six months at a time. It works by inhibiting the skins pigment-producing cells. Chang likes Ambi Fade Cream in particular because it contains vitamin E and lactic acid to help with simultaneously exfoliating and softening skin. You should apply a thin layer only to the melasma itself, not to the rest of the skin, and wear SPF consistently to make sure no new melasma forms. And if your melasma pops up during pregnancy, you should wait until after giving birth before applying this or any other product formulated with hydroquinone. $5 at Amazon Buy Best serum to treat melasma SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic $182 Ingredients: L-ascorbic acid, vitamin E, ferulic acid | Price: 1 fluid ounce ($169 per fluid ounce) Vitamin C serum packs a major punch: It protects the skin against environmental damage and lightens dark patches, the latter being a big reason why three of our experts suggested using it to treat melasma. Ive long been a fan of this serum in particular (so much so that I named it the best overall pick for vitamin C) because despite vitamin Cs notoriously fickle nature, this formulation is very stable and works to brighten and even out skin. The water-light texture smells horrid but is incredibly effective, thanks to a time-tested combination of vitamins C and E, along with ferulic acid, which help to brighten skin. To prevent degradation, Dr. Justine Hextall, dermatologist at Tarrant Street Clinic, Hextal suggests storing the serum in a cool, dark drawer. Dr. Sam Bunting, the founder of Dr. Sams Skincare, suggests layering it under sunscreen in the morning so it can help protect skin from free-radical damage. And Dr. Yoon-Soo Cindy Bae who says she is very conservative when it comes to recommending products for pregnant people says a serum like this is safe to use when expecting. $182 at Dermstore Buy $182 at Skinstore Buy Best less expensive serum to treat melasma Naturium Vitamin C Complex Face Serum $21 $21 Ingredients: L-ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbyl phosphate | Price: 1 fluid ounce ($20 per fluid ounce) For a less expensive vitamin C serum, theres this one from Naturium. Im a fan of the brand generally it makes a great lotion and body wash and Im a fan of this products ingredients list. Its main actives are a stabilized version of L-ascorbic acid and sodium ascorbyl phosphate, another version of vitamin C. It also contains antioxidants, which help to further protect and brighten the skin. It comes recommended by dermatologist Dr. Lal, who describes the serum as elegant and nonirritating. It can be used up to two times per day, he says. $21 at Amazon Buy Best product to use at night to prevent and treat melasma Differin Acne Treatment $29 now 14% off $25 for 2 Ingredients: Adapalene | Price: 0.5 ounces ($30 per ounce) Retinoids (topical agents derived from vitamin A) encourage cell turnover and inhibit tyrosinase the enzyme our skin needs to produce melanin which helps to brighten and even out skin. Retinoids were the most-recommended intervention from the dermatologists I spoke to, but with a word of caution. Pregnant people should steer clear of it altogether, and since it makes your skin more sun-sensitive, it should be applied at night and followed up with sunscreen during the day. Most retinoids, like tretinoin, are available only by prescription, but Differin, which comes recommended by Bae, is an effective alternative. I mention this one a lot when I reference acne treatments. Its main ingredient is adapalene, an over-the-counter retinoid. Its a bit less effective than a prescription option but will still get the job done, and because its a bit less potent, its not as irritating either. $25 for 2 at Amazon Buy $15 at Walmart Buy Best retinoid alternative to prevent and treat melasma The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% $12 Ingredients: Azelaic acid | Price: 1 ounce ($10 per ounce) If youre pregnant or otherwise unable to use a retinoid like that in Differin, incorporating an azelaic-acid serum can be a good stand-in. Azelaic acid is a brightening antioxidant that puts a stop to pigment production in the skin, according to Bunting, who recommended this serum by name. For pregnancy, a simple azelaic-acid serum is best, he advises. Chang is a fan, noting that some small studies have shown it to be as effective as hydroquinone. $12 at Sephora Buy $12 at Target Buy Best makeup to cover melasma Colorescience Mineral Corrector Palette $56 Ingredients: SPF, Mineral Powder | Price: 0.32 ounces (approx. $175 per ounce) Actress Alison Brie, who struggles with melasma, told us about this concealer palette from Colorescience when we asked her about the things she cant live without. Its the only makeup thats ever been approved by my facialist as something thats not a terrible pore-clogger, she says. The palette comes with a guide to explain what each shade corrects and it contains SPF for added protection from the sun. $56 at Dermstore Buy get the strategist newsletter Actually good deals, smart shopping advice, and exclusive discounts. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best acne treatments, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, natural anxiety remedies, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. Congrats to the couple. I love suda masaki comedy acting Reply Thread Link they're such a cute couple. no wonder she hasn't acted in a while, i do hope that she won't retire bc she's talented Reply Thread Link Her name is Komatsu Nana?!?!? Ugh unrelated but were never getting closure on NANA are we? 15 years latersigh Reply Thread Link I always wanted Hachi to end up with Nobu. partly cause Hiroki was cute. Reply Parent Thread Link Hachi and Nobu will forever be my OTP. I'm still delusionally holding out hope for them. Reply Parent Thread Link Yall about me make me put on the anime sound track INEEDYOURLOOOOVE Reply Parent Thread Link do it. i recently bought two versions of the anime soundtrack on vinyl record lol. technically 3... lmao what am i doing idk idk i love nana manga/anime/music Reply Parent Thread Link I was just thinking about NANA the other day. I really want to know how it ends, but I don't think we'll ever get anything Reply Parent Thread Link I cant explain why but this thought occurs to me several times a year lately! It was just doing so well. I cant imagine what all of that pressure must have done to Yazawa Ais mental health. Reply Parent Thread Link I just like to picture Nana running away to London, Hachi finding her and bringing her back, Hachi ends up with Nobu, Yasu finds happiness with Miu, Takumi gets hit by a bus and because they're married Hachi gets all his assets and Nana performs again and everyone lives happily ever after Reply Parent Thread Link Happy for them! I remember when they were both kids Reply Thread Link Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ Reply Thread Link Aww thats so nice and I love NANA references. Congratulations Reply Thread Link Me too. I'm glad other people miss NANA too Reply Parent Thread Link The AI deal struck by the guild for Hollywood seems to continually be met with contention amongst smaller actors on IG posts. Thats because my fellow union members, after voting YES, like sheep or lemmings (take your pick) on our last contract, feel bamboozled. They were so mesmerized by that pocket of revenue that Fran and Duncan kept praising that they didnt see what was about to happen especially with that AI deal shortly after. Ive tried to be supportive and positive about my union during several negotiations in the past, but its been increasingly more difficult to continue to do so. Its clear they only want to cater to their well known members instead of the everyday working actors which make up a majority of our membership. Does anyone really think theyre going to see that pocket of revenue that has been mentioned several times? Edited at 2024-03-09 07:05 pm (UTC) Mexico City recently launched a major solar project aimed at transforming it into a solar city that other cities around the globe could well replicate. The installation of solar panels on the citys Central de Abasto public wholesale market is said to be the biggest solar project of its type in the world. The massive solar development shows the potential for other cities with suitable conditions to invest in rooftop solar panels to help generate clean electricity for homes and businesses. The Mexico City government invested $35.2 million in the installation of 32,000 solar panels across 21 hectares of the markets rooftop. The project provides 18 MW of capacity and is expected to produce up to 25 gigawatt hours (GWh) of renewable electricity each year, enough to power around 10,000 homes. The plant is being run by the state-owned Federal Electricity Commission (CFE). It is said to be the largest urban solar park in the world, followed by Radha Soami in Amritsar, India and the rooftop solar park at the Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California. The solar project is expected to contribute to a carbon dioxide emissions reduction of around 11,400 tonnes a year. It will also reduce the markets electricity bills by an estimated$205,300 annually. The development comes at a time when Mexicos President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) is being heavily criticised for his steadfast support for fossil fuels. AMLO has faced international criticism for his ongoing support for the state-owned oil and gas company PEMEX, despite its poor safety standards and the high level of debt it has incurred in recent years. AMLO has pursued a nationalist energy strategy, making it difficult for foreign companies to participate in Mexicos energy sector. In addition, an uncertain investment environment has deterred many companies from investing in Mexicos renewable energy sector. Mexico has significant potential to develop its renewable energy sources, with abundant sun as well as wind, hydropower and geothermal potential. Related: How To Profit From Europes $800 Billion Energy Crisis The solar city project was led by the then-mayor of Mexico City and Morena presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum, who has a masters degree and Ph.D. in energy engineering. The project demonstrates there could be a potential shift in the governments energy strategy if she wins the election, with the potential for significant renewable energy development over the coming years. Sheinbaum plans to increase renewable energy usage while upholding Lopez Obrador's pledge to keep at least 54 percent of power generation in state hands. Despite offering few details of her energy plans, she has long been a fierce advocate for renewable energy. The budget constraints faced by Mexico, as well as its rising energy demand, suggest that should she take office, Sheinbaum will likely seek higher levels of private investment in the energy sector. As much as two-thirds of the Mexican energy market could be in the hands of domestic players by the time AMLO leaves office, providing Sheinbaum with some leeway to offer private companies a position in the market, particularly in renewables. If the Mexico City rooftop solar park is successful, it could encourage other cities worldwide to develop similar projects. While most solar farms are being developed in rural locations, across vast quantities of empty land, there is potential to develop projects in urban hubs to help boost clean energy production, reduce pollution, and reduce electricity bills. Some other cities have already launched city solar projects on a much smaller scale, with the potential to roll out more solar capacity. In Europe, the city of Brussels has developed a solar map, providing an estimation of the solar rooftop potential across the city, which can be accessed by residents and private companies. In 2022, in Oslo, Norway, the startup Over Easy Solar ran a pilot project using bifacial solar panels on a green roof (biosolar roof), to produce 5 kWp of clean energy. The rooftop was due to be expanded to a capacity of 50 kWp in 2023. Meanwhile, in Berlin, from 2023, new buildings must be fitted with solar PVs on the rooftop or facade. The panels must cover at least 30 percent of the gross roof area or equivalent space. Related: 2 Companies That Could Help Europe Win Its Energy War With Russia In the U.S., in 2023, the San Antonio City Council approved the largest municipal solar project in Texas to date. The council plans to invest $30 million in the installation of rooftop, parking and park canopy solar systems across 42 city facilities. The project is being developed in collaboration with Big Sun Solar and will support the citys 2040 goal of net-zero energy production in all municipal buildings. The project is expected to be complete by 2060. Despite the country facing a multitude of challenges in its energy sector, Mexico City is leading the way when it comes to urban solar power. The new solar city project could provide a blueprint for other cities to follow, both in Mexico and worldwide. Meanwhile, other cities in Europe, the U.S. and other parts of the world are developing their urban solar capacity on a smaller scale, with significant potential for expansion. ADVERTISEMENT By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Control of an $850 million gas-storage development in Uzbekistan linked to sanctioned Russian tycoon Gennady Timchenko, a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been transferred to an obscure offshore firm owned by an Uzbek political insider with whom Timchenko has commercial ties, an RFE/RL investigation has found. Expansion of the underground gas-storage facility at Uzbekistans largest gas field, near the town of Gazli in the southwestern Bukhara region, is overseen by a Russian-Uzbek joint venture called Gazli Gas Storage. The majority shareholder in the venture, launched in a secretive 2018 deal with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoevs administration, was the Russian company Forus, which RFE/RLs Uzbek Service last year found was owned by a proxy linked to Timchenko, a Kremlin insider who is under both U.S. and EU sanctions. But a new investment program authorized by Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov on February 14 revealed that the 60 percent stake in Gazli Gas Storage previously held by Forus had been transferred to a Hong Kong-based company called Daxon Holdings Limited. Corporate records reviewed by RFE/RLs Uzbek Service and Kristian Lasslett, a criminology professor at Ulster University, show that Daxons ultimate beneficiary is Uzbek energy tycoon Bakhtiyor Fozilov. An investigation by RFE/RLs Uzbek Service last year revealed that Fozilov is at the center of a Russian-Uzbek network of political insiders -- including relatives of former Uzbek security service officials -- profiting from Uzbekistans oil-and-gas sector. Related: 2 Companies That Could Help Europe Win Its Energy War With Russia Companies controlled by Fozilov, who serves as a key figure in Moscows energy ties with Tashkent, have received billions of dollars in contracts under Mirziyoev's energy program, the investigation found. That investigation, published in February 2023, also revealed that a secret Uzbek government report had warned that offshore control of the Gazli expansion placed the country's energy security at risk by giving control over the strategic asset to the Timchenko-linked Forus, which the authors called a company of "dubious origin." Fozilovs control of Gazli Gas Storage, in which Uzbek state energy monopoly Uzbekneftegaz has a 40 percent stake, is now held through a nesting doll of Hong Kong offshore companies. The secret report said the Gazli expansion, which envisions boosting storage capacity from 3 billion cubic meters of gas to 10 billion cubic meters by 2025, did not make economic sense, an assessment echoed in a confidential report by Boston Consulting Group that called the project "impractical." Related: How To Profit From Europes $800 Billion Energy Crisis Daxon, the 60 percent shareholder, is owned by three other Hong Kong-incorporated companies: Kenfame Limited and Denmount Limited, which are owned by Fozilov and hold 34 percent and 33 percent stakes in Daxon, respectively; and Sunworth Limited, which holds the remaining stake and is owned by Fozilovs cousin, Sanjar Samiev. Kenfame Limited was founded by Russian businessman Ivan Yegorov, who was identified in an August 2023 investigation by the Dossier Center as a business partner of Timchenko, a longtime close associate of Putin. The investigation by RFE/RLs Uzbek Service last year revealed that the founder of Forus, along with the Russian firm with which the Uzbek state partnered on the Gazli expansion, was a legal assistant named Aida Chachkhalia who has multiple ties to Timchenko and who was the sole Forus shareholder until December 2021. Yegorov later obtained a 34 percent stake in Forus, while Fozilov and an anonymously owned Cypriot company called Kunlun Red Star Investment each took 33 percent stakes, the Dossier Center investigation reported, citing financial filings for Forus. Following the Dossier Center investigation, the Ukrainian government imposed sanctions on Yegorov, citing his role in allegedly helping Timchenko evade sanctions. Fozilov and Timchenko have other commercial ties as well. Fozilov is chairman of Eriell Group, a monopoly contractor in the Uzbek state energy sector that he previously owned through an offshore company together with Gazprombank and a Russian company called AMGA Consulting that shares a Moscow address with companies owned by Timchenko and his son-in-law. The United States and the European Union have escalated their punitive sanctions targeting the Russian political and business elite following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine that Putin launched in February 2022. The expansion of Uzbekistans largest underground storage facility comes amid increased imports from Russian state gas giant Gazprom, which the Kremlin has used as a geopolitical lever in its dealings with consumers in Europe and the former Soviet Union. Gazprom is set to deliver 2.8 billion cubic meters of gas to Uzbekistan annually through 2025 under a deal signed with Tashkent last year. RFE/RLs Uzbek Service sought comment from Fozilov, Timchenko, Uztransgaz, and the Uzbek government about Daxons new role as controlling shareholder of Gazli Gas Storage. None responded in time for publication. ADVERTISEMENT By RFE/RL More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: () If you drive on Okinawas Route No. 6. a coastal road in Onna village that runs by zip-line park Forest Adventure, you may spot a statue that stands tall by the sea. I recently spotted it on my way back from Cape Maeda, which is only a few minutes away by car. Although I could not find any information on the exact height of the statue, it appeared to be around 10 feet or even more when I looked at it up close, much bigger than Nikola Jokic or Shaquille ONeal. This is a statue of Shinran Shonin, a Buddhist monk who is recognized as the founder of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism. According to a plaque posted nearby, it was donated by Ehon Numata, a founder of precision equipment maker Mitsutoyo Corporation, his son and then company president Toshihide Numata in 1980 to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the renowned monk. Being successful men in business, the Numatas were also known as avid preachers of Buddhism. Shinran Shonin, on the other hand, is a historic figure who commonly appears in Japanese history books. According to Shinshu-Kaikan, a temple in Tokyo, Shinran was born in 1173 during the Heian period (794 - 1185). He engaged in making Buddhism widely accessible to ordinary people, upholding the idea that anybody could be saved by devoting himself or herself to a Buddhism chant. His effort was met with opposition from other sects who believed that people could be saved only after they went through arctic training. Shinrans interpretation of Buddhism became so popular that he and his master, Hounen Shonin, the government banished them to Echigo (now known as Niigata prefecture) and Tosa (Kochi prefecture), respectively. Although he suffered many hardships because of his beliefs, Shinran Shonins philosophy has been passed down through generations, inspiring many Buddhists even today. There are no direct ties between Shinran Shonin and Okinawa (or Ryukyu). It was his hope for peace that Numata chose this location in Onna Village where gun batteries were installed during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, according to the plaque. Next time you drive by the coastal area, why not make a stop to meet this larger-than-life figure? Not only the size of his statue but also the scale of his legacy can impress you. GPS Coordinates: 26.433520, 127.759556 *Theres an open lot nearby where cars park. For the grand marshal of this years Omaha St. Patricks Day Parade, Saturday was a day to celebrate Irish culture, remember the fight for freedom the Irish faced a century ago and show support for those facing a similar fight in Ukraine. Crowds dressed in green lined the streets of downtown Omaha Saturday morning for the annual parade hosted by Omahas chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Dr. Rich Fitzgerald, whos been a member of the Hibernians for 40 years, was this years grand marshal. Its a great honor for me, he said. Its always a lot of fun; its just a happy parade. The parade made its way through the Old Market, first heading east down Harney Street to 11th Street, and then south on 11th Street to Howard Street and then west on Howard. It took over an hour for the dozens of parade entries to make their way along the route. The parade featured local officials, including Mayor Jean Stothert, Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer and U.S. Rep. Don Bacon. There were also dancers, bagpipers, Star Wars cosplayers and racers from the Tangier Shrine circling the street in mini cars. Many attending the parade noted the sunny weather. While it felt a bit chilly in the shade with temperatures in the upper 30s and 40s, it was much more pleasant than the freezing rain that put a damper on last years parade. Tim McNally of Omaha said he enjoys watching the parade each year. He said he was looking forward to seeing this years parade entries, including the slew of political candidates that come with an election year. McNally said he also appreciates seeing others enjoy the parade. The kids, you know, they all get so excited, he said. Hopefully no one gets run over from grabbing candy. While Saturday was a time for celebration, Fitzgerald said he wanted to raise awareness about the ongoing war in Ukraine during the parade. Fitzgerald waved a Ukrainian flag and invited members of the Ukrainian-American Association of Nebraska and the local Ukrainian Church to walk alongside him. Anne Knape was among those walking alongside Fitzgerald and said she hoped their presence could help remind people that the war in Ukraine is ongoing. Its something that we want to just make sure that we arent losing sight of, because its very much still a presence in all of our lives and certainly a presence in the global scheme of things, she said. So were just very grateful that we got invited to share our pride. Fitzgerald said he sees many similarities between the Irish and Ukrainians, as the Irish fought against the British in the Irish War of Independence from 1919 to 1921. Like the Ukrainian fight against Russia, the Irish were also fighting a large military power to their east, Fitzgerald said. The Irish feel a real strong bond with what the Ukrainians have been going through, he said. Because 100 years ago that was what the Irish were going through. Fitzgerald said he knows of many Irish and Irish Americans, who like him, empathize with the Ukranians fight. Support of the Ukrainians is about the most Irish thing I could do in 2024, he said. Photos: 2022 St. Patrick's Day in Omaha LINCOLN As Nebraskans prepare to set their clocks forward an hour, state lawmakers are seemingly done with debating an end to the practice. The Nebraska Legislature rejected two proposals this year that could have moved the state away from making the shifts to and from daylight saving time. Legislative Bill 143, which supported a yearlong daylight saving time, failed on a 14-25 vote. An amendment that would have enacted a year-round standard time got more votes, but also failed on a 19-25 vote. Daylight saving time was first used in the U.S. in 1918 as an energy-saving measure during World War I and became a legal requirement for states in 1966. Nebraska, like most states, will switch to daylight saving time on Sunday, and return to standard time Nov. 3. Daylight saving time requires people to set their clocks ahead by an hour; standard time requires them to set them back by an hour. Former State Sen. Tom Briese of Albion introduced LB 143. He also had introduced a similar proposal in 2021. After Briese resigned from the Legislature to become state treasurer, Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln picked it up. He had argued that preserving the same time year-round was beneficial to public health and said there were economic benefits linked to a permanent daylight saving time. Both times, his bills were met with mixed reviews from the Legislature. If LB 143 had passed, daylight saving would have become permanent in Nebraska only if federal law changed to allow it, and once three neighboring states passed similar legislation. So far, two bordering states have made that move Colorado and Wyoming along with 17 other states. Under federal law, states have the choice between changing their clocks twice a year, or sticking with standard time year-round. Hawaii and Arizona are the only states that operate on permanent standard time. Dont mess with our time vs. much to-do about nothing Both of Brieses bills appeared to have broad support from state senators who liked the idea of no longer adjusting their clocks and believed their constituents wanted the Legislature to act on the issue. One thing Ive learned loud and clear from my constituents is: Dont mess with our time, Sen. Mike Jacobson of North Platte said earlier this year. Other lawmakers said they supported maintaining the same time year-round, but preferred standard time over daylight saving time. Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard, who proposed the amendment to LB 143, argued that a permanent daylight saving time could have negative health effects, noting that the sun would rise as late as 9:10 a.m. on some days. He said that would be detrimental to students who would have to travel to school in the dark, and would disrupt peoples sleep cycles. But other lawmakers said they didnt think Nebraska needed to change anything. Sen. Robert Clements of Elmwood said he liked the way things were, and new Sen. Fred Meyer of St. Paul who replaced Briese said he didnt believe many Nebraskans cared about daylight saving time, calling LB 143 much to-do about nothing. If only things in our daily lives were as simple as changing our clocks twice a year, Meyer said. I know my life is much more complicated than that. Theres much bigger issues than changing clocks. Meyer and Clements views were met with some criticism, including in letters to The World-Heralds Public Pulse. In their letters, several Nebraskans wrote about their distaste of changing their clocks over the last decade. Do you think Nebraska should get rid of daylight savings? You voted: Yes No Vote View Results Back Lisa Todd of Papillion said lawmakers who voted against LB 143 were out of touch with their constituents, and expressed disbelief that some senators would think Nebraskans didnt care about this issue. What constituents did you talk to, and how can you be so out of touch with the voters you represent? Todd wrote. I cant find anyone in my area who is not totally frustrated with the changing of our clocks twice per year. Dont forget to set your clocks forward an hour Sunday. Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of February 2024 Nebraskas prison system relies on inconclusive drug field tests that sometimes yield inaccurate results to discipline inmates suspected of harboring contraband, according to a report from the Legislatures prison watchdog. Prison investigators routinely use the presumptive field testing devices to build internal discipline cases against inmates without seeking confirmatory testing, a practice that runs counter to warnings in the user manual for the field tests, according to the report from the Office of the Inspector General of the prison system. The Department of Correctional Services use of the tests raises concerns over the fairness and credibility of the prison systems disciplinary process and increases the likelihood that people will be punished including spending more time in prison for something they did not do, Inspector General Doug Koebernicks office warned in the 26-page report published recently. Inspectors pointed to four cases in which the use of the field tests, which are similar in appearance and function to at-home pregnancy and COVID-19 tests, brought disciplinary action or other consequences to inmates who were never definitively proven to be in possession of contraband. Department investigators use the tests to screen for drugs including synthetic marijuana often called K2 or spice that can be distributed via pieces of liquid-soaked paper smaller than a pinky finger, according to the report. Lancaster County prosecutors have routinely filed criminal charges against prison visitors who are caught allegedly trying to smuggle K2-soaked paper to inmates at Lincoln prisons. Those charges are only filed after tests run by the State Crime Lab confirm the presence of of K2. The prison system used to follow the same process for internal discipline of inmates, sending suspected contraband to the crime lab for confirmatory testing. But in early 2018, in the face of an increased volume of requests that accompanied the emergence of K2 in state prisons, the lab notified prison officials that they would only test samples that were tied to a death or illness, were in large quantities or could be directly tied to a criminal prosecution, according to the report. It is unclear what, if any, efforts (prison officials) undertook to identify other sources of confirmatory testing, Koebernicks office wrote. The Department of Correctional Services has instead relied only on the field tests to build discipline cases that can ultimately extend the period of time an inmate spends behind bars. In one case examined by the inspectors in Koebernicks office, an inmate at the Community Corrections Center-Omaha a low-security prison where inmates are often allowed to participate in work-release programs and other community outings while incarcerated received a misconduct report for possessing what he said was body oil he had received from a relative. A field test indicated a positive detection with possible substances detected including fentanyl, according to the report. The inmates request for an independent test of the liquid was denied. After inspectors in Koebernicks office inquired about the case, the states deputy director for prisons, Robert Madsen, told inspectors that a second field test of the body oil was inconclusive and an initial guilty verdict in the inmates misconduct case was reversed. But more than a year had passed between the initial misconduct report and the follow-up test that cleared the inmate of wrongdoing, according to the inspector generals report. And because of the initial misconduct report based on the presumptive field test the inmate had already been reclassified and transferred to the states Work Ethic Camp in McCook, a facility with a higher custody level than the Omaha facility where he had been housed. His transfer wasnt reversed when his guilty verdict was. He was paroled from the McCook facility months later. In another case, an inmate at Omahas low-security community corrections facility was transferred to the medium-security Omaha Correctional Center after he received a misconduct report alleging he had tea bags soaked in K2, according to the inspector general report. The inmate was found guilty of possessing the contraband through the departments internal discipline process and appealed the ruling, requesting an independent test at his own expense. The prison systems Appeals Board denied his request, calling the presumptive positive test sufficient evidence of a rule violation and noting that inmates dont have a right to independent confirmation testing under the states administrative code. Koebernicks office noted that under state law, incarcerated people are entitled to confirmatory testing when prison investigators test their bodily fluids for suspected drug presence a right that Nebraska law does not extend to testing items in inmates possession. Nebraskas prison systems reliance on presumptive tests, though, is in conflict with warnings issued by the test manufacturers over the limitations of the tests and the potential for inaccurate results. In a user manual for MobileDetect tests the brand of test used most often within the prison system the manufacturer notes that a positive test indicates only that a substance is presumed present and proper procedure should be followed for collecting evidence for further testing and confirmation with an accredited laboratory. Inmates who are disciplined based off the presumptive tests can lose up to six months of good time and face other collateral consequences that come with misconduct reports, including a removal from a work release or clinical programming and demotion to a more-restrictive prison, among others. Those collateral sanctions are noted on reports furnished to the Board of Parole, potentially impacting an inmates release date for presumptive but unconfirmed drug possession. Koebernicks office recommended the Department of Correctional Services revise its policies to allow for confirmation testing of suspected drug contraband, similar to what is permitted for urine tests, and inform inmates and prison staff accordingly. The inspectors also recommended the prison system update its disciplinary policy to require that misconduct reports should include other context which establishes substantial evidence of the offense rather than basing misconduct allegations primarily on inconclusive tests. Rob Jeffreys, the state prison systems director, took the recommendations under consideration, according to the report. A spokeswoman for Jeffreys did not respond to an email seeking further comment Friday. The African Development Bank on Friday concluded its Annual Meetings, amid growing consensus that regional integration is imperative to a new phase in African prosperity. Around 2,000 delegates gathered in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, to discuss ways to fast-track regional integration after the milestone African Continental Free Area (AfCFTA) was endorsed earlier this year. We have had an excellent exchange with all of our shareholders. They were extremely impressed by the work achieved by the Bank, particularly in terms of regional integration, said African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina at the closing press conference of the Meetings. The theme for the Malabo Meetings was Regional Integration for Africas Economic Prosperity. Cesar Mba Abogo, the countrys Minister of Finance, said the Annual Meetings had allowed its country to showcase its opportunities. This has been a great moment for us. It fits in with our development plan and our investment needs. This is a country that is open for business and open to everyone. We are extremely happy to showcase what we have to the world, he said. During the Meetings, the Board of Governors discussed the Banks performance, outlook and a proposed General Capital Increase (GCI). ALSO READ: Oil prices surge on reported tanker attacks Adesina welcomed the solid support from the Banks shareholders, who gave the go-ahead for further discussions around a GCI. Responding to a question on the Banks support to fragile nations, Adesina said: Every dollar that the Bank spent in GCI led to $17 of benefit to low-income countries. So the GCI not just for rich countries, it lifts everybody up. He said the Banks transition facility continued to assist countries emerging from conflict, while its investments played a strategic role in helping countries that find themselves in the triangle of disaster unemployment, poverty and environmental degradation. The four-day Annual Meetings were attended by ministers, government officials, African Union representatives, development partners and civil society leaders, who gathered to deliberate on the continents development agenda. The next Annual Meetings will be held in Abidjan, Cote dIvoire, in May. Post Views: 112 By Chigozie Okafor Gov Soludo has made yet another big news by appointing a non-indigene, Mr. Adebayo Ojeyunka from Osun State as Permanent Secretary in the state. This is a disruptive appointment coming from Governor Soludo and the civil service sector who made the appointments based on merit. Appointing Indigenes of Abia State, Mr. Joachin Achor as a permanent secretary in Anambra is yet another testament to the receptive nature of ndi Anambra. Even younger, very productive civil servants were appointed based on their exceptional abilities. This groundbreaking move by Gov Soludo highlights his commitment to breaking down barriers and promoting inclusivity in Anambra State. The appointments of non-indigenes and individuals from other states demonstrate a willingness to tap into talent from all corners of the country, rather than limiting opportunities to only those who hail from Anambra. The appointment of Mr. Ojeyinka from Osun State is particularly noteworthy as it breaks the traditional practice of reserving top civil service positions for indigenes only. This move sends a strong message that Anambra is open to all, irrespective of their state of origin. Furthermore, the appointment of Mr. Achor from Abia State is a clear indication that merit is the primary criterion for selection. This is a commendable departure from the dismal tradition of nepotism and favoritism that has plagued the Nigerian civil service for years. Human rights lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi on Friday called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to audit the financial transactions of all officials of government who served under former President Muhammadu Buhari. According to him, the demand became necessary following the startling revelations arising from the prosecution of ex-Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele by the anti-graft agency. Olajengbesi, the Managing Partner of Abuja-based law firm, Law Corridor, in a statement, commended the EFCC for exposing the alleged forgery of Buharis signature and that of a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, by the embattled former apex bank boss, who is enmeshed in a $6.2m fraud for foreign observers in the last poll. He said, The audacity of those in power and their criminal influence is becoming too much and must be stopped. The EFCC must not stop at just the former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele but should carry out an entire audit of principal actors who served under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. There should be deterrent for bad behaviour. Again, the case of the suspended Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Ahmad Salihijo over alleged N1.2bn fraud is fresh, and a pointer to the gross abuse of power by those who served under Buhari. Emefiele and all those who served under the Buhari administration should be properly audited and given a chance to clear their names as the corruption that manifested under that government is gargantuan. Already, three witnesses have testified against Emefiele with the latest being an EFCC official and a forensic document examiner, Bamaiyi Haruna, who told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama on Thursday that his analysis of some documents used to release $6.2m from the CBN in February 2023 showed that the documents were forged. The other witness was ex-SGF Mustapha, who also told the court that neither he nor ex-President Buhari were aware of the $6.2m, adding that Buharis signature was forged to move the money out. The third witness was a deputy director at the apex bank, Onyeka Ogbu. The EFCC, on June 18, 2023, arraigned Emefiele on amended 20 counts, in which he was accused of impersonating Mustapha to illegally move $6.2m from the CBN vault. In the charges, the EFCC alleged that on February 8, 2023, Emefiele connived with one Odoh Ocheme, who is now on the run, to obtain $6.2m from the CBN, claiming that it was requested by the SGF vide a letter dated 26th January 2023 with Ref No. SGF.43/L.01/. Related From Msurshima Andrew, Makurdi As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark the year 2024 International Women Day, (IWD) celebration, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Nigeria, has called on all to end the stereotypes that hold women and girls bound from reaching their potentials. In a statement signed by the AHF Advocacy and Marketing Manager, Dr. Steve Aborisade, and made available to newsmen in Makurdi, the organization said there was need for more inclusive and equitable world for women and young girls. He said this call cannot be over emphasized, particularly the need to shed the suffocating stereotypes, stigmas, and discrimination that keep women and girls worldwide from realizing their true potential and succeeding. He said for this years celebration , AHF planned engaging and purposeful conversations with Nigerian women across its 154 facilities in seven states of operation including Abuja FCT, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Cross River, Kogi and Nasarawa states respectively. Abosrisade acknowledged the incredible strides women have made towards equal rights, including access to healthcare, while remembering that the world still has a long way to go before women are empowered, safe, and healthy worldwide. According to him, the engagements with the women at these locations will empower women to take charge of their health while overcoming barriers to help them thrive. He said AHF Nigerias International Womens Day event also include Continuous Medical Education (CME) by AHF Nigeria state teams and psychosocial coping mechanisms to empower the women and enhance their resilience in the face of the daunting challenges many are faced with. He announced the distribution of free sanitary pads to the women during the engaging conversations in the respective states. The need for more inclusive and equitable world for women and young girls cannot be over emphasized, particularly the need to shed the suffocating stereotypes, stigmas, and discrimination that keep women and girls worldwide from realizing their true potential and succeeding. He quoted the AHF Nigeria Country Program Director, Dr. Echey Ijezie as saying that It is thus important to ensure that women have all they need to succeed, including equal access to health care, education, and employment, He explained that from the records obtained from UNAIDS, women and girls make up a disproportionate amount of people living with HIV globally. He noted that, in 2022, 4,000 girls and young women aged 15 to 24 worldwide acquired HIV every week, while International Womens Day was founded in 1911 and is observed annually on March 8. The day recognizes the political, cultural, and economic achievements of women to accelerate their rights. AHF created its Girls Act program, which works across nearly 40 AHF country teams, to help young women and girls stay HIV-free (or on treatment if HIV positive), keep them in school, and avoid unplanned pregnancies. AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is a global non-profit organization providing cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to over 1.9 million people in 46 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Europe, Abosrisade stated.. He disclosed that AHF are currently the largest non-profit provider of HIV/AIDS medical care in the world. The theme of this years international women day is Womens Empowerment = Healthy Women. Related The incident occurred during an event organized to mourn the tragic loss of her father, the banking mogul Herbert Wigwe, her mother, and her brother in a recent helicopter crash. Some Nigerians have called out Tochi Wigwe, the eldest daughter of Herbert Wigwe for not standing to greet Vice President, Kashim Shettima. The VP met with Tochi and her family members at an event organized to mourn the tragic loss of her father, the banking mogul Herbert Wigwe, her mother, and her brother in a recent helicopter crash. A Twitter user, who identified Tochi in a photo accepting a handshake while seated, expressed disapproval of her actions. In the post, the user wrote: Same Man, different regard. Whoever that girl is, she lacks proper home training. You dont shake a person old enough to be your father while sitting down. See reactions below: @Jeshdud said; She is grieving for heavens sake . No empathy. Na wa o. @Anonymous said; We are Africans, we hold our moral values high. Person wey dey cry still dey see road . That is how we say it in African. @N said; It is lack of ethics ,courtesy to sit while. someone is shaming you. Even in corporate world its wrong . Even whites you copy always stand to shake hands. @Emy said; In this context, i wont hold it against her. Maybe, she is just there but her mind is somewhere else. Alot is going through her mind right now. No mother nor Father or even brother to console her. She is just there on by herself grieving inside. Maybe she might not even want to be there if not that the situation warrants it. Dont forget some people are introverts by nature. so they don really flow with the crowd. @Zee said; Guys, Pls let the girl grieve! She just lost her Dad @Arinze figo said; Stand up and greet him for what? That respect kill all of you there. People talk to their God sitting, na this useless criminal we go hear word for. Go and force her to stand up na. Zulum made this disclosure while playing host to a team of diplomats, a UN delegation, and development partners in Maiduguri , the Borno State capital, saying that the exact number of the abducted women and girls is yet to be ascertained as no official communication has been made to his office. Following the abduction of over two hundred women and young girls from three Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Ngala, near the Nigeria-Cameroon border, Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has disclosed that some of the affected women and girls have chosen to return voluntarily to the bush. Zulum made this disclosure while playing host to a team of diplomats, a UN delegation, and development partners in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, saying that the exact number of the abducted women and girls is yet to be ascertained as no official communication has been made to his office. It has become no longer sustainable for us to keep the people at the IDP camps. But if the 19 of you here, 23 of you here, are willing to provide immediate support for us, bring the food items and we keep the food items, then we shall continue to keep the people like they are having a difficult time getting proud today. But the problem is that we have started experiencing donor fatigue. Most of the donors have left. Even for those that are around, the quantum of support that they are providing to the IDP camps has been reduced drastically. And then people now want to earn by themselves. A few days ago, I was at Mafa. Mafa is my local government. I was born and brought up there. Some women numbering about 500 demonstrated that they didnt want to live in the IDP. They want to go to the bush. We have to be very careful, he said. Zulum reiterated his administrations commitment to constructing 85,000 new houses in 66 communities in the state aimed at resettling IDPs and other victims of the Boko Haram insurgency. On Friday, March 8, the Lagos Police Commands Isheri Division operatives apprehended one Yusuf Jafar. The man was arrested in response to a distress call from a victim of a traffic robbery, who had been robbed at gunpoint. The Lagos State Police Command made this known on its X handle saying: Officers of Isheri Division, after receiving a distress call from a victim of traffic robbery who had been robbed at gunpoint, immediately mobilized to the scene and arrested one Yusuf Jafar m. A toy pistol and a knife were recovered from him. Investigation is ongoing. Hudu Kwasakwasa, a leader in the community, who confirmed the incident to journalists, said the bandits opened fire on the worshipers. On Friday, unidentified gunmen launched an attack on a mosque in Angwar Makera, located in the Kwasakwasa Community within the Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State, resulting in the tragic death of two individuals. The incident, according to reports, happened around 2 pm during the Friday prayers. Hudu Kwasakwasa, a leader in the community, who confirmed the incident to journalists, said the bandits opened fire on the worshipers. The two worshipers killed were among other Muslims attacked at the Jumaat Mosque in Angwar Makera when the bandits opened fire on them and abducted others today. The victims have been buried at Old Kuyello cemetery, he said. According to him, the people were in the second rakaat of the salat when they were attacked, which forced the remaining people to run for their lives. He added that a few days ago, the same bandits abducted about 9 people at a community called Angwar Kanawa under Kwasakwasa area. DAILY POST reports that the latest attack occurred barely 24 hours after the daredevil bandits abducted over 287 students in the neighboring Chikun Local Government Area of the state. When contacted by DAILY POST, the Police Public Relations Officer of the state, ASP Mansir Hassan said he was in a security meeting. He simply said, We are currently in a security meeting, when we are done, I will reach you with the report. On Friday, March 8, the Nigerian Army Women Command marked International Womens Day by paying a visit to the students of Government Girls Secondary School Dukpa in Gwagwalada, FCT. During the visit, they presented gifts to the young women in the school in commemoration of the day. The Army disclosed this in a statement on its X handle on Friday. Part of the statement reads: The Nigerian Army Women Command (NAWC) celebrated the #InternationalWomensDay today 8 March 2024 by visiting students of Government Girls Secondary School Dukpa in Gwagwalada, FCT to inspire them. The Commander Nigerian Army Women Command Brigadier General MI Amatso on behalf of the Command presented gifts to the young women in commemoration of the #IWD. In his remarks, Brig Gen Amatso encouraged the female students to emulate good leaders in order to become who they aspire to be in the future. He urged the students to take their studies seriously by paying more attention to their books and adhering to instructions given by the school authority. Gen Amatso further appreciated the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt Gen TA Lagbaja for his immense support in providing the necessary resources for Nigerian Army Womens Command to celebrate International Womens Day with a selected school. Muhammadu Yahaya, the Gombe State Governor, has been dragged to court for allegedly stopping the reconstruction work of the central mosque in the state. Joined as defendants in the suit filed by Tumu Community in the Akko Local Government Area is Emir of Pindiga, Ahmed Seyoji-Mohammed, the Attorney-General, Zubairu Umar, and the Commissioner for local government and community development, Abdulkadir Muhammed. Senator Danjuma Goje, who represents Gombe Central Senatorial district at the Nigerias upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly, was building the mosque before the project was halted. The plaintiff who are aggrieved residents filed the suit on behalf of the community to express their displeasure over the governors directive to stop the reconstruction of the Central Mosque. They want the court to restrain the governor or whosoever from interfering, stopping or disrupting the reconstruction of the mosque under whatever reason (s). Mohammed Yero, Bello Ali-Tumu, and Danjuma Mukhtari, who represents the Tumu Community in suit, also sought among other reliefs, an order of court restraining the defendants from depriving the community of the development initiative. Adamu Mohammed-Manga, an aide to Senator Goje, had recently alleged that the state government was frustrating the project in the community. According to Mohammed-Manga, the emir allegedly stopped the reconstruction of the Central Mosque located near his palace and that of Tumu over fear of the state governor, Yahaya. Mohammed-Manga said, The Emir has told me unequivocally that if he allows the project to be done by him, Governor Inuwa will dethrone him. The teenager was said to have been seen wandering on the streets of Abakaliki in Ebonyi State before he was rescued on February 4, 2024, at about 1 pm by the NSCDC in Ebonyi. The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Anambra State Command, successfully reunited 13-year-old Goodluck Onwe with his family after he had gone missing in Ebonyi State. The teenager was said to have been seen wandering on the streets of Abakaliki in Ebonyi State before he was rescued on February 4, 2024, at about 1 pm by the NSCDC in Ebonyi. This was disclosed in a press statement issued by the Anambra State Public Relations Officer of the agency, Okadigbo Edwin, on Friday. Related News Edwin said an investigation revealed that the said boy lived with a relative in Abakaliki but ran away from home with the intent to return to his parents in Aguleri, Anambra State. He said, Subsequently, the NSCDC, Anambra State Command, was contacted by the Ebonyi State Command to trace the origin and parents of the child. In response, the command made a frantic effort to locate his parents for identification and collection. After a detailed verification process, the boy has been handed over to Onwe Sabastine, his father. By Izunna Okafor, Awka The Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has expressed his confidence in the complete transformation of Onitsha, the commercial hub of the state, and its environs to give the inhabitants better living. Governor Soludo disclosed this during a recent inspection of some ongoing road projects in Okpoko and Onithsa, where he also declared that the commercial city was not irredeemable. The inspection came barely two weeks after the Governor terminated a contract with a previous contractor handling some of the ongoing road projects in the area due to unsatisfactory performance, and the consequent engagement and deployment of new contractors. The Governor who took to his social media handle to remark on the outcome of the inspection, expressed his optimism and delight with the performance of the current contractors, whom he said are frantically biting the bullet to ensure the people get nothing short of the best from a government they trust. He further reiterated his administrations long-term vision for improved living standards in Okpoko and Onitsha, while also re-emphasizing the governments commitment to strengthening infrastructure, particularly in the neglected areas of the state. Onitsha is not irredeemable, neither is Okpoko beyond salvation. From Obodoukwu road to other adjoining streets of Okpoko, I am certain that the over 15km of road intervention we are making will change the totality of its urbanscape. Onitsha is fast wearing a new look. For us, this revolution must continue. It shall become a fresh beginning for our people who deserve nothing but the good life. May Anambra continue to Win! the Governor wrote on his verified social media handle. Related Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, former Governor of Rivers State and former Minister of Transportation and Governor Siminalayi Fubara were for the first time today, Saturday March 9, seen in public exchanging pleasantries at funeral service for the late Herbert Wigwes at Isiokpo,Rivers State. The venue of meeting of the incumbent Fubara and former Governor Amaechi is at ongoing final funeral service for the late CEO of Access Bank Herbert Wigwe, his son and wife at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Lion of Judah Parish, Isiokpo. Amaechi and Governor Fubara exchanged pleasantries and shook hands as they met at the funeral ceremony to the admiration of onlookers, especially their political loyalists. Recall just after the February and March general elections of 2023, Amaechi, (who was called to Bar a two days ago as a lawyer), had stayed off politics and refused to be entangled in the political fights between Fubara and his immediate predecessor, Nyesom Wike who is now the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja. He had also also refused to be entangled in the All Progressives Congress, APC, and Peoples Democratic Party PDP brawls in Rivers State. It was therefore a pleasant surprise to see Amaechi and Fubara exchanging handshakes publicly. It is significant to know the Amaechi is an Ikwerre from Ubima in Ikwerre local government Council Area, while Fubara is Ibani(Ijaw) from Opobo in Opobo Nkoro local government area of Rivers State. So many are antsy. So many are angry. But so few know what RUGA will wreak when it spins into a reality in the South. In the social media, fire and brimstone are flaring daily. Facebook is aflame, splitting the nation as Words are now swords. They are cutting tribes and faiths apart to the marrow. Twitter is quiversful with its darts. WhatsApp groups grieve and gang up. The RUGA idea is coming across as a welfare scheme to herdsmen. Many perceive it as a ploy to give the Fulani a hegemonic edge over the rest of us. The federal government says it is voluntary. The Taraba State, by its rhetoric, expresses fears that it is a fiat. Benue State streets are in the early stages of combustion with placards of protests over RUGA settlements in some local government areas. So much is the fury that even the Vice President has had to dissociate his office from the scheme without condemning it. The federal ministry of agriculture coiled away from a scheduled press conference. The most apparent silence is from the presidency that would not state in clear terms what it thinks about what the rest of the country is thinking. Suspicion has wired the country. The augury is inauspicious. My own take is very simple. I call it a tit-for-tat federalism. If the federal government would unfurl billions of the nations resources to help a group set up colonies, or what it sees as autonomous settlements for a group of economic and ethnic adventurers in other lands, lets democratise the idea. You can start from my ethnic group, the Itsekiris in Delta State. We are stately dancers, our language is lyrical, our pride stout. To the best of my knowledge we live in every part of Nigeria. So, every Itsekiri man and woman who lives everywhere ought to be given a parcel of land in very state from Sokoto State to Ogun State. A budget should be assigned to us, so we decide what we want to do with it. Our cuisine is delicate and benumbing, and we can start to evangelise the great and vibrant epaulets of the Itsekiri values. We can teach locals of our proud history, the majesty of our dances, the brilliance of our imagination, build schools dedicated to Dore Numa, Nana and others, revive our architecture and show how that great tribe overwhelmed much of what is called the Niger Delta today. We can proselitise how we dared the British in the 19th century with the genius of our generals, ethos of our nationalist virtues, a mammoth blockade that paralysed the British almost out of their wits. Professor Obaro Ikime, alumnus of Government College Ughelli, where I also attended, will have his book on this subject revived with a special fund to sell this noble heritage of which we are proud. Then, of course, the land of Kaaro Ojire will also come up with its template. Although quite a few vocal members of the group have called for a true brand of federalism, they know that people of the Yoruba stock, just like the Fulani, abound not only all over the country, but also around West Africa. They too can ask for their own lands, where some of them can set up factories and industries, from fabric to complete chain of the agricultural process that stretches from farm to factory to the market. Few know that they make Kolanuts. It is the nut of unity. They make it, the Hausa-Fulani consume it, the Igbos divinise it.He who brings kola brings life. The Yoruba brought Kola, and the life of unity. Why not make it a national treasure with federal funding? The Yoruba, always with imagination, can do a lot to change the flavour of the economy. After all, the Southwest is the wealthiest region in the country. Why not give them the lands by fiat so they can also colonise a few territories and import its commercial wizardry to the benefit even of the citizens in Kano or Kebbi? Igbo kwenu! Known for their trading tackles, we can use much of their genius in turning two Naira to two billion Naira. They have been doing so without federal dollars. This is the time to take advantage. After the civil war, the Igbos were left to their own devices. No one gave them money to start businesses. They returned to Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, Port Harcourt, and within a few years, businesses whirled into profits. Imagine if Governor Ikpeazus idea cruises under a national impetus.The Abia State governor has been in the forefront of galvanising anonymous Igbo geniuses in Aba. He wants to make their inventiveness into cottage industries first, and later flower into bowers of commerce. A lot of federal support can import these youths of promise to every state, so those products that many see as imitation will become the envy of the originals. After all, that was how Japan and Taiwan became Trojans of global commerce. We cannot say enough of the Edo. Forget the impunity of its governor with a contrived legislature. The Edos, also a mini-Nigeria, have been a bastion of arts and furniture, an industry also troubled as the herdsmen are troubling us. Imagine all the geniuses in Edo furniture have money to design and carve chairs and upholstery, instead of the millions the elites pay to import. Also the western world swoons over Edo artworks, from Oxford to Berlin to New York. The Ijaw, with fishing acumen, ought to enjoy special allocation, so they go all over the country to fish. Even where there are dry lands, we can make artificial lakes. Where the lakes are abandoned, we can revive them in places like Kano, stock them with fish and allow them to grow into fishing centres all over the country, whether in Borno or Benue. With this federal arrangement, no one would pitch any hate at the RUGA plan as hegemonic or fulanisation. It will be either mutually assured benefit or destruction between south and north, between tribe and tribe, between faiths. Either an embrace for warmth or suffocation. In the north, the sabon gari will have special funding, just as the Hausa quarters like the one near my childhood church in Warri will enjoy same. RUGA as a ploy will become a ruse. This way, we can reinvent the Bororo lifestyle by making every tribe a sort of Bororo. Bard as wayfarer Since we are in the mood of satire today, lets refer to a master. Just before the COZA firestorm, Professor Wole Soyinka spun a tale of a modern-day wayfarer online. In a business class cabin, Soyinka had occupied a seat, before a youngster, described by oil baron Tonye Cole as all biceps and tattoo, appeared and asked the prof to leave his window seat. The man insisted in spite of pleas. Soyinka rose for him. The picture of Soyinka on the seat with the shadowy face of the impudent fellow is on facebook. A fellow claimed he was the one and that he had a charming chat with the bard, and the bard told him he would do the same if he were the young guy. He also reported that he went to research Soyinka, implying he did not know of him, and he claimed to be a teacher at a faceless university abroad. Soyinka responded to Mo Abudu that he had no such exchange with the fellow and they never even spoke. No one is sure if the so-called report and the name are fiction. Some rude fellows applaud the man of biceps, while wise men and women said he should have shown respect and left the prof there. He is not only Soyinka, he will soon be 85. Here comes the classic. Soyinka turned the episode into a work of art. Here him: I dont know how much airlines succeed in raising for their charity drives through those envelopes they distribute to passengers into which their captive donors are exhorted to deposit their loose change before disembarking. Such monies are then distributed to worthy causes all over the world, especially in the pursuit of health. What I am convinced of is that they would generate a hundred times more if they were creative. For instance, they could impose a fine on passengers who take the wrong seat on boarding, even for a second. One can only rejoice in the thought of such benefits to humanity in its efforts to eradicate all kinds of diseases, especially malnutrition, and ensure the supply of nutrients that prevent the premature onset of brain impairment. Those who permit themselves to be persuaded, even for one second that I, Wole Soyinka, having wrongly identified a seat number like millions of travellers all the time, and all over the world, would then attempt to consolidate the error in any form, through act, word, gesture, qualify to be the first beneficiaries of this vastly improved humanitarian policy. The bard, with a playful self-indictment, mocks all those who have made a storm out of a seat change. Especially the part about brain impairment. Kudos Prof. Your words set forth like dawn. According to a statement by the media office of the NGF, this was disclosed in a presentation made by the research director of the Fiscal Policy Roundtable of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group, NESG, Mr. Tayo Oyedele, yesterday at the Nigeria Governors Forum Secretariat in Abuja. Oyedele, who was in the company of the chairman of the Fiscal Policy Roundtable, FPR, Dr Sarah Alade, had paid a courtesy call on the director-general of the Nigeria Governors Forum, Mr. Asishana Bayo Okauru, to solicit an opportunity to expose this sour narrative to the nations governors and seek their involvement to correct the ills that are denying the country of its collectible revenues. The director of Research who condemned the seeming national apathy of Nigerians on payment of taxes said that figures available to him reveal that there are 20 million registered taxpayers in the country, scoffing at the figure which seems paltry compared to the presumed nations population of nearly 200 million people. While explaining the concept and reasons adduced to the nations low tax moral, the NESG buff disclosed however, that nearly 85% of those who deem it unnecessary to pay taxes to the government willingly pay same to non-government actors. This ironic twist, the NESG attributed to the distrust that pervades the environment when it comes to paying taxes, dues and levies to a government that does not command the public trust. Of the tiers of government on whose shoulders tax collection is reposed, the research showed that Local Governments and their officials are among the most untrustworthy, followed by state governments and then the tax officials themselves. Many believe that it is unwise to pay taxes to entities that do not translate taxes to services or to officials who diverted same to personal use, Oyedele said, while insisting that there were nonetheless 17% of the population who see the payment of taxes as a civic duty which all must perform. Maintaining that there were 354 taxes in Nigeria, which create duplicity of taxes and favoritism on where to audit and where not to audit, not minding the unprofessional conduct of tax collectors, who sometimes threaten the public, NESG also regretted that the penalties for non-payment of taxes in Nigeria were not only unhurtful and not punitive enough, but that the processes of penalizing reluctant taxpayers were selective. The NESG therefore recommended that it would have been better if the country minimised the tax regimes of the country from 354 to only 10, abrogating such meaningless taxes as the ozone layer tax which the population can hardly fathom. According to the research as narrated by the NESG, personal income taxpayers would have been happier to pay their taxes if education, health and infrastructural provision were raised to global standards, while corporate taxpayers would love to see electricity, roads and security improved. The director-general of the NGF said the situation is a looming calamity which must be addressed forthwith, while thanking the NESG group for bringing this horrendous narrative to the knowledge of the forum. Nigerian Government says American rapper, Lil Wayne, is welcome to visit the country anytime he wants in reaction to the rappers revelation that he traced his original roots to Nigeria. KanyiDaily had published a video where Lil Wayne revealed that he checked his ancestral background and found out that he is 53 percent Nigerian. Lil Wayne also showed an interest to visit Nigeria snd see how the country is. Reacting on her Twitter page, the chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri, said the Nigerian government is looking forward to welcoming Lil Wayne anytime he decides to come. Our Nigerian brother . Many doing their DNA and identifying their roots. We look forward to welcoming him home someday soon, she wrote. Our Nigerian brother . Many doing their DNA and identifying their roots. We look forward to welcoming him home someday soon https://t.co/pSKluJhGmb Abike Dabiri-Erewa (@abikedabiri) February 5, 2020 KanyiDaily recalls that the Nigerian government also showed interest in having American female rapper, Cardi B, in the country. Cardi had declared her intention to seek Nigerian citizenship following the killing of Irans Quds Force Commander, General Qasem Soleimani in an airstrike that was ordered by President of United States, Donald Trump. A 19-year-old suspected internet fraudster, Chigemezu Arikibe, has been arrested by the police for allegedly swindling a Cambodian woman of the sum of $75,000 (N27 million at N360 to 1$). He was arrested by the operatives of the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team(IRT) led by Abba Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP). Punch reports that Arikibe defrauded the Combodian woman simply as Sophanmia by wooing her into relationship while parading himself on Facebook and Instagram as an American pilot working for a British airline. After establishing a relationship with the woman, Arikibe offered to send her expensive gift items and $500,000, for investment in real estate business in Cambodia. The suspect reportedly told Sophanmia that he would send the parcel to her through a courier in Indonesia and asked her to send $800 for the service. He was said to have contacted his friend in Indonesia to act as a courier agent and collect the money from his victim. After sending the money, Arikibe came up with excuses why the parcel could not be delivered and persuaded the woman to send more money accumulating into $75,000. She was said to have ended up paying the N75,000 in different installments, but the gifts and money did not get to her as promised. It was learnt the woman alerted the Nigeria Embassy in Cambodia when she discovered that the American pilot, communicating with her was calling from Nigeria and not the United States. The embassy was said to have alerted the Nigeria Police and operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team led by DCP Abba Kyari went after Arikibe. A police source told our correspondent that the suspect was trailed to the Mbaitoli area of Imo State where he is based. The suspect was arrested with the SIM card and the phone he used in committing the crime and when we went through the phone, we saw chats between him and the woman. Upon interrogation, the suspect confessed to everything and he also said there was a man in Indonesia who helped him pulled out the money from a USA bank account. He claimed to be an American and that was why he gave the woman an American bank account. The worst was that the woman went and borrowed the money from the bank, the source stated. Arikibe, while confessing to the crime, said he learnt Internet fraud from his friend within one week and he started on his own. He said: I attended Community School, in the Eziooha area of Mbaitoli and graduated in October 2018. It was Ugochukwu my friend who taught me how to do Internet fraud. I opened a fake Fakebook account with the name Frank William and on Instagram I was Patrick William. I uploaded the pictures of an American pilot on my fake Fakebook and Instagram pages. The pilot later discovered that I used his pictures and he started complaining. He even said he had been arrested three times by the police. My Facebook account was later blocked, then I focused on Instagram, where I met the client (Sophanmia). I followed her and we started chatting. I told her I am a pilot and we started discussing about life. I told her I wanted to send expensive clothes, shoes, wrist watches and the sum of $500,000 to her. I told her that the $500,000 would be invested in real estate business. The teenager explained that he sent pictures of the purported items and the money to the victim which convinced her to send money for the courier service. He added: I told her that I have sent the money through a courier company and she would have to pay customs tax. My friend in Indonesia acted like the courier company and they contacted her. She was given the first bill of $800 and she paid. My Indonesian friend called the woman again and told her that the goods had been seized and they told her to pay $2,700. She paid the money and they asked her to pay another money which was $6,200. She paid several other monies to have the goods released. She ended up paying $75,000 and I got my share. ALSO READ: United States Jails Woman After She Stole $200,000 To Give Her Nigerian Lover Who Is A Fraudster BLOOMINGTON A Normal man charged with weapons offenses was denied pretrial release on Friday. Michael T. Harris, 28, is charged with unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon and violation of the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act. The charges stem from a series of photos of Harris carrying weapons despite being a convicted felon, which prosecutors said he shared via Snapchat. Assistant Public Defender Matthew Butler argued it could not be determined conclusively that the weapons in the pictures were real firearms and there is no evidence to suggest any firearm was discharged. After his pretrial detention hearing was continued on Thursday, Judge Scott Kording ruled against pretrial release for Harris due in part to his lack of compliance to probationary sentences and the strength of the state's case. Harris' arraignment will be at 9 a.m. March 22. Updated mug shots from The Pantagraph Bryant Lewis Derek Roesch Justin M. Mata Marcus D. Wesley Phillip Tinch Trisha L. Hanke William B. Givens David L. Oliver Kenneth E. Funk Jordan R. King Holly M. Isaacson Kenneth L. Minton Tony L. Jackson Britley L. Hilger Jasmine L. Smith Jackie S. Claypool Noah R. Demuth Brandon L. Parsano Alexander N. Williams Carlos Sanchez-Solozarzano Jaylin S. Bones Jordan R. King Dominique M. Banks Austin T. Daugherty Sandra M. Lewis Samantha E. Morris Nolan C. Love Nikkita L. Sandefur Katlin M.B. Wilson Eli C. Garozzo Tysean T. Townsend Curtis J. Byrd Noral K. Nelson Charles J. Tankson Davis, Micah S Livingston, Joshua D. Kevin L. Ewen Emmanuel K. Mpay Ahmad S. Manns Dylan R Mann Tony L. Jackson William R. Linden Zadek U. Moen Zachary T. Willis Cecily M. Sexton Tonisha A. Jackson James A. McConnaughay Jessica M. Longberry Barry D. Guyton Keon E. Spiller Melina Aguilar Carlos D. Cregan Wayne M. Damron Terrance L. Ford Stanley M. Miller Darryl R. Vinson Jarvis K. Heads Wesley M. Noonan Brad Carter Brian K. Burnett Kenneth D. Downey Kenyon J. Bones Brittany N. Greiner Maylon Tate III Maylon Tate IV SPRINGFIELD By 2026, Chicago will have a fully elected school board for the first time in its history if Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs a measure that cleared both chambers of the General Assembly this week. Senate Bill 15, sponsored by Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, and Rep. Ann Williams, D-Chicago, would create 10 school board districts within the city containing two seats each. For nearly 30 years, the board has been a seven-member body fully appointed by Chicagos mayor. During the 2024 election cycle, the measure would also make one seat in each district subject to appointment by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. The mayor would be required to appoint a board president, and all members would serve a two-year term until the board becomes fully elected in 2026. Earlier disagreement among Democrats focused on the fact that some, including Harmon, would have preferred to see the board fully elected in November. But lawmakers were working ahead of an April 1 implementation deadline written into the 2021 law that initially created the elected board. The initial law, which needed General Assembly approval because it creates a new elected body, left steps such as drawing board districts to future legislation. SB 15 laid out the process that wasnt specified in the previous measure. Harmon said fully electing the board in 2024 would have been a better option, but that proposal met opposition in the House, as well as from Johnson and the Chicago Teachers Union. Under SB 15, the board would remain unpaid. But Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, said future legislation will determine issues such as potential board salaries and which legislative body has the authority to draw district maps moving forward. Stipends for student teachers A pair of competing bills in the House would, for the first time in Illinois, offer state-funded stipends for student teachers. Supporters of the idea say its needed to ease some of the financial burden on teachers-in-training, which some argue is one source of the states teacher shortage. Student teaching typically involves a full semester of on-the-job training in a classroom under the supervision of a licensed cooperating teacher. But while student teachers work similar hours as a full-time professional teacher, they are not paid for their labor and, in fact, have to pay full tuition and fees at their college or university to get credit for the experience. Some districts discourage student teachers from working outside jobs, although many say thats the only way they can make ends meet. Both bills call for paying stipends of $10,000 for a semester, the rough equivalent of $15 per-hour for 40 hours per week even though most student teachers say they work much more than that. Assuming an average of 5,400 student teachers per year, that would work out to $54 million in state funding needed to support the program. The major difference between the two bills is how the program would work in years when lawmakers dont fully fund the program. House Bill 4652, by Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, does not account for underfunding the program. An initiative of the Illinois Education Association, the states largest teachers union, it assumes lawmakers would fully fund the stipends each year. You all have constituent groups. Our constituency group is our aspiring educators, and they have said they want everyone to be paid for student teaching, IEA lobbyist Unique Mickens told a House committee Wednesday. House Bill 5414, an initiative of the advocacy group Advance Illinois, calls for paying the same $10,000 stipend to student teachers, plus another $1,500 to cooperating teachers, raising its total price tag to an estimated $67 million per year. But in years of underfunding, it would prioritize recipients on the basis of financial need, then focus on hard-to-fill subjects and areas of the state with the highest teacher vacancy rates. Both bills are pending in the House Higher Education Committee. Promoting local food sources Although Illinois is one of the nations leading agricultural states, it can still be a challenge for consumers here to shop for food that comes from local farms, dairies and ranches. The Senate Agriculture Committee heard testimony Thursday on two bills that seek to make Illinois-grown food more accessible to the states consumers. Senate Bill 3077, by Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, would establish a $2 million per-year grant program within the Illinois Department of Agriculture to help fund projects to enhance local food processing, aggregation and distribution within the state. Those could include projects such as food hubs, canneries, mills, livestock processing and other kinds of infrastructure that help move food from a farm to communities. And this is important because while we have some of the best farmland in the world, we don't actually have the infrastructure in place to feed ourselves, said Molly Pickering, deputy director of the Illinois Stewardship Alliance. Ninety-five percent of the food that we eat here in Illinois is imported from out of state. That means every dollar that anyone spends on food is not going into our local communities. It's being exported. Senate Bill 3219, by Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, would establish another kind of grant program through the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to help fund equipment upgrades at farmer-owned grocery stores. Jenny Sauer-Schmidgall, who runs a small store on a farm that she and her husband operate in west-central Illinois, said its a concept that has been growing in popularity around the country. The heart of the home is the kitchen, she said. Food brings everybody together. And it would just be really amazing to see the farmers stores be a part of a community and keep everything there. Both bills advanced out of the Senate Agriculture Committee Thursday and could be taken up soon by the full Senate. Reducing plastic People who travel frequently and stay in hotels may have noticed that the small bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash have become less common and are being replaced by larger, refillable containers attached to the shower wall. So far, thats been a trend that the hotel industry has been adopting voluntarily, but it soon could become mandatory in Illinois. Senate Bill 2960, by Sen. Laura Fine, D-Glenview, would create the Small Single-Use Plastic Bottle Act and phase out the use of those items in Illinois hotels. Large hotels with 50 or more rooms would have until July 1, 2025, to comply with the law while smaller hotels would be given one additional year. Keenan Irish, who lobbies for the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association, said the industry believes sustainability initiatives like the elimination of single-use plastic are important in demonstrating a commitment to the environment. The hotel industry recognizes its responsibility to lead the way in adopting environmentally friendly practices, he told the Senate Environment and Conservation Committee Thursday. Transitioning away from these bottles is a pivotal stride towards mitigating the environmental harm they cause. Some on the committee, however, questioned why a law was necessary if the industry was adopting the practice voluntarily. Part of the industry is doing it but not all of the industry is doing it, Fine said. And this will encourage others who are not to hop on board and join us. The bill advanced out of committee and could be taken up soon by the full Senate. Photos: Pritzker Military Archives Center President Ronald Reagan is remembered as one of Americas greatest presidents. He oversaw the end of the Cold War, creating an exceptional period of peace and an unparalleled economic boom. His policies made Americans safer and more prosperous. He has an almost mythical place today in the minds of many Republicans and the political class. Yet many who celebrate Reagans achievements fail to acknowledge similar accomplishments made under former President Donald Trump. They perpetuate the misapprehension that the modern-day Republican Party is somehow vastly different from the 1980s Grand Old Party. As Chris Christie recently said, Ronald Reagan would not have recognized the Republican Party. Hes wrong. His comment and others like it are the byproducts of a bizarre revisionist history. The essence of modern Republicanism has not changed, just the tone and tenor of some of the messengers. Being a Republican today remains deeply rooted in the same bedrock ethos of yesteryear: personal responsibility and government accountability. From there, all else is derived limited government, a free-market economy, secure borders, safe cities and peace through strength. Detractors decry todays Republican Party as being corrupted by anti-immigration and pro-authoritarian stances. This fails to recognize that whats happening at the border is not just immigration. Most Americans support legal immigration, as did Reagan. But 78% of Americans classify the border as either a crisis or a major problem, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center. Securing the border is a needed step to have a functioning immigration policy and remain a city on the hill to which people aspire to come. Similarly, the world is not all that different from the one Reagan inherited when he defeated President Jimmy Carter. Back then, the Soviet Union was expeditionary and expansive, Iran was emboldened and took aggressive action against the United States, and we faced a series of domestic economic problems. Reagan was elected in no small part because of a growing unease and mistrust of government. Americans were frustrated with big spending on social programs that had little effect or fiscal oversight. Bureaucracy was growing unchecked, which led to overregulation and hurt American workers. Blind investment in international agencies failed to meet American standards and principles. Sound familiar? Reagan upended his times existing state of affairs and was frequently lambasted for it. Many wear retroactive rose-colored glasses. But let's remember Reagan pulled the United States out of UNESCO, cut off U.S. contributions to U.N. funds and withheld dues. Reagan was criticized by his party as indulging the get-the-U.S.-out-of-the-U.N. syndrome. This is not dissimilar to Trumps White House suspending funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas recently pushed to hold UNRWA accountable in U.S. courts. Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas is calling for the chief of UNRWA to testify before Congress on their role in the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel. Reagan, like Trump, was distrustful of international agencies. Reagan withheld funds from the World Health Organization and criticized its bloat and bureaucracy. Disillusioned with unregulated foreign aid, Reagan argued for aiding our allies by sharing of our material blessings with those nations which share in our fundamental beliefs but against doling out money government to government, creating bureaucracy, if not socialism, all over the world. Reagan likewise railed against those who blame America for the ills of the world, no matter the bad actions of others. During his remarks at the annual dinner of the Conservative Political Action Conference, Reagan lauded his achievements: In five short years, we have seen the kind of political change rarely seen in a generation on nearly every issue: Federal spending, tax cuts, deregulation, the fight against career criminals and for tough judges, military readiness, resistance to Soviet expansionism, and the need for candor about the struggle between freedom and totalitarianism. Trump and the current Republican movement achieved nearly all of that in four. Reagan remarked in his farewell address to the nation, The fact is, what they called radical' was really right.' What they called dangerous was just desperately needed. Certainly, Trump does not always exemplify Reagans countenance as a happy warrior. Some of that may be specific to Trump, though we live in a coarser time. But when it comes to policy and a government vision, being a Republican means what it has always meant in the modern era. Its not the GOP thats lost its way. The High Court in Accra has ordered the transfer of Patience Botwe, a former househelp of Cecilia Dapaah, ex-Minister for Sanitation and five others from Police to prison custody. The presiding Judge, Justice Marie-Louise Simmons said all the accused persons should be remanded into prison custody except Sarah Agyei, the second accused who is a lactating mother. This decision follows a prayer by the Prosecution that, although they did not oppose to the bail application by lawyers of the accused persons, the accused persons are still in Police Custody as they have failed to execute their bails. The Prosecution led by a Senior State Attorney, Akosua Agyaponmaa Agyemang explained that, their contineous remand in Police custody has become burdensome to them. The accused persons are currently before the High court for their alleged involvement in the stealing of millions of cedis and other valuables at the residence of the former Minister. They were each granted to bail in the sum of Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand cedis (GHC 750,000) with two surities in November last year but have since not met their bail conditions. On other note the Prosecution has also filed a motion seeking an Order of restriction on the disposal of some properties which is said to be with the accused perosns. Justice Marie-Louise Simmons has adjourned the case for a case management conference (CMC) on March 15. Source: Philipa Atanga/Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Nigeria's spate of abductions worsened on Saturday as more than a dozen students and four women were kidnapped from a school in Gada, Sokoto. Local MP Bashir Usman Gorau told the BBC that 15 students were among those kidnapped early in the morning. Meanwhile, the army is still searching for hundreds of schoolchildren taken in the western town of Kuriga on Thursday. In an update, the state governor Uba Sani told the BBC that at least 28 of these children had escaped. Thursday's kidnapping - which saw 280 students taken - was the biggest mass abduction from a school since 2021. Gangs of armed men on motorbikes took primary and secondary school children between the ages of eight and 15, school authorities and parents said. Nigerian troops are working with police and local search teams to comb forests within the state of Kaduna, where Kuriga is located, as well as neighbouring states. Almost every family in the town is thought to have a child among those kidnapped. One pupil, believed to be 14 years old, who had been shot by the gunmen and was being treated in hospital, has since died. The kidnappings followed women and children taken from a remote town in Borno state the day before. Mr Sani said the lack of boots on the ground was the main reason for the rise in kidnappings in the area. Families of the abducted children have formed vigilante groups and are seeking help from neighbouring communities on the whereabouts of the children. Nigeria's Vice President Kashim Shettima is visiting Kaduna and is due to meet the governor. President Bola Tinubu said on social media he was confident the victims will be rescued. He tweeted: "Nothing else is acceptable to me and the waiting family members of these abducted citizens. Justice will be decisively administered." The Kaduna mass abduction has evoked memories of the nearly 300 girls in Nigeria's north-eastern town of Chibok in 2014. In parts of northern Nigeria, parents fear for their children's safety and are wary of allowing them to go to school. As a result, thousands of children are not attending school. The last major abduction of children in Kaduna was in July 2021 when gunmen took more than 150 students. They were re-united months later after their families paid ransoms. But in 2022, Nigeria passed a law banning ransom payments to kidnappers and imposed a 15-year jail term for making them. It also made abduction punishable by death in cases where victims die. 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 NDC Member of Parliament for Tamale South and former Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, has accused the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Bagbin, of going contrary to the 1992 constitution to re-compose the Parliamentary Service Board. According to the Tamale South legislator, Alban Bagbin failed to comply with Article 124 of the 1992 Constitution, which mandates the formation of a committee to advise the Speaker on re-composing the Parliamentary Service Board following a reshuffle in the Minority caucus leadership last year. Hon. Haruna Iddrisu expressed these concerns while a committee was being established to advise the Speaker on re-composing the Parliamentary Service Board after the recent changes in the Majority leadership in Parliament. He criticized the prolonged absence of the reconstituted board, chaired by the Speaker of parliament, Alban Bagbin. Haruna Iddrisu reiterated that no one, including Rt. Hon. Speaker, Bagbin, is above the 1992 Constitution. He said, The changes in the Minority leadership happened over a year ago, so over the year, what has the Parliamentary Service Board been doing with the Speaker as chair with the participation of Ato Forson? That is unconstitutional, illegal, and unacceptable. The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, is not above the 1992 Constitution. He is not above the constitution, and therefore, when we are talking about illegalities, I worry when they are unconstitutional. In a rebuttal, newly appointed Majority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin refuted Haruna Iddrisus claims, asserting that Speaker Bagbin followed due process in re-composing the Parliamentary Service Board. "The contention of my very senior colleague and respected Minority Leader who is arguing that this has rather come too late, it has not, and I will want to argue with you on that. When you left the chair, the needful, as you complained about, was done, and the record bears me out. You are arguing that constitutionally, why has Speaker [Alban] Bagbin breached the constitution, and I did contend that he has not? The former leader of this House did the needful. Source: Kobina Darlington/peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has said he is proud to have Prrofessor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang as his running mate for the 2024 general elections. In an X post, John Dramani Mahama wrote, I am proud to have Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang as my running mate. Her integrity, dedication, and vision for a better Ghana make her the ideal candidate to join me in leading our party to victory in the upcoming elections." The National Democratic Congress announced her selection on Thursday, March 7. According to the NDC, she is a distinguished academic and leader renowned for her dedication to education and public service. Having served as Minister for Education and as the first female Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, she has emerged as a trailblazer for women in leadership across Ghana. Her nomination underscores the party's unwavering commitment to inclusivity, diversity, and the empowerment of women in leadership roles. Possessing extensive qualifications and experience, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the NDCs presidential ticket. In the X post, John mahama expressed confidence in his running mate wrote. He said, I am proud to have Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang as my running mate. Her integrity, dedication, and vision for a better Ghana make her the ideal candidate to join me in leading our party to victory in the upcoming elections. In appreciation statement, she said, Today, I received the news of my confirmed selection as the Running Mate to His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, Flagbearer and Leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and incoming President of the Republic of Ghana with profound humility and great honour." It is worthy of note that this is the second time former President John Mahama has nominated me as his Running Mate. I express my eternal gratitude to him. By this choice, our Flagbearer has demonstrated remarkable consistency, an unwavering commitment to inclusivity and innovation, and an inspirational belief in the Ghanaian woman. I wish to convey my heartfelt appreciation to the NDC Council of Elders, the National Executive Committee, the rank and file of our party, friends, well-wishers and indeed all Ghanaians for the overwhelming support and endorsement. I am not one to take lightly the confidence reposed in me, neither am I oblivious of the national decay and widespread despondency in our beloved country. I express my absolute readiness and commitment to partner His Excellency John Dramani Mahama to serve the people of Ghana with integrity, dignity, truthfulness, hard-work and patriotism to reposition our dear country as a beacon of hope and opportunity. I have no doubt in my mind that we can count on His Excellency John Mahama to give us that selfless, incorruptible, visionary and inclusive leadership that Ghana urgently needs to transform the fortunes of Ghanaians. I shall give this noble task everything in me. Ghanaians are looking up to the NDC, and I firmly believe in our unflinching resolve and sacred pledge to work hard to build the Ghana we want together. Let us make history! Source: Kobina Darlington/peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Professor Vladimir Antwi Danso, Dean of the Armed Forces Staff and Command College, has urged ECOWAS and the African Union to take specific measures to neutralize the activities of the LGBTQ+ communities. Prof. Vladimir questioned the rationale behind the pressure being issued by some European diplomats. Speaking on United Television's 'Mpu ne Mpu' programme, Prof. Antwi Danso asked, "Why should LGBTQ be a variable for the determination of our international relations? It is a corrupt pressure that all of us must oppose." "We dont tell them what to do, so why should they dictate to us what we should do as a sovereign state? ECOWAS and the African Union must rise up to oppose this action before it becomes too late." "Why should someone come to dictate to us. We cannot all be Europeans, nor can we all be Africans. The specificities of our countries create the conditions for our choices. That is why the African Union and ECOWAS must stand firm to protect our culture." He added that the LGBTQ+ community is specific to Western countries. How is it being pushed to be legalized in Ghana? According to him, we must take a specific stand to neutralise the activities and demands of the LGBTQ+. He further added that there is no international law that gives any country the right to dictate to another country how to govern itself. Watch video below Source: Kobina Darlington/peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: In the future, summer houses and agricultural land in Jammerbugt Municipality will be even more exposed to flooding following heavy and continuous rain. Credit: Jammerbugt Municipality Susanne Nielsen realizes that it is probably only a matter of time before her parents' summer house at Slettestrand in North Jutland is affected by flooding. Because under the house, which is just 400 meters from the bay of Jammerbugt in the municipality of the same name, the groundwater level is now often so high that there is a risk that large amounts of rain will not be able to seep away, but rather enter the house. "It's a concern we have if we get a lot of rain," she admits. To give residents and decision-makers the best chance to protect themselves against flooding in the area, researchers from DTU have helped Jammerbugt Municipality develop an early warning tool. It can provide 48 hours' notice of local flooding along rivers, streams, and coastal areas in the municipality. It is the first of its kind to provide local flood warnings. "It will give us time to react if necessary, so it will be a huge help," says Susanne Nielsen from her home in Aalborgsome 40 kilometers away from the summer house which she looks after for her parents, who live in Norway. Complex nature, complex calculations The toola so-called "wet index"is based on artificial intelligence trained on freely available data on dynamics that influence the risk of flooding. Data comes from satellite imagery and weather forecasts, as well as information on ground and seawater levels and the topography of the landscape. However, the movement and accumulation of water in open landscapes are difficult to calculate because many parameters affect how water moves and accumulates. To handle this complexity, artificial intelligence was used in the development of the model behind the wet index. By utilizing specific design principles in the construction of the model and feeding it with carefully selected data, the researchers have incorporated an understanding of water movement, distribution, and interaction with the surrounding environment, according to Roland Lowe. He is one of the developers of the wet index and an Associate Professor at DTU specializing in how water behaves. Both ups and downs Jammerbugt Municipality tested the tool in 2023. The results show better than expected predictions for the wet spring months. However, during the summer period, when Denmark was almost drought-stricken, the tool incorrectly predicted flooding in the same areas that had been flooded during the rainy spring. The incorrect predictions were due to the tool being trained with too little data from the summer months. This is because satellites cannot register water beneath vegetation and given that fields are covered by plants during the summer, the data set at that time of the year is smaller. "An early warning needs to be relatively accurate for citizens to trust the system. This is why we chose to do a trial run, where only selected citizens have checked it regularlyand where we as a municipality had drones in the air to validate predictions," explains Project Manager Heidi Egeberg Johansen from Jammerbugt Municipality. However, she emphasizes that the overall experience is that the project partners have created a tool with great potential. Therefore, the municipality is seeking funding to re-train and possibly adjust the model, which will be offline until that work has taken place, says Heidi Egeberg Johansen. Faster calculations and decisions Accurate calculations are crucialnot only when citizens and emergency services need to get water tubes and sandbags ready, but also when, for example, municipalities need to decide how best to expand their drainage systems to handle the wetter climate of the future. Traditional simulations can easily produce rock-solid calculations of systems' ability to divert water under different scenariosbut according to Roland Lowe, they take forever to complete. "In practice, this means that every time planners need to analyze something, they have to hire consultants who disappear into a box for two months before they can come back with results. And that's just too inconvenient," he explains. To shorten the computation time while maintaining the physical accuracy, the researchers rely on scientific machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence that combines two different approaches. Two approaches in one One is machine learning, where a computer figures out how to analyze a large amount of data and makes predictions without having a theoretical understanding of the phenomena it is analyzing. The spam filter in your email or the facial recognition feature in your phone are examples of machine learning. The other approach is scientific computing, which can, for example, simulate physical processes, which in this case is how water moves through a given space under the influence of several factors. "The advantage of combining the two approaches is that you get machine learning models that have a built-in understanding of how the system is expected to behave. This helps to ensure that the models generate fast predictions that make sense physically and aren't all over the place, which can be a problem with machine learning models," says Roland Lowe. In a project where the professor, along with startup WaterZerv and Associate Professor at DTU Allan Peter Engsig-Karup, used scientific machine learning to predict the movement of water through drainage systems, they managed to perform calculations 100 times faster than with traditional models. "So instead of outsourcing a project, you can gather the relevant decision-makers in a room to run the models live and get the results more or less immediately. You can then sit down and try out different options to find the best solution for a given situation," he explains. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The researchers studied how electric current created heat flows in a lithium-ion battery cell. The heat flowed opposite to electric current, resulting in a higher temperature on the side where current entered the cell. Credit: The Grainger College of Engineering at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Batteries are usually studied via electrical properties like voltage and current, but new research suggests that observing how heat flows in conjunction with electricity can give important insights into battery chemistry. A team of researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has demonstrated how to study the chemical properties of lithium-ion battery cells by exploiting the Peltier effect, in which electrical current causes a system to draw heat. Reported in the journal Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, this technique allowed them to experimentally measure the entropy of the lithium-ion electrolyte, a thermodynamic feature that could directly inform lithium-ion battery design. "Our work is about understanding the fundamental thermodynamics of dissolved lithium ions, information that we hope will guide the development of better electrolytes for batteries," said David Cahill, a U. of I. materials science & engineering professor and the project lead. "Measuring the coupled transport of electric charge and heat in the Peltier effect allows us to deduce the entropy, a quantity that is closely related to the chemical structure of the dissolved ions and how they interact with other parts of the battery." The Peltier effect is well-studied in solid-state systems where it is used in cooling and refrigeration. However, it remains largely unexplored in ionic systems like lithium electrolyte. The reason is that the temperature differences created by Peltier heating and cooling are small compared to other effects. To overcome this barrier, the researchers used a measurement system capable of resolving one hundred-thousandth of a degree Celsius. This allowed the researchers to measure the heat between the two ends of the cell and use it to calculate the entropy of the lithium-ion electrolyte in the cell. "We're measuring a macroscopic property, but it still reveals important information about the microscopic behavior of the ions," said Rosy Huang, a graduate student in Cahill's research group and the study's co-lead author. "Measurements of the Peltier effect and the solution's entropy are closely connected to the solvation structure. Previously, battery researchers relied on energy measurements, but entropy would provide an important complement to that information that gives a more complete picture of the system." The researchers explored how the Peltier heat flow changed with the concentration of lithium ions, solvent type, electrode material and temperature. In all cases, they observed that the heat flow ran opposite to the ionic current in the solution, implying that the entropy from the dissolution of lithium ions is less than the entropy of solid lithium. The ability to measure the entropy of lithium-ion electrolyte solutions can give important insights into the ions' mobility, governing the battery's recharging cycle, and how the solution interacts with the electrodes, an important factor in the battery's lifetime. "An underappreciated aspect of battery design is that the liquid electrolyte is not chemically stable when in contact with the electrodes," Cahill said. "It always decomposes and forms something called a solid-electrolyte interphase. To make a battery stable over long cycles, you need to understand the thermodynamics of that interphase, which is what our method helps to do." Zhe Cheng is the second co-lead author of the study. Beniamin Zahiri, Patrick Kwon and U. of I. materials science & engineering professor Paul Braun also contributed to this work. More information: Zhe Cheng et al, Ionic Peltier effect in Li-ion electrolytes, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (2024). DOI: 10.1039/D3CP05998G Journal information: Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: For some dog DNA tests, companies require pet owners to upload a photograph of the pet with the DNA sample. In other tests the photo can be optional. This photo of Lila, a purebred beagle, accompanied her cheek swab. Credit: DBMI associate professor Monica Munoz-Torres, PhD. Lila is a registered purebred beagle, but depending on what company does her DNA testing, she might be part rottweiler, part American foxhound, or not a beagle at all. A new study published in February by researchers in the Department of Biomedical Informatics (DBMI) at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, revealed that some direct-to-consumer (DTC) dog DNA testing companies may rely more on a photograph of the dog than genetics. One of the six companies the researchers selected to use in their study concluded that Lila was 50% poodle, 50% bichon frise, and 0% beagle. "I was at a meeting where we were talking about the reliability of direct-to-consumer genetics tests, and we hatched this plan to investigate dog breed tests," says DBMI founding chair Casey Greene, Ph.D. "Somebody said that these testing companies have you upload a photo of your dog and I thought, 'are they actually doing a DNA test at all?' That's when we decided to figure it out." Fetching for results and accuracy The study, which began in late 2021, recruited 12 different dogs from across the country that represented 12 different breedseach dog was either registered or eligible for registration with a breed organization to ensure their status as purebred. Cheek swabs were taken from each of the dogs and sent to six different DTC companies that claim to test canine DNA to determine breed. "We wanted to work with dogs where we already had a pretty strong idea of what the test would show," explains Halie Rando, Ph.D., postdoctoral researcher in Greene's lab and lead researcher in the study. "By working with purebreds, we thought we knew what the test results should look like." For half of the tests, the sample was sent along with an accurate photo of the DNA donor, but for the other half, the sample was submitted along with a photo of a different dog, one that was genetically and physically much different. "In one swap, we paired a photo of Brittany spaniel, which is a big, silky-haired dog, with a Chinese crested, which is a small, hairless dog," Rando says. "We made sure that there was no chance that the two dogs would get conflated by the nature of being closely related." In five of the six companies, results for the Chinese crested dog that included a photo of the spaniel came back mostly accurate. But one test, completed by Accu-Metrics, determined in an "official analysis" that the dog was part border collie and part golden retrievera conclusion that seems to align more with the photo of the dog than the DNA sample. Accu-Metrics is the same company that determined Lila the beagle wasn't any part beagle, even when her own photo accompanied the cheek swab. There is no scientific reason why a photo of the dog would be needed to analyze the DNA, the researchers say. "In most cases, at least one test provided a breed prediction that did not match the registered breed," researchers write in their findings. "Because our analysis focused on evaluating whether the reported ancestry deviated from the expected ancestry, which in purebreds is 100% of a single breed, minor differences in how results were reported by different companies did not affect our analyses." Variances in testing mechanisms, or the markers used in testing, might explain why some tests reported Lila to be 100% beagle and others reported her to be 90% beagle. It doesn't explain why one test would report she's not a beagle. "Even among our team of people well-versed in genetics, it can be difficult to understand these small differences, what's spurious, and what's meaningful," Rando says. "It's a really challenging environment to navigate even with significant genetic literacy." A wag toward transparency Inaccurate DNA testing can also have significant consequences for pet owners. Controversial breed-specific legislation started gaining popularity more than four decades ago and outlawed people from owning certain breeds, such as "pit bulls" and rottweilers, in some cities. Insurance companies and leasing companies have used breed lists to deny coverage and housing to people owning specific dog breeds. "One of our concerns was that some of these tests can have real financial implications for a person's ability to rent, get insurance, or live in a particular city without compelling evidence that it is a valid result," Greene says. In the CU study, a company called DNA My Dog identified a bulldog as a wolf hybrid and Lila the beagle as rottweiler. Accu-Metrics identified a German shorthaired pointer and a golden retriever as having ancestry that would qualify them as part pit bull. "None of these ancestry predictions were supported by any other DTC tests. Therefore, it would be possible for dog owners to face severe financial repercussions in terms of home insurance and even housing rental eligibility if they view the results of a DTC test as definitive and self-report a dangerous breed, or if DTC canine genetic testing were adopted for housing and insurance purposes," the researchers say. While the researchers didn't investigate the health or trait analysis that some of the companies offered in the DNA testing, they say they're an added cause for concern for pet owners and veterinarians. Ancestry predictions from Accu-Metrics were more often at odds with many of the dogs' pedigree registration, even for the 10 American Kennel Club-registered dogs, which requires dogs to meet strict breeding standards over many generations. "Genetic information can contribute to pet owners' decisions regarding their pets' health, and when this information is incorrect or is being interpreted incorrectly, it can lead to tragedy," the researchers say. Rando and Greene say dog owners should be cautious about DTC dog DNA testing and the companies that offer those services. "Not all tests are created equal," Greene says. "It is important the services are evaluated independently with careful experimental designs to understand their strengths and weaknesses. That's part of what we contribute as scientists." More information: Halie M. Rando et al, Many direct-to-consumer canine genetic tests can identify the breed of purebred dogs, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (2024). DOI: 10.2460/javma.23.07.0372 Journal information: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association By Prince J Musa in Kenema Police in Kenema are investigating one Fomba Salieu Kanneh resident in Kenema after officers deployed at the Wanjama checkpoint arrested a Nissan Car loaded with huge quantities of dry leaves suspected to be Cannabis Sativa (Jamba). The Eastern Region Police Media Officer attached to the Community Relations Department (CRD), Inspector Prince Barnard Jaygboi Kamara told Politico that they noticed a suspicious vehicle approaching their post of deployment at about midnight on the 7th February, 2024 which they promptly intercepted and later arrested Kanneh who happened to be the driver of the said vehicle. He noted that the officers on duty uncovered a total of 11 big bags and 47 medium-sized bundles of the alleged substance Cannabis Sativa. Inspector Kamara further stated that the interception leading to the seizure of the substance is proof that the police are on robust action of checking all vehicles using the roads leading to Kenema as part of their commitment to curbing drug-related crimes in the district. He also said that the relocation of the checkpoint from the previous Bandama location to Wanjama was the right decision taken by the senior management of the police, saying that Bandama had a lot of porous routes used by drug traffickers to avoid inspection by the police. He pointed out that the Police Commissioner East, Andrew Mustapha Kamara expressed delight and commended the officers for the excellent work done, adding that, the safety and well-being of the community is their main priority as police. He urged the police to remain vigilant in the fight against peddling and its related activities. Inspector Kamara also calls for community support to assist in the fight against drugs by reporting any suspicious behaviour or information to the authorities while imploring the officers to fully enforce the law in combating drugs and creating a safe and secure environment at all times. Copyright 2024 Politico (14/02/24) By Nasratu Kargbo Sierra Leones Parliament has approved a bilateral agreement that seeks to improve the welfare of migrant workers in Qatar. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Professor David Francis said the agreement seeks to protect the rights of Sierra Leoneans in Qatar. Whilst presenting the benefits of the agreement between the government of Sierra Leone and the State of Qatar to Members of Parliament, 21 March 2023, Francis said the government considers the agreement as a national response to addressing the challenges that Sierra Leonean migrant workers face in Qatar, emphasizing that the agreement stresses on the protection and promotion of their rights and obligations in Qatar. Highlighting some of the features of the agreement, the minister stated that there will be an establishment of a contract between the employer and the employee to safeguard rights and duties that are consistent with labour laws, recognizing and centralizing the Ministry of Labour and Social Security in the recruitment process of Sierra Leone migrant workers who would reach the employment requirement. Speaking on the other agreements between Sierra Leone and the State of Qatar, the Minister explained that the agreement intends to combat customs violation and offences through close cooperation between both authorities by providing administrative assistance to ensure the correct assessment of customs duties and other taxes, cost on import and export, proper application of procedures based on respecting national customs and rules applicable in their respective countries. He added that each government has the right to make enquiries regarding customs violations and the discretion in certain circumstances, refuse and postpone the execution of requests from the other party. Francis explained that he had visited the country together with President Julius Maada Bio to discuss areas to explore in Sierra Leone in sectors like agriculture, mining, manufacturing and marine resources. The Chief Whip of the Opposition in Parliament Hassan Sesay said that the agreement came at a better time, stating that the Minister of Labour and Social Security has introduced a bill entitled Overseas Employment and Migrant Workers Act 2022, noting that Section 27 (f) speaks on ensuring the protection of the right of migrant workers to information and the right to redress if their rights are violated. Sesay stated that on several occasion their attention has been called by Sierra Leoneans in the Middle East complaining about how they have been maltreated. The MP said that he expects to see a synergy between the ministers of foreign affairs and labour to collaborate and ensure that Sierra Leoneans, who travel to seek greener pastures, get what they seek. He supported the agreement, emphasizing that agencies should be closely monitored, noting that let what is on paper be actualized to the people. From Constituency 080 Ishmail Sama Sandy commended the minister for the agreement, stating that a nation that seeks to develop its human capacity is expected to introduce such an initiative. Representing Constituency 048 Aaron Aruna Koroma stated that he expected a focus also on other countries where Sierra Leoneans are, highlighting Lebanon and United Arab Enirates amongst others, stressing that most have been subjected to horrible conditions. He stated that it has gone to the extent that government has to incur costs to bring back its citizens. He therefore called on the minister to also have an agreement with those other countries to make life simple for Sierra Leoneans. He applauded the agreement considering the challenges Sierra Leoneans face in the Middle East. Parliament approved three agreements with between Sierra Leone and the State of Qatar, and also approved an agreement with Hungary. Copyright 2023 Politico (22/03/23) Four years ago, time stood still. The COVID-19 pandemic rippled across the globe, through our cities and into our rural Adirondack communities. Work, school, social and community functions everything stopped as we tried to understand the size and scope of what was happening. Today, we remember the lives that were lost, the businesses that shuttered and the innumerable smaller ways the pandemic disrupted and changed our lives. We also honor those who helped us get by, from healthcare and emergency personnel to frontline service workers and volunteers. Its nearly impossible to measure the impact these individuals had both during lockdown and as the world slowly returned to some semblance of normalcy. At Adirondack Foundation, we were inspired by the generosity of our donors, community partners and volunteers who came together to do their part. Through our Special & Urgent Needs Fund and established partnerships with Cloudsplitter Foundation, the Charles R. Wood Foundation, United Way of the Adirondacks, the New York State Health Foundation and many individual donors, we were able to funnel over $2 million to organizations to ensure that essential services could continue to be provided. Our partners have continued to work with us on some of the deeper issues the pandemic exposed. One example is the Adirondack Food Systems Network (AFSN). Born from the need to get healthy food to people living in our rural communities amid the increased isolation, AFSN emerged in 2020 to help local producers, organizations and government agencies work more strategically in unison toward a resilient, inclusive regional food system. Adirondack Foundation remains a member of the steering committee of 13 other regional organizations, including fiscal sponsor AdkAction, Comfort Food Community of Washington County and Pitney Meadows Community Farm, in Saratoga Springs, to shore up vulnerable components of our food system and help scale up whats working well. Weve also partnered with Cloudsplitter Foundation, Weatherup Family Foundation and Empire State Development to create the $2 million dollar Small Business Opportunity Fund at Adirondack Economic Development Corporation, which increases equitable access to financing a great resource for small business owners looking to grow following the impacts of the pandemic. One of its first loans went to Amanda and Ryan Ragland to purchase and preserve the Schroon Lake Towne Store, a Main Street landmark. As one of more than 800 community foundations across the U.S., our priority is always the well-being of the people of the Adirondack region. We serve as responsible stewards of the charitable assets entrusted to us, so we can respond to the needs of our neighbors, both now and for generations to come. From Hurricane Irene and COVID-19 to more recent flooding in Long Lake and Indian Lake, weve learned over the years that being prepared for future events is just as if not more important than responding in the moment. Well always be ready to answer the call when our communities need us, and we know that our partners and generous supporters will, too. We may never fully realize the ways the pandemic reshaped the Adirondack region, but we do have proof that time and time again, we have each others backs. Its what being part of a community is all about. SOMERS POINT A city man is facing gun and drug charges following a search of his home last month, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said Friday. Michael John James, 30, was charged Friday after police found distribution-level quantities of drugs as well as a machine gun, an assault rifle and explosives. He is being held in the Atlantic County jail. Police arrested James at his home in the 100 block of Colwick Drive on Feb. 27 following an investigation by the Prosecutor's Office, city police, Office of Homeland Security and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. James was found to be in possession of prescription pills, including alprazolam and diazepam, the Prosecutor's Office said in a news release. With the assistance of the Atlantic County Regional SWAT Team and the Atlantic City Bomb Squad, police seized firearms, ammunition, explosives and other evidence, the Prosecutor's Office said. James was charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm in the course of committing a drug crime, unlawful possession of a machine gun and unlawful possession of an assault rifle. Ocean City chamber installs officers: The Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce installed its new Board of Directors and officers Feb. 29 at the Ocean City Yacht Club. Patrick McMahon is now the chambers president. A native of Ocean City, he graduated from Sacred Heart University in Connecticut and serves as the commercial lines manager at McMahon Insurance Agency. Members installed for one-year terms were Dean Adams, Jon Batastini, Carmine Cantwell, Tina Cortese, Jane Davis, Michael DeVlieger, Michael Dukeman, Andrew Fasy, Becky Friedel, Beverley Gill, Patrick Gill, Danielle Guerriero, Chris Halliday, Thomas Heist, Jim Hennessy, Peter Madden, Nick Marotta, Lindsay Monihan, Mary McGuckin, Keyta Peters, Ryan Price, Eric Reich, Aimee Schultz, Kim Styer-Gallagher, Avery Teitler, Don Tomlinson, Veronica Town, Gloria Votta and Joan Williamson Organization representatives installed for one-year terms were Michael Allegretto, Terry Crowley, Mark Cassidy, John Davidson, Robert Barr, Maria Marinelli, Wesley Kazmarck, Barbara Stefano, Glenn Losch, Karen Mahar, Peter Madden, Bill McGinnity, Caitlin Quirk and Pastor Jay Reimer. Organization alternates are Nancy Aiken, Leonard Desiderio and Bill Westerman. Middle Township Reads Across America: The Middle Township School District launched a new project called Little Free Libraries, through which students can drop off books in exchange for new ones, in time for Read Across America Week. Students at Middle Township Elementary #2 hosted a book drive this week to build up the Little Free Libraries, placing the boxes throughout the community with a goal of collecting 200 childrens books by Friday. Despite retiring due to cancer, Jennifer Heun, a former middle school teacher, inspired colleagues to complete her book-exchange project during Read Across America Week. Students have been asking where they are, parents have been offering to donate what better time to show Jens and the districts efforts to promote reading than during Read Across America Week, Superintendent David Salvo said in a statement. A schoolwide celebration will happen if students achieve the 200-book goal. Donate new or gently used books at the Middle Township Elementary #2 librarys collection boxes. For more information, email school librarian Julie Moore at moorej@middletwp.k12.nj.us. Vineland historical society resumes school tours: After a few years of being on hold, the Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society has resumed school tours. School tours have been a tradition here, and now that COVID issues have lessened, we would like to invite schools to visit, society President Valerie Neuber said. Schools of any grade level that have an interest in learning about local history are encouraged to visit the museum at 108 S. Seventh St. Tours last around two hours and are accompanied by docents and trustees answering questions and telling stories about local development and history. A $2 per person donation is requested, which includes chaperones. Additional information is available at discovervinelandhistory.org or by calling 856-691-1111. Easter at the Park: Children of all ages are invited to celebrate Easter at the Park from noon to 3 p.m. March 16 at the Atlantic County Park at Estell Manor, 109 Route 50 South, where they can participate in an Easter egg hunt, craft activities and a wagon ride. The egg hunt will be separated by age groups as follows: ages 1-5 at 12:30 p.m., ages 6-10 at 1 p.m. and ages 11-13 at 1:30 p.m. All events are free, but registration is required at atlantic-county.org/parks. In the event of inclement weather, Easter at the Park will be held from noon to 3 p.m. March 17. For more information, call the Warren E. Fox Nature Center at 609-625-1897 or email parks@aclink.org. Sustainable Book Group discussion: The Ocean City and Upper Township Sustainable Book Group will discuss On Fire by Naomi Klein at 7 p.m. March 19 via Zoom. Klein, for over a decade, has tracked the climate crisis from a future threat to an emergency. Pioneering the Green New Deal concept, she advocates for transforming economies to address both climate breakdown and inequality. Copies of the book are available at the Ocean City Free Public Library and the Upper Cape Branch of the Cape May County Library. Register to receive the Zoom link for the meeting at https://tinyurl.com/SBG19MarZoom. Deep River discussion at Stockton: Stockton Universitys Annual Al Gold Memorial Lecture Series will resume at the Campus Center Theatre on March 19, featuring Julie L. McGee presenting Whitfield Lovell: Deep River. The lecture will start at 2:30 p.m. and will be followed by a reception. McGee is an associate professor of Africana studies and art history and the director of the Interdisciplinary Humanities Research Center at the University of Delaware. Deep River by Lovell, renowned for his vintage-inspired installations, combines Conte crayon drawings with found objects in his internationally acclaimed work. Ian Marshall, Stocktons dean of the School of Arts and Humanities, and Wendel A. White, a distinguished art professor, will deliver opening remarks. The series honors Gold, Atlantic Citys inaugural chief photographer from 1939 to 1964. Two Stockton photography students receive the annual Al Gold Memorial Purchase Award. Vicki Gold Levi, a picture editor and co-author of Atlantic City: 125 Years of Ocean Madness, will introduce African American Portraiture in Atlantic City before McGees lecture. For more information, visit stockton.edu/artgallery. NORTHFIELD Eugenia Gunn had to fight back tears while talking about her daughters prom dress. This springs junior prom at Absegami High School will be the first for Gunns 17-year-old daughter, Selena Williams. As a single mother, Gunn talked about the burden that will be lifted off her shoulders knowing the expense of a prom dress has been taken care of. On Saturday morning, hundreds of girls and their parents came to Kensington Furniture and Mattress on Tilton Road for Project Prom ACs annual free dress giveaway. With prom season around the corner, girls got to pick out a dress and any jewelry and accessories all free that were donated to the organization. For parents like us who cant really afford to get a dress and then have this project for the families that really, really need it, its an awesome experience, Gunn said while holding her daughters maroon, sequined gown. It makes me so emotional because Im so excited for her and the fact shes going to be looking so pretty. All of this available is just a godsend. Project Prom AC, in its 10th year, featured all types of formal gowns, ranging from long to short, embellished to laced, and sequined to simple. The event also had free jewelry, shoes and handbags to go with the dresses. The Hispanic Association of Atlantic County and AtlantiCare also had signup sheets for scholarships, and HAAC held a free raffle in which the winner won hair and makeup sessions with a local stylist. Every girl comes in and they get a dresser to help them because we want to give them the shopping experience and the say-yes-to-the-dress kind of experience at the dressing rooms, said Rene Kane, founder of Project Prom AC. The event, which is also sponsored by the Atlantic City Boys & Girls Club, will continue from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday and from 2 to 5 p.m. Monday at Kensington Furniture, with Kane expecting more than 500 dresses to be picked out by then. Over 2,000 gently used dresses were available for prom hopefuls, including massive donations made this year by Davids Bridal and the United Service Organizations. Kane said the donations from Davids and the USO were so great that she forwarded a large portion to a similar program in Deptford Township, Gloucester County. Some people even dropped dresses off Saturday, but Kane said those wouldnt be available to display until they were inspected. We even had someone donate $1,000 to go toward buying dresses for larger women because thats where we always fall short, Kane said. We have more this year than weve ever had. Kane got the idea to start Project Prom more than 10 years ago when she saw a post on Facebook about a girl who needed a size 6 dress or she couldnt go to prom. And I was like, how many dresses are just sitting in a closet? Kane said. She recalled a smaller prom dress donation event that someone did at a florist. So Kane, a self-proclaimed overachiever, called a few friends and wanted to do something similar. Hundreds of volunteers have helped over the years. On Saturday, at least 70 people were helping girls find that perfect dress. Kane wanted to highlight her gratitude toward Kensington Furniture and owner Michael Grossman for not only holding event on the second floor of his store but also storing the leftover dresses throughout the year. Kane said the experience is about more than just going to prom. For some girls and their families, it was the first experience theyve had putting on a formal dress. We had a girl who had never had a dress on, and she brought her mother and her grandmother and they were bawling. Kane said. Weve seen girls just blossom when they see themselves as beautiful for the first time because many of these girls have never had this opportunity to try on dresses like this. They walk into a store, and people dont want to help them the way we help them. Kane said she met people who traveled from as far as Delaware to take advantage of the giveaway. Future prom-goer Gabriella Reed made the 40-minute drive from Salem, where she attends high school. She arrived at the store around 8:30 a.m. and was excited to get going. Reed got in front of a mirror to admire the fourth dress she had tried on. She turned to the people with her and said she was pretty sure the light pink dress with a floral pattern was the one. Its exciting, she said. I hoped to find something, and if I dont, its OK. But Im excited to be able to find a dress here. Ella Soro, an 18-year-old senior, was sifting through the racks of dresses hoping something would catch her eye. Anything thats sparkly and form-fitting, she said, adding she was glad she came earlier to this years event to take advantage of more options. Jazleena Ruiz, a 17-year-old senior at Pleasantville High School, tried on several dresses. Ruiz, in her third year attending Project Prom, praised the volunteer who had helped her pick out that perfect dress. This is something thats really nice, and the fact that they are free and there are so many options, Im just so grateful, said Ruiz, who added her younger sister, Jaidalyn, 14, was there searching for her first dress. Maya Hagan, 16, of Egg Harbor Township, a junior at Atlantic County Institute of Technology, picked out a floor-length goldsequined dress. It was the third dress she tried on, and she was pretty confident it was the keeper for her upcoming prom. I was looking for a green one, but then I tried on this gold one and actually loved it! Hagan said. She said programs like Project Prom make the experience so much more accessible for girls of all backgrounds. I was worried going into prom because I didnt want to have to spend $400 or $500 on a prom dress, Hagan said. Im definitely going to donate my dress back after. PHOTOS: Project Prom AC in Northfield During his recent budget address, Gov. Phil Murphy touted the states investment in its public schools. Our budget will increase funding for New Jerseys public schools by more than $900 million, Murphy said during his speech. And with this funding, our administration is officially delivering on a promise we have made since day one. We will be the first administration, in our states history, to fully fund New Jerseys school funding formula. Murphys proposed budget includes more than $11.7 billion in aid for school districts. Despite that, 22 districts in Atlantic and Cape May counties will see their state aid reduced. The state Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The reductions range from less than a percent to 62.5%, which is how much Cape May Point saw its state aid cut. The Cape May Point School District, which is a non-operating school district, is scheduled to receive $759 under the 2024-25 state budget. While in Cumberland County none of the 15 districts saw a reduction in their funding, 12 saw a double-digit percentage increase, according to state Department of Education figures. "The New Jersey school funding formula, as put forth in the School Funding Reform Act of 2008 and amended in 2018, provides aid to each school district in the state based on the enrollment and characteristics of the students served, while also accounting for the communitys economics in determining the level of state support needed to educate those students. Changes in aid year to year outside of the multi-year phase-in prescribed in the 2018 amendments linked above are most closely related to the districts enrollment, proportion of low-income students, number of students with limited English proficiency, number of special education students, and student grade levels," according to a statement from the state Department of Education. "Also factoring into the amount of aid received are the measures of a districts ability to contribute to local schools, measured by property value and income. Districts receive additional aid to support transportation, school security, high concentrations of military-connected families, and other forms of categorical funding not adjusted by community factors." The unexpected loss of state funding can lead to a variety of issues for districts, including the inability to plan, potential increases in class size, staffing cuts and program cuts, school officials said. Over the past two budget cycles, no district has been hit harder than Wildwood. The district saw a more than 37% decrease in its state funding for next year. In the 2024 fiscal budget, the district received $1.9 million. This year it is slated to receive $1.18 million in state aid. These cuts have negatively impacted our students across our district. Class sizes have increased, as support and resources have decreased. We had hoped to be able to restore some of the 18 positions that were eliminated last year, but that will not be possible within the figures on our current aid notice, said John Kummings, superintendent of the Wildwood School District. We will be building a budget over the next few weeks and will not know what the tangible impact will be on the student level until we complete this process. This years reduction comes on top of a $2.1 million reduction the district saw from the 2023 fiscal year to the 2024 fiscal year. The negative impact of the aid reductions on the student level is saddening in Wildwood and throughout the state where cuts are being made. They have destabilized schools and communities, Kummings said. This is at a time when instructional, social, and emotional needs are at their highest as we address the long-term challenges stemming from the pandemic. Wildwood is not alone in seeing its state aid decrease. About 140 school districts have seen their state aid reduced this year. State Sen. Mike Testa, R-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, took to social media to say the situation was disingenuous, and the people of our state wont fall for it, following Murphys announcement. This will undoubtedly have a severe impact on programs and staffing, said Christopher Kobik, superintendent of the Somers Point School District, which saw its funding reduced by $1.1 million. Earlier this week, Kobik sent a letter to district parents urging them to contact Murphys office and local legislators to voice their displeasure about the cuts. Last year, Mainland Regional received $8.1 million in state funding. This year that number has dropped to $6.7 million, according to state records. The 17% reduction to Mainland Regional High Schools state aid is unexpected and devastating, which equates to a 5% reduction to the districts operating budget. The unpredictability and changing application of the state aid funding formula from year to year directly undermines a districts ability to plan effectively and/or implement a process to absorb reductions in aid over time, Superintendent Mark Marrone said. It is too early in the budget process to share the specific impacts of the reduction in aid, but we will be working to preserve as many programs and services as possible for our students. We will be collaborating with other districts that have been negatively affected by the formula to engage our legislators in the hopes that they craft short- and long-term remedies on behalf of our students and community. Great Schools of New Jersey, a committee of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators and the Education Law Center representing more than 60 school districts that serve student populations of 40% free and reduced lunch or more, is hoping to ease the burden of state funding cuts. The group has proposed a stopgap measure that limits the amount of aid reductions to within 1% of a districts total operating budget, said Kummings, who is president of the group. The cost to limit this cut to 1% of the total operating budgets of the districts slated to have their aid reduced in the 2024-25 school year would be about $62 million. We have been communicating with legislators since last spring and requesting that the SFRA receive a comprehensive review to address the volatility that is being witnessed across the state, said Kummings, who is also president of the group. A stopgap measure should be a component of the funding formula going forward so that districts will not be presented with insurmountable reductions without a reasonable off-ramp to adapt to lower levels of funding. Worse viruses than COVID plague US There is a virus permeating our American society that is more deadly than COVID-19: anti-Americanism and antisemitism. Did you ever think you would see a mob remove the American flag from a flag pole in New York City and replace it with a Palestinian flag? Is this what Barack Obama meant when he promised to transform America as we know it? How can a terrorist group like Hamas who slaughtered innocent Israeli citizens and took 200+ hostage be portrayed as the good guys when they are releasing those same hostages they took? Its a world turned upside down by those who want to eliminate the USA. Terrorism is real. The most important role of the federal government is national security. There have been 2.5 million encounters of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2023. No one knows how many terrorists have entered undetected. The fact that we have forgotten the lessons of Sept. 11, 2001, is unforgivable. Annamarie Donley Egg Harbor Township Tent ban writer out of his mind In response to the letter Atlantic City tent ban is inhumane from Feb. 27: Mr. Jesse James, I am exceptionally supportive of charitable contributions, and I do so to numerous charities, in small amounts, as much as I can afford, all over the world. I am not a heartless person. I have a tremendous amount of compassion for the downtrodden. However, as far as I am concerned, you can pack your tent and potential tent city, and get the hell out of Dodge, Mr. Jesse James. V. George Amiriantz Atlantic City Support Salerno for 2nd District Atlantic County communities value military service, small businesses, family farms, immigrants, who as Ronald Reagan once said keep America forever young, and the political process itself. Unfortunately, our congressman, Jeff Van Drew, mocks these values. Congressman Van Drew is quick to get a photo with local Republican sycophants. However, his record and rhetoric speak for themselves. Jeff Van Drew opposed military assistance to our allies. He was a no vote on federal legislation that could assist our district and our local farmers. He refuses to support bipartisan border security and immigration reform. He even hired an individual indicted for voter fraud as a campaign consultant. What are Jeff Van Drews values, and who is he actually serving? For all of these reasons, I am supporting Joe Salerno for Congress. Joe lives in Lower Township with his wife and four children. He is the son of a World War II vet and a school secretary. Joe successfully founded several businesses from a machine shop to a high-tech firm. He will bring this real-world experience to Congress. Joe will focus on economic development, middle class tax reform and civil rights. He will be a workhorse, not a show pony. All of us have a role to play in building a better South Jersey. For Atlantic County Democratic Committee members, support Joe at the upcoming county convention on March 17. Registered Democrat and independents, vote for Joe in this years primary election on June 4. Republicans who still believe in the common good, you are welcome in this campaign as well. Lets stand up for our values and support Joe Salerno for Congress. Joseph F. Ingemi Jr. Atlantic County co-chair Joe Salerno for Congress Hammonton Biden better than he gets credit for Joe Biden is a wonderful, thoughtful man. He seems to have a lot of compassion for others. And hes smart. Biden has worked in government for a lot of years. Remember, he was vice president under Barack Obama for eight years. He worked in the White House before that. Everyone is talking about him getting older, and people dont get younger. When Biden was younger, he had a stutter. To show how strong he was, he went on to be the president of the United States. Biden knows more about the U.S. than Donald Trump. Trump never worked in government before he became president, and it shows. And Republicans made him president? Has anyone ever had a rap sheet as long as Trumps? And has never been to jail? I bet he had more lawyers than anyone. God gives years of life, and its a gift. I hope you see many. Juanita Hooper Atlantic City CAMBRIDGE A 35-year-old man was on trial in Henry County Circuit Court Thursday on a petition to have him declared sexually violent. James James, Jr., originally of Kewanee, could be released from custody in April if the petition is denied. Robert Brucker, a clinical psychologist, gave testimony of James' criminal history at the bench trial before Judge Colby Hathaway. Prosecuting the case were David Kalicki and Kellie VanVoorhis of the Illinois Attorney General's office. According to Brucker, James was convicted in 2009 of two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving a three-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl and sentenced to 180 days in jail and four years probation. He was released from jail September 16, 2009. Seven days later, Kewanee police were informed James was seen in the neighborhood of Kewanee High School with children present and high school youth in the parking lot. He was charged with unlawful loitering in a school zone and unlawful presence in a school zone, convicted on both charges and sentenced to three years in prison. While in the Henry County Jail on September 22, 2009, two inmates talked with investigators about an incident in which James forced one of them to perform oral sex on him and the other to engage in anal sex. Both were very fearful of him, Brucker said. James at the time at first said he couldn't remember, then acknowledged threatening both of the men. He was paroled in November of 2011, then arrested in July of 2012 for violating the sex offender registry in Macomb. In June, 2013 it was determined that case would not be prosecuted, but in February of 2013 he was charged in Henry County with failure to register as a sex offender. He was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison. Prior to his sentencing he was arrested and charged with two counts of domestic battery and one count of aggravated battery. James completed his sentence in December, 2015, then was charged with driving without a license or permit in February of 2016. On November 29, 2017, James began a Facebook exchange with what he was led to believe was a 15-year-old girl. Five times during their chat, he said she was too young or he was too old, but he continued their correspondence. Finally he met her at a gas station and she ended up being a police officer, who placed him under arrest. He was convicted of indecent solicitation of a child and violating the sex offender registry and sentenced to five years in prison. According to Brucker, James admitted to other evaluators to two other incidents of sexual contact with 15-year-olds, though he was never charged in those cases. In June of 2020 he was transferred to custody of the Department of Human Services at Rushville, where he's been ever since. Brucker said James had 66 rule violations while in the Department of Corrections, but none were sexual in nature. He said James had seven rule violations during his most recent incarceration, including making catcalls as a nurse was walking by in 2018 and making an inappropriate comment about a female mental health provider in 2019. Information received from the Department of Human Services showed James did not have as many rule violations there, but he has been engaged in problematic behaviors, including in January of this year trafficking movie DVDs with other residents, which is not allowed as different residents may experience a variety of triggers watching different movies. Brucker said he diagnosed James with four conditions: other specified personality disorder with anti-social traits; unspecified anxiety disorder; alcohol use disorder and mild intellectual disability. The psychologist said that for James, what drove him wasn't just about the sex, but the thrill was getting away with doing something wrong. He said the personality disorder includes an underlying belief that a person doesn't have to follow the rules. It's a congenital condition that predisposes him to continue to engage in acts of sexual violence, Brucker said. Looking at three different risk instruments, the psychologist said James fell into the highest risk category, well above average risk of committing sexual violence again. Brucker said three components: age, a serious medical condition such as being a quadriplegic and successful completion of sex offender treatment can reduce the risk of re-offending, but James is too young at 35 for age to be a significant factor there. He noted James was in phase two of five phases of treatment for sex offenders in which he is now accepting responsibility for his actions. He concluded James was much more likely than not to commit future sex offenses. Defense attorney Bill Breedlove put sex offender evaluator Nicole Hernandez on the stand. Hernandez said she disagreed with the diagnosis of other unspecified personality disorder and instead said James had autism with deficits in his social awareness and social motivation and in general, disorganized behavior. He might know something is wrong, but he doesn't get why, she said. Hernandez said that past the age of 20, it didn't look like James had been in the community for more than a month or two. She said he needed some assistance if he is going to be released to the public including some sort of treatment, but she didn't believe it was the treatment under the Sexually Violent Persons Act. I fully acknowledge he has a lot of treatment needs that need to be addressed, she said. She concluded a person can have an underlying urge or underlying personality of not wanting to follow the law without being predisposed to acts of sexual violence. The attorneys will submit closing arguments for the judge in writing. An April 5 hearing was set and Judge Hathaway said he should be able to issue a ruling at that time. Several U.S. discount retailers recalled packages of ground cinnamon after federal health officials warned that they were contaminated with high levels of lead. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a safety alert for six brands of cinnamon, including those sold at Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores. The move followed massive recalls last fall of WanaBana and other brands of cinnamon applesauce pouches linked to nearly 500 reports of lead poisoning in young children in 44 states. The FDA tested retail samples of spices to determine whether other products were contaminated. The new recalls are raising questions about the safety of cinnamon, a popular spice found in many American kitchens. Heres what you should know: Which brands of cinnamon have been recalled? Recalls have been issued for Marcum and Supreme Tradition brand ground cinnamon sold at Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and Save A Lot stores nationwide. Other recalls include El Chilar brand cinnamon sold at La Joya Morelense in Baltimore, Maryland; and Swad cinnamon powder sold at Patel Brothers stores across the U.S. FDA officials said they have not been able to contact MTCI of Santa Fe Springs, California, which distributes MK brand cinnamon sold at SF Supermarkets in several states. How much lead was found in cinnamon? FDA tests found lead levels ranging from 2 parts per million to 4 parts per million in the recalled cinnamon. Thats far lower than the 2,000 to 5,000 parts per million detected in the ground cinnamon from Ecuador that contaminated the applesauce pouches. There is currently no FDA limit for heavy metals in spices. However, the agency has set a limit of 1 part per million of lead in candy likely to be consumed by small children. The American Spice Trade Association, an industry trade group, calls for no more than 2 parts per million of lead in bark spices such as cinnamon. Where did the recalled cinnamon come from? The source of the recalled cinnamon is unclear, as is where it was produced, FDA officials said. Cinnamon in the U.S. is imported from many places, including India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia. However, the agency said theres no reason to believe that the recalled cinnamon came from the same Ecuadorian supplier implicated in the contaminated applesauce pouches. How does lead get into cinnamon? Many foods, including spices, contain lead from natural sources such as soil and water, said Karen Everstine, technical director for FoodchainID, a company that tracks food supply chains. Spices can accumulate lead from other sources in the environment, such as leaded gasoline or other pollution. Some lead in spices may come from manufacturing, storage or shipping processes. In some cases, spices have been mixed with substances, including lead, to boost color or weight, increasing the value of the product. FDA officials have said that the applesauce pouches may have been intentionally contaminated for this type of economic reason. How can lead in spices affect health? No amount of lead is safe, so it should be avoided, health officials said. Because spices are used in such small amounts, the potential harm of any single use is small, but damage could occur after weeks or months of exposure. Lead can cause long-term problems in adults, including greater risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and kidney damage. Lead is especially harmful to children, where it can cause problems with basic intelligence, learning and behavior. How can I avoid lead in my spices? It can be difficult, if not impossible, to know whether spices on grocery shelves are contaminated with lead or other toxins, Everstine said. Consumers should buy spices from companies that have publicly said they monitor their sources. They have a vested interest in protecting their brands, she said. That can be tough, especially when grocery prices including spices remain high. But this is an instance when it might be worth it. Be skeptical of prices that appear too good to be true. It costs money to control your supply chain, she said. If you have cinnamon that is a quarter of the price of another cinnamon, why is that? Will grocery inflation cool in 2024? Here's what forecasts say Will grocery inflation cool in 2024? Here's what forecasts say Grocery inflation is expected to ease even more in 2024 Inflation is expected to slow across most aisles Dozens of junior high girls poured into Black Hawk College in Moline on Friday morning for the second annual Women in Manufacturing Summit. Area manufacturing businesses set up shop around the campus, allowing the girls to try out careers they may have never thought of. In the lobby of the administration building were three virtual welding stations. Levy Currie, a sixth-grader at Naponset Grade School, was the first one to raise her hand when the group was asked for volunteers. That enthusiasm is exactly what organizers were hoping for, said Jodee Werkheiser, professor of computer applications for Black Hawk. This year there were more than 70 students registered, double from the year before. Throughout the day kids went from station to station learning different facets of the manufacturing business and trying out things like a welding simulator and a CNC machine where they made keychains. The event was inspired by the United Nations' Girls in ICT Day, said Richard Bush, Black Hawk's Associate Vice President for Economic and Workforce Development. "It gave us an opportunity to explore and look at not only manufacturing careers but the careers around those," he said. In an upstairs classroom Darcy Jeffries, an assistant professor of accounting, walked students through the process of an assembly line. Six girls sat at a table with a different ingredient for creating a cookie in front of them. One student frosted, another added sprinkles and the others added other toppings until it was complete. Jeffries said the idea was to introduce students to facets of the manufacturing industry to get the wheels turning about future careers. "We want them to understand that everything we do is a process," she said. "This is showing them that women can be in all facets of business. It doesn't matter if its within manufacturing or not, there's an avenue of things they can do." While the students are a little young to be thinking about post-college careers, Bush said this is the perfect age to start thinking about the possibilities. The more chances students have for hands-on activities, the more their worlds open up. "The more touchpoints that they have the better they are better to formulate a vision for themselves," Bush said. Standing in line to try out welding simulators was Wilson Middle School 7th grader Eleah Smith. Although college is a few years away she has her sights set on being an engineer. She didn't have one thing in particular she was focused on but instead was willing to try everything. Her classmate, Amiyali Aguilera, also has high ambitions for the future and is considering being a pediatrician or a construction worker. The two careers are nearly polar opposites, but she's seen family members take on both careers, she said. Friday morning, Amiyali was keeping her options open with the different activities but said she was considering enrolling in similar classes in high school. At Wilson she already takes IT and coding classes, she said. In the afternoon the students heard from five presenters who are all women in the manufacturing industry. Their careers ranged from working at John Deere to McLaughlin Body Company to Mitsubishi. State Rep. Gregg Johnson also attended Friday's event, talking with the students about their roles in the broader economy. As a dad to a 12-year-old girl, Johnson said he is a big supporter of all kids following their dreams and knowing there's nothing they can't do. "A big focus of mine over the last several years has been creating multiple pathways and opportunities for our kids, but also letting my daughter know that nothing is impossible," he said. "I want her to have as many routes to take to live a very good, lucrative life right here in the Quad-Cities." Johnson said he often has conversations with other senators about the strong workforce in the area. The manufacturing sector is growing and with students having the opportunity to learn more and get involved, it opens more doors and eyes to future job opportunities. "We want our kids to seek every opportunity they can and programs like this achieve that goal," he said. Davenport police have arrested a teenager in connection with the shooting death of another teen earlier this week. A 15-year-old Davenport male was arrested Friday in connection with the March 4 shooting death of a 16-year-old girl. The Quad-City Times is not using the name of the arrested teen due to his age. He is charged with first-degree murder and assault while participating in a felony. Under Iowa law, first-degree murder normally carries an automatic sentence of life in prison. However, the Iowa Supreme Court has ruled there should be no automatic minimum terms of incarceration for juvenile offenders. The district court has discretion to impose a mandatory minimum sentence after an individualized hearing. The investigation began March 4 with the shooting death of DeZia L. Bailey of Davenport. Officers were sent to the 1800 block of Grand Avenue on 9:52 p.m. to investigate a report of shots fired with a victim inside a residence. Bailey was taken to Genesis Medical Center-East Campus, Davenport, where she died. Police have not said if more arrests are pending. Police ask anyone with information about this incident to call the Davenport Police Department at 563-326-6125, Crime Stoppers of the Quad-Cities at 309-762-9500, or submit an anonymous tip via the P3 Tips mobile app or submit a tip online at qccrimestoppers.com. Key terms you should know to understand the gun control debate Key terms you should know to understand the gun control debate Gun Control Act of 1968 Second Amendment National Rifle Association March for Our Lives Assault weapon Automatic weapon Semiautomatic weapon Caliber International gun control Brady Law National Instant Criminal Background Check System Gun show loophole Strawman purchase Mass shootings Bump stocks Binary trigger Pistol grip Flash suppressor High-capacity magazine Background checks Open carry Firearm Owners Protection Act Title II, NFA weapons Assault weapons ban Gunowners of America A Knoxville, Iowa, man has been arrested in connection with the Friday armed robbery of the Delmar Branch of the Clinton National Bank. Jeffrey Brian Bettis, 37, is charged in Clinton County District Court with one count of first-degree robbery. According to a news release issued by Clinton County Sheriffs Chief Deputy Steve Diesch, deputies were sent to the Delmar Branch of Clinton National Bank at 12:25 p.m. Friday to investigate a report of a robbery. The bank is located at 301 Western Ave. Deputies canvassed the area and generated a suspect from video surveillance, after which Iowa State Patrol stopped the suspect vehicle in Eldridge. The Clinton County Sheriffs Department is asking anyone with video surveillance around the Delmar Branch of the Clinton National Bank, or any other information, to contact the Sheriffs Department at 563-242-9211 or Clinton County Crime Stoppers at 563-242-6595. First-degree robbery is a Class B felony under Iowa law that carries an automatic sentence of 25 years. It carries a mandatory minimum sentence of either 50%, or 12 1/2 years, or 70%, 17 1/2 years, which is determined by the sentencing judge. The charge alleges that Bettis used a weapon, but the news release did not say what type of weapon was used. Bettis was being held Saturday in the Clinton County Jail on a cash-only bond of $100,000. Assisting in the investigation were the Iowa State Patrol, Jackson County Sheriffs Department, DeWitt Police Department, the FBI and the Clinton County Attorneys Office. A judge ordered detention for one of three men accused of setting a fire at the Rock Island Livestock Auction Barn. The Rock Island Fire Department responded around 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 24 to the barn, 534 34th Ave, according to previous reporting. In the end, fire departments from all over the Quad-Cities area assisted Rock Island in battling the blaze. In the days after, Rock Island authorities said the fire was arson. William Kosgard IV, 22; Kadon Svec, 18; and Matthew Wooddell, 21 have each been charged with arson, felony criminal damage to property and animal torture in relation to the fire, according to court records. The first of the three arrested, Wooddell, of East Moline, had a detention hearing Friday before Judge Ted Kutsunis. The judge ordered Wooddell remain in custody for several reasons, including the damage done and the risk that Wooddell and his co-defendants posed to the public. Fires can get out of control really fast, Kutsunis said. Detention hearings are a new kind of proceeding that began in Illinois in 2023 after the Pretrial Fairness Act went into effect, eliminating monetary bond in most cases. Prosecutors must prove why a person facing charges should be kept in jail. Defense counsel is present and can make counterarguments. Friday, Rock Island County States Attorney Dora Villarreal represented the state, while attorney Tionn Fambro-Carter represented Wooddell. Villarreal said the fire destroyed the property and one of the cows being kept on the property was unable to escape and burned alive. The three men were also being investigated because of a suspected arson on Feb. 21 that involved about 200 railroad ties, Villarreal said. Villarreals arguments for detention also included the severity of the fire, the damage done and the risk to the people, including the first responders, and risk to the animals at the barn. Fambro-Carter argued for her clients release. Her arguments included that her client does not have a long criminal history and was not on parole or probation at the time of his alleged participation the incident. She said Wooddell also does not appear to have any prior history of failing to appear for court hearings. If released, he would try to remain employed and would be able to stay with family, Fambro-Carter said. Wooddells next court hearing has been set for March 19, court records state. Earlier in the afternoon, Kosgard and Svec, both of Milan, made their initial appearances on the charges in separate hearings before Kutsunis. Both of them said they could not afford attorneys. Kutsunis appointed the Rock Island County Public Defenders Office to represent Svec and attorney Andrew Larson to represent Kosgard. Svec and Kosgard remained in custody pending detention hearings scheduled for Monday. SPRINGFIELD Democrats in the Illinois Senate have advanced a measure that would prohibit Illinois companies from requiring employees to attend work-related meetings about politics or religion. Senate Bill 3649, which is backed by organized labor, passed the Senate Labor Committee 11-4 on Wednesday. Backers have dubbed it the Worker Freedom of Speech Act. Tim Drea, president of the Illinois AFL-CIO labor organization, said the bill would help Illinoisans avoid unnecessary and potentially uncomfortable gatherings in which workers are forced to be a captive audience for their employers political or religious speech. They go to work for a paycheck and to make a profit for the employer, period, Drea said. Not to be indoctrinated by anyone's religious or political beliefs. Under the proposal, it would be illegal for a business to discharge, discipline, or otherwise penalize an employee who declines to attend or participate in an employer-sponsored meeting about religious or political matters, according to the bills language. Employees who believe their workplaces violated the law would be able to file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Labor and sue their employer to reverse any illegal punishment, like being fired for not attending a meeting. Opponents of the bill, like National Federation of Independent Business Illinois State Director Noah Finley, said the legislation would infringe on employers civil liberties by creating content-based discrimination. He also claimed the measure would prevent employees from getting new points of view from their employer like which legislation their union dues could support. Republicans on the committee expressed concerns that the bills definitions of religious and political speech were too broad. The bill defines political matters as anything pertaining to elections, changing laws or regulations, or joining advocacy groups, fraternal organizations, unions or political parties. Religious matters include anything pertaining to belief, affiliation, practice or decision to join any religious organization or association. Opponents also argued the General Assembly has no authority to pass the legislation because its preempted by the National Labor Relations Act, but no official ruling has been made in any of the five other states with similar laws. Frances Orenic, legislative director for Illinois AFL-CIO, said the bill does not prohibit employees from exercising their right to free speech. It will just protect employees if they decide not to engage, Orenic told the panel. The bill was introduced by Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago. He said he filed it in response to a 2022 memorandum from the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. The memo advocated for making captive audience meetings for political or religious matters a violation of the National Labor Relations Act. But the NLRB has not taken such an action. With no response from the federal level, Illinois must step in to promote employee-friendly environments, Peters said in a news release. While the bill passed committee, Orenic said negotiations on final bill language will continue in the coming weeks. She noted the AFL-CIO was working with groups such as the ACLU of Illinois, Equality Illinois and Planned Parenthood. Listed by Elissa Erickson, KWBH, 605-877-4060. Move in ready, single owner split foyer home on 3.12 acres with NO covenants! *Cross the cozy covered front porch and step into this 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1,736 sqft home *Main level layout allows for easy entertaining, where the comfortable living room flows into the kitchen and dining areas *Subtle vaulted ceilings, a cozy gas fireplace with rustic accents and large windows for great natural light throughout these spaces *Prepare meals with ease in the 'L' shaped kitchen with a Whirlpool stainless steel appliance suite and 2-tone cabinetry with crown molding, and enjoy meals in the cozy eat in dining area *Master bedroom in back corner of the home, with private access to the main floor bathroom *Fully finished basement has a large family room, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and a good sized laundry room *Outside has an attached 2-car garage that is finished *Out back has a fully fenced yard with a separate garden area and a large shed for storage or hobby space *Out front are established windbreak trees with irrigation and native buffalo grass *Recycled asphalt driveway with flat gravel area next to the garage for RV or boat storage *No covenants allows for your own hobby farm- bring your chickens, goats or horses! Don't miss out on this opportunity to make it yours! View More The West River Health Science Center held its groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, March 8 at the Black Hills State University campus in Rapid City. In a collaborative partnership between Black Hills State University, South Dakota State University, Monument Health and West River Area Health Education Center, the new West River Health Science Center will be the premier center for education and employment resources in healthcare across western South Dakota to support students as they pursue a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. Monument Health president and CEO Paulette Davidson said, This nursing program at Black Hills State University in Rapid City is an expansion of the already successful nursing programs. Davidson continued, This is to meet a need: to fulfill the need of nurses West River. We have a shortage today. We are short about 2,000 nurses in South Dakota, with half of that across West River. The West River Health Science Center is to become part of this solution by increasing the number of healthcare workers across the region and easing the shortage and demand for qualified nursing personnel. Were very excited about this partnership to be able to work together to deliver these much-needed degrees in the western part of South Dakota, said Black Hills State University president Steve Elliott. South Dakota State University president Barry H. Dunn echoed the excitement over the collaboration between the universities and Monument Health. Its a strong partnership, said Dunn. We have a very strong nursing program, and certainly the programs that [BHSU] will offer here will strengthen our nursing program and we will both deliver nurses to the area. Students that complete their education will receive an associates degree from Black Hills State and a bachelors degree in nursing from South Dakota State University, enabling students to complete their entire education in nursing in Rapid City. Part of that goal is to encourage graduates to stay in the area to fulfill the shortage of registered nurses. Dunn said the program will be up and going in the new building by next fall, but the pipeline for nurses has already begun. He called the pipeline the most critical step. South Dakota State University has already interacted with eighth-graders, informing them how critical and important healthcare jobs are to the region to get them interested in this program once they graduate high school. Davidson stressed the need for more nurses. If we had four jumbo 747s land in Rapid City full of nurses, wed hire them all, said Davidson. Rapid City is growing. Its one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States, so we need to make sure we can take care of our growing populations healthcare needs, and this is part of the solution. The West River Health Science Center will be located adjacent to Black Hills State University in Rapid City, located off Interstate 90, at 4300 Cheyenne Blvd. For more information on the Black Hills State University campus in Rapid city, visit bhsu.edu/About. HILL CITY With craggy ridges and hillsides framing it, there isn't much space for new housing to serve the rapid growth occurring in this picturesque tourism town in the central Black Hills. And even as Hill City saw 84 new single-family homes built over the past 12 years including a spurt of 39 new units in 2020-21 a city housing study shows that the number of owner-occupied homes actually fell during that time frame. The drop in owner occupancy is a big problem for a small city seeking to lure retirees and new permanent residents to fill jobs in education, construction and the tourism industry. The lack of homes available for purchase is due largely to a rapid rise in the number of houses converted to short-term tourism rentals. In Hill City in 2022, nearly 10% of its 481 housing units were operating as short-term rentals, according to city data. The short-term rental industry, fueled by online reservation services such as Airbnb and Vrbo, is a fast-growing alternative to traditional hotels and motels that rent living space by the night. While those rental homes are convenient and comfortable for tourists and visitors, and are a moneymaker for owners and property managers, they have become a flashpoint of controversy in many communities. Concerned town leaders said they remove housing opportunities for full-time residents, drive up local home prices and are not always seen as welcome additions to residential neighborhoods suddenly experiencing turnover of guests by the night, weekend or week. As a result, communities across South Dakota, and especially those in the tourism-dominated West River region, are increasingly trying to regulate where and how new or existing residential homes can be used as short-term rental properties. Custer, Deadwood and Hill City have all passed ordinances banning new short-term rentals in areas zoned residential. "You get people who want to move here and put down roots, but they can't," Dani Schade, development services coordinator for Hill City municipal government, told News Watch in an interview. "We're doing anything we possibly can to bring full-time residents to the community, but we're landlocked here and now we're losing our homes to the rental industry." The growing industry has fueled conflicts among those who operate the rental properties, neighbors who suddenly find themselves living next door to a nightly rental, and communities that see short-term rentals as a drain on housing availability and a barrier to managed growth. Owner/operators said they are providing a needed service to visitors, maintain properties at a high level, and do their best to ensure guests follow local codes and remain good neighbors. They also said they are contributing to the economy and have a right to use their private properties to earn an income. Fairly or unfairly, the behaviors of some guests at short-term rentals have added to the angst over conversion of residential homes to short-term rentals, with stories frequently shared online or within communities of guests who hold loud parties, trash the properties and do not act as good neighbors to the permanent residents. "It doesn't mean you can come into a city to run your business and ruin a neighborhood or change the nature of that neighborhood," Schade said. Cities and counties in South Dakota are trying to find a balance between acceptance and support of the new industry that creates jobs and tax revenues while also protecting the sanctity of residential neighborhoods and the ability of individuals and families to buy homes in the municipalities where they live and work. I think the argument is coming down to balancing local control against private property rights, Matt Krogman, a lobbyist who represents the short-term rental industry in South Dakota, told News Watch. But you cant just put ordinances in place that ban us from being able to operate our private property. The debate over how to regulate the nascent industry coalesced during testimony over a legislative proposal this session (House Bill 1149) that would have prohibited cities and counties from passing ordinances that, directly or indirectly, resulted in bans on short-term rentals in South Dakota communities. "By embracing ... short-term rentals, we not only promote economic growth but we also celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit that has always driven us as South Dakotans," Black Hills real estate agent and small-business owner Jessie Drury testified in February during debate before the House Local Government Committee. "How can we claim to be pro-business when cities and counties have the power to outright ban entire industries?" For example, Krogman said banning short-term rentals in areas zoned residential can amount to a ban overall since few homes or rental properties are or could be located in commercial or industrial districts within cities. It is not to limit local control, Krogman said. Were asking for them to not have the right to regulate these businesses out of business. After a discussion that was impassioned on both sides, the bill died on a 7-5 vote. But whether at the statehouse, during county commission meetings or in city council chambers, the issue of whether short-term rentals belong in residential neighborhoods across South Dakota is sure to continue well into the future. "I would encourage further open discussion because we're in a pickle here," said Rep. Greg Jamison, a Sioux Falls Republican who serves on the House Local Government Committee. Short-term rental homes and condos have exploded into a $41 billion annual industry across the country over roughly the past two decades, bringing new opportunities for tourists and property owners and new challenges to the communities where they are located. Many tourists are eschewing hotels or motels in favor of rental homes, which often feature more bedrooms and bathrooms, outdoor seating and barbecuing spaces and the ability to cook where they stay. Owners and operators of short-term rental properties, meanwhile, are finding the industry a way to offer a needed service while making a primary or secondary income from houses they own or manage. Short-term rentals arise in two basic ways: either a homeowner rents out their property while they live elsewhere, often seasonally, or they buy an additional home with the express purpose of operating it as a nightly rental property. Supporters of the industry said it contributes to the economic success of communities. And in South Dakota short-term rentals have become a strong new revenue stream in the state's nearly $5 billion annual tourism industry that generated nearly $400 million in state and local taxes in 2022. Krogman, the lobbyist, told News Watch that regulation of nightly rental homes remains a hot topic in South Dakota because the industry is still fairly new in the state and because some people have placed unfair negative stigmas on the industry. People in the short-term rental industry welcome local ordinances that protect neighborhoods by enforcing rules about health and safety, parking, trash control or other nuisance behaviors, Krogman said. But banning all short-term rentals from residentially zoned areas essentially removes the ability of property owners and managers to make a living because they cant move existing homes to commercial districts in order to comply with local laws, he said. Krogman said he and his wife plan to stay at a short-term rental property in Deadwood after the legislative session ends and he expects they will stay in a quiet, well-maintained property and not cause any commotions or upheaval in the local neighborhood. The initial thought when people hear short-term rental is often negative, and they think, 'here comes a big party every weekend, Krogman said. "Are there some bad actors out there or managers not doing what they should to ensure their guests arent causing disturbance to their neighbors? Sure. But these short-term rentals are maintained and managed, in my experience, far better than many other rental properties. Testimony by supporters of House Bill 1149 repeatedly pointed out the ability of short-term rentals to help property owners get ahead in life and build a strong financial future for themselves and their families. Albert Huizing of Sioux Falls said the short-term rental industry has been a financial lifesaver for him and his family after he struggled to pay off student loans and make ends meet before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The struggle was real for us, he said. Huizing started off renting out space in his home and progressed to eventually managing 25 short-term rental properties in eastern South Dakota for himself and other property owners. He said he has rented to traveling nurses who needed quality short-term housing and provided a rental home for a family whose daughter was fighting cancer. These are side incomes that help peoples livelihoods, he said. We truly know we are doing the Lords work. Jordan Hirschfeld of Rapid City is a short-term rental property owner who owns or manages several homes and employs up to 25 people. Hirschfeld said the short-term rental industry has faced a distressing trend of unfair criticism by city and county officials in South Dakota and across the country at the same time the industry is supporting jobs within the real estate, construction, home improvement, housekeeping, property management and marketing industries in the state. In his testimony before the House Local Government Committee on Feb. 1, Hirschfeld said local governments that try to ban short-term rentals are threatening the economic heartbeat of South Dakotans. I come bearing the hopes, dreams and struggles of South Dakotans who depend on your understanding, he said. Contrary to misconceptions, the faces behind the vacation rental industry are not distant investors. They are the heartbeat of South Dakota. Hirschfeld also pointed out that short-term rentals are part of a state tourism economy that attracted nearly 15 million visitors to the state last year and generated nearly $5 billion in overall revenues while supporting 58,000 total jobs. Without our presence, the spending wouldnt be as robust and the influx of visitors wouldn't be as vibrant, Hirschfeld said. Other supporters of the measure said they understood that short-term rental owners sometimes faced criticism by local officials and neighbors. But they said property owners and managers are self-policing in that problems or complaints are often posted online, so it is in their best interest to offer clean, well-managed properties to guests. During debate on House Bill 1149, homeowner Richard Tieszen of Pierre testified against the measure, arguing that local zoning laws exist to manage growth and should not be superseded by a state law prohibiting a ban on short-term rentals in some areas. Tieszen said he built his dream home along the Missouri River and would be shocked if neighboring properties were suddenly transformed into nightly rentals. "Put yourself in my position," Tieszen told lawmakers. "You wake up tomorrow and you find out the home you and your family have invested in with everything you have is going to be next door to a property that is going to be a Vrbo, which happens frequently." Tieszen said inappropriately located short-term rentals can negatively affect property values of other homes in a neighborhood. "If you wake up tomorrow, and you have a Vrbo next to your home, I guarantee it wasnt worth what it was the day before," he said. Representatives of local governments, meanwhile, told lawmakers they did not want to lose the right to regulate short-term rental for the benefit of their communities as a whole. David Reiss, who represents the South Dakota Municipal League, told House lawmakers that House Bill 1149 would tie the hands of local government officials who have a duty to manage growth in their communities, including where short-term rentals should be allowed. "Municipalities should be afforded the opportunity to determine which areas of a community are appropriate and appropriately situated to accommodate short-term rental leasing as a business practice," Reiss testified. "This bill on a parcel-by-parcel basis would likely prohibit cities from identifying undesirable zones, such as commercial or historic zones within a community, where short-term rental leasing might not fit the land use goals of a community." As lawmakers discussed the topic, some said the short-term rental issue is too important to create laws in a hasty manner and argued that more time and discussion is needed before sensible statewide regulations could be developed into law. In Hill City, town leaders started to grow concerned a few years ago about a long-range housing shortage. The central Black Hills city of 900 in Pennington County saw more housing but was still unable to meet the need. The region is experiencing rapid growth among people relocating to South Dakota, retirees seeking the good life and young families arriving for jobs. In 2022, the city had 481 housing units, 46 of which were short-term rentals, Schade said. In the off-season winter months, many short-term rentals remain unoccupied, further denying the opportunity of residents or potential residents to rent or buy a property, she said. Initially, it was the lack of housing stock that got us looking at this question. And then we heard all the other concerns that were out there, Schade said. Those other concerns included that the increasing sale prices of homes intended for use as short-term rentals was dramatically driving up the cost of all residential housing in the city, she said. According to Realtor.com, the median list price for homes in Hill City rose from $335,000 in January 2022 to $470,000 in January 2024. A new 2-bedroom, 1-bath home of 830 square feet of space on Quinn Avenue was listed in early March at $290,000 with an estimated monthly mortgage of $2,130 a month after a $58,000 down payment in a city with a 2020 median household income of $76,500. Schade said South Dakota tourism towns should look to Colorado as an example of how short-term rentals can negatively affect home prices, including in the mountain towns of Estes Park and Steamboat Springs, where even surgeons at the local hospital cannot afford to buy a home, according to NBC News. We know Hill City is growing. We know were a tourist destination. We dont want to experience what Estes Park, Colorado, is going through where the people who grew up here cant afford to live here anymore, Schade said. Beyond that, Schade said, neighbors of short-term rentals reported troubling incidents including loud parties, pet problems, excessive trash, parking spots taken up by visitor vehicles or large trailers, and trespassing violations including some where visitors would enter homes other than those they were renting. A community survey a couple years ago showed that about two-thirds of respondents had concerns about short-term rentals and wanted them to be regulated, she said. Some complaints about short-term rental guests are made to the city, but most are handled by the Pennington County Sheriff's Office, Schade said. The attitude of some visitors is, I'm on vacation here and everything is open for me to experience, she said. But a young family, for example, they know their neighbors, and suddenly the home next door becomes an Airbnb, and you have a continual turnover of people in your neighborhood. Planning and zoning officials studied the short-term rental market for a year before offering an ordinance that was approved by the city council, limiting the number of rental homes to 8% of properties on any residential street. However, some city residents thought the ordinance did not go far enough in restricting short-term rentals, so a citizen ballot initiative was launched to ban new short-term rentals entirely in areas zoned as residential within Hill City limits. The measure passed in June 2022, so no more short-term rental homes are allowed in residential areas except for those already operating, those where the owner occupies part of the home or for bed-and-breakfast operations. Rental properties with leases for more than 28 days are not subject to the ordinance, and the city abides by a state law that allows for any property to be used as a short-term rental during the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Schade said. Existing short-term rentals in residential areas will be banned from that use if the property is sold or changes ownership, she said. We still allow them, we just dont allow them anywhere, Schade said. "We wanted to put some brakes on this now so we can avoid further problems down the road." This article was produced by South Dakota News Watch, a non-profit journalism organization located online at sdnewswatch.org. Eighteen students in grades 3-8 tried to calm their nerves and concentrate on winning the Ravalli County Spelling Bee on Tuesday while on stage, and using a microphone, in the Hamilton Middle School Auditorium. The contest rounds took 45 minutes, with Stevensville Middle School fifth-grade student Neil Hancock winning first place, and Corvallis Middle School sixth-grade student Brennan Schneider securing runner up. Hancock and Schneider each received a medal. Both advance to compete in the 57th Annual Treasure State Spelling Bee in Bozeman on Saturday, March 9. Champion Hancock was slight of stature and stood on her toes to reach the microphone. Her excitement was evident right from the start as she gave a confident smile as soon as she heard the word and was eager to spell. I wasnt calm, I was very nervous, Hancock said when the competition was over. I didnt practice every day but maybe 30 minutes a week, I do a good amount of reading. Im excited that I won, and Ill do a lot more practicing since the state competition is on Saturday. She said her favorite word to spell is tutti-frutti. Runner-up Brennan Schneider said he studied a lot for the spelling bee. I probably studied 45 minutes a day, he said. I was very nervous. I dont have a favorite word to spell, I like them all. Tuesdays words included bronze, antlers, crookedly, delegation, pixels, lymphoma, Copenhagen, Macedonia, thicket, chortle, inclusion, simultaneously and incandescent, selected from the official 2024 District Pronouncer Guide provided by the National Spelling Bee organizers. This same list of 400 words was used in every district spelling bee in the country. Students could join Word Club at spellingbee.com, the official website of the National Spelling Bee, to help them prepare. Additionally, each schools spelling bee coordinator had access to the 2024 School Spelling Bee Study List and Words of the Champions, which contains 4,000 words for the students to study. To qualify to compete on Tuesday, contestants participated in a spelling bee in their classrooms and individual schools. Regina Plettenberg, Ravalli County superintendent of schools, was the pronouncer. Honorary Judges were Ravalli County CFO Jana Exner, Ravalli County Treasurer Dan Whitesitt and event organizer Carianna Newton. This year the Treasure State Spelling Bee is sponsored by the Montana Television Network and Saturdays competition may be televised. The Montana Treasure State Spelling Bee winner can represent Montana at the 2024 National Spelling Bee Competition in National Harbor, Maryland. Also known as Bee Week 2024, the National Spelling Bee preliminaries will take place May 28 and the finals on May 30. As part of an educational exercise on a recent snowy Saturday afternoon, a mother reported her 4-year-old daughter "Anna" missing to a group of a dozen Scouts. Anna, played by a 5-foot, 11-inch tall adult with a bushy beard, was last seen on the University of Montana campus after a lunchtime picnic. Circled around a counselor, Scouts were reminded of their searching methods they had just learned that morning. After everyone quickly paired up with a buddy and a patrol leader, they set off to find Anna, heading out into the brisk, late winter air. Shouts of the name were heard across campus as pairs split up, occasionally returning evidence, like a lost doll, to the improvised command center. Eventually, We found Anna! was heard near one of the universitys science buildings, and soon a grinning Scout appeared, carrying Anna on his shoulders, heading toward the counselor leading the simulation, John Hall. The learning experience was part of several events held last weekend for the Boy Scouts of America Merit Badge University, sponsored by UM and UM ROTC. More than 200 Scouts and nearly half of all Montana troops from as far as Great Falls came to UM to learn new skills and earn merit badges. Hall congratulated the now beaming Scouts on their hasty find and praised them for how they managed to cover such a large space an the university in only 15 minutes. This is a scenario that you guys could encounter because I've encountered it before, Hall, a retired police deputy, said. We expect Scouts and Scoutmasters to know what they're doing and help us when something like this happens. You could be at a campsite, and somebody comes up and says, 'My baby wandered off.' So, how easy would it be to walk away from a picnic table for a 4-year-old, to be unable to be seen? To keep from having more victims, you have to be organized, and all things considered, you all did really good here. Thus, the dozen Scouts complete one of their badge requirements for the Search and Rescue Merit badge, with another simulated rescue planned later that afternoon. It was one of 28 different badge options offered in the third year of the event. Other badges, like a dentistry badge, could be earned through a tour of the Curry Health Centers dental office. There was a welding badge offered at UMs west campus, and one for astronomy in the star-gazing room at the Payne Family Native American Center. Scouts Advancement Chair Duane Adelson of the Montana Council, which includes troops from Missoula and Ravalli counties, said the university makes for a great environment to learn new merit badges. What the merit badge classes represent to scouting is new careers and new futures, Adelson said. When they take a merit badge, not only will they learn something new, but it gives them that exposure. I dont know if theres a merit badge that doesnt give them a specific high-level look into that skill set or job or function. Adelson said his son, now a graduated Eagle Scout enrolled at UM, found his career direction through scouting. After earning several badges around business and entrepreneurship, his son decided to focus on operating psychology clinics in the future. Adelson said thats not an uncommon story for Scouts. MBU (Merit Badge University) is a place where they can get concentrated knowledge into subjects they havent approached before, he said. The career exploration is part of the everlasting appeal for the organization, Adelson said. After a dip during COVID-19, scouting has experienced unprecedented enrollment growth in Montana over the past couple years. Theres currently 2,950 Scouts registered statewide, with new girl troops being a part of the former Boy Scouts since 2019. Eight of the 32 troops at the Merit Badge University this weekend consisted of girls. One of the newer badges offered was the filmmaking merit badge. In a four-hour session, Scouts were taught camera and storytelling techniques by experts at Missoula Community Access Television. Teamed up with one or two partners, they were expected to make an original film, from shooting to editing. Films produced ranged from comedy to horror to documentary. Susanne Hughes, the filmmaking merit badge leader, said the badge is getting Scouts introduced into topics that wouldnt be in school. At the end of the filmmaking session, the final requirement expected of participants in the session is to identify careers where the skills they learned can be used. Every merit badge ends with that career requirement, Hughes said. And so thats why it really helps further interest in the industry and really teaches them life skills in the process. Zambian Vice President Mutale Nalumango takes part in the International Women's Day celebration in Lusaka, Zambia, March 8, 2024. Zambia on Friday joined the rest of the world in commemorating International Women's Day, with President Hakainde Hichilema saying investing in women is a moral obligation as well as a human rights issue. (Xinhua/Peng Lijun) LUSAKA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Zambia on Friday joined the rest of the world in commemorating International Women's Day, with President Hakainde Hichilema saying investing in women is a moral obligation as well as a human rights issue. Held under the theme, "Investing in Women and Girls: Accelerate Progress," the event saw women in different parts of the country converging to commemorate the day. Hichilema attended the main event held in the southern city of Livingstone while Vice President Mutale Nalumango graced the event in Lusaka, the country's capital. In his remarks, Hichilema said investing in women is a strategic decision as it can accelerate development in families and communities. The government understands the value of investing in women and is doing everything possible to ensure that women are empowered to play a vital role in various sectors of the economy, said the president. He expressed happiness that more women in Zambia are holding key positions in various government institutions. The Zambian president, however, said while progress has been made in advancing women's empowerment in the country, a lot more needs to be done to improve the welfare of women. According to him, the commemoration of the day is important as it provides an opportunity to recognize the role played by women and cherish their commitment. United Nations Resident Coordinator in Zambia Beatrice Mutali said the theme for this year's commemoration is a reminder that investing in women is vital for achieving gender equality. She commended the Zambian government for its efforts in advancing the empowerment of women as seen in various policy pronouncements and legislations put in place. She added that the UN will continue to support the Zambian government in advancing women's empowerment in the country through various programs. Meanwhile, Nalumango expressed sadness that economic inequalities still exist in the country despite progress made in ensuring women's empowerment. She said the theme of this year's commemoration focuses on the cardinal role that investing in women and girls plays in promoting national development. Zambian women take part in the International Women's Day celebration in Lusaka, Zambia, March 8, 2024. Zambia on Friday joined the rest of the world in commemorating International Women's Day, with President Hakainde Hichilema saying investing in women is a moral obligation as well as a human rights issue. (Xinhua/Peng Lijun) Zambian children take part in the International Women's Day celebration in Lusaka, Zambia, March 8, 2024. Zambia on Friday joined the rest of the world in commemorating International Women's Day, with President Hakainde Hichilema saying investing in women is a moral obligation as well as a human rights issue. (Xinhua/Peng Lijun) Zambian children take part in the International Women's Day celebration in Lusaka, Zambia, March 8, 2024. Zambia on Friday joined the rest of the world in commemorating International Women's Day, with President Hakainde Hichilema saying investing in women is a moral obligation as well as a human rights issue. (Xinhua/Peng Lijun) Zambian women dance during the International Women's Day celebration in Lusaka, Zambia, March 8, 2024. Zambia on Friday joined the rest of the world in commemorating International Women's Day, with President Hakainde Hichilema saying investing in women is a moral obligation as well as a human rights issue. (Xinhua/Peng Lijun) Zambian people take part in the International Women's Day celebration in Lusaka, Zambia, March 8, 2024. Zambia on Friday joined the rest of the world in commemorating International Women's Day, with President Hakainde Hichilema saying investing in women is a moral obligation as well as a human rights issue. (Xinhua/Peng Lijun) Zambian women dance during the International Women's Day celebration in Lusaka, Zambia, March 8, 2024. Zambia on Friday joined the rest of the world in commemorating International Women's Day, with President Hakainde Hichilema saying investing in women is a moral obligation as well as a human rights issue. (Xinhua/Peng Lijun) Alexis Ratcliff, an 18-year-old self-proclaimed social butterfly and a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic, has a simple hope. Long term, I want to find a loving, patient, caring Christian home that I can make into my place, Ratcliff said. Ratcliff comes across wise well beyond her years, yet fully embracing her playfulness. Her ventilator leaves her voice a mixture of youthfulness and rasp. Ratcliff, from Mount Airy, North Carolina, was severely injured in a car accident at 18 months old caused by her mother. She requires around-the-clock care. Both of her parents, who struggled with drug use, have died, including her mother in January. Ratcliff achingly wants to leave the ICU unit at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, where she has lived since being admitted in January 2019 as part of a court-ordered housing solution after family options could no longer meet her needs. Baptist administrators want Ratcliff to leave, too, but into out-of-state skilled-nursing housing arrangements that she intensely opposes. In September, Baptist filed a lawsuit in Forsyth Superior Court that requested a permanent mandatory injunction to compel Ratcliffs departure and a determination that she is trespassing according to state law. The lawsuit was filed about six weeks after Ratcliff turned 18 in August. A Surry Superior Court order has blocked Baptist from involuntarily discharging Ratcliff. On Thursday, Baptist announced unexpectedly it will file to dismiss the lawsuit. Baptist said in a statement Thursday that we continue to work with all parties, including her attorneys and North Carolina Medicaid, and are seeking resolution through mediation, to ensure a safe and appropriate long-term care plan for Ms. Ratcliff. That has included the potential for a foster care or adoptive resolution with a Surry County family. Joonu-Noel Andrews Coste, a Disability Rights NC attorney representing Ratcliff, said Thursday following the Baptist statement that "Alexis is happy the hospital dropped the case against her, and DRNC is still working through the legal details. Since the filing of the lawsuit, Ratcliff has lived each day knowing she could be forced to leave and move to a housing setting signed off by Baptist, but not of her approval. Ratcliff said in a Zoom interview with the Journal that it was a very big shock when she learned about the lawsuit. Baptist declined to give her attorneys with Disability Rights NC permission to conduct an-person interview. The lawsuit left her confused and questioning how a hospital whose medical staff have been so warm including celebrating her graduation from North Surry High School in June and her 18th birthday on Aug. 2 can have an administrative side so cool to her future that it would sue to compel her eviction. So, youre suing me? Believe me, I want to get out of Baptist, too, but its not my fault, and not my decision, to be here at age 18, Ratcliff said. Its really stressed me out a lot. Coste said Baptist administrators have told her that since she turned 18, she will not be re-admitted if she leaves the hospital there was no maybe about it. Coste said her group views Baptists stance on Ratcliff leaving hospital grounds as giving the appearance of being highly retaliatory. As a result, Ratcliff has not been outside the hospital since late last fall. Ratcliff said that some people may think, well, shes been there (in Baptist) five years, but its not like Im a typical patient, and this has become a second home to me. I want to get out of the hospital and not come back to the hospital unless I am sick and knocking on deaths door, she said. Thats just where I am at now. Why Baptist ICU is necessary All parties acknowledge there is no current medical necessity for Ratcliffs ICU-level care outside it is the only properly equipped area within the hospital for a ventilator-dependent patient. Baptist claims in the lawsuit that by Ratcliff refusing to leave and accept the placement that the hospital arranged at a Bestian, Virginia, skilled-nursing facility, she is trespassing and denying a potential patient an ICU room. Ratcliff said she refuses the Baptist placement because she prefers an independent residential setting in Winston-Salem, the Triad or close to her Mount Airy roots, but definitely not out of state. When asked if Baptist was ending its efforts to compel Ratcliff to leave, the hospital said Thursday that everything else in our previous statement (submitted Wednesday to the Journal) stands. Baptist administrators want court permission to require Ratcliff to accept transfer to the next available skilled-nursing facility placement that the hospital determines is safe and appropriate for (her) care needs. Baptist said in the first statement sent to the Journal that none of the three appropriate skilled nursing facilities in North Carolina have been willing to accept Ms. Ratcliff. Unfortunately, we had no choice except to take legal action consistent with the processes outlined by the laws of North Carolina. That difficult decision was necessary because Ms. Ratcliff was discharged by her physicians, refused all skilled nursing facility placement options, provided no residential placement options and refused to leave the hospital. Ratcliff counterclaim The main dilemma in Ratcliffs housing limbo is that no agreement has been reached on a safe and 100% electricity-reliant residential setting between Ratcliff, her attorneys, Surry DSS and Baptist. Such a setting in particular in North Carolina has proven frustratingly hard to secure. Ratcliff said her preferred short-term housing solution is accommodations that would allow her to be a full-time, on-campus student at Salem College, where she has a full academic scholarship as a freshman. In the Disability Rights NC counterclaim, filed in November, her attorneys said that after Ratcliff turned 18, Baptist has consistently pressured her to leave the state and has purported to discharge her knowing that discharge endangers her access to NC Medicaid and her ability to pursue community-based services. If another state doesnt accept NC Medicaid, Ratcliff would be dropped from NC Medicaid and placed in that states program. She has made (Baptist) aware of her need to remain at the hospital until such time as an appropriate option is identified in North Carolina or a viable out-of-state option that would not deprive her of NC Medicaid eligibility, according to the counterclaim. The counterclaim accuses Baptists social worker unit of intimidation and making threats in an attempt to coerce her to relinquish her property rights to NC Medicaid. Coste considers the Baptist lawsuit as a system default. Its really psychologically impacted her because none of us anticipated a lawsuit was the direction the hospital was going. She was not ready or willing to consent to the hospitals plans to send her to Virginia until her questions were answered, and very quickly thereafter they filed their lawsuit. Making lemonade Ratcliff said she has been making lemonade our of lemons most of her life. Its just part of being a social butterfly, as well as a coping mechanism for the darker element of her childhood. Alexis room at Baptist, both while within Brenner Childrens Hospital and now in the adult ICU, have been filled with personal items meant to provide rays of cheer and sunshine. They include an array of stuffed animals, photos, makeup, hair and beauty supply accessories, dream catchers and a Nutcracker Mickey Mouse. Normal is not really a word I would use to describe me or anything about my life, Ratcliff said. My surroundings are normal in that what I have done in this room is what I would have in an apartment or dorm. I look at this as my hospital dorm room. I just want to live the best life I can, Ratcliff said. Ratcliff accepts her physical limitations, but doesnt allow herself to be bitter or defined by them. She uses her voice to communicate with her iPad for her online studies at Salem College. Everything happens for a reason, Ratcliff said. Im thankful for the opportunities that I have had and I am getting. Has this situation been ideal? No. Would I have chosen this for myself? Probably not. But, it has made me into the person I am today, so I guess I wouldnt choose it any other way. Her background Ratcliff spoke limitedly about her childhood, in particular the car accident that left her a quadriplegic. Ratcliffs attorneys said her parents struggled with drug use. Her mother, Anna Marie Crim, was driving when the car accident occurred in February 2008. Crim was 22 at that time. In a June 9, 2011, report in the Journal, hours before Crim crashed her car with Ratcliff inside, she had taken methadone to treat her drug addiction, smoked marijuana and taken Xanax and Klonopin pills, according to Forsyth Superior Court records. Crims boyfriends sister told authorities that on Feb. 26, 2008, Crim, who was seven months pregnant, slurred her words, stumbled when she walked and nodded off while standing. The behavior concerned the sister so much that she begged Crim to leave Ratcliff with her. Crim refused. Ratcliff was moving from her unsecured car seat as Crim was driving north on Main Street in Kernersville when she veered off the road and hit a parked car. The toddler was crushed between the dashboard and her father, Dustin Ratfcliff, according to Crims attorney. The crash did not affect Crims pregnancy with her daughter, Apple. Besides becoming a quadriplegic, Ratcliff began suffering from lung infections, pneumonia, seizures and suffers from scoliosis, which is curvature of the spine. As of the time of her mothers trial, doctors said it was not clear what was Ratcliffs life expectations. Crim pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, assault inflicting serious bodily injury and misdemeanor driving while license revoked. Judge Todd Burke sentenced her to 24 to 38 months in prison after consolidating the misdemeanor into the assault with a deadly weapon charge My daughter was so full of life, and Im so sorry this car accident has taken this away from her, Crim said during the trial. It kills me for Alexis to be in the condition she is in. I love Alexis with all my heart. She told Burke she wished that she not Alexis had been injured in the accident. Dustin Ratcliff was not charged in the incident. Forsyth District Attorney Jim ONeill said prosecutors charged Crim because she was the driver and bore the ultimate responsibility in making sure her child was safe. After Crim was released from prison, mother and daughter found a way to reconcile at Alexis Ratcliffs urging before Crim died in January at age 37. Ratcliff said her mother had returned to some old friends and relapsed. Meanwhile, Dustin Ratfcliff died a few years after the car accident. Alexis Ratcliff lived with family, in particular her paternal grandfather, until 2019, going to school in-person in elementary and middle schools. However, her grandfather became unable to care for her as he developed severe health issues that required going into an assisted-living setting. With no other family able to provide suitable accommodations, she was placed into Baptist in 2019 through a court order secured by Surry DSS. From December 2021 to June 2022, she was placed into a foster care setting, but went back to Baptist after developing health conditions that required rehospitalization. Baptist perspective Baptist said in the lawsuit there is no step-down from the ICU to a less-intensive care setting within the hospital. Such patients must be discharged to a skilled nursing facility capable of providing care and maintenance. By refusing to vacate the ICU room, Baptist claims she is taking up a bed ... and preventing admission of other patients with critical medical needs who actually require the ICU level of care. Multiple benefits would be provided to Ms. Ratcliff if she moves to a skilled nursing facility, Baptist said. These benefits include increased independence and opportunities for social interactions that cannot be provided in a hospital. Baptist claims Ratcliffs attorneys have instructed her to not speak with us about discharge planning and who have not provided us with specific discharge plans. We have gone so far as to offer to contribute financially toward a private home option where Ms. Ratcliff could live with a caregiver, but her attorneys declined to respond to this offer. Unfortunately, we had no choice except to take legal action consistent with the processes outlined by the laws of North Carolina. Baptist said it appreciates how Ratcliff has faced unbelievable challenges. We truly want her to live a fulfilling and rewarding life in an environment that can provide safe and appropriate ventilator care, offer her greater independence and social activities and help her reach her goals. That environment is not in a hospital ICU. Ratcliff attorneys response Coste and Ratcliff acknowledge that a hospital is not a place you want to live for non-medical reasons. She does not want to continue to live in the hospital any longer than she has to. She was placed there as a 13-year-old and had no choice since the court in Surry County ordered her to stay in the hospital. Until she turned 18, the hospital didnt have a choice. Coste said one of her main irritations with the status of Ratcliffs case is that it just strikes us that with everyone knowing she was turning 18 and could have the option to leave for suitable housing that the hospital didnt try to get ahead of it, but rather chose to try to force her to go somewhere she didnt want to go. We have been hopeful that at anytime they would shift their stance, but it hasnt happened yet. Coste said that even though Ratcliffs plight has gotten media attention, Baptists position on trying to force her to leave has not changed, and we are continuing to litigate this case. We are, and have been open, with the hospital about how we can work together to move her into the community. Coste said that skilled nursing facilities in North Carolina that have beds wont take her because of her specific trachea tube and valve that she uses. Citing her previous foster-care situation that left Ratcliff becoming quite ill and requiring hospitalization out of medical necessity, Coste said unfortunately, we know that people with significant disabilities (that) decisions can be made that do not value their lives as much as we would hope. Her big fear, which we can all understand, is living in another state, having a medical emergency and not have anybody she knows around her., Coste said. Salem College role Salem College has been lovely to work with with Ratcliffs freshman online studies, Coste said. They have said that when she determines which classes she wants to attend in person, they will place them in classroom accessible to her. Unfortunately, because their dorms are so old, they wont be possible. They have directed us to some apartment dwellings that their students use. Jennifer Borrero, the colleges interim Dean of Students, said that at this point, after conversations with Ratcliffs legal advocate Kirby Morrow, we explored our on-campus housing (and) determined that Salems on-campus housing was not suitable for Alexis. Diane Lipsett, Ratcliffs academic adviser at Salem College, said her course materials and assignments are accessible online. She is warmly supported by Salems disability services coordinator and her professors, Lipsett said. As her academic adviser, I meet with her in person weekly. As we would for other students with disabilities, Salem can schedule Alexis classes in accessible classrooms and would provide related accommodations. The college said it cannot comment on whether it can accept funding from Baptist or other sources toward providing housing accommodations. We have not been approached about funding or support from any source, the college said. DHHS role DHHS, citing privacy healthcare policies, said it cannot comment on specifics of any case, regardless of a patients permission. DHHS did provide a synopsis of how the N.C. Medicaid program under its supervision ensures people are receiving the best care possible in the least restrictive setting possible. Medicaid, in situations as described, partner with the beneficiary, their families and providers taking a person-centered approach to balance what is important for the individual with the best available care. Once the appropriate setting of care and services are determined, NC Medicaid will leverage available programs: state plan programs such as private duty nursing and personal care services, and (federal) waiver programs for disabled children and adults. DHHS said those programs provide wraparound services, like home and vehicle modification, limited care transition and home delivered meals. If needed, initiatives like the Money Follows the Person program provide funding for security deposits for housing and groceries for someone transitioning from institutional care to community living. Most importantly, a care transition coordinator to offer support pre- and post-transition. DHHS stressed that each care transition is unique, and identifying the most appropriate option can be complicated because the age of an individual, the complexity of their care needs and the personal goals and aspirations of the individual and their family. Room to grow When Ratcliffs attorneys filed their response in November to Baptists lawsuit, they indicated another foster care home setting in Surry may be possible if the potential adoptive family can modify their home to meet her needs. Coste said Baptist is aware of that potential residential solution. Coste said Ratcliff needs living space that is modified to allow for a wheelchair, to provide access for her to a bathroom, a lift to get in and out of bed, and most importantly, a back-up power source. The other key factor to independent life for Ratcliff is dependable and accessible modified transportation to get her to and from Salem College, Coste said. Coste said that getting Ratcliff qualified for CAP/C takes time, but it will provide all the resources for the care that she needs and the staff wherever she is. CAP/C is part of the state Medicaid Home and Community-based Services program authorized by the federal Social Service Act thats overseen by NCDHHS. It assists children determined to be medically fragile and medically complex from birth until age 21, at which point she would transfer to the adult waiver version of CAP/C that Coste described as a well-oiled machine. Beneficiaries are determined to require a level of institutional care under the N.C. Medicaid State Plan, including needing at least one or more CAP/C home-and community-based services based on a reasonable indication of need assessment that must be coordinated by a CAP/C case manager. Those services can include attendant nurse care, in-home aide services, care coordination, community integration and transition services, coordinated caregiving, financial management services, home accessibility and adaptation, goods and nutrition service, non-medical transportation, respite care, specialized medical equipment and supplies, training, education and consultative services, and vehicle modification. We continue to have more stakeholders coming to the table, but we cant do anything until we know where shes going to live, Coste said. It would not be an obligation of that housing provider to pay for those things, Coste said. We have the ability through Medicaid to get those things done. Whats next? Before Ratcliff turned 18, Coste said she couldnt move into anywhere that wasnt a foster-care setting without Surry DSS approval Now that shes 18, more options are possible, Coste said. That includes working with the Childrens Home Society for being adopted since we know there are families out there willing to take a young person like Alexis into their home. Her entire world is in Winston-Salem and Mount Airy, although she would be good in Greensboro or somewhere geographically close by where her aunt or her sister could be called in if something happens to her, Coste said. When people come forward asking how they can help Ratcliff, Coste said that while she has many needs, the foremost is securing proper housing because everything else feeds out of that. Ratcliff said she has aspirations of becoming a lawyer providing legal services for those with disabilities as herself. Even though it seems I have changed my mind a million times. I would love to go to law school, though, she said. I have been helping with N.C. Adapt for a number of years. While this state is one of the best for people with disabilities, I want to make this state the best it can be for people like myself to thrive. I do know I want to be the face of that change, the voice of that change, because there are so many disabled people who are in their right mind, but they just have physical limitations. Ratcliff stressed that having a disability doesnt mean you shouldnt be able to live your life to the fullest of your abilities. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Georgia-based Shanes Rib Shack last month alleging that the company violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act when its shift leader allegedly sexually harassed a female worker and then retaliated against her. According to the lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, a shift leader began flirting with a female employee and romantically pursuing her shortly after the 18-year old college freshman began working there in September 2021. This led to what the lawsuit describes as a consensual kiss, and a few days later she received a positive performance review. The female employee ended the relationship with the shift leader shortly thereafter and, according to the lawsuit, by explicitly asking him to stop flirting with and romantically pursuing her. The lawsuit alleges he ignored her requests and began to harass her over a period of four months by making daily comments about her appearance and his feelings towards her. He alleged made comments such as: You look pretty I miss you when youre not here I love working with you You smell nice Your jeans look nice Youre cute when you get upset I wish I didnt marry my wife so we could be together The lawsuit further alleges that he arranged his schedule to ensure that they worked the same shifts. In addition to the comments, the shift leader allegedly followed the employee into areas where there were no cameras and demanded that she hug or talk to him in order to pass by him. He also allegedly spread false sexual rumors in the workplace about her. The employee told a coworker in October 2021 she dreaded coming to work because of the harassment and that co-worker subsequently told the general manager about the harassment. Shortly thereafter the employees supervisor approached her about the allegations and the employee confirmed the harassment. However, the lawsuit alleges that the employer did nothing about the allegations, and the employee was promoted to a shift leader position. The employee again complained about the harassment and provided specific examples to the general manager, who said he would speak to the shift leaders supervisor. According to the lawsuit, the employees supervisor told her that if speaking to the shift leaders supervisor didnt end the harassment, the only other option was to schedule [the employee] and [shift leader] in a way that would reduce [the employees] hours. The employee was then instructed to attend a meeting with the shift leader and general manager where the employee was questioned about her allegations with the suggestion that she invited the harassment by the way she dressed and she and the shift leader had gotten their wires crossed. After this meeting the shift leader continued to harass the employee. When the employee returned from break in January 2022, she was terminated. These are allegations that must be proven in court, but on its face, if the allegations are true, this employer failed at every level. The employer should have a policy prohibiting supervisors from engaging in a consensual romantic relationship with subordinate employees. That would have prevented any confusion about it being consensual. The employer should have immediately investigated the allegations upon becoming aware of the complaint. The employer should never blame the employee for how she dressed to justify the alleged vile sexual predatory behavior by the shift supervisor. The employer should not tell the employee that her only option was shorter hours. In every case where an employee alleges harassment, the employer must investigate those allegations and if true, take appropriate remedial action to end the harassment. And of course, terminating an employee for no reason after she filed the complaint smacks of retaliation, also a violation of federal law. Employers can avoid all of this by following simple steps of implementing a policy against harassment, discrimination and retaliation; training managers and employees on their rights and obligations under the policy and federal law; conduct a fair and objective investigation into all allegations of harassment; and immediately take steps to end any harassment which should include at a minimum discipline, but likely termination of the offender. After its defeat last year, a bill to give local governments flexibility with affordable housing is on its way to Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Senate Bill 597 by Sen. Jeremy McPike, D-Prince William, would let any Virginia locality expand and enact affordable housing programs such as offering developers increased density and mixed-use designations or financial incentives in exchange for developments including below-market-rate housing options. Most often this is achieved through the use of Low Income Housing Tax Credits that developers utilize when dedicating portions of their construction or rehabilitation projects to affordable housing. Thats typically a set range of area median income, agreed upon when local governments approve the projects. Currently, not every locality has the authority to do this. In Virginia, localities have to be granted powers by Virginias legislature to enact certain measures. Localities such as Albemarle and Loudoun counties, along with the cities of Alexandria and Charlottesville, already have these abilities. Should Youngkin sign McPikes bill into law, so could others. Its critical that we get this done, McPike said. This will impact so many different communities from Southwest to Southside, to urban and suburban areas. The bill, which was unsuccessful last year, cleared both chambers in the General Assembly before final workshopping in a conference negotiating process. Now, it will be among bills that Youngkin can choose to sign, seek to amend, or veto. Its giving localities more authority. Its not forcing them to do anything or taking away any power, said Isabel McLain, policy director at the Virginia Housing Alliance. So already right there, it should be less controversial. The proposal comes amid a national affordable housing crisis. Fewer people can afford to purchase homes and, in many localities, fewer affordable rental units are available. McLain said Charlottesvilles recent rewrite of its local zoning and the development of an affordable housing strategy are examples of what can happen should more places have the authority to do so. Andrew Clark, vice president of government affairs at the Home Builders Association of Virginia, noted it as well. But he said there are still some communities that may not see successes. The programs sometimes portend to offset the below-market units and when (negotiations) get from (municipal) staff level to the board of supervisors or city council, things get negotiated out, Clark said. So the number of units goes down. The density goes down. Clark said he suspects the legislature would need to tweak the law in the future to make sure it is having the desired effect of creating more affordable housing. The takeaway Ive seen in those localities is that these programs are truly a lot of fanfare, sometimes with very little outcome, Clark said. The Virginia Housing Alliance is celebrating the passage of McPikes bill as well as House Bill 1398 by Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, D-Alexandria. Localities could require property owners to give them a chance to match offers to buy certain multifamily rental buildings that may be aging out of their affordable housing designations via programs such as those created through low-income housing tax credits (which expire after a set number of years). The bill cleared the House of Delegates with bipartisan support and passed the Senate on party-line votes. As Youngkin has stressed his desire to help make Virginia more affordable, McLain hopes the governor will sign it and McPikes bill into law. I think we have a clear path forward, but well see, she said. Lobby Day at the Virginia General Assembly 2024 Plans already underway for state employees to move out of the James Monroe Building, Richmonds largest skyscraper, are up in the air as a turf war between the Virginia General Assembly and Gov. Glenn Youngkin plays out. Youngkins proposed budget had earmarked $50 million to demolish the Monroe Building and renovate Main Street Center, also known as the lottery building, to make room for some of the agencies that would move out of the Monroe Building under his plan. Some state agencies housed there would move into other buildings owned or leased by the state. The Virginia Department of Education, which is a tenant of the Monroe Building, started migrating out of the building this week. State Superintendent Lisa Coons has already moved her office to the East Campus at Old City Hall. But the new two-year budget agreement that General Assembly budget negotiators unveiled on Thursday would ax Youngkins plan and send state employees back to the Monroe Building for now. The legislatures proposed budget agreement removes the $50 million and instead directs the Department of General Services, which owns the Monroe Building, to study whether it should construct a new state office building at Seventh and East Main streets in downtown Richmond or the Virginia Department of Transportation annex on East Broad Street. Youngkin canceled the project at Seventh and Main, but the General Assemblys compromise budget insists on money for planning a new building. Youngkin could line-item veto the budget amendment. The governors spokesman Christian Martinez said: The governor is reviewing legislation that has been delivered to his desk. Other Department of Education teams that have already moved or are in process of moving include human resources, policy and government relations, strategic communications, parental engagement, behavioral health and wellness, educator engagement, procurement, and business and risk management. Were proceeding according to the schedule that DGS has given us until instructed otherwise, said Todd Reid, the Department of Education spokesman, referring to the Department of General Services. The Department of Educations plan, according to a message from the agencys chief of staff to employees, is to split the agency in two physical locations. The agencys West campus would be Main Street Center, a 23-story tower at 600 E. Main St., and the East campus would be Old City Hall, the Victorian Gothic building that was completed as Richmonds City Hall in 1894 at 1001 E. Broad St. The education departments agency Cabinet, assistant superintendent leadership, larger teams and their deputy superintendents would move to West campus, while smaller teams would move to East campus. The March State Board of Education meetings will be held at the Library of Virginia. The agency intends to hold subsequent board meetings at East campus, in accordance with state code, which says board meetings should ordinarily be at the state superintendents office. The Monroe Building, which has housed the education department since 1981, is no longer functional, Secretary of Administration Lyn McDermid said in January. Several men and women have recently gotten stuck in the unreliable elevators, according to state workers. The building is generally safe, according to the state, but it is aging and the bathrooms are not compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Completed in 1981, the Monroe Building is 29 stories and commands the Richmond skyline. An eyesore to some but beloved to others, the skyscraper is the second-tallest in Virginia. The original plan for the Monroe Building was for it to have a twin tower, which was never built due to the 1980s recession. Under the unbuilt tower are staircases that lead to nowhere and elevator shafts that are sealed shut. Gov. Glenn Youngkin wants to amend but did not reject outright a bill Democrats said was a top priority for womens health, but he signed legislation saying marriage is legal regardless of the sex, gender or race of the couple. The womens health bill, which requires insurers cover contraceptive drugs and devices, saw six Republican delegates and three Republican senators joining all the Democrats, although most Republicans opposed the measure. But the overwhelming majority of GOP delegates and senators, more than 80%, opposed the marriage bill. Del. Rozia Henson Jr., D-Prince William, who has said he is the first Black openly gay man elected to Virginias legislature, sponsored House Bill 174, which requires that such lawful marriages are recognized in the state. It also provides that religious organizations or members of the clergy, acting in their religious capacity, shall have the right to refuse to perform any marriage. That addresses a concern some conservatives have expressed. Equality Virginia Advocates hailed the news, issuing a statement headlined: Finally, marriage equality is codified in Virginia. Two years into his term, Governor Youngkin has shown leadership and inclusivity, and has finally listened to his constituents with his signing of HB 174, said Narissa Rahaman, executive director of Equality Virginia Advocates. Youngkin spokesman Christian Martinez said in a statement: This bill adds First Amendment protections to the code of Virginia. Religious organizations and members of the clergy acting in their religious capacity now have the authority to decline to officiate marriage ceremonies that violate their conscience. Youngkin, meanwhile, vetoed bills on guns and elections that Democratic legislators backed and Republicans rejected. All these were among 84 bills some focused on the sharpest divides between Democrats and Republicans, some uncontroversial that Youngkin had to act on Friday before midnight. He approved 64, proposed changes to 12 and vetoed eight. Youngkin said the bill on contraceptive coverage should be amended to ensure that plan sponsors with sincerely held religious or moral beliefs are not required to provide insurance coverage for contraception. Same-sex marriage In 2006, Virginia enacted a state constitutional amendment that barred same-sex marriage by defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. That provision is technically moot because a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling granted rights to same-sex marriage nationwide. Hensons bill, as well as Democrats planned effort next year to strip the prohibition from the state constitution, are meant to provide additional protections for same-sex marriage should the Supreme Court reverse its 2015 decision. As with the contraception bill, Youngkin proposed to amend, rather than veto, another bill Democrats had highlighted, this one on the sharply partisan issue of gun laws. The bill would require school boards to notify parents of their responsibility to store firearms safely. Youngkin wants the bill amended to direct the Department of Education to convene a workgroup and develop a comprehensive list of parental rights and responsibilities, before a second vote on the bill could enact it into law. He also sought to amend bills that say local governments can take landlords to court when they do not correct fire hazards or serious threats to the health and safety of tenants or are out of compliance with their obligations in a rental agreement. These bills passed the Senate unanimously, while two Republicans joined Democrats passing the House version. Youngkin asked that the bills be amended to direct the Department of Housing and Community Development to review the impact on affordable housing. He vetoed a bill that said parents cannot be denied custody of a child or visitation rights based only on the grounds of possession or use of alcohol, marijuana or other legal substances. This bill passed the Senate unanimously, but, in the House, only three Republicans joined Democrats to pass it. This is a significant threat to child safety, potentially shielding parents engaging in substance possession or consumption from scrutiny, he said. Youngkin vetoed additional gun measures. These bills said people barred from having a firearm because they are subject to a protective order or have been convicted of an assault and battery of a family or household member cannot transfer the gun to someone they live with or to someone under age 21. To avoid inadvertent compromises to public safety, he said, policies should refrain from disarming individuals not subject to a court order, making other family members less safe. Youngkin also vetoed bills that would have returned Virginia to the Electronic Registration Information Center, also known as ERIC, an interstate voter registration data-sharing program that Virginia commissioner of elections, Susan Beals, withdrew from last summer. Virginia is one of several states with Republican governors that pulled out of ERIC, citing concerns over election integrity, even though the program is designed to remove names from states election rolls because people have died or are otherwise not qualified to vote. Sexually explicit school materials Youngkin also vetoed a bill meant to ensure that notifications to parents of sexually explicit content in school material would not be the basis for censoring books in any public school. Youngkin said current law already provides for this. Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, sponsored Senate Bill 235, which was meant to bar misinterpretation and misuse of a 2022 measure sponsored by then-Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, R-Henrico. Dunnavant had stressed that her measure was only meant to require schools to notify parents of sexually explicit school materials and to provide them an alternative. The 2022 law included an enactment clause language that specified that it should not be construed as requiring or providing for the censoring of books in public elementary and secondary schools. But some school boards have cited the law when banning books. Hashmi's bill would put that clarifying language from the 2022 enactment clause into the law. I am not surprised by Youngkins actions," Hashmi said in a statement Friday night. "Once again, he has placed partisan politics over the advancement of good policy." No special treatment for legacies Among the uncontroversial measures that the governor approved were bills that say state colleges and universities cannot give special treatment when children of alumni, donors or employees apply for admission. The bills, including Senate Bill 46, sponsored by Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, passed unanimously. The measures came in response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision last summer that colleges can no longer use affirmative action in college admissions. The College of William & Mary and Virginia Tech do not consider applicants legacy status. A spokesperson for the University of Virginia did not respond to a request for comment. Youngkin also signed a bill requiring high school students to receive hazing prevention training. The measure was championed by the family of Adam Oakes, a Virginia Commonwealth University student who died in a hazing incident in 2021. Under the state constitution, governors can sign bills into law, veto them or send them back to the General Assembly with recommendations for changes. It takes a two-thirds vote in the assembly to override a veto. This past Tuesday, voters from 15 states and the U.S. territory of American Samoa took part in democracy by casting their ballots in presidential primaries. In the Richmond area, tens of thousands made their way to libraries, train stations and firehouses to place their votes under the helpful direction of local poll workers. The results were unsurprising to most as President Joe Biden swept the commonwealth in the Democratic contest and former President Donald Trump did nearly as well on the Republican side. However, the city of Richmond and a handful of other localities did lean toward former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the GOP race. In the days leading up to Super Tuesday, both Haley and Trump visited the city in juxtaposing rallies. Although a crowd of hundreds gathered midweek at the Westin Richmond Hotel in western Henrico County to see Haley, thousands crammed into the Greater Richmond Convention Center on Saturday to watch Trump. Where the Thursday gathering lacked vigor from the crowd, the weekend affair brought a raucous energy from supporters who began lining up around the block more than eight hours before the former president spoke. There has been no word yet whether Biden will visit the river city before Election Day in November, but Austin Browning, a Trump campaign staffer, hinted at a future visit for the former president, pointing out that Virginia is a swing state. Close Steve Pederson, a supporter of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, waits to enter a campaign rally at the Westin Richmond in Henrico County on Feb. 29. Sandra Kozlowski waits for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to take the stage during a rally at the Westin Richmond in Henrico County on Feb. 29. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley signs an autograph during a rally at the Westin Richmond in Henrico County on Feb. 29. Haley suspended her presidential campaign a day after Trump dominated Super Tuesday. A woman buys a magnet in support of former President Donald Trump outside the Greater Richmond Convention Center prior to his rally on March 2. Kenny LHeureux, dressed as former President Donald Trump, waves an American flag outside the Greater Richmond Convention Center prior to Trumps rally. Former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign stop at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on March 2. Former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on March 2. Thousands crammed into the facility on Saturday to watch Trump. Donna Johnson, center, explains how to track voter turnout to Pam Miller, left, and Ed Adams at Main Street Station in Richmond on Tuesday. A voting sign directs people inside Main Street Station on Tuesday. Tens of thousands in the Richmond area made their way to libraries, train stations and firehouses to place their votes. Art from Richmond Public Schools students is displayed on the wall behind voting booths at the Main Library of the Richmond Public Library system on Tuesday. Through Our Lens: Campaign visits and Super Tuesday Steve Pederson, a supporter of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, waits to enter a campaign rally at the Westin Richmond in Henrico County on Feb. 29. Sandra Kozlowski waits for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to take the stage during a rally at the Westin Richmond in Henrico County on Feb. 29. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley signs an autograph during a rally at the Westin Richmond in Henrico County on Feb. 29. Haley suspended her presidential campaign a day after Trump dominated Super Tuesday. A woman buys a magnet in support of former President Donald Trump outside the Greater Richmond Convention Center prior to his rally on March 2. Kenny LHeureux, dressed as former President Donald Trump, waves an American flag outside the Greater Richmond Convention Center prior to Trumps rally. Former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign stop at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on March 2. Former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on March 2. Thousands crammed into the facility on Saturday to watch Trump. Donna Johnson, center, explains how to track voter turnout to Pam Miller, left, and Ed Adams at Main Street Station in Richmond on Tuesday. A voting sign directs people inside Main Street Station on Tuesday. Tens of thousands in the Richmond area made their way to libraries, train stations and firehouses to place their votes. Art from Richmond Public Schools students is displayed on the wall behind voting booths at the Main Library of the Richmond Public Library system on Tuesday. Cancun extortion suspects captured Cancun, Q.R. Municipal police arrested two youths Thursday who were reported for attempting to extort a business owner. According to authorities, Jaret N, 22 and Juan Pablo N, 26 were arrested for extortion and possession of a firearm. The capture of Juan Pablo N was made after a business owner reported the extortion attempt. The two captured youths were positively identified by the victim. Agents of the Municipal Secretariat of Citizen Security of Benito Juarez arrested two individuals who respond to the names of Jaret N, 22 years old, and Juan Pablo N, 26 years old, for the crime of extortion, possession of firearm and whatever results. The arrest of the subjects occurred when police received a report through the 911 emergency number that two armed men had entered an establishment in superblock 74 to extort money from the employees. Upon arriving at the scene, the officers realized that on the outskirts of the establishment there was a solitary subject who matched the characteristics of the report, who upon seeing the presence of the units tried to run, but was provisionally secured, police reported. Likewise, employees of the place reported that the other individual was inside, so one of the agents entered the establishment, where an employee pointed out the suspect, who immediately ran away, starting a chase. While trying to escape, the suspect threw what appeared to be a firearm onto the roof of a barracks, after which an agent managed to secure it. Given this situation, an inspection was carried out on the suspect who was found with a firearm magazine, supplied with 5 useful cartridges, caliber 9 millimeters. WYTHEVILLE Two mothers. Two sons. One talks to hers in jail; the other talks to hers at the cemetery. Both women took the witness stand on Thursday morning during a sentencing hearing for William Greg Akers III. Now 21, the Rural Retreat resident was 17 on June 21, 2020, when he shot and killed 19-year-old Matthew Blake King in a gas station parking lot. Convicted last May of first-degree murder and use of firearm in commission of a felony, Akers was supposed to be sentenced on Aug. 31. His hearing was moved, however, after he hired a new attorney to represent him during the punishment phase. In addition to getting written victim impact statements, Judge Josiah Showalter Jr. heard directly from Kings mother, Betty King. She called June 21, 2020, the worst day of her life. During several minutes of emotional testimony, Betty King directly confronted Akers, talked about the crimes toll on her health and told stories about her wonderful man. Theres nothing worse than having to bury your child and I do mean nothing, she said. She called Akers, who sat silently looking toward the ground on Thursday, a coward and said she hated him with everything in my soul. King told Showalter, It would take me a week to tell you all the good things about Matthew. She said her son completed Wytheville Community Colleges lineman school, loved helping people and was always smiling. On the same day as the shooting, the two had visited her late husbands grave for Fathers Day. He died in 2018. She said she missed her sons hugs. I go to the cemetery to talk to my son; he cant talk back, she said. Asking Showalter to give Akers life in prison, Betty King said her son would always be remembered as a good person while Akers would be known as a coldblooded killer. Will Akers, you have no remorse at all, she said. You are heartless. You make me sick. Testifying for the defense, Akers mother, Kimberly Akers, said she grieved for Betty King and hoped she could one day forgive her son. I wish I could fix it, she said. Kimberly Akers said her son had a big heart and the crime was out of character. He is a good boy and he loves the Lord and has always helped other people, she said. Will Akers father, Greg Akers, talked about mercy and grace, and said his son was now helping inmates at the jail. This is a wound that all of us will carry, he said, contending that his son would be of more value making a difference in the world than locked way. Continuing a contention made at trial, Will Akers fiance, Makala Gray, said the shooting was an accident. Will did not mean to do any of this, she said. Although Akers never testified, he told police his 9 mm pistol just went off when he pulled it from his pocket and pointed it at King. According to evidence, Akers and his friend bought marijuana from King at the Spirit Convenience Store in Rural Retreat. Believing they didnt get what they paid for, they messaged King, who returned to the store in his truck. Akers claimed King threatened him and his friend after driving in like a bat out of hell. Security camera footage showed Akers pulling his pistol and shooting King once in the forehead. Akers, who lived near the store, ran to his house, gave the gun to his father and changed clothes. He was arrested a short time later. Akers new lawyer, Brandon Ayers, talked about grace, mercy, forgiveness and faith in asking the court to in the words of Ayers father not judge a man by his best or worst day, but by something in the middle. While Akers and his attorneys argued he never intended to shoot King, the jury, prosecutor and judge said otherwise. Using Akers own words, Commonwealths Attorney Mike Jones said he pulled the weapon to provoke fear. Somebody has to pay for the acts they have done, he said. He called the slaying an execution and asked Showalter to give Akers life in prison plus three years, an upward departure from state-suggested sentencing guidelines. Thats the least we can do as a court system to show the family how serious this was, he said. Thanking Thursdays witnesses for their testimony, Showalter said he hoped both families could find peace and healing. Saying that the video didnt lie, however, he noted the brutality of Akers crimes and sentenced him to life in prison plus three years. He also ordered him to pay $10,000 in restitution for Kings funeral expenses. Since Akers was 17 at the time of the killing, hell automatically be eligible for parole in 20 years. That doesnt mean, however, that hell be released. Held since his arrest, Akers is in the New River Valley Regional Jail. Roanoke County public safety vehicles flooded the parking lot at Faith Christian School Friday afternoon as law enforcement and fire and rescue personnel conducted an active shooter response drill. Our community is seeing that these events are occurring throughout the entire country, if not throughout the entire world, said county police Sgt. Dan Walters. We continue to train as much as we can with regards to these specific type of attacks. We stay very proactive. Im very happy about that. County public safety personnel were briefed about the drill situation at about 11 a.m., Public Information Officer Amy Whittaker said. The exercise started about two hours later, when officers shared information over the radio regarding two dangerous subjects in a pickup truck. An officer responding to the relayed information attempted to stop the vehicle in front of Faith Christian School, a private school in the 3500 block of Bent Mountain Road. But he was shot. County authorities observing the drill heard him shout Shots fired! before he slumped against his patrol car. Additional officers responded to the scene in front of the school, pointed their firearms at the shooting suspects and retrieved their injured comrade. As the drill continued, officers located one of the suspects, who had sustained a gunshot injury. Radio discussions depicted law enforcement moving through the buildings classrooms and bathrooms, locating injured students and evacuating them out the schools front doors, where they were met by fire and rescue crews and escorted to ambulances. The drill involved more than 80 public safety personnel and Faith Christian School faculty, plus high school students from the Burton Center for Arts & Technology. The students, members of the centers EMT program, role-played as the shooting victims. The drill was cut short around 2 p.m., when law enforcement on scene realized that one role-player became overheated and required real medical attention. Whittaker said later Friday afternoon that the person, who is not a Burton Center student, is doing fine. Faith Christian School students had been dismissed earlier in the day Friday, but faculty remained inside the building during the drill. Whittaker said the staff had recently received training in active threat situations, and Fridays exercise served to test that training. Peter Baur, head of Faith Christian School, said his staff has been working with county authorities for more than two years on a plan to execute Fridays drill. We started working with the county actually about eight or nine years ago, and its been a progression from looking at ways that we can increase our security to now, because things have changed trying to keep up with the times, Baur said. As a result of those relationships weve had with first responders, its turned out to be a good time to both help them in their training and also help us in our understanding of how best to respond. County Fire and Rescue Department Battalion Chief Charlie Rucker said he was nervous to see the outcome of the drill. I want to see people get practice, and I want to see people get stressed, Rucker said before Fridays exercise began. I want to see how what were doing works, or if it doesnt work, and I want to be able to go back to the drawing board and fix it. Rucker added that the countys public safety personnel have already discovered that communication across departments can be improved. It took us a long time, a good part of the week, to figure out that the sheriffs office does not communicate with the police department and fire-rescue the same way, the battalion chief said. The radios are the same, but how to get on the same channel to talk to each other is completely different. And the only way you identify those problems is putting these things together, and then seeing what works and what doesnt and making changes. Rucker said law enforcement officers responding to May 2022s school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, had a similar communication problem. But he said that tragedy, which took 21 lives, did not trigger plans for Fridays exercise. These things keep happening, unfortunately, which pushes you to be better and better than you were, because its going to happen, Rucker said. I dont know when, but its going to, and we kind of need to be prepared. Large-scale response drills have occurred in Roanoke County before. Walters said police have previously trained officers at Hidden Valley High School, Cave Spring High School and Hollins University. We do have a community that we have to protect on a daily basis with our police officers, Walters said. It takes a great amount of manpower to get this off the ground properly. We do it as often as we can, but we also want make sure we do it the right way. In addition to participation from the county police, sheriffs, fire and rescue and dispatch departments, Fridays drill featured communication with the National Park Service, due to Faith Christian Schools proximity to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Its taking a great team effort, just like it would be in a real world if an event like this occurred, Walters said. Its going to take a great team effort to bring us to a safe conclusion. Walters wants the community to know that his department is doing everything they can to stay prepared. We dont want to be one of these agencies that are caught short and dont catch something, the sergeant said. We want to make sure we respond the best way we can, as professionally as we can, and rescue as many people as we can. Photos: Active Threat Training exercise in Roanoke County Former Hillsville Town Manager Retta Jackson is Christiansburgs newly-hired planning director. Jackson, a Wytheville native, has lived in Christiansburg since 2022, according to a town news release about her hire. Jackson joins the town with nearly 10 years of professional experience in municipal management, zoning administration, fiscal planning, and policy development, according to the release. She served in a unique role as town manager and zoning administrator in Hillsville and brings an all-encompassing perspective to the Christiansburg Planning Department, according to the release. Jackson has a bachelor of science in human development from Virginia Tech, as well as her MBA from Western Governors University, according to the release. I am honored to have been chosen as the Planning Director for Christiansburg. I will work hard to take care of the Town and the community to the best of my abilities, and to be a cohesive link to all vested parties. We are all interested in the same thing, and that is the success of our community. Im excited to be a part of that, said Jackson in the release. Jackson began her tenure with the town on Feb. 26. Her starting annual salary will be $103,000, according to a town spokesperson. - The Roanoke Times ADEN, Yemen, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Salvage efforts began on Saturday to tow a cargo ship that was struck by Houthi missile attacks in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen, a Yemeni coast guard official told Xinhua. The pro-government Yemeni official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that "a technical salvage team has initiated the process of towing the crippled M/V True Confidence after successfully bringing a substantial onboard fire under control in recent days." "The plan is to tow the M/V True Confidence, laden with wood, iron, and civilian transport buses, to the coast of Djibouti," he said. The cargo ship sustained significant damage when it was struck by Houthi missiles on Wednesday, resulting in casualties and a massive onboard fire. On Thursday, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said that an anti-ship ballistic missile impacted the cargo ship approximately 50 nautical miles southwest of Aden, igniting a fire onboard and prompting the crew's abandonment of the stricken vessel. CENTCOM confirmed three crew members died in the strike, and at least four others sustained injuries, with three in critical condition. The military authority condemned the "reckless" Houthi actions as disruptive to global maritime commerce. For their part, the Houthis claimed responsibility for targeting the ship, alleging the "accurate" missile attack came in response to the ship's crew disregarding prior warning from the group's naval forces. At the same time, they identified the ship as American-owned. Since November 2023, the Houthis have escalated their attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, citing retaliation for Israeli strikes in Gaza. In mid-January, the United States and Britain initiated airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen in response. An active threat training exercise takes place at Faith Christian School in Roanoke County on Friday, March 8. On scene for the joint exercise were the Roanoke County Police Department, Roanoke County Sheriffs Office, Roanoke County Fire and Rescue Department as well as responders from the National Park Service. The intent of the active shooter scenario was for first responders to find ways to increase security and focus on a team effort. A rescue task force looked for victims, who were role played by students from Burton Center for Arts & Technology. Ireland has voted to reject Government proposals to change the Constitution that would have removed the so-called woman in the home clause and widened the definition of family. The public rejected the proposed changes on family, with 67 per cent of people voting against the amendment. The proposed changes to care were also overwhelmingly defeated, with 73 per cent voting against it. The referendum returning officer Barry Ryan made the official declarations at Dublin Castle on Saturday evening. Turnout for the referenda was 44.36 per cent, a significant drop from the abortion referendum in 2018 which saw a turnout of 64 per cent. ____________________________________________________ Ireland has voted to reject the Governments proposal to change the Constitution on family, with 67 per cent of people voting against the amendment. The referendum returning officer Barry Ryan made the official declaration at Dublin Castle just before 7pm. Turnout for the referenda was 44.36 per cent, a significant drop from the abortion referendum in 2018 which saw a turnout of 64 per cent. The declaration on the care referendum is expected on Saturday evening. _____________________________________________________ Tanaiste Micheal Martin said the majority of the public were not persuaded by the arguments for changing the Constitution. The result of the referendums on family and care is clear, Mr Martin said in a statement. The majority were not persuaded by the arguments for changing the Constitution in this way. It is a core strength of our Constitution that the people have the final say. We fully respect their decision. There is no single reason why these proposals were rejected and, like all who supported them, we will reflect on this over time. _______________________________________________________ Childrens Minister Roderic OGorman said the Government was not successful in convincing the public of its arguments to change the Constitution. The Government has to make the case, and its clear that throughout this campaign issues were raised, issues that I think were incorrect interpretations that I and Government believe were incorrect, Mr OGorman said. But we werent successful in convincing people that our arguments were strong. I think it has to be acknowledged that the departure from the wording of the Citizens Assembly meant that some of those NGOs and civil society organisations, who would have been supportive originally, didnt feel they could support and (didnt) feel they could campaign to the same degree. I think that was certainly an element. Finally, I think the people didnt see the urgency of the change here in terms of the repeal campaign, where there was a clear outcome the day after the yes vote and in the case of marriage equality, where there was a clear outcome the day of the vote. People didnt get that sense of the need for change here. I think that was a another factor. _______________________________________________ The official results of both the family and care referendums are expected to be announced at around 6pm this evening. Some constituencies have declared results with an avalanche of results expected in the next few hours. Its all over bar the counting, the Government have conceded and now its just a matter of waiting for the official results to come in. ________________________________________________ The Taoiseach has acknowledged the family and care referendums have been comprehensively defeated. Indications from across the country suggest it will be a no/no outcome on both ballots. Integration Minister Roderic O'Gorman said there won't be another referendum on these issues in the lifetime of this government. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the Government has lost and accepts the result. "I think it's clear at this stage the family amendment and care amendment referendums have been defeated... defeated comprehensively on a respectable turnout.... so the Government accepts the result and will respect it fully. "As head of government, and on behalf of the Government, we accept responsibility fully for the result. It was our responsibility to convince a majority of people to vote yes, and we clearly failed to do so. "I think we struggled to convince people of the necessity or need for the referendum at all, let alone the detail and the wording. That's obviously something we're going to have to reflect on into the weeks and months ahead." _____________________________________________________________ The Green Party leader has admitted the case the Government presented to the public 'didn't win' in the referendums on Family and Care. He made the comments as early indications showed a significant no vote in both questions. When it was put to Mr Ryan that the government did not get the result it wanted, he said: No we didnt. But you have to respect the voice of the people. We have to wait until the final count is done but if it is a no no vote, have to respect that. I dont think you can respect the peoples vote by saying what went wrong, the people didnt vote the right way. People are sovereign in this. They have to decide. Its a complex issue, both were complex. I would have preferred a yes yes. I dont accept that our campaign did go wrong. We will continue to make sure in government that we will heed that advice from the people.We didnt convince the public of the argument for a yes yes vote. I think the next government will have to come back to this and consider the campaign and what were the arguments that merited a no vote in both cases. It comes as counting is under way in twin referendums on proposed changes to the Constitution in Ireland. The boxes were opened at 9am after the public went to the polls on Friday to vote on whether to change the wording of the Constitution relating to the areas of family and care. Results for both will be announced separately later on Saturday. Members of the public arrive at a polling station in Dublin (Gareth Chaney/PA) There was a low turnout reported throughout the day, with some areas understood to be less than 30 per cent of registered voters. There was a slight uplift at polling stations as people made their home on Friday evening. However, it is thought that numbers remained lower compared to previous referenda. The two questions will be counted separately, with both results expected to be declared at Dublin Castle by Saturday evening. The family amendment will be counted and declared first. President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina voted at their polling station at St Marys Hospital in Phoenix Park on Friday. It is the first time Mr Higgins, 82, has been seen in public since he was discharged from hospital on Thursday. Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina voting at Phoenix Park (Cate McCurry/PA) He was admitted to St James Hospital in Dublin last Thursday evening after experiencing a mild transient weakness. After a seven-night stay, he returned to his official residence, Aras an Uachtarain, on Thursday. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Tanaiste Micheal Martin and Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald also voted in the referendums. The family amendment proposes extending the meaning of family beyond one defined by marriage and to include those based on durable relationships. The care amendment proposes deleting references to a womans roles and duties in the home, and replacing it with a new article that acknowledges family carers. The Constitution is the fundamental legal document for the country and can only be changed with the approval of citizens through a national vote. The campaigns have led to national debates over the role of women in the home, what responsibility the State has for care and the meaning of family. The Government campaigned for a yes vote in both amendments. It says the changes will remove sexist language, recognise family care and extend protection to families not based on marriage. The result of the referendums will be decided by majority. Counting of the ballots happens at a constituency basis at various centres around the country. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Program that allows 30,000 migrants from 4 countries into the US each month upheld by judge The Biden administration can keep operating a program that allows a limited number of migrants from four countries to enter the U.S. on humanitarian grounds after a federal judge dismissed a challenge from Republican-led states HARTSVILLE, S.C. Education leaders from Darlington County provided updates and plans for the future during Tuesdays annual State of Education Breakfast at Hartsville County Club. The event, sponsored by the Greater Hartsville Chamber of Commerce and presented by CareSouth Carolina, drew close to 200 people. The featured speakers were Darlington County School District Superintendent Tim Newman, Coker University President Natalie Harder, Florence-Darlington Technical College Foundation Executive Director Sheryl Love, and S.C. Governors School for Science and Mathematics President Danny Dorsel. Newman, who has served as superintendent of the countys public schools since 2018, said the district has made great strides in numerous areas over the last few years. He said preparing students for life after graduation is the districts primary goal. Its all about what happens to them after the stage with a high school diploma in their hands, Newman said. Our job is to provide them with the knowledge and skills to be valuable, productive and successful individuals. Focusing on the area of workforce development, Newman pointed out the district was recently ranked eighth in the state with three-quarters of its students considered college or career ready at graduation. He cited the districts partnership with the Darlington County Progress Education Workforce Committee, the GSSM Accelerate Program, the Darlington County Institute of Technology, the Key To Career Paid Internship Program, and the Advanced Student Career Exploration and Needs Development (ASCEND) 8th Grade Career Exploration Program as playing integral roles in preparing students to enter the workforce. We are thankful for all of our business partners, said Newman. We are always kicking around ideas about how we can let our students and their parents know about the opportunities that are available to them following graduation. He also extended his thanks to Coker University and GSSM for their willingness to work with the district. Dorsel said GSSMs mission is to bring world-class STEM education to exceptional students who will one day lead the states knowledge economy. Dorsel said: What we try to do is seek out the most talented and motivated students across the state and give them a transformative experience, education in science, mathematics, and engineering that cultivates joy in learning and builds the confidence to engage, as ethical leaders, with the worlds most significant issues. GSSMs annual current impact includes 288 11th-grade and 12th grade students enrolled at its Hartsville campus, 150 online engineering and advance STEM students in graded 9 through 12, more than 8,000 STEM learning experiences for students in grades 3 through 8, and more than 1,000 attendees in summer STEM camps for students in grades 6 through at the states technical college campuses and at GSSM. Dorsel noted that that GSSM has 2,700 alumni worldwide and that 57 percent of those alumni currently reside in South Carolina. Of those alumni, 55 percent attended college in South Carolina and 80 percent sought graduate-level degrees in South Carolina. He said GSSMs plans include adding several new facilities to its campus, including STEM labs, innovation stations, and design studios. Some specific areas of concentration for the future are electric vehicles, robotics, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology. Providing her update on Florence-Darlington Tech, Love said the college recently celebrated its 60th anniversary and held an inauguration ceremony for its fifth president, Jermaine Ford. One out of every 50 jobs in our service area are supported by Florence-Darlington Technical College and its students, said Love, speaking on the impact the impact the college has on the workforce in the Pee Dee Region. FDTC has brought $160 million in added income to the region. Love said FDTC had 3,500 students enrolled during the most recent fall semester. She said 100 of those students are taking classes on the Hartsville campus. Total enrollment at FDTC increased by 20 percent in 2023. We offer pathways to a traditional two-year, easily transfer to a four-year college, and classes that allow you to continue your education, said Love. We recently signed transfer agreements with several four-year institutions, including Coker University. In her fourth year as president of Coker, Harder concluded the program by sharing her thoughts on the value of higher education. Higher education is vitally important, said Harder. Research shows that the more education you have the less likely you are to live in poverty. All that weve heard here today is about making sure we have an educated populace and that we are meeting the needs of employers. Harder said she tells parents of students that the job at Coker is more than just instructing students in a specific area of study. She said the job is also to prepare the students to be lifelong learners, to learn how to communicate, how to analyze and discern, and be driven to succeed. Higher education today is preparing students to be good corporate employees and citizens going forward, said Harder. FLORENCE, S.C. Genesis Majors is the 2024 Boys & Girls Clubs of the Pee Dee Area Youth of the Year. Her selection was announced during the annual Steak-N-Burger Dinner March 5 at Florence First Presbyterian Church. The club taught me the importance of self-worth and resilience, Majors said. Describing herself as an intelligent, brave overcomer, the J. Paul Truluck Creative & Science Magnet School student struggled to understand her identity and how she fit in with society. Mentally, I was lost, she said. Working with teachers and club staff, she learned to embrace her identity and moved past a speech impediment that challenged her. She plays softball and likes to volunteer. Now, Majors calls herself charismatic and ambitious. She plans to attend the University of South Carolina Upstate to play softball and to study nursing upon graduation. She wants to dedicate herself to helping those in need. For the second year in a row, Lake City has produced the Boys and Girls Club Youth of the Year winner. Congratulations to Genesis Majors for this well-deserved recognition. Your achievement not only speaks highly of you but also showcases the caliber of young people that our city produces, said Lake City Mayor Yamekia Robinson. The 2023 Lake City Youth of the Year Justin McNair went on to earn the regional and state titles. He currently studies at Florence-Darlington Technical College and volunteers at the Lake City Club. Runner-up Taylor Lewis of Hemingway received a $1,000 scholarship. I want to come to peoples defense, she said. In 2021, her sister TK won the regional Youth of the Year title and helped inspire her to make the Youth of the Year one of her goals. She praised the staff of the Rick & Susan Goings Boys & Girls Club. They encourage me when Im down, build me up when Im having a bad day and hold me accountable when Im wrong, she said. The six-year club member is one of nine children with parents that both work long hours. The club is a place where a kid can really be a kid, she said, crediting staff member Mrs. McCrea for her support. She loves me like her own daughter. Lewis plans to attend an HBCU in the Atlanta area to become a lawyer and move to New York. Besides the club, she helps at home and participates at two churches. She loves reading, especially nonfiction, and reading what people are going through. Illustration of Rutilus pigus, or the Frauennerfling. De Agostini via Getty Images A TV chef fried a fish on the endangered-species list on an Austrian show. The IUCN has listed the Frauennerfling, or pigo, as "in danger" since 2013. The chef and the broadcaster, ORF, have apologized for the incident. An Austrian broadcaster that featured a segment where a chef fried an endangered species of fish has apologized following a series of complaints, the French news agency Agence France-Presse, or AFP, reported, via Barron's. During the show, which came out last week, the chef whipped up a dish of potato salad with fish fritters, the report said. But the broadcaster, ORF, soon received complaints from anglers after they discovered the fish used in the dish was the endangered Frauennerfling, an endangered species, AFP reported. The Frauennerfling, also known as the "pigo" or by the scientific name "Rutilus pigus," is a fish native to Italy and Switzerland. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed the fish as "in danger" since 2013. "This is an extremely sad incident I have not come across in my career yet," Gregor Gravogl, the director of Lower Austria's fishery association, told AFP. The chef involved in the incident said it occurred due to "a chain of unfortunate events" that began when he "asked a friend to get him some fish" after he was asked to appear on the show at the last minute. "I trusted my friend who had a licence to fish a related species and thought that also includes this fish," he said, adding that he was "terribly sorry." ORF also apologized for "cooking a fish which is protected all year round," claiming it'd had "different information," the report said. The recipe is still available on the ORF website, though it now just says to include "fish fillet," but "preferably from a fisherman you trust." Read the original article on Business Insider SIOUX CITY -- A Sioux City man and his brother have been convicted of bringing fentanyl to Sioux City for sale. Karom Bol, 20, pleaded guilty on Feb. 21 in U.S. District Court in Sioux City to two counts of possession with intent to distribute and aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and single counts of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, possession of firearms by a drug user and possession of a firearm during and in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. His brother, Aki Awou, 33, of Omaha, was found guilty by a federal jury on March 1 of two counts of possession with intent to distribute and aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. Both face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. Bol must also serve an additional five years in prison for one of the gun charges. There is no parole in the federal system. Sentencing dates have not been set. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Awou traveled to Phoenix in 2022 and mailed packages containing thousands of fentanyl pills disguised as oxycodone to Bol's Sioux City address. When executing a search warrant at Bol's home, agents observed Bol throwing guns out of a second-story window. During the search, agents identified a second address linked to Awou and Bol, and during a search at that home found illegal pills. Awou's fingerprints were found on three packages mailed from Phoenix to Sioux City, and Bol's palm print was found on one of them. SANAA, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi group on Saturday claimed responsibility for two attacks against a Singapore-flagged commercial vessel, which the group claimed was American-owned, and several U.S. Navy warships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The attacks occurred on Friday, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement. Their "naval forces carried out two qualitative military operations. The first targeted the American ship Propel Fortune in the Gulf of Aden with a number of suitable naval missiles, while the second operation targeted a number of American warships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, using 37 drones," Sarea said in the statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV. "We will continue our operations in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden until Israel stops its aggression and blockade on the Palestinian people in Gaza," he added. Meanwhile, the U.S. Central Command wrote on the social media platform X on Saturday that its forces stationed in the Red Sea had intercepted and shot down 15 drones launched from the areas under Houthi control in Yemen towards the U.S. Navy warships, adding that it struck two Houthi missiles in self-defense. It said the Propel Fortune is a Singapore-flagged, -owned, and -operated vessel and the missiles did not impact it. The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since mid-November last year in what they say is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians during the conflict in Gaza. The U.S. and British naval forces have responded with dozens of airstrikes against Houthi targets to deter the group. However, the Houthis intensified their attacks. SPENCER, Iowa Spencer police arrested two men Friday in connection with a February armed robbery. At 8:30 a.m., the Spencer Police Department with assistance from the High Risk Entry and Arrest Team, executed simultaneous search warrants at apartments in the 500 block of East 19th St. and the 900 block of 13th St. Southwest. The search warrants were in response to an investigation into an armed robbery that took place on Feb. 27 in the 600 block of East 19th St. "The victim reported to police that a male suspect had held him at gunpoint while he was in a parked motor vehicle and assaulted him before taking an undetermined amount of cash," the police department said in a statement. As a result of the search warrants, 22-year-old Darrious Green, of Spencer, was arrested on charges of first-degree robbery, a class B felony, and misdemeanor charges of interference with official acts causing bodily injury, possession of marijuana -- first offense, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Taron Green, 20, also of Spencer, was arrested on misdemeanor charges of interference with official acts, possession of marijuana -- first offense, and possession of drug paraphernalia. The Spencer Police Department was assisted by the Clay County Sheriff's Office and the Iowa State Patrol. SIOUX CITY An announcement regarding the completion date of the Woodbury County Law Enforcement Center is expected to take place next week. The Law Enforcement Center Authority expects to announce a completion date next week, Shane Albrecht of the Baker Group, project manager for the jail, told the Journal Friday. Currently, the completion date is set for April 9. Albrecht said they are waiting to make an announcement until Iowa Chief Jail Inspector Delbert Longley inspects the facility starting Monday. "After we see where that goes, we're going to provide an updated completion date to everybody," he said. A May 23 date has been proposed by Hausmann Construction, the Lincoln, Neb.-based general contractor, in documents submitted to the Authority starting Nov. 20, 2023. "That completion date isn't anything official yet. They're reserving the right for the completion date to be that," Albrecht told the Journal. Woodbury County Law Enforcement Center The new Woodbury County Law Enforcement Center is shown under construction in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, March 7, 2024. The LEC, beset by con The new jail was originally expected to be completed in March 2023 when it was bid in 2021. It was later pushed back to August 2023, and then to Sept. 14, 2023. A day before the Sept. 14 deadline for contractors to finish their work, LEC leaders announced the completion date had been pushed back to a proposed April 9. A prime contract change order sent by Hausmann Construction to the Authority states "please note that our new substantial completion date is proposed for May 23rd, 2024 as identified within PCO 114." The document was created on Nov. 20, 2023, and went before the board on Jan. 30. The May 23 completion date was also listed on two other prime contract change orders: one created on Feb. 6 and reviewed by the board on Feb. 13, and one created on March 1 that will be reviewed by the board on Tuesday. "The Authority rejected Hausmann's Proposed Change Order 114 for additional costs and time," according to a news release dated Jan. 30, but did not share what the additional cost or time was. Woodbury County Law Enforcement Center The new Woodbury County Law Enforcement Center, under construction on the northeast side of Sioux City, is shown Thursday. Since the September delay, the authority has given regular updates on the project and ongoing work. On Feb. 27, Shane Albrecht of the Baker Group, a consultant for the project, said the substantial completion date is still set for April 9. The Authority, GGA, and Hausmann are continuing to discuss Hausmanns previously requested additional time and expense for this damper work, with which the Authority and GGA has expressed their disagreement, according to a news release. "The Authority and its counsel continue to assess its additional costs and damages on the Project caused by the actions, inactions, and delays by Hausmann, GGA, and GGAs mechanical engineering subconsultant, Introba, and are taking the proper steps to ultimately hold the responsible parties liable for such additional costs and damages to be incurred by the Authority." On Feb.7, the Authority announced a construction change directive had been issued related to "certain work that will need to be performed on the mechanical system." No information was given regarding what specifically needed to be done. "The cost and time impact of CCD 10R is still being determined," according to a news release. Woodbury County Law Enforcement Center The new Woodbury County Law Enforcement Center is shown under construction in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, March 7, 2024. The LEC, beset by con Other news A water leak was found in the new law enforcement center on Tuesday. At approximately 1:40 a.m. Tuesday, Woodbury County Sheriff's deputies found water leaking in the loading dock, Albrecht said Thursday. At around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Albrecht said Hausmann Construction arrived at the facility and found a water line was leaking. Albrecht said security footage showed water leaking from around 10 p.m. Monday. "Thankfully a lot of the construction in the jail is concrete walls, floors with some drains around it," he said, but added there was damage to the facility including to the fireproofing and ceiling tiles. No project delay is expected because of the damage, Albrecht said, and Hausmann Construction is working to correct the damage and has contacted their insurance provider. Albrecht and LEC Chair Ron Weick said more information will be determined at a later date regarding what happened and who is responsible. LARNACA, Cyprus A ship bearing humanitarian aid made preparations Friday to leave Cyprus and head for Gaza, the European Commission president said, as international donors launched a sea corridor to supply the besieged territory that is facing widespread hunger after five months of war. The vessel belonging to Spain's Open Arms aid group will make a pilot voyage to test the corridor in the coming days, Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Cyprus, where she inspected preparations. The ship has been waiting at Cyprus's port of Larnaca for permission to deliver food aid from World Central Kitchen, a U.S. charity founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres. Israel said Friday it welcomed the maritime corridor, but cautioned it would also need security checks. "The Cypriot initiative will allow the increase of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, after a security check according to Israeli standards," Lior Haiat, spokesperson for Israel's foreign ministry, said on social media. New settlements Meanwhile, the U.N. human rights office said in a report published Friday that the establishment and expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem amount to a war crime. The report covers the one-year period from Nov. 1, 2022, to Oct. 31, 2023, when it says about 24,300 housing units in existing settlements in the West Bank were advanced the highest number in a year since monitoring began in 2017. It criticized an increase in the building of new settlement homes in recent months. The West Bank is already in crisis. Yet, settler violence and settlement-related violations have reached shocking new levels, and risk eliminating any practical possibility of establishing a viable Palestinian state, U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk said. He presented the report to the Human Rights Council on Friday. Reports this week that Israel plans to build nearly 3,500 settler homes in three areas "fly in the face of international law, he said. Aid logistics The European Union, together with the United States, the United Arab Emirates and other involved countries launched the sea route in response to the "humanitarian catastrophe" unfolding in Gaza, Von der Leyen said at a news conference with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides. "The humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire, with innocent Palestinian families and children desperate for basic needs," she said. Open Arms founder Oscar Camps told The Associated Press the ship is scheduled to depart Saturday and would take two to three days to arrive at an undisclosed location where the group World Central Kitchen is building a pier to receive it. The group has 60 food kitchens throughout Gaza to distribute aid, he said. The ship will pull a barge loaded with 200 tons of rice and flour close to the Gaza shore, he said. Pontoon boats will then be used for the complicated final leg to tow the barge up to the pier. Camps said his group has been planning the delivery for two months, long before the EU Commission chief declared the launch of the safe corridor. He said he's not as concerned about the security of the ship as "about the security and lives of the people who are in Gaza." "I don't know if nations plan to do something bigger, but we are doing everything we can" with the group's 3 million euros budget from private donations, Camps said. Humanitarian crisis Efforts to set up a sea route for aid deliveries come amid mounting alarm over the spread of hunger among Gaza's 2.3 million people. Hunger is most acute in northern Gaza, which has been isolated by Israeli forces for months and suffered long cutoffs of food supply deliveries. On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced a plan to build a temporary pier in Gaza to help deliver aid, underscoring how the U.S. has to go around Israel, its main Mideast ally and the top recipient of U.S. military aid, to deliver aid to Gaza, including through airdrops that started last week. Israel accuses Hamas of commandeering some aid deliveries. Aid officials say deliveries by sea and by air are far more costly and inefficient than sending trucks by land in getting the massive amounts of aid needed to people. On Friday, five people in Gaza were killed and several others were injured when airdrops malfunctioned and hit people and landed on homes, Palestinian officials said. After months of warnings over the risk of famine in Gaza under Israel's bombardment, offensives and siege, hospital doctors have reported 20 malnutrition-related deaths at two northern Gaza hospitals. U.S. officials said it will likely be weeks before the Gaza pier is operational. Palestinian militants are believed to be holding about 100 hostages and the remains of 30 others captured during Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. The fighting killed about 1,200 people. Gaza's Health Ministry says at least 30,878 Palestinians have been killed. It does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tallies but says women and children make up two-thirds of those killed. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records and its casualty figures from previous wars have largely matched those of the U.N. and independent experts. NEW YORK Donald Trump secured a $91.6 million bond sufficient to cover the money he owes to writer E. Jean Carroll in a defamation lawsuit while he appeals the jurys verdict, the former presidents lawyer told a court on Friday. Attorney Alina Habba filed papers with the New York judge to show that Trump secured the bond from the Federal Insurance Co., a unit of the insurance giant Chubb. The bond would cover the $83.3 million judgment in the lawsuit, plus interest. Habba simultaneously filed a notice showing Trump, the likely 2024 Republican presidential nominee, appealed the verdict. The posting of the bond was a necessary step to delay payment of the award until the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals can rule on Trumps legal challenge. The filings came a day after Judge Lewis A. Kaplan refused to delay a Monday deadline for posting a bond to ensure Carroll can collect the judgment if it remains intact following appeals. Trump faces financial pressure to set aside money to cover both the judgment in the Carroll case and an even bigger one in a lawsuit in which he was found liable for lying about his wealth in financial statements given to banks. A New York judge refused to halt collection of a $454 million civil fraud penalty while Trump appeals. He has until March 25 to pay up or buy a bond covering the full amount. In the meantime, interest on the judgment continues to mount, adding about $112,000 each day. Trumps lawyers asked for that judgment to be stayed on appeal, warning he might need to sell some properties to cover the penalty. A civil jury in New York last May found that Trump sexually abused Carroll in 1996 in the dressing room of a luxury department store in Manhattan. Trump, 77, denies the claims, saying that he didnt know Carroll at the time and that the encounter at a Bergdorf Goodman store never took place. That jury awarded Carroll $5 million to compensate her for both the alleged sexual assault and for damage to her reputation when Trump said publicly that she made up the attack to help sell a memoir. A second trial was held in January to decide how much more Trump might owe Carroll for derogatory comments he made about her in 2019 while he was president. Kaplan instructed the jury that it must accept the earlier jurys findings that the sexual abuse happened. Trump did not attend the May trial. He testified briefly and regularly sat with defense lawyers at the January trial, held in Manhattan, though the judge threatened to banish him from the courtroom for muttering disparaging comments about the case that were potentially loud enough for jurors to hear. Carroll said a flirtatious, chance encounter with Trump in 1996 at Bergdorf Goodmans Fifth Avenue store ended violently. She said Trump slammed her against a dressing room wall, pulled down her tights and forced himself on her. During her closing argument in January, Carroll attorney Roberta Kaplan, who is not related to the judge, requested $24 million in compensatory damages and an unusually high punitive award. The jury awarded $18.3 million in compensatory damages and another $65 million in punitive damages meant to deter future behavior. Kaplan urged jurors to punish Trump enough that he would stop a steady stream of public statements smearing Carroll as a liar and a whack job. She noted that Trump boasted of at least $14 billion in assets and that his brand alone is worth $10 billion. Donald Trump is prepared to use his wealth and power to defame people whenever he wants, she said. He ignored the last verdict as if it had never happened. Kaplan said Trump didnt show up at last years trial when a jury determined he had sexually assaulted and defamed Carroll, but he made sure to attend most of this years trial because it focused solely on damages. While Donald Trump may not care about the law, while he certainly doesnt care about the truth, he does care about money, the lawyer said. Big punitive damages, she told jurors, was the only way to give Ms. Carroll a chance at a normal life again where she is not regularly bullied and humiliated by one of the most powerful men on the planet. Carroll testified early in the trial that Trumps public statements had led to death threats. He shattered my reputation, she said. I am here to get my reputation back and to stop him from telling lies about me. She said shed had an electronic fence installed around the cabin in upstate New York where she lives, warned neighbors of the threats and bought bullets for a gun she keeps by her bed. Previously, I was known simply as a journalist and had a column, and now Im known as the liar, the fraud, and the whack job, Carroll testified. Where each Trump case stands Classified documents case Election interference Hush-money scheme Georgia election indictment Civil cases WAVERLY, Neb. In about four months, towns across America will hold their very own Fourth of July parades. Local fire and rescue teams often join in the fun, hanging off fire trucks and ambulances as they ride through town. If you find yourself in Waverly for their parade, you might see something a little less normal. They have a fire truck, too, but this one is 90 years old. Waverly Fire and Rescue's 1934 Ford Model BB has been a prized possession of the city for many years. Showcased at local events, the truck is a window into the past. Besides being a piece of history, the truck has quite the story of its own firetruck1, 3.4 Former Waverly Fire and Rescue chief Aaron Hummel drives a 1934 Ford Model BB fire truck, Monday in Waverly. In November of 1953, 19 years after the truck was purchased by the city, it had an engine failure on the way to a house fire in Prairie Home. Because of this, the truck was sold to Roca. Around 1973, the 1934 truck was purchased by the Omaha Fire Department Historical Group, which performed major engine and body restoration to display the vehicle at a museum in Omaha and parade it around the city. And about 46 years later, in August of 2019, the Waverly Fire Department was contacted by Omaha, who were interested in returning the truck to Waverly. Seven months later, in March of 2020, Aaron Hummel, a former Waverly fire chief, traveled up to Omaha, and with the help of Gana Trucking and a lowboy trailer, returned the vehicle to its home city. "They helped go up to Omaha when we brought it home because we couldn't drive it, we couldn't run it, it wouldn't start," Hummel said. Bringing the truck back to Waverly was the easy part; getting it back up and running proved to be more difficult. firetruck, 3.4 Waverly's Fire and Rescue's 1934 Ford Model BB fire truck. Over the course of the next year, the truck was brought back to life under the expertise of Bruce Whitefoot, a former Waverly fire chief and antique Ford enthusiast. "He loves working on the older Ford vehicles," Hummel said. Bringing the truck back to life involved a lot of work, including a new carburetor, sparkplugs, wires, a new rotor, fuel pumps, fuel lines and general electrical work. "We've had some former fire chiefs that have pitched in a lot of time and elbow grease to fix it up," Hummel said. Along with help from former fire chiefs, Nebraska businesses and members of the community donated their time and resources to repair the truck. One big help came from Mark Schmit, owner of the Schmit Automotive shop in Waverly, who donated spark plugs, engine oil and other parts. "I thought, oh that's cool. We'll get an old vehicle back in service," Schmit said. "Every community needs a fire department, so I try to support the fire department as much as I can." firetruck3, 3.4 A detail from Waverly Fire and Rescue's 1934 Ford Model BB fire truck. In addition to Schmit Automotive and private donors, Waverly Glass Company also helped out, donating glass for the truck's windshield. "It's a piece of history, Waverly's first fire truck, and it's nice that the community supports it, and the city wants to do something with it," Hummel said. After a long process of repairing and renovating the truck, on April 10, 2021, after being gone for 65 years, the 1934 Ford was driven through the streets of Waverly once again by Bruce Whitefoot. "It's always a joy when you get an old beast running again, that was a big deal," Whitefoot said. It's truly a sight to see, and a physical representation of how much the design and size of emergency vehicles have changed over 90 years. "A 5 foot, 6 man struggles to get inside the cab because it's such tight quarters," Hummel said. "Most F-150s are bigger than this fire truck." firetruck2, 3.4 Waverly Fire and Rescue's 1934 Ford Model BB fire truck is seen next to a modern fire truck Monday Waverly. In addition to size differences, the older model had no power steering, manual windows and a hatch that opened the windshield for the 1930s version of air conditioning. The 1934 fire truck pumped around 250 gallons a minute compared to the near 1,500 gallons in newer models. "Humorously, that old truck probably pumped more water than any of these newer trucks over the years because it was 'surround and drown,' till the basement was full of water they just kept pouring water on it," Whitefoot said. Firefighting techniques have since evolved to shooting water on a hot spot, which creates steam that puts fires out much quicker than water. "It just blows your mind when you think what they had back then versus what we have now," Jared Rains, fire chief at Waverly, said. "It's great to get it back and to start sharing with the rest of the community." Waverly Fire and Rescue loves showcasing the truck to the community, displaying it at local car shows, driving it around the city in different events and taking part in Fourth of July parades. The truck has been stored all across Waverly for the last four years with the help of local residents who donated their storage spaces, garages and barns, but now the city of Waverly is asking for donations for future storage, maintenance, restoration and any other associated costs to ease the burden on others. While nothing is confirmed, Hummel says the hope is that the city can find a permanent home for the truck. "Waverly currently has some conceptual drawings for a potential future fire station," Hummel said. "Part of that fire station would have a museum that would house that vehicle. We're trying to buy ourselves some time so we can get that done." That museum would include all kinds of antique gear for the public to see. When we have tours with children and whatnot they can go through and see all this old antique stuff of what they used to do 100 years ago," Ryan Mueller, assistant fire chief, said. Mueller shared the renderings for the future fire station, which on top of providing a space for the 1934 fire truck to be displayed, would also improve on the station they have now. "It would allow us to modernize our way of doing things. Right now we're double and triple stacked," he said. "Trucks got bigger over the last 50 years. We're kind of condensed." On top of improving space, Mueller said the new station would help with ventilation for gear by having its own space to be cleaned and prepared. "Right now if we have a structure fire and we come back, it smells like smoke, and that's not the modern approach," he said. But before that station is built, Waverly fire and rescue is asking for donations to find a temporary home for the truck. Waverly fire and rescue asks anyone who has information regarding similar antique firefighting equipment to contact them through their website www.citywaverly.com or by calling (402) 786-2312. DES MOINES Iowa House Republicans passed legislation Thursday intended to crack down on the smuggling of undocumented immigrants into the state and prevent them from accessing public assistance programs. House File 2608 passed 60-32 with all Democrats opposed. The bill expands the verification process for public assistance benefits by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to check the citizenship status of those applying under a push by Republicans to block undocumented immigrants from accessing taxpayer benefits. It also creates a new state crime of human smuggling. The bill would make it a felony to encourage or induce a person to enter or remain in the country in violation of federal law by concealing, harboring, or shielding that person from detection. Catholic charities and religious orders that house and assist asylum-seekers have expressed concerns they could be targeted should the bill be signed into law. The bill was amended to specify a person commits the offense of smuggling of persons if done knowingly, for payment or some other benefit. Rep. Steve Holt, R-Denison, the lead Republican on the bill, said the law is aimed at people engaged in human smuggling, not churches or other organizations, and that the amendment added to the bill alleviates those concerns. I think we have prosecutorial discretion. I think we have law enforcement discretion, and I think the language is plenty tight, Holt said. He also noted the state already checks the citizenship status of those applying for public assistance benefits as a result of existing federal law. Holt, however, argued it was important to codify the practice in state law should that change. Democrats said the bill was unnecessary and that concerns about immigration and border security need to be addressed at the federal level. "I think we can all agree that the immigration system needs some work, said Rep. Lindsay James, D-Dubuque. There has been bipartisan legislation worked out across the line on the federal level that imploded because of the politics of Donald Trump and the Republican do-nothing Congress. We shouldnt even be having this discussion today. House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, speaking to reporters before the House vote, echoed James. So the bills like that that are out there are simply playing into a national narrative, national politics and trying to rile up a base, Konfrst said. That's not how we're supposed to write policy. We're supposed to write policy in a way that addresses what Iowans need. This bill doesn't do that. Rather, she said Republicans should be focused on improving and expanding access to mental health service and child care, and better funding public schools. Republicans argued the ongoing crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border has reached critical levels, with significant increases in fentanyl and other drug seizures and human trafficking they attributed to a surge in illegal border crossings. Holt and Rep. Mark Thompson, R-Clarion, emphasized the urgent need for legislation to protect both Iowa residents and immigrants exploited by human smugglers and trafficked for sex or forced labor. Human smuggling is a business. It is a disgusting business, but it's a business, Thompson said. So it has supply and it has demand. The supply comes from mostly south of our border. But some of that demand is right here, he said of immigrants who come to Iowa to work on farms, at meatpackers and elsewhere. We're not doing anyone coming across our border any fair shake, any favors, by letting them come across and just come up to Iowa, Thompson said, asserting their immigration status is used against them as blackmail to deny them a decent wage or should they complain about work conditions. Creating a state crime for human smuggling will allow law enforcement to take action in the absence of sufficient enforcement of federal immigration laws at the U.S.-Mexico border, Holt said. It's a clear and present danger to our nation and our state, Holt said. The very real, profoundly serious crisis on our Southern border demands that we stand up as a state and protect our citizens and ourselves, and, perhaps, discourage human trafficking, labor trafficking, sex trafficking and all of the garbage that is happening on our Southern border and transferring into our state. DES MOINES State lawmakers this week advanced a bill that would dismantle citizen review boards that probe alleged police misconduct like those established in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Coralville, University Heights and Dubuque. Senate File 2325 would make changes to city civil service commissions that oversee the testing, hiring, promotion and discipline for police officers, firefighters and other civil service positions. The bill passed the Senate 37-9 after being amended to insert a provision that states a city with a civil service commission shall not adopt, enforce, or otherwise administer or establish a board or other entity for the purpose of citizen review of the conduct of police officers. Skylar Limkemann, an attorney for the Iowa Fraternal Order of Police, said the bill aims to improve due process in disciplinary hearings for civil service employees, including police and firefighters, by incorporating case law and clarifying procedures. The group represents about 2,000 of the roughly 7,000 law enforcement officers in the state. Limkemann, who represented a former Cedar Rapids police officer who unsuccessfully appealed his firing for being dishonest about 2016 traffic stop and violating department policies, said the bill aims to standardize the civilian review process for law enforcement in Iowa. What this bill does is it says we already have a civil service commission process here in the state of Iowa. We do not need a civilian review process, Limkemann told members of a House subcommittee that advanced the bill Thursday. Additionally, Iowa law does not provide regulations for how civilian review boards operate. As a result, each of the communities that has one has adopted different processes and purposes for their police review board, Limkemann said. Unfortunately, what we've seen really since 2019 and 2020 is just a continual attack of our law enforcement officers by some of the civilian review boards, he said. He didnt cite any specific incident where a board's review has escalated to the point of officers receiving additional consequences. Representatives for the Iowa League of Cities and the cities of Iowa City, Coralville, Des Moines, Cedar Falls expressed concerns to lawmakers about eliminating citizen review boards even if their city does have them in place citing their role in increasing transparency and accountability. Kelly Paschke, representing the Iowa Peace Officers Association, argued that the civil service system is broken and stacked against police officers, saying they often face political interference and lack of due process. Employees appealing disciplinary decisions before a civil service commission would be allowed to request the production of documents and depose witnesses. The bill states a civil service employee could be removed, discharged, demoted or suspended only with just cause and upon a finding by a preponderance of evidence they violated the law, city rules or policies, or is physically or mentally unfit. We have their back Sen. Scott Webster, a Republican from Bettendorf, during Senate floor debate criticized past discussions about policing policy by Iowa Citys Community Police Review Board. Webster also asserted citizen review boards give no due process to a police officer at all. The Iowa City Community Police Review Board, according to city code, has no power to review police officer personnel records or disciplinary matters and has only limited civil, administrative review powers, and has no power or authority over criminal matters. Webster also said the legislation is needed to defend law enforcement from political interventions by citizen review boards and the media frenzy that goes along with them. Today we send a clear message to the brave men and women who put on their uniform every day, who stand on that thin, blue line: We have their back. We stand with them. We respect them, Webster said. Sen. Janice Weiner, a Democrat who represents Iowa City, took umbrage with Websters comments about Iowa City's board, and defended it when she spoke on the Senate floor the next day. As for our community police review board, facts are super helpful. Theyve helped build relations within the community, Weiner said. Theyre citizens who in some cases may have had difficult relations with police in the past and want to improve them, citizens who just want to be part of the process, as well as others who have experience with policing. Local-control issue In Cedar Rapids, the Citizen Review Board is focused on public engagement and improving community-police relations, advising the city on police department policies and practices, reviewing citizen complaints and serving on the committee that hires the police chief a process the city just recently completed. The board was created in 2021 after racial justice advocates, led by the nonprofit Advocates for Social Justice, pushed for stronger civilian oversight of local law enforcement after George Floyds murder by Minneapolis police in 2020 as one of seven demands for reform. But the board itself doesnt have disciplinary authority over officers. When the city receives a complaint against an officer, the police departments Professional Standards unit conducts an investigation and delivers findings to the police chief, who then reviews that report and may request additional information. Afterward, the chief provides a report to the board, which may provide its own report to the City Council if a board majority disagrees with the chief's findings. Under the ordinance, detailed written findings of fact and evidence concerning the allegations in the complaint are provided the board, but identifying information such as faces or names of witnesses, officers and victims are edited out of the materials. Rep. Eric Gjerde, a Democrat and Cedar Rapids police officer, said theres merit in changing civil service procedures to ensure every civil service employee has due process, but objects to eliminating citizen police review boards. This comes back to, in my opinion, a local-control issue, Gjerde told The Gazette. I think the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the city of Cedar Rapids and the Cedar Rapids police review board has a positive relationship and should be able to continue. Bill would silence marginalized voices In a statement, the Advocates for Social Justice board urged the community to call state representatives and ask they vote no on the bill. The advocates say the Cedar Rapids City Council's approval of the board affirmed its role in strengthening community-police relations and law enforcement accountability. "SF 2325 is yet another example of our state legislature trying to silence the Black, Brown and other marginalized voices of the citizens of Iowa, the group said. After all the protests, community forums and negotiations, it is disgusting, heartbreaking and telling that we are still having to navigate repeated attacks and setbacks. ASJ affirms that the states action to ban citizen review boards is an act of white supremacy and one that is intentional act to uphold violent and racist systems in our state, all while undermining local agency. Rep. Sami Scheetz, D-Cedar Rapids, said House Democrats plan to offer amendments to preserve and protect the existence and operation of citizen review boards across Iowa. While I recognize and support many aspects of the civil service bill that provide necessary protections for public-sector workers, eliminating the police review boards undermines the progress we have made in establishing crucial platforms for dialogue, accountability, and reform within our policing systems, Scheetz said. The presence of citizen review boards has proved to be an invaluable asset in building trust and fostering a constructive relationship between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. The bill now heads to the full House Local Government Committee for consideration and passage before a March 15 legislative deadline. Erin Murphy of The Gazette Des Moines Bureau contributed to this report. In police body cam footage recorded in the hospital on the day before his death, Nex Benedict reaches out to shake the officers hand. His legs are spread casually on the exam bed, his other hand resting on his thighno obvious nerves, keeping things chill. Hes dressed in black, hair well above his shoulders and pushed back. As he tells the officer about having been jumped by three girls in the bathroom and having blacked out at his high school earlier that day, his affect is that of a guy attempting to act tough and unfazed in front of another guy. The video is an important document of how Nexthe 16-year-old Owasso, Oklahoma, student whose sudden death on Feb. 7 has sparked national outragedescribed the altercation at his school in the hours between the fight itself and the next day, when he suddenly lost consciousness at home. (His exact cause of death is undetermined, pending a full report by the medical examiner.) But its also a record of how Nex spoke and dressed and acted on what he thought was a normal school day. Those details of style and presentation speak to me personally as an adult trans man who was once a transmasculine teenager. Looking at Nex before he died makes apparent some of the invisible struggles, compromises, and small victories that are so common for people like me, people like Nex, a community whose life experience is often dismissed and undermined and questioned. Im using he/him pronouns for Nex because reporting by NBC Out has confirmed that while Nex used the pronouns they/them in some contexts, including around family, he/him is how his friends and partners knew him. The pronouns, plus his friends description of him as trans, plus how he looks and sounds on video combine to present a picture of Nex as a masculine-of-center trans kid. The word for this is transmasculine, encompassing binary trans men (like me) and nonbinary people whose genders hew toward, but dont fully line up with, maleness. Advertisement Before I go on, I want to be clear: I realize that I did not know Nex. I know that Nex isnt me. I dont mean to speak for him or put him in a box or classify him. Part of the tragedy of dying so young is that Nex wont get to grow up, or explore his identity further, perhaps in ways that might have changed over time. I am not trying to take that complexity or possibility away from him when he was still exploring who he was and who he wanted to be. Exploration and self-discovery lie at the heart of what it means to be an adolescent, especially an LGBTQ+ one, and Nex was lucky to have the support of family and friends who were giving him the room to find himself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That said, we do know Nex was presenting himself as transmasculine at the time he died. And that matters because transmasculine people are made invisible, often described as the lost daughters of nonaffirming cisgender parents, denied agency by made-up stories of social contagion, and used as pawns in a political game to deprive trans people of our rights and dignity. But rarely are we looked at and accepted for who we are, without a layer of conservative propaganda that feminizes us and denies us our experience. When I watch Nex, I remember being transmasculine and 16. It all comes rushing back. His cocky little head tilt. How hes trying to carry himself as masc as possible in his posture and gestures, despite being called she and miss by the police officer. I recognize this approach of quietly asserting oneself as masculine without making an undignified fuss about the pronouns other people are using, accidentally or otherwise. I did that. Most of us do that. Advertisement One detail Ive noticed that other people might not was that in the school picture of Nex thats been circulated in the media, hes wearing makeup. In other photos, his hair is soft around his face, rather than pushed back. Even his facial expressions are softer in pictures. The side he showed on video, acting more tough and boylike, seems like it wasnt the part of him photographers were looking to capture. His family (who were by all accounts supportive and who deserve understanding, grace, and compassion) may also have unconsciously gravitated to pictures where he looked more girlish. Advertisement When I was about the same age, my own senior photo was taken wearing womens clothing, makeup, smiling, with no glasses. Even though on most days that year I wore mens jeans, a T-shirt, a flannel mens button-down, and no makeup, on Picture Day, the photo was of somethingsomeonedifferent. Its a classically transmasculine experience to have this constant negotiation with how youre trying to present yourself and the more feminine way adults would like you to be. For me, people chalked up my way of dressing and my hatred of being in pictures to low self-esteem. For other kids I knew, it was dismissively called attention-seeking. Advertisement Advertisement Watching Nex after his death, seeing his pictures and hearing how he was described differently by his queer friends and his clearly loving but struggling-to-understand family, is nearly unbearable. The way he walks through the halls in the surveillance footage. His slightly baggy clothing concealing any curves that might otherwise show themselves. He didnt have low self-esteemhe was coming into his own. The reality of transmasculinity is to constantly encounter practical barriersmismatched documents that dont match your appearance, airport pat-downs no matter which gender you appear as, choices about which restroom is the least likely to lead to physical violencenot to mention social judgement and disapproval, all meant to halt our self-expression. And yet ironically, conservatives in recent years have somehow managed to convince themselves that being transmasc is much too easy. They say theres an epidemic of transmasculinity among young girls, a TikTok contagion that needs to be suppressed. They say a kid like Nex cant be allowed to explore all sides of who he is, has to be molded into a feminine girl and later a woman and a mother. Becoming at all like me is seen by conservatives as a tragedy for kids like Nex, an ugly subhuman fate to be avoided. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a member of the transmasc community, it can be hard to know how to speak up in defense of the ability of kids like Nex to come into their own. My words of support and care are constantly at risk of being twisted into something unrecognizable, as if Im trying to force young people into being like me, instead of wanting them to find themselves, whoever that may be, as I once found myself. It aches to want to help, or even just offer assurance that a future is possible, only to be accused of recruiting or grooming, to be equated with a catching disease. The truth is this: On the day he died, Nex Benedict was transmasculine. In the days before he died, he was transmasculine in a school that didnt want him to be that way, in a state that has passed laws trying to stop him from being that way, and in a family for whom transness was a foreign, though not unwelcome, concept. No one in the trans community made Nex Benedict transmasculine. Instead, we have tried to raise the alarm over the wave of anti-transgender hate that has swept the country and made his life and the lives of other trans youth more difficult, more precarious. Now that hes dead, we must remember him not as conservatives who hated him would want us to define him, but as he was. Nex Benedict was transmasculinehe was a kid who wore boyish clothes, used he/him pronouns with his friends, and downplayed a fight hed blacked out in to seem less soft. It is a disservice to his memory and to all the trans kids who are still alive, who need us to see them and fight for them, to do anything other than celebrate that fact. Recently, one of my ninth grade English students told me her parents rewarded her for making the honor roll by allowing her to text them during class. They like to know what Im doing in the classroom as its happening live, she said. We have a cellphone policy, I reminded her. I know, she said, but you can always break it to message your parents. My student was partly right. Emergencies happen. Parents want access to their kids. But this wasnt an emergency. When my dad texts and asks me how I am, another ninth grader said, he gets worried if I dont message back immediately. Her friend said: My mom expects a text each class period so she knows what Im doing. These examples are not exceptions. They happen every day. I teach at Evanston Township High School in Evanston, Illinois, a large, highly ranked suburban high school that serves a diverse student population. As of the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics, which is from 2020, 76.9 percent of American public schools have cellphone policies. That includes oursat my school, phones are to be put away before students enter the classroom. A University of Michigan C.S. Mott Childrens Hospital poll reported that the No. 1 concern for parents in 2023 was excessive screen time. Yet many expect constant contact with their kids during class, even if theyre aware of school cellphone policies, and school officials point to parents as the main obstacle to banning phones in schools. If these two facts seem incompatible to you, youre not alone. We teachers are right there with you. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some parents of kids in my class watch the screens of their kids school-issued Chromebooks remotely when theyre in class. My mom wants to know Im not playing video games, a student said. Many parents are so tightly tethered to their kids its as though theyre sitting in our classrooms with us. And its not only through screens. Some of them contact us about schoolwork so their kid doesnt have to. A student told me he saw no reason to talk to me about an assignment he was struggling with because I know my mom is going to email you about it for me. I think whats not getting across to parents is that school isnt a livestream. And its for students, not their parents. The incessant monitoring is disrupting the learning environment and violating the sacred space of the classroom. Advertisement Certain parents have already, quite publicly, insinuated themselves deeply into schools, leading to a push for book bans in 33 states, closing libraries, and limiting classroom discussions on race, gender, and sexuality. Parental classroom surveillance through student phones and laptops, which is something both liberal and conservative parents may do, is a less discussed manifestation of this trend. But it can have a similar effect, preventing students from forming critical thoughts of their own and inhibiting their growth. Advertisement Of course, one reason parents are surveilling their children so much is because theyre worried about their mental health. In addition to screen time, other top parent concerns include anxiety, depression, and bullying, according to a 2022 Pew Research study. Parents are also concerned about school shootings. (That group of parents might be interested to hear that security experts find the idea of kids using their personal cellphones during an active-shooter incident to be quite concerning.) Advertisement Advertisement Educators are worried too. An EdWeek Research Center poll revealed that 88 percent of us see a deterioration in students classroom behaviortheir ability to focus, their executive skills, their heightened anxiety and depression, and an escalation in violent behaviorwhen they have increased screen time. Parents might mean well, but the surveillance is hurting kids. School is supposed to be a place where students get distancelearn to be away from homeas they grow and figure out whom they are becoming. The classroom is a place where they learn to formulate arguments, back them up, write and rewrite, think through problems, make mistakes, and try again. Its what poet Tom Wayman called a microcosm of human experience / assembled for you to query and examine and ponder. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This distinction between home and school exists to help teenagers think for themselves. Yet some students are not getting the gift of experiencing this separation. A few months ago, one of my students sneakily took a picture of a spelling quiz and sent it to his mother. Ten minutes laterstudents were still taking the quizI received an email from her asking why I had given it and if he could, instead, take it the next day so he can review more. The student hadnt prepared for the quiz and was understandably anxious. Hed also been trained that his mom would take care of it for him. But as soon as she took over, the opportunity for him to work through his frustration was gone. If he had experienced the natural consequence of being unprepared, chances are he would have studied for the next time. The lesson available to him could have been greater than studying for one quiz. He didnt learn it. Advertisement Educators dont mind when parents contact us with questions. We want good communication with families, and we hope our students share what they are doing in school. But the increased parental surveillance has blurred the boundaries between home and school so much that students are not developing into independent thinkers. Advertisement Advertisement Students whose Chromebooks are monitored by their parents are also not as invested in their work as they could be. They may be less likely to play Minecraft in class, but theyre also less likely to let their thoughts wander when they brainstorm in a draft because they know that their parents are watching them. The classroom is so important that even during lockdown, when we were remote, teachers tried to duplicate the physical space. Students played games in the Zoom chat, shared their screens to show presentations they created, and led discussions. Yet, some parents still violated the sanctity of the classroom by surveilling their kids. Advertisement One day, during that time, a mother of one of my students sent me an email. The subject line, in all caps, read, I CAN HEAR EVERYTHING AND I DONT LIKE IT. We were discussing Romeo and Juliet. Her email quoted things students had shared about whether they believe in love at first sight and if they think that love lasts forever. It was the liveliest discussion theyd had all year. With everyone stuck at homeand given the increased mental health concerns during the pandemicI was glad my students were eager to talk about relationships and human connections in the cyber world wed created together. I never fully understood why the parent didnt like what she heard. It didnt matter. Our classroom wasnt for her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her son barely spoke in class after that. I tried to encourage him, but his mother was right there with us, having scolded both teacher and student. Lockdown gave parents a front-row seat to our virtual classes and made it easy for them to monitor their kids. Even though weve been back in person for several years, they havent left. Advertisement This past semester, another student violated the cellphone policy by FaceTiming with her mother in our classroom minutes after receiving a grade she didnt like on a paper. I was about to conference with each student. Since the mother had already talked with her daughter, this student, like the one who had taken a photo of the spelling quiz, refused to talk with me about it. The mother told her daughter to tell me to call her immediately, even though she knew we were in the middle of class. Advertisement After school that day, I called the parent on her phone from my phone, to talk about her daughter who had been FaceTiming on her phone in class with her motherwhom I was now talking with, and who had told her daughter, on the phone, to tell me to phone her during class. (It sounds like a version of Whos on First? a colleague joked, when I tried to explain what had happened. Who is on first? I asked. Our students or their parents?) I made no headway with this mother. I told her we have a cellphone policy and explained that phones take away from our classroom community. Community? she asked, then, before I could answer, told me it was perfectly fine for her to be in contact with her daughter throughout the day because she needs me. Advertisement Teachers and parents used to partner together in the development of children, each of us with a vital and valued role in our communities. Now it often seems we are at cross-purposes. Its not too late. We can still collaborate on a unified vision with healthy boundaries designed for kids to grow into independent thinkers. Together, we can restore the classroom to the sacred place it should be, the microcosm of human experience Wayman wrote about, assembled for all students to query and examine and ponder. Advertisement Some parents are very supportive of the classroom environment and dont want their children on phones when they are in class. A few parents have told me they are old-school, that they dont want contact with their kids during the day, not only because of phones but also so they can get a break from each otherkids at school, parents at workuntil later, when they see each other and can share about their day. Theres also a parent-led movement pushing for cellphone bans in schools. If we dont all work together, our students wont be prepared for the adult world. Or theyll reshape it into the surveillance state they are getting used to, where they wont know what it feels like to take risks or be imaginative or spontaneous because their whole lives have become a recorded livestream. And education will just get stranger. This piece was originally published on Just Security, an online forum for analysis of U.S. national security law and policy. Just weeks before the start of the historic criminal trial of Donald Trump, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg made a surprising decision to set aside a potentially potent piece of evidence: Prosecutors will try to convict the former president without referring to an admission made by his former lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. Appearing on Sean Hannitys show for an interview on May 2, 2018, Giuliani told Fox News viewers that Trump knew about the hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, an important point prosecutors will need to prove at trial later this month. So why did Bragg decide not to show the interview to the jury during his case-in-chief? Legal analysts believe pushing to introduce this evidence could have compromised any conviction of Trump on appeal, and Bragg already showed he had stronger evidence at his disposal from the former president himself. How Bragg addresses the issue must balance two competing concerns: for supporters of his prosecution, the need for accountability in what may become the only criminal case against Trump to go to trial before the 2024 presidential electionand for skeptics, the need for such historic proceedings to conform to evidentiary standards of due process to ensure that 34 felony convictions against a former president can stand up on appeal. To understand why, its important to remember the context and history of Giulianis interview with Hannity and the political firestorm that greeted it. Advertisement In April 2018, the FBI had raided the home and office of Trumps then-fixer Michael Cohen in pursuit of multiple criminal cases, including a campaign finance case about hush money payments to Daniels before the presidential election. At the time, the Wall Street Journal was six stories deep into its Pulitzer Prizewinning investigative series on the hush money scandal. The articles turned public attention ever closer to the thensitting president. (One headline in the series read: Cohen Would Turn Against President if Charged, Counselor Warned Trump.) Set against this backdrop, Giuliani accepted an invitation to appear on Sean Hannitys show on Fox News in order to insist that Trump did nothing wrong. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Politico, Giuliani made a boozy pit stop at the Grand Havana Room, a cigar smokefilled haunt in Midtown Manhattan. Giuliani denied he was drinking, but by all accounts, the exNew York City mayor told Fox viewers more than he should have for his client. Advertisement Then-President Trump did know about the general arrangement that Cohen would take care of things like this, Giuliani told Hannity during the interview, referring to the hush money payments. Later in the show, Giuliani noted that Cohen funneled his $130,000 payoff to a law firm and revealed, for the first time, that Trump reimbursed him. Giulianis performance instantly became a late-night punchline, with comedian Stephen Colbert comparing it to a lawyer talking his client out of a speeding ticket by telling the officer he was too drunk. Rudy, youre not helping, Colbert cracked. Giuliani later claimed he misspoke, and Trumps White House pivoted to damage control. Almost immediately after the Hannity interview, Trump and his associates quickly disavowed Giulianis remarks. Two days after it aired, Trump told the New York Times that Giuliani had not yet started his new role on his legal team at the time of the broadcast and suggested the former mayor did not get his facts straight. Giuliani followed up the Hannity interview with another sit-down with ABC News host George Stephanapoulos, repudiating and casting doubt on some of his earlier remarks. Advertisement Advertisement In the lead-up to trial, Trumps attorney Todd Blanche has sought to keep the interviews and their aftermath away from the jury, arguing in a legal brief that Giuliani went off script, without authority, and without preparation or sufficient knowledge of the underlying facts. According to the defense, Giulianis remarks amounted to hearsay because he was not acting as Trumps agent, and his televised remarks about Daniels were unauthorized. Hearsay evidence is an out-of-court statement that is offered for its truth, and is generally inadmissible unless it falls into one of many exceptions. Advertisement Rejecting that argument, prosecutors described Giulianis statements as admissible non-hearsay because the former mayor, as the then-presidents lawyer, was his agent. Trumps legal team even consented to the admission of Giulianis statements in their failed effort to transfer the state case to federal court, prosecutors noted. But legal experts are not so sure prosecutors had a clear path to victory with that position. Advertisement The prosecution, I would think, wants a clean presentation, and adding Rudy Giulianis statement to the mix could open an unnecessary can of worms, said attorney Julie Rendelman, a former homicide prosecutor in Brooklyn, New York. Brian Buckmire, a longtime public defender and practicing trial attorney, believed Trumps attorneys had a solid argument to exclude Giulianis statements, and it was one that he would make in their position. But he added that Braggs decision to leave out that piece of evidence rather than push the issue before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan may cause some concern for Trumps legal team. Advertisement Advertisement As a defense attorney, my instincts are asking, Do they have something better? Buckmire said. Advertisement To Buckmire and Rendelman, who are both longtime criminal law practitioners affiliated with the Law&Crime network, Bragg seems intent on avoiding anything that might compromise a final conviction. One thought is that Bragg wants to avoid the risk of having an appealable issue should they win at trial, Rendelman said. I dont believe its so cut and dry that Giuliani was acting as Trumps agent when he made those statements. For Buckmire, the question of whether to show jurors Giulianis interviews went to trial strategy as much as the law, especially if prosecutors found similar statements made by Trump that fit their definition of whats admissible. Indeed, Trumps attorneys fought the admission of nearly 100 statements attributed to the former president, including excerpts from his books like The Art of the Deal, Trump: Think Like a Billionaire, and Think BigMake It Happen in Business and Life. One of the 82 statements from Trump involves his boast to Fox & Friends reporter Ainsley Earhardt about the reimbursements: They came from me, and I tweeted about it, a comment that fell months after Giulianis interviewand which represents, in many ways, a more explicit concession than any comment his former lawyer made. Advertisement Advertisement Related From Slate The Supreme Court Just Delivered a Rare Self-Own for John Roberts Read More Notably, and unlike the Giuliani interview statements, Braggs team did not abandon this more direct evidence from Trump when challenged by the defense and fought to preserve its admissibility. As to Trumps interview with Earhardt, prosecutors say the former presidents lawyers should lodge any objection regarding the statements relevance if and when the People move to admit this statement. Prosecutors intend to cite Trumps books boasting about his careful attention to all aspects of his business and his penchant for retribution, encapsulated in comments like if someone screws you, screw them back and like it says in the Bible, an eye for an eye. Trumps lawyers noted that many of those books were ghostwritten, and prosecutors do not dispute that. Advertisement Defendant is free to argue at trial that he did not in fact say the things he said in his books, Braggs assistant Matthew Colangelo wrote in a legal brief. The jury can then assess that claim and determine how much weight the statements deserve. Though Giulianis half-decade-old Hannity interview may have caused a legal and public relations headache for Trump in 2018, it will likely barely register as a footnote to the former presidents criminal trial. However, prosecutors did not close the door entirely to its appearance in a possible rebuttal case, only the case-in-chief. Advertisement Advertisement The Giuliani interview would be admissible only if Trumps legal team opens the door to the subject in their defense caseif, for example, the defense alluded to one of his denials in these interviews. If the defense were to cross-examine a witness that in any way alluded to Giulianis statements then the court may find that the door has been opened, Rendelman noted. Its hard to imagine a scenario where that would occur but with Trump, you just never know. More from Just Security: Past Time to Liquidate Russian Assets Applying Ukraine Precedent, DOJ Should Use Funds Forfeited from Lawbreakers in Syria to Assist Victims Exhibitors showcase their products at the newly launched Luyanzi Uganda-China Cultural Exchange Center at Luyanzi Institute of Technology, district of Wakiso, Uganda on March 8, 2024. A Uganda-China cultural exchange center was inaugurated Friday at a vocational school in central Uganda, marking the deepening of cultural relations between the two countries.(Photo by Nicholas Kajoba/Xinhua) WAKISO, Uganda, March 8 (Xinhua) -- A Uganda-China cultural exchange center was inaugurated Friday at a vocational school in central Uganda, marking the deepening of cultural relations between the two countries. The colorful ceremony, which fused Chinese and Ugandan cultural music, creative dances, and an exhibition, was held at the Luyanzi Institute of Technology in the Ugandan district of Wakiso. Zhang Lizhong, the Chinese ambassador to Uganda who launched the Luyanzi Uganda-China Cultural Exchange Center, said there should be mutual respect for each other's culture in the global community. He said countries should not seek to impose their values on others but seek cooperation. He said the launch of the cultural exchange center is in line with the aspiration of China's Global Civilization Initiative whose concept is respect for the diversity of global civilizations. Vincent Musubire, deputy principal private secretary to the vice president of Uganda, said the establishment of the center is critical to strengthening the cultural understanding between the two countries. "This center is going to be a venue of convergence to plan people-to-people programs for a shared future," Musubire said, noting that language, cultural sports, tourism, and South-to-South cooperation agenda will be the core of the operations of the center. "In all these relationships, we shall move slowly but surely to succeed, guided by the wisdom of the Chinese Philosopher Confucius: 'It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop,'" he added. Mohammed Bogere, deputy principal of Luyanzi Institute of Technology, said the center will be critical in the dissemination of cultural diversity and intercultural competence enhancement. "Cultural exchange is a pillar in the co-existence of humanity, especially in such a global village that we live in. We can never alienate ourselves from the fact that individual cultural efforts are significant in shaping a more tolerant and kindhearted global society," Bogere said. Lilian Ajarova, chief executive officer of the Uganda Tourism Board, a state agency charged with the promotion of tourism, said culture is one of Uganda's major tourism attractions. "This is special in tourism because culture is the main factor that determines the difference between any group of people. It is important to have the collaboration between the Ugandan and Chinese cultures," Ajarova said. The launch of the center was also used to commemorate International Women's Day. Both Ugandan and Chinese communities converged to celebrate the day. The Luyanzi Institute of Technology also serves as a training base for local Chinese language teachers in Uganda. Chinese ambassador to Uganda Zhang Lizhong (2nd R front), flanked by local guests, tours the exhibition at the newly launched Luyanzi Uganda-China Cultural Exchange Center at Luyanzi Institute of Technology, district of Wakiso, Uganda on March 8, 2024. A Uganda-China cultural exchange center was inaugurated Friday at a vocational school in central Uganda, marking the deepening of cultural relations between the two countries. (Photo by Nicholas Kajoba/Xinhua) This is Totally Normal Quote of the Day, a feature highlighting a statement from the news that exemplifies just how extremely normal everything has become. Thank you to everyone who supported our campaign and voted to shake up the status quo in Washington. Because of you, we had the establishment running scaredwithstanding 3 to 1 in TV spending and an onslaught of billionaires spending millions to rig this election. A tweet sent by Rep. Katie Porter after she lost the California Senate primary Rep. Katie Porter is not known in Washington for having a lot of friends. Nor, evidently, is she a gracious loser. After getting stomped in Californias Senate race Tuesday night by Democrat Adam Schiff and Schiffs campaign ward, Republican Steve Garveywho, it must be said over and over, didnt have a campaign of his ownshe weighed in rather bitterly: We had the establishment running scared, she wrote on X, of her own campaign that fell far short, withstanding 3 to 1 in TV spending and an onslaught of billionaires spending millions to rig this election. Thank you to everyone who supported our campaign and voted to shake up the status quo in Washington. Because of you, we had the establishment running scared withstanding 3 to 1 in TV spending and an onslaught of billionaires spending millions to rig this election. (1/) Katie Porter (@katieporteroc) March 6, 2024 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That last verb perked up some ears! Porters would-have-been colleagues, Democratic Sens. Brian Shatz of Hawaii and Alex Padilla of California, pounced. Shatz tweeted: The election in California was not rigged. Padilla said her statement was blatantly not true. Its interesting. You dont hear a lot of Democrats calling elections rigged these days. As political verbiage, it has been annexed by Trump and his enablers. The backlash to Porters tweet (which was voluminous) was clearly an emotional response to the word itself; it wasnt just that Porter was a sore loser but that she implicated her fellow Democratic lawmakers in some level of MAGA-coded subterfuge. Rigged, terminologically speaking, seems to have a different valence after the 2020 election, and the subsequent attempt by Republicans to overturn it. Advertisement In response, Porter doubled down by way of clarification: Rigged means manipulated by dishonest means. A few billionaires spent $10 million+ on attack ads against me. Please find a statement from me below. pic.twitter.com/as8H2cHWL8 Katie Porter (@katieporteroc) March 7, 2024 Advertisement Advertisement And the cycle repeated. (This time, even journalists at major outlets piled on to condemn her.) Extricating the genuine outrage from some good old-fashioned dancing on the grave of a vanquished, not-entirely-beloved colleague is impossible here; there are elements of both at play. But was Porter wrong? Everyone knows that money influences elections. Few things in politics are less controversial. And super PACs and billionaire megadonors did play a major role in the California Senate raceregardless of whether rigged was the right way to describe it. Advertisement Schiff had tons and tons of money. So did Porter, albeit more from small-dollar donations. But one of Porters biggest nemeses, Fairshake PAC, was stood up by the cryptocurrency industry she so abhors. That PAC sunk $10 million into the race; half of it came from Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, the villain twins of the Facebook saga, who seemed to have it in for Porter on a personal level. Another Republican-backed influence operation, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, threw in $5 million for Schiff, possibly because Porter got tangled up in her messaging on the war in Gaza. Advertisement Again, is that rigging? Maybe not, but its certainly putting a finger on the scale. And that was only a small part of the dealings that helped decide the race. As you can read heretweet my piece, Katie!Pelosi worked tirelessly in the background of the Senate race to secure the position for Schiff. She hammered fellow California House reps and orgs for endorsements and elevated him with her personal backing. Advertisement Advertisement Rigged? OK, maybe thats a little harsh. Or maybe Democrats cant bear to hear that term anymore. But you wont find a member of the party who doesnt believe the basic fact that money influences elections, and that that should be reeled in. Advertisement In fact, as commonplace as it is today to hear Democrats calling to overturn Dobbs, it has been equally commonplace in the last decade to hear Democrats call for action on a different Supreme Court decision: Citizens United, the ruling that led to the creation of super PACs and ushered in the modern era of unlimited political spending. The abolition of big money in politics has been a clarion call for elected Democrats for a long time; if anything, the dogpile on Porter is indicative of the sad fact that getting money out of politics has lost its priority status for Democratsespecially in the vaunted effort to defend democracy. (Since the Trump years began, Democrats have not infrequently enjoyed major fundraising advantages, perhaps blunting the urgency of that core principle in their minds.) One of Porters few defenders online was Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig, who put it about as succinctly as one can. Sure, it wasnt rigged in the sense that Trump means. But when did Trump-speak become obligatory? posted Lessig. What she said was true and fair, given her (correct) values about how this democracy is broken. This is Totally Normal Quote of the Day, a feature highlighting a statement from the news that exemplifies just how extremely normal everything has become. We continue to draw courage from those who bent the moral arc of the universe, and when we gaze upon the heavens, never forget that our DNA contains the same ingenuity that put man on the moon. Alabama Sen. Katie Britt in the Republican response to the 2024 State of the Union Alabama Sen. Katie Britt delivered a perplexing rebuttal to President Joe Bidens State of the Union speech Thursday. In the 18-minute-long speech, Britt is seated in front of a beige kitchen with a silver cross dangling on her necklace. The cozy backdrop contains a neat fruit bowl and a photograph tacked to the wall appearing to show the senator, her children, and her husband. Britt started the response criticizing Bidens speechin which, among other arguments, he portrayed Democrats as champions for the working class and promised to restore Roe v. Wadeas a performance from a career politician. The irony, though, is that her own response came off as overly scripted to many online spectators. (One person quipped that her speech was a late entry to the upcoming Oscars.) Although many agreed she appeared to be acting, no one knew what role she was auditioning for exactly. Advertisement It was her cadence and delivery that perhaps caused the most confusion during and after the speech. Several times during the rebuttal, she began to whispereven hiss, some would say. Female politicians voices have always been scrutinized, often unfairly, but she sounded and appeared perpetually as if she were holding back tears, dramatically enunciating many individual words as if through great anguish and barely suppressed rage. Britts quavery, faint voice may have been intended to inject or reflect a sense of peril and doom around the state of the country under Bidens leadership. But, for those who know what Britt sounds like regularlyquite normal!the pearl-clutching act rang disingenuous and strange. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just 42 years old and telegenic, Britt was chosen to give the address as a rising GOP star. But her youth, and her pitch for herself as Americas mom, clashed bizarrely not only with her voice, but with her speechs apocalyptic prophecies around the future of a Biden-led America. If the president is reelected, Britt warned, it will mean the Chinese Communist Party infiltrating the minds of younger generations through TikTok, a defunded police force, and violent crime from Mexican cartels. Advertisement From fentanyl poisonings to horrific murders, there are empty chairs tonight at kitchen tables just like this one because of President Bidens senseless border policies, she said. In between the rhetoric of doom and despair, Britts face maintained a sanguine smile that some on social media called dystopian. Others joked the video was A.I. Women in politics have often been imploredby opponents and advisers aliketo smile more. Its an outdated and sexist refrain that suggests that women who seem stern or cold are not politically viable. But her constant smiling may have produced the opposite effect. Why does Katie Britt go from smiling to being on the verge of tears and then back to some scary Steven King character? Joy Behar, a host on The View, wrote on X. Advertisement In addition to Britts semipermanent smile, the kitchen backdrop, and her numerous references to mothers, daughters, fathers, and all family members in between, the senator appeared to be a promoting a cult of domesticity (TL;DR: a belief that valorizes stay-at-home mothers who contribute to a strong family unit by upholding domestic duties). It was a thinly veiled attempt to win the confidence of conservative female votersbut it may have backfired with voters who are disillusioned with the Republican Party in particular following the Alabama Supreme Courts ruling that frozen embryos are children, placing IVF operations in the state in legal limbo. Advertisement Around the speechs 13-minute mark, addressing the outrage over the Alabama ruling, Britt veered into a telemarketer vibe, reminiscent of commercials in which salespeople urge viewers to call the number on the screen. Advertisement We strongly support continued nationwide access to in vitro fertilization, Britt said. We want to help loving moms and dads bring precious life into this world. The conviction behind her voice sounded less targeted to doubtful GOP women, though, and more as if she were trying to convince herself. Britts odd and dramatic delivery was further underlined in her grand conclusion, in which she waxed poetic about the victories of mankind and American society, including that moon-landers ingenuity running through our DNA. Advertisement Advertisement We are steeped in the blood of patriots, she said. We now carry forward the same flame of freedom as the liberators of an oppressed Europe. Together, we can reawaken the heroic spirit of a great nation, she continued. Because, America, we dont just have a rendezvous with destiny; we take destinys hand and we lead it. At the end of her speech, the smile returnedfor an awkward length of time, before the camera cut off (an editing choice that, to be fair, was not her fault). Then, the show concluded to a resounding wave of confusion. Former RNC Chair Michael Steele said on X, Well, that Katie Britt experience was experiential. Not all reviews, however, were negative. When asked about the GOP response, Biden took a diplomatic approach and called Britt a very talented woman, before adding, I didnt quite understand the connections she was making. Twice a year, Americans come together to complain about time. In November, we set our clocks back and complain that we will now have to suffer shorter days, facing the gloom of an afternoon sunset. In March, we set our clocks forward and complain about a lost hour of sleep, as well as darker mornings when we wake up. These gripes are all perfectly fair. What is unjust, however, is the unlikely scapegoat for these grievances: Daylight Saving Time. Many Americans have come to blame DST for their clock- and sunset-based woes. If you are one of them, I am here to tell you that you are dangerously mistaken. Lets begin with a review of terms that everyone should know but hardly anybody does. When we spring forward this weekend, we will be entering DSTthe period between March and November when the sun sets later in the day. When we fall back in November, we will enter Standard Timethe period between November and March when the sun sets earlier. Our collective failure to grasp this basic terminology has led to a lot of confusion. Every November, countless Americans condemn DST because they conflate it with Standard Time. They think that the dreaded winter months of early sunsets and seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, are the fault of DST. I understand why: It is not obvious why daylight is saved when it is backloaded toward the end of the day. The terms are ambiguous, which leads would-be critics of Standard Time to unleash their anguish on their true ally, DST. Advertisement To see how widespread this misapprehension is, look at coverage of Californias Proposition 7, which easily passed in 2018. The Los Angeles Times described the measure as ending daylight saving time; CBS called it the first step of abolishing DST. That is incorrect, as these outlets wouldve known if theyd read the proposition, which is titled the Permanent Daylight Saving Time Measure. As that name indicates, the measure permits the state Legislature to implement year-round DST by a two-thirds vote after obtaining federal approval. The medias inability to articulate the propositions purpose may have led to voter bewilderment, as illustrated in the CBS article, which features a California resident who asserts: I dont like Daylight Saving Time. It disrupts me every fall. Given that DST begins in the spring, this Californian probably meant to assail Standard Time but inadvertently contributed to anti-DST fervor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Standard Time amplifies the pain of winter by ushering in nighttime halfway through the afternoon. I have no doubt that some Americans legitimately dislike DSTnot just the change of clocks, but the redistribution of sunlight from morning to afternoon. The best defense of this position is that DST may require children to go to school in the dark. That is true, but the issue here isnt DST: Its Americas outrageous school schedule. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared that most schools start too early, contributing to poor health in adolescents. Earlier school start times are linked to depression and anxiety in teenagers, as well as chronic sleep deprivation. Early start times also disadvantage young students, lowering their academic performance. It is absurd to blame DST on a problem created by the American school system. If more schools took the American Academy of Pediatrics advice and refused to start class before 8:30 a.m., DST would pose no impediment to schoolchildren. Advertisement For the record, I am not a defender of our current system. It is irritating to reset clocksespecially those embedded in household appliances, whose cryptic instructions seem designed to thwart our puny human desire to know what time it is. And it may be perilous to lose an hour of sleep: Deadly car crashes, heart attacks, and workplace injuries all appear to increase after we spring forward. But the solution is not to end DST; it is to extend DST year-round. (There may be other benefits, including reduced crime, though it doesnt seem to reduce energy usage.) California had the right idea by passing Proposition 7. So did many of the 73,781 people who signed this petition to end DSTbut wrote comments demonstrating that they really want to abolish Standard Time. (I own a child care, every year we have children crying because, its getting dark and mommy or daddy have not picked me up yet. Blame Standard Time, kids!) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ill admit that I am no impartial observer here. I suffer from SAD and spiral into fatigue and distress every winter unless I plant myself under a sunlamp and trick my brain into thinking were back in Florida. (Incidentally, my home state has passed a bill to implement permanent DST pending federal approval, the only good piece of legislation to emerge from Tallahassee so far this century.) I feel pathetic crawling under the sunlamp just to feel like a normal human, and I blame Standard Time. Yes, winter will always be unpleasant for those of us who are not vampires. But Standard Time amplifies the pain by ushering in nighttime halfway through the afternoon. I can stomach D.C. sunsets around 6 p.m. for a few weeks. But total darkness at 4:49 p.m.? Kill me. Id rather take my chances among Floridas sun-loving, gun-toting baby boomers. Advertisement I am convinced that a majority of America would be with me on the clock question if they could master the distinction between DST and Standard Time. Our inability to hold Standard Time responsible for the crime of early sunsets has polluted the conversation to the point that even Ellen DeGeneres has it twisted. This weekend, please direct your complaints at Standard Time, and dont fault DST for giving us eight months of sunshine. Embrace it. And when soul-crushing afternoon darkness returns in November, remember who the real enemies are: Standard Time and all the misguided fools who seek to expand its tyranny. Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. The U.S. Small Business Administration offers multiple programs to support women and veteran entrepreneurs. And the Administration recently launched a new grant program to support women veterans looking to start their own businesses. Read about this opportunity and more small business grants below. SBA Women Veteran Entrepreneurship Training Program Grants The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering up to $300,000 in funding to nonprofits and businesses to provide women veterans with entrepreneurship training. The SBAs Office of Veterans Business Development is facilitating the program, which will provide up to six grantees with funding to take part in the Women Veteran Entrepreneurship Training Program. Eligible businesses and nonprofits that want to take part in the program must apply by March 21. FedEx Small Business Grants Program FedEx recently launched its 12th annual Small Business Grants Program. During this funding round, the company will provide more than $230,000 in grants and services to ten small businesses across the country. Nine grantees will receive awards of $20,000, and one grand prize winner will receive $50,000. All recipients will also get a $500 FedEx Office print credit, consultations with the FedEx team, and other perks from the company. To qualify, businesses must have between 1 and 99 employees, have been selling a product or service for at least six months, and have an active FedEx account since at least September 1, 2023. The application period is open now, and will close on April 1. Houston Equity Fund The Houston Fund for Social Justice and Economic Equity is partnering with Wells Fargo to offer $3 million in grants to small businesses and nonprofits with diverse leadership. This is the final phase of the Open For Business program, which offered a total of $20 million. The program originally launched in February 2022 to support small businesses and nonprofits with 50 or fewer employees that are led by people of color. Eligible businesses can apply for grants of between $5,000 and $100,000. The online application portal will begin accepting applications for this funding round on March 12. Erie County Redevelopment Authority Start-Up Grant In Erie County, Pennsylvania, the Erie County Redevelopment Authority is teaming up with the Erie County Public Library and NWPA Beehive Network to host a small business symposium and workshop on March 23. The event aims to educate entrepreneurs about various growth opportunities and strategies, and will also feature a small business grant opportunity. After the symposium, the county will begin accepting applications for the Redevelopment Authority Start-Up grant. The event is free to attend, but interested entrepreneurs are encouraged to register with Blasco Library beforehand. The grant opportunity is slated to launch in April. Honeycomb Credit Coffee Business Grant Honeycomb Credit, a crowdfunding platform for small businesses based in Pittsburgh, is offering a grant opportunity for coffee shops, roasters, and bakeries. One U.S.-based business can receive a grant of $2,000. The program is open to all business structures in this industry, from traditional coffee shops to mobile businesses. The application period is open through March 31, with a winner being selected on April 2. University of Louisiana Lafayette Rural Energy of America Program The University of Louisiana Lafayette recently received a $166,668 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development through the Rural Energy of America Program. This grant will help the school assist rural small business owners across Louisiana who are interested in implementing energy-efficient measures. The funds will go toward hands-on support for farmers and other rural small business owners as they implement solar and energy-efficient systems. Understanding and fulfilling your tax obligations in 2024 remains one of the biggest challenges of running a business. You usually complete your personal tax returns once a year with a few forms. But preparing and filing your business taxes can prove taxing, for lack of a better term. This is especially true if you do not know your states tax regulations, which is why you should familiarize yourself with your state tax websites. State Tax Obligation If you are not up to speed with your tax obligation, you risk exposing yourself and your business to risks. For example, you might face a penalty for failure to file, be required to pay interest on the amount due or might have a large tax bill coming your way by not planning in advance to handle your taxes. That is why you should be informed on your tax obligation, your states particular regulations and other issues related to your taxes. Very often businesses will hire a tax adviser or go about it on their own. Whether you decide to hire tax advisers or deal with taxes on your own, your best strategy for reducing your small-business taxes and complying with tax laws is to educate yourself. Besides avoiding penalties, not knowing about your taxes could make you lose out on some much-needed cash. For example, small businesses have to stretch their financial resources especially when it comes to business expenses. These can include a myriad of expenditures that include vehicle expenses, wages, rent on business property, utilities, insurance and others. As a small business owner, you can minimize your business taxes by writing off a lot of those operational expenses come tax season. Tax Regulations Knowing that you need to fill your 1040 form alone is not enough. For example, you need to know what new legislation has been passed in regard to your taxes. Business taxes often vary by state. As a result, you will also need to know what regulations apply to you. And what tax write-offs are available in your particular state. State tax websites are your small business one-stop shop for specifics. For example, they provide tax regulations, tax forms, and answers to questions you may have. Below are the state tax websites that can provide you with valuable information about your states taxes, form 1040, sales tax, business tax by state and others. These websites will also provide you with insights, access forms, instructions on how to fill them, and worksheets for each tax division. State Tax Websites Alabama The Alabama Department of Revenues site has this nifty website that offers valuable information on the services. From finding tax forms to designation of your business tax and also offers great advice. Additionally, the site has a mobile app and My Alabama taxes to help you navigate your tax queries. Alaska Alaskas Department of Revenue website comes with a dedicated tax division section that includes information about the states Permanent Fund Dividend, forms, services for businesses and revenue sources book. Arizona Besides forms and regulations Arizonas department of revenues website comes with complete taxpayer education section on its YouTube channel. This comes in handy if you want to get up to speed with license renewals, electronic payments, forms, reporting your business taxes and other issues. Arkansas The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administrations site offers insightful information on business taxes, motor vehicles, sales and use tax and forms. California The state of Californias franchise and tax boards website has a straight forward and easy to navigate website. It comes with designated pages for forms, how to file business taxes, payment options and how to collect refunds. Colorado The site offers paying options, state sales, taxation, forms, business tax and a quick answers page to help navigate through tax issues. Connecticut Department of Revenue Services allows you to find forms, register your business to file and pay online. Its Taxpayer Service center plans to launch its myconnectCT solution to help streamline processing as well as round the clock self-service option. Delaware Besides offering the run of the mill tax filing system Delawares Division of Revenues website offers a one-stop business license, forms, withholding and renewal application system. District of Columbia This website offers a one-stop-shop to register, find forms, file and pay your business taxes. It also includes updated news on processing, legislation and other pertinent information. Florida Floridas Department of Revenue website offers advisories on its e-services, tax forms, its for business page, refunds and much more. Georgia This website offers information in regards to renewing your tag, forms, state sales, status of refunds, business services, unclaimed property and a help page on Georgia taxes. Hawaii The Department of Taxation provides forms, services for businesses and e-services for audit assistance well. Idaho The Idaho State Tax Commission provides a complete site with considerable resources. As a result, youll find information on filing, forms, business services, refund and e-services. Illinois Illinois Department of Revenue offers information on business registration, filing returns, making payments, forms, withholding taxes and more resources. Indiana Indianas Department of Revenue offers businesses general tax information. For example, the site includes tax rates, excise taxes, e-payment services, forms and more. Iowa Iowas Department of Revenue has resources on business taxes, forms for filling, IA 1040 instruction and others. In addition, the site offers subscriptions to those who want to get frequent news on the departments work. Kansas The Kansas Revenue Cabinets site offers a wide array of resources on business tax, vehicles, forms, refund information and a handy scam alert. Kentucky Kentuckys Revenue Cabinet has a handy tax answer section that allows you to look through businessresources. For example, youll find information on income taxes, sales and excise taxes, forms as well as other changes in the states tax legislation. Louisiana The Louisiana Department of Revenues website includes a variety of tax filing options. As a result, you can file tax returns and make e-payments. Youll also find taxpayer education, online forms, and resources for businesses. Maine Maines Revenue Services offers resources on tax filling and payment; starts of refunds; forms, tax registration and tax relief with additional online services. The business resources also include some valuable tax information along with information on how to grow your company in Maine. Maryland The Comptroller of Maryland offers a trove of resources. For example, youll find tax alerts, tax calculators, tax credits, information on filing deadlines, forms and due dates. Youll also find online business services. Massachusetts The Massachusetts Department of Revenue website provides business information on rulings and regulations, tax policy analysis, communications, forms and legislative affairs. Michigan The Michigan Department of Treasury offers forms, news and payments via its e-services. As a result, its SIGMA Vendor Self Service (VSS) system allows you, as a payee/vendor/grantee, to manage your information, view your financial transactions, forms, view business and grant opportunities. Minnesota Besides offering a sign up for email updates this sites offers robust resources on businesses, forms, e-services, regulations and much more. Mississippi Mississippis Department of Revenue website allows for filing business taxes online, check the status of refunds, get tax forms and, facilitates requests for copies of tax returns. Missouri The Missouri Department of Revenue offers tax forms and manuals, 1099-G inquiry, withholding taxes calculator, forms, business registration and others. Montana Montanas Department of Revenue comes with forms, information on taxes and fees and online services. It also includes a calendar and due dates for planning your taxes. On the business side of taxes, Montanas site provides a handy calendar with important tax dates in the state for different industries. Nebraska Nebraska Department of Revenue offers business tax information on refund service, legislative changes, payment plans, e-services, forms and tax incentive information. Nevada Nevadas Department of Revenue offers business tax services, tax forms, online services, publication, calendar and other information for taxpayers. New Hampshire The Department of Revenue Administration website offers an overview of business taxes in the state, forms and instructions, taxpayers assistance and frequently asked questions sections. New Jersey The New Jerseys Division of Taxation offers business tax resources on forms, tax returns, auction information, payment procedures and others. New Mexico The Taxation and Revenue Department offers business tax information including forms and publications, information resources as well as news and alerts for visitors. New York New Yorks Department of Taxation and Finance offers a one-stop site for businesses including filling returns, make payments online, find forms, check on the status of refunds and other tax information. North Carolina This website offers you the option to receive notices when you owe business taxes, file and find forms. Youll also find pay options and ways to register your business. North Dakota The State Tax Department categorizes tax information on its website. For example, it provides information and forms for business taxes, taxes on alcohol, coal severance tax, corporate income tax, fiduciary tax, income tax withholding and other tax-related information. Ohio The Ohio Department of Taxation offers online business tax services such as filling online, ID confirmation quiz, get forms, check refund status, filing season central, online payment and other tax pertinent information. Oklahoma The Oklahoma Tax Commission provides comprehensive information on taxation in the state. It comes with forms, resources for businesses, payment options and others. Oregon The Oregon Department of Revenue comes with a diverse set of tools to help you navigate through your taxes. From finding forms, tax calculator and dedicated pages for individual and business tax issues. Pennsylvania The Pennsylvania revenue site provides all-round information on tax-related issues and has its own blog. From finding forms, resources for businesses, e-services and making payment, the site has it all. Rhode Island The Rhode Island department of taxation website comes complete with a variety of features. For example, there are tax advisories, declaratory rulings, forms, an online business tax filings section and much more. South Carolina The site provides a wide array of resources. For example, youll find a businesses and tax section, news updates, refund information, forms and more. South Dakota This website has a dedicated page for businesses. For example, youll find tax filling dates, file and pay services, forms, tax license application and other features. Tennessee The Tennessee Department of Revenue website offers an e-filing information page, tax resources, title and registration services, a dedicated page for business, forms and taxpayer help page. Texas The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts provides visitors with tax-related resources including forms, registering, e-filing and pay options, business taxes, due dates and other resources. Utah The Tax Commission of Utah offers general information and line by line guide through the tax process. The website has a dedicated section for forms, refunds, file and payment options and taxpayer access point. Vermont Vermonts Department of Taxes offers a comprehensive guide through the tax process. For example, the site is designed with dedicated pages for forms and publication, tax guidelines, business-related taxes, data and statistics and even a help section. Virginia This site comes with a complete information portal containing considerable resources. For example, youll find forms, payment and penalties, a section dedicated for businesses and credit and a deduction page. The department of taxation even has a sign-up option for users to receive email alerts. Washington Washington states Department Revenue allows for filling taxes online, a depository of sales and use tax rates, a business directory, forms and a section for businesses. West Virginia The Department of Revenue has a section dedicated for businesses. This contains important resources. For example, it includes a section for forms, status of refunds, audit collections, research and other pertinent information. Wisconsin Wisconsins Department of Revenue offers resources on taxes for businesses and individuals. For example, it includes items such as bill notices, online tax registration, forms, resources for business development and others. Wyoming Wyomings Department of Revenue offers the standard tax resources. For example, youll find e-tax services, forms, registration services and e-filling systems. The Value of Organizing Important Resources For your business to grow, you will need to get started by organizing your resources. Top on the list is the need to make sure your finances are in order. Tracking your expense receipts and transactions can help you get ready for taxes that need to be paid during the course of the year. It also can help mitigate any legal action that can come your way via the IRS. It is imperative that you have an efficient record-keeping system. A good record not only helps you in your tax obligations but also helps to keep track of your business financial health and performance during the year. Things like how are your profits running compared with last year? Can you afford to hire new staff? Analyzing your monthly or quarterly business financial statements can help you answer these important business questions. Also, dont forget that you will still need your receipts to back up your claims in case you are audited. As a result, if your business records have been lost or destroyed, you will need duplicate bills from your suppliers. You shouldnt have a great deal of trouble getting copies of receipts from utilities, rent, credit cards, and other bills. Digital Technology and Taxes There are a number of financial software packages on the market that can help you keep track of your spending for tax purposes. Ask friends, family or business associates which software help their business. Most importantly you will need to figure out how to use the software, and you need to enter a great deal of data for it to be useful to you come tax time. By using your computer to prepare your income tax return, you can do an increasing number of other tax activities through the Internet. For example, you can go search for some good online tax resources such as your states tax website. These sites can help you track down factual information regarding your taxes. Also bookmark other sites that provide you with guidance, tips and tutorials for your business needs. Aside from organizing your finances, you will need to make sure your office space is organized too. Research on how to design your workspace for maximum productivity and make your space easy to navigate through. You might consider going paperless as well. For example, store your documents in the cloud. This can help reduce the paper clutter in your office. As a result, it helps you access them remotely. An organized workstation can help you get what you want when you need it without the need to rummage around the entire office. Keep an updated list of contact information for customers and suppliers. Having organized inventory and sales reports help bring efficiency to your business. However, you have to make sure your data is backed up and protected. Time and the Tax Calendar How you spend your time is also important since time is literally money. For example, build the habit of using an efficient calendar for your business to track and schedule your business operations. This includes being fully aware of the tax calendar year. Organize your resources. As a result, they become available in a way that makes them easy to retrieve and use. This is the hallmark of an efficient business. No matter the size of your business, how you organize and use your resources determines your bottom line and also your productivity. As a result, the key to any business is identifying the needs of your organization, weighing the options available and efficiently using the tools available to it. Joseph Leroy Greer, Jr., age 87, of Dameron, MD died March 5, 2024. Joe was the son of the late Joseph Leroy Greer, Sr. and the late Marie Margaret (Flynn) Greer. In addition to his parents, Joe is preceded in death by two sisters, Helen Jean Owens and Linda Marie Greer and two brothers William Robert "Bob" Greer, Sr. and Richard Greer. Joe is survived by his loving wife of nearly 60 years Mary Nell (Sellers) Greer; his sisters Anna Mae Outland and Mary Ann Bear, brother-in-law Glenn Sellers (Janice) and many nieces and nephews. Joe was born on October 24, 1936, in the town of Welcome, Maryland. He graduated from Sacred Heart High School in LaPlata, MD. He later attended the University of Maryland and Georgetown University, where he majored in Business Administration. He served in the Maryland National Guard from 1954-1955, when he enlisted in the United Stated Air Force where he served until 1959. Joe retired after 30 years in the Bureau of Navy Personnel. He held various positions in the Bureau and retired as the Head of the Navy Casualty Assistance Branch. Some of the families he assisted were the families of the unaccounted for from Vietnam, those whose loved ones were held captive during the Iranian hostage crisis, families who suffered tragic losses during the Beirut bombing, the space shuttle Challenger disaster, the attack on the USS STARK, the explosion aboard USS IOWA, the sinking of the USS SARATOGA liberty boat, and the families of DESERT STORM casualties. Following his retirement as a civilian employee with the Navy, Joe went to work for the St. Mary's County Department of Public Works as a driver for STS Transit. He also volunteered as an ambulance driver for the Ridge Volunteer Rescue Squad. He was a member of St. Mary's County Duck's Unlimited, Knights of Columbus and St. Cecelia's Catholic Church. Joe was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed fishing, hunting and time on the Bay. He enjoyed sharing these pursuits with his many nieces, nephews, and friends. He inspired a lifelong love of spending time outdoors in many of his family and friends. Joe holds a special place in the hearts of all who have ever enjoyed the pleasure of his company. A true gentleman in every sense of the word. Joe made one feel at home whenever in his presence. Even upon initially meeting him, it was as if he had known you for a lifetime. Joe never met a stranger. Service and burial will be privately held at Cheltenham Veterans Cemetery. Donations can be made in memory of Joseph L. Greer, Jr. to the Ridge Volunteer Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 456, Ridge, MD 20680. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240308/biden-tries-to-blame-republicans-for-coming-loss-of-ukraine---ex-state-dept-official-1117214416.html Biden Tries to Blame Republicans for Coming Loss of Ukraine - Ex-State Dept Official Biden Tries to Blame Republicans for Coming Loss of Ukraine - Ex-State Dept Official Sputnik International President Joe Biden used his State of the Union speech to blame the Republicans if Russia wins the war in Ukraine by claiming Kiev could have won or survived if the latest $61 billion arms package had not been blocked in Congress, former State Department official and consultant on US-Russia relations James Carden said. 2024-03-08T23:07+0000 2024-03-08T23:07+0000 2024-03-08T23:07+0000 americas us joe biden ukraine russia republicans congress volodymyr zelensky us arms for ukraine military aid https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/03/08/1117214567_0:114:3089:1852_1920x0_80_0_0_7de384b234aa3a3170ebf99f93caa32f.jpg "The way I heard the speech was Biden setting the ground to blame the Republicans for losing the war should they block further tranches of funding," Carden told Sputnik. But Biden was still committed to his confrontational and warmaking policies in Ukraine, the Middle East and elsewhere around the world and showed no sign of wanting to change them, he emphasized. Biden's indirect admission that the planned next enormous military aid package for President Volodymyr Zelensky's increasingly discredited regime in Kiev was blocked on Capitol Hill did not stem from any fundamental reassessment of US policy on backing Ukraine's war against Russia, he said. Instead, Biden's comments reflected his always primary concern with domestic politics and his obsession with getting reelected to a second term in November even though he is already 81 years old, Carden clarified. Uncommitted voters in the US state of Michigan on Super Tuesday this week registered a protest against Biden and his policies, especially on foreign affairs, security and the invasion of Gaza. Some 100,000 voters, or 20% of those who participated in the Democratic primary alone, cast their ballots as "Uncommitted," expressing a massive lack of support for the president in his own party with no other serious candidate to choose from. The $61 billion package is being blocked by Republicans in the House of Representatives until Biden changes his policies on illegal immigration and agrees to crack down on it. But because the president is determined not to change course on that, he will not get more aid approved for Kiev, his opponents have said. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240308/bidens-state-of-the-union-address-why-us-vow-to-fight-till-last-ukrainian-is-not-reassuring-1117205367.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240126/how-trump-and-us-conservatives-deal-a-blow-to-ukraine-aid-package-1116417287.html americas ukraine russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International joe biden, biden administration, presidential hopeful, presidential candidate, presidential election, us elections, us presidential elections, 2024 us elections, 2024 us presidential elections, us arms for ukraine, us assistance to ukraine, aid allocations for ukraine, ukraine aid, money for ukraine, us for ukraine, us weapons for ukraine, us aid to ukraine, us funding for ukraine, us funding to ukraine, ukraine loses https://sputnikglobe.com/20240309/enough-is-enough-why-poland-seeks-to-strip-ukraine-of-eu-trade-benefits-1117229160.html Enough is Enough: Why Poland Seeks to Strip Ukraine of EU Trade Benefits Enough is Enough: Why Poland Seeks to Strip Ukraine of EU Trade Benefits Sputnik International Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has proposed stripping Ukraine of EU trade benefits. What does this shift mean for the Kiev regime? 2024-03-09T16:29+0000 2024-03-09T16:29+0000 2024-03-09T16:29+0000 europe's farmer protests world opinion donald tusk ukraine poland brussels european union (eu) europe volodymyr zelensky https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/02/1c/1117028221_0:155:3072:1883_1920x0_80_0_0_3cea04fa8790f46ae16fe93e06c6af09.jpg Donald Tusk has made it clear he will fight tooth and nail for Polish agricultural producers amid months-long farmer protests across the EU. Tusk claims he will seek to scale down the EU's Green Deal requirements, as well as return to "pre-war" principles in trade with Ukraine."The scale of these demonstrations and the fact that the Polish government was virtually unable to do anything about it (for fear of provoking an even bigger explosion) show that the farmer protests have proven to be efficient. Perhaps, many other countries will reconsider their attitude to agricultural benefits for Ukraine."How EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes Backfired on FarmersAfter the beginning of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, the EU lifted all tariffs and quotas on Ukrainian foods, justifying the move by the necessity to facilitate its transit around the world, including to Africa. It later turned out that most Ukrainian agricultural products remained stuck in Europe, sending the bloc's food prices down.To shield their farmers, the countries of Eastern and Central Europe, including Poland, reached a compromise with the EU to temporarily ban Ukrainian agricultural products. The ban was later extended.Kolchin explained that agriculture is one of the most important sectors of the Polish economy. In 2014, the EU slapped sanctions on Russia over its re-unification with Crimea which prompted retaliation measures from Moscow. One of these measures was the closure of Russia's markets for Polish agricultural products. According to Kolchin, Polish farmers had to adjust to these changes and replace lost sales opportunities.As cheap Ukrainian food flooded Poland and other EU member states, Polish farmers saw their incomes plummeting. Many farms have found themselves on the verge of collapse, the expert noted.Under these circumstances, the Polish government sees that it must step in and support the nation's farming in order to avert a much bigger crisis and instability, as per Kolchin.Tusk pledged earlier this week to raise both the Ukraine and green policy issues at the Congress of the European People's Party that took place on March 7 in Bucharest."I will reiterate during my talks in Bucharest with the heads of European institutions, prime ministers and presidents that changes are needed to protect European and Polish markets and producers. By changes, I mean the need to more or less return to the principles that were in place in trade with Ukraine and other countries before the war," Tusk said."We are trying to get solutions that will allow Polish farmers to breathe a sigh of relief when it comes to the strictest rules and new regulations under the Green Deal," the Polish prime minister added.Will Brussels Lend Sympathetic Ear to Tusk?The chances of Brussels approving of Warsaw's protectionist measures are very low, according to Josep-Maria Arauzo-Carod, professor of economics at the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) in Spain and chair of the research center on Economics and Sustainability (ECO-SOS).When it comes to the European Green Deal, it's a cornerstone of Brussels' strategy, Arauzo-Carod remarked.For his part, Kolchin argued that Brussels can lend a sympathetic ear to Tusk's ideas given that farmer protests have engulfed the whole EU."The number of social problems in Europe is not decreasing, and the expansion of farmer protests is one of these acute problems that they are trying to solve. Given that, Brussels may take certain protectionist measures," the Russian analyst believes.Ukraine's Trade BenefitsIf Ukraine's trade benefits are canceled by Poland after the EU's nod, "this is going to have an obvious negative impact on Ukraine's economy," Arauzo-Carod said.The experts agree that this potential move would set a precedent for the rest of the European Union."Obviously this kind of decision could be seen as a precedent," the professor of economy pointed out.Other EU countries will also be able to promote these measures, if Poland makes the first move, according to Kolchin. Therefore, one may expect similar measures to be adopted in France or Spain, the analyst said not ruling out that in the future this policy could be adopted at the level of Brussels. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240226/take-a-look-at-how-polish-farmers-block-ukrainian-border-1116992453.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240228/poland-to-push-for-tighter-limits-on-ukrainian-food-exports-to-eu---prime-minister-1117043244.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240303/ukraine-seeks-to-resolve-grain-dispute-with-poland-amid-mass-protests-of-local-farmers-1117095607.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240306/nulands-resignation-means-hard-times-ahead-for-ukraine-1117171405.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240306/putin-backs-initiative-to-create-grain-exchange-within-brics-1117152588.html ukraine poland brussels Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Ekaterina Blinova Ekaterina Blinova News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Ekaterina Blinova polish prime minister donald tusk, donald tusk proposed stripping ukraine of eu trade benefits, tusk proposed returning to pre-war trade principles with ukraine, tusk proposed to adjust green policies to polish farmers' needs, polish farmer protests, farmer protests across europe https://sputnikglobe.com/20240309/family-member-of-mh370-passenger-urges-continued-search-10-years-after-plane-disappearance-1117220722.html Family Member of MH370 Passenger Urges Continued Search 10 Years After Plane Disappearance Family Member of MH370 Passenger Urges Continued Search 10 Years After Plane Disappearance Sputnik International To mark the 10th anniversary of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370), a family member of one of the passengers on board the airplane called for the continuation of the search for the missing aircraft to bring closure to the families. 2024-03-09T05:36+0000 2024-03-09T05:36+0000 2024-03-09T05:36+0000 world malaysia airlines malaysia mh370 indian ocean https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/101920/08/1019200867_84:0:1300:684_1920x0_80_0_0_c2499cb73a9cc64f44666a11b048457c.jpg "I believe that they should continue the search. My biggest hope is that the search will go on. And I believe that it will. I just hope that it starts soon," Grace Nathan, whose mother was on a family trip to visit her father in China when she boarded MH370 10 years ago, told Sputnik. Nathan added that she believed the search for MH370 would require extraordinary efforts. "MH370 is touted as the world's greatest aviation mystery and the world's biggest aviation disaster. The effort [for the search] is also the same. It's going to be the biggest effort. It's going to be an unprecedented effort," she said. After MH370 lost contact with air traffic control on March 8, 2014, the fate of the 227 passengers and 12 crew members aboard the airplane remained unclear 10 years after the accident. Despite the official investigation report from Malaysian authorities concluding that MH370 ended its journey in the southern Indian Ocean, the main body of the aircraft has not been located. Nathan expressed hope that private companies willing to continue to search for MH370 could make the search efforts financially feasible for Malaysian authorities. In the early hours of March 8, 2014, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing carrying 239 people disappeared from radar screens. The search operation failed to locate the plane's crash site. The aircraft wreckage was not found after a three-year search financed by authorities from several countries. Last week, Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke pledged to resume the search for MH370 and to sign a new contract with US seabed exploration company Ocean Infinity to this end. malaysia indian ocean Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International mh370, mh370 mystery, mh370 dissapearence, malaysia airlines, mh370 puzzle https://sputnikglobe.com/20240309/first-launch-from-japans-private-spaceport-postponed-over-security-issues-1117224283.html First Launch From Japan's Private Spaceport Postponed Over Security Issues First Launch From Japan's Private Spaceport Postponed Over Security Issues Sputnik International The first launch of the Japanese Kairos-1 rocket, owned by the Space One company and placed at a private space station, Spaceport Kii, in the Japanese Wakayama prefecture, has been postponed, the officials said during the launch broadcast on Saturday. 2024-03-09T10:18+0000 2024-03-09T10:18+0000 2024-03-09T10:18+0000 beyond politics japan space exploration https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/103157/07/1031570782_0:317:3076:2047_1920x0_80_0_0_600f8fac9548b6636c739b94c27c49c8.jpg Initially, the rocket launch was scheduled for 11:01 local time (02:01 GMT), however, following the countdown, the rocket did not move and the launch was delayed for 16 minutes, until 11:17. The next attempt did not succeed either, and the officials said that the launch would be rescheduled. The launch has been postponed due to the vessel which entered a water area, considered a high-risk zone regarding the launch, Wakayama Governor Shuhei Kishimoto told Japanese media reporters. The Kairos-1 rocket, which is a medium-size solid fuel spacecraft of 18 meters in length and 23 tonnes in weight, was carrying a small satellite, which should have been placed into orbit and become the country's first satellite launched exclusively by the efforts of private business. The satellite is capable of partially replacing those satellites, which are currently collecting data on the North Korean military objects as well as of examining their systems in case of breakdown, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported, citing space authorities. The Space One company intends to carry out up to 30 space launches per year by 2030, which would contribute to expanding commercial opportunities of space. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240212/chunk-of-space-rock-could-have-rings-in-astronomical-first-1116734839.html japan Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International japan, space exploration, private spaceport Commentary: Chinese economy ascending, not peaking 09:16, March 09, 2024 By He Leijing ( Xinhua BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China's 2024 growth target of around 5 percent clearly indicates that its economic trajectory will continue to rise steadily. The target is realistic and attainable amid the country's pivot towards a pursuit of long-term prosperity featuring quality over sheer speed. It attests to the long-term uptrend of the Chinese economy. Over the past decade, when faced with adversities like natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic, China's economy has persistently ascended to achieve its development goals, showing remarkable tenacity. This resilience is underpinned by impressive figures. The country's gross domestic product (GDP) has more than doubled from 60 trillion yuan (about 8.45 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2014 to 126 trillion yuan last year, countering the gloomy forecasts of a downturn or collapse. Those who bemoan China's moderated pace of growth evidently miss the broader context: a fundamental shift from high speed to medium-high growth, and the significant role the country continues to play in the global economic expansion. To realize its 2024 growth target means the world's second-largest economy will contribute about 30 percent to global growth, reaffirming its position as a major engine of the global economy, experts say. Early indicators for 2024 paint an optimistic picture. Robust capital expenditure, improved social financing, and a spike in consumer spending during the Spring Festival point to a promising start to the year, instilling confidence in the future. China has a well-stocked monetary toolbox and there is still ample policy headroom to promote sound economic flows. It is unnecessary to whine that China has yet to roll out one-off bazooka-style stimuli packages, as the country prefers more sustained, quality-driven economic growth buoyed by a multitude of inherent drivers. This year, the country will continue to implement a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy. The agenda also includes planning new reforms for its fiscal and tax systems, an increase in the share of loans to private businesses, and the earmarking of 700 billion yuan from the central government budget for investment. These measures not only aim to tackle current cyclical and structural issues but also underline a clear vision and design for long-term growth. A standout example is China's emphasis on modernizing the industrial system and developing new quality productive forces. The country will step up the development of hydrogen power, new materials, innovative drugs and other cutting-edge sectors. Fostering future-oriented industries such as quantum technology and life sciences requires dedication and patience. They are unlikely to yield immediate results but hold the promise of being substantial drivers of long-term development. The country's commitment to technological advancement is also evident in its spending on research and development, which reached 3.3 trillion yuan last year, up 8.1 percent from 2022, advancing its position on the global high-tech ladder and ascending the value chain. China also relies on domestic consumption to fuel future growth. This has been supported by policies aimed at boosting household incomes and enhancing social welfare systems, thereby increasing the purchasing power of residents. The focus on domestic consumption is a strategic move that not only taps into the vast potential of the Chinese market but also reduces vulnerability to external shocks. To further attract foreign investors, China will fully lift the restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector this year. China's foreign trade shows an encouraging sign. The total imports and exports of goods expanded 8.7 percent year on year in the first two months of 2024, with the volume hitting a record high over the same periods in history and the exports returning to double-digit growth. As China advances its modernization drive through high-quality development, it stands ready to overcome obstacles and challenges by giving full play to its strengths in industry, institutions, talent and vast market potential. With a continued focus on converting development potential into quality growth, China is confidently striding up, with its peak still beyond the horizon. (Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Liang Jun) TEHRAN, March 9 (Xinhua) -- One year after a Beijing-brokered agreement resumed diplomatic ties, Iran and Saudi Arabia are steadily promoting relations despite regional turbulence, indicating the strength and depth of the rapprochement, said Iranian foreign policy expert Abas Aslani. "The two countries are gradually promoting bilateral ties in a step-by-step manner," Aslani, the Tehran-based analyst told Xinhua in a recent interview. On March 10, 2023, the regional rivals agreed to reopen embassies and exchange ambassadors, ending a seven-year diplomatic freeze. Aslani highlighted positive developments in the past year, including reciprocal visits by high-ranking officials like Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart. Notably, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi attended a summit in Riyadh in November, meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. He added that the two nations are reportedly aiming for 1 billion U.S. dollars in annual trade in the first step, with plans to double that figure in the medium term. However, Aslani also pointed out the persistent challenge posed by U.S. sanctions on Iran, especially following Washington's exit from the 2015 nuclear accord, which could impede economic collaboration. Aslani noted that regional crises, especially the conflict in Gaza, haven't derailed the improvement in relations, which indicates a deeper reconciliation than initially perceived. The thaw has also reportedly influenced other Arab states. Following the resumption of Iran-Saudi ties, Egypt has engaged more with Iran, Aslani said. Additionally, Syria's reintegration into the Arab League in May 2023 is seen as partly linked to the broader regional detente. Aslani attributed China's diplomatic efforts to fostering a collaborative atmosphere in the Middle East, highlighting China's preference for regional cooperation over confrontation -- a stark contrast to the U.S. approach of leveraging divisions to promote arms sales. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240309/gaza-strips-post-conflict-reconstruction-estimated-at-90bln-1117227594.html Gaza Strip's Post-Conflict Reconstruction Estimated at $90Bln Gaza Strip's Post-Conflict Reconstruction Estimated at $90Bln Sputnik International The Gaza Strip's recovery from the damage inflicted by the ongoing escalation of armed conflict between Israel and Hamas is currently estimated at $90 billion, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi said on Saturday. 2024-03-09T13:19+0000 2024-03-09T13:19+0000 2024-03-09T13:19+0000 world middle east israeli-palestinian conflict israel-gaza conflict palestine-israel conflict gaza strip https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/02/0f/1116790332_0:160:3072:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_8744d8a54868d24e0ba5618fa3beb71b.jpg "The cost of rebuilding the Gaza Strip amounts to $90 billion," Sisi said when speaking in Cairo. On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from Gaza and breached the border, killing 1,200 people and abducting around 240 others. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. At least 30,800 people have been killed so far in the Gaza Strip, local authorities said. On November 24, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire was extended several times and expired on December 1. More than 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240308/us-actions-on-gaza-conflict-shows-washington-not-a-peacemaker-in-the-region-1117212418.html gaza strip Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International gaza strip crisis, gaza violence, gaza reconstruction, palestine-israel conflict, gaza crisis, gaza genocide https://sputnikglobe.com/20240309/hungarian-pm-orban-visits-former-us-president-trump-at-his-florida-estate-1117216592.html Hungarian PM Orban Visits Former US President Trump at His Florida Estate Hungarian PM Orban Visits Former US President Trump at His Florida Estate Sputnik International Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban held a meeting with former US President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida Friday. According to Bertalan Havasi, spokesman for the head of government, they spoke for an hour. 2024-03-09T01:37+0000 2024-03-09T01:37+0000 2024-03-09T01:37+0000 viktor orban us donald trump hungary americas 2024 us presidential election ukraine nato joe biden florida https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/03/09/1117216686_0:162:3076:1892_1920x0_80_0_0_1ae86906b5d9cec47b4b2cae153ffa09.jpg They were accompanied by their closest staff members, the spokesman said. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, among others, also accompanied the Prime Minister to Florida."After the meeting, the program continued with a joint dinner and concert," Havasi was quoted as saying by the MTI news agency.The spokesman did not disclose which topics Orban and Trump discussed, but before the trip to the US Hungarian officials said they would discuss the situation in Ukraine and the relations between the US and Hungary. The Hungarian government has made no secret of its desire for Trump to win the November election and return to the White House. It associates with the former US president hopes for the resolution of the Ukrainian conflict and the improvement of bilateral relations. During this trip to the United States Orban visited Washington, D.C. on March 7, where he delivered a speech at conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation. A meeting with US President Joe Biden was not on his program; Orban came to the US not at Bidens invitation but to meet his political opponent and likely rival in the November elections once again. Experts consider the situation almost unprecedented for a NATO ally. This was Orban's third meeting with Trump, who once hosted the Hungarian prime minister at the White House. The Hungarian PM has never met Biden in person since he took office in January 2021, and relations between the two are considered strained. The Biden Administration disapproves of the Hungarian government's stance on some international issues, including the Ukraine crisis. Orban, in turn, chose to discuss politics with Bidens harshest critic and political opponent. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230221/trump-says-hed-call-putin-zelensky-to-hammer-out-ukraine-peace-deal-on-election-night-if-reelected-1107670176.html hungary americas ukraine mar-a-lago Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International ukraine crisis, orban-trump talks, trump-orban relations, trump-orban negotiations, trump talks to orban, trump makes peace, trump brings peace, trump resolves ukraine crisis, trump resolves the ukraine crisis, ukraine peace deal, ukraine peace negotiations https://sputnikglobe.com/20240309/is-bidens-idea-to-establish-port-in-gaza-what-it-seems-1117216243.html Is Bidens Idea to Establish Port in Gaza What It Seems? Is Bidens Idea to Establish Port in Gaza What It Seems? Sputnik International Critics have ridiculed Bidens proposal to establish a temporary pier in Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid. Some have even suggested it could be a front for espionage or military aggression. 2024-03-09T03:28+0000 2024-03-09T03:28+0000 2024-03-09T04:35+0000 analysis joe biden scott bennett palestinians israel palestine hamas state of the union venezuela gaza strip https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/03/08/1117207873_0:0:3072:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_4d80fbddde23ba1869904c048dd38398.jpg After months of sharp criticism from Arab Americans and pro-Palestine activists, US President Joe Biden finally responded to calls to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza Thursday with a new proposal during the State of the Union address.More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of whom are not Hamas, admitted Biden, appearing to endorse a death toll from Gazas local health ministry he had previously discredited. This war has taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in Gaza combined.Bidens solution: a US-built pier on Gazas coast allowing Palestinians in the enclave to accept maritime aid shipments from Cyprus and other countries.The proposal was greeted with skepticism from various quarters.A temporary pier that could take weeks to construct or airdrops are not a solution, read a statement from the International Rescue Committee. The US must use its influence to ensure that Israel lifts its siege of Gaza and allows the safe and unimpeded movement of humanitarian workers and aid including fuel, food, and medical supplies.Israel also raised the prospect it could continue to delay and obstruct aid sent to the temporary port, with foreign ministry spokesman Lior Haiat insisting the shipments would be subject to security checks in a post on the X social media platform (formerly Twitter). Israel has used the pretense of security inspections to slow the movement of aid by land into Gaza to a trickle.The logistical complexity of the scheme necessitated by Israels continued blockade of road crossings has led many to dismiss it as merely a PR stunt. Former US State Department counterterrorism analyst Scott Bennett offered another criticism of the proposal in an interview with Sputnik Friday.This speaks volumes, and among other things, tells me that Joe Biden and his CIA and his NSA and Israeli Mossad are actively listening and reading Sputnik, RT, Press TV, and other international channels that provide an alternative view that the mainstream American media does not dare discuss, he speculated.Bennett agreed the proposal was "a political survivability maneuver by Biden," also calling it a potential deception operation in which a pier can give a firm permanent foothold in the area and give [the United States] a listening post, if not a control capability of Palestine, which the Israelis will then exploit.He speculated the pier could be used as an entrypoint for spies or US troops and compared the idea to Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeos 2019 humanitarian convoy stunt in Venezuela, noting this is routinely done by the United States in color revolutions.The former psychological warfare officer also insisted the plan was a response to the public backlash against Israels deadly Western-backed Gaza campaign, which has manifested in the election of George Galloway in the UK and the campaign by Democratic Party activists to vote uncommitted in the partys presidential primaries.Almost 31,000 Gazans have died amidst Israels military operation in the besieged enclave, according to the latest figures from the local health ministry. The number includes several deaths by starvation as Israel has bombed food production facilities in Gaza and prevented food shipments from entering.Fundamentally, Bennett said the idea is an act of political posturing on the part of the Biden administration to distract from the demonic violence, bloodlust and genetic hatred demonstrated by the Israeli assault on Gaza. Meanwhile, he noted that US secret supplies of weapons given to the Israeli government are kept off the books to avoid public scrutiny.Bennett called the US covert military action since 9/11 a lethal wound which killed the American Republican form of democracy, where government was a servant of a people not its tyrannical jailer, abuser or a pathological liar.Although Al-Saif questioned the effectiveness of Bidens temporary pier gambit, he said the idea was quite revealing about the US response to the latest escalation of the Palestine-Israel conflict.It sends a very bad signal on US leadership, said the academic. It reinforces what many Arabs think: that Israel is running the show, and the US follows.Our problem is not aid, said Wissam Thabet, a 40-year-old Palestinian refugee interviewed by The Washington Post. We need a ceasefire. We need to end the suffering completely. https://sputnikglobe.com/20231218/abhorrent-war-crime-hrw-lambasts-israel-for-gaza-starvation-1115659187.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20190221/guaido-to-accompany-aid-convoy-reports-1072630527.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240226/israel-denies-visas-to-aid-workers-as-palestinians-in-gaza-die-of-starvation-1116984130.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20231210/us-vetoes-gaza-ceasefire-profits-from-arms-sale-on-same-day-1115505751.html israel palestine venezuela gaza strip Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 John Miles https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/19/1116388787_0:0:1316:1316_100x100_80_0_0_77e70d36afd983012b1c5d38ddb84156.jpg John Miles https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/19/1116388787_0:0:1316:1316_100x100_80_0_0_77e70d36afd983012b1c5d38ddb84156.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 John Miles https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/19/1116388787_0:0:1316:1316_100x100_80_0_0_77e70d36afd983012b1c5d38ddb84156.jpg biden pier gaza, biden port gaza, biden temporary pier, biden pier idea gaza, biden gaza aid, biden gaza humanitarian aid, us gaza humanitarian aid, gaza blockade, israel gaza blockade, gaza humanitarian crisis, palestinian humanitarian crisis, gaza starvation, gaza death toll, us arm shipments israel, genocide, ethnic cleansing, humanitarian disaster, humanitarian catastrophe, humanitarian ceasefire, zionist regime, zionists, killings of civilians, civilian infrastructure, civilians dead, civilians die, israel kills civilians, civilian casualties, civilian deaths, indiscriminate shelling, indiscriminate killing, war crimes https://sputnikglobe.com/20240309/netanyahus-office-says-hamas-currently-not-interested-in-hostage-deal-1117234328.html Netanyahu's Office Says Hamas Currently Not Interested in Hostage Deal Netanyahu's Office Says Hamas Currently Not Interested in Hostage Deal Sputnik International Palestinian movement Hamas is not interested at this stage in a deal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of hostages, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said, adding that Israel maintains contacts with mediators in an attempt to bridge differences. 2024-03-09T18:13+0000 2024-03-09T18:13+0000 2024-03-09T18:13+0000 world gaza strip israel palestine benjamin netanyahu middle east hamas palestine-israel conflict https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/03/09/1117234168_0:354:2796:1926_1920x0_80_0_0_f348b1b3da92e4d9d5c6438d4d2a13d9.jpg On March 8, Israel's Secret Intelligence Service (Mossad) chief David Barnea met with US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns in an effort to promote a deal with Hamas to release hostages in exchange for a ceasefire in Gaza, Netanyahu's office said. "At this stage, Hamas is reasserting its position that it is not interested in a deal, and is seeking to inflame the region during Ramadan at the expense of the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip. We emphasize that contacts and cooperation with the mediators continue unceasingly in an attempt to narrow differences and advance agreements," the Prime Minister's Office said on behalf of the Mossad.On October 7, 2023, Palestinian movement Hamas attacked Israel from the Gaza Strip and in the ensuing fighting killed 1,100 Israelis, both military and civilians, and abducting some 240 others. Israel launched massive strikes on Gaza, fully blockaded the Palestinian enclave and then invaded it with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas and rescuing the hostages.Some 31,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's military operations and more than 76,000 have been wounded, according to the local authorities. More than 1.9 million Palestinians out of 2.3 million in Gaza have been displaced more than a half are facing hunger and starvation as a result of Israel's blockade.On November 24, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the Palestinians imprisoned by Israel and hostages taken by Hamas, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire was extended several times and expired on December 1. More than 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240305/hamas-ready-to-reduce-number-of-palestinians-released-as-part-of-hostage-deal---reports-1117137264.html gaza strip israel palestine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International palestine-israel conflict, gaza war, benjamin netanyahu, hamas, insrael-hamas conflict, israeli hostages https://sputnikglobe.com/20240309/russia-destroys-47-ukrainian-drones-over-four-regions-at-night--1117218935.html Russia Destroys 47 Ukrainian Drones Over Four Regions at Night Russia Destroys 47 Ukrainian Drones Over Four Regions at Night Sputnik International Russian air defenses have shot down 47 Ukrainian drones over four regions, the Defense Ministry said in a statement Saturday. 2024-03-09T04:25+0000 2024-03-09T04:25+0000 2024-03-09T04:25+0000 russia ukraine ukrainian drone attacks on russia ukrainian crisis terrorism https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/0c/1d/1115881337_0:140:2200:1378_1920x0_80_0_0_af7d8634ccd39d351e8f7a41c1c1fd68.jpg This night, an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack using 47 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles against targets on the territory of the Russian Federation was stopped. Air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed UAVs over the territories of the Belgorod (1 UAV), Kursk (2), Volgograd (3) and Rostov (41) regions, the ministry said.The Ukrainian army uses kamikaze drones to attack civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings and hospitals. Russian authorities are crystal clear on this issues Ukraine uses drones for terror attacks while Western backers of the Kiev regime are turning a blind eye on Ukrainian tactics. ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International ukrainian terrorism, ukrainian drone attacks on russia, ukraine drones, ukrainian crisis, terrorism drones https://sputnikglobe.com/20240309/russias-iskander-missile-destroys-2-us-made-patriot-missile-systems-in-donetsk---source-1117228696.html Russian Iskander Missile Destroys Two US-Made Patriot Systems in Donetsk - Source Russian Iskander Missile Destroys Two US-Made Patriot Systems in Donetsk - Source Sputnik International wo US-made Patriot missile systems were among the military hardware of Ukrainian troops destroyed by a strike of Russia's Iskander missile defense system in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), a security source told Sputnik on Saturday. 2024-03-09T14:58+0000 2024-03-09T14:58+0000 2024-03-09T15:24+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine donetsk russia patriot iskander russian defense ministry https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/03/09/1117228523_0:0:1920:1080_1920x0_80_0_0_74edfe813f118a6bd5c5c4c63456f042.jpg The Russian Defense Ministry reported Iskander's strike earlier in the day. Its preliminary data suggested the strike destroyed an S-300 missile system of Ukrainian troops near the town of Pokrovsk in the DPR. Sputnik later obtained footage suggesting there were three missile systems destroyed by Iskander's strike."A control analysis has found that captured on the video was not only the S-300, as previously stated, but two of the three vehicles destroyed [by the strike] were the Patriot missile systems," the source said.The Iskander tactical missile system is a high-precision weapon with a firing range of up to 500 kilometers. The missile's warhead can destroy almost any target: enemy command posts, columns of equipment, or air defenses. Iskander can be armed with both ballistic and winged projectiles, which create false electronic interference as they approach the target and become virtually invulnerable to enemy air defense systems. Cruise missiles can fly at ultra-low altitudes and skirt terrain.The US sent Ukraine Raytheon-made air defense systems last spring, but they have had difficulties intercepting Russian projectiles and have been targeted themselves. In January this year, an advisor to the Ukrainian Armed Forces Air Force Command admitted that Ukraines NATO-sourced air defenses have never actually managed to intercept even one of the estimated 300 Kh-22 series missiles Russian warplanes had launched into Ukraine since 2022.In May 2023, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that its forces had destroyed a Kiev-stationed Patriot with a hypersonic Kinzhal missile. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced a successful hit on another Patriot two weeks later.Western countries have been providing Ukraine with military equipment since the start of Russia's special military operation in February 2022. The support evolved from lighter artillery munitions and training to heavier weapons, including tanks. Ukraine eventually started pushing for Western-made fighter jets, which its donors abroad long resisted. The Kremlin has consistently warned against continued arms deliveries to Kiev, saying it would lead to further escalation of the conflict. In April 2022, Russia sent a diplomatic note to all NATO countries on the issue of arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russian strikes. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230403/inside-the-iskander-a-closer-look-at-russias-deadly-short-range-missile-1109080044.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230924/us-patriot-system-in-ukraine-either-destroyed-or-broken-ex-cia-analyst-suggests-1113619626.html donetsk russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International us-made patriot, iskander missile defense system, donetsk, russian special military operation, ukrainian conflict, ukrainian crisis, war in ukraine https://sputnikglobe.com/20240309/ten-years-after-mh370s-disappearance-family-members-continue-to-look-for-answers-1117222825.html Ten Years After MH370s Disappearance, Family Members Continue to Look for Answers Ten Years After MH370s Disappearance, Family Members Continue to Look for Answers Sputnik International 10 years ago, Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 mysteriously disappeared from radars and never came back. The exact fate of the plane and the passengers remains unknown. 2024-03-09T07:41+0000 2024-03-09T07:41+0000 2024-03-09T07:41+0000 beyond politics malaysia mh370 indian ocean mystery https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/107382/67/1073826740_0:181:3500:2150_1920x0_80_0_0_c4bf51a40d53c1366156f54eb0553d3f.jpg MOSCOW (Sputnik), Tommy Yang - In light of the 10th anniversary of the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370, a family member of one of the passengers on board the airplane shared with Sputnik how one of the most mysterious accidents in aviation history has affected her life and why many family members continued to struggle to find closure. Torture of Not KnowingGrace Nathan was preparing to take her final exams to complete her studies at the University of West England in Bristol, the United Kingdom, when she suddenly got a phone call from her father in March 2014. "I had just come back from the library. I received a call from my dad's number. I thought my mom had arrived in Beijing and she was calling me to let me know that she had arrived. But my dad was the one on the phone and he didn't even say hello. He just said: 'When is your next exam?' And I remember telling him that my next exam was on Monday. And he just hung up. I felt like I knew something was wrong, because he sound sounded different and he sounded like he was very concerned or worried. And I never heard him sounding like that before. My first thought was: 'something must have happened,'" Nathan, 35, told Sputnik. Nathan's family is from Malaysia and her father happened to be working in the aviation industry at an office in Beijing at the time. Nathan's mother was supposed to visit her father for a short one-week family reunion when she boarded the flight MH370 on March 8, 2014. "He called me again after maybe 10 or 15 minutes. And he said: 'Get on the next flight and come home.' I asked him: 'What's going on?' And he said: 'Don't ask me any questions and do what I tell you to do,'" Nathan said. But when Nathan couldn't book a flight that would depart within 24 hours online and she had to go to the airport to buy a ticket, she called her father again to find out what was happening that required her to return home as soon as she could. "I called to ask him again. I called him several times and he didn't pick up. And when he finally picked up, I told him: 'You have to tell me what's going on, because I can't buy a ticket online. I have to go to the airport.' He said: 'Something happened to the plane your mother is on. Just come back.' And that's it," she said. As Nathan was living in Bristol at the time, she had to take a bus from Bristol to the airport in London. On her bus ride, the news about her mother's flight started to trickle in. "I remember, on the bus journey to London, I was refreshing my Google News feed. And there was so much information out there. Of course, none of it was verified. But it was very toxic. There were a lot of gruesome photos. There were photos of dead people floating in the ocean after an apparent plane crash. There were a lot of very disturbing images. I didn't know what to think and what to feel. At the time, we didn't really know what happened or whether the plane made an emergency landing somewhere," she said. Despite all the rumors about the fate of the plane, Nathan still remembered the torturous feeling of not knowing what happened when she was on the flight back to Malaysia. "When I reached the airport and got on the flight, it was a 14 hours direct flight. I didn't have any access to the internet. And I remember being extremely stressed. It was like the one of the worst 14 hours of my life because I just didn't know what was happening and what to expect, because a lot can happen and 14 hours is a long time," she said. Unfortunately, for Nathan's family and other family members of the 227 passengers and 12 crew members aboard MH370, not knowing what happened to the plane would become an excruciating mystery that would last for the next 10 years. Unresolved MysteryAfter losing contact with the plane when it was flying over the South China Sea on its way to Beijing, the initial search and rescue efforts for MH370 focused on that area in the first few hours. However, unlike other aviation disasters where the plane's debris field was located shortly afterwards, MH370 was nowhere to be found in the South China Sea. When Malaysian officials confirmed widely circulated speculations that military radars indicated that MH370 flew away from its planned flight path and made an unexpected turn back towards Malaysia, the revelation drove the public's interests in the plane's fate into new heights. All kinds of conspiracy theories began to circulate on social media and a new theory trying to explain the plane's disappearance appeared almost every minute. In the following weeks, Malaysian authorities announced that the plane appeared to have continued to fly for several hours after losing contact with air traffic control in the early hours on March 8, 2014. According to pings received from satellite communication systems, experts offered two possible flight paths for MH370 either to the north towards Kazakhstan or to "a southern corridor" towards the southern Indian Ocean. As no airplane resembling MH370 had landed in Kazakhstan or any of the neighboring countries on the possible northern flight path, the research and rescue efforts began to focus on the southern flight path that would lead the plane to complete its journey in the southern Indian Ocean. Australia began to take an active role in the search for MH370 in the Southern Indian Ocean, after the country dispatched a number of naval vessels in the search and rescue missions. Unfortunately, naval vessels from Australia were unable to locate MH370 according to the possible flight path for the plane based on satellite communication data. As the depth of the part of the Southern Indian Ocean on MH370s possible flight path could go as deep as 6,000 meters (3.7 miles), the subsequent search for the missing airplane began to focus on deploying vehicles capable of deep underwater detection. However, the deep underwater search efforts in the next few years also failed to locate MH370, making it the most mysterious accident that remained unresolved in aviation history. Mom Not in Past Tense For family members of those aboard MH370, not knowing exactly what happened to their loved ones became a huge mental burden that would haunt them for the next ten years. Similar to many other family members who refused to accept the official conclusion from the investigation team from Malaysia that said the plane ended its journey in the southern Indian Ocean, Nathan also struggled with what to believe. "It was the most horrible feeling in the world to sit there and hear the story change like 10 times in a day. Every day, there was a different narrative. And then the Prime Minister [of Malaysia] decided to prematurely at that stage, like suddenly out of the blue, to announce on national television that they believe the plane had ended its flight somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean. For the first two years, I completely could not accept that the plane might have crashed, because there was no physical evidence," Nathan said. Gradually, in the following years, a number of debris that appeared to be parts of an airplane washed ashore on the coasts of African countries on the west of the southern Indian Ocean. Malaysian authorities, with assistance from the plane's manufacturer, Boeing, confirmed that several pieces of the debris came from MH370. Nevertheless, many other family members challenged whether those pieces of debris were indeed part of MH370. Some of those family members appeared to continue to hold such views in a documentary focusing on the disappearance of MH370 released on Netflix in 2023. Even for Nathan, she would only describe herself as partially accepting the official conclusion on the fate of MH370 from Malaysian authorities. "I would say I have had some partial acceptance, but not full acceptance. I am in a state of partial acceptance, which is something that is very difficult to put into words. It's very difficult to articulate, but I can see it in my actions. For example, logically, I may have accepted that the plane may have ended its flight in the southern Indian Ocean. But I not speak about my mother in the past tense. I still speak about my mother in the present tense. And I'm unable to say that she's no longer with me or something has happened to her. I've never been able to say that to someone," she said. Nathan said she understood why family members of other passengers or crew members may continue to struggle to accept the official conclusion. "We believe that everybody grieves differently. Grief is a journey. It's not the same for everyone. It's different for everybody. Everybody's just in a different part of that journey. And I choose to respect that because it's not my place to tell someone else how they should feel," she said. Nevertheless, Nathan still strongly believed that the family members of MH370 passengers and crew members should unite and help each other. That's why she became an active organizer of a group representing MH370 family members. Members of the group stay in touch through social media platforms and hold a remembrance event each year for MH370. "It's not really like a formal organization. It's just basically like a group of family members. And we call ourselves Voice370. And we do organize a remembrance event every year. It's mostly organized by me and my dad, with the participation of some other next of kin. We use it as a platform to remind the world that MH370 is still missing," she said. The remembrance event for the 10th anniversary since the disappearance of MH370 was held in Malaysia on Sunday, March 3. Red Flag in RelationshipDespite the enormous mental stress of not knowing the fate of the plane her mother was traveling in, Nathan returned to Bristol by the end of March 2014 to try to complete her studies. "Once I went back to the UK, and I had to focus on my exams. I had to limit how much I was reading because it was affecting me too much and I couldn't focus on my studies and my exams. I tried not to be too engrossed in all of the news. It was only after I completed all my exams that I became a bit more involved in all of the stuff of organizing family members," she said. After completing her studies in the UK, Nathan returned to Malaysia and began to work as a lawyer. But her active role in leading and organizing the group of MH370 family members also had some adverse effect on her personal life. "I think it was like a red flag to many people because they thought that I was too involved and I was not able to move on. I was not able to let go of my mom and move on. And people thought it could be a problem in a relationship or in a friendship. I also had the same kind of problem at my job. Maybe I'm just tired one day. But somebody might look at me and say: 'Oh, I think she's depressed because she's thinking about her mom again.' People would just assume that everything was related to MH370 because I was always very involved in the 'search on' campaign," she said. Fortunately, Nathan met someone who could look past all of that in 2018. "I met my partner at the end of 2018. He accepted and tried to understand me, despite my emotional state I was in or despite the fact that I was fighting this cause [for MH370]. That was something a lot of people did not want to accept about me," she said. Nathan got married to her partner in 2020 and the young couple have two beautiful children today. As a young mother, Nathan said she would try to explain to her children about what happened to their grandma. "My children are too young now. They can't speak yet. But I don't plan on keeping it from them. There's no reason to keep it from them," she said. Nevertheless, Nathan stressed that she hoped that the search for MH370 would continue, as family members of MH370 passengers and crew members would only find some closure when the airplane is found. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240303/malaysian-minister-pledges-to-renew-hunt-for-flight-mh370-decade-after-its-disappearance-1117113861.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20210506/mh370-captain-avoided-radar-detection-to-deliberately-crash-plane-new-theory-claims-1082820078.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20210207/mh370-disappearance-could-be-linked-to-us-attended-military-exercises-author-claims-1082005932.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20191229/from-mh370-to-fake-melania-top-10-biggest-conspiracy-theories-of-the-2010s-1077894849.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20191209/engineer-claims-to-have-discovered-possible-location-of-mh370-1077520091.html malaysia indian ocean Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International mh370 mystery, mh370 dissapearence, mh370 riddle, mh370 crash, mh370 anniversary https://sputnikglobe.com/20240309/us-conducts-strike-against-houthi-anti-ship-missiles-in-yemen-1117220313.html US Conducts Strike Against Houthi Anti-Ship Missiles in Yemen US Conducts Strike Against Houthi Anti-Ship Missiles in Yemen Sputnik International The United States struck anti-ship missiles of the Ansar Allah movement (Houthis) in Yemen, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement on X. 2024-03-09T05:24+0000 2024-03-09T05:24+0000 2024-03-09T05:24+0000 military yemen us central command (centcom) houthis gaza strip israel https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/107829/88/1078298803_0:2:1401:790_1920x0_80_0_0_05548d0fe86469b09906b85e88e76d7d.jpg Yemen's Ansar Allah movement, whose members are also known as Houthis, vowed in November 2023 to attack any ships associated with Israel until it halts military actions in the Gaza Strip. This led the United States to announce a multinational operation to secure navigation in the Red Sea. US and UK forces later launched numerous strikes against Houthi positions in a bid to degrade their ability to target commercial vessels.Russia slammed the anti-Houthi operation as a "complete disregard for international law" by Western countries "for their own destructive purposes." yemen gaza strip israel Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International houthis, ansar allah, us central command, gaza strip https://sputnikglobe.com/20240309/us-republican-lawmakers-work-on-alternative-aid-for-ukraine-including-loan-format---reports-1117223657.html US Republican Lawmakers Work on Alternative Aid for Ukraine, Including Loan Format - Reports US Republican Lawmakers Work on Alternative Aid for Ukraine, Including Loan Format - Reports Sputnik International US Republican lawmakers are currently working on an alternative aid package for Kiev, which might be partially offered as a loan, the NBC News broadcaster reported on Saturday, citing the US lower house officials. 2024-03-09T09:12+0000 2024-03-09T09:12+0000 2024-03-09T09:12+0000 economy ukrainian crisis joe biden ukraine mike mccaul https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/0c/17/1105741459_0:0:3073:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_6972b4fec55579f702a16b8f0e4c3103.jpg The plan is currently in its preliminary stage, the broadcaster reported, citing sources. The nonmilitary part of the plan, which involves economic aid, might be designed as a sort of a loan, aimed at maintaining the general function of the Ukrainian government and its plans for further restoration, House Foreign Affairs Chairman Mike McCaul told the broadcaster, adding that the frozen Russian assets might be used as collateral for loans to the Ukrainians. One of the US officials close to White House told the broadcaster that such a plan is not an ideal way. Asking a country to take on tens of millions of dollars of debt that they cant afford to pay off is a recipe for a significant burden, will hurt Ukraine long term and could lead to economic crises down the road, the official told NBC News. The US Congress has not yet supported US President Joe Biden's administration's request for another $60 billion for Kiev, due to the position of the Republican majority in the House of Representatives. The previously allocated funds ran out last December, and the previously announced military aid packages are being delivered to Ukraine to fulfill previous contracts. In February, the Biden administration warned that Ukraine risks further losses to Russia on the battlefield if lawmakers fail to provide more aid.Russia views potential attempts by the US and the EU to seize Russian assets as theft and an act of trade war. Russian President Vladimir Putin dubbed the Wests threats "unseemly business," and warned that "stealing other peoples assets has never brought anyone good." https://sputnikglobe.com/20240302/moscow-will-reciprocate-if-west-confiscates-russian-assets-1117092279.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240223/how-russia-could-respond-to-wests-potential-frozen-asset-seizure-1116939125.html ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International ukraine, ukrainian crisis, aid for ukraine, russian assets, frozen assets. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240309/watch-russian-artillery-hammer-ukrainian-positions-1117220202.html Watch Russian Artillery Hammer Ukrainian Positions Watch Russian Artillery Hammer Ukrainian Positions Sputnik International Russian artillery is known for its formidable firepower. During special military operation, artillery plays a pivotal role in both offensive and defensive operations. 2024-03-09T05:45+0000 2024-03-09T05:45+0000 2024-03-09T05:45+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine ukraine ukrainian crisis russian ministry of defense russia video https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/03/09/1117220008_18:0:1326:736_1920x0_80_0_0_1db23facedea544b9f8e64a23da93ef4.png The Russian Defense Ministry has released footage of the combat work of Russian artillerymen. D-20 howitzer crews wiped out Ukrainian fortifications and eliminated enemy military personnel.The artillerymen were assisted by reconnaissance drones that helped pinpoint the exact location and adjust the fire.152mm D-20 howitzers typically use High Explosive Incendiary (HEI) rounds, which either incinerate the enemy or obliterate them with the shockwave. ukraine russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Russian Artillery in Combat Action Sputnik International Russian Artillery in Combat Action 2024-03-09T05:45+0000 true PT0M31S 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International rusia special military operation, ukrainian crisis, russian howitzer, russian artillery, d-20 howitzer PHNOM PENH, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia had exported 90,153 tons of milled rice in the first two months of 2024, down 7.2 percent from 97,153 tons over the same period 2023, said a Cambodia Rice Federation's report released on Saturday. The country earned a total revenue of 65.4 million U.S. dollars from the export of the commodity during the January-February period this year, also down 9.9 percent from 72.6 million dollars over the same period 2023, the report said. The Southeast Asian country's rice had been shipped to 50 countries and regions by 40 exporters, it added. According to the report, Cambodia exported 11,083 tons of milled rice to China in the first two months of this year, making the gross revenue of 6.81 million dollars. Rice varieties the kingdom exported included fragrant rice, white rice, parboiled rice, and organic rice. Minister of Commerce Cham Nimul said recently that Cambodia is seeking new markets for its rice, mainly targeting countries that have free trade agreements with the kingdom. "The Ministry of Commerce is working to promote and open up markets for our milled rice through the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement, the Cambodia-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, and the Cambodia-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement," she said at the ministry's annual conference. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240309/zelensky-rejects-proposed-peace-summit-negotiation-with-russia-1117216966.html Zelensky Rejects Proposed Peace Summit, Negotiation With Russia Zelensky Rejects Proposed Peace Summit, Negotiation With Russia Sputnik International Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's idea to hold a peace summit with Russia's participation. 2024-03-09T02:53+0000 2024-03-09T02:53+0000 2024-03-09T02:53+0000 world volodymyr zelensky recep tayyip erdogan russia ukraine turkiye ukraine crisis ukrainian conflict ukrainian crisis peace agreement https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/03/09/1117217221_0:107:3072:1835_1920x0_80_0_0_eeb6f214301376f20e63b51aef37c162.jpg "We don't see Russian representatives at such a summit," Zelensky said at a joint conference with the Turkish leader in Istanbul, reiterating his old thesis that a peace plan should be prepared by other countries without Moscow's participation - an idea already repeatedly rejected by Russia.Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara is ready to host a peace summit on Ukraine with Russia's participation. He recalled that the Black Sea Initiative prevented a global food crisis.Moscow has repeatedly indicated that it is ready for talks, but Kiev has introduced a legislative ban on them. The West ignores Ukraine's constant refusals to engage in dialogue. According to the Kremlin, the conflict in Ukraine can move to a peaceful course if the de facto situation and new realities are taken into account, and all of Moscow's demands are well known. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that if Ukraine wants a negotiation process, performative gestures are not the way. It is necessary to cancel the decree prohibiting negotiations with Russia. According to the president, Russia has never been against the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine by peaceful means, but insists on the observance of Russian security guarantees. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240222/uks-boris-johnson-sabotaged-russia-ukraine-peace-deal-on-us-orders-1116927933.html russia ukraine turkiye Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International peace talks, peace summit, peace deal, peace agreement, russia-ukraine war, russia-ukraine peace, russia-ukraine negotiations, russia-ukraine talks, ban on negotiations, ukraine loses, zelensky loses, ukrainian troops, ukrainian losses, russian forces, russian troops, russia wins, ukraine loses, ukrainian crisis Julie Walker guided Prince Of Sussex to victory in Woodbine Mohawk Park's International Womens Day race on Friday night, March 8. A full field of 10 trotters lined up for Fridays third race, featuring women driving, part of Woodbines International Womens Day celebrations. It was the third consecutive year that Woodbine Mohawk Park hosted a race celebrating the women of harness racing. Prince Of Sussex and Walker left out hard from post five in the $14,000 conditioned trot and got a two-hole trip behind favourite Meadowbranch Noble and Jessica Turenne. In the stretch, the favourite rolled off stride with an eighth of a mile to go, as Prince Of Sussex trotted up the inside for Walker and pulled away late to win by 3-3/4 lengths in 1:55.4 as the 2-1 second choice. Zip Me Up and Natasha Day finished second after a first-over bid while Eden Onthehill and Samara Johnson came on for third after starting from post 10. Also taking part in the International Womens Day race were Marie-Claude Auger, Anita Ouellette, Maggie Jones, Brittany Kennedy, Pam Forgie and Marielle Enberg. I was wanting the front end, but that was the best horse [Meadowbranch Noble] in the race to me, so I was quite happy sitting in the two-hole, said Walker post-race. [Prince Of Sussex] was down in class, so I think that was the confidence that I hadhe had been racing pretty tough. Prince Of Sussex is a five-year-old Creatine gelding that currently races for owner Zacharie Lemay and co-owner/trainer Gerard Demers. International Women's Day race participants (left to right): Jessica Turenne, Pam Forgie, Natasha Day, Anita Ouellette, Maggie Jones, Julie Walker, Marie-Claude Auger, Samara Johnson, Brittany Kennedy, Marielle Enberg. Fridays card started on a rough note after a two-horse accident occurred in the evenings first race. With the field of eight pacing mares approaching the half, the group got jammed up, which led to Stay Special and driver Jonathan Drury (racing seventh) falling in front of the trailing Yes Im Hungry and driver Phil Hudon. Both horses and drivers were able to walk off the track under their own power following the incident. Hudon completed his drives on the program and Drury returned to action for one more race but did book off his remaining drives. Live harness racing continues on Saturday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Post time is 7:10 p.m. To view Friday's harness racing results, click the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park. (With files from Woodbine) Iredell Health System welcomed Melanie Sleime, MBA, SHRM-SCP, as the new assistant vice president of human resources. Sleime received her undergraduate degree in management and earned her master of business administration from Florida Tech. Sleimes extensive professional experience in healthcare human resources spans 34 years, with roles at various health care institutions across the East Coast. She is a senior certified professional from the Society for Human Resources Management. Her journey into health care was inspired by personal experiences, including her battle with breast cancer, which instilled in her a deep appreciation for the dedication and compassion of health care providers. My first job landed me covering the administrative side of a psych department for a vacationing colleague. An event occurred that forced us to be on lockdown. I saw how hard the caregivers worked and really thought if I could take care of them, that would be a wonderful job. I am also a breast cancer survivor and my own colleagues cared for me. They made it less scary and filled my experience with kindness and compassion, as well as moving me from patient to survivor. It is honestly so impactful to take care of my team in the only way I can, supporting them with human resources needs, because of all they do for our patients, said Sleime. As the assistant VP of human resources, Sleime will be responsible for collaborating with staff, leaders, and administration to address human resources needs and develop initiatives that enhance employee satisfaction and organizational success. She was drawn to Iredell Health System because of the warmth and friendliness of employees and is looking forward to making a positive difference in the lives of staff members. I hope the staff will trust and depend on me and our human resources team. I think we are like the guidance counselors in school, and it is important for us to know the employees and help them grow and become successful in their roles, said Sleime. Originally from Powhatan, Virginia, Sleime has lived in various locations, including North Carolina, and most recently residing in Saranac Lake, New York. Sleimes daughters attend college in North Carolina, and she is excited to be closer to them. In her free time, Sleime enjoys helping others through community service, going on walks, and traveling. She was an adjunct professor at North Country Community College in New York and hopes to find a similar opportunity in Iredell County. The Rotary Club of Newton Conover has partnered with Little Mountain Kart Club and the Hickory American Legion Fairgrounds to expand Racing for Rotary, family-oriented kart races. Jonathan Setzer, operator of Little Mountain Kart Club, and Rotarian Scott Gilleland, owner of The Untouchables, made a proposal to the Rotary Club of Newton Conover in November to consider moving the races to the Hickory American Legion Fairground location. The kart races, previously held in Maiden, are the largest event held by the Rotary Club of Newton Conover. The news came this week that everything is set and ready to go by all parties involved, Corky Upchurch, treasurer of the Rotary Club of Newton Conover, said. Thanks to Jonathan Setzer and JLS Machine Inc., a new kart track will be built at the fairground location and ready for operation this spring. Our plan is to hold four kart events in 2024. Tentative dates are March 30, May 25, July 20, and Oct. 12, We are grateful to these Rotary supporters and those involved with the Hickory American Legion Fairgrounds for being open and excited about this partnership. We believe this will be a great offering for Catawba County and surrounding areas, said Siobhan Loendorf, president of the Rotary Club of Newton Conover. This new location will allow the club to expand services such as food and parking and accommodate more kart entries and spectators. Racing for Rotary is a family-friendly event that offers kart races for all series of drivers while raising money for local nonprofits in Catawba County. Jonathan and Marie Setzer, operators of Little Mountain Kart Club, are passionate about backyard kart racing and about giving back to the community. They approached the Rotary Club of Newton Conover in 2021 about the program. Marie Setzer is a member of the Rotary Club of Newton Conover. Racing for Rotary has invested more than $25,500 back into the community over the past three years. Some of the organizations supported are Childrens Advocacy & Protection Center, Eastern Catawba County Cooperative Christian Ministry, Fostering Hope, Womens Resource Center, Carolina Caring, The Corner Table and The Salvation Army. Previous races included all classes open tire, Predator, Briggs LO 206, Stock Appearing, Clone, Champ, Box Stock, and Kids Class. Plans are being secured for the offerings of the four races in 2024. Sponsorship opportunities are available. Information will be updated on the Rotary website (https://www.newtonconoverrotary.org) and Facebook page as it occurs. The Rotary Club of Newton Conover was chartered in 1949 and is celebrating 75 years of service in 2024. The club has approximately 40 active members. For additional information, contact Joy Cline, jcline@bolickfoundation.org. Introduction: In a landmark judgment on March 7, 2024, the Supreme Court, in the case of Javed Ahmad Hajam vs State of Maharashtra, asserted the fundamental right to free speech and dissent. The ruling emphasizes citizens right to express dissent and extend good wishes on the independence days of other nations without facing penal charges. While firmly ruling most elegantly, eloquently and effectively on the inalienable right to dissent in a lawful manner, the Supreme Court in a most learned, laudable, landmark and latest judgment titled Javed Ahmad Hajam vs State of Maharashtra and Another in Criminal Appeal No.886 of 2024 (Arising out of Special Leave Petition (Crl.) No.11122 of 2023) and cited in Neutral Citation No.: 2024 INSC 187 that was pronounced as recently as on March 7, 2024 has minced just no words absolutely to hold that every citizen has the fundamental right to free speech under Article 19 of the Constitution to extend good wishes to citizens of the other countries on their respective independence days, and the same cannot attract any penal offence. It must be noted that a Division Bench comprising of Honble Mr Justice Abhay S Oka and Honble Mr Justice Ujjal Bhuyan unequivocally held that, If a citizen of India extends good wishes to the citizens of Pakistan on 14th August, which is their Independence Day, there is nothing wrong with it. Its a gesture of goodwill. Motives cannot be attributed to the appellant only because he belongs to a particular religion. Moreover, how can we ever forget that before 14 August, 1947 there was no Pakistan as it was an inalienable part of India till then and it were the Britishers who ensured the most ghastly partition of India and how can those whose blood relationship were living in earlier undivided India ever break their family and friendship relations merely because the outsiders that is the Britishers masterminded most cleverly, most dastardly and most cruelly the partition of India into Pakistan and India granting Pakistan independence a day earlier on 14 August and India a day later on 15 August and allowing Mohammad Ali Jinnah to become the first Governor General of Pakistan and also appointing Lord Mountbatten of England also known as United Kingdom and also known as Great Britain to be the first Governor General of India most pompously which India as we all know accepted most graciously and most humbly which my very best friend Sageer Khan in Sagar in Madhya Pradesh in 1993 lashed out at terming it as an act of slavery and imposition of monogamy as a punishment only on Hindus and imposition of Article 370 as anti-Hindu acts and anti-national acts respectively? It was made absolutely clear by the Apex Court that the right to dissent in a lawful manner must be treated as a part of the right to lead a dignified life under the Constitution. It was also noted by the top court that every citizen has a right to be critical of the abrogation of Article 370 and the change of Jammu and Kashmirs status. We thus see quite distinctly that the Supreme Court quashed a criminal case that had been lodged against Javed Ahmad Hajam who is a Kashmiri Muslim Professor working in a Kolhapur college in Maharashtra who was booked under Section 153A of IPC for putting out a Whatsapp status in a group terming August 5-Black Day for Jammu & Kashmir and celebrating Independence day of Pakistan on August 14. The Apex Court held that describing August 5 as a Black Day is an expression of protest. At the very outset, this brief, brilliant, bold and balanced judgment authored by Honble Mr Justice Abhay S Oka for a Division Bench of Apex Court comprising of himself and Honble Mr Justice Ujjal Bhuyan sets the ball in motion by first and foremost putting forth in para 1 that, A First Information Report (for short, the impugned FIR) was registered against the appellant for the offence punishable under Section 153-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short, the IPC). The appellant filed a writ petition before the High Court of Judicature at Bombay for quashing the FIR. By the impugned judgment dated 10th April 2023, the High Court has dismissed the writ petition. To put things in perspective, the Bench envisages in para 2 that, The appellant was a Professor at Sanjay Ghodawat College in District Kolhapur, Maharashtra. He came to Kolhapur for employment. Earlier, he was a permanent resident of District Baramulla, Kashmir. The appellant was a member of a WhatsApp group. The allegation of commission of offence is based on what was seen on his WhatsApp status. The State Government has set out the precise text appearing on the WhatsApp status of the appellant in its counter affidavit. Clauses (c) and (d) of paragraph 3 of the counter affidavit read thus: 3 a b c. During the incident, the Petitioner was employed as a Professor at Sanjay Ghodavat College. The Petitioner was a member of a WhatsApp group that consisted of parents and teachers. Between August 13, 2022, and August 15, 2022, while being part of this WhatsApp group, the Petitioner posted two messages as their status: 1. August 5 Black Day Jammu & Kashmir. 2. 14th August Happy Independence Day Pakistan. d. Furthermore, after aforementioned status, the Petitioner WhatsApp status on their mobile included the message: Article 370 was abrogated, we are not happy. Based on these allegations, the present FIR was registered under Section 153-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, by the Hatkanangale Police Station in Kolhapur. As it turned out, the Bench enunciates in para 3 that, By the impugned judgment, the Division Bench of the High Court held that what was stated by the appellant regarding celebrating Independence Day of Pakistan will not come within the purview of Section 153-A of the IPC. However, the other objectionable part can attract the offence punishable under Section 153-A of the IPC. Do note, the Bench notes in para 8 that, Now, coming back to Section 153-A, clause (a) of subsection (1) of Section 153-A of the IPC is attracted when by words, either spoken or written or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, an attempt is made to promote disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities. The promotion of disharmony, enmity, hatred or ill will must be on the grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste, community or any other analogous grounds. Clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 153-A of the IPC will apply only when an act is committed which is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities and which disturbs or is likely to disturb the public tranquility. Quite significantly, the Bench observes in para 9 that, Now, coming to the words used by the appellant on his WhatsApp status, we may note here that the first statement is that August 5 is a Black Day for Jammu and Kashmir. 5th August 2019 is the day on which Article 370 of the Constitution of India was abrogated, and two separate Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir were formed. Further, the appellant has posted that Article 370 was abrogated, we are not happy. On a plain reading, the appellant intended to criticise the action of the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India. He has expressed unhappiness over the said act of abrogation. The aforesaid words do not refer to any religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community. It is a simple protest by the appellant against the decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution of India and the further steps taken based on that decision. The Constitution of India, under Article 19(1)(a), guarantees freedom of speech and expression. Under the said guarantee, every citizen has the right to offer criticism of the action of abrogation of Article 370 or, for that matter, every decision of the State. He has the right to say he is unhappy with any decision of the State. Most significantly and so also most remarkably, the Bench then minces absolutely just no words to propound succinctly in para 10 what constitutes the cornerstone of this notable judgment mandating that, In the case of Manzar Sayeed Khan vs State of Maharashtra & Anr (2007) 5 SCC 1, this Court has read intention as an essential ingredient of the said offence. The alleged objectionable words or expressions used by the appellant, on its plain reading, cannot promote disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities. The WhatsApp status of the appellant has a photograph of two barbed wires, below which it is mentioned that AUGUST 5 BLACK DAY JAMMU & KASHMIR. This is an expression of his individual view and his reaction to the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India. It does not reflect any intention to do something which is prohibited under Section 153-A. At best, it is a protest, which is a part of his freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by Article 19(1)(a). Every citizen of India has a right to be critical of the action of abrogation of Article 370 and the change of status of Jammu and Kashmir. Describing the day the abrogation happened as a Black Day is an expression of protest and anguish. If every criticism or protest of the actions of the State is to be held as an offence under Section 153-A, democracy, which is an essential feature of the Constitution of India, will not survive. The right to dissent in a legitimate and lawful manner is an integral part of the rights guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a). Every individual must respect the right of others to dissent. An opportunity to peacefully protest against the decisions of the Government is an essential part of democracy. The right to dissent in a lawful manner must be treated as a part of the right to lead a dignified and meaningful life guaranteed by Article 21. But the protest or dissent must be within four corners of the modes permissible in a democratic set-up. It is subject to reasonable restrictions imposed in accordance with clause (2) of Article 19. In the present case, the appellant has not at all crossed the line. Broadly speaking, the Bench most forthrightly points out in para 11 that, The High Court has held that the possibility of stirring up the emotions of a group of people cannot be ruled out. The appellants college teachers, students, and parents were allegedly members of the WhatsApp group. As held by Vivian Bose, J, the effect of the words used by the appellant on his WhatsApp status will have to be judged from the standards of reasonable women and men. We cannot apply the standards of people with weak and vacillating minds. Our country has been a democratic republic for more than 75 years. The people of our country know the importance of democratic values. Therefore, it is not possible to conclude that the words will promote disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious groups. The test to be applied is not the effect of the words on some individuals with weak minds or who see a danger in every hostile point of view. The test is of the general impact of the utterances on reasonable people who are significant in numbers. Merely because a few individuals may develop hatred or ill will, it will not be sufficient to attract clause (a) of sub-section (1) of Section 153-A of the IPC. It is worth noting that the Bench notes in para 12 that, As regards the picture containing Chand and below that the words 14th AugustHappy Independence Day Pakistan, we are of the view that it will not attract clause (a) of subsection (1) of Section 153-A of the IPC. Every citizen has the right to extend good wishes to the citizens of the other countries on their respective independence days. If a citizen of India extends good wishes to the citizens of Pakistan on 14th August, which is their Independence Day, there is nothing wrong with it. Its a gesture of goodwill. In such a case, it cannot be said that such acts will tend to create disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious groups. Motives cannot be attributed to the appellant only because he belongs to a particular religion. Be it noted, the Bench notes in para 13 that, Now, the time has come to enlighten and educate our police machinery on the concept of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and the extent of reasonable restraint on their free speech and expression. They must be sensitised about the democratic values enshrined in our Constitution. Most sagaciously, the Bench postulates in para 14 that, For the same reasons, clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 153-A of the IPC will not be attracted as what is depicted on the WhatsApp status of the appellant cannot be said to be prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony among various groups as stated therein. Thus, continuation of the prosecution of the appellant for the offence punishable under Section 153-A of the IPC will be a gross abuse of the process of law. As a corollary, the Bench directs in para 15 that, Accordingly, we set aside the impugned judgment dated 10th April 2023 of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay and quash the impugned FIR bearing no. 295 of 2022 registered at PS Hatkanangle, District Kolhapur, Maharashtra and the proceedings based on the impugned FIR. Finally, the Bench then concludes by holding in para 16 that, The Appeal is, accordingly, allowed. In sum, the key takeaway of this notable judgment is that every citizen has right to be critical of decisions taken by Centre like the one on Article 370 of Constitution. As for instance, the lawyers of West UP denounce Centres most discriminatory, despicable, dastardly and divisive decision to create only one single High Court Bench in the most populated State of India that is Uttar Pradesh and that too so near to Allahabad where High Court itself is located at Lucknow and attaching the litigants of West UP not with Lucknow which falls 230 km earlier but right uptill Allahabad which means whole night and half day is wasted on just travelling alone most atrociously and this despite the irrefutable fact that it is West UP which owes for more than half of the total number of pending cases of UP and still no Bench inspite of Justice Jaswant Singh Commission headed by former Supreme Court Judge recommending three High Court Benches including one for West UP in mid 1970s yet not one created till date most atrociously! Now this does not mean that Centre or lawmakers punish the lawyers of West UP for dissenting with Centre on it and going on strike for 6 months as in 2001 and in 2014-15, strike for Wednesday also many times and strike for few months many times in different years and strike every Saturday since May 1981 till March 2024! Conclusion: The Supreme Courts ruling in the Javed Ahmad Hajam case reinforces the essence of democracy and the right to express dissent without fear of persecution. The judgment upholds citizens freedom of speech, especially in expressing criticism of government actions. By quashing the charges against Hajam, the Court sends a strong message about the significance of democratic values and the need to protect the right to dissent, even in the digital realm. This decision stands as a testament to the robustness of Indias constitutional principles and the judiciarys commitment to safeguarding individual liberties. Nestled between the Columbia River and mountains, Rainier is hemmed in, and land available to build on is steep. That leaves less room for developers to build, and fewer options for people to find housing. Only one new building permit was issued in the city last year, said City Administrator Scott Jorgensen, and it was for a single-family home. Some have left the city for shelter. Rainier has no assisted living facilities, said Rainier Mayor Jerry Cole. Lifelong residents have had to move out. All of that is likely to change, as a bill to expand cities buildable land is waiting Oregon Gov. Tina Koteks signature. If signed, the process to add land to the roughly 5-square-mile city would speed up, and its housing crisis could be averted. Its like Field of Dreams, hopefully, Cole said. Build it and they will come. A quicker route Today Oregon allows a slow process to grow developable areas; cities can swap 1 acre of unbuildable land for another acre better suited for building. Senate Bill 1537 would allow cities to make a one-time expansion to the areas they plan to build over the next two decades, areas the state call urban growth boundaries. For Rainier, that means 50 more acres, or a little less than 1 square mile enough space to build on for the next 20 years, city officials say. A 50-acre city expansion hasnt been seen in decades, Cole said. Plus, the city can continue to work on the one-to-one land swaps for even more acreage. Oregon law requires cities to plan where they will build to avoid urban sprawl and the destruction of natural areas. But Rainiers boundaries were drawn decades ago when the city was first founded, and those original boundaries leave little room for growth, said Jorgensen. A significant portion of the land within this boundary is unbuildable, he added. Jorgensen said he realized one day when he was driving through the outskirts of the city that an entire slough fell within this building able area. That would be the type of land swapped out of the city in exchange for flatter, higher and buildable land. Maybe there are some areas that are better for land use than a slough, he said. What will be built? While the city waits for Koteks signature, a Portland-based land-use consulting firm, Winterbrook, is reviewing what 1-acre land the city should swap. In the next two months, Winterbrook is making a land inventory, analyzing which properties are potential sites. The process will continue through the first part of this year, ending with a council decision. Jorgensen said during Mondays meeting that there are no preconceived notions, no predetermined outcomes, for what is to be built on those lands that end up being swapped. Just whatever makes the most sense. Development is applicant driven, Jorgensen said, so there is no guarantee that a developer will want to move in and build right away once land-swaps are initiated, or if the development will be commercial or residential, single-family houses or apartments. But having the land is the first step to attracting new builders. Under Koteks bill, there are rules for the citys 50-acre expansion; 30% of housing units would be required to be affordable housing. Thats in an area where 20% of the residents live in poverty, the Census Bureau reports. As for setting aside land specifically for affordable housing, Cole said he was hesitant to tell private property owners what to do with the land they buy, but hes open to creative ideas. Maybe the school district could develop some kind of affordable housing project for families, Cole said. Maybe its a little premature for me to say that, but maybe its because Im excited about this opportunity. Last year was another busy one for our national parks. The National Park Service announced in a news release last month that its 400 parks saw a total of 325.5 million recreation visits in 2023, a 4% bump from 2022. Of those parks, 20 set visitation records, including the Nez Perce National Historical Park, which includes 38 sites in Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Montana. National Park Service data shows the park saw more than 377,000 visits last year. National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said in the release the nations parks are attracting more visitors each year to learn about our shared history. Our national parks tell our shared American story. Im glad visitors are finding hidden gems, exploring in the offseason and finding new ways to have a great time in our national parks, Sams said. The top three busiest parks this year included the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, Golden Gate National Recreation Area in California and Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. But parks in Washington drew big crowds last year, too. The 12 National Park Service sites in the state reported close to 8.3 million visits last year, a 3% increase over 2022. Olympic National Park, the busiest of Washingtons parks, recorded a 21% increase in visitation, with more than 2.9 million visits. Thats the parks highest total since 2019. OLYMPIA On their last day in the Capitol on Thursday, state legislators agreed to create a retirement savings program for Washington workers who dont have access to one through their jobs, exempted more child care providers from the states business and occupation tax, among other bills. It was a fairly quiet end to a session where the progressive wing of the Democratic majority didnt get quite as much across the finish line as they wanted, leaving town with substantial bills on the cutting room floor. Among this years casualties: a bill that would have required oil companies to disclose their profits, another to limit annual rent hikes and a proposal that would have stepped up regulation when health systems consolidate, which can affect what services are available to patients. Legislators did pass a slew of other noteworthy measures, though, including a bill to create a civil penalty if a person doesnt report a lost or stolen gun within 24 hours, a bill to prohibit police from hog-tying suspects in the wake of the death of Manuel Ellis in Tacoma and a bill to make it easier to convert commercial buildings to residential housing. The majority also partially conceded in passing three voter initiatives concerning income taxes, police chases and a parents bill of rights, all backed by the states GOP chair though they declined to act on three others, meaning those will head to the ballot in November. House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, put a positive spin on the session. I think we got a lot done on all of our priorities, she told reporters Wednesday. We didnt get everything done, which is good for us because we wouldnt need a Legislature if we got everything done, right? Republicans pointed to those failures as proof of their effectiveness in the minority. The bad bills that would have taken Washington in the wrong direction have died either in a Senate committee or on the Senate floor or on the House floor, in no small part due to the work by House and Senate Republicans, said House Republican Leader Drew Stokesbary, of Auburn. But some bills, like the measure to limit annual rent increases for existing tenants, stalled because of to disagreement among Democrats. House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon, D-Seattle, said the Democratic caucuses include folks from a lot of different geographies and a lot of different life experiences, from Capitol Hill in Seattle to Hoquiam. When I look at the big accomplishments that we have over the last couple of years, I dont know that any of them passed the first time out of the gate, he said. This is the furthest that a rent stabilization bill has ever made it in the Legislature, this is the first time its ever passed out of the chamber. I think it really advanced the discussion on that topic in ways that are going to bear fruit in the future. About 80% of the bills passed were very highly bipartisan, Jinkins said. Lawmakers also passed an updated budget on Thursday, agreeing to spend more in the current two-year budget on the states operating costs, including a modest bump in funding for special education, what Democratic budget writers described as their biggest commitment ever in fighting substance use disorder with $215 million in new funding for substance use treatment, education, outreach and prevention. Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane, chair of the Houses budget committee, said the budget reflects the needs of those who are struggling the most, including our overburdened and underrepresented communities, and continues to fund necessary supports in a sustainable way. House Republican budget lead Rep. Chris Corry, R-Yakima, said there were things he liked in the budget, including more money for school maintenance and teacher support services and that the budget doesnt include any new taxes. But he urged broader relief from taxes for all of Washingtons families. I am happy to see that this budget ends our ending fund balance higher, Corry said. But I do worry about the ongoing spending and how long we will be able to continue with it. Legislators also passed an updated transportation budget that put more money toward road maintenance, a longevity bonus for state troopers and removal of fish barriers. And on Wednesday, they gave the go-ahead to a construction budget including more money to build and repair schools and toward the states housing trust fund, which finances affordable housing projects. Sen. Joe Nguyen, D-White Center, said that with the crisis of the pandemic behind them, it felt like the first session in a while where legislators could turn their attention to good-governance issues, like the states public defense crisis. Before, it was, Give people money and COVID shots now, he said. Right? Or, like, Weve got to do this tax thing or else were not going to have any money for these programs. Now its like, OK, how do we thoughtfully balance and rearrange everything? TOKYO, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Seizures of imported counterfeit goods in Japan surpassed 30,000 cases in 2023, the second-highest figure since record-keeping began in 1987, government data showed. Cases regarding intercepted counterfeit items nationwide went up 17.5 percent from the previous year to 31,666, exceeding 30,000 for the first time in three years, the Finance Ministry said on Friday. Clothing topped the list with 10,401 cases, or 28 percent of the total, followed by bags and shoes, with many items related to Japanese anime, the ministry said. According to the ministry, the counterfeit branded products involved grew by 19.7 percent compared to the previous year to 1,056,245 items, the first time in four years that it has topped one million items. Ministry officials said many counterfeit goods are being distributed through e-commerce, calling on people to be wary of extremely low prices. Frat parties in Pullman are going dry for the foreseeable future. The Greek fraternity and sorority councils at Washington State University have signed a joint executive order that puts a "temporary pause on all social events involving alcohol." The order, signed by Panhellenic Council President Kynseth Mann and Interfraternity Council President Zachary Mayer, said risk management protocols have been ineffective amid an increase in medical calls from substance abuse at social events. The councils are student-led organizations that oversee the Greek system. WSU spokesman Phil Weiler said the councils identified the issue and came to this decision on their own. "This is not something the university imposed on the sororities and fraternities," Weiler said. The ban will be in effect "until the Interfraternity and Panhellenic Executive Councils feel that an adequate and actionable plan has been implemented," the order said. It can only be lifted by another joint resolution. Fraternities or sororities found violating the order will be subject to disciplinary hearings by the Greek Standards Board. The new policy includes exceptions for "non-social oriented events," such as chapter meetings and service events, or special events that can be appealed to the councils. The two councils said in a news release that they would evaluate every chapter's risk management policy and procedures, and clarify expectations regarding guests and alcohol consumption. "The university commends the councils for acknowledging the concerns and taking proactive steps on their own to address the issue," Weiler said. "Their actions are an example of responsible leadership and demonstrate their commitment to prioritizing the safety and well-being of their members." WSU has investigated numerous Greek organizations in the last few years for incidents involving alcohol, including for hazing and furnishing alcohol to minors. Last month, the university suspended the Theta Chi fraternity for three years following an investigation that determined that new members were hazed in fall 2022 and the fraternity furnished alcohol to minors in January 2023 the same month 19-year-old freshman pledge Luke Tyler died by suicide. His family alleged that fraternity hazing contributed to his death. Longview City Council has three brand new members, and the learning curve on how public meetings work can be steep. However, a recent surprise resolution and its unclear motives make us believe Councilmember Keith Youngs actions were not the product of inexperience, but rather intentional; he aimed to pass a measure not on the agenda, within the last few minutes of the Feb. 8 council meeting, to ensure the least amount of people could see it. When he was informed that a resolution needed two signatures for consideration, Councilmember Kalei LaFave signed it at her seat. The resolution was eventually given the kibosh after the city attorney pointed out that putting forth a surprise resolution and then voting on it without any public notice would not only be in contradiction of the councils self-imposed ban on surprise resolutions, but be legally dubious. The goal of the resolution was later revealed to be auditing Assistant City Manager Ann Rivers. Rivers, who also represents the 18th Legislative District in the Washington state Senate south of Longview, was singled out due to suspicions that she might not be effectively performing her job while also serving as a legislator. The resolution has still not been added to a council agenda, meaning Young nor LaFave have discussed in a public meeting their reasoning behind the document they signed. LaFave has told three TDN employees she will no longer talk to the paper, without explanation. The language of the resolution itself provides no reason for the audit, which would cost the city up to $30,000, and no defined goals or metrics. All we can go on are Youngs claims to The Daily News that he has been concerned about Rivers work balance. We find this argument to be, frankly, without any merit. Many legislators have second jobs which they continue to perform while they also serve as lawmakers, and many elected officials hold more than one office. Nobody is questioning whether LaFaves position with the Cowlitz Chaplaincy is interfering with her role with the city. Many point to Jeff Wilsons position as a port commissioner as a reason why he is a good choice for the state Senate. The resolutions backers have also chosen to operate in a gray area of state law to enforce the audit, as the provision in question only allows for councils to audit a department or office. If theyre so certain the problem is one specific person and they are questioning bending rules to target her specifically, it seems like theyve already made up their minds on what the findings will be. On Youngs campaign Facebook page, he posted on Feb. 8, after the council meeting when he introduced the surprise resolution: I ran on transparency, and I am committed to being open and honest in my service to this community. He also wrote: Surprise has value and is sometimes necessary when dealing with sensitive matters. Clearly, presenting a last-minute resolution that does not explain why the audit is necessary is not transparent. Its a political tactic. Employee targeting Under Longviews current city government structure, the council decides who should be city manager. That manager then oversees positions for the rest of government. This helps insulate city departments from massive turnover after elections, preserving the experience that employees have accrued. We dont feel the city should be getting into the habit of singling out individual employees; their focus should be on the city manager. Weve seen what kind of problems can arise from a city that gets too political with its employee hirings and firings. Thats what drove the embarrassing saga in Woodland, where outgoing mayor Will Finn fired two city officials with severance following an election. Finn claimed the new mayor would create a hostile working environment for those staff members. Whether or not you think he was justified and we certainly didnt it illustrates the problems you create by letting political concerns drive hirings and firings among the city staff. Woodland now has the legacy of those firings lingering on them. Longview doesnt need to have the same reputation. Trey Wharton was leading the polls in Tuesdays Republican primary for State Representative District 12 as this edition of The Eagle went to press. But Wharton failed to receive above the 50% threshold, meaning he will face off against the second-place challenger in a May runoff election. The race for second place between Republican candidates Ben Bius and John Slocum was still too close to call at the time of publication with both candidates less than 1,000 votes apart, according to unofficial numbers on the Texas Secretary of State website. Despite receiving the most votes of the three candidates, Wharton placed last in Brazos County which only makes up a portion of District 12. In Brazos County, Wharton received 1,002 votes (22.46%), Bius received 1,429 (32.03%) and Slocum received 2,030 (45.51%), according to unofficial numbers from the Brazos County Election Administration Office. District 12 encompasses part of Brazos County and all of Grimes, Madison, Robertson, Walker and Washington counties. At the time of publication, Wharton had received 38% of the vote district-wide. Tuesday night, Wharton, who resides in Huntsville, said he was glad he received the plurality of the vote. It has been great working with everybody and meeting people, he said. I just want to represent them. Whether they voted for me or not, Im representing them. With a runoff election on the horizon, Wharton said he will need to spend a lot of time in Brazos County to earn voters trust. He said he knows he is behind in name recognition in the area. I kind of expected that because Im the least-known person over there, he said. I havent run six times like someone else [Bius] and John Harvey [Slocum] is from that area so I fully expected him to win in his hometown. Its really going to be me getting there to meet people so they get to know me. Despite the short amount of time before the runoff, Wharton said people now know that he is a serious candidate. They know of where Im coming from and that Im serious, he said. I need to make sure Im meeting more people so that they feel more comfortable with me. The winner of the May runoff election will face Democrat Dee Howard Mullins in the November general election to replace retiring incumbent Kyle Kacal. Mullins ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Shares of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of Reduce from the nineteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $68.88. A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAP shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $75.00 to $62.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America cut Advance Auto Parts from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 16th. William Blair reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Get Advance Auto Parts alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on AAP Advance Auto Parts Trading Down 0.8 % Shares of Advance Auto Parts stock opened at $73.08 on Friday. Advance Auto Parts has a 12-month low of $47.73 and a 12-month high of $133.69. The stock has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 98.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The businesss 50 day moving average is $64.77 and its 200-day moving average is $59.77. Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.59) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.83). Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 1.68%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.88 EPS. The firms revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Advance Auto Parts will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Advance Auto Parts Dividend Announcement The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Advance Auto Partss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 135.14%. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAP. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Advance Auto Parts in the first quarter worth approximately $232,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 21.9% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 16,965 shares of the companys stock worth $3,511,000 after purchasing an additional 3,046 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 5.5% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 8,343 shares of the companys stock worth $1,727,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 120.6% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 11,593 shares of the companys stock worth $2,399,000 after purchasing an additional 6,338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in Advance Auto Parts by 14.4% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,620 shares of the companys stock worth $956,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. 88.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Advance Auto Parts Company Profile (Get Free Report Advance Auto Parts, Inc provides automotive replacement parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items for domestic and imported cars, vans, sport utility vehicles, and light and heavy duty trucks. The company offers battery accessories; belts and hoses; brakes and brake pads; chassis and climate control parts; clutches and drive shafts; engines and engine parts; exhaust systems and parts; hub assemblies; ignition components and wires; radiators and cooling parts; starters and alternators; and steering and alignment parts. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Advance Auto Parts Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Advance Auto Parts and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. American Trust cut its holdings in shares of Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH Free Report) by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 955 shares of the companys stock after selling 155 shares during the period. American Trusts holdings in Molina Healthcare were worth $313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MOH. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,449,375 shares of the companys stock worth $2,151,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001,372 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,865,464 shares of the companys stock worth $1,465,672,000 after purchasing an additional 113,511 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,352,122 shares of the companys stock worth $1,311,033,000 after purchasing an additional 53,139 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,517,706 shares of the companys stock worth $758,434,000 after purchasing an additional 99,603 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,374,111 shares of the companys stock worth $783,979,000 after purchasing an additional 228,221 shares during the period. 98.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Molina Healthcare alerts: Insider Activity at Molina Healthcare In other news, Director Richard M. Schapiro sold 711 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.06, for a total transaction of $273,066.66. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,688,220.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Mark Lowell Keim sold 15,000 shares of Molina Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.56, for a total value of $5,798,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 36,531 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $14,121,423.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard M. Schapiro sold 711 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.06, for a total value of $273,066.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,207 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,688,220.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,711 shares of company stock worth $6,472,517 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock. Molina Healthcare Stock Performance NYSE MOH opened at $392.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.54. Molina Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $256.19 and a 1 year high of $410.00. The firm has a market cap of $22.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $380.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $356.59. Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $9.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $8.35 billion. Molina Healthcare had a net margin of 3.20% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The businesss revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Molina Healthcare, Inc. will post 23.62 EPS for the current fiscal year. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an equal weight rating and a $437.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare from $374.00 to $406.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Molina Healthcare from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Molina Healthcare from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Molina Healthcare from $367.00 to $392.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, November 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $385.91. Read Our Latest Stock Report on MOH Molina Healthcare Profile (Free Report) Molina Healthcare, Inc provides managed healthcare services to low-income families and individuals under the Medicaid and Medicare programs and through the state insurance marketplaces. It operates in four segments, Medicaid, Medicare, Marketplace, and Other. The company served in across 19 states. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Long Beach, California. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MOH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Molina Healthcare Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Molina Healthcare and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM Free Report) by 23.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,952,712 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 373,457 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.37% of Archer-Daniels-Midland worth $147,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ADM. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,364,445 shares of the companys stock worth $2,369,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,314,810 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,303,791 shares of the companys stock worth $1,003,372,000 after acquiring an additional 252,486 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,956,183 shares of the companys stock worth $749,998,000 after acquiring an additional 105,943 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,744,254 shares of the companys stock worth $626,204,000 after acquiring an additional 570,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter worth $525,111,000. 77.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Archer-Daniels-Midland alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $96.00 to $61.00 in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays lowered shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from an overweight rating to an underweight rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Argus lowered shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a neutral rating and a $57.00 price target for the company. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Archer-Daniels-Midland currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $67.08. Archer-Daniels-Midland Trading Up 1.0 % Shares of NYSE:ADM opened at $54.81 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $29.23 billion, a PE ratio of 7.63 and a beta of 0.75. The companys 50-day moving average price is $58.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.30. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a fifty-two week low of $50.72 and a fifty-two week high of $87.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 8th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. This is an increase from Archer-Daniels-Midlands previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. Archer-Daniels-Midlands dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.86%. About Archer-Daniels-Midland (Free Report) Archer-Daniels-Midland Company procures, transports, stores, processes, and merchandises agricultural commodities, products, and ingredients in the United States, Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Ag Services and Oilseeds, Carbohydrate Solutions, and Nutrition. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ADM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Archer-Daniels-Midland Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Archer-Daniels-Midland and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF (BATS:IZRL Get Free Report) was up 0% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $21.25 and last traded at $21.09. Approximately 17,204 shares changed hands during trading, The stock had previously closed at $21.08. ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF Trading Down 0.4 % The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.25 million, a P/E ratio of 20.93 and a beta of 1.09. Get ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF alerts: Institutional Investors Weigh In On ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Main Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF in the 4th quarter worth $176,000. Finally, OLD Mission Capital LLC raised its position in shares of ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF by 231.3% in the 1st quarter. OLD Mission Capital LLC now owns 72,039 shares of the companys stock worth $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 50,293 shares in the last quarter. About ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF The ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF (IZRL) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the ARK Israeli Innovation (USD)(TR) index. The fund tracks an equally weighted index of Israeli companies causing advancements in the areas of genomics, health care, biotechnology, industrials, manufacturing, and IT. See Also Receive News & Ratings for ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE Free Report) by 33.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,332 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 666 shares during the quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLCs holdings in OGE Energy were worth $44,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in OGE Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of OGE Energy in the first quarter worth $32,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of OGE Energy in the third quarter worth $43,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in OGE Energy by 572.5% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,466 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in OGE Energy by 45.0% during the second quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,417 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. 66.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get OGE Energy alerts: Insider Buying and Selling at OGE Energy In related news, VP Cristina F. Mcquistion sold 4,187 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.92, for a total value of $142,023.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $879,409.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the companys stock. OGE Energy Trading Down 0.8 % Shares of NYSE OGE traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $33.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,878,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,405,347. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. OGE Energy Corp. has a 52 week low of $31.25 and a 52 week high of $39.09. The businesss 50-day moving average is $33.54 and its 200-day moving average is $34.16. The stock has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.73. OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.04. OGE Energy had a net margin of 15.59% and a return on equity of 9.37%. The company had revenue of $566.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $986.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was down 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that OGE Energy Corp. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year. OGE Energy Cuts Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be given a dividend of $0.418 per share. This represents a $1.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 5th. OGE Energys payout ratio is 80.68%. Analysts Set New Price Targets OGE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of OGE Energy from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of OGE Energy from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of OGE Energy from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price target for the company from $36.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. TheStreet downgraded shares of OGE Energy from a b rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of OGE Energy from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, OGE Energy presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $33.60. Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on OGE OGE Energy Company Profile (Free Report) OGE Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy services provider in the United States. The company generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric energy. In addition, it provides retail electric service to approximately 896,000 customers, which covers a service area of approximately 30,000 square miles in Oklahoma and western Arkansas; and owns and operates coal-fired, natural gas-fired, wind-powered, and solar-powered generating assets. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for OGE Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for OGE Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its position in iShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETF (NYSEARCA:IDEV Free Report) by 106.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,991 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 3,605 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LPs holdings in iShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETF were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of IDEV. Summit Financial LLC raised its position in iShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETF by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 28,761 shares of the companys stock worth $1,676,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in iShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETF by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,733 shares of the companys stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Arbor Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in iShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETF by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arbor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 54,251 shares of the companys stock worth $3,162,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of iShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETF by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 25,500 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,486,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of iShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETF by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 16,419 shares of the companys stock valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Get iShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETF alerts: iShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETF Stock Down 0.3 % NYSEARCA IDEV opened at $66.56 on Friday. iShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETF has a 52 week low of $55.31 and a 52 week high of $67.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.51 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $63.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.07. About iShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETF The iShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETF (IDEV) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI World ex USA IMI index, a market-cap-weighted index of large-, mid, and small-cap stocks from developed countries, excluding the US. IDEV was launched on Mar 21, 2017 and is managed by BlackRock. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IDEV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETF (NYSEARCA:IDEV Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA Free Report) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $356.00 target price on the stock. HCA has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $271.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, December 11th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $335.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $308.26. Get HCA Healthcare alerts: Get Our Latest Report on HCA HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.2 % Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $325.37 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $298.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $268.88. The firm has a market cap of $86.06 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.64. HCA Healthcare has a 1 year low of $215.96 and a 1 year high of $328.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.02. HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.85. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 996.30%. The firm had revenue of $17.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.64 EPS. The companys revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare will post 20.49 EPS for the current year. HCA Healthcare declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the companys board believes its shares are undervalued. HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This is a boost from HCA Healthcares previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. HCA Healthcares dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.64%. Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare In other news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value of $1,305,067.02. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at $3,138,652.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value of $1,305,067.02. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,250 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,138,652.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 652 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.04, for a total value of $203,450.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 290 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $90,491.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,620 shares of company stock worth $4,188,812. Insiders own 1.60% of the companys stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 92.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 108 shares of the companys stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the companys stock. About HCA Healthcare (Get Free Report) HCA Healthcare, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides health care services in the United States. It operates general and acute care hospitals that offers medical and surgical services, including inpatient care, intensive care, cardiac care, diagnostic, and emergency services; and outpatient services, such as outpatient surgery, laboratory, radiology, respiratory therapy, cardiology, and physical therapy. See Also Receive News & Ratings for HCA Healthcare Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for HCA Healthcare and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Police from Spain's autonomous region of Catalonia announced last Thursday, March 7, that they have shut down a local forgery ring that allegedly produced a stream of fake Banksy pieces and sold them across the US and Europe, with prices reaching 1,500 ($1,642). The Banksy Forgery Operation in Zaragoza The Mossos d'Esquadra, Catalonia's local police force, said in a public release that they investigated the crime ring's activities after noticing irregularities in Barcelona's art market, adding that the fakes were made in an apartment near Zaragoza and were modeled after Banksy's "Dismaland" works. "Dismaland" was a pop-up theme park project briefly installed in a British seaside town called Weston-super-Mare, which is adjacent to Banksy's hometown of Bristol, from August until September 2015. The project was essentially the graffiti artist's dark satirical take on consumerism and corporate-owned theme parks like Disneyland. Police said that they are currently investigating four main suspects involved in the alleged forgery operation and have charged these people with fraud and intellectual property offenses. All in all, the Catalonia police force purportedly seized nine fake Banksy art pieces and tracked down a total of 25 works that were sold in the past to collectors in Germany, Switzerland, the US, Scotland, and Spain. Starting in July 2023, the investigation was launched after the cultural heritage unit of Catalonia's police detected anomalies during their monitoring of Barcelona's art market, taking the form of online sales, auction houses, and antique stores claiming to sell genuine Banksy pieces. Investigators eventually traced the fraudulent Banksy works back to the aforementioned Zaragoza building and raided it around December last year. The illegal operation, as per the release, consisted of works getting sprayed onto cardboard using stencils, with finishing touches that involved applying ink seals and stickers to make them look more genuine. In Mossos d'Esquadra's video taken during the investigation and posted on FB, stencils of one of Banksy's most iconic pieces "Girl with the Balloon" can be seen. Investigators also said that the artist's official authenticator organization, Pest Control, has since confirmed that the works are completely fake. Read Also: Glasgow Activists Splash Porridge on Queen Victoria's Bust and Spray Paints Plinth Over Rising Food Prices 2024 Classicalite All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Bonhill Group Plc (LON:BONH Get Free Report) shares fell 24.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as GBX 0.61 ($0.01) and last traded at GBX 0.66 ($0.01). 10,113,787 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 2,574% from the average session volume of 378,206 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 0.88 ($0.01). Bonhill Group Stock Performance The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 0.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 0.93. The company has a market cap of 787,000.00, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.20 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.46. Bonhill Group Company Profile (Get Free Report) Bonhill Group Plc, a B2B media company, provides analysis, insight, networking, and data for financial services and business solutions in the United Kingdom, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and North America. The company offers InvestmentNews, which provides magazine, digital solutions, events, research, video, podcasts, and newsletters to financial advisers. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Bonhill Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bonhill Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. BRYN MAWR TRUST Co cut its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK Free Report) by 3.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,793 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 292 shares during the period. BRYN MAWR TRUST Cos holdings in Duke Energy were worth $776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DUK. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 28.6% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,023 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. Adviser Investments LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $304,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 13.1% in the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 191,379 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $17,174,000 after acquiring an additional 22,100 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,918,910 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $698,923,000 after purchasing an additional 144,612 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. 63.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Duke Energy alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes Several analysts have commented on DUK shares. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $100.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $100.00. Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.10% of the companys stock. Duke Energy Stock Performance Duke Energy stock traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $94.94. 2,266,655 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,350,219. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $100.39. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $94.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.36. The firm has a market cap of $73.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.46. Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The company had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. The firms revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Duke Energy Dividend Announcement The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th will be given a $1.025 dividend. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 15th. Duke Energys payout ratio is currently 115.49%. Duke Energy Company Profile (Free Report) Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments, Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I) and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest; and uses coal, hydroelectric, natural gas, oil, solar and wind sources, renewables, and nuclear fuel to generate electricity. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DUK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Duke Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Duke Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of California Resources Co. (NYSE:CRC Get Free Report) dropped 6.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $48.16 and last traded at $49.47. Approximately 1,791,024 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 144% from the average daily volume of 732,936 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.13. Analysts Set New Price Targets CRC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of California Resources in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America cut shares of California Resources from a buy rating to a neutral rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of California Resources from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of California Resources from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $65.33. Get California Resources alerts: Read Our Latest Analysis on California Resources California Resources Stock Performance The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.51. California Resources (NYSE:CRC Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.08). California Resources had a net margin of 20.14% and a return on equity of 17.57%. The business had revenue of $726.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $553.47 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. The companys revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that California Resources Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year. California Resources Dividend Announcement The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. California Resourcess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.06%. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of California Resources by 47.1% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 160,038 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $7,159,000 after buying an additional 51,208 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. bought a new stake in California Resources during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $452,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in California Resources by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 64,788 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $2,898,000 after purchasing an additional 7,572 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in California Resources during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $305,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in California Resources by 53.7% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 44,629 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 15,587 shares during the period. 97.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. California Resources Company Profile (Get Free Report) California Resources Corporation operates as an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company in the United States. The company explores, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids for marketers, California refineries, and other purchasers that have access to transportation and storage facilities. Read More Receive News & Ratings for California Resources Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for California Resources and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Chesapeake Wealth Management decreased its stake in shares of Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D Free Report) by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,964 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 827 shares during the quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Managements holdings in Dominion Energy were worth $400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its holdings in Dominion Energy by 1.2% in the first quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 10,630 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $903,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners boosted its holdings in Dominion Energy by 1.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 7,635 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $649,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Dominion Energy by 49.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 394 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Dominion Energy by 0.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 40,479 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $3,440,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ergoteles LLC raised its stake in shares of Dominion Energy by 3.2% in the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 4,719 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.66% of the companys stock. Get Dominion Energy alerts: Insider Transactions at Dominion Energy In related news, Director Joseph M. Rigby purchased 2,130 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $46.94 per share, with a total value of $99,982.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,417 shares of the companys stock, valued at $395,093.98. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Robert M. Blue purchased 21,735 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $45.91 per share, for a total transaction of $997,853.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 176,240 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,091,178.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph M. Rigby purchased 2,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $46.94 per share, for a total transaction of $99,982.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,417 shares of the companys stock, valued at $395,093.98. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the companys stock. Dominion Energy Stock Performance NYSE D traded up $0.01 on Friday, hitting $48.00. 4,393,413 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,673,447. The businesss fifty day moving average is $46.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.84. Dominion Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.18 and a 12 month high of $58.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.04. Dominion Energy (NYSE:D Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.11). Dominion Energy had a return on equity of 8.83% and a net margin of 12.40%. The company had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. Dominion Energys revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Dominion Energy, Inc. will post 2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year. Dominion Energy Dividend Announcement The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be issued a $0.6675 dividend. This represents a $2.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 29th. Dominion Energys payout ratio is currently 114.59%. Analysts Set New Price Targets D has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Dominion Energy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Dominion Energy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, December 1st. Mizuho decreased their price target on Dominion Energy from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Dominion Energy from $57.00 to $52.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Dominion Energy from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $49.90. Check Out Our Latest Report on Dominion Energy Dominion Energy Profile (Free Report) Dominion Energy, Inc produces and distributes energy in the United States. It operates through three operating segments: Dominion Energy Virginia, Dominion Energy South Carolina, and Contracted Energy. The Dominion Energy Virginia segment generates, transmits, and distributes regulated electricity to approximately 2.8 million residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental customers in Virginia and North Carolina. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Dominion Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Dominion Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Chesapeake Wealth Management decreased its holdings in Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM Free Report) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,281 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after selling 185 shares during the period. Chesapeake Wealth Managements holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $1,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. IMA Wealth Inc. grew its position in Exxon Mobil by 720.0% during the 2nd quarter. IMA Wealth Inc. now owns 369 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. grew its position in Exxon Mobil by 222.5% during the 1st quarter. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. now owns 574 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in Exxon Mobil during the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors own 58.53% of the companys stock. Get Exxon Mobil alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of brokerages recently weighed in on XOM. Erste Group Bank restated a hold rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. TD Cowen upgraded Exxon Mobil from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on Exxon Mobil from $133.00 to $132.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Exxon Mobil from $134.00 to $127.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 8th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Exxon Mobil from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $116.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $127.53. Exxon Mobil Stock Up 0.9 % XOM stock traded up $1.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $108.38. 16,281,468 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,395,604. The firms 50 day moving average is $102.22 and its 200 day moving average is $105.89. Exxon Mobil Co. has a twelve month low of $95.77 and a twelve month high of $120.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $430.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.96. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.28. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 18.51% and a net margin of 10.45%. The business had revenue of $84.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.40 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 9.15 EPS for the current year. Exxon Mobil Dividend Announcement The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 13th. Exxon Mobils dividend payout ratio is currently 42.74%. Insiders Place Their Bets In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,400 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $252,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 30,189 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,169,845. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Leonard M. Fox sold 12,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.65, for a total transaction of $1,231,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 220,678 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $22,652,596.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,400 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $252,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 30,189 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,169,845. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the companys stock. Exxon Mobil Company Profile (Free Report) Exxon Mobil Corporation engages in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas in the United States and internationally. It operates through Upstream, Energy Products, Chemical Products, and Specialty Products segments. The Upstream segment explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding XOM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Exxon Mobil Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Exxon Mobil and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Cordoba Minerals Corp. (CVE:CDB Get Free Report)s stock price fell 10.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as C$0.35 and last traded at C$0.35. 4,720 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 15,786 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$0.39. Cordoba Minerals Price Performance The business has a 50-day moving average price of C$0.38 and a 200 day moving average price of C$0.35. The company has a market cap of C$33.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.00 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 4.21, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33. About Cordoba Minerals (Get Free Report) Cordoba Minerals Corp., a mineral exploration company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, evaluation, and development of base and precious metal properties in Colombia and the United States. The company explores for copper, silver, and gold deposits. It primarily holds a 100% interest in the San Matias project with exploration licenses covering 146.62 square kilometers and has an additional 893.91 square kilometers of mining titles under application located in the municipality of Puerto Libertador, Department of Cordoba, Colombia. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Cordoba Minerals Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Cordoba Minerals and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI Free Report) by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,398 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 219 shares during the quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.s holdings in Primerica were worth $659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PRI. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Primerica by 55.7% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,707 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,875,000 after acquiring an additional 4,901 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Primerica by 1,844.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,983 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,881 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Primerica by 4.7% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,839 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $939,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Primerica by 0.8% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 24,752 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $3,413,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Primerica by 33.4% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 25,533 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $3,493,000 after buying an additional 6,396 shares during the last quarter. 90.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Primerica alerts: Primerica Stock Down 0.6 % Shares of Primerica stock opened at $247.04 on Friday. Primerica, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.68 and a twelve month high of $254.40. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $232.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.31. The firm has a market cap of $8.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56 and a beta of 1.06. Primerica Increases Dividend Primerica ( NYSE:PRI Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.27 by ($0.02). Primerica had a net margin of 20.37% and a return on equity of 27.83%. The business had revenue of $726.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $723.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. Primericas revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Primerica, Inc. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a positive change from Primericas previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 20th. Primericas payout ratio is 18.89%. Primerica announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $425.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the companys board of directors believes its shares are undervalued. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PRI shares. StockNews.com raised Primerica from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Primerica from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Raymond James cut Primerica from a strong-buy rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Primerica from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Primerica from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Primerica currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $243.20. Check Out Our Latest Report on PRI Insiders Place Their Bets In other Primerica news, Director John A. Jr. Addison sold 1,215 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.00, for a total transaction of $302,535.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,100,283. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Primerica Profile (Free Report) Primerica, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services to middle-income households in the United States and Canada. The company operates in four segments: Term Life Insurance; Investment and Savings Products; Senior Health; and Corporate and Other Distributed Products. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Primerica Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Primerica and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL Get Free Report) CEO Michael S. Dell sold 242,190 shares of Dell Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.78, for a total transaction of $29,009,518.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 38,371,362 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,596,121,740.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Dell Technologies Stock Performance Shares of NYSE:DELL opened at $116.25 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $87.47 and a 200-day moving average of $75.60. The company has a market capitalization of $82.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.91. Dell Technologies Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.96 and a 52-week high of $131.06. Get Dell Technologies alerts: Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The technology company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.47. Dell Technologies had a net margin of 3.63% and a negative return on equity of 165.52%. The company had revenue of $22.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Dell Technologies Inc. will post 6.27 EPS for the current fiscal year. Dell Technologies Increases Dividend Analyst Ratings Changes The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 23rd will be paid a $0.445 dividend. This is a boost from Dell Technologiess previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Dell Technologiess payout ratio is currently 33.87%. DELL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Dell Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. They issued a buy rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Dell Technologies from $99.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Dell Technologies from $87.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Dell Technologies from $100.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Dell Technologies from $95.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $102.88. Get Our Latest Stock Report on DELL Institutional Trading of Dell Technologies Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Dell Technologies by 45.0% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,216,861 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $221,605,000 after acquiring an additional 998,298 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its position in Dell Technologies by 61.7% during the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 106,778 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $7,357,000 after acquiring an additional 40,750 shares during the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. boosted its position in Dell Technologies by 154.8% during the third quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 79,068 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $5,447,000 after acquiring an additional 48,036 shares during the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC boosted its position in Dell Technologies by 105.5% during the third quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 35,389 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $2,438,000 after acquiring an additional 18,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Dell Technologies during the third quarter valued at $2,089,000. Institutional investors own 38.10% of the companys stock. Dell Technologies Company Profile (Get Free Report) Dell Technologies Inc designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells, and supports various comprehensive and integrated solutions, products, and services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) and Client Solutions Group (CSG). Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Dell Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Dell Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Employees Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX Free Report) by 5.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,675 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 1,547 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano were worth $3,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FMX. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 674.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 51,178 shares of the companys stock worth $4,239,000 after purchasing an additional 44,568 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 15,776 shares of the companys stock worth $1,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano during the first quarter valued at approximately $202,000. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano by 22.2% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,019,228 shares of the companys stock valued at $167,294,000 after acquiring an additional 366,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 24.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 390,008 shares of the companys stock worth $32,314,000 after acquiring an additional 77,073 shares during the last quarter. Get Fomento Economico Mexicano alerts: Fomento Economico Mexicano Stock Performance Shares of FMX stock traded up $0.65 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $121.99. 482,260 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 748,778. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $131.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Fomento Economico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. has a 12-month low of $85.66 and a 12-month high of $143.43. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on Fomento Economico Mexicano in a research note on Thursday, December 7th. They issued a neutral rating and a $134.00 price target for the company. HSBC upgraded shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the company from $124.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Bank of America reaffirmed a neutral rating on shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano in a research report on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group cut Fomento Economico Mexicano from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $130.60. Get Our Latest Analysis on FMX Fomento Economico Mexicano Profile (Free Report) Fomento Economico Mexicano, SAB. de C.V., through its subsidiaries, operates as a bottler of Coca-Cola trademark beverages. The company produces, markets, and distributes Coca-Cola trademark beverages in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FMX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Fomento Economico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Fomento Economico Mexicano Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Fomento Economico Mexicano and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,388 shares of the construction companys stock, valued at approximately $1,391,000. Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 144.4% during the 3rd quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 66 shares of the construction companys stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 84.6% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 72 shares of the construction companys stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Halpern Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 418.8% during the 3rd quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 83 shares of the construction companys stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 93.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Martin Marietta Materials alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities research analysts have commented on MLM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $490.00 to $530.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 12th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $573.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an overweight rating and a $595.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $510.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $559.46. Insider Activity In related news, Director Sue W. Cole sold 1,724 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $543.48, for a total transaction of $936,959.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,793 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $10,757,099.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Sue W. Cole sold 1,724 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $543.48, for a total transaction of $936,959.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,793 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $10,757,099.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Howard Nye sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.26, for a total transaction of $9,063,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 134,640 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $81,357,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the companys stock. Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 2.5 % Shares of NYSE MLM traded down $15.06 on Friday, reaching $596.85. 797,934 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 520,806. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $317.94 and a fifty-two week high of $617.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $527.13 and a 200 day moving average of $473.78. The company has a current ratio of 3.35, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.90 billion, a PE ratio of 31.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.95. Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The construction company reported $4.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.67. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 17.25% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.04 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 21.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 1st. Martin Marietta Materialss dividend payout ratio is currently 15.72%. About Martin Marietta Materials (Free Report) Martin Marietta Materials, Inc, a natural resource-based building materials company, supplies aggregates and heavy-side building materials to the construction industry in the United States and internationally. It offers crushed stone, sand, and gravel products; ready mixed concrete and asphalt; paving products and services; and Portland and specialty cement for use in the infrastructure projects, and nonresidential and residential construction markets, as well as in the railroad, agricultural, utility, and environmental industries. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MLM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Martin Marietta Materials Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Martin Marietta Materials and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Elme Communities (NYSE:ELME Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 90,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,228,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas owned 0.10% of Elme Communities at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELME. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Elme Communities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $682,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Elme Communities by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 17,483 shares of the companys stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 3,195 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elme Communities in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,653,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Elme Communities by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 28,044 shares of the companys stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Elme Communities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,597,000. 88.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Elme Communities alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Elme Communities from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and increased their target price for the company from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Elme Communities Price Performance Elme Communities stock traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $13.54. 632,143 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 723,468. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Elme Communities has a fifty-two week low of $12.44 and a fifty-two week high of $18.47. The firms fifty day moving average is $14.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.04. Elme Communities Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 20th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 19th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.32%. Elme Communitiess payout ratio is currently -118.03%. About Elme Communities (Free Report) Elme Communities is committed to elevating what home can be for middle-income renters by providing a higher level of quality, service, and experience. The Company is a multifamily real estate investment trust that owns and operates approximately 9,400 apartment homes in the Washington, DC metro and the Atlanta metro regions, and owns approximately 300,000 square feet of commercial space. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Elme Communities Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Elme Communities and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Employees Retirement System of Texas decreased its stake in Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG Free Report) by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,000 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after selling 20,000 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas holdings in Kite Realty Group Trust were worth $921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Kite Realty Group Trust by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 24,241 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Kite Realty Group Trust by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,619 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Kite Realty Group Trust by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,977 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Kite Realty Group Trust by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 78,300 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,677,000 after buying an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in Kite Realty Group Trust by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,112 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.22% of the companys stock. Get Kite Realty Group Trust alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of equities analysts have commented on KRG shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Kite Realty Group Trust from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kite Realty Group Trust from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Kite Realty Group Trust from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $26.00. Kite Realty Group Trust Stock Performance NYSE:KRG remained flat at $21.34 during mid-day trading on Friday. 2,125,794 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,230,167. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.64. Kite Realty Group Trust has a 52-week low of $18.77 and a 52-week high of $24.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.00, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.29. Kite Realty Group Trust Dividend Announcement The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.69%. Kite Realty Group Trusts dividend payout ratio is currently 454.57%. Kite Realty Group Trust Profile (Free Report) Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE: KRG) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) headquartered in Indianapolis, IN that is one of the largest publicly traded owners and operators of open-air shopping centers and mixed-use assets. The Company's primarily grocery-anchored portfolio is located in high-growth Sun Belt and select strategic gateway markets. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Kite Realty Group Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Kite Realty Group Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Employees Retirement System of Texas reduced its holdings in shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV Free Report) by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,738 shares of the auto parts companys stock after selling 8,850 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas holdings in Autoliv were worth $2,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Autoliv by 188.9% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,468,058 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $510,498,000 after purchasing an additional 3,575,146 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 185.3% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,455,700 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $135,904,000 after buying an additional 945,517 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Autoliv in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,916,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Autoliv by 292.3% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,146,435 shares of the auto parts companys stock valued at $87,794,000 after buying an additional 854,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Autoliv by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,264,937 shares of the auto parts companys stock valued at $507,961,000 after acquiring an additional 459,147 shares during the period. 56.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Autoliv alerts: Insider Activity In related news, insider Colin Naughton sold 782 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.68, for a total transaction of $86,551.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,594 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $619,143.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Colin Naughton sold 782 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.68, for a total value of $86,551.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,594 shares in the company, valued at $619,143.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mikael Bratt sold 4,226 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.72, for a total value of $463,676.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 17,547 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,925,256.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,388 shares of company stock valued at $921,757 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the companys stock. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research firms have issued reports on ALV. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Autoliv from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $120.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Autoliv from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Autoliv from $101.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Autoliv from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Autoliv from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Saturday, January 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $112.18. View Our Latest Analysis on ALV Autoliv Stock Performance Shares of Autoliv stock traded down $1.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $117.11. 592,921 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 469,841. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.71. Autoliv, Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.66 and a 12-month high of $120.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.38. Autoliv (NYSE:ALV Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The auto parts company reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $2.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. Autoliv had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 27.13%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year. Autoliv Announces Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 11th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Autolivs payout ratio is presently 47.30%. About Autoliv (Free Report) Autoliv, Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and supplies passive safety systems to the automotive industry in Europe, the Americas, China, Japan, and rest of Asia. It offers passive safety systems, including modules and components for frontal-impact airbag protection systems, side-impact airbag protection systems, seatbelts, steering wheels, and inflator technologies. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ALV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Autoliv Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Autoliv and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Essex Financial Services Inc. lowered its position in iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF (BATS:EFAV Free Report) by 8.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,028 shares of the companys stock after selling 746 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.s holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF were worth $524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new position in iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Coastal Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF during the second quarter valued at $41,000. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. acquired a new position in iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Sheets Smith Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, EPG Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF by 427.8% during the third quarter. EPG Wealth Management LLC now owns 760 shares of the companys stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. Get iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF alerts: iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF Stock Up 0.2 % Shares of BATS:EFAV opened at $71.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.01 and a beta of 0.60. The companys 50-day moving average price is $69.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.39. iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF has a 12 month low of $64.68 and a 12 month high of $76.51. About iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF The iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF (EFAV) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI EAFE Minimum Volatility (USD) index. The fund tracks an index of developed-market equities, ex-US and Canada, selected and weighted to create a low volatility portfolio subject to constraints including sector exposure. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EFAV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF (BATS:EFAV Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. FineMark National Bank & Trust trimmed its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO Free Report) by 43.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,110 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 3,969 shares during the period. FineMark National Bank & Trusts holdings in Southern were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 193.9% in the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 21,376 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,383,000 after acquiring an additional 14,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 3.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,811,307 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $634,988,000 after acquiring an additional 349,122 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 7.4% in the third quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 36,000 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $2,330,000 after acquiring an additional 2,471 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 5.9% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 58,026 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $3,755,000 after acquiring an additional 3,208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.6% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,337 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. 62.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Southern alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes SO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $76.00 to $73.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Southern from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Wednesday, November 29th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, December 8th. They issued a buy rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $73.46. Insider Transactions at Southern In other news, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,502 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $356,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,284 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $7,570,609.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total transaction of $60,286.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,817,613 in the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Southern Stock Down 0.3 % Southern stock opened at $69.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.77. The Southern Company has a 52-week low of $61.56 and a 52-week high of $75.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $68.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.64. The firm has a market cap of $75.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.49. Southern (NYSE:SO Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. The companys revenue was down 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.01 EPS for the current year. Southern Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Southerns dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.14%. Southern Profile (Free Report) The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Southern Company (NYSE:SO Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Southern Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Southern and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. First Foundation Advisors reduced its stake in shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV Free Report) by 8.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,270 shares of the medical research companys stock after selling 301 shares during the quarter. First Foundation Advisors holdings in IQVIA were worth $643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of IQVIA by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems purchased a new stake in IQVIA in the third quarter valued at about $2,994,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in IQVIA by 103.2% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 141,692 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $31,848,000 after buying an additional 71,967 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in IQVIA by 2.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,907,023 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $875,861,000 after buying an additional 102,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in IQVIA in the third quarter valued at about $491,000. 86.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get IQVIA alerts: Insider Activity In related news, insider Kevin C. Knightly sold 8,607 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total transaction of $2,153,213.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,251 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,313,642.67. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Eric Sherbet sold 1,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.50, for a total value of $241,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,031,894. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Kevin C. Knightly sold 8,607 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total transaction of $2,153,213.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,251 shares in the company, valued at $1,313,642.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,285 shares of company stock valued at $10,331,003 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the companys stock. Analysts Set New Price Targets IQV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research initiated coverage on IQVIA in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $285.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on IQVIA from $286.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised IQVIA from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on IQVIA from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on IQVIA from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, IQVIA has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $256.80. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on IQV IQVIA Price Performance Shares of IQV stock traded down $1.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $257.18. 842,757 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,095,809. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $227.50 and a 200 day moving average of $214.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $167.42 and a 52-week high of $261.73. The company has a market cap of $46.68 billion, a PE ratio of 35.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.51. IQVIA (NYSE:IQV Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The medical research company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. IQVIA had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 29.32%. IQVIAs quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.54 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current year. About IQVIA (Free Report) IQVIA Holdings Inc engages in the provision of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services to the life sciences industry in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through three segments: Technology & Analytics Solutions, Research & Development Solutions, and Contract Sales & Medical Solutions. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IQV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for IQVIA Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for IQVIA and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW Get Free Report) insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 29,991 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.80, for a total transaction of $2,033,389.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 81,446 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,522,038.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Charles Schwab Trading Down 1.5 % Shares of SCHW opened at $67.17 on Friday. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $64.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.00. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 1-year low of $45.00 and a 1-year high of $73.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Get Charles Schwab alerts: Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.49 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 21.33% and a net margin of 26.90%. Charles Schwabs revenue was down 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.07 EPS. Analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year. Charles Schwab Announces Dividend Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles Schwab The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Charles Schwabs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.37%. Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dodge & Cox grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 86,421,986 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $5,945,833,000 after buying an additional 8,182,467 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 69,360,233 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $4,771,985,000 after buying an additional 17,369,091 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,391,016 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $3,422,963,000 after buying an additional 398,367 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 30,994,967 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $2,132,454,000 after buying an additional 1,219,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,050,168 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,413,244,000 after buying an additional 391,238 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.61% of the companys stock. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research firms have commented on SCHW. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Citigroup cut Charles Schwab from a buy rating to a neutral rating and cut their target price for the company from $75.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. JMP Securities reiterated a market outperform rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $69.92. Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Charles Schwab Charles Schwab Company Profile (Get Free Report) The Charles Schwab Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a savings and loan holding company that provides wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Investor Services and Advisor Services. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Charles Schwab Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Charles Schwab and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET Free Report) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 297,077 shares of the pipeline companys stock after purchasing an additional 7,947 shares during the quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLCs holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $4,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ET. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 109,332.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 145,943,387 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $1,732,348,000 after buying an additional 145,810,023 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 76,339,168 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $906,146,000 after acquiring an additional 13,220,435 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 73,666,501 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $1,033,541,000 after purchasing an additional 9,341,798 shares during the last quarter. Natixis raised its position in Energy Transfer by 9.1% in the second quarter. Natixis now owns 33,145,416 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $420,947,000 after purchasing an additional 2,767,574 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 3.9% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 25,274,342 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $354,599,000 after purchasing an additional 953,251 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.79% of the companys stock. Get Energy Transfer alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities analysts have issued reports on ET shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $17.57. Energy Transfer Stock Down 1.1 % ET stock opened at $15.03 on Friday. Energy Transfer LP has a one year low of $11.45 and a one year high of $15.28. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $14.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 1.64. Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.08. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The business had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $21.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.34 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.44 EPS for the current year. Energy Transfer Increases Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 7th were issued a $0.315 dividend. This is an increase from Energy Transfers previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 6th. Energy Transfers dividend payout ratio is currently 115.60%. Energy Transfer Company Profile (Free Report) Energy Transfer LP provides energy-related services. The company owns and operates natural gas transportation pipeline, and natural gas storage facilities in Texas and Oklahoma; and approximately 20,090 miles of interstate natural gas pipeline. It also sells natural gas to electric utilities, independent power plants, local distribution and other marketing companies, and industrial end-users. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ET? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Energy Transfer Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Energy Transfer and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:IWF Free Report) by 12.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,213 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after buying an additional 130 shares during the quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.s holdings in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF were worth $323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of IWF. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its position in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF by 65.0% during the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 17,899 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $4,761,000 after acquiring an additional 7,054 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF by 5.9% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,628,053 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $433,047,000 after acquiring an additional 90,594 shares in the last quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC bought a new position in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF during the third quarter valued at approximately $121,000. Lakeshore Financial Planning Inc. bought a new position in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF during the third quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Finally, Elevatus Welath Management bought a new position in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF during the third quarter valued at approximately $681,000. Get iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF alerts: iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF Stock Performance Shares of IWF opened at $330.90 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $317.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $293.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.14 and a beta of 1.08. iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF has a 52 week low of $221.56 and a 52 week high of $337.74. iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF Company Profile iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares Russell 1000 Growth Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks investment returns that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Russell 1000 Growth Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of equity securities of Russell 1000 index issuers with relatively higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. FineMark National Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF (NYSEARCA:IWS Free Report) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,399 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. FineMark National Bank & Trusts holdings in iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF were worth $772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ambassador Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF by 128.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 293 shares of the companys stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new stake in shares of iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Get iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF alerts: iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF Price Performance iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF stock opened at $121.71 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.29. iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF has a 1-year low of $97.40 and a 1-year high of $122.87. The stock has a market cap of $14.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 1.08. About iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares Russell Midcap Value Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Russell Midcap Value Index (the Value Index). The Value Index measures the performance of the mid-capitalization value sector of the United States equity market. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IWS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF (NYSEARCA:IWS Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its holdings in shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR Free Report) by 36.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,850,309 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after selling 3,888,772 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 1.80% of Equity Residential worth $402,182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA acquired a new position in Equity Residential in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 12.5% in the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 743,250 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $43,636,000 after acquiring an additional 82,773 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 27.6% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 408,150 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $23,986,000 after acquiring an additional 88,362 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 14.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 32,282 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 4,144 shares during the period. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 7.9% in the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 114,775 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $6,738,000 after acquiring an additional 8,400 shares during the period. 84.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Equity Residential alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Equity Residential from $71.00 to $57.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a buy rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Equity Residential in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Equity Residential from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Equity Residential from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $65.68. Insider Activity In other news, CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $50,632.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,933 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,209,927.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Equity Residential news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 1,639 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.43, for a total transaction of $97,405.77. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 31,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,845,479.79. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Garechana sold 876 shares of Equity Residential stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $50,632.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,933 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,927.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,280 shares of company stock valued at $192,335. Company insiders own 1.69% of the companys stock. Equity Residential Stock Performance Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $63.40 on Friday. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $60.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.71. Equity Residential has a 52 week low of $52.57 and a 52 week high of $69.45. The firm has a market cap of $24.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.18). Equity Residential had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 29.07%. The firm had revenue of $727.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. Equity Residentials revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Equity Residential will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Equity Residential Announces Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.6625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 29th. This represents a $2.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.18%. Equity Residentials dividend payout ratio is 120.45%. Equity Residential Profile (Free Report) Equity Residential is committed to creating communities where people thrive. The Company, a member of the S&P 500, is focused on the acquisition, development and management of residential properties located in and around dynamic cities that attract affluent long-term renters. Equity Residential owns or has investments in 305 properties consisting of 80,683 apartment units, with an established presence in Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Seattle, San Francisco and Southern California, and an expanding presence in Denver, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EQR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Equity Residential Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Equity Residential and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its position in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD Free Report) by 13.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 269,702 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock after selling 40,604 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 1.24% of Mettler-Toledo International worth $298,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 2.9% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 41,643 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $46,143,000 after buying an additional 1,180 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International during the third quarter valued at about $3,743,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 161.6% during the second quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 7,434 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $9,751,000 after buying an additional 4,592 shares during the period. Axiom Investors LLC DE purchased a new position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International during the second quarter valued at about $18,360,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 13.4% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 83,388 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $93,298,000 after buying an additional 9,877 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.11% of the companys stock. Get Mettler-Toledo International alerts: Mettler-Toledo International Stock Down 2.7 % Shares of Mettler-Toledo International stock opened at $1,313.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $28.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.15. The companys 50 day moving average is $1,208.00 and its 200 day moving average is $1,140.95. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. has a twelve month low of $928.49 and a twelve month high of $1,615.97. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Mettler-Toledo International ( NYSE:MTD Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $9.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $10.32 by ($0.92). Mettler-Toledo International had a net margin of 20.82% and a negative return on equity of 904.59%. The company had revenue of $934.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $12.10 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Mettler-Toledo International Inc. will post 39.91 EPS for the current fiscal year. Several research firms recently commented on MTD. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,425.00 to $1,270.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 13th. Citigroup reissued a sell rating and set a $975.00 price objective (down previously from $1,050.00) on shares of Mettler-Toledo International in a research note on Monday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,185.00 to $1,030.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mettler-Toledo International from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,520.00 to $1,300.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $1,223.71. Get Our Latest Research Report on Mettler-Toledo International Insider Buying and Selling at Mettler-Toledo International In other Mettler-Toledo International news, Director Elisha W. Finney sold 251 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,177.35, for a total transaction of $295,514.85. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 316 shares of the companys stock, valued at $372,042.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Mettler-Toledo International news, Director Elisha W. Finney sold 251 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,177.35, for a total transaction of $295,514.85. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 316 shares of the companys stock, valued at $372,042.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Christian Magloth sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,278.73, for a total transaction of $511,492.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 734 shares of the companys stock, valued at $938,587.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 951 shares of company stock valued at $1,170,256. Insiders own 2.40% of the companys stock. About Mettler-Toledo International (Free Report) Mettler-Toledo International Inc manufactures and supplies precision instruments and services in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It operates through five segments: U.S. Operations, Swiss Operations, Western European Operations, Chinese Operations, and Other. The company's laboratory instruments include laboratory balances, liquid pipetting solutions, automated laboratory reactors, real-time analytics, titrators, pH meters, process analytics sensors and analyzer technologies, physical value analyzers, density and refractometry, thermal analysis systems, and other analytical instruments; and LabX, a laboratory software platform to manage and analyze data generated from its instruments.Its industrial instruments comprise industrial weighing instruments and related terminals, automatic dimensional measurement and data capture solutions, vehicle scale systems, industrial software, metal detection equipment, x-ray systems, check weighing equipment, camera-based imaging equipment, track-and-trace solutions, and product inspection systems. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MTD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Mettler-Toledo International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Mettler-Toledo International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH Free Report) by 17.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,403 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock after purchasing an additional 1,266 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLCs holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. KPP Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,713,000. Kiwi Wealth Investments Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Kiwi Wealth Investments Limited Partnership now owns 73,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock worth $36,856,000 after purchasing an additional 8,497 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,172 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock worth $6,137,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Lakeshore Financial Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $313,000. Finally, Legacy Advisors LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 15,667 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock valued at $7,899,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.69% of the companys stock. Get UnitedHealth Group alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several research firms recently commented on UNH. Bank of America restated a buy rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $565.00 to $503.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 20th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $584.00 to $581.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Stephens reiterated an overweight rating and set a $605.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a buy rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, November 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $579.33. UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $476.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $439.30 billion, a PE ratio of 19.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $514.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $517.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $445.68 and a 12 month high of $554.70. UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.98 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $94.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $92.13 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.39% and a net margin of 6.02%. UnitedHealth Groups revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.34 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.79 EPS for the current fiscal year. UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. UnitedHealth Groups dividend payout ratio is 31.54%. Insider Buying and Selling In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the companys stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders. UnitedHealth Group Company Profile (Free Report) UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. It operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health care coverage, and health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; and health and dental benefits, and hospital and clinical services, as well as health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UNH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for UnitedHealth Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for UnitedHealth Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG Free Report) by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 453,589 shares of the utilities providers stock after purchasing an additional 48,103 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADVs holdings in PG&E were worth $7,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of PG&E by 725.8% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 768 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of PG&E by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,490 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the period. Centre Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of PG&E by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC now owns 15,994 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the period. Lumbard & Kellner LLC grew its position in shares of PG&E by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Lumbard & Kellner LLC now owns 26,003 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of PG&E by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,067 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the period. 74.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get PG&E alerts: PG&E Stock Performance NYSE:PCG opened at $16.56 on Friday. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $16.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.24 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04. PG&E Co. has a twelve month low of $14.71 and a twelve month high of $18.32. PG&E Dividend Announcement PG&E ( NYSE:PCG Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.43 billion. PG&E had a return on equity of 10.84% and a net margin of 9.24%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that PG&E Co. will post 1.35 EPS for the current fiscal year. The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. PG&Es dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.81%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho upped their price target on PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, November 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on PG&E from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised PG&E from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $18.72. Read Our Latest Analysis on PG&E PG&E Company Profile (Free Report) PG&E Corporation, through its subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, engages in the sale and delivery of electricity and natural gas to customers in northern and central California, the United States. It generates electricity using nuclear, hydroelectric, fossil fuel-fired, fuel cell, and photovoltaic sources. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PCG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for PG&E Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for PG&E and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM Free Report) by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,032 shares of the CRM providers stock after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLCs holdings in Salesforce were worth $1,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 463.1% in the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,283 shares of the CRM providers stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. Pointe Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 370.0% in the 2nd quarter. Pointe Capital Management LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the CRM providers stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Salesforce by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the CRM providers stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Hawaii boosted its stake in Salesforce by 89.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 5,282 shares of the CRM providers stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd boosted its stake in Salesforce by 288.6% in the 2nd quarter. Trivest Advisors Ltd now owns 952,000 shares of the CRM providers stock worth $201,120,000 after purchasing an additional 707,000 shares in the last quarter. 77.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get Salesforce alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of analysts recently commented on CRM shares. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Salesforce from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $293.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a market outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Salesforce from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $304.32. Insiders Place Their Bets In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.82, for a total transaction of $2,518,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,930 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $14,839,752.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, insider Srinivas Tallapragada sold 10,000 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.82, for a total transaction of $2,518,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,930 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $14,839,752.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.52, for a total transaction of $3,787,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,636,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,695,924,638.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,169,112 shares of company stock valued at $321,749,192 in the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders. Salesforce Price Performance Salesforce stock opened at $305.28 on Friday. The companys fifty day moving average price is $283.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $243.89. Salesforce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $170.00 and a 1 year high of $318.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $296.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.09. Salesforce (NYSE:CRM Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Salesforce Announces Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Salesforce Company Profile (Free Report) Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Salesforce Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Salesforce and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG Free Report) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,789,774 shares of the energy exploration companys stock after acquiring an additional 116,860 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanleys holdings in EOG Resources were worth $987,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EOG. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EOG Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EOG Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EOG Resources in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in shares of EOG Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EOG Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.21% of the companys stock. Get EOG Resources alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In EOG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their price target on EOG Resources from $172.00 to $165.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America cut EOG Resources from a buy rating to a neutral rating and dropped their price target for the company from $147.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of EOG Resources in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on EOG Resources from $165.00 to $163.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut EOG Resources from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $134.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $141.80. EOG Resources Stock Performance Shares of EOG stock opened at $118.72 on Friday. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.52 and a 12 month high of $136.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.39. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $114.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.99. EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The energy exploration company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $3.14 by ($0.07). EOG Resources had a return on equity of 25.38% and a net margin of 31.40%. The company had revenue of $6.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. EOG Resourcess revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 11.46 EPS for the current year. EOG Resources Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 16th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 15th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. EOG Resourcess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.98%. EOG Resources Company Profile (Free Report) EOG Resources, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, explores for, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, and natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its principal producing areas are in New Mexico and Texas in the United States; and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The company was formerly known as Enron Oil & Gas Company. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EOG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for EOG Resources Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for EOG Resources and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Essex Financial Services Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS Free Report) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,581 shares of the companys stock after selling 175 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.s holdings in Novartis were worth $670,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McCarthy Grittinger Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Novartis during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 118.1% during the 2nd quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 301 shares of the companys stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.00% of the companys stock. Get Novartis alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novartis in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an equal weight rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Wednesday, December 6th. They issued a strong-buy rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They set a market perform rating and a $114.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Novartis from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $104.33. Novartis Stock Performance Shares of NVS opened at $100.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.54. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $104.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Novartis AG has a 12-month low of $79.98 and a 12-month high of $108.78. Novartis (NYSE:NVS Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.64 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $11.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.69 billion. Novartis had a return on equity of 29.90% and a net margin of 29.83%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Novartis AG will post 7.18 EPS for the current year. Novartis Increases Dividend The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $3.7772 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Novartiss previous annual dividend of $3.47. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. Novartiss dividend payout ratio is 34.26%. Novartis Company Profile (Free Report) Novartis AG researches, develops, manufactures, and markets healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. It offers prescription medicines for patients and physicians. It focuses on therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular, renal and metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology, as well as ophthalmology and hematology. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Novartis Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Novartis and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Dorian LPG Ltd. (NYSE:LPG Free Report) by 1,249.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 120,738 shares of the shipping companys stock after buying an additional 111,794 shares during the quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC owned about 0.30% of Dorian LPG worth $3,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quilter Plc bought a new stake in Dorian LPG in the first quarter worth $745,743,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Dorian LPG by 79.3% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,325 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Dorian LPG by 43.8% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Dorian LPG by 63.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,413 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Dorian LPG by 134.6% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,715 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. 64.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get Dorian LPG alerts: Dorian LPG Stock Performance LPG stock opened at $37.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 3.31 and a quick ratio of 3.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $38.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.89. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 1.13. Dorian LPG Ltd. has a 1-year low of $19.19 and a 1-year high of $49.54. Dorian LPG Announces Dividend Dorian LPG ( NYSE:LPG Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The shipping company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. Dorian LPG had a return on equity of 33.59% and a net margin of 55.02%. The company had revenue of $163.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $154.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Dorian LPG Ltd. will post 7.29 EPS for the current fiscal year. The business also recently announced a None dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. Dorian LPGs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.56%. Insider Buying and Selling at Dorian LPG In other news, Director Christina Tan sold 5,629 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total transaction of $250,490.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,371 shares in the company, valued at $194,509.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Christina Tan sold 5,629 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total transaction of $250,490.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,371 shares in the company, valued at $194,509.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Theodore B. Young sold 5,000 shares of Dorian LPG stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total value of $216,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,720 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,837,140. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.90% of the stock is owned by insiders. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth LPG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Dorian LPG from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. DNB Markets downgraded Dorian LPG from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a buy rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Dorian LPG in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $40.25. Read Our Latest Report on LPG Dorian LPG Company Profile (Free Report) Dorian LPG Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the transportation of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) through its LPG tankers worldwide. It owns and operates twenty-five very large gas carriers (VLGCs). The company was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Dorian LPG Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Dorian LPG and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its stake in Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW Free Report) by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 359,856 shares of the medical research companys stock after selling 28,202 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned about 0.06% of Edwards Lifesciences worth $24,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EW. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 104,971.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,399,249 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $1,148,938,000 after acquiring an additional 15,384,593 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Edwards Lifesciences during the 4th quarter worth about $658,390,000. WELLCOME TRUST LTD THE as trustee of the WELLCOME TRUST lifted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 440.0% during the 3rd quarter. WELLCOME TRUST LTD THE as trustee of the WELLCOME TRUST now owns 3,510,000 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $243,173,000 after acquiring an additional 2,860,000 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 655.9% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,325,457 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $173,502,000 after acquiring an additional 2,017,801 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Edwards Lifesciences by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,015,032 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $2,548,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255,926 shares during the period. 79.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Edwards Lifesciences alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Edwards Lifesciences from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and set a $94.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Edwards Lifesciences from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Edwards Lifesciences from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $87.38. Insider Buying and Selling at Edwards Lifesciences In other news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 14,510 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.55, for a total value of $1,110,740.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,473,434.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Daniel J. Lippis sold 1,715 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.98, for a total value of $156,030.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,566,038.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 14,510 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.55, for a total value of $1,110,740.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 19,248 shares in the company, valued at $1,473,434.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 220,967 shares of company stock worth $17,740,350. Insiders own 1.29% of the companys stock. Edwards Lifesciences Stock Down 1.8 % Shares of EW opened at $92.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.07, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a current ratio of 3.38. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $81.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.47. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 52 week low of $60.57 and a 52 week high of $94.87. Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.64. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 23.56% and a net margin of 23.35%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year. Edwards Lifesciences Company Profile (Free Report) Edwards Lifesciences Corporation provides products and technologies for structural heart disease and critical care monitoring in the United States, Europe, Japan, and internationally. It offers transcatheter heart valve replacement products for the minimally invasive replacement of aortic heart valves under the Edwards SAPIEN family of valves system; and transcatheter heart valve repair and replacement products to treat mitral and tricuspid valve diseases under the PASCAL PRECISION and Cardioband names. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Edwards Lifesciences Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Edwards Lifesciences and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Regal Rexnord Co. (NYSE:RRX Free Report) by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 354,484 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 42,110 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.53% of Regal Rexnord worth $50,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RRX. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Regal Rexnord in the first quarter valued at $978,777,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Regal Rexnord in the first quarter valued at $793,975,000. State Street Corp purchased a new position in Regal Rexnord in the first quarter valued at $266,837,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in Regal Rexnord in the first quarter valued at $154,043,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Regal Rexnord in the first quarter valued at $143,144,000. 96.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Regal Rexnord alerts: Insider Activity at Regal Rexnord In related news, EVP Thomas E. Valentyn sold 647 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.70, for a total value of $109,795.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,412 shares in the company, valued at $4,821,516.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Thomas E. Valentyn sold 1,931 shares of Regal Rexnord stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.09, for a total transaction of $320,719.79. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,514,326.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas E. Valentyn sold 647 shares of Regal Rexnord stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.70, for a total transaction of $109,795.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,412 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,821,516.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,570 shares of company stock worth $892,301 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.98% of the companys stock. Regal Rexnord Stock Performance NYSE RRX opened at $173.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Regal Rexnord Co. has a 52-week low of $97.18 and a 52-week high of $175.56. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $149.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.92. The firm has a market cap of $11.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -198.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14. Regal Rexnord (NYSE:RRX Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.02. Regal Rexnord had a positive return on equity of 9.58% and a negative net margin of 0.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.64 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 29.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Regal Rexnord Co. will post 10.05 earnings per share for the current year. Regal Rexnord Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Regal Rexnords payout ratio is currently -160.92%. Analyst Ratings Changes Separately, Wolfe Research raised Regal Rexnord from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $151.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $177.50. Check Out Our Latest Research Report on RRX Regal Rexnord Company Profile (Free Report) Regal Rexnord Corporation manufactures and sells industrial powertrain solutions, power transmission components, electric motors and electronic controls, air moving products, and specialty electrical components and systems worldwide. It operates in four segments: Commercial Systems, Industrial Systems, Climate Solutions, and Motion Control Solutions. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Regal Rexnord Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Regal Rexnord and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in General Electric (NYSE:GE Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 7,345 shares of the conglomerates stock, valued at approximately $812,000. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GE. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in General Electric by 808.1% during the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 336 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in General Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Electric by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in General Electric during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.83% of the companys stock. Get General Electric alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of research firms have commented on GE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised General Electric from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and increased their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday. TheStreet raised General Electric from a c+ rating to a b+ rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on General Electric from $148.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on General Electric from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on General Electric from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Electric has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $138.71. Insider Activity In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 22,055 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.87, for a total value of $3,195,107.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 56,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,153,863.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Holston sold 13,601 shares of General Electric stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $1,843,615.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,552,351.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders. General Electric Price Performance Shares of GE stock traded up $1.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $167.96. 16,953,106 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,067,814. General Electric has a twelve month low of $86.45 and a twelve month high of $175.81. The firm has a market cap of $182.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.28. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $140.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.18. General Electric (NYSE:GE Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. General Electric had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 13.95%. The company had revenue of $19.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $17.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that General Electric will post 4.53 earnings per share for the current year. General Electric Announces Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 28th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 27th. General Electrics dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.82%. General Electric Profile (Free Report) General Electric Company operates as a high-tech industrial company in Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. It offers gas and steam turbines, full balance of plant, upgrade, and service solutions, as well as data-leveraging software for power generation, industrial, government, and other customers. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for General Electric Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for General Electric and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Riley Exploration Permian (NYSE:REPX Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.91), reports. Riley Exploration Permian had a return on equity of 25.08% and a net margin of 29.75%. The business had revenue of $99.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.77 million. Riley Exploration Permian Price Performance Shares of Riley Exploration Permian stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $27.70. The stock had a trading volume of 89,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 80,275. The business has a fifty day moving average of $23.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.38. The firm has a market cap of $565.80 million, a P/E ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Riley Exploration Permian has a fifty-two week low of $21.27 and a fifty-two week high of $47.79. Get Riley Exploration Permian alerts: Riley Exploration Permian Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 25th were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 24th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.20%. Riley Exploration Permians dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.81%. Insider Transactions at Riley Exploration Permian Institutional Inflows and Outflows In other news, CEO Bobby Riley sold 7,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.41, for a total transaction of $205,575.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 379,198 shares of the companys stock, valued at $10,393,817.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website . In related news, major shareholder Riley Exploration Group, Llc sold 18,315 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.26, for a total transaction of $426,006.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,214,565 shares of the companys stock, valued at $51,510,781.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link . Also, CEO Bobby Riley sold 7,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.41, for a total value of $205,575.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 379,198 shares in the company, valued at $10,393,817.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders have sold 90,748 shares of company stock valued at $2,122,838 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.30% of the companys stock. Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of REPX. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in Riley Exploration Permian in the 3rd quarter worth about $999,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new stake in shares of Riley Exploration Permian during the 3rd quarter worth about $383,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Riley Exploration Permian by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 166,650 shares of the companys stock worth $5,298,000 after acquiring an additional 2,408 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Riley Exploration Permian by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 16,790 shares of the companys stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 3,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Riley Exploration Permian by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 10,444 shares of the companys stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 2,465 shares in the last quarter. 73.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About Riley Exploration Permian (Get Free Report) Riley Exploration Permian, Inc, an independent oil and natural gas company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in Texas and New Mexico. The company's activities are primarily focused on the San Andres Formation, a shelf margin deposit on the Central Basin Platform and Northwest Shelf. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Riley Exploration Permian Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Riley Exploration Permian and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Royal Bank of Canada decreased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW Free Report) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 736,978 shares of the industrial products companys stock after selling 15,776 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.24% of Illinois Tool Works worth $169,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 106,553.0% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,185,211 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $1,582,902,000 after buying an additional 7,178,474 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Illinois Tool Works during the 4th quarter worth $708,259,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 59.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,591,278 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $1,011,459,000 after buying an additional 1,707,780 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,611,731 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $1,363,875,000 after buying an additional 607,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 4,162.0% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 496,656 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $120,911,000 after buying an additional 485,003 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.56% of the companys stock. Get Illinois Tool Works alerts: Insider Activity In other news, CAO Randall J. Scheuneman sold 5,827 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.29, for a total value of $1,493,401.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,273,292.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total value of $205,392.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,505,185.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Randall J. Scheuneman sold 5,827 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.29, for a total transaction of $1,493,401.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,870 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,273,292.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 152,304 shares of company stock worth $38,860,831 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the companys stock. Analyst Ratings Changes A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ITW shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $244.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $238.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $215.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Illinois Tool Works from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $239.33. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Illinois Tool Works Illinois Tool Works Price Performance ITW stock opened at $261.18 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $257.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $245.89. The stock has a market cap of $78.04 billion, a PE ratio of 26.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.06 and a 1 year high of $267.12. Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.01 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 96.60% and a net margin of 18.36%. The companys revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year. Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Illinois Tool Workss payout ratio is 57.49%. Illinois Tool Works Company Profile (Free Report) Illinois Tool Works Inc manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment in the United States and internationally. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ITW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Illinois Tool Works Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Illinois Tool Works and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF (NYSEARCA:RYH Free Report) by 751.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 552,659 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 487,786 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 1.63% of Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF worth $158,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF by 900.0% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 200 shares of the companys stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF during the second quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV lifted its position in Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF by 906.5% during the third quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV now owns 463 shares of the companys stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new position in Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF during the second quarter valued at approximately $173,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF by 900.0% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 620 shares of the companys stock valued at $178,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Get Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF alerts: Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF Price Performance Shares of Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF stock opened at $31.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11 and a beta of 0.85. The companys 50 day moving average is $51.00 and its 200 day moving average is $37.61. Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF has a twelve month low of $248.94 and a twelve month high of $304.15. About Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF (RYH) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in health care equity. The fund tracks an equal-weighted index of US health care companies taken from the S&P 500 Index. RYH was launched on Nov 1, 2006 and is managed by Invesco. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RYH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF (NYSEARCA:RYH Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al boosted its stake in shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NYSE:TEVA Free Report) by 30.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 894,501 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 208,776 shares during the quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al owned approximately 0.08% of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries worth $9,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 1,729.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,787 shares of the companys stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 32.7% in the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 5,584 shares of the companys stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,375 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 90.8% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,032 shares of the companys stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,394 shares during the period. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Institutional investors own 43.23% of the companys stock. Get Teva Pharmaceutical Industries alerts: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Stock Performance Shares of TEVA traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $13.62. 10,115,450 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,296,591. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited has a twelve month low of $7.09 and a twelve month high of $13.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The company has a market cap of $15.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.98, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.04. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $12.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.49. Insider Buying and Selling at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Teva Pharmaceutical Industries ( NYSE:TEVA Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.97 billion. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries had a positive return on equity of 34.90% and a negative net margin of 3.33%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited will post 2.29 earnings per share for the current year. In other news, EVP Mark Sabag sold 100,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.52, for a total transaction of $1,352,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 382,590 shares in the company, valued at $5,172,616.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Teva Pharmaceutical Industries news, VP Eric Drape sold 9,815 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.12, for a total value of $128,772.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,701 shares of the companys stock, valued at $127,277.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mark Sabag sold 100,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.52, for a total value of $1,352,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 382,590 shares in the company, valued at $5,172,616.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 390,738 shares of company stock worth $5,132,766 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.62% of the companys stock. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of brokerages recently weighed in on TEVA. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. HSBC began coverage on shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in a report on Monday, December 18th. They set a buy rating and a $13.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Monday, November 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $13.78. View Our Latest Research Report on TEVA About Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (Free Report) Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes generic medicines, specialty medicines, and biopharmaceutical products in North America, Europe, Israel, and internationally. It offers generic medicines in various dosage forms, such as tablets, capsules, injectables, inhalants, liquids, transdermal patches, ointments, and creams; sterile products, hormones, high-potency drugs, and cytotoxic substances in parenteral and solid dosage forms; and generic products with medical devices and combination products. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al grew its holdings in shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NYSE:TEVA Free Report) by 30.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 894,501 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 208,776 shares during the quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Als holdings in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries were worth $9,124,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tejara Capital Ltd lifted its stake in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 55.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd now owns 822,495 shares of the companys stock valued at $8,389,000 after purchasing an additional 293,900 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in the third quarter worth $3,650,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 5.6% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 97,219 shares of the companys stock worth $993,000 after purchasing an additional 5,145 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 23.2% during the third quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 28,100 shares of the companys stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 5,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries during the third quarter valued at about $1,078,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.23% of the companys stock. Get Teva Pharmaceutical Industries alerts: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Price Performance Shares of NYSE:TEVA traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $13.62. The company had a trading volume of 10,115,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,296,591. The company has a fifty day moving average of $12.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.04. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited has a 12 month low of $7.09 and a 12 month high of $13.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Teva Pharmaceutical Industries ( NYSE:TEVA Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.97 billion. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries had a negative net margin of 3.33% and a positive return on equity of 34.90%. Equities research analysts forecast that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited will post 2.29 earnings per share for the current year. A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in a research report on Monday, December 18th. They set a buy rating and a $13.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler raised shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $12.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $10.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $13.78. Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on TEVA Insider Activity at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries In related news, EVP Mark Sabag sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.52, for a total transaction of $1,352,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 382,590 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,172,616.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Teva Pharmaceutical Industries news, EVP Mark Sabag sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.52, for a total transaction of $1,352,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 382,590 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,172,616.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amir Weiss sold 31,766 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.37, for a total transaction of $392,945.42. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 10,676 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $132,062.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 390,738 shares of company stock valued at $5,132,766. Insiders own 0.62% of the companys stock. About Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (Free Report) Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes generic medicines, specialty medicines, and biopharmaceutical products in North America, Europe, Israel, and internationally. It offers generic medicines in various dosage forms, such as tablets, capsules, injectables, inhalants, liquids, transdermal patches, ointments, and creams; sterile products, hormones, high-potency drugs, and cytotoxic substances in parenteral and solid dosage forms; and generic products with medical devices and combination products. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TEVA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NYSE:TEVA Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al grew its stake in Marriott Vacations Worldwide Co. (NYSE:VAC Free Report) by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,505 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 4,831 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al owned about 0.25% of Marriott Vacations Worldwide worth $9,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 194.1% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 250 shares of the companys stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide by 56.9% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 204 shares of the companys stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Marriott Vacations Worldwide during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.27% of the companys stock. Get Marriott Vacations Worldwide alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VAC. Bank of America downgraded Marriott Vacations Worldwide from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, November 17th. Barclays upped their target price on Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. JMP Securities upped their target price on Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a market outperform rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Marriott Vacations Worldwide from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $106.67. Marriott Vacations Worldwide Trading Up 0.5 % Shares of VAC traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $94.04. The company had a trading volume of 367,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 535,812. Marriott Vacations Worldwide Co. has a 1-year low of $72.78 and a 1-year high of $154.16. The stock has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 15.05 and a beta of 1.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.86. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. Marriott Vacations Worldwide had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 5.37%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.74 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Marriott Vacations Worldwide Co. will post 7.83 EPS for the current fiscal year. Marriott Vacations Worldwide Dividend Announcement The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 28th. Marriott Vacations Worldwides dividend payout ratio is presently 48.64%. Marriott Vacations Worldwide Company Profile (Free Report) Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, a vacation company, develops, markets, sells, and manages vacation ownership and related businesses, products, and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Vacation Ownership and Exchange & Third-Party Management. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Marriott Vacations Worldwide Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Marriott Vacations Worldwide and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Unity Software Inc. (NYSE:U Get Free Report) SVP Felix The sold 5,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.28, for a total value of $136,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 293,948 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,018,901.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Felix The also recently made the following trade(s): Get Unity Software alerts: On Monday, February 26th, Felix The sold 4,374 shares of Unity Software stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.55, for a total value of $142,373.70. Unity Software Trading Down 1.1 % Shares of NYSE U opened at $27.04 on Friday. The firms 50-day moving average price is $33.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.49. Unity Software Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.20 and a 52-week high of $50.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Unity Software ( NYSE:U Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.89). Unity Software had a negative net margin of 37.64% and a negative return on equity of 10.14%. The company had revenue of $609.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $551.01 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.50) EPS. Unity Softwares revenue was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Unity Software Inc. will post -0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. U has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Unity Software from $50.00 to $38.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Macquarie downgraded Unity Software from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and set a $20.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Wedbush lowered their price objective on Unity Software from $50.00 to $33.50 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Unity Software from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Unity Software from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Unity Software presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $37.03. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Unity Software Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in U. Xcel Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Unity Software by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,755 shares of the companys stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. First Republic Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Unity Software by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,918 shares of the companys stock worth $1,877,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Unity Software by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC now owns 5,453 shares of the companys stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unity Software by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,349 shares of the companys stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unity Software by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,972 shares of the companys stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.74% of the companys stock. About Unity Software (Get Free Report) Unity Software Inc operates a real-time 3D development platform. Its platform provides software solutions to create, run, and monetize interactive, real-time 2D and 3D content for mobile phones, tablets, PCs, consoles, and augmented and virtual reality devices. The company offers its solutions directly through its online store and field sales operations in North America, Denmark, Finland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, China, Singapore, and South Korea, as well as indirectly through independent distributors and resellers worldwide. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Unity Software Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Unity Software and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in NVR, Inc. (NYSE:NVR Free Report) by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37 shares of the construction companys stock after selling 848,487 shares during the quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLCs holdings in NVR were worth $221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NVR. First Pacific Financial purchased a new stake in shares of NVR in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Clear Street Markets LLC grew its stake in NVR by 133.3% in the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 7 shares of the construction companys stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in NVR in the second quarter worth approximately $64,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in NVR in the third quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank bought a new position in NVR in the second quarter worth approximately $76,000. 84.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get NVR alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes NVR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised NVR from a sell rating to a hold rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $4,900.00 to $6,300.00 in a research note on Friday, December 8th. StockNews.com cut NVR from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Insider Transactions at NVR In related news, CFO Daniel David Malzahn sold 2,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7,252.83, for a total value of $14,505,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,802,631.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Paul C. Saville sold 1,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7,510.05, for a total value of $11,265,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 106,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,523,943. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel David Malzahn sold 2,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7,252.83, for a total value of $14,505,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,209 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $95,802,631.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $59,155,947 in the last quarter. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. NVR Stock Down 0.4 % NVR stock opened at $7,654.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 6.10 and a quick ratio of 3.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.13. NVR, Inc. has a 1-year low of $5,150.32 and a 1-year high of $7,825.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $7,306.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $6,568.73. NVR (NYSE:NVR Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $121.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $121.50 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.61 billion. NVR had a return on equity of 38.50% and a net margin of 17.09%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $133.44 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that NVR, Inc. will post 484.48 EPS for the current fiscal year. NVR declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $750.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the companys board believes its stock is undervalued. NVR Profile (Free Report) NVR, Inc operates as a homebuilder in the United States. The company operates through, Homebuilding and Mortgage Banking segments. It engages in the construction and sale of single-family detached homes, townhomes, and condominium buildings under the Ryan Homes, NVHomes, and Heartland Homes names. The company markets its Ryan Homes products to first-time and first-time move-up buyers; and NVHomes and Heartland Homes products to move-up and luxury buyers. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NVR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for NVR, Inc. (NYSE:NVR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for NVR Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for NVR and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Toroso Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST Free Report) by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,076 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock after acquiring an additional 827 shares during the quarter. Toroso Investments LLCs holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,830 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $687,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth $286,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 63.3% during the third quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 3,746 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $1,406,000 after buying an additional 1,452 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 55,058 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $20,658,000 after buying an additional 5,892 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 166.3% in the third quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 37,159 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $13,943,000 after purchasing an additional 23,207 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.23% of the companys stock. Get West Pharmaceutical Services alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several brokerages recently weighed in on WST. UBS Group cut their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their target price for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $435.20. Insiders Place Their Bets In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total value of $724,053.78. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares of the companys stock, valued at $709,708.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.85, for a total value of $23,077,900.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 152,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,023,943.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total transaction of $724,053.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 73,163 shares of company stock valued at $26,361,334 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.13% of the companys stock. West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $358.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $309.43 and a fifty-two week high of $415.73. The company has a market cap of $26.31 billion, a PE ratio of 45.55, a P/E/G ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $363.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $365.14. West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 20.12% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The company had revenue of $732.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $740.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.77 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year. West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.22%. West Pharmaceutical Servicess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.15%. About West Pharmaceutical Services (Free Report) West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for West Pharmaceutical Services Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for West Pharmaceutical Services and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Someday, instead of a U.S. military ship or a humanitarian organizations truck, a SpaceX Starship might be the first vehicle to bring help to people suffering amid disasters, conflicts or other crises around the world. The Department of Defense says the commercial space companys spacecraft, which is in development at its Starbase facility near Boca Chica Beach, eventually could carry out some of its most complex missions moving tons of cargo around the globe quickly and safely. But the Pentagons interest in Starship goes beyond missions on Earth. Its also eyeing the craft to haul huge payloads into space. Advertisement Article continues below this ad SpaceXs success with reusable rockets combined with the potential of Starship the worlds largest and most powerful spacecraft has led the DOD to invest more than $120 million in contracts with the company and others to develop a way to move 100 tons of cargo anywhere on Earth in two hours or less. The second flight test of a fully integrated Starship lifts off from SpaceX Starbase near Boca Chica Beach on Nov. 18, 2023. The Defense Department thinks Starship may someday help move cargo around the world quickly and safely. Marvin Pfeiffer/Staff Photographer Onlookers watch as SpaceXs Starship is prepared for launch on Nov. 16, 2023, at its facility near Boca Chica Beach. Eric Gay/Associated Press SpaceXs second flight test of a fully integrated Starship awaits lift off from SpaceXs Starbase near Boca Chica Beach during the pre-dawn hour on Nov. 18, 2023. The Pentagon thinks Starship may someday move cargo around the world quickly and safely. Marvin Pfeiffer/Staff Photographer The Defense Department thinks Starship may someday help move cargo around the world quickly and safely. Marvin Pfeiffer/Staff Photographer The Defense Department thinks Starship may someday help move cargo around the world quickly and safely. Marvin Pfeiffer/Staff Photographer Evacuees wait to board a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, in August 2021. The Defense Department thinks SpaceXs Starship may someday carry a similar amount of cargo anywhere in the world. Sgt. Isaiah Campbell, HOGP / Associated Press Hundreds of people run alongside a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane as it moves down a runway of the international airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan, in August 2021. A Defense Department project could one day see SpaceXs Starships carry out missions that the C-17s often do. /Associated Press SpaceXs Starship stands on the launch pad at sunset at the companys launch facility near Boca Chica Beach on Nov. 17, 2023, awaiting its second launch the next morning. Marvin Pfeiffer/Staff Photographer The moon stands in the background on Nov. 16, 2023, as work is underway to replace a grid fin actuator at the top of the booster rocket at SpaceXs launch facility near Boca Chica beach. Marvin Pfeiffer/Staff Photographer Workers in a hoist are seen April 18, 2023, by SpaceXs Starship and Super Heavy rocket system as it stands on the companys launch facility near Boca Chica beach. William Luther/Staff Workers in a hoist are dwarfed on April 18, 2023, by SpaceXs Starship and Super Heavy rocket system as it stands on the companys launch facility near Boca Chica beach. William Luther/Staff Starships next launch? SpaceX said last week that the third test flight of Starship could launch as soon as Thursday, though the Federal Aviation Administration had not yet authorized the mission. Nor had it listed temporary flight restrictions for the airspace around Starbases launch pad, typically a signal that a launch may be imminent. On Feb. 26, the FAA said it had closed the mishap investigation into Starships Nov. 18 flight, which ended in a pair of explosions over the Gulf of Mexico. The report said SpaceX must complete 17 updates to components on Starships lower and upper stages before the agency would sign off on the next flight. Most of that money, $102 million, is part of a five-year contract with SpaceX that began in 2022. The rest has gone to other companies, including Knight Aerospace, which is based at Port San Antonio and received $3.75 million in Small Business Innovation Research contracts last year to build low-cost, intermodal cargo containers for point-to-point rocket transport. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Beyond slashing response times, uncrewed rockets would keep personnel out of harms way, enabling the U.S. to move materials parts, medical equipment and supplies, humanitarian relief items and equipment to support special operations to places protected by strong enemy air defenses at less risk. Thats an increasing concern as tensions rise with adversarial countries such as China and Russia. With 150 tons of cargo capacity, a few flight tests under its belt and early collaboration between SpaceX and the military, Starship stands at the forefront of the Pentagons Rocket Cargo project, which is also working with Blue Origin, Sierra Space and Rocket Lab. Now, along with NASAs hopes for the craft to carry out moon missions and SpaceX CEO Elon Musks dream of using it to colonize Mars, Starship is taking a role in national security. New challenges The military which excels at moving material anywhere in the world via air, land and sea is learning to do the same via space, a domain that presents new challenges to the military logistics system. Advertisement Article continues below this ad This is an entirely new mode of transportation for the DOD a fourth mode of transportation, and we havent explored some of the challenges of this magnitude since the invention of the airplane, said Dan Brown, principal investigator on the Rocket Cargo project for the Air Force Research Lab at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. In 2021, the Air Force announced its research lab at Wright-Patterson would lead Rocket Cargo, designating the project as its fourth vanguard program, seeking to rapidly advance emerging weapon systems and warfighting concepts through prototyping and experimentation. Knight Aerospace CEO Bianca Rhodes stands inside one of the companys biomedical containment modules at its headquarters Port San Antonio. The company, known for its self-contained modules that can be installed in military and commercial cargo planes, is working to develop similar capabilities for point-to-point rockets. William Luther, Staff / Staff The Space Forces Assured Access to Space office oversees the program, which has offices across the Air Force and the U.S. Transportation Command, the military organization responsible for moving military people and gear. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Brown sees parallels in the project with the earliest days of aviation. Engineers are working on some pretty pretty fundamental things that in 100 years from now will seem easy, he said, but right now, everything is hard, and so theres just no shortage of challenges. With that in mind, the Pentagons vision for Starship grows each time the craft reaches a milestone. Paradigm shift Currently, it envisions Starships transporting what might otherwise by carried by one or two C-17 Globemasters the DODs workhorses for strategic airlift around the world. Each is able to carry 170,900 pounds of cargo across 18 pallet positions, and frequently transport tanks and helicopters. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Greg Spanjers, the Rocket Cargo program manager, sees rockets someday helping the U.S. perform disaster relief missions. While crewed flight and patient transport are years off, military medical people envision transporting vaccines, medicines and blood products via rocket. We have the medical community talking to us often about how the speed to which you can get to a viral outbreak makes a big difference in how well you can contain it, he said. Spanjers said the rocket cargo concept is at least 50 years old but that until the past few years it was too expensive and not feasible. Now, the cost is less expensive than ever, thanks largely to SpaceXs success with rocket reusability. A model of a Knight Aerospace self-contained medical unit sits inside a mock-up of a C-130 military cargo plane at the companys headquarters at Port San Antonio. William Luther, Staff / Staff It changes how you approach what you ship, he said. You do not have to mass optimize anymore. If anything, you volume optimize. We have lots and lots of capacity. Spanjers and his team are working to determine whether rocket cargo transportations time is near. Has the technology indeed caught up with whats always been a good idea just impractical? he said. Its determining viability, real cost and utility of using a large liquid rocket to transport 100 tons of cargo on very fast timelines. That entails working through how to fuel, load and launch a rocket in an hour, as well as how to offload its cargo quickly at its destination. Launching massive liquid rockets in an hour is a huge paradigm shift, considering that it normally takes several months or even years to prepare such craft for liftoff. Then theres the engineering problems of reentering the atmosphere and returning so much mass to Earth. The lab is doing thermal and wind tunnel analysis, as well as studying reentry materials. Eventually, were heading toward tests where we start bringing reentry systems down with more and more mass and see how they respond and measure it in real time, Spanjers said. Pallets and pulleys After the craft survives its launch, flight, reentry and landing, it will need to be unloaded fast. If you get up there in an hour and it takes you two days to unload it, you havent accomplished anything, Spanjers said. The Rocket Cargo project is working with U.S. Transportation Command to understand how the U.S. military moves cargo. Its been a crash course on the types of shipping equipment used on military aircraft. Standardized containers and pallets make it easy to move and store goods between modes of transportation. Engineers want to use the same concepts for space flight, eyeing specialized shipping containers that are roughly 10 feet by 10 feet by 20 feet. Theyre stress testing the hardware at Wright-Patterson and working through how to pressurize and power containers depending on a given cargos needs. What we dont want to do is to have to build unique DOD hardware because its going on a rocket, Spanjers said. We want the container to handle that interface between the cargo and the spacecraft. In an old Space Shuttle building at Kennedy Space Center, crews have built a full-scale replica of Starships cargo bay the top 30 to 40 feet of the rocket to figure out the best ways to load and unload the craft. SpaceX pushes orbital launch plans out at least one week. SpaceX It opens up and things come out, and boxes come out and get set on the ground, Spanjers said. Its pretty cool. At its origin, Spanjers envisions cargo being prepackaged in containers in a warehouse at Canaveral, ready to go. But things get more complicated at its destination, especially if theres no infrastructure or logistical support. Starships cargo door is more than 100 feet off the ground, so the engineers have developed a system of pulleys, cables, motors and zip lines to offload the containers. The system, which they first tested in January, is now moving around 5-ton boxes like its nothing, and its hitting a pretty good speed right now on how fast it could unload the rocket, he said. Beyond Rocket Cargo The Defense Departments plans for Starship may go beyond the Rocket Cargo program. In the past several weeks, the military has backtracked on comments reported in Aviation Week by Col. Eric Felt, director of space architecture for the Air Forces office for Space Acquisition and Integration, suggesting that it may one day want its own fleet of Starships to respond quickly to world events. Speaking in January at a Space Mobility Conference in Orlando, Fla., Felt said that while buying commercial transportation service is standard practice, there may be cases where a government-owned, government-operated vehicle is called for. Later, a spokesman for the Assured Access to Space office said in an email that it has no plans to own or operate Starship and that it plans to use a commercial service model similar to whats used for national security space launch today. Nate Allen, a Transportation Command spokesman, echoed that position, saying the DOD transports about 90% of its warfighting material and personnel on contracted lift. But he left open the possibility for change, saying the organization expects that current practice will support DOD logistics without the military needing its own mobility fleets for the foreseeable future. People work on July 27, 2023, on SpaceXs Starship and Super Heavy launch tower at the companys launch facility near Boca Chica Beach. William Luther/Staff Next steps Military leaders already have visited Starbase several times to observe and discuss emerging capabilities, Allen said. Spanjers said the next step now that the Starship cargo bay mockup is operational is having the craft achieve orbit and attempt reentry. It could take its third shot at achieving that later this week. Thatll give us the hard data we need on exactly what environments cargo containers need to survive during the flight, he said. We have good estimates and all, but we dont have hard data. Once Starship reaches orbit, carrying military payloads wont be far behind. And getting there, Spanjers said, will likely involve more Starships failing along the way. Thank you The Abraham Soto family would like to say thank you for all the food, memorials, visits, flowers and plants, and the many cards that we received. Thank you to Father Canela for presiding, and the Wood River Catholic Church and the people who helped with the luncheon and clean-up. Also, a special thank you to Vince Boudreau for handling the music. Thank you to Apfel Funeral Home for taking good care of us. A great big shout out to the wonderful nurses and support staff at the VA Hospital. They gave the best care to my husband. Thank you for all the prayers and support through this very difficult time. Abraham, a husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather will be so dearly missed. Sincerely, Emily Soto and families Longtime weatherman Kent Boughton is back on our TV screens. Boughton has joined the weather team at KLKN-Channel 8, an ABC affiliate based in Lincoln. Ive joined the ranks of the unretired, Boughton said. Boughton is doing weekend and fill-in work as a forecaster for KLKN. He can usually be seen at 6 and 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 5:30 and 10 p.m. Sundays. Hes part of a team thats headed by Rusty Dawkins and Jessica Blum. Boughton, 66, joined the station in January, traveling to Lincoln each weekend. He says hes just having fun. Im finally getting in the groove to the old Kent again and feeling very comfortable with it. After almost 24 years at NTV, Boughton said goodbye to the station last July. In his contract with NTV, under a non-compete clause, he was not allowed to take another broadcasting job for 180 days. That clause expired Jan. 10. The next day, he joined KLKN. I wasnt really ready to retire, he said this week. I retired from NTV but not from the business, I guess is a good way to put it. In addition to KLKN, Boughton has joined the ranks of Nebraska broadcast luminaries. On Aug. 6 in Lincoln, he will be inducted into the Nebraska Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame. He will be one of three inductees this year. The others are retired Omaha sportscaster Dave Webber and former Lincoln radio newscaster Jane Monnich. Its such an amazing honor, he said. Going into that Hall of Fame isnt easy. Seventeen people were nominated, and three made it. Also, one person has to state the case for each person to be inducted. Speaking for Boughton this year was meteorologist John Walsh of KSNB-Local 4. I trained John at KHAS-TV over 40 years ago, Boughton said. He also benefited from three letters of support, written by Sen. Pete Ricketts, former Grand Island Mayor Jay Vavricek and Vince Barresi, a former NTV general manager. The Nebraska Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame was established in 1972 the year Boughton started in broadcasting, as a 15-year-old at KRGI. In his new job, Boughton has had to become familiar with a new part of the country. Every night at 9, KLKN simulcasts a live newscast to KBSI, a Fox affiliate serving Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and Paducah, Kentucky. In addition to Missouri and Kentucky, that station broadcasts into parts of Illinois, Arkansas, Tennessee and Indiana. Boughton said hes extremely blessed. I love what I do and I love the people, he said. Hes the same person on the air as he is off, he says. When people see him in public, What they see is what they get. Im not some guy that walks around with his nose up in the air. His viewers are his employers, he said. Boughton is proud of the weathercasters he trained when they were starting out. One of them is Emily Roehler, who is chief meteorologist at WOWT in Omaha. He still has time for hunting and fishing. He has a goose blind southwest of Grand Island. Hes now getting ready for turkey season. He still does an outdoors show, which is carried on YouTube. Boughton will be on the air on St. Patricks Day. For many years at NTV, he treated viewers to his Irish accent on March 17. I havent talked to the powers that be at KLKN but well see how that goes, he said. In a letter to the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy, Swift/JBS says it mobilized multiple clean-up vendors the day of the Jan. 6 wastewater lagoon breach at the Grand Island beef plant. More than a dozen vehicles responded in an effort to contain and remove released material to prevent offsite environmental impacts, wrote Tony Lang, general manager of the Grand Island plant, in a letter dated Feb. 15. The initial focus was on the immediate and neighboring property, but action was taken timely on the ditch to our immediate north. The equipment has to various extents (remained) in action to this day addressing any residual material. Collected material has been reprocessed in (the Swift Beef Co.) wastewater system and/or taken to a landfill. The letter says Swift hired HDR Engineering to visit the site and investigate the wastewater treatment operations. HDR also visited the site the day after the incident. HDR is a recognized leader in wastewater treatment operations of our industry, and they used their expertise to assess the facility infrastructure, operational controls and identify potential root causes of historical exceedances. In the letter, Lang says Swift remains committed to assess and remediate off-site residual material from the adjacent properties and waters. Those steps include continuing to remove sludge deposits along the Unnamed River/Canal using hydrovac pump trucks. Grand Island granted Swift permission to access the river/canal east of the Swift facility. The mitigation will resume east from the SBC facility in the Unnamed River/Canal to South Shady Bend Road. At this point, there is no access for the operation to continue east. The mitigation will resume off the bridge on North Gunbarrel Road where any visible sludge deposits will be removed by the hydrovac pump truck, the letter says. All material that is being removed from the river/canals will be transported to SBC and offloaded and processed through the wastewater treatment process. The NDEE estimates that four million gallons of wastewater discharged from one of the anaerobic wastewater lagoons on Jan. 6, with approximately two million gallons leaving the property. Wastewater leaving the property went into a ditch near the facility, which leads to the Wood River. On Jan. 18, the NDEE sent a letter of noncompliance to Swift, citing the company for violations of Nebraska Surface Water Quality Standards. Swift had until Feb. 15 to voluntarily comply with the request for a number of corrective measures. The breach was discussed at a Jan. 30 Hall County Commission meeting. On Feb. 13, the board approved a letter to Swift urging the company to become more accountable in policies and practices concerning air and water environmental issues. In its Feb. 15 letter, Swift says it will continue to conduct water sampling in the following areas: Stuhr Road, Museum Road, South Shady Bend Road, Gun Barrel Road, B Road, Third Road, Bader Park Road and Platte River Highway 14. The samples will be analyzed for Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN), Ammonia-Nitrogen (NH3-N), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Total Nitrate Nitrogen (NO3-N) Swift began weekly sampling on or about Feb. 2. The company will continue to collect the samples weekly and analyze them using a certified laboratory. We expect to perform the sampling and analysis for four weeks, the letter says. If the analysis is materially elevated as compared to ambient (upstream) water quality, SBC will continue sampling for another four weeks. Among other things, Swift has committed to obtaining a third-party review of wastewater treatment operations on a quarterly basis for the following two years. On March 6, the NDEE responded to Swift, listing additional items we would like to see provided or completed. The first item notes that Swift Beef Co. shall remove all sludge from the ditch running from the facility to the Wood River. NDEE inspectors continue to observe significant amounts of sludge in this ditch, NDEE says. Swift Beef Co. shall propose an additional method of remediation if sludge from the Jan. 6, 2024, release persists in the ditch through March 30, 2024. In addition, the NDEE says, Swift shall conduct weekly stream sampling at the locations designed in the plan for one year or three months after the last sample containing evidence of residual effects of the release, whichever is later. Two of the other items involved stream sampling. One says Swift Beef Co. shall provide all stream sampling results for sampling that has been done in the Wood River to date. Swift shall also provide the results for future samples collected weekly on a two-week reporting cycle. In addition, Swift shall provide to NDEE the root cause analysis of the lagoon failure within 15 days of becoming available and provide the quarterly third-party wastewater treatment operations review reports within 15 days of receipt. Another point arose at the Hall County Commission meeting. Based on concerns raised by the community at the Jan. 30 Hall County Commissions meeting, NDEE recommends that Swift Beef Co. provide drinking water test kits to interested property owners with private wells who reside near any water body impacted by the release and pay for the associated lab fees. The next step in the process is a response from Swift. LINCOLN University of Nebraska at Kearney students received several awards, including best of show, at the annual Nebraska American Advertising Awards competition. Hosted Feb. 23 at Rococo Theatre in Lincoln, the event recognizes creative excellence in the art of advertising, with separate divisions for professionals and college students. UNK students Elijah Carson, Rilynn Lutt, Abigail Heins and Ely Wise, all of Kearney, earned gold awards for their work, and Carson also won best of show. Gold awards recognize the highest level of creative excellence. Tia Broadwell of Grand Island and Sydney Weiler of Kenesaw both received silver awards recognizing outstanding entries. UNKs gold and silver award winners advance to a district competition, where theyll have a chance to reach the national level. Also known as the ADDYs, the American Advertising Awards are the industrys largest and most respected competition. Its conducted each year by the American Advertising Federation. UNK graduate Grace McDonald, a reporter for 10/11 News and Pure Nebraska, served as emcee for the Nebraska event. NCTA crops team places first in recent competition CURTIS The crops judging team at the Nebraska College for Technical Agriculture opened its season on a high note by placing first in the two-year college division at a competition Feb. 24 at Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kansas. The official four-member team included Chase Glover of Grand Island, Tyler Keener of Mitchell, Leah Schutz of Elwood and Jay Mintling of Hayes Center. Glover placed third in Plant/Seed ID. NCTA will host the next regional competition set for March 23 at the college in Curtis. Academic honors Two area students were recently initiated into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nations oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Melanie Minchow of Sutton is a student at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln. Rachel Silverman of Kearney attends Troy University in Troy, Alabama.They are among approximately 25,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. Membership is by invitation only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors are eligible for membership. People often tell Gracie Grote that shes lived a lot of life in just a few years. It started when Gracie became a single mom in 2019 after giving birth to her son, Hayes. Then in quick succession, Gracies mom died, Gracie battled depression and her father was diagnosed with cancer. Simultaneously, Gracie also completed the radiography program, the sonography program and a post-baccalaureate certificate through the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Gracie, now 24, will graduate with her masters degree from the UNMC College of Allied Health Professions in May. Shes also getting married that month. To get through it all, Gracie learned how to ask for help. She relied on her family, friends, UNMC faculty and mental health professionals. They helped take care of Hayes, they helped make new plans in the face of roadblocks and encouraged her to keep going. It was a really dark time so trying to see any positives was very difficult, Gracie said. But since then as Ive gotten out of that dark spot and pushed through and made it through that is the biggest thing ... making it. Gracie said she wants people to know that if she did it, then other people can too. Everybody has potential and can be successful, theyve just got to push through the hard stuff, Gracie said. And theres always a reward at the end. Inspired by her mother to enter medical field Gracie grew up watching her mother give ultrasounds to pregnant dolphins in Hawaii and X-rays to large pythons in Texas. Trisha Grote, also a graduate of UNMCs radiography and sonography programs, worked with people before she switched to animals. She traveled all across the country, often bringing Gracie with her. Patients might not think about the crucial role radiographers and sonographers play in health care until they encounter one. A patient goes to doctors with symptoms or questions, but its the images produced by radiographers and sonographers that help doctors determine whats going on. We provide a missing piece of the puzzle, said Tammy Webster, who was the director of UNMCs radiography program when she met Gracie. And sometimes, like in the case of Trisha, they put the puzzle together all by themselves. In May of 2010, Trisha was testing out the image quality on a new ultrasound machine and scanned her own liver. She discovered several tumors and was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. She received a liver transplant at age 40. She was young, she was healthy, she didnt really drink, she didnt do any of that, Gracie said. She took really good care of herself so I think that helped in getting her a liver so quickly. Gracie knew she wanted to follow in her mothers footsteps. After one year at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Gracie applied and was accepted into UNMCs radiography program. She was pregnant while interviewing for a spot in the program, but she didnt know it at the time. When they met to discuss Gracies pregnancy, Webster told Gracie that she could delay starting the program for a year to adjust to being a single mom. Gracie said no. Its going to be a lot harder taking care of a 1-year-old than it will be a newborn, in my opinion, Gracie told Webster. Lets just get it done. Webster kept following up with Gracie. Together, they made plans and strategies on how Gracie could manage school and being a new mom. I think Gracies story tells us that lets not overlook a creative approach to what feels very very structured with no opportunity for flexibility, Webster said. She found the rocky road separate from the paved. You still get to where you wanted to go. And thats OK. Its a different way of doing it but youre still doing it. Find a new roadmap. She did that. Gracie started the program at UNMCs Kearney campus in fall of 2019 and gave birth to her son, Hayes, a few weeks later. Trisha picked Gracie and Hayes up from the hospital and the three of them lived together in Overton, Nebraska. My mom was my rock. She was my go-to for everything, Gracie said. She did everything for my brother and I. She would go to the ends of the Earth. Gracie took three weeks off from school for maternity leave and then went back. Shed be up at all hours of the night with Hayes and then get up at 5 a.m. so she could make it to Grand Island for clinic duty at 7 a.m. I look back and I dont even remember a lot of it because I think I was just in survival mode of how I could keep my grades up and take care of Hayes and be where I needed to be, Gracie said. Very time consuming. Very demanding. New mom loses her own mother When Hayes was about 9 months old, Trisha got sick again. It came on fast. Gracie chatted with Trisha in the morning about grabbing lunch and by that afternoon, Trisha was in the hospital. Gracie said her mother got sick often in the years after her transplant and likely needed a new liver but didnt talk about that with Gracie or her brother. She didnt want us to worry, Gracie said. She didnt want us to think she was giving up on us, but I know the 10 years after her transplant were rough on her, and I dont think she wanted to do it anymore. Which is understandable now. Trisha died August 8, 2020. When someone close to you like that dies, the world just keeps going, Gracie said. It doesnt stop like yours does. That was probably one of the hardest parts for me. I didnt have time to grieve. I still had to go to school, I still had to take care of my son. For Gracie, it eventually became too much. I would come home from clinic every day and just cry, she said. It was just a really really dark time for me. In November of 2020, Gracie reached out to her mental health counselor. I remember calling her and telling her, I cant do this anymore. I cant be the mom my son deserves. Im incredibly sad. I need help. We have to do something. Gracie spent three days at a hospital in Kearney. In the coming years, she regularly visited a psychiatrist and counselor and took medications, including antidepressants. Gracie said sometimes people are ashamed to take antidepressants or even admit they might need them, but it doesnt mean someone is weak or crazy. It just means that you need a little help right now, but its temporary, Gracie said. It doesnt have to last forever and even if it does, thats fine. Gracie missed more time at school while getting the help she needed, but Webster was there and ready to help her make a new plan. Webster said Gracie was eager, willing and dedicated, but she also had the courage to ask for help when she needed it. Thats a very vulnerable thing to do, Webster said. You want everybody to think, I got this. I got this. And you do, you have it. And its OK to have support to have it. That doesnt diminish you as an individual. Gracie said the staff at UNMC was like another family, which is something she never expected from a university. She got on my level and she almost understood where I was coming from, Gracie said of Webster. She heard me. She saw me. And she was willing to do whatever it took to push me through this and help me through this. In May 2021, Gracie received a bachelors degree in medical imaging and therapeutic sciences. Then she started UNMCs sonography program in August. It takes a village to raise a child In the months between the two programs, Gracie used her new radiography training and worked three jobs to make ends meet. She studied for several big tests that were required in order for her to work in clinical settings. And she got ready for the yearlong sonography program. As part of the program, Gracie had three nine-hour clinical shifts a week and two eight-hour class days a week. Some of Gracies days started before 7 a.m. and ended around 9:30 p.m. To make it all work, family and friends rallied around her. They took turns babysitting Hayes and occasionally kept him overnight or picked him up from day care. They were great positive influences that kept encouraging her, kept loving her and she got her mind right and she focused and she just keeps achieving goals, Larry Grote, Gracies father, said. People called and texted to check in. Sometimes theyd offer to have Gracie and Hayes stop by, just so Gracie could get a break for a few hours. I understand now what people mean when they say it takes a village to raise a child, Gracie said. This boy wouldnt be who he is without all those people. And we would not be where we are without all those people either. It was just like PTSD A few months into her sonography program, Gracie got a phone call from her father. Larry told his daughter that he had cancer. It was just like PTSD. It was fear, Gracie said. It was just so many emotions in one just because I just did this ... with my mom. Larry moved in with Gracie and Hayes while he received treatment. Larrys treatments were successful and hes now in remission. Gracie said having her father around was comforting as she finished up the sonography program and graduated in August 2022. She waited a few days, but then started classes to get her masters degree. She graduates in May. Gracie now works as a general sonographer for Advanced Medical Imaging in Lincoln. When people come in to Advanced Medical Imaging, they often have questions about their health and puzzles that need to be solved. Sometimes, theyre scared, anxious and wondering what will come next. Gracie knows the feeling well. Im treating my patients, the way I think of it, how I would treat my mom if she was in there, Gracie said. Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of February 2024 An unidentified furniture manufacturing company is planning to invest $33.1 million and create 123 new jobs in Orangeburg County. The company plans to invest $30 million in buildings and land and $3.123 million in machinery and equipment, according to Orangeburg County Attorney Jerrod Anderson. The company will locate off of Global Drive at the Orangeburg County/City Industrial Park on U.S. Highway 301 near Interstate 26. Orangeburg County Council on Monday gave unanimous first reading approval to tax incentives for the company. It also approved a resolution related to the project. The incentives include a 30-year fee-in-lieu of property taxes agreement, a special source revenue credit and the placement of the project in a joint county industrial and business park with Dorchester County. The fee-in-lieu of property taxes is a fee the company pays instead of property taxes. The incentive can result in savings of about 40 percent on property taxes otherwise due from a project, according to the South Carolina Department of Revenue. Industries must invest at least $2.5 million over a five-year period to qualify. During this 30-year period, the company will be subject to a fee instead paying property taxes. The property tax incentive is performance-based. If the company does not satisfy these conditions, the tax benefit must be paid back to the county. The special source revenue credit reduces a companys property taxes by a certain amount to reimburse it for some project costs. The joint county industrial and business park incentive agreement with Dorchester County will mean Orangeburg County will receive 99 percent of the fees the company pays as part of the fee-in-lieu of taxes agreement while Dorchester County will receive 1 percent of the fees. The business park agreement does not refer to a physical park, but is a mechanism for providing additional incentives. The company is currently going by the code name of Project Pizza. Companies typically do not want their names revealed until third and final reading. Two South Carolina cities are struggling with sexually transmitted diseases in 2024, but not as badly as last year, a new study shows. The city of Columbia ranked 21st on the list of the top 100 U.S. cities with the highest rates of STDs. Charleston followed at 52nd on the list. The cities were ranked through a recent study from research company Innerbody Research, which used the latest data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. SC man pleads guilty to child sex assault and exploitation videos. He's headed to prison A man in South Carolina sentenced to 18 years for sex crimes involving underage teens, including assault on a corrections officer during custody. The seventh annual study notes that while Columbia and Charleston are still in the top 100 for high STD rates, their rankings improved considerably over last year. Columbia ranked a startling third highest in the U.S. just a year ago, while Charleston was 14th on the list. Also, Greenville was ranked 25th highest a year ago, but completely dropped out of the top 100 for 2024, the study shows. Ex-SC church volunteer pleads guilty to felony child sex crimes. Gets no prison time. Former church youth volunteer avoids prison, pleads guilty to sex crimes involving children, receiving probation and lifetime monitoring as a sex offender. The studys CDC data also shows that while South Carolina cities saw improvements in STD rates, the South overall is struggling more than ever. Last year, 14 of the 25 U.S. cities with the highest STD infection rates were in the South meaning a region with roughly 39% of the the U.S. population contributed over half of the 25 cities with the worst STD infection rates. But this year, the number of southern cities has risen to 17 of that top 25, or just over two-thirds. This overrepresentation in our study is disturbing, Innerbody states. South Carolina cities STD breakdowns Columbia STD cases/100K population: 1,166 HIV cases: 134 Chlamydia cases: 7,172 Gonorrhea cases: 3,007 Syphilis cases: 128 Charleston STD cases/100K population: 856 HIV cases: 96 Chlamydia cases: 5,468 Gonorrhea cases: 2,098 Syphilis cases: 135 Get The Times and Democrat app today Local news has never been this personal. Free to download. Subscribers enjoy unlimited access. Other study findings The latest data shows there were were more than 710,000 new cases of gonorrhea in the U.S. There were also more than 1.6 million new cases of chlamydia, meaning the disease has risen back to pre-2020 levels. Gonorrhea rates continue to increase in U.S. cities and never slowed in 2020, the study states. Meanwhile, syphilis rates have risen 28.6% since the last study. But the rise in the congenital syphilis rate nationally is even more staggering at 30.5%, constituting a tenfold increase in newborn syphilis cases over the span of a decade, the study shows. As such, since 2001, syphilis cases in the U.S. have increased 781%, while cases of congenital syphilis during that 20-year span rose by 464%. Brooke McQuiddy on March 5, 2024, looks through some of her mothers possessions recovered from the property in Canadian. Melanie McQuiddys mobile home was on the lot in the background when wildfire swept through. Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune Before it burned to a pile of ashes, Melanie McQuiddys house on the outskirts of Canadian was her familys home base. Her daughter and grandchildren flocked there for holidays. At Christmastime, she put a tree in every room and transformed herself into Mimi-Claus, complete with a wig and red costume dress. The family considered the home a place of joy, laughter and shenanigans, she said. Now after the states largest wildfire ever tore across a million acres in the Texas Panhandle the house is gone. So is McQuiddys Steinway piano, her christening gown and her family Bible. Advertisement Article continues below this ad We have those memories, McQuiddy said, her voice straining with emotion. Ill rebuild again so that my family can return. Part of moving forward is figuring out who is accountable for the damage. McQuiddy, 60, and her lawyers quickly identified what they argue is the culprit: a utility pole that fell over and that appeared rotten at its base. The lawyers filed a similar suit on behalf of another set of plaintiffs Wednesday. On Thursday, the Texas A&M Forest Service said its investigators determined that power lines caused the Smokehouse Creek Fire, which burned McQuiddys house, as well as another fire called Windy Deuce. Utility company Xcel Energy said it appeared that its equipment was involved in igniting the Smokehouse Creek Fire. But the company denied that it was negligent in maintaining it. The fire was another in a series of man-made catastrophes across the western United States, McQuiddys suit alleges, caused by utility equipment. Xcel already faced hundreds of lawsuits after an official investigation found that a loose utility wire caused one ignition point in late 2021 in a destructive Colorado fire, the Denver Post reported. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A review of portions of the states electricity code shows utilities have to plan for maintaining their equipment and responding in emergencies, but how they do so is largely left to the companies. State filings from Southwestern Public Service Co., Xcels subsidiary that operated in the area, reveal the company did submit information about how it handles pole inspections and its emergency operations. Even without knowing the fires exact cause, experts say the Panhandle fires show utilities need to be ready for more extreme weather. This could be a challenge in a state where discussing climate change is often taboo and where regulators are already stretched as they make sweeping changes to the main electric grid, which failed spectacularly during the deadly February 2021 freeze. Linemen work on repairing electrical lines on March. 1 near Stinnett. Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune We dont have last centurys climate right now, and we wont have last centurys climate for the many decades ahead, as the impacts of climate change accelerate, said Costa Samaras, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Much of the countrys utility infrastructure was built during the middle of the 20th century, which would mean wood utility poles are reaching the end of their useful lives, Samaras said. Those poles and wires also were built for less extreme weather than what Texas is now experiencing. Reinvesting in the system offers a chance to improve for the future. The National Electrical Safety Code generally says that utilities should follow good practices, but it doesnt necessarily define what they are, said Alison Silverstein, an energy consultant. And many of the specifics that do exist, such as wind resistance standards, werent written for extreme weather fueled by climate change. The state rules refer to the national code and require utilities to file and maintain emergency operation plans that say how they identify weather hazards and how they respond to wildfires. Utilities must file summaries of storm hardening plans that detail construction standards, vegetation management plans and infrastructure improvement plans. Advertisement Article continues below this ad And each utility must file a plan that says how it is inspecting poles and protecting areas that it has identified where severe weather could cause damage. Utilities have to go beyond baseline standards to address a regions changing risks, said Scott Aaronson, senior vice president of security and preparedness at Edison Electric Institute, a trade association. That involves considering how much risk policymakers will tolerate and how much customers will pay to lower that risk. For example, utilities can wrap poles with fire retardant material, cover wires so theyre less likely to spark if something hits them or use devices to shut off power in a line as soon as it breaks. But that costs money. Brooke McQuiddy holds a gold chain recovered from property owned by her mother, Melanie McQuiddy, in Canadian, where residents were cleaning up and recovering from the massive wildfires that burned much of the northern Texas panhandle. Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune And engineering has limits, said Brandon Grainger, associate director of the Energy GRID Institute at the University of Pittsburgh. Engineers do the best they can with certain constraints. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Were always trying to make life better for everybody, Grainger said. But theres always going to be certain circumstances that the engineers just dont predict thats going to happen, right? In the Panhandle, McQuiddy and her attorneys focused blame on Xcel Energy, Southwestern Public Service Co. and a contractor called Osmose that was allegedly responsible for inspecting and maintaining wires and poles, including the one that fell. Xcel Energy issued an earlier statement saying it would cooperate with officials and conduct its own investigation. Osmose CEO Mike Adams in another statement said the same. We stand by the quality and accuracy of our utility pole inspections, Adams said. Filings with the state utility commission show that Southwestern Public Service serves roughly 390,000 customers over 52,000 square miles in Texas and New Mexico. It monitors for fire weather and fire threats. The emergency plan section detailing how was redacted. A Baptist Southern Convention volunteer drives a Skid Steer to clear property owned by Melanie McQuiddy in Canadian. These fence posts are all that remain of her property after the massive wildfire swept through. Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune Last year, the utility reported to the commission that it inspected wood utility poles on a rotating basis and that all poles older than 15 years got a more thorough inspection than someone just looking at them and were treated to stop or prevent any problems with insects or fungi. Poles out of compliance with the national code were prioritized for replacement or reinforcement, the company said in its report. Dealing with fires comes with life on the Texas plains, said McQuiddy, who runs a boutique motel. She nervously watched the fire the night before it changed her life. The next day, daylight plummeted to dark. White ash dusted the trees. McQuiddy put three fur coats, four pairs of cowboy boots and her shotgun in the car. (TBTCO) - Sang nay, gia vang the gioi chua co bien ong moi. Cac chuyen gia cho rang, quan iem va quyet inh lai suat cua cac ngan hang trung uong se tac ong en huong i cua vang tuan nay. Trong nuoc, tai thoi iem 6h30, vang SJC tai Ha Noi van uoc niem yet o moc 81,72 trieu ong/luong o chieu ban ra. at hon gia vang the gioi 15,684 trieu ong/luong. An attempt to override Gov. Mark Gordons veto over a bill that allowed charter schools to receive and apply for federal and state grants failed in the House of Representatives after initially passing in the Senate. Senate File 61, Sponsored by Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, would let school district approved charter schools to act as a local education agency and apply for and receive federal, state or program grants. The bill sailed through both chambers of the Legislature but Gordon on Friday vetoed the bill. The Senate on Friday morning reached the two-thirds required vote to overturn Gordons decision with a 28-3 vote. The bill in the House of Representatives failed to reach the needed two-thirds threshold by one vote with a vote of 41-2-1. Rep. Steve Harshman, R-Casper, was excused from the vote. Charter schools, which receive government funding but operate independently of the local school district, have gained popularity in Wyoming and accessibility to the charter schools have also grown as the Legislature supports them. Gordon in his notice of veto to the Senate wrote that without a thorough examination of the consequences and impacts on our state, students, parents and taxpayers, we may risk exacerbating existing impediments to charter growth and innovation while simultaneously raising the overall cost of education to unsustainable levels over the long term. An eight-member Wyoming Charter School Authorizing Board was created during last years legislative session and it shifted the power of authorizing charter schools from school districts to the state. The board took over the State Loan and Investment Board, which has the power to create and oversee charter schools in the state. Gordon noted that the Authorizing Board is still in its infancy and needs sufficient time and resources to carry out the duties prescribed by the Legislature. The board has authorized three charter schools to date Wyoming Classical Academy in Mills and Prairie View Community School in Chugwater are open and running and Cheyenne Classical Academy to open in the fall. ENERGY Minister Stuart Young has taken umbrage at comments made by Ronald Harford, former chairman of Republic Financial Holdings Ltd, as he boasted about the success of the energy sector. Young said whenever somebody becomes a former, their mouth gets big, as he quoted from an article in Fridays Express report where Harford made critical comments. Over the last few years, Leon Coldero has arguably become just as renowned for his insatiable cuisine as he is as an entertainer. Having spent four decades in entertainment, giving soca parang lovers hits that never get old, opening his restaurant was just a natural progression for Coldero, who used the downtime during the Covid-19 pandemic, to delve full throttle into the restaurant business. A new camera system is being installed along this countrys roadways with the aim of tackling traffic congestion and reducing the countrys crime. This was said yesterday by Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan, who spoke with the media at the intersection of the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway and Golden Grove Road in Piarco. Andre McDonald testifies during his trial on charges of murdering his wife, Andreen. He was convicted of manslaughter and tampering with evidence and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Jerry Lara, Staff / San Antonio Express-News Andreen McDonald, 29, in an undated photo, was killed by her husband, Andre McDonald, who was convicted of manslaughter but acquitted of murder. COURTESY A former Air Force cyberwarfare specialist who killed his wife, Andreen McDonald, in a rage and then burned and hid her body has been ordered to pay her family more than $210 million in damages. A Bexar County jury on Friday ordered former Air Force Reserve Maj. Andre McDonald to pay $110 million in compensatory damages and $100 million in punitive damages. He was convicted last year of manslaughter and other charges in his wifes death and is serving a 25-year prison sentence, but he will be eligible for parole in 6 years. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The jury award comes two years after Andreens family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against McDonald, who battered and killed his wife in their home in northern Bexar County after an argument about the couples businesses. The civil court trial lasted three days, and the jury deliberated for less than four hours before handing down its damages award. McDonald was not in court for the trial or the verdict. He had the option to appear via teleconference from prison but chose not to. Andreens mother, Hyacinth Ferron, said in her lawsuit that McDonalds actions caused her and her now-12-year-old granddaughter a great deal of mental anguish. RELATED: Andre McDonald was a suspect from Day One Ferron (who previously went by Smith) sought $160 million in damages, to be split among herself, her granddaughter and Andreens estate. Advertisement Article continues below this ad His desecration of her body, hiding her body, burning her body, fraudulently concealing his acts, and failing to reveal his guilt to law enforcement and Andreen Nicole McDonalds family was malicious, willful (and) unconscionable, the lawsuit said, asserting that McDonald killed his wife for his own financial gain. Set the record straight Andreen, 29, founded and ran three assisted living facilities in San Antonio with her husband. She was about to open a fourth when she was reported missing on March 1, 2019. Her husband, a cyberwarfare operations officer, was a suspect in his wifes disappearance from the beginning. He was initially charged with tampering with evidence. Four months later, after a man discovered Andreens remains on a ranch off Specht Road near Camp Bullis, McDonald was charged with murder. A jury found McDonald, 40, guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison for manslaughter and five years for tampering with evidence. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Ron Salazar, an attorney representing Ferron, said during closing arguments to the civil court jury this week that the lawsuit was a way for Andreens family to counter the lies her husband told during his criminal trial in an effort to evade responsibility for her death. Salazar said McDonald assassinated Andreens character to save his own skin. This trial allows Andreens family to set the record straight, Salazar said. One day, when (her daughter) looks up her mother on the internet, we want her to see the truth about who Andreen was, and all the fantastic things that she accomplished. Asked how the legal team would collect on the judgment, Salazar said that for now the jury award is largely symbolic. But if and when McDonald is released from prison, Ferrons lawyers will pursue payment aggressively and are trying to determine the best way to do so, Salazar said. He said the jury award is written in such a way that even if McDonald changed his name and identity something he has the technical skill to do he would still be responsible for paying his former mother-in-law and daughter. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Salazar said McDonald could not evade the judgment by filing for bankruptcy. The kind of heart she had Andreen, who was originally from Jamaica, graduated high school at 16. She obtained her associate degree by 18. By 20, she was married and about to have a daughter. A couple years later, she graduated magna cum laude from University of Texas at San Antonio with a degree in finance. By 29, when she died, she had opened three businesses that were worth multimillions, Salazar said. She was a doting mother, meticulously caring for her daughter, who has autism. During her spare time, she would cook homemade food and deliver it to people going through homelessness. That just gives you an insight into the kind of heart she had, Salazar said. What else could she have achieved? She was just getting started. Advertisement Article continues below this ad At the time of her death, she, her husband and their daughter were living on a cul-de-sac called Solitude Cove in a subdivision near Canyon Springs Golf Club, a few miles east of Camp Bullis. During his criminal trial last year, Andre McDonald testified that he and his wife began arguing after he learned she was having an affair and was planning to start a new business in her name. At one point, McDonald said, Andreen spit in his face, insulted his mother and called him a gay slur in Jamaican Creole. Shes throwing punches, McDonald testified. I grabbed her and tripped her. She fell and I kicked her twice, landed a couple of kicks while she was on the floor. When she got the second kick, I heard some wheezing. McDonald told the jury that he kicked his wife in an attempt to knock the wind out of her. He said he heard their daughter approaching, took her upstairs, put her to bed and returned to find that his wife had died. By his own account, McDonald stripped his wifes body, placed it in a pair of large contractors trash bags and drove to a ranch 6 miles away, leaving her remains beside a dead cow. After a Bexar County medical examiner testified that marks on Andreens skull and neck bones likely were made by a hammer and could have been fatal, McDonald testified that he went back to the ranch and inflicted hammer blows on his wifes head and neck because he was angry that he had been arrested, interrogated and forced to undergo a mental health evaluation. Prosecutors argued that McDonald was completely without remorse. They pointed out that McDonald didnt call an ambulance when he found his wife unresponsive and was silent for months about where her body was. A tornado of grief During the civil trial this week, several witnesses testified about how Andreens death affected her daughter, who was 7 at the time. A special education teacher, Jennifer Applewhite, said the girl used to come to school meticulously dressed, with different colored beads in her hair every week. She loved engaging with other students and would speak a great deal about her mother. Applewhite said she still remembers the morning of March 1, 2019, the day Andreen was reported missing. Her daughter came to school with mismatched shoes. She didnt have her lunchbox and snacks with her, which her mother usually packed for her. All day, the girl was quiet and reserved. Several times, her teachers reached out to Andreen, but they never heard back. Over the next couple of months, the daughters behavior grew even more worrisome, Applewhite testified. She would threaten other children, saying she planned to cut them and burn their bodies. She would attempt to rip or cut the heads off stuffed animals. She drew pictures of bodies burning. At one point, she attempted suicide, saying she wanted to be with her mother. Several times, she harmed herself with scissors, to the point that her clothes were stained with blood, Applewhite said. Ferrons attorneys said the girl continues to struggle with grief. They said her grandmother and aunt try to help her, and that the aunt even sleeps on the floor beside the girl to comfort her when she has nightmares. But that is no substitute for the childs mother, the attorneys said. They urged the jury on Friday to fairly compensate both the girl and her grandmother. With ten people murdered between Thursday and Saturday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley took to Facebook yesterday to assure citizens that State agencies will not give up the fight to rid our streets and other places of the evil that is now widespread as a gun culture in Trinidad and Tobago. And in a voice note to the media, Commissioner of Police Erla Christopher said, We are determined to dismantle criminal gangs and make a difference in transforming impacted communities. Expand your mind by approximately two inches! 12 Pink Used to Be Associated With Baby Boys Pixabay Nowadays, as the amateur pyrotechnics display connected to any gender reveal party will confirm, the color blue is usually associated with baby boys, while pink is associated with girls. In the early 1900s, however, it was the other way around, with pink considered a stronger color while blue was dainty. 11 Before Domino s, It Was Dominick s Pizza Pixabay The pizza chain Dominos was originally called Dominicks, a name it inherited from the previous owner, Dominick DeVarti, when two brothers, Tom and James Monaghan, bought the first location. When Tom attempted to open more locations, Dominick refused to allow him to use the name, and so, on an employees suggestion, it was changed to Domino's. 10 An April 1st Tsunami That Was Definitely Not A Joke Pixabay One of the worst tsunamis in recent history was in 1946, killing 159 people in Hawaii, with effects reaching as far away as Chile. It occurred on April 1st, leading to it being sometimes called The April Fools Tsunami. 9 The Longest Nerve in the Human Body Pixabay Your mental picture of nerves might be little skinny networks, but one nerve, the longest in the body, is a whopper. The sciatic nerve runs from the base of the spine to the foot, and at some points, its as thick as your thumb. 8 Are They Trying to Create A Super-President? Public Domain American politics is already rife with familial connections, but theres two presidential families you might not have known intersect: Julie Nixon, the daughter of Richard Nixon, married Dwight Eisenhower II, grandson of Dwight D. Eisenhower. 7 Only One Man Speaks in Mel Brooks Silent Movie Public Domain That man? Famous actual mime, Marcel Marceau. Good bit. 6 Paul McCartney Was Once Deported From Japan E-Pics Bildarchiv Online When Paul McCartney traveled to Japan in 1980, he brought one personal item that the Japanese police frowned upon: a half pound of marijuana, that he argued, was his personal stash. Regardless, he was hit with a smuggling charge, put in jail and then deported. 5 What Was the Name of the First Nintendo Console? Artistosteles This is a hell of a trick question for any gamer friends you might have. The answer, obviously, would be the Nintendo (or NES), right? Nope. The answer is the incredibly unremarkably named Color TV-Game released in 1977. 4 Who Discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls? Public Domain You might think that the unearthing of the first set of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls occurred at the end of an extensive archaeological search. But actually, they were found when some teenage shepherds were fucking around near an ancient settlement. One threw a rock at a hole in a cliff and heard a clay jar break. They went to see what theyd broken and in the process, discovered a trove of 2,000-year-old scrolls. 3 For Greeks, It s Tuesday the 13th That s Unlucky Public Domain If Jason Voorhees was Jason Vasilakis, and had a taste for spanakopita? His franchise might have been known as Tuesday the 13th instead. Its considered an unlucky date in Greek culture, due to it being the day that Constantinople fell. 2 An Unusual Hiding Place for Stolen State Secrets Pixabay Whittaker Chambers was, in the 1930s, a courier who transferred stolen information to the Soviets. He defected back to the U.S. and testified against other spies, using evidence hed kept as insurance inside a hollowed out pumpkin. To this day, the hidden evidence is known as The Pumpkin Papers. They say Adam and Eve were kicked out of Eden for eating forbidden fruit. This fruit came from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They would have been allowed to stay in paradise, if they instead ate from the tree of knowledge of stuff in general. Sadly, no such tree existed back then, because there wasnt much knowledge in those days, or much stuff. Weve made up for that in the years to come. Embrace that, with facts about murder, robots and prunes. 15 Wish You Were Here When deciding where to stage the D-Day landings, the Allies couldnt do recon along the whole coast of Europe. So, the BBC asked listeners to send in postcards of the entire area, without telling them why. The War Office used these images to decide Normandy was a decent spot. 14 The Sentimental Killer Last month, a man was found guilty of two murders. The evidence against him was pretty strong. He recorded one of the victims dying and left the footage on his phone. Someone who stole this phone saw the recording and turned it over to police. 13 Dwayne Plato Johnson We refer to one old Greek philosopher as Plato. That wasnt his name, though. He was born with the name Aristocles. Plato was his wrestling nickname and meant broad, because he was so broad. 12 De-Paving Theres a growing movement to dig out asphalt in bits of a city, leaving soil behind. Though this makes the path useless for tires, its good for preventing flooding, since it gives water an alternate method of draining away. Advertisement Advertisement 11 Play Sneezing Sometimes dogs sneeze, not because they need to clear their noses but as a social cue. Sneezing is their way of showing that theyre playing. If your dog sneezes, theyre probably having a good time. Alex O'Neal "You thought I was sneezing, but I was only joking!" 10 Dont Try This At Home A man at a 2015 Fourth of July celebration thought it might be funny to place a fireworks mortar tube on his head and light it. Previously, he had been known for playing Gaston in Disney World. After the firework went off, there was nothing left of him. Advertisement Advertisement 9 Hydrotherapy Electroconvulsive therapy treats disorders such as depression and catatonia. This treatment existed even back in ancient Rome though they didnt have generators back then. In those days, they used electric fish. 8 R.I.P. Beth Soldiers who use robots to defuse bombs sometimes become emotionally attached to the devices. Many write their spouses name on the side of the bot, and after the bot finally blows up, the soldier might host a funeral. Advertisement Advertisement 7 Close Shave A couple of Dallas Cowboys players got into an unusual tussle in 1998. One player refused to vacate a barber chair for the other, so they ended up wrestling, and one stabbed the other in the neck with scissors. No one died, so it was all in good fun, ruled a judge afterward. 6 Throwaway In the 19th century, the owner of a portrait studio in London came up with the idea of telling people to say the name of a certain food to put the right expression on their faces when he took their picture. No, he didnt tell them, Say cheese. He told them, Say prunes. Richard Beard You could see it on their faces. Advertisement Advertisement 5 The Devils Drink Sultan Murad IV of the Ottoman Empire banned coffeehouses, claiming that coffee causes indecency and social decay. He went on to die from cirrhosis of the liver, from all the alcohol he drank. 4 The Oner Goodfellas contains a famous sequence in which characters enter the Copacabana nightclub through the kitchen rather than the front, and are greeted like royalty. The reason behind this scene is the production couldnt get permission to bring the crew in through the normal front entrance. Advertisement Advertisement 3 The Marriage of Jefferson When Thomas Jefferson first fell in love with his future wife Martha, he contacted Mozart to ask him to write a special piece of music for her. But on meeting the guy, Jefferson found him so repulsive that he abandoned the idea. 2 Crowdsourcing Search & Rescue A woman went missing for a week last month hiking in Californias San Gabriel Mountains. Search crews gave up, because the risk of an avalanche was too great. Then some amateur reported spotting her body using a drone, so the sheriff sent a helicopter out to the right spot to get her out of there. Advertisement Advertisement The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality proposes to approve a groundwater protection permit for the massive Copper World mining complex to regulate and require monitoring of pollutant discharges from 16 facilities. Those facilities planned for the Santa Rita Mountains site include five open pits, with a sixth pit not expected to discharge anything due to its makeup and size. There will be two huge tailings storage and disposal areas, spanning 946 and 307 acres, respectively, with both reaching more than 250 feet high, higher than a 20-story building. A waste rock disposal facility will cover about 725 acres and will hold rock removed from the pits that has metal concentrations too low to be economically processed. Various ponds will store or capture storm-water runoff, water reclaimed from copper sulfide processing, water that drains from the tailings and a solution left over from copper oxide processing. At a state-run public hearing Tuesday on ADEQs draft permit, the 45 commenters were split between those who took direct aim at the permit as inadequate; those who said Copper World will be vital for both the Tucson-area economy and the future green economy; and those who said the mine will assault the Santa Ritas beauty and biological diversity. Overall, mine opponents significantly outnumbered supporters who spoke. ADEQs draft permit covers 57 pages and requires Hudbay Minerals Inc. to operate and maintain all permitted facilities to prevent unauthorized discharges. The permit is one of only two major permits that Hudbay needs to be able to build the Copper World mine. The other is an ADEQ air quality permit, which is also pending. Because the land for Copper World on the Santa Ritas west slope is privately owned, Hudbay doesnt need any federal permits for it. It will eventually need federal approval to dig an open pit and start mining on the Santa Ritas east slope because much of that side of the mountain is U.S. Forest Service land. Mine construction on that side of the Santa Ritas has been stalled because federal courts have refused to go along with Hudbays earlier proposal to dump some of its mine waste rock and tailings on national forest land there. Tuesdays hearing was boisterous, with many of the 200 people in the audience cheering, booing and hissing at the most strongly worded comments from opponents and supporters. The hearing came two weeks after an equally large crowd at a public meeting mostly grilled ADEQ officials with piercing questions on what they saw as the permits flaws. At that session, ADEQ officials responded to the questions, but they werent allowed to do so at Tuesdays session, under the departments rules for public hearings. Instead, ADEQ officials told the crowd they can respond later in writing to questions posed at the hearing. Or the public can send written questions until the departments public comment period on the permit expires April 10, and get written responses afterward. Some of the harshest critics at Tuesdays hearing complained the permits proposed monitoring plan is inadequate, that it lacks legal standards for some of the chemicals to be used at the mine, and that some of the facilities that will hold mine wastes wont be lined to stop liquids from seeping into the aquifer. But those comments were much less common than at the earlier public meeting. The leading opposition group, Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, had asked residents to ask ADEQ detailed questions at the earlier meeting. But this time, their list of questions was shorter and more focused, said Rob Peters, the groups executive director. The group has hired three experts to analyze the draft permit in more detail and will submit critical comments on it before the comment period expires, he said. A typical opponent comment at Tuesdays hearing came from Peggy Ollerhead of Tucson, who said she was shocked and saddened when I was here at the last meeting there would be nothing done for first two years for groundwater monitoring before the mine starts operations. We know Hudbay has already started construction on the site, which is likely to have an impact on groundwater quality and the quality of our environment, said Ollerhead, representing the group Great Old Broads for Wilderness. Theyre not being asked to do any pre-measures. In terms of monitoring the quality of the aquifer, that needs to happen ahead of time. You need a baseline. Thats just a basic research measure, she said. Many pro-mine speakers said Copper World will give a huge boost to Southern Arizonas economy and that more copper is needed as ingredients for solar panels, wind farms and electric vehicles. Unfortunately, most people have no idea of where materials come from for this green movement, testified Dennis Fischer, a former geologist for Augusta Resource Corp. Theres 176 pounds of copper in an electric vehicle, four times the amount of copper in a combustion engine vehicle. Theres 2,000 pounds of copper in a standard wind turbine. A photovoltaic solar plant contains about 5.5 tons of copper per megawatt of power generation, Fischer said in comments that drew loud hoots, applause and boos from various segments of the audience. Augusta had sought to build the proposed Rosemont Mine on some of the same Santa Ritas land now planned for mining by Toronto-based Hudbay, before Augusta sold out to Hudbay in 2014. Fischer noted that Arizona produces about 68% of all U.S.-based copper supplies, and that an estimated 38,000 to 39,000 jobs in Arizona are connected to mining in some way which is why we are the copper state. Mine opponent Bryan Slabaugh of Sahuarita called it absurd that Hudbay will be monitoring groundwater quality rather than ADEQ or an independent third party. ADEQ has said self-monitoring is mandated by the Legislature. This would be like putting prisoners in charge of running our prisons, said Slabaugh. Our groundwater is falling deeper and deeper every year. The last thing we need is a mine pumping more of our groundwater. They say copper is needed for green energy, but green energy is a sham. Nuclear power should be the main supplier of our future energy. Electric cars have a short life span. I served 10 years in the military, and put my life on the line so America could prosper, not so a Canadian company can come in and destroy our land, water and way of life, Slabaugh said. Mark Davis, a Tucsonan who represented the mining industry trade and lobbying group Amigos, said Copper World is an opportunity to add thousands of good paying jobs we pay above what other industries do with good benefits. Hudbay has said Copper World will create 400 permanent jobs and indirectly create another 3,000 jobs. Ive spent most of my career in mining. The mining industry is a blessing that enabled my family to realize the American dream, the opportunity to work hard and leave a better world behind, Davis said. Details of permit, mine plans Copper Worlds mine life for its first phase is expected to be 15 years, ADEQs draft permit says, although a planned second phase could extend the projects life much longer. Other details contained in the permit include: The mine will extract about 277 million tons of copper sulfide ore over its first phase, along with about 103 million tons of copper oxide ore. The mining company anticipates Copper World will require more than two years of production before mining can start. Closing down the mine after its life is over is anticipated to take one to two years, and monitoring and other activities at the site will continue another 30 years. Meeting the permits requirements will let Hudbay comply with the two key requirements for the states Aquifer Protection Program. That program was put in place by the Legislature nearly 40 years ago to give groundwater its first major state-managed protections from pollution through laws and regulations. First, the draft permit will ensure that pollutants discharged by Copper World wont cause or contribute to a violation of a state Aquifer Water Quality Standard at any of 10 monitoring wells where compliance with the rules will be enforced, the state says. Or the pollution wont further degrade an aquifer that already has water quality violations before mining begins, ADEQ says. Second, the mine will use what ADEQ calls the Best Available Demonstrated Control Technology. That can include engineering controls, processes, operating methods or other alternatives to reduce pollutant discharges to the greatest amount practical before they reach the aquifer or prevent them from reaching the aquifer, the agency says. Hudbay will have to monitor for a host of contaminants in its 10 monitoring wells some four times a year, some every other year. Among the 25 pollutants requiring quarterly monitoring are cadmium, nitrates, uranium, barium, arsenic, cyanide, lead, mercury and nickel. Competing opinions Lee Mayes, who called himself a third-generation copper miner, said he worked 32 years at the now-shuttered San Manuel copper mine near Tucson. For its last 16 years it had a solvent-extraction facility to extract copper oxides, just like Copper World is proposing, he said. I also helped design copper facilities like this. Its amazing the work ADEQ does to protect our resources. I have full confidence in ADEQ. Ive seen operations scramble (at mines), when you have a release of contaminants, he said. Chile and China are big copper producers. Those arent guaranteed that that stuff gets over here. We see in Chile, their resources are dwindling down. Copper is going to get real expensive pretty soon. Its good we have something here. But Pima County Supervisor Matt Heinz, a Democrat whose district includes the Copper World site, asked ADEQ to do everything in your power to deny the permit, saying the mine will be built over an aquifer providing water for thousands of people and businesses. Pumping that water out of our aquifer, polluting it with the harsh chemicals needed for mining and extraction, then allowing that water to filtrate through the soil back into the aquifer is counterintuitive and works against years of progress to ensure a clean, reliable drinking water source for generations, said Heinz, in written testimony read at the hearing by an aide. Surely ADEQ can write a more protective permit that would require a third party to verify Hudbays monitoring reports and a thorough sampling of the aquifer now, before any mining activity begins, Heinz said. Some opponents acknowledged their lack of technical knowledge about the permit, but said the mountains southeast of Tucson have personal meaning for them and are worth preserving for their own sake. Alison Soland, 19, of Tucson, said the Santa Ritas helped her recover at age 15 from a four-year drug addiction. That happened after she joined the Arizona Trails Association, where she learned about connecting with nature in general and the Sonoran Desert in particular. Later, she fell in love with her current fiance in the Santa Ritas, she said. A year ago, she gave up a chance to attend Cornell University in New York after deciding shed rather stay in Tucson and teach people about the Sonoran Desert. None of this has any statistics or anything that will help you guys with your studies, Soland told a row of ADEQ officials at the hearing. It really matters to me, and I dont want to see it taken away. Over the next couple of years, we will continue to get mine after mine, and over the next 20 years, there wont be any more mountains to protect, or any air or water to protect. Reid Park Zoo just welcomed a 265-pound baby. African elephant Semba gave birth to her third calf just after 3:30 a.m. Friday morning. While the sex is still unknown, the baby is standing, nursing and sticking close to mom. Semba is also doing well, the zoo says. The baby expands the elephant herd to five, including Semba, allomother Lungile and sisters Nandi and Penzi. Nandi was the first elephant born in Arizona in 2014. Penzi, short for Mapenzi, was born in 2020. Nandi really took to her role as a big sister when Penzi was born, and shes eager to bond with the new calf as well. Were excited to watch her show Penzi how to be a big sister, Adam Ramsey, the zoos director of animal care, said in a press release. The zoo is located at 3400 E. Zoo Court. Semba, who has been at Reid Park Zoo since 2012 after coming to Tucson from San Diego Zoos Safari Park, is also doing well, the zoo says. Mabu, who left Reid Park Zoo in 2022, is the father to all three calves. In the wild, male elephants commonly move between herds for social and breeding purposes. Mimicking this natural behavior, Reid Park Zoos bull elephant Mabu has a new home at Fresno Chaffee Zoo, Reid Park Zoo said in 2022. For now, Semba and the baby will spend time with one another behind-the-scenes. Zoo staff will monitor the two elephants closely to ensure theyre receiving the best care. Staff began 24-hour monitoring of Semba in late November something that started a few months earlier than normal due to potential medical concerns during this pregnancy. I want to thank the animal care and veterinary teams for the incredible care they provided for Semba and her calf, Ramsey said. To meet the elephants needs, more care, monitoring and testing took place during this pregnancy than for any of Sembas older calves. The team worked very diligently, and are excited to announce that the calf is hitting all their early milestones. Mom and baby both look great following this mornings birth. State Rep. Alma Hernandez has never made a secret of her passionate support for Israel and Zionism. The Legislative District 20 Democrat has done ferocious battle with people she perceives as attacking Israel and with anything that smells to her like antisemitism. Now that commitment has put the work of the state House on hold, and not everybodys happy about it neither Senate Republicans nor the Democratic governor. You can also count me in that crowd. Hernandez has, at times, struck me as going too far in her zeal for example, by supporting the law that says anyone who does business with the state of Arizona must promise not to boycott Israel. And this session, she has authored a bill, HB 2759, that would restrict criticisms of Israel by students on Arizona campuses, by labeling some student groups as supporters of terrorists. Both ideas, in my view, are undue restrictions of freedom of speech. Hernandez, who is Jewish, has in recent months paid an unfair price for her outspokenness. Shes been targeted by pro-Palestinian activists who have published fliers with her home address on them, which endangers her. And police escorted her out the back door after an event at the Fox Theatre March 2, saying there were protesters targeting her out front. Ive always thought that if the westside Tucson district Hernandez represents is OK with her approach, and if it doesnt get in the way of her main duties, then its up to the voters to accept or reject her and all her stances. Now, though, its getting in the way. Hernandezs prioritization of Israel is affecting the activity of the entire state Legislature shutting down one chamber for a week while she leads a trip to the Holy Land. In fact, legislators representing most of the Tucson area are, in my view, AWOL from their primary responsibilities today as they tour Israel. Of the bipartisan group of 17 legislators going, four are Democrats from the Tucson area: Hernandez, her sister Consuelo Hernandez, who represents the south-side Legislative District 21, and the two representatives from LD 18, Chris Mathis and Nancy Gutierrez. Those last two represent Midtown and the Foothills and are my state representatives. Trip timing questioned There are layers to the discussion of this trip. The most evident one is to question why they are going to Israel in the middle of the Legislative session. Ive asked Hernandez nine questions, including this, via email and while she was traveling, but had not received answers by the time of this writing. This is to educate people to what Israels all about, she told Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services. The trip is not a luxury vacation. Theres a war going on. She has also pointed out that she has bills regarding Holocaust education going through the Legislature now, and that legislators on the trip will visit a key memorial site in Israel. Of course, Tucson already has a Jewish Museum and Holocaust Center local legislators could visit, not to mention other events. In late October, I attended a talk by Holocaust survivor and Tucson resident Sidney Finkel at the UA. He has a moving book on his experience anyone can read, called Sevek: The Boy who Refused to Die. The state Senate didnt like the timing of the trip, even some who proclaim avid support for Israel. They voted 24-4 not to adjourn their work at the request of the House. This isnt about the trip itself to Israel, said Sen. Justine Wadsack, the Tucson Republican. I think any one of us would be honored to go on a trip to Israel, but not during session, and not when theyre all getting paid during that week to serve the people of Arizona. If they were taking an unpaid leave, that might be a different story. Finances also a question The issue of money is another layer of concern. Legislators arent paid much, $24,000 per year plus a per-diem when the Legislature is in session. The per-diem is $35 per day for Maricopa County legislators and $251.66 per day for those from Tucson and elsewhere outstate. What per diem should they be paid for traveling to Israel? I think the obvious answer is none. Even if they think visiting Israel will benefit their work as legislators, its an indirect benefit about issues that are tangential to the Legislatures main work: A budget, education funding, public safety, water. Israel has not even been among Arizonas top 10 foreign trading partners. But as the system functions, Legislators are paid their per-diem for every day theyre in session, so they will get paid while gone. And thats not the only financial consideration. The trip is paid for by the group carrying it out, which is called Itrek. Often in life, and in politics especially, if someone else is paying for you, they want something out of you. Think of all the ads for financial firms offering you a great dinner if youll listen to their sales pitch. Theyre trying to make sales. Itrek, which is based in New York City, doesnt sound like a radical outfit. They focus on giving tours to American graduate students. But its pretty clear what theyre looking for, by their own description of their tours. Participants return to their personal and professional lives with an authentic understanding and connection to Israel that can have ripple effects on ever-growing circles of influence, Itrek says on its website. Arizona reaffirms its support Unconditionally supporting Israel, in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack and during its war in Gaza, is a primary motivation for some of the delegation. In January, House Speaker Ben Toma sponsored a resolution supporting Israel that included this line: That the Members of the Legislature express their support for Israels right to pursue without interference or condemnation the elimination of Hamas. Toma is on the trip, and his spokesman, Andrew Wilder, explained: By sending a delegation, Arizona reaffirms its support for our friend and ally Israel. That reveals a deeper layer of concern: Unconditional support for Israel while that countrys military is slaughtering civilians, including more than 13,000 children so far, and causing starvation in the Gaza Strip. We should be able to hold two ideas in our mind at once: Hamas committed a horrific terrorist attack against Israeli civilians on Oct. 7 and continues to do so by holding hostages now, while Israels reaction has been one of ghastly disproportionality. I dont particularly want my representatives going to Israel during the Legislative session at all. But if theyre going to go during this war, I want them to get unlaundered information about the real issues not just the Hamas hostage-taking, but also likely Israeli war crimes against Palestinian civilians. When asked whether the trip would include discussion of the Israeli attack on Gaza, Hernandez said they could of course not go there, but they will be meeting with Palestinian students. Maybe that will be enlightening. Still, all the evidence shows this is a one-sided trip intended to bolster support for Israel by Legislators whose jobs, truth be told, have vanishingly little to do with foreign affairs. Since the pandemic, Tucson rents have increased twice as fast as local workers incomes. Yet, many new neighbors who relocated to Tucson during the pandemic to work remotely remark on the affordability of the market. Paid by employers from San Francisco, Portland and Seattle, for example, the workers incomes are much greater than the Tucson-based workers, which has led to confusion and resentment from local employees about rent prices. For white-collar workers earning high salaries, remote work is a huge financial boon. It enables them to move from a tech center to a more affordable part of the country, get more home for their money and save some for a rainy day, said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari. It can have the opposite effect on locals in those destinations especially renters who are watching from the sidelines as home prices skyrocket while their income stays mostly the same. Always considered an affordable market, Tucson is a magnet for remote workers and for investors because the rents are below the national average with room for increases. The average rent in the Tucson market is now $1,595, an almost 40% increase since the pandemic, but rents have increased almost everywhere. The average rent nationwide is around $1,800, and more than $2,200 in the states that saw the largest exodus of people since 2020. Homebuyer income has grown by nearly 20% in Arizona, but that only captures those homebuyers who took out a mortgage. Many new Tucson residents, meanwhile, sold $1 million-plus homes out of state and a luxury rental of $4,000 a month is less expensive than their previous mortgage. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, remote worker migration contributed to 60% of the increase in home purchase and rental prices. The go-to explanation is supply and demand, said local economist George Hammond. In the past decade there was very little housing built relative to our population growth. The appeal of Arizona is the climate and lower cost of living. The state we draw from the most, by far, is California and were still very affordable compared to that market, said Hammond, director of the Economic and Business Research Center in the UAs Eller College of Management. The median household income in the Tucson metro area is about $51,000, according to the American Community Survey by the U.S. Census. In 2023, the share of affordable homes in the Tucson area for a median household earner was 38.2%, the first time in 15 years that the affordable index fell below the national average of 40.1%. By comparison, less than 3% of homes in Southern California are affordable to residents making the median income. That has led to a spike in demand for rentals. While many rent out of necessity, many transplant residents rent for the lifestyle, which has contributed to rising rent prices. The solution is to build more housing, Hammond said. Tucson is a very attractive place to live and work thats the reality. Development of rental units for the middle class are underway throughout the Tucson area, spearheaded by the city of Tucson, Pima County and the private sector. In 2023, construction of thousands of new housing units, for all types of renters, began and could help stabilize rental prices, but no significant declines are anticipated. PHOENIX State schools chief Tom Horne has no legal authority to sue to force all Arizona schools to use only structured English immersion to teach the language to students who are not proficient, a judge ruled. Nothing in state law allows Horne to ask the court to declare that schools districts are violating a 2000 voter-approved measure dealing with English instruction, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper said in a 14-page ruling released Friday. Any such right, Cooper said, actually belongs to the state Board of Education. And Cooper said even if Horne did have such a right, it really doesnt matter. She said he has failed to establish he has any sort of justiciable claim that a court could resolve. Horne reacted angrily to the ruling and issued an ominous warning. The districts that opposed our position will regret this development, he said in a prepared statement. A near identical action will be filed by a parent, Horne said, who presumably does have a right to sue. And this will have much worse consequences for the district. And so his message isnt lost, his news release said new legal action paves the way for potentially draconian measures to be taken against school board members who fail to follow the law. That, Horne said, includes the possible legal remedy of school board members being removed from their position and being barred from running for any public office in education for five years. Hornes comments about possible draconian actions against school officials in a new lawsuit drew a slap from Attorney General Kris Mayes, one of the people he unsuccessfully sued. The attorney general certainly doesnt think those types of comments are helpful, said press aide Richie Taylor. She believes our public schools need support from state government, not threats. And any action against schools and school officials still would have to prove they actually are acting illegally, proof the judge said may be lacking. At the heart of the lawsuit is his claim that some school districts are using a dual language model, where students are taught academic subject matter in classrooms featuring both English and their native language, usually Spanish. Horne contends all that violates Proposition 203, a 2000 voter-approved measures which spells out that all children in Arizona public schools shall be taught English by being taught in English, and all children should be placed in English language classrooms. But the districts have relied on a 2019 law which reduced the amount of time students must spend in structured English immersion courses. That law also gave the state Board of Education flexibility to develop alternatives. The districts have argued and are backed by Mayes that one of the alternatives is the dual language model, the one that Horne contends is illegal. Horne responded by asking Cooper to declare that 2019 law to be an unconstitutional amendment of the 2000 ballot measure. He pointed out that the Arizona Constitution forbids lawmakers from altering what voters have approved unless it furthers the purpose of the original law. And Horne said that cannot be the case because the purpose of Proposition 203 is that children be taught in English for the entire school day, in order for them to quickly become proficient in English. Cooper, for her part, did not get into the merits of that claim. Instead, she pointed out that the superintendent of public instruction has only those powers granted by the state Legislature. And Cooper said that list does not include the right to sue anyone at all. Anyway, the judge said, the question of enforcing Proposition 203 rests not with Horne but instead with the state Board of Education. In this case, however, the state board has not only adopted rules permitting alternatives to English immersion but has chosen not to sue over what Horne contends are violations of the initiative. The state board has sole authority to adopt and approve research-based models of structured English immersion for school districts and charter schools to use subject to statutory minimum requirements, Cooper said. And she said the Legislature has set up a system for monitoring compliance. The judge said there is a role for the Department of Education, which Horne heads, to monitor compliance. But she said the law does not provide any enforcement power, instead requiring the agency to refer the school district to the state Board which can determine if it is out of compliance. And if the board does, , the penalty is that the school will not continue to get funds from a special English language learner fund. That question of his right to sue aside, Cooper said theres another flaw in Hornes lawsuit. She pointed out that his complaint says school districts are violating Proposition 203 by using the dual-language model without first getting a waiver from parents specifically opting out of English immersion. Yet she said that even Horne acknowledged that the dual-instruction model approved by the board does not require such a waiver. Thus, in alleging that the school districts are implementing the dual-language instruction model without a waiver, Superintendent Horne has alleged that the school district are, in fact, doing their job, the judge wrote. And theres something else. Cooper said Hornes lawsuit is flawed because he sued people who not only have no role in English instruction but cant order the schools to make the changes he demands. One of those is Gov. Katie Hobbs. Horne, in his lawsuit, said the governor has been touting dual language even though she knows, or should know, that is contrary to law. Cooper said even if that is true, its also legally irrelevant. She pointed out that Horne never alleges that she can control these programs. And the judge said the schools chief offers no basis for an argument that Hobbs indirectly controls the actions of the state board because she appoints its members. Horne also named Mayes, arguing that her opinion that the state board and not Horne has sole authority over English immersion models is erroneous. Cooper said thats not a basis to sue. An opinion by the attorney general is just that, an opinion, she said. It is not actionable, the judge said. Moreover, the court has no authority to critique an attorney generals opinion. Hobbs praised the ruling. This lawsuit was an attempt to take a proven and successful program away from Arizonas students and force them into programs that are outdated and ineffective, said press aide Christian China urges U.S. to stop harassing Chinese students under pretext of national security Xinhua) 09:17, March 09, 2024 BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China urges the United States to stop harassing Chinese students traveling to the country under the pretext of national security, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday. For some time, the United States, out of political purposes, has been frequently harassing, interrogating, and deporting Chinese students without just cause, spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks at a daily news briefing. According to reports, another Chinese student when entering the U.S. border at the San Francisco International Airport was taken to a dark room for interrogation and detained for over 20 hours by U.S. border control staff. Several law enforcement personnel interrogated the student in turn for 12 hours. The student's visa was revoked and the student was banned from entering the United States and repatriated back to China. Recent incidents time and again show that the acts by the United States far exceed the scope of normal law enforcement with strong ideological bias, Mao said. The United States moves seriously infringe on legitimate and lawful rights and interests of persons concerned, disturb normal cross-border travel between China and the United States and go against the common understandings reached by the two presidents on enhancing and facilitating China-U.S. cultural and people-to-people exchanges, Mao said. "China strongly deplores and firmly opposes this and has made solemn demarches to the United States," she said. The United States always portrays itself as open and a place for freedom and claims to be emphasizing U.S.-China cultural and people-to-people exchanges and welcoming Chinese students to study in the United States, Mao said, adding that in fact, the United States keeps overstretching the concept of national security and takes selective, discriminatory and politically motivated law enforcement actions against Chinese students. "It is essentially driven by the Cold War mentality held by certain people in the United States," she added. Mao urged the United States to stop harassing Chinese students traveling to the United States under the pretext of national security, stop poisoning the environment of public support for China-U.S. relations, and stop obstructing friendly interactions between the two peoples. "China will take resolute measures to safeguard legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese citizens," said Mao. (Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Liang Jun) Women celebrate after taking their oath of citizenship Friday at the City Council Chambers in San Antonio. In honor of International Womens Day, 47 women from around the world taking the oath of citizenship and became U.S. citizens. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Tears well up in Fatma Cetins eyes as she takes the oath of citizenship Friday at the City Council Chambers in San Antonio. In honor of International Womens Day, 47 women from around the world taking the oath of citizenship and became U.S. citizens. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News District 4 Council Member Adriana Rocha Garcia addresses attendees during a naturalization ceremony Friday at the City Council Chambers. In honor of International Womens Day, 47 women from around the world taking the oath of citizenship and became U.S. citizens. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Women attending a naturalization ceremony clap Friday during the event at the City Council Chambers. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News While holding an American flag, Adriana Valadez solemnly closes her eyes during the naturalization ceremony Friday at the City Council Chambers. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News A woman grins as she receives her certificate of citizenship and naturalization during Fridays ceremony. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News District 1 City Council Member Sukh Kaur takes a selfie with fellow City Council Members Adriana Rocha Garcia and Melissa Cabello Havrda and women who took the oath of citizenship Friday at the City Council Chambers. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Donia Kaddah smiles as she looks over her certificate of citizenship and naturalization during Fridays a naturalization ceremony in San Antonio. In honor of International Womens Day, 47 women from around the world taking the oath of citizenship and became United States citizens. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Donia Kaddah is embraced by brother Ali Kaddah after taking the oath of naturalization Friday. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Sisters Nahima Urena, left, and Azaria Urena, right, emotionally congratulate their mother, Alba Barboza, after Barbozas naturalization ceremony Friday at the City Council Chambers. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Alba Barboza embraces her daughter Nahima Urena after Barbozas naturalization ceremony Friday in San Antonio. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Arulmozhi Chitrarasu poses for a photo with U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth S. Betsy Chestney after Chitrarasu and 46 other women from around the world took the oath of citizenship Friday at the City Council Chambers. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News The city of San Antonio marked International Womens Day with a special naturalization ceremony. About four dozen women from nearly two dozen countries took their oath of citizenship during a ceremony presided over by U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Betsy Chestney on March 8, which is International Womens Day. The city teamed up with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas to hold the ceremony in City Council Chambers. Advertisement Article continues below this ad But the celebration will continue Sunday, when the Mujeres Marcharan Coalition will host the 34th International Womens Day March and Rally. San Antonios International Womens Day March and Rally The first celebration in San Antonio was held in 1983 and organized by Susan Guerra. Over the years, other groups have joined in organizing it, including the PEACE initiative, Fuerza Unida and the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. The event is scheduled for 2 to 6 p.m. at Milam Park, 500 W. Commerce St. The 2024 theme is Peace through Liberation from Palestine to Mexico, all the walls have got to go. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Speakers will be discussing issues ranging from immigration and the Palestine conflict to climate change and labor rights. What is International Womens Day? Its a day to recognize womens accomplishments on a global level while also highlighting challenges facing them, such as gender equality (including pay), reproductive rights, and abuse and violence against women. In some countries, its a national holiday. It was officially recognized by the United Nations in 1977. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In the United States, March is also Womens History Month and when Equal Pay Day is marked. March and its connection to womens history The connection between March and recognition of womens accomplishments and rights stems back to March 8, 1857, when one of the first strikes organized by working women was held in New York City. Hundreds of women from garment and textile factories marched in protest of their working conditions and unequal rights, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. They were seeking better wages and a shorter work day. On March 8, 1908, 15,000 women garment workers marched through New York Citys Lower East Side, seeking shorter workdays, better pay and an end to sweatshop conditions. They also called for the end of child labor and the right to vote. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The next year, the first National Womans Day celebration was held in New York City albeit on Feb. 28. By 1911, the movement had gone international. March 19 of that year was marked as a day for women in the United States and several countries in Europe. The goals remained much the same: the right to vote but also to hold public office and an end to discrimination in the working world, including calling for a right to work on a global basis and access to vocational trading, according to the United Nations website. Russian women used the international celebration to protest World War I in 1913 and again in 1917, both times on the last Sunday of February. At that time, Russia was still using the Julian calendar. The 1917 protest for Bread and Peace fell on March 8 for the United States and much of Europe, which already had switched to the Gregorian calendar. Four days after the 1917 strike, the czar abdicated and the provisional government that took over gave Russian women the right to vote. What is Equal Pay Day? Equal Pay Day was started in 1996 by the National Committee on Pay Equity to spotlight the gap between mens and womens wages. Advertisement Article continues below this ad This year, March 12 has been designated as Equal Pay Day by the committee, which is a coalition of organizations working to eliminate discrimination based on sex or race. The day symbolizes how much longer women have to work to get the same pay that men did in the previous calendar year, the committee says on its website. Its held on a Tuesday because that represents how much into the next workweek women need to work to match mens weekly pay. So how do Texas women fare when it comes to pay? As of 2022, Texas women made 80 cents for every dollar that men made when you look just at full-time, year-round workers, according to the National Womens Law Center. That compares to the national figure of 84 cents. If you add part-time and seasonal Texas workers, the comparable amount that women make is 71 centers to a dollar for men, according to the group. The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer: In the colorful patchwork of Southern Arizona, where cultures blend and stories intertwine, the call for fairness and opportunity for African Americans rings loud and clear. Lets talk about why it matters, why its personal. Southern Arizona is a place of beauty and diversity, but its not without its challenges. This is why the African American Legacy Fund, held at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, and The State of Black Arizona based in Phoenix partnered to launch the inaugural African American Leadership Institute for Southern Arizona (AALI) in 2021. In the three years since its launch, the Institute has supported 21 leaders across sectors in Tucson and surrounding areas in their personal and professional development. For AALI participants and graduates, the Institute is much more than just a networking opportunity. It is a lifeline, a beacon of hope for Black individuals striving to make a difference in their communities. Each year, the African American Legacy Fund continues to rely on the surrounding community for fundraising support to keep the Institute going. Dollars given to the fund result in more robust programming, the ability to financially support participants, and the ability for participants to become directly involved in the Southern Arizona philanthropic sector. The African American Leadership Institute steps in as a guiding light, offering tailored programs and unwavering support to nurture the next generation of Black leaders by offering opportunities to engage with Arizonas foremost businesses and policy authorities in a dialogue about leadership and the African American community. Emerging leaders are developed for the purpose of increasing African American representation in key civic, political, and workforce leadership roles. Representation matters. In a region as diverse as ours, it is critical that everyones voice is heard and valued. The African American Leadership Institute helps bridge that gap by empowering Black leaders to advocate for their communities, ensuring that concerns are heard and needs are met. But its not just about representation; its about solidarity too. Through dialogue and collaboration, the AALI brings people together, breaking down barriers and fostering understanding across racial lines. Its about celebrating diversity and recognizing the strength that comes from our differences. For participants, classes were more than just curriculum. Weekly sessions were an opportunity to sit in a space where they were seen and heard on a deeper level, where they could exist surrounded by shared experience instead of being the only within their organizations. In 2020, many organizations made public commitments to addressing areas of inequity within their ranks. Three years later, many are learning the true depth that those commitments require. Diverse leadership isnt just a nice idea; its essential for driving innovation and progress. By investing in programs like the African American Leadership Institute and supporting the African American Legacy Fund at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, were not just doing the right thing morally; were setting ourselves up for a brighter, more prosperous future for all. Recent events have underscored the urgency of this work. The challenges we face today demand bold, visionary leadership, and AALI is rising to the occasion. Its about grassroots activism and community mobilization, about standing up for whats right and making our voices heard. As we look ahead, lets remember the power of collective action. By supporting AALI and investing in the next generation of Black leaders, were not just changing lives; were shaping the future of our community. The African American Leadership Institute isnt just an organization; its a movement a movement for justice, equality, empowerment, and leadership. In a world that often feels divided, its a reminder that together, we can create positive change and build a better tomorrow for all. Politically timed prosecutions of Trump I believe the criminal and civil cases filed against Trump are tantamount to election interference. No complaints from Democrats, though. Trump left the White House on Jan. 20, 2021. Why did it take the NY State AGs office until September 2022 to bring Civil fraud charges against the Trump Organization? Why did it take until November 2022 for USAG Garland to appoint a Special Counsel to investigate Trump, and not until June 2023 to indict him for Classified documents, in his possession since leaving office? Another Indictment followed in August 2023 related to Jan. 6, 2021. Why did it take the Manhattan DAs office until March 2023 to indict Trump related to payments to Stormy Daniels made in 2016? Why did it take until August 2023 for the Fulton County GA DAs office to indict Trump? Court cases usually take over a year to be adjudicated. These prosecutors knew that and purposely timed Trumps indictments knowing the outcomes would be just before the November election. Democrats election interference! Christy Daniels Foothills Aid for Gaza President Biden has recently dropped aid packages in Gaza. While I understand there is a great need for the people of Gaza, I cannot help but remember the images of Gaza residents partying and dancing in the streets on 9/11. They clearly hate the people of the United States and were pleased at the deaths of all the innocent people who died on that day. Yet Biden is sending them aid at our taxpayers expense. If the U.S. wanted to really help them, they should not have been the only country to have vetoed a cease-fire of Israel. You will never hear any of the Gaza residents say even as much as a thank you to the U.S. for this aid. Why is the U.S. doing this, especially when there are many countries in the geographical area near Gaza that could airdrop aid into Gaza? John Kaufman SaddleBrooke President elections The presidential election has been a roller coaster ride. The media makes claims about crimes, but no one is indicted, tried or convicted. Leaders in Colorado remove Pres. Trump from the ballot, without cause, attempting to influence the elections. Not surprising, the Supreme Court nullified the Colorado action, ending the Colorado election tampering, stopping Colorados attempt to interfere in Democracy. It seems that most of the liberal activists have forgotten that Pres. Trump was already the President once before and the biggest concern from that time was the introduction of COVID from China. Prices were stable during the term and fuel was available, then Biden took over and prices have gone up 18% and fuel has been short supply, making Russia a prime supplier, providing the funds to invade Ukraine. So, Biden provided the means for Russia to invade Ukraine and then ended up providing munitions to fight the Russian invasion. Im not sure who really won the last election, but its clear the American people lost. Loran Hancock Northwest side PragerU offers alternatives to facts Liberals are trying to indoctrinate our school children to hate America. They want our children to believe we are a racist country. Tom Horne will stop them. So stated on his website. Tom did a great job in bringing out the CRT boogeymen to scare you into thinking he was the savior for our public schools. Meanwhile Tom has green-lighted PragerU into your childrens classroom. PragerU and PragerKids have no educational value or certification. It is funded by fracking billionaires, and people like Anti Public Schools former Secretary of Education Betsy Devos. PragerU is an alternative to facts and truth. They spread disinformation regarding climate, LGBTQ, DEI, the issue of slavery, and other far-right insanity. (Its about much more than what Killer Columbus may have said.) Pragers doctorate is designed to indoctrinate your children into believing falsehoods. This may cause future letter writers to claim some pretty whopper statements, like the recent one about 2 million green cards issued in 2022. Larry Robinson Northwest side Representative Ciscomani Re: the March 6 letter Ciscomani. To the editor, This letter to the editor complimenting Representative Ciscomani for having an effective communications system but goes on to state that it glosses over the substance of a bad voting record. I have sent three letters to Ciscomani since he took office. I received no response to any of them. I am a constituent disappointed in my representative who pointed it out in three brief letters. Even the gloss fictionalizing his record with a purported explanation would be an improvement. Barry Kirschner Midtown 14th Amendment needs legislative support Re: the March 5 article Justices rule in Trumps favor. Judicial overreach in the Five Guys majority opinion overruling the Colorado Supreme Court decision on Trump v. Anderson, together with the minority opinions articulated by the four dissenters, makes it incumbent upon the United States Congress to plug the loophole in the law through which malefactors might escape. The actual language in the court decision is more precise, but the AP article summarizes it pretty well. What needs to happen is for Congress to enact a law that allows Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to be enforced without further niggling or ambiguity. Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment spells it out: The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. Congress needs to enact that appropriate legislation. John Leech Foothills May the best man win Re: the March 6 letter I see my dad in President Joe Biden. After reading the letter, I was reminded how I see in Donald Trump my good friend who has sadly digressed into physical and mental decline. Besides health-destroying obesity, his mental faculties render him incompetent. He often rambles verbal nonsense. I see the same with Trump. To me, he appears short of breath after walking 10 steps hes in terrible physical shape. His mental unfitness is glaring. Think about his suggestion of ingesting cleaning chemicals to kill COVID, his idea to detonate an A-bomb into a hurricanes eye, and his recent bizarre and nonsensical diatribe about magnets and how they dont work if put in water. Just a few of many examples that should have everyone questioning Trumps mental fitness for any important position. Theres been much speculation about Bidens fitness and capabilities. Heres an idea give both men civics/history/science exams, then have them square off in a one-mile road race. The highest performer becomes our next president. Deb Klumpp Oro Valley Opinion letters and civility I would like to see more civility in our opinion letters. Civility to me means politeness and courtesy. It means respecting others. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing others as equals and respecting their rights and opinions. It also involves being willing to engage in civil discourse and debate, even with those we disagree with. Civil discourse and debate are intertwined concepts that both involve the exchange of ideas in a respectful and constructive manner. Civil discourse should foster understanding and learning through the respectful exchange of viewpoints. Debate should present and defend opposing positions on a particular issue. When I was on my high school debating team, we had to be able to defend both sides of an issue. This required understanding and empathy. Too often our letter writers turn to name calling and sarcasm. We need to learn to listen and to be empathetic to other views. Overall, opinion letters are valuable tools for navigating complex issues. Lets keep them civil. Tom McGorray Northwest side Free bus fare Re: the March 7 letter Bus fare. We agree: Tucson deserves world-class transit. Reinstating fares wont get us there, and ridership will plummet. Well all feel it: more congestion, less parking, more air pollution, overflow traffic in neighborhoods. Less visible may be the harm to those not making their trips. We dont charge entry fees to our regional parks. Our library system is free to all. We fund roads and dont (yet) charge for access. Why, for public transit a system we claim we want more people to use do we insist on a user fee? We must invest with permanent and sustainable revenue streams if our transit is to become world-class. We offered several ideas: surcharges on hotel stays, rental car fees, small increases in property taxes. Paying for quality transit doesnt have to happen at the fare box. Transit benefits us all and it should be funded the same way as our parks, roads, and libraries. Miranda Schubert and Kylie Walzak Midtown A pox upon us Here in Arizona, we have been afflicted with a plague of biblical proportions, a pox on anyone who can see, hear or read. Other than living in a cave, there has been no escape from Kari Lakes seemingly endless stream of bogus, whining lawsuits, all of which have been thrown out. The latest statement from her lawyer says she is merely indulging in mere rhetorical hyperbole. That pretty much describes the whole, complete sum of what she does and says. Tim Canny Oracle Visionaries Ms. Haley, better to have lost the race than not to have entered at all. If only the Don had gone fishing in the Bermuda Triangle. Hal(l)eys comet shall return. The Don and MAGA remain. Or is it MAWA? Make America White Again. He sprinkles a little pepper and cinnamon into his flour base, trying to deceive us. The 4 Rs are cheering him on. The very Rich, the very Racist, the Russian named Putin and the very Reluctant not to believe him. A little Dorothy Thompson needs to rub off on us. She warned the Germans of Hitlers propaganda in the 30s. Expelled from Germany, she returned to America and warned us of the Nazi movement in the U.S. prior to World War 2. Now we have the Dons movement. The Don and his Greed Breed want to dismantle democracy. Rule of law or rule of a ruler? Whats your vision? Joe Sanchez Marana Free transit fares I ride the bus almost daily. It is such a convenient mode of transportation, and I feel good not using a personal vehicle that spews more exhaust into our exhausted atmosphere. I love the equality and humanity displayed by my fellow passengers. People from all political stripes and every economic level are welcomed equally on the bus. Its fast and easy to board without needing to keep track of a bus pass. The city will lose riders if fares are reintroduced. Expect more boarding delays and arguments, too. If other citizens can afford to pay transit fares, and they wish to pay their fair fare share, they should write a check to the city and designate it to be used for public transportation. UA President Bobby Robbins should lead the effort since so many of his students, workers and visitors benefit from all those free rides. It could help burnish his failed public image while narrowing our public transits fiscal gap, perhaps? Mary DeCamp Downtown U of A controversy U of A President Robbins has expressed a willingness to accept a 10% salary cut. How about a 100% cut? Beverly Rutter Midtown Dumb laws Opinion: LD 17 Senator Justine Wadsack continues to show her limited critical thinking abilities by supporting a ballot initiative to allow businesses and individuals to sue cities if they are unable to remove homeless people who are near their property. She fails to recognize that, first of all, cities themselves are somewhat constrained in actions they can take by federal laws. Second, successful lawsuits will result in cities having less money to provide both services to aid the homeless and fund police who would otherwise deal with homeless people who do break the law. She is essentially defunding the police. Hopefully LD 17 voters will sack Wadsack this next election and vote down this stupid initiative. Jerry Morris SaddleBrooke Free press Interesting dialog in the NY Times this morning about Donald Trumps admiration for strong leaders like Viktor Orban of Hungary and Vladimir Putin of Russia. In the dialog, the Times bureau chief for East and Central Europe, Andrew Higgins, says that Orbans Hungary is not as much a police state like Russia or Belarus, but a propaganda state, without a free press. He notes that Russia, of course, is also a propaganda state. Consider, if you will, the issue of the immigrants crowding our southern borders. Do you remember that it was Donald Trump who announced to the cartels that Joe Biden has opened the borders to anyone who wants to come? Open borders? More than ever, we need the free press in our country to protect us from becoming Hungary and Russia propaganda states. A free press protects our freedom. Philip Silvers Curtis Killman Tulsa World Staff Writer Follow Curtis Killman 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 A proposal to keep a wind farm in Osage County after a judge ordered its removal has been roundly rejected by the federal government and an Osage Nation government agency. Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice and Osage Minerals Council responded with a collective no to Osage Wind LLCs request to avoid removal of 84 turbines. U.S. Court of International Trade Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves, sitting by designation in Tulsa federal court, on Dec. 20 said granting permanent injunctive relief via ejectment of the wind turbine farm for continuing trespass was warranted. Choe-Groves said in her ruling that removal of the wind farm was appropriate given that Osage Wind continues to trespass on Osage Minerals Council property and its owners failed to obtain the necessary permit prior to launching the project in 2014. Choe-Groves has yet to formally grant the injunction, but she has requested briefing on the matter prior to a May 20 start date for a trial on damages owed by Osage Wind. Choe-Graves asked Osage Wind to submit its plan and schedule for removal of the wind turbines, including plans for rehabilitation of the impacted land. While Osage Wind, which is co-owned by Italian-based renewable energy company Enel, did propose a removal plan, it also pitched a plan that would allow it to keep the turbines in place. The plan would have involved removing backfill material owned by the Osage Nation and replacing it with backfill that does not infringe any rights of the Osage mineral estate. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2017 ruled that Osage Winds use of subsurface rock and dirt for wind farm tower support constituted mining and required a lease from the Osage Nations Minerals Council, which manages the Osage Mineral Estate for the Osage Nation. Osage Wind has never obtained the necessary mining permit. This removal and replacement would be accomplished without removing the wind turbines, and is expected to take considerably less time than removing the wind turbines, Osage Wind said in a court filing. Otherwise, the company estimated it would require about 18 months to remove them, either through demolition or more targeted dismantling. Both the federal government and Osage Minerals Council objected to the proposal to allow the turbines to remain in place. Attorneys for the federal government asked Choe-Groves to only consider Osage Winds proposed plans to remove the wind turbines. The federal government described Osage Winds proposal to keep the turbines in place as an improper attempt to move for reconsideration of the Courts decision on the form of injunctive relief. The federal government also described Osage Winds request for a series of stays as just a move to avoid removing the wind farm, delaying the damages trial and circumventing an appellate bond, should an appeal be sought. The United States respectfully requests the Court implement a permanent injunction in the form that it previously outlined (comprising the ejectment of the wind farm) that maximizes the economic benefit to the Osage headright holders after the conclusion of the damages trial, the federal government said in a court filing. Granting a stay of proceedings prior to the damages trial would only preserve the status quo for defendants benefit at the detriment of Osage sovereignty and the well overdue compensation owed to Osage headright holders, according to the federal government. The Osage Minerals Council, in its brief, proposed that Choe-Groves give Osage Wind 24 hours after the issuance of the injunction to cease using the turbines and remove them within six months. The Osage Minerals Council said the six-month period could be extended if Osage Wind obtained a lease for a longer period of time, which would then permit defendants to proceed at the leisurely pace that they propose. The OMC also objected to Osage Wind using OMC minerals to fill holes and level the property after the turbines are removed. If Enel wants to lease OMC minerals for that use, it can, but otherwise Enel should not be doing anything with OMCs minerals, OMC said in its brief. Video: Removing Osage Wind farm leaves school district with huge funding gap The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today. March 15 2024 video. The session lasted for some 13 hours, slowed considerably at times by Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, who opted to read several bills in their entirety out loud. It finally adjourned a few minutes after 10 p.m. Video via Gov. Stitt's Youtube page Randy Krehbiel Tulsa World Staff Writer Follow Randy Krehbiel 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 Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Elmer Thomas was not a nuclear physicist or a general. He did not make any decisions regarding the Manhattan Project or the use of the first nuclear bomb. But as chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Military Appropriations, Thomas was one of only seven lawmakers who had some knowledge of the project, albeit sketchy, and who helped hide billions of dollars for it in the War Department budget. Thomas is the only written account of that fiscal sleight of hand. New York Times reporter Catie Edmondson writes about her discovery of that account in Thomas autobiography, Forty Years a Legislator, in a broader story prompted by the Oscar-nominated film Oppenheimer. A congressional correspondent accustomed to searching through complex bills for disguised appropriations, Edmondson wrote that she could not fathom how the financing of something like the Manhattan Project could have been kept secret for so long. Her curiosity led her into a maze of dead ends until she came across Thomas book, which includes about 20 pages on the subject. Medicine Park among early accomplishments Now largely forgotten, Elmer Thomas was one of Oklahomas most important political figures of the first half of the 20th century. Born and raised in Indiana, Thomas arrived in Oklahoma City in 1900 and the following year moved to Lawton, where he set up a law practice. He and a partner developed the Medicine Park resort in the Wichita Mountains and built the first dam to supply water to Lawton. That no doubt helped win Thomas election to the first state Senate. During his time in the state Senate, he served as president pro tem and chairman of the Appropriations Committee before moving to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1922. Four years later he was elected to the U.S. Senate, beating Republican incumbent J.W. Harreld. Thomas was something of a populist. As a young man in Indiana, hed campaigned for William Jennings Bryan; in Congress, he promoted policies he deemed advantageous to farmers and the working class and became a committed New Dealer during the Depression. He was also considered an advocate for American Indians. Tall, elegant and silver-haired, Thomas served four terms 24 years in the Senate before losing the 1950 Democratic primary to A.S. Mike Monroney. He died in Lawton in 1965. Clandestine accounting in Congress In his autobiography, Thomas said he and three other senators were called to Senate Majority Leader Alben Barkleys office on June 10, 1944. They were instructed to come alone and not to tell anyone where they were going. There they were briefed by Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson and Vannevar Bush, who was in charge of all military research and development. Three House members were similarly briefed in another meeting. To that moment the matter of atomic fission had never been mentioned in my presence, Thomas recalled. When first suggested, I did not know know what the words meant, and I am still almost wholly in the dark with respect to both the development and content of the atomic bomb. At first, Thomas was under the impression that the project had just begun. Rather quickly he realized, perhaps somewhat to his chagrin, that several billion dollars had already been spent without his or any other lawmakers knowledge. The money, Thomas soon learned, had come from inflated appropriations requests from the Army Corps of Engineers and other War Department cookie jars. By the summer of 1944, however, the project had become so big that Stimson concluded that it could only be continued with the assistance, or at least acquiescence, of key lawmakers. The Manhattan Project needed $800 million roughly $14 billion today hidden in plain sight in the War Departments $72 billion budget. Thomas assured Stimson that doing so would not present a difficult problem. I had long before learned that the larger and more complicated the legislative bill the easier it was to secure favorable action, Thomas wrote. Following the Armys previous practice, Thomas listed the $800 million under Expediting Production. <&rule> The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today. Steve Metzer Tulsa World Capitol Bureau Staff Writer Follow Steve Metzer 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 OKLAHOMA CITY A state appropriation of $50 million to help fund critically needed upgrades to the Arkansas River Levee system drew support Friday from Gov. Kevin Stitt. The Senate Appropriations Committee this week passed legislation authored by Sen. Cody Rogers, R-Tulsa, that would greenlight the money, needed as a match to secure federal funding to pay for $191 million worth of work identified as needed in the wake of massive flooding that occurred along the Arkansas River in 2019. In the spring of that year, record flooding in the river basin left parts of the Tulsa metro and entire towns nearby inundated. Damage was estimated in the range of $3 billion. Rogers said the catastrophe opened some eyes to the vulnerabilities of the levee system, which officials said have grown more apparent in the years since. In comments made during his weekly press conference at the Capitol, Stitt described the needed major investment in infrastructure as evidence that supports a fiscally conservative style of government. If theres a state-sponsored match (required), then thats exactly what our savings account is for, he said. Thats why we have $5 billion in savings and why we have to be fiscally conservative, because we need to invest in certain infrastructure projects across the state. Im never opposed to investing in infrastructure that is going to help our citizens. Rogers said he is continuing to work with the Oklahoma House of Representatives, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Tulsa County on project details. The levee has a lifespan, and its time to rebuild, he said. The lawmaker said hes hopeful that Senate Bill 1391 will advance through the House in the coming week. He noted that Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, has been a strong advocate. If the measure is signed into law, the appropriated funds would be available in Fiscal Year 2025. Once state funding is in place, project timing would be contingent on the Corps of Engineers and the federal process of going out for bids on work, Rogers said. Initially, SB 1391 proposed a funding commitment from the state of $67 million, but Tulsa County District 2 Commissioner Karen Keith, who was invited to offer lawmakers insights on needs, said about $15 million in local funding had already been identified. She said Friday that she was ecstatic to hear news of the $50 million approved by the Senate appropriations panel. Keith said current funding sources include $3 million from the city of Tulsas Fix Our Tulsa program, $5 million from the citys Vision Tulsa program, $4 million from Vision Tulsa County, and $2 million from Drainage District No. 12. Some initial project engineering and design work has already been paid for by Tulsa County, the cities of Tulsa and Sand Springs, and the drainage district. With more than $1 billion in infrastructure and thousands of Oklahomans in harms way if the levee systems were to fail, its imperative that we work together at all levels of government to ensure these projects come to fruition, Rogers said. During his press conference, Stitt also touched on topics of U.S. border security and his administrations recently filed suit against Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond. The governor was highly critical of President Joe Bidens statements about border security, made during his State of the Union Address on Thursday. He said the president could have and should have already responded to the border crisis by enforcing laws on the books or implementing executive orders. I dont think Oklahomans believe it. I dont think Americans believe it that the president doesnt have tools in his toolbelt, he said. He said Republicans arent opposed to legal immigration, but youre pretty blind if you think we can have open borders and can welcome people with all of the state services and medical care. Its ridiculous, and I think American people are fed up with it. Stitt added that he sent Oklahoma Guard members to the border last year at the request of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and would do so again if asked. Stitt described the suit filed against Drummond as not adversarial but rather as an attempt to get clarity on the issue of whether Cabinet secretaries can also hold roles as agency heads. We need clarity around this, he said. We think the AG misapplied the law. Stitt said he doesnt think legislation that advanced this week to allow some Cabinet members to hold dual roles is needed. He insisted that Cabinet secretaries serve in advisory roles only and that a previous executive order that allowed for a secretary to approve spending by agency directors has expired. The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today. Tucker Carlson, the conservative former cable TV news pundit, recently traveled to Moscow to interview Russian dictator Vladimir Putin for his Tucker Carlson Network, known as TCN. The two-hour interview itself proved dull. Even Putin found Carlsons soft questioning disappointing. Very little from the interview was newsworthy. As a scholar of broadcast propaganda, I believe Carlsons work provides an opportunity for public education in distinguishing between propaganda and journalism. Some Americans, primarily Carlsons fans, will view the videos as accurate reportage. Others, primarily Carlsons detractors, will reject them as mendacious propaganda. But closely considering these categories and evaluating Carlsons work in context might deepen public understanding of the distinction between journalism and propaganda in the American context. Promoting authoritarians Carlsons ability to secure the Putin interview was commendable. Interviewing dictators even the most murderous ones, such as Cambodias Pol Pot can represent a significant journalistic achievement. Yet, Carlsons listless approach to the Russian dictator, who droned on endlessly, proved a wasted opportunity. Despite Carlsons passivity, the interview did, in fact, reveal aspects of Putins intentions likely unknown to many Americans. For example, Putin blamed Poland for provoking Hitlers attack on the country in 1939, which sparked World War II a statement at odds with the facts. He also seemed to signal his desire to attack Poland, or another neighbor, in the near future. Had Carlsons trip concluded with the interview, it might have been judged journalistically worthwhile. Yet thats not what Carlson did. Producing a travelogue, Carlson toured Moscow and made videos extolling the glories of Russian society, culture and governance. The Moscow subway impressed him, while the low prices in a Russian supermarket radicalized him against our American leaders. Classic case of propaganda There are numerous ways to evaluate the truthfulness of Carlsons reports. For example, if things are as copacetic in Russia as Carlson claims, then emigration out of the country should be minimal, or at least normal. Yet, since the 2022 Ukraine war mobilization, Russians have fled their country in historically high numbers. Even those cheap supermarket prices Carlson loved are a mirage. They exist only through subsidies, and with Russias continued devaluation of the ruble in 2024, combined with a planned huge increase in military spending, Russias government continues to make every Russian poorer to fund its war. But research shows that fact-checking Carlsons claims is not likely to change many peoples opinions. We know most people dont appreciate being told their preferred information is inaccurate, and when untruthful reports accord with their perception of reality, theyll believe them. Instead of categorizing Carlsons Russia videos as reporting, journalism, information or fake news, we could define it instead as a classic case of propaganda. Emotional oversimplifications Propaganda is communication designed to bypass critical and rational examination in order to provoke intended emotional, attitudinal or behavioral responses from an audience. Public understanding of propaganda usually links it to lying, but thats not quite correct. While some propaganda is mendacious, the most effective propaganda will interlace carefully selected verifiable facts with emotional appeals. For an average American, those Russian supermarket prices really were cheap. But thats a selected truth presented without context essential for understanding. Theologian Reinhold Niebuhr once described propaganda in a democracy as emotionally potent oversimplifications peddled to the masses, and thats precisely what Carlsons videos seem to provide. That Carlson has evolved into a propagandist is not surprising. In 2022, The New York Times analyzed his Fox News broadcasts between 2016 and 2021. The paper concluded that Carlsons program became far less interested in rational dialogue and critical exchange by interviewing people who disagreed with him as it evolved into a monologue-driven format in which Carlson preached often factually dubious assertions to his audience. At one time, early in his career, Carlson demonstrated significant journalistic talent, especially in magazine feature writing. But his dedication to accuracy and even basic truth-telling was exposed as a sham when his texts from the Dominion voting machine lawsuit were revealed and illustrated his mendacity. Gershkovich and Carlson Carlson is not the first American reporter to travel to a foreign dictatorship and produce propaganda in the guise of journalism. The New York Times Walter Duranty infamously ignored the Stalin dictatorships horrific starvation of millions of Ukrainians in the 1930s. The Times Berlin correspondent Guido Enderis specialized in puffy profiles of leading Nazis while whitewashing the regimes more evil aspects in the mid-1930s. More recently, correspondent Peter Arnett was fired from NBC News for appearing on state-controlled Iraqi TV in 2003 and praising the success of Iraqi resistance at the outset of the U.S.-Iraq war. Although Arnetts comments did not originally appear on NBC, they were rebroadcast widely. But what makes Carlsons actions particularly galling to some was that his propaganda appeared while Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich remains imprisoned by Putins regime for alleged spying, but which was really accurate reporting from Russia. When Carlson questioned Putin about Gershkovich, the dictator replied that a prisoner exchange might be negotiated. Ultimately, the distinction between journalism and propaganda is the difference between Gershkovich and Carlson. Gershkovich sits in a Russian prison for investigating the truth about Putins Russia in service to the American public and his employer. Carlson flies around the world praising authoritarian leaders such as Hungarys Viktor Orban, while rooting for dictators like Vladimir Putin when they attack their neighbors. Why shouldnt I root for Russia? Which I am, he said in 2019 about the Ukraine-Russian conflict. To expose abusive governmental power and hold it accountable to the opinions of mankind is literally written in Americas Declaration of Independence. To travel abroad praising dictatorships for their subways and cheeseburgers while ignoring their murderousness, and to return radicalized against our leaders because foreign supermarket prices are low, is certainly not journalism. It is propaganda. Carlsons videos may have one beneficial result: If enough Americans learn from them how to detect propaganda and distinguish it from ethical and professional reporting, then perhaps Carlson unintentionally provided a valuable media literacy service to the nation. The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today. Four Australian businesses presented their plans to invest in Vietnam to Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh when they had separate meetings with him in Canberra, Australia on Friday. The meetings were scheduled as part of PM Chinhs official visit to Australia, slated on March 7-9, after he attended the 2024 Australia-ASEAN Special Summit in Melbourne that ended on Wednesday. Representing the first enterprise to meet PM Chinh, an executive of Corio Generation, a portfolio company of Macquarie Asset Managements Green Investment Group, said Corio hopes to invest in offshore wind power development in Vietnam after having engaged in some renewable energy projects in Vietnam since 2019. Earlier on March 5 at the Vietnam - Australia Business Forum in Melbourne, under the witness of the Prime Minister, Corio Generation signed and handed over a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in developing wind power projects offshore Vietnam with Power Generation Joint Stock Corporation 3 under Vietnam Electricity (EVN). The PM asked the company to coordinate with relevant Vietnamese ministries and partners to promptly set up specific offshore wind power projects that bring practical benefits to both sides. He asked the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and other concerned agencies to facilitate Corio Generation in setting up its renewable energy projects. The company should make a pilot project and submit it to Vietnams competent agencies for consideration, the PM said, and added he assigned Deputy PM Minister Tran Hong Ha to be in charge of this issue. He said Vietnam wants to develop the wind power industry, so he asked Corio not only to invest in this field but also to proceed with transfer of relevant technologies to the country. At the two other separate meetings with PM Chinh, the leaders of two large mineral groups in Australia Australian Strategic Materials Ltd (ASM), a producer of critical metals for advanced and clean technologies, and EQ Resources, a leading tungsten producer, expressed their wish to invest in the mining sector as well as mineral supply chains in Vietnam. PM Chinh told both leaders that mineral projects should be developed using deep mining and processing technologies to create high quality mineral products, and should not be in the form of selling raw ores. Such projects must be implemented in the spirit of harmonizing benefits and sharing risks, and meet environmental protection requirements. He also called them to conduct mineral technology transfer to Vietnam and help Vietnamese businesses to penetrate deeper into global mineral and metal supply chains. Leaders of ASM and EQ Resources affirmed that they will develop projects in Vietnam in accordance with the PMs directions, and expressed high appreciation for his message of harmonizing benefits and sharing risks. At another meeting with PM Chinh, the leader of SunRice Group, the largest rice production and distribution conglomerate that accounts for 90 percent of Australia's rice market, presented to him the groups plan to expand investment in Vietnam in the near future. In 2008, this group bought a controlling interest in the Lap Vo rice processing factory in Dong Thap Province with a processing capacity of about 260,000 metric tons of dry rice a year. SunRice has coordinated with the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) since 2022 to implement the project developing high-quality rice supply chains in the Mekong Delta, with the goal of developing high-quality rice varieties with sustainable productivity to serve the international consumer market. PM Chinh hailed the groups existing projects in Vietnam and applauded its intention to expand investment in the country. He recommended that the conglomerate, with its network and influence, help connect Vietnamese partners with Australian partners to strengthen cooperation in the agricultural sector between the two countries in the future towards green production, healthy competition. The head of the government also suggested SunRice to strengthen cooperation with and transfer technologies to Vietnamese rice businesses, support the development of the rice supply chain in Vietnam, and help Vietnamese exporters to deeper penetrate into the global rice supply chains. He also called on the group to engage in Vietnams ongoing project to grow one million ha of high-quality and low-emission rice in the Mekong Delta by 2030, according to the Vietnam News Agency. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh arrived in Auckland on Saturday evening (local time), beginning his first official visit to New Zealand since assuming power in 2021 at the invitation of his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon. The two-day visit, which takes place ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam-New Zealand diplomatic ties in 2025, will enable both sides to discuss measures for tightening their ties and make preparations for the upcoming celebration. PM Chinh, his spouse, and his entourage were welcomed at Auckland Airport by New Zealand Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee, Ambassador Designate to Vietnam Caroline Beresford, Vietnamese Ambassador to New Zealand Nguyen Van Trung, and staff members of the Vietnamese Embassy. The two countries leaders will discuss measures to bolster the Vietnam-New Zealand bilateral ties in various fields such as trade, investment, people-to-people exchange, labor affairs, education and training, and agriculture, according to Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet. Vietnamese people in New Zealand welcome Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse, New Zealand, March 9, 2023. Photo: Duong Giang Vietnam is New Zealands 14th-largest trading partner, with two-way trade in 2023 hitting US$1.3 billion. The figure is expected to surpass $2 billion this year. The Southeast Asian country ranks 13th among the top countries exporting their products to New Zealand, shipping mobile phones and phone parts, computers, electronic items and accessories, fishery products, cashew nuts, and footwear to the latter. Vietnam is also the 17th-biggest buyer of New Zealand items like milk and dairy products, fruits, wood, garments and textiles, and others. By November 2023, investors from New Zealand had 52 valid projects worth more than $208 million in Vietnam, mostly in the fields of real estate, education and training, manufacturing and processing. New Zealand has provided a stable and increased amount of official development assistance (ODA) loans for Vietnam, adding that it pledged to offer $16.2 million of non-refundable ODA loans to Vietnam between July 1, 2021 and July 30, 2024. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Check out the latest news in Vietnam today: Society -- The Traffic Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security announced on Friday that it has passed a plan to put nearly 188,400 special car license plates up for auction online, scheduled to begin on Monday next week and last around one month. -- A 58-year-old South Korean director of a company in Thua Thien-Hue Province, central Vietnam has been detained for allegedly offering close to 18,000 clothing sets whose materials were smuggled items, the provincial police agency confirmed on Friday. -- Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Friday ordered the relevant ministries and localities in Vietnams Mekong Delta region like Ben Tre, Tien Giang, Hau Giang, Soc Trang to take preventive measures against saltwater intrusion, which could reach its peak between March 10 and 15 and cause a shortage of fresh water in the region. -- The Ho Chi Minh City administration has approved a scheme on developing the citys pharmaceutical industry until 2030, according to which the southern metropolis is set to build a 300ha pharmaceutical industrial park in the 2025-30 period, the municipal health authority confirmed on Friday. -- A group of scientists in Vietnam recently discovered a number of gene mutations that may increase the risk of autism spectrum disorder among children. Business -- Vietnam saw its fishery exports to Australia in the first two months of the year up 33 percent year on year. The rise was attributed to local exporters making the most of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and rebounding demand of the Australian market for Vietnamese fishery products, said the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers. World News -- Reuters cited the United Nations as saying on Friday that nearly 3,000 pregnant women in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, risk being cut off from essential healthcare if the current gang war-driven paralysis of the city continues. -- Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest fell 30 percent in February from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday, as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government worked toward a pledge to end illegal deforestation by 2030, Reuters reported. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! James Brennand leaves the courtroom after his lawyers presented evidence in his hearing to change venues. Brennand is charged with aggravated assault in the 2022 shooting of teenager Erik Cantu when he was on duty as an SAPD officer. Jessica Phelps/San Antonio Express News Defense attorney, Jason Goss speaks with is clients, James Brennand after a change of venue hearing in his case. Brennand is charged with aggravated assault in the 2022 shooting of teenager Erik Cantu when he was on duty as an SAPD officer. Jessica Phelps/San Antonio Express News Attorney Jason Goss, during a court hearing, shows TV footage of Police Chief William McManus discussing then-SAPD Officer James Brennand, who is charged with aggravated assault and deadly conduct in the 2022 shooting of teenager Erik Cantu. Goss argued that McManus' negative comments about Brennand and adverse media coverage in general make it necessary to move the former officer's trial out of Bexar County. Jessica Phelps/San Antonio Express News Erik Cantu was discharged from University Hospital in November 2022. He had been treated there since he was shot by then-SAPD Officer James Brennand on Oct. 2, 2022. Courtesy of the Cantu family Prosecuter Daryl Harris, right, gives evidence to defense attorney Patrick Ballantyne during a court hearing in the case of former SAPD officer James Brennand. Brennand is charged with aggravated assault in the 2022 shooting of teenager Erik Cantu. Brennand's lawyers want his trial moved out of Bexar County. Jessica Phelps/San Antonio Express News Attorneys for a fired San Antonio police officer under indictment for shooting and critically injuring 17-year-old Erik Cantu said the officer performed CPR on the teenager potentially saving his life. Jason Goss, an attorney for former San Antonio Police Department officer James Brennand, said during a court hearing that media coverage of the case has largely overlooked Brennands efforts to help Cantu, while overemphasizing other aspects of the incident. Reporting on the case also has included inaccurate statements by high-ranking law enforcement officials, Goss said. Brennands defense team wants his trial moved out of Bexar County, arguing that the scope and tenor of news coverage have tainted the jury pool. Prosecutors opposed the motion. Judge Joel Perez said he would review the evidence and make a ruling at a later date. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Brennand is charged with aggravated assault by a public servant and deadly conduct, both felonies. At the time that officer Brennand was speaking to Mr. Cantu, he was giving him lifesaving resuscitation, Goss said in court Thursday in arguing for a change of venue. He was trying to save his life, which he ended up contributing to the fact that Mr. Cantu is still here. But none of that stuff is mentioned in news coverage. Local law enforcement officials are selectively putting stuff in the media that Mr. Brennand is cold and hes callous, Goss said. Chief (William) McManus was everywhere, giving interviews, saying James Brennand was not justified in shooting Cantu. Its not just that the media coverage is pervasive, but its also the nature of the public narrative, Patrick Ballantyne, another member of the former officers defense team, said during Thursdays hearing. And that narrative assumes that James Brennand had no possible justification for exercising deadly force on that night. It presumed that Erick Cantu was a victim of some senseless police violence and brutality. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Brennands attorneys presented the judge with a binder of more than 140 news articles. Daryl Harris, head of the District Attorneys Civil Rights Division, argued that there are more than 1 million potential jurors in Bexar County to choose from. He presented the court with affidavits from over 60 potential jurors, all of whom said they had no knowledge of the case. Harris said other high-profile defendants including the man who shot and killed SAPD Detective Benjamin Marconi in front of police headquarters on Nov. 20, 2016 have stood trial in Bexar County despite intense media coverage. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The change-of-venue hearing was the latest twist in Brennands legal saga. He was arrested on Oct. 11, 2022, nine days after the shooting of Cantu. Cantu was sitting in a maroon BMW, eating a hamburger outside a McDonalds restaurant on the North Side, when Brennand, a probationary officer with seven months on the job, approached him. On body camera video, Brennand can be heard telling dispatchers that he recognized the BMW as a stolen vehicle whose driver previously had eluded him. Brennand approached the car with his gun drawn, opened the drivers side door and told a seemingly stunned Cantu, Get out of the car! He did not identify himself as a police officer. Cantu drove in reverse for several feet, hitting Brennands leg with the open car door. The teenager then sped toward the exit of the parking lot. Brennand fired at least 10 shots at the car, seriously injuring Cantu. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Cantu stopped his car about a block away. Brennand caught up with him and performed CPR as he waited for paramedics to arrive, his attorneys said. Cantu was rushed to University Hospital, where he spent several weeks on a ventilator. An affidavit supporting Brennands arrest said the officer was clearly not in danger of death or serious bodily injury when he shot Cantu. McManus fired Brennand, alleging that his actions violated department tactics, training and procedures. Upon release following the completion of his sentence for property theft, a Chinese citizen has been taken into custody in northern Vietnam for another case involving the same crime. On Friday morning, police from Phu Yen Province, south-central Vietnam, temporarily arrested Huang LinZhong, 48, hailing from Hunan Province in China, to facilitate the trial of his second case. The defendants arrest took place at Vinh Quang Prison in Vinh Phuc Province, northern Vietnam, on the same day he was scheduled to be released after serving his nine-month prison sentence for committing property theft in Thua Thien-Hue Province, located in the central region. According to the indictment by the Peoples Procuracy of Phu Yen Province, Huang entered Vietnam through Huu Nghi international border gate in Lang Son Province in the northern area on May 17, 2023. On June 4, 2023, he arrived in Phu Yen Province and visited a jewelry store in Tuy Hoa City. While sales staff was distracted, he secretly pocketed a gold necklace weighing 5.5535 taels, worth nearly VND44 million (US$1,784). Afterward, Huang went north and sold the stolen necklace to a gold shop for VND16 million ($650). On June 7, 2023, he was apprehended for committing another jewelry theft in Hue City, Thua Thien-Hue Province, for which he received a nine-month prison sentence. Records show that in 2016, Huang was sentenced to one year and one month in prison by the Peoples Court of Yuanjiang County in Yunnan Province, China, also for property theft. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Police in Da Nang City, central Vietnam confirmed on Friday evening that they have apprehended Im Ju Seob of South Korean nationality, who is wanted by Interpol with a red notice in connection with running an illegal gambling website. A red notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. The officers teamed up with the Ministry of Public Security to arrest the 53-year-old suspect and hand him over to South Korean authorities for further steps. He previously entered Vietnam through Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City and stayed in the southern metropolis for a while, before moving to Da Nang and hiding there since last month. The Da Nang police managed to track him down to a hotel located in Ngu Hanh Son District. According to the forces, Im Ju Seob was accused by South Korean authorities of operating an illegal gambling website that was in service from early 2017 to late 2019, with its server located in the Philippines. The website attracted a huge number of online gamblers who bet a combined amount of over 44.3 billion won (US$33.5 million) via various bank accounts. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A 58-year-old South Korean director of a company in Thua Thien-Hue Province, central Vietnam has been detained for allegedly offering nearly 18,000 smuggled clothing sets in the local market, the provincial police agency confirmed on Friday. The arrested director of Takson Hue Company Limited was identified as Kang Myung Gyu, residing in the provinces Huong Thuy Town. The police agency also banned Kangs interpreter Vu Thi Nguyet and his subordinate Nguyen Ngoc Hiep from leaving their residences for their alleged involvement in the case. According to findings from the police, Takson Hue opened a customs declaration to import fabrics and clothing materials into Vietnam for contract manufacturing. The finished products would be shipped back to their overseas partner. However, Kang colluded with Nguyet and Hiep to put the said amount of clothing sets up for sale in the Vietnamese market without making any customs declaration. Police officers already confiscated these clothing sets and are working out total damages in this smuggling case. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! SBS has bought Scottish crime reboot Rebus, based on Ian Rankins novels. Set in Edinburgh, the series stars -no relation- Richard Rankin (Outlander) as a young John Rebus as a detective sergeant, who is drawn into a violent criminal conflict that turns personal when his brother Michael, a former soldier, crosses the line into criminality. The original Rebus aired between 2000 and 2007. The new series, written by Gregory Burke, shot in Glasgow and Edinburgh last year. Also featuring are Lucie Shorthouse (Line of Duty, Ten Percent), Brian Ferguson (The Ipcress File, Spanish Princess), Amy Manson (The Nevers, The Diplomat) and Neshla Caplan (The Rig, Scot Squad). Niall MacCormick (Complicit, The Victim, Wallander) and Fiona Walton (Shetland, Annika) are directing the six-part show, produced by Angela Murray. Source: Deadline There's a renewed urgency to the delivery of food to Gaza but there are still struggles for the aid to keep pace with the escalating humanitarian catastrophe inside the besieged enclave. We joined the small kingdom of Jordan's air force crew coordinating the multi-nation coalition to get aid to the thousands of Gazans cut off in the north of the Strip. Around 10 planes - all variations of C-130s - spent the day delivering several tonnes of food which were dropped from the air at more than a dozen different locations in north Gaza. The fleet of planes, led by Jordan, included those from Egypt, Belgium and Holland, as well as the US. Follow latest: Pictures of aid drop over Gaza show scale of devastation The aid pallets contained essential food supplies including flour, rice, tins of fish and baby formula, as well as some water supplies. They were mostly in 300kg packages able to feed about 100 people. All involved know that's not nearly enough, but it will provide critical help to families who are in what the UN and US describe as a catastrophic humanitarian situation. For the first time though, the Jordanians will be dropping some of the aid using British-provided SC-15 parachutes, which can carry much heavier loads of up to 1,000kg - or one tonne of food. The whole operation is a feat of coordination involving several countries, planes and loads, as well as liaising with Israeli authorities. The C-130 Hercules aircraft are large carriers which have a long military history. According to Lockheed Martin: "Since its first flight in 1954, the Hercules has been everywhere and done just about anything. "Aircrews have flown it to both poles, landed or airdropped military supplies to hot spots from Vietnam to Afghanistan and performed countless relief operations around the globe." Military analysts say they're very much favoured by military all over the world with more than 70 countries having them in their fleet. Story continues They're the prime transport for airdropping troops and equipment into hostile areas and have "the longest, continuous military aircraft production run in history and one of the top three longest, continuous aircraft production lines of any type". The Sky crew was on one of two planes being operated by the Jordanian air force on Saturday's operation. 'Bleak horizon of flattened homes' One airman told us on condition of anonymity, because he was not authorised to talk to the media, of their pride in his country leading the airdrop effort to help hungry Palestinians. Jordan is home to the highest number of Palestinians in the world living outside of the territories, and so feels a special bond with what's going on in Gaza. The Jordanian Queen, Rania, is of Palestinian origin. The journey from Amman's King Abdullah airbase to the north of Gaza took about an hour and a half to reach the Gaza coastline. We saw a blackened landscape from the C-130 portholes. You could pick out a bleak horizon of flattened homes and those still upright appeared roofless. 'Within seconds it was all over' The Hercules circled and turned back on itself to get into position. The air crew hastily checked and rechecked the parachute ties to ensure they were primed and ready for opening. Each pallet had a parachute strapped to the top and static lines pinned to the aircraft so as soon as the order was given, the pallets would roll towards the plane's hatch at the rear and the lines would pull open the parachutes as each pallet exited. We hovered over the north of Gaza briefly, then the thumbs up was given. The eight pallets went out in two batches. Within seconds, it was all over and the hatch closed. Hours of preparations, and multinational co-ordination had preceded the drop. It's hoped a few hundred people may be able to benefit from our aid delivery. On the ground, our Sky crew was waiting with thousands of desperate people as the handful of planes began spitting out their cargo at the allocated spots. Read more: West has lost patience with Israel over Gaza aid UK involved in US port plans for Gaza 'from the start' Biden: Ceasefire before Ramadan 'looking tough' 'Difference between living and dying' As our crew filmed, there was a sudden surge as the crowd ran towards the parachutes floating down on the horizon. Then more and more from different planes. By the time the pallets had hit terra firma, the crowds were almost wild with desperation. The constant bombing; the constant fear; the constant hunger has stripped out their basic shared humanity. Our cameraman picked out at least one man diving headlong into the crowd scrambling to snatch whatever food he could in a sea of hungry people. It could make the difference between living and dying over the next few days. As our aircraft pulled away and swung back towards Amman, the crew on board sat sombrely, reflecting on what they'd just witnessed. They'd done all that they could, and not a single person heading back felt it was anything near enough. It took Cole Brauer a bit more than 80 days to work her way around the world, but the New York native has done it. On Thursday, the 29-year-old sailor become the first American woman to circumnavigate the globe alone and nonstop, The Washington Post reported. Her voyage began on October 29, and after traversing some 30,000 miles, she returned back to the Spanish port city of A Coruna after 130 days. More from Robb Report Amazing finish!!!! So stoked! Brauer wrote on Instagram. Thank you to everyone that came together and made this process possible. Brauers trip, aboard her Class40 monohull First Light, was part of the Global Solo Challenge, in which she finished second. (More than half of the 16 entrantsall men besides Brauer, and all older than herhad to drop out before completing the challenge, the race organizer said.) Throughout the journey, she shared updates via social media, growing her following from fewer than 100,000 people to almost half a million, the Post noted. Over the four months, she traveled through the worlds three great capesAfricas Cape of Good Hope, Australias Cape Leeuwin, and South Americas Cape Hornplus Point Nemo, a part of the Pacific Ocean where the closest humans are usually those orbiting in the International Space Station. In all, fewer than 200 people have done what Brauer just did. The first person to circumnavigate the globe without stopping was Brit Robin Knox-Johnston in 1969, according to International Association of Cape Horners data cited by The Washington Post. The first woman was Australian Kay Cottee in 1988. Brauer is now just the 18th woman to have accomplished the feat. Story continues I think that it takes a lot of strength to actually push and to strive into this industry, and I really want women to understand that its possible, Brauer told NBC about the traditionally male-dominated field of sailing. It would be amazing if there was just one other girl that saw me and said, Oh, I can do that, too. Given what she just accomplished, its a likely bet that more than just one other girl is looking at Brauer and wondering whether they might be the next one to set a sailing record. And Brauer herself might still have more to come. Best of Robb Report Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Harry Potter actress Miriam Margolyes has some thoughts about the people who are still superfans of the famous film franchise. During an interview with New Zealands 1News network, Margolyes was asked how Harry Potter and Blackadder fans approach her differently when they see her in public. She explained that fans of the British sitcom that starred Rowan Atkinson usually ask her to say, Wicked child. But instead of answering the question about Harry Potter, she decided to share how she feels about the fandom. More from The Hollywood Reporter I worry about Harry Potter fans because they should be over that by now, Margolyes said. It was 25 years ago, and its for children, clarifying, I think its for children. The actress portrayed Professor Pomona Sprout in the film franchise. Her character taught herbology and was the head of the Hufflepuff House. While speaking with the host, Margolyes seemed confused about the fact that those who grew up with the books and movies are still so engrossed in the Wizarding World, despite being adults at this point. They get stuck in it, she explained. I do Cameos, and people say, Were having a Harry Potter-themed wedding, and I think, Gosh, whats their first night of fun going to be? I cant even think about it. No. She did note, Harry Potter is wonderful. Im very grateful to it, but doubled down on her original thought, which is that its over. It could be argued that Harry Potter is, in fact, not over, considering Max is currently developing a seven-season series based on the books by controversial author J.K. Rowling, who has received criticism for her anti-trans comments over the years. Margolyes previously made headlines in September 2023 for accusing her Little Shop of Horrors co-star Steve Martin of horrid behavior on set. In the film, theres a scene in which Martins Orin Scrivello hits Margolyes dental nurse. In her memoir, she claimed he actually hit her repeatedly while they shot the scene. Story continues Martin denied her accusations in a statement at the time and noted that he was surprised that she even wrote that because there was never any physical contact between them. My memory is that we had a good communication as professional actors, the statement read. But when it is implied that I harmed her or was in some way careless about doing the stunts, I have to object. I remember taking EXTREME caution regarding the fake punch the same caution I would use with any similar scene. Best of The Hollywood Reporter A 1912 American LaFrance Hook & Ladder used by the Comfort Volunteer Fire Company and now on display at the San Antonio Fire Museum, 801 E. Houston. A photo at the museum appears to show William A. Menger and his family. Marvin Pfeiffer/San Antonio Express-News I am with the San Antonio Fire Museum and found a picture we think is of William Menger. The picture was in a frame built with square nails. Since he was involved with the founding of the fire department, we think it is likely him and his family. What do you think? Any help is appreciated. Lee Zalesky An unidentified, undated photograph in the collection of the San Antonio Fire Museum may depict William A. Menger, a fire department pioneer, and his family. San Antonio Fire Museum William Achatius Mengers name rarely appears without the word pioneer, whether hes being recognized for founding one of the citys first breweries as well as the hotel that still bears his name, or for purchasing the citys first steam engine for an early volunteer fire company. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Menger (1827-71) arrived in 1847 in San Antonio at age 20. Born in Germany, he had acquired coopers skills there, making wooden barrels and casks. In San Antonio, he started his business career with a cooperage or barrel factory, saving up to buy a piece of property near the Alamo. William A. Menger, who immigrated from his native Germany at the age of 20, became one of San Antonios leading residents, founding a brewery and a hotel and serving as an alderman and chief of a volunteer fire company. UTSA Special Collections Advertisement Article continues below this ad There, in 1855, he started the Western Brewery, known for its high-quality but unusually strong beer, sold wholesale all over Texas and in the adjacent tavern. With his wife, Mary, an experienced boarding-house keeper, he followed up in 1859 by opening a hotel next door a fine hostelry that boasted amenities and service that had previously been rare or nonexistent in Central Texas, Docia Schultz Williams says in The History and Mystery of the Menger Hotel. The two-story, 50-room hotel, with its restaurant and livery stables, attracted military officers, cattlemen, merchants and other visitors to San Antonio, becoming so popular that a 40-room addition soon was built. The Menger Hotel on Alamo Plaza, shown here in 1877, was founded in 1859 by William and Mary Menger, both German immigrants. The elegant hotel, with its fine decor, restaurant and livery stables, was highly successful, necessitating an annex to be built not long after opening. UTSA Special Collections William Menger was one of San Antonios leading residents before the Civil War, Fred Mosebach says in a historical article in the San Antonio Express, Aug. 25, 1935. Serving as a city alderman similar to a city council member between 1857 and 1859, he also took a business owners interest in public safety, becoming a captain in San Antonios volunteer fire department and eventually chief of Alamo Fire Company No. 2, which protected the area around his valuable properties. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Coming home from a European trip to buy furniture for the hotel, Schultz says, the Mengers stopped in New York, where they saw a fire put out with the help of a steam engine pumping water. William Menger decided that San Antonio should have one, too. In 1868, he found out where the factory was located and purchased a Silsby rotary engine (that) cost him $4,000, Schultz says, at a time when the city had little money for such extras. Transported by ship and oxcart, the engine was welcomed with a brass band in front of the Menger Hotel, where a crowd was offered refreshments before joining a parade that showed off the marvelous new engine through city streets to Main Plaza. Menger also was known for supporting Santa Rosa Infirmary, the citys first hospital, and for keeping the U.S. Army in San Antonio after the Civil War. He died March 18, 1871, at 44 of some unidentified malady. He was buried in City Cemetery No. 1; the mile-long funeral procession included the mayor, aldermen and fellow firefighters. In his Express obituary, March 21, 1871, Menger was described as one of San Antonios most valued and enterprising citizens. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Menger Hotel, founded in 1859 by Mary and William A. Menger, was the areas first elegant hotel, boasting fine food overseen by Mary Menger and an excellent livery stable, among other amenities. UTSA Special Collections Mary Menger and her elder son, 19-year-old Louis William known as L. William or eventually just William Menger ran the hotel for another 10 years before selling it to J.H. Kampmann, who had built the original hotel. As a well-to-do family of importance to the community, the Mengers were frequently photographed. While the photo in the San Antonio Fire Museum shows some fading and damage, the man in the image looks similar to other pictures of William A. Menger held by University of Texas at San Antonios Special Collections that show him with straight dark hair in a deep side part, a neatly trimmed chinstrap beard, a longish nose and thin lips. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The woman could be his wife, Mary, who wore her dark hair pulled back from a center part; and the young man could be Louis William, who resembled his father. Both of these photos are credited to Henry A. Doerr. On the right is William A. Menger in his uniform as chief of the Alamo Fire Company No. 2. In the other photo, Louis William Menger, left, poses for an undated photograph with his younger siblings Barbara, born in 1860, and Gustav, born in 1857. All were children of Mary and William A. Menger. UTSA Special Collections Both of these photos are credited to Henry A. Doerr. At the top is William A. Menger in his uniform as chief of the Alamo Fire Company No. 2. In the other photo, Louis William Menger, left, poses for an undated photograph with his younger siblings Barbara, born in 1860, and Gustav, born in 1857. All were children of Mary and William A. Menger. UTSA Special Collections A picture of William A. Menger in his firefighters uniform as well as one of Louis William with younger siblings Barbara (born in 1860) and Gustav (born 1857) were taken by Henry A. Doerr (covered here Dec. 9, 2017), who established a studio of his own here around 1867. I would say these two were taken about that time, said Tom Shelton, UTSA Special Collections photo curator. According to Schultz, William A. Menger was 5 feet tall, which might be the reason why images usually depict him sitting down or alone. Welcome Guest! You are here: Home Education & Career Karnataka SSLC 2024 Admit Card download now available The Karnataka SSLC 2024 will be held from March 25 to April 06, 2024, according to Karnataka Class 10 Time Table 2024. Read More Saturday March 9, 2024 5:24 PM , ummid.com News Network Karnataka SSLC 2024: The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board has released on its official website 'kseab.karnataka.gov.in' the Admit Card, also known as Hall Ticket, of the candidates who have registered for the Karnataka SSLC 2024 (Karnataka Class 10) to be held this year. The Karnataka SSLC 2024 will be held from March 25 to April 06, 2024, according to Karnataka Class 10 Time Table 2024. Steps to download Karnataka SSLC 2024 Hall Tickets 1. Click here to go to official website: kseab.karnataka.gov.in 2. Click on the link "SSLC Hall Ticket Download" on link given on the home page. 3. Enter User Name and Password to login. 4. Click on the appropriate link to download and print the Hall Ticket Students who have registered for the KSEAB Class 10 exam 2024 should note that respective schools will download the admit card and the concerned staff will handover the hall ticket to students. Students should once again note that they will be required to collect their SSLC admit card from their respective schools. After collecting the hall ticket, students should check all the details, including name and photo, are correctly printed. In case of any error, students must immediately contact school principal. Karnataka SSLC 2024 Time Table Karnataka SSLC 2024 exam will start on March 25 and continue till April 06, 2024, as per the Karnataka SSLC Class 10 time table released on the board's official website kseab.karnataka.gov.in. As per the time table and date sheet released by the Karnataka Education Department, SSLC Class X 2024 exam will begin on Monday March 25, 2024 with First language (Kannada, Telugu, Marathi, Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, English, Sanskrit) as the first paper. Maths, Science papers date The all important Mathematics paper will be held on April 02, Science paper on March 30, and Social Science on March 27, 2024. The 2024 Karnataka SSLC Class 10 exam will end with English and Kannada paper on April 06, 2024. Students who have registered for the Karnataka SSLC Class 10 exam 2024 should note that the time table released now is final. Karnataka SSLC Result 2023 In 2023, Karnataka SSLC exam was held from March 31 to April 15, 2023. The Karnataka SSLC Result 2023 was declared on May 08, 2023. The overall pass percentage in 2023 was 83.89% with over 61,000 students securing A+ grade (90 to 100%) and 1,47,634 students passing with A grade (80 to 89%). The Karnataka Education board was established in 1966. It's headquartered at Bangalore, India. The board carries out the several activities that include changes in the programmes of study, prescribing syllabus, conducting examinations, granting recognition to schools and providing direction, support and leadership for all secondary educational institutions under its jurisdiction. Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. Welcome Guest! You are here: Home Views & Analysis National Education Policy Against Scientific Temperament In New Education Policy 2020, there is a focus on Indian Knowledge Systems. This basically means promotion of faith based understanding of knowledge related to material and social sciences. Read More Saturday March 9, 2024 2:47 PM , Ram Puniyani With the Hindu Nationalist BJP in the saddle of power from the last one decade there has been a deliberate promotion of a pattern of policy making in education, which is based more on faith and glorification of those aspects of the past which are not verified by reason. As such, the Indian past has seen a good development of rational thought in the past. Charvak contributed to rational philosophy while Charat and Aryabhat contributed to medicine and astronomy in a very significant way. What is glorified today are aspects like plastic surgery being used to plant elephants' heads on Lord Ganesha or Karna being born from the ear being the example of genetic science. Not to be left behind Aviation technology is also attributed to ancient glorious past when Pushpak Viman and even interplanetary travel prevailed. Such claims from mythology being true abound. Such things are not only being taught in the schools but they are also determining the allocation of funds for science and technology research. We saw a huge funding being coordinated by IIT Delhi for research into Panchgavya. This is a mixture of five products from Cow: milk, curd, ghee (clarified butter), urine and dung. This is supposed to be a panacea for treatment of various diseases. The Cow urine is being promoted separately as being of medicinal use. Even before this Government came to power in 2014, its parent organization RSS had floated many organizations to promote the faith based knowledge, through school education. One Dinanath Batra, has been heading the RSS outfits, Shiksha Bachao Abhiyan Samiti and RSS-affiliated Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas (SSUN) for many decades. His nine books have been translated into Gujarati and introduced in 42000 schools in Gujarat. The sampling of Batras books gives a good idea of what is being implemented currently. A quote from one of the sets of books, Tejonmaya Bharat, (Radiant Bharat) tells us about one Dr Balkrishna Ganpat Matapurkar whose research has been inspired by the Mahabharata. As per him from Gandharis womb a huge mass of flesh came out. (Rishi) Dwaipayan Vyas was called. He observed this hard mass of flesh and then he preserved it in a cold tank with specific medicines. He then divided the mass of flesh into 100 parts and kept them separately in 100 tanks full of ghee for two years. After two years, 100 Kauravas were born of it. On reading this, he (Matapurkar) realized that stem cell technology was part of our heritage. (Page 92-93) As per him Indian rishis (sage) using their yoga vidya would attain divya drishti (divine vision). There is no doubt that the invention of television goes back to this In Mahabharata, Sanjaya sitting inside a palace in Hastinapur and using his divya shakti (divine power) would give a live telecast of the battle of Mahabharata to the blind Dhritarashtra. (Page 64) What we know today as the motorcar existed during the Vedic period. It was called anashva rath. Usually a rath (chariot) is pulled by horses but an anashva rath means the one that runs without horses or yantra-rath, which is today a motorcar. The Rig Veda refers to this. (Page 60) RSS has also set up a consultative body called Bharatiya Shiksha Niti Ayog (BSNA), whose policies are guiding Modis government to correct or Indianize the national education system. Now organisations like the Indian Council of Historical Research, National Council for Education, Research and Training amongst others, have got heads whose qualification is not excellence in their disciplines but their proximity to ideology of the ruling dispensation. We recall one Y.Sudarshan who was appointed as Chief of ICHR. He was out to prove the Historicity of our great mythological epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata. With this Government in saddle all this bypassing of rational thinking and scientific methods has become the norm. This Government has been promoting Baba Ramdev in a big way. We recall how his Coronil, claiming to be a treatment for Covid was promoted. The Supreme Court has recently given a verdict whereby Ramdev has been warned not to advertise irrational products and misleading ads about the modern system of Medicine. Indian Science Congress has from last many years been accepting papers which have no scientific basis and are based on mythology. Pained by this all prominent scientists came together and issued a statement calling upon the Government to stop the undermining of scientific methods and thinking. They point out that this attitude has been particularly evident in the government's promotion of unverified or unscientific ideas, exaggeration of ancient Indian knowledge, and certain responses during the COVID-19 pandemic. And further the statement emphasizes the need for a united front among scientists, academics, and policymakers to combat the erosion of scientific integrity and promote rational, evidence-based discourse in the country. While our Constitution mandates the promotion of scientific temper, the present regime in matters of policy making is bypassing the rational approach not only in science research and education but also in matters related to social policies. In New Education Policy 2020, there is a focus on Indian Knowledge Systems. This basically means promotion of faith based understanding of knowledge related to material and social sciences. Those political streams which support the movement for social change towards equality try to adopt rational and scientific approach to knowledge and social issues, the major examples being Gautam Buddha, Bhagat Singh, Ambedkar and Nehru in particular. Throughout the Indian history those who want to impose the status quo of social relations, those who want to maintain the relations of inequality generally resort to faith based knowledge, take mythology as the gospel truth and impose it on the society. The communal fundamental streams accept the technology with great avidity, while they equally dislike the rational thinking and scientific spirit. Our Constitution emerged from the anti-colonial struggle; looked at the future policies as guiding light for social change, so the Constitution had incorporated promotion of scientific spirit as an inherent part. Todays regime is opposed to the equality of castes, genders and religion. No wonder it bypasses this core spirit of the Indian Constitution. The welcome statement of these outstanding scientists is a timely urge to restore our path of social and science policy, founded on reason, on scientific temper. Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. CANBERRA Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a working session with leaders and members of the Vietnamese Business Association in Australia (VBAA) in Canberra on March 9 morning as part of his official visit to Australia. The VBAA, established in 2010, has about 500 members, including some 100 in Viet Nam. VBAA Chairman Tran Ba Phuc and other members expressed their delight that the homelands stature has been increasingly promoted and the two countries have elevated their ties to the highest level comprehensive strategic partnership, which is a favourable condition for Vietnamese firms to do business in Australia and foster bilateral trade and investment. Perceiving that opportunities are substantial after the upgrade of the bilateral relations, they put forth some proposals related to the facilitation of green transition, renewable energy, startups, innovation, foreign investment attraction, the utilisation of wisdom of Vietnamese students in Australia, the attraction of Australian tourists, labour cooperation, and exports to Australia. Appreciating the opinions, PM Chinh highly valued the VBAAs recent business achievements, which, he said, have contributed to economic development in both countries and helped connect Vietnamese firms in Australia. He noted that during his visit, Australian leaders spoke highly of the Vietnamese community here, and that he proposed the Australian side consider recognising the 350,000 Vietnamese people in the country as an ethnic minority group. The PM highlighted the flourishing economic, trade, and investment ties, asking the VBAA and the Vietnamese businesses and entrepreneurs in Australia to bring into play their achievements and maximise the freshly established comprehensive strategic partnership to further develop bilateral economic links. He called on the VBAA to continue playing its core role in connecting and supporting Vietnamese businesses and entrepreneurs while helping boost bilateral trade and investment partnerships. It should also connect with Vietnamese business associations in the homeland and other countries, especially the US, Japan, and European nations. The Government leader requested the VBAA, businesses, and entrepreneurs increase assistance for the Vietnamese community, especially vulnerably persons and those newly arriving in Australia, actively help persuade the Australian side to recognise the Vietnamese community as an ethnic minority group, promote the maintenance and learning of the Vietnamese language, uphold and popularise the Vietnamese culture, and step up cultural exchanges and tourism between the two countries. He also asked the VBAA and Vietnamese businesses in Australia to keep promoting Australias cooperation and investment in the priority fields of the Southeast Asian nation like green economy, digital economy, exploitation and deep processing of essential minerals, labour, and education - training. He affirmed that businesses rights and legitimate interests are always protected on the basis of law and under the motto of harmonising interests, sharing risks. PM Chinh expressed his belief that the VBAA and Vietnamese businesses and entrepreneurs in Australia as well as around the world will develop strongly, practically help with the development of the Vietnamese community, and secure a growing stature, thereby contributing to the development of the host country, the bilateral relations, and the homeland. VNS A LAT Over 100 artists will attend the Viet Nam Classical Music Festival (VCMF) in a Lat in the Central Highland province of Lam ong from March 10 to 17. The festival-goers will be treated to musical performances by Vietnamese and international artists along with music workshops and a painting exhibition. A live concert performed by musicians from the Ha Noi and a Lat brass communities will kick off the festival on March 10 at Lam ong Youth Centre from 10am to 11am. At the same day of the festival, a painting exhibition by late artist Nguyen Tu Nghiem will open at Ana Mandara Villas Dalat Resort & Spa displaying a collection of 12 zodiac signs. This is the first time that the city dwellers of a Lat will have chance to enjoy these paintings. Nghiem (1922-2016) is considered to be one of the four most influential painters in 20th-century Viet Nam. He was renowned for his experimentation with new materials in lacquer painting and his success with oil paintings, pastels, and watercolours. Pianist Tran Le Bao Quyen and violinist Tran Le Quang Tien will perform as a part of the exhibition opening. A talk with exhibition curator Nguyen Nhu Huy will take place on March 13. Artists from the Kosmos Opera group will perform excerpts from Mozart's most popular opera The Magic Flute on the evening of the festival's opening day. It promises to be a remarkable highlight for the event series. VCMF will gather Vietnamese and international artists and music troupes to perform together at the festival, including the Song Hong Ensemble, Schubert in a Mug, and pianists Nguyen uc Anh, Taiwan's Liao Hsin-Chiao and German Tim Allhoff. The Song Hong Ensemble will perform on March 11 and feature Vietnamese popular trio violinist Pham Truong Son, cellist ao Tuyet Trinh and pianist Pham Quynh Trang. The ensemble will present colourful classical music pieces with exquisite performing techniques. Pianist and composer Allhoff will conduct a workshop on the topics of art and creativity, promising to bring valuable insights to participants. The workshop will be held on March 16 from 3pm-4pm. Other workshops will be conducted by experts and musicians to introduce and discuss the local and international background of classical music. The String Ensemble Workshop & Masterclass will offer participants an opportunity to perform at the end of the course and showcase their new skills alongside established artists. A grand final concert will be performed by the participating artists along with artists from the Viet Nam National Symphony Orchestra and Viet Nam Youth Symphony Orchestra under the baton of conductor Phan o Phuc at a Lat Opera House. a Lat was recognised as a UNESCO Creative Music City last October. The VCMF organisation in a Lat will promote the city's actions to preserve and develop different music genres. The city commits to fulfilling its responsibilities when joining the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, according to ang Quang Tu, chairman of the city People's Committee. VNS HA LONG Price of some tourism services at the UNESCO-recognised World Heritage Ha Long Bay will increase from next month. From April 1, the Tuan Chau International Passenger Port and the Ha Long International Passenger Port in Quang Ninh Province will increase prices of various services, including tickets for visitors and docking fees for boats. Head of the Association of Ha Long Tourism Boats Tran Van Hong said that on March 3, the association, together with boats owners, had a meeting with representatives of the two ports regarding the price increase. According to him, several services and fees at these two ports have risen significantly, some services seeing a rise of over 30 per cent. This not only will impact our businesses but also affect the destination, he said. According to the announcements made by the management boards of both ports, the passenger entrance fees have increased from VN40,000 to VN60,000 per person per one way. Depending on the type of boats, for tourist sightseeing boats with contracts for passenger pick-up and drop-off at the ports, the service fees per trip have increased by approximately VN50,000. A tour boat owner said that under his current contract with the Tuan Chau International Passenger Port, his company has been required to pay a service fee of VN100,000 per trip. However, starting from April 1, his company will have to pay VN150,000. Additionally, the fees for security and public lighting have increased from VN150,000 to VN200,000 per boat per month. In particular, the boat docking fees have increased from VN6,300 to VN9,000 per square metre of water surface per month. With this announced increase, each boat will have to pay an additional amount ranging from approximately VN500,000 to over VN1 million per month. Therefore, with the new price announced recently by the Tuan Chau International Passenger Port and the Ha Long International Passenger Port, from April 1, the monthly fee and service for a boat will be several million ong higher than the current rates. Head of the Association of Ha Long Tourism Boats Hong said that the price increasing will create a burden for travel companies and boat owners. However, they are not willing to increase ticket prices or tour prices because it may affect to their competitiveness with other tourist destinations in the region, especially in the neighbouring Lan Ha Bay in Cat Ba, Hai Phong City, he said. The association will send a petition letter to the ports to propose a roadmap for adjusting prices and service fees, with the spirit of cooperation and sharing the difficulties and benefits of all parties, ensuring equity for customers. VNS HCM CITY HCM City has been awarded Asias Best MICE Destination for a fourth year in a row. The award was announced at the 4th annual World MICE Awards gala ceremony held on March 6 in Berlin. The award is a recognition for the continued efforts of the citys tourism sector and demonstrates global confidence in the citys tourism potential, said Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu, deputy director of HCM City Department of Tourism, who received the award at the ceremony. The city is striving to become a leading tourism destination in Asia and promote its image as an open, youthful and livable city by 2030, she said. The department pledges to improve MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions) infrastructure and services to host more international events and attract more visitors. Graham Cooke, Founder of World MICE Awards, said HCM City is a unique destination with a rich history, cultural diversity and a vibrant metropolis. With its vision to become a global tourism hub, HCM City will attract companies and world class brands to develop into a regional and global MICE tourism centre, he said. The World MICE Awards recognise excellence across a spectrum of categories, including destinations, airlines, hotels, event venues, convention centres, and incentive hotels. VNS HA NOI The Military Medical Academy was told on Friday to have a long-term development strategy to become a regional and international medical training, research, application and treatment centre. Minister of National Defence, General Phan Van Giang made the order when he attended a ceremony of the academy to receive the Third-class Fatherland Defence Medal and celebrate the 75th anniversary of the academy's traditional day (March 10, 2024) in Ha Noi. Giang said that in the short term, the academy had to innovate strongly, improve the quality of training and scientific research associated with medical examination and treatment as well as healthcare to become Viet Nam's leading multidisciplinary health-science university on par with advanced universities in the region. "The journey of treating diseases and saving lives, providing health care for officers, soldiers and people is a journey that has no end, he said. The hardships of the medical profession are endless, requiring every doctor and medical staff member of the academy to always make efforts, so their knowledge and virtue must be complete, their behaviour must be cautious, he added. He also said after 75 years of development, the academy had always strived, regardless of hardships and sacrifices, to excellently perform its tasks of protecting, caring for and improving the health of officers, soldiers and people. When entering the period of oi moi (innovation), the academy tackled many difficulties to achieve great strides in training, scientific research, treatment, building the academy into the army's leading medical centre. The academy had researched and successfully performed the first human organ transplants in Viet Nam and then helped the Central Military Hospital No 103 of the Lao People's Democratic Republic successfully to perform the transplants. He assessed that the academy had performed well all three key political tasks, consisting of training high-quality human resources for the army health sector and the domestic health sector; researching and developing medical science and technology; and improving the quality and efficiency of medical treatment and examination. He praised the academy for proactively promoting international cooperation in training and scientific research with countries with advanced and modern medicine, thereby contributing to improving the qualifications and experience of lecturers, doctors and the prestige and position of the academy; establishing a secondary field hospital to participate in the United Nations peacekeeping force in South Sudan as well as participating in the earthquake disaster rescue force in Turkey. Additionally, the academy's officers and medical staff were ready to go into the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic to care for people's health during peak periods of the pandemic. At the event, Lieutenant General Nguyen Xuan Kien, director of the academy, said the academy was established during the fierce period of the resistance war against the French colonialists, teachers and students of the academy had overcome all challenges and hardships to provide examination and treatment for wounded and sick soldiers during the resistance war. During the progress of building and protecting the nation, the academy had applied and developed new and modern techniques to improve the quality of diagnosis and treatment. The academy had always been a pioneering and leading unit in successfully performing the first human organ transplants in Viet Nam. Currently, the academy has 44 affiliated agencies and units, including two hospitals for treatment and clinical practice (Military Hospital No 103, Le Huu Trac National Burn Hospital) and the Military Clinical Embryo Tissue Institute. Notably, the academy is one of the medical facilities that successfully researched and applied many traditional medicine and advanced techniques of world medicine such as endoscopy in diagnosis and treatment, vascular intervention techniques, maintaining and improving organ transplant techniques, in vitro fertilisation, stem cell culture, and burn treatment. VNS A Texas Game Warden made a lucky discovery this week, rescuing a litter of black kittens injured by the flames of the Smokehouse Creek Wildfire. Game Warden Sarah Wennersten was searching through the scorched remains of the biggest wildfire in Texas history when she came across a kitten, the Texas Game Wardens said on social media. Two of its siblings followed close behind. Wennersten followed the trail of kittens and found that one had an injured paw and singed fur from the fire. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The tiny trooper was checked out by the Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team, which determined there were no life-threatening injuries. Named Big Boy by the veterinary team, the kitten and three of his siblings were placed in the teams care for treatment. The owners had a heartwarming reunion with their furry friends on Thursday, but Big Boy will be getting some extra attention for his severe burns at a local veterinarian. The Smokehouse Creek Wildfire was 87 percent contained on Friday, after utility provider Xcel Energy revealed that its equipment may have sparked the massive blaze. Advertisement Article continues below this ad HA NOI The Su That (Truth) National Political Publishing House has released an e-book "Proud and confident under the Party's glorious flag, determined to build a Vietnam more prosperous, powerful, civilised, heroic with a fine and long-lasting culture" by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, available on the website https://sachquocgia.vn. The book features a full article with the same title by the Party leader written to mark the 94th anniversary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam (February 3, 1930 - 2024) Since its publication, the article has received widespread attention and enthusiastic response from Party officials, members and people. It has been credited with igniting a deep sense of pride in the glorious historical tradition of the Party, President Ho Chi Minh, and the heroic Vietnamese nation. It has also reinforced unwavering confidence in the glorious leadership of the Party and in the ongoing efforts toward national renewal and construction, with the ultimate goal of building a prosperous, civilised and happy country. Divided into three parts, the e-book is intended to meet the research needs of officials, Party members and general readers. It is expected to serve as a valuable resource for the Party and mass organisations, agencies, units, and Party committees at all levels in their activities. VNA/VNS CANBERRA Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with leaders and representatives of the Vietnamese Australian Scholars & Experts Association (VASEA) in Canberra on March 9 morning (local time) as part of his official visit to Australia. VASEA was formed in 2023 by gathering Vietnamese intellectual clubs across Australia. These clubs were founded in 2018, shortly after the two nations upgraded their relationship to a strategic partnership. The association aims to leverage the knowledge and experience of its members and the network of connections with Australian scientists and experts to contribute to Viet Nams development, particularly in such emerging fields as digital transformation, green transition, innovation, support for small- and medium-sized enterprises, and workforce training, stated VASEA Co-founder and President Professor Nghiem uc Long from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). VASEA and its members can act as bridges, promoting Australian partners to provide more and better scholarships for Vietnamese students. At the working session, PM Chinh stressed that the framework of the freshly established Vietnam-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership offers favourable conditions for the nations friendship associations to step up cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and contributions to the growth of the bilateral relations. He affirmed that the Party and the State consider overseas Vietnamese an integral part of the Vietnamese community, with a desire for Vietnamese intellectuals and experts abroad to actively apply the expertise and technology acquired internationally to the specific conditions in Viet Nam, promoting science, technology, and innovation and making practical contributions to the countrys development through specific programmes and projects. The Government leader recommended VASEA to maximise the role of Vietnamese scholars and experts in Australia, further connect with Australian research institutions, training facilities and businesses, and cooperate with Vietnamese ministries and sectors to boost cooperation in the areas of science-technology, education-training, economy-trade- investment, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, deep processing of minerals, green transport, and carbon credits. Vietnam also needs support for farmers, agricultural economic development, and climate change response, especially in the Mekong Delta region, he noted. The PM took this occasion to assign the Ministry of Education and Training to work directly with VASEA to promote bilateral engagements in human resource training. He hoped Australia will increase scholarships for Viet Nam in the fields of digital transformation, green transition, circular economy, and sharing economy. PM Chinh tasked the Ministry of Science and Technology with studying the organisation of sci-tech awards honouring overseas Vietnamese, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with developing a project on holding a forum for overseas Vietnamese scholars and experts in Viet Nam. The working session was the PMs final activity in Australia. Following this event, the leader, his spouse, and a high-level Vietnamese delegation will depart Canberra for Auckland for an official visit to New Zealand from March 10 to 11. VNS HA NOI Spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang on March 9 voiced Viet Nams deep concern over the recent tension in the East Sea (internationally known as South China Sea) while responding to the medias question about the China - Philippines tension around Bai Co May (Second Thomas Shoal). Viet Nam is deeply concerned about the recent tension in the East Sea that may affect peace, security, and stability in the waters, she stated. Any activity in the East Sea must adhere to international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); respect countries sovereignty, sovereign right, and jurisdiction established in line with the UNCLOS; not complicate the situation or escalate tensions; guarantee the freedom of navigation and overflight; and not use or threaten to use force, Hang noted. We call on the parties concerned to exercise self-restraint, seriously implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), resolve disputes by peaceful means, and together contribute to the maintenance of peace, stability, and cooperation in the East Sea, the Spokeswoman added. VNS AUCKLAND Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his spouse Le Thi Bich Tran, and a high-ranking delegation of Viet Nam landed at Auckland Airport on March 9 evening (local time), starting an official visit to New Zealand from March 10 to 11 at the invitation of his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon. New Zealand officials welcoming the delegation at the airport included Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee, Chief of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Rod Harris, and Ambassador Designate to Vietnam Caroline Beresford. The delegation was also welcomed by the Vietnamese Ambassador to New Zealand Nguyen Van Trung, staff members of the Vietnamese Embassy, and representatives of Vietnamese people in the country. Over nearly 50 years of diplomatic ties, the two countries relations have been developing unceasingly and were upgraded to a strategic partnership in July 2020. Viet Nam is currently the 14th largest trading partner of New Zealand with bilateral trade reaching $1.3 billion in 2023. As of November 2023, New Zealand had 52 investment projects worth $208.35 million Viet Nam, ranking 39th among 143 countries and territories investing in the country, statistics show. There are about 11,000 Vietnamese people in the South Pacific nation, mainly in Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington. During the visit, PM Chinh is scheduled to hold talks and meetings with senior leaders of New Zealand, attend meetings with heads of associations and leading businesses of the country, engage in working sessions with local scientific, technological, and educational institutions, and meet with the Vietnamese community. The two parties will discuss measures to enhance bilateral cooperation, including traditional areas such as trade, investment, labour, education - training, and agriculture. VNS HCM CITY HCM Citys Department of Tourism has proposed measures to shorten the time needed for the immigration procedures for business class passengers and foreign investors at the city's Tan Son Nhat International Airport. According to the department, international organisations, tourism businesses and foreign investors often complain they face difficulties and have to spend too much time waiting at the airport, especially in immigration procedures areas. To improve the performance of the airports immigration counters, the department has asked for a separate line for business class passengers and foreign investors. It also proposed to offer a priority service at the counters for passengers who pay an extra fee. Last August, automatic immigration gates opened at the airport, helping save time for tourists. However, the citys tourism authority still receives much feedback from tourists about having to queue for hours to complete the immigration procedures. To improve the image and the quality of passenger service at the airport, it proposed the People's Committee ask the Immigration Department under the Ministry of Public Security and the Southern Airports Authority to consider a pilot mechanism for prioritised immigration procedures for business class passengers. The department also suggested units operate to serve night flights to ensure meeting increased demand. Meanwhile, relevant parties were called on to enhance the use of technology applications in the process of entry, exit, visa issuance at border gates, and boarding procedures, to cut the waiting time for tourists. VNS HCM CITY Cities and provinces across the country are focusing on social housing development as part of a national strategy to meet the growing needs of their residents. Major cities, including Ha Noi and HCM City, are making this a priority under the national programme Investment in building at least one million social housing apartments for low-income people and industrial park workers in the period 2021-30. By 2025, the programme plans to add 428,000 apartments and an additional 634,000 by 2030. Among the localities, Ha Noi and HCM City, with their ever-growing population and limited space, have been at the forefront of this initiative. Vo Nguyen Phong, director of the Ha Noi Department of Construction, said Ha Noi had a housing development plan focused on constructing 1.215 million square metres of social housing by 2025. The plans aims include the development of 63 projects with around 61,900 apartments, and five projects with 5,200 units that have already been completed, according to Phong. However, Ha Noi is facing obstacles in developing social housing, particularly with regard to investment procedures and incentive mechanisms. In addition, HCM City has been investing in various housing projects to accommodate the needs of its residents, particularly workers who are struggling to afford housing. The countrys largest city aims to build 35,000 social housing units with 2.5 million square metres of floor space by 2025. By 2025, around 7,000 apartments with 500,000 square metres will be leased, and 4,500 units with 220,000 square metres will be sold to workers. HCM City plans to develop approximately 15.5 million square metres of floor space for social housing by 2025, and 21.4 million square metres of floor space for commercial housing by 2030. By 2030, an additional 31.9 million square metres of floor space for separate houses for households will be completed. Similarly, HCM City has been facing multiple challenges in developing social housing such as complex investment procedures and hurdles related to land use and land allocation. The city plans to spend about VN3.8 trillion ($160 million) for social housing by 2025, and VN8.6 trillion ($367 million) for social housing by 2030. Statistics of the Ministry of Construction showed that currently 28 provinces have announced 68 projects eligible for loans under a VN120 trillion ($4.8 billion) credit programme. Six housing projects in five localities have been disbursed capital of about VN415 billion ($16.8 million). Notably, more than 8,300ha of land across the country has been planned for social housing. Thus, compared to 2020 (3,359ha), the area of land for social housing increased. Some localities are interested in planning land funds for social housing development such as ong Nai (1,063ha), HCM City (608ha), Long An (577ha), Hai Phong (471ha) and Ha Noi (412ha). Experts have pointed out that there are hurdles for firms investing in social housing related to accessing land, construction investment procedures, credit and preferential policies. Nguyen Van Sinh, deputy minister of construction, said the ministry had been working with cities and provinces, as well as related agencies, to address policy and mechanism issues. Many of these issues had been resolved through the recent amendments to the Land Law and Housing Law passed by the National Assembly, he added. Tran Hong Ha, deputy prime minister, said all localities must review planning, land fund arrangement and administrative procedure reform to promote social housing development. Last year, the Government received the National Assemblys approval for the Law on Housing and the amended Law on Land, along with many related legal documents, which have removed a number of obstacles for social housing for workers. As of 2021, 499 social housing projects have been implemented nationwide, providing more than 411,000 apartments, of which 71 projects have been completed with nearly 40,000 apartments. VNS HA NOI When it comes to promoting gender equality and respect for women's rights in schools, the first thing to do is talk openly about the topic. That was the remark made by Leila Bello, director of La Petite Ecole Hanoi, at the round-table discussion and networking "Women Driving Change as Entrepreneurs and Leaders" by the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Viet Nam on Friday. She said talking openly about gender equality is essential for raising the awareness of girls having the same rights as boys in schools. It is equally possible for a girl to be a classroom leader as for a boy. Another thing to do is to de-foster stereotypes. If teachers put the boys with toy cars, trucks, and airplanes and girls with dolls, makeup, and dresses, they give them the perception of the roles that ought to be performed by boys and girls. "It's up to us to make sure that the toys we're giving the younger generation reflect what we want them to see in the future," said Leila. Betty Pallard, vice-chairwoman of the EuroCham Green Growth Committee and CVO at LinkPower, underlined the narratives of feminine and masculine energies in the green growth sector. "In the field of sustainability development, it is interesting that we don't talk about women and men, but a big call for feminine energy that lies in everyone," said Betty. She also said it is easier to run businesses in Viet Nam as a woman because there is a strong female community in the country where everyone is really helping each other. Dzung Dang, director of Mazars Legal Vietnam, believes that being successful as a woman comprises professional achievements, a wide area of knowledge, work-life balance, and personal satisfaction. "You can achieve work-life balance when you have a certain level of flexibility in your work," said Dzung. She also revealed that 75 per cent of her legal team is female and her company has programmes to support female employees in terms of physical and mental health. Claire Rosseler, managing director of Air Liquide Vietnam, said her company launched a plan called Advance in 2021, aiming to have 35 per cent of female engineers and managers in its global workforce by 2025. "In Viet Nam, we have already reached 34 per cent, very close to the target," said Claire. She said Air Liquide also deployed initiatives to promote gender equality, including a notable one in 2023 that involved teaching managers about the importance of gender diversity and measures to remove the barriers that prevent women from thriving in an environment. VNS HCM CITY The HCM City People's Committee organised a conference on March 7 to review last year's administrative reforms and digital transformation and set tasks for this year. Its chairman, Phan Van Mai, praised various agencies for deploying the Public Administration Reform Index (PAR INDEX), Department and District Competitiveness Index (DDCI) and Digital Transformation Index (DTI). The Administrative Reform Index rankings were topped by the city's Management Board of Export Processing and Industrial Zones. Ranking second was the Department of Food Safety and third was the Department of Culture and Sports. The Department of Tourism led the DDCI rankings for its efforts to improve service quality and being recognised for them by businesses. Other agencies in the leading group were the Department of Information and Communications, Department of Finance, Department of Science and Technology, and Department of Education and Training. In the DDCI rankings for districts, Phu Nhuan remained on top after constantly making efforts to maintain the quality of public services. It was followed by Tan Phu District, District 6, Can Gio District, and District 5. Cao Thi Phi Van, deputy director of the HCM City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre, said many businesses acknowledge significant improvements in the functioning of the city administration and in innovation, positivity and initiatives in public service activities. Many also acknowledge that government units strive to improve the business environment. The DTI list was topped by the Export Processing and Industrial Zones Management Board among departments and branches and the Phu Nhuan District People's Committee among districts. Lam inh Thang, director of the Department of Information and Communications, said last year was the first time the city made the DTI rankings for units, and so there are still some teething troubles in the process. Speaking about administrative reforms, the city chairman exhorted department and district heads to continue to review and analyse results to improve them. They need frankly acknowledge shortcomings to find solutions, he stressed. Administrative reforms are imperative to meet the needs of the public and businesses and the development of the city, he said. He appreciated the winners efforts, but reminded them to maintain, innovate and improve their methods or risk falling behind. He also urged them to implement administrative reforms associated with digital transformation and improve their competitiveness. Each agency and locality must have a plan to bring all administrative procedures to a digital platform and connect to the National Public Service Portal to place all administrative procedures online. They need to restructure internal processes, digitise records and make the results public. VNS According to reports from North Korea's state media KCNA, leader Kim Jong Un observed military drills of long-range artillery units that were planned to strike "enemy capitals." The drills took place on March 7th and involved multiple rocket launchers and self-propelled guns located near the border with South Korea, according to KCNA. Kim reportedly emphasized improving combat readiness and the ability to carry out surprise attacks against their enemies. This comes during the annual "Foal Eagle" joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, which North Korea views as rehearsals for invasion. Videos released by North Korean state media showed dozens of launchers firing munitions during the drills. Kim said the artillery units must prepare to "mercilessly strike" their enemies at the start of any military conflict. He has overseen multiple military drills in recent days involving combined arms operations with the massive conventional artillery forces representing a major threat on the border. In response, the Joint Chiefs of Staff in South Korea said they would strongly retaliate to any provocations from the North. They have detected the North Korean artillery firing drills on March 7th near Nampo on the west coast of North Korea. There are concerns these displays of military strength from Kim could raise tensions during the allied exercises. However, others note it's a regular occurrence when drills are held and that North Korea may simply be reinforcing its deterrence capabilities in a serious manner. When we set out to build bullbird, we were trying to solve the biggest problem of flying - getting comfortable without looking ridiculous. From our own personal experience of using poorly designed travel pillows to try to sleep on early morning flights before meetings, we found out two things: Showing up to your 9 AM meeting in Midtown Manhattan on very little sleep is awful. Showing up to your 9 AM meeting in Midtown Manhattan lugging around your bulky memory foam travel pillow is just as awful as showing up sleepy. We knew that most of the travel pillows either looked insanely ridiculous and/or completely lacked neck support. The following are the most ridiculous travel pillows we encountered that led us to build the BR2: #1: The Ostrich Pillow This is a thing, a thing that you can buy seriously. For a little When we set out to build bullbird, we were trying to solve the biggest problem of flying - getting comfortable without looking ridiculous. From our The 10 Best Travel Pillows of 2024, Tested and Reviewed Sleeper Hold Travel Pillow - Official Tutorial (3.0) The Best Travel Pillows of 2024, Tested and Reviewed Sunany Travel Pillow, Inflatable Neck Pillow Used for Airplanes/Cars/Buses/Trains/Office Napping with Eye Mask/Earplugs (Gray) : Home & Kitchen Top 5 Most Ridiculous Travel Pillows The 9 Best Travel Pillows, Tested and Reviewed We tested four travel pillows. One ruled them all. - The Washington Post TRTL Travel Pillow Review: Is it Better Than the Rest? 9 Best Travel Pillows 2024 I Tried These 5 Travel Pillows and Only One Lived Up to The Hype - Travel Pockets Gorilla Grip Memory Foam Travel Neck Pillow, Head Support on Airplanes, Soft Velvet, Cooling Mesh, Blinkable Eye Mask, Supportive Car Traveling, Sleeping on Long Flight, Airplane Pillows, Black : Home Best Travel Pillows 2023 - Travel Pillow Reviews Best Travel Neck Pillows 2021 - Reviews For Best Sleep The best travel pillow of 2024, tried and tested The electric, emission-free shuttles will transport students and the public around the UTSA Downtown Campus area. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News A free, on-demand electric shuttle service is heading downtown this spring, part of a pilot program from the University of Texas at San Antonio and Centro San Antonio. Starting Monday, March 18, riders can hop on The Little Runner to travel in the area around UTSAs downtown campuses. Modeled after the transit service on UTSAs main campus called The Runner, the new downtown shuttles will operate between the Downtown Campus, San Pedro I and Southwest Campus. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The shuttles were designed to make transit easier for UTSA students, but members of the public are welcome to board at a stop or call a shuttle to their location by phone or on the eCabs mobile app. Fully electric and emission-free, The Little Runner is part of an effort to meet sustainability goals for the campus and downtown as a whole. ON OUR RADAR: A midmorning update for local readers By combining our resources and expertise, we are able to make significant progress toward sustainable urban development and improving the quality of life for UTSA students, as well as San Antonios residents and visitors, a university representative said in a new release. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The pilot program will run through August 31. The full service schedule and stop locations can be found on the UTSA website. Muong Thanh New Year originates from the desire to preserve the unique cultural values of the Thai ethnic community, making it an integral part of Muong Thanh Group, one of Vietnam's top hotel brands. Over the last 30 years, images of multicoloured shirts, paired with black skirts, vibrant scarves, and the unique songs and dances have been cleverly and delicately woven into the Muong Thanh brand, demonstrating its close association to this northwestern culture. This year, Muong Thanh New Year draws inspiration from the Xoe dance - a distinctive cultural feature of the Thai ethnic community, and recognised by UNESCO as an intangible piece of cultural heritage. The Xoe dance has long been a symbol of unity and has become a unique cultural asset shared by many ethnic groups living in the highlands of the northwest. Thai girls enthusiastically perform the Xoe dance as they welcome spring in a vivid natural setting. The majestic mountains are abloom with ban flowers, the sky is filled with twittering swallows, and under the sky are hills and terraced fields, creating a joyful and harmonious picture, distinctive to the region. The Xoe dance conveys wishes for a prosperous harvest and an abundant life for the people here. Therefore, the decorations at Muong Thanh hotels, as well as its products and services, are infused with themes to honour this precious cultural heritage. Also this year, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory at Dien Bien Phu, in the region where the Muong Thanh brand originated, Muong Thanh New Year has been chosen as one of the opening programmes for a series of events. While Muong Thanh New Year is a special time for family activities, it is also an opportunity for Muong Thanh Group to provide visitors with a warm and captivating experience when staying at the group's hotels. In addition to impressive designs in the reception hall depicting the arrival of spring, talented chefs from the 60 Muong Thanh hotels across the country and Laos present traditional northwest-flavoured dishes such as sticky rice, pa pinh top, nam pia, com lam, ban flower salad, and grilled moss to create a complete tasting experience for guests. Muong Thanh New Year is a lasting aspect of the cultural values of Muong Thanh Group, and this year and for many years to come, the people of Muong Thanh will look forward to commemorating this special festival and to spreading the unique cultural values of the Vietnamese people. Muong Thanh New Year: spring in the northwest March 12 is chosen by Muong Thanh Hospitality Group as New Year's day every year. Many interesting activities identified as part of the northwestern forested mountains area take place on this auspicious day. Muong Thanh captures New Year's splendour in the northwest To commemorate the New Year holiday in the northwest, Muong Thanh Group is hosting a series of cultural events that reflect Vietnam's inherent splendour. Everyone should see a total eclipse at least once in their life, said one of the keepers of a telescope near Valley Mills, a man who drove all the way to Missouri in 2017 to experience the awe and wonder of the last total eclipse visible from the United States. Im just so very thankful we got to see it that day, two brothers and our families. It was a very exciting event, said Aubrey Brickhouse, chair of the Central Texas Astronomical Societys operations committee and in charge of maintaining its equipment for the use of society members. Brickhouse said he drove about 800 miles from his home in Temple to Chillicothe, Missouri, to experience the Aug. 21, 2017, total eclipse with his brother and their families. Psychologists, psychiatrists and eclipse chasers say people who witness total eclipses experience feelings of awe and unity during the events. Baylor University research psychologists will study the phenomena of emotional responses to total eclipses with a series of surveys surrounding the April 8 eclipse that will be visible in Waco, and a lab experiment. In Waco, totality during the April 8 eclipse will last from 1:38 to 1:42 p.m., creating four minutes of night in the middle of the afternoon. The moon will begin to cross the sun around 12:30 and move completely out from it by around 3 p.m. Brickhouse and his family members drove into the countryside outside the Missouri town where his brother lives to witness the 2017 eclipse. That day started off clear in the morning and my brother and I and our families all felt excited as we drove out there to where we were going to view the event, he said. Then, when the families arrived at the site, clouds began to roll in over them. Brickhouse said his brother thought the weather might clear up by the time of the eclipse so they stayed. We went on and set up our telescopes and cameras, Brickhouse said. By the time we got the equipment set up, it had started raining. Even with the overhead cloud cover they could tell the sky began growing dark slowly. About 10 minutes before totality the skies started to clear, Brickhouse said. We got excited again and started getting the cameras prepared to take pictures. Outside Chillicothe that day, Brickhouse and his family would not have anywhere near the 4 minutes and 13 seconds that Waco will get in totality next month. So we hustled to get everything right and then five minutes before totality it got completely clear, the amateur astronomer said. As the moon moved to completely obscure the sun, the skies rapidly grew completely dark and the temperatures started dropping. The stars and planets came out just like at night. Nature really responds. Birds and animals think its night. Roosters will crow and dogs will bark. The Central Texas Astronomical Society sent members to many different locations in the path of totality for the 2017 eclipse, Brickhouse said. For the April 8 eclipse, he and his fellow amateur astronomers are excited to share the experience with friends and neighbors closer to home. The astronomical society will host a free Star Party from 8 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the South Waco Library, 2737 S. 18th St., to help participants start studying the sky before the April 8 solar eclipse. Society leaders will present a beginners guide to astronomy and the solar system, then give everyone observe the stars, Jupiter, and the moon through a telescope. While viewing the stars, experts from the society will highlight the constellations with a constellation tour and answer questions. Brickhouse recommended that everyone get a pair of certified eclipse glasses to watch the total eclipse, though viewers will be able to safely take their glasses off during totality. Regular sun glasses are insufficient for looking at the sun outside the few minutes of totality, just like any other time, regardless of the moons position. Keep careful track of time during totality. Set an alarm on your phone or something so you can put your glasses back on before the moon moves out from in front of the sun, Brickhouse said. Another leader in the astronomical society, Johnny Barton, said that not only will stars be visible during totality, several planets and possibly a comet will also be visible. Jupiter will be about 30 degrees east of the moon and sun, Barton said. Venus, Saturn, Mars and Mercury will also be visible to the west of the moon and sun. For those who find Jupiter, Barton said they should look very closely, or use binoculars, just about six degrees back toward the sun and moon from Jupiter. A periodic comet that comes around ever 71 years may also be visible. Its called 12P/Pons-Brooks, and the last time it came by Earth was in 1953 and 1954, Brooks said. Its known to have geysers and outbursts, where the sun heats up water within it and the water bursts out making it brighter. If Pons-Brooks does that during the eclipse, it will definitely be visible to the naked eye. Eclipse chaser and science journalist David Baron has visited nearly every populated continent to see eclipses over the past 25 years. Indeed, I have witnessed eight total solar eclipses, and I can assure you that its an emotional experience for everyone, Baron said. Folks tend to scream, cry, jump up and down, hug one another. There can be a brief an element of fear as well. But Baron said he has never known the fear to be long lasting. Once totality is over and the sun comes back out, it feels like the world has been reborn. You see smiles all around, Baron said. Australian eclipse chaser and clinical psychologist Kate Russo has witnessed many eclipses herself and studied the emotional effects the experience has on people who also view the celestial events. Everything is new and exciting to children, Russo said by email. Totality is an example of something that is rare and unusual and exciting for adults too because it is so out of our ordinary experience this allows adults to embrace that child-like wonder again. However, young children do not have the emotional depth to feel transformed, or feel the insignificance and connectedness that adults describe, she said. Children need guidance and information on how to view safely, using direct and indirect viewing methods. It can also be helpful for parents to have that information in advance, along with activities and specifics ready to point out to keep children interested in the experience that lasts over several hours, with totality happening for no more than a few minutes, Russo said. Parents also can seek out crowds or events where people are available to explain what is happening and highlight various aspects of the eclipse. Texas State Technical College, Baylor University and the city of Waco will host gatherings for eclipse watching, and the event the city and Baylor are hosting in partnership with the Lowell Observatory of Flagstaff, Arizona, will be livestreamed online by Discovery Networks. Some people experience a very brief fear response. It happens moments before totality as witnesses identify that things just feel wrong with the world, Russo said. We can experience chills and goosebumps this fear is unlike typical fear, and it is also strongly tinged with excitement and then mixes with awe and wonder, Russo said. Awe is a complex emotion, and even adults find it difficult to describe what they feel. Its not that accurate to think of emotions simply as positive or negative instead, we experience a rollercoaster of emotions in a very short period of time. Most people, even if they know in advance that an eclipse is due, experience tremendous emotions viewing a total eclipse, said William Sheehan, a retired psychiatrist who has also witnessed many eclipses and studied the emotional responses of other watchers. I should think that by 3 or 4 a child would have a stunning experience and remember it forever, Sheehan said by email. Its important to emphasize that a total eclipse, in contrast, say, to a transit of Venus, is mainly experienced in the emotional centers of the brain. Thus, as is well known, even animals anticipate and react to the gathering shadow and darkness of an eclipse. Even having a scientific understanding of the motions of Earth, the moon and sun through space, which some ancient peoples may have lacked, modern people will feel overcome with a sense of surprise, he said. Surprise is the emotion that comes closest to what most experience, overwhelming surprise, and awe a mixture of fear and the apprehension of beauty, Sheehan said. We are in the presence of the sublime of the strange in place of the sun we know so well there is something strange, awe-inspiring, portentous, he said. We see that the universe somehow follows a skewed path to that which subserves our interests, one that does not follow our ceremonies, cater to our needs, but follows its own inscrutable laws and at some level is utterly indifferent to us. This is not a cognitive effort, Sheehan said. It is something experienced emotionally. An eclipse involves an emotional response, a surge of hormones and neurotransmitters, which is what makes them, to some, addictive, Sheehan said. Baylor university psychologists and psychology students, led by Wade Rowatt, professor and interim chair of the Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, will study the phenomena of emotional responses to the total eclipse. Rowatt and his team will conduct surveys of people who witness the April 8 eclipse as well as some laboratory experiments with people viewing Google Earth virtual reality recreations of the 2017 eclipse. Rowatt said he and his team want to study the feelings of awe and surprise as well as peoples processes of making meaning, of understanding and fitting such a profound event into their understanding of the world. The study team will take online and written surveys of viewers before and after the eclipse. Rowatt expects viewers will also experience feelings of unity with the people around them and even with others from around the world when they witness the eclipse. In the face of such a profound celestial event, people may have their perspective reframed and experience greater desire for social cooperation afterward, he said. Sheehan said the experience of an eclipse is like a flashbulb memory. Travis Gibson said his father, Lester Gibson, was told by naysayers he had a snowballs chance in hell of becoming the first Black representative elected to the McLennan County Commissioners Court. But when Gibson retired in 2018, he held the distinction of serving as a commissioner longer than anyone. Gibson, a Vietnam veteran, social activist, instigator of good trouble, and 28-year commissioner, had his papers placed in the W. R. Poage Library at Baylor University during ceremonies Friday. More than 100 friends, family members and admirers gathered in Baylors new Hurd Welcome Center to honor Gibson, who decades ago would not have been welcome there. But Gibson later earned a degree at Baylor, continuing his pursuit of learning that began as a youngster in Teague, a dot on the map in Freestone County. He once followed a funeral procession on his bicycle, discovering it was bound for a neatly manicured, well-maintained white cemetery. Alas, the Black cemetery nearby appeared unkempt and woebegone, prompting Gibsons later reflections on the roads black folks travel, said Izegbe Lee, Gibsons daughter, who spoke of how much she admired her dad. The Lester Gibson papers will be housed in the Baylor Collections of Political Materials at the Poage Library. His family chose Baylor as repository of items discovered in his office at the McLennan County Courthouse and elsewhere following his retirement. His longtime office manager and successor on the commissioners court, Pat Chisolm Miller, assisted in assembling the material, personally delivering it to archivists at Baylor. Miller, who had accepted an invitation to speak at Fridays unveiling, died unexpectedly Jan. 28 during a hospital visit, less than two years after Gibsons death in June 2022. A framed photograph of Miller appeared next to the stage used by Fridays speakers. U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, who represented a Waco-anchored congressional district from 1991 to 2011, said he ran for Congress the same year Gibson ran for county commissioner. He said he would not have won the seat had Lester and his wife, Coque, not campaigned hard and delivered votes from Black neighborhoods Edwards needed to survive. He said he and the Gibsons became friends for life, but despite their closeness, he always addressed Lester Gibson as commissioner, while Lester called him Congressman. Im a better person for having known him, Edwards said. He said he could never know the societal challenges Gibson faced, including restrictions against dining in some restaurants or attending the school of his choice. Despite our close friendship, if my toes needed stepping on, he would step on them, but always for the right reason, Edwards said. For the rest of my life I will miss Lester Gibson, but Im comforted knowing his legacy will be remembered here at his alma mater, Baylor University. Edwards took issue with opposition to the teaching of Americas checkered past regarding civil rights and racism. Admitting our past mistakes does not diminish us, he said. It teaches us to learn from our mistakes. Gibson in 2002 lobbied hard to have a memorial placed in the McLennan County Courthouse acknowledging the lynching of Jesse Washington on May 15, 1916, by a mob that dragged his body from the courthouse. He was clubbed and stoned and then hanged from a tree in front of City Hall. In addition to the telling of the Waco Horror, a resolution Gibson advocated for states that the members of the commissioners court acknowledge and offer an expression of regret for the incident. Washington had been hastily convicted of raping and killing a white woman immediately before the lynching. A one-page resolution condemning past lynchings in McLennan County was put on display in the Courthouse rotunda in February 2011, the Tribune-Herald reporting the action ended Gibsons nine-year crusade to publicly exhibit the document. Jeff Pirtle, who directs the Texas Collection and University Archive at Baylor, said Fridays ceremony culminates a nearly six-year process that produced 44 boxes containing material about Gibsons time as commissioner, including meeting minutes and agenda items. They also address Gibsons co-founding of the Texas Organization of Black County Commissioners, and his efforts to bring fairness and opportunity to the marginalized. Lester and Coque Gibson published newspapers targeting the Black community and Black issues, and archives of those publications also are among the material housed at Baylor. Pirtle said Gibsons papers will be made available not only to those in academia, but to students wanting to know about what made Gibson and others like him tick and survive the circumstances he faced. Travis Gibson, who spoke Friday of his father, remembered Gibson insisting that his family be exposed to great writers and thinkers. He loved to take his family to places of historical significance, especially his grandchildren. Travis Gibson, who serves on the Bellmead City Council, called his father his mentor. He said he shed a few tears, but mostly tears of joy when he looked through some of the material to be archived. He said he lived through the good times and bad reflected in the paperwork. Coque Gibson thanked Baylor University for its archival undertaking. She said there had been consideration given to including the material in a Black history museum to be built on Elm Avenue. She said that dream has not died. Wildfires in the Texas Panhandle caused significant cattle losses for individual ranchers, but should not impact beef cattle markets or consumers, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert. David Anderson, AgriLife Extension economist in the Texas A&M Department of Agricultural Economics, said it may be weeks before there are estimates for lost cattle, but he expects the impact of the wildfire to be localized. The Smokehouse Creek Fire that started in Hutchinson County has burned more than 1 million acres across the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma. The size and scope of the fire along with reports about the Panhandle being home to 85% of the states beef cattle herd has led to inferences about large-scale cattle losses. Much of the states cattle herd does move through the Panhandle because the region is a major hub for feedlots where beef cattle are fed grain before being processed. However, beef cow populations are spread throughout the state. For instance, in 2023 the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service county-by-county inventory reports showed 17,000 beef cattle in Hemphill County, which was hard hit by the fires. By comparison, at the same time Gonzalez County, east of San Antonio, was home to 54,000 beef cattle. Ive been getting a lot of questions about whether this fire would impact cattle prices and consumers, but the short answer is, no, Anderson said. I think some people were under the impression there could be a significant percentage of the Texas herd lost, but that is not the case. Its devastating if your ranch and your herd is in the disaster area, but it wont really impact cattle or beef prices because of the numbers and scale of the entire market. Counting losses Anderson said individual losses could mount very quickly for producers in the fires path, especially considering cattle values and the cost of infrastructure like fencing. Cattle prices continue to trend upward and set all-time records. Anderson expects that trend will continue into 2025 because the U.S. and Texas herd has shrunk over the past two years due to drought. Cattle values range based on factors like age and class, he said. Cull cows, which are cows aging out of calf production, and typically weigh around 1,200 pounds, were selling for $1 per pound last week. On the other end, a 500-600 pound calf was selling for more than $3 per pound. Calves in the 500-600-pound range were averaging $2.35 per pound this time last year compared to $3.14 per pound last week. Spring calving season is underway, which means the wildfire could have erased the value of a productive cow and future value of any calf lost, Anderson said. This was a year to make up for a heck of a lot of drought, and the cost of holding on through drought, he said. I think there was some optimism with conditions improving and record high prices. Its just terrible for producers who lost productive cows and potential record prices for spring calves. Infrastructure losses will vary for individual producers as well, Anderson said. Damage can range considerably when considering structures, hay stocks, fences and equipment. Fencing alone costs about $3 per foot to replace. How many miles of fence are in those 1 million acres that burned? he asked. Its going to be a big number. Then you have the loss of hay and grass for grazing. The impacts of the fires are going to be felt for a while. Anderson noted that producers across Texas and in nearby states are shipping hay and other needed supplies to help producers impacted by the fires. AgriLife Extensions Disaster Assessment Recovery, DAR, unit is coordinating recovery efforts, including intake of material and feed donations in the area. General information about donations or relief efforts can be obtained by calling 806-354-5800. Several Animal Supply Points have been set up where those with hay, feed or fencing materials or with equipment to haul hay can help. Texas, US herd rebuild still ahead Anderson said he hopes producers impacted by the wildfire receive the assistance they need to recover. Rebuilding a herd amid record-high cattle prices will make it difficult. The beef cattle herd in Texas is the smallest 4.1 million head since 2014. The Texas herd started to recover from the 2011-2012 drought after that low point. The nations beef cow herd fell 2% since last year to 28.2 million head, according to the USDA cattle inventory report. Anderson said the report estimate is the lowest number of U.S. beef cows since 1961. The Texas herd expanded rapidly after the 2011-2012 drought, and prices spiked in 2015. But that may not be the case this time because of high prices and lingering drought conditions. Anderson said he has still not seen definitive signs that producers have begun holding back replacement heifers at rates that suggest widespread rebuilding of the Texas or U.S. herds. Expansion of the state and national herd can take years. Heifers born this spring would begin producing calves in two years. Calves born to those newly productive cows would not start impacting U.S. beef production until two years after that, or 2028. Restocking is difficult when prices are high, and so far were looking at slower expansion of the Texas herd, he said. Losing animals at a time like this is a terrible blow, but were still expecting even higher prices in 2025 and beyond. Downtown walking tour Waco Walks is having a Downtown Economic Development Walk Saturday. The group will stroll along some of our citys most transformed blocks. Meet up is at 10 a.m. at Fabled Bookshop & Cafe, 215 S. Fourth Street. TSTC lunch The Texas State Technical College culinary arts program has resumed serving weekly meals to the public this spring on Wednesdays and Fridays. The student-operated restaurant will feature Mexican cuisine from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday and Friday at the Greta W. Watson Culinary Arts Center, Campus Drive and Eighth Street. The $16 three-course lunch includes starter, entree, dessert and a specialty drink. Advance reservations are required by emailing wacoculinary@tstc.edu. All are welcome. Upcoming cuisine themes include Indian on March 20 and 22, French on March 27 and 29, Jamaican on April 3 and 5, and Honduran on April 10 and 12. Childrens Theatre Registration will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, and at the same time March 17, at the Lee Lockwood Library and Museum, 2801 W. Waco Drive, for the Waco Childrens Theatre summer program in June. The theaters summer program, for children 4 to 14 years old, will run weekdays June 2-30. Older students will produce the musical Mean Girls, and younger students will produce 101 Dalmatians. For more information, call 254-776-0707. A Light of Hope Monday is the deadline to RSVP for the Hispanic Leaders Networks ConectarConnect: A Light of Hope, which will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at McLennan Community Colleges Emergency Service Education Center, 7601 Steinbeck Bend Drive. To register, go to eventbrite.com. Anali Looper, director and lead attorney of the American Gateways Waco office, will lead a panel discussion. The event will feature stories from heroic women who have traversed unimaginable challenges on their journey to freedom. Star Party The Central Texas Astronomical Society will conduct a Star Party from 8 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the South Waco Library, 2737 S. 18th St. The event is intended to help participants start studying the sky before the April 8 solar eclipse. The Central Texas Astronomical Society will present a beginners guide to astronomy and the solar system. Following the presentation, everyone will go outside for the Star Party, in which they can observe the stars, Jupiter, and the moon through a telescope. While viewing the stars, experts from the society will highlight the constellations through a constellation tour and answer questions. The program is free and open to the public. Herb society meeting The Waco Herb Society will meet at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Harrison Center, 1718 N. 42nd St. Anyone interested in learning more about herbs is welcome to attend. MCC partnerships McLennan Community College will host a free webinar at 11 a.m. Wednesday about its Business Educational Assistance Partnership. The partnership assists Central Texas businesses by providing their employees assistance with on-site, online, or on-campus enrollment, financial aid and other services. For local partners, MCC offers personalized assistance for their employees with applying, enrolling and succeeding at MCC, on-site guidance for financial aid applications, tailored marketing materials, access to MCCs Career Center to post job openings and opportunities, an easy payment process through MCCs Business Office and access to on-campus facilities for interviewing and recruiting MCC students. To join the event, RSVP at https://engage.mclennan.edu/register/beap-march-2024. For more information, call 254-299-8440. Hazardous waste Wacos annual Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day will run from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 23 at the Waco Solid Waste Operations Center, 501 Schroeder Drive. The free service is available to people who live in the city limits of Waco, Bellmead, Hewitt, Lacy Lakeview or Woodway. Pre-registration is available for a fast lane via waco-texas.com/HHWD the Waco Curbside Services smartphone app or by calling 254-299-2606. Pre-registered residents are asked to bring their registration confirmation number and a photo ID. Residents who do not pre-register must bring a current water or utility bill with matching identification. For lists of accepted and prohibited items, go to waco-texas.com/HHWD and click the registration link. For more information, call Solid Waste Customer Service at 254-299-2612 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, email soildwasteinfo@wacotx.gov or text 254-644-3336. Homespun Quilters Guild The Homespun Quilters Guild will meet at 6 p.m. Monday at the New Road Church of Christ, 3100 S. New Road, across from University High School. Winnie Fleming, who hails from Houston and has been a quilter, quilt show judge and a teacher for many years, will speak on borders. SKYWARN class The National Weather Service SKYWARN class is from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Waco-McLennan County Public Health District Preparedness Training Room (first floor), 225 W. Waco Drive. Staff from the National Weather Service will train volunteers on how to spot severe weather like tornadoes and the critical steps to take during those events to stay safe. Email ctmrc@wacotx.gov to register. DES MOINES, Iowa The third-party presidential movement No Labels decided Friday to field a presidential candidate in the 2024 election after months of weighing the launch of a so-called "unity ticket" and discussions with several prospects. Delegates voted in favor of moving forward during an online convention of 800 of them from every state, said Mike Rawlings, a former Dallas mayor who is affiliated with No Labels. The group was not expected to name its presidential and vice presidential nominees Friday. It will announce its candidate selection process on March 14, Rawlings said. "Even though we met virtually, their emotion and desire to bring this divided nation back together came through the screen," Rawlings, Friday's convention chair, said about the delegates in a written statement. No candidates yet The decision to move forward comes as a number of would-be candidates turned down the idea of running, including former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who suspended her campaign for the Republican presidential nomination after former President Donald Trump won big across Super Tuesday's GOP primary map. Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan weighed running for president under the No Labels banner but since decided to seek the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate from his state. Retiring West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, said he will not run for president. Romps by Trump and President Joe Biden, a Democrat, on Super Tuesday all but ensured a November rematch of the 2020 election. Polls suggest many Americans don't have favorable views of Biden or Trump, a dynamic No Labels sees as an opening to offer a bipartisan ticket. No Labels weighed whether to present a ticket aimed at appealing to voters unhappy with Biden and Trump. The group's strategists previously said they'll give their ballot line to a bipartisan ticket, with a presidential nominee from one major party and a vice presidential nominee from the other, if they see a path to victory. Group officials said they are communicating with several potential candidates but have not disclosed any names. Fears of siphoning votes No Labels stockpiled cash from people it declined to name, including former Republican donors who became disenchanted with the party's direction in the Trump era, and has worked to secure ballot access in every state. Biden supporters worry No Labels will pull votes away from the president in battleground states and are critical of how the group won't disclose its donors or much of its decision-making. The executive director of the group MoveOn, which is aligned with Democrats, said a No Labels ticket would help Trump win. "Any candidates who join the No Labels presidential ticket will be complicit in making it easier for Donald Trump and MAGA extremists to win a second term in the White House," Executive Director Rahna Epting said in a written statement. Third Way, another group that is aligned with Democrats and opposes a No Labels ticket, noted No Labels was moving forward without having first found a candidate. "Time and again, voters, candidates, and election experts have told No Labels that a third-party presidential ticket can't win and would help Trump," Third Way Executive Vice President Matt Bennett said in a written statement. Politico first reported No Labels' decision. The Biden administration and the Netanyahu government have locked horns over the aftermath of the Gaza war. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the Munich Security Conference: Virtually every Arab country now genuinely wants to integrate Israel into the region to normalize relations so that Israel can feel safer, and to proceed to a Palestinian state that also ensures the security of Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vehemently opposes a two-state solution. He believes such a state would lead to another invasion of Israel like what happened on Oct. 7, 2023: Israel will not submit to international dictates regarding a future agreement with the Palestinians, he said. He echoes the sentiment held by most Israeli Jews toward Palestinian statehood. Biden is the most pro-Israeli president in history. But he seems to be at a loss on how to convince Netanyahu and his public that their countrys future survival is inextricably linked to the opening of a new chapter with their five million Palestinian neighbors in the West Bank and Gaza. Can these conflicted visions be reconciled? Full integration of Israel into NATO would supplement the Biden package with a potent security blanket and serve as an added incentive that might make a difference in the minds of Israelis. An ironclad guarantee of never again offered by 32 countries may overcome Israelis insecurities, suspicions and disinclination to support Palestinian statehood even if it is demilitarized. The Israel Institute of Democracy recently polled the public on elements of the Biden plan: 59 percent of Jewish Israelis oppose a deal that includes a Palestinian state, peace with Saudi Arabia and an American guarantee. Only 29 percent of respondents expressed their support. Five months after the barbaric October massacre, Israelis still suffer from trauma. Even many who previously were sympathetic to the idea of a Palestinian state are now adamantly against it. Tempting Israel with a peace treaty with Saudi Arabia, the Arab worlds leader, as envisioned by Biden, is necessary but insufficient to allay the existential fears and the deep emotional scars felt by Israelis. Before Oct. 7, Israels national ethos espoused self-reliance. The Hamas attack has weakened this conviction. Many Israelis felt extremely vulnerable and abandoned by their state, previously hailed as an invincible regional superpower. Israel was unable to deter Hamas, nor was its military available to save the residents of the Gaza envelope communities, nor prevent the taking of hostages. Nearly five months have passed since the onset of the war 31,000 Palestinians killed, more than 100 hostages are still in captivity and Hamas remains undefeated. Most Israelis (Arabs and Jews) believe it is unlikely that an absolute victory will be achieved, according to an Israel Democracy Institute survey conducted a few days ago. Sooner or later, Israelis will realize that their security and well-being cannot be guaranteed solely by force, given the multiple regional threats they face. Once the Gaza war is over, the United States and Germany, Israels closest allies, are best suited to explore the idea of an Israeli accession. Domestic politics within member-states will certainly play a major role in the process. For example, Swedens application was held up for 20 months by Hungary and was finally ratified by its parliament. Viktor Orbans close ties to Vladimir Putin, who views NATOs enlargement as a threat, were responsible for the delay. A consensus is required to admit a new candidate to the alliance. Undoubtedly, this will be a monumental undertaking, especially since Israel is outside Europe. Nevertheless, it merits serious consideration by Congress and the White House. Most NATO members, except Turkey, support Israel. However, several have strongly condemned its handling of the war and urged an immediate cease-fire. The organizations Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declared after the October attack: Israel does not stand alone. The United States and the other 31 alliance members have a strong interest in a stable and peaceful Middle East. The attacks by the Houthis on ships in the Red Sea, for example, have disrupted shipping routes and oil supplies. Massive pro-Palestinian demonstrations and demands for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza have taken place in several European capitals, antisemitic incidents have significantly increased and terrorist threats have multiplied. The Gaza war has now become a socially explosive time bomb inside the continent. Over the years, Israel has maintained close cooperation with the North Atlantic Alliance in various fields. It has been designated by the United States as a major non-NATO ally. In 2016, it inaugurated a permanent diplomatic mission at the organizations headquarters in Brussels. Turkey, Israels estranged ally and a vocal supporter of Palestinians, would oppose the accession. However, if membership is tied to establishing a Palestinian state, its opposition might be softened. A rapprochement between NATOs largest Muslim member and the Jewish state is also in the alliances interest. The reaction of Arab states and the Palestinians to an Israeli accession is uncertain. However, Saudi Arabia, which seeks a defense treaty with the United States as part of the Biden peace package, will not oppose Israels joining the alliance. NATOs defense of Israel, as part of its Article V commitment to assist any member under an attack, would also be applied vis-a-vis Iran. Israels top national security anxiety can be alleviated once Iran is deterred by the alliance. Its aggressive regional footprint would also be checked. Accession to NATO along with regional Arab-Israeli peace and the establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state would constitute a bold, long-term structural blueprint that could lay the foundations for a durable, peaceful future in the worlds most troubled region. WATERLOO When Donna OBrien was diagnosed with cancer, it changed her life. She is now making it her mission to change the lives of others. Through her business, Bambinos Bakery, she has found a way to contribute to her charity of choice the Cedar Valleys Beyond Pink Team in a big way. We are a cause-based business, she said. Were supporting an organization that supports breast cancer patients in the state of Iowa. And business is booming. OBrien just opened a new storefront at 2110 Kimball Ave. after closing the site where she launched the business in 2022, 1445 Ansborough Ave. The reason for the move from the old store is simple. We outgrew it, OBrien said. We had two ovens and were baking around the clock. We didnt have the space for the retail business weve developed. This is a great location for us. It is a high-traffic area. The new space is four times the size. We have six ovens, a walk-in freezer and commercial coolers. We are really set up to grow. The new location also features designated areas for baking, prep and decorating, a dish room and a washer and dryer. We were taking the laundry home with us and bringing it back. This is so much better. Friday saw a steady stream of customers both old and new stopping in for the new locations grand opening. A stack of boxes were piled at one end of the counter, waiting to be filled with generously-portioned pastries and brightly iced cookies and tied with the shops signature pink bow. Flowerama even welcomed them to the neighborhood with a large bouquet of pink roses. The bakerys growth hasnt just been on the retail side. Bambinos has added a number of corporate customers throughout the Cedar Valley and beyond to their clientele, and they provide desserts for a growing list of restaurants. Bambinos continues to grow its menu, as well. A recent addition is a chocolate version of its best-selling namesake confection. Its gone over very well, OBrien said. We will continue to experiment and throw things out there and see how they are received. Additionally, the business has gone from four employees to 38 and is looking to hire more. We have wonderful, wonderful team, whether they are scooping or frosting cookies or cleaning or helping customers, this is a group that is hugely committed. They get all the credit. They are phenomenal. My team is what it is all about. They are so devoted and dedicated to quality. These are family recipes. We do everything fresh, not like a big box store. Bambinos has also racked up some accolades since it opened. We were named best employer, we won Best of the Best for cookies. Those kinds of things really help. It gives the team motivation. During the expansion, OBrien temporarily closed the Cedar Falls location at 401 Main St. We will get back to normal hours there, OBrien said. We are kind of easing back into it. The biggest thing with the Cedar Falls location is we havent seen a large amount of people during the week. We will definitely be open on the weekends and maybe add a couple of days during the week. Labor is an issue, as well, like it is for a lot of people. Its hard work. You have to love doing it. OBrien encouraged customers to watch the website, bambninoslove.com, and social media posts for updated hours. We really want to thank the community. Theyve been super supportive. I want to make every customer feel special. I want them to have a unique experience. I like to visit the competition just to see what they are doing. I really think we have something special. Thats what makes me very happy, and to help an organization that does so much for people. In 2023, OBrien and her team were able to contribute more than $25,000 to the Beyond Pink Team. It feels amazing, but were not done, she said. When I was so sick I had 21 lymph nodes test positive my husband was there every step of the way. Every surgery, every treatment. And I think about people who dont have that and feel alone. But they are not alone. I believe Im here for a reason. There is a fire inside of me. I dont want to just survive; I want to thrive. I want to take this passion and make it bigger. Cedar Falls Utilities will begin March 11 repairing a water valve at the intersection of Coneflower Parkway and Greenhill Road. Inside lanes will be initially closed along Coneflower Parkway. The outside lanes will remain open for those vehicles traveling between Greenhill Road and Bluebell Road. The work is anticipated to take approximately one week to complete. WATERLOO A federal grand jury has charged a Waterloo man who was found with a gun during a disturbance call in June. The grand jury charged Walter Eugene Smith Jr., 29, with one count of felon in possession of a firearm in U.S. District Court for Northern Iowa. The case was unsealed Wednesday after Smith was detained. Authorities allege Smith is barred from possessing firearms because of a prior felony weapons conviction in 2012. On June 4, 2023, Waterloo police were called to a disturbance at 217 Sunnyside Ave. where Smith lived. A witness claimed Smith threated a female acquaintance with a pistol, but the female declined to talk to police, according to court records. Officers searched the house and found a 9 mm Taurus PT111 handgun, court records state. Smith is also awaiting trial for state charges of attempted burglary, harassment and stalking in connection with a 2021 incident on Dane Street. Violent crime is up and also down, according to new federal data Violent crime is up and also down, according to new federal data Federal reports show similar long-term trends in violent crime, but diverge significantly on year-over-year changes Despite the long-term trends, the two reports differ more than ever before on the year-over-year change in violent crime. Property crime went up in 2022 One undeniable trend: Violent crimes against young people doubled Still, most crimes are not reported to the police Kylie Moden, a 2017 Trinity University graduate, is a former Semmes Foundation scholar. Courtesy / Trinity University Trinity University has announced the largest gift in its 155-year history, $26.5 million from the D.R. Semmes Foundation to expand hands-on learning and research. The newly named D.R. Semmes School of Science will honor the memory of Douglas Ramsey Semmes, an oilman who died in 1976. He created the foundation, which has helped the university for more than 70 years. The sciences are at the core of a broad liberal arts education, and Trinity fundamentally understands this. We are creating the next generation of scientists across an array of disciplines that will address the worlds major questions, said Tom Semmes, the foundations president. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Trinity President Vanessa B. Beasley said the investment accelerates our goal to deliver the best undergraduate science education in the United States. The Murchison Tower at Trinity Universty is seen through a window in the Center of Sciences and Innovation in 2015. Bob Owen/San Antonio Express-News Trinity and the Semmes Foundation have long been partners in opportunities for undergraduate science education, and this historic investment will help us advance our mission to deliver world-class teaching and increase students access to research opportunities in STEM, Beasley said. It ensures the university continues to offer an exceptional education in the sciences through world-class faculty, curricula, and state-of-the-art facilities, Trinity said in a recent release posted on the university website. Trinitys faculty includes the Semmes Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, an endowed position. Through the years, the Semmes Distinguished Scholars in Science have developed and collaborated on undergraduate research projects and have proven to be innovative leaders who bring strong communication skills as scientists, the university said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Kylie Moden, a 2017 graduate, computer science major and former Semmes scholar quoted in the release, has worked as a product manager at Microsoft, Code.org and DoorDash. She said she realized as a first-year student that Trinity was funding its sciences and valued its technology, where other liberal arts schools werent. Sometimes, you might forget the humans on the other side of the software. Trinity showed me it cared about the human aspect of the sciences, Moden said. The Center of Sciences and Innovation opened in 2015 as a new building at Trinity University. Bob Owen/San Antonio Express-News In so many ways, the Semmes Foundation has directly aided in the future and continuing success of all of the students I have had the privilege of mentoring at Trinity, added current Semmes Distinguished Professor of Chemistry Jason Shearer. In addition to providing dedicated funding for undergraduate research opportunities and supporting faculty development, the gift will endow the dean and two faculty positions at the newly named school. The school houses the departments of biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering science, Earth and environmental geosciences, mathematics, physics and astronomy, psychology and three interdisciplinary programs: biochemistry and molecular biology, mathematical finance and neuroscience. Advertisement Article continues below this ad WATERLOO On Tuesday, March 12, Huntington Road will close between Luke Street and the Waterloo/Cedar Falls city limits for underground sanitary sewer work. A full width closure of Huntington Road will be needed as crews work to connect and extend sanitary sewer main. The closure is anticipated to take one week, depending on weather. Please stay outside the closure area due to the overhead work. 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 YORK The York County Attorney's Office has charged a North Carolina man with trying to kill his parents in York on Monday. Court documents say Jonah Jewell, 22, of Fort Liberty, North Carolina, broke into the couple's home and threatened them with a handgun. He is charged with two counts of attempted murder, possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony, two counts of terroristic threats and burglary. Jewell was also issued a speeding citation on March 1. That document lists a Texas address for the suspect. Fort Liberty is a military installation in North Carolina, formerly known as Fort Bragg. Jewell is scheduled to appear in York County Court on Monday. Top Journal Star photos for March 2024 Anti-Israel activists aligned with the Human Rights Commissions for Cedar Falls and Waterloo are pushing their respective city councils to approve a resolution that would aid Hamas in its mission to destroy Israel. Not surprisingly, they have purposefully excluded Israels point of view. According to the pro-Palestinians behind the resolution, Israels response to Hamas barbaric slaughter of 1,200 Israelis and abduction of 253 hostages is a human rights violation. Based on this demonstrably false claim, their resolution calls for a permanent cease fire in Israels war against Hamas. The anti-Israel activists purposefully ignore three crucial points. First, Hamas is responsible for all the harm done to Gazas civilians. Second, a permanent cease-fire would enable Hamas to escape certain defeat. Third, there is no reason to believe the citizens of Cedar Falls or Waterloo want their city councils to take a position on this incendiary international conflict. After seizing control of Gaza in 2007, Hamas imposed a brutal system of repression. According to Human Rights Watch, the terrorist organization routinely uses abductions, detentions, severe beatings, torture, and executions against Gazas civilians. The violent oppression of Gazas civilians has primarily been for the purpose of building a massive underground military installation. At the time of the Oct. 7 massacre, the base included a 300 mile system of steel- and concrete-reinforced tunnels, barracks, and operational centers 50 meters below ground. In accordance with its jihadist commitment to martyrdom, Hamas intentionally located the military infrastructure beneath Gazas most densely populated civilian areas. This use of human shields was done with the full knowledge that Israeli counterattacks against military targets would inevitability endanger thousands of Gaza civilians. For Hamas this loss of innocent lives is a price worth paying to score a propaganda victory against Israel. Hamas has long regarded the martyrdom of civilians to be an important military tactic. Its leaders recently boasted about the large numbers of Gazans killed as human shields. In an Oct. 24 Lebanese TV interview, senior Hamas leader Ghazi Hamas said, We are called a nation of martyrs, and we are proud to sacrifice martyrs. Protocol I of the Geneva Convention states, It is prohibited to seize or to use the presence of persons protected by the Geneva Convention as human shields to render military sites immune from enemy attacks or to prevent reprisals during an offensive. The anti-Israel resolution neglects to mention that Hamas war crime is the primary reason for all of Gazas civilian casualties. The resolution places great emphasis on Hamas inflated tallies of civilians killed. As widely reported, the number of casualties in Gaza are produced by the Hamas controlled Gaza Health Ministry. None of these data have been verified by independent sources. Moreover, Hamas number of reported deaths do not distinguish civilian casualties from the many thousands of Hamas soldiers killed by precision bombing and ground assaults. Nor do they include casualties caused by an estimated 25% of Hamas rockets that land in Gaza. Extensive publicly sourced evidence verifies the extraordinary measures Israel has taken to minimize civilian casualties. These include inundating Gaza with millions of emails, texts, leaflets and robocalls pleading for civilians to evacuate. Israel alone opened and protected civilian evacuation corridors. By contrast, Hamas soldiers have been caught on video shooting at evacuees, forcing them to remain in combat zones, and seizing humanitarian aid trucks designated for civilians. According to Israeli government estimates, approximately half (15,000) of Hamas fighters remain alive in its underground infrastructure. The permanent ceasefire called for in the anti-Israel resolution would enable them to escape and to continue Hamas war against Israel. During the first and second intifadas, Hamas killed approximately 1,200 Israelis in terror attacks. No one in their right mind should allow these savages to ever again attack Israel. Therefore, the only rational path to peace is for Hamas to lay down its weapons and release all its hostages. In addition to excluding the voice of Israel, the resolution is far beyond the responsibilities city council members are expected to fulfil. Council members should summarily reject the resolution and attend to the more pressing matters they were elected to address. Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation (2 8 March 2024) The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have launched 34 group strikes with precision weapons, multiple-launch system, and unmanned aerial vehicles, hitting facilities where uncrewed boats were being assembled and prepared for combat use, arsenals, fuel bases for military hardware, and deployment points of AFU units, nationalist formations, and foreign mercenaries. In Kupyansk direction, as a result of active actions by units of the Zapad Group of Forces, the position along the front line has been improved, enemy manpower and hardware have been eliminated near Kupyansk, Peschanoye, and Berestovoye (Kharkov region). Russian troops have repelled 24 counterattacks by assault groups of 32nd, 41st mechanised, and 57th motorised infantry brigades of the AFU close to Sinkovka (Kharkov region) and Terny (Donetsk Peoples Republic). The enemy losses were over 540 servicemen, two tanks, four armoured fighting vehicles, 20 motor vehicles, 18 field artillery systems, and one Grad MLRS. In Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Group of Forces have occupied more advantageous lines and defeated formations of 5th, 92nd assault, 28th, 33rd mechanised, 46th, 81st airmobile brigades of the AFU and the 241st Territorial Defence Brigade near Kleshcheyevka, Kurdyumovka, Andreevka, and Krasnoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic). In addition, Russian troops have repelled eight enemy counterattacks near Krasnogorovka, Novomikhailovka, and Pobeda (Donetsk Peoples Republic). The enemy losses were over 1,970 servicemen, 11 tanks, 17 armoured fighting vehicles, 47 motor vehicles, 25 field artillery guns, two Grad MLRS, and one Strela-10 surface-to-air missile system. Ten AFU field ammunition depots have been also destroyed. In Avdeyevka direction, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces continued to occupy more advantageous lines and positions. In cooperation with aviation and artillery, the troops and hardware of 23rd, 31st, 47th, 78th, 110th mechanised, 59th motor infantry, 71st jaeger brigades, as well as 103rd and 107th territorial defence brigades have been defeated close to Tonenkoye, Toretsk, Ocheretino, Novosyolka Pervaya, Mayorsk, and Rozovka (Donetsk Peoples Republic). Russian troops have repelled 65 counterattacks by AFU assault groups near Berdychi, Tonenkoye, Leninskoye, Petrovskoye, Novgorodskoye, Pervomayskoye, and Orlovka (Donetsk Peoples Republic). During the week, the enemy losses were over 2,860 servicemen, seven tanks, including two U.S.-manufactured Abrams tanks, 34 armoured fighting vehicles, 47 motor vehicles, 20 field artillery guns, one U.S.-manufactured HIMARS MLRS, and one Strela-10 SAM system. In South Donetsk direction, units of the Vostok Group of Forces have improved their position along the front line and defeated units of 65th, 72nd, 118th mechanised, 58th motorised infantry brigades of the AFU, 102nd, 105th, and 128th territorial defence brigades close to Novodonetskoye, Ugledar, Dobropolye, Shevchenko, Staromayorskoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic), and Malinovka (Zaporozhye region). In addition, three counterattacks by units of the AFU 72nd Mechanised Brigade have been repelled near Vodyanoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic). The enemy losses were up to 1,620 troops, six tanks, 13 armoured fighting vehicles, 28 motor vehicles, seven field artillery systems, one Grad MLRS, two Strela-10 SAM systems, and one UK-manufactured Stormer SAM system. In Kherson direction, Russian troops have taken more favourable positions and inflicted a comprehensive fire defeat on manpower and hardware of 65th, 117th, 118th mechanised, 128th mountain assault brigades, 35th, 36th, and 38th marine brigades, 14th and 23rd national guard brigades and the 126th Territorial Defence Brigade close to Malaya Tokmachka, Pyatikhatki, and Nesteryanka (Zaporozhye region), Ivanovka, Sadovoye, Mikhailovka, Antonovka, and Tokarevka (Kherson region). Russian troops have repelled two attacks by assault groups of the AFU 118th Mechanised Brigade close to Rabotino (Zaporozhye region). The enemy losses were over 295 soldiers, two tanks, 22 motor vehicles, nine field artillery guns, as well as two U.S.-manufactured HIMARS MLRS. Aviation and air defence facilities have shot down one MiG-29 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force, five UK-manufactured Storm Shadow cruise missiles, one U.S.-manufactured Patriot anti-aircraft guided missile, seven French-manufactured Hammer guided aerial bombs, 33 U.S.-manufactured HIMARS multiple-launch rocket system projectiles, as well as 796 unmanned aerial vehicles. During the week, 24 Ukrainian servicemen have surrendered. In total, 576 airplanes, 267 helicopters, 14,658 unmanned aerial vehicles, 482 air defence missile systems, 15,400 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,234 fighting vehicles equipped with MLRS, 8,322 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 19,498 special military motor vehicles have been destroyed during the special military operation. Tags: WtR Five new Mayville City Council members were sworn in Monday following the suspension of two council members earlier in the day by the citys mayor after four people complained that the two members had not attended a pair of meetings. Kim Olson and Ken Neumann received notices of suspension from Mayor John Guinn prior to Mondays council meeting alleging neglect of duty and insufficiency of duty pending an investigation and hearing scheduled for April 15. Olson and Neumann plan to fight the suspension to regain their seats. Three other seats on the six-member council had been vacant since January, Guinn said in a social media post following Mondays meeting. The two suspensions left Ald. Michael Schmidt as the only council member. Guinn appointed Nick Streckel and Nicolas Lodahl to serve on the council in place of Olson and Neumann until the suspension matter is resolved. Streckel and Lodahl were sworn in at 5:30 p.m. Monday, 30 minutes before the start of the council meeting Mayvilles City Council has had several resignations since September, leaving three empty spots on the council. Molly Henkel, Jack Abbott, Joe Riese, Bob Smith, Roger Smith and Joe Tillman resigned as council members, with Tillman being the last in January. Four people expressed interest in filling the three council seats prior to Mondays meeting. Schmidt, Streckel and Lodahl appointed Anthony DeBaker to the Ward 1 seat and Keith Lodahl to the Ward 2 seat. They also appointed Gene Frings to fill the Ward 4 seat, which Broc Fleischer had also sought. Suspension notices The notices of suspension Neumann and Olson received were signed by Guinn and said four Mayville residents were seeking their removal from office for alleged neglect of duty and insufficiency of duty. Neumann and Olson both said they missed very few meetings. There were three regularly scheduled meetings since Tillman resigned in January, leaving only three people on the council and three vacant positions. I attended two of the three meeting, Olson said. Ken Neumann was in urgent care from an injury that happened at work, which left only two of us available. At the time, Olson said she emailed the interim city clerk and was told the meeting would have to be cancelled due to a lack of a quorum. After resigning in January, Tillman began a write in campaign for the mayors position, coming in third in the primary election. Former Mayor Rob Boelk received the most votes, and Guinn came in second. The two will face each other in the April 2 election. When Joe Tillman resigned as alderman, it really put the council in a legal bind, Olson said. I contacted Tillman on two separate occasions by text. If he would just come back, rescind his decision so that we could take care of city business. Neumann said he had a medical excuse and both his work and the city were notified of his absence. There was no acknowledgement of my excused absence from the city clerk during the taking of the roll, Neumann said. Both Neumann and Olson plan to fight the suspension. Olson said they are also meeting with county officials to check into the statutes and ordinances. If it was easy to get rid of elected officials just imagine what could happen at every level of government, Neumann said. The next mayor has an enormous responsibility ahead of themselves. Will I be there putting Mayville back on track? You can bet on that I still have a year to serve. Back to business Guinn defended the move to suspend Neumann and Olson. After Tillman left, the city received expert advice from its special council in Madison on how to conduct meetings lawfully regarding quorum, Guinn posted on his official Facebook page Tuesday. Both Olson and Neumann ignored the advice in spite of having a 6-page legal opinion delivered to them. The city had gotten opinions from the League of Wisconsin Municipalities going over Wisconsin statute sections 17.12 and 17.13 pertaining to the removal of city and village officials who hold elected and appointed offices. The mayor has the right to suspend from office those whose removal is being sought and against whom charges have been filed, according to the legal opinion from the League of Wisconsin Municipalities. The mayor can then appoint someone to fill the seat while the suspension is in place. If the charges are dismissed, the suspended officer must be restored to their office. The city was out of time and it invoked a statutorily sound approach to achieve full ward representation and to conduct pending business that can only be done with participation of a Common Council, Guinn said. Pulling the ripcord (Monday) is not a decision that was taken lightly. Quite the contrary.... We went to extraordinary lengths to find a way to achieve our goals of keeping the government fully functional. The city is following sound legal advice received from a high-caliber law firm in Madison that has an entire practice devoted to municipal governmental law. We must negotiate a workout agreement to keep TID 6 financially strong, Guinn said of the tax incremental district on the citys east side that created in 2021. Nearly two million dollars is involved. That cannot wait and the council will decide on accepting terms recommended by our special counsel and our financial advisors from Ehlers. The mayor cannot proceed with a contract absent of a council. The business of the council during this suspension period is going to be limited in scope and no matter what, city business must continue. And as your mayor, I am obligated by statute to see to it that this is so. With the appointment of the five new council members, Guinn said during Mondays meeting, we can go back to doing the important business that cannot be delayed. Nick Lodahl is representing Ward 6. Nicholas has been an active participant with city boards over the years and brings terrific experience to serve, Guinn said. Rachel Smith is registered as a write-in candidate for Ward 6 in the April election. Stoekel is active in the community and serves on city boards, Guinn said. DeBaker will represent Ward 1 for the remainder of term ending in April 2025. Frings will serve in Ward 4 until the end of the term in mid-April. Gene has served on the council before and is a pillar of the community, Guinn said. Im glad he submitted his letter of interest, and he is now a welcome addition to the council. Keith Lodahl is representing Ward 2. Lodahl is a registered write-in candidate for the Ward 2 seat in the April 2 election. Close Mayville celebrates its new library Mayville celebrated the dedication of its new library on Thursday. The Portage Police Department has purchased new state-of-the-art Tasers intended to give officers more opportunities to stop a threat without escalating to the use of deadly force. The purpose of Tasers are not to hurt somebody, said Detective Pete Warning, a certified Taser instructor with the Police Department. Its to incapacitate them just enough so that we can gain compliance of the individual and control of the situation. In January, the Police Department signed a five-year subscription for $72,807 with Axon, which supplied the department with 15 Taser handles, 18 Taser batteries, free probe replacement, enhanced data management capabilities, advanced training opportunities and equipment, and more. As planned in its 2024 and future budgets, the Police Department will make five payments of about $14,500 over the next five years. Patrol officers will share Tasers, and command staff and detectives will have their own, said Police Chief Keith Klafke, who is also a certified Taser instructor. The new Tasers shouldnt be much of a learning curve for officers, said Warning, who expects them to be in use within the next couple months. Officers will soon start using a new Hook-and-Loop-Training suit and Velcro-tipped training probes as they go through more extensive and dynamic training scenarios, preparing them for real-life situations, he said. Search for Elijah Vue continues as police review camera footage from impounded vehicle Two Rivers Police are reviewing camera footage from a "vehicle of interest" in the search for missing 3-year-old Elijah Vue, of Wisconsin Dells. The departments previous Taser model, the X26P, which came out in 2013, will be donated or sold to police departments that still use them, said Klafke. The Taser X26P was a semi-accurate single shot smart weapon that simultaneously fired two probes from a maximum distance of about 25 feet, Warning said. The closer you are to your target, the smaller the spread of the two probes are, Warning said of the X26P. The further you are, the wider the spread, which lowers the weapons accuracy. ... So you really have to be in close quarters at times for it to be effective. While officers would use the Taser X26P with hopes both probes would penetrate skin in order to create an electrical current, the new Taser can deploy up to 10 individual targeted probes. And with about double the range of the X26P, the new Taser can accurately shoot up to 45 feet, creating more time and space for officers to de-escalate and resolve conflicts, said Warning. The advancements in accuracy, effectiveness and reliability means less likelihood of escalation to lethal force, said Warning. And that is always our goal. While officers are able to shoot up to 10 probes, Warning said only the four best connected probes will energize and create an electrical current in someones body. The new Taser also features a bright pulsing light and emits a loud alert sound when its alert trigger is activated, giving officers an opportunity to de-escalate situations without firing cartridges, Warning said. It also uses a green laser to improve accuracy in the daylight. Tara Glendenning, a member of this years Citizens Police Academy class who volunteered to be Tased, was struck with probes in her lower back and leg. She said she involuntarily reached back in attempt to remove them, as the shock from what happened almost overpowered any pain that came from them. You cant explain being not in control of your body for even just five seconds, said Glendenning. It was wild. In that five seconds, its basically all involuntary ... It felt like five minutes. City Administrator Michael Bablick, also a member of this years Citizens Police Academy who volunteered to be Tased at the class, said while the Taser inflicted some pain, it wasnt enough that he felt would deter a suspect from continuing their actions. The worst part of the whole thing was Pete standing there shouting Taser, Taser, Taser, said Bablick. It was pain, but it was a weird pain. Your entire body had pain, not just where the probes hit. Additional child neglect charges filed against the mother of a missing Wisconsin boy Prosecutors have filed additional child neglect charges against the mother of a 3-year-old Wisconsin boy who vanished last month. A judge also rejected her request for a bond reduction Thursday. Katrina Baurs son was last seen Feb. 20 at a residence in Two Rivers. Baur was charged last month with one felony count of party-to-a-crime child neglect and two misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing an officer. Manitowoc County prosecutors amended the felony count Thursday to a charge of party-to-a-crime chronic child neglect. They also filed a misdemeanor charge of neglecting a child against the 31-year-old. Bablick also said time seemed to move real slowly during the experience. It seemed like it was an hour, said Bablick. Because everything happened very slow, you start to think, Did this thing malfunction? Why is it still on? While the process of being shocked by the Taser was excruciatingly slow for Bablick, he said the whole experience actually ended a bit quicker than he expected. It didnt take a long time to get back to normal, said Bablick. After the officers are done, and have to shoot another round, you can see how somebody could get back up again. ... But it does totally incapacitate you for the time youre down there. Klafke said Portage officers usually only use fire their Tasers two or three times a year, because just simply drawing the weapon and telling an individual they have a Taser pointed at them is usually enough to gain their compliance. People know what the Taser is now, said Klafke. They know electricity is involved and most people are not a fan of electricity like that. While the electrical shock only lasts about five seconds, Klafke said that is generally all the time officers need. Five seconds is our opportunity to control the situation and move in to subdue the individual, said Klafke. Its enough time for us to reevaluate a situation, put away weapons or to let our partners move in to stabilize. Because as soon as that five seconds wears off, its our chance to move in and put the handcuffs on someone. Here's what Dane County-area legislative districts look like under Wisconsin's new maps Dane County's legislative boundaries and potentially your representation will change under the state's new legislative maps. Here's what the districts look like now. Texas officials are preparing for big crowds on April 8, when much of the state will be the path of totality for a total solar eclipse. Timothy D. Easley/Associated Press A group of students from the Space Engineering Technologies Academy at Krueger Middle School cheer as they watch the annular eclipse in Kerrville on Oct. 14. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Travis County has issued a disaster declaration ahead of the April 8 eclipse, with officials saying the crowds drawn by the cosmic event will overflow local highways and strain key resources. The rare total eclipse is expected to draw at least 1 million out-of-state visitors to Texas, along with the crowds of Texans who travel to be in the path of totality, which is the track of the moons shadow across the Earths surface. Much of the Texas Hill Country will fall within that path. Travis County, which is home to Austin, issued its disaster declaration on Friday in anticipation of extremely large crowds, increased traffic and enormous strains on first responders, hospitals and roads on the days leading up to, on and after the day of the total solar eclipse. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The disaster declaration will allow our first responders and public safety officials to better manage traffic and crowds as we anticipate the population to potentially double in size, and we want to ensure everyone can enjoy the total solar eclipse in Travis County, Travis County Judge Andy Brown said in a written statement. Residents can expect heavy traffic as visitors travel through the Austin area, especially right after the eclipse. The county recommends locals work from home if they can, reschedule non-urgent appointments and get gas and groceries before April 8. Most areas of Austin will see between 30 seconds and 2 minutes of the eclipse. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Those hosting events of 50 or more people must inform the county through a form on the countys website. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., talks with Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough after President Joe Biden delivered the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Thursday March 7, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Children walk past classrooms at the LEA Primary and Secondary School Kuriga where students were kidnapped in Kuriga, Kaduna, Nigeria, Saturday, March 9, 2024. Security forces swept through large forests in Nigeria's northwest region on Friday in search of nearly 300 children who were abducted from their school a day earlier in the West African nation's latest mass kidnap which analysts and activists blamed on the failure of intelligence and slow security response. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba) When you set your clock forward an hour every spring for daylight saving time (DST), it doesnt just make you feel tired, experts say. A growing amount of research indicates that it also affects your body in other surprising and negative ways. Daylight saving time throws your bodys internal clock out of whack, which can negatively affect your health in ways you dont realize, says Jocelyn Cheng, M.D., a neurologist, sleep medicine specialist and vice chair of the Public Safety Committee for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Light is the most powerful regulator of our circadian rhythm. When we change the light exposure we get in the morning and at night, it throws that off, Cheng says. There are adverse health consequences and real-life consequences as a result of that. Losing an hour may not seem like a big deal, but it "really can have a significant impact on our overall health and well-being," says Melissa Lipford, M.D., a neurologist and sleep specialist at the Mayo Clinic. Daylight saving time has been around in the United States since 1918, when it was thought to save energy during World War I. In recent years, increasing concerns about health effects have prompted at least 40 states to propose legislation to eliminate the twice-yearly time changes. A 2020 survey conducted by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine found that 63 percent of adults would prefer to eliminate seasonal time changes. For most people, setting the clock ahead in the spring is the more dreaded change. The average person gets about 40 minutes less sleep on the Monday after springing forward for daylight saving time, according to the Sleep Foundation. And experts say its not unusual for a persons sleep to be disrupted for days or weeks afterward. Here are some ways the disruptions from daylight saving time can affect your body. 1. May increase risk of heart attack and stroke Experts have long said daylight saving time takes a toll on your heart. One study found a 24 percent increase in heart attacks on the Monday after daylight saving time starts. Another found the risk of stroke is 8 percent higher on the two days following the spring and the fall time changes. In addition, the number of people hospitalized with atrial fibrillation, or A-fib the most common type of irregular heartbeat surges in the days following the spring time change, according to a 2020 analysis of 6,089 patient admissions at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. But researchers at the Mayo Clinic are questioning the idea that daylight saving time increases heart attacks and strokes. In a new study looking at more than 36 million adults age 18 and over across the United States, researchers analyzed heart attacks and strokes at a large insurance databank, in the week after the spring and fall daylight saving transitions. Benjamin Satterfield, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, said previous small studies on an increase in heart risks from daylight savings prompted researchers to look at the data from a large group of people in the United States. "These cardiovascular events are common health conditions, so this led to the question of whether this is more than would be expected if this had not followed the daylight saving time transition," said Satterfield, lead author of the study, which was published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovations, Quality & Outcomes. He told AARP that after reviewing the data they concluded that the very small increase in cardiovascular events heart attacks, strokes, cardiac arrests, etc. we observed after daylight saving time change on a national level is not likely to have a meaningful, clinical impact. Dallas-Fort Worth area cardiologist John Osborne, M.D., said the science isnt settled on whether the time changes in the spring and fall are dangerous for heart health. A number of other studies have seen both clinically and significant increases in cardiovascular events during DST transitions, so I dont think the debate is in any way settled, says Osborne, an American Heart Association volunteer expert. Clearly, for heart health, sleep and sleep hygiene are important and should continue to be addressed to help reduce risks. To do otherwise would mean that we are dangerously asleep at the wheel, Osborne told AARP. Scientists arent sure why daylight saving time might affect your heart and blood vessels, but its likely related to the disruption of the bodys circadian rhythm, says Donald Lloyd-Jones, M.D., chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern Universitys Feinberg School of Medicine and past president of the American Heart Association. We get established in these patterns and the body knows what to expect, he says. When those patterns get disrupted, you tend to see differences in stress hormone levels and differences in blood pressure levels. Both of those things can be triggers for heart attacks and strokes that might not otherwise have happened. Edward McKinley reports on Texas state government and politics from the Hearst Bureau in Austin for the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News, with a particular focus on education issues. He can be reached at edward.mckinley@houstonchronicle.com. He is a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism and Georgetowns Masters in American Government program. He previously reported for The Albany Times Union and the Kansas City Star newspapers, and he originally hails from the great state of Minnesota. Coca-Cola India is thrilled to announce the launch of Coca-Cola Foodmarks in India, under its A Recipe for Magic global campaign. Inspired by culture and created with the Real Magic of CocaCola, Coca-Cola Foodmarks celebrates global "food landmarks". These are destinations and experiences with a recipe of three key ingredients: the perfect moment, the perfect meal and an ice-cold Coca-Cola. As its global rollout, the launch event in India was held at Embassy restaurant, an iconic standout in Connaught Place in Delhi which brought the attendees back to the pivotal time of Hindi Cinema. It was graced by renowned Bollywood personalities, Janhvi Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor, who honored the legendary Raj Kapoor. The highlight was the timeless photograph of two icons, Raj Kapoor and bottle of Coke, both in one frame! The experience recreated Raj Kapoors on-set meal moments, inviting people to enter the golden age of Bollywood, the 1950s, through an immersive film set with tech forward interactive moments using A.I. From filmy decor to special photo backdrops, stardom posters to a musical stairway, guests were treated to an interactive Coca-Cola experience. A regal entry by the Kapoor stars in vintage cars added to the overall charm of the evening. Local influencers and dignitaries were also present to experience the magic of Coca-Cola Foodmarks. The event spotlighted Raj Kapoors beloved Dal Makhani paired with ice-cold Coca-Cola, paying homage to his timeless tastes and traditions. This pairing will live on as part of the menu at The Embassy in New Delhi and guests coming to restaurant can try this as an offering. "We are thrilled to introduce Coca-Cola Foodmarks in India, a country known for its rich culinary heritage and vibrant food culture," said Kaushik Prasad, Senior Director - Marketing, Coca-Cola INSWA. " Coca-Cola Foodmarks embodies the essence of Coke that is to spread Real Magic of shared moments, cultural nuances and culinary excellence. We are excited to bring this experience offering patrons an opportunity to savor flavors while creating lasting memories." As part of the campaign, CocaCola will debut immersive, in-person experiences around the world, showcasing unique experiences, each inspired by an iconic cultural moment. From the time Marilyn Monroe was photographed enjoying a hot dog and a Coca-Cola from a New York City food cart to scenes captured in the Hong Kong film The God of Cookery, Coca-Cola will bring to life the diversityand unityof their Recipes for Magic. In conversation with Adgully, Joy Chatterjee, Associate Vice President, Sales and Marketing Head of Mankinds Consumer Business Unit, delves into the heart of Prega News latest campaign #SheCanCarryBoth. This unique initiative sheds light on the resilience of working women, particularly in the teaching profession, emphasising the brand's commitment to supporting women during pregnancy. Could you take us through the core thought and conceptualisation of the latest campaign of Prega News - #SheCanCarryBoth? Prega News recent campaign, #SheCanCarryBoth, was born out of a recognition that approximately 50% working women returning to work after having a child weren't getting the acknowledgment they deserve, both at work and at home. Despite their impressive multitasking skills, they often went unnoticed. As a brand committed to supporting women during pregnancy, Prega News wanted to shine a light on these womens resilience. The campaign chose to focus on the teaching profession, where many women work, aiming to celebrate their ability to balance work and personal life. Through #SheCanCarryBoth, Prega News hopes to boost confidence and promote a broader cultural shift towards recognizing and appreciating the diverse capabilities of working mothers. In this campaign, the strategic emphasis on the teaching profession was selected due to the notable prevalence of female staff in the education sector in India. Prega News campaigns over the years have highlighted empowering working moms, taking care of pregnant house helps, gender equality and even the harmful effects of smoking on a babys DNA. How has the brand strategy and communication been developed and evolved over the years? Could you take us through this with some relevant examples? In 2017, our market share stood at an impressive 70%. At that juncture, our marketing task extended beyond mere promotion; it involved cultivating a genuine affection for our brand. This endeavour sought to establish an emotional connection with the millions of women our brand served. As the leading brand in our category according to IQVIA, we recognised the responsibility that came with our position. Motivated by this sense of duty, we embarked on an initiative aimed at enhancing the well-being of pregnant women and mothers. Our brand, synonymous with pregnancy testing kits, enjoyed the trust and loyalty of a substantial consumer base. It was now time for the brand to reciprocate in a meaningful manner. Our objective was not merely to convey a message but to instigate a social change through our communication. One significant initiative marking the commencement of this journey was the Your Second Home campaign. This campaign urged corporate entities to be attuned to the needs of pregnant women who continue to work until the last day of delivery. Pregnancy brings with it various discomforts, ranging from back pain to nausea and morning sickness. Often, workplace infrastructure fails to provide adequate care. We firmly believed that organizations should bear the responsibility of being more considerate in their approach towards pregnant women. As a trusted pregnancy care partner, Prega News addresses a spectrum of issues women face from pre-conception to pregnancy and post-pregnancy. Our discussions encompassed a range of topics, including postpartum depression, gender bias, assistance for domestic helpers, infertility issues, and confidence-related concerns. The underlying intention was not only to disseminate information but to contribute to societal shifts that positively impact the lives of expecting mothers on both physical and emotional levels. Prega News has transformed into a holistic pregnancy partner, extending beyond its initial role of pregnancy detection. Through years of research, the brand now offers a curated range of products for each stage of the pregnancy journey. From pre-pregnancy, including PregaHope fertility lubricants and supplements, and Ova News ovulation detection kit, to during pregnancy with Prega News, Prega News Advance, and Prega News Value Pack, and post-pregnancy support with Prega Happy Stretch Mark Cream, Prega News is dedicated to providing comprehensive solutions for womens well-being. Prega News recently installed an innovative billboard in Cyber Hub, Gurugram as an extension of its #SheCanCarryBoth campaign. Could you explain this outdoor activation and how it was implemented? What is the response received? The implementation of the innovative billboard at Cyber Hub, Gurugram, was executed in collaboration with Ideacafe agency. The billboard was equipped with AI technology that could interact with any passerby in real-time. This unique feature allowed us to engage with an impressive 5 out of every 10 individuals who walked in front of the screen. The activation garnered substantial attention, with a sizable crowd gathering to participate. The essence of our #SheCanCarryBoth campaign revolves around acknowledging the incredible women who adeptly juggle the demands of both work and family life. Many women, despite their remarkable ability to manage everything seamlessly, often go unnoticed. Our billboard served as a platform to appreciate these women, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Observing the genuine happiness on their faces as they received acknowledgment was truly rewarding. Moreover, we extended the impact of this activation to digital platforms, with our videos on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook generating a flood of positive comments. The initiative has struck a chord with our audience, with many expressing their appreciation for the campaign and its empowering message. The simple act of giving someone a compliment, as demonstrated through our innovative billboard, has proven to be a powerful way to brighten someone's day. Coming to brand performance, what has the growth of Prega News been in the last five years? What is its current market share? What is your growth strategy for the next five years? Over the past five years, Prega News has demonstrated robust growth, boasting a commendable Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 24%. According to IQVIA MAT Dec23, our current market share stands impressively at 85%. Looking ahead, our growth strategy for the next five years is underpinned by a dynamic approach. We are focused on aggressive plans, particularly emphasizing rural penetration and fostering increased brand affinity. Notably, we have recently evolved from being solely a pregnancy detection kit provider to positioning ourselves as an expert pregnancy care partner. This strategic shift involves expanding our product portfolio to cover pre-conception, during, and post-pregnancy phases. Our overarching goal is to be a comprehensive resource for our consumers throughout their pregnancy journey. By offering not only essential products but also a wealth of information, we aim to be a one-stop solution for individuals seeking support and guidance during this significant chapter of their lives. This holistic approach reflects our commitment to enhancing the overall pregnancy experience for our valued consumers. What is your strategy for tapping the regional markets? How different is your approach for the Tier 2, 3 and smaller markets vis-a-vis the Tier 1 and Metro markets? Prega News has strategically approached regional markets, recognizing the unique dynamics of Tier 2, 3, and smaller markets compared to Tier 1 and metro markets. The brand has harnessed the influential role of Asha workers, engaging over 2500 of them across different states in India. These workers conduct door-to-door interactions, raising awareness about the benefits of early pregnancy detection. This grassroots approach is part of the "Shakti Awareness Program," which includes VAN activities and digital initiatives, emphasizing the convenience and accuracy of at-home pregnancy detection. To enhance its engagement, Prega News launched initiatives like "Prega News Para Doshobhuja Season 2" during Durga Puja in West Bengal. This campaign encouraged women to showcase their talents, fostering brand love and reaching 1000 participants in its second season. Such initiatives ensure a meaningful and impactful presence in both regional and urban markets. In 2021, Prega News achieved a penetration rate of 17%, targeting an increase to 25% by fiscal year 2027. The brand's success is evident in the sale of approximately 10 crore pregnancy testing kits within a year, making it the No. 1 brand with an 85% market share. The commitment to rural penetration is reflected in the market share increase from 81.6% to 86% in rural areas between November 2021 and November 2023. Prega News regional market approach focuses on empowering Asha workers and emphasizing the importance of early pregnancy detection for maternal and fetal health. This commitment is evident in the brand's continuous efforts to educate communities about the benefits of pregnancy detection kits, contributing to overall growth and success. Prega News plays a pivotal role in spreading awareness through ASHA workers, ensuring that women have the knowledge to determine pregnancies at home and facilitating the prompt initiation of Antenatal Care (ANC). The comprehensive strategy showcases Prega News's dedication to achieving penetration goals, addressing rural dynamics, and effectively communicating and implementing crucial healthcare initiatives. Could you tell us about your vernacular content integrations to create brand value and enhance product awareness? For Prega News, we prioritize vernacular content integrations to establish a more intimate and relatable connection with our diverse consumer base. Recognizing the importance of speaking in the language preferred by our audience, we have strategically collaborated with well-known personalities to represent our brand in different regions. In Hindi-speaking markets, the talented Anushka Sharma has been a compelling ambassador, resonating with audiences through her authenticity and appeal. For the South markets, we have partnered with the versatile Kajal Aggarwal, leveraging her strong regional influence to enhance our brand presence. In the East zone, Srabanti Chatterjee has been the face of Prega News, ensuring that our messaging is not only linguistically relevant but also culturally resonant. Mankind Pharma has seen considerable success through its content marketing initiatives. Could you walk us through the companys content marketing strategy and how you have been ensuring stickiness of content? Mankind Pharma's content marketing strategy is grounded in the core principle of fostering genuine connections with its audience. Beyond conventional promotional efforts, the company aims to create a profound and emotional bond with its consumers. The strategy involves not just conveying messages but instigating social change through impactful communication. By incorporating real-life challenges and addressing them through meaningful content, Mankind Pharma ensures the stickiness of its messaging. The strategy resonates with its audience on a deeper level, creating a lasting impact and fostering brand loyalty through a commitment to social responsibility and genuine care. Mankind also has strong investments in influencer marketing. What are the key factors that drive your strategic influencer collaborations, especially in this digital-first era? Certainly, influencer marketing plays a pivotal role in our overall strategy, particularly in the digital-first era. An illustrative example of our commitment to this approach is the launch event of our comprehensive range from pre-pregnancy to post-pregnancy, held in Mumbai last year. The event featured the prominent presence of Sonam Kapoor alongside 60 mom influencers. This collaboration not only amplified our brand's reach but also established a genuine connection with our target audience. In our influencer collaborations, we embrace a diversified approach, engaging with influencers across the spectrum, including nano, micro, middle-tier, and celebrity influencers. We believe that each category brings a unique perspective and audience, contributing to a well-rounded outreach strategy. Regardless of their follower count, every influencer we partner with plays a crucial role in connecting with consumers, and what sets our collaborations apart is that these influencers are also consumers of Prega News themselves. This authenticity adds a layer of credibility to our messaging, showcasing real-life usage experiences and reinforcing the trustworthiness of our brand. The recently released new consumer classification by MRSI ISEC is in the process of being examined and adopted by brands, media agencies and research bodies. What are your observations on ISEC and its impact? We see the newly introduced consumer classification by MRSI ISEC as a valuable tool, especially considering the significant evolution in women's representation in household decisions. This classification system is expected to be highly beneficial in assessing and understanding the distinct parameters of rural and urban India more accurately. The latest edition of Adgullys #GullyChat, held on March 6, 2043, focussed on How Women Leadership are Driving Diversity, Equality, Inclusivity for Business Success. To take part in the definitive discussions, Adgully brought together a distinguished panel of industry experts: Amandeep Arora, Head of Communications, SEO, and Content Marketing, Enkash Bhavya Sharma, Director, Communications & ESG, Urban Company Ena Chakravorty, VP - Communications, PR & CSR India, ROADIS Jyotsna Dash Nanda, AVP Corporate Communications DS Group & Co originator CommsAdda Madhurima Bhatia, Media Engagement & Partnerships, Ipsos India & APEC Mou Chakravorty, Associate Director, Marketing, Brand & Communications Deloitte India Tanmana Rath, Lead Communications and Stakeholder Engagement, The Energy and Resources Institute How do women leaders contribute to fostering a more inclusive corporate culture? According to Jyotsna Dash Nanda, Women leaders bring a unique perspective and approach that fosters inclusivity, diversity, and innovation. She further said, Women-led businesses excel on profitability and sustainability, prioritising CSR and work life balance, key factors for attraction. For Madhurima Bhatia, it starts at hiring, by getting the right balance of men and women in the team at all levels. And then teams are trained, given tasks to ensure every member gets counted. She also considered pay parity to be another important area. Mou Chakravorty emphasised on three key big moves that are needed: Inspiring inclusion by fostering a culture of courage and sisterhood so women support each other Truly believe in the art of networking, mentoring and sponsoring as a collective force to voice opinion Amplify efforts together. Sharing her views, Bhavya Sharma said, Lead by example - like Gandhiji said, Be the change you want to see. Exhibit positive and inclusive behaviours Create official & unofficial mentorship channels Highlight success stories of other female colleagues. The more we talk about achievements the better, Sharma added. Amandeep Arora believed that women leaders contribute diverse perspectives, unique experiences, and varied leadership styles, fostering an inclusive corporate culture. Tanmana Rath added here, Women leaders bring a unique perspective and approach. They challenge the status quo, disrupt traditional hierarchies, and create a more collaborative and empathetic work environment. Ena Chakravorty said, Having women at the leadership level sets the right example for an inclusive culture that speaks heaps about equality. Focus on hiring female staff to ensure gender balance, fair evaluation, mentoring and training programs are instrumental in creating an inclusive culture. KreditBee, Indias leading online credit solution providers, today announced the launch of its latest campaign, 'Inspiring Inclusion: One Loan at a Time,' for the International Womens Day. This campaign showcases the brands commitment to foster financial independence and inclusivity among women, empowering them to overcome challenges and seize opportunities. Many women face multiple socio-economic barriers in accessing credit making them underserved consumers. The 'Inspiring Inclusion: One Loan at a Time' campaign highlights KreditBee's commitment to bridging credit gap and strengthening inclusive financial practices. In the last year alone, KreditBee enabled credit to over 7 lakh women (including new-to-credit consumers) across the nation by disbursing over INR 2,500 crores in loans. This underscores the companys dedication to offering women the financial support they need, subsequently fostering economic empowerment and bridging the financial inclusion gap. As part of the campaign, KreditBee invited 300 female customers to share personal stories of their journey overcoming financial hurdles with the help of the brand. These stories serve as a celebration of the women who have taken charge of their financial circumstance by the brand. Ishan Bose, Chief Marketing Officer, KreditBee said, "Despite an uptick in the bank-accounts owned by women, awareness about credit solutions is still very low among women. As per TransUnion Cibil, only 6.3 crore out of the 45.4 crore women in India, are active borrowers. Through our campaign Inspiring Inclusion: One Loan at a Time', we want to highlight the gap in access to credit, and celebrate the women who chose to overcome it. The digital campaign includes online amplification of the ad and creatives across all social media platforms in metros as well as tier 2 and tier 3 towns. KreditBee currently offers diverse credit solutions like personal loans, online/offline checkout finance, and digitally-enabled secured loans, catering especially to new-to-credit customers, and further empowers them with insurance, credit score reports, and merchant-side offers. In honour of International Women's Day, LG Electronics, Indias leading consumer durable brand, launched its month-long #BreakTheLabel campaign. This empowering initiative aims to spotlight and celebrate the remarkable achievements of women who have shattered stereotypes and excelled in unconventional fields. The campaign kicked off with a ground-breaking panel discussion at the LG Innovation Gallery on March 5th, featuring inspiring women from diverse backgrounds who have made significant impacts in their respective domains. The panel discussion featured a stellar line-up of panellists, including Priyanka Mangesh Mohite, Sneha Rathor Khandelwal, Capt. Dr. Sneha Sharma, Barkha Kaul, Shikha Khushu, and Shweta Mehta. Those remarkable women represent a diverse range of backgrounds and expertise, each making a significant impact in their domain. Through the panel discussion, LG honoured their resilience, determination, and unwavering spirit. The #BreakTheLabel campaign is a testament to LG's commitment to gender equality and empowerment. By amplifying the voices and stories of these trailblazing women, LG aims to inspire others to challenge societal norms and embrace their full potential. Commenting on the launch of the month-long campaign, Hong Ju Jeon, Managing Director, LG Electronics India, said, We are delighted to introduce our #BreakTheLabel campaign for International Women's Day, driven by real life inspiring stories full of optimism and dedication. Life's Good when we empower women to defy stereotypes and pursue their aspirations, fostering a world of equality and opportunity. Let's celebrate the resilience and accomplishments of women worldwide as we unite for a brighter, more inclusive future. During the discussion, Priyanka Mangesh Mohite, Fearless Mountaineers & Tenzing Norgay National Adventuure Awardee, said, As a mountaineer, I've learned the power of multitasking and the importance of passion in conquering every peak. My advice to budding climbers: in a world focused solely on the summit, remember to consider alternatives and know yourself deeply. Stay mentally strong, start slow, and cherish life's moments. Taking one step back doesn't diminish our journey; it only fuels our determination for the next ascent. Sneha Rathor Khandelwal, Visionary woman entrepreneur and the CEO of Sanfort group of schools said, As women, our greatest strength lies in the unwavering support of our families. Yet, we often carry the weight of guilt and self-doubt, feeling we are less than what we truly are. It's time to recognize and appreciate our worth, to empower and uplift one another. Let us bridge the gap by upskilling and empowering women, ensuring they thrive in every aspect of life. Capt. Sneha Sharma, International Car Racing Formula 4 Ladies Champion and commercial pilot, said, As women, societal conditioning often burdens us with unwarranted guilt, constraining our choices and aspirations. Despite these pressures, we must boldly embrace our passions and pursuits without apology. Whether we're donning a helmet or chasing our dreams, our gender should not define our capabilitieswe are skilled professionals first and foremost. Let's foster an environment where women feel empowered to carve their own paths, discover their passions, and confidently claim their space in every field they choose. Shweta Mehta, MTV Roadies Rising 2017 Winner, an engineer, fitness model & actor, embodying resilience and determination said, I found my ikigai in doing my job with heart and soul. Every day is a fresh canvas to follow this purpose. If you haven't discovered your ikigai yet, seek it fervently. Let go of outcomes and focus on the essence of your deeds. Barkha, Accomplished model turned DJ, symbolizing versatility and fearlessness, said, I believe in the power of determination, self-trust, and unwavering dedication. For me, balance is an art, education is essential, and family support is invaluable. With 100% commitment, I stand tall, supporting my fellow DJs on our journey to success. Shikha, Dynamic leader, Engineer, handling OEMs in the Automobile Industry, said,As a generation, we bear the responsibility to drive change. Adaptation is key; while others may resist, kindness towards oneself and others is paramount. Through connectivity and networking, we forge our paths, making space for ourselves and shaping a brighter future together. The event was followed by another meet & greet of Influential Entrepreneurs in the month-long campaign, LG will embark on an exploration to tribute the commendable journeys of women namely Malvica Saxena, owner of Funky Footwear brand The Quirky Naari, Smriti & Kriti Singhal, Co-founders of Youth Marketing Agency The Education Tree, Aditi Gupta, founder of an ed-tech company Techtip24, and other accomplished women who have carved out their paths, leaving indelible marks in their respective domains. Their stories not only inspire but also serve as a testament to the power of diversity and the transformative impact of women's contributions across all spheres of society. This month-long campaign aims to shine a spotlight on these unsung heroes, amplifying their voices and celebrating their achievements. Saudi Arabia is making a significant investment in its future with the launch of a new programme aimed at training over 1,000 engineers in artificial intelligence (AI). This initiative, called AIM, is a collaboration between the National Program for Information Technology Development (NPITD), the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA), and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. AIM goes beyond just training. It aims to establish a comprehensive AI ecosystem in Saudi Arabia. This includes developing the necessary infrastructure, fostering collaboration between industries and government entities, and supporting the creation of new AI-powered businesses. All of this aligns with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, the kingdom's ambitious plan for economic diversification and technological advancement. At the heart of AIM lies the upskilling of Saudi Arabia's workforce. The program will train over 1,000 engineers in machine learning and AI, equipping them with the expertise needed to drive innovation and contribute to the development of the country's AI sector. The potential economic benefits of AI are undeniable. According to global consultancy PwC, AI is expected to contribute over $135 billion to the Saudi economy by 2030, representing a significant boost to the kingdom's GDP. By investing in AI training and fostering a supportive ecosystem, Saudi Arabia is taking a proactive approach to securing its place in the future. This initiative has the potential to transform the country's economy, create new job opportunities, and position Saudi Arabia as a leader in the field of AI. The FBI warned that funding cuts in a fiscal 2024 spending package would hamper counterintelligence activities and the ability to investigate human trafficking and crimes against children, as House Republicans this week touted funding reductions for federal law enforcement agencies. Much of the $654 million in cuts announced Friday that Republicans have negotiated with Democrats come from a reduction in the construction at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville. Out of the $654 million lawmakers agreed to cut ... $622 million came from eliminating what was essentially an old earmark: money for construction at the bureaus campus at Redstone Arsenal, The New York Times reported. That money was part of retired U.S. Sen. Richard Shelbys famous earmarks for his home state. What they wont tell you is, 95 percent of that cut is eliminating an earmark from Richard Shelby, because Richard Shelby is no longer here to defend his pet project building back in Alabama, U.S. Rep Chip Roy of Texas told The Times. The FBI is building a sprawling, college-like campus that could eventually create as many as 5,000 jobs. In 2019, the FBI said more than 4,000 jobs would be shifted to Redstone Arsenal. It has also been touted as a second FBI headquarters. The more than $621 million in cuts represents only about half of the $1.3 billion total project cost. House conservatives now have something to show in their monthslong push to slash funding at the FBI, Justice Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, citing political bias within the agencies and criticism of policies. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pointed to a 6% cut for the FBI at a press conference Wednesday, indicating the FBI and other entities are really overreaching and have been turned in some ways against the American people. House Republicans created a subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government based on a wide mix of complaints. Conservatives have raised grievances with a DOJ memo they say targeted parents, condemned the way the FBI has handled certain politically sensitive investigations and accused the agency of pressuring companies to censor social media. Johnson said the spending package cuts 3% from the Justice Department and 7% from the ATF. And thats just a start, Johnson said. We have a lot more priorities and things that we need to advance. But those cuts were not as deep as House Republicans sought in their version of the fiscal 2024 Commerce-Justice-Science spending bill, where the FBI would have seen a more than $400 million cut to their salaries and expenses account. Instead, the negotiated funding package would cut $32 million from that line item. Funding for that item would be $680 million less than the Biden administration had requested. "Out of the $654 million lawmakers agreed to cut this year from the F.B.I.s operating budget, $622 million came from eliminating what was essentially an old earmark: money for construction at the bureaus campus at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala."https://t.co/W49ZZ2oURB Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) March 9, 2024 FBI response The FBI in a statement this week lambasted the cuts as a win for China because of reduced funding for counterintelligence activities. The reductions will also degrade the agencys capacity to investigate human trafficking and crimes against children, while also reducing the FBIs ability to fight drugs, gangs and violent crime, the agency said. Related: FBIs mission at 2nd headquarters still growing at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville The FBI also said the legislation completely eliminates funding to maintain facilities at the FBI Academy and the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Va. The budget agreement does not allow the FBI to sustain current operations needed to protect the American people, the statement said. Jim Pasco, executive director of the National Fraternal Order of Police, said the funding cuts are expected to hurt efforts to fight crime, as federal authorities work closely with state and local law enforcement nationwide. To say you support law enforcement and then withhold funding for law enforcement is at variance with common sense, Pasco said when asked about Republican messaging. The cuts that House Republicans touted this week for the FBI are largely construction funds. The fiscal 2024 package passed by the House earlier this week and being considered by the Senate would fund the FBI at $10.7 billion, or $654 million less than the fiscal 2023 enacted level, according to a House Republican summary. A construction account would get $621 million less than in fiscal 2023, according to an explanatory statement. The Biden administration asked for $62 million for construction but would get $30 million under the bill. Congress in recent fiscal years heavily funded the FBI construction account, as Shelby, an influential appropriator, took credit for funneling money back to Alabama. For fiscal 2022, Shelby highlighted that he secured $570 million in funding for FBI construction at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. And for fiscal 2023, he said the bill included $652 million for FBI construction at Redstone Arsenal. But with Shelby gone, a reduction in construction spending could appear like a big cut. Roy, said the FBI cut was not a real reduction for the agency. It was a new building that was a Shelby earmark and hes no longer here to defend it, so its not actual cuts, Roy said. AL.com contributed to this report. ___ 2024 CQ-Roll Call, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Visit cqrollcall.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. This is an opinion column. Katie Britts kitchen was empty. Her table was bare. There was nothing to see but her. And she was they told us ready for her closeup. Come on in, America. Meet your future, and see just how normal it looks. None of this Tommy Tuberville stuff, with the casual racism or the flip-flopping or the hopeless ignorance about the three branches of government. This was Katie Britt, Alabamas Great Slight Hope. This was Katie freakin Britt, the second coming of Dick Shelby, who could keep his dignity, and hold on to most of himself while maintaining his conservative values, bringing home pork by the barrelful and appeasing the red meat Republican crowd and the Business Council of Alabama to boot. Katie freakin Britt, the one they said was different. The one they said could show this whole country that young, educated GOP women were still a thing. They said she could demonstrate that Republicans could still be civil and dignified and respected, that they didnt have to be performative clowns in MAGA hats, like Marjorie Taylor Greene. Katie Britt was the answer. All eyes were on her Thursday night as she stepped onto a vast stage from that unnaturally empty kitchen to respond to President Joe Bidens State of the Union address. The country was watching as she began to read her predictable script, to audition for the role of her lifetime. America was looking for proof of normalcy. And it got The Three Faces of Eve. Which is sort of appropriate, I suppose, since Britt has had to use a slew of personalities to pretend to be everything to everyone in her own states GOP. Like always, you become who you pretend to be. And Katie Britt was everybody but the person people claim she is. What was the part she was trying out for again? One who could restore faith in the reason and reasonability of the future Republican Party? Some said the real audition was for the vice presidency of the United States, a shot at being second in command to Donald Trump himself, an old mans heartbeat away from becoming the leader of the free world, should it all go down as some polls predict. All she had to do was read her script on a teleprompter, catch the bouquet, take her bow and take her place as a politician to be both respected and reckoned with. And then And then she started to talk. And by the third paragraph of her prepared speech it was clear she was no longer auditioning for the role of vice president, or for the role of respected politician, or the role of likable mom or genuine human. She was Faye Dunaway in Mommie Dearest shrieking No wire hangers! She was Nicolas Cage in anything. She was William Shatner in The Wrath of Katie. She was over-the-top and anything and everything but reasonable. She wasnt trying out for VP. She was trying out for the cold open of Saturday Night Live. As the punchline and the punching bag. Katie Britt was supposed to be the smart one, the reasonable one, the regular one. She was supposed to be the one who would make Alabamians proud or less embarrassed than they too often are. Unfortunately, she will be remembered another way. As a joke. Which is too bad. Because she seems to come off pretty well when she only pretends to be herself. John Archibald is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize. A Birmingham man has been convicted of a lesser charge in the blunt force death of his girlfriends young child. Christopher Eugene Knight, 39, was initially charged with capital murder in the 2020 slaying of 1-year-old Jayden McGee. A Jefferson County jury on Friday found Knight guilty of reckless manslaughter. Knight was initially arrested in March 2020 and indicted the following year on charges of capital murder and felony murder. The Jefferson County District Attorneys Office in November 2023 filed a motion dismissing the capital murder charge, which was granted. The felony murder indictment in the case remained. Following the dismissal of the capital murder charge, Knight was released on bond from the Jefferson County Jail after being held for three years and eight months. Jayden, who had just turned 1, was rushed to Childrens of Alabama Saturday, March 7, 2020, after he became unresponsive and had trouble breathing. Doctors there, as well as a subsequent autopsy, found severe head injuries. The boy remained on life support until Tuesday, March 10, 2020, when the support was removed. He was pronounced dead a short time later. Jaydens mother was at work and the boy was in the care of Knight when the man called her to tell her that the child was barely breathing. It was about 7:30 a.m. and Natasha McGee left her job at UAB and rushed to the home at 1100 Huffman Road. McGee grabbed Jayden and put him in the car to take him to the hospital, but realized she needed to call paramedics instead. He was alive, but he wasnt saying anything, she previously told AL.com. He was fighting to breathe. I knew he was still alive, but he wasnt alert. Once at the hospital, doctors told McGee that Jayden had suffered a fractured skull and had a blood clot. Jayden was playful and full of life. He touched so many peoples hearts, she said in 2020. He just loved to play. He would smile and just brighten up your day. Knights trial began Monday. The jury reached its verdict late Friday afternoon. The case was prosecuted by deputy district attorneys Julie McMakin and Elise Driskell. Knight was represented by attorneys Emory Anthony, Luckie Milad and Moses Stone. Following the conviction, Circuit Judge Shanta Craig Owens revoked Knights bond, and he was booked back into the Jefferson County Jail. Owens set a sentencing date for April 24. The Haitian government extended its state of emergency after intruders stormed into a key port facility on Thursday, March 7, adding to the escalating violence in the nation. Officials in Haiti's capital and the West Region have decided to keep the state of emergency in place until April 3. Also, the curfew will now be in effect until March 10. This comes after two security sources informed CNN that the Caribbean Port Services (CPS) terminal in Port-au-Prince was broken into at around 8 AM local time on Thursday. The terminal is a key link in Haiti's food import supply chain. The unknown assailants allegedly made their way to the guarded warehouse section of the facility, where a large number of containers were stored. The insider said that the port is still experiencing turmoil. Breach at Vital Port Facility On Thursday, CNN described the footage from the port, where swarms of people milled around the location, with dozens of individuals allegedly gaining entry to the secured warehouse. The media reporter was able to see exclusive satellite images from Airbus that showed people entering via a street entrance. One satellite picture taken by Airbus shows a large quantity of debris, which depicts the container port terminal area. Another photo was captured showing a mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicle (MRAP) belonging to the Haitian National Police parked on a main route. According to an insider, the MRAP was strategically placed to stop gang leader Jimmy Cherizier from extending their attacks, especially toward the airport route. On the other hand, satellite photographs reveal blockades built by both people and gangs along main streets in Port-au-Prince, effectively isolating whole districts. Gang leader Cherizier has said that the recent spate of coordinated assaults against governmental institutions and police enforcement in Port-au-Prince is an effort to depose Prime Minister Ariel Henry's administration. See Also: Biden's Support for Haiti's Unpopular Leader Criticized, 'They Rode This Horse To Their Doom Chaos Hurting Innocents Gang violence in Haiti has already displaced almost 300,000 people, and the recent instability has added tens of thousands more. Additionally, it is influencing how humanitarian groups distribute vital supplies. As a result of the unrest, the World Food Programme halted the distribution of supplies from Port-au-Prince via its sea transport services. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said this week that 22 assistance trucks, loaded with food, medicine, and equipment, are now stranded at the Port-au-Prince port. OCHA representative Stephane Dujarric said that maritime channels remain the only means of conveying humanitarian and development help, notably food and medical supplies, from Port-au-Prince to the rest of the nation. See Also: US Pushes For Progress in Haiti as Barbecue, Gang Leader, Warns of Civil War That 'Will End in Genocide' This is an opinion column. UPDATE: After this column was published, a spokesman for Britt confirmed to the Washington Post that the victim she spoke of was Karla Jacinta Romero, who was sexually assaulted 20 years ago in Mexico, not in recent years in the United States, as Britt implied in her State of the Union rebuttal. In her State of the Union rebuttal, Sen. Katie Britts delivery made the substance of what she was saying hard to pay attention to. In the last two days, her awkward smiles and erratic changes in tone have inspired parodies and ridicule. And it made it all the easier to miss important things. I was distracted, too. Luckily, Jonathan Katz wasnt. He noticed something that didnt sound right to him. And he dug. Katz is a freelance reporter with years of experience as an Associated Press foreign correspondent in Haiti and Mexico, where he covered things that would make Katie Britt cry real tears. He has a nose for whats real and whats not. He didnt have to dig far. Britts little Thursday night ruse was remarkably shallow. Heres what he found. During her remarks, Britt recounts having met a woman at the Mexican border who had been the victim of human trafficking and repeated sexual assaults. I traveled to the Del Rio sector of Texas, where I spoke to a woman who shared her story with me, Britt said. She had been sex trafficked by the cartels starting at age 12. She told me not just that she was raped every day, but how many times a day she was raped. The first thing Katz noticed was that she referred to this victim as a woman, although this had happened to her beginning before she was a teenager. Had some time passed? Katz looked back at contemporary accounts of Britts trip and he quickly found someone who lived the events recounted in Britts speech Karla Jacinta Romero, an anti-trafficking activist who spoke on a panel with Britt and two other lawmakers. But heres the thing: In her speech, Britt gives the impression that this was recent, and she more than suggests it was something that happened here in the United States. We wouldnt be OK with this happening in a third-world country, Britt said. This is the United States of America, and its past time we start acting like it. Only, Romeros story isnt a recent one. The horrible things done to her happened 20 years ago, not during the Biden administration but during the George W. Bush administration. Also, they didnt happen in the U.S. or near the border, but farther in Mexico. Katz shows his work, including the sites where he found this information. You can watch his video here and read what hes shared on social media here and see for yourself. Still, I wanted a more definitive answer to what should have been a yes or no question: Was this the woman Britt was speaking of? I reached out to Britts spokesman Sean Ross for an answer. Here is what he gave me, which Im including in its entirety: The story Senator Britt told was 100% correct. And there are more innocent victims of that kind of disgusting, brutal trafficking by the cartels than ever before right now. The Biden Administrations policiesthe policies in this country that the President falsely claims are humanehave empowered the cartels and acted as a magnet to a historic level of migrants making the dangerous journey to our border. Along that journey, children, women, and men are being subjected to gut-wrenching, heartbreaking horrors in our own backyard. And here at home, the Biden Administrations policies are leading to more and more suffering, including Americans being poisoned by fentanyl and being murdered. These human costs are real, and its past time for some on the left to stop pretending otherwise. I didnt think the reply answered the question, so I asked him for clarification: Thank you for the response, but to the question, the woman she said she met was Romero, correct? He hasnt responded further. Heres why it matters. As I wrote after Britts speech, her career track follows a similar path to Alabama politicians before her, and now that path has taken her to the politics of fear. Britt wants us to believe she has concern for folks like Romero, at the same time she advocates building an impenetrable wall that would keep victims of brutal cartels at bay. She focuses on heinous crimes committed by immigrants while ignoring that most of the folks struggling to cross into this country are fleeing in fear of that very thing. She doesnt make a distinction, because the politics of fear doesnt leave room for nuance or compassion for people who werent born here. Britt was chosen to give the State of the Union rebuttal because she was supposed to be a newer, younger face of her party, but what she said drew from something way back. Not 20 years, but further. Older than Joe Biden. Older than Donald Trump. This was old Alabama politics. Kyle Whitmire is the 2023 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for commentary. You can follow him on Threads here and subscribe to his weekly newsletter, Alabamafication. Storms had moved out of Alabama on Saturday morning after a busy night. South Alabama had been under tornado watches (all now canceled), and the National Weather Service issued several severe thunderstorm warnings and a few tornado warnings overnight. The tornado warnings (now canceled) were for Dale and Henry counties in southeast Alabama, but as of Saturday morning no major damage reports have been relayed to the weather service. There were also numerous flash flood warnings issued for parts of south Alabama overnight, but they had all expired as of 8 a.m. Saturday. Flood water did persist in some areas in southeast Alabama according to reports on X (formerly Twitter): The storms have moved out of of Alabama this morning but flooding in some areas remains. Remember to #TurnAroundDontDrown, you never know if the road is still present underneath the flood waters. #ALwx https://t.co/CZaeog6Z1B NWS Tallahassee (@NWSTallahassee) March 9, 2024 The storms are over for Alabama today, but some showers could linger, according to the weather service. Cooler air is expected to filter in today and tonight, resulting in the coolest low temperatures the area has had in a while tonight and tomorrow night. Highs today will be cooler in the northern part of the state while still warm in the south (todays forecast highs are at the top of this post). The forecast lows for tonight will be in the 30s and 40s in the state: Low temperatures tonight will drop into the 30s in parts of north and north-central Alabama, with the 40s expected elsewhere.NWS Sunday will be a bit cooler than the past few days. The weather service is forecasting highs to be in the 50s and 60s across much of the state: High temperatures on Sunday will be cooler than those of late.NWS A chilly night is in store for Sunday into Monday, with temperatures near the freezing mark possible in some spots. The weather service warned that some frost could be possible in parts of northern Alabama, which is not good news for already budding trees and flowering plants. Here are the forecast lows for Sunday into Monday: Low temperatures from Sunday night into Monday morning could drop to the freezing mark in parts of Alabama.NWS However, temperatures are expected to warm up through next week, and more spring-like temperatures will be the story for Tuesday and beyond. The next chance for rain in Alabama will come near the end of the work week, but no severe weather is in the forecast for the state (so far). This is an opinion cartoon. Katie Britts national spotlight dystopian acting debut went just fine! (At least Trump and SNL were impressed.) The reviews are still pouring in about Britts GOP rebuttal to Joe Bidens State of the Union speech. And the results are bipartisan! Both sides of the political aisle are wondering: What the hell was that? Related: Alabama Sen. Katie Britts State of the Union response gets a big reaction: What people are saying - al.com X, the thing formerly known as Twitter had a big time with it: Women took it seriously: The Volatile Mermaid @OhNoSheTwitnt X tweeted: Katie Britt: Sexual assault is a terrible thing. That is why you should vote for the man with several dozen sexual assault allegations who was found liable for sexual assault. And this tweet from Shannon Watts @shannonrwatts: Sen Katie Britt says sexual assault is the worst thing that can happen to a woman while encouraging Americans to vote for a convicted sexual predator. And this video reaction from former Trump communications director: Alyssa Farah Griffin reacts to the staging of the GOP response | Watch But the best comes from our own AL.com Pulitzer Prize winner Kyle Whitmire: Whitmire: Is Katie Britt for real? - al.com Here are a few excerpts: Dont adjust your television. What we saw wasnt an AI deepfake. That was Katie Britt. That speech happened. But dont call it real. The junior Senator from Alabama gave up being genuine a while back, and on Thursday night, her phoniness rose to the surface in full view of millions of Americans. Theres nothing I can quote from Britts speech that can convey the strangeness of it the mismatched emotions, the smiles in the wrong places, the jaw clenched when it shouldnt have been just the indescribable weirdness. It was something that had to be seen, but even then, couldnt be understood like postmodernism, avant-garde performance art or an involuntary behavioral science experiment. I supposed we should focus on the substance of Britts speech, instead of its delivery, but that, too, seemed written by ChatGPT. There was a lot of talk about illegal immigration and the border. Only Britt lacks the standing anymore to speak to such things. She lost it after she helped put together a deal to fund border security (and aid for Israel and Ukraine) and then voted to kill that deal because it might hurt Donald Trumps political odds in the fall. The border talk was as phony as her smile. Much more. Read all of Whitmires column here. More cartoons by JD Crowe Burn the freaking books: Alabama libraries under fire from witch hunters - al.com GOP owns this IVF minefield: Theocracy is a dangerous playground - al.com Ethics reform is Alabama GOP pillow talk for corruption - al.com Vote frozen embryo for Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice - al.com Steve Marshalls law: Alabamas war against diversity - al.com Latest Alabama star in transfer portal hits Nick Saban hard - al.com True stories and stuff by JD Crowe The mysterious Bubble Guy of Fairhope and the art of bubble Zen - al.com How I met Dr. Seuss Robert Plant head-butted me. Thanks, David Coverdale I was ZZ Tops drummer for a night and got kidnapped by groupies Check out more cartoons and stuff by JD Crowe JD Crowe is the cartoonist for Alabama Media Group and AL.com. He won the RFK Human Rights Award for Editorial Cartoons in 2020. In 2018, he was awarded the Rex Babin Memorial Award for local and state cartoons by the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. Follow JD on Facebook, Twitter @Crowejam and Instagram @JDCrowepix. Give him a holler @jdcrowe@al.com. Additional charges have been filed against a man arrested in a death in Madison County. According the Madison County Sheriffs Office, Kyle Hayden Lewter, 36, now faces sexual torture and sexual abuse with an inanimate object charges. He initially was charged with murder in the death of Derek Franklin Walls, 54, of Harvest, who was found inside a residence on March 6. A Madison County Sheriffs Office spokesperson told WHNT that the new charge pertains to the death investigation involving Mr. Walls and not correlated to any other case. Bail has been set for $60,000. Lewter has ties to several Alabama Republican campaigns and organizations. Brent Patterson, spokesman for the Madison County Sheriffs Office, said the case is not tied to Lewters political activity. The factual circumstances of this death investigation are not related to any political activities that Mr. Lewter was engaged in, Patterson said. Investigators believe a physical altercation between the two, who knew each other, led to Walls death. In a Facebook post, the sheriffs office said Walls was not shot. Lewter, in a 2017 interview, said he had done campaign work for former U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks and former U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions. A social media post from 2022 identifies him as the chairman of Madison County Young Republicans. WHNT is reporting that Lewter had a paid position with Alabama State Sen. Tom Butler. Attempts to reach Butlers office for comment were not immediately successful. In a statement to WAFF, Butler said news of Lewters arrest left him speechless and saddened for all families involved. Lewter was taken to Madison County Jail to be held without bond until an Aniahs Law hearing. Shelby Thorson, who identifies herself as the daughter of Derek Walls, has set up a GoFundMe page to pay for funeral expenses. My dads life was taken from him in the middle of the night on March 6th, the post reads. Due to this unexpected passing nothing was in place to help with any of the funeral expenses. I would like to have a small service where everyone can get together in remembrance of my father. If anyone would like to donate to help get things together that would be wonderful. Thank you all so much for the love and support. As of Saturday afternoon, $1,370 had been raised toward a $5,000 goal. Reports that $622 million in construction funding has been cut from the FBIs campus at Redstone Arsenal are incorrect and not accurate, according to spokespersons from U.S. Sen. Katie Britt and U.S. Rep. Dale Strongs offices. Previous funds for FBI Redstone were one-time appropriations to build the FBIs state of the art facilities in Huntsville, a spokesperson, who labeled the reports incorrect, from Strongs office said Saturday. Strong represents the 5th Congressional District where the arsenal is located. The FBI has confirmed that this funding has been obligated and that this years funding levels reflect that additional funding was not required to complete construction, the spokesperson said. Sean Ross, a spokesperson from Britts office, said the reporting weve seen on this issue is not accurate. The FBIs construction at Redstone has already been fully funded through previous appropriations measures, Ross said. The New York Times and Tribune Media Services reported the cut would make up the majority of the $654 million in cuts announced Friday that Republicans have negotiated with Democrats. But Ross said Saturday the cuts would come from base funding for FBI operations nationwide. The Times quoted Texas Republican Congressman Chip Roy in saying 95% of the cut was from retired U.S. Sen. Richard Shelbys earmark for the FBI at the arsenal because Richard Shelby is no longer here to defend his pet project building back in Alabama. The FBI is building a sprawling, college-like campus that could eventually create as many as 5,000 jobs. In 2019, the FBI said more than 4,000 jobs would be shifted to Redstone Arsenal. It has also been touted as a second FBI headquarters. The more than $621 million represents only about half of the $1.3 billion total project cost. Efforts to reach the FBI headquarters in Huntsville were unsuccessful. See related story: $622 million construction of FBIs 2nd HQ in Huntsville cut: Shelby no longer here to defend it - al.com A guidance counselor at a private Christian school in Mobile was convicted by a judge Friday of failing to report a now former teachers alleged sexual encounters with a 16-year-old student, prosecutors said. Carrie Meredith, a guidance counselor at Faith Academy, was found guilty by Mobile County District Court Judge Zack Moore of failing to report, announced the Mobile County District Attorneys Office. Meredith failed to report suspected sexual misconduct by then-Faith Academy science teacher Jonathan Sauers and a 16-year-old student at the school. The charges against Meredith were the first of their kind filed by Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood. There is an ongoing issue with failing to report this type of behavior, said Jennifer Susman, chief assistant district attorney, in a statement. Guidance counselors, teachers, and school employees are in trusted positions, and they are our first line of defense for our children. We must know that when we send our kids to school, theyre safe. Meredith faces up to six months in prison and a fine of up to $500 when she is sentenced. Sauers, whose trial is pending, was arrested last year after the 16-year-old girl told police and her parents about the relationship, which she said was consensual. According to the affidavit filed in the case, Semmes police were notified on March 13 of a possible runaway. The mother advised her 16-year-old daughter had gone to a local Walmart for school supplies, but when she did not return after an hour, the parents drove to the Walmart and found the girls car with her cell phone still inside. Semmes police located the girl walking on Moffett Road. The affidavit states she told them she had been having sexual relations with Sauers, her science teacher at Faith Academy, a private school in Mobile. According to the affidavit, the girl told police Sauers had picked her up from the Walmart parking lot and drove her to the parking lot of an adjacent Subway restaurant, where she said the sexual encounter took place in the backseat of Sauers 2012 Nissan Armada. Surveillance video from the Walmart parking lot confirmed the girl got into a black Nissan Armada which then left the parking lot, police said. The girl was taken to USA Childrens & Womens Hospital for a sexual assault exam. The following day, she told investigators she and Sauers had engaged in sexual intercourse at Sauers residence weeks prior to the March 13 incident. Mobile County deputies detained Sauers at the school and his Nissan Armada was impounded. Sauers agreed to be interrogated without a lawyer present and, according to the affidavit, confessed to having sexual intercourse and sexual contact with the 16-year-old student. He was arrested and charged, later released after posting $40,000 bond. A suspect charged with capital murder in a shooting that killed a 20-year-old man three years ago in Montgomery was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty Montgomery County District Attorney Daryl Bailey announced Friday. Marquis Lequan Phillips pled guilty this week to intentional murder in the shooting that killed Dequan Johnson, 20. Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Jimmy Pool sentenced Phillips, who was originally charged with capital murder, to life in prison, Bailey said. Marquis Phillips deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison for murdering Dequan Johnson in cold blood, the district attorney said in a statement. However, its disheartening to know that we keep losing so many of our young people to these senseless murders. The gun violence that plagues our community is often committed by young men like Marquis Phillips who pointlessly throw their entire futures away because they dont stop to think before they act. Johnson was found shot inside a wrecked vehicle on Feb. 16, 2021. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the wreck at a hotel on Express Drive near Troy Highway, the district attorney said. Detectives quickly identified Johnson and another suspect through the hotels surveillance footage. Phillips and the other suspect, 19-year-old JHance Gillium, were captured by the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force following a wreck near Thomas Avenue in Montgomery. Gillium remains in custody and is awaiting trial. A repeat criminal offender who led police on a car chase after gunning down a Montgomery County man in 2021 will spend the rest of his life behind bars, District Attorney Daryl Bailey announced. Marquis Lequan Phillips pled guilty this week to shooting and killing Dequan Johnson. Following his guilty plea, Judge Jimmy Pool sentenced Phillips, who was charged with capital murder, to life in prison. American ethnic groups have relied on various paths to move up the economic ladder, but among African Americans the foremost pathway has been elections. This effort has produced notable successes. Voting rates are now roughly equal and Blacks have been elected to the highest positions, including President of the United States. Few can deny that the Black vote plays a major role in American politics. Nevertheless, one can ask if this electoral process improves the life of the average African American. Does replacing White rule with a Black mayor and a majority Black city council translate into tangible benefits? After all, political power is a means to an end, not the final goal. One answer to this quandary can be found in the history of Selma, Alabama whose civil-rights battles have come to symbolize the African American quest for political equality. Selma recently received national attention when Vice-President Kamala Harris along with eleven members of Congress and the U.S. Attorney General, participated in the celebration of the 59th Bloody Sunday march. In fact, the 1965 march has become so iconic that President Biden mentioned it in his recent State of the Union address: A transformational moment in our history happened 59 years ago today in Selma, Alabama: Hundreds of foot soldiers for justice marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, named after a Grand Dragon of the KKK, to claim their fundamental right to vote. They were beaten bloodied and left for dead. This watershed moment facilitated in passing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, an Act that greatly expanded Black voting. Black voting in Selma sharply expanded, and as most of the White population departed, Blacks eventually dominated the citys politics. Today, Selmas population is about 80% African American and a Black political stronghold. But, has this newfound political power in Selma brought improved conditions for Blacks? The answer, unambiguously, is no. Most notably, the mass exodus of Whites was accompanied by a sharp decline in the local economy and Selma today ranks among Alabamas poorest cities with almost twice the poverty rate of the rest of the state,. Efforts to attract tourists with murals and a museum recounting the voting rights struggle have become the primary source of income but have failed to revitalize the decrepit downtown of shuttered stores, boarded-up buildings and abandoned residences. The average income of $35,000 per year is a third lower than the states average. Nearly a third of Black Selma residents live below the poverty line versus 11% of Whites. Crime is a serious problem with the odds of being victimized by violent crime in Selma about twice the national average, even higher than all of Alabama (whose crime rate exceeds the national average). The level of crime per square mile was nearly three times the average for the entire state. According to one survey of city residents, 87% expressed concerns about personal safety and feeling uncomfortable walking alone at night. Selmas educational statistics reveal a similar troubling picture. Despite a 92% high school graduation rate, Selma Hight School, one of two such schools in the city, had a reading proficiency score of 12% and 5% in math (no data are available from the other school), Selma HS is also highly segregated with 98.6% of the students being classified as Black and 85% economically disadvantaged. One half of one percent were White. While this picture is only a snapshot, it would be hard to argue that Black political power has uplifted the lives of Selmas Black residents. Nor is the Selma story of towns going from White to Black rule unique. Comparable depressing tales can be told about Gary, Ind., Jackson, Miss., Camdem, N.J., East St. Louis, Ill., among others, where the promised reward of Black political control was disappointing. A comparable failure holds for many larger, Black politically-dominated cities, notably Detroit, Baltimore, Newark, N.J., Atlantic City, N.J., St. Louis, Mo, and Trenton, N.J., among others. Yes, newly achieved Black political control may have brought well-paying government jobs for at least some Blacks, plus government contracts for minority businesses, but for ordinary Blacks, the tangible payoff has been meager. The argument that elected Black leaders know how to boost Black educational attainment or reduce Black-on-Black crime is just not credible. In many, if not most, instances, the rise of Black political control triggers an exodus of Whites that lowers the quality of life for many Blacks -- closed stores, less tax revenue for social services, worse educational outcomes, and many other benefits that no longer exist compared to when Whites governed. What lessons can be learned from this disjunction between relying on the vote to move up the economic ladder and the paltry results of this triumph? A disinterested observer might suggest that Blacks should abandon obsessing over electoral politics and embrace alternatives favored by other groups with the same aim, for example, Jews starting small businesses or the Irish working for large bureaucratic organizations like the police department and slowly advancing up the ranks. All have proven records of success that far exceed the emphasis on politics. Alas, shifting strategies will not be easy. Many Blacks -- 40% according to one recent poll -- believe that the ballot box still remains the pathway to racial progress and this article of faith and will not be reversed by statistical data (only about a quarter of Whites saw politics this way). Nor can we expect Democratic Party functionaries to tell their most loyal supporters to deemphasize the vote. There is also enormous pride in seeing fellow Blacks achieve high political office, including mayors of major cities such as Chicago, New York, and Washington D.C. Such pride may well transcend clear-eyed cost/benefit analysis. Politics is often about emotion, not statistical data. But perhaps most important is the dramatic rise of elected Black officeholders.These positions bestow power, prestige and, often, wealth to incumbents, and these officeholders are not about to minimize the value of electoral politics. And while a long tradition exists among Blacks of self-help organization and leaders who encouraged self-reliance, notably Booker T. Washington and Marcus Garvey, self-reliance is easily pushed aside by promising instant payoff if only fellow Blacks vote for them. For those who might raise doubt about the efficacy of electoral politics, the all-too-typical rejoinder is to double down and insist that progress will come only if yet more Blacks vote. When the promised paradise fails to materialize, the easy excuse is voter suppression. Blacks have been winning elections in Selma over a half century, but the citys economic travails have grown worse, and there is little prospect of a breakthrough. This is a harsh, undeniable truth, so perhaps it is time to examine this awkward failure. There are better options. Image: Tony Webster United Sovereign Americans, a nationwide group dedicated to fair and honest elections, has joined with Maryland Election Integrity, LLC, in filing a lawsuit in Maryland Federal Court against the Maryland State Board of Elections with Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher presiding. This action seeks declaratory and injunctive relief from deficient voter registration rolls leading to violations of Federal and state laws, the certification of results from a provably flawed, inaccurate, and obscure process outside the view of impartial witnesses or the public, including the use of voting systems in Maryland that are believed to have void EAC certifications in violation of federal law, and the refusal of the Maryland State Board of Elections to comply with Public Information Act (PIA) requests and Federally required transparency. The suit cites multiple federal laws regarding election conduct, including Article 1 Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, Sections 1 and 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment, the National Voter Registration Act, and the Help America Vote Act. The lawsuit states: Meticulous analysis of the official Maryland State Voter Registration Database reveals a minimum of 79,392 current apparent registration violationsThe analysis revealed 1,699 instances of duplicate registrations, 25,084 instances of registrants with questionable inactive status, 3,366 instances of active registrations without a certified US Post Office mailing address, 5,680 instances of active registrants who moved at least 4 years ago, 605 instances of registrations with no residential address, 296 instances of active registrants with a nonstandard address, 1,218 instances of active registrants who are deceased, 883 instances of age discrepant registration (younger than 18 or older than 115), and 40,518 instances of questionable registration date. They continue: In sum, the voting system error rates are exponentially above the maximum allowable error rates. Inaccuracy and the specter of fraud have irretrievably damaged the reliability and credibility of results. The Maryland State Board of Elections dismissed these concerns without any meaningful review or response and intends to administer and certify Marylands 2024 general election under the same inaccurate conditions. Despite mandatory statutory language requiring current and accurate voter rolls, which shall include only the names and registration information of eligible citizen voters, and Maryland law specifying processes to do so, Maryland has failed to keep voter rolls accurate. They conclude: Plaintiffs allege that voter rolls are highly inaccurate, error rates on the voting systems exceed the maximum allowable error rates, voting systems were not certified correctly, machines have been used that have VOID EAC certifications, large numbers of blank ballots were cast, and the MDSBE is unlawfully withholding evidence of such. This has caused abridgement to their right to vote [a]nd the right of suffrage can be denied by a debasement or dilution of the weight of a citizens vote just as effectively as by wholly prohibiting the free exercise of the franchise Reynolds v. Sims, (377 U.S. 533). The right to vote is paramount [e]specially since the right to exercise the franchise in a free and unimpaired manner is preservative of other basic civil and political rights, any alleged infringement of the right of citizens to vote must be carefully and meticulously scrutinized. Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964). Inaccurate voter registration practices have led to voting system error rates well above the statutory threshold causing dilution of eligible voters votes. Use of the ES&S Voting Systems in a noncompliant manner has resulted in dilution of Plaintiffs votes and has resulted in an impaired election process resulting in concrete harm to Plaintiffs rights to vote. Denial of Plaintiffs PIA requests resulted in Plaintiffs not being able to access information in which they are entitled. They are seeking an injunction from Judge Gallagher to force the Maryland State Board of Elections to keep accurate voter rolls and enjoining them from certifying any future elections unless voter rolls are updated, registration records are corrected, and the entire voting process is reformed to follow all applicable federal and state laws. They also seek the decertification of the ES&S EVS 5.2.0.0 electronic voting system currently in use. Finally, they ask the court to establish a Special Master to guide the Maryland State Board of Elections, among other things, to ensure changes are implemented prior to the November 2024 election to verify voters are U.S. citizens, and the ballot custody process is corrected and auditable. Maryland Election Integrity, LLC, a group of citizen volunteers in Maryland, is led by Kate Sullivan and David Morsberger. They recently filed a report detailing the results of their statewide voter canvass and their examination of Maryland voter rolls. Their canvas found 58 inaccurate records, which was 15 % of the 383 records surveyed. The Baltimore County canvass found 61 inaccurate records -- 14% of the 418 individuals contacted. Based on their results, they calculated that the canvass percentages would equate to 5,625 apparent fraudulent votes in the Maryland 2020 general election. The team also analyzed Maryland voter rolls and found 79,349 current apparent registration violations, 62,075 voting violations in the 2020 general election, and 27,623 voting violations in the 2022 general election. United Sovereign Americans was born out of New York Citizens Audit, which has produced similar reports about the voter rolls in New York state for 2020 and 2022. Co-founders Marly Hornik and Harry Haury formed United Sovereign Americans to share what theyve learned about database investigations and legal strategies to ensure fair and honest elections for our country. They now have chapters in over 25 states doing research and preparing lawsuits. Regarding the Maryland lawsuit, Hornik said the Maryland action is the first of many lawsuits we will be participating in to force state boards of elections to comply with clearly-defined federal laws that ensure election validity. Without trustworthy elections, the American public will have no confidence in the announced results. The Maryland legal action heralds a new wave of federal lawsuits targeting the sloppy conduct of elections as well as lax, or even criminal, management of voter roll databases across the country. Judicial Watch announced their own lawsuit about board of elections conduct in Illinois this Tuesday. Image: Keith Bacongco As gangs largely rule Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince, Prime Minister Ariel Henry tries to return home to an increasingly tumultuous situation that recently saw gangs stage a prison attack that resulted in the 4,000 inmates being freed and an attack on the country's international airport. As of this week, Henry remained in Puerto Rico after being forbidden from landing in the neighboring Dominican Republic. Authorities in DR closed their airspace to all fights going to and from Haiti. Henry left Haiti in February to attend a four-day summit in Guyana organized by Caricom, a regional trade bloc. He then traveled to Kenya and spoke with President William Ruto, pressing the urgency for an international security force to be led by the country. Henry appears to be stuck as various numbers of former allies in Haiti are now calling for his resignation. 74-year-old Ariel Henry was trained as a neurosurgeon in France got involved in politics in the early 2000s and joined the opposition against then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. After the removal of the former president, Henry became a member of the council that was formed to help facilitate a transitional government. This council was sponsored by the United States. In June 2006, he was named director-general of Haiti's Ministry of Health and later became its chief of staff, helping to manage the government's response to a devastating 2010 earthquake. Haiti is currently in an extended state of emergency with night curfews meant to curtail and repel gang attacks. Henry was installed as prime minister shortly after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise's party likely thought Henry would bring credibility and some kind of constituency, said Brian Concannon, executive director of the U.S.-based nonprofit Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. "It seems to me he must have been a pretty big figure. Presidents don't just pick random people," he said. The Prime Minister faced calls for his resignation ever since he was sworn in with international backing. Among his political opponents are gangs vying for political power and Haitians who are angry that free general elections have not been held in nearly 10 years. They also feel like he does not represent the people because he was not elected by the people. Concannon noted that Henry has served the longest single term of any Haitian prime minister since the country's 1987 constitution was established. "He was not appointed through any recognized Haitian procedure," Concannon said. "He was basically installed by the Core Group." The Core Group was established by a UN resolution and is comprised of diplomats from Germany, Brazil, Canada, Spain, the United States, France, and the European Union as well as representatives from the United Nations and the Organization of American States. Last year, more than 8,400 people were reported killed, injured, or kidnapped, more than double the number reported in 2022. The month of Ramadan, one of the most important holidays of Islam, starts on March 10 this year. Yair Pinto the director of operations of TBN Israel said in a video that: According to the books of Islam, Ramadan is a month of introspection, cleansing of the soul, fasting and in general connecting men with their god. Muslims believe also that this is the month in which the Koran was sent down from heaven to guide the way to salvation. This is a month in which every Muslim in the world is supposed to multiply goodness and kindness and love. It is a month meant to teach us what modesty, humility, sensitivity to others, compassion and charity are. If this is what Ramadan is, then one would think that it is an opportunity for peace and that Israel should agree to practically any ceasefire agreement to allow Islamic goodwill to grow and lead to the release of the hostages and an increased flow of aid to the civilians of Gaza. Mr. Pinto also said that this year there is concern that there will be a flareup of violence along the seam lines between Arab and Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem and elsewhere. He said that for the last several years Ramadan has become a month of pogroms, riots, and attacks. He said that Palestinians are being incited by their leaders, who tell them that Israel plans to demolish the Al Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan. According to Israel's National Security Council, increasing incitement by jihad organizations such as Al Qaeda and the Islamic State make the likelihood of terrorist attacks in the United States and Europe during Ramadan higher as well. Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant said at an Israeli Defense Force central command assessment on February 27, that Hamas is conspiring with Iran and Hezballah to seize upon Ramadan as an opportunity to enact the "second stage of Oct. 7," and "ignite the ground." If this is true than instead of agreeing to a ceasefire, Israel should finish off Hamas as quickly as possible so that they cant enact stage 2. President Biden said: "If we get into a circumstance where this continues through Ramadan... it could be very, very dangerous. So, were looking -- were trying hard for that ceasefire.'' There was a debate in the Israeli Knesset on March 4, 2024 about whether Israel should ease up on military pressure on the month of Ramadan. Yair Mor, brother of Eitan Mor, who was taken hostage to Gaza told the Knesset: They talk to us about the easing restrictions for them, that we should reach some wanton deal before Ramadan. Why? Because it's a so-called holy holiday. So no, Ramadan is a holiday of murdering Jews. It's not a holy holiday. Who cares about their Ramadan? We care about our hostages. Because we care about the hostages, we should be increasing the military pressure, especially during Ramadan, so that they see not to mess with us." If Yair Mor is right and Ramadan is a holiday of murdering Jews, then a ceasefire that postpones dismantling Hamas is likely to bring about a second stage of October 7. To answer what the holiday of Ramadan really is it is helpful to look at the early history of Ramadan. In the autumn of 623, during the month of Ramadan, a trade caravan was sent by the Quraysh people from Mecca to Syria. The caravan was led by Abu Sufyan , a leader of the Quraysh people and carried the investments of many of the Quraysh. On the way back from Syria the caravan reportedly consisted of 1,000 camels and 50,000 dinars worth of goods. Muhammad and his followers made plans to attack the caravan. Abu Sufyan got wind of Muhammad's intention and sent a messenger to Mecca for help. A relief column, said to have been 1,000 strong, then set out to protect the caravan. In the battle that ensued, the battle of Badr, the Muslims were fueled by Muhammad's promises of paradise. The Quraysh on the other hand were reluctant to kill their kin among the Muslims. The Muslims prevailed and slashed the Quraysh as they fled and managed to acquire booty and a number of hostages for ransom. Shortly after his victory over the Quraysh, Muhammad defeated the Qaynuqa , a Jewish tribe living in two fortresses in the southwest of the city of Medina and divided their wealth 4/5 to his followers and 1/5 to himself. The battle of Badr took place on Ramadan. Throughout history, Muslims have taken advantage of Ramadan to wage war against their enemies. Five historic Islamic battles were fought in the month of Ramadan: the Battle of Badr, the Conquest of Mecca, the Battle of Tabuk, the Battle of Amin Jalut, and the Battle of Hattin. Palestinians deliberately commit terror attacks during the month of Ramadan. In 2022, the Hamas website posted: "We welcome the blessed month of Ramadan, the month of jihad, martyrdom, and mighty victories." We learn from this summary of Islamic history that even in the beginning of Islam, Ramadan was not a holiday of kindness and love. Muslims today look upon Muhammad as an example whom they should follow. In 1973, during Ramadan, the Muslim countries surrounding Israel, attacked Israel. This became known as the Yom Kippur war, because in addition to occurring during the month of Ramadan, it occurred during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. In fact, Yom Kippur was chosen as the day to attack because the Muslims knew that Jewish soldiers would be fasting that day and that many of them would be home and not ready to fight. How could Muhammad, the founder of Islam, engage in war during Ramadan when the religion he taught preached love and kindness? How could Muslims who believe in what he preached start the Yom Kippur war during Ramadan? The reason is that it is only a month of love and kindness between Muslims, and not between Muslims and infidels. Yair Mor was right when he said Ramadan was a month of war. Instead of agreeing to a ceasefire Israel should finish off Hamas before it can carry out the second stage of October 7. During the State of the Union address, Biden announced that America is setting up a supply flotilla outside of Gaza, effectively putting American troops in a war zone and hamstringing the Israeli offensive. Later, Biden was caught on a hot mic boasting that he told Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu that the two were going to have a come to Jesus meeting. Normally, I would have no problem with that expression because its commonly understood to mean that one or both parties to a conversation must face a hard truthbut to say that to the Jewish leader of the worlds only Jewish nation as you try to bully him into losing a war that hes winning? Its just nasty. During his State of the Union, Biden placated his Jewish supporters by acknowledging the unprecedented modern horror that Hamas visited on Israel on October 7. He also conceded that Israel has a right to self-defense. (Biden quotes come from the White Houses transcript of the presidents actual, as opposed to prepared, remarks.) BIDEN: Israel has a right to go after Hamas. Hamas ended this conflict by releasing the hostages, laying down arms could end it by by releasing the hostages, laying down arms, and s- surrendering those responsible for October 7th. Having sent that sop to the Jews, Biden got to the real point, which is salvaging Muslim support in Michigan. To that end, he also explained that Israel, unlike every other country in the history of the world waging war against an enemy military, also has a fundamental responsibility to take care of the civilians in that enemys territoryand to do so even when those civilians support Israels enemy and are an integral part of its infrastructure, with hundreds of miles of operational underground tunnels, as well as homes, hospitals, and schools serving as armories: BIDEN: But Israel has a h- excuse me. Israel has a added burden because Hamas hides and operates among the civilian population like cowards under hospitals, daycare centers, and all the like. Israel also has a fundamental responsibility, though, to protect innocent civilians in Gaza. (Applause.) This war has taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in Gaza combined. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed AUDIENCE MEMBER: Says who? THE PRESIDENT: most of whom are not Hamas. Thousands and thousands of innocents women and children. Girls and boys also orphaned. Nearly 2 million more Palestinians under bombardment or displacement. Homes destroyed, neighborhoods in rubble, cities in ruin. Families without food, water, medicine. That person who shouted how says who? was right. The numbers that Biden is citing come straight from Hamas. Less than two weeks ago, Lloyd Austin had to walk back his reliance on them because theyre unverified. The best analyses indicate that theyre not just unverified; theyre completely untrue: Heres the problem with this data: The numbers are not real. That much is obvious to anyone who understands how naturally occurring numbers work. The casualties are not overwhelmingly women and children, and the majority may be Hamas fighters. (The linked article provides a detailed analysis showing why the numbers cannot be true.) Israel is doing exactly what a good army should do (killing enemy troops) and also exactly what a superb, moral army does (avoiding excessive civilian casualties). Image: Biden boasts that hes bullying Bibi. X screen grab. Armed with this fake information, though, Joe announced that he would be sending American troops to Gaza to provide humanitarian aid: BIDEN: Tonight, Im directing the U.S. military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the coast of Gaza that can receive large shipments carrying food, water, medicine, and temporary shelters. No U.S. boots will be on the ground. That last is technically true, but there will be boats on the water in a tiny region. This means there may be only a mile separating a hot war zone from American military ships. Israel has two choices: Risk that an errant rocket may hit an American ship or be forced into an involuntary, unilateral ceasefire. In addition to blocking Israels ability to wage war against an openly genocidal (and sexually sadistic) enemy, Biden was caught on a hot mic after the State of the Union boasting that he was bullying Bibi Netanyahu into ending an existential war that Israel is winning: President Biden: "I told him, Bibi, and don't repeat this, but you and I are going to have a come to Jesus meeting." Im on a hot mic here. Good. Thats good. pic.twitter.com/KCgpbx4awf Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) March 8, 2024 Note how pleased Biden is that the world has heard his boast. As I said in the intro to this post, while a come to Jesus meeting is a common expression with nothing antisemitic about it, theres still something more than usually nasty about an American president using it to a Jewish leader whom hes forcing to turn victory into defeat. Many Jews perceive it as the American president rubbing Bibis face into the fact that Biden, the abortion-loving Catholic, can bully the little Jews into doing his bidding, no matter how it may destroy them. We dont know what Bibis response to Bidens bullying has been. However, perhaps he should take a page from Menachem Begins book. Back in 1982, when Israel fought back against the endless barrage of rockets raining down upon the north from PLO bases in Lebanon, then-Senator Biden also tried to bully an Israeli leader into losing a war. It did not go well: California Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula has introduced Assembly Bill 1840, aimed at expanding home ownership opportunities for undocumented immigrants in the state. The bill would make illegal aliens eligible for first time homebuyer loans. The bill, as originally introduced earlier this year, was aimed at low- and middle-income citizens, but Arambula apparently decided that was too exclusive, and therefore recently proposed his updated version. This is yet another kick in the shorts to citizens, especially since the formerly Golden State has the highest priced housing and by far the most homeless people in the nation. California is already the only state to fund comprehensive health care for undocumented immigrants. And it has a stupefying projected budget deficit of $73 billion with an average personal debt of $84,730 which undocumented immigrants undoubtedly will not have to pay. Illegal migrants pouring across our Southern border have allegedly been handed credit cards and cell phones. In some cases, they are being put up in very nice hotels. Moreover, residents and property owners in places like Boston, Denver and New York City have been asked to take these immigrants into their own homes. On top of all this, countless billions of taxpayer dollars have been sent to fund the war in Ukraine. Because, you know, Democrats believe the Ukrainian border is inviolate! It is time for all sane citizens to admit that Replacement Theory is obviously, self-evidently, true. The current administration welcomes illegals in, despite or because of the effect it has on you and I. It will put illegals up at The Ritz or ask us to house them ourselves. Mi casa es su casa. Or perhaps, if the latest version of bill 1840 passes, they can purchase your home if you can no longer afford it. I dont know about you, but I am sick and tired of hearing about undocumented immigrants. What about unappreciated citizens?! If these latest actions by Democrats dont bring home the fact that they prefer illegal aliens over American citizens, nothing will. It is mindboggling to me that Joe and Joanne Citizen, the deplorables in flyover country, the rubes supposedly clinging to their God and their guns, havent thrown more of a fit over being used like doormats by elected elites who obviously much prefer peoples from other lands. It is long past time We the People, actual taxpaying American citizens, stand up and say, Were as mad as helland were not going to take this anymore! Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License In June, the contract between the Chicago Teachers Union and the citys public school system is set to expire, at which point, the two parties will enter into negotiations, and union president Stacy Davis Gates already has a list of proposed increases she expects to range in the tens of billions. According to reporter Mark Glennon and Wirepoints, Davis Gates spoke before a crowd at the City Club of Chicago on Tuesday to address the upcoming negotiations, saying its gonna get a little hot in this city because as reported by the Chicago Sun Times, the list of demands she was coming to the table with are defiant contract stipulations. Elsewhere, other Wirepoints journalists reported that Davis Gates has publicly vocalized that under her leadership, the union is on a mission to achieve cultural transformation within the citys school system as well as the city itselfthe police presence in schools has already been eliminatedand some of the defiant new proposals shell be bringing to the negotiating table in June include: staffing up nearly empty, failing schools; wiping out standardized testing; providing teachers with additional healthcare benefits and now rental assistance; ending any hint of school choice, like charter and magnet schools. (Davis Gatess own son enjoys enrollment at a private school.) As mentioned above, Davis Gates expects these proposals to be very expensive, but she doesnt want to hear it; from Glennon: Theyre gonna say, these are great proposals and cant nobody pay for it and CTU with all of this, that and the other and whos gonna pay for it, Stacy? Stop asking that question, she said. Ask another question. Specifically, she said it will cost $50 billion dollars and three cents And so what? Thats audacity. (How she arrived at the number I have no idea.) As Glennon also notes: For a little context, $50 billion would be roughly five times the current Chicago school budget and over double what the State of Illinois collects every year for income taxes. Dont forget, this is the same woman making nearly $300k a year, who as of this past November, owed the city nearly $6,000 in unpaid utility billsas if it werent obvious enough from her Tuesday speech, Davis Gates has an out-of-this-world sense of entitlement and absolutely no idea from where wealth and government cash comes. The lady who cant even figure out how to pay basic bills wants to negotiate contracts totalling in the billions; she also claimed MAGA wants her on a plantation. Um girl, youre already therebut youre the master, profiting off the exploitation of students, families, and taxpayers. Now, as I highlighted in a previous essay, Chicago Public Schools for FY 2021 ranked in the top 5 public school systems for dollars spent per student in a school district (at that time, it was a little over $18,000 per student, per year); as Glennon reports now though, that number has jumped: This is in a city, mind you, that already spends an astonishing $29,000 per student, including all sources and money for the capital budget. And Chicago Public Schools already faces a $391 million deficit for next and nearly $700 million for the following year when Covid relief money will have run out. (This price per pupil keeps Chicago in one of the top spending slots across the country, while also ranking as one of the worst school systems in terms of results.) Its too bad that such obvious and simple solutions, like declining to renew the contracts and rebuilding from the ground up, are such a pipe dream, because thats exactly what needs to happen if these public school children are to have any chance of receiving a true education. Because, Davis Gates has an ally in Brandon Johnson, a friendliness that former CTU leaders did not have with previous mayors: The CTU was Johnsons largest campaign donor, and Davis Gates introduced him at his victory party. I expect Davis Gates to walk away with her $50 billion wishlist intact. RIP to the remaining students on her CPS plantation. Hat tip: Peter Von Buol. Image: Free image, Pixabay license, no attribution required. Ive always loved the expression damned with faint praise, a concept that has its roots in antiquity. Way back in the early 2nd century, Favorinus, a Roman writer, opined that It is more shameful to be praised faintly and coldly than to be censured violently. Geraldo Rivera might have done well to think about that before he came up with the ultimate faint praise for Joe Biden, something that establishes irrefutably that Biden has nothing to offer America but the fetid breaths he manages to wheeze out of his fragile, ailing body. As weve covered here, Joe Bidens State of the Union address did not inspire confidence. He didnt deliver a statesmanlike speech to the American people, one in which he talked about where we were last year, where we are now, and where he hopes to lead us in the future. Instead, Biden offered a manic rant about, among other things, our obligations to Ukraine, Americas allegedly nationalist fifth column, his Hitler-esque opponent, the imaginary wonders of the Biden economy, the need for unlimited abortion, and the underhanded gift hes giving Hamas thanks to its massacre of the Jewish people. Along the way, Biden threatened the Supreme Court and lied a great deal, all while the trained Democrat seals in attendance hollered four more years, thereby probably violating the Hatch Act and House ethics rules. Biden delivered all these weird pronouncements, attacks, and lies at top volume and warp speed, hollering like a hopped-up junkie on the street corner of a Democrat-run city, complete with intermittent mumbled incoherencies. Watching the man with the nuclear codes behave this way was uncomfortable and not a little frightening. But it was this energy thatas was intendedcaught his supporters attention. See, they all crowed. Biden isnt too old. Hes energetic! .@Karentravers tells @dianermacedo that during his State of the Union address, Pres. Biden "showed that he was ready to engage with Donald Trump during the election ... that he has the energy to serve another term in the White House." pic.twitter.com/1sNNyGFwUr ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) March 8, 2024 Republicans are so salty for Biden killed it with his State of the Union speech! He was on point for start to finish, energetic, fiery, feisty, combative, lucid, and mentally agile. Biden debunked the narrative that he is senile pushed 24/7 by the radical far-right, trying to pic.twitter.com/umM9acgCwW Aranzamendi (@Aranzamendi) March 9, 2024 The State of our Union is STRONG. The UNITED States of America! This was the BEST State of the Union address I've ever heard!! Biden is so full of hope, optimism, and energy. We really need this president in this time. Lydia Cornell (@LydiaCornell) March 8, 2024 BREAKING: Following President Bidens State of the Union last night, which the media called fiery and energetic, Republicans are complaining that President Biden showed too much energy. You cant make this stuff up. Bidens Wins (@BidensWins) March 8, 2024 On this weeks Political Scene podcast, @sbg1, @JaneMayerNYer, and @eosnos discuss President Bidens energetic State of the Union address and how press coverage is shaping the publics perceptions of his campaign. https://t.co/VLMbm8SYfF The New Yorker (@NewYorker) March 9, 2024 But honestlyhow much traction can you get from a bumper sticker that says, Vote for Biden. Hes energetic? It took the inimitable Geraldo Al Capones Vault Rivera to find the right phrase to sum up what Joe Biden brings to his candidacy: Assuming he doesnt lose a step in the next 8 months, last night President Biden re-established himself as a credible alternative to former President Trump. Sharp, feisty, confident, competent, watch for the polls to move Bidens way. He aint dead yet. Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) March 8, 2024 Thats it! Joe Biden: He aint deadyet! Thatll get voters to the polls. I can see the campaign posters already: If this is the best that Democrats can say of their walking-dead candidate, a man who always seems as if he is always in imminent danger of keeling over, that certainly helps Trump. However, as Glenn Reynolds is fond of saying, dont get cocky. Even Bidens decrepitude and his own partys inability to sing his praises in ringing tones doesnt mean hes without advantages heading into November. The RNC has done almost nothing to control election fraud, the media still exert control over American minds, Biden has shown a fascistic willingness to use the police and lawfare to destroy his opponent, and conservatives (as always) are fractious, with too many unwilling to recognize that the presidential election is binary. No matter what they think of Trump, if they dont vote for him, Biden wins and, after all, he aint deadyet. Images by Andrea Widburg Increasingly, I find myself doubting what I thought I heard or read, particularly when it comes to the Biden administration and its sycophants. My jaw drops, and I find myself sayingoften out loudWaitwhat?! This just happened again when, during a recent presser, U.S. Special Envoy on Climate John Kerry stated: I believe that Russia has the ability to be able to make enormous changes if it really wanted to. I mean, if Russia has the ability to wage a war illegally and invade another country, they ought to be able to find the effort to be responsible in the climate issue. And, uh, unfortunately, uh, because of the actions that Russia took in an unprovoked illegal war against another nation, we have not been engaged in discussions with Russia, sadly. I say sadly because its a loss for the world not to be able to have Russia acting constructively on this issue. But we need every country, including Russia. Russia is one of the largest emitters in the world. If Russia wanted to show good faith, they could go out and announce what their reductions are going to be and make a greater effort to reduce emissions now. And maybe that would open up the door for people to feel better about, uh, what Russia is choosing to do at this point in time. Waitwhat?! If Russia did more to reduce greenhouse gases, people might feel better about its war with Ukraine? Alrighty then. It sucks that Russia attacked Ukraine again, but, you know, if it was working harder to reduce climate change it would be O.K., I guess. What about the greenhouse and other -- gases released in the war? Or the potential for a nuclear holocaust? Maybe if Russia committed to using low-emission missiles and recyclable ammo? Speaking of the Holocaust, if Hitler would have been more concerned about the climate, maybe folks wouldve felt better about the Holocaust and his attacks on various nations! Same for Japan and its surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, right? Kerry recently announced he is stepping down as climate czar, praise the Lord, but it is a travesty that Lurch has been in government as long as he has. Someone will have big (clown) shoes to fill. Image: Screen shot from New York Post video, via YouTube Licking and sucking feet and toes is a sexual act, an act designed to give erotic pleasure. For some its a fetish. They cant experience sexual gratification without it, but whether a fetish or simply passion-inspired inspiration, its an overtly sexual act. Thats why one doesnt expect to see that sort of thing in public, not in a school assembly, and certainly not in a school assembly in Oklahoma?! An Oklahoma high school is under investigation after a viral video of students sucking and licking one anothers toes at a school-sanctioned fundraiser exploded this week. The disturbing footage shows at least four kids from Deer Creek High School lying on their stomachs on what appears to be a gymnasium floor furiously lapping up peanut butter off their peers bare feet. Graphic: X screenshot He is devouring those! one student can be heard saying, as others cheer in the background and an MC moderates the bizarre competition. The video racked up nearly 50 million views on social media in just 24 hours and led to a formal investigation by the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Fifty million views? That would surely indicate the sensational, salacious, erotic nature of the event. Graphis: X screenshot This is disgusting. We are cleaning up this filth in Oklahoma schools. Our agency is investigating, state Superintendent Ryan Walters said on X. Why would any sane educator think this a good idea? The video was filmed Thursday at the Clash of Classes assembly, which was part of the high schools week-long fundraiser for a local coffee shop that employs people with special needs, according to the Deer Creek School District. Students from 9th through 12th grade volunteered to participate in a plethora of class competitions that their peers paid to attend including the toe-sucking tournament. Administrators initially applauded its students for their involvement in its Wonderful Week of Fundraising, which raised $152,830.38 but later apologized to its student body and parents. Well get to the apology shortly, but first, this: One parent described the competition as excessive, while another accused the school of not thinking things through. No kidding. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz called the activity child abuse on X, to which Walters replied: Completely agree. We are stopping this in Oklahoma. Heres the schools apology: We want to stress to our community that much of the information accompanying this video is inaccurate. However, through this specific game we failed to uphold the dignity of our students and the proud image of our community. We have a responsibility to protect our Antlers and showcase them in a positive light. In regards to this one particular activity, we fell short and for that we greatly apologize. Inaccurate? The school approved kids licking and sucking peanut butter off bare feet. Whats inaccurate" about reporting that? Thats a standard non-apology apology of the type so common these days. We are taking steps to ensure that this is not repeated, and that all fundraising activities are carried out with the pride and respect worthy of our students, staff and community. We strive to offer a positive experience for both our students and the charity that our annual fundraising efforts support. This is an important part of our WWF mission and will play an even greater role in future decision-making. Moving forward, we want to learn from this experience and do better in the future. They want to learn from this experience. Education was my second, quarter of a century, career. Normally, any activity at a pep rally, fund raising event, any school-sponsored assembly must be approved in advance by the building principal, or perhaps an assistant principal delegated that duty. Someone, virtually always a teacher, has to come up with the idea for any activity. I know! Lets have kids suck peanut butter off toes! Thatll raise a ton of money! Surely, other teachers were involvedsomeone had to help buy the peanut butter, recruit the suckers and suckees, arrange chairs, etc.--and thought that a great idea, and so did whatever principal approved it. Or perhaps the principals involved just trusted the teachers involved, who presumably had never come up with this kind of fetishistic stunt before. If thats the case, the lessons to be learned from this experience are simple: (1) employ sane, non-sexualized people as teachers. (2) employ sane, non-sexualized people as principals, and (3) require all such events be pre-approved. Not much "learning" is required to accomplish that. Should the people involved be fired? That would depend on their records. If they showed such appalling lack of judgement in the past, perhaps. If this were a single lapse of judgment, probably not. One question remains unanswered, however: What were those people thinking? Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor. So now we learn again why we can't have nice things: Activists destroyed a historic painting of 'Lord' Balfour in Trinity College, University of Cambridge. pic.twitter.com/Ldk3EGyAvt Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) March 8, 2024 According to the New York Times: A pro-Palestinian group slashed and spray-painted a century-old portrait of Arthur James Balfour at the University of Cambridge on Friday, defacing a painting of the British official whose pledge of support in 1917 for the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people helped pave the way to Israels founding three decades later. The group, Palestine Action, said in a statement that the destruction of the portrait in Trinity College, Cambridge, was intended to call attention to the bloodshed of the Palestinian people since the Balfour Declaration was issued, particularly in light of the current conflict in Gaza. A spokeswoman for Trinity, whose alumni include King Charles III as well as Balfour himself, said in a statement on Friday that the college regrets the damage caused to a portrait of Arthur James Balfour during public opening hours and that it had notified the police. A Cambridge police statement said officers were on the scene to investigate a report of criminal damage. We've been outraged before by this rubbish from activists, none of whom could draw a stick figure if they were playing 'hangman.' But this represents a new low in activist barbarism. In the past, environmental activists, such as those I described here, in 2022, merely chose to damage glass covering artwork, or color water of historic fountain sculptures, or glue themselves to the floor or the frame of western masterpieces, they always justified their acts by claiming they weren't actually damaging the paintings, though that is arguable to some extent. Now they are genuinely damaging the paintings, this one by famed portrait artist Philip Alexius de Laszlo of Hungary in 1914, who painted other insightful works such as these: The barbarian who attacked the picture of Balfour yesterday is the product of a mentality which glories in ugliness and lies. She wouldnt know that the artist was Philip de Laszlo, celebrated Hungarian portraitist, whose work adds to our understanding of beauty and truth. pic.twitter.com/B5C5eDAg8b Peter Whittle (@prwhittle) March 9, 2024 This is the kind of damage to irreplaceable art the Taliban did, just before 9/11. The other difference from the previous attacks by environmentalists, is that the art attacked did have a connection to their own antisemitic cause and twisted versions of history. Previous attacks were strange and random, done primarily to draw attention to the attackers themselves. These attacks really are targeted at Jews and the erasure of history. Balfour, recall, wrote the 1917 Balfour declaration calling for the establishment of a Jewish state. That's what these savages are after in this attack. Some important observations about what was attacked here from scholar Judea Pearl (father of Daniel): 500,000 European Jews, including my family, owe their lives to Lord Balfour, whose 1917 declaration gave them a license to escape antisemitic Europe and rebuild their homeland in Eretz-Israel. My grandfather was one of them (1924) and my mother was another (1935). The rest of https://t.co/wwqzKWltw8 Judea Pearl (@yudapearl) March 9, 2024 In honor of Lord Balfour, a man of wisdom and character, whose portrait was defaced yesterday by the Barbarians of victim-land, I am reposting my piece on Balfour and the redefinition of "indigenous people" here https://t.co/9XOCOs9hGT https://t.co/6aHl7dRBqq Judea Pearl (@yudapearl) March 9, 2024 It's all about the Jew-hate. And like all Islamofascists, they hate women, too: History is complicated isnt it? On #InternationalWomensDay2024 you might be interested to know that Lord Balfour was for women being able to have university degrees. pic.twitter.com/w1gK417HnN Helen Nettleship (@Nettleshippy) March 8, 2024 So Balfour becomes a metaphor for the Western Civilization that derives from Judaeo-Christian heritage. The really ugly message from this violent attack is this: Support Jews or Israel and we will slash and kill you, which is very much what Hamas has already demonstrated in Israel and what these freaks are threatening here. Shocking, the freaks who did this are still on the loose. There have been no arrests. There is one report from a British journalist that one of them carried an expensive designer handbag. The freaks may have been western leftists, possibly repurposed environmental protestors, who in the past were always paid. And if so, it may mean that someone paid these people to do what they did, which amounts to terrorism against Western Civilization. If so, it would be consistent with Hamas's threat to do the same things they did to Israel onto Israel's supporters in the West. And there is no depravity Hamas won't stoop to. That means the West needs to reassess its unwillingness to defend itself and the ideas that made it great, and whether it ought to be focusing its efforts on criticizing and undermining Israel over its effort to rid the world of Hamas. Hamas may very well be attacking us from behind the cloak of Western loonies and that needs to be investigated. Whatever is done, the savages need to be caught and punished hard for this, or they will do it again. And they must be forced to answer questions about their sponsorship because something very threatening is going on with this art attack. They're slashing art now and if they get away with this, it won't be long before they start slashing people beyond Israel. Image: Screen shot from Middle East Eye video, via YouTube Hey there, people born with womens parts: yesterday was International Womens Day. Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world thats diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge womens equality. Collectively we can all #InspireInclusion. Celebrate womens achievement. Raise awareness about discrimination. Take action to drive gender parity. IWD belongs to everyone, everywhere. Inclusion means all IWD action is valid. Im still imagining. Probably you are, too. Meanwhile, the Palestinian 99.99% Muslims in Hamas-governed Gaza definitely didnt honor the day, especially the international part, as this New York Times investigative report from last month sickeningly demonstrates. (Warning: Normal individuals will have nightmares after reading this, so below is a minute excerpt.) Screams Without Words: How Hamas Weaponized Sexual Violence on Oct. 7 A Times investigation uncovered new details showing a pattern of rape, mutilation and extreme brutality The Times interviewed several soldiers and volunteer medics who together described finding more than 30 bodies of women and girls in and around the rave site and in two kibbutzim in a similar state as Ms. Abdushs legs spread, clothes torn off, signs of abuse in their genital areas. Indeed, Palestinian Hamas attacks beginning on October 7, 2023 and continuing to this day, especially against women, were so brutal, so savage, that some shocked reporters were willing to delicately authenticate them, forcing the U.N. to finally respond. Sort of. Clear and convincing information that hostages held in Gaza subjected to sexual violence, says UN Special Representative Following a 17-day visit to Israel, the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict reported on Monday that she and a team of experts had found clear and convincing information of rape and sexualized torture being committed against hostages seized during the 7 October terror attacks. Pramila Patten added in a press release issued along with the report that there are also reasonable grounds to believe that such violence, which includes other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, may be continuing against those still being held by Hamas and other extremists in the Gaza Strip. The report from her Office arose from an official visit to Israel at the invitation of the Government which included a visit to the occupied West Bank, between 29 January and 14 February. In the context of the coordinated attack by Hamas and others of 7 October, the UN mission team found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence occurred in multiple locations, including rape and gang rape in at least three locations in southern Israel. The team also found a pattern of victims - mostly women - found fully or partially naked, bound and shot across multiple locations which may be indicative of some forms of sexual violence. Some forms of sexual violence. Oh. Well, this is the U.N., so they have to be careful not to offend their anti-Israel, anti-Jewish members i.e., most of them. Remember this when you read or hear about how mean and nasty the Israelis are to the sweet, innocent Gazans, who lived so nicely in their lovely homes and had enough food until those nasty Israelis destroyed everything for no reason at all. And remember the hypocrisy of the Muslim response to International Womens Day, as related by Islamic Relief Worldwide with not even an acknowledgment of the horrors their brethren inflicted on others. Yeah, yeah, I know. Ahead of International Womens Day, Najah Almugahed, Gender Protection and Inclusion Advisor at Islamic Relief examines how the needs vs rights debate applies to women in humanitarian crises, calling for more aid to cover womens basic needs. After nearly a decade residing away from home, I managed to go back for a visit last year. Home is Yemen, which is experiencing one of the worlds worst humanitarian crises. Despite the joy of reuniting with family and friends, witnessing the devastation of basic services, extreme poverty and higher rates of inequality left its mark on my heart. The reality painted a grim picture of a population teetering on the brink of famine, with two-thirds in dire need of humanitarian assistance and protection services, according to UNHCR. In addition to these challenges, I observed a subtle shift in gender roles. Women in Yemen are increasingly taking on productive roles engaging in income-generating activities and breaking into traditionally male-dominated jobs such as waitressing or retail. However, this shift in Yemen and elsewhere is often sparked by necessity, rather than a genuine commitment to equal rights and opportunities. Even with their expanded responsibilities, women continue to shoulder the traditional roles of homemaking and caregiving without a corresponding reduction in expectations. ... There are still Israeli women and men in dire captivity in Muslim Gaza who are being ignored even after International Womens Day, while many still shed their crocodile tears over the plight of the starving Gazans. On this, the day after International Womens Day, the hypocrisy of the women and men who celebrate this day grows. Decent women and men will truly celebrate the spirit of International Womens Day by demanding the return of all Israeli hostages now! Image via Pexels. America has a long history of aiding allies by a variety of means. Perhaps the most famous is the Berlin Airlift. In June of 1948 the Soviets blocked West Berlin as prelude to seizing it. America delivered, by air, about 5000 tons of cargo a day, eventually delivering 2.3 million tons over more than a year. It was an unprecedented feat of logistics, military power and national resolve. Our military also resupplies troops via airdrops. However, that method of replenishment has limitations. Its not a precise method, it requires no one else get the supplies, and the amount of supplies delivered is limited. Our mummified Commander In Chief, however, recognizes no such limitations: Graphic: Berlin Airlift, Wikimedia Commons.org. Public Domain. The U.S. will airdrop humanitarian aid into Gaza in the coming days, amid tense negotiations for a pause in the fighting between Israel and Hamas, President Joe Biden announced Friday. The mission is designed to increase the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza as Palestinians struggle to get food, water, medicine and other aid during the Israel-Hamas war in the enclave. Biden, who made the announcement alongside Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, complained that Israel didnt allow enough aid to enter Gaza. Graphic: X screenshot PM Meloni was at first surprised, then struggled to keep from laughing. The truth is, aid flowing into Gaza is nowhere nearly enough now. Its nowhere nearly enough. Innocent lives are on the line and childrens lives are on the line, he said. We should be getting hundreds of trucks in, not just several. Speaking of the airdrops, Biden added, were going to pull out every stop we can. The president also occasionally said Ukraine when he meant to say Gaza regarding the location of the airdrops. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Friday that humanitarian airdrops are dangerous missions, not only for the aircraft and crew, but also for the people receiving aid. Theres few military operations that are more complicated than humanitarian assistance airdrops. This is a tough military mission, the retired rear admiral said. This will be part of a sustained effort, and with each one, well learn and well get better at them. Theyre particularly dangerous because cargo planes have to fly low and slow, and are easy pickings for terrorists armed with MANPADSman portable air defense missiles. Fly high enough to be safe and the aid would be destroyed or end up in the ocean. One would hope the Joint Chiefs of Staff would be explaining that sort of thing to Mr. Biden, but these days, one cant count on that. The president this week expressed hope that a temporary pause in the fighting could start as early as Monday. Those comments came on the eve of the Democratic presidential primary in Michigan, home to a significant Muslim population that sent Biden a message when more than 100,000 people roughly 13 percent of the primary electorate voted uncommitted. Biden, whose initial support for Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in particular upset Arab Americans, has made a point more recently of speaking more forcefully and frequently about the carnage in Gaza. He called Israels response over the top on Feb. 8 and sent senior officials to meet with Arab community leaders in Michigan last month, but this weeks primary results show that the continued fighting in Gaza still presents a political liability for the president. And there it is: this is more about encouraging Muslims in Michigan and Minnesota to airdrop votes for Biden in November than it is about Gazans. Getting relief convoys into Gaza is difficult, largely because Egypt doesnt want any Palestinians on their soil. They know them too well. Even so, Israel is allowing convoys, but theyre virtually all seized by Hamas, who dont give a damn about Gazans, use them as human shields and kill them at will. So were now going to put our airmen at deadly risk to drop an entirely insufficient number of expired military Meals Ready To Eat (MRE) to Hamas. Pretty much any military member who has had to live on MREs might consider that an act of war, but as with every other attempt to aid Hamasthe citizens of Gaza overwhelmingly support Hamas, participated in the 10-7 massacre, and even now hold hostagesthese supplies wont go to anyone but terrorists. Thats a problem. The Mummified Meat Puppet Administration is only lengthening and worsening the war, and causing more casualties, particularly among Israelis, who do more than any military in history to protect civilians. Biden is threatening to cut off aid to Israel, even as he ramps it up to Hamas. Hes supplying both sides of the conflict, supplying Islamist enemies who would delight in murdering Americanstheyre still holding American hostages and refuse to confirm if they're dead or aliveat every opportunity. But at least Mr. Bidens handlers are consistent. When Islamists refuse a two state solution and swear to murder every Jew, they refuse to believe them. When experience teaches theyll seize all aid meant for their people, the MMPA is determined to send more them ever more. Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor. Chongqing's smart factories drive intelligent manufacturing boost Xinhua) 09:35, March 09, 2024 This photo taken on June 27, 2022 shows a vehicle being assembled at a smart factory of Chinese vehicle manufacturer Seres Group in Liangjiang New Area, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. (Xinhua/Wang Quanchao) CHONGQING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- In SANY (Chongqing) Industrial Park, situated in Liangjiang New Area of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, a large excavator rolls off from the smart production line every 17.3 minutes on average, with minimal human presence as robots are handling most tasks. More than 700 robots are involved in welding and other tasks, enabling the production lines to operate primarily without human intervention, including assessment, according to Deng Jinghui, general manager of SANY Heavy Industry (Chongqing) Co., Ltd. "The extensive use of intelligent equipment allows a workforce of just 300 workers to manage 24 production lines, yielding an annual output of over 5 billion yuan (about 700 million U.S. dollars)." Unlike traditional factories bustling with thousands of workers alongside buzzing machines, this intelligent factory operates quietly and efficiently 24 hours a day. It is a microcosm of China's rapidly developing intelligent manufacturing. "Traditional manufacturing has been troubled by a shortage of skilled workers and low production efficiency. Breakthroughs in digital technology, new energy and novel materials have presented opportunities for China's manufacturing to transition toward high-end, smart and green practices," said Zhao Bin, deputy director of Chongqing's municipal commission of economy and informatization, adding that intelligent manufacturing is the primary direction for industry upgrading. This photo taken on June 27, 2022 shows a vehicle being assembled at a smart factory of Chinese vehicle manufacturer Seres Group in Liangjiang New Area, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. (Xinhua/Wang Quanchao) The use of robots and smart equipment has liberated intelligent factories in Chongqing from dependence on laborers to some extent. On Feb. 5 this year, Chinese vehicle manufacturer Seres Group's super factory started operations in Chongqing's Liangjiang New Area. Walking through the factory, visitors will find themselves amidst a forest of robotic arms, where over 1,000 intelligent devices and 3,000 robots are running seamlessly to execute intricate tasks. Here, a fleet of logistics robots efficiently navigates production lines with minimal human oversight. According to Seres, the general assembly procedure usually requires many laborers, with the industry's overall automation rate below 30 percent. However, Seres achieves automated assembly of essential components such as the battery pack and dashboard, among others, with a general automation rate exceeding 50 percent. New technologies have also greatly boosted the efficiency of these smart factories. Changan Auto has established a fully equipped 5G factory in Chongqing's Yubei District, boasting 2,524 sets of equipment across seven workshops, creating a virtual factory in the digital world. The virtual factory synchronizes the real one, as it can deliver real-time production data involving equipment, personnel and supplies. These data and the advanced scheduling platform enable the factory to increase its production efficiency by more than 30 percent and strike a balance between production and marketing. Chongqing, China's southwestern industrial powerhouse, had built 144 intelligent factories and 958 digital workshops by the end of 2023, according to Zhao. (Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Liang Jun) Friday, International Women's Day, Irish voters will take to the polls to decide whether changes to an 87-year-old document are necessary. The twin referendums question a reference to women's domestic duties and broaden the definition of the family. Many women and men support the amendment change, while those opposed claim the changes are confusing and could lead to unintended consequences. The first vote centers on a section of the Constitution that promises to protect the family as the primary unit of society. Voters are asked to remove the reference to marriage as the basis "on which the family is founded," and instead include a clause that states families can be founded "on marriage or other durable relationships." Should the law pass, it will become Ireland's 39th amendment to its constitution. The second issue would remove a reference to women's role in the home as key support to the state and delete a statement that "mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labor to the neglect of their duties in the home," in a proposed 40th amendment. Additionally, it would include a clause saying the state will strive to support "the provision of care by members of a family to one another." But Why The Change All These Years Later? Ireland's constitution dates back to 1937 when the nation officially became a republic. Naturally, Ireland has changed immensely since, transforming from a conservative Roman Catholic country where divorce and abortion are illegal to an equal, diverse, and socially liberal society. According to The Associated Press, the proportion of residents who are Catholic fell from 94.9% in 1961 to 69% in 2022, as reported by the Central Statistics Office. The social adaptions are demonstrated in a series of constitutional changes. Irish voters legalized divorce in a 1995 referendum, supported by same-sex marriage in a 2015 vote and a repealed ban on abortions in 2018. In 2023, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar announced on Women's International Day that the government would hold a referendum to embody gender equality and remove discriminatory language from the constitution. The purpose lies in removing "very old-fashioned language" and recognizing the realities of today's family life, said Varadkar, Ireland's first ethnic minority leader, who is in a same-sex relationship. As election day nears, some voters remain undecided despite opinion polls revealing overwhelming support for the "yes" side on both votes. All of Ireland's main political parties support the changes, including centrist government coalition partners Fianna Fail and Fine Gael and the biggest opposition party, Sinn Fein. Tracy Carroll from County Meath in central Ireland, who cares full-time for her two children, said women had long been told "our place in society is in the home and looking after our children and our husbands." "We've moved from that, but the constitution hasn't moved from that, and a woman's place is anywhere she wants it to be," she told Sky News. In Dublin, nurse Una Ui Dhuinn said she voted no to both changes because "I thought it was too rushed." "I felt we didn't get enough time to think about it and read up on it. So I felt, to be on the safe side, 'no, no' - no change," she said. Caoimhe Doyle, a doctoral student, said she voted yes to changing the definition of family but no to the care amendment because "I don't think it was explained very well." "There's a worry there that they're removing the burden on the state to take care of families," she said. Varadkar, who insists the state is not abdicating its care responsibilities, explained rejecting the changes "would be a setback for the country." "If there's a 'no' vote, on Saturday morning hundreds of thousands of children in Ireland will wake up to hear that Irish society has decided that their family isn't a constitutional family, isn't an equal family, just because their parents aren't married," Varadkar said this week. "If there's a 'yes' vote, we'll be saying as a society that all families are equal." Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory was panned when it was released in 1971 but has since become a much-loved classic. One of the best moments in the movie, of course, is when the abysmally spoiled, demanding Veruca Salt sings her anthem, I Want It Now! only to be destroyed by her impatient greed. Back then, audiences nodded approvingly. Today, if Salt were portrayed as a black activist, shed be wildly applauded for putting her boot on the neck of white privilege. However, if you look back on America a century or more ago, most whites had no privilege and lived horrific lives. It was the patience of generations that raised them up. To orient you to my thought process here, I need to recount a conversation I had with a Democrat some twenty years ago when my kids were small. He was complaining that someone in his office was an abysmal worker. The kids asked the logical question: Why dont you fire him? The Democrat then embarked on a convoluted explanation about poor black kids growing up in ghettos and needing instant access to quality jobs for which they were not prepared to offset their deficits as opposed to my kids (white) advantages. I countered that the better thing for all involved would be to give people opportunities but to make demands on them. For example, said black employee would get an internship or a six-month trial. If during that time, he was amenable to learning the ways of office liferesponsibility, punctuality, respect, efforthed keep the job, no matter that his progress was slow. If not, hed be out of there. No one, I said, should simply be paid for showing up. Image: Homeless children, New York, 1890, by Jacob Riis. Public domain. By analogy, I asked my kids if they would bother to work at school if they knew theyd get an A regardless of effort. Their response was instant and unequivocal. No! I explained that their grandparents, like most people who lived in America for the past 150 years or so, had miserable, scrabbling lives but worked away for their survival and the betterment of their descendants. Thats how it goes. And thats when the Democrat fired his real arrow: You believe in incrementalism! Thats racist. The anti-incrementalists contend that whites always had an advantage compared to blacks because blacks were victims of systematized oppression. And yes, in the South, blacks were indeed victims of slavery, a pattern of victimization that continued after the Civil War, thanks to the Democrats race-based Jim Crow policies. And yes, blacks were victims of less systematized oppression in other parts of America, thanks to banking and housing policies. But slavery ended in 1865, systematized oppression was made illegal in 1965, and cultural oppression began to die then. Blacks should have risen like corks socially and economically with those weights taken off them. But they didnt. The reason they didnt is because the moment America took the old weights off blacks, the Democrats put on new ones. During the 1950s, despite systemic racism, blacks were doing well culturally and economically. Whether it was rising wages or marriage rates, they were one of the fastest upward-moving groups in America. What brought all that to a screeching halt was the Democrats welfare state, which taught blacks that hard work, ambition, patience, and a two-parent family were all for suckers. Had they stayed on that path, blacks could have been like the Asians who flowed into America in the second half of the 20th century. As a San Francisco native, I grew up around kids who had arrived with their parents from war-torn Vietnam or Cambodia or who had escaped the Chinese communists. The parents spoke no English, they were incredibly poor, and their homes were deplorably crowded and dirty. But the core values were to work and, most importantly, for the children to learn. The parents were grateful for liberty and were ready to work hard and be patient so their children could have affluence. And it worked. The problem with todays black poverty in America is that those who lacked LBJs cynical foresight naively believed that welfare was just a helping hand that could easily be withdrawn. However, Marxists dont operate that way. Welfare morphed from a helping hand into a lifestyle. Moreover, in the last 20 years, the race hustlers have come up with the Veruca Salt approach to government redistribution: They want and are entitled to all of it (i.e., wealth) now: The Democrat whos been reading this will point out that I still havent addressed white privilege. By focusing on blacks and Asians, Ive ignored the inherent advantage of being white in America. But thats just not true. There was an inherent advantage to being someone whose parents had arrived from England before Americas founding. But by the turn of the last century, most white Americans were recent immigrants and had no privilege at all. And that gets me to my white privilege images. Most Fridays at Bookworm Room, I post a meme compilation. And lately, Ive included images I sarcastically call white privilege, many of which come from a Facebook page called Daily Historical Pictures and Videos: These people were no more privileged than blacks, Asians, Hispanics, or anyone else in America. They simply put their heads down and worked, hoping to improve their own lives and those of their children. And because America is (or, at least, was) a capitalist, free-market, and mostly free society, if people and their children developed habits of hard work and temperance, along with a commitment to education, getting a job, getting married, having children, and staying married, there was a good chance that their lives would indeed improve. Ill leave you with a wonderful Prager U video in which Daniel Hannan explains how capitalism is an inherently moral system that improves the lives of those willing to embrace it. Its no wonder that, when capitalism came along, the worlds wealth exploded. In The White House tries to steer Israel back onto a two-way street (03/07/24) by David Ignatius, despite all the Israel-bashing that is typical for a Washington Post column, two fundamental truths emerged about the Hamas/Israel war seemingly by accident. But those truths are critical to understanding what is going on in Israel and Gaza. Unlike almost every Washington Post article regarding the war, Ignatius plainly admits that Hamas has so far refused to accept the cease-fire thats on the table. With all the coverage nationwide even worldwide supporting the pro-Hamas protests that call for a ceasefire, absent from the reporting is the obvious: Hamas refuses to accept a ceasefire. The protesters are opposing the wrong side if they in fact want a ceasefire! They should protest against Hamas! Secondly, the editorial states that Benjamin Gantz, member of the Israeli War Cabinet and chief political rival to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, agrees with Netanyahu on assaulting Rafah. Rafah is the last stronghold of Hamas. Its defeat would ultimately mean the defeat of 100% of Gaza and Hamas. All the mainstream medias attempts to isolate Netanyahu as the bad guy in this war are unfounded. Yes, not all Israelis like Netanyahu, but almost all of them agree with his message: Hamas must be defeated. The Washington Post presents the Hamas/Israel war in lockstep with the Hamas viewpoint. With antisemitism skyrocketing and Jews at risk for their physical safety, one would think the Post would be more thoughtful in its reporting to avoid inciting more violent protests. Just this past week, a Jewish dentist was murdered by a patient, Jewish students were physically assaulted on college campuses, and synagogues were on high alert. The Post throws fuel on this fire with its biased reporting. Moreover, the Post consistently embellishes the statistics of casualties and parrots the words of the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which further inflames readers. The Gaza Health Ministry cannot account for the number of live Israeli hostages, but seconds after an explosion near a Gazan hospital or a stampede by a food truck, they immediately claim to know the precise number of casualties! In recent editions of the Washington Post, there were two articles (here and here), both of which effectively legitimized Hamass unreliable casualty statistics. One stated that the war has killed 30,000 people, according to Gazas health authorities. The other remarked, the Gaza Health Ministry says [the war] has already killed more than 30,000 people. The Post has on rare occasion slipped by telling the truth: that Hamass casualty numbers include Hamas combatants! How negligent at best, or nefarious at worst, that the Post still chooses to print the faulty figures, thereby swaying readers in favor of Hamas and against Israel. On Feb. 23, 2024, in Israel says video shows U.N. worker in Oct. 7 attack, the Post described the casualty figures this way: At least 29,313 people have been killed in Gaza ... according to the Gaza Health Ministry which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. A few days later, on Feb. 26, 2024, in U.S. hopes cease-fire agreement in Gaza can be reached in coming days, the Post stated that at least 29,692 people have been killed in Gaza ... according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. These slip-ups are rare at the Post, and they tell a completely different story from the Posts usual coverage. In a war where Israel is being accused unfairly of purposeful mass killing of Palestinians, it is indeed appropriate to caution that the casualty numbers include combatants and that the figures emanate from a terrorist regime, considered as such by the U.K., the E.U., and the United States, and therefore should be viewed with suspicion. Additionally, never has a military had to encounter such a vast military tunnel system that puts civilians directly in harms way. Hamas shoots from beneath and behind their civilians without providing them cover, exposing them to the expected return fire. The ratio of civilian casualties to combatants does not exceed 1.5 to 1, far less than the comparable ratios in the recent American battles in Iraq. It should be mentioned by the Post, or better yet emphasized, that the real casualty numbers contradict the Hamas Health Ministry because they prove that Israel is conducting one of the most humane military operations in history, especially considering the difficult circumstances of urban warfare. Israel has done more to prevent civilian casualties in Gaza than any other known army in the world has, according to John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point and retired U.S. military officer. His extensive thread is posted on X (formerly Twitter), according to the Jerusalem Post. The Times of Israel reported three weeks ago, when there were fewer overall casualties, Israel has said it killed some 12,000 Hamas members in Gaza fighting, in addition to some 1,000 killed in Israel in the aftermath of the terror groups October 7 invasion and onslaught. That would mean that about half of all the casualties that the highly suspect Gaza Health Ministry has listed were civilians. All tragic, and all the fault of Hamas. These low civilian casualty figures are commendable, compared with the ratio of civilians to combatants killed by American forces in the Iraq war in Fallujah and Mosul. In summary, the mainstream media, and The Washington Post especially, are guilty of propagating lies about the Hamas-Israel war. These are the unreported facts: The lack of a ceasefire is the responsibility of Hamas, not Israel. The Israeli public is currently galvanized by a unity government, so there is no reason to portray Netanyahu as a far-right bogeyman. Israel is fighting the most humane, careful urban war in history. The only genocide is what Hamas has vowed to inflict on the Jewish state again and again until it succeeds. Israel has been a strong ally of the United States. The mainstream media are trying to drive a wedge between the two. It wont work. The relationship between the two countries has value to both. Both countries share intelligence; Israel spends its aid on American products, helping the American economy; Israel tests, in combat, American innovations; and most importantly, Israel is an island of allegiance in a dangerous yet critically important part of the world. When will the mainstream media get the Israel story right, when they have been so wrong for so long? Dr. Michael Berenhaus is a freelance activist who works to combat anti-Israel bias in the media. He has been widely published in news sources such as The Economist, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. Image: Daniel X. O'Neil via Flickr, CC BY 2.0. Welsh singer Charlotte Church said she was spreading a loving message as she joined a pro-Palestine rally following the backlash she received for singing a protest chant. In late February the 38-year-old led a rendition of From The River To The Sea at a Sing For Palestine fundraising event in Wales which the Campaign Against Antisemitism called a genocidal chant. On Saturday, the singer from Cardiff marched alongside thousands of protesters in central London calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Charlotte Church takes part in a pro-Palestine march in central London (Jordan Pettitt/PA) She told the PA news agency: I am here today to call for an immediate ceasefire, to ask our Government and governments all over the world to send as strong a message as we possibly can. But a strong, a peaceful, a loving message, thats what every single march that Ive been on for Palestine has been about. Theres been singing, theres been drumming, yes, theres been emotion, but in the majority that emotion has been love, has been compassion because thats why were all here. Were all here because we cannot bear what were witnessing. We cannot bear to see civilians, children, women slaughtered. And so we are here because our hearts are so full of love for the Palestinian people. Church added: Were also showing that we are absolutely not going to tolerate our Government being a part of propping up an apartheid regime. We as citizens of the UK will not tolerate our Government being complicit in this. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) organised the protest, following the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on October 7 in which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 240 kidnapped before Israel retaliated with months of attacks on the Gaza Strip, killing and wounding thousands. At the march demonstrators waved Palestine flags and carried banners which read Stop the war on Gaza and Ceasefire now as they walked from Hyde Park Corner to the US embassy. It comes as the Governments counter-extremism tsar warned that Londons streets have become a no-go zone for Jews during pro-Palestine protests. Following Churchs involvement at the fundraising event at Bedwas Workmens Hall on February 24, she told Novara Live that it was misguided to draw an inference of antisemitism from the pro-Palestinian chants. Charlotte Church smiling for a selfie during the march (Jordan Pettitt/PA) To be honest, I hate the idea that anyone thinks that I am at all antisemitic or trying to make things more divisive, but I stand by everything we sang, she said. It was a deeply spiritual experience for me and I would do it again 100 times and plan to. Church added at the time: It is a really powerful chant that every single activist that I have met, every march that I have been on, in every context that I have ever heard it sang, it always has been for the human rights and for the equal liberty of Palestinian people, as well as Israeli people, on the lands of Palestine and Israel, and that is what I have always taken it and understood it to mean and thats what I think it does mean. And for anyone who is taking from that genocidal intent towards Israel, or about there not being a state of Israel, I think is misguided that is not what the chant means. The Campaign Against Antisemitism accused Church of encouraging hatred and called for the Charity Commission to investigate the incident. Megan Fox and a Winnie The Pooh slasher film were among the award winners at the 44th Razzie Awards. The Golden Raspberry Awards, which organisers describe as the ugly cousin to the Oscars, honours the worst in contemporary cinema. Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey, which reimagines childhood characters from the Hundred Acre Wood as serial killers, swept the awards with five wins, including worst picture. The Mean Gays host the 44th Razzies Awards!https://t.co/C339jkBgFQ pic.twitter.com/xZaH4AX5rp The Razzie Awards (@RazzieAwards) March 9, 2024 The horror movie, which has a sequel coming out this year, draws from AA Milnes classic tale. Hollywood actress Fox, 37, received two awards, one for her role in action film Expend4bles. Sylvester Stallone was awarded worst supporting actor for playing Barney in the comedy film while Fox, who played Gina, won worst supporting actress. The Jennifers Body star also won the worst actress award for her role in the action thriller Johnny And Clyde. Elsewhere, Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey was handed gongs for worst remake, rip-off or sequel, worst director, worst screenplay and worst on-screen couple, which was given to Pooh and Piglet. Worst actor was given to Jon Voight for action film Mercy and the redeemer award, given to a past contender who has since gone on to better things, was given to Fran Drescher for her shepherding of Sag-Aftra through a prolonged 2023 strike. The Razzies took place on the day before the Academy Awards, as is the award ceremonys usual tradition. The British Army had 4,129 pieces of combat equipment in 2016 but this figure has been cut every year and now stands at just 3,207 - CPL TIM HAMMOND/MOD Britains combat power has been slashed over the past seven years, leading to fears that the Armed Forces would struggle with a war against Russia. Figures published by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) show that deep annual cuts since 2016 have had an impact on almost every part of the Armed Forces. A report has revealed significant falls in the number of tanks, missile launchers, artillery pieces, helicopters, combat jets and some ships available for combat. It shows that in 2016, the British Army had 4,129 pieces of combat equipment but this figure has been cut every year and now stands at just 3,207. The report which has been seen by The Telegraph and National Security News showed that in 2016, the Army had 1,119 armoured fighting vehicles; today there are just 882. Over 200 Scimitar light tanks, which were used in Iraq and Afghanistan, have been axed completely and have yet to be replaced. The number of Warrior armoured personnel carriers, which were used in the UKs last two foreign campaigns, has also been reduced from 770 to 625. In terms of artillery, the number of AS90 self-propelled gun fleet have been almost halved from 89 artillery pieces in 2016 to 57 today, although 12 of these have been donated to Ukraine. The number of multiple launch rocket systems has also fallen from 35 to 29, with three being sent to Ukraine Challenger 2 tank numbers have also fallen from 227 to 213. But crucially defence sources have told The Telegraph that the actual number capable of deploying on operations could be as little as 100. Dramatic falls In terms of aircraft, the fall is equally dramatic. In 2016, the Armed Forces had 724 fixed-wing aircraft but today there are only 564 aircraft and of those just 308 are in service. Many classes of aircraft have been retired such as the Tornado, which saw action in both Gulf wars. The 5th-generation F-35B Lightning multi-role fighter is still coming into service but the exact numbers are yet to be confirmed. The original plan was for 138 F-35s to be delivered to the RAF and the Royal Navy but orders for only 74 in two tranches have been signed. Drone numbers have fallen from 443 to 194 and the helicopter has been reduced from 372 to 294 aircraft of which 193 were in service in 2023, the latest figures available. Last night, Colonel Philip Ingram a former Army intelligence officer said: The defence budget has increased dramatically since 2016 yet the equipment needed for combat has shrunk. This can only be down to mismanagement. Defence needs to take a long hard look at how it can deliver properly considered capability and build on the lessons from Ukraine but predictions for future conflicts. This will likely require additional and urgent investment to get ready for the threats that are coming at us at a rapid pace. The publication of the report follows claims by Lieutenant General Charles Collins, the head of Home Command, who said in an article for the British Army Review that if Britain was at war with Ukraine, it would have already run out of ammunition and equipment. The general said that the Ukraine war had exposed the outdated assumptions that large-scale wars were over. He added: Influenced by years of counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism, we have been resting on the assumption that we would not be required to fight at scale. The requirement for boots on the ground has been vindicated and repudiated the arguments that the British way of war should prioritise war by cyber, space, air and maritime instead of messy, grinding land warfare. Operational commitments An MoD spokesperson said: Our Armed Forces stand ready to protect and defend the UK, and we continue to meet all operational commitments, including participating in every single Nato mission, supporting Ukraine, and tackling Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. We are spending more than 50 billion on defence this year alone and have significantly increased our spending on equipment to 288.6 billion over the next decade, including investing in deepening our stockpiles and bringing in new tanks, fighter jets and warships. Separately, the MoD has been accused of failing to speed up the planned replacement of its AS90 artillery. In July 2023, the department said that while its Mobile Fires Platform replacement was due to achieve initial operating capability by 2029 and full operating capability in 2032, it was scoping options to accelerate the procurement. However, a parliamentary question posed by Labour at the end of last year has revealed that the MoD does not have a new in-service date for the kit. Maria Eagle, the shadow defence procurement minister, said the Conservatives had failed to get a grip of deep problems in defence. Despite promising to accelerate this vital programme, ministers have confirmed that the new Mobile Fires Platform wont be fully in service until the 2030s, she said. When he was serving as defence secretary, Ben Wallace raised concerns about the armys lack of deep fire, saying Britain was pretty much over-ranged in our heavy artillery by everyone. An MOD spokesman said: We are speeding up the procurement of a future mobile fires platform, as part of our plans... to make procurement faster and more flexible. (Photo : (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)) The Russian Federation has dropped from the worlds second-largest arms exporter to the third-largest. The US embassy in Russia issued a warning of an "imminent" attack by extremists in Moscow and notified American citizens to avoid large crowds just hours as Russian security officials said they thwarted a plot by Islamic State terrorists to shoot up a synagogue. "The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and U.S. citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours," it said on its website. The embassy, which has urged American citizens to leave Russia because of the war in Ukraine, advised them to "avoid crowds, monitor local media for updates and be aware of your surroundings." The alert was issued after Russia's FSB said it stopped an attack on a Moscow synagogue by militants belonging to a cell of terrorists belonging to a Afghan-linked group known as ISIS-Khorasan that seeks to develop a caliphate in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Iran, Reuters reported. The FSB said the cell "was preparing to attack the congregants of a synagogue using firearms." It said the militants put up some resistance but were eventually "neutralized." "Firearms, ammunition, as well as components for the manufacture of an improvised explosive device were found and seized," the FSB said, Reuters reported. Prof Philip Greenland claimed the editor of the journal 'put his hand on the scales' - BIOMEUMIAMI The British Medical Journal (BMJ) has been accused by a leading doctor of playing along with Hamas in its coverage of the Gaza war. Within three weeks of the Oct 7 attack by Hamas which sparked the conflict, the BMJ-owned Global Health journal published an article accusing Israel of indiscriminately killing Palestinians. The piece, published on Oct 27, also said Israeli forces were deliberately targeting a hospital in Gaza to increase morbidity and mortality. Philip Greenland, an American professor of medicine, wrote a response disputing claims in the article, but Global Health did not publish the rebuttal for three months. The journal also initially demanded Prof Greenland pay a $2,000 (1,500) fee, although the editors backtracked on this after claiming that the initial article had not been invited. Article was three months out of date Global Healths editor subsequently told Prof Greenland that the decision not to charge the authors of the original article was an error, and therefore he was not asked to pay a fee to have his response published. But Prof Greenland, a senior editor at the Journal of American Medicine Association, accused the journal of editorial malpractice because his article was by then three months out of date. The delay, he said, almost made our piece irrelevant because so many other things happened after then. In addition, his response was shared before publication on Feb 1 with the authors of the original anti-Israel article, who in the same issue wrote another piece disputing several aspects of his argument. Prof Greenland, a specialist in preventive medicine at Northwestern University, Illinois, accused the editor of putting [his] hand on the scale and letting them have another crack at it. People need to know that medical journals are playing along with Hamas, he said. The original article, headlined Violence in Palestine demands immediate resolution of its settler colonial root causes, makes no mention of the Oct 7 atrocities and instead argues: It is impossible to divorce the violence of recent days from the long history of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The follow-up response to Prof Greenlands rebuttal of the article rejects the idea that Israel chose violence in Gaza because of Oct 7, describing the argument as false. Israel accused of eliminatory strategy It goes on to accuse Israel of pursuing an eliminatory settler colonial strategy as evidenced by the necropower that Israel exercises over Palestinians which the authors define as death-worlds where people are put in a position constantly close to death. Prof Greenland said the articles were nowhere near appropriate for the publication. This is not a social sciences journal, he said. Theyre wading into territory that medical journals should not be in. David Katz, an emeritus professor of immunopathology at University College London and editor of the International Journal of Experimental Pathology, said: The authors of the two articles do not seem able to acknowledge the context: Oct 7 happened. For many identified Jews, there is a sense of disquiet and betrayal. Jewish patients and families query: can they trust the doctor they consult? Responses were both supportive and critical The least we can expect, surely, is that journals, publishers, and other media do not betray their own standards and responsibilities to combat pernicious anti-Semitic prejudice in any form. Seye Abimbola, the editor in chief of BMJ Global Health said: We published Professor Greenlands criticism on Feb 1, alongside the authors reply, which is entirely standard practice, especially on a contentious issue. Greenlands criticism was only one of many responses, both supportive and critical, that formed the basis of the authors reply. Both articles went through the same editorial due diligence. One was not delayed for the other, and Open Access fees processes were applied for both articles as standard. We do not accept the baseless allegation that we are playing along with Hamas. As a global health journal, BMJ Global Health is interested in the drivers of health and wellbeing in disadvantaged and oppressed communities. Donald Trump's possible return has sparked concerns in Europe about US support for Ukraine as well as the country's commitment to Nato - DEFODI IMAGES NEWS European nations must be ready if Donald Trump pulls the US out of Nato, foreign diplomats have told The Telegraph. Diplomats from countries with Nato membership said that European capitals needed to do the planning and reconsider current defence capabilities in light of threats issued by the former president. Last week, Mr Trump was all but confirmed as the Republican candidate for the presidential election in November when Nikki Haley withdrew from the contest for the GOP nomination. The prospect of his possible return to the White House has sparked concerns in Europe about American support for Ukraine as well as the countrys commitment to Nato. Mr Trump has previously said he would encourage Russia to attack Nato members that fail to pay their bills, while his former national security adviser John Bolton has predicted he would attempt to withdraw from the alliance if re-elected. Last month, The Telegraph revealed that the UK Government does not have a contingency plan for such a scenario. However, there is a dawning realisation in other capitals that such preparations have to be made. One European diplomat said that Mr Trumps comments were of course a concern. Nobody knows what hes going to do next, they said. The official said that Nato countries needed to do the planning for a scenario in which he weakened the American commitment to the alliance. Preparations need to be in place, they said. However, they pointed out that the number of countries meeting the Nato target to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence had risen significantly, meaning that members could tell Mr Trump hes getting what he wanted. A diplomat from another Nato country said that Mr Trumps comments had thrown into sharp relief that we are so overdependent on the US. They said that a discussion about how to hedge against the risk of US withdrawal was necessary. Countries such as the UK would need to provide even greater leadership on European security because if the US pulls out there will be a massive gap. A third diplomat said that uncertainty about the US would make European countries think in our own capitals more about the defence planning is it adequate or not? In the UK, ministers have insisted that Nato has become stronger in the last year, with the accession of Finland in April 2023 and Sweden last week. However, Lord Darroch, the former UK ambassador to the US, is also among those making the argument that the government needs to be prepared for all eventualities if Mr Trump is re-elected. Writing for Prospect last month, Lord Darroch, who also served as the UK national security adviser between 2012 and 2015, said: If I were an official in any prime ministers office around Europe, I would be commissioning the experts in government to start doing some contingency thinking about how a Nato without the United States would look and function just in case. Katie Britt responds to Joe Biden's State of the Union address from her kitchen - FOX NEWS The Republican Partys response to Joe Bidens State of the Union address on Thursday night was not to everyones taste. Katie Britt, a freshman senator from Alabama, sat at her kitchen table as she delivered a pre-recorded rebuke to the President in an unorthodox tone that was part stage whisper, part impassioned plea. She said Mr Biden was a dithering and diminished leader who is not fit for command and blasted him for the worsening border crisis, saying he invited it. Many of the lines in her speech hit Republican talking points. In a segment about Laken Riley, a Georgia college student killed by an illegal migrant last month, Ms Britt blamed Mr Biden, arguing that her killer was one of the millions of illegal border crossers [he] chose to release into our homeland. Despite the current State of our Union, I firmly believe that our best days are still ahead. It's our turn to stand up and prove ourselves worthy of protecting the American Dream. Together, we can reawaken the heroic spirit of a great nation. pic.twitter.com/VN6neGCTF4 Senator Katie Boyd Britt (@SenKatieBritt) March 8, 2024 As her voice wavered, she talked about a woman who had been sex trafficked by the cartels starting at the age of 12 and repeatedly raped on a mattress in a shoebox of a room. But it was the style, rather than the substance, that had Republicans asking why she had been chosen for one of the most important rebuttal tasks of the year. In a slow, incredulous tone, the 42-year-old senator made her way through a speech designed to be all political fire and brimstone. Unlike Mr Biden, who was criticised for the angry tone of his delivery, Ms Britt delivered her remarks as an exasperated parent would address an errant child. What the hell am I watching right now? The reaction in the Republican Party was not, perhaps, quite what she had imagined. Joe Biden just declared war on the American right and Katie Britt is talking like shes hosting a cooking show, said Charlie Kirk, the CEO of the Trump-affiliated group Turning Points USA. GOP staffers on Capitol Hill agreed. Everyones f---ing losing it, one told The Daily Beast. Its one of our biggest disasters ever. I do not understand the decision to put her in a KITCHEN for one of the most important speeches shes ever given, said one Republican consultant of the setting, which another called creepy. Katie Britt was picked by Mitch McConnell - EPA Another campaign adviser simply asked: What the hell am I watching right now? Ms Britt, who was first elected in 2022, is considered a rising star in the GOP and has been touted as a possible running mate for Donald Trump, who is allowing various names for his ticket to be floated before making a decision. The mother-of-two is a former congressional staffer and lawyer, once named in the conservative press as one of the people who will be running Alabama in a few years, and was chosen for the job by Mitch McConnell, the outgoing Republican leader in the Senate. The stuff of nightmares Newt Gingrich, the former House Speaker, recently said that Ms Britts rebuttal to Mr Bidens speech was an audition for Mr Trumps vice-presidential pick. Some very smart people believe [Britt] will be Trumps vice presidential pick she has her big audition that night because shes going to deliver the response to Biden, Mr Gingrich said ahead of the speech in an interview on Sunday. He added: It will be interesting to see if Britt rises to the occasion. If she does, it will be a major step up in her potentially being Trumps vice presidential candidate. Being picked to give the speech was an honour Ms Britt said, as she used it as a prime opportunity to boost her national profile and give Republicans the chance to appeal to a younger audience, especially young women. But after receiving the ire of Mr Trumps team on Thursday, Ms Britts future in the White House seems rather less likely. No one was surprised that McConnells handpicked senator resonated so poorly with the base, one source close to the former president told The Daily Beast. But her performance was the stuff of nightmares and people were surprised by that. Mick Whelan admits that only half the public now support the strikers - LUCY NORTH/PA Public support for train drivers strikes is ebbing away, the secretary of the Aslef trade union has admitted. Mick Whelan, general secretary of the train drivers union, said that support among the general public for industrial action by train drivers had dropped by a third. At one point we had 75 per cent of public approval. Now its down to just over 50, he told reporters in London. Weve never actually experienced, until now, a transport dispute where we have public approval, added the 64-year-old, who took up his post in 2011. Mr Whelans admission comes during a bitter dispute between Aslef members and 16 train companies around the country. Industrial action has been running for almost two years, causing misery for rail passengers and pushing travellers away from the railways. Passengers have been badly hit by the dispute which has continued for almost two years - KEN JACK/GETTY IMAGES EUROPE Other rail unions, including the RMT and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, have settled pay disputes with the Government, leaving Aslef as the only holdout. Aslef members say they have not had a pay rise for two years, while the Government says Aslef is refusing to put an offer to its members that would see drivers average salaries rise to 65,000. Mr Whelan said that his members had recently voted to continue striking, adding that union rules prevent its bosses from letting members vote on a pay deal that its leaders do not endorse. Were not the villains of this piece, he said. Were the people that actually dont want to be out on strike. People dont want to be losing money. Claims by the Aslef secretary that his unions ongoing strikes are still backed by the public despite waning support are cast into doubt by recent opinion polling. Passenger numbers have dropped from 1.7 billion in 2019 to 1.4 billion last year - JOE GIDDENS/PA A survey by Ipsos revealed that just one in five Britons think rail services can be relied upon, while just under two-thirds of 2,000 adults thought strikes were contributing towards the poor quality of rail services. Passenger numbers, meanwhile, remain stubbornly below their 2019 level of 1.7 billion journeys. Last year they languished at just 1.4 billion journeys. Officials have accused the strikers of pushing people off the railways. The most recent Aslef strike days in January and February coincided with a Government-backed ticket discounting initiative called the Great British Rail Sale. Just half of the 1.2 million available tickets were sold, with rail tsar Conrad Bailey telling Parliaments Transport Select Committee in February that strikes were to blame for low sales. Attempts to break the strikes through new legislation have largely failed. Although the Government passed so-called Minimum Service Levels (MSL) laws last year to let employers force strikers back to work, they have been furiously resisted by Aslef. Punitive Speaking to the press, Mr Whelan said the MSL laws were intended to be punitive and to act as a trap for the Government to destroy his union. Highlighting the complexity of trade union laws and the rules on correctly calling strike ballots, the Aslef secretary said: If we get it wrong, the damages are a million pounds a day. With 16 different companies, you dont have to be a genius to work out if we get any of this wrong well be in the High Court. And its about sequestering your funds, about destroying the movement. Its about taking away the voice of the people I represent. During his wide-ranging conversation with the press, the union boss also hit out at the private sector involvement in the running of the railways. Guaranteed return Echoing Labours calls for the state to re-take full control of the trains, the Aslef secretary condemned the 2 per cent profit margin typically taken by owners of train companies. Two per cent on billions is in a guaranteed market, where youre being funded and subsidised to operate within it before you start. It is a model that most other businesses would love; a guaranteed return on investment, said Mr Whelan. Just one of the UKs 20 train companies, Greater Anglia, made a financial surplus last year. The rest of the passenger rail sector is propped up by 12 billion in subsidies, while income from passengers totalled 9.2 billion. One senior rail executive recently told The Telegraph that his companys operations added between 500,000 and 1 million a year to its parent companys profits, which are measured in the hundreds of millions of pounds. The Government says it has spent more than 100 billion on the rail network since 2010, and that state-owned infrastructure company Network Rail will receive 44.1 billion over the next five years. Kathy Brandel and Ralph Hendry, in an undated photo. Photograph: UNPixs/TSDSA Three men who had escaped from prison have been charged with capital murder in connection with the deaths of an American couple who disappeared in the Caribbean in February after their catamaran was hijacked. The Royal Grenada Police Force announced Friday that Trevon Robertson, 23; Atiba Stanislaus, 25; and Ron Mitchell, 30, were re-arrested on two counts of capital murder in the slayings of Ralph Hendry and Kathleen Brandel. Related: US yacht couple probably thrown into sea by fugitives, Grenada police say Grenada police added that the trio have also been charged with escaping lawful custody, housebreaking, robbery and two counts of kidnapping. Additionally, Stanislaus was charged with one count of rape, police said. The three men made their first court appearance Thursday and were remanded to Richmond Hill prison, also known as His Majestys prison. Their next court appearance has been scheduled for 27 March. According to Grenada police commissioner Don McKenzie, the three men escaped from the South Saint George police station on 18 February and the following day hijacked the catamaran Simplicity, belonging to Hendry, 66, and Brandel, 71. The men then made their way to St Vincent and the Grenadines, where they were arrested on 21 February, police said. Information suggests that while traveling between Grenada and St Vincent, they disposed of the occupants, McKenzie said. According to the non-profit Salty Dawg Sailing Association, Hendry and Brandel were veteran cruisers and longtime members. The organization added that the couple sailed Simplicity in the 2023 Caribbean Rally from Hampton, Virginia, to Antigua and had been spending the winter cruising the eastern Caribbean. Describing their parents, Hendrys son Bryan and Brandels son Nick Buro said: Ralph and Kathy lived a life that most of us can only dream of, sailing the eastern coast of the United States, living on their home Simplicity, making friends with everyone they encountered, singing, dancing and laughing with friends and family thats who Ralph and Kathy were and thats how they will be remembered in our hearts. Robert De Niro has said he would never play former US president Donald Trump as he cannot see any good in him. The 80-year-old Hollywood actor spoke about the upcoming US presidential election and why he would not want Mr Trump to become president again. The Apprentice star and businessman is the last remaining major candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination after former UN ambassador Nikki Haley pulled out of the race. Speaking on Real Time With Bill Maher, De Niro said: The bottom line is, its Biden versus Trump. We want to live in a world that we want to live in and enjoy living in, or live in a nightmare. Vote for Trump and youll get the nightmare, vote for Biden and well be back to normalcy. He added: I just dont want to feel the way I did, and many of us dont, after the election in 2016 where we couldnt believe that it happened. The guy is a total monster. Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese attending the premiere for Killers of the Flower Moon during the 76th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France (Doug Peters/PA) He added: Id never play him as an actor because I cant see any good in him. Nothing. Nothing at all. Nothing redeemable in him. Ms Haley, a former South Carolina governor, was Mr Trumps first significant rival when she jumped into the race in February 2023. Meanwhile, the only elected Democrat to challenge Joe Biden for the presidency, Dean Phillips of Minnesota, ended his long-shot Democratic presidential bid on Wednesday after failing to win a primary contest against him. Former president Donald Trump is the last remaining major candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination (Brian Lawless/PA) On Thursday, Mr Biden turned his State of the Union speech into an animated argument for a second term as he laced into Mr Trump for espousing resentment, revenge and retribution and jeopardising freedom at home and abroad. De Niro has frequently criticised Mr Trump and they often sparred during the former presidents time in office. In 2020, the two-time Oscar-winner said Mr Trump doesnt care how many people die from coronavirus. Mr Trump has previously called De Niro a very Low IQ individual on X. Trumps representatives have been approached for comment. Voting has finished in referenda on proposed changes to the Constitution in Ireland. Polling stations across the country closed at 10pm in the votes on whether to change the wording of the Constitution relating to the areas of family and care. Irish President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina voted at their polling station at St Marys Hospital in Phoenix Park on Friday. It is the first time Mr Higgins has been seen in public since he was discharged from hospital on Thursday. President of Ireland Michael D Higgins and his wife, Sabina, voting at Phoenix Park, Dublin (Cate McCurry/PA) Mr Higgins, 82, was admitted to St James Hospital in Dublin last Thursday evening after experiencing a mild transient weakness. After a seven-night stay, he returned to his official residence, Aras an Uachtarain, on Thursday. Polls opened on Friday morning on the twin referenda. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Tanaiste Micheal Martin and Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald also voted in the referenda. This is referendum day. I've just voted YES, YES at St Anthony's Boys National School to the two proposals that are before us. To have a more inclusive family definition in our Constitution. To remove the archaic language in terms of women on our Constitution. pic.twitter.com/MFTIjKbtde Micheal Martin (@MichealMartinTD) March 8, 2024 The family amendment proposes extending the meaning of family beyond one defined by marriage and to include those based on durable relationships. The care amendment proposes deleting references to a womans roles and duties in the home, and replacing it with a new article that acknowledges family carers. The Constitution is the fundamental legal document for the country and can only be changed with the approval of Irish citizens through a national vote. The campaigns have led to national debates over the role of women in the home, what responsibility the State has for care and the meaning of family. Yes badges at an event in Dublin (Cillian Sherlock/PA) The Irish Government campaigned for a yes vote in both amendments. It says the changes will remove sexist language, recognise family care and extend protection to families not based on marriage. President and Sabina Higgins have cast their votes in todays referendums pic.twitter.com/to8yIuKjAx President of Ireland (@PresidentIRL) March 8, 2024 The result of the referenda, which are decided by majority, are expected on Saturday. Counting of the ballots happens at a constituency basis at various centres around the country. However, the overall national result will be declared at Dublin Castle. The family amendment will be counted and declared first. The results for the care amendment will not be processed until the family count is finished. An oil spill appeared off the Southern California coast Thursday night, near one of the region's most popular beaches, authorities said. The slick sheen was spotted about 1 1/2 miles off Huntington Beach in Orange County, about 40 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, and appeared to be about 2 1/2 miles long, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The possible oil spill was first reported about 6:50 p.m. Thursday, the Coast Guard said. "We are actively monitoring reports of an oil sheen near Huntington Beach," Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. "We have deployed personnel to evaluate the incident and will continue to coordinate with local, state and federal partners. " It wasn't immediately unclear if the slick came from a vessel or leaked from a nearby oil platform. The sheen is far enough off the beach that swimmers and surfers were still safe, Friday, officials said. Containment booms and absorbing material have been placed around the slick and appear to have controlled any expansion or movement, USCG Petty Officer Richard Uranga said. "It really wasn't spreading too much, it wasn't increasing from when it (first) appeared," Uranga said. Beta Operating Company runs oil platforms off the coast of nearby Long Beach. But parent company Amplify Energy said it does not believe this slick is linked to its operations. "Amplify Energy Corp. is aware of reports of an oil sheen off the coast of Huntington Beach, California. At this time, we have no indication that this sheen is related to our operations," the Houston-based company said in a statement. "We will continue to cooperate with the U.S. Coast Guard and other relevant authorities and provide support in any way we can." Apple has abruptly reversed a decision to ban Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, from launching its own app store on iOS in Europe just a day after European Union officials said they were investigating the matter. Its the first major test of Europes new digital competition rules that went into force on Thursday, and it highlights how the Digital Markets Act may already be having an impact on consumers just a day after going into effect. Apple relenting means Epic will be able to bring Fortnite back to iPhones in Europe, Epic said in a blog post. Fortnite has been unavailable on iOS since 2020, when the two companies went to war over Apples developer terms. Apple has told us and committed to the European Commission that they will reinstate our developer account. This sends a strong signal to developers that the European Commission will act swiftly to enforce the Digital Markets Act and hold gatekeepers accountable, Epic wrote. Apple said it reached the decision following conversations with Epic in which Epic committed to following Apples new EU-focused policies. Epic Sweden AB has been permitted to re-sign the developer agreement and accepted into the Apple Developer Program, Apple said in a statement. The move comes after the European Commission said it had requested information from Apple about the latest allegations and after a top EU commissioner, Thierry Breton, warned on X there is no room for threats by gatekeepers to silence developers and identified Epics complaint as an issue of priority. The new EU DMA requires app stores to allow app downloads from third-party sources. Apples solution to the rule is a system allowing developers to create all-new iOS apps that act as self-contained app marketplaces. In its complaint to the European Commission, Epic accused Apple of yanking its approval of a developer account because of Epics past history of criticizing the iPhone maker. Another alleged reason for revoking the account was Epics deliberate, previous violation of Apples terms in order to call out what Epic said was anticompetitive behavior by Apple. Emails that Epic published on Wednesday appeared to bolster those claims, showing Apple leaders telling Epic they expected the company to intentionally breach Apples store terms again. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney wrote back to Apple promising to abide by its terms, but Apple rescinded the developer account anyway. In a statement after the emails were published, Apple publicly justified the move by referencing US court rulings that affirmed Apples right to terminate Epics accounts for any reason. Now, however, Apple appears to have relented in the face of pushback by EU officials paving the way for Epic, and Fortnite, to again become available to players on iOS in Europe. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Sadly, Barack Obama does not make a cameo in "3 Body Problem," the highly anticipated Netflix series from the creators of "Game of Thrones." The former president turned down the opportunity to appear in "3 Body Problem," which revolves around an alien invasion of Earth, in the best kind of way, say executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. "(Obama) did sign a very funny note though, when we tried to get him for a cameo," Benioff tells USA TODAY, paraphrasing the missive. "It was to the effect of, 'In case there ever is a real alien invasion, I think I should probably save myself for that crisis.'" "He wants to keep his powder dry in case there's a real thing," adds Weiss. Barack Obama won't be making a cameo appearance in "3 Body Problem." When Benioff and Weiss were first interested in adapting the Hugo Award-winning The Three-Body Problem by Chinese writer Liu Cixin, they were thrilled to find out that Obama was a major fan, telling The New York Times in 2017 that the apocalyptic sci-fi epic was an unusual escape from the presidential job pressures. "The scope of it was immense. So that was fun to read," Obama said. "Partly because my day-to-day problems with Congress seem fairly petty not something to worry about. Aliens are about to invade!" Obama was also a major fan of HBO's "Game of Thrones," even receiving advance screeners of the HBO series while POTUS. Benioff, Weiss and Alexander Woo ("True Blood") have written and executive produced the new 8-part series which has its world premiere at South by Southwest Friday and kicks off on Netflix March 21. So far Obama hasn't requested early screening versions. "He doesn't text, he doesn't call," Weiss jokes. Netflix dropped the final "3 Body Problem" trailer March 7 showing a cast that includes "Game of Thrones" alumni Liam Cunningham, John Bradley and Jonathan Pryce. Bradley plays one of a group of young, brilliant physicists (along with Eiza Gonzalez, Jovan Adepo, Alex Sharp and Jess Hong) who are targeted by the incoming aliens. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: '3 Body Problem' fan Barack Obama hilariously rejected Netflix cameo On Friday, the Pentagon released a report that examined reporting UFO sightings from the past 50 years and found no evidence of alien or extraterrestrial intelligence at play. The conclusion is consistent with past US government efforts to explain and examine the accuracy of claims that have captured the world's imagination for more than 100 years. The study, which was conducted by the Defense Department's All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office, looked at government investigations undertaken by the U.S. government on UFO sightings dating as far back as 1945 and determined that no evidence existed that any of these sightings were signs of alien life or that any U.S. based company or government entity reverse engineered alien technology and were hiding it from the public. "All investigative efforts, at all levels of classification, concluded that most sightings were ordinary objects and phenomena and the result of misidentification," said the report, which was mandated by Congress. Another volume of the report focused on more recent research will be out later. A government report from 2021 that reviewed 144 sightings of aircraft and other flying devices that appeared to fly at incredible speeds and trajectories came to the same determination while also calling for better data collection. Last summer a retired Air Force intelligence officer thrust UFOs back onto the big stage while testifying before Congress that the U.S. was concealing a longstanding program that retrieves and reverse engineers UFOs, a claim that the Pentagon flatly denies. The authors of Friday's report said the purpose was to apply a rigorous scientific analysis to a subject that has long captured the American public's imagination. "AARO recognizes that many people sincerely hold versions of these beliefs which are based on their perception of past experiences, the experiences of others whom they trust, or media and online outlets they believe to be sources of credible and verifiable information," the report said. "The proliferation of television programs, books, movies, and the vast amount of internet and social media content centered on UAP-related topics most likely has influenced the public conversation on this topic, and reinforced these beliefs within some sections of the population," it added. President Joe Biden kicked off a travel blitz Friday after his State of the Union address, heading to the critical swing state of Pennsylvania to drive home some of the key points he delivered during Thursdays address. The presidents speech in a solidly Democratic county almost immediately attacked former President Donald Trump. Biden criticized his record on reproductive rights issues and invoked a family affected by Alabamas controversial state Supreme Court ruling that embryos are considered children, which prompted in vitro fertilization providers to halt services. Do you know why it happened? Ill tell you why. One reason: Donald Trump, Biden said Friday of that familys paused IVF plans. He came to office determined to overturn Roe v. Wade. In fact, hes bragged about it repeatedly. The president then pivoted to issues including cooling inflation, lowering prescription drug prices and his demand to ban assault weapons. Too many corporations raise their prices and pad their profits, charging you more and more for less and less, Biden said. Thats why were cracking down on corporations engaged in price gouging and deceptive pricing. Biden also drew a contrast between his governing philosophy and Trumps. My lifetime has taught me to embrace the future. I mean it sincerely: freedom, democracy, [and a] future based on the core values that have defined America, Biden said. Honesty, decency, fairness, equality. Donald Trump sees the story differently, Biden added. He sees a story of resentment, revenge, retribution. President Joe Biden, right, is escorted by Air Force Cpt. Eric Anderson, 89th Airlift Wing Flightline protocol officer, as first lady Jill Biden, left, talks to Col. Angela Ochoa, commander of the 89th Airlift Wing, (Luis M. Alvarez / AP) The audience included people who have volunteered or worked for the Democratic Party, the Biden campaign or a similar organization. The high-energy crowd occasionally broke into chants of four more years. Before the presidents speech, first lady Jill Biden delivered a forceful rebuke of her husbands predecessor: Donald Trump insults our veterans and disparages those who died in war, calling them losers and suckers. How dare he? We must meet this moment as if our rights are at stake, because they are, the first lady said. As if our democracy is on the line, because it is. Aside from the State of the Union, Fridays speech saw the largest audience for Biden since a January speech centered around abortion rights, which was interrupted more than a dozen times by anti-war protesters criticizing Bidens response to the Israel-Hamas war. The presidents speech kicks off what the campaign is calling a month of action, during which Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will visit every battleground state. Biden will visit Georgia on Saturday, New Hampshire on Monday, Wisconsin on Wednesday and Michigan on Thursday, according to the campaign. Meanwhile, Harris visited Arizona on Friday and will travel to Nevada on Saturday, zeroing in on mobilizing Latino voters. Of those states, Biden flipped Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Arizona blue in 2020. The presidents Cabinet and senior administration officials are also fanning across the country this month, with more than two dozen trips to states including Texas, Ohio, Florida and New York, according to the White House. The campaign announced on Friday that Team Biden-Harris will open 100 offices, onboard at least 350 new staffers in battleground states, and is launching a six-week, $30 million ad buy with intentional and sizable buys into Hispanic, African American, and AANHPI outlets and radio, according to the campaign. The campaign often uses Team Biden-Harris as a shorthand to refer to itself and affiliated groups, such as the Democratic National Committee. The $30 million ad buy is in a similar range as certain super PAC ad spending this campaign cycle. The pro-Biden super PAC Future Forward has spent about $20.8 million, the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. has spent $39.5 million, the pro-Ron DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down spent about $40.2 million, and the pro-Nikki Haley super PAC SFA Fund spent $64.4 million, according to AdImpact. Hundreds of criminal convictions may now be re-examined after investigators in Colorado found that one of their DNA analysts manipulated testing samples. Yvonne "Missy" Woods is accused of manipulating data during her 29-year career for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) crime lab. On Friday, the CBI said they had found 652 cases affected by her recent work. Some 3,000 samples require re-testing. No charges have been filed against Ms Woods, who has retired from the CBI. Officials are now examining all of her work, dating back to 1994. The CBI has set aside $7.5m (5.8m) to conduct new tests, re-try cases and potentially reimburse inmates for wrongful convictions. The statement issued by the CBI on Friday said that Ms Woods' tampering appeared to be "intentional conduct", adding that "this discovery puts all of her work in question". Officials say she deleted, altered and omitted data in official criminal justice records. So far, they have identified problems in 652 cases she worked on between 2008 to 2023. Her work from 1994 to 2008 is still being reviewed. "The review did not find that Woods falsified DNA matches or otherwise fabricated DNA profiles. She instead deviated from standard testing protocols and cut corners, calling into question the reliability of the testing she conducted," the statement says. Her lawyer on Friday told the Denver Post that she is co-operating with the investigation and stands by her work, which he called the result of "true and just criminal justice findings". "While the allegations resulting from the internal investigation point to Ms Woods deviating from standard protocols and cutting corners in her work, she has long maintained that she's never created or falsely reported any inculpatory DNA matches or exclusions, nor has she testified falsely in any hearing or trial resulting in a false conviction or unjust imprisonment," he said in a statement. A criminal probe of Ms Woods activities is still underway. "Public trust in our institutions is critical to the fulfilment of our mission," said CBI Director Chris Schaefer. "Our actions in rectifying this unprecedented breach of trust will be thorough and transparent." The CBI is now performing an audit of all its DNA analysts, leading to the discovery of another scientist alleged to have manipulated data. Chiara Wuensch was fired from the Weld County Sherriff's Office last week after the CBI discovered anomalies in her work. She is also now under a separate investigation. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is already facing a charged legal battle to bar her from prosecuting the election subversion case she brought against former President Donald Trump and more than a dozen allies in Georgia. Now, shes facing at least two new hurdles: Democrat Christian Wise Smith, a former Fulton prosecutor and Atlanta solicitor, on Friday launched a primary campaign challenging Willis. Shortly after Smiths announcement, Republican lawyer Courtney Kramer, an attorney who worked in the Office of the White House Counsel under Trump, joined the race. Willis and Smith will faceoff on May 21 in the Democratic primary. Kramer is expected to advance, as the GOP nominee, to the general election on November 5. A longtime Democratic stronghold and home to the city of Atlanta, Fulton County will present an uphill challenge for Kramer, a vocal Trump supporter. Willis emerged as a national figure shortly after the 2020 election, when she opened an investigation that ultimately led to criminal conspiracy charges against Trump and others accused of trying to steal Georgias electoral votes from their rightful winner, Joe Biden. But Willis has come under increased legal and political scrutiny in recent months after a lawyer for one of the defendants revealed that Willis had a romantic relationship with an attorney she hired to help run the Trump case, Nathan Wade. The court hearing the disqualification effort is expected to rule on Willis status within the next week. Regardless of that outcome, Willis will first have to win the May 21 primary to continue her campaign to keep her seat in the fall. Asked if his decision to run had anything to do with Willis facing disqualification in the Trump racketeering case, Wise Smith told CNN, Ill reserve my comments [about her current situation] until after we know more. Then we will decide if we go full steam ahead with this campaign after the decision. Today was the final day to qualify. Right now, were just dotting our is and crossing our ts. Ive run for this office before. Im very passionate about making sure the citizens of Fulton County feel confident in their DA, he added. Smith previously ran against Willis when she was elected district attorney in 2020. He lost the primary to Willis and former District Attorney Paul Howard, whom he later endorsed in a runoff. Smith also lost a bid for the Democratic nomination for state attorney general in 2022. A spokesperson for Willis did not immediately respond to CNNs request for comment. CNN has also reached out to Kramer for comment. While people close to Willis privately acknowledge her future on the Georgia subversion case is certainly at risk, allies of the Fulton County DA have attempted to rally around her in recent weeks with various demonstrations of public support. Several prominent Georgia Democrats and local political heavyweights were present in the courtroom last month during the first two days of hearings, including when Willis took the stand and testified in her own defense. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, a Democrat, was sitting close to the front row behind the DAs team on the second day of hearings. Dickens felt compelled to walk over to the courthouse in a show of solidarity after seeing coverage of Willis testimony the day before, his press secretary told CNN at the time. We know whos on trial, and its not her. Its Donald Trump for attempting to steal an election, Dickens said at a news conference from City Hall that day. Asked if he believes that Willis has the support of Fulton County after her testimony, Dickens told CNN: Yes. And certainly the City of Atlanta. Former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, the first woman to hold the post, and Charlie Bailey, the 2022 Democratic nominee for state lieutenant governor, also have attended the court proceedings. AME Bishop Reginald Jackson, a spiritual adviser of Willis and head of a historic Black church in the Atlanta area, was also been seen in court during the hearings last month, as was Gerald Griggs, president of the Georgia NAACP. In a statement to CNN at the time, Griggs said: Im dedicated to safeguarding voting rights in Georgia and ensuring that the focus on this case remains on addressing the concerns raised by Georgia citizens in the indictment. Willis was elected in 2020 on a promise to reform her office. She inherited a backlog of more than 16,000 cases from the previous district attorney, a long-time incumbent, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Willis has also brought anti-corruption indictments against Grammy-winning rapper Young Thug and his associates. In that case, like shes attempting to do with Trump and his allies, Willis used the racketeering statute as a tool to build a broad conspiracy case. CORRECTION: This story and headline have been updated to reflect that the party primaries will be held on May 21. Willis and Smith will vie for the Democratic nomination. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Gregg DeGuire/WireImage Ryan Koss, who was the driver in the road collision that killed Treat Williams, has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge. Koss, 35, pleaded guilty to negligent driving with death resulting in Bennington, Vermont on Friday, March 8, per the Associated Press. The charge, which is a misdemeanor, will result in Koss getting his drivers license revoked for one year. He must also complete a community restorative justice program. According to the outlet, Koss spoke to Williams family during the emotional hearing. (Williams is survived by his wife Pam Van Sant and their children, Gill Williams and Elinor Ellie Williams.) Im here to apologize and take responsibility for this tragic accident, he told the court. Celebrities Mourn Treat Williams' Death: Dolly Parton and More Gill, 32, accepted Koss apology on behalf of their family. Gill shared that his they did not want to press charges against Koss or send him to prison. However, he did address Koss directly. I do forgive you, and I hope that you forgive yourself, Gill said to Koss. I really wish you hadnt killed my father. I really had to say that. Williams died at age 71 in June 2023 after being involved in a motorcycle accident. Williams rep, Barry McPherson, confirmed the Everwood stars death, telling Us Weekly that Williams was cut off by a car. Im just devastated. He was the nicest guy. He was so talented, McPherson said in a statement at the time. He was an actors actor. Filmmakers loved him. Hes been the heart of Hollywood since the late 1970s. He was really proud of his performance this year. Hes been so happy with the work that I got him. Hes had a balanced career. Ellie paid tribute to her father shortly after news broke of the actors unexpected passing. Most Shocking Celebrity Deaths of All Time This is a pain I have never felt. I am absolutely shattered, she captioned a throwback photo of her and Williams uploaded via her Instagram Story at the time. Thank you to everyone who has sent messages and kept our family in your hearts during this terrible heartbreak. Two months later, Koss was charged with grossly negligent operation with death resulting from the crash. According to the Vermont State Police, Koss was driving a Honda Element SUV that turned into the path of Williams motorcycle. Koss, who considered himself a friend of the actor, voluntarily met with the authorities and released a statement shortly after. I am devastated by Mr. Williamss tragic passing, Koss said in his statement. I have known Treat for years, both as a member of this tight-knit community and fellow theater maker. I considered him a friend. I know his family feels his sudden loss even more deeply than I do, and I offer my sincerest condolences to them. A former Wichita police officer has been stripped of his law enforcement certification after he tested positive for marijuana and lied about it during an investigation, according to the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training. The organization, known as KSCPOST, oversees officer certifications. Donielle Watson was employed by WPD from January 12, 2004 until he was fired on Dec. 30, 2022. In an emailed statement from his lawyer, Watson said I know in my heart that I told the truth throughout this matter but, unfortunately, CPOST reached a different conclusion. I can finish this chapter in my life with a clean conscience and with disappointment in the way the system worked. Watson was a well-known officer in the community during his 18-year career. He was named the Willard Garvey Crime Prevention Officer of the Year in 2019. He also often appeared on social media videos on the departments juvenile intervention unit that he helped create in 2020. He also was among officers involved in a text message scandal. Watson sent a photoshopped, racist image of George Floyd to another officer as rioters took to the streets after Floyds death in May 2020. That officer sent the message to other officers, some of whom were on the SWAT team. The 10-page document on the order of revocation gave this account of the marijuana incident: Watson was asked to take a random drug test on July 18, 2022. His test came back positive for marijuana/THC and as a result he was suspended for 160 hours. During an internal department investigation after the positive test result, Watson denied intentionally using THC and said he may have unintentionally ingested THC while he was on vacation from June 4-9, 2022 in Belize. In his testimony at a hearing with the KSCPOST, Watson said that while he was in Belize, he met some people who were smoking marijuana and they offered him some. He declined and instead accepted Garifuna cigarettes. Watson said he smoked two of these cigarettes and later learned that the cigarettes are sometimes dipped in a substance containing THC. Watson said his positive test for THC on July 18, 2022 was the result of smoking the two Garifuna cigarettes in early June in Belize. A Wichita detective working on the case interviewed two forensic toxicology experts who did not believe that it was possible for Watson to produce a positive test for THC metabolites unless he had also ingested THC after, and also possibly before, his Belize vacation. They said he must have used THC closer to the July 18 random testing date. After Watson was fired, WPD notified the KSCPOST of his termination. During a hearing, Watson maintained that he had been honest with the department and the commission. And since the WPD had never previously terminated the employment of anyone who violated the WPD drug and alcohol policy,Watson had no reason to lie about using illegal substances, according to the account in the KSCPOST report. After the hearing, the commission revoked his license on the grounds of unprofessional conduct, contending that Watson had used a controlled substance unlawful to possess and made false statements during official communications. Ariana Grande's album, "Eternal Sunshine," marks her first solo project in three years, and her first new music since her divorce from Dalton Gomez. Fans think multiple songs on the album, like Bye and I Wish I Hated You," refer to their breakup. Gomez and Dalton married in May 2021 after 11 months of dating, then separated in July 2023. Grande has since begun dating her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater. Though Grande doesn't name any names on her new album, many believe the songs are biographical. Her first single, Yes, And? appears to clap back at rumors that emerged after she and Slater began dating. In the opening song, Grande, 30, asks a question: "How can I tell if I'm in the right relationship?" The rest of the album explores the contrast between a relationship that is falling apart ("We Can't Be Friends") and one that is thriving ("Imperfect for You"), as a way to answer her question. Need further proof this is a breakup album? Well, Grande said the album's name was inspired by the song "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," which is about characters who wipe their memories rather than deal with the emotional fallout of a split. I think the movie is so beloved because so many people can relate to knowing that something isnt right, but loving so much, and wanting to stay, and wanting to figure it out, and that cycle that can happen in the film. I think thats why the film is so beloved. Its because so many people can relate to it, and I think it kind of fell into place that these songs had little tidbits of that theme. I just felt really inspired by it," she said during a conversation with Apple Music's Zane Lowe. What lyrics from 'Eternal Sunshine' refer to a breakup? 'Bye' lyrics "Bye," the second song on "Eternal Sunshine," is about what the title suggests: A breakup. She sings, "Bye, bye. It's over, it's over / Bye bye, I'm taking what's mine." A spiritual successor to "Thank U, Next," "Bye" is a joyous breakup anthem. The lyrics mention that the situation is "bittersweet," but tonally, the song gives more of a happy Motown song vibe. (More bittersweet tracks follow). 'Eternal Sunshine' lyrics Whereas some songs on the album are about the feelings of a breakup, this one is more about the specifics the why. In short, she got "played like Atari." She seems to share, uh, details about the person she was with, including that he was a liar: "Ive never seen someone lie like you do." Fans believe she may be referring to infidelity with lyrics like, "So now we play our separate scenes / Now, now shes in my bed, laying on your chest/ Now Im in my head / Wondering how it ends." "Hope you feel alright when youre in her," she says later. This person is her "eternal sunshine," or the person she wants to wipe from her memory, like the movie's premise. "So I try to wipe my mind / Just so I feel less insane / Rather feel painless / Id rather forget than know / Know for sure," she said. Grande also sings that she has found a "good boy," and then parallels the lyrics from an earlier verse: "Now hes in your bed, laying on my chest." Though they both have moved on, she's melancholy. 'Don't Wanna Break Up Again' lyrics The third song on "Eternal Sunshine," "Don't Wanna Break Up Again" opens with a description of an unhappy relationship. "I fall asleep cryin / You turn up the TV / You dont wanna hear me / One more sleepless night / big day in the morning, so I take my time to self-soothe," Grande sings. One fan used a meme of Grande crying to react to the song, writing "ariana on 'don't wanna break up again.'" i fall asleep crying, you turn up the tv. you dont wanna hear me. one more sleepless night. big day in the morning, so I take my time to self-soothe ariana on dont wanna break up again pic.twitter.com/4npHOWVu0l Ariana Grande Today (@ArianaToday) March 8, 2024 The chorus refers to the relationship as a "situationship," and indicates the dynamic is on-and-off: "I don't want to break up again." She then describes going to therapy for the relationship. "I made it so easy / Spent so much on therapy / Blamed my own codependency / But you didnt even try / When you finally did, it was at the wrong time," she sings. The song seems to build to the conclusion that she actually will break up: "Wont abandon me again for you," she sings. The bridge signals the conclusion of their relationship: "We both know it's time / So we say goodbye / Just one kiss goodbye / With tears in our eyes / Hope you won't, won't regret me / Hope you'll still think fondly of our little life." 'We Can't Be Friends' lyrics "We Can't Be Friends" is another song about facing a breakup, but not really wanting to break up, much like "Don't Wanna Break Up Again." She sings in the first verse, "Just wanna let this story die and I'll be alright," but in following verses, she describes herself as wanting to wait until things get better. "Id like to just pre-tend / You cling to your papers and pens / Wait until you like me again," she sings. The references to "papers and pens" go back to the idea of a story: They're "pretending" they still have one together. "I wait for your love," she sings. The song is also about how the person she's in a relationship doesn't really know her. "I didnt think youd understand me / How could you ever even try?" it opens, then she sings later, "You got me misunderstood." It appears he's making her into something she's not, yet she still sticks around: "I dont like how you paint me, yet Im still here hangin." After all, she sings, "At least I look good." 'I Wish I Hated You' lyrics "I Wish I Hated You" is about the mechanics of a breakup. Rather than wondering if she should break up sitting with her "truth" but staying in the relationship, like she does in "We Can't Be Friends" she has moved forward. The song opens with imagery of moving items out of a house: "Hung all my clothes in the closet you made / Your shoes still in boxes I send them your way." The bittersweet song is about giving grace to an ex. Hating a person would be easier than this melancholy, she seems to suggest: "And no matter how easy things could be if I did / And no matter how guilty, I still feel saying it / I wish I hated you." Instead of hate, she's left with complicated and nuanced feelings she has to navigate on her own as they go their separate ways: "Our shadows dance on a parallel plane / Just two different endings / You learn to repair and I learn to keep me in one place." Other songs, like "Imperfect for You" and "Ordinary Things," appear to refer to what happened after her breakup: She got into another, happier relationship. "I don't want anything but more time," she sings in "Ordinary Things," a nod seemingly to her new relationship. This article was originally published on TODAY.com Seifi Ghasemi was born to be an energy industry leader. His schooling began in the 1950s in Iran where he earned his stripes in a refinery, which is why he knows the oil and gas business pretty well, he told Fortune in a recent Leadership Next podcast. Ghasemi got his undergraduate degree from the Abadan Institute of Technology in Iran, where the purpose of that school was to train people who knew enough about the refinery to become future managers, Ghasemi told Fortune. He then left Iran in 1966 to earn his masters degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University before marrying his New Yorker wife, Ellen, in 1971. Theyve been married for 55 yearsand he hasnt taken a vacation since their 35th wedding anniversary. I love what I'm doing, Ghasemi said. I do not have any other hobbies. Now, the 79-year old serves as the chairman, president, and CEO of Air Products, an energy company founded in 1940 that engineers, builds, owns and operates some of the world's largest industrial gas projects. Air Products reported $12.6 billion in fiscal 2023 sales and employs 23,000 people, a company spokesperson told Fortune. Despite being nearly two decades past the average U.S. retirement age, Ghasemi stays in motion in the name of the hydrogen energy revolutiona push toward cleaner energy sources by 2050. Believe me, I have more energy, and I travel more, and I work harder than when I was 40 years old, Ghasemi said. I don't think just the numbers tell people's age. I really enjoy doing what I'm doing. How and why Seifi Ghasemi is so passionate about hydrogen energy Not just anybody could go to the coveted Abadan Institute of Technology at the time Ghasemi did in the late 1950s. He was one of 6,000 high school students participating in the entrance exam and fighting for 30 open spots in 1959 when he applied for admission to Abadan Institute of Technology, according to a biography by Lafayette College, where he was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree in 2017. At 15, Ghasemi was one of the youngest students in his cohort, yet won a scholarship at the institute that trained Iranians for oil industry leadership positions. He graduated at the top of his class, and went on to study at Stanford, where he specialized in aeronautics and astronautics. Ghasemi and his wife then returned to Iran where he was put in charge of steel production by the Shah, which was a very exciting job, he said. But Ghasemi decided to leave the country with his wife, who is Jewish, when the 1979 Islamic Revolution began and the subsequent exodus of Iranian Jews followed. That wasn't a place for me and my wife to live in because my wife happens to be Jewish, and it wasn't the kind of environment that we wanted to live in, Ghasemi said. And then I left everything behind. I came to the U.S. with nothing, and we started from scratch. Ghasemi went on to work for Lear Motor Co., where he focused on alternatives to steam-propulsion systems for cars and trucks. But things really changed when he went to work for Rockwood Holdings, a company that produces lithium and advanced materials for electric vehicle manufacturing. Ghasemi was an early believer in EVs and their power to stymie climate change, and served as Rockwoods chairman and CEO from 2001 to 2014. I believed very strongly that the first phase of energy transition [would] be the easy one, which is [drive] electric carsthat [would] immediately solve the pollution in the cities, Ghasemi told Fortune. Therefore, we got in the business of creating the world's largest lithium company, and it turned out to be a very, very successful business and everybody who invested in that company made a lot of money. So that was my conviction. In 2015, speciality chemicals company Albemarle Corp. acquired Rockwood, which left Ghasemi to decide his next move. He was looking for something to do, and had a lot of different options. But Ghasemi knew he wanted to go for the top job at Air Products, despite it being only about one-fifth the size of other companies that had offered him a role because I knew that Air Products has the core competency of hydrogen, and I was convinced that hydrogen is the only solution for the future. At the time, Air Products market cap was less than $20 billion, but he knew as chairman and CEO he could push the agenda to develop both blue and green hydrogen products. Blue hydrogen captures CO2 and stores it in the earth, whereas green hydrogen is made using renewable energy such as solar, wind, hydro, nuclear, with no CO2 byproduct. We think that in business, if you never take a risk you never do anything, Ghasemi said. So you have to make a judgment. You have to have a vision, and then put your resources [behind it] and make it happen. Ghasemi wholeheartedly believes all hydrogen production can be green by 2050, despite doubts from other industry leaders such as Exxon CEO Darren Woods, who also happens to be an Air Products client. I do have a lot of respect for Exxon and especially for them as an individual and as a customer of course, our biggest customer, Ghasemi said. But fundamentally, the fact is that we do have the technologies and we do have the ability and we can build the infrastructure to meet that date. It all depends on how fast the government wants to push that. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com Many people who buy electric vehicles do so for environmental reasons. But they might not be so thrilled about having an EV manufacturing site near their home. Yesterday, Tesla rival Rivian announced that its halting plans to build a $5 billion factory in Georgia. Instead, it will manufacture its upcoming R2 and R3 models at its existing plant in Illinois, allowing it to save more than $2.25 billion in capital expenditures. While the politicians who lured Rivian with tax incentives might be disappointedthe company pledged to create 7,500 jobs by the end of 2028some Georgia residents living near the planned facility breathed a sigh of relief, for now at least. Among them was JoEllen Artz, who spoke to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution after Rivians announcement. She leads a group that opposes the EV makers plans, citing the potential impact on local water supplies. The site sits in a groundwater recharge area in which many residents rely on private wells. Our water is more important than anybodys electric vehicle, Artz told the newspaper. According to Rivian, its plan is to delay construction of the plant, not scrap it. Our Georgia site remains really important to us, Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe said yesterday. Its core to the scaling across all these vehicles, between R2, R3, R3X. Tesla saboteurs Meanwhile in Germany, Teslas first European gigafactory recently endured sabotage from activists who cited water supply as a top concern. Calling themselves the Volcano Group, they set a high-voltage power mast ablaze on Tuesday, knocking out power to the carmakers plant, as well as to nearby residents. Tesla said it has shuttered production until next week and would suffer nearly $1 billion in damages. CEO Elon Musk insulted the group on X, writing: These are either the dumbest eco-terrorists on Earth or theyre puppets of those who dont have good environmental goals. Stopping production of electric vehicles, rather than fossil fuel vehicles, ist extrem dumm. (That last bit is German for extremely dumb.) Last month, Stern reported on the Tesla plants environmental impact. According to the German publication, a local water utility found evidence that the factory has been polluting the water supply with phosphorus and nitrogen compounds at levels up to six times the legal limit. Meanwhile residents in the area voted against an expansion of the Tesla factory. The referendum wasnt binding, but protestors have been camping in the woods to prevent clearing attempts. Ecocidal disgrace Rivian and Tesla arent the only companies that have encountered resistance to EV-related manufacturing projects. In Quebec, activists protested earlier this year against a $7 billion EV-battery production plant being planned by the Swedish firm Northvolt, founded by two former Tesla executives in 2015. Protestors dubbed the project an ecocidal disgrace. Similar protests arose in Hungary last year against a Chinese-owned EV battery plantbuilt by Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL)with residents worried about the potential impact on water supplies. Of course, all kinds of planned or existing factories are met with protests. In France, climate activists recently stormed a forever chemical plant outside Lyon, following mounting health concerns among nearby residents. The making of EVs and their batteries also requires large amounts of minerals. That means new or expanded mines with environmental problems of their own focused on extracting minerals such as graphite, nickel, and lithium. The transition to low-carbon fuels is not a magic bullet with no negative outcome," Sergey Paltsev, a senior research scientist at MIT, told the Washington Post last September. There is no free lunch. But its much less harmful than if we stay with fossil fuels. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com Jelly Roll's wife, podcaster Bunnie XO, is reflecting on her time in the sex work industry, one year after leaving it behind. The two have been open about how when they met in 2015, Bunnie was working as an escort in Las Vegas. "Awww a year ago I retired from the SW (sex work) industry, she wrote in a post. I was SO scared to let go of that part of my life & leave behind the money I was making wasnt sure how Id make up that part of my business. But I had faith & let God have it & he made sure I made it back 10 fold ." Bunnie, who shut down her Only Fans in 2023, clarified in a later post that fans "seemed to be confused" about how she could have retired from the industry after being married seven years. "I have always worked & made money on my own, when I married J (Jelly Roll) I refused to give up my independence & rely solely on him," she said. "And to be honest he never once asked me to. He knew how important it was to me to make my own money. But he did always say, 'One day baby you wont have to do this anymore.'" She added that she started her own Bunnie brand in 2018, which she funded with the money she'd made in sex work, which she began to put aside 2020. "So I decided to retire & 100% immerse myself into the Bunnie Xo brand in 2023. Best decision I ever made. The rest is history baby!" she added. Here's a look back at Jelly Roll and his wife's love story. How did Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO meet? Jelly and Bunnie met when she went to Las Vegas Country Saloon where he was performing in 2015, he wrote on Instagram in 2022. He recalled in a 2020 podcast interview on "King and the Sting and the Wing Clips" that Bunnie had been in an abusive relationship at the time. "They split and I'm not gonna act like I shot my shot. She shot hers," he said. He explained that they had mutual friends, and when Bunnie and her previous boyfriend broke up, she'd reached out to him. Jelly said Bunnie offered to let him stay at her Las Vegas home while he was in town for a shoot he had been living out of his van at the time and the rest is history. When did Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO get married? "We got married kind of randomly," Jelly said in the "King and the Sting and the Wing Clips" podcast interview. He popped the question in 2016 during a Yelawolf and Deftones concert in Las Vegas and then tied the knot that same night. It was Vegas, right? So its like 11 oclock. Theyre closing the joint down... and Im like ... Lets just go now,'" he recalled, adding that the courthouse was closing in around 45 minutes. In an April 2021 episode of Bunnies podcast Dumb Blonde, they recalled getting married at the end of August 2016 after a yearlong whirlwind. "I just think when you know, you know," Bunnie said. "But the thing is, when you get married that early, you also have to learn each other. You got to go through the growing pains together, man." She added that the first years were "a rodeo." "You're going to hang on because you guys don't really know each other ... figuring everything out and you hop into the frying pan (with) hot grease, but it's so worth it in the end," she said. Later in the same podcast, the couple revealed they are huge proponents of couples therapy. You know, we went through it, we figured it out, and were better than ever now, Bunnie said. Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO are in an open relationship Jelly and Bunnie have spoken publicly about their open relationship, meaning they've consented to romantic relationships with others while married. "We allow each other to be who we want to be," Bunnie said in an April 2021 episode of their podcast. "If I want to sleep with another guy, I can go sleep with another guy. Like, that's not a problem." How many children does Jelly Roll have? Jelly Roll, whose birth name is Jason Bradley DeFord, is also dad to two children from previous relationships. His oldest, a teen daughter named Bailee, was born in 2008. Jelly has custody of Bailee, and she often appears on his and Bunnie's social media accounts. His younger son, Noah, from another previous relationship, is rarely seen. Bunnie has explained that they try to keep the now-7-year-old out of the spotlight to respect his and his mother's privacy. This article was originally published on TODAY.com Doubts have been cast on the accuracy of a story about horrific child sex abuse told by the Republican senator Katie Britt in her widely ridiculed speech delivered in rebuttal to President Joe Bidens State of the Union address. The journalist and author Jonathan Katz has accused Britt of being fundamentally dishonest for invoking the case of a woman who had been sex-trafficked at age 12 and raped multiple times to illustrate the supposed failure of the Biden administrations border control policies. Related: Republicans baffled by Katie Britts State of the Union response: One of our biggest disasters The controversy further intensifies the spotlight on Britt a rising Republican star after she came under fire from members of her own party for delivering a rejoinder to Biden on Thursday from the setting of a kitchen. In that speech, Britt described travelling to the Del Rio sector of the US-Mexico border and cited the case of an unidentified woman, whom Britt said confided harrowing experiences. The senator implied these were a direct result of the ongoing crisis at the border, which Republicans have sought to exploit as a campaign issue. I spoke to a woman who shared her story with me, Britt said. She had been sex-trafficked by the cartels starting at age 12. She told me not just that she was raped every day, but how many times a day she was raped. The senator did not say where or when the events occurred, but in outraged tones she implied that they had happened in the US on Bidens watch: We wouldnt be OK with this happening in a third-world country. This is the United States of America. And its past time we start acting like it. President Bidens border crisis is a disgrace. Its despicable and its almost entirely preventable. However, in a seven-minute video posted on TikTok, Katz a former AP reporter who has written on drug wars in Mexico cited details that appeared to show the story Britt was describing had happened not just outside the US, but many years before Biden became president. He concluded that Britt had deliberately misrepresented the tale of Karla Jacinto Romero, an activist who has publicly recounted her experiences on numerous occasions at the hands of sex traffickers in her native Mexico. Now 31, Romero testified to a US Congressional subcommittee in May 2015 describing her experiences at the hands of a trafficker who held her captive between the ages of 12 and 16, before she was eventually rescued. She has also spoken before the Mexican house of representatives and the Vatican. Britt met Jacinto Romero on a visit to the border with two other Republican senators, Marsha Blackburn and Cindy-Hyde Smith, in January 2023. The visit was described on Blackburns senatorial webpage, which included photos of the three senators sharing a platform with Romero at a news conference. In his video, Katz dissected what he said was Britts attempt to conflate Romeros story with the US-Mexico border imbroglio, where the build-up of asylum seekers promises to become a central issue in the 2024 presidential election, before lambasting her for dishonesty. Katz said that Britt, by not giving a location or a timeframe for the story, had deliberately tried to create a beyond misleading impression that the events had taken place recently and on US soil. All I had to do was key in Karla Jacinto Romeros name and it took me to [her] testimony to Congress from 2015 about her experiences in Mexico, he said. It took place between 2004 and 2008. I dont know what they put in the textbooks of Alabama these days, but Joe Biden was not the president of the United States in 2004 or 2008. In 2004 and 2008, the president of the United States was George W Bush, a Republican. [But] none of this really matters because none of these events took place in the United States or even near the border. Katz added: It seems very clear to me that she is trying to create an association in peoples minds between Joe Biden, the border, Mexicans, you know, Latins people of Latin descent and sexual violence. Thats what shes going for and she is doing it on the basis of something that you can only say is an out-and-out lie. It must have been obvious to her, at the very least, that she was not talking to somebody who had recently been 12 years old. Katz said he had sought a comment from Britts spokesperson but had received no reply. For now, it just looks as if she got up on national television and lied about something really horrific and important and for her own personal and her partys political gain, he said. In a statement to media outlets, Britts spokesperson Sean Ross sidestepped commenting on whether the senator had been alluding to Romero in Thursdays speech but insisted her account was 100% correct. The Biden administrations policies the policies in this country that the president falsely claims are humane have empowered the cartels and acted as a magnet to a historic level of migrants making the dangerous journey to our border, he said. Along that journey, children, women and men are being subjected to gut-wrenching, heartbreaking horrors in our own backyard. Following Britts speech, the gun control advocate Shannon Watts noted that the senator had used stories of sexual abuse in an effort to elect Donald Trump, who has been accused of rape in an allegation a judge called substantially true, and of assault or misconduct by more than 20 other women. Senator Katie Britt says sexual assault is the worst thing that can happen to a woman while encouraging Americans to vote for a convicted sexual predator, Watts said. US efforts to boost humanitarian aid to Gaza have drawn criticism from a UN expert. Plans for a temporary port amid recent airdrops are "absurd" and "cynical" methods as long as military aid to Israel continues, they said. As famine threatens the population of Gaza, Israel's campaign against the group Hamas is now in its fifth month. The US military has issued meal air drops into Gaza and is planning for a temporary port for aid imports on its Mediterranean coast. Airdrops specifically "will do very little to alleviate hunger malnutrition, and do nothing to slow down famine," Michael Fakhri, UN special rapporteur on the right to food, told reporters in Geneva. He warned of extreme turmoil as starving people struggle for supplies. As for the port, he said no one had asked for it. He called the port and airdrop methods a "last resort." "The time when countries use airdrops, and these maritime piers, is usually if not always, in situations when you want to deliver humanitarian aid into enemy territory," he said. Fakhri is a Lebanese-Canadian law professor mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to document and advise on global food security. He reveals such methods make little sense if Washington continues to supply military support to Israel. "It's Almost Incomprehensible" Reuters reported US legislation predicts an additional $17.6 billion in renewed military assistance to Israel as its war against Hamas progresses. "That's more than allyship. That's a marriage ... It's almost incomprehensible," he said of US support to Israel, calling the recent aid measures a "performance to try to meet a domestic audience with (US presidential) elections around the corner." "That's the only rational coherent interpretation (for these aid announcements) because ...from a humanitarian perspective, from an international perspective, from a human rights perspective, it is absurd in a dark, cynical way," he said. On Thursday, Fakhri, who remains critical of Israel, told the Geneva Human Rights Council that Israel is destroying Gaza's food system as part of an expansive "starvation campaign." In response to an obvious humanitarian crisis, Israel's envoy called this a lie and denied restricting aid into Gaza." Vice President Kamala Harris said Friday that shes prepared to assume the presidency if needed, but Americans definitely shouldnt expect that to happen. As it relates to me, Im ready, if necessary, but its not going to be necessary, Harris, 59, said on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Joe Biden and I are running together, he as president, Im running as vice president. In 2020, millions and millions of people voted for this ticket. I believe they will do so again. Harris remarks were in response to questions from NBC News reporter Peter Alexander about Bidens age, which he noted Republicans have repeatedly mocked. Those concerns should have been tamped down by his performance at Thursday nights State of the Union address, she said. I think that if theres any question about President Joe Bidens ability to do the job and do it well, ... the vigor and passion last night dispels any notion of that. He is committed. He is passionate. Biden was widely praised for delivering one of the fieriest and most energetic speeches of his presidency Thursday night, replete with firm warnings about what could happen if Donald Trump, the all-but-confirmed GOP nominee for president, wins this Novembers election. Biden, 81, also joked about his age during his address. I know I may not look like it, but Ive been around a while. And when you get to my age, certain things become clearer than ever before, he said. My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy. A future based on the core values that have defined America: Honesty. Decency. Dignity. Equality. To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot. To give hate no safe harbor. Harris offered little when asked if Biden would debate Trump, who refused to participate in any of the GOP primary debates. I havent talked to the president about that, she said, adding later, Thats a choice that is going to be decided upon soon, and well keep you posted. Related... Three people were killed when a U.S. National Guard helicopter crashed Friday on the Texas southern border, officials said. A UH-72 Lakota helicopter crashed just before 4 p.m., local time, while on a support mission near Rio Grande City along the U.S-Mexico border, according to a statement from Joint Task Force North. Two soldiers and one U.S. Border Patrol agent were killed and another soldier was injured. New York State Trooper John M. Grassia III, 30, was killed on Friday in a helicopter crash while flying over the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas while serving with the National Guard, the New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association Board of Directors said in a statement on Saturday. "Trooper Grassia, who was dedicated to serving and protecting not only the citizens of New York State but also the citizens of the entire United States, will be remembered for his ultimate sacrifice," the statement said. Grassia joined the New York State Police in April 2022 and was most recently assigned to Troop G. Casey Frankoski, a New York National Guard helicopter pilot died in Friday's crash while patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border, said Rensselaer, New York Mayor Michael Stammel in a statement. "Our heartfelt condolences go out to the Frankoski family as we collectively mourn the loss of a beloved city native and dedicated patriot," Stammel said. The cause is under investigation, JTF-North said. In a statement Saturday, President Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden "extend our deepest condolences to their families and loved ones, as well as their colleagues in the National Guard and U.S. Border Patrol. We pray for the injured Guardsman's swift recovery." A National Guard spokesperson previously told CBS News that the helicopter went down in La Grulla, Texas, located about 40 miles west of the border city of McAllen. Camilo Montoya-Galvez contributed to this report. Editor's Note: This story has been updated to correctly identify the helicopter as a UH-72 Lakota. Boeing and United Airlines investigate after wheel detaches from plane A bill that could lead to a TikTok ban is gaining momentum in Congress. Now the app is asking users for help. United flight rolls off runway and onto grass at Houston airport Netflix "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Slight spoilers ahead for The Gentleman on Netflix. In Netflix's new show, The Gentleman, Theo James plays Eddie Horniman, the second son of the Duke of Halstead. He never expected to inherit his father's Dukedomso he attended Sandhurst, and forged a career in the British Army (sound familiar?). However, when his father is dying, Eddie is called back from his service, and at the reading of the will, it is announced that Eddie, not his older brother Freddy (Daniel Ings) will be the new Duke of Halstead. This sets off a whole chain of events which we won't spoil here, but viewers may be wondering: Is there really a Duke of Halstead? In short, there isn'tand an aristocratic Halstead family does not seem to exist. Per Ancestry.com, Halstead is an English name from Yorkshire and Lancashire, described as "habitational name from any of various places bearing this name for example in Essex (Haltesteda in Domesday Book) Kent and Leicestershire all of which are probably named from Old English h(e)ald refuge shelter + stede site or possibly Hawstead in Suffolk which has the same origin." In real life, there are 30 Dukes in the United Kingdom, which include six royal Dukedoms (Gloucester, Kent, Cambridge, Sussex, York, and Edinburgh). The other 24 Dukes inherit their titles by birth, and it passes to the eldest son. Though The Gentleman shows the (fictional) Duke of Halstead passing to his second son, Eddie, instead of his eldest, Freddy, this would not happen in real life. The Gentleman filmed at Badminton Estate, home of the Duke of Beaufort, who guided James in the world of the British upper classes. (The current Duke of Beaufort is Henry Somerset, the 12th Duke of Beaufort.) "Until we filmed The Gentlemen Id never met a Duke or had any entry into that kind of world," James said in an interview with Netflix about the aristocracy. "I had no understanding of it at all. So it was really helpful to film on the Badminton Estate and to meet the Duke of Beaufort who, like the Duke of Halstead, is dealing with all the modern problems of the landed gentry. Its a huge estate and, in his case, he helps to finance it by allowing film crews on his property." James said, "Well, when youre in these places it makes you very aware of this huge family lineage that dates back centuries. There are oil paintings of ancestors on the walls, so you can literally see how wealth and land is handed down through the generations. The idea of how deep set privilege and class is in our society is really at the very heart of The Gentlemen and you feel it viscerally in those locations." The Badminton Estate also served as a filming location for Bridgerton and its prequel, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. You Might Also Like More than four decades after a body was found partially buried in a Florida park, the man has been identified as a U.S. Marine, a Vietnam War veteran and a father. In December 1980, a body was found in a partially dug hole in Pomona Park, Putnam County Sheriff H.D. Gator Deloach III said in a March 8 news conference. The body, determined to be a white man with brown hair by a medical examiner, had blunt force trauma to his chest and there was a gunshot wound to his neck, the sheriff said. The case was ruled a homicide, Deloach said, but the identity of the man was unknown. He was wearing a shirt with Dallas on it, which a man who worked as a driver for a labor camp had seen before, the sheriff said. The man told investigators he had picked up a white man wearing that shirt, along with three other men, from a Daily Bread in Orlando as transient workers and had brought them to his labor camp, according to the sheriff. The man had worked at the camp for three days before disappearing, Deloach said. With nothing else to go on, the case went cold, and the man was buried under the name John Doe 36, according to the sheriff. Last year, Capt. Chris Stallings took on the cold case and sent the remains to Othram Labs, a Texas-based genetic sequencing company, in hopes of finding any living relatives, he said at the news conference. The remains were in poor shape, the sheriff said, and investigators were not optimistic when the remains arrived in Texas in June. But by September, the laboratory had started to create a genetic profile for the unidentified man and realized he had living relatives, Stallings said. One of the suspected relatives provided a DNA sample that was used to confirm what the investigators believed the man was his missing brother. William Irving Monroe III was a former U.S. Marine, a veteran of the Vietnam War and the father of two who was last seen in 1979, the sheriff said. His family had traveled around the country and moved around a lot, Stallings said, so members of the family had lost contact with each other over time. This included Monroe, who was divorced from his wife and living on his own, the captain said. He and his former wife had lived off and on in Pomona Park, Stallings said, and he was not a migrant worker like they previously thought. For years, (the Monroe family) was working on the assumption that their brother and father had been missing and perhaps had been murdered down in the (U.S.) Virgin Islands, Deloach said. We now know unequivocally that that is not the case, and while this might just be another piece of the puzzle, it now gives them the peace to know that we have identified their brother. The sheriff said the family had hired a private investigator when Monroe first went missing, but since he moved around, nothing was ever found on his whereabouts. Monroe was never formally reported as a missing person, the sheriff said. Due to his veteran status, the sheriffs office is working with veteran services to obtain a military headstone at Monroes grave, Deloach said. Now, Monroes death will continue to be investigated as a homicide, the sheriff said. Pomona Park is about a 75-mile drive southwest from Jacksonville. Woman found dead under carpet in Virginia woods in 1986. Accused killer now arrested Tooth of woman found dead 10 years ago helps create new image of her, CA cops say Surveyor found remains near California canyon in 2000, officials say. Now theyre IDd 20-year search for missing high school student leads to hidden grave, Florida cops say Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) told supporters on Sunday that Nevadans rejected the far-right politicians working to divide us after winning her reelection bid against Republican Adam Laxalt and cementing Democrats majority in the Senate a second time. Cortez Masto won the Nevada Senate race against Laxalt on Saturday, becoming the last senator needed to win their election in order for Democrats to definitively control the Senate in the next legislative session. So when far-right Republicans said they knew better, I knew wed prove them wrong today we did. The victory is for Nevada and all of us, Cortez Masto said at the Carpenters International Training Center in Las Vegas. This election Nevadans rejected the far-right politicians working to divide us. We rejected their conspiracies, their attacks on our workers and their efforts to restrict our freedoms. Cortez Masto also used her speech to remind Nevadans of her credentials as a former state attorney general and the countrys first Latina elected to the Senate six years ago, and she sought to parallel her familys story in the Silver State to those of other Latino families. As you all know, I dont forget where I come from. I have a grandfather who came from Chihuahua, Mexico. Grandmother from Las Cruces, New Mexico, and they worked hard they worked hard, and my parents worked hard in this community growing up here to support our family. It is the story of so many Latino families across our state. Its a story of so many Latino families across the country, the senator said. I know my family, not only those that are here today, but those that have passed, would be so proud to see me serving as the first Latina in the U.S. Senate, she continued to applause. Cortez Mastos remarks come as Democrats now head into the Georgia Senate runoff next month with an opportunity to expand their majority in the upper chamber as Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) faces off against Republican Herschel Walker. Many Republicans, including a number of former President Trumps nominees, this cycle struggled in their general election races, including in key states like Pennsylvania and Arizona. The Silver State suffered similarly, seeing some controversial Republican candidates run for top offices such as Jim Marchant, an election denier who lost his race to be the states top elections official. Republicans still have an opportunity to flip the House, though it would be by a much slimmer margin than many in the GOP had hoped for. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Dhanushka Wickramasinghe (far left) with his wife and four young children A Sri Lankan father who survived the mass murder of his family in Canada said he returned home from work on Wednesday to find his wife and four young children had been killed. Dhanushka Wickramasinghe, 34, was also attacked but managed to subdue the suspect. He is now recovering in hospital from a slash to the eye and one of his hands. A 19-year-old Sri Lankan student who was living with the family was charged with the deaths. The new details of the night the Wickramasinghe family was killed emerged from a series of media interviews with Bhante Suneetha, the resident monk at a local Buddhist monastery in Ottawa that the family attended. Mr Suneetha, who visited the father in hospital on Thursday, said he is in "great shock" over what happened. Police in Ottawa discovered the slain family at their townhouse in the Barrhaven suburb after responding to emergency calls placed at around 22:52 local time (03:52 GMT) on Wednesday. Chief Eric Stubbs with the Ottawa Police Service said the calls came after a man, later determined to be Mr Wickramasinghe, yelled for neighbours to call for help. Responding officers then found the bodies of Mr Wickramasinghe's wife, 35-year-old Darshani Dilanthika Ekanayake, and their four young children: seven-year-old Inuka Wickramasinghe, four-year-old Ashwini Wickramasinghe, three-year-old Ranaya Wickramasinghe, and two-month-old Kelly Wickramasinghe. Police also found the body of 40-year-old Amarakoonmudiayansela Ge Gamini Amarakoon, an acquaintance who was living with the family. The Wickramasinghe family were newcomers to Canada. Naradha Kodituwakku, the former president of the Sri Lanka Canada Association in Ottawa, told reporters that they had arrived last year. In an interview with CBC, Mr Suneetha described them as kind people who often lent a helping hand at the local temple. "They are innocent and also very helpful people. It doesn't matter [who would ask] for help from them," he said. Febrio De-Zoysa, an international student from Sri Lanka, was arrested at the home without incident and has been charged in connection to the murders, which police said were carried out using a "knife-like object". Algonquin College in Ottawa released a statement to the media on Thursday confirming that Mr De-Zoysa was enrolled at their college, and that his last semester of attendance was winter 2023. In a statement published on Facebook, the General Consulate of Sri Lanka in Toronto expressed its condolences to the family and friends of the victims. It also alerted parents of those who are studying abroad from Sri Lanka "to pay more attention to their children during their transition and integration" into a foreign country like Canada. Police did not specify a motive for the crime, saying the family were "innocent victims", and that their investigation is ongoing. Mr De-Zoysa made his first court appearance in Ottawa on Thursday, where he was formally charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. A vigil will be held for the family on Saturday, and a GoFundMe launched for Mr Wickramasinghe by the Buddhist Congress of Canada has raised more than C$53,000 ($39,300; 30,500) as of Friday afternoon. Kentucky has not executed a person in more than 15 years. Attorney General Russell Coleman wants to change that, potentially opening the door for Kentuckys 20-plus people on death row to be executed. Coleman, a Republican, filed a motion Thursday in Franklin Circuit Court to render moot that courts injunction on executions in the state, which has been in place since 2010. In a press release announcing his motion, Coleman said that the families of victims deserve justice via these executions. For almost 15 years, Kentucky has been bogged down by delays as violent criminals tie up our legal system with costly litigation as they seek to avoid justice, Coleman wrote in a press release. The survivors of the victims of these horrific crimes have suffered in limbo for long enough. They deserve the justice that was lawfully delivered by a jury. In 2010, Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd initially ruled that executions should be prohibited for a range of reasons. In 2019, some of those issues were deemed to have been resolved except one: the lack of an automatic suspension of execution provision for inmates deemed to be intellectually disabled. Coleman, in a motion filed in the case of Ralph Baze argued that a new change to state regulations around executions resolves this issue. Baze killed the Powell County Sheriff and one sheriffs deputy in 1992, and was sentenced to death in 1994. A regulation promulgated by the Beshear administration this week directs the commissioner of the Department of Corrections to suspend an execution if informed that the inmate has an intellectual disability or an IQ test score of seventy-five (75) or less. That satisfies the previously identified issue of not having an automatic suspension of execution for someone deemed intellectually disabled, Coleman argued. In a release touting Colemans motion, the attorney general referenced the case of Benny Lee Hodge, a death row inmate who murdered Tammy Acker in Letcher County in 1986. Tawny Acker, the sister of Tammy, supports Coleman seeking an execution. My family and the families of other Kentuckians will not be safe if he (Hodge) should ever be released, Acker said. Im thankful Attorney General Coleman and his team are continuing the fight for justice so that no other family ever has to go through this pain well after a jury reaches its verdict. According to a January report from Louisville Public Media, inmates spend the longest on death row of any state in the country. One man, Karu Gene White, killed three people in Breathitt County in 1979; hes been on death row 44 years since being sentenced to death by execution. Coleman is also advocating for Whites execution, filing a 76-page brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit this week, according to his office. Marco Allen Chapman was the last person executed by the state. He was executed via lethal injection in 2008 after he murdered two children and raped their mother. In 2022, the GOP-dominated Kentucky state legislature banned the death penalty for those with certain mental disorders. The bill received bipartisan support. This year, two bills have been introduced in the House and Senate by Republican legislators to completely abolish the death penalty, replacing it with life imprisonment without parole for inmates presently sentenced to death. The bills would also prohibit life imprisonment without parole for juveniles. Neither of those bills, sponsored by Rep. James Tipton, R-Taylorsville, and Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, have received committee hearings more than two-thirds of the way into the legislative session. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Indiana lawmakers came to a compromise Friday to pass a bill defining antisemitism in state education code The bill meant to address antisemitism on college campuses stalled this month amid persistent disagreement between lawmakers in the legislative sessions final days. The final version accepted by both the House and Senate chambers made concessions in language that was opposed by critics of Israel. Indiana House Republicans passed House Bill 1002 two months ago after listing it among their five priorities for the 2024 session. The legislation would broadly define antisemitism as religious discrimination, claiming it would provide educational opportunities free of religious discrimination. This is the second time the House has tried to pass the legislation, but an identical bill died last year after failing to reach a committee hearing in the state Senate. The legislation rose to new importance this session in light of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The House bill used the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, and explicitly included contemporary examples of antisemitism provided by the alliance, which make references to Israel. These have been adopted by the U.S. Department of State. State senators, however, passed an amended version of the bill Tuesday that removed language opposed by critics of Israels military campaign in Gaza. The amended version still includes the IHRAs broad definition of antisemitism but deleted the alliances name and examples that include explicit references to Israel. Opponents argued that such direct references would stifle criticism of Israel in academic settings and advocacy on campuses for Palestinians in a worsening humanitarian crisis. Support of the bill virtually flipped once the changes were made. Some Jewish organizations called on lawmakers to reverse course and include the entirety of the original House bill. The disagreement between the chambers prompted the bill to go to conference committee. Republican state Rep. Chris Jeter, the House bills author, said in committee Thursday he would prefer for lawmakers to add the IHRA name back to the bill, but keep the clause about its examples out. The conference committee, a body consisting of lawmakers from both chambers, reached an agreement Friday to add the IHRA name back to the bill. The clause about its examples remained cut from the final version. The bills sponsor, state Sen. Aaron Freeman called it a strong statement against antisemitism. Hopefully its a guide to live by in the future in our state, he said. The entire world has been waiting for a little girl to get her french fries for more than a week. On Feb. 26, Somer Williams, co-owner and operator of the Noble Smokin Joes BBQ in Noble, Oklahoma posted to the restaurant Facebook page about some funny calls they had received. Some little toot really wants French fries. If you have a kid around the age of 4 or 5 and they have your phone. Check on them. Hes called about three times asking for french fries. Please, bring that poor baby here for french fries! Some little toot really wants French fries. If you have a kid around the age of 4 or 5 and they have your phone. Check... Posted by The Noble Smokin' Joe's BBQ on Monday, February 26, 2024 Williams and her sister Taylor Wells just opened their establishment less than a year ago, as a spinoff from their dads Original Smokin Joes Rib Ranch. We have barbecue, of course, and our biggest seller is ribs. We have a Strawberry on a Cloud dessert that was my grandmas recipe, Williams tells TODAY.com. As for the object of little toots desire, Yes, we have fries! Theyre beer-battered and crispy. Our loaded fries have queso, beans, any type of meat that you choose, sour cream, chives and jalapenos on the side. Everybody likes our french fries except for one guy I saw on Google! she laughs. Sisters Somer Williams and Taylor Wells are proud of Smokin Joes now-famous fries. (Courtesy The Noble Smokin' Joe's BBQ) Something about the post caught the publics imagination. To date, the original post has 2,800 shares, 5,900 comments and over 19,000 reactions, and the business page has added thousands of new followers. In less than 24 hours, comments were pouring in from all over the U.S., and a dozen other countries on every continent. It started in Australia, Williams tells TODAY.com, then Canada, and the U.K., Portugal, Spain, Antarctica, Asia. Followers were soon offering tips on how to get the kids their fries safely and pleading for updates. Sitting in Rhode Island hoping these kids get their fries! one commented. Another chimed in, Sending luck from the great potato state of Idaho! Hi from Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand, whats the latest!? Invested, wrote another. And, Well, hello all the way from Portugal! This just showed up on my timeline, hope the kid gets his fries! The list of cities mentioned is a dizzying tour: Wilmot, Wisconsin; Tlapacoyan, Mexico; Toronto, Canada; Lusaka, Kenya. Though the comments sections sometimes bring out the worst in people, in this case, everybody just wanted the kids to get their hearts desire. Williams told us that she was touched by some commenters mentioning finding a much-needed bright spot in this story. People started reaching out, she says, wanting to help pitch in, just do little things, like pay for the fries or send things for the kids, just wanting to do something sweet. She found out later that her mystery caller actually spoke to three other employees the first day, but once they got her, she was hooked on figuring it out herself. How much of her time was she spending on this? It took all my time! she laughs. I have not worked. Ive been hyper-focused. I forgot to order my Coke (for the restaurant) this week! The next day, Williams posted a play-by-play about playing phone tag with her new French Fry Friend throughout the day. She could hear more than one child and asked them to put a parent on the phone, but they got spooked and hung up. The calls continued back and forth for days, with the kids trying various tactics to extract french fries out of their new telephone pal. Williams eventually figured out that there were three children, all girls. At one point, the oldest girl pretended to be their mom placing an order a bit naughty, but Williams is a former elementary school employee and took it all in stride. People in the restaurant started asking whether the french fry girl had called that day, and commenters from far and wide were checking in regularly for new information. Smokin Joes had fun with it, offering a Lil Toot special: 1 Rib, French Fries, Dwink, $7. Added a rib bc they also need protein. The Lil Toot special rounds out the special fries with a drink and extra protein. (Courtesy Somer Williams) Williams had to walk a fine line at times, trying to get in touch with the parents without invading anyones privacy. There were little clues calling a dog named Beethoven, the name Hailey and the grade pre-K but the children had been stage-whispering to each other about making sure they obscured their identities since they were talking to a stranger, and maybe also because they knew they probably shouldnt be trying to finagle fries. Williams thought there might be some red herrings. She was trying every trick in the book to get them to put their mom on the phone, though, without success. She recruited locals to ask around, and talked to a police officer friend for tips. I feel like Im being outwitted by toddlers, she lamented at one point. But, eventually, her hard work paid off. Putting together hints from several chaotic conversations with all three girls, Williams persistent detective work found the mom of the two oldest girls on Facebook. Dont be mad at me! were the first words out of her mouth, and luckily, their parents think its funny now that theyre starting to get over the shock of their kids being world-famous. Williams got to meet the French Fry Friends 10 days after the whole thing started, and, yes, the girls finally got their french fries, with Cokes and popcorn chicken, to boot. Very sweet kids, she tells TODAY.com after their get-together, and very much toots. I had that right! They are very inquisitive and very talkative. It turned out that Hailey in Pre-K was the invention of 5-year-old kindergartener Linda, and cousin 11-year-old Miley was the supposed mom. Mileys sister Emily, 9, was the original French Fry Girl, and the one Williams had talked to the most. It turned out there has been some sadness in their young lives the older two girls father passed away some time ago so this bright spot goes both ways. There are plans in the works to host french fry parties at the girls schools, and so many people have offered to donate that Williams is setting up savings accounts for each girl with the help of a pro-bono lawyer to keep the funds safe for them until the little toots turn 18. This article was originally published on TODAY.com (Photo : (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)) President Joe Biden greets members of Congress after he delivered the State of the Union address Thursday evening. He was caught on a hot mic saying that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would need to have a "come to Jesus" meeting over the war in Gaza. President Joe Biden was caught on a hot mic saying he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will need a "come to Jesus' meeting about the war and ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Biden stopped to chat with Sen. Michael Bennett, a Democrat from Colorado, as he left the House chamber Thursday night after delivering the State of the Union address. The senator urged the president to continue pushing Netanyahu to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip to help the Palestinian people. Addressing the Israeli leader by his nickname, Biden said: "I told him, Bibi, and don't repeat this, but you and I are going to have a 'come to Jesus' meeting," the Associated Press reported. A presidential aide standing nearby whispered into Biden's ear that the microphones were still recording as the president greeted lawmakers in the chamber. "I'm on a hot mic here," Biden said after being informed. "Good. That's good." Biden has come under criticism from many in the Democratic Party for not being forceful enough in his dealings with Netanyahu and for not pressing the need for ceasefire to ensure much-needed aid can be shipped into the region. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Hama invaded Israel on Oct. 7 and thousands more are on the verge of dying from starvation and dehydration. Asked about the president's comments on Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris told ABC News that "he meant what he said." "Some of us grew up in communities where when a 'come to Jesus' talk is about having a serious talk, based on candor," Harris said. She reiterated the US' commitment to Israel and its ability to defend itself, but "how it does matters, and far too many Palestinians have been killed." "And the bottom line is we all want this conflict to end as soon as possible and how it does matters," she said. "We've got to get aid in and, and really, we've got to get this hostage deal done." In the State of the Union address, Biden spoke of the dire plight of the Palestinian people. "Nearly 2 million more Palestinians under bombardment or displacement. Homes destroyed, neighborhoods in rubble, cities in ruin. Families without food, water, medicine.It's heartbreaking," he said during the speech Thursday night. Biden affirmed Israel's right "to go after Hamas, " but noted that it also has a "fundamental responsibility,though,to protect innocent civilians in Gaza. He also confirmed that his administration would build a temporary port on the Gaza coast to ensure more humanitarian aid than can be delivered by trucks reaches the Palestinians. "Tonight, I'm directing the U.S. military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the coast of Gaza that can receive large shipments carrying food, water, medicine, and temporary shelters," Biden said, adding, "no U.S. boots will be on the ground." "A temporary pier will enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day," Biden said. The B'nai B'rith Lodge on South Union Avenue in Westlake served as a hub for the Jewish community and later as the heart of the labor movement in L.A. (Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times) The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Friday to allow the demolition of a century-old building in the Westlake neighborhood that served as a Jewish landmark and later as the heart of labor organizing in the city. The vote was a victory for Catholic Charities, which bought the building historically known as the B'nai B'rith Lodge in 2018 but later said it was "seriously dilapidated and structurally unsound" and could threaten the safety of the surrounding neighborhood. Catholic Charities, a nonprofit organization connected to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, filed a lawsuit against the city in 2023, saying it had wrongly been denied permission to tear down the ornate 1924 structure. The group said in court documents that the city would not allow demolition of the property on South Union Avenue because it may be historic, making it subject to further additional review, as well as because any future projects on the lot must comply with the California Environmental Quality Act. Community preservationists and advocates argued that a potential demolition would be a blow to crucial L.A. history. Instead, they urged Catholic Charities to repair the building and put it to use. The Rev. Dylan Littlefield, the chaplain at the Cecil Hotel who has become involved in preservation battles, said the lodges demolition would mean the destruction of a place that stood as a testament to the resiliency and the diversity of the city of Los Angeles. Read more:'The law that swallowed California': Why the much-derided CEQA is so hard to change Esotouric, a tour company that advocates for historic preservation and public policy, told The Times before the settlement vote was announced that the public should have a chance to comment. The company called the lawsuit and any prospective settlement a potential land-use decision about the right to demolish a cultural resource. The city attorneys office declined to comment, citing the pending litigation. The B'Nai B'rith lodge was designed by the famed Jewish architect Samuel Tilden Norton, who also designed the Wilshire Boulevard Temple. It was built in the early 1920s as the home for an L.A. chapter of the Bnai Brith, a Jewish service organization with New York roots. At the time, members of the Bnai Brith felt a desire to really be accepted by the leaders of the city, according to Steven Luftman, a heritage conservation consultant. They felt that if they only built a grand enough meeting hall, that that would be one step toward being recognized as part of the community, said Luftman, who wrote an application for the lodge to be deemed a historic-cultural monument. After a few years of being a community hub for Jewish L.A., the building was sold in 1930 to the Fraternal Order of Eagles. It then had a brief tenure as clubhouse for the Safeway Employees' Assn. before it became the headquarters of the American Federation of Labor Teamsters Joint Council 42. It became the site for rapid growth of the labor movement, and is where the Teamsters elected their first Black official, John T. Williams, according to Luftman. The AFL Teamster building was the heart of the Los Angeles labor movement and ground zero for much of the union organizing that transformed Los Angeles into a metropolitan powerhouse, said Chris Griswold, Teamsters Joint Council 42 president. Bnai Brith International said in a statement that the lodge represents an important part of the history of our organization in Los Angeles. However this is resolved, it would be important to the history of Los Angeles Jewry to note that Bnai Brith met there, the statement said. Catholic Charities and the archdiocese respect the building's history and "have been in communication with both the Jewish community and labor leaders throughout this process, the religious groups said in a joint statement. Our concern has always been the safety of the dilapidated property and well-being of our neighborhood. Read more:Marilyn Monroe look-alike is mistakenly blamed as icon's home faces demolition; Brentwood hopes to save it In the lawsuit, Catholic Charities said it has no projects planned for the lot, and stressed that its intention is to simply demolish the lodge. Catholic Charities incurs ongoing costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to maintain and secure the building, which is vacant, deteriorated and unstable, the court document read. These funds are being diverted from critical programs to help disadvantaged communities. The groups said their hope was to work with the community and the council office to eventually find a use for the property consistent with Catholic Charities mission, such as community food service, an emergency shelter, transitional youth housing, before and after school care, and older adult services. Littlefield, the chaplain at the Cecil Hotel, said Catholic Charities rationale was just an excuse to justify their desire to tear the building down. The building itself could be a place of empowerment, Littlefield said. The building itself could be a place where more movements like this takeoff, where more great things happen, where more lives are saved and changed. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A woman was forced to block her landlord on her phone after he left her about 175 voicemails in a two-month romantic pursuit, Georgia police say. The landlord, 64, was arrested on a stalking charge after authorities said he repeatedly tried contacting the woman with the intent to harass her, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by McClatchy News. The 33-year-old tenant called police on March 4 and accused her landlord of intentionally locking the meter to her Floyd County home, leaving her without water for a week, per a police incident report. She also accused him of stalking her to the point that she blocked him on Feb. 27, police said. The woman told police he would watch her residence from his property and once followed her best friend who was visiting because he thought it might have been a male, according to the incident report. Police also looked at the womans phone and saw he left her about 175 voicemails between Jan. 1 and Feb. 27, authorities said. On the day she blocked him, he left the woman 21 voicemails, according to police. I listened to some of the voicemails ... and it was apparent that (he) was pursuing a relationship with the tenant, an officer wrote in the report. The woman told police she and the landlord were never romantically involved and that she only loved and cared for him as a friend, authorities said. Police, meanwhile, said the water department told them the water was cut off because the bill hadnt been paid. The tenant told them the lock on the meter belonged to the landlord and not the water company. McClatchy News reached out to police on March 8 for clarification but did not receive a response. A warrant for the mans arrest was issued March 4, though its unclear when he was taken into custody. Rome is about a 70-mile drive northwest from downtown Atlanta. Landlord pressured tenants for sex acts, evicted those who refused, feds say. Now he owes Man taunted college students with stolen nude photos from their Snapchats, feds say Man grabs elderly victim, throws him from mall escalator steps, Texas video shows More than 100 children have died of the flu this season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday. The number of pediatric deaths 103 so far is not a seasonal record. While kids with underlying health problems are more at risk for severe outcomes from the flu, the latest CDC numbers provide a stark reminder that flu can indeed be devastating to any child. This is certainly sobering information, but its not something necessarily unexpected, said Alicia Budd, head of the CDCs domestic influenza surveillance team. More than half of the children who died (53%) had no medical issues before their influenza infection, Budd said. Among the 10 new pediatric deaths in the most recent report, most died within the last few weeks, Budd said. Although cases seem to be peaking across the country, flu season is not over. The CDC estimates that the nation has logged at least 28 million flu illnesses, resulting in 310,000 hospitalizations so far this year. In addition to the 103 pediatric deaths, about 20,000 others have died of flu. There is a popular misconception among families that flu is just another cold virus, and that its no big deal, said Dr. Kristina Bryant, a pediatric infectious disease physician at Norton Healthcare in Louisville, Kentucky. I have taken care of kids who are critically ill in the intensive care unit with flu, Bryant said. Ive taken care of kids who have ultimately died from flu. And almost universally, their parents tell me, I had no idea that flu could do this to my child. Small airways, big immune reaction The vast majority of children infected with flu every year recover. One of the virus biggest mysteries is how it can quickly and swiftly kill otherwise healthy and robust children without warning. Kids have smaller airways, so breathing becomes compromised once a virus infects and inflames those airways, said Dr. Alexandra Yonts, a pediatric infectious diseases physician at Childrens National Hospital in Washington, D.C. Childrens immune systems are superprimed to attack any new germ that comes their way, said Yont. Sometimes those immune responses go too far. As with a lot of viral illnesses, more than anything its the bodys immune response that determines the severity of the symptoms. Theres something about influenza that is particularly immunogenic to our bodies and can create these massive cytokine storms and fevers that end up landing kids in the ICU with a sepsis-like picture, Yont said. Flu vaccines for kids effective this year The CDCs Budd said that nearly 90% of the children who died of flu this year were not fully vaccinated. For most kids, this means just one shot per year. But kids younger than age 8 need two doses if theyve never received the flu shot before. Just over 50% of kids got the flu shot this season, slightly lower than 53.3% last year. Preliminary CDC data shows the vaccine is up to 61% effective in keeping kids with flu out of the hospital. The vaccine can reduce the risk of a child needing to have a medical visit by about two-thirds, Budd said. And it can reduce their risk of hospitalization by about half. Experts cant predict which flu virus strains might be more virulent in any given year. About half of the pediatric deaths in the 2023-24 season were due to an influenza A strain, the CDC reported, while 47 were attributed to an influenza B strain. One child had both A and B strains. The 2014-15 flu season was a particularly severe one that took the lives of 141 children. Gianna Wehrkamp, a perfectly healthy and energetic 2-year-old, was one of them. It was Jan. 8, 2015, when Gianna came home from day care with a slight fever not even 100 degrees. Her mother, Angie Wehrkamp, said Gianna was playing normally and did not act like anything was wrong. She was just as bossy as always, she said. The next morning, the normally smiley, spunky little girl was not herself. She just looked like she didnt feel good, Wehrkamp, 46, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, said. You could see it on her face. A trip to the doctor revealed that Gianna had influenza A. The doctor assured Wehrkamp that Gianna would soon be on the mend. Gianna spent the day resting at home with her beloved teddy bear named Dog and watched cartoons; Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Frozen were favorites. Gianna perked up a bit at dinner, eating black olives one by one off of the tips of her fingers. Her fever never rose above 101 degrees. At bedtime, Wehrkamp said that Giannas lungs sounded a little rattly, so she brought the little girl into her bed to keep an eye on her overnight. Around 2 a.m., I woke up and she was not breathing, Wehrkamp said. It took paramedics nearly an hour to get Giannas heart beating again. By then, it was too late. Less than 48 hours after she started showing symptoms, Gianna died of influenza. It all just happened so fast, Wehrkamp said. We did not know that healthy children could lose their lives to the flu. The little girl hadnt received the flu shot the year she died. We had every intention of getting Gianna vaccinated, her mother said. But it just kind of fell off the radar as busy parents, and unfortunately we paid the ultimate price for that. Failing to make that a priority will forever be my greatest regret. A Nampa man could spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted of sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl in what the prosecution called a path of destruction. Third District Judge Randall Grove sentenced 37-year-old Nicholas Vallard to at least 25 years in prison Thursday, according to a news release from the Canyon County Prosecutors Office. Vallard will become eligible for parole in 2047, but he could spend the rest of his life in prison depending on what the parole board decides. You seem unable or unwilling to control these desires, Grove said in court. So Im going to protect the community from you. Vallard was convicted of two counts of lewd conduct with a minor and one count of sexual abuse of a minor after a three-day trial in July 2023, according to court records. Hes been in custody at the Canyon County Jail since his arrest, so hell be given credit for 736 days served. Grove also issued a no-contact order preventing Vallard from contacting any minor children for the next 50 years, the release said. Hell have to pay $263 to the Idaho Crime Victims Compensation Fund and a $5,000 civil penalty that will go to the victim, according to the release. Authorities said Vallard trapped the 9-year-old girl in a tent, masturbated in front of her, forced her to perform oral sex on him and touched her genitals. He previously pleaded guilty to two counts of felony injury to children in 2011, the release said. Grove questioned during sentencing whether Vallard could be rehabilitated in light of the staggering contempt Vallard exhibited toward the court, the release said. Grove said Vallard presented a significant threat to this community. Federal prosecutors on Friday filed their opposition to efforts by Hunter Bidens attorneys to dismiss tax-related charges filed against the presidents son last year. Lawyers from special counsel David Weiss office forcefully rejected Bidens assertion that the case against him was politically motivated and that prosecutors sought to appease congressional Republicans in bringing additional charges after a plea deal fell apart last year. The defendant concocts a conspiracy theory that the prosecution has upped the ante to appease politicians who have absolutely nothing to do with the prosecution and are not even members of the current Executive Branch, prosecutors wrote. The filing came in a series of documents filed in federal court in California, with Weiss team hitting back at various motions to dismiss the indictment. In response to Bidens arguments that the additional charges came amid pressure from Republicans on Capitol Hill, Weiss team said that prosecutors had signed proposed agreements for Bidens plea weeks after politicians had railed against them, and highlighted the prosecutions actions urging the court to accept the proposed agreements. To state an obvious fact that the defendant continues to ignore, former President Trump is not the President of the United States, they wrote. The defendant fails to explain how President Biden or the Attorney General, to whom the Special Counsel reports, or the Special Counsel himself, or his team of prosecutors, are acting at the direction of former President Trump or Congressional Republicans, or how this current Executive Branch approved allegedly discriminatory charges against the Presidents son at the direction of former President Trump and Congressional Republicans, they added. Bidens attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Fridays filings. The special counsels office declined to comment. The judge overseeing the case told Bidens attorneys to respond to the special counsels filings later this month. Attorneys for Biden had also argued last month that Weiss appointment as special counsel was unlawful. Prosecutors disputed those claims Friday, writing these arguments are meritless and should be denied, and arguing that Weiss appointment conforms to the law in all respects. Biden pleaded not guilty to nine tax-related charges when he was arraigned in January. In addition to the tax charges, Biden also faces federal gun charges that include an allegation that he possessed a firearm while using a narcotic. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges as well. House Republicans have targeted Biden in their impeachment inquiry into his father. Their probe took a major hit last month when former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, whose claims played a prominent role in sparking the GOP investigation, was indicted and accused of feeding false information to the FBI about Joe Biden and his son during the 2020 presidential campaign. Hunter Biden appeared for a closed-door deposition with the House Oversight and Judiciary committees last month as part of the impeachment inquiry, and blasted the probe, which has yet to provide any evidence of criminal wrongdoing, as a baseless and destructive political charade based on MAGA-motivated conspiracies. Hunter Bidens more than six hours of testimony in which he emphatically denied GOP allegations against him and notably did not at any point invoke his Fifth Amendment rights appears to have weakened support for an impeachment among House Republicans, NBC News has reported. Republicans have since invited Hunter Biden to testify publicly, on March 20, but he has yet to say whether he will attend the hearing. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters at the Capitol Wednesday morning that he is feeling good after Democrats won retiring Sen. Pat Toomeys (R) seat in Pennsylvania, giving them a better chance of keeping their Senate majority. Schumer kept his remarks brief and stopped well short of celebrating after Senate Democrats exceeded expectations on Election night by winning in Pennsylvania despite Lt. Gov. John Fettermans (D) shaky debate performance and tens of millions of dollars in Republican spending on attack ads. As things now stand, Democrats control 48 Senate seats and Republicans control 49. Democrats could keep control of the majority in an evenly divided Senate, as Vice President Harris has the power to cast tiebreaking votes. While the win in Pennsylvania makes it more likely that Schumer will serve another term as majority leader, the battle for control of the Senate is still far from decided, with ballots in Arizona, Georgia and Nevada still being counted. Sen. Mark Kelly (D) is leading his Republican challenger Blake Masters in Arizona by nearly 90,000 votes with 68 percent of the votes counted, while Republican challenger Adam Laxalt is leading Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D) in Nevada by 23,000 votes with 75 percent of the votes counted. In Nevada, there are approximately 100,000 votes from Clark County, a Democratic stronghold, yet to be counted, giving Cortez Masto a chance of coming back in the count. In Georgia, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) is leading Republican Herschel Walker by less than a percentage point or 35,000 votes with 95 percent of the vote counted, but the race will go to a Dec. 6 runoff if Warnock doesnt win more than 50 percent of the vote. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Miami Beachs strictest spring break measures took effect Friday in anticipation of large crowds, but the mood on Ocean Drive and the beach was calm after the sun set. Still, the citys efforts to shut down spring break were easy to spot. Sidewalk seating along Ocean Drive had been removed. Sign displays announced beach entrances would close at 6 p.m. And police cars and ATVs were lined up in Lummus Park, keeping a watchful eye on the strip that has been the site of several shootings during spring break in recent years. A police officer directs traffic on Ocean Drive during spring break on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Miami Beach, Fla. Police set up a DUI checkpoint along Fifth Street and a license-plate reader on the Julia Tuttle and MacArthur causeways that caused lane closures and substantial backups for drivers entering Miami Beach. Miami Beach officers and Florida Highway Patrol troopers were handing out citations and dumping bottles of alcohol at the checkpoint. Read more: Bringing the country to the city. Cowboys rode horses on Ocean Drive during spring break Commissioner Joseph Magazine said he was optimistic that spring break will keep calm with no major incidents. Were still welcoming people that want to come to Miami Beach and have a good time, but you are going to do it under the need to respect our laws, Magazine said. If you can do that, you are welcome to come to our city. People visit South Beach during spring break on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Miami Beach, Fla. Around 10 p.m., Ocean Drive was buzzing with activity but calm, with relatively sparse crowds compared to peak spring break weekends in past years. Dozens of police officers blanketed the area in cars and on bikes and ATVs. Miami Beach police spokesperson Christopher Bess said 18 different local, state and federal law enforcement agencies will be patrolling during the weekend. Read more: As Miami Beach spring break begins, law and order plan exposes political tensions Young visitors in South Beach said they were acutely aware of the citys well-advertised campaign to discourage spring break chaos. Several told the Miami Herald they saw a viral video on social media in which the city announced it was breaking up with spring break. Of course we did. Its everywhere, said Josh Pryor, 21, a senior at Georgia State University. Amaya Moulton and Aziah Lee, left to right, take a selfie after traveling from Charlotte, North Carolina to South Beach along Ocean Drive for spring break on Miami Beach, Florida on Friday, March 8, 2024. Pryor said crowds this year were so far smaller than they were when he visited Miami Beach during spring break in 2022. Its just a different scene. Theres still a good amount of people here, but its not the same, he said. People visit Lummus Park during spring break on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Miami Beach, Fla. Pryors friend, a Georgia State senior who identified himself as Scott, said he understood the citys approach. As sad as it is, I understand, he said. Were mature enough to be like, Okay, lets be safe so people dont lose their lives. Some people sought to capitalize on the citys restrictions by inviting spring breakers to events across the bay in the city of Miami. An event planner from Washington, D.C., who goes by the name Lodevinci, was on South Beach late Friday afternoon advertising a party at a warehouse in Little Haiti. He wore a T-shirt that read, Spring break will never die. Were having events across the bridge, he said, adding that he believes the city should encourage spring breakers who congregate on Ocean Drive to instead go to safe, indoor events. The thing with people is you just have to direct them, he said. You cant just tell them, Hey, get the [expletive] out of here and kick them off. I think the city should maybe have a different approach about it. Florida Highway Patrol officers talk to a driver at a DUI checkpoint near 5th Street and Meridian during spring break on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Miami Beach, Fla. A group of visitors from Charlotte, North Carolina, said Miami Beachs measures felt punitive and unfair. For people who know how to act, I feel like they shouldnt be penalized for other people acting crazy, said Aziah Lee, 21. We come out here. We dont bother anybody. Were just here to get away from home. Its not all of us. Lee and three friends said they booked their stay at the Essex House on Ocean Drive months ago and learned about the citys restrictions when it was too late to change their plans. When the commercial came out, it was like, Dang, theyre canceling the whole spring break. We already paid for everything, said Amaya Moulton, 19. Miami Beach officials have warned visitors to expect curfews, but no curfew was announced Friday. City Manager Alina Hudak would first need to declare a state of emergency for a curfew to take effect. Spring breakers, who would only give their first name, Mario, Jessie, Tamika and EJ, left to right, take a selfie on their smart phones on Ocean Drive during spring break in Miami Beach, Florida on Friday, March 8, 2024. Spring breakers, who would only give their first name, Heaven, Brooklyn and Treasure, walk past Miami Beach police officers along Ocean Drive on Miami Beach, Florida on Friday, March 8, 2024. By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. government would be in a stronger legal position if lawmakers ordered China's ByteDance to divest TikTok, rather than simply banning the short video app used by 170 million Americans, the Justice Department told Congress in a document seen by Reuters. Lawmakers and the Biden administration say TikTok poses enormous national security risks because the Chinese government could gain access to data from millions of American users. The Justice Department gave a classified briefing to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday before the panel voted 50-0 on a bill to give ByteDance six months to divest short video app TikTok or face a U.S. ban. The briefing included the one-page unclassified document seen by Reuters, which also said TikTok poses "key national security concerns" because it "collects tremendous amounts of sensitive data" and added Chinese ownership puts "TikTok's American users at risk." The Justice Department document, titled "Threat Posed by TikTok," said any bill needs to separate the company from Beijing and its Chinese-based parent and that a divestment has key advantages over a ban. Existing laws "have limits that make it challenging to effectuate that separation and fully address the national security risks," the Justice Department document said. A prior attempt to ban TikTok by then President Donald Trump in late 2020 was blocked by the courts. "An orderly divestment of TikTok from (China) would give Americans secure ownership of their data, including posts, photos and videos while minimizing the disruption to the over 100 million TikTok accounts in the United States," the document said. "Working through ByteDance, the PRC (People's Republic of China) could use TikTok to access data on millions of U.S. users and control the software on millions of U.S. devices," it added. House Energy and Commerce Committee chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers cited the briefing as a key reason members supported the divestment bill. Rodgers said the FBI, Justice Department and other agencies worked with the committee for months to provide assistance on a "targeted specific approach" to addressing concerns. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco was directly involved in discussions with lawmakers, a source said. TikTok, which says it has not and would not share U.S. user data with the Chinese government, said on Thursday the "legislation has a predetermined outcome: a total ban of TikTok in the United States." (Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington;Editing by Chris Reese and Nia Williams) Sergeant Korbein Shultz was arrested on Thursday 8 March 2024 after allegedly selling secrets to China (US Army/Department of Defense ) An active-duty United States Army intelligence officer has been accused of selling sensitive information on Taiwan to China for around $42,000. Korbein Schultz, 24, was arrested at Fort Campbell, on the KentuckyTennessee border, on Thursday. The sergeant, from Wills Point in Texas, allegedly used his top secret security clearance to download classified government records, including maps, plans and notes, on national defence. Announcing his indictment, the Department of Justice said Sgt Shultz worked with an individual known as Conspirator A from June 2022 until his arrest. Conspirator A asked him to use his clearance to gather information on US weapons systems and the militarys plans should Taiwan come under military attack. One of the documents the sergeant sent was a manual on using intercontinental ballistic missiles. "I will just keep sending you an abundance of information, the sergeant told Conspirator A in a message on 26 August 2022, having just downloaded seven more documents. The individual told Sgt Shultz that he lived in Hong Kong and worked for a geopolitical consulting firm. Much of the information sent was related to China, according to prosecutors. Sgt Shultz, who told Conspirator A that he wanted to be like the fictional spy Jason Bourne, has now been charged with six counts including conspiracy and bribery, the DOJ said. Protecting national defence information is absolutely critical to our countrys safety and security, US Attorney Henry Leventis for the Middle District of Tennessee said in a statement. The unauthorised sale of such information violates our national security laws, compromises our safety, and cannot be tolerated. Part of Sgt Shultzs job was to instruct others on the proper handling of classified documents, say officials. At the same time, the officer allegedly received at least 14 payments from the mystery person, who at one point told him he wanted to turn their relationship into a long-term partnership. According to a US Army spokesperson, Sgt Shultz has received multiple awards, including the Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon and the Army Service Ribbon. We cannot tolerate any betrayal of trust, and we remain vigilant in our mission to protect national defence information crucial to our security, Brigadier General Rhett R Cox, Commanding General of the Army Counterintelligence Command said. We encourage all members of the Army team, past or present, to remain vigilant and report any potential suspicious activity." Thursdays announcement comes after a 22-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard was jailed for 16 years after he leaked classified military documents to his friends online. Also earlier this week, a former Air Force employee and retired Army lieutenant colonel pleaded not guilty to charges that he shared classified information about Russias war with Ukraine on a foreign dating site. A Vermont man accused of killing actor Treat Williams in a 2023 vehicle crash plead guilty Friday to a reduced charge of negligent driving with death resulting and will avoid prison time. Koss sentencing will be deferred for a year, Judge Kerry Ann McDonald-Cady said, and his license to drive will be suspended during that time. He will also be required to go through mental health counseling and a restorative justice program. If he doesnt comply with those conditions, the judge could impose a maximum sentence of two-years prison and a $3,000 fine. CNN reached out to Ian Carleton, Koss attorney, for comment. In June of 2023, Ryan Koss was driving a Honda Element SUV that turned into the path of Williams motorcycle on Vermont Route 30 in Dorset, police previously said. The 71-year-old actor was thrown from the motorcycle and suffered critical injuries. He was airlifted to Albany Medical Center in New York, where he was pronounced dead, officials previously said. More than a month after the accident, Koss was issued a citation on a charge of grossly negligent operation with death, at the request of the Bennington County States Attorneys Office, Vermont State Police said last year. In emotional remarks, Williams son says he forgives Koss, asks him to forgive himself Williams son Gill spoke in court Friday, sharing how difficult it has been for his family since his father died, noting he was writing a movie for his father, a movie they were planning to do together. That was my story and its not anymore, Gill Williams said. He also addressed the anger he felt and what he thought he might say in court today. Ive spent months now, going through my head of all the things that I could say that would be hurtful and I dont want to do that, Gill Williams said. I know that for me, to heal, and for my family to heal, for me to move on, I have to become a new person because you hit me that day and you killed me that day in some way, he added. That was a different person because the person who now has to deal with the loss of my father, who was an extraordinary person, truly an extraordinary human being who had so much life left to live and so many incredible things to do, is a burden that I dont know how to deal with, without becoming a new person. Part of being that new person, Gill Williams said, is forgiving Koss. He said he felt he had to come to court and just say that I do forgive you and I hope you forgive yourself. And I dont want you to go to prison we didnt press charges its very difficult to deal with the fact that there are no real repercussions, you know, it doesnt feel but what would it be? You know, nothings going to bring my dad back. The Deep Rising actors son also acknowledged that Koss didnt mean to cause the accident. You just werent looking and you were negligent and incompetent that day and thats as far as my anger with this goes, because I know you didnt mean to do it, he said. Koss says he takes responsibility for the crash I can only begin my sincerest apologies and condolences to the Williams family and also to Mr. Williams loved ones, to his fans and to our community, who all cherished him, Koss said, standing and addressing the court in a shaky voice after Gill Williams remarks. Im here to acknowledge that this accident occurred because I made a left turn in front of an oncoming motorcycle that collided with my car and it was my responsibility to avoid that from happening, and for that I am truly sorry. Koss also addressed Treat Williams wife, Pam, son, Gill, and daughter, Ellie. And I hope this moment can bring some resolution to anyone impacted by this tragedy, especially to Pam Gill and Ellie, Im so sorry. Treat Williams was known for various film roles including the 1979 musical Hair, as well as TV dramas Blue Bloods and Everwood. His last role was in the latest season of the Ryan Murphy period piece Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, currently airing. CNNs Anastasios Stefanidis, Nic F. Anderson and Dan Heching contributed to this story. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Prosecutors accusing former New York Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin of embezzling a $50,000 state grant have revived corruption charges against him in a federal appeals court on Friday. Benjamin reportedly funneled the state grant to a now-deceased developer in exchange for campaign contributions. The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said prosecutors "sufficiently alleged an explicit quid pro quo" between Benjamin and Gerald Migdol to support bribery, honest services wire fraud, and conspiracy charges in the indictment, reported Reuters. The unanimous decision issued by a three-judge panel reversed a December 2022 ruling by US District Judge Paul Oetken in Manhattan and returned the case to him. Benjamin faces two charges alleging he falsified records that had been put on hold pending the US Department of Justice appeal. The prosecution is confronted with challenges after Midgol, who had pleaded guilty to bribery and fraud charges, died on Feb. 9. Midgol was a key government witness for prosecutors. Additionally, the US Supreme Court restricted the ability of prosecutors to pursue a handful of corruption cases last May. Benjamin was once a state senator in Manhattan's Harlem neighborhood, where Migdol had been a real estate developer. Prosecutors did acknowledge last month that Migdol's death would affect a trial for Benjamin but that they had no plans "to abandon any allegation in the indictment." The Defense In a recent statement, Barry Burke, a lawyer for Benjamin, reiterated: "Mr. Benjamin did nothing other than engage in routine fundraising and support a non-profit providing needed resources to Harlem public schools. We remain confident that Mr. Benjamin will be vindicated." Prosecutors believe Benjamin directed the $50,000 grant in June 2019 in the guise of a charity Midgol ran in Harlem. In exchange, he would receive contributions for his 2020 re-election campaign and an unsuccessful 2021 bid to become New York City comptroller. Oetken revealed the government had simply "implied" an agreement between the men, and the grant was not proof of one. But, in Friday's decision, Circuit Judge Steven Menashi called the absence of an express agreement "immaterial because the existence of the agreement, and the clarity of its terms to Migdol and Benjamin, could be inferred from their words and actions." While campaign contributions raise free speech issues under the US Constitution, Menashi said, "It is the corrupt agreement that transforms the exchange from a First Amendment protected campaign contribution into an unprotected crime." Benjamin ultimately resigned from the position of lieutenant governor in April 2022-- as soon as charges had been announced, and eight months after Governor Kathy Hochul tapped him for the state's No. 2 job. A "vibrant" 96-year-old widow preparing to bake cookies for her birthday was killed at her Montecito, California, home in 2022 in an alleged murder-for-hire plot, according to authorities who said the case involved a "tangled evil web of financial exploitation." Violet Evelyn Alberts was found dead in her bed on May 27, 2022. Deputies with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office began investigating her death after they found a broken window in the back of her home, Sheriff Bill Brown said at a news conference Thursday. Violet Evelyn Alberts (Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office) A medical examiner determined she died from asphyxiation and the manner was homicide. During the investigation, deputies learned that Alberts had allegedly been tricked into signing over her home in the wealthy Santa Barbara County neighborhood. They also uncovered that she was the victim of a murder-for-hire scheme. Brown said that investigators identified a woman named Pauline Macareno, 48, as the "central figure in the manipulation and deceitful targeting" of Alberts. Pauline Macareno (Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office) Macareno was "referred" to Alberts, who needed additional money after she "aged out" of her savings, according to the sheriff. Alberts, who did not have any immediate family in the area, lived in a "very valuable home," Brown said. It's not clear who referred Macareno to the victim. In 2020, Macareno allegedly "capitalized on Alberts' vulnerability" and engaged in financial elder abuse by forging documents and establishing fraudulent entities to gain control of Alberts' assets, Brown told reporters. Macarenos scheme involved her offering Alberts a reverse mortgage that "ultimately led to the fraudulent acquisition of her property," he said. Brown declined to go into detail on the motivation behind the murder, but said that "in the eyes of Pauline Macareno, Ms. Alberts was living too long." Macareno was arrested in June 2022 and charged with elder abuse, fraud and manipulation of legal documents. She was recently sentenced to six years in state prison for fraud related to Alberts case. Additional charges are pending, Brown said. Three other people were arrested this year in connection with the case. Henry Rostomyan (Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office) Harry Basmadjian was arrested on Jan. 2, Henry Rostomyan on Feb. 24, and Ricardo MartinDelCampo on Tuesday, the sheriff said. Rostomyan and MartinDelCampo are accused of doing a "scouting trip" at Alberts' home on May 24, 2022, according to the sheriff. It's not clear what Basmadjian's alleged involvement was. Rostomyan, MartinDelCampo and Basmadjian were arrested on several charges ranging from murder to conspiracy and solicitation of murder, Brown said. Rostomyan, 33, and MartinDelCampo, 41, are being held in the Santa Barbara County jail without bail. Basmadjian, 58, was being held in federal custody in Los Angeles on an unrelated charge and "suffered a life-threatening medical emergency" that left him essentially brain dead, the sheriff said. Brown declined to say how the male suspects are connected to Macareno. Richardo MartinDelCampo (Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office) The sheriff described Alberts as a "vibrant" widow who was a "cherished figure" in the Montecito community. She moved to the area after her husband, David Alberts, died in 1993. "Despite her age, she had remained active and engaged," the sheriff said. "And she was known for her warm demeanor and social nature." Alberts did not have any family who lived nearby and "relied on her friendships and connections within the neighborhood," he said. On the night she was killed, she was at her home baking cookies to celebrate her upcoming birthday. "The ingredients for those cookies were found on the table when on May 27, 2022, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office responded to a distressing call to check on Violet Alberts' welfare," he said. Her caretaker discovered her body. Brown said investigators are still seeking additional information in the case. Regardless of what movies or stars you are rooting for at the Oscars, one thing is for certain: the annual telecast is almost always good for a milestone moment, a stirring speech, or a memorable mishap. A Hollywood institution since 1929, the Academy Awards were first broadcast by radio the year after, and then made the move to TV in 1953. Almost from the start, the ceremony had its memorable moments, such as in 1934 when presenter Will Rogers inadvertently led Lady for a Days Frank Capra to think had been named Best Director and even head toward the stage, when in fact the winner was Cavalcades Frank Lloyd. (Moral of the story: last names matter!) More from TVLine Oh and get this, in 1959 the awards ceremony actually ended ahead of time, leaving host Jerry Lewis with 20 minutes of dead air to fill, with vamping and what not. In addition to those mentioned above, TVLine is revisiting more than two dozen of the shows most memorable moments, speeches and slip-ups, from Gone With the Winds Hattie McDaniel making history to the Slap heard round the world with a shimmying Snow White, a deeply steamy Shallow duet and one mortifying #EnvelopeGate in between. Revisit out curated list of memorable moments and then tell us which of them you vividly remember as if it was yesterday, or chime in with other Only at the Oscars! incidents that resonate for you. 1940: Hattie McDaniels Historic Win 1940: Hattie McDaniels Historic Win One of Gone With the Winds then-record setting 13 nominees that year, McDaniel was named the Best Actress in a Supporting Role, for her portrayal of Mammy and thus became the first Black entertainer to grab gold at the Academy Awards. (She is seen here with the categorys previous winner, Fay Bainter.) 1972: Charlie Chaplin Comes Home For Oscar 1972: Charlie Chaplin Comes Home For Oscar Ending a 20-year exile in Europe (which started when he was labeled a Communist by Senator Joseph McCarthy), the 82-year-old silent film vet was permitted to return to the United States to accept an honorary Oscar, for his incalculable effect in making motion pictures the art form of the century. What followed was arguably the longest standing ovation 12 minutes long in the history of the telecast. 1973: Sacheen Littlefeather Declines Award for Brando 1973: Sacheen Littlefeather Declines Award for Brando Sacheen Littlefeather aka Marie Louise Cruz, an Apache actress and activist for Native American rights, was asked by Marlon Brando the favorite to win Best Actor, for The Godfather to represent him on stage by declining the award. Littlefeather deviated from Brandos prepared four-page speech and instead said he was a no-show due to the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry, and on television in movie re-runs, and also [because of the standoff] at Wounded Knee. More than 48 years later, in June 2022, the Academy offered Littlefeather its deepest apologies for the unwarranted and unjustified abuse she endured because of her statement, as well as its sincere admiration for the courage she showed. Littlefeather accepted the apology. 1974: Tatum ONeals Historic Win 1974: Tatum ONeals Historic Win At age 10, the Paper Moon co-star became the youngest competitive winner in Oscar history when she was named Best Supporting Actress. (A six-year-old Shirley Temple had previously been given an honorary juvenile Oscar.) The youngest male actor to win an Oscar is Timothy Hutton, who at age 20 was named Best Supporting Actor for Ordinary People. 1974: Oh Yes, They Call Him The Streak 1974: Oh Yes, They Call Him The Streak When streaker, conceptual artist and gay rights activist Robert Opel bounded on-stage in the altogether just ahead of the Best Picture category, it fell on Oscars co-host David Niven to move the show past the revealing romp, eventually quipping, Isnt it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings? 1985: Sally Field Loves That You Like Her 1985: Sally Field Loves That You Like Her Accepting the award for Lead Actress (for her role in Places in the Heart), the film vet launched into a speech that has, Telephone Game-like, been a bit misquoted over the years. I havent had an orthodox career, and Ive wanted more than anything to have your respect, she said to the audience of peers. The first time [I won, in 1980 for Norma Rae], I didnt feel it, but this time I feel it. And I cant deny the fact that you like me. Right now, you like me! 1988: Cher Goes Sheer 1988: Cher Goes Sheer On the occasion of winning Best Actress for her role in Moonstruck and two years after donning a midriff-exposing two-piece, accessorized with a feathered mohawk headdress Cher turned heads again in this sheer and sequined Bob Mackie gown. It would be some 13 years before any comparable red carpet statements were made, by Bjork in her infamous swan dress. 1989: This Aint No Fairytale Rob Lowe playing Prince Charming to actress Eileen Bowmans Snow White performing a duet of a painfully extended, rewritten version of Proud Mary was such a low note in Oscars history, the 12-minute bit effectively resulted in the producer of that years telecast, Allan Carr, being shunned into seclusion. We dare you to press play above and endure it again. 1991: Jack Palance Does Push-Ups 1991: Jack Palance Does Push-Ups In the course of an anecdote about how Hollywood perceives aging actors (or something), Palance the Supporting Actor winner, for the comedy City Slickers illustrated a point he was making by suddenly dropping to the floor and banging out a couple of one-armed push-ups, followed by some regular ones. 1994: Tom Hanks Outs High School Teacher 1994: Tom Hanks Outs High School Teacher In a speech that was uniquely suited to his win for playing an AIDS-stricken lawyer in Philadelphia, Hanks singled out his high school drama teacher, Rawley Farnsworth, and classmate John Gilkerson two of the finest gay Americans, two wonderful men, that I had the good fortune to be associated with. Farnsworth, then 69, had not yet come out publicly, but he had given Hanks permission to share his truth on the telecast in front of millions. 1994: Anna Paquin Is Nearly Speechless 1994: Anna Paquin Is Nearly Speechless In beating out fellow Supporting Actress nominees Rosie Perez (Fearless), Winona Ryder (The Age of Innocence), Emma Thompson (In the Name of the Father) and her movie mom Holly Hunter (nominated in this category for The Firm, and later winning Best Actress for The Piano) the 11-year-old Paquin became the second youngest person to take home an Oscar. The ingenue adorably stood at the podium speechless for a full 20 seconds, before rattling off, like a pro, a succinct list of thank-yous. 1997: Robin Williams Gets Corn-y 1997: Robin Williams Gets Corn-y The funny man and Best Supporting Actor winner delivered a charming and endearing speech, peppahed with just the right amount of Good Will Hunting-style folksiness. I want to thank the cast and crew, especially the people of South Boston 00 youre a can of corn, he said, puzzling many who are unfamiliar with the term. In closing, Williams gave kudos to his father, the man who when I said I wanted to be an actor, said, Wonderful, just have a back-up profession, like welding. 1999: Roberto Benigni Celebrates Life 1999: Roberto Benigni Celebrates Life Life was beautiful and ebullient and impetuous for Roberto Benigni, when the actor-directors Life is Beautiful a Holocaust drama was announced as the winner for Best Foreign Language Film. Benigni stood atop and then walked across seat backs there in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, waving his arms and pumping his fists before landing on stage to declare, This is a moment of joy. (In case you could not tell.) 2000: Angelina Jolies Brotherly Love 2000: Angelina Jolies Brotherly Love That years Best Supporting Actress winner (and back then, quite an enigma to us all), Girl, Interrupted scene stealer Jolie raised eyebrows juuuuust a bit by saying she was so in love with her brother, James Haven, during her acceptance speech. (Jolie then raised eyebrows a lot, at that nights Vanity Fair party, by giving her sib a big ol kiss on the lips. We lived in an easily titillated world back then.) 2002: Halle Berrys Historic Win 2002: Halle Berrys Historic Win This moment is so much bigger than me, Berry said of being the first Black woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress (for her role in Monsters Ball) nearly four decades after Sidney Poitier (Lilies of the Field) became the first Black man to claim Best Actor. This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll. Its for the women that stand beside me, Jada Pinkett, Angela Bassett, Vivica Fox. And its for every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened. 2003: Adrien Brody Plants One on Halley Berry 2003: Adrien Brody Plants One on Halley Berry After being presented with the Academy Award for Best Actor, The Pianists Adrien Brody presented presenter Halle Berry with a most unplanned kiss. (As Berry years later shared, her reaction in the moment was, What the fk is happening?, after which, I just fking went with it. Apparently!) 2008: Heath Ledgers Posthumous Win 2008: Heath Ledgers Posthumous Win A little over a year after Ledger died from an overdose at age 28, he was named Best Supporting Actor for his iconic turn as Joker in The Dark Knight. The posthumous prize was accepted by Ledgers parents and his sister Kim, on behalf of your beautiful [daughter] Matilda. 2010: Kathryn Bigelows Historic Win 2010: Kathryn Bigelows Historic Win At the 82nd holding of the Academy Awards, Bigelow became the first woman to be named Best Director, for her masterful helming of The Hurt Locker. Theres no other way to describe it, its the moment of a lifetime, she opened her speech, before acknowledging her esteemed fellow nominees: James Cameron (Avatar), Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), Lee Daniels (Precious) and Jason Reitman (Up in the Air). 2013: Affleck Says His Marriage Requires Work 2013: Affleck Says His Marriage Requires Work Accepting the Best Picture prize for Argo, Affleck was suspected of oversharing when he said, I want to thank my wife [Jennifer Garner] for working on our marriage for 10 Christmases. It is work, but its the best kind of work and theres no one Id rather work with. Garner would later say she took Afflecks words as the hugest, warmest compliment in the world a la Look, what we have is really real and Im in it with you and I know you are in it with me. Nonetheless, citing the larger public scrutiny of their union, the actors separated in 2015 and divorced in 2018. 2013: J-Laws Pratfall 2013: J-Laws Pratfall After hugging Silver Linings Playbook costar Bradley Cooper in the aisle, Jennifer Lawrence headed to the stage to accept her first Academy Award, for Best Actress. But she made an unexpected pit stop along the way, when she tripped on her gown. Arriving at the mic, she said to the crowd, You guys are just standing up because you feel bad that I fell, and thats really embarrassing but thank you. 2014: Ellens Superstar Selfie 2014: Ellens Superstar Selfie What was originally conceived as just a selfie of that years host with icon Meryl Streep blossomed into something much bigger when Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Jared Leto, Lupita Nyongo and others joined the huddle, with Bradley Cooper taking over as photog. The jam-packed selfie was retweeted 750,000 times over the next 45 minutes much to sponsor Samsungs delight but has since, sadly, pressured subsequent hosts to attempt similar Stars are just like us! stunts. 2014: Please Welcome Adele Dazeem 2014: Please Welcome Adele Dazeem John Travoltas tongue (or brain?) apparently was semi-Frozen when he went to tee up the performance of Original Song nominee Let It Go, by saying, Please welcome the wickedly talented Adele Dazeem. (Idina Menzel had her revenge at the following years Oscars, by introducing Travolta as my very dear friend, Glom Gazingo.) 2016: Chris Rocks #OscarsSoWhite 2016: Chris Rocks #OscarsSoWhite In the second straight year that all 20 acting nominations went to white actors, #OscarsSoWhite blew up as a movement, giving host Chris Rock fertile monologue fodder. Im here at the Academy Awards, otherwise known as the White Peoples Choice Awards, he said before steering into a more serious lane, suggesting that during countless other years with no nominees of color, We were too busy being raped and lynched to care about who won Best Cinematographer. When your grandmothers swinging from a tree, its really hard to care about Best Documentary Foreign Short. Rock capped his incisive riff by celebrating the telecasts opening blast of diversity, saying: Please welcome Emily Blunt and somebody whiter, Charlize Theron. 2017: The Best Picture Boo-Boo 2017: The Best Picture Boo-Boo Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway announced La La Land as the Best Picture winner only to have to very sheepishly and very famously backtrack and after La La Land producers had already delivered acceptance speeches! when it was revealed that envelopes had been mixed up. Moonlight was in fact the years big winner. 2019: Shallow Duet Suggests Deep Feelings 2019: Shallow Duet Suggests Deep Feelings Lady Gaga and Bradley Coopers duet of Best Original Song contender Shallow was so warm, and so intimate, it made people wonder if real-life romance had blossomed between the A Star Is Born costars. But as Gaga explained days later, When youre singing love songs, thats what you want people to feel. Im an artist, I guess we did a good job, and, fooled ya! 2021: Glenn Close Shows Off Da Butt 2021: Glenn Close Shows Off Da Butt Seeing Glenn Close do Da Butt is not something we knew we needed to see. But now that we have, the song will never be the same. Was this whole moment scripted? Probably. But that doesnt take away from this being one of the best and funniest moments in Oscars history. Eight Oscar losses for Close? Pish posh. Do Da Butt. 2022: Will Smith Smacks Chris Rock 2022: Will Smith Smacks Chris Rock When presenter Chris Rock made a crack about Jada Pinkett Smith, bald from alopecia, filming G.I. Jane 2, her husband Will Smith walked up on stage and took a swing at Rock. Wow, Will Smith just smacked the st out of me, Rock said. Smith, who had returned to his seat, yelled from the audience Keep my wifes name out your fking mouth, and repeated it after Rock protested that the dig had just been a joke. (READ MORE) 2023: Michelle Yeohs Historic Win The Everything Everywhere All at Once star was the first performer of Asian descent to even be nominated for Best Actress, and then she went on to grab gold at the 95th Academy Awards. For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities, Yeoh said in her acceptance speech. This is proof that dreams do come true. And ladies, the 60-year-old actress continued, dont let anybody ever tell you that youre past your prime. (Watch Yeohs full speech above.) Best of TVLine When government officials lifted an evacuation order for people who lived near the site of a train derailment and toxic spill in East Palestine, Ohio, last year, many homes held on to an odd odor. It was a sickly-sweet smell, and it evoked comparisons to paint thinner, but fruitier, or maybe potpourri mixed with old perfume. To reassure residents, the trains operator, Norfolk Southern, and the US Environmental Protection Agency offered to check the air in homes for chemicals. More than 600 households signed up. What they didnt know was that the handheld devices used for the screening couldnt detect one of the main chemicals spilled from the train butyl acrylate at levels that could irritate the eyes, nose, throat and lungs. Case studies of people exposed to butyl acrylate in previous spills have raised questions about whether brief exposures may lead to longer-term health problems. I would say this is one of the most significant errors associated with the response, said Dr. Andrew Whelton, an environmental engineer at Purdue University who has done independent testing in East Palestine. Its because of this so many people were chemically exposed when they returned. Although the EPA and Norfolk Southerns contractor, CTEH, understood the limitations of the machines, they carried on with the home testing, according to an air testing plan drawn up by CTEH. They relied on smell to pick up on the presence of butyl acrylate at lower levels although residents werent told that odors could indicate chemical exposure, according to an EPA official who answered questions on behalf of the agency on the condition that they not be named. By the time the EPA adopted a more sensitive test and a lower standard for butyl acrylate, the home screening was nearly complete. People whod had their homes checked werent told about subsequent adjustments to the air testing program and why they were made, according to CTEH and the EPA. They were never offered more indoor air testing. I had no idea, said David Chick, who lives about a quarter of a mile from where the train wrecked and caught fire. Chick thinks that few people in the village are aware of what happened and that confusing messages from the EPA have probably fueled division and distrust in the community. The dynamic around town would be completely different if even 60% or 70% of the people knew that, he said. One hell of an irritant Butyl acrylate was one of a stew of toxic chemicals released into the soil, air and local waterways after a Norfolk Southern train flew off its tracks and caught fire on February 3, 2023, damaging at least 11 cars carrying hazardous materials, according to the EPA. Two of the cars that derailed had been holding nearly 386,000 pounds of acrylates, strong-smelling, highly irritating chemicals that are used to make paints, coatings, caulks and sealants. Many people know the olfactory assault of acrylates from nail salons, since some types of nail polish and nail products use them. Two acrylates were spilled in East Palestine: butyl acrylate and ethylhexyl acrylate. Surface water testing by the Ohio EPA found sky-high levels of acrylates in local creeks in the first few days after the derailment. Those levels tapered off and are undetectable now, based on recent testing, but the chemicals were still detectable in Sulphur Run through March 2023. A Norfolk Southern freight train derailed February 3, 2023, in East Palestine, Ohio. It was still on fire the next day. - Gene J. Puskar/AP Its not clear how much butyl acrylate people were exposed to or for how long. Environmental health experts note that because of a number of factors, including age and underlying health conditions, theres a wide range of individual sensitivity to chemicals. In other words, different people will react to chemicals at different levels. The EPA says its ongoing testing shows that people are not currently being exposed to chemicals from the derailment in their homes. Independent air testing conducted in September by the University of Kentucky and Wayne State University backs that up. In 15 buildings where air monitors showed consistently high levels of volatile compounds, researchers hung sensitive air sampling badges, which use charcoal to absorb chemicals from the air, to find out exactly what was causing the readings to be high. Some homes had higher than expected levels of chemicals that can be found in vehicle exhaust or in solvents used in dry cleaning. In three buildings, researchers detected traces of butyl acrylate. The levels were so low, however, that researchers said they couldnt be confident in the numbers. They also noted that butyl acrylate is in a lot of common products, like paint and caulk. Because butyl acrylate is unstable in the environment, they say, its highly unlikely that what they measured is from the derailment. But that doesnt mean people in East Palestine were never exposed to acrylates, said Dr. Erin Haynes, chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health at the University of Kentucky, who led the study. In the first few weeks after the spill, more than 90% of 702 people in the area who answered a government health survey reported having headaches, and more than 70% reported coughing or burning eyes. Stuffy noses, dizziness and breathlessness were also common, as were new or worsening mental health problems. Health officials said the symptoms reported in the survey were consistent with the known health effects of the chemicals that were on the train. Butyl acrylate is one hell of an irritant, in my limited experience with it, said Dr. Alan Ducatman, a former professor of occupational and environmental medicine at the West Virginia University School of Public Health and former director of the Environmental Medical Service at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ducatman treated people who were exposed to butyl acrylate after a tanker truck carrying nearly 45,000 pounds of the chemical collided with a logging truck in Bristol, West Virginia, in 1998. Both vehicles exploded on impact, killing their drivers. The wreck shut down a four-lane highway and forced the evacuation of people living half a mile around the site, according to news reports and interviews with residents who remember the incident. Nearly two dozen people were known to have been treated for chemical exposure related to the spill. Six were hospitalized. In 2012, Ducatman co-authored a case report on three people who had lasting problems from their exposures. Outside of East Palestine, Ducatman believes, this small study is the only documented exposure of health effects after an environmental spill of butyl acrylate in the US. They werent getting better as quick as their doctors told them they should, so they came to us, he said. In one case, a college student who got stuck behind the wreck in her car and sat in the fumes for about half an hour came to Ducatman two weeks after the accident with a swollen face and a persistent cough, despite being prescribed steroids during a previous visit to an emergency room. It was just the most hacking, dry, unpleasant cough. It was a wracking cough, Ducatman said, adding that he and his fellow physicians could tell when they were getting someone else whod been exposed to butyl acrylate. Wed say OK, theres another one. Because you could hear them coming down the hall. Another patient in the case report was a landfill worker whod handled contaminated dirt from the accident site over several days. He was diagnosed with chronic bronchitis. The third patient was a first responder whod helped evacuate residents around the accident site. Exposure to butyl acrylate had sensitized his airways so they became easily irritated, and he began having asthma attacks. Seven months after the accident, in addition to breathing problems, he complained of muscle pain and weakness and brain fog. Ten years after the accident, he was still taking medication for asthma he didnt have before the spill. Most people exposed to the chemical in West Virginia got better over time, Ducatman said, but for at least one of these patients, it was a life-changing event. Questions about indoor air testing In East Palestine, technicians from CTEH and the EPA came to houses with handheld devices that measured levels of a broad class of chemicals called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. Butyl acrylate is a VOC. Even as home screening got underway, the EPA reached out to scientists at the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, or ATSDR, part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, for help to establish what the agency calls minimal risk levels for butyl acrylate, according to the EPA official. A black plume rose over East Palestine, Ohio, following a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains on February 6. - Gene J. Puskar/AP Minimal risk levels are the amount of a chemical a person could breathe, eat or drink in a day without experiencing health effects, besides cancer. Risk levels for chemicals known to cause cancer are generally even lower. Health officials say theres not enough research on butyl acrylate to know whether its a carcinogen. In some cases, ATSDR has set minimal risk levels for chemicals. There werent any for butyl acrylate, according to the EPA, so experts at the agency set to work creating them. These levels were based on an exhaustive review of relevant scientific literature and subject matter expert input, ATSDR said in an emailed response to questions. With residents eager to return to their homes, the ATSDRs experts had to work quickly. On February 7, they proposed a two-week action level for butyl acrylate of 3,300 parts per billion (ppb). The evacuation order was lifted on February 8, and testing of homes got underway later that evening. On February 9, after further study, ATSDR revised that number, advising that the two-week action level should be 66 times lower: 50 ppb, according to an EPA official. Parts per billion is a way scientists express the concentration of chemicals in air or water. Its a tiny amount. Using Earths population as an example, a single part per billion would be eight people on the entire planet. So ATSDRs initial action level for butyl acrylate, 3,300 ppb, would be like 26,400 people out of the entire population of the Earth, while the proposed level of 50 ppb would be just 400 people out of that number. The ATSDR scientists were concerned because of butyl acrylates sensitizer effects, according to the EPA official. Sensitizers prime the body so future exposure to even small amounts may provoke an allergic reaction on the skin or respiratory tract. ATSDR proposed the 50 ppb safety threshold for butyl acrylate two separate times, according to background in the air testing plan drawn up by CTEH. After a discussion with the EPA and CTEH, the 50 ppb level was rejected because the machines being used to do the screening couldnt detect the chemical until it reached a concentration of about 160 ppb in air, according to background on the decision in an air testing plan written by CTEH. After noticing discrepancies between the handheld detectors and other types of air testing in use in East Palestine, the EPA studied the devices over the summer. That testing confirmed that the machines couldnt reliably pick up butyl acrylate at the 20 ppb and 50 ppb levels proposed by ATSDR. There was a good reason experts wanted that safety threshold. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, one of the agencies assisting residents after the spill, butyl acrylate may irritate the eyes, nose and respiratory tract when the concentration in air reaches 50 ppb. CTEH disputes that, however. According to written answers provided by Dr. Paul Nony, principal toxicologist and senior vice president of the company, the 50 ppb screening level for butyl acrylate was much lower than concentrations that could cause adverse health effects. Instead, the action levels for all chemicals were adjusted down by a factor of 10 to protect more sensitive individuals, such as children. The level for butyl acrylate became 330 ppb, still higher than the level where people might have symptoms. During an emergency response, as more information about site exposure duration, site characterization, and more environmental data becomes available, it is not uncommon for screening levels to be adjusted to be protective of human health, ATSDR said in a written response to questions. ATDSR also proposed an even lower chronic risk level of 20 ppb for exposures lasting between two weeks and one year. That level was adopted in April, after nearly all the homes had been screened, according to the air testing plan drawn up by CTEH. All told, the air in 630 homes was screened from February 8 and into April, according to EPA updates. In most cases, the testing did not detect any VOCs above 100 parts per billion. According to the EPA, if the machines measured any VOCs above that level, homeowners were advised to ventilate their homes by opening windows. About 100 homes with detections of VOCs also had additional sampling but only for vinyl chloride or one of its breakdown products, hydrogen chloride. Tests did not find vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride in any homes. Whats more, CTEH and the EPA reasoned that butyl acrylate had such a strong smell that it could be detected by odor alone, so odor became the main way the screening teams checked for lower levels of the chemical. The adjustment in strategy was never broadly conveyed to village residents, however. Instead, the EPA issued guidance that chemicals from the derailment could be smelled at far lower levels than would cause any health problems, so the presence of an odor was not necessarily cause for alarm. Outside experts have cautioned that smell may be an unreliable indicator for butyl acrylate, partly because people can become accustomed to odors Odor thresholds vary greatly. Do not rely on odor alone to determine potentially hazardous exposures, says a fact sheet on butyl acrylate from the New Jersey Department of Health. Ducatman, the doctor who has treated people exposed to butyl acrylate, said its clear to him that ATSDR was correct to make its risk levels more protective. He also said smell should never be the primary way to gauge an exposure to butyl acrylate. We already know with irritant exposures that induce asthma, if you smell it, its already a problem, he said. But if you dont smell it, it doesnt mean it isnt a problem. In a statement, ATSDR noted that it did not have input into the air testing plan and did not sign off on it. The EPA and CTEH maintain that because they were using a multilayered approach checking for odors and testing outdoor air, they believe residents were adequately protected, the EPA official said. A representative for Norfolk Southern did sign off on the plan. The company defended the decision not to use the ATSDRs proposed 50 ppb risk level. The health and safety of the community has been our focus from day one. We are confident the rest of Unified Command shares that focus, and that this decision was made with that in mind, said Connor Spielmaker, senior communications manager for Norfolk Southern. Members of the Unified Command leading the response include representatives from the EPA, the Columbiana County Emergency Management Agency, the Village of East Palestine, the Ohio EPA and Norfolk Southern. Keith Drabick, chief of the East Palestine Fire Department and incident commander at the time, did not respond to a request for comment on the decision. Trying to move on Lonnie Miller signed up for the indoor air screening for her cherished tan and brown home on East Clark Street in East Palestine, the one that has her sons baby footprints in the concrete they poured to build the garage. The home sits about 200 feet from Norfolk Southerns tracks. Sulphur Run is also nearby. Within hours of the derailment, Miller says, she and her husband began smelling chemicals. They discussed what to do and decided to leave. They returned on February 21, 2023, well after state and federal officials said it was safe to return. The Millers were told that the indoor air testing found nothing of concern. They stated the levels were all identical, just like everyone elses readings, coming back low, Miller said. Despite this, she says, her face broke out in a rash after she returned home in February 2023. She says her nose still burns when shes there for more than a few hours. Miller said she had heard that the equipment used to test homes wasnt adequate to find all the chemicals. She wants the EPA to redo the testing with more sensitive equipment, such as the clip-on badges they now use for outdoor air sampling. Those badges can detect butyl acrylate in air at levels as low as 9 parts per billion. The EPA has considered doing more indoor air testing, mostly to increase community confidence, the agency official said. But it concluded that it wouldnt be a good idea because testing would probably find chemicals from household sources rather than any lingering contamination from the derailment. The EPA says its extensive outdoor testing has confirmed that there are no ongoing exposure pathways for contaminants of concern in peoples homes, according to a statement from EPA Region 5 Administrator Deborah Shore. Miller doesnt believe it. Weve already been lied to so many times, she said. That episode really burned the trust bridge, said the University of Kentuckys Haynes. They came back like they were told they could, and that testing was done after the fact with poor equipment. In a written response to questions, CTEH said that no homeowners were notified about the changes in screening levels or the limitations of the handheld detectors and that no homes were subsequently retested as the instrumentation used for indoor air assessments achieved detection limits below the screening levels approved by incident command. The instrumentation used by CTEH was sufficiently sensitive to detect levels of butyl acrylate and vinyl chloride at levels that would pose adverse health effects, said Nony, the companys senior vice president. Broken trust David and Shanna Chick and their two grade-school-age kids live about a quarter of a mile from where the train wrecked and caught fire. David, 32, has lived in East Palestine his whole life. They had their home tested when Norfolk Southern and the EPA offered the screening on February 10, 2023. They were told that there was no problem, nothing was detected. CNN reviewed their air screening results. Shanna, 33, works from home. She says the smells and symptoms arent as bad as they were in the beginning, but they still come and go. Therere days when I go outside, and Im just walking to my garage, and I can just feel that Im having a hard time breathing, she said. She wants to believe the EPAs assurances that her family is out of harms way, she says, but her body is telling her something else. Theyre missing something, she said. David is the operations manager for CeramSource, a company that closed one of its East Palestine manufacturing plants Ceramfab in 2023, laying off about 30 workers. The derailment and subsequent burn of thousands of pounds of vinyl chloride happened almost directly behind the Ceramfab building. He said contractors hired by the railroad screened the building with one of the handheld devices, a photoionization detector or PID. They gave us the all-clear. They said OK, go back to work. Youre fine, he said. Air screening results reviewed by CNN show that Ceramfab was tested on February 11, 2023, and nothing was detected. Workers came back on a Monday, he said. By Wednesday, they were getting rashes and feeling breathless. One person had a nosebleed. When they tried to bring the workers back again the next week, it was the same thing all over again, he said. Eventually, Ceramfabs customers stopped placing orders for fear their products would be contaminated, and Edwin Wang, Davids boss, decided to shut the factory down. David has spent the past few months trying to get the factory packed up and closed. He says his eyes get irritated, his throat gets scratchy, and its harder to breathe after spending time in the building. The EPA is testing Ceramfab for vapor intrusion, or chemicals that might have migrated under the foundation of the building through contaminated soil. When he goes home, which is a bit farther from the site, David says, his symptoms ease. With a growing family, the Chicks had wanted to move to a bigger house for more space, but the derailment sped up the timeline. Members of his extended family, which goes back generations in East Palestine, are trying to get out. My grandma lives at the top of the hill. My brother lives here. My aunts and uncles all live here, he said. Were all from the area, and everybodys trying to get out. Looking for more help As time passes, answers will be harder and harder to get. Chemicals will break down in the environment or be metabolized by the body, leaving no immediate trace of where they were or what they did. I think, with all the uncertainties about whats gone on here, that people who want to leave should be given that option, and the federal government should pay for that, and the company should have to reimburse the government, said Stephen Lester, science director of the Center for Health, Environment & Justice, a nonprofit advocacy group started by victims of Love Canal, a neighborhood in New York where hundreds of people were harmed in the 1970s by the dumping of toxic chemicals. Lester points out that there is precedent for doing this, for example, with the first responders to the September 11 attacks, with families and soldiers who were stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and exposed to toxic solvents in drinking water, with Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange. All of these places have made a decision about the health problems these people have. And theyve decided that the science is incomplete, which it is, Lester said. Theres no way we can determine, with all the uncertainties and a lack of testing, whether the illnesses people are having in East Palestine were caused by that burn. Without enough evidence but with people sick, the government agreed to acknowledge that anyone who was in places like Love Canal and Camp Lejeune was probably exposed and that, if they had certain illnesses after, they should be compensated. They should get health care paid for by the government and be given the option to leave, Lester said. Lonnie Miller agrees. She and her husband, Dave, recently bought another home about a 20-minute drive away in Leetonia, Ohio, rather than return with their 21-year-old son to their home in East Palestine. Their East Palestine home has been on the market for more than 130 days. Theyve had only two showings, even though theyve lowered the price three times. Her family took the $1,000 inconvenience checks that Norfolk Southern paid to everyone who lived within a certain proximity of the derailment, she said, and accepted some reimbursement for their relocation expenses, but beyond that, she cant stomach the thought of taking the companys money. She refuses even to participate in the program the railroad created to compensate residents for lost value of their homes. They put us in this position, Miller said. And were supposed to go beg them for help? We shouldnt be put in that position. CNNs Jason Carroll and Sarah Boxer contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com When Raul Torrez, then a young prosecutor in a rural New Mexico, was preparing one of his first child abuse cases, he went to his father for advice. Torrez expected his dad, a career prosecutor, to offer some tips about preparing evidence or addressing the jury. Instead, Presiliano Torrez asked: Have you met this little boy? He really had me focus on thinking about the impact on this child, the younger Torrez said, recalling the case against the father of an infant suffering from shaken baby syndrome. The guidance changed the way Raul Torrez thought about his work as a prosecutor. His dad had made it clear that the work I was doing, especially in that space, was to try and give voice to people that didnt have the abilities to go and advocate for themselves, he said. Now, Torrez is applying that same focus as he takes on a powerful new opponent in court: Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Less than a year into his new role as New Mexicos attorney general, Torrez in December filed a lawsuit accusing Meta of creating a breeding ground for child predators and exposing young users to sexually explicit material. The complaint alleges that Meta employees have for years raised alarms that children may be at risk of sexual abuse on its platforms, but that the company has failed to adequately address the issue. (Meta has firmly pushed back on the claims and says it has more than 30 safety and well-being tools for teens and parents.) Meta, along with other major social media companies, faces growing scrutiny over the safety of young users on its platforms. Lawmakers, parents and online safety advocates have raised concerns about the impact of social media on teens mental health, body image and overall wellbeing. But of the several lawsuits filed against Meta over child safety in recent years, none have focused as pointedly as Torrezs case on alleged child sexual exploitation. Its a case that in some ways has been years in the making, based on Torrezs experience prosecuting child pornographers and sexual predators and learning about the tools they frequently use to carry out those crimes. Still, Torrez faces a tough road: Meta is among the richest companies in the world. And Big Tech in general has proven a formidable opponent thanks to unique legal protections for online platforms. But with proposed legislation to address social media and child safety stalled for years, some online safety advocates see the courts as their best hope to make progress. New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez speaks during a rally organized by Accountable Tech and Design It For Us to hold tech and social media companies accountable for protecting teens on January 31, 2024 in Washington, DC. - Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Accountable Tech As a prosecutor, and as a father, I am very concerned about the way in which our digital economy and social media platforms have been allowed to evolve in ways that are just so obviously dangerous to kids, Torrez told CNN in an interview last month in Washington, DC, on the eve of a Senate subcommittee hearing with Zuckerberg and other social media leaders about potential harms from their platforms to young users. Torrezs lawsuit seeks an order blocking Meta from engaging in unfair, unconscionable, or deceptive practices. A ruling against Meta could also be an indicator that other big tech firms could be successfully sued for similar issues and that there might be a workaround to the powerful law known as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields social media platforms from being held liable for content posted by their users. I do think theres precedent here for using the court for corporate accountability, said Frances Haugen, the former Facebook employee whose 2021 whistleblower disclosure helped bring public awareness to the risks to young people from social media. We didnt pass a law for tobacco. We didnt do it for opiates. In both of those cases, (progress) came through lawsuits. Meta declined to comment for this story. IN THE BUSINESS OF TRYING TO PROTECT Torrez was born and raised in Albuquerque and left to study government at Harvard. He later earned degrees at the London School of Economics and Stanford Law School. After Harvard, Torrez briefly worked for the tech startup GovWorks, which went bankrupt when the dot.com bubble burst in the early 2000s. He said his experience with Silicon Valleys culture then continues to influence his work, adding that the culture oftentimes lends itself to this cavalier attitude about overcoming the next technological challenge or attracting a new investor and moral and ethical and legal considerations are oftentimes not a priority. In 2009, Torrez took a White House fellowship in the Obama administration, where he advised the US deputy attorney general on issues such as reducing southwest border violence and cracking down on drug cartels. He went on to work as an assistant US attorney in his home state, where he prosecuted dozens of cases related to internet crimes against children and sexual abuse. In some cases, Torrez said he volunteered to take child abuse cases and to visit safe houses to conduct interviews with child victims. New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez pictured in Washington, DC, on January 30, 2024. Torrez is suing Meta for alleged child sexual exploitation. - Rebecca Wright/CNN If youre an adult or youre a business owner or youre somebody that has access to resources, you can go find a lawyer, Torrez said. If youre an abused child and your parents have harmed you or somebody that you count on has not protected you, you need somebody to step in. As district attorney for Bernalillo County, which includes Albuquerque, Torrez worked with a nonprofit called New Mexico Victims Rights Project to try to improve the experience for victims in the courtroom especially children and in some cases to allow victims to have their own representation in the courtroom. Its unusual for many attorneys to want to have a third-party attorney in the courtroom, said the groups executive director, Linda Atkinson. But with [Torrez], I dont see an ego like I have with other attorneys. Among the other actions Torrez has taken in his first year as the states top prosecutor is rebranding his office as the New Mexico Department of Justice, from the Attorney Generals Office. What were really trying to do is to signal that we are in the business of trying to protect, Torrez said. And that this is an institution that will be looking out to give voice and perspective to people and to stakeholders that oftentimes arent heard, either in government or in corporate boardrooms. TAKING ON META Although Meta is far from the only online platform used by criminals, Torrezs lawsuit against the social media giant was borne in part out of his experience prosecuting sex crimes against children. I had been aware for a number of years that we had both adult offenders and child victims who had been approached and contacted, through Metas platforms, Torrez said. But it wasnt until his team started investigating the company that he says he realized the scale of the alleged issue. By the companys own accounting, an estimated 100,000 children received sexual harassment on its platform each day in 2021, according to an internal Meta document cited in an unredacted version of the New Mexico complaint last month. (Meta said the unredacted complaint mischaracterizes our work using selective quotes and cherry-picked documents.) Investigators in Torrezs office created multiple fake Facebook and Instagram profiles posing as young teens, which the suit alleges were served sexually suggestive content and, in some cases, urged to send pornographic content of themselves. The New Mexico Attorney General's office alleges it found in an investigation of Facebook and Instagram accounts promoting sexualized images of minors. - CNN One of the fake accounts belonged to a fictional 13-year-old girl named Issa Bee. The account listed Bees birth year as 2002, which would make her 21 years old in the companys systems, to avoid having to create a childrens Facebook profile. But it posted about things like losing a baby tooth and the first day of 7th grade and mentioned her age as 13 in private messages, according to the complaint. The account received comments appearing to be from adult men telling Issa they love her and calling her beautiful, sexy, or gorgeous, as well as messages filled with pictures and videos of genitalia, the complaint states. Im looking for a sugar baby to spoil with $5000 for your weekly allowance via PayPal just text me (hi daddy) if youre interested, one man said on Facebook Messenger to the Issa Bee account, according to the complaint. Meta has pushed back on the claims in Torrezs lawsuit and cited its various existing efforts to protect young users. We use sophisticated technology, hire child safety experts, report content to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and share information and tools with other companies and law enforcement, including state attorneys general, to help root out predators, Meta spokesperson Nkechi Nneji said in a statement in December. The company said in a December blog post that it had launched technology to proactively detect and disable accounts displaying suspicious behaviors and that it formed a Child Safety Task Force. Meta also says it has removed hundreds of thousands of accounts, groups and devices for violating its child safety policies. Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg stands and apologizes to families harmed by social media during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 31, 2024. - Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters In January after Torrezs lawsuit was filed and ahead of the Senate committee hearing on online youth safety Meta rolled out additional youth safety features, including updating teens default privacy settings to restrict anyone they dont follow from messaging them, including other teens. The move comes after Meta in 2021 restricted adults over the age of 19 from messaging teens who dont follow them. Ann Olivarius, senior partner at the law firm McAlister Olivarius who has worked on cases related to sexual abuse and exploitation, said similar cases against other internet firms have not been successful because of the power of Section 230 protections. But she said that if New Mexico can prove their case, it means that maybe section 230 will be amended, and at least there will be carve outs, therell be exceptions, for porn, for trafficking, for rape, for child abuse, for gender violence. A CANCEROUS EFFECT ON VICTIMS New Mexicos suit against Meta came two months after a group of 33 state attorneys general filed a separate complaint against Meta, alleging that the companys platforms have harmed minors and contributed to a mental health crisis in the United States. Meta said in response to the multi-suit complaint that it is committed to providing teens with safe, positive experiences online. Torrez opted not to join that case but rather pursued a separate action because he says he felt the alleged child sexual exploitation risks were misunderstood and deserved individual attention. Because of my experience and the capabilities of my office, we were uniquely positioned to put together an undercover operation and really pull the curtain back on the scale of the harm, he said. Torrez said he sees his effort to fight alleged child abuses on Metas platforms as part of a larger effort to make New Mexico safer. The state frequently ranks low on measures of youth well-being: its among the US states with the highest child poverty rates, per the Census Bureau. High school graduation rates in New Mexico are also among the lowest in the country, according to US News and World Report. If we dont highlight and find ways to prevent this type of harm, it has a cancerous effect, Torrez said. Almost all of the hands-on abusers that I encountered in my time as a prosecutor were themselves abused. He added: We have to break that cycle, both by holding individual offenders accountable, but by also holding corporate leaders accountable if they allow that kind of behavior to manifest itself in any community. Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the timing of Metas restrictions on teen messaging. Adults were restricted from messaging teens who dont follow them starting in 2021. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Voting stickers in 2022. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Taxes. Vaccinations. Chickens. Republican party leaders in Catoosa county, in the north-west corner of Georgia, ran prospective GOP candidates through a battery of ideological questions, permitting some to run in the party primary while denying others. Local political purity tests have been discussed by both Republican and Democratic party officials for years, but this is the first time a countys political body has actually attempted the feat. Related: Fani Willis and Judge Scott McAfee draw challengers in Fulton county primary Perhaps thats because of the punishing backlash now facing the six executive committee members of the Catoosa county Republican party after a lawsuit from disqualified candidates: fines of $1,000 an hour, times four for the number of Republican candidates the countys GOP body refused to put on the ballot, times six for each of the executive committee members. Thats $24,000 an hour for the whole group until they comply with a judges order to put the candidates on the ballot. The criteria theyre using is how we vote in the commission meetings, said Vanita Hullander, a Catoosa county commissioner initially barred by the countys GOP leaders from running for re-election as a Republican in the 14 May primary. Theyre very manipulative, and theyve been trying to take control of the commission for a long time. Hullander is a lifelong conservative Republican, she said. But after the county partys executive committee questioned her about votes on local tax increases, vaccination requirements and a contentious local ordinance governing where and how residents may keep chickens on their property, it declared it would not allow her on the Republican ballot line. The group also barred three others. Others, like Jimmy Gray, a candidate for commissioner, were not barred. Notably, Grays stepmother, Regina Gray, is chairwoman of the Graysville precinct of the countys party. The disqualifications would have left only one person running for the chairpersons seat: Nick Ware, a perennial candidate with hard libertarian views. This is my opinion: a number of people on the committee theyre really libertarians, said Chuck Harris, a Catoosa county commissioner who is not up for re-election this cycle. He first learned of the leanings of the countys Republican chair, Joanna Hildreth, when Hildreth was working with a candidate who needed signatures to make a libertarian run against Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. He said Hildreth asked the candidate, whom Harris didnt name, to bad-mouth him to voters as she gathered those signatures. This was a month after I signed a loyalty oath in front of Hildreth for the party, he said. Theyll be coming for me next. The prospect of barring candidates for insufficient political fidelity has been raised by both parties at one point or another in Georgia and elsewhere. For example, North Carolinas Democratic party is contending today with the state representative Tricia Cotham, who ran in an open Charlotte-area seat as a Democrat and then immediately switched parties to give Republicans a veto-proof supermajority. But a county-level process runs a risk of ideological capture by political extremists who do not reflect the politics of most voters. GOP county committee seats in Georgia are won in caucuses typically attended by no more than a few hundred voters in any given county every election cycle. (The Catoosa county Republican party happens to be holding its next county convention on 23 March.) Executive committee seats are then won by a vote of committee members. Republicans have about a five-to-one electoral advantage in Catoosa county. About 32,000 voters cast ballots in the county in 2020. Hildreth, the countys Republican chair, is also secretary of the Georgia Republican Assembly (GRA), a political action committee dominated by libertarians who have regularly been shut out of GOP party governance positions. The GRAs chair is Alex Johnson, who has lost multiple races for Georgia GOP leadership positions. Johnson previously proposed a state party rule allowing party delegates to block candidates for statewide office on the basis of their fidelity to Republican values. Johnsons law partner, Catherine Bernard, is also Georgias national director for the National Federation of Republican Assemblies. The two of them are representing Catoosa county Republican party executive committee members in their defense against the lawsuit from the disqualified candidates. Bernard did not return a call seeking comment. Hildreth asked for questions to be submitted by email, but has not yet replied. In court Thursday, Hildreth was asked whether she would allow the candidates to be qualified to run for office, as ordered by the court. She said she would not and would instead appeal. Later that day the four candidates denied by the executive committee went to the party headquarters in the company of two Catoosa county sheriffs deputies to sign qualification papers. Party members refused them entry. The Catoosa county Republican party committee released a statement late on Friday. Draining the Swamp starts locally, the statement reads, in part. The Catoosa County Republican Party is fully run by Republican volunteers elected in a process open to Catoosa County voters. These grassroots citizens meet candidates, observe voting records, and work to ensure Republicans are elected to office. Catoosa County GOP is committed to ensuring that Catoosa County Republican candidates reflect the values of Catoosa County Republican voters. The order from the superior court judge Don Thompson of the Lookout Mountain judicial circuit noted that state law does not allow subjective criteria to be used to bar a candidate from a partys ballot line. In court, Thompson said he had chosen not to jail the executive board members because he believed they had been led astray by bad advice, and suggested that they retain new counsel. The clock on the fines started ticking at about 3.15pm on Thursday, and ended at noon Friday, after a judge ordered the countys elections office to certify their qualification on the ballot directly. Collectively, the committee members have amassed fines just under $500,000. The rest of the state should be scared and nervous if a small, self-appointed group of people gets to decide who to vote for on a party-type election, Harris said. The primary is really the election, because if you dont have a strong Democrat or independent challenger, you basically win your election at the primary. A dentist working in San Diego was killed Feb. 29 after a former patient unloaded at least 23 rounds into his office before fleeing in a white U-Haul pickup truck, prosecutors say. Benjamin Harouni, 28, died after being shot multiple times that afternoon, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office said in a news release. Benjamin Harouni The loss is something I cannot explain, Harouni's mother, Hilda, told the San Diego Union-Tribune. And it really feels like there is a hole in my heart. Theres nothing I can do about it. Two other people in the dental office were also shot and taken to a hospital in serious but stable condition, the El Cajon police said in a post on X. The El Cajon Police Department mourns with the family and friends of the deceased victim and extends heartfelt condolences to those injured in yesterday's senseless and evil act of violence," the department added. Benjamin Harouni (left) and his brother Jake Harouni (right) The San Diego County DA's Office charged Mohammed Abdulkareem, 29, with murder and attempted murder charges in connection to the dental office shooting. Today is the first step in seeking justice for the victims, their families, friends, and community in this tragic case, DA Summer Stephan said in the release. We grieve the loss of Dr. Benjamin Harouni along with his family. I am grateful for the thorough and professional work by El Cajon Police Chief Mike Moulton and his team that led to a swift arrest, and to our own DA team of experienced prosecutors and investigators who are working every angle of this case. A GoFundMe was started by Harouni's brother, Jake, to raise $100,000 for the "Hearts Over Hate" charity which supports families affected by violent crimes, according to the fundraiser page. So far, over $56,000 has been donated. Alleged gunman identified as a disgruntled former dental patient Prosecutors said Abdulkareem "burst into the dental office and immediately opened fire with a semiautomatic handgun," according to the DA office's release. The El Cajon resident fired at least 23 rounds for about a minute, prosecutors said. The DA's office identified Abdulkareem as a former patient of the dental office. He was "well-known" at the office after repeatedly showing up over the last six months to complain about his dental work, according to prosecutors. Authorities caught Abdulkareem in the Balboa Park area on the same day of the shooting near the U-Haul truck he fleed the scene in, the DA's office said. "Detectives used the license plate information to determine that Abdulkareem had previously rented the vehicle in San Diego," the El Cajon police said in its X post. "Having that information so quickly, allowed for the photo of the truck and license plate information to be sent out to the public." SUSPECT ARRESTED FOR DEADLY SHOOTING: On February 29, 2024, at approximately 4:14 PM, the El Cajon Police Department received reports of gunshots inside of a dental office located at 480 N. Magnolia Ave, in the city of El Cajon. The first officers were on scene at approximately pic.twitter.com/knbz6oYOr8 El Cajon Police (@elcajonpolice) March 1, 2024 Police found a loaded semiautomatic handgun, ammunition and multiple handgun magazines in Abdulkareem's possession, according to the release. Abdulkareem legally purchased the handgun and received it Feb. 24, the DA's office said. Abdulkareem pleaded not guilty in court this week and is currently being held in the San Diego County Central Jail without bond, according to the DA's Office. Anti-Defamation League offers sympathies to shooting victims' families Upon learning about Harouni's murder, the Anti-Defamation League shared a statement March 1 in support of the Jewish community and all the shooting victims' families. "ADL is aware of the tragic murder of a member of the Jewish community in El Cajon and feel the deepest sympathy for his family and the families of the other victims who were shot," ADL San Diego Regional Director Fabienne Perlov said in a post on X. Perlov noted how there is no indication that Harouni's murder was motivated by antisemitism. "ADL's Center of Extremism has also not identified any extremist or hate-related motivation behind the shootings at this point," Perlov said in the social post. "We will update the community as we learn more." A statement from ADL San Diego Regional Director @FPerlov on the tragic murder of a member of the Jewish Community in El Cajon. Read more here: https://t.co/hkwpiukZO1 pic.twitter.com/ySHol6nRmn ADL California (@ADLCalifornia) March 1, 2024 In a subsequent X post, El Cajon police reiterated that there is "no indication the attack was racially or politically motivated." "The shooting at the dentists office yesterday is heartbreaking and traumatic for the families involved as well as our community at large. We understand there are concerns about the suspects motive," police said, noting the case was still in the early stages of investigation. The shooting at the dentists office yesterday is heartbreaking and traumatic for the families involved as well as our community at large. We understand there are concerns about the suspects motive. While we are still in the early stages of the investigation, we want to make it https://t.co/eZAftXvptG El Cajon Police (@elcajonpolice) March 1, 2024 Jonathan Limehouse covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at JLimehouse@gannett.com This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: San Diego dentist, Dr. Benjamin Harouni, killed in drive-by shooting Reggie Thomas during a Pelotonia event. It takes more than lumber, nails and paint to make a house a home. Community is what makes us feel at home neighbors who become friends over the back fence and look out for each other. My friend Reggie Thomas is one of those community builders. He has been doing that for decades as a kind and humble human, an active volunteer, and as a banker who literally helps build communities. He did all that in central Ohio with Huntington National Bank, where he worked for nearly 30 years, leaving there in 2022 as vice president for corporate community development relationships to join First Commonwealth Bank as a vice president in Columbus. And now this man who has helped so many others is finding strength in community as he battles a health crisis. Reggie and I grew up as neighbors in our hometown of Orrville, a small city of about 8,500 residents clustered around the Smuckers headquarters 25 miles southwest of Akron. Alan Miller He was in my younger sisters class, the Orrville High School Class of 1983, and he married the sister of one of my good friends from high school. We all went off to college and started families, and I hadnt seen him for many years until we ran into each other in Downtown Columbus during a Pelotonia event a few years ago. Reggie battled prostate cancer in recent years. At 59, he is now a survivor who has been riding to raise money to support cancer-fighting research. He also served on The Dispatch Reader Advisory Board a few years ago, when we had the opportunity to catch up on the latest about his four children and my three daughters. Reggie sent me a note recently under the heading of health update, and a mention that I wouldnt see him on a bicycle again after his 11 years of riding and fundraising for Pelotonia. I couldnt have imagined the news I was about to receive. My heart sank as I read about the injury he sustained near the end of his Pelotonia ride in 2019. Someone riding ahead of him stopped abruptly, and Reggie crashed, scraping and cutting his right leg. Infection took hold and sent him spiraling into one major medical issue after another during the past few years. His friend David Demers described Reggies situation this way when he created a GoFundMe page to help Reggie and his family with the mounting health-care bills and rehabilitation: In early October 2023, Reggie's health condition deteriorated, Demers wrote. He was hospitalized at Mt. Carmel East and diagnosed with sepsis. He spent six long weeks in ICU, resulting in the amputation of his right leg above the knee and three other major surgeries. After more complications and a return to the hospital, he is now back in a rehabilitation center in Gahanna, where I visited him last weekend. He was weak but upbeat. The IVs filled with antibiotics are gone, and hes hoping to begin physical rehabilitation soon so that he can regain his strength enough to go home and his most immediate goal of attending his daughters wedding in Florida this year. He is now on long-term disability and has a long road to recovery. As Demers wrote, it could be months before Reggie can return to his home, and even longer before he can work again. Reggie is a proud man who would not ask for help, Demers wrote. So, this is why I am asking his friends, family, colleagues, and community to assist Reggie with his mounting medical bills and daily living expenses. Now Im asking, too. The man who helped build communities throughout his life and in his work could use some love from his community right now. To contribute to the GoFundMe account for Reggie Thomas, go to https://gofund.me/de9c078a Alan D. Miller is a former Dispatch editor who teaches journalism at Denison University and writes about old house repair and historic preservation based on personal experiences and questions from readers. youroldhouse1@gmail.com @youroldhouse This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 59-year-old finds strength in community as he travels road to recovery Authorities have charged a trio of prison escapees for the murders of a beloved U.S. couple presumed dead after their yacht was allegedly hijacked in the Caribbean. On Thursday, suspects Ron Mitchell, 30, Trevon Robertson, 19, and Abita Stanislaus, 25, were also charged with robbery, escaping lawful custody, housebreaking, and kidnapping in connection with the deaths of retired American couple Ralph Hendry, 66, and Kathleen Brandel, 71, in late February, according to the Royal Grenada Police Force. Additionally, Stanislaus was charged with rape. It's unclear if the men entered pleas to the charges. Mitchell, Robertson, and Stanislaus allegedly broke out of a holding cell at the South St. George Police Station on Feb. 18, said authorities. From there, they allegedly hijacked Hendry and Brandel's yacht, Simplicity, while it was docked in St. George, Grenada - a popular tourist destination. Police said a resident later found the abandoned watercraft off the coast of St. Vincent in the Caribbean and alerted authorities. Evidence of violence was allegedly discovered aboard the vessel, leading investigators to believe the couple was killed, however, their bodies have not yet been found. Hendry and Brandel, of Virginia, were "veteran cruisers and long-time members of the Salty Dawg Sailing Association." "Warm hearted and capable, they both contributed to building the SDSA and Kathy sat on the association's board for two years," the association wrote, announcing the deaths of the pair. "Kathy and Ralph had sailed Simplicity in the 2023 Caribbean Rally from Hampton, VA to Antigua and were spending the winter cruising the Eastern Caribbean," when they were allegedly killed, according to the SDSA. "This heartbreaking tragedy has left not only the sailing community, but also their families, shattered," a GoFundMe campaign organized to help the couple's sons retrieve the vessel and cover funeral costs, read. "Kathy, who had recently become a first-time grandmother, found immense joy in the presence of her grandson-joy that has now been abruptly taken away. As their families navigate the overwhelming grief and attempt to make sense of this unthinkable loss, we extend our collective support and sympathy." Express your opinion! Fill out this form to submit a Letter to the Editor. Submit The United Nations human rights chief, Volter Turk, said on Friday that Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories have expanded by a record number. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights noted that the development risks eliminating any practical possibility of a Palestinian state. He argued that the growth of the Israeli settlements amounted to the transfer by Israel of its own population. He also reiterated that the actions constituted a war crime. Israeli Settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territory Last month, the administration of United States President Joe Biden said that the Israeli settlements were "inconsistent" with international law. This was after Jerusalem announced new housing plans in the occupied West Bank. In a statement accompanying the report, Turk said that settler violence and settlement-related violations have reached shocking new levels. The report on the matter will be presented to the Human Rights Council in Geneva in late March. On the other hand, Israel's diplomatic mission in Geneva said that the new report should have also included the deaths of 36 Israelis that occurred in 2023. It said in a statement that human rights are universal but claimed that the office of the high commissioner ignored Israeli victims of Palestinian terrorism again and again, according to Reuters. The 16-page report, which was based on the UN's own monitoring as well as several other sources, documented 24,300 new Israeli housing units that were built in the occupied West Bank. These were constructed during a one-year period through to end-October 2023. It noted that this was the highest expansion on record since monitoring started in 2017. It also noted that there had been a dramatic rise in the intensity, severity, and regularity of both Israeli settler and state violence against Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory. This is particularly true since the deadly Hamas militant attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Read Also: UN Expert Criticizes US Aid Policy for Gaza as 'Absurd' Amid Military Support for Israel Alleged Counter-Terrorism Operations After that assault, more than 400 Palestinians have lost their lives after being killed by Israeli security forces or by settlers. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war and claimed a biblical birthright to the land. The country's military added that it conducted counter-terrorism operations in the region and is targeting suspected militants. The UN report noted that the policies of the current Israeli government appeared to be aligned with the goals of the Israeli settler movement. This seeks to expand long-term control over the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, said the Office of the High Commissioner of United Nations Human Rights. Turk noted that the efforts also run in contrast to the views of a broad range of States laid out during hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) two weeks ago. His remarks were referring to the hearings that were examining the legal consequences of Israeli policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory. The situation comes after the Israeli government advanced plans to build 3,400 new homes in settlements in the occupied West Bank. Roughly 70% of the planned homes will be constructed in Maale Adumim, east of Jerusalem. The rest will be built in nearby Kedar and Efrat, south of Bethlehem, according to BBC. Related Article: 3 Escaped Prisoners Charged With Murder of U.S. Couple Presumed Dead Following Yacht Hijacking Exactly 10 days ago, Manipur was rocked by discontent from police forces after an additional superintendent of police was abducted The incident had prompted the administrations of various valley districts to requisition Central paramilitary forces and the Army to assist the police. (Representational Image/PTI) A serving Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) of Indian Army, who was allegedly abducted by the insurgents in violence-hit Manipur on Friday morning, has been rescued by the security forces in the evening. Naib Subedar Konsam Kheda Singh, the JCO of the Signal regiment, is a resident of Charangpat Mamang Leikai in Thoubal district of the North Eastern state. He was kidnapped from his residence, while on leave, in a vehicle by a group of armed rebels, at around 9 am. Kohima defence ministry spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Amit Shukla said that the Army columns launched a coordinated joint search operation with the security agencies to rescue the JCO. He added, The synergized efforts of the security forces resulted in the JCO being safely rescued at 6.30 pm. The JCO is currently at Waikhong Police Station (near Kakching) in Thoubal district. Manipur Police is investigating the incident. Exactly 10 days ago, Manipur was rocked by discontent from police forces after an additional superintendent of police was abducted and his house in Imphal by assailants identified as armed members of the Arambai Tenggol on February 27. An inspector was also abducted alongside him. Later, both the police officers were rescued, but they sustained injuries and were hospitalised. The incident had prompted the administrations of various valley districts to requisition Central paramilitary forces and the Army to assist the police. Hembram, a first-time MP, however, has ruled out joining any other party Kolkata: Ahead of the Lok Sabha Election, BJPs Jhargram Member of Parliament Kunar Hembram from the tribal community in Jangalmahal, quit party citing personal reasons. His exit, which came days after Ranaghat South BJP MLA Mukutmani Adhikari from the Matua community defecting to the Trinamul Congress, triggered speculation that BJP may not field him from Jhargram this time. Hembram, a first-time MP, however, has ruled out joining any other party. Interestingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited Siliguri on Saturday, is also expected to address a rally in Jhargram on March 11. Thackeray has been trying to corner BJP claiming that a competent leader like Gadkari was ignored in the partys first list of candidates Mumbai: Taking a dig at the BJP, Uddhav Thackeray on Friday offered a Lok Sabha seat to Nitin Gadkari. Thackeray has been trying to corner the BJP claiming that a competent leader like Gadkari was ignored in the partys first list of candidates, which finds names of corrupt people like Kripa Shankar Singh. However, Devendra Fadnavis rebuked Thackeray and said his party was a complete mess. Thackeray offering a seat to Gadkari is like a man on the street saying that I will be appointing the president of America, Fadnavis said. Addressing a public rally in Dharashiv district, Mr. Thackeray said that the BJP had not announced a ticket to Nitin Gadkari, but the first list contains the name of Kripa Shankar Singh, who had been accused of amassing assets disproportionate to his income. The corrupt persons name featured in the first list along with the Prime Minister. But the list does not contain the name of Nitin Gadkari, who had taken pains to nurture the BJP here.. Nitin Ji should quit the BJP and join the MVA and we will ensure your victory (in Lok Sabha), said the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief. I publicly say to Nitin Gadkari that he should resign (from the BJP) and will get you elected, Thackeray said. Rebutting Thackeray, Fadnavis, who is senior BJP leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, said, The party, which is in shambles, its chief is giving an offer to a national-level leader like Gadkari ji is similar to a small street leader offering someone to the post of US president. Indeed, Gadkari is our heavyweight leader, who contests from Nagpur in Maharashtra. Candidates from Maharashtra have not been announced because Maha Yutis seat sharing has not been finalised, the senior BJP leader said. Fadnavis also made it clear that Gadkari's name would be the first in the list of BJP candidates in Maharashtra, Hints separate statehood may become reality Kolkata: In a bid to win over the Gorkhas in West Bengal ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his third visit to the state in the last nine days, played the Gorkhaland card, hinting at finding what the hill community calls a permanent political solution for separate statehood. Citing the BJP's track record of peacefully solving vexed issues like the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and the abrogation of Article 370, Mr Modi asserted that the BJP has sympathy for the Gorkhas sentiments for separate statehood. He assured them of reaching close to a solution and fulfilling their dreams. The Prime Minister, who inaugurated multiple Central projects worth more than Rs 4,500 crores in the rail and road sectors at Kawakhali in Siliguri, north Bengal and held a roadshow on Saturday, later told a BJP rally, The party is determined to fulfil each and every dream and aspiration cordially and peacefully. Modi said: That is why Ram Mandir has been built in Ayodhya after such a long wait. Similarly, Article 370 has been removed from Jammu and Kashmir. There were many such issues that no one ever thought of solving. But Modi has solved them. In his Siliguri address, Mr Modi then indirectly referred to the Gorkhaland issue with an eye on the hill-based communitys votes in the region, including the Darjeeling seat, which has become a stronghold of the BJP since the last Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. Without naming Gorkhaland, Mr Modi said, The BJP has always been sympathetic towards the problems and challenges of our Gorkha brothers and sisters. The BJP has put forth tireless efforts to remove your worries. At present, we are close to the solution. The BJP will continue its efforts to fulfil your aspirations. During his brief speech, Mr Modi launched a blistering attack on the ruling Trinamul Congress for neglecting the vast region, like its INDIA bloc allies, the Left and Congress, which were in power in the state earlier. He also slammed the TMC for corruption in multiple Central government schemes meant for the state. Modi, while reiterating that the Lok Sabha election results will be the beginning of the end of the TMC rule in West Bengal, alleged, The TMC is corrupt and anti-poor. It is not allowing Ujwala gas connections to 14 lakh women here. It has done a scam in the distribution of rations. Its minister and leaders are lodged in jail. The TMC's tolabaj are always busy looting the poor at every step and the Central funds. To draw a comparison, he highlighted the development work done by the Central government recently. The Prime Minister pointed out, Farmers' development is also our priority. Two days ago, the BJP-led central government made a big decision for jute farmers. The support price for jute has been increased by Rs 285 per quintal. This will benefit lakhs of jute farmers in West Bengal and the Northeast." Former Calcutta high court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who recently joined the BJP, shared the dais with the Prime Minister. He was seeking blessings from Mr Modi by holding hands on his forehead. Taking a swipe at Mr Modi, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Susmita Dev called him a migratory bird and said, Since 2021, Mr Modi has been missing. He started visiting West Bengal suddenly and giving rhetorical speeches. He is a seasonal bird coming here to seek votes only. This was his Saturday picnic." The BJP is preparing to contest five out of six Mumbai seats in 2024 leaving the sixth seat to the Eknath Shinde led party Mumbai: While it is still unclear how many Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai will be contested by the BJP and its alliance partners, the party on Saturday launched six digital campaign chariots for all seats in the city. Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar flagged off six chariots, which will apprise the development works carried in the last ten years of Modi government. In 2019, the BJP and Shiv Sena contested three Lok Sabha seats each in Mumbai. The NCP also contested the Mumbai North East seat in alliance with the Congress. However, the BJP is preparing to contest five out of six Mumbai seats in 2024 leaving the sixth seat to the Eknath Shinde led party. Ajit Pawars NCP will not be offered any seat in the financial capital of the country. However, the Shiv Sena is not ready to give up any of the seats it contested in 2019 and the NCP also wants one seat in Mumbai. While the seat sharing negotiations in the alliance are hanging in balance, the BJP has gone ahead with its preparations for all six seats. Informing about the partys digital chariots, Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar said it is part of his partys outreach programmes for the Lok Sabha elections. He added that the BJP has already taken a lead on all fronts of the election campaign against its opposition parties. The BJP will continue to reach out to every section of the society. We have started building a connection with various sections of the society including the women self-help groups, the Anganwadi workers and the health workers from Mumbai. We have set up a competent Super Warrior system at every polling station. Every worker is working hard to ensure that Narendra Modi becomes the Prime Minister for the third term, Mr. Shelar said. An insider in Mahayuti (BJP-Eknath Shinde led Shiv Sena-Ajit Pawar led NCP) said that the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena have been staking claims of Mumbai South Mumbai, Mumbai North West and Mumbai South Central seats, while Ajit Pawar-led NCP has demanded Mumbai North East seat, which is currently represented by BJP MP Manoj Kotak. However, the BJP leadership communicated to their alliance partners to be reasonable while demanding the seats. The seat-sharing negotiation is still going on with the Shiv Sena and NCP. But we are expected to contest at least four to five seats in Mumbai, said a BJP leader. There has been no definite news about their fate since 4 March. The arrest took place without a warrant or explanation of the reasons. They are relatives of Pastor Y Khen Bdap, who was also sentenced in 2004 to four years for 'disturbing public order' for religious activities. The community had already been subjected to sectarian violence and persecution in the past. Hanoi (AsiaNews) - Vietnamese police have stopped and taken three members of an independent Protestant house church in the province of Dak Lak, in the Central Highlands, without providing information on their fate to their families and community. The arrests occurred in an area already the scene of sectarian tensions in the past and date back to March 4th but, to date, there is no official communication from the authorities as confirmed by a family member. Pastor Y Khen Bdap explained to Radio Free Asia (Rfa) that the detainees are members of his family: his younger brother Y Qui Bdap, his son Y Nam Bkrong and his nephew Y Kic Bkrong. All three people arrested belong to the Ede ethnic minority and permanently reside in the village of Ea Khit, in the municipality of Ea Bhok, in the district of Cu Kuin. For many years they have worked for Kuka Home Vietnam, an upholstered furniture manufacturing company in Dong Xoai city, Binh Phuoc province, and live in a rented apartment nearby near the factory. Police from Dak Lak and Binh Phuoc provinces visited their home on the evening of March 3 to check their documents and search the place. The following day, the officers went to their company while they were working and picked them up. The police "arrested and detained them - says the pastor - without any explanation or warrant". The Central Highlands Evangelical Church of Christ and the Independent Protestant Church are two religious groups in Dak Lak province that Hanoi has not recognized, making it difficult to carry out activities. Members are often subjected to harassment and arrest by communist authorities. Y Khen Bdap said that in recent days his family went to the People's Committee and the police headquarters in the municipality of Ea Bhok to ask for information on the fate of the detainees, without receiving answers. As of noon on March 8, the family had not received any official notification. We are anxious and worrying concludes the pastor. Rfa tried to contact managers and workers of Kuka Home, without receiving a response, and also the Cu Kuin district police and the Dak Lak provincial police to confirm the arrests, in vain. The Rev. Y Khen Bdap is convinced that the raid is linked to the religious practice professed by the family, because the three - like the rest of the family and other members of the community - often participate in annual events dedicated to human rights. These include the United Nations International Day for the Commemoration of Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, on 22 August, and Human Rights Day, on 10 December. His brother, Y Qui Bdap, also a preacher, met with US embassy officials in Hanoi in 2020 to report local authorities' repeated harassment of his independent house church. Pastor Y Khen Bdap, who was sentenced to four years in prison for disturbing public order for his religious activities in 2004, confirmed that authorities have frequently harassed him and other community leaders since its founding in 2017 Security officials have repeatedly summoned him and other leaders in the past to demand information about their religious activities and, ultimately, to prevent churchgoers from holding events to celebrate Christmas. by Shafique Khokhar From Lahore to Faisalabad to the Hindus in Sindh, many took to the streets to demand rights and freedom. In Lahore along the route kites with the names of the innocent victims of the conflict in the Strip. Shazia George, Awam director: increase allocations for education from 2% to 4% of GDP and create a favourable environment to cover gender disparities in education. Lahore (AsiaNews) - Chanting slogans and displaying signs calling for "protection of rights" and equal opportunities, in many cities of Pakistan women took to the streets yesterday 8 March, on the International Day dedicated to the pink universe, asking for greater protection from the government . Inspired by the slogan "Invest in women: accelerate progress" and the campaign motto "Inspire inclusion", the demonstrators wanted to affirm once again the importance of "diversity" and "assumption of responsibility" in all sectors of society. In Lahore the women started their demonstration from the Lahore Press Club, ending it near the Punjab Parliament. Participants sang songs of peace and recited poems to end discrimination and violence against women. The thousands of participants called for women's rights and paid tribute to the victims of the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, calling for an immediate end to the conflict. Along the way, organizers displayed white kites for each day of war, bearing the names of a boy or girl who lost their lives due to military escalation. In Faisalabad, human rights defenders organized an event at the Vision Hall to relaunch their commitment to promoting "inclusive societies". The protesters highlighted the difficulties of domestic workers, which can only be addressed with solutions, through greater powers and responsibilities for women, greater investments in their education, strengthening equality and participation in social life. Naveed Walter, president of Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP), recalled how domestic workers, especially women, are the easiest targets of physical, sexual, psychological and verbal abuse in the country. One situation of particular fragility and vulnerability is that of underage domestic workers, as emerged in one of the latest news events involving 14-year-old Rizwana, employed in the house of a civil judge in Islamabad, victim of domestic violence. The activist continued by recalling how a recent report by the International Labor Organization (ILO) shows that one in four families employs a child in domestic work, especially girls between 10 and 14 years old. Finally, he stated that collective efforts can change society and create a more inclusive world that leaves no one behind, including domestic workers, achieving the 17 sustainable development goals set out in the 2030 Agenda. When asked by AsiaNews, Shazia George, Awam director, underlined that 11.4 million girls, in the age group between 10 and 14, "have never attended school and the highest percentage is that of women". The activist also highlights the lack of school facilities, customary practices, underage marriages, sexual harassment and the inadequate number of schools for girls/women which end up increasing the dropout rate among girls. Hence the invitation to the government to increase allocations for education from 2% to 4% of GDP and to create a favorable environment to cover gender disparities in the field of education; in particular it is necessary to intervene on the practice of child marriage by setting the legal age of marriage at 18 for both sexes. The local context she states prevents women from participating in political life, as demonstrated by voter registration and female turnout in the 2024 general elections, which highlight the strong patriarchal influence. The increasing trend of forced and child marriages, the growing number of violence against women and honor-related crimes - he concludes - require concerted efforts by governmental and non-governmental actors to change the context. In the province of Sindh, the Hindu community also organized a demonstration urging the government to stop forced marriages and the conversion of members of minorities, in particular minor Hindu girls. Activist Chaman Lal said: We must all raise our voices together and speak in unison. We ask the Pakistani government to demonstrate its commitment to protecting citizens, especially the most vulnerable religious minorities, because the time for inaction is over and we need to take strong action against those responsible such as Mian Mithu and Pir Ayub jan Sarhandi, Muslim leaders who convert Hindu minor girls by force." The victim is the Chaldean Hanna Saka, who died while returning to Baghdad after the Swedish expulsion order. The fatal illness on board the plane, but problems had already emerged before boarding. For his brother, his condition worsened after the rejection of his asylum application. Iraqi Christians and migration, an ever-present issue. Baghdad (AsiaNews) - He had been waiting for seven years to have his asylum request accepted, in vain. The latest failure coincided with an expulsion and repatriation order and on the return flight to Baghdad, he dies. This is the story of the 84-year-old Chaldean Christian Hanna Saka, which ended tragically in recent days on a Turkish Airlines plane forced to make an emergency landing in Warsaw, Poland, due to the death of the exile. According to reports from Syriac Press, an information agency specializing in news on the Assyro-Chaldeans of Iraq, Israel, Lebanon and the Middle East, the managers of the immigration center in Stockholm rejected him with immediate deportation measures. Adil Saka, brother of the deceased, spoke of Hanna's condition worsening upon arrival at the airport, during the repatriation phase, which quickly worsened on board the plane. Despite the request for help and the urgent care provided by the flight attendants and medical staff present, the efforts were in vain and the man died. A doctor on board confirmed the death of Hanna Saka, advising the pilot to initiate procedures for an emergency landing in the Polish capital airport. Upon landing, the Warsaw police arrived quickly and questioned his brother Adil Saka, communicating the decision to perform an autopsy to determine the exact causes that led to his death. The Polish authorities then formalized Hanna's transfer to Iraq, through the Baghdad embassy in Poland. Hanna Saka was struggling with heart disease and health problems in his lower limbs. His mental and physical health further deteriorated due to the stress following the rejection of his asylum application and the subsequent deportation order issued by the Swedish Migration Service. Recently the Chaldean patriarch, card. Louis Raphael Sako returned to the topic of emigration, relaunching the danger of a progressive reduction of the Christian component in Iraq in the face of a massive exodus, to stem which the cardinal proposed a "crisis unit". "There is no strategy, security or economic stability", there is a lack of "sovereignty" and there is a "double" application of the concepts of democracy, freedom, constitution, law and citizenship by those who should be at the service of the nation and of its inhabitants. In this way, the institutions have been "weakened" and there has been a "decline" in morals and values, services, healthcare and education have worsened, as well as "widespread corruption" and "growing unemployment" combined with returning illiteracy. . In this context, the Christian component, already on the margins, has become even more fragile and has been the subject of kidnappings, killings that began in 2003 with the US invasion and culminated in the years of domination of the Islamic State (ISIS), with the great escape from Mosul and the Nineveh Plain. The emergency is confirmed by the numbers, as revealed by the patriarch himself: in the last 20 years over one million Christians (out of a total of less than 1.5 million) have fled. In the last few weeks alone, "over 100 families have left Qaraqosh and emigrated", joining "dozens of families from other cities" who have fled due to an uncertain future and months of unpaid wages. Personal Space Preferences by Country You Can Tell a Lot About a Person (or a Country) by How Much Space They Need From Strangers The Story It might have taken the COVID-19 pandemic to formalize the concept of "social distancing" in all our minds, but the truth is that we all have an ingrained sense of how close (or distant) we prefer people to stand or sit from us. To be sure, we have greater tolerance for family and friends entering our personal space, but when it comes to strangers, most of us have certain minimum space requirements we like to adhere to, and when these are violated on a packed subway car, for example, or in a concert venue we may get very uncomfortable. RELATED: The Countries That Love Sex Toys the Most Interestingly enough, the amount of space we like to keep for ourselves varies a great deal by country. A new survey conducted by Preply, a US-based online language learning platform with a footprint in over 30 countries across North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America, has shed light on just how dramatic these variations are, and enabled Preply to rank countries by how much personal space their citizens like to take. The Snapshot What stands out to you at a glance? The Preply researchers noticed some commonalities: citizens of warmer countries, for example, tended to be more comfortable with other people getting close than their cold-country counterparts, while both older people and female respondents prized more space. Both Americans and Germans (famously closed off people!) were more comfortable with closer distances than the Brits, who have a reputation for valuing privacy, but even the British were more tolerant of others in their space than the Canadians, who enjoy an international reputation of friendliness and openness. The Lesson Some of the findings definitely lend support to national stereotypes. The Greeks, for example, famous for big hugs and other effusive physical gestures, were among the most tolerant of smaller personal spaces, while the Japanese, in whose culture it is customary to bow upon meeting rather than shake hands, preferred greater space, but we should be wary of making overly broad generalizations, or of presuming that one preference is inherently better than another. Still, this study sheds some very interesting light on cultural preferences, and how easily and dramatically they can vary from one country to another. You Might Also Dig: The GTX was more than just a B-body with a luxurious interior. While the Satellite was also available with small-block V8 engines, the GTX was also about range-topping performance. It came standard with the 440-cubic-inch (7.2-liter) RB and could be upgraded with the 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) HEMI V8.But even though it had quite a few things to brag about, the GTX was a bit too expensive for most muscle car enthusiasts. Plymouth sold only 12,010 examples in 1967. Sales grew to 17,914 units the following year, but the GTX was still a slow seller compared to the then-new Road Runner . Essentially a stripped-down GTX, the significantly more affordable Mopar moved 44,303 cars.The gap grew even bigger in 1969. While Road Runner customers rushed into dealerships to order more than 80,000 examples, the GTX found only 14,902 homes. Sales then dropped to just 7,748 units in 1970 and to only 2,942 vehicles in 1971, the nameplate's final year on the market. All told, Plymouth sold only about 55,000 examples over five model years.But the fact that it wasn't popular back in the day is exactly what makes the GTX a rare and desirable classic today. The HEMI version is arguably the most sought-after, mainly because it's also the rarest. Plymouth reportedly sold 1,525 units from 1967 through 1970, a figure that also included 38 cars delivered to Canadian dealers.The 1967 HEMI is the most common, with 733 examples sold, while the 1970 and 1971 variants boast double-digit figures. Plymouth built 75 units in 1970 (five sold in Canada) and just 32 cars in 1971 (two shipped north of the border). But the HEMI isn't the only scarce variant of the GTX. The 440 Six-Barrel vehicles are also hard to find.Introduced for the 1970 model year, the beefed-up 440 V8 found its way in only 678 cars. The following year, it was specified in 135 orders, which results in a grand total of just 813 examples. The 1970 Sunfire Yellow hardtop you see here is one of them.Unearthed by the folks at "Mopars5150" after several years in storage, this GTX rocks a Six-Barrel four-speed combo, which makes it one of only 350 units produced with this drivetrain layout. And even though it's been sitting for a few years, the Mopar runs and drives as it should.As you might have already guessed, this isn't your regular barn find covered in dust and rust. Granted, this GTX isn't perfect, but it's been properly maintained over the years. And it's been in the same family for decades The GTX is a numbers-matching rig, which makes it that much more desirable, but it also hides a few unpleasant secrets. Although described as a survivor, the Plymouth has been repainted. And based on the fender tag, the Sunfire Yellow is not the original color. I spotted a "TX9" code in there, meaning this GTX was originally black.The side stripes also look rather tacky, while the mirrors, front grille assembly, and the taillight panel have been painted black. The inspection also reveals there's a considerable amount of Bondo in the rear fenders, meaning this Mopar was rear-ended at some point.But I think that's water under the bridge for our hosts, who have a massive experience doing metal work and restoring old Mopars. With a numbers-matching 440 Six-Barrel rated at 390 horsepower under the hood, this GTX is hard to ignore. And hopefully, they got it for the right price. Check it out in the video below. The other day, my neighbor visited and brought his daughter, too. She's in love with all things Hot Wheels, and I knew I'd make her day if I opened up a big case of them. She immediately picked a Honda Civic and a Fantasy Treasure Hunt and started playing with them. Porsche 935 Photo: Ministry of Diecast 1967 Porsche 911 R Photo: Ministry of Diecast Porsche 917 LH Photo: Ministry of Diecast Volkswagen Transporter T1 Pickup Photo: Ministry of Diecast My Premium collection is still in its infancy, as I've got less than 20 of them to show for. I'd think twice before giving one out for free, but then again, they're just toy cars. Recently, I've been giving the Premium Collector set a lot of thought. You get an entry-level diorama with each one and four castings at once.Until the end of last year, Mattel released 16 sets, adding up to 64 vehicles. Nissan and Ford have ruled the series so far, with Mercedes-Benz and Chevrolet coming up next. But I knew some changes were coming up for 2024, and here they are. This collection has only featured one Porsche thus far: the 917KH as part of the Iconic Racers set (alongside a Jaguar and a Mercedes-Benz).The Porsche 935 is the only Ryu Asada-designed casting here. It has been around since the 2021 Mainline Race Day series, debuting with an Urban Outlaw livery. The following two iterations used the same theme, but at least the last one was a ZAMAC model. That one will cost about $12, which shows it has yet to have that big an effect on collectors.I've seen the Toy Fair variation in Spectraflame Cyan on some platforms for as much as $1,000. But it all feels like Mattel hasn't given its best shot with this casting. The Best Buy Exclusive was the best-looking one, but everything has changed. The 935 has moved into the big leagues and is now a Premium model with all the added benefits.We've seen the Brumos Porsche livery before, on the 1986 959. It doesn't have white Real Riders Aero wheels on all four corners, and for once, I have mixed feelings about the mismatched rims. Moving to Premium will likely come with further iterations throughout the year, and I hope a Vaillant or a Jagermeister livery will be emerging soon.The newest addition to the Hot Wheels Porsche roster is the 1967 911 R. Dmitriy Shakhmatov collaborated with Ronald Wong on designing this casting, and it's a rather unexpected appearance. The yellow finish is always a superb choice for these cars, but I would have gone for a different set of wheels than the Larry Wood 5-Spoke Real Riders.Mattel kept it simple with the livery, adding two "67" decals and a pair of arrows running down the hood. While looking at this car, I'm listening to the Original Soundtrack from Need for Speed: Porsche . And that's how you get a solid craving to play a two-decade-old videogame.With the release of this casting, I expect the diecast manufacturer to come up with its modern successor, who bears the same name. It's good that Porsche's vast history allows for countless model and livery variations. And things are headed that way, as the community's demand for 1/64th-scale Porsche has increased.The 917 LH is one of the oldest castings in the new Premium Collector Set . That's a relatively strange thing to say, considering it debuted in the 2018 Legends of Speed series. I still have that Gulf First Edition model in my collection, but it's the only one I've ever found in the wild.Mattel developed four more variations of the 917 LH and a ZAMAC one before upgrading the casting to the Car Culture: Team Transport Premium series. Using the Gulf livery again did little good despite having RR 5-Spoke Modern wheels. We have a re-release of the iconic livery (the first one arrived in 2020).I would love to see them both side-by-side for an accurate comparison. For once, I'd like to see a design from another Porsche race car on this 917 LH. If it was possible for the Fast & Furious cars, it should also be achievable here.The Volkswagen Transporter T1 Pickup was the obvious choice for the Hauler position in the new Premium Collector Set. After all, they're all related. I'd take a licensed casting over an unlicensed one 99% of the time. So far, this series has featured ten different transporters, but only two were closer to real life: the Ford C-800 and the 1955 Mercedes-Benz "Blaues Wunder." I've just spotted the latter joining the Team Transport line-up, which was expected. The T1 Pickup feels tiny next to the C-800, but have you seen how small classic Porsches are?As you can see in the attached photos, the VW can carry the 911 R with ease. The moving trailer bed is a bonus and always lovely for added realism. As for the casting, Mark Jones designed it several years ago. The neat part about it is that it's a Premium-exclusive model. We've seen three iterations so far, all of which were part of the Car Culture: Team Transport line-up.The Porsche livery is easily the best yet, and the red paint job looks great in contrast with the black Real Riders 8-spoke wheels. And for some people, it may rival the '67 911 R for Best Casting in this German Racers Premium Collector set. It may take a while until it arrives in stores worldwide, but I've already seen one seller in Japan asking $43 for it. As always, I advise you to be patient and careful before buying a product that is this new. Hyundai figured out what it had to do to finally bring the 2024 Sonata Hybrid on US soil. We can gladly report that it's happening. Even though you still can't configure one using the brand's website, some units are arriving at select dealers. Here's what you need to know. Keeping your eyes wide open when visiting a dealership can pay off. For example, a person who occasionally posts on Reddit looked around the parking lot while checking out the available inventory at their local dealer and discovered the reworked Sonata in hybrid form.The sedan was supposed to emerge in the first quarter of 2024, which only means Hyundai is respecting the timetable it announced. Even though it feels like it's been a long time since the cool version of the Sonata debuted, it's worth noting that the good-looking sedan was introduced in 2023, and US pricing was announced in early December So, prospective buyers really didn't have to wait very long. The complaints that appeared on some online platforms didn't hold weight.According to the Monroney Label stuck on the rear left-side window of this particular 2024 Sonata Hybrid SEL found in the Golden State, the MSRP is $30,800. A few extras, freight, and handling take the pre-tax price to $32,505. Yes, it still includes a full tank of gas. Once again, that's exactly what Hyundai promised. There are no nasty surprises here.However, the most impressive thing about this pricing policy is that the 2023 Sonata Hybrid SEL has an MSRP of $31,800. That's $1,000 more than the updated car's cost! But there's a reason for that price drop. While the infotainment screen size increased from 10.25 to 12.3 inches, the Bose audio system and the panoramic roof are gone. Buyers will have some thinking to do and some choices to make.The better-equipped 2024 Sonata Limited will have an MSRP of almost $36,000 sans freight. However, the SEL version comes with a great warranty and many cool additions and is only $3,300 more expensive than the non-hybrid equivalent.For example, it includes Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, 17-inch wheels, LED lighting, heated side mirrors, heated and power front seats, and some handy driver-assistance systems that should enable this car to become an ideal daily driver.According to the EPA rating, the combined fuel economy is 47 mpg (5 l/100 km). Americans living in any state other than California might seriously consider this sedan instead of an all-electric Model 3 that can be charged at home.Finally, the new Sonata Hybrid has a gas-powered 2.0-liter four-pot powerplant mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. Remember that we're talking about a mid-cycle refresh here and not a completely new model. Hyundai just wants to impress everyone. Let's hope that dealers won't attempt to overcharge prospective clients through unnecessary add-ons. Rough Country has introduced a front leveling kit for the all-new Tacoma, with said kit comprising two steel upper strut spacers, studs, and nuts. Produced in Tennessee, the 1.5-inch leveling kit isn't compatible with the Trailhunter and TRD Pro. 4WD Photo: Rough Country Priced at $99.95 with free shipping, the kit was designed for trucks equipped with four-wheel drive. As a brief refresher,-equipped models feature an electronically controlled two-speed transfer case. The Limited is full-time 4WD, while the Limited i-FORCE MAX flaunts a center locking differential.In addition to getting rid of the nose-down look from the factory, the leveling kit allows Tacoma owners to run slightly larger tires. It goes without saying that installation of larger tires also requires a speedometer recalibration. That's not all, though...Regardless of make and model, your truck needs to be realigned after installing a leveling kit. A headlight adjustment wouldn't hurt either. Rough Country also recommends to check and retighten the wheels at 50 miles (80 kilometers), then again at 500 miles (800 kilometers) for extra peace of mind.The Dyersburg-based company estimates installation time to be two to four hours. Required tools include a strut compressor and a cutting wheel or a grinder to trim the factory strut studs down to where the threads begin, meaning that the less mechanically inclined should leave this to someone with more experience in the auto service industry.Pictured in Supersonic Red, which is a $425 option as per Toyota 's online configurator, the SR5 in the video below further sweetens the deal with gloss-black wheels from Rough Country. The model is dubbed 84 Series. For the 2024 Toyota Tacoma, the 84s range between 17 by 8.5 inches and 18 by 8.5 inches. The mud-terrain rubber comes from Rough Country as well. At the moment of reporting, the largest one available measures 35" by 12.5" R22.Only a handful of midsizers come with 35s from the factory, beginning with the uber-expensive Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison and technically similar GMC Canyon AT4X AEV. Both feature Goodyear Wrangler Territory mud-terrain tires. Over at Jeep, the Gladiator Sport, Movaje, and Rubicon can be upgraded to 35s with the AEV Upcountry upfit. In this case, we're dealing with BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2s.New for 2024 in the United States, the Ford Ranger Raptor is advertised with 17-inch wheels (regular or beadlock capable) mounted with 33-inch tires. In this part of the world, the Ranger Raptor uses the BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A K03. The US model also happens to be punchier than its European and Australian equivalents, with Ford quoting 405 horsepower as opposed to 392 and 288 ponies.As far as maximum output is concerned, the Ranger Raptor outshines the internal combustion-engined competition. Looking at the bigger picture, you don't need more than 405 horsepower and 430 pound-feet (583 Nm) to have fun off the beaten path. The Tacoma i-FORCE MAX may have "only" 326 horsepower, but the transmission-mounted electric motor boosts peak torque to 465 pound-feet (630 Nm) at merely 1,700 revolutions per minute. Mercedes was in pole position to build the car. Photo: Emre Husmen via Behance The Apple Car was Steve Jobs' dream. Photo: Concept Creator via YouTube Apple wasn't interested in Tesla but wanted its technology. Photo: tedoradze.giorgi via Instagram Apple wanted to buy McLaren. Photo: tedoradze.giorgi via Instagram The failed project cost $10 billion. Photo: Vanarama Apple has never publicly discussed the Apple Car project. The work on the vehicle started in 2014, with the company initially planning to develop a truly revolutionary self-driving car with Level 5 autonomous capabilities.Apple didn't want to build "just another" self-driving vehicle. It wanted the Apple Car to be a turning point for the automotive industry despite the company having zero expertise in this sector. The Apple Car was supposed to launch without a steering wheel and pedals. It was based on the concept of a living room on wheels, and Apple would have allowed humans to take control using a gaming controller or an iPhone.These ideas sound incredible, even 10 years after Apple started the project. All these targets proved too ambitious, even for a company the size of Apple, and it's hard to believe the industry would be at a point to make them happen in the next decade.While the Apple Car will soon become history, and people will no longer talk about Apple's failed project, there are tidbits the world shouldn't forget. Today, I'll highlight five of the most important.Apple's desire to build a car started exactly how it was supposed to start. Apple is a technology company, so it has zero resources and know-how in the automotive space.The first idea was to team up with a carmaker. People familiar with the project have dropped various hints throughout the years, so we already know that Apple has discussed Apple Car manufacturing with several carmakers, including Hyundai, Renault, and BMW Mercedes was the closest to building the Apple Car, though. Apple and the German carmaker reached an advanced negotiation stage, but the talks abruptly ended when Mercedes asked for something in return. The German carmaker agreed to build the Apple Car but wanted access to Apple's self-driving technology.The partnership would have allowed Mercedes to launch a self-driving car with capabilities similar to the Apple Car. The iPhone maker didn't agree with the request, as it wanted Mercedes to be a simple contract manufacturer for its vehicle. The talks ended, so Project Titan remained without a manufacturer.The project started in 2014, but Apple thought of an Apple Car much earlier. Apple founder Steve Jobs was the first to propose a vehicle, imagining that his company needed an iconic model with a legacy like the Volkswagen Beetle Jobs' ambitious strategy didn't come to fruition because of Apple's commitment to making the iPhone a hit.The smartphone was in its early days, so Apple decided to use the available resources, including money and talent, to improve the iPhone.We've known for a while that Elon Musk proposed Apple to take over Tesla , but depending on who you ask, it looks like Tim Cook didn't even want to accept the meeting.However, while Apple wasn't interested in taking over Tesla, the Cupertino-based tech giant wanted some of its technology and suppliers.It is believed that Apple contacted Tesla to discuss various supply deals, including for batteries, but the talks failed to come to a conclusion.In its struggle to find someone to build the Apple Car, Apple eventually turned to plan B. The company's leadership team went shopping, and McLaren was the company they wanted to turn into an Apple asset.Jony Ive, Apple's former chief designer, even wanted to move to London, set up a new office, and work with McLaren's engineers to build an Apple Car.Like everything else in this project, the plan failed, so Apple never bought McLaren. It also explored other deals to take over carmakers, but when its strategy failed, Apple decided to embark on the ambitious adventure of building a car without help from a traditional carmaker.Apple spent approximately $1 billion per year on new technology, Apple Car reboots, scaled-down strategies, and talent to bring Project Titan to mass production.Overall, the technology giant spent $10 billion on the failed attempt to build an Apple Car, and while it all looks like wasted money, the company will probably turn its automotive patents and technology into a money-making machine.Part of the technology will be used on other projects, including AI, with Apple to focus on software and services instead of building a car from scratch. CarPlay and Apple Maps will receive more love in the long term, as they are the only way the company can expand in the automotive space. You can't see me right now, but I'm laughing quite hysterically. Why? Well, I've run across what could be the cheapest "luxury yacht" in the world, and guess who is responsible for it? None other than good old China! Photo: Foshan Kindle Technology Co. Photo: Foshan Kindle Technology Co. Photo: Foshan Kindle Technology Co. Folks, I love myself a solid chuckle, and what initially started out as a search for the cheapest boats that China can spit out, I ran across Kinocean's wonderous 13-foot (4 m) aluminum jet boat. Oh, and I have to mention that the words "for drifting" come up on the manufacturer's Alibaba page. It's time to see what the heck we're being sold for $3,500 (3,200 at current exchange rates).That's right, $3,500 is all this puppy is going for if you buy at least two units at a time. Of course, there are bound to be all sorts of shipping and import costs , but this is about as cheap as we can get for something like this, to say the least.Now, the minds and hands behind this floating wonder are the folks over at Kinocean, but this is nothing but a brand from none other than Foshan Kindle, a team I've been covering extensively recently, mainly because they have a knack for crafting another outdoor tool I love, campers and travel trailers.Overall, we're buying a 13-foot machine rafted out of nothing other than aluminum that's been welded into place for great "resale benefits." this seems to be the sales pitch the manufacturer relies on; this boat is bound to maintain "85% of its value over time."While I couldn't care less about reselling this thing, I do care about what that $3,500 will bring me, and by the looks of reviews from American buyers, we're actually in for a treat. Heck, take the video Foshan uses to entice future owners; this is what got me cracking up. But it's also where things get a little fishy.If you've seen the video below, you noticed one of Foshan's aluminum boats ripping it up through those whitewater rapids. The catch here is that while Foshan uses this video to advertise their aluminum vessel's abilities to stand up to some of nature's power, it's actually a scene achieved by Timothy O'Sullivan back in 2022 when he descended Nevis Bluff Rapids in a jet-boat. If we compare what the video shows and what we see on the boat , it's clearly not the same thing. But this is China we're talking about, and this sort of plagiarism happens every day; let's not lose sight of what is really important here: the hunk of aluminum.According to the manufacturer's website, this is said to be a "Luxury Yacht," but I cover those daily, and this couldn't be any further from the truth. Beyond that, it can accommodate up to five people, and with an outboard motor, it's bound to be one sketchy ride. Foshan even recommends motors with power of up to 310 hp to be used on one of these. My captaining experience tells me that strapping a 310 hp motor to this thing is bound to be wild and sure to require some solid experience to handle safely.Speaking of handling, the underside is a V-hull with a V box, but again, it's all very basic. There don't seem to be any strakes on this thing, which worries me a bit. Just the edges of shaped and bent aluminum to keep this puppy steady. Hopefully, the keel will bring some stability.As for the interior and cockpit, I mentioned that there's a room for up to five guests, two in the front and three in the back, and if you plan on bringing along a cooler and some sandwiches too, storage bays at the rear and front of the ship are in place. At least, the images seem to show us this If you happen to be in the front row of this rather wild ride, you'll be able to store some goodies in any of the bays integrated into the dashboard, hold onto an aluminum oh-$#!^ bar, or marvel at those sketchy welds holding up that aluminum guardrail if your unit even comes with one.All this brings me to the biggest problem I have with buying stuff from manufacturers, showing us the proverbial left while the right does something else. Exploring this aluminum hunk of hospitalization , I noticed that images portray an array of watercraft, all promising to be what you buy. Some have windshields, others include those grab bars I mentioned, and some even display different dashboards.So, what are we to believe? Well, you can bet your bottom dollar that what you'll receive is going to be the most basic "boat" ever, so expect the worst, so that anything but will do just fine. Honestly, it comes across as the sort of deal you can make a TikTok video about; what you order isn't what you got. We had the Bentley Boys. But we also had the Bentley Girls. You may not know much about them, but the British marque just created three very special Bentaygas that celebrate each woman's individual legacy. Here's what you need to know. And there are three very interesting and inspiring stories to quickly discover below! A Bentley Bentayga S for "Bentley's Flying Lady" Photo: Bentley SUV A Bentley Bentayga EWB for the woman who believed in Sir Tim Birkin Photo: Bentley A Bentley Bentayga Azure for the woman who was the embodiment of courage Photo: Bentley Two women designers envisioned and ordered three very special Bentley Bentayga SUVs. Emma Carruthers and Georgia Gough went for an S, Azure, and an Extended Wheelbase (EWB) version. Those are the three variants currently available to prospective Bentley customers from around the world.These one-offs are supposed to remind everyone of Mary Petre Bruce, Dorothy Paget, and Diana Barnato Walker. These three powerful women helped Bentley accomplish some of its goals and held important roles at the carmaker during its 105-year history. Besides that, they outshone their peers during their prime.Bentley Board Member Karen Lange said that the three Bentaygas are an homage "to the lives of the Bentley Girls" and underlined that the exclusive rides should remind everyone of incredible contributions.Diana Barnato drove a Dove Grey Bentley 4.25-liter Park Ward and was the daughter of Le Mans winner Woolf Barnato. It feels unfair to introduce in such a way a woman who started flying after a six-hour crash course. Especially since that same woman began off-radar deliveries of aircraft deep within enemy territory to soldiers fighting in World War II!Barnato delivered 260 V12-powered Spitfires (and other aircraft). It's unclear how exactly she impacted Bentley's journey (apart from driving one for a brief period). That's because Rolls-Royce supplied the Merlin aero engines. However, she surely helped with the war effort and executed dangerous missions.Flying with little to no ground support can go wrong pretty quickly. Fortunately, she was savvy enough to make a difference when it mattered most."Her" Bentleyis a Bentayga S that puts out 542 hp and 568 lb-ft of torque. To make it even more special and transform it into a one-of-a-kind gem, the brand's craftspeople equipped it with a Smoke Green exterior and the interior hide split of green and saddle (rusty brown), referencing the Spitfire Mk9's cockpit.The vehicle also has a special D-pillar badge that shows the Spitfire logo alongside yellow accents that remind us of the plane's iconic wing edge. That's Diana Barnato's V8-powered 2024 Bentley Bentayga.The fighter plane is often credited with helping the UK defeat the Axis. But it's worth pointing out that the Hurricane aircraft also helped. It was not as sleek as the Spitfire, but it was better for low-altitude fights, it cost less to manufacture, and it was easier and cheaper to maintain. Many people still think the Hurricane did more than the Spitfire, but we're not here to argue.Men may have shown more interest in pushing the limits of certain industry sectors, such as automotive, but women were the ones who often made unexpected moves that advanced the vision of a company and forced their partners or spouses to go beyond the finish line. Remember Bertha Benz Bentley Boy Sir Tim Birkin became obsessed with the 4.5-liter engine and wanted to put a supercharger on it. W.O. Bentley (the man himself) disagreed. Fortunately, Dorothy Paget wanted to see her racing driving instructor and mentor show the world what he thought of performance-wise. She decided to sponsor the ambitious guy.Birkin was able to create a fleet of four supercharged Blowers. He raced at Le Mans and Brooklands alongside Bentley. He didn't win. But the Blower Bentley became incredibly famous. Today, it's the most valuable Bentley in the world, which only proves that Paget knew what she was doing."Her" Bentayga EWB Mulliner is extra special. Finished in Blower Green paint and with an interior that reminds us of the Blower Team Car No. 2, the one-off luxury SUV also features nickel-painted self-leveling wheel accent bezels and painted nickel veneer carriers to the cabin. Dorothy Paget helped create the original ones.Inside, this Bentayga also has engine spin aluminum fascias. They are an extra nod to the special ride that had a 4.5-liter engine and an Amherst Villiers supercharger.The Interbellum period was a time when companies, governments, and people dealt with a new reality: unseen before prosperity. In many parts of the world (but especially in the northern hemisphere), many lived a fulfilling life and almost forgot about the atrocities of the First World War. Optimism ruled over many lands.Mary Petre Bruce discovered that she was fond of going fast. She wanted to do something with that talent. So, in 1929, she went to France, got behind the steering wheel of a 4.5-liter Bentley, and drove non-stop for 24 hours. It was a world record. The woman traveled in the cold and through fog at an average speed of 89 mph (143 kph). She covered 2,164 miles (3,483 kilometers) in a day.The highway speed limit in France today is 81 mph (130 kph). You can imagine how it felt to go faster than the current speed limit in a car that had none of the modern safety and comfort perks.Besides all that, she had never driven a Bentley before meeting with her trustworthy partner in the Hexagon. It was a series of firsts, and Bruce dealt with them impeccably and bravely.The woman also learned to fly in just six weeks, bought herself a plane, and broke the record for the fastest double-crossing of the English Channel. Oh, and she also became the first woman to circumnavigate the world completely alone."Her" Bentayga Azure is finished in Parson Green pearlescent paint and has a heritage interior upholstery that reminds us of the 4.5-liter she drove in 1929 without worrying about getting to know the car beforehand.Mary Petre Bruce loved to experience the finer things life had to offer, so Bentley decided to finish the A/C switches in 24-karat gold. The SUV also has vertical fluted quilting seat uppers and door cards. The marque noted her fondness for pearls, which led to the pearl crossbanded veneer and marquetry.The Bentayga Azure can be easily distinguished out in the wild thanks to a checkered flag found on the D-pillar and the Blackline Specification (blacked-out exterior trim).That's the trio of one-offs Bentley created. They didn't have to be SUVs, but who would complain about owning a very special Bentayga, right?Don't forget that it's March 8, which means we celebrate International Women's Day. Some countries even say that March is Women's History Month. Send someone your good wishes, and don't forget about the special women in your life, no matter who you or they are. Yesterday, my godfather and I drove to a motorcycle dealer three hours away to pick up his new ATV. Once we got there, two things attracted my attention. One was the MV Agusta Superveloce 800, and the other was a diecast replica of an SxS vehicle. Toon'd '83 Chevy Silverado Photo: WS Mart Diecast Toyota Land Cruiser Photo: WS Mart Diecast '21 Ford Bronco Photo: WS Mart Diecast '65 Mercury Comet Cyclone Photo: WS Mart Diecast Custom '70 Honda N600 Photo: WS Mart Diecast Raijin Express Photo: WS Mart Diecast Come to think of it, I've always had an attraction to tiny things: dinosaurs, motorcycles, cars, and so on. Since I witnessed my father's collecting hobbies growing up, I walked down the same path with Hot Wheels. While I've considerably slowed down buying them, I'm always keen to see what's coming next. And when I see something I like, it's time to find it in the wild.I'm mostly into Premium castings these days, but there's always some Mainline machine that feels even slightly exciting. Last month, I reviewed a special 50th Anniversary set of cars , which could cost between $140 and $550 today. I doubt the same will happen with the new 56th Anniversary mix, but there's a good reason for that. A case that contains 24 of them will cost around $38, as it's a non-premium collection.You might get lucky, though, as one vehicle is a chase model. Just wait until the end of the story to read more about it. Mattel uses a new theme to celebrate its Hot Wheels brand every year. The company went for Blue and Pink in 2022, featuring cars like the Nissan Skyline 2000 GT-R, the '64 Chevy Nova Wagon, and several fantasy castings. Moving to Black and Yellow in 2023 felt like a fantastic idea, and we had some great collectibles like the '96 Nissan 180SX Type X and the Porsche 993 GT2. So, let's see what the first Anniversary mix for 2024 has in store for us.Ryu Asada designed four of the castings inside this set, and the Toon'D '83 Chevy Silverado is one of them. Mattel is betting on these designs, and people like the idea. The Silverado is the newest casting here, as it debuted in 2022.We've had four variations in two years, and they all had five-spoke wheels. I'm inclined to say that the First Edition release is still the best, thanks to the Metalflake Blue and White color combo.It's just as good in Metalflake Teal. While I don't usually like seeing the Hot Wheels decals on the sides, it makes perfect sense this time. I'll skip this collectible for now, but I'm sure fans of the casting won't hesitate to buy two of them.I'd vote for the Toyota Land Cruiser as the most exciting item in the 56th Anniversary set. I'm surprised Mattel didn't opt for a Ford F-150 or something along those lines, but the Land Cruiser has a cult following, too. Here's a photography pro tip: fill the bed with tiny pebbles and take shots of the truck from ground level; it will look even cooler.Manson Cheung worked with Ryu Asada on designing the Land Cruiser, which is not something you'll see very often. As always, I prefer the first edition release of the model, which features a light blue finish. But I sold mine long ago before I got the Matte Olive version with muddy tires.The 2023 "Then and Now" iteration ascended to Treasure Hunt status. It was also the first to move away from the Beadlock Off-Road wheels in favor of the BAJA5 rims. The latest Anniversary model almost feels like an STH item but has obvious drawbacks.Do you remember how big the hype surrounding the Ford Bronco was when it returned a few years ago? I don't even want to think of all the dealer mark-ups and delivery delays. At least that's not something you must worry about with the Hot Wheels '21 Bronco.Dmitriy Shakhmatov designed this one, and it debuted in the 2021 Mainline series with a Light Blue paint job. One of the six variations that came out until the 56th Anniversary release is particularly special: the Luis Fonsi Special Edition.There are only 21 of these, and I failed to find one for sale. If anyone who owns it decides to sell, I imagine the price would be at least $2,000. And Bronco fans can always look for the RLC edition, which has some extra features to lure you in.The '65 Mercury Comet Cyclone is the oldest casting on the list. Brendon Vetuskey designed this one, debuting in the 2011 Hot Wheels Garage: Ford series alongside 19 other cars. The Psycho Psyclone looked fantastic with a combination of Real Riders Drag Slick and Real Riders Mag-Style rims.An even rarer model was next: only 3,000 HWC.com Special Edition Cyclone units exist. Prices for this iteration alone will vary between $185 and $900. You'll find six more exciting variations over the next decade, and there's also a Super Treasure Hunt version to keep you interested.In the worst-case scenario, you'll have to pay around $200. Given its history, the new '65 Mercury Comet Cyclone isn't quite as fantastic as its predecessors. But that's not going to stop hardcore enthusiasts from picking it up.The Custom '70 Honda N600 is one of the last few projects Ryu Asada worked on before passing away. Mattel is digging deeper into Honda history, as we've seen lately, but I'm not sure these classic models have as big of an impact on the community as the iconic '80s and '90s vehicles.Neither of the four iterations has had any decals or liveries, so the new Green and Gold model is a first for this casting. It's certainly a cute little thing to have around the house, and I've even seen a few 1:1 models for sale in recent weeks.At least no one can call you a ricer if you drive around in it. But let's move on to the star of the show, the Chase model, for this 56th Anniversary set.You need to see Dekotora trucks with your own eyes to believe they're real. They prove how formidable and diverse Japanese tuning culture is, as it doesn't all boil down to drift cars and modified Lamborghinis or Ferraris. I think everyone was surprised by the First Edition release, and it was fantastic with a chrome-on-chrome finish.Mattel kept this trend going for the next three releases, and I couldn't understand why they toned it down for the Treasure Hunt model in 2023. That should have been the craziest, but it wasn't. But the designers in El Segundo are ready to atone for that "mistake" with the new chase model in the 56th Anniversary set. A case of 24 of these will contain four or five units of each of the five castings.But finding the Raijin Express is a matter of luck and determination. Your best bet at finding it is to buy several cases. Of course, looking it up on the open market is always possible. But prices have already soared to as much as $80, which is excessive if you ask me. With that kind of money, you'd be better off focusing on a set of Premium collectibles instead. The Department of Labor is working to stop a Tennessee farm from taking action against employees following an incident where a severed pig's head was reportedly left at a workstation, as stated in a complaint. In a filing on Feb. 21 in the US District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, the department sought a temporary restraining order on behalf of Tosh Pork employees inquiring about their wages. DOL Files Complaint Against Tosh Pork A complaint has been filed by the Department of Labor (DOL) against Tosh Pork, a Tennessee farm, for allegedly violating sections of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in an attempt to suppress employees' inquiries about their wages. A complaint was filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Tennessee on February 21, 2024, alleging that Tosh Pork responded against workers who offered pay-related concerns. According to the DOL, a husband and wife employed by Tosh Pork, responsible for animal care on the farm, initiated inquiries about their wages in February 2022. Subsequently, they filed a complaint with the DOL's Wage and Hour Division. The department alleges that, in response to the complaint, Tosh Pork assigned one of the employees tasks unrelated to their usual responsibilities, such as cleaning offices, bathrooms, and handling pig waste. Moreover, the Department of Labor asserts that Tosh Pork made a conscious choice to get the workers to sign a form that prohibited them from discussing matters pertaining to their compensation with other workers. The department argues that these actions are considered a violation of the FLSA, which protects employees' rights to inquire about their wages and prohibits employers from discriminating against those who file complaints with the Wage and Hour Division. Regional solicitor Tremelle Howard, representing the DOL, condemned Tosh Pork's actions, stating, "Tosh Pork's appalling actions and clear attempts to intimidate and retaliate against its employees will not be tolerated," according to Business Insider. Read Also: Sebastian Rogers Missing: Kentucky Police Search Landfill Over Week After Teen Vanished Tosh Pork Veterinarian Denies Allegations In response to the allegations, Tosh Pork's veterinarian, Seth Krantz, refuted the claims in an email to Business Insider. Krantz emphasized the company's commitment to adhering to federal, state, and local regulations, including the FLSA, and asserted Tosh Pork's intention to defend itself in court. The investigation by the Department of Labor went beyond the initial complaints and found more cases of alleged retaliation at Tosh Farms. Based on the investigation, some employees who inquired about their wages were given additional tasks like cleaning bathrooms and dealing with pig waste. Following these results, the DOL submitted a complaint and motion to request a restraining order against Tosh Pork and its human resources manager, Dianna Rosa. It was found by the federal agency that Tosh Pork was required to pay five workers $39,375 in back wages and faced $36,731 in civil money penalties. Tosh Pork, a family-run business spanning 18,000 acres in Henry, Tennessee, engages in swine production and crop cultivation, supplying products for national and international distribution to retailers like Costco, JBS USA, and Kroger, as reported by the DOL. The farm's denial of the allegations sets the stage for a legal battle as it vows to defend itself against the federal complaint, CBS News reported. Related Article: Trump Posts $92 Million Bond in E. Jean Carroll Defamation Lawsuit I drove to the nearest city yesterday to renew my passport. After wrapping things up, I visited local toy stores to search for new Hot Wheels cars. And I was ecstatic to find the black 944 from the Porsche series, despite its non-premium status. Most Popular Manufacturer Photo: Mattel Five Most Exciting Vehicles Photo: eBay/User Karran Toys & Comics Pricing and Availability Photo: eBay/User snrcustoms Predictions for the Future Mattel never ceases to amaze with its creativity and marketing ideas. Despite the poor performance of the iD series, the diecast manufacturer flipped it around for something new. Riding the NFT trend, it created the NFT Garage series in 2022. Buying Virtual Collectibles was costly, but some were lucky to find the redeemable tokens.And those would give them access to a physical Hot Wheels casting for their collection. It's almost like gambling, which may have added to the excitement for some. Every series featured a Treasure Hunt model, and starting with the sixth line-up, we now also have a ZAMAC casting to look for. Given its short lifespan, it may be premature to assess the NFT Garage. But judging by the prices on the open market, it may be a potential gold mine for some people (cough, cough, scalpers mostly).At first, I was fascinated by the concept, but I was also absorbed with anything NFT-related. But I'm over that phase now. I've only bought two NFTs, but I have seen friends and relatives losing a lot of money over the topic. Today's exercise aims to learn more about NFT Garage Redeemable items: how much they cost, which manufacturer is the most popular, and where the series is heading shortly. Mattel developed seven NFT Garage series since 2022. There are five redeemable items in each one until Series 5 inclusively. A ZAMAC model has added one more vehicle to look for, starting with Series 6. That adds up to 37 cars. But there are three more Feature Drops to keep in mind. Series 1 was almost a Fantasy-exclusive take on the idea, as the company used some of its most popular castings: the Bone Shaker, the Twin Mill, the Mach Speeder, and the Rodger Dodger.And it does not surprise me that the only licensed car was a Chevrolet . It's also the leading figure in the Super Treasure Hunt series, and it's well-known that the bond between the two giants is strong. Interestingly, we only saw two more Fantasy collectibles in Series 2 and two more in Series 3. With the special Deora II release, that adds up to 9 castings. Maintaining collectors interested in these is complex, and the balance has shifted starting with Series 4.As of now, Chevrolet is second on the list with seven appearances. Porsche takes third with four cars, while Pagani and Honda have had three representatives in the NFT Garage line-up thus far. I'm shocked that companies like Nissan, Mazda, Ford, and Volkswagen are not on the list of redeemables for now. But if NFT Garage survives 2024, that's undoubtedly going to change.This is a subjective discussion, as you may choose completely different models. I'm sharing my perspective, as I'm more inclined to spend some money buying any of the following five vehicles. I couldn't find anything interesting in Series 1, but I would love to get my hands on the Spectraflame Blue Honda S2000 from Series 2. Series 3 felt rather tedious, except for the '77 Pontiac Firebird T/A.But I need more than that to make me want to use my credit card. The McLaren F1 GTR Treasure Hunt from Series 4 could have been a winner, but the color combo reminds me of the defunct iD collectibles. The F1 GTR is one of my all-time favorite Hot Wheels castings, but I'll skip this one in favor of the stock-body F1 in Series 5. If you read my recent Series 6 review, you'll know I'm crazy about the Spectraflame Red '78 Porsche 935-78, and I might just consider paying $135 for one.And Mattel has pulled out the big guns for Series 7. Redeemable items can be activated in April, but there are plenty of pictures to watch before that time. The Datsun 510 Wagon and the '70 Dodge Power Wagon look fantastic in green, and I'm afraid to even think of how expensive the first one will be in a few years.Here comes the tricky part. Pricing and availability go hand in hand. The rarer the casting, the more expensive it can become. As we've seen with the Red Line Club collectibles, Mattel has continuously increased production numbers to meet the high demand. The Bone Shaker Treasure Hunt is the rarest item in NFTGarage, with only 600 units. But I've overheard some collectors noting that some tokens went unredeemed, which means fewer physical casting may have reached the market.TH production numbers increased to 1,000 for Series 2, 1,250 for Series 3, and they were up to 1,750 units for Series 6. The other models are more common, ranging from 1,200 to 3,750 units. At this rate, we could reach 10,000 pieces per casting within the next few years. I've done the math, and Mattel may have produced upward of 70,000 physical Hot Wheels NFTs since the series started in 2022.That's not considering Series 7, as I have yet to find its official figures. But let's talk money. Accurately determining the market value of these items is a challenging task. The best you can do now is look at online listings, talk to other collectors, and let things cool down for a few months before buying something.Some sellers are trying to get rich fast, so prices can sometimes be ridiculous. The first two Treasure Hunt Models will hit your wallet hard, costing up to $2,600 (Bone Shaker) and $2,500 ('55 Chevy Bel Air Gasser). Someone asked $740 for the Honda S2000 in Series 2, but that's still cheaper than the three Feature Drop items. I couldn't find the Deora II for less than $600, while the Lamborghini Veneno will quickly go up to $1,000. If you add up all the most expensive listings, you'll have to pay almost $18,000 for 40 Hot Wheels cars.That's an average of $450 per item. To put things in perspective, 244 Super Treasure Hunts will cost almost $36,000. That's twice the price but six times the number of collectibles. Going for the most expensive listings is never a good idea, but neither is opting for the cheapest ones. I've seen several "Custom-made" NFT Garage items, which can trick some people into believing they've bought the real thing. The cheapest collectible on eBay right now is the Aston Martin Valhalla Concept in Series 6, with an asking price of $40.I have only spotted three other vehicles that you can get for less than $50: the 2 Jet Z (Series 3), the Aston Martin Vulcan (Series 5), and the '17 Pagani Huayra Roadster (also from Series 5). Going for the cheapest option can cost as much as $7,214. And that makes me confident about the best-case scenario. With enough patience and knowledge, buying in bulk could bring you the entire NFT Garage collection for $5,000 or less. Is it worth that much to begin with? That's up to you to decide.Mattel won't have difficulty determining which castings should come up next with Series 8. Just think of how enormous its portfolio is. Will there be any new categories, like we saw with the ZAMAC release in Series 6? Are the head honchos in El Segundo going to split the Treasure Hunt line-up into Regular TH and Super TH as they did in 2007?People may respond positively to an additional Team Transport model, but I hope it would be a new pair of castings. Even though some collectors have made it clear they don't want anything to do with NFT Garage, the new generation may feel different about it. Financially, it must make sense for Mattel to continue, but you can't deny some extra incentives would go a long way in convincing more people to come aboard. kWh kW WLTP Presented at the lackluster 2024 Geneva Motor Show , the chic French car will be produced at home in France with locally sourced battery packs, so it's understandable, perhaps, why it comes with such quirky accessories as a baguette holder. Many other Easter Eggs are spread throughout the vehicle, including a customizable gear shifter shaped like a lipstick case.To further prove that good things come in small packages, the company also launched branded merchandise an old-school cassette player, a slot car track, or a foosball table, among others. However, what really makes it tick is not just the cool styling but also the fact that it has excellent specifications to complement that fresh design language.The retro-futuristic look is doubled by a throwback frame for the digital instrument cluster and central touchscreen, while the 40-battery pack and the 52-kWh variant tip the scales at 2,976 pounds (1,350 kg) and 3,197 pounds (1,450 kg), respectively. There are no less than three powertrain versions - 70, 90, and 110(94, 121, and 148 hp) to go along with the two versions of the battery pack, and the maximumrange is up to 400 km/249 miles.Recharging is done at 11 kW (AC) or up to 100 kW at DC stations, meaning the little French car will not stay long there to replenish its electrons. These are some of the basics, but many other small details could make it great, like the unusual multi-link rear independent suspension, bidirectional charging, heat pump, or the big '5' logo on the hood that is also a battery meter indicator. Best of all, Renault targets a base MSRP of about 25k, which is around $27k!Naturally, some might say there isn't much else you can add or subtract to make it almost perfect. But, of course, the imaginative realm of digital car content creators always begs to differ. This virtual artist, known as Theottle on social media, has recently resorted to CGI slicing and dicing the fresh Renault 5 into a summer ride an R5 Convertible. Frankly, it's not a bad idea at all, especially if the automaker would like to attract a younger audience.However, even if Renault's corner office head honchos would consider it, they would probably first wait to see if the revived Renault 5 E-Tech has enough success to warrant a second body style or not. Hopefully, that will be the positive case, as I would love to treat my younglings to an R5 E-Tech Convertible when they turn 18. A dealership hosting around $15 million worth of cars burned down on New Year's Eve in Germany. The first videos from the fire scene have now surfaced online. The most expensive of the cars destroyed in the fire was a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster. A fire engulfed a car dealership in the Mittelbach district of Chemnitz, Germany. The local fire department received a call at around 1:30 AM on the night of New Year's Day. Eighty-eight firefighters and 24 fire engines arrived at the scene to try to put out the fire and save as many cars as possible.They also had to evacuate homes in the area, as the buildings nearby were at risk. Firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading to the exhibition and sales room, the tire warehouse, and adjacent residential buildings. However, a photovoltaic system mounted on the roof of the workshop made the mission more complicated.The dealership burned down completely. Managing director Dominique Fugel intends to build everything from scratch. Twenty-two cars burned that night, including several EVs. A Porsche Panamera and a Tesla Model S Plaid also perished in the fire.But a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster has shown up in a dramatic photo. "Roasted Roadster," people called it on social media with bitterness and sorrow. Nothing but ashes and the frame of the windshield, plus a multispoke wheel, are recognizable after the blaze engulfed the entire structure. The interior and pretty much everything else disintegrated in the fire on New Year's Eve.The fire caused damage estimated at 15 million euros ($16.4 million). All the cars in the building, belonging to customers, present in the workshop for repairs, or ready to be sold, featured insurance policies. So the insurance company should cover everything.Fugel told the local media that, in recent years, new fire protection walls were built in the dealership. If it wasn't for them, the extent of the damage would have been way worse. Worse or not, the only way to clear all the rubble is to bring a bulldozer, tear down everything, and rebuild it again.Between 40 and 50 employees came to clean up what was left and free the area of the building still standing from water to be able to get back to work as soon as possible. However, the heating system is down, there is no electricity and no water in the building.Therefore, several employees were distributed to other locations of the company. The managing director says that none of the 90 people currently working for the company will lose their jobs.The police have been running an investigation to find out what caused the fire . Preliminary findings show that the fire was caused by fireworks. The fire engulfed an area of 2,000 square meters (21,528 square feet). The Fast Lane's Roman Mica and Andre Smirnov took delivery of a 2024 Toyota Tacoma in February 2024. Less than a month later, while they were off-roading in sub-zero conditions, Roman heard a loud pop. The resulting 4WD system failure resulted in the midsizer losing drive to the front wheels. 4WD Photo: The Fast Lane Truck on YouTube SUV Affectionately christened Blueberry after the superb-looking blue paint color, the pictured Tacoma TRD Off-Road became a rear-wheel-drive truck with only 3,569 miles (5,744 kilometers) on the odometer. TFL's Roman and Andre couldn't see anything leaking or hanging from under their new truck after the mysterious failure, andsystem-related warning lights didn't come on either.They also confirmed that the drive shaft connecting the transfer case to the front differential was perfectly fine. In any case, Roman was able to drive the Taco back to Tumbleweed Ranch. After a thorough inspection with the truck on a lift, then some quick testing on rollers to make sure the transfer case is engaging the front drive shaft, the most senior members of the TFL crew agreed that it must be a front differential-related problem.At the time, they couldn't put their finger on what exactly failed within the diff. Several days after dropping the truck at the dealer, Tacoma chief engineer Sheldon Brown and the service tech confirmed that a part inside the differential had failed.Namely, a part within the so-called ADD system. According to Sheldon, there is a part within the automatic disconnecting differential system that is designed to fail in a controlled way under extreme conditions. More specifically, in such a way that it does not destroy the rest of the driveline.Sheldon agreed with Roman and Andre that it shouldn't have failed in the off-road conditions the 2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road was subjected to. According to Andre, just around 20 engineers are working on this problem to determine if a redesign is called for. Last but not least, the dealership will have the truck fixed within two days or so.If you're wondering why none other than the Tacoma's chief engineer got involved in this matter, remember that the fourth-generation Tacoma is twinned with the 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser (a.k.a. 250 series or Prado) and the Lexus GX J250. We also have to remember that a ground-up redesign of the 4Runner is just around the corner, with said family-orientedflaunting the GA-F platform of the aforementioned Land Cruiser and GX.If Sheldon and his team identify the root cause and fix the problem before the first units of the 2025 Toyota 4Runner hit dealer lots, the automaker will save a ton of money. Considering the many issues Tundra customers experienced in the third-gen truck's first year of production, it's hardly surprising that Toyota is so proactive about this matter.Similar to Volvo making a name for itself by putting a big emphasis on safety, Japanese automakers came to prominence by means of affordable yet reliable vehicles. Toyota and the Lexus division take the top spots for brand reliability almost every year, which is why Toyota cannot afford to sully its reputation for reliability in the US market. This is something that you only see in Hollywood-made action-packed movies. But this time, there are no stuntmen, no stunt drivers, no director. It is real life, with real people and real heroes. The driver of a semi-truck found herself dangling over the Ohio River after a crash with a pickup truck. A perfectly synchronized work of the rescue services saved her life. Photo: WAVE News - Louisville, KY Everything started when a southbound vehicle hit a stalled car, crossed into northbound traffic, and slammed into the semi-truck. The impact knocked it through the guardrail and dangling off the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge that links Louisville, Kentucky, to southern Indiana, with the two rear axles up in the air and a female driver trapped inside. There was no way that she could leave the cabin hanging hundreds of feet above the water.The rescue services arrived at the scene just three minutes after the first call to find the truck dangerously dangling over the edge of the bridge, at risk of plunging into the Ohio River at any moment and taking the driver with it.It took the firefighters around 40 minutes to set up a rope system attached to the ladder of a firetruck extended horizontally. Rescue divers were waiting in the water below just in case things went south.Firefighter Bryce Carden rappelled down to the cab to buckle the driver into the harness and lift her back to safety with a round of applause from those witnessing the entire rescue mission and holding their breath. She did not suffer any injuries but was taken to the nearest hospital as a precaution.Specialized in high-angle rescue and with the fire department for six years, Bryce Carden told the media that the first thing she told her was to take a deep breath and follow his exact instructions."I wasn't nervous because I knew they had me on the top side. Once I reached her, she was super calm and collected, and helped me do what I needed to do to get her to safety," Carden recalls the afternoon of the crash and rescue mission.The female driver is a military veteran. Carden says he has done crazy things in rescue missions before. But this one tops them all.Phill Goller witnessed the accident. When he saw the truck dangling over the guardrail, he got out of his car and yelled down to the driver. She asked how much of her truck was still on the bridge. "I didn't want to tell her, but I told her the truth: it's bad, it's over halfway. I told her to be calm, everybody is on their way," he tried to reassure her. Then he had to make room for the rescuers to do their job.One other person involved in the three-vehicle crash was admitted to hospital with serious injuries.Louisville Metro Police are investigating the incident. The bridge remained closed through the afternoon and night in both directions, until a safety inspection was conducted to make sure the structure was not affected, according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. The bridge needed serious repair.The semi-trailer hanging off the edge of the bridge was pulled up seven hours after the crash and was towed away. So were the other two vehicles involved in the accident that caused the dramatic scene. 9 March 2024 15:00 (UTC+04:00) Armenia is the first country where Islamophobia spread systematically, Azernews reports, citing Spokesperson of the Western Azerbaijan Community, Ulviyya Zulfugar, telling at the Embracing Diversity: Tackling Islamophobia in 2024 international conference in Baku. "Today, we stand at a crossroads in our collective journey toward fostering a world where respect, tolerance, and understanding transcend the boundaries of race, religion, and ethnicity. Regrettably, the shadows of hatred and prejudice, particularly against Muslims, loom large over our aspirations. This is not a challenge that has emerged overnight but rather a deeply entrenched issue that has been exacerbated in recent decades. Among the earliest victims of such targeted Islamophobia are the Azerbaijanis from the territory of todays Armenia, whom I represent. Historical records and events bear witness whereby Armenia emerged as the pioneer in institutionalizing religious and ethnic intolerance against Muslims as a matter of state policy. Essentially, Armenia is the birthplace of systematic Islamophobia. It pains me to recount how Armenia not only expelled and massacred Azerbaijanis but also methodically erased their rich cultural heritage. Over the past 200 years, Azerbaijanis living on the territory of present-day Armenia have been subjected to multiple waves of forced deportations, notably during the years 1905-1908, 1918-1920, 1948-1953, and 1987-1991. The culmination of these atrocities was the expulsion of nearly 300,000 Azerbaijanis, marking the transformation of Armenia into a monoethnic state with the last deportation from the village of Nuvadi in Western Zangazur in 1991. The deliberate eradication of Azerbaijani cultural heritage in present-day Armenia is a tragic testament to this intolerance. The destruction of over 310 mosques and more than 500 cemeteries, along with the repurposing of significant cultural landmarks, serves as a painful reminder of the grave injustices committed against our community. The Blue Mosque in Iravan, the only surviving Mosque in Armenia, is being misrepresented by Armenia, to further obscure the truth about our history. The forced displacement of Azerbaijanis from Armenia shook the fabric of the community and caused immense damage to the intangible cultural heritage of Azerbaijanis, including our traditional music, dance, cuisine, and the art of ashiq. It epitomizes the extent of cultural genocide we have endured. The destruction of monuments, such as the Ashig Alasgar monument, proves the systematic effort by the Government of Armenia to erase our identity and legacy. Our appeals to international bodies like UNESCO for recognition and restoration of our obliterated cultural heritage have been met with inaction, further exacerbating our plight. The formation of a new state on the land where Azerbaijanis once constituted the absolute majority, through the expulsion of our people and the bringing in others, marks an unprecedented injustice in modern history. This unprecedented injustice created a sense of impunity among the ruling circles of Armenia and encouraged them to raise territorial claims, use force, conduct military occupation against the internationally recognized territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan, further large-scale ethnic cleansing, and other crimes against humanity. The complicity of countries such as France, with its own anti-Muslim policies, and the misuse of international mechanisms by Armenia to mock the very essence of human rights and racial discrimination. The fact that Armenia can levy claims against Azerbaijan on the grounds of racial discrimination at the International Court of Justice, despite its own egregious record, is a mockery of human rights values. It underscores the erosion of our international justice system. This should serve as a wake-up call for all progressive nations that champion peace and justice. Therefore, the safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis to Armenia is not merely a matter of rectifying a wrong against our community; it is imperative for confronting and eradicating of Islamophobia at its toots. In 2023, our community, the Western Azerbaijan Community, reached out to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan with a peaceful and dignified plea for our right to return to our ancestral lands. His lack of response and the misinterpretation of our intentions as a territorial claim only highlight the challenges we face in seeking justice under international law. Therefore, I call upon the international community to stand with us in ensuring the safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis to Armenia. It is time for Armenia to take concrete steps to enable our return, to restore and protect the Azerbaijani religious and cultural heritage. We, Western Azerbaijanis, reaffirm our commitment to peace, tolerance, and justice for all." --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 9 March 2024 08:30 (UTC+04:00) Qabil Ashirov Read more The price of Armenian issues in the world political markets is getting more expensive day by day. Some diplomats and leaders who cannot manage the internal politics of their countries take turns to irrelevantly intervene in the Armenian issue. They express their support and their readiness to come to fight for Hayk and even give them courage and empty promises, calling them to resist till end. The first of such countries was Iran. Right after the Second Garabagh War, Iran started to exert its full pressure against Azerbaijan which suddenly resulted in increase of tensions between the two countries. However, Iran ruled out the main issue that it had to first pay attention; in addition to the international embargoes, sanctions and a lot more restrictions Iranians have long been suffering from the harsh Mullah regime. The unbearable situation caused unrest within the country and people flooded the streets three years ago. To circumvent all the criticism and distract the view of public from domestic issues, the Tehran regime made a quick shift in a different mode. It suddenly expressed its support for Armenia supposedly for the sake of preventing a situation that could destabilize the region. Even, the Mullahs went further to conduct a military drill on its territories near the border with Azerbaijan. Iranian generals and officials covertly and overtly threatened Azerbaijan and "called Baku not to try to invade Armenia". Going even further, the mullah regime's leadership issued a warning message that "Armenia's territorial integrity is their redline". As expected, when the internal unrest subsided, Iranian officials forgot the Armenian issue. After Iran, India started to express their support to Armenia. Indian officials criticized Azerbaijan. Later they sold weapons to Armenia as well in a way to show a muscle to its long-time rival Pakistan. However, like Iranian support, the lifespan of Indian support was short as well. After tackling interior problems and making a bunch of money from sold weapons, Delhi was silenced. Encountering failure in Africa, France took over the Armenian issue from India whose main strategic plan includes grasping a space in the South Caucasus. French President Emmanuel Macron, who had said that Garabagh is Azerbaijani land during the Second Garabagh War, suddenly and unexpectedly started to speak about the support to Armenia and send old and some rudimental military equipment to Armenia. Macron, who had not recognized the so-called "artsakh republic", boasted on TV that he did more than Pashinyan in favor of separatists in Garabagh. Like previous ones, France forgot Armenia as well. Whenever the said countries spoke for Armenia and expressed their support, Armenian media outlets praised these countries very much and made heroes out of these failed leaders. However, at the end of the day, Armenians found themselves quite in destitute. No one came to help Yerevan, and nothing changed - like much ado about nothing. It is worth noting that the last hero of the Armenian issue is Cyprus. The PM of Cyprus Constantinos Kombos told the mass media in Yerevan that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of [Armenia] must be respected and Cyprus is ready to support Armenia both politically and financially. The minister said that from the very first minute, Cyprus expressed unequivocal support for the people of Armenia and sent humanitarian aid. Like before, Armenian media commenced to create a hero once again. On commenting on all that has happened, we should say that first of all, Azerbaijan has never had an expansionist policy. First of all, said leaders reveal their hypocrisies with their statements. For example, Constantinos Kombos said that aggression, revisionism, and population transfers are all unacceptable tools from the point of view of the international community. He added that it is necessary to respect sovereignty and territorial integrity; adherence to the UN Charter is an important principle for us. Besides, he said that everyone must respect sovereignty and territorial integrity. However, they have never voiced such statements when Armenia invaded Azerbaijani territories. They have denounced and demanded Armenia to return to occupied territories. Besides, It was Armenia which invaded 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories and held it under the occupation for 30 years. As President Ilham Aliyev said, Azerbaijan has had several chances to enter Armenian territory and to take it but Azerbaijan has never done it. Because we do not need to invade any territories. Secondly, Azerbaijan has a strong army neither France nor India nor Cyprus who have no military infrastructure in the Caucasus can stop Azerbaijan. Even Iran, with half of its population being Azerbaijanis, could not take a single step against Azerbaijan for the sake of Armenia. So, expressing support by these countries is ridiculous. Besides, Armenia is a member of CSTO, and waging war against Armenia means war against Russia which is much stronger than any above said countries. It would be good if the poor people of Armenia do not suffer another iron fist blow by following the empty promises of the leaders. Let them rest assured that no one is occupying them. Because the South Caucasus is not a battlefield that everyone can enter. --- Qabil Ashirov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @g_Ashirov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 9 March 2024 17:05 (UTC+04:00) In January-February 2024, Turkey increased its export of chemical products to Azerbaijan by 2.7 percent to $78.9 million compared to the same period last year, Azernews reports, citing Turkiye's Ministry of Trade. In February 2024, Turkiye's export of chemical products to Azerbaijan increased by 11.4 percent compared to the same month of 2023 and amounted to 43.2 million dollars. It is worth noting that in January-February 2024, Turkiye increased its export of chemical products by 8.8 percent to 5 million dollars compared to the same period last year. In February 2024, Turkiye's export of chemical products to world markets increased by 15.2 percent compared to the same month of 2023 and equaled 2.6 million dollars. During the last 12 months (February 2024-February 2023), TurkIy exported chemical products worth 30.9 billion dollars. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 9 March 2024 20:59 (UTC+04:00) President of Azerbaijan`s State Oil Company (SOCAR) Rovshan Najaf has met with Chairman of the Management Board of KazMunayGaz National Company of Kazakhstan Magzum Mirzagaliyev. Azernews reports that, during the meeting, the sides hailed the successful development of relations between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in the energy sector and other domains. They emphasized that the road map signed last year between SOCAR and KazMunayGaz had created ample opportunities for expanding relations. The two discussed possibilities for enhancing mutually beneficial cooperation and exchanged views on the development of oil processing, transit and trade sectors, as well as other issues of mutual interest. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 9 March 2024 21:13 (UTC+04:00) The inauguration of the digital exhibition titled "Shusha: The Dance of Symbols" has been held in one of Europe's premier art galleries in Milan, Italy, Azernews reports, citing Azertag. Co-organized by MezoDigitalArt, MEET Digital Culture Center of Italy, and the Cariplo Foundation, the event marks a significant milestone in showcasing Azerbaijan's cultural richness to the world. Addressing the opening ceremony, Maria Grazia Mattei, the founder of the MEET Digital Culture Centre, and Julie Walsh, a renowned Chicago-based curator specializing in Contemporary Asian & Immersive technology art and the founder of Walsh Projects, stressed the importance of the IDAF 24 Istanbul Digital Art Festival. They highlighted how the exhibition digitizes Azerbaijan's vibrant cultural heritage, offering a unique experience for art enthusiasts. Nabat Garakhanova, a digital transformation expert and the creator of Shusha artificial intelligence project, provided valuable insights into the creation of the project. She lauded its role in transcending mere technological innovation, serving as a platform for Azerbaijan's historical and cultural legacy. She underlined that by digitizing traditional Azerbaijani art forms and echoing the cultural exchanges along the Silk Road, the exhibition bridges the past with the future, ensuring the preservation and transmission of Azerbaijan's artistic heritage to future generations. The event saw the presence of distinguished dignitaries, including representatives from the Azerbaijani Embassy in Italy, the Consulate General of Turkiye in Milan, as well as members of Italy`s cultural, press, and academic communities, alongside Azerbaijanis residing in Italy. The special screening, running until March 9, showcases digital artworks generated by the AI project "Shusha", focusing on Azerbaijan`s rich and diverse cultural heritage, with a particular emphasis on kelaghayi adorned with national motifs. The creation of Shusha, Azerbaijan's first artificial intelligence artist, was a collaborative effort between Azerbaijani and Turkish artists and engineers from the Mezo Art Digital Art Group, under the leadership of Nabat Garakhanova. Their collective vision aimed to revitalize the ancient art of Shusha, the cradle of Azerbaijan's culture, through the use of cutting-edge technologies. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz